transcriber's note: a few typographical errors have been corrected: they are listed at the end of the text. the errata on page viii, which were in the original book, have been applied to this e-text. page numbers within curly brackets (such as {iii} and { } have been included so that the reader might use the index. the variation of animals and plants under domestication. by charles darwin, m.a., f.r.s., &c. in two volumes.--vol. ii. with illustrations. london: john murray, albemarle street. . the right of translation is reserved. london: printed by william clowes and sons, stamford street, and charing cross. {iii} contents of volume ii. chapter xii. inheritance. wonderful nature of inheritance--pedigrees of our domesticated animals--inheritance not due to chance--trifling characters inherited--diseases inherited--peculiarities in the eye inherited--diseases in the horse--longevity and vigour--asymmetrical deviations of structure--polydactylism and regrowth of supernumerary digits after amputation--cases of several children similarly affected from non-affected parents--weak and fluctuating inheritance: in weeping trees, in dwarfness, colour of fruit and flowers, colour of horses--non-inheritance in certain cases--inheritance of structure and habits overborne by hostile conditions of life, by incessantly recurring variability, and by reversion--conclusion ... page chapter xiii. inheritance _continued_--reversion or atavism. different forms of reversion--in pure or uncrossed breeds, as in pigeons, fowls, hornless cattle and sheep, in cultivated plants--reversion in feral animals and plants--reversion in crossed varieties and species--reversion through bud-propagation, and by segments in the same flower or fruit--in different parts of the body in the same animal--the act of crossing a direct cause of reversion, various cases of, with instincts--other proximate causes of reversion--latent characters--secondary sexual characters--unequal development of the two sides of the body--appearance with advancing age of characters derived from a cross--the germ with all its latent characters a wonderful object--monstrosities--peloric flowers due in some cases to reversion ... page chapter xiv. inheritance _continued_--fixedness of character--prepotency--sexual limitation--correspondence of age. fixedness of character apparently not due to antiquity of inheritance--prepotency of transmission in individuals of the same family, in crossed breeds and species; often stronger in one sex than the other; sometimes due to the same character being present and visible in one breed and latent in the other--inheritance as limited by sex--newly-acquired characters in our domesticated animals often transmitted by one sex alone, sometimes lost by one sex alone--inheritance at corresponding periods of life--the importance of the principle with respect to embryology; as exhibited in domesticated animals; as exhibited in the appearance and disappearance of inherited diseases; sometimes supervening earlier in the child than in the parent--summary of the three preceding chapters ... page {iv} chapter xv. on crossing. free intercrossing obliterates the differences between allied breeds--when the numbers of two commingling breeds are unequal, one absorbs the other--the rate of absorption determined by prepotency of transmission, by the conditions of life, and by natural selection--all organic beings occasionally intercross; apparent exceptions--on certain characters incapable of fusion; chiefly or exclusively those which have suddenly appeared in the individual--on the modification of old races, and the formation of new races, by crossing--some crossed races have bred true from their first production--on the crossing of distinct species in relation to the formation of domestic races ... page chapter xvi. causes which interfere with the free crossing of varieties--influence of domestication on fertility. difficulties in judging of the fertility of varieties when crossed--various causes which keep varieties distinct, as the period of breeding and sexual preference--varieties of wheat said to be sterile when crossed--varieties of maize, verbascum, hollyhock, gourds, melons, and tobacco, rendered in some degree mutually sterile--domestication eliminates the tendency to sterility natural to species when crossed--on the increased fertility of uncrossed animals and plants from domestication and cultivation ... page chapter xvii. on the good effects of crossing, and on the evil effects of close interbreeding. definition of close interbreeding--augmentation of morbid tendencies--general evidence on the good effects derived from crossing, and on the evil effects from close interbreeding--cattle, closely interbred; half-wild cattle long kept in the same parks--sheep--fallow-deer--dogs--rabbits--pigs--man, origin of his abhorrence of incestuous marriages--fowls--pigeons--hive-bees--plants, general considerations on the benefits derived from crossing--melons, fruit-trees, peas, cabbages, wheat, and forest-trees--on the increased size of hybrid plants, not exclusively due to their sterility--on certain plants which either normally or abnormally are self-impotent, but are fertile, both on the male and female side, when crossed with distinct individuals either of the same or another species--conclusion ... page {v} chapter xviii. on the advantages and disadvantages of changed conditions of life: sterility from various causes. on the good derived from slight changes in the conditions of life--sterility from changed conditions, in animals, in their native country and in menageries--mammals, birds, and insects--loss of secondary sexual characters and of instincts--causes of sterility--sterility of domesticated animals from changed conditions--sexual incompatibility of individual animals--sterility of plants from changed conditions of life--contabescence of the anthers--monstrosities as a cause of sterility--double flowers--seedless fruit--sterility from the excessive development of the organs of vegetation--from long-continued propagation by buds--incipient sterility the primary cause of double flowers and seedless fruit ... page chapter xix. summary of the four last chapters, with remarks on hybridism. on the effects of crossing--the influence of domestication on fertility--close interbreeding--good and evil results from changed conditions of life--varieties when crossed not invariably fertile--on the difference in fertility between crossed species and varieties--conclusions with respect to hybridism--light thrown on hybridism by the illegitimate progeny of dimorphic and trimorphic plants--sterility of crossed species due to differences confined to the reproductive system--not accumulated through natural selection--reasons why domestic varieties are not mutually sterile--too much stress has been laid on the difference in fertility between crossed species and crossed varieties--conclusion ... page chapter xx. selection by man. selection a difficult art--methodical, unconscious, and natural selection--results of methodical selection--care taken in selection--selection with plants--selection carried on by the ancients, and by semi-civilised people--unimportant characters often attended to--unconscious selection--as circumstances slowly change, so have our domesticated animals changed through the action of unconscious selection--influence of different breeders on the same sub-variety--plants as affected by unconscious selection--effects of selection as shown by the great amount of difference in the parts most valued by man ... page {vi} chapter xxi. selection--_continued._ natural selection as affecting domestic productions--characters which appear of trifling value often of real importance--circumstances favourable to selection by man--facility in preventing crosses, and the nature of the conditions--close attention and perseverance indispensable--the production of a large number of individuals especially favourable--when no selection is applied, distinct races are not formed--highly-bred animals liable to degeneration--tendency in man to carry the selection of each character to an extreme point, leading to divergence of character, rarely to convergence--characters continuing to vary in the same direction in which they have already varied--divergence of character, with the extinction of intermediate varieties, leads to distinctness in our domestic races--limit to the power of selection--lapse of time important--manner in which domestic races have originated--summary ... page chapter xxii. causes of variability. variability does not necessarily accompany reproduction--causes assigned by various authors--individual differences--variability of every kind due to changed conditions of life--on the nature of such changes--climate, food, excess of nutriment--slight changes sufficient--effects of grafting on the variability of seedling-trees--domestic productions become habituated to changed conditions--on the accumulative action of changed conditions--close interbreeding and the imagination of the mother supposed to cause variability--crossing as a cause of the appearance of new characters--variability from the commingling of characters and from reversion--on the manner and period of action of the causes which either directly, or indirectly through the reproductive system, induce variability ... page chapter xxiii. direct and definite action of the external conditions of life. slight modifications in plants from the definite action of changed conditions, in size, colour, chemical properties, and in the state of the tissues--local diseases--conspicuous modifications from changed climate or food, etc.--plumage of birds affected by peculiar nutriment, and by the inoculation of poison--land-shells--modifications of organic beings in a state of nature through the definite action of external conditions--comparison of american and european trees--galls--effects of parasitic fungi--considerations opposed to the belief in the potent influence of changed external conditions--parallel series of varieties--amount of variation does not correspond with the degree of change in the conditions--bud-variation--monstrosities produced by unnatural treatment--summary ... page {vii} chapter xxiv. laws of variation--use and disuse, etc. nisus formativus, or the co-ordinating power of the organisation--on the effects of the increased use and disuse of organs--changed habits of life--acclimatisation with animals and plants--various methods by which this can be effected--arrests of development--rudimentary organs ... page chapter xxv. laws of variation, _continued_--correlated variability. explanation of term--correlation as connected with development--modifications correlated with the increased or decreased size of parts--correlated variation of homologous parts--feathered feet in birds assuming the structure of the wings--correlation between the head and the extremities--between the skin and dermal appendages--between the organs of sight and hearing--correlated modifications in the organs of plants--correlated monstrosities--correlation between the skull and ears--skull and crest of feathers--skull and horns--correlation of growth complicated by the accumulated effects of natural selection--colour as correlated with constitutional peculiarities ... page chapter xxvi. laws of variation, _continued_--summary. on the affinity and cohesion of homologous parts--on the variability of multiple and homologous parts--compensation of growth--mechanical pressure--relative position of flowers with respect to the axis of the plant, and of seeds in the capsule, as inducing variation--analogous or parallel varieties--summary of the three last chapters ... page chapter xxvii. provisional hypothesis of pangenesis. preliminary remarks--first part:--the facts to be connected under a single point of view, namely, the various kinds of reproduction--the direct action of the male element on the female--development--the functional independence of the elements or units of the body--variability--inheritance--reversion. second part:--statement of the hypothesis--how far the necessary assumptions are improbable--explanation by aid of the hypothesis of the several classes of facts specified in the first part--conclusion ... page {viii} chapter xxviii. concluding remarks. domestication--nature and causes of variability--selection--divergence and distinctness of character--extinction of races--circumstances favourable to selection by man--antiquity of certain races--the question whether each particular variation has been specially preordained ... page index ... page * * * * * errata. vol. ii., pp. , , , for cratægus oxycantha, read oxyacantha. ,, p. , lines from top, for dianthus armoria read armeria. ,, ,, , lines from bottom, for casuarinus read casuarius. ,, ,, ,, lines from bottom, for grus cineria read cinerea. ,, ,, , lines from top, for oesculus read Æsculus. ,, ,, , lines from top, for anastomising read anastomosing. ,, ,, ,, foot-note, for birckell read brickell. * * * * * { } the variation of animals and plants under domestication. * * * * * chapter xii. inheritance. wonderful nature of inheritance--pedigrees of our domesticated animals--inheritance not due to chance--trifling characters inherited--diseases inherited--peculiarities in the eye inherited--diseases in the horse--longevity and vigour--asymmetrical deviations of structure--polydactylism and regrowth of supernumerary digits after amputation--cases of several children similarly affected from non-affected parents--weak and fluctuating inheritance: in weeping trees, in dwarfness, colour of fruit and flowers, colour of horses--non-inheritance in certain cases--inheritance of structure and habits overborne by hostile conditions of life, by incessantly recurring variability, and by reversion--conclusion. the subject of inheritance is an immense one, and has been treated by many authors. one work alone, 'de l'hérédité naturelle,' by dr. prosper lucas, runs to the length of pages. we must confine ourselves to certain points which have an important bearing on the general subject of variation, both with domestic and natural productions. it is obvious that a variation which is not inherited throws no light on the derivation of species, nor is of any service to man, except in the case of perennial plants, which can be propagated by buds. if animals and plants had never been domesticated, and wild ones alone had been observed, we should probably never have heard the saying, that "like begets like." the proposition would have been as self-evident, as that all the buds on the same tree are alike, though neither proposition is strictly true. for, as has often been remarked, probably no two individuals are { } identically the same. all wild animals recognise each other, which shows that there is some difference between them; and when the eye is well practised, the shepherd knows each sheep, and man can distinguish a fellow-man out of millions on millions of other men. some authors have gone so far as to maintain that the production of slight differences is as much a necessary function of the powers of generation, as the production of offspring like their parents. this view, as we shall see in a future chapter, is not theoretically probable, though practically it holds good. the saying that "like begets like" has in fact arisen from the perfect confidence felt by breeders, that a superior or inferior animal will generally reproduce its kind; but this very superiority or inferiority shows that the individual in question has departed slightly from its type. the whole subject of inheritance is wonderful. when a new character arises, whatever its nature may be, it generally tends to be inherited, at least in a temporary and sometimes in a most persistent manner. what can be more wonderful than that some trifling peculiarity, not primordially attached to the species, should be transmitted through the male or female sexual cells, which are so minute as not to be visible to the naked eye, and afterwards through the incessant changes of a long course of development, undergone either in the womb or in the egg, and ultimately appear in the offspring when mature, or even when quite old, as in the case of certain diseases? or again, what can be more wonderful than the well-ascertained fact that the minute ovule of a good milking cow will produce a male, from whom a cell, in union with an ovule, will produce a female, and she, when mature, will have large mammary glands, yielding an abundant supply of milk, and even milk of a particular quality? nevertheless, the real subject of surprise is, as sir h. holland has well remarked,[ ] not that a character should be inherited, but that any should ever fail to be inherited. in a future chapter, devoted to an hypothesis which i have termed pangenesis, an attempt will be made to show the means by which characters of all kinds are transmitted from generation to generation. { } some writers,[ ] who have not attended to natural history, have attempted to show that the force of inheritance has been much exaggerated. the breeders of animals would smile at such simplicity; and if they condescended to make any answer, might ask what would be the chance of winning a prize if two inferior animals were paired together? they might ask whether the half-wild arabs were led by theoretical notions to keep pedigrees of their horses? why have pedigrees been scrupulously kept and published of the shorthorn cattle, and more recently of the hereford breed? is it an illusion that these recently improved animals safely transmit their excellent qualities even when crossed with other breeds? have the shorthorns, without good reason, been purchased at immense prices and exported to almost every quarter of the globe, a thousand guineas having been given for a bull? with greyhounds pedigrees have likewise been kept, and the names of such dogs, as snowball, major, &c., are as well known to coursers as those of eclipse and herod on the turf. even with the gamecock pedigrees of famous strains were formerly kept, and extended back for a century. with pigs, the yorkshire and cumberland breeders "preserve and print pedigrees;" and to show how such highly-bred animals are valued, i may mention that mr. brown, who won all the first prizes for small breeds at birmingham in , sold a young sow and boar of his breed to lord ducie for guineas; the sow alone was afterwards sold to the rev. f. thursby for guineas; who writes, "she paid me very well, having sold her produce for _l_., and having now four breeding sows from her."[ ] hard cash paid down, over and over again, is an excellent test of inherited superiority. in fact, the whole art of breeding, from which such great results have been attained during the present century, depends on the inheritance of each small { } detail of structure. but inheritance is not certain; for if it were, the breeder's art[ ] would be reduced to a certainty, and there would be little scope left for all that skill and perseverance shown by the men who have left an enduring monument of their success in the present state of our domesticated animals. it is hardly possible, within a moderate compass, to impress on the mind of those who have not attended to the subject, the full conviction of the force of inheritance which is slowly acquired by rearing animals, by studying the many treatises which have been published on the various domestic animals, and by conversing with breeders. i will select a few facts of the kind, which, as far as i can judge, have most influenced my own mind. with man and the domestic animals, certain peculiarities have appeared in an individual, at rare intervals, or only once or twice in the history of the world, but have reappeared in several of the children and grandchildren. thus lambert, "the porcupine-man," whose skin was thickly covered with warty projections, which were periodically moulted, had all his six children and two grandsons similarly affected.[ ] the face and body being covered with long hair, accompanied by deficient teeth (to which i shall hereafter refer), occurred in three successive generations in a siamese family; but this case is not unique, as a woman[ ] with a completely hairy face was exhibited in london in , and another instance has recently occurred. colonel hallam[ ] has described a race of two-legged pigs, "the hinder extremities being entirely wanting;" and this deficiency was transmitted through three generations. in fact, all races presenting any remarkable peculiarity, such as solid-hoofed swine, mauchamp sheep, niata cattle, &c., are instances of the long-continued inheritance of rare deviations of structure. when we reflect that certain extraordinary peculiarities have { } thus appeared in a single individual out of many millions, all exposed in the same country to the same general conditions of life, and, again, that the same extraordinary peculiarity has sometimes appeared in individuals living under widely different conditions of life, we are driven to conclude that such peculiarities are not directly due to the action of the surrounding conditions, but to unknown laws acting on the organisation or constitution of the individual;--that their production stands in hardly closer relation to the conditions than does life itself. if this be so, and the occurrence of the same unusual character in the child and parent cannot be attributed to both having been exposed to the same unusual conditions, then the following problem is worth consideration, as showing that the result cannot be due, as some authors have supposed, to mere coincidence, but must be consequent on the members of the same family inheriting something in common in their constitution. let it be assumed that, in a large population, a particular affection occurs on an average in one out of a million, so that the _à priori_ chance that an individual taken at random will be so affected is only one in a million. let the population consist of sixty millions, composed, we will assume, of ten million families, each containing six members. on these data, professor stokes has calculated for me that the odds will be no less than millions to that in the ten million families there will not be even a single family in which one parent and two children will be affected by the peculiarity in question. but numerous cases could be given, in which several children have been affected by the same rare peculiarity with one of their parents; and in this case, more especially if the grandchildren be included in the calculation, the odds against mere coincidence become something prodigious, almost beyond enumeration. in some respects the evidence of inheritance is more striking when we consider the reappearance of trifling peculiarities. dr. hodgkin formerly told me of an english family in which, for many generations, some members had a single lock differently coloured from the rest of the hair. i knew an irish gentleman, who, on the right side of his head, had a small white lock in the midst of his dark hair: he assured me that his grandmother had { } a similar lock on the same side, and his mother on the opposite side. but it is superfluous to give instances; every shade of expression, which may often be seen alike in parents and children, tells the same story. on what a curious combination of corporeal structure, mental character, and training, must handwriting depend! yet every one must have noted the occasional close similarity of the handwriting in father and son, although the father had not taught his son. a great collector of franks assured me that in his collection there were several franks of father and son hardly distinguishable except by their dates. hofacker, in germany, remarks on the inheritance of handwriting; and it has even been asserted that english boys when taught to write in france naturally cling to their english manner of writing.[ ] gait, gestures, voice, and general bearing are all inherited, as the illustrious hunter and sir a. carlisle have insisted.[ ] my father communicated to me two or three striking instances, in one of which a man died during the early infancy of his son, and my father, who did not see this son until grown up and out of health, declared that it seemed to him as if his old friend had risen from the grave, with all his highly peculiar habits and manners. peculiar manners pass into tricks, and several instances could be given of their inheritance; as in the case, often quoted, of the father who generally slept on his back, with his right leg crossed over the left, and whose daughter, whilst an infant in the cradle, followed exactly the same habit, though an attempt was made to cure her.[ ] i will give one instance which has fallen under my own observation, and which is curious from being a trick associated with a peculiar state of mind, namely, pleasurable emotion. a boy had the singular habit, when pleased, of rapidly moving his fingers parallel to each other, and, when much excited, of raising both hands, with the fingers still moving, to the sides of his face on a level with the eyes; this boy, when almost an old man, could still hardly resist this trick when much pleased, but from its absurdity concealed it. he had eight children. of these, a girl, when { } pleased, at the age of four and a half years, moved her fingers in exactly the same way, and what is still odder, when much excited, the raised both her hands, with her fingers still moving, to the sides of her face, in exactly the same manner as her father had done, and sometimes even still continued to do when alone. i never heard of any one excepting this one man and his little daughter who had this strange habit; and certainly imitation was in this instance out of the question. some writers have doubted whether those complex mental attributes, on which genius and talent depend, are inherited, even when both parents are thus endowed. but he who will read mr. galton's able paper[ ] on hereditary talent will have his doubts allayed. unfortunately it matters not, as far as inheritance is concerned, how injurious a quality or structure may be if compatible with life. no one can read the many treatises[ ] on hereditary disease and doubt this. the ancients were strongly of this opinion, or, as ranchin expresses it, _omnes græci, arabes, et latini in eo consentiunt_. a long catalogue could be given of all sorts of inherited malformations and of predisposition to various diseases. with gout, fifty per cent. of the cases observed in hospital practice are, according to dr. garrod, inherited, and a greater percentage in private practice. every one knows how often insanity runs in families, and some of the cases given by mr. sedgwick are awful,--as of a surgeon, whose brother, father, and four paternal uncles were all insane, the latter dying by suicide; of a jew, whose father, mother, and six brothers and sisters were all mad; and in some other cases several members of the same family, during three or four successive generations, have committed suicide. striking instances { } have been recorded of epilepsy, consumption, asthma, stone in the bladder, cancer, profuse bleeding from the slightest injuries, of the mother not giving milk, and of bad parturition being inherited. in this latter respect i may mention an odd case given by a good observer,[ ] in which the fault lay in the offspring, and not in the mother: in a part of yorkshire the farmers continued to select cattle with large hind-quarters, until they made a strain called "dutch-buttocked," and "the monstrous size of the buttocks of the calf was frequently fatal to the cow, and numbers of cows were annually lost in calving." instead of giving numerous details on various inherited malformations and diseases, i will confine myself to one organ, that which is the most complex, delicate, and probably best-known in the human frame, namely, the eye, with its accessory parts. to begin with the latter: i have heard of a family in which parents and children were affected by drooping eyelids, in so peculiar a manner, that they could not see without throwing their heads backwards; and sir a. carlisle[ ] specifies a pendulous fold to the eyelids as inherited. "in a family," says sir h. holland,[ ] "where the father had a singular elongation of the upper eyelid, seven or eight children were born with the same deformity; two or three other children having it not." many persons, as i year from mr. paget, have two or three of the hairs in their eyebrows (apparently corresponding with the vibrissæ of the lower animals) much longer than the others; and even so trifling a peculiarity as this certainly runs in families. with respect to the eye itself, the highest authority in england, mr. bowman, has been so kind as to give me the following remarks on certain inherited imperfections. first, hypermetropia, or morbidly long sight: in this affection, the organ, instead of being spherical, is too flat from front to back, and is often altogether too small, so that the retina is brought too forward for the focus of the humours; consequently a convex glass is required for clear vision of near objects, and frequently even of distant ones. this state occurs congenitally, or at a very early age, often in several children of the same family, where one of the parents has presented it.[ ] secondly, myopia, or short-sight, in which the eye is egg-shaped, and too long from front to back; the retina in this case lies behind the focus, and is therefore fitted to see distinctly only very near objects. this condition is not commonly congenital, but comes on in youth, the liability to it being well known to be transmissible from parent to child. the change from the spherical to the ovoidal shape seems the immediate { } consequence of something like inflammation of the coats, under which they yield, and there is ground for believing that it may often originate in causes acting directly on the individual affected, and may thenceforward become transmissible. when both parents are myopic mr. bowman has observed the hereditary tendency in this direction to be heightened, and some of the children to be myopic at an earlier age or in a higher degree than their parents. thirdly, squinting is a familiar example of hereditary transmission: it is frequently a result of such optical defects as have been above mentioned; but the more primary and uncomplicated forms of it are also sometimes in a marked degree transmitted in a family. fourthly, _cataract_, or opacity of the crystalline lens, is commonly observed in persons whose parents have been similarly affected, and often at an earlier age in the children than in the parents. occasionally more than one child in a family is thus afflicted, one of whose parents or other relation presents the senile form of the complaint. when cataract affects several members of a family in the same generation, it is often seen to commence at about the same age in each; _e.g._, in one family several infants or young persons may suffer from it; in another, several persons of middle age. mr. bowman also informs me that he has occasionally seen, in several members of the same family, various defects in either the right or left eye; and mr. white cooper has often seen peculiarities of vision confined to one eye reappearing in the same eye in the offspring.[ ] the following cases are taken from an able paper by mr. w. sedgwick, and from dr. prosper lucas.[ ] amaurosis, either congenital or coming on late in life, and causing total blindness, is often inherited; it has been observed in three successive generations. congenital absence of the iris has likewise been transmitted for three generations, a cleft-iris for four generations, being limited in this latter case to the males of the family. opacity of the cornea and congenital smallness of the eyes have been inherited. portal records a curious case, in which a father and two sons were rendered blind, whenever the head was bent downwards, apparently owing to the crystalline lens, with its capsule, slipping through an unusually large pupil into the anterior chamber of the eye. day-blindness, or imperfect vision under a bright light, is inherited, as is night-blindness, or an incapacity to see except under a strong light: a case has been recorded, by m. cunier, of this latter defect having affected eighty-five members of the same family during six generations. the singular incapacity of distinguishing colours, which has been called _daltonism_, is notoriously hereditary, and has been traced through five generations, in which it was confined to the female sex. with respect to the colour of the iris: deficiency of colouring matter is well known to be hereditary in albinoes. the iris of one eye being of a different colour from that of the other, and the iris being spotted, are cases which have been inherited. mr. sedgwick gives, in addition, on the { } authority of dr. osborne,[ ] the following curious instance of strong inheritance: a family of sixteen sons and five daughters all had eyes "resembling in miniature the markings on the back of a tortoiseshell cat." the mother of this large family had three sisters and a brother all similarly marked, and they derived this peculiarity from their mother, who belonged to a family notorious for transmitting it to their posterity. finally, dr. lucas emphatically remarks that there is not one single faculty of the eye which is not subject to anomalies; and not one which is not subjected to the principle of inheritance. mr. bowman agrees with the general truth of this proposition; which of course does not imply that all malformations are necessarily inherited; this would not even follow if both parents were affected by an anomaly which in most cases was transmissible. even if no single fact had been known with respect to the inheritance of disease and malformations by man, the evidence would have been ample in the case of the horse. and this might have been expected, as horses breed much quicker than man, are matched with care, and are highly valued. i have consulted many works, and the unanimity of the belief by veterinaries of all nations in the transmission of various morbid tendencies is surprising. authors, who have had wide experience, give in detail many singular cases, and assert that contracted feet, with the numerous contingent evils, of ring-bones, curbs, splints, spavin, founder and weakness of the front legs, roaring or broken and thick wind, melanosis, specific ophthalmia, and blindness (the great french veterinary hazard going so far as to say that a blind race could soon be formed), crib-biting, jibbing, and ill-temper, are all plainly hereditary. youatt sums up by saying "there is scarcely a malady to which the horse is subject which is not hereditary;" and m. bernard adds that the doctrine "that there is scarcely a disease which does not run in the stock, is gaining new advocates every day."[ ] so it { } is in regard to cattle, with consumption, good and bad teeth, fine skin, &c. &c. but enough, and more than enough, has been said on disease. andrew knight, from his own experience, asserts that disease is hereditary with plants; and this assertion is endorsed by lindley.[ ] seeing how hereditary evil qualities are, it is fortunate that good health, vigour, and longevity are equally inherited. it was formerly a well-known practice, when annuities were purchased to be received during the lifetime of a nominee, to search out a person belonging to a family of which many members had lived to extreme old age. as to the inheritance of vigour and endurance, the english race-horse offers an excellent instance. eclipse begot , and king herod winners. a "cock-tail" is a horse not purely bred, but with only one-eighth or one-sixteenth impure blood in his veins, yet very few instances have ever occurred of such horses having won a great race. they are sometimes as fleet for short distances as thoroughbreds, but as mr. robson, the great trainer, asserts, they are deficient in wind, and cannot keep up the pace. mr. lawrence also remarks, "perhaps no instance has ever occurred of a three-part-bred horse saving his '_distance_' in running two miles with thoroughbred racers." it has been stated by cecil, that when unknown horses, whose parents were not celebrated, have unexpectedly won great races, as in the case of priam, they can always be proved to be descended on both sides, through many generations, from first-rate ancestors. on the continent, baron cameronn challenges, in a german veterinary periodical, the opponents of the english race-horse, to name one good horse on the continent which has not some english race-blood in his veins.[ ] with respect to the transmission of the many slight, but { } infinitely diversified characters, by which the domestic races of animals and plants are distinguished, nothing need be said; for the very existence of persistent races proclaims the power of inheritance. a few special cases, however, deserve some consideration. it might have been anticipated, that deviations from the law of symmetry would not have been inherited. but anderson[ ] states that a rabbit produced in a litter a young animal having only one ear; and from this animal a breed was formed which steadily produced one-eared rabbits. he also mentions a bitch, with a single leg deficient, and she produced several puppies with the same deficiency. from hofacker's account[ ] it appears that a one-horned stag was seen in in a forest in germany, in two, and afterwards, from year to year, many were observed with only one horn on the right side of the head. a cow lost a horn by suppuration,[ ] and she produced three calves which had on the same side of the head, instead of a horn, a small bony lump attached merely to the skin; but we here approach the doubtful subject of inherited mutilations. a man who is left-handed, and a shell in which the spire turns in the wrong direction, are departures from the normal though a symmetrical condition, and they are well known to be inherited. _polydactylism._--supernumerary fingers and toes are eminently liable, as various authors have insisted, to transmission, but they are noticed here chiefly on account of their occasional regrowth after amputation. polydactylism graduates[ ] by multifarious steps from a mere cutaneous appendage, not including any bone, to a double hand. but an additional digit, supported on a metacarpal bone, and furnished with all the proper muscles, nerves, and vessels, is sometimes so perfect, that it escapes detection, unless the fingers are actually counted. occasionally there are several supernumerary digits; but usually only one, making the total number six. this one may represent either a thumb or finger, being attached to the inner or outer margin of the hand. generally, through the law of correlation, both hands and feet are similarly affected. i have tabulated the cases recorded in various works or privately communicated { } to me, of forty-six persons with extra digits on one or both hands and feet; if in each case all four extremities had been similarly affected, the table would have shown a total of ninety-two hands and ninety-two feet each with six digits. as it is, seventy-three hands and seventy-five feet were thus affected. this proves, in contradiction to the result arrived at by dr. struthers,[ ] that the hands are not more frequently affected than the feet. the presence of more than five digits is a great anomaly, for this number is not normally exceeded by any mammal, bird, or existing reptile.[ ] nevertheless, supernumerary digits are strongly inherited; they have been transmitted through five generations; and in some cases, after disappearing for one, two, or even three generations, have reappeared through reversion. these facts are rendered, as professor huxley has observed, more remarkable from its being known in most cases that the affected person had not married one similarly affected. in such cases the child of the fifth generation would have only - nd part of the blood of his first sedigitated ancestor. other cases are rendered remarkable by the affection gathering force, as dr. struthers has shown, in each generation, though in each the affected person had married one not affected; moreover such additional digits are often amputated soon after birth, and can seldom have been strengthened by use. dr. struthers gives the following instance: in the first generation an additional digit appeared on one hand; in the second, on both hands; in the third, three brothers had both hands, and one of the brothers a foot affected; and in the fourth generation all four limbs were affected. yet we must not over-estimate the force of inheritance. dr. struthers asserts that cases of non-inheritance and of the first appearance of additional digits in unaffected families are much more frequent than cases of inheritance. many other deviations of structure, of a nature almost as anomalous as supernumerary digits, such as deficient phalanges, thickened joints, crooked fingers, &c., are in like manner strongly inherited, and are equally subject to intermission with reversion, though in such cases there is no reason to suppose that both parents had been similarly affected.[ ] { } additional digits have been observed in negroes as well as in other races of man, and in several of the lower animals. six toes have been described on the hind feet of the newt (_salamandra cristata_), and, as it is said, of the frog. it deserves notice from what follows, that the six-toed newt, though adult, had preserved some of its larval characters; for part of the hyoidal apparatus, which is properly absorbed during the act of metamorphosis, was retained. in the dog, six toes on the hinder feet have been transmitted through three generations; and i have heard of a race of six-toed cats. in several breeds of the fowl the hinder toe is double, and is generally transmitted truly, as is well shown when dorkings are crossed with common four-toed breeds.[ ] with animals which have properly less than five digits, the number is sometimes increased to five, especially in the front legs, though rarely carried beyond that number; but this is due to the development of a digit already existing in a more or less rudimentary state. thus the dog has properly four toes behind, but in the larger breeds a fifth toe is commonly, though not perfectly, developed. horses, which properly have one toe alone fully developed with rudiments of the others, have been described with each foot bearing two or three small separate hoofs: analogous facts have been noticed with sheep, goats, and pigs.[ ] the most interesting point with respect to supernumerary digits is their occasional regrowth after amputation. mr. white[ ] describes a child, three years old, with a thumb double from the first joint. he removed the lesser thumb, which was furnished with a nail; but to his astonishment it grew again, and reproduced a nail. the child was then taken to an eminent london surgeon, and the newly-grown thumb was wholly removed by its socket-joint, but again it grew and reproduced a nail. dr. struthers mentions a case of partial regrowth of an additional thumb, amputated when the child was three months old; and the late dr. falconer communicated to me an analogous case which had fallen under his own observation. a gentleman, who first called my attention to this subject, has given me the following facts which occurred in his own family. he himself, two brothers, and a sister were born with an extra digit to each extremity. his parents were not affected, and there was no tradition in the family, or in the village in which the family had long resided, of any member having been thus affected. whilst a child, both additional toes, which were attached by bones, were rudely cut off; but the stump of one grew again, and a second operation was performed in his thirty-third year. { } he has had fourteen children, of whom three have inherited additional digits; and one of them, when about six weeks old, was operated on by an eminent surgeon. the additional finger, which was attached by bone to the outer side of the hand, was removed at the joint; the wound healed, but immediately the digit began growing; and in about three months' time the stump was removed for the second time by the root. but it has since grown again, and is now fully a third of an inch in length, including a bone; so that it will for the third time have to be operated on. now the normal digits in adult man and other mammals, in birds, and, as i believe, in true reptiles, have no power of regrowth. the nearest approach to this power is exhibited by the occasional reappearance in man of imperfect nails on the stumps of his fingers after amputation.[ ] but man in his embryonic condition has a considerable power of reproduction, for sir j. simpson[ ] has several times observed arms which had been cut off in the womb by bands of false membrane, and which had grown again to a certain extent. in one instance, the extremity was "divided into three minute nodules, on two of which small points of nails could be detected;" so that these nodules clearly represented fingers in process of regrowth. when, however, we descend to the lower vertebrate classes, which are generally looked at as representing the higher classes in their embryonic condition, we find ample powers of regrowth. spallanzani[ ] cut off the legs and tail of a salamander six times, and bonnet eight times, successively, and they were reproduced. an additional digit beyond the proper number was occasionally formed after bonnet had cut off or had divided longitudinally the hand or foot, and in one instance three additional digits were thus formed.[ ] these latter cases appear at first sight quite distinct from the congenital production of additional digits in the higher animals; but theoretically, as we shall see in a future chapter, they probably present no real difference. the larvæ or tadpoles of the tailless batrachians, but not the adults,[ ] are capable of reproducing lost members.[ ] lastly, as i have been informed by mr. j. j. briggs and mr. f. buckland, when portions of the pectoral and tail fins of various { } fresh-water fish are cut off, they are perfectly reproduced in about six weeks' time. from these several facts we may infer that supernumerary digits in man retain to a certain extent an embryonic condition, and that they resemble in this respect the normal digits and limbs in the lower vertebrate classes. they also resemble the digits of some of the lower animals in the number exceeding five; for no mammal, bird, existing reptile, or amphibian (unless the tubercle on the hind feet of the toad and other tailless batrachians be viewed as a digit) has more than five; whilst fishes sometimes have in their pectoral fins as many as twenty metacarpal and phalangeal bones, which, together with the bony filaments, apparently represent our digits with their nails. so, again, in certain extinct reptiles, namely, the ichthyopterygia, "the digits may be seven, eight, or nine in number, a significant mark," says professor owen, "of piscine affinity."[ ] we encounter much difficulty in attempting to reduce these various facts to any rule or law. the inconstant number of the additional digits--their irregular attachment to either the inner or outer margin of the hand--the gradation which can be traced from a mere loose rudiment of a single digit to a completely double hand--the occasional appearance of additional digits in the salamander after a limb has been amputated--these various facts appear to indicate mere fluctuating monstrosity; and this perhaps is all that can be safely said. nevertheless, as supernumerary digits in the higher animals, from their power of regrowth and from the number thus acquired exceeding five, partake of the nature of the digits in the lower vertebrate animals;--as they occur by no means rarely, and are transmitted with remarkable strength, though perhaps not more strongly than some other anomalies;--and as with animals which have fewer than five digits, when an additional one appears it is generally due to the development of a visible rudiment;--we are led in all cases to suspect, that, although no actual rudiment can be detected, yet that a latent tendency to the formation of an additional digit exists in all mammals, including man. on this view, as we shall more plainly see in the { } next chapter when discussing latent tendencies, we should have to look at the whole case as one of reversion to an enormously remote, lowly-organised, and multidigitate progenitor. * * * * * i may here allude to a class of facts closely allied to, but somewhat different from, ordinary cases of inheritance. sir h. holland[ ] states that brothers and sisters of the same family are frequently affected, often at about the same age, by the same peculiar disease, not known to have previously occurred in the family. he specifies the occurrence of diabetes in three brothers under ten years old; he also remarks that children of the same family often exhibit in common infantile diseases the same peculiar symptoms. my father mentioned to me the case of four brothers who died between the ages of sixty and seventy, in the same highly peculiar comatose state. an instance has been already given of supernumerary digits appearing in four children out of six in a previously unaffected family. dr. devay states[ ] that two brothers married two sisters, their first-cousins, none of the four nor any relation being an albino; but the seven children produced from this double marriage were all perfect albinoes. some of these cases, as mr. sedgwick[ ] has shown, are probably the result of reversion to a remote ancestor, of whom no record had been preserved; and all these cases are so far directly connected with inheritance that no doubt the children inherited a similar constitution from their parents, and, from being exposed to nearly similar conditions of life, it is not surprising that they should be affected in the same manner and at the same period of life. * * * * * most of the facts hitherto given have served to illustrate the force of inheritance, but we must now consider cases, grouped as well as the subject allows into classes, showing how feeble, capricious, or deficient the power of inheritance sometimes is. when a new peculiarity first appears, we can never predict whether it will be inherited. if both parents from their birth present { } the same peculiarity, the probability is strong that it will be transmitted to at least some of their offspring. we have seen that variegation is transmitted much more feebly by seed from a branch which had become variegated through bud-variation, than from plants which were variegated as seedlings. with most plants the power of transmission notoriously depends on some innate capacity in the individual: thus vilmorin[ ] raised from a peculiarly coloured balsam some seedlings, which all resembled their parent; but of these seedlings some failed to transmit the new character, whilst others transmitted it to all their descendants during several successive generations. so again with a variety of the rose, two plants alone out of six were found by vilmorin to be capable of transmitting the desired character. the weeping or pendulous growth of trees is strongly inherited in some cases, and, without any assignable reason, feebly in other cases. i have selected this character as an instance of capricious inheritance, because it is certainly not proper to the parent-species, and because, both sexes being borne on the same tree, both tend to transmit the same character. even supposing that there may have been in some instances crossing with adjoining trees of the same species, it is not probable that all the seedlings would have been thus affected. at moccas court there is a famous weeping oak; many of its branches "are feet long, and no thicker in any part of this length than a common rope:" this tree transmits its weeping character, in a greater or less degree, to all its seedlings; some of the young oaks being so flexible that they have to be supported by props; others not showing the weeping tendency till about twenty years old.[ ] mr. rivers fertilized, as he informs me, the flowers of a new belgian weeping thorn (_cratægus oxyacantha_) with pollen from a crimson not-weeping variety, and three young trees, "now six or seven years old, show a decided tendency to be pendulous, but as yet are not so much so as the mother-plant." according to mr. macnab,[ ] seedlings from a magnificent weeping birch (_betula alba_), in the botanic garden at edinburgh, grew for the first ten or fifteen years upright, but then all became weepers like their parent. a peach with pendulous branches, like those of the weeping willow, has been found capable of propagation by seed.[ ] lastly, a weeping and almost prostrate yew (_taxus baccata_) was found in a hedge in shropshire; it was a male, but one branch bore female flowers, and produced berries; these, { } being sown, produced seventeen trees, all of which had exactly the same peculiar habit with the parent-tree.[ ] these facts, it might have been thought, would have been sufficient to render it probable that a pendulous habit would in all cases be strictly inherited. but let us look to the other side. mr. macnab[ ] sowed seeds of the weeping beech (_fagus sylvanica_), but succeeded in raising only common beeches. mr. rivers, at my request, raised a number of seedlings from three distinct varieties of weeping elm; and at least one of the parent-trees was so situated that it could not have been crossed by any other elm; but none of the young trees, now about a foot or two in height, show the least signs of weeping. mr. rivers formerly sowed above twenty thousand seeds of the weeping ash (_fraxinus excelsior_), and not a single seedling was in the least degree pendulous: in germany, m. borchmeyer raised a thousand seedlings, with the same result. nevertheless, mr. anderson, of the chelsea botanic garden, by sowing seed from a weeping ash, which was found before the year , in cambridgeshire, raised several pendulous trees.[ ] professor henslow also informs me that some seedlings from a female weeping ash in the botanic garden at cambridge were at first a little pendulous, but afterwards became quite upright: it is probable that this latter tree, which transmits to a certain extent its pendulous habit, was derived by a bud from the same original cambridgeshire stock; whilst other weeping ashes may have had a distinct origin. but the crowning case, communicated to me by mr. rivers, which shows how capricious is the inheritance of a pendulous habit, is that a variety of another species of ash (_f. lentiscifolia_) which was formerly pendulous, "now about twenty years old has long lost this habit, every shoot being remarkably erect; but seedlings formerly raised from it were perfectly prostrate, the stems not rising more than two inches above the ground." thus the weeping variety of the common ash, which has been extensively propagated by buds during a long period, did not, with mr. rivers, transmit its character to one seedling out of above twenty thousand; whereas the weeping variety of a second species of ash, which could not, whilst grown in the same garden, retain its own weeping character, transmitted to its seedlings the pendulous habit in excess! many analogous facts could be given, showing how apparently capricious is the principle of inheritance. all the seedlings from a variety of the barberry (_b. vulgaris_) with red leaves inherited the same character; only about one-third of the seedlings of the copper beech (_fagus sylvatica_) had purple leaves. not one out of a hundred seedlings of a variety of the _cerasus padus_, with yellow fruit, bore yellow fruit: one-twelfth of the seedlings of the variety of _cornus mascula_, with yellow fruit, came true:[ ] and lastly, all the trees raised by my father from a yellow-berried holly (_ilex aquifolium_), { } found wild, produced yellow berries. vilmorin[ ] observed in a bed of _saponaria calabrica_ an extremely dwarf variety, and raised from it a large number of seedlings; some of these partially resembled their parent, and he selected their seed; but the grandchildren were not in the least dwarfed: on the other hand, he observed a stunted and bushy variety of _tagetes signata_ growing in the midst of the common varieties by which it was probably crossed; for most of the seedlings raised from this plant were intermediate in character, only two perfectly resembling their parent; but seed saved from these two plants reproduced the new variety so truly, that hardly any selection has since been necessary. flowers transmit their colour truly, or most capriciously. many annuals come true: thus i purchased german seeds of thirty-four named sub-varieties of one _race_ of ten-week stocks (_matthiola annua_), and raised a hundred and forty plants, all of which, with the exception of a single plant, came true. in saying this, however, it must be understood that i could distinguish only twenty kinds out of the thirty-four named sub-varieties; nor did the colour of the flower always correspond with the name affixed to the packet; but i say that they came true, because in each of the thirty-six short rows every plant was absolutely alike, with the one single exception. again, i procured packets of german seed of twenty-five named varieties of common and quilled asters, and raised a hundred and twenty-four plants; of these, all except ten were true in the above limited sense; and i considered even a wrong shade of colour as false. it is a singular circumstance that white varieties generally transmit their colour much more truly than any other variety. this fact probably stands in close relation with one observed by verlot,[ ] namely, that flowers which are normally white rarely vary into any other colour. i have found that the white varieties of _delphinium consolida_ and of the stock are the truest. it is, indeed, sufficient to look through a nurseryman's seed-list, to see the large number of white varieties which can be propagated by seed. the several coloured varieties of the sweet-pea (_lathyrus odoratus_) are very true; but i hear from mr. masters, of canterbury, who has particularly attended to this plant, that the white variety is the truest. the hyacinth, when propagated by seed, is extremely inconstant in colour, but "white hyacinths almost always give by seed white-flowered plants;"[ ] and mr. masters informs me that the yellow varieties also reproduce their colour, but of different shades. on the other hand, pink and blue varieties, the latter being the natural colour, are not nearly so true: hence, as mr. masters has remarked to me, "we see that a garden variety may acquire a more permanent habit than a natural species;" but it should have been added, that this occurs under cultivation, and therefore under changed conditions. with many flowers, especially perennials, nothing can be more fluctuating than the colour of the seedlings, as is notoriously the case with verbenas, carnations, dahlias, cinerarias, and others.[ ] i sowed seed of twelve { } named varieties of snapdragon (_antirrhinum majus_), and utter confusion was the result. in most cases the extremely fluctuating colour of seedling plants is probably in chief part due to crosses between differently-coloured varieties during previous generations. it is almost certain that this is the case with the polyanthus and coloured primrose (_primula veris_ and _vulgaris_), from their reciprocally dimorphic structure;[ ] and these are plants which florists speak of as never come true by seed: but if care be taken to prevent crossing, neither species is by any means very inconstant in colour; thus i raised twenty-three plants from a purple primrose, fertilised by mr. j. scott with its own pollen, and eighteen came up purple of different shades, and only five reverted to the ordinary yellow colour: again, i raised twenty plants from a bright-red cowslip, similarly treated by mr. scott, and every one perfectly resembled its parent in colour, as likewise did, with the exception of a single plant, grandchildren. even with the most variable flowers, it is probable that each delicate shade of colour might be permanently fixed so as to be transmitted by seed, by cultivation in the same soil, by long-continued selection, and especially by the prevention of crosses. i infer this from certain annual larkspurs (_delphinium consolida_ and _ajacis_), of which common seedlings present a greater diversity of colour than any other plant known to me; yet on procuring seed of five named german varieties of _d. consolida_, only nine plants out of ninety-four were false; and the seedlings of six varieties of _d. ajacis_ were true in the same manner and degree as with the stocks above described. a distinguished botanist maintains that the annual species of delphinium are always self-fertilised; therefore i may mention that thirty-two flowers on a branch of _d. consolida_, enclosed in a net, yielded twenty-seven capsules, with an average of . seed in each; whilst five flowers, under the same net, which were artificially fertilised, in the same manner as must be effected by bees during their incessant visits, yielded five capsules with an average of . fine seed; and this shows that the agency of insects is necessary for the full fertility of this plant. analogous facts could be given with respect to the crossing of many other flowers, such as carnations, &c., of which the varieties fluctuate much in colour. as with flowers, so with our domesticated animals, no character is more variable than colour, and probably in no animal more so than with the horse. yet with a little care in breeding, it appears that races of any colour might soon be formed. hofacker gives the result of matching two hundred and sixteen mares of four different colours with like-coloured stallions, without regard to the colour of their ancestors; and of the two hundred and sixteen colts born, eleven alone failed to inherit the colour of their parents: autenrieth and ammon assert that, after two generations, colts of a uniform colour are produced with certainty.[ ] in a few rare cases peculiarities fail to be inherited, apparently from the force of inheritance being too strong. i have been assured by breeders of the canary-bird that to get a good { } jonquil-coloured bird it does not answer to pair two jonquils, as the colour then comes out too strong, or is even brown. so again, if two crested canaries are paired, the young birds rarely inherit this character:[ ] for in crested birds a narrow space of bare skin is left on the back of the head, where the feathers are up-turned to form the crest, and, when both parents are thus characterised, the bareness becomes excessive, and the crest itself fails to be developed. mr. hewitt, speaking of laced sebright bantams, says[ ] that, "why this should be so, i know not, but i am confident that those that are best laced frequently produce offspring very far from perfect in their markings, whilst those exhibited by myself, which have so often proved successful, were bred from the union of heavily-laced birds with those that were scarcely sufficiently laced." it is a singular fact that, although several deaf-mutes often occur in the same family, and though their cousins and other relations are often in the same condition, yet their parents are very rarely deaf-mutes. to give a single instance: not one scholar out of , who were at the same time in the london institution, was the child of parents similarly afflicted. so again, when a male or a female deaf-mute marries a sound person, their children are most rarely affected: in ireland out of children thus produced one alone was mute. even when both parents have been deaf-mutes, as in the case of forty-one marriages in the united states and of six in ireland, only two deaf and dumb children were produced. mr. sedgwick,[ ] in commenting on this remarkable and fortunate failure in the power of transmission in the direct line, remarks that it may possibly be owing to "excess having reversed the action of some natural law in development." but it is safer in the present state of our knowledge to look at the whole case as simply unintelligible. * * * * * with respect to the inheritance of structures mutilated by injuries or altered by disease it is difficult to come to any { } definite conclusion. in some cases mutilations have been practised for a vast number of generations without any inherited result. godron has remarked[ ] that different races of man have from time immemorial knocked out their upper incisors, cut off joints of their fingers, made holes of immense size through the lobes of their ears or through their nostrils, made deep gashes in various parts of their bodies, and there is no reason whatever to suppose that these mutilations have ever been inherited. adhesions due to inflammation and pits from the small-pox (and formerly many consecutive generations must have been thus pitted) are not inherited. with respect to jews, i have been assured by three medical men of the jewish faith that circumcision, which has been practised for so many ages, has produced no inherited effect; blumenbach, on the other hand, asserts[ ] that in germany jews are often born in a condition rendering circumcision difficult, so that a name is here applied to them signifying "born circumcised." the oak and other trees must have borne galls from primeval times, yet they do not produce inherited excrescences; many other such facts could be adduced. on the other hand, various cases have been recorded of cats, dogs, and horses, which have had their tails, legs, &c., amputated or injured, producing offspring with the same parts ill-formed; but as it is not at all rare for similar malformations to appear spontaneously, all such cases may be due to mere coincidence. nevertheless, dr. prosper lucas has given, on good authorities, such a long list of inherited injuries, that it is difficult not to believe in them. thus, a cow that had lost a horn from an accident with consequent suppuration, produced three calves which were hornless on the same side of the head. with the horse, there seems hardly a doubt that bony exostoses on the legs, caused by too much travelling on hard roads, are inherited. blumenbach records the case of a man who had his little finger on the right hand almost cut off, and which in consequence grew crooked, and his sons had the same finger on the same hand similarly crooked. a soldier, fifteen years before his marriage, lost his left eye from purulent ophthalmia, and his { } two sons were microphthalmic on the same side.[ ] in all such cases, if truthfully reported, in which the parent has had an organ injured on one side, and more than one child has been born with the same organ affected on the same side, the chances against mere coincidence are enormous. but perhaps the most remarkable and trustworthy fact is that given by dr. brown-séquard,[ ] namely, that many young guinea-pigs inherited an epileptic tendency from parents which had been subjected to a particular operation, inducing in the course of a few weeks a convulsive disease like epilepsy: and it should be especially noted that this eminent physiologist bred a large number of guinea-pigs from animals which had not been operated on, and not one of these manifested the epileptic tendency. on the whole, we can hardly avoid admitting, that injuries and mutilations, especially when followed by disease, or perhaps exclusively when thus followed, are occasionally inherited. although many congenital monstrosities are inherited, of which examples have already been given, and to which may be added the lately recorded case of the transmission during a century of hare-lip with a cleft-palate in the writer's own family,[ ] yet other malformations are rarely or never inherited. of these later cases, many are probably due to injuries in the womb or egg, and would come under the head of non-inherited injuries or mutilations. with plants, a long catalogue of inherited monstrosities of the most serious and diversified nature could easily be given; and with plants, there is no reason to suppose that monstrosities are caused by direct injuries to the seed or embryo. _causes of non-inheritance._ a large number of cases of non-inheritance are intelligible on the principle, that a strong tendency to inheritance does exist, but { } that it is overborne by hostile or unfavourable conditions of life. no one would expect that our improved pigs, if forced during several generations to travel about and root in the ground for their own subsistence, would transmit, as truly as they now do, their tendency to fatten, and their short muzzles and legs. dray-horses assuredly would not long transmit their great size and massive limbs, if compelled to live on a cold, damp mountainous region; we have indeed evidence of such deterioration in the horses which have run wild on the falkland islands. european dogs in india often fail to transmit their true character. our sheep in tropical countries lose their wool in a few generations. there seems also to be a close relation between certain peculiar pastures and the inheritance of an enlarged tail in fat-tailed sheep, which form one of the most ancient breeds in the world. with plants, we have seen that the american varieties of maize lose their proper character in the course of two or three generations, when cultivated in europe. our cabbages, which here come so true by seed, cannot form heads in hot countries. under changed circumstances, periodical habits of life soon fail to be transmitted, as the period of maturity in summer and winter wheat, barley, and vetches. so it is with animals; for instance, a person whose statement i can trust, procured eggs of aylesbury ducks from that town, where they are kept in houses and are reared as early as possible for the london market; the ducks bred from these eggs in a distant part of england, hatched their first brood on january th, whilst common ducks, kept in the same yard and treated in the same manner, did not hatch till the end of march; and this shows that the period of hatching was inherited. but the grandchildren of these aylesbury ducks completely lost their early habit of incubation, and hatched their eggs at the same time with the common ducks of the same place. many cases of non-inheritance apparently result from the conditions of life continually inducing fresh variability. we have seen that when the seeds of pears, plums, apples, &c., are sown, the seedlings generally inherit some degree of family likeness from the parent-variety. mingled with these seedlings, a few, and sometimes many, worthless, wild-looking plants commonly appear; and their appearance may be attributed to the principle of reversion. but scarcely a single seedling will be found { } perfectly to resemble the parent-form; and this, i believe, may be accounted for by constantly recurring variability induced by the conditions of life. i believe in this, because it has been observed that certain fruit-trees truly propagate their kind whilst growing on their own roots, but when grafted on other stocks, and by this process their natural state is manifestly affected, they produce seedlings which vary greatly, departing from the parental type in many characters.[ ] metzger, as stated in the ninth chapter, found that certain kinds of wheat brought from spain and cultivated in germany, failed during many years to reproduce themselves truly; but that at last, when accustomed to their new conditions, they ceased to be variable,--that is, they became amenable to the power of inheritance. nearly all the plants which cannot be propagated with any approach to certainty by seed, are kinds which have long been propagated by buds, cuttings, offsets, tubers, &c., and have in consequence been frequently exposed during their individual lives to widely diversified conditions of life. plants thus propagated become so variable, that they are subject, as we have seen in the last chapter, even to bud-variation. our domesticated animals, on the other hand, are not exposed during their individual lives to such extremely diversified conditions, and are not liable to such extreme variability; therefore they do not lose the power of transmitting most of their characteristic features. in the foregoing remarks on non-inheritance, crossed breeds are of course excluded, as their diversity mainly depends on the unequal development of characters derived from either parent, modified by the principles of reversion and prepotency. _conclusion._ it has, i think, been shown in the early part of this chapter how strongly new characters of the most diversified nature, whether normal or abnormal, injurious or beneficial, whether affecting organs of the highest or most trifling importance, are inherited. contrary to the common opinion, it is often sufficient for the inheritance of some peculiar character, that one parent alone should possess it, as in most cases in which the rarer { } anomalies have been transmitted. but the power of transmission is extremely variable: in a number of individuals descended from the same parents, and treated in the same manner, some display this power in a perfect manner, and in some it is quite deficient; and for this difference no reason can be assigned. in some cases the effects of injuries or mutilations apparently are inherited; and we shall see in a future chapter that the effects of the long-continued use and disuse of parts are certainly inherited. even those characters which are considered the most fluctuating, such as colour, are with rare exceptions transmitted much more forcibly than is generally supposed. the wonder, indeed, in all cases is not that any character should be transmitted, but that the power of inheritance should ever fail. the checks to inheritance, as far as we know them, are, firstly, circumstances hostile to the particular character in question; secondly, conditions of life incessantly inducing fresh variability; and lastly, the crossing of distinct varieties during some previous generation, together with reversion or atavism--that is, the tendency in the child to resemble its grand-parents or more remote ancestors instead of its immediate parents. this latter subject will be fully discussed in the following chapter. * * * * * { } chapter xiii. inheritance _continued_--reversion or atavism. different forms of reversion--in pure or uncrossed breeds, as in pigeons, fowls, hornless cattle and sheep, in cultivated plants--reversion in feral animals and plants--reversion in crossed varieties and species--reversion through bud-propagation, and by segments in the same flower or fruit--in different parts of the body in the same animal--the act of crossing a direct cause of reversion, various cases of, with instincts--other proximate causes of reversion--latent characters--secondary sexual characters--unequal development of the two sides of the body--appearance with advancing age of characters derived from a cross--the germ with all its latent characters a wonderful object--monstrosities--peloric flowers due in some cases to reversion. the great principle of inheritance to be discussed in this chapter has been recognised by agriculturists and authors of various nations, as shown by the scientific term _atavism_, derived from atavus, an ancestor; by the english terms of _reversion_, or _throwing back_; by the french _pas-en-arrière_; and by the german _rück-schlag_, or _rück-schritt_. when the child resembles either grandparent more closely than its immediate parents, our attention is not much arrested, though in truth the fact is highly remarkable; but when the child resembles some remote ancestor, or some distant member in a collateral line,--and we must attribute the latter case to the descent of all the members from a common progenitor,--we feel a just degree of astonishment. when one parent alone displays some newly-acquired and generally inheritable character, and the offspring do not inherit it, the cause may lie in the other parent having the power of prepotent transmission. but when both parents are similarly characterised, and the child does not, whatever the cause may be, inherit the character in question, but resembles its grandparents, we have one of the simplest cases of reversion. we continually see another and even more simple case of atavism, though not generally included under this head, namely, when { } the son more closely resembles his maternal than his paternal grandsire in some male attribute, as in any peculiarity in the beard of man, the horns of the bull, the hackles or comb of the cock, or, as in certain diseases necessarily confined to the male sex; for the mother cannot possess or exhibit such male attributes, yet the child has inherited them, through her blood, from his maternal grandsire. the cases of reversion may be divided into two main classes, which, however, in some instances, blend into each other; namely, first, those occurring in a variety or race which has not been crossed, but has lost by variation some character that it formerly possessed, and which afterwards reappears. the second class includes all cases in which a distinguishable individual, sub-variety, race, or species, has at some former period been crossed with a distinct form, and a character derived from this cross, after having disappeared during one or several generations, suddenly reappears. a third class, differing only in the manner of reproduction, might be formed to include all cases of reversion effected by means of buds, and therefore independent of true or seminal generation. perhaps even a fourth class might be instituted, to include reversions by segments in the same individual flower or fruit, and in different parts of the body in the same individual animal as it grows old. but the two first main classes will be sufficient for our purpose. * * * * * _reversion to lost characters by pure or uncrossed forms._--striking instances of this first class of cases were given in the sixth chapter, namely, of the occasional reappearance, in variously-coloured pure breeds of the pigeon, of blue birds with all the marks which characterise the wild _columba livia_. similar cases were given in the case of the fowl. with the common ass, as we now know that the legs of the wild progenitor are striped, we may feel assured that the occasional appearance of such stripes in the domestic animal is a case of simple reversion. but i shall be compelled to refer again to these cases, and therefore will here pass them over. the aboriginal species from which our domesticated cattle and sheep are descended, no doubt possessed horns; but several hornless breeds are now well established. yet in these--for instance, { } in southdown sheep--"it is not unusual to find among the male lambs some with small horns." the horns, which thus occasionally reappear in other polled breeds, either "grow to the full size, or are curiously attached to the skin alone and hang loosely down, or drop off."[ ] the galloways and suffolk cattle have been hornless for the last or years, but a horned calf, with the horn often loosely attached, is occasionally born.[ ] there is reason to believe that sheep in their early domesticated condition were "brown or dingy black;" but even in the time of david certain flocks were spoken of as white as snow. during the classical period the sheep of spain are described by several ancient authors as being black, red, or tawny.[ ] at the present day, notwithstanding the great care which is taken to prevent it, particoloured lambs and some entirely black are occasionally dropped by our most highly improved and valued breeds, such as the southdowns. since the time of the famous bakewell, during the last century, the leicester sheep have been bred with the most scrupulous care; yet occasionally grey-faced, or black-spotted, or wholly black lambs appear.[ ] this occurs still more frequently with the less improved breeds, such as the norfolks.[ ] as bearing on this tendency in sheep to revert to dark colours, i may state (though in doing so i trench on the reversion of crossed breeds, and likewise on the subject of prepotency) that the rev. w. d. fox was informed that seven white southdown ewes were put to a so-called spanish ram, which had two small black spots on his sides, and they produced thirteen lambs, all perfectly black. mr. fox believes that this ram belonged to a breed which he has himself kept, and which is always spotted with black and white; and he finds that leicester sheep crossed by rams of this breed always produce black lambs: he has gone on recrossing these crossed sheep with pure white leicesters during three successive { } generations, but always with the same result. mr. fox was also told by the friend from whom the spotted breed was procured, that he likewise had gone on for six or seven generations crossing with white sheep, but still black lambs were invariably produced. similar facts could be given with respect to tailless breeds of various animals. for instance, mr. hewitt[ ] states that chickens bred from some rumpless fowls, which were reckoned so good that they won a prize at an exhibition, "in a considerable number of instances were furnished with fully developed tail-feathers." on inquiry, the original breeder of these fowls stated that, from the time when he had first kept them, they had often produced fowls furnished with tails; but that these latter would again reproduce rumpless chickens. analogous cases of reversion occur in the vegetable kingdom; thus "from seeds gathered from the finest cultivated varieties of heartsease (_viola tricolor_), plants perfectly wild both in their foliage and their flowers are frequently produced;"[ ] but the reversion in this instance is not to a very ancient period, for the best existing varieties of the heartsease are of comparatively modern origin. with most of our cultivated vegetables there is some tendency to reversion to what is known to be, or may be presumed to be, their aboriginal state; and this would be more evident if gardeners did not generally look over their beds of seedlings, and pull up the false plants or "rogues" as they are called. it has already been remarked, that some few seedling apples and pears generally resemble, but apparently are not identical with, the wild trees from which they are descended. in our turnip[ ] and carrot-beds a few plants often "break"--that is, flower too soon; and their roots are generally found to be hard and stringy, as in the parent-species. by the aid of a little selection, carried on during a few generations, most of our cultivated plants could probably be brought back, without any great change in their conditions of life, to a wild or nearly wild condition: mr. buckman has effected this with the parsnip;[ ] { } and mr. hewett c. watson, as he informs me, selected, during three generations, "the most diverging plants of scotch kail, perhaps one of the least modified varieties of the cabbage; and in the third generation some of the plants came very close to the forms now established in england about old castle-walls, and called indigenous." * * * * * _reversion in animals and plants which have run wild._--in the cases hitherto considered, the reverting animals and plants have not been exposed to any great or abrupt change in their conditions of life which could have induced this tendency; but it is very different with animals and plants which have become feral or run wild. it has been repeatedly asserted in the most positive manner by various authors, that feral animals and plants invariably return to their primitive specific type. it is curious on what little evidence this belief rests. many of our domesticated animals could not subsist in a wild state; thus, the more highly improved breeds of the pigeon will not "field" or search for their own food. sheep have never become feral, and would be destroyed by almost every beast of prey. in several cases we do not know the aboriginal parent-species, and cannot possibly tell whether or not there has been any close degree of reversion. it is not known in any instance what variety was first turned out; several varieties have probably in some cases run wild, and their crossing alone would tend to obliterate their proper character. our domesticated animals and plants, when they run wild, must always be exposed to new conditions of life, for, as mr. wallace[ ] has well remarked, they have to obtain their own food, and are exposed to competition with the native productions. under these circumstances, if our domesticated animals did not undergo change of some kind, the result would be quite opposed to the conclusions arrived at in this work. nevertheless, i do not doubt that the simple fact of animals and plants becoming feral, does cause some tendency to reversion to the primitive state; though this tendency has been much exaggerated by some authors. { } i will briefly run through the recorded cases. with neither horses nor cattle is the primitive stock known; and it has been shown in former chapters that they have assumed different colours in different countries. thus the horses which have run wild in south america are generally brownish-bay, and in the east dun-coloured; their heads have become larger and coarser, and this may be due to reversion. no careful description has been given of the feral goat. dogs which have run wild in various countries have hardly anywhere assumed a uniform character; but they are probably descended from several domestic races, and aboriginally from several distinct species. feral cats, both in europe and la plata, are regularly striped; in some cases they have grown to an unusually large size, but do not differ from the domestic animal in any other character. when variously-coloured tame rabbits are turned out in europe, they generally reacquire the colouring of the wild animal; there can be no doubt that this does really occur, but we should remember that oddly-coloured and conspicuous animals would suffer much from beasts of prey and from being easily shot; this at least was the opinion of a gentleman who tried to stock his woods with a nearly white variety; and when thus destroyed, they would in truth be supplanted by, instead of being transformed into, the common rabbit. we have seen that the feral rabbits of jamaica, and especially of porto santo, have assumed new colours and other new characters. the best known case of reversion, and that on which the widely-spread belief in its universality apparently rests, is that of pigs. these animals have run wild in the west indies, south america, and the falkland islands, and have everywhere acquired the dark colour, the thick bristles, and great tusks of the wild boar; and the young have reacquired longitudinal stripes. but even in the case of the pig, roulin describes the half-wild animals in different parts of south america as differing in several respects. in louisiana the pig[ ] has run wild, and is said to differ a little in form, and much in colour, from the domestic animal, yet does not closely resemble the wild boar of europe. with pigeons and fowls,[ ] it is not known what variety was first turned out, nor what character the feral birds have assumed. the guinea-fowl in the west indies, when feral, seems to vary more than in the domesticated state. with respect to plants run wild, dr. hooker[ ] has strongly insisted on what slight evidence the common belief in their power of reversion rests. godron[ ] describes wild turnips, carrots, and celery; but these plants in their cultivated state hardly differ from their wild prototypes, except in the { } succulency and enlargement of certain parts,--characters which would be surely lost by plants growing in a poor soil and struggling with other plants. no cultivated plant has run wild on so enormous a scale as the cardoon (_cynara cardunculus_) in la plata. every botanist who has seen it growing there, in vast beds, as high as a horse's back, has been struck with its peculiar appearance; but whether it differs in any important point from the cultivated spanish form, which is said not to be prickly like its american descendant, or whether it differs from he wild mediterranean species, which is said not to be social, i do not know. * * * * * _reversion to characters derived from a cross, in the case of sub-varieties, races, and species._--when an individual having some recognizable peculiarity unites with another of the same sub-variety, not having the peculiarity in question, it often reappears in the descendants after an interval of several generations. every one must have noticed, or heard from old people of children closely resembling in appearance or mental disposition, or in so small and complex a character as expression, one of their grandparents, or some more distant collateral relation. very many anomalies of structure and diseases,[ ] of which instances have been given in the last chapter, have come into a family from one parent, and have reappeared in the progeny after passing over two or three generations. the following case has been communicated to me on good authority, and may, i believe, be fully trusted: a pointer-bitch produced seven puppies; four were marked with blue and white, which is so unusual a colour with pointers that she was thought to have played false with one of the greyhounds, and the whole litter was condemned; but the gamekeeper was permitted to save one as a curiosity. two years afterwards a friend of the owner saw the young dog, and declared that he was the image of his old pointer-bitch sappho, the only blue and white pointer of pure descent which he had ever seen. this led to close inquiry, and it was proved that he was the great-great-grandson of sappho; so that, according to the common expression, he had only - th of her blood in his veins. here it can hardly be doubted that a character derived from a cross with an individual of the same variety reappeared after passing over three generations. { } when two distinct races are crossed, it is notorious that the tendency in the offspring to revert to one or both parent-forms is strong, and endures for many generations. i have myself seen the clearest evidence of this in crossed pigeons and with various plants. mr. sidney[ ] states that, in a litter of essex pigs, two young ones appeared which were the image of the berkshire boar that had been used twenty-eight years before in giving size and constitution to the breed. i observed in the farmyard at betley hall some fowls showing a strong likeness to the malay breed, and was told by mr. tollet that he had forty years before crossed his birds with malays; and that, though he had at first attempted to get rid of this strain, he had subsequently given up the attempt in despair, as the malay character would reappear. this strong tendency in crossed breeds to revert has given rise to endless discussions in how many generations after a single cross, either with a distinct breed or merely with an inferior animal, the breed may be considered as pure, and free from all danger of reversion. no one supposes that less than three generations suffices, and most breeders think that six, seven, or eight are necessary, and some go to still greater lengths.[ ] but neither in the case of a breed which has been contaminated by a single cross, nor when, in the attempt to form an intermediate breed, half-bred animals have been matched together during many generations, can any rule be laid down how soon the tendency to reversion will be obliterated. it depends on the difference in the strength or prepotency of transmission in the two parent-forms, on their actual amount of difference, and on the nature of the conditions of life to which the crossed offspring are exposed. but we must be careful not to confound these cases of reversion to characters gained from a cross, with those given under the first class, in which characters originally common to _both_ parents, but lost at some former period, reappear; for such characters may recur after an almost indefinite number of generations. { } the law of reversion is equally powerful with hybrids, when they are sufficiently fertile to breed together, or when they are repeatedly crossed with either pure parent-form, as with mongrels. it is not necessary to give instances, for in the case of plants almost every one who has worked on this subject from the time of kölreuter to the present day has insisted on this tendency. gärtner has recorded some good instances; but no one has given more striking cases than naudin.[ ] the tendency differs in degree or strength in different groups, and partly depends, as we shall presently see, on the fact of the parent-plants having been long cultivated. although the tendency to reversion is extremely general with nearly all mongrels and hybrids, it cannot be considered as invariably characteristic of them; there is, also, reason to believe that it may be mastered by long-continued selection; but these subjects will more properly be discussed in a future chapter on crossing. from what we see of the power and scope of reversion, both in pure races and when varieties or species are crossed, we may infer that characters of almost every kind are capable of reappearance after having been lost for a great length of time. but it does not follow from this that in each particular case certain characters will reappear: for instance, this will not occur when a race is crossed with another endowed with prepotency of transmission. in some few cases the power of reversion wholly fails, without our being able to assign any cause for the failure: thus it has been stated that in a french family in which out of above members, during six generations, had been subject to night-blindness, "there has not been a single example of this affection in the children of parents who were themselves free from it."[ ] * * * * * _reversion through bud-propagation--partial reversion, by segments in the same flower or fruit, or in different parts of the { } body in the same individual animal._--in the eleventh chapter, many cases of reversion by buds, independently of seminal generation, were given--as when a leaf-bud on a variegated, curled, or laciniated variety suddenly reassumes its proper character; or as when a provence-rose appears on a moss-rose, or a peach on a nectarine-tree. in some of these cases only half the flower or fruit, or a smaller segment, or mere stripes, reassumed their former character; and here we have with buds reversion by segments. vilmorin[ ] has also recorded several cases with plants derived from seed, of flowers reverting by stripes or blotches to their primitive colours: he states that in all such cases a white or pale-coloured variety must first be formed, and, when this is propagated for a length of time by seed, striped seedlings occasionally make their appearance; and these can afterwards by care be multiplied by seed. the stripes and segments just referred to are not due, as far as is known, to reversion to characters derived from a cross, but to characters lost by variation. these cases, however, as naudin[ ] insists in his discussion on disjunction of character, are closely analogous with those given in the eleventh chapter, in which crossed plants are known to have produced half-and-half or striped flowers and fruit, or distinct kinds of flowers on the same root resembling the two parent-forms. many piebald animals probably come under this same head. such cases, as we shall see in the chapter on crossing, apparently result from certain characters not readily blending together, and, as a consequence of this incapacity for fusion, the offspring either perfectly resemble one of their two parents, or resemble one parent in one part and the other parent in another part; or whilst young are intermediate in character, but with advancing age revert wholly or by segments to either parent-form, or to both. thus young trees of the _cytisus adami_ are intermediate in foliage and flowers between the two parent-forms; but when older the buds continually revert either partially or wholly to both forms. the cases given in the eleventh chapter on the changes which occurred during growth { } in crossed plants of tropæolum, cereus, datura, and lathyrus are all analogous. as however these plants are hybrids of the first generation, and as their buds after a time come to resemble their parents and not their grandparents, these cases do not at first appear to come under the law of reversion in the ordinary sense of the word; nevertheless, as the change is effected through a succession of bud-generations on the same plant, they may be thus included. analogous facts have been observed in the animal kingdom, and are more remarkable, as they occur strictly in the same individual, and not as with plants through a succession of bud-generations. with animals the act of reversion, if it can be so designated, does not pass over a true generation, but merely over the early stages of growth in the same individual. for instance, i crossed several white hens with a black cock, and many of the chickens were during the first year perfectly white, but acquired during the second year black feathers; on the other hand, some of the chickens which were at first black became during the second year piebald with white. a great breeder[ ] says, that a pencilled brahma hen which has any of the blood of the light brahma in her, will "occasionally produce a pullet well pencilled during the first year, but she will most likely moult brown on the shoulders and become quite unlike her original colours in the second year." the same thing occurs with light brahmas if of impure blood. i have observed exactly similar cases with the crossed offspring from differently coloured pigeons. but here is a more remarkable fact: i crossed a turbit, which has a frill formed by the feathers being reversed on its breast, with a trumpeter; and one of the young pigeons thus raised showed at first not a trace of the frill, but, after moulting thrice, a small yet unmistakably distinct frill appeared on its breast. according to girou,[ ] calves produced from a red cow by a black bull, or from a black cow by a red bull, are not rarely born red, and subsequently become black. in the foregoing cases, the characters which appear with advancing age are the result of a cross in the previous or some { } former generation; but in the following cases, the characters which thus reappear formerly appertained to the species, and were lost at a more or less remote epoch. thus, according to azara,[ ] the calves of a hornless race of cattle which originated in corrientes, though at first quite hornless, as they become adult sometimes acquire small, crooked, and loose horns; and these in succeeding years occasionally become attached to the skull. white and black bantams, both of which generally breed true, sometimes assume as they grow old a saffron or red plumage. for instance, a first-rate black bantam has been described, which during three seasons was perfectly black, but then annually became more and more red; and it deserves notice that this tendency to change, whenever it occurs in a bantam, "is almost certain to prove hereditary."[ ] the cuckoo or blue-mottled dorking cock, when old, is liable to acquire yellow or orange hackles in place of his proper bluish-grey hackles.[ ] now, as _gallus bankiva_ is coloured red and orange, and as dorking fowls and both kinds of bantams are descended from this species, we can hardly doubt that the change which occasionally occurs in the plumage of these birds as their age advances, results from a tendency in the individual to revert to the primitive type. * * * * * _crossing as a direct cause of reversion._--it has long been notorious that hybrids and mongrels often revert to both or to one of their parent-forms, after an interval of from two to seven or eight, or according to some authorities even a greater number of generations. but that the act of crossing in itself gives an impulse towards reversion, as shown by the reappearance of long-lost characters, has never, i believe, been hitherto proved. the proof lies in certain peculiarities, which do not characterise the immediate parents, and therefore cannot have been derived from them, frequently appearing in the offspring of two breeds when crossed, which peculiarities never appear, or appear with extreme rarity, in these same breeds, as long as they are { } precluded from crossing. as this conclusion seems to me highly curious and novel, i will give the evidence in detail. my attention was first called to this subject, and i was led to make numerous experiments, by mm. boitard and corbié having stated that, when they crossed certain breeds, pigeons coloured like the wild _c. livia_, or the common dovecot, namely, slaty-blue, with double black wing-bars, sometimes chequered with black, white loins, the tail barred with black, with the outer feathers edged with white, were almost invariably produced. the breeds which i crossed, and the remarkable results attained, have been fully described in the sixth chapter. i selected pigeons, belonging to true and ancient breeds, which had not a trace of blue or any of the above specified marks; but when crossed, and their mongrels recrossed, young birds were continually produced, more or less plainly coloured slaty-blue, with some or all of the proper characteristic marks. i may recall to the reader's memory one case, namely, that of a pigeon, hardly distinguishable from the wild shetland species, the grandchild of a red-spot, white fantail, and two black barbs, from any of which, when purely-bred, the production of a pigeon coloured like the wild _c. livia_ would have been almost a prodigy. i was thus led to make the experiments, recorded in the seventh chapter, on fowls. i selected long-established, pure breeds, in which there was not a trace of red, yet in several of the mongrels feathers of this colour appeared; and one magnificent bird, the offspring of a black spanish cock and white silk hen, was coloured almost exactly like the wild _gallus bankiva_. all who know anything of the breeding of poultry will admit that tens of thousands of pure spanish and of pure white silk fowls might have been reared without the appearance of a red feather. the fact, given on the authority of mr. tegetmeier, of the frequent appearance, in mongrel fowls, of pencilled or transversely-barred feathers, like those common to many gallinaceous birds, is likewise apparently a case of reversion to a character formerly possessed by some ancient progenitor of the family. i owe to the kindness of this same excellent observer the inspection of some neck-hackles and tail-feathers from a hybrid between the common fowl and a very distinct species, the _gallus varius_; and these feathers are transversely striped in a conspicuous manner with dark metallic blue and grey, a character which could not have been derived from either immediate parent. i have been informed by mr. b. p. brent, that he crossed a white aylesbury drake and a black so-called labrador duck, both of which are true breeds, and he obtained a young drake closely like the mallard (_a. boschas_). of the musk-duck (_a. moschata_, linn.) there are two sub-breeds, namely, white and slate-coloured; and these i am informed breed true, or nearly true. but the rev. w. d. fox tells me that, by putting a white drake to a slate-coloured duck, black birds, pied with white, like the wild musk-duck, were always produced. we have seen in the fourth chapter, that the so-called himalayan rabbit, with its snow-white body, black ears, nose, tail, and feet, breeds { } perfectly true. this race is known to have been formed by the union of two varieties of silver-grey rabbits. now, when a himalayan doe was crossed by a sandy-coloured buck, a silver-grey rabbit was produced; and this is evidently a case of reversion to one of the parent varieties. the young of the himalayan rabbit are born snow-white, and the dark marks do not appear until some time subsequently; but occasionally young himalayan rabbits are born of a light silver-grey, which colour soon disappears; so that here we have a trace of reversion, during an early period of life, to the parent-varieties, independently of any recent cross. in the third chapter is was shown that at an ancient period some breeds of cattle in the wilder parts of britain were white with dark ears, and that the cattle now kept half wild in certain parks, and those which have run quite wild in two distant parts of the world, are likewise thus coloured. now, an experienced breeder, mr. j. beasley, of northamptonshire,[ ] crossed some carefully selected west highland cows with purely-bred shorthorn bulls. the bulls were red, red and white, or dark roan; and the highland cows were all of a red colour, inclining to a light or yellow shade. but a considerable number of the offspring--and mr. beasley calls attention to this as a remarkable fact--were white, or white with red ears. bearing in mind that none of the parents were white, and that they were purely-bred animals, it is highly probable that here the offspring reverted, in consequence of the cross, to the colour either of the aboriginal parent-species or of some ancient and half-wild parent-breed. the following case, perhaps, comes under the same head: cows in their natural state have their udders but little developed, and do not yield nearly so much milk as our domesticated animals. now there is some reason to believe[ ] that cross-bred animals between two kinds, both of which are good milkers, such as alderneys and shorthorns, often turn out worthless in this respect. in the chapter on the horse reasons were assigned for believing that the primitive stock was striped and dun-coloured; and details were given, showing that in all parts of the world stripes of a dark colour frequently appear along the spine, across the legs, and on the shoulders, where they are occasionally double or treble, and even sometimes on the face and body of horses of all breeds and of all colours. but the stripes appear most frequently on the various kinds of duns. they may sometimes plainly be seen on foals, and subsequently disappear. the dun-colour and the stripes are strongly transmitted when a horse thus characterised is crossed with any other; but i was not able to prove that striped duns are generally produced from the crossing of two distinct breeds, neither of which are duns, though this does sometimes occur. the legs of the ass are often striped, and this may be considered as a reversion to the wild parent-form, the _asinus tæniopus_ of abyssinia,[ ] which is thus striped. in the domestic animal the stripes on the shoulder are occasionally double, or forked at the extremity, as in certain zebrine { } species. there is reason to believe that the foal is frequently more plainly striped on the legs than the adult animal. as with the horse, i have not acquired any distinct evidence that the crossing of differently-coloured varieties of the ass brings out the stripes. but now let us turn to the result of crossing the horse and ass. although mules are not nearly so numerous in england as asses, i have seen a much greater number with striped legs, and with the stripes far more conspicuous than in either parent-form. such mules are generally light-coloured, and might be called fallow-duns. the shoulder-stripe in one instance was deeply forked at the extremity, and in another instance was double, though united in the middle. mr. martin gives a figure of a spanish mule with strong zebra-like marks on its legs,[ ] and remarks, that mules are particularly liable to be thus striped on their legs. in south america, according to roulin,[ ] such stripes are more frequent and conspicuous in the mule than in the ass. in the united states, mr. gosse,[ ] speaking of these animals, says, "that in a great number, perhaps in nine out of every ten, the legs are banded with transverse dark stripes." many years ago i saw in the zoological gardens a curious triple hybrid, from a bay mare, by a hybrid from a male ass and female zebra. this animal when old had hardly any stripes; but i was assured by the superintendent, that when young it had shoulder-stripes, and faint stripes on its flanks and legs. i mention this case more especially as an instance of the stripes being much plainer during youth than in old age. as the zebra has such conspicuously striped legs, it might have been expected that the hybrids from this animal and the common ass would have had their legs in some degree striped; but it appears from the figures given in dr. gray's 'knowsley gleanings,' and still more plainly from that given by geoffroy and f. cuvier,[ ] that the legs are much more conspicuously striped than the rest of the body; and this fact is intelligible only on the belief that the ass aids in giving, through the power of reversion, this character to its hybrid offspring. the quagga is banded over the whole front part of its body like a zebra, but has no stripes on its legs, or mere traces of them. but in the famous hybrid bred by lord morton,[ ] from a chesnut, nearly purely-bred, arabian mare, by a male quagga, the stripes were "more strongly defined and darker than those on the legs of the quagga." the mare was subsequently put to a black arabian horse, and bore two colts, both of which, as formerly stated, were plainly striped on the legs, and one of them likewise had stripes on the neck and body. the _asinus indicus_[ ] is characterised by a spinal stripe, without shoulder { } or leg stripes; but traces of these latter stripes may occasionally be seen even in the adult;[ ] and colonel s. poole, who has had ample opportunities for observation, informs me that in the foal, when first born, the head and legs are often striped, but the shoulder-stripe is not so distinct as in the domestic ass; all these stripes, excepting that along the spine, soon disappear. now a hybrid, raised at knowsley[ ] from a female of this species by a male domestic ass, had all four legs transversely and conspicuously striped, had three short stripes on each shoulder, and had even some zebra-like stripes on its face! dr. gray informs me that he has seen a second hybrid of the same parentage similarly striped. from these facts we see that the crossing of the several equine species tends in a marked manner to cause stripes to appear on various parts of the body, especially on the legs. as we do not know whether the primordial parent of the genus was striped, the appearance of the stripes can only hypothetically be attributed to reversion. but most persons, after considering the many undoubted cases of variously coloured marks reappearing by reversion in crossed pigeons, fowls, ducks, &c., will come to the same conclusion with respect to the horse-genus; and in this case we must admit that the progenitor of the group was striped on the legs, shoulders, face, and probably over the whole body, like a zebra. if we reject this view, the frequent and almost regular appearance of stripes in the several foregoing hybrids is left without any explanation. * * * * * it would appear that with crossed animals a similar tendency to the recovery of lost characters holds good even with instincts. there are some breeds of fowls which are called "everlasting layers," because they have lost the instinct of incubation; and so rare is it for them to incubate that i have seen notices published in works on poultry, when hens of such breeds have taken to sit.[ ] yet the aboriginal species was of course a good incubator; for with birds in a state of nature hardly any { } instinct is so strong as this. now, so many cases have been recorded of the crossed offspring from two races, neither of which are incubators, becoming first-rate sitters, that the reappearance of this instinct must be attributed to reversion from crossing. one author goes so far as to say, "that a cross between two non-sitting varieties almost invariably produces a mongrel that becomes broody, and sits with remarkable steadiness."[ ] another author, after giving a striking example, remarks that the fact can be explained only on the principle that "two negatives make a positive." it cannot, however, be maintained that hens produced from a cross between two non-sitting breeds invariably recover their lost instinct, any more than that crossed fowls or pigeons invariably recover the red or blue plumage of their prototypes. i raised several chickens from a polish hen by a spanish cock,--breeds which do not incubate,--and none of the young hens at first recovered their instinct, and this appeared to afford a well-marked exception to the foregoing rule; but one of these hens, the only one which was preserved, in the third year sat well on her eggs and reared a brood of chickens. so that here we have the appearance with advancing age of a primitive instinct, in the same manner as we have seen that the red plumage of the _gallus bankiva_ is sometimes reacquired by crossed and purely-bred fowls of various kinds as they grow old. the parents of all our domesticated animals were of course aboriginally wild in disposition; and when a domesticated species is crossed with a distinct species, whether this is a domesticated or only tamed animal, the hybrids are often wild { } to such a degree, that the fact is intelligible only on the principle that the cross has caused a partial return to the primitive disposition. the earl of powis formerly imported some thoroughly domesticated humped cattle from india, and crossed them with english breeds, which belong to a distinct species; and his agent remarked to me, without any question having been asked, how oddly wild the cross-bred animals were. the european wild boar and the chinese domesticated pig are almost certainly specifically distinct: sir f. darwin crossed a sow of the latter breed with a wild alpine boar which had become extremely tame, but the young, though having half-domesticated blood in their veins, were "extremely wild in confinement, and would not eat swill like common english pigs." mr. hewitt, who has had great experience in crossing tame cock-pheasants with fowls belonging to five breeds, gives as the character of all "extraordinary wildness;"[ ] but i have myself seen one exception to this rule. mr. s. j. salter,[ ] who raised a large number of hybrids from a bantam-hen by _gallus sonneratii_, states that "all were exceedingly wild." mr. waterton[ ] bred some wild ducks from eggs hatched under a common duck, and the young were allowed to cross freely both amongst themselves and with the tame ducks; they were "half wild and half tame; they came to the windows to be fed, but still they had a wariness about them quite remarkable." on the other hand, mules from the horse and ass are certainly not in the least wild, yet they are notorious for obstinacy and vice. mr. brent, who has crossed canary-birds with many kinds of finches, has not observed, as he informs me, that the hybrids were in any way remarkably wild. hybrids are often raised between the common and musk duck, and i have been assured by three persons, who have kept these crossed birds, that they were not wild; but mr. garnett[ ] observed that his female hybrids exhibited "migratory propensities," of which there is not a vestige in the common or musk duck. no case is { } known of this latter bird having escaped and become wild in europe or asia, except, according to pallas, on the caspian sea; and the common domestic duck only occasionally becomes wild in districts where large lakes and fens abound. nevertheless, a large number of cases have been recorded[ ] of hybrids from these two ducks, although so few are reared in comparison with purely-bred birds of either species, having been shot in a completely wild state. it is improbable that any of these hybrids could have acquired their wildness from the musk-duck having paired with a truly wild duck; and this is known not to be the case in north america; hence we must infer that they have reacquired, through reversion, their wildness, as well as renewed powers of flight. these latter facts remind us of the statements, so frequently made by travellers in all parts of the world, on the degraded state and savage disposition of crossed races of man. that many excellent and kind-hearted mulattos have existed no one will dispute; and a more mild and gentle set of men could hardly be found than the inhabitants of the island of chiloe, who consist of indians commingled with spaniards in various proportions. on the other hand, many years ago, long before i had thought of the present subject, i was struck with the fact that, in south america, men of complicated descent between negroes, indians, and spaniards, seldom had, whatever the cause might be, a good expression.[ ] livingstone,--and a more unimpeachable authority cannot be quoted,--after speaking of a half-caste man on the zambesi, described by the portuguese as a rare monster of inhumanity, remarks, "it is unaccountable why half-castes, such as he, are so much more cruel than the portuguese, but such is undoubtedly the case." an inhabitant remarked to livingstone, "god made white men, and god made black men, but the devil made half-castes."[ ] when two races, both { } low in the scale, are crossed, the progeny seems to be eminently bad. thus the noble-hearted humboldt, who felt none of that prejudice against the inferior races now so current in england, speaks in strong terms of the bad and savage disposition of zambos, or half-castes between indians and negroes; and this conclusion has been arrived at by various observers.[ ] from these facts we may perhaps infer that the degraded state of so many half-castes is in part due to reversion to a primitive and savage condition, induced by the act of crossing, as well as to the unfavourable moral conditions under which they generally exist. * * * * * _summary on the proximate causes leading to reversion._--when purely-bred animals or plants reassume long-lost characters,--when the common ass, for instance, is born with striped legs, when a pure race of black or white pigeons throws a slaty-blue bird, or when a cultivated heartsease with large and rounded flowers produces a seedling with small and elongated flowers,--we are quite unable to assign any proximate cause. when animals run wild, the tendency to reversion, which, though it has been greatly exaggerated, no doubt exists, is sometimes to a certain extent intelligible. thus, with feral pigs, exposure to the weather will probably favour the growth of the bristles, as is known to be the case with the hair of other domesticated animals, and through correlation the tusks will tend to be redeveloped. but the reappearance of coloured longitudinal stripes on young feral pigs cannot be attributed to the direct action of external conditions. in this case, and in many others, we can only say that changed habits of life apparently have favoured a tendency, inherent or latent in the species, to return to the primitive state. it will be shown in a future chapter that the position of flowers on the summit of the axis, and the position of seeds within the capsule, sometimes determine a tendency towards reversion; and this apparently depends on the amount of sap or nutriment which the flower-buds and seeds receive. the position, also, of buds, either on branches or on roots, sometimes determines, as was formerly shown, the transmission of the { } proper character of the variety, or its reversion to a former state. we have seen in the last section that when two races or species are crossed there is the strongest tendency to the reappearance in the offspring of long-lost characters, possessed by neither parent nor immediate progenitor. when two white, or red, or black pigeons, of well-established breeds, are united, the offspring are almost sure to inherit the same colours; but when differently-coloured birds are crossed, the opposed forces of inheritance apparently counteract each other, and the tendency which is inherent in both parents to produce slaty-blue offspring becomes predominant. so it is in several other cases. but when, for instance, the ass is crossed with _a. indicus_ or with the horse,--animals which have not striped legs,--and the hybrids have conspicuous stripes on their legs and even on their faces, all that can be said is, that an inherent tendency to reversion is evolved through some disturbance in the organisation caused by the act of crossing. another form of reversion is far commoner, indeed is almost universal with the offspring from a cross, namely, to the characters proper to either pure parent-form. as a general rule, crossed offspring in the first generation are nearly intermediate between their parents, but the grandchildren and succeeding generations continually revert, in a greater or lesser degree, to one or both of their progenitors. several authors have maintained that hybrids and mongrels include all the characters of both parents, not fused together, but merely mingled in different proportions in different parts of the body; or, as naudin[ ] has expressed it, a hybrid is a living mosaic-work, in which the eye cannot distinguish the discordant elements, so completely are they intermingled. we can hardly doubt that, in a certain sense, this is true, as when we behold in a hybrid the elements of both species segregating themselves into segments in the same flower or fruit, by a process of self-attraction or self-affinity; this segregation taking place either by seminal or by bud-propagation. naudin further believes that the segregation of the two specific elements or essences is eminently liable to occur in the male and female reproductive matter; and he thus explains the almost { } universal tendency to reversion in successive hybrid generations. for this would be the natural result of the union of pollen and ovules, in both of which the elements of the same species had been segregated by self-affinity. if, on the other hand, pollen which included the elements of one species happened to unite with ovules including the elements of the other species, the intermediate or hybrid state would still be retained, and there would be no reversion. but it would, as i suspect, be more correct to say that the elements of both parent-species exist in every hybrid in a double state, namely, blended together and completely separate. how this is possible, and what the term specific essence or element may be supposed to express, i shall attempt to show in the hypothetical chapter on pangenesis. but naudin's view, as propounded by him, is not applicable to the reappearance of characters lost long ago by variation; and it is hardly applicable to races or species which, after having been crossed at some former period with a distinct form, and having since lost all traces of the cross, nevertheless occasionally yield an individual which reverts (as in the case of the great-great-grandchild of the pointer sappho) to the crossing form. the most simple case of reversion, namely, of a hybrid or mongrel to its grandparents, is connected by an almost perfect series with the extreme case of a purely-bred race recovering characters which had been lost during many ages; and we are thus led to infer that all the cases must be related by some common bond. gärtner believed that only those hybrid plants which are highly sterile exhibit any tendency to reversion to their parent-forms. it is rash to doubt so good an observer, but this conclusion must i think be an error; and it may perhaps be accounted for by the nature of the genera observed by him, for he admits that the tendency differs in different genera. the statement is also directly contradicted by naudin's observations, and by the notorious fact that perfectly fertile mongrels exhibit the tendency in a high degree,--even in a higher degree, according to gärtner himself, than hybrids.[ ] gärtner further states that reversions rarely occur with { } hybrid plants raised from species which have not been cultivated, whilst, with those which have been long cultivated, they are of frequent occurrence. this conclusion explains a curious discrepancy: max wichura,[ ] who worked exclusively on willows, which had not been subjected to culture, never saw an instance of reversion; and he goes so far as to suspect that the careful gärtner had not sufficiently protected his hybrids from the pollen of the parent-species: naudin, on the other hand, who chiefly experimented on cucurbitaceous and other cultivated plants, insists more strenuously than any other author on the tendency to reversion in all hybrids. the conclusion that the condition of the parent-species, as affected by culture, is one of the proximate causes leading to reversion, agrees fairly well with the converse case of domesticated animals and cultivated plants being liable to reversion when they become feral; for in both cases the organisation or constitution must be disturbed, though in a very different way. finally, we have seen that characters often reappear in purely-bred races without our being able to assign any proximate cause; but when they become feral this is either indirectly or directly induced by the change in their conditions of life. with crossed breeds, the act of crossing in itself certainly leads to the recovery of long-lost characters, as well as of those derived from either parent-form. changed conditions, consequent on cultivation, and the relative position of buds, flowers, and seeds on the plant, all apparently aid in giving this same tendency. reversion may occur either through seminal or bud generation, generally at birth, but sometimes only with an advance of age. segments or portions of the individual may alone be thus affected. that a being should be born resembling in certain characters an ancestor removed by two or three, and in some cases by hundreds or even thousands of generations, is assuredly a wonderful fact. in these cases the child is commonly said to inherit such characters directly from its grandparents or more remote ancestors. but this view is hardly conceivable. if, however, we suppose that every character is derived { } exclusively from the father or mother, but that many characters lie latent in both parents during a long succession of generations, the foregoing facts are intelligible. in what manner characters may be conceived to lie latent, will be considered in a future chapter to which i have lately alluded. * * * * * _latent characters._--but i must explain what is meant by characters lying latent. the most obvious illustration is afforded by secondary sexual characters. in every female all the secondary male characters, and in every male all the secondary female characters, apparently exist in a latent state, ready to be evolved under certain conditions. it is well known that a large number of female birds, such as fowls, various pheasants, partridges, peahens, ducks, &c., when old or diseased, or when operated on, partly assume the secondary male characters of their species. in the case of the hen-pheasant this has been observed to occur far more frequently during certain seasons than during others.[ ] a duck ten years old has been known to assume both the perfect winter and summer plumage of the drake.[ ] waterton[ ] gives a curious case of a hen which had ceased laying, and had assumed the plumage, voice, spurs, and warlike disposition of the cock; when opposed to an enemy she would erect her hackles and show fight. thus every character, even to the instinct and manner of fighting, must have lain dormant in this hen as long as her ovaria continued to act. the females of two kinds of deer, when old, have been known to acquire horns; and, as hunter has remarked, we see something of an analogous nature in the human species. on the other hand, with male animals, it is notorious that the secondary sexual characters are more or less completely lost when they are subjected to castration. thus, if the operation be performed on a young cock, he never, as yarrell states, crows { } again; the comb, wattles, and spurs do not grow to their full size, and the hackles assume an intermediate appearance between true hackles and the feathers of the hen. cases are recorded of confinement alone causing analogous results. but characters properly confined to the female are likewise acquired; the capon takes to sitting on eggs, and will bring up chickens; and what is more curious, the utterly sterile male hybrids from the pheasant and the fowl act in the same manner, "their delight being to watch when the hens leave their nests, and to take on themselves the office of a sitter."[ ] that admirable observer réaumur[ ] asserts that a cock, by being long confined in solitude and darkness, can be taught to take charge of young chickens; he then utters a peculiar cry, and retains during his whole life this newly acquired maternal instinct. the many well-ascertained cases of various male mammals giving milk, show that their rudimentary mammary glands retain this capacity in a latent condition. we thus see that in many, probably in all cases, the secondary characters of each sex lie dormant or latent in the opposite sex, ready to be evolved under peculiar circumstances. we can thus understand how, for instance, it is possible for a good milking cow to transmit her good qualities through her male offspring to future generations; for we may confidently believe that these qualities are present, though latent, in the males of each generation. so it is with the game-cock, who can transmit his superiority in courage and vigour through his female to his male offspring; and with man it is known [ ] that diseases, such as hydrocele, necessarily confined to the male sex, can be transmitted through the female to the grandson. such cases as these offer, as was remarked at the commencement of this chapter, the simplest possible examples of reversion; and they are intelligible on the belief that characters common to the grandparent and grandchild of the same sex are present, though latent, in the intermediate parent of the opposite sex. the subject of latent characters is so important, as we shall see in a future chapter, that i will give another illustration. { } many animals have the right and left sides of their body unequally developed: this is well known to be the case with flat-fish, in which the one side differs in thickness and colour, and in the shape of the fins, from the other; and during the growth of the young fish one eye actually travels, as shown by steenstrup, from the lower to the upper surface.[ ] in most flat-fishes the left is the blind side, but in some it is the right; though in both cases "wrong fishes," which are developed in a reversed manner to what is usual, occasionally occur, and in _platessa flesus_ the right or left side is indifferently developed, the one as often as the other. with gasteropods or shell-fish, the right and left sides are extremely unequal; the far greater number of species are dextral, with rare and occasional reversals of development, and some few are normally sinistral; but certain species of bulimus, and, many achatinellæ,[ ] are as often sinistral as dextral. i will give an analogous case in the great articulate kingdom: the two sides of verruca[ ] are so wonderfully unlike, that without careful dissection it is extremely difficult to recognise the corresponding parts on the opposite sides of the body; yet it is apparently a mere matter of chance whether it be the right or the left side that undergoes so singular an amount of change. one plant is known to me[ ] in which the flower, according as it stands on the one or other side of the spike, is unequally developed. in all the foregoing cases the two sides of the animal are perfectly symmetrical at an early period of growth. now, whenever a species is as liable to be unequally developed on the one as on the other side, we may infer that the capacity for such development is present, though latent, in the undeveloped side. and as a reversal of development occasionally occurs in animals of many kinds, this latent capacity is probably very common. the best yet simplest instances of characters lying dormant are, perhaps, those previously given, in which chickens and { } young pigeons, raised from a cross between differently coloured birds, are at first of one colour, but in a year or two acquire feathers of the colour of the other parent; for in this case the tendency to a change of plumage is clearly latent in the young bird. so it is with hornless breeds of cattle, some of which acquire, as they grow old, small horns. purely bred black and white bantams, and some other fowls, occasionally assume, with advancing years, the red feathers of the parent-species. i will here add a somewhat different case, as it connects in a striking manner latent characters of two classes. mr. hewitt[ ] possessed an excellent sebright gold-laced hen bantam, which, as she became old, grew diseased in her ovaria, and assumed male characters. in this breed the males resemble the females in all respects except in their combs, wattles, spurs, and instincts; hence it might have been expected that the diseased hen would have assumed only those masculine characters which are proper to the breed, but she acquired, in addition, well-arched tail sickle-feathers quite a foot in length, saddle-feathers on the loins, and hackles on the neck,--ornaments which, as mr. hewitt remarks, "would be held as abominable in this breed." the sebright bantam is known[ ] to have originated about the year from a cross between a common bantam and a polish fowl, recrossed by a hen-tailed bantam, and carefully selected; hence there can hardly be a doubt that the sickle-feathers and hackles which appeared in the old hen were derived from the polish fowl or common bantam; and we thus see that not only certain masculine characters proper to the sebright bantam, but other masculine characters derived from the first progenitors of the breed, removed by a period of above sixty years, were lying latent in this hen-bird, ready to be evolved as soon as her ovaria became diseased. from these several facts it must be admitted that certain characters, capacities, and instincts may lie latent in an individual, and even in a succession of individuals, without our being able to detect the least signs of their presence. we have { } already seen that the transmission of a character from the grandparent to the grandchild, with its apparent omission in the intermediate parent of the opposite sex, becomes simple on this view. when fowls, pigeons, or cattle of different colours are crossed, and their offspring change colour as they grow old, or when the crossed turbit acquired the characteristic frill after its third moult, or when purely-bred bantams partially assume the red plumage of their prototype, we cannot doubt that these qualities were from the first present, though latent, in the individual animal, like the characters of a moth in the caterpillar. now, if these animals had produced offspring before they had acquired with advancing age their new characters, nothing is more probable than that they would have transmitted them to some of their offspring, which in this case would in appearance have received such characters from their grandparents or more distant progenitors. we should then have had a case of reversion, that is, of the reappearance in the child of an ancestral character, actually present, though during youth completely latent, in the parent; and this we may safely conclude is what occurs with reversions of all kinds to progenitors however remote. this view of the latency in each generation of all the characters which appear through reversion, is also supported by their actual presence in some cases during early youth alone, or by their more frequent appearance and greater distinctness at this age than during maturity. we have seen that this is often the case with the stripes on the legs and faces of the several species of the horse-genus. the himalayan rabbit, when crossed, sometimes produces offspring which revert to the parent silver-grey breed, and we have seen that in purely bred animals pale-grey fur occasionally reappears during early youth. black cats, we may feel assured, would occasionally produce by reversion tabbies; and on young black kittens, with a pedigree[ ] known to have been long pure, faint traces of stripes may almost always be seen which afterwards disappear. hornless suffolk cattle occasionally produce by reversion horned animals; and youatt[ ] asserts that even in hornless individuals { } "the rudiment of a horn may be often felt at an early age." no doubt it appears at first sight in the highest degree improbable that in every horse of every generation there should be a latent capacity and tendency to produce stripes, though these may not appear once in a thousand generations; that in every white, black, or other coloured pigeon, which may have transmitted its proper colour during centuries, there should be a latent capacity in the plumage to become blue and to be marked with certain characteristic bars; that in every child in a six-fingered family there should be the capacity for the production of an additional digit; and so in other cases. nevertheless there is no more inherent improbability in this being the case than in a useless and rudimentary organ, or even in only a tendency to the production of a rudimentary organ, being inherited during millions of generations, as is well known to occur with a multitude of organic beings. there is no more inherent improbability in each domestic pig, during a thousand generations, retaining the capacity and tendency to develop great tusks under fitting conditions, than in the young calf having retained for an indefinite number of generations rudimentary incisor teeth, which never protrude through the gums. i shall give at the end of the next chapter a summary of the three preceding chapters; but as isolated and striking cases of reversion have here been chiefly insisted on, i wish to guard the reader against supposing that reversion is due to some rare or accidental combination of circumstances. when a character, lost during hundreds of generations, suddenly reappears, no doubt some such combination must occur; but reversions may be constantly observed, at least to the immediately preceding generations, in the offspring of most unions. this has been universally recognised in the case of hybrids and mongrels, but it has been recognised simply from the difference between the united forms rendering the resemblance of the offspring to their grandparents or more remote progenitors of easy detection. reversion is likewise almost invariably the rule, as mr. sedgwick has shown, with certain diseases. hence we must conclude that a tendency to this peculiar form of transmission is an integral part of the general law of inheritance. { } * * * * * _monstrosities._--a large number of monstrous growths and of lesser anomalies are admitted by every one to be due to an arrest of development, that is to the persistence of an embryonic condition. if every horse or ass had striped legs whilst young, the stripes which occasionally appear on these animals when adult would have to be considered as due to the anomalous retention of an early character, and not as due to reversion. now, the leg-stripes in the horse-genus, and some other characters in analogous cases, are apt to occur during early youth and then to disappear; thus the persistence of early characters and reversion are brought into close connexion. but many monstrosities can hardly be considered as the result of an arrest of development; for parts of which no trace can be detected in the embryo, but which occur in other members of the same class of animals or plants, occasionally appear, and these may probably with truth be attributed to reversion. for instance: supernumerary mammæ, capable of secreting milk, are not extremely rare in women; and as many as five have been observed. when four are developed, they are generally arranged symmetrically on each side of the chest; and in one instance a woman (the daughter of another with supernumerary mammæ) had one mamma, which yielded milk, developed in the inguinal region. this latter case, when we remember the position of the mammæ in some of the lower animals on both the chest and inguinal region, is highly remarkable, and leads to the belief that in all cases the additional mammæ in woman are due to reversion. the facts given in the last chapter on the tendency in supernumerary digits to regrowth after amputation, indicate their relation to the digits of the lower vertebrate animals, and lead to the suspicion that their appearance may in some manner be connected with reversion. but i shall have to recur, in the chapter on pangenesis, to the abnormal multiplication of organs, and likewise to their occasional transposition. the occasional development in man of the coccygeal vertebræ into a short and free tail, though it thus becomes in one sense more perfectly developed, may at the same time be considered as an arrest of development, and as a case of reversion. the greater frequency of a monstrous kind of proboscis in the pig than in any other mammal, considering the position of the pig { } in the mammalian series, has likewise been attributed, perhaps truly, to reversion.[ ] when flowers which are properly irregular in structure become regular or peloric, the change is generally looked at by botanists as a return to the primitive state. but dr. maxwell masters,[ ] who has ably discussed this subject, remarks that when, for instance, all the sepals of a tropæolum become green and of the same shape, instead of being coloured with one alone prolonged into a spur, or when all the petals of a linaria become simple and regular, such cases may be due merely to an arrest of development; for in these flowers all the organs during their earliest condition are symmetrical, and, if arrested at this stage of growth, they would not become irregular. if, moreover, the arrest were to take place at a still earlier period of development, the result would be a simple tuft of green leaves; and no one probably would call this a case of reversion. dr. masters designates the cases first alluded to as regular peloria; and others, in which all the corresponding parts assume a similar form of irregularity, as when all the petals in a linaria become spurred, as irregular peloria. we have no right to attribute these latter cases to reversion, until it can be shown to be probable that the parent-form, for instance, of the genus linaria had had all its petals spurred; for a change of this nature might result from the spreading of an anomalous structure, in accordance with the law, to be discussed in a future chapter, of homologous parts tending to vary in the same manner. but as both forms of peloria frequently occur on the same individual plant of the linaria,[ ] they probably stand in some close relation to each other. on the doctrine that peloria is simply the result of an arrest of development, it is difficult to understand how an organ arrested at a very early period of growth should acquire its full functional perfection;--how a petal, supposed to be thus arrested, should acquire its brilliant colours, and serve as an envelope to the flower, or a stamen produce efficient pollen; yet this occurs with many peloric flowers. that pelorism is not due to mere chance variability, but either to an arrest of development or to reversion, we may infer from an observation made by ch. morren,[ ] namely, that families which have irregular flowers often "return by these monstrous growths to their regular form; whilst we never see a regular flower realise the structure of an irregular one." some flowers have almost certainly become more or less completely peloric through reversion. _corydalis tuberosa_ properly has one of its two nectaries colourless, destitute of nectar, only half the size of the other, and { } therefore, to a certain extent, in a rudimentary state; the pistil is curved towards the perfect nectary, and the hood, formed of the inner petals, slips off the pistil and stamens in one direction alone, so that, when a bee sucks the perfect nectary, the stigma and stamens are exposed and rubbed against the insect's body. in several closely allied genera, as in dielytra, &c., there are two perfect nectaries, the pistil is straight, and the hood slips off on either side, according as the bee sucks either nectary. now, i have examined several flowers of _corydalis tuberosa_, in which both nectaries were equally developed and contained nectar; in this we see only the redevelopment of a partially aborted organ; but with this redevelopment the pistil becomes straight, and the hood slips off in either direction; so that these flowers have acquired the perfect structure, so well adapted for insect agency, of dielytra and its allies. we cannot attribute these coadapted modifications to chance, or to correlated variability; we must attribute them to reversion to a primordial condition of the species. the peloric flowers of pelargonium have their five petals in all respects alike, and there is no nectary; so that they resemble the symmetrical flowers of the closely allied geranium-genus; but the alternate stamens are also sometimes destitute of anthers, the shortened filaments being left as rudiments, and in this respect they resemble the symmetrical flowers of the closely allied genus, erodium. hence we are led to look at the peloric flowers of pelargonium as having probably reverted to the state of some primordial form, the progenitor of the three closely related genera of pelargonium, geranium, and erodium. in the peloric form of _antirrhinum majus_, appropriately called the "_wonder_," the tubular and elongated flowers differ wonderfully from those of the common snapdragon; the calyx and the mouth of the corolla consist of six equal lobes, and include six equal instead of four unequal stamens. one of the two additional stamens is manifestly formed by the development of a microscopically minute papilla, which may be found at the base of the upper lip of the flower in all common snapdragons, at least in nineteen plants examined by me. that this papilla is a rudiment of a stamen was well shown by its various degrees of development in crossed plants between the common and peloric antirrhinum. again, a peloric _galeobdolon luteum_, growing in my garden, had five equal petals, all striped like the ordinary lower lip, and included five equal instead of four unequal stamens; but mr. r. keeley, who sent me this plant, informs me that the flowers vary greatly, having from four to six lobes to the corolla, and from three to six stamens.[ ] now, as the members of the two great families to which the antirrhinum and galeobdolon belong are properly pentamerous, with some of the parts confluent and others suppressed, we ought not to look at the sixth stamen and the sixth lobe to the corolla in either case as due to reversion, any more than the additional petals in double flowers in these same two families. but the case is different with the fifth stamen in the peloric antirrhinum, which { } is produced by the redevelopment of a rudiment always present, and which probably reveals to us the state of the flower, as far as the stamens are concerned, at some ancient epoch. it is also difficult to believe that the other four stamens and the petals, after an arrest of development at a very early embryonic age, would have come to full perfection in colour, structure, and function, unless these organs had at some former period normally passed through a similar course of growth. hence it appears to me probable that the progenitor of the genus antirrhinum must at some remote epoch have included five stamens and borne flowers in some degree resembling those now produced by the peloric form. lastly, i may add that many instances have been recorded of flowers, not generally ranked as peloric, in which certain organs, normally few in number, have been abnormally augmented. as such an increase of parts cannot be looked at as an arrest of development, nor as due to the redevelopment of rudiments, for no rudiments are present, and as these additional parts bring the plant into closer relationship with its natural allies, they ought probably to be viewed as reversions to a primordial condition. these several facts show us in an interesting manner how intimately certain abnormal states are connected together; namely, arrests of development causing parts to become rudimentary or to be wholly suppressed,--the redevelopment of parts at present in a more or less rudimentary condition,--the reappearance of organs of which not a vestige can now be detected,--and to these may be added, in the case of animals, the presence during youth, and subsequent disappearance, of certain characters which occasionally are retained throughout life. some naturalists look at all such abnormal structures as a return to the ideal state of the group to which the affected being belongs; but it is difficult to conceive what is meant to be conveyed by this expression. other naturalists maintain, with greater probability and distinctness of view, that the common bond of connection between the several foregoing cases is an actual, though partial, return to the structure of the ancient progenitor of the group. if this view be correct, we must believe that a vast number of characters, capable of evolution, lie hidden in every organic being. but it would be a mistake to suppose that the number is equally great in all beings. we know, for instance, that plants of many orders occasionally become peloric; but many more cases have been observed in the labiatæ and scrophulariaceæ than in any other order; and in one genus of the scrophulariaceæ, namely linaria, no less { } than thirteen species have been described in a peloric condition.[ ] on this view of the nature of peloric flowers, and bearing in mind what has been said with respect to certain monstrosities in the animal kingdom, we must conclude that the progenitors of most plants and animals, though widely different in structure, have left an impression capable of redevelopment on the germs of their descendants. the fertilised germ of one of the higher animals, subjected as it is to so vast a series of changes from the germinal cell to old age,--incessantly agitated by what quatrefages well calls the _tourbillon vital_,--is perhaps the most wonderful object in nature. it is probable that hardly a change of any kind affects either parent, without some mark being left on the germ. but on the doctrine of reversion, as given in this chapter, the germ becomes a far more marvellous object, for, besides the visible changes to which it is subjected, we must believe that it is crowded with invisible characters, proper to both sexes, to both the right and left side of the body, and to a long line of male and female ancestors separated by hundreds or even thousands of generations from the present time; and these characters, like those written on paper with invisible ink, all lie ready to be evolved under certain known or unknown conditions. * * * * * { } chapter xiv. inheritance _continued_--fixedness of character--prepotency--sexual limitation--correspondence of age. fixedness of character apparently not due to antiquity of inheritance--prepotency of transmission in individuals of the same family, in crossed breeds and species; often stronger in one sex than the other; sometimes due to the same character being present and visible in one breed and latent in the other--inheritance as limited by sex--newly-acquired characters in our domesticated animals often transmitted by one sex alone, sometimes lost by one sex alone--inheritance at corresponding periods of life--the importance of the principle with respect to embryology; as exhibited in domesticated animals; as exhibited in the appearance and disappearance of inherited diseases; sometimes supervening earlier in the child than in the parent--summary of the three preceding chapters. in the two last chapters the nature and force of inheritance, the circumstances which interfere with its power, and the tendency to reversion, with its many remarkable contingencies, were discussed. in the present chapter some other related phenomena will be treated of, as fully as my materials permit. _fixedness of character._ it is a general belief amongst breeders that the longer any character has been transmitted by a breed, the more firmly it will continue to be transmitted. i do not wish to dispute the truth of the proposition, that inheritance gains strength simply through long continuance, but i doubt whether it can be proved. in one sense the proposition is little better than a truism; if any character has remained constant during many generations, it will obviously be little likely, the conditions of life remaining the same, to vary during the next generation. so, again, in improving a breed, if care be taken for a length of time to exclude all inferior individuals, the breed will obviously tend to become truer, as it will not have been crossed during many generations by an inferior animal. we have previously seen, { } but without being able to assign any cause, that, when a new character appears, it is occasionally from the first well fixed, or fluctuates much, or wholly fails to be transmitted. so it is with the aggregate of slight differences which characterise a new variety, for some propagate their kind from the first much truer than others. even with plants multiplied by bulbs, layers, &c., which may in one sense be said to form parts of the same individual, it is well known that certain varieties retain and transmit through successive bud-generations their newly-acquired characters more truly than others. in none of these, nor in the following cases, does there appear to be any relation between the force with which a character is transmissible and the length of time during which it has already been transmitted. some varieties, such as white and yellow hyacinths and white sweet-peas, transmit their colours more faithfully than do the varieties which have retained their natural colour. in the irish family, mentioned in the twelfth chapter, the peculiar tortoiseshell-like colouring of the eyes was transmitted far more faithfully than any ordinary colour. ancon and mauchamp sheep and niata cattle, which are all comparatively modern breeds, exhibit remarkably strong powers of inheritance. many similar cases could be adduced. as all domesticated animals and cultivated plants have varied, and yet are descended from aboriginally wild forms, which no doubt had retained the same character from an immensely remote epoch, we see that scarcely any degree of antiquity ensures a character being transmitted perfectly true. in this case, however, it may be said that changed conditions of life induce certain modifications, and not that the power of inheritance fails; but in every case of failure, some cause, either internal or external, must interfere. it will generally be found that the parts in our domesticated productions which have varied, or which still continue to vary,--that is, which fail to retain their primordial state,--are the same with the parts which differ in the natural species of the same genus. as, on the theory of descent with modification, the species of the same genus have been modified since they branched off from a common progenitor, it follows that the characters by which they differ from each other have varied whilst other parts of the organisation have remained unchanged; and it might be argued that { } these same characters now vary under domestication, or fail to be inherited, owing to their lesser antiquity. but we must believe structures, which have already varied, would be more liable to go on varying, rather than structures which during an immense lapse of time have remained unaltered; and this variation is probably the result of certain relations between the conditions of life and the organisation, quite independently of the greater or less antiquity of each particular character. fixedness of character, or the strength of inheritance, has often been judged of by the preponderance of certain characters in the crossed offspring between distinct races; but prepotency of transmission here comes into play, and this, as we shall immediately see, is a very different consideration from the strength or weakness of inheritance. it has often been observed[ ] that breeds of animals inhabiting wild and mountainous countries cannot be permanently modified by our improved breeds; and as these latter are of modern origin, it has been thought that the greater antiquity of the wilder breeds has been the cause of their resistance to improvement by crossing; but it is more probably due to their structure and constitution being better adapted to the surrounding conditions. when plants are first subjected to culture, it has been found that, during several generations, they transmit their characters truly, that is, do not vary, and this has been attributed to ancient characters being strongly inherited; but it may with equal or greater probability be consequent on changed conditions of life requiring a long time for their accumulative action. notwithstanding these considerations, it would perhaps be rash to deny that characters become more strongly fixed the longer they are transmitted; but i believe that the proposition resolves itself into this,--that all characters of all kinds, whether new or old, tend to be inherited, and that those which have already withstood all counteracting influences and been truly transmitted, will, as a general rule, continue to withstand them, and consequently be faithfully inherited. { } _prepotency in the transmission of character._ when individuals distinct enough to be recognised, but of the same family, or when two well-marked races, or two species, are crossed, the usual result, as stated in the previous chapter, is, that the offspring in the first generation are intermediate between their parents, or resemble one parent in one part and the other parent in another part. but this is by no means the invariable rule; for in many cases it is found that certain individuals, races, and species are prepotent in transmitting their likeness. this subject has been ably discussed by prosper lucas,[ ] but is rendered extremely complicated by the prepotency sometimes running equally in both sexes, and sometimes more strongly in one sex than in the other; it is likewise complicated by the presence of secondary sexual characters, which render the comparison of mongrels with their parent-breeds difficult. it would appear that in certain families some one ancestor, and after him others in the same family, must have had great power in transmitting their likeness through the male line; for we cannot otherwise understand how the same features should so often be transmitted after marriages with various females, as has been the case with the austrian emperors, and as, according to niebuhr, formerly occurred in certain roman families with their mental qualities.[ ] the famous bull favourite is believed[ ] to have had a prepotent influence on the shorthorn race. it has also been observed[ ] with english race-horses that certain mares have generally transmitted their own character, whilst other mares of equally pure blood have allowed the character of the sire to prevail. the truth of the principle of prepotency comes out more clearly when certain races are crossed. the improved shorthorns, notwithstanding that the breed is comparatively modern, are generally acknowledged to possess great power in impressing their likeness on all other breeds; and it is chiefly in consequence of this power that they are so highly valued { } for exportation.[ ] godine has given a curious case of a ram of a goat-like breed of sheep from the cape of good hope, which produced offspring hardly to be distinguished from himself, when crossed with ewes of twelve other breeds. but two of these half-bred ewes, when put to a merino ram, produced lambs closely resembling the merino breed. girou de buzareingues[ ] found that of two races of french sheep the ewes of one, when crossed during successive generations with merino rams, yielded up their character far sooner than the ewes of the other race. sturm and girou have given analogous cases with other breeds of sheep and with cattle, the prepotency running in these cases through the male side; but i was assured on good authority in south america, that when niata cattle are crossed with common cattle, though the niata breed is prepotent whether males or females are used, yet that the prepotency is strongest through the female line. the manx cat is tailless and has long hind legs; dr. wilson crossed a male manx with common cats, and, out of twenty-three kittens, seventeen were destitute of tails; but when the female manx was crossed by common male cats all the kittens had tails, though they were generally short and imperfect.[ ] in making reciprocal crosses between pouter and fantail pigeons, the pouter-race seemed to be prepotent through both sexes over the fantail. but this is probably due to weak power in the fantail rather than to any unusually strong power in the pouter, for i have observed that barbs also preponderated over fantails. this weakness of transmission in the fantail, though the breed is an ancient one, is said[ ] to be general; but i have observed one exception to the rule, namely, in a cross between a fantail and laugher. the most curious instance known to me of weak power in both sexes is in the trumpeter pigeon. this breed has been well known for at least years: it breeds perfectly true, as i have been assured by those who have long kept many birds: it is characterised by a peculiar tuft of feathers over the beak, by a crest on the head, by a most peculiar coo quite unlike that of any other breed, and by much-feathered feet. i have crossed both sexes with turbits of two sub-breeds, with almond tumblers, spots, and runts, and reared many mongrels and recrossed them; and though the crest on the head and feathered feet were inherited (as is generally the case with most breeds), i have never seen a vestige of the tuft over the beak or heard the peculiar coo. boitard and corbié[ ] assert that this is the invariable result of crossing trumpeters with any other breed: neumeister,[ ] however, states that in germany mongrels have been obtained, though very rarely, which were furnished with the tuft and would trumpet: but a pair of these mongrels with a tuft, which i imported, never trumpeted. mr. brent states[ ] that the crossed offspring of a trumpeter were crossed { } with trumpeters for three generations, by which time the mongrels had - ths of this blood in their veins, yet the tuft over the beak did not appear. at the fourth generation the tuft appeared, but the birds, though now having - ths trumpeter's blood, still did not trumpet. this case well shows the wide difference between inheritance and prepotency; for here we have a well-established old race which transmits it characters faithfully, but which, when crossed with any other race, has the feeblest power of transmitting its two chief characteristic qualities. i will give one other instance with fowls and pigeons of weakness and strength in the transmission of the same character to their crossed offspring. the silk-fowl breeds true, and there is reason to believe is a very ancient race; but when i reared a large number of mongrels from a silk-hen by a spanish cock, not one exhibited even a trace of the so-called silkiness. mr. hewitt also asserts that in no instance are the silky feathers transmitted by this breed when crossed with any other variety. but three birds out of many raised by mr. orton from a cross between a silk-cock and a bantam-hen, had silky feathers.[ ] so that it is certain that this breed very seldom has the power of transmitting its peculiar plumage to its crossed progeny. on the other hand, there is a silk sub-variety of the fantail pigeon, which has its feathers in nearly the same state as in the silk-fowl: now we have already seen that fantails, when crossed, possess singularly weak power in transmitting their general qualities; but the silk sub-variety when crossed with any other small-sized race invariably transmits its silky feathers![ ] the law of prepotency comes into action when species are crossed, as with races and individuals. gärtner has unequivocally shown[ ] that this is the case with plants. to give one instance: when _nicotiana paniculata_ and _vincæflora_ are crossed, the character of _n. paniculata_ is almost completely lost in the hybrid; but if _n. quadrivalvis_ be crossed with _n. vincæflora_, this later species, which was before so prepotent, now in its turn almost disappears under the power of _n. quadrivalvis_. it is remarkable that the prepotency of one species over another in transmission is quite independent, as shown by gärtner, of the greater or less facility with which the one fertilises the other. with animals, the jackal is prepotent over the dog, as is stated by flourens who made many crosses between these animals; and this was likewise the case with a hybrid which i once saw between a jackal and terrier. i cannot doubt, from the observations of colin and others, that the ass is prepotent over the horse; the prepotency in this instance running more strongly through the male than through the female ass; so that the mule resembles the ass more closely than does the hinny.[ ] the { } male pheasant, judging from mr. hewitt's descriptions,[ ] and from the hybrids which i have seen, preponderates over the domestic fowl; but the latter, as far as colour is concerned, has considerable power of transmission, for hybrids raised from five differently coloured hens differed greatly in plumage. i formerly examined some curious hybrids in the zoological gardens, between the penguin variety of the common duck and the egyptian goose (_tadorna Ægyptiaca_); and although i will not assert that the domesticated variety preponderated over the natural species, yet it had strongly impressed its unnatural upright figure on these hybrids. i am aware that such cases as the foregoing have been ascribed by various authors, not to one species, race, or individual being prepotent over the other in impressing it character on its crossed offspring, but to such rules as that the father influences the external characters and the mother the internal or vital organs. but the great diversity of the rules given by various authors almost proves their falseness. dr. prosper lucas has fully discussed this point, and has shown[ ] that none of the rules (and i could add others to those quoted by him) apply to all animals. similar rules have been enounced for plants, and have been proved by gärtner[ ] to be all erroneous. if we confine our view to the domesticated races of a single species, or perhaps even to the species of the same genus, some such rules may hold good; for instance, it seems that in reciprocally crossing various breeds of fowls the male generally gives colour;[ ] but conspicuous exceptions have passed under my own eyes. in sheep it seems that the ram usually gives its peculiar horns and fleece to its crossed offspring, and the bull the presence or absence of horns. in the following chapter on crossing i shall have occasion to show that certain characters are rarely or never blended by crossing, but are { } transmitted in an unmodified state from either parent-form; i refer to this fact here because it is sometimes accompanied on the one side by prepotency, which thus acquires the false appearance of unusual strength. in the same chapter i shall show that the rate at which a species or breed absorbs and obliterates another by repeated crosses, depends in chief part on prepotency in transmission. in conclusion, some of the cases above given,--for instance, that of the trumpeter pigeon,--prove that there is a wide difference between mere inheritance and prepotency. this latter power seems to us, in our ignorance, to act in most cases quite capriciously. the very same character, even though it be an abnormal or monstrous one, such as silky feathers, may be transmitted by different species, when crossed, either with prepotent force or singular feebleness. it is obvious, that a purely-bred form of either sex, in all cases in which prepotency does not run more strongly in one sex than the other, will transmit its character with prepotent force over a mongrelized and already variable form.[ ] from several of the above-given cases we may conclude that mere antiquity of character does not by any means necessarily make it prepotent. in some cases prepotency apparently depends on the same character being present and visible in one of the two breeds which are crossed, and latent or invisible in the other breed; and in this case it is natural that the character which is potentially present in both should be prepotent. thus, we have reason to believe that there is a latent tendency in all horses to be dun-coloured and striped; and when a horse of this kind is crossed with one of any other colour, it is said that the offspring are almost sure to be striped. sheep have a similar latent tendency to become dark-coloured, and we have seen with what prepotent force a ram with a few black spots, when crossed with sheep of various breeds, coloured its offspring. all pigeons have a latent tendency to become slaty-blue, with certain characteristic marks, and it is known that, when a bird thus coloured is crossed with one of any other colour, it is most difficult afterwards to eradicate the blue tint. a nearly parallel case is offered by those black bantams which, as they grow { } old, develop a latent tendency to acquire red feathers. but there are exceptions to the rule: hornless breeds of cattle possess a latent capacity to reproduce horns, yet when crossed with horned breeds they do not invariably produce offspring bearing horns. we meet with analogous cases with plants. striped flowers, though they can be propagated truly by seed, have a latent tendency to become uniformly coloured, but when once crossed by a uniformly coloured variety, they ever afterwards fail to produce striped seedlings.[ ] another case is in some respects more curious: plants bearing peloric or regular flowers have so strong a latent tendency to reproduce their normally irregular flowers, that this often occurs by buds when a plant is transplanted into poorer or richer soil.[ ] now i crossed the peloric snapdragon (_antirrhinum majus_), described in the last chapter, with pollen of the common form; and the latter, reciprocally, with peloric pollen. i thus raised two great beds of seedlings, and not one was peloric. naudin[ ] obtained the same result from crossing a peloric linaria with the common form. i carefully examined the flowers of ninety plants of the crossed antirrhinum in the two beds, and their structure had not been in the least affected by the cross, except that in a few instances the minute rudiment of the fifth stamen, which is always present, was more fully or even completely developed. it must not be supposed that this entire obliteration of the peloric structure in the crossed plants can be accounted for by any incapacity of transmission; for i raised a large bed of plants from the peloric antirrhinum, artificially fertilised by its own pollen, and sixteen plants, which alone survived the winter, were all as perfectly peloric as the parent-plant. here we have a good instance of the wide difference between the inheritance of a character and the power of transmitting it to crossed offspring. the crossed plants, which perfectly resembled the common snapdragon, were allowed to sow themselves, and, out of a hundred and twenty-seven seedlings, eighty-eight proved to be common snapdragons, two were in an intermediate condition between the peloric and normal state, { } and thirty-seven were perfectly peloric, having reverted to the structure of their one grandparent. this case seems at first sight to offer an exception to the rule formerly given, namely, that a character which is present in one form and latent in the other is generally transmitted with prepotent force when the two forms are crossed. for in all the scrophulariaceæ, and especially in the genera antirrhinum and linaria, there is, as was shown in the last chapter, a strong latent tendency to become peloric; and there is also, as we have just seen, a still stronger tendency in all peloric plants to reacquire their normal irregular structure. so that we have two opposed latent tendencies in the same plants. now, with the crossed antirrhinums the tendency to produce normal or irregular flowers, like those of the common snapdragon, prevailed in the first generation; whilst the tendency to pelorism, appearing to gain strength by the intermission of a generation, prevailed to a large extent in the second set of seedlings. how it is possible for a character to gain strength by the intermission of a generation, will be considered in the chapter on pangenesis. on the whole, the subject of prepotency is extremely intricate,--from its varying so much in strength, even in regard to the same character, in different animals,--from its running either equally in both sexes, or, as frequently is the case with animals, but not with plants, much stronger in the one sex than the other,--from the existence of secondary sexual characters,--from the transmission of certain characters being limited, as we shall immediately see, by sex,--from certain characters not blending together,--and, perhaps, occasionally from the effects of a previous fertilisation on the mother. it is therefore not surprising that every one hitherto has been baffled in drawing up general rules on the subject of prepotency. _inheritance as limited by sex._ new characters often appear in one sex, and are afterwards transmitted to the same sex, either exclusively or in a much greater degree than to the other. this subject is important, because with animals of many kinds in a state of nature, both high and low in the scale, secondary sexual characters, not in { } any way directly connected with the organs of reproduction, are often conspicuously present. with our domesticated animals, also, these same secondary characters are often found to differ greatly from the state in which they exist in the parent-species. and the principle of inheritance as limited by sex shows how such characters might have been first acquired and subsequently modified. dr. p. lucas, who has collected many facts on this subject, shows[ ] that when a peculiarity, in no manner connected with the reproductive organs, appears in either parent, it is often transmitted exclusively to the offspring of the same sex, or to a much greater number of them than of the opposite sex. thus, in the family of lambert, the horn-like projections on the skin were transmitted from the father to his sons and grandsons alone; so it has been with other cases of ichthyosis, with supernumerary digits, with a deficiency of digits and phalanges, and in a lesser degree with various diseases, especially with colour-blindness, and a hæmorrhagic diathesis, that is, an extreme liability to profuse and uncontrollable bleeding from trifling wounds. on the other hand, mothers have transmitted, during several generations, to their daughters alone, supernumerary and deficient digits, colour-blindness, and other peculiarities. so that we see that the very same peculiarity may become attached to either sex, and be long inherited by that sex alone; but the attachment in certain cases is much more frequent to one than the other sex. the same peculiarities also may be promiscuously transmitted to either sex. dr. lucas gives other cases, showing that the male occasionally transmits his peculiarities to his daughters alone, and the mother to her sons alone; but even in this case we see that inheritance is to a certain extent, though inversely, regulated by sex. dr. lucas, after weighing the whole evidence, comes to the conclusion that every peculiarity, according to the sex in which it first appears, tends to be transmitted in a greater or lesser degree to that sex. a few details from the many cases collected by mr. sedgwick,[ ] may be here given. colour-blindness, from some unknown cause, shows itself much oftener in males than in females; in upwards of two hundred cases collected by mr. sedgwick, nine-tenths related to men; but it is eminently liable to be transmitted through women. in the case given by dr. earle, members of eight related families were affected during five generations: these families consisted of sixty-one individuals, namely, of thirty-two males, of whom nine-sixteenths were incapable of distinguishing colour, and of twenty-nine females, of whom only one-fifteenth were thus affected. { } although colour-blindness thus generally clings to the male sex, nevertheless, in one instance in which it first appeared in a female, it was transmitted during five generations to thirteen individuals, all of whom were females. a hæmorrhagic diathesis, often accompanied by rheumatism, has been known to affect the males alone during five generations, being transmitted, however, through the females. it is said that deficient phalanges in the fingers have been inherited by the females alone during ten generations. in another case, a man thus deficient in both hands and feet, transmitted the peculiarity to his two sons and one daughter; but in the third generation, out of nineteen grandchildren, twelve sons had the family defect, whilst the seven daughters were free. in ordinary cases of sexual limitation, the sons or daughters inherit the peculiarity, whatever it may be, from their father or mother, and transmit it to their children of the same sex; but generally with the hæmorrhagic diathesis, and often with colour-blindness, and in some other cases, the sons never inherit the peculiarity directly from their fathers, but the daughters, and the daughters alone, transmit the latent tendency, so that the sons of the daughters alone exhibit it. thus, the father, grandson, and great-great-grandson will exhibit a peculiarity,--the grandmother, daughter, and great-granddaughter having transmitted it in a latent state. hence we have, as mr. sedgwick remarks, a double kind of atavism or reversion; each grandson apparently receiving and developing the peculiarity from his grandfather, and each daughter apparently receiving the latent tendency from her grandmother. from the various facts recorded by dr. prosper lucas, mr. sedgwick, and others, there can be no doubt that peculiarities first appearing in either sex, though not in any way necessarily or invariably connected with that sex, strongly tend to be inherited by the offspring of the same sex, but are often transmitted in a latent state through the opposite sex. turning now to domesticated animals, we find that certain characters not proper to the parent-species are often confined to, and inherited by, one sex alone; but we do not know the history of the first appearance of such characters. in the chapter on sheep, we have seen that the males of certain races differ greatly from the females in the shape of their horns, these being absent in the ewes of some breeds, in the development of fat in the tail in certain fat-tailed breeds, and in the outline of the forehead. these differences, judging from the character of the allied wild species, cannot be accounted for by supposing that they have been derived from distinct parent-forms. there is, also, a great difference between the horns of the two sexes in one indian breed of goats. the bull zebu is said to have a larger hump than the cow. in the scotch deer-hound the two sexes differ in size more than in any other variety of the dog,[ ] and, judging from analogy, more than in the aboriginal parent-species. the peculiar colour called tortoise-shell is very rarely seen in a male cat; the males of this variety being of a rusty tint. a tendency to baldness in man before the advent of old age is certainly inherited; and in the european, or at least in the { } englishman, is an attribute of the male sex, and may almost be ranked as an incipient secondary sexual character. in various breeds of the fowl the males and females often differ greatly; and these differences are far from being the same with those which distinguish the two sexes in the parent-species, the _gallus bankiva_; and consequently have originated under domestication. in certain sub-varieties of the game race we have the unusual case of the hens differing from each other more than the cocks. in an indian breed of a white colour stained with soot, the hens invariably have black skins, and their bones are covered by a black periosteum, whilst the cocks are never or most rarely thus characterised. pigeons offer a more interesting case; for the two sexes rarely differ throughout the whole great family, and the males and females of the parent-form, the _c. livia_, are undistinguishable; yet we have seen that with pouters the male has the characteristic quality of pouting more strongly developed than the female; and in certain sub-varieties[ ] the males alone are spotted or striated with black. when male and female english carrier-pigeons are exhibited in separate pens, the difference in the development of the wattle over the beak and round the eyes is conspicuous. so that here we have instances of the appearance of secondary sexual characters in the domesticated races of a species in which such differences are naturally quite absent. on the other hand, secondary sexual characters which properly belong to the species are sometimes quite lost, or greatly diminished, under domestication. we see this in the small size of the tusks in our improved breeds of the pig, in comparison with those of the wild boar. there are sub-breeds of fowls in which the males have lost the fine flowing tail-feathers and hackles; and others in which there is no difference in colour between the two sexes. in some cases the barred plumage, which in gallinaceous birds is commonly the attribute of the hen, has been transferred to the cock, as in the cuckoo sub-breeds. in other cases masculine characters have been partly transferred to the female, as with the splendid plumage of the golden-spangled hamburgh hen, the enlarged comb of the spanish hen, the pugnacious disposition of the game hen, and as in the well-developed spurs which occasionally appear in the hens of various breeds. in polish fowls both sexes are ornamented with a topknot, that of the male being formed of hackle-like feathers, and this is a new male character in the genus gallus. on the whole, as far as i can judge, new characters are more apt { } to appear in the males of our domesticated animals than in the females, and afterwards to be either exclusively or more strongly inherited by the males. finally, in accordance with the principle of inheritance as limited by sex, the appearance of secondary sexual characters in natural species offers no especial difficulty, and their subsequent increase and modification, if of any service to the species, would follow through that form of selection which in my 'origin of species' i have called sexual selection. _inheritance at corresponding periods of life._ this is an important subject. since the publication of my 'origin of species,' i have seen no reason to doubt the truth of the explanation there given of perhaps the most remarkable of all the facts in biology, namely, the difference between the embryo and the adult animal. the explanation is, that variations do not necessarily or generally occur at a very early period of embryonic growth, and that such variations are inherited at a corresponding age. as a consequence of this the embryo, even when the parent-form undergoes a great amount of modification, is left only slightly modified; and the embryos of widely-different animals which are descended from a common progenitor remain in many important respects like each other and their common progenitor. we can thus understand why embryology should throw a flood of light on the natural system of classification, for this ought to be as far as possible genealogical. when the embryo leads an independent life, that is, becomes a larva, it has to be adapted to the surrounding conditions in its structure and instincts, independently of those of its parents; and the principle of inheritance at corresponding periods of life renders this possible. this principle is, indeed, in one way so obvious that it escapes attention. we possess a number of races of animals and plants, which, when compared with each other and with their parent-forms, present conspicuous differences, both in the immature and mature states. look at the seeds of the several kinds of peas, beans, maize, which can be propagated truly, and see how they differ in size, colour, and shape, whilst the { } full-grown plants differ but little. cabbages on the other hand differ greatly in foliage and manner of growth, but hardly at all in their seeds; and generally it will be found that the differences between cultivated plants at different periods of growth are not necessarily closely connected together, for plants may differ much in their seeds and little when full-grown, and conversely may yield seeds hardly distinguishable, yet differ much when full-grown. in the several breeds of poultry, descended from a single species, differences in the eggs and chickens, in the plumage at the first and subsequent moults, in the comb and wattles during maturity, are all inherited. with man peculiarities in the milk and second teeth, of which i have received the details, are inheritable, and with man longevity is often transmitted. so again with our improved breeds of cattle and sheep, early maturity, including the early development of the teeth, and with certain breeds of fowl the early appearance of secondary sexual characters, all come under the same head of inheritance at corresponding periods. numerous analogous facts could be given. the silk-moth, perhaps, offers the best instance; for in the breeds which transmit their characters truly, the eggs differ in size, colour, and shape;--the caterpillars differ, in moulting three or four times, in colour, even in having a dark-coloured mark like an eyebrow, and in the loss of certain instincts;--the cocoons differ in size, shape, and in the colour and quality of the silk; these several differences being followed by slight or barely distinguishable differences in the mature moth. but it may be said that, if in the above cases a new peculiarity is inherited, it must be at the corresponding stage of development; for an egg or seed can resemble only an egg or seed, and the horn in a full-grown ox can resemble only a horn. the following cases show inheritance at corresponding periods more plainly, because they refer to peculiarities which might have supervened, as far as we can see, earlier or later in life, yet are inherited at the same period at which they first appeared. in the lambert family the porcupine-like excrescences appeared in the father and sons at the same age, namely, about nine weeks after { } birth.[ ] in the extraordinary hairy family described by mr. crawfurd,[ ] children were produced during three generations with hairy ears; in the father the hair began to grow over his body at six years old; in his daughter somewhat earlier, namely, at one year; and in both generations the milk teeth appeared late in life, the permanent teeth being afterwards singularly deficient. greyness of hair at an unusually early age has been transmitted in some families. these cases border on diseases inherited at corresponding periods of life, to which i shall immediately refer. it is a well-known peculiarity with almond-tumbler pigeons, that the full beauty and peculiar character of the plumage does not appear until the bird has moulted two or three times. neumeister describes and figures a breed of pigeons in which the whole body is white except the breast, neck, and head; but before the first moult all the white feathers acquire coloured edges. another breed is more remarkable: its first plumage is black, with rusty-red wing-bars and a crescent-shaped mark on the breast; these marks then became white, and remain so during three or four moults; but after this period the white spreads over the body, and the bird loses its beauty.[ ] prize canary-birds have their wings and tail black: "this colour, however, is only retained until the first moult, so that they must be exhibited ere the change takes place. once moulted, the peculiarity has ceased. of course all the birds emanating from this stock have black wings and tails the first year."[ ] a curious and somewhat analogous account has been given[ ] of a family of wild pied rooks which were first observed in , near chalfont, and which every year from that date up to the period of the published notice, viz. , "have several of their brood particoloured, black and white. this variegation of the plumage, however, disappears with the first moult; but among the next young families there are always a few pied ones." these changes of plumage, which appear and are inherited at various corresponding periods of life in the pigeon, canary-bird, and rook, are remarkable, because the parent-species undergo no such change. inherited diseases afford evidence in some respects of less value than the foregoing cases, because diseases are not necessarily connected with any change in structure; but in other respects of more value, because the periods have been more carefully observed. certain diseases are communicated to the child apparently by a process like inoculation, and the child is from the first affected; such cases may be here passed over. large classes of diseases usually appear at certain ages, such as st. vitus's dance in youth, consumption in early mid-life, gout later, and apoplexy still later; and these are naturally inherited at the same period. but even in diseases of this class, instances have been recorded, as with st. vitus's { } dance, showing that an unusually early or late tendency to the disease is inheritable.[ ] in most cases the appearance of any inherited disease is largely determined by certain critical periods in each person's life, as well as by unfavourable conditions. there are many other diseases, which are not attached to any particular period, but which certainly tend to appear in the child at about the same age at which the parent was first attacked. an array of high authorities, ancient and modern, could be given in support of this proposition. the illustrious hunter believed in it; and piorry[ ] cautions the physician to look closely to the child at the period when any grave inheritable disease attacked the parent. dr. prosper lucas,[ ] after collecting facts from every source, asserts that affections of all kinds, though not related to any particular period of life, tend to reappear in the offspring at whatever period of life they first appeared in the progenitor. as the subject is important, it may be well to give a few instances, simply as illustrations, not as proof; for proof, recourse must be had to the authorities above quoted. some of the following cases have been selected for the sake of showing that, when a slight departure from the rule occurs, the child is affected somewhat earlier in life than the parent. in the family of le compte blindness was inherited during three generations, and no less than thirty-seven children and grandchildren were all affected at about the same age, namely seventeen or eighteen.[ ] in another case a father and his four children all became blind at twenty-one years old; in another, a grandmother grew blind at thirty-five, her daughter at nineteen, and three grandchildren at the ages of thirteen and eleven.[ ] so with deafness, two brothers, their father and paternal grandfather, all became deaf at the age of forty.[ ] esquirol gives several striking instances of insanity coming on at the same age, as that of a grandfather, father, and son, who all committed suicide near their fiftieth year. many other cases could be given, as of a whole family who became insane at the age of forty.[ ] other cerebral affections sometimes follow the same rule,--for instance, epilepsy and apoplexy. a woman died of the latter disease when sixty-three years old; one of her daughters at forty-three, and the other at sixty-seven: the latter had twelve children, who all died from tubercular meningitis.[ ] i mention this latter case because it illustrates a frequent occurrence, namely, a change in the precise nature of an inherited disease, though still affecting the same organ. { } asthma has attacked several members of the same family when forty years old, and other families during infancy. the most different diseases, as angina pectoris, stone in the bladder, and various affections of the skin, have appeared in successive generations at nearly the same age. the little finger of a man began from some unknown cause to grow inwards, and the same finger in his two sons began at the same age to bend inwards in a similar manner. strange and inexplicable neuralgic affections have caused parents and children to suffer agonies at about the same period of life.[ ] i will give only two other cases, which are interesting as illustrating the disappearance as well as the appearance of disease at the same age. two brothers, their father, their paternal uncles, seven cousins, and their paternal grandfather, were all similarly affected by a skin-disease, called pityriasis versicolor; "the disease, strictly limited to the males of the family (though transmitted through the females), usually appeared at puberty, and disappeared at about the age of forty or forty-five years." the second case is that of four brothers, who when about twelve years old suffered almost every week from severe headaches, which were relieved only by a recumbent position in a dark room. their father, paternal uncles, paternal grandfather, and paternal granduncles all suffered in the same way from headaches, which ceased at the age of fifty-four or fifty-five in all those who lived so long. none of the females of the family were affected.[ ] it is impossible to read the foregoing accounts, and the many others which have been recorded, of diseases coming on during three or even more generations, at the same age in several members of the same family, especially in the case of rare affections in which the coincidence cannot be attributed to chance, and doubt that there is a strong tendency to inheritance in disease at corresponding periods of life. when the rule fails, the disease is apt to come on earlier in the child than in the parent; the exceptions in the other direction being vey much rarer. dr. lucas[ ] alludes to several cases of inherited diseases coming on at an earlier period. i have already given one striking instance with blindness during three generations; and mr. bowman remarks that this frequently occurs with cataract. with cancer there seems to be a peculiar liability to earlier inheritance: mr. paget, who has particularly { } attended to this subject, and tabulated a large number of cases, informs me that he believes that in nine cases out of ten the later generation suffers from the disease at an earlier period than the previous generation. he adds, "in the instances in which the opposite relation holds, and the members of later generations have cancer at a later age than their predecessors, i think it will be found that the non-cancerous parents have lived to extreme old ages." so that the longevity of a non-affected parent seems to have the power of determining in the offspring the fatal period; and we thus apparently get another element of complexity in inheritance. the facts, showing that with certain diseases the period of inheritance occasionally or even frequently advances, are important with respect to the general descent-theory, for they render it in some degree probable that the same thing would occur with ordinary modifications of structure. the final result of a long series of such advances would be the gradual obliteration of characters proper to the embryo and larva, which would thus come to resemble more and more closely the mature parent-form. but any structure which was of service to the embryo or larva would be preserved by the destruction at this stage of growth of each individual which manifested any tendency to lose at too early an age its own proper character. finally, from the numerous races of cultivated plants and domestic animals, in which the seed or eggs, the young or old, differ from each other and from their parent-species;--from the cases in which new characters have appeared at a particular period, and afterwards have been inherited at the same period;--and from what we know with respect to disease, we must believe in the truth of the great principle of inheritance at corresponding periods of life. * * * * * _summary of the three preceding chapters._--strong as is the force of inheritance, it allows the incessant appearance of new characters. these, whether beneficial or injurious, of the most trifling importance, such as a shade of colour in a flower, a coloured lock of hair, or a mere gesture; or of the highest importance, as when affecting the brain or an organ so perfect { } and complex as the eye; or of so grave a nature as to deserve to be called a monstrosity, or so peculiar as not to occur normally in any member of the same natural class, are all sometimes strongly inherited by man, the lower animals, and plants. in numberless cases it suffices for the inheritance of a peculiarity that one parent alone should be thus characterised. inequalities in the two sides of the body, though opposed to the law of symmetry, may be transmitted. there is a considerable body of evidence showing that even mutilations, and the effects of accidents, especially or perhaps exclusively when followed by disease, are occasionally inherited. there can be no doubt that the evil effects of long-continued exposure in the parent to injurious conditions are sometimes transmitted to the offspring. so it is, as we shall see in a future chapter, with the effects of the use and disuse of parts, and of mental habits. periodical habits are likewise transmitted, but generally, as it would appear, with little force. hence we are led to look at inheritance as the rule, and non-inheritance as the anomaly. but this power often appears to us in our ignorance to act capriciously, transmitting a character with inexplicable strength or feebleness. the very same peculiarity, as the weeping habit of trees, silky-feathers, &c., may be inherited either firmly or not at all by different members of the same group, and even by different individuals of the same species, though treated in the same manner. in this latter case we see that the power of transmission is a quality which is merely individual in its attachment. as with single characters, so it is with the several concurrent slight differences which distinguish sub-varieties or races; for of these, some can be propagated almost as truly as species, whilst others cannot be relied on. the same rule holds good with plants, when propagated by bulbs, offsets, &c., which in one sense still form parts of the same individual, for some varieties retain or inherit through successive bud-generations their character far more truly than others. some characters not proper to the parent-species have certainly been inherited from an extremely remote epoch, and may therefore be considered as firmly fixed. but it is doubtful whether length of inheritance in itself gives fixedness of character; { } though the chances are obviously in favour of any character which has long been transmitted true or unaltered, still being transmitted true as long as the conditions of life remain the same. we know that many species, after having retained the same character for countless ages, whilst living under their natural conditions, when domesticated have varied in the most diversified manner, that is, have failed to transmit their original form; so that no character appears to be absolutely fixed. we can sometimes account for the failure of inheritance by the conditions of life being opposed to the development of certain characters; and still oftener, as with plants cultivated by grafts and buds, by the conditions causing new and slight modifications incessantly to appear. in this latter case it is not that inheritance wholly fails, but that new characters are continually superadded. in some few cases, in which both parents are similarly characterised, inheritance seems to gain so much force by the combined action of the two parents, that it counteracts its own power, and a new modification is the result. in many cases the failure of the parents to transmit their likeness is due to the breed having been at some former period crossed; and the child takes after his grandparent or more remote ancestor of foreign blood. in other cases, in which the breed has not been crossed, but some ancient character has been lost through variation, it occasionally reappears through reversion, so that the parents apparently fail to transmit their own likeness. in all cases, however, we may safely conclude that the child inherits all its characters from its parents, in whom certain characters are latent, like the secondary sexual characters of one sex in the other. when, after a long succession of bud-generations, a flower or fruit becomes separated into distinct segments, having the colours or other attributes of both parent-forms, we cannot doubt that these characters were latent in the earlier buds, though they could not then be detected, or could be detected only in an intimately commingled state. so it is with animals of crossed parentage, which with advancing years occasionally exhibit characters derived from one of their two parents, of which not a trace could at first be perceived. certain monstrosities, which resemble what naturalists call the typical form of the group in question, { } apparently come under the same law of reversion. it is assuredly an astonishing fact that the male and female sexual elements, that buds, and even full-grown animals, should retain characters, during several generations in the case of crossed breeds, and during thousands of generations in the case of pure breeds, written as it were in invisible ink, yet ready at any time to be evolved under the requisite conditions. what these conditions are, we do not in many cases at all know. but the act of crossing in itself, apparently from causing some disturbance in the organisation, certainly gives a strong tendency to the reappearance of long-lost characters, both corporeal and mental, independently of those derived from the cross. a return of any species to its natural conditions of life, as with feral animals and plants, favours reversion; though it is certain that this tendency exists, we do not know how far it prevails, and it has been much exaggerated. on the other hand, the crossed offspring of plants which have had their organisation disturbed by cultivation, are more liable to reversion than the crossed offspring of species which have always lived under their natural conditions. when distinguishable individuals of the same family, or races, or species are crossed, we see that the one is often prepotent over the other in transmitting its own character. a race may possess a strong power of inheritance, and yet when crossed, as we have seen with trumpeter-pigeons, yield to the prepotency of every other race. prepotentcy of transmission may be equal in the two sexes of the same species, but often runs more strongly in one sex. it plays an important part in determining the rate at which one race can be modified or wholly absorbed by repeated crosses with another. we can seldom tell what makes one race or species prepotent over another; but it sometimes depends on the same character being present and visible in one parent, and latent or potentially present in the other. characters may first appear in either sex, but oftener in the male than in the female, and afterwards be transmitted to the offspring of the same sex. in this case we may feel confident that the peculiarity in question is really present though latent in the opposite sex; hence the father may transmit through his daughter any character to his grandson; and the mother { } conversely to her granddaughter. we thus learn, and the fact is an important one, that transmission and development are distinct powers. occasionally these two powers seem to be antagonistic, or incapable of combination in the same individual; for several cases have been recorded in which the son has not directly inherited a character from his father, or directly transmitted it to his son, but has received it by transmission through his non-affected mother, and transmitted it through his non-affected daughter. owing to inheritance being limited by sex, we can see how secondary sexual characters may first have arisen under nature; their preservation and accumulation being dependent on their service to either sex. at whatever period of life a new character first appears, it generally remains latent in the offspring until a corresponding age is attained, and then it is developed. when this rule fails, the child generally exhibits the character at an earlier period than the parent. on this principle of inheritance at corresponding periods, we can understand how it is that most animals display from the germ to maturity such a marvellous succession of characters. finally, though much remains obscure with respect to inheritance, we may look at the following laws as fairly well established. firstly, a tendency in every character, new and old, to be transmitted by seminal and bud generation, though often counteracted by various known and unknown causes. secondly, reversion or atavism, which depends on transmission and development being distinct powers: it acts in various degrees and manners through both seminal and bud generation. thirdly, prepotency of transmission, which may be confined to one sex, or be common to both sexes of the prepotent form. fourthly, transmission, limited by sex, generally to the same sex in which the inherited character first appeared. fifthly, inheritance at corresponding periods of life, with some tendency to the earlier development of the inherited character. in these laws of inheritance, as displayed under domestication, we see an ample provision for the production, through variability and natural selection, of new specific forms. * * * * * { } chapter xv. on crossing. free intercrossing obliterates the differences between allied breeds--when the numbers of two commingling breeds are unequal, one absorbs the other--the rate of absorption determined by prepotency of transmission, by the conditions of life, and by natural selection--all organic beings occasionally intercross; apparent exceptions--on certain characters incapable of fusion; chiefly or exclusively those which have suddenly appeared in the individual--on the modification of old races, and the formation of new races, by crossing--some crossed races have bred true from their first production--on the crossing of distinct species in relation to the formation of domestic races. in the two previous chapters, when discussing reversion and prepotency, i was necessarily led to give many facts on crossing. in the present chapter i shall consider the part which crossing plays in two opposed directions,--firstly, in obliterating characters, and consequently in preventing the formation of new races; and secondly, in the modification of old races, or in the formation of new and intermediate races, by a combination of characters. i shall also show that certain characters are incapable of fusion. the effects of free or uncontrolled breeding between the members of the same variety or of closely allied varieties are important; but are so obvious that they need not be discussed at much length. it is free intercrossing which chiefly gives uniformity, both under nature and under domestication, to the individuals of the same species or variety, when they live mingled together and are not exposed to any cause inducing excessive variability. the prevention of free crossing, and the intentional matching of individual animals, are the corner-stones of the breeder's art. no man in his senses would expect to improve or modify a breed in any particular manner, or keep an old breed true and distinct, unless he separated his animals. the killing of inferior animals in each generation comes to the { } same thing as their separation. in savage and semi-civilised countries, where the inhabitants have not the means of separating their animals, more than a single breed of the same species rarely or never exists. in former times, even in a country so civilised as north america, there were no distinct races of sheep, for all had been mingled together.[ ] the celebrated agriculturist marshall[ ] remarks that "sheep that are kept within fences, as well as shepherded flocks in open countries, have generally a similarity, if not a uniformity, of character in the individuals of each flock;" for they breed freely together, and are prevented from crossing with other kinds; whereas in the unenclosed parts of england the unshepherded sheep, even of the same flock, are far from true or uniform, owing to various breeds having mingled and crossed. we have seen that the half-wild cattle in the several british parks are uniform in character in each; but in the different parks, from not having mingled and crossed during many generations, they differ in a slight degree. we cannot doubt that the extraordinary number of varieties and sub-varieties of the pigeon, amounting to at least one hundred and fifty, is partly due to their remaining, differently from other domesticated birds, paired for life when once matched. on the other hand, breeds of cats imported into this country soon disappear, for their nocturnal and rambling habits render it hardly possible to prevent free crossing. rengger[ ] gives an interesting case with respect to the cat in paraguay: in all the distant parts of the kingdom it has assumed, apparently from the effects of the climate, a peculiar character, but near the capital this change has been prevented, owing, as he asserts, to the native animal frequently crossing with cats imported from europe. in all cases like the foregoing, the effects of an occasional cross will be augmented by the increased vigour and fertility of the crossed offspring, of which fact evidence will hereafter be given; for this will lead to the mongrels increasing more rapidly than the pure parent-breeds. { } when distinct breeds are allowed to cross freely, the result will be a heterogenous body; for instance, the dogs in paraguay are far from uniform, and can no longer be affiliated to their parent-races.[ ] the character which a crossed body of animals will ultimately assume must depend on several contingencies,--namely, on the relative numbers of the individuals belonging to the two or more races which are allowed to mingle; on the prepotency of one race over the other in the transmission of character; and on the conditions of life to which they are exposed. when two commingled breeds exist at first in nearly equal numbers, the whole will sooner or later become intimately blended, but not so soon, both breeds being equally favoured in all respects, as might have been expected. the following calculation[ ] shows that this is the case: if a colony with an equal number of black and white men were founded, and we assume that they marry indiscriminately, are equally prolific, and that one in thirty annually dies and is born; then "in years the number of blacks, whites, and mulattoes would be equal. in years the whites would be - th, the blacks - th, and the mulattoes, or people of intermediate degrees of colour, - ths of the whole number. in three centuries not - th part of the whites would exist." when one of two mingled races exceeds the other greatly in number, the latter will soon be wholly, or almost wholly, absorbed and lost.[ ] thus european pigs and dogs have been largely introduced into the islands of the pacific ocean, and the native races have been absorbed and lost in the course of about fifty or sixty years;[ ] but the imported races no doubt were favoured. rats may be considered as semi-domesticated animals. some snake-rats (_mus alexandrinus_) escaped in the zoological gardens of london, "and for a long time afterwards the keepers frequently caught cross-bred rats, at first half-breds, afterwards with less and less of the character of the snake-rat, till at length all traces of it disappeared."[ ] on the other hand, { } in some parts of london, especially near the docks, where fresh rats are frequently imported, an endless variety of intermediate forms may be found between the brown, black, and snake rat, which are all three usually ranked as distinct species. how many generations are necessary for one species or race to absorb another by repeated crosses has often been discussed;[ ] and the requisite number has probably been much exaggerated. some writers have maintained that a dozen, or score, or even more generations, are necessary; but this in itself is improbable, for in the tenth generation there will be only - th part of foreign blood in the offspring. gärtner found,[ ] that with plants one species could be made to absorb another in from three to five generations, and he believes that this could always be effected in from six to seventh generations. in one instance, however, kölreuter[ ] speaks of the offspring of _mirabilis vulgaris_, crossed during eight successive generations by _m. longiflora_, as resembling this latter species so closely, that the most scrupulous observer could detect "vix aliquam notabilem differentiam;"--he succeeded, as he says, "ad plenariam fere transmutationem." but this expression shows that the act of absorption was not even then absolutely complete, though these crossed plants contained only the - th part of _m. vulgaris_. the conclusions of such accurate observers as gärtner and kölreuter are of far higher worth than those made without scientific aim by breeders. the most remarkable statement which i have met with of the persistent endurance of the effects of a single cross is given by fleischmann,[ ] who, in reference to german sheep, says "that the original coarse sheep have fibres of wool on a square inch; grades of the third or fourth merino cross produced about , the twentieth cross , , the perfect pure merino blood , to , ." so that in this case common german sheep crossed twenty times successively with merinos have not by any means acquired wool as fine as that of the pure breed. in all cases, the rate of absorption will { } depend largely on the conditions of life being favourable to any particular character; and we may suspect that there would be under the climate of germany a constant tendency to degeneration in the wool of merinos, unless prevented by careful selection; and thus perhaps the foregoing remarkable case may be explained. the rate of absorption must also depend on the amount of distinguishable difference between the two forms which are crossed, and especially, as gärtner insists, on prepotency of transmission in the one form over the other. we have seen in the last chapter that one of two french breeds of sheep yielded up its character, when crossed with merinos, very much slower than the other; and the common german sheep referred to by fleischmann may present an analogous case. but in all cases there will be during many subsequent generations more or less liability to reversion, and it is this fact which has probably led authors to maintain that a score or more of generations are requisite for one race to absorb another. in considering the final result of the commingling of two or more breeds, we must not forget that the act of crossing in itself tends to bring back long-lost characters not proper to the immediate parent-forms. with respect to the influence of the conditions of life on any two breeds which are allowed to cross freely, unless both are indigenous and have long been accustomed to the country where they live, they will, in all probability, be unequally affected by the conditions, and this will modify the result. even with indigenous breeds, it will rarely or never occur that both are equally well adapted to the surrounding circumstances; more especially when permitted to roam freely, and not carefully tended, as will generally be the case with breeds allowed to cross. as a consequence of this, natural selection will to a certain extent come into action, and the best fitted will survive, and this will aid in determining the ultimate character of the commingled body. how long a time it would require before such a crossed body of animals would assume within a limited area a uniform character no one can say; that they would ultimately become uniform from free intercrossing, and from the survival of the fittest, we may feel assured; but the character thus acquired would rarely or never, as we may infer from the several previous { } considerations, be exactly intermediate between that of the two parent-breeds. with respect to the very slight differences by which the individuals of the same sub-variety, or even of allied varieties, are characterised, it is obvious that free crossing would soon obliterate such small distinctions. the formation of new varieties, independently of selection, would also thus be prevented; except when the same variation continually recurred from the action of some strongly predisposing cause. hence we may conclude that free crossing has in all cases played an important part in giving to all the members of the same domestic race, and of the same natural species, uniformity of character, though largely modified by natural selection and by the direct action of the surrounding conditions. _on the possibility of all organic beings occasionally intercrossing._--but it may be asked, can free crossing occur with hermaphrodite animals and plants? all the higher animals, and the few insects which have been domesticated, have separated sexes, and must inevitably unite for each birth. with respect to the crossing of hermaphrodites, the subject is too large for the present volume, and will be more properly treated in a succeeding work. in my 'origin of species,' however, i have given a short abstract of the reasons which induce me to believe that all organic beings occasionally cross, though perhaps in some cases only at long intervals of time.[ ] i will here just recall the fact that many plants, though hermaphrodite in structure, are unisexual in function;--such as those called by c. k. sprengel _dichogamous_, in which the pollen and stigma of the same flower are matured at different periods; or those called by me _reciprocally dimorphic_, in which the flower's own pollen is not fitted to fertilise its own stigma; or again, the many kinds in which curious mechanical contrivances exist, effectually preventing self-fertilisation. there are, however, many hermaphrodite plants which are not in any way specially constructed to favour intercrossing, but which nevertheless commingle almost as freely as animals with separated sexes. this is the case with cabbages, radishes, and onions, as i know from { } having experimented on them: even the peasants of liguria say that cabbages must be prevented "from falling in love" with each other. in the orange tribe, gallesio[ ] remarks that the amelioration of the various kinds is checked by their continual and almost regular crossing. so it is with numerous other plants. nevertheless some cultivated plants can be named which rarely intercross, as the common pea, or which never intercross, as i have reason to believe is the case with the sweet-pea (_lathyrus odoratus_); yet the structure of these flowers certainly favours an occasional cross. the varieties of the tomato and aubergine (_solanum_) and pimenta (_pimenta vulgaris?_) are said[ ] never to cross, even when growing alongside each other. but it should be observed that these are all exotic plants, and we do not know how they would behave in their native country when visited by the proper insects. it must also be admitted that some few natural species appear under our present state of knowledge to be perpetually self-fertilised, as in the case of the bee ophrys (_o. apifera_), though adapted in its structure to be occasionally crossed. the _leersia oryzoides_ produces minute enclosed flowers which cannot possibly be crossed, and these alone, to the exclusion of the ordinary flowers, have as yet been known to yield seed.[ ] a few additional and analogous cases could be advanced. but these facts do not make me doubt that it is a general law of nature that the individuals of the same species occasionally intercross, and that some great advantage is derived from this act. it is well known (and i shall hereafter have to give instances) that some plants, both indigenous and naturalised, rarely or never produce flowers; or, if they flower, never produce seeds. but no one is thus led to doubt that it is a general law of nature that phanerogamic plants should produce flowers, and that these flowers should produce seed. when they fail, we believe that such plants would perform their proper functions under different conditions, or that they formerly did so and will do so again. on analogous grounds, i believe that the few flowers { } which do not now intercross, either would do so under different conditions, or that they formerly fertilised each other at intervals--the means for effecting this being generally still retained--and they will do so again at some future period, unless indeed they become extinct. on this view alone, many points in the structure and action of the reproductive organs in hermaphrodite plants and animals are intelligible,--for instance, the male and female organs never being so completely enclosed as to render access from without impossible. hence we may conclude that the most important of all the means for giving uniformity to the individuals of the same species, namely, the capacity of occasionally intercrossing, is present, or has been formerly present, with all organic beings. _on certain characters not blending._--when two breeds are crossed their characters usually become intimately fused together; but some characters refuse to blend, and are transmitted in an unmodified state either from both parents or from one. when grey and white mice are paired, the young are not piebald nor of an intermediate tint, but are pure white or of the ordinary grey colour: so it is when white and common collared turtle-doves are paired. in breeding game fowls, a great authority, mr. j. douglas, remarks, "i may here state a strange fact: if you cross a black with a white game, you get birds of both breeds of the clearest colour." sir r. heron crossed during many years white, black, brown, and fawn-coloured angora rabbits, and never once got these colours mingled in the same animal, but often all four colours in the same litter.[ ] additional cases could be given, but this form of inheritance is very far from universal even with respect to the most distinct colours. when turnspit dogs and ancon sheep, both of which have dwarfed limbs, are crossed with common breeds, the offspring are not intermediate in structure, but take after either parent. when tailless or hornless animals are crossed with perfect animals, it frequently, but by no means invariably, happens that the offspring are { } either perfectly furnished with these organs or are quite destitute of them. according to rengger, the hairless condition of the paraguay dog is either perfectly or not at all transmitted to its mongrel offspring; but i have seen one partial exception in a dog of this parentage which had part of its skin hairy, and part naked; the parts being distinctly separated as in a piebald animal. when dorking fowls with five toes are crossed with other breeds, the chickens often have five toes on one foot and four on the other. some crossed pigs raised by sir r. heron between the solid-hoofed and common pig had not all four feet in an intermediate condition, but two feet were furnished with properly divided, and two with united hoofs. analogous facts have been observed with plants: major trevor clarke crossed the little, glabrous-leaved, annual stock (_matthiola_), with pollen of a large, red-flowered, rough-leaved, biennial stock, called _cocardeau_ by the french, and the result was that half the seedlings had glabrous and the other half rough leaves, but none had leaves in an intermediate state. that the glabrous seedlings were the product of the rough-leaved variety, and not accidentally of the mother-plant's own pollen, was shown by their tall and strong habit of growth.[ ] in the succeeding generations raised from the rough-leaved crossed seedlings, some glabrous plants appeared, showing that the glabrous character, though incapable of blending with and modifying the rough leaves, was all the time latent in this family of plants. the numerous plants formerly referred to, which i raised from reciprocal crosses between the peloric and common antirrhinum, offer a nearly parallel case; for in the first generation all the plants resembled the common form, and in the next generation, out of one hundred and thirty-seven plants, two alone were in an intermediate condition, the others perfectly resembling either the peloric or common form. major trevor clarke also fertilised the above-mentioned red-flowered stock with pollen from the purple queen stock, and about half the seedlings scarcely differed in habit, and not at all in the red colour of the flower, from the mother-plant, the other half bearing blossoms of a rich purple, closely like those of the paternal plant. gärtner crossed many white and yellow-flowered species and varieties of verbascum; and these colours were never blended, but the offspring bore either pure white or pure yellow blossoms; the former in the larger proportion.[ ] dr. herbert raised many seedlings, as he informed me, from swedish turnips crossed by two other varieties, and these never produced flowers of an intermediate tint, but always like one of their parents. i fertilised the purple sweet-pea (_lathyrus odoratus_), which has a dark reddish-purple standard-petal and violet-coloured wings and keel, with pollen of the painted-lady sweet-pea, which has a pale cherry-coloured standard, and almost white wings and keel; and from the same pod i twice raised plants perfectly resembling both sorts; the greater number resembling the father. so perfect was the resemblance, that i should have thought there had { } been some mistake, if the plants which were at first identical with the paternal variety, namely, the painted-lady, had not later in the season produced, as mentioned in a former chapter, flowers blotched and streaked with dark purple. i raised grandchildren and great-grandchildren from these crossed plants, and they continued to resemble the painted-lady, but during the later generations became rather more blotched with purple, yet none reverted completely to the original mother-plant, the purple sweet-pea. the following case is slightly different, but still shows the same principle: naudin[ ] raised numerous hybrids between the yellow _linaria vulgaris_ and the purple _l. purpurea_, and during three successive generations the colours kept distinct in different parts of the same flower. from such cases as the foregoing, in which the offspring of the first generation perfectly resemble either parent, we come by a small step to those cases in which differently coloured flowers borne on the same root resemble both parents, and by another step to those in which the same flower or fruit is striped or blotched with the two parental colours, or bears a single stripe of the colour or other characteristic quality of one of the parent-forms. with hybrids and mongrels it frequently or even generally happens that one part of the body resembles more or less closely one parent and another part the other parent; and here again some resistance to fusion, or, what comes to the same thing, some mutual affinity between the organic atoms of the same nature, apparently comes into play, for otherwise all parts of the body would be equally intermediate in character. so again, when the offspring of hybrids or mongrels, which are themselves nearly intermediate in character, revert either wholly or by segments to their ancestors, the principle of the affinity of similar, or the repulsion of dissimilar atoms, must come into action. to this principle, which seems to be extremely general, we shall recur in the chapter on pangenesis. it is remarkable, as has been strongly insisted upon by isidore geoffroy st. hilaire in regard to animals, that the transmission of characters without fusion occurs most rarely when species are crossed; i know of one exception alone, namely, with the hybrids naturally produced between the common and hooded crow (_corvus corone_ and _cornix_), which, however, are closely allied species, differing in nothing except colour. nor have i met with any well-ascertained cases of transmission of this kind, even when one form is strongly prepotent over another, when two races are crossed which have been slowly formed by man's selection, and therefore resemble to a certain extent natural species. such cases as puppies in the same litter closely resembling two distinct breeds, are probably due to super-foetation,--that is, to the influence of two fathers. all the characters above enumerated, which are transmitted in a perfect state to some of the offspring and not to others,--such as distinct colours, nakedness of skin, smoothness of leaves, absence of horns or tail, additional toes, pelorism, dwarfed structure, &c.,--have all been known to appear suddenly in individual animals and plants. from this fact, and from the several slight, aggregated differences which distinguish domestic races and species from { } each other, not being liable to this peculiar form of transmission, we may conclude that it is in some way connected with the sudden appearance of the characters in question. _on the modification of old races and the formation of new races by crossing._--we have hitherto chiefly considered the effects of crossing in giving uniformity of character; we must now look to an opposite result. there can be no doubt that crossing, with the aid of rigorous selection during several generations, has been a potent means in modifying old races, and in forming new ones. lord orford crossed his famous stud of greyhounds once with the bulldog, which breed was chosen from being deficient in scenting powers, and from having what was wanted, courage and perseverance. in the course of six or seven generations all traces of the external form of the bulldog were eliminated, but courage and perseverance remained. certain pointers have been crossed, as i hear from the rev. w. d. fox, with the foxhound, to give them dash and speed. certain strains of dorking fowls have had a slight infusion of game blood; and i have known a great fancier who on a single occasion crossed his turbit-pigeons with barbs, for the sake of gaining greater breadth of beak. in the foregoing cases breeds have been crossed once, for the sake of modifying some particular character; but with most of the improved races of the pig, which now breed true, there have been repeated crosses,--for instance, the improved essex owes its excellence to repeated crosses with the neapolitan, together probably with some infusion of chinese blood.[ ] so with our british sheep: almost all the races, except the southdown, have been largely crossed; "this, in fact, has been the history of our principal breeds."[ ] to give an example, the "oxfordshire downs" now rank as an established breed.[ ] they were produced about the year by crossing "hampshire and in some instances southdown ewes with cotswold rams:" now the hampshire ram was itself produced by repeated crosses between the native { } hampshire sheep and southdowns; and the long-woolled cotswold were improved by crosses with the leicester, which latter again is believed to have been a cross between several long-woolled sheep. mr. spooner, after considering the various cases which have been carefully recorded, concludes "that from a judicious pairing of cross-bred animals it is practicable to establish a new breed." on the continent the history of several crossed races of cattle and of other animals has been well ascertained. to give one instance: the king of wurtemberg, after twenty-five years' careful breeding, that is after six or seven generations, made a new breed of cattle from a cross between a dutch and swiss breed, combined with other breeds.[ ] the sebright bantam, which breeds as true as any other kind of fowl, was formed about sixty years ago by a complicated cross.[ ] dark brahmas, which are believed by some fanciers to constitute a distinct species, were undoubtedly formed[ ] in the united states, within a recent period, by a cross between chittagongs and cochins. with plants i believe there is little doubt that some kinds of turnips, now extensively cultivated, are crossed races; and the history of a variety of wheat which was raised from two very distinct varieties, and which after six years' culture presented an even sample, has been recorded on good authority.[ ] until quite lately, cautious and experienced breeders, though not averse to a single infusion of foreign blood, were almost universally convinced that the attempt to establish a new race, intermediate between two widely distinct races, was hopeless: "they clung with superstitious tenacity to the doctrine of purity of blood, believing it to be the ark in which alone true safety could be found."[ ] nor was this conviction unreasonable: when two distinct races are crossed, the offspring of the first generation are generally nearly uniform in character; but even this sometimes fails to be the case, especially with crossed dogs and fowls, the young of which from the first are sometimes much { } diversified. as cross-bred animals are generally of large size and vigorous, they have been raised in great numbers for immediate consumption. but for breeding they are found to be utterly useless; for though they may be themselves uniform in character, when paired together they yield during many generations offspring astonishingly diversified. the breeder is driven to despair, and concludes that he will never form an intermediate race. but from the cases already given, and from others which have been recorded, it appears that patience alone is necessary; as mr. spooner remarks, "nature opposes no barrier to successful admixture; in the course of time, by the aid of selection and careful weeding, it is practicable to establish a new breed." after six or seven generations the hoped-for result will in most cases be obtained; but even then an occasional reversion, or failure to keep true, may be expected. the attempt, however, will assuredly fail if the conditions of life be decidedly unfavourable to the characters of either parent-breed.[ ] although the grandchildren and succeeding generations of cross-bred animals are generally variable in an extreme degree, some curious exceptions to the rule have been observed, both with crossed races and species. thus boitard and corbié[ ] assert that from a pouter and a runt "a cavalier will appear, which we have classed amongst pigeons of pure race, because it transmits all its qualities to its posterity." the editor of the 'poultry chronicle'[ ] bred some bluish fowls from a black spanish cock and a malay hen; and these remained true to colour "generation after generation." the himalayan breed of rabbits was certainly formed by crossing two sub-varieties of the silver-grey rabbit; although it suddenly assumed its present character, which differs much from that of either parent-breed, yet it has ever since been easily and truly propagated. i crossed some labrador and penguin ducks, and recrossed the mongrels with penguins; afterwards, most of the ducks reared during three generations were nearly uniform in character, being brown with a white crescentic mark on the lower part of the breast, { } and with some white spots at the base of the beak; so that by the aid of a little selection a new breed might easily have been formed. in regard to crossed varieties of plants, mr. beaton remarks[ ] that "melville's extraordinary cross between the scotch kale and an early cabbage is as true and genuine as any on record;" but in this case no doubt selection was practised. gärtner[ ] has given five cases of hybrids, in which the progeny kept constant; and hybrids between _dianthus armeria_ and _deltoides_ remained true and uniform to the tenth generation. dr. herbert likewise showed me a hybrid from two species of loasa which from its first production had kept constant during several generations. we have seen in the earlier chapters, that some of our domesticated animals, such as dogs, cattle, pigs, &c., are almost certainly descended from more than one species, or wild race, if any one prefers to apply this latter term to forms which were enabled to keep distinct in a state of nature. hence the crossing of aboriginally distinct species probably came into play at an early period in the formation of our present races. from rütimeyer's observations there can be little doubt that this occurred with cattle; but in most cases some one of the forms which were allowed to cross freely, will, it is probable, have absorbed and obliterated the others. for it is not likely that semi-civilized men would have taken the necessary pains to modify by selection their commingled, crossed, and fluctuating stock. nevertheless, those animals which were best adapted to their conditions of life would have survived through natural selection; and by this means crossing will often have indirectly aided in the formation of primeval domesticated breeds. within recent times, as far as animals are concerned, the crossing of distinct species has done little or nothing in the formation or modification of our races. it is not yet known whether the species of silk-moth which have been recently crossed in france will yield permanent races. in the fourth chapter i alluded with some hesitation to the statement that a new breed, between the hare and rabbit, called leporides, had been formed in france, and was found capable of propagating { } itself; but it is now positively affirmed[ ] that this is an error. with plants which can be multiplied by buds and cuttings, hybridisation has done wonders, as with many kinds of roses, rhododendrons, pelargoniums, calceolarias, and petunias. nearly all these plants can be propagated by seed; most of them freely; but extremely few or none come true by seed. some authors believe that crossing is the chief cause of variability,--that is, of the appearance of absolutely new characters. some have gone so far as to look at it as the sole cause; but this conclusion is disproved by some of the facts given in the chapter on bud-variation. the belief that characters not present in either parent or in their ancestors frequently originate from crossing is doubtful; that they occasionally thus arise is probable; but this subject will be more conveniently discussed in a future chapter on the causes of variability. a condensed summary of this and of the three following chapters, together with some remarks on hybridism, will be given in the nineteenth chapter. * * * * * { } chapter xvi. causes which interfere with the free crossing of varieties--influence of domestication on fertility. difficulties in judging of the fertility of varieties when crossed--various causes which keep varieties distinct, as the period of breeding and sexual preference--varieties of wheat said to be sterile when crossed--varieties of maize, verbascum, hollyhock, gourds, melons, and tobacco, rendered in some degree mutually sterile--domestication eliminates the tendency to sterility natural to species when crossed--on the increased fertility of uncrossed animals and plants from domestication and cultivation. the domesticated races of both animals and plants, when crossed, are with extremely few exceptions quite prolific,--in some cases even more so than the purely bred parent-races. the offspring, also, raised from such crosses are likewise, as we shall see in the following chapter, generally more vigorous and fertile than their parents. on the other hand, species when crossed, and their hybrid offspring, are almost invariability in some degree sterile; and here there seems to exist a broad and insuperable distinction between races and species. the importance of this subject as bearing on the origin of species is obvious; and we shall hereafter recur to it. it is unfortunate how few precise observations have been made on the fertility of mongrel animals and plants during several successive generations. dr. broca[ ] has remarked that no one has observed whether, for instance, mongrel dogs, bred _inter se_, are indefinitely fertile; yet, if a shade of infertility be detected by careful observation in the offspring of natural forms when crossed, it is thought that their specific distinction is proved. but so many breeds of sheep, cattle, pigs, dogs, and poultry, have been crossed and recrossed in various ways, that any sterility, if it had existed, would from being injurious { } almost certainly have been observed. in investigating the fertility of crossed varieties many sources of doubt occur. whenever the least trace of sterility between two plants, however closely allied, was observed by kölreuter, and more especially by gärtner, who counted the exact number of seed in each capsule, the two forms were at once ranked as distinct species; and if this rule be followed, assuredly it will never be proved that varieties when crossed are in any degree sterile. we have formerly seen that certain breeds of dogs do not readily pair together; but no observations have been made whether, when paired, they produce the full number of young, and whether the latter are perfectly fertile _inter se_; but, supposing that some degree of sterility were found to exist, naturalists would simply infer that these breeds were descended from aboriginally distinct species; and it would be scarcely possible to ascertain whether or not this explanation was the true one. the sebright bantam is much less prolific than any other breed of fowls, and is descended from a cross between two very distinct breeds, recrossed by a third sub-variety. but it would be extremely rash to infer that the loss of fertility was in any manner connected with its crossed origin, for it may with more probability be attributed either to long-continued close interbreeding, or to an innate tendency to sterility correlated with the absence of hackles and sickle tail-feathers. before giving the few recorded cases of forms, which must be ranked as varieties, being in some degree sterile when crossed, i may remark that other causes sometimes interfere with varieties freely intercrossing. thus they may differ too greatly in size, as with some kinds of dogs and fowls: for instance, the editor of the 'journal of horticulture, &c.,'[ ] says that he can keep bantams with the larger breeds without much danger of their crossing, but not with the smaller breeds, such as games, hamburgs, &c. with plants a difference in the period of flowering serves to keep varieties distinct, as with the various kinds of maize and wheat: thus colonel le couteur[ ] remarks, "the talavera wheat, from flowering much earlier than any other kind, is sure to continue pure." in different parts of { } the falkland islands the cattle are breaking up into herds of different colours; and those on the higher ground, which are generally white, usually breed, as i am informed by admiral sulivan, three months earlier than those on the lowlands; and this would manifestly tend to keep the herds from blending. certain domestic races seem to prefer breeding with their own kind; and this is a fact of some importance, for it is a step towards that instinctive feeling which helps to keep closely allied species in a state of nature distinct. we have now abundant evidence that, if it were not for this feeling, many more hybrids would be naturally produced than is the case. we have seen in the first chapter that the alco dog of mexico dislikes dogs of other breeds; and the hairless dog of paraguay mixes less readily with the european races, than the latter do with each other. in germany the female spitz-dog is said to receive the fox more readily than will other dogs; a female australian dingo in england attracted the wild male foxes. but these differences in the sexual instinct and attractive power of the various breeds may be wholly due to their descent from distinct species. in paraguay the horses have much freedom, and an excellent observer[ ] believes that the native horses of the same colour and size prefer associating with each other, and that the horses which have been imported from entre rios and banda oriental into paraguay likewise prefer associating together. in circassia six sub-races of the horse are known and have received distinct names; and a native proprietor of rank[ ] asserts that horses of three of these races, whilst living a free life, almost always refuse to mingle and cross, and will even attack each other. it has been observed, in a district stocked with heavy lincolnshire and light norfolk sheep, that both kinds, though bred together, when turned out, "in a short time separate to a sheep;" the lincolnshires drawing off to the rich soil, and the norfolks to their own dry light soil; and as long as there is plenty of grass, "the two breeds keep themselves as distinct as rooks and pigeons." in this case different habits of { } life tend to keep the races distinct. on one of the faroe islands, not more than half a mile in diameter, the half-wild native black sheep are said not to have readily mixed with the imported white sheep. it is a more curious fact that the semi-monstrous ancon sheep of modern origin "have been observed to keep together, separating themselves from the rest of the flock, when put into enclosures with other sheep."[ ] with respect to fallow deer, which live in a semi-domesticated condition, mr. bennett[ ] states that the dark and pale coloured herds, which have long been kept together in the forest of dean, in high meadow woods, and in the new forest, have never been known to mingle: the dark-coloured deer, it may be added, are believed to have been first brought by james i. from norway, on account of their greater hardiness. i imported from the island of porto santo two of the feral rabbits, which differ, as described in the fourth chapter, from common rabbits; both proved to be males, and, though they lived during some years in the zoological gardens, the superintendent, mr. bartlett, in vain endeavoured to make them breed with various tame kinds; but whether this refusal to breed was due to any change in instinct, or simply to their extreme wildness; or whether confinement had rendered them sterile, as often occurs, cannot be told. whilst matching for the sake of experiment many of the most distinct breeds of pigeons, it frequently appeared to me that the birds, though faithful to their marriage vow, retained some desire after their own kind. accordingly i asked mr. wicking, who has kept a larger stock of various breeds together than any man in england, whether he thought that they would prefer pairing with their own kind, supposing that there were males and females enough of each; and he without hesitation answered that he was convinced that this was the case. it has often been noticed that the dovecot pigeon seems to have an actual aversion towards the several fancy breeds;[ ] yet all have { } certainly sprung from a common progenitor. the rev. w. d. fox informs me that his flocks of white and common chinese geese kept distinct. these facts and statements, though some of them are incapable of proof, resting only on the opinion of experienced observers, show that some domestic races are led by different habits of life to keep to a certain extent separate, and that others prefer coupling with their own kind, in the same manner as species in a state of nature, though in a much less degree. with respect to sterility from the crossing of domestic races, i know of no well-ascertained case with animals. this fact, seeing the great difference in structure between some breeds of pigeons, fowls, pigs, dogs, &c., is extraordinary, in contrast with the sterility of many closely allied natural species when crossed; but we shall hereafter attempt to show that it is not so extraordinary as it at first appears. and it may be well here to recall to mind that the amount of external difference between two species will not safely guide us in foretelling whether or not they will breed together,--some closely allied species when crossed being utterly sterile, and others which are extremely unlike being moderately fertile. i have said that no case of sterility in crossed races rests on satisfactory evidence; but here is one which at first seems trustworthy. mr. youatt,[ ] and a better authority cannot be quoted, states, that formerly in lancashire crosses were frequently made between longhorn and shorthorn cattle; the first cross was excellent, but the produce was uncertain; in the third or fourth generation the cows were bad milkers; "in addition to which, there was much uncertainty whether the cows would conceive; and full one-third of the cows among some of these half-breds failed to be in calf." this at first seems a good case; but mr. wilkinson states,[ ] that a breed derived from this same cross was actually established in another part of england; and if it had failed in fertility, the fact would surely have been noticed. moreover, supposing that mr. youatt had proved his case, it might be argued that the sterility was wholly due to the two parent-breeds being descended from primordially distinct species. i will give a case with plants, to show how difficult it is to get sufficient evidence. mr. sheriff, who has been so successful in the formation of new races of wheat, fertilised the hopetoun with the talavera; in the first and second generations the produce was intermediate in character, but in the fourth generation "it was found to consist of many varieties; nine-tenths of the florets proved barren, and many of the seeds seemed shrivelled abortions, void of vitality, and the whole race was evidently verging to extinction."[ ] now, considering how little these { } varieties of wheat differ in any important character, it seems to me very improbable that the sterility resulted, as mr. sheriff thought, from the cross, but from some quite distinct cause. until such experiments are many times repeated, it would be rash to trust them; but unfortunately they have been rarely tried even once with sufficient care. gärtner has recorded a more remarkable and trustworthy case: he fertilised thirteen panicles (and subsequently nine others) on a dwarf maize bearing yellow seed[ ] with pollen of a tall maize having red seed; and one head alone produced good seed, only five in number. though these plants are monoecious, and therefore do not require castration, yet i should have suspected some accident in the manipulation had not gärtner expressly stated that he had during many years grown these two varieties together, and they did not spontaneously cross; and this, considering that the plants are monoecious and abound with pollen, and are well known generally to cross freely, seems explicable only on the belief that these two varieties are in some degree mutually infertile. the hybrid plants raised from the above five seed were intermediate in structure, extremely variable, and perfectly fertile.[ ] no one, i believe, has hitherto suspected that these varieties of maize are distinct species; but had the hybrids been in the least sterile, no doubt gärtner would at once have so classed them. i may here remark, that with undoubted species there is not necessarily any close relation between the sterility of a first cross and that of the hybrid offspring. some species can be crossed with facility, but produce utterly sterile hybrids; others can be crossed with extreme difficulty, but the hybrids when produced are moderately fertile. i am not aware, however, of any instance quite like this of the maize with natural species, namely, of a first cross made with difficulty, but yielding perfectly fertile hybrids. the following case is much more remarkable, and evidently perplexed gärtner, whose strong wish it was to draw a broad line of distinction between species and varieties. in the genus verbascum, he made, during eighteen years, a vast number of experiments, and crossed no less than flowers and counted their seeds. many of these experiments consisted in crossing white and yellow varieties of both _v. lychnitis_ and _v. blattaria_ with nine other species and their hybrids. that the white and yellow flowered plants of these two species are really varieties, no one has doubted; and gärtner actually raised in the case of both species one variety from the seed of the other. now in two of his works[ ] he distinctly asserts that crosses between similarly-coloured flowers yield more seed than between dissimilarly-coloured; so that the yellow-flowered variety of either species (and conversely with the white-flowered variety), when crossed with pollen of its own kind, yields more seed than when crossed with that of the white variety; and so it is when differently coloured species are crossed. the general results may be seen in the table at the { } end of his volume. in one instance he gives[ ] the following details; but i must premise that gärtner, to avoid exaggerating the degree of sterility in his crosses, always compares the _maximum_ number obtained from a cross with the _average_ number naturally given by the pure mother-plant. the white-variety of _v. lychnitis_, naturally fertilised by its own pollen, gave from an _average_ of twelve capsules ninety-six good seeds in each; whilst twenty flowers fertilised with pollen from the yellow variety of this same species, gave as the _maximum_ only eighty-nine good seed; so that we have the proportion of to , according to gärtner's usual scale. i should have thought it possible that so small a difference in fertility might have been accounted for by the evil effects of the necessary castration; but gärtner shows that the white variety of _v. lychnitis_, when fertilised first by the white variety of _v. blattaria_, and then by the yellow variety of this species, yielded seed in the proportion of to ; and in both these cases castration was performed. now the sterility which results from the crossing of the differently coloured varieties of the same species, is fully as great as that which occurs in many cases when distinct species are crossed. unfortunately gärtner compared the results of the first unions alone, and not the sterility of the two sets of hybrids produced from the white variety of _v. lychnitis_ when fertilised by the white and yellow varieties of _v. blattaria_, for it is probable that they would have differed in this respect. mr. j. scott has given me the results of a series of experiments on verbascum, made by him in the botanic gardens of edinburgh. he repeated some of gärtner's experiments on distinct species, but obtained only fluctuating results; some confirmatory, but the greater number contradictory; nevertheless these seem hardly sufficient to overthrow the conclusions arrived at by gärtner from experiments tried on a much larger scale. in the second place mr. scott experimented on the relative fertility of unions between similarly and dissimilarly-coloured varieties of the same species. thus he fertilised six flowers of the yellow variety of _v. lychnitis_ by its own pollen, and obtained six capsules, and calling, for the sake of having a standard of comparison, the average number of good seed in each one hundred, he found that this same yellow variety, when fertilised by the white variety, yielded from seven capsules an average of ninety-four seed. on the same principle, the white variety of _v. lychnitis_ by its own pollen (from six capsules), and by the pollen of the yellow variety (eight capsules), yielded seed in the proportion of to . the yellow variety of _v. thapsus_ by its own pollen (eight capsules), and by that of the white variety (only two capsules), yielded seed in the proportion of to . lastly, the white variety of _v. blattaria_ by its own pollen (eight capsules), and by that of the yellow variety (five capsules), yielded seed in the proportion of to . so that in every case the unions of dissimilarly-coloured varieties of the same species were less fertile than the unions of similarly-coloured varieties; when all the cases are grouped together, the difference of fertility is as to . some additional trials were made, and altogether thirty-six similarly-coloured unions yielded thirty-five good { } capsules; whilst thirty-five dissimilarly-coloured unions yielded only twenty-six good capsules. besides the foregoing experiments, the purple _v. phoeniceum_ was crossed by a rose-coloured and a white variety of the same species; these two varieties were also crossed together, and these several unions yielded less seed than _v. phoeniceum_ by its own pollen. hence it follows from mr. scott's experiments, that in the genus verbascum the similarly and dissimilarly-coloured varieties of the same species behave, when crossed, like closely allied but distinct species.[ ] this remarkable fact of the sexual affinity of similarly-coloured varieties, as observed by gärtner and mr. scott, may not be of very rare occurrence; for the subject has not been attended to by others. the following case is worth giving, partly to show how difficult it is to avoid error. dr. herbert[ ] has remarked that variously-coloured double varieties of the hollyhock (_althæa rosea_) may be raised with certainty by seed from plants growing close together. i have been informed that nurserymen who raise seed for sale do not separate their plants; accordingly i procured seed of eighteen named varieties; of these, eleven varieties produced sixty-two plants all perfectly true to their kind; and seven produced forty-nine plants, half of which were true and half false. mr. masters of canterbury has given me a more striking case; he saved seed from a great bed of twenty-four named varieties planted in closely adjoining rows, and each variety reproduced itself truly with only sometimes a shade of difference in tint. now in the hollyhock the pollen, which is abundant, is matured and nearly all shed before the stigma of the same flower is ready to receive it;[ ] and as bees covered with pollen incessantly fly from plant to plant, it would appear that adjoining varieties could not escape being crossed. as, however, this does not occur, it appeared to me probable that the pollen { } of each variety was prepotent on its own stigma over that of all other varieties. but mr. c. turner of slough, well known for his success in the cultivation of this plant, informs me that it is the doubleness of the flowers which prevents the bees gaining access to the pollen and stigma; and he finds that it is difficult even to cross them artificially. whether this explanation will fully account for varieties in close proximity propagating themselves so truly by seed, i do not know. the following cases are worth giving, as they relate to monoecious forms, which do not require, and consequently have not been injured by, castration. girou de buzareingues crossed what he designates three varieties of gourd,[ ] and asserts that their mutual fertilisation is less easy in proportion to the difference which they present. i am aware how imperfectly the forms in this group were until recently known; but sageret,[ ] who ranked them according to their mutual fertility, considers the three forms above alluded to as varieties, as does a far higher authority, namely, m. naudin.[ ] sageret[ ] has observed that certain melons have a greater tendency, whatever the cause may be, to keep true than others; and m. naudin, who has had such immense experience in this group, informs me that he believes that certain varieties intercross more readily than others of the same species; but he has not proved the truth of this conclusion; the frequent abortion of the pollen near paris being one great difficulty. nevertheless, he has grown close together, during seven years, certain forms of citrullus, which, as they could be artificially crossed with perfect facility and produced fertile offspring, are ranked as varieties; but these forms when not artificially crossed kept true. many other varieties, on the other hand, in the same group cross with such facility, as m. naudin repeatedly insists, that without being grown far apart they cannot be kept in the least true. another case, though somewhat different, may be here given, as it is highly remarkable, and is established on excellent evidence. kölreuter minutely describes five varieties of the common tobacco,[ ] which were reciprocally crossed, and the offspring were intermediate in character and as fertile as their parents: from this fact kölreuter inferred that they are really varieties; and no one, as far as i can discover, seems to have doubted that such is the case. he also crossed reciprocally these five varieties with _n. glutinosa_, and they yielded very sterile hybrids; but those raised from the _var. perennis_, whether used as the father or mother plant, were not so sterile as the hybrids from the four other varieties.[ ] so that the sexual { } capacity of this one variety has certainly been in some degree modified, so as to approach in nature that of _n. glutinosa_.[ ] these facts with respect to plants show that in some few cases certain varieties have had their sexual powers so far modified, that they cross together less readily and yield less seed than other varieties of the same species. we shall presently see that the sexual functions of most animals and plants are eminently liable to be affected by the conditions of life to which they are exposed; and hereafter we shall briefly discuss the conjoint bearing of this and other facts on the difference in fertility between crossed varieties and crossed species. _domestication eliminates the tendency to sterility which is general with species when crossed._ this hypothesis was first propounded by pallas,[ ] and has been adopted by several authors. i can find hardly any direct facts in its support; but unfortunately no one has compared, in the case of either animals or plants, the fertility of anciently domesticated varieties, when crossed with a distinct species, with that of the wild parent-species when similarly crossed. no one has compared, for instance, the fertility of _gallus bankiva_ and of the domesticated fowl, when crossed with a distinct species of gallus or phasianus; and the { } experiment would in all cases be surrounded by many difficulties. dureau de la malle, who has so closely studied classical literature, states[ ] that in the time of the romans the common mule was produced with more difficulty than at the present day; but whether this statement may be trusted i know not. a much more important, though somewhat different, case is given by m. groenland,[ ] namely, that plants, known from their intermediate character and sterility to be hybrids between Ægilops and wheat, have perpetuated themselves under culture since , _with a rapid but varying increase of fertility in each generation_. in the fourth generation the plants, still retaining their intermediate character, had become as fertile as common cultivated wheat. the indirect evidence in favour of the pallasian doctrine appears to me to be extremely strong. in the earlier chapters i have attempted to show that our various breeds of dogs are descended from several wild species; and this probably is the case with sheep. there can no longer be any doubt that the zebu or humped indian ox belongs to a distinct species from european cattle: the latter, moreover, are descended from two or three forms, which may be called either species or wild races, but which co-existed in a state of nature and kept distinct. we have good evidence that our domesticated pigs belong to at least two specific types, _s. scrofa_ and _indica_, which probably lived together in a wild state in south-eastern europe. now, a widely-extended analogy leads to the belief that if these several allied species, in the wild state or when first reclaimed, had been crossed, they would have exhibited, both in their first unions and in their hybrid offspring, some degree of sterility. nevertheless the several domesticated races descended from them are now all, as far as can be ascertained, perfectly fertile together. if this reasoning be trustworthy, and it is apparently sound, we must admit the pallasian doctrine that long-continued domestication tends to eliminate that sterility which is natural to species when crossed in their aboriginal state. { } _on increased fertility from domestication and cultivation._ increased fertility from domestication, without any reference to crossing, may be here briefly considered. this subject bears indirectly on two or three points connected with the modification of organic beings. as buffon long ago remarked,[ ] domestic animals breed oftener in the year and produce more young at a birth than wild animals of the same species; they, also, sometimes breed at an earlier age. the case would hardly have deserved further notice, had not some authors lately attempted to show that fertility increases and decreases in an inverse ratio with the amount of food. this strange doctrine has apparently arisen from individual animals when supplied with an inordinate quantity of food, and from plants of many kinds when grown on excessively rich soil, as on a dunghill, becoming sterile; but to this latter point i shall have occasion presently to return. with hardly an exception, our domesticated animals, which have long been habituated to a regular and copious supply of food, without the labour of searching for it, are more fertile than the corresponding wild animals. it is notorious how frequently cats and dogs breed, and how many young they produce at a birth. the wild rabbit is said generally to breed four times yearly, and to produce from four to eight young; the tame rabbit breeds six or seven times yearly, and produces from four to eleven young. the ferret, though generally so closely confined, is more prolific than its supposed wild prototype. the wild sow is remarkably prolific, for she often breeds twice in the year, and produces from four to eight and sometimes even twelve young at a birth; but the domestic sow regularly breeds twice a year, and would breed oftener if permitted; and a sow that produces less than eight at a birth "is worth little, and the sooner she is fattened for the butcher the better." the amount of food affects the fertility even of the same individual: thus sheep, which on mountains never produce more than one lamb at a birth, when brought { } down to lowland pastures frequently bear twins. this difference apparently is not due to the cold of the higher land, for sheep and other domestic animals are said to be extremely prolific in lapland. hard living, also, retards the period at which animals conceive; for it has been found disadvantageous in the northern islands of scotland to allow cows to bear calves before they are four years old.[ ] birds offer still better evidence of increased fertility from domestication: the hen of the wild _gallus bankiva_ lays from six to ten eggs, a number which would be thought nothing of with the domestic hen. the wild duck lays from five to ten eggs; the tame one in the course of the year from eighty to one hundred. the wild grey-lag goose lays from five to eight eggs; the tame from thirteen to eighteen, and she lays a second time; as mr. dixon has remarked, "high-feeding, care, and moderate warmth induce a habit of prolificacy which becomes in some measure hereditary." whether the semi-domesticated dovecot pigeon is more fertile than the wild rock-pigeon _c. livia_, i know not; but the more thoroughly domesticated breeds are nearly twice as fertile as dovecots: the latter, however, when caged and highly fed, become equally fertile with house pigeons. the peahen alone of domesticated birds is rather more fertile, according to some accounts, when wild in its native indian home, than when domesticated in europe and exposed to our much colder climate.[ ] with respect to plants, no one would expect wheat to tiller more, and each ear to produce more grain, in poor than in rich soil; or to get in poor soil a heavy crop of peas or beans. seeds vary so much in number { } that it is difficult to estimate them; but on comparing beds of carrots saved for seed in a nursery garden with wild plants, the former seemed to produce about twice as much seed. cultivated cabbages yielded thrice as many pods by measure as wild cabbages from the rocks of south wales. the excess of berries produced by the cultivated asparagus in comparison with the wild plant is enormous. no doubt many highly cultivated plants, such as pears, pineapples, bananas, sugar-cane, &c., are nearly or quite sterile; and i am inclined to attribute this sterility to excess of food and to other unnatural conditions; but to this subject i shall presently recur. in some cases, as with the pig, rabbit, &c., and with those plants which are valued for their seed, the direct selection of the more fertile individuals has probably much increased their fertility; and in all cases this may have occurred indirectly, from the better chance of the more numerous offspring produced by the more fertile individuals having survived. but with cats, ferrets, and dogs, and with plants like carrots, cabbages, and asparagus, which are not valued for their prolificacy, selection can have played only a subordinate part; and their increased fertility must be attributed to the more favourable conditions of life under which they have long existed. * * * * * { } chapter xvii. on the good effects of crossing, and on the evil effects of close interbreeding. definition of close interbreeding--augmentation of morbid tendencies--general evidence on the good effects derived from crossing, and on the evil effects from close interbreeding--cattle, closely interbred; half-wild cattle long kept in the same parks--sheep--fallow-deer--dogs--rabbits--pigs--man, origin of his abhorrence of incestuous marriages--fowls--pigeons--hive-bees--plants, general considerations on the benefits derived from crossing--melons, fruit-trees, peas, cabbages, wheat, and forest-trees--on the increased size of hybrid plants, not exclusively due to their sterility--on certain plants which either normally or abnormally are self-impotent, but are fertile, both on the male and female side, when crossed with distinct individuals either of the same or another species--conclusion. the gain in constitutional vigour, derived from an occasional cross between individuals of the same variety, but belonging to distinct families, or between distinct varieties, has not been so largely or so frequently discussed, as have the evil effects of too close interbreeding. but the former point is the more important of the two, inasmuch as the evidence is more decisive. the evil results from close interbreeding are difficult to detect, for they accumulate slowly, and differ much in degree with different species; whilst the good effects which almost invariably follow a cross are from the first manifest. it should, however, be clearly understood that the advantage of close interbreeding, as far as the retention of character is concerned, is indisputable, and often outweighs the evil of a slight loss of constitutional vigour. in relation to the subject of domestication, the whole question is of some importance, as too close interbreeding interferes with the improvement of old races, and especially with the formation of new ones. it is important as indirectly bearing on hybridism; and perhaps on the extinction of species, when any form has become so rare that only a few individuals { } remain within a confined area. it bears in an important manner on the influence of free intercrossing, in obliterating individual differences, and thus giving uniformity of character to the individuals of the same race or species; for if additional vigour and fertility be thus gained, the crossed offspring will multiply and prevail, and the ultimate result will be far greater than otherwise would have occurred. lastly, the question is of high interest, as bearing on mankind. hence i shall discuss this subject at full length. as the facts which prove the evil effects of close interbreeding are more copious, though less decisive, than those on the good effects of crossing, i shall, under each group of beings, begin with the former. there is no difficulty in defining what is meant by a cross; but this is by no means easy in regard to "breeding in and in" or "too close interbreeding," because, as we shall see, different species of animals are differently affected by the same degree of interbreeding. the pairing of a father and daughter, or mother and son, or brothers and sisters, if carried on during several generations, is the closest possible form of interbreeding. but some good judges, for instance sir j. sebright, believe that the pairing of a brother and sister is closer than that of parents and children; for when the father is matched with his daughter he crosses, as is said, with only half his own blood. the consequences of close interbreeding carried on for too long a time, are, as is generally believed, loss of size, constitutional vigour, and fertility, sometimes accompanied by a tendency to malformation. manifest evil does not usually follow from pairing the nearest relations for two, three, or even four generations; but several causes interfere with our detecting the evil--such as the deterioration being very gradual, and the difficulty of distinguishing between such direct evil and the inevitable augmentation of any morbid tendencies which may be latent or apparent in the related parents. on the other hand, the benefit from a cross, even when there has not been any very close interbreeding, is almost invariably at once conspicuous. there is reason to believe, and this was the opinion of that most experienced observer sir j. sebright,[ ] that the evil effects of close interbreeding may be checked by the related individuals { } being separated during a few generations and exposed to different conditions of life. that evil directly follows from any degree of close interbreeding has been denied by many persons; but rarely by any practical breeder; and never, as far as i know, by one who has largely bred animals which propagate their kind quickly. many physiologists attribute the evil exclusively to the combination and consequent increase of morbid tendencies common to both parents: that this is an active source of mischief there can be no doubt. it is unfortunately too notorious that men and various domestic animals endowed with a wretched constitution, and with a strong hereditary disposition to disease, if not actually ill, are fully capable of procreating their kind. close interbreeding, on the other hand, induces sterility; and this indicates something quite distinct from the augmentation of morbid tendencies common to both parents. the evidence immediately to be given convinces me that it is a great law of nature, that all organic beings profit from an occasional cross with individuals not closely related to them in blood; and that, on the other hand, long-continued close interbreeding is injurious. various general considerations have had much influence in leading me to this conclusion; but the reader will probably rely more on special facts and opinions. the authority of experienced observers, even when they do not advance the grounds of their belief, is of some little value. now almost all men who have bred many kinds of animals and have written on the subject, such as sir j. sebright, andrew knight, &c.,[ ] have expressed the strongest conviction on the impossibility of long-continued close interbreeding. those who have compiled works on agriculture, and have associated much with breeders, such as the sagacious youatt, low, &c., have strongly declared their opinion to the same effect. prosper lucas, trusting largely to french authorities, has come to a similar conclusion. the distinguished german agriculturist hermann von nathusius, who has written the most able treatise on this subject which i have met with, concurs; and as i shall have to quote from { } this treatise, i may state that nathusius is not only intimately acquainted with works on agriculture in all languages, and knows the pedigrees of our british breeds better than most englishmen, but has imported many of our improved animals, and is himself an experienced breeder. evidence of the evil effects of close interbreeding can most readily be acquired in the case of animals, such as fowls, pigeons, &c., which propagate quickly, and, from being kept in the same place, are exposed to the same conditions. now i have inquired of very many breeders of these birds, and i have hitherto not met with a single man who was not thoroughly convinced that an occasional cross with another strain of the same sub-variety was absolutely necessary. most breeders of highly-improved or fancy birds value their own strain, and are most unwilling, at the risk, in their opinion, of deterioration, to make a cross. the purchase of a first-rate bird of another strain is expensive, and exchanges are troublesome; yet all breeders, as far as i can hear, excepting those who keep large stocks at different places for the sake of crossing, are driven after a time to take this step. another general consideration which has had great influence on my mind is, that with all hermaphrodite animals and plants, which it might have been thought would have perpetually fertilised themselves, and thus have been subjected for long ages to the closest interbreeding, there is no single species, as far as i can discover, in which the structure ensures self-fertilisation. on the contrary, there are in a multitude of cases, as briefly stated in the fifteenth chapter, manifest adaptations which favour or inevitably lead to an occasional cross between one hermaphrodite and another of the same species; and these adaptive structures are utterly purposeless, as far as we can see, for any other end. with _cattle_ there can be no doubt that extremely close interbreeding may be long carried on, advantageously with respect to external characters and with no manifestly apparent evil as far as constitution is concerned. the same remark is applicable to sheep. whether these animals have gradually been rendered less susceptible than others to this evil, in order to permit them to live in herds,--a habit which leads the old and vigorous males to expel all intruders, and in consequence often to pair with their own daughters, i will not pretend to decide. the case of bakewell's long-horns, which were closely interbred for a long period, has often been { } quoted; yet youatt says[ ] the breed "had acquired a delicacy of constitution inconsistent with common management," and "the propagation of the species was not always certain." but the shorthorns offer the most striking case of close interbreeding; for instance, the famous bull favourite (who was himself the offspring of a half-brother and sister from foljambe) was matched with his own daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter; so that the produce of this last union, or the great-great-granddaughter, had - ths, or . per cent. of the blood of favourite in her veins. this cow was matched with the bull wellington, having . per cent. of favourite blood in his veins, and produced clarissa; clarissa was matched with the bull lancaster, having . of the same blood, and she yielded valuable offspring.[ ] nevertheless collings, who reared these animals, and was a strong advocate for close breeding, once crossed his stock with a galloway, and the cows from this cross realised the highest prices. bates's herd was esteemed the most celebrated in the world. for thirteen years he bred most closely in and in; but during the next seventeen years, though he had the most exalted notion of the value of his own stock, he thrice infused fresh blood into his herd: it is said that he did this, not to improve the form of his animals, but on account of their lessened fertility. mr. bates's own view, as given by a celebrated breeder,[ ] was, that "to breed in and in from a bad stock was ruin and devastation; yet that the practice may be safely followed within certain limits when the parents so related are descended from first-rate animals." we thus see that there has been extremely close interbreeding with shorthorns; but nathusius, after the most careful study of their pedigrees, says that he can find no instance of a breeder who has strictly followed this practice during his whole life. from this study and his own experience, he concludes that close interbreeding is necessary to ennoble the stock; but that in effecting this the greatest care is necessary, on account of the tendency to infertility and weakness. it may be added, that another high authority[ ] asserts that many more calves are born cripples from shorthorns than from other and less closely interbred races of cattle. although by carefully selecting the best animals (as nature effectually does by the law of battle) close interbreeding may be long carried on with cattle, yet the good effects of a cross between almost any two breeds is at once shown by the greater size and vigour of the offspring; as mr. spooner writes to me, "crossing distinct breeds certainly improves cattle for the butcher." such crossed animals are of course of no value to the breeder; but they have been raised during many years in several { } parts of england to be slaughtered;[ ] and their merit is now so fully recognised, that at fat-cattle shows a separate class has been formed for their reception. the best fat ox at the great show at islington in was a crossed animal. the half-wild cattle, which have been kept in british parks probably for or years, or even for a longer period, have been advanced by culley and others as a case of long-continued interbreeding within the limits of the same herd without any consequent injury. with respect to the cattle at chillingham, the late lord tankerville owned that they were bad breeders.[ ] the agent, mr. hardy, estimates (in a letter to me, dated may, ) that in the herd of about fifty the average number annually slaughtered, killed by fighting, and dying, is about ten, or one in five. as the herd is kept up to nearly the same average number, the annual rate of increase must be likewise about one in five. the bulls, i may add, engage in furious battles, of which battles the present lord tankerville has given me a graphic description, so that there will always be rigorous selection of the most vigorous males. i procured in from mr. d. gardner, agent to the duke of hamilton, the following account of the wild cattle kept in the duke's park in lanarkshire, which is about acres in extent. the number of cattle varies from sixty-five to eighty; and the number annually killed (i presume by all causes) is from eight to ten; so that the annual rate of increase can hardly be more than one in six. now in south america, where the herds are half-wild, and therefore offer a nearly fair standard of comparison, according to azara the natural increase of the cattle on an estancia is from one-third to one-fourth of the total number, or one in between three and four; and this, no doubt, applies exclusively to adult animals fit for consumption. hence the half-wild british cattle which have long interbred within the limits of the same herd are relatively far less fertile. although in an unenclosed country like paraguay there must be some crossing between the different herds, yet even there the inhabitants believe that the occasional introduction of animals from distant localities is necessary to prevent "degeneration in size and diminution of fertility."[ ] the decrease in size from ancient times in the chillingham and hamilton cattle must have been prodigious, for professor rütimeyer has shown that they are almost certainly the descendants of the gigantic _bos primigenius_. no doubt this decrease in size may be largely attributed to less favourable conditions of life; yet animals roaming over large parks, and fed during severe winters, can hardly be considered as placed under very unfavourable conditions. with _sheep_ there has often been long-continued interbreeding within the limits of the same flock; but whether the nearest relations have been matched so frequently as in the case of shorthorn cattle, i do not know. the messrs. brown during fifty years have never infused fresh blood into their excellent flock of leicesters. since mr. barford has acted on the same principle with the foscote flock. he asserts that half a century { } of experience has convinced him that when two nearly related animals are quite sound in constitution, in-and-in breeding does not induce degeneracy; but he adds that he "does not pride himself on breeding from the nearest affinities." in france the naz flock has been bred for sixty years without the introduction of a single strange ram.[ ] nevertheless, most great breeders of sheep have protested against close interbreeding prolonged for too great a length of time.[ ] the most celebrated of recent breeders, jonas webb, kept five separate families to work on, thus "retaining the requisite distance of relationship between the sexes."[ ] although by the aid of careful selection the near interbreeding of sheep may be long continued without any manifest evil, yet it has often been the practice with farmers to cross distinct breeds to obtain animals for the butcher, which plainly shows that good is derived from this practice. mr. spooner sums up his excellent essay on crossing by asserting that there is a direct pecuniary advantage in judicious cross-breeding, especially when the male is larger than the female. a former celebrated breeder, lord somerville, distinctly states that his half-breeds from ryelands and spanish sheep were larger animals than either the pure ryelands or pure spanish sheep.[ ] as some of our british parks are ancient, it occurred to me that there must have been long-continued close interbreeding with the fallow deer (_cervus dama_) kept in them; but on inquiry i find that it is a common practice to infuse new blood by procuring bucks from other parks. mr. shirley,[ ] who has carefully studied the management of deer, admits that in some parks there has been no admixture of foreign blood from a time beyond the memory of man. but he concludes "that in the end the constant breeding in-and-in is sure to tell to the disadvantage of the whole herd, though it may take a very long time to prove it; moreover, when we find, as is very constantly the case, that the introduction of fresh blood has been of the very greatest use to deer, both by improving their size and appearance, and particularly by being of service in removing the taint of 'rickback,' if not of other diseases, to which deer are sometimes subject when the blood has not been changed, there can, i think, be no doubt but that a judicious cross with a good stock is of the greatest consequence, and is indeed essential, sooner or later, to the prosperity of every well-ordered park." mr. meynell's famous foxhounds have been adduced, as showing that no ill effects follow from close interbreeding; and sir j. sebright ascertained from him that he frequently bred from father and daughter, mother and { } son, and sometimes even from brothers and sisters. sir j. sebright, however, declares,[ ] that by breeding _in-and-in_, by which he means matching brothers and sisters, he has actually seen strong spaniels become weak and diminutive lapdogs. the rev. w. d. fox has communicated to me the case of a small lot of bloodhounds, long kept in the same family, which had become very bad breeders, and nearly all had a bony enlargement in the tail. a single cross with a distinct strain of bloodhounds restored their fertility, and drove away the tendency to malformation in the tail. i have heard the particulars of another case with bloodhounds, in which the female had to be held to the male. considering how rapid is the natural increase of the dog, it is difficult to understand the high price of most highly improved breeds, which almost implies long-continued close interbreeding, except on the belief that this process lessens fertility and increases liability to distemper and other diseases. a high authority, mr. scrope, attributes the rarity and deterioration in size of the scotch deerhound (the few individuals now existing throughout the country being all related) in large part to close interbreeding. with all highly-bred animals there is more or less difficulty in getting them to procreate quickly, and all suffer much from delicacy of constitution; but i do not pretend that these effects ought to be wholly attributed to close interbreeding. a great judge of rabbits[ ] says, "the long-eared does are often too highly bred or forced in their youth to be of much value as breeders, often turning out barren or bad mothers." again: "very long-eared bucks will also sometimes prove barren." these highly-bred rabbits often desert their young, so that it is necessary to have nurse-rabbits. with _pigs_ there is more unanimity amongst breeders on the evil effects of close interbreeding than, perhaps, with any other large animal. mr. druce, a great and successful breeder of the improved oxfordshires (a crossed race), writes, "without a change of boars of a different tribe, but of the same breed, constitution cannot be preserved." mr. fisher hobbs, the raiser of the celebrated improved essex breed, divided his stock into three separate families, by which means he maintained the breed for more than twenty years, "by judicious selection from the _three distinct families_."[ ] lord western was the first importer of a neapolitan boar and sow. "from this pair he bred in-and-in, until the breed was in danger of becoming extinct, a sure result (as mr. sidney remarks) of in-and-in breeding." lord western then crossed his neapolitan pigs with the old essex, and made the first great step towards the improved essex breed. here is a more interesting case. mr. j. wright, well known as a breeder, crossed[ ] the same boar with the daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter, and so on for seven generations. the result was, that in many instances the offspring failed to breed; in others they produced few that lived; and of the latter many were idiotic, without sense { } even to suck, and when attempting to move could not walk straight. now it deserves especial notice, that the two last sows produced by this long course of interbreeding were sent to other boars, and they bore several litters of healthy pigs. the best sow in external appearance produced during the whole seven generations was one in the last stage of descent; but the litter consisted of this one sow. she would not breed to her sire, yet bred at the first trial to a stranger in blood. so that, in mr. wright's case, long-continued and extremely close interbreeding did not affect the external form or merit of the young; but with many of them the general constitution and mental powers, and especially the reproductive functions, were seriously affected. nathusius gives[ ] an analogous and even more striking case: he imported from england a pregnant sow of the large yorkshire breed, and bred the product closely in-and-in for three generations: the result was unfavourable, as the young were weak in constitution, with impaired fertility. one of the latest sows, which he esteemed a good animal, produced, when paired with her own uncle (who was known to be productive with sows of other breeds), a litter of six, and a second time a litter of only five weak young pigs. he then paired this sow with a boar of a small black breed, which he had likewise imported from england, and which boar, when matched with sows of his own breed, produced from seven to nine young: now, the sow of the large breed, which was so unproductive when paired with her own uncle, yielded to the small black boar, in the first litter twenty-one, and in the second litter eighteen young pigs; so that in one year she produced thirty-nine fine young animals! as in the case of several other animals already mentioned, even when no injury is perceptible from moderately close interbreeding, yet, to quote the words of mr. coate, a most successful breeder (who five times won the annual gold medal of the smithfield club show for the best pen of pigs), "crosses answer well for profit to the farmer, as you get more constitution and quicker growth; but for me, who sell a great number of pigs for breeding purposes, i find it will not do, as it requires many years to get anything like purity of blood again."[ ] before passing on to birds, i ought to refer to man, though i am unwilling to enter on this subject, as it is surrounded by natural prejudices. it has moreover been discussed by various authors under many points of view.[ ] mr. tylor[ ] has shown { } that with widely different races, in the most distant quarters of the world, marriages between relations--even between distant relations--have been strictly prohibited. a few exceptional cases can be specified, especially with royal families; and these have been enlarged on in a learned article[ ] by mr. w. adam, and formerly in by hofacker. mr. tylor is inclined to believe that the almost universal prohibition of closely-related marriages has arisen from their evil effects having been observed, and he ingeniously explains some apparent anomalies in the prohibition not extending equally to the relations on both the male and female side. he admits, however, that other causes, such as the extension of friendly alliances, may have come into play. mr. w. adam, on the other hand, concludes that related marriages are prohibited and viewed with repugnance from the confusion which would thus arise in the descent of property, and from other still more recondite reasons; but i cannot accept this view, seeing that the savages of australia and south america,[ ] who have no property to bequeath or fine moral feelings to confuse, hold the crime of incest in abhorrence. it would be interesting to know, if it could be ascertained, as throwing light on this question with respect to man, what occurs with the higher anthropomorphous apes--whether the young males and females soon wander away from their parents, or whether the old males become jealous of their sons and expel them, or whether any inherited instinctive feeling, from being beneficial, has been generated, leading the young males and females of the same family to prefer pairing with distinct families, and to dislike pairing with each other. a considerable body of evidence has already been advanced, showing that the offspring from parents which are not related are more vigorous and fertile than those from parents which are closely related; hence any slight feeling, arising from the sexual excitement of novelty or other cause, which led to the former rather than to the latter unions, would be augmented through natural selection, and thus might become instinctive; for those individuals which had an innate preference of this kind would increase in number. it seems more probable, that degraded savages should { } thus unconsciously have acquired their dislike and even abhorrence of incestuous marriages, rather than that they should have discovered by reasoning and observation the evil results. the abhorrence occasionally failing is no valid argument against the feeling being instinctive, for any instinct may occasionally fail or become vitiated, as sometimes occurs with parental love and the social sympathies. in the case of man, the question whether evil follows from close interbreeding will probably never be answered by direct evidence, as he propagates his kind so slowly and cannot be subjected to experiment; but the almost universal practice of all races at all times of avoiding closely-related marriages is an argument of considerable weight; and whatever conclusion we arrive at in regard to the higher animals may be safely extended to man. turning now to birds: in the case of the _fowl_ a whole array of authorities could be given against too close interbreeding. sir j. sebright positively asserts that he made many trials, and that his fowls, when thus treated, became long in the legs, small in the body, and bad breeders.[ ] he produced the famous sebright bantams by complicated crosses, and by breeding in-and-in; and since his time there has been much close interbreeding with these bantams; and they are now notoriously bad breeders. i have seen silver bantams, directly descended from his stock, which had become almost as barren as hybrids; for not a single chicken had been that year hatched from two full nests of eggs. mr. hewitt says that with these bantams the sterility of the male stands, with rare exceptions, in the closest relation with their loss of certain secondary male characters: he adds, "i have noticed, as a general rule, that even the slightest deviation from feminine character in the tail of the male sebright--say the elongation by only half an inch of the two principal tail-feathers--brings with it improved probability of increased fertility."[ ] mr. wright states[ ] that mr. clark, "whose fighting-cocks were so notorious, continued to breed from his own kind till they lost their disposition to fight, but stood to be cut up without making any resistance, and were so reduced in size as to be under those weights required for the best prizes; but on obtaining a cross from mr. leighton, they again resumed their former courage and weight." it should be borne in mind that game-cocks before they fought were always weighed, so that nothing was left to the imagination about any reduction or increase of { } weight. mr. clark does not seem to have bred from brothers and sisters, which is the most injurious kind of union; and he found, after repeated trials, that there was a greater reduction in weight in the young from a father paired with his daughter, than from a mother with her son. i may add that mr. eyton, of eyton, the well-known ornithologist, who is a large breeder of grey dorkings, informs me that they certainly diminish in size, and become less prolific, unless a cross with another strain is occasionally obtained. so it is with malays, according to mr. hewitt, as far as size is concerned.[ ] an experienced writer[ ] remarks that the same amateur, as is well known, seldom long maintains the superiority of his birds; and this, he adds, undoubtedly is due to all his stock "being of the same blood;" hence it is indispensable that he should occasionally procure a bird of another strain. but this is not necessary with those who keep a stock of fowls at different stations. thus, mr. ballance, who has bred malays for thirty years, and has won more prizes with these birds than any other fancier in england, says that breeding in-and-in does not necessarily cause deterioration; "but all depends upon how this is managed." "my plan has been to keep about five or six distinct runs, and to rear about two hundred or three hundred chickens each year, and select the best birds from each run for crossing. i thus secure sufficient crossing to prevent deterioration."[ ] we thus see that there is almost complete unanimity with poultry-breeders that, when fowls are kept at the same place, evil quickly follows from interbreeding carried on to an extent which would be disregarded in the case of most quadrupeds. on the other hand, it is a generally received opinion that cross-bred chickens are the hardiest and most easily reared.[ ] mr. tegetmeier, who has carefully attended to poultry of all breeds, says[ ] that dorking hens, allowed to run with houdan or crevecoeur cocks, "produce in the early spring chickens that for size, hardihood, early maturity, and fitness for the market, surpass those of any pure breed that we have ever raised." mr. hewitt gives it as a general rule with fowls, that crossing the breed increases their size. he makes this remark after stating that hybrids from the pheasant and fowl are considerably larger than either progenitor: so again, hybrids from the male golden pheasant and hen common pheasant "are of far larger size than either parent-bird."[ ] to this subject of the increased size of hybrids i shall presently return. with _pigeons_, breeders are unanimous, as previously stated, that it is absolutely indispensable, notwithstanding the trouble and expense thus caused, occasionally to cross their much-prized birds with individuals of another strain, but belonging, of course, to the same variety. it deserves { } notice that, when large size is one of the desired characters, as with pouters,[ ] the evil effects of close interbreeding are much sooner perceived than when small birds, such as short-faced tumblers, are valued. the extreme delicacy of the high fancy breeds, such as these tumblers and improved english carriers, is remarkable; they are liable to many diseases, and often die in the egg or during the first moult; and their eggs have generally to be hatched under foster-mothers. although these highly-prized birds have invariably been subjected to much close interbreeding, yet their extreme delicacy of constitution cannot perhaps be thus fully explained. mr. yarrell informed me that sir j. sebright continued closely interbreeding some owl-pigeons, until from their extreme sterility he as nearly as possible lost the whole family. mr. brent[ ] tried to raise a breed of trumpeters, by crossing a common pigeon, and recrossing the daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, and great-great-granddaughter, with the same male trumpeter, until he obtained a bird with / ths of trumpeter's blood; but then the experiment failed, for "breeding so close stopped reproduction." the experienced neumeister[ ] also asserts that the offspring from dovecotes and various other breeds are "generally very fertile and hardy birds:" so again, mm. boitard and corbié,[ ] after forty-five years' experience, recommend persons to cross their breeds for amusement; for, if they fail to make interesting birds, they will succeed under an economical point of view, "as it is found that mongrels are more fertile than pigeons of pure race." i will refer only to one other animal, namely, the hive-bee, because a distinguished entomologist has advanced this as a case of inevitable close interbreeding. as the hive is tenanted by a single female, it might have been thought that her male and female offspring would always have bred together, more especially as bees of different hives are hostile to each other; a strange worker being almost always attacked when trying to enter another hive. but mr. tegetmeier has shown[ ] that this instinct does not apply to drones, which are permitted to enter any hive; so that there is no _à priori_ improbability of a queen receiving a foreign drone. the fact of the union invariably and necessarily taking place on the wing, during the queen's nuptial flight, seems to be a special provision against continued interbreeding. however this may be, experience has shown, since the introduction of the yellow-banded ligurian race into germany and england, that bees freely cross: mr. woodbury, who introduced ligurian bees into devonshire, found during a single season that three stocks, at distances of from one to two miles from his hives, were crossed by his drones. in one case the ligurian drones must have flown over the city of exeter, and over several intermediate hives. on another occasion several common black queens were crossed by ligurian drones at a distance of from one to three and a half miles.[ ] { } _plants._ when a single plant of a new species is introduced into any country, if propagated by seed, many individuals will soon be raised, so that if the proper insects be present there will be crossing. with newly-introduced trees or other plants not propagated by seed we are not here concerned. with old-established plants it is an almost universal practice occasionally to make exchanges of seed, by which means individuals which have been exposed to different conditions of life,--and this, as we have seen, diminishes the evil from close interbreeding,--will occasionally be introduced into each district. experiments have not been tried on the effects of fertilising flowers with their own pollen during _several_ generations. but we shall presently see that certain plants, either normally or abnormally, are more or less sterile, even in the first generation, when fertilised by their own pollen. although nothing is directly known on the evil effects of long-continued close interbreeding with plants, the converse proposition that great good is derived from crossing is well established. with respect to the crossing of individuals belonging to the same sub-variety, gärtner, whose accuracy and experience exceeded that of all other hybridisers, states[ ] that he has many times observed good effects from this step, especially with exotic genera, of which the fertility is somewhat impaired, such as passiflora, lobelia, and fuchsia. herbert also says,[ ] "i am inclined to think that i have derived advantage from impregnating the flower from which i wished to obtain seed with pollen from another individual of the same variety, or at least from another flower, rather than with its own." again, professor lecoq asserts that he has ascertained that crossed offspring are more vigorous and robust than their parents.[ ] general statements of this kind, however, can seldom be fully trusted; consequently i have begun a series of experiments, which, if they continue to give the same results as hitherto, will for ever settle the question of the good effects of crossing two distinct plants of the same variety, and of the evil effects of self-fertilisation. a clear light will thus also be thrown on the fact that flowers are invariably constructed so as to permit, or favour, or necessitate the union of two individuals. we shall clearly understand why monoecious and dioecious,--why dimorphic and trimorphic plants exist, and many other such cases. the plan which i have followed in my experiments is to grow plants in the same pot, or in pots of the same size, or close together in the open ground; to carefully exclude insects; and then to fertilise some of the flowers with pollen from the same flower, and others on the same plant with pollen from a distinct but adjoining plant. in many, but not all, of these experiments, the crossed plants yielded much more seed than the self-fertilised plants; and i have never seen the { } reversed case. the self-fertilised and crossed seeds thus obtained were allowed to germinate in the same glass vessel on damp sand; and as the seeds successively germinated, they were planted in pairs on opposite sides of the same pot, with a superficial partition between them, and were placed so as to be equally exposed to the light. in other cases the self-fertilised and crossed seeds were simply sown on opposite sides of the same small pot. i have, in short, followed different plans, but in every case have taken all the precautions which i could think of, so that the two lots should be equally favoured. now, i have carefully observed the growth of plants raised from crossed and self-fertilised seed, from their germination to maturity, in species of the following genera, namely, brassica, lathyrus, lupinus, lobelia, lactuca, dianthus, myosotis, petunia, linaria, calceolaria, mimulus, and ipomoea, and the difference in their powers of growth, and of withstanding in certain cases unfavourable conditions, was most manifest and strongly marked. it is of importance that the two lots of seed should be sown or planted on opposite sides of the same pot, so that the seedlings may struggle against each other; for if sown separately in ample and good soil, there is often but little difference in their growth. i will briefly describe the two most striking cases as yet observed by me. six crossed and six self-fertilised seeds of _ipomoea purpurea_, from plants treated in the manner above described, were planted as soon as they had germinated, in pairs on opposite sides of two pots, and rods of equal thickness were given them to twine up. five of the crossed plants grew from the first more quickly than the opposed self-fertilised plants; the sixth, however, was weakly and was for a time beaten, but at last its sounder constitution prevailed and it shot ahead of its antagonist. as soon as each crossed plant reached the top of its seven-foot rod its fellow was measured, and the result was that, when the crossed plants were seven feet high, the self-fertilised had attained the average height of only five feet four and a half inches. the crossed plants flowered a little before, and more profusely than the self-fertilised plants. on opposite sides of another _small_ pot a large number of crossed and self-fertilised seeds were sown, so that they had to struggle for bare existence; a single rod was given to each lot: here again the crossed plants showed from the first their advantage; they never quite reached the summit of the seven-foot rod, but relatively to the self-fertilised plants their average height was as seven feet to five feet two inches. the experiment was repeated in the two following generations with plants raised from the self-fertilised and crossed plants, treated in exactly the same manner, and with nearly the same result. in the second generation, the crossed plants, which were again crossed, produced seed-capsules, whilst the self-fertilised plants, again self-fertilised, produced only capsules. some flowers of the _mimulus luteus_ were fertilised with their own pollen, and others were crossed with pollen from distinct plants growing in the same pot. the seeds after germinating were thickly planted on opposite sides of a pot. the seedlings were at first equal in height; but when the young crossed plants were exactly half an inch, the { } self-fertilised plants were only a quarter of an inch high. but this inequality did not continue, for, when the crossed plants were four and a half inches high, the self-fertilised were three inches; and they retained the same relative difference till their growth was complete. the crossed plants looked far more vigorous than the uncrossed, and flowered before them; they produced also a far greater number of flowers, which yielded capsules (judging, however, from only a few) containing more seeds. as in the former case, the experiment was repeated in the same manner during the next two generations, and with exactly the same result. had i not watched these plants of the mimulus and ipomoea during their whole growth, i could not have believed it possible, that a difference apparently so slight, as that of the pollen being taken from the same flower, and from a distinct plant growing in the same small pot, could have made so wonderful a difference in the growth and vigour of the plants thus produced. this, under a physiological point of view, is a most remarkable phenomenon. * * * * * with respect to the benefit derived from crossing distinct varieties, plenty of evidence has been published. sageret[ ] repeatedly speaks in strong terms of the vigour of melons raised by crossing different varieties, and adds that they are more easily fertilised than common melons, and produce numerous good seed. here follows the evidence of an english gardener:[ ] "i have this summer met with better success in my cultivation of melons, in an unprotected state, from the seeds of hybrids (_i.e._ mongrels) obtained by cross impregnation, than with old varieties. the offspring of three different hybridisations (one more especially, of which the parents were the two most dissimilar varieties i could select) each yielded more ample and finer produce than any one of between twenty and thirty established varieties." andrew knight[ ] believed that his seedlings from crossed varieties of the apple exhibited increased vigour and luxuriance; and m. chevreul[ ] alludes to the extreme vigour of some of the crossed fruit-trees raised by sageret. by crossing reciprocally the tallest and shortest peas, knight[ ] says, "i had in this experiment a striking instance of the stimulative effects of crossing the breeds; for the smallest variety, whose height rarely exceeded two feet, was increased to six feet; whilst the height of the large and luxuriant kind was very little diminished." mr. laxton gave me seed-peas produced from crosses between four distinct kinds; and the plants thus raised were extraordinarily vigorous, being in each case from one to two or three feet taller than the parent-forms growing close alongside them. { } wiegmann[ ] made many crosses between several varieties of cabbage; and he speaks with astonishment of the vigour and height of the mongrels, which excited the amazement of all the gardeners who beheld them. mr. chaundy raised a great number of mongrels by planting together six distinct varieties of cabbage. these mongrels displayed an infinite diversity of character; "but the most remarkable circumstance was, that, while all the other cabbages and borecoles in the nursery were destroyed by a severe winter, these hybrids were little injured, and supplied the kitchen when there was no other cabbage to be had." mr. maund exhibited before the royal agricultural society[ ] specimens of crossed wheat, together with their parent varieties; and the editor states that they were intermediate in character, "united with that greater vigour of growth, which it appears, in the vegetable as in the animal world, is the result of a first cross." knight also crossed several varieties of wheat,[ ] and he says "that in the years and , when almost the whole crop of corn in the island was blighted, the varieties thus obtained, and these only, escaped in this neighbourhood, though sown in several different soils and situations." here is a remarkable case: m. clotzsch[ ] crossed _pinus sylvestris_ and _nigricans_, _quercus robur_ and _pedunculata, alnus glutinosa_ and _incana_, _ulmus campestris_ and _effusa_; and the cross-fertilised seeds, as well as seeds of the pure parent-trees, were all sown at the same time and in the same place. the result was, that after an interval of eight years, the hybrids were one-third taller than the pure trees! * * * * * the facts above given refer to undoubted varieties, excepting the trees crossed by clotzsch, which are ranked by various botanists as strongly-marked races, sub-species, or species. that true hybrids raised from entirely distinct species, though they lose in fertility, often gain in size and constitutional vigour, is certain. it would be superfluous to quote any facts; for all experimenters, kölreuter, gärtner, herbert, sageret, lecoq, and naudin, have been struck with the wonderful vigour, height, size, tenacity of life, precocity, and hardiness of their hybrid productions. gärtner[ ] sums up his conviction on this head in the strongest terms. kölreuter[ ] gives numerous precise measurements of the weight and height of his hybrids in comparison with measurements of both parent-forms; and speaks with astonishment of their "_statura portentosa_," their "_ambitus vastissimus ac altitudo valde conspicua_." some exceptions to the rule in the case of very sterile hybrids have, however, been noticed by gärtner and { } herbert; but the most striking exceptions are given by max wichura,[ ] who found that hybrid willows were generally tender in constitution, dwarf, and short-lived. kölreuter explains the vast increase in the size of the roots, stems, &c., of his hybrids, as the result of a sort of compensation due to their sterility, in the same way as many emasculated animals are larger than the perfect males. this view seems at first sight extremely probable, and has been accepted by various authors;[ ] but gärtner[ ] has well remarked that there is much difficulty in fully admitting it; for with many hybrids there is no parallelism between the degree of their sterility and their increased size and vigour. the most striking instances of luxuriant growth have been observed with hybrids which were not sterile in any extreme degree. in the genus mirabilis, certain hybrids are unusually fertile, and their extraordinary luxuriance of growth, together with their enormous roots,[ ] have been transmitted to their progeny. the increased size of the hybrids produced between the fowl and pheasant, and between the distinct species of pheasants, has been already noticed. the result in all cases is probably in part due to the saving of nutriment and vital force through the sexual organs not acting, or acting imperfectly, but more especially to the general law of good being derived from a cross. for it deserves especial attention that mongrel animals and plants, which are so far from being sterile that their fertility is often actually augmented, have, as previously shown, their size, hardiness, and constitutional vigour generally increased. it is not a little remarkable that an accession of vigour and size should thus arise under the opposite contingencies of increased and diminished fertility. it is a perfectly well ascertained fact[ ] that hybrids will invariably breed more readily with either pure parent, and not rarely with a distinct species, than with each other. herbert is inclined to explain even this fact by the advantage derived from a cross; but gärtner more justly accounts for it by the pollen of the hybrid, and probably its ovules, being in some degree vitiated, whereas the pollen and ovules of both pure parents and of any third species are sound. nevertheless there are some well-ascertained and remarkable facts, which, as we shall immediately see, show that the act of crossing in itself undoubtedly tends to increase or re-establish the fertility of hybrids. _on certain hermaphrodite plants which, either normally or abnormally, require to be fertilised by pollen from a distinct individual or species._ the facts now to be given differ from those hitherto detailed, as the self-sterility does not here result from long-continued, { } close interbreeding. these facts are, however, connected with our present subject, because a cross with a distinct individual is shown to be either necessary or advantageous. dimorphic and trimorphic plants, though they are hermaphrodites, must be reciprocally crossed, one set of forms by the other, in order to be fully fertile, and in some cases to be fertile in any degree. but i should not have noticed these plants, had it not been for the following cases given by dr. hildebrand:[ ]-- _primula sinensis_ is a reciprocally dimorphic species: dr. hildebrand fertilised twenty-eight flowers of both forms, each by pollen of the other form, and obtained the full number of capsules containing on an average . seed per capsule; here we have complete and normal fertility. he then fertilised forty-two flowers of both forms with pollen of the same form, but taken from a distinct plant, and all produced capsules containing on an average only . seed. lastly, and here we come to our more immediate point, he fertilised forty-eight flowers of both forms with pollen of the same form, taken from the same flower, and now he obtained only thirty-two capsules, and these contained on an average . seed, or one less per capsule than in the former case. so that, with these illegitimate unions, the act of impregnation is less assured, and the fertility slightly less, when the pollen and ovules belong to the same flower, than when belonging to two distinct individuals of the same form. dr. hildebrand has recently made analogous experiments on the long-styled form of _oxalis rosea_, with the same result.[ ] it has recently been discovered that certain plants, whilst growing in their native country under natural conditions, cannot be fertilised with pollen from the same plant. they are sometimes so utterly self-impotent, that, though they can readily be fertilised by the pollen of a distinct species or even distinct genus, yet, wonderful as the fact is, they never produce a single seed by their own pollen. in some cases, moreover, the plant's own pollen and stigma mutually act on each other in a deleterious manner. most of the facts to be given relate to orchids, but i will commence with a plant belonging to a widely different family. sixty-three flowers of _corydalis cava_, borne on distinct plants, were fertilised by dr. hildebrand[ ] with pollen from other plants of the same species; and fifty-eight capsules were obtained, including on an average { } . seed in each. he then fertilised sixteen flowers produced by the same raceme, one with another, but obtained only three capsules, one of which alone contained any good seeds, namely, two in number. lastly, he fertilised twenty-seven flowers, each with its own pollen; he left also fifty-seven flowers to be spontaneously fertilised, and this would certainly have ensued if it had been possible, for the anthers not only touch the stigma, but the pollen-tubes were seen by dr. hildebrand to penetrate it; nevertheless these eighty-four flowers did not produce a single seed-capsule! this whole case is highly instructive, as it shows how widely different the action of the same pollen is, according as it is placed on the stigma of the same flower, or on that of another flower on the same raceme, or on that of a distinct plant. with exotic orchids several analogous cases have been observed, chiefly by mr. john scott.[ ] _oncidium sphacelatum_ has effective pollen, for with it mr. scott fertilised two distinct species; its ovules are likewise capable of impregnation, for they were readily fertilised by the pollen of _o. divaricatum_; nevertheless, between one and two hundred flowers fertilised by their own pollen did not produce a single capsule, though the stigmas were penetrated by the pollen-tubes. mr. robinson munro, of the royal botanic gardens of edinburgh, also informs me ( ) that a hundred and twenty flowers of this same species were fertilised by him with their own pollen, and did not produce a capsule, but eight flowers fertilised by the pollen of _o. divaricatum_ produced four fine capsules: again, between two and three hundred flowers of _o. divaricatum_, fertilised by their own pollen, did not set a capsule, but twelve flowers fertilised by _o. flexuosum_ produced eight fine capsules: so that here we have three utterly self-impotent species, with their male and female organs perfect, as shown by their mutual fertilisation. in these cases fertilisation was effected only by the aid of a distinct species. but, as we shall presently see, distinct plants, raised from seed, of _oncidium flexuosum_, and probably of the other species, would have been perfectly capable of fertilising each other, for this is the natural process. again, mr. scott found that the pollen of a plant of _o. microchilum_ was good, for with it he fertilised two distinct species; he found its ovules good, for they could be fertilised by the pollen of one of these species, and by the pollen of a distinct plant of _o. microchilum_; but they could not be fertilised by pollen of the same plant, though the pollen-tubes penetrated the stigma. an analogous case has been recorded by m. rivière,[ ] with two plants of _o. cavendishianum_, which were both self-sterile, but reciprocally fertilised each other. all these cases refer to the genus oncidium, but mr. scott found that _maxillaria atro-rubens_ was "totally insusceptible of fertilisation with its own pollen," but fertilised, and was fertilised by, a widely distinct species, viz. _m. squalens_. as these orchids had grown under unnatural conditions, in { } hot-houses, i concluded without hesitation that their self-sterility was due to this cause. but fritz müller informs me that at desterro, in brazil, he fertilised above one hundred flowers of the above-mentioned _oncidium flexuosum_, which is there endemic, with its own pollen, and with that taken from distinct plants; all the former were sterile, whilst those fertilised by pollen from any _other plant_ of the same species were fertile. during the first three days there was no difference in the action of the two kinds of pollen: that placed on the stigma of the same plant separated in the usual manner into grains, and emitted tubes which penetrated the column, and the stigmatic chamber shut itself; but the flowers alone which had been fertilised by pollen taken from a distinct plant produced seed-capsules. on a subsequent occasion these experiments were repeated on a large scale with the same result. fritz müller found that four other endemic species of oncidium were in like manner utterly sterile with their own pollen, but fertile with that from any other plant: some of them likewise produced seed-capsules when impregnated with pollen of widely distinct genera, such as leptotes, cyrtopodium, and rodriguezia! _oncidium crispum_, however, differs from the foregoing species in varying much in its self-sterility; some plants producing fine pods with their own pollen, others failing to do so; in two or three instances, fritz müller observed that the pods produced by pollen taken from a distinct flower on the same plant, were larger than those produced by the flower's own pollen. in _epidendrum cinnabarinum_, an orchid belonging to another division of the family, fine pods were produced by the plant's own pollen, but they contained by weight only about half as much seed as the capsules which had been fertilized by pollen from a distinct plant, and in one instance from a distinct species; moreover, a very large proportion, and in some cases nearly all the seed produced by the plant's own pollen, was embryonless and worthless. some self-fertilized capsules of a maxillaria were in a similar state. another observation made by fritz müller is highly remarkable, namely, that with various orchids the plant's own pollen not only fails to impregnate the flower, but acts on the stigma, and is acted on, in an injurious or poisonous manner. this is shown by the surface of the stigma in contact with the pollen, and by the pollen itself, becoming in from three to five days dark brown, and then decaying. the discolouration and decay are not caused by parasitic cryptogams, which were observed by fritz müller in only a single instance. these changes are well shown by placing on the same stigma, at the same time, the plant's own pollen and that from a distinct plant of the same species, or of another species, or even of another and widely remote genus. thus, on the stigma of _oncidium flexuosum_, the plant's own pollen and that from a distinct plant were placed side by side, and in five days' time the latter was perfectly fresh, whilst the plant's own pollen was brown. on the other hand, when the pollen of a distinct plant of the _oncidium flexuosum_, and of the _epidendrum zebra_ (_nov. spec.?_), were placed together on the same stigma, they behaved in exactly the same manner, the grains separating, emitting tubes, and penetrating the stigma, so that the two { } pollen-masses, after an interval of eleven days, could not be distinguished except by the difference of their caudicles, which, of course, undergo no change. fritz müller has, moreover, made a large number of crosses between orchids belonging to distinct species and genera, and he finds that in all cases when the flowers are not fertilised their footstalks first begin to wither; and the withering slowly spreads upwards until the germens fall off, after an interval of one or two weeks, and in one instance of between six and seven weeks; but even in this latter case, and in most other cases, the pollen and stigma remained in appearance fresh. occasionally, however, the pollen becomes brownish, generally on the external surface, and not in contact with the stigma, as is invariably the case when the plant's own pollen is applied. fritz müller observed the poisonous action of the plant's own pollen in the above-mentioned _oncidium flexuosum_, _o. unicorne, pubes_ (_?_), and in two other unnamed species. also in two species of rodriguezia, in two of notylia, in one of burlingtonia, and of a fourth genus in the same group. in all these cases, except the last, it was proved that the flowers were, as might have been expected, fertile with pollen from a distinct plant of the same species. numerous flowers of one species of notylia were fertilized with pollen from the same raceme; in two days' time they all withered, the germens began to shrink, the pollen-masses became dark brown, and not one pollen-grain emitted a tube. so that in this orchid the injurious action of the plant's own pollen is more rapid than with _oncidium flexuosum_. eight other flowers on the same raceme were fertilized with pollen from a distinct plant of the same species: two of these were dissected, and their stigmas were found to be penetrated by numberless pollen-tubes; and the germens of the other six flowers became well developed. on a subsequent occasion many other flowers were fertilized with their own pollen, and all fell off dead in a few days; whilst some flowers on the same raceme which had been left simply unfertilised adhered and long remained fresh. we have seen that in cross-unions between extremely distinct orchids the pollen long remains undecayed; but notylia behaved in this respect differently; for when its pollen was placed on the stigma of _oncidium flexuosum_, both the stigma and pollen quickly became dark brown, in the same manner as if the plant's own pollen had been applied. fritz müller suggests that, as in all these cases the plant's own pollen is not only impotent (thus effectually preventing self-fertilization), but likewise prevents, as was ascertained in the case of the notylia and _oncidium flexuosum_, the action of subsequently applied pollen from a distinct individual, it would be an advantage to the plant to have its own pollen rendered more and more deleterious; for the germens would thus quickly be killed, and, dropping off, there would be no further waste in nourishing a part which ultimately could be of no avail. fritz müller's discovery that a plant's own pollen and stigma in some cases act on each other as if mutually poisonous, is certainly most remarkable. we now come to cases closely analogous with those just { } given, but different, inasmuch as individual plants alone of the species are self-impotent. this self-impotence does not depend on the pollen or ovules being in a state unfit for fertilisation, for both have been found effective in union with other plants of the same or of a distinct species. the fact of these plants having spontaneously acquired so peculiar a constitution, that they can be fertilised more readily by the pollen of a distinct species than by their own, is remarkable. these abnormal cases, as well as the foregoing normal cases, in which certain orchids, for instance, can be much more easily fertilised by the pollen of a distinct species than by their own, are exactly the reverse of what occurs with all ordinary species. for in these latter the two sexual elements of the same individual plant are capable of freely acting on each other; but are so constituted that they are more or less impotent when brought into union with the sexual elements of a distinct species, and produce more or less sterile hybrids. it would appear that the pollen or ovules, or both, of the individual plants which are in this abnormal state, have been affected in some strange manner by the conditions to which they themselves or their parents have been exposed; but whilst thus rendered self-sterile, they have retained the capacity common to most species of partially fertilizing and being partially fertilized by allied forms. however this may be, the subject, to a certain extent, is related to our general conclusion that good is derived from the act of crossing. gärtner experimented on two plants of _lobelia fulgens_, brought from separate places, and found[ ] that their pollen was good, for he fertilised with it _l. cardinalis_ and _syphilitica_; their ovules were likewise good, for they were fertilised by the pollen of these same two species; but these two plants of _l. fulgens_ could not be fertilised by their own pollen, as can generally be effected with perfect ease with this species. again, the pollen of a plant of _verbascum nigrum_ grown in a pot was found by gärtner[ ] capable of fertilising _v. lychnitis_ and _v. austriacum_; the ovules could be fertilised by the pollen of _v. thapsus_; but the flowers could not be fertilised by their own pollen. kölreuter, also,[ ] gives the case of three { } garden plants of _verbascum phoeniceum_, which bore during two years many flowers; these he successfully fertilised by the pollen of no less than four distinct species, but they produced not a seed with their own apparently good pollen; subsequently these same plants, and others raised from seed, assumed a strangely fluctuating condition, being temporarily sterile on the male or female side, or on both sides, and sometimes fertile on both sides; but two of the plants were perfectly fertile throughout the summer. it appears[ ] that certain flowers on certain plants of _lilium candidum_ can be fertilised more easily by pollen from a distinct individual than by their own. so, again, with the varieties of the potato. tinzmann,[ ] who made many trials with this plant, says that pollen from another variety sometimes "exerts a powerful influence, and i have found sorts of potatoes which would not bear seed from impregnation with the pollen of their own flowers, would bear it when impregnated with other pollen." it does not, however, appear to have been proved that the pollen which failed to act on the flower's own stigma was in itself good. in the genus passiflora it has long been known that several species do not produce fruit, unless fertilised by pollen taken from distinct species: thus, mr. mowbray[ ] found that he could not get fruit from _p. alata_ and _racemosa_ except by reciprocally fertilising them with each other's pollen. similar facts have been observed in germany and france;[ ] and i have received two authentic accounts of _p. quadrangularis_, which never produced fruit with its own pollen, but would do so freely when fertilised in one case with the pollen of _p. coerulea_, and in another case with that of _p. edulis_. so again, with respect to _p. laurifolia_, a cultivator of much experience has recently remarked[ ] that the flowers "must be fertilised with the pollen of _p. coerulea_, or of some other common kind, as their own pollen will not fertilise them." but the fullest details on this subject have been given by mr. scott:[ ] plants of _passiflora racemosa_, _coerulea_, and _alata_ flowered profusely during many years in the botanic gardens of edinburgh, and, though repeatedly fertilised by mr. scott and by others with their own pollen, never produced any seed; yet this occurred at once with all three species when they were crossed together in various ways. but in the case of _p. coerulea_, three plants, two of which grew in the botanic gardens, were all rendered fertile, merely by impregnating the one with pollen of the other. the same result was attained in the same manner with _p. alata_, but only with one plant out of three. as so many self-sterile species have been mentioned, it may be stated that in the case of _p. gracilis_, which is an annual, the flowers are nearly as fertile with their own pollen as with that from a distinct plant; thus sixteen flowers { } spontaneously self-fertilised produced fruit, each containing on an average . seed, whilst fruit from fourteen crossed flowers contained . seed. returning to _p. alata_, i have received ( ) some interesting details from mr. robinson munro. three plants, including one in england, have already been mentioned which were inveterately self-sterile, and mr. munro informs me of several others which, after repeated trials during many years, have been found in the same predicament. at some other places, however, this species fruits readily when fertilised with its own pollen. at taymouth castle there is a plant which was formerly grafted by mr. donaldson on a distinct species, name unknown, and ever since the operation it has produced fruit in abundance by its own pollen; so that this small and unnatural change in the state of this plant has restored its self-fertility! some of the seedlings from the taymouth castle plant were found to be not only sterile with their own pollen, but with each other's pollen, and with the pollen of distinct species. pollen from the taymouth plant failed to fertilise certain plants of the same species, but was successful on one plant in the edinburgh botanic gardens. seedlings were raised from this latter union, and some of their flowers were fertilised by mr. munro with their own pollen; but they were found to be as self-impotent as the mother-plant had always proved, except when fertilised by the grafted taymouth plant, and except, as we shall see, when fertilised by her own seedlings. for mr. munro fertilised eighteen flowers on the self-impotent mother-plant with pollen from these her own self-impotent seedlings, and obtained, remarkable as the fact is, eighteen fine capsules full of excellent seed! i have met with no case in regard to plants which shows so well as this of _p. alata_, on what small and mysterious causes complete fertility or complete sterility depends. the facts hitherto given relate to the much-lessened or completely destroyed fertility of pure species when impregnated with their own pollen, in comparison with their fertility when impregnated by distinct individuals or distinct species; but closely analogous facts have been observed with hybrids. herbert states[ ] that having in flower at the same time nine hybrid hippeastrums, of complicated origin, descended from several species, he found that "almost every flower touched with pollen from another cross produced seed abundantly, and those which were touched with their own pollen either failed entirely, or formed slowly a pod of inferior size, with fewer seeds." in the 'horticultural journal' he adds that, "the admission of the pollen of another cross-bred hippeastrum (however complicated the cross) to any _one_ flower of the number, is almost sure to check the fructification of the others." in a letter written to me in , dr. herbert says that he had already tried these experiments during five consecutive years, and he subsequently repeated them, with the same invariable result. { } he was thus led to make an analogous trial on a pure species, namely, on the _hippeastrum aulicum_, which he had lately imported from brazil: this bulb produced four flowers, three of which were fertilised by their own pollen, and the fourth by the pollen of a triple cross between _h. bulbulosum_, _reginæ_, and _vittatum_; the result was, that "the ovaries of the three first flowers soon ceased to grow, and after a few days perished entirely: whereas the pod impregnated by the hybrid made vigorous and rapid progress to maturity, and bore good seed, which vegetated freely." this is, indeed, as herbert remarks, "a strange truth," but not so strange as it then appeared. as a confirmation of these statements, i may add that mr. m. mayes,[ ] after much experience in crossing the species of amaryllis (hippeastrum), says, "neither the species nor the hybrids will, we are well aware, produce seed so abundantly from their own pollen as from that of others." so, again, mr. bidwell, in new south wales,[ ] asserts that _amaryllis belladonna_ bears many more seeds when fertilised by the pollen of _brunswigia_ (_amaryllis_ of some authors) _josephinæ_ or of _b. multiflora_, than when fertilised by its own pollen. mr. beaton dusted four flowers of a cyrtanthus with their own pollen, and four with the pollen of _vallota_ (_amaryllis_) _purpurea_; on the seventh day "those which received their own pollen slackened their growth, and ultimately perished; those which were crossed with the vallota held on."[ ] these latter cases, however, relate to uncrossed species, like those before given with respect to passiflora, orchids, &c., and are here referred to only because the plants belong to the same group of amaryllidaceæ. in the experiments on the hybrid hippeastrums, if herbert had found that the pollen of two or three kinds alone had been more efficient on certain kinds than their own pollen, it might have been argued that these, from their mixed parentage, had a closer mutual affinity than the others; but this explanation is inadmissible, for the trials were made reciprocally backwards and forwards on nine different hybrids; and a cross, whichever way taken, always proved highly beneficial. i can add a striking and analogous case from experiments made by the rev. a. rawson, of bromley common, with some complex hybrids of gladiolus. this skilful horticulturist possessed a number of french varieties, differing from each other only in the colour and size of the flowers, all descended from gandavensis, a well-known old hybrid, said to be descended from _g. natalensis_ by the pollen of _g. oppositiflorus_.[ ] mr. rawson, after repeated trials, found that none of the varieties would set seed with their own pollen, although { } taken from distinct plants of the same variety, which had, of course, been propagated by bulbs, but that they all seeded freely with pollen from any other variety. to give two examples: ophir did not produce a capsule with its own pollen, but when fertilised with that of janire, brenchleyensis, vulcain, and linné, it produced ten fine capsules; but the pollen of ophir was good, for when linné was fertilised by it seven capsules were produced. this later variety, on the other hand, was utterly barren with its own pollen, which we have seen was perfectly efficient on ophir. altogether, mr. rawson, in the year , fertilised twenty-six flowers borne by four varieties with pollen taken from other varieties, and every single flower produced a fine seed-capsule; whereas fifty-two flowers on the same plants, fertilised at the same time with their own pollen, did not yield a single seed-capsule. mr. rawson fertilised, in some cases, the alternate flowers, and in other cases all those down one side of the spike, with pollen of other varieties, and the remaining flowers with their own pollen; i saw these plants when the capsules were nearly mature, and their curious arrangement at once brought full conviction to the mind that an immense advantage had been derived from crossing these hybrids. lastly, i have heard from dr. e. bornet, of antibes, who has made numerous experiments in crossing the species of cistus, but as not yet published the results, that, when any of these hybrids are fertile, they may be said to be, in regard to function, dioecious; "for the flowers are always sterile when the pistil is fertilised by pollen taken from the same flower or from flowers on the same plant. but they are often fertile if pollen be employed from a distinct individual of the same hybrid nature, or from a hybrid made by a reciprocal cross." _conclusion._--the facts just given, which show that certain plants are self-sterile, although both sexual elements are in a fit state for reproduction when united with distinct individuals of the same or other species, appear at first sight opposed to all analogy. the sexual elements of the same flower have become, as already remarked, differentiated in relation to each other, almost like those of two distinct species. with respect to the species which, whilst living under their natural conditions, have their reproductive organs in this peculiar state, we may conclude that it has been naturally acquired for the sake of effectually preventing self-fertilisation. the case is closely analous with dimorphic and trimorphic plants, which can be fully fertilised only by plants belong to the opposite form, and not, as in the foregoing cases, in differently by any other plant. some of these dimorphic plants are completely sterile with pollen taken from the same plant or from the same { } form. it is interesting to observe the graduated series from plants which, when fertilised by their own pollen, yield the full number of seed, but with the seedlings a little dwarfed in stature--to plants which when self-fertilised yield few seeds--to those with yield none--and, lastly, to those in which the plant's own pollen and stigma act on each other like poison. this peculiar state of the reproductive organs, when occurring in certain individuals alone, is evidently abnormal; and as it chiefly affects exotic plants, or indigenous plants cultivated in pots, we may attribute it to some change in the conditions of life, acting on the plants themselves or on their parents. the self-impotent _passiflora alata_, which recovered its self-fertility after having been grafted on a distinct stock, shows how small a change is sufficient to act powerfully on the reproductive system. the possibility of a plant becoming under culture self-impotent is interesting as throwing light on the occurrence of this same condition in natural species. a cultivated plant in this state generally remains so during its whole life; and from this fact we may infer that the state is probably congenital. kölreuter, however, has described some plants of verbascum which varied in this respect even during the same season. as in all the normal cases, and in many, probably in most, of the abnormal cases, any two self-impotent plants can reciprocally fertilize each other, we may infer that a very slight difference in the nature of their sexual elements suffices to give fertility; but in other instances, as with some passifloras and the hybrid gladioli, a greater degree of differentiation appears to be necessary, for with these plants fertility is gained only by the union of distinct species, or of hybrids of distinct parentage. these facts all point to the same general conclusion, namely, that good is derived from a cross between individuals, which either innately, or from exposure to dissimilar conditions, have come to differ in sexual constitution. exotic animals confined in menageries are sometimes in nearly the same state as the above-described self-impotent plants; for, as we shall see in the following chapter, certain monkeys, the larger carnivora, several finches, geese, and pheasants, cross together, quite as freely as, or even more freely than, the individuals of the same species breed together. cases will, { } also, be given of sexual incompatibility between certain male and female domesticated animals, which, nevertheless, are fertile when matched with any other individual of the same kind. in the early part of this chapter it was shown that the crossing of distinct forms, whether closely or distantly allied, gives increased size and constitutional vigour, and, except in the case of crossed species, increased fertility, to the offspring. the evidence rests on the universal testimony of breeders (for it should be observed that i am not here speaking of the evil results of close interbreeding), and is practically exemplified in the higher value of cross-bred animals for immediate consumption. the good results of crossing have also been demonstrated, in the case of some animals and of numerous plants, by actual weight and measurement. although animals of pure blood will obviously be deteriorated by crossing, as far as their characteristic qualities are concerned, there seems to be no exception to the rule that advantages of the kind just mentioned are thus gained, even when there has not been any previous close interbreeding. the rule applies to all animals, even to cattle and sheep, which can long resist breeding in-and-in between the nearest blood-relations. it applies to individuals of the same sub-variety but of distinct families, to varieties or races, to sub-species, as well as to quite distinct species. in this latter case, however, whilst size, vigour, precocity, and hardiness are, with rare exceptions, gained, fertility, in a greater or less degree, is lost; but the gain cannot be exclusively attributed to the principle of compensation; for there is no close parallelism between the increased size and vigour of the offspring and their sterility. moreover it has been clearly proved that mongrels which are perfectly fertile gain these same advantages as well as sterile hybrids. the evil consequences of long-continued close interbreeding are not so easily recognised as the good effects from crossing, for the deterioration is gradual. nevertheless it is the general opinion of those who have had most experience, especially with animals which propagate quickly, that evil does inevitably follow sooner or later, but at different rates with different animals. no doubt a false belief may widely prevail like a superstition; yet it is difficult to suppose that so many acute and original { } observers have all been deceived at the expense of much cost and trouble. a male animal may sometimes be paired with his daughter, granddaughter, and so on, even for seven generations, without any manifest bad result; but the experiment has never been tried of matching brothers and sisters, which is considered the closest form of interbreeding, for an equal number of generations. there is good reason to believe that by keeping the members of the same family in distinct bodies, especially if exposed to somewhat different conditions of life, and by occasionally crossing these families, the evil results may be much diminished, or quite eliminated. these results are loss of constitutional vigour, size, and fertility; but there is no necessary deterioration in the general form of the body, or in other good qualities. we have seen that with pigs first-rate animals have been produced after long-continued close interbreeding, though they had become extremely infertile when paired with their near relations. the loss of fertility, when it occurs, seems never to be absolute, but only relative to animals of the same blood; so that this sterility is to a certain extent analogous with that of self-impotent plants which cannot be fertilised by their own pollen, but are perfectly fertile with pollen of any other plant of the same species. the fact of infertility of this peculiar nature being one of the results of long-continued interbreeding, shows that interbreeding does not act merely by combining and augmenting various morbid tendencies common to both parents; for animals with such tendencies, if not at the time actually ill, can generally propagate their kind. although offspring descended from the nearest blood-relations are not necessarily deteriorated in structure, yet some authors[ ] believe that they are eminently liable to malformations; and this is not improbable, as everything which lessens the vital powers acts in this manner. instances of this kind have been recorded in the case of pigs, bloodhounds, and some other animals. finally, when we consider the various facts now given which plainly show that good follows from crossing, and less plainly { } that evil follows from close interbreeding, and when we bear in mind that throughout the whole organic world elaborate provision has been made for the occasional union of distinct individuals, the existence of a great law of nature is, if not proved, at least rendered in the highest degree probable; namely, that the crossing of animals and plants which are not closely related to beach other is highly beneficial or even necessary, and that interbreeding prolonged during many generations is highly injurious. * * * * * { } chapter xviii. on the advantages and disadvantages of changed conditions of life: sterility from various causes. on the good derived from slight changes in the conditions of life--sterility from changed conditions, in animals, in their native country and in menageries--mammals, birds, and insects--loss of secondary sexual characters and of instincts--causes of sterility--sterility of domesticated animals from changed conditions--sexual incompatibility of individual animals--sterility of plants from changed conditions of life--contabescence of the anthers--monstrosities as a cause of sterility--double flowers--seedless fruit--sterility from the excessive development of the organs of vegetation--from long-continued propagation by buds--incipient sterility the primary cause of double flowers and seedless fruit. _on the good derived from slight changes in the conditions of life._--in considering whether any facts were known which might throw light on the conclusion arrived at in the last chapter, namely, that benefits ensue from crossing, and that it is a law of nature that all organic beings should occasionally cross, it appeared to me probable that the good derived from slight changes in the conditions of life, from being an analogous phenomenon, might serve this purpose. no two individuals, and still less no two varieties, are absolutely alike in constitution and structure; and when the germ of one is fertilised by the male element of another, we may believe that it is acted on in a somewhat similar manner as an individual when exposed to slightly changed conditions. now, every one must have observed the remarkable influence on convalescents of a change of residence, and no medical man doubts the truth of this fact. small farmers who hold but little land are convinced that their cattle derive great benefit from a change of pasture. in the case of plants, the evidence is strong that a great advantage is derived from exchanging seeds, tubers, bulbs, and cuttings from one soil or place to another as different as possible. { } the belief that plants are thus benefited, whether or not well founded, has been firmly maintained from the time of columella, who wrote shortly after the christian era, to the present day; and it now prevails in england, france, and germany.[ ] a sagacious observer, bradley, writing in ,[ ] says, "when we once become masters of a good sort of seed, we should at least put it into two or three hands, where the soils and situations are as different as possible; and every year the parties should change with one another; by which means, i find the goodness of the seed will be maintained for several years. for want of this use many farmers have failed in their crops and been great losers." he then gives his own practical experience on this head. a modern writer[ ] asserts, "nothing can be more clearly established in agriculture than that the continual growth of any one variety in the same district makes it liable to deterioration either in quality or quantity." another writer states that he sowed close together in the same field two lots of wheat-seed, the product of the same original stock, one of which had been grown on the same land, and the other at a distance, and the difference in favour of the crop from the latter seed was remarkable. a gentleman in surrey who has long made it his business to raise wheat to sell for seed, and who has constantly realised in the market higher prices than others, assures me that he finds it indispensable continually to change his seed; and that for this purpose he keeps two farms differing much in soil and elevation. with respect to the tubers of the potato, i find that at the present day the practice of exchanging sets is almost everywhere followed. the great growers of potatoes in lancashire formerly used to get tubers from scotland, but they found that "a change from the moss-lands, and _vice versâ_, was generally sufficient." in former times in france the crop of potatoes in the vosges had become reduced in the course of fifty or sixty years in the proportion from - to - bushels; and the famous oberlin attributed the surprising good which he effected in large part to changing the sets.[ ] a well-known practical gardener, mr. robson[ ] positively states that he has himself witnessed decided advantage from obtaining bulbs of the onion, tubers of the potato, and various seeds, all of the same kind, from different soils and distant parts of england. he further states that with { } plants propagated by cuttings, as with the pelargonium, and especially the dahlia, manifest advantage is derived from getting plans of the same variety, which have been cultivated in another place; or, "where the extent of the place allows, to take cuttings from one description of soil to plant on another, so as to afford the change that seems so necessary to the well-being of the plants." he maintains that after a time an exchange of this nature is "forced on the grower, whether he be prepared for it or not." similar remarks have been made by another excellent gardener, mr. fish, namely, that cuttings of the same variety of calceolaria, which he obtained from a neighbour, "showed much greater vigour than some of his own that were treated in exactly the same manner," and he attributed this solely to his own plants having become "to a certain extent worn out or tired of their quarters." something of this kind apparently occurs in grafting and budding fruit-trees; for, according to mr. abbey, grafts or buds generally take on a distinct variety or even species, or on a stock previously grafted, with greater facility than on stocks raised from seeds of the variety which is to be grafted; and he believes this cannot be altogether explained by the stocks in question being better adapted to the soil and climate of the place. it should, however, be added, that varieties grafted or budded on very distinct kinds, though they may take more readily and grow at first more vigorously than when grafted on closely allied stocks, afterwards often become unhealthy. i have studied m. tessier's careful and elaborate experiments,[ ] made to disprove the common belief that good is derived from a change of seed; and he certainly shows that the same seed may with care be cultivated on the same farm (it is not stated whether on exactly the same soil) for ten consecutive years without loss. another excellent observer, colonel le couteur,[ ] has come to the same conclusion; but then he expressly adds, if the same seed be used, "that which is grown on land manured from the mixen one year becomes seed for land prepared with lime, and that again becomes seed for land dressed with ashes, then for land dressed with mixed manure, and so on." but this in effect is a systematic exchange of seed, within the limits of the same farm. on the whole the belief, which has long been held by many skilful cultivators, that good follows from exchanging seed, tubers, &c., seems to be fairly well founded. considering the small size of most seeds, it seems hardly credible that the advantage thus derived can be due to the seeds obtaining in one soil some chemical element deficient in the other soil. as plants after once germinating naturally become fixed to the same spot, it might have been anticipated that they would show the good effects of a change more plainly than animals, which continually wander about; and this apparently is the { } case. life depending on, or consisting in, an incessant play of the most complex forces, it would appear that their action is in some way stimulated by slight changes in the circumstances to which each organism is exposed. all forces throughout nature, as mr. herbert spencer[ ] remarks, tend towards an equilibrium, and for the life of each being it is necessary that this tendency should be checked. if these views and the foregoing facts can be trusted, they probably throw light, on the one hand, on the good effects of crossing the breed, for the germ will be thus slightly modified or acted on by new forces; and on the other hand, on the evil effects of close interbreeding prolonged during many generations, during which the germ will be acted on by a male having almost identically the same constitution. _sterility from changed conditions of life._ i will now attempt to show that animals and plants, when removed from their natural conditions, are often rendered in some degree infertile or completely barren; and this occurs even when the conditions have not been greatly changed. this conclusion is not necessarily opposed to that at which we have just arrived, namely, that lesser changes of other kinds are advantageous to organic beings. our present subject is of some importance, from having an intimate connexion with the causes of variability. indirectly it perhaps bears on the sterility of species when crossed: for as, on the one hand, slight changes in the conditions of life are favourable to plants and animals, and the crossing of varieties adds to the size, vigour, and fertility of their offspring; so, on the other hand, certain other changes in the conditions of life cause sterility; and as this likewise ensues from crossing much-modified forms or species, we have a parallel and double series of facts, which apparently stand in close relation to each other. it is notorious that many animals, though perfectly tamed, { } refuse to breed in captivity. isidore geoffroy st. hilaire[ ] consequently has drawn a broad distinction between tamed animals which will not breed under captivity, and truly domesticated animals which breed freely--generally more freely, as shown in the sixteenth chapter, than in a state of nature. it is possible and generally easy to tame most animals; but experience has shown that it is difficult to get them to breed regularly, or even at all. i shall discuss this subject in detail; but will give only those cases which seem most illustrative. my materials are derived from notices scattered through various works, and especially from a report, drawn up for me by the kindness of the officers of the zoological society of london, which has especial value, as it records all the cases, during nine years from - , in which the animals were seen to couple but produced no offspring, as well as the cases in which they never, as far as known, coupled. this ms. report i have corrected by the annual reports subsequently published. many facts are given on the breeding of the animals in that magnificent work, 'gleanings from the menageries of knowsley hall,' by dr. gray. i made, also, particular inquiries from the experienced keeper of the birds in the old surrey zoological gardens. i should premise that a slight change in the treatment of animals sometimes makes a great difference in their fertility; and it is probable that the results observed in different menageries would differ. indeed some animals in our zoological gardens have become more productive since the year . it is, also, manifest from f. cuvier's account of the jardin des plantes,[ ] that the animals formerly bred much less freely there than with us; for instance, in the duck tribe, which is highly prolific, only one species had at that period produced young. the most remarkable cases, however, are afforded by animals kept in their native country, which, though perfectly tamed, quite healthy, and allowed some freedom, are absolutely incapable of breeding. rengger,[ ] who in paraguay particularly attended to this subject, specifies six quadrupeds in this condition; and he mentions two or three others which most rarely { } breed. mr. bates, in his admirable work on the amazons, strongly insists on similar cases;[ ] and he remarks, that the fact of thoroughly tamed native mammals and birds not breeding when kept by the indians, cannot be wholly accounted for by their negligence or indifference, for the turkey is valued by them, and the fowl has been adopted by the remotest tribes. in almost every part of the world--for instance, in the interior of africa, and in several of the polynesian islands--the natives are extremely fond of taming the indigenous quadrupeds and birds; but they rarely or never succeed in getting them to breed. the most notorious case of an animal not breeding in captivity is that of the elephant. elephants are kept in large numbers in their native indian home, live to old age, and are vigorous enough for the severest labour; yet, with one or two exceptions, they have never been known even to couple, though both males and females have their proper periodical seasons. if, however, we proceed a little eastward to ava, we hear from mr. crawfurd[ ] that their "breeding in the domestic state, or at least in the half-domestic state in which the female elephants are generally kept, is of every-day occurrence;" and mr. crawfurd informs me that he believes that the difference must be attributed solely to the females being allowed to roam the forests with some degree of freedom. the captive rhinoceros, on the other hand, seems from bishop heber's account[ ] to breed in india far more readily than the elephant. four wild species of the horse genus have bred in europe, though here exposed to a great change in their natural habits of life; but the species have generally been crossed one with another. most of the members of the pig family breed readily in our menageries: even the red river hog (_potamochoerus penicillatus_), from the sweltering plains of west africa, has bred twice in the zoological gardens. here also the peccary (_dicotyles torquatus_) has bred several times; but another species, the _d. labiatus_, though rendered so tame as to be half-domesticated, breeds so rarely in its native country of paraguay, that according to rengger[ ] the fact requires confirmation. mr. bates remarks that the tapir, though often kept tame in amazonia by the indians, never breeds. ruminants generally breed quite freely in england, though brought from widely different climates, as may be seen in the annual reports of the zoological gardens, and in the gleanings from lord derby's menagerie. the carnivora, with the exception of the plantigrade division, generally breed (though with capricious exceptions) almost as freely as ruminants. many species of felidæ have bred in various menageries, although imported from various climates and closely confined. mr. bartlett, the present superintendent of the zoological gardens,[ ] remarks that the lion appears to breed more frequently and to bring forth more young at a birth than any other species of the family. he adds that the tiger has rarely bred; { } "but there are several well-authenticated instances of the female tiger breeding with the lion." strange as the fact may appear, many animals under confinement unite with distinct species and produce hybrids quite as freely as, or even more freely than, with their own species. on inquiring from dr. falconer and others, it appears that the tiger when confined in india does not breed, though it has been known to couple. the cheetah (_felis jubata_) has never been known by mr. bartlett to breed in england, but it has bred at frankfort; nor does it breed in india, where it is kept in large numbers for hunting; but no pains would be taken to make them breed, as only those animals which have hunted for themselves in a state of nature are serviceable and worth training.[ ] according to rengger, two species of wild cats in paraguay, though thoroughly tamed, have never bred. although so many of the felidæ breed readily in the zoological gardens, yet conception by no means always follows union: in the nine-year report, various species are specified which were observed to couple seventy-three times, and no doubt this must have passed many times unnoticed; yet from the seventy-three unions only fifteen births ensued. the carnivora in the zoological gardens were formerly less freely exposed to the air and cold than at present, and this change of treatment, as i was assured by the former superintendent, mr. miller, greatly increased their fertility. mr. bartlett, and there cannot be a more capable judge, says, "it is remarkable that lions breed more freely in travelling collections than in the zoological gardens; probably the constant excitement and irritation produced by moving from place to place, or change of air, may have considerable influence in the matter." many members of the dog family breed readily when confined. the dhole is one of the most untameable animals in india, yet a pair kept there by dr. falconer produced young. foxes, on the other hand, rarely breed, and i have never heard of such an occurrence with the european fox: the silver fox of north america (_canis argentatus_), however, has bred several times in the zoological gardens. even the otter has bred there. every one knows how readily the semi-domesticated ferret breeds, though shut up in miserably small cages; but other species of viverra and paradoxurus absolutely refuse to breed in the zoological gardens. the genetta has bred both here and in the jardin des plantes, and produced hybrids. the _herpestes fasciatus_ has likewise bred; but i was formerly assured that the _h. griseus_, though many were kept in the gardens, never bred. the plantigrade carnivora breed under confinement much less freely, without our being able to assign any reason, than other members of the group. in the nine-year report it is stated that the bears had been seen in the zoological gardens to couple freely, but previously to had most rarely conceived. in the reports published since this date three species have produced young (hybrids in one case), and, wonderful to relate, the white polar bear has produced young. the badger (_meles taxus_) has bred several times in the gardens; but i have not heard of this { } occurring elsewhere in england, and the event must be very rare, for an instance in germany has been thought worth recording.[ ] in paraguay the native nasua, though kept in pairs during many years and perfectly tamed, has never been known, according to rengger, to breed or show any sexual passion; nor, as i hear from mr. bates, does this animal, or the cercoleptes, breed in the region of the amazons. two other plantigrade genera, procyon and gulo, though often kept tame in paraguay, never breed there. in the zoological gardens species of nasua and procyon have been seen to couple; but they did not produce young. as domesticated rabbits, guinea-pigs, and white mice breed so abundantly when closely confined under various climates, it might have been thought that most other members of the rodent order would have bred in captivity, but this is not the case. it deserves notice, as showing how the capacity to breed sometimes goes by affinity, that the one native rodent of paraguay, which there breeds _freely_ and has yielded successive generations, is the _cavia aperea_; and this animal is so closely allied to the guinea-pig, that it has been erroneously thought to be the parent-form.[ ] in the zoological gardens, some rodents have coupled, but have never produced young; some have neither coupled nor bred; but a few have bred, as the porcupine more than once, the barbary mouse, lemming, chinchilla, and the agouti (_dasyprocta aguti_), several times. this latter animal has also produced young in paraguay, though they were born dead and ill-formed; but in amazonia, according to mr. bates, it never breeds, though often kept tame about the houses. nor does the paca (_coelogenys paca_) breed there. the common hare when confined has, i believe, never bred in europe;[ ] though, according to a recent statement, it has crossed with the rabbit. i have never heard of the dormouse breeding in confinement. but squirrels offer a more curious case: with one exception, no species has ever bred in the zoological gardens, yet as many as fourteen individuals of _s. palmarum_ were kept together during several years. the _s. cinerea_ has been seen to couple, but it did not produce young; nor has this species, when rendered extremely tame in its native country, north america, been ever known to breed.[ ] at lord derby's menagerie squirrels of many kinds were kept in numbers, but mr. thompson, the superintendent, told me that none had ever bred there, or elsewhere as far as he knew. i have never heard of the english squirrel breeding in confinement. but the species which has bred more than once in the zoological gardens is the one which perhaps might have been least expected, namely, the flying squirrel (_sciuropterus volucella_): it has, also, bred several times { } near birmingham; but the female never produced more than two young at a birth, whereas in its native american home she bears from three to six young.[ ] monkeys, in the nine-year report from the zoological gardens, are stated to unite most freely, but during this period, though many individuals were kept, there were only seven births. i have heard of one american monkey alone, the ouistiti, breeding in europe.[ ] a macacus, according to flourens, bred in paris; and more than one species of this genus has produced young in london, especially the _macacus rhesus_, which everywhere shows a special capacity to breed under confinement. hybrids have been produced both in paris and london from this same genus. the arabian baboon, or _cynocephalus hamadryas_,[ ] and a cercopithecus have bred in the zoological gardens, and the latter species at the duke of northumberland's. several members of the family of lemurs have produced hybrids in the zoological gardens. it is much more remarkable that monkeys very rarely breed when confined in their native country; thus the cay (_cebus azaræ_) is frequently and completely tamed in paraguay, but rengger[ ] says that it breeds so rarely, that he never saw more than two females which had produced young. a similar observation has been made with respect to the monkeys which are frequently tamed by the aborigines in brazil.[ ] in the region of the amazons, these animals are so often kept in a tame state, that mr. bates in walking through the streets of parà counted thirteen species; but, as he asserts, they have never been known to breed in captivity.[ ] _birds._ birds offer in some respects better evidence than quadrupeds, from their breeding more rapidly and being kept in greater numbers. we have seen that carnivorous animals are more fertile under confinement than most other mammals. the reverse holds good with carnivorous birds. it is said[ ] that as many as eighteen species have been used in europe for hawking, and several others in persia and india;[ ] they have been kept in their native country in the finest condition, and have been flown during six, eight, or nine years;[ ] yet there is no record of their having ever produced young. as these birds were formerly caught whilst young, at great expense, being imported from iceland, norway, and sweden, there can { } be little doubt that, if possible, they would have been propagated. in the jardin des plantes, no bird of prey has been known to couple.[ ] no hawk, vulture, or owl has ever produced fertile eggs in the zoological gardens, or in the old surrey gardens, with the exception, in the former place on one occasion, of a condor and a kite (_milvus niger_). yet several species, namely, the _aquila fusca_, _haliætus leucocephalus_, _falco tinnunculus_, _f. subbuteo_, and _buteo vulgaris_, have been seen to couple in the zoological gardens. mr. morris[ ] mentions as a unique fact that a kestrel (_falco tinnunculus_) bred in an aviary. the one kind of owl which has been known to couple in the zoological gardens was the eagle owl (_bubo maximus_); and this species shows a special inclination to breed in captivity; for a pair at arundel castle, kept more nearly in a state of nature "than ever fell to the lot of an animal deprived of its liberty,"[ ] actually reared their young. mr. gurney has given another instance of this same owl breeding in confinement; and he records the case of a second species of owl, the _strix passerina_, breeding in captivity.[ ] of the smaller graminivorous birds, many kinds have been kept tame in their native countries, and have lived long; yet, as the highest authority on cage-birds[ ] remarks, their propagation is "uncommonly difficult." the canary-bird shows that there is no inherent difficulty in these birds breeding freely in confinement; and audubon says[ ] that the _fringilla_ (_spiza_) _ciris_ of north america breeds as perfectly as the canary. the difficulty with the many finches which have been kept in confinement is all the more remarkable as more than a dozen species could be named which have yielded hybrids with the canary; but hardly any of these, with the exception of the siskin (_fringilla spinus_), have reproduced their own kind. even the bullfinch (_loxia pyrrhula_) has bred as frequently with the canary, though belonging to a distinct genus, as with its own species.[ ] with respect to the skylark (_alauda arvensis_), i have heard of birds living for seven years in an aviary, which never produced young; and a great london bird-fancier assured me that he had never known an instance of their breeding; nevertheless one case has been recorded.[ ] in the nine-year report from the zoological society, twenty-four incessorial species are enumerated which had not bred, and of these only four were known to have coupled. parrots are singularly long-lived birds; and humboldt mentions the curious fact of a parrot in south america, which spoke the language of { } an extinct indian tribe, so that this bird preserved the sole relic of a lost language. even in this country there is reason to believe[ ] that parrots have lived to the age of nearly one hundred years; yet, though many have been kept in europe, they breed so rarely that the event has been thought worth recording in the gravest publications.[ ] according to bechstein[ ] the african _psittacus erithacus_ breeds oftener than any other species: the _p. macoa_ occasionally lays fertile eggs, but rarely succeeds in hatching them; this bird, however, has the instinct of incubation sometimes so strongly developed, that it will hatch the eggs of fowls or pigeons. in the zoological gardens and in the old surrey gardens some few species have coupled, but, with the exception of three species of parrakeets, none have bred. it is a much more remarkable fact that in guiana parrots of two kinds, as i am informed by sir e. schomburgk, are often taken from the nests by the indians and reared in large numbers; they are so tame that they fly freely about the houses, and come when called to be fed, like pigeons; yet he has never heard of a single instance of their breeding.[ ] in jamaica, a resident naturalist, mr. r. hill,[ ] says, "no birds more readily submit to human dependence than the parrot-tribe, but no instance of a parrot breeding in this tame life has been known yet." mr. hill specifies a number of other native birds kept tame in the west indies, which never breed in this state. the great pigeon family offers a striking contrast with parrots: in the nine-year report thirteen species are recorded as having bred, and, what is more noticeable, only two were seen to couple without any result. since the above date every annual report gives many cases of various pigeons breeding. the two magnificent crowned pigeons (_goura coronata_ and _victoriæ_) produced hybrids; nevertheless, of the former species more than a dozen birds were kept, as i am informed by mr. crawfurd, in a park at penang, under a perfectly well-adapted climate, but never once bred. the _columba migratoria_ in its native country, north america, invariably lays two eggs, but in lord derby's menagerie never more than one. the same fact has been observed with the _c. leucocephala_.[ ] gallinaceous birds of many genera likewise show an eminent capacity for breeding under captivity. this is particularly the case with pheasants; yet our english species seldom lays more than ten eggs in confinement; whilst from eighteen to twenty is the usual number in the wild state.[ ] with the gallinaceæ, as with all other orders, there are marked and { } inexplicable exceptions in regard to the fertility of certain species and genera under confinement. although many trials have been made with the common partridge, it has rarely bred, even when reared in large aviaries; and the hen will never hatch her own eggs.[ ] the american tribe of guans or cracidæ are tamed with remarkable ease, but are very shy breeders in this country;[ ] but with care various species were formerly made to breed rather freely in holland.[ ] birds of this tribe are often kept in a perfectly tamed condition in their native country by the indians, but they never breed.[ ] it might have been expected that grouse from their habits of life would not have bred in captivity, more especially as they are said soon to languish and die.[ ] but many cases are recorded of their breeding: the capercailzie (_tetrao urogallus_) has bred in the zoological gardens; it breeds without much difficulty when confined in norway, and in russia five successive generations have been reared: _tetrao tetrix_ has likewise bred in norway; _t. scoticus_ in ireland; _t. umbellus_ at lord derby's; and _t. cupido_ in north america. it is scarcely possible to imagine a greater change in habits than that which the members of the ostrich family must suffer, when cooped up in small enclosures under a temperate climate, after freely roaming over desert and tropical plains or entangled forests. yet almost all the kinds, even the mooruk (_casuarius bennettii_) from new ireland, has frequently produced young in the various european menageries. the african ostrich, though perfectly healthy and living long in the south of france, never lays more than from twelve to fifteen eggs, though in its native country it lays from twenty-five to thirty.[ ] here we have another instance of fertility impaired, but not lost, under confinement, as with the flying squirrel, the hen-pheasant, and two species of american pigeons. most waders can be tamed, as the rev. e. s. dixon informs me, with remarkable facility; but several of them are short-lived under confinement, so that their sterility in this state is not surprising. the cranes breed more readily than other genera: _grus montigresia_ has bred several times in paris and in the zoological gardens, as has _g. cinerea_ at the latter place, and _g. antigone_ at calcutta. of other members of this great order, _tetrapteryx paradisea_ has bred at knowsley, a porphyrio in sicily, and the _gallinula chloropus_ in the zoological gardens. on the other hand, several { } birds belonging to this order will not breed in their native country, jamaica; and the psophia, though often kept by the indians of guiana about their houses, "is seldom or never known to breed."[ ] no birds breed with such complete facility under confinement as the members of the great duck family; yet, considering their aquatic and wandering habits, and the nature of their food, this could not have been anticipated. even some time ago above two dozen species had bred in the zoological gardens; and m. selys-longchamps has recorded the production of hybrids from forty-four different members of the family; and to these professor newton has added a few more cases.[ ] "there is not," says mr. dixon,[ ] "in the wide world, a goose which is not in the strict sense of the word domesticable;" that is, capable of breeding under confinement; but this statement is probably too bold. the capacity to breed sometimes varies in individuals of the same species; thus audubon[ ] kept for more than eight years some wild geese (_anser canadensis_), but they would not mate; whilst other individuals of the same species produced young during the second year. i know of but one instance in the whole family of a species which absolutely refuses to breed in captivity, namely, the _dendrocygna viduata_, although, according to sir r. schomburgk,[ ] it is easily tamed, and is frequently kept by the indians of guiana. lastly, with respect to gulls, though many have been kept in the zoological gardens and in the old surrey gardens, no instance was known before the year of their coupling or breeding; but since that period the herring gull (_larus argentatus_) has bred many times in the zoological gardens and at knowsley. there is reason to believe that insects are affected by confinement like the higher animals. it is well known that the sphingidæ rarely breed when thus treated. an entomologist[ ] in paris kept twenty-five specimens of _saturnia pyri_, but did not succeed in getting a single fertile egg. a number of females of _orthosia munda_ and of _mamestra suasa_ reared in confinement were unattractive to the males.[ ] mr. newport kept nearly a hundred individuals of two species of vanessa, but not one paired; this, however, might have been due to their habit of coupling on the wing.[ ] mr. atkinson could never succeed in india in making the tarroo silk-moth breed in confinement.[ ] it appears that a number of moths, especially the sphingidæ, when hatched in the autumn out of their proper season, { } are completely barren; but this latter case is still involved in some obscurity.[ ] independently of the fact of many animals under confinement not coupling, or, if they couple, not producing young, there is evidence of another kind, that their sexual functions are thus disturbed. for many cases have been recorded of the loss by male birds when confined of their characteristic plumage. thus the common linnet (_linota cannabina_) when caged does not acquire the fine crimson colour on its breast, and one of the buntings (_emberiza passerina_) loses the black on its head. a pyrrhula and an oriolus have been observed to assume the quiet plumage of the hen-bird; and the _falco albidus_ returned to the dress of an earlier age.[ ] mr. thomson, the superintendent of the knowsley menagerie, informed me that he had often observed analogous facts. the horns of a male deer (_cervus canadensis_) during the voyage from america were badly developed; but subsequently in paris perfect horns were produced. when conception takes place under confinement, the young are often born dead, or die soon, or are ill-formed. this frequently occurs in the zoological gardens, and, according to rengger, with native animals confined in paraguay. the mother's milk often fails. we may also attribute to the disturbance of the sexual functions the frequent occurrence of that monstrous instinct which leads the mother to devour her own offspring,--a mysterious case of perversion, as it at first appears. sufficient evidence has now been advanced to prove that animals when first confined are eminently liable to suffer in their reproductive systems. we feel at first naturally inclined to attribute the result to loss of health, or at least to loss of vigour; but this view can hardly be admitted when we reflect how healthy, long-lived, and vigorous many animals are under { } captivity, such as parrots, and hawks when used for hawking, chetahs when used for hunting, and elephants. the reproductive organs themselves are not diseased; and the diseases, from which animals in menageries usually perish, are not those which in any way affect their fertility. no domestic animal is more subject too disease than the sheep, yet it is remarkably prolific. the failure of animals to breed under confinement has been sometimes attributed exclusively to a failure in their sexual instincts: this may occasionally come into play, but there is no obvious reason why this instinct should be especially liable to be affected with perfectly tamed animals, except indeed indirectly through the reproductive system itself being disturbed. moreover, numerous cases have been given of various animals which couple freely under confinement, but never conceive; or, if they conceive and produce young, these are fewer in number than is natural to the species. in the vegetable kingdom instinct of course can play no part; and we shall presently see that plants when removed from their natural conditions are affected in nearly the same manner as animals. change of climate cannot be the cause of the loss of fertility, for, whilst many animals imported into europe from extremely different climates breed freely, many others when confined in their native land are completely sterile. change of food cannot be the chief cause; for ostriches, ducks, and many other animals, which must have undergone a great change in this respect, breed freely. carnivorous birds when confined are extremely sterile; whilst most carnivorous mammals, except plantigrades, are moderately fertile. nor can the amount of food be the cause; for a sufficient supply will certainly be given to valuable animals; and there is no reason to suppose that much more food would be given to them, than to our choice domestic productions which retain their full fertility. lastly, we may infer from the case of the elephant, chetah, various hawks, and of many animals which are allowed to lead an almost free life in their native land, that want of exercise is not the sole cause. it would appear that any change in the habits of life, whatever these habits may be, if great enough, tends to affect in an inexplicable manner the powers of reproduction. the result { } depends more on the constitution of the species than on the nature of the change; for certain whole groups are affected more than others; but exceptions always occur, for some species in the most fertile groups refuse to breed, and some in the most sterile groups breed freely. those animals which usually breed freely under confinement, rarely breed, as i was assured, in the zoological gardens, within a year or two after their first importation. when an animal which is generally sterile under confinement happens to breed, the young apparently do not inherit this power; for had this been the case, various quadrupeds and birds, which are valuable for exhibition, would have become common. dr. broca even affirms[ ] that many animals in the jardin des plantes, after having produced young for three or four successive generations, become sterile; but this may be the result of too close interbreeding. it is a remarkable circumstance that many mammals and birds have produced hybrids under confinement quite as readily as, or even more readily than, they have procreated their own kind. of this fact many instances have been given;[ ] and we are thus reminded of those plants which when cultivated refuse to be fertilised by their own pollen, but can easily be fertilised by that of a distinct species. finally, we must conclude, limited as the conclusion is, that changed conditions of life have an especial power of acting injuriously on the reproductive system. the whole case is quite peculiar, for these organs, though not diseased, are thus rendered incapable of performing their proper functions, or perform them imperfectly. _sterility of domesticated animals from changed conditions._--with respect to domesticated animals, as their domestication mainly depends on the accident of their breeding freely under captivity, we ought not to expect that their reproductive system would be affected by any moderate degree of change. those orders of quadrupeds and birds, of which the wild species breed most readily in our menageries, have afforded us the greatest number of domesticated productions. savages in most parts of the world are fond of taming animals;[ ] and if any of these regularly produced { } young, and were at the same time useful, they would be at once domesticated. if, when their masters migrated into other countries, they were in addition found capable of withstanding various climates, they would be still more valuable; and it appears that the animals which breed readily in captivity can generally withstand different climates. some few domesticated animals, such as the reindeer and camel, offer an exception to this rule. many of our domesticated animals can bear with undiminished fertility the most unnatural conditions; for instance, rabbits, guinea-pigs, and ferrets breed in miserably confined hutches. few european dogs of any kind withstand without degeneration the climate of india; but as long as they survive, they retain, as i hear from mr. falconer, their fertility; so it is, according to dr. daniell, with english dogs taken to sierra leone. the fowl, a native of the hot jungles of india, becomes more fertile than its parent-stock in every quarter of the world, until we advance as far north as greenland and northern siberia, where this bird will not breed. both fowls and pigeons, which i received during the autumn direct from sierra leone, were at once ready to couple.[ ] i have, also, seen pigeons breeding as freely as the common kinds within a year after their importation from the upper nile. the guinea-fowl, an aboriginal of the hot and dry deserts of africa, whilst living under our damp and cool climate, produces a large supply of eggs. nevertheless, our domesticated animals under new conditions occasionally show signs of lessened fertility. roulin asserts that in the hot valleys of the equatorial cordillera sheep are not fully fecund;[ ] and according to lord somerville,[ ] the merino-sheep which he imported from spain were not at first perfectly fertile. it is said[ ] that mares brought up on dry food in the stable, and turned out to grass, do not at first breed. the peahen, as we have seen, is said not to lay so many eggs in england as in india. it was long before the canary-bird was fully fertile, and even now first-rate breeding birds are not common.[ ] in the hot and dry province of delhi, the eggs of the turkey, as i hear from dr. falconer, though placed under a hen, are extremely liable to fail. according to roulin, geese taken within a recent period to the lofty plateau of bogota, at first laid seldom, and then only a few eggs; of these scarcely a fourth were hatched, and half the young birds died: in the second generation they were more fertile; and when roulin wrote they were becoming as { } fertile as our geese in europe. in the philippine archipelago the goose, it is asserted, will not breed or even lay eggs.[ ] a more curious case is that of the fowl, which, according to roulin, when first introduced would not breed at cusco in bolivia, but subsequently became quite fertile; and the english game fowl, lately introduced, had not as yet arrived a its full fertility, for to raise two or three chickens from a nest of eggs was thought fortunate. in europe close confinement has a marked effect on the fertility of the fowl: it has been found in france that with fowls allowed considerable freedom only twenty per cent. of the eggs failed; when allowed less freedom forty per cent. failed; and in close confinement sixty out of the hundred were not hatched.[ ] so we see that unnatural and changed conditions of life produce some effect on the fertility of our most thoroughly domesticated animals, in the same manner, though in a far less degree, as with captive wild animals. it is by no means rare to find certain males and females which will not breed together, though both are known to be perfectly fertile with other males and females. we have no reason to suppose that this is caused by these animals having been subjected to any change in their habits of life; therefore such cases are hardly related to our present subject. the cause apparently lies in an innate sexual incompatibility of the pair which are matched. several instances have been communicated to me by mr. w. c. spooner (well known for his essay on cross-breeding), by mr. eyton of eyton, by mr. wicksted and othe breeders, and especially by mr. waring of chelsfield, in relation to horses, cattle, pigs, foxhounds, other dogs, and pigeons.[ ] in these cases, females, which either previously or subsequently were proved to be fertile, failed to breed with certain males, with whom it was particularly desired to match them. a change in the constitution of the female may sometimes have occurred before she was put to the second male; but in other cases this explanation is hardly tenable, for a female, known not to be barren, has been unsuccessfully paired seven or eight times with the same male likewise known to be perfectly fertile. with cart-mares, which sometimes will not breed with stallions of pure blood, but subsequently have bred with cart-stallions, mr. spooner is inclined to attribute the failure to the lesser sexual power of the race-horse. but i have heard from the greatest breeder of race-horses at the present day, through mr. waring, that "it frequently occurs with a mare to be put several times during one or two seasons to a particular stallion of acknowledged power, and yet prove barren; the mare afterwards breeding at once with some other horse." these facts are worth recording, as they show, like so many previous facts, on what slight constitutional differences the fertility of an animal often depends. { } _sterility of plants from changed conditions of life, and from other causes._ in the vegetable kingdom cases of sterility frequently occur, analogous with those previously given in the animal kingdom. but the subject is obscured by several circumstances, presently to be discussed, namely, the contabescence of the anthers, as gärtner has named a certain affection--monstrosities--doubleness of the flower--much-enlarged fruit--and long-continued or excessive propagation by buds. it is notorious that many plants in our gardens and hot-houses, though preserved in the most perfect health, rarely or never produce seed. i do not allude to plants which run to leaves, from being kept too damp, or too warm, or too much manured; for these do not produce the reproductive individual or flower, and the case may be wholly different. nor do i allude to fruit not ripening from want of heat, or rotting from too much moisture. but many exotic plants, with their ovules and pollen appearing perfectly sound, will not set any seed. the sterility in many cases, as i know from my own observation, is simply due to the absence of the proper insects for carrying the pollen to the stigma. but after excluding the several cases just specified, there are many plants in which the reproductive system has been seriously affected by the altered conditions of life to which they have been subjected. it would be tedious to enter on many details. linnæus long ago observed[ ] that alpine plants, although naturally laded with seed, produce either few or none when cultivated in gardens. but exceptions often occur: the _draba sylvestris_, one of our most thoroughly alpine plants, multiplies itself by seed in mr. h. c. watson's garden, near london; and kerner, who has particularly attended to the cultivation of alpine plants, found that various kinds, when cultivated, spontaneously sowed themselves.[ ] many plants which naturally grow in peat-earth are entirely sterile in our gardens. i have noticed the same fact with several liliaceous plants, which nevertheless grew vigorously. too much manure renders some kinds utterly sterile, as i have myself observed. the tendency to sterility from this cause runs in families; thus, according to gärtner,[ ] it is hardly possible to give too much manure to most gramineæ, cruciferæ, and leguminosæ, whilst succulent and bulbous-rooted plants are easily affected. extreme poverty of soil is less { } apt to induce sterility; but dwarfed plants of _trifolium minus_ and _repens_, growing on a lawn often mown and never manured, did not produce any seed. the temperature of the soil, and the season at which plants are watered, often have a marked effect on their fertility, as was observed by kölreuter in the case of mirabilis.[ ] mr. scott in the botanic gardens of edinburgh observed that _oncidium divaricatum_ would not set seed when grown in a basket in which it throve, but was capable of fertilisation in a pot where it was a little damper. _pelargonium fulgidum_, for many years after its introduction, seeded freely; it then became sterile; now it is fertile[ ] if kept in a dry stove during the winter. other varieties of pelargonium are sterile and others fertile without our being able to assign any cause. very slight changes in the position of a plant, whether planted on a bank or at its base, sometimes make all the difference in its producing seed. temperature apparently has a much more powerful influence on the fertility of plants than on that of animals. nevertheless it is wonderful what changes some few plants will withstand with undiminished fertility: thus the _zephyranthes candida_, a native of the moderately warm banks of the plata, sows itself in the hot dry country near lima, and in yorkshire resists the severest frosts, and i have seen seeds gathered from pods which had been covered with snow during three weeks.[ ] _berberis wallichii_, from the hot khasia range in india, is uninjured by our sharpest frosts, and ripens its fruit under our cool summers. nevertheless i presume we must attribute to change of climate the sterility of many foreign plants; thus the persian and chinese lilacs (_syringa persica_ and _chinensis_), though perfectly hardly, never here produce a seed; the common lilac (_s. vulgaris_) seeds with us moderately well, but in parts of germany the capsules never contain seed.[ ] some of the cases, given in the last chapter, of self-impotent plants, which are fertile both on the male and female side when united with distinct individuals or species, might have been here introduced; for as this peculiar form of sterility generally occurs with exotic plants or with endemic plants cultivated in pots, and as it disappeared in the _passiflora alata_ when grafted, we may conclude that in these cases it is the result of the treatment to which the plants or their parents have been exposed. the liability of plants to be affected in their fertility by slightly changed conditions is the more remarkable, as the pollen when once in process of formation is not easily injured; a plant may be transplanted, or a branch with flower-buds be cut off and placed in water, and the pollen will be matured. pollen, also, when once mature, may be kept for weeks or even months.[ ] the female organs are more sensitive, for gärtner[ ] found that dicotyledonous plants, when carefully removed so that they did not in the least flag, could seldom be fertilised; this occurred even with potted { } plants if the roots had grown out of the hole at the bottom. in some few cases, however, as with digitalis, transplantation did not prevent fertilisation; and according to the testimony of mawz, _brassica rapa_, when pulled up by its roots and placed in water, ripened its seed. flower-stems of several monocotyledonous plants when cut off and placed in water likewise produce seed. but in these cases i presume that the flowers had been already fertilised, for herbert[ ] found with the crocus that the plants might be removed or mutilated after the act of fertilisation, and would still perfect their seeds; but that, if transplanted before being fertilised, the application of pollen was powerless. plants which have been long cultivated can generally endure with undiminished fertility various and great changes; but not in most cases so great a change of climate as domesticated animals. it is remarkable that many plants under these circumstances are so much affected that the proportions and the nature of their chemical ingredients are modified, yet their fertility is unimpaired. thus, as dr. falconer informs me, there is a great difference in the character of the fibre in hemp, in the quantity of oil in the seed of the linum, in the proportion of narcotin to morphine in the poppy, in gluten to starch in wheat, when these plants are cultivated on the plains and on the mountains of india; nevertheless, they all remain fully fertile. _contabescence._--gärtner has designated by this term a peculiar condition of the anthers in certain plants, in which they are shrivelled, or become brown and tough, and contain no good pollen. when in this state they exactly resemble the anthers of the most sterile hybrids. gärtner,[ ] in his discussion on this subject, has shown that plants of many orders are occasionally thus affected; but the caryophyllaceæ and liliaceæ suffer most, and to these orders, i think, the ericaceæ may be added. contabescence varies in degree, but on the same plant all the flowers are generally affected to nearly the same extent. the anthers are affected at a very early period in the flower-bud, and remain in the same state (with one recorded exception) during the life of the plant. the affection cannot be cured by any change of treatment, and is propagated by layers, cuttings, &c., and perhaps even by seed. in contabescent plants the female organs are seldom affected, or merely become precocious in their development. the cause of this affection is doubtful, and is different in different cases. until i read gärtner's discussion i attributed it, as apparently did herbert, to the unnatural treatment of the plants; but its permanence under changed conditions, and the female organs not being affected, seem incompatible with this view. the fact of several endemic plants becoming contabescent in our gardens seems, at first sight, equally incompatible with this view; but kölreuter believes that this is the result of their transplantation. the contabescent plants of dianthus and verbascum, found wild by wiegmann, grew on a dry and sterile bank. the fact that exotic { } plants are eminently liable to this affection also seems to show that it is in some manner caused by their unnatural treatment. in some instances, as with silene, gärtner's view seems the most probable, namely, that it is caused by an inherent tendency in the species to become dioecious. i can add another cause, namely, the illegitimate unions of reciprocally dimorphic or trimorphic plants, for i have observed seedlings of three species of primula and of _lythrum salicaria_, which had been raised from plants illegitimately fertilised by their own-form pollen, with some or all their anthers in a contabescent state. there is perhaps an additional cause, namely, self-fertilisation; for many plants of dianthus and lobelia, which had been raised from self-fertilised seeds, had their anthers in this state; but these instances are not conclusive, as both genera are liable from other causes to this affection. cases of an opposite nature likewise occur, namely, plants with the female organs struck with sterility, whilst the male organs remain perfect. _dianthus japonicus_, a passiflora, and nicotiana, have been described by gärtner[ ] as being in this unusual condition. _monstrosities as a cause of sterility._--great deviations of structure, even when the reproductive organs themselves are not seriously affected, sometimes cause plants to become sterile. but in other cases plants may become monstrous to an extreme degree and yet retain their full fertility. gallesio, who certainly had great experience,[ ] often attributes sterility to this cause; but it may be suspected that in some of his cases sterility was the cause, and not the result, of the monstrous growths. the curious st. valery apple, although it bears fruit, rarely produces seed. the wonderfully anomalous flowers of _begonia frigida_, formerly described, though they appear fit for fructification, are sterile.[ ] species of primulæ, in which the calyx is brightly coloured, are said[ ] to be often sterile, though i have known them to be fertile. on the other hand, verlot gives several cases of proliferous flowers which can be propagated by seed. this was the case with a poppy, which had become monopetalous by the union of its petals.[ ] another extraordinary poppy, with the stamens replaced by numerous small supplementary capsules, likewise reproduces itself by seed. this has also occurred with a plant of _saxifraga geum_, in which a series of adventitious carpels, bearing ovules on their margins, had been developed between the stamens and the normal carpels.[ ] lastly, with respect to peloric flowers, which depart wonderfully from the natural structure,--those of _linaria vulgaris_ seem generally to be more or less sterile, whilst those before described of _antirrhinum majus_, when artificially fertilised with their own pollen, are perfectly { } fertile, though sterile when left to themselves, for bees are unable to crawl into the narrow tubular flower. the peloric flowers of _corydalis solida_, according to godron,[ ] are barren; whilst those of gloxinia are well known to yield plenty of seed. in our greenhouse pelargoniums, the central flower of the truss is often peloric, and mr. masters informs me that he tried in vain during several years to get seed from these flowers. i likewise made many vain attempts, but sometimes succeeded in fertilising them with pollen from a normal flower of another variety; and conversely i several times fertilised ordinary flowers with peloric pollen. only once i succeeded in raising a plant from a peloric flower fertilised by pollen from a peloric flower borne by another variety; but the plant, it may be added, presented nothing particular in its structure. hence we may conclude that no general rule can be laid down; but any great deviation from the normal structure, even when the reproductive organs themselves are not seriously affected, certainly often leads to sexual impotence. _double flowers._--when the stamens are converted into petals, the plant becomes on the male side sterile; when both stamens and pistils are thus changed, the plant becomes completely barren. symmetrical flowers having numerous stamens and petals are the most liable to become double, as perhaps follows from all multiple organs being the most subject to variability. but flowers furnished with only a few stamens, and others which are asymmetrical in structure, sometimes become double, as we see with the double gorse or ulex, petunia, and antirrhinum. the compositæ bear what are called double flowers by the abnormal development of the corolla of their central florets. doubleness is sometimes connected with prolification,[ ] or the continued growth of the axis of the flower. doubleness is strongly inherited. no one has produced, as lindley remarks,[ ] double flowers by promoting the perfect health of the plant. on the contrary, unnatural conditions of life favour their production. there is some reason to believe that seeds kept during many years, and seeds believed to be imperfectly fertilised, yield double flowers more freely than fresh and perfectly fertilised seed.[ ] long-continued cultivation in rich soil seems to be the commonest exciting cause. a double narcissus and a double _anthemis nobilis_, transplanted into very poor soil, have been observed to become single;[ ] and i have seen a completely double white primrose rendered permanently single by being divided and transplanted whilst in full flower. it has been observed by professor morren that doubleness of the flowers and variegation of the leaves are antagonistic states; but so many exceptions to the rule have lately been recorded,[ ] that, though general, it cannot be looked at as invariable. { } variegation seems generally to result from a feeble or atrophied condition of the plant, and a large proportion of the seedlings raised from parents both of which are variegated usually perish at an early age; hence we may perhaps infer that doubleness, which is the antagonistic state, commonly arises from a plethoric condition. on the other hand, extremely poor soil sometimes, though rarely, appears to cause doubleness: i formerly described[ ] some completely double, bud-like, flowers produced in large numbers by stunted wild plants of _gentiana amarella_ growing on a poor chalky bank. i have also noticed a distinct tendency to doubleness in the flowers of a ranunculus, horse-chesnut, and bladder-nut (_ranunculus repens_, _Æsculus pavia_, and _staphylea_), growing under very unfavourable conditions. professor lehman[ ] found several wild plants growing near a hot spring with double flowers. with respect to the cause of doubleness, which arises, as we see, under widely different circumstances, i shall presently attempt to show that the most probable view is that unnatural conditions first give a tendency to sterility, and that then, on the principle of compensation, as the reproductive organs do not perform their proper functions, they either become developed into petals, or additional petals are formed. this view has lately been supported by mr. laxton,[ ] who advances the case of some common peas, which, after long-continued heavy rain, flowered a second time, and produced double flowers. _seedless fruit._--many of our most valuable fruits, although consisting in a homological sense of widely different organs, are either quite sterile, or produce extremely few seeds. this is notoriously the case with our best pears, grapes, and figs, with the pine-apple, banana, bread-fruit, pomegranate, azarole, date-palms, and some members of the orange-tribe. poorer varieties of these same fruits either habitually or occasionally yield seed.[ ] most horticulturists look at the great size and anomalous development of the fruit as the cause, and sterility as the result; but the opposite view, as we shall presently see, is more probable. _sterility from the excessive development of the organs of growth or vegetation._--plants which from any cause grow too luxuriantly, and produce leaves, stems, runners, suckers, tubers, bulbs, &c., in excess, sometimes do not flower, or if they flower do not yield seed. to make european vegetables under the hot climate of india yield seed, it is necessary to check their growth; and, when one-third grown, they are taken up, and their stems and { } tap-roots are cut or mutilated.[ ] so it is with hybrids; for instance, prof. lecoq[ ] had three plants of mirabilis, which, though they grew luxuriantly and flowered, were quite sterile; but after beating one with a stick until a few branches alone were left, these at once yielded good seed. the sugar-cane, which grows vigorously and produces a large supply of succulent stems, never, according to various observers, bears seed in the west indies, malaga, india, cochin china, or the malay archipelago.[ ] plants which produce a large number of tubers are apt to be sterile, as occurs, to a certain extent, with the common potato; and mr. fortune informs me that the sweet potato (_convolvulus batatas_) in china never, as far as he has seen, yields seed. dr. royle remarks[ ] that in india the _agave vivipara_, when grown in rich soil, invariably produces bulbs, but no seeds; whilst a poor soil and dry climate leads to an opposite result. in china, according to mr. fortune, an extraordinary number of little bulbs are developed in the axils of the leaves of the yam, and this plant does not bear seed. whether in these cases, as in those of double flowers and seedless fruit, sexual sterility from changed conditions of life is the primary cause which leads to the excessive development of the organs of vegetation, is doubtful; though some evidence might be advanced in favour of this view. it is perhaps a more probable view that plants which propagate themselves largely by one method, namely by buds, have not sufficient vital power or organised matter for the other method of sexual generation. several distinguished botanists and good practical judges believe that long-continued propagation by cuttings, runners, tubers, bulbs, &c., independently of any excessive development of these parts, is the cause of many plants failing to produce flowers and of others failing to produce fertile flowers,--it is as if they had lost the habit of sexual generation.[ ] that many plants when thus propagated are sterile there can be no doubt, but whether the long continuance of this form of propagation is the actual cause of their sterility, i will not venture, from the want of sufficient evidence, to express an opinion. that plants may be propagated for long periods by buds, without the aid of sexual generation, we may safely infer from this being the case with many plants which must have long survived in a state of nature. as i have had occasion before to allude to this subject, i will here give such cases as i have collected. many alpine plants ascend mountains beyond the height at which they can produce seed.[ ] certain species of { } poa and festuca, when growing on mountain-pastures, propagate themselves, as i hear from mr. bentham, almost exclusively by bulblets. kalm gives a more curious instance[ ] of several american trees, which grow so plentifully in marshes or in thick woods, that they are certainly well adapted for these stations, yet scarcely ever produce seeds; but when accidentally growing on the outside of the marsh or wood, are loaded with seed. the common ivy is found in northern sweden and russia, but flowers and fruits only in the southern provinces. the _acorus calamus_ extends over a large portion of the globe, but so rarely perfects its fruit that this has been seen but by few botanists.[ ] the _hypericum calycinum_, which propagates itself so freely in our shrubberies by rhizomas and is naturalised in ireland, blossoms profusely, but sets no seed; nor did it set any when fertilised in my garden by pollen from plants growing at a distance. the _lysimachia nummularia_, which is furnished with long runners, so seldom produces seed-capsules, that prof. decaisne,[ ] who has especially attended to this plant, has never seen it in fruit. the _carex rigida_ often fails to perfect its seed in scotland, lapland, greenland, germany, and new hampshire in the united states.[ ] the periwinkle (_vinca minor_), which spreads largely by runners, is said scarcely ever to produce fruit in england;[ ] but this plant requires insect-aid for its fertilisation, and the proper insects may be absent or rare. the _jussiæa grandiflora_ has become naturalised in southern france, and has spread by its rhizomas so extensively as to impede the navigation of the waters, but never produces fertile seed.[ ] the horse-radish (_cochlearia armoracia_) spreads pertinaciously and is naturalised in various parts of europe; though it bears flowers, these rarely produce capsules: professor caspary also informs me that he has watched this plant since , but has never seen its fruit; nor is this surprising, as he finds scarcely a grain of good pollen. the common little _ranunculus ficaria_ rarely, and some say never, bears seed in england, france, or switzerland; but in i observed seeds on several plants growing near my house. according to m. chatin, there are two forms of this ranunculus; and it is the bulbiferous form which does not yield seed from producing no pollen.[ ] other cases { } analogous with the foregoing could be given; for instance, some kinds of mosses and lichens have never been seen to fructify in france. some of these endemic and naturalised plants are probably rendered sterile from excessive multiplication by buds, and their consequent incapacity to produce and nourish seed. but the sterility of others more probably depends on the peculiar conditions under which they live, as in the case of the ivy in the northern parts of europe, and of the trees in the swamps of the united states; yet these plants must be in some respects eminently well adapted for the stations which they occupy, for they hold their places against a host of competitors. finally, when we reflect on the sterility which accompanies the doubling of flowers,--the excessive development of fruit,--and a great increase in the organs of vegetation, we must bear in mind that the whole effect has seldom been caused at once. an incipient tendency is observed, and continued selection completes the work, as is known to be the case with our double flowers and best fruits. the view which seems the most probable, and which connects together all the foregoing facts and brings them within our present subject, is, that changed and unnatural conditions of life first give a tendency to sterility; and in consequence of this, the organs of reproduction being no longer able fully to perform their proper functions, a supply of organised matter, not required for the development of the seed, flows either into these same organs and renders them foliaceous, or into the fruit, stems, tubers, &c., increasing their size and succulency. but i am far from wishing to deny that there exists, independently of any incipient sterility, an antagonism between the two forms of reproduction, namely, by seed and by buds, when either is carried to an extreme degree. that incipient sterility plays an important part in the doubling of flowers, and in the other cases just specified, i infer chiefly from the following facts. when fertility is lost from a wholly different cause, namely, from hybridism, there is a strong tendency, as gärtner[ ] affirms, for flowers to become double, and this tendency is inherited. moreover it is notorious that with hybrids the male organs become sterile before the female organs, and with double flowers the stamens first become { } foliaceous. this latter fact is well shown by the male flowers of dioecious plants, which, according to gallesio,[ ] first become double. again, gärtner[ ] often insists that the flowers of even utterly sterile hybrids, which do not produce any seed, generally yield perfect capsules or fruit,--a fact which has likewise been repeatedly observed by naudin with the cucurbitaceæ; so that the production of fruit by plants rendered sterile through any other and distinct cause is intelligible. kölreuter has also expressed his unbounded astonishment at the size and development of the tubers in certain hybrids; and all experimentalists[ ] have remarked on the strong tendency in hybrids to increase by roots, runners, and suckers. seeing that hybrid plants, which from their nature are more or less sterile, thus tend to produce double flowers; that they have the parts including the seed, that is the fruit, perfectly developed, even when containing no seed; that they sometimes yield gigantic roots; that they almost invariably tend to increase largely by suckers and other such means;--seeing this, and knowing, from the many facts given in the earlier parts of this chapter, that almost all organic beings when exposed to unnatural conditions tend to become more or less sterile, it seems much the most probable view that with cultivated plants sterility is the exciting cause, and double flowers, rich seedless fruit, and in some cases largely-developed organs of vegetation, &c., are the indirect results--these results having been in most cases largely increased through continued selection by man. * * * * * { } chapter xix. summary of the four last chapters, with remarks on hybridism. on the effects of crossing--the influence of domestication on fertility--close interbreeding--good and evil results from changed conditions of life--varieties when crossed not invariably fertile--on the difference in fertility between crossed species and varieties--conclusions with respect to hybridism--light thrown on hybridism by the illegitimate progeny of dimorphic and trimorphic plants--sterility of crossed species due to differences confined to the reproductive system--not accumulated through natural selection--reasons why domestic varieties are not mutually sterile--too much stress has been laid on the difference in fertility between crossed species and crossed varieties--conclusion. it was shown in the fifteenth chapter that when individuals of the same variety, or even of a distinct variety, are allowed freely to intercross, uniformity of character is ultimately acquired. some few characters, however, are incapable of fusion, but these are unimportant, as they are almost always of a semi-monstrous nature, and have suddenly appeared. hence, to preserve our domesticated breeds true, or to improve them by methodical selection, it is obviously necessary that they should be kept separate. nevertheless, through unconscious selection, a whole body of individuals may be slowly modified, as we shall see in a future chapter, without separating them into distinct lots. domestic races have often been intentionally modified by one or two crosses, made with some allied race, and occasionally even by repeated crosses with very distinct races; but in almost all such cases, long-continued and careful selection has been absolutely necessary, owing to the excessive variability of the crossed offspring, due to the principle of reversion. in a few instances, however, mongrels have retained a uniform character from their first production. when two varieties are allowed to cross freely, and one is { } much more numerous than the other, the former will ultimately absorb the latter. should both varieties exist in nearly equal numbers, it is probable that a considerable period would elapse before the acquirement of a uniform character; and the character ultimately acquired would largely depend on prepotency of transmission, and on the conditions of life; for the nature of these conditions would generally favour one variety more than another, so that a kind of natural selection would come into play. unless the crossed offspring were slaughtered by man without the least discrimination, some degree of unmethodical selection would likewise come into action. from these several considerations we may infer, that when two or more closely allied species first came into the possession of the same tribe, their crossing will not have influenced, in so great a degree as has often been supposed, the character of the offspring in future times; although in some cases it probably has had a considerable effect. domestication, as a general rule, increases the prolificness of animals and plants. it eliminates the tendency to sterility which is common to species when first taken from a state of nature and crossed. on this latter head we have no direct evidence; but as our races of dogs, cattle, pigs, &c., are almost certainly descended from aboriginally distinct stocks, and as these races are now fully fertile together, or at least incomparably more fertile than most species when crossed, we may with much confidence accept this conclusion. abundant evidence has been given that crossing adds to the size, vigour, and fertility of the offspring. this holds good when there has been no previous close interbreeding. it applies to the individuals of the same variety but belonging to different families, to distinct varieties, sub-species, and partially even to species. in the latter case, though size is often gained, fertility is lost; but the increased size, vigour, and hardiness of many hybrids cannot be accounted for solely on the principle of compensation from the inaction of the reproductive system. certain plants, both of pure and hybrid origin, though perfectly healthy, have become self-impotent, apparently from the unnatural conditions to which they have been exposed; and such plants, as well as others in their normal state, can be stimulated to { } fertility only by crossing them with other individuals of the same species or even of a distinct species. on the other hand, long-continued close interbreeding between the nearest relations diminishes the constitutional vigour, size, and fertility of the offspring; and occasionally leads to malformations, but not necessarily to general deterioration of form or structure. this failure of fertility shows that the evil results of interbreeding are independent of the augmentation of morbid tendencies common to both parents, though this augmentation no doubt is often highly injurious. our belief that evil follows from close interbreeding rests to a large extent on the experience of practical breeders, especially of those who have reared many animals of the kinds which can be propagated quickly; but it likewise rests on several carefully recorded experiments. with some animals close interbreeding may be carried on for a long period with impunity by the selection of the most vigorous and healthy individuals; but sooner or later evil follows. the evil, however, comes on so slowly and gradually that it easily escapes observation, but can be recognised by the almost instantaneous manner in which size, constitutional vigour, and fertility are regained when animals that have long been interbred are crossed with a distinct family. these two great classes of facts, namely, the good derived from crossing, and the evil from close interbreeding, with the consideration of the innumerable adaptations throughout nature for compelling, or favouring, or at least permitting, the occasional union of distinct individuals, taken together, lead to the conclusion that it is a law of nature that organic beings shall not fertilise themselves for perpetuity. this law was first plainly hinted at in , with respect to plants, by andrew knight,[ ] and, not long afterwards, that sagacious observer kölreuter, after showing how well the malvaceæ are adapted for { } crossing, asks, "an id aliquid in recessu habeat, quod hujuscemodi flores nunquam proprio suo pulvere, sed semper eo aliarum suæ speciei impregnentur, merito quæritur? certe natura nil facit frustra." although we may demur to kölreuter's saying that nature does nothing in vain, seeing how many organic beings retain rudimentary and useless organs, yet undoubtedly the argument from the innumerable contrivances, which favour the crossing of distinct individuals of the same species, is of the greatest weight. the most important result of this law is that it leads to uniformity of character in the individuals of the same species. in the case of certain hermaphrodites, which probably intercross only at long intervals of time, and with unisexual animals inhabiting somewhat separated localities, which can only occasionally come into contact and pair, the greater vigour and fertility of the crossed offspring will ultimately prevail in giving uniformity of character to the individuals of the same species. but when we go beyond the limits of the same species, free intercrossing is barred by the law of sterility. in searching for facts which might throw light on the cause of the good effects from crossing, and of the evil effects from close interbreeding, we have seen that, on the one hand, it is a widely prevalent and ancient belief that animals and plants profit from slight changes in their condition of life; and it would appear that the germ, in a somewhat analogous manner, is more effectually stimulated by the male element, when taken from a distinct individual, and therefore slightly modified in nature, than when taken from a male having the same identical constitution. on the other hand, numerous facts have been given, showing that when animals are first subjected to captivity, even in their native land, and although allowed much liberty, their reproductive functions are often greatly impaired or quite annulled. some groups of animals are more affected than others, but with apparently capricious exceptions in every group. some animals never or rarely couple: some couple freely, but never or rarely conceive. the secondary male characters, the maternal functions and instincts, are occasionally affected. with plants, when first subjected to cultivation, analogous facts have been observed. we probably owe our double flowers, rich seedless { } fruits, and in some cases greatly developed tubers, &c., to incipient sterility of the above nature combined with a copious supply of nutriment. animals which have long been domesticated, and plants which have long been cultivated, can generally withstand with unimpaired fertility great changes in their conditions of life; though both are sometimes slightly affected. with animals the somewhat rare capacity of breeding freely under confinement has mainly determined, together with their utility, the kinds which have been domesticated. we can in no case precisely say what is the cause of the diminished fertility of an animal when first captured, or of a plant when first cultivated; we can only infer that it is caused by a change of some kind in the natural conditions of life. the remarkable susceptibility of the reproductive system to such changes,--a susceptibility not common to any other organ,--apparently has an important bearing on variability, as we shall see in a future chapter. it is impossible not to be struck with the double parallelism between the two classes of facts just alluded to. on the one hand, slight changes in the conditions of life, and crosses between slightly modified forms or varieties, are beneficial as far as prolificness and constitutional vigour are concerned. on the other hand, changes in the conditions greater in degree, or of a different nature, and crosses between forms which have been slowly and greatly modified by natural means,--in other words, between species,--are highly injurious, as far as the reproductive system is concerned, and in some few instances as far as constitutional vigour is concerned. can this parallelism be accidental? does it not rather indicate some real bond of connection? as a fire goes out unless it be stirred up, so the vital forces are always tending, according to mr. herbert spencer, to a state of equilibrium, unless disturbed and renovated through the action of other forces. in some few cases varieties tend to keep distinct, by breeding at different periods, by great differences in size, or by sexual preference,--in this latter respect more especially resembling species in a state of nature. but the actual crossing of varieties, far from diminishing, generally adds to the fertility of both the first union and the mongrel offspring. whether all { } the most widely distinct domestic varieties are invariably quite fertile when crossed, we do not positively know; much time and trouble would be requisite for the necessary experiments, and many difficulties occur, such as the descent of the various races from aboriginally distinct species, and the doubts whether certain forms ought to be ranked as species or varieties. nevertheless, the wide experience of practical breeders proves that the great majority of varieties, even if some should hereafter prove not to be indefinitely fertile _inter se_, are far more fertile when crossed, than the vast majority of closely allied natural species. a few remarkable cases have, however, been given on the authority of excellent observers, showing that with plants certain forms, which undoubtedly must be ranked as varieties, yield fewer seeds when crossed than is natural to the parent-species. other varieties have had their reproductive powers so far modified that they are either more or less fertile than are their parents, when crossed with a distinct species. nevertheless, the fact remains indisputable that domesticated varieties of animals and of plants, which differ greatly from each other in structure, but which are certainly descended from the same aboriginal species, such as the races of the fowl, pigeon, many vegetables, and a host of other productions, are extremely fertile when crossed; and this seems to make a broad and impassable barrier between domestic varieties and natural species. but, as i will now attempt to show, the distinction is not so great and overwhelmingly important as it at first appears. _on the difference in fertility between varieties and species when crossed._ this work is not the proper place for fully treating the subject of hybridism, and i have already given in my 'origin of species' a moderately full abstract. i will here merely enumerate the general conclusions which may be relied on, and which bear on our present point. _firstly_, the laws governing the production of hybrids are identical, or nearly identical, in the animal and vegetable kingdoms. _secondly_, the sterility of distinct species when first united, { } and that of their hybrid offspring, graduates, by an almost infinite number of steps, from zero, when the ovule is never impregnated and a seed-capsule is never formed, up to complete fertility. we can only escape the conclusion that some species are fully fertile when crossed, by determining to designate as varieties all the forms which are quite fertile. this high degree of fertility is, however, rare. nevertheless plants, which have been exposed to unnatural conditions, sometimes become modified in so peculiar a manner, that they are much more fertile when crossed by a distinct species than when fertilised by their own pollen. success in effecting a first union between two species, and the fertility of their hybrids, depends in an eminent degree on the conditions of life being favourable. the innate sterility of hybrids of the same parentage and raised from the same seed-capsule often differs much in degree. _thirdly_, the degree of sterility of a first cross between two species does not always run strictly parallel with that of their hybrid offspring. many cases are known of species which can be crossed with ease, but yield hybrids excessively sterile; and conversely some which can be crossed with great difficulty, but produce fairly fertile hybrids. this is an inexplicable fact, on the view that species have been specially endowed with mutual sterility in order to keep them distinct. _fourthly_, the degree of sterility often differs greatly in two species when reciprocally crossed; for the first will readily fertilise the second; but the latter is incapable, after hundreds of trials, of fertilising the former. hybrids produced from reciprocal crosses between the same two species, likewise sometimes differ in their degree of sterility. these cases also are utterly inexplicable on the view of sterility being a special endowment. _fifthly_, the degree of sterility of first crosses and of hybrids runs, to a certain extent, parallel with the general or systematic affinity of the forms which are united. for species belonging to distinct genera can rarely, and those belonging to distinct families can never, be crossed. the parallelism, however, is far from complete; for a multitude of closely allied species will not unite, or unite with extreme difficulty, whilst other species, widely different from each other, can be crossed with perfect facility. nor does the difficulty depend on ordinary { } constitutional differences, for annual and perennial plants, deciduous and evergreen trees, plants flowering at different seasons, inhabiting different stations, and naturally living under the most opposite climates, can often be crossed with ease. the difficulty or facility apparently depends exclusively on the sexual constitution of the species which are crossed; or on their sexual elective affinity, _i. e._ _wahlverwandtschaft_ of gärtner. as species rarely or never become modified in one character, without being at the same time modified in many, and as systematic affinity includes all visible resemblances and dissimilarities, any difference in sexual constitution between two species would naturally stand in more or less close relation with their systematic position. _sixthly_, the sterility of species when first crossed, and that of hybrids, may possibly depend to a certain extent on distinct causes. with pure species the reproductive organs are in a perfect condition, whilst with hybrids they are often plainly deteriorated. a hybrid embryo which partakes of the constitution of its father and mother is exposed to unnatural conditions, as long as it is nourished within the womb, or egg, or seed of the mother-form; and as we know that unnatural conditions often induce sterility, the reproductive organs of the hybrid might at this early age be permanently affected. but this cause has no bearing on the infertility of first unions. the diminished number of the offspring from first unions may often result, as is certainly sometimes the case, from the premature death of most of the hybrid embryos. but we shall immediately see that a law of an unknown nature apparently exists, which causes the offspring from unions, which are infertile, to be themselves more or less infertile; and this at present is all that can be said. _seventhly_, hybrids and mongrels present, with the one great exception of fertility, the most striking accordance in all other respects; namely, in the laws of their resemblance to their two parents, in their tendency to reversion, in their variability, and in being absorbed through repeated crosses by either parent-form. since arriving at the foregoing conclusions, condensed from my former work, i have been led to investigate a subject which throws considerable light on hybridism, namely, the fertility of { } reciprocally dimorphic and trimorphic plants, when illegitimately united. i have had occasion several times to allude to these plants, and i may here give a brief abstract[ ] of my observations. several plants belonging to distinct orders present two forms, which exist in about equal numbers, and which differ in no respect except in their reproductive organs; one form having a long pistil with short stamens, the other a short pistil with long stamens; both with differently sized pollen-grains. with trimorphic plants there are three forms likewise differing in the lengths of their pistils and stamens, in the size and colour of the pollen-grains, and in some other respects; and as in each of the three forms there are two sets of stamens, there are altogether six sets of stamens and three kinds of pistils. these organs are so proportioned in length to each other that, in any two of the forms, half the stamens in each stand on a level with the stigma of the third form. now i have shown, and the result has been confirmed by other observers, that, in order to obtain full fertility with these plants, it is necessary that the stigma of the one form should be fertilised by pollen taken from the stamens of corresponding height in the other form. so that with dimorphic species two unions, which may be called legitimate, are fully fertile, and two, which may be called illegitimate, are more or less infertile. with trimorphic species six unions are legitimate or fully fertile, and twelve are illegitimate or more or less infertile. the infertility which may be observed in various dimorphic and trimorphic plants, when they are illegitimately fertilised, that is, by pollen taken from stamens not corresponding in height with the pistil, differs much in degree, up to absolute and utter sterility; just in the same manner as occurs in crossing distinct species. as the degree of sterility in the latter case depends in an eminent degree on the conditions of life being more or less favourable, so i have found it with illegitimate unions. it is well known that if pollen of a distinct species be placed on the stigma of a flower, and its own pollen be afterwards, even { } after a considerable interval of time, placed on the same stigma, its action is so strongly prepotent that it generally annihilates the effect of the foreign pollen; so it is with the pollen of the several forms of the same species, for legitimate pollen is strongly prepotent over illegitimate pollen, when both are placed on the same stigma. i ascertained this by fertilising several flowers, first illegitimately, and twenty-four hours afterwards legitimately, with pollen taken from a peculiarly coloured variety, and all the seedlings were similarly coloured; this shows that the legitimate pollen, though applied twenty-four hours subsequently, had wholly destroyed or prevented the action of the previously applied illegitimate pollen. again, as, in making reciprocal crosses between the same two species, there is occasionally a great difference in the result, so something analogous occurs with dimorphic plants; for a short-styled cowslip (_p. veris_) yields more seed when fertilised by the long-styled form, and less seed when fertilised by its own form, compared with a long-styled cowslip when fertilised in the two corresponding methods. in all these respects the forms of the same undoubted species, when illegitimately united, behave in exactly the same manner as do two distinct species when crossed. this led me carefully to observe during four years many seedlings, raised from several illegitimate unions. the chief result is that these illegitimate plants, as they may be called, are not fully fertile. it is possible to raise from dimorphic species, both long-styled and short-styled illegitimate plants, and from trimorphic plants all three illegitimate forms. these can then be properly united in a legitimate manner. when this is done, there is no apparent reason why they should not yield as many seeds as did their parents when legitimately fertilised. but such is not the case; they are all infertile, but in various degrees; some being so utterly and incurably sterile that they did not yield during four seasons a single seed or even seed-capsule. these illegitimate plants, which are so sterile, although united with each other in a legitimate manner, may be strictly compared with hybrids when crossed _inter se_, and it is well known how sterile these latter generally are. when, on the other hand, a hybrid is crossed with either pure parent-species, the sterility is usually much lessened: and so it is when an illegitimate plant is fertilised by { } a legitimate plant. in the same manner as the sterility of hybrids does not always run parallel with the difficulty of making the first cross between the two parent species, so the sterility of certain illegitimate plants was unusually great, whilst the sterility of the union from which they were derived was by no means great. with hybrids raised from the same seed-capsule the degree of sterility is innately variable, so it is in a marked manner with illegitimate plants. lastly, many hybrids are profuse and persistent flowerers, whilst other and more sterile hybrids produce few flowers, and are weak, miserable dwarfs; exactly similar cases occur with the illegitimate offspring of various dimorphic and trimorphic plants. altogether there is the closest identity in character and behaviour between illegitimate plants and hybrids. it is hardly an exaggeration to maintain that the former are hybrids, but produced within the limits of the same species by the improper union of certain forms, whilst ordinary hybrids are produced from an improper union between so-called distinct species. we have already seen that there is the closest similarity in all respects between first illegitimate unions, and first crosses between distinct species. this will perhaps be made more fully apparent by an illustration: we may suppose that a botanist found two well-marked varieties (and such occur) of the long-styled form of the trimorphic _lythrum salicaria_, and that he determined to try by crossing whether they were specifically distinct. he would find that they yielded only about one-fifth of the proper number of seed, and that they behaved in all the other above-specified respects as if they had been two distinct species. but to make the case sure, he would raise plants from his supposed hybridised seed, and he would find that the seedlings were miserably dwarfed and utterly sterile, and that they behaved in all other respects like ordinary hybrids. he might then maintain that he had actually proved, in accordance with the common view, that his two varieties were as good and as distinct species as any in the world; but he would be completely mistaken. the facts now given on dimorphic and trimorphic plants are important, because they show us, firstly, that the physiological { } test of lessened fertility, both in first crosses and in hybrids, is no safe criterion of specific distinction; secondly, because we may conclude that there must be some unknown law or bond connecting the infertility of illegitimate unions with that of their illegitimate offspring, and we are thus led to extend this view to first crosses and hybrids; thirdly, because we find, and this seems to me of especial importance, that with trimorphic plants three forms of the same species exist, which when crossed in a particular manner are infertile, and yet these forms differ in no respect from each other, except in their reproductive organs,--as in the relative length of the stamens and pistils, in the size, form, and colour of the pollen-grains, in the structure of the stigma, and in, the number and size of the seeds. with these differences and no others, either in organisation or constitution, we find that the illegitimate unions and the illegitimate progeny of these three forms are more or less sterile, and closely resemble in a whole series of relations the first unions and hybrid offspring of distinct species. from this we may infer that the sterility of species when crossed and of their hybrid progeny is likewise in all probability exclusively due to differences confined to the reproductive system. we have indeed been brought to a similar conclusion by observing that the sterility of crossed species does not strictly coincide with their systematic affinity, that is, with the sum of their external resemblances; nor does it coincide with their similarity in general constitution. but we are more especially led to this same conclusion by considering reciprocal crosses, in which the male of one species cannot be united, or can be united with extreme difficulty, with the female of a second species, whilst the converse cross can be effected with perfect facility; for this difference in the facility of making reciprocal crosses, and in the fertility of their offspring, must be attributed either to the male or female element in the first species having been differentiated with reference to the sexual element of the second species in a higher degree than in the converse case. in so complex a subject as hybridism it is of considerable importance thus to arrive at a definitive conclusion, namely, that the sterility which almost invariably follows the union of distinct { } species depends exclusively on differences in their sexual constitution. * * * * * on the principle which makes it necessary for man, whilst he is selecting and improving his domestic varieties, to keep them separate, it would clearly be advantageous to varieties in a state of nature, that is to incipient species, if they could be kept from blending, either through sexual aversion, or by becoming mutually sterile. hence it at one time appeared to me probable, as it has to others, that this sterility might have been acquired through natural selection. on this view we must suppose that a shade of lessened fertility first spontaneously appeared, like any other modification, in certain individuals of a species when crossed with other individuals of the same species; and that successive slight degrees of infertility, from being advantageous, were slowly accumulated. this appears all the more probable, if we admit that the structural differences between the forms of dimorphic and trimorphic plants, as the length and curvature of the pistil, &c., have been co-adapted through natural selection; for if this be admitted, we can hardly avoid extending the same conclusion to their mutual infertility. sterility moreover has been acquired through natural selection for other and widely different purposes, as with neuter insects in reference to their social economy. in the case of plants, the flowers on the circumference of the truss in the guelder-rose (_viburnum opulus_) and those on the summit of the spike in the feather-hyacinth (_muscari comosum_) have been rendered conspicuous, and apparently in consequence sterile, in order that insects might easily discover and visit the other flowers. but when we endeavour to apply the principle of natural selection to the acquirement by distinct species of mutual sterility, we meet with great difficulties. in the first place, it may be remarked that separate regions are often inhabited by groups of species or by single species, which when brought together and crossed are found to be more or less sterile; now it could clearly have been of no advantage to such separated species to have been rendered mutually sterile, and consequently this could not have been effected through natural selection; but it may perhaps be argued, that, if a species were rendered sterile with { } some one compatriot, sterility with other species would follow as a necessary consequence. in the second place, it is as much opposed to the theory of natural selection, as to the theory of special creation, that in reciprocal crosses the male element of one form should have been rendered utterly impotent on a second form, whilst at the same time the male element of this second form is enabled freely to fertilise the first form; for this peculiar state of the reproductive system could not possibly be advantageous to either species. in considering the probability of natural selection having come into action in rendering species mutually sterile, one great difficulty will be found to lie in the existence of many graduated steps from slightly lessened fertility to absolute sterility. it may be admitted, on the principle above explained, that it would profit an incipient species if it were rendered in some slight degree sterile when crossed with its parent-form or with some other variety; for thus fewer bastardised and deteriorated offspring would be produced to commingle their blood with the new species in process of formation. but he who will take the trouble to reflect on the steps by which this first degree of sterility could be increased through natural selection to that higher degree which is common to so many species, and which is universal with species which have been differentiated to a generic or family rank, will find the subject extraordinarily complex. after mature reflection it seems to me that this could not have been effected through natural selection; for it could have been of no direct advantage to an individual animal to breed badly with another individual of a different variety, and thus leave few offspring; consequently such individuals could not have been preserved or selected. or take the case of two species which in their present state, when crossed, produce few and sterile offspring; now, what is there which could favour the survival of those individuals which happened to be endowed in a slightly higher degree with mutual infertility and which thus approached by one small step towards absolute sterility? yet an advance of this kind, if the theory of natural selection be brought to bear, must have incessantly occurred with many species, for a multitude are mutually quite barren. with sterile neuter insects we have reason to { } believe that modifications in their structure have been slowly accumulated by natural selection, from an advantage having been thus indirectly given to the community to which they belonged over other communities of the same species; but an individual animal, if rendered slightly sterile when crossed with some other variety, would not thus in itself gain any advantage, or indirectly give any advantage to its nearest relatives or to other individuals of the same variety, leading to their preservation. i infer from these considerations that, as far as animals are concerned, the various degrees of lessened fertility which occur with species when crossed cannot have been slowly accumulated by means of natural selection. with plants, it is possible that the case may be somewhat different. with many kinds, insects constantly carry pollen from neighbouring plants to the stigmas of each flower; and with some species this is effected by the wind. now, if the pollen of a variety, when deposited on the stigma of the same variety, should become by spontaneous variation in ever so slight a degree prepotent over the pollen of other varieties, this would certainly be an advantage to the variety; for its own pollen would thus obliterate the effects of the pollen of other varieties, and prevent deterioration of character. and the more prepotent the variety's own pollen could be rendered through natural selection, the greater the advantage would be. we know from the researches of gärtner that, with species which are mutually sterile, the pollen of each is always prepotent on its own stigma over that of the other species; but we do not know whether this prepotency is a consequence of the mutual sterility, or the sterility a consequence of the prepotency. if the latter view be correct, as the prepotency became stronger through natural selection, from being advantageous to a species in process of formation, so the sterility consequent on prepotency would at the same time be augmented; and the final result would be various degrees of sterility, such as occurs with existing species. this view might be extended to animals, if the female before each birth received several males, so that the sexual element of the prepotent male of her own variety obliterated the effects of the access of previous males belonging to other varieties; but we have no reason to believe, at least { } with terrestrial animals, that this is the ease; as most males and females pair for each birth, and some few for life. on the whole we may conclude that with animals the sterility of crossed species has not been slowly augmented through natural selection; and as this sterility follows the same general laws in the vegetable as in the animal kingdom, it is improbable, though apparently possible, that with plants crossed species should have been rendered sterile by a different process. from this consideration, and remembering that species which have never co-existed in the same country, and which therefore could not have received any advantage from having been rendered mutually infertile, yet are generally sterile when crossed; and bearing in mind that in reciprocal crosses between the same two species there is sometimes the widest difference in their sterility, we must give up the belief that natural selection has come into play. as species have not been rendered mutually infertile through the accumulative action of natural selection, and as we may safely conclude, from the previous as well as from other and more general considerations, that they have not been endowed through an act of creation with this quality, we must infer that it has arisen incidentally during their slow formation in connection with other and unknown changes in their organisation. by a quality arising incidentally, i refer to such cases as different species of animals and plants being differently affected by poisons to which they are not naturally exposed; and this difference in susceptibility is clearly incidental on other and unknown differences in their organisation. so again the capacity in different kinds of trees to be grafted on each other, or on a third species, differs much, and is of no advantage to these trees, but is incidental on structural or functional differences in their woody tissues. we need not feel surprise at sterility incidentally resulting from crosses between distinct species,--the modified descendants of a common progenitor,--when we bear in mind how easily the reproductive system is affected by various causes--often by extremely slight changes in the conditions of life, by too close interbreeding, and by other agencies. it is well to bear in mind such cases, as that of the _passiflora alata_, which recovered its self-fertility from { } being grafted on a distinct species--the cases of plants which normally or abnormally are self-impotent, but can readily be fertilised by the pollen of a distinct species--and lastly the cases of individual domesticated animals which evince towards each other sexual incompatibility. * * * * * we now at last come to the immediate point under discussion: how is it that, with some few exceptions in the case of plants, domesticated varieties, such as those of the dog, fowl, pigeon, several fruit-trees, and culinary vegetables, which differ from each other in external characters more than many species, are perfectly fertile when crossed, or even fertile in excess, whilst closely allied species are almost invariably in some degree sterile? we can, to a certain extent, give a satisfactory answer to this question. passing over the fact that the amount of external difference between two species is no sure guide to their degree of mutual sterility, so that similar differences in the case of varieties would be no sure guide, we know that with species the cause lies exclusively in differences in their sexual constitution. now the conditions to which domesticated animals and cultivated plants have been subjected, have had so little tendency towards modifying the reproductive system in a manner leading to mutual sterility, that we have good grounds for admitting the directly opposite doctrine of pallas, namely, that such conditions generally eliminate this tendency; so that the domesticated descendants of species, which in their natural state would have been in some degree sterile when crossed, become perfectly fertile together. with plants, so far is cultivation from giving a tendency towards mutual sterility, that in several well-authenticated cases, already often alluded to, certain species have been affected in a very different manner, for they have become self-impotent, whilst still retaining the capacity of fertilising, and being fertilised by, distinct species. if the pallasian doctrine of the elimination of sterility through long-continued domestication be admitted, and it can hardly be rejected, it becomes in the highest degree improbable that similar circumstances should commonly both induce and eliminate the same tendency; though in certain cases, with species having a peculiar constitution, sterility might occasionally be thus { } induced. thus, as i believe, we can understand why with domesticated animals varieties have not been produced which are mutually sterile; and why with plants only a few such cases have been observed, namely, by gärtner, with certain varieties of maize and verbascum, by other experimentalists with varieties of the gourd and melon, and by kölreuter with one kind of tobacco. with respect to varieties which have originated in a state of nature, it is almost hopeless to expect to prove by direct evidence that they have been rendered mutually sterile; for if even a trace of sterility could be detected, such varieties would at once be raised by almost every naturalist to the rank of distinct species. if, for instance, gärtner's statement were fully confirmed, that the blue and red-flowered forms of the pimpernel (_anagallis arvensis_) are sterile when crossed, i presume that all the botanists who now maintain on various grounds that these two forms are merely fleeting varieties, would at once admit that they were specifically distinct. the real difficulty in our present subject is not, as it appears to me, why domestic varieties have not become mutually infertile when crossed, but why this has so generally occurred with natural varieties as soon as they have been modified in a sufficient and permanent degree to take rank as species. we are far from precisely knowing the cause; nor is this surprising, seeing how profoundly ignorant we are in regard to the normal and abnormal action of the reproductive system. but we can see that species, owing to their struggle for life with numerous competitors, must have been exposed to more uniform conditions during long periods of time, than have been domestic varieties; and this may well make a wide difference in the result. for we know how commonly wild animals and plants, when taken from their natural conditions and subjected to captivity, are rendered sterile; and the reproductive functions of organic beings which have always lived and been slowly modified under natural conditions would probably in like manner be eminently sensitive to the influence of an unnatural cross. domesticated productions, on the other hand, which, as shown by the mere fact of their domestication, were not originally highly sensitive to changes in their conditions of life, and which can now generally resist { } with undiminished fertility repeated changes of conditions, might be expected to produce varieties, which would be little liable to have their reproductive powers injuriously affected by the act of crossing with other varieties which had originated in a like manner. certain naturalists have recently laid too great stress, as it appears to me, on the difference in fertility between varieties and species when crossed. some allied species of trees cannot be grafted on each other,--all varieties can be so grafted. some allied animals are affected in a very different manner by the same poison, but with varieties no such case until recently was known, but now it has been proved that immunity from certain poisons stands in some cases in correlation with the colour of the hair. the period of gestation generally differs much with distinct species, but with varieties until lately no such difference had been observed. the time required for the germination of seeds differs in an analogous manner, and i am not aware that any difference in this respect has as yet been detected with varieties. here we have various physiological differences, and no doubt others could be added, between one species and another of the same genus, which do not occur, or occur with extreme rarity, in the case of varieties; and these differences are apparently wholly or in chief part incidental on other constitutional differences, just in the same manner as the sterility of crossed species is incidental on differences confined to the sexual system. why, then, should these latter differences, however serviceable they may indirectly be in keeping the inhabitants of the same country distinct, be thought of such paramount importance, in comparison with other incidental and functional differences? no sufficient answer to this question can be given. hence the fact that the most distinct domestic varieties are, with rare exceptions, perfectly fertile when crossed, and produce fertile offspring, whilst closely allied species are, with rare exceptions, more or less sterile, is not nearly so formidable an objection as it appears at first to the theory of the common descent of allied species. * * * * * { } chapter xx. selection by man. selection a difficult art--methodical, unconscious, and natural selection--results of methodical selection--care taken in selection--selection with plants--selection carried on by the ancients, and by semi-civilized people--unimportant characters often attended to--unconscious selection--as circumstances slowly change, so have our domesticated animals changed through the action of unconscious selection--influence of different breeders on the same sub-variety--plants as affected by unconscious selection--effects of selection as shown by the great amount of difference in the parts most valued by man. the power of selection, whether exercised by man, or brought into play under nature through the struggle for existence and the consequent survival of the fittest, absolutely depends on the variability of organic beings. without variability nothing can be effected; slight individual differences, however, suffice for the work, and are probably the sole differences which are effective in the production of new species. hence our discussion on the causes and laws of variability ought in strict order to have preceded our present subject, as well as the previous subjects of inheritance, crossing, &c.; but practically the present arrangement has been found the most convenient. man does not attempt to cause variability; though he unintentionally effects this by exposing organisms to new conditions of life, and by crossing breeds already formed. but variability being granted, he works wonders. unless some degree of selection be exercised, the free commingling of the individuals of the same variety soon obliterates, as we have previously seen, the slight differences which may arise, and gives to the whole body of individuals uniformity of character. in separated districts, long-continued exposure to different conditions of life may perhaps produce new races without the aid of selection; but to this difficult subject { } of the direct action of the conditions of life we shall in a future chapter recur. when animals or plants are born with some conspicuous and firmly inherited new character, selection is reduced to the preservation of such individuals, and to the subsequent prevention of crosses; so that nothing more need be said on the subject. but in the great majority of cases a new character, or some superiority in an old character, is at first faintly pronounced, and is not strongly inherited; and then the full difficulty of selection is experienced. indomitable patience, the finest powers of discrimination, and sound judgment must be exercised during many years. a clearly predetermined object must be kept steadily in view. few men are endowed with all these qualities, especially with that of discriminating very slight differences; judgment can be acquired only by long experience; but if any of these qualities be wanting, the labour of a life may be thrown away. i have been astonished when celebrated breeders, whose skill and judgment have been proved by their success at exhibitions, have shown me their animals, which appeared all alike, and have assigned their reasons for matching this and that individual. the importance of the great principle of selection mainly lies in this power of selecting scarcely appreciable differences, which nevertheless are found to be transmissible, and which can be accumulated until the result is made manifest to the eyes of every beholder. the principle of selection may be conveniently divided into three kinds. _methodical selection_ is that which guides a man who systematically endeavours to modify a breed according to some predetermined standard. _unconscious selection_ is that which follows from men naturally preserving the most valued and destroying the less valued individuals, without any thought of altering the breed; and undoubtedly this process slowly works great changes. unconscious selection graduates into methodical, and only extreme cases can be distinctly separated; for he who preserves a useful or perfect animal will generally breed from it with the hope of getting offspring of the same character; but as long as he has not a predetermined purpose to improve the breed, he may be said to be selecting { } unconsciously.[ ] lastly, we have _natural selection_, which implies that the individuals which are best fitted for the complex, and in the course of ages changing conditions to which they are exposed, generally survive and procreate their kind. with domestic productions, with which alone we are here strictly concerned, natural selection comes to a certain extent into action, independently of, and even in opposition to, the will of man. * * * * * _methodical selection._--what man has effected within recent times in england by methodical selection is clearly shown by our exhibitions of improved quadrupeds and fancy birds. with respect to cattle, sheep, and pigs, we owe their great improvement to a long series of well-known names--bakewell, colling, ellman, bates, jonas webb, lords leicester and western, fisher hobbs, and others. agricultural writers are unanimous on the power of selection: any number of statements to this effect could be quoted; a few will suffice. youatt, a sagacious and experienced observer, writes,[ ] the principle of selection is "that which enables the agriculturist, not only to modify the character of his flock, but to change it altogether." a great breeder of shorthorns[ ] says, "in the anatomy of the shoulder modern breeders have made great improvements on the ketton shorthorns by correcting the defect in the knuckle or shoulder-joint, and by laying the top of the shoulder more snugly into the crop, and thereby filling up the hollow behind it.... the eye has its fashion at different periods: at one time the eye high and outstanding from the head, and at another time the sleepy eye sunk into the head; but these extremes have merged into the medium of a full, clear, and prominent eye with a placid look." again, hear what an excellent judge of pigs[ ] says: "the legs { } should be no longer than just to prevent the animal's belly from trailing on the ground. the leg is the least profitable portion of the hog, and we therefore require no more of it than is absolutely necessary for the support of the rest." let any one compare the wild-boar with any improved breed, and he will see how effectually the legs have been shortened. few persons, except breeders, are aware of the systematic care taken in selecting animals, and of the necessity of having a clear and almost prophetic vision into futurity. lord spencer's skill and judgment were well known; and he writes,[ ] "it is therefore very desirable, before any man commences to breed either cattle or sheep, that he should make up his mind to the shape and qualities he wishes to obtain, and steadily pursue this object." lord somerville, in speaking of the marvellous improvement of the new leicester sheep, effected by bakewell and his successors, says, "it would seem as if they had first drawn a perfect form, and then given it life." youatt[ ] urges the necessity of annually drafting each flock, as many animals will certainly degenerate "from the standard of excellence, which the breeder has established in his own mind." even with a bird of such little importance as the canary, long ago ( - ) rules were established, and a standard of perfection was fixed, according to which the london fanciers tried to breed the several sub-varieties.[ ] a great winner of prizes at the pigeon-shows,[ ] in describing the short-faced almond tumbler, says, "there are many first-rate fanciers who are particularly partial to what is called the goldfinch-beak, which is very beautiful; others say, take a full-size round cherry, then take a barley-corn, and judiciously placing and thrusting it into the cherry, form as it were your beak; and that is not all, for it will form a good head and beak, provided, as i said before, it is judiciously done; others take an oat; but as i think the goldfinch-beak the handsomest, i would advise the inexperienced fancier to get the head of a goldfinch, and keep it by him for his observation." wonderfully different as is the beak of the rock-pigeon and goldfinch, undoubtedly, as far as { } external shape and proportions are concerned, the end has been nearly gained. not only should our animals be examined with the greatest care whilst alive, but, as anderson remarks,[ ] their carcases should be scrutinised, "so as to breed from the descendants of such only as, in the language of the butcher, cut up well." the "grain of the meat" in cattle, and its being well marbled with fat,[ ] and the greater or less accumulation of fat in the abdomen of our sheep, have been attended to with success. so with poultry, a writer,[ ] speaking of cochin-china fowls, which are said to differ much in the quality of their flesh, says, "the best mode is to purchase two young brother-cocks, kill, dress, and serve up one; if he be indifferent, similarly dispose of the other, and try again; if, however, he be fine and well-flavoured, his brother will not be amiss for breeding purposes for the table." the great principle of the division of labour has been brought to bear on selection. in certain districts[ ] "the breeding of bulls is confined to a very limited number of persons, who by devoting their whole attention to this department, are able from year to year to furnish a class of bulls which are steadily improving the general breed of the district." the rearing and letting of choice rams has long been, as is well known, a chief source of profit to several eminent breeders. in parts of germany this principle is carried with merino sheep to an extreme point.[ ] "so important is the proper selection of breeding animals considered, that the best flock-masters do not trust to their own judgment, or to that of their shepherds, but employ persons called 'sheep-classifiers,' who make it their special business to attend to this part of the management of several flocks, and thus to preserve, or if possible to improve, the best qualities of both parents in the lambs." in saxony, "when the lambs are weaned, each in his turn is placed upon a table that his wool and form may be minutely observed. { } the finest are selected for breeding and receive a first mark. when they are one year old, and prior to shearing them, another close examination of those previously marked takes place: those in which no defect can be found receive a second mark, and the rest are condemned. a few months afterwards a third and last scrutiny is made; the prime rams and ewes receive a third and final mark, but the slightest blemish is sufficient to cause the rejection of the animal." these sheep are bred and valued almost exclusively for the fineness of their wool; and the result corresponds with the labour bestowed on their selection. instruments have been invented to measure accurately the thickness of the fibres; and "an austrian fleece has been produced of which twelve hairs equalled in thickness one from a leicester sheep." throughout the world, wherever silk is produced, the greatest care is bestowed on selecting the cocoons from which the moths for breeding are to be reared. a careful cultivator[ ] likewise examines the moths themselves, and destroys those that are not perfect. but what more immediately concerns us is that certain families in france devote themselves to raising eggs for sale.[ ] in china, near shanghai, the inhabitants of two small districts have the privilege of raising eggs for the whole surrounding country, and that they may give up their whole time to this business, they are interdicted by law from producing silk.[ ] the care which successful breeders take in matching their birds is surprising. sir john sebright, whose fame is perpetuated by the "sebright bantam," used to spend "two and three days in examining, consulting, and disputing with a friend which were the best of five or six birds."[ ] mr. bult, whose pouter-pigeons won so many prizes and were exported to north america under the charge of a man sent on purpose, told me that he always deliberated for several days before he matched each pair. hence we can understand the advice of an eminent fancier, who writes,[ ] "i would here particularly guard { } you against having too great a variety of pigeons, otherwise you will know a little of all, but nothing about one as it ought to be known." apparently it transcends the power of the human intellect to breed all kinds: "it is possible that there may be a few fanciers that have a good general knowledge of fancy pigeons; but there are many more who labour under the delusion of supposing they know what they do not." the excellence of one sub-variety, the almond tumbler, lies in the plumage, carriage, head, beak, and eye; but it is too presumptuous in the beginner to try for all these points. the great judge above quoted says, "there are some young fanciers who are over-covetous, who go for all the above five properties at once; they have their reward by getting nothing." we thus see that breeding even fancy pigeons is no simple art: we may smile at the solemnity of these precepts, but he who laughs will win no prizes. what methodical selection has effected for our animals is sufficiently proved, as already remarked, by our exhibitions. so greatly were the sheep belonging to some of the earlier breeders, such as bakewell and lord western, changed, that many persons could not be persuaded that they had not been crossed. our pigs, as mr. corringham remarks,[ ] during the last twenty years have undergone, through rigorous selection together with crossing, a complete metamorphosis. the first exhibition for poultry was held in the zoological gardens in ; and the improvement effected since that time has been great. as mr. baily, the great judge, remarked to me, it was formerly ordered that the comb of the spanish cock should be upright, and in four or five years all good birds had upright combs; it was ordered that the polish cock should have no comb or wattles, and now a bird thus furnished would be at once disqualified; beards were ordered, and out of fifty-seven pens lately ( ) exhibited at the crystal palace, all had beards. so it has been in many other cases. but in all cases the judges order only what is occasionally produced and what can be improved and rendered constant by selection. the steady increase of weight during the last few years in our { } fowls, turkeys, ducks, and geese is notorious; "six-pound ducks are now common, whereas four pounds was formerly the average." as the actual time required to make a change has not often been recorded, it may be worth mentioning that it took mr. wicking thirteen years to put a clean white head on an almond tumbler's body, "a triumph," says another fancier, "of which he may be justly proud."[ ] mr. tollet, of betley hall, selected cows, and especially bulls, descended from good milkers, for the sole purpose of improving his cattle for the production of cheese; he steadily tested the milk with the lactometer, and in eight years he increased, as i was informed by him, the product in the proportion of four to three. here is a curious case[ ] of steady but slow progress, with the end not as yet fully attained: in a race of silkworms was introduced into france, in which one hundred out of the thousand failed to produce white cocoons; but now, after careful selection during sixty-five generations, the proportion of yellow cocoons has been reduced to thirty-five in the thousand. with plants selection has been followed with the same good results as with animals. but the process is simpler, for plants in the great majority of cases bear both sexes. nevertheless, with most kinds it is necessary to take as much care to prevent crosses as with animals or unisexual plants; but with some plants, such as peas, this care does not seem to be necessary. with all improved plants, excepting of course those which are propagated by buds, cuttings, &c., it is almost indispensable to examine the seedlings and destroy those which depart from the proper type. this is called "roguing," and is, in fact, a form of selection, like the rejection of inferior animals. experienced horticulturists and agriculturists incessantly urge every one to preserve the finest plants for the production of seed. although plants often present much more conspicuous variations than animals, yet the closest attention is generally requisite to detect each slight and favourable change. mr. masters relates[ ] how "many a patient hour was devoted," whilst he was { } young, to the detection of differences in peas intended for seed. mr. barnet[ ] remarks that the old scarlet american strawberry was cultivated for more than a century without producing a single variety; and another writer observes how singular it was that when gardeners first began to attend to this fruit it began to vary; the truth no doubt being that it had always varied, but that, until slight varieties were selected and propagated by seed, no conspicuous result was obtained. the finest shades of difference in wheat have been discriminated and selected with almost as much care, as we see in colonel le couteur's works, as in the case of the higher animals; but with our cereals the process of selection has seldom or never been long continued. it may be worth while to give a few examples of methodical selection with plants; but in fact the great improvement of all our anciently cultivated plants may be attributed to selection long carried on, in part methodically, and in part unconsciously. i have shown in a former chapter how the weight of the gooseberry has been increased by systematic selection and culture. the flowers of the heartsease have been similarly increased in size and regularity of outline. with the cineraria, mr. glenny[ ] "was bold enough, when the flowers were ragged and starry and ill defined in colour, to fix a standard which was then considered outrageously high and impossible, and which, even if reached, it was said, we should be no gainers by, as it would spoil the beauty of the flowers. he maintained that he was right; and the event has proved it to be so." the doubling of flowers has several times been effected by careful selection: the rev. w. williamson,[ ] after sowing during several years seed of _anemone coronaria_, found a plant with one additional petal; he sowed the seed of this, and by perseverance in the same course obtained several varieties with six or seven rows of petals. the single scotch rose was doubled, and yielded eight good varieties in nine or ten years.[ ] the canterbury bell (_campanula medium_) was doubled by careful selection in four generations.[ ] in four years mr. buckman,[ ] by culture and { } careful selection, converted parsnips, raised from wild seed, into a new and good variety. by selection during a long course of years, the early maturity of peas has been hastened from ten to twenty-one days.[ ] a more curious case is offered by the beet-plant, which, since its cultivation in france, has almost exactly doubled its yield of sugar. this has been effected by the most careful selection; the specific gravity of the roots being regularly tested, and the best roots saved for the production of seed.[ ] _selection by ancient and semi-civilised people._ in attributing so much importance to the selection of animals and plants, it may be objected that methodical selection would not have been carried on during ancient times. a distinguished naturalist considers it as absurd to suppose that semi-civilised people should have practised selection of any kind. undoubtedly the principle has been systematically acknowledged and followed to a far greater extent within the last hundred years than at any former period, and a corresponding result has been gained; but it would be a great error to suppose, as we shall immediately see, that its importance was not recognised and acted on during the most ancient times, and by semi-civilised people. i should premise that many facts now to be given only show that care was taken in breeding; but when this is the case, selection is almost sure to be practised to a certain extent. we shall hereafter be enabled better to judge how far selection, when only occasionally carried on, by a few of the inhabitants of a country, will slowly produce a great effect. in a well-known passage in the thirtieth chapter of genesis, rules are given for influencing, as was then thought possible, the colour of sheep; and speckled and dark breeds are spoken of as being kept separate. by the time of david the fleece was likened to snow. youatt,[ ] who has discussed all the passages in relation to breeding in the old testament, concludes that { } at this early period "some of the best principles of breeding must have been steadily and long pursued." it was ordered, according to moses, that "thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind;" but mules were purchased,[ ] so that at this early period other nations must have crossed the horse and ass. it is said[ ] that erichthonius, some generations before the trojan war, had many brood-mares, "which by his care and judgment in the choice of stallions produced a breed of horses superior to any in the surrounding countries." homer (book v.) speaks of Æneas's horses as bred from mares which were put to the steeds of laomedon. plato, in his 'republic,' says to glaucus, "i see that you raise at your house a great many dogs for the chase. do you take care about breeding and pairing them? among animals of good blood, are there not always some which are superior to the rest?" to which glaucus answers in the affirmative.[ ] alexander the great selected the finest indian cattle to send to macedonia to improve the breed.[ ] according to pliny,[ ] king pyrrhus had an especially valuable breed of oxen; and he did not suffer the bulls and cows to come together till four years old, that the breed might not degenerate. virgil, in his georgics (lib. iii.), gives as strong advice as any modern agriculturist could do, carefully to select the breeding stock; "to note the tribe, the lineage, and the sire; whom to reserve for husband of the herd;"--to brand the progeny;--to select sheep of the purest white, and to examine if their tongues are swarthy. we have seen that the romans kept pedigrees of their pigeons, and this would have been a senseless proceeding had not great care been taken in breeding them. columella gives detailed instructions about breeding fowls: "let the breeding hens therefore be of a choice colour, a robust body, square-built, full-breasted, with large heads, with upright and bright-red combs. those are believed to be the best bred which have five toes."[ ] according to tacitus, the celts attended to the races of their domestic animals; { } and cæsar states that they paid high prices to merchants for fine imported horses.[ ] in regard to plants, virgil speaks of yearly culling the largest seeds; and celsus says, "where the corn and crop is but small, we must pick out the best ears of corn, and of them lay up our seed separately by itself."[ ] coming down the stream of time, we may be brief. at about the beginning of the ninth century charlemagne expressly ordered his officers to take great care of his stallions; and if any proved bad or old, to forewarn him in good time before they were put to the mares.[ ] even in a country so little civilised as ireland during the ninth century, it would appear from some ancient verses,[ ] describing a ransom demanded by cormac, that animals from particular places, or having a particular character, were valued. thus it is said,-- two pigs of the pigs of mac lir, a ram and ewe both round and red, i brought with me from aengus. i brought with me a stallion and a mare from the beautiful stud of manannan, a bull and a white cow from druim cain. athelstan, in , received as a present from germany, running-horses; and he prohibited the exportation of english horses. king john imported "one hundred chosen stallions from flanders."[ ] on june th, , the prince of wales wrote to the archbishop of canterbury, begging for the loan of any choice stallion, and promising its return at the end of the season.[ ] there are numerous records at ancient periods in english history of the importation of choice animals of various kinds, and of foolish laws against their exportation. in the reigns of henry vii. and viii. it was ordered that the magistrates, at michaelmas, should scour the heaths and commons, and destroy all mares beneath a certain size.[ ] some of our earlier kings passed laws against the slaughtering rams of any good breed before they were seven years old, so that they { } might have time to breed. in spain cardinal ximenes issued, in , regulations on the _selection_ of good rams for breeding.[ ] the emperor akbar khan before the year is said to have "wonderfully improved" his pigeons by crossing the breeds; and this necessarily implies careful selection. about the same period the dutch attended with the greatest care to the breeding of these birds. belon in says that good managers in france examined the colour of their goslings in order to get geese of a white colour and better kinds. markham in tells the breeder "to elect the largest and goodliest conies," and enters into minute details. even with respect to seeds of plants for the flower-garden, sir j. hanmer writing about the year [ ] says, in "choosing seed, the best seed is the most weighty, and is had from the lustiest and most vigorous stems;" and he then gives rules about leaving only a few flowers on plants for seed; so that even such details were attended to in our flower-gardens two hundred years ago. in order to show that selection has been silently carried on in places where it would not have been expected, i may add that in the middle of the last century, in a remote part of north america, mr. cooper improved by careful selection all his vegetables, "so that they were greatly superior to those of any other person. when his radishes, for instance, are fit for use, he takes ten or twelve that he most approves, and plants them at least yards from others that blossom at the same time. in the same manner he treats all his other plants, varying the circumstances according to their nature."[ ] in the great work on china published in the last century by the jesuits, and which is chiefly compiled from ancient chinese encyclopædias, it is said that with sheep "improving the breed consists in choosing with particular care the lambs which are destined for propagation, in nourishing them well, and in keeping the flocks separate." the same principles were applied by the chinese to various plants and fruit-trees.[ ] an { } imperial edict recommends the choice of seed of remarkable size; and selection was practised even by imperial hands, for it is said that the ya-mi, or imperial rice, was noticed at an ancient period in a field by the emperor khang-hi, was saved and cultivated in his garden, and has since become valuable from being the only kind which will grow north of the great wall.[ ] even with flowers, the tree pæony (_p. moutan_) has been cultivated, according to chinese traditions, for years; between and varieties have been raised, which are cherished like tulips formerly were by the dutch.[ ] turning now to semi-civilised people and to savages: it occurred to me, from what i had seen of several parts of south america, where fences do not exist, and where the animals are of little value, that there would be absolutely no care in breeding or selecting them; and this to a large extent is true. roulin,[ ] however, describes in colombia a naked race of cattle, which are not allowed to increase, on account of their delicate constitution. according to azara[ ] horses are often born in paraguay with curly hair; but, as the natives do not like them, they are destroyed. on the other hand, azara states that a hornless bull, born in , was preserved and propagated its race. i was informed of the existence in banda oriental of a breed with reversed hair; and the extraordinary niata cattle first appeared and have since been kept distinct in la plata. hence certain conspicuous variations have been preserved, and others have been habitually destroyed, in these countries, which are so little favourable for careful selection. we have also seen that the inhabitants sometimes introduce cattle on their estates to prevent the evil effects of close interbreeding. on the other hand, i have heard on reliable authority that the gauchos of the pampas never take any pains in selecting the best bulls or stallions for breeding; and this probably accounts for the cattle and horses being remarkably uniform in character throughout the immense range of the argentine republic. looking to the old world, in the sahara desert "the touareg is as careful in the selection of his breeding mahari { } (a fine race of the dromedary) as the arab is in that of his horse. the pedigrees are handed down, and many a dromedary can boast a genealogy far longer than the descendants of the darley arabian."[ ] according to pallas the mongolians endeavour to breed the yaks or horse-tailed buffaloes with white tails, for these are sold to the chinese mandarins as fly-flappers; and moorcroft, about seventy years after pallas, found that white-tailed animals were still selected for breeding.[ ] we have seen in the chapter on the dog that savages in different parts of north america and in guiana cross their dogs with wild canidæ, as did the ancient gauls, according to pliny. this was done to give their dogs strength and vigour, in the same way as the keepers in large warrens now sometimes cross their ferrets (as i have been informed by mr. yarrell) with the wild polecat, "to give them more devil." according to varro, the wild ass was formerly caught and crossed with the tame animal to improve the breed, in the same manner as at the present day the natives of java sometimes drive their cattle into the forests to cross with the wild banteng (_bos sondaicus_).[ ] in northern siberia, among the ostyaks the dogs vary in markings in different districts, but in each place they are spotted black and white in a remarkably uniform manner;[ ] and from this fact alone we may infer careful breeding, more especially as the dogs of one locality are famed throughout the country for their superiority. i have heard of certain tribes of esquimaux who take pride in their teams of dogs being uniformly coloured. in guiana, as sir r. schomburgk informs me,[ ] the dogs of the turuma indians are highly valued and extensively bartered: the price of a good one is the same as that given for a wife: they are kept in a sort of cage, and the indians "take great care when the female is in season to prevent her uniting with a dog of an inferior description." the indians told sir robert that, if a dog proved bad or useless, { } he was not killed, but was left to die from sheer neglect. hardly any nation is more barbarous than the fuegians, but i hear from mr. bridges, the catechist to the mission, that, "when these savages have a large, strong, and active bitch, they take care to put her to a fine dog, and even take care to feed her well, that her young may be strong and well favoured." in the interior of africa, negroes, who have not associated with white men, show great anxiety to improve their animals: they "always choose the larger and stronger males for stock:" the malakolo were much pleased at livingstone's promise to send them a bull, and some bakalolo carried a live cock all the way from loanda into the interior.[ ] further south on the same continent, andersson states that he has known a damara give two fine oxen for a dog which struck his fancy. the damaras take great delight in having whole droves of cattle of the same colour, and they prize their oxen in proportion to the size of their horns. "the namaquas have a perfect mania for a uniform team; and almost all the people of southern africa value their cattle next to their women, and take a pride in possessing animals that look high-bred." "they rarely or never make use of a handsome animal as a beast of burden."[ ] the power of discrimination which these savages possess is wonderful, and they can recognise to which tribe any cattle belong. mr. andersson further informs me that the natives frequently match a particular bull with a particular cow. the most curious case of selection by semi-civilised people, or indeed by any people, which i have found recorded, is that given by garcilazo de la vega, a descendant of the incas, as having been practised in peru before the country was subjugated by the spaniards.[ ] the incas annually held great hunts, when all the wild animals were driven from an immense circuit to a central point. the beasts of prey were first destroyed as injurious. the wild guanacos and vicunas were sheared; the old males and females killed, and the others set at liberty. the various kinds of deer were examined; the old males and females { } were likewise killed; "but the young females, with a certain number of males, selected from the most beautiful and strong," were given their freedom. here, then, we have selection by man aiding natural selection. so that the incas followed exactly the reverse system of that which our scottish sportsmen are accused of following, namely, of steadily killing the finest stags, thus causing the whole race to degenerate.[ ] in regard to the domesticated llamas and alpacas, they were separated in the time of the incas according to colour; and if by chance one in a flock was born of the wrong colour, it was eventually put into another flock. in the genus auchenia there are four forms,--the guanaco and vicuna, found wild and undoubtedly distinct species; the llama and alpaca, known only in a domesticated condition. these four animals appear so different, that most professed naturalists, especially those who have studied these animals in their native country, maintain that they are specifically distinct, notwithstanding that no one pretends to have seen a wild llama or alpaca. mr. ledger, however, who has closely studied these animals both in peru and during their exportation to australia, and who has made many experiments on their propagation, adduces arguments[ ] which seem to me conclusive, that the llama is the domesticated descendant of the guanaco, and the alpaca of the vicuna. and now that we know that these animals many centuries ago were systematically bred and selected, there is nothing surprising in the great amount of change which they have undergone. it appeared to me at one time probable that, though ancient and semi-civilised people might have attended to the improvement of their more useful animals in essential points, yet that they would have disregarded unimportant characters. but human nature is the same throughout the world: fashion everywhere reigns supreme, and man is apt to value whatever he may chance to possess. we have seen that in south america the niata cattle, which certainly are not made useful by their shortened faces and upturned nostrils, have been preserved. the damaras of south africa value their cattle for uniformity { } of colour and enormously long horns. the mongolians value their yaks for their white tails. and i shall now show that there is hardly any peculiarity in our most useful animals which, from fashion, superstition, or some other motive, has not been valued, and consequently preserved. with respect to cattle, "an early record," according to youatt,[ ] "speaks of a hundred white cows with red ears being demanded as a compensation by the princes of north and south wales. if the cattle were of a dark or black colour, were to be presented." so that colour was attended to in wales before its subjugation by england. in central africa, an ox that beats the ground with its tail is killed; and in south africa some of the damaras will not eat the flesh of a spotted ox. the kaffirs value an animal with a musical voice; and "at a sale in british kaffraria the low of a heifer excited so much admiration that a sharp competition sprung up for her possession, and she realised a considerable price."[ ] with respect to sheep, the chinese prefer rams without horns; the tartars prefer them with spirally wound horns, because the hornless are thought to lose courage.[ ] some of the damaras will not eat the flesh of hornless sheep. in regard to horses, at the end of the fifteenth century animals of the colour described as _liart pommé_ were most valued in france. the arabs have a proverb, "never buy a horse with four white feet, for he carries his shroud with him;"[ ] the arabs also, as we have seen, despise dun-coloured horses. so with dogs, xenophon and others at an ancient period were prejudiced in favour of certain colours; and "white or slate-coloured hunting dogs were not esteemed."[ ] turning to poultry, the old roman gourmands thought that the liver of a white goose was the most savoury. in paraguay black-skinned fowls are kept because they are thought to be more productive, and their flesh the most proper for invalids.[ ] in guiana, as i am informed by sir r. schomburgk, the aborigines will not eat the flesh or eggs of the fowl, but two { } races are kept distinct merely for ornament. in the philippines, no less than nine sub-varieties of the game cock are kept and named, so that they must be separately bred. at the present time in europe, the smallest peculiarities are carefully attended to in our most useful animals, either from fashion, or as a mark of purity of blood. many examples could be given, two will suffice. "in the western counties of england the prejudice against a white pig is nearly as strong as against a black one in yorkshire." in one of the berkshire sub-breeds, it is said, "the white should be confined to four white feet, a white spot between the eyes, and a few white hairs behind each shoulder." mr. saddler possessed "three hundred pigs, every one of which was marked in this manner."[ ] marshall, towards the close of the last century, in speaking of a change in one of the yorkshire breeds of cattle, says the horns have been considerably modified, as "a clean, small, sharp horn has been _fashionable_ for the last twenty years."[ ] in a part of germany the cattle of the race de gfoehl are valued for many good qualities, but they must have horns of a particular curvature and tint, so much so that mechanical means are applied if they take a wrong direction; but the inhabitants "consider it of the highest importance that the nostrils of the bull should be flesh-coloured, and the eyelashes light; this is an indispensable condition. a calf with blue nostrils would not be purchased, or purchased at a very low price."[ ] therefore let no man say that any point or character is too trifling to be methodically attended to and selected by breeders. * * * * * _unconscious selection._--by this term i mean, as already more than once explained, the preservation by man of the most valued, and the destruction of the least valued individuals, without any conscious intention on his part of altering the breed. it is difficult to offer direct proofs of the results which follow from this kind of selection; but the indirect evidence is abundant. in fact, except that in the one case man acts intentionally, and in the other unintentionally, there is little difference between { } methodical and unconscious selection. in both cases man preserves the animals which are most useful or pleasing to him, and destroys or neglects the others. but no doubt a far more rapid result follows from methodical than from unconscious selection. the "roguing" of plants by gardeners, and the destruction by law in henry viii.'s reign of all under-sized mares, are instances of a process the reverse of selection in the ordinary sense of the word, but leading to the same general result. the influence of the destruction of individuals having a particular character is well shown by the necessity of killing every lamb with a trace of black about it, in order to keep the flock white; or again, by the effects on the average height of the men of france of the destructive wars of napoleon, by which many tall men were killed, the short ones being left to be the fathers of families. this at least is the conclusion of those who have closely studied the subject of the conscription; and it is certain that since napoleon's time the standard for the army has been lowered two or three times. unconscious selection so blends into methodical that it is scarcely possible to separate them. when a fancier long ago first happened to notice a pigeon with an unusually short beak, or one with the tail-feathers unusually developed, although he bred from these birds with the distinct intention of propagating the variety, yet he could not have intended to make a short-faced tumbler or a fantail, and was far from knowing that he had made the first step towards this end. if he could have seen the final result, he would have been struck with astonishment, but, from what we know of the habits of fanciers, probably not with admiration. our english carriers, barbs, and short-faced tumblers have been greatly modified in the same manner, as we may infer both from the historical evidence given in the chapters on the pigeon, and from the comparison of birds brought from distant countries. so it has been with dogs; our present fox-hounds differ from the old english hound; our greyhounds have become lighter; the wolf-dog, which belonged to the greyhound class, has become extinct; the scotch deer-hound has been modified, and is now rare. our bulldogs differ from those which were formerly used for baiting bulls. our pointers and newfoundlands do not { } closely resemble any native dog now found in the countries whence they were brought, these changes have been effected partly by crosses; but in every case the result has been governed by the strictest selection. nevertheless there is no reason to suppose that man intentionally and methodically made the breeds exactly what they now are. as our horses became fleeter, and the country more cultivated and smoother, fleeter fox-hounds were desired and produced, but probably without any one distinctly foreseeing what they would become. our pointers and setters, the latter almost certainly descended from large spaniels, have been greatly modified in accordance with fashion and the desire for increased speed. wolves have become extinct, deer have become rarer, bulls are no longer baited, and the corresponding breeds of the dog have answered to the change. but we may feel almost sure that when, for instance, bulls were no longer baited, no man said to himself, i will now breed my dogs of smaller size, and thus create the present race. as circumstances changed, men unconsciously and slowly modified their course of selection. with race-horses selection for swiftness has been followed methodically, and our horses can now easily beat their progenitors. the increased size and different appearance of the english race-horse led a good observer in india to ask, "could any one in this year of , looking at our race-horses, conceive that they were the result of the union of the arab horse and the african mare?"[ ] this change has, it is probable, been largely effected through unconscious selection, that is, by the general wish to breed as fine horses as possible in each generation, combined with training and high feeding, but without any intention to give to them their present appearance. according to youatt,[ ] the introduction in oliver cromwell's time of three celebrated eastern stallions speedily affected the english breed; "so that lord harleigh, one of the old school, complained that the great horse was fast disappearing." this is an excellent proof how carefully selection must have been attended to; for without such care, all traces of so small an infusion of eastern blood would soon have been absorbed and { } lost. notwithstanding that the climate of england has never been esteemed particularly favourable to the horse, yet long-continued selection, both methodical and unconscious, together with that practised by the arabs during a still longer and earlier period, has ended in giving us the best breed of horses in the world. macaulay[ ] remarks, "two men whose authority on such subjects was held in great esteem, the duke of newcastle and sir john fenwick, pronounced that the meanest hack ever imported from tangier would produce a finer progeny than could be expected from the best sire of our native breed. they would not readily have believed that a time would come when the princes and nobles of neighbouring lands would be as eager to obtain horses from england as ever the english had been to obtain horses from barbary." the london dray-horse, which differs so much in appearance from any natural species, and which from its size has so astonished many eastern princes, was probably formed by the heaviest and most powerful animals having been selected during many generations in flanders and england, but without the least intention or expectation of creating a horse such as we now see. if we go back to an early period of history, we behold in the antique greek statues, as schaaffhausen has remarked,[ ] a horse equally unlike a race or dray horse, and differing from any existing breed. the results of unconscious selection, in an early stage, are well shown in the difference between the flocks descended from the same stock, but separately reared by careful breeders. youatt gives an excellent instance of this fact in the sheep belonging to messrs. buckley and burgess, which "have been purely bred from the original stock of mr. bakewell for upwards of fifty years. there is not a suspicion existing in the mind of any one at all acquainted with the subject that the owner of either flock has deviated in any one instance from the pure blood of mr. bakewell's flock; yet the difference between the sheep possessed by these two gentlemen is so great, that they have the appearance of being quite different varieties."[ ] i have seen several analogous and { } well-marked cases with pigeons: for instance, i had a family of barbs, descended from those long bred by sir j. sebright, and another family long bred by another fancier, and the two families plainly differed from each other. nathusius--and a more competent witness could not be cited--observes that, though the shorthorns are remarkably uniform inn appearance (except in colouring), yet that the individual character and wishes of each breeder become impressed on his cattle, so that different herds differ slightly from each other.[ ] the hereford cattle assumed their present well-marked character soon after the year , through careful selection by mr. tomkins,[ ] and the breed has lately split into two strains--one strain having a white face, and differing slightly, it is said,[ ] in some other points; but there is no reason to believe that this split, the origin of which is unknown, was intentionally made; it may with much more probability be attributed to different breeders having attended to different points. so again, the berkshire breed of swine in the year had greatly changed from what it had been in ; and since at least two distinct sub-breeds have borne this same name.[ ] when we bear in mind how rapidly all animals increase, and that some must be annually slaughtered and some saved for breeding, then, if the same breeder during a long course of years deliberately settles which shall be saved and which shall be killed, it is almost inevitable that his individual frame of mind will influence the character of his stock, without his having had any intention to modify the breed or form a new strain. unconscious selection in the strictest sense of the word, that is, the saving of the more useful animals and the neglect or slaughter of the less useful, without any thought of the future, must have gone on occasionally from the remotest period and amongst the most barbarous nations. savages often suffer from famines, and are sometimes expelled by war from their own homes. in such cases it can hardly be doubted that they would save their most useful animals. when the fuegians { } are hard pressed by want, they kill their old women for food rather than their dogs; for, as we were assured, "old women no use--dogs catch otters." the same sound sense would surely lead them to preserve their more useful dogs when still harder pressed by famine. mr. oldfield, who has seen so much of the aborigines of australia, informs me that "they are all very glad to get a european kangaroo dog, and several instances have been known of the father killing his own infant that the mother might suckle the much-prized puppy." different kinds of dogs would be useful to the australian for hunting opossums and kangaroos, and to the fuegian for catching fish and otters; and the occasional preservation in the two countries of the most useful animals would ultimately lead to the formation of two widely distinct breeds. * * * * * with plants, from the earliest dawn of civilisation, the best variety which at each period was known would generally have been cultivated and its seeds occasionally sown; so that there will have been some selection from an extremely remote period, but without any prefixed standard of excellence or thought of the future. we at the present day profit by a course of selection occasionally and unconsciously carried on during thousands of years. this is proved in an interesting manner by oswald heer's researches on the lake-inhabitants of switzerland, as given in a former chapter; for he shows that the grain and seed of our present varieties of wheat, barley, oats, peas, beans, lentils, and poppy, exceed in size those which were cultivated in switzerland during the neolithic and bronze periods. these ancient people, during the neolithic period, possessed also a crab considerably larger than that now growing wild on the jura.[ ] the pears described by pliny were evidently extremely inferior in quality to our present pears. we can realise the effects of long-continued selection and cultivation in another way, for would any one in his senses expect to raise a first-rate apple from the seed of a truly wild crab, or a luscious melting pear from the wild pear? alphonse de candolle informs me that he has lately seen on an ancient mosaic at rome a representation of { } the melon; and as the romans, who were such gourmands, are silent on this fruit, he infers that the melon has been greatly ameliorated since the classical period. coming to later times, buffon,[ ] on comparing the flowers, fruit, and vegetables which were then cultivated, with some excellent drawings made a hundred and fifty years previously, was struck with surprise at the great improvement which had been effected; and remarks that these ancient flowers and vegetables would now be rejected, not only by a florist but by a village gardener. since the time of buffon the work of improvement has steadily and rapidly gone on. every florist who compares our present flowers with those figured in books published not long since, is astonished at the change. a well-known amateur,[ ] in speaking of the varieties of pelargonium raised by mr. garth only twenty-two years before, remarks, "what a rage they excited: surely we had attained perfection, it was said; and now not one of the flowers of those days will be looked at. but none the less is the debt of gratitude which we owe to those who saw what was to be done, and did it." mr. paul, the well-known horticulturist, in writing of the same flower,[ ] says he remembers when young being delighted with the portraits in sweet's work; "but what are they in point of beauty compared with the pelargoniums of this day? here again nature did not advance by leaps; the improvement was gradual, and, if we had neglected those very gradual advances, we must have foregone the present grand results." how well this practical horticulturist appreciates and illustrates the gradual and accumulative force of selection! the dahlia has advanced in beauty in a like manner; the line of improvement being guided by fashion, and by the successive modifications which the flower slowly underwent.[ ] a steady and gradual change has been noticed in many other flowers: thus an old florist,[ ] after describing the leading varieties of the pink which were grown in , adds, "the pinks of those days would now be scarcely grown as border-flowers." the improvement of { } so many flowers and the number of the varieties which have been raised is all the more striking when we hear that the earliest known flower-garden in europe, namely at padua, dates only from the year .[ ] * * * * * _effects of selection, as shown by the parts most valued by man presenting the greatest amount of difference._--the power of long-continued selection, whether methodical or unconscious, or both combined, is well shown in a general way, namely, by the comparison of the differences between the varieties of distinct species, which are valued for different parts, such as for the leaves, or stems, or tubers, the seed, or fruit, or flowers. whatever part man values most, that part will be found to present the greatest amount of difference. with trees cultivated for their fruit, sageret remarks that the fruit is larger than in the parent-species, whilst with those cultivated for the seed, as with nuts, walnuts, almonds, chesnuts, &c., it is the seed itself which is larger; and he accounts for this fact by the fruit in the one case, and by the seed in the other, having been carefully attended to and selected during many ages. gallesio has made the same observation. godron insists on the diversity of the tuber in the potato, of the bulb in the onion, and of the fruit in the melon; and on the close similarity in these same plants of the other parts.[ ] in order to judge how far my own impression on this subject was correct, i cultivated numerous varieties of the same species close to each other. the comparison of the amount of difference between widely different organs is necessarily vague; i will therefore give the results in only a few cases. we have previously seen in the ninth chapter how greatly the varieties of the cabbage differ in their foliage and stems, which are the selected parts, and how closely they resembled each other in their flowers, capsules, and seeds. in seven varieties of the radish, the roots differed greatly in colour and shape, but no difference { } whatever could be detected in their foliage, flowers, or seeds. now what a contrast is presented, if we compare the flowers of the varieties of these two plants with those of any species cultivated in our flower-gardens for ornament; or if we compare their seeds with those of the varieties of maize, peas, beans, &c., which are valued and cultivated for their seeds. in the ninth chapter it was shown that the varieties of the pea differ but little except in the tallness of the plant, moderately in the shape of the pod, and greatly in the pea itself, and these are all selected points. the varieties, however, of the _pois sans parchemin_ differ much more in their pods, and these are eaten and valued. i cultivated twelve varieties of the common bean; one alone, the dwarf fan, differed considerably in general appearance; two differed in the colour of their flowers, one being an albino, and the other being wholly instead of partially purple; several differed considerably in the shape and size of the pod, but far more in the bean itself, and this is the valued and selected part. toker's bean, for instance, is twice-and-a-half as long and broad as the horse-bean, and is much thinner and of a different shape. the varieties of the gooseberry, as formerly described, differ much in their fruit, but hardly perceptibly in their flowers or organs of vegetation. with the plum, the differences likewise appear to be greater in the fruit than in the flowers or leaves. on the other hand, the seed of the strawberry, which corresponds with the fruit of the plum, differs hardly at all; whilst every one knows how greatly the fruit--that is, the enlarged receptacle--differs in the several varieties. in apples, pears, and peaches the flowers and leaves differ considerably, but not, as far as i can judge, in proportion with the fruit. the chinese double-flowering peaches, on the other hand, show that varieties of this tree have been formed, which differ more in the flower than in fruit. if, as is highly probable, the peach is the modified descendant of the almond, a surprising amount of change has been effected in the same species, in the fleshy covering of the former and in the kernels of the latter. when parts stand in such close relation to each other as the fleshy covering of the fruit (whatever its homological nature may be) and the seed, when one part is modified, so generally is the other, but by no means necessarily in the same degree. with { } the plum-tree, for instance, some varieties produce plums which are nearly alike, but include stones extremely dissimilar in shape; whilst conversely other varieties produce dissimilar fruit with barely distinguishable stones; and generally the stones, though they have never been subjected to selection, differ greatly in the several varieties of the plum. in other cases organs which are not manifestly related, through some unknown bond vary together, and are consequently liable, without any intention on man's part, to be simultaneously acted on by selection. thus the varieties of the stock (matthiola) have been selected solely for the beauty of their flowers, but the seeds differ greatly in colour and somewhat in size. varieties of the lettuce have been selected solely on account of their leaves, yet produce seeds which likewise differ in colour. generally, through the law of correlation, when a variety differs greatly from its fellow-varieties in any one character, it differs to a certain extent in several other characters. i observed this fact when i cultivated together many varieties of the same species, for i used first to make a list of the varieties which differed most from each other in their foliage and manner of growth, afterwards of those that differed most in their flowers, then in their seed-capsules, and lastly in their mature seed; and i found that the same names generally occurred in two, three, or four of the successive lists. nevertheless the greatest amount of difference between the varieties was always exhibited, as far as i could judge, by that part or organ for which the plant was cultivated. when we bear in mind that each plant was at first cultivated because useful to man, and that its variation was a subsequent, often a long subsequent, event, we cannot explain the greater amount of diversity in the valuable parts by supposing that species endowed with an especial tendency to vary in any particular manner, were originally chosen. we must attribute the result to the variations in these parts having been successively preserved, and thus continually augmented; whilst other variations, excepting such as inevitably appeared through correlation, were neglected and lost. hence we may infer that most plants might be made, through long-continued selection, to yield races as different from each other in any character { } as they now are in those parts for which they are valued and cultivated. with animals we see something of the same kind; but they have not been domesticated in sufficient number or yielded sufficient varieties for a fair comparison. sheep are valued for their wool, and the wool differs much more in the several races than the hair in cattle. neither sheep, goats, european cattle, nor pigs are valued for their fleetness or strength; and we do not possess breeds differing in these respects like the race-horse and dray-horse. but fleetness and strength are valued in camels and dogs; and we have with the former the swift dromedary and heavy camel; with the latter the greyhound and mastiff. but dogs are valued even in a higher degree for their mental qualities and senses; and every one knows how greatly the races differ in these respects. on the other hand, where the dog is valued solely to serve for food, as in the polynesian islands and china, it is described as an extremely stupid animal.[ ] blumenbach remarks that "many dogs, such as the badger-dog, have a build so marked and so appropriate for particular purposes, that i should find it very difficult to persuade myself that this astonishing figure was an accidental consequence of degeneration."[ ] but had blumenbach reflected on the great principle of selection, he would not have used the term degeneration, and he would not have been astonished that dogs and other animals should become excellently adapted for the service of man. on the whole we may conclude that whatever part or character is most valued--whether the leaves, stems, tubers, bulbs, flowers, fruit, or seed of plants, or the size, strength, fleetness, hairy covering, or intellect of animals--that character will almost invariably be found to present the greatest amount of difference both in kind and degree. and this result may be safely attributed to man having preserved during a long course of generations the variations which were useful to him, and neglected the others. i will conclude this chapter by some remarks on an important subject. with animals such as the giraffe, of which { } the whole structure is admirably co-ordinated for certain purposes, it has been supposed that all the parts must have been simultaneously modified; and it has been argued that, on the principle of natural selection, this is scarcely possible. but in thus arguing, it has been tacitly assumed that the variations must have been abrupt and great. no doubt, if the neck of a ruminant were suddenly to become greatly elongated, the fore limbs and back would have to be simultaneously strengthened and modified; but it cannot be denied that an animal might have its neck, or head, or tongue, or fore-limbs elongated a very little without any corresponding modification in other parts of the body; and animals thus slightly modified would, during a dearth, have a slight advantage, and be enabled to browse on higher twigs, and thus survive. a few mouthfuls more or less every day would make all the difference between life and death. by the repetition of the same process, and by the occasional intercrossing of the survivors, there would be some progress, slow and fluctuating though it would be, towards the admirably co-ordinated structure of the giraffe. if the short-faced tumbler-pigeon, with its small conical beak, globular head, rounded body, short wings, and small feet--characters which appear all in harmony--had been a natural species, its whole structure would have been viewed as well fitted for its life; but in this case we know that inexperienced breeders are urged to attend to point after point, and not to attempt improving the whole structure at the same time. look at the greyhound, that perfect image of grace, symmetry, and vigour; no natural species can boast of a more admirably co-ordinated structure, with its tapering head, slim body, deep chest, tucked-up abdomen, rat-like tail, and long muscular limbs, all adapted for extreme fleetness, and for running down weak prey. now, from what we see of the variability of animals, and from what we know of the method which different men follow in improving their stock--some chiefly attending to one point, others to another point, others again correcting defects by crosses, and so forth--we may feel assured that if we could see the long line of ancestors of a first-rate greyhound, up to its wild wolf-like progenitor, we should behold an infinite number of the finest gradations, sometimes in one character and sometimes in another, but all leading towards our { } present perfect type. by small and doubtful steps such as these, nature, as we may confidently believe, has progressed on her grand march of improvement and development. a similar line of reasoning is as applicable to separate organs as to the whole organisation. a writer[ ] has recently maintained that "it is probably no exaggeration to suppose that, in order to improve such an organ as the eye at all, it must be improved in ten different ways at once. and the improbability of any complex organ being produced and brought to perfection in any such way is an improbability of the same kind and degree as that of producing a poem or a mathematical demonstration by throwing letters at random on a table." if the eye were abruptly and greatly modified, no doubt many parts would have to be simultaneously altered, in order that the organ should remain serviceable. but is this the case with smaller changes? there are persons who can see distinctly only in a dull light, and this condition depends, i believe, on the abnormal sensitiveness of the retina, and is known to be inherited. now, if a bird, for instance, received some great advantage from seeing well in the twilight, all the individuals with the most sensitive retina would succeed best and be the most likely to survive; and why should not all those which happened to have the eye itself a little larger, or the pupil capable of greater dilatation, be likewise preserved, whether or not these modifications were strictly simultaneous? these individuals would subsequently intercross and blend their respective advantages. by such slight successive changes, the eye of a diurnal bird would be brought into the condition of that of an owl, which has often been advanced as an excellent instance of adaptation. short-sight, which is often inherited, permits a person to see distinctly a minute object at so near a distance that it would be indistinct to ordinary eyes; and here we have a capacity which might be serviceable under certain conditions, abruptly gained. the fuegians on board the { } beagle could certainly see distant objects more distinctly than our sailors with all their long practice; i do not know whether this depends on nervous sensitiveness or on the power of adjustment in the focus; but this capacity for distant vision might, it is probable, be slightly augmented by successive modifications of either kind. amphibious animals, which are enabled to see both in the water and in the air, require and possess, as m. plateau has shown,[ ] eyes constructed on the following plan: "the cornea is always flat, or at least much flattened in front of the crystalline and over a space equal to the diameter of that lens, whilst the lateral portions may be much curved." the crystalline is very nearly a sphere, and the humours have nearly the same density as water. now, as a terrestrial animal slowly became more and more aquatic in its habits, very slight changes, first in the curvature of the cornea or crystalline, and then in the density of the humours, or conversely, might successively occur, and would be advantageous to the animal whilst under water, without serious detriment to its power of vision in the air. it is of course impossible to conjecture by what steps the fundamental structure of the eye in the vertebrata was originally acquired, for we know absolutely nothing about this organ in the first progenitors of the class. with respect to the lowest animals in the scale, the transitional states through which the eye at first probably passed, can by the aid of analogy be indicated, as i have attempted to show in my 'origin of species.'[ ] * * * * * { } chapter xxi. selection, _continued_. natural selection as affecting domestic productions--characters which appear of trifling value often of real importance--circumstances favourable to selection by man--facility in preventing crosses, and the nature of the conditions--close attention and perseverance indispensable--the production of a large number of individuals especially favourable--when no selection is applied, distinct races are not formed--highly-bred animals liable to degeneration--tendency in man to carry the selection of each character to an extreme point, leading to divergence of character, rarely to convergence--characters continuing to vary in the same direction in which they have already varied--divergence of character, with the extinction of intermediate varieties, leads to distinctness in our domestic races--limit to the power of selection--lapse of time important--manner in which domestic races have originated--summary. _natural selection, or the survival of the fittest, as affecting domestic productions._--we know little on this head. but as animals kept by savages have to provide their own food, either entirely or to a large extent, throughout the year, it can hardly be doubted that, in different countries, varieties differing in constitution and in various characters would succeed best, and so be naturally selected. hence perhaps it is that the few domesticated animals kept by savages partake, as has been remarked by more than one writer, of the wild appearance of their masters, and likewise resemble natural species. even in long-civilised countries, at least in the wilder parts, natural selection must act on our domestic races. it is obvious that varieties, having very different habits, constitution, and structure, would succeed best on mountains and on rich lowland pastures. for example, the improved leicester sheep were formerly taken to the lammermuir hills; but an intelligent sheep-master reported that "our coarse lean pastures were unequal to the task of supporting such heavy-bodied sheep; and they gradually dwindled away into less and less bulk: { } each generation was inferior to the preceding one; and when the spring was severe, seldom more than two-thirds of the lambs survived the ravages of the storms."[ ] so with the mountain cattle of north wales and the hebrides, it has been found that they could not withstand being crossed with the larger and more delicate lowland breeds. two french naturalists, in describing the horses of circassia, remark that, subjected as they are to extreme vicissitudes of climate, having to search for scanty pasture, and exposed to constant danger from wolves, the strongest and most vigorous alone survive.[ ] every one must have been struck with the surpassing grace, strength, and vigour of the game-cock, with its bold and confident air, its long, yet firm neck, compact body, powerful and closely pressed wings, muscular thighs, strong beak massive at the base, dense and sharp spurs set low on the legs for delivering the fatal blow, and its compact, glossy, and mail-like plumage serving as a defence. now the english game-cock has not only been improved during many years by man's careful selection, but in addition, as mr. tegetmeier has remarked,[ ] by a kind of natural selection, for the strongest, most active and courageous birds have stricken down their antagonists in the cockpit, generation after generation, and have subsequently served as the progenitors of their kind. in great britain, in former times, almost every district had its own breed of cattle and sheep; "they were indigenous to the soil, climate, and pasturage of the locality on which they grazed: they seemed to have been formed for it and by it."[ ] but in this case we are quite unable to disentangle the effects of the direct action of the conditions of life,--of use or habit--of natural selection--and of that kind of selection which we have seen is occasionally and unconsciously followed by man even during the rudest periods of history. let us now look to the action of natural selection on special characters. although nature is difficult to resist, yet man often strives against her power, and sometimes, as we shall see, with { } success. from the facts to be given, it will also be seen that natural selection would powerfully affect many of our domestic productions if left unprotected. this is a point of much interest, for we thus learn that differences apparently of very slight importance would certainly determine the survival of a form when forced to struggle for its own existence. it may have occurred to some naturalists, as it formerly did to me, that, though selection acting under natural conditions would determine the structure of all important organs, yet that it could not affect characters which are esteemed by us of little importance; but this is an error to which we are eminently liable, from our ignorance of what characters are of real value to each living creature. when man attempts to breed an animal with some serious defect in structure, or in the mutual relation of parts, he will either partially or completely fail, or encounter much difficulty; and this is in fact a form of natural selection. we have seen that the attempt was once made in yorkshire to breed cattle with enormous buttocks, but the cows perished so often in bringing forth their calves, that the attempt had to be given up. in rearing short-faced tumblers, mr. eaton says,[ ] "i am convinced that better head and beak birds have perished in the shell than ever were hatched; the reason being that the amazingly short-faced bird cannot reach and break the shell with its beak, and so perishes." here is a more curious case, in which natural selection comes into play only at long intervals of time: during ordinary seasons the niata cattle can graze as well as others, but occasionally, as from to , the plains of la plata suffer from long-continued droughts and the pasture is burnt up; at such times common cattle and horses perish by the thousand, but many survive by browsing on twigs, reeds, &c.; this the niata cattle cannot so well effect from their upturned jaws and the shape of their lips; consequently, if not attended to, they perish before the other cattle. in colombia, according to roulin, there is a breed of nearly hairless cattle, called pelones; these succeed in their native hot district, but are found too tender for the cordillera; in this case, natural selection { } determines only the range of the variety. it is obvious that a host of artificial races could never survive in a state of nature;--such as italian greyhounds,--hairless and almost toothless turkish dogs,--fantail pigeons, which cannot fly well against a strong wind,--barbs with their vision impeded by their eye-wattle,--polish fowls with their vision impeded by their great topknots,--hornless bulls and rams which consequently cannot cope with other males, and thus have a poor chance of leaving offspring,--seedless plants, and many other such cases. colour is generally esteemed by the systematic naturalist as unimportant: let us, therefore, see how far it indirectly affects our domestic productions, and how far it would affect them if they were left exposed to the full force of natural selection. in a future chapter i shall have to show that constitutional peculiarities of the strangest kind, entailing liability to the action of certain poisons, are correlated with the colour of the skin. i will here give a single case, on the high authority of professor wyman; he informs me that, being surprised at all the pigs in a part of virginia being black, he made inquiries, and ascertained that these animals feed on the roots of the _lachnanthes tinctoria_, which colours their bones pink, and, excepting in the case of the black varieties, causes the hoofs to drop off. hence, as one of the squatters remarked, "we select the black members of the litter for raising, as they alone have a good chance of living." so that here we have artificial and natural selection working hand in hand. i may add that in the tarentino the inhabitants keep black sheep alone, because the _hypericum crispum_ abounds there; and this plant does not injure black sheep, but kills the white ones in about a fortnight's time.[ ] complexion, and liability to certain diseases, are believed to run together in man and the lower animals. thus white terriers suffer more than terriers of any other colour from the fatal distemper.[ ] in north america plum-trees are liable to a disease which downing[ ] believes is not caused by insects; the kinds bearing purple fruit are most affected, "and we have never known the green or yellow fruited varieties infected { } until the other sorts had first become filled with the knots." on the other hand, peaches in north america suffer much from a disease called the _yellows_, which seems to be peculiar to that continent, and "more than nine-tenths of the victims, when the disease first appeared, were the yellow-fleshed peaches. the white-fleshed kinds are much more rarely attacked; in some parts of the country never." in mauritius, the white sugar-canes have of late years been so severely attacked by a disease, that many planters have been compelled to give up growing this variety (although fresh plants were imported from china for trial), and cultivate only red canes.[ ] now, if these plants had been forced to struggle with other competing plants and enemies, there cannot be a doubt that the colour of the flesh or skin of the fruit, unimportant as these characters are considered, would have rigorously determined their existence. liability to the attacks of parasites is also connected with colour. it appears that white chickens are certainly more subject than dark-coloured chickens to the _gapes_, which is caused by a parasitic worm in the trachea.[ ] on the other hand, experience has shown that in france the caterpillars which produce white cocoons resist the deadly fungus better than those producing yellow cocoons.[ ] analogous facts have been observed with plants: a new and beautiful white onion, imported from france, though planted close to other kinds, was alone attacked by a parasitic fungus.[ ] white verbenas are especially liable to mildew.[ ] near malaga, during an early period of the vine-disease, the green sorts suffered most; "and red and black grapes, even when interwoven with the sick plants, suffered not at all." in france whole groups of varieties were comparatively free, and others, such as the chasselas, did not afford a single fortunate exception; but i do not know whether any correlation between colour and liability to disease was here observed.[ ] in a former chapter it was shown how curiously liable one variety of the strawberry is to mildew. { } it is certain that insects regulate in many cases the range and even the existence of the higher animals, whilst living under their natural conditions. under domestication light-coloured animals suffer most: in thuringia[ ] the inhabitants do not like grey, white, or pale cattle, because they are much more troubled by various kinds of flies than the brown, red, or black cattle. an albino negro, it has been remarked,[ ] was peculiarly sensitive to the bites of insects. in the west indies[ ] it is said that "the only horned cattle fit for work are those which have a good deal of black in them. the white are terribly tormented by the insects; and they are weak and sluggish in proportion to the white." in devonshire there is a prejudice against white pigs, because it is believed that the sun blisters them when turned out;[ ] and i knew a man who would not keep white pigs in kent, for the same reason. the scorching of flowers by the sun seems likewise to depend much on colour; thus, dark pelargoniums suffer most; and from various accounts it is clear that the cloth-of-gold variety will not withstand a degree of exposure to sunshine which other varieties enjoy. another amateur asserts that not only all dark-coloured verbenas, but likewise scarlets, suffer from the sun; "the paler kinds stand better, and pale blue is perhaps the best of all." so again with the heartsease (_viola tricolor_); hot weather suits the blotched sorts, whilst it destroys the beautiful markings of some other kinds.[ ] during one extremely cold season in holland all red-flowered hyacinths were observed to be very inferior in quality. it is believed by many agriculturists that red wheat is hardier in northern climates than white wheat.[ ] with animals, white varieties from being conspicuous are the most liable to be attacked by beasts and birds of prey. in parts of france and germany where hawks abound, persons are advised not to keep white pigeons; for, as parmentier says, "it { } is certain that in a flock the white always first fall victims to the kite." in belgium, where so many societies have been established for the flight of carrier-pigeons, white is the one colour which for the same reason is disliked.[ ] on the other hand, it is said that the sea-eagle (_falco ossifragus_, linn.) on the west coast of ireland picks out the black fowls, so that "the villagers avoid as much as possible rearing birds of that colour." m. daudin,[ ] speaking of white rabbits kept in warrens in russia, remarks that their colour is a great disadvantage, as they are thus more exposed to attack, and can be seen during bright nights from a distance. a gentleman in kent, who failed to stock his woods with a nearly white and hardy kind of rabbit, accounted in the same manner for their early disappearance. any one who will watch a white cat prowling after her prey will soon perceive under what a disadvantage she lies. the white tartarian cherry, "owing either to its colour being so much like that of the leaves, or to the fruit always appearing from a distance unripe," is not so readily attacked by birds as other sorts. the yellow-fruited raspberry, which generally comes nearly true by seed, "is very little molested by birds, who evidently are not fond of it; so that nets may be dispensed with in places where nothing else will protect the red fruit."[ ] this immunity, though a benefit to the gardener, would be a disadvantage in a state of nature both to the cherry and raspberry, as their dissemination depends on birds. i noticed during several winters that some trees of the yellow-berried holly, which were raised from seed from a wild tree found by my father, remained covered with fruit, whilst not a scarlet berry could be seen on the adjoining trees of the common kind. a friend informs me that a mountain-ash (_pyrus aucuparia_) growing in his garden bears berries which, though not differently coloured, are always devoured by birds before those on the other trees. this variety of the mountain-ash would thus be more freely disseminated, and the yellow-berried variety of the holly less freely, than the common varieties of these two trees. { } independently of colour, other trifling differences are sometimes found to be of importance to plants under cultivation, and would be of paramount importance if they had to fight their own battle and to struggle with many competitors. the thin-shelled peas, called _pois sans parchemin_, are attacked by birds[ ] much more than common peas. on the other hand, the purple-podded pea, which has a hard shell, escaped the attacks of tomtits (_parus major_) in my garden far better than any other kind. the thin-shelled walnut likewise suffers greatly from the tomtit.[ ] these same birds have been observed to pass over and thus favour the filbert, destroying only the other kinds of nuts which grew in the same orchard.[ ] certain varieties of the pear have soft bark, and these suffer severely from boring wood-beetles; whilst other varieties are known to resist their attacks much better.[ ] in north america the smoothness, or absence of down on the fruit, makes a great difference in the attacks of the weevil, "which is the uncompromising foe of all smooth stone-fruits;" and the cultivator "has the frequent mortification of seeing nearly all, or indeed often the whole crop, fall from the trees when half or two-thirds grown." hence the nectarine suffers more than the peach. a particular variety of the morello cherry, raised in north america, is without any assignable cause more liable to be injured by this same insect than other cherry-trees.[ ] from some unknown cause, the winter majetin apple enjoys the great advantage of not being infested by the coccus. on the other hand, a particular case has been recorded in which aphides confined themselves to the winter nelis pear, and touched no other kind in an extensive orchard.[ ] the existence of minute glands on the leaves of peaches, nectarines, and apricots, would not be esteemed by botanists as a character of the least importance, for they are present or absent in closely related sub-varieties, descended from the same parent-tree; yet there is good evidence[ ] that the { } absence of glands leads to mildew, which is highly injurious to these trees. a difference either in flavour or in the amount of nutriment in certain varieties causes them to be more eagerly attacked by various enemies than other varieties of the same species. bullfinches (_pyrrhula vulgaris_) injure our fruit-trees by devouring the flower-buds, and a pair of these birds have been seen "to denude a large plum-tree in a couple of days of almost every bud;" but certain varieties[ ] of the apple and thorn (_cratægus oxyacantha_) are more especially liable to be attacked. a striking instance of this was observed in mr. rivers's garden, in which two rows of a particular variety of plum[ ] had to be carefully protected, as they were usually stripped of all their buds during the winter, whilst other sorts growing near them escaped. the root (or enlarged stem) of laing's swedish turnip is preferred by hares, and therefore suffers more than other varieties. hares and rabbits eat down common rye before st. john's-day-rye, when both grow together.[ ] in the south of france, when an orchard of almond-trees is formed, the nuts of the bitter variety are sown, "in order that they may not be devoured by field-mice;"[ ] so we see the use of the bitter principle in almonds. other slight differences, which would be thought quite unimportant, are no doubt sometimes of great service both to plants and animals. the whitesmith's gooseberry, as formerly stated, produces its leaves later than other varieties, and, as the flowers are thus left unprotected, the fruit often fails. in one variety of the cherry, according to mr. rivers,[ ] the petals are much curled backwards, and in consequence of this the stigmas were observed to be killed by a severe frost; whilst at the same time, in another variety with incurved petals, the stigmas were not in the least injured. the straw of the fenton wheat is remarkably unequal in height; and a competent observer believes that this variety is highly productive, partly because the ears, from being distributed at various heights above the ground, { } are less crowded together. the same observer maintains that in the upright varieties the divergent awns are serviceable by breaking the shocks when the ears are dashed together by the wind.[ ] if several varieties of a plant are grown together, and the seed is indiscriminately harvested, it is clear that the hardier and more productive kinds will, by a sort of natural selection, gradually prevail over the others; this takes place, as colonel le couteur believes,[ ] in our wheat-fields, for, as formerly shown, no variety is quite uniform in character. the same thing, as i am assured by nurserymen, would take place in our flower-gardens, if the seed of the different varieties were not separately saved. when the eggs of the wild and tame duck are hatched together, the young wild ducks almost invariably perish, from being of smaller size and not getting their fair share of food.[ ] facts in sufficient number have now been given showing that natural selection often checks, but occasionally favours, man's power of selection. these facts teach us, in addition, a valuable lesson, namely, that we ought to be extremely cautious in judging what characters are of importance in a state of nature to animals and plants, which have to struggle from the hour of their birth to that of their death for existence,--their existence depending on conditions, about which we are profoundly ignorant. _circumstances favourable to selection by man._ the possibility of selection rests on variability, and this, as we shall see in the following chapters, mainly depends on changed conditions of life, but is governed by infinitely complex, and, to a great extent, unknown laws. domestication, even when long continued, occasionally causes but a small amount of variability, as in the case of the goose and turkey. the slight differences, however, which characterise each individual animal and plant would in most, probably in all cases, suffice for the production of distinct races through careful and prolonged selection. we see what selection, though acting on mere individual differences, can effect when families of cattle, sheep, { } pigeons, &c., of the same race, have been separately bred during a number of years by different men without any wish on their part to modify the breed. we see the same fact in the difference between hounds bred for hunting in different districts,[ ] and in many other such cases. in order that selection should produce any result, it is manifest that the crossing of distinct races must be prevented; hence facility in pairing, as with the pigeon, is highly favourable for the work; and difficulty in pairing, as with cats, prevents the formation of distinct breeds. on nearly the same principle the cattle of the small island of jersey have been improved in their milking qualities "with a rapidity that could not have been obtained in a widely extended country like france."[ ] although free crossing is a danger on the one side which every one can see, too close interbreeding is a hidden danger on the other side. unfavourable conditions of life overrule the power of selection. our improved heavy breeds of cattle and sheep could not have been formed on mountainous pastures; nor could dray-horses have been raised on a barren and inhospitable land, such as the falkland islands, where even the light horses of la plata rapidly decrease in size. nor could the wool of sheep have been much increased in length within the tropics; yet selection has kept merino sheep nearly true under diversified and unfavourable conditions of life. the power of selection is so great, that breeds of the dog, sheep, and poultry, of the largest and least size, long and short beaked pigeons, and other breeds with opposite characters, have had their characteristic qualities augmented, though treated in every way alike, being exposed to the same climate and fed on the same food. selection, however, is either checked or favoured by the effects of use or habit. our wonderfully-improved pigs could never have been formed if they had been forced to search for their own food; the english racehorse and greyhound could not have been improved up to their present high standard of excellence without constant training. as conspicuous deviations of structure occur rarely, the improvement of each breed is generally the result, as already { } remarked, of the selection of slight individual differences. hence the closest attention, the sharpest powers of observation, and indomitable perseverance, are indispensable. it is, also, highly important that many individuals of the breed which is to be improved should be raised; for thus there will be a better chance of the appearance of variations in the right direction, and individuals varying in an unfavourable manner may be freely rejected or destroyed. but that a large number of individuals should be raised, it is necessary that the conditions of life should favour the propagation of the species. had the peacock been bred as easily as the fowl, we should probably ere this have had many distinct races. we see the importance of a large number of plants, from the fact of nursery gardeners almost always beating amateurs in the exhibition of new varieties. in it was estimated[ ] that between and pelargoniums were annually raised from seed in england, yet a decidedly improved variety is rarely obtained. at messrs. carter's grounds, in essex, where such flowers as the lobelia, nemophila, mignonette, &c., are grown by the acre for seed, "scarcely a season passes without some new kinds being raised, or some improvement affected on old kinds."[ ] at kew, as mr. beaton remarks, where many seedlings of common plants are raised, "you see new forms of laburnums, spiræas, and other shrubs."[ ] so with animals: marshall,[ ] in speaking of the sheep in one part of yorkshire, remarks, "as they belong to poor people, and are mostly in small lots, they never can be improved." lord rivers, when asked how he succeeded in always having first-rate greyhounds, answered, "i breed many, and hang many." this, as another man remarks, "was the secret of his success; and the same will be found in exhibiting fowls,--successful competitors breed largely, and keep the best."[ ] it follows from this that the capacity of breeding at an early age and at short successive intervals, as with pigeons, rabbits, &c., facilitates selection; for the result is thus soon made visible, and perseverance in the work is encouraged. it can hardly be { } accidental that the great majority of the culinary and agricultural plants which have yielded numerous races are annuals or biennials, which therefore are capable of rapid propagation and thus of improvement. sea-kale, asparagus, common and jerusalem artichokes, potatoes, and onions, alone are perennials. onions are propagated like annuals, and of the other plants just specified, none, with the exception of the potato, have yielded more than one or two varieties. no doubt fruit-trees, which cannot be propagated quickly by seed, have yielded a host of varieties, though not permanent races; but these, judging from pre-historic remains, were produced at a later and more civilised epoch than the races of culinary and agricultural plants. a species may be highly variable, but distinct races will not be formed, if from any cause selection be not applied. the carp is highly variable, but it would be extremely difficult to select slight variations in fishes whilst living in their natural state, and distinct races have not been formed;[ ] on the other hand, a closely allied species, the gold-fish, from being reared in glass or open vessels, and from having been carefully attended to by the chinese, has yielded many races. neither the bee, which has been semi-domesticated from an extremely remote period, nor the cochineal insect, which was cultivated by the aboriginal mexicans, has yielded races; and it would be impossible to match the queen-bee with any particular drone, and most difficult to match cochineal insects. silk-moths, on the other hand, have been subjected to rigorous selection, and have produced a host of races. cats, which from their nocturnal habits cannot be selected for breeding, do not, as formerly remarked, yield distinct races in the same country. the ass in england varies much in colour and size; but it is an animal of little value, bred by poor people; consequently there has been no selection, and distinct races have not been formed. we must not attribute the inferiority of our asses to climate, for in india they are of even smaller size than in europe. but when selection is brought to bear on the ass, all is changed. near cordova, as i am informed (feb. ) by mr. w. e. webb, c.e., they are carefully bred, as much as l. having been paid for a stallion ass, { } and they have been immensely improved. in kentucky, asses have been imported (for breeding mules) from spain, malta, and france; these "seldom averaged more than fourteen hands high; but the kentuckians, by great care, have raised them up to fifteen hands, and sometimes even to sixteen. the prices paid for these splendid animals, for such they really are, will prove how much they are in request. one male, of great celebrity, was sold for upwards of one thousand pounds sterling." these choice asses are sent to cattle-shows, one day being given to their exhibition.[ ] analogous facts have been observed with plants: the nutmeg-tree in the malay archipelago is highly variable, but there has been no selection, and there are no distinct races.[ ] the common mignonette (_reseda odorata_), from bearing inconspicuous flowers, valued solely for their fragrance, "remains in the same unimproved condition as when first introduced."[ ] our common forest-trees are very variable, as may be seen in every extensive nursery-ground; but as they are not valued like fruit-trees, and as they seed late in life, no selection has been applied to them; consequently, as mr. patrick matthews remarks,[ ] they have not yielded distinct races, leafing at different periods, growing to different sizes, and producing timber fit for different purposes. we have gained only some fanciful and semi-monstrous varieties, which no doubt appeared suddenly as we now see them. some botanists have argued that plants cannot have so strong a tendency to vary as is generally supposed, because many species long grown in botanic gardens, or unintentionally cultivated year after year mingled with our corn crops, have not produced distinct races; but this is accounted for by slight variations not having been selected and propagated. let a plant which is now grown in a botanic garden, or any common weed, be cultivated on a large scale, and let a sharp-sighted gardener look out for each slight variety and sow the seed, and then, if distinct races are not produced, the argument will be valid. { } the importance of selection is likewise shown by considering special characters. for instance, with most breeds of fowls the form of the comb and the colour of the plumage have been attended to, and are eminently characteristic of each race; but in dorkings, fashion has never demanded uniformity of comb or colour; and the utmost diversity in these respects prevails. rose-combs, double-combs, cup-combs, &c., and colours of all kinds, may be seen in purely-bred and closely related dorking fowls, whilst other points, such as the general form of body, and the presence of an additional toe, have been attended to, and are invariably present. it has also been ascertained that colour can be fixed in this breed, as well as in any other.[ ] * * * * * during the formation or improvement of a breed, its members will always be found to vary much in those characters to which especial attention is directed, and of which each slight improvement is eagerly sought and selected. thus with short-faced tumbler-pigeons, the shortness of the beak, shape of head and plumage,--with carriers, the length of the beak and wattle,--with fantails, the tail and carriage,--with spanish fowls, the white face and comb,--with long-eared rabbits, the length of ear, are all points which are eminently variable. so it is in every case, and the large price paid for first-rate animals proves the difficulty of breeding them up to the highest standard of excellence. this subject has been discussed by fanciers,[ ] and the greater prizes given for highly improved breeds, in comparison with those given for old breeds which are not now undergoing rapid improvement, has been fully justified. nathusius makes[ ] a similar remark when discussing the less uniform character of improved shorthorn cattle and of the english horse, in comparison, for example, with the unennobled cattle of hungary, or with the horses of the asiatic steppes. this want of uniformity in the parts which at the time are undergoing selection, chiefly depends on the strength of the principle of reversion but it likewise depends to a certain extent on the continued { } variability of the parts which have recently varied. that the same parts do continue varying in the same manner we must admit, for, if it were not so, there could be no improvement beyond an early standard of excellence, and we know that such improvement is not only possible, but is of general occurrence. as a consequence of continued variability, and more especially of reversion, all highly improved races, if neglected or not subjected to incessant selection, soon degenerate. youatt gives a curious instance of this in some cattle formerly kept in glamorganshire; but in this case the cattle were not fed with sufficient care. mr. baker, in his memoir on the horse, sums up: "it must have been observed in the preceding pages that, whenever there has been neglect, the breed has proportionally deteriorated."[ ] if a considerable number of improved cattle, sheep, or other animals of the same race, were allowed to breed freely together, with no selection, but with no change in their condition of life, there can be no doubt that after a score or hundred generations they would be very far from excellent of their kind; but, from what we see of the many common races of dogs, cattle, fowls, pigeons, &c., which without any particular care have long retained nearly the same character, we have no grounds for believing that they would altogether depart from their type. it is a general belief amongst breeders that characters of all kinds become fixed by long-continued inheritance. but i have attempted to show in the fourteenth chapter that this belief apparently resolves itself into the following proposition, namely, that all characters whatever, whether recently acquired or ancient, tend to be transmitted, but that those which have already long withstood all counteracting influences, will, as a general rule, continue to withstand them, and consequently be faithfully transmitted. _tendency in man to carry the practice of selection to an extreme point._ it is an important principle that in the process of selection man almost invariably wishes to go to an extreme point. thus, in useful qualities, there is no limit to his desire to breed certain { } horses and dogs as fleet as possible, and others as strong as possible; certain kinds of sheep for extreme fineness, and others for extreme length of wool; and he wishes to produce fruit, grain, tubers, and other useful parts of plants, as large and excellent as possible. with animals bred for amusement, the same principle is even more powerful; for fashion, as we see even in our dress, always runs to extremes. this view has been expressly admitted by fanciers. instances were given in the chapters on the pigeon, but here is another: mr. eaton, after describing a comparatively new variety, namely, the archangel, remarks, "what fanciers intend doing with this bird i am at a loss to know, whether they intend to breed it down to the tumbler's head and beak, or carry it out to the carrier's head and beak; leaving it as they found it, is not progressing." ferguson, speaking of fowls, says, "their peculiarities, whatever they may be, must necessarily be fully developed: a little peculiarity forms nought but ugliness, seeing it violates the existing laws of symmetry." so mr. brent, in discussing the merits of the sub-varieties of the belgian canary-bird, remarks, "fanciers always go to extremes; they do not admire indefinite properties."[ ] this principle, which necessarily leads to divergence of character, explains the present state of various domestic races. we can thus see how it is that race-horses and dray-horses, greyhounds and mastiffs, which are opposed to each other in every character,--how varieties so distinct as cochin-china fowls and bantams, or carrier-pigeons with very long beaks, and tumblers with excessively short beaks, have been derived from the same stock. as each breed is slowly improved, the inferior varieties are first neglected and finally lost. in a few cases, by the aid of old records, or from intermediate varieties still existing in countries where other fashions have prevailed, we are enabled partially to trace the graduated changes through which certain breeds have passed. selection, whether methodical or unconscious, always tending towards an extreme point, together with the neglect and slow extinction of the intermediate and less-valued forms, is the key which unlocks the mystery how man has produced such wonderful results. { } in a few instances selection, guided by utility for a single purpose, has led to convergence of character. all the improved and different races of the pig, as nathusius has well shown,[ ] closely approach each other in character, in their shortened legs and muzzles, their almost hairless, large, rounded bodies, and small tusks. we see some degree of convergence in the similar outline of the body in well-bred cattle belonging to distinct races.[ ] i know of no other such cases. continued divergence of character depends on, and is indeed a clear proof, as previously remarked, of the same parts continuing to vary in the same direction. the tendency to mere general variability or plasticity of organisation can certainly be inherited, even from one parent, as has been shown by gärtner and kölreuter, in the production of varying hybrids from two species, of which one alone was variable. it is in itself probable that, when an organ has varied in any manner, it will again vary in the same manner, if the conditions which first caused the being to vary remain, as far as can be judged, the same. this is either tacitly or expressly admitted by all horticulturists: if a gardener observes one or two additional petals in a flower, he feels confident that in a few generations he will be able to raise a double flower, crowded with petals. some of the seedlings from the weeping moccas oak were so prostrate that they only crawled along the ground. a seedling from the fastigate or upright irish yew is described as differing greatly from the parent-form "by the exaggeration of the fastigate habit of its branches."[ ] mr. sheriff, who has been more successful than any other man in raising new kinds of wheat, remarks, "a good variety may safely be regarded as the forerunner of a better one."[ ] a great rose-grower, mr. rivers, has made the same remark with respect to roses. sageret,[ ] who had large experience, in speaking of the future progress of fruit-trees, observes that the most important principle is "that the more plants have departed from their original type, the more they tend to depart from it." there is apparently much truth in this { } remark; for we can in no other way understand the surprising amount of difference between varieties in the parts or qualities which are valued, whilst other parts retain nearly their original character. the foregoing discussion naturally leads to the question, what is the limit to the possible amount of variation in any part or quality, and, consequently, is there any limit to what selection can effect? will a race-horse ever be reared fleeter than eclipse? can our prize-cattle and sheep be still further improved? will a gooseberry ever weigh more than that produced by "london" in ? will the beet-root in france yield a greater percentage of sugar? will future varieties of wheat and other grain produce heavier crops than our present varieties? these questions cannot be positively answered; but it is certain that we ought to be cautious in answering by a negative. in some lines of variation the limit has probably been reached. youatt believes that the reduction of bone in some of our sheep has already been carried so far that it entails great delicacy of constitution.[ ] but seeing the great improvement within recent times in our cattle and sheep, and especially in our pigs; seeing the wonderful increase in weight in our poultry of all kinds during the last few years; he would be a bold man who would assert that perfection has been reached. eclipse perhaps may never be beaten until all our race-horses have been rendered swifter, through the selection of the best horses during many generations; and then the old eclipse may possibly be eclipsed; but, as mr. wallace has remarked, there must be an ultimate limit to the fleetness of every animal, whether under nature or domestication; and with the horse this limit has perhaps been reached. until our fields are better manured, it may be impossible for a new variety of wheat to yield a heavier crop. but in many cases those who are best qualified to judge do not believe that the extreme point has as yet been reached even with respect to characters which have already been carried to a high standard of perfection. for instance, the short-faced tumbler-pigeon has been greatly modified; nevertheless, according to mr. eaton,[ ] "the field is still as open for fresh competitors as it was one hundred years ago." over and over again it has been said that { } perfection had been attained with our flowers, but a higher standard has soon been reached. hardly any fruit has been more improved than the strawberry, yet a great authority remarks,[ ] "it must not be concealed that we are far from the extreme limits at which we may arrive." time is an important element in the formation of our domestic races, as it permits innumerable individuals to be born, and these when exposed to diversified conditions are rendered variable. methodical selection has been occasionally practised from an ancient period to the present day, even by semi-civilised people, and during former times will have produced some effect. unconscious selection will have been still more effective; for during a lengthened period the more valuable individual animals will occasionally have been saved, and the less valuable neglected. in the course, also, of time, different varieties, especially in the less civilised countries, will have been more or less modified through natural selection. it is generally believed, though on this head we have little or no evidence, that new characters in time become fixed; and after having long remained fixed it seems possible that under new conditions they might again be rendered variable. how great the lapse of time has been since man first domesticated animals and cultivated plants, we begin dimly to see. when the lake-buildings of switzerland were inhabited during the neolithic period, several animals were already domesticated and various plants cultivated. if we may judge from what we now see of the habits of savages, it is probable that the men of the earlier stone period--when many great quadrupeds were living which are now extinct, and when the face of the country was widely different from what it now is--possessed at least some few domesticated animals, although their remains have not as yet been discovered. if the science of language can be trusted, the art of ploughing and sowing the land was followed, and the chief animals had been already domesticated, at an epoch so immensely remote, that the sanskrit, greek, latin, gothic, celtic, and sclavonic languages had not as yet diverged from their common parent-tongue.[ ] { } it is scarcely possible to overrate the effects of selection occasionally carried on in various ways and places during thousands of generations. all that we know, and, in a still stronger degree, all that we do not know,[ ] of the history of the great majority of our breeds, even of our more modern breeds, agrees with the view that their production, through the action of unconscious and methodical selection, has been almost insensibly slow. when a man attends rather more closely than is usual to the breeding of his animals, he is almost sure to improve them to a slight extent. they are in consequence valued in his immediate neighbourhood, and are bred by others; and their characteristic features, whatever these may be, will then slowly but steadily be increased, sometimes by methodical and almost always by unconscious selection. at last a strain, deserving to be called a sub-variety, becomes a little more widely known, receives a local name, and spreads. the spreading will have been extremely slow during ancient and less civilised times, but now is rapid. by the time that the new breed had assumed a somewhat distinct character, its history, hardly noticed at the time, will have been completely forgotten; for, as low remarks,[ ] "we know how quickly the memory of such events is effaced." as soon as a new breed is thus formed, it is liable through the same process to break up into new strains and sub-varieties. for different varieties are suited for, and are valued under, different circumstances. fashion changes, but, should a fashion last for even a moderate length of time, so strong is the principle of inheritance, that some effect will probably be impressed on the breed. thus varieties go on increasing in number, and history shows us how wonderfully they have increased since the earliest records.[ ] as each new variety is produced, the earlier, intermediate, and less valuable forms will be neglected, and perish. when a breed, from not being valued, is kept in small numbers, its extinction almost inevitably follows sooner or later, either from accidental causes of destruction or from close interbreeding; and this is an event which, in the case of well-marked breeds, excites attention. the birth or production of a new domestic race is so slow a process that it { } escapes notice; its death or destruction is comparatively sudden, is often recorded, and when too late sometimes regretted. several authors have drawn a wide distinction between artificial and natural races. the latter are more uniform in character, possessing in a high degree the character of natural species, and are of ancient origin. they are generally found in less civilised countries, and have probably been largely modified by natural selection, and only to a small extent by man's unconscious and methodical selection. they have, also, during a long period, been directly acted on by the physical conditions of the countries which they inhabit. the so-called artificial races, on the other hand, are not so uniform in character; some have a semi-monstrous character, such as "the wry-legged terriers so useful in rabbit-shooting,"[ ] turnspit dogs, ancon sheep, niata oxen, polish fowls, fantail-pigeons, &c.; their characteristic features have generally been acquired suddenly, though subsequently increased in many cases by careful selection. other races, which certainly must be called artificial, for they have been largely modified by methodical selection and by crossing, as the english race-horse, terrier-dogs, the english game-cock, antwerp carrier-pigeons, &c., nevertheless cannot be said to have an unnatural appearance; and no distinct line, as it seems to me, can be drawn between natural and artificial races. it is not surprising that domestic races should generally present a different aspect from natural species. man selects and propagates modifications solely for his own use or fancy, and not for the creature's own good. his attention is struck by strongly marked modifications, which have appeared suddenly, due to some great disturbing cause in the organisation. he attends almost exclusively to external characters; and when he succeeds in modifying internal organs,--when for instance he reduces the bones and offal, or loads the viscera with fat, or gives early maturity, &c.,--the chances are strong that he will at the same time weaken the constitution. on the other hand, when an animal has to struggle throughout its life with many competitors and enemies, under circumstances inconceivably complex and liable to change, modifications of the most varied nature--in the internal organs as well as in external characters, in the { } functions and mutual relations of parts--will be rigorously tested, preserved, or rejected. natural selection often checks man's comparatively feeble and capricious attempts at improvement; and if this were not so, the result of his work, and of nature's work, would be even still more different. nevertheless, we must not overrate the amount of difference between natural species and domestic races; the most experienced naturalists have often disputed whether the latter are descended from one or from several aboriginal stocks, and this clearly shows that there is no palpable difference between species and races. domestic races propagate their kind far more truly, and endure for much longer periods, than most naturalists are willing to admit. breeders feel no doubt on this head; ask a man who has long reared shorthorn or hereford cattle, leicester or southdown sheep, spanish or game poultry, tumbler or carrier-pigeons, whether these races may not have been derived from common progenitors, and he will probably laugh you to scorn. the breeder admits that he may hope to produce sheep with finer or longer wool and with better carcases, or handsomer fowls, or carrier-pigeons with beaks just perceptibly longer to the practised eye, and thus be successful at an exhibition. thus far he will go, but no farther. he does not reflect on what follows from adding up during a long course of time many, slight, successive modifications; nor does he reflect on the former existence of numerous varieties, connecting the links in each divergent line of descent. he concludes, as was shown in the earlier chapters, that all the chief breeds to which he has long attended are aboriginal productions. the systematic naturalist, on the other hand, who generally knows nothing of the art of breeding, who does not pretend to know how and when the several domestic races were formed, who cannot have seen the intermediate gradations, for they do not now exist, nevertheless feels no doubt that these races are sprung from a single source. but ask him whether the closely allied natural species which he has studied may not have descended from a common progenitor, and he in his turn will perhaps reject the notion with scorn. thus the naturalist and breeder may mutually learn a useful lesson from each other. * * * * * _summary on selection by man._--there can be no doubt that { } methodical selection has effected and will effect wonderful results. it was occasionally practised in ancient times, and is still practised by semi-civilised people. characters of the highest importance, and others of trifling value, have been attended to, and modified. i need not here repeat what has been so often said on the part which unconscious selection has played: we see its power in the difference between flocks which have been separately bred, and in the slow changes, as circumstances have slowly changed, which many animals have undergone in the same country, or when transported into a foreign land. we see the combined effects of methodical and unconscious selection in the great amount of difference between varieties in those parts or qualities which are valued by man, in comparison with those which are not valued, and consequently have not been attended to. natural selection often determines man's power of selection. we sometimes err in imagining that characters, which are considered as unimportant by the systematic naturalist, could not be affected by the struggle for existence, and therefore be acted on by natural selection; but striking cases have been given, showing how great an error this is. the possibility of selection coming into action rests on variability; and this is mainly caused, as we shall hereafter see, by changes in the conditions of life. selection is sometimes rendered difficult, or even impossible, by the conditions being opposed to the desired character or quality. it is sometimes checked by the lessened fertility and weakened constitution which follow from long-continued close interbreeding. that methodical selection may be successful, the closest attention and discernment, combined with unwearied patience, are absolutely necessary; and these same qualities, though not indispensable, are highly serviceable in the case of unconscious selection. it is almost necessary that a large number of individuals should be reared; for thus there will be a fair chance of variations of the desired nature arising, and every individual with the slightest blemish or in any degree inferior may be freely rejected. hence length of time is an important element of success. thus, also, propagation at an early age and at short intervals favours the work. facility in pairing animals, or their inhabiting a confined area, is advantageous as a check to free crossing. whenever and { } wherever selection is not practised, distinct races are not formed. when any one part of the body or quality is not attended to, it remains either unchanged or varies in a fluctuating manner, whilst at the same time other parts and other qualities may become permanently and greatly modified. but from the tendency to reversion and to continued variability, those parts or organs which are now undergoing rapid improvement through selection, are likewise found to vary much. consequently highly-bred animals, when neglected, soon degenerate; but we have no reason to believe that the effects of long-continued selection would, if the conditions of life remained the same, be soon and completely lost. man always tends to go to an extreme point in the selection, whether methodical or unconscious, of all useful and pleasing qualities. this is an important principle, as it leads to continued divergence, and in some rare cases to convergence of character. the possibility of continued divergence rests on the tendency in each part or organ to go on varying in the same manner in which it has already varied; and that this occurs, is proved by the steady and gradual improvement of many animals and plants during lengthened periods. the principle of divergence of character, combined with the neglect and final extinction of all previous, less-valued, and intermediate varieties, explains the amount of difference and the distinctness of our several races. although we may have reached the utmost limit to which certain characters can be modified, yet we are far from having reached, as we have good reason to believe, the limit in the majority of cases. finally, from the difference between selection as carried on by man and by nature, we can understand how it is that domestic races often, though by no means always, differ in general aspect from closely allied natural species. throughout this chapter and elsewhere i have spoken of selection as the paramount power, yet its action absolutely depends on what we in our ignorance call spontaneous or accidental variability. let an architect be compelled to build an edifice with uncut stones, fallen from a precipice. the shape of each fragment may be called accidental; yet the shape of each has been determined by the force of gravity, the nature { } of the rock, and the slope of the precipice,--events and circumstances, all of which depend on natural laws; but there is no relation between these laws and the purpose for which each fragment is used by the builder. in the same manner the variations of each creature are determined by fixed and immutable laws; but these bear no relation to the living structure which is slowly built up through the power of selection, whether this be natural or artificial selection. if our architect succeeded in rearing a noble edifice, using the rough wedge-shaped fragments for the arches, the longer stones for the lintels, and so forth, we should admire his skill even in a higher degree than if he had used stones shaped for the purpose. so it is with selection, whether applied by man or by nature; for though variability is indispensably necessary, yet, when we look at some highly complex and excellently adapted organism, variability sinks to a quite subordinate position in importance in comparison with selection, in the same manner as the shape of each fragment used by our supposed architect is unimportant in comparison with his skill. * * * * * { } chapter xxii. causes of variability. variability does not necessarily accompany reproduction--causes assigned by various authors--individual differences--variability of every kind due to changed conditions of life--on the nature of such changes--climate, food, excess of nutriment--slight changes sufficient--effects of grafting on the variability of seedling-trees--domestic productions become habituated to changed conditions--on the accumulative action of changed conditions--close interbreeding and the imagination of the mother supposed to cause variability--crossing as a cause of the appearance of new characters--variability from the commingling of characters and from reversion--on the manner and period of action of the causes which either directly, or indirectly through the reproductive system, induce variability. we will now consider, as far as we can, the causes of the almost universal variability of our domesticated productions. the subject is an obscure one; but it may be useful to probe our ignorance. some authors, for instance dr. prosper lucas, look at variability as a necessary contingent on reproduction, and as much an aboriginal law, as growth or inheritance. others have of late encouraged, perhaps unintentionally, this view by speaking of inheritance and variability as equal and antagonistic principles. pallas maintained, and he has had some followers, that variability depends exclusively on the crossing of primordially distinct forms. other authors attribute the tendency to variability to an excess of food, and with animals to an excess relatively to the amount of exercise taken, or again to the effects of a more genial climate. that these causes are all effective is highly probable. but we must, i think, take a broader view, and conclude that organic beings, when subjected during several generations to any change whatever in their conditions, tend to vary; the kind of variation which ensues depending in a far higher degree on the nature or constitution of the being, than on the nature of the changed conditions. { } those authors who believe that it is a law of nature that each individual should differ in some slight degree from every other, may maintain, apparently with truth, that this is the fact, not only with all domesticated animals and cultivated plants, but likewise with all organic beings in a state of nature. the laplander by long practice knows and gives a name to each reindeer, though, as linnæus remarks, "to distinguish one from another among such multitudes was beyond my comprehension, for they were like ants on an ant-hill." in germany shepherds have won wagers by recognising each sheep in a flock of a hundred, which they had never seen until the previous fortnight. this power of discrimination, however, is as nothing compared to that which some florists have acquired. verlot mentions a gardener who could distinguish kinds of camellia, when not in flower; and it has been positively asserted that the famous old dutch florist voorhelm, who kept above varieties of the hyacinth, was hardly ever deceived in knowing each variety by the bulb alone. hence we must conclude that the bulbs of the hyacinth and the branches and leaves of the camellia, though appearing to an unpractised eye absolutely undistinguishable, yet really differ.[ ] as linnæus has compared the reindeer in number to ants, i may add that each ant knows its fellow of the same community. several times i carried ants of the same species (_formica rufa_) from one ant-hill to another, inhabited apparently by tens of thousands of ants; but the strangers were instantly detected and killed. i then put some ants taken from a very large nest into a bottle strongly perfumed with assafoetida, and after an interval of twenty-four hours returned them to their home; they were at first threatened by their fellows, but were soon recognised and allowed to pass. hence each ant certainly recognises, independently of odour, its fellow; and if all the ants of the same community have not some countersign or watchword, they must present to each other's senses some distinguishable character. { } the dissimilarity of brothers or sisters of the same family, and of seedlings from the same capsule, may be in part accounted for by the unequal blending of the characters of the two parents, and by the more or less complete recovery through reversion of ancestral characters on either side; but we thus only push the difficulty further back in time, for what made the parents or their progenitors different? hence the belief[ ] that an innate tendency to vary exists, independently of external conditions, seems at first sight probable. but even the seeds nurtured in the same capsule are not subjected to absolutely uniform conditions, as they draw their nourishment from different points; and we shall see in a future chapter that this difference sometimes suffices greatly to affect the character of the future plant. the less close similarity of the successive children of the same family in comparison with human twins, which often resemble each other in external appearance, mental disposition, and constitution, in so extraordinary a manner, apparently proves that the state of the parents at the exact period of conception, or the nature of the subsequent embryonic development, has a direct and powerful influence on the character of the offspring. nevertheless, when we reflect on the { } individual differences between organic beings in a state of nature, as shown by every wild animal knowing its mate; and when we reflect on the infinite diversity of the many varieties of our domesticated productions, we may well be inclined to exclaim, though falsely as i believe, that variability must be looked at as an ultimate fact, necessarily contingent on reproduction. those authors who adopt this latter view would probably deny that each separate variation has its own proper exciting cause. although we can seldom trace the precise relation between cause and effect, yet the considerations presently to be given lead to the conclusion that each modification must have its own distinct cause. when we hear of an infant born, for instance, with a crooked finger, a misplaced tooth, or other slight deviation of structure, it is difficult to bring the conviction home to the mind that such abnormal cases are the result of fixed laws, and not of what we blindly call accident. under this point of view the following case, which has been carefully examined and communicated to me by dr. william ogle, is highly instructive. two girls, born as twins, and in all respects extremely alike, had their little fingers on both hands crooked; and in both children the second bicuspid tooth in the upper jaw, of the second dentition, was misplaced; for these teeth, instead of standing in a line with the others, grew from the roof of the mouth behind the first bicuspids. neither the parents nor any other member of the family had exhibited any similar peculiarity. now, as both these children were affected in exactly the same manner by both deviations of structure, the idea of accident is at once excluded; and we are compelled to admit that there must have existed some precise and sufficient cause which, if it had occurred a hundred times, would have affected a hundred children. we will now consider the general arguments, which appear to me to have great weight, in favour of the view that variations of all kinds and degrees are directly or indirectly caused by the conditions of life to which each being, and more especially its ancestors, have been exposed. no one doubts that domesticated productions are more variable than organic beings which have never been removed from their { } natural conditions. monstrosities graduate so insensibly into mere variations that it is impossible to separate them; and all those who have studied monstrosities believe that they are far commoner with domesticated than with wild animals and plants;[ ] and in the case of plants, monstrosities would be equally noticeable in the natural as in the cultivated state. under nature, the individuals of the same species are exposed to nearly uniform conditions, for they are rigorously kept to their proper places by a host of competing animals and plants; they have, also, long been habituated to their conditions of life; but it cannot be said that they are subject to quite uniform conditions, and they are liable to a certain amount of variation. the circumstances under which our domestic productions are reared are widely different: they are protected from competition; they have not only been removed from their natural conditions and often from their native land, but they are frequently carried from district to district, where they are treated differently, so that they never remain during a considerable length of time exposed to closely similar conditions. in conformity with this, all our domesticated productions, with the rarest exceptions, vary far more than natural species. the hive-bee, which feeds itself and follows in most respects its natural habits of life, is the least variable of all domesticated animals, and probably the goose is the next least variable; but even the goose varies more than almost any wild bird, so that it cannot be affiliated with perfect certainty to any natural species. hardly a single plant can be named, which has long been cultivated and propagated by seed, that is not highly variable; common rye (_secale cereale_) has afforded fewer and less marked varieties than almost any other cultivated plant;[ ] but it may be doubted whether the variations of this, the least valuable of all our cereals, have been closely observed. bud-variation, which was fully discussed in a former chapter, shows us that variability may be quite independent of seminal reproduction, and likewise of reversion to long-lost ancestral characters. no one will maintain that the sudden appearance { } of a moss-rose on a provence-rose is a return to a former state, for mossiness of the calyx has been observed in no natural species; the same argument is applicable to variegated and laciniated leaves; nor can the appearance of nectarines on peach-trees be accounted for with any probability on the principle of reversion. but bud-variations more immediately concern us, as they occur far more frequently on plants which have been highly cultivated during a length of time, than on other and less highly cultivated plants; and very few well-marked instances have been observed with plants growing under strictly natural conditions. i have given one instance of an ash-tree growing in a gentleman's pleasure-grounds; and occasionally there may be seen, on beech and other trees, twigs leafing at a different period from the other branches. but our forest trees in england can hardly be considered as living under strictly natural conditions; the seedlings are raised and protected in nursery-grounds, and must often be transplanted into places where wild trees of the kind would not naturally grow. it would be esteemed a prodigy if a dog-rose growing in a hedge produced by bud-variation a moss-rose, or a wild bullace or wild cherry-tree yielded a branch bearing fruit of a different shape and colour from the ordinary fruit. the prodigy would be enhanced if these varying branches were found capable of propagation, not only by grafts, but sometimes by seed; yet analogous cases have occurred with many of our highly cultivated trees and herbs. these several considerations alone render it probable that variability of every kind is directly or indirectly caused by changed conditions of life. or, to put the case under another point of view, if it were possible to expose all the individuals of a species during many generations to absolutely uniform conditions of life, there would be no variability. _on the nature of the changes in the conditions of life which induce variability._ from a remote period to the present day, under climates and circumstances as different as it is possible to conceive, organic beings of all kinds, when domesticated or cultivated, have { } varied. we see this with the many domestic races of quadrupeds and birds belonging to different orders, with gold-fish and silkworms, with plants of many kinds, raised in various quarters of the world. in the deserts of northern africa the date-palm has yielded thirty-eight varieties; in the fertile plains of india it is notorious how many varieties of rice and of a host of other plants exist; in a single polynesian island, twenty-four varieties of the bread-fruit, the same number of the banana, and twenty-two varieties of the arum, are cultivated by the natives; the mulberry-tree in india and europe has yielded many varieties serving as food for the silkworm; and in china sixty-three varieties of the bamboo are used for various domestic purposes.[ ] these facts alone, and innumerable others could be added, indicate that a change of almost any kind in the conditions of life suffices to cause variability--different changes acting on different organisms. andrew knight[ ] attributed the variation of both animals and plants to a more abundant supply of nourishment, or to a more favourable climate, than that natural to the species. a more genial climate, however, is far from necessary; the kidney-bean, which is often injured by our spring frosts, and peaches, which require the protection of a wall, have varied much in england, as has the orange-tree in northern italy, where it is barely able to exist.[ ] nor can we overlook the fact, though not immediately connected with our present subject, that the plants and shells of the arctic regions are eminently variable.[ ] moreover, it does not appear that a change of climate, whether more or less genial, is one of the most potent causes of variability; for in regard to plants alph. de candolle, in his 'géographie { } botanique,' repeatedly shows that the native country of a plant, where in most cases it has been longest cultivated, is that where it has yielded the greatest number of varieties. it is doubtful whether a change in the nature of the food is a potent cause of variability. scarcely any domesticated animal has varied more than the pigeon or the fowl, but their food, especially that of highly-bred pigeons, is generally the same. nor can our cattle and sheep have been subjected to any great change in this respect. but in all these cases the food probably is much less varied in kind than that which was consumed by the species in its natural state.[ ] of all the causes which induce variability, excess of food, whether or not changed in nature, is probably the most powerful. this view was held with regard to plants by andrew knight, and is now held by schleiden, more especially in reference to the inorganic elements of the food.[ ] in order to give a plant more food it suffices in most cases to grow it separately, and thus prevent other plants robbing its roots. it is surprising, as i have often seen, how vigorously our common wild plants flourish when planted by themselves, though not in highly manured land. growing plants separately is, in fact, the first step in cultivation. we see the converse of the belief that excess of food induces variability in the following statement by a great raiser of seeds of all kinds.[ ] "it is a rule invariably with us, when we desire to keep a true stock of any one kind of seed, to grow it on poor land without dung; but when we grow for quantity, we act contrary, and sometimes have dearly to repent of it." in the case of animals the want of a proper amount of exercise, as bechstein has remarked, has perhaps played, independently of the direct effects of the disuse of any particular organ, an important part in causing variability. we can see in a vague manner that, when the organised and nutrient fluids of the body are not used during growth, or by the wear and tear of the tissues, { } they will be in excess; and as growth, nutrition, and reproduction are intimately allied processes, this superfluity might disturb the due and proper action of the reproductive organs, and consequently affect the character of the future offspring. but it may be argued that neither an excess of food nor a superfluity in the organised fluids of the body necessarily induces variability. the goose and the turkey have been well fed for many generations, yet have varied very little. our fruit-trees and culinary plants, which are so variable, have been cultivated from an ancient period, and, though they probably still receive more nutriment than in their natural state, yet they must have received during many generations nearly the same amount; and it might be thought that they would have become habituated to the excess. nevertheless, on the whole, knight's view, that excess of food is one of the most potent causes of variability, appears, as far as i can judge, probable. whether or not our various cultivated plants have received nutriment in excess, all have been exposed to changes of various kinds. fruit-trees are grafted on different stocks, and grown in various soils. the seeds of culinary and agricultural plants are carried from place to place; and during the last century the rotation of our crops and the manures used have been greatly changed. slight changes of treatment often suffice to induce variability. the simple fact of almost all our cultivated plants and domesticated animals having varied in all places and at all times, leads to this conclusion. seeds taken from common english forest-trees, grown under their native climate, not highly manured or otherwise artificially treated, yield seedlings which vary much, as may be seen in every extensive seed-bed. i have shown in a former chapter what a number of well marked and singular varieties the thorn (_cratægus oxyacantha_) has produced; yet this tree has been subjected to hardly any cultivation. in staffordshire i carefully examined a large number of two british plants, namely, _geranium phæum_ and _pyrenaicum_, which have never been highly cultivated. these plants had spread spontaneously by seed from a common garden into an open plantation; and the seedlings varied in almost every single character, both in their flowers and foliage, to a degree which { } i have never seen exceeded; yet they could not have been exposed to any great change in their conditions. with respect to animals, azara has remarked with much surprise,[ ] that, whilst the feral horses on the pampas are always of one of three colours, and the cattle always of a uniform colour, yet these animals, when bred on the unenclosed estancias, though kept in a state which can hardly be called domesticated, and apparently exposed to almost identically the same conditions as when they are feral, nevertheless display a great diversity of colour. so again in india several species of fresh-water fish are only so far treated artificially, that they are reared in great tanks; but this small change is sufficient to induce much variability.[ ] some facts on the effects of grafting, in regard to the variability of trees, deserve attention. cabanis asserts that when certain pears are grafted on the quince, their seeds yield more varieties than do the seeds of the same variety of pear when grafted on the wild pear.[ ] but as the pear and quince are distinct species, though so closely related that the one can be readily grafted and succeeds admirably on the other, the fact of variability being thus caused is not surprising; we are, however, here enabled to see the cause, namely, the different nature of the stock with its roots and the rest of the tree. several north american varieties of the plum and peach are well known to reproduce themselves truly by seed; but downing asserts,[ ] "that when a graft is taken from one of these trees and placed upon another stock, this grafted tree is found to lose its singular property of producing the same variety by seed, and becomes like all other worked trees;"--that is, its seedlings become highly variable. another case is worth giving: the lalande variety of the walnut-tree leafs between april th and may th, and its seedlings invariably inherit the same habit; whilst several other varieties of the walnut leaf in june. now, if seedlings are raised from the may-leafing lalande variety, grafted on another may-leafing variety, though both stock and graft have the same early habit of leafing, yet the seedlings leaf at various times, { } even as late as the th of june.[ ] such facts as these are well fitted to show, on what obscure and slight causes variability rests. i may here just allude to the appearance of new and valuable varieties of fruit-trees and of wheat in woods and waste places, which at first sight seems a most anomalous circumstance. in france a considerable number of the best pears have been discovered in woods; and this has occurred so frequently, that poiteau asserts that "improved varieties of our cultivated fruits rarely originate with nurserymen."[ ] in england, on the other hand, no instance of a good pear having been found wild has been recorded; and mr. rivers informs me that he knows of only one instance with apples, namely, the bess poole, which was discovered in a wood in nottinghamshire. this difference between the two countries may be in part accounted for by the more favourable climate of france, but chiefly from the great number of seedlings which spring up there in the woods. i infer that this is the case from a remark made by a french gardener,[ ] who regards it as a national calamity that such a number of pear-trees are periodically cut down for firewood, before they have borne fruit. the new varieties which thus spring up in the woods, though they cannot have received any excess of nutriment, will have been exposed to abruptly changed conditions, but whether this is the cause of their production is very doubtful. these varieties, however, are probably all descended[ ] from old cultivated kinds growing in adjoining orchards,--a circumstance which will account for their variability; and out of a vast number of varying trees there will always be a good chance of the appearance of a valuable kind. in north america, where fruit-trees frequently spring up in waste places, the washington pear was found in a hedge, and the emperor peach in a wood.[ ] with respect to wheat, some writers have spoken[ ] as if it were an ordinary event for new varieties to be found in waste places; the fenton wheat was certainly discovered growing on a pile of basaltic detritus in a quarry, but in such a situation the plant would probably receive a sufficient amount { } of nutriment. the chidham wheat was raised from an ear found _on_ a hedge; and hunter's wheat was discovered _by_ the roadside in scotland, but it is not said that this latter variety grew where it was found.[ ] whether our domestic productions would ever become so completely habituated to the conditions under which they now live, as to cease varying, we have no sufficient means for judging. but, in fact, our domestic productions are never exposed for a great length of time to uniform conditions, and it is certain that our most anciently cultivated plants, as well as animals, still go on varying, for all have recently undergone marked improvement. in some few cases, however, plants have become habituated to new conditions. thus metzger, who cultivated in germany during many years numerous varieties of wheat, brought from different countries,[ ] states that some kinds were at first extremely variable, but gradually, in one instance after an interval of twenty-five years, became constant; and it does not appear that this resulted from the selection of the more constant forms. * * * * * _on the accumulative action of changed conditions of life._--we have good grounds for believing that the influence of changed conditions accumulates, so that no effect is produced on a species until it has been exposed during several generations to continued cultivation or domestication. universal experience shows us that when new flowers are first introduced into our gardens they do not vary; but ultimately all, with the rarest exceptions, vary to a greater or less extent. in a few cases the requisite number of generations, as well as the successive steps in the progress of variation, have been recorded, as in the often-quoted instance of the dahlia.[ ] after several years' culture the zinnia has only lately ( ) begun to vary in any great degree. "in the first seven or eight years of high cultivation the swan river daisy (_brachycome iberidifolia_) kept to its original colour; it then varied into lilac and purple and other minor shades."[ ] analogous facts have been recorded with the scotch rose. in discussing the variability of plants several experienced horticulturists have spoken to the { } same general effect. mr. salter[ ] remarks, "every one knows that the chief difficulty is in breaking through the original form and colour of the species, and every one will be on the look-out for any natural sport, either from seed or branch; that being once obtained, however trifling the change may be, the result depends upon himself." m. de jonghe, who has had so much success in raising new varieties of pears and strawberries,[ ] remarks with respect to the former, "there is another principle, namely, that the more a type has entered into a state of variation, the greater is its tendency to continue doing so; and the more it has varied from the original type, the more it is disposed to vary still farther." we have, indeed, already discussed this latter point when treating of the power which man possesses, through selection, of continually augmenting in the same direction each modification; for this power depends on continued variability of the same general kind. the most celebrated horticulturist in france, namely, vilmorin,[ ] even maintains that, when any particular variation is desired, the first step is to get the plant to vary in any manner whatever, and to go on selecting the most variable individuals, even though they vary in the wrong direction; for the fixed character of the species being once broken, the desired variation will sooner or later appear. as nearly all our animals were domesticated at an extremely remote epoch, we cannot, of course, say whether they varied quickly or slowly when first subjected to new conditions. but dr. bachman[ ] states that he has seen turkeys raised from the eggs of the wild species lose their metallic tints and become spotted with white in the third generation. mr. yarrell many years ago informed me that the wild ducks bred on the ponds in st. james's park, which had never been crossed, as it is believed, with domestic ducks, lost their true plumage after a few generations. an excellent observer,[ ] who has often reared birds from the eggs of the wild duck, and who took precautions { } that there should be no crossing with domestic breeds, has given, as previously stated, full details on the changes which they gradually undergo. he found that he could not breed these wild ducks true for more than five or six generations, "as they then proved so much less beautiful. the white collar round the neck of the mallard became much broader and more irregular, and white feathers appeared in the ducklings' wings." they increased also in size of body; their legs became less fine, and they lost their elegant carriage. fresh eggs were then procured from wild birds; but again the same result followed. in these cases of the duck and turkey we see that animals, like plants, do not depart from their primitive type until they have been subjected during several generations to domestication. on the other hand, mr. yarrell informed me that the australian dingos, bred in the zoological gardens, almost invariably produced in the first generation puppies marked with white and other colours; but these introduced dingos had probably been procured from the natives, who keep them in a semi-domesticated state. it is certainly a remarkable fact that changed conditions should at first produce, as far as we can see, absolutely no effect; but that they should subsequently cause the character of the species to change. in the chapter on pangenesis i shall attempt to throw a little light on this fact. * * * * * returning now to the causes which are supposed to induce variability. some authors[ ] believe that close interbreeding gives this tendency, and leads to the production of monstrosities. in the seventeenth chapter some few facts were advanced, showing that monstrosities are, as it appears, occasionally thus caused; and there can be no doubt that close interbreeding induces lessened fertility and a weakened constitution; hence it may lead to variability: but i have not sufficient evidence on this head. on the other hand, close interbreeding, if not carried to an injurious extreme, far from causing variability, tends to fix the character of each breed. it was formerly a common belief, still held by some persons, that the imagination of the mother affects the child in { } the womb.[ ] this view is evidently not applicable to the lower animals, which lay unimpregnated eggs, or to plants. dr. william hunter, in the last century, told my father that during many years every woman in a large london lying-in hospital was asked before her confinement whether anything had specially affected her mind, and the answer was written down; and it so happened that in no one instance could a coincidence be detected between the woman's answer and any abnormal structure; but when she knew the nature of the structure, she frequently suggested some fresh cause. the belief in the power of the mother's imagination may perhaps have arisen from the children of a second marriage resembling the previous father, as certainly sometimes occurs, in accordance with the facts given in the eleventh chapter. * * * * * _crossing as a cause of variability._--in an early part of this chapter it was stated that pallas[ ] and a few other naturalists maintain that variability is wholly due to crossing. if this means that new characters never spontaneously appear in our domestic races, but that they are all directly derived from certain aboriginal species, the doctrine is little less than absurd; for it implies that animals like italian greyhounds, pug-dogs, bull-dogs, pouter and fantail pigeons, &c., were able to exist in a state of nature. but the doctrine may mean something widely different, namely, that the crossing of distinct species is the sole cause of the first appearance of new characters, and that without this aid man could not have formed his various breeds. as, however, new characters have appeared in certain cases by bud-variation, we may conclude with certainty that crossing is not necessary for variability. it is, moreover, almost certain that the breeds of various animals, such as of the rabbit, pigeon, duck, &c., and the varieties of several plants, are the modified descendants of a single wild species. nevertheless, it is probable that the crossing of two forms, when one or both have long been domesticated or cultivated, adds to the variability of the offspring, independently of the commingling of the characters derived from the two parent-forms; and this implies { } that new characters actually arise. but we must not forget the facts advanced in the thirteenth chapter, which clearly prove that the act of crossing often leads to the reappearance or reversion of long-lost characters; and in most cases it would be impossible to distinguish between the reappearance of ancient characters and the first appearance of new characters. practically, whether new or old, they would be new to the breed in which they reappeared. gärtner declares,[ ] and his experience is of the highest value on such a point, that, when he crossed native plants which had not been cultivated, he never once saw in the offspring any new character; but that from the odd manner in which the characters derived from the parents were combined, they sometimes appeared as if new. when, on the other hand, he crossed cultivated plants, he admits that new characters occasionally appeared, but he is strongly inclined to attribute their appearance to ordinary variability, not in any way to the cross. an opposite conclusion, however, appears to me the more probable. according to kölreuter, hybrids in the genus mirabilis vary almost infinitely, and he describes new and singular characters in the form of the seeds, in the colour of the anthers, in the cotyledons being of immense size, in new and highly peculiar odours, in the flowers expanding early in the season, and in their closing at night. with respect to one lot of these hybrids, he remarks that they presented characters exactly the reverse of what might have been expected from their parentage.[ ] prof. lecoq[ ] speaks strongly to the same effect in regard to this same genus, and asserts that many of the hybrids from _mirabilis jalapa_ and _multiflora_ might easily be mistaken for distinct species, and adds that they differed in a greater degree, than the other species of the genus, from _m. jalapa_. herbert, also, has described[ ] the offspring from a hybrid rhododendron as being "as _unlike all others_ in foliage, as if they had been a separate species." the common experience of floriculturists proves that the crossing and recrossing of distinct but allied plants, such as the species of petunia, calceolaria, fuchsia, verbena, &c., induces excessive variability; hence the appearance of quite new characters is probable. m. carrière[ ] has lately discussed this subject: he states that _erythrina cristagalli_ had been multiplied by seed for many years, but had not yielded any varieties: it was then crossed with the allied _e. herbacea_, and "the resistance was now overcome, and varieties were produced with flowers of extremely different size, form, and colour." from the general and apparently well-founded belief that the crossing { } of distinct species, besides commingling their characters, adds greatly to their variability, it has probably arisen that some botanists have gone so far as to maintain[ ] that, when a genus includes only a single species, this when cultivated never varies. the proposition made so broadly cannot be admitted; but it is probably true that the variability of cultivated monotypic genera is much less than that of genera including numerous species, and this quite independently of the effects of crossing. i have stated in my 'origin of species,' and in a future work shall more fully show, that the species belonging to small genera generally yield a less number of varieties in a state of nature than those belonging to large genera. hence the species of small genera would, it is probable, produce fewer varieties under cultivation than the already variable species of larger genera. although we have not at present sufficient evidence that the crossing of species, which have never been cultivated, leads to the appearance of new characters, this apparently does occur with species which have been already rendered in some degree variable through cultivation. hence crossing, like any other change in the conditions of life, seems to be an element, probably a potent one, in causing variability. but we seldom have the means of distinguishing, as previously remarked, between the appearance of really new characters and the reappearance of long-lost characters, evoked through the act of crossing. i will give an instance of the difficulty in distinguishing such cases. the species of datura may be divided into two sections, those having white flowers with green stems, and those having purple flowers with brown stems: now naudin[ ] crossed _datura lævis_ and _ferox_, both of which belong to the white section, and raised from them hybrids. of these hybrids, every one had brown stems and bore purple flowers; so that they resembled the species of the other section of the genus, and not their own two parents. naudin was so much astonished at this fact, that he was led carefully to observe both parent-species, and he discovered that the pure seedlings of _d. ferox_, immediately after germination, had dark purple stems, extending from the young roots up to the cotyledons, and that this tint remained ever afterwards as a ring round the base of the stem of the plant when old. now i have shown in the thirteenth chapter that the retention or exaggeration of an early character is so intimately related to reversion, that it evidently comes under the same principle. hence probably we ought to look at the purple flowers and brown stems of these hybrids, not as new characters due to variability, but as a return to the former state of some ancient progenitor. independently of the appearance of new characters from crossing, a few words may be added to what has been said in former chapters on the unequal combination and transmission of the characters proper to the two parent-forms. when two species or races are crossed, the offspring of { } the first generation are generally uniform, but subsequently they display an almost infinite diversity of character. he who wishes, says kölreuter,[ ] to obtain an endless number of varieties from hybrids should cross and recross them. there is also much variability when hybrids or mongrels are reduced or absorbed by repeated crosses with either pure parent-form; and a still higher degree of variability when three distinct species, and most of all when four species, are blended together by successive crosses. beyond this point gärtner,[ ] on whose authority the foregoing statements are made, never succeeded in effecting a union; but max wichura[ ] united six distinct species of willows into a single hybrid. the sex of the parent-species affects in an inexplicable manner the degree of variability of hybrids; for gärtner[ ] repeatedly found that when a hybrid was used as the father, and either one of the pure parent-species, or a third species, was used as the mother, the offspring were more variable than when the same hybrid was used as the mother, and either pure parent or the same third species as the father: thus seedlings from _dianthus barbatus_ crossed by the hybrid _d. chinensi-barbatus_ were more variable than those raised from this latter hybrid fertilised by the pure _d. barbatus_. max wichura[ ] insists strongly on an analogous result with his hybrid willows. again gärtner[ ] asserts that the degree of variability sometimes differs in hybrids raised from reciprocal crosses between the same two species; and here the sole difference is, that the one species is first used as the father and then as the mother. on the whole we see that, independently of the appearance of new characters, the variability of successive crossed generations is extremely complex, partly from the offspring partaking unequally of the characters of the two parent-forms, and more especially from their unequal tendency to revert to these same characters or to those of more ancient progenitors. * * * * * _on the manner and on the period of action of the causes which induce variability._--this is an extremely obscure subject, and we need here only briefly consider, firstly, whether inherited variations are caused by the organisation being directly acted on, or indirectly through the reproductive system; and secondly, at what period of life or growth they are primarily caused. we shall see in the two following chapters that various agencies, such as an abundant supply of food, exposure to a different climate, increased use or disuse of parts, &c., prolonged during several generations, certainly modify either the whole organisation or certain organs. this direct action of changed conditions perhaps comes into play much more frequently than can be proved, and it is at least clear that in all cases of { } bud-variation the action cannot have been through the reproductive system. with respect to the part which the reproductive system takes in causing variability, we have seen in the eighteenth chapter that even slight changes in the conditions of life have a remarkable power in causing a greater or less degree of sterility. hence it seems not improbable that being generated though a system so easily affected should themselves be affected, or should fail to inherit, or inherit in excess, characters proper to their parents. we know that certain groups of organic beings, but with exceptions in each group, have their reproductive systems much more easily affected by changed conditions than other groups; for instance, carnivorous birds more readily than carnivorous mammals, and parrots more readily than pigeons; and this fact harmonizes with the apparently capricious manner and degree in which various groups of animals and plants vary under domestication. kölreuter[ ] was struck with the parallelism between the excessive variability of hybrids when crossed and recrossed in various ways,--these hybrids having their reproductive powers more or less affected,--and the variability of anciently cultivated plants. max wichura[ ] has gone one step farther, and shows that with many of our highly cultivated plants, such as the hyacinth, tulip, auricula, snapdragon, potato, cabbage, &c., which there is no reason to believe have been hybridized, the anthers contain many irregular pollen-grains, in the same state as in hybrids. he finds also in certain wild forms, the same coincidence between the state of the pollen and a high degree of variability, as in many species of rubus; but in _r. cæsius_ and _idæus_, which are not highly variable species, the pollen is sound. it is also notorious that many cultivated plants, such as the banana, pine-apple, breadfruit, and others previously mentioned, have their reproductive organs so seriously affected as to be generally quite sterile; and when they do yield seed, the seedlings, judging from the large number of cultivated races which exist, must be variable in an extreme degree. these facts indicate that there is some relation between the state of the reproductive organs and a tendency to variability; but we must not conclude that the relation is strict. although many of our highly cultivated plants may have their pollen in a deteriorated condition, yet, as we have previously seen, they yield more seed, and our anciently domesticated animals are more prolific, than the corresponding species in a state of nature. the peacock is almost the only bird which is believed to be less fertile under domestication than in its native state, and it has varied in a remarkably small degree. from these considerations it would seem that changes in the conditions of life lead either to sterility or to variability, or to both; and not that sterility induces variability. on the whole it is probable that any cause affecting the organs of reproduction would likewise affect their product,--that is, the offspring thus generated. { } the period of life at which the causes that induce variability act, is another obscure subject, which has been discussed by various authors.[ ] in some of the cases, to be given in the following chapter, of modifications from the direct action of changed conditions, which are inherited, there can be no doubt that the causes have acted on the mature or nearly mature animal. on the other hand, monstrosities, which cannot be distinctly separated from lesser variations, are often caused by the embryo being injured whilst in the mother's womb or in the egg. thus i. geoffroy st. hilaire[ ] asserts that poor women who work hard during their pregnancy, and the mothers of illegitimate children troubled in their minds and forced to conceal their state, are far more liable to give birth to monsters than women in easy circumstances. the eggs of the fowl when placed upright or otherwise treated unnaturally frequently produce monstrous chickens. it would, however, appear that complex monstrosities are induced more frequently during a rather late than during a very early period of embryonic life; but this may partly result from some one part, which has been injured during an early period, affecting by its abnormal growth other parts subsequently developed; and this would be less likely to occur with parts injured at a later period.[ ] when any part or organ becomes monstrous through abortion, a rudiment is generally left, and this likewise indicates that its development had already commenced. insects sometimes have their antennæ or legs in a monstrous condition, and yet the larvæ from which they are metamorphosed do not possess either antennæ or legs; and in those cases, as quatrefages[ ] believes, we are enabled to see the precise period at which the normal progress of development has been troubled. but the nature of the food given to a caterpillar sometimes affects the colours of the moth, without the caterpillar itself being affected; therefore it seems possible that other characters in the mature insect might be indirectly modified through the larvæ. there is no reason to suppose that organs which have been rendered monstrous have always been acted on during their development; the cause may have acted on the organisation at a much earlier stage. it is even probable that either the male or female sexual elements, or both, before their union, may be affected in such a manner as to lead to modifications in organs developed at a late period of life; in nearly the same manner as a child may inherit from his father a disease which does not appear until old age. in accordance with the facts above given, which prove that in many cases a close relation exists between variability and the sterility following from changed conditions, we may conclude that the exciting cause often acts at the earliest possible period, namely, on the sexual elements, before impregnation has taken place. that an affection of the female sexual element may induce variability we may likewise infer as probable from the occurrence of bud-variations; for a bud seems to be the analogue of an ovule. but the male element is apparently much oftener affected by changed { } conditions, at least in a visible manner, than the female element or ovule; and we know from gärtner's and wichura's statements that a hybrid used as the father and crossed with a pure species gives a greater degree of variability to the offspring, than does the same hybrid when used as the mother. lastly, it is certain that variability may be transmitted through either sexual element, whether or not originally excited in them, for kölreuter and gärtner[ ] found that when two species were crossed, if either one was variable, the offspring were rendered variable. * * * * * _summary._--from the facts given in this chapter, we may conclude that the variability of organic beings under domestication, although so general, is not an inevitable contingent on growth and reproduction, but results from the conditions to which the parents have been exposed. changes of any kind in the conditions of life, even extremely slight changes, often suffice to cause variability. excess of nutriment is perhaps the most efficient single exciting cause. animals and plants continue to be variable for an immense period after their first domestication; but the conditions to which they are exposed never long remain quite constant. in the course of time they can be habituated to certain changes, so as to become less variable; and it is possible that when first domesticated they may have been even more variable than at present. there is good evidence that the power of changed conditions accumulates; so that two, three, or more generations must be exposed to new conditions before any effect is visible. the crossing of distinct forms, which have already become variable, increases in the offspring the tendency to further variability, by the unequal commingling of the characters of the two parents, by the reappearance of long-lost characters, and by the appearance of absolutely new characters. some variations are induced by the direct action of the surrounding conditions on the whole organisation, or on certain parts alone, and other variations are induced indirectly through the reproductive system being affected in the same manner as is so common with organic beings when removed from their natural conditions. the causes which induce variability act on the mature organism, on the embryo, and, as we have good reason to believe, on both sexual elements before impregnation has been effected. * * * * * { } chapter xxiii. direct and definite action of the external conditions of life. slight modifications in plants from the definite action of changed conditions in size, colour, chemical properties, and in the state of the tissues--local diseases--conspicuous modifications from changed climate or food, etc.--plumage of birds affected by peculiar nutriment, and by the inoculation of poison--land-shells--modifications of organic beings in a state of nature through the definite action of external conditions--comparison of american and european trees--galls--effects of parasitic fungi--considerations opposed to the belief in the potent influence of changed external conditions--parallel series of varieties--amount of variation does not correspond with the degree of change in the conditions--bud-variation--monstrosities produced by unnatural treatment--summary. if we ask ourselves why this or that character has been modified under domestication, we are, in most cases lost in utter darkness. many naturalists, especially of the french school, attribute every modification to the "monde ambiant," that is, to changed climate, with all its diversities of heat and cold, dampness and dryness, light and electricity, to the nature of the soil, and to varied kinds and amount of food. by the term definite action, as used in this chapter, i mean an action of such a nature that, when many individuals of the same variety are exposed during several generations to any change in their physical conditions of life, all, or nearly all the individuals, are modified in the same manner. a new sub-variety would thus be produced without the aid of selection. i do not include under the term of definite action the effects of habit or of the increased use and disuse of various organs. modifications of this nature, no doubt, are definitely caused by the conditions to which the beings are subjected; but they depend much less on the nature of the conditions than on the laws of growth; hence they are included under a distinct head in the { } following chapter. we know, however, far too little of the causes and laws of variation to make a sound classification. the direct action of the conditions of life, whether leading to definite or indefinite results, is a totally distinct consideration from the effects of natural selection; for natural selection depends on the survival under various and complex circumstances of the best-fitted individuals, but has no relation whatever to the primary cause of any modification of structure. i will first give in detail all the facts which i have been able to collect, rendering it probable that climate, food, &c., have acted so definitely and powerfully on the organisation of our domesticated productions, that they have sufficed to form new sub-varieties or races, without the aid of selection by man or of natural selection. i will then give the facts and considerations opposed to this conclusion, and finally we will weigh, as fairly as we can, the evidence on both sides. when we reflect that distinct races of almost all our domesticated animals exist in each kingdom of europe, and formerly even in each district of england, we are at first strongly inclined to attribute their origin to the definite action of the physical conditions of each country; and this has been the conclusion of many authors. but we should bear in mind that man annually has to choose which animals shall be preserved for breeding, and which shall be slaughtered. we have also seen that both methodical and unconscious selection were formerly practised, and are now occasionally practised by the most barbarous races, to a much greater extent than might have been anticipated. hence it is very difficult to judge how far the difference in conditions between, for instance, the several districts in england, could have sufficed without the aid of selection to modify the breeds which have been reared in each. it may be argued that, as numerous wild animals and plants have ranged during many ages throughout great britain, and still retain the same character, the difference in conditions between the several districts could not have modified in so marked a manner the various native races of cattle, sheep, pigs, and horses. the same difficulty of distinguishing between selection and the definite effects of the conditions of life, is encountered in a still higher degree when we compare closely allied natural { } forms, inhabiting two countries, such as north america and europe, which do not differ greatly in climate, nature of soil, &c., for in this case natural selection will inevitably and rigorously have acted during a long succession of ages. from the importance of the difficulty just alluded to, it will be advisable to give as large a body of facts as possible, showing that extremely slight differences in treatment, either in different parts of the same country, or during different seasons, certainly cause an appreciable effect, at least on varieties which are already in an unstable condition. ornamental flowers are good for this purpose, as they are highly variable, and are carefully observed. all floriculturists are unanimous that certain varieties are affected by very slight differences in the nature of the artificial compost in which they are grown, and by the natural soil of the district, and by the season. thus, a skilful judge, in writing on carnations and picotees,[ ] asks "where can admiral curzon be seen possessing the colour, size, and strength which it has in derbyshire? where can flora's garland be found equal to those at slough? where do high-coloured flowers revel better than at woolwich and birmingham? yet in no two of these districts do the same varieties attain an equal degree of excellence, although each may be receiving the attention of the most skilful cultivators." the same writer then recommends every cultivator to keep five different kinds of soil and manure, "and to endeavour to suit the respective appetites of the plants you are dealing with, for without such attention all hope of general success will be vain." so it is with the dahlia:[ ] the lady cooper rarely succeeds near london, but does admirably in other districts; the reverse holds good with other varieties; and again, there are others which succeed equally well in various situations. a skilful gardener[ ] states that he procured cuttings of an old and well-known variety (pulchella) of verbena, which from having been propagated in a different situation presented a slightly different shade of colour; the two varieties were afterwards multiplied by cuttings, being carefully kept distinct; but in the second year they could hardly be distinguished, and in the third year no one could distinguish them. the nature of the season has an especial influence on certain varieties of the dahlia: in two varieties were pre-eminently good, and the next year these same two were pre-eminently bad. a famous amateur[ ] asserts that in many varieties of the rose came so untrue in character, "that it was hardly possible to recognise them, and the thought was not seldom entertained that the grower had lost his tally." the same amateur[ ] states that in two-thirds of his auriculas produced central trusses of flowers, and these are remarkable from not keeping true; { } and he adds that in some seasons certain varieties of this plant all prove good, and the next season all prove bad; whilst exactly the reverse happens with other varieties. in the editor of the 'gardener's chronicle'[ ] remarked how singular it was that this year many calceolarias tended to assume a tubular form. with heartsease[ ] the blotched sorts do not acquire their proper character until hot weather sets in; whilst other varieties lose their beautiful marks as soon as this occurs. analogous facts have been observed with leaves: mr. beaton asserts[ ] that he raised at shrubland, during six years, twenty thousand seedlings from the punch pelargonium, and not one had variegated leaves; but at surbiton, in surrey, one-third, or even a greater proportion, of the seedlings from this same variety were more or less variegated. the soil of another district in surrey has a strong tendency to cause variegation, as appears from information given me by sir f. pollock. verlot[ ] states that the variegated strawberry retains its character as long as grown in a dryish soil, but soon loses it when planted in fresh and humid soil. mr. salter, who is well known for his success in cultivating variegated plants, informs me that rows of strawberries were planted in his garden in , in the usual way; and at various distances in one row, several plants simultaneously became variegated, and what made the case more extraordinary, all were variegated in precisely the same manner. these plants were removed, but during the three succeeding years other plants in the same row became variegated, and in no instance were the plants in any adjoining row affected. the chemical qualities, odours, and tissues of plants are often modified by a change which seems to us slight. the hemlock is said not to yield conicine in scotland. the root of the _aconitum napellus_ becomes innocuous in frigid climates. the medicinal properties of the digitalis are easily affected by culture. the rhubarb flourishes in england, but does not produce the medicinal substance which makes the plant so valuable in chinese tartary. as the _pistacia lentiscus_ grows abundantly in the south of france, the climate must suit it, but it yields no mastic. the _laurus sassafras_ in europe loses the odour proper to it in north america.[ ] many similar facts could be given, and they are remarkable because it might have been thought that definite chemical compounds would have been little liable to change either in quality or quantity. the wood of the american locust-tree (_robinia_) when grown in england is nearly worthless, as is that of the oak-tree when grown at the cape of good hope.[ ] hemp and flax, as i hear from dr. falconer, flourish and yield plenty of seed on the plains of india, but their fibres are brittle { } and useless. hemp, on the other hand, fails to produce in england that resinous matter which is so largely used in india as an intoxicating drug. the fruit of the melon is greatly influenced by slight differences in culture and climate. hence it is generally a better plan, according to naudin, to improve an old kind than to introduce a new one into any locality. the seed of the persian melon produces near paris fruit inferior to the poorest market kinds, but at bordeaux yields delicious fruit.[ ] seed is annually brought from thibet to kashmir,[ ] and produces fruit weighing from four to ten pounds, but plants raised from seed saved in kashmir next year give fruit weighing only from two to three pounds. it is well known that american varieties of the apple produce in their native land magnificent and brightly-coloured fruit, but in england of poor quality and a dull colour. in hungary there are many varieties of the kidney-bean, remarkable for the beauty of their seeds, but the rev. m. j. berkeley[ ] found that their beauty could hardly ever be preserved in england, and in some cases the colour was greatly changed. we have seen in the ninth chapter, with respect to wheat, what a remarkable effect transportal from the north to the south of france, and reversely, produced on the weight of the grain. when man can perceive no change in plants or animals which have been exposed to a new climate or to different treatment, insects can sometimes perceive a marked change. the same species of cactus has been carried to india from canton, manilla, mauritius, and from the hot-houses of kew, and there is likewise a so-called native kind, formerly introduced from south america; all these plants are alike in appearance, but the cochineal insect flourishes only on the native kind, on which it thrives prodigiously.[ ] humboldt remarks[ ] that white men "born in the torrid zone walk barefoot with impunity in the same apartment where a european, recently landed, is exposed to the attacks of the _pulex penetrans_." this insect, the too well-known chigoe, must therefore be able to distinguish what the most delicate chemical analysis fails to distinguish, namely, a difference between the blood or tissues of a european and those of a white man born in the country. but the discernment of the chigoe is not so surprising as it at first appears; for { } according to liebig[ ] the blood of men with different complexions, though inhabiting the same country, emits a different odour. diseases peculiar to certain localities, heights, or climates, may be here briefly noticed, as showing the influence of external circumstances on the human body. diseases confined to certain races of man do not concern us, for the constitution of the race may play the more important part, and this may have been determined by unknown causes. the plica polonica stands, in this respect, in a nearly intermediate position; for it rarely affects germans, who inhabit the neighbourhood of the vistula, where so many poles are grievously affected; and on the other hand, it does not affect russians, who are said to belong to the same original stock with the poles.[ ] the elevation of a district often governs the appearance of diseases; in mexico the yellow fever does not extend above mètres; and in peru, people are affected with the _verugas_ only between and mètres above the sea; many other such cases could be given. a peculiar cutaneous complaint, called the _bouton d'alep_, affects in aleppo and some neighbouring districts almost every native infant, and some few strangers; and it seems fairly well established that this singular complaint depends on drinking certain waters. in the healthy little island of st. helena the scarlet-fever is dreaded like the plague; analogous facts have been observed in chili and mexico.[ ] even in the different departments of france it is found that the various infirmities which render the conscript unfit for serving in the army, prevail with remarkable inequality, revealing, as boudin observes, that many of them are endemic, which otherwise would never have been suspected.[ ] any one who will study the distribution of disease will be struck with surprise at what slight differences in the surrounding circumstances govern the nature and severity of the complaints by which man is at least temporarily affected. the modifications as yet referred to have been extremely slight, and in most cases have been caused, as far as we can judge, by equally slight changes in the conditions. but can it be safely maintained that such changed conditions, if acting during a long series of generations, would not produce a marked effect? it is commonly believed that the people of the united states differ in appearance from the parent anglo-saxon race; and selection cannot have come into action within so short a period. a good observer[ ] states that a general absence of fat, { } a thin and elongated neck, stiff and lank hair, are the chief characteristics. the change in the nature of the hair is supposed to be caused by the dryness of the atmosphere. if immigration into the united states were now stopped, who can say that the character of the whole people would not be greatly modified in the course of two or three thousand years? the direct and definite action of changed conditions, in contradistinction to the accumulation of indefinite variations, seems to me so important that i will give a large additional body of miscellaneous facts. with plants, a considerable change of climate sometimes produces a conspicuous result. i have given in detail in the ninth chapter the most remarkable case known to me, namely, that in germany several varieties of maize brought from the hotter parts of america were transformed in the course of only two or three generations. dr. falconer informs me that he has seen the english ribston-pippin apple, a himalayan oak, prunus and pyrus, all assume in the hotter parts of india a fastigate or pyramidal habit; and this fact is the more interesting, as a chinese tropical species of pyrus naturally has this habit of growth. although in these cases the changed manner of growth seems to have been directly caused by the great heat, we know that many fastigate trees have originated in their temperate homes. in the botanic gardens of ceylon the apple-tree[ ] "sends out numerous runners under ground, which continually rise into small stems, and form a growth around the parent-tree." the varieties of the cabbage which produce heads in europe fail to do so in certain tropical countries.[ ] the _rhododendron ciliatum_ produced at kew flowers so much larger and paler-coloured than those which it bears on its native himalayan mountain, that dr. hooker[ ] would hardly have recognised the species by the flowers alone. many similar facts with respect to the colour and size of flowers could be given. the experiments of vilmorin and buckman on carrots and parsnips prove that abundant nutriment produces a definite and inheritable effect on the so-called roots, with scarcely any change in other parts of the plant. alum directly influences the colour of the flowers of the hydrangea.[ ] dryness seems generally to favour the hairyness or villosity of plants. gärtner found that hybrid verbascums became extremely woolly when grown in pots. mr. masters, on the other hand, states that the _opuntia leucotricha_ "is well clothed with beautiful white hairs when grown in a damp heat; but in a dry heat exhibits none of this peculiarity."[ ] slight variations of many kinds, not worth specifying in detail, are retained only as { } long as plants are grown in certain soils, of which sageret[ ] gives from his own experience some instances. odart, who insists strongly on the permanence of the varieties of the grape, admits[ ] that some varieties, when grown under a different climate or treated differently, vary in an extremely slight degree, as in the tint of the fruit and in the period of ripening. some authors have denied that grafting causes even the slightest difference in the scion; but there is sufficient evidence that the fruit is sometimes slightly affected in size and flavour, the leaves in duration, and the flowers in appearance.[ ] with animals there can be no doubt, from the facts given in the first chapter, that european dogs deteriorate in india, not only in their instincts but in structure; but the changes which they undergo are of such a nature, that they may be partly due to reversion to a primitive form, as in the case of feral animals. in parts of india the turkey becomes reduced in size, "with the pendulous appendage over the beak enormously developed."[ ] we have seen how soon the wild duck, when domesticated, loses its true character, from the effects of abundant or changed food, or from taking little exercise. from the direct action of a humid climate and poor pasture the horse rapidly decreases in size in the falkland islands. from information which i have received, this seems likewise to be the case to a certain extent with sheep in australia. climate definitely influences the hairy covering of animals; in the west indies a great change is produced in the fleece of sheep, in about three generations. dr. falconer states[ ] that the thibet mastiff and goat, when brought down from the himalaya to kashmir, lose their fine wool. at angora not only goats, but shepherd-dogs and cats, have fine fleecy hair, and mr. ainsworth[ ] attributes the thickness of the fleece to the severe winters, and its silky lustre to the hot summers. burnes states positively[ ] that the karakool sheep lose their peculiar black curled fleeces when removed into any other country. even within the limits of england, i have been assured that with two breeds of sheep the wool was slightly changed by the flocks being pastured in different localities.[ ] it has been asserted on good authority[ ] that horses kept during several years in the deep coal-mines of belgium become covered with velvety hair, almost like that on the mole. these cases probably stand in close relation to the natural change of coat in winter and summer. naked varieties of several domestic animals have occasionally appeared; but there is no reason to { } believe that this is in any way related to the nature of the climate to which they have been exposed.[ ] it appears at first sight probable that the increased size, the tendency to fatten, the early maturity and altered forms of our improved cattle, sheep, and pigs, have directly resulted from their abundant supply of food. this is the opinion of many competent judges, and probably is to a great extent true. but as far as form is concerned, we must not overlook the equal or more potent influence of lessened use on the limbs and lungs. we see, moreover, as far as size is concerned, that selection is apparently a more powerful agent than a large supply of food, for we can thus only account for the existence, as remarked to me by mr. blyth, of the largest and smallest breeds of sheep in the same country, of cochin-china fowls and bantams, of small tumbler and large runt pigeons, all kept together and supplied with abundant nourishment. nevertheless there can be little doubt that our domesticated animals have been modified, independently of the increased or lessened use of parts, by the conditions to which they have been subjected, without the aid of selection. for instance, prof. rütimeyer[ ] shows that the bones of all domesticated quadrupeds can be distinguished from those of wild animals by the state of their surface and general appearance. it is scarcely possible to read nathusius's excellent 'vorstudien,'[ ] and doubt that, with the highly improved races of the pig, abundant food has produced a conspicuous effect on the general form of the body, on the breadth of the head and face, and even on the teeth. nathusius rests much on the case of a purely bred berkshire pig, which when two months old became diseased in its digestive organs, and was preserved for observation until nineteen months old; at this age it had lost several characteristic features of the breed, and had acquired a long, narrow head, of large size relatively to its small body, and elongated legs. but in this case and in some others we ought not to assume that, because certain characters are lost, perhaps through reversion, under one course of treatment, therefore that they had been at first directly produced by an opposite course. in the case of the rabbit, which has become feral on the island of porto santo, we are at first strongly tempted to attribute the whole change--the greatly reduced size, the altered tints of the fur, and the loss of certain characteristic marks--to the definite action of the new conditions to which it has been exposed. but in all such cases we have to consider in addition the tendency to reversion to progenitors more or less remote, and the natural selection of the finest shades of difference. the nature of the food sometimes either definitely induces certain peculiarities, or stands in some close relation with them. pallas long ago asserted that the fat-tailed sheep of siberia degenerated and lost their enormous tails when removed from certain saline pastures; and recently { } erman[ ] states that this occurs with the kirgisian sheep when brought to orenburgh. it is well known that hemp-seed causes bullfinches and certain other birds to become black. mr. wallace has communicated to me some much more remarkable facts of the same nature. the natives of the amazonian region feed the common green parrot (_chrysotis festiva_, linn.) with the fat of large siluroid fishes, and the birds thus treated become beautifully variegated with red and yellow feathers. in the malayan archipelago, the natives of gilolo alter in an analogous manner the colours of another parrot, namely, the _lorius garrulus_, linn., and thus produce the _lori rajah_ or king-lory. these parrots in the malay islands and south america, when fed by the natives on natural vegetable food, such as rice and plantains, retain their proper colours. mr. wallace has, also, recorded[ ] a still more singular fact. "the indians (of s. america) have a curious art by which they change the colours of the feathers of many birds. they pluck out those from the part they wish to paint, and inoculate the fresh wound with the milky secretion from the skin of a small toad. the feathers grow of a brilliant yellow colour, and on being plucked out, it is said, grow again of the same colour without any fresh operation." bechstein[ ] does not entertain any doubt that seclusion from light affects, at least temporarily, the colours of cage-birds. it is well known that the shells of land-mollusca are affected by the abundance of lime in different districts. isidore geoffroy st. hilaire[ ] gives the case of _helix lactea_, which has recently been carried from spain to the south of france and to the rio plata, and in both these countries now presents a distinct appearance, but whether this has resulted from food or climate is not known. with respect to the common oyster, mr. f. buckland informs me that he can generally distinguish the shells from different districts; young oysters brought from wales and laid down in beds where "_natives_" are indigenous, in the short space of two months begin to assume the "native" character. m. costa[ ] has recorded a much more remarkable case of the same nature, namely, that young shells taken from the shores of england and placed in the mediterranean, at once altered their manner of growth and formed prominent diverging rays, like those on the shells of the proper mediterranean oyster. the same individual shell, showing both forms of growth, was exhibited before a society in paris. lastly, it is well known that caterpillars fed on different food sometimes either themselves acquire a different colour or produce moths different in colour.[ ] { } it would be travelling beyond my proper limits here to discuss how far organic beings in a state of nature are definitely modified by changed conditions. in my 'origin of species' i have given a brief abstract of the facts bearing on this point, and have shown the influence of light on the colours of birds, and of residence near the sea on the lurid tints of insects, and on the succulency of plants. mr. herbert spencer[ ] has recently discussed with much ability this whole subject on broad and general grounds. he argues, for instance, that with all animals the external and internal tissues are differently acted on by the surrounding conditions, and they invariably differ in intimate structure. so again the upper and lower surfaces of true leaves, as well as of stems and petioles, when these assume the function and occupy the position of leaves, are differently circumstanced with respect to light, &c., and apparently in consequence differ in structure. but, as mr. herbert spencer admits, it is most difficult in all such cases to distinguish between the effects of the definite action of physical conditions and the accumulation through natural selection of inherited variations which are serviceable to the organism, and which have arisen independently of the definite action of these conditions. although we are not here concerned with organic beings in a state of nature, yet i may call attention to one case. mr. meehan,[ ] in a remarkable paper, compares twenty-nine kinds of american trees, belonging to various orders, with their nearest european allies, all grown in close proximity in the same garden and under as nearly as possible the same conditions. in the american species mr. meehan finds, with the rarest exceptions, that the leaves fall earlier in the season, and assume before falling a brighter tint; that they are less deeply toothed or serrated; that the buds are smaller; that the trees are more diffuse in growth and have fewer branchlets; and, lastly, that the seeds are smaller--all in comparison with the corresponding european species. now, considering that these trees belong to distinct orders, it is out of the question that the peculiarities just specified should have been inherited in the one continent from one progenitor, and in the other from another progenitor; and considering that the trees inhabit widely different stations, these peculiarities can hardly be supposed to be of any special { } service to the two series in the old and new worlds; therefore these peculiarities cannot have been naturally selected. hence we are led to infer that they have been definitely caused by the long-continued action of the different climate of the two continents on the trees. _galls._--another class of facts, not relating to cultivated plants, deserves attention. i allude to the production of galls. every one knows the curious, bright-red, hairy productions on the wild rose-tree, and the various different galls produced by the oak. some of the latter resemble fruit, with one face as rosy as the rosiest apple. these bright colours can be of no service either to the gall-forming insect or to the tree, and probably are the direct result of the action of the light, in the same manner as the apples of nova scotia or canada are brighter coloured than english apples. the strongest upholder of the doctrine that organic beings are created beautiful to please mankind would not, i presume, extend this view to galls. according to osten sacken's latest revision, no less than fifty-eight kinds of galls are produced on the several species of oak, by cynips with its sub-genera; and mr. b. d. walsh[ ] states that he can add many others to the list. one american species of willow, the _salix humilis_, bears ten distinct kinds of galls. the leaves which spring from the galls of various english willows differ completely in shape from the natural leaves. the young shoots of junipers and firs, when punctured by certain insects, yield monstrous growths like flowers and cones; and the flowers of some plants become from the same cause wholly changed in appearance. galls are produced in every quarter of the world; of several sent to me by mr. thwaites from ceylon, some were as symmetrical as a composite flower when in bud, others smooth and spherical like a berry; some protected by long spines, others clothed with yellow wool formed of long cellular hairs, others with regularly tufted hairs. in some galls the internal structure is simple, but in others it is highly complex; thus m. lucaze-duthiers[ ] has figured in the common ink-gall no less than seven concentric layers, composed of distinct tissue, { } namely, the epidermic, sub-epidermic, spongy, intermediate, and the hard protective layer formed of curiously thickened woody cells, and, lastly, the central mass abounding with starch-granules on which the larvæ feed. galls are produced by insects of various orders, but the greater number by species of cynips. it is impossible to read m. lucaze-duthier's discussion and doubt that the poisonous secretion of the insect causes the growth of the gall, and every one knows how virulent is the poison secreted by wasps and bees, which belong to the same order with cynips. galls grow with extraordinary rapidity, and it is said that they attain their full size in a few days;[ ] it is certain that they are almost completely developed before the larvæ are hatched. considering that many gall-insects are extremely small, the drop of secreted poison must be excessively minute; it probably acts on one or two cells alone, which, being abnormally stimulated, rapidly increase by a process of self-division. galls, as mr. walsh[ ] remarks, afford good, constant, and definite characters, each kind keeping as true to form as does any independent organic being. this fact becomes still more remarkable when we hear that, for instance, seven out of the ten different kinds of galls produced on _salix humilis_ are formed by gall-gnats (_cecidomyidæ_) which, "though essentially distinct species, yet resemble one another so closely that in almost all cases it is difficult, and in some cases impossible, to distinguish the full-grown insects one from the other."[ ] for in accordance with a wide-spread analogy we may safely infer that the poison secreted by insects so closely allied would not differ much in nature; yet this slight difference is sufficient to induce widely different results. in some few cases the same species of gall-gnat produces on distinct species of willows galls which cannot be distinguished; the _cynips fecundatrix_, also, has been known to produce on the turkish oak, to which it is not properly attached, exactly the same kind of gall as on the european oak.[ ] these latter facts apparently prove that the nature of the poison is a much more powerful { } agent in determining the form of the gall than the specific character of the tree which is acted on. as the poisonous secretion of insects belonging to various orders has the special power of affecting the growth of various plants;--as a slight difference in the nature of the poison suffices to produce widely different results;--and lastly, as we know that the chemical compounds secreted by plants are eminently liable to be modified by changed conditions of life, we may believe it possible that various parts of a plant might be modified through the agency of its own altered secretions. compare, for instance, the mossy and viscid calyx of a moss-rose, which suddenly appears through bud-variation on a provence-rose, with the gall of red moss growing from the inoculated leaf of a wild rose, with each filament symmetrically branched like a microscopical spruce-fir, bearing a glandular tip and secreting odoriferous gummy matter.[ ] or compare, on the one hand, the fruit of the peach, with its hairy skin, fleshy covering, hard shell and kernel, and on the other hand one of the more complex galls with its epidermic, spongy, and woody layers, surrounding tissue loaded with starch granules. these normal and abnormal structures manifestly present a certain degree of resemblance. or, again, reflect on the cases above given of parrots which have had their plumage brightly decorated through some change in their blood, caused by having been fed on certain fishes, or locally inoculated with the poison of a toad. i am far from wishing to maintain that the moss-rose or the hard shell of the peach-stone or the bright colours of birds are actually due to any chemical change in the sap or blood; but these cases of galls and of parrots are excellently adapted to show us how powerfully and singularly external agencies may affect structure. with such facts before us, we need feel no surprise at the appearance of any modification in any organic being. i may, also, here allude to the remarkable effects which parasitic fungi sometimes produce on plants. reissek[ ] has described a thesium, affected by an oecidium, which was greatly modified, and assumed some of the { } characteristic features of certain allied species, or even genera. suppose, says reissek, "the condition originally caused by the fungus to become constant in the course of time, the plant would, if found growing wild, be considered as a distinct species or even as belonging to a new genus." i quote this remark to show how profoundly, yet in how natural a manner, this plant must have been modified by the parasitic fungus. _facts and considerations opposed to the belief that the conditions of life act in a potent manner in causing definite modifications of structure._ i have alluded to the slight differences in species when naturally living in distinct countries under different conditions; and such differences we feel at first inclined, probably to a limited extent with justice, to attribute to the definite action of the surrounding conditions. but it must be borne in mind that there are a far greater number of animals and plants which range widely and have been exposed to great diversities of conditions, yet remain nearly uniform in character. some authors, as previously remarked, account for the varieties of our culinary and agricultural plants by the definite action of the conditions to which they have been exposed in the different parts of great britain; but there are about plants[ ] which are found in every single english county; these plants must have been exposed for an immense period to considerable differences of climate and soil, yet do not differ. so, again, some birds, insects, other animals, and plants range over large portions of the world, yet retain the same character. notwithstanding the facts previously given on the occurrence of highly peculiar local diseases and on the strange modifications of structure in plants caused by the inoculated poison of insects, and other analogous cases; still there are a multitude of variations--such as the modified skull of the niata ox and bulldog, the long horns of caffre cattle, the conjoined toes of the solid-hoofed swine, the immense crest and protuberant skull of polish fowls, the crop of the pouter-pigeon, and a host of other such cases--which we can hardly attribute to the definite action, in the sense before specified, of the external conditions of life. no doubt in every case there must have been some exciting cause; but as we see innumerable individuals exposed to nearly the same conditions, and one alone is affected, we may conclude that the constitution of the individual is of far higher { } importance than the conditions to which it has been exposed. it seems, indeed, to be a general rule that conspicuous variations occur rarely, and in one individual alone out of many thousands, though all may have been exposed, as far as we can judge, to nearly the same conditions. as the most strongly marked variations graduate insensibly into the most trifling, we are led by the same train of thought to attribute each slight variation much more to innate differences of constitution, however caused, than to the definite action of the surrounding conditions. we are led to the same conclusion by considering the cases, formerly alluded to, of fowls and pigeons, which have varied and will no doubt go on varying in directly opposite ways, though kept during many generations under nearly the same conditions. some, for instance, are born with their beaks, wings, tails, legs, &c., a little longer, and others with these same parts a little shorter. by the long-continued selection of such slight individual differences, which occur in birds kept in the same aviary, widely different races could certainly be formed; and long-continued selection, important as is the result, does nothing but preserve the variations which appear to us to arise spontaneously. in these cases we see that domesticated animals vary in an indefinite number of particulars, though treated as uniformly as is possible. on the other hand, there are instances of animals and plants, which, though exposed to very different conditions, both under nature and domestication, have varied in nearly the same manner. mr. layard informs me that he has observed amongst the caffres of south africa a dog singularly like an arctic esquimaux dog. pigeons in india present nearly the same wide diversities of colour as in europe; and i have seen chequered and simply barred pigeons, and pigeons with blue and white loins, from sierra leone, madeira, england, and india. new varieties of flowers are continually raised in different parts of great britain, but many of these are found by the judges at our exhibitions to be almost identical with old varieties. a vast number of new fruit-trees and culinary vegetables have been produced in north america: these differ from european varieties in the same general manner as the several varieties raised in europe differ from each other; and no one has ever pretended that the climate of america has given to the many american varieties any general character by which they can be recognised. nevertheless, from the facts previously advanced on the authority of mr. meehan with respect to american and european forest-trees, it would be rash to affirm that varieties raised in the two countries would not in the course of ages assume a distinctive character. mr. masters has recorded a striking fact[ ] bearing on this subject: he raised numerous plants of _hybiscus syriacus_ from seed collected in south carolina and the holy land, where the parent-plants must have been exposed to considerably different conditions; yet the seedlings from both localities broke into two similar strains, one with obtuse leaves and purple or crimson flowers, and the other with elongated leaves and more or less pink flowers. { } we may, also, infer the prepotent influence of the constitution of the organism over the definite action of the conditions of life, from the several cases given in the earlier chapters of parallel series of varieties,--an important subject, hereafter to be more fully discussed. sub-varieties of the several kinds of wheat, gourds, peaches, and other plants, and to a certain limited extent sub-varieties of the fowl, pigeon, and dog, have been shown either to resemble or to differ from each other in a closely corresponding and parallel manner. in other cases, a variety of one species resembles a distinct species; or the varieties of two distinct species resemble each other. although these parallel resemblances no doubt often result from reversion to the former characters of a common progenitor; yet in other cases, when new characters first appear, the resemblance must be attributed to the inheritance of a similar constitution, and consequently to a tendency to vary in the same manner. we see something of a similar kind in the same monstrosity appearing and reappearing many times in the same animal, and, as dr. maxwell masters has remarked to me, in the same plant. we may at least conclude thus far, that the amount of modification which animals and plants have undergone under domestication, does not correspond with the degree to which they have been subjected to changed circumstances. as we know the parentage of domesticated birds far better than of most quadrupeds, we will glance through the list. the pigeon has varied in europe more than almost any other bird; yet it is a native species, and has not been exposed to any extraordinary change of conditions. the fowl has varied equally, or almost equally, with the pigeon, and is a native of the hot jungles of india. neither the peacock, a native of the same country, nor the guinea-fowl, an inhabitant of the dry deserts of africa, has varied at all, or only in colour. the turkey, from mexico, has varied but little. the duck, on the other hand, a native of europe, has yielded some well-marked races; and as this is an aquatic bird, it must have been subjected to a far more serious change in its habits than the pigeon or even the fowl, which nevertheless have varied in a much higher degree. the goose, a native of europe and aquatic like the duck, has varied less than any other domesticated bird, except the peacock. bud-variation is, also, important under our present point of view. in some few cases, as when all the eyes or buds on the same tuber of the potato, or all the fruit on the same plum-tree, or all the flowers on the same plant, have suddenly varied in the same manner, it might be argued that the { } variation had been definitely caused by some change in the conditions to which the plants had been exposed; yet, in other cases, such an admission is extremely difficult. as new characters sometimes appear by bud-variation, which do not occur in the parent-species or in any allied species, we may reject, at least in these cases, the idea that they are due to reversion. now it is well worth while to reflect maturely on some striking case of bud-variation, for instance that of the peach. this tree has been cultivated by the million in various parts of the world, has been treated differently, grown on its own roots and grafted on various stocks, planted as a standard, against a wall, and under glass; yet each bud of each sub-variety keeps true to its kind. but occasionally, at long intervals of time, a tree in england, or under the widely-different climate of virginia, produces a single bud, and this yields a branch which ever afterwards bears nectarines. nectarines differ, as every one knows, from peaches in their smoothness, size, and flavour; and the difference is so great, that some botanists have maintained that they are specifically distinct. so permanent are the characters thus suddenly acquired, that a nectarine produced by bud-variation has propagated itself by seed. to guard against the supposition that there is some fundamental distinction between bud and seminal variation, it is well to bear in mind that nectarines have likewise been produced from the stone of the peach; and, reversely, peaches from the stone of the nectarine. now is it possible to conceive external conditions more closely alike than those to which the buds on the same tree are exposed? yet one bud alone, out of the many thousands borne by the same tree, has suddenly without any apparent cause produced a nectarine. but the case is even stronger than this, for the same flower-bud has yielded a fruit, one-half or one-quarter a nectarine, and the other half or three-quarters a peach. again, seven or eight varieties of the peach have yielded by bud-variation nectarines: the nectarines thus produced, no doubt, differ a little from each other; but still they are nectarines. of course there must be some cause, internal or external, to excite the peach-bud to change its nature; but i cannot imagine a class of facts better adapted to force on our minds the conviction that what we call the external conditions of life are quite insignificant in { } relation to any particular variation, in comparison with the organisation or constitution of the being which varies. it is known from the labours of geoffroy st. hilaire, and recently from those of dareste and others, that eggs of the fowl, if shaken, placed upright, perforated, covered in part with varnish, &c., produce monstrous chickens. now these monstrosities may be said to be directly caused by such unnatural conditions, but the modifications thus induced are not of a definite nature. an excellent observer, m. camille dareste,[ ] remarks "that the various species of monstrosities are not determined by specific causes; the external agencies which modify the development of the embryo act solely in causing a perturbation--a perversion in the normal course of development." he compares the result to what we see in illness: a sudden chill, for instance, affects one individual alone out of many, causing either a cold, or sore-throat, rheumatism, or inflammation of the lungs or pleura. contagious matter acts in an analogous manner.[ ] we may take a still more specific instance: seven pigeons were struck by rattle-snakes;[ ] some suffered from convulsions; some had their blood coagulated, in others it was perfectly fluid; some showed ecchymosed spots on the heart, others on the intestines, &c.; others again showed no visible lesion in any organ. it is well known that excess in drinking causes different diseases in different men; but men living under a cold and tropical climate are differently affected:[ ] and in this case we see the definite influence of opposite conditions. the foregoing facts apparently give us as good an idea as we are likely for a long time to obtain, how in many cases external conditions act directly, though not definitely, in causing modifications of structure. * * * * * _summary._--there can be no doubt, from the facts given in the early part of this chapter, that extremely slight changes in { } the conditions of life sometimes act in a definite manner on our already variable domesticated productions; and, as the action of changed conditions in causing general or indefinite variability is accumulative, so it may be with their definite action. hence it is possible that great and definite modifications of structure may result from altered conditions acting during a long series of generations. in some few instances a marked effect has been produced quickly on all, or nearly all, the individuals which have been exposed to some considerable change of climate, food, or other circumstance. this has occurred, and is now occurring, with european men in the united states, with european dogs in india, with horses in the falkland islands, apparently with various animals at angora, with foreign oysters in the mediterranean, and with maize grown in europe from tropical seed. we have seen that the chemical compounds secreted by plants and the state of their tissues are readily affected by changed conditions. in some cases a relation apparently exists between certain characters and certain conditions, so that if the latter be changed the character is lost--as with cultivated flowers, with some few culinary plants, with the fruit of the melon, with fat-tailed sheep, and other sheep having peculiar fleeces. the production of galls, and the change of plumage in parrots when fed on peculiar food or when inoculated by the poison of a toad, prove to us what great and mysterious changes in structure and colour may be the definite result of chemical changes in the nutrient fluids or tissues. we have also reason to believe that organic beings in a state of nature may be modified in various definite ways by the conditions to which they have been long exposed, as in the case of american trees in comparison with their representatives in europe. but in all such cases it is most difficult to distinguish between the definite results of changed conditions, and the accumulation through natural selection of serviceable variations which have arisen independently of the nature of the conditions. if, for instance, a plant had to be modified so as to become fitted to inhabit a humid instead of an arid station, we have no reason to believe that variations of the right kind would occur more frequently if the parent-plant inhabited a station a little more { } humid than usual. whether the station was unusually dry or humid, variations adapting the plant in a slight degree for directly opposite habits of life would occasionally arise, as we have reason to believe from what we know in other cases. in most, perhaps in all cases, the organisation or constitution of the being which is acted on, is a much more important element than the nature of the changed conditions, in determining the nature of the variation. we have evidence of this in the appearance of nearly similar modifications under different conditions, and of different modifications under apparently nearly the same conditions. we have still better evidence of this in closely parallel varieties being frequently produced from distinct races, or even distinct species, and in the frequent recurrence of the same monstrosity in the same species. we have also seen that the degree to which domesticated birds have varied, does not stand in any close relation with the amount of change to which they have been subjected. to recur once again to bud-variations. when we reflect on the millions of buds which many trees have produced, before some one bud has varied, we are lost in wonder what the precise cause of each variation can be. let us recall the case given by andrew knight of the forty-year-old tree of the yellow magnum bonum plum, an old variety which has been propagated by grafts on various stocks for a very long period throughout europe and north america, and on which a single bud suddenly produced the red magnum bonum. we should also bear in mind that distinct varieties, and even distinct species,--as in the case of peaches, nectarines, and apricots,--of certain roses and camellias,--although separated by a vast number of generations from any progenitor in common, and although cultivated under diversified conditions, have yielded by bud-variation closely analogous varieties. when we reflect on these facts we become deeply impressed with the conviction that in such cases the nature of the variation depends but little on the conditions to which the plant has been exposed, and not in any especial manner on its individual character, but much more on the general nature or constitution, inherited from some remote progenitor, of the whole group of allied beings to which the plant belongs. we are thus driven to conclude that in most { } cases the conditions of life play a subordinate part in causing any particular modification; like that which a spark plays, when a mass of combustibles bursts into flame--the nature of the flame depending on the combustible matter, and not on the spark. no doubt each slight variation must have its efficient cause; but it is as hopeless an attempt to discover the cause of each as to say why a chill or a poison affects one man differently from another. even with modifications resulting from the definite action of the conditions of life, when all or nearly all the individuals, which have been similarly exposed, are similarly affected, we can rarely see the precise relation between cause and effect. in the next chapter it will be shown that the increased use or disuse of various organs, produces an inherited effect. it will further be seen that certain variations are bound together by correlation and other laws. beyond this we cannot at present explain either the causes or manner of action of variation. finally, as indefinite and almost illimitable variability is the usual result of domestication and cultivation, with the same part or organ varying in different individuals in different or even in directly opposite ways; and as the same variation, if strongly pronounced, usually recurs only after long intervals of time, any particular variation would generally be lost by crossing, reversion, and the accidental destruction of the varying individuals, unless carefully preserved by man. hence, although it must be admitted that new conditions of life do sometimes definitely affect organic beings, it may be doubted whether well-marked races have often been produced by the direct action of changed conditions without the aid of selection either by man or nature. * * * * * { } chapter xxiv. laws of variation--use and disuse, etc. nisus formativus, or the co-ordinating power of the organisation--on the effects of the increased use and disuse of organs--changed habits of life--acclimatisation with animals and plants--various methods by which this can be effected--arrests of development--rudimentary organs. in this and the two following chapters i shall discuss, as well as the difficulty of the subject permits, the several laws which govern variability. these may be grouped under the effects of use and disuse, including changed habits and acclimatisation--arrests of development--correlated variation--the cohesion of homologous parts--the variability of multiple parts--compensation of growth--the position of buds with respect to the axis of the plant--and lastly, analogous variation. these several subjects so graduate into each other that their distinction is often arbitrary. it may be convenient first briefly to discuss that co-ordinating and reparative power which is common, in a higher or lower degree, to all organic beings, and which was formerly designated by physiologists as the _nisus formativus_. blumenbach and others[ ] have insisted that the principle which permits a hydra, when cut into fragments, to develop itself into two or more perfect animals, is the same with that which causes a wound in the higher animals to heal by a cicatrice. such cases as that of the hydra are evidently analogous with the spontaneous division or fissiparous generation of the lowest animals, and likewise with the budding of plants. between these extreme cases and that of a mere cicatrice we have every gradation. spallanzani,[ ] by cutting off the legs and tail of a salamander, got in the course of three months six crops of these members; so that perfect bones were reproduced by one animal during one season. at whatever { } point the limb was cut off, the deficient part, and no more, was exactly reproduced. even with man, as we have seen in the twelfth chapter, when treating of polydactylism, the entire limb whilst in an embryonic state, and supernumerary digits, are occasionally, though imperfectly, reproduced after amputation. when a diseased bone has been removed, a new one sometimes "gradually assumes the regular form, and all the attachments of muscles, ligaments, &c., become as complete as before."[ ] this power of regrowth does not, however, always act perfectly: the reproduced tail of a lizard differs in the forms of the scales from the normal tail: with certain orthopterous insects the large hind legs are reproduced of smaller size:[ ] the white cicatrice which in the higher animals unites the edges of a deep wound is not formed of perfect skin, for elastic tissue is not produced till long afterwards.[ ] "the activity of the _nisus formativus_," says blumenbach, "is in an inverse ratio to the age of the organised body." to this may be added that its power is greater in animals the lower they are in the scale of organisation; and animals low in the scale correspond with the embryos of higher animals belonging to the same class. newport's observations[ ] afford a good illustration of this fact, for he found that "myriapods, whose highest development scarcely carries them beyond the larvæ of perfect insects, can regenerate limbs and antennæ up to the time of their last moult;" and so can the larvæ of true insects, but not the mature insect. salamanders correspond in development with the tadpoles or larvæ of the tailless batrachians, and both possess to a large extent the power of regrowth; but not so the mature tailless batrachians. absorption often plays an important part in the repairs of injuries. when a bone is broken, and does not unite, the ends are absorbed and rounded, so that a false joint is formed; or if the ends unite, but overlap, the projecting parts are removed.[ ] but absorption comes into action, as virchow remarks, during the normal growth of bones; parts which are solid during youth become hollowed out for the medullary tissue as the bone increases in size. in trying to understand the many well-adapted cases of regrowth when aided by absorption, we should remember that most parts of the organisation, even whilst retaining the same form, undergo constant renewal; so that a part which was not renewed would naturally be liable to complete absorption. some cases, usually classed under the so-called _nisus formativus_, at first appear to come under a distinct head; for not only are old structures reproduced, but structures which appear new are formed. thus, after inflammation "false membranes," furnished with blood-vessels, lymphatics, and nerves, are developed; or a foetus escapes from the fallopian tubes, and falls into the abdomen, "nature pours out a quantity of plastic lymph, which forms itself into organised membrane, richly supplied with blood-vessels," and the foetus is nourished for a time. in certain cases of { } hydrocephalus the open and dangerous spaces in the skull are filled up with new bones, which interlock by perfect serrated sutures.[ ] but most physiologists, especially on the continent, have now given up the belief in plastic lymph or blastema, and virchow[ ] maintains that every structure, new or old, is formed by the proliferation of pre-existing cells. on this view false membranes, like cancerous or other tumours, are merely abnormal developments of normal growths; and we can thus understand how it is that they resemble adjoining structures; for instance, that "false membrane in the serous cavities acquires a covering of epithelium exactly like that which covers the original serous membrane; adhesions of the iris may become black apparently from the production of pigment-cells like those of the uvea."[ ] no doubt the power of reparation, though not always quite perfect, is an admirable provision, ready for various emergencies, even for those which occur only at long intervals of time.[ ] yet this power is not more wonderful than the growth and development of every single creature, more especially of those which are propagated by fissiparous generation. this subject has been here noticed, because we may infer that, when any part or organ is either greatly increased in size or wholly suppressed through variation and continued selection, the co-ordinating power of the organisation will continually tend to bring all the parts again into harmony with each other. _on the effects of the increased use and disuse of organs._ it is notorious, and we shall immediately adduce proofs, that increased use or action strengthens muscles, glands, sense-organs, &c.; and that disuse, on the other hand, weakens them. i have not met with any clear explanation of this fact in works on physiology. mr. herbert spencer[ ] maintains that when muscles are much used, or when intermittent pressure is applied to the epidermis, an excess of nutritive matter exudes from the vessels, and that this gives additional development to the adjoining parts. that an increased flow of blood towards an organ leads to its greater development is probable, if not certain. mr. paget[ ] thus accounts for the long, thick, and dark-coloured hair which occasionally grows, even in young children, near old-standing inflamed surfaces or fractured bones. when hunter { } inserted the spur of a cock into the comb, which is well supplied with blood-vessels, it grew in one case in a spiral direction to a length of six inches, and in another case forward, like a horn, so that the bird could not touch the ground with its beak. but whether mr. herbert spencer's view of the exudation of nutritive matter due to increased movement and pressure, will fully account for the augmented size of bones, ligaments, and especially of internal glands and nerves, seems doubtful. according to the interesting observations of m. sedillot,[ ] when a portion of one bone of the leg or fore-arm of an animal is removed and is not replaced by growth, the associated bone enlarges till it attains a bulk equal to that of the two bones, of which it has to perform the functions. this is best exhibited in dogs in which the tibia has been removed; the companion bone, which is naturally almost filiform and not one-fifth the size of the other, soon acquires a size equal to or greater than the tibia. now, it is at first difficult to believe that increased weight acting on a straight bone could, by alternately increased and diminished pressure, cause nutritive matter to exude from the vessels which permeate the periosteum. nevertheless, the observations adduced by mr. spencer,[ ] on the strengthening of the bowed bones of rickety children, along their concave sides, leads to the belief that this is possible. mr. h. spencer has also shown that the ascent of the sap in trees is aided by the rocking movement caused by the wind; and the sap strengthens the trunk "in proportion to the stress to be borne; since the more severe and the more repeated the strains, the greater must be the exudation from the vessels into the surrounding tissue, and the greater the thickening of this tissue by secondary deposits."[ ] but woody trunks may be formed of hard tissue without their having been subjected to any movement, as we see with ivy closely attached to old walls. in all these cases, it is very difficult to disentangle the effects of long-continued selection from those consequent on the increased action or movement of the part. mr. h. spencer[ ] acknowledges this difficulty, and gives as an instance the spines { } or thorns of trees, and the shells of nuts. here we have extremely hard woody tissue without the possibility of any movement to cause exudation, and without, as far as we can see, any other directly exciting cause; and as the hardness of these parts is of manifest service to the plant, we may look at the result as probably due to the selection of so-called spontaneous variations. every one knows that hard work thickens the epidermis on the hands; and when we hear that with infants long before their birth the epidermis is thicker on the palms and soles of the feet than on any other part of the body, as was observed with admiration by albinus,[ ] we are naturally inclined to attribute this to the inherited effects of long-continued use or pressure. we are tempted to extend the same view even to the hoofs of quadrupeds; but who will pretend to determine how far natural selection may have aided in the formation of structures of such obvious importance to the animal? that use strengthens the muscles may be seen in the limbs of artisans who follow different trades; and when a muscle is strengthened, the tendons, and the crests of bone to which they are attached, become enlarged; and this must likewise be the case with the blood-vessels and nerves. on the other hand, when a limb is not used, as by eastern fanatics, or when the nerve supplying it with nervous power is effectually destroyed, the muscles wither. so again, when the eye is destroyed the optic nerve becomes atrophied, sometimes even in the course of a few months.[ ] the proteus is furnished with branchiæ as well as with lungs: and schreibers[ ] found that when the animal was compelled to live in deep water the branchiæ were developed to thrice their ordinary size, and the lungs were partially atrophied. when, on the other hand, the animal was compelled to live in shallow water, the lungs became larger and more vascular, whilst the branchiæ disappeared in a more or less complete degree. such modifications as these are, however, of comparatively little value for us, as we do not actually know that they tend to be inherited. in many cases there is reason to believe that the lessened use of various organs has affected the corresponding parts in the offspring. but there is no good evidence that this ever follows in the course of a single generation. it appears, as in the case of general or indefinite variability, that several generations must be subjected to changed habits for any appreciable result. our domestic fowls, ducks, and geese have almost lost, not { } only in the individual but in the race, their power of flight; for we do not see a chicken, when frightened, take flight like a young pheasant. hence i was led carefully to compare the limb-bones of fowls, ducks, pigeons, and rabbits, with the same bones in the wild parent-species. as the measurements and weights were fully given in the earlier chapters, i need here only recapitulate the results. with domestic pigeons, the length of the sternum, the prominence of its crest, the length of the scapulæ and furcula, the length of the wings as measured from tip to tip of the radius, are all reduced relatively to the same parts in the wild pigeon. the wing and tail feathers, however, are increased in length, but this may have as little connection with the use of the wings or tail, as the lengthened hair on a dog with the amount of exercise which the breed has habitually taken. the feet of pigeons, except in the long-beaked races, are reduced in size. with fowls the crest of the sternum is less prominent, and is often distorted or monstrous; the wing-bones have become lighter relatively to the leg-bones, and are apparently a little shorter in comparison with those of the parent-form, the _gallus bankiva_. with ducks, the crest of the sternum is affected in the same manner as in the foregoing cases: the furcula, coracoids, and scapulæ are all reduced in weight relatively to the whole skeleton: the bones of the wings are shorter and lighter, and the bones of the legs longer and heavier, relatively to each other, and relatively to the whole skeleton, in comparison with the same bones in the wild-duck. the decreased weight and size of the bones, in the foregoing cases, is probably the indirect result of the reaction of the weakened muscles on the bones. i failed to compare the feathers of the wings of the tame and wild duck; but gloger[ ] asserts that in the wild duck the tips of the wing-feathers reach almost to the end of the tail, whilst in the domestic duck they often hardly reach to its base. he remarks, also, on the greater thickness of the legs, and says that the swimming membrane between the toes is reduced; but i was not able to detect this latter difference. with the domesticated rabbit the body, together with the whole skeleton, is generally larger and heavier than in the wild animal, and the leg-bones are heavier in due proportion; but whatever standard of comparison be taken, neither the leg-bones nor the scapulæ have increased in length proportionally with the increased dimensions of the rest of the skeleton. the skull has become in a marked manner narrower, and, from the measurements of its capacity formerly given, we may conclude, that this narrowness results from the decreased size of the brain, consequent on the mentally inactive life led by these closely-confined animals. we have seen in the eighth chapter that silk-moths, which have been kept during many centuries closely confined, emerge from their cocoons with their wings distorted, incapable of flight, often greatly reduced in size, or even, according to quatrefages, quite rudimentary. this condition of the wings may be largely owing to the same kind of monstrosity which often affects wild lepidoptera when artificially reared from the cocoon; or it may { } be in part due to an inherent tendency, which is common to the females of many bombycidæ, to have their wings in a more or less rudimentary state; but part of the effect may probably be attributed to long-continued disuse. from the foregoing facts there can be no doubt that certain parts of the skeleton in our anciently domesticated animals, have been modified in length and weight by the effects of decreased or increased use; but they have not been modified, as shown in the earlier chapters, in shape or structure. we must, however, be cautious in extending this latter conclusion to animals living a free life; for these will occasionally be exposed during successive generations to the severest competition. with wild animals it would be an advantage in the struggle for life that every superfluous and useless detail of structure should be removed or absorbed; and thus the reduced bones might ultimately become changed in structure. with highly-fed domesticated animals, on the other hand, there is no economy of growth; nor any tendency to the elimination of trifling and superfluous details of structure. turning now to more general observations, nathusius has shown that, with the improved races of the pig, the shortened legs and snout, the form of the articular condyles of the occiput, and the position of the jaws with the upper canine teeth projecting in a most anomalous manner in front of the lower canines, may be attributed to these parts not having been fully exercised. for the highly-cultivated races do not travel in search of food, nor root up the ground with their ringed muzzles. these modifications of structure, which are all strictly inherited, characterise several improved breeds, so that they cannot have been derived from any single domestic or wild stock.[ ] with respect to cattle, professor tanner has remarked that the lungs and liver in the improved breeds "are found to be considerably reduced in size when compared with those possessed by animals having perfect liberty;"[ ] and the reduction of these organs affects the general shape of the body. the cause of the reduced lungs in highly-bred animals which take little exercise is { } obvious; and perhaps the liver may be affected by the nutritious and artificial food on which they largely subsist. it is well known that, when an artery is tied, the anastomosing branches, from being forced to transmit more blood, increase in diameter; and this increase cannot be accounted for by mere extension, as their coats gain in strength. mr. herbert spencer[ ] has argued that with plants the flow of sap from the point of supply to the growing part first elongates the cells in this line; and that the cells then become confluent, thus forming the ducts; so that, on this view, the vessels in plants are formed by the mutual reaction of the flowing sap and cellular tissue. dr. w. turner has remarked,[ ] with respect to the branches of arteries, and likewise to a certain extent with nerves, that the great principle of compensation frequently comes into play; for "when two nerves pass to adjacent cutaneous areas, an inverse relation as regards size may subsist between them; a deficiency in one may be supplied by an increase in the other, and thus the area of the former may be trespassed on by the latter nerve." but how far in these cases the difference in size in the nerves and arteries is due to original variation, and how far to increased use or action, is not clear. in reference to glands, mr. paget observes that "when one kidney is destroyed the other often becomes much larger, and does double work."[ ] if we compare the size of the udders and their power of secretion in cows which have been long domesticated, and in certain goats in which the udders nearly touch the ground, with the size and power of secretion of these organs in wild or half-domesticated animals, the difference is great. a good cow with us daily yields more than five gallons, or forty pints of milk, whilst a first-rate animal, kept, for instance, by the damaras of south africa,[ ] "rarely gives more than two or three pints of milk daily, and, should her calf be taken from her, she absolutely refuses to give any." we may attribute the excellence of our cows, and of certain goats, partly to the continued selection of the best milking animals, and partly to the inherited effects of the increased action, through man's art, of the secreting glands. it is notorious, as was remarked in the twelfth chapter, that short-sight is inherited; and if we compare watchmakers or engravers with, for instance, sailors, we can hardly doubt that vision continually directed towards a near object permanently affects the structure of the eye. veterinarians are unanimous that horses become affected with spavins, splints, ringbones, &c., from being shod, and from travelling on hard roads, and they are almost equally unanimous that these injuries are transmitted. formerly horses were not shod in north carolina, and it has been asserted that they did not then suffer from these diseases of the legs and feet.[ ] { } our domesticated quadrupeds are all descended, as far as is known, from species having erect ears; yet few kinds can be named, of which at least one race has not drooping ears. cats in china, horses in parts of russia, sheep in italy and elsewhere, the guinea-pig in germany, goats and cattle in india, rabbits, pigs, and dogs in all long-civilised countries, have dependent ears. with wild animals, which constantly use their ears like funnels to catch every passing sound, and especially to ascertain the direction whence it comes, there is not, as mr. blyth has remarked, any species with drooping ears except the elephant. hence the incapacity to erect the ears is certainly in some manner the result of domestication; and this incapacity has been attributed by various authors[ ] to disuse, for animals protected by man are not compelled habitually to use their ears. col. hamilton smith[ ] states that in ancient effigies of the dog, "with the exception of one egyptian instance, no sculpture of the earlier grecian era produces representations of hounds with completely drooping ears; those with them half pendulous are missing in the most ancient; and this character increases, by degrees, in the works of the roman period." godron also has remarked that "the pigs of the ancient egyptians had not their ears enlarged and pendent."[ ] but it is remarkable that the drooping of the ears, though probably the effect of disuse, is not accompanied by any decrease in size; on the contrary, when we remember that animals so different as fancy rabbits, certain indian breeds of the goat, our petted spaniels, bloodhounds, and other dogs, have enormously elongated ears, it would appear as if disuse actually caused an increase in length. with rabbits, the drooping of the much elongated ears has affected even the structure of the skull. the tail of no wild animal, as remarked to me by mr. blyth, is curled; whereas pigs and some races of dogs have their tails much curled. this deformity, therefore, appears to be the result of domestication, but whether in any way connected with the lessened use of the tail is doubtful. { } the epidermis on our hands is easily thickened, as every one knows, by hard work. in a district of ceylon the sheep have "horny callosities that defend their knees, and which arise from their habit of kneeling down to crop the short herbage, and this distinguishes the jaffna flocks from those of other portions of the island;" but it is not stated whether this peculiarity is inherited.[ ] the mucous membrane which lines the stomach is continuous with the external skin of the body; therefore it is not surprising that its texture should be affected by the nature of the food consumed, but other and more interesting changes likewise follow. hunter long ago observed that the muscular coat of the stomach of a gull (_larus tridactylus_) which had been fed for a year chiefly on grain was thickened; and, according to dr. edmondston, a similar change periodically occurs in the shetland islands in the stomach of the _larus argentatus_, which in the spring frequents the corn-fields and feeds on the seed. the same careful observer has noticed a great change in the stomach of a raven which had been long fed on vegetable food. in the case of an owl (_strix grallaria_) similarly treated, menetries states that the form of the stomach was changed, the inner coat became leathery, and the liver increased in size. whether these modifications in the digestive organs would in the course of generations become inherited is not known.[ ] the increased or diminished length of the intestines, which apparently results from changed diet, is a more remarkable case, because it is characteristic of certain animals in their domesticated condition, and therefore must be inherited. the complex absorbent system, the blood-vessels, nerves, and muscles, are necessarily all modified together with the intestines. according to daubenton, the intestines of the domestic cat are one-third longer than those of the wild cat of europe; and although this species is not the parent-stock of the domestic animal, yet, as isidore geoffroy has remarked, the several species { } of cats are so closely allied that the comparison is probably a fair one. the increased length appears to be due to the domestic cat being less strictly carnivorous in its diet than any wild feline species; i have seen a french kitten eating vegetables as readily as meat. according to cuvier, the intestines of the domesticated pig exceed greatly in proportionate length those of the wild boar. in the tame and wild rabbit the change is of an opposite nature, and probably results from the nutritious food given to the tame rabbit.[ ] * * * * * _changed habits of life, independently of the use or disuse of particular organs._--this subject, as far as the mental powers of animals are concerned, so blends into instinct, on which i shall treat in a future work, that i will here only remind the reader of the many cases which occur under domestication, and which are familiar to every one--for instance the tameness of our animals--the pointing or retrieving of dogs--their not attacking the smaller animals kept by man--and so forth. how much of these changes ought to be attributed to inherited habit, and how much to the selection of individuals which have varied in the desired manner, irrespectively of the special circumstances under which they have been kept, can seldom be told. we have already seen that animals may be habituated to a changed diet; but a few additional instances may here be given. in the polynesian islands and in china the dog is fed exclusively on vegetable matter, and the taste for this kind of food is to a certain extent inherited.[ ] our sporting dogs will not touch the bones of game birds, whilst other dogs devour them with greediness. in some parts of the world sheep have been largely fed on fish. the domestic hog is fond of barley, the wild boar is said to disdain it; and the disdain is partially inherited, for some young wild pigs bred in captivity showed an aversion for this grain, whilst others of the same brood relished it.[ ] one of my relations bred some young pigs from { } a chinese sow by a wild alpine boar; they lived free in the park, and were so tame that they came to the house to be fed; but they would not touch swill, which was devoured by the other pigs. an animal when once accustomed to an unnatural diet, which can generally be effected only during youth, dislikes its proper food, as spallanzani found to be the case with a pigeon which had been long fed on meat. individuals of the same species take to new food with different degrees of readiness; one horse, it is stated, soon learned to eat meat, whilst another would have perished from hunger rather than have partaken of it.[ ] the caterpillars of the _bombyx hesperus_ feed in a state of nature on the leaves of the _café diable_, but, after having been reared on the ailanthus, they would not touch the _café diable_, and actually died of hunger.[ ] it has been found possible to accustom marine fish to live in fresh water; but as such changes in fish, and other marine animals, have been chiefly observed in a state of nature, they do not properly belong to our present subject. the period of gestation and of maturity, as shown in the earlier chapters,--the season and the frequency of the act of breeding,--have all been greatly modified under domestication. with the egyptian goose the rate of change in the season has been recorded.[ ] the wild drake pairs with one female, the domestic drake is polygamous. certain breeds of fowls have lost the habit of incubation. the paces of the horse, and the manner of flight in certain breeds of the pigeon, have been modified, and are inherited. the voice differs much in certain fowls and pigeons. some breeds are clamorous and others silent, as in the call and common duck, or in the spitz and pointer dog. every one knows how dogs differ from each other in their manner of hunting, and in their ardour after different kinds of game or vermin. with plants the period of vegetation is easily changed and is inherited, as in the case of summer and winter wheat, barley, { } and vetches; but to this subject we shall immediately return under acclimatisation. annual plants sometimes become perennial under a new climate, as i hear from dr. hooker is the case with the stock and mignonette in tasmania. on the other hand, perennials sometimes become annuals, as with the ricinus in england, and as, according to captain mangles, with many varieties of the heartsease. von berg[ ] raised from seed of _verbascum phoenicium_, which is usually a biennial, both annual and perennial varieties. some deciduous bushes become evergreen in hot countries.[ ] rice requires much water, but there is one variety in india which can be grown without irrigation.[ ] certain varieties of the oat and of our other cereals are best fitted for certain soils.[ ] endless similar facts could be given in the animal and vegetable kingdoms. they are noticed here because they illustrate analogous differences in closely allied natural species, and because such changed habits of life, whether due to use and disuse, or to the direct action of external conditions, or to so-called spontaneous variation, would be apt to lead to modifications of structure. * * * * * _acclimatisation._--from the previous remarks we are naturally led to the much disputed subject of acclimatisation. there are two distinct questions: do varieties descended from the same species differ in their power of living under different climates? and secondly, if they so differ, how have they become thus adapted? we have seen that european dogs do not succeed well in india, and it is asserted,[ ] that no one has succeeded in there keeping the newfoundland long alive; but then it may be argued, probably with truth, that these northern breeds are specifically distinct from the native dogs which flourish in india. the same remark may be made with respect to different breeds of sheep, of which, according to youatt,[ ] not one brought "from a torrid climate lasts out the second year," in the zoological gardens. but sheep are capable of some degree of acclimatisation, for merino sheep bred at the cape of good hope have been found { } far better adapted for india than those imported from england.[ ] it is almost certain that the breeds of the fowl are descended from the same species; but the spanish breed, which there is good reason to believe originated near the mediterranean,[ ] though so fine and vigorous in england, suffers more from frost than any other breed. the arrindy silk-moth introduced from bengal, and the ailanthus moth from the temperate province of shan tung, in china, belong to the same species, as we may infer from their identity in the caterpillar, cocoon, and mature states;[ ] yet they differ much in constitution: the indian form "will flourish only in warm latitudes," the other is quite hardy and withstands cold and rain. plants are more strictly adapted to climate than are animals. the latter when domesticated withstand such great diversities of climate, that we find nearly the same species in tropical and temperate countries; whilst the cultivated plants are widely dissimilar. hence a larger field is open for inquiry in regard to the acclimatisation of plants than of animals. it is no exaggeration to say that with almost every plant which has long been cultivated varieties exist, which are endowed with constitutions fitted for very different climates; i will select only a few of the more striking cases, as it would be tedious to give all. in north america numerous fruit-trees have been raised, and in horticultural publications,--for instance, in downing,--lists are given of the varieties which are best able to withstand the severe climate of the northern states and canada. many american varieties of the pear, plum, and peach are excellent in their own country, but until recently hardly one was known that succeeded in england; and with apples,[ ] not one succeeds. though the american varieties can withstand a severer winter than ours, the summer here is not hot enough. fruit-trees have originated in europe as in america with different constitutions, but they are not here much noticed, as the same nurserymen do not supply a wide area. the forelle pear flowers early, and when the flowers have just set, and this is the critical period, they have been observed, both in france and england, to withstand with complete impunity a frost of ° and even ° fahr., which killed the flowers, whether fully expanded or in bud, of all other kinds of pears.[ ] this power in the flower of resisting cold and afterwards producing fruit does not invariably depend, as we know on good authority,[ ] on general constitutional vigour. { } in proceeding northward, the number of varieties which are enabled to resist the climate rapidly decreases, as may be seen in the list of the varieties of the cherry, apple, and pear, which can be cultivated in the neighbourhood of stockholm.[ ] near moscow, prince troubetzkoy planted for experiment in the open ground several varieties of the pear, but one alone, the _poire sans pepins_, withstood the cold of winter.[ ] we thus see that our fruit-trees, like distinct species of the same genus, certainly differ from each other in their constitutional adaptation to different climates. with the varieties of many plants, the adaptation to climate is often very close. thus it has been proved by repeated trials "that few if any of the english varieties of wheat are adapted for cultivation in scotland;"[ ] but the failure in this case is at first only in the quantity, though ultimately in the quality, of the grain produced. the rev. j. m. berkeley sowed wheat-seed from india, and got "the most meagre ears," on land which would certainly have yielded a good crop from english wheat.[ ] in these cases varieties have been carried from a warmer to a cooler climate; in the reverse case, as "when wheat was imported directly from france into the west indian islands, it produced either wholly barren spikes or furnished with only two or three miserable seeds, while west indian seed by its side yielded an enormous harvest."[ ] here is another case of close adaptation to a slightly cooler climate; a kind of wheat which in england may be used indifferently either as a winter or summer variety, when sown under the warmer climate of grignan, in france, behaved exactly as if it had been a true winter wheat.[ ] botanists believe that all the varieties of maize belong to the same species; and we have seen that in north america, in proceeding northward, the varieties cultivated in each zone produce their flowers and ripen their seed within shorter and shorter periods. so that the tall, slowly maturing southern varieties do not succeed in new england, and the new english varieties do not succeed in canada. i have not met with any statement that the southern varieties are actually injured or killed by a degree of cold which the northern varieties withstand with impunity, though this is probable; but the production of early flowering and early seeding varieties deserves to be considered as one form of acclimatisation. hence it has been found possible, according to kalm, to cultivate maize further and further northwards in america. in europe, also, as we learn from the evidence given by alph. de candolle, the culture of maize has extended since the end of the last century thirty leagues north of its former boundary.[ ] on the authority of the great linnæus,[ ] i may quote an { } analogous case, namely, that in sweden tobacco raised from home-grown seed ripens its seed a month sooner and is less liable to miscarry than plants raised from foreign seed. with the vine, differently from the maize, the line of practical culture has retreated a little southward since the middle ages;[ ] but this seems due to commerce, including that of wine, being now freer or more easy. nevertheless the fact of the vine not having spread northward shows that acclimatisation has made no progress during several centuries. there is, however, a marked difference in the constitution of the several varieties,--some being hardy, whilst others, like the muscat of alexandria, require a very high temperature to come to perfection. according to labat,[ ] vines taken from france to the west indies succeed with extreme difficulty, whilst those imported from madeira, or the canary islands, thrive admirably. gallesio gives a curious account of the naturalisation of the orange in italy. daring many centuries the sweet orange was propagated exclusively by grafts, and so often suffered from frosts that it required protection. after the severe frost of , and more especially after that of , so many trees were destroyed that seedlings from the sweet orange were raised, and, to the surprise of the inhabitants, their fruit was found to be sweet. the trees thus raised were larger, more productive, and hardier than the former kinds; and seedlings are now continually raised. hence gallesio concludes that much more was effected for the naturalisation of the orange in italy by the accidental production of new kinds during a period of about sixty years, than had been effected by grafting old varieties during many ages.[ ] i may add that risso[ ] describes some portuguese varieties of the orange as extremely sensitive to cold, and as much tenderer than certain other varieties. the peach was known to theophrastus, b.c.[ ] according to the authorities quoted by dr. f. rolle,[ ] it was tender when first introduced into greece, and even in the island of rhodes only occasionally bore fruit. if this be correct, the peach, in spreading during the last two thousand years over the middle parts of europe, must have become much hardier. at the present day different varieties differ much in hardiness: some french varieties will not succeed in england; and near paris, the _pavie de bonneuil_ does not ripen its fruit till very late, even when grown on a wall; "it is, therefore, only fit for a very hot southern climate."[ ] i will briefly give a few other cases. a variety of _magnolia grandiflora_, raised by m. roy, withstands cold several degrees lower than that which any other variety can resist. with camellias there is much difference in hardiness. one particular variety of noisette rose withstood the severe frost of "untouched and hale amidst a universal destruction of other { } noisettes." in new york the "irish yew is quite hardy, but the common yew is liable to be cut down." i may add that there are varieties of the sweet potato (_convolvulus batatas_) which are suited for warmer, as well as for colder, climates.[ ] the plants as yet mentioned have been found capable of resisting an unusual degree of cold or heat, when fully grown. the following cases refer to plants whilst young. in a large bed of young araucarias of the same age, growing close together and equally exposed, it was observed,[ ] after the unusually severe winter of - , that, "in the midst of the dying, numerous individuals remained on which the frost had absolutely made no kind of impression." dr. lindley, after alluding to this and other similar cases, remarks, "among the lessons which the late formidable winter has taught us, is that, even in their power of resisting cold, individuals of the same species of plants are remarkably different." near salisbury, there was a sharp frost on the night of may th, , and all the french beans (_phaseolus vulgaris_) in a bed were killed except about one in thirty, which completely escaped.[ ] on the same day of the month, but in the year , there was a severe frost in kent, and two rows of scarlet-runners (_p. multiflorus_) in my garden, containing plants of the same age and equally exposed, were all blackened and killed except about a dozen plants. in an adjoining row of "fulmer's dwarf bean" (_p. vulgaris_), one single plant escaped. a still more severe frost occurred four days afterwards, and of the dozen plants which had previously escaped only three survived; these were not taller or more vigorous than the other young plants, but they escaped completely, with not even the tips of their leaves browned. it was impossible to behold these three plants, with their blackened, withered, and dead brethren all round them, and not see at a glance that they differed widely in constitutional power of resisting frost. this work is not the proper place to show that wild plants { } of the same species, naturally growing at different altitudes or under different latitudes, become to a certain extent acclimatised, as is proved by the different behaviour of their seedlings when raised in england. in my 'origin of species' i have alluded to some cases, and i could add others. one instance must suffice: mr. grigor, of forres,[ ] states that seedlings of the scotch fir (_pinus sylvestris_), raised from seed from the continent and from the forests of scotland, differ much. "the difference is perceptible in one-year-old, and more so in two-year-old seedlings; but the effects of the winter on the second year's growth almost uniformly makes those from the continent quite brown, and so damaged, that by the month of march they are quite unsaleable, while the plants from the native scotch pine, under the same treatment, and standing alongside, although considerably shorter, are rather stouter and quite green, so that the beds of the one can be known from the other when seen from the distance of a mile." closely similar facts have been observed with seedling larches. hardy varieties would alone be valued or noticed in europe; whilst tender varieties, requiring more warmth, would generally be neglected; but such occasionally arise. thus loudon[ ] describes a cornish variety of the elm which is almost an evergreen, and of which the shoots are often killed by the autumnal frosts, so that its timber is of little value. horticulturists know that some varieties are much more tender than others: thus all the varieties of the broccoli are more tender than cabbages; but there is much difference in this respect in the sub-varieties of the broccoli; the pink and purple kinds are a little hardier than the white cape broccoli, "but they are not to be depended on after the thermometer falls below ° fahr.:" the walcheren broccoli is less tender than the cape, and there are several varieties which will stand much severer cold than the walcheren.[ ] cauliflowers seed more freely in india than cabbages.[ ] to give one instance with flowers: eleven plants raised from a hollyhock, called the _queen of the whites_,[ ] were found to be much more tender than various other seedlings. it may be presumed that all tender varieties would succeed better under a climate warmer than ours. with fruit-trees, it is well known that certain varieties, for instance of the peach, stand forcing in a hot-house better than others; and this shows { } either pliability of organisation or some constitutional difference. the same individual cherry-tree, when forced, has been observed during successive years gradually to change its period of vegetation.[ ] few pelargoniums can resist the heat of a stove, but _alba multiflora_ will, as a most skilful gardener asserts, "stand pine-apple top and bottom heat the whole winter, without looking any more drawn than if it had stood in a common greenhouse; and _blanche fleur_ seems as if it had been made on purpose for growing in winter, like many bulbs, and to rest all summer."[ ] there can hardly be a doubt that the _alba multiflora_ pelargonium must have a widely different constitution from that of most other varieties of this plant; it would probably withstand even an equatorial climate. we have seen that according to labat the vine and wheat require acclimatisation in order to succeed in the west indies. similar facts have been observed at madras: "two parcels of mignonette-seed, one direct from europe, the other saved at bangalore (of which the mean temperature is much below that of madras) were sown at the same time: they both vegetated equally favourably, but the former all died off a few days after they appeared above ground; the latter still survive, and are vigorous healthy plants." so again, "turnip and carrot seed saved at hyderabad are found to answer better at madras than seed from europe or from the cape of good hope."[ ] mr. j. scott, of the calcutta botanic gardens, informs me that seeds of the sweet-pea (_lathyrus odoratus_) imported from england produce plants, with thick, rigid stems and small leaves, which rarely blossom and never yield seed; plants raised from french seed blossom sparingly, but all the flowers are sterile; on the other hand, plants raised from sweet-peas grown near darjeeling in upper india, but originally derived from england, can be successfully cultivated on the plains of india; for they flower and seed profusely, and their stems are lax and scandent. in some of the foregoing cases, as dr. hooker has remarked to me, the greater success may perhaps be attributed to the seeds having been more fully ripened under a more favourable climate; but this view can hardly be extended to so many cases, including plants, which, from being cultivated under a climate hotter than their native one, become fitted for a still hotter climate. we may therefore safely conclude that plants can to a certain extent become accustomed to a climate either hotter or colder than their own; although these latter cases have been more frequently observed. we will now consider the means by which acclimatisation may be effected, namely, through the spontaneous appearance of varieties having a different constitution, and through the effects of use or habit. in regard to the first process, there is no evidence that a change in the constitution of the { } offspring necessarily stands in any direct relation with the nature of the climate inhabited by the parents. on the contrary, it is certain that hardy and tender varieties of the same species appear in the same country. new varieties thus spontaneously arising become fitted to slightly different climates in two different ways; firstly, they may have the power, either as seedlings or when full-grown, of resisting intense cold, as with the moscow pear, or of resisting intense heat, as with some kinds of pelargonium, or the flowers may withstand severe frost, as with the forelle pear. secondly, plants may become adapted to climates widely different from their own, from flowering and fruiting either earlier or later in the season. in both these cases the power of acclimatisation by man consists simply in the selection and preservation of new varieties. but without any direct intention on his part of securing a hardier variety, acclimatisation may be unconsciously effected by merely raising tender plants from seed, and by occasionally attempting their cultivation further and further northwards, as in the case of maize, the orange, and the peach. how much influence ought to be attributed to inherited habit or custom in the acclimatisation of animals and plants is a much more difficult question. in many cases natural selection can hardly have failed to have come into play and complicated the result. it is notorious that mountain sheep resist severe weather and storms of snow which would destroy lowland breeds; but then mountain sheep have been thus exposed from time immemorial, and all delicate individuals will have been destroyed, and the hardiest preserved. so with the arrindy silk-moths of china and india; who can tell how far natural selection may have taken a share in the formation of the two races, which are now fitted for such widely different climates? it seems at first probable that the many fruit-trees, which are so well fitted for the hot summers and cold winters of north america, in contrast with their poor success under our climate, have become adapted through habit; but when we reflect on the multitude of seedlings annually raised in that country, and that none would succeed unless born with a fitting constitution, it is possible that mere habit may have done nothing towards their acclimatisation. on the other hand, when we { } hear that merino sheep, bred during no great number of generations at the cape of good hope--that some european plants raised during only a few generations in the cooler parts of india, withstand the hotter parts of that country much better than the sheep or seeds imported directly from england, we must attribute some influence to habit. we are led to the same conclusion when we hear from naudin[ ] that the races of melons, squashes, and gourds, which have long been cultivated in northern europe, are comparatively more precocious, and need much less heat for maturing their fruit, than the varieties of the same species recently brought from tropical regions. in the reciprocal conversion of summer and winter wheat, barley, and vetches into each other, habit produces a marked effect in the course of a very few generations. the same thing apparently occurs with the varieties of maize, which, when carried from the southern to the northern states of america, or into germany, soon become accustomed to their new homes. with vine-plants taken to the west indies from madeira, which are said to succeed better than plants brought directly from france, we have some degree of acclimatisation in the individual, independently of the production of new varieties by seed. the common experience of agriculturists is of some value, and they often advise persons to be cautious in trying in one country the productions of another. the ancient agricultural writers of china recommend the preservation and cultivation of the varieties peculiar to each country. during the classical period, columella wrote, "vernaculum pecus peregrino longe præstantius est."[ ] i am aware that the attempt to acclimatise either animals or plants has been called a vain chimæra. no doubt the attempt in most cases deserves to be thus called, if made independently of the production of new varieties endowed with a different constitution. habit, however much prolonged, rarely produces any effect on a plant propagated by buds; it apparently acts only through successive seminal generations. { } the laurel, bay, laurestinus, &c., and the jerusalem artichoke, which are propagated by cuttings or tubers, are probably now as tender in england as when first introduced; and this appears to be the case with the potato, which until recently was seldom multiplied by seed. with plants propagated by seed, and with animals, there will be little or no acclimatisation unless the hardier individuals are either intentionally or unconsciously preserved. the kidney-bean has often been advanced as an instance of a plant which has not become hardier since its first introduction into britain. we hear, however, on excellent authority,[ ] that some very fine seed, imported from abroad, produced plants "which blossomed most profusely, but were nearly all but abortive, whilst plants grown alongside from english seed podded abundantly;" and this apparently shows some degree of acclimatisation in our english plants. we have also seen that seedlings of the kidney-bean occasionally appear with a marked power of resisting frost; but no one, as far as i can hear, has ever separated such hardy seedlings, so as to prevent accidental crossing, and then gathered their seed, and repeated the process year after year. it may, however, be objected with truth that natural selection ought to have had a decided effect on the hardiness of our kidney-beans; for the tenderest individuals must have been killed during every severe spring, and the hardier preserved. but it should be borne in mind that the result of increased hardiness would simply be that gardeners, who are always anxious for as early a crop as possible, would sow their seed a few days earlier than formerly. now, as the period of sowing depends much on the soil and elevation of each district, and varies with the season; and as new varieties have often been imported from abroad, can we feel sure that our kidney-beans are not somewhat hardier? i have not been able, by searching old horticultural works, to answer this question satisfactorily. on the whole the facts now given show that, though habit does something towards acclimatisation, yet that the spontaneous appearance of constitutionally different individuals is a far more effective agent. as no single instance has been recorded, either with animals or plants, of hardier individuals { } having been long and steadily selected, though such selection is admitted to be indispensable for the improvement of any other character, it is not surprising that man has done little in the acclimatisation of domesticated animals and cultivated plants. we need not, however, doubt that under nature new races and new species would become adapted to widely different climates, by spontaneous variation, aided by habit, and regulated by natural selection. _arrests of development: rudimentary and aborted organs._ these subjects are here introduced because there is reason to believe that rudimentary organs are in many cases the result of disuse. modifications of structure from arrested development, so great or so serious as to deserve to be called monstrosities, are of common occurrence, but, as they differ much from any normal structure, they require here only a passing notice. when a part or organ is arrested during its embryonic growth, a rudiment is generally left. thus the whole head may be represented by a soft nipple-like projection, and the limbs by mere papillæ. these rudiments of limbs are sometimes inherited, as has been observed in a dog.[ ] many lesser anomalies in our domesticated animals appear to be due to arrested development. what the cause of the arrest may be, we seldom know, except in the case of direct injury to the embryo within the egg or womb. that the cause does not generally act at a very early embryonic period we may infer from the affected organ seldom being wholly aborted,--a rudiment being generally preserved. the external ears are represented by mere vestiges in a chinese breed of sheep; and in another breed, the tail is reduced "to a little button, suffocated, in a manner, by fat."[ ] in tailless dogs and cats a stump is left; but i do not know whether it includes at an early embryonic age rudiments of all the caudal vertebræ. in certain breeds of fowls the comb and wattles are reduced to rudiments; in the cochin-china breed scarcely more than rudiments of spurs exist. with polled suffolk cattle, "rudiments of horns can often be felt at an early age;"[ ] and with species in a state of nature, the relatively greater development of rudimentary organs at an early period of life is highly characteristic of such organs. with hornless breeds of cattle and sheep; another and singular kind of rudiment has been observed, namely, minute dangling horns attached to the skin alone, and which are often shed and grow again. with hornless goats, according to desmarest,[ ] { } the bony protuberances which properly support the horns exist as mere rudiments. with cultivated plants it is far from rare to find the petals, stamens, and pistils represented by rudiments, like those observed in natural species. so it is with the whole seed in many fruits; thus near astrakhan there is a grape with mere traces of seeds, "so small and lying so near the stalk that they are not perceived in eating the grape."[ ] in certain varieties of the gourd, the tendrils, according to naudin, are represented by rudiments or by various monstrous growths. in the broccoli and cauliflower the greater number of the flowers are incapable of expansion, and include rudimentary organs. in the feather hyacinth (_muscari comosum_) the upper and central flowers are brightly coloured but rudimentary; under cultivation the tendency to abortion travels downwards and outwards, and all the flowers become rudimentary; but the abortive stamens and pistils are not so small in the lower as in the upper flowers. in the _viburnum opulus_, on the other hand, the outer flowers naturally have their organs of fructification in a rudimentary state, and the corolla is of large size; under cultivation, the change spreads to the centre, and all the flowers become affected; thus the well-known snow-ball bush is produced. in the compositæ, the so-called doubling of the flowers consists in the greater development of the corolla of the central florets, generally accompanied with some degree of sterility; and it has been observed[ ] that the progressive doubling invariably spreads from the circumference to the centre,--that is, from the ray florets, which so often include rudimentary organs, to those of the disc. i may add, as bearing on this subject, that, with asters, seeds taken from the florets of the circumference have been found to yield the greatest number of double flowers.[ ] in these several cases we have a natural tendency in certain parts to become rudimentary, and this under culture spreads either to, or from, the axis of the plant. it deserves notice, as showing how the same laws govern the changes which natural species and artificial varieties undergo, that in a series of species in the genus carthamus, one of the compositæ, a tendency in the seeds to the abortion of the pappus may be traced extending from the circumference to the centre of the disc: thus, according to a. de jussieu,[ ] the abortion is only partial in _carthamus creticus_, but more extended in _c. lanatus_; for in this species two or three alone of the central seeds are furnished with a pappus, the surrounding seeds being either quite naked or furnished with a few hairs; and lastly, in _c. tinctorius_, even the central seeds are destitute of pappus, and the abortion is complete. with animals and plants under domestication, when an organ disappears, leaving only a rudiment, the loss has generally been sudden, as with hornless and tailless breeds; and such cases may be ranked as inherited monstrosities. but in some few cases the loss has been gradual, and { } has been partly effected by selection, as with the rudimentary combs and wattles of certain fowls. we have also seen that the wings of some domesticated birds have been slightly reduced by disuse, and the great reduction of the wings in certain silk-moths, with mere rudiments left, has probably been aided by disuse. with species in a state of nature, rudimentary organs are so extremely common that scarcely one can be named which is wholly free from a blemish of this nature. such organs are generally variable, as several naturalists have observed; for, being useless, they are not regulated by natural selection, and they are more or less liable to reversion. the same rule certainly holds good with parts which have become rudimentary under domestication. we do not know through what steps under nature rudimentary organs have passed in being reduced to their present condition; but we so incessantly see in species of the same group the finest gradations between an organ in a rudimentary and perfect state, that we are led to believe that the passage must have been extremely gradual. it may be doubted whether a change of structure so abrupt as the sudden loss of an organ would ever be of service to a species in a state of nature; for the conditions to which all organisms are closely adapted usually change very slowly. even if an organ did suddenly disappear in some one individual by an arrest of development, intercrossing with the other individuals of the same species would cause it to reappear in a more or less perfect manner, so that its final reduction could only be effected by the slow process of continued disuse or natural selection. it is much more probable that, from changed habits of life, organs first become of less and less use, and ultimately superfluous; or their place may be supplied by some other organ; and then disuse, acting on the offspring through inheritance at corresponding periods of life, would go on reducing the organ; but as most organs could be of no use at an early embryonic period, they would not be affected by disuse; consequently they would be preserved at this stage of growth, and would remain as rudiments. in addition to the effects of disuse, the principle of economy of growth, already alluded to in this chapter, would lead to the still further reduction of all superfluous parts. with respect to the final and total suppression or abortion of any organ, another and distinct principle, which will be discussed in the chapter on pangenesis, probably takes a share in the work. with animals and plants reared by man there is no severe or recurrent struggle for existence, and the principle of economy will not come into action. so far, indeed, is this from being the case, that in some instances organs, which are naturally rudimentary in the parent-species, become partially redeveloped in the domesticated descendants. thus cows, like most other ruminants, properly have four active and two rudimentary mammæ; but in our domesticated animals, the latter occasionally become considerably developed and yield milk. the atrophied mammæ, which, in male domesticated animals, including man, have in some rare cases grown to full size and secreted milk, perhaps offer an analogous case. the hind feet of dogs include rudiments of a fifth toe, and in certain large breeds these toes, though still rudimentary, become considerably developed { } and are furnished with claws. in the common hen, the spurs and comb are rudimentary, but in certain breeds these become, independently of age or disease of the ovaria, well developed. the stallion has canine teeth, but the mare has only traces of the alveoli, which, as i am informed by the eminent veterinary mr. g. t. brown, frequently contain minute irregular nodules of bone. these nodules, however, sometimes become developed into imperfect teeth, protruding through the gums and coated with enamel; and occasionally they grow to a third or even a fourth of the length of the canines in the stallion. with plants i do not know whether the redevelopment of rudimentary organs occurs more frequently under culture than under nature. perhaps the pear-tree may be a case in point, for when wild it bears thorns, which though useful as a protection are formed of branches in a rudimentary condition, but, when the tree is cultivated, the thorns are reconverted into branches. finally, though organs which must be classed as rudimentary frequently occur in our domesticated animals and cultivated plants, these have generally been formed suddenly, through an arrest of development. they usually differ in appearance from the rudiments which so frequently characterise natural species. in the latter, rudimentary organs have been slowly formed through continued disuse, acting by inheritance at a corresponding age, aided by the principle of the economy of growth, all under the control of natural selection. with domesticated animals, on the other hand, the principle of economy is far from coming into action, and their organs, although often slightly reduced by disuse, are not thus almost obliterated with mere rudiments left. * * * * * { } chapter xxv. laws of variation, _continued_--correlated variability. explanation of term--correlation as connected with development--modifications correlated with the increased or decreased size of parts--correlated variation of homologous parts--feathered feet in birds assuming the structure of the wings--correlation between the head and the extremities--between the skin and dermal appendages--between the organs of sight and hearing--correlated modifications in the organs of plants--correlated monstrosities--correlation between the skull and ears--skull and crest of feathers--skull and horns--correlation of growth complicated by the accumulated effects of natural selection--colour as correlated with constitutional peculiarities. all the parts of the organisation are to a certain extent connected or correlated together; but the connexion may be so slight that it hardly exists, as with compound animals or the buds on the same tree. even in the higher animals various parts are not at all closely related; for one part may be wholly suppressed or rendered monstrous without any other part of the body being affected. but in some cases, when one part varies, certain other parts always, or nearly always, simultaneously vary; they are then subject to the law of correlated variation. formerly i used the somewhat vague expression of correlation of growth, which may be applied to many large classes of facts. thus, all the parts of the body are admirably coordinated for the peculiar habits of life of each organic being, and they may be said, as the duke of argyll insists in his 'reign of law,' to be correlated for this purpose. again, in large groups of animals certain structures always co-exist; for instance, a peculiar form of stomach with teeth of peculiar form, and such structures may in one sense be said to be correlated. but these cases have no necessary connexion with the law to be discussed in the present chapter; for we do not know that { } the initial or primary variations of the several parts were in any way related; slight modifications or individual differences may have been preserved, first in one and then in another part, until the final and perfectly co-adapted structure was acquired; but to this subject i shall presently recur. again, in many groups of animals the males alone are furnished with weapons, or are ornamented with gay colours; and these characters manifestly stand in some sort of correlation with the male reproductive organs, for when the latter are destroyed these characters disappear. but it was shown in the twelfth chapter that the very same peculiarity may become attached at any age to either sex, and afterwards be exclusively transmitted by the same sex at a corresponding age. in these cases we have inheritance limited by, or correlated with, both sex and age; but we have no reason for supposing that the original cause of the variation was necessarily connected with the reproductive organs, or with the age of the affected being. in cases of true correlated variation, we are sometimes able to see the nature of the connexion; but in most cases the bond is hidden from us, and certainly differs in different cases. we can seldom say which of two correlated parts first varies, and induces a change in the other; or whether the two are simultaneously produced by some distinct cause. correlated variation is an important subject for us; for when one part is modified through continued selection, either by man or under nature, other parts of the organisation will be unavoidably modified. from this correlation it apparently follows that, with our domesticated animals and plants, varieties rarely or never differ from each other by some single character alone. one of the simplest cases of correlation is that a modification which arises during an early stage of growth tends to influence the subsequent development of the same part, as well as of other and intimately connected parts. isidore geoffroy st. hilaire states[ ] that this may constantly be observed with monstrosities { } in the animal kingdom; and moquin-tandon[ ] remarks, that, as with plants the axis cannot become monstrous without in some way affecting the organs subsequently produced from it, so axial anomalies are almost always accompanied by deviations of structure in the appended parts. we shall presently see that with short-muzzled races of the dog certain histological changes in the basal elements of the bones arrest their development and shorten them, and this affects the position of the subsequently developed molar teeth. it is probable that certain modifications in the larvæ of insects would affect the structure of the mature insects. but we must be very careful not to extend this view too far, for, during the normal course of development, certain members in the same group of animals are known to pass through an extraordinary course of change, whilst other and closely allied members arrive at maturity with little change of structure. another simple case of correlation is that with the increased or decreased dimensions of the whole body, or of any particular part, certain organs are increased or diminished in number, or are otherwise modified. thus pigeon-fanciers have gone on selecting pouters for length of body, and we have seen that their vertebræ are generally increased in number, and their ribs in breadth. tumblers have been selected for their small bodies, and their ribs and primary wing-feathers are generally lessened in number. fantails have been selected for their large, widely-expanded tails, with numerous tail-feathers, and the caudal vertebræ are increased in size and number. carriers have been selected for length of beak, and their tongues have become longer, but not in strict accordance with the length of beak. in this latter breed and in others having large feet, the number of the scutellæ on the toes is greater than in the breeds with small feet. many similar cases could be given. in germany it has been observed that the period of gestation is longer in large-sized than in small-sized breeds of cattle. with our highly-improved animals of all kinds the period of maturity has advanced, both with respect to the full growth of the body and the period of reproduction; and, in correspondence with this, the teeth are now developed earlier than formerly, so that, { } to the surprise of agriculturists, the ancient rules for judging the age of an animal by the state of its teeth are no longer trustworthy.[ ] _correlated variation of homologous parts._--parts which are homologous tend to vary in the same manner; and this is what might have been expected, for such parts are identical in form and structure during an early period of embryonic development, and are exposed in the egg or womb to similar conditions. the symmetry, in most kinds of animals, of the corresponding or homologous organs on the right and left sides of the body, is the simplest case in point; but this symmetry sometimes fails, as with rabbits having only one ear, or stags with one horn, or with many-horned sheep which sometimes carry an additional horn on one side of their heads. with flowers which have regular corollas, the petals generally vary in the same manner, as we see in the same complicated and elegant pattern, on the flowers of the chinese pink; but with irregular flowers, though the petals are of course homologous, this symmetry often fails, as with the varieties of the _antirrhinum_ or snapdragon, or that variety of the kidney-bean (_phaseolus multiflorus_) which has a white standard-petal. in the vertebrata the front and hind limbs are homologous, and they tend to vary in the same manner, as we see in long and short-legged, or in thick and thin-legged races of the horse and dog. isidore geoffroy[ ] has remarked on the tendency of supernumerary digits in man to appear, not only on the right and left sides, but on the upper and lower extremities. meckel has insisted[ ] that, when the muscles of the arm depart in number or arrangement from their proper type, they almost always imitate those of the leg; and so conversely the varying muscles of the leg imitate the normal muscles of the arm. in several distinct breeds of the pigeon and fowl, the legs and the two outer toes are heavily feathered, so that in the trumpeter pigeon they appear like little wings. in the feather-legged bantam the "boots" or feathers, which grow from the outside of the leg and generally from the two outer toes, have, { } according to the excellent authority of mr. hewitt,[ ] been seen to exceed the wing-feathers in length, and in one case were actually nine and a half inches in length! as mr. blyth has remarked to me, these leg-feathers resemble the primary wing-feathers, and are totally unlike the fine down which naturally grows on the legs of some birds, such as grouse and owls. hence it may be suspected that excess of food has first given redundancy to the plumage, and then that the law of homologous variation has led to the development of feathers on the legs, in a position corresponding with those on the wing, namely, on the outside of the tarsi and toes. i am strengthened in this belief by the following curious case of correlation, which for a long time seemed to me utterly inexplicable, namely, that in pigeons of any breed, if the legs are feathered, the two outer toes are partially connected by skin. these two outer toes correspond with our third and fourth toes. now, in the wing of the pigeon or any other bird, the first and fifth digits are wholly aborted; the second is rudimentary and carries the so-called "bastard-wing;" whilst the third and fourth digits are completely united and enclosed by skin, together forming the extremity of the wing. so that in feather-footed pigeons, not only does the exterior surface support a row of long feathers, like wing-feathers, but the very same digits which in the wing are completely united by skin become partially united by skin in the feet; and thus by the law of the correlated variation of homologous parts we can understand the curious connection of feathered legs and membrane between the two outer toes. andrew knight[ ] has remarked that the face or head and the limbs vary together in general proportions. compare, for instance, the head and limbs of a dray and race-horse, or of a greyhound and mastiff. what a monster a greyhound would appear with the head of a mastiff! the _modern_ bulldog, however, has fine limbs, but this is a recently-selected character. from the measurements given in the sixth chapter, we clearly see that in all the breeds of the pigeon the length of the beak and the size of the feet are correlated. the view which, as before explained, seems the most probable is, that disuse in all cases tends { } to diminish the feet, the beak becoming at the same time through correlation shorter; but that in those few breeds in which length of beak has been a selected point, the feet, notwithstanding disuse, have through correlation increased in size. with the increased length of the beak in pigeons, not only the tongue increases in length, but likewise the orifice of the nostrils. but the increased length of the orifice of the nostrils perhaps stands in closer correlation with the development of the corrugated skin or wattle at the base of the beak; for when there is much wattle round the eyes, the eyelids are greatly increased or even doubled in length. there is apparently some correlation even in colour between the head and the extremities. thus with horses a large white star or blaze on the forehead is generally accompanied by white feet.[ ] with white rabbits and cattle, dark marks often co-exist on the tips of the ears and on the feet. in black and tan dogs of different breeds, tan-coloured spots over the eyes and tan-coloured feet almost invariably go together. these latter cases of connected colouring may be due either to reversion or to analogous variation,--subjects to which we shall hereafter return,--but this does not necessarily determine the question of their original correlation. if those naturalists are correct who maintain that the jaw-bones are homologous with the limb-bones, then we can understand why the head and limbs tend to vary together in shape and even in colour; but several highly competent judges dispute the correctness of this view. the lopping forwards and downwards of the immense ears of fancy rabbits is in part due to the disuse of the muscles, and in part to the weight and length of the ears, which have been increased by selection during many generations. now, with the increased size and changed direction of the ears, not only has the bony auditory meatus become changed in outline, direction, and greatly in size, but the whole skull has been slightly modified. this could be clearly seen in "half-lops"--that is, in rabbits with one ear alone lopping forward--for the opposite sides of their skulls were not strictly symmetrical. this seems to me a curious instance of correlation, between hard { } bones and organs so soft and flexible, as well as so unimportant under a physiological point of view, as the external ears. the result no doubt is largely due to mere mechanical action, that is, to the weight of the ears, on the same principle that the skull of a human infant is easily modified by pressure. the skin and the appendages of hair, feathers, hoofs, horns, and teeth, are homologous over the whole body. every one knows that the colour of the skin and that of the hair usually vary together; so that virgil advises the shepherd to look whether the mouth and tongue of the ram are black, lest the lambs should not be purely white. with poultry and certain ducks we have seen that the colour of the plumage stands in some connexion with the colour of the shell of the egg,--that is, with the mucous membrane which secretes the shell. the colour of the skin and hair, and the odour emitted by the glands of the skin, are said[ ] to be connected, even in the same race of men. generally the hair varies in the same way all over the body in length, fineness, and curliness. the same rule holds good with feathers, as we see with the laced and frizzled breeds both of fowls and pigeons. in the common cock the feathers on the neck and loins are always of a particular shape, called hackles: now in the polish breed, both sexes are characterised by a tuft of feathers on the head; but through correlation these feathers in the male always assume the form of hackles. the wing and tail-feathers, though arising from parts not homologous, vary in length together; so that long or short winged pigeons generally have long or short tails. the case of the jacobin-pigeon is more curious, for the wing and tail feathers are remarkably long; and this apparently has arisen in correlation with the elongated and reversed feathers on the back of the neck, which form the hood. the hoofs and hair are homologous appendages; and a careful observer, namely azara,[ ] states that in paraguay horses of various colours are often born with their hair curled and twisted like that on the head of a negro. this peculiarity is strongly inherited. but what is remarkable is that the hoofs of these horses "are absolutely like those of a mule." the hair also of the mane and tail is invariably much shorter than usual, being only from four { } to twelve inches in length; so that curliness and shortness of the hair are here, as with the negro, apparently correlated. with respect to the horns of sheep, youatt[ ] remarks that "multiplicity of horns is not found in any breed of much value: it is generally accompanied by great length and coarseness of the fleece." several tropical breeds of sheep, which are clothed with hair instead of wool, have horns almost like those of a goat. sturm[ ] expressly declares that in different races the more the wool is curled the more the horns are spirally twisted. we have seen in the third chapter, where other analogous facts have been given, that the parent of the mauchamp breed, so famous for its fleece, had peculiarly shaped horns. the inhabitants of angora assert[ ] that "only the white goats which have horns wear the fleece in the long curly locks that are so much admired; those which are not horned having a comparatively close coat." from these cases we may conclude that the hair or wool and the horns vary in a correlated manner. those who have tried hydropathy are aware that the frequent application of cold water stimulates the skin; and whatever stimulates the skin tends to increase the growth of the hair, as is well shown in the abnormal growth of hair near old inflamed surfaces. now, professor low[ ] is convinced that with the different races of british cattle thick skin and long hair depend on the humidity of the climate which they inhabit. we can thus see how a humid climate might act on the horns--in the first place directly on the skin and hair, and secondly by correlation on the horns. the presence or absence of horns, moreover, both in the case of sheep and cattle, acts, as will presently be shown, by some sort of correlation on the skull. with respect to hair and teeth, mr. yarrell[ ] found many of the teeth deficient in three hairless "_Ægyptian_" dogs, and in a hairless terrier. the incisors, canines, and premolars suffered most, but in one case all the teeth, except the large tubercular molar on each side, were deficient. with man several striking cases have been recorded[ ] of inherited baldness with { } inherited deficiency, either complete or partial, of the teeth. we see the same connexion in those rare cases in which the hair has been renewed in old age, for this has "usually been accompanied by a renewal of the teeth." i have remarked in a former part of this volume that the great reduction in the size of the tusks in domestic boars probably stands in close relation with their diminished bristles, due to a certain amount of protection; and that the reappearance of the tusks in boars, which have become feral and are fully exposed to the weather, probably depends on the reappearance of the bristles. i may add, though not strictly connected with our present point, that an agriculturist[ ] asserts that "pigs with little hair on their bodies are most liable to lose their tails, showing a weakness of the tegumental structure. it may be prevented by crossing with a more hairy breed." in the previous cases deficient hair, and teeth deficient in number or size, are apparently connected. in the following cases abnormally redundant hair, and teeth either deficient or redundant, are likewise connected. mr. crawfurd[ ] saw at the burmese court a man, thirty years old, with his whole body, except the hands and feet, covered with straight silky hair, which on the shoulders and spine was five inches in length. at birth the ears alone were covered. he did not arrive at puberty, or shed his milk teeth, until twenty years old; and at this period he acquired five teeth in the upper jaw, namely four incisors and one canine, and four incisor teeth in the lower jaw; all the teeth were small. this man had a daughter, who was born with hair within her ears; and the hair soon extended over her body. when captain yule[ ] visited the court, he found this girl grown up; and she presented a strange appearance with even her nose densely covered with soft hair. like her father, she was furnished with incisor teeth alone. the king had with difficulty bribed a man to marry her, and of her two children, one, a boy fourteen months old, had hair growing out of his ears, with a beard and moustache. this strange peculiarity had, therefore, been inherited for three generations, with the molar teeth deficient in the grandfather and mother; whether { } these teeth would likewise fail in the infant could not be told. here is another case communicated to me by mr. wallace on the authority of dr. purland, a dentist: julia pastrana, a spanish dancer, was a remarkably fine woman, but she had a thick masculine beard and a hairy forehead; she was photographed, and her stuffed skin was exhibited as a show; but what concerns us is, that she had in both the upper and lower jaw an irregular double set of teeth, one row being placed within the other, of which dr. purland took a cast. from the redundancy of the teeth her mouth projected, and her face had a gorilla-like appearance. these cases and those of the hairless dogs forcibly call to mind the fact, that the two orders of mammals--namely, the edentata and cetacea--which are the most abnormal in their dermal covering, are likewise the most abnormal either by deficiency or redundancy of teeth. the organs of sight and hearing are generally admitted to be homologous, both with each other and with the various dermal appendages; hence these parts are liable to be abnormally affected in conjunction. mr. white cowper says "that in all cases of double microphthalmia brought under his notice he has at the same time met with defective development of the dental system." certain forms of blindness seem to be associated with the colour of the hair; a man with black hair and a woman with light-coloured hair, both of sound constitution, married and had nine children, all of whom were born blind; of these children, five "with dark hair and brown iris were afflicted with amaurosis; the four others, with light-coloured hair and blue iris, had amaurosis and cataract conjoined." several cases could be given, showing that some relation exists between various affections of the eyes and ears; thus liebreich states that out of deaf-mutes in berlin, no less than fourteen suffered from the rare disease called pigmentary retinitis. mr. white cowper and dr. earle have remarked that inability to distinguish different colours, or colour-blindness, "is often associated with a corresponding inability to distinguish musical sounds."[ ] { } here is a more curious case: white cats, if they have blue eyes, are almost always deaf. i formerly thought that the rule was invariable, but i have heard of a few authentic exceptions. the first two notices were published in , and relate to english and persian cats: of the latter, the rev. w. t. bree possessed a female, and he states "that of the offspring produced at one and the same birth, such as, like the mother, were entirely white (with blue eyes) were, like her, invariably deaf; while those that had the least speck of colour on their fur, as invariably possessed the usual faculty of hearing."[ ] the rev. w. darwin fox informs me that he has seen more than a dozen instances of this correlation in english, persian, and danish cats; but he adds "that, if one eye, as i have several times observed, be not blue, the cat hears. on the other hand, i have never seen a white cat with eyes of the common colour that was deaf." in france dr. sichel[ ] has observed during twenty years similar facts; he adds the remarkable case of the iris beginning, at the end of four months, to grow dark-coloured, and then the cat first began to hear. this case of correlation in cats has struck many persons as marvellous. there is nothing unusual in the relation between blue eyes and white fur; and we have already seen that the organs of sight and hearing are often simultaneously affected. in the present instance the cause probably lies in a slight arrest of development in the nervous system in connection with the sense-organs. kittens during the first nine days, whilst their eyes are closed, appear to be completely deaf; i have made a great clanging noise with a poker and shovel close to their heads, both when they were asleep and awake, without producing any effect. the trial must not be made by shouting close to their ears, for they are, even when asleep, extremely sensitive to a breath of air. now, as long as the eyes continue closed, the iris is no doubt blue, for in all the kittens which i have seen this colour remains for some time after the eyelids open. hence, if we suppose the development of the organs of sight and hearing to be arrested at the stage of the closed eyelids, the eyes would { } remain permanently blue and the ears would be incapable of perceiving sound; and we should thus understand this curious case. as, however, the colour of the fur is determined long before birth, and as the blueness of the eyes and the whiteness of the fur are obviously connected, we must believe that some primary cause acts at an early period. the instances of correlated variability hitherto given have been chiefly drawn from the animal kingdom, and we will now turn to plants. leaves, sepals, petals, stamens, and pistils are all homologous. in double flowers we see that the stamens and pistils vary in the same manner, and assume the form and colour of the petals. in the double columbine (_aquilegia vulgaris_), the successive whorls of stamens are converted into cornucopias, which are enclosed within each other and resemble the petals. in hose-and-hose flowers the sepals mock the petals. in some cases the flowers and leaves vary together in tint: in all the varieties of the common pea, which have purple flowers, a purple mark may be seen on the stipules. in other cases the leaves and fruit and seeds vary together in colour, as in a curious pale-leaved variety of the sycamore, which has recently been described in france,[ ] and as in the purple-leaved hazel, in which the leaves, the husk of the nut, and the pellicle round the kernel are all coloured purple.[ ] pomologists can predict to a certain extent, from the size and appearance of the leaves of their seedlings, the probable nature of the fruit; for, as van mons remarks,[ ] variations in the leaves are generally accompanied by some modification in the flower, and consequently in the fruit. in the serpent melon, which has a narrow tortuous fruit above a yard in length, the stem of the plant, the peduncle of the female flower, and the middle lobe of the leaf, are all elongated in a remarkable manner. on the other hand, several varieties of cucurbita, which have dwarfed stems, all produce, as naudin remarks with surprise, leaves of the same peculiar shape. mr. g. maw informs me that all the varieties of the scarlet pelargoniums which have contracted or imperfect leaves have contracted flowers: the difference between { } "brilliant" and its parent "tom thumb" is a good instance of this. it may be suspected that the curious case described by risso,[ ] of a variety of the orange which produces on the young shoots rounded leaves with winged petioles, and afterwards elongated leaves on long but wingless petioles, is connected with the remarkable change in form and nature which the fruit undergoes during its development. in the following instance we have the colour and form of the petals apparently correlated, and both dependent on the nature of the season. an observer, skilled in the subject, writes,[ ] "i noticed, during the year , that every dahlia, of which the colour had any tendency to scarlet, was deeply notched--indeed to so great an extent as to give the petals the appearance of a saw; the indentures were, in some instances, more than a quarter of an inch deep." again, dahlias which have their petals tipped with a different colour from the rest are very inconstant, and during certain years some, or even all the flowers, become uniformly coloured; and it has been observed with several varieties,[ ] that when this happens the petals grow much elongated and lose their proper shape. this, however, may be due to reversion, both in colour and form, to the aboriginal species. * * * * * in this discussion on correlation, we have hitherto treated of cases in which we can partly understand the bond of connexion; but i will now give cases in which we cannot even conjecture, or can only very obscurely see, what is the nature of the bond. isidore geoffroy st. hilaire, in his work on monstrosities, insists,[ ] "que certaines anomalies coexistent rarement entr'elles, d'autres fréquemment, d'autres enfin presque constamment, malgré la différence très-grande de leur nature, et quoiqu'elles puissent paraître _complètement indépendantes_ les unes des autres." we see something analogous in certain diseases: thus i hear from mr. paget that in a rare affection of the { } renal capsules (of which the functions are unknown), the skin becomes bronzed; and in hereditary syphilis, both the milk and the second teeth assume a peculiar and characteristic form. professor rolleston, also, informs me that the incisor teeth are sometimes furnished with a vascular rim in correlation with intra-pulmonary deposition of tubercles. in other cases of phthisis and of cyanosis the nails and finger-ends become clubbed like acorns. i believe that no explanation has been offered of these and of many other cases of correlated disease. what can be more curious and less intelligible than the fact previously given, on the authority of mr. tegetmeier, that young pigeons of all breeds, which when mature have white, yellow, silver-blue, or dun-coloured plumage, come out of the egg almost naked; whereas pigeons of other colours when first born are clothed with plenty of down? white pea-fowls, as has been observed both in england and france,[ ] and as i have myself seen, are inferior in size to the common coloured kind; and this cannot be accounted for by the belief that albinism is always accompanied by constitutional weakness; for white or albino moles are generally larger than the common kind. to turn to more important characters: the niata cattle of the pampas are remarkable from their short foreheads, upturned muzzles, and curved lower jaws. in the skull the nasal and premaxillary bones are much shortened, the maxillaries are excluded from any junction with the nasals, and all the bones are slightly modified, even to the plane of the occiput. from the analogical case of the dog, hereafter to be given, it is probable that the shortening of the nasal and adjoining bones is the proximate cause of the other modifications in the skull, including the upward curvature of the lower jaw, though we cannot follow out the steps by which these changes have been effected. polish fowls have a large tuft of feathers on their heads; and their skulls are perforated by numerous holes, so that a pin can be driven into the brain without touching any bone. that this deficiency of bone is in some way connected with the tuft of feathers is clear from tufted ducks and geese likewise having { } perforated skulls. the case would probably be considered by some authors as one of balancement or compensation. in the chapter on fowls, i have shown that with polish fowls the tuft of feathers was probably at first small; by continued selection it became larger, and then rested on a fleshy or fibrous mass; and finally, as it became still larger, the skull itself became more and more protuberant until it acquired its present extraordinary structure. through correlation with the protuberance of the skull, the shape and even the relative connexion of the premaxillary and nasal bones, the shape of the orifice of the nostrils, the breadth of the frontal bone, the shape of the post-lateral processes of the frontal and squamosal bones, and the direction of the bony cavity of the ear, have all been modified. the internal configuration of the skull and the whole shape of the brain have likewise been altered in a truly marvellous manner. after this case of the polish fowl it would be superfluous to do more than refer to the details previously given on the manner in which the changed form of the comb, in various breeds of the fowl, has affected the skull, causing by correlation crests, protuberances, and depressions on its surface. with our cattle and sheep the horns stand in close connexion with the size of the skull, and with the shape of the frontal bones; thus cline[ ] found that the skull of a horned ram weighed five times as much as that of a hornless ram of the same age. when cattle become hornless, the frontal bones are "materially diminished in breadth towards the poll;" and the cavities between the bony plates "are not so deep, nor do they extend beyond the frontals."[ ] * * * * * it may be well here to pause and observe how the effects of correlated variability, of the increased use of parts, and of the accumulation through natural selection of so-called spontaneous variations, are in many cases inextricably commingled. we may borrow an illustration from mr. herbert spencer, who remarks that, when the irish elk acquired its gigantic horns, weighing above one hundred pounds, numerous co-ordinated { } changes of structure would have been indispensable,--namely, a thickened skull to carry the horns; strengthened cervical vertebræ, with strengthened ligaments; enlarged dorsal vertebræ to support the neck, with powerful fore-legs and feet; all these parts being supplied with proper muscles, blood-vessels, and nerves. how then could these admirably co-ordinated modifications of structure have been acquired? according to the doctrine which i maintain, the horns of the male elk were slowly gained through sexual selection,--that is, by the best-armed males conquering the worse-armed, and leaving a greater number of descendants. but it is not at all necessary that the several parts of the body should have simultaneously varied. each stag presents individual differences, and in the same district those which had slightly heavier horns, or stronger necks, or stronger bodies, or were the most courageous, would secure the greater number of does, and consequently leave a greater number of offspring. the offspring would inherit, in a greater or less degree, these same qualities, would occasionally intercross with each other, or with other individuals varying in some favourable manner; and of their offspring, those which were the best endowed in any respect would continue multiplying; and so onwards, always progressing, sometimes in one direction, and sometimes in another, towards the present excellently co-ordinated structure of the male elk. to make this clear, let us reflect on the probable steps, as shown in the twentieth chapter, by which our race and dray-horses have arrived at their present state of excellence; if we could view the whole series of intermediate forms between one of these animals and an early unimproved progenitor, we should behold a vast number of animals, not equally improved in each generation throughout their entire structure, but sometimes a little more in one point, and sometimes in another, yet on the whole gradually approaching in character to our present race or dray-horses, which are so admirably fitted in the one case for fleetness and in the other for draught. although natural selection would thus[ ] tend to give to the { } male elk its present structure, yet it is probable that the inherited influence of use has played an equal or more important part. as the horns gradually increased in weight, the muscles of the neck, with the bones to which they are attached, would increase in size and strength; and these parts would react on the body and legs. nor must we overlook the fact that certain parts of the skull and the extremities would, judging by analogy, tend from the first to vary in a correlated manner. the increased weight of the horns would also act directly on the skull, in the same manner as, when one bone is removed in the leg of a dog, the other bone, which has to carry the whole weight of the body, increases in thickness. but from the facts given with respect to horned and hornless cattle, it is probable that the horns and skull would immediately act on each other through the principle of correlation. lastly, the growth and subsequent wear and tear of the augmented muscles and bones would require an increased supply of blood, and consequently an increased supply of food; and this again would require increased powers of mastication, digestion, respiration, and excretion. _colour as correlated with constitutional peculiarities._ it is an old belief that with man there is a connexion between complexion and constitution; and i find that some of the best authorities believe in this to the present day.[ ] thus dr. beddoe by his tables shows[ ] that a relation exists between liability to consumption and the colour of the hair, eyes, and skin. it has been affirmed[ ] that, in the french army which invaded russia, soldiers having a dark complexion, from the { } southern parts of europe, withstood the intense cold better than those with lighter complexions from the north; but no doubt such statements are liable to error. in the second chapter on selection i have given several cases proving that with animals and plants differences in colour are correlated with constitutional differences, as shown by greater or less immunity from certain diseases, from the attacks of parasitic plants and animals, from burning by the sun, and from the action of certain poisons. when all the individuals of any one variety possess an immunity of this nature, we cannot feel sure that it stands in any sort of correlation with their colour; but when several varieties of the same species, which are similarly coloured, are thus characterised, whilst other coloured varieties are not thus favoured, we must believe in the existence of a correlation of this kind. thus in the united states purple-fruited plums of many kinds are far more affected by a certain disease than green or yellow-fruited varieties. on the other hand, yellow-fleshed peaches of various kinds suffer from another disease much more than the white-fleshed varieties. in the mauritius red sugar-canes are much less affected by a particular disease than the white canes. white onions and verbenas are the most liable to mildew; and in spain the green-fruited grapes suffered from the vine-disease more than other coloured varieties. dark-coloured pelargoniums and verbenas are more scorched by the sun than varieties of other colours. red wheats are believed to be hardier than white; whilst red-flowered hyacinths were more injured during one particular winter in holland than other coloured varieties. with animals, white terriers suffer most from the distemper, white chickens from a parasitic worm in their tracheæ, white pigs from scorching by the sun, and white cattle from flies; but the caterpillars of the silk-moth which yield white cocoons suffered in france less from the deadly parasitic fungus than those producing yellow silk. the cases of immunity from the action of certain vegetable poisons, in connexion with colour, are more interesting, and are at present wholly inexplicable. i have already given a remarkable instance, on the authority of professor wyman, of all the hogs, excepting those of a black colour, suffering severely in virginia from eating the root of the _lachnanthes tinctoria_. { } according to spinola and others,[ ] buckwheat (_polygonum fagopyrum_), when in flower, is highly injurious to white or white-spotted pigs, if they are exposed to the heat of the sun, but is quite innocuous to black pigs. by two accounts, the _hypericum crispum_ in sicily is poisonous to white sheep alone; their heads swell, their wool falls off, and they often die; but this plant, according to lecce, is poisonous only when it grows in swamps; nor is this improbable, as we know how readily the poisonous principle in plants is influenced by the conditions under which they grow. three accounts have been published in eastern prussia, of white and white-spotted horses being greatly injured by eating mildewed and honeydewed vetches; every spot of skin bearing white hairs becoming inflamed and gangrenous. the rev. j. rodwell informs me that his father turned out about fifteen cart-horses into a field of tares which in parts swarmed with black aphides, and which no doubt were honeydewed, and probably mildewed; the horses, with two exceptions, were chesnuts and bays with white marks on their faces and pasterns, and the white parts alone swelled and became angry scabs. the two bay horses with no white marks entirely escaped all injury. in guernsey, when horses eat fools' parsley (_Æthusa cynapium_) they are sometimes violently purged; and this plant "has a peculiar effect on the nose and lips, causing deep cracks and ulcers, particularly on horses with white muzzles."[ ] with cattle, independently of the action of any poison, cases have been published by youatt and erdt of cutaneous diseases with much constitutional disturbance (in one instance after exposure to a hot sun) affecting every single point which bore a white hair, but completely passing over other parts of the body. similar cases have been observed with horses.[ ] we thus see that not only do those parts of the skin which bear white hair differ in a remarkable manner from those bearing { } hair of any other colour, but that in addition some great, constitutional difference must stand in correlation with the colour of the hair; for in the above-mentioned cases, vegetable poisons caused fever, swelling of the head, as well as other symptoms, and even death, to all the white or white-spotted animals. * * * * * { } chapter xxvi. laws of variation, _continued_--summary. on the affinity and cohesion of homologous parts--on the variability of multiple and homologous parts--compensation of growth--mechanical pressure--relative position of flowers with respect to the axis of the plant, and of seeds in the capsule, as inducing variation--analogous or parallel varieties--summary of the three last chapters. _on the affinity of homologous parts._--this law was first generalised by geoffroy saint hilaire, under the expression of _la loi de l'affinité de soi pour soi_. it has been fully discussed and illustrated by his son, isidore geoffroy, with respect to monsters in the animal kingdom,[ ] and by moquin-tandon, with respect to monstrous plants. when similar or homologous parts, whether belonging to the same embryo or to two distinct embryos, are brought during an early stage of development into contact, they often blend into a single part or organ; and this complete fusion indicates some mutual affinity between the parts, otherwise they would simply cohere. whether any power exists which tends to bring homologous parts into contact seems more doubtful. the tendency to complete fusion is not a rare or exceptional fact. it is exhibited in the most striking manner by double monsters. nothing can be more extraordinary than the manner, as shown in various published plates, in which the corresponding parts of two embryos become intimately fused together. this is perhaps best seen in monsters with two heads, which are united, summit to summit, or face to face, or, janus-like, back to back, or obliquely side to side. in one instance of two heads united almost face to face, but a little obliquely, four ears were developed, and on one side a perfect face, which was manifestly formed by the union of two { } half-faces. whenever two bodies or two heads are united, each bone, muscle, vessel, and nerve on the line of junction seems to seek out its fellow, and becomes completely fused with it. lereboullet,[ ] who carefully studied the development of double monsters in fishes, observed in fifteen instances the steps by which two heads gradually became fused into one. in this and other such cases, no one, i presume, supposes that the two already formed heads actually blend together, but that the corresponding parts of each head grow into one during the further progress of development, accompanied as it always is with incessant absorption and renovation. double monsters were formerly thought to be formed by the union of two originally distinct embryos developed upon distinct vitelli; but now it is admitted that "their production is due to the spontaneous divarication of the embryonic mass into two halves;"[ ] this, however, is effected by different methods. but the belief that double monsters originate from the division of one germ, does not necessarily affect the question of subsequent fusion, or render less true the law of the affinity of homologous parts. the cautious and sagacious j. müller,[ ] when speaking of janus-like monsters, says, that "without the supposition that some kind of affinity or attraction is exerted between corresponding parts, unions of this kind are inexplicable." on the other hand, vrolik, and he is followed by others, disputes this conclusion, and argues from the existence of a whole series of monstrosities, graduating from a perfectly double monster to a mere rudiment of an additional digit, that "an excess of formative power" is the cause and origin of every monstrous duplicity. that there are two distinct classes of cases, and that parts may be doubled independently of the existence of two embryos, is certain; for a single embryo, or even a single adult animal, may produce doubled organs. thus valentin, as quoted by vrolik, injured the caudal extremity of an embryo, and three days afterwards it produced rudiments of a double pelvis and of double hind limbs. { } hunter and others have observed lizards with their tails reproduced and doubled. when bonnet divided longitudinally the foot of the salamander, several additional digits were occasionally formed. but neither these cases, nor the perfect series from a double monster to an additional digit, seem to me opposed to the belief that corresponding parts have a mutual affinity, and consequently tend to fuse together. a part may be doubled and remain in this state, or the two parts thus formed may afterwards through the law of affinity become blended; or two homologous parts in two separate embryos may, through the same principle, unite and form a single part. the law of the affinity and fusion of similar parts applies to the homologous organs of the same individual animal, as well as to double monsters. isidore geoffroy gives a number of instances of two or more digits, of two whole legs, of two kidneys, and of several teeth becoming symmetrically fused together in a more or less perfect manner. even the two eyes have been known to unite into a single eye, forming a cyclopean monster, as have the two ears, though naturally standing so far apart. as geoffroy remarks, these facts illustrate in an admirable manner the normal fusion of various organs which during an early embryonic period are double, but which afterwards always unite into a single median organ. organs of this nature are generally found in a permanently double condition in other members of the same class. these cases of normal fusion appear to me to afford the strongest support in favour of the present law. adjoining parts which are not homologous sometimes cohere; but this cohesion appears to result from mere juxtaposition, and not from mutual affinity. in the vegetable kingdom moquin-tandon[ ] gives a long list of cases, showing how frequently homologous parts, such as leaves, petals, stamens, and pistils, as well as aggregates of homologous parts, such as buds, flowers, and fruit, become blended into each other with perfect symmetry. it is interesting to examine a compound flower of this nature, formed of exactly double the proper number of sepals, petals, stamens, and pistils, with each whorl of organs circular, and with no trace left of the { } process of fusion. the tendency in homologous parts to unite during their early development, moquin-tandon considers as one of the most striking laws governing the production of monsters. it apparently explains a multitude of cases, both in the animal and vegetable kingdoms; it throws a clear light on many normal structures which have evidently been formed by the union of originally distinct parts, and it possesses, as we shall see in a future chapter, much theoretical interest. * * * * * _on the variability of multiple and homologous parts._--isidore geoffroy[ ] insists that, when any part or organ is repeated many times in the same animal, it is particularly liable to vary both in number and structure. with respect to number, the proposition may, i think, be considered as fully established; but the evidence is chiefly derived from organic beings living under their natural conditions, with which we are not here concerned. when the vertebræ, or teeth, or rays in the fins of fishes, or feathers in the tails of birds, or petals, stamens, pistils, and seeds in plants, are very numerous, the number is generally variable. the explanation of this simple fact is by no means obvious. with respect to the variability in structure of multiple parts, the evidence is not so decisive; but the fact, as far as it may be trusted, probably depends on multiple parts being of less physiological importance than single parts; consequently their perfect standard of structure has been less rigorously enforced by natural selection. * * * * * _compensation of growth, or balancement._--this law, as applied to natural species, was propounded by goethe and geoffroy st. hilaire at nearly the same time. it implies that, when much organised matter is used in building up some one part, other parts are starved and become reduced. several authors, especially botanists, believe in this law; others reject it. as far as i can judge, it occasionally holds good; but its importance has probably been exaggerated. it is scarcely possible to distinguish between the supposed effects of such compensation of growth, and the effects of long-continued selection, which { } may at the same time lead to the augmentation of one part and the diminution of another. there can be no doubt that an organ may be greatly increased without any corresponding diminution in the adjoining parts. to recur to our former illustration of the irish elk, it may be asked what part has suffered in consequence of the immense development of the horns? it has already been observed that the struggle for existence does not bear hard on our domesticated productions; consequently the principle of economy of growth will seldom affect them, and we ought not to expect to find frequent evidence of compensation. we have, however, some such cases. moquin-tandon describes a monstrous bean,[ ] in which the stipules were enormously developed, and the leaflets apparently in consequence completely aborted; this case is interesting, as it represents the natural condition of _lathyrus aphaca_, with its stipules of great size, and its leaves reduced to mere threads, which act as tendrils. de candolle[ ] has remarked that the varieties of _raphanus sativus_ which have small roots yield numerous seed, valuable from containing oil, whilst those with large roots are not productive in this latter respect; and so it is with _brassica asperifolia_. the varieties of the potato which produce tubers very early in the season rarely bear flowers; but andrew knight,[ ] by checking the growth of the tubers, forced the plants to flower. the varieties of _cucurbita pepo_ which produce large fruit yield, according to naudin, few in number; whilst those producing small fruit yield a vast number. lastly, i have endeavoured to show in the eighteenth chapter that with many cultivated plants unnatural treatment checks the full and proper action of the reproductive organs, and they are thus rendered more or less sterile; consequently, in the way of compensation, the fruit becomes greatly enlarged, and, in double flowers, the petals are greatly increased in number. with animals, it has been found difficult to produce cows which should first yield much milk, and afterwards be capable of { } fattening well. with fowls which have large topknots and beards the comb and wattles are generally much reduced in size. perhaps the entire absence of the oil-gland in fantail pigeons may be connected with the great development of their tails. * * * * * _mechanical pressure as a cause of modifications._--in some few cases there is reason to believe that mere mechanical pressure has affected certain structures. every one knows that savages alter the shape of their infants' skulls by pressure at an early age; but there is no reason to believe that the result is ever inherited. nevertheless vrolik and weber[ ] maintain that the shape of the human head is influenced by the shape of the mother's pelvis. the kidneys in different birds differ much in form, and st. ange[ ] believes that this is determined by the form of the pelvis, which again, no doubt, stands in close relation with their various habits of locomotion. in snakes, the viscera are curiously displaced, in comparison with their position in other vertebrates; and this has been attributed by some authors to the elongation of their bodies; but here, as in so many previous cases, it is impossible to disentangle any direct result of this kind from that consequent on natural selection. godron has argued[ ] that the normal abortion of the spur on the inner side of the flower in corydalis, is caused by the buds being closely pressed at a very early period of growth, whilst under ground, against each other and against the stem. some botanists believe that the singular difference in the shape both of the seed and corolla, in the interior and exterior florets in certain compositous and umbelliferous plants, is due to the pressure to which the inner florets are subjected; but this conclusion is doubtful. the facts just given do not relate to domesticated productions, and therefore do not strictly concern us. but here is a more appropriate case: h. müller[ ] has shown that in { } short-faced races of the dog some of the molar teeth are placed in a slightly different position from that which they occupy in other dogs, especially in those having elongated muzzles; and as he remarks, any inherited change in the arrangement of the teeth deserves notice, considering their classificatory importance. this difference in position is due to the shortening of certain facial bones, and the consequent want of space; and the shortening results from a peculiar and abnormal state of the basal cartilages of the bones. _relative position of flowers with respect to the axis, and of seeds in the capsule, as inducing variation._ in the thirteenth chapter various peloric flowers were described, and their production was shown to be due either to arrested development, or to reversion to a primordial condition. moquin-tandon has remarked that the flowers which stand on the summit of the main stem or of a lateral branch are more liable to become peloric than those on the sides;[ ] and he adduces, amongst other instances, that of _teucrium campanulatum_. in another labiate plant grown by me, viz. the _galeobdolon luteum_, the peloric flowers were always produced on the summit of the stem, where flowers are not usually borne. in pelargonium, a _single_ flower in the truss is frequently peloric, and when this occurs i have during several years invariably observed it to be the central flower. this is of such frequent occurrence that one observer[ ] gives the names of ten varieties flowering at the same time, in every one of which the central flower was peloric. occasionally more than one flower in the truss is peloric, and then of course the additional ones must be lateral. these flowers are interesting as showing how the whole structure is correlated. in the common pelargonium the upper sepal is produced into a nectary which coheres with the flower-peduncle; the two upper petals differ a little in shape from the three lower ones, and are marked with dark shades of colour; the stamens are graduated in length and upturned. in the peloric flowers, the nectary aborts; all the petals become alike both in shape and colour; the stamens are generally reduced in number and become straight, so that the whole flower resembles that of the allied genus erodium. the correlation between these changes is well shown when one of the two upper petals alone loses its dark mark, for in this case the nectary does not entirely abort, but is usually much reduced in length.[ ] { } morren has described[ ] a marvellous flask-shaped flower of the calceolaria, nearly four inches in length, which was almost completely peloric; it grew on the summit of the plant, with a normal flower on each side; prof. westwood also has described[ ] three similar peloric flowers, which all occupied a central position on the flower-branches. in the orchideous genus, phalænopsis, the terminal flower has been seen to become peloric. in a laburnum-tree i observed that about a fourth part of the racemes produced terminal flowers which had lost their papilionaceous structure. these were produced after almost all the other flowers on the same racemes had withered. the most perfectly pelorised examples had six petals, each marked with black striæ like those on the standard-petal. the keel seemed to resist the change more than the other petals. dutrochet has described[ ] an exactly similar case in france, and i believe these are the only two instances of pelorism in the laburnum which have been recorded. dutrochet remarks that the racemes on this tree do not properly produce a terminal flower, so that, as in the case of the galeobdolon, their position as well as their structure are both anomalies, which no doubt are in some manner related. dr. masters has briefly described another leguminous plant,[ ] namely, a species of clover, in which the uppermost and central flowers were regular or had lost their papilionaceous structure. in some of these plants the flower-heads were also proliferous. lastly, linaria produces two kinds of peloric flowers, one having simple petals, and the other having them all spurred. the two forms, as naudin remarks,[ ] not rarely occur on the same plant, but in this case the spurred form almost invariably stands on the summit of the spike. the tendency in the terminal or central flower to become peloric more frequently than other flowers, probably results from "the bud which stands on the end of a shoot receiving the most sap; it grows out into a stronger shoot than those situated lower down."[ ] i have discussed the connection between pelorism and a central position, partly because some few plants are known normally to produce a terminal flower different in structure from the lateral ones; but chiefly on account of the following case, in which we see a tendency to variability or to reversion connected with the same position. a great judge of auriculas[ ] states that when an auricula throws up a side bloom it is pretty sure to keep its character; but that if it grows from the centre or heart of the plant, whatever the colour of the edging ought to be, "it is just as likely to come in any other class as in the one to which it properly belongs." this is so notorious a { } fact, that some florists regularly pinch off the central trusses of flowers. whether in the highly improved varieties the departure of the central trusses from their proper type is due to reversion, i do not know. mr. dombrain insists that, whatever may be the commonest kind of imperfection in each variety, this is generally exaggerated in the central truss. thus one variety "sometimes has the fault of producing a little green floret in the centre of the flower," and in central blooms these become excessive in size. in some central blooms, sent to me by mr. dombrain, all the organs of the flower were rudimentary in structure, of minute size, and of a green colour, so that by a little further change all would have been converted into small leaves. in this case we clearly see a tendency to prolification--a term which, i may explain to those who have never attended to botany, means the production of a branch or flower, or head of flowers, out of another flower. now dr. masters[ ] states that the central or uppermost flower on a plant is generally the most liable to prolification. thus, in the varieties of the auricula, the loss of their proper character and a tendency to prolification, and in other plants a tendency to prolification and pelorism, are all connected together, and are due either to arrested development, or to reversion to a former condition. the following is a more interesting case; metzger[ ] cultivated in germany several kinds of maize brought from the hotter parts of america, and he found, as has been previously described, that in two or three generations the grains became greatly changed in form, size, and colour; and with respect to two races he expressly states that in the first generation, whilst the lower grains on each head retained their proper character, the uppermost grains already began to assume that character which in the third generation all the grains acquired. as we do not know the aboriginal parent of the maize, we cannot tell whether these changes are in any way connected with reversion. in the two following cases, reversion, as influenced by the position of the seed in the capsule, evidently acts. the blue imperial pea is the offspring of the blue prussian, and has larger seed and broader pods than its parent. now mr. masters, of canterbury, a careful observer and a raiser of new varieties of the pea, states[ ] that the blue imperial always has a strong tendency to revert to its parent-stock, and the reversion "occurs in this manner: the last (or uppermost) pea in the pod is frequently much smaller than the rest; and if these small peas are carefully collected and sown separately, very many more, in proportion, will revert to their origin, than those taken from the other parts of the pod." again m. chaté[ ] says that in raising seedling stocks he succeeds in getting eighty per cent. to bear double flowers, by leaving only a few of the secondary branches to seed; but in addition to this, "at the time of extracting the seeds, the upper portion of the pod is separated and { } placed aside, because it has been ascertained that the plants coming from the seeds situated in this portion of the pod, give eighty per cent. of single flowers." now the production of single-flowering plants from the seed of double-flowering plants is clearly a case of reversion. these latter facts, as well as the connection between a central position and pelorism and prolification, show in an interesting manner how small a difference--namely a little greater freedom in the flow of sap towards one part of the same plant--determines important changes of structure. * * * * * _analogous or parallel variation._--by this term i wish to express that similar characters occasionally make their appearance in the several varieties or races descended from the same species, and more rarely in the offspring of widely distinct species. we are here concerned, not as hitherto with the causes of variation, but with the results; but this discussion could not have been more conveniently introduced elsewhere. the cases of analogous variation, as far as their origin is concerned, may be grouped, disregarding minor subdivisions, under two main heads; firstly, those due to unknown causes having acted on organic beings with nearly the same constitution, and which consequently vary in an analogous manner; and secondly, those due to the reappearance of characters which were possessed by a more or less remote progenitor. but these two main divisions can often be only conjecturally separated, and graduate, as we shall presently see, into each other. under the first head of analogous variations, not due to reversion, we have the many cases of trees belonging to quite different orders which have produced pendulous and fastigate varieties. the beech, hazel, and barberry have given rise to purple-leaved varieties; and as bernhardi has remarked,[ ] a multitude of plants, as distinct as possible, have yielded varieties with deeply-cut or laciniated leaves. varieties descended from three distinct species of brassica have their stems, or so-called roots, enlarged into globular masses. the nectarine is the offspring of the peach; and the varieties of both these trees offer a remarkable parallelism in the fruit being white, red, or yellow fleshed--in being clingstones or freestones--in the flowers being large or small--in the leaves being serrated or crenated, furnished with globose or reniform glands, or quite destitute of glands. it should be remarked that each variety of the nectarine has not derived its character from a corresponding variety of the peach. the several varieties also of a closely allied genus, namely the apricot, differ from each other in nearly the same parallel manner. there is no reason { } to believe that in any of these cases long-lost characters have reappeared, and in most of them this certainly has not occurred. three species of cucurbita have yielded a multitude of races, which correspond so closely in character that, as naudin insists, they may be arranged in an almost strictly parallel series. several varieties of the melon are interesting from resembling in important characters other species, either of the same genus or of allied genera; thus, one variety has fruit so like, both externally and internally, the fruit of a perfectly distinct species, namely, the cucumber, as hardly to be distinguished from it; another has long cylindrical fruit twisting about like a serpent; in another the seeds adhere to portions of the pulp; in another the fruit, when ripe, suddenly cracks and falls into pieces; and all these highly remarkable peculiarities are characteristic of species belonging to allied genera. we can hardly account for the appearance of so many unusual characters by reversion to a single ancient form; but we must believe that all the members of the family have inherited a nearly similar constitution from an early progenitor. our cereal and many other plants offer similar cases. with animals we have fewer cases of analogous variation, independently of direct reversion. we see something of the kind in the resemblance between the short-muzzled races of the dog, such as the pug and bulldog; in feather-footed races of the fowl, pigeon, and canary-bird; in horses of the most different races presenting the same range of colour; in all black-and-tan dogs having tan-coloured eye-spots and feet, but in this latter case reversion may possibly have played a part. low has remarked[ ] that several breeds of cattle are "sheeted,"--that is, have a broad band of white passing round their bodies like a sheet; this character is strongly inherited and sometimes originates from a cross; it may be the first step in reversion to an original or early type, for, as was shown in the third chapter, white cattle with dark ears, feet, and tip of tail formerly existed, and now exist in a feral or semi-feral condition in several quarters of the world. under our second main division, namely, of analogous variations due to reversion, the best cases are afforded by animals, and by none better than by pigeons. in all the most distinct breeds sub-varieties occasionally appear coloured exactly like the parent rock-pigeon, with black wing-bars, white loins, banded tail, &c.; and no one can doubt that these characters are simply due to reversion. so with minor details; turbits properly have white tails, but occasionally a bird is born with a dark-coloured and banded tail; pouters properly have white primary wing-feathers, but not rarely a "sword-flighted" bird, that is, one with the few first primaries dark-coloured, appears; and in these cases we have characters proper to the rock-pigeon, but new to the breed, evidently appearing from reversion. in some domestic varieties the wing-bars, instead of being simply black, as in the rock-pigeon, are beautifully edged with different zones of colour, and they then present a striking analogy with the wing-bars in certain natural species of the same family, such as _phaps chalcoptera_; and this may probably be accounted for by { } all the forms descended from the same remote progenitor having a tendency to vary in the same manner. thus also we can perhaps understand the fact of some laugher-pigeons cooing almost like turtle-doves, and of several races having peculiarities in their flight, for certain natural species (viz. _c. torquatrix_ and _palumbus_) display singular vagaries in this respect. in other cases a race, instead of imitating in character a distinct species, resembles some other race; thus certain runts tremble and slightly elevate their tails, like fantails; and turbits inflate the upper part of their oesophagus, like pouter-pigeons. it is a common circumstance to find certain coloured marks persistently characterising all the species of a genus, but differing much in tint; and the same thing occurs with the varieties of the pigeon: thus, instead of the general plumage being blue with the wing-bars black, there are snow-white varieties with red bars, and black varieties with white bars; in other varieties the wing-bars, as we have seen, are elegantly zoned with different tints. the spot pigeon is characterised by the whole plumage being white, excepting the tail and a spot on the forehead; but these parts may be red, yellow, or black. in the rock-pigeon and in many varieties the tail is blue, with the outer edges of the outer feathers white; but in one sub-variety of the monk-pigeon we have a reversed variation, for the tail is white, except the outer edges of the outer feathers, which are black.[ ] with some species of birds, for instance with gulls, certain coloured parts appear as if almost washed out, and i have observed exactly the same appearance in the terminal dark tail-bar in certain pigeons, and in the whole plumage of certain varieties of the duck. analogous facts in the vegetable kingdom could be given. many sub-varieties of the pigeon have reversed and somewhat lengthened feathers on the back part of their heads, and this is certainly not due to reversion to the parent-species, which shows no trace of such structure; but when we remember that sub-varieties of the fowl, turkey, canary-bird, duck, and goose, all have topknots or reversed feathers on their heads; and when we remember that scarcely a single large natural group of birds can be named, in which some members have not a tuft of feathers on their heads, we may suspect that reversion to some extremely remote form has come into action. several breeds of the fowl have either spangled or pencilled feathers; and these cannot be derived from the parent-species, the _gallus bankiva_; though of course it is possible that an early progenitor of this species may have been spangled, and a still earlier or a later progenitor may have been pencilled. but as many gallinaceous birds are spangled or pencilled, it is a more probable view that the several domestic breeds of the fowl have acquired this kind of plumage from all the members of the family inheriting a tendency to vary in a like manner. the same principle may account for the ewes in certain breeds of sheep being hornless, like the females of some other hollow-horned ruminants; it may account for certain domestic cats having slightly-tufted ears, like those of the lynx; and for the skulls of domestic rabbits often differing from each { } other in the same characters by which the skulls of the various species of the genus lepus differ. i will only allude to one other case, already discussed. now that we know that the wild parent of the ass has striped legs, we may feel confident that the occasional appearance of stripes on the legs of the domestic ass is due to direct reversion; but this will not account for the lower end of the shoulder-stripe being sometimes angularly bent or slightly forked. so, again, when we see dun and other coloured horses with stripes on the spine, shoulders, and legs, we are led, from reasons formerly given, to believe that they reappear from direct reversion to the wild parent-horse. but when horses have two or three shoulder-stripes with one of them occasionally forked at the lower end, or when they have stripes on their faces, or as foals are faintly striped over nearly their whole bodies, with the stripes angularly bent one under the other on the forehead, or irregularly branched in other parts, it would be rash to attribute such diversified characters to the reappearance of those proper to the aboriginal wild horse. as three african species of the genus are much striped, and as we have seen that the crossing of the unstriped species often leads to the hybrid offspring being conspicuously striped--bearing also in mind that the act of crossing certainly causes the reappearance of long-lost characters--it is a more probable view that the above-specified stripes are due to reversion, not to the immediate wild parent-horse, but to the striped progenitor of the whole genus. i have discussed this subject of analogous variation at considerable length, because, in a future work on natural species, it will be shown that the varieties of one species frequently mock distinct species--a fact in perfect harmony with the foregoing cases, and explicable only on the theory of descent. secondly, because these facts are important from showing, as remarked in a former chapter, that each trifling variation is governed by law, and is determined in a much higher degree by the nature of the organisation, than by the nature of the conditions to which the varying being has been exposed. thirdly, because these facts are to a certain extent related to a more general law, namely, that which mr. b. d. walsh[ ] has called the "law of _equable variability_," or, as he explains it, "if any given character is very variable in one species of a group, it will tend to be variable in allied species; and if any given character is perfectly constant in one species of a group, it will tend to be constant in allied species." this leads me to recall a discussion in the chapter on selection, in which it was shown that with domestic races, which are { } now undergoing rapid improvement, those parts or characters which are the most valued vary the most. this naturally follows from recently selected characters continually tending to revert to their former less improved standard, and from their being still acted on by the same agencies, whatever these may be, which first caused the characters in question to vary. the same principle is applicable to natural species, for, as stated in my 'origin of species,' generic characters are less variable than specific characters; and the latter are those which have been modified by variation and natural selection, since the period when all the species belonging to the same genus branched off from a common progenitor, whilst generic characters are those which have remained unaltered from a much more remote epoch, and accordingly are now less variable. this statement makes a near approach to mr. walsh's law of equable variability. secondary sexual characters, it may be added, rarely serve to characterise distinct genera, for they usually differ much in the species of the same genus, and are highly variable in the individuals of the same species; we have also seen in the earlier chapters of this work how variable secondary sexual characters become under domestication. _summary of the three previous chapters, on the laws of variation._ in the twenty-third chapter we have seen that changed conditions occasionally act in a definite manner on the organisation, so that all, or nearly all, the individuals thus exposed become modified in the same manner. but a far more frequent result of changed conditions, whether acting directly on the organisation or indirectly through the reproductive system being affected is indefinite and fluctuating variability. in the three latter chapters we have endeavoured to trace some of the laws by which such variability is regulated. increased use adds the size of a muscle, together with the blood-vessels, nerves, ligaments, the crests of bone to which these are attached, the whole bone and other connected bones. so it is with various glands. increased functional activity strengthens the sense-organs. increased and intermittent pressure thickens the epidermis; and a change in the nature of the food sometimes modifies the coats of the stomach, and increases or { } decreases the length of the intestines. continued disuse, on the other hand, weakens and diminishes all parts of the organisation. animals which during many generations have taken but little exercise, have their lungs reduced in size, and as a consequence the bony fabric of the chest, and the whole form of the body, become modified. with our anciently domesticated birds, the wings have been little used, and they are slightly reduced; with their decrease, the crest of the sternum, the scapulæ, coracoids, and furcula, have all been reduced. with domesticated animals, the reduction of a part from disuse is never carried so far that a mere rudiment is left, but we have good reason to believe that this has often occurred under nature. the cause of this difference probably is that with domestic animals not only sufficient time has not been granted for so profound a change, but that, from not being exposed to a severe struggle for life, the principle of the economy of organisation does not come into action. on the contrary, we sometimes see that structures which are rudimentary in the parent-species become partially redeveloped in their domesticated progeny. when rudiments are formed or left under domestication, they are the result of a sudden arrest of development, and not of long-continued disuse with the absorption of all superfluous parts; nevertheless they are of interest, as showing that rudiments are the relics of organs once perfectly developed. corporeal, periodical, and mental habits, though the latter have been almost passed over in this work, become changed under domestication, and the changes are often inherited. such changed habits in any organic being, especially when living a free life, would often lead to the augmented or diminished use of various organs, and consequently to their modification. from long-continued habit, and more especially from the occasional birth of individuals with a slightly different constitution, domestic animals and cultivated plants become to a certain extent acclimatised, or adapted to a climate different from that proper to the parent-species. through the principle of correlated variability, when one part varies other parts vary,--either simultaneously, or one after the other. thus an organ modified during an early embryonic period affects other parts subsequently developed. when an { } organ, such as the beak, increases or decreases in length, adjoining or correlated parts, as the tongue and the orifice of the nostrils, tend to vary in the same manner. when the whole body increases or decreases in size, various parts become modified; thus with pigeons the ribs increase or decrease in number and breadth. homologous parts, which are identical during their early development and are exposed to similar conditions, tend to vary in the same or in some connected manner,--as in the case of the right and left sides of the body, of the front and hind limbs, and even of the head and limbs. so it is with the organs of sight and hearing; for instance, white cats with blue eyes are almost always deaf. there is a manifest relation throughout the body between the skin and its various appendages of hair, feathers, hoofs, horns, and teeth. in paraguay, horses with curly hair have hoofs like those of a mule; the wool and the horns of sheep vary together; hairless dogs are deficient in their teeth; men with redundant hair have abnormal teeth, either deficient or in excess. birds with long wing-feathers usually have long tail-feathers. when long feathers grow from the outside of the legs and toes of pigeons, the two outer toes are connected by membrane; for the whole leg tends to assume the structure of the wing. there is a manifest relation between a crest of feathers on the head and a marvellous amount of change in the skull of various fowls; and in a lesser degree, between the greatly elongated, lopping ears of rabbits and the structure of their skulls. with plants, the leaves, various parts of the flower, and the fruit, often vary together in a correlated manner. in some cases we find correlation without being able even to conjecture what is the nature of the connexion, as with various correlated monstrosities and diseases. this is likewise the case with the colour of the adult pigeon, in connexion with the presence of down on the young bird. numerous curious instances have been given of peculiarities of constitution, in correlation with colour, as shown by the immunity of individuals of some one colour from certain diseases, from the attacks of parasites, and from the action of certain vegetable poisons. correlation is an important subject; for with species, and in a lesser degree with domestic races, we continually find that { } certain parts have been greatly modified to serve some useful purpose; but we almost invariably find that other parts have likewise been more or less modified, without our being able to discover any advantage in the change. no doubt great caution is necessary in coming to this conclusion, for it is difficult to overrate our ignorance on the use of various parts of the organisation; but from what we have now seen, we may believe that many modifications are of no direct service, having arisen in correlation with other and useful changes. homologous parts during their early development evince an affinity for each other,--that is, they tend to cohere and fuse together much more readily than other parts. this tendency to fusion explains a multitude of normal structures. multiple and homologous organs are especially liable to vary in number and probably in form. as the supply of organised matter is not unlimited, the principle of compensation sometimes comes into action; so that, when one part is greatly developed, adjoining parts or functions are apt to be reduced; but this principle is probably of much less importance than the more general one of the economy of growth. through mere mechanical pressure hard parts occasionally affect soft adjoining parts. with plants the position of the flowers on the axis, and of the seeds in the capsule, sometimes leads, through a freer flow of sap, to changes of structure; but these changes are often due to reversion. modifications, in whatever manner caused, will be to a certain extent regulated by that co-ordinating power or _nisus formativus_, which is in fact a remnant of one of the forms of reproduction, displayed by many lowly organised beings in their power of fissiparous generation and budding. finally, the effects of the laws, which directly or indirectly govern variability, may be largely influenced by man's selection, and will so far be determined by natural selection that changes advantageous to any race will be favoured and disadvantageous changes checked. domestic races descended from the same species, or from two or more allied species, are liable to revert to characters derived from their common progenitor, and, as they have much in common in their constitutions, they are also liable under changed conditions to vary in the same manner; from these { } two causes analogous varieties often arise. when we reflect on the several foregoing laws, imperfectly as we understand them, and when we bear in mind how much remains to be discovered, we need not be surprised at the extremely intricate manner in which our domestic productions have varied, and still go on varying. * * * * * { } chapter xxvii. provisional hypothesis of pangenesis. preliminary remarks.--first part:--the facts to be connected under a single point of view, namely, the various kinds of reproduction--the direct action of the male element on the female--development--the functional independence of the elements or units of the body--variability--inheritance--reversion. second part:--statement of the hypothesis--how far the necessary assumptions are improbable--explanation by aid of the hypothesis of the several classes of facts specified in the first part--conclusion. in the previous chapters large classes of facts, such as those bearing on bud-variation, the various forms of inheritance, the causes and laws of variation, have been discussed; and it is obvious that these subjects, as well as the several modes of reproduction, stand in some sort of relation to each other. i have been led, or rather forced, to form a view which to a certain extent connects these facts by a tangible method. every one would wish to explain to himself, even in an imperfect manner, how it is possible for a character possessed by some remote ancestor suddenly to reappear in the offspring; how the effects of increased or decreased use of a limb can be transmitted to the child; how the male sexual element can act not solely on the ovule, but occasionally on the mother-form; how a limb can be reproduced on the exact line of amputation, with neither too much nor too little added; how the various modes of reproduction are connected, and so forth. i am aware that my view is merely a provisional hypothesis or speculation; but until a better one be advanced, it may be serviceable by bringing together a multitude of facts which are at present left disconnected by any efficient cause. as whewell, the historian of the inductive sciences, remarks:--"hypotheses may often be of service to science, when they involve a certain portion of incompleteness, and even of error." under this point of view i venture to advance the hypothesis of pangenesis, which { } implies that the whole organisation, in the sense of every separate atom or unit, reproduces itself. hence ovules and pollen-grains,--the fertilised seed or egg, as well as buds,--include and consist of a multitude of germs thrown off from each separate atom of the organism. in the first part i will enumerate as briefly as i can the groups of facts which seem to demand connection; but certain subjects, not hitherto discussed, must be treated at disproportionate length. in the second part the hypothesis will be given; and we shall see, after considering how far the necessary assumptions are in themselves improbable, whether it serves to bring under a single point of view the various facts. part i. reproduction may be divided into two main classes, namely, sexual and asexual. the latter is effected in many ways--by gemmation, that is by the formation of buds of various kinds, and by fissiparous generation, that is by spontaneous or artificial division. it is notorious that some of the lower animals, when cut into many pieces, reproduce so many perfect individuals: lyonnet cut a nais or freshwater worm into nearly forty pieces, and these all reproduced perfect animals.[ ] it is probable that segmentation could be carried much further in some of the protozoa, and with some of the lowest plants each cell will reproduce the parent-form. johannes müller thought that there was an important distinction between gemmation and fission; for in the latter case the divided portion, however small, is more perfectly organised; but most physiologists are now convinced that the two processes are essentially alike.[ ] prof. huxley remarks, "fission is little more than a peculiar { } mode of budding," and prof. h. j. clark, who has especially attended to this subject, shows in detail that there is sometimes "a compromise between self-division and budding." when a limb is amputated, or when the whole body is bisected, the cut extremities are said to bud forth; and as the papilla, which is first formed, consists of undeveloped cellular tissue like that forming an ordinary bud, the expression is apparently correct. we see the connection of the two processes in another way; for trembley observed that with the hydra the reproduction of the head after amputation was checked as soon as the animal began to bud.[ ] between the production, by fissiparous generation, of two or more complete individuals, and the repair of even a very slight injury, we have, as remarked in a former chapter, so perfect and insensible a gradation, that it is impossible to doubt that they are connected processes. between the power which repairs a trifling injury in any part, and the power which previously "was occupied in its maintenance by the continued mutation of its particles," there cannot be any great difference; and we may follow mr. paget in believing them to be the selfsame power. as at each stage of growth an amputated part is replaced by one in the same state of development, we must likewise follow mr. paget in admitting "that the powers of development from the embryo are identical with those exercised for the restoration from injuries: in other words, that the powers are the same by which perfection is first achieved, and by which, when lost, it is recovered."[ ] finally, we may conclude that the several forms of gemmation, and of fissiparous generation, the repair of injuries, the maintenance of each part in its proper state, and the growth or progressive development of the whole structure of the embryo, are all essentially the results of one and the same great power. _sexual generation._--the union of the two sexual elements seems to make a broad distinction between sexual and asexual reproduction. but the well-ascertained cases of parthenogenesis prove that the distinction is not really so great as it at first appears; for ovules occasionally, and even in some cases { } frequently, become developed into perfect beings, without the concourse of the male element. j. müller and others admit that ovules and buds have the same essential nature. certain bodies, which during their early development cannot be distinguished by any external character from true ovules, nevertheless must be classed as buds, for though formed within the ovarium they are incapable of fertilisation. this is the case with the germ-balls of the cecidomyide larvæ, as described by leuckart.[ ] ovules and the male element, before they become united, have, like buds, an independent existence.[ ] both have the power of transmitting every single character possessed by the parent-form. we see this clearly when hybrids are paired _inter se_, for the characters of either grandparent often reappear, either perfectly or by segments, in the progeny. it is an error to suppose that the male transmits certain characters and the female other characters; though no doubt, from unknown causes, one sex sometimes has a stronger power of transmission than the other. it has been maintained by some authors that a bud differs essentially from a fertilised germ, by always reproducing the perfect character of the parent-stock; whilst fertilised germs become developed into beings which differ, in a greater or less degree, from each other and from their parents. but there is no such broad distinction as this. in the eleventh chapter, numerous cases were given showing that buds occasionally grow into plants having new and strongly marked characters; and varieties thus produced can be propagated for a length of time by buds, and occasionally by seed. nevertheless, it must be admitted that beings produced sexually are much more liable to vary than those produced asexually; and of this fact a partial explanation will hereafter be attempted. the variability in both cases is determined by the same general causes, and is governed by the same laws. hence new varieties arising from buds cannot be distinguished from those arising from seed. although bud-varieties usually retain their character during { } successive bud-generations, yet they occasionally revert, even after a long series of bud-generations, to their former character. this tendency to reversion in buds is one of the most remarkable of the several points of agreement between the offspring from bud and seminal reproduction. there is, however, one difference between beings produced sexually and asexually, which is very general. the former usually pass in the course of their development from a lower to a higher grade, as we see in the metamorphoses of insects and in the concealed metamorphoses of the vertebrata; but this passage from a lower to a higher grade cannot be considered as a necessary accompaniment of sexual reproduction, for hardly anything of the kind occurs in the development of aphis amongst insects, or with certain crustaceans, cephalopods, or with any of the higher vascular plants. animals propagated asexually by buds or fission are on the other hand never known to undergo a retrogressive metamorphosis; that is, they do not first sink to a lower, before passing on to their higher and final stage of development. but during the act of asexual production or subsequently to it, they often advance in organisation, as we see in the many cases of "alternate generation." in thus speaking of alternate generation, i follow those naturalists who look at the process as essentially one of internal budding or of fissiparous generation. some of the lower plants, however, such as mosses and certain algæ, according to dr. l. radlkofer,[ ] when propagated asexually, do undergo a retrogressive metamorphosis. we can to a certain extent understand, as far as the final cause is concerned, why beings propagated by buds should so rarely retrogress during development; for with each organism the structure acquired at each stage of development must be adapted to its peculiar habits. now, with beings produced by gemmation,--and this, differently from sexual reproduction, may occur at any period of growth,--if there were places for the support of many individuals at some one stage of development, the simplest plan would be that they should be multiplied by gemmation at that stage, and not that they should first retrograde in their development to an earlier or simpler structure, which might not be fitted for the surrounding conditions. { } from the several foregoing considerations we may conclude that the difference between sexual and asexual generation is not nearly so great as it at first appears; and we have already seen that there is the closest agreement between gemmation, fissiparous generation, the repair of injuries, and ordinary growth or development. the capacity of fertilisation by the male element seems to be the chief distinction between an ovule and a bud; and this capacity is not invariably brought into action, as in the cases of parthenogenetic reproduction. we are here naturally led to inquire what the final cause can be of the necessity in ordinary generation for the concourse of the two sexual elements. seeds and ova are often highly serviceable as the means of disseminating plants and animals, and of preserving them during one or more seasons in a dormant state; but unimpregnated seeds or ova, and detached buds, would be equally serviceable for both purposes. we can, however, indicate two important advantages gained by the concourse of the two sexes, or rather of two individuals belonging to opposite sexes; for, as i have shown in a former chapter, the structure of every organism appears to be especially adapted for the concurrence, at least occasionally, of two individuals. in nearly the same manner as it is admitted by naturalists that hybridism, from inducing sterility, is of service in keeping the forms of life distinct and fitted for their proper places; so, when species are rendered highly variable by changed conditions of life, the free intercrossing of the varying individuals will tend to keep each form fitted for its proper place in nature; and crossing can be effected only by sexual generation, but whether the end thus gained is of sufficient importance to account for the first origin of sexual intercourse is very doubtful. secondly, i have shown, from the consideration of a large body of facts, that, as a slight change in the conditions of life is beneficial to each creature, so, in an analogous manner, is the change effected in the germ by sexual union with a distinct individual; and i have been led, from observing the many widely-extended provisions throughout nature for this purpose, and from the greater vigour of crossed organisms of all kinds, as proved by direct experiments, as well as from the evil effects of close interbreeding when long { } continued, to believe that the advantage thus gained is very great. besides these two important ends, there may, of course, be others, as yet unknown to us, gained by the concourse of the two sexes. why the germ, which before impregnation undergoes a certain amount of development, ceases to progress and perishes, unless it be acted on by the male element; and why conversely the male element, which is enabled to keep alive for even four or five years within the spermatheca of a female insect, likewise perishes, unless it acts on or unites with the germ, are questions which cannot be answered with any certainty. it is, however, possible that both sexual elements perish, unless brought into union, simply from including too little formative matter for independent existence and development; for certainly they do not in ordinary cases differ in their power of giving character to the embryo. this view of the importance of the quantity of formative matter seems probable from the following considerations. there is no reason to suspect that the spermatozoa or pollen-grains of the same individual animal or plant differ from each other; yet quatrefages has shown in the case of the teredo,[ ] as did formerly prevost and dumas with other animals, that more than one spermatozoon is requisite to fertilise an ovule. this has likewise been clearly proved by newport,[ ] who adds the important fact, established by numerous experiments, that, when a very small number of spermatozoa are applied to the ova of batrachians, they are only partially impregnated and the embryo is never fully developed: the first step, however, towards development, namely, the partial segmentation of the yelk, does occur to a greater or less extent, but is never completed up to granulation. the rate of the segmentation is likewise determined by the number of the spermatozoa. with respect to plants, nearly the same results were obtained by kölreuter and gärtner. this last careful observer found,[ ] after making successive trials on a malva with more and more pollen-grains, that even thirty grains did not fertilise a single seed; but when forty grains were applied to the { } stigma, a few seeds of small size were formed. the pollen-grains of mirabilis are extraordinarily large, and the ovarium contains only a single ovule; and these circumstances led naudin[ ] to make the following interesting experiments: a flower was fertilised by three grains and succeeded perfectly; twelve flowers were fertilised by two grains, and seventeen flowers by a single grain, and of these one flower alone in each lot perfected its seed; and it deserves especial notice that the plants produced by these two seeds never attained their proper dimensions, and bore flowers of remarkably small size. from these facts we clearly see that the quantity of the peculiar formative matter which is contained within the spermatozoa and pollen-grains is an all-important element in the act of fertilisation, not only in the full development of the seed, but in the vigour of the plant produced from such seed. we see something of the same kind in certain cases of parthenogenesis, that is, when the male element is wholly excluded; for m. jourdan[ ] found that, out of about , eggs laid by unimpregnated silk-moths, many passed through their early embryonic stages, showing that they were capable of self-development, but only twenty-nine out of the whole number produced caterpillars. therefore it is not an improbable view that deficient bulk or quantity in the formative matter, contained within the sexual elements, is the main cause of their not having the capacity of prolonged separate existence and development. the belief that it is the function of the spermatozoa to communicate life to the ovule seems a strange one, seeing that the unimpregnated ovule is already alive and continues for a considerable time alive. we shall hereafter see that it is probable that the sexual elements, or possibly only the female element, include certain primordial cells, that is, such as have undergone no differentiation, and which are not present in an active state in buds. _graft-hybrids._--when discussing in the eleventh chapter the curious case of the _cytisus adami_, facts were given which render it to a certain degree probable, in accordance with the belief of some distinguished botanists, that, when the tissues of two plants { } belonging to distinct species or varieties are intimately united, buds are afterwards occasionally produced which, like hybrids, combine the characters of the two united forms. it is certain that when trees with variegated leaves are grafted or budded on a common stock, the latter sometimes produces buds bearing variegated leaves; but this may perhaps be looked at as a case of inoculated disease. should it ever be proved that hybridised buds can be formed by the union of two distinct vegetative tissues, the essential identity of sexual and asexual reproduction would be shown in the most interesting manner; for the power of combining in the offspring the characters of both parents, is the most striking of all the functions of sexual generation. _direct action of the male element on the female._--in the chapter just referred to, i have given abundant proofs that foreign pollen occasionally affects the mother-plant in a direct manner. thus, when gallesio fertilised an orange-flower with pollen from the lemon, the fruit bore stripes of perfectly characterised lemon-peel: with peas, several observers have seen the colour of the seed-coats and even of the pod directly affected by the pollen of a distinct variety; so it has been with the fruit of the apple, which consists of the modified calyx and upper part of the flower-stalk. these parts in ordinary cases are wholly formed by the mother-plant. we here see the male element affecting and hybridising not that part which it is properly adapted to affect, namely the ovule, but the partially developed tissues of a distinct individual. we are thus brought half-way towards a graft-hybrid, in which the cellular tissue of one form, instead of its pollen, is believed to hybridise the tissues of a distinct form. i formerly assigned reasons for rejecting the belief that the mother-plant is affected through the intervention of the hybridised embryo; but even if this view were admitted, the case would become one of graft-hybridism, for the fertilised embryo and the mother-plant must be looked at as distinct individuals. with animals which do not breed until nearly mature, and of which all the parts are then fully developed, it is hardly possible that the male element should directly affect the female. but we have the analogous and perfectly well-ascertained case of the male element of a distinct form, as with the { } quagga and lord morton's mare, affecting the ovarium of the female, so that the ovules and offspring subsequently produced by her when impregnated by other males are plainly affected and hybridised by the first male. _development._--the fertilised germ reaches maturity by a vast number of changes: these are either slight and slowly effected, as when the child grows into the man, or are great and sudden, as with the metamorphoses of most insects. between these extremes we have, even within the same class, every gradation: thus, as sir j. lubbock has shown,[ ] there is an ephemerous insect which moults above twenty times, undergoing each time a slight but decided change of structure; and these changes, as he further remarks, probably reveal to us the normal stages of development which are concealed and hurried through, or suppressed, in most other insects. in ordinary metamorphoses, the parts and organs appear to become changed into the corresponding parts in the next stage of development; but there is another form of development, which has been called by professor owen metagenesis. in this case "the new parts are not moulded upon the inner surface of the old ones. the plastic force has changed its course of operation. the outer case, and all that gave form and character to the precedent individual, perish and are cast off; they are not changed into the corresponding parts of the new individual. these are due to a new and distinct developmental process," &c.[ ] metamorphosis, however, graduates so insensibly into metagenesis, that the two processes cannot be distinctly separated. for instance, in the last change which cirripedes undergo, the alimentary canal and some other organs are moulded on pre-existing parts; but the eyes of the old and the young animal are developed in entirely different parts of the body; the tips of the mature limbs are formed within the larval limbs, and may be said to be metamorphosed from them; but their basal portions and the whole thorax are developed in a plane actually at right angles to the limbs and thorax of the larva; and this { } may be called metagenesis. the metagenetic process is carried to an extreme degree in the development of some echinoderms, for the animal in the second stage of development is formed almost like a bud within the animal of the first stage, the latter being then cast off like an old vestment, yet sometimes still maintaining for a short period an independent vitality.[ ] if, instead of a single individual, several were to be thus developed metagenetically within a pre-existing form, the process would be called one of alternate generation. the young thus developed may either closely resemble the encasing parent-form, as with the larvæ of cecidomyia, or may differ to an astonishing degree, as with many parasitic worms and with jelly-fishes; but this does not make any essential difference in the process, any more than the greatness or abruptness of the change in the metamorphoses of insects. the whole question of development is of great importance for our present subject. when an organ, the eye for instance, is metagenetically formed in a part of the body where during the previous stage of development no eye existed, we must look at it as a new and independent growth. the absolute independence of new and old structures, which correspond in structure and function, is still more obvious when several individuals are formed within a previous encasing form, as in the cases of alternate generation. the same important principle probably comes largely into play even in the case of continuous growth, as we shall see when we consider the inheritance of modifications at corresponding ages. we are led to the same conclusion, namely, the independence of parts successively developed, by another and quite distinct group of facts. it is well known that many animals belonging to the same class, and therefore not differing widely from each other, pass through an extremely different course of development. thus certain beetles, not in any way remarkably different from others of the same order, undergo what has been called a hyper-metamorphosis--that is, they pass through an early stage wholly different from the ordinary grub-like larva. in the same sub-order of crabs, namely, the macroura, as fritz { } müller remarks, the river cray-fish is hatched under the same form which it ever afterwards retains; the young lobster has divided legs, like a mysis; the palæmon appears under the form of a zoea, and peneus under the nauplius-form; and how wonderfully these larval forms differ from each other, is known to every naturalist.[ ] some other crustaceans, as the same author observes, start from the same point and arrive at nearly the same end, but in the middle of their development are widely different from each other. still more striking cases could be given with respect to the echinodermata. with the medusæ or jelly-fishes professor allman observes, "the classification of the hydroida would be a comparatively simple task if, as has been erroneously asserted, generically-identical medusoids always arose from generically-identical polypoids; and on the other hand, that generically-identical polypoids always gave origin to generically-identical medusoids." so, again, dr. strethill wright remarks, "in the life-history of the hydroidæ any phase, planuloid, polypoid, or medusoid, may be absent."[ ] according to the belief now generally accepted by our best naturalists, all the members of the same order or class, the macrourous crustaceans for instance, are descended from a common progenitor. during their descent they have diverged much in structure, but have retained much in common; and this divergence and retention of character has been effected, though they have passed and still pass through marvellously different metamorphoses. this fact well illustrates how independent each structure must be from that which precedes and follows it in the course of development. _the functional independence of the elements or units of the body._--physiologists agree that the whole organism consists of a multitude of elemental parts, which are to a great extent independent of each other. each organ, says claude bernard,[ ] { } has its proper life, its autonomy; it can develop and reproduce itself independently of the adjoining tissues. the great german authority, virchow,[ ] asserts still more emphatically that each system, as the nervous or osseous system, or the blood, consists of an "enormous mass of minute centres of action.... every element has its own special action, and even though it derive its stimulus to activity from other parts, yet alone effects the actual performance of its duties.... every single epithelial and muscular fibre-cell leads a sort of parasitical existence in relation to the rest of the body.... every single bone-corpuscle really possesses conditions of nutrition peculiar to itself." each element, as mr. paget remarks, lives its appointed time, and then dies, and, after being cast off or absorbed, is replaced.[ ] i presume that no physiologist doubts that, for instance, each bone-corpuscle of the finger differs from the corresponding corpuscle in the corresponding joint of the toe; and there can hardly be a doubt that even those on the corresponding sides of the body differ, though almost identical in nature. this near approach to identity is curiously shown in many diseases in which the same exact points on the right and left sides of the body are similarly affected; thus mr. paget[ ] gives a drawing of a diseased pelvis, in which the bone has grown into a most complicated pattern, but "there is not one spot or line on one side which is not represented, as exactly as it would be in a mirror, on the other." many facts support this view of the independent life of each minute element of the body. virchow insists that a single bone-corpuscle or a single cell in the skin may become diseased. the spur of a cock, after being inserted into the eye of an ox, lived for eight years, and acquired a weight of grammes, or nearly fourteen ounces.[ ] the tail of a pig has been grafted into the middle of its back, and reacquired sensibility. dr. ollier[ ] inserted a piece of periosteum from the bone of a young dog under the skin of a rabbit, and true bone was developed. a multitude of similar facts could be given. the { } frequent presence of hairs and of perfectly developed teeth, even teeth of the second dentition, in ovarian tumours,[ ] are facts leading to the same conclusion. whether each of the innumerable autonomous elements of the body is a cell or the modified product of a cell, is a more doubtful question, even if so wide a definition be given to the term, as to include cell-like bodies without walls and without nuclei.[ ] professor lionel beale uses the term "germinal matter" for the contents of cells, taken in this wide acceptation, and he draws a broad distinction between germinal matter and "formed material" or the various products of cells.[ ] but the doctrine of _omnis cellula e cellulâ_ is admitted for plants, and is a widely prevalent belief with respect to animals.[ ] thus virchow, the great supporter of the cellular theory, whilst allowing that difficulties exist, maintains that every atom of tissue is derived from cells, and these from pre-existing cells, and these primarily from the egg, which he regards as a great cell. that cells, still retaining the same nature, increase by self-division or proliferation, is admitted by almost every one. but when an organism undergoes a great change of structure during development, the cells, which at each stage are supposed to be directly derived from previously-existing cells, must likewise be greatly changed in nature; this change is apparently attributed by the supporters of the cellular doctrine to some inherent power which the cells possess, and not to any external agency. another school maintains that cells and tissues of all kinds may be formed, independently of pre-existing cells, from plastic lymph or blastema; and this it is thought is well exhibited in the repair of wounds. as i have not especially attended to histology, it would be presumptuous in me to express an opinion on the two opposed doctrines. but every one appears to admit that the body consists of a multitude of "organic units,"[ ] { } each of which possesses its own proper attributes, and is to a certain extent independent of all others. hence it will be convenient to use indifferently the terms cells or organic units or simply units. _variability and inheritance._--we have seen in the twenty-second chapter that variability is not a principle co-ordinate with life or reproduction, but results from special causes, generally from changed conditions acting during successive generations. part of the fluctuating variability thus induced is apparently due to the sexual system being easily affected by changed conditions, so that it is often rendered impotent; and when not so seriously affected, it often fails in its proper function of transmitting truly the characters of the parents to the offspring. but variability is not necessarily connected with the sexual system, as we see from the cases of bud-variation; and although we may not be able to trace the nature of the connexion, it is probable that many deviations of structure which appear in sexual offspring result from changed conditions acting directly on the organisation, independently of the reproductive organs. in some instances we may feel sure of this, when all, or nearly all the individuals which have been similarly exposed are similarly and definitely affected--as in the dwarfed and otherwise changed maize brought from hot countries when cultivated in germany; in the change of the fleece in sheep within the tropics; to a certain extent in the increased size and early maturity of our highly-improved domesticated animals; in inherited gout from intemperance; and in many other such cases. now, as such changed conditions do not especially affect the reproductive organs, it seems mysterious on any ordinary view why their product, the new organic being, should be similarly affected. how, again, can we explain to ourselves the inherited effects of the use or disuse of particular organs? the domesticated duck flies less and walks more than the wild duck, and its limb-bones have become in a corresponding manner diminished and increased in comparison with those of the wild duck. a horse is trained to certain paces, and the colt inherits similar consensual movements. the domesticated rabbit becomes tame from close confinement; the dog intelligent from associating with man; the retriever is taught to fetch and carry: and these { } mental endowments and bodily powers are all inherited. nothing in the whole circuit of physiology is more wonderful. how can the use or disuse of a particular limb or of the brain affect a small aggregate of reproductive cells, seated in a distant part of the body, in such a manner that the being developed from these cells inherits the characters of either one or both parents? even an imperfect answer to this question would be satisfactory. sexual reproduction does not essentially differ, as we have seen, from budding or self-division, and these processes graduate through the repair of injuries into ordinary development and growth; it might therefore be expected that every character would be as regularly transmitted by all the methods of reproduction as by continued growth. in the chapters devoted to inheritance it was shown that a multitude of newly-acquired characters, whether injurious or beneficial, whether of the lowest or highest vital importance, are often faithfully transmitted--frequently even when one parent alone possesses some new peculiarity. it deserves especial attention that characters appearing at any age tend to reappear at a corresponding age. we may on the whole conclude that in all cases inheritance is the rule, and non-inheritance the anomaly. in some instances a character is not inherited, from the conditions of life being directly opposed to its development; in many instances, from the conditions incessantly inducing fresh variability, as with grafted fruit-trees and highly cultivated flowers. in the remaining cases the failure may be attributed to reversion, by which the child resembles its grandparents or more remote progenitors, instead of its parents. this principle of reversion is the most wonderful of all the attributes of inheritance. it proves to us that the transmission of a character and its development, which ordinarily go together and thus escape discrimination, are distinct powers; and these powers in some cases are even antagonistic, for each acts alternately in successive generations. reversion is not a rare event, depending on some unusual or favourable combination of circumstances, but occurs so regularly with crossed animals and plants, and so frequently with uncrossed breeds, that it is evidently an essential part of the principle of inheritance. we know that { } changed conditions have the power of evoking long-lost characters, as in the case of some feral animals. the act of crossing in itself possesses this power in a high degree. what can be more wonderful than that characters, which have disappeared during scores, or hundreds, or even thousands of generations, should suddenly reappear perfectly developed, as in the case of pigeons and fowls when purely bred, and especially when crossed; or as with the zebrine stripes on dun-coloured horses, and other such cases? many monstrosities come under this same head, as when rudimentary organs are redeveloped, or when an organ which we must believe was possessed by an early progenitor, but of which not even a rudiment is left, suddenly reappears, as with the fifth stamen in some scrophulariaceæ. we have already seen that reversion acts in bud-reproduction; and we know that it occasionally acts during the growth of the same individual animal, especially, but not exclusively, when of crossed parentage,--as in the rare cases described of individual fowls, pigeons, cattle, and rabbits, which have reverted as they advanced in years to the colours of one of their parents or ancestors. we are led to believe, as formerly explained, that every character which occasionally reappears is present in a latent form in each generation, in nearly the same manner as in male and female animals secondary characters of the opposite sex lie latent, ready to be evolved when the reproductive organs are injured. this comparison of the secondary sexual characters which are latent in both sexes, with other latent characters, is the more appropriate from the case recorded of the hen, which assumed some of the masculine characters, not of her own race, but of an early progenitor; she thus exhibited at the same time the redevelopment of latent characters of both kinds and connected both classes. in every living creature we may feel assured that a host of lost characters lie ready to be evolved under proper conditions. how can we make intelligible, and connect with other facts, this wonderful and common capacity of reversion,--this power of calling back to life long-lost characters? { } part ii. i have now enumerated the chief facts which every one would desire to connect by some intelligible bond. this can be done, as it seems to me, if we make the following assumptions; if the first and chief one be not rejected, the others, from being supported by various physiological considerations, will not appear very improbable. it is almost universally admitted that cells, or the units of the body, propagate themselves by self-division or proliferation, retaining the same nature, and ultimately becoming converted into the various tissues and substances of the body. but besides this means of increase i assume that cells, before their conversion into completely passive or "formed material," throw off minute granules or atoms, which circulate freely throughout the system, and when supplied with proper nutriment multiply by self-division, subsequently becoming developed into cells like those from which they were derived. these granules for the sake of distinctness may be called cell-gemmules, or, as the cellular theory is not fully established, simply gemmules. they are supposed to be transmitted from the parents to the offspring, and are generally developed in the generation which immediately succeeds, but are often transmitted in a dormant state during many generations and are then developed. their development is supposed to depend on their union with other partially developed cells or gemmules which precede them in the regular course of growth. why i use the term union, will be seen when we discuss the direct action of pollen on the tissues of the mother-plant. gemmules are supposed to be thrown off by every cell or unit, not only during the adult state, but during all the stages of development. lastly, i assume that the gemmules in their dormant state have a mutual affinity for each other, leading to their aggregation either into buds or into the sexual elements. hence, speaking strictly, it is not the reproductive elements, nor the buds, which generate new organisms, but the cells themselves throughout the body. these assumptions constitute the provisional hypothesis which i have called pangenesis. nearly { } similar views have been propounded, as i find, by other authors, more especially by mr. herbert spencer;[ ] but they are here modified and amplified. { } before proceeding to show, firstly, how far these assumptions are in themselves probable, and secondly, how far they connect and explain the various groups of facts with which we are concerned, it may be useful to give an illustration of the hypothesis. if one of the simplest protozoa be formed, as appears under the microscope, of a small mass of homogeneous gelatinous matter, a minute atom thrown off from any part and nourished under favourable circumstances would naturally reproduce the whole; but if the upper and lower surfaces were to differ in texture from the central portion, then all three parts would have to throw off atoms or gemmules, which when aggregated by mutual affinity would form either buds or the sexual elements. precisely the same view may be extended to one of the higher animals; although in this case many thousand gemmules must be thrown off from the various parts of the body. now, when the leg, for instance, of a salamander is cut off, a slight crust forms over the wound, and beneath this crust the uninjured cells or units of bone, muscle, nerves, &c., are supposed to unite with the diffused gemmules of those cells which in the perfect leg come next in order; and these as they become slightly developed unite with others, and so on until a papilla of soft cellular tissue, the "budding leg," is formed, and in time a perfect leg.[ ] thus, that portion of the leg which had { } been cut off, neither more nor less, would be reproduced. if the tail or leg of a young animal had been cut off, a young tail or leg would have been reproduced, as actually occurs with the amputated tail of the tadpole; for gemmules of all the units which compose the tail are diffused throughout the body at all ages. but during the adult state the gemmules of the larval tail would remain dormant, for they would not meet with pre-existing cells in a proper state of development with which to unite. if from changed conditions or any other cause any part of the body should become permanently modified, the gemmules, which are merely minute portions of the contents of the cells forming the part, would naturally reproduce the same modification. but gemmules previously derived from the same part before it had undergone any change, would still be diffused throughout the organisation, and would be transmitted from generation to generation, so that under favourable circumstances they might be redeveloped, and then the new modification would be for a time or for ever lost. the aggregation of gemmules derived from every part of the body, through their mutual affinity, would form buds, and their aggregation in some special manner, apparently in small quantity, together probably with the presence of gemmules of certain primordial cells, would constitute the sexual elements. by means of these illustrations the hypothesis of pangenesis has, i hope, been rendered intelligible. * * * * * physiologists maintain, as we have seen, that each cell, though to a large extent dependent on others, is likewise, to a certain extent, independent or autonomous. i go one small step further, and assume that each cell casts off a free gemmule, which is capable of reproducing a similar cell. there is some analogy between this view and what we see in compound animals and in the flower-buds on the same tree; for these are distinct individuals capable of true or seminal reproduction, yet have parts in common and are dependent on each other; thus { } the tree has its bark and trunk, and certain corals, as the virgularia, have not only parts, but movements in common. the existence of free gemmules is a gratuitous assumption, yet can hardly be considered as very improbable, seeing that cells have the power of multiplication through the self-division of their contents. gemmules differ from true ovules or buds inasmuch as they are supposed to be capable of multiplication in their undeveloped state. no one probably will object to this capacity as improbable. the blastema within the egg has been known to divide and give birth to two embryos; and thuret[ ] has seen the zoospore of an alga divide itself, and both halves germinate. an atom of small-pox matter, so minute as to be borne by the wind, must multiply itself many thousand-fold in a person thus inoculated.[ ] it has recently been ascertained[ ] that a minute portion of the mucous discharge from an animal affected with rinderpest, if placed in the blood of a healthy ox, increases so fast that in a short space of time "the whole mass of blood, weighing many pounds, is infected, and every small particle of that blood contains enough poison to give, within less than forty-eight hours, the disease to another animal." the retention of free and undeveloped gemmules in the same body from early youth to old age may appear improbable, but we should remember how long seeds lie dormant in the earth and buds in the bark of a tree. their transmission from generation to generation may appear still more improbable; but here again we should remember that many rudimentary and useless organs are transmitted and have been transmitted during an indefinite number of generations. we shall presently see how well the long-continued transmission of undeveloped gemmules explains many facts. as each unit, or group of similar units throughout the body, casts off its gemmules, and as all are contained within the smallest egg or seed, and within each spermatozoon or pollen-grain, their number and minuteness must be something { } inconceivable. i shall hereafter recur to this objection, which at first appears so formidable; but it may here be remarked that a cod-fish has been found to produce , , eggs, a single ascaris about , , eggs, and a single orchidaceous plant probably as many million seeds.[ ] in these several cases, the spermatozoa and pollen-grains must exist in considerably larger numbers. now, when we have to deal with numbers such as these, which the human intellect cannot grasp, there is no good reason for rejecting our present hypothesis on account of the assumed existence of cell-gemmules a few thousand times more numerous. the gemmules in each organism must be thoroughly diffused; nor does this seem improbable considering their minuteness, and the steady circulation of fluids throughout the body. so it must be with the gemmules of plants, for with certain kinds even a minute fragment of a leaf will reproduce the whole. but a difficulty here occurs; it would appear that with plants, and probably with compound animals, such as corals, the gemmules do not spread from bud to bud, but only through the tissues developed from each separate bud. we are led to this conclusion from the stock being rarely affected by the insertion of a bud or graft from a distinct variety. this non-diffusion of the gemmules is still more plainly shown in the case of ferns; for mr. bridgman[ ] has proved that, when spores (which it should be remembered are of the nature of buds) are taken from a monstrous part of a frond, and others from an ordinary part, { } each reproduces the form of the part whence derived. but this non-diffusion of the gemmules from bud to bud may be only apparent, depending, as we shall hereafter see, on the nature of the first-formed cells in the buds. the assumed elective affinity of each gemmule for that particular cell which precedes it in the order of development is supported by many analogies. in all ordinary cases of sexual reproduction the male and female elements have a mutual affinity for each other: thus, it is believed that about ten thousand species of compositæ exist, and there can be no doubt that if the pollen of all these species could be, simultaneously or successively, placed on the stigma of any one species, this one would elect with unerring certainty its own pollen. this elective capacity is all the more wonderful, as it must have been acquired since the many species of this great group of plants branched off from a common progenitor. on any view of the nature of sexual reproduction, the protoplasm contained within the ovules and within the sperm-cells (or the "spermatic force" of the latter, if so vague a term be preferred) must act on each other by some law of special affinity, either during or subsequently to impregnation, so that corresponding parts alone affect each other; thus, a calf produced from a short-horned cow by a long-horned bull has its horns and not its horny hoofs affected by the union of the two forms, and the offspring from two birds with differently coloured tails have their tails and not their whole plumage affected. the various tissues of the body plainly show, as many physiologists have insisted,[ ] an affinity for special organic substances, whether natural or foreign to the body. we see this in the cells of the kidneys attracting urea from the blood; in the worrara poison affecting the nerves; upas and digitalis the muscles; the lytta vesicatoria the kidneys; and in the poisonous matter of many diseases, as small-pox, scarlet-fever, hooping-cough, glanders, cancer, and hydrophobia, affecting certain definite parts of the body or certain tissues or glands. the affinity of various parts of the body for each other during { } their early development was shown in the last chapter, when discussing the tendency to fusion in homologous parts. this affinity displays itself in the normal fusion of organs which are separate at an early embryonic age, and still more plainly in those marvellous cases of double monsters in which each bone, muscle, vessel, and nerve in the one embryo, blends with the corresponding part in the other. the affinity between homologous organs may come into action with single parts, or with the entire individual, as in the case of flowers or fruits which are symmetrically blended together with all their parts doubled, but without any other trace of fusion. it has also been assumed that the development of each gemmule depends on its union with another cell or unit which has just commenced its development, and which, from preceding it in order of growth, is of a somewhat different nature. nor is it a very improbable assumption that the development of a gemmule is determined by its union with a cell slightly different in nature, for abundant evidence was given in the seventeenth chapter, showing that a slight degree of differentiation in the male and female sexual elements favours in a marked manner their union and subsequent development. but what determines the development of the gemmules of the first-formed or primordial cell in the unimpregnated ovule, is beyond conjecture. it must also be admitted that analogy fails to guide us towards any determination on several other points: for instance, whether cells, derived from the same parent-cell, may, in the regular course of growth, become developed into different structures, from absorbing peculiar kinds of nutriment, independently of their union with distinct gemmules. we shall appreciate this difficulty if we call to mind, what complex yet symmetrical growths the cells of plants yield when they are inoculated by the poison of a gall-insect. with animals various polypoid excrescences and tumours are now generally admitted[ ] to be the direct product, through proliferation, of normal cells which have become abnormal. in the regular growth and repair of bones, the tissues undergo, as virchow remarks,[ ] a whole series of permutations and substitutions. "the cartilage-cells may be { } converted by a direct transformation into marrow-cells, and continue as such; or they may first be converted into osseous and then into medullary tissue; or lastly, they may first be converted into marrow and then into bone. so variable are the permutations of these tissues, in themselves so nearly allied, and yet in their external appearance so completely distinct." but as these tissues thus change their nature at any age, without any obvious change in their nutrition, we must suppose in accordance with our hypothesis that gemmules derived from one kind of tissue combine with the cells of another kind, and cause the successive modifications. it is useless to speculate at what period of development each organic unit casts off its gemmules; for the whole subject of the development of the various elemental tissues is as yet involved in much doubt. some physiologists, for instance, maintain that muscle or nerve-fibres are developed from cells, which are afterwards nourished by their own proper powers of absorption; whilst other physiologists deny their cellular origin; and beale maintains that such fibres are renovated exclusively by the conversion of fresh germinal matter (that is the so-called nuclei) into "formed material." however this may be, it appears probable that all external agencies, such as changed nutrition, increased use or disuse, &c., which induced any permanent modification in a structure, would at the same time or previously act on the cells, nuclei, germinal or formative matter, from which the structures in question were developed, and consequently would act on the gemmules or cast-off atoms. there is another point on which it is useless to speculate, namely, whether all gemmules are free and separate, or whether some are from the first united into small aggregates. a feather, for instance, is a complex structure, and, as each separate part is liable to inherited variations, i conclude that each feather certainly generates a large number of gemmules; but it is possible that these may be aggregated into a compound gemmule. the same remark applies to the petals of a flower, which in some cases are highly complex, with each ridge and hollow contrived for special purposes, so that each part must have been separately modified, and the modifications transmitted; consequently, separate gemmules, according to our hypothesis, { } must have been thrown off from each cell or part. but, as we sometimes see half an anther or a small portion of a filament becoming petaliform, or parts or mere stripes of the calyx assuming the colour and texture of the corolla, it is probable that with petals the gemmules of each cell are not aggregated together into a compound gemmule, but are freely and separately diffused. * * * * * having now endeavoured to show that the several foregoing assumptions are to a certain extent supported by analogous facts, and having discussed some of the most doubtful points, we will consider how far the hypothesis brings under a single point of view the various cases enumerated in the first part. all the forms of reproduction graduate into each other and agree in their product; for it is impossible to distinguish between organisms produced from buds, from self-division, or from fertilised germs; such organisms are liable to variations of the same nature and to reversion of character; and as we now see that all the forms of reproduction depend on the aggregation of gemmules derived from the whole body, we can understand this general agreement. it is satisfactory to find that sexual and asexual generation, by both of which widely different processes the same living creature is habitually produced, are fundamentally the same. parthenogenesis is no longer wonderful; in fact, the wonder is that it should not oftener occur. we see that the reproductive organs do not actually create the sexual elements; they merely determine or permit the aggregation of the gemmules in a special manner. these organs, together with their accessory parts, have, however, high functions to perform; they give to both elements a special affinity for each other, independently of the contents of the male and female cells, as is shown in the case of plants by the mutual reaction of the stigma and pollen-grains; they adapt one or both elements for independent temporary existence, and for mutual union. the contrivances for these purposes are sometimes wonderfully complex, as with the spermatophores of the cephalopoda. the male element sometimes possesses attributes which, if observed in an independent animal, would be put down to instinct guided by sense-organs, as when the { } spermatozoon of an insect finds its way into the minute micropyle of the egg, or as when the antherozoids of certain algæ swim by the aid of their ciliæ to the female plant, and force themselves into a minute orifice. in these latter cases, however, we must believe that the male element has acquired its powers, on the same principle with the larvæ of animals, namely by successive modifications developed at corresponding periods of life: we can hardly avoid in these cases looking at the male element as a sort of premature larva, which unites, or, like one of the lower algæ, conjugates, with the female element. what determines the aggregation of the gemmules within the sexual organs we do not in the least know; nor do we know why buds are formed in certain definite places, leading to the symmetrical growth of trees and corals, nor why adventitious buds may be formed almost anywhere, even on a petal, and frequently upon healed wounds.[ ] as soon as the gemmules have aggregated themselves, development apparently commences, but in the case of buds is often afterwards suspended, and in the case of the sexual elements soon ceases, unless the elements of the opposite sexes combine; even after this has occurred, the fertilised germ, as with seeds buried in the ground, may remain during a lengthened period in a dormant state. the antagonism which has long been observed,[ ] though exceptions occur,[ ] between active growth and the power of sexual reproduction--between the repair of injuries and gemmation--and with plants, between rapid increase by buds, rhizomes, &c., and the production of seed, is partly explained by the gemmules not existing in sufficient numbers for both processes. { } but this explanation hardly applies to those plants which naturally produce a multitude of seeds, but which, through a comparatively small increase in the number of the buds on their rhizomes or offsets, yield few or no seed. as, however, we shall presently see that buds probably include tissue which has already been to a certain extent developed or differentiated, some additional organised matter will thus have been expended. from one of the forms of reproduction, namely, spontaneous self-division, we are led by insensible steps to the repair of the slightest injury; and the existence of gemmules, derived from every cell or unit throughout the body and everywhere diffused, explains all such cases,--even the wonderful fact that, when the limbs of the salamander were cut off many times successively by spallanzani and bonnet, they were exactly and completely reproduced. i have heard this process compared with the recrystallisation which occurs when the angles of a broken crystal are repaired; and the two processes have this much in common, that in the one case the polarity of the molecules is the efficient cause, and in the other the affinity of the gemmules for particular nascent cells. pangenesis does not throw much light on hybridism, but agrees well with most of the ascertained facts. we may conclude from the fact of a single spermatozoon or pollen-grain being insufficient for impregnation, that a certain number of gemmules derived from each cell or unit are required for the development of each part. from the occurrence of parthenogenesis, more especially in the case of the silk-moth, in which the embryo is often partially formed, we may also infer that the female element includes nearly sufficient gemmules of all kinds for independent development, so that when united with the male element the gemmules must be superabundant. now, as a general rule, when two species or races are crossed reciprocally, the offspring do not differ, and this shows that both sexual elements agree in power, in accordance with the view that they include the same gemmules. hybrids and mongrels are generally intermediate in character between the two parent-forms, yet occasionally they closely resemble one parent in one part and the other parent in another part, or even in their whole structure: nor is this difficult to understand on { } the admission that the gemmules in the fertilised germ are superabundant in number, and that those derived from one parent have some advantage in number, affinity, or vigour over those derived from the other parent. crossed forms sometimes exhibit the colour or other characters of either parent in stripes or blotches; and this may occur in the first generation, or through reversion in succeeding bud and seminal generations, as in the several instances given in the eleventh chapter. in these cases we must follow naudin,[ ] and admit that the "essence" or "element" of the two species, which terms i should translate into the gemmules, have an affinity for their own kind, and thus separate themselves into distinct stripes or blotches; and reasons were given, when discussing in the fifteenth chapter the incompatibility of certain characters to unite, for believing in such mutual affinity. when two forms are crossed, one is not rarely found to be prepotent in the transmission of character over the other; and this we can explain only by again assuming that the one form has some advantage in the number, vigour, or affinity of its gemmules, except in those cases, where certain characters are present in the one form and latent in the other. for instance, there is a latent tendency in all pigeons to become blue, and, when a blue pigeon is crossed with one of any other colour, the blue tint is generally prepotent. when we consider latent characters, the explanation of this form of prepotency will be obvious. when one species is crossed with another it is notorious that they do not yield the full or proper number of offspring; and we can only say on this head that, as the development of each organism depends on such nicely-balanced affinities between a host of gemmules and developing cells or units, we need not feel at all surprised that the commixture of gemmules derived from two distinct species should lead to a partial or complete failure of development. with respect to the sterility of hybrids produced from the union of two distinct species, it was shown in the nineteenth chapter that this depends exclusively on the reproductive organs being specially affected; but why these organs should be thus affected we do not know, any more than { } why unnatural conditions of life, though compatible with health, should cause sterility; or why continued close interbreeding, or the illegitimate unions of dimorphic and trimorphic plants, induce the same result. the conclusion that the reproductive organs alone are affected, and not the whole organisation, agrees perfectly with the unimpaired or even increased capacity in hybrid plants for propagation by buds; for this implies, according to our hypothesis, that the cells of the hybrids throw off hybridised cell-gemmules, which become aggregated into buds, but fail to become aggregated within the reproductive organs, so as to form the sexual elements. in a similar manner many plants, when placed under unnatural conditions, fail to produce seed, but can readily be propagated by buds. we shall presently see that pangenesis agrees well with the strong tendency to reversion exhibited by all crossed animals and plants. it was shown in the discussion on graft-hybrids that there is some reason to believe that portions of cellular tissue taken from distinct plants become so intimately united, as afterwards occasionally to produce crossed or hybridised buds. if this fact were fully established, it would, by the aid of our hypothesis, connect gemmation and sexual reproduction in the closest manner. abundant evidence has been advanced proving that pollen taken from one species or variety and applied to the stigma of another sometimes directly affects the tissues of the mother-plant. it is probable that this occurs with many plants during fertilisation, but can only be detected when distinct forms are crossed. on any ordinary theory of reproduction this is a most anomalous circumstance, for the pollen-grains are manifestly adapted to act on the ovule, but in these cases they act on the colour, texture, and form of the coats of the seeds, on the ovarium itself, which is a modified leaf, and even on the calyx and upper part of the flower-peduncle. in accordance with the hypothesis of pangenesis pollen includes gemmules, derived from every part of the organisation, which diffuse themselves and multiply by self-division; hence it is not surprising that gemmules within the pollen, which are derived from the parts near the reproductive organs, should sometimes be able to affect the same parts, whilst still undergoing development, in the mother-plant. { } as, during all the stages of development, the tissues of plants consist of cells, and as new cells are not known to be formed between, or independently of, pre-existing cells, we must conclude that the gemmules derived from the foreign pollen do not become developed merely in contact with pre-existing cells, but actually penetrate the nascent cells of the mother-plant. this process may be compared with the ordinary act of fertilisation, during which the contents of the pollen-tubes penetrate the closed embryonic sack within the ovule, and determine the development of the embryo. according to this view, the cells of the mother-plant may almost literally be said to be fertilised by the gemmules derived from the foreign pollen. with all organisms, as we shall presently see, the cells or organic units of the embryo during the successive stages of development may in like manner be said to be fertilised by the gemmules of the cells, which come next in the order of formation. animals, when capable of sexual reproduction, are fully developed, and it is scarcely possible that the male element should affect the tissues of the mother in the same direct manner as with plants; nevertheless it is certain that her ovaria are sometimes affected by a previous impregnation, so that the ovules subsequently fertilised by a distinct male are plainly influenced in character; and this, as in the case of foreign pollen, is intelligible through the diffusion, retention, and action of the gemmules included within the spermatozoa of the previous male. each organism reaches maturity through a longer or shorter course of development. the changes may be small and insensibly slow, as when a child grows into a man, or many, abrupt, and slight, as in the metamorphoses of certain ephemerous insects, or again few and strongly marked, as with most other insects. each part may be moulded within a previously existing and corresponding part, and in this case it will appear, falsely as i believe, to be formed from the old part; or it may be developed within a wholly distinct part of the body, as in the extreme cases of metagenesis. an eye, for instance, may be developed at a spot where no eye previously existed. we have also seen that allied organic beings in the course of their metamorphoses sometimes attain nearly the same structure after passing { } through widely different forms; or conversely, after passing through nearly the same early forms, arrive at a widely different termination. in these cases it is very difficult to believe that the early cells or units possess the inherent power, independently of any external agent, of producing new structures wholly different in form, position, and function. but these cases become plain on the hypothesis of pangenesis. the organic units, during each stage of development, throw off gemmules, which, multiplying, are transmitted to the offspring. in the offspring, as soon as any particular cell or unit in the proper order of development becomes partially developed, it unites with (or to speak metaphorically is fertilised by) the gemmule of the next succeeding cell, and so onwards. now, supposing that at any stage of development, certain cells or aggregates of cells had been slightly modified by the action of some disturbing cause, the cast-off gemmules or atoms of the cell-contents could hardly fail to be similarly affected, and consequently would reproduce the same modification. this process might be repeated until the structure of the part at this particular stage of development became greatly changed, but this would not necessarily affect other parts whether previously or subsequently developed. in this manner we can understand the remarkable independence of structure in the successive metamorphoses, and especially in the successive metageneses of many animals. the term growth ought strictly to be confined to mere increase of size, and development to change of structure.[ ] now, a child is said to grow into a man, and a foal into a horse, but, as in these cases there is much change of structure, the process properly belongs to the order of development. we have indirect evidence of this in many variations and diseases supervening during so-called growth at a particular period, and being inherited at a corresponding period. in the case, however, of diseases which supervene during old age, subsequently to the ordinary period of procreation, and which nevertheless are sometimes inherited, as occurs with brain and heart complaints, we { } must suppose that the organs were in fact affected at an earlier age and threw off at this period affected gemmules; but that the affection became visible or injurious only after the prolonged growth of the part in the strict sense of the word. in all the changes of structure which regularly supervene during old age, we see the effects of deteriorated growth, and not of true development. in the so-called process of _alternate generation_ many individuals are generated asexually during very early or later stages of development. these individuals may closely resemble the preceding larval form, but generally are wonderfully dissimilar. to understand this process we must suppose that at a certain stage of development the gemmules are multiplied at an unusual rate, and become aggregated by mutual affinity at many centres of attraction, or buds. these buds, it may be remarked, must include gemmules not only of all the succeeding but likewise of all the preceding stages of development; for when mature they have the power of transmitting by sexual generation gemmules of all the stages, however numerous these may be. it was shown in the first part, at least in regard to animals, that the new beings which are thus at any period asexually generated do not retrograde in development--that is, they do not pass through those earlier stages, through which the fertilised germ of the same animal has to pass; and an explanation of this fact was attempted as far as the final or teleological cause is concerned. we can likewise understand the proximate cause, if we assume, and the assumption is far from improbable, that buds, like chopped-up fragments of a hydra, are formed of tissue which has already passed through several of the earlier stages of development; for in this case their component cells or units would not unite with the gemmules derived from the earlier-formed cells, but only with those which came next in the order of development. on the other hand, we must believe that, in the sexual elements, or probably in the female alone, gemmules of certain primordial cells are present; and these, as soon as their development commences, unite in due succession with the gemmules of every part of the body, from the first to the last period of life. the principle of the independent formation of each part, in { } so far as its development depends on the union of the proper gemmules with certain nascent cells, together with the superabundance of the gemmules derived from both parents and self-multiplied, throws light on a widely different group of facts, which on any ordinary view of development appears very strange. i allude to organs which are abnormally multiplied or transposed. thus gold-fish often have supernumerary fins placed on various parts of their bodies. we have seen that, when the tail of a lizard is broken off, a double tail is sometimes reproduced, and when the foot of the salamander is divided longitudinally, additional digits are occasionally formed. when frogs, toads, &c., are born with their limbs doubled, as sometimes occurs, the doubling, as gervais remarks,[ ] cannot be due to the complete fusion of two embryos, with the exception of the limbs, for the larvæ are limbless. the same argument is applicable[ ] to certain insects produced with multiple legs or antennæ, for these are metamorphosed from apodal or antennæless larvæ. alphonse milne-edwards[ ] has described the curious case of a crustacean in which one eye-peduncle supported, instead of a complete eye, only an imperfect cornea, out of the centre of which a portion of an antenna was developed. a case has been recorded[ ] of a man who had during both dentitions a double tooth in place of the left second incisor, and he inherited this peculiarity from his paternal grandfather. several cases are known[ ] of additional teeth having been developed in the palate, more especially with horses, and in the orbit of the eye. certain breeds of sheep bear a whole crowd of horns on their foreheads. hairs occasionally appear in strange situations, as within the ears of the siamese hairy family; and hairs "quite natural in structure" have been observed "within the substance of the brain."[ ] as many as five spurs have been seen on both legs in certain game-fowls. in the polish fowl the male is ornamented with a topknot of hackles { } like those on his neck, whilst the female has one of common feathers. in feather-footed pigeons and fowls, feathers like those on the wing arise from the outer side of the legs and toes. even the elemental parts of the same feather may be transposed; for in the sebastopol goose, barbules are developed on the divided filaments of the shaft. analogous cases are of such frequent occurrence with plants that they do not strike us with sufficient surprise. supernumerary petals, stamens, and pistils, are often produced. i have seen a leaflet low down in the compound leaf of _vicia sativa_ converted into a tendril, and a tendril possesses many peculiar properties, such as spontaneous movement and irritability. the calyx sometimes assumes, either wholly or by stripes, the colour and texture of the corolla. stamens are so frequently converted, more or less completely, into petals, that such cases are passed over as not deserving notice; but as petals have special functions to perform, namely, to protect the included organs, to attract insects, and in not a few cases to guide their entrance by well-adapted contrivances, we can hardly account for the conversion of stamens into petals merely by unnatural or superfluous nourishment. again, the edge of a petal may occasionally be found including one of the highest products of the plant, namely the pollen; for instance, i have seen in an ophrys a pollen-mass with its curious structure of little packets, united together and to the caudicle by elastic threads, formed between the edges of an upper petal. the segments of the calyx of the common pea have been observed partially converted into carpels, including ovules, and with their tips converted into stigmas. numerous analogous facts could be given.[ ] i do not know how physiologists look at such facts as the foregoing. according to the doctrine of pangenesis, the free and superabundant gemmules of the transposed organs are developed in the wrong place, from uniting with wrong cells or aggregates of cells during their nascent state; and this would follow from a slight modification in the elective affinity of such cells, or possibly of certain gemmules. nor ought we to feel much surprise at the affinities of cells and gemmules varying { } under domestication, when we remember the many curious cases given, in the seventeenth chapter, of cultivated plants which absolutely refuse to be fertilised by their own pollen or by that of the same species, but are abundantly fertile with pollen of a distinct species; for this implies that their sexual elective affinities--and this is the term used by gärtner--have been modified. as the cells of adjoining or homologous parts will have nearly the same nature, they will be liable to acquire by variation each other's elective affinities; and we can thus to a certain extent understand such cases as a crowd of horns on the heads in certain sheep, of several spurs on the leg, and of hackles on the head of the fowl, and with the pigeon the occurrence of wing-feathers on their legs and of membrane between their toes; for the leg is the homologue of the wing. as all the organs of plants are homologous and spring from a common axis, it is natural that they should be eminently liable to transposition. it ought to be observed that when any compound part, such as an additional limb or an antenna, springs from a false position, it is only necessary that the few first gemmules should be wrongly attached; for these whilst developing would attract others in due succession, as in the regrowth of an amputated limb. when parts which are homologous and similar in structure, as the vertebræ in snakes or the stamens in polyandrous flowers, &c., are repeated many times in the same organism, closely allied gemmules must be extremely numerous, as well as the points to which they ought to become united; and, in accordance with the foregoing views, we can to a certain extent understand isid. geoffroy st. hilaire's law, namely, that parts, which are already multiple, are extremely liable to vary in number. the same general principles apply to the fusion of homologous parts; and with respect to mere cohesion there is probably always some degree of fusion, at least near the surface. when two embryos during their early development come into close contact, as both include corresponding gemmules, which must be in all respects almost identical in nature, it is not surprising that some derived from one embryo and some from the other should unite at the point of contact with a single nascent cell or aggregate of cells, and thus give rise to a single part or organ. for instance, two embryos might thus come to have on their { } adjoining sides a single symmetrical arm, which in one sense will have been formed by the fusion of the bones, muscles, &c., belonging to the arms of both embryos. in the case of the fish described by lereboullet, in which a double head was seen gradually to fuse into a single one, the same process must have taken place, together with the absorption of all the parts which had been already formed. these cases are exactly the reverse of those in which a part is doubled either spontaneously or after an injury; for in the case of doubling, the superabundant gemmules of the same part are separately developed in union with adjoining points; whilst in the case of fusion the gemmules derived from two homologous parts become mingled and form a single part; or it may be that the gemmules from one of two adjoining embryos alone become developed. * * * * * variability often depends, as i have attempted to show, on the reproductive organs being injuriously affected by changed conditions; and in this case the gemmules derived from the various parts of the body are probably aggregated in an irregular manner, some superfluous and others deficient. whether a superabundance of gemmules, together with fusion during development, would lead to the increased size of any part cannot be told; but we can see that their partial deficiency, without necessarily leading to the entire abortion of the part, might cause considerable modifications; for in the same manner as a plant, if its own pollen be excluded, is easily hybridised, so, in the case of a cell, if the properly succeeding gemmules were absent, it would probably combine easily with other and allied gemmules. we see this in the case of imperfect nails growing on the stumps of amputated fingers,[ ] for the gemmules of the nails have manifestly been developed at the nearest point. in variations caused by the direct action of changed conditions, whether of a definite or indefinite nature, as with the fleeces of sheep in hot countries, with maize grown in cold countries, with inherited gout, &c., the tissues of the body, according to the doctrine of pangenesis, are directly affected by the new conditions, and consequently throw off modified gemmules, which are transmitted with their newly acquired peculiarities to the offspring. on any ordinary view it is unintelligible how changed { } conditions, whether acting on the embryo, the young or adult animal, can cause inherited modifications. it is equally or even more unintelligible on any ordinary view, how the effects of the long-continued use or disuse of any part, or of changed habits of body or mind, can be inherited. a more perplexing problem can hardly be proposed; but on our view we have only to suppose that certain cells become at last not only functionally but structurally modified; and that these throw off similarly modified gemmules. this may occur at any period of development, and the modification will be inherited at a corresponding period; for the modified gemmules will unite in all ordinary cases with the proper preceding cells, and they will consequently be developed at the same period at which the modification first arose. with respect to mental habits or instincts, we are so profoundly ignorant on the relation between the brain and the power of thought that we do not know whether an inveterate habit or trick induces any change in the nervous system; but when any habit or other mental attribute, or insanity, is inherited, we must believe that some actual modification is transmitted;[ ] and this implies, according to our hypothesis, that gemmules derived from modified nerve-cells are transmitted to the offspring. it is generally, perhaps always, necessary that an organism should be exposed during several generations to changed conditions or habits, in order that any modification in the structure of the offspring should ensue. this may be partly due to the changes not being at first marked enough to catch the attention, but this explanation is insufficient; and i can account for the fact, only by the assumption, which we shall see under the head of reversion is strongly supported, that gemmules derived from each cell before it had undergone the least modification are transmitted in large numbers to successive generations, but that the gemmules derived from the same cells after modification, naturally go on increasing under the same favouring conditions, until at last they become sufficiently numerous to overpower and supplant the old gemmules. another difficulty may be here noticed; we have seen that { } there is an important difference in the frequency, though not in the nature, of the variations in plants propagated by sexual and asexual generation. as far as variability depends on the imperfect action of the reproductive organs under changed conditions, we can at once see why seedlings should be far more variable than plants propagated by buds. we know that extremely slight causes,--for instance, whether a tree has been grafted or grows on its own stock, the position of the seeds within the capsule, and of the flowers on the spike,--sometimes suffice to determine the variation of a plant, when raised from seed. now, it is probable, as explained when discussing alternate generation, that a bud is formed of a portion of already differentiated tissue; consequently an organism thus formed does not pass through the earlier phases of development, and cannot be so freely exposed, at the age when its structure would be most readily modified, to the various causes inducing variability; but it is very doubtful whether this is a sufficient explanation of the difficulty. with respect to the tendency to reversion, there is a similar difference between plants propagated from buds and seed. many varieties, whether originally produced from seed or buds, can be securely propagated by buds, but generally or invariably revert by seed. so, also, hybridised plants can be multiplied to any extent by buds, but are continually liable to reversion by seed,--that is, to the loss of their hybrid or intermediate character. i can offer no satisfactory explanation of this fact. here is a still more perplexing case: certain plants with variegated leaves, phloxes with striped flowers, barberries with seedless fruit, can all be securely propagated by the buds on cuttings; but the buds developed from the roots of these cuttings almost invariably lose their character and revert to their former condition. finally, we can see on the hypothesis of pangenesis that variability depends on at least two distinct groups of causes. firstly, on the deficiency, superabundance, fusion, and transposition of gemmules, and on the redevelopment of those which have long been dormant. in these cases the gemmules themselves have undergone no modification; but the mutations in the above respects will amply account for much fluctuating { } variability. secondly, in the cases in which the organisation has been modified by changed conditions, the increased use or disuse of parts, or any other cause, the gemmules cast off from the modified units of the body will be themselves modified, and, when sufficiently multiplied, will be developed into new and changed structures. * * * * * turning now to inheritance: if we suppose a homogeneous gelatinous protozoon to vary and assume a reddish colour, a minute separated atom we aid naturally, as it grew to full size, retain the same colour; and we should have the simplest form of inheritance.[ ] precisely the same view may be extended to the infinitely numerous and diversified units of which the whole body in one of the higher animals is composed; and the separated atoms are our gemmules. we have already sufficiently discussed the inheritance of the direct effects of changed conditions, and of increased use or disuse of parts, and, by implication, the important principle of inheritance at corresponding ages. these groups of facts are to a large extent intelligible on the hypothesis of pangenesis, and on no other hypothesis as yet advanced. a few words must be added on the complete abortion or suppression of organs. when a part becomes diminished by disuse prolonged during many generations, the principle of economy of growth, as previously explained, will tend to reduce it still further; but this will not account for the complete or almost complete obliteration of, for instance, a minute papilla of cellular tissue representing a pistil, or of a microscopically minute nodule of bone representing a tooth. in certain cases of suppression not yet completed, in which a rudiment occasionally reappears through reversion, diffused gemmules derived from this part must, according to our view, still exist; hence we must suppose that the cells, in union with which the rudiment was formerly developed, in these cases fail in their affinity for such gemmules. but in the cases of complete and final abortion the gemmules themselves no doubt have perished; nor is this { } in any way improbable, for, though a vast number of active and long-dormant gemmules are diffused and nourished in each living creature, yet there must be some limit to their number; and it appears natural that gemmules derived from an enfeebled and useless rudiment would be more liable to perish than those derived from other parts which are still in full functional activity. with respect to mutilations, it is certain that a part may be removed or injured during many generations, and no inherited result follow; and this is an apparent objection to the hypothesis which will occur to every one. but, in the first place, a being can hardly be intentionally mutilated during its early stages of growth whilst in the womb or egg; and such mutilations, when naturally caused, would appear like congenital deficiencies, which are occasionally inherited. in the second place, according to our hypothesis, gemmules multiply by self-division and are transmitted from generation to generation; so that during a long period they would be present and ready to reproduce a part which was repeatedly amputated. nevertheless it appears, from the facts given in the twelfth chapter, that in some rare cases mutilations have been inherited, but in most of these the mutilated surface became diseased. in this case it may be conjectured that the gemmules of the lost part were gradually all attracted by the partially diseased surface, and thus perished. although this would occur in the injured individual alone, and therefore in only one parent, yet this might suffice for the inheritance of a mutilation, on the same principle that a hornless animal of either sex, when crossed with a perfect animal of the opposite sex, often transmits its deficiency. the last subject that need here be discussed, namely reversion, rests on the principle that transmission and development, though generally acting in conjunction, are distinct powers; and the transmission of gemmules and their subsequent development show us how the existence of these two distinct powers is possible. we plainly see this distinction in the many cases in which a grandfather transmits to his grandson, through his daughter, characters which she does not, or cannot, possess. why the development of certain characters, not necessarily in any way connected with the reproductive organs, should be confined to one sex alone--that is, why certain cells in one sex { } should unite with and cause the development of certain gemmules--we do not in the least know; but it is the common attribute of most organic beings in which the sexes are separate. the distinction between transmission and development is likewise seen in all ordinary cases of reversion; but before discussing this subject it may be advisable to say a few words on those characters which i have called latent, and which would not be classed under reversion in its usual sense. most, or perhaps all, the secondary characters, which appertain to one sex, lie dormant in the other sex; that is, gemmules capable of development into the secondary male sexual characters are included within the female; and conversely female characters in the male. why in the female, when her ovaria become diseased or fail to act, certain masculine gemmules become developed, we do not clearly know, any more than why when a young bull is castrated his horns continue growing until they almost resemble those of a cow; or why, when a stag is castrated, the gemmules derived from the antlers of his progenitors quite fail to be developed. but in many cases, with variable organic beings, the mutual affinities of the cells and gemmules become modified, so that parts are transposed or multiplied; and it would appear that a slight change in the constitution of an animal, in connection with the state of the reproductive organs, leads to changed affinities in the tissues of various parts of the body. thus, when male animals first arrive at puberty, and subsequently during each recurrent season, certain cells or parts acquire an affinity for certain gemmules, which become developed into the secondary masculine characters; but if the reproductive organs be destroyed, or even temporarily disturbed by changed conditions, these affinities are not excited. nevertheless, the male, before he arrives at puberty, and during the season when the species does not breed, must include the proper gemmules in a latent state. the curious case formerly given of a hen which assumed the masculine characters, not of her own breed but of a remote progenitor, illustrates the connexion between latent sexual characters and ordinary reversion. with those animals and plants which habitually produce several forms, as with certain butterflies described by mr. wallace, in which three female forms and { } the male exist, or as with the trimorphic species of lythrum and oxalis, gemmules capable of reproducing several widely-different forms must be latent in each individual. the same principle of the latency of certain characters, combined with the transposition of organs, may be applied to those singular cases of butterflies and other insects, in which exactly one half or one quarter of the body resembles the male, and the other half or three quarters the female; and when this occurs the opposite sides of the body, separated from each other by a distinct line, sometimes differ in the most conspicuous manner. again, these same principles apply to the cases given in the thirteenth chapter, in which the right and left sides of the body differ to an extraordinary degree, as in the spiral winding of certain shells, and as in the genus verruca among cirripedes; for in these cases it is known that either side indifferently may undergo the same remarkable change of development. reversion, in the ordinary sense of the word, comes into action so incessantly, that it evidently forms an essential part of the general law of inheritance. it occurs with beings, however propagated, whether by buds or seminal generation, and sometimes may even be observed in the same individual as it advances in age. the tendency to reversion is often induced by a change of conditions, and in the plainest manner by the act of crossing. crossed forms are generally at first nearly intermediate in character between their two parents; but in the next generation the offspring generally revert to one or both of their grandparents, and occasionally to more remote ancestors. how can we account for these facts? each organic unit in a hybrid must throw off, according to the doctrine of pangenesis, an abundance of hybridised gemmules, for crossed plants can be readily and largely propagated by buds; but by the same hypothesis there will likewise be present dormant gemmules derived from both pure parent-forms; and as these latter retain their normal condition, they would, it is probable, be enabled to multiply largely during the lifetime of each hybrid. consequently the sexual elements of a hybrid will include both pure and hybridised gemmules; and when two hybrids pair, the combination of pure gemmules derived from the one hybrid with the pure gemmules of the same parts derived from the other would { } necessarily lead to complete reversion of character; and it is, perhaps, not too bold a supposition that unmodified and undeteriorated gemmules of the same nature would be especially apt to combine. pure gemmules in combination with hybridised gemmules would lead to partial reversion. and lastly, hybridised gemmules derived from both parent-hybrids would simply reproduce the original hybrid form.[ ] all these cases and degrees of reversion incessantly occur. it was shown in the fifteenth chapter that certain characters are antagonistic to each other or do not readily blend together; hence, when two animals with antagonistic characters are crossed, it might well happen that a sufficiency of gemmules in the male alone for the reproduction of his peculiar characters, and in the female alone for the reproduction of her peculiar characters, would not be present; and in this case dormant gemmules derived from some remote progenitor might easily gain the ascendency, and cause the reappearance of long-lost characters. for instance, when black and white pigeons, or black and white fowls, are crossed,--colours which do not readily blend,--blue plumage in the one case, evidently derived from the rock-pigeon, and red plumage in the other case, derived from the wild jungle-cock, occasionally reappear. with uncrossed breeds the same result would follow, under conditions which favoured the multiplication and development of certain dormant gemmules, as when animals become feral and revert to their pristine character. a certain number of gemmules being requisite for the development of each character, as is known to be the case from several spermatozoa or pollen-grains being necessary for fertilisation, and time favouring their multiplication, will together account for the curious cases, insisted on by mr. sedgwick, of certain diseases regularly appearing in alternate generations. this likewise holds good, more or less strictly, with other weakly inherited modifications. hence, as i have heard it remarked, certain diseases appear actually to gain strength by the intermission of a generation. the transmission of dormant gemmules during many successive generations is hardly in itself more improbable, as { } previously remarked, than the retention during many ages of rudimentary organs, or even only of a tendency to the production of a rudiment; but there is no reason to suppose that all dormant gemmules would be transmitted and propagated for ever. excessively minute and numerous as they are believed to be, an infinite number derived, during a long course of modification and descent, from each cell of each progenitor, could not be supported or nourished by the organism. on the other hand, it does not seem improbable that certain gemmules, under favourable conditions, should be retained and go on multiplying for a longer period than others. finally, on the views here given, we certainly gain some clear insight into the wonderful fact that the child may depart from the type of both its parents, and resemble its grandparents, or ancestors removed by many generations. _conclusion._ the hypothesis of pangenesis, as applied to the several great classes of facts just discussed, no doubt is extremely complex; but so assuredly are the facts. the assumptions, however, on which the hypothesis rests cannot be considered as complex in any extreme degree--namely, that all organic units, besides having the power, as is generally admitted, of growing by self-division, throw off free and minute atoms of their contents, that is gemmules. these multiply and aggregate themselves into buds and the sexual elements; their development depends on their union with other nascent cells or units; and they are capable of transmission in a dormant state to successive generations. in a highly organised and complex animal, the gemmules thrown off from each different cell or unit throughout the body must be inconceivably numerous and minute. each unit of each part, as it changes during development, and we know that some insects undergo at least twenty metamorphoses, must throw off its gemmules. all organic beings, moreover, include many dormant gemmules derived from their grandparents and more remote progenitors, but not from all their progenitors. these almost infinitely numerous and minute gemmules must be included in each bud, ovule, spermatozoon, and pollen-grain. such an admission will be declared impossible; but, as previously { } remarked, number and size are only relative difficulties, and the eggs or seeds produced by certain animals or plants are so numerous that they cannot be grasped by the intellect. the organic particles with which the wind is tainted over miles of space by certain offensive animals must be infinitely minute and numerous; yet they strongly affect the olfactory nerves. an analogy more appropriate is afforded by the contagious particles of certain diseases, which are so minute that they float in the atmosphere and adhere to smooth paper; yet we know how largely they increase within the human body, and how powerfully they act. independent organisms exist which are barely visible under the highest powers of our recently-improved microscopes, and which probably are fully as large as the cells or units in one of the higher animals; yet these organisms no doubt reproduce themselves by germs of extreme minuteness, relatively to their own minute size. hence the difficulty, which at first appears insurmountable, of believing in the existence of gemmules so numerous and so small as they must be according to our hypothesis, has really little weight. the cells or units of the body are generally admitted by physiologists to be autonomous, like the buds on a tree, but in a less degree. i go one step further and assume that they throw off reproductive gemmules. thus an animal does not, as a whole, generate its kind through the sole agency of the reproductive system, but each separate cell generates its kind. it has often been said by naturalists that each cell of a plant has the actual or potential capacity of reproducing the whole plant; but it has this power only in virtue of containing gemmules derived from every part. if our hypothesis be provisionally accepted, we must look at all the forms of asexual reproduction, whether occurring at maturity or as in the case of alternate generation during youth, as fundamentally the same, and dependent on the mutual aggregation and multiplication of the gemmules. the regrowth of an amputated limb or the healing of a wound is the same process partially carried out. sexual generation differs in some important respects, chiefly, as it would appear, in an insufficient number of gemmules being aggregated within the separate sexual elements, and probably in the presence of certain primordial cells. the development of each being, including all the { } forms of metamorphosis and metagenesis, as well as the so-called growth of the higher animals, in which structure changes though not in a striking manner, depends on the presence of gemmules thrown off at each period of life, and on their development, at a corresponding period, in union with preceding cells. such cells may be said to be fertilised by the gemmules which come next in the order of development. thus the ordinary act of impregnation and the development of each being are closely analogous processes. the child, strictly speaking, does not grow into the man, but includes germs which slowly and successively become developed and form the man. in the child, as well as in the adult, each part generates the same part for the next generation. inheritance must be looked at as merely a form of growth, like the self-division of a lowly-organised unicellular plant. reversion depends on the transmission from the forefather to his descendants of dormant gemmules, which occasionally become developed under certain known or unknown conditions. each animal and plant may be compared to a bed of mould full of seeds, most of which soon germinate, some lie for a period dormant, whilst others perish. when we hear it said that a man carries in his constitution the seeds of an inherited disease, there is much literal truth in the expression. finally, the power of propagation possessed by each separate cell, using the term in its largest sense, determines the reproduction, the variability, the development and renovation of each living organism. no other attempt, as far as i am aware, has been made, imperfect as this confessedly is, to connect under one point of view these several grand classes of facts. we cannot fathom the marvellous complexity of an organic being; but on the hypothesis here advanced this complexity is much increased. each living creature must be looked at as a microcosm--a little universe, formed of a host of self-propagating organisms, inconceivably minute and as numerous as the stars in heaven. * * * * * { } chapter xxviii. concluding remarks. domestication--nature and causes of variability--selection--divergence and distinctness of character--extinction of races--circumstances favourable to selection by man--antiquity of certain races--the question whether each particular variation has been specially preordained. as summaries have been added to nearly all the chapters, and as, in the chapter on pangenesis, various subjects, such as the forms of reproduction, inheritance, reversion, the causes and laws of variability, &c., have been recently discussed, i will here only make a few general remarks on the more important conclusions which may be deduced from the multifarious details given throughout this work. savages in all parts of the world easily succeed in taming wild animals; and those inhabiting any country or island, when first invaded by man, would probably have been still more easily tamed. complete subjugation generally depends on an animal being social in its habits, and on receiving man as the chief of the herd or family. domestication implies almost complete fertility under new and changed conditions of life, and this is far from being invariably the case. an animal would not have been worth the labour of domestication, at least during early times, unless of service to man. from these circumstances the number of domesticated animals has never been large. with respect to plants, i have shown in the ninth chapter how their varied uses were probably first discovered, and the early steps in their cultivation. man could not have known, when he first domesticated an animal or plant, whether it would flourish and multiply when transported to other countries, therefore he could not have been thus influenced in his choice. we see that the close adaptation of the reindeer and camel to extremely cold and hot countries has not prevented their domestication. still less { } could man have foreseen whether his animals and plants would vary in succeeding generations and thus give birth to new races; and the small capacity of variability in the goose and ass has not prevented their domestication from the remotest epoch. with extremely few exceptions, all animals and plants which have been long domesticated, have varied greatly. it matters not under what climate, or for what purpose, they are kept, whether as food for man or beast, for draught or hunting, for clothing or mere pleasure,--under all these circumstances domesticated animals and plants have varied to a much greater extent than the forms which in a state of nature are ranked as one species. why certain animals and plants have varied more under domestication than others we do not know, any more than why some are rendered more sterile than others under changed conditions of life. but we frequently judge of the amount of variation by the production of numerous and diversified races, and we can clearly see why in many cases this has not occurred, namely, because slight successive variations have not been steadily accumulated; and such variations will never be accumulated when an animal or plant is not closely observed, or much valued, or kept in large numbers. the fluctuating, and, as far as we can judge, never-ending variability of our domesticated productions,--the plasticity of their whole organisation,--is one of the most important facts which we learn from the numerous details given in the earlier chapters of this work. yet domesticated animals and plants can hardly have been exposed to greater changes in their conditions than have many natural species during the incessant geological, geographical, and climatal changes of the whole world. the former will, however, commonly have been exposed to more sudden changes and to less continuously uniform conditions. as man has domesticated so many animals and plants belonging to widely different classes, and as he certainly did not with prophetic instinct choose those species which would vary most, we may infer that all natural species, if subjected to analogous conditions, would, on an average, vary to the same degree. few men at the present day will maintain that animals and plants were created with a tendency to vary, which long remained dormant, in order that fanciers in after ages might { } rear, for instance, curious breeds of the fowl, pigeon, or canary-bird. from several causes it is difficult to judge of the amount of modification which our domestic productions have undergone. in some cases the primitive parent-stock has become extinct, or cannot be recognised with certainty owing to its supposed descendants having been so much modified. in other cases two or more closely allied forms, after being domesticated, have crossed; and then it is difficult to estimate how much of the change ought to be attributed to variation. but the degree to which our domestic breeds have been modified by the crossing of distinct natural forms has probably been exaggerated by some authors. a few individuals of one form would seldom permanently affect another form existing in much greater numbers; for, without careful selection, the stain of the foreign blood would soon be obliterated, and during early and barbarous times, when our animals were first domesticated, such care would seldom have been taken. there is good reason to believe that several of the breeds of the dog, ox, pig, and of some other animals, are respectively descended from distinct wild prototypes; nevertheless the belief in the multiple origin of our domesticated animals has been extended by some few naturalists and by many breeders to an unauthorised extent. breeders refuse to look at the whole subject under a single point of view; i have heard one, who maintained that our fowls were the descendants of at least half-a-dozen aboriginal species, protest that he was in no way concerned with the origin of pigeons, ducks, rabbits, horses, or any other animal. they overlook the improbability of many species having been domesticated at an early and barbarous period. they do not consider the improbability of species having existed in a state of nature which, if like our present domestic breeds, would have been highly abnormal in comparison with all their congeners. they maintain that certain species, which formerly existed, have become extinct or unknown, although the world is now so much better known. the assumption of so much recent extinction is no difficulty in their eyes; for they do not judge of its probability by the facility or difficulty of the extinction of other closely allied wild forms. lastly, { } they often ignore the whole subject of geographical distribution as completely as if its laws were the result of chance. although from the reasons just assigned it is often difficult to judge accurately of the amount of change which our domesticated productions have undergone, yet this can be ascertained in the cases in which we know that all the breeds are descended from a single species, as with the pigeon, duck, rabbit, and almost certainly with the fowl; and by the aid of analogy this is to a certain extent possible in the case of animals descended from several wild stocks. it is impossible to read the details given in the earlier chapters, and in many published works, or to visit our various exhibitions, without being deeply impressed with the extreme variability of our domesticated animals and cultivated plants. i have in many instances purposely given details on new and strange peculiarities which have arisen. no part of the organisation escapes the tendency to vary. the variations generally affect parts of small vital or physiological importance, but so it is with the differences which exist between closely allied species. in these unimportant characters there is often a greater difference between the breeds of the same species than between the natural species of the same genus, as isidore geoffroy has shown to be the case with size, and as is often the case with the colour, texture, form, &c., of the hair, feathers, horns, and other dermal appendages. it has often been asserted that important parts never vary under domestication, but this is a complete error. look at the skull of the pig in any one of the highly improved breeds, with the occipital condyles and other parts greatly modified; or look at that of the niata ox. or again, in the several breeds of the rabbit, observe the elongated skull, with the differently shaped occipital foramen, atlas, and other cervical vertebræ. the whole shape of the brain, together with the skull, has been modified in polish fowls; in other breeds of the fowl the number of the vertebræ and the forms of the cervical vertebræ have been changed. in certain pigeons the shape of the lower jaw, the relative length of the tongue, the size of the nostrils and eyelids, the number and shape of the ribs, the form and size of the oesophagus, have all varied. in certain quadrupeds the length of the intestines has been much increased or { } diminished. with plants we see wonderful differences in the stones of various fruits. in the cucurbitaceæ several highly important characters have varied, such as the sessile position of the stigmas on the ovarium, the position of the carpels within the ovarium, and its projection out of the receptacle. but it would be useless to run through the many facts given in the earlier chapters. it is notorious how greatly the mental disposition, tastes, habits, consensual movements, loquacity or silence, and the tone of voice have varied and been inherited with our domesticated animals. the dog offers the most striking instance of changed mental attributes, and these differences cannot be accounted for by descent from distinct wild types. new mental characters have certainly often been acquired, and natural ones lost, under domestication. new characters may appear and disappear at any stage of growth, and be inherited at a corresponding period. we see this in the difference between the eggs of various breeds of the fowl, and in the down on chickens; and still more plainly in the differences between the caterpillars and cocoons of various breeds of the silk-moth. these facts, simple as they appear, throw light on the characters which distinguish the larval and adult states of natural species, and on the whole great subject of embryology. new characters are liable to become attached exclusively to that sex in which they first appeared, or they may be developed in a much higher degree in the one than the other sex; or again, after having become attached to one sex, they may be partially transferred to the opposite sex. these facts, and more especially the circumstance that new characters seem to be particularly liable, from some unknown cause, to become attached to the male sex, have an important bearing on the acquirement by animals in a state of nature of secondary sexual characters. it has sometimes been said that our domestic productions do not differ in constitutional peculiarities, but this cannot be maintained. in our improved cattle, pigs, &c., the period of maturity, including that of the second dentition, has been much hastened. the period of gestation varies much, but has been modified in a fixed manner in only one or two cases. in { } our poultry and pigeons the acquirement of down and of the first plumage by the young, and of the secondary sexual characters by the males, differ. the number of moults through which the larvæ of silk-moths pass, varies. the tendency to fatten, to yield much milk, to produce many young or eggs at a birth or during life, differs in different breeds. we find different degrees of adaptation to climate, and different tendencies to certain diseases, to the attacks of parasites, and to the action of certain vegetable poisons. with plants, adaptation to certain soils, as with some kinds of plums, the power of resisting frost, the period of flowering and fruiting, the duration of life, the period of shedding the leaves and of retaining them throughout the winter, the proportion and nature of certain chemical compounds in the tissues or seeds, all vary. there is, however, one important constitutional difference between domestic races and species; i refer to the sterility which almost invariably follows, in a greater or less degree, when species are crossed, and to the perfect fertility of the most distinct domestic races, with the exception of a very few plants, when similarly crossed. it certainly appears a remarkable fact that many closely allied species which in appearance differ extremely little should yield when united only a few, more or less sterile offspring, or none at all; whilst domestic races which differ conspicuously from each other, are when united remarkably fertile, and yield perfectly fertile offspring. but this fact is not in reality so inexplicable as it at first appears. in the first place, it was clearly shown in the nineteenth chapter that the sterility of crossed species does not closely depend on differences in their external structure or general constitution, but results exclusively from differences in the reproductive system, analogous with those which cause the lessened fertility of the illegitimate unions and illegitimate offspring of dimorphic and trimorphic plants. in the second place, the pallasian doctrine, that species after having been long domesticated lose their natural tendency to sterility when crossed, has been shown to be highly probable; we can scarcely avoid this conclusion when we reflect on the parentage and present fertility of the several breeds of the dog, of indian and european cattle, sheep, and pigs. hence it would be unreasonable to expect that races formed under domestication { } should acquire sterility when crossed, whilst at the same time we admit that domestication eliminates the normal sterility of crossed species. why with closely allied species their reproductive systems should almost invariably have been modified in so peculiar a manner as to be mutually incapable of acting on each other--though in unequal degrees in the two sexes, as shown by the difference in fertility between reciprocal crosses in the same species--we do not know, but may with much probability infer the cause to be as follows. most natural species have been habituated to nearly uniform conditions of life for an incomparably longer period of time than have domestic races; and we positively know that changed conditions exert an especial and powerful influence on the reproductive system. hence this difference in habituation may well account for the different action of the reproductive organs when domestic races and when species are crossed. it is a nearly analogous fact, that most domestic races may be suddenly transported from one climate to another, or be placed under widely different conditions, and yet retain their fertility unimpaired; whilst a multitude of species subjected to lesser changes are rendered incapable of breeding. with the exception of fertility, domestic varieties resemble species when crossed in transmitting their characters in the same unequal manner to their offspring, in being subject to the prepotency of one form over the other, and in their liability to reversion. by repeated crosses a variety or a species may be made completely to absorb another. varieties, as we shall see when we treat of their antiquity, sometimes inherit their new characters almost, or even quite, as firmly as species. with both, the conditions leading to variability and the laws governing its nature appear to be the same. domestic varieties can be classed in groups under groups, like species under genera, and these under families and orders; and the classification may be either artificial,--that is, founded on any arbitrary character,--or natural. with varieties a natural classification is certainly founded, and with species is apparently founded, on community of descent, together with the amount of modification which the forms have undergone. the characters by which domestic varieties differ from each other are more { } variable than those distinguishing species, though hardly more so than with certain protean species; but this greater degree of variability is not surprising, as varieties have generally been exposed within recent times to fluctuating conditions of life, are much more liable to have been crossed, and are still in many cases undergoing, or have recently undergone, modification by man's methodical or unconscious selection. domestic varieties as a general rule certainly differ from each other in less important parts of their organisation than do species; and when important differences occur, they are seldom firmly fixed; but this fact is intelligible if we consider man's method of selection. in the living animal or plant he cannot observe internal modifications in the more important organs; nor does he regard them as long as they are compatible with health and life. what does the breeder care about any slight change in the molar teeth of his pigs, or for an additional molar tooth in the dog; or for any change in the intestinal canal or other internal organ? the breeder cares for the flesh of his cattle being well marbled with fat, and for an accumulation of fat within the abdomen of his sheep, and this he has effected. what would the floriculturist care for any change in the structure of the ovarium or of the ovules? as important internal organs are certainly liable to numerous slight variations, and as these would probably be inherited, for many strange monstrosities are transmitted, man could undoubtedly effect a certain amount of change in these organs. when he has produced any modification in an important part, it has generally been unintentionally in correlation with some other conspicuous part, as when he has given ridges and protuberances to the skulls of fowls, by attending to the form of the comb, and in the case of the polish fowl to the plume of feathers on the head. by attending to the external form of the pouter-pigeon, he has enormously increased the size of the oesophagus, and has added to the number of the ribs, and given them greater breadth. with the carrier-pigeon, by increasing, through steady selection, the wattles on the upper mandible, he has greatly modified the form of the lower mandible; and so in many other cases. natural species, on the other hand, have been modified exclusively for their own good, to fit them for infinitely { } diversified conditions of life, to avoid enemies of all kinds, and to struggle against a host of competitors. hence, under such complex conditions, it would often happen that modifications of the most varied kinds, in important as well as in unimportant parts, would be advantageous or even necessary; and they would slowly but surely be acquired through the survival of the fittest. various indirect modifications would likewise arise through the law of correlated variation. domestic breeds often have an abnormal or semi-monstrous character, as the italian greyhound, bulldog, blenheim spaniel, and bloodhound amongst dogs,--some breeds of cattle and pigs, several breeds of the fowl, and the chief breeds of the pigeon. the differences between such abnormal breeds occur in parts which in closely-allied natural species differ but slightly or not at all. this may be accounted for by man's often selecting, especially at first, conspicuous and semi-monstrous deviations of structure. we should, however, be cautious in deciding what deviations ought to be called monstrous: there can hardly be a doubt that, if the brush of horse-like hair on the breast of the turkey-cock had first appeared on the domesticated bird, it would have been considered a monstrosity; the great plume of feathers on the head of the polish cock has been thus designated, though plumes are common with many kinds of birds; we might call the wattle or corrugated skin round the base of the beak of the english carrier-pigeon a monstrosity, but we do not thus speak of the globular fleshy excrescence at the base of the beak of the male _carpophaga oceanica_. some authors have drawn a wide distinction between artificial and natural breeds; although in extreme cases the distinction is plain, in many other cases an arbitrary line has to be drawn. the difference depends chiefly on the kind of selection which has been applied. artificial breeds are those which have been intentionally improved by man; they frequently have an unnatural appearance, and are especially liable to loss of excellence through reversion and continued variability. the so-called natural breeds, on the other hand, are those which are now found in semi-civilised countries, and which formerly inhabited separate districts in nearly all the european kingdoms. they have been rarely acted on by man's { } intentional selection; more frequently, it is probable, by unconscious selection, and partly by natural selection, for animals kept in semi-civilised countries have to provide largely for their own wants. such natural breeds will also, it may be presumed, have been directly acted on to some extent by the differences, though slight, in the surrounding physical conditions. it is a much more important distinction that some breeds have been from their first origin modified in so slow and insensible a manner, that if we could see their early progenitors we should hardly be able to say when or how the breed first arose; whilst other breeds have originated from a strongly-marked or semi-monstrous deviation of structure, which, however, may subsequently have been augmented by selection. from what we know of the history of the racehorse, greyhound, gamecock, &c., and from their general appearance, we may feel nearly confident that they were formed by a slow process of improvement: and with the carrier-pigeon, as well as with some other pigeons, we know that this has been the case. on the other hand, it is certain that the ancon and mauchamp breeds of sheep, and almost certain that the niata cattle, turnspit and pug-dogs, jumper and frizzled fowls, short-faced tumbler pigeons, hook-billed ducks, &c., and with plants a multitude of varieties, suddenly appeared in nearly the same state as we now see them. the frequency of these cases is likely to lead to the false belief that natural species have often originated in the same abrupt manner. but we have no evidence of the appearance, or at least of the continued procreation, under nature, of abrupt modifications of structure; and various general reasons could be assigned against such a belief: for instance, without separation a single monstrous variation would almost certainly be soon obliterated by crossing. on the other hand, we have abundant evidence of the constant occurrence under nature of slight individual differences of the most diversified kinds; and thus we are led to conclude that species have generally originated by the natural selection, not of abrupt modifications, but of extremely slight differences. this process may be strictly compared with the slow and gradual improvement of the racehorse, greyhound, and gamecock. as every detail of structure in each species is closely adapted to its general { } habits of life, it will rarely happen that one part alone will be modified; but the co-adapted modifications, as formerly shown, need not be absolutely simultaneous. many variations, however, are from the first connected by the law of correlation. hence it follows that even closely-allied species rarely or never differ from each other by some one character alone; and this same remark applies to a certain extent to domestic races; for these, if they differ much, generally differ in many respects. some naturalists boldly insist[ ] that species are absolutely distinct productions, never passing by intermediate links into each other; whilst they maintain that domestic varieties can always be connected either with each other or with their parent-forms. but if we could always find the links between the several breeds of the dog, horse, cattle, sheep, pigs, &c., the incessant doubts whether they are descended from one or several species would not have arisen. the greyhound genus, if such a term may be used, cannot be closely connected with any other breed, unless, perhaps, we go back to the ancient egyptian monuments. our english bulldog also forms a very distinct breed. in all these cases crossed breeds must of course be excluded, for the most distinct natural species can thus be connected. by what links can the cochin fowl be closely united with others? by searching for breeds still preserved in distant lands, and by going back to historical records, tumbler-pigeons, carriers, and barbs can be closely connected with the parent rock-pigeon; but we cannot thus connect the turbit or the pouter. the degree of distinctness between the various domestic breeds depends on the amount of modification which they have undergone, and especially on the neglect and final extinction of the linking, intermediate, and less valued forms. it has often been argued that no light is thrown, from the admitted changes of domestic races, on the changes which natural species are believed to undergo, as the former are said to be mere temporary productions, always reverting, as soon as they become feral, to their pristine form. this argument has been well combated by mr. wallace;[ ] and full details were given in the thirteenth chapter, showing that the tendency to reversion in feral { } animals and plants has been greatly exaggerated, though no doubt to a certain extent it exists. it would be opposed to all the principles inculcated in this work, if domestic animals, when exposed to new conditions and compelled to struggle for their own wants against a host of foreign competitors, were not in the course of time in some manner modified. it should also be remembered that many characters lie latent in all organic beings ready to be evolved under fitting conditions; and in breeds modified within recent times the tendency to reversion is particularly strong. but the antiquity of various breeds clearly proves that they remain nearly constant as long as their conditions of life remain the same. it has been boldly maintained by some authors that the amount of variation to which our domestic productions are liable is strictly limited; but this is an assertion resting on little evidence. whether or not the amount in any particular direction is fixed, the tendency to general variability seems unlimited. cattle, sheep, and pigs have been domesticated and have varied from the remotest period, as shown by the researches of rütimeyer and others, yet these animals have, within quite recent times, been improved in an unparalleled degree; and this implies continued variability of structure. wheat, as we know from the remains found in the swiss lake-habitations, is one of the most anciently cultivated plants, yet at the present day new and better varieties occasionally arise. it may be that an ox will never be produced of larger size or finer proportions than our present animals, or a race-horse fleeter than eclipse, or a gooseberry larger than the london variety; but he would be a bold man who would assert that the extreme limit in these respects has been finally attained. with flowers and fruit it has repeatedly been asserted that perfection has been reached, but the standard has soon been excelled. a breed of pigeons may never be produced with a beak shorter than that of the present short-faced tumbler, or with one longer than that of the english carrier, for these birds have weak constitutions and are bad breeders; but the shortness and length of the beak are the points which have been steadily improved during at least the last years; and some of the best judges deny that the goal has yet been reached. we may, also, reasonably suspect, from what { } we see in natural species of the variability of extremely modified parts, that any structure, after remaining constant during a long series of generations, would, under new and changed conditions of life, recommence its course of variability, and might again be acted on by selection. nevertheless, as mr. wallace[ ] has recently remarked with much force and truth, there must be both with natural and domestic productions a limit to change in certain directions; for instance, there must be a limit to the fleetness of any terrestrial animal, as this will be determined by the friction to be overcome, the weight to be carried, and the power of contraction in the muscular fibres. the english racehorse may have reached this limit; but it already surpasses in fleetness its own wild progenitor, and all other equine species. it is not surprising, seeing the great difference between many domestic breeds, that some few naturalists have concluded that all are descended from distinct aboriginal stocks, more especially as the principle of selection has been ignored, and the high antiquity of man, as a breeder of animals, has only recently become known. most naturalists, however, freely admit that various extremely dissimilar breeds are descended from a single stock, although they do not know much about the art of breeding, cannot show the connecting links, nor say where and when the breeds arose. yet these same naturalists will declare, with an air of philosophical caution, that they can never admit that one natural species has given birth to another until they behold all the transitional steps. but fanciers have used exactly the same language with respect to domestic breeds; thus an author of an excellent treatise says he will never allow that carrier and fantail pigeons are the descendants of the wild rock-pigeon, until the transitions have "actually been observed, and can be repeated whenever man chooses to set about the task." no doubt it is difficult to realise that slight changes added up during long centuries can produce such results; but he who wishes to understand the origin of domestic breeds or natural species must overcome this difficulty. the causes inducing and the laws governing variability have been so lately discussed, that i need here only enumerate the leading points. as domesticated organisms are much more { } liable to slight deviations of structure and to monstrosities, than species living under their natural conditions, and as widely-ranging species vary more than those which inhabit restricted areas, we may infer that variability mainly depends on changed conditions of life. we must not overlook the effects of the unequal combination of the characters derived from both parents, nor reversion to former progenitors. changed conditions have an especial tendency to render the reproductive organs more or less impotent, as shown in the chapter devoted to this subject; and these organs consequently often fail to transmit faithfully the parental characters. changed conditions also act directly and definitely on the organisation, so that all or nearly all the individuals of the same species thus exposed become modified in the same manner; but why this or that part is especially affected we can seldom or never say. in most cases, however, of the direct action of changed conditions, independently of the indirect variability caused by the reproductive organs being affected, indefinite modifications are the result; in nearly the same manner as exposure to cold or the absorption of the same poison affects different individuals in various ways. we have reason to suspect that an habitual excess of highly nutritious food, or an excess relatively to the wear and tear of the organisation from exercise, is a powerful exciting cause of variability. when we see the symmetrical and complex outgrowths, caused by a minute atom of the poison of a gall-insect, we may believe that slight changes in the chemical nature of the sap or blood would lead to extraordinary modifications of structure. the increased use of a muscle with its various attached parts, and the increased activity of a gland or other organ, lead to their increased development. disuse has a contrary effect. with domesticated productions organs sometimes become rudimentary through abortion; but we have no reason to suppose that this has ever followed from mere disuse. with natural species, on the contrary, many organs appear to have been rendered rudimentary through disuse, aided by the principle of the economy of growth, and by the hypothetical principle discussed in the last chapter, namely, the final destruction of the germs or gemmules of such useless parts. this difference may be partly { } accounted for by disuse having acted on domestic forms for an insufficient length of time, and partly from their exemption from any severe struggle for existence, entailing rigid economy in the development of each part, to which all species under nature are subjected. nevertheless the law of compensation or balancement apparently affects, to a certain extent, our domesticated productions. we must not exaggerate the importance of the definite action of changed conditions in modifying all the individuals of the same species in the same manner, or of use and disuse. as every part of the organisation is highly variable, and as variations are so easily selected, both consciously and unconsciously, it is very difficult to distinguish between the effects of the selection of indefinite variations, and the direct action of the conditions of life. for instance, it is possible that the feet of our water-dogs, and of the american dogs which have to travel much over the snow, may have become partially webbed from the stimulus of widely extending their toes; but it is far more probable that the webbing, like the membrane between the toes of certain pigeons, spontaneously appeared and was afterwards increased by the best swimmers and the best snow-travellers being preserved during many generations. a fancier who wished to decrease the size of his bantams or tumbler-pigeons would never think of starving them, but would select the smallest individuals which spontaneously appeared. quadrupeds are sometimes born destitute of hair, and hairless breeds have been formed, but there is no reason to believe that this is caused by a hot climate. within the tropics heat often causes sheep to lose their fleeces, and on the other hand wet and cold act as a direct stimulus to the growth of hair; it is, however, possible that these changes may merely be an exaggeration of the regular yearly change of coat; and who will pretend to decide how far this yearly change, or the thick fur of arctic animals, or as i may add their white colour, is due to the direct action of a severe climate, and how far to the preservation of the best protected individuals during a long succession of generations? of all the laws governing variability, that of correlation is the most important. in many cases of slight deviations of structure as well as of grave monstrosities, we cannot even { } conjecture what is the nature of the bond of connexion. but between homologous parts--between the fore and hind limbs--between the hair, hoofs, horns, and teeth--we can see that parts which are closely similar during their early development, and which are exposed to similar conditions, would be liable to be modified in the same manner. homologous parts, from having the same nature, are apt to blend together and, when many exist, to vary in number. although every variation is either directly or indirectly caused by some change in the surrounding conditions, we must never forget that the nature of the organisation which is acted on essentially governs the result. distinct organisms, when placed under similar conditions, vary in different manners, whilst closely-allied organisms under dissimilar conditions often vary in nearly the same manner. we see this in the same modification frequently reappearing at long intervals of time in the same variety, and likewise in the several striking cases given of analogous or parallel varieties. although some of these latter cases are simply due to reversion, others cannot thus be accounted for. from the indirect action of changed conditions on the organisation, through the impaired state of the reproductive organs--from the direct action of such conditions (and this will cause the individuals of the same species either to vary in the same manner, or differently in accordance with slight differences in their constitution)--from the effects of the increased or decreased use of parts,--and from correlation,--the variability of our domesticated productions is complicated in an extreme degree. the whole organisation becomes slightly plastic. although each modification must have its proper exciting cause, and though each is subjected to law, yet we can so rarely trace the precise relation between cause and effect, that we are tempted to speak of variations as if they spontaneously arose. we may even call them accidental, but this must be only in the sense in which we say that a fragment of rock dropped from a height owes its shape to accident. * * * * * it may be worth while briefly to consider the results of the exposure to unnatural conditions of a large number of animals of the same species, allowed to cross freely, with no selection of any { } kind; and afterwards to consider the results when selection is brought into play. let us suppose that wild rock-pigeons were confined in their native land in an aviary, and fed in the same manner as pigeons usually are; and that they were not allowed to increase in number. as pigeons propagate so rapidly, i suppose that a thousand or fifteen hundred birds would have to be annually killed by mere chance. after several generations had been thus reared, we may feel sure that some of the young birds would vary, and the variations would tend to be inherited; for at the present day slight deviations of structure often occur, but, as most breeds are already well established, these modifications are rejected as blemishes. it would be tedious even to enumerate the multitude of points which still go on varying or have recently varied. many variations would occur in correlation, as the length of the wing and tail feathers--the number of the primary wing-feathers, as well as the number and breadth of the ribs, in correlation with the size and form of the body--the number of the scutellæ, with the size of the feet--the length of the tongue, with the length of the beak--the size of the nostrils and eyelids and the form of lower jaw in correlation with the development of wattle--the nakedness of the young with the future colour of the plumage--the size of the feet and beak, and other such points. lastly, as our birds are supposed to be confined in an aviary, they would use their wings and legs but little, and certain parts of the skeleton, such as the sternum and scapulæ and the feet, would in consequence become slightly reduced in size. as in our assumed case many birds have to be indiscriminately killed every year, the chances are against any new variety surviving long enough to breed. and as the variations which arise are of an extremely diversified nature, the chances are very great against two birds pairing which have varied in the same manner; nevertheless, a varying bird even when not thus paired would occasionally transmit its character to its young; and these would not only be exposed to the same conditions which first caused the variation in question to appear, but would in addition inherit from their one modified parent a tendency again to vary in the same manner. so that, if the conditions decidedly tended to induce some particular variation, all the birds might { } in the course of time become similarly modified. but a far commoner result would be, that one bird would vary in one way and another bird in another way; one would be born with a little longer beak, and another with a shorter beak; one would gain some black feathers, another some white or red feathers. and as these birds would be continually intercrossing, the final result would be a body of individuals differing from each other slightly in many ways, yet far more than did the original rock-pigeons. but there would not be the least tendency to the formation of distinct breeds. if two separate lots of pigeons were to be treated in the manner just described, one in england and the other in a tropical country, the two lots being supplied with different food, would they, after many generations had passed, differ? when we reflect on the cases given in the twenty-third chapter, and on such facts as the difference in former times between the breeds of cattle, sheep, &c., in almost every district of europe, we are strongly inclined to admit that the two lots would be differently modified through the influence of climate and food. but the evidence on the definite action of changed conditions is in most cases insufficient; and, with respect to pigeons, i have had the opportunity of examining a large collection of domesticated birds, sent to me by sir w. elliot from india, and they varied in a remarkably similar manner with our european birds. if two distinct breeds were to be confined together in equal numbers, there is reason to suspect that they would to a certain extent prefer pairing with their own kind; but they would likewise intercross. from the greater vigour and fertility of the crossed offspring, the whole body would by this means become interblended sooner than would otherwise have occurred. from certain breeds being prepotent over others, it does not follow that the interblended progeny would be strictly intermediate in character. i have, also, proved that the act of crossing in itself gives a strong tendency to reversion, so that the crossed offspring would tend to revert to the state of the aboriginal rock-pigeon. in the course of time they would probably be not much more heterogeneous in character than in our first case, when birds of the same breed were confined together. { } i have just said that the crossed offspring would gain in vigour and fertility. from the facts given in the seventeenth chapter there can be no doubt of this; and there can be little doubt, though the evidence on this head is not so easily acquired, that long-continued close interbreeding leads to evil results. with hermaphrodites of all kinds, if the sexual elements of the same individual habitually acted on each other, the closest possible interbreeding would be perpetual. therefore we should bear in mind that with all hermaphrodite animals, as far as i can learn, their structure permits and frequently necessitates a cross with a distinct individual. with hermaphrodite plants we incessantly meet with elaborate and perfect contrivances for this same end. it is no exaggeration to assert that, if the use of the talons and tusks of a carnivorous animal, or the use of the viscid threads of a spider's web, or of the plumes and hooks on a seed may be safely inferred from their structure, we may with equal safety infer that many flowers are constructed for the express purpose of ensuring a cross with a distinct plant. from these various considerations, the conclusion arrived at in the chapter just referred to--namely, that great good of some kind is derived from the sexual concourse of distinct individuals--must be admitted. to return to our illustration: we have hitherto assumed that the birds were kept down to the same number by indiscriminate slaughter; but if the least choice be permitted in their preservation and slaughter, the whole result will be changed. should the owner observe any slight variation in one of his birds, and wish to obtain a breed thus characterised, he would succeed in a surprisingly short time by carefully selecting and pairing the young. as any part which has once varied generally goes on varying in the same direction, it is easy, by continually preserving the most strongly marked individuals, to increase the amount of difference up to a high, predetermined standard of excellence. this is methodical selection. if the owner of the aviary, without any thought of making a new breed, simply admired, for instance, short-beaked more than long-beaked birds, he would, when he had to reduce the number, generally kill the latter; and there can be no doubt that he would thus in the course of time sensibly modify his { } stock. it is improbable, if two men were to keep pigeons and act in this manner, that they would prefer exactly the same characters; they would, as we know, often prefer directly opposite characters, and the two lots would ultimately come to differ. this has actually occurred with strains or families of cattle, sheep, and pigeons, which have been long kept and carefully attended to by different breeders without any wish on their part to form new and distinct sub-breeds. this unconscious kind of selection will more especially come into action with animals which are highly serviceable to man; for every one tries to get the best dog, horse, cow, or sheep, and these animals will transmit more or less surely their good qualities to their offspring. hardly any one is so careless as to breed from his worst animals. even savages, when compelled from extreme want to kill some of their animals, would destroy the worst and preserve the best. with animals kept for use and not for mere amusement, different fashions prevail in different districts, leading to the preservation, and consequently to the transmission, of all sorts of trifling peculiarities of character. the same process will have been pursued with our fruit-trees and vegetables, for the best will always have been the most largely cultivated, and will occasionally have yielded seedlings better than their parents. the different strains, just alluded to, which have been raised by different breeders without any wish for such a result, and the unintentional modification of foreign breeds in their new homes, both afford excellent evidence of the power of unconscious selection. this form of selection has probably led to far more important results than methodical selection, and is likewise more important under a theoretical point of view from closely resembling natural selection. for during this process the best or most valued individuals are not separated and prevented crossing with others of the same breed, but are simply preferred and preserved; but this inevitably leads during a long succession of generations to their increase in number and to their gradual improvement; so that finally they prevail to the exclusion of the old parent-form. with our domesticated animals natural selection checks the production of races with any injurious deviation of { } structure. in the case of animals kept by savages and semi-civilised people, which have to provide largely for their own wants under different circumstances, natural selection will probably play a more important part. hence such animals often closely resemble natural species. as there is no limit to man's desire to possess animals and plants more and more useful in any respect, and as the fancier always wishes, from fashion running into extremes, to produce each character more and more strongly pronounced, there is a constant tendency in every breed, through the prolonged action of methodical and unconscious selection, to become more and more different from its parent-stock; and when several breeds have been produced and are valued for different qualities, to differ more and more from each other. this leads to divergence of character. as improved sub-varieties and races are slowly formed, the older and less improved breeds are neglected and decrease in number. when few individuals of any breed exist within the same locality, close interbreeding, by lessening their vigour and fertility, aids in their final extinction. thus the intermediate links are lost, and breeds which have already diverged gain distinctness of character. in the chapters on the pigeon, it was proved by historical details and by the existence of connecting sub-varieties in distant lands that several breeds have steadily diverged in character, and that many old and intermediate sub-breeds have become extinct. other cases could be adduced of the extinction of domestic breeds, as of the irish wolf-dog, the old english hound, and of two breeds in france, one of which was formerly highly valued.[ ] mr. pickering remarks[ ] that "the sheep figured on the most ancient egyptian monuments is unknown at the present day; and at least one variety of the bullock, formerly known in egypt, has in like manner become extinct." so it has been with some animals, and with several plants cultivated by the ancient inhabitants of europe during the neolithic period. in peru, von tschudi[ ] found in certain tombs, apparently prior to the dynasty of the incas, two kinds of maize not now known in the country. with our flowers and culinary vegetables, { } the production of new varieties and their extinction has incessantly recurred. at the present time improved breeds sometimes displace at an extraordinarily rapid rate older breeds; as has recently occurred throughout england with pigs. the long-horn cattle in their native home were "suddenly swept away as if by some murderous pestilence," by the introduction of short-horns.[ ] what grand results have followed from the long-continued action of methodical and unconscious selection, checked and regulated to a certain extent by natural selection, is seen on every side of us. compare the many animals and plants which are displayed at our exhibitions with their parent-forms when these are known, or consult old historical records with respect to their former state. almost all our domesticated animals have given rise to numerous and distinct races, excepting those which cannot be easily subjected to selection--such as cats, the cochineal insect, and the hive-bee,--and excepting those animals which are not much valued. in accordance with what we know of the process of selection, the formation of our many races has been slow and gradual. the man who first observed and preserved a pigeon with its oesophagus a little enlarged, its beak a little longer, or its tail a little more expanded than usual, never dreamed that he had made the first step in the creation of the pouter, carrier, and fantail-pigeon. man can create not only anomalous breeds, but others with their whole structure admirably co-ordinated for certain purposes, such as the race-horse and dray-horse, or the greyhound. it is by no means necessary that each small change of structure throughout the body, leading towards excellence, should simultaneously arise and be selected. although man seldom attends to differences in organs which are important under a physiological point of view, yet he has so profoundly modified some breeds, that assuredly, if found wild, they would be ranked under distinct genera. the best proof of what selection has effected is perhaps afforded by the fact that whatever part or quality in any animal, and more especially in any plant, is most valued by man, that part or quality differs most in the several races. this result is well seen by comparing the amount of difference { } between the fruits produced by the varieties of the same fruit-tree, between the flowers of the varieties in our flower-garden, between the seeds, roots, or leaves of our culinary and agricultural plants, in comparison with the other and not valued parts of the same plants. striking evidence of a different kind is afforded by the fact ascertained by oswald heer,[ ] namely, that the seeds of a large number of plants,--wheat, barley, oats, peas, beans, lentils, poppies,--cultivated for their seed by the ancient lake-inhabitants of switzerland, were all smaller than the seeds of our existing varieties. rütimeyer has shown that the sheep and cattle which were kept by the earlier lake-inhabitants were likewise smaller than our present breeds. in the middens of denmark, the earliest dog of which the remains have been found was the weakest; this was succeeded during the bronze age by a stronger kind, and this again during the iron age by one still stronger. the sheep of denmark during the bronze period had extraordinarily slender limbs, and the horse was smaller than our present animal.[ ] no doubt in these cases the new and larger breeds were generally introduced from foreign lands by the immigration of new hordes of men. but it is not probable that each larger breed, which in the course of time supplanted a previous and smaller breed, was the descendant of a distinct and larger species; it is far more probable that the domestic races of our various animals were gradually improved in different parts of the great europæo-asiatic continent, and thence spread to other countries. this fact of the gradual increase in size of our domestic animals is all the more striking as certain wild or half-wild animals, such as red-deer, aurochs, park-cattle, and boars,[ ] have within nearly the same period decreased in size. the conditions favourable to selection by man are,--the closest attention being paid to every character,--long-continued perseverance,--facility in matching or separating animals,--and especially a large number being kept, so that the inferior individuals may be freely rejected or destroyed, and the better ones preserved. when many are kept there will also be a { } greater chance of the occurrence of well-marked deviations of structure. length of time is all-important; for as each character, in order to become strongly pronounced, has to be augmented by the selection of successive variations of the same nature, this can only be effected during a long series of generations. length of time will, also, allow any new feature to become fixed by the continued rejection of those individuals which revert or vary, and the preservation of those which inherit the new character. hence, although some few animals have varied rapidly in certain respects under new conditions of life, as dogs in india and sheep in the west indies, yet all the animals and plants which have produced strongly marked races were domesticated at an extremely remote epoch, often before the dawn of history. as a consequence of this, no record has been preserved of the origin of our chief domestic breeds. even at the present day new strains or sub-breeds are formed so slowly that their first appearance passes unnoticed. a man attends to some particular character, or merely matches his animals with unusual care, and after a time a slight difference is perceived by his neighbours;--the difference goes on being augmented by unconscious and methodical selection, until at last a new sub-breed is formed, receives a local name, and spreads; but, by this time, its history is almost forgotten. when the new breed has spread widely, it gives rise to new strains and sub-breeds, and the best of these succeed and spread, supplanting other and older breeds; and so always onwards in the march of improvement. when a well-marked breed has once been established, if not supplanted by still improving sub-breeds, and if not exposed to greatly changed conditions of life, inducing further variability or reversion to long-lost characters, it may apparently last for an enormous period. we may infer that this is the case from the high antiquity of certain races; but some caution is necessary on this head, for the same variation may appear independently after long intervals of time, or in distant places. we may safely assume that this has occurred with the turnspit-dog which is figured on the ancient egyptian monuments, with the solid-hoofed swine[ ] mentioned by aristotle, with five-toed fowls { } described by columella, and certainly with the nectarine. the dogs represented on the egyptian monuments, about b.c., show us that some of the chief breeds then existed, but it is extremely doubtful whether any are identically the same with our present breeds. a great mastiff sculptured on an assyrian tomb, b.c., is said to be the same with the dog still imported into the same region from thibet. the true greyhound existed during the roman classical period. coming down to a later period, we have seen that, though most of the chief breeds of the pigeon existed between two and three centuries ago, they have not all retained to the present day exactly the same character; but this has occurred in certain cases in which improvement was not desired, for instance in the case of the spot or the indian ground-tumbler. de candolle[ ] has fully discussed the antiquity of various races of plants; he states that the black-seeded poppy was known in the time of homer, the white-seeded sesamum by the ancient egyptians, and almonds with sweet and bitter kernels by the hebrews; but it does not seem improbable that some of these varieties may have been lost and reappeared. one variety of barley and apparently one of wheat, both of which were cultivated at an immensely remote period by the lake-inhabitants of switzerland, still exist. it is said[ ] that "specimens of a small variety of gourd which is still common in the market of lima were exhumed from an ancient cemetery in peru." de candolle remarks that, in the books and drawings of the sixteenth century, the principal races of the cabbage, turnip, and gourd can be recognised; this might have been expected at so late a period, but whether any of these plants are absolutely identical with our present sub-varieties is not certain. it is, however, said that the brussels sprout, a variety which in some places is liable to degeneration, has remained genuine for more than four centuries in the district where it is believed to have originated.[ ] * * * * * in accordance with the views maintained by me in this work and elsewhere, not only the various domestic races, but the { } most distinct genera and orders within the same great class,--for instance, whales, mice, birds, and fishes--are all the descendants of one common progenitor, and we must admit that the whole vast amount of difference between these forms of life has primarily arisen from simple variability. to consider the subject under this point of view is enough to strike one dumb with amazement. but our amazement ought to be lessened when we reflect that beings, almost infinite in number, during an almost infinite lapse of time, have often had their whole organisation rendered in some degree plastic, and that each slight modification of structure which was in any way beneficial under excessively complex conditions of life, will have been preserved, whilst each which was in any way injurious will have been rigorously destroyed. and the long-continued accumulation of beneficial variations will infallibly lead to structures as diversified, as beautifully adapted for various purposes, and as excellently co-ordinated, as we see in the animals and plants all around us. hence i have spoken of selection as the paramount power, whether applied by man to the formation of domestic breeds, or by nature to the production of species. i may recur to the metaphor given in a former chapter: if an architect were to rear a noble and commodious edifice, without the use of cut stone, by selecting from the fragments at the base of a precipice wedge-formed stones for his arches, elongated stones for his lintels, and flat stones for his roof, we should admire his skill and regard him as the paramount power. now, the fragments of stone, though indispensable to the architect, bear to the edifice built by him the same relation which the fluctuating variations of each organic being bear to the varied and admirable structures ultimately acquired by its modified descendants. some authors have declared that natural selection explains nothing, unless the precise cause of each slight individual difference be made clear. now, if it were explained to a savage utterly ignorant of the art of building, how the edifice had been raised stone upon stone, and why wedge-formed fragments were used for the arches, flat stones for the roof, &c.; and if the use of each part and of the whole building were pointed out, it would be unreasonable if he declared that nothing had been { } made clear to him, because the precise cause of the shape of each fragment could not be given. but this is a nearly parallel case with the objection that selection explains nothing, because we know not the cause of each individual difference in the structure of each being. the shape of the fragments of stone at the base of our precipice may be called accidental, but this is not strictly correct; for the shape of each depends on a long sequence of events, all obeying natural laws; on the nature of the rock, on the lines of deposition or cleavage, on the form of the mountain which depends on its upheaval and subsequent denudation, and lastly on the storm or earthquake which threw down the fragments. but in regard to the use to which the fragments may be put, their shape may be strictly said to be accidental. and here we are led to face a great difficulty, in alluding to which i am aware that i am travelling beyond my proper province. an omniscient creator must have foreseen every consequence which results from the laws imposed by him. but can it be reasonably maintained that the creator intentionally ordered, if we use the words in any ordinary sense, that certain fragments of rock should assume certain shapes so that the builder might erect his edifice? if the various laws which have determined the shape of each fragment were not predetermined for the builder's sake, can it with any greater probability be maintained that he specially ordained for the sake of the breeder each of the innumerable variations in our domestic animals and plants;--many of these variations being of no service to man, and not beneficial, far more often injurious, to the creatures themselves? did he ordain that the crop and tail-feathers of the pigeon should vary in order that the fancier might make his grotesque pouter and fantail breeds? did he cause the frame and mental qualities of the dog to vary in order that a breed might be formed of indomitable ferocity, with jaws fitted to pin down the bull for man's brutal sport? but if we give up the principle in one case,--if we do not admit that the variations of the primeval dog were intentionally guided in order that the greyhound, for instance, that perfect image of symmetry and vigour, might be formed,--no shadow of reason can be assigned for the belief that variations, alike in nature and the result { } of the same general laws, which have been the groundwork through natural selection of the formation of the most perfectly adapted animals in the world, man included, were intentionally and specially guided. however much we may wish it, we can hardly follow professor asa gray in his belief "that variation has been led along certain beneficial lines," like a stream "along definite and useful lines of irrigation." if we assume that each particular variation was from the beginning of all time preordained, the plasticity of organisation, which leads to many injurious deviations of structure, as well as that redundant power of reproduction which inevitably leads to a struggle for existence, and, as a consequence, to the natural selection or survival of the fittest, must appear to us superfluous laws of nature. on the other hand, an omnipotent and omniscient creator ordains everything and foresees everything. thus we are brought face to face with a difficulty as insoluble as is that of free will and predestination. * * * * * { } index. abbas pacha, a fancier of fantailed pigeons, i. . abbey, mr., on grafting, ii. ; on mignonette, ii. . abbott, mr. keith, on the persian tumbler pigeon, i. . abbreviation of the facial bones, i. . abortion of organs, ii. - , . absorption of minority in crossed races, ii. - , . acclimatisation, ii. - ; of maize, i. . acerbi, on the fertility of domestic animals in lapland, ii. . _achatinella_, ii. . _achillea millefolium_, bud variation in, i. . _aconitum napellus_, roots of, innocuous in cold climates, ii. . _acorus calamus_, sterility of, ii. . acosta, on fowls in south america at its discovery, i. . _acropera_, number of seeds in, ii. . adam, mr., origin of _cytisus adami_, i. . adam, w., on consanguineous marriages, ii. . adams, mr., on hereditary diseases, ii. . advancement in scale of organisation, i. . _Ægilops triticoides_, observations of fabre and godron on, i. ; increasing fertility of hybrids of, with wheat, ii. . _Æsculus flava_ and _rubicunda_, i. . _Æsculus pavia_, tendency of, to become double, ii. . _Æthusa cynapium_, ii. . affinity, sexual elective, ii. . africa, white bull from, i. ; feral cattle in, i. ; food-plants of savages of, i. - ; south, diversity of breeds of cattle in, i. ; west, change in fleece of sheep in, i. . _agave vivipara_, seeding of, in poor soil, ii. . age, changes in trees, dependent on, i. . agouti, fertility of, in captivity, ii. . agriculture, antiquity of, ii. . _agrostis_, seeds of, used as food, i. . aguara, i. . ainsworth, mr., on the change in the hair of animals at angora, ii. . akbar khan, his fondness for pigeons, i. ; ii. . _alauda arvensis_, ii. . albin, on "golden hamburgh" fowls, i. ; figure of the hook-billed duck, i. . albinism, i. , ii. . albino, negro, attacked by insects, ii. . albinoes, heredity of, ii. . albinus, thickness of the epidermis on the palms of the hands in man, ii. . alco, i. , ii. . aldrovandi, on rabbits, i. ; description of the nun pigeon, i. ; on the fondness of the dutch for pigeons in the seventeenth century, i. ; notice of several varieties of pigeons, i. - ; on the breeds of fowls, i. ; on the origin of the domestic duck, i. . alefield, dr., on the varieties of peas and their specific unity, i. ; on the varieties of beans, i. . alexander the great, his selection of indian cattle, ii. . algÆ, retrogressive metamorphosis in, ii. ; division of zoospores of, ii. . allen, w., on feral fowls, i. ; ii. . allman, professor, on a monstrous _saxifraga geum_, ii. ; on the development of the hydroida, ii. . almond, i. ; antiquity of, ii. ; bitter, not eaten by mice, ii. . _alnus glutinosa_ and _incana_, hybrids of, ii. . alpaca, selection of, ii. . _althæa rosea_, i. , ii. . _amaryllis_, ii. . _amaryllis vittata_, effect of foreign pollen on, i. . amaurosis, hereditary, ii. . america, limits within which no useful plants have been furnished by, i. ; colours of feral horses in, i. - ; north, native cultivated plants of, i. ; skin of feral pig from, i. ; south, variations in cattle of, i. , . _amygdalus persica_, i. - , . { } ammon, on the persistency of colour in horses, ii. . _anagallis arvensis_, ii. . analogous variation, i. , ii. - ; in horses, i. ; in the horse and ass, i. ; in fowls, i. - . _anas boschas_, i. , ii. ; skull of, figured, i. . _anas moschata_, ii. . "ancon" sheep of massachusetts, i. , ii. . andalusian fowls, i. . andalusian rabbits, i. . anderson, j., on the origin of british sheep, i. ; on the selection of qualities in cattle, ii. ; on a one-eared breed of rabbits, i. ; on the inheritance of characters from a one-eared rabbit and three-legged bitch, ii. ; on the persistency of varieties of peas, i. ; on the production of early peas by selection, ii. ; on the varieties of the potato, i. - ; on crossing varieties of the melon, i. ; on reversion in the barberry, i. . anderson, mr., on the reproduction of the weeping ash by seed, ii. ; on the cultivation of the tree pæony in china, ii. . andersson, mr., on the damara, bechuana, and namaqua cattle, i. ; on the cows of the damaras, ii. ; selection practised by the damaras and namaquas, ii. ; on the use of grass-seeds and the roots of reeds as food in south africa, i. . _anemone coronaria_, doubled by selection, ii. . angina pectoris, hereditary, occurring at a certain age, ii. . anglesea, cattle of, i. . angola sheep, i. . angora, change in hair of animals at, ii. ; cats of, i. , ; rabbits of, i. , . animals, domestication of, facilitated by fearlessness of man, i. ; refusal of wild, to breed in captivity, ii. ; compound, individual peculiarities of, reproduced by budding, i. ; variation by selection in useful qualities of, ii. . annual plants, rarity of bud-variation in, i. . anomalies in the osteology of the horse, i. . anomalous breeds of pigs, i. ; of cattle, i. . _anser albifrons_, characters of, reproduced in domestic geese, i. . _anser ægyptiacus_, i. ; ii. . _anser canadensis_, ii. . _anser cygnoides_, i. . _anser ferus_, the original of the domestic goose, i. ; fertility of cross of, with domestic goose, i. . anson, on feral fowls in the ladrones, i. . antagonism between growth and reproduction, ii. . _anthemis nobilis_, bud-variation in flowers of, i. ; becomes single in poor soil, ii. . antherozoids, apparent independence of, in algæ, ii. . anthers, contabescence of, ii. - . antigua, cats of, i. ; changed fleece of sheep in, i. . _antirrhinum majus_, peloric, i. ; ii. , , ; double-flowered, ii. ; bud-variation in, i. . ants, individual recognition of, ii. . apes, anthropomorphous, ii. . aphides, attacking pear-trees, ii. ; development of, ii. - . apoplexy, hereditary, occurring at a certain age, ii. . apple, i. - ; fruit of, in swiss lake-dwellings, i. ; rendered fastigate by heat in india, i. ; bud-variation in the, i. ; with dimidiate fruit, i. - ; with two kinds of fruit on the same branch, i. ; artificial fecundation of, i. ; st. valéry, i. ; ii. ; reversion in seedlings of, ii. ; crossing of varieties of, ii. ; growth of the, in ceylon, ii. ; winter majetin, not attacked by _coccus_, ii. ; flower-buds of, attacked by bullfinches, ii. ; american, change of when grown in england, ii. . apricot, i. - ; glands on the leaves of, ii. ; analogous variation in the, ii. . _aquila fusca_, copulating in captivity, ii. . _aquilegia vulgaris_, i. ; ii. . arab boarhound, described by harcourt, i. . _arabis blepharophylla_ and _a. soyeri,_ effects of crossing, i. . _aralia trifoliata_, bud-variation in leaves of, i. . araucarias, young, variable resistance of, to frost, ii. . archangel pigeon, ii. . arctic regions, variability of plants and shells of, ii. . _aria vestita_, grafted on thorns, i. . aristophanes, fowls mentioned by, i. . aristotle, on solid-hoofed pigs, i. ; domestic duck unknown to, i. ; on the assumption of male characters by old hens, ii. . { } arni, domestication of the, i. . arrest of development, ii. - . arteries, increase of anastomosing branches of, when tied, ii. . aru islands, wild pig of, i. . arum, polynesian varieties of, ii. . _ascaris_, number of eggs of, ii. . ash, varieties of the, i. ; weeping, i. ; simple-leaved, i. ; bud-variation in, i. ; effects of graft upon the stock in the, i. ; production of the blotched breadalbane, _ibid._; weeping, capricious reproduction of, by seed, ii. . _asinus burchellii_, i. . _asinus hemionus_, ii. . _asinus indicus_, ii. - , . _asinus quagga_, i. . _asinus tæniopus_, ii. ; the original of the domestic ass, i. . asparagus, increased fertility of cultivated, ii. . ass, early domestication of the, i. ; breeds of, _ibid._; small size of, in india, _ibid._; stripes of, i. - ; ii. ; dislike of to cross water, i. ; reversion in, ii. - , ; hybrid of the, with mare and zebra, ii. ; prepotency of the, over the horse, ii. - ; crossed with wild ass, ii. ; variation and selection of the, ii. . assyrian sculpture of a mastiff, i. . asters, ii. , . asthma, hereditary, ii. , . atavism. _see_ reversion. athelstan, his care of horses, ii. . atkinson, mr., on the sterility of the tarroo silk-moth in confinement, ii. . aubergine, ii. . audubon, on feral hybrid ducks, i. ; ii. ; on the domestication of wild ducks on the mississippi, i. ; on the wild cock turkey visiting domestic hens, i. ; fertility of _fringilla ciris_ in captivity, ii. ; fertility of _columba migratoria_ and _leucocephala_ in captivity, ii. ; breeding of _anser canadensis_ in captivity, ii. . audubon and bachman, on the change of coat in _ovis montana_, i. ; sterility of _sciurus cinerea_ in confinement, ii. . auricula, effect of seasonal conditions on the, ii. ; blooming of, ii. . australia, no generally useful plants derived from, i. ; useful plants of, enumerated by hooker, i. . austria, heredity of character in emperors of, ii. . autenrieth, on persistency of colour in horses, ii. . ava, horses of, i. . _avena fatua_, cultivability of, i. . ayeen akbery, pigeons mentioned in the, i. , , , , , . ayres, w. p., on bud-variation in pelargoniums, i. . _azalea indica_, bud-variation in, i. . azara, on the feral dogs of la plata, i. ; on the crossing of domestic with wild cats in paraguay, i. ; on hornlike processes in horses, i. ; on curled hair in horses, i. ; ii. , ; on the colours of feral horses, i. , ; ii. ; on the cattle of paraguay and la plata, i. , , ; ii. ; on a hornless bull, ii. ; on the increase of cattle in south america, ii. ; on the growth of horns in the hornless cattle of corrientes, ii. ; on the "niata" cattle, i. ; on naked quadrupeds, ii. ; on a race of black-skinned fowls in south america, i. ; ii. ; on a variety of maize, i. . babington, c. c., on the origin of the plum, i. ; british species of the genus _rosa_, i. ; distinctness of _viola lutea_ and _tricolor_, i. . bachmann, mr., on the turkey, ii. . _see also_ audubon. badger, breeding in confinement, ii. . "bagadotten-taube," i. . baily, mr., on the effect of selection on fowls, ii. ; on dorking fowls, ii. . baird, s., on the origin of the turkey, i. . baker, mr., on heredity in the horse, ii. ; on the degeneration of the horse by neglect, ii. ; orders of henrys vii. and viii. for the destruction of undersized mares, ii. . bakewell, change in the sheep effected by, ii. . balancement, ii. - ; of growth, law of, i. . baldhead, pigeon, i. . baldness, in man, inherited, ii. - ; with deficiency in teeth, ii. - . ballance, mr., on the effects of interbreeding on fowls, ii. ; on variation in the eggs of fowls, i. . _ballota nigra_, transmission of variegated leaves in, i. . bamboo, varieties of the, ii. . banana, variation of the, i. ; ii. , ; bud-variation in the, i. ; sterility of the, ii. . bantam fowls, i. ; sebright, origin of, ii. ; sterility of, ii. . barb (pigeon), i. - , ; ii. ; { } figure of, i. ; figure of lower jaw of, i. . barbs, of wheat, i. . barberry, dark or red-leaved variety, i. ; ii. ; reversion in suckers of seedless variety, i. . barbut, j., on the dogs of guinea, i. ; on the domestic pigeons in guinea, i. ; fowls not native in guinea, i. . barking, acquisition of the habit of, by various dogs, i. . barley, wild, i. ; of the lake-dwellings, i. - ; ancient variety of, ii. . barnes, mr., production of early peas by selection, ii. . barnet, mr., on the intercrossing of strawberries, i. ; dioeciousness of the hautbois strawberry, i. ; on the scarlet american strawberry, ii. . barth, dr., use of grass-seeds as food in central africa, i. . bartlett, a. d., on the origin of "himalayan" rabbits by intercrossing, i. ; on the feral rabbits of porto santo, i. ; on geese with reversed feathers on the head and neck, i. ; on the young of the black-shouldered peacock, i. ; on the breeding of the felidæ in captivity, ii. . bartram, on the black wolf-dog of florida, i. . bates, h. w., refusal of wild animals to breed in captivity, ii. , ; sterility of american monkeys in captivity, ii. ; sterility of tamed guans, ii. . batrachia, regeneration of lost parts in, ii. . beach, raised, in peru, containing heads of maize, i. . beak, variability of, in fowls, i. ; individual differences of, in pigeons, i. ; correlation of, with the feet in pigeons, i. - . beale, lionel, on the contents of cells, ii. ; on the multiplication of infectious atoms, ii. ; on the origin of fibres, ii. . beans, i. ; of swiss lake-dwellings, i. ; varieties of, produced by selection, ii. ; french and scarlet, variable resistance of to frost, ii. , ; superiority of native seed of, ii. ; a symmetrical variation of scarlet, ii. ; experiments on kidney, i. ; with monstrous stipules and abortive leaflets, ii. . beard, pigeon, i. . bears, breeding in captivity, ii. . beasley, j., reversion in crossed cattle, ii. . beaton, d., effect of soil upon strawberries, i. ; on varieties of pelargonium, i. , ii. , ; bud-variation in _gladiolus colvillii_, i. ; cross between scotch kail and cabbage, ii. ; hybrid gladiolus, ii. ; constant occurrence of new forms among seedlings, ii. ; on the doubling of the compositæ, ii. . bechuana cattle, i. . beck, mr., constitutional differences in pelargoniums, i. . beckmann, on changes in the odours of plants, ii. . beckstein, on the burrowing of wolves, i. ; "spitz" dog, i. ; origin of the newfoundland dog, i. ; crossing of domestic and wild swine, i. ; on the jacobin pigeon, i. , ; notice of swallow-pigeons, i. ; on a fork-tailed pigeon, i. ; variations in the colour of the croup in pigeons, i. ; on the german dove-cot pigeon, i. ; fertility of mongrel pigeons, i. ; on hybrid turtle-doves, i. ; on crossing the pigeon with _columba oenas_, _c. palumbus_, _turtur risoria_, and _t. vulgaris_, i. ; development of spurs in the silk-hen, i. ; on polish fowls, i. , ; on crested birds, i. ; on the canary-bird, i. , ii. , ; german superstition about the turkey, i. ; occurrence of horns in hornless breeds of sheep, ii. ; hybrids of the horse and ass, ii. ; crosses of tailless fowls, ii. ; difficulty of pairing dove-cot and fancy pigeons, ii. ; fertility of tame ferrets and rabbits, ii. ; fertility of wild sow, _ibid._; difficulty of breeding caged birds, ii. ; comparative fertility of _psittacus erithacus_ in captivity, ii. ; on changes of plumage in captivity, ii. ; liability of light-coloured cattle to the attacks of flies, ii. ; want of exercise a cause of variability, ii. ; effect of privation of light upon the plumage of birds, ii. ; on a sub-variety of the monk-pigeon, ii. . beddoe, dr., correlation of complexion with consumption, ii. . bedeguar gall, ii. . bee, persistency of character of, ii. , ; intercrossing, ii. ; conveyance, of pollen of peas by, i. . bee-ophrys, self-fertilisation of, ii. . beech, dark-leaved, i. , ii. ; fern-leaved, reversion of, i. ; weeping, non-production of by seed, ii. . beechey, horses of loochoo islands, i. . beet, i. ; increase of sugar in, by selection, ii. . { } _begonia frigida_, singular variety of, i. ; sterility of, ii. . belgian rabbit, i. . bell, t., statement that white cattle have coloured ears, i. . bell, w., bud-variation in _cistus tricuspis_, i. . bellingeri, observations on gestation in the dog, i. ; on the fertility of dogs and cats, ii. . belon, on high-flying pigeons in paphlagonia, i. ; varieties of the goose, i. . benguela, cattle of, i. . bennett, dr. g., pigs of the pacific islands, i. , ; dogs of the pacific islands, i. ; varieties of cultivated plants in tahiti, ii. . bennett, mr., on the fallow deer, ii. . bentham, g., number and origin of cultivated plants, i. ; cereals all cultivated varieties, i. ; species of the orange group, i. - ; distinctions of almond and peach, i. ; british species of _rosa_, i. ; identity of _viola lutea_ and _tricolor_, i. . _berberis vulgaris_, i. , ii. . _berberis wallichii_, indifference of, to climate, ii. . berjean, on the history of the dog, i. , . berkeley, g. f., production of hen-cocks in a strain of game-fowls, i. . berkeley, m. j., crossing of varieties of the pea, i. ; effect of foreign pollen on grapes, i. ; on hybrid plants, ii. ; analogy between pollen of highly-cultivated plants and hybrids, ii. ; on hungarian kidney-beans, ii. ; failure of indian wheat in england, ii. ; bud developed on the petal of a _clarkia_, ii. . bernard, inheritance of disease in the horse, ii. . bernard, c., independence of the organs of the body, ii. - ; special affinities of the tissues, ii. . bernhardi, varieties of plants with laciniated leaves, ii. . _bernicla antarctica_, i. . bertero, on feral pigeons in juan fernandez, i. . _betula alba_, ii. . bewick, on the british wild cattle, i. . bible, reference to breeding studs of horses in, i. ; references to domestic pigeons in the, i. ; indications of selection of sheep in the, ii. ; notice of mules in the, ii. . bidwell, mr., on self-impotence in _amaryllis_, ii. . birch, weeping, i. , ii. . birch, dr. s., on the ancient domestication of the pigeon in egypt, i. ; notice of bantam fowls in a japanese encyclopædia, i. , . birch, wyrley, on silver-grey rabbits, i. - . birds, sterility caused in, by change of conditions, ii. - . bladder-nut, tendency of the, to become double, ii. . blaine, mr., on wry-legged terriers, ii. . blainville, origin and history of the dog, i. - ; variations in the number of teeth in dogs, i. ; variations in the number of toes in dogs, i. ; on mummies of cats, i. ; on the osteology of solid-hoofed pigs, i. ; on feral patagonian and n. american pigs, i. . "blass-taube," i. . bleeding, hereditary, ii. , ; sexual limitation of excessive, ii. . blending of crossed races, time occupied by the, ii. . blindness, hereditary, ii. ; at a certain age, ii. ; associated with colour of hair, ii. . bloodhounds, degeneration of, caused by interbreeding, ii. . blumenbach, on the protuberance of the skull in polish fowls, i. ; on the effect of circumcision, ii. ; inheritance of a crooked finger, ii. ; on badger-dogs and other varieties of the dog, ii. ; on _hydra_, ii. ; on the "nisus formativus," ii. . blyth, e., on the pariah dog, i. ; hybrids of dog and jackal, i. ; early domestication of cats in india, i. ; origin of domestic cat, _ib._; crossing of domestic and wild cats, i. ; on indian cats resembling _felis chaus_, i. ; on striped burmese ponies, i. ; on the stripes of the ass, i. ; on indian wild pigs, i. ; on humped cattle, i. , ; occurrence of _bos frontosus_ in irish crannoges, i. ; fertile crossing of zebus and common cattle, i. ; on the species of sheep, i. ; on the fat-tailed indian sheep, i. ; origin of the goat, i. ; on rabbits breeding in india, i. ; number of tail-feathers in fantails, i. ; lotan tumbler pigeons, i. ; number of tail-feathers in _ectopistes_, i. ; on _columba affinis_, i. ; pigeons roosting in trees, i. ; on _columba leuconota_, i. ; on _columba intermedia_ of strickland, i. ; variation in colour of croup in pigeons, i. - , ; voluntary domestication of rock-pigeons in india, i. ; feral pigeons on the hudson, i. ; { } occurrence of sub-species of pigeons, i. ; notice of pigeon-fanciers in delhi, &c., i. ; hybrids of _gallus sonneratii_ and the domestic hen, i. ; supposed hybridity of _gallus temminckii_, i. ; variations and domestication of _gallus bankiva_, i. - , ; crossing of wild and tame fowls in burmah, i. ; restricted range of the larger gallinaceous birds, i. ; feral fowls in the nicobar islands, i. ; black-skinned fowls occurring near calcutta, i. ; weight of _gallus bankiva_, i. ; degeneration of the turkey in india, i. , ii. ; on the colour of gold-fish, i. ; on the ghor-khur (_asinus indicus_), ii. ; on _asinus hemionus_, ii. ; number of eggs of _gallus bankiva_, ii. ; on the breeding of birds in captivity, ii. ; co-existence of large and small breeds in the same country, ii. ; on the drooping ears of the elephant, ii. ; homology of leg and wing feathers, ii. . boethius on scotch wild cattle, i. . boitard and corbié, on the breeds of pigeons, i. ; lille pouter pigeon, i. ; notice of a gliding pigeon, i. ; variety of the pouter pigeon, i. ; dove-cot pigeon, i. ; crossing pigeons, i. - , ii. , ; sterility of hybrids of turtle-doves, i. ; reversion of crossed pigeons, i. , ii. ; on the fantail, i. , ii. ; on the trumpeter, ii. ; prepotency of transmission in silky fantail, ii. , ; secondary sexual characters in pigeons, ii. ; crossing of white and coloured turtle-doves, ii. ; fertility of pigeons, ii. . bombycidÆ, wingless females of, ii. . _bombyx hesperus_, ii. . _bombyx huttoni_, i. . _bombyx mori_, i. - . bonafous, on maize, i. , . bonaparte, number of species of columbidæ, i. ; number of tail-feathers in pigeons, i. ; size of the feet in columbidæ, i. ; on _columba guinea_, i. ; _columba turricola_, _rupestris_, and _schimperi_, i. . _bonatea speciosa_, development of ovary of, i. . bonavia, dr., growth of cauliflowers in india, ii. . bones, removal of portions of, ii. ; regeneration of, ii. ; growth and repair of, ii. - . bonnet, on the salamander, ii. , , , ; theory of reproduction, ii. . borchmeyer, experiments with the seeds of the weeping ash, ii. . borecole, i. . borelli, on polish fowls, i. . borneo, fowls of, with tail-bands, i. . bornet, e., condition of the ovary in hybrid _cisti_, i. ; self-impotence of hybrid _cisti_, ii. . borrow, g., on pointers, i. . bory de saint-vincent, on gold-fish, i. . _bos_, probable origin of european domestic cattle from three species of, i. . _bos frontosus_, i. , - . _bos indicus_, i. . _bos longifrons_, i. , . _bos primigenius_, i. - , . _bos sondaicus_, ii. . _bos taurus_, i. . _bos trochoceros_, i. . bosc, heredity in foliage-varieties of the elm, i. . bosse, production of double flowers from old seed, ii. . bossi, on breeding dark-coloured silkworms, i. . bouchardat, on the vine disease, i. . boudin, on local diseases, ii. ; resistance to cold of dark-complexioned men, ii. . "boulans," i. . "bouton d'alep," ii. . bowen, prof., doubts as to the importance of inheritance, ii. . bowman, mr., hereditary peculiarities in the human eye, ii. - ; hereditary cataract, ii. . brace, mr., on hungarian cattle, i. . _brachycome iberidifolia_, ii. . bracts, unusual development of, in gooseberries, i. . bradley, mr., effect of grafts upon the stock in the ash, i. ; effect of foreign pollen upon apples, i. ; on change of soil, ii. . "brahma pootras," a new breed of fowls, i. . brain, proportion of, in hares and rabbits, i. - . brandt, origin of the goat, i. . _brassica_, varieties of, with enlarged stems, ii. . _brassica asperifolia_, ii. . _brassica napus_, i. . _brassica oleracea_, i. . _brassica rapa_, i. , ii. . braun, a., bud-variation in the vine, i. ; in the currant, i. ; in _mirabilis jalapa_, i. ; in _cytisus adami_, i. ; on reversion in the foliage of trees, i. ; spontaneous production of _cytisus purpureo-elongatus_, i. ; reversion of flowers by stripes and blotches, ii. ; excess of nourishment a source of variability, ii. . { } brazil, cattle of, i. . bread-fruit, varieties of, ii. ; sterility and variability of, ii. . bree, w. t., bud-variation in _geranium pratense_ and _centaurea cyanus_, i. ; by tubers in the dahlia, i. ; on the deafness of white cats with blue eyes, ii. . breeding, high, dependent on inheritance, ii. - . breeds, domestic, persistency of, ii. , - ; artificial and natural, ii. - ; extinction of, ii. ; of domestic cats, i. - ; of pigs produced by crossing, i. ; of cattle, i. - , - ; of goats, i. . brehm, on _columba amaliæ_, i. . brent, b. p., number of mammæ in rabbits, i. ; habits of the tumbler pigeon, i. ; laugher pigeon, i. ; colouring of the kite tumbler, i. ; crossing of the pigeon with _columba oenas_, i. ; mongrels of the trumpeter pigeon, ii. ; close interbreeding of pigeons, ii. ; opinion on aldrovandi's fowls, i. ; on stripes in chickens, i. - ; on the combs of fowls, i. ; double-spurred dorking fowls, i. ; effect of crossing on colour of plumage in fowls, i. ; incubatory instinct of mongrels between non-sitting varieties of fowls, ii. ; origin of the domestic duck, i. ; fertility of the hook-billed duck, _ibid._; occurrence of the plumage of the wild duck in domestic breeds, i. ; voice of ducks, i. ; occurrence of a short upper mandible in crosses of hook-billed and common ducks, i. ; reversion in ducks produced by crossing, ii. ; variation of the canary-bird, i. ; fashion in the canary, ii. ; hybrids of canary and finches, ii. . brickell, on raising nectarines from seed, i. ; on the horses of north carolina, ii. . bridges, mr., on the dogs of tierra del fuego, i. ; on the selection of dogs by the fuegians, ii. . bridgman, w. k., reproduction of abnormal ferns, i. , ii. . briggs, j. j., regeneration of portions of the fins of fishes, ii. . broca, p., on the intercrossing of dogs, i. - ; on hybrids of hare and rabbit, i. ; on the rumpless fowl, i. ; on the character of half-castes, ii. ; degree of fertility of mongrels, ii. ; sterility of descendants of wild animals bred in captivity, ii. . broccoli, i. ; rudimentary flowers in, ii. ; tenderness of, ii. . bromehead, w., doubling of the canterbury bell by selection, ii. . bromfield, dr., sterility of the ivy and _acorus calamus_, ii. . _bromus secalinus_, i. . bronn, h. g., bud-variation in _anthemis_, i. ; effects of cross-breeding on the female, i. ; on heredity in a one-horned cow, ii. , ; propagation of a pendulous peach by seed, ii. ; absorption of the minority in crossed races, ii. ; on the crossing of horses, ii. ; fertility of tame rabbits and sheep, ii. ; changes of plumage in captivity, ii. ; on the dahlia, ii. . bronze period, dog of, i. . brown, g., variations in the dentition of the horse, i. . brown-sÉquard, dr., inheritance of artificially-produced epilepsy in the guinea-pig, ii. . _brunswigia_, ii. . brussels sprouts, i. , ii. . _bubo maximus_, ii. . buckland, f., on oysters, ii. ; number of eggs in a codfish, ii. . buckle, mr., doubts as to the importance of inheritance, ii. . buckley, miss, carrier-pigeons roosting in trees, i. . buckman, prof., cultivation of _avena fatua_, i. ; cultivation of the wild parsnip, i. , ii. , ; reversion in the parsnip, ii. . buckwheat, injurious to white pigs, when in flower, ii. . bud and seed, close analogy of, i. . bud-reversion, ii. . buds, adventitious, ii. . bud-variation, i. - , ii. , - , ; contrasted with seminal reproduction, i. ; peculiar to plants, i. ; in the peach, i. , ; in plums, i. ; in the cherry, _ibid._; in grapes, _ibid._; in the gooseberry, currant, pear, and apple, i. ; in the banana, camellia, hawthorn, _azalea indica_, and _cistus tricuspis_, i. ; in the hollyhock and pelargonium, i. ; in _geranium pratense_ and the chrysanthemum, i. ; in roses, i. , - ; in sweet williams, carnations, pinks, stocks, and snapdragons, i. ; in wall-flowers, cyclamen, _oenothera biennis_, _gladiolus colvillii_, fuchsias, and _mirabilis jalapa_, i. ; in foliage of various trees, i. - ; in cryptogamic plants, i. ; by suckers in _phlox_ and barberry, i. ; by tubers in the potato, _ibid._; in the dahlia, i. ; by bulbs in hyacinths, _imatophyllum miniatum_, and tulips, i. ; in _tigridia conchiflora_, i. ; { } in _hemerocallis_, _ibid._; doubtful cases, i. - ; in _cytisus adami_, i. - ; probable in _Æsculus rubicunda_, i. ; summary of observations on, . buffon, on crossing the wolf and dog, i. ; increase of fertility by domestication, ii. ; improvement of plants by unconscious selection, ii. ; theory of reproduction, ii. . _bulimus_, ii. . bull, apparent influence of, on offspring, ii. . bullace, i. . bulldog, recent modifications of, i. . bullfinch, breeding in captivity, ii. ; attacking flower-buds, ii. . bult, mr., selection of pouter pigeons, ii. . "bÜndtnerschwein," i. . bunting, reed, in captivity, ii. . burdach, crossing of domestic and wild animals, i. ; aversion of the wild boar to barley, ii. . burke, mr., inheritance in the horse, ii. . _burlingtonia_, ii. . burmah, cats of, i. . burmese ponies, striped, i. , . burnes, sir a., on the karakool sheep, i. , ii. ; varieties of the vine in cabool, i. ; hawks, trained in scinde, ii. ; pomegranates producing seed, ii. . burton constable, wild cattle at, i. . "burzel-tauben," i. . bussorah carrier, i. . _buteo vulgaris_, copulation of, in captivity, ii. . butterflies, polymorphic, ii. - . buzareingues, girou de, inheritance of tricks, ii. . cabanis, pears grafted on the quince, ii. . cabbage, i. - ; varieties of, i. ; unity of character in flowers and seeds of, i. - ; cultivated by ancient celts, i. ; classification of varieties of, _ibid._; ready crossing of, _ibid._, ii. , , , ; origin of, i. ; increased fertility of, when cultivated, ii. ; growth of, in tropical countries, ii. . cabool, vines of, i. . cabral, on early cultivation in brazil, i. . cactus, growth of cochineal on, in india, ii. . cÆsar, _bos primigenius_ wild in europe in the time of, i. ; notice of fowls in britain, i. ; notice of the importation of horses by the celts, ii. . caffre fowls, i. . caffres, different kinds of cattle possessed by the, i. . "cÁgias," a breed of sheep, i. . calceolarias, i. ; ii. ; effects of seasonal conditions on, ii. ; peloric flowers in, ii. . "calongos," a columbian breed of cattle, i. . calver, mr., on a seedling peach producing both peaches and nectarines, i. . calyx, segments of the, converted into carpels, ii. . camel, its dislike to crossing water, i. . _camellia_, bud-variations in, i. ; recognition of varieties of, ii. ; variety in, hardiness of, ii. . cameron, d., on the cultivation of alpine plants, ii. . cameronn, baron, value of english blood in race-horses, ii. . _campanula medium_, ii. . canary-bird, i. ; conditions of inheritance in, ii. ; hybrids of, ii. ; period of perfect plumage in, ii. ; diminished fertility of, ii. ; standard of perfection in, ii. ; analogous variation in, ii. . cancer, heredity of, ii. , , . canine teeth, development of the, in mares, ii. . _canis alopex_, i. . _canis antarcticus_, i. . _canis argentatus_, ii. . _canis aureus_, i. . _canis cancrivorus_, domesticated and crossed in guiana, i. . _canis cinereo-variegatus_, i. . _canis fulvus_, i. . _canis ingæ_, the naked peruvian dog, i. . _canis latrans_, resemblance of, to the hare indian dog, i. ; one of the original stocks, i. . _canis lupaster_, i. . _canis lupus_, var. _occidentalis_, resemblance of, to north american dogs, i. ; crossed with dogs, i. ; one of the original stocks, i. . _canis mesomelas_, i. , . _canis primævus_, tamed by mr. hodgson, i. . _canis sabbar_, i. . _canis simensis_, possible original of greyhounds, i. . _canis thaleb_, i. . _canis variegatus_, i. . canterbury bell, doubled by selection, ii. . cape of good hope, different kinds of cattle at the, i. ; { } no useful plants derived from the, i. . capercailzie, breeding in captivity, ii. . _capra ægagrus_ and _c. falconeri_, probable parents of domestic goat, i. . capsicum, i. . cardan, on a variety of the walnut, i. ; on grafted walnuts, ii. - . cardoon, ii. . _carex rigida_, local sterility of the, ii. . carlier, early selection of sheep, ii. . carlisle, sir a., inheritance of peculiarities, ii. , ; of polydactylism, ii. . "carme" pigeon, i. . carnation, bud-variation in, i. ; variability of, i. ; striped, produced by crossing red and white, i. ; effect of conditions of life on the, ii. . carnivora, general fertility of, in captivity, ii. . caroline archipelago, cats of, i. . carp, ii. . carpels, variation of, in cultivated cucurbitaceæ, i. . carpenter, w. b., regeneration of bone, ii. ; production of double monsters, ii. ; number of eggs in an _ascaris_, ii. . _carpinus betulus_, i. . _carpophaga littoralis_ and _luctuosa_, i. . carrier pigeon, i. - ; english, i. - ; figured, i. ; skull figured, i. ; history of the, i. ; persian, i. ; bussorah, _ibid._; bagadotten, skull figured, i. ; lower jaw figured, i. . carriÈre, cultivation of the wild carrot, i. ; intermediate form between the almond and the peach, i. ; glands of peach-leaves, i. ; bud-variation in the vine, i. ; grafts of _aria vestita_ upon thorns, i. ; variability of hybrids of _erythrina_, ii. . carrot, wild, effects of cultivation on the, i. ; reversion in the, ii. ; run wild, ii. ; increased fertility of cultivated, ii. ; experiments on the, ii. ; acclimatisation of the, in india, ii. . _carthamus_, abortion of the pappus in, ii. . cartier, cultivation of native plants in canada, i. . caryophyllaceÆ, frequency of contabescence in the, ii. . caspary, bud-variation in the moss-rose, i. ; on the ovules and pollen of _cytisus_, i. - ; crossing of _cytisus purpureus_ and _c. laburnum_, i. ; trifacial orange, i. ; differently-coloured flowers in the wild _viola lutea,_ i. ; sterility of the horse-radish, ii. . castelnau, on brazilian cattle, i. . castration, assumption of female characters caused by, ii. - . _casuarius bennettii_, ii. . cat, domestic, i. - ; early domestication and probable origin of the, i. - ; intercrossing of with wild species, i. - ; variations of, i. - ; feral, i. , ii. ; anomalous, i. ; polydactylism in, ii. ; black, indications of stripes in young, ii. ; tortoiseshell, ii. ; effects of crossing in, ii. ; fertility of, ii. ; difficulty of selection in, ii. , ; length of intestines in, ii. ; white with blue eyes, deafness of, ii. ; with tufted ears, ii. . cataract, hereditary, ii. , . caterpillars, effect of changed food on, ii. . catlin, g., colour of feral horses in north america, i. . cattle, european, their probable origin from three original species, i. - ; humped, or zebus, i. - ; intercrossing of, i. , - ; wild, of chillingham, hamilton, chartley, burton constable, and gisburne, i. , ii. ; colour of feral, i. - , ii. ; british breeds of, i. - ; south african breeds of, i. ; south american breeds of, i. , ii. ; niata, i. - , ii. , , ; effects of food and climate on, i. - ; effects of selection on, i. - ; dutch-buttocked, ii. ; hornless, production of horns in, ii. - , ; reversion in, when crossed, ii. ; wildness of hybrid, ii. ; short-horned, prepotency of, ii. ; wild, influence of crossing and segregation on, ii. ; crosses of, ii. , , ; of falkland islands, ii. ; mutual fertility of all varieties of, ii. ; effects of interbreeding on, ii. - ; effects of careful selection on, ii. , ; naked, of columbia, ii. ; crossed with wild banteng in java, ii. ; with reversed hair in banda oriental, ii. ; selection of trifling characters in, ii. ; fashion in, ii. ; similarity of best races of, ii. ; unconscious selection in, ii. ; effects of natural selection on anomalous breeds of, ii. - ; light-coloured, attacked by flies, ii. , ; jersey, rapid improvement of, ii. ; effects of disuse of parts in, ii. ; rudimentary horns in, ii. ; supposed influence of humidity on the hair of, ii. ; { } white spots of, liable to disease, ii. ; supposed analogous variation in, ii. ; displacement of long-horned by short-horned, ii. . cauliflower, i. ; free-seeding of, in india, ii. ; rudimentary flowers in, ii. . cavalier pigeon, ii. . _cavia aperea_, ii. . cay (_cebus azaræ_), sterility of, in confinement, ii. . _cebus azaræ_, ii. . _cecidomyia_, larval development of, ii. , , ; and _misocampus_, i. . cedars of lebanon and atlas, i. . celery, turnip-rooted, i. ; run wild, ii. . cell-theory, ii. . _celosia cristata_, i. . celsus, on the selection of seed-corn, i. , ii. . celts, early cultivation of the cabbage by the, i. ; selection of cattle and horses by the, ii. - . _cenchrus_, seeds of a, used as food, i. . _centaurea cyanus_, bud-variation in, i. . cephalopoda, spermatophores of, ii. . _cerasus padus_, yellow-fruited, ii. . _cercoleptes_, sterility of, in captivity, ii. . _cercopithecus_, breeding of a species of, in captivity, ii. . cereals, i. - ; of the neolithic period in switzerland, i. ; adaptation of, to soils, ii. . _cereus_, ii. . _cereus speciosissimus_ and _phyllanthus_, reversion in hybrids of, i. . _cervus canadensis_, ii. . _cervus dama_, ii. . cetacea, correlation of dermal system and teeth in the, ii. . ceylon, cats of, i. ; pigeon-fancying in, i. . _chamærops humilis_, crossed with date palm, i. . chamisso, on seeding bread-fruit, ii. . channel islands, breeds of cattle in, i. . chapman, professor, peach-trees producing nectarines, i. . chapuis, f., sexual peculiarities in pigeons, i. , ii. ; effect produced by first male upon the subsequent progeny of the female, i. ; sterility of the union of some pigeons, ii. . characters, fixity of, ii. ; latent, ii. - , - ; continued divergence of, ii. ; antagonistic, ii. . chardin, abundance of pigeons in persia, i. . charlemagne, orders as to the selection of stallions, ii. . chartley, wild cattle of, i. . chatÉ, reversion of the upper seeds in the pods of stocks, ii. - . chatin, on _ranunculus ficaria_, ii. . chaundy, mr., crossed varieties of cabbage, ii. . cheetah, general sterility of, in captivity, ii. . _cheiranthus cheiri_, i. . cherries, i. - ; bud-variation in, i. ; white tartarian, ii. ; variety of, with curled petals, ii. ; period of vegetation of, changed by forcing, ii. . chevreul, on crossing fruit-trees, ii. . chickens, differences in characters of, i. - ; white, liable to gapes, ii. , . chigoe, ii. . chile, sheep of, i. . chillingham cattle, identical with _bos primigenius_, i. ; characters of, i. - . chiloe, half-castes of, ii. . china, cats of, with drooping ears, i. ; horses of, i. ; striped ponies of, i. ; asses of, i. ; notice of rabbits in, by confucius, i. ; breeds of pigeons reared in, i. ; breeds of fowls of, in fifteenth century, i. , ; goose of, i. . chinchilla, fertility of, in captivity, ii. . chinese, selection practised by the, ii. - ; preference of the, for hornless rams, ii. ; recognition of the value of native breeds by the, ii. . chinese, or himalayan rabbit, i. . "chivos," a breed of cattle in paraguay, i. . choux-raves, i. . christ, h., on the plants of the swiss lake-dwellings, i. , ; intermediate forms between _pinus sylvestris_ and _montana_, i. . chrysanthemum, i. . _chrysotis festiva_, ii. . cineraria, effects of selection on the, ii. . circassia, horses of, ii. . circumcision, ii. . cirripedes, metagenesis in, ii. . _cistus_, intercrossing and hybrids of, i. , , ii. . _cistus tricuspis_, bud-variation in, i. . citrons, i. - . "_citrus aurantium fructu variabili_," i. . _citrus decumana_, i. . _citrus lemonum_, i. . { } _citrus medica_, i. - . cleft palate, inheritance of, ii. . clemente, on wild vines in spain, i. . clermont-tonnerre, on the st. valery apple, i. . clapham, a., bud-variation in the hawthorn, i. . "claquant," i. . "claquers" (pigeons), i. . clark, g., on the wild dogs of juan de nova, i. ; on striped burmese and javanese ponies, i. ; breeds of goats imported into the mauritius, i. ; variations in the mammæ of goats, i. ; bilobed scrotum of muscat goat, _ibid._ clark, h. j., on fission and gemmation, ii. . clarke, r. t., intercrossing of strawberries, i. . clarke, t., hybridisation of stocks, i. , ii. . clarkson, mr., prize-cultivation of the gooseberry, i. . classification, explained by the theory of natural selection, i. . climate, effect of, upon breeds of dogs, i. ; on horses, i. , ; on cattle, i. , ; on the fleece of sheep, i. , ; on seeds of wheat, i. ; on cultivated cabbages, i. ; adaptation of maize to, i. . climate and pasture, adaptation of breeds of sheep to, i. - . climate and soil, effects of, upon strawberries, i. . cline, mr., on the skull in horned and hornless rams, ii. . clos, on sterility in _ranunculus ficaria_, ii. . clotzsch, hybrids of various trees, ii. . clover, pelorism in, ii. . coate, mr., on interbreeding pigs, ii. . coccus of apple trees, ii. . cochin fowls, i. , , , - ; occipital foramen of, figured, i. ; section of skull of, figured, i. ; cervical vertebra of, figured, i. . cochineal, persistence of, ii. ; preference of, for a particular cactus, ii. . _cochlearia armoracia_, ii. . cock, game, natural selection in, ii. ; spur of, grafted on the comb, ii. ; spur of, inserted into the eye of an ox, ii. ; effect of castration upon the, ii. - . cock's-comb, varieties of the, i. . cocoons, of silkworms, variations in, i. - . codfish, bulldog, i. ; number of eggs in the, ii. . _coelogenys paca_, ii. . colin, prepotency of the ass over the horse, ii. - ; on cross-breeding, ii. ; on change of diet, ii. . collinson, peter, peach-tree producing a nectarine, i. . coloration, in pigeons, an evidence of unity of descent, i. - . colour, correlation of, in dogs, i. - ; persistence of, in horses, i. ; inheritance and diversity of, in horses, i. ; variations of, in the ass, i. - ; of wild or feral cattle, i. ; transmission of, in rabbits, i. ; peculiarities of, in himalayan rabbits, i. ; influence of, ii. - ; correlation of, in head and limbs, ii. ; correlated with constitutional peculiarities, ii. - . colour and odour, correlation of, ii. . colour-blindness, hereditary, ii. ; more common in men than in women, ii. - ; associated with inability to distinguish musical sounds, ii. . colours, sometimes not blended by crossing, ii. . _columba affinis_, blyth, a variety of _c. livia_, i. . _columba amaliæ_, brehm, a variety of _c. livia_, i. . _columba guinea_, i. . _columba gymnocyclus_, gray, a form of _c. livia_, i. . _columba gymnophthalmos_, hybrids of, with _c. oenas_, i. ; with _c. maculosa_, i. . _columba intermedia_, strickland, a variety of _c. livia_, i. . _columba leucocephala_, ii. . _columba leuconota_, i. , . _columba littoralis_, i. . _columba livia_, ii. , ; the parent of domestic breeds of pigeons, i. ; measurements of, i. ; figured, i. ; skull figured, i. ; lower jaw figured, i. , ; scapula figured, i. . _columba luctuosa_, i. . _columba migratoria_ and _leucocephala_, diminished fertility of, in captivity, ii. . _columba oenas_, i. ; crossed with common pigeon and _c. gymnophthalmos_, i. . _columba palumbus_, i. , ii. . _columba rupestris_, i. , , . _columba schimperi_, i. . _columba torquatrix_, ii. . _columba turricola_, i. . columbia, cattle of, i. . columbine, double, i. , ii. . { } columbus, on west indian dogs, i. . columella, on italian shepherd's dogs, i. ; on domestic fowls, i. , , ii. , ; on the keeping of ducks, i. ; on the selection of seed-corn, i. ; on the benefits of change of soil to plants, ii. ; on the value of native breeds, ii. . colza, i. . comb, in fowls, variations of, i. - ; sometimes rudimentary, ii. . compensation, law of, i. . compensation of growth, ii. - . complexion, connexion of, with constitution, ii. . compositÆ, double flowers of, i. , ii. , . conception, earlier in alderney and zetland cows than in other breeds, i. . conditions of life, changed, effect of, ii. - ; on horses, i. ; upon variation in pigeons, i. - ; upon wheat, i. - ; upon trees, i. ; in producing bud-variation, i. ; advantages of, ii. - , - ; sterility caused by, ii. - ; conducive to variability, ii. - , ; accumulative action of, ii. - ; direct action of, ii. - . condor, breeding in captivity, ii. . confinement, effect of, upon the cock, ii. . confucius, on the breeding of rabbits in china, i. . conolly, mr., on angora goats, ii. . constitutional differences in sheep, i. - ; in varieties of apples, i. - ; in pelargoniums, i. ; in dahlias, i. . constitutional peculiarities in strawberries, i. ; in roses, i. . consumption, hereditary, ii. ; period of appearance of, ii. ; correlated with complexion, ii. . contabescence, ii. - . _convolvulus batatas_, ii. , . _convolvulus tricolor_, bud-variation in, i. . cooper, mr., improvement of vegetables by selection, ii. . cooper, white, hereditary peculiarities of vision, ii. ; association of affections of the eyes with those of other systems, ii. . corals, bud-variation in, i. ; non-diffusion of cell-gemmules in, ii. . corbiÉ. _see_ boitard. cornea, opacity of, inherited, ii. . _cornus mascula_, yellow-fruited, ii. . correlation, ii. ; of neighbouring parts, ii. ; of change in the whole body and in some of its parts, ii. ; of homologous parts, ii. - ; inexplicable, ii. - ; commingling of, with the effects of other agencies, ii. - . correlation of skull and limbs in swine, i. ; of tusks and bristles in swine, i. ; of multiplicity of horns and coarseness of wool in sheep, i. ; of beak and feet in pigeons, i. - ; between nestling down and colour of plumage in pigeons, i. ; of changes in silkworms, i. ; in plants, ii. ; in maize, i. ; in pigeons, i. - , ; in fowls, i. - . corresponding periods, inheritance at, ii. - . corrientes, dwarf cattle of, i. . corringham, mr., influence of selection on pigs, ii. . corsica, ponies of, i. . "cortbeck" (pigeon) of aldrovandi, i. . _corvus corone_ and _c. cornix_, hybrids of, ii. . _corydalis_, flower of, ii. . _corydalis cava_, ii. - . _corydalis solida_, sterile when peloric, ii. . _corydalis tuberosa_, peloric by reversion, ii. - . _corylus avellana_, i. . costa, a., on shells transferred from england to the mediterranean, ii. . "couve tronchuda," i. . cow, inheritance of loss of one horn in the, ii. , ; amount of milk furnished by the, ii. ; development of six mammæ in, ii. . cowslip, ii. , . cracidÆ, sterility of the, in captivity, ii. . cranes, fertility of, in captivity, ii. . _cratægus oxyacantha_, i. , ii. , , , . _cratægus monogyna_, i. . _cratægus sibirica_, i. . crawfurd, j., malasian cats, i. ; horses of the malay archipelago, i. ; horses of japan, i. ; occurrence of stripes in young wild pigs of malacca, i. ; on a burmese hairy family with deficient teeth, ii. , ; japanese origin of the bantam, i. ; game fowls of the philippine islands, i. ; hybrids of _gallus varius_ and domestic fowl, i. ; domestication of _gallus bankiva_, i. ; feral fowls in the pellew islands, i. ; history of the fowl, i. ; history of the domestic duck, i. ; domestication of the goose, i. ; cultivated plants of new zealand, i. ; { } breeding of tame elephants in ava, ii. ; sterility of _goura coronata_ in confinement, ii. ; geese of the philippine islands, ii. . creepers, a breed of fowls, i. . crested fowl, i. ; figured, i. . "crÈve-coeur," a french sub-breed of fowls, i. . crisp, dr., on the brains of the hare and rabbit, i. . crocker, c. w., singular form of _begonia frigida_, i. - , ii. ; sterility in _ranunculus ficaria_, ii. . crocus, ii. . cross-breeding, permanent effect of, on the female, i. . crossing, ii. - , - ; a cause of uniformity, ii. - , ; occurs in all organised beings, ii. - ; some characters not blended by, ii. - , ; modifications and new races produced by, ii. - ; causes which check, ii. - ; domestication and cultivation favourable to, ii. - , ; beneficial effects of, ii. - , - ; necessary in some plants, ii. - , - , ; summary of subject of, ii. - ; of dogs with wolves in north america, i. - ; with _canis cancrivorus_ in guiana, i. ; of dog with wolf, described by pliny and others, i. ; characters furnished by, brought out by reversion in the progeny, ii. - ; a direct cause of reversion, ii. - , ; a cause of variability, ii. - . crustacea, macrourous, differences in the development of the, ii. . crustacean with an antenna-like development of the eye-peduncle, ii. . cryptogamic plants, bud-variation in, i. . cuba, wild dogs of, i. . "cuckoo," sub-breeds of fowls, i. . cucumber, variation in number of carpels of, i. ; supposed crossing of varieties of the, i. . _cucumis momordica_, i. . _cucumis sativa_, i. . _cucurbita_, dwarf, correlation of leaves in, ii. . _cucurbita maxima_, i. , . _cucurbita moschata_, i. , . _cucurbita pepo_, i. , ii. ; varieties of, i. ; relation in size and number of fruit of, ii. . cucurbitaceÆ, i. - ; supposed crossing of, i. ; naudin's observations on hybrids of, ii. ; acclimatisation of, ii. . "culbutants" (pigeons), i. . cultivation of plants, origin of, among savages, i. - ; fertility increased by, ii. - . cunier, on hereditary night-blindness, ii. . currants, of tierra del fuego, i. ; bud-variation in, i. . curtis, mr., bud-variation in the rose, i. . cuvier, on the gestation of the wolf, i. ; the odour of the jackal, an obstacle to domestication, i. ; differences of the skull in dogs, i. ; external characters of dogs, i. ; elongation of the intestines in domestic pigs, i. , ii. ; fertility of the hook-billed duck, i. ; number of digits, ii. ; hybrid of ass and zebra, ii. ; breeding of animals in the jardin des plantes, ii. ; sterility of predaceous birds in captivity, ii. ; facility of hybridisation in confinement, ii. . cyanosis, affection of fingers in, ii. . cyclamen, bud-variation in, i. . _cynara cardunculus_, ii. . _cynips fecundatrix_, ii. . _cynocephalus hamadryas_, ii. . _cyprinus auratus_, i. - . _cyrtanthus_, ii. . _cyrtopodium_, ii. . _cytisus adami_, ii. ; its bud-variation, i. - , , ii. ; seedlings from, i. ; different views of its origin, i. - ; experiments in crossing _c. purpureus_ and _laburnum_ to produce, i. ; its production by m. adam, i. ; discussion of origin of, i. . _cytisus alpino-laburnum_, ovules and pollen of, i. ; origin of, i. . _cytisus alpinus_, i. . _cytisus laburnum_, i. , , , . _cytisus purpureo-elongatus_, ovules and pollen of, i. ; production of, i. . _cytisus purpureus_, i. , , , , . dahlbom, effects of food on hymenoptera, ii. . dahlia, i. - , ii. ; bud-variation by tubers in the, i. ; improvement of, by selection, ii. ; steps in cultivation of, ii. ; effect of conditions of life on, ii. ; correlation of form and colour in, ii. . daisy, hen and chicken, i. ; swan river, ii. . dalbret, varieties of wheat, i. . dalibert, changes in the odours of plants, ii. . dally, dr., on consanguineous marriages, ii. . daltonism, hereditary, ii. . damaras, cattle of, i. , ii. - . { } damson, i. . dandolo, count, on silkworms, i. . daniell, fertility of english dogs in sierra leone, ii. . danish middens, remains of dogs in, i. . dappling in horses, asses, and hybrids, i. . dareste. c., on the skull of the polish fowl, i. ; on the production of monstrous chickens, ii. ; co-existence of anomalies, ii. ; production of double monsters, ii. . darvill, mr., heredity of good qualities in horses, ii. . darwin, c., on _lepus magellanicus_, i. ; on the wild potato, i. ; dimorphism in the polyanthus and primrose, ii. . darwin, dr., improvement of vegetables by selection, ii. . darwin, sir f., wildness of crossed pigs, ii. . d'asso, monogynous condition of the hawthorn in spain, i. . _dasyprocta aguti_, ii. . date-palm, varieties of the, ii. ; effect of pollen of, upon the fruit of _chamærops_, i. . _datura_, ii. ; variability in, ii. . _datura lævis_ and _stramonium_, reversion in hybrids of, i. . _datura stramonium_, ii. . daubenton, variations in the number of mammæ in dogs, i. ; proportions of intestines in wild and domestic cats, i. , ii. . daudin, on white rabbits, ii. . davy, dr., on sheep in the west indies, i. . dawkins and sandford, early domestication of _bos longifrons_ in britain, i. . deaf-mutes, non-heredity of, ii. . deafness, inheritance of, ii. . deby, wild hybrids of common and musk ducks, ii. . de candolle, alph., number and origin of cultivated plants, i. - , ; regions which have furnished no useful plants, i. ; wild wheat, i. - ; wild rye and oats, i. ; antiquity of varieties of wheat, i. ; apparent inefficacy of selection in wheat, i. ; origin and cultivation of maize, i. , ii. ; colours of seeds of maize, i. ; varieties and origin of the cabbage, i. - ; origin of the garden-pea, i. ; on the vine, i. , ii. ; cultivated species of the orange group, i. ; probable chinese origin of the peach, i. ; on the peach and nectarine, i. , ; varieties of the peach, i. ; origin of the apricot, i. ; origin and varieties of the plum, i. ; origin of the cherry, i. ; varieties of the gooseberry, i. ; selection practised with forest-trees, i. ; wild fastigate oak, i. ; dark-leaved varieties of trees, i. ; conversion of stamens into pistils in the poppy, i. ; variegated foliage, i. ; heredity of white hyacinths, i. , ii. ; changes in oaks dependent on age, i. ; inheritance of anomalous characters, ii. ; variation of plants in their native countries, ii. ; deciduous bushes becoming evergreen in hot climates, ii. ; antiquity of races of plants, ii. . de candolle, p., non-variability of monotypic genera, ii. ; relative development of root and seed in _raphanus sativus_, ii. . decaisne, on the cultivation of the wild carrot, i. ; varieties of the pear, i. ; inter-crossing of strawberries, i. ; fruit of the apple, i. ; sterility of _lysimachia nummularia_, ii. ; tender variety of the peach, ii. . deer, assumption of horns by female, ii. ; imperfect development of horns in a, on a voyage, ii. . deer, fallow, ii. . deerhound. scotch, difference in size of the sexes of, ii. ; deterioration of, ii. . degeneration of high-bred races, under neglect, ii. . de jonghe, j., on strawberries, i. , ii. ; soft-barked pears, ii. ; on accumulative variation, ii. ; resistance of blossoms to frost, ii. . delamer, e. s., on rabbits, i. , . _delphinium ajacis_, ii. . _delphinium consolida_, ii. - . _dendrocygna viduata_, i. , ii. . dentition, variations of, in the horse, i. . deodar, i. . desmarest, distribution of white on dogs, i. ; cat from the cape of good hope, i. ; cats of madagascar, i. ; occurrence of striped young in turkish pigs, i. ; french breeds of cattle, i. ; horns of goats, i. ; on hornless goats, ii. . desor, e., on the anglo-saxon race in america, ii. . desportes, number of varieties of roses, i. . devay, dr., singular case of albinism, ii. ; on the marriage of cousins, ii. ; on the effects of close interbreeding, ii. , . development and metamorphosis, ii. - . development, arrests of, ii. - . development, embryonic, ii. - . { } d'hervey-saint-denys, l., on the ya-mi, or imperial rice of the chinese, ii. . dhole, fertility of the, in captivity, ii. . diabetes, occurrence of, in three brothers, ii. . _dianthus_, contabescent plants of, ii. - ; hybrid varieties of, ii. . _dianthus armeria_ and _deltoides_, hybrids of, ii. . _dianthus barbatus_, i. . _dianthus caryophyllus_, i. . _dianthus japonicus_, contabescence of female organs in, ii. . dichogamous plants, ii. . dickson, mr., on "running" in carnations, i. ; on the colours of tulips, i. . _dicotyles torquatus_ and _labiatus_, ii. . dieffenbach, dog of new zealand, i. ; feral cats in new zealand, i. ; polydactylism in polynesia, ii. . _dielytra_, ii. . diet, change of, ii. - . _digitalis_, properties of, affected by culture, ii. ; poison of, ii. . digits, supernumerary, ii. ; analogy of, with embryonic conditions, ii. ; fusion of, ii. . dimorphic plants, ii. ; conditions of reproduction in, ii. - . dimorphism, reciprocal, ii. . dingo, i. ; variation of, in colour, i. ; half-bred, attempting to burrow, i. ; attraction of foxes by a female, i. ; variations of, in confinement, ii. . dioeciousness of strawberries, i. . diseases, inheritance of, ii. - ; family uniformity of, ii. ; inherited at corresponding periods of life, ii. - ; peculiar to localities and climates, ii. ; obscure correlations in, ii. - ; affecting certain parts of the body, ii. ; occurring in alternate generations, ii. . distemper, fatal to white terriers, ii. . disuse and use of parts, effects of, ii. - , - , - ; in the skeleton of rabbits, i. - ; in pigeons, i. - ; in fowls, i. - ; in ducks, i. - ; in the silk-moth, i. - . divergence, influence of, in producing breeds of pigeons, i. . dixon, e. s., on the musk duck, i. ; on feral ducks, i. ; on feral pigeons in norfolk island, i. ; crossing of pigeons, i. ; origin of domestic fowls, i. ; crossing of _gallus sonneratii_ and common fowl, i. ; occurrence of white in the young chicks of black fowls, i. ; paduan fowl of aldrovandi, i. ; peculiarities of the eggs of fowls, i. ; chickens, i. - ; late development of the tail in cochin cocks, i. ; comb of lark-crested fowls, i. ; development of webs in polish fowls, i. ; on the voice of fowls, i. ; origin of the duck, i. ; ducks kept by the romans, i. ; domestication of the goose, i. ; gander frequently white, i. ; breeds of turkeys, i. ; incubatory instinct of mongrels of non-sitting races of fowls, ii. ; aversion of the dove-cot pigeon to pair with fancy birds, ii. ; fertility of the goose, ii. ; general sterility of the guans in captivity, ii. ; fertility of geese in captivity, ii. ; white peafowl, ii. . dobell, h., inheritance of anomalies of the extremities, ii. ; non-reversion to a malformation, ii. . dobrizhoffer, abhorrence of incest by the abipones, ii. . dogs, origin of, i. ; ancient breeds of, i. , ii. ; of neolithic, bronze and iron periods in europe, i. - , ii. ; resemblance of to various species of canidæ, i. ; of north america compared with wolves, i. - ; of the west indies, south america, and mexico, i. , ; of guiana, i. ; naked dogs of paraguay and peru, _ibid._ and ; dumb, on juan fernandez, i. ; of juan de nova, i. ; of la plata, i. ; of cuba, i. ; of st. domingo, i. ; correlation of colour in, i. - ; gestation of, i. - ; hairless turkish, i. , ii. ; inter-crossing of different breeds of, i. ; characters of different breeds of, discussed, i. - ; degeneration of european, in warm climates, i. , ; ii. , ; liability to certain diseases in different breeds of, i. and _note_; causes of differences of breeds discussed, i. - ; catching fish and crabs in new guinea and tierra del fuego, i. ; webbing of the feet in, i. ; influence of selection in producing different breeds of, i. , ; retention of original habits by, i. ; inheritance of polydactylism in, ii. ; feral, ii. ; reversion in fourth generation of, ii. ; of the pacific islands, ii. , , ; mongrel, ii. - ; comparative facility of crossing different breeds of, ii. ; fertility of, ii. , ; inter-breeding of, ii. - ; selection of, among the greeks, ii. , ; among savages, ii. - ; unconscious selection of, ii. - ; valued by the fuegians, ii. ; climatal changes in hair of, ii. ; production of drooping ears in, ii. ; { } rejection of bones of game by, ii. ; inheritance of rudiments of limbs in, ii. ; development of fifth toe in, ii. ; hairless, deficiency of teeth in, ii. ; short-faced, teeth of, ii. ; probable analogous variation in, ii. ; extinction of breeds of, ii. . dombrain, h. h., on the auricula, ii. - . domestication, essential points in, ii. - ; favourable to crossing, ii. - ; fertility increased by, ii. - , . domesticated animals, origin of, ii. - ; occasional sterility of, under changed conditions, ii. - . donders, dr., hereditary hypermetropia, ii. . dorking fowl, i. , ; furcula of, figured, i. . dormouse, ii. . double flowers, ii. - , - ; produced by selection, ii. . doubleday, h., cultivation of the filbert pine strawberry, i. . douglas, j., crossing of white and black game-fowls, ii. . downing, mr., wild varieties of the hickory, i. ; peaches and nectarines from seed, i. - ; origin of the boston nectarine, i. ; american varieties of the peach, i. ; north american apricot, i. ; varieties of the plum, i. ; origin and varieties of the cherry, i. - ; "twin cluster pippins," i. ; varieties of the apple, i. ; on strawberries, i. , ; fruit of the wild gooseberry, i. ; effects of grafting upon the seed, ii. ; diseases of plum and peach trees, ii. - ; injury done to stone fruit in america by the "weevil," ii. ; grafts of the plum and peach, ii. ; wild varieties of pears, ii. ; varieties of fruit-trees suitable to different climates, ii. . _draba sylvestris_, ii. . dragon, pigeon, i. , . "draijer" (pigeon), i. . drinking, effects of, in different climates, ii. . dromedary, selection of, ii. - . druce, mr., inter-breeding of pigs, ii. . du chaillu, fruit-trees in west africa, i. . duchesne on _fragaria vesca_, i. , , . dufour, léon, on _cecidomyia_ and _misocampus_, i. . duck, musk, retention of perching habit by the, i. ; feral hybrid of, i. . duck, penguin, hybrid of, with egyptian goose, ii. . duck, wild, difficulty of rearing, ii. ; effects of domestication on, ii. . ducks, breeds of, i. - ; origin of, i. ; history of, _ibid._; wild, easily tamed, i. - ; fertility of breeds of, when crossed, i. ; with the plumage of _anas boschas_, i. ; malayan penguin, identical in plumage with english, i. ; characters of the breeds of, i. - ; eggs of, i. ; effects of use and disuse in, i. - , ii. ; feral, in norfolk, i. ; aylesbury, inheritance of early hatching by, ii. ; reversion in, produced by crossing, ii. ; wildness of half-bred wild, ii. ; hybrids of, with the musk duck, ii. - ; assumption of male plumage by, ii. ; crossing of labrador and penguin, ii. ; increased fertility of, by domestication, ii. ; general fertility of, in confinement, ii. ; increase of size of, by care in breeding, ii. ; change produced by domestication in, ii. . dumÉril, aug., breeding of _siredon_ in the branchiferous stage, ii. . dun-coloured horses, origin of, i. . dureau de la malle, feral pigs in louisiana, ii. ; feral fowls in africa, _ibid._; bud-variation in the pear, i. ; production of mules among the romans, ii. . _dusicyon sylvestris_, i. . dutch rabbit, i. . dutch roller pigeon, i. . dutrochet, pelorism in the laburnum, ii. . duval, growth of pears in woods in france, ii. . duval-jouve, on _leersia oryzoides_, ii. . duvernoy, self-impotence in _lilium candidum_, ii. . dzierzon, variability in the characters and habits of bees, i. . earle, dr., on colour-blindness, ii. , . ears, of fancy rabbits, i. ; deficiency of, in breeds of rabbits, i. ; rudimentary, in chinese sheep, ii. ; drooping, ii. ; fusion of, ii. . eaton, j. m., on fancy pigeons, i. , ; variability of characters in breeds of pigeons, i. ; reversion of crossed pigeons to coloration of _columba livia_, i. ; on pigeon-fancying, i. , - ; on tumbler-pigeons, i. , ii. ; carrier-pigeon, i. ; effects of interbreeding on pigeons, ii. ; properties of pigeons, ii. - ; death of short-faced tumblers in the egg, ii. ; { } archangel pigeon, ii. . echinodermata, metagenesis in, ii. . _ectopistes_, specific difference in number of tail-feathers in, i. . _ectopistes migratorius_, sterile hybrids of, with _turtur vulgaris_, i. . edentata, correlation of dermal system and teeth in the, ii. . edgeworth, mr., use of grass-seeds as food in the punjab, i. . edmonston, dr., on the stomach in _larus argentatus_ and the raven, ii. . edwards and colin, on english wheat in france, ii. . edwards, w. f., absorption of the minority in crossed races, ii. . edwards, w. w., occurrence of stripes in a nearly thoroughbred horse, i. ; in foals of racehorses, i. . eggs, of fowls, characters of, i. ; variations of, in ducks, i. ; of the silkmoth, i. . egypt, ancient dogs of, i. - ; ancient domestication of the pigeon in, i. ; absence of the fowl in ancient, i. . egyptian goose, hybrids of, with penguin duck, i. . ehrenberg, prof., multiple origin of the dog, i. ; dogs of lower egypt, i. ; mummies of _felis maniculata_, i. . element, male, compared to a premature larva, ii. . elements of the body, functional independence of the, ii. - . elephant, its sterility in captivity, ii. . elk, irish, correlations in the, ii. - . elliot, sir walter, on striped horses, i. ; indian domestic and wild swine, i. ; pigeons from cairo and constantinople, i. ; fantail pigeons, i. ; lotan tumbler pigeons, i. ; a pigeon uttering the sound _yahu_, i. ; _gallus bankiva_ in pegu, i. . ellis, mr., varieties of cultivated plants in tahiti, ii. . elm, nearly evergreen cornish variety of the, i. , ii. ; foliage-varieties of the, i. . elm, weeping, i. ; not reproduced by seed, ii. . _emberiza passerina_, ii. . embryos, similarity of, i. ; fusion of, ii. . engel, on _laurus sassafras_, ii. . england, domestication of _bos longifrons_ in, i. ; selection of horses in, in mediæval times, ii. ; laws against the early slaughter of rams in, ii. . ephemeridÆ, development of the, ii. . _epidendrum cinnabarinum_ and _e. zebra_, ii. . epilepsy, hereditary, ii. , . erdt, disease of the white parts of cattle, ii. . ericaceÆ, frequency of contabescence in the, ii. . erichthonius, an improver of horses by selection, ii. . erman, on the fat-tailed kirghisian sheep, i. , ii. ; on the dogs of the ostyaks, ii. . _erodium_, ii. . _erythrina crista-galli_ and _e. herbacea_, hybrids of, ii. . esquilant, mr., on the naked young of dun-coloured pigeons, i. . esquimaux dogs, their resemblance to wolves, i. ; selection of, ii. . eudes-deslongchamps, on appendages under the jaw of pigs, i. - . _euonymus japonicus_, i. . european cultivated plants, still wild in europe, i. . evans, mr., on the lotan tumbler pigeon, i. . evelyn, pansies grown in his garden, i. . everest, r., on the newfoundland dog in india, i. , ii. ; degeneration of setters in india, i. ; indian wild boars, i. . ewes, hornless, ii. . extinction of domestic races, i. . eyes, hereditary peculiarities of the, ii. - ; loss of, causing microphthalmia in children, ii. ; modification of the structure of, by natural selection, ii. - ; fusion of, ii. . eyebrows, hereditary elongation of hairs in, ii. . eyelids, inherited peculiarities of the, ii. . eyton, mr., on gestation in the dog, i. ; variability in number of vertebræ in the pig, i. ; individual sterility, ii. . _faba vulgaris_, i. . fabre, observations on _Ægilops triticoides,_ i. . _fagus sylvatica_, ii. . fairweather, mr., production of double flowers from old seed, ii. . _falco albidus_, resumption of young plumage by, in captivity, ii. . _falco ossifragus_, ii. . _falco subbuteo_, copulating in captivity, ii. . _falco tinnunculus_, breeding in captivity, ii. . { } falconer, dr., sterility of english bulldogs in india, i, ; resemblance between _sivatherium_ and niata cattle, i. ; selection of the silkworm in india, i. ; fastigate apple-trees in calcutta, i. ; reproduction of a supernumerary thumb after amputation, ii. ; fertility of the dhole in captivity, ii. ; fertility of english dogs in india, ii. ; sterility of the tiger in captivity, ii. ; turkeys at delhi, ii. ; on indian cultivated plants, ii. ; thibet mastiff and goat, ii. . falcons, sterility of, in captivity, ii. . falkland islands, horses of the, i. - , ; feral pigs of the, i. ; feral cattle of the, i. , ; feral rabbits of the, i. . fallow deer, ii. , . fantail pigeons, i. - , ii. ; figured, i. ; furcula of, figured, i. ; history of, i. ; absence of oil-gland in, ii. . faroe islands, pigeons of the, i. . fashion, influence of, in breeding, ii. . fastigate trees, ii. , . faunas, geographical differences, of, i. . "favourite" bull, ii. , . feathers, homologous variation in, ii. . feet, of pigeons, individual differences of, i. ; correlations of external characters in, i. - . feet and beak, correlation of, in pigeons, i. - . felidÆ, fertility of, in captivity, ii. . _felis bubastes_, i. . _felis caffra_, i. . _felis caligulata_, i. . _felis chaus_, i. - . _felis jubata_, ii. . _felis lybica_, i. . _felis maniculata_, i. . _felis manul_, i. . _felis ornata_, i. . _felis sylvestris_, i. . _felis torquata_, i. . female, affected by male element, ii. , - . female flowers, in male panicle of maize, i. . fennel, italian variety of, i. . feral cats, i. ; cattle, i. ; rabbits, i. - ; guinea fowl, i. ; animals and plants, reversion in, ii. - , . ferguson, mr., supposed plurality of origin of domestic fowls, i. ; chickens of black game-fowls, i. ; relative size of eggs of fowls, i. ; yolk of eggs of game-fowls, i. ; early pugnacity of game-cocks, i. ; voice of the malay fowl, i. ; effects of interbreeding on fowls, ii. ; selection in cochin china fowls, ii. ; on fashion in poultry, ii. . fernandez, on mexican dogs, i. . ferns, reproduction of abnormal forms of, by spores, i. ; non-diffusion of cell-gemmules in, ii. . ferrets, ii. , , . fertilisation, artificial, of the st. valery apple, i. . fertility, various degrees of, in sheep, i. ; unlimited mutual, of breeds of pigeons, i. - ; comparative of mongrels and hybrids, ii. - , - ; influence of nourishment on, ii. ; diminished by close interbreeding, ii. , ; reduced, of chillingham wild cattle, ii. ; of domesticated varieties when crossed, ii. . _festuca_, species of, propagated by bulblets, ii. . filberts, spared by tomtits, ii. . filippi, on the breeding of branchiferous tritons, ii. . finches, general sterility of, in captivity, ii. . finnikin (pigeon), i. . finnochio, i. . fir, scotch, acclimatisation of, ii. . fish, mr., advantage of change of soil to plants, ii. . fishes, regeneration of portions of fins of, ii. ; variability of, when kept in tanks, ii. ; marine, living in fresh water, ii. ; double monsters of, ii. . fission and gemmation, ii. . fitch, mr., persistency of a variety of the pea, i. . fittest, survival of the, i. . fitzinger, origin of sheep, i. ; african maned sheep, i. . fixedness of character, conditions of, discussed, ii. - . flax, found in the swiss lake-dwellings, i. ; climatal difference in products of, ii. . fleece, fineness of, in austrian merinos, ii. . fleischmann, on german sheep crossed with merinos, ii. - . "florentiner-taube," i. - . flounder, ii. . flourens, crossing of wolf and dog, i. ; prepotency of the jackal over the dog, ii. ; hybrids of the horse and ass, ii. ; breeding of monkeys in europe, ii. . { } flower-garden, earliest known, in europe, ii. . flowers, capricious transmission of colour-varieties in, ii. - ; tendency to uniformity in striped, ii. ; scorching of, dependent on colour, ii. ; change in, caused by conditions of life, ii. ; rudimentary, ii. ; relative position of, to the axis, ii. . foetation, abdominal, ii. . foley, mr., wild varieties of pears, ii. . foliage, inherited peculiarities of, i. ; variegation, of, i. ; bud-variation in, i. - . food, influence of, on the pig, i. ; on cattle, i. ; excess of, a cause of variability, ii. . forbes, d., on chilian sheep, i. ; on the horses of spain, chili, and the pampas, i. . _formica rufa_, ii. . fortune, r., sterility of the sweet potato in china, ii. ; development of axillary bulbs in the yam, _ibid._ fowl, common, breeds of, i. - ; supposed plurality of origin, i. ; early history of, i. - ; causes of production of breeds of, i. ; origin of from _gallus bankiva_, i. - , ; feral, notices of, i. - ; reversion and analogous variation in, i. - , ii. , , , , , ; "cuckoo" sub-breeds of, i. ; history of, i. - ; structural characters of, i. - ; sexual peculiarities of, i. - , ii. ; external differences of, i. - ; differences of breeds of, from _g. bankiva_, i. ; osteological characters of, i. - ; effects of disuse of parts in, i. - , ii. ; feral, i. , ii. ; polydactylism in, ii. ; fertility of, increased by domestication, ii. , ; sterility of, under certain conditions, ii. ; influence of selection on, ii. , , , ; evils of close interbreeding of, ii. - ; crossing of, ii. , , ; prepotency of transmission in, ii. ; rudimentary organs in, ii. ; crossing of non-sitting varieties of, ii. - ; homology of wing and leg feathers in, ii. ; hybrids of, with pheasants and _gallus sonneratii_, ii. ; black-skinned, ii. - ; black, preyed upon by the osprey in iceland, ii. ; five-toed, mentioned by columella, ii. ; rumpless, tailed chickens produced by, ii. ; dorking, crosses of, ii. ; form of comb and colour of plumage in, ii. ; game, crossing of white and black, ii. ; five-spurred, ii. ; spanish, liable to suffer from frost, ii. ; polish, peculiarities of skull of, ii. - . fox, sterility of, in captivity, ii. . fox, s. bevan, races of bees, i. . fox, w. darwin, gestation of the dog, i. ; "negro" cat, i. ; reversion of sheep in colour, ii. ; period of gestation in the pig, i. ; young of the himalayan rabbit, i. ; crossing of wild and domestic turkeys, i. ; reversion in crossed musk ducks, ii. ; spontaneous segregation of varieties of geese, ii. ; effects of close interbreeding upon bloodhounds, ii. ; deafness of white cats with blue eyes, ii. . foxhounds, i. , ii. . _fragaria chiloensis_, i. . _fragaria collina_, i. . _fragaria dioica_ of duchesne, i. . _fragaria elatior_, i. . _fragaria grandiflora_, i. . _fragaria vesca_, i. . _fragaria virginiana_, i. . _fraxinus excelsior_, i. , , ii. . _fraxinus lentiscifolia_, ii. . friesland cattle, probably descended from _bos primigenius_, i. . frillback (pigeon), i. ; indian, i. . _fringilla ciris_, ii. . _fringilla spinus_, ii. . frizzled fowls, i. ; horses, i. . frog, polydactylism in the, ii. . fruit, seedless, ii. . fruit-trees, varieties of, occurring wild, i. . fry, mr., on fertile hybrid cats, i. ; on feral fowls in ascension, i. . fuchsias, origin of, i. ; bud-variation in, i. . _fuchsia coccinea_ and _fulgens_, twin seed produced by crossing, i. . fuegians, their superstition about killing young water-fowl, i. ; selection of dogs by the, ii. ; their comparative estimation of dogs and old women, ii. ; their power of distant vision, ii. . fungi, parasitic, ii. - . furcula, characters and variations of the, in pigeons, i. ; alteration of, by disuse, in pigeons, i. ; characters of, in fowls, i. . fusion of homologous parts, ii. . gait, inheritance of peculiarities of, ii. . galapagos archipelago, its peculiar fauna and flora, i. . _galeobdolon luteum_, pelorism in, ii. , . { } galls, ii. - . gall-gnats, ii. . gall-like excrescences not inherited, ii. . gallinaceous birds, restricted range of large, i. ; general fertility of in captivity, ii. . _gallinula chloropus_, ii. . _gallinula nesiotis_, i. . galton, mr., fondness of savages for taming animals, i. , ii. ; cattle of benguela, i. ; on hereditary talent, ii. . gallesio, species of oranges, i. , , ; hybridisation of oranges, i. ; persistency of races in the peach, i. ; supposed specific distinctions of peach and nectarine, i. ; bizzaria orange, i. ; crossing of red and white carnations, i. ; crossing of the orange and lemon, i. , ii. ; effect of foreign pollen on maize, i. ; spontaneous crossing of oranges, ii. ; monstrosities a cause of sterility in plants, ii. ; seeding of ordinarily seedless fruits, ii. ; sterility of the sugar cane, ii. ; tendency of male flowers to become double, ii. ; effects of selection in enlarging fruit, &c., ii. ; variation of the orange tree in north italy, ii. ; naturalisation of the orange in italy, ii. . _gallus æneus_, a hybrid of _g. varius_ and the domestic fowl, i. . _gallus bankiva_, probable original of domestic fowls, i. , - , ; game-fowl, nearest to, i. ; crossed with _g. sonneratii_, i. ; its character and habits, i. - , ii. ; differences of various breeds of fowls from, i. ; occipital foramen of, figured, i. ; skull of, figured, i. ; cervical vertebra of, figured, i. ; furcula of, figured, i. ; reversion to, in crossed fowls, ii. - ; hybrid of, with _g. varius_, i. , ii. ; number of eggs of, ii. . _gallus ferrugineus_, i. . _gallus furcatus_, i. . _gallus giganteus_, i. . _gallus sonneratii_, characters and habits of, i. ; hybrids of, i. , ii. . _gallus stanleyi_, hybrids of, i. . _gallus temminckii_, probably a hybrid, i. . _gallus varius_, character and habits of, i. ; hybrids and probable hybrids of, i. - . gambier, lord, his early cultivation of the pansy, i. . game-fowl, i. , , , . gapes, ii. . garcilazo de la vega, annual hunts of the peruvian incas, ii. . garnett, mr., migratory propensities of hybrid ducks, ii. . garrod, dr., on hereditary gout, ii. . gasparini, a genus of pumpkins, founded on stigmatic characters, i. . gaudichaud, bud-variation in the pear, i. ; apple tree with two kinds of fruit on branch, i. . gaudry, anomalous structure in the feet of horses, i. . gay, on _fragaria grandiflora_, i. ; on _viola lutea_ and _tricolor_, i. ; on the nectary of _viola grandiflora_, i. . gayal, domestication of the, i. . gayot, _see_ moll. gÄrtner, on the sterility of hybrids, i. , ii. ; acquired sterility of varieties of plants when crossed, i. ; sterility in transplanted plants, and in the lilac in germany, ii. ; mutual sterility of blue and red flowers of the pimpernel, ii. ; supposed rules of transmission in crossing plants, ii. ; on crossing plants, ii. , , , ; on repeated crossing, ii. ; absorption of one species by another, when crossed, ii. ; crossing of varieties of the pea, i. ; crossing maize, ii. ; crossing of species of _verbascum_, ii. , ; reversion in hybrids, ii. , , ; of _cereus_, i. ; of _tropæolum majus_ and _minus_, i. ; variability of hybrids, ii. ; variable hybrids from one variable parent, ii. ; graft hybrid produced by inosculation in the vine, i. ; effect produced by grafts on the stock, i. , ii. ; tendency of hybrid plants to produce double flowers, ii. ; production of perfect fruit by sterile hybrids, ii. ; sexual elective affinity, ii. ; self-impotence in _lobelia_, _verbascum_, _lilium_, and _passiflora_, ii. - ; on the action of pollen, ii. ; fertilisation of _malva_, i. - , ii. ; prepotency of pollen, ii. ; prepotency of transmission in species of _nicotiana_, ii. ; bud-variation in _pelargonium zonale_, i. ; in _oenothera biennis_, i. ; in _achillæa millefolium_, i. ; effect of manure on the fertility of plants, ii. ; on contabescence, ii. - ; inheritance of plasticity, ii. ; villosity of plants, ii. . geese (_anseres_) general fertility of, in captivity, ii. . gegenbaur, on the number of digits, ii. . gemmation and fission, ii. . { } gemmules, or cell-gemmules, ii. , - , . genet, fertility of the, in captivity, ii. . generation, alternate, ii. , , . generation, sexual, ii. - . genius, inheritance of, ii. . _gentiana amarella_, ii. . geoffroy saint-hilaire, production of monstrous chickens, ii. ; "_loi de l'affinité de soi pour soi_," ii. ; compensation of growth, ii. . geoffroy saint-hilaire, isid., origin of the dog, i. ; barking of a jackal, i. ; period of gestation and odour of the jackal, i. ; anomalies in the teeth of dogs, i. ; variations in the proportions of dogs, i. ; webbed feet of newfoundland dogs, i. ; crossing of domestic and wild cats, i. ; domestication of the arni, i. ; supposed introduction of cattle into europe from the east, _ibid._; absence of interdigital pits in sheep, i. ; origin of the goat, i. ; feral geese, i. ; ancient history of the fowl, i. ; skull of the polish fowl, i. ; preference of the romans for the liver of white geese, i. ; polydactylism, ii. ; assumption of male characters by female birds, ii. ; supernumerary mammæ in women, ii. ; development of a proboscis in the pig, _ibid._; transmission and blending of characters in hybrids, ii. ; refusal of animals to breed in captivity, ii. ; on the guinea pig, ii. ; silkworms producing white cocoons, ii. ; on the carp, ii. ; on _helix lactea_, ii. ; on monstrosities, ii. ; injury to the embryo a cause of monstrosity, ii. ; alteration in the coat of horses in coal mines, ii. ; length of the intestines in wild and tame animals, ii. - ; inheritance of rudimentary limbs in the dog, ii. ; correlation in monstrosities, ii. ; supernumerary digits in man, ii. ; co-existence of anomalies, ii. ; fusion of homologous parts, ii. - ; presence of hairs and teeth in ovarian tumours, ii. ; development of teeth on the palate in the horse, ii. . geographical differences of faunas, i. . geological succession of organisms, i. . _geranium_, ii. . _geranium phæum_ and _pyrenaicum_, ii. . _geranium pratense_, i. . gerard, asserted climatal change in burgundian bees, i. . gerarde, on varieties of the hyacinth, i. . gerstÄcker, on hive-bees, i. . gervais, prof., origin of the dog, i. ; resemblance of dogs and jackals, i. ; taming of the jackal, i. ; number of teeth in dogs, i. ; breeds of dogs, i. ; on tertiary horses, i. ; biblical notices of horses, i. ; species of _ovis_, i. ; wild and domestic rabbits, i. ; rabbits from mount sinai and algeria, i. ; earless rabbits, i. ; batrachia with doubled limbs, ii. . gestation, period of, in the dog, wolf, &c, i. - ; in the pig, i. ; in cattle, i. , ii. ; in sheep, i. . gestures, inheritance of peculiarities in, ii. . "ghoondooks" a sub-breed of fowls, i. . ghor-khur, ii. . giles, mr., effect of cross-breeding in the pig, i. . giraffe, co-ordination of structure of, ii. . girard, period of appearance of permanent teeth in dogs, i. . girou de buzareingues, inheritance in the horse, ii. ; reversion by age in cattle, ii. ; prepotency of transmission of character in sheep and cattle, ii. ; on crossing gourds, ii. . gisburne, wild cattle at, i. . _gladiolus_, i. ; self-impotence of hybrids of, ii. . _gladiolus colvillii_, bud-variation in, i. . glands, compensatory development of, ii. . glastonbury thorn, i. . glenny, mr., on the _cineraria_, ii. . gloede, f., on strawberries, i. . gloger, on the wings of ducks, ii. . "glouglou" (pigeon), i. . _gloxiniæ_, peloric, i. , ii. . gmelin, on red cats, at tobolsk, i. . goat, i. - , ii. ; polydactylism in the, ii. ; sexual differences in horns of, ii. ; valued by south africans, ii. ; thibet, ii. ; amount of milk and development of udders in the, ii. ; hornless, rudimentary bony cores in, ii. ; angora, ii. . godron, odour of the hairless turkish dog, i. ; differences in the skull of dogs, i. ; increase of breeds of horses, i. ; crossing of domestic and wild swine, i. ; on goats, i. - ; colour of the skin in fowls, i. ; bees of north and south of france, i. ; introduction of the silkworm into europe, i. ; variability in the silkworm, i. ; supposed species of wheat, i. - ; on _Ægilops triticoides_, i. ; variable presence of barbs in grasses, i. ; { } colours of the seeds of maize, i. ; unity of character in cabbages, i. ; correlation of colour and odour, i. ; effect of heat and moisture on the cabbage, i. ; on the cultivated species of _brassica_, i. ; on the rouncival and sugar peas, i. ; variation in the numbers of peas in the same pod, i. ; wild vines in spain, i. ; on raising peaches from seed, i. ; supposed specific distinctness of peach and nectarine, i. ; nectarine producing peaches, i. ; on the flower of _corydalis_, i. ; origin and variations of the plum, i. ; origin of the cherry, i. ; reversion of single-leaved strawberries, i. ; five-leaved variety of _fragaria collina_, i. ; supposed immutability of specific characters, i. - ; varieties of _robinia_, i. ; permanency of the simple-leaved ash, i. ; non-inheritance of certain mutilations, ii. ; wild turnips, carrots, and celery, ii. ; pre-potency of a goat-like ram, ii. ; benefit of change of soil to plants, ii. ; fertility of peloric flowers of _corydalis solida_, ii. ; seeding of ordinarily seedless fruit, ii. ; sexual sterility of plants propagated by buds, &c., ii. ; increase of sugar in beet-root, ii. ; effects of selection in enlarging particular parts of plants, ii. ; growth of the cabbage in the tropics, ii. ; rejection of bitter almonds by mice, ii. ; influence of marshy pasture on the fleece of sheep, ii. ; on the ears of ancient egyptian pigs, ii. ; primitive distinctness of species, ii. ; solid hoofed swine, ii. . goethe, on compensation of growth, ii. . goldfish, i. - , ii. . gomara, on south american cats, i. . gongora, number of seeds in the, ii. . goose, ancient domestication of, i. ; sacred to juno in rome, _ibid._; inflexibility of organisation of, i. ; skull perforated in tufted, i. ; characters of breeds and sub-breeds of, i. - ; variety of, from sebastopol, i. , ii. ; feral in la plata, i. ; egyptian, hybrid of, with penguin duck, ii. ; spontaneous segregation of varieties of, ii. ; fertility of, increased by domestication, ii. ; decreased fertility of, in bogota, ii. ; sterility of, in the philippine islands, ii. ; selection of, ii. ; white, preference of the romans for the liver of, ii. ; persistency of character in, ii. ; egyptian, change in breeding season of, ii. . gooseberry, i. - ; bud-variation in the, i. ; whitesmith's, ii. . gÖppert, on monstrous poppies, ii. . gosse, p. h., feral dogs in jamaica, i. ; feral pigs of jamaica, i. - ; feral rabbits of jamaica, i. ; on _columba leucocephala_, i. ; feral guinea fowl in jamaica, i. ; reproduction of individual peculiarities by gemmation in a coral, i. ; frequency of striped legs in mules, ii. . gould, dr., on hereditary hæmorrhage, ii. . gould, john, origin of the turkey, i. . _goura coronata_ and _victoriæ_, hybrids of, i. , ii. . gourds, i. ; crossing of varieties of, ii. ; ancient peruvian variety of, ii. . gout, inheritance of, ii. ; period of appearance of, ii. . graba, on the pigeon of the faroe islands, i. . grafting, ii. ; effects of, ii. , ; upon the stock, i. - ; upon the variability of trees, ii. ; changes analogous to bud-variation produced by, i. , . graft-hybrids, i. - , - , ii. - . grapes, bud-variation in, i. ; cross of white and purple, i. ; green, liable to disease, ii. ; effect of foreign pollen on, i. . grasses, seeds of, used as food by savages, i. - . gray, asa, superior wild varieties of fruit-trees, i. ; cultivated native plants of north america, i. , ; non-variation of weeds, i. ; supposed spontaneous crossing of pumpkins, i. ; pre-ordination of variation, ii. ; progeny of husked form of maize, i. ; wild intermediate forms of strawberries, i. . gray, g. r., on _columba gymnocyclus_, i. . gray, j. e., on _sus pliciceps_, i. ; on a variety of the gold-fish, i. ; hybrids of the ass and zebra, ii. - ; on the breeding of animals at knowsley, ii. ; on the breeding of birds in captivity, ii. . greene, j. reay, on the development of the echinodermata, ii. . greenhow, mr., on a canadian web-footed dog, i. . greening, mr., experiments on _abraxas grossulariata_, ii. . gregson, mr., experiments on _abraxas grossulariata_, ii. . grey, sir george, preservation of seed-bearing plants by the australian savages, i. ; { } detestation of incest by australian savages, ii. . greyhounds, sculptured on egyptian monuments, and in the villa of antoninus, i. ; modern breed of, i. ; crossed with the bulldog, by lord orford, ii. ; co-ordination of structure of, due to selection, ii. - ; italian, ii. . greyness, inherited at corresponding periods of life, ii. . grieve, mr., on early-flowering dahlias, i. . grigor, mr., acclimatisation of the scotch fir, ii. . groom-napier, c. o., on the webbed feet of the otter-hound, i. . "grosses-gorges" (pigeons), i. . ground-tumbler, indian, i. . grouse, fertility of, in captivity, ii. . grÖnland, hybrids of _Ægilops_ and wheat, ii. . _grus montigresia_, _cinerea_, and _antigone_, ii. . guanacos, selection of, ii. . guans, general fertility of, in captivity, ii. . guelder-rose, ii. . guelderland fowls, i. . guiana, selection of dogs by the indians of, ii. . guinea fowl, i. ; feral in ascension, and jamaica, i. , ii. ; indifference of to change of climate, ii. . guinea pig, ii. , . gÜldenstadt, on the jackal, i. . gull, herring, breeding in confinement, ii. . gulls, general sterility of, in captivity, ii. . _gulo_, sterility of, in captivity, ii. . gÜnther, a., on tufted ducks and geese, i. ; on the regeneration of lost parts in batrachia, ii. . gurney, mr., owls breeding in captivity, ii. ; appearance of "black-shouldered" among ordinary peacocks, i. . habit, influence of, in acclimatisation, ii. - . habits, inheritance of, ii. . hÄckel, on cells, ii. ; on the double reproduction of medusæ, ii. ; on inheritance, ii. . hackles, peculiarities of, in fowls, i. . hair, on the face, inheritance of, in man, ii. ; peculiar lock of, inherited, ii. ; growth of, under stimulation of skin, ii. ; homologous variation of, ii. ; development of, within the ears and in the brain, ii. . hair and teeth, correlation of, ii. - . hairy family, corresponding period of inheritance in, ii. . half-castes, character of, ii. . half-lop rabbits, figured and described, i. - ; skull of, i. . _haliætus leucocephalus_, copulating in captivity, ii. . hallam, col., on a two-legged race of pigs, ii. . hamburgh fowl, i. , ; figured, i. . hamilton, wild cattle of, i. . hamilton, dr., on the assumption of male plumage by the hen pheasant, ii. . hamilton, f. buchanan, on the shaddock, i. ; varieties of indian cultivated plants, ii. . hancock, mr., sterility of tamed birds, ii. - . handwriting, inheritance of peculiarities in, ii. . hanmer, sir j., on selection of flower seeds, ii. . hansell, mr., inheritance of dark yolks in duck's eggs, i. . harcourt, e. v., on the arab boar-hound, i. ; aversion of the arabs to dun-coloured horses, i. . hardy, mr., effect of excess of nourishment on plants, ii. . hare, hybrids of, with rabbit, i. ; sterility of the, in confinement, ii. ; preference of, for particular plants, ii. . hare-lip, inheritance of, ii. . harlan, dr., on hereditary diseases, ii. . harmer, mr., on the number of eggs in a codfish, ii. . harvey, mr., monstrous red and white african bull, i. . harvey, prof., singular form of _begonia frigida_, i. - ; effects of cross-breeding on the female, i. ; monstrous saxifrage, ii. . hasora wheat, i. . hautbois strawberry, i. . hawker, col., on call or decoy ducks, i. . hawthorn, varieties of, i. - ; pyramidal, i. ; pendulous hybridised, ii. ; changes of, by age, i. , ; bud-variation in the, i. ; flower buds of, attacked by bullfinches, ii. . hayes, dr., character of esquimaux dogs, i. - . haywood, w., on the feral rabbits of porto santo, i. . hazel, purple-leaved, i. , , ii. . head of wild boar and yorkshire pig, figured, i. . { } head and limbs, correlated variability of, ii. . headache, inheritance of, ii. . heartsease, i. - ; change produced in the, by transplantation, i. ; reversion in, ii. , ; effects of selection on, ii. ; scorching of, ii. ; effects of seasonal conditions on the, ii. ; annual varieties of the, ii. . heat, effect of, upon the fleece of sheep, i. . heber, bishop, on the breeding of the rhinoceros in captivity, ii. . hebrides, cattle of the, i. ; pigeons of the, i. . heer, o., on the plants of the swiss lake-dwellings, i. , ii. , ; on the cereals, i. - ; on the peas, i. ; on the vine growing in italy in the bronze age, i. . _helix lactea_, ii. . _hemerocallis fulva_ and _flava_, interchanging by bud-variation, i. . hemlock yields no conicine in scotland, ii. . hemp, differences of, in various parts of india, ii. ; climatal difference in products of, ii. . hempseed, effect of, upon the colour of birds, ii. . hermaphrodite flowers, occurrence of, in maize, i. . hen, assumption of male characters by the, ii. , ; development of spurs in the, ii. . "hennies," or hen-like male fowls, i. . henry, t. a., a variety of the ash produced by grafting, i. ; crossing of species of _rhododendron_ and _arabis_, i. . henslow, prof., individual variation in wheat, i. ; bud-variation in the austrian bramble rose, i. ; partial reproduction of the weeping ash by seed, ii. . hepatica, changed by transplantation, i. . herbert, dr., variations of _viola grandiflora_, i. ; bud-variation in camellias, i. ; seedlings from reverted _cytisus adami_, i. ; crosses of swedish and other turnips, ii. ; on hollyhocks, ii. ; breeding of hybrids, ii. ; self-impotence in hybrid hippeastrums, ii. - ; hybrid _gladiolus_, ii. ; on _zephyranthes candida_, ii. ; fertility of the crocus, ii. ; on contabescence, ii. ; hybrid _rhododendron_, ii. . herculaneum, figure of a pig found in, i. . heron, sir r., appearance of "black-shouldered" among ordinary peacocks, i. - ; non-inheritance of monstrous characters by goldfish, i. ; crossing of white and coloured angora rabbits, ii. ; crosses of solid-hoofed pigs, ii. . _herpestes fasciatus_ and _griseus_, ii. . heusinger, on the sheep of the tarentino, ii. ; on correlated constitutional peculiarities, ii. . hewitt, mr., reversion in bantam cocks, i. ; degeneration of silk fowls, i. ; partial sterility of hen-like male fowls, i. ; production of tailed chickens by rumpless fowls, i. ; on taming and rearing wild ducks, i. - , ii. , - ; conditions of inheritance in laced sebright bantams, ii. ; reversion in rumpless fowls, ii. ; reversion in fowls by age, ii. ; hybrids of pheasant and fowl, ii. , ; assumption of male characters by female pheasants, ii. ; development of latent characters in a barren bantam hen, ii. ; mongrels from the silk-fowl, ii. ; effects of close interbreeding on fowls, ii. - ; on feathered-legged bantams, ii. . hibbert, mr., on the pigs of the shetland islands, i. . highland cattle, descended from _bos longifrons_, i. . hildebrand, dr., on the fertilisation of _orchideæ_, i. - ; occasional necessary crossing of plants, ii. ; on _primula sinensis_ and _oxalis rosea_, ii. ; on _corydalis cava_, ii. - . hill, r., on the alco, i. ; feral rabbits in jamaica, i. ; feral peacocks in jamaica, i. ; variation of the guinea fowl in jamaica, i. ; sterility of tamed birds in jamaica, ii. , . himalaya, range of gallinaceous birds in the, i. . himalayan rabbit, i. , - ; skull of, i. . himalayan sheep, i. . hindmarsh, mr., on chillingham cattle, i. . "hinkel-taube," i. - . hinny and mule, difference of, ii. - . _hipparion_, anomalous resemblance to in horses, i. . _hippeastrum_, hybrids of, ii. - . hive-bees, ancient domestication of, i. ; breeds of, i. ; smaller when produced in old combs, i. ; variability in, i. ; crossing of ligurian and common, i. . "hocker-taube," i. . hobbs, fisher, on interbreeding pigs, ii. . hodgkin, dr., on the attraction of foxes by a female dingo, i. ; { } origin of the newfoundland dog, i. ; transmission of a peculiar lock of hair, ii. . hodgson, mr., domestication of _canis primævus_, i. ; development of a fifth digit in thibet mastiffs, i. ; number of ribs in humped cattle, i. ; on the sheep of the himalaya, i. ; presence of four mammæ in sheep, _ibid._; arched nose in sheep, i. ; measurements of the intestines of goats, i. ; presence of interdigital pits in goats, _ibid._; disuse a cause of drooping ears, ii. . hofacker, persistency of colour in horses, i. , ii. ; production of dun horses from parents of different colours, i. ; inheritance of peculiarities in handwriting, ii. ; heredity in a one-horned stag, ii. ; on consanguineous marriages, ii. . hog, red river, ii. . hogg, mr., retardation of breeding in cows by hard living, ii. . holland, sir h., necessity of inheritance, ii. ; on hereditary diseases, ii. ; hereditary peculiarity in the eyelid, ii. ; morbid uniformity in the same family, ii. ; transmission of hydrocele through the female, ii. ; inheritance of habits and tricks, ii. . holly, varieties of the, i. , ; bud-reversion in, i. ; yellow-berried, ii. , . hollyhock, bud-variation in, i. ; non-crossing of double varieties of, ii. ; tender variety of the, ii. . homer, notice of geese, i. ; breeding of the horses of Æneas, ii. . homologous parts, correlated variability of, ii. - , - ; fusion of, ii. ; affinity of, ii. - . hoofs, correlated with hair in variation, ii. . hook-billed duck, skull figured, i. . hooker, dr. j. d., forked shoulder-stripe in syrian asses, i. ; voice of the cock in sikkim, i. ; use of arum-roots as food, i. ; native useful plants of australia, i. ; wild walnut of the himalayas, i. ; variety of the plane tree, i. ; production of _thuja orientalis_ from seeds of _t. pendula_, i. ; singular form of _begonia frigida_, i. ; reversion in plants run wild, ii. ; on the sugar-cane, ii. ; on arctic plants, ii. ; on the oak grown at the cape of good hope, ii. ; on _rhododendron ciliatum_, ii. ; stock and mignonette, perennial in tasmania, ii. . hopkirk, mr., bud-variation in the rose, i. ; in _mirabilis jalapa_, i. ; in _convolvulus tricolor_, i. . hornbeam, heterophyllous, i. . horned fowl, i. ; skull figured, i. . hornless cattle in paraguay, i. . horns of sheep, i. ; correlation of, with fleece in sheep, ii. ; correlation of, with the skull, ii. ; rudimentary in young polled cattle, ii. ; of goats, i. . horses, in swiss lake-dwellings, i. ; different breeds of, in malay archipelago, i. ; anomalies in osteology and dentition of, i. ; mutual fertility of different breeds, i. ; feral, i. ; habit of scraping away snow, i. ; mode of production of breeds of, i. ; inheritance and diversity of colour in, i. ; dark stripes in, i. - , ii. ; dun-coloured, origin of, i. ; colours of feral, i. - ; effect of fecundation by a quagga on the subsequent progeny of, i. - ; inheritance of peculiarities in, ii. - ; polydactylism in, ii. ; inheritance of colour in, ii. ; inheritance of exostoses in legs of, ii. ; reversion in, ii. , ; hybrids of, with ass and zebra, ii. ; prepotency of transmission in the sexes of, ii. ; segregation of, in paraguay, ii. ; wild species of, breeding in captivity, ii. ; curly, in paraguay, ii. , ; selection of, for trifling characters, ii. ; unconscious selection of, ii. - ; natural selection in circassia, ii. ; alteration of coat of, in coal-mines, ii. ; degeneration of, in the falkland islands, ii. ; diseases of, caused by shoeing, ii. ; feeding on meat, ii. ; white and white-spotted, poisoned by mildewed vetches, ii. ; analogous variations in the colour of, ii. ; teeth developed on palate of, ii. ; of bronze period in denmark, ii. . horse-chesnut, early, at the tuileries, i. ; tendency to doubleness in, ii. . horse-radish, general sterility of the, ii. . "houdan," a french sub-breed of fowls, i. . howard, c., on an egyptian monument, i. ; on crossing sheep, ii. , . huc, on the emperor khang-hi, ii. ; chinese varieties of the bamboo, ii. . humboldt, a., character of the zambos, ii. ; parrot speaking the language of an extinct tribe, ii. ; on _pulex penetrans_, ii. . humidity, injurious effect of, upon horses, i. . humphreys, col., on ancon sheep, i. . hungarian cattle, i. . { } hunter, john, period of gestation in the dog, i. ; on secondary sexual characters, i. ; fertile crossing of _anser ferus_ and the domestic goose, i. ; inheritance of peculiarities in gestures, voice, &c., ii. ; assumption of male characters by the human female, ii. ; period of appearance of hereditary diseases, ii. ; graft of the spur of a cock upon its comb, ii. ; on the stomach of _larus tridentatus_, ii. ; double-tailed lizards, ii. . hunter, w., evidence against the influence of imagination upon the offspring, ii. . hutton, capt., on the variability of the silk moth, i. ; on the number of species of silkworms, i. ; markings of silkworms, i. ; domestication of the rock-pigeon in india, i. ; domestication and crossing of _gallus bankiva_, i. . hutchinson, col., liability of dogs to distemper, i. . huxley, prof., on the transmission of polydactylism, ii. ; on unconscious selection, ii. ; on correlation in the mollusca, ii. ; on gemmation and fission, ii. ; development of star-fishes, ii. . hyacinths, i. - ; bud-variation in, i. ; graft-hybrid by union of half bulbs of, i. ; white, reproduced by seed, ii. ; red, ii. , ; varieties of, recognisable by the bulb, ii. . hyacinth, feather, ii. , . _hyacinthus orientalis_, i. . _hybiscus syriacus_, ii. . hybrids, of hare and rabbit, i. ; of various species of _gallus_, i. - ; of almond, peach, and nectarine, i. ; naturally produced, of species of _cytisus_, i. ; from twin-seed of _fuchsia coccinea_ and _fulgens_, i. ; reversion of, i. - , ii. , - ; from mare, ass, and zebra, ii. ; of tame animals, wildness of, ii. - ; female instincts of sterile male, ii. ; transmission and blending of characters in, ii. - ; breed better with parent species than with each other, ii. ; self-impotence in, ii. - ; readily produced in captivity, ii. . hybridisation, singular effects of, in oranges, i. ; of cherries, i. ; difficulty of, in _cucurbitæ_, i. ; of roses, i. . hybridism, ii. - ; the cause of a tendency to double flowers, ii. ; in relation to pangenesis, ii. . hybridity in cats, i. - ; supposed of peach and nectarine, i. . _hydra_, i. , ii. , . hydrangea, colour of flowers of, influenced by alum, ii. . hydrocele, ii. . hydrocephalus, ii. . _hypericum calycinum_, ii. . _hypericum crispum_, ii. , . hypermetamorphosis, ii. . hypermetropia, hereditary, ii. . ichthyopterygia, number of digits in the, ii. . _ilex aquifolium_, ii. . imagination, supposed effect of, on offspring, ii. . _imatophyllum miniatum_, bud-variation in, i. . incest, abhorred by savages, ii. - . incubation, by crossed fowls of non-sitting varieties, ii. - . india, striped horses of, i. ; pigs of, i. , , ; breeding of rabbits in, i. ; cultivation of pigeons in, i. - . individual variability in pigeons, i. - . ingledew, mr., cultivation of european vegetables in india, ii. . "indische taube," ii. . inheritance, ii. - , - , , - ; doubts entertained of by some writers, ii. ; importance of to breeders, - ; evidence of, derived from statistics of chances, ; of peculiarities in man, - , - ; of disease, - , ; of peculiarities in the eye, - ; of deviations from symmetry, ; of polydactylism, - ; capriciousness of, - , ; of mutilations, - ; of congenital monstrosities, ; causes of absence of, - ; by reversion or atavism, - ; its connexion with fixedness of character, - ; affected by prepotency of transmission of character, - ; limited by sex, - ; at corresponding periods of life, - ; summary of the subject of, - ; laws of, the same in seminal and bud varieties, i. ; of characters in the horse, i. - ; in cattle, i. ; in rabbits, i. ; in the peach, i. ; in the nectarine, i. ; in plums, i. ; in apples, i. ; in pears, i. ; in the pansy, i. ; of primary characters of _columba livia_ in crossed pigeons, i. ; of peculiarities of plumage in pigeons, i. - ; of peculiarities of foliage in trees, i. ; effects of, in varieties of the cabbage, i. . insanity, inheritance of, ii. , . insects, regeneration of lost parts in, ii. , ; agency of, in fecundation of larkspurs, ii. ; effect of changed conditions upon, ii. ; sterile neuter, ii. - ; { } monstrosities in, ii. , . instincts, defective, of silkworms, i. . interbreeding, close, ill effects of, ii. - , . intercrossing, of species, as a cause of variation, i. ; natural, of plants, i. ; of species of canidæ and breeds of dogs, i. - ; of domestic and wild cats, i. - ; of breeds of pigs, i. , ; of cattle, i. ; of varieties of cabbage, i. ; of peas, i. , - ; of varieties of orange, i. ; of species of strawberries, i. - ; of _cucurbitæ_, i. - ; of flowering plants, i. ; of pansies, i. . interdigital pits, in goats, i. . intermarriages, close, ii. - . intestines, elongation of, in pigs, i. ; relative measurements of parts of, in goats, i. ; effects of changed diet on, ii. . _ipomoea purpurea_, ii. . ireland, remains of _bos frontosus_ and _longifrons_ found in, i. . iris, hereditary absence of the, ii. ; hereditary peculiarities of colour of the, ii. - . irish, ancient, selection practised by the, ii. . iron period, in europe, dog of, i. . islands, oceanic, scarcity of useful plants on, i. . islay, pigeons of, i. . isolation, effect of, in favour of selection, ii. - . italy, vine growing in, during the bronze period, i. . ivy, sterility of, in the north of europe, ii. . jack, mr., effect of foreign pollen on grapes, i. . jackal, i. , , ; hybrids of, with the dog, i. ; prepotency of, over the dog, ii. . jacobin pigeon, i. , . jacquemet-bonnefort, on the mulberry, i. . jaguar, with crooked legs, i. . jamaica, feral dogs of, i. ; feral pigs of, i. ; feral rabbits of, i. . japan, horses of, i. . japanese pig (figured), i. . jardine, sir w., crossing of domestic and wild cats, i. . jarves, j., silkworm in the sandwich islands, i. . java, fantail pigeon in, i. . javanese ponies, i. , . jemmy button, i. . jenyns, l., whiteness of ganders, i. ; sunfish-like variety of the goldfish, i. . jerdon, j. c., number of eggs laid by the pea-hen, ii. ; origin of domestic fowl, i. . jersey, arborescent cabbages of, i. . jessamine, i. . jeitteles, hungarian sheep-dogs, i. ; crossing of domestic and wild cats, i. . john, king, importation of stallions from flanders by, ii. . johnson, d., occurrence of stripes on young wild pigs in india, i. . jordan, a., on vibert's experiments on the vine, i. ; origin of varieties of the apple, i. ; varieties of pears found wild in woods, ii. . jourdan, parthenogenesis in the silk moth, ii. . juan de nova, wild dogs on, i. . juan fernandez, dumb dogs on, i. . _juglans regia_, i. - . jukes, prof., origin of the newfoundland dog, i. . julien, stanislas, early domestication of pigs in china, i. ; antiquity of the domestication of the silk-worm in china, i. . jumpers, a breed of fowls, i. . juniper, variations of the, i. , . _juniperus suecica_, i. . _jussiæa grandiflora_, ii. . jussieu, a. de, structure of the pappus in _carthamus_, ii. . kail, scotch, reversion in, ii. . "kala-par" pigeon, i. . kales, i. . kalm, p., on maize, i. , ii. ; introduction of wheat into canada, i. ; sterility of trees growing in marshes and dense woods, ii. . "kalmi lotan," tumbler pigeon, i. . kane, dr., on esquimaux dogs, i. . karakool sheep, i. . karkeek, on inheritance in the horse, ii. . "karmeliten taube," i. . karsten on _pulex penetrans_, ii. . kattywar horses, i. . keeley, r., pelorism in _galeobdolon luteum_, ii. . kerner on the culture of alpine plants, ii. . kestrel, breeding in captivity, ii. . "khandÉsi," i. . khang-hi, selection of a variety of rice by, ii. . kiang, ii. . kidd, on the canary bird, i. , ii. . kidney bean, i. ; varieties of, ii. , . { } kidneys, compensatory development of the, ii. ; fusion of the, ii. ; shape of, in birds, influenced by the form of the pelvis, ii. . king, col., domestication of rock doves from the orkneys, i. , . king, p. s., on the dingo, i. , . kirby and spence, on the growth of galls, ii. . kirghisian sheep, i. . kite, breeding in captivity, ii. . kleine, variability of bees, i. . knight, andrew, on crossing horses of different breeds, i. ; crossing varieties of peas, i. , ii. ; persistency of varieties of peas, i. ; origin of the peach, i. ; hybridisation of the morello by the elton cherry, i. ; on seedling cherries, _ibid._; variety of the apple not attacked by coccus, i. ; intercrossing of strawberries, i, , ; broad variety of the cock's comb, i. ; bud variation in the cherry and plum, i. ; crossing of white and purple grapes, i. ; experiments in crossing apples, i. , ii. ; hereditary disease in plants, ii. ; on interbreeding, ii. ; crossed varieties of wheat, ii. ; necessity of intercrossing in plants, ii. ; on variation, ii. , ; effects of grafting, i. , ii. ; bud-variation in a plum, ii. ; compulsory flowering of early potatoes, ii. ; correlated variation of head and limbs, ii. . knox, mr., breeding of the eagle owl in captivity, ii. . koch, degeneracy in the turnip, i. . kohlrabi, i. . kÖlreuter, reversion in hybrids, i. , ii. ; acquired sterility of crossed varieties of plants, i. , ii. ; absorption of _mirabilis vulgaris_ by _m. longiflora_, ii. ; crosses of species of _verbascum_, ii. , ; on the hollyhock, ii. ; crossing varieties of tobacco, ii. ; benefits of crossing plants, ii. , , - ; self-impotence in _verbascum_, ii. , ; effects of conditions of growth upon fertility in _mirabilis_, ii. ; great development of tubers in hybrid plants, ii. ; inheritance of plasticity, ii. ; variability of hybrids of _mirabilis_, ii. ; repeated crossing a cause of variation, ii. - ; number of pollen-grains necessary for fertilization, ii. . "krauseschwein," i. . krohn, on the double reproduction of medusæ, ii. . "kropf-tauben," i. . labat, on the tusks of feral bears in the west indies, i. ; on french wheat grown in the west indies, ii. ; on the culture of the vine in the west indies, ii. . laburnum, adam's, see _cytisus adami_; oak-leaved, reversion of, i. ; pelorism in the, ii. ; waterer's, i. . lachmann, on gemmation and fission, ii. . _lachnanthes tinctoria_, ii. , . lactation, imperfect, hereditary, ii. ; deficient, of wild animals in captivity, ii. . ladrone islands, cattle of, i. . laing, mr., resemblance of norwegian and devonshire cattle, i. . lake-dwellings, sheep of, i. , ii. ; cattle of, ii. ; absence of the fowl in, i. ; cultivated plants of, i. , ii. , ; cereals of, i. - ; peas found in, i. ; beans found in, i. . lamare-piquot, observations on half-bred north american wolves, i. . lambert, a. b., on _thuja pendula_ or _filiformis_, i. . lambert family, ii. , . lambertye on strawberries, i. , ; five-leaved variety of _fragaria collina_, i. . landt, l., on sheep in the faroe islands, ii. . la plata, wild dogs of, i. ; feral cat from, i. . larch, ii. . larkspurs, insect agency necessary for the full fecundation of, ii. . _larus argentatus_, ii. . _larus tridactylus_, ii. . lasterye, merino sheep in different countries, i. . latent characters, ii. - . latham, on the fowl not breeding in the extreme north, ii. . _lathyrus_, ii. . _lathyrus aphaca_, ii. . _lathyrus odoratus_, ii. , , , , . la touche, j. d., on a canadian apple with dimidiate fruit, i. - . "latz-taube," i. . laugher pigeon, i. , . _laurus sassafras_, ii. . lawrence, j., production of a new breed of fox-hounds, i. ; occurrence of canines in mares, i. ; on three-parts-bred horses, i. ; on inheritance in the horse, ii. - . lawson, mr., varieties of the potato, i. . laxton, mr., bud-variation in the gooseberry, i. ; crossing of varieties of the pea, i. - ; { } double-flowered peas, ii. . layard, e. l., resemblance of a caffre dog to the esquimaux breed, i. , ii. ; crossing of the domestic cat with _felis caffra_, i. ; feral pigeons in ascension, i. ; domestic pigeons of ceylon, i. ; on _gallus stanleyi_, i. ; on black-skinned ceylonese fowls, i. . le compte family, blindness inherited in, ii. . lecoq, bud-variation in _mirabilis jalapa_, i. ; hybrids of _mirabilis_, i. , ii. , ; crossing in plants, ii. ; fecundation of _passiflora_, ii. ; hybrid _gladiolus_, ii. ; sterility of _ranunculus ficaria_, ii. ; villosity in plants, ii. ; double asters, ii. . le couteur, j., varieties of wheat, i. - ; acclimatisation of exotic wheat in europe, i. ; adaptation of wheat to soil and climate, i. ; selection of seed-corn, i. ; on change of soil, ii. ; selection of wheat, ii. ; natural selection in wheat, ii. ; cattle of jersey, ii. . ledger, mr., on the llama and alpaca, ii. . lee, mr., his early culture of the pansy, i. . _leersia oryzoides_, ii. . lefour, period of gestation in cattle, i. . legs, of fowls, effects of disuse on, i. - ; characters and variations of, in ducks, i. - ; fusion of, ii. . leguat, cattle of the cape of good hope, i. . lehmann, occurrence of wild double-flowered plants near a hot spring, ii. . leighton, w. a., propagation of a weeping yew by seed, ii. . leitner, effects of the removal of anthers, ii. . lemming, ii. . lemoine, variegated _symphytum_ and _phlox_, i. . lemon, i. , ; orange fecundated by pollen of the, i. . lemurs, hybrid, ii. . leporides, ii. - , . lepsius, figures of ancient egyptian dogs, i. ; domestication of pigeons in ancient egypt, i. . _leptotes_, ii. . _lepus glacialis_, i. . _lepus magellanicus_, i. . _lepus nigripes_, i. . _lepus tibetanus_, i. . _lepus variabilis_, i. . lereboullet, double monsters of fishes, ii. . leslie, on scotch wild cattle, i. . lesson, on _lepus magellanicus_, i. . leuckart on the larva of cecidomyidæ, ii. . lewis, g., cattle of the west indies, ii. . lherbette and quatrefages, on the horses of circassia, ii. , . liebig, differences in human blood, according to complexion, ii. . liebreich, occurrence of pigmentary retinitis in deaf-mutes, ii. . lichens, sterility in, ii. . lichtenstein, resemblance of bosjesman's dogs to _canis mesomelas_, i. ; newfoundland dog at the cape of good hope, i. . lilacs, ii. . liliaceÆ, contabescence in, ii. . _lilium candidum_, ii. . limbs, regeneration of, ii. - . limbs and head, correlated variation of, ii. . lime, effect of, upon shells of the mollusca, ii. . lime tree, changes of by age, i. , . limitation, sexual, ii. - . limitation, supposed, of variation, ii. . _linaria_, pelorism in, ii. , , ; peloric, crossed with the normal form, ii. ; sterility of, ii. . _linaria vulgaris_ and _purpurea_, hybrids of, ii. . lindley, john, classification of varieties of cabbages, i. ; origin of the peach, i. ; influence of soil on peaches and nectarines, i. ; varieties of the peach and nectarine, i. ; on the new town pippin, i. ; freedom of the winter majetin apple from coccus, i. ; production of monoecious hautbois strawberries by bud-selection, i. ; origin of the large tawny nectarine, i. ; bud-variation in the gooseberry, i. ; hereditary disease in plants, ii. ; on double flowers, ii. ; seeding of ordinarily seedless fruits, ii. ; sterility of _acorus calamus_, ii. ; resistance of individual plants to cold, ii. . linnÆus, summer and winter wheat regarded as distinct species by, i. ; on the single-leaved strawberry, i. ; sterility of alpine plants in gardens, ii. ; recognition of individual reindeer by the laplanders, ii. ; growth of tobacco in sweden, ii. . linnet, ii. . _linota cannabina_, ii. . { } linum, ii. . lion, fertility of, in captivity, ii. , . lipari, feral rabbits of, i. . livingstone, dr., striped young pigs on the zambesi, i. ; domestic rabbits at loanda, i. ; use of grass-seeds as food in africa, i. ; planting of fruit-trees by the batokas, i. ; character of half-castes, ii. ; taming of animals among the barotse, ii. ; selection practised in south africa, ii. , . livingstone, mr., disuse a cause of drooping ears, ii. . lizards, reproduction of tail in, ii. ; with a double tail, ii. . llama, selection of, ii. . lloyd, mr., taming of the wolf, i. ; english dogs in northern europe, i. ; fertility of the goose increased by domestication, i. ; number of eggs laid by the wild goose, ii. ; breeding of the capercailzie in captivity, ii. . loanda, domestic rabbits at, i. . _loasa_, hybrid of two species of, ii. . _lobelia_, reversion in hybrids of, ii. ; contabescence in, ii. . _lobelia fulgens_, _cardinalis_, and _syphilitica_, ii. . lockhart, dr., on chinese pigeons, i. . locust-tree, ii. . loiseleur-deslongchamps, originals of cultivated plants, i. ; mongolian varieties of wheat, i. ; characters of the ear in wheat, i. ; acclimatisation of exotic wheat in europe, i. ; effect of change of climate on wheat, i. ; on the supposed necessity of the coincident variation of weeds and cultivated plants, i. ; advantage of change of soil to plants, ii. . _lolium temulentum_, variable presence of barbs in, i. . long-tailed sheep, i. , . loochoo islands, horses of, i. . lord, j. k., on canis latrans, i. . "lori rajah," how produced, ii. . _lorius garrulus_, ii. . "lotan," tumbler pigeon, i. . loudon, j. w., varieties of the carrot, i. ; short duration of varieties of peas, i. ; on the glands of peach-leaves, i. ; presence of bloom on russian apples, i. ; origin of varieties of the apple, i. ; varieties of the gooseberry, i. ; on the nut tree, i. ; varieties of the ash, i. ; fastigate juniper (_j. suecica_), i. ; on _ilex aquifolium ferox_, i. ; varieties of the scotch fir, i. ; varieties of the hawthorn, _ibid._; variation in the persistency of leaves on the elm and turkish oak, i. ; importance of cultivated varieties, _ibid._; varieties of _rosa spinosissima_, i. ; variation of dahlias from the same seed, i. ; production of provence roses from seeds of the moss rose, i. ; effect of grafting the purple-leaved upon the common hazel, i. ; nearly evergreen cornish variety of the elm, ii. . low, g., on the pigs of the orkney islands, i. . low, prof., pedigrees of greyhounds, ii. ; origin of the dog, i. ; burrowing instinct of a half-bred dingo, i. ; inheritance of qualities in horses, i. ; comparative powers of english race-horses, arabs, &c., i. ; british breeds of cattle, i. ; wild cattle of chartley, i. ; effect of abundance of food on the size of cattle, i. ; effects of climate on the skin of cattle, i. , ii. ; on interbreeding, ii. ; selection in hereford cattle, ii. ; formation of new breeds, ii. ; on "sheeted" cattle, ii. . lowe, mr., on hive bees, i. . lowe, rev. mr., on the range of _pyrus malus_ and _p. acerba_, i. . "lowtan" tumbler pigeon, i. . _loxia pyrrhula_, ii. . lubbock, sir j., developments of the ephemeridæ, ii. . lucas, p., effects of cross-breeding on the female, i. ; hereditary diseases, ii. , - ; hereditary affections of the eye, ii. - ; inheritance of anomalies in the human eye and in that of the horse, ii. , ; inheritance of polydactylism, ii. ; morbid uniformity in the same family, ii. ; inheritance of mutilations, ii. ; persistency of cross-reversion, ii. ; persistency of character in breeds of animals in wild countries, ii. ; prepotency of transmission, ii. , ; supposed rules of transmission in crossing animals, ii. ; sexual limitations of transmission of peculiarities, ii. - ; absorption of the minority in crossed races, ii. ; crosses without blending of certain characters, ii. ; on interbreeding, ii. ; variability dependent on reproduction, ii. ; period of action of variability, ii. ; inheritance of deafness in cats, ii. ; complexion and constitution, ii. . lucaze-duthiers, structure and growth of galls, ii. - . luizet, grafting of a peach-almond on a peach, i. . { } lÜtke, cats of the caroline archipelago, i. . luxuriance, of vegetative organs, a cause of sterility in plants, ii. - . lyonnet, on the scission of _nais_, ii. . _lysimachia nummularia_, sterility of, ii. . _lythrum_, trimorphic species of, ii. . _lythrum salicaria_, ii. ; contabescence in, ii. . _lytta vesicatoria_, affecting the kidneys, ii. . _macacus_, species of, bred in captivity, ii. . macaulay, lord, improvement of the english horse, ii. . mcclelland, dr., variability of fresh-water fishes in india, ii. . mccoy, prof., on the dingo, i. . macfayden, influence of soil in producing sweet or bitter oranges from the same seed, i. . macgillivray, domestication of the rock-dove, i. ; feral pigeons in scotland, i. ; number of vertebræ in birds, i. ; on wild geese, i. ; number of eggs of wild and tame ducks, ii. . mackenzie, sir g., peculiar variety of the potato, i. . mackenzie, p., bud-variation in the currant, i. . mackinnon, mr., horses of the falkland islands, i. ; feral cattle of the falkland islands, i. . macknight, c., on interbreeding cattle, ii. . macnab, mr., on seedling weeping birches, ii. ; non-production of the weeping beech by seed, ii. . madagascar, cats of, i. . madden, h., on interbreeding cattle, ii. . madeira, rock pigeon of, i. . _magnolia grandiflora_, ii. . maize, its unity of origin, i. ; antiquity of, _ibid._; with husked grains said to grow wild, _ibid._; variation of, i. ; irregularities in the flowers of, i. ; persistence of varieties, _ibid._; adaptation of to climate, i. , ii. ; acclimatisation of, ii. , ; crossing of, i. , ii. - ; extinct peruvian varieties of, ii. . malay fowl, i. . malay archipelago, horses of, i. ; short-tailed cats of, i. ; striped young wild pigs of, i. ; ducks of, i. . male, influence of, on the fecundated female, i. - ; supposed influence of, on offspring, ii. . male flowers, appearance of, among female flowers in maize, i. . malformations, hereditary, ii. . _malva_, fertilisation of, i. , ii. . _mamestra suasa_, ii. . mammÆ, variable in number in the pig, i. ; rudimentary, occasional full development of, in cows, i. , ii. ; four present in some sheep, i. ; variable in number in rabbits, i. ; latent functions of, in male animals, ii. , ; supernumerary and inguinal, in women, ii. . mangles, mr., annual varieties of the heartsease, ii. . mantell, mr., taming of birds by the new zealanders, ii. . manu, domestic fowl noticed in the institutes of, i. . manure, effect of, on the fertility of plants, ii. . manx cats, i. , ii. . marcel de serres, fertility of the ostrich, ii. . marianne islands, varieties of _pandanus_ in, ii. . markham, gervase, on rabbits, i. , ii. . markhor, probably one of the parents of the goat, i. . marquand, cattle of the channel islands, i. . marrimpoey, inheritance in the horse, ii. . marrow, vegetable, i. . marryatt, capt., breeding of asses in kentucky, ii. . marsden, notice of _gallus giganteus_, i. . marshall, mr., voluntary selection of pasture by sheep, i. ; adaptation of wheats to soil and climate, i. ; "dutch-buttocked" cattle, ii. ; segregation of herds of sheep, ii. ; advantage of change of soil to wheat and potatoes, ii. ; fashionable change in the horns of cattle, ii. ; sheep in yorkshire, ii. . marshall, prof., growth of the brain in microcephalous idiots, ii. . martens, e. von, on _achatinella_, ii. . martin, w. c. l., origin of the dog, i. ; egyptian dogs, i. ; barking of a mackenzie river dog, i. ; african hounds in the tower menagerie, i. ; on dun horses and dappled asses, i. ; breeds of the horse, i. ; wild horses, i. ; syrian breeds of asses, i. ; asses without stripes, i. ; effects of cross-breeding on the female in dogs, i. ; striped legs of mules, ii. . martins, defective instincts of silkworms, i. . martins, c., fruit trees of stockholm, ii. . { } mason, w., bud-variation in the ash, i. . masters, dr., reversion in the spiral-leaved weeping willow, i. ; on peloric flowers, ii. ; pelorism in a clover, ii. ; position as a cause of pelorism, ii. , . masters, mr., persistence of varieties of peas, i. ; reproduction of colour in hyacinths, ii. ; on hollyhocks, ii. ; selection of peas for seed, ii. - ; on _opuntia leucotricha_, ii. ; reversion by the terminal pea in the pod, ii. . mastiff, sculptured on an assyrian monument, i. , ii. ; tibetan, i. - , ii. . matthews, patrick, on forest trees, ii. . _matthiola annua_, i. , ii. . _matthiola incana_, i. , . mauchamp, merino sheep, i. . mauduyt, crossing of wolves and dogs in the pyrenees, i. . maund, mr. crossed varieties of wheat, ii. . maupertuis, axiom of "least action," i. . mauritius, importation of goats into, i. . maw, g., correlation of contracted leaves and flowers in pelargoniums, ii. , . mawz, fertility of _brassica rapa_, ii. . _maxillaria_, self-fertilised capsules of, ii. ; number of seeds in, ii. . _maxillaria atro-rubens_, fertilisation of, by _m. squalens_, ii. . mayes, m., self-impotence in _amaryllis_, ii. . meckel, on the number of digits, ii. ; correlation of abnormal muscles in the leg and arm, ii. . medusÆ, development of, ii. , . meehan, mr., comparison of european and american trees, ii. . _meleagris mexicana_, i. . _meles taxus_, ii. . melons, i. - ; mongrel, supposed to be produced from a twin-seed, i. ; crossing of varieties of, i. , ii. , ; inferiority of, in roman times, ii. ; changes in, by culture and climate, ii. ; serpent, correlation of variations in, ii. ; analogous variations in, ii. . membranes, false, ii. - . mÉnÉtries, on the stomach of _strix grallaria_, ii. . meningitis, tubercular, inherited, ii. . metagenesis, ii. . metamorphosis, ii. . metamorphosis and development, ii. , . metzger, on the supposed species of wheat, i. - ; tendency of wheat to vary, i. ; variation of maize, i. - ; cultivation of american maize in europe, i. , ii. ; on cabbages, i. - ; acclimatisation of spanish wheat in germany, ii. ; advantage of change of soil to plants, ii. ; on rye, ii. ; cultivation of different kinds of wheat, ii. . mexico, dog from, with tan spots on the eyes, i. ; colours of feral horses in, i. . meyen, on sending of bananas, ii. . mice, grey and white, colours of, not blended by crossing, ii. ; rejection of bitter almonds by, ii. ; naked, ii. . michaux, f., roan-coloured feral horses of mexico, i. ; origin of domestic turkey, i. ; on raising peaches from seed, i. . michel, f., selection of horses in mediæval times, ii. ; horses preferred on account of slight characters, ii. . michely, effects of food on caterpillars, ii. ; on _bombyx hesperus_, ii. . microphthalmia, associated with defective teeth, ii. . middens, danish, remains of dogs in, i. , ii. . mignonette, ii. , . millet, i. . mills, j., diminished fertility of mares when first turned out to grass, ii. . milne-edwards, on the development of the crustacea, ii. . milne-edwards, a., on a crustacean with a monstrous eye-peduncle, ii. . _milvus niger_, ii. . _mimulus luteus_, ii. . minor, w. c., gemmation and fission in the annelida, ii. . _mirabilis_, fertilisation of, ii. ; hybrids of, ii. , , . _mirabilis jalapa_, i. , . _mirabilis longiflora_, ii. . _mirabilis vulgaris_, ii. . _misocampus_ and _cecidomyia_, i. . mitchell, dr., effects of the poison of the rattlesnake, ii. . mitford, mr., notice of the breeding of horses by erichthonius, ii. . moccas court, weeping oak at, ii. . mogford, horses poisoned by fool's parsley, ii. . mÖller, l., effects of food on insects, ii. . moquin-tandon, original form of maize, i. ; variety of the double columbine, i. ; { } peloric flowers, ii. - , ; position as a cause of pelorism in flowers, ii. ; tendency of peloric flowers to become irregular, ii. ; on monstrosities, ii. ; correlation in the axis and appendages of plants, ii. ; fusion of homologous parts in plants, ii. , - ; on a bean with monstrous stipules and abortive leaflets, ii. ; conversion of parts of flowers, ii. . mole, white, ii. . moll and gayot, on cattle, i. , ii. , . mollusca, change in shells of, ii. . monke, lady, culture of the pansy by, i. . monkeys, rarely fertile in captivity, ii. . monnier, identity of summer and winter wheat, i. . monster, cyclopean, ii. . monsters, double, ii. - . monstrosities, occurrence of, in domesticated animals and cultivated plants, i. , ii. ; due to persistence of embryonic conditions, ii. ; occurring by reversion, ii. - ; a cause of sterility, ii. - ; caused by injury to the embryo, ii. . montegazza, growth of a cock's-spur inserted into the eye of an ox, ii. . montgomery, e., formation of cells, ii. . moor, j. h., deterioration of the horse in malasia, i. . moorcroft, mr., on hasora wheat, i. ; selection of white-tailed yaks, ii. ; melon of kaschmir, ii. ; varieties of the apricot cultivated in ladakh, i. ; varieties of the walnut cultivated in kaschmir, i. . moore, mr., on breeds of pigeons, i. , , , , . mooruk, fertility of, in captivity, ii. . morlot, dogs of the danish middens, i. ; sheep and horse of the bronze period, ii. . _mormodes ignea_, ii. . morocco, estimation of pigeons in, i. . morren, c., on pelorism, ii. ; in _calceolaria_, ii. ; non-coincidence of double flowers and variegated leaves, ii. . morris, mr., breeding of the kestrel in captivity, ii. . morton, lord, effect of fecundation by a quagga on an arab mare, i. - . morton, dr., origin of the dog, i. ; hybrid of zebra and mare, ii. . _morus alba_, i. . moscow, rabbits of, i. , ; effects of cold on pear-trees at, ii. . mosses, sterility in, ii. ; retrogressive metamorphosis in, ii. . moss-rose, probable origin of, from _rosa centifolia_, i. ; provence roses produced from seeds of, i. . mosto, cada, on the introduction of rabbits into porto santo, i. . mottling of fruits and flowers, i. . moufflon, i. . mountain-ash, ii. . mouse, barbary, ii. . "mÖven-taube," i. . mowbray, mr., on the eggs of game fowls, i. ; early pugnacity of game cocks, i. ; diminished fecundity of the pheasant in captivity, ii. . mowbray, mr., reciprocal fecundation of _passiflora alata_ and _racemosa_, ii. . mulattos, character of, ii. . mulberry, i. , ii. . mule and hinny, differences in the, ii. - . mules, striped colouring of, ii. ; obstinacy of, ii. ; production of, among the romans, ii. ; noticed in the bible, ii. . mÜller, fritz, reproduction of orchids, ii. - ; development of crustacea, ii. ; number of seeds in a _maxillaria_, ii. . mÜller, h., on the face and teeth in dogs, i. , , ii. . mÜller, j., production of imperfect nails after partial amputation of the fingers, ii. ; tendency to variation, ii. ; atrophy of the optic nerve consequent on destruction of the eye, ii. ; on janus-like monsters, ii. ; on gemmation and fission, ii. ; identity of ovules and buds, ii. ; special affinities of the tissues, ii. . mÜller, max, antiquity of agriculture, ii. . multiplicity of origin of pigeons, hypotheses of, discussed, i. - . muniz, f., on niata cattle, i. . munro, r., on the fertilisation of orchids, ii. ; reproduction of _passiflora alata_, ii. . "murassa" pigeon, i. . murphy, j. j., the structure of the eye not producible by selection, ii. . _mus alexandrinus_, ii. - . _musa sapientum_, _chinensis_ and _cavendishii_, i. . _muscari comosum_, ii. , . muscles, effects of use on, ii. . musk duck, feral hybrid of, with the common duck, i. . { } musmon, female, sometimes hornless, i. . mutilations, inheritance or non-inheritance of, ii. - , . myatt, on a five-leaved variety of the strawberry, i. . myopia, hereditary, ii. . myriapoda, regeneration of lost parts in, ii. , . nails, growing on stumps of fingers, ii. . nais, scission of, ii. . namaquas, cattle of the, i. , ii. . narcissus, double, becoming single in poor soil, ii. . narvaez, on the cultivation of native plants in florida, i. . _nasua_, sterility of, in captivity, ii. . "natas," or niatas, a south american breed of cattle, i. - . nathusius, h. von, on the pigs of the swiss lake-dwellings, i. ; on the races of pigs, i. - ; convergence of character in highly-bred pigs, i. , ii. ; causes of changes in the form of the pig's skull, i. - ; changes in breeds of pigs by crossing, i. ; change of form in the pig, ii. ; effects of disuse of parts in the pig, ii. ; period of gestation in the pig, i. ; appendages to the jaw in pigs, i. ; on _sus pliciceps_, i. ; period of gestation in sheep, i. ; on niata cattle, i. ; on short-horn cattle, ii. ; on interbreeding, ii. ; in the sheep, ii. ; in pigs, ii. ; unconscious selection in cattle and pigs, ii. ; variability of highly selected races, ii. . nato, p., on the bizzaria orange, i. . natural selection, its general principles, i. - . nature, sense in which the term is employed, i. . naudin, supposed rules of transmission in crossing plants, ii. ; on the nature of hybrids, ii. - ; essences of the species in hybrids, ii. , ; reversion of hybrids, ii. , - ; reversion in flowers by stripes and blotches, ii. ; hybrids of _linaria vulgaris_ and _purpurea_, ii. ; pelorism in _linaria_, ii. , ; crossing of peloric _linaria_ with the normal form, ii. ; variability in _datura_, ii. ; hybrids of _datura lævis_ and _stramonium_, i. ; prepotency of transmission of _datura stramonium_ when crossed, ii. ; on the pollen of _mirabilis_ and of hybrids, i. ; fertilisation of _mirabilis_, ii. ; crossing of _chamærops humilis_ and the date palm, i. ; cultivated cucurbitaceæ, i. - , ii. ; rudimentary tendrils in gourds, ii. ; dwarf _cucurbitæ_, ii. ; relation between the size and number of the fruit in _cucurbita pepo_, ii. ; analogous variation in _cucurbitæ_, ii. ; acclimatisation of cucurbitaceæ, ii. ; production of fruit by sterile hybrid cucurbitaceæ, ii. ; on the melon, i. , ii. , ; incapacity of the cucumber to cross with other species, i. . nectarine, i. - ; derived from the peach, i. , - ; hybrids of, i. ; persistency of characters in seedling, i. ; origin of, _ibid._; produced on peach trees, i. - ; producing peaches, i. ; variation in, i. - ; bud-variation in, i. ; glands in the leaves of the, ii. ; analogous variation in, ii. . nectary, variations of, in pansies, i. . nees, on changes in the odour of plants, ii. . "negro" cat, i. . negroes, polydactylism in, ii. ; selection of cattle practised by, ii. . neolithic period, domestication of _bos longifrons_ and _primigenius_ in the, i. ; cattle of the, distinct from the original species, i. ; domestic goat in the, i. ; cereals of the, i. . nerve, optic, atrophy of the, ii. . neumeister, on the dutch and german pouter pigeons, i. ; on the jacobin pigeon, i. ; duplication of the middle flight feather in pigeons, i. ; on a peculiarly coloured breed of pigeons, "staarhalsige taube," i. ; fertility of hybrid pigeons, i. ; mongrels of the trumpeter pigeon, ii. ; period of perfect plumage in pigeons, ii. ; advantage of crossing pigeons, ii. . neuralgia, hereditary, ii. . new zealand, feral cats of, i. ; cultivated plants of, i. . newfoundland dog, modification of, in england, i. . newman, e., sterility of sphingidæ under certain conditions, ii. . newport, g., non-copulation of _vanessæ_ in confinement, ii. ; regeneration of limbs in myriapoda, ii. ; fertilisation of the ovule in batrachia, ii. . newt, polydactylism in the, ii. . newton, a., absence of sexual distinctions in the columbidæ, i. ; production of a "black-shouldered" pea-hen among the ordinary kind, i. ; on hybrid ducks, ii. . ngami, lake, cattle of, i. . "niata" cattle, i. - ; resemblance of to _sivatherium_, i. ; { } prepotency of transmission of character by, ii. . "nicard" rabbit, i. . nicholson, dr., on the cats of antigua, i. ; on the sheep of antigua, i. . _nicotiana_, crossing of varieties and species of, ii. ; prepotency of transmission of characters in species of, ii. ; contabescence of female organs in, ii. . _nicotiana glutinosa_, ii. . niebuhr, on the heredity of mental characteristics in some roman families, ii. . night-blindness, non-reversion to, ii. . nilsson, prof., on the barking of a young wolf, i. ; parentage of european breeds of cattle, i. , ; on _bos frontosus_ in scania, i. . nind, mr., on the dingo, i. . "nisus formativus," i. , , . nitzsch, on the absence of the oil-gland in certain columbæ, i. . non-inheritance, causes of, ii. - . "nonnain" pigeon, i. . nordmann, dogs of awhasie, i. . normandy, pigs of, with appendages under the jaw, i. . norway, striped ponies of, i. . nott and gliddon, on the origin of the dog, i. ; mastiff represented on an assyrian tomb, i. ; on egyptian dogs, i. ; on the hare-indian dog, i. . _notylia_, ii. . nourishment, excess of, a cause of variability, ii. . number, importance of, in selection, ii. . _numida ptilorhyncha_, the original of the guinea-fowl, i. . nun pigeon, i. ; known to aldrovandi, i. . nutmeg tree, ii. . oak, weeping, i. , ii. , ; pyramidal, i. ; hessian, i. ; late-leaved, i. ; variation in persistency of leaves of, i. ; valueless as timber at the cape of good hope, ii. ; changes in, dependent on age, i. ; galls of the, ii. . oats, wild, i. ; in the swiss lake-dwellings, i. . oberlin, change of soil beneficial to the potato, ii. . odart, count, varieties of the vine, i. , ii. ; bud-variation in the vine, i. . odour and colour, correlation of, ii. . _oecidium_, ii. . _oenothera biennis_, bud-variation in, i. . ogle, w., resemblance of twins, ii. . oil-gland, absence of, in fantail pigeons, i. , . oldfield, mr., estimation of european dogs among the natives of australia, ii. . oleander, stock affected by grafting in the, i. . ollier, dr., insertion of the periosteum of a dog beneath the skin of a rabbit, ii. . _oncidium_, reproduction of, ii. - , . onions, crossing of, ii. ; white, liable to the attacks of fungi and disease, ii. , . _ophrys apifera_, self-fertilisation of, ii. ; formation of pollen by a petal in, ii. . _opuntia leucotricha_, ii. . orange, i. - ; crossing of, ii. ; with the lemon, i. , ii. ; naturalisation of, in italy, ii. ; variation of, in north italy, ii. ; peculiar variety of, ii. ; bizzaria, i. ; trifacial, _ibid._ orchids, reproduction of, i. , ; ii. - . orford, lord, crossing greyhounds with the bulldog, i. . organisms, origin of, i. . organisation, advancement in, i. . organs, rudimentary and aborted, ii. - ; multiplication of abnormal, ii. . oriole, assumption of hen-plumage by a male in confinement, ii. . orkney islands, pigs of, i. ; pigeons of, i. . orthoptera, regeneration of hind legs in the, ii. . _orthosia munda_, ii. . orton, r., on the effects of cross-breeding on the female, i. ; on the manx cat, ii. ; on mongrels from the silk-fowl, ii. . osborne, dr., inherited mottling of the iris, ii. . osprey, preying on black-fowls, ii. . osten-sacken, baron, on american oak galls, ii. . osteological characters of pigs, i. , , - ; of rabbits, i. - ; of pigeons, i. - ; of ducks, i. - . ostrich, diminished fertility of the, in captivity, ii. . ostyaks, selection of dogs by the, ii. . otter, ii. . "otter" sheep of massachusetts, i. . oude, feral humped cattle in, i. . ouistiti, breed in europe, ii. . { } ovary, variation of, in _cucurbita moschata_, i. ; development of, independently of pollen, i. . _ovis montana_, i. . ovules and buds, identity of nature of, ii. . owen, capt., on stiff-haired cats at mombas, i. . owen, prof. r., palæontological evidence as to the origin of dogs, i. ; on _bos longifrons_, i. ; on the skull of the "niata" cattle, i. , ; on fossil remains of rabbits, i. ; on the significance of the brain, i. ; on the number of digits in the ichthyopterygia, ii. ; on metagenesis, ii. ; theory of reproduction and parthenogenesis, ii. . owl, eagle, breeding in captivity, ii. . owl pigeon, i. ; african, figured, i. ; known in , i. . _oxalis_, trimorphic species of, ii. . _oxalis rosea_, ii. . oxley, mr., on the nutmeg tree, ii. . oysters, differences in the shells of, ii. . paca, sterility of the, in confinement, ii. . pacific islands, pigs of the, i. . padua, earliest known flower garden at, ii. . paduan fowl of aldrovandi, i. . _pæonia moutan_, ii. . pÆony, tree, ancient cultivation of, in china, ii. . pampas, feral cattle on the, i. . _pandanus_, ii. . pangenesis, hypothesis of, ii. - . _panicum_, seeds of, used as food, i. ; found in the swiss lake-dwellings, i. . pansy, i. - . pappus, abortion of the, in _carthamus_, ii. . paget, on the hungarian sheep dog, i. . paget, inheritance of cancer, ii. ; hereditary elongation of hairs in the eyebrow, ii. ; period of inheritance of cancer, ii. - ; on _hydra_, ii. ; on the healing of wounds, ii. ; on the reparation of bones, _ibid._; growth of hair near inflamed surfaces or fractures, ii. ; on false membranes, _ibid._; compensatory development of the kidney, ii. ; bronzed skin in disease of supra-renal capsules, ii. ; unity of growth and gemmation, ii. ; independence of the elements of the body, ii. ; affinity of the tissues for special organic substances, ii. . pallas, on the influence of domestication upon the sterility of intercrossed species, i. , , , ii. ; hypothesis that variability is wholly due to crossing, i. , , ii. , ; on the origin of the dog, i. ; variation in dogs, i. ; crossing of dog and jackal, i. ; origin of domestic cats, i. ; origin of angora cat, i. ; on wild horses, i. , ; on persian sheep, i. ; on siberian fat-tailed sheep, ii. ; on chinese sheep, ii. ; on crimean varieties of the vine, i. ; on a grape with rudimentary seeds, ii. ; on feral musk-ducks, ii. ; sterility of alpine plants in gardens, ii. ; selection of white-tailed yaks, ii. . _paradoxurus_, sterility of species of, in captivity, ii. . paraguay, cats of, i. ; cattle of, i. ; horses of, ii. ; dogs of, ii. ; black-skinned domestic fowl of, i. . parallel variation, ii. - . paramos, woolly pigs of, i. . parasites, liability to attacks of, dependent on colour, ii. . pariah dog, with crooked legs, i. ; resembling the indian wolf, i. . pariset, inheritance of handwriting, ii. . parker, w. k., number of vertebræ in fowls, i. . parkinson, mr., varieties of the hyacinth, i. . parkyns, mansfield, on _columba guinea_, i. . parmentier, differences in the nidification of pigeons, i. ; on white pigeons, ii. . parrots, general sterility of, in confinement, ii. ; alteration of plumage of, ii. . parsnip, reversion in, ii. ; influence of selection on, ii. ; experiments on, ii. ; wild, enlargement of roots of, by cultivation, i. . parthenogenesis, ii. , . partridge, sterility of, in captivity, ii. . parturition, difficult, hereditary, ii. . _parus major_, ii. . _passiflora_, self-impotence in species of, ii. - ; contabescence of female organs in, ii. . _passiflora alata_, fertility of, when grafted, ii. . pasture and climate, adaptation of breeds of sheep to, i. , . pastrana, julia, peculiarities in the hair and teeth of, ii. . patagonia, crania of pigs from, i. . patagonian rabbit, i. . { } paterson, r., on the arrindy silk moth, ii. . paul, w., on the hyacinth, i. ; varieties of pelargoniums, i. ; improvement of pelargoniums, ii. . _pavo cristatus_ and _muticus_, hybrids of, i. . _pavo nigripennis_, i. - . "pavodotten-taube," i. . peach, i. - ; derived from the almond, i. ; stones of, figured, _ibid._; contrasted with almonds, i. ; double-flowering, i. - , ; hybrids of, i. ; persistency of races of, _ibid._; trees producing nectarines, i. - ; variation in, i. - , ii. ; bud-variation in, i. ; pendulous, ii. ; variation by selection in, ii. ; peculiar disease of the, ii. ; glands on the leaves of the, ii. ; antiquity of the, ii. ; increased hardiness of the, _ibid._; varieties of, adapted for forcing, ii. ; yellow-fleshed, liable to certain diseases, ii. . peach-almond, i. . peafowl, origin of, i. ; japanned or black-shouldered, i. - ; feral, in jamaica, i. ; comparative fertility of, in wild and tame states, ii. , ; white, ii. . pears, i. ; bud-variation in, i. ; reversion in seedling, ii. ; inferiority of, in pliny's time, ii. ; winter nelis, attacked by aphides, ii. ; soft-barked varieties of, attacked by wood-boring beetles, ii. ; origination of good varieties of, in woods, ii. ; forelle, resistance of, to frost, ii. . peas, i. - ; origin of, ; varieties of, - ; found in swiss lake-dwellings, i. , , - ; fruit and seeds figured, i. ; persistency of varieties, i. ; intercrossing of varieties, i. , , ii. ; effect of crossing on the female organs in, i. ; double-flowered, ii. ; maturity of, accelerated by selection, ii. ; varieties of, produced by selection, ii. ; thin-shelled, liable to the attacks of birds, ii. ; reversion of, by the terminal seed in the pod, ii. . peccary, breeding of the, in captivity, ii. . pedigrees of horses, cattle, greyhounds, game-cocks, and pigs, ii. . pegu, cats of, i. ; horses of, i. . pelargoniums, multiple origin of, i. ; zones of, i. ; bud-variation in, i. ; variegation in, accompanied by dwarfing, i. ; pelorism in, ii. , ; by reversion, ii. ; advantage of change of soil to, ii. ; improvement of, by selection, ii. ; scorching of, ii. ; numbers of, raised from seed, ii. ; effects of conditions of life on, ii. ; stove-variety of, ii. ; correlation of contracted leaves and flowers in, ii. - . _pelargonium fulgidum_, conditions of fertility in, ii. . "pelones," a columbian breed of cattle, i. . peloric flowers, tendency of, to acquire the normal form, ii. ; fertility or sterility of, ii. - . peloric races of _gloxinia speciosa_ and _antirrhinum majus_, i. . pelorism, ii. - , - . pelvis, characters of, in rabbits, i. - ; in pigeons, i. ; in fowls, i. ; in ducks, i. . pembroke cattle, i. . pendulous trees, i. , ii. ; uncertainty of transmission of, ii. - . penguin ducks, i. , ; hybrid of the, with the egyptian goose, i. . pennant, production of wolf-like curs at fochabers, i. ; on the duke of queensberry's wild cattle, i. . _pennisetum_, seeds of, used as food in the punjab, i. . _pennisetum distichum_, seeds of, used as food in central africa, i. . percival, mr., on inheritance in horses, ii. ; on horn-like processes in horses, i. . _perdix rubra_, occasional fertility of, in captivity, ii. . period of action of causes of variability, ii. . periosteum of a dog, producing bone in a rabbit, ii. . periwinkle, sterility of, in england, ii. . persia, estimation of pigeons in, i. ; carrier pigeon of, i. ; tumbler pigeon of, i. ; cats of, i. - ; sheep of, i. . _persica intermedia_, i. . persistence of colour in horses, i. ; of generic peculiarities, i. . peru, antiquity of maize in, i. ; peculiar potato from, i. ; selection of wild animals practised by the incas of, ii. - . "perÜcken-taube," i. . petals, rudimentary, in cultivated plants, ii. ; producing pollen, ii. . petunias, multiple origin of, i. ; double-flowered, ii. . "pfauen-taube," i. . _phacochoerus africanus_, i. . _phalænopsis_, pelorism in, ii. . phalanges, deficiency of, ii. . { } _phaps chalcoptera_, ii. . _phaseolus multiflorus_, ii. , . _phaseolus vulgaris_, ii. . _phasianus pictus_, i. . _phasianus amherstiæ_, i. . pheasant, assumption of male plumage by the hen, ii. ; wildness of hybrids of, with the common fowl, ii. ; prepotency of the, over the fowl, ii. ; diminished fecundity of the, in captivity, ii. . pheasants, golden and lady amherst's, i. . pheasant-fowls, i. . philipeaux, regeneration of limbs in the salamander, ii. . philippar, on the varieties of wheat, i. . philippine islands, named breeds of game fowl in the, i. . phillips, mr., on bud-variation in the potato, i. . _phlox_, bud-variation by suckers in, i. . phthisis, affection of the fingers in, ii. . pickering, mr., on the grunting voice of humped cattle, i. ; occurrence of the head of a fowl in an ancient egyptian procession, i. ; seeding of ordinarily seedless fruits, ii. ; extinction of ancient egyptian breeds of sheep and oxen, ii. ; on an ancient peruvian gourd, ii. . picotees, effect of conditions of life on, ii. . pictet, a., oriental names of the pigeon, i. . pictet, prof., origin of the dog, i. ; on fossil oxen, i. . piebalds, probably due to reversion, ii. . pigeaux, hybrids of the hare and rabbit, ii. , . pigeon à cravate, i. . pigeon bagadais, i. , . pigeon coquille, i. . pigeon cygne, i. . pigeon heurté, i. . pigeon patu plongeur, i. . pigeon polonais, i. . pigeon romain, i. , . pigeon tambour, i. . pigeon turc, i. . pigeons, origin of, i. - , - ; classified table of breeds of, i. ; pouter, i. - ; carrier, i. - ; runt, i. - ; barbs, i. - ; fantail, i. - ; turbit and owl, i. - ; tumbler, i. - ; indian frill-back, i. ; jacobin, i. ; trumpeter, i. ; other breeds of, i. - ; differences of, equal to generic, i. - ; individual variations of, i. - ; variability of peculiarities characteristic of breeds in, i. ; sexual variability in, i. - ; osteology of, i. - ; correlation of growth in, i. - , ii. ; young of some varieties naked when hatched, i. , ii. ; effects of disuse in, i. - ; settling and roosting in trees, i. ; floating in the nile to drink, i. ; dovecot, i. - ; arguments for unity of origin of, i. - ; feral in various places, i. , ii. ; unity of coloration in, i. - ; reversion of mongrel, to coloration of, _c. livia_, i. - ; history of the cultivation of, i. - ; history of the principal races of, i. - ; mode of production of races of, i. - ; reversion in, ii. , ; by age, ii. ; produced by crossing in, ii. , ; prepotency of transmission of character in breeds of, ii. - ; sexual differences in some varieties of, ii. ; period of perfect plumage in, ii. ; effect of segregation on, ii. ; preferent pairing of, within the same breed, ii. ; fertility of, increased by domestication, ii. , ; effects of interbreeding and necessity of crossing, ii. - ; indifference of, to change of climate, ii. ; selection of, ii. , , ; among the romans, ii. ; unconscious selection of, ii. , ; facility of selection of, ii. ; white, liable to the attacks of hawks, ii. ; effects of disuse of parts in, ii. ; fed upon meat, ii. ; effect of first male upon the subsequent progeny of the female, i. ; homology of the leg and wing feathers in, ii. ; union of two outer toes in feather-legged, _ibid._; correlation of beak, limbs, tongue, and nostrils in, ii. ; analogous variation in, ii. - ; permanence of breeds of, ii. . pigs, of swiss lake-dwellings, i. - ; types of, derived from _sus scrofa_ and _sus indica_, i. - ; japanese (_sus pliciceps_, gray), figured, i. ; of pacific islands, i. , ii. ; modifications, of skull in, i. - ; length of intestines in, i. , ii. ; period of gestation of, i. ; number of vertebræ and ribs in, i. ; anomalous forms, i. - ; development of tusks and bristles in, i. ; striped young of, i. - ; reversion of feral, to wild type, i. - , ii. , ; production and changes of breeds of, by intercrossing, i. ; effects produced by the first male upon the subsequent progeny of the female, i. ; two-legged race of, ii. ; { } polydactylism in, ii. ; cross-reversion in, ii. ; hybrid, wildness of, ii. ; monstrous development of a proboscis in, ii. ; disappearance of tusks in male under domestication, ii, ; solid hoofed, ii. ; crosses of, ii. , ; mutual fertility of all varieties of, ii. ; increased fertility by domestication, ii. ; ill effects of close interbreeding in, ii. - ; influence of selection on, ii. ; prejudice against certain colours in, ii. , , ; unconscious selection of, ii. ; black virginian, ii. , ; similarity of the best breeds of, ii. ; change of form in, ii. ; effects of disuse of parts in, ii. ; ears of, ii. ; correlations in, ii. ; white, buck-wheat injurious to, ii. ; tail of, grafted upon the back, ii. ; extinction of the older races of, ii. . pimenta, ii. . pimpernel, ii. . pine-apple, sterility and variability of the, ii. . pink, chinese. . pinks, bud-variation in, i. ; improvement of, ii. . _pinus pumilio_, _mughus_, and _nana_, varieties of _p. sylvestris_, i. . _pinus sylvestris_, i. , ii. ; hybrids of, with _p. nigricans_, ii. . piorry, on hereditary disease, ii. , . _pistacia lentiscus_, ii. . pistils, rudimentary, in cultivated plants, ii. . pistor, sterility of some mongrel pigeons, i. ; fertility of pigeons, ii. . _pisum arvense_ and _sativum_, i. . pityriasis versicolor, inheritance of, ii. . planchon, g., on a fossil vine, i. ; sterility of _jussiæa grandifiora_ in france, ii. . plane tree, variety of the, i. . plantigrade carnivora, general sterility of the, in captivity, ii. . plants, progress of cultivation of, i. - ; cultivated, their geographical derivation, i. ; crossing of, ii. , , ; comparative fertility of wild and cultivated, ii. - ; self-impotent, ii. - ; dimorphic and trimorphic, ii. , ; sterility of, from changed conditions, ii. - ; from contabescence of anthers, ii. - ; from monstrosities, ii. - ; from doubling of the flowers, ii. - ; from seedless fruit, ii. ; from excessive development of vegetative organs, ii. - ; influence of selection on, ii. - ; variation by selection, in useful parts of, ii. - ; variability of, ii. ; variability of, induced by crossing, ii. ; direct action of change of climate on, ii. ; change of period of vegetation in, ii. - ; varieties of, suitable to different climates, ii. ; correlated variability of, ii. - ; antiquity of races of, ii. . plasticity, inheritance of, ii. . plateau, f., on the vision of amphibious animals, ii. . _platessa flesus_, ii. . plato, notice of selection in breeding dogs by, ii. . plica polonica, ii. . pliny, on the crossing of shepherd's dogs with the wolf, i. ; on pyrrhus' breed of cattle, ii. ; on the estimation of pigeons among the romans, i. ; pears described by, ii. . plum, i. - ; stones figured, i. ; varieties of the, i. - , ii. ; bud-variation in the, i. ; peculiar disease of the, ii. ; flower-buds of, destroyed by bullfinches, ii. ; purple-fruited, liable to certain diseases, ii. . plumage, inherited peculiarities of, in pigeons, i. - ; sexual peculiarities of, in fowls, i. - . plurality of races, pouchet's views on, i. . _poa_, seeds of, used as food, i. ; species of, propagated by bulblets, ii. . podolian cattle, i. . pointers, modification of, i. ; crossed with the foxhound, ii. . pois sans parchemin, ii. . poiteau, origin of _cytisus adami_, i. ; origin of cultivated varieties of fruit-trees, ii. . polish fowl, i. , , , - , ; skull figured, i. ; section of skull figured, i. ; development of protuberance of skull, i. ; furcula figured, i. . polish, or himalayan rabbit, i. . pollen, ii. - ; action of, ii. ; injurious action of, in some orchids, ii. - ; resistance of, to injurious treatment, ii. ; prepotency of, ii. . pollock, sir f., transmission of variegated leaves in _ballota nigra_, i. ; on local tendency to variegation, ii. . polyanthus, ii. . polydactylism, inheritance of, ii. - ; significance of, ii. - . _polyplectron_, i. . ponies, most frequent on islands and mountains, i. ; javanese, i. . poole, col., on striped indian horses, i. , ; { } on the young of _asinus indicus_, ii. . poplar, lombardy, i. . pÖppig, on cuban wild dogs, i. . poppy, found in the swiss lake-dwellings, i. , ; with the stamens converted into pistils, i. ; differences of the, in different parts of india, ii. ; monstrous, fertility of, ii. ; black-seeded, antiquity of, ii. . porcupine, breeding of, in captivity, ii. . porcupine family, ii. , . _porphyrio_, breeding of a species of, in captivity, ii. . portal, on a peculiar hereditary affection of the eye, ii. . porto santo, feral rabbits of, i. . _potamochoerus penicillatus_, ii. . potato, i. - ; bud-variation by tubers in the, i. - ; graft-hybrid of, by union of half-tubers, i. ; individual self-impotence in the, ii. ; sterility of, ii. ; advantage of change of soil to the, ii. ; relation of tubers and flowers in the, ii. . potato, sweet, sterility of the, in china, ii. ; varieties of the, suited to different climates, ii. . pouchet, m., his views on plurality of races, i. . pouter pigeons, i. - ; furcula figured, i. ; history of, i. . powis, lord, experiments in crossing humped and english cattle, i. , ii. . poynter, mr., on a graft-hybrid rose, i. . prairie wolf, i. . precocity of highly-improved breeds, ii. . prepotency of pollen, ii. . prepotency of transmission of character, ii. , ; in the austrian emperors and some roman families, ii. ; in cattle, ii. - ; in sheep, ii. ; in cats, _ibid._; in pigeons, ii. - ; in fowls, ii. ; in plants, _ibid._; in a variety of the pumpkin, i. ; in the jackal over the dog, ii. ; in the ass over the horse, _ibid._; in the pheasant over the fowl, ii. ; in the penguin duck over the egyptian goose, _ibid._; discussion of the phenomena of, ii. - . prescott, mr., on the earliest known european flower-garden, ii. . pressure, mechanical, a cause of modification, ii. - . prevost and dumas, on the employment of several spermatozoids to fertilise one ovule, ii. . price, mr., variations in the structure of the feet in horses, i. . prichard, dr., on polydactylism in the negro, ii. ; on the lambert family, ii. ; on an albino negro, ii. ; on plica polonica, ii. . primrose, ii. ; double, rendered single by transplantation, ii. . _primula_, intercrossing of species of, i. ; contabescence in, ii. ; hose and hose, i. ; with coloured calyces, sterility of, ii. . _primula sinensis_, reciprocally dimorphic, ii. . _primula veris_, ii. , , . _primula vulgaris_, ii. , . prince, mr., on the intercrossing of strawberries, i. . _procyon_, sterility of, in captivity, ii. . prolificacy, increased by domestication, ii. . propagation, rapidity of, favourable to selection, ii. . protozoa, reproduction of the, ii. . _prunus armeniaca_, i. - . _prunus avium_, i. . _prunus cerasus_, i. , . _prunus domestica_, i. . _prunus insititia_, i. - . _prunus spinosa_, i. . prussia, wild horses in, i. . _psittacus erithacus_, ii. . _psittacus macoa_, ii. . _psophia_, general sterility of, in captivity, ii. . ptarmigan fowls, i. . _pulex penetrans_, ii. . pumpkins, i. . puno ponies of the cordillera, i. . purser, mr. on _cytisus adami_, i. . pusey, mr., preference of hares and rabbits for common rye, ii. . putsche and vertuch, varieties of the potato, i. . puvis, effects of foreign pollen on apples, i. ; supposed non-variability of monotypic genera, ii. . _pyrrhula vulgaris_, ii. ; assumption of the hen-plumage by the male, in confinement, ii. . pyrrhus, his breed of cattle, ii. . _pyrus_, fastigate chinese species of, ii. . _pyrus acerba_, i. . _pyrus aucuparia_, ii. . _pyrus communis_, i. , . _pyrus malus_, i. , . _pyrus paradisiaca_, i. . _pyrus præcox_, i. . quagga, effect of fecundation by, on the subsequent progeny of a mare, i. - . quatrefages, a. de, on the burrowing of a bitch to litter, i. ; { } selection in the silkworm, i. ; development of the wings in the silkmoth, i. , ii. ; on varieties of the mulberry, i. ; special raising of eggs of the silkmoth, ii. ; on disease of the silkworm, ii. ; on monstrosities in insects, ii. , ; on the anglo-saxon race in america, ii. ; on a change in the breeding season of the egyptian goose, ii. ; fertilisation of the _teredo_, ii. ; tendency to similarity in the best races, ii. ; on his "_tourbillon vital_," ii. ; on the independent existence of the sexual elements, ii. . _quercus cerris_, i. . _quercus robur_ and _pedunculata_, hybrids of, ii. . quince, pears grafted on the, ii. . rabbits, domestic, their origin, i. - ; of mount sinai and algeria, i. ; breeds of, i. - ; himalayan, chinese, polish, or russian, i. - , ii. ; feral, i. - ; of jamaica, i. ; of the falkland islands, i. ; of porto santo, i. - , ii. , ; osteological characters of, i. - ; discussion of modifications in, i. - ; one-eared, transmission of peculiarity of, ii. ; reversion in feral, ii. ; in the himalayan, ii. ; crossing of white and coloured angora, ii. ; comparative fertility of wild and tame, ii. ; high-bred, often bad breeders, ii. ; selection of, ii. ; white, liable to destruction, ii. ; effects of disuse of parts in, ii. ; skull of, affected by drooping ears, ii. ; length of intestines in, ii. ; correlation of ears and skull in, ii. - ; variations in skull of, ii. ; periosteum of a dog producing bone in, ii. . race-horse, origin of, i. . races, modification and formation of, by crossing, ii. - ; natural and artificial, ii. ; pouchet's views on plurality of, i. ; of pigeons, i. - . radishes, i. ; crossing of, ii. ; varieties of, ii. - . radclyffe, w. f., effect of climate and soil on strawberries, i. ; constitutional differences in roses, i. . radlkofer, retrogressive metamorphosis in mosses and algæ, ii. . raffles, sir stamford, on the crossing of javanese cattle with _bos sondaicus_, ii. . ram, goat-like, from the cape of good hope, ii. . ranchin, heredity of diseases, ii. . range of gallinaceous birds on the himalaya, i. . _ranunculus ficaria_, ii. . _ranunculus repens_, ii. . rape, i. . _raphanus sativus_, ii. . raspberry, yellow-fruited, ii. . rattlesnake, experiments with poison of the, ii. . raven, stomach of, affected by vegetable diet, ii. . rawson, a., self-impotence in hybrids of _gladiolus_, ii. - . rÉ, le compte, on the assumption of a yellow colour by all varieties of maize, i. . rÉaumur, effect of confinement upon the cock, ii. ; fertility of fowls in most climates, ii. . reed, mr., atrophy of the limbs of rabbits, consequent on the destruction of their nerves, ii. . regeneration of amputated parts in man, ii. ; in the human embryo, ii. ; in the lower vertebrata, insects, and myriapoda, _ibid._ reindeer, individuals recognised by the laplanders, ii. . regnier, early cultivation of the cabbage by the celts, i. . reissek, experiments in crossing _cytisus purpureus_ and _laburnum_, i. ; modification of a _thesium_ by _oecidium_, ii. . relations, characters of, reproduced in children, ii. . rengger, occurrence of jaguars with crooked legs in paraguay, i. ; naked dogs of paraguay, i. , , ii. , ; feral dogs of la plata, i. ; on the aguara, i. ; cats of paraguay, i. , ii. , ; dogs of paraguay, ii. ; feral pigs of buenos ayres, i. ; on the refusal of wild animals to breed in captivity, ii. ; on _dicotyles labiatus_, ii. ; sterility of plantigrade carnivora in captivity, ii. ; on _cavia aperea_, ii. ; sterility of _cebus azaræ_ in captivity, ii. ; abortions produced by wild animals in captivity, ii. . reproduction, sexual and asexual, contrasted, ii. ; unity of forms of, ii. ; antagonism of, to growth, ii. . _reseda odorata_, ii. . retinitis, pigmentary, in deaf-mutes, ii. . reversion, ii. - , - , , - ; in pigeons, ii. ; in cattle, ii. - ; in sheep, ii. ; in fowls, ii. ; in the heartsease, _ibid._; in vegetables, _ibid._; in feral animals and plants, ii. - ; to characters derived from a previous cross in man, dogs, pigeons, pigs, and fowls, ii. - ; { } in hybrids, ii. ; by bud-propagation in plants, ii. - ; by age in fowls, cattle, &c., ii. - ; caused by crossing, ii. - ; explained by latent characters, ii. - ; producing monstrosities, ii. ; producing peloric flowers, ii. - ; of feral pigs to the wild type, i. - ; of supposed feral rabbits to the wild type, i. , , ; of pigeons, in coloration, when crossed, i. - ; in fowls, i. - ; in the silkworm, i. ; in the pansy, i. ; in a pelargonium, i. ; in chrysanthemums, i. ; of varieties of the china rose in st. domingo, i. ; by buds in pinks and carnations, i. ; of laciniated varieties of trees to the normal form, i. ; in variegated leaves of plants, i. - ; in tulips, i. ; of suckers of the seedless barberry to the common form, i. ; by buds in hybrids of _tropæolum_, i. ; in plants, i. ; of crossed peloric snapdragons, ii. ; analogous variations due to, ii. - . reynier, selection practised by the celts, ii. - . rhinoceros, breeding in captivity in india, ii. . _rhododendron_, hybrid, ii. . _rhododendron ciliatum_, ii. . _rhododendron dalhousiæ_, effect of pollen of _r. nuttallii_ upon, i. . rhubarb, not medicinal when grown in england, ii. . _ribes grossularia_, i. - , . _ribes rubrum_, i. . ribs, number and characters of, in fowls, i. ; characters of, in ducks, i. - . rice, imperial, of china, ii. ; indian varieties of, ii. ; variety of, not requiring water, ii. . richardson, h. d., on jaw-appendages in irish pigs, i. ; management of pigs in china, i. ; occurrence of striped young in westphalian pigs, i. ; on crossing pigs, ii. ; on interbreeding pigs, ii. ; on selection in pigs, ii. . richardson, sir john, observations on the resemblance between north american dogs and wolves, i. - ; on the burrowing of wolves, i. ; on the broad feet of dogs, wolves, and foxes in north america, i. ; on north american horses scraping away the snow, i. . _ricinus_, annual in england, ii. . riedel, on the "bagadotte" pigeon, i. ; on the jacobin pigeon, i. ; fertility of hybrid pigeons, i. . rinderpest, ii. . risso, on varieties of the orange, i. , ii. , . rivers, lord, on the selection of greyhounds, ii. . rivers, mr., persistency of characters in seedling potatoes, i. ; on the peach, i. , ; persistency of races in the peach and nectarine, i. , ; connexion between the peach and the nectarine, i. ; persistency of character in seedling apricots, i. ; origin of the plum, i. ; seedling varieties of the plum, i. ; persistency of character in seedling plums, i. ; bud-variation in the plum, i. ; plum, attacked by bullfinches, ii. ; seedling apples with surface-roots, i. ; variety of the apple found in a wood, ii. ; on roses, i. - ; bud-variation in roses, i. - ; production of provence roses from seeds of the moss-rose, i. ; effect produced by grafting on the stock in jessamine, i. ; in the ash, i. ; on grafted hazels, i. ; hybridisation of a weeping thorn, ii. ; experiments with the seed of the weeping elm and ash, ii. ; variety of the cherry with curled petals, ii. . riviÈre, reproduction of _oncidium cavendishianum_, ii. . roberts, mr., on inheritance in the horse, ii. . robertson, mr., on glandular-leaved peaches, i. . robinet, on the silkworm, i. - , ii. . _robinia_, ii. . robson, mr., deficiencies of half-bred horses, ii. . robson, mr., on the advantage of change of soil to plants, ii. - ; on the growth of the verbena, ii. ; on broccoli, ii. . rock pigeon, measurements of the, i. ; figured, i. . rodents, sterility of, in captivity, ii. . _rodriguezia_, ii. , . rodwell, j., poisoning of horses by mildewed tares, ii. . rohilcund, feral humped cattle in, i. . rolle, f., on the history of the peach, ii. . roller-pigeons, dutch, i. . rolleston, prof., incisor teeth affected in form in cases of pulmonary tubercle, ii. . romans, estimation of pigeons by, i. ; breeds of fowls possessed by, i. , . { } rooks, pied, ii. . _rosa_, cultivated species of, i. . _rosa devoniensis_, graft-hybrid produced by, on the white banksian rose, i. . _rosa indica_ and _centifolia_, fertile hybrids of, i. . _rosa spinosissima_, history of the culture of, i. . rosellini, on egyptian dogs, i. . roses, i. - ; origin of, i. ; bud-variation in, i. - ; scotch, doubled by selection, ii. ; continuous variation of, ii. ; effect of seasonal conditions on, ii. ; noisette, ii. ; galls of, ii. . rouennais rabbit, i. . roulin, on the dogs of juan fernandez, i. ; on south american cats, i. ; striped young pigs, i. ; feral pigs in south america, i. , ii. ; on columbian cattle, i. , ii. , ; effects of heat on the hides of cattle in south america, i. ; fleece of sheep in the hot valleys of the cordilleras, i. ; diminished fertility of these sheep, ii. ; on black-boned south american fowls, i. ; variation of the guinea-fowl in tropical america, i. ; frequency of striped legs in mules, ii. ; geese in bogota, ii. ; sterility of fowls introduced into bolivia, ii. . roy, m., on a variety of _magnolia grandiflora_, ii. . royle, dr., indian varieties of the mulberry, i. ; on _agave vivipara_, ii. ; variety of rice not requiring irrigation, ii. ; sheep from the cape in india, ii. . _rubus_, pollen of, ii. . rudimentary organs, i. , ii. - . rufz de lavison, extinction of breeds of dogs in france, ii. . ruminants, general fertility of, in captivity, ii. . rumpless fowls, i. . runts, i. - ; history of, i. ; lower jaws and skull figured, i. - . russian or himalayan rabbit, i. . rÜtimeyer, prof., dogs of the neolithic period, i. ; horses of swiss lake-dwellings, i. ; diversity of early domesticated horses i. ; pigs of the swiss lake-dwellings, i. , - ; on humped cattle, i. ; parentage of european breeds of cattle, i. , , ii. ; on "niata" cattle, i. ; sheep of the swiss lake-dwellings, i. , ii. ; goats of the swiss lake-dwellings, i. ; absence of fowls in the swiss lake-dwellings, i. ; on crossing cattle, ii. ; differences in the bones of wild and domesticated animals, ii. ; decrease in size of wild european animals, ii. . rye, wild, de candolle's observations on, i. ; found in the swiss lake-dwellings, i. ; common, preferred by hares and rabbits, ii. ; less variable than other cultivated plants, ii. . sabine, mr., on the cultivation of _rosa spinosissima_, i. ; on the cultivation of the dahlia, i. - , ii. ; effect of foreign pollen on the seed-vessel in _amaryllis vittata_, i. . st. ange, influence of the pelvis on the shape of the kidneys in birds, ii. . st. domingo, wild dogs of, i. ; bud-variation of dahlias in, i. . st. hilaire, aug., milk furnished by cows in south america, ii. ; husked form of maize, i. . st. john, c., feral cats in scotland, i. ; taming of wild ducks, i. . st. valery apple, singular structure of the, i. ; artificial fecundation of the, i. . st. vitus' dance, period of appearance of, ii. . sageret, origin and varieties of the cherry, i. - ; origin of varieties of the apple, i. ; incapacity of the cucumber for crossing with other species, i. ; varieties of the melon, i. ; supposed twin-mongrel melon, i. ; crossing melons, ii. , ; on gourds, ii. ; effects of selection in enlarging fruit, ii. ; on the tendency to depart from type, ii. ; variation of plants in particular soils, ii. . salamander, experiments on the, ii. , ; regeneration of lost parts in the, ii. , , . _salamandra cristata_, polydactylism in, ii. . salisbury, mr., on the production of nectarines by peach-trees, i. ; on the dahlia, i. - . _salix_, intercrossing of species of, i. . _salix humilis_, galls of, ii. , . sallÉ, feral guinea-fowl in st. domingo, i. . salmon, early breeding of male, ii. . salter, mr., on bud-variation in pelargoniums, i. ; in the chrysanthemum, i. ; transmission of variegated leaves by seed, i. ; bud-variation by suckers in _phlox_, i. ; application of selection to bud-varieties of plants, i. ; accumulative effect of changed conditions of life, ii. ; on the variegation of strawberry leaves, ii. . salter, s. j., hybrids of _gallus sonneratii_ and the common fowl, i. , ii. ; { } crossing of races or species of rats, ii. - . samesreuther, on inheritance in cattle, ii. . sandford. _see_ dawkins. sap, ascent of the, ii. . _saponaria calabrica_, ii. . sardinia, ponies of, i. . sars, on the development of the hydroida, ii. . satiation of the stigma, i. - . _saturnia pyri_, sterility of, in confinement, ii. . saul, on the management of prize gooseberries, i. . sauvigny, varieties of the goldfish, i. . savages, their indiscriminate use of plants as food, i. - ; fondness of, for taming animals, ii. . savi, effect of foreign pollen on maize, i. . _saxifraga geum_, ii. . sayzid mohammed musari, on carrier-pigeons, i. ; on a pigeon which utters the sound "yahu," i. . scanderoons (pigeons), i. , . scania, remains of _bos frontosus_ found in, i. . scapula, characters of, in rabbits, i. ; in fowls, i. ; in pigeons, i. ; alteration of, by disuse, in pigeons, i. . scarlet fever, ii. . schaaffhausen, on the horses represented in greek statues, ii. . schacht, h., on adventitious buds, ii. . schleiden, excess of nourishment a cause of variability, ii. . schomburgk, sir r., on the dogs of the indians of guiana, i. , , ii. ; on the musk duck, i. ; bud-variation in the banana, i. ; reversion of varieties of the china rose in st. domingo, i. ; sterility of tame parrots in guiana, ii. ; on _dendrocygna viduata_, ii. ; selection of fowls in guiana, ii. . schreibers, on _proteus_, ii. . _sciuropterus volucella_, ii. . _sciurus palmarum_ and _cinerea_, ii. . sclater, p. l., on _asinus tæniopus_, i. , ii. ; on _asinus indicus_, ii. ; striped character of young wild pigs, i. ; osteology of _gallinula nesiotis_, i. ; on the black-shouldered peacock, i. ; on the breeding of birds in captivity, ii. . schmerling, dr., varieties of the dog, found in a cave, i. . scotch fir, local variation of, i. . scotch kail and cabbage, cross between, ii. . scott, john, irregularities in the sex of the flowers of maize, i. ; bud-variation in _imatophyllum miniatum_, i. ; crossing of species of _verbascum_, ii. - ; experiments on crossing _primulæ_, ii. ; reproduction of orchids, ii. ; fertility of _oncidium divaricatum_, ii. ; acclimatisation of the sweet pea in india, ii. ; number of seeds in _acropera_ and _gongora_, ii. . scott, sir w., former range of wild cattle in britain, i. . scrope, on the scotch deerhound, ii. , . sebright, sir john, effects of close interbreeding in dogs, ii. ; care taken by, in selection of fowls, ii. . _secale cereale_, ii. . sedgwick, w., effects of crossing on the female, i. ; on the "porcupine-man," ii. ; on hereditary diseases, ii. ; hereditary affections of the eye, ii. , - ; inheritance of polydactylism and anomalies of the extremities, ii. - ; morbid uniformity in the same family, ii. ; on deaf-mutes, ii. ; inheritance of injury to the eye, ii. ; atavism in diseases and anomalies of structure, ii. ; non-reversion to night-blindness, ii. ; sexual limitation of the transmission of peculiarities in man, ii. - ; on the effects of hard-drinking, ii. ; inherited baldness with deficiency of teeth, ii. - ; occurrence of a molar tooth in place of an incisor, ii. ; diseases occurring in alternate generations, ii. . sedillot, on the removal of portions of bone, ii. . seeds, early selection of, ii. ; rudimentary, in grapes, ii. ; relative position of, in the capsule, ii. . seeds and buds, close analogies of, i. . seemann, b., crossing of the wolf and esquimaux dog, i. . selby, p. j., on the bud-destroying habits of the bullfinch, ii. . selection, ii. - ; methodical, i. , ii. - ; by the ancients and semi-civilised people, ii. - ; of trifling characters, ii. - ; unconscious, i. , , ii. , - ; effects of, shown by differences in most valued parts, ii. - ; produced by accumulation of variability, ii. - ; natural, as affecting domestic productions, ii. - , - ; as the origin of species, genera and other groups, ii. - ; circumstances favourable to, ii. - ; tendency of towards extremes, ii. - ; { } possible limit of, ii. ; influence of time on, ii. - ; summary of subject, ii. - ; effects of, in modifying breeds of cattle, i. , ; in preserving the purity of breeds of sheep, i. - ; in producing varieties of pigeons, i. - ; in breeding fowls, i. - ; in the goose, i. ; in the canary, i. ; in the goldfish, i. ; in the silkworm, i. - ; contrasted in cabbages and cereals, i. ; in the white mulberry, i. ; on gooseberries, i. ; applied to wheat, i. - ; exemplified in carrots, &c., i. ; in the potato, i. ; in the melon, i. ; in flowering plants, i. ; in the hyacinth, i. ; applied to bud-varieties of plants, i. ; illustrations of, ii. - . selection, sexual, ii. . self-impotence in plants, ii. - ; in individual plants, ii. - ; of hybrids, ii. . selwyn, mr., on the dingo, i. . selys-longchamps, on hybrid ducks, i. , ii. , ; hybrid of the hook-billed duck and egyptian goose, i. . seringe, on the st. valery apple, i. . serpent melon, i. . serres, olivier de, wild poultry in guiana, i. . sesamum, white-seeded, antiquity of the, ii. . _setaria_, found in the swiss lake-dwellings, i. . setters, degeneration of, in india, i. ; youatt's remarks on, i. . sex, secondary characters of, latent, ii. - ; of parents, influence of, on hybrids, ii. . sexual characters, sometimes lost in domestication, ii. . sexual limitation of characters, ii. - . sexual peculiarities, induced by domestication in sheep, i. ; in fowls, i. - ; transfer of, i. - . sexual variability in pigeons, i. - . sexual selection, ii. . shaddock, i. . shailer, mr., on the moss-rose, i. - . shanghai fowls, i. . shanghai sheep, their fecundity, i. . shan ponies, striped, i. . sheep, disputed origin of, i. ; early domestication of, i. ; large-tailed, i. , , , ii. ; variations in horns, mammæ and other characters of, i. ; sexual characters of, induced by domestication, i. , ; adaptation of, to climate and pasture, i. , ; periods of gestation of, i. ; effect of heat on the fleece of, i. - , ii. ; effect of selection on, i. - ; "ancon" or "otter" breeds of, i. , , ; "mauchamp-merino," i. - ; cross of german and merino, ii. - ; black, of the tarentino, ii. ; karakool, ii. ; jaffna, with callosities on the knees, ii. ; chinese, ii. ; danish, of the bronze period, ii. ; polydactylism in, ii. ; occasional production of horns in hornless breeds of, ii. ; reversion of colour in, ii. ; influence of male, on offspring, ii. ; sexual differences in, ii. ; influence of crossing or segregation on, ii. , - , - ; interbreeding of, ii. - ; effect of nourishment on the fertility of, ii. - ; diminished fertility of, under certain conditions, ii. ; unconscious selection of, ii. ; natural selection in breeds of, ii. , , ; reduction of bones in, ii. ; individual differences of, ii. ; local changes in the fleece of, in england, ii. ; partial degeneration of, in australia, ii. ; with numerous horns, ii. ; correlation of horns and fleece in, ii. ; feeding on flesh, ii. ; acclimatisation of, ii. - ; mountain, resistance of, to severe weather, ii. ; white, poisoned by _hypericum crispum_, ii. . sheep dogs resembling wolves, i. . shells, sinistral and dextral, ii. . sheriff, mr. new varieties of wheat, i. , ; on crossing wheat, ii. - ; continuous variation of wheat, ii. . siam, cats of, i. ; horses of, i. . shirley, e. p., on the fallow-deer, ii. , . short, d., hybrids of the domestic cat and _felis ornata_, i, . siberia, northern range of wild horses in, i. . sichel, j., on the deafness of white cats with blue eyes, ii. . sidney, s., on the pedigrees of pigs, ii. ; on cross-reversion in pigs, ii. ; period of gestation in the pig, i. ; production of breeds of pigs by intercrossing, i. , ; fertility of the pig, ii. ; effects of interbreeding on pigs, ii. - ; on the colours of pigs, ii. , . siebold, on the sweet potato, ii. . siebold, von carl, on parthenogenesis, ii. . _silene_, contabescence in, ii. . silk-fowls, i. , ii. , . { } silk-moth, arrindy, ii. , ; tarroo, ii. . silk-moths, i. - ; domesticated species of, i. ; history of, _ibid._; causes of modification in, i. - ; differences presented by, i. - ; crossing of, ii. ; disease in, ii. ; effects of disuse of parts in, ii. ; selection practised with, ii. , ; variation of, ii. ; parthenogenesis in, ii. . silkworms, variations of, i. - ; yielding white cocoons, less liable to disease, ii. . silver-grey rabbit, i. , , . simonds, j. b., period of maturity in various breeds of cattle, i. ; differences in the periods of dentition in sheep, i. ; on the teeth in cattle, sheep, &c., ii. ; on the breeding of superior rams, ii. . simon, on the raising of eggs of the silk-moth in china, ii. . simpson, sir j., regenerative power of the human embryo, ii. . _siredon_, breeding in the branchiferous stage, ii. . siskin, breeding in captivity, ii. . _sivatherium_, resemblance of the, to niata cattle, i. . size, difference of, an obstacle to crossing, ii. . skin, and its appendages, homologous, ii. ; hereditary affections of the, ii. . skirving, r. s., on pigeons settling on trees in egypt, i. . skull, characters of the, in breeds of dogs, i. ; in breeds of pigs, i. ; in rabbits, i. - , ; in breeds of pigeons, i. - ; in breeds of fowls, i. - ; in ducks, i. - . skull and horns, correlation of the, ii. . skylark, ii. . sleeman, on the cheetah, ii. . sloe, i. . small-pox, ii. . smiter (pigeon), i. . smith, sir a., on caffrarian cattle, i. ; on the use of numerous plants as food in south africa, i. . smith, colonel hamilton, on the odour of the jackal, i. ; on the origin of the dog, i. ; wild dogs in st. domingo, i. ; on the thibet mastiff and the alco, i. - ; development of the fifth toe in the hind feet of mastiffs, i. ; differences in the skull of dogs, i. ; history of the pointer, i. ; on the ears of the dog, ii. ; on the breeds of horses, i. ; origin of the horse, i. ; dappling of horses, i. ; striped horses in spain, i. ; original colour of the horse, i. ; on horses scraping away snow, i. ; on _asinus hemionus_, ii. ; feral pigs of jamaica, i. - . smith, sir j. e., production of nectarines and peaches by the same tree, i. ; on _viola amoena_, i. ; sterility of _vinca minor_ in england, ii. . smith, j., development of the ovary in _bonatea speciosa_, by irritation of the stigma, i. . smith, n. h., influence of the bull "favourite" on the breed of short-horn cattle, ii. . smith, w., on the inter-crossing of strawberries, i. . snake-rat, ii. , . snakes, form of the viscera in, ii. . snapdragon, bud-variation in, i. ; non-inheritance of colour in, ii. ; peloric, crossed with the normal form, ii. , ; asymmetrical variation of the, ii. . soil, adaptation of plums to, i. ; influence of, on the zones of pelargoniums, i. ; on roses, i. ; on the variegation of leaves, i. ; advantages of change of, ii. - . soil and climate, effects of, on strawberries, i. . _solanum_, non-intercrossing of species of, ii. . _solanum tuberosum_, i. - . solid-hoofed pigs, i. . solomon, his stud of horses, i. . somerville, lord, on the fleece of merino sheep, i. ; on crossing sheep, ii. ; on selection of sheep, ii. ; diminished fertility of merino sheep brought from spain, ii. . sooty fowls, i. , . soto, ferdinand de, on the cultivation of native plants in florida, i. . _sorghum_, i. . spain, hawthorn monogynous in, i. . spallanzani, on feral rabbits in lipari, i. ; experiments on salamanders, ii. , , ; experiments in feeding a pigeon with meat, ii. . spaniels, in india, i. ; king charles's, i. ; degeneration of, caused by interbreeding, ii. . spanish fowls, i. , , ; figured, i. ; early development of sexual characters in, i. , ; furcula of, figured, i. . species, difficulty of distinguishing from varieties, i. ; conversion of varieties into, i. ; origin of, by natural selection, ii. - ; by mutual sterility of varieties, ii. - . { } spencer, lord, on selection in breeding, ii. . spencer, herbert, on the "survival of the fittest," i. ; increase of fertility by domestication, ii. ; on life, ii. , ; changes produced by external conditions, ii. ; effects of use on organs, ii. , ; ascent of the sap in trees, ii. ; correlation exemplified in the irish elk, ii. - ; on "physiological units," ii. ; antagonism of growth and reproduction, ii. ; formation of ducts in plants, ii. . spermatophores of the cephalopoda, ii. . spermatozoids, ii. - ; apparent independence of, in insects, ii. . sphingidÆ, sterility of, in captivity, ii. . spinola, on the injurious effect produced by flowering buckwheat on white pigs, ii. . spitz dog, i. . spooner, w. c., cross-breeding of sheep, i. , ii. - , ; on the effects of crossing, ii. - ; on crossing cattle, ii. ; individual sterility, ii. . spores, reproduction of abnormal forms by, i. . sports, i. ; in pigeons, i. . spot pigeon, i. , . sprengel, c. k., on dichogamous plants, ii. ; on the hollyhock, ii. ; on the functions of flowers, ii. . sproule, mr., inheritance of cleft-palate and hare-lip, ii. . spurs, of fowls, i. ; development of, in hens, ii. . squashes, i. . squinting, hereditary, ii. . squirrels, generally sterile in captivity, ii. . squirrels, flying, breeding in confinement, ii. . "staarhalsige taube," i. . stag, one-horned, supposed heredity of character in, ii. ; degeneracy of, in the highlands, ii. . stamens, occurrence of rudimentary, ii. ; conversion of, into pistils, i. ; into petals, ii. . _staphylea_, ii. . steenstrup, prof., on the dog of the danish middens, i. ; on the obliquity of flounders, ii. . steinan, j., on hereditary diseases, ii. , . sterility, in dogs, consequent on close confinement, i. ; comparative, of crosses, ii. , ; from changed conditions of life, ii. - ; occurring in the descendants of wild animals bred in captivity, ii. ; individual, ii. ; resulting from propagation by buds, cuttings, bulbs, &c., ii. ; in hybrids, ii. - , , - ; in specific hybrids of pigeons, i. ; as connected with natural selection, ii. - . sternum, characters of the, in rabbits, i. ; in pigeons, i. , - ; in fowls, i. , ; effects of disuse on the, i. - , . stephens, j. f., on the habits of the bombycidæ, i. . stewart, h., on hereditary disease, ii. . stigma, variation of the, in cultivated cucurbitaceæ, i. ; satiation of the, i. - . stocks, bud-variation in, i. ; effect of crossing upon the colour of the seed of, i. - ; true by seed, ii. ; crosses of, ii. ; varieties of, produced by selection, ii. ; reversion by the upper seeds in the pods of, ii. - . stockholm, fruit-trees of, ii. . stokes, prof., calculation of the chance of transmission of abnormal peculiarities in man, ii. . stolons, variations in the production of, by strawberries, i. . stomach, structure of the, affected by food, ii. . stone in the bladder, hereditary, ii. , . strawberries, i. - ; remarkable varieties of, i. - ; hautbois, dioecious, i. ; selection in, ii. ; mildew of, ii. ; probable further modification of, ii. ; variegated, effects of soil on, ii. . strickland, a., on the domestication of _anser ferus_, i. ; on the colour of the bill and legs in geese, i. . _strictoenas_, i. . stripes on young of wild swine, i. ; of domestic pigs of turkey, westphalia, and the zambesi, i. - ; of feral swine of jamaica and new granada, i. ; of fruit and flowers, i. , ii. ; in horses, i. - ; in the ass, i. - ; production of, by crossing species of equidæ, ii. - . _strix grallaria_, ii. . _strix passerina_, ii. . "strupp-taube," i. . struthers, mr., osteology of the feet in solid-hoofed pigs, i. ; on polydactylism, ii. - . sturm, prepotency of transmission of characters in sheep and cattle, ii. ; absorption of the minority in crossed races, ii. ; correlation of twisted horns and curled wool in sheep, ii. . { } sub-species, wild, of _columba livia_ and other pigeons, i. . succession, geological, of organisms, i. . suckers, bud-variation by, i. . sugar cane, sterility of, in various countries, ii. ; white, liability of, to disease, ii. , . suicide, hereditary tendency to, ii. , . sulivan, admiral, on the horses of the falkland islands, i. ; wild pigs of the falkland islands, i. ; feral cattle of the falkland islands, i. , ; feral rabbits of the falkland islands, i. . sultan fowl, i. , . _sus indica_, i. , - , ii. . _sus pliciceps_, i. (figured). _sus scrofa_, i. , , ii. . _sus scrofa palustris_, i. . _sus vittatus_, i. . swallows, a breed of pigeons, i. . swayne, mr., on artificial crossing of varieties of the pea, i. . sweet peas, ii. ; crosses of, ii. , ; varieties of, coming true by seed, ii. ; acclimatisation of, in india, ii. . sweet william, bud-variation in, i. . swinhoe, r., on chinese pigeons, i. , ; on striped chinese horses, i. . switzerland, ancient dogs of, i. ; pigs of, in the neolithic period, i. - ; goats of, i. . sycamore, pale-leaved variety of the, ii. . sykes, colonel, on a pariah dog with crooked legs, i. ; on small indian asses, i. ; on _gallus sonneratii_, i. ; on the voice of the indian kulm cock, i. ; fertility of the fowl in most climates, ii. . symmetry, hereditary departures from, ii. . _symphytum_, variegated, i. . syphilis, hereditary, ii. . syria, asses of, i. . _syringa persica_, _chinensis_, and _vulgaris_, ii. . tacitus, on the care taken by the celts in breeding animals, ii. . _tagetes signata_, dwarf variety of, ii. . tahiti, varieties of cultivated plants in, ii. . tail, occasional development of, in man, ii. ; never curled in wild animals, ii. ; rudimentary in chinese sheep, ii. . tail-feathers, numbers of, in breeds of pigeons, i. - ; peculiarities of, in cocks, i. - ; variability of, in fowls, i. ; curled, in _anas boschas_, and tame drakes, i. . talent, hereditary, ii. . tankerville, earl of, on chillingham cattle, i. , ii. . tanner, prof., effects of disuse of parts in cattle, ii. . tapir, sterility of the, in captivity, ii. . targioni-tozzetti, on cultivated plants, i. ; on the vine, i. ; varieties of the peach, i. ; origin and varieties of the plum, i. ; origin of the cherry, i. ; origin of roses, i. . tarsus, variability of the, in fowls, i. ; reproduction of the, in a thrush, ii. . tartars, their preference for spiral-horned sheep, ii. . tavernier, abundance of pigeons in persia, i. . _taxus baccata_, ii. . teebay, mr., reversion in fowls, ii. . teeth, number and position of, in dogs, i. ; deficiency of, in naked turkish dogs, i. ; period of appearance of, in breeds of dogs, i. ; precocity of, in highly bred animals, ii. ; correlation of, with hair, ii. ; double row of, with redundant hair, in julia pastrana, ii. ; affected in form by hereditary syphilis and by pulmonary tubercle, ii. ; fusion of, ii. ; developed on the palate, ii. . tegetmeier, mr., on a cat with monstrous teeth, i. ; on a swift-like pigeon, i. ; naked young of some pigeons, i. ; fertility of hybrid pigeons, i. ; on white pigeons, ii. ; reversion in crossed breeds of fowls, i. - ; chicks of the white silk-fowl, i. ; development of the cranial protuberance in polish fowls, i. ; on the skull in the polish fowl, i. , ; on the intelligence of polish fowls, i. ; correlation of the cranial protuberance and crest in polish fowls, i. ; development of the web in the feet of polish fowls, i. ; early development of several peculiarities in spanish cocks, i. ; on the comb in spanish fowls, i. ; on the spanish fowl, ii. ; varieties of game-fowls, i. ; pedigrees of game-fowls, ii. ; assumption of female plumage by a game cock, i. ; natural selection in the game cock, ii. ; pugnacity of game hens, i. ; length of the middle toe in cochin fowls, i. ; origin of the sebright bantam, ii. ; differences in the size of fowls, i. ; effect of crossing in fowls, i. , ii. ; effects of interbreeding in fowls, ii. - ; incubation by mongrels of non-sitting races of fowls, ii. ; inverse correlation of crest and comb in fowls, i. ; { } occurrence of pencilled feathers in fowls, ii. ; on a variety of the goose from sebastopol, i. ; on the fertility of the peahen, ii. ; on the intercrossing of bees, ii. . temminck, origin of domestic cats, i. ; origin of domestic pigeons, i. ; on _columba guinea_, i. ; on _columba leucocephala_, i. ; asserted reluctance of some breeds of pigeons to cross, i. ; sterility of hybrid turtle-doves, i. ; variations of _gallus bankiva_, i. ; on a buff-coloured breed of turkeys, i. ; number of eggs laid by the peahen, ii. ; breeding of guans in captivity, ii. ; behaviour of grouse in captivity, _ibid._; sterility of the partridge in captivity, _ibid._ tendrils in cucurbitaceæ, i. , ii. . tennent, sir j. e., on the goose, i. ; on the growth of the apple in ceylon, ii. ; on the jaffna sheep, ii. . _teredo_, fertilisation in, ii. . terriers, wry-legged, ii. ; white, subject to distemper, ii. . teschemacher, on a husked form of maize, i. . tessier, on the period of gestation of the dog, i. ; of the pig, i. ; in cattle, i. ; experiments on change of soil, ii. . _tetrao_, breeding of species of, in captivity, ii. . _tetrapteryx paradisea_, ii. . _teucrium campanulatum_, pelorism in, ii. . texas, feral cattle in, i. . theognis, his notice of the domestic fowl, i. . theophrastus, his notice of the peach, ii. . _thesium_, ii. . thompson, mr., on the peach and nectarine, i. ; on the varieties of the apricot, i. ; classification of varieties of cherries, i. - ; on the "sister ribston-pippin," i. ; on the varieties of the gooseberry, i. , . thompson, william, on the pigeons of islay, i. ; feral pigeons in scotland, i. ; colour of the bill and legs in geese, i. ; breeding of _tetrao scotius_ in captivity, ii. ; destruction of black-fowls by the osprey, ii. . thompson, prof. w., on the obliquity of the flounder, ii. . thorns, reconversion of, into branches, in pear trees, ii. . thorn, grafting of early and late, i. ; glastonbury, i. . thrush, asserted reproduction of the tarsus in a, ii. . _thuja pendula_ or _filiformis_, a variety of _t. orientalis_, i. . thuret, on the division of the zoospores of an alga, ii. . thwaites, g. h., on the cats of ceylon, i. ; on a twin seed of _fuchsia coccinea_ and _fulgens_, i. . tiburtius, experiments in rearing wild ducks, i. . tiger, rarely fertile in captivity, ii. , . _tigridia conchiflora_, bud-variation in, i. . time, importance of, in the production of races, ii. . tinzmann, self-impotence in the potato, ii. . tissues, affinity of, for special organic substances, ii. . titmice, destructive to thin-shelled walnuts, i. ; attacking nuts, i. ; attacking peas, ii. . tobacco, crossing of varieties of, ii. ; cultivation of in sweden, ii. . tobolsk, red-coloured cats of, i. . toes, relative length of, in fowls, i. ; development of fifth in dogs, ii. . tollet, mr., his selection of cattle, ii. . tomato, ii. . tomtits. see _titmice_. tongue, relation of, to the beak in pigeons, i. . tooth, occurrence of a molar, in place of an incisor, ii. . "torfschwein," i. . trail, r., on the union of half-tubers of different kinds of potatoes, i. . trees, varieties of, suddenly produced, i. ; weeping or pendulous, i. ; fastigate or pyramidal, i. ; with variegated or changed foliage, i. ; early or late in leaf, i. - ; forest, non-application of selection to, ii. . "trembleur" (pigeons), i. . trembley, on reproduction in hydra, ii. . "trevoltini" silkworms, i. - . _trichosanthes anguina_, i. . tricks, inheritance of, ii. - , . _trifolium minus_ and _repens_, ii. . trimorphic plants, conditions of reproduction in, ii. - . tristram, h. b., selection of the dromedary, ii. - . _triticum dicoccum_, i. . _triticum monococcum_, i. . _triticum spelta_, i. . _triticum turgidum_, i. . _triticum vulgare_, wild in asia, i. . { } triton, breeding in the branchiferous stage, ii. . "trommel-taube," i. . "tronfo" pigeon, i. . _tropæolum_, ii. . _tropæolum minus_ and _majus_, reversion in hybrids of, i. . troubetzkoy, prince, experiments with pear-trees at moscow, ii. . trousseau, prof., pathological resemblance of twins, ii. . trumpeter pigeon, i. ; known in , i. . tscharner, h. a. de, graft-hybrid produced by inosculation in the vine, i. . tschudi, on the naked peruvian dog, i. ; extinct varieties of maize from peruvian tombs, i. , ii. . tubers, bud-variation by, i. - . tuckerman, mr., sterility of _carex rigida_, ii. . tufted ducks, i. . tulips, variability of, i. ; bud-variation in, i. - ; influence of soil in "breaking," i. . tumbler pigeon, i. - ; short-faced, figured, i. ; skull figured, i. ; lower jaw figured, i. ; scapula and furcula figured, i. ; early known in india, i. ; history of, i. ; sub-breeds of, i. ; young unable to break the egg-shell, ii. ; probable further modification of, ii. . "tÜmmler" (pigeons), i. . tumours, ovarian, occurrence of hairs and teeth in, ii. ; polypoid, origin of, ii. . "tÜrkische taube," i. . turbit (pigeon), i. . turkey, domestic, origin of, i. - ; crossing of with north american wild turkey, i. - ; breeds of, i. ; crested white cock, i. ; wild, characters of, i. - ; degeneration of, in india, i. , ii. ; failure of eggs of, in delhi, ii. ; feral on the parana, i. ; change produced in by domestication, ii. . turkey, striped young pigs in, i. . turner (pigeon), i. . turner, w., on compensation in arteries and veins, ii. ; on cells, ii. . turnips, origin of, i. ; reversion in, ii. ; run wild, ii. ; crosses of, ii. , ; swedish, preferred by hares, ii. ; acclimatisation of, in india, ii. . turnspit, on an egyptian monument, i. ; crosses of the, ii. . turtle-dove, white and coloured, crossing of, ii. . _turtur auritus_, hybrids of, with _t. cambayensis_ and _t. suratensis_, i. . _turtur risorius_, crossing of, with the common pigeon, i. ; hybrid of, with _t. vulgaris_, _ibid._ _turtur suratensis_, sterile hybrids of, with _t. vulgaris_, i. ; hybrids of, with _t. auritus_, i. . _turtur vulgaris_, crossing of, with the common pigeon, i. ; hybrid of, with _t. risorius_, _ibid._; sterile hybrids of, with _t. suratensis_ and _ectopistes migratorius_, _ibid._ tusks of wild and domesticated pigs, i. , . _tussilago farfara_, variegated, i. . twin-seed _fuchsia coccinea_ and _fulgens_, i. . tyerman, b., on the pigs of the pacific islands, i. , ii. ; on the dogs of the pacific islands, ii. . tylor, mr., on the prohibition of consanguineous marriages, ii. - . udders, development of the, ii. . _ulex_, double-flowered, ii. . _ulmus campestris_ and _effusa_, hybrids of, ii. . uniformity of character, maintained by crossing, ii. - . units of the body, functional independence of the, ii. - . unity or plurality of origin of organisms, i. . upas poison, ii. . urea, secretion of, ii. . use and disuse of parts, effects of, ii. - , - , - ; in rabbits, i. - ; in ducks, i. - . utility, considerations of, leading to uniformity, ii. . valentin, experimental production of double monsters by, ii. . _vallota_, ii. . van beck, barbara, a hairy-faced woman, ii. . van mons on wild fruit-trees, i. , ii. ; production of varieties of the vine, i. ; correlated variability in fruit-trees, ii. ; production of almond-like fruit by peach-seedlings, i. . _vanessa_, species of, not copulating in captivity, ii. . variability, i. , ii. - , - , - ; causes of, ii. - ; correlated, ii. - , - , - ; law of equable, ii. - ; necessity of, for selection, ii. ; of selected characters, ii. - ; of multiple homologous parts, ii. . { } variation, laws of, ii. - ; continuity of, ii. ; possible limitation of, ii. , - ; in domestic cats, i. - ; origin of breeds of cattle by, i. ; in osteological characters of rabbits, i. - ; of important organs, i. ; analogous or parallel, i. - ; in horses, i. ; in the horse and ass, i. ; in fowls, i. - ; in geese, i. ; exemplified in the production of fleshy stems in cabbages, &c., i. ; in the peach, nectarine, and apricot, i. , ; individual, in wheat, i. . variegation of foliage, i. , ii. - . varieties and species, resemblance of, i. , ii. - ; conversion of, into species, i. ; abnormal, ii. ; domestic, gradually produced, ii. . varro, on domestic ducks, i. ; on feral fowls, ii. ; crossing of the wild and domestic ass, ii. . vasey, mr., on the number of sacral vertebræ in ordinary and humped cattle, i. ; on hungarian cattle, i. . vaucher, sterility of _ranunculus ficaria_ and _acorus calamus_, ii. . vegetables, cultivated, reversion in, ii. - ; european, culture of, in india, ii. - . veith, mr., on breeds of horses, i. . _verbascum_, intercrossing of species of, i. , ii. , - ; reversion in hybrids of, i. ; contabescent, wild plants of, ii. ; villosity in, ii. . _verbascum austriacum_, ii. . _verbascum blattaria_, ii. - . _verbascum lychnitis_, ii. - , . _verbascum nigrum_, ii. . _verbascum phoeniceum_, ii. , ; variable duration of, ii. . _verbascum thapsus_, ii. . verbenas, origin of, i. ; white, liability of, to mildew, ii. , ; scorching of dark, ii. , ; effect of changed conditions of life on, ii. . verlot, on the darkleaved barberry, i. ; inheritance of peculiarities of foliage in trees, i. ; production of _rosa cannabifolia_ by bud-variation from _r. alba_, i. ; bud-variation in _aralia trifoliata_, i. ; variegation of leaves, i. ; colours of tulips, i. ; uncertainty of inheritance, ii. ; persistency of white flowers, ii. ; peloric flowers of _linaria_, ii. ; tendency of striped flowers to uniformity of colour, ii. ; non-intercrossing of certain allied plants, ii. ; sterility of _primulæ_ with coloured calyces, ii. ; on fertile proliferous flowers, _ibid._; on the irish yew, ii. ; differences in the _camellia_, ii. ; effect of soil on the variegated strawberry, ii. ; correlated variability in plants, ii. . _verruca_, ii. , . vertebrÆ, characters of, in rabbits, i. - ; in ducks, i. - ; number and variations of, in pigeons, i. - ; number and characters of, in fowls, i. - ; variability of number of, in the pig, i. . vertuch, see putsche. "verugas," ii. . vespucius, early cultivation in brazil, i. . vibert's experiments on the cultivation of the vine from seed, i. . _viburnum opulus_, ii. , . _vicia sativa_, leaflet converted into a tendril in, ii. . vicunas, selection of, ii. . villosity of plants, influenced by dryness, ii. . vilmorin, cultivation of the wild carrot, i. , ii. ; colours of tulips, i. ; uncertainty of inheritance in balsams and roses, ii. ; experiments with dwarf varieties of _saponaria calabrica_ and _tagetes signata_, ii. ; reversion of flowers by stripes and blotches, ii. ; on variability, ii. . _vinca minor_, sterility in, ii. . vine, i. - ; parsley-leaved, reversion of, i. ; graft-hybrid produced by inosculation in the, i. ; disease of, influenced by colour of grapes, ii. ; influence of climate, &c., on varieties of the, ii. ; diminished extent of cultivation of the, ii. ; acclimatisation of the, in the west indies, ii. . _viola_, species of, i. . _viola lutea_, different coloured flowers in, i. . _viola tricolor_, reversion in, ii. , . virchow, prof., blindness occurring in the offspring of consanguineous marriages, ii. ; on the growth of bones, ii. , ; on cellular prolification, ii. ; independence of the elements of the body, ii. ; on the cell-theory, ii. ; presence of hairs and teeth in ovarian tumours, ii. ; of hairs in the brain, ii. ; special affinities of the tissues, ii. ; origin of polypoid excrescences and tumours, ii. . virgil on the selection of seed-corn, i. , ii. ; of cattle and sheep, ii. . virginian islands, ponies of, i. . _virgularia_, ii. . vision, hereditary peculiarities of, ii. - ; { } in amphibious animals, ii. ; varieties of, ii. ; affections of organs of, correlated with other peculiarities, ii. . _vitis vinifera_, i. - , . _viverra_, sterility of species of, in captivity, ii. . vogel, varieties of the date palm, ii. . vogt, on the indications of stripes on black kittens, ii. . voice, differences of, in fowls, i. ; peculiarities of, in ducks, i. ; inheritance of peculiarities of, ii. . volz, on the history of the dog, i. ; ancient history of the fowl, i. ; domestic ducks unknown to aristotle, i. ; indian cattle sent to macedonia by alexander, ii. ; mention of mules in the bible, ii. ; history of the increase of breeds, ii. . von berg on _verbascum phoeniceum_, ii. . voorhelm, g., his knowledge of hyacinths, i. , ii. . vrolik, prof., on polydactylism, ii. ; on double monsters, ii. ; influence of the shape of the mother's pelvis on her child's head, ii. . waders, behaviour of, in confinement, ii. . wahlenberg, on the propagation of alpine plants by buds, runners, bulbs, &c., ii. . "wahlverwandtschaft" of gärtner, ii. . wales, white cattle of, in the th century, i. . walker, a., on intermarriage, i. ; on the inheritance of polydactylism, ii. . walker, d., advantage of change of soil to wheat, ii. . wallace, a. r., on a striped javanese horse, i. ; on the conditions of life of feral animals, ii. ; artificial alteration of the plumage of birds, ii. ; on polymorphic butterflies, ii. - ; on reversion, ii. ; on the limit of change, ii. . wallace, dr., on the sterility of sphingidæ hatched in autumn, ii. . wallachian sheep, sexual peculiarities in the horns of, i. . wallflower, bud-variation in, i. . wallich, dr., on _thuja pendula_ or _filiformis_, i. . walnuts, i. - ; thin-shelled, attacked by tomtits, ii. ; grafting of, ii. . walsh, b. d., on galls, ii. , ; his "law of equable variability," ii. - . walther, f. l., on the history of the dog, i. ; on the intercrossing of the zebu and ordinary cattle, i. . waring, mr., on individual sterility, ii. . wart hog, i. . waterer, mr., spontaneous production of _cytisus alpino-laburnum_, i. . water melon, i. . waterhouse, g. r., on the winter-colouring of _lepus variabilis_, i. . waterton, c., production of tailless foals, i. ; on taming wild ducks, i. ; on the wildness of half-bred wild ducks, ii. ; assumption of male characters by a hen, ii. . watson, h. c., on british wild fruit-trees, i. ; on the non-variation of weeds, i. ; origin of the plum, i. ; variation in _pyrus malus_, i. ; on _viola amoena_ and _tricolor_, i. ; on reversion in scotch kail, ii. ; fertility of _draba sylvestris_ when cultivated, ii. ; on generally distributed british plants, ii. . wattles, rudimentary, in some fowls, ii. . watts, miss, on sultan fowls, i. . webb, james, interbreeding of sheep, ii. . weber, effect of the shape of the mother's pelvis on her child's head, ii. . weeds, supposed necessity for their modification, coincidently with cultivated plants, i. . weeping varieties of trees, i. . weeping habit of trees, capricious inheritance of, ii. - . weevil, injury done to stone-fruit by, in north america, ii. . welsh cattle, descended from _bos longifrons_, i. . west indies, feral pigs of, i. ; effect of climate of, upon sheep, i. . western, lord, change effected by, in the sheep, ii. . westphalia, striped young pigs in, i. . westwood, j. o., on peloric flowers of _calceolaria_, ii. . whately, archbishop, on grafting early and late thorns, i. . wheat, specific unity or diversity of, i. - , - ; hasora, i. ; presence or absence of barbs in, i. ; godron on variations in, _ibid._; varieties of, i. - ; effects of soil and climate on, i. ; deterioration of, _ibid._; crossing of varieties of, _ibid._, ii. , - , ; in the swiss lake-dwellings, i. - ; selection applied to, i. , ii. ; increased fertility of hybrids of, with _Ægilops_, ii. ; advantage of change of soil to, ii. ; { } differences of, in various parts of india, ii. ; continuous variation in, ii. ; red, hardiness of, ii. , ; fenton, ii. ; natural selection in, ii. ; varieties of, found wild, ii. ; effects of change of climate on, ii. ; ancient variety of, ii. . whitby, mrs., on the markings of silkworms, i. ; on the silkmoth, i. . white, mr., reproduction of supernumerary digits after amputation, ii. ; time occupied in the blending of crossed races, ii. . white, gilbert, vegetable diet of dogs, ii. . white and white-spotted animals, liability of, to disease, ii. - . white flowers, most truly reproduced by seed, ii. . wichura, max, on hybrid willows, ii. , , ; analogy between the pollen of old-cultivated plants, and of hybrids, ii. . wicking, mr., inheritance of the primary characters of _columba livia_ in cross-bred pigeons, i. ; production of a white head in almond tumblers, ii. . wicksted, mr., on cases of individual sterility, ii. . wiegmann, spontaneous crossing of blue and white peas, i. ; crossing of varieties of cabbage, ii. ; on contabescence, ii. . wight, dr., sexual sterility of plants propagated by buds, &c., ii. . wilde, sir w. r., occurrence of _bos frontosus_ and _longifrons_ in irish crannoges, i. ; attention paid to breeds of animals by the ancient irish, ii. . wildman, on the dahlia, ii. , . wildness of the progeny of crossed tame animals, ii. - . wilkes, capt., on the taming of pigeons among the polynesians, ii. . wilkinson, j., on crossed cattle, ii. . williams, mr., change of plumage in a hamburgh hen, i. . williams, mr., intercrossing of strawberries, i. . williamson, capt., degeneration of dogs in india, i. ; on small indian asses, i. . williamson, rev. w., doubling of _anemone coronaria_ by selection, ii. . willows, weeping, i. ; reversion of spiral-leaved weeping, i. ; hybrids of, ii. ; galls of, ii. - . willoughby, f., notice of spot pigeons, i. ; on a fantail pigeon, i. ; on tumbler pigeons, i. ; on the turbit, i. ; on the barb and carrier pigeons, i. ; on the hook-billed duck, i. . wilmot, mr., on a crested white turkey cock, i. ; reversion of sheep in colour, ii. . wilson, b. o., fertility of hybrids of humped and ordinary cattle in tasmania, i. . wilson, dr., prepotency of the manx over the common cat, ii. . wilson, james, origin of dogs, i. . wilson, mr., on prepotency of transmission in sheep, ii. ; on the breeding of bulls, ii. . wings, proportionate length of, in different breeds of pigeons, i. - ; of fowls, effects of disuse on, i. - ; characters and variations of, in ducks, i. - ; diminution of, in birds of small islands, i. - . wing-feathers, number of, in pigeons, i. ; variability of, in fowls, i. . wolf, recent existence of, in ireland, i. ; barking of young, i. ; hybrids of, with the dog, i. . wolf-dog, black, of florida, i. . wolves, north american, their resemblance to dogs of the same region, i. - ; burrowing of, i. . woodbury, mr., crossing of the ligurian and common hive bees, i. , ii. ; variability of bees, i. . woodward, s. p., on arctic mollusca, ii. . wood, willoughby, on mr. bates' cattle, ii. . wooler, w. a., on the young of the himalayan rabbit, i. ; persistency of the coloured calyx in a crossed polyanthus, i. . worrara poison, ii. . wounds, healing of, ii. . wright, j., production of crippled calves by shorthorned cattle, ii. ; on selection in cattle, ii. ; effect of close interbreeding on pigs, ii. - ; deterioration of game cocks by close interbreeding, ii. . wright, strethill, on the development of the hydroida, ii. . wyman, dr., on niata cattle, and on a similar malformation in the codfish, i. ; on virginian pigs, ii. . xenophon, on the colours of hunting dogs, ii. . ximenes, cardinal, regulations for the selection of rams, ii. . "yahoo," the name of the pigeon in persia, i. . yaks, domestication of, i. ; selection of white-tailed, ii. , . { } yam, development of axillary bulbs in the, ii. . yarrell, mr., deficiency of teeth in hairless dogs, i. , ii. ; on ducks, i. , ii. ; characters of domestic goose, resembling those of _anser albifrons_, i. ; whiteness of ganders, i. ; variations in goldfish, i. - ; assumption of male plumage by the hen-pheasant, ii. ; effect of castration upon the cock, ii. - ; breeding of the skylark in captivity, ii. ; plumage of the male linnet in confinement, ii. ; on the dingo, ii. . yellow fever, in mexico, ii. . yew, fastigate, ii. . yew, irish, hardy in new york, ii. . yew, weeping, i. ; propagation of, by seed, ii. - . yolk, variations of, in the eggs of ducks, i. . youatt, mr., history of the dog, i. - ; variations of the pulse in breeds of dogs, i. ; liability to disease in dogs, i. , ii. ; inheritance of goître in dogs, ii. ; on the greyhound, i. , ; on king charles' spaniels, i. ; on the setter, i. ; on breeds of horses, i. ; variation in the number of ribs in the horse, i. ; inheritance of diseases in the horse, ii. , ; introduction of eastern blood into english horses, ii. - ; on white welsh cattle, i. , ii. ; improvement of british breeds of cattle, i. ; rudiments of horns in young hornless cattle, ii. , ; on crossed cattle, ii. , ; on bakewell's long-horned cattle, ii. ; selection of qualities in cattle, ii. ; degeneration of cattle by neglect, ii. ; on the skull in hornless cattle, ii. ; disease of white parts of cattle, ii. ; displacement of long-horned by short-horned cattle, ii. ; on angola sheep, i. ; on the fleece of sheep, i. ; correlation of horns and fleece in sheep, i. ; adaptation of breeds of sheep to climate and pasture, i. ; horns of wallachian sheep, i. ; exotic sheep in the zoological gardens, i. - , ii. ; occurrence of horns in hornless breeds of sheep, ii. ; on the colour of sheep, ii. ; on interbreeding sheep, ii. ; on merino rams in germany, ii. ; effect of unconscious selection on sheep, ii. ; reversion of leicester sheep on the lammermuir hills, ii. ; on many-horned sheep, ii. ; reduction of bone in sheep, ii. ; persistency of character in breeds of animals in mountainous countries, ii. ; on interbreeding, ii. ; on the power of selection, ii. - ; slowness of production of breeds, ii. ; passages in the bible relating to the breeding of animals, ii. - . young, j., on the belgian rabbit, i. . yule, capt., on a burmese hairy family, ii. , . zambesi, striped young pigs on the, i. . zambos, character of the, ii. . zano, j. g., introduction of rabbits into porto santo by, i. . _zea mays_, i. . zebu, i. ; domestication of the, i. ; fertile crossing of, with european cattle, i. , ii. . zebra, hybrids of, with the ass and mare, ii. . _zephyranthes candida_, ii. . _zinnia_, cultivation of, ii. . zollinger on malayan penguin ducks, i. . zoospore, division of, in algæ, ii. . "zopf-taube," i. . the end. london: printed by w. clowes and sons, duke street, stamford street, and charing cross. * * * * * notes [ ] 'medical notes and reflections,' rd edit., , p. . [ ] mr. buckle, in his grand work on 'civilisation,' expresses doubts on the subject owing to the want of statistics. _see_ also mr. bowen, professor of moral philosophy, in 'proc. american acad. of sciences,' vol. v. p. [ ] for greyhounds, _see_ low's 'domest. animals of the british islands,' , p. . for game-fowls, _see_ 'the poultry book,' by mr. tegetmeier, , p. . for pigs, _see_ mr. sidney's edit. of 'youatt on the pig,' , pp. , . [ ] 'the stud farm,' by cecil, p. . [ ] 'philosophical transactions,' , p. . i have seen only second-hand accounts of the two grandsons. mr. sedgwick, in a paper to which i shall hereafter often refer, states that _four_ generations were affected, and in each the males alone. [ ] barbara van beck, figured, as i am informed by the rev. w. d. fox, in woodburn's 'gallery of rare portraits,' , vol. ii. [ ] 'proc. zoolog. soc.,' , p. [ ] hofacker, 'ueber die eigenschaften,' &c., , s. . report by pariset in 'comptes rendus,' , p. . [ ] hunter, as quoted in harlan's 'med. researches,' p. . sir a. carlisle, 'phil. transact.,' , p. . [ ] girou de buzareignues, 'de la génération,' p. . [ ] 'macmillan's magazine,' july and august, . [ ] the works which i have read and found most useful are dr. prosper lucas's great work, 'traité de l'hérédité naturelle,' . mr. w. sedgwick, in 'british and foreign medico-chirurg. review,' april and july, , and april and july, : dr. garrod on gout is quoted in these articles. sir henry holland, 'medical notes and reflections,' rd edit., . piorry, 'de l'hérédité dans les maladies,' . adams, 'a philosophical treatise on hereditary peculiarities,' nd edit., . essay on 'hereditary diseases,' by dr. j. steinan, . _see_ paget, in 'medical times,' , p. , on the inheritance of cancer; dr. gould, in 'proc. of american acad. of sciences,' nov. , , gives a curious case of hereditary bleeding in four generations. harlan, 'medical researches,' p. . [ ] marshall, quoted by youatt in his work on cattle, p. . [ ] 'philosoph. transact.,' , p. . [ ] 'medical notes and reflections,' rd edit., p. . [ ] this affection, as i hear from mr. bowman, has been ably described and spoken of as hereditary by dr. dondera, of utrecht, whose work was published in english by the sydenham society in . [ ] quoted by mr. herbert spencer, 'principles of biology,' vol. i. p. . [ ] 'british and foreign medico-chirurg. review, 'april, , p. - ; 'l'héréd. nat.,' tom. i. pp. - . [ ] dr. osborne, pres. of royal college of phys. in ireland, published this case in the 'dublin medical journal' for . [ ] these various statements are taken from the following works and papers:--youatt on 'the horse,' pp. , . lawrence, 'the horse,' p. . karkeek, in an excellent paper in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . mr. burke, in 'journal of r. agricul. soc. of england,' vol. v. p. . 'encyclop. of rural sports,' p. . girou de buzareignues, 'philosoph. phys.,' p. . _see_ following papers in 'the veterinary:' roberts, in vol. ii. p. ; m. marrimpoey, vol. ii. p. ; mr. karkeek, vol. iv. p. ; youatt on goître in dogs, vol. v. p. ; youatt, in vol. vi. pp. , , ; m. bernard, vol. xi. p. ; dr. samesreuther, on cattle, in vol. xii. p. ; percivall, in vol. xiii. p. . with respect to blindness in horses, _see_ also a whole row of authorities in dr. p. lucas's great work, tom. i. p. . mr. baker, in 'the veterinary,' vol. xiii. p. , gives a strong case of hereditary imperfect vision and of jibbing. [ ] knight on 'the culture of the apple and pear,' p. . lindley's 'horticulture,' p. . [ ] these statements are taken from the following works in order:--youatt on 'the horse,' p. ; mr. darvill, in 'the veterinary,' vol. viii. p. . with respect to robson, _see_ 'the veterinary,' vol. iii. p. ; mr. lawrence on 'the horse,' , p. ; 'the stud farm,' by cecil, ; baron cameronn, quoted in 'the veterinary,' vol x. p. . [ ] 'recreations in agriculture and nat. hist.,' vol. i. p. . [ ] 'ueber die eigenschaften,' &c., , s. . [ ] bronn's 'geschichte der natur,' band ii. s. . [ ] vrolik has discussed this point at full length in a work published in dutch, from which mr. paget has kindly translated for me passages. _see_, also, isidore geoffroy st. hilaire's 'hist. des anomalies,' , tom. i. p. . [ ] 'edinburgh new phil. journal,' july, . [ ] some great anatomists, as cuvier and meckel, believe that the tubercle one side of the hinder foot of the tailless batrachians represents a sixth digit. certainly, when the hinder foot of a toad, as soon as it first sprouts from the tadpole, is dissected, the partially ossified cartilage of this tubercle resembles under the microscope, in a remarkable manner, a digit. but the highest authority on such subjects, gegenbaur (untersuchung. zur vergleich. anat. der wirbelthiere: carpus et tarsus, , s. ), concludes that this resemblance is not real, only superficial. [ ] for these several statements, _see_ dr. struthers, in work cited, especially on intermissions in the line of descent. prof. huxley, 'lectures on our knowledge of organic nature,' , p. . with respect to inheritance, _see_ dr. prosper lucas, 'l'hérédité nat.,' tom. i. p. . isid. geoffroy, 'anom.,' tom. i. p. . sir a. carlisle, in 'phil. transact.,' , p. . a. walker, on 'intermarriage,' , p. , gives a case of five generations; as does mr. sedgwick, in 'brit. and foreign medico-chirurg. review,' april, , p. . on the inheritance of other anomalies in the extremities, _see_ dr. h. dobell, in vol. xlvi. of 'medico-chirurg. transactions,' ; also mr. sedgwick, in op. cit., april, , p. . with respect to additional digits in the negro, _see_ prichard, 'physical history of mankind.' dr. dieffenbach ('journ. royal geograph. soc.,' , p. ) says this anomaly is not uncommon with the polynesians of the chatham islands. [ ] 'the poultry chronicle,' , p. . [ ] the statements in this paragraph are taken from isidore geoffroy st. hilaire, 'hist. des anomalies,' tom. i. pp. - . [ ] as quoted by carpenter, 'princ. of comp. physiology,' , p. . [ ] müller's 'phys.,' eng. translat., vol. i. , p. . a thrush, however, was exhibited before the british association at hull, in , which had lost its tarsus, and this member, it was asserted, had been thrice reproduced: i presume it was lost each time by disease. [ ] 'monthly journal of medical science,' edinburgh, , new series, vol. ii. p. . [ ] 'an essay on animal reproduction,' trans. by dr. maty, , p. . [ ] bonnet, 'oeuvres d'hist. nat.,' tom. v., part i., to. edit., , pp. , , . [ ] so with insects, the larvæ reproduce lost limbs, but, except in one order, the mature insect has no such power. but the myriapoda, which apparently represent the larvæ of true insects, have, as newport has shown, this power until their last moult. _see_ an excellent discussion on this whole subject by dr. carpenter in his 'princ. comp. phys.,' , p. . [ ] dr. günther, in owen's 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. i., , p. . spallanzani has made similar observations. [ ] 'on the anatomy of vertebrates,' , p. : with respect to the pectoral fins of fishes, pp. - . [ ] 'medical notes and reflections,' , pp. , . _see_, also, dr. p. lucas, 'l'héréd. nat.,' tom. ii. p. . [ ] 'du danger des mariages consanguins,' nd edit., , p. . [ ] 'british and foreign medico-chirurg. review,' july, , pp. , . [ ] verlot, 'la production des variétés,' , p. . [ ] loudon's 'gard. mag.,' vol. xii., , p. . [ ] verlot, 'la product. des variétés,' , p. . [ ] bronn's 'geschichte der natur,' b. ii. s. . [ ] rev. w. a. leighton, 'flora of shropshire,' p. ; and charlesworth's 'mag. of nat. hist.,' vol. i, , p. . [ ] verlot, op. cit., p. . [ ] for these several statements, _see_ loudon's 'gard. magazine,' vol. x., , pp. , ; and vol. ix., , p. . [ ] these statements are taken from alph. de candolle, 'bot. géograph.,' p. . [ ] verlot, op. cit., p. . [ ] op. cit., p. . [ ] alph. de candolle, 'géograph. bot.,' p. . [ ] _see_ 'cottage gardener,' april , , p. , and sept. , , p. ; 'gard. chron.,' , p. . [ ] darwin, in 'journal of proc. linn. soc. bot.,' , p. . [ ] hofacker, 'ueber die eigenschaften,' &c., s. . [ ] bechstein, 'naturgesch. deutschlands,' b. iv. s. . mr. brent, a great breeder of canaries, informs me that he believes that these statements are correct. [ ] 'the poultry book,' by w. b. tegetmeier, , p. . [ ] 'british and foreign med.-chirurg. review,' july, , pp. - . mr. sedgwick has given such full details on this subject, with ample references, that i need refer to no other authorities. [ ] 'de l'espèce,' tom. ii., , p. . [ ] 'philosoph. magazine,' vol. iv., , p. . [ ] this last case is quoted by mr. sedgwick in 'british and foreign medico-chirurg. review,' april, , p. . for blumenbach, _see_ above-cited paper. _see_, also, dr. p. lucas, 'traité de l'héréd. nat.,' tom. ii. p. . also 'transact. lin. soc.,' vol. ix. p. . some curious cases are given by mr. baker in 'the veterinary,' vol. xiii. p. . another curious case is given in the 'annales des scienc. nat.,' st series, tom. xi. p. . [ ] 'proc. royal soc.,' vol. x. p. . [ ] mr. sproule, in 'british medical journal,' april , . [ ] downing, 'fruits of america,' p. ; sageret, 'pom. phys.,' pp. , . [ ] youatt on sheep, pp. , . the same fact of loose horns occasionally appearing in hornless breeds has been observed in germany: bechstein, 'naturgesch. deutschlands,' b. i. s. . [ ] youatt on cattle, pp. , . [ ] youatt on sheep, , pp. , . [ ] i have been informed of this fact through the rev. w. d. fox, on the excellent authority of mr. wilmot: _see_, also, remarks on this subject in an original article in the 'quarterly review,' , p. . [ ] youatt, pp. , . [ ] 'the poultry book,' by mr. tegetmeier, , p. . [ ] loudon's 'gard. mag.,' vol. x., , p. : a nurseryman, with much experience on this subject, has likewise assured me that this sometimes occurs. [ ] 'gardener's chron.,' , p. . [ ] ibid., , p. . [ ] _see_ some excellent remarks on this subject by mr. wallace, 'journal proc. linn. soc.,' , vol. iii. p. . [ ] dureau de la malle, in 'comptes rendus,' tom. xli., , p. . from the statements above given, the author concludes that the wild pigs of louisiana are not descended from the european _sus scrofa_. [ ] capt. w. allen, in his 'expedition to the niger,' states that fowls have run wild on the island of annobon, and have become modified in form and voice. the account is so meagre and vague that it did not appear to me worth copying; but i now find that dureau de la malle ('comptes rendus,' tom. xli., , p. ) advances this as a good instance of reversion to the primitive stock, and as confirmatory of a still more vague statement in classical times by varro. [ ] 'flora of australia,' , introduct., p. ix. [ ] 'de l'espèce,' tom. ii. pp. , , . [ ] mr. sedgwick gives many instances in the 'british and foreign med.-chirurg. review,' april and july, , pp. , . [ ] in his edit. of 'youatt on the pig,' , p. . [ ] dr. p. lucas, 'héréd. nat.,' tom. ii. pp. , : _see_ a good practical article on this subject in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . i could add a vast number of references, but they would be superfluous. [ ] kölreuter gives cases in his 'dritte fortsetzung,' , s. , ; and in his well-known 'memoirs on lavatera and jalapa.' gärtner, 'bastarderzeugung,' s. , , &c. naudin, in his 'recherches sur l'hybridité, nouvelles archives du muséum,' tom. i. p. . [ ] quoted by mr. sedgwick in 'med.-chirurg. review,' april, , p. . dr. h. dobell, in 'med.-chirurg. transactions,' vol. xlvi., gives an analogous case, in which, in a large family, fingers with thickened joints were transmitted to several members during five generations; but when the blemish once disappeared it never reappeared. [ ] verlot, 'des variétés,' , p. . [ ] 'nouvelles archives du muséum,' tom. i. p. . alex. braun (in his 'rejuvenescence,' ray soc., , p. ) apparently holds a similar opinion. [ ] mr. teebay, in 'the poultry book,' by mr. tegetmeier, , p. . [ ] quoted by hofacker, 'ueber die eigenschaften,' &c., s. . [ ] 'essais hist. nat. du paraguay,' tom. ii. , p. . [ ] these facts are given on the high authority of mr. hewitt, in 'the poultry book,' by mr. tegetmeier, , p. . [ ] 'the poultry book,' by tegetmeier, , p. . [ ] 'gardener's chron. and agricultural gazette,' , p. . [ ] ibid., , p. . [ ] sclater, in 'proc. zoolog. soc.,' , p. . [ ] 'history of the horse,' p. . [ ] 'mém. présentés par divers savans à l'acad. royale,' tom. vi. , p. . [ ] 'letters from alabama,' , p. . [ ] 'hist. nat. des mammifères,' , tom. i. [ ] 'philosoph. transact.,' , p. . [ ] sclater, in 'proc. zoolog. soc.,' , p. : this species is the ghor-khur of n.w. india, and has often been called the hemionus of pallas. _see_, also, mr. blyth's excellent paper in 'journ. of asiatic soc. of bengal,' vol. xxviii., , p. . [ ] another species of wild ass, the true _a. hemionus_ or _kiang_, which ordinarily has no shoulder-stripes, is said occasionally to have them; and these, as with the horse and ass, are sometimes double: _see_ mr. blyth, in the paper just quoted, and in 'indian sporting review,' , p. ; and col. hamilton smith, in 'nat. library, horses,' p. ; and 'dict. class. d'hist. nat.,' tom. iii. p. . [ ] figured in the 'gleanings from the knowsley menageries,' by dr. j. e. gray. [ ] cases of both spanish and polish hens sitting are given in the 'poultry chronicle,' , vol. iii. p. . [ ] 'the poultry book,' by mr. tegetmeier, , pp. , . the author, who remarks on the two negatives ('journ. of hort.,' , p. ), states that two broods were raised from a spanish cock and silver-pencilled hamburgh hen, neither of which are incubators, and no less than seven out of eight hens in these two broods "showed a perfect obstinacy in sitting." the rev. e. s. dixon ('ornamental poultry,' , p. ) says that chickens reared from a cross between golden and black polish fowls, are "good and steady birds to sit." mr. b. p. brent informs me that he raised some good sitting hens by crossing pencilled hamburgh and polish breeds. a cross-bred bird from a spanish non-incubating cock and cochin incubating hen is mentioned in the 'poultry chronicle,' vol. iii. p. , as an "exemplary mother." on the other hand, an exceptional case is given in the 'cottage gardener,' , p. , of a hen raised from a spanish cock and black polish hen which did not incubate. [ ] 'the poultry book,' by tegetmeier, , pp. , . [ ] 'natural history review,' , april, p. . [ ] 'essays on natural history,' p. . [ ] as stated by mr. orton, in his 'physiology of breeding,' p. . [ ] m. e. de selys-longchamps refers ('bulletin acad. roy. de bruxelles,' tom. xii. no. ) to more than seven of these hybrids shot in switzerland and france. m. deby asserts ('zoologist,' vol. v., - , p. ) that several have been shot in various parts of belgium and northern france. audubon ('ornitholog. biography,' vol. iii. p. ), speaking of these hybrids, says that, in north america, they "now and then wander off and become quite wild." [ ] 'journal of researches,' , p. . [ ] 'expedition to the zambesi,' , pp. , . [ ] dr. p. broca, on 'hybridity in the genus homo,' eng. translat., , p. . [ ] 'nouvelles archives du muséum,' tom. i. p. . [ ] 'bastarderzeugung,' s. , , &c. [ ] 'die bastardbefruchtung ... der weiden,' , s. . for gärtner's remarks on this head, _see_ 'bastarderzeugung,' s. , . [ ] yarrell, 'phil. transact.,' , p. ; dr. hamilton, in 'proc. zoolog. soc.,' , p. . [ ] 'archiv. skand. beiträge zur naturgesch.,' viii. s. - . [ ] in his 'essays on nat. hist.,' . mr. hewitt gives analogous cases with hen-pheasants in 'journal of horticulture,' july , , p. . isidore geoffroy saint hilaire, in his 'essais de zoolog. gén.' (suites à buffon, , pp. - ), has collected such cases in ten different kinds of birds. it appears that aristotle was well aware of the change in mental disposition in old hens. the case of the female deer acquiring horns is given at p. . [ ] 'cottage gardener,' , p. . [ ] 'art de faire eclorre,' &c., , tom. ii. p. . [ ] sir h. holland, 'medical notes and reflections,' rd edit., , p. . [ ] prof. thomson on steenstrup's views on the obliquity of flounders: 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.,' may, , p. . [ ] dr. e. von martens, in 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.,' march, , p. . [ ] darwin, 'balanidæ,' ray soc., , p. : _see_ also the appended remarks on the apparently capricious development of the thoracic limbs on the right and left sides in the higher crustaceans. [ ] mormodes ignea: darwin, 'fertilization of orchids,' , p. . [ ] 'journal of horticulture,' july, , p. . i have had the opportunity of examining these remarkable feathers through the kindness of mr. tegetmeier. [ ] 'the poultry book,' by mr. tegetmeier, , p. . [ ] carl vogt, 'lectures on man,' eng. translat., , p. . [ ] on cattle, p. . [ ] isid. geoffroy st. hilaire, 'des anomalies,' tom. iii. p. . with respect to the mammæ in women, _see_ tom. i. p. . [ ] 'natural hist. review,' april, , p. . _see_ also his lecture, royal institution, march , . on same subject, _see_ moquin-tandon, 'eléments de tératologie,' , pp. , . [ ] verlot, 'des variétés,' , p. ; naudin, 'nouvelles archives du muséum,' tom. i. p. . [ ] in his discussion on some curious peloric calceolarias, quoted in 'journal of horticulture,' feb. , , p. . [ ] for other cases of six divisions in peloric flowers of the labiatæ and scrophulariaceæ, _see_ moquin-tandon, 'tératologie,' p. . [ ] moquin-tandon, 'tératologie,' p. . [ ] _see_ youatt on cattle, pp. , , , , : also youatt on sheep, p. . also dr. lucas, 'l'héréd. nat.,' tom. ii. p. . [ ] 'héréd. nat.,' tom. ii. pp. - . [ ] sir h. holland, 'chapters on mental physiology,' , p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] mr. n. h. smith, observations on breeding, quoted in 'encyclop. of rural sports,' p. . [ ] quoted by bronn, 'geschichte der natur,' b. ii. s. . _see_ sturm, 'ueber racen,' , s. - . for the niata cattle, _see_ my 'journal of researches,' , p. . [ ] lucas, 'l'hérédité nat.,' tom. ii. p. . [ ] mr. orton, 'physiology of breeding,' , p. . [ ] boitard and corbié, 'les pigeons,' , p. . [ ] 'les pigeons, pp. , . [ ] 'das ganze,' &c., , s. . [ ] 'the pigeon book,' p. . [ ] 'physiology of breeding,' p. ; mr. hewitt, in 'the poultry book,' by tegetmeier, , p. . [ ] boitard and corbié, 'les pigeons,' , p. . [ ] 'bastarderzeugung,' s. , , &c. naudin ('nouvelles archives du muséum,' tom. i. p. ) gives a striking instance of prepotency in _datura stramonium_ when crossed with two other species. [ ] flourens, 'longévité humaine,' p. , on crossed jackals. with respect to the difference between the mule and the hinny, i am aware that this has generally been attributed to the sire and dam transmitting their characters differently; but colin, who has given in his 'traité phys. comp.,' tom. ii. pp. - , the fullest description which i have met with of these reciprocal hybrids, is strongly of opinion that the ass preponderates in both crosses, but in an unequal degree. this is likewise the conclusion of flourens, and of bechstein in his 'naturgeschichte deutschlands,' b. i. s. . the tail of the hinny is much more like that of the horse than is the tail of the mule, and this is generally accounted for by the males of both species transmitting with greater power this part of their structure; but a compound hybrid which i saw in the zoological gardens, from a mare by a hybrid ass-zebra, closely resembled its mother in its tail. [ ] mr. hewitt, who has had such great experience in raising these hybrids, says ('poultry book,' by mr. tegetmeier, , pp. - ) that in all, the head was destitute of wattles, comb, and ear-lappets; and all closely resembled the pheasant in the shape of the tail and general contour of the body. these hybrids were raised from hens of several breeds by a cock-pheasant; but another hybrid, described by mr. hewitt, was raised from a hen-pheasant by a silver-laced bantam cock, and this possessed a rudimental comb and wattles. [ ] 'l'héréd. nat.,' tom. ii. book ii. ch. i. [ ] 'bastarderzeugung,' s. - . naudin ('nouvelles archives du muséum,' tom. i. p. ) has arrived at a similar conclusion. [ ] 'cottage gardener,' , pp. , . [ ] _see_ some remarks on this head with respect to sheep by mr. wilson, in 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] verlot, 'des variétés,' , p. . [ ] moquin-tandon, 'tératologie,' p. . [ ] 'nouvelles archives du muséum,' tom. i. p. . [ ] 'l'héréd. nat.,' tom. ii. pp. - . _see_, also, mr. sedgwick's four memoirs, immediately to be referred to. [ ] on sexual limitation in hereditary diseases, 'brit. and for. med.-chirurg. review,' april, , p. ; july, p. ; april, , p. ; and july, p. . [ ] w. scrope, 'art of deer stalking,' p. . [ ] boitard and corbié, 'les pigeons,' p. ; dr. f. chapuis, 'le pigeon voyageur belge,' , p. . [ ] prichard, 'phys. hist. of mankind,' , vol. i. p. . [ ] 'embassy to the court of ava,' vol. i. p. . the third generation is described by capt. yule in his 'narrative of the mission to the court of ava,' , p. . [ ] 'das ganze der taubenzucht,' , s. , tab. i., fig. ; s. , tab. iv., fig. . [ ] kidd's 'treatise on the canary,' p. . [ ] charlesworth, 'mag. of nat. hist.,' vol. i., , p. . [ ] dr. prosper lucas, 'héréd. nat.,' tom. ii. p. . [ ] 'l'héréd. dans les maladies,' , p. . for hunter, _see_ harlan's 'med. researches,' p. . [ ] 'l'héréd. nat.,' tom. ii. p. . [ ] sedgwick, 'brit. and for. med.-chirurg. review,' april , p. . i have seen three accounts, all taken from the same original authority (which i have not been able to consult), and all differ in the details! but as they agree in the main facts, i have ventured to quote this case. [ ] prosper lucas, 'héréd. nat.,' tom. i. p. . [ ] sedgwick, idem, july, , p. . [ ] piorry, p. ; prosper lucas, tom. ii. p. . [ ] prosper lucas, tom. ii. p. . [ ] prosper lucas, tom. ii. pp. , , ; sedgwick, idem, april, , p. , and july, , p. ; dr. j. steinan, 'essay on hereditary disease,' , pp. , . [ ] these cases are given by mr. sedgwick, on the authority of dr. h. stewart, in 'med.-chirurg. review,' april, , pp. , . [ ] 'héréd. nat.,' tom. ii. p. . [ ] communications to the board of agriculture, vol. i. p. . [ ] 'review of reports, north of england,' , p. . [ ] 'säugethiere von paraguay,' , s. . [ ] rengger, 'säugethiere,' &c., s. . [ ] white, 'regular gradation in man,' p. . [ ] dr. w. f. edwards, in his 'charactères physiolog. des races humaines,' p. , first called attention to this subject, and ably discussed it. [ ] rev. d. tyerman, and bennett, 'journal of voyages,' - , vol. i. p. . [ ] mr. s. j. salter, 'journal linn. soc.,' vol. vi., , p. . [ ] sturm, 'ueber racen, &c.,' , s. . bronn, 'geschichte der natur.,' b. ii. s. , gives a table of the proportions of blood after successive crosses. dr. p. lucas, 'l'hérédité nat.,' tom. ii. p. . [ ] 'bastarderzeugung,' s. , . [ ] 'nova acta petrop.,' , p. : _see_ also previous volume. [ ] as quoted in the 'true principles of breeding,' by c. h. macknight and dr. h. madden, , p. . [ ] with respect to plants, an admirable essay on this subject (die geschlechter-vertheilung bei den pflanzen: ) has lately been published by dr. hildebrand, who arrives at the same general conclusions as i have done. [ ] 'teoria della riproduzione vegetal,' , p. . [ ] verlot, 'des variétés,' , p. . [ ] duval-jouve, 'bull. soc. bot. de france,' tom. x., , p. . [ ] extract of a letter from sir r. heron, , given me by mr. yarrell. with respect to mice, _see_ 'annal. des sc. nat.,' tom. i. p. ; and i have heard of other similar cases. for turtle-doves, boitard and corbié, 'les pigeons,' &c., p. . for the game fowl, 'the poultry book,' , p. . for crosses of tailless fowls, _see_ bechstein, 'naturges. deutsch.' b. iii. s. . bronn, 'geschichte der natur,' b. ii. s. , gives analogous facts with horses. on the hairless condition of crossed south american dogs, _see_ rengger, 'säugethiere von paraguay,' s. : but i saw in the zoological gardens mongrels, from a similar cross, which were hairless, quite hairy, or hairy in patches, that is, piebald with hair. for crosses of dorking and other fowls, _see_ 'poultry chronicle,' vol. ii. p. . about the crossed pigs, extract of letter from sir r. heron to mr. yarrell. for other cases, _see_ p. lucas, 'héréd. nat.,' tom. i. p. . [ ] 'internat. hort. and bot. congress of london,' . [ ] 'bastarderzeugung,' s. . kölreuter ('dritte fortsetszung,' s. , ), however, obtained intermediate tints from similar crosses in the genus verbascum. with respect to the turnips, _see_ herbert's 'amaryllidaceæ,' , p. . [ ] 'nouvelles archives du muséum,' tom. i. p. . [ ] richardson, 'pigs,' , pp. , ; s. sidney's edition of 'youatt on the pig,' , p. . [ ] _see_ mr. w. c. spooner's excellent paper on cross-breeding, 'journal royal agricult. soc.,' vol. xx., part ii.: _see_ also an equally good article by mr. ch. howard, in 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , pp. , . [ ] 'bulletin de la soc. d'acclimat.,' , tom. ix. p. . _see_ also, for other cases, mm. moll and gayot, 'du boeuf,' , p. xxxii. [ ] 'poultry chronicle,' vol. ii., , p. . [ ] 'the poultry book,' by w. b. tegetmeier, , p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] spooner, in 'journal royal agricult. soc.,' vol. xx., part ii. [ ] _see_ colin's 'traité de phys. comp. des animaux domestiques,' tom. ii. p. , where this subject is well treated. [ ] 'les pigeons,' p. . [ ] vol. i., , p. . [ ] 'cottage gardener,' , p. . [ ] 'bastarderzeugung,' s. . [ ] dr. pigeaux, in 'bull. soc. d'acclimat.,' tom. iii., july , as quoted in 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.,' , vol. xx. p. . [ ] 'journal de physiolog.,' tom. ii., , p. . [ ] dec. , p. . [ ] on the varieties of wheat, p. . [ ] rengger, 'säugethiere von paraguay,' s. . [ ] _see_ a memoir by mm. lherbette and de quatrefages, in 'bull. soc. d'acclimat.,' tom. viii., july, , p. . [ ] for the norfolk sheep, _see_ marshall's 'rural economy of norfolk,' vol. ii. p. . _see_ rev. l. landt's 'description of faroe,' p. . for the ancon sheep, _see_ 'phil. transact.,' , p. . [ ] white's 'nat. hist. of selbourne,' edited by bennett, p. . with respect to the origin of the dark-coloured deer, _see_ 'some account of english deer parks,' by e. p. shirley, esq. [ ] 'the dovecote,' by the rev. e. s. dixon, p. ; bechstein, 'naturgesch. deutschlands,' band iv., , s. . [ ] 'cattle,' p. . [ ] mr. j. wilkinson, in 'remarks addressed to sir j. sebright,' , p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'bastarderzeugung,' s. , . _see_ also the table at the end of volume. [ ] 'bastarderzeugung,' s. , . [ ] 'kenntniss der befruchtung,' s. ; 'bastarderzeugung,' s. , . on raising the two varieties from seed _see_ s. . [ ] 'bastarderzeugung,' s. . [ ] the following facts, given by kölreuter in his 'dritte fortsetzung,' s. , , appear at first sight strongly to confirm mr. scott's and gärtner's statements; and to a certain limited extent they do so. kölreuter asserts, from innumerable observations, that insects incessantly carry pollen from one species and variety of verbascum to another; and i can confirm this assertion; yet he found that the white and yellow varieties of _verbascum lychnitis_ often grew wild mingled together: moreover, he cultivated these two varieties in considerable numbers during four years in his garden, and they kept true by seed; but when he crossed them, they produced flowers of an intermediate tint. hence it might have thought that both varieties must have a stronger elective affinity for the pollen of their own variety than for that of the other; this elective affinity, i may add, of each species for its own pollen (kölreuter, 'dritte forts.,' s. , and gärtner, 'bastarderz.,' _passim_) being a perfectly well-ascertained power. but the force of the foregoing facts is much lessened by gärtner's numerous experiments, for, differently from kölreuter, he never once got ('bastarderz.,' s. ) an intermediate tint when he crossed the yellow and white flowered varieties of verbascum. so that the fact of the white and yellow varieties keeping true to their colour by seed does not prove that they were not mutually fertilised by the pollen carried by insects from one to the other. [ ] 'amaryllidaceæ,' , p. . gärtner has made a similar observation. [ ] kölreuter first observed this fact. 'mém. de l'acad. st. petersburg,' vol. iii. p. . _see_ also c. k. sprengel, 'das entdeckte geheimniss,' s. . [ ] namely, barbarines, pastissons, giraumous: 'annal. des sc. nat.,' tom. xxx., , pp. and . [ ] 'mémoire sur les cucurbitaceæ,' , pp. , . [ ] 'annales des se. nat.,' th series, tom. vi. m. naudin considers these forms as undoubtedly varieties of _cucurbita pepo_. [ ] 'mém. cucurb.,' p. . [ ] 'zweite forts.,' s. , namely, nicotiana major vulgaris; ( ) perennis; ( ) transylvanica; ( ) a sub-var. of the last; ( ) major latifol. fl. alb. [ ] kölreuter was so much struck with this fact that he suspected that a little pollen of _n. glutinosa_ in one of his experiments might have accidentally got mingled with that of _var. perennis_, and thus aided its fertilising power. but we now know conclusively from gärtner ('bastarderz.,' s. , ) that two kinds of pollen never act _conjointly_ on a third species; still less will the pollen of a distinct species, mingled with a plant's own pollen, if the latter be present in sufficient quantity, have any effect. the sole effect of mingling two kinds of pollen is to produce in the same capsule seeds which yield plants, some taking after the one and some after the other parent. [ ] mr. scott has made some observations on the absolute sterility of a purple and white primrose (_primula vulgaris_) when fertilised by pollen from the primrose ('journal of proc. of linn. soc.,' vol. viii., , p. ); but these observations require confirmation. i raised a number of purple-flowered long-styled seedlings from seed kindly sent me by mr. scott, and, though they were all some degree sterile, they were much more fertile with pollen taken from the common primrose than with their own pollen. mr. scott has likewise described a red equal-styled cowslip (_p. veris_, idem, p. ), which was found by him to be highly sterile when crossed with the common cowslip; but this was not the case with several equal-styled red seedlings raised by me from his plant. this variety of the cowslip presents the remarkable peculiarity of combining male organs in every respect like those of the short-styled form, with female organs resembling in function and partly in structure those of the long-styled form; so that we have the singular anomaly of the two forms combined in the same flower. hence it is not surprising that these flowers should be spontaneously self-infertile in a high degree. [ ] 'act. acad. st. petersburg,' , part ii., pp. , . [ ] 'annales des sc. nat.,' tom. xxi. ( st series), p. . [ ] 'bull. bot. soc. de france,' dec. th, , tom. viii. p. . [ ] quoted by isid. geoffroy st. hilaire, 'hist. naturelle générale,' tom. iii. p. . since this ms. has been sent to press a full discussion on the present subject has appeared in mr. herbert spencer's 'principles of biology,' vol. ii. , p. _et seq._ [ ] for cats and dogs, &c., _see_ bellingeri, in 'annal. des sc. nat.,' nd series, zoolog., tom. xii. p. . for ferrets, bechstein, 'naturgeschichte deutschlands,' band i., , s. , . for rabbits, ditto, s. , ; and bronn's 'geschichte der natur,' b. ii. s. . for mountain sheep, ditto, s. . for the fertility of the wild sow, _see_ bechstein's 'naturgesch. deutschlands,' b. i., , s. ; for the domestic pig, sidney's edit. of youatt on the pig, , p. . with respect to lapland, _see_ acerbi's 'travels to the north cape,' eng. translat., vol. ii. p. . about the highland cows, _see_ hogg on sheep, p. . [ ] for the eggs of _gallus bankiva_, _see_ blyth, in 'annals and mag. of nat. hist., nd series, vol. i., , p. . for wild and tame ducks, macgillivray, 'british birds,' vol. v. p. ; and 'die enten,' s. . for wild geese, l. lloyd, 'scandinavian adventures,' vol. ii. , p. ; and for tame geese, 'ornamental poultry,' by rev. e. s. dixon, p. . on the breeding of pigeons, pistor, 'das ganze der taubenzucht,' , s. ; and boitard and corbié, 'les pigeons,' p. . with respect to peacocks, according to temminck ('hist. nat. gén. des pigeons,' &c., , tom. ii. p. ), the hen lays in india even as many as twenty eggs; but according to jerdon and another writer (quoted in tegetmeier's 'poultry book,' , pp. , ), she there lays only from four to nine or ten eggs: in england she is said, in the 'poultry book,' to lay five or six, but another writer says from eight to twelve eggs. [ ] 'the art of improving the breed, &c.,' , p. . [ ] for andrew knight, _see_ a. walker, on 'intermarriage,' , p. . sir j. sebright's treatise has just been quoted. [ ] 'cattle,' p. . [ ] nathusius, 'ueber shorthorn rindvieh,' , s. : _see_ also 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . many analogous cases are given in a pamphlet recently published by mr. c. macknight and dr. h. madden, 'on the true principles of breeding;' melbourne, australia, . [ ] mr. willoughby wood, in 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. ; and , p. . _see_ the very clear tables and pedigrees given in nathusius' 'rindvieh,' s. - . [ ] mr. wright, 'journal of royal agricult. soc.,' vol. vii., , p. . [ ] youatt on cattle, p. . [ ] report british assoc., zoolog. sect., . [ ] azara, 'quadrupèdes du paraguay,' tom. ii. pp. , . [ ] for the case of the messrs. brown, _see_ 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . for the foscote flock, 'gard. chron.,' , p. . for the naz flock, 'bull. de la soc. d'acclimat.,' , p. . [ ] nathusius, 'rindvieh,' s. ; youatt on sheep, p. . [ ] 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] lord somerville, 'facts on sheep and husbandry,' p. . mr. spooner, in 'journal of royal agricult. soc. of england,' vol. xx., part ii. _see_ also an excellent paper on the same subject in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. , by mr. charles howard. [ ] 'some account of english deer parks,' by evelyn p. shirley, . [ ] 'the art of improving the breed,' &c., p. . with respect to scotch deer-hounds, _see_ scrope's 'art of deer stalking,' pp. - . [ ] 'cottage gardener,' , p. . [ ] sidney's edit. of youatt on the pig, , p. ; p. , quotation from mr. druce; p. , on lord western's case. [ ] 'journal, royal agricult. soc. of england,' , vol. vii. p. . [ ] 'ueber rindvieh,' &c., s. . [ ] sidney on the pig, p. . _see_ also note, p. . also richardson on the pig, , p. . [ ] dr. dally has published an excellent article (translated in the 'anthropolog. review,' may, , p. ), criticising all writers who have maintained that evil follows from consanguineous marriages. no doubt on this side of the question many advocates have injured their cause by inaccuracies: thus it has been stated (devay, 'du danger des mariages,' &c., , p. ) that the marriages of cousins have been prohibited by the legislature of ohio; but i have been assured, in answer to inquiries made in the united states, that this statement is a mere fable. [ ] _see_ his most interesting work on the 'early history of man,' , chap. x. [ ] on consanguinity in marriage, in the 'fortnightly review,' , p. ; hofacker, 'ueber die eigenschaften,' &c. [ ] sir g. grey's 'journal of expeditions into australia,' vol. ii. p. ; and dobrizhoffer, 'on the abipones of south america.' [ ] 'the art of improving the breed,' p. . [ ] 'the poultry book,' by w. b. tegetmeier, , p. . [ ] 'journal royal agricult. soc.' , vol. vii. p. ; _see_ also ferguson on the fowl, pp. , ; _see_ also 'the poultry book,' by tegetmeier, , p. , with respect to the extent to which cock-fighters found that they could venture to breed in-and-in, viz., occasionally a hen with her own son; "but they were cautious not to repeat the in-and-in breeding." [ ] 'the poultry book,' by w. b. tegetmeier, , p. . [ ] 'the poultry chronicle,' , vol. i. p. . [ ] 'the poultry book,' by w. b. tegetmeier, , p. . [ ] 'the poultry chronicle,' vol. i. p. . [ ] 'the poultry book,' , p. . [ ] ibid, , p. ; and 'poultry chronicle,' vol. iii., , p. . [ ] 'a treatise on fancy pigeons,' by j. m. eaton, p. . [ ] 'the pigeon book,' p. . [ ] 'das ganze der taubenzucht,' , s. . [ ] 'les pigeons,' , p. . [ ] 'proc. entomolog. soc.,' aug. th, , p. . [ ] 'journal of horticulture,' , pp. , , ; and , p. . [ ] 'beiträge zur kenntniss der befruchtung,' , s. . [ ] 'amaryllidaceæ,' p. . [ ] 'de la fécondation,' nd edit., , p. . [ ] 'mémoire sur les cucurbitacées,' pp. , , . [ ] loudon's 'gard. mag.,' vol. viii., , p. . [ ] 'transact. hort. soc.,' vol. i. p. . [ ] 'annal. des sc. nat.,' rd series, bot., tom. vi. p. . [ ] 'philosophical transactions,' , p. . [ ] 'ueber die bastarderzeugung,' , s. , . for mr. chaundy's case, _see_ loudon's 'gard. mag.,' vol. vii., , p. . [ ] 'gardener's chron.,' , p. . [ ] 'philosoph. transact.,' , p. . [ ] quoted in 'bull. bot. soc. france,' vol. ii., , p. . [ ] gärtner, 'bastarderzeugung,' s. , , _et seq._ [ ] 'fortsetzung,' , s. ; 'dritte fortsetzung,' s. , ; 'act. acad. st. petersburg,' , part ii., p. ; 'nova acta,' , pp. , ; 'nova acta,' , pp. , . [ ] 'die bastardbefruchtung,' &c., , s. , , . [ ] max wichura fully accepts this view ('bastardbefruchtung,' s. ), as does the rev. m. j. berkeley, in 'journal of hort. soc.,' jan. , p. . [ ] 'bastarderzeugung,' s. , , . [ ] kölreuter,' nova acta,' , p. . [ ] gärtner, 'bastarderzeugung,' s. . [ ] 'botanische zeitung,' jan. , s. . [ ] 'monatsbericht akad. wissen,' berlin, , s. . [ ] international hort. congress, london, . [ ] 'proc. bot. soc. of edinburgh,' may, : these observations are given in abstract, and others are added, in the 'journal of proc. of linn. soc.,' vol. viii. bot., , p. . [ ] prof. lecoq, 'de la fécondation,' nd edit., , p. . [ ] 'bastarderzeugung,' s. , . [ ] idem, s. . [ ] 'zweite fortsetzung,' s. ; 'dritte fort.,' s. . [ ] duvernoy, quoted by gärtner, 'bastarderzeugung,' s. . [ ] 'gardner's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'transact. hort. soc.,' vol. vii., , p. . [ ] prof. lecoq, 'de la fécondation,' , p. ; gärtner, 'bastarderzeugung,' s. . [ ] 'gardener's chron.' , p. . [ ] 'journal of proc. of linn. soc.,' vol. viii., , p. . [ ] 'amaryllidaceæ,' , p. ; 'journal of hort. soc.,' vol. ii., , p. . [ ] loudon's 'gardener's magazine,' vol. xi., , p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'journal hort. soc., vol. v. p. . the seedlings thus raised were given to the hort. soc.; but i find, on inquiry, that they unfortunately died the following winter. [ ] mr. d. beaton, in 'journal of hort.,' , p. . lecoq, however ('de la fécond.,' , p. ), states that this hybrid is descended from _g. psittacinus_ and _cardinalis_; but this is opposed to herbert's experience, who found that the former species could not be crossed. [ ] this is the conclusion of prof. devay, 'du danger des mariages consang.,' , p. . virchow quotes, in the 'deutsche jahrbücher,' , s. , some curious evidence on half the cases of a peculiar form of blindness occurring in the offspring from near relations. [ ] for england, _see_ below. for germany, _see_ metzger, 'getreidearten,' , s. . for france, loiseleur-deslongchamps ('consid. sur les céreales,' , p. ) gives numerous references on this subject. for southern france, _see_ godron, 'florula juvenalis,' , p. . [ ] 'a general treatise of husbandry,' vol. iii. p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle and agricult. gazette,' , p. ; and for the second statement, idem, , p. . on this same subject, _see_ also rev. d. walker's 'prize essay of highland agricult. soc.,' vol. ii. p. . also marshall's 'minutes of agriculture,' november, . [ ] oberlin's 'memoirs,' eng. translat., p. . for lancashire, _see_ marshall's 'review of reports,' , p. . [ ] 'cottage gardener,' , p. . for mr. robson's subsequent statements, _see_ 'journal of horticulture,' feb. , , p. . for mr. abbey's remarks on grafting, &c., idem, july , , p. . [ ] 'mém. de l'acad. des sciences,' , p. . [ ] 'on the varieties of wheat,' p. . [ ] mr. spencer has fully and ably discussed this whole subject in his 'principles of biology,' , vol. ii. ch. x. in the first edition of my 'origin of species,' , p. , i spoke of the good effects from slight changes in the conditions of life and from cross-breeding, and of the evil effects from great changes in the conditions and from crossing widely distinct forms, as a series of facts "connected together by some common but unknown bond, which is essentially related to the principle of life." [ ] 'essais de zoologie générale,' , p. . [ ] du rut, 'annales du muséum,' , tom. ix. p. . [ ] 'säugethiere von paraguay,' , s. , , , , , , , , . [ ] 'the naturalist on the amazons,' , vol. i. pp. , ; vol. ii. p. . [ ] 'embassy to the court of ava,' vol. i. p. . [ ] 'journal,' vol. i. p. . [ ] 'säugethiere,' s. . [ ] on the breeding of the larger felidæ, 'proc. zoolog. soc.,' , p. . [ ] sleeman's 'rambles in india,' vol. ii. p. . [ ] wiegmann's 'archif für naturgesch.,' , s. . [ ] rengger, 'säugethiere,' &c., s. . on the parentage of the guinea-pig, _see_ also isid. geoffroy st. hilaire, 'hist. nat. gén.' [ ] although the existence of the _leporides_, as described by dr. broca ('journal de phys.,' tom. ii. p. ), is now positively denied, yet dr. pigeaux ('annals and mag. of nat. hist.,' vol. xx., , p. ) affirms that the hare and rabbit have produced hybrids. [ ] 'quadrupeds of north america,' by audubon and bachman, , p. . [ ] loudon's 'mag. of nat. hist.,' vol. ix., , p. ; audubon and bachman's 'quadrupeds of north america,' p. . [ ] flourens, 'de l'instinct,' &c., , p. . [ ] _see_ 'annual reports zoolog. soc.,' , , , ; 'times' newspaper, aug. th, ; flourens, 'de l'instinct,' p. . [ ] 'säugethiere,' &c., s. , . [ ] art. brazil, 'penny cyclop.,' p. . [ ] 'the naturalist on the river amazon,' vol. i. p. . [ ] 'encyclop. of rural sports,' p. . [ ] according to sir a. burnes ('cabool,' &c., p. ), eight species are used for hawking in scinde. [ ] loudon's 'mag. of nat. hist.,' vol. vi., , p. . [ ] f. cuvier, 'annal. du muséum,' tom. ix. p. . [ ] 'the zoologist,' vol. vii.-viii., - , p. . [ ] knox, 'ornithological rambles in sussex,' p. . [ ] 'the zoologist,' vol. vii.-viii., - , p. ; vol. ix.-x., - , p. . [ ] bechstein, 'naturgesch. der stubenvögel,' , s. . [ ] 'ornithological biography,' vol. v. p. . [ ] a case is recorded in 'the zoologist,' vol. i.-ii., - , p. . for the siskin breeding, vol. iii.-iv., - , p. . bechstein, 'stubenvögel,' s. , speaks of bullfinches making nests, but rarely producing young. [ ] yarrell's 'hist. british birds,' , vol. i. p. . [ ] loudon's 'mag. of nat. history,' vol. ix., , p. . [ ] 'mémoires du muséum d'hist. nat.,' tom. x. p. : five cases of parrots breeding in france are here recorded. _see_, also, 'report brit. assoc. zoolog.,' . [ ] 'stubenvögel,' s. , . [ ] dr. hancock remarks ('charlesworth's mag. of nat. hist.,' vol. ii., , p. ), "it is singular that, amongst the numerous useful birds that are indigenous to guiana, none are found to propagate among the indians; yet the common fowl is reared in abundance throughout the country." [ ] 'a week at port royal,' , p. . [ ] audubon, 'american ornithology,' vol. v. pp. , . [ ] moubray on poultry, th edit., p. . [ ] temminck, 'hist. nat. gén. des pigeons,' &c., , tom. iii. pp. , ; 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.,' vol. xii., , p. . other species of partridge have occasionally bred; as the red-legged (_p. rubra_), when kept in a large court in france (_see_ 'journal de physique,' tom. xxv. p. ), and in the zoological gardens in . [ ] rev. e. s. dixon, 'the dovecote,' , pp. - . [ ] temminck, 'hist. nat. gén. des pigeons,' &c., tom. ii. pp. , ; tom. iii. pp. , , . [ ] bates, 'the naturalist on the amazons,' vol. i. p. ; vol. ii. p. . [ ] temminck, 'hist. nat. gén.,' &c., tom. iii. p. . for _tetrao urogallus_, _see_ l. lloyd, 'field sports of north of europe,' vol. i. pp. , ; and 'bull. de la soc. d'acclimat.,' tom. vii., , p. . for _t. scoticus_, thompson, 'nat. hist. of ireland,' vol. ii., , p. . for _t. cupido_, 'boston journal of nat. hist.,' vol. iii. p. . [ ] marcel de serres, 'annales des sci. nat.,' nd series, zoolog., tom. xiii. p. . [ ] dr. hancock, in 'charlesworth's mag. of nat. hist.' vol. ii., , p. ; r. hill, 'a week at port royal,' p. ; 'guide to the zoological gardens,' by p. l. sclater, , pp. , ; 'the knowsley menagerie,' by dr. gray, , pl. xiv.; e. blyth, 'report asiatic soc. of bengal,' may, . [ ] prof. newton, in 'proc. zoolog. soc.,' , p. . [ ] 'the dovecote and aviary,' p. . [ ] 'ornithological biography,' vol. iii. p. . [ ] 'geograph. journal,' vol. xiii., , p. . [ ] loudon's 'mag. of nat. hist.,' vol. v., , p. . [ ] 'zoologist,' vols. v.-vi., - , p. . [ ] 'transact. entomolog. soc.,' vol. iv., , p. . [ ] 'transact. linn. soc.,' vol. vii. p. . [ ] _see_ an interesting paper by mr. newman, in the 'zoologist,' , p. ; and dr. wallace, in 'proc. entomolog. soc.,' june th, , p. . [ ] yarrell's 'british birds,' vol. i. p. ; bechstein, 'stubenvögel,' s. ; 'philosoph. transact.,' , p. . bronn ('geschichte der natur,' band ii. s. ) has collected a number of cases. for the case of the deer, _see_ 'penny cyclop.,' vol. viii. p. . [ ] 'journal de physiologie,' tom. ii. p. . [ ] for additional evidence on this subject, _see_ f. cuvier, in 'annales du muséum,' tom. xii. p. . [ ] numerous instances could be given. thus livingstone ('travels,' p. ) states that the king of the barotse, an inland tribe which never had any communication with white men, was extremely fond of taming animals, and every young antelope was brought to him. mr. galton informs me that the damaras are likewise fond of keeping pets. the indians of south america follow the same habit. capt. wilkes states that the polynesians of the samoan islands tamed pigeons; and the new zealanders, as mr. mantell informs me, kept various kinds of birds. [ ] for analogous cases with the fowl, _see_ réaumur, 'art de faire eclorre,' &c., , p. ; and col. sykes, in 'proc. zoolog. soc.,' , &c. with respect to the fowl not breeding in northern regions, _see_ latham's 'hist. of birds,' vol. viii., , p. . [ ] 'mém. par divers savans, acad. des sciences,' tom. vi., , p. . [ ] youatt on sheep, p. . [ ] j. mills, 'treatise on cattle,' , p. . [ ] bechstein, 'stubenvögel,' s. . [ ] crawfurd's 'descriptive dict. of the indian islands,' , p. . [ ] 'bull. de la soc. acclimat., tom. ix., , pp. , . [ ] for pigeons, _see_ dr. chapuis, 'le pigeon voyageur belge,' , p. . [ ] 'swedish acts,' vol. i., , p. . pallas makes the same remark in his travels (eng. translat.), vol. i. p. . [ ] a. kerner, 'die cultur der alpenflanzen,' , s. ; watson's 'cybele britannica,' vol. i. p. ; mr. d. cameron, also, has written on the culture of alpine plants in 'gard. chronicle,' , pp. , , and mentions a few which seed. [ ] 'beiträge zur kenntniss der befruchtung,' , s. . [ ] 'nova acta petrop.,' , p. . [ ] 'cottage gardener,' , pp. , . [ ] dr. herbert, 'amaryllidaceæ,' p. . [ ] gärtner, 'beiträge zur kenntniss,' &c., s. , . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. ; , p. . [ ] 'beiträge zur kenntniss,' &c., s. , . [ ] 'journal of hort. soc.,' vol. ii. , p. . [ ] 'beiträge zur kenntniss,' &c., s. _et seq._; kölreuter, 'zweite fortsetzung,' s. , ; 'dritte fortsetzung,' s. . herbert, 'amaryllidaceæ,' p. . wiegmann, 'ueber die bastarderzeugung,' s. . [ ] 'bastarderzeugung,' s. . [ ] 'teoria della riproduzione,' , p. ; 'traité du citrus,' , p. . [ ] mr. c. w. crocker, in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] verlot, 'des variétés,' , p. . [ ] verlot, idem, p. . [ ] prof. allman, brit. assoc., quoted in the 'phytologist,' vol. ii. p. . prof. harvey, on the authority of mr. andrews, who discovered the plant, informed me that this monstrosity could be propagated by seed. with respect to the poppy, _see_ prof. goeppert, as quoted in 'journal of horticulture,' july st, , p. . [ ] 'comptes rendus,' dec. th, , p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'theory of horticulture,' p. . [ ] mr. fairweather, in 'transact. hort. soc.,' vol. iii. p. ; bosse, quoted by bronn, 'geschichte der natur,' b. ii. s. . on the effects of the removal of the anthers, _see_ mr. leitner, in silliman's 'north american journ. of science,' vol. xxiii. p. ; and verlot, 'des variétés,' , p. . [ ] lindley's 'theory of horticulture,' p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. ; , pp. , ; and verlot, 'des variétés,' p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . in this article i suggested the following theory on the doubleness of flowers. [ ] quoted by gärtner, 'bastarderzeugung,' s. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] lindley, 'theory of horticulture,' p. - ; godron, 'de l'espèce,' tom. i. p. : pickering, 'races of man;' gallesio, 'teoria della riproduzione,' , p. - . meyen ('reise um erde,' th. ii. s. ) states that at manilla one variety of the banana is full of seeds; and chamisso (hooker's 'bot. misc.,' vol. i. p. ) describes a variety of the bread-fruit in the mariana islands with small fruit, containing seeds which are frequently perfect. burnes, in his 'travels in bokhara,' remarks on the pomegranate seeding in mazenderan, as a remarkable peculiarity. [ ] ingledew, in 'transact. of agricult. and hort. soc. of india,' vol. ii. [ ] 'de la fécondation,' , p. . [ ] hooker's 'bot. misc.,' vol. i. p. ; gallesio, 'teoria della riproduzione,' p. . [ ] 'transact. linn. soc.,' vol. xvii. p. . [ ] godron, 'de l'espèce,' tom. ii. p. ; herbert on crocus, in 'journal of hort. soc.,' vol. i., , p. .--dr. wight, from what he has seen in india, believes in this view; 'madras journal of lit. and science,' vol. iv., , p. . [ ] wahlenberg specifies eight species in this state on the lapland alps: _see_ appendix to linnæus' 'tour in lapland,' translated by sir j. e. smith, vol. ii. pp. - . [ ] 'travels in north america,' eng. translat., vol. iii. p. . [ ] with respect to the ivy and acorus, _see_ dr. bromfield in the 'phytologist,' vol. iii. p. . _see_ also lindley and vaucher on the acorus. [ ] 'annal. des sc. nat.,' rd series, zool., tom. iv. p. . prof. decaisne refers also to analogous cases with mosses and lichens near paris. [ ] mr. tuckerman, in silliman's 'american journal of science,' vol. xlv. p. . [ ] sir j. e. smith, 'english flora,' vol. i. p. . [ ] g. planchon, 'flora de montpellier,' , p. . [ ] on the non-production of seeds in england _see_ mr. crocker, in 'gardener's weekly magazine,' , p. ; vaucher, 'hist. phys. plantes d'europe,' tom. i. p. ; lecoq, 'géograph. bot. de l'europe,' tom. iv. p. ; dr. d. clos, in 'annal. des sc. nat.,' rd series, bot., tom. xvii., , p. : this latter author refers to other analogous cases. on the non-production of pollen by this ranunculus _see_ chatin, in 'comptes rendus,' june th, . [ ] 'bastarderzeugung,' s. . kölreuter ('dritte fortsetzung,' s. , , ) also shows that when two species, one single and the other double, are crossed, the hybrids are apt to be extremely double. [ ] 'teoria della riproduzione veg.,' , p. . [ ] 'bastarderzeugung,' s. . [ ] ibid., s. . [ ] 'transactions phil. soc.,' , p. . for kölreuter, _see_ 'mém. de l'acad. de st. pétersbourg,' tom. iii., (published ), p. . in reading c. k. sprengel's remarkable work, 'das entdeckte geheimniss,' &c., , it is curious to observe how often this wonderfully acute observer failed to understand the full meaning of the structure of the flowers which he has so well described, from not always having before his mind the key to the problem, namely, the good derived from the crossing of distinct individual plants. [ ] this abstract was published in the fourth edition ( ) of my 'origin of species;' but as this edition will be in the hands of but few persons, and as my original observations on this point have not as yet been published in detail, i have ventured here to reprint the abstract. [ ] the term _unconscious selection_ has been objected to as a contradiction: but _see_ some excellent observations on this head by prof. huxley ('nat. hist. review,' oct. , p. ), who remarks that when the wind heaps up sand-dunes it sifts and _unconsciously selects_ from the gravel on the beach grains of sand of equal size. [ ] sheep, , p. . [ ] mr. j. wright on shorthorn cattle, in 'journal of royal agricult. soc.,' vol. vii. pp. , . [ ] h. d. richardson on pigs, , p. . [ ] 'journal of r. agricult. soc.,' vol. i. p. . [ ] sheep, pp. , . [ ] loudon's 'mag. of nat. hist.,' vol. viii., , p. . [ ] 'a treatise on the art of breeding the almond tumbler,' , p. . [ ] 'recreations in agriculture,' vol. ii. p. . [ ] youatt on cattle, pp. , . [ ] ferguson, 'prize poultry,' , p. . [ ] wilson, in 'transact. highland agricult. soc.,' quoted in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] simmonds, quoted in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . and for the second quotation, _see_ youatt on sheep, p. . [ ] robinet, 'vers à soie,' , p. . [ ] quatrefages, 'les maladies du ver à soie,' , p. . [ ] m. simon, in 'bull. de la soc. d'acclimat.,' tom. ix., , p. . [ ] 'the poultry chronicle,' vol. i., , p. . [ ] j. m. eaton, 'a treatise on fancy pigeons,' , p. xiv., and 'a treatise on the almond tumbler,' , p. . [ ] 'journal royal agricultural soc.,' vol. vi. p. . [ ] 'poultry chronicle,' vol. ii., , p. . [ ] isid. geoffroy st. hilaire, 'hist. nat. gén.,' tom. iii. p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'transact. hort. soc.,' vol. vi. p. . [ ] 'journal of horticulture,' , p. . [ ] 'transact. hort. soc.,' vol. iv. p. . [ ] 'transact. hort. soc.,' vol. iv. p. . [ ] rev. w. bromehead, in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] dr. anderson, in 'the bee,' vol. vi. p. ; mr. barnes, in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] godron, 'de l'espèce,' , tom. ii. p. ; 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] on sheep, p. . [ ] volz, 'beiträge zur kulturgeschichte,' , s. . [ ] mitford's 'history of greece,' vol. i. p. . [ ] dr. dally, translated in 'anthropological review,' may , p. . [ ] volz, 'beiträge,' &c., , s. . [ ] 'history of the world,' ch. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] reynier, 'de l'economie des celtes,' , pp. , . [ ] le couteur on wheat, p. . [ ] michel, 'des haras,' , p. . [ ] sir w. wilde, an 'essay on unmanufactured animal remains,' &c., , p. . [ ] col. hamilton smith, 'nat. library,' vol. xii., horses, pp. , . [ ] michel, 'des haras,' p. . [ ] mr. baker, 'history of the horse,' veterinary, vol. xiii. p. . [ ] m. l'abbé carlier, in 'journal de physique,' vol. xxiv., , p. : this memoir contains much information on the ancient selection of sheep; and is my authority for rams not being killed young in england. [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] communications to board of agriculture, quoted in dr. darwin's 'phytologia,' , p. . [ ] 'mémoire sur les chinois,' , tom. xi. p. ; tom. v. p. . [ ] 'recherches sur l'agriculture des chinois,' par l. d'hervey-saint-denys, , p. . with respect to khang-hi, _see_ huc's 'chinese empire,' p. . [ ] anderson, in 'linn. transact.,' vol. xii. p. . [ ] 'mém. de l'acad.' (divers savans), tom. vi., , p. . [ ] 'des quadrupèdes du paraguay,' , tom. ii. p. , . [ ] 'the great sahara,' by the rev. h. b. tristram, , p. . [ ] pallas, 'act. acad. st. petersburg,' , p. ; moorcroft and trebeck, 'travels in the himalayan provinces,' . [ ] quoted from raffles, in the 'indian field,' , p. ; for varro, _see_ pallas, _ut supra_. [ ] erman's 'travels in siberia,' eng. translat., vol. i. p. . [ ] _see_ also 'journal of r. geograph. soc.,' vol. xiii. part i. p. . [ ] livingstone's 'first travels,' pp. , , ; _see_ also 'expedition to the zambesi,' , p. , for an analogous case respecting a good breed of goats. [ ] andersson's 'travels in south africa,' pp. , , . [ ] dr. vavasseur, in 'bull. de la soc. d'acclimat.,' tom. viii., , p. . [ ] 'the natural history of dee side,' , p. . [ ] 'bull. de la soc. d'acclimat.,' tom. vii., , p. . [ ] 'cattle,' p. . [ ] livingstone's travels, p. ; andersson, 'lake ngami,' , p. . with respect to the sale in kaffraria, _see_ 'quarterly review,' , p. . [ ] 'mémoire sur les chinois' (by the jesuits), , tom. xi. p. . [ ] f. michel, 'des haras,' pp. , . [ ] col. hamilton smith, dogs, in 'nat. lib.,' vol. x. p. . [ ] azara, 'quadrupèdes du paraguay,' tom. ii. p. . [ ] sidney's edit. of youatt, , pp. , . [ ] 'rural economy of yorkshire,' vol. ii. p. . [ ] moll et gayot, 'du boeuf,' , p. . [ ] 'the india sporting review,' vol. ii. p. ; 'the stud farm,' by cecil, p. . [ ] 'the horse,' p. . [ ] 'history of england,' vol. i. p. . [ ] 'uber beständigkeit der arten.' [ ] youatt on sheep, p. . [ ] 'ueber shorthorn rindvieh,' , s. . [ ] low, 'domesticated animals,' , p. . [ ] 'quarterly review,' , p. . [ ] h. von nathusius, 'vorstudien ... schweineschædel,' , s. . [ ] _see_ also dr. christ, in 'rütimeyer's pfahlbauten,' , s. . [ ] the passage is given 'bull. soc. d'acclimat.,' , p. . [ ] 'journal of horticulture,' , p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] _see_ mr. wildman's address to the floricult. soc., in 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'journal of horticulture,' oct. th, , p. . [ ] prescott's 'hist. of mexico,' vol. ii. p. . [ ] sageret, 'pomologie physiologique,' , p. ; gallesio, 'teoria della riproduzione,' , p. ; godron, 'de l'espèce,' , tom. ii. pp. , , . in my tenth and eleventh chapters i have given details on the potato; and i can confirm similar remarks with respect to the onion. i have also shown how far naudin concurs in regard to the varieties of the melon. [ ] godron, 'de l'espèce,' tom. ii. p. . [ ] 'the anthropological treatises of blumenbach,' , p. . [ ] mr. j. j. murphy in his opening address to the belfast nat. hist. soc., as given in the belfast northern whig, nov. , . mr. murphy here follows the line of argument against my views previously and more cautiously given by the rev. c. pritchard, pres. royal astronomical soc., in his sermon (appendix, p. ) preached before the british association at nottingham, . [ ] on the vision of fishes and amphibia, translated in 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.,' vol. xviii., , p. . [ ] fourth edition, , p. . [ ] quoted by youatt on sheep, p. . _see_ also youatt on cattle, pp. , . [ ] mm. lherbette and de quatrefages, in 'bull. soc. acclimat.,' tom. viii., , p. . [ ] 'the poultry book,' , p. . [ ] youatt on sheep, p. . [ ] 'treatise on the almond tumbler,' , p. . [ ] dr. heusinger, 'wochenschrift für die heilkunde,' berlin, , s. . [ ] youatt on the dog, p. . [ ] 'the fruit-trees of america,' , p. : for peaches, p. . [ ] 'proc. royal soc. of arts and sciences of mauritius,' , p. cxxxv. [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] quatrefages, 'maladies actuelles du ver à soie,' , pp. , . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'journal of horticulture,' , p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , pp. , . [ ] bechstein, 'naturgesch. deutschlands,' , b. i. s. . [ ] prichard, 'phys. hist. of mankind,' , vol. i. p. . [ ] g. lewis's 'journal of residence in west indies,' 'home and col. library,' p. . [ ] sidney's edit. of youatt on the pig, p. . [ ] 'journal of horticulture,' , pp. , ; , p. . with respect to the heartsease, 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'des jacinthes, de leur culture,' , p. : on wheat, 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] w. b. tegetmeier, 'the field,' feb. , . with respect to black fowls, _see_ a quotation in thompson's 'nat. hist. of ireland,' , vol. i. p. . [ ] 'bull. de la soc. d'acclimat.,' tom. vii. , p. . [ ] 'transact. hort. soc.,' vol. i. nd series, , p. . for raspberries, _see_ 'gard. chronicle,' , p. , and , p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] ibid., , p. . [ ] ibid., , p. . [ ] j. de jonghe, in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] downing, 'fruit-trees of north america,' pp. , : in regard to the cherry, p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'journal of horticulture,' sept. th, , p. ; _see_ other references given in chap. x. [ ] mr. selby, in 'mag. of zoology and botany,' edinburgh, vol. ii., , p. . [ ] the reine claude de bavay, 'journal of horticulture,' dec. , , p. . [ ] mr. pusey, in 'journal of r. agricult. soc., vol. vi. p. . for swedish turnips, _see_ 'gard. chron.,' , p. . [ ] godron, 'de l'espèce,' tom. ii. p. . [ ] 'gardener's chron.,' , p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , pp. , . [ ] 'on the varieties of wheat,' p. . [ ] mr. hewitt and others, in 'journal of hort.,' , p. . [ ] 'encyclop. of rural sports,' p. . [ ] col. le couteur, 'journal roy. agricult. soc.,' vol. iv. p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'journal of horticulture,' , p. . [ ] 'cottage gardener,' , p. . [ ] 'a review of reports,' , p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] isidore geoffroy st. hilaire, 'hist. nat. gén.,' tom. iii. p. . on the cochineal insect, p. . [ ] capt. marryat, quoted by blyth in 'journ. asiatic soc. of bengal,' vol. xxviii. p. . [ ] mr. oxley, 'journal of the indian archipelago,' vol. ii., , p. . [ ] mr. abbey, in 'journal of horticulture,' dec. , , p. . [ ] 'on naval timber,' , p. . [ ] mr. baily, in 'the poultry chronicle,' vol. ii., , p. . also vol. i. p. ; vol. iii. p. . [ ] 'cottage gardener,' , december, p. ; , january, pp. , . [ ] 'ueber shorthorn rindvieh,' , s. . [ ] 'the veterinary,' vol. xiii. p. . for the glamorganshire cattle, _see_ youatt on cattle, p. . [ ] j. m. eaton, 'a treatise on fancy pigeons,' p. ; ferguson, on 'rare and prize poultry,' p. ; mr. brent, in 'cottage gardener,' oct. . p. . [ ] 'die racen des schweines,' , s. . [ ] _see_ some good remarks on this head by m. de quatrefages, 'unité de l'espèce humaine,' , p. . [ ] verlot, 'des variétés,' , p. . [ ] mr. patrick sheriff, in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'pomologie physiolog.,' , p. . [ ] youatt on sheep, p. . [ ] 'a treatise on the almond tumbler,' p. i. [ ] m. j. de jonghe, in 'gard. chron.,' , p. . [ ] max. müller, 'science of language,' , p. . [ ] youatt on cattle, pp. , . [ ] 'domesticated animals,' p. . [ ] volz, 'beiträge zur kulturgeschichte,' , s. _et passim_. [ ] blaine, 'encyclop. of rural sports,' p. . [ ] 'des jacinthes,' &c., amsterdam, , p. ; verlot, 'des variétés,' &c., p. . on the reindeer, _see_ linnæus, 'tour in lapland,' translated by sir j. e. smith, vol. i. p. . the statement in regard to german shepherds is given on the authority of dr. weinland. [ ] müller's 'physiology,' eng. translation, vol. ii. p. . with respect to the similarity of twins in constitution, dr. william ogle has given me the following extract from professor trousseau's lectures ('clinique médicale,' tom. i. p. ), in which a curious case is recorded:--"j'ai donné mes soins à deux frères jumeaux, tous deux si extraordinairement ressemblants qu'il m'était impossible de les reconnaître, à moins de les voir l'un à côté de l'autre. cette ressemblance physique s'étendait plus loin: ils avaient, permettez-moi l'expression, une similitude pathologique plus remarquable encore. ainsi l'un d'eux que je voyais aux néothermes à paris malade d'une ophthalmie rhumatismale me disait, 'en ce moment mon frère doit avoir une ophthalmie comme la mienne;' et comme je m'étais récrié, il me montrait quelques jours après une lettre qu'il venait de recevoir de ce frère alors à vienne, et qui lui écrivait en effet--'j'ai mon ophthalmie, tu dois avoir la tienne.' quelque singulier que ceci puisse paraître, le fait non est pas moins exact: on ne me l'a pas raconté, je l'ai vu, et j'en ai vu d'autres analogues dans ma pratique. ces deux jumeaux étaient aussi tous deux asthmatiques, et asthmatiques à un effroyable degré. originaires de marseille, ils n'ont jamais pu demeurer dans cette ville, où leurs intérêts les appelaient souvent, sans être pris de leurs accès; jamais ils n'en éprouvaient à paris. bien mieux, il leur suffisait de gagner toulon pour être guéris de leurs attaques de marseilles. voyageant sans cesse et dans tous pays pour leurs affaires, ils avaient remarqué que certaines localités leur étaient funestes, que dans d'autres ils étaient exempts de tout phénomène d'oppression." [ ] isid. geoffroy st. hilaire, 'hist. des anomalies,' tom. iii. p. ; moquin tandon, 'tératologie végétale,' , p. . [ ] metzger, 'die getreidearten,' , s. . [ ] on the date-palm, _see_ vogel, 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.,' , p. . on indian varieties, dr. f. hamilton, 'transact. linn. soc.,' vol. xiv. p. . on the varieties cultivated in tahiti, _see_ dr. bennett, in loudon's 'mag. of n. hist.,' vol. v., , p. . also ellis, 'polynesian researches,' vol. i. pp. , . on twenty varieties of the pandanus and other trees in the marianne island, _see_ 'hooker's miscellany,' vol. i. p. . on the bamboo in china, _see_ huc's 'chinese empire,' vol. ii. p. . [ ] 'treatise on the culture of the apple,' &c., p. . [ ] gallesio, 'teoria della riproduzione veg.,' p. . [ ] _see_ dr. hooker's memoir on arctic plants in 'linn. transact.,' vol. xxiii, part ii. mr. woodward, and a higher authority cannot be quoted, speaks of the arctic mollusca (in his 'rudimentary treatise,' , p. ) as remarkably subject to variation. [ ] bechstein, in his 'naturgeschichte der stubenvögel,' , s. , has some good remarks on this subject. he states that his canary-birds varied in colour, though kept on uniform food. [ ] 'the plant,' by schleiden, translated by henfrey, , p. . _see_ also alex. braun, in 'bot. memoirs,' ray. soc., , p. . [ ] messrs. hardy and son, of maldon, in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'quadrupèdes du paraguay,' , tom. ii. p. . [ ] mcclelland on indian cyprinidæ, 'asiatic researches,' vol. xix. part ii., , pp. , , . [ ] quoted by sageret, 'pom. phys.,' , p. . [ ] 'the fruits of america,' , p. . [ ] m. cardan, in 'comptes rendus,' dec. , quoted in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] m. alexis jordan mentions four excellent pears found in woods in france, and alludes to others ('mém. acad. de lyon,' tom. ii. , p. ). poiteau's remark is quoted in 'gardener's mag.,' vol. iv., , p. . _see_ 'gard. chronicle,' , p. , for another case of a new variety of the pear found in a hedge in france. also for another case, _see_ loudon's 'encyclop. of gardening,' p. . mr. rivers has given me similar information. [ ] duval, 'hist. du poirier,' , p. . [ ] i infer that this is the fact from van mons' statement ('arbres fruitiers,' , tom. i. p. ) that he finds in the woods seedlings resembling all the chief cultivated races of both the pear and apple. van mons, however, looked at these wild varieties as aboriginal species. [ ] downing, 'fruit-trees of north america,' p. ; foley, in 'transact. hort. soc.,' vol. vi. p. . [ ] 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. ; , p. ; , p. . [ ] 'die getreidearten,' , s. , , . [ ] sabine, in 'hort. transact.,' vol. iii. p. ; bronn, 'geschichte der natur,' b. ii. s. . [ ] 'journal of horticulture,' , p. ; on zinnia, 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'the chrysanthemum, its history, &c.,' , p. . [ ] 'gardener's chron.,' , p. ; 'journal of horticulture,' may , , p. . [ ] quoted by verlot, 'des variétés,' &c., , p. . [ ] 'examination of the characteristics of genera and species:' charleston, , p. . [ ] mr hewitt, 'journal of hort.,' , p. . [ ] devay, 'mariages consanguins,' pp. , . in conversation i have found two or three naturalists of the same opinion. [ ] müller has conclusively argued against this belief, 'elements of phys.,' eng. translat., vol. ii., , p. . [ ] 'act. acad. st. petersburg,' , part ii. p. , &c. [ ] 'bastarderzeugung,' s. , , . [ ] 'nova acta, st. petersburg,' , p. ; , pp. , , ; , p. . [ ] 'de la fécondation,' , p. . [ ] 'amaryllidaceæ,' , p. . [ ] abstracted in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] this was the opinion of the elder de candolle, as quoted in 'dic. class. d'hist. nat.,' tom. viii. p. . puvis, in his work, 'de la dégénération,' , p. , has discussed this same point. [ ] 'comptes rendus,' novembre , , p. . [ ] 'nova acta, st. petersburg,' , p. . [ ] 'bastarderzeugung,' s. , , . [ ] 'die bastardbefruchtung,' &c., , s. . [ ] 'bastarderzeugung,' s. , . [ ] 'die bastardbefruchtung,' s. . [ ] 'bastarderzeugung,' s. . [ ] 'dritte fortsetzung,' &c., , s. . [ ] 'die bastardbefruchtung,' &c., , s. ; _see_ also the rev. m. j. berkeley on the same subject, in 'journal of royal hort. soc.,' , p. . [ ] dr. p. lucas has given a history of opinion on this subject: 'héréd. nat.,' , tom. i. p. . [ ] 'hist. des anomalies,' tom. iii. p. . [ ] idem., tom. iii. pp. , . [ ] _see_ his interesting work, 'métamorphoses de l'homme,' &c., , p. . [ ] 'dritte fortsetzung,' &c., s. ; 'bastarderzeugung,' s. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] mr. wildman, 'floricultural soc.,' feb. , , reported in 'gard. chron.,' , p. . [ ] mr. robson, in 'journal of horticulture,' feb. th, , p. . [ ] 'journal of horticulture,' , p. . [ ] ibid., , p. . [ ] 'gard. chron.,' , p. . [ ] ibid., , p. . [ ] 'journal of hort.,' , pp. , . [ ] 'des variétés,' &c., p. . [ ] engel, 'sur les prop. médicales des plantes,' , pp. , . on changes in the odours of plants, _see_ dalibert's experiments, quoted by beckman, 'inventions,' vol. ii. p. ; and nees, in ferussac, 'bull. des sc. nat.,' , tom. i. p. . with respect to the rhubarb, &c., _see_ also 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. ; , p. . [ ] hooker, 'flora indica,' p. . [ ] naudin, 'annales des sc. nat.,' th series, bot., tom. xi., , p. . 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] moorcroft's 'travels,' &c., vol. ii. p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] royle, 'productive resources of india,' p. . [ ] 'personal narrative,' eng. translat., vol. v. p. . this statement has been confirmed by karsten ('beitrag zur kenntniss der rhynchoprion:' moscow, . s. ), and by others. [ ] 'organic chemistry,' eng. translat., st edit., p. . [ ] prichard, 'phys. hist. of mankind,' , vol. i. p. . [ ] darwin, 'journal of researches,' , p. . [ ] these statements on disease are taken from dr. boudin's 'géographie et de statistique médicales,' , tom. i. p. xliv. and lii.; tom. ii. p. . [ ] e. desor, quoted in the 'anthrop. rev.,' , p. . for much confirmatory evidence, _see_ quatrefages, 'unité de l'espèce humaine,' , p. . [ ] 'ceylon,' by sir j. e. tennent, vol. i., , p. . [ ] godron, 'de l'espèce,' tom. ii. p. . [ ] 'journal of horticultural soc.,' vol. vii., , p. . [ ] 'journal of hort. soc.,' vol. i. p. . [ ] _see_ lecoq on the villosity of plants, 'geograph. bot.,' tom. iii. pp. , ; gärtner, 'bastarderz.,' s. ; mr. musters, on the opuntia, in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'pom. phys.,' p. . [ ] 'ampelographie,' , p. . [ ] gärtner, 'bastarderz.,' s. , has collected nearly all recorded facts. andrew knight (in 'transact. hort. soc.,' vol. ii. p. ) goes so far as to maintain that few varieties are absolutely permanent in character when propagated by buds or grafts. [ ] mr. blyth, in 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.,' vol. xx., , p. . [ ] 'natural history review,' , p. . [ ] 'journal of roy. geographical soc.,' vol. ix., , p. . [ ] 'travels in bokhara,' vol. iii. p. . [ ] _see_ also, on the influence of marshy pastures on the wool, godron, 'l'espèce,' tom. ii. p. . [ ] isidore geoffroy st. hilaire, 'hist. nat. gén.,' tom. iii. p. . [ ] azara has made some good remarks on this subject, 'quadrupèdes du paraguay,' tom. ii. p. . _see_ an account of a family of naked mice produced in england, 'proc. zoolog. soc.,' , p. . [ ] 'die fauna der pfahlbauten,' , s. . [ ] 'schweinschædel,' , s. . [ ] 'travels in siberia,' eng. translat., vol. i. p. . [ ] a. r. wallace, 'travels on the amazon and rio negro,' p. . [ ] 'naturgeschichte der stubenvögel,' , s. , . [ ] 'hist. nat. gén.,' tom. iii. p. . [ ] 'bull. de la soc. imp. d'acclimat.,' tom. viii. p. . [ ] _see_ an account of mr. gregson's experiments on the _abraxus grossulariata_, 'proc. entomolog. soc.,' jan. th, : these experiments have been confirmed by mr. greening, in 'proc. of the northern entomolog. soc.,' july th, . for the effects of food on caterpillars, see a curious account by m. michely, in 'bull. de la soc. imp. d'acclimat.,' tom. viii. p. . for analogous facts from dahlbom on hymenoptera, _see_ westwood's 'modern class. of insects,' vol. ii. p. . _see_ also dr. l. möller, 'die abhängigkeit der insecten,' , s. . [ ] 'the principles of biology,' vol. ii. . the present chapters were written before i had read mr. herbert spencer's work, so that i have not been able to make so much use of it as i should otherwise probably have done. [ ] 'proc. acad. nat. soc. of philadelphia,' jan. th, . [ ] _see_ mr. b. d. walsh's excellent papers in 'proc. entomolog. soc. philadelphia,' dec. , p. . with respect to the willow, _see_ idem, , p. . [ ] _see_ his admirable histoire des galles, in 'annal. des sc. nat. bot.,' rd series, tom. xix., , p. . [ ] kirby and spence's 'entomology,' , vol. i. p. ; lucaze-duthiers, idem, p. . [ ] 'proc. entomolog. soc. philadelphia,' , p. . [ ] mr. b. d. walsh, idem, p. ; and dec. , p. . [ ] mr. b. d. walsh, idem, , p. , , ; and dec. , p. . _see_ also lucaze-duthiers. [ ] lucaze-duthiers, idem, pp. , . [ ] 'linnæa,' vol. xvii., ; quoted by dr. m. t. masters, royal institution, march th, . [ ] hewett c. watson, 'cybele britannica,' vol. i., , p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'mémoire sur la production artificielle des monstrosités,' , pp. - ; 'recherches sur les conditions, &c., chez les monstres,' , p. . an abstract is given of geoffroy's experiments by his son, in his 'vie, travaux, &c.,' , p. . [ ] paget, 'lectures on surgical pathology,' , vol. i. p. . [ ] 'researches upon the venom of the rattle-snake,' jan. , by dr. mitchell, p. . [ ] mr. sedgwick, in 'british and foreign medico-chirurg. review,' july , p. . [ ] 'an essay on generation,' eng. translat., p. ; paget, 'lectures on surgical pathology,' , vol. i. p. . [ ] 'an essay on animal reproduction,' eng. translat., , p. . [ ] carpenter's 'principles of comp. physiology,' , p. . [ ] charlesworth's 'mag. of nat. hist.,' vol. i., , p. . [ ] paget, 'lectures on surgical pathology,' vol. i. p. . [ ] quoted by carpenter, 'comp. phys.,' p. . [ ] paget, 'lectures,' &c., p. . [ ] these cases are given by blumenbach in his 'essay on generation,' pp. , . [ ] 'cellular pathology,' trans. by dr. chance, , pp. , . [ ] paget, 'lectures on pathology,' vol. i., , p. . [ ] paget, idem, p. . [ ] 'the principles of biology,' vol. ii., , chap. - . [ ] 'lectures on pathology,' , vol. i. p. . [ ] 'comptes rendus,' sept. th, , p. . [ ] 'the principles of biology,' vol. ii. p. . [ ] idem, vol. ii. p. . [ ] idem, vol. ii. p. . [ ] paget, 'lectures on pathology,' vol. ii. p. . [ ] müller's 'phys.,' eng. translat., pp. , . prof. reed has given ('physiological and anat. researches,' p. ) a curious account of the atrophy of the limbs of rabbits after the destruction of the nerve. [ ] quoted by lecoq, in 'geograph. bot.,' tom. i., , p. . [ ] 'das abändern der vögel,' , s. . [ ] nathusius, 'die racen des schweines,' , s. , ; 'vorstudien ... schweineschædel,' , s. , , . [ ] 'journal of agriculture of highland soc.,' july, , p. . [ ] 'principles of biology,' vol. ii. p. . [ ] 'natural history review,' vol. iv., oct. , p. . [ ] 'lectures on surgical pathology,' , vol. i. p. . [ ] andersson, 'travels in south africa,' p. . for analogous cases in south america, _see_ aug. st. hilaire, 'voyage dans le province de goyaz,' tom. i. p. . [ ] brickell's 'nat. hist. of north carolina,' , p. . [ ] livingstone, quoted by youatt on sheep, p. . hodgson, in 'journal of asiatic soc. of bengal,' vol. xvi., , p. , &c. &c. [ ] 'naturalist library,' dogs, vol. ii. , p. . [ ] 'de l'espèce,' tom. i., , p. . [ ] 'ceylon,' by sir j. e. tennent, , vol. ii. p. . [ ] for the foregoing statements, _see_ hunter's 'essays and observations,' , vol. ii. p. ; dr. edmondston, as quoted in macgillivray's 'british birds,' vol. v. p. ; menetries, as quoted in bronn's 'geschichte der natur,' b. ii. s. . [ ] these statements on the intestines are taken from isidore geoffroy st. hilaire, 'hist. nat. gén.,' tom. iii. pp. , . [ ] gilbert white, 'nat. hist. selbourne,' , vol. ii. p. . [ ] burdach, 'traité de phys.,' tom. ii. p. , as quoted by dr. p. lucas, 'l'héréd. nat.,' tom. i. p. . [ ] this and several other cases are given by colin, 'physiologie comp. des animaux dom.,' , tom. i. p. . [ ] m. michely de cayenne, in 'bull. soc. d'acclimat.,' tom. viii., , p. . [ ] quatrefages, 'unité de l'espèce humaine,' , p. . [ ] 'flora,' , b. ii. p. . [ ] alph. de candolle, 'géograph. bot.,' tom. ii. p. . [ ] royle, 'illustrations of the botany of the himalaya,' p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , pp. , . [ ] rev. r. everest, 'journal as. soc. of bengal,' vol. iii. p. . [ ] youatt on sheep, , p. . [ ] royle, 'prod. resources of india,' p. . [ ] tegetmeier, 'poultry book,' , p. . [ ] dr. r. paterson, in a paper communicated to bot. soc. of canada, quoted in the 'reader,' . nov. th. [ ] _see_ remarks by editor in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . remarks by editor and quotation from decaisne. [ ] j. de jonghe, of brussels, in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] ch. martius, 'voyage bot. côtes sept. de la norvège,' p. . [ ] 'journal de l'acad. hort. de gand,' quoted in 'gard. chron.,' , p. . [ ] 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] idem., , p. . [ ] on the authority of labat, quoted in 'gard. chron.,' , p. . [ ] mm. edwards and colin, 'annal. des sc. nat.,' nd series, bot., tom. v. p. . [ ] 'géograph. bot.,' p. . [ ] 'swedish acts,' eng. translat., - , vol. i. kalm, in his 'travels,' vol. ii. p. , gives an analogous case with cotton-plants raised in new jersey from carolina seed. [ ] de candolle, 'géograph. bot.,' p. . [ ] 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] gallesio, 'teoria della riproduzione veg.,' , p. ; and 'traité du citrus,' , p. . [ ] 'essai sur l'hist. des orangers,' , p. , &c. [ ] alph. de candolle, 'géograph. bot.,' p. . [ ] 'ch. darwin's lehre von der entstehung,' &c., , s. . [ ] decaisne, quoted in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] for the magnolia, _see_ loudon's 'gard. mag.,' vol. xiii., , p. . for camellias and roses, _see_ 'gard. chron.,' , p. . for the yew, 'journal of hort.,' march rd, , p. . for sweet potatoes, _see_ col. von siebold, in 'gard. chron.,' , p. . [ ] the editor, 'gard. chron.,' , p. . [ ] loudon's 'gard. mag.,' vol. xii., , p. . [ ] 'gardeners chron.,' , p. . [ ] 'arboretum et fruticetum,' vol. iii. p. . [ ] mr. robson, in 'journal of horticulture,' , p. . [ ] dr. bonavia, 'report of the agri.-hort. soc. of oudh,' . [ ] 'cottage gardener,' , april, th, p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] mr. beaton, in 'cottage gardener,' march th, , p. . queen mab will also stand stove heat, _see_ 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] quoted by asa gray, in 'am. journ. of sci.,' nd series, jan. , p. . [ ] for china, _see_ 'mémoire sur les chinois,' tom, xi., , p. . columella is quoted by carlier, in 'journal de physique,' tom. xxiv. . [ ] messrs. hardy and son, in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] isid. geoffroy st. hilaire, 'hist. nat. des anomalies,' , tom. ii. pp. , , , ; 'philosoph. transact.,' , p. . [ ] pallas, quoted by youatt on sheep, p. . [ ] youatt on cattle, , p. . [ ] 'encyclop. méthod.,' , p. : _see_ p. , on the indian zebu casting its horns. similar cases in european cattle were given in the third chapter. [ ] pallas, 'travels,' eng. translat., vol. i. p. . [ ] mr. beaton, in 'journal of horticulture,' may , , p. . [ ] lecoq, 'de la fécondation,' , p. . [ ] 'annales du muséum,' tom. vi. p. . [ ] 'hist. des anomalies,' tom. iii. p. . prof. huxley applies the same principle in accounting for the remarkable, though normal, differences in the arrangement of the nervous system in the mollusca, in his great paper on the morphology of the cephalous mollusca, in 'phil. transact.,' , p. . [ ] 'eléments de tératologie veg.,' , p. . [ ] prof. j. b. simonds, on the age of the ox, sheep, &c., quoted in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'hist. des anomalies,' tom. i. p. . [ ] quoted by isid. geoffroy, idem, tom. i. p. . [ ] 'the poultry book,' by w. b. tegetmeier, , p. . [ ] a. walker on intermarriage, , p. . [ ] 'the farrier and naturalist,' vol. i., , p. . [ ] godron, 'sur l'espèce,' tom. ii. p. . [ ] 'quadrupèdes du paraguay,' tom. ii. p. . [ ] on sheep, p. . [ ] 'ueber racen, kreuzungen, &c.,' , s. . [ ] quoted from conolly, in 'the indian field,' feb. , vol. ii. p. . [ ] 'domesticated animals of the british islands,' pp. , . [ ] 'proceedings zoolog. soc.,' , p. . [ ] sedgwick, 'brit. and foreign medico-chirurg. review,' april , p. . [ ] 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'embassy to the court of ava,' vol. i. p. . [ ] 'narrative of a mission to the court of ava in ,' p. . [ ] those statements are taken from mr. sedgwick, in the 'medico-chirurg. review,' july , p. ; april , pp. and . liebreich is quoted by professor devay, in his 'mariages consanguins,' , p. . [ ] loudon's 'mag. of nat. hist.,' vol. i., , pp. , . _see_ also dr. p. lucas, 'l'héréd. nat.,' tom. i. p. , on the inheritance of deafness in cats. [ ] 'annales des sc. nat.' zoolog., rd series, , tom. viii. p. . [ ] 'gardener's chron.,' , p. . [ ] verlot gives several other instances, 'des variétés,' , p. . [ ] 'arbres fruitiers,' , tom. ii. pp. , . [ ] 'annales du muséum,' tom. xx. p. . [ ] 'gardener's chron.,' , p. . [ ] ibid., , p. . [ ] 'hist. des anomalies,' tom. iii. p. . _see_ also m. camille dareste, 'recherches sur les conditions,' &c., , pp. , . [ ] rev. e. s. dixon, 'ornamental poultry,' , p. ; isidore geoffroy, 'hist. anomalies,' tom. i. p. . [ ] 'on the breeding of domestic animals,' , p. . [ ] youatt on cattle, , p. . [ ] mr. herbert spencer ('principles of biology,' , vol. i. pp. , ) takes a different view; and in one place remarks: "we have seen reason to think that, as fast as essential faculties multiply, and as fast as the number of organs that co-operate in any given function increases, indirect equilibration through natural selection becomes less and less capable of producing specific adaptations; and remains fully capable only of maintaining the general fitness of constitution to conditions." this view that natural selection can do little in modifying the higher animals surprises me, seeing that man's selection has undoubtedly effected much with our domesticated quadrupeds and birds. [ ] dr. prosper lucas apparently disbelieves in any such connexion, 'l'héréd. nat.,' tom. ii. pp. - . [ ] 'british medical journal,' , p. . [ ] boudin, 'geograph. médicale,' tom. i. p. . [ ] this fact and the following cases, when not stated to the contrary, are taken from a very curious paper by prof. heusinger, in 'wochenschrift für heilkunde,' may , s. . [ ] mr. mogford, in the 'veterinarian,' quoted in 'the field,' jan. , , p. . [ ] 'edinburgh veterinary journal,' oct. , p. . [ ] 'hist. des anomalies,' , tom. i. pp. , - ; tom. iii. p. . [ ] 'comptes rendus,' , pp. , . [ ] carpenter's 'comp. phys.,' , p. ; _see_ also camille dareste, 'comptes rendus,' march th, , p. . [ ] 'elements of physiology,' eng. translat, vol. i., , p. . with respect to vrolik, _see_ todd's 'cyclop. of anat. and phys.,' vol. iv., - , p. . [ ] 'tératologie vég.,' , livre iii. [ ] 'hist. des anomalies,' tom. iii. pp. , , . [ ] 'tératologie vég.,' p. . _see_ also my paper on climbing plants in 'journal of linn. soc. bot.,' vol. ix., , p. . [ ] 'mémoires du muséum,' &c., tom. viii. p. . [ ] loudon's 'encyclop. of gardening,' p. . [ ] prichard, 'phys. hist. of mankind,' , vol. i. p. . [ ] 'annales des sc. nat.,' st series, tom. xix. p. . [ ] 'comptes rendus,' dec. , p. . [ ] ueber fötale rachites, 'würzburger medicin. zeitschrift,' , b. i. s. . [ ] 'tératologie vég.,' p. . dr. m. masters informs me that he doubts the truth of this conclusion; but the facts to be given seem to be sufficient to establish it. [ ] 'journal of horticulture,' july nd, , p. . [ ] it would be worth trial to fertilise with the same pollen the central and lateral flowers of the pelargonium, and of some other highly cultivated plants, protecting them of course from insects: then to sow the seed separately, and observe whether the one or the other lot of seedlings varied the most. [ ] quoted in 'journal of horticulture,' feb. , , p. . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . for the phalænopsis, _see_ idem, , p. . [ ] mémoires ... des végétaux,' , tom. ii. p. . [ ] 'journal of horticulture,' july , , p. . [ ] 'nouvelles archives du muséum,' tom. i. p. . [ ] hugo von mohl, 'the vegetable cell,' eng. tr., , p. . [ ] the rev. h. h. dombrain, in 'journal of horticulture,' , june th, p. ; and june th, p. ; , april th, p. . [ ] 'transact. linn. soc.,' vol. xxiii., , p. . [ ] 'die getreidearten,' , s. , . [ ] 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [ ] quoted in 'gardener's chron.,' , p. . [ ] 'ueber den begriff der pflanzenart,' , s. . [ ] 'domesticated animals,' , p. . [ ] bechstein, 'naturgeschichte deutschlands,' band iv., , s. . [ ] 'proc. entomolog. soc. of philadelphia,' oct. , p. . [ ] quoted by paget, 'lectures on pathology,' , p. . [ ] dr. lachmann, also, observes ('annals and mag. of nat. history,' nd series, vol. xix., , p. ) with respect to infusoria, that "fissation and gemmation pass into each other almost imperceptibly." again, mr. w. c. minor ('annals and mag. of nat. hist.,' rd series, vol. xi. p. ) shows that with annelids the distinction that has been made between fission and budding is not a fundamental one. _see_ bonnet, 'oeuvres d'hist. nat.,' tom. v., , p. , for remarks on the budding-out of the amputated limbs of salamanders. _see_, also, professor clark's work 'mind in nature,' new york, , pp. , . [ ] paget, 'lectures on pathology,' , p. . [ ] idem, pp. , . [ ] on the asexual reproduction of cecydomyide larvæ, translated in 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.,' march , pp. , . [ ] _see_ some excellent remarks on this head by quatrefages, in 'annales des sc. nat.,' zoolog., rd series, , p. . [ ] 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.,' nd series, vol. xx., , pp. - . [ ] 'annales des sc. nat.,' rd series, , tom. xiii. [ ] 'transact. phil. soc.,' , pp. , , ; , p. , . [ ] 'beitrage zur kenntniss,' &c., , s. . [ ] 'nouvelles archives du muséum,' tom. i. p. . [ ] as quoted by sir j. lubbock in 'nat. hist. review,' , p. . [ ] 'transact. linn. soc.,' vol. xxiv., , p. . [ ] 'parthenogenesis,' , pp. - . prof. huxley has some excellent remarks ('medical times,' , p. ) on this subject, in reference to the development of star-fishes, and shows how curiously metamorphosis graduates into gemmation or zoid-formation, which is in fact the same as metagenesis. [ ] prof. j. reay greene, in günther's 'record of zoolog. lit.,' , p. . [ ] fritz müller's 'für darwin,' , s. , . the highest authority on crustaceans, prof. milne edwards, insists ('annal. des sci. nat.,' nd series, zoolog., tom. iii. p. ) on their metamorphoses differing even in closely allied genera. [ ] prof. allman, in 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.,' rd series, vol. xiii., , p. ; dr. s. wright, idem, vol. viii., , p. . _see_ also p. for analogous statements by sars. [ ] 'tissus vivants,' , p. . [ ] 'cellular pathology,' translat. by dr. chance, , pp. , , , . [ ] paget, 'surgical pathology,' vol. i., , pp. - . [ ] idem, p. . [ ] mantegazza, quoted in 'popular science review,' july , p. . [ ] 'de la production artificielle des os,' p. . [ ] isidore geoffroy st. hilaire, 'hist. des anomalies,' tom. ii. pp. , , ; virchow, idem, p. . [ ] for the most recent classification of cells, _see_ ernst häckel's 'generelle morpholog.,' band ii., , s. . [ ] 'the structure and growth of tissues,' , p. , &c. [ ] dr. w. turner, 'the present aspect of cellular pathology,' 'edinburgh medical journal,' april, . [ ] this term is used by dr. e. montgomery ('on the formation of so-called cells in animal bodies,' , p. ), who denies that cells are derived from other cells by a process of growth, but believes that they originate through certain chemical changes. [ ] prof. huxley has called my attention to the views of buffon and bonnet. the former ('hist. nat. gén.,' edit. of , tom. ii. pp. , , , , , ) supposes that organic molecules exist in the food consumed by every living creature; and that these molecules are analogous in nature with the various organs by which they are absorbed. when the organs thus become fully developed, the molecules being no longer required collect and form buds or the sexual elements. if buffon had assumed that his organic molecules had been formed by each separate unit throughout the body, his view and mine would have been closely similar. bonnet ('oeuvres d'hist. nat.,' tom. v., part i., , to edit., p. ) speaks of the limbs having germs adapted for the reparation of all possible losses; but whether these germs are supposed to be the same with those within the buds and sexual organs is not clear. his famous but now exploded theory of _emboîtement_ implies that perfect germs are included within germs in endless succession, pre-formed and ready for all succeeding generations. according to my view, the germs or gemmules of each separate part were not originally pre-formed, but are continually produced at all ages during each generation, with some handed down from preceding generations. prof. owen remarks ('parthenogenesis,' , pp. - ), "not all the progeny of the primary impregnated germ-cell are required for the formation of the body in all animals: certain of the derivative germ-cells may remain unchanged and become included in that body which has been composed of their metamorphosed and diversely combined or confluent brethren: so included, any derivative germ-cell, or the nucleus of such, may commence and repeat the same processes of growth by imbibition, and of propagation by spontaneous fission, as those to which itself owed its origin;" &c. by the agency of these germ-cells prof. owen accounts for parthenogenesis, for propagation by self-division during successive generations, and for the repairs of injuries. his view agrees with mine in the assumed transmission and multiplication of his germ-cells, but differs fundamentally from mine in the belief that the primary germ-cell was formed within the ovarium of the female and was fertilised by the male. my gemmules are supposed to be formed, quite independently of sexual concourse, by each separate cell or unit throughout the body, and to be merely aggregated within the reproductive organs. lastly, mr. herbert spencer ('principles of biology,' vol. i., - , chaps. iv. and viii.) has discussed at considerable length what he designates as physiological units. these agree with my gemmules in being supposed to multiply and to be transmitted from parent to child; the sexual elements are supposed to serve merely as their vehicles; they are the efficient agents in all the forms of reproduction and in the repairs of injuries; they account for inheritance, but they are not brought to bear on reversion or atavism, and this is unintelligible to me; they are supposed to possess polarity, or, as i call it, affinity; and apparently they are believed to be derived from each separate part of the whole body. but gemmules differ from mr. spencer's physiological units, inasmuch as a certain number, or mass of them, are, as we shall see, requisite for the development of each cell or part. nevertheless i should have concluded that mr. spencer's views were fundamentally the same with mine, had it not been for several passages which, as far as i understand them, indicate something quite different. i will quote some of these passages from pp. - . "in the fertilised germ we have two groups of physiological units, slightly different in their structures."... "it is not obvious that change in the form of the part, caused by changed action, involves such change in the physiological units throughout the organism, that these, when groups of them are thrown off in the shape of reproductive centres, will unfold into organisms that have this part similarly changed in form. indeed, when treating of adaptation, we saw that an organ modified by increase or decrease of function can but slowly so react on the system at large as to bring about those correlative changes required to produce a new equilibrium; and yet only when such new equilibrium has been established, can we expect it to be _fully_ expressed in the modified physiological units of which the organism is built--only then can we count on a complete transfer of the modification to descendants."... "that the change in the offspring must, other things equal, be in the same direction as the change in the parent, we may dimly see is implied by the fact, that the change propagated throughout the parental system is a change towards a new state of equilibrium--a change tending to bring the actions of all organs, reproductive included, into harmony with these new actions." [ ] m. philipeaux ('comptes rendus,' oct. , , p. , and june, ) has lately shown that when the entire fore-limb, including the scapula, is extirpated, the power of regrowth is lost. from this he concludes that it is necessary for regrowth that a small portion of the limb should be left. but as in the lower animals the whole body may be bisected and both halves be reproduced, this belief does not seem probable. may not the early closing of a deep wound, as in the case of the extirpation of the scapula, prevent the formation or protrusion of the nascent limb? [ ] 'annal. des sc. nat.,' rd series, bot., tom. xiv., , p. . [ ] _see_ some very interesting papers on this subject by prof. lionel beale, in 'medical times and gazette,' sept. th, , pp. , . [ ] third report of the r. comm. on the cattle plague, as quoted in 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] in a cod-fish, weighing lb., mr. f. buckland ('land and water,' , p. ) calculated the above number of eggs. in another instance, harmer ('phil. transact.,' , p. ) found , , eggs. for the ascaris, _see_ carpenter's 'comp. phys.,' , p. . mr. j. scott, of the royal botanic garden of edinburgh, calculated, in the same manner as i have done for some british orchids ('fertilisation of orchids,' p. ), the number of seeds in a capsule of an acropera, and found the number to be , . now this plant produces several flowers on a raceme and many racemes during a season. in an allied genus, gongora, mr. scott has seen twenty capsules produced on a single raceme: ten such racemes on the acropera would yield above seventy-four millions of seed. i may add that fritz müller informs me that he found in a capsule of a maxillaria, in south brazil, that the seed weighed ½ grains: he then arranged half a grain of seed in a narrow line, and by counting a measured length found the number in the half-grain to be , , so that in the capsule there must have been , , seeds! the same plant sometimes produces half-a-dozen capsules. [ ] 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.,' rd series, vol. viii., , p. . [ ] paget, 'lectures on pathology,' p. ; virchow, 'cellular pathology,' translat. by dr. chance, pp. , , ; claude bernard, 'des tissus vivants,' pp. , , ; müller's 'physiology,' eng. translat., p. . [ ] virchow, 'cellular pathology,' trans. by dr. chance, , pp. , , , , . [ ] idem, pp. - . [ ] _see_ rev. j. m. berkeley, in 'gard. chron.,' april th, , on a bud developed on the petal of the clarkia. _see_ also h. schacht, 'lehrbuch der anat.,' &c., , theile ii. s. , on adventitious buds. [ ] mr. herbert spencer ('principles of biology,' vol. ii. p. ) has fully discussed the antagonism between growth and reproduction. [ ] the male salmon is known to breed at a very early age. the triton and siredon, whilst retaining their larval branchiæ, according to filippi and duméril ('annals and mag. of nat. hist.,' rd series, , p. ), are capable of reproduction. ernst häckel has recently ('monatsbericht akad. wiss. berlin,' feb. nd, ) observed the surprising case of a medusa, with its reproductive organs active, which produces by budding a widely different form of medusa; and this latter also has the power of sexual reproduction. krohn has shown ('annals and mag. of nat. hist.,' rd series, vol. xix., , p. ) that certain other medusæ, whilst sexually mature, propagate by gemmæ. [ ] _see_ his excellent discussion on this subject in 'nouvelles archives du muséum,' tom. i. p. . [ ] various physiologists have insisted on this distinction between growth and development. prof. marshall ('phil. transact.,' , p. ) gives a good instance in microcephalous idiots, in which the brain continues to grow after having been arrested in its development. [ ] 'compte rendu,' nov. , , p. . [ ] as previously remarked by quatrefages, in his 'metamorphoses de l'homme,' &c., , p. . [ ] günther's 'zoological record,' , p. . [ ] sedgwick, in 'medico-chirurg. review,' april , p. . [ ] isid. geoffroy st. hilaire, 'hist. des anomalies,' tom. i., , pp. , ; and tom. ii. p. . [ ] virchow, 'cellular pathology,' , p. . [ ] moquin-tandon, 'tératologie veg.,' , pp. , , . for the case of the pea, _see_ 'gardener's chron.,' , p. . [ ] müller's 'physiology,' eng. translat., vol. i. p. . [ ] _see_ some remarks to this effect by sir h. holland in his 'medical notes,' , p. . [ ] this is the view taken by prof. häckel, in his 'generelle morphologie' (b. ii. s. ), who says: "lediglich die partielle identität der specifischconstituirten materie im elterlichen und im kindlichen organismus, die theilung dieser materie bei der fortpflanzung, ist die ursache der erblichkeit." [ ] in these remarks i, in fact, follow naudin, who speaks of the elements or essences of the two species which are crossed. see his excellent memoir in the 'nouvelles archives du muséum,' tom. i. p. . [ ] godron, 'de l'espèce,' , tom. ii. p. , &c. [ ] journal proc. linn. soc., , vol. iii. p. . [ ] 'the quarterly journal of science,' oct. , p. . [ ] m. rufz de lavison, in 'bull. soc. imp. d'acclimat.,' dec. , p. . [ ] 'races of man,' , p. . [ ] 'travels in peru,' eng. translat., p. . [ ] youatt on cattle, , p : on pigs; _see_ 'gard. chronicle,' , p. . [ ] 'die pflanzen der pfahlbauten,' . [ ] morlot, 'soc. vaud. des scien. nat,' mars , p. . [ ] rütimeyer, 'die fauna der pfahlbauten,' , s. . [ ] godron, 'de l'espèce,' tom. i., , p. . [ ] 'géographie botan.,' , p. . [ ] pickering, 'races of man,' , p. . [ ] 'journal of a horticultural tour,' by a deputation of the caledonian hist. soc., , p. . * * * * * corrections made to printed original. p. iii. "appearance with advancing age": 'arpearance' in original. p. vi. "slight changes sufficient": 'sufficent' in original. p. . "bearing in mind what has been said": 'bearnig' in original. p. . "not attached to any particular period": 'particuliar' in original. p. . "it permits innumerable individuals to be born": 'permitts' in original. p. . "liable to complete absorption": 'absortion' in original. p. . "found that when the animal was compelled ...": 'found than ...' in original. p. . "branches in a rudimentary condition": 'rudimentry' in original. p. . "force themselves into a minute orifice": 'into' was printed on next line in original, after 'must'. the ray society. instituted mdcccxliv. [illustration] london. mdcccli. a monograph on the sub-class cirripedia, with figures of all the species. by charles darwin, f.r.s., f.g.s. the lepadidÆ; or, pedunculated cirripedes. london: printed for the ray society. mdcccli. c. and j. adlard, printers, bartholomew preface. my duty, in acknowledging the great obligations under which i lie to many naturalists, affords me most sincere pleasure. i had originally intended to have described only a single abnormal cirripede, from the shores of south america, and was led, for the sake of comparison, to examine the internal parts of as many genera as i could procure. under these circumstances, mr. j. e. gray, in the most disinterested manner, suggested to me making a monograph on the entire class, although he himself had already collected materials for this same object. furthermore, mr. gray most kindly gave me his strong support, when i applied to the trustees of the british museum for the use of the public collection; and i here most respectfully beg to offer my grateful acknowledgments to the trustees, for their most liberal and unfettered permission of examining, and when necessary, disarticulating the specimens in the magnificent collection of cirripedes, commenced by dr. leach, and steadily added to, during many years, by mr. gray. considering the difficulty in determining the species in this class, had it not been for this most liberal permission by the trustees, the public collection would have been of no use to me, or to any other naturalist, in systematically classifying the cirripedes. previously to mr. gray suggesting to me the present monograph, mr. stutchbury, of bristol, had offered to intrust to me his truly beautiful collection, the fruit of many years' labour. at that time i refused this most generous offer, intending to confine myself to anatomical observations; but i have since accepted it, and still have the entire splendid collection for my free use. mr. stutchbury, with unwearied kindness, further supplied me with fresh specimens for dissection, and with much valuable information. at about the same period, mr. cuming strongly urged me to take up the subject, and his advice had more weight with me than that of almost any other person. he placed his whole magnificent collection at my disposal, and urged me to treat it as if it were my own: whenever i told him that i thought it necessary, he permitted me to open unique specimens of great value, and dissect the included animal. i shall always feel deeply honoured by the confidence reposed in me by mr. cuming and mr. stutchbury. i lie under obligations to so many naturalists, that i am, in truth, at a loss how to express my gratitude. mr. peach, over and over again, sent me fresh specimens of several species, and more especially of _scalpellum vulgare_, which were of invaluable assistance to me in making out the singular sexual relations in that species. mr. peach, furthermore, made for me observations on several living individuals. mr. w. thompson, the distinguished natural historian of ireland, has sent me the finest collection of british species, and their varieties, which i have seen, together with many very valuable ms. observations, and the results of experiments. prof. owen procured for me the loan of some very interesting specimens in the college of surgeons, and has always given me his invaluable advice and opinion, when consulted by me. professor e. forbes has been, as usual, most kind in obtaining for me specimens and information of all kinds. to the rev. r. t. lowe i am indebted for his particularly interesting collection of cirripedes from the island of madeira--a collection offering a singular proof what treasures skill and industry can discover in the most confined locality. the well-known conchologist, mr. j. g. jeffreys, has sent for my examination a very fine collection of british specimens, together with a copious ms. list of synonyms, with the authorities quoted. to the kindness of messrs. m^c andrew, lovell reeve, g. busk, g. b. sowerby, sen., d. sharpe, bowerbank, hancock, adam white, dr. baird, sir john richardson, and several other gentlemen, i am greatly indebted for specimens and information: to mr. hancock i am further indebted for several long and interesting letters on the burrowing of cirripedes. nor are my obligations confined to british naturalists. dr. aug. gould, of boston, has most kindly transmitted to me some very interesting specimens; as has prof. agassiz other specimens collected by himself in the southern states. to mr. j. d. dana, i am much indebted for several long letters, containing original and valuable information on points connected with the anatomy of the cirripedia. to mr. conrad i am likewise indebted for information and assistance. both the celebrated professors, milne edwards and müller, have lent me, from the great public collections under their charge, specimens which i should not otherwise have seen. to professor w. dunker, of cassel, i am indebted for the examination of his whole collection. i have, in a former publication, expressed my thanks to professor steenstrup, but i must be permitted here to repeat them, for a truly valuable present of a specimen of the _anelasma squalicola_ of this work. i will conclude my thanks to all the above british and foreign naturalists, by stating my firm conviction, that if a person wants to ascertain how much true kindness exists amongst the disciples of natural history, he should undertake, as i have done, a monograph on some tribe of animals, and let his wish for assistance be generally known. had it not been for the ray society, i know not how the present volume could have been published; and therefore i beg to return my most sincere thanks to the council of this distinguished institution. to mr. g. b. sowerby, junr., i am under obligations for the great care he has taken in making preparatory drawings, and in subsequently engraving them. i believe naturalists will find that the ten plates here given are faithful delineations of nature. in monographs, it is the usual and excellent custom to give a history of the subject, but this has been so fully done by burmeister, in his 'beiträge zur naturgeschichte der rankenfüsser,' and by m. g. martin st. ange, in his 'mémoire sur l'organisation des cirripèdes,' that it would be superfluous here to repeat the same list of authors. i will only add, that since the date, , of the above works, the only important papers with which i am acquainted, are, st. dr. coldstream 'on the structure of the shell in sessile cirripedes,' in the 'encyclopædia of anatomy and physiology;' d. dr. lovén 'on the alepas squalicola,' ('ofversigt of kongl. vetens.,' &c. stockholm, , p. ,) giving a short but excellent account of this abnormal cirripede; d. professor leidy's very interesting discovery, ('proceedings of the academy of natural sciences,' philadelphia, vol. iv, no. i, jan. ,) of eyes in a mature balanus; th. mr. a. hancock's memoir, ('annals of natural history, d series, nov. ,) on his alcippe lampas, the type of a new order of cirripedes; th. mr. goodsir's paper, ('edinburgh new philosoph. journal,' july ,) on the larvæ in the first stage of development in balanus; th. mr. c. spence bate's valuable paper on the same subject, lately published, (oct. ,) in the 'annals of natural history;' and lastly, m. reinhardt has described, in the 'copenhagen journal of natural history, jan. ,' the _lithotrya nicobarica_, and has discussed its powers of burrowing into rocks. i have given the specific or diagnostic characters, deduced from the external parts alone, in both latin and english. as i found, during the progress of this work, that a similarly abbreviated character of the softer internal parts, was very useful in discriminating the species, i have inserted it after the ordinary specific character. in those cases in which a genus includes only a single species, i have followed the practice of some botanists, and given only the generic character, believing it to be impossible, before a second species is discovered, to know which characters will prove of specific, in contradistinction to generic, value. in accordance with the rules of the british association, i have faithfully endeavoured to give to each species the first name attached to it, subsequently to the introduction of the binomial system, in , in the tenth edition[ ] of the 'systema naturæ.' in accordance with the rules, i have rejected all names before this date, and all ms. names. in one single instance, for reasons fully assigned in the proper place, i have broken through the great law of priority. i have given much fewer synonyms than is usual in conchological works; this partly arises from my conviction that giving references to works, in which there is not any original matter, or in which the plates are not of a high order of excellence, is absolutely injurious to the progress of natural history, and partly, from the impossibility of feeling certain to which species the short descriptions given in most works are applicable;--thus, to take the commonest species, the _lepas anatifera_, i have not found a single description (with the exception of the anatomical description by m. martin st. ange) by which this species can be certainly discriminated from the almost equally common _lepas hillii_. i have, however, been fortunate in having been permitted to examine a considerable number of authentically named specimens, (to which i have attached the sign (!) used by botanists,) so that several of my synonyms are certainly correct. [ ] in the rules published by the british association, the th edition, ( ,) is specified, but i am informed by mr. strickland that this is an error, and that the binomial method was followed in the th edition. the lepadidæ, or pedunculated cirripedes, have been neglected under a systematic point of view, to a degree which i cannot quite understand: no doubt they are subject to considerable variation, and as long as the internal surfaces of the valves and all the organs of the animal's body, are passed over as unimportant, there will occasionally be some difficulty in the identification of the several forms, and still more in settling the limits of the variability of the species. but i suspect the pedunculated cirripedes have, in fact, been neglected owing to their close affinity, and the consequent necessity of their being included in the same work with the sessile cirripedes; for these latter will ever present, i am fully convinced, insuperable difficulties in their identification by external characters alone. i will here only further remark, that in the introduction i have given my reasons for assigning distinct names to the several valves, and to some parts of the included animal's body; and that in the introductory remarks, under the general description of the lepadidæ, i have given an abstract of my anatomical observations. corrigenda and addenda. page , twenty lines from bottom, _for_ "hinder pair of true thoracic limbs," _read_ "pair of true thoracic limbs." , . i should have added, that the number of the segments in the cirri increases with the age of the specimen; but that the relative numbers in the different cirri keep, as far as i have seen, nearly constant; hence the numbers are often given in the descriptions. et passim, _for_ pæcilasma, _read_ poecilasma. . in a foot-note, i have alluded to a new genus of sessile cirripedes, under the name of siphonicella, i now find that this species has been called, by professor steenstrup, _xenobalanus globicipitis_. monograph on the cirripedia. introduction. i should have been enabled to have made this volume more complete, had i deferred its publication until i had finished my examination of all the other known cirripedes; but my work would thus have been rendered inconveniently large. until this examination is completed, it will be more prudent not to discuss, in detail, the position of the lepadidæ amongst the cirripedia, or of these latter in the great class of crustacea, to which they now, by almost universal consent, have been assigned. i may, however, remark that i believe the cirripedia do not approach, by a single character, any animal beyond the confines of the crustacea: where such an approach has been imagined, it has been founded on erroneous observations; for instance, the closed tube within the stomach, described by m. martin st. ange (to whose excellent paper i am greatly indebted), as indicating an affinity to the annelides, is, i am convinced, nothing but a strong epithelial lining, which i have often seen ejected with the excrement. again, a most distinguished author has stated that the cirripedia differ from the crustacea:-- st. in having "a calcareous shell and true mantle;" but there is no essential difference, as shown by burmeister, in the shells in these two classes; and cirripedes certainly have no more claim to a mantle than have the bivalve entomostraca. d. "in the sexes joined in one individual;" but this, as we shall see, is not constant, nor of very much weight, even if constant. d. "in the body not being ringed;" but if the outer integument of the thorax of any cirripede be well cleaned, it will be seen, (as was long ago shown by martin st. ange), to be most distinctly articulated. th. "in having salivary glands;" but these glands are, in truth, the ovaria. th. "in the liver being formed on the molluscous type;" i do not think this is the case, but i do not quite understand the point in question. th. "in not having a head or organs of sense;" this is singularly erroneous: professor leidy has shown the existence of eyes in the mature cirripede; the antennæ, though preserved, certainly become functionless soon after the last metamorphosis; but there exist other organs of sense, which i believe serve for smelling and hearing: and lastly, so far from there being no head, the whole of the cirripede externally visible, consists exclusively of the three anterior segments of the head. the sub-class, cirripedia, can be divided into three orders; the first of which, mainly characterised by having six pair of thoracic cirri, includes all common cirripedes: these latter may be divided into three families,--the lepadidæ, or pedunculated cirripedes, the subject of the present memoir; the verrucidæ containing the single genus verruca or clisia; and, lastly, the balanidæ, which consist of two very distinct sub-families, the balaninæ and chthamalinæ. of the other two orders above alluded to, one will, i believe, contain the remarkable burrowing genus alcippe, lately described by mr. hancock, and a second burrowing genus, or rather family, obtained by me on the coast of south america. the third order is highly singular, and differs as much from all other cirripedes as does a lernæa from other crustaceans; it has a suctorial mouth, but is destitute of an anus; it has not any limbs, and is as plainly articulated as the larva of a fly; it is entirely naked, without valves, carapace, or capitulum, and is attached to the cirripede, in the sack of which it is parasitic, by _two_ distinct threads, terminating in the usual larval, prehensile antennæ. i intend to call this cirripede, proteolepas. i mention it here for the sake of calling attention to any parasite at all answering to this description. nomenclature of the valves. [illustration: figure i. capitulum.] [illustration: figure ii. scutum of lepas.] [illustration: figure iii. tergum of lepas.] although the present volume is strictly systematic, i will, under the general description of the lepadidæ, give a very brief abstract of some of the most interesting points in their internal anatomy, and in the metamorphoses of the whole class, which i hope hereafter to treat, with the necessary illustrations, in detail. i enter on the subject of the metamorphoses the more readily, as by this means alone can the homologies of the different parts be clearly understood. _on the names given to the different parts of cirripedes._ i have unwillingly found it indispensable to give names to several valves, and to some few of the softer parts of cirripedes. the accompanying figure of an imaginary scalpellum includes every valve; the two most important valves of lepas are also given, in which the direction of the lines of growth and general shape differ from those of scalpellum as much as they do in any genus. the names which i have imposed will, i hope, be thus acquired without much difficulty. whoever will refer to the published descriptions of recent and fossil cirripedia, will find the utmost confusion in the existing nomenclature: thus, the valve named in the woodcut the _scutum_, has been designated by various well-known naturalists as the "ventral," the "anterior," the "inferior," the "ante-lateral," and the "latero-inferior" valve; the first two of these titles have, moreover, been applied to the rostrum or rostral valve of sessile cirripedes. the _tergum_ has been called the "dorsal," the "posterior," the "superior," the "central," the "terminal," the "postero-lateral," and the "latero-superior" valve. the _carina_ has received the first two of these identical epithets, viz. the "dorsal" and the "posterior;" and likewise has been called the "keel-valve." the confusion, however, becomes far worse, when any individual valve is described, for the very same margin which is anterior or inferior in the eyes of one author, is the posterior or superior in those of another; it has often happened to me that i have been quite unable even to conjecture to which margin or part of a valve an author was referring. moreover, the length of these double titles is inconvenient. hence, as i have to describe all the recent and fossil species, i trust i may be thought justified in giving short names to each of the more important valves, these being common to the pedunculated and sessile cirripedes. the part supported by the peduncle, and which is generally, though not always, protected by valves, i have designated the _capitulum_. the title of _peduncle_, which is either naked or squamiferous, requires no explanation; the scales on it, and the lower valves of the capitulum, are arranged in whorls, which, in the latin specific descriptions, i have called by the botanical term of verticillus. i have applied the term _scutum_ to the most important and persistent of the valves, and which can generally be recognised by the hollow giving attachment to the adductor scutorum muscle, from the resemblance which the two valves taken together bear to a shield, and from their office of protecting the front side of the body. from the protection afforded by the two _terga_ to the dorso-lateral surface of the animal, these valves have been thus called. the term _carina_[ ] is a mere translation of the name already used by some authors, of keel-valve. [ ] in the carina of fossil species of scalpellum, i have found it necessary to distinguish different parts, viz., a, the tectum, of which half is seen; b, the parietes; and c, the intra-parietes. the _rostrum_ has been so called from its relative position to the carina or keel. there is often a _sub-carina_ and a _sub-rostrum_. the remaining valves, when present, have been called _latera_; there is always one large upper one inserted between the lower halves of the scuta and terga, and this i have named the upper latus or latera; the other latera in pollicipes are numerous, and require no special names; in scalpellum, where there are at most only three pair beneath the upper latera, it is convenient to speak of them (_vide_ woodcut, i,) as the _carinal_, _infra-median_, and _rostral latera_. as each valve often requires (especially amongst the fossil species) a distinct description, i have found it indispensable to give names to each margin. these have mostly been taken from the name of the adjoining valve, (see fig. i.) in lepas, pollicipes, &c., the margin of the scutum adjoining the tergum and upper latus, is not divided (fig. ii) into two distinct lines, as it is in scalpellum, and is therefore called the tergo-lateral margin. in scalpellum (fig. i) these two margins are separately named tergal and lateral. the angle formed by the meeting of the basal and lateral or tergo-lateral margins, i call the baso-lateral angle; that formed by the basal and occludent margins, i call, from its closeness to the rostrum, the rostral angle. in pollicipes the carinal margin of the tergum can be divided into an upper and lower carinal margin; of this there is only a trace (fig. i) in scalpellum. that margin in the scuta and terga which opens and _shuts_ for the exsertion and retraction of the cirri, i have called the occludent margin. in the terga of lepas (fig. iii) and some other genera, the occludent margin is highly protuberant and arched, or even formed of two distinct sides. occasionally, i have referred to what i have called the _primordial valves_: these are not calcified; they are formed at the first exuviation, when the larval integuments are shed: in mature cirripedes they are always seated, when not worn away, on the umbones of the valves. the membrane connecting the valves, and forming the peduncle, and sometimes in a harder condition replacing the valves, i have often found it convenient to designate by its proper chemical name of _chitine_, instead of by horny, or other such equivalents. when this membrane at any articulation sends in rigid projections or crests, for the attachment of muscles or any other purpose, i call them, after audouin, _apodemes_. for the underlying true skin, i use the term _corium_. the animal's body is included within the capitulum, within what i call the _sack_ (see pl. iv, figs. and ´ _a_, and pl. ix, fig. ). the body consists of the _thorax_ supporting the cirri, and of an especial enlargement, or downward prolongation of the thorax, which includes the stomach, and which i have called the _prosoma_. (pl. ix, fig. _n_). the cirri are composed of two arms or _rami_, supported on a common segment or support, which i call the _pedicel_. the _caudal appendages_ are two little projections, either uni-or multi-articulate (pl. iv, fig. ´ _a_), on each side of the anus, and just above the long proboscis-like penis. on the thorax and prosoma, or on the pedicels of the cirri, there are in several genera, long, thin, tapering filaments, which have generally been supposed to serve as branchiæ; these i call simply _filaments_, or _filamentary appendages_ (pl. ix, fig. _g-l_). the mouth (fig. _b_) is prominent, and consists of _palpi_ soldered to the _labrum_; _mandibles_, _maxillæ_, and _outer maxillæ_, these latter serve as an under lip; to these several organs i sometimes apply the title used by entomologists, of "trophi." beneath the outer maxillæ, there are either two simple orifices or tubular projections; these, i believe, serve as organs of smell, and have hence called them the _olfactory orifices_. within the sack, there are often two sheets of ova (pl. iv, fig. _b_), these i call (after steenstrup, and other authors) the _ovigerous lamellæ_; they are united to two little folds of skin (pl. iv, fig. _f_), which i call the _ovigerous fræna_. from the peculiar curved position which the animal's body occupies within the capitulum, i have found it far more convenient (not to mention the confusion of nomenclature already existing) to apply the term rostral instead of ventral, and carinal instead of dorsal, to almost all the external and internal parts of the animal. cirripedes have generally been figured with their surfaces of attachment downwards, hence i speak of the lower or basal margins and angles, and of those pointing in an opposite direction as the upper; strictly speaking, as we shall presently see, the exact centre of the usually broad and flat surface of attachment is the anterior end of the animal, and the upper tips of the terga, the posterior end of that part of the animal which is externally visible; but in some cases, for instance in coronula, where the base is _deeply concave_, and where the width of the shell far exceeds the depth, it seemed almost ridiculous to call this, the anterior extremity; as likewise does it in balanus to call the united tips of the terga, lying deeply within the shell, the most posterior point of the animal, as seen externally. i have followed the example of botanists, and added the interjection [!] to synonyms, when i have seen an authentic specimen bearing the name in question. every locality, under each species, is given from specimens ticketed in a manner and under circumstances appearing to me worthy of full confidence,--the specific determination being in each case made by myself. class--crustacea. sub-class--cirripedia. family--lepadidÆ. _cirripedia pedunculo flexili, musculis instructo: scutis[ ] musculo adductore solummodô instructis: valvis cæteris, siquæ adsunt, in annulum immobilem haud conjunctis._ cirripedia having a peduncle, flexible, and provided with muscles. scuta[ ] furnished only with an adductor muscle: other valves, when present, not united into an immovable ring. metamorphoses; larva, first stage, pp. - ; larva, second stage, p. ; larva, last stage, p. ; its carapace, ib.; acoustic organs, p. ; antennæ, ib.; eyes, p. ; mouth, p. ; thorax and limbs, p. ; abdomen, p. ; viscera, ib.; immature cirripede, p. ; homologies of parts, p. . description of mature lepadidæ, p. ; capitulum, ib.; peduncle, p. ; attachment, p. ; filamentary appendages, p. ; shape of body, and muscular system, p. ; mouth, ib.; cirri, p. ; caudal appendages, p. ; alimentary canal, ; circulatory system, p. ; nervous system, ib.; eyes, p. ; olfactory organs, p. ; acoustic(?) organs, p. ; male sexual organs, p. ; female organs, p. ; ovigerous lamellæ, p. ; ovigerous fræna, ib.; exuviation, p. ; rate of growth, ib.; size, ib.; affinities of family, p. ; range and habitats, p. ; geological history, p. . [ ] the meaning of this and all other terms is given in the introduction, at pp. - . _metamorphoses._--i will here briefly describe the metamorphoses, as far as known, common to all cirripedia, but more especially in relation to the present family. i may premise, that since vaughan thompson's capital discovery of the larvæ in the last stage of development in balanus, much has been done on this subject: this same author subsequently published[ ] in the 'philosophical transactions,' an account of the larvæ of lepas and conchoderma (cineras) in the first stage; and seeing how totally distinct they were from the larva of the latter stage in balanus, he erroneously attributed the difference to the difference in the two families, instead of to the stage of development. burmeister[ ] first showed, and the discovery is an important one, that in lepas the larvæ pass through two totally different stages. this has subsequently been proved by implication to be the case in balanus, by goodsir,[ ] who has given excellent drawings of the larva in the first stage; and quite lately, mr. c. spence bate, of swansea, has made other detailed observations and drawings of the larvæ of five species in this same early stage, and has most kindly permitted me to quote from his unpublished paper[ ]. i am enabled to confirm and generalise these observations, in all the cirripedes in the order containing the balanidæ and lepadidæ. [ ] philosophical transactions, , p. , pl. vi. [ ] beiträge zur naturgeschichte der rankenfüsser, . mr. j. e. gray, however, briefly described, in , (proceedings, zoological society, october,) the larva in the first stage of balanus; in this notice the anterior end of the larva is described as the posterior. [ ] edinburgh new philosophical journal, july , pls. iii and iv. [ ] this will appear in the october number ( ) of the 'annals of natural history.' the ova, and consequently the larvæ of the lepadidæ, in the _first stage_, whilst within the sack of the parent, vary in length from . to . in lepas, to . of an inch in scalpellum: my chief examination of these larvæ has been confined to those of _scalpellum vulgare_; but i saw them in all the other genera. the larva is somewhat depressed, but nearly globular; the carapace anteriorly is truncated, with lateral horns; the sternal surface is flat and broad, and formed of thinner membrane than the dorsal. the horns just alluded to are long in lepas and short in scalpellum; their ends are either rounded and excessively transparent, or, as in ibla, furnished with an abrupt, minute, sharp point: within these horns, i distinctly saw a long filiformed organ, bearing excessively fine hairs in lines, so exactly like the long plumose spines on the prehensile antennæ of the larvæ in the last stage; that i have not the least doubt, that these horns are the cases in which antennæ are in process of formation. posteriorly to them, on the sternal surface, near each other, there are two other minute, doubly curved, pointed horns, about . in length, directed posteriorly; and within these i again saw a most delicate articulated filiformed organ on a thicker pedicel: in an excellent drawing, by mr. c. s. bate, of the larva of a chthamalus (_balanus punctatus_ of british authors), after having kept alive and moulted once, these organs are distinctly shown as articulated antennæ (without a case), directed forwards: hence, before the first moult in scalpellum, we have two pair of antennæ in process of formation. anteriorly to the bases of these smaller antennæ is seated the heart-shaped eye, (as i believe it to be,) . in diameter, with apparently a single lens, surrounded, except at the apex, by dark-reddish pigment-cells. in some cases, as in some species of lepas, the larvæ, when first excluded from the egg, have not an eye, or a very imperfect one. there are three pairs of limbs, seated close together in a longitudinal line, but some way apart in a transverse direction: the first pair always consists of a single spinose ramus, it is not articulated in scalpellum, but is multi-articulate in some genera; it is directed forwards. the other two pair have each two rami, supported on a common haunch or pedicel: in both pair, the longer ramus is multi-articulate, and the shorter ramus is without articulations, or with only traces of them: the longer spines borne on these limbs (at least, in scalpellum and chthamalus,) are finely plumose. the abdomen terminates, a little beyond the posterior end of the carapace, in a slightly upturned horny point; a short distance anteriorly to this point, a strong, spinose, forked projection depends from the abdominal surface. messrs. v. thompson, goodsir, and bate, have kept alive for several days the larvæ of lepas, conchoderma, balanus, verruca, and chthamalus, and have described the changes which supervene between the first and third exuviations. the most conspicuous new character is the great elongation of the posterior point of the carapace into an almost filiform, spinose point in lepas, conchoderma, chthamalus, and balanus, but not according to goodsir, in one of the species of the latter genus. the posterior point, also, of the abdomen becomes developed in balanus (goodsir) into two very long, spear-like processes, serrated on their outer sides; in lepas and conchoderma, according to thompson, into a single, tapering spinose projection; and in chthamalus, as figured by mr. bate, the posterior bifid point, as well as the depending ventral fork, increase much in size. another important change, which has been particularly attended to by mr. bate, is the appearance of spinose projections and spines (some of which are thick, curved, and strongly plumose, or, almost pectinated along their inner sides) on the pedicels and lower segments of the shorter rami of the two posterior pairs of limbs. the mouth in its earliest condition alone remains to be described; in _s. vulgare_, it is seated on a very slight prominence, in a most remarkable situation, namely, in a central point between the bases of the three pairs of legs. i traced by dissection the oesophagus for some little way, until lost in the cellular and oily matter filling the whole animal, and it was directed anteriorly, which is the direction that might have been expected, from the course followed by the oesophagus in the larva in the last stage, and in mature cirripedes. mr. a. hancock has called my attention to a probosciformed projection on the under side of the larva of _lepas fascicularis_, when just escaped from the egg. mr. bate has described this same proboscis in balanus and chthamalus, and states the important fact, that it is capable of being moved by the animal; and, lastly, i have seen it in an australian chthamalus, and in ibla, of remarkable size. this proboscis, which is always directed posteriorly, (like the mouth in the mature animal,) certainly answers to the mouth as made out by dissection in scalpellum; and i believe i saw, as has mr. bate, a terminal orifice: it certainly does not possess any trophi. in ibla (in which the larva is large enough for dissection), the base of the proboscis arises posteriorly to the first pair of legs, and the orifice at the other end reaches beyond or posteriorly to the point, where the mouth in scalpellum opens, namely between the middle pair of legs. the mouth being either so largely probosciformed or seated only on a slight eminence, in two genera so closely allied as ibla and scalpellum, and (judging from mr. thompson's figures, and from what i have seen myself,) in the species of the same genus lepas, is a singular difference: in the cases in which, at first, the proboscis is absent, it would probably soon be developed. i cannot but suppose that the inwardly directed spines on the bases of the two posterior legs, which are so rapidly developed, serve some important end, namely, as organs of prehension for the larvæ, like the mandibles and maxillæ of mature cirripedes, for seizing their prey, and conveying it to their moveable mouths, conveniently seated for this purpose. the first pair of legs answers, as i believe from reasons hereafter to be assigned, to the outer pair of maxillipods in the higher crustacea; and the other four legs to the first two pair of thoracic limbs in these same crustacea; this being the case, the highly remarkable position of the mouth in the larva, either between the bases of the two posterior pair of legs, or at least posteriorly to the first pair, together with the probable functions of the spiny points springing from the basal segments of the two hinder pair of true thoracic limbs, forcibly bring to mind the anomalous structure of the mouth being situated in the middle of the under side of the thorax, in limulus,--that most ancient of crustaceans, and therefore one likely to exhibit a structure now embryonic in other orders. i will only further remark, that i suspect that the truncation of the anterior end of the carapace, has been effected by the segments having been driven inwards, and consequently, that the larger antennæ within the lateral horns, though standing more in front than the little approximate pair, are normally the posterior of the two pair. according to milne edwards, the posterior pair are normally seated outside the anterior pair, and this is the case with those within the lateral horns. _larva in the second stage._--notwithstanding the considerable changes, already briefly given, which the larva undergoes during the first two or three exuviations after leaving the egg, all these forms may be conveniently classed under the first stage. the larva in the second stage is known only from a single specimen described, figured, and found by burmeister,[ ] adhering to sea-weed in the midst of other larvæ of lepas in the last stage. in its general shape and compressed form, it seems to come nearer to the last than to the first stage. it has only three pair of legs, situated much more posteriorly on the body than in the first stage, and all directed posteriorly; they are much shorter than heretofore, and resemble rather closely those of the last stage, with the important exception that the first pair has only one ramus. it is this circumstance which leaves no doubt on my mind, that we here have the three pair of limbs, of the first stage, metamorphosed. the body is prolonged some way behind these limbs, and ends in a blunt, rounded point, in which, probably, are developed the three posterior pair of legs and the abdomen of the larva in the last stage. the mouth is now seated some way anteriorly to the limbs, is large and probosciformed, and is, i presume, still destitute of trophi. there are now two closely approximate eyes, but as yet both are _simple_. the smaller pair of antennæ has disappeared. the whole animal was attached to the sea-weed by a (i presume, pair of,) "fleischigen fortsatz," which burmeister considers as the prehensile antennæ, to be presently described, in an early state of development. i have little doubt that this is correct, for in an abnormal cirripede of another order, in which the larva appears in the _first_ stage with prehensile antennæ, the eggs have two great projecting horns including these organs, and attached by their tips, through some unknown means, to the sack of the parent, apparently in the same manner as burmeister's larva was attached to the sea-weed. i will only further remark on the larva of this second stage, that its chief development since the first stage, has been towards its anterior end. the next great development, to be immediately described, is towards the posterior end of the animal. [ ] beiträge zur naturgeschichte der rankenfüsser, s. , tab. i, figs. , . _larva, last stage._--my chief examination has been directed, at this stage of development, to the larvæ of _lepas australis_, which are of unusual size, namely, from . to even almost . of an inch in length; i examined, however, the larvæ of several other species of lepas, of ibla and of balanus, with less care, but sufficiently to show that in all essential points of organisation they were identical; this, indeed, might have been inferred from the similarity of the larval prehensile antennæ, preserved in the bases of all mature cirripedes, and which i have carefully inspected in almost every genus. the larvæ in this final stage, in most of the genera, have increased many times in size since their exclusion from the egg; for instance, in _lepas australis_, from . to . , or even to . of an inch. they are now much compressed, nearly of the shape of a cypris or mussel-shell, with the anterior end the thickest, the sternal surface nearly or quite straight, and the dorsal arched. almost the whole of what is externally visible consists of the carapace; for the thorax and limbs are hidden and enclosed by its backward prolongation; and even at the anterior end of the animal, the narrow sternal surface can be drawn up, so as to be likewise enclosed. as in several stomapod crustaceans, the part of the head bearing the antennæ and organs of sense, in front of the mouth, equals, or even exceeds in length, and more than exceeds in bulk, the posterior part of the body, consisting of the enclosed thorax and abdomen. i will now briefly describe, in the following order, the carapace, the organs of sense, mouth, thorax and limbs, abdomen, and internal viscera. the form of the _carapace_ has been sufficiently described; it consists of thick chitine membrane, marked with lines, and sometimes with stars and other patterns; it is obscurely divided into two halves by a line or suture along part of the dorsal margin; these halves or two valves are drawn together by an adductor muscle, in the same relative position as in the mature cirripede. the part overhanging and enclosing the thorax is lined by an excessively delicate membrane, obviously homologous with the lining of the sack in the mature animal, and is nothing but a duplicature of the carapace, rendered very thin from being on the under or protected side: a layer of true skin or corium, probably double, separates these two folds. _acoustic organs._--on the borders of the carapace, at the anterior end, on the sternal surface, there are two minute orifices, in _l. australis_ . in diameter, sometimes having a distinct border round them; the membrane of the carapace on the inside is prolonged upwards and inwards in two short funnel-shaped tubes, lodged in closed sacks of the corium: within these sacks on each side a delicate bag is suspended, and hangs in the mouth of the above funnel; at the upper end a large nerve could be distinctly seen to enter the bag: i cannot doubt that this is a sense-organ; from its position and from the animal not feeding (as we shall presently see), i conclude that it is an acoustic organ. _antennæ._--these are large and conspicuous; they are attached very obliquely on the sternal surface, a little way from the anterior end of the carapace, beyond which, when exserted, they extend;[ ] they can (at least in ibla) be retracted within the carapace. they consist of three segments: the first or basal one is much larger than the others, and apparently always has a single spine on the outer distal margin. the second segment consists either of a large, thin, circular, sucking disc, or is hoof-like (tab. v, figs. , , , ); in all cases it is furnished with one or more spines, (seven very long ones in lepas,) on the exterior-hinder margin. the third and ultimate segment is small; it is articulated on the upper surface of the disc, and is directed rectangularly outwards; it is sometimes notched, and even shows traces of being bifid; it bears about seven spines at the end; some of these spines are hooked, others simple, and in _lepas_ and _conchoderma_, two or three are very long, highly flexible, and plumose, a double row of excessively fine hairs being articulated on them. i can hardly doubt that these latter spines, (within which the purple corium could be seen to enter a little way,) floating laterally outwards, serve as feelers. the antennæ, at first, are well furnished with muscles. they serve, in lepas, according to mr. king, and in balanus, according to mr. bate, and as i saw myself in another unnamed order, for the purpose of walking, one limb being stretched out before the other; but their main function is to attach the larva for its final metamorphosis into a cirripede. the disc can adhere even to so smooth a surface as a glass tumbler.[ ] the attachment is at first manifestly voluntary, but soon becomes involuntary and permanent, being effected by special and most remarkable means, which will be most conveniently described in a later part of this introduction. i will here only state that i traced with ease the two cement-ducts running from two large glandular bodies, to within the antennæ up to the discs. [ ] mr. j. d. dana, who has examined these organs in the larvæ of lepas, informs me in a letter, that in his opinion they "correspond with the inferior antennæ, the superior being wanting, as in most daphnidæ." he continues--"i know of no case in which the inferior are obsolete when the superior are developed; but the reverse is often true." in position these antennæ certainly correspond to the inferior and central pair of the larva in the first stage, which belong, as it would appear, to the first segment of the body; but judging from the drawing by burmeister of the larva in the second stage, i am, in some respects, more inclined to consider that they correspond to the larger pair seen within the lateral horns of the carapace in the first stage. [ ] rev. b. l. king. annual report of b. institution of cornwall, , p. . _eyes._--close behind the basal articulations of the antennæ, the sternal surface consists of two approximate, elongated, narrow, flat pieces, or segments. these burmeister considers as the basal segments of the antennæ: as they are not cylindrical, i do not see the grounds for this conclusion: their posterior ends are rounded, and the membrane forming them is reflected inwards, in the form of two, forked, horny apodemes, together resembling two letters, =uu=, close together; these project up, inside the animal, for at least one third of its thickness from the sternal to the dorsal surface. the two great, almost spherical eyes in _l. australis_, each / th of an inch in diameter, are attached to the outer arms, thus, =°uu°=, in the position of the two full stops. hence the eyes are included within the carapace. each eye consists of eight or ten lenses, varying in diameter in the same individual from / to / th of an inch, enclosed in a common membranous bag or cornea, and thus attached to the outer apodemes. the lenses are surrounded half way up by a layer of dark pigment-cells. the nerve does not enter the bluntly-pointed basal end of the common eye, but on one side of the apodeme. the structure here described is exactly that found, according to milne edwards, in certain crustacea. in specimens _just attached_, in which no absorption has taken place, two long muscles with transverse striæ may be found attached to the knobbed tips of the two middle arms of the two =°uu°=, and running up to the antero-dorsal surface of the carapace, where they are attached; other muscles (without transverse striæ) are attached round the bases, on both sides of both forks. the action of these muscles would inevitably move the eyes, but i suspect that their function may be to draw up the narrow, deeply folded, sternal surface, and thus cause the retraction of the great prehensile antennæ within the carapace. _mouth._--this is seated in exactly the same position as in the mature cirripede, on a slight prominence, fronting the thoracic limbs, and so far within the carapace, that it was obviously quite unfitted for the seizure of prey; and it was equally obvious, that the limbs were natatory, and incapable of carrying food to the mouth. this enigma was at once explained by an examination of the mouth, which was found to be in a rudimentary condition and absolutely closed, so that there would be no use in prey being seized. underneath this slightly prominent and closed mouth, i found all the masticatory organs of a cirripede, in an immature condition. the state of the mouth will be at once understood, if we suppose very fluid matter to be poured over the protuberant mouth of a cirripede, so as to run a little way down, in the shape of internal crests, between the different parts, and in the shape of a short, shrivelled, certainly closed tube, a little way (. of an inch in _l. australis_) down the oesophagus. hence, the larva in this, its last stage, cannot eat; it may be called a _locomotive pupa_;[ ] its whole organisation is apparently adapted for the one great end of finding a proper site for its attachment and final metamorphosis. [ ] m. dujardin has lately ('comptes rendus,' feb. , , as cited in 'annals of nat. history,' vol. v, p. ,) discovered that the "hypopi are acari with eight feet, without either mouth or intestine, and which, being deprived of all means of alimentation, fix themselves at will, so as to undergo a final metamorphosis, and they become gamasi or uropodi." here, then, we have an almost exactly analogous case. m. dujardin asks--"ought, therefore, the hypopi to be called larvæ, when, under that denomination, have hitherto been comprised animals capable of nourishing themselves?" _thorax and limbs._--the thorax is much compressed, and consists of six segments, corresponding with the six pair of natatory legs; the anterior segments are much plainer (even the first being distinctly separated by a fold from the mouth), than the posterior segments, which is exactly the reverse of what takes place in the mature cirripede; in the latter, the first segment is confounded with the part bearing the mouth. the epimeral elements of the thorax are distinguishable; the sternal surface is very narrow, and is covered with complicated folds and ridges. the six pair of legs are all close, one behind the other, and all are alike in having a haunch or pedicel of two segments, directed forwards, bearing two arms or rami, each composed of two segments, the outer ramus being a little longer than the inner one. on the lower segments in both rami of all the limbs, there is a single spine. in all the limbs, the obliquely truncated summit of the terminal segment of the inner ramus bears three very long, beautifully plumose spines: in the first pair, the summit of the outer ramus bears four, and in the five succeeding pair, six similar spines. this difference, small as it is, is interesting, as recalling the much greater difference between the first and succeeding pairs, in the first and second stage of development. the terminal segments of all the rami, bearing the long plumose spines, are directed backwards. the limbs and thorax are well furnished with striated muscles. the animal, according to mr. king, swims with great rapidity, back downwards. the limbs can be withdrawn within the carapace. _abdomen and caudal appendages._--the abdomen is small, and its structure might easily be overlooked without careful dissection of the different parts: it consists of three segments; the first can be seen to be distinct from the last thoracic segment, bearing the sixth pair of limbs, only from the fold of the epimeral element, and from its difference in shape; the second segment is very short, but quite distinct; the third is four or five times as long as the second, and bears at the end two little appendages, each consisting of two segments, the lower one with a single spine, and the upper one with three, very long, plumose spines, like those on the rami of the thoracic limbs. the abdomen contains only the rectum and two delicate muscles running into the two appendages, between the bases of which the anus is seated. _internal viscera._--within the body, in front of the mouth, it was easy to find the stomach (with two pear-shaped cæca at the upper end), running first anteriorly, and then curving back and reaching the anus by a long rectum, difficult to be followed: it appeared, however, to me, that this stomach had more relation to the young cirripede, of which every part could now generally be traced, than to the larva, with its closed and rudimentary mouth: the fact, however, of its being prolonged to the anus, which is in a different position in the larva and mature state, shows that the stomach serves, at least, as an excretory channel. besides the stomach, the several muscles already alluded to, and much pulpy and oily matter, the only other internal organs consist of two long, rather thick, gut-formed masses, into the anterior ends of which the cement-ducts running from the prehensile antennæ could be traced. these masses are formed of irregular orange balls, about . of an inch in diameter, made up of rather large cells, so to have a grape-like appearance, held together by a transparent pale yellowish substance, but apparently not enclosed in a membrane: these masses lie rather obliquely, and approach each other at their anterior ends; they extend from above the compound eyes, to the cæca of the stomach to which they cohere, but in young specimens, they extend some way beyond the cæca, between the folds of the carapace. the two cement-ducts, at the points where they enter these bodies, expand and are lost; at this point, also, the little orange-coloured masses of cells have the appearance of being broken down into a finer substance. within the cement-ducts i saw a distinct chord of rather opaque cellular matter. we shall presently see, that these gut-formed masses are the incipient ovaria. _the young cirripede within the larva._--several times i succeeded in dissecting off the integuments of the lately-attached larva, and in displaying the young _lepas australis_ entire. the following description applies to the cirripede in this state; but for convenience sake, i shall occasionally refer to its condition when a little more advanced. i may premise, and the fact in itself is curious, that the bivalve-like shell of the larva, together with the compound eyes, is first moulted, and some time afterwards, the inner lining of the sack, together with the integuments of the thorax and of the natatory legs: hence, i often found specimens, which externally seemed to have perfected their metamorphoses, but which, within their sacks, retained all the characters of the natatory larva. according to mr. king, the larva of lepas throws off its external shell five days after becoming attached. whilst the young lepas is closely packed within the larva, the capitulum, as known by the five valves, about equals in length the peduncle. the peduncle occupies the anterior half of the larva; when fully stretched, it becomes narrower and slightly longer than the capitulum; the separation between the capitulum and peduncle is almost arbitrary in the mature animal, and corresponds with no particular line in the larva. even at this early period, the muscles of the peduncle are quite distinct. no vestige is preserved in the outer integument, of the sternal and dorsal sutures of the larval carapace; but in the corium of the peduncle, three coloured marks which occur near the eyes, and two little curled marks which occur near the acoustic orifices of the larva, are all preserved for some time after maturity. the compound eyes, as we have seen, are attached to apodemes, springing from the sternal surface of the larval carapace, and are consequently cast off with it: whilst the young cirripede is packed within the larva, the outer integument of its peduncle necessarily forms a deep transverse fold passing over the eyes and apodemes, and this, as we shall presently see, plays an important part in the future position of the animal. the antennæ are not moulted with the carapace, but left cemented to the surface of attachment; their muscles are converted into sinewy fibres, the corium after a short period is absorbed, and they are then preserved in a functionless condition. no trace of the two acoustic sacks can be perceived in the corium of the young cirripede, excepting the coloured marks above alluded to. in the young capitulum, the five valves stand some way apart from each other; they are elegant objects under the microscope; they are not calcified, but consist exclusively of chitine; they are rather thick, composed of an outer membrane lined by hexagonal prisms, quite unlike any other membrane in the animal. these valves, which i have called _primordial_ valves, resemble pretty closely in shape the valves of the mature animal; the fork of the carina, however, is indicated only by a slight constriction above the lower end. after the exuviation of the larval integuments, and when calcification commences, the first layer of shell is deposited under, and then round these primordial valves. the latter, in well preserved old specimens, may often be detected on the umbones of the scuta, terga, and carina, but not on the umbones of any other valves. the _mouth_ seems one of the earliest parts developed: in the youngest larva dissected, i could make out at least points corresponding with each organ; and, at the period when the young cirripede could be dissected out of its larval envelopes, their general details were quite plain. the labrum, however, had not become bullate. the mouth, as we have seen, is formed under the rudimentary mouth of the larva, and at the same relative spot occupied by the probosciformed mouth of the larva in the second stage. thus far, in the young cirripede and larva, there has been no great change in the relative positions of the parts: the rudimentary eyes, however, of the former are developed posteriorly to (or above, as applied to a cirripede,) the cast-off compound eyes of the larva; but the position of the mouth, of the antennæ, and of the several coloured marks in the corium, prove to demonstration, the correspondence in both of part to part. the case is rather different with what follows. the _cirri_ are developed at first of considerable length, so that the young animal may soon provide itself with food; in _lepas australis_ they are of great length, the sixth pair consisting of seventeen or eighteen obscure segments. the extreme tips of the twenty-four rami of the six pair of cirri, are formed within the twenty-four, corresponding, little, bi-segmental rami of the six pair of natatory legs; but as the cirri are many times longer than these legs, they occupy in a bundle the whole thorax of the larva; no part whatever of the thorax of the cirripede is formed within the thorax of the larva, but (together with the pedicels of the anterior cirri) within the cephalic cavity. as a consequence of this, the longitudinal axis of the thorax of the young cirripede lies almost transversely to the longitudinal axis of the larva; and the cirripede, from this transverse position of its thorax, comes to be, as it were, internally, almost cut in twain, and the sack thus produced. as soon as the young cirripede is free and can move itself, the cirri are curled up, and the thorax is advanced towards the orifice of the capitulum, its longitudinal axis resuming the position of approximate parallelism to the longitudinal axis of the whole body, which it had in the larval condition. the reader will, perhaps, understand what i mean, if he will look at the mature cirripede, figured in pl. ix, fig. . in this, he will see that the body or thorax is united to the peduncle only by a small part below the mouth; on the other hand, if he imagines the whole bottom of the body (as high up as the letter _h_) united and blended into the peduncle, he will see the state in which these parts exist in the larva. now, let him greatly shorten the cirri, so as to resemble the natatory legs of the larva, and then imagine a young cirripede, with cirri _of full length_, formed within the old one, he will see that the new thorax supporting the cirri will have to be developed in an almost transverse position,--the animal consequently being internally almost separated into twain. of the internal organs, whilst the cirripede is still within the larva, i have already mentioned the stomach with its pair of cæca: from the retracted position of the thorax and rudimentary abdomen, and consequently of the anus, compared with these parts in the larva, the alimentary canal is not above half its former length. there is, as yet, no trace of the filaments supposed by some to act as branchiæ, at the base of the first pair of cirri. nor could i perceive a trace of the testes or vesiculæ seminales: the penis is represented by a minute, apparently imperforate projection. i have already briefly described the pair of large, gut-formed bodies in the larva, into the anterior ends of which the cement-ducts ran, and evidently derived their slightly opaque, cellular contents. at a very early age, before the young cirripede can be distinctly made out, the posterior ends of these gut-formed bodies are absorbed, so as not to pass beyond the cæca of the stomach. when the young cirripede is plainly developed within the larva, these bodies in a relatively reduced condition are still distinct near the cæca, and at the opposite or anterior end (_i. e._ lower, in the position in which cirripedes are usually figured), they have branched out into a sheet of delicate inosculating tubes; these could be traced by every stage, until, in the young perfected cirripede, they filled the peduncle as ordinary ovarian tubes. in the larva, the two gut-formed bodies or incipient ovaria keep of equal thickness from one to the other end, but in the mature cirripede, the ovarian tubes in the peduncle and the small, glandular, grape-like masses, near the stomach-cæca, are connected only by a delicate tube; this i failed in tracing in specimens in the very immature condition of those now under description. the larva fixes itself with its sternal surface parallel and close to the surface of attachment, and the antennæ become cemented to it: if the cirripede, after its metamorphosis had remained in this position, the cirri could not have been exserted, or only against the surface of attachment; but there is a special provision, that the young cirripede shall immediately assume its proper position at right angles to the position which it held whilst within the larva, namely with its posterior end upwards. this is effected in a singular manner by the exuviation of the great compound eyes, which we have seen are fastened to the outer arms of the double =°uu°=-like, sternal apodemes: these together with the eyes stretch transversely across, and internally far up into, the body of the larva; and, as the whole has to be rejected or moulted, the membrane of the peduncle of the young cirripede has necessarily to be formed with a wide and deep inward fold, extending transversely across it; this when stretched open, after the exuviation of the larval carapace and apodemes, necessarily causes the sternal side of the peduncle to be longer than the dorsal, and, as a consequence, gives to the young cirripede its normal position, at right angles to that of the larva when first attached. * * * * * i may here state, that i have examined the larvæ in this the final or perfect stage in four species of lepas, in _conchodermavirgata_, _ibla quadrivalvis_, and, though rather less minutely, in _balanus balanoides_, and i find all essential points of organisation similar. with the exception of diversities in the proportional sizes of the different parts, and in the patterns on the carapace, the differences, even in the arrangement of the spines on the limbs and antennæ, are less than i should have anticipated. i have in this abstract treated the metamorphoses at greater length than i should otherwise have done, on account of the great importance of arriving at a correct homological interpretation of the different parts of the mature animal. in crustacea, according to the ordinary view, there are twenty-one segments; of these i can recognise in the cirripede, on evidence as good as can generally be obtained, all with the exception of the four terminal abdominal segments; these do not occur in any species known to me, in any stage of its development. if that part of the larva in front of the mouth, bearing the eyes, the prehensile antennæ, and in an earlier stage two pair of antennæ, be formed, as is admitted in all other crustacea, of three segments, then beyond a doubt, from the absolute correspondence of every part, and even every coloured mark, the peduncle of the lepadidæ is likewise thus formed. the peduncle being filled by the branching ovarian tubes is no objection to this view, for i am informed on the high authority of mr. j. d. dana,[ ] that this is the case with the cephalo-thorax in some true crustaceans, for instance, in sapphirina. to proceed, the mouth, formed of mandibles, maxillæ, and outer maxillæ, correspond with the fourth, fifth, and sixth segments of the archetype crustacean. posteriorly to the mouth, we come, in the larva, to a rather wide interspace without any apparent articulation or organ, and then to the thorax, formed of six segments, bearing the six pair of limbs, of which the first pair differs slightly from the others. the thorax is succeeded by three small segments, differently shaped, with the posterior one alone bearing appendages; these segments, i cannot doubt, from their appearance alone, and from their apparent function of steering the body, are abdominal segments. if this latter view be correct, the thoracic segments are the six posterior ones of the normal seven segments, and there must be two segments missing between the outer maxillæ and first thoracic pair of legs, which latter on this view springs from the ninth segment. now, in a very singular cirripede, already alluded to under the name of proteolepas, the two missing segments are present, the mouth being actually succeeded by eight segments, and these by the three usual abdominal segments,--every segment in the body being as distinct as in an annelid: hence in proteolepas, adding the three segments for the mouth and three for the carapace, we have altogether seventeen segments, which, as i stated, is the full number ever observed in any cirripede, the four missing ones being abdominal, and, i presume, the four terminal segments. that the cavity in which the thorax is lodged, in the larva and therefore in the mature cirripede, is simply formed by the backward production of the carapace, does not require any discussion. the valves have no homological signification. [ ] this distinguished naturalist has given his opinion in the 'american journal of science,' march, , that "the pedicel of anatifa corresponds to a pair of antennæ in the young;" although the peduncle or pedicel is undoubtedly thus terminated, even in mature individuals, i think it has been shown that it is the whole of the anterior part of the larva in front of the mouth, which is directly converted into the peduncle. professor e. forbes, in his lectures, and professor steenstrup, in his 'untersuchungen über das vorkommen des hermaphroditismus in der natur,' ch. v, have considered the peduncle as a pair of fused legs. lovén has taken, judging from a single sentence, the same view of the homologies of the external parts as i have done; in his description of _alepas squalicola_, (ofversigt of kongl. vetens., &c., stockholm, , pp. - ), he uses the following words: "capitis reliquæ partes, ut in lepadibus semper, in _pedunculum mutatæ et involucrum_," &c.; his involucrum is the same as the capitulum of this work. as we have just seen that the first pair of natatory legs is borne on the ninth segment of the body, so it must be with the first pair of cirri, which consequently correspond to the outer maxillipods (the two inner pair of maxillipods or pied-machoires being here aborted) of the higher crustacea, and hence their difference from the five posterior pair, which correspond with the five, ordinary pair of ambulatory legs in these same crustacea. the part of the body, which i have called the prosoma, that is the protuberant, non-articulated, lower part of the thorax (pl. ix, fig. _n_), is a special development, either of the ninth segment, bearing the first pair of cirri, or of the segments corresponding with the organs of the mouth. the three abdominal segments of the larva are represented in the mature cirripede, in the order containing the lepadidæ, only by a minute, triangular gusset, let in between the v-shaped tergal arches of the last thoracic segment: in this gusset, small as it is, is seated the anus, and on each side the caudal appendages, often rudimentary and sometimes absent. in another order, i may remark, (including, probably, the alcippe of mr. hancock,) the cirri, of which there are only three pair, are abdominal. i feel much confidence, that the homologies here given are correct. the cause of their having been generally overlooked arises, i believe, from the peculiar manner, already described, in which the animal, during its last metamorphosis, is internally almost intersected: even for some little time after discovering that the larval antennæ were always embedded in the centre of the surface of attachment, i did not perceive, that this was the anterior end of the whole animal. the accompanying woodcut gives at a glance, a view of the homologies of the external parts: the upper figure (from milne edwards) is a stomapod crustacean, leucifer of vaughan thompson, and the abdomen, which we know becomes in cirripedes, after the metamorphosis, rudimentary, and therefore does not fairly enter into the comparison, is given only in faint lines: the lower figure is a mature lepas, with the antennæ and eyes, which are actually present in the larva, retained and supposed to have gone on growing. all that we externally see of a cirripede, whether pedunculated or sessile, is the three anterior segments of the head of a crustacean, with its anterior end permanently cemented to a surface of attachment, and with its posterior end projecting vertically from it. [illustration: [_m._--mouth.]] capitulum. i will now proceed to a general description of the different parts and organs in the lepadidæ. the capitulum is usually much flattened, but sometimes broadly oval in section. it is generally formed of five or more valves, connected together by very narrow or broad strips of membrane; sometimes the valves are rudimental or absent, when the whole consists of membrane. when the valves are numerous, and they occasionally exceed a hundred in number, they are arranged in whorls, with each valve generally so placed as to cover the interval between the two valves above. of all the valves, the scuta are the most persistent; then come the terga, and then the carina; the rostrum and latera occur only in scalpellum and pollicipes, and in a rudimentary condition in lithotrya, and, perhaps, in the fossil genus loricula. the valves are formed sometimes of chitine (as in ibla and alepas), but usually of shell, which varies from transparency to entire opacity. the shell is generally white, occasionally reddish or purple; exteriorly, the valves are covered by more or less persistent, generally yellow, strong membrane. the scuta and terga are always considerably larger than the other valves: in the different genera the valves differ so much in shape that little can be predicated of them in common; even the direction of their lines of growth differs,--thus, in lepas and some allied genera, the chief growth of the scuta and of the carina is upwards, whereas in pollicipes and lithotrya, it is entirely downwards; in oxynaspis, and some species of scalpellum, it is both upwards and downwards. even in the same species, there is often very considerable variation in the exact shape of the valves, more especially of the terga. the adductor muscle is always attached to a point not far from the middle of the scuta, and it generally has a pit for its attachment. in several genera, namely, pæcilasma, dichelaspis, conchoderma, and alepas, the scuta show a tendency to be bilobed or trilobed. the valves are placed either at some distance from each other, or close together; but their growing margins very rarely overlap each other, though this is sometimes the case with their upper, free, tile-like apices; in a few species the scuta and terga are articulated together, or united by a fold. the membrane connecting the valves, where they do not touch each other, is like that forming the peduncle, and is sometimes brilliantly coloured crimson-red; generally, it appears blueish-gray, from the corium being seen through. small pointed spines, connected with the underlying corium by tubuli, are not unfrequently articulated on this membrane: the tubuli, however, are often present where there are no spines. to allow of the growth of the capitulum, the membrane between the valves splits at each period of exuviation, when a new strip of membrane is formed beneath, connected on each side with a fresh layer of shell,--the old and outer slips of membrane disintegrating and disappearing: when there are many valves, the line of splitting is singularly complicated. this membrane consists of chitine,[ ] and is composed of numerous fine laminæ. after the valves have been placed in acid, a residue, very different in bulk in different genera, is left, also composed of successive laminæ of chitine. it appears to me that each single lamina of calcified chitine, composing the shell, must once have been continuous with a non-calcified lamina in the membrane connecting the several valves: at the line where this change in calcification supervenes, the chitine generally assumes some colour, and becomes much harder and more persistent; and as the whole valve is formed of component laminæ thus edged (the once continuous laminæ of non-calcified chitine connecting the valves, having disintegrated and disappeared) the surfaces of the valves are generally left covered by a persistent membrane, constituted of these edgings: this membrane has been called the epidermis. in some genera, as in lepas, this so-called epidermis is seldom preserved, excepting on the last zone of growth: in scalpellum and pollicipes it usually covers the whole valves. it appears to me that the laminæ of chitine, and of calcified chitine composing the valves, are both formed not by secretion, but by the metamorphosis of an outer layer of corium into these substances. [ ] chitine is confined to the articulata. it was dr. c. schmidt (contributions, &c., being a physiologico-chemical investigation: in taylor's 'scientific memoirs,' vol. v), who discovered that the membrane connecting the valves and forming the peduncle, and the tissues of the internal animal, were composed of this substance. but dr. schmidt says that the valves in lepas are composed of . of albuminates, and . of incombustible residue; i cannot but think that the existence of the albuminates is an error caused by dr. schmidt's belief that the cirripedia were intermediate between crustacea and mollusca, in the shells of which latter, the animal basis consists of albuminates. for after placing the valves of lepas and pollicipes in cold acid, i found that the membrane left could _not be dissolved_ in boiling caustic potash, but could, though slowly, (and without change of colour,) in boiling muriatic acid; and these are the main diagnostic characters of chitine, compared with albuminous substances. i may add, that schmidt was also induced to consider the shells of cirripedia as having the same nature with those of mollusca, from finding that in the above . of incombustible matter, . consisted of carbonate and only . of phosphate of lime; but dr. schmidt's own analyses prove how extremely variable the proportions of these salts are in the crustacea, as the following instance shows:-- _lobster._ _squilla._ phosphate of lime . . carbonate of lime . . and, therefore, it is not very surprising that cirripedia should have still less phosphate of lime in their shells, than has a lobster compared with a squilla. within the capitulum is the sack, which, together with the upper internal part of the peduncle, encloses the animal's body. the sack is lined by a most delicate membrane of chitine, under which there is a double layer of corium; this double layer is united together by short, strong, transverse bundles of fibres, branched at both ends:[ ] in some genera, the ovarian tubes extend between these two layers. we have seen, under the head of the metamorphoses, that the delicate tunic lining the sack is simply a duplicature of the thick membrane and valves forming the capitulum, the whole being the posterior portion of the carapace of the larva slightly modified. [ ] i am much indebted to mr. inman of liverpool for having kindly sent me excellent specimens illustrating this structure. _peduncle._--its length varies greatly in different species, and even in the same species, according to the situation occupied by the individual; its lower end is sometimes pointed, but generally only a little narrower than the upper end. in outline, the peduncle is usually flattened, but sometimes quite cylindrical. it is composed of very strong, generally thick, transparent membrane, rarely coloured reddish, and often penetrated by numerous tubuli. the underlying corium is sometimes coloured in longitudinal bands. at each period of growth a new and larger integument is formed under the old one, which gradually disintegrates and disappears; the extreme lower point is often deserted by the corium, and ceases to grow, whilst the whole upper part still continues increasing in diameter: in length the chief addition is made (as is clearly seen in those genera having calcified scales), round the upper margin, at the base of the capitulum. the surface of the membrane is either naked or superficially clothed with minute, pointed, articulated spines, or it is penetrated by calcified scales or styles, (in ibla alone formed of chitine,) which pass through it to the corium, and are added to at their bases, like the valves, at each period of growth. in lithotrya alone the scales of the peduncle are moulted together with the connecting membrane. these scales on the peduncle are generally placed symmetrically in whorls, with each scale corresponding with the junctions of two scales, both above and below. except in _scalpellum ornatum_ and the fossil _loricula pulchella_, they are very small compared with the valves of the capitulum. when the scales are symmetrical, new ones are first formed only round the summit of the peduncle, and only those in the few uppermost whorls continue to grow or to be added to at their bases; afterwards membrane is deposited under them. the shelly matter of the scales resembles that of the valves, and the manner of growth is the same; tubuli generally run to and through them from the corium. from the continued enlargement of the membrane of the peduncle, the scales come to stand, in the lower portion, some way apart. in ibla, new horny styles are formed indifferently in all parts of the peduncle. in some species of pollicipes, the calcareous styles are not symmetrical or symmetrically arranged; and besides those first formed round the top of the peduncle, there are other and larger ones formed near its base. lastly, in lithotrya we have a row of calcareous discs or an irregular, basal cup, formed in the same manner as the valves of the capitulum: in this genus alone (as already stated,) the calcified scales are moulted, and here alone their edges are serrated. the peduncle is lined within by three layers of muscles, longitudinal, transverse, and oblique, all destitute of the transverse striæ, characteristic of voluntary muscles; they run from the bottom of the peduncle to the base of the capitulum, as in lepas, or half way up it, as in conchoderma; in alepas alone they surround the whole capitulum up to its summit. in lithotrya there are two little, fan-like, transverse muscles (involuntary), extending from the basal points of the terga to a central line on the under side of the carina. the gentle swaying to and fro movements, and the great power of longitudinal contraction,--movements apparently common, as i infer from facts communicated to me by mr. peach, to all the pedunculata,--are produced by these muscles. the interior of the peduncle is filled up with a great mass of branching ovarian tubes; but in ibla and lithotrya, the upper part of the peduncle is occupied by the animal's body. _means of attachment._--if the peduncle be very carefully removed (tab. ix, fig. and tab. i, fig. _b_), from the surface of attachment, quite close to the end, but not at the actual apex, the larval prehensile antennæ can always be found: these have been sufficiently described for our present purpose under the head of the metamorphoses; but i may add, that the diagnostic differences between them in the several genera are briefly given, for a special purpose, in a discussion on the sexes of scalpellum at the end of that genus. we have seen in the larva, that the cement-ducts, with their opaque cellular contents, can be traced from within the discs of the antennæ to the anterior or lower ends of the two gut-formed bodies, which it can be demonstrated are the incipient ovaria. in mature cirripedes these ducts can be followed, in a slightly sinuous course, along the muscles on each side within the peduncle, till they expand into two small organs, which i have called cement-glands. these glands are found with great difficulty, except in _conchoderma aurita_, where they are placed on each side under the inner layer of corium, at the bottom of the sack, so as to be just above the top of the peduncle; they resemble in shape a retort, (pl. ix, fig. .). in _pollicipes mitella_ and _polymerus_ they lie half way down the peduncle, close together, and apparently enclosed within a common membrane; in these two species the broad end of the gland is bent towards the neck of the retort. in scalpellum the position is the same, but the shape is more globular. in ibla the structure is more simple, namely, a tube slightly enlarged, running downwards, bent a little upwards, and then resuming its former downward course, the lower portion forming the duct. the gland contains a strongly coherent, pulpy, opaque, cellular mass, like that in the cement-ducts; but in some instances, presently to be mentioned, this cellular mass becomes converted within either the ducts or gland, or within both, into transparent, yellow, tough cement. generally in conchoderma, pollicipes, and scalpellum, two ovarian tubes, but in one specimen of _conchoderma aurita_, three tubes, and in ibla one tube could be seen running into or forming the gland; of the nature of the tubes there could not be the least doubt, for at a little distance from the glands they gave out branches (pl. ix, fig. ), containing ova in every state of development. in some specimens as in that figured of _conchoderma aurita_, the ovarian tube on one side of the gland is larger than on the other, and has rather the appearance of being deeply embedded in the gland than of forming it; but, in other specimens, the two ovarian tubes first formed a little pouch, into which their cellular contents could be clearly seen to enter; and then this pouch expanded into the gland; thus quite removing a doubt which i had sometimes felt, whether the ovarian tube was not simply attached to or embedded in the gland, without any further connection. by dissection the multiple external coats of the gland and ovarian tubes could be seen to be continuous. the cellular contents of the tubes passed into the more opaque cellular contents of the gland, by a layer of transparent, pulpy, pale, yellowish substance. there appeared in several instances to be a relation, between the state of fulness and condition of the contents of the gland, and of the immediately adjoining portions of the ovarian tubes. in one specimen of _pollicipes mitella_ it was clear that the altered, tough, yellow, transparent, non-cellular contents of the two glands and ducts, had actually invaded for some little distance, the two ovarian tubes which ran into them, thus showing the continuity of the whole. from these facts i conclude, without hesitation, that the gland itself is a part of an ovarian tube specially modified; and further, that the cellular matter, which in the ovarian tubes serves for the development of the ova, is, by the special action of the walls of the gland, changed into the opaquer cellular matter in the ducts, and this again subsequently into that tissue or substance, which cements the cirripede to its surface of attachment. as the individuals grow and increase in size, so do the glands and cement-ducts; but it seems often to happen, that when a specimen is immovably attached, the cementing apparatus ceases to act, and the cellular contents of the duct become converted into a thread of transparent tough cement; the investing membrane, also, of the ducts, in conchoderma sometimes becomes hard and mamillated. i have already alluded to the case of a pollicipes, in which both glands and ducts, and even a small portion of the two adjoining ovarian tubes, had become thus filled up. as in sessile cirripedes, at every fresh period of growth a new cement gland is formed, it has occurred to me, that possibly in pollicipes something similar may take place. in sessile cirripedes, the old cement-glands are all preserved in a functionless condition, adhering to the membranous or calcareous basis, each new larger one attached to that last formed, and each giving out cement-ducts, which, bifurcating in the most complicated manner, pass outside the shell and thus attach it to some foreign body. the cement, removed from the outside of a cirripede, consists of a thin layer of very tough, bright-brown, transparent, laminated substance, exhibiting no structure under the highest powers, or at most a very fine dotted appearance, like a mezzotinto drawing. it is of the nature of chitine; but boiling caustic potash has rather more effect on it than on true chitine; and i think boiling nitric acid rather less effect. in one single instance, namely, in coronula, the cement comes out of the four orifices of the two bifurcating ducts, in the shape of distinct cells, which, between the whale's skin and the basal membrane, arrange themselves so as to make a circular, continuous slip of cement; then the cells blend together, and are converted into transparent, structureless cement. cementing tissue or membrane would, perhaps, have been a more correct title than cement; but, in ordinary cases, its appearance is so little like that of an organised tissue, that i have for this reason, and for brevity-sake, preferred the simple term of cement. in the larva the cement always escapes through the prehensile antennæ; and it thus continues to do throughout life in most or all of the species of lepas, conchoderma, dichelaspis and ibla. in the first two of these genera, the cement escapes from the borders of the lower side of the disc or penultimate segment of the antennæ, and can be there seen radiating out like spokes, which at their ends divide into finer and finer branches, till a uniform sheet of cement is formed, fastening the antennæ and the adjoining part of the peduncle down to the surface of attachment. in _dichelaspis warwickii_ and _scalpellum peronii_, the cement, or part at least, comes out of the ultimate segment of the antennæ, in the shape of one tube, within another tube of considerable diameter and length. in _scalpellum vulgare_, and probably in some of the other species, which live attached to corallines, the cement soon ceases to debouch from the antennæ, but instead, bursts through a row of orifices on the rostral margin of the peduncle (pl. ix, fig. ), by which means this margin is symmetrically fastened down to the delicate, horny branches of the zoophyte. in pollicipes, the two cement-ducts, either together or separately (pl. ix, fig. , _a´_), wind about the bottom of the peduncle in the most tortuous course, at each bend pouring out cement through a hole in the membrane of the peduncle. in ibla the lower part of the peduncle is internally filled by cement, and thus rendered rigid. in _lepas fascicularis_ a vesicular ball of cement surrounding the peduncle is thus formed (pl. i, fig. ), and serves as a float! all these curious, special adaptations are described under the respective genera. how the cement forces its way through the antennæ, and often through apertures in the thick membrane of the peduncle, i do not understand. i do not believe, though some appearances favoured the notion, that the duct itself debouches and divides, at least this is not the case in coronula, but only that the internal chord of cellular matter thus acts and spreads itself out; nor do i understand how, when the antennæ and immediately adjoining parts are once cemented down, any more cement can escape; yet this must take place, as may be inferred from the breadth of the cemented, terminal portion of the peduncle in lepas and conchoderma; and from the often active condition in old individuals of the cementing organs. i have entered on this subject at some length, (and i wish i had space for more illustrations,) from its offering, perhaps, the most curious point in the natural history of the cirripedia. it is the one chief character of the sub-class. i am well aware how extremely improbable it must appear, that part of an ovarian tube should be converted into a gland, in which cellular matter is modified, so that instead of aiding in the development of new beings, it forms itself into a tissue or substance, which leaves the body[ ] in order to fasten it to a foreign support. but on no other view can the structure, clearly seen by me both in the mature cirripede and in the larva, be explained, and i feel no hesitation in advancing it. i may here venture to quote the substance of a remark made by professor owen, when i communicated to him the foregoing facts, namely, that there was a new problem to solve,--new work to perform,--to attach permanently a crustacean to a foreign body; and that hence no one could, _a priori_, tell by what singular and novel means this would be effected. [ ] the protrusion of the egg-bearing pouches in cyclops and its kindred genera, outside the body, offers a feeble analogy with what takes place in cirripedes. professor allman ('annals of natural history,' vol. xx, p. ,) who has attended to the subject, says that the external egg-bearing pouches are "a portion of the membrane of the true ovaries:" if the membrane of these pouches had been specially made adhesive, the analogy would have been closer. _filamentary appendages._--these have generally been considered to act as branchiæ; they occur at the bases of the first pair of cirri in lepas, alepas, conchoderma, and in three species of pollicipes: in conchoderma there are similar appendages attached to the pedicels of the cirri (pl. ix, fig. , _g-k_); and in the above three species of pollicipes there is a double row of them on the prosoma: their numbers differ in different species (in some there being none) of the same genus, and even in different individuals of the same species; they are entirely absent in the majority of the genera. these facts would indicate that they are not of high functional importance; and they seem so generally occupied by testes (pl. iv, fig. ), that i suspect their function is quite as much to give room for the development of these glands, as to serve for respiratory purposes. with the exception of the four above-named genera, the mere surface of the body and of the sack must be sufficient for respiration: in _conchoderma aurita_ the two great expansions of surface, afforded by the folded, tubular, ear-like projections, aid, as i believe, towards this end. the shape of the body varies, owing to the greater or less development of the lower part of the prosoma, the greater or less distance of the first from the second pair of cirri, and of the mouth from the adductor scutorum muscle, (pl. ix, fig. , and pl. iv, _a´_). in all the genera, the body is much flattened. i may here mention a few particulars about the muscular system. one of the largest muscular masses is formed by the adductor scutorum, and by the muscles which surround in a double layer (the fasciæ being oblique to each other) the whole of the upper part of the prosoma. from under the adductor, a pair of delicate muscles runs to the basal edge of the labrum, so as to retract the whole mouth, and two other pair to the integument between the mouth and the adductor, so as to fold it: again, there are other delicate muscles in some (for instance in _lepas hillii_) if not in all the lepadidæ, crossing each other in the most singular loops, and serving apparently to fold the membrane between the occludent edges of the scuta. within the prosoma there is a strong adductor muscle, running straight from side to side, for the purpose, as it appears, of flattening the body. the thorax, on the dorsal and ventral surfaces, is well furnished with straight and oblique muscles (without striæ), which straighten and curl up this part of the body. the muscles running into the pedicels of the cirri, cross each other on the ventral surface of the thorax; the muscles within the rami are attached to the upper segments of the pedicels. finally, i may remark that the whole of the body and the cirri are capable of many diversified movements. _mouth._--this is prominent, and almost probosciformed (pl. ix, fig. _b_), and in the abnormal anelasma (pl. iv, fig. _d_), quite probosciformed,--such, also, was its character in the larval condition. in outline, it is either sub-triangular, or oval with the longer axis transverse; the whole is capable, as well as the separate organs, of considerable movement, as i have seen in living sessile cirripedes. it is composed (tab. v, fig. ) of a labrum, swollen or bullate, often to such an extent as to equal in its longitudinal axis the rest of the mouth; of palpi soldered to the labrum; of mandibles, maxillæ, and outer maxillæ, the latter serving as a lower lip. these organs have only their upper segments free, but there are traces, clearly seen in the mandibles (pl. x, fig. , _a_, _b_), of their being formed of three segments. the two lower segments are laterally united, and open into each other, the prominence of the mouth being thus caused: this condition appears to me curious, and is, to a certain limited extent, intermediate between those articulated animals which have their trophi soldered into a proboscis, and those furnished with entirely free masticatory or prehensile organs. the palpi adhere to the corners of the labrum; and i call them palpi only from seeing that they spring laterally from above the upper articulation of the mandibles. the prominence of the mouth, measured from the basal fold by which the whole is separated from the body, is much greater on the half formed by the labrum and mandibles, than on the other half facing the cirri. the trophi surround a cavity--the supra-oesophageal cavity--in the middle of which, between the mandibles is seated the orifice of the oesophagus. the oesophagus is surrounded by long, fine, muscular fasciæ, radiating in all directions, opposing the constrictor muscles, and is capable of violent swallowing movements,--constriction after constriction being seen to run down its whole course: there are also some fine muscles attached to the membrane forming the supra-oesophageal cavity. the trophi serve merely for the prehension of prey, and not for mastication. the _labrum_, as stated, is always bullate or swollen; and sometimes the upper exterior part forms, as in ibla (pl. iv, fig. _a_, _c_), and dichelaspis, an overhanging blunt point. the object, i suspect, of this bullate form is to give, in the upper part, attachment to longer muscles running to the lateral surfaces of the mandibles, and lower down to the oesophagus. the crest close over the supra-oesophageal cavity, is generally furnished with small, often bead-like teeth. the _palpi_ are small, their apices never actually touching each other; they are more or less blunt, not differing much in shape in the different genera (pl. x, figs. to ), and clothed with spines. they are not capable of movement; their function seems to be to prevent prey, brought by the cirri, escaping over the labrum; i infer this from finding in anelasma and in the male of ibla, which have the cirri functionless, that the palpi are rudimentary. the _mandibles_ (pl. x, figs. - ) have from two to ten strong teeth in a single row; where the number exceeds five, several of the teeth are small; the inferior angle is generally pectinated with fine spines; in lithotrya (fig. ), the interspaces between the teeth are also pectinated. in the same individual there is not unfrequently one tooth, more or less, on opposite sides of the mouth. internally, the mandibles are furnished on their outer and inner sides with several ligamentous apodemes, in lithotrya roughened with points (pl. x, fig. ), for the attachment of the muscles; of these (fig. ), there is a chief depressor and elevator, attached at their lower ends to near the basal fold of the mouth, and a lateral muscle, attached to the broad basal end of the palpi, and serving, apparently, to oppose the edge of mandible to mandible. the _maxillæ_ in the different genera (pl. x, figs. to ) differ considerably in outline; they are generally about half the size of the mandibles; at the upper corner, there are always two or three spines larger than the others, and often separated from them by a notch; the rest of the spinose edge is straight, or irregular, or step-formed, or with the lowest part projecting, or with one or two narrow prominences bearing fine spines. all these spines, quite differently from the teeth of the mandibles, are articulated on the edge of the organ, and stand in a double row. at a point corresponding with the upper articulation of the mandibles, a long, thin, narrow, rigid apodeme, projects inwards (fig. ), and running down nearly parallel to the thin, outer, flexible membrane of the mouth, is attached to the corium, and thus serves as a support to the whole organ. this apodeme is embedded in muscles (pl. x, fig. ); there are other large muscles attached to the inner side of the organ, and again others running laterally towards the mandibles. the apodeme, of course, is moulted with the integuments of the mouth. the _outer maxillæ_ (pl. x, figs. , ) serve as a lower lip; they are thicker than the other trophi; they have their inner surfaces clothed with spines, sometimes divided into an upper and lower group, and occasionally separated by a deep notch: there are often long bristles outside. they are furnished with at least two muscles; in sessile cirripedes i have seen that they are capable of a rapid to and fro movement, and i have no doubt that their function is to brush any small creature, caught by the cirri, towards the maxillæ, which are well adapted to aid in securing the prey, and to hand it over to the mandibles, by them to be forced down the oesophagus. on the exterior face of the outer maxillæ, above a trace of an upper articulation, either two small orifices or two large tubular projections can always be discovered; and these, as will presently be mentioned, i believe to be olfactory organs. _cirri._--the five posterior pair are seated close to each other and equidistant; the first pair is generally seated at a little distance, and sometimes at a considerable distance from the second pair. the first pair is the shortest; the others, proceeding backwards, increase gradually in length. the rami of each pair are either equal in length or slightly unequal: those of the first pair are oftenest unequal. the number of segments in the posterior cirri is sometimes very great; in one species of alepas, there were above sixty segments in one ramus, the other ramus being in this unique case (pl. x, fig. ) small and rudimentary. the pedicels consist of two segments, a lower, longer, and upper short one (fig. , _c_, _d_.) in the usual arrangement of the spines on the segments of the three posterior pair of cirri, there are (figs. , ) from three to six pair of long spines on the anterior face, with generally some minute spines (occasionally forming a tuft) intermediate between them: on the dorsal surface, in the uppermost part of each segment, there is a tuft of short spines generally mingled with some longer, finer ones: on the inner side of each segment, on the upper rim, there are generally a few extremely minute and short spines. from the increase of these latter and of the intermediate spines, the antero-lateral faces of the segments of the first cirrus, and of the lower segments of the anterior ramus of the second cirrus (pl. x, fig. ), are almost always thickly paved with brush-like masses of spines. the lower segments of the anterior ramus of the third cirrus is generally, though not always, thus paved: these paved segments are much broader than the others. the posterior rami of the second and third cirri are often in some slight degree paved, though in other cases they resemble the three posterior pair of cirri. the two segments of the pedicels have bristles on their anterior faces, essentially arranged on the same plan as on the segments of the rami: the bristles are generally not so symmetrically arranged on the pedicels of the second and third cirri, as on the three posterior pair. there are some exceptions to the foregoing general rules: in the posterior cirri of _alepas cornuta_, there is only one pair of long spines to each segment (fig. ); in _dichelaspis lowei_, there are eight pair; in _lepas fascicularis_, in old specimens, the segments are paved with a triangular brush of spines; the upper segments in _pæcilasma eburnea_ support small oblong brushes; and, lastly, in _pæcilasma fissa_ (fig. ), and _crassa_, the spines form a single circle round each segment, interrupted on the two sides. these spines are often doubly serrated or plumose: many of them on the protuberant segments of the first three pair of cirri, are sometimes coarsely and doubly pectinated. _caudal appendages._--these are present (pl. x, figs. to ) seated on each side of the anus, in all the genera, except in conchoderma, anelasma, and _scalpellum villosum_; they consist of a very small single segment, destitute of spines in lepas, and spinose in pæcilasma, dichelaspis, oxynaspis, scalpellum, and some species of pollicipes; they consist of several segments in alepas, ibla, lithotrya, and in some species of pollicipes. in the latter genus, some species have their caudal appendages multiarticulate, though so obscurely articulated, that the passage (fig. ) from several to one segment is seen to be easily effected. when the appendage consists of many articulations, it is generally about as long as the pedicel of the sixth cirrus; but in _ibla quadrivalvis_, it is four times as long. the segments are narrow, slightly flattened, much tapering; each (fig. ) is surmounted by a ring of short spines, which are generally longest on the apex of the terminal segment. i could never trace muscles into these appendages. _alimentary canal._--the oesophagus is of considerable length: it is formed of strong, transparent, much folded membrane, continuous with the outer integuments, and moulted with them: it is surrounded by corium, and as already stated, by numerous muscles: at its lower end it expands into a bell, with the edges reflexed, and sometimes sinuous: this bell lies within the stomach, and keeps the upper broad end expanded. according to the less or greater distance of the mouth from the adductor muscle, the oesophagus runs in a more or less parallel course to the abdominal surface between the first and succeeding pairs of cirri, and enters the stomach more or less obliquely. in ibla alone, it passes exteriorly to, and over the adductor scutorum muscle. the stomach lies in a much curved, almost doubled course; it is often a little constricted where most bent; it is broadest at the upper end, and here, in lepas and conchoderma, there are some deep branching cæca; in the latter of these two genera, the whole surface is, in addition, pitted in transverse lines. the stomach is coated by small, opaque, pulpy, slightly arborescent glands, believed to be hepatic; these are arranged in longitudinal lines, in all the genera, except in alepas, in which they are transverse and reticulated: the whole stomach is thus coated. there is, also, a coating of excessively delicate, longitudinal and transverse muscles without striæ. the rectum varies in length, extending inwards from the anus to between the bases of the second and fifth pair of cirri: it is narrow, and formed of much folded transparent membrane, resembling the oesophagus, continuous with the outer integuments, with which it is periodically moulted. the anus is a small longitudinal slit, in the triangular piece of membrane representing the abdomen, let in between the last thoracic tergal arches, as already mentioned under the head of the metamorphoses; it lies almost between the caudal appendages, and opens on the dorsal surface. within the stomach, there can generally be plainly seen, in accordance with the period of digestion when the specimen was taken, a thin, yet strong, perfectly transparent epithelial membrane, not exhibiting under the highest power of the microscope any structure: it enters the branching cæca, and extends from the edge of the bell of the oesophagus to the commencement of the closed rectum, and consequently terminates in a point: it consists of chitine, like the outer integuments of the animal, and by placing the whole body in caustic potash, i have dissolved the outer coats of the stomach, and seen the bag open at its upper end, perfectly preserved, floating in the middle of the body, and full of the debris of the food. in most of the specimens which i have examined, preserved in spirits of wine, this epithelial lining was some little way distant and separate from the coats of the stomach; and hence was thought by m. martin st. ange to be a distinct organ, like the closed tube in certain annelids. occasionally, i have seen one imperfect epithelial bag or tube within another and later-formed one. digestion seems to go on at the same rate throughout the whole length of the stomach; if there be any difference, the least digested portions lie in the lower and narrower part. the prey, consisting generally of crustacea, infusoria, minute spiral univalves, and often of the larvæ of cirripedes, is not triturated: when the nutritious juices have been absorbed, the rejectamenta are cast out through the anus, all kept together in the epithelial bag, which is excluded like a model of the whole stomach, with the exception of that part coated by the bell of the oesophagus. i have sometimes thought that the bag was formed so strong, for the sake of thus carrying out the excrement entire, so as not to befoul the sack. i believe lepas can throw up food by its oesophagus; at least, i found in one case, many _half-digested_ small crustaceans in the sack, and others of the same kind in the stomach. _circulatory system._--i can add hardly anything to what little has been given by m. martin st. ange: like others, i have failed, as yet, in discovering a heart. the whole body is permeated by channels, which have not any proper coat: there is one main channel along the ventral surface of the thorax, dividing and surrounding the mouth, and giving out branches which enter the inner of the two channels in each cirrus: as burmeister has shown, there are also two channels in the penis. there are two dorso-lateral channels in the prosoma, which are in direct connection with the great main channel, running down the rostral (_i. e._, ventral) side of the peduncle. this latter main channel branches out in the lower part, and transmits the fluid through the ovarian tubes, whence, i believe, it flows upwards and round the sack, re-entering the body near the sides of the adductor scutorum muscle. the main rostral channel (or artery?) in the uppermost part of the peduncle, has a depending curtain, which, i think, must act as a valve, so as to prevent the circulating fluid regurgitating into the animal's body during the contractions of the peduncle. _nervous system and organs of sense._--in most of the genera, there are six _main_ ganglia, namely, the supra-oesophageal, and five thoracic ganglia; but in _pollicipes mitella_ there are only four thoracic ganglia. of these, the first thoracic or infra-oesophageal ganglion is considerably the largest and most massive; it is squarish, or oval, or heart-shaped; it presents no trace of being formed by the union of two lateral ganglia. two great nerves spring from its under side (a), represented in the woodcut on page , by dotted lines, and run straight down amongst the viscera in the prosoma: these nerves are about as large as those forming the collar and those running to the second ganglion; hence, six great nerves meet here, two in front, two behind, and two on the under side. at the anterior end, over the junction with the collar chord, three equal-sized nerves rise on each side, with a fourth, smaller one, outside; these go to the trophi and to the two olfactory sacks. at the posterior end, on each side, a pair of nerves branch out rectangularly, one of which (_a_,) goes to the first cirrus, and there divides into two branches; of these, the upper runs up the cirrus, and the lower one downwards. the other nerve (_b_), proceeding on each side from this first thoracic ganglion, runs to the muscles beneath the basal articulation of the first cirrus. the collar surrounding the oesophagus is generally very long, sometimes equalling the whole thoracic chord; at a middle point, a small branch is sent off, and at the anterior end (_e_, _e_), close to the supra-oesophageal ganglia, double or treble fine branches run to the true ovaria, lying close to the upper end of the stomach. the four (or only three) other thoracic ganglia, when viewed as transparent bodies, are seen to be solid; but in some of the genera, as in conchoderma, the outline plainly shows, that each consists of a lateral pair fused together. the second thoracic ganglion (b) is rather small; it is either close to the first, as in _pollicipes mitella_ and _lepas fascicularis_, or far distant, as in ibla. the third (c) and fourth are of about the same size with the second: these three ganglia send large branches to the second, third, and fourth pair of cirri: other minute branches spring from their under sides, and from the intermediate double chords. the fifth ganglion is larger and longer than the three preceding ones, and gives off nerves to the fifth and sixth pair of cirri; it is clearly formed by the union of the fifth, with what ought to have formed a sixth ganglion. the two nerves going to the sixth cirrus give off on their inner sides, each a great branch to the penis. in _pollicipes mitella_, in which there are only four instead of five thoracic ganglia, it is evident from the outline and position of the nerves going to the fourth pair of cirri, that the fourth ganglion is fused into the fifth, itself, as we have just seen, normally composed of two consecutive ganglia. in this pollicipes there is other evidence of concentration in the nervous system, for none of the ganglia show signs of being formed of lateral pairs; the second is close to the first; and the abdominal double chord is in part separated by a mere cleft; lastly, as we shall immediately see, the same remark is applicable to the supra-oesophageal ganglia. the latter (d) alone remain to be described; they present far more diversity in shape than do the thoracic ganglia; they are almost always seen in outline to be laterally distinct, and usually resemble two pears with their tapering ends cut off and united; in a transverse line they are as long as the infra-oesophageal ganglion, but are much less massive. in _lepas fascicularis_ (d), they are pear-shaped; in _pollicipes mitella_ they are globular, and separated by a third globular ganglion, which i believe is the ophthalmic ganglion, presently to be described; in _pollicipes spinosus_, however, the ophthalmic ganglion is, as usual, placed in advance of the supra-oesophageal ganglion, which latter, in this one species, shows no sign of being formed of a lateral pair fused together. in _alepas cornuta_ the supra-oesophageal ganglion consists of two quite distinct ganglia, elongated in the longitudinal axis of the body, and separated from each other by the whole width of the mouth; the chord which unites them is of the same thickness as the rest of the collar. in all the genera, from the front of each of the two supra-oesophageal ganglia, a pair of nerves, (_f_, _f_,) united and together as large as the collar nerve, rises, and can be traced running unbranched, in a nearly straight line, for a length equalling the whole rest of the nervous chord, so as to supply the peduncle and the inside of the capitulum or sack. at the inner ends of these two same ganglia, from a central point where they are united, a little central branch runs in front to the adductor scutorum and other adjoining muscles; and still smaller fibrils run behind to the oesophageal muscles. [illustration: diagram of the anterior portion of the nervous system in _lepas fascicularis_. a. first thoracic or infra-oesophageal ganglion. b. second thoracic. c. third thoracic ganglion. d. supra-oesophageal ganglion. e. the two ophthalmic ganglia. f. double eye. _a_. nerve going to first cirrus; _b_, to the muscles below the first cirrus; _c_, to the second cirrus; _d_, to the third; _e_, nerves running to the ovaria; _f_, double nerves supplying the sack and peduncle.] _ophthalmic ganglia and eyes._--owing to professor leidy's[ ] discovery of eyes in a balanus, i was led to look for them in the lepadidæ. extending from the front of the two supra-oesophageal ganglia, two chords may be seen in _lepas fascicularis_ (of which a rude diagram is here given), to run into two small, perfectly distinct oval ganglia (e), which are not united by any transverse commissure. from the opposite ends of these two ganglia smaller nerves run, and, bending inwards at right angles, enter, beyond the middle, an elongated (f), almost black, eye, composed of two eyes united together. although in outline the eye appears single, two lenses can be distinctly seen at the end, directed upwards and towards the ganglia; two pigment-capsules can also be distinguished; these are deep and cup-formed, and of a dark reddish-purple. the following measurements will show the proportions of the parts in a specimen of the _lepas fascicularis_ having a capitulum / ths of an inch in length. double eye { length / { width / diameter of single lens / ophthalmic ganglion { length / { breadth / supra-oesophageal ganglion, } transverse or longest axis } / of both together } supra-oesophageal ganglion, } longitudinal axis of } / infra-oesophageal ganglion, } transverse axis of } / infra-oesophageal ganglion, } longitudinal axis of } / [ ] proceedings of the academy of natural sciences, philadelphia. no. i, vol. iv, jan. . in _conchoderma aurita_ the ophthalmic ganglia are much smaller, and nearer to the supra-oesophageal ganglion, than in _l. fascicularis_. in _alepas cornuta_ the ophthalmic chords run towards each other from the two distant and separate supra-oesophageal ganglia; and the ophthalmic ganglia, (instead of being quite separate, as in _l. fascicularis_,) are united by their front ends, and the two eyes instead of standing some way in front, with nerves running to them, are embedded on the double ophthalmic ganglion; the pigment-capsules here, also, have the shape of mere saucers, and are joined back to back, with the two lenses projecting far out of them. in neither sex of ibla could i perceive that the eye was double. in _pollicipes spinosus_ the ophthalmic ganglion stands in front of the single supra-oesophageal ganglion, and shows no signs of being formed of a lateral pair; the eyes themselves, however, differently from, in all the foregoing cases, are, though approximate, quite distinct. in _pollicipes mitella_ i did not see the eyes; but the ophthalmic ganglion consists, as i believe, of a single globular one, placed exactly between the two globular, supra-oesophageal ganglia, all three being of nearly equal size. professor leidy does not mention the ophthalmic ganglia; hence i infer that in balanus, which is a more highly organised cirripede, they are fused into the supra-oesophageal ganglion. in all the genera, the double eye is seated deep within the body; it is attached by fibrous tissue to the radiating muscles of the lowest part of the oesophagus, and lies actually on the upper part of the stomach; consequently, a ray of light, to reach the eye, has to pass through the exterior membrane and underlying corium connecting the two scuta, and to penetrate deeply into the body. in living sessile cirripedes, vision seems confined to the perception of the shadow of an object passing between them and the light; they instantly perceived a hand passed quickly at the distance of several feet between a candle and the basin in which they were placed. as the infra-oesophageal ganglion sends nerves to the trophi and to the first pair of cirri, it must correspond to the segments, from the fourth to the ninth inclusive, of the archetype crustacean. the state of the supra-oesophageal and ophthalmic ganglia appears to me very interesting: i do not believe that in any _mature_ ordinary crustacean, the first or ophthalmic ganglion can be shown to be distinct from the two succeeding ganglia, or to be itself composed of a pair laterally distinct. the ganglia, corresponding with the second and third segments of the body, which should normally support two pair of antennæ, are in the lepadidæ united together; but laterally they are generally distinct in outline, and are actually separate in alepas: the supra-oesophageal ganglion shows also its double nature, by giving rise to a pair of large double nerves, evidently corresponding with the two pair of antennular nerves in ordinary crustaceans. the embryonic condition of the whole supra-oesophageal portion of the nervous system in the lepadidæ, corresponds with the rudimentary state of the only organ of sense supplied by it, namely, the eye, which in size and general appearance has retrograded to the state in which it was in, during the first stage of development of the larva;--i have used the term embryonic, because, in the embryos of ordinary crustacea, all the ganglia are at first longitudinally distinct, and laterally quite separate. the conclusion at which we before arrived from studying the metamorphoses, namely, that the whole peduncle and capitulum consisted of the first three segments of the head, is beautifully supported by the structure of the nervous system, in which these parts are seen to be supplied with nerves exclusively from the supra-oesophageal ganglion: now in ordinary crustacea the supra-oesophageal ganglion sends nerves to the eyes and the two pair of antennæ corresponding, as is known by embryological dissections, to the first three segments of the body. moreover, it is asserted that the carapace which covers the thorax in crustacea, is not formed by the development of the first segment; and this, likewise, may be inferred to be the case with the peduncle and capitulum in the lepadidæ, as the nerves of the ophthalmic ganglia go exclusively to the eyes. finally, i may remark that in pollicipes, looking to the whole nervous system, the state of concentration nearly equals that in certain macrourous decapod crustaceans, for instance the _astacus marinus_, of which a figure is given by milne edwards. _olfactory organs._--in the outer maxillæ, at their bases where united together, but above the basal fold separating the mouth from the body, there are, in all the genera, a pair of orifices (pl. x, fig. ); these are sometimes seated on a slight prominence, as in lithotrya, or on the summit of flattened tubes (pl. x, fig. ), projecting upwards and towards each other, as in ibla, scalpellum, and pollicipes. in ibla these tubular projections rise from almost between the outer and inner maxillæ. it is impossible to behold these organs, and doubt that they are of high functional importance to the animal. the orifice leads into a deep sack lined by pulpy corium, and closed at the bottom. the outer integument is inflected inwards, (hence periodically moulted,) and becoming of excessive tenuity, runs to near the bottom of the sack, where it ends in an open tube: so excessively thin is this inflected membrane, that, until examining anelasma, i was not quite certain that i was right in believing that the outer integument did not extend over the whole bottom. i several times saw a nerve of considerable size entering and blending into a pulpy layer at the bottom of the sack of corium; but i failed in tracing to which of the three pair of nerves, springing from the front end of the infra-oesophageal ganglion, it joined. i can hardly avoid concluding, that this _closed_ sack, with its naked bottom, is an organ of sense; and, considering that the outer maxillæ serve to carry the prey entangled by the cirri towards the maxillæ and mandibles, the position seems so admirably adapted for an olfactory organ, whereby the animal could at once perceive the nature of any floating object thus caught, that i have ventured provisionally to designate the two orifices and sacks as olfactory. _acoustic_ (?) _organs._--a little way beneath the basal articulation of the first cirrus (pl. ix, fig. _d_, and pl. iv, fig. _e_), on each side, there may be seen a slight swelling, and on the under side of this, a transverse slit-like orifice, / th of an inch in length in conchoderma, but often only half that size. in ibla this orifice is seated lower down (pl. iv, fig. _a´_, _e_), between the bases of the first and second cirri, which are here far apart: in _alepas cornuta_ it is placed rather nearer to the adductor scutorum muscle, namely, beneath the mandibles. the orifice leads into a rather deep and wide meatus; the external integument is turned in for a short distance, widening a little, and then ends abruptly. the meatus, enlarging upwards, is lined by thick pulpy corium, and is closed at the upper end; from its summit is suspended a flattened sack of singular and different shapes in the different genera. this, the so-called acoustic sack of _conchoderma virgata_, is figured pl. ix, fig. . the deep and wide notch faces towards the posterior end of the animal; the inferior lobe, thus almost cut off, is flattened in a different plane from the upper part; the lobe is lodged in a little pouch of corresponding form, leading from the open meatus in which the upper part is included. in _conchoderma aurita_, the top of the acoustic sack is narrower and more constricted, the whole more rounded, and the lobe more turned down. in _lepas fascicularis_ the notch is not so deep or wide, and the lobe larger. in _ibla cumingii_ the sack is of the shape of a vase, with one corner folded over. in _scalpellum vulgare_ it is small, oval, with the lower end much pushed in, and furnished with a little crest. lastly, in _pollicipes mitella_ it is simply oval. in all cases the sack is empty, or contains only a little pulpy matter: it consists of brownish, thick, and remarkably elastic tissue, formed, apparently, of transverse little pillars, becoming fibrous on the outside, and with their inner ends appearing like hyaline points. the mouth of the acoustic sack (removed in the drawing) is closed by a tender diaphragm, through which i saw what i believe was a moderately-sized nerve enter; i have not yet succeeded in tracing this nerve. the first pair of cirri seem, to a certain extent, to serve as antennæ, and therefore the position of an acoustic organ at their bases, is analogous to what takes place in crustacea; but there are not here any otolites, or the siliceous particles and hairs, as described by dr. farre, in that class. nevertheless, the sack is so highly elastic, and its suspension in a meatus freely open to the water, seems so well adapted for an acoustic organ, that i have provisionally thus called it. in the larva, as i have shown, a pouch, certainly serving for some sense, i believe for hearing, is seated in quite a different position at the anterior end of the carapace. i may mention that i found sessile cirripedes very sensitive of vibrations in objects adjoining them, though not, apparently, of noises in the air or water. in a group of specimens, i could not touch one even most delicately with a needle, without all the adjoining ones instantly withdrawing their cirri; it made no difference if the one touched had its operculum already closed and motionless. _reproductive system_,--_male organs._--all the cirripedia which i have hitherto examined, with the exception of certain species of ibla and scalpellum, are hermaphrodite or bisexual.[ ] i shall so fully describe the sexual relations of the several species of these two genera, under their respective headings, and at the end of the genus of scalpellum, that i will not here give even an abstract of the grounds on which my firm belief is based, that the masculine power of certain hermaphrodite species of ibla and scalpellum, is rendered more efficient by certain parasitic males, which, from their not pairing, as in all hitherto known cases, with females, but with hermaphrodites, i have designated _complemental males_. [ ] i am compelled to differ greatly from the account given by prof. steenstrup of the reproductive system in the cirripedia, in his 'untersuchungen über das vorkommen des hermaphroditismus, ch. v, ;--a translation of which i have seen, owing to the great kindness of mr. busk. mr. goodsir has described ('edin. new phil. journal,' july ,) what he considers the male of balanus; but i have seen this same parasitic creature charged with ova, including larvæ! from the resemblance of the larvæ to the little crustacean described by mr. goodsir, in the same paper, as a distinct parasite, i believe the latter to be the male of his so-called male balanus, and that all belong to the same species, allied to bopyrus. this genus, as is well known, is parasitic on other crustacea; and it is a rather interesting fact thus to find, that this new parasite which is allied to bopyrus, in structure, is likewise allied to it in habits, living attached to cirripedia, a sub-class of the crustacea. the male organs have been well described by m. martin st. ange, whose observations have since been confirmed by r. wagner.[ ] the testes are small, often leaden-coloured, either pear or finger-shaped, or branched like club-moss,--these several forms sometimes occurring in the same individual; they coat the stomach, enter the pedicels, and even the basal segments of the rami of the cirri, and in some genera occupy certain swellings on the thorax and prosoma, and in others the filamentary appendages: the testes seen in the apex in one of these appendages in conchoderma, is represented in pl. ix, fig. . the two vesiculæ seminales are very large; they lie along the abdominal surface of the thorax, and generally (but not in some species of scalpellum) enter the prosoma, where their broad ends are often reflexed; here the branched vessels leading from the testes enter. the membrane of the vesiculæ seminales is formed of circular fibres; and is, i presume, contractile, for i have seen the spermatozoa expelled with force from the cut end of a living specimen. the two canals leading from the vesiculæ generally unite in a single duct at the base of the penis; but in _conchoderma aurita_, half-way up it. the probosciformed penis, except in certain species of scalpellum, is very long; it is capable of the most varied movements; it is generally hairy, especially at the end; it is supported on a straight unarticulated basis, which in _ibla quadrivalvis_ alone (pl. iv, fig. _a_), is of considerable length; in this species, the upper part is seen to be as plainly articulated as one of the cirri; in alepas, the articulations are somewhat less plain, and in the other genera, the organ can be said only to be finely ringed, but these rings no doubt are in fact obscure articulations. in the females of _ibla cumingii_ and _scalpellum ornatum_, there is, of course, no penis. [ ] in 'müller's archiv,' , p. . i have already several times referred to m. martin st. ange's excellent memoir, read before the academy of sciences, and subsequently, in , published separately. _female organs._--m. martin st. ange has described how the peduncle[ ] is gorged with an inextricable mass of branching ovarian tubes, filled with granular matter and immature ova. in conchoderma and alepas, the ovarian tubes run up in a single plane (pl. ix, fig. ,) between the two folds of corium round the sack. here the development of the ova can be well followed: a minute point first branches out from one of the tubes; its head then enlarges, like the bud of a tulip on a footstalk; becomes globular; shows traces of dividing, and at last splits into three, four, or five egg-shaped balls, which finally separate as perfect ova. within the peduncle, the ovarian tubes branch out in all directions, and within the footstalks of the branches (differently from what takes place round the sack), ova are developed, as well as at their ends. close together, along the rostral (_i. e._, ventral) edge of the peduncle, two nearly straight, main ovarian tubes or ducts may be detected, which do not give out any branches till about half way down the peduncle, where they subdivide into branches, which inosculate together, and give rise to the mass filling the peduncle, and sometimes, as we have just seen, sending up branches round the sack. these two main unbranched ovarian ducts, followed up the peduncle, are seen to enter the body of the cirripede (close along side the great double peduncular nerves), and then separating, they sweep in a large curve along each flank of the prosoma, under the superficial muscles, towards the bases of the first pair of cirri; and then rising up, they run into two glandular masses. these latter rest on the upper edge of the stomach, and touch the cæca where such exist; they were thought by cuvier to be salivary glands. they are of an orange colour, and form two, parallel, gut-formed masses, having, in conchoderma, a great flexure, and generally dividing at the end near the mouth into a few blunt branches. i was not able to ascertain whether the two main ducts, coming from the peduncle, expanded to envelope them, or what the precise connection was. the state of these two masses varied much; sometimes they were hollow, with only their walls spotted with a few cellular little masses; at other times they contained or rather were formed of, more or less globular or finger-shaped aggregations of pulpy matter; and lastly, the whole consisted of separate pointed little balls, each with a large inner cell, and this again with two or three included granules. these so closely resembled, in general appearance and size, the ovigerms with their germinal vesicles and spots, which i have often seen at the first commencement of the formation of the ova in the ovarian tubes in the peduncle, that i cannot doubt that such is their nature. hence i conclude, that these two gut-formed masses are the true ovaria. i may add, that several times i have seen in the two long, unbranched ducts, connecting the true ovaria and the ovarian tubes in the peduncle, pellets of orange-coloured cellular matter (_i. e._, ovigerms) forming at short intervals little enlargements in the ducts, and apparently travelling into the peduncle. [ ] i may here mention, that in all sessile cirripedes, the ovarian branching tubes lie between the calcareous or membranous basis and the inner basal lining of the sack, and to a certain height upwards round the sack: the true ovaria and the two ducts occupy the same position as in the lepadidæ. the structure here described is quite conformable with that which we have seen in the larva; in the latter, two gut-formed masses of equal thickness extended from the cæca of the stomach to within the future peduncle, where the cement-ducts entered them, and where, after a short period, they were seen to expand into a mass of ovarian tubes. in the mature cirripede, the cement-ducts can still be found united to the ovarian tubes in the middle of peduncle; and the cause of the wide separation of the true ovaria and ovarian tubes, can be simply accounted for by the internal, almost complete intersection of the animal, which takes place during the last metamorphosis. the ova, when excluded, remain in the sack of the animal until the larvæ are hatched; they are very numerous, and generally form two concave, nearly circular, leaves, which i have called after steenstrup and other authors, the _ovigerous lamellæ_ (pl. iv, fig. _b_). these lamellæ lie low down on each side of the sack: in _conchoderma virgata_, however, there is often only a single lamella, forming a deeply concave cup: in _c. aurita_ there are generally on each side four lamellæ, one under the other. the ova lie in a layer from two to four deep; and all are held together by a most delicate transparent membrane, which separately enfolds each ovum: this membrane is often thicker and stronger round the margins of the lamellæ, where they are united, in a peculiar manner, presently to be described, to a fold of skin, on each side of the sack: these two folds, i have called the _ovigerous fræna_ (pl. iv, fig. _f_). m. martin st. ange, describes an orifice under the carina, by which he supposes the ova to enter the sack; this, after repeated and most careful examinations, i venture to affirm does not exist; on the contrary, i have every reason to believe that the ova enter the sack in the following curious manner. immediately before one of the periods of exuviation, the ova burst forth from the the ovarian tubes in the peduncle and round the sack, and, carried along the open circulatory channels, are collected (by means unknown to me) beneath the chitine-tunic of the sack, in the corium, which is at this period remarkably spongy and full of cavities. the corium then forms or rather (as i believe) resolves itself into the very delicate membrane separately enveloping each ovum, and uniting them together into two lamellæ; the corium having thus far retreated, then forms under the lamellæ the chitine-tunic of the sack, which will of course be of larger size than the last-formed one, now immediately to be moulted with the other integuments of the body. as soon as this exuviation is effected, the tender ova, united into two lamellæ, and adhering, as yet, to the bottom of the sack, are exposed: as the membranes harden, the lamellæ become detached from the bottom of the sack, and are attached to the ovigerous fræna. to demonstrate this view, an individual should have been found, with both the old and new chitine tunic of the sack, and with the lamellæ lying between them; this, i believe, i have seen, but it was before i understood the full importance of the fact: a great number of specimens would have to be examined in order to succeed again, for the changes connected with exuviation supervene very quickly. i have, however, several times found the ova so loose under the sack, as to be detached with a touch from the ovarian tubes; and i have twice carefully examined specimens, which had just moulted, as shown by even the mandibles being flexible, in which the lamellæ had not become united to the fræna, but still adhered to the newly-formed chitine tunic of the sack; in these, the ova were so tender, that they broke into pieces rather than be separated from the membrane of the lamella, itself hardly perfectly developed, for pulpy cellular matter adhered outside some of the ova. these and other facts are quite inexplicable on any other view than that advanced. as the lamellæ are formed without organic union with the parent, they would be liable to be washed out of the widely open sack of the lepadidæ, if they had not been specially attached to the _fræna_. these fræna consist of a pair of more or less semicircular folds of skin, depending inside the sack, on each side of the point of attachment of the body. the fræna are often of considerable size, but in ibla, they are very minute; they are formed of chitine tunic with underlying corium, like the rest of the sack; on their crests, there is a row, or a set of circular groups, or a broad surface, covered, either with minute, pointed, bead-like bodies mounted on long hair-like footstalks, or with staff-formed bodies on very short footstalks. i measured some of the bead-like bodies, in _lepas anserifera_, and they were / th of an inch in diameter, and the footstalks three or four times as long as the elongated heads. these heads, of whatever shape they may be, have an opaque, and, i believe, glandular centre; i could not make out with certainty an aperture at their ends, but, i believe, such exists, and they seem to secrete a substance, which hardens into a strong membrane, serving to unite the crest of the frænum to the edges of the lamellæ. in one case, this bit of membrane seemed formed of a woven mass of threads. these little glandular bodies, with the membrane formed by them, are cast off at each exuviation, and new glands formed on the crest of the frænum underneath. in some species of pollicipes, (viz., _p. cornucopia_ and _elegans_,) the fræna, though present and large, are functionless and destitute of the glands: i believe, they exist in this same functionless condition, and in rather a different position in the sessile cirripedes, and that in this family they serve as branchiæ. the above-described method by which cirripedia lay their eggs, namely, united together in a common membrane, placed between their old outer and new inner integuments, and the manner in which the lamellæ, when thus formed, are retained for a time fastened to the fræna, and are then cast off, appears to me very curious. in some of the lower crustacea, it is known, that the ova escape by rupturing the ovisacs formed by the protruded ovarian tubes, and this is the nearest analogy with which i am acquainted. the ova are impregnated (as i infer from the state of the vesiculæ seminales), when first brought into the sack, and whilst the membrane of the lamellæ is very tender: the long probosciformed penis seems well adapted for this end. in the male of _ibla cumingii_, which has not a probosciformed penis, the whole flexible body, probably, performs the function of the penis: in _scalpellum ornatum_, however, the spermatozoa must be brought in by the action of the cirri, or of the currents produced by them. that cross impregnation may and sometimes does take place, i infer from the singular case of an individual, in a group of balani, in which the penis had been cut off, and had healed without any perforation; notwithstanding which fact, larvæ were included in the ova. _exuviation; rate of growth; size._--i have had occasion repeatedly to allude to the exuviation of the lepadidæ: with the exception of the genus lithotrya,[ ] in which the calcareous scales on the peduncle, together with the membrane connecting them, is cast off, neither the valves nor the membrane uniting them, nor that forming the peduncle with its scales and styles, are moulted; but the surface gradually disintegrates and is removed, perhaps sometimes in flakes, whilst new and larger layers are formed beneath. in scalpellum, i ascertained that the new membrane, connecting together the newly-formed calcified rims under the valves of the capitulum, was formed as a fold, with the articulated spines which it bears, all adpressed in certain definite directions. this fold of new membrane, when the old membrane splits and yields, of course expands, and thus the size of the capitulum is increased. in the peduncle, lines of splitting can seldom be perceived, except, indeed, in the sub-globular, embedded, downward-growing peduncle of anelasma, as described under that genus. i do not understand what determines the complicated lines of splitting of the old membrane between the several valves of the capitulum,--without it be simply, that along these lines alone, the old membrane is not strengthened by the new membrane being closely applied under it, the new being formed, as we have just said, in a fold, in order to allow of increase in size. although, as i believe, there is strictly no exuviation in the outer membranes of mature lepadidæ, it seems that narrow strips of membrane are cast off from between the valves, for the few first moults, after the final metamorphosis of the larva. i may here remark that, in most sessile cirripedes, the outside membrane connecting the operculum and shell, is regularly moulted. [ ] the external integuments being moulted in crustacea, but not in the cirripedia, may appear, at first, an important difference: but we here see that non-exuviation is not universal amongst the lepadidæ, and, on the other hand, according to m. joly, ('annales des sciences naturelles,' d series, zoolog.), there is one true crustacean, the _isaura cycladoides_, which has a persistent bivalve shell. the delicate tunic lining the sack, (a mere duplicature of that thick one, forming the outside of the capitulum, and generally transformed into valves,) and the integuments of the whole body, are regularly moulted. with these integuments, the membrane lining the oesophagus, the rectum, and the deep olfactory pouches, and the horny apodemes of the maxillæ, are all cast together. i have seen a specimen of lepas, in which, from some morbid adhesion, the old membrane lining one of the olfactory pouches had not been moulted, but remained projecting from the orifice as a brown shrivelled scroll. the new spines on the cirri (and on the maxillæ) are formed within the old ones; but as they have to be a little longer than the latter, and as they cannot enter these up to their very points, their basal portions are not thus included, but are formed, running obliquely across the segments of the cirri; and what is curious, these same basal portions are turned inside out, like the fingers of a glove when hastily drawn off. after the exuviation of the old spines, the new spines have their inverted basal portions drawn out from within the segments, and turned outside in, so as to assume their proper positions. all cirripedia grow rapidly: the yawl of h. m. s. _beagle_ was lowered into the water, at the galapagos archipelago, on the th of september, and, after an interval of exactly thirty-three days, was hauled in: i found on her bottom, a specimen of _conchoderma virgata_ with the capitulum and peduncle, each half an inch in length, and the former / ths in width: this is half the size of the largest specimen i have seen of this species: several other individuals, not half the size of the above, contained numerous ova in their lamellæ, ready to burst forth. supposing the larva of the largest specimen became attached the first day the boat was put into the water, we have the metamorphosis, an increase of length from about . , the size of the larva, to an whole inch, and the laying of probably several sets of eggs, all effected in thirty-three days. from this rapid growth, repeated exuviations must be requisite. mr. w. thompson, of belfast, kept twenty specimens of _balanus balanoides_, a form of much slower growth, alive, and on the twelfth day he found the twenty-first integument, showing that all had moulted once, and one individual twice within this period. i may here add, that the pedunculated cirripedes never attain so large a bulk as the sessile; _lepas anatifera_ is sometimes sixteen inches in length, but of this, the far greater portion consists of the peduncle. _pollicipes mitella_ is the most massive kind; i have seen a specimen with a capitulum . of an inch in width. _affinities._--considering the close affinity between the several genera, there are, i conceive, no grounds for dividing the lepadidæ into sub-families, as has been proposed by some authors, who have trusted exclusively to external characters. in establishing the eleven genera in the lepadidæ, no one part or set of organs affords sufficient diagnostic characters: the number of the valves is the most obvious, and one of the most useful characters, but it fails when the valves are nearly rudimentary, and when they are numerous: the direction of their lines of growth is more important, and fails to be characteristic only in scalpellum: with the same exception, the presence or abscence of calcified or horny scales on the peduncle is a good generic character. for this same end, the shape of the scuta and carina, but not of the other valves, comes into play. in three genera, the presence of filamentary appendages on the animal's body is generic; in pollicipes, however, they are found only on three out of the six species. the number of teeth in the mandibles, and the shape of the maxillæ, often prove serviceable for this end; as does more generally the presence of caudal appendages, and whether they be naked or spinose, uniarticulate or multiarticulate; in pollicipes alone this part is variable, being uni-and multi-articulate; and in one species of scalpellum they are absent, though present in all the others. the shape of the body, the absence or presence of teeth on the labrum, the inner edge of the outer maxillæ being notched or straight, the prominence of the olfactory orifices, the arrangement of the spines on the cirri, and the number and form of their segments, are only of specific value. comparing the pedunculated and sessile cirripedes, it is, i think, impossible to assign them a higher rank than that of families. the chief difference between them consists, in the lepadidæ, in the presence of three layers of striæ-less muscles, longitudinal, transverse and oblique, continuously surrounding the peduncle, but not specially attached to the scuta and terga; and on the other hand, in the balanidæ, of five longitudinal bundles of voluntary muscles, with transverse striæ, fixed to the scuta and terga, and giving them powers of independent movement. in the lepadidæ, the lower valves, or when such are absent, the membranous walls of the capitulum, move with the scuta and terga when opened or shut; and the lower part of the capitulum is separated by a moveable peduncle from the surface of attachment; in the sessile cirripedes, the lower valves are firmly united together into an immovable ring, fixed immovably on the surface of attachment. i will not compare the softer parts, such as the cirri and trophi, of the lepadidæ with those of the balanidæ, as my examination of this latter family is not fully completed: i will only remark, that there is a very close general resemblance, more especially with the sub-family chthamalinæ. _geographical range; habitats._--the pedunculated cirripedes extend over the whole world; and most of the individual species have large ranges, more especially, as might have been expected, those attached to floating objects; excepting these latter, the greater number inhabit the warmer temperate, and tropical seas. of those attached to fixed objects, or to littoral animals, it is rare to find more than three or four species in the same locality. on the shores of europe i know of only three, viz., a scalpellum, pollicipes, and alepas. at madeira (owing to the admirable researches of the rev. r. t. lowe), two pæcilasmas, a dichelaspis, and an oxynaspis are known. in new zealand, there are two pollicipes and an alepas, and, perhaps, a fourth form. from the philippine archipelago, in the great collection made by mr. cuming, there are a pæcilasma, an ibla, a scalpellum, pollicipes, and lithotrya. of all the lepadidæ, nearly half are attached to floating objects, or to animals which are able to change their positions; the other half are generally attached to fixed organic or inorganic bodies, and more frequently to the former than to the latter. most of the species of scalpellum are inhabitants of deep water; on the other hand, most of pollicipes,[ ] of ibla, and lithotrya are littoral forms. the species of lithotrya have the power of excavating burrows in calcareous rocks, shells, and corals; and the singular manner in which this is effected, is described under that genus. anelasma has its sub-globular peduncle deeply embedded in the flesh of northern sharks; and i have seen instances of the basal end of the peduncle of _conchoderma aurita_, being sunk into the skin of cetacea; in the same way the point of the peduncle in the male of ibla, is generally deeply embedded in the sack of the female. i believe in all these cases, the cementing substance affects and injures the corium or true skin of the animal on which the creature is parasitic, whilst the surrounding parts, being not injured, continue to grow upwards, thus causing the partial embedment of the cirripede. in the case of anelasma, we have growth at the end of the peduncle, and consequently downward pressure, and this may possibly cause absorption to take place in the skin of the shark at the spot pressed on. [ ] i am informed by mr. l. reeve that _pollicipes mitella_ is eaten on the coast of china; and ellis states ('phil. trans.,' ) that this is the case with _p. cornucopia_ on the shores of brittany. it is well known that the gigantic _balanus psittacus_ on the chilian coast, is sought after as a delicacy; and i am assured, by mr. cuming, that it deserves its reputation. _geological history._--having treated this subject at length, in the volume of the palæontographical society for , i will not here enter on it: i will only remark, that the lepadidæ or pedunculated cirripedes are much more ancient, according to our present state of knowledge, than the balanidæ. the former seem to have been at their culminant point during the cretaceous period, when many species of scalpellum and pollicipes, and a singular new genus, loricula, existed; pollicipes is the oldest genus, having been found in the lower oolite, and, perhaps, even in the lias. the fossil species do not appear to have differed widely from existing forms. _genus_--lepas. plate i. lepas. _linnæus._[ ] systema naturæ, . anatifa. _brugière._[ ] encyclop. method. (des vers), . anatifera. (_lister_) et plerumque auctorum anglicorum. pentalasmis. (_hill._) _leach._ journal de physique, july, . pentalepas. _de blainville._ dict. des sci. nat., . dosima. _j. e. gray._ annals of philosophy, vol. x, . [ ] linnæus, as is well known, included under this genus both the pedunculated and sessile cirripedes. according to the rules of the british association, the name lepas must be retained for part of the genus; and as the sessile division was named balanus, by lister and hill, even before the invention of the binomial system, and subsequently, in , by da costa, and again, in , by brugière, there can be no question that lepas must be applied to the pedunculated section of the genus. in this instance it is particularly desirable to recur to the linnean name, as no other name has been _generally_ adopted. had not lister and sir j. hill published before the binomial system, their names of anatifera and pentalasmis would have had prior claims to lepas. [ ] the date of this publication is almost universally given as , apparently caused by an error in the title-page of the first part, which has consequently been cancelled. the first part contains anatifa and balanus, and was published in . the second part was published in , and has a corrected title-page for the whole _volume_. _valvæ , approximatæ: carina sursùm inter terga extensa, deorsùm aut furcâ infossâ aut disco externo terminata: scuta subtriangula, umbonibus ad angulum rostralem positis._ valves , approximate: carina extending up between the terga, terminating downwards in an embedded fork, or in an external disc: scuta sub-triangular, with their umbones at the rostral angle. filaments seated beneath the basal articulation of the first cirri; mandibles with five teeth; maxillæ step-formed; caudal appendages uniarticulate, smooth. _distribution._--mundane; attached to floating objects. _description._--capitulum flattened, sub-triangular, composed of five approximate valves. the valves are either moderately thick and translucent, or very thin and transparent; and hence, though themselves colourless, they are often coloured by the underlying corium. their surfaces are either smooth and polished, or striated, or furrowed, and sometimes pectinated. they are not subject to disintegration; they are generally naked, except on the borders, where they are coated, and held together by membrane; in _l. fascicularis_, however, the valves are covered with thin membrane, bearing very minute spines. the manner of growth of the valves will be best described under each. all the valves, even in the same species, are subject to considerable variation in shape, more especially the terga. _scuta._--these valves are sub-triangular in outline, with the basal margin straight and rather short; and with occludent and tergo-carinal margins more or less protuberant; in _l. fascicularis_, however, the basal (pl. i, fig. ), and occludent margins are slightly reflexed and prominent. a ridge, generally runs from the umbo to the upper point. internally, there is no conspicuous pit for the adductor muscle; under the umbones, there is generally either on both valves, or only on the right-hand side (pl. i, fig. _c_), a small calcareous projection or tooth, of variable size and shape, even in the same species; it is generally largest on the right-hand valve; these teeth at first sight appear to form a hinge, uniting the opposite scuta at their umbones, but this is not really the case, and their use appears to be only to give attachment to the membrane uniting the valves together, and to the peduncle. the basal margin is internally strengthened by a calcified rim, more or less developed. the umbones (and primordial valves when distinguishable,) are seated at the rostral angles; during growth the basal margin is not added to, and the occludent margin only to small extent; hence the main growth of the valve is at the upper end, and along the carina-tergal margin. in _l. fascicularis_, however, the basal reflexed margin is slightly added to beneath the umbo. _terga_,--flat, small compared with the scuta, usually of an irregular quadrilateral figure, with the two upper or occludent margins very short, in proportion to the two (carinal and scutal) lower margins; all the margins are nearly straight. the two occludent margins, generally meet each other at about right angles, forming a small triangular projection; in _l. fascicularis_, however, the occludent margin is formed by a single, slightly curved line. the umbones (and primordial valves when distinguishable) are not seated at the uppermost point, but at the angle where the carinal margin unites to the upper of the two occludent margins: during growth the terga are added to, both on the occludent and on the scutal margins, and slightly along the carinal margin; hence their growth is unequally _quaqua-versal_, except at one angle of the irregular quadrilateral figure. _carina._--this is always very narrow and curved, concave within, often carinated and barbed exteriorly; it extends upwards between the terga for one half or two thirds of their length: at the lower extremity it ends (with the exception of _l. fascicularis_), in a small fork (pl. i, fig. , _a_, _b_) rectangularly inflected and embedded in the membrane, beneath the basal margin of the scuta. from comparing this lower part of the carina in _l. australis_ (fig. _a_), with the same part in some of the species of the allied genus pæcilasma, it would appear that the fork is formed by an oblong disc, more and more notched at the end, and with the rim between the two points more or less folded backwards: conformably with this view, in very young specimens of _l. australis_, instead of a large and sharp fork, there is a small disc. the only use of the fork appears to be to give firm attachment to the membrane uniting the valves and peduncle. in _l. fascicularis_, instead of a fork, there is a broad, oblong disc (figs. , _a_), rectangularly inflected; it is much longer than the fork, in proportion to the upper part of the carina; the disc is not more deeply embedded than the upper part. the umbo (and primordial valve when distinguishable,) of the carina is seated just above the embedded fork (or disc in _l. fascicularis_), at the point where the inflection takes place; hence the main growth of the carina is upwards,--the fork, however, being of course, likewise added to at its point: in _l. fascicularis_, the growth is both upwards and downwards. _peduncle and attachment._--the peduncle is generally quite smooth: though with a high power its surface may be seen to be studded with minute beads, or larger discs, of yellowish and hard chitine; in the young of _l. australis_, and i suspect of some other species, it is covered with very minute spines. the peduncle in this genus attains its greatest development. the cement-tissue debouches, i believe, only through the functionless larval antennæ, except in one species, _l. fascicularis_, in which a ball of this substance is formed in a most peculiar manner round the peduncle (pl. i, fig. ), apparently for the purpose of serving as a float, as will be presently described. _size and colour._--the species of this genus are the largest of the pedunculata, with the exception of some pollicipes: even in the smallest species (_l. pectinata_), the capitulum sometimes attains a length of about half an inch. the peduncle varies much in length in the same species: in _l. anatifera_, it is occasionally above a foot long. the colours of _l. anatifera_, _l. hillii_, and _l. anserifera_, are very bright and striking; the membrane bordering the valves and that round the top of peduncle in two of the species, is of the brightest scarlet-orange; the valves, owing to the underlying corium, are pale blueish-grey, and the interspaces between them dark leaden-purple. the cirri and trophi are generally dark purple or lead-colour. _filamentary appendages._--these are attached to beneath the basal articulation of first pair of cirri; they vary in the several species, from one to five or six on each side, the lowest being always the longest. several of them are occupied by testes. in _l. pectinata_, generally, not even one is developed. they are subject to great variation in their proportional lengths, and in number, in the same species. these organs have generally been considered to serve as branchiæ; i see no reason to believe that they are more especially designed for this end, than is the general surface of the body. _mouth._--the labrum is moderately bullate, the longitudinal diameter of this part equalling about one third, or half of that of the rest of the mouth. the palpi are moderately developed. the mandibles (pl. x, fig. ) have five teeth with the inferior point either broad, or very narrow and tooth-like. the maxillæ are step-formed (pl. x, fig. ); the first step is sometimes indistinct and curved; and in _l. pectinata_, all the steps vary much, and are more or less blended together. the outer maxillæ (like those at pl. x, fig. ), are internally clothed continuously with spines. the olfactory orifices are not at all prominent. _cirri._--the first pair is placed near the second pair, and is of considerable length; the second has the anterior ramus thicker than the posterior ramus, and the segments brush-like; the segments (pl. x, fig. ) of the four posterior cirri bear from four to six pair of long spines, with a row of small intermediate spines: in the posterior cirri of _l. australis_ the lateral rim spines are much developed; and in those of _l. fascicularis_, the usual pairs of large spines are lost in a broad triangular brush, formed by the increase of the lateral marginal, and intermediate spines. _caudal appendages_ (pl. x, fig. _b_), very small, either blunt or pointed, and quite destitute of spines. the prosoma is well developed. the stomach is surrounded in the upper part by a circle of large branching cæca. the generative system is highly developed; the testes coating the whole of the stomach, entering the filamentary appendages and the pedicels of the cirri; the two ovigerous lamellæ contain a vast number of ova; they are united to rather large fræna, of which the sinuous margin supports either a continuous row or separate tufts of glands. _distribution._--the species abound over the arctic, temperate and tropical parts of the atlantic, indian and pacific oceans, and are always, or nearly always, attached to floating objects, dead or alive. the same species have enormous ranges; in proof of which i may mention that of the six known species, five are found nearly all over the world, including the british coast; and the one not found on our shores, the _l. australis_, apparently inhabits the whole circumference of the southern ocean. _general remarks and affinities._--the first five species form a most natural genus; they are often sufficiently difficult to be distinguished, owing to their great variability. the sixth species (_l. fascicularis_) differs to a slight extent in many respects from the other species, and has considerable claims to be generically separated, as has been proposed by mr. gray, under the name of dosima; but as it is identical in structure in all the more essential parts, i have not thought fit to separate it. as far as external characters go, some of the species of pæcilasma have not stronger claims, than has _l. fascicularis_, to be generically separated; and i at first retained them altogether, but in drawing up this generic description, i found scarcely a single observation applicable to both halves of the genus; hence i was led to separate lepas and pæcilasma. if i had retained these two genera together, i should have had, also, to include the species of dichelaspis and oxynaspis; and even scalpellum would have been separable only by the number of its valves; this would obviously have been highly inconvenient. although some of the species of pæcilasma so closely resemble externally the species of lepas, yet if we consider their entire structure, we shall find that they are sufficiently distinct; as indirect evidence of this, i may remark that conchoderma (as defined in this volume), includes two genera of most authors, and yet certainly comes, if judged by its whole organisation, nearer to lepas than does pæcilasma. . lepas anatifera. tab. i. fig. . (_var._) l. anatifera. _linnæus._ systema naturæ, . anatifa vel anatifera vel pentalasmis lævis[ ], plerumque auctorum. ---- engonata (!).[ ] _conrad._ journal acad. nat. sc. philadelphia, vol. vii, , p. , pl. xx, fig. . ---- dentata (var.) _brugière._ encyclop. meth. (des vers), . pentalasmis dentatus (var.) _brown._ illust. conch., pl. lii, fig. . anatifa . . . . . _martin st. ange._ mem. sur l'organisation des cirripedes, . [ ] as this, though the commonest species, has never been defined, i give only a few synonyms and references, it being quite impossible to distinguish, in any published description, this species from _a. hillii_ of leach; this latter species i recognise under this name only from having authentic specimens from the british museum, as leach overlooked every one of the real diagnostic characters. [ ] i have used, in conformity with botanists, the mark of interjection, to show that i have seen an authentic specimen. _l. valvis aut lævibus aut delicate striatis: è duobus scutis, dextro solùm dente interno umbonali instructo; pedunculi parte superiore fuscâ._ valves smooth, or delicately striated. right-hand scutum alone furnished with an internal umbonal tooth: uppermost part of peduncle dark-coloured. filaments, two on each side. var. (_a_). fig. . scuta and terga with one or more diagonal lines of dark greenish-brown, square, slightly depressed marks. var. (_b_). (fig. _b._) carina strongly barbed. extremely common; attached to floating timber, vessels, sea-weed, bottles, &c., and to each other, in the atlantic ocean, mediterranean, west indies, indian ocean, philippine archipelago, sandwich islands, bass's straits, van diemen's land. _general appearance._--valves white, more or less translucent and thick, with a tinge of blueish-grey, from the underlying corium; sometimes brownish cream-coloured, rarely with a tint of purple. surfaces smooth, with traces of very fine lines radiating from the umbones, sometimes rather plain on the basal part of the scuta. length in proportion to the breadth of the capitulum variable, owing to the varying degree to which the scuta and terga have their apices produced. _scuta_ with the occludent margin either considerably curved or nearly straight. the internal tooth of the right-hand scutum, close to the umbo, varies in size and form, being either pointed, square, or obliquely truncated on either side, or it has a notch on the summit; internal basal rim of the scuta either plainly developed or nearly absent. in many specimens (pl. i, fig. ), on the scuta, or on the scuta and terga, (and sometimes more on one side of the individual than on the other,) a nearly straight line, running diagonally across the capitulum, of slight, quadrilateral depressions, of a dirty greenish colour, with the edges blending away, is either conspicuously developed, or can only just be discerned. these marks increase in size from the umbones to the margins of the valves. there are sometimes two or even three rows on the scuta. they are formed by the retention of a portion of the chitine membrane, which is cast off the rest of the surface; the margins of the valves are occasionally notched slightly on the line of marks; there is no difference along this line in the underlying corium. specimens both with and without a barbed carina are thus characterised. _carina_; the interspace between the carina and the scuta and terga is not wide. the carina exteriorly, is either convex and smooth, or furnished with knobs or with extremely sharp, long teeth (pl. i, fig. _b_); small specimens, with the capitulum under half an inch in length, are generally most strongly barbed.[ ] apex more or less acuminated; width and thickness variable; sides strongly furrowed. fork (fig. _a_) generally less wide than the widest upper part of the valve, with the two prongs diverging from each other at less than a right angle; their sharpness and precise form variable; rim between them reflexed (figs. _a_ and _b_), making a slight notch behind. _peduncle_ smooth, wrinkled, length in proportion to that of the capitulum varying, from barely equalling it, to six or seven times as long. i have noticed a specimen including mature ova, with a capitulum under half an inch long. [ ] mr. w. thompson found that specimens, out of about , attached to a vessel which came from new orleans into belfast, had their carinas barbed. _filamentary appendages_;--never more than two on each side, with sometimes only one developed; of variable length; one seated on the flank of the prosoma, under the first cirrus; the second close under the basal articulation of this cirrus, on the posterior face of a slight swelling: these appendages correspond with _g_ and _h_ in fig. , pl. ix. _mouth._--mandibles (pl. ix, fig. ), with, as usual, five teeth, all pointing downwards. maxillæ (pl. ix, fig. ), with the lower step of variable width compared to the two upper steps. _cirri_; posterior cirri with segments (fig. ) bearing six pair of spines; intermediate fine spines rather long; first cirrus, anterior ramus longer by only about two segments than the posterior ramus; second cirrus with anterior ramus, with very broad transverse rows of bristles; spine-bearing surfaces considerably protuberant; caudal prominences smooth, rounded. _size._--the largest specimen which i have seen had a capitulum two inches in length; the longest, including the peduncle, was sixteen inches. _colours._--calcareous valves already described. edges of the orifice bright scarlet orange; basal edges of the scuta, and sometimes of all the valves, with a torn border of orange membrane. interspaces between the valves dull orange-brown. peduncle darkish purplish-brown, with the lower part sometimes pale; chitine membrane itself tinted orange; in young specimens, peduncle pale, the colour first appearing in the uppermost part, close under the capitulum; this upper part is often darker than the other parts, and never orange-coloured, as in _l. hillii_ and _l. anserifera_. _sack_ internally dark purplish lead-colour, sometimes with a tinge of orange, darkest under the growing edges of the valves; body of animal pale purplish lead-colour. the four posterior cirri blackish purple; the second, and often the third cirrus, appear as if the colour had been laterally abraded off; these latter cirri have sometimes a tinge of orange. in very young specimens, the cirri are only barred with purple. the ova and the contents of the ovarian tubes are of a beautiful azure blue, becoming yellow in spirits. in museums a vast amount of difference is seen in the colours of this species, caused by the method of preparation: if dried without having been in spirits, and subsequently kept dry, the orange tint round the orifice is preserved; if kept long in spirits, this is quite lost; but sometimes in specimens in spirits the colour of the membrane of peduncle is preserved and rendered pinker. the colours of the sack and animal are either quite discharged or rendered extremely dark. the valves themselves also often become more opaque. in some specimens well preserved in spirits, the sack and cirri were purplish-brown or lead-colour, tinted with dirty green, or orange, or bright yellow, or brick-red. _general remarks._--from the foregoing description it will be seen how extremely variable almost every part of this species is. i find, in the british museum, ten distinct specific names given by dr. leach to different varieties, or rather to different specimens, for some of them are undistinguishable. a specimen from the sandwich islands, sent by mr. conrad to mr. cuming, is marked _a. engonata_. in looking over a large collection of specimens in a museum, the most distinctive characters appear at first to be the colours, the dentation or barbed condition of the carina, the row of square marks on the scuta and terga, and the more or less produced form of the whole capitulum: all these characters are absolutely worthless as distinctive characters, and blend into each other. in a fresh condition, the colours of this species, and of _l. anserifera_ and _l. hillii_ are surprisingly alike, though in _l. anatifera_ alone, the uppermost part of the peduncle is dark. as far as i have seen, the smoothness of the valves, together with the presence of a tooth beneath the umbo, on the right-hand scutum, and its entire absence on the left side, (in other species it is smaller on this, than on the right-hand side,) is an unfailing diagnostic mark. i believe this species is always attached to floating objects, though there are some very young specimens in the british museum, collected by sir g. grey, adhering to sandstone, but this may have been buoyed up by some large sea-weed. mr. peach has given me the particulars of two instances, in which, after gales of wind, this species, of nearly full size, adhering to _apparently_ freshly broken-off laminariæ, has been cast upon the coast of england and scotland. . lepas hillii. (pl. i, fig. ). anatifa vel pentalasmis lÆvis (!) plerumque auctorum. pentalasmis hillii (!). _leach._ tuckey's congo expedit. p. , . ---- cheloniÆ (!) ib. ib. anatifa tricolor (?). _quoy_ et _gaimard_. ann. des sc. nat., st series, tom. x, , pl. vii, fig. , et voyage de l'astrolabe, pl. xciii, fig. . ---- substriata (!). _conrad._ journal acad. nat. sc., philadelphia, vol. vii, , p. , pl. xx, fig. . _l. valvis lævibus; scutorum dentibus internis umbonalibus nullis; carinâ à cæteris valvis, furcâ etiam a scutorum basali margine, paululum distante; pedunculi parte superiore aut pallidâ aut aurantiacâ._ valves smooth; scuta destitute of internal umbonal teeth; carina standing a little separate from the other valves, with the fork not close to the basal margin of the scuta; uppermost part of peduncle either pale or orange-coloured. filaments three on each side. extremely common; attached to ships' bottoms, from all parts of the world; on floating timber; associated with _l. anatifera_ and _l. anserifera_. mediterranean. attached to turtles, in the atlantic, lat. ° north. west indies. falkland islands. "south seas," collected by a. menzies. port stephen, australia. _general appearance._--capitulum laterally flat; length varies in proportion to the breadth; valves white, somewhat translucent, moderately thick, very smooth, but with faint traces of radiating lines; in some varieties, surface rather irregular along the zones of growth. _scuta_ without any internal teeth, and with scarcely any trace of the internal basal rim; upper angle little acuminated; the occludent margins of the two scuta stand rather separate from each other, showing a wide space of corium between them: these margins are arched and protuberant, but with the lower part a little hollowed out; basal margin a little curved. in one specimen alone, i saw a trace of a diagonal line of square coloured marks, like those common in _l. anatifera_. _terga_ rather broad, with the basal angle not much acuminated. the degree of prominence and outline of the double occludent margin varies very much. _carina_, separated by a rather wide space from the scuta and terga; of very varying shape, the upper part not much acuminated, generally very flat, sometimes exteriorly marked by a central depressed line; never barbed; occasionally, (in a specimen from australia,) middle part so wide as almost to become spoon-shaped; on the other hand occasionally of nearly the same width throughout; somewhat constricted above the fork. fork deeply embedded as usual; situated, in fresh specimens, a little way beneath the basal margins of the scuta, instead of touching them, as in the other species; forks of varying width, not so abruptly inflected as in many species; sometimes much narrower than the upper widest part of the valve, sometimes nearly twice as wide; prongs of fork not very sharp, diverging at about a right angle, with the rim between them reflexed. the apex of the carina extends up between the terga for barely half their length, instead of up fully three fourths of their length, as in _l. anatifera_. the chitine membrane at the base of the capitulum, especially at the anterior and posterior ends, is covered with beautiful, little, embedded, yellowish beads, about / th of an inch in diameter; above this, on each side of the carina, there is a space with similar but smaller little spheres, and still higher up still minuter ones; others occur on different parts of the capitulum; these spaces are seen to be distinctly separated from each other, and present a beautiful appearance under a high power. _peduncle_, as long as, or rather longer than, the capitulum: in one set of specimens, however, it was thrice or four times as long as the capitulum. the peduncle, in some specimens, was conspicuously covered with transverse plates of yellowish hard chitine. _filamentary appendages._--three on each side; one on the flank of the prosoma, with a pair beneath the basal articulation of the first cirrus; relative lengths various, but the posterior filament of the pair under the cirrus, is the shortest. _mouth_; palpi not much acuminated; maxillæ step-formed, but with the upper or first step in some specimens indistinct, or forming a curve. _cirri_; the segments of the first cirrus and of the posterior arm of the second cirrus are highly protuberant, the protuberances sometimes equalling half the thickness of the segments themselves. caudal appendages smooth, rounded. _size._--the largest specimen which i have seen, in the collection of mr. cuming, had a capitulum - / th of an inch long, and - / wide; therefore not quite equalling in size the largest specimens of _l. anatifera_. _colours._--when fresh, valves blueish-grey from the underlying corium, edges of all the valves and round the orifice, and round the top of the peduncle, bright orange-yellow, passing into the finest scarlet, and varying slightly in tint in different specimens. space between the carina and the other valves, and between the occludent margins of the scuta, rich purplish-brown; peduncle either pale or purplish-brown, or only clouded on the sides with the same. in young specimens, peduncle nearly colourless; and in those under a quarter of an inch long in the capitulum, the top of the peduncle has not acquired its orange tint. sack pale, leaden-purple, body the same, but paler and more reddish; cirri (but only the tips of first pair) tinted with fine golden orange. immature ova in peduncle beautiful blue. after being long kept in spirits, the colours are changed, weakened, or discharged, as in _l. anatifera_ and _l. anserifera_, and the valves become opaque. in some long-kept specimens the corium everywhere had become pale brown; more usually it assumes a dirty purplish lead-colour. _monstrous variety._--amongst a set of ordinary specimens from a ship from genoa, sent me by mr. stutchbury, there were three, one full-grown and two very young, with the whole capitulum, (and likewise with the scuta and terga taken separately,) not above half the usual length in proportion to the breadth. neither the colours nor animal in this variety presented any difference. _general remarks._--this species is almost universally confounded with _l. anatifera_. quoy and gaimard, however, appear to have distinguished it, under the name of _a. tricolor_, from its colours. leach named it accidentally, for he specifies not one distinctive character, and besides his two published names, he has appended two other names to specimens in the british museum. a specimen, from the sandwich islands, sent by mr. conrad to mr. cuming, is marked _a. substriata_. in a dry state, from the shrinking of the membranes, and consequent approach of the carina to the other valves, and of the fork to the basal margin of the scuta, it is most difficult to distinguish this species, though so decidedly distinct, from _l. anatifera_; the absence, however, of a tooth on the under side of the right-hand scutum is at once characteristic. even in specimens kept in spirits, in which there has been no shrinking, but in which the colours have changed, and taking into account the variation in the carina and upper part of the terga, this species is not always readily distinguished from _l. anatifera_, without opening the valves and looking for the right-hand tooth of the latter. in fresh specimens, the orange ring at the top of the peduncle, and the broad purplish interspace between the carina and other valves, are characteristic. in all states, the filamentary appendages offer a good character. . lepas anserifera. pl. i, fig. . l. anserifera. _linnæus._ syst. naturæ, . anatifa striata. _brug._ encyclop. meth. (des vers), pl. clxvi, fig. . pentalasmis dilatata! (young). _leach._ tuckey's congo expedit., p. , . anatifa sessilis (?). _quoy et gaimard._ voyage de l'astrolabe, pl. xciii, fig. . lepas nauta.[ ] _macgillivray._ edin. new phil. journ., vol. xxxviii, p. . pentalasmis anseriferus. _brown._ illust. conch., , pl. li, fig. . [ ] professor macgillivray does not consider the species, which he has described under _l. nauta_, and which i cannot doubt is the same with the present species, as the _l. anserifera_ of linnæus; but i find it so named in all old collections, and it seems to agree very well with linnæus's description. there has been much groundless confusion about this species; i have no hesitation in giving _a. striata_, of brugière, as a synonym, though i have received from paris the _lepas pectinata_ of this volume, named as the _a. striata_; and on the other hand, poli has incorrectly called a common variety of _l. pectinata_ by the name of _l. anserifera_. _l. valvis approximatis leviter sulcatis (tergis præcipuè); scuto dextro dente forti interno umbonali, lævo aut dente exiguo, aut merâ cristâ instructo; margine occludente arcuato, prominente: pedunculi parte superiore aurantiacâ._ valves approximate, slightly furrowed, especially the terga; right-hand scutum with a strong internal umbonal tooth; left-hand with a small tooth, or mere ridge; occludent margin arched, protuberant: uppermost part of peduncle orange-coloured. filaments five or six on each side. var. (_dilatata_, young); valves rather thin, finely furrowed, often strongly pectinated; scuta broad, with the occludent margins much arched, making the space wide between this margin and the ridge connecting the umbo and the apex: carina often barbed. common on ships' bottoms from the mediterranean, west indies, south america, mauritius, coast of africa and the east-indian archipelago. central pacific ocean. china sea. chusan. sydney. attached to pumice, various species of fuci, janthinæ, spirulæ; often associated with _l. anatifera_ and _l. hillii_, and, in a young state, with _l. fascicularis_. _general appearance._--capitulum more or less elongated relatively to its breadth; in two specimens, with scuta of equal width, one was longer than the other by the whole of the occludent margin of the terga. valves white, thick, (in young specimens sometimes diaphanous and thin,) closely approximate to each other; surfaces furrowed to a very variable amount. terga generally more plainly furrowed than the scuta, of which the basal portion is generally less furrowed than the upper part; ridges, often rough, generally much narrower than the furrows: in half-grown specimens (var., _dilatata_ of leach,) the ridges are frequently denticulated, and there is even sometimes a row of bead-like teeth along the basal margins of the scuta. the ridges vary much, sometimes alternately wide and narrow; in two specimens of equal size, there were, in one, thirty-two ridges, and in the other only eighteen, on the scutum. _scuta_, with the occludent margin rounded and protuberant to a variable degree, but always leaving a rather wide space between the margin, and the ridge which runs from the umbo to the apex; apex pointed. right-hand internal tooth considerably larger than that on the left, which is often reduced to a mere ridge; internal basal rim thick, sometimes furrowed along its upper edge, but of variable thickness, sometimes not extending as far as the baso-carinal angle. _terga_, sometimes equalling, sometimes only two-thirds of, the length of the scuta; in young specimens, the two occludent margins form a right-angle with each other; in older specimens they form less than a right-angle, and hence the portion of valve thus bounded is unusually protuberant. _carina_, within deeply concave; exterior sides finely furrowed longitudinally, generally denticulated; valve only slightly narrowed in above the fork, of which the prongs diverge at an angle of °, or rather more, and are wider than the widest upper part of the valve; rim between the prongs reflexed; the heel or external angle, just above the fork, sometimes considerably prominent. i have seen only a single large specimen with its carina barbed. in half-grown specimens, (var. _dilatata_, leach,) the carina is often strongly barbed, with the upper point much acuminated, the fork about twice as wide as the widest upper part, and the prongs diverging at rather more than a right-angle. in some specimens, especially very young ones, there are at the base of the carina, above the fork, some strong, downward-pointed, inwardly-hooked, calcareous teeth; such occur also in some specimens along the basal margins of the scuta, two of these hooked teeth under the umbones of the scuta being larger than the rest: specimens conspicuously thus characterised came from the navigator islands; in these, i may add, the acutely triangular primordial valves were quite plain. _peduncle_, generally about as long as the capitulum; in young specimens generally short. _filamentary appendages_, generally five, sometimes six, on each side; one is seated on the side of the prosoma, and the four others placed in pairs beneath the basal articulation of the first cirrus; the lowest posterior filament of the four generally is the largest. in young specimens, having a capitulum only half an inch long, the upper pair of the four often is not developed, or is represented by mere knobs. the mouth presents no distinctive characters. _cirri_, with the longer ramus of the first pair almost equal to the shorter arms of the second pair; spine-bearing surfaces only slightly protuberant. caudal appendages smooth, curved, pointed. _size._--the largest specimen which i have seen, had a capitulum one inch and a half in length. _colours._--the white valves are edged with bright orange membrane; and are so close to each other that no interspaces, coloured from the underlying corium, are left. peduncle, dark orange-brown, with the uppermost part under the capitulum bright orange all round; the chitine membrane itself being thus coloured. sack, internally, dark purplish lead-colour. body and cirri, either nearly white or pale purplish-lead colour, with the arms of the second, third, and fourth cirri, and pedicels of the fifth and sixth, more or less tinted with orange. a specimen preserved during fourteen months in good spirits had only a tinge of orange left round the orifice and round the upper part of peduncle, and on the cirri. in some other specimens, badly preserved, the chitine membrane was quite colourless, and sack and cirri dirty lead-colour. fresh ova, peach-blossom-red; immature ova, in ovarian tubes, pale pink. _monstrous variety._--in mr. stutchbury's collection, there was a specimen, with the scuta, broad, smooth, thin, and fragile, without any ridge running from the umbo to the apex, and with the occludent margin reflexed. this seemed caused by the shell having been attacked by some boring animal, and from having supported balani. in the same specimen the first cirrus on one side was monstrously thick and curled; the second cirrus had its posterior ramus in a rudimentary condition. in mr. cuming's collection, there are small specimens with the zones of growth overlapping each other, with thick irregular margins, and with the carina distorted. this species has cost me much trouble: i have examined vast numbers of specimens, from a tenth to half an inch in length, attached to light floating objects, such as janthinæ and spirulæ from the tropical oceans, which all resembled each other, and slightly differed from the common appearance of _l. anserifera_: this variety is the _pentalasmis dilatata_ of leach; and for a long time i considered it as a distinct species. it differs from _l. anserifera_, in the less thickness of the valves, in their being more finely and yet plainly furrowed; in the greater width of the scuta; and more especially, of that part of the valve lying between the occludent margin, and the ridge running from the umbo to the apex; in the less elongation of the area in the terga, bounded by the two occludent margins; and, lastly, in the less size of the whole individual. the trophi and cirri are absolutely identical. lately, however, in carefully going over a great suite of specimens, all the above few distinctive characters broke down and insensibly graduated away; and i am convinced that this form is only a variety of _l. anserifera_; its different aspect being caused partly by youth, but chiefly, i suspect, from being attached to light objects floating close to the surface of the sea. the _lepas anserifera_ can be distinguished by the slight furrows on its valves from all the other species, excepting _l. pectinata_: this latter species can be readily known, by the close proximity in the scuta of the occludent margin, and the ridge extending from the umbo to the apex; by its carina being very narrow above the fork; by the prongs of the fork diverging at an angle of from ° to °; by the thinness of its valves; by the coarseness of the furrows on them; and lastly, by there being at most in _l. pectinata_ only one filamentary appendage beneath the first cirrus. . lepas pectinata. pl. i, fig. . lepas pectinata. _spengler._ skrifter naturhist. selbskabet, , b. , h., , tab. x, fig. . ---- muricata (var.) _poli._ test. utriusque scicil., vol. i, pl. vi, figs. , , . lepas anserifera. _poli._ test. utriusque scicil., vol. i, pl. vi, figs. - . ---- sulcata. _montagu._ test. brit., pl. i, fig. , . pentalasmis sulcata. _leach._ encyclop. brit. suppl., tom. iii, pl. lvii, . ---- spirulæ (!) (var.) _leach._ tuckey's congo expedit. appendix, . ---- radula (var.) et sulcatus. _brown._ illust. of conchology, pl. li, figs. - , . ---- inversus. _chenu._ illust. conchy., pl. i, fig. . anatifa sulcata. _quoy et gaimard._ voyage de l'astrolabe, pl. xciii, figs. , .[ ] [ ] i may add, that i have received many specimens incorrectly labelled _a. striata_, which is properly a synonym of _l. anserifera_. _l. valvis tenuibus, crassè sulcatis, sæpe pectinatis; scutorum cristâ prominente ab umbone ad apicem juxta marginem occludentem pertinente: furcæ carinalis cruribus inter angulos ° et ° divergentibus._ valves thin, coarsely furrowed, often pectinated. scuta with a prominent ridge extending, from the umbo to the apex, close to the occludent margin; fork of the carina with the prongs diverging at an angle of from ° to °. filaments absent, or only one on each side. var. (pl. i, fig. _a_), upper part of the terga (bounded by the two occludent margins) produced and sharp; surface of all the valves often coarsely pectinated, and with the carina barbed. atlantic ocean, from the north of ireland to off cape horn; common, under the tropics; mediterranean: attached to wood, cork, charcoal, sea-weed, a reed-like leaf, spirulæ, cuttle-fish bones, to a bottle together with _l. anatifera_; to a ship's bottom, belfast, (w. thompson.) often associated with _l. fascicularis_. montagu states ('test. brit.,' p. ) that this species is sometimes attached to the fixed _gorgonia flabellum_. _general appearance._--the capitulum varies considerably in length compared to its breadth, caused chiefly by the greater or less production of the occludent portion of the terga; valves thin, brittle; the furrowed surface varies much in character, narrow and broad ridges often alternating; frequently each ridge (but more especially the ridge running from the umbo to the apex of each scutum, and sometimes that alone,) is covered with prominent, curled, flat, calcareous spines, giving the shell an appearance like that of many mollusca. other specimens show no trace of these calcified projections. from the thinness of the valves and the depth of the furrows, the margins of the valves are sinuous. _scuta:_ the ridge running from the umbo to the apex is unusually prominent and curved; it runs very close to the occludent margin, so that, differently from in all the other species, only a very narrow space is left between this margin and the ridge. internal teeth, under the umbones, either sharp and prominent, or mere knobs; sometimes that on the right side is much larger than that on the left; sometimes they are nearly equal; sometimes that on the left is scarcely distinguishable. internal basal rim absent, or barely developed. _terga:_ these valves have a conspicuous notch to receive the apex of the scuta; the two occludent margins either meet each other at a rectangle, or at a much smaller angle, causing the portion thus bounded to vary much in outline, area, and degree of prominence. this at first led me to think that the _p. spirulæ_ of leach, in which the point is very sharp and prominent, was a distinct species; but there are so many intermediate forms, that the idea must be given up. i may remark, that in all the species of lepas, the upper part of the tergum seems particularly variable. the degree of acumination of the basal portion of the tergum also varies; the internal surface sometimes has small crests radiating from the umbo. _carina_, broad, within deeply concave; edges sinuous, externally sometimes strongly barbed; narrow above the fork, which latter is wider than the widest upper part of the valve; prongs sharp, thin, diverging at an angle of from ° to °; the rim connecting the prongs not, or only slightly, reflexed. _peduncle_, narrow, shorter than the capitulum. _filamentary appendages_, none, or only one, short, obtuse projection on each side, on the posterior face of the swelling under the first cirrus. _mouth._--mandibles, with the inferior point produced into a single pectinated tooth, rarely into two pectinated teeth; on one side of one specimen, there were only four instead of five teeth. palpi very narrow. maxillæ highly variable; they may be described as formed of five steps, of which the two lower ones are generally united into a single one, divided by a mere trace of a notch; or with the three lower steps blended into an irregular, projecting surface, and with even the fourth step indistinct. i have seen these two extreme forms on opposite sides of the mouth of the same individual,--on one side the maxillæ being regularly step-form, on the other the whole inferior part forming an almost straight edge, standing high up above the first notch or step which bears the two upper great spines. _cirri._--first pair rather far removed from the second pair, with the longer ramus about three-fourths of the length of shorter ramus of second cirrus; spine-bearing surfaces, hardly at all protuberant; lateral marginal spines on the posterior cirri rather long; caudal appendages smooth, rounded, extremely minute: penis very spinose. _size._--capitulum in the largest specimen, six-tenths of an inch long; only a few arrive at this size. _colours_, after having been kept in spirits,--sack and cirri, especially first cirrus, clouded with pale purple; peduncle brownish; valves appear blueish in specimens not long preserved, but in specimens kept longer they become perfectly and delicately white. _general remarks._--under the head of _l. anserifera_, i have made some remarks on the diagnostic characters of this species. in the thinness of the valves,--form of the carina, with the rim connecting the prongs being not, or scarcely, reflexed,--and in the shortness and narrowness of the peduncle, there is some approach to _l. australis_, and thence to _l. fascicularis_. in the form of the maxillæ,--in one specimen having the mandible on one side bearing only four teeth,--and in the frequent absence of filamentary appendages, there is some approach to the genus _pæcilasma_; but there is no such approach in the characters derived from the capitulum. we have seen that, as in so many other species of this genus, most of the parts are variable, and this is the case to a most unusual extent in the form of the maxillæ. dr. leach has attached eight specific names to the specimens preserved in the british museum. . lepas australis. pl. i, fig. . _l. valvis glabris, tenuibus, fragilibus; scutorum dentibus umbonalibus utrinque internis; carinæ parte superiore latâ, planâ, suprâ furcam valdè constrictâ; furcæ cruribus latis, planis, tenuibus, acuminatis, intermedio margine non relexo._ valves smooth, thin, brittle; scuta with internal umbonal teeth on both sides. carina with the upper part broad, flat; much constricted above the fork, which has wide, flat, thin, pointed prongs, with the intermediate rim not reflexed. filaments, two on each side. common on laminariæ in the whole antarctic ocean: bass's straits, van diemen's land: bay of islands, new zealand, lat. ° s.: lat. ° s., ° w.: coast of patagonia, lat. ° s.: attached to bottom of h. m. s. beagle, lat. ° s., patagonia: attached to a nullipora, (i presume a drift piece,) british museum. _general appearance._--capitulum rather obtuse and thick; valves thin, brittle, approximate, either white and transparent, or dirty-brown and opaque; or sometimes tinted internally with purple (perhaps the effects of being preserved in spirits); surface plainly marked by lines of growth, rarely marked with traces of lines radiating from the umbones. _scuta_ with teeth on both sides, nearly equal; internal basal rim rather wide, sometimes furrowed; basal margin considerably curved inwards. _terga_ rather wide; basal angle blunt; angle formed by the two occludent margins blunt and rounded. _carina_ (fig. _a_) with the apex blunt, flat; the middle part generally very broad; much constricted above the fork, where it is internally deeply concave, and externally carinated; fork twice as broad as the broadest upper part of the valve; with the prongs flat, broad, thin, pointed, diverging at about an angle of °, with the intermediate rim not at all reflexed; the fork generally not deeply imbedded in the chitine membrane of the peduncle, so as to be quite easily visible externally; sometimes there is an internal, transverse, depressed line on the fork. in young specimens, with the capitulum about a quarter of an inch long, the fork of the carina is not developed, the lower slightly inflected portion consisting simply of an oval plate, twice as wide as the upper part. until i had carefully examined a perfect series, showing the gradual changes in this part, i did not doubt that the young specimens formed a distinct species, and named it accordingly: the shortness of the penis first made me perceive that the specimens were immature. at this early age, i may add, the filamentary appendages were not developed. _peduncle_ either quite short, or as long as the capitulum, close under which it is considerably constricted all round. _filamentary appendages._--two on each side; one long, tapering, placed on the prosoma (in one specimen represented by a mere knob), and the second shorter, situated on the posterior margin of the swelling beneath the first cirrus. _mouth._--maxillæ, with three large spines at the upper angle, and with the first step distinct, but narrow; mandibles with five teeth; in young specimens the inferior point ends in a single spine; sides of the supra-oral cavity very hairy; the membrane, forming the inner fold of the labrum, yellow and thickened in the form of a spoon. _cirri._--in the posterior cirri there are, at the upper lateral edges of the segments on _both_ sides, small spines; the segments in the first cirrus, and in the broad anterior ramus of the second cirrus, are hemispherically and considerably protuberant. caudal appendages smooth. _size._--the largest specimen had a capitulum one inch long. the _colours_ (after having been long in spirit) of the valves have already been given; sack and peduncle dirty yellowish-brown, with the parts corresponding to the margins of the valves much darker brown, or almost black; segments of the cirri clouded with dark brown; body and pedicels of the cirri dirty yellowish. i have reason to believe that the colours are totally different in living specimens. _monstrous varieties._--most of the specimens from lat. ° s., on the coast of patagonia, were more or less deformed, with the successive zones of growth overlapping each other, and forming coarse concentric ridges. the carina in several specimens was laterally distorted. i have already remarked that this species has some affinity to _l. pectinata_; but it is much more closely related to _l. fascicularis_, the affinity being clearly shown by the thinness and translucency of the valves, their convexity, by the width and little acumination of the upper part of the carina, by the width of the fork, and by its not being deeply imbedded. in young specimens, moreover, before the fork is fully developed, there is a remarkable similarity between the two species, in the form of this lower part of the carina. again, the narrowness and inflection of the peduncle under the capitulum in _l. australis_, and lastly, the lateral marginal spines on both sides of the segments of the posterior cirri, all clearly indicate this same affinity to _l. fascicularis_. i believe this species is confined to the southern ocean; and perhaps there represents _l. fascicularis_ of the northern and tropical seas. it must, judging from the number of specimens brought home by captain sir j. ross, and from those previously in the british museum, and from those collected by myself, be a very common species. . lepas fascicularis. pl. i, fig. . lepas fascicularis. _ellis_ and _solander_. zoophytes, , tab. xv, fig. . ---- ---- _montagu._ test. brit. suppl., , pp. , . ---- cygnea. _spengler._ skrifter naturhist. selbskabet, bd. i, , tab. vi, fig. . ---- dilata. _donovan._ british shells, . pentalasmis fascicularis. _brown._ illust. conch., , pl. li, fig. . ---- spirulicola (!) et donovani (!) _leach._ tuckey's congo expedit., p. , . anatifa vitrea. _lamarck._ animaux sans vertebres. dosima fascicularis. (!) _j. e. gray._ annals of philosophy, vol. x, . pentalepas vitrea. _lesson._ voyage de la coquille. mollusca, pl. xvi, fig. , . anatifa oceanica (!) _quoy_ et _gaimard_. voyage de l'astrolabe, pl. xciii. _l. valvis glabris, tenuibus, pellucidis; carinâ rectangulè flexâ, parte inferiore in discum planum oblongum expansâ._ valves smooth, thin, transparent; carina rectangularly bent, with the lower part expanded into a flat oblong disc. filaments, five on each side; segments of the three posterior cirri with triangular brushes of spines. var. (_donovani_, of leach.) carina with the upper part flat, spear-shaped, externally with a narrow central ridge. var. (_villosa._ pl. i, figs. _b_, _c_.) valves placed rather distant from each other; carina extremely narrow, with the upper part of nearly the same width throughout; terga with the lower part much acuminated; body of animal finely villose. coasts of great britain and france; baltic sea, according to montagu southern united states (from agassiz); tropical atlantic ocean; east-indian archipelago, off borneo and celebes; pacific ocean, between the sandwich and mariana archipelagos; new zealand: attached to fuci, spirulæ janthinæ, velellas, often to feathers and cork; often associated with the young of _l. anserifera_, (var. _dilatata_,) and _l. pectinata_. _general appearance._--capitulum highly variable in all its characters; thick and broad in proportion to its length, but the breadth is variable,--in some specimens, the capitulum being longer by one-fifth of its total length than broad; in others, one-fifth broader than long. valves generally approximate; in some varieties, however, from the narrowness of the carina and terga, the valves stand far apart, there being an interval between the carina and scuta of nearly half the breadth of the latter. valves excessively thin, brittle, transparent, colourless, smooth, but generally sinuous along the zones of growth, which are conspicuous: valves generally covered throughout by thin chitine membrane, which is thickly clothed, especially in the interspaces between the valves, with minute spines, barely visible to the naked eye. _scuta_ with the lower part of the tergo-carinal margin extremely protuberant; occludent margin, more or less, but slightly reflexed, with a depressed line running from the umbo to the apex; basal margin much reflexed, but to a variable extent and at a varying angle, even up to a right angle,--an external rim or collar being thus formed. there are no distinct _internal_ teeth, but the basal margin under the umbones, is more or less distinctly produced into a rounded disc or projection, which is generally not so much outwardly reflexed as the rest of the basal margin: there is no distinct internal basal rim. the primordial valves are generally visible, but they do not lie, as in all other species, close to the basal margin, but a little above it,--the lower reflexed portion having been subsequently developed. _terga_ flat, with the occludent margin slightly arched, and not, as in the foregoing species, formed of two sides; apex bent towards the carina; width of the lower half highly variable, owing to the varying extent to which the scutal margin is hollowed out; in some specimens, the whole lower half beneath the apex of the scuta is of nearly the same width throughout; in other specimens this lower part is spear-shaped. the widest part of the tergum either equals in width, or is only two-thirds of the width of the widest part of the carina beneath its umbo. _carina_ (pl. i, fig. _a_) highly variable in shape, with the part above the umbo either spear-shaped and slightly concave within, or nearly flat and furnished with a central external ridge; or the upper part (fig. _c_) is of equal and extreme narrowness throughout, and deeply concave within, appearing as if only the central ridge had been developed. the part below the umbo, (answering to the fork in the foregoing species,) is about one-third of the length of the whole valve, and generally twice as wide as the upper part, but in the variety with the upper part of the carina equally narrow throughout, the lower part is thrice as wide as the upper; the disc, or lower part, is generally slightly concave within, exteriorly either with or without a central ridge; basal margin rounded; lateral margin more or less curved, according to the form of the upper part. the disc is not more deeply imbedded in membrane than is the upper part of the valve. the heel or umbo is either angular and prominent, or rounded. in very young specimens the carina is simply bowed, instead of being rectangularly bent. _peduncle_,--short, narrow, being abruptly inflected all round under the basal edges of the capitulum; lower part of very variable shape, being often suddenly contracted into a mere thread (fig. _b_), which sometimes widens again at the extreme end. the external membrane is very thin, and is penetrated by the usual fine tubuli leading to the corium; its surface is wrinkled and destitute of spines, or with extremely few. the peduncle is often completely surrounded by a yellowish ball, (of which i have seen specimens from the coast of england, and from off borneo,) sometimes half as wide as the capitulum, composed of very tender, vesicular, structureless membrane, and of a pulpy substance: perhaps the yellow colour may be owing to long immersion in spirits. some authors have supposed that the ball was the ovisac of the animal; and for the first few minutes, deceived by the numerous included spores of, as i believe, bacillariæ, i thought that this was the case; others have supposed that it consisted of some encrusting algæ or other foreign organism; but it is, in reality, a most singular development of the cement-tissue, which ordinarily serves to attach cirripedes by their bases to some extraneous object, but here surrounding that object and the peduncle, gives buoyancy, by its vesicular structure, to the whole. the membrane of the ball falls to pieces in caustic potash, differently from the chitine membrane of the enclosed peduncle, and this shows that there is some difference in composition from ordinary cement. the ball, when cut in two, exhibits an obscure concentric structure. the whole is excreted by the two cement-ducts, through two rows of orifices, one on each side of the surrounded portion of the peduncle; and i actually traced, in one case, the yellow pulpy substance coming out of the cement-ducts. the upper apertures are in gradation larger than those below them, and they stand a little further apart from each other; these are figured as seen from the outside, much magnified, at pl. i, fig. _d_. i did not succeed in finding the cement-glands, but i followed the ducts, of rather large size, running for a considerable distance as usual along and within the longitudinal muscles of the peduncle. nearly opposite the uppermost aperture, on each side, the duct passes out through the corium, and becomes laterally attached to the outer membrane of the peduncle, at which point an aperture is formed (as in other cases, by some unknown process), thus giving exit to the contents of the duct. beneath this upper aperture the duct runs down the peduncle, between the corium and the outer membrane, till it comes to the next aperture, to which it is also attached, and so on to all the lower ones; but i believe no cement tissue continues to pass out through these lower apertures. beneath the lowest aperture the two ducts run into the two prehensile antennæ of the larva, which, as usual, terminate the peduncle. the antennæ are attached to some small foreign body in the centre of the vesicular ball, by the usual tough, light brown, transparent cement. the two upper apertures are nearly on a level with the outside surface of the ball; and it was evident that as the animal grows, new apertures are formed higher and higher up on the sides of the peduncle, and that out of these, fresh vesicular membrane proceeds, and grows over the old ball in a continuous layer. it appears that the growth of the vesicular ball is not regular,--that it is not always formed,--and that when formed the whole, or the lower part, sometimes disintegrates and is washed away. as that portion of the peduncle which is enclosed ceases to grow, and has its muscles absorbed, retaining only the underlying corium, whereas the upper unenclosed portion, and likewise, (as it appears) lower portions once enclosed but since denuded, continue to increase in diameter, the peduncle, when the vesicular ball is removed, often has the most irregular outline, contracting suddenly into a mere thread, and then occasionally expanding again at the basal point. frequently two or three specimens have their peduncles imbedded in one common ball, of which there is a fine specimen in the college of surgeons (pl. i, fig. ), the ball being about one inch and a quarter in diameter, with a slice cut off. in this specimen, it is seen that the vesicular membrane proceeding from several individuals, unites to form one more or less symmetrical whole, and that the original common object of attachment is entirely hidden. dr. coates[ ] gives a curious account of the infinite number of specimens, through which he sailed during several days, in the southern atlantic ocean: the balls appeared like bird's eggs, and were mistaken for some fucus, which was supposed to have encrusted the scales of the velellæ, to which the cirripede had originally become attached. several individuals had their peduncles imbedded in the same ball, "which floated like a cork on the water." as this species grows into an unusually bulky animal, we here see a beautiful and unique contrivance, in the cement forming a vesicular membranous mass, serving as a buoy to float the individuals, which, when young and light, were supported on the small objects to which they originally had been cemented in the usual manner. [ ] journal of the acad. nat. sc., philadelphia, vol. vi, p. , . _filamentary appendages._--five on each side, of which four lie in pairs at the base of the first cirrus (of these, only three are sometimes developed), and one on the flank of the prosoma. _mouth._--palpi much acuminated. mandibles with five teeth; the first not far remote from the second; inferior point rather broad and finely pectinated. maxillæ with two large, unequal, upper spines, and four regular steps. _cirri._--posterior cirri, with the upper parts of the segments slightly protuberant; in young specimens, the spines can be seen to consist of five pairs, placed in two converging lines in the upper half of each segment, with numerous minute, latero-marginal, and intermediate little bristles: in large specimens, all these latter have so increased in number, that the normal five pair cannot be distinguished, and the front of each segment is covered by a triangular thick brush of bristles, all pointing in the same direction, thus giving a very unusual character to the posterior cirri: the dorsal tuft on each segment consists of six or seven large spines, with from one to three dozen fine ones. first cirrus and anterior ramus of second cirrus with broad brushes of bristles. the pedicels of all the cirri are thickly covered with bristles. _caudal_ appendages smooth, with rounded summits. _penis_ very hairy: vesiculæ seminales purple, much convoluted, lying within the prosoma; testes dendritic, scarcely enlarged at their terminal points, purplish; ovigerous fræna large with sinuous margins, the glandular beads being arranged in groups. _size._--the largest specimen (from the coast of devonshire) had a capitulum . of an inch long, and . broad, and of unusual thickness. _colours_, after having been in spirits: front surfaces of the segments of the cirri and of the pedicels purple. in some specimens from off borneo, parts of the sack and the interspaces between the two scuta, were of a fine purple. montagu states, that the whole shell and body of animal, when fresh, are pale blue, with the cirri spotted with brown. _general remarks._--the extreme variability of this species is remarkable. in the college of surgeons, there is a group of specimens collected by mr. bennett, i believe, in the atlantic, in which the extreme narrowness of the carina and of the terga (pl. i, fig. , _b_, _c_) (with consequent wide spaces of membrane left between these valves), led me, at first, to entertain no doubt, that it was quite a distinct species, which was strengthened by finding that the whole surface of the cirri were villose, with very minute spines; hence i called this variety, _villosa_. on the closest examination, however, i could detect no other differences, and the narrowness of the carina and terga varied very considerably: moreover, in one of the specimens, which was about intermediate in the form of its valves between this variety and the common form, the surfaces of the cirri were not in the least degree villose. again, in some other specimens, the terga were as narrow as in mr. bennett's, whilst the carina had its usual outline. in a var. (called by leach, _p. donovani_,) from the atlantic, under the equator, the carina is remarkable from the extreme flatness of the upper part, and from the presence of an exterior, narrow, central ridge. in one specimen from jersey, in the british museum, the carina made an extremely near approach to this same form. _affinities._--this species is certainly much the most distinct of any in the genus, and mr. gray has proposed to separate it under the name of dosima; but considering the close similarity of the whole organisation of the internal parts, together with the transitional characters afforded by _l. australis_, i think the grounds for this separation are not quite sufficient. i have remarked, under _l. australis_, on the affinity between that and the present species. in the carina terminating in a disc (though here not imbedded), there is some slight affinity to _pæcilasma eburnea_ and _crassa_, and markedly so in the arrangement of the bristles on the posterior cirri. in the valves being covered with villose membrane, and to a certain extent in the form of the carina and of the occludent margin of the terga, and especially in the two rows of cement-orifices in the peduncle, there is some affinity to scalpellum. pÆcilasma. _nov. genus._[ ] plate ii. anatifa. _j. e. gray._ proc. zoolog. soc., , p. . trilasmis. _hinds._ voyage of the sulphur. mollusca, . [ ] [greek: pokilos], various, and [greek: elasma], plate or valve. i have not been able to adopt mr. hinds' name for this genus, as it would be too glaringly incorrect to call a five-valved species, a _trilasmis_. _valvæ, , , aut , approximatæ: carina solùm ad basales apices tergorum extensa, termino basali aut truncato aut in discum profunde infossum producto: scuta pænè ovalia, umbonibus ad angulum rostralem positis._ valves, , , or , approximate: carina extending only to the basal points of the terga; with its lower end either truncated or produced into a deeply imbedded disc. scuta nearly oval, with their umbones at the rostral angle. mandibles with four teeth; maxillæ notched, with the lower part of edge prominent; anterior ramus of the second cirrus not thicker than the posterior ramus; caudal appendages uniarticulate, spinose. generally attached to crustacea. i have already given my reasons for instituting and separating this genus from lepas; as far as the capitulum is concerned, the differences between these genera certainly appear trivial; they consist in the carina not extending up between the terga, and in the lower end being either truncated, or produced into an imbedded disc: the terga have a single occludent margin. the included animal's body differs in more important respects; for both mandibles and maxillæ are very distinct; the cirri of some of the species also differ; and the caudal appendages are here always spinose: there are no filamentary appendages: and lastly, the habits are different. the genus may be divided into two sections, firstly, _p. kæmpferi_ and _p. aurantia_, which have their carinæ basally truncated, the basal angles of their terga cut off, and the anterior rami of their second cirri shorter than the posterior rami; and, secondly, _p. crassa_, _p. fissa_, and _p. eburnea_, which in these several respects are otherwise characterised. the _p. eburnea_, however, differs rather more from _p. crassa_ and _p. fissa_, than these two do from each other; but certainly not enough to allow of the retention of mr. hinds' genus of trilasmis. _p. crassa_, in an especial degree, connects together all the forms. _general appearance._--capitulum oval, more or less produced, flat or gibbous; formed of three, five, or seven approximate valves; the lesser number arising from the abortion of the terga, and the greater number from the scuta being divided into two segments. valves moderately thick, either white or reddish, smooth or striated, and sometimes partly covered by membrane, bearing minute spines. _scuta_ oval, of varying proportions; the basal margin is generally narrow, and blends into the carina-tergal margin; the internal basal rim generally is well developed, sometimes with, and sometimes without internal teeth beneath the umbones. in _p. eburnea_, and sometimes in _p. crassa_, there is a line of apparent fissure, and in _p. fissa_ of actual disseverment, running from the umbo to the apex of each scutum, nearly in the line in which a ridge extends in lepas: the primordial valves of the scuta in these three species, are seated at the basal angles of the lateral and larger segments. the positions of the primordial valves, and the direction of growth in the calcified valves, are, in all the species, the same as in lepas. in several of the species attached to crustacea, the two scuta are unequally convex, which is caused, as was pointed out to me by mr. gray, by that valve which lies close and nearly parallel to the body of the crab, being least developed. the _terga_ are either quite absent, or rudimentary as in _p. crassa_, or pretty well developed as in the other species: the occludent margin is single, and not double as generally in lepas; the basal angle is either pointed or truncated. the _carina_ varies considerably in shape, but never extends up between the terga, nor ends downwards in a fork; in the first two species it is truncated; in the others, it terminates in a deeply-imbedded oblong disc, which in _p. eburnea_ seems almost entirely (but of course not quite) to separate the inside of the capitulum from the peduncle; a similar separation is effected in _p. fissa_, where the imbedded disc is small, by two large teeth on the internal basal rims of the two scuta. the carina is always narrow, and either solid internally or very slightly concave. _peduncle_, is very short and narrow; the membrane is generally ringed with thicker, yellower portions, and often bears very minute spines. _size._--all the species are small, with a capitulum not exceeding half an inch in length. _filamentary appendages._--none. _mouth._--labrum generally considerably bullate in the upper part, with a row of teeth on the crest. the _mandibles_ have four teeth, with the inferior point narrow and spine-like, or rudimentary and absent. the _maxillæ_ have, under the two or three upper great spines, a deep notch itself bearing spines; beneath this, the lower part is straight and considerably prominent, pl. x, fig. . outer maxillæ are covered on their inner sides continuously with spines. _cirri._--the first pair is sometimes seated very distant from the second. the arrangement of the spines on the posterior cirri varies, to an unusual degree within the limits of the same genus. we have either the ordinary structure of anterior pairs, with single fine intermediate spines (as in _p. kæmpferi_ and _aurantia_), or we have the pairs increased by one or two additional longitudinal lateral rows, as in _p. eburnea_; or we have the front spines forming a single transverse row, as in _p. crassa_ and _p. fissa_, pl. x, fig. , _a_. the segments in none of the species are protuberant; the anterior ramus of the second cirrus does not seem to be thicker than the posterior ramus, as is usually the case. the rami of the second, and of most of the other cirri, are unequal in length,--the anterior ramus, contrary to the ordinary rule, being longer in _p. eburnea_, _p. fissa_, and _p. crassa_, than the posterior ramus by several segments; i have hitherto observed this inequality only in the sessile genus chthamalus. the _caudal appendages_ are small, uniarticulate, and always furnished with bristles. _distribution._--four out of the five species live attached to crustacea in the european and eastern warmer temperate and tropical oceans; the fifth species was found attached to the dead spines of an echinus, off new guinea. it is probable that several more species will be hereafter discovered. . pÆcilasma kÆmpferi. pl. ii, fig. . _p. valvis ; carinæ basi truncatâ et cristatâ: scutorum dentibus internis umbonalibus fortibus: tergorum acumine basali truncato, margini occludenti pæne parallelo._ valves ; carina with a truncated and crested base; scuta with strong internal umbonal teeth; terga with the basal point truncated, almost parallel to the occludent margin. maxillæ with short thick spines in the notch under the two upper great spines; caudal appendages with scattered bristles on their summits, and along their whole outer margins. japan; attached, in great numbers, to the upper and under sides of the _inachus kæmpferi_ of de haan, a slow-moving brachyourous crab, probably from deep water. british museum. _general appearance._--capitulum rather compressed, narrow, and produced. valves white, tinged with orange, smooth, moderately thin, occasionally with faint traces of striæ radiating from the umbones. _scuta_, apex pointed, with a very slight ridge running to the umbo; basal margin equalling two thirds of the length of the terga, with an internal basal rim; on the under side of each valve, beneath the umbo, there is a strong tooth. out of the numerous specimens, all excepting one had their scuta unequally convex, with their occludent margins unequally curved, that of the more convex valve at the umbo, curling beyond the medial line. the basal end of the carina is, likewise, slightly curved laterally, and always turns towards the more convex valve. this inequality, as mr. gray pointed out to me, depends on the position of the specimens; the flatter side lying close to the carapace of the crab. _terga_, flat, oblong, nearly rectangular; occludent margin straight; basal angle, truncated, almost parallel to the occludent margin; in width, three or four times as wide as the carina. _carina_, (fig. , _a_) short, narrow, slightly curved, upper part broadest, with the apex rounded, only just passing up between the basal broad ends of the terga; externally carinated, internally very slightly concave; basal end abruptly truncated, crested, not deeply imbedded in the membrane of the peduncle. _peduncle_, barely as long as the capitulum, apparently (for specimens dry and much shrunk) narrow, surrounded by rings or folds of thicker yellowish membrane, of which the upper ones retain moderately long spines; low down these rings become confluent; whole surface finely dotted, dots largest on the rings. _mouth._--labrum highly bullate in the upper part, with a row of teeth on the crest; mandibles with four teeth, the fourth close to the inferior apex, which is very little developed, sometimes making the fourth tooth appear simply bifid. maxillæ with two large spines on the upper angle, beneath which there is a large depression, bearing one rather long and thick, and four short and thick, spines; inferior upraised part with a double row of longer and thinner spines. _cirri._--posterior cirri with segments bearing five pairs of spines, of which the lowest pair is very minute; intermediate spines minute; spines of the dorsal tuft thin, of nearly equal size; segments not at all protuberant, elongated. first cirrus, standing far separated from the second (as in scalpellum), with its nearly equal rami rather above half as long as those of the second cirrus. second cirrus with anterior ramus not thicker, and scarcely more thickly clothed with spines, than the posterior ramus, but shorter than it by three or four segments; the spines not forming a very thick brush on the anterior ramus. both rami of third cirrus with a longitudinal row of minute spines, parallel to the main pairs. between the bases of the pedicels of the first pair of cirri, there are two closely approximate, conical flattened protuberances, like the single one to be described in ibla. _caudal appendages_, about one third of the length of the pedicel of the sixth cirrus, with some moderately long and strong spines at the end, and down the whole outer sides. _ova_, much pointed. _penis_, hairy. _size._--capitulum in largest specimens half an inch long. . pÆcilasma aurantia. pl. ii, fig. . _p. valvis ; carinæ basi truncatâ: scutis ovatis, margine basali perbrevi, dentibus parvis, internis, umbonalibus instructo: tergorum acumine basali perobliquè truncato._ valves ; carina with a truncated base; scuta oval, with the basal margin very short, furnished with small internal umbonal teeth; terga, with the basal point very obliquely truncated. maxillæ with fine spines in the notch under the three great upper spines; caudal appendages with scattered bristles on their summits, and along only the upper part of their outer margins. madeira; found by the rev. r. t. lowe, attached to the rare _homola cuvierii_, probably a deep-water crab. british museum. _general appearance._--this species so closely resembles _p. kæmpferi_, that it is superfluous to describe it in detail; and i will indicate only the points of difference. when the valves have been well preserved, they are of fine pale orange colour, and hence the name above given, which was proposed by the rev. r. t. lowe. _scuta_, with the internal umbonal teeth small; basal internal marginal rim very prominent, furrowed within; basal margin short, (only equalling half the length of terga), owing to the great curvature of the lower part of the carino-tergal margin; hence, the outline of the scuta is almost pointed oval. i saw no appearance of inequality in the two sides. _terga_, rather smaller in proportion to the scuta, than in _p. kæmpferi_, with the basal end very obliquely truncated, so as to appear at first simply pointed, not parallel to the occludent margin; apex considerably more pointed and produced than in the foregoing species. _carina_, almost of equal narrowness throughout, barely concave within; lower end triangular, abruptly truncated, and not crested. _primordial valves_ very plain, with the usual hexagonal structure: those of the terga, rounded at both ends, instead of being square, as in the mature calcified valves. _peduncle_ short, narrow, not half as long as the capitulum; paved with minute equal beads, as in the genus dichelaspis. _mouth._--mandibles with the fourth tooth very small; inferior angle rudimentary. maxillæ, with three great upper spines, beneath which there is a deep notch bearing some delicate spines; inferior upraised part, as in _p. kæmpferi_. _cirri._--rami of first cirrus hardly more than one third as long as the rami of the second cirrus, which latter rami are unequal in length by only two segments; the posterior ramus being the longer one. _caudal appendages_, with only two or three lateral bristles, besides those on the summit. _size._--capitulum, three to four tenths of an inch long. _general remarks._--this species has the closest general resemblance to _p. kæmpferi_, and is evidently a representative of it. on close examination, however, almost every part differs slightly; the chief points being the narrowness of the basal margin of the scuta; the obliqueness of the truncated basal end of the terga and the sharpness of the upper end; the rudimentary state of the inferior angle of the mandibles; the character of the spines on the maxillæ; the proportional lengths of the cirri, and the fewness of the spines on the outer sides of the caudal appendages. the fact of madeira having this pæcilasma, a representative both in structure and habits of a japan species, is interesting, inasmuch, as i am informed by mr. lowe, that some of the madeira fishes are analogues of those of japan. . pÆcilasma crassa. pl. ii. fig. . anatifa crassa. _j. e. gray._ proc. zoolog. soc., , p. , annulosa, tab. iii, figs. , . _p. valvis ; carinæ termino basali in discum parvum infossum producto: scutis convexis, dentibus internis umbonalibus nullis: tergis pæne rudimentalibus, vix carinâ latioribus._ valves ; carina with the basal end produced into a small imbedded disc; scuta convex, without internal umbonal teeth; terga almost rudimentary, scarcely broader than the carina. spines on the segments of the posterior cirri arranged in single transverse rows. madeira; attached to the _homola cuvierii_, rev. r. t. lowe. british museum.[ ] _general appearance._--capitulum highly bullate, or thick. valves rather thick, opaque, either pale or dark flesh-red, smooth, yet rather plainly striated from the umbones. there are a few very minute spines on the membranous borders of the valves. _scuta_ highly convex, broadly oval, apex broad rounded; basal margin narrow, much curved; no internal, umbonal teeth; basal internal rim strong, running up part of the occludent margin. a slightly prominent ridge, either rounded or angular, but in one specimen a narrow depressed fissure-like line, runs parallel to the occludent margin and ends near the apex in a slight notch; this fact is of interest in relation to the structure of the scuta in _p. eburnea_ and _p. fissa_. the scuta are either equally or very unequally convex; in the latter case, the occludent margin of one valve is curled, so that its umbo is not quite medial. [ ] it is stated, in 'zoolog. proc.,' ( , p. ,) that this species was attached to a gorgonia, from madeira; i cannot but suspect that there has been some confusion with the _oxynaspis celata_ from madeira, which is thus attached. _terga_, minute, almost rudimentary, scarcely broader than the carina, and half as long as the chord of its arc; carinal margin slightly curved; scutal margin straight, with a slight prominence fitting into a notch in the scuta; basal end bluntly pointed. _carina_, (fig. , _a_) rather shorter than the scuta, extending up only to the basal ends of the terga; moderately curved; apex moderately sharp; middle part broadest, externally carinated; internally not concave, with the inner lamina of shell, at the basal end, produced into a very small oblong disc or tooth, which is only as wide as the narrowest upper part of the valve. the exterior keel does not extend on to this disc, which is slightly constricted at its origin. _peduncle_ very short, narrow, ringed, and apparently without spines. _size._--capitulum four tenths of an inch long. the following parts of the animal are described from some small and not well preserved specimens from madeira, which i owe to the kindness of mr. lowe. _mouth._--labrum highly bullate in the upper part, with large, inwardly pointed, unequal teeth. mandibles, with four large, pointed, equal-sized teeth, with the inferior angle very narrow, acuminated like a single spine. maxillæ, with three (?) large upper spines, of which the middle one is extremely strong and long, beneath which, there is a deep notch with a single strong spine, and with the whole inferior part square and much upraised, so as to stand on a level almost with the tips of the great upper spines. _cirri_ in a miserable state of preservation; first cirrus short, second cirrus with rami unequal, and i suspect the anterior one the longest; some of the other cirri also have unequal rami. the segments of the posterior cirri are not protuberant, they have on their anterior faces a single transverse row of bristles: in the upper segments, some of the spines in each dorsal tuft (which is much spread out), are _much_ thicker, though rather shorter than those on the anterior face. this peculiar structure is common to all five posterior cirri. _caudal appendages._--i can only say that they are spinose on their summits. _affinities._--this species is allied to _p. eburnea_ in the rudimentary condition of its terga; in the disc-shaped basal end of its carina; and in the presence in some specimens, of a fissure-like line on the scuta parallel to their occludent margins. its affinity, however, is closer to _p. fissa_, as is more especially shown by the remarkable arrangement of the spines on the five posterior cirri. . pÆcilasma fissa. pl. ii, fig. . _p. valvis ; scuto utroque è duobus juxtapositis segmentis formato; segmento altero intus dentato: tergis brevibus, ter aut quater carinâ latioribus: carinæ termino basali in discum parvum angustum infossum producto._ valves ; each scutum being formed of two closely approximate segments; of which one is internally toothed: terga short, three or four times as wide as the carina: carina with the basal end produced into a small, narrow, imbedded disc. spines on the segments of the posterior cirri arranged in single transverse rows. philippine archipelago; island of bohol; parasitic on a spinose crab, found under a stone at low water; single specimen, in mus., cuming. _general appearance._--capitulum gibbous, broadly oval, nearly a quarter of an inch long. valves white, smooth, moderately thick, marked by the lines of growth. the occludent segments of the scuta, and nearly the whole of the terga, and the whole of the carina, enveloped in lemon-yellow membrane, tinged with orange, but the specimen had long been kept dry. _scuta_ formed of two, apparently always separate, segments, closely united, so that externally their separation is hardly visible, and does not allow of movement; the fissure thus formed runs almost in the line connecting the umbo and apex, (where in most species a ridge extends,) but a little on the carinal side of it. the occludent segment is narrowly bow-shaped, pointed at both ends, with the upper end projecting slightly beyond the apex of the lateral segment, and with the occludent margin regularly curved from end to end. the lateral segment is large, of an oval shape, with a narrow strip cut off on one side. primordial valves very plain at the umbones of the lateral segments, but none are visible on the occludent segments; and this makes me believe that these two pieces are normally parts of a single valve; having only one specimen of _p. fissa_, i was not able to make out quite certainly whether the two segments are continuously united at their umbones by a non-calcified portion of valve, as is certainly the case with dichelaspis. the basal margin of the lateral segment is narrow, inflected, and blends with the carino-tergal margin; it has an internal, prominent, basal rim, and towards the occludent margin a large, prominent, internal tooth. this internal basal rim is not parallel to the outer basal margin, but rises to a point a little way up the occludent margin, in the same manner as in _p. eburnea_, but in a lesser degree; in this latter species the peduncle is internally almost cut off by the large disc of its carina; here, on the other hand, it is internally almost cut off by these rims and the two large teeth of the lateral segments of the scuta. _terga_ sub-triangular, short, nearly half as broad as long; three or four times as wide as the carina, and rather wider than the occludent segment of the scuta; occludent margin single, arched; carinal margin slightly arched; basal angle bluntly pointed. _carina_ very narrow, much arched, running up just between the basal ends of the terga; exterior ridge enveloped in membrane; heel blunt, prominent; internally, not concave, even slightly convex, produced at the lower end into a very narrow, short, imbedded disc, (or rather tooth,) which is itself a little curved downwards and blunt at the end. _peduncle_ very narrow, about half as long as the capitulum; yellow, finely beaded, plainly ringed, without spines. _mouth._--labrum, with a row of minute teeth; palpi narrow. mandibles with all the lower part narrow; of the four teeth, the second and third are narrow, the fourth is pectinated and placed very close to the inferior angle, which is produced into a long thin tooth. maxillæ unknown. _cirri._--first pair lost. the arrangement of the spines on all is most abnormal, pl. x, fig. : dorsal tuft long, arranged in a transverse line and seated in a deep notch; in the sixth cirrus, the spines on the lower segments are fine, those on the upper segments are thick and claw-like, mingled with some fine spines; in the four anterior cirri the spines of the dorsal tufts are even thicker and more claw-like. on the anterior faces, also, of all the segments the spines form a single row; they are shorter than those composing the dorsal tuft; hence the spines on each segment are arranged in a circle, interrupted widely on the two sides: this arrangement is common to all five posterior cirri. second cirrus, with the _anterior_ ramus one third longer and thinner than the posterior ramus (this is the reverse of the usual arrangement); this longer ramus equals in length the sixth cirrus. third cirrus, with the anterior ramus considerably longer than the posterior ramus; in the three posterior pair of cirri, also, the anterior rami are a little longer than the posterior: except in length, there is little difference of any kind between the five posterior pair of cirri. pedicels of the cirri long; rami rather short; segments elongated, not protuberant. _caudal appendages_ nearly as long as the pedicels of the sixth cirrus, thickly clothed with very fine bristles, like a camel's-hair pencil brush. _affinities._--in the structure of the carina, and more especially of the scuta, there is a strong affinity between the present and following species; for we shall immediately see that in _p. eburnea_ there is evidence of the scuta being composed of two segments fused together; and the larger segment is furnished with an internal oblique, strong, basal rim. to this same species there is an evident affinity in the form of the mandibles and of the caudal appendages, and in the anterior rami of the cirri being longer than the posterior rami. notwithstanding these points of affinity, i consider that _p. fissa_ is more closely related in its whole organisation, as more particularly shown in the arrangement of the spines on the cirri and in the presence of terga, to _p. crassa_ than to _p. eburnea_. although in dichelaspis, the scuta are invariably composed of two almost separate segments, yet _p. fissa_ shows no special affinity to this genus. . pÆcilasma eburnea. pl. ii, fig. . trilasmis eburnea. _hinds._ voyage of sulphur, , vol. i, mollusca, pl. xxi, fig. . _p. valvis ; scutis acuminatis, ovatis; ad pedunculum pæne transversè spectantibus; dentibus internis umbonalibus fortibus: tergis nullis: carinæ termino basali in discum amplum oblongum infossum producto._ valves ; scuta pointed, oval, placed almost transversely to the peduncle; internal umbonal teeth strong: terga absent: carina with the basal end produced into a large, oblong, imbedded disc. spines on the upper segments of the posterior cirri, arranged in three or four approximate longitudinal rows, making small brushes. _habitat._--new guinea, attached to the spines of a dead echinus. brit. mus., and cuming. _general appearance._--capitulum flat, pear-shaped, placed almost transversely to the peduncle. valves white, smooth, moderately thick. _scuta:_ the basal margin, as seen externally, is narrow, and can hardly be separated from the carinal margin; but an internal basal rim, (fig. , _b_) (along which the imbedded disc of the carina runs,) shows where, in the other species, the basal and carinal margins are separated. this basal internal rim is not parallel to the external basal margin, but runs upwards to the occludent margin, leaving beneath it a large triangular space, to which the membrane of the peduncle is attached; and this makes it appear as if the rostral umbones of these valves had grown downwards; but, judging from the allied species, _p. fissa_, i have no doubt that the primordial valves really lie on the umbones, and that the growth has been in the usual direction, that is, exclusively upwards. the occludent margin is curved, and blends by a regular sweep into the carinal margin, so that there is no acute upper angle. a distinct line can be seen, as if two calcareous valves had been united, running from the umbo to the upper end of the valve, thus in appearance separating a slip of the occludent margin; internally this appearance is more conspicuous; this structure is important in relation to that of _p. fissa_. the pointed umbones are divergent, and internally under each, there is a large tooth. the two valves are equally convex. _terga_, entirely absent. the _carina_ (tab. ii, fig. , _a_, _c_), including the disc, is three fourths as long as the scuta; it is placed almost transversely to the longitudinal axis of the peduncle; it is narrow and internally convex; the imbedded disc is very large, forming a continuous curve with the upper part of the carina; this disc runs along the internal basal rim of the scuta, and hence almost separates, internally, the peduncle from the capitulum; it equals one fourth of the total length of the valve, and is thrice as wide as the upper part; it is oval, externally marked by a central line, and with a slight notch at the end, giving a divided appearance to the whole, and indicating how easily a fork might be formed from it. the carina is thick, measured from the inner convex to the exterior surface, which is carinated; heel prominent. _peduncle_, narrow, very short, not nearly so long as the capitulum. _mouth._--labrum considerably bullate, with the lower part much produced towards the adductor muscle; crest with small bead-like teeth; palpi small, pointed; mandibles, with the first tooth standing rather distant from the second; inferior angle spine-like and bifid; maxillæ (pl. x, fig. ), with two considerable spines (only one is shown in the plate) beneath the upper large pair; the inferior upraised part bears seven or eight pair of spines, and its edge is not quite straight; close to the main notch, lying under the four upper spines, there are two minute notches, with the interspace bearing a tuft of fine spines and a pair of larger ones. _cirri._--the rami in all are rather unequal in length, the anterior rami being rather the longest; the anterior rami of the second and third cirri are not thicker than the posterior rami. the segments in the three posterior cirri are not protuberant; the upper segments bear three or four pair of spines, with some minute intermediate ones, and with the lateral marginal spines unusually large and long, so as to form, with the ordinary pairs, a third or fourth longitudinal row; hence a small brush is formed on each segment. the dorsal tuft is large and wide, so as to contain even fourteen spines, of which some are as long as those in front. in the lower segments of these same posterior cirri, the lateral marginal spines are not so much developed (nor is the dorsal tuft), and hence the segments can hardly be said to be brush-like. the first cirrus is placed rather distant from the second pair. the second and third cirri differ from the three posterior pair, only in the bristles being slightly more numerous, and in the dorsal tufts being more spread out. _caudal appendages_ about half the length of the lower segments of the pedicels of the sixth cirrus; truncated and rounded at their ends; thickly clothed with long excessively fine bristles, so as to resemble camel-hair pencils. the _stomach_, i believe, is destitute of cæca; in it was a small crustacean. _general remarks._--i was at first unwilling to sacrifice mr. hind's genus, trilasmis, which is so neatly characterised by its three valves; moreover, the present species does differ, in some slight respects, from the other species of pæcilasma; but under the head of _p. fissa_ i have shown how that species, _p. crassa_ and _p. eburnea_ are tied together. the absence of terga, which are rudimentary in _p. crassa_, (and we shall hereafter see, in _conchoderma_, how worthless a character their entire absence is,) and the arrangement of the spines in the upper segments of the posterior cirri, are the only characters which could be used for a generic separation. _genus_--dichelaspis. plate ii. octolasmis.[ ] _j. e. gray._ annals of philosophy, vol. x, new series, p. , august . heptalasmis. _agassiz._ nomenclator zoologicus. _valvæ , quæ ferè pro septem haberi possent, scuto in segmenta planè duo, ad angulum autem rostralem conjuncta, diviso: carina plerumque sursum inter terga extensa, deorsum aut disco infosso aut furcâ aut calyce terminata._ [ ] from [greek: dichêlos], bifid, and [greek: aspis], a shield, or scutum. the name octolasmis was given by mr. gray under the belief that there were eight valves. leach (as stated in the 'annals of philosophy,') had proposed, in ms., the name heptalasmis, and this is now used in the british museum by mr. gray, and thus appears in agassiz's 'nomenclator zoologicus.' although, strictly, there are only five valves, i continued to use, in my ms., the term heptalasmis, until i examined the _d. orthogonia_, where it was so apparent to the naked eye that there were only five valves, the scuta in this species being less deeply bifid, that i was compelled to give up a name so manifestly conveying a wrong impression, and hence adopted the one here used. valves , generally appearing like , from each scutum being divided into two distinct segments, united at the rostral angle; carina generally extending up between the terga terminating downwards in an imbedded disc, or fork, or cup. mandibles, with three or four teeth; maxillæ notched, with the lower part of edge generally not prominent; anterior ramus of the second cirrus not thicker than the posterior ramus, not very thickly clothed with spines; caudal appendages uniarticulate, spinose. _distribution._--eastern and western warmer oceans in the northern hemisphere, attached to crustacea, sea-snakes, &c. _description._--the capitulum appears to contain seven valves; but, on examination, it is found that two of the valves on each side, are merely segments of the scutum; these are united at the umbo, in three of the species, by a narrow, non-calcified portion of valve, where the primordial valve is situated; in _d. orthogonia_, however, the junction of the two segments is perfectly calcified, and of the same width as the whole of the basal segment. the capitulum is much compressed, broad at the base, and extends a little beneath the basal segments of the scuta. the valves are very thin, often imperfectly calcified, and generally covered with membrane. they are not placed very close together, and in all the species a considerable interspace is left between the carina and the two other valves: in the _d. grayii_ the valves are so narrow that they form merely a calcified border round the capitulum. the membrane between the valves and over them, is very thin, and is thickly studded, in some of the species, with minute blunt conical points, apparently representing spines. the valves in the same species present considerable variations in shape; in their manner or direction of growth, and in the position of their primordial valves, they agree with lepas and pæcilasma. _scuta._--in three of the species the two segments, named the occludent and basal, appear like separate valves, but these, by dissection, can be most distinctly seen to be united at the rostral angle. the primordial valve, formed of the usual hexagonal tissue, is elliptic, elongated, and placed in the direction of the occludent segment; calcification commences at its upper point, so as to form the occludent segment, and afterwards at its lower point, but rectangularly outwards, to form the basal segment; in the minute space between these two points of the primordial valve, there is, in four of the species, no calcification; so that the two segments are united by what may be called a flexible hinge; in _d. orthogonia_ the two calcareous segments are absolutely continuous. the occludent segment is longer than the basal segment; it either runs close along the orifice, or in the upper part bends inwards; both segments are narrow, except in _d. warwickii_, in which the basal segment is moderately broad; the two segments are placed at an angle, varying from ° to °, to each other. the capitulum generally extends for a little space beneath the basal segments of the scuta, where it contracts to form the peduncle. the _terga_ present singular differences in shape, and are described under the head of each species; scarcely any point can be predicated of them in common, except that they are flat and thin. the _carina_ is much bowed, narrow, and internally either slightly concave or convex and solid; the upper end extends far up between the terga; the lower end is formed by a rectangularly inflected, imbedded, triangular or oblong disc, deeply notched at the end, or as in _h. lowei_, of a fork, the base, however, of which is wider than the rest of the carina, so as to present some traces of the disc-like structure of the other two species; or lastly, as in _d. orthogonia_, it terminates in a crescent-formed cup. _peduncle._--this is narrow, compressed, and about as long, or twice as long, as the capitulum; in _d. warwickii_ it is studded with minute beads of yellowish chitine. _size._--small, with a capitulum scarcely exceeding a quarter of a inch in length. _filamentary appendages._--none. there are two small ovigerous fræna, which, in _d. warwickii_, had the glands collected in seven or eight little groups on their margins. _mouth._--labrum highly bullate, with small teeth on the crest; palpi small, not thickly covered with spines. _mandibles_ narrow, with three or four teeth. maxillæ small, with a notch beneath the two or three great upper spines; lower part bearing only a few pair of spines, generally not projecting, but in _d. orthogonia_ largely projecting. outer maxillæ, with their inner edges continuously covered with bristles. _cirri._--first pair short, situated rather far from the second pair; second pair with the anterior ramus not thicker than the posterior ramus, and hardly more thickly clothed with spines than it, excepting sometimes the few basal segments. all the five posterior pair of cirri resemble each other more closely than is usual. in _d. lowei_, the segments of the posterior cirri bear the unusual number of eight pair of main spines. _caudal appendages._--uni-articulate, spinose; in d. pellucida they are twice as long as the pedicels of the sixth cirrus, but i could not perceive in them any distinct articulations. _distribution._--attached to crabs at madeira, and off borneo; to sea-snakes in the indian ocean. the individuals of all the species appear to be rare. _general remarks._--four of the five species, forming this genus, though certainly distinct, are closely allied. i have already shown, that although the characters separating lepas, pæcilasma, and dichelaspis are not very important, yet if they be neglected these three natural little groups must be confounded together. dichelaspis is much more closely united to pæcilasma than to lepas, and, as far as the more important characters of the animal's body are concerned, there is no important difference between them. consequently, i at first united pæcilasma and dichelaspis, but the latter forms so natural a genus, and is so easily distinguished externally, that i have thought it a pity to sacrifice it. the carina, (which seems to afford better characters than the other valves in dichelaspis,) from generally running up between the terga and in ending downwards, in three of the species, in a deeply notched disc or fork, more resembles that in lepas than in pæcilasma; in the manner, however, in which the imbedded disc, in _d. warwickii_ and _d. grayii_, nearly cuts off the inside of the capitulum from the peduncle, there is a resemblance to _pæcilasma eburnea_. in the extent to which the valves are separated from each other, in the bilobed form of the scuta, (the two segments in dichelaspis, perhaps, answering to the upper and lateral projections in the scuta of _conchoderma virgata_,) and in the basal half of the scuta not descending to the base of the capitulum, there is a considerable resemblance to conchoderma; in both genera the adductor muscle is attached under the umbones of the scuta; but the structure of the mouth and cirri and caudal appendages shows that the affinity is not stronger to conchoderma than to lepas. it appears at first probable, that dichelaspis would present a much closer affinity to _pæcilasma fissa_, in which, owing to the scuta being formed of two segments, there are seven valves, than to any other species of that genus; but in _p. fissa_ the primordial valve is triangular and is situated on the basal segment, whereas, in dichelaspis, it is elliptic and is seated between the two segments, and is more in connection with the occludent than with the basal segment; and this i cannot but think is an important difference: in other respects, _p. fissa_ shows no more affinity to dichelaspis than do the other species of the genus. finally, i may add that dichelaspis bears nearly the same relation to pæcilasma, as conchoderma does to lepas. . dichelaspis warwickii. pl. ii, figs. , _a_, _b_. octolasmis warwickii. _j. e. gray._ annals of philosophy, vol. x, p. , ; spicilegia zoologica. t. vi, fig. , . _d. scutorum segmento basali duplo latiore quam segmentum occludens: tergorum parte inferiore paulò latiore quam occludens scutorum segmentum._ scuta, with the basal segment twice as wide as the occludent segment; terga, with the lower part slightly wider than the occludent segment of the scuta. mandibles, generally with four teeth. off borneo, attached to a crab (belcher): china sea. british museum. _general appearance._--capitulum much compressed, elongated, with the valves not very close together, the carina being separated by a rather wide space from the scuta and terga. valves variable in shape, very thin and translucent, covered by thin membrane, which, over the whole capitulum, is studded with minute blunt points. _scuta._--segments without internal teeth or an internal basal rim; the occludent segment long, narrow, pointed, not quite flat, sometimes slightly wider in the upper part; about one third of its own length longer than the basal segment; occludent margin slightly arched; basal segment about twice as wide as the occludent segment, triangular, slightly convex; in young specimens (pl. ii, fig. _b_), the carinal margin of the basal segment is protuberant, and the occludent margin hollowed out; in old specimens the occludent margin of the basal segment is straight, and the carinal margin much hollowed out. in very young specimens the basal segment is very small compared to the occludent. _terga_, variable in shape; flat, lower part wider than the occludent segment of the scuta; occludent margin double, forming a considerable rectangular projection, as in the terga of lepas; scutal margin deeply excised at a point corresponding with the apex of the scuta, a flat tooth or projection being thus formed; there is sometimes a second tooth (fig. _b_) a little above the basal point. the terga, in the first variety, somewhat resemble in shape the scuta of _conchoderma aurita_. _carina_, much bowed, narrow, slightly concave within, (in the borneo specimen, rather wider and more concave,) extending up between the terga for half their length, terminating downwards in a rectangularly inflected, deeply imbedded, oblong, rather wide, flat disc, at its extremity more or less deeply notched. this disc is externally smooth; internally it sometimes has two divergent ridges on it; it extends across about two-thirds of the base of the capitulum (fig. _a_, as seen from beneath, when the peduncle is cut off), to under the middle of the basal segments of the scuta. _peduncle_, narrow, flattened; united to the capitulum some little way below the scuta; about as long as the capitulum; the membrane of which it is composed is thin, externally studded with bluntly conical beads of yellowish chitine, of which the largest were / of an inch in diameter; on their internal surfaces these are furnished with a small central, circular depression, apparently for a tubulus; the arrangement of the beads varied in concentric zones. similar conical points on the capitulum have an internal concave surface about / in diameter, with a central circle / in diameter, for the insertion, as i believe, of a tubulus. _size._--the largest specimen had a capitulum a quarter of an inch long. _mouth._--labrum highly bullate; crest with not very minute, blunt teeth, which towards the middle lie closer and closer to each other, so as to touch. palpi rather small, with a few very long bristles at the apex. _mandibles_, narrow, produced, with four teeth, and the inferior angle tooth-like and acuminated; in one specimen, on one side of the mouth, the mandible had only three teeth. _maxillæ_, small; at the upper angle there are two large spines and a single small one, beneath which there is a deep notch, and beneath this a straight but projecting edge, bearing a few moderately large and some smaller spines. outer maxillæ sparingly covered with bristles along the inner margin. _cirri._--first pair far removed from the second pair, and not above half their length; segments rather broad, with transverse rows of bristles not very thickly crowded together; terminal segments very obtuse, and furnished with thick spines. the segments of the three posterior pair have each three or four pair of spines, with a few minute spines scattered in an exterior, parallel, longitudinal row; dorsal tufts, with four or five long spines. the second cirrus has its anterior ramus not thicker, but rather shorter than the posterior ramus; the former is only a little more thickly clothed with spines, owing to those in the longitudinal lateral row being longer and more numerous, than is the sixth pair of cirri. bristles not serrated. _caudal appendages_, narrow, thin, slightly curved, about half as long as the pedicels of the sixth cirrus; in young specimens, the appendage bore seven or eight pair of long bristles rectangularly projecting; in some older specimens, there was a tuft of bristles on the summit, and two other tufts on the sides. i at first thought that the borneo specimen was a distinct species, but after careful comparison of the external and internal parts, the only difference which i can detect is, that the terga are slightly larger, and that the carina, to a more evident degree, is wider, more especially in the middle and lower portions. . dichelaspis grayii. pl. ii, fig. . _d. scutorum segmento basali angustiore quam segmentum occludens; longitudine pæne dimidiâ: tergis bipenniformibus, margine crenato, spinâ posticâ, manubrio angustiore quam occludens scutorum segmentum._ scuta, with the basal segment narrower than the occludent segment, and about half as long as it. terga like a battle-axe, with the edge crenated and a spike behind; the handle narrower than the occludent segment of the scuta. mandibles with three teeth; cirri unknown. attached to the skin of a sea-snake, believed to have been the _hydeus_ or _pelamis bicolor_, and therefore from the tropical, indian or pacific oceans; associated with the _conchoderma hunteri_; single specimen, in a very bad condition, in the royal college of surgeons. _general appearance._--capitulum much compressed, elongated, formed of very thin membrane, with the valves forming round it a mere border. valves thin, imperfectly calcified, covered with membrane. _scuta_ formed of two narrow plates at very nearly right-angles to each other, one extending along the occludent, and the other along the basal margin; both become very narrow at the point of junction, and are there not calcified, but are evidently continuous and form part of the same valve; the basal segment is about half as long and narrower than the occludent segment, flat and bluntly pointed at the end; occludent segment slightly curled, and therefore the whole does not lie quite in the same plane; narrow close to the umbo, with a very minute tooth on the under side; apex rounded. in the upper part, the occludent segments leave the membranous margin of the orifice, and run in near to the terga, bending towards them at an angle of ° with their lower part. i was unable to distinguish the primordial valves. _terga._--these valves are of the most singular shape, resembling a battle-axe, with a flat and rather broad handle; the upper part consists of an axe, with a broad cutting crenated edge, behind which is a short blunt spike. the spike and cutting edge together answer to the double occludent margin of the tergum in lepas. the whole valve is flat, thin, and lies in the same plane; the carinal margin is nearly straight; the scutal margin bulges out a little, and at a short distance above the blunt basal point is suddenly narrowed in, making the lowermost portion very narrow; the widest part of the handle of the battle-axe, is narrower than the occludent segment of the scuta. the two spikes behind the cutting and crenated edges of the two terga, are blunt and almost touch each other; above their point of juncture, the membrane of the orifice forms a slight central protuberance. _carina_, very narrow throughout, concave within, much bowed; upper point broken and lost, but it must have run up between the terga for more than half their length; basal portion inflected at nearly right angles, and running in between, and close below, the linear basal segments of the scuta, so as almost entirely to cut off internally the peduncle and capitulum. this lower inflected and imbedded portion, or disc, gradually widens towards its further end, which is, at least, four times as wide as the upper part of the carina, and is deeply excised, but to what exact extent i cannot state, as the specimen was much broken. on each side of this elongated triangular disc, there is a slight shoulder corresponding to the ends of the basal segments of the scuta; and on the upper surface of each shoulder, there is a small tooth or projection. the middle part of the disc is barely calcified, and is transparent. _peduncle_, rather longer than, and not above half as wide as, the capitulum; the latter being nearly / ths of an inch in length: the membrane of the peduncle is thin, naked and structureless. _mouth._--labrum highly protuberant in the upper part, with a row of beads on the crest. palpi small, with few bristles. _mandibles_, with the whole inferior part, very narrow; three teeth very sharp, with a slight projection, perhaps, marking the place of a fourth tooth; inferior angle ending in the minutest point; first tooth as far from the second, as the latter from the inferior angle. _maxillæ_ with a _broad_ shallow notch; inferior angle much rounded, bearing only four or five pair of spines. _cirri._--first pair apparently remote from the second pair; all five posterior pair lost; first pair short, with the rami unequal by about two segments; segments clothed with several transverse rows of bristles; terminal segments blunt. . dichelaspis pellucida. pl. ii, fig. . _d. valvarum singularum acuminibus superioribus et inferioribus vix intersecantibus: scutorum segmento basali multo angustiore quam segmentum occludens; longitudine ferè dimidiâ: tergis bipenniformibus, margine integro, manubrii acumine ad carinam flexo._ valves with the upper and lower points of the several valves only just crossing each other. scuta with the basal segment much narrower than the occludent segment, and about half as long as it. terga like a battle-axe, with the edge smooth, and the point of the handle bent towards the carina. mandibles with four teeth; caudal appendages twice as long as the pedicels of the sixth cirrus. indian ocean; attached to a sea-snake. this species comes very close to the _d. grayii_, which likewise was attached to a snake; but i cannot persuade myself, without seeing a graduated series, that the differences immediately to be pointed out can be due to ordinary variation. i am much indebted for specimens to the kindness of mr. busk. _general appearance._--the membrane of the capitulum and peduncle is surprisingly thin and pellucid, so that the ovarian tubes within the peduncle can be traced with the greatest ease. the valves are small, the apices only just crossing each other, and are composed of yellow chitine, with mere traces of calcification. the capitulum is pointed, oval, . of an inch long; the peduncle is narrow, and fully twice as long as the capitulum. _scuta._--the two segments stand at right-angles to each other; the basal segment is linear and pointed, fully half as long, but only one third as wide, as the occludent segment. the point of junction of the two segments is wider than the rest of the basal segment. this latter segment lies some little way above the top of the peduncle. the occludent segment is bluntly pointed; it is directed a little inwards from the edge of the orifice towards the terga; the apex reaches up just above the slightly reflexed lower point of the terga. the adductor muscle is fixed under the point of junction of the two segments. the _terga_ are battle axe-shaped, with the blade part very prominent, smooth-edged; behind the blade there is a short upwardly-turned prominence. the lower point of the handle of the axe, is bent towards the carina. the tergum, measured in a straight line, equals in length two thirds of the occludent segment of the scutum, the handle being rather narrower than this same segment. the _carina_ is extremely narrow and much bowed; the apex reaches up only to just above the lower bent points of the terga. the basal end is rectangularly inflected, and stretches internally nearly across the peduncle; it consists (fig. _a_) of a triangular disc of yellow thin membrane, four or five times as wide as the upper part of the valve; the end of this disc is hollowed out; its edges are thickened and calcified, and hence, at first, instead of a disc, this lower part of the carina appears like a wide fork; the tips of the prongs stretch just under the tips of the basal segments of the scuta. _peduncle._--its narrowness and transparency are its only two remarkable characters. _mouth._--all the parts closely resemble those of _d. grayii_, but being in a better state of preservation i will describe them. the labrum is highly bullate, with a row of minute teeth on the crest, placed very close together in the middle. palpi small, thinly clothed with spines; mandibles extremely narrow, hairy, with four teeth, but the lower tooth is so close to the inferior angle, as only to make the latter look double. maxillæ, with a very deep broad notch, dividing the whole into two almost equal halves; in the upper part there are three main spines. _cirri._--the first pair are placed at a considerable distance from the second pair; they are short with equal rami, and rather broad segments furnished with a few transverse rows of bristles. the five posterior cirri have singularly few, but much elongated segments, bearing four pair of spines: the two rami of the second pair are alike, and differ only from the posterior cirri in a few of the basal segments having a few more spines. the _caudal appendages_ are twice as long as the pedicels, and nearly half as long as the whole of the sixth cirrus; they have a small tuft of long thin spines at their ends, and a few in pairs, or single, along their whole length; at first i thought that they were multi-articulate, but after careful examination i can perceive no distinct articulations; i have seen no other instance of so long an appendage without articulations. _diagnosis._--this species differs from _d. grayii_ in all the valves being shorter, so that their points only just cross each other; but this, i conceive, is an unimportant character. in the scuta, the basal segment is here narrower, but the point of junction of the two segments wider than in that species; in the terga, the edge of the axe is smooth instead of being crenated, and the handle and the point behind are of a rather different shape; in the carina the imbedded basal disc has not shoulders and small teeth, as in _d. grayii_. notwithstanding these differences, i should not be much surprised if the present form were to turn out to be a mere variety. . dichelaspis lowei. pl. ii, fig. . _d. scutorum segmento basali angustiore quam occludens segmentum, longitudine ferè / : tergorum parte inferiori duplo latiore quam occludens scutorum segmentum._ scuta with the basal segment narrower than the occludent segment, and about four-fifths as long as it. terga with the lower part twice as wide as the occludent segment of the scuta. mandibles with four teeth; segments of the three posterior cirri with eight pair of main spines. _hab._--madeira; attached to a rare brachyourous crab, discovered by the rev r. t. lowe. very rare. _general appearance._--capitulum much compressed, sub-triangular, formed of very thin membrane; valves imperfectly calcified, and thin. _scuta_ formed of two narrow plates placed at about an angle of ° to each other, and united at the umbo by a non-calcified flexible portion. the primordial valve is situated at this point, but chiefly on the occludent segment. the occludent segment is about twice as wide and about one fifth longer than the basal segment, which latter is rather sharply pointed at its end. the occludent segment is slightly arched, a little narrowed in on the occludent margin close to the umbo; its upper end is broad and blunt; it runs throughout close to the edge of the orifice of the sack, and its longer axis is in the same line with that of the terga. close to the umbones, on the under side of the basal segment, there is, on each valve, a longitudinal calcified fold, serving as a tooth. _terga_ broad, with a deep notch corresponding to the apex of the occludent segment of the scuta; the part beneath the notch is of nearly the same width throughout, and is twice as broad as the occludent segment of the scuta; it has its basal angle very broad and blunt. the entire length of the terga equals two thirds of that of the occludent segment of the scuta; occludent margin simply and slightly curved. the _carina_ is of nearly the same width throughout, with the upper part rather the widest, and the apex blunt; within _convex_; it extends up between three fourths of the length of the terga, terminating downwards in a fork with very sharp prongs, standing at right-angles to each other (fig. _a_.) the fork, measured from point to point, is thrice as wide as, and measured across at the bottom of the prongs it is wider than, the widest upper part of the valve,--a resemblance being thus shown with the triangular notched disc in _d. grayii_. the points of the prong extend under about one fourth of the length of the basal segments of the scuta. _peduncle_ rather longer than the capitulum, which, in the largest specimen, was / ths of an inch in length; peduncle narrow, close under the capitulum; membrane thin and structureless. the larger specimen had almost mature ova in the lamellæ. _mouth._--labrum with a few bead-like teeth on the crest, distant from each other even in the central part; palpi rather small, moderately clothed with bristles. _mandibles_, with four teeth; the inferior angle blunt and broad, showing, apparently, a rudiment of a fifth tooth; the first tooth is as far from the second, as is this from the inferior angle; second, third, and fourth teeth very blunt, whole inferior part of mandible not much narrowed. maxillæ small, with a small notch under the three upper spines, which are followed by five or six pair, nearly as large as the upper spines. _cirri._--first pair remote from the second; their rami nearly equal, and about one third of the length of the rami of the second cirrus; thickly clothed with bristles: rami of the second cirrus of equal thickness, but little shorter than those of the sixth cirrus; the three or four basal segments of the anterior ramus are thickly clothed with spines; the other segments, and all the segments on the third pair, resemble the segments of the three posterior pair. these latter are elongated, not protuberant, and support eight pairs of spines with very minute intermediate spines; those in the dorsal tufts are numerous and long. _caudal appendages_ nearly as long as the pedicels of the sixth cirrus; oval, moderately pointed, with their sides, for one fourth of their length, thickly clothed with long very thin spines. _affinities._--in the form of the scuta and of the carina this species is most nearly allied to _d. grayii_ or _d. pellucida_, in the form of the terga to _d. warwickii_. . dichelaspis orthogonia. pl. ii, fig. . _d. scutorum basali segmento angustiore quam occludens segmentum; longitudine ferè dimidiâ; duorum segmentorum junctione calcareâ: tergorum prominentiis marginalibus inæqualibus quinque: carinâ deorsum in parvo calyce lunato terminatâ._ scuta with the basal segment narrower than the occludent segment, and about half as long as it; junction of the two segments calcified. terga with five unequal marginal projections. carina terminating downwards in a small crescent-formed cup. maxillæ with the inferior part of edge much upraised. hab. unknown; associated with _scalpellum rutilum_, apparently attached to a horny coralline. british museum. the specimens are in a bad condition, not one with all the valves in their proper positions, and most of them broken; animal's body much decayed and fragile. _general appearance._--capitulum apparently much flattened; valves naked, coloured reddish, separated from each other by thin structureless membrane. the _scuta_ consist of two bars placed at right-angles to each other, with the point of junction fully as wide as any part of the basal segment, and perfectly calcified; the primordial valve lies at the bottom of the occludent segment. the basal segment is equally narrow throughout, and very slightly concave within; the occludent segment widens a little above the junction or umbo, and then keeps of the same width to the apex, which is obliquely truncated; internally this segment is concave; externally it has a central ridge running along it; the occludent segment is twice as long and twice as broad as the basal segment. both segments are a little bowed from their junction to their apices. _terga._--these are of a singular shape; they are about three-fourths as long as the occludent segment of the scuta, and in their widest part, of greater width than it. they consist of four prominent ridges proceeding from the umbo, and united together for part only of their length, and, therefore, ending in four prominences; one of these, the longest, has the same width throughout, and forms the basal point; a second, very small one, is seated high up on the carinal margin just above the apex of the carina; the third and fourth, are nearly equal in length, and project one above the other on the scutal margin. there are two occludent margins, meeting each other at right angles, and forming a prominence, as in lepas; and this gives to the margin of the valve the five prominences. the whole valve internally is flat; externally, it is ridged as described. _carina_ (fig. , _a_, _b_), much bowed, narrow, long; externally, the central ridge is quite flattened; internally, slightly concave, but scarcely so towards the lower part, which is narrow; the upper part widens gradually, and the apex is rounded. the basal embedded portion is as wide as the uppermost part, and forms a cup, unlike anything else known: the outline of this cup is semi-oval and crescent-formed; it is moderately deep; it is formed by the external lamina of the carina bending rectangularly downwards and a little outwards, whereas the inner lamina of the lower part (which is slightly concave), is continued with the same curve as just above, and forms the concave chord to the semi-oval rim of the cup. this cup, i believe, lies under the points of the basal segments of the scuta. _peduncle_ unknown, probably short. _length_ of capitulum, above / ths of an inch. _mouth._--labrum with the upper part highly bullate, and produced into a large overhanging projection; crest with a row of rather large bead-like teeth; _palpi_ small, their two sides parallel, very sparingly covered with long bristles. _mandibles_, narrow, produced, with four teeth, and the inferior angle produced into a single strong spine: the distance between the tips of the first and second teeth almost equals that between the tip of the second tooth and of the inferior angle. _maxillæ_ with three large upper unequal spines, beneath which, there is a deep and wide notch (bearing one spine), and the inferior part projects highly, bearing three or four pairs of spines, and is, itself, obscurely divided into two steps. _outer maxillæ_, very sparingly covered with bristles; outline, hemispherical. _cirri._--the rami of the five posterior pair are extremely long, as are the pedicels; the segments are much elongated, with their anterior faces not at all protuberant; each bears five pair of very long and thin spines, with an excessively minute one between each pair; the dorsal tuft consists of very fine and thin spines. the second cirrus has its anterior ramus not at all thicker than the posterior ramus; but has an exterior third longitudinal row of small bristles. first cirrus, separated by a wide interval from the second pair; very short with the two rami slightly unequal in length; the segments are broad, and are paved moderately thickly with spines; the terminal spines not particularly thick. _caudal appendages_ consist of very small and narrow plates, about half the length of the pedicels of the sixth cirrus, with a few long spines at their ends. this well-marked species, i think, has not more affinity to one than to another of the previous species: it differs from all, in the junction between the two segments of the scuta being perfectly calcified; in the peculiar cup, forming the base of the carina; and lastly, in the inferior part of the maxillæ projecting. oxynaspis.[ ] _gen. nov._ pl. iii. _valvæ , approximatæ: scutorum umbones in medio marginis occludentis positi: carina rectangulè flexa, sursùm inter terga extensa, termino basali simpliciter concavo._ valves , approximate; scuta with their umbones in the middle of the occludent margin; carina rectangularly bent, extending up between the terga, with the basal end simply concave. [ ] from [greek: oxunô], to sharpen, and [greek: aspis], a shield or scutum. mandibles with four teeth; maxillæ notched, with the lower part of edge nearly straight, prominent; anterior ramus of the second cirrus thicker than the posterior ramus; caudal appendages, uniarticulate, spinose. attached to horny corallines. i have most unwillingly instituted this genus; but it will be seen by the following description, that the one known species could not have been introduced into lepas or pæcilasma, without destroying these genera, although it has a close general resemblance with both. as far as the valves are concerned, it is more nearly related to lepas than to pæcilasma; but taking the entire animal, its relation is much closer to the latter genus than to lepas: it differs from both these genera in the manner of growth of the scuta, which is both upwards and downwards, the primordial valve being situated in nearly the middle of the occludent margin. in this respect, and in the shape of the carina and terga, there is an almost absolute identity with scalpellum; i may, however, remark that in scalpellum, the scuta first grow downwards, and afterwards in most of the species upwards, whereas here from the beginning, the growth is both upwards and downwards. in the mouth and cirri, there is rather more resemblance to scalpellum than to pæcilasma and lepas: in habits, also, this genus agrees with scalpellum, and if it had possessed a lower whorl of valves, it would have quite naturally entered that genus. it is unfortunate, that so insignificant and poorly characterised a form should require a generic appellation. in natural position, it appears to lead from scalpellum through pæcilasma to lepas. . oxynaspis celata. pl. iii, fig. . madeira; attached in numbers to an antipathes; rev. r. t. lowe. mus., hancock. _general appearance._--the capitulum is rather thin, and broad in proportion to its length; it seems always entirely covered by the horny muricated bark of the antipathes, and hence externally is coloured rich brown and covered with little horny spines. the membrane over the valves is very thin, and is with difficulty separated from the antipathes; it has, i believe, no spines of its own. the corium lining the peduncle is a fine purple. all the individuals are attached to the coralline, with their capitulums upwards in the direction of the branches, and in this respect fig. . is erroneous. the valves, when cleared of the bark, are white, or are strongly tinged with pinkish-orange. the upper parts of the scuta and terga are plainly furrowed in lines radiating from their umbones; hence their margins are serrated with blunt teeth; their surfaces, moreover, are sparingly studded with small calcareous points. _scuta_ (fig. , _a_), sub-triangular, with the lower part rounded and protuberant, the upper produced and pointed. the umbo is situated in the middle of the occludent margin, instead of at the rostral angle, as in the foregoing genera. the occludent margin is straight, and is bordered by a narrow step or ledge, formed of transverse growth-ridges, and therefore has its edge serrated: the rostral angle is often slightly produced into a small projection. the basal margin is short, and forms an angle above a rectangle with the occludent margin: the tergal margin is straight; the carinal margin is rounded, protuberant, and of unusual length compared to the basal margin. the surface of the valve is convex near the umbo; and beneath there is a large deep hollow for the adductor muscle. _terga_ (fig. , _b_) large, flat, triangular, as long as the scuta or the carina, all three valves being nearly equal in length; occludent margin straight, or slightly arched, basal angle broad, not very sharp. _carina_ short (fig. , _c_, drawn rather too long), deeply concave, rectangularly bent, with the lower part not quite as long as the upper, and a little wider: the basal margin is truncated, rounded, and slightly sinuous. the umbo is situated at the angle, and therefore nearly central. the umbo of the terga, i may add, is in the same place, as in lepas. the _peduncle_ is very short and narrow, and is, i believe, without spines; it is enveloped by the bark of the antipathes. the capitulum in the largest specimens was . of an inch in length. _filamentary appendages_, apparently none. _mouth_, with the orifice rather inclined abdominally. _labrum_, with the upper part extremely protuberant, forming a projecting horn; no teeth on the crest. palpi rather small, with only a few bristles at the end. _mandibles_, with four teeth and the inferior angle pointed: first tooth as far from the second, as is the latter from the inferior angle; in one specimen, on one side, there were five teeth. _maxillæ_ with three great spines at the upper angle, beneath which a deep notch, and with the inferior part much upraised; this lower part rather rounded at both corners, with the upper spines longer than the lower. _outer maxillæ_, with the bristles continuous in front; externally, slightly protuberant, with a tuft of bristles longer than those on the front side. olfactory orifices apparently not protuberant; but all the specimens were in a bad state. _cirri._--prosoma very little developed. first cirrus very far removed from the second. the three posterior cirri are straight and long; the segments are elongated and bear four or five pairs of very long spines, with a single minute intermediate spine between each pair; dorsal tufts, with long spines. first cirrus, rami unequal by two or three segments, and thickly covered with spines; the first cirrus is short compared to the second, owing to the length of the pedicel of the latter, though the longer ramus of the first, nearly equals the shorter ramus of the second pair. second cirrus, with its anterior ramus shorter by two or three segments than the posterior ramus, and thicker than it, with the segments covered like brushes with bristles; posterior ramus, and both rami of the third cirrus, a little more thickly clothed with bristles than are the three posterior cirri. _caudal appendages_, minute, broadly oval, with six or seven long bristles on their summits. _genus_--conchoderma. plate iii. conchoderma. _olfers._ magaz. der gesellsch. natuforsch. freunde zu berlin, drittes quartel, .[ ] lepas. _linnæus._ systema naturæ, . branta. _oken._ lehrbuch der naturgeschichte, th. , p. , . malacotta et senoclita. _schumacher._ essai d'un nouveau syst. des habitations des vers., . otion et cineras. _leach._ journal de phys., vol. lxxxv, p. , july, . gymnolepas. _de blainville._ dict. des sci. nat., art. mollusca, . pamina. _j. e. gray._ annals of philosophy, vol. x, (second series,) august, .[ ] [ ] the general title to the volume, containing four quarterly parts, is dated ; but as in the 'journal de physique,' for july, , the editor refers to conchoderma, the quarterly part containing this genus must have appeared before : lamarck gives the year as the date of the paper in question, and i have accordingly followed him. from a similar reference by the editor, it appears that schumacher's volume appeared before the number of the 'journal de physique' containing leach's paper. [ ] under these nine generic names, the two common species of conchoderma have received thirty-three different specific denominations, caused partly by changes of nomenclature, and partly from varieties having ranked as species. _valvæ ad , minutæ, inter se remotæ: scuta bi-aut tri-lobata, umbonibus in medio marginis occludentis positis: carina arcuata, terminis utrinque pæne similibus._ valves to , minute, remote from each other: scuta with two or three lobes, with their umbones in the middle of the occludent margin: carina arched, upper and lower ends nearly alike. filaments seated beneath the basal articulations of the first pair of cirri, and on the pedicels of four or five anterior pairs; mandibles, with five teeth, finely pectinated; maxillæ step-formed; caudal appendages, none. _distribution._--mundane, throughout the equatorial, temperate, and cold seas; attached to floating objects, living or inorganic. the _capitulum_ is formed of smooth membrane, including five small valves, of which the terga and carina are often quite rudimentary or absent. valves minute, thin, generally more or less linear, placed far distant from each other; sometimes imperfectly calcified and covered by chitine membrane, or imbedded in it. the umbones of the valves (together with the primordial valves) are nearly central, so that they are added to at their upper and lower ends; hence their manner of growth is considerably different from that of the valves in lepas. the adductor muscle is attached to a slight concavity on the under side of each scutum, at the point whence the lobes diverge. the _terga_ are placed almost transversely to the scuta; at their lower ends, there is either a very slight prominence in the capitulum, or there is a large tubular, folded appendage, opening into the sack, and apparently serving for respiratory purposes. _peduncle_, smooth, moderately long; attachment effected by the cement-stuff being poured out exclusively, as it appears, from the larval antennæ. these antennæ in _c. aurita_ and _c. virgata_, resemble, in the form of the disc and in the long feathered spines on the ultimate segment, those in lepas. the _filamentary appendages_ are highly developed; there are six or seven on each side; two are attached beneath the basal articulation of the first cirrus (as is usual in lepas), and near them there are one or two small pap-formed projections of apparently similar nature; the rest of the filaments are attached to the posterior edges low down, on the lower segments of the pedicels of the cirri. i believe, in all cases, these appendages are occupied by testes. _prosoma_, moderately developed. _mouth_, situated not far from the adductor muscle; labrum considerably bullate, with the crest hairy and pectinated with inwardly pointing, approximate, flattened teeth: inner fold of the supra-oesophageal cavity slightly thickened and yellowish, villose on the sides. _palpi_ of the usual shape, not meeting, moderately broad. _mandibles_, with five teeth, graduated in size, nearly equidistant, finely pectinated either on one or both sides towards their bases; inferior angle narrow, either produced into a fine tooth, or almost rudimentary. _maxillæ_, about / ths of the size of the mandibles, step-formed, with five steps generally distinct; at the upper angle there are two large unequal spines, of which the lower one is the largest, with a third long thin one on the first step; lower spines doubly serrated. apodeme directed inwards and backwards. _outer maxillæ_ (pl. x, fig. ) simply arched; the membrane of the supra-oesophageal cavity under these maxillæ is highly bullate and villose. olfactory orifices not prominent. _cirri._--first pair not seated far distant from the second pair. the three posterior pair have the anterior faces of their segments considerably protuberant, supporting four or five pairs of long bristles; between which, there is a row of minute, fine, upwardly pointing bristles: on the lateral upper margins of each segment, there are a few very minute spines; dorsal tuft short, with thick and thin spines intermingled. in the first cirrus (of which the rami are nearly equal in length), and in the anterior ramus of the second cirrus, the faces of the segments are highly protuberant, and clothed with thick transverse rows of finely and doubly serrated spines: the anterior ramus of the second cirrus is considerably thicker than the posterior ramus, which latter, together with both rami of the third cirrus, differ from the three posterior cirri only in the intermediate and in the lateral marginal spines being slightly more developed. _caudal appendages_, absent. _alimentary canal._--the upper part of the stomach has four large cæca, of which the posterior one is the largest; the whole surface, also, is covered with minute pits, arranged in transverse rows. _generative system_, developed to an extraordinary degree. the testes run into all the filamentary appendages, as well as more or less, into the pedicels of the cirri: the two vesiculæ seminales unite _within_ the penis, either just beyond its basal constriction, or up one third of its length. penis short, hairy. the ovarian tubes not only fill the peduncle, but extend in a thin sheet between the two folds of corium all round the sack, close up to the terga. the two ovigerous fræna are present in the usual position; the ovigerous lamellæ either form several layers, in pairs, one under the other, or are united in a single large cup-formed sheet enclosing the whole animal. _colours._--the prevailing tint is a dark purplish-brown, which forms, or tends to form, broad longitudinal bands on the peduncle and capitulum. _general remarks._--this genus is intimately related, as has been remarked by professor macgillivray,[ ] to lepas: if we look to the body of the animal, which from being less exposed to external influences must, in the cirripedia, offer the most trustworthy characters, we find that in conchoderma there are additional filamentary appendages attached to the cirri, that there are no caudal appendages, that the teeth of the mandibles are finely pectinated, and that the ovarian tubes run higher up round the sack; in every other respect, there is the closest similarity, even to the arrangement of the bristles on the cirri. in the capitulum, the difference consists chiefly, though not exclusively, in the less development of the valves, and their consequent wide separation: the scuta, however, in conchoderma, are added to beneath their umbones, or original centres of growth, which is never the case, or only to a very slight degree, in lepas. conchoderma has no very close affinity to any other genus. as the majority of authors have ranked the two common species under two distinct genera (otion and cineras), i may observe, that there is no good ground for this separation; in the above few specified points in which conchoderma differs from the genus most closely allied to it, the two species essentially agree together. if we take the nearest varieties of _c. virgata_ and _c. aurita_, there is but a very slight difference even in the form of their valves, and these hold the same relative positions to each other; the carina, however, is always less developed in _c. aurita_; even the colouring in both tends to follow the same arrangement. the only obvious distinction between the two species, are the ear-like appendages of _c. aurita_, which, however, are not developed in its early age, are subject to considerable variation, are of no high functional signification, and are indicated in _c. virgata_ by two prominences on the same exact spots. on these grounds i conclude, that the generic separation of the two species is quite inadmissible. [ ] remarks on the cirripedia, &c.; 'edin. new phil. journal,' vol. xxxix, p. . . conchoderma aurita. pl. iii, fig. . lepas aurita. _linn._[ ] systema naturæ, . otion cuvieranus (!) blainvillianus (!) bellianus (!) dumerillianus (!) rissoanus. _leach._ encyclop. brit., vol. iii, supp., , and zoological journal, vol. ii, p. , july . otion depressa et saccutifera. _coates._ journal acad. nat. sci. of philadelphia, vol. vi, p. , . otion auritus. _macgillivray._ edinburgh new phil. journal, vol. xxxviii, . lepas leporina. _poli._ test. utriusq. sicil., pl. vi, fig. , . lepas cornuta. _montagu._ linn. trans., vol. xi, p. , . conchoderma auritum et leporinum. _olfers._ magaz. der gesell. freunde zu berlin, d quartel., p. , . branta aurita. _oken._ lehrbuch der naturgesch., th. , p. , . malacotta bivalvis. _schumacher._ essai d'un nouveau syst., &c., . gymnolepas cuvierii. _de blainville._ dict. des sc. nat., art. mollusc., plate, fig. , . [ ] many authors (poli, montagu, &c.,) have doubted from the strangely mistaken description, viz., "ore octovalvi dentato," whether this species could be the _lepas aurita_ of linnæus. but in the linnean society, there is a proof plate from ellis's "account of several rare species of barnacles," in 'phil. trans.,' , with an excellent figure of the _c. aurita_, and on the margin in linnæus's handwriting is the name _lepas aurita_. _c. capitulo duobus tubularibus quasi-auribus instructo, pone terga rudimentalia (sæpe nulla) positis: scutis bilobatis: carinâ nullâ, aut omnino rudimentali: pedunculo longo, a capitulo distincte separato._ capitulum with two tubular ear-like appendages, seated behind the rudimentary and often absent terga; scuta bilobed; carina absent, or quite rudimentary; peduncle long, distinctly separated from the capitulum. filaments attached to the pedicels of the second cirrus; two upper spines of the maxillæ pectinated. _hab._--mundane; extremely common. on ships' bottoms from all parts of the world. arctic sea. greenland. pacific ocean. often attached to coronulæ on whales. on slow-moving fish, according to dr. a. gould. often associated with _c. virgata_, and _lepas anatifera_, _l. hillii_, and _l. anserifera_. _general appearance._--the capitulum (seen from above in pl. iii, fig. _a_) is slightly compressed, almost globular, composed of thick membrane, with two large, ear-like, flexible, tubular, folded appendages, at the upper end, opening into the sack. these appendages are seated behind the rudimentary terga when such are present, or behind the spots which they would have held if not aborted. in a young condition they are tubular, but not folded; and often, according to prof. macgillivray, either one or both are at first imperforate. they are formed externally of the outer membrane of the capitulum (rendered thin where folded), and internally of a prolongation of the inner tunic of the sack; between the two, there is, as around the whole sack, a double layer of corium. a section across both appendages, near their bases, is given in pl. iii, fig. _b_, showing how they are folded,--the chief fold being directed from below upwards, with a smaller fold, not always present, from between the two, outwards. the folds sometimes do not exactly correspond on opposite sides of the same individual; they are almost confined to the lower part, the orifice itself being often simply tubular. these appendages are sometimes very nearly as long as the whole capitulum: a section near their bases is sub-triangular. i shall presently make some remarks on their functions and manner of formation. the _scuta_, as well as the other valves, are imperfectly calcified: shape, variable. they usually consist of two lobes or plates, placed at above a right angle to each other, and rarely (fig. _c_) almost in a straight line; the lower lobe is more pointed and narrower than the upper; the two correspond to the lower and middle lobes in the scuta of _c. virgata_, the upper one being here absent. the _terga_ are developed in an extremely variable degree; they are often entirely cast off and absent. in very young specimens, they are of the same length with the carina, but after the carina has ceased to grow, the terga always increase a little, and sometimes to such a degree as to be even thirty or forty times as long as carina. when most developed (fig. _a_) they are not above one third as long as the scuta, to which they lie at nearly right angles; they consist of imperfectly calcified plates, square at both ends, slightly broader and thinner at the end towards the carina, where they are a little curled inwards, than at the opposite end; they are not quite flat in any one plane; internally they are slightly concave; finally, i may add, they nearly resemble in miniature the terga of _c. virgata_. in full grown specimens, the terga almost invariably drop out and are lost; but even in this case, a long brownish cleft in the membrane of the capitulum, marks their former position. the orifice of the capitulum is usually notched between the terga, or between the clefts left by them; on each side of the notch there is a slight prominence. in some few cases, however, there is no trace of this notch. behind the terga or the clefts, the great ear-like appendages, as we have seen, are situated. _carina_, rudimentary (fig. ) and often absent; it is pointed-elliptical, and is rarely above the / th of an inch long. after arriving at this full size, calcareous matter is added to the under surface over a less and less area, so that it becomes internally pointed, and finally, in place of calcareous matter, continuous sheets of chitine are spread out beneath it; hence, during the disintegration of the outer surface, the carina comes to project more and more, and at last drops out; subsequently, even the little hole in which it was imbedded, disintegrates and disappears. _peduncle_, cylindrical, distinctly separated from the capitulum, and generally twice or thrice as long as it: the thickness of the outer membrane generally great, but variable: surface of attachment variable, either pointed, or widely expanded, or formed into divergent projections. _filamentary appendages_, seven on each side, highly developed, long and tapering; there are two beneath the basal articulation of the first cirrus, and one on the posterior margin of the pedicel of each cirrus, excepting the sixth pair; the filaments on the pedicels are nearly twice as long as the cirri themselves. _mouth_,--mandibles, with the five teeth nearly equidistant, and towards their bases finely pectinated on both sides; inferior angle rudimentary, often represented by a single minute spine: in one specimen, there were only four teeth on one side. maxillæ, with five steps, not very distinct from each other, with the first step much curved. the larger of the two upper great unequal spines is pectinated, like the teeth of the mandibles; there is a third long finer spine beneath the upper large pair. _cirri_ rather short, broad, with the anterior faces of the segments protuberant, especially those of the first cirrus and of the anterior ramus of the second pair: spines on the anterior cirri doubly serrated. posterior cirri, with the intermediate spines between the pairs, long; dorsal tufts, minute. on the lower segment of the pedicels of the four posterior cirri, there are two separate tufts of bristles. _colours_ extremely variable; sometimes five longitudinal bands of dark purple can be distinctly seen (as in _c. virgata_) on the peduncle, these bands becoming more or less confluent on the capitulum; at other times, the capitulum is more or less spotted, or often nearly uniformly purple: the sack, cirri and trophi are, also, purple. _size._--the largest specimen which i have seen was, including the peduncle and ears, five inches in length, the capitulum itself being rather above one inch in length, and / ths of an inch in breadth. _general remarks._--i have come to the same conclusion with prof. macgillivray, concerning the variability of this form, and i believe there is only one true species. with respect to dr. coates's species, viz., _otion depressa_ and _o. saccutifera_, though i have not seen specimens, i can hardly doubt, from the insufficient characters given, that they are mere varieties. with respect to the ear-like appendages, we shall presently see in _c. virgata_, that at corresponding points on the capitulum (tab. iii, fig. _b_), there are two slight, closed prominences. according to professor macgillivray, in _c. aurita_, every gradation can be followed by which the appendages, at first closed, become tubular and open. the opening would ensue, if the corium became absorbed at the bottom of the appendages whilst still imperforate, for then the inner tunic would be cast off at the next moult and would not be re-formed, whilst the outer membrane would gradually disintegrate together with the other external parts of the capitulum, and not being re-formed at this point, an aperture would at last be left. these appendages have no relation to the generative system: the ovarian tubes, which surround the sack do not extend into them; nor do the ovigerous lamellæ. i believe, that their function is respiratory: the corium lining them is traversed by river-like circulatory channels, and their much-folded, tubular and open structure must freely expose a large surface to the circumambient water. why this species should require larger respiratory organs than any other, i know not. in this species, moreover, the filamentary appendages are developed to a greater extent than in any other cirripede; in most genera, the surface of the body and of the sack suffices for respiration. . conchoderma virgata. pl. iii, fig. . pl. ix, fig. . lepas virgata. _spengler._ skrifter naturhist. selbskabet., b. i, , tab. vi, fig. . ---- coriacea. _poli._ test. utriusque sicil., pl. vi, fig. , . ---- membranacea. _montagu._ test. brit. supp., p. , , et linn. trans., vol. xi, tab. xii, fig. . conchoderma virgatum. _olfers._ magaz. gesells. naturfor. freunde, berlin, , p. , ( d quartel).[ ] branta virgata. _oken._ lehrbuch der gesell., th. ii, p. , . senoclita fasciata. _schumacher._ essai d'un nouveau syst., . cineras vittata. _leach._ encyclop. brit. supp., tom. iii, plate. . ---- cranchii (!) chelonophilus (!) olfersii (!). _leach._ tuckey's congo expedition, p. , . ---- megalepis (!) montagui (!) rissoanus. _leach._ zool. journal, vol. ii, p. , . ---- membranacea. _macgillivray._ edin. new phil. journal, vol. xxxix, p. , . ---- bicolor. _risso._ hist. nat. des productions, &c., , tom. iv, p. . ---- vittatus. _brown._ illust. of conch., , pl. li, figs. - . gymnolepas cranchii. _de blainville._ dict. des sci. nat. hist., . pamina trilineata (!) (var. monstr.). _j. e. gray._ annals of phil., vol. x, . [ ] see page respecting this date. _c. scutis trilobatis: tergis intùs concavis, apicibus introrsùm leviter curvatis: carinâ modicâ, leviter curvatâ: pedunculo in capitulum coalescente._ scuta three-lobed: terga concave internally, with their apices slightly curved inwards: carina moderately developed, slightly curved: peduncle blending into the capitulum. no filament attached to the pedicel of the second cirrus. _var. chelonophilus_ (pl. iii, fig. _c_). terga, minute, nearly straight, solid, acuminated at both ends, placed far distant from the other valves: carina, either minute and acuminated at both ends, or moderately developed and slightly arched and blunt at both ends: lateral lobes of the scuta broad: valves imperfectly calcified. _hab._--mundane: extremely common on ships' bottoms from all parts of the world. falkland islands. galapagos islands, pacific ocean. attached to sea-weed, turtle and other objects. often associated with _conchoderma aurita_, _lepas anatifera_, _l. hillii_, and _l. anserifera_. _general appearance._ capitulum, flattened, gradually blending into the peduncle; summit square, rarely obtusely pointed. membrane, thin. valves, thin, small, sometimes imperfectly calcified, very variable in shape and in proportional length, and therefore, situated at variable distances from each other, but always remote and imbedded in membrane. _scuta_, trilobed, consisting of an upper and lower lobe (the latter generally the broadest), united into a straight flat disc, with a third lobe standing out from the middle of the exterior margin, generally at an angle of from ° to ° (rarely at right angles) to the upper part, and generally (but not always) bending a little inwards. the shape of the lateral lobe varies from rounded oblong to an equilateral triangle; as it approaches this latter form, it becomes much wider than the upper or lower lobes. in one specimen, and only on one side, the scutum (fig. _d_) presented five points or projections. in some specimens, the scuta are very imperfectly calcified, and consist of several quite separate beads of calcareous matter of irregular shape, held together by tough brown membrane. _terga_, extremely variable in shape, placed at nearly right angles to the scuta: beyond their carinal ends (fig. _b_), the capitulum presents two small prominences, which are important as indicating the position of the homologous, ear-like appendages in _c. aurita_.[ ] the upper ends of the terga are imbedded in membrane, and project freely like little horns for about one third of their length: this free portion exactly answers to the projecting portion, bounded by the two occludent margins, in the terga of lepas. the freely projecting portion is generally curled inwards, and the carinal portion more or less outwards,--the form of the letter =s= being thus approached; but the curvatures are not exactly in the same plane. the whole valve is generally of nearly equal width throughout, the carinal part being a very little (but in some specimens considerably) wider; internally, it is deeply concave; both points generally are blunt and rounded. in some rare varieties (_cineras chelonophilus_ of leach, fig. _c_), the terga are much smaller and flat, with both points sharp, the whole upper portion being much and abruptly attenuated, and internally, without a trace of a concavity. generally, the terga are about two thirds of the length of the scuta, rarely only half their length; generally, they are separated from the apices of the scuta by about their own length, rarely by twice their own length. generally, the terga are shorter than the carina, but sometimes a very little longer than it: generally they are distant by one third or one fourth of their own length from the apex of the carina, rarely by their entire length. [ ] these have also been observed by dr. coates; see 'journal of acad. nat. sci. philadelphia,' vol. vi, p. , . _carina_ (fig. _a_), lying nearly parallel to the scuta, concave within, very slightly bowed, of nearly the same width throughout, but with the lower third beneath the umbo, generally a trace wider than the upper part. length, variable, generally rather longer (sometimes by even one third of its own length) than the scuta, but sometimes equalling only three fourths of the length of the scuta; generally longer than the terga. upper and lower points rounded; in rare varieties, both ends are sharply acuminated. the carina and terga are generally most acuminated where they are smallest and least perfectly calcified; and consequently, in this same state, the valves stand furthest apart. _peduncle_, flattened, gradually widening as it joins the capitulum, to which it is generally about equal in length, or a little longer. _filamentary appendages._--six on each side (pl. ix, fig. ), of which one (_h_) is seated on the posterior margin of a swelling, beneath the basal articulation of the first cirrus, and this is the longest; the second (_g_) is short and thick, and is seated a little lower on the side of the prosoma, (near to this, there are also two little pap-like eminences;) the third (_i_) is seated on the posterior margin of the pedicel of the first cirrus, above the basal articulation; the fourth, fifth, and sixth (_j_, _k_, _l_) in similar positions on the pedicels of the third, fourth, and fifth cirri. these three latter filaments are shorter and smaller than the first three. at the base of the second cirrus, which has no proper filament, there is a swelling as if one had been united to it. _mouth._--_mandibles_, with the basal edges of the five teeth pectinated by minute, short, strong spines on one side; inferior angle extremely short. in one specimen, there was a minute pectinated tooth between the first and second; in another, the second tooth was bifid on its summit; in another, the fourth was rudimentary. _maxillæ_, with five steps: sometimes each step commences with a spine rather larger than the others; at the upper angle, there are two large unequal spines (neither pectinated,) with a third longer and thinner, seated a little below. _outer maxillæ_ (pl. x, fig. ), simple. _cirri_, with twice as many segments in the sixth cirrus as in first; spines on the first and second cirri doubly serrated. _colours_ (when alive).--capitulum and peduncle grey, with a tinge of blue, with six black bands, tinged with purplish brown. the two bands near the carina become confluent on the peduncle, and sometimes disappear; the carina is edged, and the interspace between the two scuta, coloured with the same dark tint. the whole body and the pedicels of the cirri are dark lead-colour, with the segments of the cirri almost black: in some specimens, the colour seems laterally abraded from the cirri. ova white, becoming in spirits pinkish, and then yellow. the dark bands on the capitulum and peduncle become in spirits purple; but are sometimes discharged; the general grey tint disappears. professor macgillivray states that many individuals are light-brown or yellowish-grey, with irregular brown streaks, or crowded dots: he states that in very young specimens the colours are paler, and the valves spicular. _size._--the largest specimen which i have seen, had a capitulum rather above one inch long and three fourths of an inch wide: growth very rapid. _monstrous variety._--in the british museum, there is a dried and somewhat injured specimen of a monstrous variety, the _pamina trilineata_ of j. e. gray: it differs from the common form only in having a tubular projection, just behind the notch separating the upper points of the terga; this tube springs from over the terga, and is, therefore, in a different position from the ear-like appendages in _conchoderma aurita_. it does not open into the sack: the membrane composing it appears to have been double in the upper part, and to have been lined with corium: in short, this tube seems to have been an excrescence or tumour, of a cup or tubular form. _general remarks._--it will have been seen how much subject to variation the valves of this species are. when i first examined the _cineras chelonophilus_ of leach, from ° n. lat., atlantic ocean, and found in many specimens, both old and young, that the terga were very small, flat, acuminated at both ends, with a projecting shoulder on the carinal margin, and situated at about their own length from the apex of the carina, and at twice their own length from the scuta; and when i found the carina acuminated at both ends, and the scuta very imperfectly calcified, with the lateral lobe broad, flat, and standing out at right angles; and lastly, when i found the whole capitulum bluntly pointed, instead of being square on the summit, i had not the least doubt, that it was a quite distinct species. afterwards, i found in the _cineras olfersii_ of leach, from the south atlantic, the same form of terga; but within slightly more concave or furrowed, and not nearly so small, and therefore not placed at above half so great a distance from the other valves; and here, the carina had its usual outline, as had nearly the scutum on one side, whereas, on the other side, it presented a new and peculiar form, having five ridges or points, and was imperfectly calcified; seeing this, it was impossible to place much weight in the precise form or size (and therefore, relative separation,) of the calcified valves; and on close examination, i found every part of the mouth and cirri identical in leach's _cineras chelonophilus_ and _c. olfersii_, and in the common form. therefore, i conclude, that _c. chelonophilus_, and still more _c. olfersii_, are only varieties; the terga presenting the greatest, yet variable, amount of difference, namely, in their acumination and flatness. we know, also, that in the species of the closely allied genus of lepas, the terga are very variable in shape, and this is the case, even in a still more marked degree, in _conchoderma aurita_. professor macgillivray, i may add, has come to a similar conclusion regarding the extreme variability of the valves of this species. as the varieties here mentioned are very remarkable, and may perhaps turn out to be true species, i think they are worth describing in some detail: i will only further add, that we must either make several new species, or consider, as i have done, several forms as mere varieties. c. virgata, var. chelonophilus of _leach_. pl. iii, fig. _c_. atlantic ocean, ° ´ n., ° ´ w. on the testudo caretta. capitulum not above half an inch long, composed of very thin membrane, with six bands (as stated by leach) of faint colour; summit bluntly pointed; valves very small, far distant from each other; the scuta are imperfectly calcified, the central part of the umbo consisting of thick, brown chitine, with imbedded shelly beads; terga and carina perfectly calcified. _scuta_ trilobed, flat, within slightly concave, upper lobe rather more acuminated than the lower; lateral lobe triangular in outline, twice as wide as either the upper or lower lobes; lying in the same plane with them and standing out at almost exactly right angle. _terga_, flat; placed obliquely to the scuta, and barely half as long; separated from them by nearly twice their own length; upper and lower points acuminated; the umbo on the carinal margin forms a projecting shoulder; the scutal margin is straight, they are separated by nearly their own length from the apex of the carina. _carina_ narrow, very slightly arched, within slightly concave, both points acuminated; lower third rather wider than the upper part; in length equalling three fourths of the scuta, and longer by one third than the terga; about as wide as the latter. _filaments, cirri, and mouth_ exactly as before. in some specimens sent to me by the rev. r. t. lowe from off the _testudo caretta_, taken near madeira, the scuta have their lateral lobes broad and nearly rectangular: the carina extends nearly to between the terga: the terga are nearly straight, somewhat pointed at both ends, distant from the scuta, almost solid within, with their upper points bowed outwards: the whole capitulum is bluntly pointed, as in the _var. chenophilus_, to which form this makes a rather near approach. c. virgata, var. olfersii. cineras olfersii. _leach._ tuckey's congo expedition. _hab._ south atlantic ocean. _scuta_, unlike on the opposite sides of the same individual, on one side with a single lateral lobe as usual, but this very narrow, on the other (fig. _d_), with five lobes or projections. _terga_ slightly concave within, separated by a little more than their own length from the tips of the scuta, and by one third of their own length from the tip of the carina. _carina_ longer than the scuta by about one fifth or one sixth of its own length, blunt at both ends, considerably bowed. again, i possess a group of remarkably fine specimens given me by mr. l. reeve, from the southern ocean, (as i infer from a young _lepas australis_ adhering to them,) in which all the individuals, young and old, are characterised as follows:--scuta, with the lateral lobe generally broad, but to a very varying extent, with the upper and lower lobes extremely sharp. terga separated from the scuta, by one and a fourth of their own length, and by their own length from the carina; somewhat acuminated at both ends, nearly straight, with a very slight shoulder near the umbo. carina equalling the terga in length, and about three fourths of the length of the scuta; neither the upper nor lower point much acuminated. all the valves most imperfectly calcified: in one specimen, the scutum on one side was simply horny, without a particle of calcareous matter. the summit of the capitulum nearly intermediate in outline between the common square, and bluntly-pointed form of _var. chelonophilus_. i compared the cirri and trophi with those of a common variety, and could detect not the smallest difference. this variety differs from _var. olfersii_, in the less development of its carina, and from _chelonophilus_, in the greater development of its carina, and especially of its terga. it would appear as if the great variability of the valves was connected with the absence of calcareous matter. . conchoderma hunteri. pl. iii, fig. . cineras hunteri. _r. owen._ cat. mus. coll. of surgeons, ( ), invert. part i., p. . _c. valvis angustis: scutis trilobatis, prominentiâ laterali non latiore quam inferior: tergorum parte superiore pæne rectangulè secundùm aperturæ marginem flexâ: carinâ valde arcuatâ: pedunculo brevi, in capitulum coalescente._ valves, narrow: scuta, trilobed, with the lateral lobe not wider than the lower one: terga, with the upper part bent almost rectangularly along the margin of the orifice: carina considerably arched: peduncle short, blending into the capitulum. no filament attached to the pedicel of the second cirrus. _var._--carina absent; scuta, with the upper lobe absent; terga, with the rectangular projection little developed. attached to the skin of a snake, probably the hydeus or pelamis bicolor, and therefore from the tropical indian or pacific oceans. mus. coll. of surgeons.[ ] [ ] i owe to the kindness of professor owen, an examination of these specimens, and information regarding them. _capitulum_, with the membrane very thin; summit obtusely pointed. valves linear and thin. _scuta_, elongated, flat, with the upper projecting lobe rather more acuminated than the lower, and equalling it in length; lateral lobe not wider than the lower, and about as long as it, forming an angle of about ° with the upper one. _terga_, of somewhat variable length, generally about half as long as the carina, narrow, and of nearly equal width throughout; lower point sharp; externally convex; internally solid, with a trace of a central depressed line; the upper fourth part generally a little bowed out of the plane of the lower part, and abruptly bent at rather above a right angle along the occludent margin of the orifice. these valves are situated at about half their own length from the upper points of the scuta. _carina_ considerably arched, extending to the lower points of the terga, or running up between them for even half their length; equally narrow throughout; scarcely broader than the terga; both points rounded; internally concave; the lower point does not extend as far down as that of the lower lobe of the scuta. _peduncle_, narrow, shorter than the capitulum, which, in the largest specimen was / ths of an inch long. longitudinal purple bands appear to have originally existed on the peduncle. _filamentary appendages, trophi and cirri_ all similar to the same parts in _c. virgata_; but perhaps the anterior faces of the segments in the posterior cirri are rather less protuberant; perhaps also the first cirrus is rather shorter in proportion to the sixth cirrus. _variety_ (_monstrous_).--amongst the specimens, i found one very young one, in which the scuta had not upper lobes, so that in outline they exactly resembled the scuta in the quite distinct _c. aurita_: there was not even a rudiment of a carina: the tergum, _on one side_, was externally bordered by a projecting, semicircular, calcified disc; and the upper points of both terga showed only traces of the rectangular projection, which is the chief characteristic of _c. hunteri_. from these traces alone, and from the specimen being mingled with the others, do i here include this variety. _general remarks._--i have very great doubts whether i have acted rightly in considering this as a species; but as there were many specimens, old and young, all differing remarkably from the common species, this form anyhow deserves description. the points by which it can be distinguished from _c. virgata_, are--the almost rectangular manner in which the upper portion of the tergum is bent outwards and along the orifice of the sack--the narrowness of all the valves, and especially of the lateral lobes of the scuta,--and lastly, the greater curvature of the carina, which in some specimens runs up far between the terga; had this last character been constant, it would have been an important one, but such is far from being the case. great as are these differences in the valves, and though common to many specimens, they are not sufficient to convince me that it is a true species, and i should not be at all surprised at varieties, intermediate between it and the common form, being hereafter found;--had a name not been already attached to it, i should not have given one. in the monstrous variety described, we see to what an extent the valves may vary. the _c. hunteri_ approaches nearest to the var. of _c. virgata_, called by leach _cineras chelonophilus_, for in both, the top of the capitulum is bluntly pointed and the terga are solid within; in the _var. chelonophilus_, the terga and carina are minute, whereas here, though very narrow, they are much elongated. certainly _c. chelonophilus_ has almost as strong a claim to rank as a species as _c. hunteri_; but, in the former, by the aid of other varieties, the differences were almost reduced to the peculiarities in the terga--the valves, the most subject to variation. in _c. hunteri_ we have other differences, and the form of the terga is even still more peculiar. i have, therefore, provisionally attached to it the specific name by which it is designated in the museum of the college of surgeons. from having been long kept in spirits, all aid from colour is lost. _genus_--alepas. pl. iii. alepas. _sander rang._ manuel des mollusques, . anatifa. _quoy_ et _gaimard_. voyage de l'astrolabe, . triton. _lesson._ voyage de la coquille, . cineras. _lesson._ secundum sander rang. _capitulum aut sine valvis, aut scutis corneis, pæne abditis._ capitulum without valves,[ ] or with horny, almost hidden, scuta. [ ] any one not attending to the characters derived from the softer parts of the balanidæ and lepadidæ, might easily confound with alepas the genus siphonicella (genus nov.), which, undoubtedly, though having the external appearance of a pedunculated cirripede, belongs to the balaninæ, and is closely related to coronula. filaments seated beneath the basal articulations of the first pair of cirri; mandibles, with two or three teeth; maxillæ notched, with the lower part irregular, projecting; caudal appendages multi-articulate. attached to various living objects, fixed or floating. _capitulum_ either entirely destitute of valves, or with transparent horny scuta, not containing any calcareous matter, and almost hidden in membrane. these scuta are formed of a lower and a lateral lobe, placed at above right angles to each other; they are added to by successive layers, and closely resemble in shape the scuta of the _conchoderma aurita_. the orifice in _a. tubulosa_ projects so much as to be almost tubular. in _a. parasita_ and _a. minuta_ it does not project, and is either moderately large, or very small in proportion to the length of the capitulum; from contraction it is much wrinkled. the membrane forming the capitulum is smooth and very transparent; it contains very few tubuli, except under certain irregular projections in _a. cornuta_. the _peduncle_ is rather short and narrow; it blends into the capitulum, and is not, in some of the species, separated from it by any distinct line; the surface of attachment is rather wide. within the peduncle we have the three usual layers of striæ-less muscles; namely, the innermost and longitudinal, which run lower down than the others; the middle and transverse; and, lastly, the exterior, oblique muscles, which cross each other (becoming transparent) on the rostral central line. these several muscles run up from the peduncle and surround the capitulum; from the transparency of the membranes they can be seen from the outside: they are particularly conspicuous round the orifice, which they probably serve to close. there is, in all cases, the usual adductor scutorum muscle (with transverse striæ), which is attached under the horny scuta, where such exist. the fact of the striæ-less muscles of the peduncle surrounding the whole capitulum, has been observed only in one other genus, namely anelasma. in consequence of this structure, the capitulum must possess considerable powers of contraction. the antennæ of the larva in the _alepas cornuta_ and _a. minuta_ have the sucking disc nearly circular, with the spines unusually plain on the distal as well as proximal margin. basal segment broad, much constricted where united to the disc. the ultimate segment has on the middle of the outer margin, in _a. cornuta_, two minute spines, which i have not observed in any other cirripede: on the summit there are the usual spines. _size._--three of the species are small. _filamentary appendages._--these are rather small; there is only one on each side, situated on the posterior margin of a slight swelling, beneath the basal articulation of the first cirrus; and therefore in the position in which the filaments are most constant in lepas, and where they likewise occur in conchoderma. _body._--the prosoma is either pretty well developed or is small, according as the first cirrus is placed near to, or far from the second cirrus. _mouth._--labrum moderately bullate, with the lower part more or less produced; crest with blunt, bead-like teeth, and short hairs. _palpi_ (pl. x, fig. ), acuminated and narrow to an unusual degree. _mandibles_, with two or three teeth, and the inferior angle acuminated; the lateral bristles unusually strong, so as to give the main teeth the _appearance_ of being pectinated. _maxillæ_, widely notched, with three great upper spines; the part beneath the notch projecting, and either straight or irregular. _outer maxillæ_, with the inner bristles either continuous or divided into two groups: exteriorly there is a smaller or larger prominence, with long bristles. the olfactory orifices are either slightly, or not at all protuberant. _cirri._--in the three posterior pair, the segments have their bristles arranged in a transverse row, either in the form of a narrow brush, or consisting only of a single pair with two or three minute, intermediate, and lateral marginal spines. the anterior ramus of the second cirrus is thicker, and more thickly clothed with spines than is the posterior ramus: this latter ramus, however, and both rami of the third cirrus, are rather more thickly clothed with spines than are the three posterior pair. the unique case in _a. cornuta_ of the inner rami of the fifth and sixth cirri being rudimentary (pl. x, fig. ) will be minutely described under that species. _caudal appendages_, thin, tapering, multi-articulate, about as long as the pedicels of the sixth cirrus. _stomach._--the oesophagus runs in a somewhat sinuous course, and enters the top of the stomach obliquely. there are no cæca. the biliary envelope presents a reticulated structure, instead of the usual longitudinal folds. _generative system._--the penis is hairy, not very long, and ringed or articulated in an unusually plain manner; the space between each ring being about one fourth of the diameter of the penis: the unarticulated basal portion or support is here remarkably long. the vesiculæ seminales are long, tortuous, and enter the prosoma. the ovarian tubes are of wide diameter: in _a. cornuta_ they surround the whole capitulum. the ovigerous fræna are small, constricted at the base, and square on the free margin, which is studded with minute glandular beads, borne on the finest footstalks. _range._--southern shores of england, mediterranean, atlantic, west indies, new zealand, attached to various objects. _a. parasita_ has been always taken on medusæ.[ ] [ ] it appears that solander (dillwyn des. cat., vol. i, p. ) observed a species of this genus adhering to a medusa on the coast of brazil. mr. cocks informs me that an alepas, apparently _a. parasita_, has been cast on shore near falmouth, attached to a cyanæa; and that two other specimens adhered to the bottom of a vessel arriving at that port from odessa. _affinities._--this genus differs from all, except anelasma, in the manner in which the striæ-less muscles of the peduncle run up and surround the capitulum, and likewise in the reticulated character of the biliary envelope of the stomach. to conchoderma, especially to _c. aurita_, there is manifest affinity in the form of the horny scuta: there is also some affinity to this same genus in the presence of filamentary appendages though here little developed, and in the circular form of the disc of the larval antennæ, and, lastly, in the ovarian tubes in _a. cornuta_ surrounding the capitulum. there is quite as close, if not closer affinity to ibla, in the following peculiarities,--in the curved oesophagus,--in the general character of the cirri and trophi, with the olfactory orifices in one species in some degree prominent,--in the multi-articulated caudal appendages,--and in the plainly-articulated penis, with its elongated unarticulated support, though both these characters are exaggerated in ibla. lastly, the scuta in ibla, though not at all resembling in shape those of _a. cornuta_, are formed without calcareous matter; and again, in ibla, the muscles of the peduncle run up to the bases of the valves, and so almost surround the space in which the animal's body is lodged. the four species of alepas appear to form two little groups; viz. _a. parasita_ and _a. minuta_ on the one hand, and _a. cornuta_ and _a. tubulosa_ on the other. . alepas minuta. tab. iii, fig. . alepas minuta. _philippi._ enumeratio mollusc. siciliæ, , tab. xii, fig. . ---- ---- _a. costa._ esercitazione accadem., vol. ii, part i, naples, , pl. iii, fig. (secundum guerin in revue zoolog., , p. .) ---- ---- _chenu._ illust. conch., pl. iii, figs. - . _a. aperturâ non prominente, capituli longitudinis vix tertiam partem æquante: scutis corneis, pæne absconditis: longitudine totâ ad quartam unciæ partem._ orifice not protuberant, one third of the length of the capitulum: scuta horny, almost hidden. total length quarter of an inch. outer maxillæ, with the spines in front continuous; posterior cirri, with several long spines arranged in a transverse row on each segment; caudal appendages longer than the pedicels of the sixth cirrus. sicily; attached to a cidaris:[ ] island of capri (_a. costa_). [ ] i am greatly indebted to professor j. müller, of berlin, for kindly lending me specimens. capitulum oval, blending insensibly into the peduncle; moderately flattened; composed of thin structureless membrane, with the exception of two horny, almost quite hidden scuta. orifice situated near the summit, and in a line, which is oblique to the longitudinal axis of the peduncle; much wrinkled; barely one third of the length of the whole capitulum. the _scuta_, consist of yellowish, transparent, horny, laminated chitine, without any calcareous matter; externally covered by the common integument of the capitulum; these valves are placed very near to each other, close under the orifice, and therefore high up on the capitulum; the membrane between them is smooth and unwrinkled; they are formed of two rather acuminated lobes, joining each other at above a right angle; one lobe (the longer one) stretching nearly transversely across the capitulum, the other running down parallel to its rostral margin: in shape and position they resemble the scuta of _conchoderma aurita_; and if another lobe had been developed it would have run along the orifice, and then these valves would have resembled the scuta of _conchoderma virgata_. in a specimen with a capitulum / ths of an inch long, the scuta from point to point were / th of an inch in length. _peduncle_, much wrinkled, about one third in diameter of the capitulum, and shorter than it; at the base it is generally expanded into two or three finger-like projections. _length_ of the largest specimen, about one fourth of an inch. _colour_, according to a. costa in the work above cited, "rufo-flava vittatâ;" but after spirits the whole becomes uniformly yellowish. _filamentary appendages_, situated beneath the basal articulation of the first cirrus, on the posterior edge of the usual enlargement; acuminated, about two thirds of the length of the shorter ramus of the first cirrus. _prosoma_ well developed. _mouth._--on each side there are two slight prominences; one under the mandibles, the other transverse nearer to the adductor muscle. _labrum_, placed near the adductor muscle, with the upper part not more bullate than the lower part; crest with a row of blunt teeth, and many fine bristles growing chiefly outside the teeth; there are many fine bristles on the inner or supra-oesophageal fold of the labrum. _palpi_ not nearly touching each other, pointing towards the adductor: much hollowed out on their inner sides, hence narrow and acuminated, with doubly serrated bristles. _mandibles_, with three teeth and the inferior angle ending in a single sharp spine; whole inferior portion narrow; first tooth as far from the second, as the latter from the inferior angle; owing to the presence of short thick spines projecting from the sides of the jaw, the lower edges of the second and third teeth appear pectinated. _maxillæ_, nearly two thirds of the width of the mandibles; beneath the three larger upper spines there is a considerable notch, and the whole lower part is very slightly upraised; edge irregular, with obscure traces of either two projections, or perhaps of four steps. _outer maxillæ_, with bristles in front continuous; exteriorly there is a slight prominence near each olfactory orifice, with a tuft of long bristles. _cirri_ not much elongated; first pair placed not quite close to the second; five posterior cirri nearly equal in length; pedicels long, with irregularly scattered spines,--those on the pedicel of the first cirrus beautifully and conspicuously feathered. the segments of the three posterior pair are _not_ very short or broad; very slightly protuberant, each with a long transverse, crescentic, narrow brush of bristles, which stand two or three deep in the middle, but on the sides are single: dorsal tufts long, and in the upper segments the spines are thick and claw-like. this structure is common to all the cirri. first cirrus with the rami unequal in length by two segments; from the shortness of the pedicel, this cirrus is much shorter than the second, but its rami are about two thirds of the length of those of the second cirrus. second cirrus (and in a less degree the third cirrus), with the anterior ramus a shade broader than the posterior ramus, and rather more thickly covered with spines than are the three posterior cirri. fifteen segments in the sixth cirrus; nine in the longer ramus of the first cirrus. _caudal appendages_, rather longer than the pedicels of the sixth cirrus, composed of seven cylindrical, tapering segments, each with a circle of very fine bristles on its summit. the acoustic (?) sacks are situated some way below the basal articulations of the first cirrus. . alepas parasita. alepas parasita. _sander rang._ man. des mollusq., p. , pl. viii, fig. , .[ ] anatifa univalvis. _quoy_ et _gaimard_. annales des sciences, nat., tom. x, p. , , pl. vii, fig. . ---- parasita. _quoy_ et _gaimard_. voyage de l'astrolabe, pl. xciii, . triton (alepas) fasciculatus. _lesson._ voyage de la coquille. mollusc. pl. xvi, fig. , tom. ii, part i, , p. . [ ] m. sander rang rejects the specific name "_univalvis_," as signifying a generic character, and he has been followed in this by mm. quoy and gaimard themselves. this, according to the rules of the british association, would hardly have been a sufficient reason, but it appears that _a. parasita_, like _a. minuta_, has a pair of horny scuta or valves; and, therefore, the name _univalvis_ is too obviously false to be retained. with respect to the generic name triton, i fully believe that it was applied by linnæus to the cast-off exuviæ of sessile cirripedes. _a. aperturâ non prominente, capituli longitudinis / æquante: scutis corneis: longitudine totâ ad uncias._ orifice not protuberant, equalling two thirds of the length of the capitulum: scuta horny. total length two inches. animal unknown. parasitic on medusæ, mediterranean and atlantic oceans: south shore of england(?)[ ] i have not seen this species, and have drawn up the above specific character from the plates and brief descriptions in the voyages of the coquille and astrolabe. m. lesson thinks that his species differs from that of mm. quoy and gaimard; but as the peculiar yellow colour of the capitulum, general shape, short cirri, habits and range, are all common to both, i believe that they are identical. there is, however, one singular difference, namely, that the cirri are coloured bright blue in the plate in the voyage of the astrolabe, and yellowish in that in the voyage of the coquille: this possibly may have resulted from the drawing in the latter case having been made from a specimen long kept in spirits. m. lesson says that there are seven pair of cirri, from which i infer that this species has a pair of long, articulated, caudal appendages: he asserts that each cirrus has ten segments; the cirri are short and little curled. m. lesson remarks, that "deux languettes bifurques occupent le bas de l'ouverture ovale:" i can hardly doubt but that these are horny scuta of nearly the same shape as in _a. minuta_. the whole animal seems to be extremely transparent, and of a "jaune-citron clair." mm. quoy and gaimard, however, remark, that different specimens vary from white to yellow. entire length two inches, of which the capitulum is fourteen french lines. the peduncle is narrow and short. [ ] see foot-note, p. . . alepas cornuta. pl. iii, fig. . _a. aperturâ parvâ, leviter prominente: scutis nullis: capitulo plerumque tribus, parvis, compressis eminentiis secundum carinalem marginem instructo._ orifice small, slightly protuberant; capitulum without horny scuta; generally with three small flattened projections along the carinal margin. outer maxillæ with the inner bristles divided into two groups; segments of the posterior cirri extremely numerous, each with one pair of main spines; inner rami of the fifth and sixth cirri rudimentary. st. vincent's, west indies, attached to an antipathes, collected by the rev. l. guilding. _capitulum_ globular, slightly flattened, smooth, translucent, entirely destitute of valves; orifice slightly projecting or tubular, parallel to the longitudinal axis of the peduncle, with the edges sinuous; it appears more tubular than it really is, from the convexity of the part of the capitulum immediately beneath the orifice. three small, flexible, horny, irregular prominences project from the carinal margin; one at the bottom of the capitulum; a second about half-way up it; and a third generally close to the orifice; but their positions vary a little, and the prominences vary still more in shape and size, being either rounded and very small, or much flattened and considerably prominent; they are imperforate; in the membrane under them a few tubuli may be seen, which are not elsewhere visible; their summits are roughened with very minute points and beads of chitine; others, still minuter, are scattered over the whole capitulum. _peduncle_ short, narrower than the capitulum, into which it insensibly blends; strongly wrinkled; surface of attachment wide; position with respect to the branches of the coralline, various. _size and colour._--the largest specimen, including the peduncle, was half an inch in length, and / ths of an inch across the capitulum; colour, after having been long in spirits, brownish-yellow. _filamentary appendages_, one on each side, short, tapering and pointed; seated on the posterior margin of a slight swelling beneath the basal articulation of the first cirrus; they are about equal in length to the pedicels of this cirrus. the _mouth_ is directed abdominally; labrum much produced downwards, so as to be far separated from the adductor muscle; moderately bullate, forming about one third of the longitudinal axis of the entire mouth; upper part forming a slightly overhanging prominence; crest with a row of blunt, bead-like teeth, and externally to them there are numerous curved short bristles. _palpi_ (pl. x, fig. ,) unusually narrow, a little hollowed out along their inner margins; pointing towards the adductor muscle; thickly covered with doubly serrated bristles. _mandibles_, with either two or three teeth; inferior angle narrow and tooth-like; both sides covered with strong bristles or spines, projecting beyond the toothed edge. _maxillæ_, with two large upper spines, and a third rather distant from them; beneath these, there is a wide notch or hollow; inferior part square, projecting, bearing six pair of moderately long spines, (of which the central one is the longest,) mingled with finer ones. _outer maxillæ_, with a semicircular outline; the serrated bristles in front are divided into two groups; externally there is a rounded and very considerable projection covered with long bristles. olfactory orifices slightly prominent, approximate, seated within and just beneath the rounded projections at the base of the maxillæ. _body._--prosoma little developed; thorax small. _cirri_, extremely long, but slightly curled, capable of being protruded so as almost to touch the base of the peduncle or the surface of attachment; segments short, extraordinarily numerous. in the three posterior cirri (excepting the rudimentary rami), each segment supports two long, slightly serrated spines, with two or three minute intermediate ones, and with one or two very short, thick spines on the inner and upper lateral margins: dorsal tufts with only two or three long, fine, unequal spines. all the segments are extremely flat, broad, short, with their anterior faces not protuberant; the greater number of the segments, especially the lower ones, have very obscure articulations, to be seen only with a high power, and these can be capable of little or no movement. _first cirrus_ placed far from the second, with the top of its pedicel on a level with the top of the lower segment of the pedicel of the second cirrus; rami short, barely half the length of those of the second cirrus; unequal, the anterior ramus being only two thirds of the length of the posterior one; the shorter ramus contains thirteen inverted-conical segments, with one side rather protuberant; the longer ramus contains twenty-three thinner segments; the segments on both rami are clothed with bristles, arranged in two or three rows, forming narrow transverse brushes. _second cirrus_, with its pedicel long, and its rami nearly equalling in length those of the sixth pair; the two rami of nearly equal length; the anterior one rather thicker than the posterior one; this posterior ramus has fifty-five segments! the bristles on the second and third cirri are arranged on the same principle as on the three posterior pair; but from an increase in size and number of the little intermediate bristles between the main pairs, and of those on the lateral rims, the segments, especially the basal ones, of the anterior ramus of the second cirrus, are clothed with thin brushes of bristles; these same bristles, on the posterior ramus of the second, and on both rami of the third cirrus, can hardly be said to form brushes, though longer and more numerous than those on the three posterior pair of cirri. _fifth and sixth cirri._--these resemble each other, and have their inner or posterior rami in an almost rudimentary condition. in the sixth cirrus (pl. x, fig. ) the outer ramus (_a_) has actually sixty-three segments, whereas the rudimentary ramus (_k_) has only eleven, nearly cylindrical segments. these are furnished with extremely minute spines, of which those on the dorsal face are longer than those on the anterior face; the spines on the summit of the terminal segment are the longest; the segments are not half as thick as the normal ones in the outer ramus. the rudimentary ramus is only one seventh part longer than the pedicel which supports both it and the normal ramus. in the fifth cirrus, the rudimentary ramus is rather longer, and has thirteen segments, resembling those in the rudimentary ramus of the sixth. in the fourth cirrus there is no trace of this peculiar structure, the rami being equal in length and strength. the two rudimentary rami on each side are nearly straight, and seem incapable of movement; they project out behind the normal rami, and closely resemble in general appearance, the two caudal appendages; hence this cirripede, at first sight, appears to be six-tailed. _pedicels of cirri._--the pedicel of the first pair is very short; that of the second is the longest; those of the posterior cirri decreasing in length. upper segments short; lower segments in the second, third and fourth cirri, irregularly and rather thickly clothed with bristles, but in the fifth and sixth cirri, there is a regular double row of main spines, with some minute intermediate ones: hence there is a difference, both in the rami and in the pedicels, between the fourth cirrus and the fifth and sixth, and this is a unique case. on the dorsal surface of the pedicel of the second cirrus, there is a tuft of much feathered fine spines. _caudal appendages._--each consists of eight much tapering, very thin segments, furnished with a few short simple spines round their upper margins, and with a longer tuft on the terminal short segment; basal segments twice as thick as the middle ones. in length, these caudal appendages equal the pedicels of the sixth pair of cirri, and are a very little shorter than the rudimentary rami of these same cirri. _general remarks._--having examined this species first in the genus, i fully anticipated that the very remarkable character of the inner rami of the fifth and sixth cirri being rudimentary, and serving the same function (if any) with the caudal appendages, would have been generic; but this is not the case, for _alepas cornuta_ cannot be separated from _a. minuta_ without violating a clear natural affinity. . alepas tubulosa. quoy et gaimard. voyage de l'astrolabe, pl. xciii, fig. , . _a. aperturâ parvâ prominente et tubulosâ: scutis et prominentiis secundùm marginem carinalem, nullis._ orifice small, tubular, protuberant; capitulum without horny scuta or projections along the carinal margin. animal unknown. new zealand, tolaga bay. attached to a living palinurus. i have given the above brief character from the plate, and imperfect description in the voyage of the astrolabe. the small and distinctly tubular orifice, and the smooth carinated edge of the globose capitulum, appear sufficiently to distinguish this species from _a. cornuta_. the colour is stated to have been white with violet tints. length, two (french) lines. anelasma. _gen. nov._ pl. iv. alepas. _lovén._ ofversigt of kongl. vetenskaps-akad. fördhandlinger: forsta argangen. stockholm, , p. , tab. . _capitulum sine valvis: aperturâ amplâ: pedunculus fimbriatus, sub-globosus, infossus._ capitulum without valves; aperture large; peduncle fimbriated, sub-globular, imbedded. cirri without spines; outer maxillæ and palpi rudimentary, spineless; mandibles minute, with several small teeth irregularly placed; maxillæ minute, with very minute irregularly scattered spines. no caudal appendages. * * * * * i owe to the great kindness of professor steenstrup, an examination of this very curious cirripede, well described and figured by lovén, who considered it an alepas. it lives parasitic, with its peduncle imbedded in the skin of sharks, in the north sea. according to the principles of classification which i have followed, this cirripede cannot possibly remain in alepas, and must form a new genus; for some time, indeed, i thought that a new family or sub-family ought to have been instituted for its reception; but when i considered that its highly peculiar characters are all negative, as the non-articular, non-spinose structure of the cirri, and that no new or greatly modified functional organ is present, i concluded that it might properly remain amongst the lepadidæ. we shall, moreover, hereafter see that the male of ibla, which, of course, must remain in the same family with the female, is, in some analogous respects, even more abnormal than anelasma. . anelasma squalicola. pl. iv, figs. - . alepas squalicola. _lovén_, ut supra. north sea. parasitic on squalus. _capitulum_, destitute of valves; oval, much flattened; the double membrane composing it, thin, highly flexible, coloured externally and internally, by the underlying corium, of a blackish purple; aperture, extremely large, extending from the upper end of the capitulum, to close above the peduncle, gaping, and not protecting (in the dead condition) the cirri and mouth. the _peduncle_ is about half as long as the capitulum, but, according to lovén, this part varies in length; it is a little narrower than the capitulum; colourless, from being imbedded in the shark's skin; sub-globular; basal end almost hemispherical. total length of animal . ; diameter of peduncle . of an inch. the external membrane of the capitulum is not nearly so thick as is usual in other cirripedes, and is, therefore, unusually flexible. the internal membrane, on the other hand, is very much thicker than is usual, being only a little thinner than the outside coat; this circumstance, as well as the similarity in colour on both sides, is evidently due to the remarkable openness of the sack, and consequent exposure of its inside. the inner membrane, when viewed under a high power, is seen to be covered with the minutest spines; the external membrane is structureless, except that there are a few rows of very minute beads of hard chitine, like those which occur on the capitulum of _conchoderma aurita_. lovén, however, states that there are imbedded in the outer membrane, scattered, minute, dendritic, calcareous particles. of these, i could see no trace. there is a very thin muscular layer between the two coats, all round the capitulum, and this layer becomes rather thicker round the base, near the peduncle. the adductor muscle, occupying its usual place close below the mouth, is thinner than in any other cirripede of the same size seen by me; nor does it end so abruptly at each extremity, as is usual: where attached to the outer coat, no impression is left. it is a singular fact, that in this cirripede alone, the fibres of the adductor, and of the muscles of the cirri, and of the trophi of the mouth, are destitute of transverse striæ; but it is not singular, that the muscles surrounding the capitulum should, also, be destitute of striæ, for this is the case with the muscles which, running up from the peduncle, surround the capitulum in alepas, and partly surround it in conchoderma. it must not be inferred from the absence of transverse striæ in the muscular fibres of the adductor and of the cirri and trophi, that they are involuntary, but only that they are in an embryonic condition, for i find in the natatory larva, that all the muscles, with the exception of some connected with the eyes, are similarly destitute, and yet perform voluntary movements.[ ] [ ] dr. c. schmidt in his contribution to the comparative anatomy of the invertebrate animals, &c., (translated in taylor's scientific memoirs, vol. v, p. ,) says that in young crustacea, "we find plain primitive fibres, which subsequently acquire the transversely striated aspect." although in the dead state, the aperture of the capitulum seems to be always gaping, yet i have little doubt, that the living animal can fold the flexible membrane, like a mantle, round its thorax and cirri, and thus protect, though feebly compared with most cirripedes, these organs. i suspect that the mouth is always exposed. _peduncle._--the membrane of the peduncle is thin; the whole surface is sparingly and quite irregularly studded with minute, much-branched filaments (pl. iv, fig. , highly magnified); these are occasionally as much as l/ th of an inch in length; the degree of branching varies much, but is generally highly complex; the ordinary diameter of the branches is about / th of an inch; their tips are rounded, and even a little enlarged, and frequently torn off, as if they had been attached to or buried in the flesh of the shark, in which the whole peduncle is imbedded. these filaments are formed of, and are continuous with the external transparent membrane of the peduncle, and they contain, up to the tips of every sub-branch, a hollow thread of corium, prolonged from the layer internally coating the whole peduncle. in all other lepadidæ, the peduncle increases in length, chiefly at the summit where joined to the capitulum, and in diameter, throughout nearly its whole length, except close to the base; but, owing to the constant disintegration of the outer surface, the old outside coat does not split in defined lines, like the membrane of the capitulum. in anelasma, however, owing to the imbedded position of the peduncle, the old outer coats are preserved, the lines in which they have split during continued growth being thus exhibited: those in the uppermost part almost symmetrically surround the peduncle, showing that here, as in other lepadidæ, has been one regular line of growth; but in the lower part the lines are extremely irregular; and what is almost unique, it appears that the blunt basal end is constantly increasing in length and breadth, and, apparently, at a greater rate than any other part. i judge of this latter fact, from the whole bottom of the peduncle being covered with numerous curved, or nearly circular, lines of natural splitting, the nature of which can be best understood by examining the much-enlarged drawing (pl. iv, fig. ) of a small portion (taken by chance) of the membrane of the base, seen from the outside, and bearing some of the simplest branched filaments: other branches, as may be seen, have been cut off. this manner of growth explains the broad, blunt basal termination of the peduncle, so unlike that in other lepadidæ. new membrane is formed, not continuously as in other cases, under the whole surface of the old membrane, but in irregular patches; thus the portion marked (_a_) runs under (_b_), but not under the little circles (_c_, _c_), for these are the last-formed portions and underlie the membrane (_a_) and (_b_). i do not understand how the splitting of the old membrane is effected; but no doubt it is by the same process by which the membrane of the capitulum in other genera, as in scalpellum, splits symmetrically between the several valves. in the branched filaments it is particularly difficult to understand their growth, for it is not possible, after examining them, to doubt that they continue to increase, and send off sub-branches, which it would appear probable, penetrate the shark's flesh like roots. i may remark that one, or more commonly two or three branched filaments stand nearly in the centre of each circular line of exuviation or splitting. the branched filaments first commence as mere little pustules, and these appear to be most numerous at the bottom of the peduncle. the final cause of the downward growth of the bottom of the peduncle, is obviously to allow of the animal burying itself in the shark's body, in the same way as coronula and tubicinella become imbedded by the downward growth of their parietes in the skin of cetacea. the only other genus of lepadidæ, in which the growth of the peduncle is at all analogous, is lithotrya, in this genus, however, the animal burrows mechanically into soft rock or shells. i looked in vain for cement, or for the cement-glands, (but the specimen was in an extremely unfavorable state for finding the latter) or for the prehensile antennæ of the larva. no doubt this cirripede at first becomes attached in the same way as others, but after early life, i suspect it is retained in its place, by being so deeply imbedded in the shark's body, and perhaps by the root-like branched filaments. the irregular growth and splitting of the membrane at the base of the peduncle, where the prehensile antennæ of the larva must originally have been situated, would account for not finding them. the inside of the peduncle (fig. _g_) was gorged, in the specimen examined by me, with immature ova. the innermost muscular layer consists of longitudinal bundles of unusual size, but placed rather far apart from each other; these do not extend to the very base of the peduncle, and at the upper end they curve inwards, almost to the middle of the under side of the diaphragm, separating the peduncle and capitulum. outside these longitudinal muscles, there are delicate transverse ones, but apparently there are no oblique muscles in the upper part of the peduncle, as in other lepadidæ; near the bottom, the transverse muscles form a thicker layer with many of the bundles running in oblique lines. _mouth._--ulovén has not described this part quite accurately, owing to his not having used high enough magnifying powers. he states that the trophi are soft and functionless, which is far from the case. the whole mouth (fig. _d_), is unusually small; it is, to a certain extent, probosciformed, and being curved a little downwards, projects slightly over the adductor muscle, to which it is closely placed. the labrum does not project more beyond the general surface of the body, than in many other cirripedes, but the probosciformed structure is caused by the elongation of the surface fronting the thorax. the summit of the mouth stands above the level of the top of the pedicels of the first pair of cirri. the labrum is slightly hollowed out in the middle of its upper margin; it can scarcely be called bullate, in which it differs from all other lepadidæ; on the other hand, the outer and inner folds of the labrum are not so close together as in balanus. on each upper corner, there is, as usual, a small rounded prominence, close to which there is a second slight, rounded, spineless swelling; these latter represent the quite rudimentary _palpi_. the _mandibles_ (figs. , ) are more highly developed than the other trophi; they are, however, very minute, the toothed edge being only about / th of an inch in length, measured in its longest direction; the edge is unusually thick, with the teeth placed rather on one side; this organ, when viewed on the labrum side (fig. ), shows two large teeth placed low down, with the inferior angle pectinated and broadly truncated; but when viewed on the other or maxillæ side (fig. ), several large and small teeth, placed alternately and irregularly in pairs, are seen extending along the whole edge. the mandibles are furnished, as usual, with three principal sets of muscles attached to the basal fold of the mouth. the _maxillæ_ (fig. ) are still smaller than the mandibles; the spinose edge being only the / th of an inch in length; the edge, instead of being square, and furnished with a double row of long spines, as in all other cirripedes, is rounded, thick, club-shaped, and with the side facing the mandibles, thinly and irregularly strewed with short, thick, very minute spines; there is a large broad apodeme (_a_), in the usual place, but it is much more transparent and flexible than common: there are also the usual muscles. in other cirripedes, the mandibles alone seem to force the prey down the oesophagus; but here, the mandibles and maxillæ equally stand over the orifice, and their adjoining spinose faces and edges, seem excellently adapted to force, by their united action, any minute living creature down the passage. the _outer maxillæ_ are almost in as rudimentary a condition as the palpi; they are quite spineless; viewed externally, they appear like two smooth, blunt, very minute projecting points; but viewed internally, the membrane forming the supra-oesophageal hollow seems to be united actually to their tips, so that they do not project at all. i was surprised to find that the longitudinal muscles going to these organs were developed, in proportion to the other muscles, quite as fully as in ordinary cirripedes: hence, these two little outer maxillæ, no doubt, serve as an under lip, and possess the usual backward and forward movement. the surface of the probosciformed mouth facing the first pair of cirri, has a deep central longitudinal fold, and rather more than half-way down, a transverse fold; just above this latter fold, and therefore quite below the outer maxillæ themselves, the two olfactory orifices are seated; these are unusually large, and the sack into which they lead, is most unusually large and deep. in this cirripede, i was first enabled to observe that the membrane lining the sack is tubular, and open at the bottom. _cirri._--there are, as usual, six pair, and not of very small size; they have a shapeless and rudimentary appearance; they are coloured, like the rest of the body, blackish purple: they are quite spineless, and not articulated, but their anterior faces are either obscurely or very plainly lobed, so that in some (for instance in the third pair, pl. iv, fig. ), nine or ten prominent steps could be counted, manifestly representing so many segments. the rami are equal in length in the first pair, and slightly unequal in the second and third pair; these two latter are longer than either the first or three posterior pair. there is a small interspace as usual between the first and second pair of cirri. internally, the cirri are occupied, even up to their tips, by delicate striæ-less muscles. the external membrane of the thorax and limbs, when examined under a very high power, is seen to be covered with minute toothed scales, as in most cirripedes. the thorax is articulated as usual: the posterior part, however, is smaller, and tapers more suddenly than in other species, and this corresponds with the smaller size and more rudimentary condition, of the three posterior pair of cirri, compared with the anterior pair. the prosoma is hardly at all developed. the orifice (pl. iv, fig. _e_) of the acoustic (?) sack, beneath the first cirrus, is unusually large. there are no filamentary appendages. _alimentary canal._--the membrane lining the oesophagus is unusually thin: it is furnished with the ordinary constrictor muscles, and others radiating from them like spokes of a wheel. the stomach is lined by unusually prominent biliary folds, which in the duodenum are transverse, sending forth, however, short folds at right angles; and these latter, in the proper stomach, become so much developed that the folds appear longitudinal. the rectum extends inwards, about as far as the base of the fourth pair of cirri, but is very short, owing to the little development of the three posterior segments of the thorax. the anus is seated in its usual place, at the dorsal basis of the penis, and is hidden by loose folds of skin; but there are no distinct caudal appendages. the stomach, in the specimen examined, was quite empty. _reproductive organ._--the penis (fig. , _c_) is thick, short (about twice as long as the sixth cirrus), constricted at the base, ringed, spineless, with the terminal aperture large; internally it is well furnished with muscles. the two vesiculæ seminales, appeared to be unusually small; and one was much smaller than the other; they do not (i believe) become united into a common tube, till near the apex of the penis. they were empty; and, i presume, from the state of the ova, that their contents had lately been discharged. the whole thorax was filled with a white, fibrous and cellular mass, consisting perhaps of the testes in their undeveloped state. the individual dissected by me, appeared to have been defective in its last act of reproduction, for there were only two or three ova attached to the frænum on one side, and not very many on the other. the ova are much less elongated than is usual; they are of a remarkable size, namely / ths of an inch in their longer diameter; the membrane by which they are united into a pair of lamellæ is remarkably strong; the frænum (pl. iv, fig. _f_) on each side is large, strong, with rounded edges, pale coloured and hence conspicuous; on the side nearest the body, the whole surface is covered with club-shaped glands, having very short footstalks, and being in total length / ths of an inch; these glands secrete a reticulated layer of gut-formed fibres, attached to the ovigerous lamellæ. in the specimen described by lovén, the lamellæ (fig. , and fig. , _b_, _b_) appear to have been very large: and in that examined by myself, the peduncle was gorged with immature ova, showing that the female reproductive powers were ample, though at the foregoing period, only a few eggs had been formed. _habits._--according to lovén, this species lives imbedded in the skin of _squalus maximus_ and _spinax_, in the north sea: i suspect that it is not closely compressed in its cavity, otherwise, i do not see the use of the two layers of muscles round the whole peduncle; it probably adheres to the sides of the cavity by the tips of the branched, root-like filaments; owing to the flexible nature of the capitulum, this cirripede can offer little resistance to the water, and, therefore, is little likely to be torn out of its cavity. i have no doubt that it can fold the membrane of the capitulum, like a cloak, round its thorax and cirri; but it certainly can offer far less resistance, than other cirripedes, to any enemy. this creature must obtain its food, and considering its productiveness much food must be required, in a manner quite different from nearly every other member of its order. as the whole of the peduncle is imbedded, and as the mouth is probosciformed, with the labrum a little curled over the adductor muscle, i conclude that this cirripede can reach minute animals crawling by on the surface of the shark's body. it must be borne in mind that the mouth, as in all cirripedes, has the power of independent movement, and that the mandibles and maxillæ are here beautifully adapted to catch and force down any small living creature into the muscular oesophagus; the rudimentary outer maxillæ, moreover, no doubt have the power of scraping, like a lip, anything towards these prehensile organs. it will hereafter be seen, that the male of _ibla cumingii_, in which the cirri are quite rudimentary, obtains its food in a somewhat analogous manner, though in this case the whole peduncle moves, and not merely a probosciformed mouth: it deserves attention, that in the male ibla and in anelasma, in neither of which the cirri are prehensile, the palpi are rudimentary and useless. i am tempted to believe, that the largely developed olfactory sacks, and perhaps, likewise, acoustic (?) sacks, in anelasma, replace, by giving notice of the proximity of prey, the loss of tactile cirri. it should be remembered that all cirripedes subsist on animals which happen to swim or float within reach of the cirri; but here it is only those which happen to crawl within reach of the probosciformed mouth. it would, however, be rash to assert that the cirri in anelasma, considering their muscular though feeble structure, may not be of some slight use, when thrown over the prey, in preventing its escape. professor steenstrup informs me that, from late observations, it appears that this animal always adheres to the shark's body in pairs. i regret extremely that i have not been able to examine a pair: that the individual examined by me was bisexual, i can hardly doubt, though the male organs certainly were feebly developed; it appears probable, that the individual described by lovén was likewise bisexual: but after the facts presently to be revealed regarding the sexes in ibla and scalpellum, it is quite possible that the male and female organs may be developed in inverse degrees in different and adjoining individuals. the genus anelasma is, i think, properly placed between alepas and ibla. in several of its characters, such as the absence of calcareous valves, the broad blunt end of the peduncle, the spineless cirri, the small size of the trophi, and more especially the absence of transverse striæ in those muscles, which in mature cirripedes are thus furnished, we see that this genus is in some degree in an embryonic condition. _genus_--ibla. pls. iv, v. ibla. _leach._ zoolog. journal. vol. ii, july, . anatifa. _cuvier._ mem, pour servir, ... mollusques, art. anatifa, . tetralasmis. _cuvier._ regne animal, . (_foem. et herm._) _valvæ , corneæ: pedunculus spinis corneis, persistentibus vestitus._ (fem. and herm.) valves four, horny: peduncle clothed with persistent, horny spines. body partly lodged within the peduncle; mandibles with three teeth; maxillæ with two obscure notches; outer maxillæ pointed; olfactory orifices prominent; caudal appendages multiarticulate. _male and complemented male_, parasitic within the sack of the female or hermaphrodite; mouth and thorax seated on a long tapering peduncle, but not enclosed within a capitulum; mouth with normal trophi, but palpi small and almost rudimental; cirri rudimental, reduced to two pairs; penis reduced to a pore; caudal appendages rudimentary. attached to fixed littoral objects: eastern hemisphere. _general remarks._--as there are only two species as yet known, and as these resemble each other in every respect most closely, a generic description would be a useless repetition of the full details given under _ibla cumingii_. i have taken this latter species as the type, from having, owing to the kindness of mr. cuming, better and more numerous specimens. ibla and lithotrya are the only two recent genera in which the body of the animal is lodged within the peduncle; but there is no distinction of any importance, though useful for classification, between the capitulum and peduncle; and these two parts, as we have seen, tend to blend together in some species of conchoderma and alepas. the entire absence of calcareous matter in the valves and spines of the peduncle, at first appears very remarkable; but we have seen a similar fact in alepas, and there is an approach to it in some varieties of _conchoderma aurita_ and _c. virgata_. in all four valves of ibla, the umbones, or centres of growth, are at their upper points. the horny spines on the peduncle, are the analogues of the calcareous scales in scalpellum and pollicipes; and in this latter genus, two of the species have their scales, almost cylindrical, placed irregularly, with new ones forming over all parts of the surface, and not exclusively at the summit,--in which several respects there is an agreement with ibla. the shape of the body (_i. e._ thorax and prosoma, pl. iv, fig. _a´_) is peculiar; but it is only a slight exaggeration of what we have seen in several genera, and shall meet again in some species of scalpellum. the presence of hairs on the outer membrane of the prosoma is a peculiarity confined to this genus amongst the lepadidæ, though observed in the sessile genus, _chthamalus_. the caudal appendages in the _i. quadrivalvis_ attain a greater length than in any other species of the family, being four times the length of the pedicels of the sixth cirrus. a far more important peculiarity is the fact of the oesophagus, in both species, running over or exteriorly to the adductor scutorum muscle, instead of, as in every other species, close under this muscle. i took great pains in ascertaining the truth of this singular anomaly: the course of the oesophagus is approximately represented in pl. iv, fig. _a´_ by faint dotted lines. the stomach has no cæca; the biliary folds are longitudinal; there is a marked constriction at the line corresponding with the junction of the thorax and prosoma. there are no filamentary appendages. the generative system gives the chief interest to this genus. we here first meet with males and females distinct; and, within the limits of this same restricted genus, the far more wonderful fact of hermaphrodites, whose masculine efficiency is aided by one or two complemental males. the complemental and simple males closely resemble each other, as do the female and hermaphrodite forms; but under the two following species i enter into such full and minute details on these remarkable facts, that i will not here dilate on them. i may add that, at the end of the genus scalpellum, i give a summary of the facts, and discuss the whole question. the penis (pl. iv, fig. _a_) in the hermaphrodite, _i. quadrivalvis_, is singular, from the length of its unarticulated support, and from the distinctness of the segments in the articulated portion. as ovigerous fræna occur in the usual place in _i. quadrivalvis_, though much smaller than in any other species, i have no doubt that they occur in _i. cumingii_, although i failed in observing them. the glands on the margin, in _i. quadrivalvis_, are singular, from not being borne on a long, hair-like footstalk. _affinities._--ibla, though externally very different in appearance from scalpellum, is more nearly related to that genus than to any other; in both genera some species have the sexes separate, the imperfect males being parasitic on the female, and other species are bisexual or hermaphrodite, but aided by parasitic complemental males. in scalpellum, again, the oesophagus pursues a sinuous course, resembling that in ibla, though it does not pass exteriorly to the adductor scutorum muscle. the disc of the prehensile antennæ of the larva, in both genera, has an unusual oblong form, like a mule's hoof; there is also an affinity between the two genera in the size and form of the ova, in the prominent orifices of the olfactory cavities, and in the peduncle not being naked; though, in these two latter respects, in the structure of the cirri, and in the multiarticulate caudal appendages, there is an equal affinity to pollicipes and lithotrya. i have already shown that alepas is likewise related to ibla. . ibla cumingii. pl. iv, fig. . _i. (foem.) valvarum marginibus lateralibus, et superficie interiore, cæruleis: pedunculi spinis plerumque annulis cæruleo-fuscis._ fem.--valves coloured, along the lateral margins and on the upper interior surface, blue: spines on the peduncle, generally ringed with blueish-brown. caudal appendages barely exceeding in length the pedicels of the sixth cirrus: rami of the first cirrus unequal in length by about two segments. male,--with scarcely a vestige of a capitulum: maxillæ with fewer spines than in the female. _hab._--philippine archipelago, island of guimavas; invariably attached to the peduncle of _pollicipes mitella_, in groups of two or three together; mus. cuming. tavoy, british burmah empire; mus. a. gould of boston. female. the capitulum is formed of four valves, but is hardly distinct from the peduncle. the latter includes, in its wide upper part, the animal's body. the valves, namely, a pair of scuta and terga, are composed of an extremely hard, horny substance, or properly chitine, and do not contain any calcareous matter; they are extremely flat or thin, and both pairs project freely, like curved horns, to a considerable height above the sack enclosing the body: the terga project about twice as much as the scuta, and their flat apices generally diverge a little. the tips of the valves are frequently broken off; their surfaces are plainly marked or ribbed by the layers of growth, which are wide apart. the bases of the valves externally are hidden by the long spines of the peduncle. _scuta._--these are shorter and broader than the terga; their internal (pl. iv, fig. _b´_) growing or corium-covered surfaces are slightly concave, triangular, with the basal margin longer than the other margins and slightly excised in the middle: there is no depression for the strong adductor muscle: the internal surface of the free horn-like portion, has a small central fold (formed by an oblique crest) running from the summit of the triangular growing surface to the tip of the valve: in perfect specimens, the growing and the free horn-like portions (the latter represented much too long in fig. _a´_ and _b´_) are about equal in length: the basal portion of one side of the scutum overlaps the tergum. _terga._--the internal glowing surface (fig. _b´_) is almost diamond-shaped, and less in area than the sputa: external surface rounded; internal surface of the free horn-like portion, slightly concave. _colour and structure of valves._--the external surfaces of the scuta and terga are yellow along the middle, plainly marked by zones of growth, and finely ribbed longitudinally: the internal surfaces and sides of the horns of the two valves, are coloured fine blue or purple; in the terga, however, the internal surface is mottled with yellow. in some specimens, especially in one from tavoy, each zone of growth was only very narrowly edged with blue. when a thin layer is removed from one of the valves, the dark blue or rather purple appears by transmitted light a beautiful pale blue; and it is a very singular fact, that this blue portion is permanently turned by very gentle into a fiery red; the same singular effect is produced by muriatic and acetic acids. this blue part is much harder than the yellow; the latter exhibits, under a high power, a folded structure, and is penetrated by a few tubuli, whereas the harder blue portion has a cellular or scaled appearance. the spines of the peduncle exhibit, in a smaller degree, similar phenomena. _peduncle._--this, as already remarked, cannot be distinctly separated from the capitulum; it is much compressed; it is composed of unusually thin and delicate membrane, transversely wrinkled and thickly clothed with long cylindrical horns or spines of chitine. these horns (fig. _c´_) are not the analogues of the spines which are articulated on the external membranes of many pedunculated and sessile cirripedes, but of the calcified scales on the peduncle of scalpellum and pollicipes; for they pass through the membrane (the underlying corium being marked by their bases) and are persistent, being added to, like the valves, during each successive period of growth. their bases are concave, so that a section of the layers of growth exhibits a series of pointed cones, one within another. each spine is nearly cylindrical, irregularly curled, and nodose or slightly enlarged at intervals: the apex smooth and pointed; the exterior surface longitudinally and finely ribbed, like the valves. the spines increase irregularly in size from the bottom to the top of the peduncle, those at the carinal and rostral ends being generally the longest; they point upwards and hide the bases of the valves. they are not arranged symmetrically, and new ones are formed over all parts of the peduncle. they are formed of the same substance as the valves, and do not contain any calcareous matter. these horns are yellowish, generally ringed with pale and dark blueish brown, which on pressure becomes slightly opalescent with pale blue and fiery red: sometimes only the upper horns are thus ringed, and in rare instances all are simply yellowish. the muscles of the peduncle run up to the bases of the four valves. _surface of attachment._--the cement appears to proceed from only two points. in some specimens, a considerable length of one side of the peduncle was fastened to the surface of attachment, the horns or spines being enveloped in the cement. the prehensile antennæ of the larva will presently be described under the male. the _length_ of an average specimen, including the peduncle and valves, is about half an inch, and the width across the widest part one fifth of an inch. mr. cuming has one specimen an inch in length, but this is owing to the peduncle being unusually tapering. in a specimen kept some years in spirits, the cirri, trophi, caudal appendages, and corium under the membrane between the scuta, were all dark purple; the sack and corium of peduncle clouded with purple, and the prosoma pale-coloured. the _body_ (pl. iv, fig. _a´_) is small compared with the capitulum and peduncle; it is much flattened; the prosoma is of a very peculiar shape, being square, the sides of equal length, and, in an average-sized specimen, / th of an inch long. the peculiar shape arises from the great distance between the first and second cirrus--from the mouth being far removed from the adductor scutorum muscle--and lastly, from the lower part of the prosoma being not at all protuberant. the thorax which supports the cirri is also unusually small, plainly articulated, and separated from the prosoma by a deep fold. the thin membrane of the prosoma is studded with some fine, pointed hairs, about / ths in length, and articulated on little circular discs. _mouth_, placed at a considerable distance from the adductor, and directed in an unusual manner towards the ventral surface of the thorax: the trophi are arranged, in a curved line, facing the thorax (see pl. v, fig. , for this part in the male), and therefore less laterally than is usual. _labrum_ (pl. iv, fig. _a´_ opposite _c_) highly bullate; the upper part produced into a blunt point: on its crest there are no teeth. _palpi_ (fig. _a´_ opposite _d_) small, blunt and rounded at their ends; inner margins slightly concave. _mandibles_ (pl. x, fig. ), with three teeth, of which the first is much larger than the second and third, and distant from them: inferior angle produced and pectinated; upper edges of the second and third teeth finely pectinated. _maxillæ_ (pl. x, fig. ) small, slightly but distinctly indented by two notches, supporting, besides the three upper great spines, three pairs of moderately long spines and some finer ones: apodeme short, thick. _outer maxillæ_, unusually pointed, with the inner bristles not very numerous, continuously arranged; externally, the bristles are longer. olfactory orifices, tubular, projecting, flattened, square on the summit, smooth: they point upwards and obliquely towards each other: they arise more laterally than in the other genera, namely outside the bases of the outer maxillæ, and between them and the inner maxillæ. between the bases of the first pair of cirri, there is a conical prominence, clothed with bristles and coloured purple: it projects nearly as high as the top of the lower segment of the pedicel of the first cirrus: it lies over the infra-oesophageal ganglion, and serves, i suspect, to fill up a little interval between the outer maxillæ. _cirri_ long, little curved: the first pair (pl. iv, fig. _a´_) is situated at an extraordinary distance from the second; hence its basal articulation is on a level with the upper articulation of the pedicel of the second cirrus. in the three posterior cirri, the segments are laterally very flat, with their anterior surfaces not protuberant; each supports three pairs of thin, non-serrated bristles, of which the second pair is much shorter than the upper, and the lowest pair minute; between each pair there is a minute, rectangulary projecting bristle; dorsal tufts consist of two or three spines, of which one is longer than the others. the two bristles forming each pair, are not of equal length; for in the rami of each cirrus, the inner row of bristles is much shorter than the outer; and this seems to be connected with the flatness of the whole animal, and the consequent little power of divergence in the rami of the cirri. the first cirrus is rather short, with the rami unequal in length by about two segments: the anterior ramus is shorter and thicker than the other: segments numerous, each clothed with several rows of bristles. the second cirrus has the anterior ramus thicker and more thickly clothed with spines than the posterior ramus; this latter is rather more thickly clothed with spines than are the three posterior cirri; the third cirrus is in all these respects characterised like the second cirrus, but in a lesser degree. the pedicels of the second and third cirri are thickly and irregularly clothed with spines; in the three posterior pairs, the spines are placed in two regular rows, with some minute intermediate spines. _caudal appendages_ (pl. iv, fig. _a´_, _f_), multiarticulate, thin, tapering, in one specimen equalling, in another just exceeding, in length the pedicels of the sixth cirrus. in the latter specimen there were thirteen segments, of which the basal segments were broader and shorter than the upper; these latter are slightly constricted round the middle, so that they resemble, in a small degree, an hour-glass. their upper margins are surrounded by rings of bristles; the terminal segment being surmounted by one or two very fine bristles much longer than the others. the two appendages are closely approximate; each arises from a narrow elongated slip, attached to the side of the pedicel of the sixth cirrus. _nervous system._--i examined the upper part of the nervous chord, in order to ascertain whether the infra-oesophagean ganglion, which is of a globulo-oblong shape, was far separated from the second ganglion; and this i found to be the case, in accordance with the distance of the first cirrus from the second. i may here remark, that in _s. quadrivalvis_ i discovered the eye, which, though in all probability really double, appeared to be single; it was situated near to the supra-oesophageal ganglion; and this ganglion was situated near to the adductor scutorum muscle, and at a considerable distance from the labrum. the aperture leading into the acoustic (?) sack, is situated much lower down than is usual (pl. iv, fig. _a´_), namely, at the length of the pedicel of the first cirrus beneath its basal articulation. _generative system._--the specimens here described, of which i examined six, are exclusively female; they have no trace of the external, probosciformed penis, or of the two great vesiculæ seminales, or of the testes: on the other hand, the ovarian tubes within the peduncle are developed in the usual manner, and owing to the large size of the ova, are of large diameter, and hence very distinct: i detected, also, the true ovaria at the upper edge of the stomach. male. plate v, figs. - . of the above-described _ibla cumingii_ i dissected six specimens, four from the philippine archipelago,[ ] and two from the burmah empire, and none of them, as we have just seen, possessed the probosciformed penis, the vesiculæ seminales, or the testes, so conspicuous in other cirripedes; on the other hand, all were furnished with the usual branching ovarian tubes and sometimes with ova, and consequently were unquestionably of the female sex. within each of these specimens there was attached within the sack, in a nearly central line, at the rostral end, (pl. iv, fig. _a´_, _h_, magnified five times,) a flattened, purplish, worm-like little body, projecting about the / th of an inch: in one of the six individuals, there was a second similar little creature attached at the carinal end of the sack. before giving the reasons which i think conclusively prove that these little animals are the males of the ordinary form of the _ibla cumingii_, it will be convenient to describe their structure in detail. [ ] i am deeply indebted to the liberality and kindness of mr. cuming, in allowing me to cut up four specimens of this new species; and to dr. gould, of boston, u. s., for the examination of the burmese specimens. the whole consists of a long, much flattened peduncle, separated from the mouth and thorax by an oblique fold, (pl. v, fig. _h_, _b_), which is conspicuous on the dorsal margin under the cirri, and can be traced with difficulty to the ventral margin. the thorax, itself rudimentary, and supporting rudimentary cirri, is in some individuals, as in the one represented (fig. , _magnified times_), covered by, or received in the oblique fold _h_, just mentioned: in other individuals the thorax is drawn out, and then the fold shows merely as a notch on the dorsal margin, and the basal articulations of the cirri stand some little way above it. the basal edge of the large, well-developed month can be traced all round, and on the ventral margin (_b_), is generally marked by a slight notch. the dimensions and proportions vary much: the longest specimen, including the imbedded portion, was / th, and the shortest barely / ths of an inch in length; the width of the widest portion varied from to / ths of an inch: the specimen figured (pl. iv, fig. _a´_, and pl. v, fig. ,) is a broad, short individual. generally, the middle of the peduncle is rather wider than the upper part. _peduncle._--the main part of the animal, as may be seen in the drawing, consists of the peduncle, of which the imbedded portion tapers more or less suddenly in a very variable manner, and is of variable length,--in one specimen being one fourth of the entire length, and in another consisting of a mere minute blunt point. the free upper part of the animal is bent in various directions, in relation to the imbedded portion. the latter passes obliquely through the chitine membrane and corium, lining the sack of the female, and running along amidst the underlying muscles and inosculating fibrous tissue, is attached to them by cement at the extremity. the peduncle is often, but not in the individual represented, much constricted at the point where it passes through the skin of the female, and generally at several other points, especially towards the extremity (see fig. ); the stages of its deeper and deeper imbedment being thus marked. the constrictions are, i believe, simply due to the continued growth of the male, whilst the hole through the membrane of the female does not yield. the imbedment, which is considerable only when the lower part of the peduncle is almost parallel to the coats of the sack, seems caused by the growth and repeated exuviations of the female; i believe, that the larva attaches itself to the chitine tunic of the sack, and that the cement, by some unknown means, affects the underlying corium, so that this particular portion of the tunic is not moulted with the adjoining integuments, and that the growth of the surrounding parts subsequently causes this portion to be buried deeper and deeper: it is, i believe, in the same way as the end of the peduncle in _conchoderma aurita_, sometimes becomes imbedded in the skin of the whale to which it is attached. the outer tunic of the peduncle is thin and structureless: in the fold (fig. _h_) under the cirri, there is a central triangular gusset of still thinner membrane, corresponding in position to the membrane connecting the two terga in the female, and there subjected to much movement. i may here remark, that this fold, in its office of slightly protecting the thorax and in its position, evidently represents the capitulum with its valves, enclosing the whole body of the female. the outer tunic is lined by corium, mottled with purple, and within this there are two layers of striæ-less muscles, transverse and longitudinal, as in all pedunculated cirripedes. the corium extends some way into the imbedded portion of the peduncle, and consequently, the outer tunic there continues to be added to layer under layer, and as it cannot be periodically moulted, it becomes much thicker than in the upper free part of the animal: the corium, however, does not extend to the extreme point, so that in it growth of all kind ceases. _antennæ._--the peduncle terminates (pl. v, fig. _e_) in the two usual, larval, prehensile antennæ, which it is very difficult to see distinctly; they are tolerably well represented in fig. , greatly magnified. their extreme length, measured from the basal articulation to the tip of the hoof-like disc, is / ths of an inch, the disc itself being / ths of an inch. the disc is slightly narrower than the long basal segment, from which it is divided by a broad conspicuous articulation; its lower surface is flat and its upper convex, altogether resembling in shape a mule's hoof; its apex is fuzzy with the finest down; it bears a narrow ultimate segment, thrown, as usual, on one side; this segment supports on its rounded irregular summit, at least five, i believe, judging from the structure of the same part in the male larva of _ibla quadrivalvis_, six or seven spines, longer than the segment itself: one long spine arises from the under side of the disc, near the base of the ultimate segment, and points backward: there is also a single curved spine on the outside, near the distal end of the basal segment. these organs were imbedded in a heart-shaped ball or cylinder of brown, transparent, finely laminated cement, and thus attached to the fibrous tissue of the female. the two cement-ducts (fig. _f_) were very plain, each about / th of an inch in diameter, containing the usual inner chord of opaque cellular matter. i traced them at the one end into the prehensile antennæ as far as the disc; and at the other, up the peduncle for about one fourth of its length, where i lost them, and could not discover with certainty any cement glands. i may, however, here mention, that i found in the lower half of the peduncle, numerous, yellowish, transparent, excessively minute, pyramidal bodies, with step-formed sides; of these two or three often cohered by their bases like crystals; i have never seen anything like these in other cirripedes, but it has occurred to me that they may possibly be connected with the formation of the cement: for in the last larval condition of lepas, the cement-ducts run up to the gut-formed ovaria, filled at this period with yellowish, grape-like, cellular masses, without the intervention of cement glands, and i can imagine that similar masses, not being developed into functional ovaria, might give rise to the yellow pyramidal bodies. _mouth._--the mouth is well developed; it is represented as seen vertically from above, in pl. v, fig. , magnified about times; the positions of the cirri and the outline of the thorax are accurately shown by dotted lines; a lateral view is given in fig. . in the specimen figured, the longitudinal diameter of the mouth, including the labrum, was / th of an inch. the muscles of the several trophi have transverse striæ, and are the strongest and most conspicuous of any in the body. the labrum is largely bullate, with its summit slightly concave; the trophi are arranged in a remarkable manner, in a semicircular line, so as to be opposed to the labrum rather than to each other: there are no teeth or spines on the crest of the labrum, which overhangs the oesophageal cavity. the _palpi_ (fig. _b_ and fig. ) are very small, dark purple, bluntly pointed, with a few small bristles at the point; they do not extend beyond the knob at each corner of the labrum, which is here present, as in all other lepadidæ; they are much smaller than in the female, though of a similar shape, and consequently, their points are much further apart: within their bases, the lateral muscles of the mandibles are, as usual, attached; they are represented in fig. , as seen from the inside, with the eye on a level with the concave summit of the labrum. the rudimentary condition of the palpi is connected, as remarked under the _anelasma squalicola_, with the absence of efficient cirri. the _mandibles_ (fig. ) are well developed; they so closely resemble those of the female that it is superfluous to describe them: they are, however, smoother, without any trace of the teeth being pectinated, and with the inferior point smaller: measured in their longer direction, they are / th of an inch in length, and, therefore, a little less than one third of the size of those of the female. these organs have the usual muscles well developed, and the usual articulations. the _maxillæ_ (fig. ) have a rather rudimentary appearance; yet they have the same size relatively to the mandibles, as in the female, the spinose edge being / ths of an inch in length. these organs resemble, to a certain extent, those of the female, differing from them in being less prominent,--in the outline being more rounded, with the notches even less distinct,--and in the spines being fewer. the apodeme is short and broad. the _outer maxillæ_ (fig. ) are pointed, with a small tuft of bristles at the apex; they are much less hairy than in the female, but have nearly the same unusual shape. outside their bases, and between them and the inner maxillæ, the two well-developed, tubular, flattened, square-topped, olfactory orifices, project in exactly the same remarkable position as in the female; these are not represented in fig. , though sometimes they can be very distinctly seen, when the mouth is viewed from vertically above. _thorax and cirri._--the thorax is in a rudimentary condition: i did not observe the usual articulations. the whole, as seen from vertically above, is of small size, compared with the mouth; the outline is accurately shown by dotted lines in tab. , fig. , together with the positions of the two pair of cirri, the caudal appendages, and anus. the posterior end of the thorax does not rise to the level of the summit of the mouth; and the thorax seems of no service, excepting perhaps as a sort of outer lip to protect the mouth. the cirri are in an extreme state of abortion, and evidently functionless; they are lined with purplish corium, without the vestige of a muscle; they are usually distorted and bent in different directions; they vary in size, and even those on opposite sides of the same individual, sometimes do not correspond, and do not arise from exactly corresponding points of the thorax. there are always two pair of cirri, which, as i conclude from the position of the excretory orifices, answer to the fifth and sixth pair in other cirripedes. each cirrus (fig. ) usually carries only one ramus, placed on a large basal segment, evidently corresponding to the pedicel of a normal cirrus. the posterior are larger than the anterior cirri, which latter spring from points a little lower down on the thorax. in the posterior cirrus figured, the great basal articulation or pedicel, almost equals in length, and much exceeds in thickness, the four segments of the ramus; these segments are furnished on their upper dorsal edges with little brushes of spines, but have not even a trace of the normally larger and far more important anterior spines. in one specimen, the anterior cirrus had a large pedicel, carrying three segments, like those of the posterior pair; but in another specimen, one of the three segments showed traces of being divided into two, thus making four imperfect segments; whilst on the corresponding side of this same individual there were only two ill-formed segments, with their few spines differently arranged. again, in a third specimen, the great basal segment of the anterior cirrus on one side, bore, exteriorly to the usual ramus, a single segment furnished with bristles, and evidently representing a second ramus; thus showing that the great basal segment certainly answers to a pedicel. i may here add, that on the integuments of these cirri, i observed with a high power, the serrated scale-like appearance common in other cirripedes. directly between the bases of the sixth cirrus, there is a very minute papillus, which, under the highest power, can be seen to consist of two closely approximate, flattened points; these, i have no doubt, are the caudal appendages in an extremely rudimentary condition, for i traced the vesiculæ seminales to this exact spot: close outside these rudimentary points, on a slight swelling, is the anus. it will presently be seen that in the male of the closely allied _ibla quadrivalvis_, the nature of these caudal appendages admits of no doubt, for in this species they consist of more than one segment, are spinose, and close under them towards the mouth, there is a perfectly distinct papillus, representing the usual probosciformed penis. _alimentary canal._--the oesophagus is very narrow, and of remarkable length; from the orifice under the mandibles, it first runs back (in this respect not well represented in pl. v, fig. ,) under the bullate labrum, and then straight down the peduncle, where it terminates in the usual bell-shaped expansion, entering one side of the small globular stomach; the latter, at its lower end, is slightly constricted, and then is rather abruptly upturned. the rectum is of unparalleled length, and extremely narrow; it can be best detected after the dissolution by caustic potash of the softer parts, when its inner coat of chitine can be seen to be continuous, in the ordinary manner, with the outer integuments of the thorax. the anus, as already stated, is seated on a slight swelling, and consists of a small longitudinal slit (_f_, fig. ), placed close outside the two very minute caudal appendages. _organ of sight._--in all the specimens, a little below the fold separating the mouth from the peduncle, and near the abdominal (or rostral) edge, a black ball (_c_, fig. ), about / th of an inch in diameter, is conspicuous. when dissected out, it is somewhat conical in form, and appears to consist of an outer coat, with a layer of pigment-cells of a dark purple colour, surrounding a transparent, rather hard lens, apparently leaving a circular orifice at the summit, and forming a short tube at the base, surrounding what i believe to be a nerve. i was not able to perceive that this eye consisted of two eyes united, which the analogy of other cirripedes makes me suppose probable, although in the ordinary and hermaphrodite _ibla quadrivalvis_, the eye also appeared single. it is seated under the two transparent muscular layers, close upon the upper end of the stomach, and this is the exact position, as stated in the introductory discussion (p. ), in which the eyes of pedunculated cirripedes are commonly situated. _generative system._--within the muscular layer all round the upper part of the peduncle, and surrounding the stomach, there are numerous, little, rather irregular globular balls, with brown granular centres, so closely resembling the testes in other cirripedes, though of smaller size, that i cannot doubt that this is their nature: they were much plainer, larger, and more numerous in some specimens than in others. the vesiculæ seminales can seldom be made distinctly out; but having cut one specimen transversely across the thorax, they were as plain as could be desired, lying parallel and close to each other above the rectum, (the animal being in the position as drawn,) and therefore in their normal situation. each had a diameter four times as great as that of the rectum. in this individual the contents seemed (whether from decomposition or state of development, or from my not having used high enough power, i know not,) merely pulpy; but i have since found, in another specimen, masses of the most distinct spermatozoa, with the usual little knots on them, associated with numerous cells, about as large as and resembling those which i have examined in living cirripedes, and from which i have every reason to believe the spermatozoa are developed. the vesiculæ seminales unite and terminate under the two extremely minute caudal appendages, and here i think i saw an orifice; but there is certainly no projecting, probosciformed penis. having dissected the six specimens with the utmost care, and having scrupulously examined the ovaria in other cirripedes during their early stages of development, even before the exuviation of the larval locomotive organs, and in specimens of smaller size than the male ibla, i am prepared to assert that there are no ovaria, and that these little creatures are exclusively males. it should be borne in mind, that in some of the specimens there were perfect spermatozoa in the vesiculæ seminales (as likewise in some of the males of _i. quadrivalvis_), and, therefore, if these individuals had been hermaphrodites, their ova would have been, at this period, well developed, and ready for impregnation: in this state it is almost impossible that they could have been overlooked. moreover, it is probable that such ova would not have been very small, for the larvæ whence the parasitic males are derived, attain (as might have been inferred from the known dimensions of their prehensile antennæ, and as we shall show actually is the case in _i. quadrivalvis_,) the size common amongst ordinary cirripedia. _concluding remarks._--that these animals are true cirripedes, though having so different an external appearance from others of the class, admits of not the least doubt. the prehensile antennæ, enveloped in cement and including the two cement-ducts, would have been amply sufficient, without other parts--for instance, the mouth, by itself perfectly characteristic with each organ, together with the whole alimentary canal, constructed on the normal plan,--to have proved that they were cirripedia. under the head of the closely-allied _ibla quadrivalvis_, we shall, moreover, see that the males are developed from larvæ, having every point of structure--the peculiar quasi-bivalve shell, the two compound eyes, the six natatory legs, &c.,--characteristic of the order. but in some respects, the males are in an embryonic condition, though unquestionably mature, as shown by the spermatozoa;--thus, in the thorax and mouth opening throughout their whole width into the cavity of the peduncle, that is, homologically into the anterior part of the head, and in the viscera being there lodged instead of in the thorax and prosoma, there is a manifest resemblance to the larva in its last stage of development: the absence of a probosciformed penis, the spineless peduncle, the food being obtained without the aid of cirri, and the length of the rectum, are likewise embryonic characters. not only are these males, as just remarked, cirripedia; but they manifestly belong to the pedunculated family. if a specimen had been brought to me to class, without relation to its sexual characters, i should have placed it, without any hesitation, next to the genus ibla; if the mouth alone had been brought, i should assuredly have placed it actually in the genus ibla: for let it be observed how nearly all the parts resemble those of _ibla cumingii_, excepting only in size and in being less hairy. the trophi are arranged in the same peculiar position as in the female; the labrum is largely bullate, without teeth on the crest; the palpi, though relatively smaller, are of the same shape; so are the mandibles; the maxillæ are more rounded and less prominent, but have the same exact size relatively to the mandibles; the outer maxillæ have the same, quite peculiar pointed outline, and the olfactory orifices are tubular, and hold the same unusual position. it is most rare to find so close a resemblance in the parts of the mouth, except in very closely allied genera, and often species of the same natural genus differ more. again, in the long oesophagus and constricted stomach there is a resemblance to ibla. in the male of _ibla quadrivalvis_, the caudal appendages are multi-articulate; now, this is a character confined to four genera, namely, ibla, alepas, pollicipes, and lithotrya. i may add, that large tubular olfactory orifices are confined to the same genera, together with scalpellum. lastly, it particularly deserves notice, that the prehensile antennæ, in having a hoof-like and pointed disc, with a single spine on the heel, much more closely resemble these organs in scalpellum, certainly the nearest ally of ibla, than in any other genus; they differ from the antennæ in scalpellum, only in the ultimate segment not having a notch on one side. these organs, unfortunately for the sake of comparison, were not found in the female and ordinary form of ibla. the full importance of the above generic resemblance in the antennæ, will hereafter be more clearly seen, when their classificatory value is shown in the final discussion on the sexual relations of ibla and scalpellum. here, then, we have a pedunculated cirripede _very much_ nearer in all its essential characters to ibla than to any other genus, and exclusively of the male sex; and this cirripede in six specimens, from two distant localities, adhered to an ibla exclusively of the female sex. may we not, then, safely conclude that these parasites are the males of the _ibla cumingii_? considering that, in the same class with the cirripedia, there is a whole family of crustaceans, the lerneidæ, in which the males, compared with the females to which they cling, differ as much in appearance as in ibla, and are even relatively smaller, i should not have added another remark, had there not been under the head of the following species, and of the next genus scalpellum, a class of allied facts to be advanced, which in some respects support the view here taken, but in others are so remarkable and so hard to be believed, that i will call attention to the alternative, if the above view be rejected. the ordinary _ibla cumingii_ must have a male, for that it is not an hermaphrodite can hardly be questioned, seeing how easy it always is to detect the male organs of generation; and we must consequently believe in the visits of a locomotive male, though the existence of a locomotive cirripede is improbable in the highest degree. again, as the little animal, considered by me to be the male of _i. cumingii_, is exclusively a male, (for there were no traces of ova or ovaria, though the spermatozoa were perfect,) we must believe in a locomotive cirripede of the opposite sex, though the existence in any class of a female visiting a fixed male is unknown:[ ] in short, we should have hypothetically to make two locomotive cirripedes, which, in all probability, would differ as much from their fixed opposite sexes, as does the cirripede, considered by me to be the male of _i. cumingii_, from the ordinary form. this being the case, i conclude that the evidence is amply sufficient to prove that the little parasitic cirripede here described, is the male of _ibla cumingii_. [ ] it deserves notice, that in the class crustacea, both in the lerneidæ and in the cirripedia, the males more closely resemble the larvæ, than do the females; whereas amongst insects, as in the case of the glow-worm in coleoptera, and of certain nocturnal lepidoptera, it is the female which retains an embryonic character, being worm-like or caterpillar-like, without wings. but in all these cases, the male is more locomotive than the female. if we look for analogies to the facts here given, we shall find them in the lerneidæ already alluded to, but in these the males are not permanently attached to the females, only cling, i believe, to them voluntarily. the extraordinary case of the hectocotyle, originally described as a worm parasitic on certain cephalopoda, but now shown by kölliker to be the male of the species to which it is attached, is perhaps more strictly parallel. so again in the entozoic worm, the _heteroura androphora_ the sexes cohere, but are essentially distinct: "this singular species, however," according to professor owen,[ ] "offers the transitional grade to that still more extraordinary entozoon, the _syngamus trachealis_, in which the male is organically blended by its caudal extremity with the female, immediately anterior to the slit-shaped aperture of the vulva. by this union a kind of hermaphroditism is produced; but the male apparatus is furnished with its own peculiar nutrient system; and an individual animal is constituted distinct in every respect, save in its terminal confluence with the body of the female. this condition of animal life, which was conceived by hunter as within the circle of physiological possibilities, has hitherto been exemplified only in the single species of entozoon, the discovery of the true nature of which, is due to the sagacity and patient research of dr. c. th. von siebold." in ibla, the males and females are not organically united, but only permanently and immovably attached to each other. we have in this genus the additional singularity of occasionally two males parasitic on one female. [ ] cyclopædia of anatomy and physiology, p. . i have used the term parasitic, which perhaps ought strictly to be confined to cases where one creature derives its nutriment from another, inasmuch as the male is invariably and permanently attached to and imbedded in the female,--from its being protected by her capitulum, so that its own capitulum is not developed--and from its feeding on minute animals infesting her sack. the male ibla must seize its prey, guided probably by its well-developed olfactory organs, through the movement of its long, flexible body, furnished with muscles, and with the mouth seated on the summit. we have already seen one instance of a cirripede, the anelasma, obtaining its food without the aid of cirri, by means of its probosciformed, flexible mouth. the eye can serve only to announce to the male when the female opens her valves, allowing occasionally some minute prey to enter. in ordinary cirripedes the penis is long, articulated, and capable of varied movements, i presume for the purpose of impregnating each separate ovum: the male ibla has no such organ; and no doubt the whole body, furnished like the penis with longitudinal and transverse muscles, serves the same purpose! i may remark, that it seems surprising that so small a male should secrete sufficient semen to impregnate the ova of the female, but the ova are not nearly so numerous in ibla as in most genera of cirripedes; and the smallness of the males in some parasitic crustacea has already been alluded to. the male must always be younger than the female, for the latter must first grow large enough for the larva of the male to crawl into her sack. whether the male lives as long as the female i know not, but he certainly lives for a considerable period and increases in size, as shown by the depth to which the end of the peduncle is imbedded. moreover we shall see, under the next species, that the male is metamorphosed from a larva, not one sixth of its own size. in the male ibla, abortion has been carried to an extraordinary and, i should think, almost unparalleled extent. of the twenty-one segments believed to be normally present in every crustacean, or of the seventeen known to be present in cirripedes, the three anterior segments are here well developed, forming the peduncle: the mouth consists as usual of three small segments: the succeeding eight segments are represented by the rudimentary and functionless thorax, supporting only two pair of distorted, rudimentary and functionless cirri: the seven segments of the abdomen have disappeared, with the exception of the excessively minute caudal appendages; so that, of the twenty-one normal segments, fifteen are more or less aborted. the state of the cirri is curious, and may be compared to that of the anthers in a semi-double flower; for they are not simply rudimentary in size and function, but they are monstrous, and generally do not even correspond on opposite sides of the same individual. as males in other classes of the animal kingdom often retain some female characters, so here (though the case is not strictly analogous[ ]) the male possesses the cementing apparatus, which homologically is part of an ovarian tube modified. [ ] certain plants offer a closer, though not perfect, analogy. thus, in the florets of some compositous flowers, the pistil, besides its proper female functional end, serves to brush the pollen off the anthers; while, in the florets of some other compositæ (see the account of silphium in 'ch. k. sprengel das entdeckte geheimniss der natur'), the pistil is functionless for its proper end, the flower being exclusively male, but its style is developed, and still serves as a brush. so in the male ibla, part of the ovaria, in a modified condition, is still present, and serves as a cementing apparatus. the individuals in every other genus (with the exception of scalpellum), in the several families, in the three orders of cirripedia, are hermaphrodite or bisexual. why, then, is ibla unisexual; yet, becoming, in the most paradoxical manner, from its earliest youth, essentially bisexual? would food have been deficient, and was the seizure of infusoria by another and differently constructed individual, necessary for the support of the male and female organs? the orifice of the sack of the female is unusually narrow; would the presence of testes and vesiculæ seminales have rendered her thorax and prosoma inconveniently thick? seeing the analogous facts in the six, differently-constructed species of the allied genus scalpellum, i infer there must be some profounder and more mysterious final cause. . ibla quadrivalvis. pl. iv, fig. . anatifa quadrivalvis. _cuvier._ mém. pour servir ... mollusq. , art. anatifa, plate, figs. , . ibla cuvieriana. _j. e. gray._ annals of philosophy, vol. x, new series, aug. . ---- _j. e. gray._ spicilegia. zoolog. tab. iii, fig. . tetralasmis hirsutus. _cuvier._ regne animal, vol. iii, . anatifa hirsuta. _quoy_ et _gaimard_. voyage de l'astrolabe, pl. xciii, figæ. - , . _i. (herm.), valvis et pedunculi spinis sub-flavis: basali tergorum angulo, introrsùm spectanti, hebete, quia margo carinalis inferior longiùs quam margo scutalis prominet._ _hermaph._--valves and spines on the peduncle yellowish: basal angle of the terga, viewed internally, blunt, owing to the lower carinal margin being more protuberant than the scutal margin. caudal appendages four times as long as the pedicels of the sixth cirrus: rami of the first cirrus unequal in length by about six segments. _complemental male_, with a notched crest on the dorsal surface, forming a rudiment of a capitulum: maxillæ well furnished with spines. kangaroo island, south australia (mus. brit., given by cuvier to leach); adelaide, south australia (mus. stutchbury); king george's sound, voyage of astrolabe; new south wales, attached to a mass of the galeolaria decumbens, (mus. hancock). hermaphrodite. all the external parts so closely resemble those of _i. cumingii_, that it would be superfluous to describe more than the few points of difference. the horny substance of both scuta and terga is uniformly yellow; though in dryed specimens, from the underlying corium being seen through the valves, these generally have a tinge of blue. the _scuta_, viewed internally, are less elongated transversely; they have their basal margins slightly more hollowed out, and the fold on the upper free and horn-like portion rather deeper. the _terga_, viewed internally, have the apex of the growing or corium-covered surface higher relatively to the scuta than in _i. cumingii_; and the basal angle is much broader, owing to the lower carinal margin being much more protuberant than the scutal margin. the spines on the peduncle are all yellowish-brown, and are rather longer than in _i. cumingii_. i observed in three or four specimens, that the lowest part of the peduncle had become _internally_ filled up with the usual, brown, transparent, laminated cement, cone within cone, so that this lower part was rendered rigid and stick-like; this latter effect, i apprehend, is the object gained by the formation of cement within the peduncle, of which i have not observed any other instance. the entire length of the largest specimen was one inch; some other specimens were only half this size. the thorax and prosoma are of the same shape as in _i. cumingii_, and in the largest specimen, about one tenth of an inch square; the prosoma, as in that species, is hairy. in the _mouth_, all the parts are closely similar to those of _i. cumingii_, but one third larger; the crest of the labrum is a little roughened with minute points: the palpi are squarer and blunter at their extremities: the mandibles have their second and third teeth nearly equal in size to the first, and they do not appear pectinated: the maxillæ have their spinose edge very nearly straight: the outer maxillæ are pointed. the olfactory orifices are similarly situated, and of similar shape; they are dark coloured. _cirri._--these also are similar to those of _i. cumingii_; the segments, however, of the three posterior cirri have each four pair of spines, placed very close together in a transverse direction. first cirrus has its two rami unequal in length by about six segments. the anterior rami of the second and third cirri are thicker, and more thickly clothed with spines, than the posterior rami, to perhaps a greater degree than in _i. cumingii_. in the posterior cirri, the upper segments of the pedicels are nearly as long as the lower segments. _caudal appendages_, four times as long as the pedicel of the sixth cirrus, and three fourths of the length of the rami of this same cirrus: segments thirty-two in number, and therefore as many as those forming the sixth cirrus: the upper segments are much thinner and longer than the basal segments; each furnished with a circle of short bristles; whole appendage excessively thin and tapering: the two closely approximate. _colour._--from some well-preserved dryed specimens in mr. stutchbury's possession, it appears that the sack, cirri and trophi, were dark blue, as in _i. cumingii_; after being long kept in spirits, these parts become brown. _generative system._--the penis (pl. iv, fig. _a_) is very singular in structure; it is of the ordinary length, but of small diameter; it tapers but little; it consists of a moveable articulated, and a fixed unarticulated portion; this latter is smooth, much flattened, not divided into segments, and projects straight out under the caudal appendages; it is about one third of the length of the entire penis; it corresponds with a part present in all cirripedes, but here surprisingly elongated. the articulated portion consists of separate segments, twenty in number, quite as distinct as those of the cirri; each one is oblong, being longer by about a third part than broad; each has a few short bristles round its upper margin; the terminal segment has a circular brush of bristles. the vesiculæ seminales are easily seen, though they are narrow; they are slightly tortuous; they enter the prosoma, and lie on each side of the stomach; their outer case has a ringed structure, but is not fibrous; the contents in the best specimen consisted of a mass of spermatozoa, which i saw with perfect distinctness. the testes are unusually large and egg-shaped. _ova_, spherical, / ths of an inch in diameter, united as usual into two ovigerous lamellæ. the ovigerous fræna are extraordinarily small, and might be very easily overlooked; their length, in a full-sized specimen, was only / ths of an inch, and they projected only / ths from the inner surface of the sack. the glands on their margin, to which the lamellæ adhere, are pointed oval, with an extremely short footstalk, and that rather thick; the entire length of gland and footstalk, being only / ths of an inch. the larvæ, in their first stage of development, offer the usual characters, and closely resemble those of scalpellum; the probosciformed mouth, however, is remarkably prominent, and the limbs unusually thick. _affinities._--this species most closely resembles _i. cumingii_, and cannot be distinguished externally, except by the absence of the blue colour on the marginal and interior portions of the valves; and this can hardly be ascertained without separating and cleaning them, owing to the blueness of the underlying corium. internally some slight differences may be perceived in the form of the valves. considering these so slight differences, it is highly remarkable that this species should be hermaphrodite, whilst _i. cumingii_ is unisexual. there is a greater, though still slight, difference in the included animal's body; the palpi in _i. quadrivalvis_ are blunter, the mandibles smoother, the olfactory orifices darker-coloured; the rami of the first cirrus more unequal, the spines more numerous on the segments of the posterior cirri, and lastly and most conspicuously, the caudal appendages are very much longer relatively to the length of the sixth cirrus, than in _ibla cumingii_. complemental male. i have examined one specimen of the hermaphrodite _i. quadrivalvis_, preserved in spirits from kangaroo island, and one dry from adelaide, both places in south australia, and four from an unknown locality, purchased from mr. sowerby; and within five out of these six specimens, males were attached. in one of them, two males of different ages were included, one adhering to the peduncle of the other: in _i. cumingii_, also, it may be remembered, there was a case of two males parasitic on one female. i may add that i opened another quite young specimen, from adelaide, not counted with the above, and it was without a male. the males in the five specimens were attached low down, at the rostral end, almost in a horizontal position, stretching across the bottom of the sack; one of them, however, was placed considerably on one side. one individual which i measured, was / ths of an inch in length, and / ths in width in the widest part, namely, about half down the peduncle. i may state, for the sake of comparison, that the hermaphrodite to which this individual was attached, was, including the peduncle and capitulum, one inch in length, that is, six times as long as the male, and one fifth of an inch in width, that is, four times as wide. the above measurements show that the male of this species is rather more than twice as large as that of _i. cumingii_. in consequence of this greater size, i dissected, with the utmost care, the one specimen which was excellently preserved in spirits, and found every part, with a few exceptions, so exactly the same as in the male of _i. cumingii_, only larger and more conspicuous, that it will be sufficient to indicate the few points of difference. the most conspicuous difference is, that the oblique fold separating the thorax and peduncle is more plainly developed, projecting at the point corresponding to _h_ in fig. , pl. v, / ths of an inch; in the middle the fold is notched; it can be traced more easily than in _i. cumingii_, running beneath and parallel to the basal edge of the mouth, to the ventral margin of the body. in the mouth there is hardly any difference; the maxillæ, however, have two notches even plainer than in the hermaphrodite _i. quadrivalvis_, or than in the male _i. cumingii_, but the depth of such notches is always a variable character; there are also more spines on the edge in the male of the present species, than in _i. cumingii_. both mandibles and maxillæ in the male _i. quadrivalvis_, are larger than in the male _i. cumingii_, to a greater degree than the larger proportional size of the body in the former will account for; and this, likewise, is the case with these same organs in the hermaphrodite _i. quadrivalvis_ compared with the female _i. cumingii_. the tubular olfactory orifices are situated in the same peculiar position as in the hermaphrodite, and as in both sexes of _i. cumingii_: they are / th of an inch in diameter, and about as thick as one of the lower segments in the rami of the sixth cirrus. the thorax, as in the male of _i. cumingii_, is quite rudimentary, and serves as a mere flap to protect the mouth. in the three specimens carefully examined, the posterior cirri had each only one ramus, whilst the anterior cirri generally had two: in one specimen, one of the rami in the anterior cirrus was formed of five segments, and the other ramus of three segments, both rami being supported on a uni-articulated pedicel; but on the opposite side of the same individual, the anterior cirrus was represented by a mere knob. the longer ramus of the anterior cirrus, in the best-developed individual, barely exceeded in length the mandibles measured along the line of the teeth! in one specimen between the bases of the posterior cirri, there were two perfectly distinct caudal appendages; these, like the cirri, are in a quite rudimentary condition; one was / ths of an inch in length, and consisted of three segments, the upper edges of which had short spines; the other was shorter, uni-articulated, but spinose. in a second specimen, these appendages were quite aborted. close under them, on the inside or towards the mouth, (that is, in the normal position,) there was a rudimentary but quite distinct penis, with the apex projecting freely, and with the sides distinguishable from the ventral surface of the thorax, for the length of / th of an inch: the corium lining this little penis made the terminal orifice plainly visible. the vesiculæ seminales lie in the usual position, and are conspicuous; they are slightly tortuous, with their ends blunt: in the specimen so well preserved in spirits, they were filled with a mass of spermatozoa, perfectly distinct; and the whole cavity of the body was lined with globular and pear-shaped testes. assuredly there was no vestige of ovarian tubes. from the greater size and excellent preservation of this specimen, which rendered the examination of the generative system so easy, i was able to examine the contents of the stomach, in which i found the delicate epithelial coat, separated as usual, and containing cellular matter, on which the animal had preyed, but the nature of which i was unable to make out. the anus was much plainer than in the male of _i. cumingii_. i saw the eye distinctly. i could not distinguish the orifices of the acoustic (?) sacks; and i think i should have seen them, if they had existed. _prehensile antennæ._--i examined these in the larvæ presently to be mentioned, and therefore they were in better condition than in the mature animal when cemented. their total length, measured along the outside, from the basal articulation to the end of the disc, is / ths or / ths of an inch--that is, one third longer than in _i. cumingii_; whilst the hoof-like disc itself is / ths, or only / th of an inch longer than this same part in _i. cumingii_: the apex of the disc is downy, or bears some excessively minute spines. the ultimate segment has its end irregularly rounded, with the spines obscurely divided into two groups, the outer group consisting of two or three longer and thinner spines, and the inner group of, as i believe, five rather shorter spines: the longer spines equal in length the whole ultimate segment. i could not perceive that they were plumose, as in many other genera. a single, rather thicker and long spine, pointing backwards, is attached to the under side of the disc, nearly opposite to the point where the ultimate segment is articulated on the upper convex surface. another single, curved spine is attached on the outer side of the basal segment, near its distal end. _development of the male._--in the specimen before alluded to, which included two males, one of these was only the / ths of an inch in length, and therefore between one fifth and one sixth of the size of the mature male. it had, probably, undergone only one exuviation since its metamorphosis, for the larva is nearly as long, namely, / ths of an inch. in this young male, the mouth formed one third of the entire length: it was attached, not as in every other case to the sack of the hermaphrodite, but low down to the peduncle of the other male. in the sack with these two males, there were certainly four, i believe five, larvæ, which in every main point of structure resembled the larvæ of other pedunculated cirripedes. from the peculiar form of their prehensile antennæ, differing in no respect, except in the proportional lengths of the segments, from the same organ in the male _i. cumingii_, i can feel no doubt that these were the larvæ of the male _i. quadrivalvis_;--for a moment's reflection will show how excessively improbable it is, that several larvæ of some other cirripede, and that a cirripede intimately allied to the parasitic male ibla, should have forced themselves, without any apparent object, into the sack of the hermaphrodite ibla. the larvæ, though not yet attached, were on the point of attachment, so that the single eye of the mature animal could be distinctly seen, lying near to the two great compound eyes of the larva. we have also just seen, that one male quite recently here had undergone its metamorphosis. the larvæ are / ths of an inch in length, and rather more than / ths in width in the widest part: they are boat-shaped, the dorsal edge forming the keel of the boat; the anterior end is only a little blunter than the posterior end; the quasi-bivalve carapace is smooth. all the essential points of structure in the larvæ of other cirripedes at this stage, could be distinctly here seen,--such as the two compound eyes, with the apodemes to which they are attached, and the two oblong sternal plates whence the apodemes spring,--the adductor muscle,--the six natatory legs, with long plumose spines,--the abdomen, with its three small segments and the caudal appendages,--the prehensile antennæ already described,--and, lastly, the two little (auditory?) sacks at the antero-sternal edges of the carapace, but not so near the anterior extremity as in lepas. the four or five larvæ, after having undergone in the open sea the several preparatory metamorphoses common to the class, must have voluntarily entered the sack of the hermaphrodite: ultimately would they, on finding two males already attached there, have retired, and sought another individual less well provided; or would they all have remained, and so formed a polyandrous establishment, such as we shall presently see occurs sometimes in scalpellum? this must remain quite uncertain. in this same hermaphrodite specimen of _i. quadrivalvis_, the two ovigerous lamellæ contained some hundreds of larvæ in the first stage of development, which were liberated from their enveloping membranes by a touch of a needle: they were about the / ths of an inch in length, and presented all the usual characters of larvæ at this period. what a truly wonderful assemblage of beings of the same species, but how marvellously unlike in appearance, did this individual hermaphrodite present! we have the numerous, almost globular larvæ, with lateral horns to their carapaces, with their three pair of legs, single eye, probosciformed mouth and long tail:--we have the somewhat larger larvæ in the last stage of development, much compressed, boat-formed, with their two great compound eyes, curious prehensile antennæ, closed rudimentary mouth and six natatory legs so different from those in the first stage:--we have the two attached males, with their bodies reduced almost to a mouth placed on the summit of a peduncle, with a minute, apparently single eye shining through the integuments, without any carapace or capitulum, and with the thorax as well as the legs or cirri rudimentary and functionless:--lastly, we have the hermaphrodite, with all its complicated organisation, its thorax supporting six pairs of multi-articulated two-armed cirri, and its well-developed capitulum furnished with horny valves, surrounding this wonderful assemblage of beings. unquestionably, without a rigid examination, these four forms would have been ranked in different families, if not orders, of the articulated kingdom. _concluding remarks._--if the creature which i have considered as the male of _ibla cumingii_ be really so, and the evidence formerly given seems to me amply conclusive, then the animal just described, from its close affinity in every point of structure with the former, assuredly is the male of _ibla quadrivalvis_. but feeling strongly how improbable it is, that an additional or complemental male should be associated with an hermaphrodite, i will make a few remarks on the only possible hypothesis, if my view be rejected,--namely, that the two parasites considered by me to be exclusively males, are not so, but are independent hermaphrodite cirripedes, the female organs and ova (which, if present, would have been nearly mature, judging from the presence of spermatozoa in both species) having been overlooked by me in every specimen: and again, that in the animal described as the female _i. cumingii_, i have, though minutely dissecting several specimens, and finding far smaller parts, such as the organs of sense and nervous system, entirely overlooked all the conspicuous male organs, though when i came to _i. quadrivalvis_, and naturally expected to find it likewise exclusively female, a single glance showed me the great probosciformed penis, and by the simplest dissection the vesiculæ seminales and testes were exhibited. such an oversight is scarcely credible; but even if assumed, we have to believe in the extraordinary circumstance of the two parasites being species of an independent genus, not only the very next in alliance to the animals to which they are attached, but in certain most important points, namely, the organs of the mouth, actually deserving a place in the very same genus. moreover, the two parasites differ from each other, not only in about the same slight degree, but in a corresponding manner, as do the two iblas to which they are attached; thus the mouths of _ibla quadrivalvis_ and _i. cumingii_ are closely similar, (the difference being barely of specific value,) so are the mouths of the two parasites; but the parts are larger in the hermaphrodite _i. quadrivalvis_, than in _i. cumingii_, so are they in the parasites. again, the most conspicuous character in _i. quadrivalvis_, is the number of segments in the caudal appendages, far exceeding those in the other species of ibla, as well as of every other pedunculated cirripede, and the parasite of this species has articulated spinose appendages, far larger than the barely visible, non-articulated pair in _i. cumingii_. considering the whole case, there seems no room to doubt the justness of the conclusion arrived at, under the former as well as under the present species, namely, that these little parasites are the males of the two species of ibla to which they are attached;--wonderful though the fact be, that in one case, the male should pair with an hermaphrodite already provided with efficient male organs. it is to bring this fact prominently forward, that i have called such males, complemental males; as they seem to form the complement to the male organs in the hermaphrodite. we look in vain for any, as yet known, analogous facts in the animal kingdom. in the genus scalpellum, however, next in alliance to ibla, in which, consequently, if anywhere, we might expect to find such facts, they occur; and until these are fully considered, i hope the conclusions here arrived at, will not be summarily rejected. although the existence of hermaphrodites and males within the limits of the same species, is a new fact amongst animals, it is far from rare in the vegetable kingdom: the male flowers, moreover, are sometimes in a rudimentary condition compared to the hermaphrodite flowers, exactly in the same manner as are the male iblas. if the final cause of the existence of these complemental males be asked, no certain answer can be given; the vesiculæ seminales in the hermaphrodite of _ibla quadrivalvis_, appeared to be of small diameter; but on the other hand, the ova to be impregnated are fewer than in most cirripedes. no explanation, as we have seen, can be given of the much simpler case of the mere separation of the sexes in _ibla cumingii_: nor can any explanation, i believe, be given of the much more varied arrangement of the parts of fructification in plants of the linnean class, polygamia. _genus_--scalpellum. pls. v, vi. scalpellum. _leach._ journ. de physique, t. lxxxv, july, . lepas. _linn._ systema naturæ, . pollicipes. _lamarck._ animaux sans vertebres, . polylepas. _de blainville._ dict. des sc. nat., . smilium (pars generis). _leach._ zoolog. journal, vol. , july, . calantica (pars generis). _j. e. gray._ annals of philosophy, vol. x, (new series,) aug. . thaliella (pars generis). _j. e. gray._ proc. zoolog. soc., . anatifa. _quoy_ et _gaimard_. voyage de l'astrolabe, - . xiphidium (pars generis). _dixon._ geology of suffolk, . (_herm. et foem._) _valvis ad : lateribus verticilli inferioris quatuor vel sex, lineis incrementi plerumque convergentibus: sub-rostrum rarissime adest: pedunculo squamifero, rarissime nudo._ (herm. and fem.) valves to in number: latera of the lower whorl, four or six, with their lines of growth generally directed towards each other: sub-rostrum very rarely present: peduncle squamiferous, most rarely naked. filamentary appendages, none: labrum, with the upper part highly bullate: trophi, various: olfactory orifices, more or less prominent: caudal appendages, uniarticulate and spinose, or none. _males_, parasitic at or near the orifice of the sack of the female or of the hermaphrodite: thorax enclosed within a capitulum, furnished with three or four rudimentary valves, or with six perfect valves: peduncle either short and distinct, or confounded with the capitulum: sometimes mouth and stomach absent, and cirri non-prehensile; sometimes mouth and cirri normal. generally attached to horny corallines, in the warmer temperate seas over the whole world. i have felt much doubt in limiting this genus: the six recent species which it contains, differ more from each other than do the species in the previous genera. mr. gray has proposed or adopted generic names for four of the species, and a fifth certainly has equal claims to this same rank. these genera have been founded almost exclusively on the number of the valves; and oddly enough, the numbers have generally been given wrongly, namely, in scalpellum, calantica, thaliella, and xiphidium. scalpellum blends through _s. villosum_ into pollicipes; and this latter genus has an equal right with scalpellum, to be divided into sub-genera, three in number. hence, no less than eight genera might be made out of the twelve recent species of scalpellum and pollicipes, and their formation, in some degree, be justified; but, in my opinion, this inordinate multiplication of genera destroys the main advantages of classification. at one time, i even thought that it would be best to follow lamarck, and keep the twelve recent species in one genus; but considering the number of fossil species, i believe the more prudent course has been followed, in retaining the two genera scalpellum and pollicipes; more especially as i can hardly doubt, that several other species will be hereafter discovered. having so lately described in the memoirs of the palæontographical society, the fossil species, i will not here further allude to them, than to state, that out of the fifteen species therein described, _s. magnum_ comes very close to the recent _s. vulgare_, and that several eocene and cretaceous species, such as _s. quadratum_, _s. fossula_, and _s. maximum_, are allied to _s. rutilum_ and _s. ornatum_. _scalpellum villosum_, a recent species, has stronger claims than any other species to be generically separated; and its habits, in not being attached to horny corallines, are also different, but the identity of its complemental male with that of _s. peronii_, and its numerous points of resemblance in structure with the other species, have determined me not to separate it. _scalpellum peronii_, _villosum_, and _rostratum_, in having a sub-carina,--in the rostrum being pretty well developed,--and in the complemental male being pedunculated, and furnished with a functional mouth and prehensile cirri, may be separated from _s. vulgare_, _ornatum_ and _rutilum_; but even between these two little groups, _s. rostratum_ is in some respects intermediate, namely, in having three pairs of latera, and more especially in the rudimentary condition of the valves of its complemental male, and in the position in which the male is attached to the hermaphrodite. the three species in the second little group, namely, _s. vulgare_, _s. ornatum_, and _s. rutilum_, are more nearly allied to each other in all their characters, especially in the characters drawn from their males, than are the other three species. _s. ornatum_ and _s. rutilum_ are considerably nearer to each other than any other two of the species. upon the whole i conclude that the six species must be thrown either into five or into four genera (the first three species making one genus), or all into one genus, and this latter has appeared to me the preferable course. the separation even of scalpellum and pollicipes, as already stated, is hardly natural. the fact of these genera having existed from a remote epoch, and having given rise during successive periods to many species now extinct, is probably the cause that the few remaining species are so much more distinct from each other, than is common in the other genera of lepadidæ. whenever the structure of the whole capitulum in the fossil species is well known, and as soon as more species, recent and fossil, shall have been discovered, then probably the genus scalpellum will have to be divided into several smaller genera. _description._--the _capitulum_ is much compressed, and generally produced upwards; it is formed of from twelve to fifteen valves, which are rather thin, and with the exception of _s. ornatum_, almost entirely covered by membrane, bearing spines: the valves are seldom locked very closely together. a sub-rostrum exists only in _s. villosum_, which species leads on to pollicipes; in _s. vulgare_ the rostrum is rudimentary and hidden. the scuta, terga and carina, are much larger than the other valves: these five valves seem to differ essentially from the others in being at first developed under the form of the so-called primordial valves: the other valves commence by a small indistinct brown spot, very different from the hexagonal tissue of the primordial valves: i saw this very clearly in young specimens of _s. vulgare_. at first, the scuta, terga and carina, grow exclusively downwards (and permanently so in most fossil species), and therefore the growth of the scuta and carina is in an absolutely opposite direction to what it is in lepas, pæcilasma and dichelaspis. after a short period the scuta are added to at their upper ends; the portion thus added, stands at a rather lower level, and projects in a rather different direction from the first-formed part of the valve, giving to it, in some respects, the appearance of having been broken and mended. this structure is common to _s. vulgare_, _s. rostratum_ and _s. peronii_. the upper latera (except in _s. villosum_) grow in the same manner, namely, at first exclusively downwards, and then both upwards and downwards. the rostral and carinal latera (with the same exception of _s. villosum_) have their umbones seated laterally, at opposite ends of the capitulum,--the umbones of the rostral latera being close to the rostrum, and those of the carinal pair close to the carina, and consequently their chief growth is directed towards each other. the carina in all the species, except _s. villosum_, is either bowed or angularly bent; in the latter case the lower half is parallel to the peduncle, and the upper half, extending far up between the terga, is parallel to their longer axes. in some of the species the carina is added to almost equally at both ends; in _s. ornatum_ it grows but little at the upper end, and to a varying degree in different individuals according to their age; in _s. rutilum_ the umbo is at the apex, and there is consequently no upward growth; lastly, in _s. villosum_ the carina widening much from the apex to the basal margin, grows exclusively downwards, and a portion of the apex projects freely,--characters all common to the carina in the genus pollicipes. the upper latera occur in all the species; in the lower whorl there are either two or three pair of latera, in the former case the infra-median pair being absent. the latera differ considerably in shape in the different species. the _peduncle_ is generally rather short, and, with the exception of _s. peronii_, is covered with calcified scales. these scales are generally small, and placed symmetrically in close whorls, in an imbricated order, with each scale corresponding to the interspace between two scales in the whorls above and below. in _s. ornatum_, the scales are so wide, transversely, that there are only four in each whorl. in _s. villosum_, the scales are spindle-shaped and arranged somewhat irregularly in transverse rows, not very near to each other. new calcareous scales originate only round the top of the peduncle, and they continue to grow only in the few upper whorls; and as the peduncle itself continues to increase in diameter by the formation of new inner membranous layers and the disintegration of the old outer layers, the calcareous scales come in the lower part of the peduncle to stand further and further apart. in the earliest stage of growth there are no calcareous scales on the peduncle in _s. vulgare_; they first appear under the carina. spines are articulated in great numbers on the surface of the peduncle in _s. vulgare_, _s. peronii_, and _s. villosum_, and very short ones on that of _s. rostratum_. _attachment._--all the species, except _s. villosum_, are attached to horny corallines: the singular means of attachment in _s. vulgare_ will be described under that species, and is probably common to several of the other species. the larva in most, or in all cases, when it proceeds to attach itself, clings head downwards to the branch, and hence the capitulum comes to be placed upwards, with its orifice fronting the branch and the carina outwards. the sucking disc of the prehensile antennæ of the larva, in the five species examined, was a little pointed, and in shape resembled the hinder hoof of a mule: this may perhaps be accounted for by the narrowness of the branches of the corallines, to which it has to adhere: a large circular disc, as in lepas, would have been worse than useless: the ultimate segment in most or all the species, has on its inner side (the segment being supposed to be extended straight forward) a notch or step, bearing, i believe, two spines. _size and colour._--some of the species attain a medium size, others are small. the valves are generally clouded red or pink, but sometimes white. _mouth._--the various parts vary far more than in any genus hitherto described. the labrum is highly bullate, with the upper part forming a rounded overhanging projection, and with the lower part much produced, so that the mouth is placed far from the adductor scutorum muscle, and consequently the orifice is directed more towards the ventral surface of the thorax than in most other cirripedes: on the crest of the labrum there are some very small teeth in several of the species, but not in all. the mandibles have either three or four main teeth, generally with either one or two small teeth intermediate between the first and second large teeth, and in the case of _s. peronii_, with small teeth between all the larger ones. the maxillæ have their edges furnished with many spines, and are either straight or have the inferior part prominent and step-formed. the outer maxillæ have the spines on their inner edges either continuous or divided into two groups, of which latter structure we have not hitherto had any very well characterised example. the olfactory orifices are either highly or moderately protuberant. in most of the species the prosoma is little developed, and the first cirrus is placed far from the second. the _cirri_ are generally but little curled, and have elongated segments, with long, generally serrated spines: the first cirrus varies in proportional length; the second and third cirri have both their rami more thickly clothed with spines than are the three posterior cirri, the spines being generally arranged in three or four longitudinal rows: the cirri, however, of _s. villosum_ in all respects resemble closely the cirri of _pollicipes sertus_ and _p. spinosus_. the _caudal appendages_ are uniarticulate, small, and clothed with spines: in _s. villosum_, however, differently from in all other allied forms, there are no appendages. the _stomach_, in those species which i opened, is destitute of cæca. there are no filamentary appendages. _generative system._ the ova are nearly spherical, and remarkably large, as was stated to be the case in the introductory discussion, in which the larva of _s. vulgare_, in the first stage of development, was described: the ovigerous fræna are small. the testes are large, but the vesiculæ seminales in some of the species extraordinarily small. _scalpellum ornatum_, and perhaps _s. rutilum_, are unisexual; the other species are hermaphrodite, but most or at least some of the individuals, are furnished with complemental males. these latter are fully described under each species, so i will here only remark, that _s. ornatum_, which alone (excepting perhaps _s. rutilum_) is unisexual, has less claim than the other species to be generically separated: we have seen also, in ibla, that similar sexual differences occur in two most closely allied species. it is very singular how much more some of the males and complemental males in scalpellum differ from each other, than do the female and hermaphrodite forms; this seems due to the different stages of embryonic development at which the males have been arrested. in the males, however, of _s. rostratum_, _s. peronii_, and _s. villosum_, compared one with another, but not with the males of the other species, the parts of the mouth and apparently the cirri, resemble each other more closely, than do the same organs in the hermaphrodites. at the end of this genus i shall give a summary on the highly remarkable sexual relations both in scalpellum and ibla. _distribution._--the species seem distributed over the whole world, but as far as we can trust our present scanty materials, are most common in the warmer temperate regions. the _s. vulgare_ ranges from the norwegian seas to naples. most of the species are inhabitants of deep water. _affinities._--in the preliminary remarks, we have seen how this genus blends into pollicipes; and under the head of oxynaspis, i have shown its close affinity to that genus. if, indeed, we take _pollicipes spinosus_, and destroy all but six of the already minute and almost rudimentary latera, we shall, as far as the capitulum is concerned, convert it into a scalpellum, closely similar to _s. villosum_. if we take any species of scalpellum, (excepting _s. villosum_ and _s. rutilum_,) and destroy all the valves, but the scuta, terga and carina, we shall convert it into an oxynaspis. lastly, i have shown under ibla, that in several most remarkable peculiarities of structure, there is a manifest affinity between scalpellum and that genus. _geological history._--full details on this subject have been given in the memoirs of the palæontographical society. i will here only state, that the oldest known form of scalpellum occurs in the lower green sand. [=t= sub-carin nullÂ.] . scalpellum vulgare. pl. v, fig. . scalpellum vulgare. _leach._ encyclop. brit. suppl., vol. iii, . lepas scalpellum. _linn._ systema naturæ, . ---- _poli._ test. utriusque siciliæ, pl. vi., fig. . . pollicipes scalpellum. _lamarck._ an. sans vertebres, . polylepas vulgare. _de blainville._ dict. sc. nat., plate, fig. . . scalpellum lÆve, var. _leach._ zoolog. journal, vol. ii, p. , . ---- siciliÆ, var. _chenu._ illust. conch. pl. iv, fig. . scalpellum vulgare, (et var.) _brown._ illust. of conch., , pl. li., figs. to . _s. (herm.) valvis , si rostrum pæne rudimentale includatur: lateribus superioribus inæqualiter ovatis._ (herm.) capitulum with valves, including the rudimentary rostrum: upper latera irregularly oval. mandibles, with four or five teeth: maxillæ, with the edge straight, bearing numerous spines. complemental male flask-formed, with four rudimentary valves; no mouth; cirri not prehensile; attached to the occludent margin of the scutum, near the umbo. great britain, ireland, france, norway, naples. attached to horny corallines, at from twenty to thirty, sometimes even to fifty fathoms in depth, according to forbes and macandrew. hermaphrodite. _description._--capitulum much flattened with the apex produced, of a pale brown colour, sometimes faintly tinted purple, composed of valves, of which the rostrum is rudimentary and barely visible externally; valves thin, white, translucent, smooth, slightly marked by the lines of growth, separated from each other by rather wide interspaces of colourless membrane, which is thickly clothed by small, articulated spines of unequal length. the valves, excepting sometimes their umbones, are also covered with membrane, bearing spines, placed in rows parallel to the lines of growth; the spines are particularly numerous round the orifice of the sack. _scuta_ slightly convex, thrice as long as broad; upper part much acuminated; occludent margin almost straight; basal margin nearly at right angles to the occludent margin; the tergal margin is separated from the lateral margin by an angle more or less prominent; a slight curved ridge runs from the umbo to this angle, and this deserves especial notice, inasmuch as it indicates the outline which the valve assumed in its earliest growth, and which is permanently retained in most of the older fossil species. along the occludent margin, there is a trace of a ledge, developed in a variable degree, and which is noticed only on account of the plainly visible ledge along this same margin, in the allied genus oxynaspis. the umbo, or centre of calcification, is seated close to the occludent margin, and at about one fourth of the length of the valve from the apex. internally, (fig. , _a´_, pl. v,) the part above the umbo is flat; and beneath this upper part, there is a large rounded hollow (_d_) for the adductor muscle: a fold or indentation (_a_) running downwards from the umbo, extends in a very oblique line across the occludent margin. this fold is of high interest as giving lodgment to the complemental males, and will hereafter often be referred to. _terga_, triangular, flat; occludent margin, very slightly arched. _carina_ much bent, with the umbo placed at barely one third of the entire length of the valve from the apex. two very slight ridges can be perceived, one on each side, running from the umbo to the basal margin, and separating the roof from the parietes of the valve; these ridges are of great use in distinguishing the fossil carinæ of scalpellum, from the carinæ of pollicipes. the part above the umbo is formed by the upward production of a marginal slip along each side of the valve, which slips in the fossil species (c in the woodcut, fig. , given in the introduction,) i have designated as the intra-parietes. the lower part of the valve gradually widens from the umbo downwards; internally, the whole is deeply concave, and continuously curved. the angle varies at which the upper and lower portions externally meet each other; but is never less than °. the upper part of the carina runs up between the terga for three-quarters of their length; the basal margin does not extend down low enough to pass between the carinal latera. _rostrum_, (fig. _b´_, seen externally, and highly magnified,) minute, almost hidden by the enveloping membrane and by the small prominent umbones of the rostral latera; in area equalling about one fourth of the rostral latera; externally pyramidal, with the upper side rather longer than the lower; internally slightly concave, square, with the upper margin and sometimes with the lower margin, slightly hollowed out. umbo of growth nearly central. _upper latera_, flat, irregularly oval, with an almost rectangular shoulder under the basal angle of the terga; in area, about one third larger than the largest valve of the lower whorl; the exact degree of elongation of the oval figure varies a little. umbo seated a little above the central point. _lower whorl_,--_rostral latera_, nearly twice as long as broad, lying under the basal margins of the scuta: umbo seated over the rostrum; opposite end, towards which the valve widens either sensibly or but little, is either square or rounded; in area, less than any of the other valves, excepting the rostrum; in breadth, equalling either half or one third of the height of the infra-median latera; growth, directed chiefly towards the infra-median latera. the freely-projecting umbo is about one sixth part of the entire length of the valve. _infra-median latera_, rather larger than the carinal latera; their shape varies from elongated pentagonal with the angles rounded, to oval, with the longer axis directed upwards. the umbo is seated a little above the middle of the basal margin, so that there is some little growth downwards, but the main growth is upwards. the upper point generally stands a little above that of the carinal latera. _carinal latera_, flat, less in area than the infra-median latera; basal margin nearly straight; carinal margin slightly hollowed out, terminal margin arched and protuberant. the umbones of the two valves almost touch each other under the middle of the carina; main growth towards the infra-median latera and upwards; umbones projecting not above one fifth of the entire length of the valve. _peduncle_, much flattened, rarely as long as the capitulum, with the upper end nearly as wide as it; the lower end is either blunt, or tapers to a very fine point. the calcareous scales are transversely elongated, and are about four times as wide as high; their internal surfaces are slightly concave, and their external, convex; the two ends are pointed. viewed internally, the scales approach in shape to rhomboids. there are, in a medium-sized specimen, about twenty scales in each whorl, their tips overlapping each other: the whorls are placed not very near each other and at rather unequal distances, except round the uppermost part, where, being in process of formation, they are packed closely together. the membrane uniting the scales, supports numerous transverse rows of articulated spines, varying from / th to / th of an inch in length, and each furnished with a long sinuous tubulus, / , th of an inch in diameter, running through the membrane to the underlying corium. _attachment._--specimens are attached to various horny corallines, and occasionally to the peduncles of each other.[ ] in both cases, supposing the coralline to be erect, the capitulum is placed upwards, with its orifice towards the branch to which it is attached, and consequently with its carina outwards. where several are crowded in a group, their peduncles often become twisted and their positions irregular, with their orifices facing in any direction. this uniform position is simply the consequence of the larva attaching itself head-downwards, and from the position of the prehensile antennæ, necessarily with its sternal surface parallel and close to the branch of the coralline; hence the dorsal surface, which afterwards is converted into the carina, faces outwards. the peduncle, as already stated, often tapers, at its basal extremity, to a sharp point. in very young specimens, for instance in one with a capitulum only / th of an inch in length, the method of attachment is the same as in lepas and many other genera, namely, by cement proceeding exclusively from the antennæ of the larva; but in older and full-grown specimens, instead of the whole bottom of the peduncle becoming flattened and broadly attached, which would be here impossible, the cement is poured out through a straight row of orifices along the rostral edge, thus causing, by an excellent adaptation, a narrow margin to adhere firmly to the thin and cylindrical branches of the coralline. these orifices are represented, magnified seven times, in pl. ix, fig. , in which the lower attached portion of the peduncle is split open and exhibited; they are circular, and stand at regular intervals, in a straight line; the higher orifices are larger, but further apart from each other than the lower ones; in one full-grown specimen, i counted ten of these orifices in a length of exactly a quarter of an inch. at each period of growth, the corium recedes a little from the attached portion of the peduncle; of which portion, the greater part is thus left empty and as incapable of further growth, as are the larval antennæ at the extreme point: in the specimen figured, the corium extended a little below the upper orifice. the prehensile antennæ, however, i must remark, do not strictly rise from the extreme point of the peduncle, but at a little distance from it, on the rostral surface; this simply ensues from the antennæ in the larva, being situated on the sternal surface, close to, but not actually on the front of the head. the two cement glands are seated high up on the sides of the peduncle, and remote from each other; they are small, unusually globular and transparent. the two cement-ducts (fig. _a_ _a_) proceeding from them, are / ths of an inch in diameter, and run in a zig-zag line; at the point where they pass through the corium to enter the lower attached portion of the peduncle, they become closely approximated, and partially imbedded in the membrane of the peduncle. together they run along the rostral edge, giving out through each orifice a little disc of brownish cement, and finally they enter the larval antennæ. the peduncle, just above the attached portion, where still lined by corium, no doubt increases in diameter at each period of growth, and must, i presume, become pressed against the almost parallel branch of the coralline. the corium, at this same period, shrinks, or is absorbed, and the two cement-ducts come in contact with, and adhere to, the inner surface of the outer membrane of the peduncle; and then, by a process which i do not understand in this or any other cirripede, apertures are formed both in the ducts and through the membrane, so that the cement passes through, firmly fastening the outer surface of the peduncle with its calcareous scales and spines, to the coralline. [ ] mr. peach, (transact. brit. assoc., , p. ,) states that this is sometimes the case in cornwall; and i have seen a similar instance in a fine group from naples. the structure of the larval prehensile antennæ will be most conveniently described when we come to the complemental male; and figures ( - , pl. v) will be given. _size and colours._--montagu states ('test. brit.,' p. ) that british specimens rarely have a capitulum . of an inch in length; i have, however, seen an irish specimen, . long; and several specimens, from the bay of naples, . long, and including the peduncle, . in length. the valves in all the specimens are white, and the membrane connecting them either nearly white, or dirty pale yellowish, or purplish-brown. within the sack the corium under the valves is tinted pale purple, and two very faint bands of the same colour can generally be distinguished running down the two sides of the peduncle. body, coloured yellowish-white, with the upper segments of the pedicels of the cirri, tinted in front with purple. _body_, much flattened, the prosoma is very little developed; the mouth placed far from the adductor muscle, and is directed in a remarkable manner towards the ventral surface of the thorax: the first pair of cirri stands far separated from the second pair. _mouth._--labrum with the upper part highly bullate, forming an overhanging projection equalling the longitudinal axis of the mouth; basal margin much produced; crest with a row of bead-like teeth. _palpi_ rather small, with their external margin straight, and internal margin oblique: the bristles on the two palpi just meet each other. _mandibles_, with five or six teeth, with the second, (or second and third, when there are six teeth,) smaller than the others; in two specimens, there were five teeth on one side and six on the other; inferior angle rather broad and strongly pectinated. _maxillæ_ with the edge nearly straight, without any notch, but with the inferior portion very slightly projecting; there are twelve or thirteen pairs of unequal spines, of which some of the middle ones are rather longer than the others, and almost as long as the two upper great spines. _outer maxillæ._--on the inner margin the bristles are divided into two separate tufts; exteriorly, near the base, there is a distinct rounded swelling with bristles. the olfactory orifices are highly protuberant, approximate, flattened, scarcely tapering towards their upper ends. _cirri._--the five posterior pair are elongated, very little curled, with short pedicels; their segments are long, not at all protuberant in front, bearing five or six pairs of long, slightly serrated spines, with a very minute tuft of bristles between each pair, and with some short lateral spines on the inner side of each segment; on the fourth pair of cirri, these lateral spines are considerably developed; dorsal tufts consist of fine spines, with one much longer than the others. _first pair_ short, separated by a wide interval from the second; rami unequal in length, by between two and four segments; longer ramus having nine segments, scarcely half as long as the rami of the second cirrus; shorter ramus with seven segments; in the same individual there were twenty segments in the sixth cirrus. the segments in the shorter ramus of the first cirrus are oblong in a transverse direction, and may be compared to a set of shields placed transversely and strung together; in the longer ramus the segments are longitudinally oblong; in both they are thickly covered with spines. _second cirrus_; the anterior ramus is a little broader than the posterior ramus, with the segments bearing about five rows of bristles; fifteen segments in the shorter ramus. _third pair_, with the two rami equal in thickness, and with the segments differing very little from those of the posterior cirri, excepting that the serrated spines in the external lateral rows are rather larger. the fourth pair is remarkable by having, on the inner side of the upper edge of each segment, a little tuft of minute smooth spines, flattened, and a little enlarged near their ends, so as to be spear-shaped; i could not see these singular spines on the other cirri. the lower segments of the pedicels of all the cirri, excepting the sixth pair, are remarkable from having their inner edges, in the middle, produced into a considerable, abrupt, rounded projection, irregularly covered with spines. _caudal appendages_, (pl. x, fig. ,) very small, flattened, of nearly the same width throughout; in a medium-sized specimen, only / th of an inch in length; each bears from ten to twenty small bristles placed distantly from each other, of which those on the rounded apex are the longest. _generative system._--the penis is remarkably acuminated; the vesiculæ seminales are unusually small, and enter only for a short distance into the prosoma; the testes are large. the ovarian tubes are of large diameter; the ova are nearly spherical and large, namely, / ths of an inch in diameter; they are not numerous, and lie in single layers in the two lamellæ. the ovigerous fræna are well developed, and lie under the scuta; one i measured was / ths of an inch in length and / ths in width; the margin is obliquely truncated and slightly sinuous. this species breeds late in the autumn, and even in mid-winter; i have examined a specimen from cornwall with ova containing larvæ, taken on the th of october; again, in another specimen from belfast, sent to me by mr. thompson, taken in january, there were ova in the lamellæ, and therefore no doubt impregnated; and on february the th i received from mr. peach, from cornwall, specimens so very young that they must have become attached during the first days of the month. _varieties._--the specimens from near naples, (which i owe to the kindness of the rev. f. w. hope,) are somewhat larger, and differ slightly from those of britain: they form, i imagine, the _s. siciliæ_ of chenu. after carefully examining them internally and externally, i think it is quite impossible to consider them specifically distinct, for although in several specimens, the valves were placed a little further apart from each other,--the upper latera a little more elongated,--the carinal latera rather narrower in their upper half,--the infra-median latera rather more rounded,--and, lastly, in the scuta, the tergal margin extended almost in the same line with the lateral margin; nevertheless in other specimens, i could perceive no difference whatever. it is, however, remarkable that in several full-grown neapolitan specimens there were no complemental males, whereas i have never seen a single full-grown british specimen without such being present. in some specimens in the british museum, without any given locality, i have observed considerable variation in the breadth of the carinal and rostral latera. complemental male. pl. v, figs. - . when first dissecting _scalpellum vulgare_, i was surprised at the almost constant presence of one or more very minute parasites, on the margins of both scuta, close to the umbones: these are represented, but rendered darker and therefore more conspicuous than in nature, in the drawing, pl. v, fig. , which is three times the natural size. i carelessly dissected one or two specimens, and concluded that they belonged to some new class or order amongst the articulata; but did not at that time even conjecture, that they were cirripedes. many months afterwards, when i had seen in ibla, that an hermaphrodite could have a complemental male, i remembered that i had been surprised at the small size of the vesiculæ seminales in the hermaphrodite _s. vulgare_, so that i resolved to look with care at these parasites; on doing so, i soon discovered that they were cirripedes, for i found that they adhered by cement, and were furnished with prehensile antennæ, which latter, i observed with astonishment, agreed in every minute character, and in size, with those of _s. vulgare_: the importance of this agreement will not at present be fully appreciated. i also found, that these parasites were destitute of a mouth and stomach; that consequently they were short-lived, but that they reached maturity; and that all were males. subsequently the five other species of the genus scalpellum were found to present more or less closely analogous phenomena. these facts, together with those given under ibla (and had it not been for this latter genus, i never probably should have even struck on the right track in my investigation,) appear sufficient to justify me, in provisionally considering the truly wonderful parasites of the several species of scalpellum, as males and complemental males. when these parasites are fully described, will be the proper time to discuss and weigh the evidence on their sexual relations and nature. i will now describe the parasite of _s. vulgare_. _general appearance._--shape, flask-like, compressed (pl. v, fig. , magnified times), with a short neck: the outline is usually symmetrical, but sometimes is a little distorted on the under side. the creature is imbedded more than half its length or depth in the transparent, spine-bearing chitine border of the scutum of the hermaphrodite. its length, or longer axis, varies from to / ths; its breadth, or transverse axis, is to / ths; and its thickness, for it is much flattened, is only / ths of an inch. on the summit, there is a fimbriated orifice (_a_), the size of which can rarely be made out quite distinctly, owing to the extreme thinness of the membranous edges. a little way beneath the orifice, there are four little blunt, bristly points (_b_), generally rather more than the / th of an inch in length; they are rather variable in size, and seem to be of no functional importance; directly beneath them, there are four little calcareous beads (as may be known by their dissolving with effervescence in any acid, and breaking easily under the needle); these are the / ths of an inch in their larger external diameter; they are rather deeply imbedded in the outer integument, and taper a little downwards ending in a concave terminal point, into which a minute tubulus enters, like those passing into and through the valves of ordinary cirripedia: along the axis of imbedment, they are often / ths of an inch in length. these calcareous beads or rudimental valves are seated in pairs, at the two ends of the flattened animal, so that when the animal is laid on one side, the upper bead in each pair exactly covers and hides the lower one. the outer integument is composed of chitine, as may be inferred from boiling caustic potash having no effect on it; the upper part is thicker than the imbedded portion and is wrinkled transversely; it is covered with minute spines / , ths of an inch in length, either single or in groups of two and three, (pl. v, fig. .) this outer tunic is lined by corium, sometimes slightly mottled with dull purple; and this by delicate, longitudinal, striæ-less muscles, running from the base up to the under edge of the orifice; these longitudinal muscles are crossed, at least, in the upper part, by still finer transverse muscles. _thorax and abdomen._--when the external integument is cut open, the thorax (pl. v, fig. ) is found lodged within an inner sack or rather tube, extending from near the bottom of the animal, up to the external orifice. the whole thorax is sometimes forced through the orifice, owing perhaps to the action of the spirits of wine and consequent endosmose, and is thus well displayed without dissection. the thorax tapers a little, is much flattened and straight; its length, together with the terminal abdominal lobe, is about / ths of an inch; it is formed of very thin, most finely hirsute membrane, transversely wrinkled and so extensible, that when everted by the internal muscles being seized, it stretches to twice its former length; in this condition, five transverse articulations are displayed. the abdominal lobe is smooth, and cannot be stretched, or turned inside out by pulling the above muscles. on the thorax, corresponding with the interspaces between the five transverse articulations, there are four pair of short limbs, but their bases, i believe, are prolonged across the inner or ventral surface of the thorax, so as almost to touch each other. these limbs, i believe, have no articulations, except, perhaps, where united to the thorax. the anterior or lowest limb, on each side, supports two or sometimes only a single spine; this pair is rather smaller than the second, and is placed a little more distant from it, than are the upper pairs from each other. the second pair differs from the upper two, only in having its three spines a very little shorter. the two upper or posterior pair exactly resemble each other; each has two spines on the summit, and a third seated lower down, on a little notch on the outer side, but with its point on a level with the others. the points of the spines of the two upper limbs, stand on a level with the external spines at the end of the abdomen. all the spines are of excessive tenuity and sharpness; they are straight, long, and not plumose. the abdominal lobe is square, and from not being wrinkled, has a different appearance from the thorax: on each of the posterior angles, there are three moderately long, very sharp spines, with the tips of the outer pair bent a little inwards; in the middle between them, there are two little spines, and a little below and outside these latter, on the ventral surface, there are two other longer spines with their tips bent inwards; and again, lower down, two other pair, one beneath the other, of short spines. perhaps, the three pair of spines on the ventral surface, mark the three segments, which are distinct on the abdomen of the larva in the last stage of its development, in lepas and other genera. in the same way, it is probable that the lateral spine on the notch in each limb, marks the point where, in the larva, there is an articulation. altogether, there are seven pairs of spines on the abdomen, and eleven pairs on the thoracic limbs. a little way beneath the lower or anterior pair of limbs, the thorax is abruptly bent, and becomes confluent with the lower internal parts of the whole animal. here, the very delicate membrane of chitine which lines the sack or tube, extending from the external orifice, can be seen to be continuous, as in all cirripedes, with the outer tunic of the thorax. within the thorax, there are some longitudinal muscles, without transverse striæ, which, i believe, enter the short limbs, but not the abdomen, as i infer from the latter not being everted when they are pulled. at their lower ends these muscles terminate abruptly, and from being contracted are often a little enlarged. they extend a short way beneath the lower pair of limbs, and are, i suspect, attached to the outer integument of the animal, near the base. after the most careful dissection of very many specimens, and their examination in many different methods (as by caustic potash, &c.), i can venture positively to assert that there is no vestige of a mouth, or masticatory organs, or stomach: i did not see any anus, but i will not affirm that such does not exist. in the upper part of the animal, lying under the superficial muscles, and close beneath the upper line of their attachment, i found in all the specimens, an eye, of a pointed oval form, rather less than / , ths of an inch in diameter, formed of an outer capsule, lined with purple pigment-cells, and surrounding, as it appeared, a lens. the eye is not introduced in fig. , for i could not see it, except by dissection, and therefore do not know its exact relative position. _generative system._--the contents of the animal, between the sack containing the thorax and the outer integuments, and directly under the thorax, varied much in condition: in young and lately attached specimens the whole consisted of a pulpy mass with numerous oil-globules; in other specimens, apparently more mature, there were vast numbers of cells, sometimes cohering in sheets, about / , ths of an inch in diameter, and having darkish granular centres; these i believe to be the testes, for in a specimen presently to be mentioned, in which the vesicula seminalis was gorged with spermatozoa, i found adhering to its outside, a mass of cells of exactly the same diameter, but now empty and transparent instead of having brownish centres. lastly, in several other specimens, at the very bottom of the sack-formed animal, there was a brownish, pear-shaped bag, of different sizes in different individuals, and occasionally broader even than the thorax. this bag contained either pulpy matter, or a great mass of spermatozoa. before being disturbed, these spermatozoa lay parallel to each other in flocks, and they yielded to the needle in a peculiar manner, so that i found (having had experience with these bodies in living cirripedia) i could almost tell before examination under the compound microscope, whether or not i should see spermatozoa. many had distinct heads,[ ] which were two or three times as broad as the filamentary bodies; the latter when placed between glass were the / , th of an inch in diameter. i compared these spermatozoa with others taken out of the vesiculæ seminales of the individual hermaphrodite _s. vulgare_, to which the parasite was attached, and could not perceive the slightest difference in them. the brownish pear-shaped bag, or vesicula seminalis, the coat of which seems fibrous, could sometimes be distinctly traced, sending a chord or prolongation far up the thorax: at the end of the abdominal lobe, no doubt there is an orifice; and this, i believe, i once distinguished. owing to this chord, the bag often adheres to the thorax, when the latter is dissected out of the general integuments; in this condition, i twice clearly made out that it was single: in one other specimen, however, there appeared to be two small vesiculæ seminales. by using a condenser and very brilliant light, the outline of the vesicula seminalis could sometimes be distinguished before dissection, at the bottom of the sack-formed animal; and such was the case in the specimen drawn in fig. . [ ] i do not understand the development of the spermatozoa in cirripedia: in a recent chthamalus and balanus, i found the greater number had a little filament in front of the head or nodular enlargement, which latter varied in size and in shape from globular to that of a spindle. the filament before the head, also, varied in proportional length; it did not project in exactly the same straight line with the hinder part, and some of the spermatozoa were entirely without this filament in front;--such is the case with the spermatozoa here described. although i have dissected, at least, thirty specimens, taken at different times of the year, and from different localities, and when many of the specimens were mature and ready for the impregnation of ova, as clearly shown by the presence of innumerable spermatozoa, i have never seen even a trace of an ovum or ovaria. _antennæ and attachment._--the prehensile antennæ (pl. v, fig. ), are seated a little above the very base of the sack-like animal; and this might have been expected from the antennæ in the larva, being seated on the ventral surface, not at the very extremity of the head. by a very strong light, they can sometimes just be seen whilst the parasite is attached to the hermaphrodite (the scutum of the latter having been cleaned on the under side), and are thus represented in fig. . they are formed of thicker membrane than the general integument of the body: the second segment, or disc, is pointed and hoof-like; when seen in profile (fig. ), the upper convex surface has a uniform slope with the upper surface of the basal segment; it is furnished with a single backward pointing spine, attached, i believe, on the under side, nearly opposite the articulation of the ultimate segment: at the apex, there are some excessively minute hairs or down. the ultimate segment projects rectangularly outwards as usual, and has on its inner side, rather beneath the middle, a conspicuous notch (fig. ), which bears two or three long, non-plumose spines; on the summit there are three or four rather shorter spines. on the outside of the great basal segment there is a single spine curving backwards. the importance of the following measurements (in fractions of an inch) will hereafter be seen. length of whole organ, from end of disc to the further } margin of the oblique basal articulation } - / length of whole organ, to the inner margin of the oblique} basal articulation } / breadth of basal segment, measured half-way between the } basal and second articulations,--the limb being viewed } from vertically above } / length of hoof-like disc, measured from the apex to the } middle of the articulation with the basal segment } - / breadth of ditto / length of ultimate segment / breadth of ultimate segment beneath the notch / breadth of ultimate segment above the notch / i did not see the cement-ducts, which, perhaps, was owing to the corium extending from the inside of the whole animal some way into the antennæ, thus rendering them rather less transparent than in common cirripedes. that the ducts and cement-glands exist, is certain, for the antennæ in every case were enveloped in a little irregular mass or capsule of the usual, brown, transparent, laminated cement. when several of these parasites were attached close together, the cement ran up between them. i may here state, that i found on one scalpellum, three males very lately attached, and not as yet imbedded in the chitine border; they were white, opaque, pulpy, and full of oily globules; the lower part was considerably more pointed, and extended further beyond the prehensile antennæ, than in the older and imbedded specimens. there were distinct remnants of two great reddish-brown eyes, showing that in this respect the larvæ of the male in their last stage of development, are characterised like the larvæ of other lepadidæ. the male larva would, probably, be a little larger than the male itself; but yet compared with the larva in the earliest stage, there can have been unusually little increase of size during the several intermediate metamorphoses; i judge of this from the dimensions of the larva of the hermaphrodite in the first stage, namely, / ths of an inch, exactly the size of some of the smaller males. in the allied genus ibla, the increase is also less than is usual, namely, from / ths of an inch, the diameter of the ovum, to only / ths of an inch, the length of the boat-shaped larva, just before its final metamorphosis. _habits and concluding remarks._--the males are imbedded in the spinose chitine border of the occludent margin of the scuta, exactly over an oblique fold or notch (fig. _á_ _a_), close by the umbo. this fold has no direct relation to the males, but being present is taken advantage of by them; for it occurs in the young hermaphrodite, before the attachment of the males, and in species of the genus in which the males are attached to other parts. it occurs, also, in fossil species of pollicipes, and in these it seems caused by the upper inner part of the valve being rendered more and more prominent during growth: in the present species, i suspect, its origin is connected with the formation of a ridge bounding the outer side of the pit for the adductor scutorum muscle: we shall see in the next species, that this fold is of the highest importance in relation to the position of the males. the transparent chitine border of the scuta is broad, and fills up the fold in the shell, so that the outline of the occludent margin is not affected by it: in the drawing (fig. ) some of the inner layers of chitine (_e_ _e_), which dipped into and filled up the fold, have been removed, that the lower part of the animal might be more plainly exhibited. the chitine bears numerous spines of various lengths, which must afford some protection to the males, rudely arranged in lines, parallel to the edge of the valve, indicating the successively-formed layers of chitine; each spine has a fine, tortuous tubulus connecting its base with the underlying corium. the extreme outer edge of the border is thin, forming a kind of lip, close beneath which the delicate tunic lining the sack is attached. during continued growth, the valve is added to in thickness, and so is the chitine border, and likewise in breadth. it appears that the larva of the male must attach itself on the under side of this border, on the edge of the tunic of the sack, and that by the action of the cement, the corium beneath is killed (as i believe always is the case with other parasitic cirripedia), whereas on both sides, the chitine continues to be added to, so that the male, excepting the upper and always projecting portion, becomes imbedded at first laterally, and ultimately all round: i have seen specimens in several different stages of imbedment. hence, in old specimens, with a thick and broad chitine border, it might and does come to pass that one male is imbedded (the valve being laid flat) directly beneath another. i have examined a great number of specimens from various localities, taken at different times of the year,--some dozen specimens from cornwall,[ ] and several from unknown localities in various collections; some from ireland, from the shetland islands, from norway, and from near naples. every one of these specimens, with the exception of some of the neapolitan ones, had parasitic males attached to them: i must also except very young specimens, on which they never occur. on a cornish specimen, with a capitulum a little more than one fifth of an inch in length, it may be mentioned as unusual that there were three males. in young specimens there is generally one male on each scutum, but sometimes there are two, and sometimes none on one side. in large old cornish specimens i have counted on the two sides together, six, seven, and eight males, and in one irish specimen no less than ten, seven all close together on one valve and three on the other, but i do not suppose that all these were alive at the same time. in the neapolitan specimens, however, which are the largest that i have seen, there was in no case more than two; and out of seven or eight specimens, four had not any male; so that it would appear there is something in this locality hostile to the development of the parasitic males. i have noticed only one instance (that given in fig. ) in which the males were imbedded a little way apart; generally they touch each other, and are cemented together: where there are several males, they occur at different levels, as measured from the under or upper surface of the chitine border: in one instance of four males adhering to one valve, i distinctly perceived that the lowest one was white, pulpy, and recently attached; the two above, which were placed close together and between the same laminæ of chitine, were mature; and the third still higher up, was dead, empty, transparent, and half decayed: in some other instances, i have found the uppermost parasites dead, and, together with the surrounding chitine, partially worn away. [ ] i am greatly indebted to mr. peach for his unwearied kindness in procuring me fresh specimens. mr. w. thompson allowed me to dissect one, possessing particular interest, out of his three irish specimens. professor forbes procured me a specimen from the shetland islands, and professor steenstrup was so kind to take pains to send me some scandinavian specimens. the larva of the male must have a different instinct from the larva of the hermaphrodite; for the latter attaches itself head downwards to a coralline, whilst the male larva crawling on the scuta of the hermaphrodite, discovers, i presume by eye-sight, the fold in the shell beneath the translucent border of chitine, and there invariably attaches itself. its object in choosing this particular spot, i believe, simply is that the depth or thickness of the chitine is there greater, and sufficient for its imbedment, which would hardly be the case elsewhere. this parasite has, as we have seen, no mouth or stomach, and indeed, considering its fixed position and the non-prehensile condition of its limbs or cirri, a mouth would have been of no service to it, without it had been extraordinarily elongated. the male must live on the nourishment acquired during its locomotive larval condition; and its life no doubt is short, but yet not very short, as i infer from the depth to which mature specimens are buried in the chitine border. the full development of the spermatozoa consumes, i suppose, some considerable lapse of time. the thorax and limbs, though furnished with muscles, are obviously, as already remarked, of no use for prehension; these parts serve, probably, to defend the little creature, when its eye announces the passing shadow of some enemy, and for this purpose they are well adapted from the extreme sharpness of the spines. the thorax, into which i traced the vesicula seminalis, no doubt also serves for the emission and first direction of the spermatozoa; and hence, perhaps, its singularly extensible structure. i have already remarked, that in specimens preserved in spirits, the thorax is often largely protruded, and bent down at right angles to the orifice. i presume this is caused by endosmose; nevertheless it deserves notice, that it was in these protruded specimens that the vesicula seminalis was most conspicuously gorged with spermatozoa. i suspect the longitudinal and transverse muscles lining the upper part of the outer integuments of the whole animal, can be of little use to the creature, without it be to aid in the protrusion of the thorax, and perhaps in the violent expulsion of the spermatozoa, thus causing them to reach the ovigerous lamellæ within the sack of the hermaphrodite. it is also probable, that the action of the cirri of the hermaphrodite, would tend to draw inwards the spermatozoa in the right direction. in one specimen, the spermatozoa in the hermaphrodite and in the male were mature at the same time; in another this was not the case; and as the males, apparently, become attached at all periods of the year, this want of coincidence in maturity must often occur. can the males retain their spermatozoa, till told by some instinct, that the ova in the sack of the often fecundated hermaphrodite are ready for impregnation; or are the spermatozoa sometimes wasted, as must annually happen with such incalculable quantities of the pollen of many dioecious plants? this little cirripede is, in many respects, in a partially embryonic condition. there is no separation between the capitulum and peduncle; there is no mouth; and the thorax, throughout its whole width, opens into the anterior part of the animal: the limbs differ greatly from those both of the mature cirripede and of the larva, but come closest to the latter: the preservation of the abdomen is a well-marked embryonic character. on the other hand, the four rudimentary calcareous valves, the narrow orifice, the hirsute outer integument, the two muscular layers, the single eye, and male internal organs, are all characteristic of the fully-developed condition. the four little valves, as i believe, represent the scuta and terga, though they are placed considerably below the orifice: the little bristly points have no homological signification, and are absent in the male of the following closely allied species. the four pairs of limbs answer to the four posterior cirri, as may be inferred from their proximity to the abdominal lobe, and from the three posterior pairs closely resembling each other, and differing a little from the first pair; this latter pair corresponds with the third pair in the hermaphrodite form of scalpellum. if i am right in believing that only a single vesicula seminalis is ordinarily developed in the male, this is a special and singular character. as stated in the beginning of this description, from the one great fact of the absolute correspondence of the prehensile antennæ of the parasite, with those of the hermaphrodite _scalpellum vulgare_, together with its fixed condition, its short existence, and exclusively male sex, i have thought myself justified in provisionally considering it as the complemental male of the cirripede to which it is attached; but i hope final judgment will not be passed on this view, until the whole case is summed up at the end of the genus.[ ] [ ] i trust, before long, that some naturalist, with more skill than i possess, will examine these parasites on _scalpellum vulgare_, which unfortunately is the only species of the genus that can be easily obtained. fresh specimens, or those preserved in spirits of wine, are necessary. the action of boiling caustic potash is very useful in cleaning the prehensile antennæ. if these latter organs are sought in the hermaphrodite for the sake of comparison, young specimens, adhering to clean branches of a coralline, should be procured, and caustic potash used. . scalpellum ornatum. pl. vi, fig . thaliella ornata. _j. e. gray._ proc. zoolog. soc., , p. , annulosa, plate. _s. (foem.) valvis , sub-rufis: lateribus superioribus quadranti-formibus, arcu crenâ profundâ notato._ (fem.) capitulum with reddish valves: upper latera quadrant-shaped, with the arched side deeply notched. mandibles with three teeth; maxillæ narrow, bearing only four or five pair of spines. males, two, lodged in cavities on the under sides of the scuta; pouch-formed, with four unequal, rudimentary valves: no mouth: cirri not prehensile. algoa bay, south africa. attached to sertularia and plumularia. british museum.[ ] [ ] i am greatly indebted to mr. bowerbank for specimens of this extremely interesting species; also to mr. morris, to whom mr. bowerbank had given some of the original specimens. female. _capitulum_ oblong, with the upper portion much produced; valves, , thick, naked, closely locked together, irregularly clouded with pale crimson; the membrane connecting the valves is not furnished with spines. on most of the valves there are furrows and ridges diverging from the umbones, and the lines of growth are plainly marked: in the valves of the lower whorl, the umbones are slightly protuberant. _scuta_, convex, unusually thick, oblong, quadrilateral, with the occludent margin the longest; lateral margin slightly hollowed out. the umbo (and primordial valve) is situated at the uppermost point of the valve, and consequently the growth is exclusively downwards. on the under side (pl. vi, figs. _b´_ and _c´_), in about the middle of the valve, there is a pit (_a_) for the adductor scutorum muscle, the depth and distinctness of which varies a little; above the pit, and between it and the apex, there is a transverse, oblong, deeper depression (_b_), within which, the male is lodged. a small portion of the apex of the valve projects over the terga. _terga_, large, nearly equalling the scuta in area, flat and sub-triangular; the scutal margin is not quite straight. the apex of the valve is thick and solid, and must have projected freely for a length equalling one third of the occludent margin. _carina_, laterally broad, angularly bent; slightly widening from the apex to the base; internally, deeply concave. the position of the umbo varies, in young specimens it is seated at the uppermost point, and consequently in such there is no upward growth; in older specimens, from the junction and upward production of that part on each side of the valve, which i have called in fossil specimens the intra-parietes, the valve is added to above the umbo, but to a lesser degree than in _s. vulgare_. slight ridges separate the roof from the parietes, and the parietes from the intra-parietes. _rostrum_, minute, narrow, widening a little from the apex downwards, inserted like a wedge between the umbones of the rostral latera, and hardly projecting above their upper margins, so as to be easily overlooked: internally concave. _upper latera_ (fig. _á_), quadrant-shaped, with a deep square notch cut out of the arched margin, which notch receives the upper point of the carinal latera; the surface of the valve between the notch and the umbo is depressed.[ ] _rostral latera_, small, gradually widening from the umbo to the opposite end, which is obliquely rounded. _infra-median latera_, approaching to diamond-shaped, placed obliquely to the longer axis of the capitulum; or the upper part may be described as spear-shaped. [ ] the only valve which i have seen at all like this, is a fossil specimen from the upper chalk of scania; this is described in my memoir on the fossil lepadidæ (palæontographical society), under the name of _scalpellum solidulum_ (tab. , fig. , _e_, _f_), and is perhaps erroneously there considered as a carinal latus. _carinal latera_: these appear as if formed of two valves united together; the upper portion, widening as it ascends in a curved line, terminates in a rounded margin, which enters the deep notch in the upper latera; the other and lower portion is shorter, and terminates in a square margin abutting against the infra-median latera; the umbones of the carinal latera project beyond the line of the carina. _direction of the lines of growth in the valves._--this should always be carefully observed, on account of the great diversity there is in this respect between the different species, especially when the recent are compared with the older fossil species; moreover one of the chief characters between the genus scalpellum and pollicipes, depends on the direction of the lines of growth. in the scuta, terga, rostrum, and upper latera of the present species, the chief growth is downwards; in the carina, in mature specimens, it is both upwards and downwards; in the carinal latera, both upwards and towards the infra-median latera; in the infra-median latera chiefly upwards; and, lastly, in the rostral latera, towards the infra-median latera. _peduncle_, short, not half as long as the capitulum; calcareous scales imbricated as usual, tinged red, almost crescent-shaped, acuminated at both ends, of remarkable length, so that in each whorl there are only four scales: a full-sized scale equals in length one of the rostral latera. the tips of two scales, in one whorl, lie under the middle points of the carina and rostrum; and in the whorl, both above and below, a single much curved scale occupies this same medial position. the peduncle does not seem to have been attached in any definite position to the horny coralline, as is the case with _s. vulgare_. length of capitulum in the largest specimen . of an inch. the _mouth_ is directed towards the ventral surface of the thorax. the _labrum_ is far removed from the adductor muscle, with the upper part forming an overhanging projection; i believe there are some very minute bead-like teeth on the crest. _palpi_, small, narrow, thinly clothed with bristles. _mandibles_, with three teeth, of which the first is distant from the second; inferior angle not much acuminated, pectinated on both edges. _maxillæ_, small, narrow, produced, without any notch, with two large upper spines, of which one is much thicker than the other; on the convex upper margin there are some minute tufts of very small hairs. _outer maxillæ_, with few bristles, arranged in a continuous line on the anterior surface; on the external surface there is a tuft of long bristles. olfactory orifices situated laterally, forming two flattened, tubular projections. _cirri._--first pair placed not far from the second; the three posterior pair not very long, with their segments elongated, not protuberant, bearing four pair of non-serrated spines, with a single short bristle between each pair; dorsal tufts small, with one spine longer than the others. first cirrus rather short, segments not very broad; second cirrus with the rami nearly equal in length, anterior ramus rather thicker than the posterior ramus, with three longitudinal rows of spines. _caudal appendages._--these are minute, rather broad, not half as long as the lower segments of the pedicels of the sixth cirrus, with four very long spines at the tip. _penis._--there is no trace of a probosciformed penis in the four specimens examined; and as this organ is present in every ordinary cirripede, with the exception of _ibla cumingii_ which we know to be exclusively female, so we may infer with some confidence that the form here described is female, although it is impossible in specimens once dried to demonstrate the absence of the vesiculæ seminales and testes. _affinities._--this is a very distinct species; it is, however, much more nearly related to _s. rutilum_, than to any other species; and next to this, to _s. vulgare_; from this latter species it chiefly differs in the large scales of the peduncle, in the scuta not being added to at their upper ends, and in the membrane covering and connecting the valves being spineless; but there is a greater difference in the trophi and in the cirri. the peduncle of _s. ornatum_ presents some resemblance to that of the singular cretaceous genus, _loricula_. male. all the specimens, as already stated, were dry, but in an excellent state of preservation, so that after having been soaked in spirits, they could be minutely examined. in the four which i opened, i found, in a transverse pouch on the under side of each scutum, a male lodged; in a fifth dead and bleached specimen, the cavities in the shell for the reception of the males, were present; and in a sixth young specimen, also dead, cavities were in process of formation. as compared with plants, the relation of the sexes in this species may be briefly given, by saying that it belongs to the class _diandria monogynia_. i will first describe the males themselves, and then the cavities in the shell of the female. the males differ in every point of detail, from the complemental males of _s. vulgare_, but yet present so close a general resemblance, that a comparative description will be most convenient. the general shape of the whole animal is rather more elongated, and i suspect flatter, but this latter point could not be positively ascertained in dry specimens. the entire length is greater, being in the largest specimen / (instead of at most / ), and the width, / of an inch. the orifice is not fimbriated; the four bristly points over the calcareous beads are absent. the whole outer integument is much thinner, owing evidently to its protected position, and is not covered by little bristles, but with an extremely high power, minute points arranged in transverse lines can be distinguished. the calcareous beads, or rudimentary valves, are thin and regularly oval. it is remarkable that in all the specimens, two on one side were smaller than the two on the other side,--the smaller beads being / , and the larger, / of an inch in diameter; therefore more than twice the size of one of the beads in _s. vulgare_, which are only / externally in diameter. from the position of the eye, close to one margin, near the upper end of the flattened animal, and from the manner in which the little limbs and spines lay between two of the beads at the opposite end, it was manifest that these latter, one large and one small, corresponded with the terga of the other cirripedes, and that the other two, near the eye, answered to the scuta. the valves being of unequal sizes on the right and left-hand sides of the animal, is probably connected with one side being pressed against the hard, shelly valve of the female; in the same way as the valves in certain pæcilasmas; are smaller and flatter on the side nearest to the crustacean to which they are attached. the eye, in being slightly notched on the upper and lower edge, shows signs of really consisting of two eyes, which i believe is always normally the case; it is rather larger, in the proportion of to , being / , of an inch in diameter, than in _s. vulgare_; and from the almost perfect transparency of the integuments, is far more conspicuous than in that species. hence when the valves of the female are opened, the black little eye is the first part of the male which catches the attention. no vestige of a mouth could be discovered. _thorax and abdomen._--the thorax, as in _s. vulgare_, is highly extensible, and when stretched exhibits the same five transverse folds or articulations; when contracted, it is broader, so that even the truncated end of the abdomen is wider than the lower (properly anterior) end of the thorax in _s. vulgare_. its thin outer integument is studded with excessively minute points in transverse rows. the four pair of limbs are longer than in _s. vulgare_, but the spines on them much shorter and thicker; each limb (including the first) supports three spines, of which one is seated on a notch low down on the outside, and is longer than the other two; of these two, the one on the same side with the notch, is a little longer than the other. the spines on the first and second pair of limbs are considerably shorter than those on the third pair, and these latter, are a little shorter than those on the fourth or posterior pair. hence, the spines on the thoracic limbs, compared with those of _s. vulgare_, present considerable differences, both in their relative and absolute dimensions. the abdominal lobe is in proportion rather shorter; its end is less abruptly truncated, and supports a row of, i believe, six moderately long, and basally thick spines; these spines are not so long as those surmounting the fourth pair of limbs. on both lateral margins of the abdomen, rather on the ventral face, there is a row of, i believe, seven long spines, but it is very difficult to count the spines in specimens which have been once dried. i was able to distinguish that the two lower pair of spines on the ventral surface, are seated a little way one below and within the other, as in _s. vulgare_. the abdominal spines altogether form quite a brush, and there are certainly several more than in _s. vulgare_, and those on the two sides are much longer. _antennæ._--the disc is hoof-like, with the upper surface forming a straight line with the upper edge of the basal segment; the apex is pointed and clothed with some fine down; there is a single spine pointing backwards, which rises from the lower flat surface. the ultimate segment was hidden in laminæ of cement; and i was not able to make out its structure. there is a single spine on the outer edge of the basal segment, in the usual position. the entire length of the limb, measured from the end of the disc to the further margin of the basal articulation, is / ths of an inch; measured to the inner margin, it is; / ths of an inch; the disc itself is / ths of an inch long; these measurements differ a little both absolutely ad proportionally, compared with those of the antennæ of _s. vulgare_. _cavities in the scuta of the female for the reception of the males._--these extend nearly parallel to the tergal margin, transversely across the valves, for three fourths of their width; they are seated above the depression for the adductor muscle, and are more conspicuous than it; they are deep and well defined, and each exactly contains one male. the males are placed with their orifices in a little notch in the occludent margin, and their prehensile antennæ at the further end. the distance to which the cavities extend across the valve, and their distance from the upper or tergal margin, varies a little, but chiefly in accordance with the age of the specimens; for the valve continues to increase in width, whilst the size of the cavity remains the same. the occludent margin of the scutum in the largest female, was . of an inch in length; of another, in which there was a fully developed cavity, . ; of a third, in which there was no cavity, only a slight concavity, with a preparatory impression, the length of the occludent margin was . . the larger and smaller of these three valves, are drawn of their proper proportional sizes, in pl. vi, figs. _b´_, _c´_. the preparatory impression (fig. _c´_, _b_), consists of a narrow, not quite straight, extremely slight furrow, of slightly irregular width, bordered on each side by a very minute ridge, which is distinctly continuous with the inner edge of the occludent margin, both above and below the cavity. the furrow appears to have been formed by calcareous matter not having been deposited along this line, during the thickening or growth of the internal surface of the valve: i suspect, that it originates at a single period of growth, for i could see no signs of successively-formed transverse lines. i believe that it is strictly homologous with the fold, over which the complemental male is attached in _s. vulgare_, but carried, for a special purpose, much further across the valve and rectangularly inwards, for in structure and position both are identical. in comparing the internal views of the scuta in _s. vulgare_ and _s. ornatum_ (pl. v, fig. _a´_, and pl. vi, fig. _c´_), it must be borne in mind, that the latter should be compared, as clearly shown by the lines of growth, with that portion alone of the scutum in _s. vulgare_, which lies under the curved ridge connecting the umbo and tergo-lateral angle. the deep cavity in which the male is lodged, is formed subsequently to the preparatory furrow, simply by the gradual thickening of the surrounding surface of the valve, more especially of a ridge just above the pit for the adductor muscle, and of another broad ridge just beneath the tergal margin. the deepest part of the cavity lies parallel to the tergal margin along the upper side, and here, in the older valves, the preparatory furrow can by care be distinctly traced. in conformity with the shape of the cavity, the orifice or notch in the occludent margin of the scutum, is situated at the point where the preparatory furrow sweeps round and enters. i believe that the cavity is lined by membrane, and that between the cavity and the body of the female, there is a complex membranous layer,--a pouch or bag being thus formed. an imaginary section of this pouch (with the thickness of all the parts extremely exaggerated and in a reversed position) is given in pl. vi, fig. _d´_: _a_ is the shell; _x_ the cavity, converted, as i believe, into a pouch by, firstly, the delicate tunic (_c_) lining the sack of the female; secondly, a double layer (_d_) of corium; and, thirdly, by a special, rather thick membranous layer (_b_), which thinning out round the cavity coats only part of the under surface of the scutum. this latter membrane i have not seen in any other cirripede, and i believe it is nothing but the tissue, here not calcified, which, in a calcified condition, ordinarily forms the valves. on this view, the males may be said to be lodged in pouches, formed in the thickness of the valves. _concluding remarks._--the males from the absence of a mouth (and no doubt of a stomach), must necessarily be short-lived, and, i suppose, are periodically replaced by fresh males.[ ] in one instance, the remnants of the two great compound eyes of the larva, could be seen at the end of the pouch, opposite the orifice. the larvæ, i conclude, crawl in at the orifice, one side of which is formed, as we have seen, of yielding membrane, and scratch out the dead exuviæ of the former occupant: certainly, the males are less firmly attached to their pouches, though some small quantity of cement is excreted, than are other cirripedes to the objects to which they are attached. the small size of the female, and her valves not being thickly edged with chitine, accounts for the males having pouches specially formed for them, instead of being, as in _s. vulgare_, laterally imbedded in the chitine-border of the scuta. in hereafter weighing the evidence on the nature of the parasites in ibla and in scalpellum, the fact of the valves of the supposed female being here modified for the special purpose of lodging the males, will be seen to be important. if we imagine the male parasites to be extraneous animals, and that by adhering to the sack of the scalpellum, they injure the corium and thus prevent the growth of the shell over an area exactly corresponding to their own size, and so form for themselves cavities; yet what can be said regarding the preparatory furrows? surely these narrow lines cannot have been produced by the pressure of the much broader parasites. must we not see in the furrows, the first marking out, if such an expression may be used, of the habitation for the male, which has to be specially formed by the independent laws of growth of the female? [ ] it is possible, though opposed to all analogy, that the females may be short-lived, and breed only once, in which case the males would not have to be periodically replaced. . scalpellum rutilum. pl. vi, fig. . _s. (foem. an herm.) valvis sub-rufis: carinæ tecto plano, utrinque cristâ rotundatâ instructo; margine basali truncato: lateribus superioribus latitudine duplo longioribus._ (fem. or herm.) capitulum with reddish valves: carina with the roof flat, bordered on each side by a rounded ridge; basal margin truncated: upper latera twice as long as broad. mandibles with three teeth: maxillæ narrow, bearing only four or five pair of spines: segments of the second and third pair of cirri with one side wholly covered with spines. males, two, lodged in hollows, on the under sides of the scuta; pouch-formed, with four (?) rudimentary valves; no mouth; cirri not prehensile. hab. unknown; associated with _dichelaspis orthogonia_. british museum. female or hermaphrodite. there is only a single specimen in the british museum, and this had nearly all its valves separated, and many of them in fragments: from its state of decay, i think the specimen must have been dead, when originally collected. _description._--the capitulum consists of fourteen valves, including from analogy a rostrum.[ ] valves, apparently covered with membrane, bearing some thin spines on the margins; clouded with a fine, though pale, orange tint; surfaces plainly marked with lines of growth. [ ] in my first, and as i thought careful examination of the separated valves (my only materials) of this species, i mistook one of the triangular rostral latera for the rostrum, and hence was unfortunately led into an error in my 'monograph on the fossil lepadidæ of great britain,' in which i state that the present species has only twelve valves in the capitulum; and i inferred from this, that _s. quadratum_, _s. fossula_, &c., had only twelve valves; i still believe this to be correct, but the existence of fourteen valves in _s. rutilum_ and _s. ornatum_, the recent species to which the above fossils are most closely allied, no doubt is a strong argument in favour of this higher number. _scuta_, elongated, nearly three times as long as broad; apex, pointed; basal margin extremely oblique, forming an acute angle with the occludent margin; the lateral margin is slightly hollowed out, and is separated from the tergal margin by a large rectangular projection or shoulder. the occludent margin is nearly straight; externally, there is a slight ridge running down the middle of the valve, from the apex to the baso-lateral angle; and a second ridge running from the apex to the tergo-lateral angle. the lines of growth do not end abruptly at the tergo-lateral angle, as is the case with _s. ornatum_ and several fossil species, but run up a little way along the tergal margin. the umbo is seated at the uppermost point, and, therefore, the main growth is downwards. there is a large rounded depression for the adductor muscle (_a_, fig. _a´_), and higher up, opposite the tergo-lateral angle, there is another hollow (_b_), for the lodgment of the males; this latter is of nearly the same shape as the hollow for the adductor muscle, but rather more conspicuous than it. from the appearance of the under surface of the scuta, it might readily have been thought, that there had been two adductor muscles. _terga_, of large size, longer than the scuta, flat, triangular, with the whole inferior part much produced and spear-like. a portion of the apex, must have projected freely above the sack. _carina_ (pl. vi, fig. _b´_), simply bowed (_i. e._, not rectangularly bent), with the umbo (and primordial valve) seated at the upper point; rather massive, narrow, only slightly increasing in width from the upper to the lower end; the two sides are flat, and at right angles to the roof, which is bordered on each side by a rather broad, square-topped ridge (_see section_ fig. _c´_), or the roof may be said to have a square-edged furrow running from the apex to the basal margin, and widening downwards; these two ridges have their lines of growth oblique, and hence have a twisted appearance; the central depressed portion of the basal margin, which is square or truncated, descends lower down than the two ridges. the sides of the valve close to the apex are broad, and consist, as i believe, of intra-parietes, as well as of parietes, but these parts are not separated from each other by ridges, as is commonly the case, more especially with the fossil species. i have described the carina in some detail, on account of its resemblance to that of the cretaceous _s. fossula_, _s. trilineatum_, and _s. quadricarinatum_. _rostrum_, unknown; but one probably existed. _upper latera_, of large size, elongated, quadrilateral, approaching to diamond-shaped, with the angles rounded, nearly twice as long as broad; almost flat; upper half acuminated, lying between the scuta and terga; the lower half broad, forming a rectangular projection lying between two latera of the lower whorl. the umbo is near the apex, the greater part of the growth being downwards, but the valve is added to a little, round the two sides of the apex; these additions do not take place in the early stages of growth, (as explained under _s. vulgare_,) and, therefore, they form a depressed rim. _rostral latera_, almost exactly triangular, curved; basal margin furnished with a just perceptible rim. _infra-median latera_, quadrilateral, sides unequal in length; the carino-basal margin being the longest; in area not quite twice double the rostral latera; directed obliquely upwards. _carinal latera_, sub-triangular, produced upwards, with the apex rounded, and the two lateral margins hollowed out; the basal margin exceeds a little in length the basal margin of the rostral latera. the umbones of these two latera are seated at their basal outer angles, so that the growth of the valves is towards each other and upwards. the umbo of the infra-median latus is seated at the baso-rostral angle, and hence the growth is obliquely upwards. the umbones of the rostral latera must have been close together, over the unknown rostrum. _length_ of capitulum about / th of an inch. _peduncle_, only small fragments are preserved; the calcified scales are small, closely imbricated, several of them together only equalling in length the basal margin of the rostral latera. each scale is thin, transversely elongated; basal imbedded portion straight; upper margin rounded. _mouth._--labrum with the upper part highly bullate, forming an overhanging projection; palpi apparently small and narrow. _mandibles_, narrow, produced, with three teeth; inferior angle pectinated, as is sometimes the third tooth; the distance between the tips of the first and second teeth equals that between the second tooth and the inferior angle. _maxillæ_, extremely narrow, produced, without any notch; spinose edge exactly one third of the length of the mandibles: beneath the two upper great spines there are only three or four pair of spines; on the convex upper margin there are some minute tufts of the smallest hairs. _outer maxillæ_, rounded with the inner margins very sparingly but continuously covered with bristles. i could not ascertain whether the olfactory orifices were tubular. _cirri._--these consisted, in the one specimen, of merely small fragments. the segments of the posterior cirri are elongated, not protuberant, and support, i believe, five pair of non-serrated spines, and an exterior row of very minute spines: dorsal spines fine and long. either the second or third cirri, or probably both, are remarkable for having the whole of one side of each segment covered with irregular rows of long spines. moreover, in the upper segments of these same cirri, between each separate dorsal tuft, there is placed one or two long bristles. the first cirrus appears to have had very broad segments, and these are singular from the spines in the dorsal rows, being extremely long. in some of the cirri, several of the basal segments are soldered together. _caudal appendages_, lost. from the state of the specimen, it was quite impossible to ascertain whether the individual here described was an hermaphrodite or female; from the analogy of its nearest congener, _s. ornatum_, the latter is the most probable; but the genus ibla shows how the sexes may differ in the most closely-allied forms. _affinities._--from the hollows on the under sides of the scuta, for the lodgment of the males; from the umbones of the scuta and of the carina being situated on the apices of these valves; and from all the characters of the mouth, _s. rutilum_ is much more closely allied to _s. ornatum_ than to any other species. male, or complemental male. in the concavity or hollow above the depression for the adductor muscle (pl. vi, fig. _a´_), i found males, but in so extremely decayed a condition, that they could hardly be examined. on one side, however, i distinctly saw the larval prehensile antennæ, with pointed, hoof-like discs; and part of the thorax, with its small limbs and long spines, as in _s. vulgare_ or _s. ornatum_. i also saw clearly the eye. the four calcified beads or rudimentary valves, i believe, were present; but in removing the specimen, the whole fell to pieces and was lost. the outer integument was covered with rather thick, very minute bristles, each about, / , th of an inch in length, and therefore only half the length of those on the complemental males of _s. vulgare_. the cavities for the males are not formed, as in _s. ornatum_, by the thickening of the internal surface of the valve round a defined space, but by the scutum being externally convex and internally concave down the middle, hollows being thus produced both for the lodgment of the males and for the attachment of the adductor muscle. these hollows are separated from each other by a slight transverse ridge. i do not know at which point of the margin of the valve, the orifice of the male is situated, but i presume close under the apex. in this species, as in _s. ornatum_, there can be no question that the scuta of the female are specially modified by their own growth for the reception of the males. it must be added that, as it was not possible to ascertain whether the ordinary form of _s. rutilum_ was hermaphrodite or female, so it must remain doubtful whether the parasites are males or complemental males; but the former, i think, is most probable. [=tt= sub-carin presente.] . scalpellum rostratum. pl. vi, fig. . _s. (herm.) valvis : rostro permagno: laterum paribus quatuor: pari superiore pentagono._ (herm.) capitulum with valves: rostrum very large: four pair of latera; upper latera pentagonal. mandibles with four teeth; maxillæ with the inferior angle prominent. _complemental male_, attached between the mouth and adductor scutorum muscle; pedunculated; capitulum bearing a pair of elongated scuta and a rudimentary carina; mouth and cirri prehensile. philippine archipelago; island of bantayan. attached to a horny coralline: fathoms. mus. cuming. hermaphrodite. _capitulum_, with the upper part narrow and produced. _valves_, in number, placed close together, clouded pale red, covered with membrane, which is thickly clothed with minute points. _scuta_ rather small, oval, with the upper end pointed; rather convex; basal and lateral margins blending into each other; the upper produced portion above the umbo is small; there is a deep pit for the adductor muscle, and there is a fold on the occludent margin in the usual position; occludent margin not straight. _terga_ large, one third of their own length longer than the scuta; fat, sub-triangular; the three margins are not quite straight; the carinal margin projects a little above the apex of the carina, and the scutal margin is excised to fit the upper part of the scuta. _carina_ bowed, internally deeply concave; upper portion above the umbo, about one fourth of the total length, extending between the terga for two thirds of their length, up to the slight prominences on their carinal margins: a ridge separates, on each side, the parietes from the tectum. _rostrum_ (fig. _a_) unusually large, about two thirds of the length of the scuta, and twice as long as the rostral pair of latera; internally concave, externally carinated; outline of the upper portion acutely triangular, of the lower portion rounded; umbo seated at the upper end. _upper latera_ pentagonal, with the apex rounded. _rostral latera_ flat, four-sided, with the basal margin the longest, and the baso-carinal angle produced. _infra-median latera_ nearly equalling in area the upper latera; not descending so low down as the rostral and carinal latera; outline of lower half semi-oval, of upper half rectangular. _carinal latera_ flat, four-sided, with the basal margin the longest, and slightly protuberant; baso-rostral angle produced; whole valve larger than the rostral latus, but closely resembling it in form. _sub-carina_ minute, not above one third of the size of the rostral latera, which are the smallest of the other valves; internally deeply concave; externally solid, pyramidal, standing out beyond the surface of the carina, with the umbo at the apex. the umbones of the four pair of latera are seated a little above the centre in each valve, on the summit of a raised triangular portion; this arises from the valve at first growing only downwards, and when added to at the upper end, the new part forms a ledge at a lower level round the old part, which had already acquired some thickness. _peduncle_, short, about half the length of the capitulum; narrow; thickly clothed with minute, longitudinally elongated, spindle-shaped, calcareous scales or beads, which project but little. _length_ of the capitulum, rather under / ths of an inch. in a _young specimen_, with its capitulum, together with the peduncle, only / th of an inch long, the scuta, terga, and carina are very large in proportion to the valves of the lower whorl. the latter project more, and are externally more pointed, as in the genus pollicipes. the rostrum is well developed; the infra-median latera, in proportion, are the least of all the valves. the carina is straight and pointed, and not, relatively to the scuta, quite so long. the scuta are rather broader in proportion to their length, which would naturally follow from less having been added to their apices,--these valves at first growing only downwards. the membrane covering and connecting the valves is furnished with long thin spines. _mouth._--labrum placed far from the adductor scutorum muscle, with the upper part exceedingly prominent; apparently there are no teeth on the crest. palpi blunt. _mandibles_, narrow, with four teeth, of which the second is not smaller than the others; inferior angle sharp and produced, barely pectinated. _maxillæ._--under the two or three great upper spines, there is a tuft of fine bristles; the inferior part of the edge is step-like, and much upraised. _outer maxillæ_, with the inner edge deeply notched, and the bristles arranged in two quite distinct tufts; the bristles on the outer surface are long. olfactory orifices, thin, tubular, and projecting. _cirri._--the first pair is placed far from the second; the three posterior pair are long and straight, with their segments much elongated, not protuberant, bearing four or five pair of long spines, with little intermediate tufts of minute spines, and with the minutest spines on the lateral upper edges. dorsal tufts with one spine extremely long, equalling a segment and a half in length; the others very short. spines all serrated. first cirrus not very short; rami nearly equal, with the four terminal segments of both tapering; all the basal segments much thicker, and thickly covered with bristles. second cirrus (as well as the third in a less degree), with the anterior ramus thicker than the posterior ramus, and with all the lower segments in both rami thickly clothed with three or four longitudinal rows of spines. _caudal appendages_, spinose, uni-articulate; but the specimen was injured, and i could not exactly make out their shape: i believe it was oval, and thickly fringed with fine spines. _penis_, very small, almost rudimentary, narrow, and hairy, scarcely exceeding in length the pedicel of the sixth cirrus. complemental male. pl. vi, fig. . before describing the parasite of the present species, which departs entirely from the character of the males of the three preceding species, it is proper to state that i consider it to be a complemental male simply from analogy, as will hereafter be more fully shown at the end of the genus. had a specimen of the parasite been brought to me without any information, i should have concluded that it was an immature individual of a new genus of pedunculated cirripedes, remarkable from the rudimentary condition of the valves, and exhibiting, in one important character, namely, in the form of the larval prehensile antennæ, an alliance to scalpellum. had i been then told that three individuals in a group, had been found attached to _s. rostratum_, not outside the valves, but to the integument, in a central line, between the labrum and the adductor scutorum muscle, in such a position that when the scalpellum closed its valves, these parasites were enclosed within the capitulum, my surprise would have been great; for it is very improbable that this singular and unparalleled position was accidental in this one group of specimens, inasmuch as there seems to be a relation between the naked condition of the capitulum of the parasite, and the protection afforded to it by the capitulum of the scalpellum. it further becomes apparent on reflection, that these minute parasites, though having the appearance of immaturity, can not increase in size, or but little, for if they did grow, and acquired an ordinary size, they would either be killed by the pressure of the scuta of the scalpellum, or they would destroy the latter, and in doing so soon lose their own support, and thus necessarily perish! the one full-grown specimen of _s. rostratum_, in mr. cuming's collection, was in a good state of preservation, but dry. the three parasites were attached, as stated, close under the labrum, between it and the adductor muscle. they are constructed like ordinary cirripedia, and have a mouth, thorax and cirri, enclosed in a capitulum, supported on a peduncle of moderate length and narrow. the entire length of the capitulum and peduncle, as far as could be ascertained in the shrivelled condition of the specimens, was / ths, and the greatest width of the capitulum / ths of an inch. both capitulum and peduncle are hirsute with spines, nearly / th of an inch in length, mingled with shorter hairs in little rows of three and four together. the figure ( ) in pl. vi is merely a restoration, as accurate as could be made from the much shrivelled specimens. there are only three valves,--namely, an oval carina (_a_), seated rather high up on the capitulum, in a rudimentary condition and only / th of an inch in length, and a pair of scuta; these latter consist of a narrow, slightly curved plate, / ths in length, broadest at the lower end, where the breadth is / ths of an inch. the prehensile antennæ, at the end of the peduncle, have pointed hoof-like discs: i was not able to make out the other parts. it deserves notice, that in the young specimen of the ordinary form of _s. rostratum_, / th of an inch in length, and therefore only thrice as long as the parasites, all the valves were perfect, and seemed to have followed the ordinary law of development. _mouth._--the largely bullate labrum is placed far from the adductor, in the same manner as in the hermaphrodite. the mandibles have three large sharp teeth, with the inferior point very sharp and small, so that there is one less tooth than in the hermaphrodite. the maxillæ have two or three large upper spines, the others being very thin; i believe the lower part is upraised and step-like, as in the hermaphrodite. the outer maxillæ are bilobed in front, with a few short bristles on the outer side near the bottom. i was not able, from the dried state of the specimens, to discover whether the olfactory orifices were tubular. altogether it was apparent, from this imperfect examination, that there was a close similarity between the mouth of the parasite and of the hermaphrodite. the _thorax_ is unusually elongated. _cirri._--the first pair is very short, and is distant from the second. all have the appearance of immaturity, with their pedicels very long in proportion to their rami; the latter are slightly unequal in length, even in the sixth pair. there appeared to be six segments in the rami of the sixth pair, each segment bearing two or three pair of long spines. _caudal appendages_, with two or three little spines on their summits. _penis_, short, blunt, thick at the apex, with one or two spines on it. i did not see any ovaria, but this could hardly have been expected in specimens in a dried condition, without they had happened to have been in a gorged condition. certainly there were no ova. in the general summary at the end of the genus, i shall give my reasons for believing this parasite to be the complemental male of the _scalpellum rostratum_. . scalpellum peronii. pl. vi, fig. . smilium peronii. _j. e. gray._ annals of philosoph., new series, tom. x, . ---- ---- . . . . . spicilegia zoologica, tab. iii, fig. , . anatifa obliqua. _quoy_ et _gaimard_. voyage de l'astrolabe, pl. xciii, fig. , - . pollicipes obliqua. _lamarck._ an. sans vertebres ( d edition). _s. (herm.) valvis : laterum paribus tribus; pari superiore multùm elongato: pedunculi squamis calcareis nullis._ (herm.) capitulum with valves: three pair of latera; upper latera much elongated: peduncle without calcareous scales. mandibles with or unequal teeth: maxillæ with the edge nearly straight, bearing numerous spines. complemental male, attached externally, between the scuta and below the adductor muscle; pedunculated; capitulum formed of six valves, with the carina descending far beneath the basal angle of the terga; mouth and cirri prehensile. swan river, australia, attached to a coralline; mus. cuming. port western, bass's straits, as stated in the voyage of the astrolabe. mus. brit. hermaphrodite. _capitulum_ formed of valves; namely, two scuta, two terga, a carina and sub-carina, a rostrum, a pair of upper latera, and two pair of lower latera; these latter valves, with the sub-carina and the rostrum, make a whorl of six pieces. the upper part of the capitulum is, as usual, produced. the upper valves are separated (in specimens which have not been dried) by rather wide interspaces of membrane; they are covered (excepting, generally, their umbones,) by membrane, which in the interspaces is clothed with fine spines. the spines, or the marks where they were once articulated, are visible over nearly the entire surface of the membrane covering the valves. the spines are particularly numerous round the orifice of the sack. the whole capitulum, (in a dried condition), is coloured dull purplish-red, which is only in part due to the underlying corium, for the valves themselves are pale red. after having been long kept in spirits, the whole capitulum becomes colourless. the valves are smooth, faintly marked by lines of growth. the umbones of the lower valves project outwards, giving a denticulated appearance to the base of the capitulum. _scuta_, slightly convex, oblong, breadth about two thirds of the length, almost quadrilateral, with the upper portion produced into a flat projection; this projection is almost spear-shaped, being constricted a little on each side below the apex. there is a deep pit for the adductor muscle. the umbo is near the apex, the part above not being above one fifth of the whole length of the valve. as in _s. vulgare_, the growth is at first downwards, and subsequently a little upwards and downwards, thus producing the upper, small, spear-like projection, which lies at a lower level than the umbo. there is a fold on the occludent margin. _terga_, large, flat, triangular; carinal margin slightly hollowed out; occludent margin slightly arched, with a small portion protuberant to a variable amount. the apex is slightly curved towards the carina. _carina_, long, internally deeply concave, angularly bent, the lower portion slightly longer and wider than the upper part; the two halves meet each other at about an angle of °; the upper half is parallel to the longer axis of the terga, between which it extends for three fourths of their length. the external surface is rounded, except near the umbo, where the edge is carinated; growth almost equally upwards and downwards; the parietes and tectum are not separated by ridges. the _sub-carina_ lies close under the carina, and is placed almost transversely to the longer axis of the capitulum; external surface arched and smooth, the whole having the shape of half of a cone, with the apex a little curved outwards; seen internally, it may be said to be formed of two triangular wings placed at right angles to each other; basal margin straight; in size equalling the carinal latera. _rostrum_, lying almost transversely to the longer axis of the capitulum, under the basal margins of the scuta; in shape (fig. _a_) closely resembling the sub-carina, but about one third larger than it; larger also than either the rostral or carinal latera; seen externally, appears like a half cone; seen internally, is formed of two triangular wings (with curved edges), placed at right-angles to each other. _upper latera_, internally flat, oblong, twice as long as broad; upper end square, truncated; upper half rather wider than the lower half; fully twice as large as either of the lower latera. the basal points extend below the basal margins of the scuta. the umbo is placed a little above the centre. _rostral latera_, minute, scarcely exceeding one third of the size of the carinal latera, and very much less than the rostrum; they are placed transversely under the basal point of the upper latus, or rather between it and the baso-lateral angle of the scutum; basal margin, as seen internally, straight; upper margin arched; rostral angle produced; internally flat; the whole valve is very thick and solid, so that the umbo which lies at the rostral end, projects rectangularly outwards. _carinal latera_, oblong, nearly quadrilateral, with the upper angle produced; placed obliquely, parallel to the lower half of the upper latera; umbo slightly prominent, seated near the apex, with three rounded ridges proceeding from it; internal surface very slightly concave. _peduncle and attachment._--the peduncle is short, not equalling the capitulum in length. the whole surface is most thickly clothed with minute spines, which are not visible when the specimen is dry; i think it probable that they may sometimes all drop off before a new period of exuviation. the peduncle does not (at least in the specimens which i have examined, which were grouped in a bunch) taper at the lower end to a point; and after careful examination, i feel sure that the cement does not debouch from several successively formed orifices, as in _s. vulgare_ and as in some pollicipes, but only from the two original orifices in the prehensile antennæ of the larva. in these latter organs, the sucking disc is hoof-like and pointed, and is narrower than the basal segment. the ultimate segment has on its inner side (supposing this segment stretched straight forwards,) a notch or step bearing at least three spines. the proportions of the different parts differ slightly from those in _s. vulgare_; but, as i shall hereafter have to give all the measurements, i do not think them worth repeating here. in the one large group of specimens examined by me, in mr. cuming's possession, all were attached symmetrically to the coralline, as in the case of _s. vulgare_, capitulum upwards, and their carinas outwards. _length_ of capitulum about three quarters of an inch; width about half an inch; entire length, with peduncle, a little more than one inch. the _mouth_ is placed far from the adductor muscle. _labrum_, with its basal margin much produced; upper part highly bullate, forming a rounded projection equalling the longitudinal axis of the rest of the mouth; crest without any teeth. _palpi_, triangular, with the two margins, thickly clothed with bristles; on each side of the mouth, near where the palpi are united to the mandibles, there is a slight, orbicular, shield-like swelling. the _mandibles_ (pl. x, fig. ) have nine or ten very unequal teeth, with the inferior angle rather broad and pectinated; of these, there are four main teeth, of which the second is always the smallest, and between the four, one or two small teeth are interpolated; so that the total number is either nine or ten, and often varies on the two sides of the same individual, as likewise does the shape of the inferior angle. _maxillæ_, with the edge nearly half as long as that of the mandibles, supporting from seventeen to twenty pairs of spines; the upper pair is only slightly larger than the others; a part near the inferior angle projects slightly beyond the rest of the nearly straight edge. the apodeme, at its base or point of origin, is unusually broad and flat. _outer maxillæ_, large and triangular. the inner margin is slightly concave, and continuously covered with short spines. the outer margin is bilobed, as in _s. vulgare_, with the basal part supporting a great tuft of long bristles, of which the greater number turn outwards, and almost cover the olfactory orifices. the latter are slightly prominent, placed some way apart from each other, with the above-mentioned tufts of bristles between them. all the spines of the trophi are in some degree doubly serrated. _cirri._--the first pair is seated rather far from the second pair, and the prosoma being little developed, the shape of the body nearly resembles that of _s. vulgare_. the posterior cirri are elongated, very little curled, with the segments much flattened, not at all protuberant, bearing from five to seven pair of long serrated spines, with a few small spines in an exterior row; between each pair there is a very minute tuft of small bristles; the upper lateral rim of each segment is toothed with small spines; spines of the dorsal tufts, long, serrated. _first pair_, elongated, having numerous segments, namely, seventeen, whilst the sixth pair in the same individual had only twenty-one segments; rami nearly equal; segments short, nearly cylindrical, thickly clothed with long serrated spines. the _second_ and _third_ pair are nearly equal in length; they have their anterior rami slightly thicker than their posterior rami, both being much more thickly clothed with spines, than are the three posterior pair of cirri. pedicels, rather short, with their inner edges not forming a projection, as in _s. vulgare_. _caudal appendages_ (pl. x, fig. ), uni-articulate, flat, rounded at their ends and moderately long; clothed most thickly, like brushes, with very fine bristles, which latter are serrated, and are longer than the appendages themselves. _penis_, of small size, narrow, pointed, and thickly clothed with delicate hairs; in length equalling only one fourth of the sixth cirrus. _ovigerous fræna_, small, semicircular; entire edge thickly covered with glands. ovarian tubes, within the peduncle, fully developed as usual. _affinities._--this species differs from all the others in the absence of calcareous scales on the peduncle; but it has no other character which at all justifies its generic separation. in the shape of the scuta and carina it comes nearest to _s. vulgare_. taking all the characters together, it is scarcely possible to say to which of the other species it is most closely allied, having close affinities with all. in the entire structure, however, of the complemental male, immediately to be described, this species certainly comes nearer to _s. villosum_ than to any other species. i may add, that in _s. villosum_ the latera are almost rudimentary, and therefore tend to disappear, whereas in _s. peronii_ it is the calcareous scales on the peduncle which have actually disappeared. complemental male. pl. vi, fig. . i examined, owing to the great kindness of mr. cunning, six dry specimens of the hermaphrodite _s. peronii_, from swan river, and one in spirits from another locality, in the british museum. out of these seven specimens, only three appeared to have had parasites attached to them, and these i infer, from reasons to be more fully given at the end of the genus, are complemental males. one of the three specimens, however, had two males close together. these parasites were firmly cemented to the integument of the hermaphrodite, in a fold, in a central line between the scuta, a little below (the animal being in the position in which it is figured) the adductor scutorum muscle, and therefore some way below the umbones of these valves. when the scuta are closed, the parasites, from their small size, are enclosed and protected. in every detail of structure, they are obviously pedunculated cirripedia. the _capitulum_ (pl. vi, fig. ) has six valves; namely, a pair of scuta and of terga, a carina, and a rostrum, all united by finely-villose membrane, furnished near the orifice with some much longer and thicker spines. the capitulum is truncated in a remarkable manner, the orifice not being, as in the hermaphrodite, in the same line with the peduncle, but almost transverse to it, and therefore almost parallel to the surface of attachment. the largest specimen measured transversely, through the scuta and terga, was / ths of an inch in breadth; another was only / ths to / ths: this latter specimen, measured longitudinally, from the base of the carina to the tips of the terga, was / ths of an inch. a scutum of the largest specimen was / ths in length. the scuta and terga are broadly oval, with the primordial valves very plain at their upper ends. i may here mention, that in a central line between the scuta, i observed the _apparently_ single, minute, black eye, as in ordinary cirripedia. the _carina_ is straight, triangular, and internally slightly concave; its basal margin descends far below the basal points of the terga. the _rostrum_ is shorter, and internally more concave than the carina: i believe it projects more abruptly outwards than is represented in the figure. the _peduncle_ commences some little way below the scuta: it is narrow and very short: it is finely villose: it is lined by delicate transverse striæ-less muscles, within which there are the usual stronger, longitudinal muscles. the base is flat and truncated. i examined, and carefully compared, the prehensile antennæ with those of the hermaphrodite, and found every part and every measurement the same. the full importance of this identity will hereafter be more fully insisted on. the antennæ are represented of their proper proportional size in fig. . _mouth._--the labrum, as in the hermaphrodite, is highly bullate, and far removed from the adductor scutorum muscle. the _palpi_ are small and triangular, with their blunt apices clothed with a very few scattered bristles. _mandibles_, with only three teeth, and the lower angle minute, slightly pectinated; the first tooth is distant from the second, and larger than it. width of the whole organ, . of an inch. _maxillæ_, bearing only a few spines, furnished with a long apodeme; beneath the upper large pair there is a notch, under which there are two spines of considerable size and a small tuft of fine bristles; width . of an inch, and therefore only / th of the size of the same organ in the hermaphrodite: the relative sizes of the maxillæ and mandibles are the same in the male and hermaphrodite. _outer maxillæ_ blunt, triangular, with a few thinly-scattered bristles on the inner face; those on the outside being longer. _cirri._--the first pair is far removed from the second; the rami are very short, barely exceeding the pedicel in length; they are formed of only four segments, each bearing a pair of spines; but on the end of the terminal segment, there are three spines, of which the central one is very long. second pair also short. in the sixth pair there are five or six elongated segments, each bearing three pair of long spines; dorsal tufts large. the cirri are furnished with transversely-striated muscles. the _caudal appendages_ exist as two very minute plates, with a few bristles at their apices. the _penis_ is not acuminated, with four bristles at the end; it is short, equalling only the lower segment of the pedicel of the sixth cirrus. in the one specimen preserved in spirits, i unfortunately omitted to search for the vesiculæ seminales; i cannot doubt that such existed, but it would have been important to have ascertained whether they contained spermatozoa. i made out, most distinctly, that there was no trace of ovarian tubes within the peduncle; and my assertion may be believed when i state, that i traced the two much finer and more transparent cement-ducts, from the prehensile antennæ up to the body of the animal: in lepas i have _repeatedly_ detected, with ease, the ovarian tubes within the peduncle, before the calcification of the valves had even commenced, and therefore at a much earlier period of growth than in these parasites. consequently i am prepared to affirm, that these parasites are not females, but that, as far as can be judged, from external organs, they are exclusively males. _concluding remarks._--in comparing the capitulum of the hermaphrodite with that of the complemental male (pl. vi, figs. and ), we must be struck with the differences in their shape, in the number, relative sizes, and forms of the several valves. it should, however, be borne in mind, that the scuta and carina in the hermaphrodite at first grow exclusively downwards; so that if we remove the upper portions subsequently added, the difference in shape in these valves is not so great as it at first appears. the rostrum in the male is of much larger relative size; whilst of the upper latera there is not a trace, although in the hermaphrodite these valves are larger than the rostrum. the terga, compared with those of the hermaphrodite, differ more essentially than do the other valves; and the manner in which the primordial valves project, shows that from the first commencement of calcification, the lines of growth have followed an unusual course. the great breadth and shortness of the terga is evidently related to the shortening of the whole capitulum, and the transverse position of the orifice; and this shortening of the capitulum, no doubt, is rendered necessary for its reception and protection within the shallow furrow between the scuta of the hermaphrodite. finally, if we compare the internal parts of the hermaphrodite and male, the differences are considerable, though partly to be accounted for by the youth of the latter: the form and position of the labrum, and the distance between the first and second pair of cirri, is the same in both; but the mandibles and maxillæ differ considerably. to put the case as i have before done, if a specimen of one of these parasites had been brought to me to class without any information of its habits,--the downward direction of growth in all the valves, the presence of a rostrum, the villose outer integument, all the details of the prehensile antennæ, the form of the animal's body, and the position of the labrum, would have convinced me that, though a quite new genus, it ought to have stood close to scalpellum, and nearer to it than to ibla. . scalpellum villosum. pl. vi, fig. . pollicipes villosus on plate (tomentosus in text). _leach._ encyclop. brit., suppl., vol. iii, , pl. lvii. ---- villosus.[ ] _g. b. sowerby._ genera of shells, pollicipes, fig. , . calantica homii. _j. e. gray._ annals of phil., vol. x, p. , . [ ] as mr. sowerby has adopted the name _villosus_, i have followed him; though as _tomentosus_ is used through some mistake by leach in the text, both names have equal claims as far as priority is concerned. in lamarck, 'animaux sans. vert.,' the _p. villosus_ of sowerby is made synonymous with _anatifa villosa_ of brugière, which is certainly incorrect, although the _a. villosa_ of this latter author is not positively known. _s. (herm.) valvis : sub-rostro præsente: carinâ pæne rectâ: laterum paribus tribus; pari superiore triangulo._ (herm.) capitulum with valves: sub-rostrum present: carina nearly straight: three pair of latera; upper latera triangular. _mandibles_ with four teeth, of which the second is the smallest: maxillæ with a projection near the inferior angle: no caudal appendage. complemental male, attached externally between the scuta, below the adductor muscle; pedunculated; capitulum formed of six valves, with the carina not descending much below the basal angles of the terga: mouth and cirri prehensile. eastern seas[ ] (?) attached to shells and rocks. mus. brit.; college of surgeons; cuming. [ ] no habitat is attached to any of these specimens; but mr. sowerby informs me that he has seen specimens attached to the _modiola albicostata_ of lamarck, which shell is said by the latter author to be found in the seas of india, timor, and new holland. hermaphrodite. _capitulum_ with fourteen valves, consisting of a pair of scuta and of terga, a carina, (which five valves are much larger than the others,) a rostrum, sub-rostrum, sub-carina, and three pair of small latera. all the valves are covered by membrane, as are the calcareous scales on the peduncle; and this membrane everywhere is densely clothed with spines. the upper valves are not very thick; they stand rather close together. the eight valves of the lower whorl are more solid, and are placed far apart; they are small, tending to become rudimentary. none of the valves are added to at their upper ends, in which respect this species differs remarkably from the others of the genus, and approaches in character to pollicipes. _scuta_, with a deep hollow for the adductor muscle, triangular, with the basal margin elongated, and protuberant. _terga_, large, flat, triangular, basal point blunt, with the carinal margin slightly hollowed out, and the scutal margin protuberant. apex solid. _carina_, rather longer than the terga, straight, gradually widening from the upper to the basal end, deeply concave. in young specimens the upper part is slightly bowed inwards. apex solid. _sub-carina_, with the inner surface crescent-shaped; the umbo points transversely outwards; in width it exceeds the largest of the latera. _rostrum_, triangular, internally (fig. _a_) concave; basal margin slightly hollowed out, and deeply notched; rather less in width than the carina; short, with the umbo pointing upwards and outwards. in young specimens the apex curves a little inwards. _sub-rostrum_, with the inner surface transversely elongated (fig. _b_), slightly crescent-shaped, about two thirds as wide as the rostrum. the apex points transversely outwards. _latera_, three pair; the middle pair apparently corresponds with the upper latera of the other species of the genus. the two other pair of latera, together with the rostrum and sub-carina, form a whorl. the sub-rostrum lies by itself, a little beneath this whorl. the latera are smaller than the rostrum or the sub-carina. they are placed far distant from each other; their inner surfaces are triangular; their umbones point upwards; the rostral pair is smaller than the other two pair, which are of equal size. the exact position of the rostral latus differed on the two sides of the specimen examined; apparently its normal position is at the baso-lateral angle of the scuta. _peduncle_, wide at the summit, longer than the capitulum; calcified scales small, not arranged very regularly; flattened, spindle-shaped, rather far separated from each other; imbedded in membrane, so that even their summits are rarely uncovered. the surface of the membrane is thickly clothed with spines, which are strong, thick, yellow, pointed, and furnished with large tubuli running to the underlying corium. these spines are arranged in groups of from three or four, to five or six. besides these larger spines, the whole surface is villose with very minute colourless spines, not above / th of the length of the larger ones. the surface of attachment is broad. this species, not being symmetrically attached to a coralline, the peduncle does not curve, as in most of the other species, towards the rostrum. the capitulum is above half an inch in length. _mouth._--the labrum is much produced downwards, but yet the mouth is not very far distant from the adductor muscle: the upper part is bullate, forming a small overhanging point, and in longitudinal diameter equals the rest of the mouth. _palpi_ blunt. _mandibles_ with four teeth, strong, short, thick, the second tooth much smaller than the others; inferior angle broad, pectinated. _maxillæ_ with a long, rather sinuous edge, which, near the inferior angle, has a narrow projecting point, bearing rather finer spines; there is, also, apparently, a very minute tuft of small spines close under the two large upper spines: there are, altogether, about twenty pair of spines, without counting the smaller ones. _outer maxillæ_, with the inner edge slightly concave, continuously covered with bristles; exteriorly, with a prominence covered with longer bristles. olfactory orifices prominent, protected by a slight punctured swelling between the bases of the first pair of cirri. _cirri._--prosoma moderately developed; first pair of cirri rather far removed from the second pair. the segments of the three posterior pair are not elongated, short, slightly protuberant in front, bearing four or five pairs of strong spines; a little below each pair, there is an intermediate tuft of very fine straight bristles, of which the upper tuft is the largest; on the lateral upper rims there are some short, strong spines; dorsal tufts rather small and thick; spines all more or less serrated, especially on the broad basal segments of the three anterior cirri. pedicels of the cirri not particularly protuberant in front. first cirrus with rami, slightly unequal in length; not short; basal segments much thicker and more protuberant than the upper segments. second cirrus; anterior ramus with six or seven basal segments highly protuberant, and crowded with spines; posterior ramus with about six segments, similarly characterised. third cirrus with the anterior ramus having six, and the posterior ramus five segments, also similarly characterised. _caudal appendages_ absent, there being only a slight swelling on each side of the anus. the _oesophagus_ runs parallel to the labrum, and enters obliquely the summit of the stomach, which is destitute of cæca: the biliary envelope is longitudinally plicated. there are no _filamentary appendages_. _testes_ large, branched like a stag's horns, attached in a sheet to the ventral surface of the stomach: the vesiculæ seminales enter the prosoma, and have their reflexed ends not very blunt. the _penis_ is rather narrow, with the terminal half plainly ringed, and bearing tufts of fine bristles arranged in circles, one tuft below the other; on the basal half there are only a few scattered minute bristles. _affinities._--in the downward growth of all the valves, in the presence of a sub-rostrum, in the shape of the scuta, carina, and more especially of the triangular latera, in the form of the peduncle, with its irregularly-scattered calcified scales, in the shape of the animal's body, in the structure both of the mandibles and maxillæ, in the arrangement of the spines, both on the anterior and posterior cirri, _scalpellum villosum_ most closely resembles, or rather is identical with, pollicipes. had it not been for the formation of the valves forming the capitulum, and from the presence of complemental males, i should have placed this species alongside of _pollicipes spinosus_ and _sertus_. in not having caudal appendages, _s. villosum_ differs from all the species of scalpellum and pollicipes; but this organ is variable to an unusual degree in pollicipes. complemental male. pl. vi, fig. . from the kindness of professor owen, mr. gray, and mr. cuming, i have been enabled to examine six specimens of this species; and on two of them i found complemental males. they were attached in the same position as in _s. peronii_; namely, beneath the adductor muscle, in the fold between the scuta, so as to be protected by the latter when closed. this parasite is six-valved, and has a close general resemblance with that of _s. peronii_, but differs in very many points of detail. it is represented of the natural size at _á_ fig. . the capitulum is / ths of an inch, measured across the scuta and terga; and the same measured from the base of the carina to the top of the capitulum; hence it is broader, by a quarter of the above measurement, and considerably higher than the male of _s. peronii_. from the capitulum being higher, that is, not so much truncated, the orifice is placed more obliquely. the membrane connecting the valves is finely villose, and is besides furnished with spines, conspicuously thicker and longer than those on the male _s. peronii_. the scuta and terga are much more elongated, a scutum being here / ths of an inch in length. the carina descends only just below the basal points of the terga, instead of far below them. the rostrum is a little broader and more arched than the carina; it is / ths in length, and therefore more than two thirds of the length of the carina, the latter being / ths of an inch from the apex to the basal margin. the primordial valves, with the usual hexagonal tissue, are seated on the tips of the scuta, terga, and carina, but not on the rostrum; so that these valves follow the same law of development, as in the ordinary and hermaphrodite form of scalpellum. the scuta (_a_, fig. , greatly enlarged), the terga (_b_), and carina (_c_) of the male, resemble the same valves in the hermaphrodite, much more closely than do these valves in the male and hermaphrodite _s. peronii_. the rostrum has not its basal margin hollowed out, and is very much larger relatively to the carina, than in the hermaphrodite. the large relative size of the rostrum in the complemental male both of this species and of _s. peronii_, is a remarkable character, which i can in no way account for. the peduncle is narrow and short, but in a different degree in the two specimens examined. it is naked. the prehensile antennæ were not in a good state of preservation: the disc is narrower than the basal segment, and only slightly pointed, in which important respect it differs from the same part in the foregoing species; at its distal end, rather on the inner side, there are two or three spines, apparently in place of the excessively minute hairs, which are found at the same spot in some or in all the other species of scalpellum, and in ibla: similar strong spines occur in pollicipes. unfortunately, for the sake of comparison, i was not able to find the prehensile antennæ in the hermaphrodite _s. villosum_. _mouth._--labrum bullate, with teeth on the crest. _palpi_ blunt, spinose. _mandibles_, with three teeth; inferior point rather strongly pectinated. _maxillæ_, with a considerable notch under the upper pair of large spines; inferior part of the edge not prominent. _outer maxillæ_, with the spines on the inner edge arranged into two groups. olfactory orifices tubular and prominent, with some long bristles near their bases. in the mandibles having only three teeth, in the maxillæ being notched and in the lower part not being prominent, and, lastly, in the bristles on the inner face of the outer maxillæ being arranged in two groups, these several organs differ from those in the hermaphrodite. _cirri._--first pair short, with only three or four segments in each ramus: second cirrus, with the basal segments not very thickly clothed with spines: sixth cirrus with seven segments, not protuberant in front, each bearing four pairs of spines, without intermediate tufts. _caudal appendages_, none. this is an interesting fact, considering that these organs are likewise absent in the hermaphrodite _s. villosum_,--an absence highly remarkable, and confined to the genus conchoderma and the one species of anelasma. _penis_ thick, not tapering, rather exceeding in length the pedicel of the sixth cirrus, square at the end, and furnished with some spines. in one specimen, i believe i distinguished the vesiculæ seminales: if so, they contained only pulpy matter, and not spermatozoa. there were no ovarian tubes within the peduncle, which was lined by the usual muscles; i traced the two delicate cement-ducts, running from within the antennæ close up to the animal's body. hence in this case, as in that of _s. peronii_, i dare positively affirm that ovarian tubes do not occur; for it is out of the question that i could have traced the cement-ducts, and, at the same time, overlooked the far larger and more conspicuous ovarian tubes, into which, moreover, the ducts, had they existed, would have run. consequently, these parasites are not females; but judging from the probosciformed penis, and from the presence, as i believe, of vesiculæ seminales, they are males. the complemental males of the present species, and of _s. peronii_, so closely resemble each other, that what i have stated regarding the affinities of the latter, are here quite applicable. it is singular how much more alike the parts of the mouth and the cirri of these two complemental males are, than the corresponding parts in the two hermaphrodites: this no doubt is due to the two males having been arrested in their development, at a corresponding early period of growth. several of the characters, by which the hermaphrodite _s. villosum_ so closely approaches, and almost blends into the genus pollicipes,--such as the thicker cirri, with the intermediate tufts of bristles, the small second tooth of the mandibles, and the little brush-like prominence on the maxillæ,--are not in the least apparent in the complemental male. summary on the nature and relations of the males and complemental males, in ibla and scalpellum. had the question been, whether the parasites which i have now described, were simply the males of the cirripedes to which they are attached, the present summary and discussion would perhaps have been superfluous; but it is so novel a fact, that there should exist in the animal kingdom hermaphrodites, aided in their sexual functions by independent and, as i have called them, complemental males, that a brief consideration of the evidence already advanced, and of some fresh points, will not be useless. these parasites are confined to the allied genera ibla and scalpellum; but they do not occur in pollicipes,--a genus still more closely allied to scalpellum; and it deserves notice, that their presence is only occasional in those species of scalpellum which come nearest to pollicipes. in the genera ibla and scalpellum, the facts present a singular parallelism; in both we have the simpler case of a female, with one or more males of an abnormal structure attached to her; and in both the far more extraordinary case of an hermaphrodite, with similarly attached complemental males. in the two species of ibla, the complemental and ordinary males resemble each other, as closely as do the corresponding hermaphrodite and female forms; so it is with two sets of the species of scalpellum. but the males of ibla and the males of scalpellum certainly present no special relations to each other, as might have been expected, had they been distinct parasites independent of the animals to which they are attached, and considering that they are all cirripedes having the same most unusual habits. on the contrary, it is certain that the animals which i consider to be the males and complemental males of the two species of ibla, if classed by their own characters, would, from the reasons formerly assigned, form a new genus, nearer to ibla than to the parasites of scalpellum: so, again, the assumed males of the three latter species of scalpellum would form two new genera, both of which would be more closely allied to scalpellum, than to the parasites of ibla. with respect to the parasites of the first three species of scalpellum, they are in such an extraordinarily modified and embryonic condition, that they can hardly be compared with other cirripedes; but certainly they do not approach the parasites of ibla, more closely than the parasites of scalpellum; and in the one important character of the antennæ, they are identical both with the parasitic and ordinary forms of scalpellum. that two sets of parasites having closely similar habits, and belonging to the same sub-class, should be more closely related in their whole organisation to the animals to which they are respectively attached, than to each other, would, if the parasites were really distinct and independent creatures, be a most singular phenomenon; but on the view that they differ only sexually from the cirripedes on which they are parasitic, this relationship is obviously what might have been expected. the two species of ibla differ extremely little from each other, and so, as above remarked, do the two males. in scalpellum the species differ more from each other, and so do the males. in this latter genus the species may be divided into two groups, the first containing _s. vulgare_, _s. ornatum_ and _s. rutilum_, characterised by not having a sub-carina, by the rostrum being small, by the constant presence of four pair of latera, and by the peculiar shape of the carinal latera; the second group is characterised by having a sub-carina and a large rostrum, and may be subdivided into two little groups; viz., _s. rostratum_ having four pairs of latera, and _s. peronii_ and _villosum_ having only three pairs of latera: now the males, if classed by themselves, would inevitably be divided in exactly the same manner, namely, into two main groups,--the one including the closely similar, sack-formed males of _s. vulgare_, _ornatum_, and _rutilum_, the other the pedunculated males of _s. rostratum_, _peronii_, and _villosum_; but this latter group would have to be subdivided into two little sub-groups, the one containing the three-valved male of _s. rostratum_, and the other the six-valved males of _s. peronii_ and _s. villosum_. it should not, however, be overlooked, that the two main groups of parasites differ from each other, far more than do the two corresponding groups of species to which they are attached; and, on the other hand, that the parasitic males of _s. peronii_ and _s. villosum_ resemble each other more closely, than do the two hermaphrodite forms;--but it is very difficult to weigh the value of the differences in the different parts of species. besides these general, there are some closer relations between the parasites and the animals to which they are attached; thus the most conspicuous internal character by which _ibla quadrivalvis_ is distinguished from _i. cumingii_, is the length of the caudal appendages and the greater size of the parts of the mouth; in the parasites, we have exactly corresponding differences. out of the six species of scalpellum in their ordinary state, _s. ornatum_ is alone quite destitute of spines on the membrane connecting the valves; and had it not been for this circumstance, i should even have used the presence of spines as a generic character; on the other hand, _s. villosum_, in accordance with its specific name, has larger and more conspicuous spines than any other species. in the parasites we have an exactly parallel case; the parasite of _s. ornatum_ being the only one without spines, and the spines on the parasite of _s. villosum_ being much the largest! this latter species is highly singular in having no caudal appendages, and the parasite is destitute of these same organs, though present inn the parasites of _s. rostratum_ and _s. peronii_. again, _s. villosum_ approaches, in all its characters, very closely to the genus pollicipes, and the parasite in having prehensile antennæ, with the disc but little pointed, and with spines at the further end, departs from scalpellum and approaches pollicipes! will any one believe that these several parallel differences, between the cirripedial parasites and the cirripedes to which they are attached, are accidental, and without signification? yet, this must be admitted, if my view of their male sex and mature be rejected. one more, and the most important special relation between the parasites and the cirripedes to which they are attached, remains to be noticed, namely that of their prehensile larval antennæ. i observed the antennæ more or less perfectly in the males of all, and except in _s. villosum_, in all the species, though so utterly different in general appearance and structure, i found the peculiar, pointed, hoof-like discs, which are confined, i believe, to the genera ibla and scalpellum. in the hermaphrodite forms of scalpellum, i was enabled to examine the antennæ only in two species, _s. vulgare_ and _s. peronii_, (belonging, fortunately, to the two most distinct sections of the genus,) and after the most careful measurements of every part, i can affirm that, in _s. vulgare_, the antennæ of the male and of the hermaphrodite are identical; but that they differ slightly in the proportional lengths of their segments, and in no other respect, from these same organs in _s. peronii_,--in which again the antennæ of the male and of the hermaphrodite are identical. the importance of this agreement will be more fully appreciated, if the reader will consider the following table, in which the generic and specific differences of the antennæ in the lepadidæ, as far as known to me, are given. these organs are of high functional importance; they serve the larva for crawling, and being furnished with long, sometimes plumose spines, they serve apparently as organs of touch; and lastly, they are indispensable as a means of permanent attachment, being adapted to the different objects, to which the larva adheres. hence the antennæ might, _à priori_, have been deemed of high importance for classification. they are, moreover, embryonic in their nature; and embryonic parts, as is well known, possess the highest classificatory value. from these considerations, and looking to the actual facts as exhibited in the following table, the improbability that the parasites of _s. vulgare_ and _s. peronii_, so utterly different in external structure and habits one from the other, and from the cirripedes to which they are attached, should yet have absolutely similar prehensile antennæ with these cirripedes, appears to me, on the supposition of the parasites being really independent creatures, and not, as i fully believe, merely in a different state of sexual development, insurmountably great. the parasites of _s. vulgare_ take advantage of a pre-existing fold on the edge of the scutum, where the chitine border is thicker; and in this respect there is nothing different from what would naturally happen with an independent parasite; but in _s. ornatum_ the case is very different, for here the two scuta are specially modified, _before the attachment of the parasites_, in a manner which it is impossible to believe can be of any service to the species itself, irrespectively of the lodgment thus afforded for the males. so again in _s. rutilum_, the shape of the scutum seems adapted for the reception of the male, in a manner which must be attributed to its own growth, and not to the pressure or attachment of a foreign body. now there is a strong and manifest improbability in an animal being specially modified to favour the parasitism of another, though there are innumerable instances in which parasites take advantage of pre-existing structures in the animals to which they are attached. on the other hand, there is no greater improbability in the female being modified for the attachment of the male, in a class in which all the individuals are attached to some object, than in the mutual organs of copulation being adapted to each other throughout the animal kingdom. generic characters of the larval prehensile antennÆ, in the lepadidæ, as far as known from their imperfect state of preservation, and the number of species examined. |name of species. | |length of, from end of disc to the further margin of the | |oblique basal articulation: scale, fractions of the / ths | |of an inch. | | |length of, from end of disc to the inner margin of the | | |basal articulation. scale same. | | | |width of basal segment, in widest part. scale same. | | | | |disc, length of. scale same. | | | | | |disc, width of. scale same. | | | | | | |ultimate segment, length of. scale | | | | | | |same. | | | | | | | |ultimate segment, width of. | | | | | | | |scale, fractions of the | | | | | | | | / , ths of an inch. lepas: disc large, thin, almost _circular_, slightly elongated, with several long spines on the hinder margin; end segment with three very long, plumose spines on the upper _exterior_ angle.[ ] |_l. anatifera_ (?) | | | | |-- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-- | | | | | | | |-- |_l. australis_, | | | | |-- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |_l. pectinata_, | | | | |-- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |_l. fascicularis_, | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-- | | | | | | | |-- dichelaspis: disc _small_, thin, circular, with several spines on the hinder margin; end segment, with two long spines on the upper _exterior_ angle. |_d. warwickii_, | | | | |-- | | | | | | | | | - | | | | | | - | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - conchoderma: disc large, thin, _transversely_ elongated, with several long spines on the hinder margin; end segment, with two excessively long, plumose spines on the upper _exterior_ corner. |_c. virgata_, | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |_c. aurita._ | |-- | | |-- | | | |-- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | alepas: disc small, slightly elongated, with two or more spines on the hinder margin; end segment, with two long spines on the upper _inner_ corner, and four shorter ones on the exterior corner. |_a. cornuta_, | | | | |-- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ibla (parasitic males of): disc, _hoof-like_, _pointed_, elongated, with a single spine on the hinder margin; end segment, with four short spines on the upper exterior corner. |_i. cumingii_, | | | | |-- | | | | - | | | | | | | | | | |-- | | | | | | | - | | | | | | | | - |_i. quadrivalvis_, | | - | | |-- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | scalpellum: disc _hoof-like_, generally _pointed_ and elongated, with a single spine on the hinder margin; end segment, with a notch on the inner[ ] side, bearing two spines, longer than on the exterior corner. |_s. vulgare_, | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - | | | | | | - | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |_s. ornatum_, | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-- | | | | | | |-- | | | | | | | |-- |_s. peronii_, | | | | | | | | |-- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | pollicipes: disc small, _hoof-like_, not pointed, with a single spine on the hinder margin; end segment, as in _scalpellum_. |_p. cornucopia_, | | | | |-- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | [ ] in the diameter of the disc, the thin membranous border, which is present in the first three genera, is included; but i have some doubts, whether this border be not the first rim of cementing tissue, as all the specimens, of which measurements are here given, had been removed after attachment. in using the terms inner and outer sides of the end segment, it is supposed, that this segment is stretched straight forwards, instead of being bent rectangularly outwards, as in its natural position; and then there can be no doubt which is the inner and outer sides. it should be observed that the evidence in this summary is of a cumulative nature. if we think it highly, or in some degree probable,--from the ordinary form of _ibla cumingii_ having been shown on good evidence to be exclusively female,--from the absence of ova and ovaria in the assumed males of both species of ibla, at the period when their vesiculæ seminales were gorged with spermatozoa,--from the close general resemblance between the parts of the mouth in the parasites and in the iblas to which they are attached,--from the differences between the two parasites being strictly analogous to the differences between the two species of ibla,--from the generic character of their prehensile antennæ,--and from other such points,--if from these several considerations, we admit that these parasites really are the males of the two species to which they adhere, then in some degree the occurrence of parasitic males in the allied genus scalpellum is rendered more probable. so the absolute similarity in the antennæ of the males and hermaphrodites both in _s. vulgare_ and _s. peronii_; and such relations as that of the relative villosity of the several species in this same genus, all in return strengthen the case in ibla. again, the six-valved parasites of _s. peronii_ and _s. villosum_ are so closely similar, that their nature, whatever it may be, must be the same; hence we may add up the evidence derived from the identity of the antennæ in the parasite and hermaphrodite _s. peronii_, with that from the antennæ in the male _s. villosum_, approaching in character to pollicipes, to which genus the hermaphrodite is so closely allied; and to this evidence, again, may be added the singular coincident absence of caudal appendages in the male and hermaphrodite _s. villosum_. if these two six-valved parasites be received as the complemental males of their respective species, no one, probably, will doubt regarding the nature of the parasite of _s. rostratum_, in which the direct evidence is the weakest; but even in this case, the particular point of attachment, and the state of development of the valves, form a link connecting in some degree, the parasites of the first three species with the last two species of scalpellum, in accordance with the affinities of the hermaphrodites. when first examining the parasites of _s. rostratum_, _s. peronii_, and _s. villosum_, before the weight of the cumulative evidence had struck me, and noting their apparent state of immaturity, it occurred to me that possibly they were the young of their respective species, in their normal state of development, attached to old individuals, as may often be seen in lepas; this, however, would be a surprising fact, considering that _s. rostratum_ and _s. peronii_ are ordinarily attached, in a certain definite position, to horny corallines, and considering that the exact points of attachment in these three parasites, (of which i have seen no other instance amongst common cirripedes,) namely, between the scuta, would inevitably cause their early destruction, either directly or indirectly, by their living supports being destroyed. nevertheless, i carefully examined a young specimen of _s. rostratum_ only thrice as large as the parasite; and not having very young specimens of _s. peronii_ and _villosum_, i procured the young of closely-allied forms, namely, of _s. vulgare_, (with a capitulum only / th of an inch in length,) and of _pollicipes polymerus_, (with a capitulum of less size than that of one of the parasites,) and there was not the least sign of anything abnormal in the development of the valves. in _s. vulgare_, at a period when the calcified scuta could have been only / th of an inch in length, (and therefore considerably less than the scuta in the parasites,) the upper latera must have been as much as / ths of an inch in length, and the valves of the lower whorl certainly distinguishable. to sum up the evidence on the sex of the parasites, i was not able to discover a vestige of ova or ovaria in the two male iblas; and i can venture to affirm positively, that the parasites of _s. peronii_ and _s. villosum_ are not female. on the other hand, in the two male iblas, i was enabled to demonstrate all the male organs, and i most distinctly saw spermatozoa. in the parasitic complemental male of _s. vulgare_, i also most plainly saw spermatozoa. in the parasites of _s. rostratum_, _s. peronii_, and _s. villosum_, the external male organs were present. i may here just allude to the facts given in detail under ibla, showing that it was hardly possible that i could be mistaken regarding the exclusively female sex of the ordinary form of _i. cumingii_, seeing how immediately i perceived all the male organs in the hermaphrodite _i. quadrivalvis_; and as the parasite contained spermatozoa and no ova, the only possible way to escape from the conclusion that it was the male and _i. cumingii_ the female of the same species, was to invent two hypothetical creatures, of opposite sexes to the ibla and its parasite, and which, though cirripedes, would have to be locomotive! i insisted upon this alternative, because if the parasite of _i. cumingii_ be the male of that species, then unquestionably we have in _i. quadrivalvis_ a male, complemental to an hermaphrodite,--a conclusion, as we have seen, hardly to be avoided in the genus scalpellum, even if we trust exclusively to the facts therein exhibited. with respect to the positions of the parasitic males, in relation to the impregnation of the ova in the females and hermaphrodites, it may be observed that in the two male iblas, the elongated moveable body seems perfectly adapted for this end; in the males of the first three species of scalpellum, the spermatozoa, owing to the manner in which the thorax is bent when protruded, would be easily discharged into the sack of the female or hermaphrodite; this would likewise probably happen with the complemental male of _s. rostratum_, considering its position within the orifice of the capitulum, between the mouth and the adductor scutorum muscle. the males of _s. peronii_ and _villosum_ being fixed a little way beneath the orifice of the sack, below the adductor muscle, are less favorably situated, but the spermatozoa would probably be drawn into the sack by the ordinary action of the cirri of the hermaphrodite, and therefore would at least have as good a chance of fertilising some of the ova, as the pollen of many dioecious plants, trusted to the wind, has of reaching the stigmas of the female plants. regarding the final cause, both of the simpler case of the separation of the sexes, notwithstanding that the two individuals, after the metamorphosis of the male, become indissolubly united together, and of the much more singular fact of the existence of complemental males, i can throw no light; i will only repeat the observation made more than once, that in some of the hermaphrodites, the vesiculæ seminales were small, and that in others the probosciformed penis was unusually short and thin. viewing the parasitic males, in relation to the structure and appearance of the species to which they belong, they present a singular series. in _s. peronii_ and _s. villosum_, the internal organs have the appearance of immaturity; the shape of the capitulum is specially modified for its reception between the scuta of the hermaphrodite, and several of the valves have not been developed. this atrophy of the valves, is carried much further in _s. rostratum_. in ibla, many of the parts are embryonic in character, but others mature and perfect; some parts, as the capitulum, thorax, and cirri, are in a quite extraordinary state of atrophy; in fact, the parasitic males of ibla consist almost exclusively of a mouth, mounted on the summit of the three anterior segments of the normal segments of the archetype crustacean. in the males of the first three species of scalpellum, some of the characters are embryonic,--as the absence of a mouth, the presence of the abdominal lobe, and the position of the few existing internal organs; other characters, such as the general external form, the four bead-like valves, the narrow orifice, the peculiar thorax and limbs, are special developments. these three latter parasites, certainly, are wonderfully unlike the hermaphrodites or females to which they belong; if classed as independent animals, they would assuredly be placed not in another family, but in another order. when mature they may be said essentially to be mere bags of spermatozoa. in looking for analogies to the facts here described, i have already referred to the minute male lerneidæ which cling to their females,--to the worm-like males of certain cephalopoda, parasitic on the females,--and to certain entozoons, in which the sexes cohere, or even are organically blended by one extremity of their bodies. the females in certain insects depart in structure, nearly or quite as widely from the order to which they belong, as do these male parasitic cirripedes; some of these females, like the males of the first three species of scalpellum, do not feed, and some, i believe, have their mouths in a rudimentary condition; but in this latter respect, we have, amongst the rotifera, a closely analogous case in the male of the asplanchna of gosse, which was discovered by mr. brightwell[ ] to be entirely destitute of mouth and stomach, exactly as i find to be the case with the parasitic male of _s. vulgare_, and doubtless with its two close allies. for any analogy to the existence of males, complemental to hermaphrodites, we must look to the vegetable kingdom. finally, the simple fact of the diversity in the sexual relations, displayed within the limits of the general ibla and scalpellum, appears to me eminently curious; we have ( st) a female, with a male (or rarely two) permanently attached to her, protected by her, and nourished by any minute animals which may enter her sack; ( d) a female, with successive pairs of short-lived males, destitute of mouth and stomach, inhabiting two pouches formed on the under sides of her valves; ( d) an hermaphrodite, with from one or two, up to five or six similar short-lived males without mouth or stomach, attached to one particular spot on each side of the orifice of the capitulum; and ( th) hermaphrodites, with occasionally one, two, or three males, capable of seizing and devouring their prey in the ordinary cirripedial method, attached to two different parts of the capitulum, in both cases being protected by the closing of the scuta. as i am summing up the singularity of the phenomena here presented, i will allude to the marvellous assemblage of beings seen by me within the sack of an _ibla quadrivalvis_,--namely, an old and young male, both minute, worm-like, destitute of a capitulum, with a great mouth, and rudimentary thorax and limbs, attached to each other and to the hermaphrodite, which latter is utterly different in appearance and structure; secondly, the four or five, free, boat-shaped larvæ, with their curious prehensile antennæ, two great compound eyes, no mouth, and six natatory legs; and lastly, several hundreds of the larvæ in their first stage of development, globular, with horn-shaped projections on their carapaces, minute single eyes, filiformed antennæ, probosciformed mouths, and only three pair of natatory legs; what diverse beings, with scarcely anything in common, and yet all belonging to the same species! [ ] 'annals of natural history,' vol. ii, ( d series, ,) p. , pl. vi. mr. dalrymple has published a very interesting paper on the same subject in the 'philosophical transactions,' (p. ,) ; and there is another memoir by mr. gosse in the 'annals of natural history,' vol. vi, ( ,) p. . _genus_--pollicipes. pl. vii. pollicies. _leach._ journal de physique, tom. lxxxv, julius, .[ ] lepas. _linn._ systema naturæ, . anatifa. _brugière._ encyclop. méthod. (des vers), . mitella. _oken._ lehrbuch der naturgeschichte, . ramphidiona. _schumacher._ essai d'un nouveau syst. &c., (ante julium). polylepas. _de blainville._ dict. des sc. nat., . capitulum (secundum klein). _j. e. gray._ annals of philos., tom. x, new series, aug. . [ ] this is one of the rare cases in which, after much deliberation, and with the advice of several distinguished naturalists, i have departed from the rules of the british association; for it will be seen that _mitella_ of oken, and _ramphidiona_ of schumacher, are both prior to _pollicipes_ of leach; yet, as the latter name has been universally adopted throughout europe and north america, and has been extensively used in geological works, it appears to me to be as useless as hopeless to attempt any change. it may be observed that the genus _pollicipes_ was originally proposed by sir john hill ('history of animals,' vol. iii, p. ), in , but as this was before the discovery of the binomial system, by the rules it is absolutely excluded as of any authority. in my opinion, under all these circumstances, it would be mere pedantry to go back to oken's 'lehrbuch der naturgeschichte' for the name _mitella_,--a work little known, and displaying entire ignorance regarding the cirripedia. _valvæ ab usque ad et amplius: lateribus verticilli inferioris multis; lineis incrementi deorsùm ordinatis: sub-rostrum semper adest: pedunculus squamiferus._ valves from to above in number: latera of the lower whorl numerous, with their lines of growth directed downwards: sub-rostrum always present: peduncle squamiferous. hermaphrodite; filamentary appendages either none, or numerous and seated on the prosoma and at the bases of the first pair of cirri; labrum bullate; trophi various; olfactory orifices generally highly prominent; caudal appendages uni-articulate and spinose, or multi-articulate. attached to fixed, or less commonly to floating objects, in the warmer temperate, and tropical seas. it has been remarked, under scalpellum, how imperfectly that genus is separated from pollicipes; and we have seen under _scalpellum villosum_ that the addition of a few small valves to the lower whorl, would convert it into a pollicipes, most closely allied to _p. sertus_ and _spinosus_. it has also been shown, that the six recent species of pollicipes might be divided into three genera, of which _p. cornucopia_, _p. elegans_, and _p. polymerus_, would form one thoroughly natural genus, as natural as lepas and the earlier genera; _p. mitella_ would form a second; and _p. sertus_ and _p. spinosus_ a third; but i have acted to the best of my judgment in at present retaining the six species together. as far as the valves of the capitulum are concerned, it would be very difficult to separate _p. mitella_ from _p. sertus_ and _spinosus_. _description._ the number of valves in the capitulum has in this genus acquired its maximum. the number varies considerably in the same species, and even on opposite sides of the same individual, and generally increases with age. it is more important, that the number of the whorls in _p. cornucopia_, and in the two following closely-allied forms, also increases with age. in _p. sertus_ and _p. spinosus_, even the number of the whorls varies in different individuals, independently of age. the valves are arranged alternately with those above and below; they are generally thick and strong, making the capitulum somewhat massive; in some species they are subject to much disintegration; but in others, the apices of the several valves, especially of the carina and rostrum, are well preserved, and project freely: they are covered with membrane, which, differently from in most species of scalpellum, either does not bear any spines, or only exceedingly minute points. in all the species there is a sub-rostrum and sub-carina, and often beneath these a second sub-rostrum and sub-carina. in medium-sized specimens there are at least valves in the lowermost whorl. the carina is either straight or curved, but never rectangularly bent, and is always of considerable breadth. none of the valves are added to at their upper ends. the scuta have a deep pit for the adductor muscle. the valves lie either some little way apart, or more commonly close together. in _p. mitella_ the scuta and terga are locked together by a fold, and the valves of the lower whorl overlap each other in a peculiar manner, resembling that in which the compartments in the shells of sessile cirripedes fold over each other. the _peduncle_ is of considerable length in some of the species, and rather short in others; it is, in every case, clothed with calcified scales. the scales in the first four species are placed alternately and symmetrically; they are formed and added to in the same manner as in scalpellum; they differ in size according to the size of the individual, and consequently the lower scales on the peduncle, formed when the specimen was young, are smaller than the upper scales; the lower scales are separated from each other by wide interspaces of membrane, owing to the continued growth of the peduncle by the formation of new layers of membrane, and the disintegration of the old outer layers. each scale is invested by tough membrane (or has been, for it is often abraded off), in the same manner as the valves; each is furnished with one or more tubuli, in connection with the underlying corium. in _p. sertus_ and _p. spinosus_, the scales are small, spindle-shaped, and not of equal sizes, and the rows are distant from each other, so that their alternate arrangement is not distinguishable; in these two species, new scales are formed round the summit of the peduncle, and the growth of each is completed whilst remaining in the uppermost row; but, besides these normal scales, such as exist in the other species of pollicipes and in scalpellum, new scales are formed in the lower part of the peduncle, which are generally of very irregular shapes, are often larger than the upper ones, are crowded together, and sometimes do not reach the outer surface of the membrane. this formation of scales in the lower part of the peduncle, independently of the regular rows round the uppermost part, is perhaps a feeble representation of the calcareous cup at the bottom of the peduncle in the genus lithotrya. the prehensile antennæ will be described under _p. cornucopia_. _size._--most of the species are large: and _p. mitella_ is the most massive of the pedunculated cirripedes. the _mouth_ is not placed far from the adductor muscle. the labrum is highly bullate. the mandibles have either three or four main teeth (pl. x, fig. ), with often either one or two smaller teeth inserted between the first and second. the maxillæ (pl. x, figs. , ), have their edges either straight and square, or notched, or more commonly with two or three prominences bearing tufts of finer spines. the outer maxillæ (fig. ) generally have a deep notch on their inner edges, but this is not invariable. the olfactory orifices in most of the species are highly prominent. _cirri._--the first pair is never placed far distant from the second. the posterior cirri have strong, somewhat protuberant segments; and between each of the four or five pair of main spines (pl. x, fig. ), there is a rather large tuft of straight, fine, short bristles. the second and third pair have the basal segments, either of the anterior rami, or of both rami, so thickly clothed with spines (fig. ), as to be brush-like: in _p. mitella_, however, the third pair is like the three posterior pair in the arrangement of its spines, in this respect resembling the sessile chthamalinæ. the caudal appendages are either uni-articulate and spinose, or multi-articulate: it is remarkable that there should be this difference in such closely allied species as _p. cornucopia_ and _p. polymerus_: the short, obtuse, obscurely-articulated caudal appendage of the former species (fig. ) makes an excellent passage from the uni-articulate (fig. ) to the multi-articulate form, as in _p. mitella_. the stomach, in those species which i opened, is destitute of cæca; the hepatic glands are arranged in straight lines; the rectum is unusually short. the prosoma is well developed. in _p. cornucopia_, _p. elegans_, and _p. polymerus_, there are numerous filamentary appendages both on the prosoma, and at the bases of the first pair of cirri: these appendages are occupied by testes, and i suspect stand in relation to the length of the peduncle and consequent great development of the ovaria. in order to give space for the filamentary appendages, the sack (generally roughened by small inwardly-pointing papillæ) penetrates more deeply than usual into the upper part of the peduncle. there are small ovigerous fræna in _p. sertus_, _p. spinosus_, and _p. mitella_: in the three other species, the frænum or fold occupies the usual position on each side, and is large; but in one specimen carefully examined by me, i was unable to see any glands; and in another specimen, the ovigerous lamellæ were not attached to the fræna; hence i conclude that the fræna are functionless in these three species. _affinities._--i have already remarked on the close relationship between this genus and scalpellum; there is also some affinity with lithotrya. _distribution._--all over the world. the _p. cornucopia_ ranges from scotland to teneriffe: the _p. polymerus_ is found in opposite hemispheres in the pacific ocean, extending from california to at least as far as ° south of the equator. _geological history._--having so lately given, in the 'memoirs of the palæontographical society,' a full account of all the fossil species known, i will not repeat here the conclusions there arrived at. i will only state, that species of pollicipes are found in all the formations, extending from the lower oolite to the upper tertiary beds. . pollicipes cornucopia. pl. vii, fig. . pollicipes cornucopia. _leach._ encyclop. brit. supp., vol. iii, . ---- smythii, var. _leach_. ibid. lepas pollicipes. _gmelin._ systema naturæ, . ---- gallorum. _spengler._ skrivter naturhist. selskabet, bd. i, tab. vi, fig. , . _p. capitulo, valvarum duobus aut pluribus sub-rostro verticillis instructo: valvis albis, aut glaucis: pedunculo, squamarum densis verticillis symmetricè dispositis._ capitulum with two or more whorls of valves under the rostrum; valves white or gray; scales on the peduncle symmetrically arranged in close whorls. maxillæ with three tufts of fine bristles, separated by larger spines: segments in the first cirrus less than half the number of those in the sixth cirrus: caudal appendages multi-articulate: filamentary appendages attached to the prosoma. coast of portugal; mouth of the tagus. england,[ ] ireland, and the frith of forth in scotland. mediterranean (according to brugière): teneriffe: mogador, africa. [ ] this species is said by montagu ('test. brit. supplement') to have been found attached to drift timber in the frith of forth, and to the bottom of a wrecked vessel towed into dartmouth. according to mr. w. thompson ('annals of nat. hist.' vol. xiii, p. ), it has been found attached to wood-work near dublin. capitulum, obtusely triangular, massive: valves close together, rather thick, with their exterior surfaces convex, naked, except in the lower parts, where united together by tough, greenish-brown membrane, destitute of spines. the edges of the orifice are widely bordered by membrane, coloured fine crimson red. the valves, in a specimen with a capitulum above three quarters of an inch long, were in number; in a specimen one fifth of an inch long, only between and . two whorls of valves are distinct beneath the carina and rostrum. in one specimen in mr. cuming's collection, with a capitulum . of an inch long, there were three whorls beneath the rostrum, and four beneath the carina. the scuta, terga, and carina are much larger than the other valves. _scuta_, oval, the basal and tergo-lateral margins sweeping into each other, and the apex pointed; internally (pl. vii, fig. _a_) the pit for the adductor muscle is deep. _terga_, larger than the scuta, internally (fig. _a_) slightly concave; carinal margin much curved and protuberant; basal angle blunt; scutal margin either curved with the upper part straight, or formed of two almost distinct lines, corresponding with the tergal margin of the scutum, and with one of the sides of the upper latus. _carina_, much curved, extending far up between the terga, internally deeply concave, widening much from the top to the bottom; basal margin highly protuberant, with a central portion either truncated and very slightly hollowed out, or bluntly and rectangularly pointed, with the apex itself rounded. _rostrum_, not one third of the length of the carina, concave, triangular, with the basal margin slightly protuberant. of the other valves, including the sub-carina and sub-rostrum, the shape of their inner surfaces is sub-triangular, with the basal margin convex; externally the umbones are pointed, and slightly curled inwards, so as to overlap each other like tiles: the smaller valves, however, of the lower whorls (fig. _a_) are more or less transversely elongated, so as to become almost elliptic instead of triangular. of the latera, the upper pair, which corresponds to the interspace between the scuta and terga, is the largest, but barely exceeds in size the pair answering to the carinal latera in scalpellum, which lie between the terga and carina: the next largest pair is the rostral, or that between the scuta and rostrum. some, however, of the lower latera are of nearly equal size. _peduncle_, narrower, but generally longer than the capitulum; upper part encased with small calcareous scales, with their apices curved inwards, and overlapping each other. the inner surface of each scale is triangular, with the basal margin protuberant. the scales continue to grow or be added to, only in about the ten upper whorls, which form but a small part of the whole peduncle; in the lower part, the scales become further and further separated from each other. the surface of attachment, in full-grown specimens, is broad; but in two very young specimens, which i removed with great care after the action of potash, i found the peduncle ending in a filiform prolongation, such as often occurs in _scalpellum vulgare_ and in _lepas fascicularis_. at the extremity of the pointed peduncle, there were seated the larval prehensile antennæ, of which the following measurements are given to show how minute they are. _inch._ length, from apex of disc, to the further edge of the basal articulation / breadth of basal segment, in broadest part / hoof-like disc, length of / ultimate segment, entire length of / " " breadth, in broadest part / the disc resembles a broad, rounded hoof, very little longer than broad, and narrowed in at the heel; the apex is not at all pointed, and bears some minute and thin spines. there is one large spine on the under side of the disc; and another on the basal segment, on the outside, in the usual position. the ultimate segment is long and thin; it has a notch on the inner side (the segment supposed to be stretched forward), bearing two or three long flexuous spines; and there are three or four other spines on the summit: altogether there is a close resemblance with the antennæ in scalpellum, excepting that the hoof-like disc is not here pointed. _colours._--valves internally tinted, in parts, grey; peduncle, brown; corium of sack, purplish-brown, of peduncle, rich coppery brown; cirri, banded dorsally, and with the front surfaces of the segments, purplish-brown. edge of the orifice of sack, fine crimson red. the specimen here described had been dried for a few weeks, and was then moistened. _dimensions._--the largest specimen which i have seen, in mr. cuming's collection, had a capitulum and / ths of an inch long; a fine specimen, from teneriffe, was / ths in length. in a specimen with a capitulum / th of an inch long, and about the same in breadth, there were eighteen valves; so that, besides the principal valves, five pair of latera, the sub-carina, and sub-rostrum, were already developed, and on the upper part of the peduncle, there were many calcareous scales. _filamentary appendages._--the prosoma is well-developed, with thirteen or fourteen pair of short, blunt filaments, placed close together in two longitudinal rows; those nearest the thorax are the longest; outside this double row, on each side, there is a row of papillæ, indicating a tendency to the formation of two other rows of filaments. there is a pair of longer filaments, one on each side of the mouth, pointing upwards, and thinly clothed with long spines; at the bases of the first pair of cirri there is a second pair of filaments, shorter and bearing a few minute spines. the bottom of the sack is studded with small rounded papillæ, with roughened summits. _mouth_, not placed very far from the adductor muscle. _labrum_, highly bullate, equalling, in its longitudinal diameter, the rest of the mouth; upper part square, not overhanging the lower part; there are some small teeth on the crest. _palpi_, oval, outer and inner margins nearly alike, thickly clothed with spines. _mandibles_, with three very strong, yellow teeth; inferior point broad, coarsely pectinated. in one specimen, on one side, the third tooth was represented by two smaller teeth. the _maxillæ_ bear three conspicuous tufts of fine bristles, separated by larger spines; the first tuft is placed close to the two, upper, large, but unequally-sized spines; the second tuft is placed in the middle, and the third at the inferior angle. the two latter tufts stand on prominences; between the two upper tufts there are three pair, and between the two lower tufts four or more pair of rather strong spines: (see the figure, , pl. x, in the allied _p. polymerus_.) _outer maxillæ_, with the inner edge divided in the middle by a conspicuous notch, and with the bristles above and below short, making two _equal_ combs. on the exterior surface, the bristles are longer and more spread out. olfactory orifices prominent, protected by a punctured swelling between the bases of the first pair of cirri. _cirri_, short and rather thick; the first pair is not far removed from the second. the segments of the three posterior pair are somewhat protuberant, bearing six pair of short, strong spines, graduated in length, between which there is a very thick, longitudinal brush of short, fine, straight bristles, of which the lower ones are the longest; some thick, minute spines arise from the upper lateral edges of the segments. the spines in the dorsal tufts are short, much crowded, and of nearly equal length; see figure, , pl. x, in the allied _p. polymerus_. in a specimen in which the sixth cirrus had seventeen segments, the first cirrus had, in the shorter ramus, eight segments, of which the lower four were thick and protuberant, with the spines doubly serrated. in this same specimen, the anterior ramus of the second cirrus had twelve segments, of which the five basal ones were highly protuberant, and thickly clothed with non-serrated spines. in the third cirrus the basal segments of the anterior ramus are highly protuberant. the basal segments in the posterior rami of both these cirri, are slightly protuberant, but otherwise resemble the segments in the three posterior pair. the _caudal appendages_ (pl. x, fig. ), in full-grown specimens, just exceed in length the lower segments of the pedicels of the sixth cirrus; they are nearly cylindrical, bluntly pointed, with five oblique imperfect articulations; the lower or basal articulations cannot be traced all round, being distinct only on the ventral surface. there is a row of short spines round the upper edge of each segment, with a little, short tuft on the point of the terminal segment. in a rather young specimen, however, with its capitulum one fifth of an inch long, each appendage certainly consisted of a single segment, with spines only on the summit. _penis_ purple, with excessively short and fine spines in tufts, chiefly near the extremity. in a specimen with a capitulum only one fifth of an inch long, the penis consisted of a mere pointed papilla, not so long as the caudal appendage, and therefore equalling in length only the lower segment of the pedicel of the sixth cirrus. _ovigerous fræna._--i could see none, though there were two large lamellæ in the sack. the ova were flesh-coloured, but they had been dried and then placed in spirits. the ova were wonderfully numerous, oval, much elongated, and / th of an inch in length. . pollicipes elegans. pollicipes elegans. _lesson._ voyage de la coquille, tom. ii, p. , , et illust. zool., pl. xxxix, . ---- ruber. _g. b. sowerby._ zoolog. proc., , p. . _p. capitulo, valvarum duobus aut pluribus sub-rostro verticillis instructo: valvis et pedunculi squamis rufo-aurantiacis: squamarum verticillis densis symmetricè dispositis._ capitulum with two or more whorls of valves under the rostrum: valves and scales of peduncle reddish-orange; the latter symmetrically arranged in close whorls. maxillæ with three tufts of fine bristles, separated by larger spines; segments is in the first cirrus more than half the number of those in the sixth cirrus; caudal appendages multi-articulate; filamentary appendages attached to the prosoma. coast of peru, payta, attached to wooden posts, according to lesson: lobos island, peru, mus. cuming: west coast of mexico, tehuantepec, on an exposed rock, according to hinds. the resemblance of this species is so close to _p. cornucopia_, that it is quite useless to do more than point out the few points of difference. valves of the capitulum and scales of the peduncle, coloured (after having been in spirits,) reddish-orange. in a specimen in which the capitulum was . of an inch in length, there were three whorls of valves below the carina; in this large specimen altogether there were about eighty valves; in medium-sized specimens, the number is about the same as in _p. cornucopia_. the upper latus, (viewed internally,) has an area about twice as large as that latus, which corresponds to the interspace between the carina and terga; whereas in _p. cornucopia_ the upper latus is only slightly larger than this same valve. the apex of the basal internal margin of the carina is here rounded, instead of being square, as is generally the case with _p. cornucopia_. the strong membranous margin of the orifice of the sack, in its upper part, is almost one third as wide as the widest part of the terga, whereas in _p. cornucopia_ it is only one fourth of this same width. the peduncle apparently is rather longer, compared with _p. cornucopia_, and the calcareous scales on it perhaps a little larger in proportion. in a very young specimen, with the capitulum barely exceeding / th of an inch in length, i could distinguish the sub-rostrum, sub-carina, the upper, and some of the lower latera. _filamentary appendages._--these, in a medium-sized specimen, are arranged on the prosoma in four longitudinal approximate rows, there being twelve in each row; those in the two outer rows are only half the length of those in the two inner rows; those nearest the thorax are the longest; there are some papillæ outside the outer rows. in a very large specimen with its capitulum . in length, these filaments were very much more numerous, and some were placed on the first segment of the thorax, and at the bases of several of the posterior cirri. some of the filaments are bifid, trifid, and even branched. in all the specimens, at the bases of the first pair of cirri, there are, on each side, a pair of filaments, (one below the other,) pointing upwards, less than half as long as those on the prosoma: also on each side of the mouth, there is a longer and thicker filament, pointing upwards, with a few very minute scattered spines on it; the apices of these three pair of filaments, as well as of some of the others, are roughened with very minute pectinated scales. all these filaments were gorged with the branching testes. _mouth._--the parts are closely similar to those in _p. cornucopia_; in the mandibles, the interspace between the third tooth and the inferior angle, is slightly pectinated: in the maxillæ, there are six or eight pairs of spines between the two upper tufts of fine spines. _cirri._--these are in most respects similar, to those of _p. cornucopia_. in a specimen in which the sixth cirrus had eighteen segments, the shorter ramus of the first pair had ten segments, of which the five lower segments were thick and clothed with doubly serrated spines. in the second cirrus the anterior ramus had fifteen segments, of which the four basal ones were highly protuberant, and thickly clothed with spines. these spines, and some on the third cirrus, and a few on the first cirrus, have peculiar bent teeth, presently to be described under _p. polymerus_. these singularly toothed spines are absent in _p. cornucopia_. from the above numbers, we see that the first and second pairs of cirri have more segments in proportion to the sixth pair, than in _p. cornucopia_; and in the second pair, a fewer proportional number of the basal segments are protuberant and thickly clothed with spines. _caudal appendages_, shorter than the lower segments of the pedicels of the sixth cirrus, with only four articulations; rather constricted near the base. the _ovigerous fræna_ consist of very long and prominent folds, thinning out to nothing towards the bases of the scuta, but not furnished, as far as i could see, with glands, and therefore not normally functional. _diagnosis with p. cornucopia._--the reddish-orange colour of the valves alone suffices. there is a very slight difference, in the larger proportional size of the upper latera, and in the outline of the basal margin of the carina. in the maxillæ there is, in _p. elegans_, a greater width between the two upper tufts of fine spines. in the cirri, the segments in the first pair, are more than half as many as those in the sixth pair; in the anterior ramus of the second pair, only / ths of the segments are protuberant and brush-like, whereas in _p. cornucopia_ / ths are in this condition. . pollicipes polymerus. pl. vii, fig. . pollicipes polymerus.(!) _g.b. sowerby._ proc. zool. soc., , p. . --mortoni. (!) _conrad._ journal acad. nat. sci. philadelphia, vol. vii, p. , pl. xx, fig. , . _p. capitulo, valvarum duobus, tribus, aut pluribus sub-rostro verticillis instructo: valvis sub-fuscis: lateribus à supremo ad infimum gradatim quoad magnitudinem positis: carinæ margine basali (introrsùm spectanti) ad medium excavato: pedunculi squamarum verticillis densis, symmetricè dispositis._ capitulum with two, three, or more whorls of valves under the rostrum: valves brownish: latera regularly graduated in size from the uppermost to the lowest: carina with the basal margin, (viewed internally,) hollowed out in the middle: scales of the peduncle symmetrically arranged in close whorls. maxillæ with three tufts of fine bristles, separated by larger spines; caudal appendages uniarticulate; filamentary appendages attached to the prosoma. upper california, st. diego and barbara, ° to ° n., according to conrad; mus. cuming: low archipelago, pacific ocean; mus. coll. of surgeons: southern pacific ocean, collected during the antarctic expedition, mus. brit. _capitulum_, but little compressed, broad, with the scuta and terga placed in a more oblique direction, with respect to the peduncle, than is usual, so that the line of orifice forms an unusually small angle with the basal margin of the capitulum. the capitulum is composed of several whorls of valves, which gradually decrease in size from above downwards. in a medium-sized specimen there were four whorls under the rostrum; in the lowest of these whorls, there were between eighty and ninety valves, and in the whole capitulum from one hundred and seventy, to one hundred and eighty. the valves in the lower whorls are not of equal sizes. viewed externally, the valves seem to touch and overlap each other; viewed internally (pl. vii, fig. _a_) they are found to be just separated from each other by transparent membrane; none of the valves are articulated together. the outer surfaces of nearly all the valves, except in the two last formed whorls, are much disintegrated, and seem to be composed of alternate white and brown layers of shell. the membrane connecting the valves, as well as that of the peduncle, (in specimens long kept in spirits,) is brown; but in some dried specimens, there are indications of its having been coloured crimson (as in _p. cornucopia_), round the orifice and between the valves. _scuta_, irregularly oval, convex, narrow at the upper end; basal margin may be almost said to be formed of three short, unequal margins, corresponding with the rostrum, the rostral and the adjoining latus. the edge corresponding with the latter, is the best marked, and is generally slightly hollowed out, as if a piece had been broken off. the tergo-lateral margin is curved and protuberant. the umbo projects a little over the scutal margin of the terga. _terga_, projecting beyond the other valves to an unusually small degree, broadly oval; basal angle bluntly pointed, apex rounded, blunt; scutal margin, hollowed out to receive the upper part of the tergal margin of the scuta; carinal margin curved and protuberant; occludent margin consists of two short sides at right angles to each other. the whole valve in length and area is about equal to the scuta; internally, somewhat concave. _carina_, triangular, rather narrow, internally deeply concave, very slightly curled inwards; basal margin protuberant, with a large central portion considerably hollowed out. _rostrum_, triangular, of nearly the same shape as the carina, but only one third of its length, internally very slightly concave, and with the basal margin various, being either truncated or angularly prominent in the middle. _latera._--the upper pair (corresponding to the interval between the scuta and terga) is only a trifle larger than the latera immediately beneath; and these only a little larger than those lower down. in the lowest whorl, the valves are very minute, though still about twice as large as the scales on the peduncle, and of a different shape from them. the upper latera (viewed internally) are almost diamond-shaped, owing to the prominence of the basal margin, but this varies considerably in degree. the latera in the next whorl are triangular, with the basal margins protuberant and arched, in a less and less degree in the lower whorls, until in the lowest, the valves are elongated transversely. _microscopical structure._--a valve placed in acid leaves a thick opaque mass, formed of three different kinds of tissue, one having a finely shaded appearance; a second with a largely hexagonal reticulated structure, and the third thin, transparent, and marked with arborescent lines, which i imagine to be tubes, as will be hereafter seen in lithotrya. near the exterior surface, there are many tubuli. it appears to me probable that the strong tendency which the valves in this species have to disintegrate, is connected with the unusual quantity of animalized tissue contained by them. externally the valves are covered by a strong membrane, either white or yellow, or white streaked with yellow, and marked by lines of growth, and by longitudinal, sinuous, little ridges. _peduncle_, in the upper part, of rather less diameter than the capitulum; twice or thrice as long as it; tapering a little downwards; surface of attachment wide and flat. calcareous scales, minute, symmetrically and closely packed together: each scale is much flattened, and its shape, including the imbedded portion, is that of a spear with its point broken off. the basal end of each scale is conically hollow, and from the layers of growth conforming to this hollow, there is a false _appearance_ of an open tube running through the scale. _attachment._--the surface of attachment is wide: the two cement-ducts, after running down the sides of the peduncle in a sinuous course, within the longitudinal muscles and close outside the ovarian tubes, pass through the corium, and then separately form the most abrupt loops or folds. these are represented in pl. ix, fig. , in which a space about / th of an inch square is given, as seen from the outside. at each of the bends, an aperture has been formed through the membrane of the peduncle, and cement poured forth. the manner in which the discs of cement (_b_) come out of the two ducts (_a_ _a_), and reach the external surface, is shown in the section, figure _a´_. the two tubes are firmly attached to the older layers of membrane, and are covered by the last-formed layers. in a young specimen, the cement-ducts were a little above / ths of an inch in diameter, which had increased, in a medium-sized specimen, to / . the cement-glands are retort-shaped, seated near each other, high up in the peduncle. _size._--the largest specimen which i have seen, was three inches in length including the peduncle; the capitulum was / ths of an inch long, and one in width. _young specimen._--i examined one with a capitulum / ths of an inch long, measured from the lowest whorl to the tips of the terga; the width was only / ths of an inch; in old specimens the width of the capitulum is greater than the length. the length of one of the scuta was / ths of an inch, therefore, greater than the width of the entire capitulum, which is not the case with mature specimens. besides the scuta and terga, the carina and rostrum, and three pair of large latera, there was a lower whorl formed of ten or twelve valves, giving altogether to the capitulum of this very small specimen, either twenty-two or twenty-four valves. _shape of body, sack, colours, &c._--from the position of the orifice of the capitulum, the animal's body is suspended to the scuta in a more transverse direction than is usual. the prosoma is well-developed, and is distinctly separated from the three posterior thoracic segments, by a band of thin membrane. the tunic of the basal part of the sack, where it enters the peduncle in a blunt point, is thickened and covered with roughened rounded papillæ. the corium of the sack under the valves, is coloured (after spirits) so dark a brown as to be nearly black; the cirri and trophi are similar, but with a tinge of greenish-purple. _filamentary appendages._--of these there were, on the prosoma of one specimen, twelve pairs, and in another specimen fourteen pairs, seated in two approximate rows; the middle filaments are the longest, equalling about half the diameter of the thorax: each is flattened, and tapers but little towards its summit, which is roughened with microscopical crests serrated on both sides; on the summit, also, there are a few bristles and some very short, thick, minute spines. these appendages are directed rather towards each other, and towards the thorax. i do not doubt that their numbers vary according to the size of the specimen. i believe that they are occupied by testes. outside these filaments, on each side of the prosoma, there are two very irregular rows of papillæ, intermediate in length between the filaments and the rounded swellings at the bottom of the sack. beneath the basal articulation of the first cirrus, there is on each side, a short appendage, with a few bristles on its summit. lastly, on each side of the middle of the mouth, on the prosoma, there is a longer appendage, dark-coloured, furnished with a few scattered bristles on its sides and apex, and directed upwards and a little towards the adductor scutorum muscle. _mouth._--labrum highly bullate, but with the uppermost part not more bullate than the lower part, and therefore not overhanging it; basal margin much produced; crest with some small blunt teeth and some bristles. the inner fold of the labrum is much thickened, yellow, punctured, and with a tuft of fine bristles on each side. _palpi_, approaching each other but not touching, club-shaped, or with broad and square extremities, thickly fringed with serrated bristles. _mandibles_ with three unusually strong teeth, slightly graduated in size, with the inferior angle very coarsely pectinated; the lower edges of the main teeth are roughened. _maxillæ_, (pl. x. fig. ). spinose edge about half the length of the mandibles; the two upper spines are unusually strong; close under, and almost hidden by them, there is a tuft of fine spines; in the middle there is a second similar tuft mounted on a prominence; and at the inferior angle there is a third tuft, also mounted on a rather wider prominence, not quite accurately figured. in the interspaces between these tufts there are three or four pairs of spines of the usual appearance and projecting just beyond the fine tufts; the upper of the two interspaces is rather narrower, but rather deeper, than the lower interspace. apodeme very long, irregularly shaped, like an =s=, with a remarkable elbow near its attachment; apex slightly enlarged, thin and rounded. _outer maxillæ._--on the inner margin there is a deep and conspicuous notch, above and beneath which, there is a compact row of serrated bristles; exteriorly the bristles are rather longer. _olfactory orifices_ very prominent, pointing obliquely towards each other. _cirri._--posterior cirri moderately long, much curled, with the segments (pl. x, fig. ) flattened and wide; the anterior surface hemispherically protuberant, supporting six pairs of spines, of which the lower ones approach each other; between these spines there is a large tuft of very fine spines, of which the central ones are the longest; there is an upper lateral group of very short strong spines; dorsal tufts composed of short, fine numerous spines. _first pair_ seated close to the second pair, short, having in both rami eight segments, whereas in the same individual the second pair, which is nearly twice as long, had thirteen, and the sixth pair eighteen segments. rami of the first pair nearly equal in length, with their segments, excepting the two upper ones, thickly paved with bristles, in the midst of which a tuft of fine spines, as in the posterior cirri, may be distinguished; the dorsal tufts encircle the whole of each segment; the spine-bearing anterior surfaces are protuberant chiefly in the upper part, so that they are oblique. the posterior (?) ramus has its segments much wider than those on the other ramus; and amongst the common spines, in the third and fourth segments, (counting from the bottom,) there are some very strong spines with their upper ends coarsely and doubly pectinated, each tooth being upwardly bent into a rectangular elbow. in the fifth segment, some of the spines are doubly pectinated with simple teeth; and most of the spines are doubly serrated. the _second_ (pl. x, fig. ) and _third cirri_ have the five basal segments ( / ths of the whole number in the second cirrus, and / ths in the third cirrus) of their anterior rami, extremely broad, protuberant, and paved with serrated bristles, amongst which, (except on the actual lowest segment,) there are some simply pectinated spines, and others with their teeth elbowed, exactly as in the first cirrus. the basal segments of the posterior rami of the second and third cirri, differ from the three posterior cirri only in the spines being slightly more numerous; but none of them are pectinated. _pedicels_, rather short; the upper segment resembles, in the arrangement of its spines, the segments of the posterior cirri; the lower segment is longer than the upper, and has _two_ tufts of fine spines, between the two rows of long spines. in the second and third cirri, these two intermediate tufts on the lower segment of the pedicel, are not so distinctly separated from each other. _caudal appendages_, very small, uniarticulate, blunt and rounded; tips bearing a few, very short, thick spines. _alimentary canal._--oesophagus, somewhat curved at the lower end, where it enters the stomach, which has no cæca; rectum, unusually short, extending from the anus only to the base of the fifth pair of cirri. within the stomach, from top to bottom, there were thousands of a bivalve entomostracous crustacean. _generative system._--both ovaria and testes are largely developed; the former fill the long peduncle; the testes enter both the pedicels of the cirri, and the filamentary appendages on the prosoma; vesiculæ seminales very large, reflected at their ends, extending across each side of the stomach. penis rather small, coloured purplish, with numerous little tufts of bristles. _variation._--in some specimens in the british museum, collected by sir j. ross, in the southern ocean, and in another older set from an unknown source, several parts of the outer tunic of the animal's body presented the remarkable fact of being calcified, but to a variable degree; whereas in several specimens from california, there was no vestige of this encasement. considering it most improbable that the calcification of the integuments should be a variable character, i most carefully compared the above-mentioned sets of specimens, valve by valve, trophi by trophi, and cirri by cirri, and found no other difference of any kind; therefore i cannot hesitate to consider both to be the same species. the first southern specimen which i examined presented the following characters: on the prosoma there was a central longitudinal band, formed of a thin, brittle, brown-coloured calcified layer, which became irregularly rather narrow towards the thorax; on each side it sent out six or seven irregular rectangular plates, which surrounded and supported the bases of the two rows of filamentary appendages; and outside these, some of the papilliform projections also had their bases surrounded by small, calcified, separate rings. the thoracic segments corresponding with the second, fourth, fifth, and sixth cirri had, on each side, an elongated calcified plate; on the ventral surface of the thorax, between the first and second cirri, there were two minute plates. in all the cirri, excepting the first pair, the segments of the rami, and in the three posterior pairs, the segments of the pedicels, had their dorsal surfaces strengthened by oblong, quadrilateral, calcified shields, the upper margins of which are notched for the dorsal tufts of spine, and the two lateral margins are also slightly hollowed out; these are represented in figure . the lower segments of the pedicels of some of the cirri, had an additional calcified plate on the antero-lateral face. these plates are of a faint-brown or yellowish colour, and are conspicuous: the degree of calcification differs considerably; some are quite brittle and very thin, others half horny, and effervesce only slightly in acids. after having been placed in acid, there is no apparent difference between the parts before occupied by the calcified plates and the surrounding membrane; these plates, however, are not superficial, but consist of several of the laminæ, which together compose the ordinary integument, in a calcified condition. like the integuments of the body, and unlike the valves of the capitulum, these calcified plates are thrown off at each exuviation. neither the exact shape nor number of the plates corresponded in different individuals, nor even on opposite sides of the same individual. the margins of the plates often have a sinuous corroded appearance; they are, moreover, often penetrated by minute rounded holes, that is, by minute, rounded, non-calcified portions. in one specimen from the antarctic expedition, there were only here and there a single shield on the segments of the posterior rami, and no plate on the prosoma. of two specimens in another and older set in the british museum, from an unknown locality, both had shields on the segments of the cirri, but only one had the large plate on the prosoma. i may here mention that in one specimen, in which the calcified plates were most developed, and which was nearly ready to moult, there were, within the filamentary appendages on the prosoma, small irregular balls of calcareous matter, appearing to me as if calcareous matter had been morbidly excreted, and not like a provision for the future. _range._--this species, in the present state of our knowledge, seems to range further than any other of the genus, extending from upper california, (lat. ° to ° n.,) across the pacific, to at least ° s., perhaps much farther south, for it was collected during the antarctic expedition, and ° was the highest latitude traversed by that expedition. _affinities._--this species is closely related to _p. cornucopia_ and _p. elegans_, but differs rather more from them, than these two do from each other. in the capitulum the chief distinctive characters are--the more perfect graduation in size, and the greater number, (taking equal-sized specimens,) of the whorls of latera--the darker colours--the central part of the basal margin of the carina in this species, being considerably excised--the peculiar form of the basal margin of the scuta--and lastly, the scutal margin of the terga being more hollowed out. in the animal's body, the most obvious distinctive character is the uniarticulate caudal appendage. this species agrees with _p. elegans_, in the presence of the singular elbowed teeth, on some of the spines in the first three pairs of cirri. . pollicipes mitella. pl. vii, fig. . lepas mitella. _linn._ systema naturæ, . pollicipes mitella. _g. b. sowerby._ genera of shells, fig. . polylepas mitella. _de blainville._ dict. sc. nat. ( ) plate, fig. . capitulum mitella. _j. e. gray._ annals of philosoph., new series, vol. x, . _p. capitulo valvarum unico sub-rostro verticillo instructo: laterum pari superiore (introrsum spectanti) inferiorum magnitudinem ter aut quater superante: lateribus inferioribus utrinque obtegentibus: pedunculi squarmarum verticillis densis, symmetricè dispositis._ capitulum with only one whorl of valves under the rostrum: the upper pair of latera, viewed internally, are three or four times as large as the lower latera, which overlap each other laterally: scales of the peduncle symmetrically arranged in close whorls. maxillæ, deeply notched: caudal appendages, multi-articulated: filamentary appendages, none. philippine archipelago, mus. cuming: china sea, mus. brit.: amboyna and east indian archipelago, according to rumphius and other authors: madagascar, according to j. e. gray. _capitulum_, compressed, consisting of the scuta, terga, carina, rostrum, and a large pair of upper latera, with a single lower whorl of smaller valves; these latter vary from in very small specimens, to in large specimens. the capitulum, therefore, is formed of at most valves; but in the largest specimen seen by me, the capitulum being . of an inch in width, there were only valves. in the smallest, namely, with a capitulum . of an inch in width, there were valves. the valves are remarkably strong, and formed of white shelly matter; they are closely approximate, and overlap each other: the scuta and terga are articulated together by a fold; the apices of the valves are either worn and disintegrated, or they project freely like horns beyond the sack, to a much greater extent than in any other recent species of the genus: even a considerable portion of the scuta projects obliquely upwards. the exterior surfaces of the valves (when not worn) are covered by a strong yellow membrane, and the upper free parts are generally attached together for some little length by this same membrane. the valves are plainly marked by the zones of successive growth; and most of them are ribbed and furrowed slightly, from their umbones to their basal margins. the yellow external membrane, examined microscopically, is marked by, or rather formed of, numerous growth-lines, crossed by longitudinal beaded ridges. the tubuli are not numerous, and of small diameter. _scuta_ (pl. vii, fig. _a´_, _a_) triangular, with the apex more or less produced, according to the state of its preservation, and a little curved towards the terga; basal margin, and in some degree the tergo-lateral margin, arched, and slightly protuberant; occludent margin thickened, slightly prominent, with the inner edge covered by the yellow membrane, like the exterior surface of the valve. the upper part of the tergo-lateral margin overlaps a little the edge of the tergum, and receives it in a furrow,--the two valves being thus locked together. this furrow lies in the freely-projecting, membrane-covered portion, and extends up to the apex; it is of variable depth. internally the scuta are concave, and in some old specimens to a high degree. in these latter, the basal margin, towards the tergo-lateral side, is strongly sinuous; the prominences are formed by the terminations of the external longitudinal ridges, and correspond to the interspaces between the valves of the lower whorl. these ridges, which are interesting, from throwing light on similar ridges in some fossil species, are present, both on old and young specimens, and run from the apex of the valve, in a slightly curved line, to the tergo-lateral half of the basal margin, where, as we have just seen, they sometimes form prominences. they consist of three or even four obscure, almost confluent, ridges, of which the middle one is generally (but not always) the smallest: together they cover the whole of that part of the scutum, which is not overlapped along the basal margin by the rostrum and large upper latus; and they seem evidently due to the growth of the shell in this interspace having been freer. so, again, the three or four small, confluent, component ridges have the same relation to the interspaces between the small latera of the lower whorl. _terga_ large, four-sided, with the internal growing surface (fig. _a´_ _b_), almost diamond-shaped; basal angle blunt, rounded; exteriorly, from the apex to the basal angle there is a rather broad, very slight prominence, which bears the same relation to the carina and upper latus, as do the compound ridges on the scuta to the rostrum and upper latus. the upper part of the scutal margin forms a slightly-projecting, rounded shoulder, though variable in its degree of prominence, in relation to the variable depth of the recipient furrow in the scuta. externally, parallel to the occludent margin, and close below the prominent shoulder, just mentioned, there is a slight and variable depression, extending up to the apex of the valve. this depression is due to the prominence, variable in degree, of the tergal edge of the recipient furrow in the scuta. _carina_, triangular, strong, inwardly bowed, generally with a large upper portion freely projecting; exteriorly with a narrow, sharp, central ridge or keel, which is solid, the interior concavity not reaching so deep; inner growing surface (fig. _b´_, _b_) deeply concave, triangular. basal margin square--that is, transverse to the longer axis of the carina, or it even rises (as is best seen in the growth-ridges) a little towards the exterior keel. on each side of the central exterior keel, there is a narrow longitudinal ridge, corresponding with the interspace between the sub-carina and the next-but-one latus of the lower whorl; the latus next to the sub-carina is very small, and overlies the ridge itself. in a very large specimen, these lateral longitudinal ridges formed (as they likewise did on the rostrum) slight prominences on the basal margin. in one specimen the carina was straight. _rostrum_ closely similar, in almost every respect, to the carina, even to the exterior, lateral, longitudinal ridges, and in their relation to the interspaces in the lower whorl. the valve is generally not so long, but rather wider, more inwardly bowed, and with the exterior solid keel less prominent than in the carina. the inner growing surface (fig. _b´_ _d_) is less acuminated at its upper end. _upper pair of latera._--these are much larger than the remaining valves of the lower whorl; they are straight, triangular, and much acuminated, with their apices, when well preserved, extending far up, for fully three fourths of the height of the scuta. they nearly equal in length the carina. the growing surface (fig. _b´_, _a_) is flat, triangular, in well-preserved specimens forming only a third or a quarter of the entire length of the valve. in the middle of the basal margin there is a very slight prominence, corresponding with a slight external central ridge, formed as heretofore by the overlapping of two of the valves of the lower whorl. basal margin nearly on a level with that of the scuta and with the basal points of the terga. the foregoing eight larger valves form the main cavity, in which the body of the animal is lodged. _valves of the lower whorl._--these, seen externally, seem to belong to more than one whorl, but internally their basal margins stand on a level. they vary in number, as already stated, from to . i have seen an individual with a valve more on one side than on the other. they are of unequal sizes, but they are rather variable in this respect: the largest are not above half the size of the upper latera: three or four pairs, together with the sub-rostrum (_e_) and sub-carina (_c_), are always larger than the others: these two latter valves differ from the others only in being more concave. seen externally, all these valves project considerably, and curl a little inwards, with their apices generally worn and truncated. viewed internally (fig. _b´_), whilst the valves are in their proper places, the inner and growing surfaces of the smallest are seen to be triangular,--of the larger, some are rhomboidal, and others quadrilateral with the upper side much longer than the lower. these latter valves overlap the upper parts of the little valves on both sides of them; the rhomboidal valves overlap a valve on one side, and are overlapped on the other; the triangular valves are overlapped on both sides. the corium lining the capitulum is produced into narrow purple crests, which enter the interstices between the valves, more especially along the line separating the upper and lower whorls. there is, also, a distinct flattened, tapering, free projection of corium, which enters between the carina and sub-carina; and another between the rostrum and sub-rostrum. _peduncle_, much compressed, short, rarely as long as the capitulum; in one very large specimen it was extremely short, barely one fifth of the length of the capitulum. the attached portion, which is moderately pointed in young specimens, becomes extremely broad in old specimens. the calcified scales sometimes differ a little in size, in specimens of the same age: they are always compactly and symmetrically arranged: in old specimens they are much larger than in young ones: each scale has, at first, a transversely elliptic growing base, which ultimately becomes nearly circular. exteriorly the tips of the scales are always disintegrated; they are sometimes club-shaped, owing to the scales having been re-added to after a period of reduced growth. the scales are fringed with brown disintegrating membrane. _attachment._--at the base of the peduncle, the two cement-ducts running together, twist about in a singular manner, and at their bends pour forth cement. according to the age of the specimen, the ducts vary in diameter from / th to / ths of an inch. the two cement glands are small and difficult to find; they are retort-shaped, with two ovarian tubes entering each. they lie close together, in nearly the centre of the peduncle, and less than half-way down it. this proximity of the two cement-glands, and their position low down the peduncle, are of interest in relation to the position of these same glands in the sessile cirripedes. _size and colours._--this is the largest and most massive species in the family. i have seen one specimen in the british museum, from the coast of china, . inches across the capitulum, and . in length, with the valves surprisingly thick. the relative width and length of the capitulum varies. the sack (in specimens long kept in spirits) is dirty purple, and exteriorly between the scuta, dark purple. the cirri, trophi, penis, caudal appendages, three posterior segments of the thorax, and the abdominal surface are dark-brownish purple. _body._--thorax remarkably compressed and carinated; prosoma pretty well developed. extending from the base of the second cirrus, to nearly a central line on the thorax, there is on each side a rounded ridge: there is a second transverse ridge, running from the base of the first cirrus to near the adductor scutorum muscle: these ridges seem formed merely to allow of the larger development of the testes. _mouth._--labrum highly bullate; crest without any teeth, but with a few minute hairs. the inner fold of the labrum forming the supra-oesophageal cavity, is thickened, and shows a trace of a central line of junction, as in sessile cirripedes. _palpi_ (pl. x, fig. ), small; of a singular club-like shape, owing to the convexity of the outer margin; exterior spines long, all doubly serrated. _mandibles_ (pl. x. fig. ), with five teeth, of which the second is very small; inferior angle coarsely pectinated. _maxillæ_ (fig. ), with a deep narrow notch (bearing some fine spines) beneath the two upper great spines, which stand on a prominence; edge straight, bearing fourteen or fifteen pairs of spines: on the inferior angle there is an obscure tuft of shorter and finer spines: apodeme long, sinuous, and slender. _outer maxillæ_ (fig. ), with the inner margin divided by a deep notch into two lobes, of which the upper one is rather short; both are clothed with a compact row of short bristles; exterior margin with longer bristles. _olfactory orifices_, large and prominent to an unusual degree. _cirri_, moderately long and curled; the four posterior pair are alike; each segment has its anterior face somewhat protuberant, and bears six pairs of long spines, with a rather large, narrow tuft of intermediate spines, some of which are finely and doubly serrated. the dorsal tufts consist of short, thick spines, with some fine longer ones. the first cirrus is seated near the second; its rami are slightly unequal in length; lower segments paved with bristles; one ramus is thicker than the other, and some of its segments have coarsely pectinated spines. second cirrus has the five basal segments of its anterior ramus highly protuberant, and paved with bristles, of which some are coarsely pectinated; the basal segments of the posterior ramus are rather more thickly clothed with bristles than are the posterior cirri, but otherwise resemble them. the third cirrus, as already stated, is exactly like the three posterior pairs; and this is a very unusual circumstance. on the dorsal surfaces and sides of the pedicels of the posterior cirri, there are some scattered, short, thick, minute spines. _caudal appendages_, multi-articulate: in a medium-sized specimen, each contained eight segments, which reached half-way up the upper segment of the pedicel of the sixth cirrus. lower segments flattened; the upper, tapering, and cylindrical; all have their upper margins furnished with stiff, little spines. in a young specimen (only . of an inch in length, including the peduncle), the caudal appendage contained only four segments, and the tip did not reach to the upper edge of the lower segment of the pedicel of the sixth cirrus. _stomach_, without cæca. _generative system._--vesiculæ seminales not reflexed at their broad ends; white, spotted with black. testes, pear-shaped, borne on long footstalks: penis covered with minute bristles, in little tufts arranged in straight lines. the ovarian tubes fill up the peduncle to its base, but do not surround the sack; they are of small diameter, and simply branched. there is a very narrow ovigerous frænum, with a straight edge, lying on each side under the line of junction between the scutum and upper latus. _affinities._--this species differs from all the others of the genus, in the third cirrus resembling exactly the three posterior pairs. in most of its characters--namely, in the symmetrical arrangement of the scales on the peduncle, in the considerable size of the valves of the lower whorl, in the general approximation of the valves, in the multi-articulated caudal appendages, in the form of the outer maxillæ, in the prominent olfactory orifices, in the basal segments of the anterior ramus alone of the second cirrus being paved with bristles, there is more affinity to _p. cornucopia_, _p. elegans_, and _p. polymerus_ than to _p. sertus_ and _p. spinosus_. in the scuta and terga being articulated together, in the union of all the valves by stiff membrane, in the peculiar manner in which the valves of the lower whorl overlap each other, in the corium entering between some of the valves in filiformed appendages, in the near equality of size of the rostrum and carina, in the shortness of the peduncle in old specimens, in the position of the cement-glands, and lastly in the characters of the third pair of cirri, this species presents a closer affinity to the sessile cirripedes, more especially to the chthamalinæ, than does any other species of any other genus amongst the lepadidæ. the movements, however, of the four opercular valves are not at all more independent of the other valves, than in the other pedunculated cirripedes; and the peduncle is furnished with all its characteristic muscles. . pollicipes spinosus. pl. vii, fig. . anatifa spinosa. _quoy_ et _gaimard_. voyage de l'astrolabe. pl. xciii, fig. . _p. capitulo valvarum uno aut pluribus sub-rostro verticillis instructo: laterum pari superiore vix inferioribus longiore: membranâ valvas tegente (post desiccationem) subfuscâ flavescente: pedunculi squamis inæqualibus, non symmetricis: verticillis longiusculè distantibus._ capitulum with one or more whorls of valves under the rostrum: upper pair of latera only slightly larger than the lower latera: membrane covering the valves (when dried) light yellowish-brown: scales of the peduncle of unequal sizes, unsymmetrical, arranged in rather distant whorls. maxillæ, with the edge square and straight: caudal appendages uniarticulate: filamentary appendages, none. new zealand. mus. jardin des plantes, paris: mus. cuming. _capitulum_, flattened, triangular, broad, with the valves varying in number, in full-grown specimens of the same size, from to above ; the scuta, terga, and carina are very much larger than the other valves; the rostrum, however, is nearly half the size of the carina; the remaining valves are exceedingly small. in some specimens there is only one whorl under the carina; in other specimens there are distinctly two whorls. the scuta, terga, and carina stand pretty close together; they are moderately thick, and are covered, in chief part, by yellowish-brown membrane, which is destitute of spines. _scuta_, triangular, broad, basal margin slightly protuberant. _terga_, as large as the scuta, flat, regularly oval, basal point blunt and rounded. _carina_ very slightly curved, triangular, internally rather deeply concave, basal margin straight. the inner and growing surface is four fifths of the entire length of the valve. in half-grown specimens the apex projects a little outwards. _rostrum_, small, much curled inwards; the basal margin is much hollowed out; the inner surface is broadly triangular, more than twice as wide as high, and about one fourth of the entire length of the valve. the remaining valves, about in number, do not correspond on the opposite sides of the same individual, they are exceedingly small, with the sub-carina, sub-rostrum, and three pairs of latera a trifle larger than the lower latera, which are generally arranged in two whorls. in shape all the latera are nearly alike; they consist of flattened styles, with their inner surfaces transversely oval, and more or less elongated, the larger ones being most elongated. _peduncle_, broad, barely as long as the capitulum. the calcareous scales are irregularly shaped, minute, elongated and pointed, placed in separate transverse rows, and crowded together in each row. only the scales in the uppermost row grow regularly; but some of the lower scales continue to be added to irregularly, and hence are the largest. on the other hand, the lower part of the peduncle, from the first formed scales having been worn away, is often quite naked. from this cause, and from the continued and irregular growth of some of the lower scales, the rows in this part of the peduncle, generally become irregular. the surface of attachment is broad. in a half-grown specimen, with a capitulum only / ths of an inch long, all the lower valves were considerably larger in proportion to the scuta, terga, and carina, than in full-grown individuals. _size and colours._--length of capitulum in the largest specimen, / ths of an inch; breadth, slightly exceeding the length. colours after having been long in spirits--upper part of sack, thorax, pedicels of cirri, and penis, clouded with fine purple; cirri banded with the same; exterior convex surface of the outer and inner maxillæ and palpi dark purple; prosoma yellow. the membrane of the peduncle and of the capitulum is dirty yellow, with bands of purple between some of the valves. _filamentary appendages_, none. ovigerous fræna placed near the middle of the basal margin of the scuta; small, semi-oval, with an elliptical ring of bead-like glands; glands seated on long footstalks. _mouth._--labrum far produced towards the adductor muscle; upper part highly bullate, nearly equalling the longitudinal diameter of the rest of the mouth, and very slightly overhanging the lower part; crest with very minute bead-like teeth. _palpi_, with their inner margins considerably excised, most thickly clothed with spines. _mandibles_, with three strong teeth, two unequal-sized small teeth being placed between the first and second, thus making five altogether; inferior angle broad, pectinated. _maxillæ_, with its edge broad, straight, bearing about twenty pairs of spines, shorter than the large upper spines. _outer maxillæ_, with the bristles in front, continuous, and without any notch; exterior surface with a prominence clothed with long spines. olfactory orifices slightly prominent. _cirri._--first cirrus placed near to the second; posterior cirri not much elongated, with their segments slightly protuberant, bearing four pairs of spines, of which the lower pair is small; spines slightly serrated. in the lower segments, these spines are exceedingly unequal in length, the inner spines on both rami, not being above one fourth of the length of the outer corresponding spine in each pair. the tufts intermediate between these pairs, are not very large: on the lateral upper rims there are some strong, short spines: dorsal tufts with short, thick spines. first cirrus about three fourths as long as the second cirrus, with numerous tapering segments, three or four of the lower ones being thick and protuberant: in the first cirrus there are eleven segments, and in the sixth cirrus, seventeen. second cirrus, with the anterior ramus slightly thicker than the posterior ramus: a few of the basal segments of both rami are protuberant, and thickly clothed with spines. in the third cirrus, the two rami are nearly equally thick, with some of the basal segments in both clothed, like a brush, with spines. in these brushes on the first, second, and third cirri, most of the spines are doubly toothed, each tooth being simply conical. _caudal appendages_, small, much flattened, straight on the exterior side, and curved on the inner side, with a row of short, rather thick spines on the crest, and a few on the exterior margin. the _affinities_ of this species will be given under the head of the following, _p. sertus_. . pollicipes sertus. pl. vii, fig. . _p. capitulo valvarum uno aut pluribus sub-rostro verticillis instructo: laterum pari superiore vix inferioribus longiore: membranâ valvas tegente (post desiccationem) fusco rufescente obscuro: rostro dimidiam carinæ longitudinem æquante, superficiei internæ altitudine latitudinem plus duplo superante: pedunculi squamis inæqualibus, non symmetricis: verticillis longiusculè distantibus._ capitulum with one or more whorls of valves under the rostrum: upper pair of latera only slightly larger than the lower latera: membrane covering the valves (when dried) dark reddish-brown: rostrum half as long as the carina, with its inner surface more than twice as high as broad: scales of peduncle of unequal sizes, unsymmetrically arranged in rather distant whorls. maxillæ with two tufts of fine bristles, separated by larger spines: caudal appendages uniarticulate: filamentary appendages none. new zealand; mus. cuming. _capitulum_, much flattened, broad, sub-triangular. valves exceedingly various in number; in the largest specimen with a capitulum / ths of an inch high, and / ths of an inch wide, there were only thirty-one valves, and these formed only a single whorl under the carina and rostrum; whereas, in another specimen, which was barely / ths of an inch in length, there were fifty-two valves, and these formed two or three distinct whorls under the carina. scuta, terga, carina, and rostrum, much larger than the other valves. all are moderately thick, placed rather distant from each other, covered with thick membrane which abounds with tubuli, arranged in rows; surface apparently smooth, but with a very high power, extremely minute spines can be seen at the extremities of almost all the tubuli. little bunches of reddish fibrous matter are imbedded in the membrane, like tufts of sea-weed floating in water. _scuta_, triangular, basal margin curved, protuberant; the upper part of the tergo-lateral margin is, also, slightly protuberant. _terga_, large, oval, basal angle broad, square; lower part of carinal margin straight, upper part narrowed in; the apex is covered with membrane and projects freely. _carina_, triangular, internally deeply concave, either straight, and with the apex free, or inwardly and considerably curved; basal margin nearly straight. _rostrum_, about half the length of the carina; either straight or inwardly curved; it projects freely for full half its length; inner growing surface triangular, more than twice as high as wide; basal margin very slightly hollowed out. the _sub-carina_ and _sub-rostrum_ are larger than the largest of the latera; their inner surfaces are transversely elongated, rounded at both ends, and slightly concave; externally they are pointed, and project outwards; sometimes the sub-carina, and sometimes the sub-rostrum is the largest. _latera_, small, with their inner surfaces transversely elongated, the larger being the most elongated. externally they are acuminated, and directed upwards; they project but very little beyond the thick membrane in which they are imbedded. neither the number, size, nor shape of the latera agree on opposite sides of the same individual; and it would appear that, occasionally, some of them cease to grow, and disappear. in the large specimen with only thirty-one valves, the three pairs of latera, corresponding to the upper, rostral, and carinal latera in scalpellum, were larger in a marked manner than the others; but in the specimen with fifty-four valves, this could hardly be said to be the case. in this latter specimen, some of the valves in the lowermost whorl were exceedingly minute. _peduncle_, broad, about as long as the capitulum; surface of attachment wide; calcareous scales minute, placed in transverse rows, which become less and less regular in the lower part. the scales do not stand very close together; they are of unequal sizes and irregular outline; generally spindle-shaped; calcareous matter is added regularly only to the scales in the uppermost row, and irregularly to some of the lower scales. the latter, consequently, are the largest, and often much elongated; they are sometimes of singular and irregular shapes. _colour._--the membrane covering the valves and forming the peduncle, (after having been long kept dry, and not having been in spirits,) is dark reddish chocolate-brown; corium of sack dark purple; cirri banded with dark purplish-brown, with the lower parts of the trophi similarly coloured. _filamentary appendages_, none, but on the prosoma there are scattered some small papillæ, which are roughened by finely spinose scales, like combs; these papillæ certainly seem to represent the filaments in _pollicipes cornucopia_ and its two allies. _ovigerous fræna_, seated in the same position as in _p. spinosus_, but rather longer, with an elliptical _tuft_ of glands on the crest. _mouth_, not placed far from the adductor muscle. _labrum_, moderately bullate, with the upper part not overhanging; no teeth on the crest. _palpi_, short, broad, blunt. _mandibles_, with three main teeth, with either one or two smaller teeth inserted between the first and second, making four or five altogether; inferior angle rather narrow, pectinated with long and fine spines. _maxillæ_, rather broad, with two long upper spines; beneath which there is a very small prominence bearing a minute tuft of fine bristles; beneath this, there are eleven pairs of rather long and strong spines; and the inferior angle is formed by a rather broad, upraised, and obliquely rounded prominence, bearing a broad tuft of fine spines. _outer maxillæ_, with the inner surface continuously clothed with short spines; exteriorly there is a slight prominence with long hirsute spines. _olfactory orifices_ barely prominent. _cirri._--first pair placed near the second; the segments of the three posterior pairs are slightly protuberant, and bear three or four pairs of finely serrated spines; intermediate tufts long, the middle spines being the longest; spines on the upper lateral edges long and strong; dorsal tufts rather short. _first cirrus_, long, multiarticulate, having fourteen or fifteen segments, whilst the sixth cirrus had nineteen segments; rami unequal in length by about two segments; basal segments protuberant brush-like. _second_ and _third cirri_ with five basal segments of both rami protuberant and brush-like; but the anterior rami in both cirri are broader than the posterior rami. spines on the protuberant segments of both rami of both cirri, coarsely and doubly pectinated. _caudal appendages_ (pl. x, fig. ), minute, uniarticulate, club-shaped, with the enlarged ends directed inwards, or towards each other; summits sparingly clothed with very short spines. _penis_, small. _affinities._--this species makes a very close approach in the general form and relative sizes of all the valves, and in the variability of the number of the whorls, to _p. spinosus_; there is a still closer and more important resemblance, in the inequality and manner of growth of the calcareous scales on the peduncle. these species differ, in the colour of the membrane covering the valves, and in the greater development of both rostrum and sub-rostrum in _p. sertus_. the rostrum of the latter is longer than half the length of the carina, and its inner surface is more than twice as high as wide; and the sub-rostrum is twice as large as any of the latera,--all points of difference from p. _spinosus_. in the characters of the mandibles, and more especially of the outer maxillæ; in the length of the first pair of cirri; in both rami of the second and third cirri having their basal segments brush-like, with pectinated spines; and in the shape of the caudal appendages, there is a close relationship to _p. spinosus_, and through this species to _scalpellum villosum_. in the little prominence of the olfactory orifices, p. _sertus_ differs from most of the allied forms, excepting _p. spinosus_. in the maxillæ having two prominences bearing fine tufts of bristles, in the roughened knobs on the prosoma, and in the presence, in some individuals, of two or three whorls of valves under the carina and rostrum, there is a marked tendency in _p. sertus_ to approach _p. cornucopia_, _p. elegans_, and _p. polymerus_. _genus_--lithotrya. pl. viii, ix. lithotrya. _g. b. sowerby._ genera of shells, april . litholepas. _de blainville._ dict. des scienc. nat., . absia.[ ] _leach._ zoological journal, vol. ii, july . brisnÆus et conchotrya. _j. e. gray._ annals of philosophy, vol. x, (new series,) august . lepas. _gmelin._ systema naturæ, . anatipa. _quoy_ et _gaimard_. voyage de l'astrolabe, . [ ] the description of absia is so inaccurate, that i should not have recognised it, had not the _lithotrya nicobarica_, in a bottle in the british museum, borne this name. _valvæ , si inter eas parvum (sæpe rudimentale) rostrum et duo parva latera numerentur; incrementi lineis concinnè crenatis: pedunculus squamis calcareis parvis vestitus, in verticillis superioribus crenatis; aut calyci basali calcareo aut discorum ordini affixus._ valves , including a small, often rudimentary rostrum and a pair of small latera: lines of growth finely crenated. peduncle covered with small calcareous scales, those of the upper whorls crenated; attached either to a basal calcareous cup, or to a row of discs. body lodged within the peduncle: mandibles with three teeth, the interspaces being pectinated; maxillæ various: olfactory orifices slightly prominent: caudal appendages multiarticulate. lodged in cavities, bored in calcareous rocks, or shells, or corals; generally within the tropics. _description._--the capitulum is not much compressed, a horizontal section giving an oval figure; it is placed obliquely on the peduncle, the scuta descending lower than the terga and carina. there are eight valves, of which the scuta, terga, and carina are large; the rostrum and a pair of latera are very small and often rudimentary. these three latter valves are essentially distinguished from the scales of the peduncle, the upper ones of which they sometimes hardly exceed in size, by not being moulted at each period of exuviation. the latera overlie the carinal half of the terga; i presume that they are homologous with the carinal latera in scalpellum. each successive layer of shell forming the valves is thick, and extends over nearly the whole inner surface; hence the carina and terga, and to a certain extent the scuta, either actually do project freely much beyond the sack, or would have done so, had not their upper ends been removed; for the upper and old layers of shell, in most of the species, either scale off or disintegrate and wear away. a rectangularly projecting rim, serrated by small teeth, is formed at the bottom of each fresh layer of growth, along the external surfaces of each valve (see upper part of fig. _b´_ pl. viii.) this structure, as well as that of the crenated scales on the peduncle, is important, for by this means the animal, as we shall presently see, forms and enlarges the cavity in the rock or shell in which it is imbedded. the scutum overlaps either about one third or even one half of the entire width of the tergum, and abuts against a prominent longitudinal ridge on its exterior surface. in _l. truncata_ and _l. valentiana_, this ridge on the tergum being folded over towards the scutum, forms a conspicuous furrow, receiving the tergal margin of the latter. in _l. valentiana_, there is a second furrow on the carinal side of the tergum, receiving the upper end of the corium-covered or growing surface of the carina. besides these provisions for holding together the valves, there are, apparently, others for a similar purpose; thus in each scutum, under the rostral angle, there is a roughened knob-like tooth, which touches the under side of the little rostrum, and no doubt serves to give attachment to the membrane uniting the three valves together. in some species, the adjoining basal margins of the scuta and terga, where touching each other, are inflected and roughened; again in _l. rhodiopus_, the carinal angles of the terga are produced into points, and in _l. truncata_ and _l. valentiana_ into prominent roughened knobs, which touch two corresponding small knobs, on the upper part of the growing surface of the carina. moreover, considerable portions of the inner surfaces of the scuta and terga, are roughened with minute sharp, imbricated points, apparently for the firmer attachment of the corium. the roughened knobs at the rostral angles of the scuta, no doubt are homologous with the teeth in a similar position on one or both scuta in lepas, and in some fossil species of pollicipes, as in _p. validus_. the other projections and roughened surfaces are peculiar to lithotrya. the growth of all the valves is, as in pollicipes, simply downwards. the _scuta_ are triangular, with their umbones or centres of growth at the apex; the tergal margin, as seen from within, is either nearly straight or much hollowed out, accordingly as the scuta simply overlap the terga, or are received in a furrow. in some of the species there is a distinct pit for the adductor muscle, and in others this cannot be distinguished. _terga._--these present great differences in shape; but all appear to be modifications, (as seen internally,) of a rhomboidal figure, which seems to be the normal form of the terga in the lepadidæ. of the lower part of the valve, the whole exterior surface, with the exception of a narrow ridge running from the apex down to the basal angle, is hidden by the overlapping of the scuta, latera, and carina. the _carina_, in outline is triangular, with the basal margin in some species extremely protuberant. in the first four species, the internal surface is concave, in _l. truncata_ and _l. valentiana_ it is convex, with a central raised ridge, and consequently the upper freely-projecting portion of the valve, has a prominent central crest or ridge; in _l. nicobarica_ and _l. rhodiopus_ there is only a trace of this ridge. the rostrum, as before stated, is always very small; it, as well as the latera, are most developed in _l. nicobarica_, and least in _l. truncata_ and _l. valentiana_; generally only a few zones of growth are preserved, and from their being enlarged at their basal serrated rims, the rostrum sometimes appears like a few beads of a necklace strung together. the _latera_ are remarkable from being placed over the carinal half of the terga, in an oblique position, parallel to the lower carinal margin of the terga. a section, parallel to the growth layers, varies in the different species from elliptic to broadly oval, and in _l. nicobarica_ it is triangular. only a few layers of growth are ever preserved. in _l. truncata_, where the latera are represented by mere stiles, (like strings of beads), and are even less in width than the rostrum, they are imperfectly calcified. _microscopical structure of the valves._--the shelly layers are white, and generally separate easily, so that in _l. dorsalis_ it is rare to find a specimen with the upper part of the valves perfect. the valves are so translucent, that in the thin margins, even the tubuli could be sometimes distinguished. the valves are coated by strong yellow membrane, which, after the shelly matter in _l. dorsalis_ had been dissolved in acid, separated into broad slips, answering to each zone of growth. on the lower margin of each slip, there is a row of closely approximate spines, generally slightly hooked, pointed, / th of an inch in length, and / th of an inch in diameter; they arise out of a little fold; all are furnished with tubuli of the same diameter with themselves, running through the whole thickness of the shelly layers, and attached, apparently, by their apices, to the underlying corium. as the spines are very numerous, so are the parallel rows of tubuli. after the shelly layers had been dissolved, there was left in _l. dorsalis_ (well seen in the latera), an extraordinary, conferva-like mass of branching, jointed, excessively thin tubes, sometimes slightly enlarged at the articulations, and appearing to contain brown granular matter: other portions of the valves, instead of this appearance, exhibited membranes or films with similar, branching, articulated tubes or vessels attached to them: i have not seen this appearance in any other cirripede. the yellow exterior enveloping membrane, with its spines, is present in all the species of the genus; in _l. rhodiopus_ these spines are much larger than in _l. dorsalis_, and on the inner sides of the carina they are trifid and quadrifid, and large enough to be conspicuous with a lens of weak power. _peduncle._--the most remarkable fact concerning this part, is that the outer tunic, together with the calcareous scales with which it is covered, is moulted at each successive period of exuviation and growth. i demonstrated this fact in _l. dorsalis_ and _l. truncata_, by removing the old tunic and finding a new membrane with perfect calcified scales beneath; and as these two species, (i obtained, also, pretty good evidence in _l. nicobarica_,) are at the opposite extremes of the genus, no doubt this fact is common to the whole genus. i know of no other instance, amongst cirripedia, in which _calcified_ valves or scales are moulted. i am not certain that the whole skin of the peduncle is thrown off in a single piece; though this almost certainly is the case with the uppermost and lowest portions. the animal's body is partly lodged within the peduncle, which is generally from one to three times as long as the capitulum, and in the upper part is fully as broad as it. the scales with which it is clothed, extend up in the triangular interspaces between the basal margins of the valves. the scales of the upper whorl, or of the two or three upper whorls (pl. viii, figs. _b´_ and _d_) are larger than those below; and these latter rapidly decrease in size, so as to become low down on the peduncle, almost or quite invisible to the naked eye. the scales in each whorl, are placed alternately with those in the whorls, above and below. all the upper scales are packed rather closely together; those in the uppermost row are generally nearly quadrilateral; those in the few next succeeding whorls, are triangular, with their basal margins protuberant and arched; the scales, low down on the peduncle, stand some way apart from each other, and generally consist of simple rounded calcareous beads, of which some of the smallest in _l. dorsalis_ were only / th of an inch in diameter. in the lowest part of the peduncle these scales, after each fresh exuviation, are apparently soon worn entirely away by the friction against the sides of the cavity; hence in most specimens this part of the peduncle is quite naked. this same part, however, is furnished with nail- or rather star-headed little projections of hard, yellow, horny chitine (fig. _e_). the star on the summit seems generally to have about five irregular points; one star which i measured was / th of an inch in total width, the footstalk being only / th of an inch in diameter; the whole projected / ths of an inch above the surface of the peduncle; from the footstalk a fine tubulus runs through the membrane to the underlying corium. these star-headed little points are often much worn down; in one specimen which was on the point of exuviation, there remained, in the lower part, close above the basal calcareous cup, only some hard, smooth, yellow, little discs, on a level with the general surface of the membrane,--these being the intersected or worn down footstalks, with every trace of the calcareous beads gone. but in this same specimen, under the old peduncular membrane, there was a new one, studded with the usual circular calcareous beads, slightly unequal in size, generally about / th of an inch in diameter, and each furnished with a tubulus; but as yet none of the star-headed points of chitine had been formed. i believe that these latter are developed from the tubuli leading to the calcified beads, and, therefore, are formed directly under them. in _l. cauta_ the lowest scales on the peduncle are a little larger than in _l. dorsalis_, giving a frosted appearance to it, and all of them are serrated (fig. _d_) round their entire margins. generally only the scales in the uppermost, or in the three or four upper rows are serrated, and this only on their arched and protuberant lower margins. the state of the serrated edge varies extremely in the same species, from elongated conical teeth to mere notches, according to the amount of wear and tear the individual has suffered since the last period of exuviation; so also do the teeth or serrated margins on the valves of the capitulum. each scale has a fine tubulus passing from the corium through the membrane of the peduncle to its bluntly-pointed imbedded fang or base. the membrane is transparent, thin, and tender, to a degree i have not seen equalled in the other lepadidæ, except, perhaps, in ibla. it is much wrinkled transversely. _muscles of the peduncle._--these consist of the usual interior and longitudinal,--exterior and transverse--and oblique fasciæ; the former are unusually strong; downwards they are attached to the basal calcareous cup or disc, and upwards they extend all round to the lower curved margins of the valves. they are, as usual, without transverse striæ. besides these, there are, (at least in _l. dorsalis_ and _l. nicobarica_,) two little fans of striæ-less muscles, which occur in no other pedunculated cirripede; they are attached on each side of the central line of the carina, near its base; they extend transversely and a little upwards, and each fan converges to a point where the lower margins of the carina and terga touch; of these muscles, the upper fasciæ are the longest. their action, i conceive, must be either to draw slightly together the basal points of the terga, and so serve to open their occludent margins, or to draw inwards the base of the carina: these muscles apparently first shadow forth the posterior or carinal, transversely-striated, opercular muscles of sessile cirripedes. _basal calcareous cup or discs._--i have seen this part in all the species, except _l. valentiana_, and in this it probably occurs, considering its very close alliance with _l. truncata_. the size, form, and conditions of the cup or disc varies infinitely according to the age, size, and position of the individual specimen. we will commence with a full-sized animal, which has ceased to burrow downwards into the rock, in which case the discs usually grow into a cup, and become largely developed. in _l. dorsalis_ alone, i have seen many specimens, so that the following description and remarks, though applicable i believe to all the species, are drawn up from that alone. the cup (pl. viii, fig. _a´_, _c´_) is hardly ever regular in outline, and is either slightly or very deeply concave; i have seen one, half an inch in diameter; it is formed of several thick layers of dirty white, translucent, calcareous matter, with sinuous margins; externally the surface is very irregular, and is coated by yellow membrane presently to be described. the innermost and last-formed layer sometimes covers the whole inside of the cup, and extends a little beyond its margin all round; but more generally it projects beyond only one side, leaving the other sides deserted. i have seen a _single_ new layer extending beyond the underlying old layers, as much as one sixth of an inch; and again i have seen a part of the cup, as much as a quarter of an inch in width, deserted and covered with serpulæ. so irregular, however, is the growth, that after a period an old deserted portion will occasionally be again covered by a new layer, though of course without organic adhesion. again it sometimes happens that the last-formed layer, remaining central, is very much less than the older layers; in one such instance the innermost and last-formed layer (fig. _a´_) had a diameter of only a quarter of that of the whole cup, in the middle of which it was placed; the cup thus tends to become filled up in the middle. the cup, in its fully developed condition, is seated at the very bottom of the cavity in the rock. from the aggregate thickness of the several component layers forming the cup, the old and mature animal rises a little in its burrow; for instance, the bottom of the cup in one specimen which i measured, was / ths of an inch in thickness. in a younger condition, before the animal has bored down to the full depth, and whilst the cavity is only of moderate diameter, the lower part of the peduncle, instead of being attached to the inside of a cup, adheres to small, irregular, nearly flat, calcareous discs, overlapping each other like tiles (figs. , _a´_). they are placed one below the other, generally in a straight line, and are attached firmly to one side of the burrow. the discs are oval, or rounded, or irregular, and are commonly from / th to / th of an inch across: they usually form a quite straight ribbon, widening a little downwards: each little disc overlaps and extends beyond the one last formed, fully half its own diameter. i have seen one row of discs an inch in length, but the upper discs are always worn away by the friction of the calcified serrated scales on the peduncle. it is very important to observe that the lowest disc is not fixed, (as was the case with the cup,) at the very bottom of the burrow, but on one side, just above the bottom, which latter part is occupied by the blunt basal end of the peduncle. in a valuable paper on _l. nicobarica_, by reinhardt, presently to be referred to, the disc is said to be attached on the carinal side (see fig. ) of the peduncle; and this, i believe, is general. i have seen one instance in which, during the excavation of a new burrow, an old burrow was met with, and the row of discs turned down it, making, with their previous course, nearly a right-angle. in another similar instance, the discs, instead of turning down, became very large and broad, and so fairly formed a bridge across the old burrow (fig. ),--becoming narrow again as soon as the animal recommenced burrowing into the solid rock. sometimes, as it appears, the animal, whilst still small, from some unknown cause, stops burrowing downwards, and then a cup is formed at the bottom of the hole. as soon as the animal has got to its full depth, the burrow increases only in diameter, and during this process the linear row of discs is ground away and lost; a cup is then formed. the little discs can be deposited or formed only at each fresh exuviation; and as some of the burrows are above two inches in depth, and as on an average each disc does not extend beyond the underlying disc more than / th of an inch, an animal which has bored two inches in depth, must have moulted at least thirty times. i may here remark that i have reason to believe, from some interesting observations made by mr. w. thompson, of belfast, that some sessile cirripedes moult about every fortnight. _internal structure of the cup._--when the cup is dissolved in acid, each shelly layer is represented by a rather tough, pale-brown membrane, itself composed of numerous fine laminæ, which, under a one-eighth of an inch object glass, exhibit generally only the appearance of a mezzotinto drawing; but there often were layers of branching vessels, (like moss-agate,) less than the / , th of an inch in diameter, and of a darkish colour; these vessels are not articulated, but otherwise resemble the same peculiar structure in the valves of the capitulum. the exterior yellow membrane is marked, or rather composed of successive narrow rims, which, in fact, are the lines of termination of the laminæ of membrane, which in a calcified state form the cup itself. in most parts, both on the borders and under the centre of the cup, but not everywhere, there are imbedded in the yellow membrane, elongated, irregular, top-shaped masses of bright yellow chitine, each furnished with a tubulus, which penetrating the calcareous laminæ leads to the corium; the little apertures thus formed, are clearly visible in the layers of membrane, left after exposure to acid. in _l. nicobarica_, the innermost shelly layer of the cup was punctured, like the surface of the shell in chthamalus and many other sessile cirripedes, by the internal orifices of these tubuli. the top-shaped masses often have star-shaped summits; and they differ in no essential respects from those on the lower part of the peduncle, excepting that they are quite imbedded in the membrane covering the under surface of the cup, whereas those on the peduncle project freely. i found these top-shaped bodies in the outer membrane of the cups in _l. dorsalis_, _l. cauta_, and _l. rhodiopus_, which alone i was enabled to dissolve in acid; and i mention this fact, as indicating the probable presence of the more important star-headed projections on the lower parts of the peduncle in these same species. the basal calcareous cup resembles, in essential structure, the valves of the capitulum; the chief difference being that in the former there is a larger proportion of animal matter or membranous layers. after the dissolution of the cups, in _l. dorsalis_ and _l. rhodiopus_, i most distinctly traced the two cement-ducts; they included the usual darker chord of cellular matter; they were of rather small diameter, namely, / th of an inch. the two (in _l. dorsalis_) ran in a very irregular course, not parallel to each other, making the most abrupt bends. they passed through the membranous layers, (as seen after dissolution,) and running for short spaces parallel to the component laminæ, were attached to them. in their irregular course, these cement-ducts resemble those of _pollicipes mitella_, but i could not perceive that any cement had been poured out at the abrupt bends. in one specimen of a basal cup, which i was enabled to examine whilst still attached to the rock, i found under the very centre, (and of course outside the yellow membrane,) a very small area of dark brown cement of the usual appearance. in several specimens of full-sized cups, i was not able to perceive any cement on the external surfaces of the upper and later-formed layers; hence i believe that the cup is cemented to the bottom of the hole only during the early stages of its formation; and this, considering its protected situation, would no doubt be sufficient to affix the animal. this probably accounts for the small size of the cement-ducts, and for the facility with which, as it appears, the cups can be removed in an unbroken condition from the rock. in the case, however, of the small, flat, calcareous discs, which are formed whilst the animal is burrowing into the rock, these are attached firmly to the sides of the holes, in the usual manner, by cement. in this cirripede it would be useless to look for the prehensile antennæ of the larva under the cup, for the animal, during the formation of the successive discs, must have travelled some distance from the spot on which the larva first attached itself. the membrane of the peduncle is continuous with the yellow membrane coating the external surface of the cup; and this latter membrane is continuous with those delicate laminæ which, in a calcified condition, form the layers of the cup itself. in an exactly similar manner, in this and other cirripedes, the membrane of the peduncle, at the top, is continuous with that coating the valves, and is attached to the lower exterior edge of the last-formed layer of shell. when a new shelly layer is formed, both under the valves of the capitulum and inside the basal calcareous cup, it projects beyond the old layer, and is included within the old, as yet not moulted, membrane of the peduncle. within the cup of _l. nicobarica_ i found a lately-formed layer of shell, projecting / th of an inch on one side of the cup, and by its protuberance distinguishable even through the old coat of the peduncle, which was nearly ready to be moulted. in an analogous manner, in the capitulum of _l. dorsalis_ and _l. truncata_, i have found a new peduncular membrane bearing the usual, but then sharp, calcified scales, attached to the lower projecting edge of the last-formed shelly layer, lying under the old peduncular membrane, which was attached to the penultimate layer of shell, and with its worn scales was just ready to be moulted. the final cause of the moulting of the calcified scales, together with the membrane of the peduncle to which they are attached,--a case confined to lithotrya,--i have scarcely any doubt is the reproduction of a succession of scales, sharply serrated for the purpose of enlarging the cavity in which the animal is lodged. the extreme thinness of the membrane of the peduncle has been noticed; this may be partly related to its protected condition, but partly, i think, to the necessity of its being formed in a very extensible condition; for the new coat, owing to the projection of the new shelly layers under the valves, and within the basal cup, is by so much shorter than the old peduncle, yet after exuviation it has to stretch to a greater length than the old membrane, to allow of the growth of the cirripede. owing to the thinness and fragility of this membrane, the basal attachment of the cirripede is, no doubt, chiefly effected by the unusually strong longitudinal muscles; and the necessity of a surface of attachment for these muscles, stronger than the external membrane of the peduncle, probably is one of the final causes of the basal calcareous disc and cup, and likewise for the unusual manner in which the valves of the capitulum are locked together by folds and small roughened projections. the basal discs and cup, however, apparently serve for several other purposes, namely, for raising the animal a little in its burrow, (which is narrow and pointed at the bottom,) at that period of growth when it has ceased to burrow downwards, but still increases in diameter; also for carrying the animal, as over a bridge, across any pre-existing cavity in the rock; and lastly, perhaps, for removing lower down, in the intervals of exuviation, the point of attachment for the longitudinal peduncular muscles. _position of the animal in the rock, and its power of excavation._--a specimen of rock, two or three inches square, in mr. cuming's possession, is full of lithotryas; the cavities extend in every possible direction, and several were parallel, but with the animals in reversed positions; the same thing is apparent in some specimens of mr. stutchbury's, and it was evident that the positions occupied by the animals were entirely due to chance. in mr. cuming's specimen of rock, a considerable portion of the external surface is preserved, and here it can be seen that many of the specimens have their capitulums directed from the external surface directly inwards. these individuals, which were of full size, must have preyed on infusoria inhabiting the cavities of the porous, calcareous rock. on the other hand, i have seen some young specimens of _l. dorsalis_ with their valves not at all rubbed, and others of full size with uninjured balani and corallines on the tips of the valves, and again a specimen of _l. truncata_ with minute pale-green sea-weed on the summit of the capitulum,--all which appearances induce me to believe that in these cases, the valves had projected freely beyond the cavity in which their peduncles were lodged. i may here also mention that in mr. cuming's specimen, above alluded to, the basal cups of five specimens touched and adhered to each other; i was not able to make out whether there had originally existed separate burrows, as i think is most probable, and that the walls had been wholly worn away, or whether the five specimens had fixed themselves on one side of a large pre-existing, common cavity. young specimens seem to burrow to the full depth, before nearly acquiring the diameter which they ultimately attain. i measured one burrow, . of an inch in depth, which, at its mouth or widest part, was only . in diameter. the several species occur imbedded in soft calcareous rocks, in massive corals, and in the shells of mollusca and of cirripedes. it has been doubted by several naturalists, whether the basal calcareous cup at all belongs to the lithotrya, but after the foregoing microscopical observations on its structure, it is useless to discuss this point. so again it has been doubted whether the cavity is formed by the cirripede itself; but there is so obvious a relation between the diameters of specimens of various sizes, and the holes occupied by them, that i can entertain no doubt on this head. the holes, moreover, are not quite cylindrical, but broadly oval, like the section of the animal. the simple fact, that in this genus alone each fresh shelly layer round the bases of the valves, and therefore at the widest part of the capitulum, are sharply toothed; and secondly, that in this genus alone a succession of sharply serrated scales, on the upper and widest part of the peduncle, are periodically formed at each exuviation; and that consequently the teeth on the valves and scales are sharp, and fit for wearing soft stone, at that very period when the animal has to increase in size, would alone render the view probable that the lithotrya makes or at least enlarges the cavities in which it is imbedded. although it may be admitted that lithotrya has the power of enlarging its cavity, how does it first bore down into the rock? it is quite certain that the basal cup is absolutely fixed, and that neither in form nor state of surface it is at all fitted for boring.[ ] i was quite unable to answer the foregoing question, until seeing the admirable figures by reinhardt[ ], (pl. viii, figs. and _a´_) of _l. nicobarica_, still attached in its cavity. subsequently i obtained from mr. stutchbury several pieces of rock completely drilled with holes, many of small diameter, by _l. dorsalis_, and in these i found numerous instances of the linear rows of little discs, like those of _l. nicobarica_, showing in the plainest manner, that each time a new disc is formed, that is, at each exuviation, the animal moves a short step downwards; and as the lowest of these little discs _in none of the burrows_ was placed at the very bottom, we see that the lowest point of the peduncle must be the wearing agent. in the peduncle of an individual of _l. dorsalis_, nearly ready to moult, i found, it may be remembered, beneath and round the basal disc, under the old membrane of the peduncle, a new membrane studded with calcified beads, but with the horny star-headed spines not yet developed, whilst on the old outer coat these latter had been worn down quite smooth, and the calcified beads worn entirely away. here, then, we have an excellent rasping surface. with respect to the power of movement necessary for the boring action, the peduncle is amply furnished with transverse, oblique, and longitudinal striæ-less muscles,--the latter attached to the basal disc. in all the pedunculata, i have reason to believe that these muscles are in constant slight involuntary action. this being the case, i conceive that the small, blunt, spur-like portion of the peduncle, descending beneath the basal rim of the lowest disc, would inevitably partake slightly of the movements of the whole distended animal. as soon as the lithotrya has reached that depth, which its instinct points out as most suitable to its habits, the discs are converted into an irregularly growing cup, and the animal then only increases in diameter, enlarging its cavity by the action of the serrated scales on the peduncle, and of the serrated lower edges of the valves of the capitulum. with respect to those reversed individuals attached with their capitulums downwards, i suppose that the larvæ had crept into some deep cavity, perhaps made originally by a lithotrya, of which the rock in the specimen in question was quite full, and had there attached themselves. finally, it appears that in lithotrya the burrowing is simply a mechanical action; it is effected by each layer of shell in the basal attached discs overlapping, in a straight line, the last-formed layer,--by the membrane of the peduncle and the valves of the capitulum having excellent and often renewed rasping surfaces,--and, lastly, by the end of the peduncle (that is homologically the front of the head) thus roughened, extending beyond the surface of attachment, and possessing the power of slight movement. [ ] mr. hancock, in his admirable account of his burrowing cirripede, _alcippe lampas_, ('annals of nat. hist.,' nov. , p. ,) came to this conclusion regarding the cup of lithotrya, and hence was led to think that this genus did not form its own burrows, but inhabited pre-existing cavities. i am much indebted to this gentleman, who has been so eminently successful in his researches on the boring powers of marine animals, for giving me his opinion on several points connected with the present discussion. [ ] i owe to the great kindness of prof. steenstrup the sight of this plate, published in the 'scientific communications from the union of natural history,' copenhagen, january , , no. i. since this sheet has been set up in type, i have received from prof. steenstrup the memoir, in danish, belonging to the figures in question; and the greater part of this has been translated to me by the kindness of a friend. my account of the means of burrowing is essentially the same as that published by reinhardt; but the moulting of the scales on the peduncle, the presence of scales and of points of a different nature, the method of attachment by cement, the conversion of the discs into a cup, &c., seem not to have been known to this naturalist. reinhardt states that the points on the peduncle will scratch iceland spar, and that, apparently, they are formed of phosphate of lime: in the case of the closely-allied _l. dorsalis_, i must believe that the scales or beads on the peduncle are formed of carbonate of lime, for they were quickly dissolved with effervescence in acetic acid; and the star-headed points, which are subsequently developed under the calcareous scales, appeared to me, under the compound microscope, to be formed of a horn or chitine substance. reinhardt states that the basal point of the peduncle is arched a little under the lowest disc, and there forms for itself a slight furrow (as represented in the lateral view, pl. viii, fig. ); but in the burrows examined by me, this furrow or depression did not really exist, the appearance resulting from the basal margin of the lowest disc, projecting beyond the wall of the cavity by the amount of its own slight thickness. * * * * * we will now proceed with our generic description.-- _animal's body._--this, as already stated, is partially lodged within the peduncle. the prosoma is rather largely developed. the _mouth_ is placed at a moderate distance from the adductor muscle. the _labrum_ is moderately bullate, with a row of blunt bead-like teeth, mingled with fine bristles, on the crest, which in the middle part is generally somewhat flattened. the _palpi_ are blunt, and even squarely truncated at their ends; they are of large size, so that, if they had been half as large again, or even less, their tips would have met. _mandibles_ (pl. x, fig. ), with three nearly equal large teeth, and the inferior angle produced, broad, and strongly pectinated: in the interspaces between these teeth there are, in all the species, some very fine teeth or pectinations, which are seated a little on one side of the medial line. the mandibles are somewhat singular from the size of the transparent flexible apodemes (_a_ _a_) to which the muscles are attached; these are oval and constricted at their origins: in _l. dorsalis_ they are roughened with little points; in _l. cauta_ and _l. truncata_ they are large, of the same shape, but smooth. _maxillæ._--these are larger, compared to the mandibles, than is usual with pedunculated cirripedes; they differ in shape in the different species, being either nearly straight on their edge, and notched or not (fig. ), or notched with the inferior part forming a double prominence (fig. ); the spines on the inferior angle, which is sometimes slightly produced, are always crowded together into a brush, and are finer than those on the upper parts. the apodemes are less straight than is usual, and at their origin take, in all the species, a rather abrupt bend; their extremity is enlarged into a little disc, which in _l. dorsalis_ is covered with strong points, but in the other species is, as usual, smooth. _outer maxillæ._--the inner margin is slightly concave, and in _l. truncata_ alone, the bristles are hardly continuous, being interrupted in the middle part. the olfactory orifices are only very slightly prominent. the spines on all the trophi are more or less doubly serrated. _cirri._--the three posterior pair are elongated, with their anterior surfaces not at all protuberant. the segments bear from three to five pair of spines, with a row of three or four small intermediate spines; there are, as usual, some little lateral upper rim spines; the dorsal tufts contain some thick and thin spines mingled. _first_ cirrus is short, and placed not quite close to the second pair; the basal segments are broad and thickly paved with bristles. the _second_ pair is rather short compared with the _third_ pair; a varying number of the basal segments in both rami of both these cirri are protuberant, and are thickly paved with bristles; such segments are more numerous and are broader on the anterior rami than on the posterior rami. in _l. cauta_ alone, none of the basal segments in the posterior rami of the second and third cirri are thickly paved with bristles. the pedicels of the first three pair are irregularly covered with spines; those of the three posterior pair have the spines arranged in a regular double line. most of the spines are doubly serrated. _caudal appendages_ (pl. x, fig. and ), multiarticulate, with thin elongated segments fringed with short spines; in length generally exceeding the pedicel of the sixth cirrus, and in _l. nicobarica_ equalling half the entire length of this cirrus. _stomach_, destitute of cæca; oesophagus somewhat curled. _filamentary appendages_, none. _ovaria_ filling up the peduncle and surrounding the sack, but not extending up to the bases of the scuta and terga; i saw the ova only in _l. truncata_; they were here oval and large, being nearly / ths of an inch in length. _penis_, elongated; vesiculæ seminales extending into the prosoma. i noticed the ovigerous fræna only in _l. truncata_; here they were large, with an almost bilobed outline; the margin and whole lateral surface being covered with elongated cylinders, finely pointed, but not enlarged at their extremities, as are the glands observed in most of the other genera. _colours._--the posterior thoracic segments, the pedicels, the anterior and dorsal surfaces of the segments of the cirri, the caudal appendages, and the outer sides of the trophi are, in most of the species, more or less mottled with dark purple; parts of the interior surfaces of the valves in some of the species are coloured fine purple. _geographical distribution._--the species are found all round the world in the tropical seas; this fact may have some connection with the presence of soft coral-reef limestone and of massive corals in these seas. the presence, however, of _l. cauta_ on the shores of new south wales, shows that the genus is not strictly tropical. _affinities._--lithotrya is a well-pronounced distinct genus; although there is a considerable difference in the shape of the valves between _l. dorsalis_ and _l. valentiana_, at the opposite extremes of the genus, the strict uniformity of the internal characters shows that there are no grounds whatever for any generic separation; moreover, _l. rhodiopus_ neatly blends together these extreme forms. indeed it is not easy to imagine a better marked series of transitional forms, than those presented by the terga, in passing from _l. dorsalis_ through _l. nicobarica_, _l. rhodiopus_, and _l. truncata_, to _l. valentiana_. lithotrya has most affinity to _scalpellum villosum_ or to _pollicipes spinosus_ and _p. sertus_; though the affinity is far from close. in these two species of pollicipes, we have seen that large irregular calcified spines are formed at the base of the peduncle, whereas in the other pedunculata the scales or spines are formed exclusively round the upper margin of the peduncle. lithotrya, as has been remarked by sowerby and other authors, exhibits some affinity to the sessile cirripedes, as shown by the calcareous basis,--by the manner in which the scuta and terga are locked together,--by the two little fans of muscle attached to near the basal points of the terga,--and perhaps by some of the characters of the trophi; nevertheless, this affinity is far from being well-marked, and i think is hardly so plain as in _pollicipes mitella_. . lithotrya dorsalis. pl. viii, fig. _a´_. lithotrya dorsalis. _g.b. sowerby._ genera of shells, april, . lepas dorsalis. _ellis._ nat. hist. zoophytes, tab. xv, fig. , . litholepas de mont serrat. _de blainville._ dict. des sc. nat., plate, fig. , . _l. scutis terga angustè obtegentibus: carinâ intùs concavâ: rostro, duorum aut trium squamarum subjacentium latitudinem æquante: lateribus, squamarum quinque subjacentium longitudinem æquantibus, superficie internâ angustè ellipticâ: pedunculi squamis superioribus verticillum secundum minus duplo superantibus._ scuta, narrowly overlapping the terga: carina internally concave: rostrum as wide as two or three of the subjacent scales: latera with their internal surfaces narrowly elliptical, as long as five of the subjacent scales: upper scales of the peduncle less than twice as large as those in the second whorl. mandibles, with twice as many pectinations between the first and second main teeth, as between the second and third teeth. maxillæ without a notch, edge nearly straight, and spines very numerous: caudal appendages exceeding, by half, the length of the pedicel of the sixth cirrus. barbadoes, west indies; venezuela; honduras; imbedded in limestone; mus. brit. cuming and stutchbury. the state of preservation of the valves in different specimens varies greatly; generally only two or three, or even only the last-formed shelly layer, is preserved, the upper ones having scaled off; in a few young specimens, however, all the layers were perfect. the carina is generally better preserved than the other valves, and hence the upper part usually projects freely; in one specimen no less than ten zones of growth were preserved in the carina, whilst the other valves consisted of only three: the terga generally project rather more than the scuta. as each growth-layer is thick, if the scaling process had not taken place, all the valves would have projected greatly. the little teeth lie close together on the prominent serrated rims, on each zone of growth. the internal surfaces of the valves are roughened with small imbricated points. exteriorly the valves are covered with yellow membrane, with rows, corresponding with each zone of growth, of very minute, yellow, horny spines, generally having their tips bent over, and so made hook-shaped. these spines are less than / th of an inch in length. _scuta_, triangular; internally concave, with a large depression for the adductor muscle; there is the usual small roughened internal knob, or tooth, at the rostral angle of both the right and left hand valves. tergal margin straight, overlapping about one third of the entire width of the terga. _terga_, irregularly oval, with the scutal margin straight; basal point blunt, with the two sides placed at about an angle of ° to each other; the lower part of the carinal margin, immediately over the latera, (as seen internally,) is slightly hollowed out. exteriorly, towards the bottom of the valve, from the overlapping of the scuta, of the latera, and of the carina, only a narrow rounded ridge is exposed, which runs down to the basal angle at about one third of the entire width of the valve, from the scutal margin. internally the valve is slightly concave. the _carina_ slightly overlaps the terga; internally concave; generally with a large upper portion freely projecting; inwardly curved, without any central crest or ridge; valve nearly as wide as the middle part of the terga; inner growing or corium-covered surface, with its basal margin, protuberant and arched. _rostrum_ (pl. viii, fig. _a´_, _a_, and greatly magnified _b´_) very narrow; rarely more than two or three layers of growth are preserved; the sides are deeply sinuous, owing to each zone widening downwards; basal margin rounded; in width equalling about two and a half of the uppermost scales of the peduncle, and about half as wide as the latera. _latera_, small, placed obliquely, and parallel to the lower carinal margin of the terga; longer axis equal to five of the uppermost scales of the peduncle, and to nearly half the width of the base of the carina; growing surface (or a section made parallel to the growth-layers,) is narrow, elliptic, pointed at both ends, but the carinal half rather thicker than the scutal half. the _peduncle_ varies in length, generally about twice as long as the capitulum, in one specimen above thrice as long. the upper part as wide as the capitulum, the lower part sometimes much attenuated. the calcified scales in the uppermost whorl (pl. viii, fig. _b´_) are only slightly larger than those in the second whorl; the scales in the succeeding three or four whorls, are considerably larger than those below, which latter very gradually decrease in size, till, low down on the peduncle, they are barely visible to the naked eye. in this lower part, they may be called calcareous beads; they stand some way apart from each other; they are nearly hemispherical, smooth, translucent, and furnished with a conical fang; some of the smallest were / th and / th of an inch in diameter. the upper scales vary somewhat in the outline, the most usual shape being sub-triangular, with the lower margin arched and protuberant; and this margin, in the two or three upper whorls, is crenated with teeth, which are conical and sharp, after exuviation, but soon become reduced to mere notches. the scales in the uppermost whorl are usually nearly quadrilateral; the imbedded portion, or fang of each scale, is, in all, produced into a blunt rounded point. the basal calcareous cup (fig. _a´_ and _c´_) is well developed, and is sometimes even half an inch in diameter. before the cup is formed, there is a row of small, flat discs (fig. , and like those in fig. _a´_) attached to the sides of the burrow: but a full account of these parts of the peduncle, and of the burrowing habits of this species, has been given under the generic description. _size and colour._--full average-sized specimens have a capitulum half an inch in width and height; the entire length, with the contracted peduncle, being about an inch and a half. valves coloured dirty white, with the enveloping membrane, when preserved, yellow. the outer maxillæ, palpi, pedicels of the cirri, anterior faces of the segments, dorsal tufts, caudal appendages, and penis, dark purple. thoracic segments brown. there is a purple spot between the bases of the first pair of cirri. _mouth._--labrum considerably bullate, equalling about half the longitudinal diameter of the mouth; inferior part produced so as to separate the mouth some way from the adductor muscle; crest with a row of blunt teeth and hairs; central part depressed and flattened. _palpi_, rather large, separated from each other by only half their own length; bluntly pointed, thickly clothed with spines. _mandibles_ (pl. x, fig. ), with twice as many pectinations, namely , between the first and second main teeth, as between the second and third teeth, namely about ; inferior angle strongly and coarsely pectinated; distance between the tips of the first and second main teeth, considerably less than between the tips of the second tooth and of the inferior angle; sides hirsute. _maxillæ_ (fig. ), with the edge not quite straight, with the whole inferior part slightly projecting; spines very numerous, thirty or forty pairs; those close beneath the two upper great unequal spines, form a tuft and are rather thinner than the others, as are also those near the inferior angle; sides hirsute. _outer maxillæ_, rather pointed, with the inner edge slightly concave, continuously and thickly clothed with short spines; spines on the outer edge long; there are also some minute, short, thinly scattered spines or points on the sides. bristles on all the trophi doubly serrated. _cirri._--the first pair is placed at a small distance from the second. the segments in the three posterior pairs, support five pairs of very long spines, with a row of (i believe) four small intermediate spines; on the lateral upper edges, there are some short blunt spines; anterior faces of the segments not protuberant; the dorsal tufts consist of thick serrated, and of thin spines. the whole integument is hirsute with minute pectinated scales. two or three of the basal segments in the sixth cirrus are confluent. _first cirrus_, anterior ramus rather shorter and thicker than the posterior ramus; basal segments thickly paved with serrated spines; in the posterior ramus, the six terminal segments are not paved with bristles. _second cirrus_ has the seven basal segments of the anterior ramus very broad, and paved with bristles; the eight terminal segments having the usual structure; in the posterior ramus the three or four basal segments are similarly paved, but to a very much less degree, and the remaining thirteen have the usual structure. _third cirrus_ has the six basal segments of the anterior ramus very broad and paved, and the fourteen terminal ones of the usual structure; in the posterior ramus, the three or four basal segments are similarly paved, but to a very much less degree, and the seventeen terminal ones have the usual structure. the pedicel of the first cirrus has very few spines; those of the second and third cirrus are thickly and irregularly clothed with spines; and those of the three posterior pair have a double row with intermediate small spines. on the antero-lateral faces of the pedicels of the second, third, and fourth pairs of cirri, there is an elongated white swelling or shield. moreover, on the posterior thoracic segments, there are similar white-coloured swellings, with the membrane more plainly marked with scales than in other parts. the spines on the first three pairs of cirri are coarsely serrated. _caudal appendages_ (pl. x, fig. ), with numerous tapering segments, almost equalling one and a half times the length of the pedicel of the sixth cirrus. each segment is elongated and somewhat constricted in the middle, with its upper edge (fig. ) crowned with short spines; in a full-sized specimen there were seventeen segments. . lithotrya cauta. pl. viii, fig. . _l. scutis terga amplè obtegentibus: carinâ intus concavâ: rostro squamarum subjacentium latitudinem vix æquante: lateribus, squamas subjacentes sesquitertio superantibus; superficie internâ latè ellipticâ: pedunculi squamis superioribus verticillum secundum pæne quadruplo superantibus._ scuta largely overlapping the terga: carina internally concave: rostrum hardly as wide as one of the subjacent scales: latera with their internal surfaces broadly elliptical, as long as two and a half of the subjacent scales: upper scales of the peduncle nearly four times as large as those in the second whorl. mandibles with an equal number of pectinations between the first, second, and third main teeth: maxillæ notched, edge nearly straight: posterior rami of the second and third cirri, with their basal segments not paved with bristles: caudal appendages slightly exceeding in length the pedicels of the sixth cirrus. new south wales, australia, imbedded in a conia, (unique specimen,) mus. stutchbury. valves thin, white, translucent; upper layers of growth well preserved, excepting on the terga. a large portion of the carina projected freely. the teeth on the projecting margins of the growth-layers are broad, blunt, and often stand rather distant from each other. _scuta_ (pl. viii, fig. _a_), triangular, internally concave with no distinct pit for the adductor muscle. the scuta largely overlap the terga. _terga_ (fig. _b_) approaching to rhomboidal; basal angle rectangular, almost central, and consequently the exterior longitudinal ridge, which is rounded, is likewise nearly central. _carina_, internally concave, with no trace of a central internal ridge in the upper free portion; the growing or corium-covered surface is transversely oval, and is as wide as the widest part of the terga. _rostrum_, exceedingly minute, enlarged at each zone of growth, not so wide as the immediately subjacent scale on the peduncle. _latera_ (fig. _c_), in width equalling two and a half of the upper peduncular scales, or about one fourth or one fifth of the width of the carina; growing surface, (or a section parallel to the layers of growth,) broadly elliptic, pointed at both ends. _peduncle_, about twice as long as the capitulum; the scales of the uppermost whorl are quadrilateral (fig. _d_), and nearly four times as large as those in the second whorl; these latter are about twice as large as those in the third whorl, which are very little larger than the small, almost equal-sized, equally distant, round beads scattered over the rest of the peduncle, down to the basal cup. all these scales are dentated, the upper rows most plainly and only on their basal margins; the lower little beads are very slightly crenated round their entire margins; they are mingled with star-headed spines (fig. _e_) of yellow chitine. basal calcareous discs thin, plainly marked exteriorly by concentric lines of growth, and covered by the usual yellow membrane, including the horny, spindle-shaped bodies. _size and colours._--the whole specimen, including the peduncle, was only one fifth of an inch in length; the capitulum being / ths of an inch in width. i do not know whether the specimen had attained its full size, but think this is probable, as a large-sized species would not have made its habitation in one of the valves of so small a shell as a conia. shell white, exterior membrane, where preserved, yellow, and bearing small spines. thoracic segments, the lower segments of the second, third, and fourth cirri, all the segments of the first cirrus and the trophi, slightly mottled with darkish purple. _mouth._--the teeth or beads on the crest of the labrum are blunt, few, not very small, and equidistant. _palpi_, bluntly pointed. _mandibles_, with the three main teeth nearly equal in size; the pectinations are equal in number, namely, only three between the first and second, and the second and third main teeth; the inferior angle is coarsely pectinated, with one central spine much longer than the others; the distance between the tips of the first and second main teeth, equals that between the second tooth and the inferior angle. _maxillæ_, with the two upper spines very large; beneath them there are two small spines, and a considerable notch; the inferior part of the edge is nearly straight, bearing about thirteen pairs of spines, obscurely divided into two groups, the lower spines being smaller than the upper ones. the upper convex margin is hirsute with long hairs. _outer maxillæ_, blunt, with the inner margin slightly concave; continuously, but thinly clothed with spines. _cirri._--the segments of the three posterior pairs bear four pairs of spines, with the usual intermediate fine spines; dorsal spines thin and thick mingled together. _first cirrus_, short, with the anterior ramus rather the thickest and shortest; all the segments thickly paved with bristles, except the two terminal segments, of which the ultimate one bears some serrated spines of most unusual length, namely, equalling within one segment the entire length of the ramus. i presume that these spines serve as feelers. _second cirrus_; anterior ramus much thicker and considerably shorter than the posterior ramus; six basal segments paved with bristles, the two terminal segments having the usual structure; posterior ramus with all its nine segments on the usual structure. _third cirrus_, longer, to a remarkable degree, than the second cirrus, with its anterior ramus having the four basal segments paved, and the seven terminal ones on the usual structure; posterior ramus with twelve segments, of which none are paved. the pedicels of the second and third cirri thickly and irregularly clothed with spines. the upper segments of the pedicels of all the cirri are unusually long. _caudal appendages_, longer than the pedicels of the sixth cirrus, by barely one third of their own length. segments much elongated, seven in number; i may add for comparison that each ramus of the sixth cirrus contained, in this specimen, sixteen or seventeen segments. _general remarks._--it is difficult to give obvious characters, (excepting the smallness of the rostrum compared with the scales on the peduncle,) by which this species can be externally discriminated from _l. dorsalis_, _l. nicobarica_, and _l. rhodiopus_; yet almost all the valves differ slightly in shape. in this species alone, (the peduncle of _l. rhodiopus_ is not known,) the lower, microscopically minute, bead-like scales of the peduncle are crenated, though obscurely, all round. in the animal's body, the diagnostic characters are strongly marked;--the long spines on the terminal segment of the first cirrus,--none of the segments in the posterior rami of the second and third cirri being thickened and paved with bristles,--the pectinations being equal in number between the main teeth of the mandibles,--are all characters exclusively confined to this species. . lithotrya nicobarica. pl. viii, fig. . l. nicobarica. _reinhardt_, naturhist; selskabet, copenhagen. no. i. . tab. i, fig. - .[ ] [ ] i am not at all sure that the proper title of the periodical in which this species has been described, is here given. i am greatly indebted to prof. steenstrup for sending me a separate copy of the paper in question, written in danish. i believe i am right in identifying the specimen here described, from timor, with the species from the nicobar islands, named by reinhardt, _l. nicobarica_. _l. scutis terga angustè obtegentibus: carinæ cristâ internâ tenui in parte superiore positâ: rostro conspicuo, squamarum sex subjacentium latitudinem æquante: lateribus, superficie internâ triangulâ, squamarum septem subjacentium latitudinem æquantibus._ scuta narrowly overlapping the terga: carina with a slight central internal ridge in the upper part: rostrum conspicuous, as wide as six of the subjacent scales: latera, with their internal surfaces triangular, as wide as seven of the subjacent scales. palpi square at their ends: mandibles with twice as many pectinations between the first and second main teeth, as between the second and third: maxillæ slightly notched, with the inferior angle slightly prominent: caudal appendages more than twice as long as the pedicels of the sixth cirrus. timor; brit. mus., (given by cuvier to leach); nicobar islands, according to reinhardt. capitulum as in _l. dorsalis_. the teeth on the prominent rims of the valves are small and approximate; but the specimen was much worn. _scuta_, triangular, slightly overlapping the terga; the line of junction between these valves slightly sinuous, the upper part of the tergal margin of the scuta being slightly hollowed out, and the corresponding upper portion of the margin of the terga being slightly protuberant. internally, there is a considerable depression for the adductor muscle; and besides the usual knob at the rostral angle, there is a trace of a knob at the baso-tergal angle. _terga_, as seen internally, irregularly rhomboidal, ending downwards in a blunt point, of which the two sides, (neither being sensibly hollowed out,) stand at about an angle of ° to each other. scutal margin, with the upper part, (as above remarked,) slightly protuberant: near the bottom of this margin, there is a very slight projection, answering to the small knob at the baso-tergal angle of the scutum. externally, towards the basal angle, the narrow strip not concealed by the overlapping of the latera and carina is square-edged, with the zones of growth on it straight. _carina_, internally concave in the upper free part, with a slight, central, internal crest, caused by the projection of each successive zone of growth. the inner growing surface is almost pentagonal in outline; with the basal margin square and truncated in the middle. _rostrum_ (fig. _a_), rather conspicuous, many zones of growth being preserved. it equals in width six of the subjacent scales of the peduncle, but as these are rather smaller than elsewhere, the width equals about five of the ordinary uppermost scales; compared with the latera, it is nearly / ths of their width. _latera_, unusually large; as seen on their interior surfaces, (or in a section parallel to the zones of growth,) they are triangular, elongated transversely, with the carinal angle a rectangle. in width they equal the seven subjacent scales of the peduncle, and are more than half as long as the basal margin of the carina. _peduncle_, with the upper scales varying from circular to quadrilateral, thrice as large as those in the second whorl; beneath which, in the next three or four whorls, the scales rapidly decrease in size; and beneath these the whole peduncle is studded with equal-sized, rounded, calcareous beads, so minute as to be quite invisible to the naked eye. this specimen was nearly ready to moult, and perhaps in consequence of this, even the upper scales were most obscurely serrated on their lower margins, and all the others quite smooth: there were some much worn horny spines close to the bottom of the peduncle. basal calcareous cup slightly concave, of moderate size; its diameter, in the one specimen examined, was / ths of an inch; it was composed of several layers. in the specimen figured ( _a´_) by reinhardt, instead of a cup, there is a straight row of small discs, which are attached to the walls of the cavity, as explained in the generic description. _mouth._--palpi with their ends square and truncated; thickly clothed with long spines. _mandibles_, with fully twice as many pectinations, (viz. from to ,) between the first and second main teeth, as between (viz. to ) the second and third main teeth. inferior angle, coarsely pectinated. the distance between the tips of the first and second teeth, is considerably less than between the tip of the second tooth and the inferior angle. _maxillæ_, with the edge very slightly irregular; beneath the two great upper spines there is a slight notch, with some small spines: inferior angle slightly prominent, with a brush of moderately fine spines; besides these, there are about seventeen pairs of large spines; sides very hairy. _outer maxillæ_, with the inner margin slightly concave, and with the spines continuous. _cirri._--the segments in the three posterior pairs support three or four pairs of long spines, with a single row of moderately long intermediate spines; the dorsal tufts consist of a few rather thick, and some long and thin spines. the front of the segments is not protuberant; the whole surface is hirsute with minute comb-like scales. _second cirrus_, with the anterior ramus having its eight basal segments highly protuberant and thickly clothed with spines, the upper nine having the usual structure; the posterior ramus has four or five basal segments thickly clothed with spines, and the twelve upper ones with the usual structure. _third cirrus_, with the anterior ramus having six segments highly protuberant and thickly clothed with bristles, and the fifteen upper ones on the usual structure; in the posterior ramus, only three or four of the basal segments are paved with bristles. the spines on the first three pairs of cirri, are coarsely and doubly serrated. the _caudal appendages_ are more than twice as long as the pedicels of the sixth cirrus, and equal half the length of the whole cirrus. in a specimen in which the sixth cirrus contained twenty-two segments, the caudal appendages actually contained twenty. the segments are thin, with their upper edges clothed with serrated spines. the slip of membrane on each side, whence this organ springs is united, for a little space, to the lower segment of the pedicel of the sixth cirrus. _size and colour._--width of the capitulum rather above / ths of an inch; length, including the peduncle, (contracted by spirits,) nearly one inch. valves, as usual, dirty white, partly invested by yellow membrane, furnished with a few minute yellow horny spines. pedicels of the first four cirri, caudal appendages, penis, the two posterior thoracic segments, the segments of the cirri, and the trophi, clouded, banded, or spotted, with blackish purple. _affinities._--this species, in the characters derived from the valves, comes perhaps nearest to _l. rhodiopus_; in the characters derived from the animal's body, it is nearest to _l. dorsalis_. . lithotrya rhodiopus. pl. viii, fig. . brisnÆus rhodiopus. _j. e. gray._ annals of philosoph., vol. x, (new series,) . ---- ---- _j. e. gray._ spicilegia zoolog., tab. xvi, fig. , . _l. scutis terga ample obtegentibus: carinæ cristâ internâ tenui, in parte superiore positâ: lateribus, superficie internâ symmetricè et latè ovatâ, carinæ latitudinis plus quam tertiam partem æquantibus: tergorum basali apice tenui, et angulo carinali producto: rostro et pedunculo ignotis._ scuta largely overlapping the terga. carina with a slight central internal ridge in the upper part. latera with their internal surfaces symmetrically and broadly oval, more than one third of the width of the carina. terga with the basal points narrow, and the carinal angle produced. rostrum and peduncle unknown. mandibles, with four times as many pectinations between the first and second main teeth, as between the second and third; distance greater between the tips of the first and second teeth, than between the tip of the second tooth and the inferior angle. maxillæ widely notched, with the inferior part forming two obscure prominences. hab. unknown. imbedded in a massive coral. brit. mus. the specimens are in a rather bad condition, and have been disarticulated. they are of rather small size; the rostrum and peduncle are lost, and animal's body much injured. valves white, thin, translucent; teeth on the projecting rims small, narrow, standing further apart than their own width. the upper layers have undergone but little disintegration or scaling off, and consequently the carina and terga project freely. the valves, where not rubbed, are covered by bright yellow membrane, which is thickly clothed with rows of spines; these are small on the exterior surfaces, but are very large and hooked in certain parts, as near the tergal margins of the scuta, and on the carinal margins of the terga, and especially on the inner face of the upper free part of the carina. here the hooked spines (fig. _d_) are trifid or quadrifid, and are very conspicuous. _scuta_, as seen externally, triangular; they overlap half the width of the terga; on their internal faces (fig. _a_), in the upper projecting part, there is a strong ridge, against which the scutal margin of the terga abuts. there is a deep and conspicuous pit for the adductor muscle. _terga_, as seen externally, nearly triangular. the ridge which leads from the apex to the basal angle, is rounded, central, and extremely prominent; but does not form a furrow, or include the overlapping margin of the scuta. the basal angle is narrow, spur-like, and slightly hollowed out on both margins. the growing corium-covered surface (fig. _b_) is transversely elongated, with the occludent margin rounded, and the carinal angle much produced, but not forming a roughened knob. _carina_ (fig. _d_), concave within, with a slight central ridge in the upper free portion. the inner growing surface is concave, almost pentagonal, with a just perceptibly raised central rim in the upper part, and with two minute prominences on each side, against which the produced carinal angles of the terga abut. _rostrum_, lost. _latera_ (fig. _c_), growing surface (or a section parallel to the growth-layers,) symmetrically oval, more than one third as wide as the basal margin of the carina. several zones of growth preserved. _peduncle_, lost, but a few scales accidentally adhering to one of the valves, show that they are crenated in the three or four upper whorls. no basal calcareous cup was preserved, but by clearing out the base of one of the holes in the coral, in which a specimen had been imbedded, i found a little flat disc about the size of a pin's head; it was composed of two or three layers, and was externally coated by yellow membrane, including the usual spindle-shaped bodies and tubuli. the cement-ducts were also discovered after dissolution in acid. so that there could be no doubt regarding the nature of the little disc. _mouth._--labrum with a row of little blunt teeth. _palpi_, blunt, rather expanded at their ends, with the extreme margin much arched and furnished with two rows of long spines; there is a fringe of short spines on the straight inner side. _mandibles._--there are nine pectinations between the first and second main teeth, and only two between the second and third teeth; the inferior angle is coarsely pectinated, with one central spine twice as long as the others. the distance between the tips of the first and second main teeth, is greater than between the tip of the second tooth and the inferior angle. _maxillæ_ (pl. x, fig. ).--these may be described as having their edge formed into three prominences; or, as having a very wide notch under the two upper great spines, and with the whole inferior part forming two prominences. there are, altogether, about twelve pairs of spines, of which two stand singly on the inferior side of the wide notch under the two upper great spines. the spines on the inferior angle are rather smaller than those above; sides hirsute. _outer maxillæ_, with the inner margin slightly concave, and sparingly covered with bristles. _cirri_, imperfectly preserved; the three posterior pairs have segments of the usual character, bearing five pairs of very long spines, with the usual little intermediate, the minute lateral, and the dorsal spines. first cirrus lost; second and third with only their few basal segments preserved, sufficient, however, to show that at least two or three segments, in both the anterior and posterior rami of both cirri, were paved with bristles. _pedicels_, as in the other species. _caudal appendages_, lost. this species comes very close, as far as the characters derived from the trophi serve, to the _l. truncata_, though readily distinguished from that species by the shape of the valves. on the other hand, the capitulum of this species is distinguished with difficulty from that of _l. nicobarica_ and _l. cauta_; no doubt this difficulty is much enhanced by the rostrum and peduncle having been lost. . lithotrya truncata. pl. ix, fig. . anatifa truncata. _quoy_ et _gaimard_. voyage de l'astrolabe, pl. xciii, figs. to , . _l. scutis in profundam tergorum plicam insertis: carinæ cristâ centrali prominente et rotundatâ in parte superiore: rostro et lateribus rudimentalibus, carinæ latitudinis quindecimam fere partem æquantibus._ scuta locked into a deep fold in the terga: carina with a prominent central rounded ridge in the upper part: rostrum and latera rudimentary, about / th of the width of the carina. mandibles, with nearly three times as many pectinations between the first and second teeth, as between the second and third teeth; distance between the tips of the first and second teeth equal to that between the tip of the second tooth and inferior angle. maxillæ widely notched, with the inferior part forming two prominences. caudal appendages shorter than, or barely exceeding in length, the pedicels of the sixth cirrus. friendly archipelago, mus. paris; philippine archipelago, mus. cuming; imbedded in coral rock. capitulum rather thick, with the five main valves having their free apices, diverging and truncated. the upper and old layers of shell do not here scale off so readily as in many of the foregoing species; and hence an unusually large proportional length of each valve projects freely above the sack; and the valves are of unusual thickness. the capitulum is very nearly as wide at its summit as at its base, owing to the divergence of the apices of the valves. the scuta and terga are articulated together by a conspicuous fold, which, when seen from vertically above, (pl. ix, fig. _a´_,) appears like a deep wedge-formed notch in the terga. on the exterior surfaces of the valves, the teeth on the successive rims are approximate; on the inner surfaces, the rims are covered by strong yellow membrane, which is generally fringed with small horny spines. _scuta_, exterior surface convex, sub-triangular, with the apex truncated: seen vertically from above, there is a small rectangular indentation or fold which receives the projecting scutal margin of the terga. the inner growing or corium-covered surface (fig. _b_, _b´_) is triangular, with its tergal margin _largely_ hollowed out. along the occludent margin there is a slight ridge, which terminates at the rostral angle, in both the right and left-hand valves, in a rounded, knob-like, roughened tooth. the lower part of the tergal margin is slightly inflected and roughened, where it meets the corresponding lower part of the scutal margin of the terga. there is a deep pit for the adductor muscle. the interior surface of the valve above this pit is faintly-coloured purple. the inner surfaces of both scuta and terga, are roughened with little points. _terga_, seen externally, are almost quadrilateral (owing to the apex being truncated), with the free margin facing the scutum, arched. seen vertically from above, each shows a deep fold, which receives the lower part of the tergal margin of the scutum. in the foregoing species, a prominent ridge runs down the exterior surface of the terga from the apex to the basal angle, against which ridge, the margin of the overlapping scuta abuts: here this ridge, instead of projecting straight out, is oblique or folded over, and thus forms a furrow, receiving the margin of the scuta. the interior growing surface of the tergum (fig. _b´_, _c_), presents so irregular a figure, that it can hardly be described; in area it quite equals the scuta; it is slightly concave; at the upper point of the carinal margin, there is a large, rounded, protuberant, roughened knob, which corresponds with a small knob on each side of the inner face of the carina; these knobs seem firmly united together by membrane. the scutal margin of the terga, in the upper part, forms a shoulder, largely projecting over the scuta; on its lower part, there is a small roughened projection. the occludent margin is arched and protuberant, with a slight fold above the knob on the carinal margin, just mentioned: this fold is caused by the protuberance of the central internal ridge of the carina, but is so small, that when the capitulum is seen from vertically above, it can hardly be distinguished. finally, the basal half of the carinal margin, runs in the same line with the basal margin of the scuta. _carina_, moderately large; seen externally, the surface presents an elongated triangle, with the apex truncated; on the internal face (fig. _b´_, _d_) of the free part, there is (instead of being concave as is usual) a great central ridge, which projects between the diverging apices of the terga, as may be seen from vertically above; hence the thickness of the upper part of the carina, in a longitudinal plane, almost equals its breadth. the edge of this ridge is rounded. the inner or growing surface of the carina is tinted purple, and lies in a plane, oblique to the longer axis of the valve; it is triangular, with the apex cut off, and the basal margin rounded and protuberant; it is not concave. there is a central raised line or slight ridge on this inner surface, and on each side in the upper part there is a small, white, roughened knob, corresponding with the similar knobs on the carinal margins of the terga. _rostrum_ (fig. _b´_, _a_), rudimentary; in one specimen it was about / th of an inch in width; it is either as wide, or only half as wide, as the subjacent scale on the peduncle. _latera_, rudimentary, placed between the edges of the carina and the terga; rather smaller than the rostrum; almost cylindrical, slightly flattened, enlarged at each zone of growth, with one or two sharp teeth or spines on both faces; imperfectly calcified; in width barely / th part of the carina. _peduncle_, short; the scales alone in the uppermost whorl are plainly toothed; they are transversely elongated, and almost quadrangular, and are nearly twice as large as those in the second whorl. beneath this second whorl, there are two or three whorls, with scales, graduated in size; and the rest of the peduncle is covered by rather distantly scattered, minute, rounded or acutely pointed scales: the pointed scales are directed upwards, and are best developed under the carina. the basal calcareous cup, judging from two specimens, is thin, and not much developed. _size and colour._--the largest specimen was nearly / ths of an inch across its capitulum. the calcareous valves are dirty white. the sack is (after having been long kept in spirits) pale coloured, excepting a small purple space, between the scuta and another over the carina. the three posterior segments of the thorax and portions under the second and third cirri, the trophi, the pedicels and the anterior faces of the segments (especially of the basal segments in the second and third cirri), and a spot on their dorsal surfaces, and the penis are all coloured dark purplish-black. the prosoma is pale coloured. _mouth._--crest of labrum with a row of bead-like teeth and hairs. _palpi_ bluntly pointed, with neither margin hollowed out. _mandibles_, with eight pectinations between the first and second main teeth, and three between the second and third teeth; inferior angle coarsely pectinated, with a central spine much longer than the others; the distance between the tips of the first and second main teeth, is about equal to that between the tip of the second tooth and of the inferior angle. _maxillæ._--under the two upper long spines (associated with some smaller ones), there is a slight and wide hollow; and the whole inferior edge obscurely forms two blunt points, with the spines on the lower projection smaller than the upper spines. _outer maxillæ_, considerably concave in front, with the spines almost discontinuous in the middle part. _cirri._--first pair rather far separated from the second pair. the segments of the three posterior cirri bear three or four pairs of main spines, and are otherwise characterised like the foregoing species. _first cirrus_, with its anterior ramus much thicker than the posterior ramus, and of nearly equal length; all the segments, except the two terminal ones, thickly clothed with serrated spines. _second cirrus_ considerably shorter than the third cirrus: anterior ramus with the seven basal segments very protuberant, and paved with bristles, and the four terminal ones on the usual structure; posterior ramus, with the five basal segments paved (but much less thickly than in the anterior ramus), and the nine terminal ones on the usual structure. _third cirrus_, the anterior ramus, with the five basal segments, thick and paved, and eleven terminal segments on the usual structure: posterior ramus, with one basal segment paved, and sixteen other segments on the usual structure. in the posterior rami, however, of both the second and third cirri, it is difficult to draw any distinct line between the paved segments and the others. _caudal appendages_, short, either just exceeding in length the pedicels of the sixth cirrus, or equalling only the lower segment: segments flattened, cylindrical, six in number, there being, in the same individual, twenty-one segments in both rami of the sixth cirrus. . lithotrya valentiana. pl. viii, fig. . conchotrya valentiana. _j. e. gray._ annals of philosoph., vol. x (new series), . _l. scutis in profundam tergorum plicam invertis: tergorum opposito superiore margine, plicâ alterâ æquè profundâ instructo: carinæ cristâ prominente centrali, marginibus quadratis, in parte superiore: rostro rudimentali: lateribus et pedunculo ignotis._ scuta locked into a deep fold in the terga; the latter having a second equally deep fold on the opposite upper margin. carina with a prominent, central, square-edged ridge in the upper part: rostrum rudimentary. latera and peduncle unknown. animal unknown. red sea, imbedded in an oyster-shell. british museum. _general remarks._--the two specimens in the british museum are small, and in an imperfect condition, without the peduncle or the latera, and without the body of the animal. the capitulum so closely resembles that of _l. truncata_, that it is quite superfluous to do more than point out the few differences. it is just possible, though not probable, that this form may prove to be merely a variety or younger state of _l. truncata_, in which case this latter name would have to be sunk. the difference, though one only of degree, in the form of the terga of the two species is conspicuous, and there is a slight difference in the carina, and again some dissimilarity in habits. _description._--the valves, as just stated, generally resemble those of _l. truncata_; scarcely any appreciable difference can be detected in the scuta; the apex, however, of the inner surface seems coloured a darker purple. the terga, as seen from vertically above (pl. viii, fig. _b_), have a fold or indentation on the upper or occludent margin, as large and as conspicuous as that receiving the margin of the scuta: this fold, as seen on the inner corium-covered surface (fig. _a_), descends below the roughened knob at the upper angle of the carinal margin, which is not the case with the slight fold in the same place in _l. truncata_; its presence seems caused by the edge of the central internal crest, in the upper part of the carina, being square (instead of round, as in _l. truncata_), and thus more deeply affecting the outline of the terga, between which it is inserted. the upper part of the scutal margin of the terga, as seen internally (fig. _a_), overlaps the scuta in a large _rectangular_ projection. from the depth of the two opposite folds, namely, that caused by the tergal edge of the scuta and that by the crest of the carina, the inner face of the tergum is divided into two almost equal areas. the carina has its central crest square (fig. _c_, _d_,) instead of being rounded as in _l. truncata_. the inner growing or corium-covered face is nearly at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the whole valve, instead of being oblique to it; it is convex or protuberant, with a central raised line, and two little knobs on each side of the upper part; the two lateral margins are slightly hollowed out, and the basal margin is not highly protuberant. the rostrum is excessively minute, barely above / th of an inch in width; it is a little enlarged at each zone of growth. latera lost; no doubt they were rudimentary. a fragment of a posterior cirrus, which adhered to one of the valves, shows that each segment supported four pairs of spines. width of the capitulum before disarticulation, probably was about / th of an inch. * * * * * _species mihi non satis notæ, aut dubiæ._ anatifa villosa. _brugière._ encyclop. meth. des. vers., tom. i, , p. , pl. clxvi. on ships: mediterranean. anatifa hirsuta[ ] _conrad._ journal of the acad. of nat. sc., philadelphia, vol. vii, , p. . on fuci, fayal, azores. the specimens, to which these names have been given by the above two authors, are described as small, and the _a. villosa_ was suspected by brugière to be young. the _a. hirsuta_ is said by conrad to have the valves minutely striated, granulated, and covered by a strong hirsute epidermis; the scuta, compared with the other valves, are very large; the entire length of this specimen was a quarter of an inch. the _a. villosa_ is described as having smooth valves, and apparently the peduncle alone is hirsute. now, in young individuals of _lepas australis_, the peduncle is hairy, whilst in full-grown specimens it is quite smooth. again, in some varieties of _l. fascicularis_, the thorax, prosoma, and cirri are hirsute, whereas they are generally quite smooth; hence i am inclined to suspect that _a. villosa_ is the young, in a state of variation, of _l. anatifera_; and that _a. hirsuta_ bears a similar relation to _l. anserifera_. in lamarck's 'animaux sans vertèbres,' _pollicipes villosus_ of sowerby is quite incorrectly given as a synonym to the above _a. villosa_. [ ] the _anatifa hirsuta_ of quoy and gaimard is the _ibla quadrivalvis_ of this work. anatifa elongata. _quoy_ et _gaimard_. voyage de l'astrolabe, pl. xciii, fig. . this, i think, is certainly a distinct and new species, but i am unable to decide whether to place it in lepas or pæcilasma. it is briefly described and pretty well figured in the above work. it was procured at new zealand, but it is not stated to what object it was attached. the capitulum is much elongated, and one inch in length; the peduncle is from six to eight lines long. the carina is said to be very narrow; it is not stated whether it terminates downwards in a fork or disc; judging from the figure, it extends some way up between the terga, the basal ends of which are bluntly pointed. the scuta are almost quadrilateral. the peduncle is short, yellow, and tuberculated. the general appearance of the drawing makes me suspect that it is a pæcilasma. clyptra. _leach._ zoological journal, vol. ii, p. , july, . leach has most briefly characterised a specimen in savigny's museum, from the red sea, under the above name of _clyptra_. it has only four valves, and its peduncle is smooth; by the latter character it is distinguished from ibla. apparently this is a distinct and new genus. * * * * * mr. j. e. gray, in 'proc. zoolog. soc.,' , p. , quotes a description by stroem ('nym. saml. danske,' , , n. iii, f. ), namely, "_lepas testâ compressâ -valvis, stipite lamellosâ_." it is found attached to _gorgonia placomus_, in the north sea. i suspect that this is the common _scalpellum vulgare_, and that stroem counted the valves only on one side, overlooking the rudimentary and concealed rostrum; and this would give seven for the number of the valves. had it not been for the expression "stipite lamellosâ," i should have thought this might have been an unknown species of dichelaspis. scalpellum lÆvis. _risso._ hist. nat. des product. de l'europe mérid., , tom. iv, p. . the chief characteristic of this species appears to be indicated by its specific name. it is found in the mediterranean, attached to cidarites. i am inclined to believe that it is distinct from _s. vulgare_. scalpellum papillosum. _king._ zoolog. journal, vol. v, p. . captain king has described this species, taken from the depth of fathoms, on the coast of patagonia, in lat. ° ´ s. it is probably distinct, but is so imperfectly described, that not even the number of the valves is given. polylepas (pollicipes), sinensis. _chenu._ illust. conchyliolog., pl. ii, fig. . this species is said to come from china; it is nearest to _p. spinosus_, but is, i think, distinct. explanation of the plates. tab. i. fig. . _lepas anatifera_, (nat. size.) _var._, with a row of square, dark-coloured marks on the scuta and terga. _a._ _lepas anatifera_, external view of carina, magnified thrice. _b._ _lepas anatifera_, lateral view of carina, magnified thrice; var. _dentata_. _c._ _lepas anatifera_, internal view of right-hand scutum, to show the tooth at the umbo. . _lepas hillii_, (nat. size.) . _lepas pectinata_, (magnified thrice.) _a._ _lepas pectinata_, var. (_spirulæ_), tergum, magnified thrice. . _lepas anserifera_, (nat. size.) . _lepas australis_, (nat. size.) _a._ _lepas australis_, carina, external view of, magnified twice. . _lepas fascicularis_, (nat. size,) with its peduncle, together with those of three other specimens, imbedded in a vesicular ball of their own formation, of which a slice has been cut off to show the internal structure. the specimen is in the college of surgeons. _a._ _lepas fascicularis_, carina of, nat. size. _b._ _lepas fascicularis_, var. _villosa_. _c._ _lepas fascicularis_, var. _villosa_, carina of. _d._ part of the membrane from one side of the peduncle of _lepas fascicularis_, with the ball removed, showing one of the cement-ducts, and the orifices through which the vesicular membrane forming the ball has been secreted; greatly magnified; viewed from the outside. tab. ii. fig. . _poecilisma kæmpferi_, (magnified two and a half times.) _a._ _poecilisma kæmpferi_, carina of. . _poecilisma aurantia_, (magnified two and a half times.) . _poecilisma crassa_, (magnified twice.) _a._ _poecilisma crassa_, carina of. . _poecilasma fissa_, (magnified five times.) . _poecilasma eburnea_, (magnified five times.) _a._ _poecilasma eburnea_, carina of, external view of. _c._ _poecilasma eburnea_, carina of, lateral view of. _b._ _poecilasma eburnea_, scutum, internal view of. . _dichelaspis warwickii_, (magnified five times.) _a._ _dichelaspis warwickii_, transverse section of the top of the peduncle, showing the deeply-notched end of the inwardly bent carina; magnified five times. _b._ _dichelaspis warwickii_, _var._, scutum and tergum. . _dichelaspis pellucida_, (magnified five times.) _a._ _dichelaspis pellucida_, basal end of carina of, much magnified. . _dichelaspis lowei_, (magnified nearly ten times.) _a._ _dichelaspis lowei_, fork of carina of, viewed internally. . _dichelaspis grayii_, (magnified eight or nine times.) . _dichelaspis orthogonia_, (magnified six times.) _a._ _dichelaspis orthogonia_, carina, lateral view of. _b._ _dichelaspis orthogonia_, basal end of carina, viewed internally, much magnified. tab. iii. fig. . _oxynaspis celata_, (magnified three times.) _a´._ _oxynaspis celata_, with the skin of the encrusting horny zoophyte removed. (_a_), scutum; (_b_), tergum; and (_c_), carina. . _conchoderma virgata_ (magnified twice.) _a._ _conchoderma virgata_ carina, viewed externally. _b._ _conchoderma virgata_ summit of capitulum, showing the terga from vertically above. _c._ _conchoderma virgata_ var. _chelonophila_, (magnified four times). _d._ _conchoderma virgata_ var. _olfersii_, (scutum.) . _conchoderma hunteri_, (magnified five times.) . _conchoderma aurita_, (nat. size,) with the rudimentary carina exhibited on the right hand. _a._ _conchoderma aurita_, summit of capitulum, viewed from vertically above, showing the ear-like appendages and the rudimentary terga. _b._ _conchoderma aurita_, section near the bases of the ear-like appendages, showing their folds. _c._ _conchoderma aurita_, (var.), scutum. . _alepas minuta_, (magnified five times.) . _alepas cornuta_, (magnified five times.) tab. iv. fig. . _anelasma squalicola_, (copied from lovèn.) the ovigerous lamellæ are seen within the edges of the aperture of the capitulum. enlarged about one and a half times. . _anelasma squalicola_, (from lovèn), with the membranes removed from one side of the capitulum and of the peduncle, exhibiting the body. (_a._) external membrane of the capitulum. (_a, a._) inner membrane of ditto, lining the sack, and separated from the external membrane by a double fold of corium. (_b._) the ovigerous lamellæ, the edge projecting beyond the orifice of the capitulum. (_c._) penis, succeeded by six pairs of rudimentary cirri. (_d._) probosciformed mouth. (_e._) orifice of the acoustic (?) sack. (_f._) ovigerous frænum. (_g._) ovarian branching tubes filling up the peduncle. (_h._) outer integument of peduncle, lined by corium and muscles, continuous with the outer membrane (_a_) of the capitulum. . _anelasma squalicola_, small portion of the outer integument of the peduncle, greatly magnified, exhibiting the natural lines of splitting, and showing that it is composed of several distinct portions or layers, which are displayed by the corners having been turned over. three of the branching filaments, filled with pulpy corium, are given; the others have been cut off. the membrane (_a_) extends under (_b_), but not under the circular patches of membrane, (_c, c_.) . _anelasma squalicola._ mandibles, seen from the side towards the maxillæ. . _anelasma squalicola._ mandibles, seen from the side towards the labrum. . _anelasma squalicola._ the right-hand, rudimentary cirrus, the third from the mouth. . _anelasma squalicola._ maxillæ. the thin horny apodeme, (_a_). . _ibla cumingii_, female, (magnified four times.) _a´._ _ibla cumingii_, female, (magnified about five times), with the right hand valves and right side of the peduncle removed. the male (_h_) is seen attached in the sack. the peculiar form of the body, caused by the small development of the prosoma, by the distance of the first and second pairs of cirri, and by the distance of the mouth from the adductor muscle, (a dark dotted circle opposite _i_,) and lastly, the remarkable course of the oesophagus over the adductor muscle, together with the outline of the stomach, are here all exhibited. (_a._) scutum; the end of the large rounded adductor muscle, which was attached to the valve now removed, near its apex, is plainly seen. (_b._) tergum. (_c._) on a line with this letter, is seen the largely bullate labrum, forming a blunt overhanging projection. (_d._) palpus, close to the upper segment of the pedicel of first cirrus. (_e._) orifice of the acoustic (?) sack, between the bases of the first and second cirrus. (_f._) caudal appendages. (_g._) branching ovarian tubes within the peduncle. (_h._) male, on the same scale, lying in its natural position within the sack, with the lower part of its peduncle bent upwards, and imbedded in the corium and muscles of the female. (_i._) adductor scutorum muscle. _b´._ _ibla cumingii_, internal view of the scutum and tergum, and of the upper part of the outer integument of the peduncle, with its horny spines magnified about three times. _c´._ _ibla cumingii_, a small portion of the outer integument of the peduncle, greatly magnified, showing the horny persistent spines; two of the spines have been torn out. . _ibla quadrivalvis_; internal view of scutum and tergum, and of the upper part of the outer integument of the peduncle; magnified four times. _a´._ _ibla quadrivalvis_, penis supported on a long unarticulated projection; greatly magnified. tab. v. fig. . male of _ibla cumingii_, magnified thirty-two times. (_a._) mouth. (_b._) a slight double fold, formed by the basal edge of the labrum, and by a lower fold, which at (_h_) becomes well developed; the latter is a rudimentary representation of the double membrane and valves forming the capitulum. (_c._) eye. (_d, d._) torn membrane from the sack of the female, constricted round the body of the male. (_e._) terminal or basal point, with the prehensile larval antennæ, represented on rather too large a scale. (_f._) the imbedded portion of the male. (_g._) two pairs of cirri. (_h._) the fold above alluded to, concealing a small portion of the slightly retracted thorax. . the male of _ibla cumingii_, viewed from vertically above; magnified about sixty times. the dotted lower portion, represents the outline of the thorax and the positions of the cirri, which, from standing below the mouth, could not be well seen, when the summit of the mouth was in the proper focus. (_a._) labrum, largely bullate. (_b._) palpi. (_c._) mandibles. (_d._) maxillæ. (_e._) outer maxillæ; between which and the crest of the labrum, the orifice of the oesophagus can be obscurely seen. (_f._) anus. (_g._) rudimentary caudal appendages, under which is the pore leading from the vesiculæ seminales. (_h._) posterior cirrus. (_i._) anterior cirrus. . male of _ibla cumingii_; labrum and palpi, as seen with the eye on a level with the summit of the mouth. . male of _ibla cumingii_, posterior cirrus (_h_ in fig. ) much magnified. . male of _ibla cumingii_, larval antennæ; from the terminal point of the body (_e_ in fig. ), as seen with a / th of an inch object glass. . male of _ibla cumingii_, outer maxillæ. . male of _ibla cumingii_, mandibles, with the underlying articulated membrane, forming the side of the mouth. . male of _ibla cumingii_, maxillæ, with the apodeme. . complemental male of _scalpellum vulgare_, attached over the fold in the occludent margin of the scutum of the hermaphrodite. (_a._) orifice of the sack of the male. (_b._) spinose projections above the rudimental valves; at the bottom of the figure are represented, as seen through the whole thickness of the animal, the prehensile larval antennæ. (_d._) the depression for the attachment of the adductor scutorum muscle of the hermaphrodite; see fig. _a´_. (_e_, _e._) a transparent layer of chitine, which forms a border to the occludent margin of the scutum of the hermaphrodite. this border supports long spines, which are connected with the underlying corium by sinuous tubuli. . the basal (normally anterior) portion of the above complemental male, greatly magnified, viewed dorsally from above, exhibiting the larval prehensile antennæ, attached to the antero-sternal surface of the animal. . one of the antennæ of ditto, viewed laterally and on the outside. . ditto, ultimate segment of. . body of the above complemental male, consisting of the thorax supporting the four pairs of limbs, and of the terminal abdominal lobe. . small portion of the outer integument of the complemental male, as seen with a / th of an inch object glass. . _scalpellum vulgare_ (hermaphrodite), magnified three times. (_a, a._) complemental males. (_b._) rostrum, of which a separate enlarged figure (_b´_) is given. _a´._ scutum of the hermaphrodite _scalpellum vulgare_, internal view of. (_a._) fold on the occludent margin. (_d._) pit for the adductor muscle. tab. vi. fig. . _scalpellum ornatum_, (female, magnified seven times.) _a´._ _scalpellum ornatum_, upper latus, viewed internally. _b´._ _scalpellum ornatum_, scutum of full-grown specimen, viewed internally, much magnified. (_a._) depression for the adductor muscle. (_b._) depression for the reception of the male. _c´._ _scalpellum ornatum_, cutum of half-grown specimen, viewed internally, much magnified, on same scale with fig. _b´_. the depression (_b_) for the reception of the male is here seen, in almost the first stage of formation. _d´._ _scalpellum ornatum._ an imaginary section through the cavity (_x_) in which the male is lodged. (_a._) section of the shell of the scutum of the female. (_b._) a layer of chitine homologous with the shell, and _partially_ lining the scutum. (_c._) the inner lining (of chitine) of the sack of the female. (_d._) a double fold of corium. . _scalpellum rutilum_, (magnified two and a half times). _a´._ _scalpellum rutilum_, internal view of scutum, enlarged. (_a._) depression for the adductor muscle. (_b._) cavity for the reception of the male. _b´._ _scalpellum rutilum_, external view of carina. _c´._ _scalpellum rutilum_, section across middle of carina. . complemental male of _scalpellum peronii_, greatly magnified. . complemental male of _scalpellum villosum_, greatly magnified. (_a´._) natural size. , _a, b, c._ ditto, valves separated. (_a._) scutum. (_b._) tergum. (_c._) carina. . complemental male of _scalpellum rostratum_, a restored figure, greatly magnified. scutum and rudimentary carina correct. . _scalpellum peronii_, one and a half the natural size. (_a._) rostrum a little more enlarged, front view of. . _scalpellum rostratum_, magnified six times. (_a._) rostrum, front view of. . _scalpellum villosum_, magnified one and a half the natural size. _a_, _b._ _scalpellum villosum_ (_a._) internal view of rostrum. (_b._) internal view of sub-rostrum. tab. vii. fig. . _pollicipes cornucopia_, (one and a half nat. size.) _a._ _pollicipes cornucopia_, internal view of valves. . _pollicipes polymerus_, (one and a half nat. size.) _a._ _pollicipes polymerus_, internal view of valves. . _pollicipes mitella_, nat. size. _a´._ _pollicipes mitella_, nat. size, internal views of (_a._) scutum, and of (_b._) tergum, showing articular fold. _b´._ _pollicipes mitella_, internal view of other valves, in a small specimen, showing the manner in which the valves of the lower whorl overlap each other. (_a._) upper latera. (_b._) carina, (_c._) sub-carina, both viewed a little obliquely. (_d._) rostrum, (_e._) sub-rostrum, both viewed a little obliquely. . _pollicipes spinosus_, one and a half nat. size. . _pollicipes sertus_, one and a half nat. size. tab. viii. fig. . a piece of rock bored in two directions by _lithotrya dorsalis_, with the calcareous basal discs in the upper cavity, serving as a bridge for crossing an old cavity. about twice natural size. _a´._ _lithotrya dorsalis_, (nearly twice nat. size), with the basal calcareous cup adherent; (_a_), rostrum on same scale, seen externally. _b´._ _lithotrya dorsalis_, rostrum and the rostral corners of the two scuta, together with a small portion of the subjacent membrane of the peduncle, with its calcareous scales; viewed externally, greatly magnified, showing the inferior crenated edges of the scales. _c´._ _lithotrya dorsalis_, basal calcareous cup, one and a half the natural size; this is the largest specimen which i have seen. . _lithotrya nicobarica_, (magnified nearly twice;) attached to the rock, copied from reinhardt; (_a_), rostrum on the same scale, with the other valves, seen externally; (_b_), section of the row of discs; (_c_), extreme point of the peduncle, extending beneath the row of discs. _a´._ rock bored by _lithotrya nicobarica_, showing the row of calcareous discs, copied from reinhardt. . _lithotrya cauta_, magnified between seven and eight times; (_a_), scutum; (_b_), tergum. _c._ _lithotrya cauta_, latus, greatly magnified. _d._ _lithotrya cauta_, uppermost scales of the peduncle, greatly magnified. _e._ _lithotrya cauta_, star-shaped discs of hard chitine, supported on a peduncle of the same substance, taken from the lower exterior surface of the peduncle, very greatly magnified. . _lithotrya rhodiopus_, (magnified five times,) internal views of; (_a_), scutum; (_b_), tergum; (_c_), latus; (_d_), carina. . _lithotrya valentiana_, (magnified between three and four times;) (_a_), internal view of scutum and tergum, locked together; (_b_), capitulum seen from vertically above; (_c_), internal view of carina; (_d_), section across the middle of the carina. tab. ix. fig. . _lithotrya truncata_, (magnified four times.) _a´._ _lithotrya truncata_, capitulum seen from vertically above, not so distinctly represented as in fig. _b_, pl. viii. _b´._ _lithotrya truncata_, internal views of valves; (_a_), rostrum, with a few subjacent scales of the peduncle; (_b_), scutum; (_c_), tergum; (_d_), carina. . a portion (about / th of an inch square) of the surface of attachment of the peduncle of _pollicipes polymerus_, seen from the outside, greatly magnified, showing the small circular (_bb_) patches of cement, poured out from the cement-ducts (_aa_) which lie within the peduncle. _a´._ a portion of a section, still more magnified, through the basal membrane of the peduncle, through one of the loops of the cement-ducts (_aa_), and through one of the circular patches (_b_) of cement. . cement gland, duct, and ovarian tubes of _conchoderma aurita_; (_aa_), ovarian tubes, with ova in process of formation; (_b_), cement-gland; (_c_), cement-duct. . _conchoderma virgata_, enlarged, with one side of the capitulum and of the peduncle removed, to show the form and position of the body. (_a._) tergum, edge of. (_b._) mouth, with one of the palpi seen on the inner, upper corner. (_c._) adductor scutorum muscle. (_d._) orifice of acoustic (?) sack. (_e._) scutum, occludent margin of. (_f._) branching ovarian tubes within the peduncle. (_g._) filamentary appendage on the prosoma. (_h._) ditto, close to basal articulation of the first cirrus. (_i._) ditto, on the pedicel of the first cirrus. (_j._) ditto, on the pedicel of the third cirrus. (_k._) ditto, on the pedicel of the fourth cirrus. (_l._) ditto, on the pedicel of the fifth cirrus. (_m._) edge of the carina. (_n._) prosoma. . apex of one of the filamentary appendages of _conchoderma aurita_, greatly magnified, exhibiting the included branching testes. . acoustic (?) sack of _conchoderma virgata_, taken out of the acoustic meatus, with the diaphragm from the summit removed; greatly magnified. . terminal part (magnified seven times), of the peduncle of an elongated specimen of _scalpellum vulgare_, slit open, with the corium removed, showing the two cement-ducts (_aa_), and a row of circular patches (_bb_) of cement, by which the peduncle, along its rostral edge, is attached to the thin horny branches of the coralline. the larval antennæ are seen at the terminal point, and the two cement-ducts can be traced into them. tab. x. _figures all greatly magnified._ fig. . mandibles of _pollicipes mitella_: exhibiting the upper (_a_) and lower (_b_) articulations, and the three principal muscles; the short upper cut off muscle runs to its attachment at the base of the palpus. . mandibles of _lithotrya dorsalis_, exhibiting four (_aa_) roughened, thin, ligamentous apodemes for the attachment of the muscles. . mandibles of _scalpellum peronii_. . mandibles of _ibla cumingii_. . mandibles of _lepas anatifera_. . palpus of _lepas anatifera_. . palpus of _pollicipes mitella_. . palpus of _alepas cornuta_. . maxilla of _lepas anatifera_. . maxilla of _lithotrya dorsalis_, exhibiting the horny, rigid apodeme (_a_) buried in muscles, together with the two other principal bundles of muscles. . maxilla of _ibla cumingii_. . maxilla of _lithotrya rhodiopus_. . maxilla of _pollicipes polymerus_. . maxilla of _pollicipes mitella_. . maxilla of _poecilasma eburnea_. . outer maxilla of _conchoderma virgata_; (_a_), orifice of the olfactory cavity, the inner delicate chitine membrane of which is seen within, the specimen having been treated with caustic potash. . outer maxilla of _pollicipes mitella,_ showing the two principal muscles, and the prominent, tubular, (_b_) olfactory orifices. . caudal appendages, and basal segments of the sixth pair of cirri, of _lepas anatifera_; (_a_), anus; (_b_), caudal appendages; (_c_), lower segment of pedicel of sixth cirrus; (_d_), upper segment of ditto; (_e_), basal segments of the two rami. . caudal appendage (right-hand side) of _pollicipes sertus_. . caudal appendage (right-hand side) of _scalpellum peronii_. . caudal appendage (right-hand side) of _scalpellum vulgare_. . caudal appendage (right-hand side) of _pollicipes cornucopia_. . caudal appendage (left-hand) _lithotrya dorsalis_; (_a_), caudal appendage; (_c_), lower segment of pedicel of sixth cirrus; (_d_), upper segment of ditto; (_e_), segments of one of the rami. . portion of caudal appendage of _lithotrya dorsalis_, highly magnified. . _pollicipes polymerus_; anterior ramus of the second cirrus. . _lepas anatifera_; a segment of the sixth cirrus, showing the arrangement of the spines; (_a_), main anterior spines, of which there is a corresponding row on the opposite side; (_c_), dorsal tuft. . _pollicipes polymerus_; a segment of the sixth cirrus, showing the arrangement of the spines; (_a_), main anterior spines, of which there is a corresponding row on the opposite side; (_b b_), calcareous shields on the dorsal surfaces, with tufts of fine spines near their upper edges. . _alepas cornuta_; sixth cirrus of; (_a_) basal portion of one ramus, consisting of numerous segments; (_k_), the other and almost rudimentary ramus. . _poecilasma fissa_; segments of the sixth cirrus, showing the arrangement of the spines; (_a_), anterior spines; (_c_), dorsal tufts. index. synonyms and doubtful species are printed in italics. abortion, extreme, in the male of ibla, . _absia_, . acari, development of, . acoustic (?) organs, general description of, . adductor scutorum muscle, . affinities of the lepadidæ, . alepas, genus, . cornuta, . minuta, . parasita, . _squalicola_, . tubulosa, . allman, professor, on cyclops, . _anatifa_ vel _anatifera_, genus, , , . _crassa_, . _dentata_, . _elongata_, . _engonata_, . _hirsuta_, . _lævis_, , . _oceanica_, . _obliqua_, . _parasita_, . _quadrivalvis_, . _sessilis_, . _spinosa_, . _striata_, , . _substriata_, . _sulcata_, . _tricolor_, . _truncata_, . _univalvis_, . _villosa_, . _vitrea_, . anelasma, genus, . antennæ, larval, . in the lepadidæ, table of measurements, . of ibla cumingii, . of lepas australis, . of scalpellum vulgare, . appendages, caudal, . in larva, . filamentary, . asplanchna, male of, . attachment of cirripedes, . of scalpellum vulgare, . of pollicipes polymerus, . balanidæ, affinities of, . bate, mr. c. s., on the metamorphoses of cirripedes, - . bopyrus, parasite allied to, . _branta_, . _aurita_, . _virgatum_, . brightwell, mr., on the asplanchna, . _brisnæus_, . _rhodiopus_, . brugière, date of work of, . buoyancy, means of, in lepas fascicularis, . burmeister, professor, on the metamorphoses of cirripedes, , . burrowing powers of, in lithotrya, . _calentica_, . _homii_, . capitulum, general description of, . _capitulum_, genus, . _mitella_, . carapace of the larva, . caudal appendages, . in larva, . cement-discs, in a straight row, in scalpellum vulgare, . in pollicipes polymerus, . cement-ducts, . in the larva, . cement-glands, incipient in larva, , . cement, nature of, . cement-tissue, modified as a float in lepas fascicularis, . chitine, chemical nature of, . chthamalinæ, , . _cineras_, genus, , . _bicolor_, . _cranchii_, . _chelonophilus_, , . _megalepas_, . _membranacea_, . _montagui_, . _olfersii_, , . _rissoanus_, . _vittatus_, . circulation, . cirri, general description of, . of young cirripede, . cirripede, immature whilst within the larva, . cirripedes, sessile, affinities of, . sub-families of, . useful as food, . _clyptra_, . coates, dr., on lepas fascicularis, . conchoderma, genus, . aurita, . hunteri, . _leporinum_, . _virgata_, . _conchotrya_, . _valentiana_, . cuming, mr., obligations to, , . on the cirripedes of the philippine archipelago, . on balanus psittacus, . cup, basal calcareous, in lithotrya, . dana, mr. j. d., on the ovaria in certain crustacea, . on the antennæ of larval cirripedes, , . dichelaspis, genus, . grayii, . lowei, . orthogonia, . pellucida, . warwickii, . distribution, geographical, . _dosima_, . _fascicularis_, . dujardin, on the larvæ of acari, . encyclopédie method., date of, entozoons, sexes of, . epidermis of valves, . exuviation, , . of the larval eyes, . of the larval integuments, . of the membrane of peduncle in lithotrya, . eyes, in the lepadidæ, . of the larva, first stage, . last stage, , . families of cirripedes, . farre, dr., on the acoustic organs in crustacea, . female organs of generation in the lepadidæ, . filaments, . forbes, prof. e., on the homology of the peduncle, . fræna, ovigerous, . ganglia, ophthalmic, . generation, organs of, in the lepadidæ, . glands, supposed salivary, . on the ovigerous lamellæ, . goodsir, mr., on the metamorphosis of cirripedes, , . on the supposed male of balanus, . gray, mr. j. e., on the genus dosima, . on the metamorphosis of cirripedes, . on the inequality of the valves in pæcilasma, , . on an unknown -valved lepas, . on the genus scalpellum, . growth, rate of, . _gymnolepas_, . _cranchii_, . _cuvierii_, . habitats, . hancock, mr., on the burrowing of cirripedes, . on the larva of lepas, . hectocotyle, . _heptalasmis_, . hermaphroditism, peculiar kind of, . heteroura androphora, . homologies of the cirripedia, - . ibla, genus, . cumingii (female), . (male), . _cuvieriana_, . quadrivalvis (hermaphrodite), . (complemental male), . general summary on its sexual relations, . impregnation of the females and hermaphrodites in ibla and scalpellum, . king, captain, on a new scalpellum, . kölliker, on the males of cephalopoda, . labrum, general description of, . lamellæ, ovigerous, . larvæ, general description of, . larva of ibla quadrivalvis, . leidy, professor, on the eyes of cirripedes, , . lepas, genus, . anatifera, . anserifera, , . australis, . australis, metamorphosis of, . _coriacea_, . _cornuta_, . _cygnea_, . _dilata_, . _dorsalis_, . fascicularis, . fascicularis, peduncle, remarkable structure of, . _gallorum_, . hillii, . _leporina_, . _membranacea_, . _mitella_, . _muricata_, . _nauta_, . pectinata, . _pollicipes_, . _scalpellum_, . _sulcata_, . _virgata_, . lerneidæ, males of, . leucifer, . _litholepas_, . _de mont serrat_, . lithotrya, genus, . cauta, . dorsalis, . nicobarica, . rhodiopus, . truncata, . valentiana, . powers of burrowing, . lovèn, dr., on the habits of the _alepas squalicola_, . on the homologies of cirripedes, . lowe, rev. r. t., on the fishes of madeira and japan, . on the cirripedes of madeira, . macgillivray, prof., on conchoderma, . on lepas anserifera, . _malacotta_, . _bivalvis_, . male cirripedes, discussion on, . of ibla cumingii, . " quadrivalvis, . of scalpellum ornatum, . peronii, . rostratum, . villosum, . vulgare, . organs of generation in the lepadidæ, . mandibles, general description of, . martin st. ange, on the affinities of cirripedes, . on a closed tube within the stomach, . on the generative organs, . maxillæ, general description of, . membrane covering valves, . metamorphoses, first stage, . second stage, . last stage, . _mitella_, genus, . mouth, general description of, . of young cirripede, . of the larva, first stage, . last stage, . muscles, . without striæ in anelasma, and in embryonic cirripedes, . nerves, general system of, . of ibla cumingii, . nomenclature of the parts of cirripedes, . rules of, . _octolasmis_, . _warwickii_, . oesophagus, general description of, . orders of cirripedes, . organs acoustic (?) general description of, . of the larva of lepas, . female, of generation, in the lepadidæ, . male, of generation, in the lepadidæ, . olfactory, general description of, . _otion_, . _auritus_, . _bellianus_, . _blainvillianus_, . _cuvieranus_, . _depressa_, . _dumerillianus_, . _rissoanus_, . _saccutifera_, . ova, . ovaria, incipient in the larva, , . in the lepadidæ, . oviducts (supposed), . owen, professor, on certain entozoic worms, . on the conchoderma hunteri, . oxynaspis, genus, . celata, . _pamina_, . _trilineata_, . peach, mr., obligations to, . on the movements of pedunculated cirripedes, . peduncle, general description of, . origin and homologies of, . penis, general description of, . of ibla quadrivalvis, . _pentalasmis_, vel _pentalepas_, . _anseriferus_, . _dentatus_, . _dilatata_, . _donovani_, . _fascicularis_, . _hillii_, . _inversus_, . _lævis_, , . _radula_, . _spirulæ_, . _spirulicola_, . _sulcata_, . _pentalepas vitrea_, . poecilasma, genus, . aurantia, . crassa, . eburnea, . fissa, . kæmpferi, . pollicipes, . cornucopia, . elegans, . mitella, . _mortoni_, . _obliqua_, . polymerus, . _ruber_, . _scalpellum_, . sertus, . _sinensis_, . _smythii_, . spinosus, . _tomentosus_, . _villosus_, . _polylepas_, , . _mitella_, . _sinensis_, . _vulgare_, . primordial valves, . prosoma, shape of, . proteolepas, , . pupa, locomotive or last larval state, in cirripedes, . _ramphidiona_, . range, geographical, . rate of growth, . reinhardt on the burrowing of lithotrya, . reproduction, organs of, in the lepadidæ, . rotifera, sexes of, . rules of nomenclature, . sack, description of, . origin of, , . scalpellum, genus, . _lævis_, . _læve_, . _sicilice_, . ornatum, (female,) . (male,) . _papillosum_, . peronii, . (male,) . rostratum, . (male,) . rutilum, . (male,) . villosum, . (male,) . vulgare, . larva of, . (complemental male,) . general summary on sexual relations, . schmidt, dr., on chitine, . on the muscles in young crustacea, . _senoclita_, . _fasciata_, . sexes, discussion on, in ibla and scalpellum, . siebold, dr. c. von, . _smilium_, . _peronii_, . spermatozoa in scalpellum vulgare, . sprengel, ch. k., on compositous flowers, . steenstrup, prof., on the homology of the peduncle, . on the non-hermaphroditism of cirripedes, . stomach of larva, . general description of, . stroem on a seven-valved lepas, . syngamus trachealis, . testes in the lepadidæ, . _tetralasmis_, . _hirsutus_, . _thaliella_, . _ornata_, . thompson, mr. w., on lepas anatifera, (var.) . on the exuviations of sessile cirripedes, . obligations to, . mr. vaughan, on the metamorphoses of cirripedes, , . _trilasmis_, genus, . _eburnea_, . _triton_, genus, . _fasciculatus_, . upopi, or young acari, . vesiculæ seminales, . valves, general description of, . valves, chemical nature of, . horny, colour changed by pressure, . primordial, . wagner, r., on the male organs of generation, . _xiphidium_, . [illustration: _pl. i._ lepas. _george sowerby._] [illustration: _pl. ii._ poecilasma: dichelaspis. _george sowerby_] [illustration: _pl. iii._ oxynaspis: conchoderma: alefas _george sowerby_] [illustration: _pl. iv._ anelasma: ibla. _george sowerby_] [illustration: _pl. v._ ibla: scalpellum. _george sowerby_] [illustration: _pl. vi._ scalpellum. _george sowerby_] [illustration: _pl. vii._ pollicipes _george sowerby_] [illustration: _pl. viii._ lithotrya. _george sowerby_] [illustration: _pl. ix._ lithotrya. &c. _george sowerby_] [illustration: _pl. x._ mandibles, palpi, maxillÆ, outer maxillÆ, cirri, & caudal appendages. _george sowerby_] transcriber's notes: throughout ditto is often represented by ---- or . . . . or ". page ix enclycopædia of anatomy and physiology 'enclycopædia' changed to 'encyclopædia'. page xii corrigenda and addenda. these changes were not added, due to the general nature of most of the comments. page xii pæcilasma is used throughout (et passim) most of the text. it should read poecilasma. no change from the original. page pedunculum mutatæ et invoucrum 'invoucrum' changed to 'involucrum'. page touch the cæca were such exist 'were' changed to 'where'. page references to mouth parts read pl. ix, where i believe that pl. x was meant. no change except for inserted links that refer to plate x. page magaz. der gesellsch. natuforsch. 'natuforsch' may be 'naturforsch'. page bold t used to represent a dagger here. page length of whole organ, to the inner margin of the oblique basal articulation } / the number here was not legible, as printed. i think it may be / from the table of comparative measurements later in this book. page bold tt used to represent double daggers. page frith of forth 'frith' may be 'firth'. page lepas membrancea, 'membrancea' changed to 'membranacea'. inconsistent accents were verified and follow the original. hyphen variability multiarticulate multi-articulate uniarticulate uni-articulate none generously made available by the internet archive/canadian libraries) the foundations of the origin of species cambridge university press london: fetter lane, e.c. c. f. clay, manager {illustration} edinburgh: , princes street also london: h. k. lewis, , gower street, w.c. berlin: a. asher and co. leipzig: f. a. brockhaus new york: g. p. putnam's sons bombay and calcutta: macmillan and co., ltd. _all rights reserved_ {illustration: charles darwin from a photograph by maull & fox in } the foundations of the origin of species two essays written in and by charles darwin edited by his son francis darwin honorary fellow of christ's college cambridge: at the university press astronomers might formerly have said that god ordered each planet to move in its particular destiny. in same manner god orders each animal created with certain form in certain country. but how much more simple and sublime power,--let attraction act according to certain law, such are inevitable consequences,--let animal(s) be created, then by the fixed laws of generation, such will be their successors. from darwin's _note book_, , p. . to the master and fellows of christ's college, this book is dedicated by the editor in token of respect and gratitude contents essay of pages introduction xi part i § i. on variation under domestication, and on the principles of selection § ii. on variation in a state of nature and on the natural means of selection § iii. on variation in instincts and other mental attributes part ii §§ iv. and v. on the evidence from geology. (the reasons for combining the two sections are given in the introduction) § vi. geographical distribution § vii. affinities and classification § viii. unity of type in the great classes § ix. abortive organs § x. recapitulation and conclusion essay of part i chapter i - on the variation of organic beings under domestication; and on the principles of selection. variation on the hereditary tendency causes of variation on selection crossing breeds whether our domestic races have descended from one or more wild stocks limits to variation in degree and kind in what consists domestication--summary chapter ii - on the variation of organic beings in a wild state; on the natural means of selection; and on the comparison of domestic races and true species. variation natural means of selection differences between "races" and "species":-first, in their trueness or variability difference between "races" and "species" in fertility when crossed causes of sterility in hybrids infertility from causes distinct from hybridisation points of resemblance between "races" and "species" external characters of hybrids and mongrels summary limits of variation chapter iii - on the variation of instincts and other mental attributes under domestication and in a state of nature; on the difficulties in this subject; and on analogous difficulties with respect to corporeal structures. variation of mental attributes under domestication hereditary habits compared with instincts variation in the mental attributes of wild animals principles of selection applicable to instincts difficulties in the acquirement of complex instincts by selection difficulties in the acquirement by selection of complex corporeal structures part ii on the evidence favourable and opposed to the view that species are naturally formed races, descended from common stocks. chapter iv - on the number of intermediate forms required on the theory of common descent; and on their absence in a fossil state chapter v - gradual appearance and disappearance of species. gradual appearance of species extinction of species chapter vi on the geographical distribution of organic beings in past and present times. section first - distribution of the inhabitants in the different continents relation of range in genera and species distribution of the inhabitants in the same continent insular faunas alpine floras cause of the similarity in the floras of some distant mountains whether the same species has been created more than once on the number of species, and of the classes to which they belong in different regions second section - geographical distribution of extinct organisms changes in geographical distribution summary on the distribution of living and extinct organic beings section third - an attempt to explain the foregoing laws of geographical distribution, on the theory of allied species having a common descent improbability of finding fossil forms intermediate between existing species chapter vii - on the nature of the affinities and classification of organic beings. gradual appearance and disappearance of groups what is the natural system? on the kind of relation between distinct groups classification of races or varieties classification of races and species similar origin of genera and families chapter viii - unity of type in the great classes; and morphological structures. unity of type morphology embryology attempt to explain the facts of embryology on the graduated complexity in each great class modification by selection of the forms of immature animals importance of embryology in classification order in time in which the great classes have first appeared chapter ix - abortive or rudimentary organs. the abortive organs of naturalists the abortive organs of physiologists abortion from gradual disuse chapter x - recapitulation and conclusion. recapitulation why do we wish to reject the theory of common descent? conclusion index portrait _frontispiece_ facsimile _to face_ p. introduction we know from the contents of charles darwin's note book of that he was at that time a convinced evolutionist{ }. nor can there be any doubt that, when he started on board the _beagle_, such opinions as he had were on the side of immutability. when therefore did the current of his thoughts begin to set in the direction of evolution? { } see the extracts in _life and letters of charles darwin_, ii. p. . we have first to consider the factors that made for such a change. on his departure in , henslow gave him vol. i. of lyell's _principles_, then just published, with the warning that he was not to believe what he read{ }. but believe he did, and it is certain (as huxley has forcibly pointed out{ }) that the doctrine of uniformitarianism when applied to biology leads of necessity to evolution. if the extermination of a species is no more catastrophic than the natural death of an individual, why should the birth of a species be any more miraculous than the birth of an individual? it is quite clear that this thought was vividly present to darwin when he was writing out his early thoughts in the note book{ }:-- "propagation explains why modern animals same type as extinct, which is law almost proved. they die, without they change, like golden pippins; it is a _generation of species_ like generation _of individuals_." "if _species_ generate other _species_ their race is not utterly cut off." { } the second volume,--especially important in regard to evolution,--reached him in the autumn of , as prof. judd has pointed out in his most interesting paper in _darwin and modern science_. cambridge, . { } obituary notice of c. darwin, _proc. r. soc._ vol. . reprinted in huxley's _collected essays_. see also _life and letters of c. darwin_, ii. p. . { } see the extracts in the _life and letters_, ii. p. . these quotations show that he was struggling to see in the origin of species a process just as scientifically comprehensible as the birth of individuals. they show, i think, that he recognised the two things not merely as similar but as identical. it is impossible to know how soon the ferment of uniformitarianism began to work, but it is fair to suspect that in he had already begun to see that mutability was the logical conclusion of lyell's doctrine, though this was not acknowledged by lyell himself. there were however other factors of change. in his autobiography{ } he wrote:--"during the voyage of the _beagle_ i had been deeply impressed by discovering in the pampean formation great fossil animals covered with armour like that on the existing armadillos; secondly, by the manner in which closely allied animals replace one another in proceeding southward over the continent; and thirdly, by the south american character of most of the productions of the galapagos archipelago, and more especially by the manner in which they differ slightly on each island of the group; none of the islands appearing to be very ancient in a geological sense. it was evident that such facts as these, as well as many others, could only be explained on the supposition that species gradually become modified; and the subject haunted me." { } _life and letters_, i. p. . again we have to ask: how soon did any of these influences produce an effect on darwin's mind? different answers have been attempted. huxley{ } held that these facts could not have produced their essential effect until the voyage had come to an end, and the "relations of the existing with the extinct species and of the species of the different geographical areas with one another were determined with some exactness." he does not therefore allow that any appreciable advance towards evolution was made during the actual voyage of the _beagle_. { } _obituary notice_, _loc. cit._ professor judd{ } takes a very different view. he holds that november may be given with some confidence as the "date at which darwin commenced that long series of observations and reasonings which eventually culminated in the preparation of the _origin of species_." { } _darwin and modern science._ though i think these words suggest a more direct and continuous march than really existed between fossil-collecting in and writing the _origin of species_ in , yet i hold that it was during the voyage that darwin's mind began to be turned in the direction of evolution, and i am therefore in essential agreement with prof. judd, although i lay more stress than he does on the latter part of the voyage. let us for a moment confine our attention to the passage, above quoted, from the autobiography and to what is said in the introduction to the _origin_, ed. i., viz. "when on board h.m.s. 'beagle,' as naturalist, i was much struck with certain facts in the distribution of the inhabitants of south america, and in the geological relations of the present to the past inhabitants of that continent." these words, occurring where they do, can only mean one thing,--namely that the facts suggested an evolutionary interpretation. and this being so it must be true that his thoughts _began to flow in the direction of descent_ at this early date. i am inclined to think that the "new light which was rising in his mind{ }" had not yet attained any effective degree of steadiness or brightness. i think so because in his pocket book under the date he wrote, "in july opened first note-book on 'transmutation of species.' had been greatly struck _from about month of previous march_{ } on character of south american fossils, and species on galapagos archipelago. these facts origin (_especially latter_), of all my views." but he did not visit the galapagos till and i therefore find it hard to believe that his evolutionary views attained any strength or permanence until at any rate quite late in the voyage. the galapagos facts are strongly against huxley's view, for darwin's attention was "thoroughly aroused{ }" by comparing the birds shot by himself and by others on board. the case must have struck him at once,--without waiting for accurate determinations,--as a microcosm of evolution. { } huxley, _obituary_, p. xi. { } in this citation the italics are mine. { } _journal of researches_, ed. , p. . it is also to be noted, in regard to the remains of extinct animals, that, in the above quotation from his pocket book, he speaks of march as the time at which he began to be "greatly struck on character of south american fossils," which suggests at least that the impression made in required reinforcement before a really powerful effect was produced. we may therefore conclude, i think, that the evolutionary current in my father's thoughts had continued to increase in force from onwards, being especially reinforced at the galapagos in and again in when he was overhauling the results, mental and material, of his travels. and that when the above record in the pocket book was made he unconsciously minimised the earlier beginnings of his theorisings, and laid more stress on the recent thoughts which were naturally more vivid to him. in his letter{ } to otto zacharias ( ) he wrote, "on my return home in the autumn of , i immediately began to prepare my journal for publication, and then saw how many facts indicated the common descent of species." this again is evidence in favour of the view that the later growths of his theory were the essentially important parts of its development. { } f. darwin's _life of charles darwin_ (in one volume), , p. . in the same letter to zacharias he says, "when i was on board the _beagle_ i believed in the permanence of species, but as far as i can remember vague doubts occasionally flitted across my mind." unless prof. judd and i are altogether wrong in believing that late or early in the voyage (it matters little which) a definite approach was made to the evolutionary standpoint, we must suppose that in years such advance had shrunk in his recollection to the dimensions of "vague doubts." the letter to zacharias shows i think some forgetting of the past where the author says, "but i did not become convinced that species were mutable until, i think, two or three years had elapsed." it is impossible to reconcile this with the contents of the evolutionary note book of . i have no doubt that in his retrospect he felt that he had not been "convinced that species were mutable" until he had gained a clear conception of the mechanism of natural selection, _i.e._ in - . but even on this last date there is some room, not for doubt, but for surprise. the passage in the autobiography{ } is quite clear, namely that in october he read malthus's _essay on the principle of population_ and "being well prepared to appreciate the struggle for existence ..., it at once struck me that under these circumstances favourable variations would tend to be preserved, and unfavourable ones to be destroyed. the result of this would be the formation of new species. here then i had at last got a theory by which to work." { } _life and letters_, i. p. . it is surprising that malthus should have been needed to give him the clue, when in the note book of there should occur--however obscurely expressed--the following forecast{ } of the importance of the survival of the fittest. "with respect to extinction, we can easily see that a variety of the ostrich (petise{ }), may not be well adapted, and thus perish out; or on the other hand, like orpheus{ }, being favourable, many might be produced. this requires the principle that the permanent variations produced by confined breeding and changing circumstances are continued and produce<d> according to the adaptation of such circumstances, and therefore that death of species is a consequence (contrary to what would appear in america) of non-adaptation of circumstances." { } _life and letters_, ii. p. . { } avestruz petise, _i.e. rhea darwini_. { } a bird. i can hardly doubt, that with his knowledge of the interdependence of organisms and the tyranny of conditions, his experience would have crystallized out into "a theory by which to work" even without the aid of malthus. in my father's autobiography{ } he writes, "in june i first allowed myself the satisfaction of writing a very brief abstract of my theory in pencil in pages; and this was enlarged during the summer of into one of pages{ }, which i had fairly copied out and still possess." these two essays, of and , are now printed under the title _the foundations of the origin of species_. { } _life and letters_, i. p. . { } it contains as a fact pp. it is a strongly bound folio, interleaved with blank pages, as though for notes and additions. his own ms. from which it was copied contains pp. it will be noted that in the above passage he does not mention the ms. of as being in existence, and when i was at work on _life and letters_ i had not seen it. it only came to light after my mother's death in when the house at down was vacated. the ms. was hidden in a cupboard under the stairs which was not used for papers of any value, but rather as an overflow for matter which he did not wish to destroy. the statement in the autobiography that the ms. was written in agrees with an entry in my fathers diary:-- " . may th went to maer. june th to shrewsbury, and on th to capel curig.... during my stay at maer and shrewsbury (five years after commencement) wrote pencil sketch of my species theory." again in a letter to lyell (june , ) he speaks of his "ms. sketch written out in { }." in the _origin of species_, ed. i. p. , he speaks of beginning his speculations in and of allowing himself to draw up some "short notes" after "five years' work," _i.e._ in . so far there seems no doubt as to being the date of the first sketch; but there is evidence in favour of an earlier date{ }. thus across the table of contents of the bound copy of the ms. is written in my father's hand "this was sketched in ." again in a letter to mr wallace{ } (jan. , ) he speaks of his own contributions to the linnean paper{ } of july , , as "written in , now just twenty years ago." this statement as it stands is undoubtedly incorrect, since the extracts are from the ms. of , about the date of which no doubt exists; but even if it could be supposed to refer to the essay, it must, i think, be rejected. i can only account for his mistake by the supposition that my father had in mind the date ( ) at which the framework of his theory was laid down. it is worth noting that in his autobiography (p. ) he speaks of the time "about , when the theory was clearly conceived." however this may be there can be no doubt that is the correct date. since the publication of _life and letters_ i have gained fresh evidence on this head. a small packet containing pp. of ms. came to light in . on the outside is written "first pencil sketch of species theory. written at maer and shrewsbury during may and june ." it is not however written in pencil, and it consists of a single chapter on _the principles of variation in domestic organisms_. a single unnumbered page is written in pencil, and is headed "maer, may , useless"; it also bears the words "this page was thought of as introduction." it consists of the briefest sketch of the geological evidence for evolution, together with words intended as headings for discussion,--such as "affinity,--unity of type,--foetal state,--abortive organs." { } _life and letters_, ii. p. . { } _life and letters_, ii. p. . { } _life and letters_, ii. p. . { } _j. linn. soc. zool._ iii. p. . the back of this "useless" page is of some interest, although it does not bear on the question of date,--the matter immediately before us. it seems to be an outline of the essay or sketch of , consisting of the titles of the three chapters of which it was to have consisted. "i. the principles of var. in domestic organisms. "ii. the possible and probable application of these same principles to wild animals and consequently the possible and probable production of wild races, analogous to the domestic ones of plants and animals. "iii. the reasons for and against believing that such races have really been produced, forming what are called species." it will be seen that chapter iii as originally designed corresponds to part ii (p. ) of the essay of , which is (p. ) defined by the author as discussing "whether the characters and relations of animated things are such as favour the idea of wild species being races descended from a common stock." again at p. the author asks "what then is the evidence in favour of it (the theory of descent) and what the evidence against it." the generalised section of his essay having been originally chapter iii{ } accounts for the curious error which occurs in pp. and where the second part of the essay is called part iii. { } it is evident that _parts_ and _chapters_ were to some extent interchangeable in the author's mind, for p. (of the ms. we have been discussing) is headed in ink chapter i, and afterwards altered in pencil to part i. the division of the essay into two parts is maintained in the enlarged essay of , in which he writes: "the second part of this work is devoted to the general consideration of how far the general economy of nature justifies or opposes the belief that related species and genera are descended from common stocks." the _origin of species_ however is not so divided. we may now return to the question of the date of the essay. i have found additional evidence in favour of in a sentence written on the back of the table of contents of the ms.--not the copied version but the original in my father's writing: "this was written and enlarged from a sketch in pages{ } in pencil (the latter written in summer of at maer and shrewsbury) in beginning of , and finished it <_sic_> in july; and finally corrected the copy by mr fletcher in the last week in september." on the whole it is impossible to doubt that is the date of the earlier of the two essays. { } on p. of the ms. of the _foundations_ is a reference to the "back of p. bis": this suggests that additional pages had been interpolated in the ms. and that it may once have had in place of pp. the sketch of is written on bad paper with a soft pencil, and is in many parts extremely difficult to read, many of the words ending in mere scrawls and being illegible without context. it is evidently written rapidly, and is in his most elliptical style, the articles being frequently omitted, and the sentences being loosely composed and often illogical in structure. there is much erasure and correction, apparently made at the moment of writing, and the ms. does not give the impression of having been re-read with any care. the whole is more like hasty memoranda of what was clear to himself, than material for the convincing of others. many of the pages are covered with writing on the back, an instance of his parsimony in the matter of paper{ }. this matter consists partly of passages marked for insertion in the text, and these can generally (though by no means always) be placed where he intended. but he also used the back of one page for a preliminary sketch to be rewritten on a clean sheet. these parts of the work have been printed as footnotes, so as to allow what was written on the front of the pages to form a continuous text. a certain amount of repetition is unavoidable, but much of what is written on the backs of the pages is of too much interest to be omitted. some of the matter here given in footnotes may, moreover, have been intended as the final text and not as the preliminary sketch. { } _life and letters_, i. p. . when a word cannot be deciphered, it is replaced by:--<illegible>, the angular brackets being, as already explained, a symbol for an insertion by the editor. more commonly, however, the context makes the interpretation of a word reasonably sure although the word is not strictly legible. such words are followed by an inserted mark of interrogation <?>. lastly, words inserted by the editor, of which the appropriateness is doubtful, are printed thus <variation?>. two kinds of erasure occur in the ms. of . one by vertical lines which seem to have been made when the pp. ms. was being expanded into that of , and merely imply that such a page is done with: and secondly the ordinary erasures by horizontal lines. i have not been quite consistent in regard to these: i began with the intention of printing (in square brackets) all such erasures. but i ultimately found that the confusion introduced into the already obscure sentences was greater than any possible gain; and many such erasures are altogether omitted. in the same way i have occasionally omitted hopelessly obscure and incomprehensible fragments, which if printed would only have burthened the text with a string of <illegible>s and queried words. nor have i printed the whole of what is written on the backs of the pages, where it seemed to me that nothing but unnecessary repetition would have been the result. in the matter of punctuation i have given myself a free hand. i may no doubt have misinterpreted the author's meaning in so doing, but without such punctuation, the number of repellantly crabbed sentences would have been even greater than at present. in dealing with the essay of , i have corrected some obvious slips without indicating such alterations, because the ms. being legible, there is no danger of changing the author's meaning. the sections into which the essay of is divided are in the original merely indicated by a gap in the ms. or by a line drawn across the page. no titles are given except in the case of § viii.; and § ii. is the only section which has a number in the original. i might equally well have made sections of what are now subsections, _e.g. natural selection_ p. , or _extermination_ p. . but since the present sketch is the germ of the essay of , it seemed best to preserve the identity between the two works, by using such of the author's divisions as correspond to the chapters of the enlarged version of . the geological discussion with which part ii begins corresponds to two chapters (iv and v) of the essay. i have therefore described it as §§ iv. and v., although i cannot make sure of its having originally consisted of two sections. with this exception the ten sections of the essay of correspond to the ten chapters of that of . the _origin of species_ differs from the sketch of in not being divided into two parts. but the two volumes resemble each other in general structure. both begin with a statement of what may be called the mechanism of evolution,--variation and selection: in both the argument proceeds from the study of domestic organisms to that of animals and plants in a state of nature. this is followed in both by a discussion of the _difficulties on theory_ and this by a section _instinct_ which in both cases is treated as a special case of difficulty. if i had to divide the _origin_ (first edition) into two parts without any knowledge of earlier ms., i should, i think, make part ii begin with ch. vi, _difficulties on theory_. a possible reason why this part of the argument is given in part i of the essay of may be found in the essay of , where it is clear that the chapter on instinct is placed in part i because the author thought it of importance to show that heredity and variation occur in mental attributes. the whole question is perhaps an instance of the sort of difficulty which made the author give up the division of his argument into two parts when he wrote the _origin_. as matters stand §§ iv. and v. of the essay correspond to the geological chapters, ix and x, in the _origin_. from this point onwards the material is grouped in the same order in both works: geographical distribution; affinities and classification; unity of type and morphology; abortive or rudimentary organs; recapitulation and conclusion. in enlarging the essay of into that of , the author retained the sections of the sketch as chapters in the completer presentment. it follows that what has been said of the relation of the earlier essay to the _origin_ is generally true of the essay. in the latter, however, the geological discussion is, clearly instead of obscurely, divided into two chapters, which correspond roughly with chapters ix and x of the _origin_. but part of the contents of chapter x (_origin_) occurs in chapter vi ( ) on geographical distribution. the treatment of distribution is particularly full and interesting in the essay, but the arrangement of the material, especially the introduction of § iii. p. , leads to some repetition which is avoided in the _origin_. it should be noted that hybridism, which has a separate chapter (viii) in the _origin_, is treated in chapter ii of the essay. finally that chapter xiii (_origin_) corresponds to chapters vii, viii and ix of the work of . the fact that in , seventeen years before the publication of the _origin_, my father should have been able to write out so full an outline of his future work, is very remarkable. in his autobiography{ } he writes of the essay, "but at that time i overlooked one problem of great importance.... this problem is the tendency in organic beings descended from the same stock to diverge in character as they become modified." the absence of the principle of divergence is of course also a characteristic of the sketch of . but at p. , the author is not far from this point of view. the passage referred to is: "if any species, _a_, in changing gets an advantage and that advantage ... is inherited, _a_ will be the progenitor of several genera or even families in the hard struggle of nature. _a_ will go on beating out other forms, it might come that _a_ would people <the> earth,--we may now not have one descendant on our globe of the one or several original creations{ }." but if the descendants of _a_ have peopled the earth by beating out other forms, they must have diverged in occupying the innumerable diverse modes of life from which they expelled their predecessors. what i wrote{ } on this subject in is i think true: "descent with modification implies divergence, and we become so habituated to a belief in descent, and therefore in divergence, that we do not notice the absence of proof that divergence is in itself an advantage." { } _life and letters_, i. p. . { } in the footnotes to the essay of attention is called to similar passages. { } _life and letters_, ii. p. . the fact that there is no set discussion on the principle of divergence in the essay, makes it clear why the joint paper read before the linnean society on july , , included a letter{ } to asa gray, as well as an extract{ } from the essay of . it is clearly because the letter to gray includes a discussion on divergence, and was thus, probably, the only document, including this subject, which could be appropriately made use of. it shows once more how great was the importance attached by its author to the principle of divergence. { } the passage is given in the _life and letters_, ii. p. . { } the extract consists of the section on _natural means of selection_, p. . i have spoken of the hurried and condensed manner in which the sketch of is written; the style of the later essay ( ) is more finished. it has, however, the air of an uncorrected ms. rather than of a book which has gone through the ordeal of proof sheets. it has not all the force and conciseness of the _origin_, but it has a certain freshness which gives it a character of its own. it must be remembered that the _origin_ was an abstract or condensation of a much bigger book, whereas the essay of was an expansion of the sketch of . it is not therefore surprising that in the _origin_ there is occasionally evident a chafing against the author's self-imposed limitation. whereas in the essay there is an air of freedom, as if the author were letting himself go, rather than applying the curb. this quality of freshness and the fact that some questions were more fully discussed in than in , makes the earlier work good reading even to those who are familiar with the _origin_. the writing of this essay "during the summer of ," as stated in the autobiography{ }, and "from memory," as darwin says elsewhere{ }, was a remarkable achievement, and possibly renders more conceivable the still greater feat of the writing of the _origin_ between july and september . { } _life and letters_, i. p. . { } _life and letters_, ii. p. . it is an interesting subject for speculation: what influence on the world the essay of would have exercised, had it been published in place of the origin. the author evidently thought of its publication in its present state as an undesirable expedient, as appears clearly from the following extracts from the _life and letters_, vol. ii. pp. -- : _c. darwin to mrs darwin._ down, _july , _. "... i have just finished my sketch of my species theory. if, as i believe, my theory in time be accepted even by one competent judge, it will be a considerable step in science. "i therefore write this in case of my sudden death, as my most solemn and last request, which i am sure you will consider the same as if legally entered in my will, that you will devote £ to its publication, and further will yourself, or through hensleigh{ }, take trouble in promoting it. i wish that my sketch be given to some competent person, with this sum to induce him to take trouble in its improvement and enlargement. i give to him all my books on natural history, which are either scored or have references at the end to the pages, begging him carefully to look over and consider such passages as actually bearing, or by possibility bearing, on this subject. i wish you to make a list of all such books as some temptation to an editor. i also request that you will hand over <to> him all those scraps roughly divided into eight or ten brown paper portfolios. the scraps, with copied quotations from various works, are those which may aid my editor. i also request that you, or some amanuensis, will aid in deciphering any of the scraps which the editor may think possibly of use. i leave to the editor's judgment whether to interpolate these facts in the text, or as notes, or under appendices. as the looking over the references and scraps will be a long labour, and as the _correcting_ and enlarging and altering my sketch will also take considerable time, i leave this sum of £ as some remuneration, and any profits from the work. i consider that for this the editor is bound to get the sketch published either at a publisher's or his own risk. many of the scraps in the portfolios contain mere rude suggestions and early views, now useless, and many of the facts will probably turn out as having no bearing on my theory. { } mrs darwin's brother. "with respect to editors, mr lyell would be the best if he would undertake it; i believe he would find the work pleasant, and he would learn some facts new to him. as the editor must be a geologist as well as a naturalist, the next best editor would be professor forbes of london. the next best (and quite best in many respects) would be professor henslow. dr hooker would be _very_ good. the next, mr strickland{ }. if none of these would undertake it, i would request you to consult with mr lyell, or some other capable man, for some editor, a geologist and naturalist. should one other hundred pounds make the difference of procuring a good editor, i request earnestly that you will raise £ . { } after mr strickland's name comes the following sentence, which has been erased, but remains legible. "professor owen would be very good; but i presume he would not undertake such a work." "my remaining collections in natural history may be given to any one or any museum where <they> would be accepted...." <the following note seems to have formed part of the original letter, but may have been of later date:> "lyell, especially with the aid of hooker (and of any good zoological aid), would be best of all. without an editor will pledge himself to give up time to it, it would be of no use paying such a sum. "if there should be any difficulty in getting an editor who would go thoroughly into the subject, and think of the bearing of the passages marked in the books and copied out of scraps of paper, then let my sketch be published as it is, stating that it was done several years ago{ }, and from memory without consulting any works, and with no intention of publication in its present form." { } the words "several years ago, and" seem to have been added at a later date. the idea that the sketch of might remain, in the event of his death, as the only record of his work, seems to have been long in his mind, for in august, , when he had finished with the cirripedes, and was thinking of beginning his "species work," he added on the back of the above letter, "hooker by far best man to edit my species volume. august ." i have called attention in footnotes to many points in which the _origin_ agrees with the _foundations_. one of the most interesting is the final sentence, practically the same in the essays of and , and almost identical with the concluding words of the _origin_. i have elsewhere pointed out{ } that the ancestry of this eloquent passage may be traced one stage further back,--to the note book of . i have given this sentence as an appropriate motto for the _foundations_ in its character of a study of general laws. it will be remembered that a corresponding motto from whewell's _bridgewater treatise_ is printed opposite the title-page of the _origin of species_. { } _life and letters_, ii. p. . mr huxley who, about the year , read the essay of , remarked that "much more weight is attached to the influence of external conditions in producing variation and to the inheritance of acquired habits than in the _origin_." in the _foundations_ the effect of conditions is frequently mentioned, and darwin seems to have had constantly in mind the need of referring each variation to a cause. but i gain the impression that the slighter prominence given to this view in the _origin_ was not due to change of opinion, but rather because he had gradually come to take this view for granted; so that in the scheme of that book, it was overshadowed by considerations which then seemed to him more pressing. with regard to the inheritance of acquired characters i am not inclined to agree with huxley. it is certain that the _foundations_ contains strong recognition of the importance of germinal variation, that is of external conditions acting indirectly through the "reproductive functions." he evidently considered this as more important than the inheritance of habit or other acquired peculiarities. another point of interest is the weight he attached in - to "sports" or what are now called "mutations." this is i think more prominent in the _foundations_ than in the first edition of the _origin_, and certainly than in the fifth and sixth editions. among other interesting points may be mentioned the "good effects of crossing" being "possibly analogous to good effects of change in condition,"--a principle which he upheld on experimental grounds in his _cross and self-fertilisation_ in . in conclusion, i desire to express my thanks to mr wallace for a footnote he was good enough to supply: and to professor bateson, sir w. thiselton-dyer, dr gadow, professor judd, dr marr, col. prain and dr stapf for information on various points. i am also indebted to mr rutherford, of the university library, for his careful copy of the manuscript of . cambridge, _june , ._ explanation of signs, &c. [] means that the words so enclosed are erased in the original ms. <> indicates an insertion by the editor. _origin_, ed. vi. refers to the popular edition. part i. § i. <on variation under domestication, and on the principles of selection.> an individual organism placed under new conditions [often] sometimes varies in a small degree and in very trifling respects such as stature, fatness, sometimes colour, health, habits in animals and probably disposition. also habits of life develope certain parts. disuse atrophies. [most of these slight variations tend to become hereditary.] when the individual is multiplied for long periods by buds the variation is yet small, though greater and occasionally a single bud or individual departs widely from its type (example){ } and continues steadily to propagate, by buds, such new kind. { } evidently a memorandum that an example should be given. when the organism is bred for several generations under new or varying conditions, the variation is greater in amount and endless in kind [especially{ } holds good when individuals have long been exposed to new conditions]. the nature of the external conditions tends to effect some definite change in all or greater part of offspring,--little food, small size--certain foods harmless &c. &c. organs affected and diseases--extent unknown. a certain degree of variation (müller's twins){ } seems inevitable effect of process of reproduction. but more important is that simple <?> generation, especially under new conditions [when no crossing] <causes> infinite variation and not direct effect of external conditions, but only in as much as it affects the reproductive functions{ }. there seems to be no part (_beau ideal_ of liver){ } of body, internal or external, or mind or habits, or instincts which does not vary in some small degree and [often] some <?> to a great amount. { } the importance of exposure to new conditions for several generations is insisted on in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , also p. . in the latter passage the author guards himself against the assumption that variations are "due to chance," and speaks of "our ignorance of the cause of each particular variation." these statements are not always remembered by his critics. { } cf. _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , "young of the same litter, sometimes differ considerably from each other, though both the young and the parents, as müller has remarked, have apparently been exposed to exactly the same conditions of life." { } this is paralleled by the conclusion in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , that "the most frequent cause of variability may be attributed to the male and female reproductive elements having been affected prior to the act of conception." { } the meaning seems to be that there must be some variability in the liver otherwise anatomists would not speak of the 'beau ideal' of that organ. [all such] variations [being congenital] or those very slowly acquired of all kinds [decidedly evince a tendency to become hereditary], when not so become simple variety, when it does a race. each{ } parent transmits its peculiarities, therefore if varieties allowed freely to cross, except by the _chance_ of two characterized by same peculiarity happening to marry, such varieties will be constantly demolished{ }. all bisexual animals must cross, hermaphrodite plants do cross, it seems very possible that hermaphrodite animals do cross,--conclusion strengthened: ill effects of breeding in and in, good effects of crossing possibly analogous to good effects of change in condition <?>{ }. { } the position of the following passage is uncertain. "if individuals of two widely different varieties be allowed to cross, a third race will be formed--a most fertile source of the variation in domesticated animals. <in the _origin_, ed. i. p. the author says that "the possibility of making distinct races by crossing has been greatly exaggerated."> if freely allowed, the characters of pure parents will be lost, number of races thus <illegible> but differences <?> besides the <illegible>. but if varieties differing in very slight respects be allowed to cross, such small variation will be destroyed, at least to our senses,--a variation [clearly] just to be distinguished by long legs will have offspring not to be so distinguished. free crossing great agent in producing uniformity in any breed. introduce tendency to revert to parent form." { } the swamping effect of intercrossing is referred to in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } a discussion on the intercrossing of hermaphrodites in relation to knight's views occurs in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . the parallelism between crossing and changed conditions is briefly given in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , and was finally investigated in _the effects of cross and self-fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom_, . therefore if in any country or district all animals of one species be allowed freely to cross, any small tendency in them to vary will be constantly counteracted. secondly reversion to parent form--analogue of _vis medicatrix_{ }. but if man selects, then new races rapidly formed,--of late years systematically followed,--in most ancient times often practically followed{ }. by such selection make race-horse, dray-horse--one cow good for tallow, another for eating &c.--one plant's good lay <illegible> in leaves another in fruit &c. &c.: the same plant to supply his wants at different times of year. by former means animals become adapted, as a direct effect to a cause, to external conditions, as size of body to amount of food. by this latter means they may also be so adapted, but further they may be adapted to ends and pursuits, which by no possibility can affect growth, as existence of tallow-chandler cannot tend to make fat. in such selected races, if not removed to new conditions, and <if> preserved from all cross, after several generations become very true, like each other and not varying. but man{ } selects only <?> what is useful and curious--has bad judgment, is capricious,--grudges to destroy those that do not come up to his pattern,--has no [knowledge] power of selecting according to internal variations,--can hardly keep his conditions uniform,--[cannot] does not select those best adapted to the conditions under which <the> form <?> lives, but those most useful to him. this might all be otherwise. { } there is an article on the _vis medicatrix_ in brougham's _dissertations_, , a copy of which is in the author's library. { } this is the classification of selection into methodical and unconscious given in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } this passage, and a similar discussion on the power of the creator (p. ), correspond to the comparison between the selective capacities of man and nature, in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . § ii. <on variation in a state of nature and on the natural means of selection.> let us see how far above principles of variation apply to wild animals. wild animals vary exceedingly little--yet they are known as individuals{ }. british plants, in many genera number quite uncertain of varieties and species: in shells chiefly external conditions{ }. primrose and cowslip. wild animals from different [countries can be recognized]. specific character gives some organs as varying. variations analogous in kind, but less in degree with domesticated animals--chiefly external and less important parts. { } i.e. they are individually distinguishable. { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . our experience would lead us to expect that any and every one of these organisms would vary if <the organism were> taken away <?> and placed under new conditions. geology proclaims a constant round of change, bringing into play, by every possible <?> change of climate and the death of pre-existing inhabitants, endless variations of new conditions. these <?> generally very slow, doubtful though <illegible> how far the slowness <?> would produce tendency to vary. but geolog<ists> show change in configuration which, together with the accidents of air and water and the means of transportal which every being possesses, must occasionally bring, rather suddenly, organism to new conditions and <?> expose it for several generations. hence <?> we should expect every now and then a wild form to vary{ }; possibly this may be cause of some species varying more than others. { } when the author wrote this sketch he seems not to have been so fully convinced of the general occurrence of variation in nature as he afterwards became. the above passage in the text possibly suggests that at this time he laid more stress on _sports_ or _mutations_ than was afterwards the case. according to nature of new conditions, so we might expect all or majority of organisms born under them to vary in some definite way. further we might expect that the mould in which they are cast would likewise vary in some small degree. but is there any means of selecting those offspring which vary in the same manner, crossing them and keeping their offspring separate and thus producing selected races: otherwise as the wild animals freely cross, so must such small heterogeneous varieties be constantly counter-balanced and lost, and a uniformity of character [kept up] preserved. the former variation as the direct and necessary effects of causes, which we can see can act on them, as size of body from amount of food, effect of certain kinds of food on certain parts of bodies &c. &c.; such new varieties may then become adapted to those external [natural] agencies which act on them. but can varieties be produced adapted to end, which cannot possibly influence their structure and which it is absurd to look <at> as effects of chance. can varieties like some vars of domesticated animals, like almost all wild species be produced adapted by exquisite means to prey on one animal or to escape from another,--or rather, as it puts out of question effects of intelligence and habits, can a plant become adapted to animals, as a plant which cannot be impregnated without agency of insect; or hooked seeds depending on animal's existence: woolly animals cannot have any direct effect on seeds of plant. this point which all theories about climate adapting woodpecker{ } to crawl <?> up trees, <illegible> miseltoe, <sentence incomplete>. but if every part of a plant or animal was to vary <illegible>, and if a being infinitely more sagacious than man (not an omniscient creator) during thousands and thousands of years were to select all the variations which tended towards certain ends ([or were to produce causes <?> which tended to the same end]), for instance, if he foresaw a canine animal would be better off, owing to the country producing more hares, if he were longer legged and keener sight,--greyhound produced{ }. if he saw that aquatic <animal would need> skinned toes. if for some unknown cause he found it would advantage a plant, which <?> like most plants is occasionally visited by bees &c.: if that plant's seed were occasionally eaten by birds and were then carried on to rotten trees, he might select trees with fruit more agreeable to such birds as perched, to ensure their being carried to trees; if he perceived those birds more often dropped the seeds, he might well have selected a bird who would <illegible> rotten trees or [gradually select plants which <he> had proved to live on less and less rotten trees]. who, seeing how plants vary in garden, what blind foolish man has done{ } in a few years, will deny an all-seeing being in thousands of years could effect (if the creator chose to do so), either by his own direct foresight or by intermediate means,--which will represent <?> the creator of this universe. seems usual means. be it remembered i have nothing to say about life and mind and _all_ forms descending from one common type{ }. i speak of the variation of the existing great divisions of the organised kingdom, how far i would go, hereafter to be seen. { } the author may possibly have taken the case of the woodpecker from buffon, _histoire nat. des oiseaux_, t. vii. p. , , where however it is treated from a different point of view. he uses it more than once, see for instance _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , , vi. pp. , , . the passage in the text corresponds with a discussion on the woodpecker and the mistletoe in _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } this illustration occurs in the _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. pp. , . { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , where the word _creator_ is replaced by _nature_. { } note in the original. "good place to introduce, saying reasons hereafter to be given, how far i extend theory, say to all mammalia--reasons growing weaker and weaker." before considering whether <there> be any natural means of selection, and secondly (which forms the nd part of this sketch) the far more important point whether the characters and relations of animated <things> are such as favour the idea of wild species being races <?> descended from a common stock, as the varieties of potato or dahlia or cattle having so descended, let us consider probable character of [selected races] wild varieties. _natural selection._ de candolle's war of nature,--seeing contented face of nature,--may be well at first doubted; we see it on borders of perpetual cold{ }. but considering the enormous geometrical power of increase in every organism and as <?> every country, in ordinary cases <countries> must be stocked to full extent, reflection will show that this is the case. malthus on man,--in animals no moral [check] restraint <?>--they breed in time of year when provision most abundant, or season most favourable, every country has its seasons,--calculate robins,--oscillating from years of destruction{ }. if proof were wanted let any singular change of climate <occur> here <?>, how astoundingly some tribes <?> increase, also introduced animals{ }, the pressure is always ready,--capacity of alpine plants to endure other climates,--think of endless seeds scattered abroad,--forests regaining their percentage{ },--a thousand wedges{ } are being forced into the oeconomy of nature. this requires much reflection; study malthus and calculate rates of increase and remember the resistance,--only periodical. { } see _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. p. , where similar reference is made to de candolle; for malthus see _origin_, p. . { } this may possibly refer to the amount of destruction going on. see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , where there is an estimate of a later date as to death-rate of birds in winter. "calculate robins" probably refers to a calculation of the rate of increase of birds under favourable conditions. { } in the _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. p. , he instances cattle and horses and certain plants in s. america and american species of plants in india, and further on, as unexpected effects of changed conditions, the enclosure of a heath, and the relation between the fertilisation of clover and the presence of cats (_origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. ). { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . "it has been observed that the trees now growing on ... ancient indian mounds ... display the same beautiful diversity and proportion of kinds as in the surrounding virgin forests." { } the simile of the wedge occurs in the _origin_, ed. i. p. ; it is deleted in darwin's copy of the first edition: it does not occur in ed. vi. the unavoidable effect of this <is> that many of every species are destroyed either in egg or [young or mature (the former state the more common)]. in the course of a thousand generations infinitesimally small differences must inevitably tell{ }; when unusually cold winter, or hot or dry summer comes, then out of the whole body of individuals of any species, if there be the smallest differences in their structure, habits, instincts [senses], health &c, <it> will on an average tell; as conditions change a rather larger proportion will be preserved: so if the chief check to increase falls on seeds or eggs, so will, in the course of generations or ten thousand, those seeds (like one with down to fly{ }) which fly furthest and get scattered most ultimately rear most plants, and such small differences tend to be hereditary like shades of expression in human countenance. so if one parent <?> fish deposits its egg in infinitesimally different circumstances, as in rather shallower or deeper water &c., it will then <?> tell. { } in a rough summary at the close of the essay, occur the words:--"every creature lives by a struggle, smallest grain in balance must tell." { } cf. _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . let hares{ } increase very slowly from change of climate affecting peculiar plants, and some other <illegible> rabbit decrease in same proportion [let this unsettle organisation of], a canine animal, who formerly derived its chief sustenance by springing on rabbits or running them by scent, must decrease too and might thus readily become exterminated. but if its form varied very slightly, the long legged fleet ones, during a thousand years being selected, and the less fleet rigidly destroyed must, if no law of nature be opposed to it, alter forms. { } this is a repetition of what is given at p. . remember how soon bakewell on the same principle altered cattle and western, sheep,--carefully avoiding a cross (pigeons) with any breed. we cannot suppose that one plant tends to vary in fruit and another in flower, and another in flower and foliage,--some have been selected for both fruit and flower: that one animal varies in its covering and another not,--another in its milk. take any organism and ask what is it useful for and on that point it will be found to vary,--cabbages in their leaf,--corn in size <and> quality of grain, both in times of year,--kidney beans for young pod and cotton for envelope of seeds &c. &c.: dogs in intellect, courage, fleetness and smell <?>: pigeons in peculiarities approaching to monsters. this requires consideration,--should be introduced in first chapter if it holds, i believe it does. it is hypothetical at best{ }. { } compare _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . "i have seen it gravely remarked, that it was most fortunate that the strawberry began to vary just when gardeners began to attend closely to this plant. no doubt the strawberry had always varied since it was cultivated, but the slight varieties had been neglected." nature's variation far less, but such selection far more rigid and scrutinising. man's races not [even so well] only not better adapted to conditions than other races, but often not <?> one race adapted to its conditions, as man keeps and propagates some alpine plants in garden. nature lets <an> animal live, till on actual proof it is found less able to do the required work to serve the desired end, man judges solely by his eye, and knows not whether nerves, muscles, arteries, are developed in proportion to the change of external form. besides selection by death, in bisexual animals <illegible> the selection in time of fullest vigour, namely struggle of males; even in animals which pair there seems a surplus <?> and a battle, possibly as in man more males produced than females, struggle of war or charms{ }. hence that male which at that time is in fullest vigour, or best armed with arms or ornaments of its species, will gain in hundreds of generations some small advantage and transmit such characters to its offspring. so in female rearing its young, the most vigorous and skilful and industrious, <whose> instincts <are> best developed, will rear more young, probably possessing her good qualities, and a greater number will thus <be> prepared for the struggle of nature. compared to man using a male alone of good breed. this latter section only of limited application, applies to variation of [specific] sexual characters. introduce here contrast with lamarck,--absurdity of habit, or chance?? or external conditions, making a woodpecker adapted to tree{ }. { } here we have the two types of sexual selection discussed in the _origin_, ed. i. pp. et seq., vi. pp. et seq. { } it is not obvious why the author objects to "chance" or "external conditions making a woodpecker." he allows that variation is ultimately referable to conditions and that the nature of the connexion is unknown, i.e. that the result is fortuitous. it is not clear in the original to how much of the passage the two ? refer. before considering difficulties of theory of selection let us consider character of the races produced, as now explained, by nature. conditions have varied slowly and the organisms best adapted in their whole course of life to the changed conditions have always been selected,--man selects small dog and afterwards gives it profusion of food,--selects a long-backed and short-legged breed and gives it no particular exercise to suit this function &c. &c. in ordinary cases nature has not allowed her race to be contaminated with a cross of another race, and agriculturists know how difficult they find always to prevent this,--effect would be trueness. this character and sterility when crossed, and generally a greater amount of difference, are two main features, which distinguish domestic races from species. [sterility not universal admitted by all{ }. _gladiolus_, _crinum_, _calceolaria_{ } must be species if there be such a thing. races of dogs and oxen: but certainly very general; indeed a gradation of sterility most perfect{ } very general. some nearest species will not cross (crocus, some heath <?>), some genera cross readily (fowls{ } and grouse, peacock &c.). hybrids no ways monstrous quite perfect except secretions{ } hence even the mule has bred,--character of sterility, especially a few years ago <?> thought very much more universal than it now is, has been thought the distinguishing character; indeed it is obvious if all forms freely crossed, nature would be a chaos. but the very gradation of the character, even if it always existed in some degree which it does not, renders it impossible as marks <?> those <?> suppose distinct as species{ }]. will analogy throw any light on the fact of the supposed races of nature being sterile, though none of the domestic ones are? mr herbert <and> koelreuter have shown external differences will not guide one in knowing whether hybrids will be fertile or not, but the chief circumstance is constitutional differences{ }, such as being adapted to different climate or soil, differences which [must] probably affect the whole body of the organism and not any one part. now wild animals, taken out of their natural conditions, seldom breed. i do not refer to shows or to zoological societies where many animals unite, but <do not?> breed, and others will never unite, but to wild animals caught and kept _quite tame_ left loose and well fed about houses and living many years. hybrids produced almost as readily as pure breds. st hilaire great distinction of tame and domestic,--elephants,--ferrets{ }. reproductive organs not subject to disease in zoological garden. dissection and microscope show that hybrid is in exactly same condition as another animal in the intervals of breeding season, or those animals which taken wild and _not bred_ in domesticity, remain without breeding their whole lives. it should be observed that so far from domesticity being unfavourable in itself <it> makes more fertile: [when animal is domesticated and breeds, productive power increased from more food and selection of fertile races]. as far as animals go might be thought <an> effect on their mind and a special case. { } the meaning is "that sterility is not universal is admitted by all." { } see _var. under dom._, ed. , i. p. , where the garden forms of _gladiolus_ and _calceolaria_ are said to be derived from crosses between distinct species. herbert's hybrid _crinums_ are discussed in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . it is well known that the author believed in a multiple origin of domestic dogs. { } the argument from gradation in sterility is given in the _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. pp. , . in the _origin_, i have not come across the cases mentioned, viz. crocus, heath, or grouse and fowl or peacock. for sterility between closely allied species, see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . in the present essay the author does not distinguish between fertility between species and the fertility of the hybrid offspring, a point on which he insists in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } ackermann (_ber. d. vereins f. naturkunde zu kassel_, , p. ) quotes from gloger that a cross has been effected between a domestic hen and a _tetrao tetrix_; the offspring died when three days old. { } no doubt the sexual cells are meant. i do not know on what evidence it is stated that the mule has bred. { } the sentence is all but illegible. i think that the author refers to forms usually ranked as varieties having been marked as species when it was found that they were sterile together. see the case of the red and blue _anagallis_ given from gärtner in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , where the author speaks of constitutional differences in this connexion, he specifies that they are confined to the reproductive system. { } the sensitiveness of the reproductive system to changed conditions is insisted on in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . the ferret is mentioned, as being prolific in captivity, in _var. under dom._, ed. , ii. p. . but turning to plants we find same class of facts. i do not refer to seeds not ripening, perhaps the commonest cause, but to plants not setting, which either is owing to some imperfection of ovule or pollen. lindley says sterility is the [curse] bane of all propagators,--linnæus about alpine plants. american bog plants,--pollen in exactly same state as in hybrids,--same in geraniums. persian and chinese{ } lilac will not seed in italy and england. probably double plants and all fruits owe their developed parts primarily <?> to sterility and extra food thus <?> applied{ }. there is here gradation <in> sterility and then parts, like diseases, are transmitted hereditarily. we cannot assign any cause why the pontic azalea produces plenty of pollen and not american{ }, why common lilac seeds and not persian, we see no difference in healthiness. we know not on what circumstances these facts depend, why ferret breeds, and cheetah{ }, elephant and pig in india will not. { } lindley's remark is quoted in the _origin_, ed. i. p. . linnæus' remark is to the effect that alpine plants tend to be sterile under cultivation (see _var. under dom._, ed. , ii. p. ). in the same place the author speaks of peat-loving plants being sterile in our gardens,--no doubt the american bog-plants referred to above. on the following page (p. ) the sterility of the lilac (_syringa persica_ and _chinensis_) is referred to. { } the author probably means that the increase in the petals is due to a greater food supply being available for them owing to sterility. see the discussion in _var. under dom._, ed. , ii. p. . it must be noted that doubleness of the flower may exist without noticeable sterility. { } i have not come across this case in the author's works. { } for the somewhat doubtful case of the cheetah (_felis jubata_) see _var. under dom._, ed. , ii. p. . i do not know to what fact "pig in india" refers. now in crossing it is certain every peculiarity in form and constitution is transmitted: an alpine plant transmits its alpine tendency to its offspring, an american plant its american-bog constitution, and <with> animals, those peculiarities, on which{ } when placed out of their natural conditions they are incapable of breeding; and moreover they transmit every part of their constitution, their respiration, their pulse, their instinct, which are all suddenly modified, can it be wondered at that they are incapable of breeding? i think it may be truly said it would be more wonderful if they did. but it may be asked why have not the recognised varieties, supposed to have been produced through the means of man, [not refused to breed] have all bred{ }. variation depends on change of condition and selection{ }, as far as man's systematic or unsystematic selection <has> gone; he takes external form, has little power from ignorance over internal invisible constitutional differences. races which have long been domesticated, and have much varied, are precisely those which were capable of bearing great changes, whose constitutions were adapted to a diversity of climates. nature changes slowly and by degrees. according to many authors probably breeds of dogs are another case of modified species freely crossing. there is no variety which <illegible> has been <illegible> adapted to peculiar soil or situation for a thousand years and another rigorously adapted to another, till such can be produced, the question is not tried{ }. man in past ages, could transport into different climates, animals and plants which would freely propagate in such new climates. nature could effect, with selection, such changes slowly, so that precisely those animals which are adapted to submit to great changes have given rise to diverse races,--and indeed great doubt on this head{ }. { } this sentence should run "on which depends their incapacity to breed in unnatural conditions." { } this sentence ends in confusion: it should clearly close with the words "refused to breed" in place of the bracket and the present concluding phrase. { } the author doubtless refers to the change produced by the _summation_ of variation by means of selection. { } the meaning of this sentence is made clear by a passage in the ms. of :--"until man selects two varieties from the same stock, adapted to two climates or to other different external conditions, and confines each rigidly for one or several thousand years to such conditions, always selecting the individuals best adapted to them, he cannot be said to have even commenced the experiment." that is, the attempt to produce mutually sterile domestic breeds. { } this passage is to some extent a repetition of a previous one and may have been intended to replace an earlier sentence. i have thought it best to give both. in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , the author gives his opinion that the power of resisting diverse conditions, seen in man and his domestic animals, is an example "of a very common flexibility of constitution." before leaving this subject well to observe that it was shown that a certain amount of variation is consequent on mere act of reproduction, both by buds and sexually,--is vastly increased when parents exposed for some generations to new conditions{ }, and we now find that many animals when exposed for first time to very new conditions, are <as> incapable of breeding as hybrids. it [probably] bears also on supposed fact of crossed animals when not infertile, as in mongrels, tending to vary much, as likewise seems to be the case, when true hybrids possess just sufficient fertility to propagate with the parent breeds and _inter se_ for some generations. this is koelreuter's belief. these facts throw light on each other and support the truth of each other, we see throughout a connection between the reproductive faculties and exposure to changed conditions of life whether by crossing or exposure of the individuals{ }. { } in the _origin_, ed. i. chs. i. and v., the author does not admit reproduction, apart from environment, as being a cause of variation. with regard to the cumulative effect of new conditions there are many passages in the _origin_, ed. i. e.g. pp. , , vi. pp. , . { } as already pointed out, this is the important principle investigated in the author's _cross and self-fertilisation_. professor bateson has suggested to me that the experiments should be repeated with gametically pure individuals. _difficulties on theory of selection_{ }. it may be objected such perfect organs as eye and ear, could never be formed, in latter less difficulty as gradations more perfect; at first appears monstrous and to <the> end appears difficulty. but think of gradation, even now manifest, (tibia and fibula). everyone will allow if every fossil preserved, gradation infinitely more perfect; for possibility of selection a perfect <?> gradation is required. different groups of structure, slight gradation in each group,--every analogy renders it probable that intermediate forms have existed. be it remembered what strange metamorphoses; part of eye, not directly connected with vision, might come to be [thus used] gradually worked in for this end,--swimming bladder by gradation of structure is admitted to belong to the ear system,--rattlesnake. [woodpecker best adapted to climb.] in some cases gradation not possible,--as vertebræ,--actually vary in domestic animals,--less difficult if growth followed. looking to whole animals, a bat formed not for flight{ }. suppose we had flying fish{ } and not one of our now called flying fish preserved, who would have guessed intermediate habits. woodpeckers and tree-frogs both live in countries where no trees{ }. { } in the _origin_ a chapter is given up to "difficulties on theory": the discussion in the present essay seems slight even when it is remembered how small a space is here available. for _tibia_ &c. see p. . { } this may be interpreted "the general structure of a bat is the same as that of non-flying mammals." { } that is truly winged fish. { } the terrestrial woodpecker of s. america formed the subject of a paper by darwin, _proc. zool. soc._, . see _life and letters_, vol. iii. p. . the gradations by which each individual organ has arrived at its present state, and each individual animal with its aggregate of organs has arrived, probably never could be known, and all present great difficulties. i merely wish to show that the proposition is not so monstrous as it at first appears, and that if good reason can be advanced for believing the species have descended from common parents, the difficulty of imagining intermediate forms of structure not sufficient to make one at once reject the theory. § iii. <on variation in instincts and other mental attributes.> the mental powers of different animals in wild and tame state [present still greater difficulties] require a separate section. be it remembered i have nothing to do with origin of memory, attention, and the different faculties of the mind{ }, but merely with their differences in each of the great divisions of nature. disposition, courage, pertinacity <?>, suspicion, restlessness, ill-temper, sagacity and <the> reverse unquestionably vary in animals and are inherited (cuba wildness dogs, rabbits, fear against particular object as man galapagos{ }). habits purely corporeal, breeding season &c., time of going to rest &c., vary and are hereditary, like the analogous habits of plants which vary and are inherited. habits of body, as manner of movement d^o. and d^o. habits, as pointing and setting on certain occasions d^o. taste for hunting certain objects and manner of doing so,--sheep-dog. these are shown clearly by crossing and their analogy with true instinct thus shown,--retriever. do not know objects for which they do it. lord brougham's definition{ }. origin partly habit, but the amount necessarily unknown, partly selection. young pointers pointing stones and sheep--tumbling pigeons--sheep{ } going back to place where born. instinct aided by reason, as in the taylor-bird{ }. taught by parents, cows choosing food, birds singing. instincts vary in wild state (birds get wilder) often lost{ }; more perfect,--nest without roof. these facts [only clear way] show how incomprehensibly brain has power of transmitting intellectual operations. { } the same proviso occurs in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } the tameness of the birds in the galapagos is described in the _journal of researches_ ( ), p. . dogs and rabbits are probably mentioned as cases in which the hereditary fear of man has been lost. in the ms. the author states that the cuban feral dog shows great natural wildness, even when caught quite young. { } in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , he refuses to define instinct. for lord brougham's definition see his _dissertations on subjects of science etc._, , p. . { } see james hogg (the ettrick shepherd), works, , _tales and sketches_, p. . { } this refers to the tailor-bird making use of manufactured thread supplied to it, instead of thread twisted by itself. { } _often lost_ applies to _instinct_: _birds get wilder_ is printed in a parenthesis because it was apparently added as an after-thought. _nest without roof_ refers to the water-ousel omitting to vault its nest when building in a protected situation. faculties{ } distinct from true instincts,--finding [way]. it must i think be admitted that habits whether congenital or acquired by practice [sometimes] often become inherited{ }; instincts, influence, equally with structure, the preservation of animals; therefore selection must, with changing conditions tend to modify the inherited habits of animals. if this be admitted it will be found _possible_ that many of the strangest instincts may be thus acquired. i may observe, without attempting definition, that an inherited habit or trick (trick because may be born) fulfils closely what we mean by instinct. a habit is often performed unconsciously, the strangest habits become associated, d^o. tricks, going in certain spots &c. &c., even against will, is excited by external agencies, and looks not to the end,--a person playing a pianoforte. if such a habit were transmitted it would make a marvellous instinct. let us consider some of the most difficult cases of instincts, whether they could be _possibly_ acquired. i do not say _probably_, for that belongs to our rd part{ }, i beg this may be remembered, nor do i mean to attempt to show exact method. i want only to show that whole theory ought not at once to be rejected on this score. { } in the ms. of is an interesting discussion on _faculty_ as distinct from _instinct_. { } at this date and for long afterwards the inheritance of acquired characters was assumed to occur. { } part ii. is here intended: see the introduction. every instinct must, by my theory, have been acquired gradually by slight changes <illegible> of former instinct, each change being useful to its then species. shamming death struck me at first as remarkable objection. i found none really sham death{ }, and that there is gradation; now no one doubts that those insects which do it either more or less, do it for some good, if then any species was led to do it more, and then <?> escaped &c. &c. { } the meaning is that the attitude assumed in _shamming_ is not accurately like that of death. take migratory instincts, faculty distinct from instinct, animals have notion of time,--like savages. ordinary finding way by memory, but how does savage find way across country,--as incomprehensible to us, as animal to them,--geological changes,--fishes in river,--case of sheep in spain{ }. architectural instincts,--a manufacturer's employee in making single articles extraordinary skill,--often said seem to make it almost <illegible>, child born with such a notion of playing{ },--we can fancy tailoring acquired in same perfection,--mixture of reason,--water-ouzel,--taylor-bird,--gradation of simple nest to most complicated. { } this refers to the _transandantes_ sheep mentioned in the ms. of , as having acquired a migratory instinct. { } in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , mozart's pseudo-instinctive skill in piano-playing is mentioned. see _phil. trans._, , p. . bees again, distinction of faculty,--how they make a hexagon,--waterhouse's theory{ },--the impulse to use whatever faculty they possess,--the taylor-bird has the faculty of sewing with beak, instinct impels him to do it. { } in the discussion on bees' cells, _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , the author acknowledges that his theory originated in waterhouse's observations. last case of parent feeding young with different food (take case of galapagos birds, gradation from hawfinch to sylvia) selection and habit might lead old birds to vary taste <?> and form, leaving their instinct of feeding their young with same food{ },--or i see no difficulty in parents being forced or induced to vary the food brought, and selection adapting the young ones to it, and thus by degree any amount of diversity might be arrived at. although we can never hope to see the course revealed by which different instincts have been acquired, for we have only present animals (not well known) to judge of the course of gradation, yet once grant the principle of habits, whether congenital or acquired by experience, being inherited and i can see no limit to the [amount of variation] extraordinariness <?> of the habits thus acquired. { } the hawfinch-and _sylvia-_types are figured in the _journal of researches_, p. . the discussion of change of form in relation to change of instinct is not clear, and i find it impossible to suggest a paraphrase. _summing up this division._ if variation be admitted to occur occasionally in some wild animals, and how can we doubt it, when we see [all] thousands <of> organisms, for whatever use taken by man, do vary. if we admit such variations tend to be hereditary, and how can we doubt it when we <remember> resemblances of features and character,--disease and monstrosities inherited and endless races produced ( cabbages). if we admit selection is steadily at work, and who will doubt it, when he considers amount of food on an average fixed and reproductive powers act in geometrical ratio. if we admit that external conditions vary, as all geology proclaims, they have done and are now doing,--then, if no law of nature be opposed, there must occasionally be formed races, [slightly] differing from the parent races. so then any such law{ }, none is known, but in all works it is assumed, in <?> flat contradiction to all known facts, that the amount of possible variation is soon acquired. are not all the most varied species, the oldest domesticated: who <would> think that horses or corn could be produced? take dahlia and potato, who will pretend in years{ } <that great changes might not be effected>: perfectly adapted to conditions and then again brought into varying conditions. think what has been done in few last years, look at pigeons, and cattle. with the amount of food man can produce he may have arrived at limit of fatness or size, or thickness of wool <?>, but these are the most trivial points, but even in these i conclude it is impossible to say we know the limit of variation. and therefore with the [adapting] selecting power of nature, infinitely wise compared to those of man, <i conclude> that it is impossible to say we know the limit of races, which would be true <to their> kind; if of different constitutions would probably be infertile one with another, and which might be adapted in the most singular and admirable manner, according to their wants, to external nature and to other surrounding organisms,--such races would be species. but is there any evidence <that> species <have> been thus produced, this is a question wholly independent of all previous points, and which on examination of the kingdom of nature <we> ought to answer one way or another. { } i should interpret this obscure sentence as follows, "no such opposing law is known, but in all works on the subject a law is (in flat contradiction to all known facts) assumed to limit the possible amount of variation." in the _origin_, the author never limits the power of variation, as far as i know. { } in _var. under dom._ ed. , ii. p. , the _dahlia_ is described as showing sensitiveness to conditions in . all the varieties of the _dahlia_ are said to have arisen since (_ibid._ i. p. ). part ii{ }. { } in the original ms. the heading is: part iii.; but part ii. is clearly intended; for details see the introduction. i have not been able to discover where § iv. ends and § v. begins. §§ iv. & v. <on the evidence from geology.> i may premise, that according to the view ordinarily received, the myriads of organisms peopling this world have been created by so many distinct acts of creation. as we know nothing of the <illegible> will of a creator,--we can see no reason why there should exist any relation between the organisms thus created; or again, they might be created according to any scheme. but it would be marvellous if this scheme should be the same as would result from the descent of groups of organisms from [certain] the same parents, according to the circumstances, just attempted to be developed. with equal probability did old cosmogonists say fossils were created, as we now see them, with a false resemblance to living beings{ }; what would the astronomer say to the doctrine that the planets moved <not> according to the law of gravitation, but from the creator having willed each separate planet to move in its particular orbit? i believe such a proposition (if we remove all prejudices) would be as legitimate as to admit that certain groups of living and extinct organisms, in their distribution, in their structure and in their relations one to another and to external conditions, agreed with the theory and showed signs of common descent, and yet were created distinct. as long as it was thought impossible that organisms should vary, or should anyhow become adapted to other organisms in a complicated manner, and yet be separated from them by an impassable barrier of sterility{ }, it was justifiable, even with some appearance in favour of a common descent, to admit distinct creation according to the will of an omniscient creator; or, for it is the same thing, to say with whewell that the beginnings of all things surpass the comprehension of man. in the former sections i have endeavoured to show that such variation or specification is not impossible, nay, in many points of view is absolutely probable. what then is the evidence in favour of it and what the evidence against it. with our imperfect knowledge of past ages [surely there will be some] it would be strange if the imperfection did not create some unfavourable evidence. { } this passage corresponds roughly to the conclusion of the _origin_, see ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } a similar passage occurs in the conclusion of the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . give sketch of the past,--beginning with facts appearing hostile under present knowledge,--then proceed to geograph. distribution,--order of appearance,--affinities,--morphology &c., &c. our theory requires a very gradual introduction of new forms{ }, and extermination of the old (to which we shall revert). the extermination of old may sometimes be rapid, but never the introduction. in the groups descended from common parent, our theory requires a perfect gradation not differing more than breed<s> of cattle, or potatoes, or cabbages in forms. i do not mean that a graduated series of animals must have existed, intermediate between horse, mouse, tapir{ }, elephant [or fowl and peacock], but that these must have had a common parent, and between horse and this <?> parent &c., &c., but the common parent may possibly have differed more from either than the two do now from each other. now what evidence of this is there? so perfect gradation in some departments, that some naturalists have thought that in some large divisions, if all existing forms were collected, a near approach to perfect gradation would be made. but such a notion is preposterous with respect to all, but evidently so with mammals. other naturalists have thought this would be so if all the specimens entombed in the strata were collected{ }. i conceive there is no probability whatever of this; nevertheless it is certain all the numerous fossil forms fall in<to>, as buckland remarks, _not_ present classes, families and genera, they fall between them: so is it with new discoveries of existing forms. most ancient fossils, that is most separated <by> space of time, are most apt to fall between the classes--(but organisms from those countries most separated by space also fall between the classes <_e.g._> ornithorhyncus?). as far as geological discoveries <go> they tend towards such gradation{ }. illustrate it with net. toxodon,--tibia and fibula,--dog and otter,--but so utterly improbable is <it>, in _ex. gr._ pachydermata, to compose series as perfect as cattle, that if, as many geologists seem to infer, each separate formation presents even an approach to a consecutive history, my theory must be given up. even if it were consecutive, it would only collect series of one district in our present state of knowledge; but what probability is there that any one formation during the _immense_ period which has elapsed during each period will _generally_ present a consecutive history. [compare number living at one period to fossils preserved--look at enormous periods of time.] { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } see _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. p. . the author uses his experience of pigeons for examples for what he means by _intermediate_; the instance of the horse and tapir also occurs. { } the absence of intermediate forms between living organisms (and also as regards fossils) is discussed in the _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. p. . in the above discussion there is no evidence that the author felt this difficulty so strongly as it is expressed in the _origin_, ed. i. p. ,--as perhaps "the most obvious and gravest objection that can be urged against my theory." but in a rough summary written on the back of the penultimate page of the ms. he refers to the geological evidence:--"evidence, as far as it does go, is favourable, exceedingly incomplete,--greatest difficulty on this theory. i am convinced not insuperable." buckland's remarks are given in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } that the evidence of geology, as far as it goes, is favourable to the theory of descent is claimed in the _origin_, ed. i. pp. - , vi. pp. - . for the reference to _net_ in the following sentence, see note , p. , {note } of this essay. referring only to marine animals, which are obviously most likely to be preserved, they must live where <?> sediment (of a kind favourable for preservation, not sand and pebble){ } is depositing quickly and over large area and must be thickly capped, <illegible> littoral deposits: for otherwise denudation <will destroy them>,--they must live in a shallow space which sediment will tend to fill up,--as movement is <in?> progress if soon brought <?> up <?> subject to denudation,--[if] as during subsidence favourable, accords with facts of european deposits{ }, but subsidence apt to destroy agents which produce sediment{ }. { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . "the remains that do become embedded, if in sand and gravel, will, when the beds are upraised, generally be dissolved by the percolation of rain-water." { } the position of the following is not clear:--"think of immense differences in nature of european deposits,--without interposing new causes,--think of time required by present slow changes, to cause, on very same area, such diverse deposits, iron-sand, chalk, sand, coral, clay!" { } the paragraph which ends here is difficult to interpret. in spite of obscurity it is easy to recognize the general resemblance to the discussion on the importance of subsidence given in the _origin_, ed. i. pp. et seq., vi. pp. et seq. i believe safely inferred <that> groups of marine <?> fossils only preserved for future ages where sediment goes on long <and> continuous<ly> and with rapid but not too rapid deposition in <an> area of subsidence. in how few places in any one region like europe will <?> these contingencies be going on? hence <?> in past ages mere [gaps] pages preserved{ }. lyell's doctrine carried to extreme,--we shall understand difficulty if it be asked:--what chance of series of gradation between cattle by <illegible> at age <illegible> as far back as miocene{ }? we know then cattle existed. compare number of living,--immense duration of each period,--fewness of fossils. { } see note , p. . { } compare _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . "we shall, perhaps, best perceive the improbability of our being enabled to connect species by numerous, fine, intermediate, fossil links, by asking ourselves whether, for instance, geologists at some future period will be able to prove that our different breeds of cattle, sheep, horses, and dogs have descended from a single stock or from several aboriginal stocks." this only refers to consecutiveness of history of organisms of each formation. the foregoing argument will show firstly, that formations are distinct merely from want of fossils <of intermediate beds>, and secondly, that each formation is full of gaps, has been advanced to account for _fewness_ of _preserved_ organisms compared to what have lived on the world. the very same argument explains why in older formations the organisms appear to come on and disappear suddenly,--but in [later] tertiary not quite suddenly{ }, in later tertiary gradually,--becoming rare and disappearing,--some have disappeared within man's time. it is obvious that our theory requires gradual and nearly uniform introduction, possibly more sudden extermination,--subsidence of continent of australia &c., &c. { } the sudden appearance of groups of allied species in the lowest known fossiliferous strata is discussed in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . the gradual appearance in the later strata occurs in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . our theory requires that the first form which existed of each of the great divisions would present points intermediate between existing ones, but immensely different. most geologists believe silurian{ } fossils are those which first existed in the whole world, not those which have chanced to be the oldest not destroyed,--or the first which existed in profoundly deep seas in progress of conversion from sea to land: if they are first they <? we> give up. not so hutton or lyell: if first reptile{ } of red sandstone <?> really was first which existed: if pachyderm{ } of paris was first which existed: fish of devonian: dragon fly of lias: for we cannot suppose them the progenitors: they agree too closely with existing divisions. but geologists consider europe as <?> a passage from sea to island <?> to continent (except wealden, see lyell). these animals therefore, i consider then mere introduction <?> from continents long since submerged. { } compare _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } i have interpreted as _sandstone_ a scrawl which i first read as _sea_; i have done so at the suggestion of professor judd, who points out that "footprints in the red sandstone were known at that time, and geologists were not then particular to distinguish between amphibians and reptiles." { } this refers to cuvier's discovery of _palæotherium_ &c. at montmartre. finally, if views of some geologists be correct, my theory must be given up. [lyell's views, as far as they go, are in _favour_, but they go so little in favour, and so much more is required, that it may <be> viewed as objection.] if geology present us with mere pages in chapters, towards end of <a> history, formed by tearing out bundles of leaves, and each page illustrating merely a small portion of the organisms of that time, the facts accord perfectly with my theory{ }. { } this simile is more fully given in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . "for my part, following out lyell's metaphor, i look at the natural geological record, as a history of the world imperfectly kept, and written in a changing dialect; of this history we possess the last volume alone, relating only to two or three countries. of this volume, only here and there a short chapter has been preserved; and of each page, only here and there a few lines. each word of the slowly-changing language, in which the history is supposed to be written, being more or less different in the interrupted succession of chapters, may represent the apparently abruptly changed forms of life, entombed in our consecutive, but widely separated formations." professor judd has been good enough to point out to me, that darwin's metaphor is founded on the comparison of geology to history in ch. i. of the _principles of geology_, ed. i. , vol. i. pp. - . professor judd has also called my attention to another passage,--_principles_, ed. i. , vol. iii. p. , when lyell imagines an historian examining "two buried cities at the foot of vesuvius, immediately superimposed upon each other." the historian would discover that the inhabitants of the lower town were greeks while those of the upper one were italians. but he would be wrong in supposing that there had been a sudden change from the greek to the italian language in campania. i think it is clear that darwin's metaphor is partly taken from this passage. see for instance (in the above passage from the _origin_) such phrases as "history ... written in a changing dialect"--"apparently abruptly changed forms of life." the passage within [] in the above paragraph:--"lyell's views as far as they go &c.," no doubt refers, as professor judd points out, to lyell not going so far as darwin on the question of the imperfection of the geological record. _extermination._ we have seen that in later periods the organisms have disappeared by degrees and [perhaps] probably by degrees in earlier, and i have said our theory requires it. as many naturalists seem to think extermination a most mysterious circumstance{ } and call in astonishing agencies, it is well to recall what we have shown concerning the struggle of nature. an exterminating agency is at work with every organism: we scarcely see it: if robins would increase to thousands in ten years how severe must the process be. how imperceptible a small increase: fossils become rare: possibly sudden extermination as australia, but as present means very slow and many means of escape, i shall doubt very sudden exterminations. who can explain why some species abound more,--why does marsh titmouse, or ring-ouzel, now little change,--why is one sea-slug rare and another common on our coasts,--why one species of rhinoceros more than another,--why is <illegible> tiger of india so rare? curious and general sources of error, the place of an organism is instantly filled up. { } on rarity and extinction see _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. pp. , . we know state of earth has changed, and as earthquakes and tides go on, the state must change,--many geologists believe a slow gradual cooling. now let us see in accordance with principles of [variation] specification explained in sect. ii. how species would probably be introduced and how such results accord with what is known. the first fact geology proclaims is immense number of extinct forms, and new appearances. tertiary strata leads to belief, that forms gradually become rare and disappear and are gradually supplied by others. we see some forms now becoming rare and disappearing, we know of no sudden creation: in older periods the forms _appear_ to come in suddenly, scene shifts: but even here devonian, permian &c. [keep on supplying new links in chain]--genera and higher forms come on and disappear, in same way leaving a species on one or more stages below that in which the form abounded. <geographical distribution.> § vi. let us consider the absolute state of distribution of organisms of earth's face. referring chiefly, but not exclusively (from difficulty of transport, fewness, and the distinct characteristics of groups) to mammalia; and first considering the three or four main [regions] divisions; north america, europe, asia, including greater part of e. indian archipelago and africa are intimately allied. africa most distinct, especially most southern parts. and the arctic regions, which unite n. america, asia and europe, only separated (if we travel one way by behring's st.) by a narrow strait, is most intimately allied, indeed forms but one restricted group. next comes s. america,--then australia, madagascar (and some small islands which stand very remote from the land). looking at these main divisions separately, the organisms vary according to changes in condition{ } of different parts. but besides this, barriers of every kind seem to separate regions in a greater degree than proportionally to the difference of climates on each side. thus great chains of mountains, spaces of sea between islands and continents, even great rivers and deserts. in fact the amount <of> difference in the organisms bears a certain, but not invariable relation to the amount of physical difficulties to transit{ }. { } in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , the author begins his discussion on geographical distribution by minimising the effect of physical conditions. he lays great stress on the effect of _barriers_, as in the present essay. { } note in the original, "would it be more striking if we took animals, take rhinoceros, and study their habitats?" there are some curious exceptions, namely, similarity of fauna of mountains of europe and n. america and lapland. other cases just <the> reverse, mountains of eastern s. america, altai <?>, s. india <?>{ }: mountain summits of islands often eminently peculiar. fauna generally of some islands, even when close, very dissimilar, in others very similar. [i am here led to observe one or more centres of creation{ }.] { } note by mr a. r. wallace. "the want of similarity referred to, is, between the mountains of brazil and guiana and those of the andes. also those of the indian peninsula as compared with the himalayas. in both cases there is continuous intervening land. "the islands referred to were, no doubt, the galapagos for dissimilarity from s. america; our own islands as compared with europe, and perhaps java, for similarity with continental asia." { } the arguments against multiple centres of creation are given in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . the simple geologist can explain many of the foregoing cases of distribution. subsidence of a continent in which free means of dispersal, would drive the lowland plants up to the mountains, now converted into islands, and the semi-alpine plants would take place of alpine, and alpine be destroyed, if mountains originally were not of great height. so we may see, during gradual changes{ } of climate on a continent, the propagation of species would vary and adapt themselves to small changes causing much extermination{ }. the mountains of europe were quite lately covered with ice, and the lowlands probably partaking of the arctic climate and fauna. then as climate changed, arctic fauna would take place of ice, and an inundation of plants from different temperate countries <would> seize the lowlands, leaving islands of arctic forms. but if this had happened on an island, whence could the new forms have come,--here the geologist calls in creationists. if island formed, the geologist will suggest <that> many of the forms might have been borne from nearest land, but if peculiar, he calls in creationist,--as such island rises in height &c., he still more calls in creation. the creationist tells one, on a <illegible> spot the american spirit of creation makes _orpheus_ and _tyrannus_ and american doves, and in accordance with past and extinct forms, but no persistent relation between areas and distribution, geologico-geograph.-distribution. { } in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , the author does not give his views on the distribution of alpine plants as original but refers to edward forbes' work (_geolog. survey memoirs_, ). in his autobiography, darwin refers to this. "i was forestalled" he says, "in only one important point, which my vanity has always made me regret." (_life and letters_, i. p. .) { } <the following is written on the back of a page of the ms.> discuss one or more centres of creation: allude strongly to facilities of dispersal and amount of geological change: allude to mountain-summits afterwards to be referred to. the distribution varies, as everyone knows, according to adaptation, explain going from n. to s. how we come to fresh groups of species in the same general region, but besides this we find difference, according to greatness of barriers, in greater proportion than can be well accounted for by adaptation. <on representive species see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. .> this very striking when we think of cattle of pampas, plants <?> &c. &c. then go into discussion; this holds with or main divisions as well as the endless minor ones in each of these great ones: in these i chiefly refer to mammalia &c. &c. the similarity of type, but not in species, in same continent has been much less insisted on than the dissimilarity of different great regions generically: it is more striking. <i have here omitted an incomprehensible sentence.> galapagos islands, tristan d'acunha, _volcanic_ islands covered with craters we know lately did not support any organisms. how unlike these islands in nature to neighbouring lands. these facts perhaps more striking than almost any others. [geology apt to affect geography therefore we ought to expect to find the above.] geological-geographical distribution. in looking to past times we find australia equally distinct. s. america was distinct, though with more forms in common. n. america its nearest neighbour more in common,--in some respects more, in some less allied to europe. europe we find <?> equally european. for europe is now part of asia though not <illegible>. africa unknown,--examples, elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, hyaena. as geology destroys geography we cannot be surprised in going far back we find marsupials and edentata in europe: but geology destroys geography. now according to analogy of domesticated animals let us see what would result. let us take case of farmer on pampas, where everything approaches nearer to state of nature. he works on organisms having strong tendency to vary: and he knows <that the> only way to make a distinct breed is to select and separate. it would be useless to separate the best bulls and pair with best cows if their offspring run loose and bred with the other herds, and tendency to reversion not counteracted; he would endeavour therefore to get his cows on islands and then commence his work of selection. if several farmers in different _rincons_{ } were to set to work, especially if with different objects, several breeds would soon be produced. so would it be with horticulturist and so history of every plant shows; the number of varieties{ } increase in proportion to care bestowed on their selection and, with crossing plants, separation. now, according to this analogy, change of external conditions, and isolation either by chance landing <of> a form on an island, or subsidence dividing a continent, or great chain of mountains, and the number of individuals not being numerous will best favour variation and selection{ }. no doubt change could be effected in same country without any barrier by long continued selection on one species: even in case of a plant not capable of crossing would easier get possession and solely occupy an island{ }. now we can at once see that <if> two parts of a continent isolated, new species thus generated in them, would have closest affinities, like cattle in counties of england: if barrier afterwards destroyed one species might destroy the other or both keep their ground. so if island formed near continent, let it be ever so different, that continent would supply inhabitants, and new species (like the old) would be allied with that continent. an island generally very different soil and climate, and number and order of inhabitants supplied by chance, no point so favourable for generation of new species{ },--especially the mountains, hence, so it is. as isolated mountains formed in a plain country (if such happens) is an island. as other islands formed, the old species would spread and thus extend and the fauna of distant island might ultimately meet and a continent formed between them. no one doubts continents formed by repeated elevations and depressions{ }. in looking backwards, but not so far that all geographical boundaries are destroyed, we can thus at once see why existing forms are related to the extinct in the same manner as existing ones are in some part of existing continent. by chance we might even have one or two absolute parent fossils. { } _rincon_ in spanish means a _nook_ or _corner_, it is here probably used to mean a small farm. { } the following is written across the page: "no one would expect a set of similar varieties to be produced in the different countries, so species different." { } <the following passage seems to have been meant to follow here.> the parent of an organism, we may generally suppose to be in less favourable condition than the selected offspring and therefore generally in fewer numbers. (this is not borne out by horticulture, mere hypothesis; as an organism in favourable conditions might by selection be adapted to still more favourable conditions.) barrier would further act in preventing species formed in one part migrating to another part. { } <the following notes occur on the back of the page.> number of species not related to capabilities of the country: furthermore not always those best adapted, perhaps explained by creationists by changes and progress. <see p. , note .{note }> although creationists can, by help of geology, explain much, how can he explain the marked relation of past and present in same area, the varying relation in other cases, between past and present, the relation of different parts of same great area. if island, to adjoining continent, if quite different, on mountain summits,--the number of individuals not being related to capabilities, or how &c.--our theory, i believe, can throw much light and all facts accord. { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } on oscillation see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . the detection of transitional forms would be rendered more difficult on rising point of land. the distribution therefore in the above enumerated points, even the trivial ones, which on any other <theory?> can be viewed as so many ultimate facts, all follow <in> a simple manner on the theory of the occurrence of species by <illegible> and being adapted by selection to <illegible>, conjoined with their power of dispersal, and the steady geographico-geological changes which are now in progress and which undoubtedly have taken place. ought to state the opinion of the immutability of species and the creation by so many separate acts of will of the creator{ }. { } <from the back of ms.> effect of climate on stationary island and on continent, but continent once island. moreover repeated oscillations fresh diffusion when non-united, then isolation, when rising again immigration prevented, new habitats formed, new species, when united free immigration, hence uniform characters. hence more forms <on?> the island. mountain summits. why not true species. first let us recall in part i, conditions of variation: change of conditions during several generations, and if frequently altered so much better [perhaps excess of food]. secondly, continued selection [while in wild state]. thirdly, isolation in all or nearly all,--as well to recall advantages of. [in continent, if we look to terrestrial animal, long continued change might go on, which would only cause change in numerical number <? proportions>: if continued long enough might ultimately affect all, though to most continents <there is> chance of immigration. some few of whole body of species must be long affected and entire selection working same way. but here isolation absent, without barrier, cut off such <illegible>. we can see advantage of isolation. but let us take case of island thrown up by volcanic agency at some distances, here we should have occasional visitants, only in few numbers and exposed to new conditions and <illegible> more important,--a quite new grouping of organic beings, which would open out new sources of subsistence, or <would> control <?> old ones. the number would be few, can old have the very best opportunity. <the conquest of the indigenes by introduced organisms shows that the indigenes were not perfectly adapted, see _origin_, ed. i. p. .> moreover as the island continued changing,--continued slow changes, river, marshes, lakes, mountains &c. &c., new races as successively formed and a fresh occasional visitant. if island formed continent, some species would emerge and immigrate. everyone admits continents. we can see why galapagos and c. verde differ <see _origin_, ed. i. p. >], depressed and raised. we can see from this repeated action and the time required for a continent, why many more forms than in new zealand <see _origin_, ed. i. p. for a comparison between new zealand and the cape> no mammals or other classes <see however, _origin_, ed. i. p. for the case of the frog>. we can at once see how it comes when there has been an old channel of migration,--cordilleras; we can see why indian asiatic flora,--[why species] having a wide range gives better chance of some arriving at new points and being selected, and adapted to new ends. i need hardly remark no necessity for change. finally, as continent (most extinction <?> during formation of continent) is formed after repeated elevation and depression, and interchange of species we might foretell much extinction, and that the survivor would belong to same type, as the extinct, in same manner as different part of same continent, which were once separated by space as they are by time <see _origin_, ed. i. pp. and >. as all mammals have descended from one stock, we ought to expect that every continent has been at some time connected, hence obliteration of present ranges. i do not mean that the fossil mammifers found in s. america are the lineal successors <ancestors> of the present forms of s. america: for it is highly improbable that more than one or two cases (who will say how many races after plata bones) should be found. i believe this from numbers, who have lived,--mere <?> chance of fewness. moreover in every case from very existence of genera and species only few at one time will leave progeny, under form of new species, to distant ages; and the more distant the ages the fewer the progenitors. an observation may be here appended, bad chance of preservation on rising island, the nurseries of new species, appeal to experience <see _origin_, ed. i. p. >. this observation may be extended, that in all cases, subsiding land must be, in early stages, less favourable to formation of new species; but it will isolate them, and then if land recommences rising how favourable. as preoccupation is bar to diffusion to species, so would it be to a selected variety. but it would not be if that variety was better fitted to some not fully occupied station; so during elevation or the formation of new stations, is scene for new species. but during elevation not favourable to preservation of fossil (except in caverns <?>); when subsidence highly favourable in early stages to preservation of fossils; when subsidence, less sediment. so that our strata, as general rule will be the tomb of old species (not undergoing any change) when rising land the nursery. but if there be vestige will generally be preserved to future ages, the new ones will not be entombed till fresh subsidence supervenes. in this long gap we shall have no record: so that wonderful if we should get transitional forms. i do not mean every stage, for we cannot expect that, as before shown, until geologists will be prepared to say that although under unnaturally favourable condition we can trace in future ages short-horn and herefordshire <see note , p. >. {note } § vii. <affinities and classification.> looking now to the affinities of organisms, without relation to their distribution, and taking all fossil and recent, we see the degrees of relationship are of different degrees and arbitrary,--sub-genera,--genera,--sub-families, families, orders and classes and kingdoms. the kind of classification which everyone feels is most correct is called the natural system, but no can define this. if we say with whewell <that we have an> undefined instinct of the importance of organs{ }, we have no means in lower animals of saying which is most important, and yet everyone feels that some one system alone deserves to be called natural. the true relationship of organisms is brought before one by considering relations of analogy, an otter-like animal amongst mammalia and an otter amongst marsupials. in such cases external resemblance and habit of life and _the final end of whole organization_ very strong, yet no relation{ }. naturalists cannot avoid these terms of relation and affinity though they use them metaphorically. if used in simple earnestness the natural system ought to be a genealogical <one>; and our knowledge of the points which are most easily affected in transmission are those which we least value in considering the natural system, and practically when we find they do vary we regard them of less value{ }. in classifying varieties the same language is used and the same kind of division: here also (in pine-apple){ } we talk of the natural classification, overlooking similarity of the fruits, because whole plant differs. the origin of sub-genera, genera, &c., &c., is not difficult on notion of genealogical succession, and accords with what we know of similar gradations of affinity in domesticated organisms. in the same region the organic beings are <illegible> related to each other and the external conditions in many physical respects are allied{ } and their differences of same kind, and therefore when a new species has been selected and has obtained a place in the economy of nature, we may suppose that generally it will tend to extend its range during geographical changes, and thus, becoming isolated and exposed to new conditions, will slightly alter and its structure by selection become slightly remodified, thus we should get species of a sub-genus and genus,--as varieties of merino-sheep,--varieties of british and indian cattle. fresh species might go on forming and others become extinct and all might become extinct, and then we should have <an> extinct genus; a case formerly mentioned, of which numerous cases occur in palæontology. but more often the same advantages which caused the new species to spread and become modified into several species would favour some of the species being preserved: and if two of the species, considerably different, each gave rise to group of new species, you would have two genera; the same thing will go on. we may look at case in other way, looking to future. according to mere chance every existing species may generate another, but if any species, a, in changing gets an advantage and that advantage (whatever it may be, intellect, &c., &c., or some particular structure or constitution) is inherited{ }, a will be the progenitor of several genera or even families in the hard struggle of nature. a will go on beating out other forms, it might come that a would people earth,--we may now not have one descendant on our globe of the one or several original creations{ }. external conditions air, earth, water being same{ } on globe, and the communication not being perfect, organisms of widely different descent might become adapted to the same end and then we should have cases of analogy{ }, [they might even tend to become numerically representative]. from this often happening each of the great divisions of nature would have their representative eminently adapted to earth, to <air>{ }, to water, and to these in <illegible> and then these great divisions would show numerical relations in their classification. { } after "organs" is inserted, apparently as an afterthought:--"no, and instance metamorphosis, afterwards explicable." { } for analogical resemblances see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } "practically when naturalists are at work, they do not trouble themselves about the physiological value of the characters.... if they find a character nearly uniform, ... they use it as one of high value," _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } "we are cautioned ... not to class two varieties of the pine-apple together, merely because their fruit, though the most important part, happens to be nearly identical," _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } the whole of this passage is obscure, but the text is quite clear, except for one illegible word. { } <the exact position of the following passage is uncertain:> "just as it is not likely every present breed of fancy birds and cattle will propagate, only some of the best." { } this suggests that the author was not far from the principle of divergence on which he afterwards laid so much stress. see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , also _life and letters_, i. p. . { } that is to say the same conditions occurring in different parts of the globe. { } the position of the following is uncertain, "greyhound and racehorse have an analogy to each other." the same comparison occurs in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _air_ is evidently intended; in the ms. _water_ is written twice. § viii. unity [or similarity] of type in the great classes. nothing more wonderful in nat. hist. than looking at the vast number of organisms, recent and fossil, exposed to the most diverse conditions, living in the most distant climes, and at immensely remote periods, fitted to wholely different ends, yet to find large groups united by a similar type of structure. when we for instance see bat, horse, porpoise-fin, hand, all built on same structure{ }, having bones{ } with same name, we see there is some deep bond of union between them{ }, to illustrate this is the foundation and objects <?> <of> what is called the natural system; and which is foundation of distinction <?> of true and adaptive characters{ }. now this wonderful fact of hand, hoof, wing, paddle and claw being the same, is at once explicable on the principle of some parent-forms, which might either be <illegible> or walking animals, becoming through infinite number of small selections adapted to various conditions. we know that proportion, size, shape of bones and their accompanying soft parts vary, and hence constant selection would alter, to almost any purpose <?> the framework of an organism, but yet would leave a general, even closest similarity in it. { } written between the lines occurs:--"extend to birds and other classes." { } written between the lines occurs:--"many bones merely represented." { } in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , the term _morphology_ is taken as including _unity of type_. the paddle of the porpoise and the wing of the bat are there used as instances of morphological resemblance. { } the sentence is difficult to decipher. [we know the number of similar parts, as vertebræ and ribs can vary, hence this also we might expect.] also <if> the changes carried on to a certain point, doubtless type will be lost, and this is case with plesiosaurus{ }. the unity of type in past and present ages of certain great divisions thus undoubtedly receives the simplest explanation. { } in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , the author speaks of the "general pattern" being obscured in the paddles of "extinct gigantic sea-lizards." there is another class of allied and almost identical facts, admitted by the soberest physiologists, [from the study of a certain set of organs in a group of organisms] and refers <? referring> to a unity of type of different organs in the same individual, denominated the science of "morphology." the <? this> discovered by beautiful and regular series, and in the case of plants from monstrous changes, that certain organs in an individual are other organs metamorphosed. thus every botanist considers petals, nectaries, stamens, pistils, germen as metamorphosed leaf. they thus explain, in the most lucid manner, the position and number of all parts of the flower, and the curious conversion under cultivation of one part into another. the complicated double set of jaws and palpi of crustaceans{ }, and all insects are considered as metamorphosed <limbs> and to see the series is to admit this phraseology. the skulls of the vertebrates are undoubtedly composed of three metamorphosed vertebræ; thus we can understand the strange form of the separate bones which compose the casket holding man's brain. these{ } facts differ but slightly from those of last section, if with wing, paddle, hand and hoof, some common structure was yet visible, or could be made out by a series of occasional monstrous conversions, and if traces could be discovered of <the> whole having once existed as walking or swimming instruments, these organs would be said to be metamorphosed, as it is they are only said to exhibit a common type. { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } the following passage seems to have been meant to precede the sentence beginning "these facts":--"it is evident, that when in each individual species, organs are metamorph. a unity of type extends." this distinction is not drawn by physiologists, and is only implied by some by their general manner of writing. these facts, though affecting every organic being on the face of the globe, which has existed, or does exist, can only be viewed by the creationist as ultimate and inexplicable facts. but this unity of type through the individuals of a group, and this metamorphosis of the same organ into other organs, adapted to diverse use, necessarily follows on the theory of descent{ }. for let us take case of vertebrata, which if{ } they descended from one parent and by this theory all the vertebrata have been altered by slow degrees, such as we see in domestic animals. we know that proportions alter, and even that occasionally numbers of vertebræ alter, that parts become soldered, that parts are lost, as tail and toes, but we know <that?> here we can see that possibly a walking organ might <?> be converted into swimming or into a gliding organ and so on to a flying organ. but such gradual changes would not alter the unity of type in their descendants, as parts lost and soldered and vertebræ. but we can see that if this carried to extreme, unity lost,--plesiosaurus. here we have seen the same organ is formed <?> <for> different purposes <ten words illegible>: and if, in several orders of vertebrata, we could trace origin <of> spinous processes and monstrosities &c. we should say, instead of there existing a unity of type, morphology{ }, as we do when we trace the head as being the vertebræ metamorphosed. be it observed that naturalists, as they use terms of affinity without attaching real meaning, here also they are obliged to use metamorphosis, without meaning that any parent of crustacean was really an animal with as many legs as crustacean has jaws. the theory of descent at once explains these wonderful facts. { } this is, i believe, the first place in which the author uses the words "theory of descent." { } the sentence should probably run, "let us take the case of the vertebrata: if we assume them to be descended from one parent, then by this theory they have been altered &c." { } that is "we should call it a morphological fact." now few of the physiologists who use this language really suppose that the parent of insect with the metamorphosed jaw, was an insect with [more] so many legs, or that the parent of flowering plants, originally had no stamens, or pistils or petals, but some other means of propagation,--and so in other cases. now according to our theory during the infinite number of changes, we might expect that an organ used for a purpose might be used for a different one by his descendant, as must have been the case by our theory with the bat, porpoise, horse, &c., which are descended from one parent. and if it so chanced that traces of the former use and structure of the part should be retained, which is manifestly possible if not probable, then we should have the organs, on which morphology is founded and which instead of being metaphorical becomes plain and <and instead of being> utterly unintelligible becomes simple matter of fact{ }. { } in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , the author, referring to the expressions used by naturalists in regard to morphology and metamorphosis, says "on my view these terms may be used literally." <_embryology._> this general unity of type in great groups of organisms (including of course these morphological cases) displays itself in a most striking manner in the stages through which the foetus passes{ }. in early stage, the wing of bat, hoof, hand, paddle are not to be distinguished. at a still earlier <stage> there is no difference between fish, bird, &c. &c. and mammal. it is not that they cannot be distinguished, but the arteries{ } <illegible>. it is not true that one passes through the form of a lower group, though no doubt fish more nearly related to foetal state{ }. { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , the author argues that the "loop-like course of the arteries" in the vertebrate embryo has no direct relation to the conditions of existence. { } the following passages are written across the page:--"they pass through the same phases, but some, generally called the higher groups, are further metamorphosed. ? degradation and complication? no tendency to perfection. ? justly argued against lamarck?" this similarity at the earliest stage is remarkably shown in the course of the arteries which become greatly altered, as foetus advances in life and assumes the widely different course and number which characterize full-grown fish and mammals. how wonderful that in egg, in water or air, or in womb of mother, artery{ } should run in same course. { } an almost identical passage occurs in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . light can be thrown on this by our theory. the structure of each organism is chiefly adapted to the sustension of its life, when full-grown, when it has to feed itself and propagate{ }. the structure of a kitten is quite in secondary degree adapted to its habits, whilst fed by its mother's milk and prey. hence variation in the structure of the full-grown species will _chiefly_ determine the preservation of a species now become ill-suited to its habitat, or rather with a better place opened to it in the economy of nature. it would not matter to the full-grown cat whether in its young state it was more or less eminently feline, so that it become so when full-grown. no doubt most variation, (not depending on habits of life of individual) depends on early change{ } and we must suspect that at whatever time of life the alteration of foetus is effected, it tends to appear at same period. when we <see> a tendency to particular disease in old age transmitted by the male, we know some effect is produced during conception, on the simple cell of ovule, which will not produce its effect till half a century afterwards and that effect is not visible{ }. so we see in grey-hound, bull-dog, in race-horse and cart-horse, which have been selected for their form in full-life, there is much less (?) difference in the few first days after birth{ }, than when full-grown: so in cattle, we see it clearly in cases of cattle, which differ obviously in shape and length of horns. if man were during , years to be able to select, far more diverse animals from horse or cow, i should expect there would be far less differences in the very young and foetal state: and this, i think, throws light on above marvellous fact. in larvæ, which have long life selection, perhaps, does much,--in the pupa not so much{ } there is no object gained in varying form &c. of foetus (beyond certain adaptations to mother's womb) and therefore selection will not further act on it, than in giving to its changing tissues a tendency to certain parts afterwards to assume certain forms. { } the following: "deaths of brothers <when> old by same peculiar disease" which is written between the lines seems to have been a memorandum which is expanded a few lines lower. i believe the case of the brothers came from dr r. w. darwin. { } see the discussion to this effect in the _origin_, ed. i. pp. - , vi. p. . the author there makes the distinction between a cause affecting the germ-cell and the reaction occurring at a late period of life. { } possibly the sentence was meant to end "is not visible till then." { } see _origin_, ed. i. pp. - , vi. p. . the query appended to _much less_ is justified, since measurement was necessary to prove that the greyhound and bulldog puppies had not nearly acquired "their full amount of proportional difference." { } <the following discussion, from the back of the page, is in large measure the same as the text.> i think light can be thrown on these facts. from the following peculiarities being hereditary, [we know that some change in the germinal vesicle is effected, which will only betray itself years after] diseases--man, goitre, gout, baldness, fatness, size, [longevity <illegible> time of reproduction, shape of horns, case of old brothers dying of same disease]. and we know that the germinal vesicle must have been affected, though no effect is apparent or can be apparent till years afterwards,--no more apparent than when these peculiarities appear by the exposure of the full-grown individual. <that is, "the young individual is as apparently free from the hereditary changes which will appear later, as the young is actually free from the changes produced by exposure to certain conditions in adult life."> so that when we see a variety in cattle, even if the variety be due to act of reproduction, we cannot feel sure at what period this change became apparent. it may have been effected during early age of free life <or> foetal existence, as monsters show. from arguments before used, and crossing, we may generally suspect in germ; but i repeat it does not follow, that the change should be apparent till life fully developed; any more than fatness depending on heredity should be apparent during early childhood, still less during foetal existence. in case of horns of cattle, which when inherited must depend on germinal vesicle, obviously no effect till cattle full-grown. practically it would appear that the [hereditary] peculiarities characterising our domestic races, therefore resulting from vesicle, do not appear with their full characters in very early states; thus though two breeds of cows have calves different, they are not so different,--grey-hound and bull-dog. and this is what is <to> be expected, for man is indifferent to characters of young animals and hence would select those full-grown animals which possessed the desirable characteristics. so that from mere chance we might expect that some of the characters would be such only as became fully apparent in mature life. furthermore we may suspect it to be a law, that at whatever time a new character appears, whether from vesicle, or effects of external conditions, it would appear at corresponding time <see _origin_, ed. i. p. >. thus diseases appearing in old age produce children with d^o.,--early maturity,--longevity,--old men, brothers, of same disease--young children of d^o. i said men do not select for quality of young,--calf with big bullocks. silk-worms, peculiarities which, appear in caterpillar state or cocoon state, are transmitted to corresponding states. the effect of this would be that if some peculiarity was born in a young animal, but never exercised, it might be inherited in young animal; but if exercised that part of structure would be increased and would be inherited in corresponding time of life after such training. i have said that man selects in full-life, so would it be in nature. in struggle of existence, it matters nothing to a feline animal, whether kitten eminently feline, as long as it sucks. therefore natural selection would act equally well on character which was fully <developed> only in full age. selection could tend to alter no character in foetus, (except relation to mother) it would alter less in young state (putting on one side larva condition) but alter every part in full-grown condition. look to a foetus and its parent, and again after ages foetus and its <i. e. the above mentioned parents> descendant; the parent more variable <?> than foetus, which explains all.] thus there is no power to change the course of the arteries, as long as they nourish the foetus; it is the selection of slight changes which supervene at any time during <illegible> of life. the less differences of foetus,--this has obvious meaning on this view: otherwise how strange that a [monkey] horse, a man, a bat should at one time of life have arteries, running in a manner, which is only intelligibly useful in a fish! the natural system being on theory genealogical, we can at once see, why foetus, retaining traces of the ancestral form, is of the highest value in classification. § ix. <abortive organs.> there is another grand class of facts relating to what are called abortive organs. these consist of organs which the same reasoning power that shows us how beautifully these organs in some cases are adapted to certain end, declares in other cases are absolutely useless. thus teeth in rhinoceros{ }, whale, narwhal,--bone on tibia, muscles which do not move,--little bone of wing of apteryx,--bone representing extremities in some snake,--little wings within <?> soldered cover of beetles,--men and bulls, mammæ: filaments without anthers in plants, mere scales representing petals in others, in feather-hyacinth whole flower. almost infinitely numerous. no one can reflect on these without astonishment, can anything be clearer than that wings are to fly and teeth <to bite>, and yet we find these organs perfect in every detail in situations where they cannot possibly be of their normal use{ }. { } some of these examples occur in _origin_, ed. i. pp. - , vi. pp. - . { } the two following sentences are written, one down the margin, the other across the page. "abortive organs eminently useful in classification. embryonic state of organs. rudiments of organs." the term abortive organ has been thus applied to above structure (as _invariable_ as all other parts{ }) from their absolute similarity to monstrous cases, where from _accident_, certain organs are not developed; as infant without arms or fingers with mere stump representing them: teeth represented by mere points of ossification: headless children with mere button,--viscera represented by small amorphous masses, &c.,--the tail by mere stump,--a solid horn by minute hanging one{ }. there is a tendency in all these cases, when life is preserved, for such structures to become hereditary. we see it in tailless dogs and cats. in plants we see this strikingly,--in thyme, in _linum flavum_,--stamen in _geranium pyrenaicum_{ }. nectaries abort into petals in columbine <_aquilegia_>, produced from some accident and then become hereditary, in some cases only when propagated by buds, in other cases by seed. these cases have been produced suddenly by accident in early growth, but it is part of law of growth that when any organ is not used it tends to diminish (duck's wing{ }?) muscles of dog's ears, <and of> rabbits, muscles wither, arteries grow up. when eye born defective, optic nerve (tuco tuco) is atrophied. as every part whether useful or not (diseases, double flowers) tends to be transmitted to offspring, the origin of abortive organs whether produced at the birth or slowly acquired is easily understood in domestic races of organisms: [a struggle between the atrophy and hereditariness. abortive organs in domestic races.] there will always be a struggle between atrophy of an organ rendered useless, and hereditariness{ }. because we can understand the origin of abortive organs in certain cases, it would be wrong to conclude absolutely that all must have had same origin, but the strongest analogy is in favour of it. and we can by our theory, for during infinite changes some organ, we might have anticipated, would have become useless. <we can> readily explain the fact, so astounding on any other view, namely that organs possibly useless have been formed often with the same exquisite care as when of vital importance. { } i imagine the meaning to be that abortive organs are specific characters in contrast to monstrosities. { } minute hanging horns are mentioned in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , as occurring in hornless breeds of cattle. { } _linum flavum_ is dimorphic: thyme gynodiæcious. it is not clear what point is referred to under _geranium pyrenaicum_. { } the author's work on duck's wings &c. is in _var. under dom._, ed. , i. p. . { } the words _vis medicatrix_ are inserted after "useless," apparently as a memorandum. our theory, i may remark would permit an organ <to> become abortive with respect to its primary use, to be turned to any other purpose, (as the buds in a cauliflower) thus we can see no difficulty in bones of male marsupials being used as fulcrum of muscles, or style of marygold{ },--indeed in one point of view, the heads of [vertebrated] animal may be said to be abortive vertebræ turned into other use: legs of some crustacea abortive jaws, &c., &c. de candolle's analogy of table covered with dishes{ }. { } in the male florets of certain compositæ the style functions merely as a piston for forcing out the pollen. { } <on the back of the page is the following.> if abortive organs are a trace preserved by hereditary tendency, of organ in ancestor of use, we can at once see why important in natural classification, also why more plain in young animal because, as in last section, the selection has altered the old animal most. i repeat, these wondrous facts, of parts created for no use in past and present time, all can by my theory receive simple explanation; or they receive none and we must be content with some such empty metaphor, as that of de candolle, who compares creation to a well covered table, and says abortive organs may be compared to the dishes (some should be empty) placed symmetrically! <the following passage was possibly intended to be inserted here.> degradation and complication see lamarck: no tendency to perfection: if room, [even] high organism would have greater power in beating lower one, thought <?> to be selected for a degraded end. § x. recapitulation and conclusion. let us recapitulate the whole <?> <of> these latter sections by taking case of the three species of rhinoceros, which inhabit java, sumatra, and mainland of malacca or india. we find these three close neighbours, occupants of distinct but neighbouring districts, as a group having a different aspect from the rhinoceros of africa, though some of these latter inhabit very similar countries, but others most diverse stations. we find them intimately related [scarcely <?> differences more than some breeds of cattle] in structure to the rhinoceros, which for immense periods have inhabited this one, out of three main zoological divisions of the world. yet some of these ancient animals were fitted to very different stations: we find all three <illegible> of the generic character of the rhinoceros, which form a [piece of net]{ } set of links in the broken chain representing the pachydermata, as the chain likewise forms a portion in other and longer chains. we see this wonderfully in dissecting the coarse leg of all three and finding nearly the same bones as in bat's wings or man's hand, but we see the clear mark in solid tibia of the fusion into it of the fibula. in all three we find their heads composed of three altered vertebræ, short neck, same bones as giraffe. in the upper jaws of all three we find small teeth like rabbit's. in dissecting them in foetal state we find at a not very early stage their form exactly alike the most different animals, and even with arteries running as in a fish: and this similarity holds when the young one is produced in womb, pond, egg or spawn. now these three undoubted species scarcely differ more than breeds of cattle, are probably subject to many the same contagious diseases; if domesticated these forms would vary, and they might possibly breed together, and fuse into something{ } different <from> their aboriginal forms; might be selected to serve different ends. { } the author doubtless meant that the complex relationships between organisms can be roughly represented by a net in which the knots stand for species. { } between the lines occurs:--"one <?> form be lost." now the creationist believes these three rhinoceroses were created{ } with their deceptive appearance of true, not <illegible> relationship; as well can i believe the planets revolve in their present courses not from one law of gravity but from distinct volition of creator. { } the original sentence is here broken up by the insertion of:--"out of the dust of java, sumatra, these <?> allied to past and present age and <illegible>, with the stamp of inutility in some of their organs and conversion in others." if real species, sterile one with another, differently adapted, now inhabiting different countries, with different structures and instincts, are admitted to have common descent, we can only legitimately stop where our facts stop. look how far in some case a chain of species will lead us. <this probably refers to the crustacea, where the two ends of the series have "hardly a character in common." _origin_, ed. i. p. .> may we not jump (considering how much extermination, and how imperfect geological records) from one sub-genus to another sub-genus. can genera restrain us; many of the same arguments, which made us give up species, inexorably demand genera and families and orders to fall, and classes tottering. we ought to stop only when clear unity of type, independent of use and adaptation, ceases. be it remembered no naturalist pretends to give test from external characters of species; in many genera the distinction is quite arbitrary{ }. but there remains one other way of comparing species with races; it is to compare the effects of crossing them. would it not be wonderful, if the union of two organisms, produced by two separate acts of creation, blended their characters together when crossed according to the same rules, as two races which have undoubtedly descended from same parent stock; yet this can be shown to be the case. for sterility, though a usual <?>, is not an invariable concomitant, it varies much in degree and has been shown to be probably dependent on causes closely analogous with those which make domesticated organisms sterile. independent of sterility there is no difference between mongrels and hybrids, as can be shown in a long series of facts. it is strikingly seen in cases of instincts, when the minds of the two species or races become blended together{ }. in both cases if the half-breed be crossed with either parent for a few generations, all traces of the one parent form is lost (as kölreuter in two tobacco species almost sterile together), so that the creationist in the case of a species, must believe that one act of creation is absorbed into another! { } between the lines occur the words:--"species vary according to same general laws as varieties; they cross according to same laws." { } "a cross with a bull-dog has affected for many generations the courage and obstinacy of greyhounds," _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . {illustration: facsimile of the original manuscript of the paragraph on p. .} conclusion. such are my reasons for believing that specific forms are not immutable. the affinity of different groups, the unity of types of structure, the representative forms through which foetus passes, the metamorphosis of organs, the abortion of others cease to be metaphorical expressions and become intelligible facts. we no longer look <an> on animal as a savage does at a ship{ }, or other great work of art, as a thing wholly beyond comprehension, but we feel far more interest in examining it. how interesting is every instinct, when we speculate on their origin as an hereditary or congenital habit or produced by the selection of individuals differing slightly from their parents. we must look at every complicated mechanism and instinct, as the summary of a long history, <as the summing up> of{ } useful contrivances, much like a work of art. how interesting does the distribution of all animals become, as throwing light on ancient geography. [we see some seas bridged over.] geology loses in its glory from the imperfection of its archives{ }, but how does it gain in the immensity of the periods of its formations and of the gaps separating these formations. there is much grandeur in looking at the existing animals either as the lineal descendants of the forms buried under thousand feet of matter, or as the coheirs of some still more ancient ancestor. it accords with what we know of the law impressed on matter by the creator, that the creation and extinction of forms, like the birth and death of individuals should be the effect of secondary [laws] means{ }. it is derogatory that the creator of countless systems of worlds should have created each of the myriads of creeping parasites and [slimy] worms which have swarmed each day of life on land and water <on> [this] one globe. we cease being astonished, however much we may deplore, that a group of animals should have been directly created to lay their eggs in bowels and flesh of other,--that some organisms should delight in cruelty,--that animals should be led away by false instincts,--that annually there should be an incalculable waste of eggs and pollen. from death, famine, rapine, and the concealed war of nature we can see that the highest good, which we can conceive, the creation of the higher animals has directly come. doubtless it at first transcends our humble powers, to conceive laws capable of creating individual organisms, each characterised by the most exquisite workmanship and widely-extended adaptations. it accords better with [our modesty] the lowness of our faculties to suppose each must require the fiat of a creator, but in the same proportion the existence of such laws should exalt our notion of the power of the omniscient creator{ }. there is a simple grandeur in the view of life with its powers of growth, assimilation and reproduction, being originally breathed into matter under one or a few forms, and that whilst this our planet has gone circling on according to fixed laws, and land and water, in a cycle of change, have gone on replacing each other, that from so simple an origin, through the process of gradual selection of infinitesimal changes, endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been evolved{ }. { } the simile of the savage and the ship occurs in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , the author speaks of the "summing up of many contrivances": i have therefore introduced the above words which make the passage clearer. in the _origin_ the comparison is with "a great mechanical invention,"--not with a work of art. { } see a similar passage in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } see the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } the following discussion, together with some memoranda are on the last page of the ms. "the supposed creative spirit does not create either number or kind which <are> from analogy adapted to site (viz. new zealand): it does not keep them all permanently adapted to any country,--it works on spots or areas of creation,--it is not persistent for great periods,--it creates forms of same groups in same regions, with no physical similarity,--it creates, on islands or mountain summits, species allied to the neighbouring ones, and not allied to alpine nature as shown in other mountain summits--even different on different island of similarly constituted archipelago, not created on two points: never mammifers created on small isolated island; nor number of organisms adapted to locality: its power seems influenced or related to the range of other species wholly distinct of the same genus,--it does not equally effect, in amount of difference, all the groups of the same class." { } this passage is the ancestor of the concluding words in the first edition of the _origin of species_ which have remained substantially unchanged throughout subsequent editions, "there is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved." in the nd edition "by the creator" is introduced after "originally breathed." n.b.--there ought somewhere to be a discussion from lyell to show that external conditions do vary, or a note to lyell's works <work?>. besides other difficulties in ii. part, non-acclimatisation of plants. difficulty when asked _how_ did white and negro become altered from common intermediate stock: no facts. we do not know that species are immutable, on the contrary. what arguments against this theory, except our not perceiving every step, like the erosion of valleys{ }. { } compare the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , "the difficulty is the same as that felt by so many geologists, when lyell first insisted that long lines of inland cliffs had been formed, and great valleys excavated, by the slow action of the coast-waves." the essay of part i chapter i on the variation of organic beings under domestication; and on the principles of selection the most favourable conditions for variation seem to be when organic beings are bred for many generations under domestication{ }: one may infer this from the simple fact of the vast number of races and breeds of almost every plant and animal, which has long been domesticated. under certain conditions organic beings even during their individual lives become slightly altered from their usual form, size, or other characters: and many of the peculiarities thus acquired are transmitted to their offspring. thus in animals, the size and vigour of body, fatness, period of maturity, habits of body or consensual movements, habits of mind and temper, are modified or acquired during the life of the individual{ }, and become inherited. there is reason to believe that when long exercise has given to certain muscles great development, or disuse has lessened them, that such development is also inherited. food and climate will occasionally produce changes in the colour and texture of the external coverings of animals; and certain unknown conditions affect the horns of cattle in parts of abyssinia; but whether these peculiarities, thus acquired during individual lives, have been inherited, i do not know. it appears certain that malconformation and lameness in horses, produced by too much work on hard roads,--that affections of the eyes in this animal probably caused by bad ventilation,--that tendencies towards many diseases in man, such as gout, caused by the course of life and ultimately producing changes of structure, and that many other diseases produced by unknown agencies, such as goitre, and the idiotcy resulting from it, all become hereditary. { } the cumulative effect of domestication is insisted on in the _origin_, see _e.g. origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } this type of variation passes into what he describes as the direct effect of conditions. since they are due to causes acting during the adult life of the organism they might be called individual variations, but he uses this term for congenital variations, _e.g._ the differences discoverable in plants raised from seeds of the same pod _(origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. ). it is very doubtful whether the flowers and leaf-buds, annually produced from the same bulb, root, or tree, can properly be considered as parts of the same individual, though in some respects they certainly seem to be so. if they are parts of an individual, plants also are subject to considerable changes during their _individual_ lives. most florist-flowers if neglected degenerate, that is, they lose some of their characters; so common is this, that trueness is often stated, as greatly enhancing the value of a variety{ }: tulips break their colours only after some years' culture; some plants become double and others single, by neglect or care: these characters can be transmitted by cuttings or grafts, and in some cases by true or seminal propagation. occasionally a single bud on a plant assumes at once a new and widely different character: thus it is certain that nectarines have been produced on peach trees and moss roses on provence roses; white currants on red currant bushes; flowers of a different colour from that of the stock, in chrysanthemums, dahlias, sweet-williams, azaleas, &c., &c.; variegated leaf-buds on many trees, and other similar cases. these new characters appearing in single buds, can, like those lesser changes affecting the whole plant, be multiplied not only by cuttings and such means, but often likewise by true seminal generation. { } <it is not clear where the following note is meant to come>: case of orchis,--most remarkable as not long cultivated by seminal propagation. case of varieties which soon acquire, like _Ægilops_ and carrot (and maize) _a certain general character_ and then go on varying. the changes thus appearing during the lives of individual animals and plants are extremely rare compared with those which are congenital or which appear soon after birth. slight differences thus arising are infinitely numerous: the proportions and form of every part of the frame, inside and outside, appear to vary in very slight degrees: anatomists dispute what is the "beau ideal" of the bones, the liver and kidneys, like painters do of the proportions of the face: the proverbial expression that no two animals or plants are born absolutely alike, is much truer when applied to those under domestication, than to those in a state of nature{ }. besides these slight differences, single individuals are occasionally born considerably unlike in certain parts or in their whole structure to their parents: these are called by horticulturists and breeders "sports"; and are not uncommon except when very strongly marked. such sports are known in some cases to have been parents of some of our domestic races; and such probably have been the parents of many other races, especially of those which in some senses may be called hereditary monsters; for instance where there is an additional limb, or where all the limbs are stunted (as in the ancon sheep), or where a part is wanting, as in rumpless fowls and tailless dogs or cats{ }. the effects of external conditions on the size, colour and form, which can rarely and obscurely be detected during one individual life, become apparent after several generations: the slight differences, often hardly describable, which characterize the stock of different countries, and even of districts in the same country, seem to be due to such continued action. { } here, as in the ms. of , the author is inclined to minimise the variation occurring in nature. { } this is more strongly stated than in the _origin_, ed. i. p. . _on the hereditary tendency._ a volume might be filled with facts showing what a strong tendency there is to inheritance, in almost every case of the most trifling, as well as of the most remarkable congenital peculiarities{ }. the term congenital peculiarity, i may remark, is a loose expression and can only mean a peculiarity apparent when the part affected is nearly or fully developed: in the second part, i shall have to discuss at what period of the embryonic life connatal peculiarities probably first appear; and i shall then be able to show from some evidence, that at whatever period of life a new peculiarity first appears, it tends hereditarily to appear at a corresponding period{ }. numerous though slight changes, slowly supervening in animals during mature life (often, though by no means always, taking the form of disease), are, as stated in the first paragraphs, very often hereditary. in plants, again, the buds which assume a different character from their stock likewise tend to transmit their new peculiarities. there is not sufficient reason to believe that either mutilations{ } or changes of form produced by mechanical pressure, even if continued for hundreds of generations, or that any changes of structure quickly produced by disease, are inherited; it would appear as if the tissue of the part affected must slowly and freely grow into the new form, in order to be inheritable. there is a very great difference in the hereditary tendency of different peculiarities, and of the same peculiarity, in different individuals and species; thus twenty thousand seeds of the weeping ash have been sown and not one come up true;--out of seventeen seeds of the weeping yew, nearly all came up true. the ill-formed and almost monstrous "niata" cattle of s. america and ancon sheep, both when bred together and when crossed with other breeds, seem to transmit their peculiarities to their offspring as truly as the ordinary breeds. i can throw no light on these differences in the power of hereditary transmission. breeders believe, and apparently with good cause, that a peculiarity generally becomes more firmly implanted after having passed through several generations; that is if one offspring out of twenty inherits a peculiarity from its parents, then its descendants will tend to transmit this peculiarity to a larger proportion than one in twenty; and so on in succeeding generations. i have said nothing about mental peculiarities being inheritable for i reserve this subject for a separate chapter. { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } it is interesting to find that though the author, like his contemporaries, believed in the inheritance of acquired characters, he excluded the case of mutilation. _causes of variation._ attention must here be drawn to an important distinction in the first origin or appearance of varieties: when we see an animal highly kept producing offspring with an hereditary tendency to early maturity and fatness; when we see the wild-duck and australian dog always becoming, when bred for one or a few generations in confinement, mottled in their colours; when we see people living in certain districts or circumstances becoming subject to an hereditary taint to certain organic diseases, as consumption or plica polonica,--we naturally attribute such changes to the direct effect of known or unknown agencies acting for one or more generations on the parents. it is probable that a multitude of peculiarities may be thus directly caused by unknown external agencies. but in breeds, characterized by an extra limb or claw, as in certain fowls and dogs; by an extra joint in the vertebræ; by the loss of a part, as the tail; by the substitution of a tuft of feathers for a comb in certain poultry; and in a multitude of other cases, we can hardly attribute these peculiarities directly to external influences, but indirectly to the laws of embryonic growth and of reproduction. when we see a multitude of varieties (as has often been the case, where a cross has been carefully guarded against) produced from seeds matured in the very same capsule{ }, with the male and female principle nourished from the same roots and necessarily exposed to the same external influences; we cannot believe that the endless slight differences between seedling varieties thus produced, can be the effect of any corresponding difference in their exposure. we are led (as müller has remarked) to the same conclusion, when we see in the same litter, produced by the same act of conception, animals considerably different. { } this corresponds to _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . as variation to the degree here alluded to has been observed only in organic beings under domestication, and in plants amongst those most highly and long cultivated, we must attribute, in such cases, the varieties (although the difference between each variety cannot possibly be attributed to any corresponding difference of exposure in the parents) to the indirect effects of domestication on the action of the reproductive system{ }. it would appear as if the reproductive powers failed in their ordinary function of producing new organic beings closely like their parents; and as if the entire organization of the embryo, under domestication, became in a slight degree plastic{ }. we shall hereafter have occasion to show, that in organic beings, a considerable change from the natural conditions of life, affects, independently of their general state of health, in another and remarkable manner the reproductive system. i may add, judging from the vast number of new varieties of plants which have been produced in the same districts and under nearly the same routine of culture, that probably the indirect effects of domestication in making the organization plastic, is a much more efficient source of variation than any direct effect which external causes may have on the colour, texture, or form of each part. in the few instances in which, as in the dahlia{ }, the course of variation has been recorded, it appears that domestication produces little effect for several generations in rendering the organization plastic; but afterwards, as if by an accumulated effect, the original character of the species suddenly gives way or breaks. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } for _plasticity_ see _origin_, ed. i. pp. , . { } _var. under dom._, ed. ii. i. p. . _on selection._ we have hitherto only referred to the first appearance in individuals of new peculiarities; but to make a race or breed, something more is generally{ } requisite than such peculiarities (except in the case of the peculiarities being the direct effect of constantly surrounding conditions) should be inheritable,--namely the principle of selection, implying separation. even in the rare instances of sports, with the hereditary tendency very strongly implanted, crossing must be prevented with other breeds, or if not prevented the best characterized of the half-bred offspring must be carefully selected. where the external conditions are constantly tending to give some character, a race possessing this character will be formed with far greater ease by selecting and breeding together the individuals most affected. in the case of the endless slight variations produced by the indirect effects of domestication on the action of the reproductive system, selection is indispensable to form races; and when carefully applied, wonderfully numerous and diverse races can be formed. selection, though so simple in theory, is and has been important to a degree which can hardly be overrated. it requires extreme skill, the results of long practice, in detecting the slightest difference in the forms of animals, and it implies some distinct object in view; with these requisites and patience, the breeder has simply to watch for every the smallest approach to the desired end, to select such individuals and pair them with the most suitable forms, and so continue with succeeding generations. in most cases careful selection and the prevention of accidental crosses will be necessary for several generations, for in new breeds there is a strong tendency to vary and especially to revert to ancestral forms: but in every succeeding generation less care will be requisite for the breed will become truer; until ultimately only an occasional individual will require to be separated or destroyed. horticulturalists in raising seeds regularly practise this, and call it "roguing," or destroying the "rogues" or false varieties. there is another and less efficient means of selection amongst animals: namely repeatedly procuring males with some desirable qualities, and allowing them and their offspring to breed freely together; and this in the course of time will affect the whole lot. these principles of selection have been _methodically_ followed for scarcely a century; but their high importance is shown by the practical results, and is admitted in the writings of the most celebrated agriculturalists and horticulturalists;--i need only name anderson, marshall, bakewell, coke, western, sebright and knight. { } selection is here used in the sense of isolation, rather than as implying the summation of small differences. professor henslow in his _heredity of acquired characters in plants_, , p. , quotes from darwin's _var. under dom._, ed. i. ii. p. , a passage in which the author, speaking of the direct action of conditions, says:--"a new sub-variety would thus be produced without the aid of selection." darwin certainly did not mean to imply that such varieties are freed from the action of natural selection, but merely that a new form may appear without _summation_ of new characters. professor henslow is apparently unaware that the above passage is omitted in the second edition of _var. under dom._, ii. p. . even in well-established breeds the individuals of which to an unpractised eye would appear absolutely similar, which would give, it might have been thought, no scope to selection, the whole appearance of the animal has been changed in a few years (as in the case of lord western's sheep), so that practised agriculturalists could scarcely credit that a change had not been effected by a cross with other breeds. breeders both of plants and animals frequently give their means of selection greater scope, by crossing different breeds and selecting the offspring; but we shall have to recur to this subject again. the external conditions will doubtless influence and modify the results of the most careful selection; it has been found impossible to prevent certain breeds of cattle from degenerating on mountain pastures; it would probably be impossible to keep the plumage of the wild-duck in the domesticated race; in certain soils, no care has been sufficient to raise cauliflower seed true to its character; and so in many other cases. but with patience it is wonderful what man has effected. he has selected and therefore in one sense made one breed of horses to race and another to pull; he has made sheep with fleeces good for carpets and other sheep good for broadcloth; he has, in the same sense, made one dog to find game and give him notice when found, and another dog to fetch him the game when killed; he has made by selection the fat to lie mixed with the meat in one breed and in another to accumulate in the bowels for the tallow-chandler{ }; he has made the legs of one breed of pigeons long, and the beak of another so short, that it can hardly feed itself; he has previously determined how the feathers on a bird's body shall be coloured, and how the petals of many flowers shall be streaked or fringed, and has given prizes for complete success;--by selection, he has made the leaves of one variety and the flower-buds of another variety of the cabbage good to eat, at different seasons of the year; and thus has he acted on endless varieties. i do not wish to affirm that the long-and short-wooled sheep, or that the pointer and retriever, or that the cabbage and cauliflower have certainly descended from one and the same aboriginal wild stock; if they have not so descended, though it lessens what man has effected, a large result must be left unquestioned. { } see the essay of , p. . in saying as i have done that man makes a breed, let it not be confounded with saying that man makes the individuals, which are given by nature with certain desirable qualities; man only adds together and makes a permanent gift of nature's bounties. in several cases, indeed, for instance in the "ancon" sheep, valuable from not getting over fences, and in the turnspit dog, man has probably only prevented crossing; but in many cases we positively know that he has gone on selecting, and taking advantage of successive small variations. selection{ } has been _methodically_ followed, as i have said, for barely a century; but it cannot be doubted that occasionally it has been practised from the remotest ages, in those animals completely under the dominion of man. in the earliest chapters of the bible there are rules given for influencing the colours of breeds, and black and white sheep are spoken of as separated. in the time of pliny the barbarians of europe and asia endeavoured by cross-breeding with a wild stock to improve the races of their dogs and horses. the savages of guyana now do so with their dogs: such care shows at least that the characters of individual animals were attended to. in the rudest times of english history, there were laws to prevent the exportation of fine animals of established breeds, and in the case of horses, in henry viii's time, laws for the destruction of all horses under a certain size. in one of the oldest numbers of the _phil. transactions_, there are rules for selecting and improving the breeds of sheep. sir h. bunbury, in , has given rules for selecting the finest seedling plants, with as much precision as the best recent horticulturalist could. even in the most savage and rude nations, in the wars and famines which so frequently occur, the most useful of their animals would be preserved: the value set upon animals by savages is shown by the inhabitants of tierra del fuego devouring their old women before their dogs, which as they asserted are useful in otter-hunting{ }: who can doubt but that in every case of famine and war, the best otter-hunters would be preserved, and therefore in fact selected for breeding. as the offspring so obviously take after their parents, and as we have seen that savages take pains in crossing their dogs and horses with wild stocks, we may even conclude as probable that they would sometimes pair the most useful of their animals and keep their offspring separate. as different races of men require and admire different qualities in their domesticated animals, each would thus slowly, though unconsciously, be selecting a different breed. as pallas has remarked, who can doubt but that the ancient russian would esteem and endeavour to preserve those sheep in his flocks which had the thickest coats. this kind of insensible selection by which new breeds are not selected and kept separate, but a peculiar character is slowly given to the whole mass of the breed, by often saving the life of animals with certain characteristics, we may feel nearly sure, from what we see has been done by the more direct method of separate selection within the last years in england, would in the course of some thousand years produce a marked effect. { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . the evidence is given in the present essay rather more fully than in the _origin_. { } _journal of researches_, ed. , p. . "doggies catch otters, old women no." _crossing breeds._ when once two or more races are formed, or if more than one race, or species fertile _inter se_, originally existed in a wild state, their crossing becomes a most copious source of new races{ }. when two well-marked races are crossed the offspring in the first generation take more or less after either parent or are quite intermediate between them, or rarely assume characters in some degree new. in the second and several succeeding generations, the offspring are generally found to vary exceedingly, one compared with another, and many revert nearly to their ancestral forms. this greater variability in succeeding generations seems analogous to the breaking or variability of organic beings after having been bred for some generations under domestication{ }. so marked is this variability in cross-bred descendants, that pallas and some other naturalists have supposed that all variation is due to an original cross; but i conceive that the history of the potato, dahlia, scotch rose, the guinea-pig, and of many trees in this country, where only one species of the genus exists, clearly shows that a species may vary where there can have been no crossing. owing to this variability and tendency to reversion in cross-bred beings, much careful selection is requisite to make intermediate or new permanent races: nevertheless crossing has been a most powerful engine, especially with plants, where means of propagation exist by which the cross-bred varieties can be secured without incurring the risk of fresh variation from seminal propagation: with animals the most skilful agriculturalists now greatly prefer careful selection from a well-established breed, rather than from uncertain cross-bred stocks. { } the effects of crossing is much more strongly stated here than in the _origin_. see ed. i. p. , vi. p. , where indeed the opposite point of view is given. his change of opinion may be due to his work on pigeons. the whole of the discussion on crossing corresponds to chapter viii of the _origin_, ed. i. rather than to anything in the earlier part of the book. { } the parallelism between the effects of a cross and the effects of conditions is given from a different point of view in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . see the experimental evidence for this important principle in the author's work on _cross and self-fertilisation_. professor bateson has suggested that the experiments should be repeated with gametically pure plants. although intermediate and new races may be formed by the mingling of others, yet if the two races are allowed to mingle quite freely, so that none of either parent race remain pure, then, especially if the parent races are not widely different, they will slowly blend together, and the two races will be destroyed, and one mongrel race left in its place. this will of course happen in a shorter time, if one of the parent races exists in greater number than the other. we see the effect of this mingling, in the manner in which the aboriginal breeds of dogs and pigs in the oceanic islands and the many breeds of our domestic animals introduced into s. america, have all been lost and absorbed in a mongrel race. it is probably owing to the freedom of crossing, that, in uncivilised countries, where inclosures do not exist, we seldom meet with more than one race of a species: it is only in enclosed countries, where the inhabitants do not migrate, and have conveniences for separating the several kinds of domestic animals, that we meet with a multitude of races. even in civilised countries, want of care for a few years has been found to destroy the good results of far longer periods of selection and separation. this power of crossing will affect the races of all _terrestrial_ animals; for all terrestrial animals require for their reproduction the union of two individuals. amongst plants, races will not cross and blend together with so much freedom as in terrestrial animals; but this crossing takes place through various curious contrivances to a surprising extent. in fact such contrivances exist in so very many hermaphrodite flowers by which an occasional cross may take place, that i cannot avoid suspecting (with mr knight) that the reproductive action requires, at _intervals_, the concurrence of distinct individuals{ }. most breeders of plants and animals are firmly convinced that benefit is derived from an occasional cross, not with another race, but with another family of the same race; and that, on the other hand, injurious consequences follow from long-continued close interbreeding in the same family. of marine animals, many more, than was till lately believed, have their sexes on separate individuals; and where they are hermaphrodite, there seems very generally to be means through the water of one individual occasionally impregnating another: if individual animals can singly propagate themselves for perpetuity, it is unaccountable that no terrestrial animal, where the means of observation are more obvious, should be in this predicament of singly perpetuating its kind. i conclude, then, that races of most animals and plants, when unconfined in the same country, would tend to blend together. { } the so-called knight-darwin law is often misunderstood. see goebel in _darwin and modern science_, , p. ; also f. darwin, _nature_, oct. , . _whether our domestic races have descended from one or more wild stocks._ several naturalists, of whom pallas{ } regarding animals, and humboldt regarding certain plants, were the first, believe that the breeds of many of our domestic animals such as of the horse, pig, dog, sheep, pigeon, and poultry, and of our plants have descended from more than one aboriginal form. they leave it doubtful, whether such forms are to be considered wild races, or true species, whose offspring are fertile when crossed _inter se_. the main arguments for this view consist, firstly, of the great difference between such breeds, as the race-and cart-horse, or the greyhound and bull-dog, and of our ignorance of the steps or stages through which these could have passed from a common parent; and secondly that in the most ancient historical periods, breeds resembling some of those at present most different, existed in different countries. the wolves of n. america and of siberia are thought to be different species; and it has been remarked that the dogs belonging to the savages in these two countries resemble the wolves of the same country; and therefore that they have probably descended from two different wild stocks. in the same manner, these naturalists believe that the horse of arabia and of europe have probably descended from two wild stocks both apparently now extinct. i do not think the assumed fertility of these wild stocks any very great difficulty on this view; for although in animals the offspring of most cross-bred species are infertile, it is not always remembered that the experiment is very seldom fairly tried, except when two near species _both_ breed freely (which does not readily happen, as we shall hereafter see) when under the dominion of man. moreover in the case of the china{ } and common goose, the canary and siskin, the hybrids breed freely; in other cases the offspring from hybrids crossed with either pure parent are fertile, as is practically taken advantage of with the yak and cow; as far as the analogy of plants serves, it is impossible to deny that some species are quite fertile _inter se_; but to this subject we shall recur. { } pallas' theory is discussed in the _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. p. . { } see darwin's paper on the fertility of hybrids from the common and chinese goose in _nature_, jan. , . on the other hand, the upholders of the view that the several breeds of dogs, horses, &c., &c., have descended each from one stock, may aver that their view removes all _difficulty about fertility_, and that the main argument from the high antiquity of different breeds, somewhat similar to the present breeds, is worth little without knowing the date of the domestication of such animals, which is far from being the case. they may also with more weight aver that, knowing that organic beings under domestication do vary in some degree, the argument from the great difference between certain breeds is worth nothing, without we know the limits of variation during a long course of time, which is far from the case. they may argue that almost every county in england, and in many districts of other countries, for instance in india, there are slightly different breeds of the domestic animals; and that it is opposed to all that we know of the distribution of wild animals to suppose that these have descended from so many different wild races or species: if so, they may argue, is it not probable that countries quite separate and exposed to different climates would have breeds not slightly, but considerably, different? taking the most favourable case, on both sides, namely that of the dog; they might urge that such breeds as the bull-dog and turnspit have been reared by man, from the ascertained fact that strictly analogous breeds (namely the niata ox and ancon sheep) in other quadrupeds have thus originated. again they may say, seeing what training and careful selection has effected for the greyhound, and seeing how absolutely unfit the italian greyhound is to maintain itself in a state of nature, is it not probable that at least all greyhounds,--from the rough deerhound, the smooth persian, the common english, to the italian,--have descended from one stock{ }? if so, is it so improbable that the deerhound and long-legged shepherd dog have so descended? if we admit this, and give up the bull-dog, we can hardly dispute the probable common descent of the other breeds. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . the evidence is so conjectural and balanced on both sides that at present i conceive that no one can decide: for my own part, i lean to the probability of most of our domestic animals having descended from more than one wild stock; though from the arguments last advanced and from reflecting on the slow though inevitable effect of different races of mankind, under different circumstances, saving the lives of and therefore selecting the individuals most useful to them, i cannot doubt but that one class of naturalists have much overrated the probable number of the aboriginal wild stocks. as far as we admit the difference of our races <to be> due to the differences of their original stocks, so much must we give up of the amount of variation produced under domestication. but this appears to me unimportant, for we certainly know in some few cases, for instance in the dahlia, and potato, and rabbit, that a great number of varieties have proceeded from one stock; and, in many of our domestic races, we know that man, by slowly selecting and by taking advantage of sudden sports, has considerably modified old races and produced new ones. whether we consider our races as the descendants of one or several wild stocks, we are in far the greater number of cases equally ignorant what these stocks were. _limits to variation in degree and kind._ man's power in making races deends, in the first instance, on the stock on which he works being variable; but his labours are modified and limited, as we have seen, by the direct effects of the external conditions,--by the deficient or imperfect hereditariness of new peculiarities,--and by the tendency to continual variation and especially to reversion to ancestral forms. if the stock is not variable under domestication, of course he can do nothing; and it appears that species differ considerably in this tendency to variation, in the same way as even sub-varieties from the same variety differ greatly in this respect, and transmit to their offspring this difference in tendency. whether the absence of a tendency to vary is an unalterable quality in certain species, or depends on some deficient condition of the particular state of domestication to which they are exposed, there is no evidence. when the organization is rendered variable, or plastic, as i have expressed it, under domestication, different parts of the frame vary more or less in different species: thus in the breeds of cattle it has been remarked that the horns are the most constant or least variable character, for these often remain constant, whilst the colour, size, proportions of the body, tendency to fatten &c., vary; in sheep, i believe, the horns are much more variable. as a general rule the less important parts of the organization seem to vary most, but i think there is sufficient evidence that every part occasionally varies in a slight degree. even when man has the primary requisite variability he is necessarily checked by the health and life of the stock he is working on: thus he has already made pigeons with such small beaks that they can hardly eat and will not rear their own young; he has made families of sheep with so strong a tendency to early maturity and to fatten, that in certain pastures they cannot live from their extreme liability to inflammation; he has made (_i.e._ selected) sub-varieties of plants with a tendency to such early growth that they are frequently killed by the spring frosts; he has made a breed of cows having calves with such large hinder quarters that they are born with great difficulty, often to the death of their mothers{ }; the breeders were compelled to remedy this by the selection of a breeding stock with smaller hinder quarters; in such a case, however, it is possible by long patience and great loss, a remedy might have been found in selecting cows capable of giving birth to calves with large hinder quarters, for in human kind there <are> no doubt hereditary bad and good confinements. besides the limits already specified, there can be little doubt that the variation of different parts of the frame are connected together by many laws{ }: thus the two sides of the body, in health and disease, seem almost always to vary together: it has been asserted by breeders that if the head is much elongated, the bones of the extremities will likewise be so; in seedling-apples large leaves and fruit generally go together, and serve the horticulturalist as some guide in his selection; we can here see the reason, as the fruit is only a metamorphosed leaf. in animals the teeth and hair seem connected, for the hairless chinese dog is almost toothless. breeders believe that one part of the frame or function being increased causes other parts to decrease: they dislike great horns and great bones as so much flesh lost; in hornless breeds of cattle certain bones of the head become more developed: it is said that fat accumulating in one part checks its accumulation in another, and likewise checks the action of the udder. the whole organization is so connected that it is probable there are many conditions determining the variation of each part, and causing other parts to vary with it; and man in making new races must be limited and ruled by all such laws. { } _var. under dom._, ed. ii. vol. ii. p. . { } this discussion corresponds to the _origin_, ed. i. pp. and , vi. pp. and . _in what consists domestication._ in this chapter we have treated of variation under domestication, and it now remains to consider in what does this power of domestication consist{ }, a subject of considerable difficulty. observing that organic beings of almost every class, in all climates, countries, and times, have varied when long bred under domestication, we must conclude that the influence is of some very general nature{ }. mr knight alone, as far as i know, has tried to define it; he believes it consists of an excess of food, together with transport to a more genial climate, or protection from its severities. i think we cannot admit this latter proposition, for we know how many vegetable products, aborigines of this country, here vary, when cultivated without any protection from the weather; and some of our variable trees, as apricots, peaches, have undoubtedly been derived from a more genial climate. there appears to be much more truth in the doctrine of excess of food being the cause, though i much doubt whether this is the sole cause, although it may well be requisite for the kind of variation desired by man, namely increase of size and vigour. no doubt horticulturalists, when they wish to raise new seedlings, often pluck off all the flower-buds, except a few, or remove the whole during one season, so that a great stock of nutriment may be thrown into the flowers which are to seed. when plants are transported from high-lands, forests, marshes, heaths, into our gardens and greenhouses, there must be a considerable change of food, but it would be hard to prove that there was in every case an excess of the kind proper to the plant. if it be an excess of food, compared with that which the being obtained in its natural state{ }, the effects continue for an improbably long time; during how many ages has wheat been cultivated, and cattle and sheep reclaimed, and we cannot suppose their _amount_ of food has gone on increasing, nevertheless these are amongst the most variable of our domestic productions. it has been remarked (marshall) that some of the most highly kept breeds of sheep and cattle are truer or less variable than the straggling animals of the poor, which subsist on commons, and pick up a bare subsistence{ }. in the case of forest-trees raised in nurseries, which vary more than the same trees do in their aboriginal forests, the cause would seem simply to lie in their not having to struggle against other trees and weeds, which in their natural state doubtless would limit the conditions of their existence. it appears to me that the power of domestication resolves itself into the accumulated effects of a change of all or some of the natural conditions of the life of the species, often associated with excess of food. these conditions moreover, i may add, can seldom remain, owing to the mutability of the affairs, habits, migrations, and knowledge of man, for very long periods the same. i am the more inclined to come to this conclusion from finding, as we shall hereafter show, that changes of the natural conditions of existence seem peculiarly to affect the action of the reproductive system{ }. as we see that hybrids and mongrels, after the first generation, are apt to vary much, we may at least conclude that variability does not altogether depend on excess of food. { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } <note in the original.> "isidore g. st hilaire insists that breeding in captivity essential element. schleiden on alkalies. <see _var. under dom._, ed. ii. vol. ii. p. , note .> what is it in domestication which causes variation?" { } <note in the original.> "it appears that slight changes of condition <are> good for health; that more change affects the generative system, so that variation results in the offspring; that still more change checks or destroys fertility not of the offspring." compare the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . what the meaning of "not of the offspring" may be is not clear. { } in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. the question is differently treated; it is pointed out that a large stock of individuals gives a better chance of available variations occurring. darwin quotes from marshall that sheep in small lots can never be improved. this comes from marshall's _review of the reports to the board of agriculture_, , p. . in this essay the name marshall occurs in the margin. probably this refers to _loc. cit._ p. , where unshepherded sheep in many parts of england are said to be similar owing to mixed breeding not being avoided. { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . after these views, it may be asked how it comes that certain animals and plants, which have been domesticated for a considerable length of time, and transported from very different conditions of existence, have not varied much, or scarcely at all; for instance, the ass, peacock, guinea-fowl, asparagus, jerusalem artichoke{ }. i have already said that probably different species, like different sub-varieties, possess different degrees of tendency to vary; but i am inclined to attribute in these cases the want of numerous races less to want of variability than to selection not having been practised on them. no one will take the pains to select without some corresponding object, either of use or amusement; the individuals raised must be tolerably numerous, and not so precious, but that he may freely destroy those not answering to his wishes. if guinea-fowls or peacocks{ } became "fancy" birds, i cannot doubt that after some generations several breeds would be raised. asses have not been worked on from mere neglect; but they differ in _some_ degree in different countries. the insensible selection, due to different races of mankind preserving those individuals most useful to them in their different circumstances, will apply only to the oldest and most widely domesticated animals. in the case of plants, we must put entirely out of the case those exclusively (or almost so) propagated by cuttings, layers or tubers, such as the jerusalem artichoke and laurel; and if we put on one side plants of little ornament or use, and those which are used at so early a period of their growth that no especial characters signify, as asparagus{ } and seakale, i can think of none long cultivated which have not varied. in no case ought we to expect to find as much variation in a race when it alone has been formed, as when several have been formed, for their crossing and recrossing will greatly increase their variability. { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } <note in the original.> there are white peacocks. { } <note in the original.> there are varieties of asparagus. _summary of first chapter._ to sum up this chapter. races are made under domestication: st, by the direct effects of the external conditions to which the species is exposed: nd, by the indirect effects of the exposure to new conditions, often aided by excess of food, rendering the organization plastic, and by man's selecting and separately breeding certain individuals, or introducing to his stock selected males, or often preserving with care the life of the individuals best adapted to his purposes: rd, by crossing and recrossing races already made, and selecting their offspring. after some generations man may relax his care in selection: for the tendency to vary and to revert to ancestral forms will decrease, so that he will have only occasionally to remove or destroy one of the yearly offspring which departs from its type. ultimately, with a large stock, the effects of free crossing would keep, even without this care, his breed true. by these means man can produce infinitely numerous races, curiously adapted to ends, both most important and most frivolous; at the same time that the effects of the surrounding conditions, the laws of inheritance, of growth, and of variation, will modify and limit his labours. chapter ii on the variation of organic beings in a wild state; on the natural means of selection; and on the comparison of domestic races and true species having treated of variation under domestication, we now come to it in a _state of nature_. most organic beings in a state of nature vary exceedingly little{ }: i put out of the case variations (as stunted plants &c., and sea-shells in brackish water{ }) which are directly the effect of external agencies and which we do not _know are in the breed_{ }, or are _hereditary_. the amount of hereditary variation is very difficult to ascertain, because naturalists (partly from the want of knowledge, and partly from the inherent difficulty of the subject) do not all agree whether certain forms are species or races{ }. some strongly marked races of plants, comparable with the decided sports of horticulturalists, undoubtedly exist in a state of nature, as is actually known by experiment, for instance in the primrose and cowslip{ }, in two so-called species of dandelion, in two of foxglove{ }, and i believe in some pines. lamarck has observed that, as long as we confine our attention to one limited country, there is seldom much difficulty in deciding what forms to call species and what varieties; and that it is when collections flow in from all parts of the world that naturalists often feel at a loss to decide the limit of variation. undoubtedly so it is, yet amongst british plants (and i may add land shells), which are probably better known than any in the world, the best naturalists differ very greatly in the relative proportions of what they call species and what varieties. in many genera of insects, and shells, and plants, it seems almost hopeless to establish which are which. in the higher classes there are less doubts; though we find considerable difficulty in ascertaining what deserve to be called species amongst foxes and wolves, and in some birds, for instance in the case of the white barn-owl. when specimens are brought from different parts of the world, how often do naturalists dispute this same question, as i found with respect to the birds brought from the galapagos islands. yarrell has remarked that the individuals of the same undoubted species of birds, from europe and n. america, usually present slight, indefinable though perceptible differences. the recognition indeed of one animal by another of its kind seems to imply some difference. the disposition of wild animals undoubtedly differs. the variation, such as it is, chiefly affects the same parts in wild organisms as in domestic breeds; for instance, the size, colour, and the external and less important parts. in many species the variability of certain organs or qualities is even stated as one of the specific characters: thus, in plants, colour, size, hairiness, the number of the stamens and pistils, and even their presence, the form of the leaves; the size and form of the mandibles of the males of some insects; the length and curvature of the beak in some birds (as in opetiorynchus) are variable characters in some species and quite fixed in others. i do not perceive that any just distinction can be drawn between this recognised variability of certain parts in many species and the more general variability of the whole frame in domestic races. { } in chapter ii of the first edition of the _origin_ darwin insists rather on the presence of variability in a state of nature; see, for instance, p. , ed. vi. p. , "i am convinced that the most experienced naturalist would be surprised at the number of the cases of variability ... which he could collect on good authority, as i have collected, during a course of years." { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } <note in the original.> here discuss _what is a species_, sterility can most rarely be told when crossed.--descent from common stock. { } <note in the original.> give only rule: chain of intermediate forms, and _analogy_; this important. every naturalist at first when he gets hold of new variable type is _quite puzzled_ to know what to think species and what variations. { } the author had not at this time the knowledge of the meaning of dimorphism. { } <note in original.> compare feathered heads in very different birds with spines in echidna and hedgehog. <in _variation under domestication_, ed. ii. vol. ii. p. , darwin calls attention to laced and frizzled breeds occurring in both fowls and pigeons. in the same way a peculiar form of covering occurs in echidna and the hedgehog.> plants under very different climate not varying. digitalis shows jumps <?> in variation, like laburnum and orchis case--in fact hostile cases. variability of sexual characters alike in domestic and wild. although the amount of variation be exceedingly small in most organic beings in a state of nature, and probably quite wanting (as far as our senses serve) in the majority of cases; yet considering how many animals and plants, taken by mankind from different quarters of the world for the most diverse purposes, have varied under domestication in every country and in every age, i think we may safely conclude that all organic beings with few exceptions, if capable of being domesticated and bred for long periods, would vary. domestication seems to resolve itself into a change from the natural conditions of the species [generally perhaps including an increase of food]; if this be so, organisms in a state of nature must _occasionally_, in the course of ages, be exposed to analogous influences; for geology clearly shows that many places must, in the course of time, become exposed to the widest range of climatic and other influences; and if such places be isolated, so that new and better adapted organic beings cannot freely emigrate, the old inhabitants will be exposed to new influences, probably far more varied, than man applies under the form of domestication. although every species no doubt will soon breed up to the full number which the country will support, yet it is easy to conceive that, on an average, some species may receive an increase of food; for the times of dearth may be short, yet enough to kill, and recurrent only at long intervals. all such changes of conditions from geological causes would be exceedingly slow; what effect the slowness might have we are ignorant; under domestication it appears that the effects of change of conditions accumulate, and then break out. whatever might be the result of these slow geological changes, we may feel sure, from the means of dissemination common in a lesser or greater degree to every organism taken conjointly with the changes of geology, which are steadily (and sometimes suddenly, as when an isthmus at last separates) in progress, that occasionally organisms must suddenly be introduced into new regions, where, if the conditions of existence are not so foreign as to cause its extermination, it will often be propagated under circumstances still more closely analogous to those of domestication; and therefore we expect will evince a tendency to vary. it appears to me quite _inexplicable_ if this has never happened; but it can happen very rarely. let us then suppose that an organism by some chance (which might be hardly repeated in years) arrives at a modern volcanic island in process of formation and not fully stocked with the most appropriate organisms; the new organism might readily gain a footing, although the external conditions were considerably different from its native ones. the effect of this we might expect would influence in some small degree the size, colour, nature of covering &c., and from inexplicable influences even special parts and organs of the body. but we might further (and <this> is far more important) expect that the reproductive system would be affected, as under domesticity, and the structure of the offspring rendered in some degree plastic. hence almost every part of the body would tend to vary from the typical form in slight degrees, and in no determinate way, and therefore _without selection_ the free crossing of these small variations (together with the tendency to reversion to the original form) would constantly be counteracting this unsettling effect of the extraneous conditions on the reproductive system. such, i conceive, would be the unimportant result without selection. and here i must observe that the foregoing remarks are equally applicable to that small and admitted amount of variation which has been observed in some organisms in a state of nature; as well as to the above hypothetical variation consequent on changes of condition. let us now suppose a being{ } with penetration sufficient to perceive differences in the outer and innermost organization quite imperceptible to man, and with forethought extending over future centuries to watch with unerring care and select for any object the offspring of an organism produced under the foregoing circumstances; i can see no conceivable reason why he could not form a new race (or several were he to separate the stock of the original organism and work on several islands) adapted to new ends. as we assume his discrimination, and his forethought, and his steadiness of object, to be incomparably greater that those qualities in man, so we may suppose the beauty and complications of the adaptations of the new races and their differences from the original stock to be greater than in the domestic races produced by man's agency: the ground-work of his labours we may aid by supposing that the external conditions of the volcanic island, from its continued emergence and the occasional introduction of new immigrants, vary; and thus to act on the reproductive system of the organism, on which he is at work, and so keep its organization somewhat plastic. with time enough, such a being might rationally (without some unknown law opposed him) aim at almost any result. { } a corresponding passage occurs in _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , where however nature takes the place of the selecting being. for instance, let this imaginary being wish, from seeing a plant growing on the decaying matter in a forest and choked by other plants, to give it power of growing on the rotten stems of trees, he would commence selecting every seedling whose berries were in the smallest degree more attractive to tree-frequenting birds, so as to cause a proper dissemination of the seeds, and at the same time he would select those plants which had in the slightest degree more and more power of drawing nutriment from rotten wood; and he would destroy all other seedlings with less of this power. he might thus, in the course of century after century, hope to make the plant by degrees grow on rotten wood, even high up on trees, wherever birds dropped the non-digested seeds. he might then, if the organization of the plant was plastic, attempt by continued selection of chance seedlings to make it grow on less and less rotten wood, till it would grow on sound wood{ }. supposing again, during these changes the plant failed to seed quite freely from non-impregnation, he might begin selecting seedlings with a little sweeter <or> differently tasted honey or pollen, to tempt insects to visit the flowers regularly: having effected this, he might wish, if it profited the plant, to render abortive the stamens and pistils in different flowers, which he could do by continued selection. by such steps he might aim at making a plant as wonderfully related to other organic beings as is the mistletoe, whose existence absolutely depends on certain insects for impregnation, certain birds for transportal, and certain trees for growth. furthermore, if the insect which had been induced regularly to visit this hypothetical plant profited much by it, our same being might wish by selection to modify by gradual selection the insect's structure, so as to facilitate its obtaining the honey or pollen: in this manner he might adapt the insect (always presupposing its organization to be in some degree plastic) to the flower, and the impregnation of the flower to the insect; as is the case with many bees and many plants. { } the mistletoe is used as an illustration in _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , but with less detail. seeing what blind capricious man has actually effected by selection during the few last years, and what in a ruder state he has probably effected without any systematic plan during the last few thousand years, he will be a bold person who will positively put limits to what the supposed being could effect during whole geological periods. in accordance with the plan by which this universe seems governed by the creator, let us consider whether there exists any _secondary_ means in the economy of nature by which the process of selection could go on adapting, nicely and wonderfully, organisms, if in ever so small a degree plastic, to diverse ends. i believe such secondary means do exist{ }. { } <note in original.> the selection, in cases where adult lives only few hours as ephemera, must fall on larva--curious speculation of the effect <which> changes in it would bring in parent. _natural means of selection{ }._ { } this section forms part of the joint paper by darwin and wallace read before the linnean society on july , . de candolle, in an eloquent passage, has declared that all nature is at war, one organism with another, or with external nature. seeing the contented face of nature, this may at first be well doubted; but reflection will inevitably prove it is too true. the war, however, is not constant, but only recurrent in a slight degree at short periods and more severely at occasional more distant periods; and hence its effects are easily overlooked. it is the doctrine of malthus applied in most cases with ten-fold force. as in every climate there are seasons for each of its inhabitants of greater and less abundance, so all annually breed; and the moral restraint, which in some small degree checks the increase of mankind, is entirely lost. even slow-breeding mankind has doubled in years{ }, and if he could increase his food with greater ease, he would double in less time. but for animals, without artificial means, _on an average_ the amount of food for each species must be constant; whereas the increase of all organisms tends to be geometrical, and in a vast majority of cases at an enormous ratio. suppose in a certain spot there are eight pairs of [robins] birds, and that _only_ four pairs of them annually (including double hatches) rear only four young; and that these go on rearing their young at the same rate: then at the end of seven years (a short life, excluding violent deaths, for any birds) there will be robins, instead of the original sixteen; as this increase is quite impossible, so we must conclude either that robins do not rear nearly half their young or that the average life of a robin when reared is from accident not nearly seven years. both checks probably concur. the same kind of calculation applied to all vegetables and animals produces results either more or less striking, but in scarcely a single instance less striking than in man{ }. { } occurs in _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } corresponds approximately with _origin_, ed. i. pp. - , vi. p. . many practical illustrations of this rapid tendency to increase are on record, namely during peculiar seasons, in the extraordinary increase of certain animals, for instance during the years to , in la plata, when from drought, some millions of cattle perished, the whole country _swarmed_ with innumerable mice: now i think it cannot be doubted that during the breeding season all the mice (with the exception of a few males or females in excess) ordinarily pair; and therefore that this astounding increase during three years must be attributed to a greater than usual number surviving the first year, and then breeding, and so on, till the third year, when their numbers were brought down to their usual limits on the return of wet weather. where man has introduced plants and animals into a new country favourable to them, there are many accounts in how surprisingly few years the whole country has become stocked with them. this increase would necessarily stop as soon as the country was fully stocked; and yet we have every reason to believe from what is known of wild animals that _all_ would pair in the spring. in the majority of cases it is most difficult to imagine where the check falls, generally no doubt on the seeds, eggs, and young; but when we remember how impossible even in mankind (so much better known than any other animal) it is to infer from repeated casual observations what the average of life is, or to discover how different the percentage of deaths to the births in different countries, we ought to feel no legitimate surprise at not seeing where the check falls in animals and plants. it should always be remembered that in most cases the checks are yearly recurrent in a small regular degree, and in an extreme degree during occasionally unusually cold, hot, dry, or wet years, according to the constitution of the being in question. lighten any check in the smallest degree, and the geometrical power of increase in every organism will instantly increase the average numbers of the favoured species. nature may be compared to a surface, on which rest ten thousand sharp wedges touching each other and driven inwards by incessant blows{ }. fully to realise these views much reflection is requisite; malthus on man should be studied; and all such cases as those of the mice in la plata, of the cattle and horses when first turned out in s. america, of the robins by our calculation, &c., should be well considered: reflect on the enormous multiplying power _inherent and annually in action_ in all animals; reflect on the countless seeds scattered by a hundred ingenious contrivances, year after year, over the whole face of the land; and yet we have every reason to suppose that the average percentage of every one of the inhabitants of a country will _ordinarily_ remain constant. finally, let it be borne in mind that this average number of individuals (the external conditions remaining the same) in each country is kept up by recurrent struggles against other species or against external nature (as on the borders of the arctic regions{ }, where the cold checks life); and that ordinarily each individual of each species holds its place, either by its own struggle and capacity of acquiring nourishment in some period (from the egg upwards) of its life, or by the struggle of its parents (in short lived organisms, when the main check occurs at long intervals) against and compared with other individuals of the _same_ or _different_ species. { } this simile occurs in _origin_, ed. i. p. , not in the later editions. { } <note in the original.> in case like mistletoe, it may be asked why not more species, no other species interferes; answer almost sufficient, same causes which check the multiplication of individuals. but let the external conditions of a country change; if in a small degree, the relative proportions of the inhabitants will in most cases simply be slightly changed; but let the number of inhabitants be small, as in an island{ }, and free access to it from other countries be circumscribed; and let the change of condition continue progressing (forming new stations); in such case the original inhabitants must cease to be so perfectly adapted to the changed conditions as they originally were. it has been shown that probably such changes of external conditions would, from acting on the reproductive system, cause the organization of the beings most affected to become, as under domestication, plastic. now can it be doubted from the struggle each individual (or its parents) has to obtain subsistence that any minute variation in structure, habits, or instincts, adapting that individual better to the new conditions, would tell upon its vigour and health? in the struggle it would have a better _chance_ of surviving, and those of its offspring which inherited the variation, let it be ever so slight, would have a better _chance_ to survive. yearly more are bred than can survive; the smallest grain in the balance, in the long run, must tell on which death shall fall, and which shall survive{ }. let this work of selection, on the one hand, and death on the other, go on for a thousand generations; who would pretend to affirm that it would produce no effect, when we remember what in a few years bakewell effected in cattle and western in sheep, by this identical principle of selection. { } see _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. pp. , . { } recognition of the importance of minute differences in the struggle occurs in the essay of , p. note .{note } to give an imaginary example, from changes in progress on an island, let the organization{ } of a canine animal become slightly plastic, which animal preyed chiefly on rabbits, but sometimes on hares; let these same changes cause the number of rabbits very slowly to decrease and the number of hares to increase; the effect of this would be that the fox or dog would be driven to try to catch more hares, and his numbers would tend to decrease; his organization, however, being slightly plastic, those individuals with the lightest forms, longest limbs, and best eye-sight (though perhaps with less cunning or scent) would be slightly favoured, let the difference be ever so small, and would tend to live longer and to survive during that time of the year when food was shortest; they would also rear more young, which young would tend to inherit these slight peculiarities. the less fleet ones would be rigidly destroyed. i can see no more reason to doubt but that these causes in a thousand generations would produce a marked effect, and adapt the form of the fox to catching hares instead of rabbits, than that greyhounds can be improved by selection and careful breeding. so would it be with plants under similar circumstances; if the number of individuals of a species with plumed seeds could be increased by greater powers of dissemination within its own area (that is if the check to increase fell chiefly on the seeds), those seeds which were provided with ever so little more down, or with a plume placed so as to be slightly more acted on by the winds, would in the long run tend to be most disseminated; and hence a greater number of seeds thus formed would germinate, and would tend to produce plants inheriting this slightly better adapted down. { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . besides this natural means of selection, by which those individuals are preserved, whether in their egg or seed or in their mature state, which are best adapted to the place they fill in nature, there is a second agency at work in most bisexual animals tending to produce the same effect, namely the struggle of the males for the females. these struggles are generally decided by the law of battle; but in the case of birds, apparently, by the charms of their song{ }, by their beauty or their power of courtship, as in the dancing rock-thrush of guiana. even in the animals which pair there seems to be an excess of males which would aid in causing a struggle: in the polygamous animals{ }, however, as in deer, oxen, poultry, we might expect there would be severest struggle: is it not in the polygamous animals that the males are best formed for mutual war? the most vigorous males, implying perfect adaptation, must generally gain the victory in their several contests. this kind of selection, however, is less rigorous than the other; it does not require the death of the less successful, but gives to them fewer descendants. this struggle falls, moreover, at a time of year when food is generally abundant, and perhaps the effect chiefly produced would be the alteration of sexual characters, and the selection of individual forms, no way related to their power of obtaining food, or of defending themselves from their natural enemies, but of fighting one with another. this natural struggle amongst the males may be compared in effect, but in a less degree, to that produced by those agriculturalists who pay less attention to the careful selection of all the young animals which they breed and more to the occasional use of a choice male{ }. { } these two forms of sexual selection are given in _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . the guiana rock-thrush is given as an example of bloodless competition. { } <note in original.> seals? pennant about battles of seals. { } in the linnean paper of july , the final word is _mate_: but the context shows that it should be _male_; it is moreover clearly so written in the ms. _differences between "races" and "species":--first, in their trueness or variability._ races{ } produced by these natural means of selection{ } we may expect would differ in some respects from those produced by man. man selects chiefly by the eye, and is not able to perceive the course of every vessel and nerve, or the form of the bones, or whether the internal structure corresponds to the outside shape. he{ } is unable to select shades of constitutional differences, and by the protection he affords and his endeavours to keep his property alive, in whatever country he lives, he checks, as much as lies in his power, the selecting action of nature, which will, however, go on to a lesser degree with all living things, even if their length of life is not determined by their own powers of endurance. he has bad judgment, is capricious, he does not, or his successors do not, wish to select for the same exact end for hundreds of generations. he cannot always suit the selected form to the properest conditions; nor does he keep those conditions uniform: he selects that which is useful to him, not that best adapted to those conditions in which each variety is placed by him: he selects a small dog, but feeds it highly; he selects a long-backed dog, but does not exercise it in any peculiar manner, at least not during every generation. he seldom allows the most vigorous males to struggle for themselves and propagate, but picks out such as he possesses, or such as he prefers, and not necessarily those best adapted to the existing conditions. every agriculturalist and breeder knows how difficult it is to prevent an occasional cross with another breed. he often grudges to destroy an individual which departs considerably from the required type. he often begins his selection by a form or sport considerably departing from the parent form. very differently does the natural law of selection act; the varieties selected differ only slightly from the parent forms{ }; the conditions are constant for long periods and change slowly; rarely can there be a cross; the selection is rigid and unfailing, and continued through many generations; a selection can _never be made_ without the form be _better_ adapted to the conditions than the parent form; the selecting power goes on without caprice, and steadily for thousands of years adapting the form to these conditions. the selecting power is not deceived by external appearances, it tries the being during its whole life; and if less well <?> adapted than its _congeners_, without fail it is destroyed; every part of its structure is thus scrutinised and proved good towards the place in nature which it occupies. { } in the _origin_ the author would here have used the word _variety_. { } the whole of p. and lines of p. are, in the ms., marked through in pencil with vertical lines, beginning at "races produced, &c." and ending with "to these conditions." { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } in the present essay there is some evidence that the author attributed more to _sports_ than was afterwards the case: but the above passage points the other way. it must always be remembered that many of the minute differences, now considered small mutations, are the small variations on which darwin conceived selection to act. we have every reason to believe that in proportion to the number of generations that a domestic race is kept free from crosses, and to the care employed in continued steady selection with one end in view, and to the care in not placing the variety in conditions unsuited to it; in such proportion does the new race become "true" or subject to little variation{ }. how incomparably "truer" then would a race produced by the above rigid, steady, natural means of selection, excellently trained and perfectly adapted to its conditions, free from stains of blood or crosses, and continued during thousands of years, be compared with one produced by the feeble, capricious, misdirected and ill-adapted selection of man. those races of domestic animals produced by savages, partly by the inevitable conditions of their life, and partly unintentionally by their greater care of the individuals most valuable to them, would probably approach closest to the character of a species; and i believe this is the case. now the characteristic mark of a species, next, if not equal in importance to its sterility when crossed with another species, and indeed almost the only other character (without we beg the question and affirm the essence of a species, is its not having descended from a parent common to any other form), is the similarity of the individuals composing the species, or in the language of agriculturalists their "trueness." { } see _var. under dom._, ed. ii. vol. ii. p. . _difference between "races" and "species" in fertility when crossed._ the sterility of species, or of their offspring, when crossed has, however, received more attention than the uniformity in character of the individuals composing the species. it is exceedingly natural that such sterility{ } should have been long thought the certain characteristic of species. for it is obvious that if the allied different forms which we meet with in the same country could cross together, instead of finding a number of distinct species, we should have a confused and blending series. the fact however of a perfect gradation in the degree of sterility between species, and the circumstance of some species most closely allied (for instance many species of crocus and european heaths) refusing to breed together, whereas other species, widely different, and even belonging to distinct genera, as the fowl and the peacock, pheasant and grouse{ }, azalea and rhododendron, thuja and juniperus, breeding together ought to have caused a doubt whether the sterility did not depend on other causes, distinct from a law, coincident with their creation. i may here remark that the fact whether one species will or will not breed with another is far less important than the sterility of the offspring when produced; for even some domestic races differ so greatly in size (as the great stag-greyhound and lap-dog, or cart-horse and burmese ponies) that union is nearly impossible; and what is less generally known is, that in plants kölreuter has shown by hundreds of experiments that the pollen of one species will fecundate the germen of another species, whereas the pollen of this latter will never act on the germen of the former; so that the simple fact of mutual impregnation certainly has no relation whatever to the distinctness in creation of the two forms. when two species are attempted to be crossed which are so distantly allied that offspring are never produced, it has been observed in some cases that the pollen commences its proper action by exserting its tube, and the germen commences swelling, though soon afterwards it decays. in the next stage in the series, hybrid offspring are produced though only rarely and few in number, and these are absolutely sterile: then we have hybrid offspring more numerous, and occasionally, though very rarely, breeding with either parent, as is the case with the common mule. again, other hybrids, though infertile _inter se_, will breed _quite_ freely with either parent, or with a third species, and will yield offspring generally infertile, but sometimes fertile; and these latter again will breed with either parent, or with a third or fourth species: thus kölreuter blended together many forms. lastly it is now admitted by those botanists who have longest contended against the admission, that in certain families the hybrid offspring of many of the species are sometimes perfectly fertile in the first generation when bred together: indeed in some few cases mr herbert{ } found that the hybrids were decidedly more fertile than either of their pure parents. there is no way to escape from the admission that the hybrids from some species of plants are fertile, except by declaring that no form shall be considered as a species, if it produces with another species fertile offspring: but this is begging the question{ }. it has often been stated that different species of animals have a sexual repugnance towards each other; i can find no evidence of this; it appears as if they merely did not excite each others passions. i do not believe that in this respect there is any essential distinction between animals and plants; and in the latter there cannot be a feeling of repugnance. { } <note in the original.> if domestic animals are descended from several species and _become_ fertile _inter se_, then one can see they gain fertility by becoming adapted to new conditions and certainly domestic animals can withstand changes of climate without loss of fertility in an astonishing manner. { } see suchetet, _l'hybridité dans la nature_, bruxelles, , p. . in _var. under dom._, ed. ii. vol. ii. hybrids between the fowl and the pheasant are mentioned. i can give no information on the other cases. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } this was the position of gärtner and of kölreuter: see _origin_, ed. i. pp. - , vi. pp. - . _causes of sterility in hybrids._ the difference in nature between species which causes the greater or lesser degree of sterility in their offspring appears, according to herbert and kölreuter, to be connected much less with external form, size, or structure, than with constitutional peculiarities; by which is meant their adaptation to different climates, food and situation, &c.: these peculiarities of constitution probably affect the entire frame, and no one part in particular{ }. { } <note in the original.> yet this seems introductory to the case of the heaths and crocuses above mentioned. <herbert observed that crocus does not set seed if transplanted before pollination, but that such treatment after pollination has no sterilising effect. (_var. under dom._, ed. ii. vol. ii. p. .) on the same page is a mention of the ericaceæ being subject to contabescence of the anthers. for _crinum_ see _origin_, ed. i. p. : for _rhododenron_ and _calceolaria_ see p. .> from the foregoing facts i think we must admit that there exists a perfect gradation in fertility between species which when crossed are quite fertile (as in rhododendron, calceolaria, &c.), and indeed in an extraordinary degree fertile (as in crinum), and those species which never produce offspring, but which by certain effects (as the exsertion of the pollen-tube) evince their alliance. hence, i conceive, we must give up sterility, although undoubtedly in a lesser or greater degree of very frequent occurrence, as an unfailing mark by which _species_ can be distinguished from _races_, _i.e._ from those forms which have descended from a common stock. _infertility from causes distinct from hybridisation._ let us see whether there are any analogous facts which will throw any light on this subject, and will tend to explain why the offspring of certain species, when crossed, should be sterile, and not others, without requiring a distinct law connected with their creation to that effect. great numbers, probably a large majority of animals when caught by man and removed from their natural conditions, although taken very young, rendered quite tame, living to a good old age, and apparently quite healthy, seem incapable under these circumstances of breeding{ }. i do not refer to animals kept in menageries, such as at the zoological gardens, many of which, however, appear healthy and live long and unite but do not produce; but to animals caught and left partly at liberty in their native country. rengger{ } enumerates several caught young and rendered tame, which he kept in paraguay, and which would not breed: the hunting leopard or cheetah and elephant offer other instances; as do bears in europe, and the species of hawks, belonging to different genera, thousands of which have been kept for hawking and have lived for long periods in perfect vigour. when the expense and trouble of procuring a succession of young animals in a wild state be borne in mind, one may feel sure that no trouble has been spared in endeavours to make them breed. so clearly marked is this difference in different kinds of animals, when captured by man, that st hilaire makes two great classes of animals useful to man:--the _tame_, which will not breed, and the _domestic_ which will breed in domestication. from certain singular facts we might have supposed that the non-breeding of animals was owing to some perversion of instinct. but we meet with exactly the same class of facts in plants: i do not refer to the large number of cases where the climate does not permit the seed or fruit to ripen, but where the flowers do not "set," owing to some imperfection of the ovule or pollen. the latter, which alone can be distinctly examined, is often manifestly imperfect, as any one with a microscope can observe by comparing the pollen of the persian and chinese lilacs{ } with the common lilac; the two former species (i may add) are equally sterile in italy as in this country. many of the american bog plants here produce little or no pollen, whilst the indian species of the same genera freely produce it. lindley observes that sterility is the bane of the horticulturist{ }: linnæus has remarked on the sterility of nearly all alpine flowers when cultivated in a lowland district{ }. perhaps the immense class of double flowers chiefly owe their structure to an excess of food acting on parts rendered slightly sterile and less capable of performing their true function, and therefore liable to be rendered monstrous, which monstrosity, like any other disease, is inherited and rendered common. so far from domestication being in itself unfavourable to fertility, it is well known that when an organism is once capable of submission to such conditions <its> fertility is increased{ } beyond the natural limit. according to agriculturists, slight changes of conditions, that is of food or habitation, and likewise crosses with races slightly different, increase the vigour and probably the fertility of their offspring. it would appear also that even a great change of condition, for instance, transportal from temperate countries to india, in many cases does not in the least affect fertility, although it does health and length of life and the period of maturity. when sterility is induced by domestication it is of the same kind, and varies in degree, exactly as with hybrids: for be it remembered that the most sterile hybrid is no way monstrous; its organs are perfect, but they do not act, and minute microscopical investigations show that they are in the same state as those of pure species in the intervals of the breeding season. the defective pollen in the cases above alluded to precisely resembles that of hybrids. the occasional breeding of hybrids, as of the common mule, may be aptly compared to the most rare but occasional reproduction of elephants in captivity. the cause of many exotic geraniums producing (although in vigorous health) imperfect pollen seems to be connected with the period when water is given them{ }; but in the far greater majority of cases we cannot form any conjecture on what exact cause the sterility of organisms taken from their natural conditions depends. why, for instance, the cheetah will not breed whilst the common cat and ferret (the latter generally kept shut up in a small box) do,--why the elephant will not whilst the pig will abundantly--why the partridge and grouse in their own country will not, whilst several species of pheasants, the guinea-fowl from the deserts of africa and the peacock from the jungles of india, will. we must, however, feel convinced that it depends on some constitutional peculiarities in these beings not suited to their new condition; though not necessarily causing an ill state of health. ought we then to wonder much that those hybrids which have been produced by the crossing of species with different constitutional tendencies (which tendencies we know to be eminently inheritable) should be sterile: it does not seem improbable that the cross from an alpine and lowland plant should have its constitutional powers deranged, in nearly the same manner as when the parent alpine plant is brought into a lowland district. analogy, however, is a deceitful guide, and it would be rash to affirm, although it may appear probable, that the sterility of hybrids is due to the constitutional peculiarities of one parent being disturbed by being blended with those of the other parent in exactly the same manner as it is caused in some organic beings when placed by man out of their natural conditions{ }. although this would be rash, it would, i think, be still rasher, seeing that sterility is no more incidental to _all_ cross-bred productions than it is to all organic beings when captured by man, to assert that the sterility of certain hybrids proved a distinct creation of their parents. { } <note in original.> animals seem more often made sterile by being taken out of their native condition than plants, and so are more sterile when crossed. we have one broad fact that sterility in hybrids is not closely related to external difference, and these are what man alone gets by selection. { } see _var. under dom._, ed. ii. vol. ii. p. ; for the case of the cheetah see _loc cit._ p. . { } _var. under dom._, ed. ii. vol. ii. p. . { } quoted in the _origin_, ed. i. p. . { } see _var. under dom._, ed. ii. vol. ii. p. . { } _var. under dom._, ed. ii. vol. ii. p. . { } see _var. under dom._, ed. ii. vol. ii. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . this is the principle experimentally investigated in the author's _cross-and self-fertilisation_. but it may be objected{ } (however little the sterility of certain hybrids is connected with the distinct creations of species), how comes it, if species are only races produced by natural selection, that when crossed they so frequently produce sterile offspring, whereas in the offspring of those races confessedly produced by the arts of man there is no one instance of sterility. there is not much difficulty in this, for the races produced by the natural means above explained will be slowly but steadily selected; will be adapted to various and diverse conditions, and to these conditions they will be rigidly confined for immense periods of time; hence we may suppose that they would acquire different constitutional peculiarities adapted to the stations they occupy; and on the constitutional differences between species their sterility, according to the best authorities, depends. on the other hand man selects by external appearance{ }; from his ignorance, and from not having any test at least comparable in delicacy to the natural struggle for food, continued at intervals through the life of each individual, he cannot eliminate fine shades of constitution, dependent on invisible differences in the fluids or solids of the body; again, from the value which he attaches to each individual, he asserts his utmost power in contravening the natural tendency of the most vigorous to survive. man, moreover, especially in the earlier ages, cannot have kept his conditions of life constant, and in later ages his stock pure. until man selects two varieties from the same stock, adapted to two climates or to other different external conditions, and confines each rigidly for one or several thousand years to such conditions, always selecting the individuals best adapted to them, he cannot be said to have even commenced the experiment. moreover, the organic beings which man has longest had under domestication have been those which were of the greatest use to him, and one chief element of their usefulness, especially in the earlier ages, must have been their capacity to undergo sudden transportals into various climates, and at the same time to retain their fertility, which in itself implies that in such respects their constitutional peculiarities were not closely limited. if the opinion already mentioned be correct, that most of the domestic animals in their present state have descended from the fertile commixture of wild races or species, we have indeed little reason now to expect infertility between any cross of stock thus descended. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } <notes in original.> mere difference of structure no guide to what will or will not cross. first step gained by races keeping apart. <it is not clear where these notes were meant to go.> it is worthy of remark, that as many organic beings, when taken by man out of their natural conditions, have their reproductive system <so> affected as to be incapable of propagation, so, we saw in the first chapter, that although organic beings when taken by man do propagate freely, their offspring after some generations vary or sport to a degree which can only be explained by their reproductive system being <in> some way affected. again, when species cross, their offspring are generally sterile; but it was found by kölreuter that when hybrids are capable of breeding with either parent, or with other species, that their offspring are subject after some generations to excessive variation{ }. agriculturists, also, affirm that the offspring from mongrels, after the first generation, vary much. hence we see that both sterility and variation in the succeeding generations are consequent both on the removal of individual species from their natural states and on species crossing. the connection between these facts may be accidental, but they certainly appear to elucidate and support each other,--on the principle of the reproductive system of all organic beings being eminently sensitive to any disturbance, whether from removal or commixture, in their constitutional relations to the conditions to which they are exposed. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . _points of resemblance between "races" and "species{ }."_ { } this section seems not to correspond closely with any in the _origin_, ed. i.; in some points it resembles pp. , , also the section on analogous variation in distinct species, _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . races and reputed species agree in some respects, although differing from causes which, we have seen, we can in some degree understand, in the fertility and "trueness" of their offspring. in the first place, there is no clear sign by which to distinguish races from species, as is evident from the great difficulty experienced by naturalists in attempting to discriminate them. as far as external characters are concerned, many of the races which are descended from the same stock differ far more than true species of the same genus; look at the willow-wrens, some of which skilful ornithologists can hardly distinguish from each other except by their nests; look at the wild swans, and compare the distinct species of these genera with the races of domestic ducks, poultry, and pigeons; and so again with plants, compare the cabbages, almonds, peaches and nectarines, &c. with the species of many genera. st hilaire has even remarked that there is a greater difference in size between races, as in dogs (for he believes all have descended from one stock), than between the species of any one genus; nor is this surprising, considering that amount of food and consequently of growth is the element of change over which man has most power. i may refer to a former statement, that breeders believe the growth of one part or strong action of one function causes a decrease in other parts; for this seems in some degree analogous to the law of "organic compensation{ }," which many naturalists believe holds good. to give an instance of this law of compensation,--those species of carnivora which have the canine teeth greatly developed have certain molar teeth deficient; or again, in that division of the crustaceans in which the tail is much developed, the thorax is little so, and the converse. the points of difference between different races is often strikingly analogous to that between species of the same genus: trifling spots or marks of colour{ } (as the bars on pigeons' wings) are often preserved in races of plants and animals, precisely in the same manner as similar trifling characters often pervade all the species of a genus, and even of a family. flowers in varying their colours often become veined and spotted and the leaves become divided like true species: it is known that the varieties of the same plant never have red, blue and yellow flowers, though the hyacinth makes a very near approach to an exception{ }; and different species of the same genus seldom, though sometimes they have flowers of these three colours. dun-coloured horses having a dark stripe down their backs, and certain domestic asses having transverse bars on their legs, afford striking examples of a variation analogous in character to the distinctive marks of other species of the same genus. { } the law of compensation is discussed in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } <note in original.> boitard and corbié on outer edging red in tail of bird,--so bars on wing, white or black or brown, or white edged with black or <illegible>: analogous to marks running through genera but with different colours. tail coloured in pigeons. { } <note in original.> oxalis and gentian. <in gentians blue, yellow and reddish colours occur. in oxalis yellow, purple, violet and pink.> _external characters of hybrids and mongrels._ there is, however, as it appears to me, a more important method of comparison between species and races, namely the character of the offspring{ } when species are crossed and when races are crossed: i believe, in no one respect, except in sterility, is there any difference. it would, i think, be a marvellous fact, if species have been formed by distinct acts of creation, that they should act upon each other in uniting, like races descended from a common stock. in the first place, by repeated crossing one species can absorb and wholly obliterate the characters of another, or of several other species, in the same manner as one race will absorb by crossing another race. marvellous, that one act of creation should absorb another or even several acts of creation! the offspring of species, that is hybrids, and the offspring of races, that is mongrels, resemble each other in being either intermediate in character (as is most frequent in hybrids) or in resembling sometimes closely one and sometimes the other parent; in both the offspring produced by the same act of conception sometimes differ in their degree of resemblance; both hybrids and mongrels sometimes retain a certain part or organ very like that of either parent, both, as we have seen, become in succeeding generations variable; and this tendency to vary can be transmitted by both; in both for many generations there is a strong tendency to reversion to their ancestral form. in the case of a hybrid laburnum and of a supposed mongrel vine different parts of the same plants took after each of their two parents. in the hybrids from some species, and in the mongrel of some races, the offspring differ according as which of the two species, or of the two races, is the father (as in the common mule and hinny) and which the mother. some races will breed together, which differ so greatly in size, that the dam often perishes in labour; so it is with some species when crossed; when the dam of one species has borne offspring to the male of another species, her succeeding offspring are sometimes stained (as in lord morton's mare by the quagga, wonderful as the fact{ } is) by this first cross; so agriculturists positively affirm is the case when a pig or sheep of one breed has produced offspring by the sire of another breed. { } this section corresponds roughly to that on _hybrids and mongrels compared independently of their fertility_, _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . the discussion on gärtner's views, given in the _origin_, is here wanting. the brief mention of prepotency is common to them both. { } see _animals and plants_, ed. ii. vol. i. p. . the phenomenon of _telegony_, supposed to be established by this and similar cases, is now generally discredited in consequence of ewart's experiments. _summary of second chapter_{ }. { } the section on p. is an appendix to the summary. let us sum up this second chapter. if slight variations do occur in organic beings in a state of nature; if changes of condition from geological causes do produce in the course of ages effects analogous to those of domestication on any, however few, organisms; and how can we doubt it,--from what is actually known, and from what may be presumed, since thousands of organisms taken by man for sundry uses, and placed in new conditions, have varied. if such variations tend to be hereditary; and how can we doubt it,--when we see shades of expression, peculiar manners, monstrosities of the strangest kinds, diseases, and a multitude of other peculiarities, which characterise and form, being inherited, the endless races (there are kinds of cabbages{ }) of our domestic plants and animals. if we admit that every organism maintains its place by an almost periodically recurrent struggle; and how can we doubt it,--when we know that all beings tend to increase in a geometrical ratio (as is instantly seen when the conditions become for a time more favourable); whereas on an average the amount of food must remain constant, if so, there will be a natural means of selection, tending to preserve those individuals with any slight deviations of structure more favourable to the then existing conditions, and tending to destroy any with deviations of an opposite nature. if the above propositions be correct, and there be no law of nature limiting the possible amount of variation, new races of beings will,--perhaps only rarely, and only in some few districts,--be formed. { } i do not know the authority for this statement. _limits of variation._ that a limit to variation does exist in nature is assumed by most authors, though i am unable to discover a single fact on which this belief is grounded{ }. one of the commonest statements is that plants do not become acclimatised; and i have even observed that kinds not raised by seed, but propagated by cuttings, &c., are instanced. a good instance has, however, been advanced in the case of kidney beans, which it is believed are now as tender as when first introduced. even if we overlook the frequent introduction of seed from warmer countries, let me observe that as long as the seeds are gathered promiscuously from the bed, without continual observation and _careful_ selection of those plants which have stood the climate best during their whole growth, the experiment of acclimatisation has hardly been begun. are not all those plants and animals, of which we have the greatest number of races, the oldest domesticated? considering the quite recent progress{ } of systematic agriculture and horticulture, is it not opposed to every fact, that we have exhausted the capacity of variation in our cattle and in our corn,--even if we have done so in some trivial points, as their fatness or kind of wool? will any one say, that if horticulture continues to flourish during the next few centuries, that we shall not have numerous new kinds of the potato and dahlia? but take two varieties of each of these plants, and adapt them to certain fixed conditions and prevent any cross for years, and then again vary their conditions; try many climates and situations; and who{ } will predict the number and degrees of difference which might arise from these stocks? i repeat that we know nothing of any limit to the possible amount of variation, and therefore to the number and differences of the races, which might be produced by the natural means of selection, so infinitely more efficient than the agency of man. races thus produced would probably be very "true"; and if from having been adapted to different conditions of existence, they possessed different constitutions, if suddenly removed to some new station, they would perhaps be sterile and their offspring would perhaps be infertile. such races would be undistinguishable from species. but is there any evidence that the species, which surround us on all sides, have been thus produced? this is a question which an examination of the economy of nature we might expect would answer either in the affirmative or negative{ }. { } in the _origin_ no limit is placed to variation as far as i know. { } <note in original.> history of pigeons shows increase of peculiarities during last years. { } compare an obscure passage in the essay of , p. . { } <note in original.> certainly <two pages in the ms.> ought to be here introduced, viz., difficulty in forming such organ, as eye, by selection. <in the _origin_, ed. i., a chapter on _difficulties on theory_ follows that on _laws of variation_, and precedes that on _instinct_: this was also the arrangement in the essay of ; whereas in the present essay _instinct_ follows _variation_ and precedes _difficulties_.> chapter iii on the variation of instincts and other mental attributes under domestication and in state of nature; on the difficulties in this subject; and on analogous difficulties with respect to corporeal structures _variation of mental attributes under domestication._ i have as yet only alluded to the mental qualities which differ greatly in different species. let me here premise that, as will be seen in the second part, there is no evidence and consequently no attempt to show that _all_ existing organisms have descended from any one common parent-stock, but that only those have so descended which, in the language of naturalists, are clearly related to each other. hence the facts and reasoning advanced in this chapter do not apply to the first origin of the senses{ }, or of the chief mental attributes, such as of memory, attention, reasoning, &c., &c., by which most or all of the great related groups are characterised, any more than they apply to the first origin of life, or growth, or the power of reproduction. the application of such facts as i have collected is merely to the differences of the primary mental qualities and of the instincts in the species{ } of the several great groups. in domestic animals every observer has remarked in how great a degree, in the individuals of the same species, the dispositions, namely courage, pertinacity, suspicion, restlessness, confidence, temper, pugnaciousness, affection, care of their young, sagacity, &c., &c., vary. it would require a most able metaphysician to explain how many primary qualities of the mind must be changed to cause these diversities of complex dispositions. from these dispositions being inherited, of which the testimony is unanimous, families and breeds arise, varying in these respects. i may instance the good and ill temper of different stocks of bees and of horses,--the pugnacity and courage of game fowls,--the pertinacity of certain dogs, as bull-dogs, and the sagacity of others,--for restlessness and suspicion compare a wild rabbit reared with the greatest care from its earliest age with the extreme tameness of the domestic breed of the same animal. the offspring of the domestic dogs which have run wild in cuba{ }, though caught quite young, are most difficult to tame, probably nearly as much so as the original parent-stock from which the domestic dog descended. the habitual "_periods_" of different families of the same species differ, for instance, in the time of year of reproduction, and the period of life when the capacity is acquired, and the hour of roosting (in malay fowls), &c., &c. these periodical habits are perhaps essentially corporeal, and may be compared to nearly similar habits in plants, which are known to vary extremely. consensual movements (as called by müller) vary and are inherited,--such as the cantering and ambling paces in horses, the tumbling of pigeons, and perhaps the handwriting, which is sometimes so similar between father and sons, may be ranked in this class. _manners_, and even tricks which perhaps are only _peculiar_ manners, according to w. hunter and my father, are distinctly inherited in cases where children have lost their parent in early infancy. the inheritance of expression, which often reveals the finest shades of character, is familiar to everyone. { } a similar proviso occurs in the chapter on instinct in _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } the discussion occurs later in chapter vii of the _origin_, ed. i. than in the present essay, where moreover it is fuller in some respects. { } in the margin occurs the name of poeppig. in _var. under dom._, ed. ii. vol. i. p. , the reference to poeppig on the cuban dogs contains no mention of the wildness of their offspring. again the tastes and pleasures of different breeds vary, thus the shepherd-dog delights in chasing the sheep, but has no wish to kill them,--the terrier (see knight) delights in killing vermin, and the spaniel in finding game. but it is impossible to separate their mental peculiarities in the way i have done: the tumbling of pigeons, which i have instanced as a consensual movement, might be called a trick and is associated with a taste for flying in a close flock at a great height. certain breeds of fowls have a taste for roosting in trees. the different actions of pointers and setters might have been adduced in the same class, as might the peculiar _manner_ of hunting of the spaniel. even in the same breed of dogs, namely in fox-hounds, it is the fixed opinion of those best able to judge that the different pups are born with different tendencies; some are best to find their fox in the cover; some are apt to run straggling, some are best to make casts and to recover the lost scent, &c.; and that these peculiarities undoubtedly are transmitted to their progeny. or again the tendency to point might be adduced as a distinct habit which has become inherited,--as might the tendency of a true sheep dog (as i have been assured is the case) to run round the flock instead of directly at them, as is the case with other young dogs when attempted to be taught. the "transandantes" sheep{ } in spain, which for some centuries have been yearly taken a journey of several hundred miles from one province to another, know when the time comes, and show the greatest restlessness (like migratory birds in confinement), and are prevented with difficulty from starting by themselves, which they sometimes do, and find their own way. there is a case on good evidence{ } of a sheep which, when she lambed, would return across a mountainous country to her own birth-place, although at other times of year not of a rambling disposition. her lambs inherited this same disposition, and would go to produce their young on the farm whence their parent came; and so troublesome was this habit that the whole family was destroyed. { } <note in original.> several authors. { } in the margin "hogg" occurs as authority for this fact. for the reference, see p. , note . these facts must lead to the conviction, justly wonderful as it is, that almost infinitely numerous shades of disposition, of tastes, of peculiar movements, and even of individual actions, can be modified or acquired by one individual and transmitted to its offspring. one is forced to admit that mental phenomena (no doubt through their intimate connection with the brain) can be inherited, like infinitely numerous and fine differences of corporeal structure. in the same manner as peculiarities of corporeal structure slowly acquired or lost during mature life (especially cognisant <?> in disease), as well as congenital peculiarities, are transmitted; so it appears to be with the mind. the inherited paces in the horse have no doubt been acquired by compulsion during the lives of the parents: and temper and tameness may be modified in a breed by the treatment which the individuals receive. knowing that a pig has been taught to point, one would suppose that this quality in pointer-dogs was the simple result of habit, but some facts, with respect to the occasional appearance of a similar quality in other dogs, would make one suspect that it originally appeared in a less perfect degree, "_by chance_," that is from a congenital tendency{ } in the parent of the breed of pointers. one cannot believe that the tumbling, and high flight in a compact body, of one breed of pigeons has been taught; and in the case of the slight differences in the manner of hunting in young fox-hounds, they are doubtless congenital. the inheritance of the foregoing and similar mental phenomena ought perhaps to create less surprise, from the reflection that in no case do individual acts of reasoning, or movements, or other phenomena connected with consciousness, appear to be transmitted. an action, even a very complicated one, when from long practice it is performed unconsciously without any effort (and indeed in the case of many peculiarities of manners opposed to the will) is said, according to a common expression, to be performed "instinctively." those cases of languages, and of songs, learnt in early childhood and _quite_ forgotten, being _perfectly_ repeated during the unconsciousness of illness, appear to me only a few degrees less wonderful than if they had been transmitted to a second generation{ }. { } in the _origin_, ed. i., he speaks more decidedly against the belief that instincts are hereditary habits, see for instance pp. , , ed. vi. pp. , . he allows, however, something to habit (p. ). { } a suggestion of hering's and s. butler's views on memory and inheritance. it is not, however, implied that darwin was inclined to accept these opinions. _hereditary habits compared with instincts._ the chief characteristics of true instincts appear to be their invariability and non-improvement during the mature age of the individual animal: the absence of knowledge of the end, for which the action is performed, being associated, however, sometimes with a degree of reason; being subject to mistakes and being associated with certain states of the body or times of the year or day. in most of these respects there is a resemblance in the above detailed cases of the mental qualities acquired or modified during domestication. no doubt the instincts of wild animals are more uniform than those habits or qualities modified or recently acquired under domestication, in the same manner and from the same causes that the corporeal structure in this state is less uniform than in beings in their natural conditions. i have seen a young pointer point as fixedly, the first day it was taken out, as any old dog; magendie says this was the case with a retriever which he himself reared: the tumbling of pigeons is not probably improved by age: we have seen that in the case above given that the young sheep inherited the migratory tendency to their particular birth-place the first time they lambed. this last fact offers an instance of a domestic instinct being associated with a state of body; as do the "transandantes" sheep with a time of year. ordinarily the acquired instincts of domestic animals seem to require a certain degree of education (as generally in pointers and retrievers) to be perfectly developed: perhaps this holds good amongst wild animals in rather a greater degree than is generally supposed; for instance, in the singing of birds, and in the knowledge of proper herbs in ruminants. it seems pretty clear that bees transmit knowledge from generation to generation. lord brougham{ } insists strongly on ignorance of the end proposed being eminently characteristic of true instincts; and this appears to me to apply to many acquired hereditary habits; for instance, in the case of the young pointer alluded to before, which pointed so steadfastly the first day that we were obliged several times to carry him away{ }. this puppy not only pointed at sheep, at large white stones, and at every little bird, but likewise "backed" the other pointers: this young dog must have been as unconscious for what end he was pointing, namely to facilitate his master's killing game to eat, as is a butterfly which lays her eggs on a cabbage, that her caterpillars would eat the leaves. so a horse that ambles instinctively, manifestly is ignorant that he performs that peculiar pace for the ease of man; and if man had never existed, he would never have ambled. the young pointer pointing at white stones appears to be as much a mistake of its acquired instinct, as in the case of flesh-flies laying their eggs on certain flowers instead of putrifying meat. however true the ignorance of the end may generally be, one sees that instincts are associated with some degree of reason; for instance, in the case of the tailor-bird, who spins threads with which to make her nest <yet> will use artificial threads when she can procure them{ }; so it has been known that an old pointer has broken his point and gone round a hedge to drive out a bird towards his master{ }. { } lord brougham's _dissertations on subjects of science_, etc., , p. . { } this case is more briefly given in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . the simile of the butterfly occurs there also. { } "a little dose, as pierre huber expresses it, of judgment or reason, often comes into play." _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } in the margin is written "retriever killing one bird." this refers to the cases given in the _descent of man_, nd ed. (in vol.) p. , of a retriever being puzzled how to deal with a wounded and a dead bird, killed the former and carried both at once. this was the only known instance of her wilfully injuring game. there is one other quite distinct method by which the instincts or habits acquired under domestication may be compared with those given by nature, by a test of a fundamental kind; i mean the comparison of the mental powers of mongrels and hybrids. now the instincts, or habits, tastes, and dispositions of one _breed_ of animals, when crossed with another breed, for instance a shepherd-dog with a harrier, are blended and appear in the same curiously mixed degree, both in the first and succeeding generations, exactly as happens when one _species_ is crossed with another{ }. this would hardly be the case if there was any fundamental difference between the domestic and natural instinct{ }; if the former were, to use a metaphorical expression, merely superficial. { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } <note in original.> give some definition of instinct, or at least give chief attributes. <in _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , darwin refuses to define instinct.> the term instinct is often used in <a> sense which implies no more than that the animal does the action in question. faculties and instincts may i think be imperfectly separated. the mole has the faculty of scratching burrows, and the instinct to apply it. the bird of passage has the faculty of finding its way and the instinct to put it in action at certain periods. it can hardly be said to have the faculty of knowing the time, for it can possess no means, without indeed it be some consciousness of passing sensations. think over all habitual actions and see whether faculties and instincts can be separated. we have faculty of waking in the night, if an instinct prompted us to do something at certain hour of night or day. savages finding their way. wrangel's account--probably a faculty inexplicable by the possessor. there are besides faculties "_means_," as conversion of larvæ into neuters and queens. i think all this generally implied, anyhow useful. <this discussion, which does not occur in the _origin_, is a first draft of that which follows in the text, p. .> _variation in the mental attributes of wild animals._ with respect to the variation{ } of the mental powers of animals in a wild state, we know that there is a considerable difference in the disposition of different individuals of the same species, as is recognised by all those who have had the charge of animals in a menagerie. with respect to the wildness of animals, that is fear directed particularly against man, which appears to be as true an instinct as the dread of a young mouse of a cat, we have excellent evidence that it is slowly acquired and becomes hereditary. it is also certain that, in a natural state, individuals of the same species lose or do not practice their migratory instincts--as woodcocks in madeira. with respect to any variation in the more complicated instincts, it is obviously most difficult to detect, even more so than in the case of corporeal structure, of which it has been admitted the variation is exceedingly small, and perhaps scarcely any in the majority of species at any one period. yet, to take one excellent case of instinct, namely the nests of birds, those who have paid most attention to the subject maintain that not only certain individuals <? species> seem to be able to build very imperfectly, but that a difference in skill may not unfrequently be detected between individuals{ }. certain birds, moreover, adapt their nests to circumstances; the water-ouzel makes no vault when she builds under cover of a rock--the sparrow builds very differently when its nest is in a tree or in a hole, and the golden-crested wren sometimes suspends its nest below and sometimes places it _on_ the branches of trees. { } a short discussion of a similar kind occurs in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } this sentence agrees with the ms., but is clearly in need of correction. _principles of selection applicable to instincts._ as the instincts of a species are fully as important to its preservation and multiplication as its corporeal structure, it is evident that if there be the slightest congenital differences in the instincts and habits, or if certain individuals during their lives are induced or compelled to vary their habits, and if such differences are in the smallest degree more favourable, under slightly modified external conditions, to their preservation, such individuals must in the long run have a better _chance_ of being preserved and of multiplying{ }. if this be admitted, a series of small changes may, as in the case of corporeal structure, work great changes in the mental powers, habits and instincts of any species. { } this corresponds to _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . _difficulties in the acquirement of complex instincts by selection._ every one will at first be inclined to explain (as i did for a long time) that many of the more complicated and wonderful instincts could not be acquired in the manner here supposed{ }. the second part of this work is devoted to the general consideration of how far the general economy of nature justifies or opposes the belief that related species and genera are descended from common stocks; but we may here consider whether the instincts of animals offer such a _primâ facie_ case of impossibility of gradual acquirement, as to justify the rejection of any such theory, however strongly it may be supported by other facts. i beg to repeat that i wish here to consider not the _probability_ but the _possibility_ of complicated instincts having been acquired by the slow and long-continued selection of very slight (either congenital or produced by habit) modifications of foregoing simpler instincts; each modification being as useful and necessary, to the species practising it, as the most complicated kind. { } this discussion is interesting in differing from the corresponding section of the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , to the end of the chapter. in the present essay the subjects dealt with are nest-making instincts, including the egg-hatching habit of the australian bush-turkey. the power of "shamming death." "faculty" in relation to instinct. the instinct of lapse of time, and of direction. bees' cells very briefly given. birds feeding their young on food differing from their own natural food. in the _origin_, ed. i., the cases discussed are the instinct of laying eggs in other birds' nests; the slave-making instinct in ants; the construction of the bee's comb, very fully discussed. first, to take the case of birds'-nests; of existing species (almost infinitely few in comparison with the multitude which must have existed, since the period of the new red sandstone of n. america, of whose habits we must always remain ignorant) a tolerably perfect series could be made from eggs laid on the bare ground, to others with a few sticks just laid round them, to a simple nest like the wood-pigeons, to others more and more complicated: now if, as is asserted, there occasionally exist slight differences in the building powers of an individual, and if, which is at least probable, that such differences would tend to be inherited, then we can see that it is at least _possible_ that the nidificatory instincts may have been acquired by the gradual selection, during thousands and thousands of generations, of the eggs and young of those individuals, whose nests were in some degree better adapted to the preservation of their young, under the then existing conditions. one of the most surprising instincts on record is that of the australian bush-turkey, whose eggs are hatched by the heat generated from a huge pile of fermenting materials, which it heaps together; but here the habits of an allied species show how this instinct _might possibly_ have been acquired. this second species inhabits a tropical district, where the heat of the sun is sufficient to hatch its eggs; this bird, burying its eggs, apparently for concealment, under a lesser heap of rubbish, but of a dry nature, so as not to ferment. now suppose this bird to range slowly into a climate which was cooler, and where leaves were more abundant, in that case, those individuals, which chanced to have their collecting instinct strongest developed, would make a somewhat larger pile, and the eggs, aided during some colder season, under the slightly cooler climate by the heat of incipient fermentation, would in the long run be more freely hatched and would probably produce young ones with the same more highly developed collecting tendencies; of these again, those with the best developed powers would again tend to rear most young. thus this strange instinct might _possibly_ be acquired, every individual bird being as ignorant of the laws of fermentation, and the consequent development of heat, as we know they must be. secondly, to take the case of animals feigning death (as it is commonly expressed) to escape danger. in the case of insects, a perfect series can be shown, from some insects, which momentarily stand still, to others which for a second slightly contract their legs, to others which will remain immovably drawn together for a quarter of an hour, and may be torn asunder or roasted at a slow fire, without evincing the smallest sign of sensation. no one will doubt that the length of time, during which each remains immovable, is well adapted to <favour the insect's> escape <from> the dangers to which it is most exposed, and few will deny the _possibility_ of the change from one degree to another, by the means and at the rate already explained. thinking it, however, wonderful (though not impossible) that the attitude of death should have been acquired by methods which imply no imitation, i compared several species, when feigning, as is said, death, with others of the same species really dead, and their attitudes were in no one case the same. thirdly, in considering many instincts it is useful to _endeavour_ to separate the faculty{ } by which they perform it, and the mental power which urges to the performance, which is more properly called an instinct. we have an instinct to eat, we have jaws &c. to give us the faculty to do so. these faculties are often unknown to us: bats, with their eyes destroyed, can avoid strings suspended across a room, we know not at present by what faculty they do this. thus also, with migratory birds, it is a wonderful instinct which urges them at certain times of the year to direct their course in certain directions, but it is a faculty by which they know the time and find their way. with respect to time{ }, man without seeing the sun can judge to a certain extent of the hour, as must those cattle which come down from the inland mountains to feed on sea-weed left bare at the changing hour of low-water{ }. a hawk (d'orbigny) seems certainly to have acquired a knowledge of a period of every days. in the cases already given of the sheep which travelled to their birth-place to cast their lambs, and the sheep in spain which know their time of march{ }, we may conjecture that the tendency to move is associated, we may then call it instinctively, with some corporeal sensations. with respect to direction we can easily conceive how a tendency to travel in a certain course may possibly have been acquired, although we must remain ignorant how birds are able to preserve any direction whatever in a dark night over the wide ocean. i may observe that the power of some savage races of mankind to find their way, although perhaps wholly different from the faculty of birds, is nearly as unintelligible to us. bellinghausen, a skilful navigator, describes with the utmost wonder the manner in which some esquimaux guided him to a certain point, by a course never straight, through newly formed hummocks of ice, on a thick foggy day, when he with a compass found it impossible, from having no landmarks, and from their course being so extremely crooked, to preserve any sort of uniform direction: so it is with australian savages in thick forests. in north and south america many birds slowly travel northward and southward, urged on by the food they find, as the seasons change; let them continue to do this, till, as in the case of the sheep in spain, it has become an urgent instinctive desire, and they will gradually accelerate their journey. they would cross narrow rivers, and if these were converted by subsidence into narrow estuaries, and gradually during centuries to arms of the sea, still we may suppose their restless desire of travelling onwards would impel them to cross such an arm, even if it had become of great width beyond their span of vision. how they are able to preserve a course in any direction, i have said, is a faculty unknown to us. to give another illustration of the means by which i conceive it _possible_ that the direction of migrations have been determined. elk and reindeer in n. america annually cross, as if they could marvellously smell or see at the distance of a hundred miles, a wide tract of absolute desert, to arrive at certain islands where there is a scanty supply of food; the changes of temperature, which geology proclaims, render it probable that this desert tract formerly supported some vegetation, and thus these quadrupeds might have been annually led on, till they reached the more fertile spots, and so acquired, like the sheep of spain, their migratory powers. { } the distinction between _faculty_ and _instinct_ corresponds in some degree to that between perception of a stimulus and a specific reaction. i imagine that the author would have said that the sensitiveness to light possessed by a plant is _faculty_, while _instinct_ decides whether the plant curves to or from the source of illumination. { } <note in the original in an unknown handwriting.> at the time when corn was pitched in the market instead of sold by sample, the geese in the town fields of newcastle <staffordshire?> used to know market day and come in to pick up the corn spilt. { } <note in original.> macculloch and others. { } i can find no reference to the _transandantes_ sheep in darwin's published work. he was possibly led to doubt the accuracy of the statement on which he relied. for the case of the sheep returning to their birth-place see p. , note .{note } fourthly, with respect to the combs of the hive-bee{ }; here again we must look to some faculty or means by which they make their hexagonal cells, without indeed we view these instincts as mere machines. at present such a faculty is quite unknown: mr waterhouse supposes that several bees are led by their instinct to excavate a mass of wax to a certain thinness, and that the result of this is that hexagons necessarily remain. whether this or some other theory be true, some such means they must possess. they abound, however, with true instincts, which are the most wonderful that are known. if we examine the little that is known concerning the habits of other species of bees, we find much simpler instincts: the humble bee merely fills rude balls of wax with honey and aggregates them together with little order in a rough nest of grass. if we knew the instinct of all the bees, which ever had existed, it is not improbable that we should have instincts of every degree of complexity, from actions as simple as a bird making a nest, and rearing her young, to the wonderful architecture and government of the hive-bee; at least such is _possible_, which is all that i am here considering. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . finally, i will briefly consider under the same point of view one other class of instincts, which have often been advanced as truly wonderful, namely parents bringing food to their young which they themselves neither like nor partake of{ };--for instance, the common sparrow, a granivorous bird, feeding its young with caterpillars. we might of course look into the case still earlier, and seek how an instinct in the parent, of feeding its young at all, was first derived; but it is useless to waste time in conjectures on a series of gradations from the young feeding themselves and being slightly and occasionally assisted in their search, to their entire food being brought to them. with respect to the parent bringing a different kind of food from its own kind, we may suppose either that the remote stock, whence the sparrow and other congenerous birds have descended, was insectivorous, and that its own habits and structure have been changed, whilst its ancient instincts with respect to its young have remained unchanged; or we may suppose that the parents have been induced to vary slightly the food of their young, by a slight scarcity of the proper kind (or by the instincts of some individuals not being so truly developed), and in this case those young which were most capable of surviving were necessarily most often preserved, and would themselves in time become parents, and would be similarly compelled to alter their food for their young. in the case of those animals, the young of which feed themselves, changes in their instincts for food, and in their structure, might be selected from slight variations, just as in mature animals. again, where the food of the young depends on where the mother places her eggs, as in the case of the caterpillars of the cabbage-butterfly, we may suppose that the parent stock of the species deposited her eggs sometimes on one kind and sometimes on another of congenerous plants (as some species now do), and if the cabbage suited the caterpillars better than any other plant, the caterpillars of those butterflies, which had chosen the cabbage, would be most plentifully reared, and would produce butterflies more apt to lay their eggs on the cabbage than on the other congenerous plants. { } this is an expansion of an obscure passage in the essay of , p. . however vague and unphilosophical these conjectures may appear, they serve, i think, to show that one's first impulse utterly to reject any theory whatever, implying a gradual acquirement of these instincts, which for ages have excited man's admiration, may at least be delayed. once grant that dispositions, tastes, actions or habits can be slightly modified, either by slight congenital differences (we must suppose in the brain) or by the force of external circumstances, and that such slight modifications can be rendered inheritable,--a proposition which no one can reject,--and it will be difficult to put any limit to the complexity and wonder of the tastes and habits which may _possibly_ be thus acquired. _difficulties in the acquirement by selection of complex corporeal structures._ after the past discussion it will perhaps be convenient here to consider whether any particular corporeal organs, or the entire structure of any animals, are so wonderful as to justify the rejection _primâ facie_ of our theory{ }. in the case of the eye, as with the more complicated instincts, no doubt one's first impulse is to utterly reject every such theory. but if the eye from its most complicated form can be shown to graduate into an exceedingly simple state,--if selection can produce the smallest change, and if such a series exists, then it is clear (for in this work we have nothing to do with the first origin of organs in their simplest forms{ }) that it may _possibly_ have been acquired by gradual selection of slight, but in each case, useful deviations{ }. every naturalist, when he meets with any new and singular organ, always expects to find, and looks for, other and simpler modifications of it in other beings. in the case of the eye, we have a multitude of different forms, more or less simple, not graduating into each other, but separated by sudden gaps or intervals; but we must recollect how incomparably greater would the multitude of visual structures be if we had the eyes of every fossil which ever existed. we shall discuss the probable vast proportion of the extinct to the recent in the succeeding part. notwithstanding the large series of existing forms, it is most difficult even to conjecture by what intermediate stages very many simple organs could possibly have graduated into complex ones: but it should be here borne in mind, that a part having originally a wholly different function, may on the theory of gradual selection be slowly worked into quite another use; the gradations of forms, from which naturalists believe in the hypothetical metamorphosis of part of the ear into the swimming bladder in fishes{ }, and in insects of legs into jaws, show the manner in which this is possible. as under domestication, modifications of structure take place, without any continued selection, which man finds very useful, or valuable for curiosity (as the hooked calyx of the teazle, or the ruff round some pigeons' necks), so in a state of nature some small modifications, apparently beautifully adapted to certain ends, may perhaps be produced from the accidents of the reproductive system, and be at once propagated without long-continued selection of small deviations towards that structure{ }. in conjecturing by what stages any complicated organ in a species may have arrived at its present state, although we may look to the analogous organs in other existing species, we should do this merely to aid and guide our imaginations; for to know the real stages we must look only through one line of species, to one ancient stock, from which the species in question has descended. in considering the eye of a quadruped, for instance, though we may look at the eye of a molluscous animal or of an insect, as a proof how simple an organ will serve some of the ends of vision; and at the eye of a fish as a nearer guide of the manner of simplification; we must remember that it is a mere chance (assuming for a moment the truth of our theory) if any existing organic being has preserved any one organ, in exactly the same condition, as it existed in the ancient species at remote geological periods. { } the difficulties discussed in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , are the rarity of transitional varieties, the origin of the tail of the giraffe; the otter-like polecat (_mustela vison_); the flying habit of the bat; the penguin and the logger-headed duck; flying fish; the whale-like habit of the bear; the woodpecker; diving petrels; the eye; the swimming bladder; cirripedes; neuter insects; electric organs. of these, the polecat, the bat, the woodpecker, the eye, the swimming bladder are discussed in the present essay, and in addition some botanical problems. { } in the _origin_, ed. vi. p. , the author replies to mivart's criticisms (_genesis of species_, ), referring especially to that writer's objection "that natural selection is incompetent to account for the incipient stages of useful structures." { } <the following sentence seems to have been intended for insertion here> "and that each eye throughout the animal kingdom is not only most useful, but _perfect_ for its possessor." { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } this is one of the most definite statements in the present essay of the possible importance of _sports_ or what would now be called _mutations_. as is well known the author afterwards doubted whether species could arise in this way. see _origin_, ed. v. p. , vi. p. , also _life and letters_, vol. iii. p. . the nature or condition of certain structures has been thought by some naturalists to be of no use to the possessor{ }, but to have been formed wholly for the good of other species; thus certain fruit and seeds have been thought to have been made nutritious for certain animals--numbers of insects, especially in their larval state, to exist for the same end--certain fish to be bright coloured to aid certain birds of prey in catching them, &c. now could this be proved (which i am far from admitting) the theory of natural selection would be quite overthrown; for it is evident that selection depending on the advantage over others of one individual with some slight deviation would never produce a structure or quality profitable only to another species. no doubt one being takes advantage of qualities in another, and may even cause its extermination; but this is far from proving that this quality was produced for such an end. it may be advantageous to a plant to have its seeds attractive to animals, if one out of a hundred or a thousand escapes being digested, and thus aids dissemination: the bright colours of a fish may be of some advantage to it, or more probably may result from exposure to certain conditions in favourable haunts for food, _notwithstanding_ it becomes subject to be caught more easily by certain birds. { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , where the question is discussed for the case of instincts with a proviso that the same argument applies to structure. it is briefly stated in its general bearing in _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . if instead of looking, as above, at certain individual organs, in order to speculate on the stages by which their parts have been matured and selected, we consider an individual animal, we meet with the same or greater difficulty, but which, i believe, as in the case of single organs, rests entirely on our ignorance. it may be asked by what intermediate forms could, for instance, a bat possibly have passed; but the same question might have been asked with respect to the seal, if we had not been familiar with the otter and other semi-aquatic carnivorous quadrupeds. but in the case of the bat, who can say what might have been the habits of some parent form with less developed wings, when we now have insectivorous opossums and herbivorous squirrels fitted for merely gliding through the air{ }. one species of bat is at present partly aquatic in its habits{ }. woodpeckers and tree-frogs are especially adapted, as their names express, for climbing trees; yet we have species of both inhabiting the open plains of la plata, where a tree does not exist{ }. i might argue from this circumstance that a structure eminently fitted for climbing trees might descend from forms inhabiting a country where a tree did not exist. notwithstanding these and a multitude of other well-known facts, it has been maintained by several authors that one species, for instance of the carnivorous order, could not pass into another, for instance into an otter, because in its transitional state its habits would not be adapted to any proper conditions of life; but the jaguar{ } is a thoroughly terrestrial quadruped in its structure, yet it takes freely to the water and catches many fish; will it be said that it is _impossible_ that the conditions of its country might become such that the jaguar should be driven to feed more on fish than they now do; and in that case is it impossible, is it not probable, that any the slightest deviation in its instincts, its form of body, in the width of its feet, and in the extension of the skin (which already unites the base of its toes) would give such individuals a better _chance_ of surviving and propagating young with similar, barely perceptible (though thoroughly exercised), deviations{ }? who will say what could thus be effected in the course of ten thousand generations? who can answer the same question with respect to instincts? if no one can, the _possibility_ (for we are not in this chapter considering the _probability_) of simple organs or organic beings being modified by natural selection and the effects of external agencies into complicated ones ought not to be absolutely rejected. { } <note in original.> no one will dispute that the gliding is most useful, probably necessary for the species in question. { } <note in original.> is this the galeopithecus? i forget. <_galeopithecus_ "or the flying lemur" is mentioned in the corresponding discussion in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , as formerly placed among the bats. i do not know why it is described as partly aquatic in its habits.> { } in the _origin_, ed. vi. p. , the author modified the statement that it _never_ climbs trees; he also inserted a sentence quoting mr hudson to the effect that in other districts this woodpecker climbs trees and bores holes. see mr darwin's paper, _zoolog. soc. proc._, , and _life and letters_, iii. p. . { } note by the late alfred newton. richardson in _fauna boreali-americana_, i. p. . { } <note in original.> see richardson a far better case of a polecat animal <_mustela vison_>, which half-year is aquatic. <mentioned in _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. .> part ii{ } on the evidence favourable and opposed to the view that species are naturally formed races, descended from common stocks { } in the _origin_ the division of the work into parts i and ii is omitted. in the ms. the chapters of part ii are numbered afresh, the present being ch. i of pt. ii. i have thought it best to call it ch. iv and there is evidence that darwin had some thought of doing the same. it corresponds to ch. ix of _origin_, ed. i., ch. x in ed. vi. chapter iv on the number of intermediate forms required on the theory of common descent; and on their absence in a fossil state i must here premise that, according to the view ordinarily received, the myriads of organisms, which have during past and present times peopled this world, have been created by so many distinct acts of creation. it is impossible to reason concerning the will of the creator, and therefore, according to this view, we can see no cause why or why not the individual organism should have been created on any fixed scheme. that all the organisms of this world have been produced on a scheme is certain from their general affinities; and if this scheme can be shown to be the same with that which would result from allied organic beings descending from common stocks, it becomes highly improbable that they have been separately created by individual acts of the will of a creator. for as well might it be said that, although the planets move in courses conformably to the law of gravity, yet we ought to attribute the course of each planet to the individual act of the will of the creator{ }. it is in every case more conformable with what we know of the government of this earth, that the creator should have imposed only general laws. as long as no method was known by which races could become exquisitely adapted to various ends, whilst the existence of species was thought to be proved by the sterility{ } of their offspring, it was allowable to attribute each organism to an individual act of creation. but in the two former chapters it has (i think) been shown that the production, under existing conditions, of exquisitely adapted species, is at least _possible_. is there then any direct evidence in favour <of> or against this view? i believe that the geographical distribution of organic beings in past and present times, the kind of affinity linking them together, their so-called "metamorphic" and "abortive" organs, appear in favour of this view. on the other hand, the imperfect evidence of the continuousness of the organic series, which, we shall immediately see, is required on our theory, is against it; and is the most weighty objection{ }. the evidence, however, even on this point, as far as it goes, is favourable; and considering the imperfection of our knowledge, especially with respect to past ages, it would be surprising if evidence drawn from such sources were not also imperfect. { } in the essay of the author uses astronomy in the same manner as an illustration. in the _origin_ this does not occur; the reference to the action of secondary causes is more general, _e.g._ ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } it is interesting to find the argument from sterility given so prominent a place. in a corresponding passage in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , it is more summarily treated. the author gives, as the chief bar to the acceptance of evolution, the fact that "we are always slow in admitting any great change of which we do not see the intermediate steps"; and goes on to quote lyell on geological action. it will be remembered that the question of sterility remained a difficulty for huxley. { } similar statements occur in the essay of , p. , note , and in the _origin_, ed. i. p. . as i suppose that species have been formed in an analogous manner with the varieties of the domesticated animals and plants, so must there have existed intermediate forms between all the species of the same group, not differing more than recognised varieties differ. it must not be supposed necessary that there should have existed forms exactly intermediate in character between any two species of a genus, or even between any two varieties of a species; but it is necessary that there should have existed every intermediate form between the one species or variety of the common parent, and likewise between the second species or variety, and this same common parent. thus it does not necessarily follow that there ever has existed <a> series of intermediate sub-varieties (differing no more than the occasional seedlings from the same seed-capsule,) between broccoli and common red cabbage; but it is certain that there has existed, between broccoli and the wild parent cabbage, a series of such intermediate seedlings, and again between red cabbage and the wild parent cabbage: so that the broccoli and red cabbage are linked together, but not _necessarily_ by directly intermediate forms{ }. it is of course possible that there _may_ have been directly intermediate forms, for the broccoli may have long since descended from a common red cabbage, and this from the wild cabbage. so on my theory, it must have been with species of the same genus. still more must the supposition be avoided that there has necessarily ever existed (though one _may_ have descended from <the> other) directly intermediate forms between any two genera or families--for instance between the genus _sus_ and the tapir{ }; although it is necessary that intermediate forms (not differing more than the varieties of our domestic animals) should have existed between sus and some unknown parent form, and tapir with this same parent form. the latter may have differed more from sus and tapir than these two genera now differ from each other. in this sense, according to our theory, there has been a gradual passage (the steps not being wider apart than our domestic varieties) between the species of the same genus, between genera of the same family, and between families of the same order, and so on, as far as facts, hereafter to be given, lead us; and the number of forms which must have at former periods existed, thus to make good this passage between different species, genera, and families, must have been almost infinitely great. { } in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. he uses his newly-acquired knowledge of pigeons to illustrate this point. { } compare the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . what evidence{ } is there of a number of intermediate forms having existed, making a passage in the above sense, between the species of the same groups? some naturalists have supposed that if every fossil which now lies entombed, together with all existing species, were collected together, a perfect series in every great class would be formed. considering the enormous number of species requisite to effect this, especially in the above sense of the forms not being _directly_ intermediate between the existing species and genera, but only intermediate by being linked through a common but often widely different ancestor, i think this supposition highly improbable. i am however far from underrating the probable number of fossilised species: no one who has attended to the wonderful progress of palæontology during the last few years will doubt that we as yet have found only an exceedingly small fraction of the species buried in the crust of the earth. although the almost infinitely numerous intermediate forms in no one class may have been preserved, it does not follow that they have not existed. the fossils which have been discovered, it is important to remark, do tend, the little way they go, to make good the series; for as observed by buckland they all fall into or between existing groups{ }. moreover, those that fall between our existing groups, fall in, according to the manner required by our theory, for they do not directly connect two existing species of different groups, but they connect the groups themselves: thus the pachydermata and ruminantia are now separated by several characters, <for instance> the pachydermata{ } have both a tibia and fibula, whilst ruminantia have only a tibia; now the fossil macrauchenia has a leg bone exactly intermediate in this respect, and likewise has some other intermediate characters. but the macrauchenia does not connect any one species of pachydermata with some one other of ruminantia but it shows that these two groups have at one time been less widely divided. so have fish and reptiles been at one time more closely connected in some points than they now are. generally in those groups in which there has been most change, the more ancient the fossil, if not identical with recent, the more often it falls between existing groups, or into small existing groups which now lie between other large existing groups. cases like the foregoing, of which there are many, form steps, though few and far between, in a series of the kind required by my theory. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } the structure of the pachyderm leg was a favourite with the author. it is discussed in the essay of , p. . in the present essay the following sentence in the margin appears to refer to pachyderms and ruminants: "there can be no doubt, if we banish all fossils, existing groups stand more separate." the following occurs between the lines "the earliest forms would be such as others could radiate from." as i have admitted the high improbability, that if every fossil were disinterred, they would compose in each of the divisions of nature a perfect series of the kind required; consequently i freely admit, that if those geologists are in the right who consider the lowest known formation as contemporaneous with the first appearances of life{ }; or the several formations as at all closely consecutive; or any one formation as containing a nearly perfect record of the organisms which existed during the whole period of its deposition in that quarter of the globe;--if such propositions are to be accepted, my theory must be abandoned. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . if the palæozoic system is really contemporaneous with the first appearance of life, my theory must be abandoned, both inasmuch as it limits _from shortness of time_ the total number of forms which can have existed on this world, and because the organisms, as fish, mollusca{ } and star-fish found in its lower beds, cannot be considered as the parent forms of all the successive species in these classes. but no one has yet overturned the arguments of hutton and lyell, that the lowest formations known to us are only those which have escaped being metamorphosed <illegible>; if we argued from some considerable districts, we might have supposed that even the cretaceous system was that in which life first appeared. from the number of distant points, however, in which the silurian system has been found to be the lowest, and not always metamorphosed, there are some objections to hutton's and lyell's view; but we must not forget that the now existing land forms only / part of the superficies of the globe, and that this fraction is only imperfectly known. with respect to the fewness of the organisms found in the silurian and other palæozoic formations, there is less difficulty, inasmuch as (besides their gradual obliteration) we can expect formations of this vast antiquity to escape entire denudation, only when they have been accumulated over a wide area, and have been subsequently protected by vast superimposed deposits: now this could generally only hold good with deposits accumulating in a wide and deep ocean, and therefore unfavourable to the presence of many living things. a mere narrow and not very thick strip of matter, deposited along a coast where organisms most abound, would have no chance of escaping denudation and being preserved to the present time from such immensely distant ages{ }. { } <pencil insertion by the author.> the parent-forms of mollusca would probably differ greatly from all recent,--it is not directly that any one division of mollusca would descend from first time unaltered, whilst others had become metamorphosed from it. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . if the several known formations are at all nearly consecutive in time, and preserve a fair record of the organisms which have existed, my theory must be abandoned. but when we consider the great changes in mineralogical nature and texture between successive formations, what vast and entire changes in the geography of the surrounding countries must generally have been effected, thus wholly to have changed the nature of the deposits on the same area. what time such changes must have required! moreover how often has it not been found, that between two conformable and apparently immediately successive deposits a vast pile of water-worn matter is interpolated in an adjoining district. we have no means of conjecturing in many cases how long a period{ } has elapsed between successive formations, for the species are often wholly different: as remarked by lyell, in some cases probably as long a period has elapsed between two formations as the whole tertiary system, itself broken by wide gaps. { } <note in original.> reflect on coming in of the chalk, extending from iceland to the crimea. consult the writings of any one who has particularly attended to any one stage in the tertiary system (and indeed of every system) and see how deeply impressed he is with the time required for its accumulation{ }. reflect on the years elapsed in many cases, since the latest beds containing only living species have been formed;--see what jordan smith says of the , years since the last bed, which is above the boulder formation in scotland, has been upraised; or of the far longer period since the recent beds of sweden have been upraised feet, what an enormous period the boulder formation must have required, and yet how insignificant are the records (although there has been plenty of elevation to bring up submarine deposits) of the shells, which we know existed at that time. think, then, over the entire length of the tertiary epoch, and think over the probable length of the intervals, separating the secondary deposits. of these deposits, moreover, those consisting of sand and pebbles have seldom been favourable, either to the embedment or to the preservation of fossils{ }. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. pp. , . nor can it be admitted as probable that any one secondary formation contains a fair record even of those organisms which are most easily preserved, namely hard marine bodies. in how many cases have we not certain evidence that between the deposition of apparently closely consecutive beds, the lower one existed for an unknown time as land, covered with trees. some of the secondary formations which contain most marine remains appear to have been formed in a wide and not deep sea, and therefore only those marine animals which live in such situations would be preserved{ }. in all cases, on indented rocky coasts, or any other coast, where sediment is not accumulating, although often highly favourable to marine animals, none can be embedded: where pure sand and pebbles are accumulating few or none will be preserved. i may here instance the great western line of the s. american coast{ }, tenanted by many peculiar animals, of which none probably will be preserved to a distant epoch. from these causes, and especially from such deposits as are formed along a line of coast, steep above and below water, being necessarily of little width, and therefore more likely to be subsequently denuded and worn away, we can see why it is improbable that our secondary deposits contain a fair record of the marine fauna of any one period. the east indian archipelago offers an area, as large as most of our secondary deposits, in which there are wide and shallow seas, teeming with marine animals, and in which sediment is accumulating; now supposing that all the hard marine animals, or rather those having hard parts to preserve, were preserved to a future age, excepting those which lived on rocky shores where no sediment or only sand and gravel were accumulating, and excepting those embedded along the steeper coasts, where only a narrow fringe of sediment was accumulating, supposing all this, how poor a notion would a person at a future age have of the marine fauna of the present day. lyell{ } has compared the geological series to a work of which only the few latter but not consecutive chapters have been preserved; and out of which, it may be added, very many leaves have been torn, the remaining ones only illustrating a scanty portion of the fauna of each period. on this view, the records of anteceding ages confirm my theory; on any other they destroy it. { } <note in original.> neither highest or lowest fish (_i.e._ myxina <?> or lepidosiren) could be preserved in intelligible condition in fossils. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. for lyell's metaphor. i am indebted to prof. judd for pointing out that darwin's version of the metaphor is founded on the first edition of lyell's _principles_, vol. i. and vol. iii.; see the essay of , p. . finally, if we narrow the question into, why do we not find in some instances every intermediate form between any two species? the answer may well be that the average duration of each specific form (as we have good reason to believe) is immense in years, and that the transition could, according to my theory, be effected only by numberless small gradations; and therefore that we should require for this end a most perfect record, which the foregoing reasoning teaches us not to expect. it might be thought that in a vertical section of great thickness in the same formation some of the species ought to be found to vary in the upper and lower parts{ }, but it may be doubted whether any formation has gone on accumulating without any break for a period as long as the duration of a species; and if it had done so, we should require a series of specimens from every part. how rare must be the chance of sediment accumulating for some or thousand years on the same spot{ }, with the bottom subsiding, so that a proper depth might be preserved for any one species to continue living: what an amount of subsidence would be thus required, and this subsidence must not destroy the source whence the sediment continued to be derived. in the case of terrestrial animals, what chance is there when the present time is become a pleistocene formation (at an earlier period than this, sufficient elevation to expose marine beds could not be expected), what chance is there that future geologists will make out the innumerable transitional sub-varieties, through which the short-horned and long-horned cattle (so different in shape of body) have been derived from the same parent stock{ }? yet this transition has been effected in _the same country_, and in a far _shorter time_, than would be probable in a wild state, both contingencies highly favourable for the future hypothetical geologists being enabled to trace the variation. { } see _more letters_, vol. i. pp. - , for darwin's interest in the celebrated observations of hilgendorf and hyatt. { } this corresponds partly to _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . chapter v gradual appearance and disappearance of species{ } { } this chapter corresponds to ch. x of _origin_, ed. i., vi. ch. xi, "on the geological succession of organic beings." in the tertiary system, in the last uplifted beds, we find all the species recent and living in the immediate vicinity; in rather older beds we find only recent species, but some not living in the immediate vicinity{ }; we then find beds with two or three or a few more extinct or very rare species; then considerably more extinct species, but with gaps in the regular increase; and finally we have beds with only two or three or not one living species. most geologists believe that the gaps in the percentage, that is the sudden increments, in the number of the extinct species in the stages of the tertiary system are due to the imperfection of the geological record. hence we are led to believe that the species in the tertiary system have been gradually introduced; and from analogy to carry on the same view to the secondary formations. in these latter, however, entire groups of species generally come in abruptly; but this would naturally result, if, as argued in the foregoing chapter, these secondary deposits are separated by wide epochs. moreover it is important to observe that, with our increase of knowledge, the gaps between the older formations become fewer and smaller; geologists of a few years standing remember how beautifully has the devonian system{ } come in between the carboniferous and silurian formations. i need hardly observe that the slow and gradual appearance of new forms follows from our theory, for to form a new species, an old one must not only be plastic in its organization, becoming so probably from changes in the conditions of its existence, but a place in the natural economy of the district must [be made,] come to exist, for the selection of some new modification of its structure, better fitted to the surrounding conditions than are the other individuals of the same or other species{ }. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } in the margin the author has written "lonsdale." this refers to w. lonsdale's paper "notes on the age of the limestone of south devonshire," _geolog. soc. trans._, series , vol. v. , p. . according to mr h. b. woodward (_history of the geological society of london_, , p. ) "lonsdale's 'important and original suggestion of the existence of an intermediary type of palæozoic fossils, since called devonian,' led to a change which was then 'the greatest ever made at one time in the classification of our english formations'." mr woodward's quotations are from murchison and buckland. { } <note in original.> better begin with this. if species really, after catastrophes, created in showers over world, my theory false. <in the above passage the author is obviously close to his theory of divergence.> in the tertiary system the same facts, which make us admit as probable that new species have slowly appeared, lead to the admission that old ones have slowly disappeared, not several together, but one after another; and by analogy one is induced to extend this belief to the secondary and palæozoic epochs. in some cases, as the subsidence of a flat country, or the breaking or the joining of an isthmus, and the sudden inroad of many new and destructive species, extinction might be locally sudden. the view entertained by many geologists, that each fauna of each secondary epoch has been suddenly destroyed over the whole world, so that no succession could be left for the production of new forms, is subversive of my theory, but i see no grounds whatever to admit such a view. on the contrary, the law, which has been made out, with reference to distinct epochs, by independent observers, namely, that the wider the geographical range of a species the longer is its duration in time, seems entirely opposed to any universal extermination{ }. the fact of species of mammiferous animals and fish being renewed at a quicker rate than mollusca, though both aquatic; and of these the terrestrial genera being renewed quicker than the marine; and the marine mollusca being again renewed quicker than the infusorial animalcula, all seem to show that the extinction and renewal of species does not depend on general catastrophes, but on the particular relations of the several classes to the conditions to which they are exposed{ }. { } opposite to this passage the author has written "d'archiac, forbes, lyell." { } this passage, for which the author gives as authorities the names of lyell, forbes and ehrenberg, corresponds in part to the discussion beginning on p. of _origin_, ed. i., vi. p. . some authors seem to consider the fact of a few species having survived{ } amidst a number of extinct forms (as is the case with a tortoise and a crocodile out of the vast number of extinct sub-himalayan fossils) as strongly opposed to the view of species being mutable. no doubt this would be the case, if it were presupposed with lamarck that there was some inherent tendency to change and development in all species, for which supposition i see no evidence. as we see some species at present adapted to a wide range of conditions, so we may suppose that such species would survive unchanged and unexterminated for a long time; time generally being from geological causes a correlative of changing conditions. how at present one species becomes adapted to a wide range, and another species to a restricted range of conditions, is of difficult explanation. { } the author gives falconer as his authority: see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . _extinction of species._ the extinction of the larger quadrupeds, of which we imagine we better know the conditions of existence, has been thought little less wonderful than the appearance of new species; and has, i think, chiefly led to the belief of universal catastrophes. when considering the wonderful disappearance within a late period, whilst recent shells were living, of the numerous great and small mammifers of s. america, one is strongly induced to join with the catastrophists. i believe, however, that very erroneous views are held on this subject. as far as is historically known, the disappearance of species from any one country has been slow--the species becoming rarer and rarer, locally extinct, and finally lost{ }. it may be objected that this has been effected by man's direct agency, or by his indirect agency in altering the state of the country; in this latter case, however, it would be difficult to draw any just distinction between his agency and natural agencies. but we now know in the later tertiary deposits, that shells become rarer and rarer in the successive beds, and finally disappear: it has happened, also, that shells common in a fossil state, and thought to have been extinct, have been found to be still living species, but very _rare_ ones{ }. if the rule is that organisms become extinct by becoming rarer and rarer, we ought not to view their extinction, even in the case of the larger quadrupeds, as anything wonderful and out of the common course of events. for no naturalist thinks it wonderful that one species of a genus should be rare and another abundant, notwithstanding he be quite incapable of explaining the causes of the comparative rareness{ }. why is one species of willow-wren or hawk or woodpecker common in england, and another extremely rare: why at the cape of good hope is one species of rhinoceros or antelope far more abundant than other species? why again is the same species much more abundant in one district of a country than in another district? no doubt there are in each case good causes: but they are unknown and unperceived by us. may we not then safely infer that as certain causes are acting _unperceived_ around us, and are making one species to be common and another exceedingly rare, that they might equally well cause the final extinction of some species without being perceived by us? we should always bear in mind that there is a recurrent struggle for life in every organism, and that in every country a destroying agency is always counteracting the geometrical tendency to increase in every species; and yet without our being able to tell with certainty at what period of life, or at what period of the year, the destruction falls the heaviest. ought we then to expect to trace the steps by which this destroying power, always at work and scarcely perceived by us, becomes increased, and yet if it continues to increase ever so slowly (without the fertility of the species in question be likewise increased) the average number of the individuals of that species must decrease, and become finally lost. i may give a single instance of a check causing local extermination which might long have escaped discovery{ }; the horse, though swarming in a wild state in la plata, and likewise under apparently the most unfavourable conditions in the scorched and alternately flooded plains of caraccas, will not in a wild state extend beyond a certain degree of latitude into the intermediate country of paraguay; this is owing to a certain fly depositing its eggs on the navels of the foals: as, however, man with a _little_ care can rear horses in a tame state _abundantly_ in paraguay, the problem of its extinction is probably complicated by the greater exposure of the wild horse to occasional famine from the droughts, to the attacks of the jaguar and other such evils. in the falkland islands the check to the _increase_ of the wild horse is said to be loss of the sucking foals{ }, from the stallions compelling the mares to travel across bogs and rocks in search of food: if the pasture on these islands decreased a little, the horse, perhaps, would cease to exist in a wild state, not from the absolute want of food, but from the impatience of the stallions urging the mares to travel whilst the foals were too young. { } this corresponds approximately to _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } the case of _trigonia_, a great secondary genus of shells surviving in a single species in the australian seas, is given as an example in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } this point, on which the author laid much stress, is discussed in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } this case does not occur in the _origin_, ed. from our more intimate acquaintance with domestic animals, we cannot conceive their extinction without some glaring agency; we forget that they would undoubtedly in a state of nature (where other animals are ready to fill up their place) be acted on in some part of their lives by a destroying agency, keeping their numbers on an average constant. if the common ox was known only as a wild s. african species, we should feel no surprise at hearing that it was a very rare species; and this rarity would be a stage towards its extinction. even in man, so infinitely better known than any other inhabitant of this world, how impossible it has been found, without statistical calculations, to judge of the proportions of births and deaths, of the duration of life, and of the increase and decrease of population; and still less of the causes of such changes: and yet, as has so often been repeated, decrease in numbers or rarity seems to be the high-road to extinction. to marvel at the extermination of a species appears to me to be the same thing as to know that illness is the road to death,--to look at illness as an ordinary event, nevertheless to conclude, when the sick man dies, that his death has been caused by some unknown and violent agency{ }. { } an almost identical sentence occurs in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . in a future part of this work we shall show that, as a general rule, groups of allied species{ } gradually appear and disappear, one after the other, on the face of the earth, like the individuals of the same species: and we shall then endeavour to show the probable cause of this remarkable fact. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . chapter vi on the geographical distribution of organic beings in past and present times for convenience sake i shall divide this chapter into three sections{ }. in the first place i shall endeavour to state the laws of the distribution of existing beings, as far as our present object is concerned; in the second, that of extinct; and in the third section i shall consider how far these laws accord with the theory of allied species having a common descent. { } chapters xi and xii in the _origin_, ed. i., vi. chs. xii and xiii ("on geographical distribution") show signs of having been originally one, in the fact that one summary serves for both. the geological element is not separately treated there, nor is there a separate section on "how far these laws accord with the theory, &c." in the ms. the author has here written in the margin "if same species appear at two spot at once, fatal to my theory." see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. section first. _distribution of the inhabitants in the different continents._ in the following discussion i shall chiefly refer to terrestrial mammifers, inasmuch as they are better known; their differences in different countries, strongly marked; and especially as the necessary means of their transport are more evident, and confusion, from the accidental conveyance by man of a species from one district to another district, is less likely to arise. it is known that all mammifers (as well as all other organisms) are united in one great system; but that the different species, genera, or families of the same order inhabit different quarters of the globe. if we divide the land{ } into two divisions, according to the amount of difference, and disregarding the numbers of the terrestrial mammifers inhabiting them, we shall have first australia including new guinea; and secondly the rest of the world: if we make a three-fold division, we shall have australia, s. america, and the rest of the world; i must observe that north america is in some respects neutral land, from possessing some s. american forms, but i believe it is more closely allied (as it certainly is in its birds, plants and shells) with europe. if our division had been four-fold, we should have had australia, s. america, madagascar (though inhabited by few mammifers) and the remaining land: if five-fold, africa, especially the southern eastern parts, would have to be separated from the remainder of the world. these differences in the mammiferous inhabitants of the several main divisions of the globe cannot, it is well known, be explained by corresponding differences in their conditions{ }; how similar are parts of tropical america and africa; and accordingly we find some _analogous_ resemblances,--thus both have monkeys, both large feline animals, both large lepidoptera, and large dung-feeding beetles; both have palms and epiphytes; and yet the essential difference between their productions is as great as between those of the arid plains of the cape of good hope and the grass-covered savannahs of la plata{ }. consider the distribution of the marsupialia, which are eminently characteristic of australia, and in a lesser degree of s. america; when we reflect that animals of this division, feeding both on animal and vegetable matter, frequent the dry open or wooded plains and mountains of australia, the humid impenetrable forests of new guinea and brazil; the dry rocky mountains of chile, and the grassy plains of banda oriental, we must look to some other cause, than the nature of the country, for their absence in africa and other quarters of the world. { } this division of the land into regions does not occur in the _origin_, ed. i. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } opposite this passage is written "_not botanically_," in sir j. d. hooker's hand. the word _palms_ is underlined three times and followed by three exclamation marks. an explanatory note is added in the margin "singular paucity of palms and epiphytes in trop. africa compared with trop. america and ind. or." <=east indies>. furthermore it may be observed that _all_ the organisms inhabiting any country are not perfectly adapted to it{ }; i mean by not being perfectly adapted, only that some few other organisms can generally be found better adapted to the country than some of the aborigines. we must admit this when we consider the enormous number of horses and cattle which have run wild during the three last centuries in the uninhabited parts of st domingo, cuba, and s. america; for these animals must have supplanted some aboriginal ones. i might also adduce the same fact in australia, but perhaps it will be objected that or years has not been a sufficient period to test this power of struggling <with> and overcoming the aborigines. we know the european mouse is driving before it that of new zealand, like the norway rat has driven before it the old english species in england. scarcely an island can be named, where casually introduced plants have not supplanted some of the native species: in la plata the cardoon covers square leagues of country on which some s. american plants must once have grown: the commonest weed over the whole of india is an introduced mexican poppy. the geologist who knows that slow changes are in progress, replacing land and water, will easily perceive that even if all the organisms of any country had originally been the best adapted to it, this could hardly continue so during succeeding ages without either extermination, or changes, first in the relative proportional numbers of the inhabitants of the country, and finally in their constitutions and structure. { } this partly corresponds to _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . inspection of a map of the world at once shows that the five divisions, separated according to the greatest amount of difference in the mammifers inhabiting them, are likewise those most widely separated from each other by barriers{ } which mammifers cannot pass: thus australia is separated from new guinea and some small adjoining islets only by a narrow and shallow strait; whereas new guinea and its adjoining islets are cut off from the other east indian islands by deep water. these latter islands, i may remark, which fall into the great asiatic group, are separated from each other and the continent only by shallow water; and where this is the case we may suppose, from geological oscillations of level, that generally there has been recent union. south america, including the southern part of mexico, is cut off from north america by the west indies, and the great table-land of mexico, except by a mere fringe of tropical forests along the coast: it is owing, perhaps, to this fringe that n. america possesses some s. american forms. madagascar is entirely isolated. africa is also to a great extent isolated, although it approaches, by many promontories and by lines of shallower sea, to europe and asia: southern africa, which is the most distinct in its mammiferous inhabitants, is separated from the northern portion by the great sahara desert and the table-land of abyssinia. that the distribution of organisms is related to barriers, stopping their progress, we clearly see by comparing the distribution of marine and terrestrial productions. the marine animals being different on the two sides of land tenanted by the same terrestrial animals, thus the shells are wholly different on the opposite sides of the temperate parts of south america{ }, as they are (?) in the red sea and the mediterranean. we can at once perceive that the destruction of a barrier would permit two geographical groups of organisms to fuse and blend into one. but the original cause of groups being different on opposite sides of a barrier can only be understood on the hypothesis of each organism having been created or produced on one spot or area, and afterwards migrating as widely as its means of transport and subsistence permitted it. { } on the general importance of barriers, see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . _relation of range in genera and species._ it is generally{ } found, that where a genus or group ranges over nearly the entire world, many of the species composing the group have wide ranges: on the other hand, where a group is restricted to any one country, the species composing it generally have restricted ranges in that country{ }. thus among mammifers the feline and canine genera are widely distributed, and many of the individual species have enormous ranges [the genus mus i believe, however, is a strong exception to the rule]. mr gould informs me that the rule holds with birds, as in the owl genus, which is mundane, and many of the species range widely. the rule holds also with land and fresh-water mollusca, with butterflies and very generally with plants. as instances of the converse rule, i may give that division of the monkeys which is confined to s. america, and amongst plants, the cacti, confined to the same continent, the species of both of which have generally narrow ranges. on the ordinary theory of the separate creation of each species, the cause of these relations is not obvious; we can see no reason, because many allied species have been created in the several main divisions of the world, that several of these species should have wide ranges; and on the other hand, that species of the same group should have narrow ranges if all have been created in one main division of the world. as the result of such and probably many other unknown relations, it is found that, even in the same great classes of beings, the different divisions of the world are characterised by either merely different species, or genera, or even families: thus in cats, mice, foxes, s. america differs from asia and africa only in species; in her pigs, camels and monkeys the difference is generic or greater. again, whilst southern africa and australia differ more widely in their mammalia than do africa and s. america, they are more closely (though indeed very distantly) allied in their plants. { } <note in original.> the same laws seem to govern distribution of species and genera, and individuals in time and space. <see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , also a passage in the last chapter, p. .> { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . _distribution of the inhabitants in the same continent._ if we now look at the distribution of the organisms in any one of the above main divisions of the world, we shall find it split up into many regions, with all or nearly all their species distinct, but yet partaking of one common character. this similarity of type in the subdivisions of a great region is equally well-known with the dissimilarity of the inhabitants of the several great regions; but it has been less often insisted on, though more worthy of remark. thus for instance, if in africa or s. america, we go from south to north{ }, or from lowland to upland, or from a humid to a dryer part, we find wholly different species of those genera or groups which characterise the continent over which we are passing. in these subdivisions we may clearly observe, as in the main divisions of the world, that sub-barriers divide different groups of species, although the opposite sides of such sub-barriers may possess nearly the same climate, and may be in other respects nearly similar: thus it is on the opposite sides of the cordillera of chile, and in a lesser degree on the opposite sides of the rocky mountains. deserts, arms of the sea, and even rivers form the barriers; mere preoccupied space seems sufficient in several cases: thus eastern and western australia, in the same latitude, with very similar climate and soils, have scarcely a plant, and few animals or birds, in common, although all belong to the peculiar genera characterising australia. it is in short impossible to explain the differences in the inhabitants, either of the main divisions of the world, or of these sub-divisions, by the differences in their physical conditions, and by the adaptation of their inhabitants. some other cause must intervene. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . we can see that the destruction of sub-barriers would cause (as before remarked in the case of the main divisions) two sub-divisions to blend into one; and we can only suppose that the original difference in the species, on the opposite sides of sub-barriers, is due to the creation or production of species in distinct areas, from which they have wandered till arrested by such sub-barriers. although thus far is pretty clear, it may be asked, why, when species in the same main division of the world were produced on opposite sides of a sub-barrier, both when exposed to similar conditions and when exposed to widely different influences (as on alpine and lowland tracts, as on arid and humid soils, as in cold and hot climates), have they invariably been formed on a similar type, and that type confined to this one division of the world? why when an ostrich{ } was produced in the southern parts of america, was it formed on the american type, instead of on the african or on australian types? why when hare-like and rabbit-like animals were formed to live on the savannahs of la plata, were they produced on the peculiar rodent type of s. america, instead of on the true{ } hare-type of north america, asia and africa? why when borrowing rodents, and camel-like animals were formed to tenant the cordillera, were they formed on the same type{ } with their representatives on the plains? why were the mice, and many birds of different species on the opposite sides of the cordillera, but exposed to a very similar climate and soil, created on the same peculiar s. american type? why were the plants in eastern and western australia, though wholly different as species, formed on the same peculiar australian types? the generality of the rule, in so many places and under such different circumstances, makes it highly remarkable and seems to demand some explanation. { } the case of the ostrich (_rhea_) occurs in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } <note in original.> there is a hare in s. america,--so bad example. { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . _insular faunas._ if we now look to the character of the inhabitants of small islands{ }, we shall find that those situated close to other land have a similar fauna with that land{ }, whilst those at a considerable distance from other land often possess an almost entirely peculiar fauna. the galapagos archipelago{ } is a remarkable instance of this latter fact; here almost every bird, its one mammifer, its reptiles, land and sea shells, and even fish, are almost all peculiar and distinct species, not found in any other quarter of the world: so are the majority of its plants. but although situated at the distance of between and miles from the s. american coast, it is impossible to even glance at a large part of its fauna, especially at the birds, without at once seeing that they belong to the american type{ }. hence, in fact, groups of islands thus circumstanced form merely small but well-defined sub-divisions of the larger geographical divisions. but the fact is in such cases far more striking: for taking the galapagos archipelago as an instance; in the first place we must feel convinced, seeing that every island is wholly volcanic and bristles with craters, that in a geological sense the whole is of recent origin comparatively with a continent; and as the species are nearly all peculiar, we must conclude that they have in the same sense recently been produced on this very spot; and although in the nature of the soil, and in a lesser degree in the climate, there is a wide difference with the nearer part of the s. american coast, we see that the inhabitants have been formed on the same closely allied type. on the other hand, these islands, as far as their physical conditions are concerned, resemble closely the cape de verde volcanic group, and yet how wholly unlike are the productions of these two archipelagoes. the cape de verde{ } group, to which may be added the canary islands, are allied in their inhabitants (of which many are peculiar species) to the coast of africa and southern europe, in precisely the same manner as the galapagos archipelago is allied to america. we here clearly see that mere geographical proximity affects, more than any relation of adaptation, the character of species. how many islands in the pacific exist far more like in their physical conditions to juan fernandez than this island is to the coast of chile, distant miles; why then, except from mere proximity, should this island alone be tenanted by two very peculiar species of humming-birds--that form of birds which is so exclusively american? innumerable other similar cases might be adduced. { } for the general problem of oceanic islands, see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } this is an illustration of the general theory of barriers (_origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. ). at i. p. , vi. p. the question is discussed from the point of view of means of transport. between the lines, above the words "with that land," the author wrote "cause, formerly joined, no one doubts after lyell." { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } the cape de verde and galapagos archipelagoes are compared in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . see also _journal of researches_, , p. . the galapagos archipelago offers another, even more remarkable, example of the class of facts we are here considering. most of its genera are, as we have said, american, many of them are mundane, or found everywhere, and some are quite or nearly confined to this archipelago. the islands are of absolutely similar composition, and exposed to the same climate; most of them are in sight of each other; and yet several of the islands are inhabited, each by peculiar species (or in some cases perhaps only varieties) of some of the genera characterising the archipelago. so that the small group of the galapagos islands typifies, and follows exactly the same laws in the distribution of its inhabitants, as a great continent. how wonderful it is that two or three closely similar but distinct species of a mocking-thrush{ } should have been produced on three neighbouring and absolutely similar islands; and that these three species of mocking-thrush should be closely related to the other species inhabiting wholly different climates and different districts of america, and only in america. no similar case so striking as this of the galapagos archipelago has hitherto been observed; and this difference of the productions in the different islands may perhaps be partly explained by the depth of the sea between them (showing that they could not have been united within recent geological periods), and by the currents of the sea sweeping _straight_ between them,--and by storms of wind being rare, through which means seeds and birds could be blown, or drifted, from one island to another. there are however some similar facts: it is said that the different, though neighbouring islands of the east indian archipelago are inhabited by some different species of the same genera; and at the sandwich group some of the islands have each their peculiar species of the same genera of plants. { } in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , a strong point is made of birds which immigrated "with facility and in a body" not having been modified. thus the author accounts for the small percentage of peculiar "marine birds." islands standing quite isolated within the intra-tropical oceans have generally very peculiar floras, related, though feebly (as in the case of st helena{ } where almost every species is distinct), with the nearest continent: tristan d'acunha is feebly related, i believe, in its plants, both to africa and s. america, not by having species in common, but by the genera to which they belong{ }. the floras of the numerous scattered islands of the pacific are related to each other and to all the surrounding continents; but it has been said, that they have more of an indo-asiatic than american character{ }. this is somewhat remarkable, as america is nearer to all the eastern islands, and lies in the direction of the trade-wind and prevailing currents; on the other hand, all the heaviest gales come from the asiatic side. but even with the aid of these gales, it is not obvious on the ordinary theory of creation how the possibility of migration (without we suppose, with extreme improbability, that each species with an indo-asiatic character has actually travelled from the asiatic shores, where such species do not now exist) explains this asiatic character in the plants of the pacific. this is no more obvious than that (as before remarked) there should exist a relation between the creation of closely allied species in several regions of the world, and the fact of many such species having wide ranges; and on the other hand, of allied species confined to one region of the world having in that region narrow ranges. { } "the affinities of the st helena flora are strongly south african." hooker's _lecture on insular floras_ in the _gardeners' chronicle_, jan. . { } it is impossible to make out the precise form which the author intended to give to this sentence, but the meaning is clear. { } this is no doubt true, the flora of the sandwich group however has marked american affinities. _alpine floras._ we will now turn to the floras of mountain-summits which are well known to differ from the floras of the neighbouring lowlands. in certain characters, such as dwarfness of stature, hairiness, &c., the species from the most distant mountains frequently resemble each other,--a kind of analogy like that for instance of the succulency of most desert plants. besides this analogy, alpine plants present some eminently curious facts in their distribution. in some cases the summits of mountains, although immensely distant from each other, are clothed by the same identical species{ } which are likewise the same with those growing on the likewise very distant arctic shores. in other cases, although few or none of the species may be actually identical, they are closely related; whilst the plants of the lowland districts surrounding the two mountains in question will be wholly dissimilar. as mountain-summits, as far as their plants are concerned, are islands rising out of an ocean of land in which the alpine species cannot live, nor across which is there any known means of transport, this fact appears directly opposed to the conclusion which we have come to from considering the general distribution of organisms both on continents and on islands--namely, that the degree of relationship between the inhabitants of two points depends on the completeness and nature of the barriers between those points{ }. i believe, however, this anomalous case admits, as we shall presently see, of some explanation. we might have expected that the flora of a mountain summit would have presented the same relation to the flora of the surrounding lowland country, which any isolated part of a continent does to the whole, or an island does to the mainland, from which it is separated by a rather wide space of sea. this in fact is the case with the plants clothing the summits of _some_ mountains, which mountains it may be observed are particularly isolated; for instance, all the species are peculiar, but they belong to the forms characteristic of the surrounding continent, on the mountains of caraccas, of van dieman's land and of the cape of good hope{ }. on some other mountains, for instance <in> tierra del fuego and in brazil, some of the plants though distinct species are s. american forms; whilst others are allied to or are identical with the alpine species of europe. in islands of which the lowland flora is distinct <from> but allied to that of the nearest continent, the alpine plants are sometimes (or perhaps mostly) eminently peculiar and distinct{ }; this is the case on teneriffe, and in a lesser degree even on some of the mediterranean islands. { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . the present discussion was written before the publication of forbes' celebrated paper on the same subject; see _life and letters_, vol. i. p. . { } the apparent breakdown of the doctrine of barriers is slightly touched on in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , the author points out that on the mountains at the cape of good hope "some few representative european forms are found, which have not been discovered in the inter-tropical parts of africa." { } see hooker's _lecture on insular floras_ in the _gardeners' chronicle_, jan. . if all alpine floras had been characterised like that of the mountain of caraccas, or of van dieman's land, &c., whatever explanation is possible of the general laws of geographical distribution would have applied to them. but the apparently anomalous case just given, namely of the mountains of europe, of some mountains in the united states (dr boott) and of the summits of the himalaya (royle), having many identical species in common conjointly with the arctic regions, and many species, though not identical, closely allied, require a separate explanation. the fact likewise of several of the species on the mountains of tierra del fuego (and in a lesser degree on the mountains of brazil) not belonging to american forms, but to those of europe, though so immensely remote, requires also a separate explanation. _cause of the similarity in the floras of some distant mountains._ now we may with confidence affirm, from the number of the then floating icebergs and low descent of the glaciers, that within a period so near that species of shells have remained the same, the whole of central europe and of north america (and perhaps of eastern asia) possessed a very cold climate; and therefore it is probable that the floras of these districts were the same as the present arctic one,--as is known to have been to some degree the case with then existing sea-shells, and those now living on the arctic shores. at this period the mountains must have been covered with ice of which we have evidence in the surfaces polished and scored by glaciers. what then would be the natural and almost inevitable effects of the gradual change into the present more temperate climate{ }? the ice and snow would disappear from the mountains, and as new plants from the more temperate regions of the south migrated northward, replacing the arctic plants, these latter would crawl{ } up the now uncovered mountains, and likewise be driven northward to the present arctic shores. if the arctic flora of that period was a nearly uniform one, as the present one is, then we should have the same plants on these mountain-summits and on the present arctic shores. on this view the arctic flora of that period must have been a widely extended one, more so than even the present one; but considering how similar the physical conditions must always be of land bordering on perpetual frost, this does not appear a great difficulty; and may we not venture to suppose that the almost infinitely numerous icebergs, charged with great masses of rocks, soil and _brushwood_{ } and often driven high up on distant beaches, might have been the means of widely distributing the seeds of the same species? { } in the margin the author has written "(forbes)." this may have been inserted at a date later than , or it may refer to a work by forbes earlier than his alpine paper. { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } <note in original.> perhaps vitality checked by cold and so prevented germinating. <on the carriage of seeds by icebergs, see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. .> i will only hazard one other observation, namely that during the change from an extremely cold climate to a more temperate one the conditions, both on lowland and mountain, would be singularly favourable for the diffusion of any existing plants, which could live on land, just freed from the rigour of eternal winter; for it would possess no inhabitants; and we cannot doubt that _preoccupation_{ } is the chief bar to the diffusion of plants. for amongst many other facts, how otherwise can we explain the circumstance that the plants on the opposite, though similarly constituted sides of a wide river in eastern europe (as i was informed by humboldt) should be widely different; across which river birds, swimming quadrupeds and the wind must often transport seeds; we can only suppose that plants already occupying the soil and freely seeding check the germination of occasionally transported seeds. { } a note by the author gives "many authors" apparently as authority for this statement. at about the same period when icebergs were transporting boulders in n. america as far as ° south, where the cotton tree now grows in south america, in latitude ° (where the land is now clothed with forests having an almost tropical aspect with the trees bearing epiphytes and intertwined with canes), the same ice action was going on; is it not then in some degree probable that at this period the whole tropical parts of the two americas possessed{ } (as falconer asserts that india did) a more temperate climate? in this case the alpine plants of the long chain of the cordillera would have descended much lower and there would have been a broad high-road{ } connecting those parts of north and south america which were then frigid. as the present climate supervened, the plants occupying the districts which now are become in both hemispheres temperate and even semi-tropical must have been driven to the arctic and antarctic{ } regions; and only a few of the loftiest points of the cordillera can have retained their former connecting flora. the transverse chain of chiquitos might perhaps in a similar manner during the ice-action period have served as a connecting road (though a broken one) for alpine plants to become dispersed from the cordillera to the highlands of brazil. it may be observed that some (though not strong) reasons can be assigned for believing that at about this same period the two americas were not so thoroughly divided as they now are by the west indies and tableland of mexico. i will only further remark that the present most singularly close similarity in the vegetation of the lowlands of kerguelen's land{ } and of tierra del fuego (hooker), though so far apart, may perhaps be explained by the dissemination of seeds during this same cold period, by means of icebergs, as before alluded to{ }. { } opposite to this passage, in the margin, the author has written:--"too hypothetical." { } the cordillera is described as supplying a great line of invasion in the _origin_, ed. i. p. . { } this is an approximation to the author's views on trans-tropical migration (_origin_, ed. i. pp. - ). see thiselton-dyer's interesting discussion in _darwin and modern science_, p. . { } see hooker's _lecture on insular floras_ in the _gardeners' chronicle_, jan. . { } <note by the author.> similarity of flora of coral islands easily explained. finally, i think we may safely grant from the foregoing facts and reasoning that the anomalous similarity in the vegetation of certain very distant mountain-summits is not in truth opposed to the conclusion of the intimate relation subsisting between proximity in space (in accordance with the means of transport in each class) and the degree of affinity of the inhabitants of any two countries. in the case of several quite isolated mountains, we have seen that the general law holds good. _whether the same species has been created more than once._ as the fact of the same species of plants having been found on mountain-summits immensely remote has been one chief cause of the belief of some species having been contemporaneously produced or created at two different points{ }, i will here briefly discuss this subject. on the ordinary theory of creation, we can see no reason why on two similar mountain-summits two similar species may not have been created; but the opposite view, independently of its simplicity, has been generally received from the analogy of the general distribution of all organisms, in which (as shown in this chapter) we almost always find that great and continuous barriers separate distinct series; and we are naturally led to suppose that the two series have been separately created. when taking a more limited view we see a river, with a quite similar country on both sides, with one side well stocked with a certain animal and on the other side not one (as is the case with the bizcacha{ } on the opposite sides of the plata), we are at once led to conclude that the bizcacha was produced on some one point or area on the western side of the river. considering our ignorance of the many strange chances of diffusion by birds (which occasionally wander to immense distances) and quadrupeds swallowing seeds and ova (as in the case of the flying water-beetle which disgorged the eggs of a fish), and of whirlwinds carrying seeds and animals into strong upper currents (as in the case of volcanic ashes and showers of hay, grain and fish{ }), and of the possibility of species having survived for short periods at intermediate spots and afterwards becoming extinct there{ }; and considering our knowledge of the great changes which _have_ taken place from subsidence and elevation in the surface of the earth, and of our ignorance of the greater changes which _may have_ taken place, we ought to be very slow in admitting the probability of double creations. in the case of plants on mountain-summits, i think i have shown how almost necessarily they would, under the past conditions of the northern hemisphere, be as similar as are the plants on the present arctic shores; and this ought to teach us a lesson of caution. { } on centres of creation see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } in the _journal of researches_, ed. , p. , the distribution of the bizcacha is described as limited by the river uruguay. the case is not i think given in the _origin_. { } in the _origin_, ed. i. a special section (p. , vi. p. ) is devoted to _means of dispersal_. the much greater prominence given to this subject in the _origin_ is partly accounted for by the author's experiments being of later date, _i.e._ (_life and letters_, vol. ii. p. ). the carriage of fish by whirlwinds is given in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } the case of islands serving as halting places is given in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . but here the evidence of this having occurred is supposed to be lost by the subsidence of the islands, not merely by the extinction of the species. but the strongest argument against double creations may be drawn from considering the case of mammifers{ } in which, from their nature and from the size of their offspring, the means of distribution are more in view. there are no cases where the same species is found in _very remote_ localities, except where there is a continuous belt of land: the arctic region perhaps offers the strongest exception, and here we know that animals are transported on icebergs{ }. the cases of lesser difficulty may all receive a more or less simple explanation; i will give only one instance; the nutria{ }, i believe, on the eastern coast of s. america live exclusively in fresh-water rivers, and i was much surprised how they could have got into rivulets, widely apart, on the coast of patagonia; but on the opposite coast i found these quadrupeds living exclusively in the sea, and hence their migration along the patagonian coast is not surprising. there is no case of the same mammifer being found on an island far from the coast, and on the mainland, as happens with plants{ }. on the idea of double creations it would be strange if the same species of several plants should have been created in australia and europe; and no one instance of the same species of mammifer having been created, or aboriginally existing, in two as nearly remote and equally isolated points. it is more philosophical, in such cases, as that of some plants being found in australia and europe, to admit that we are ignorant of the means of transport. i will allude only to one other case, namely, that of the mydas{ }, an alpine animal, found only on the distant peaks of the mountains of java: who will pretend to deny that during the ice period of the northern and southern hemispheres, and when india is believed to have been colder, the climate might not have permitted this animal to haunt a lower country, and thus to have passed along the ridges from summit to summit? mr lyell has further observed that, _as in space, so in time_, there is no reason to believe that after the extinction of a species, the self-same form has ever reappeared{ }. i think, then, we may, notwithstanding the many cases of difficulty, conclude with some confidence that every species has been created or produced on a single point or area. { } "we find no inexplicable cases of the same mammal inhabiting distant points of the world." _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . see also _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } <note by the author.> many authors. <see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. .> { } _nutria_ is the spanish for otter, and is now a synonym for _lutra_. the otter on the atlantic coast is distinguished by minute differences from the pacific species. both forms are said to take to the sea. in fact the case presents no especial difficulties. { } in _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , bats are mentioned as an explicable exception to this statement. { } this reference is doubtless to _mydaus_, a badger-like animal from the mountains of java and sumatra (wallace, _geographical distribution_, ii. p. ). the instance does not occur in the _origin_ but the author remarks (_origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. ) that cases, strictly analogous to the distribution of plants, occur among terrestrial mammals. { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . _on the number of species, and of the classes to which they belong in different regions._ the last fact in geographical distribution, which, as far as i can see, in any way concerns the origin of species, relates to the absolute number and nature of the organic beings inhabiting different tracts of land. although every species is admirably adapted (but not necessarily better adapted than every other species, as we have seen in the great increase of introduced species) to the country and station it frequents; yet it has been shown that the entire difference between the species in distant countries cannot possibly be explained by the difference of the physical conditions of these countries. in the same manner, i believe, neither the number of the species, nor the nature of the great classes to which they belong, can possibly in all cases be explained by the conditions of their country. new zealand{ }, a linear island stretching over about miles of latitude, with forests, marshes, plains and mountains reaching to the limits of eternal snow, has far more diversified habitats than an equal area at the cape of good hope; and yet, i believe, at the cape of good hope there are, of phanerogamic plants, from five to ten times the number of species as in all new zealand. why on the theory of absolute creations should this large and diversified island only have from to (? dieffenbach) phanerogamic plants? and why should the cape of good hope, characterised by the uniformity of its scenery, swarm with more species of plants than probably any other quarter of the world? why on the ordinary theory should the galapagos islands abound with terrestrial reptiles? and why should many equal-sized islands in the pacific be without a single one{ } or with only one or two species? why should the great island of new zealand be without one mammiferous quadruped except the mouse, and that was probably introduced with the aborigines? why should not one island (it can be shown, i think, that the mammifers of mauritius and st iago have all been introduced) in the open ocean possess a mammiferous quadruped? let it not be said that quadrupeds cannot live in islands, for we know that cattle, horses and pigs during a long period have run wild in the west indian and falkland islands; pigs at st helena; goats at tahiti; asses in the canary islands; dogs in cuba; cats at ascension; rabbits at madeira and the falklands; monkeys at st iago and the mauritius; even elephants during a long time in one of the very small sooloo islands; and european mice on very many of the smallest islands far from the habitations of man{ }. nor let it be assumed that quadrupeds are more slowly created and hence that the oceanic islands, which generally are of volcanic formation, are of too recent origin to possess them; for we know (lyell) that new forms of quadrupeds succeed each other quicker than mollusca or reptilia. nor let it be assumed (though such an assumption would be no explanation) that quadrupeds cannot be created on small islands; for islands not lying in mid-ocean do possess their peculiar quadrupeds; thus many of the smaller islands of the east indian archipelago possess quadrupeds; as does fernando po on the west coast of africa; as the falkland islands possess a peculiar wolf-like fox{ }; so do the galapagos islands a peculiar mouse of the s. american type. these two last are the most remarkable cases with which i am acquainted; inasmuch as the islands lie further from other land. it is possible that the galapagos mouse may have been introduced in some ship from the s. american coast (though the species is at present unknown there), for the aboriginal species soon haunts the goods of man, as i noticed in the roof of a newly erected shed in a desert country south of the plata. the falkland islands, though between and miles from the s. american coast, may in one sense be considered as intimately connected with it; for it is certain that formerly many icebergs loaded with boulders were stranded on its southern coast, and the old canoes which are occasionally now stranded, show that the currents still set from tierra del fuego. this fact, however, does not explain the presence of the _canis antarcticus_ on the falkland islands, unless we suppose that it formerly lived on the mainland and became extinct there, whilst it survived on these islands, to which it was borne (as happens with its northern congener, the common wolf) on an iceberg, but this fact removes the anomaly of an island, in appearance effectually separated from other land, having its own species of quadruped, and makes the case like that of java and sumatra, each having their own rhinoceros. { } the comparison between new zealand and the cape is given in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } in a corresponding discussion in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , stress is laid on the distribution of batrachians not of reptiles. { } the whole argument is given--more briefly than here--in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } see _origin_, ed i. p. , vi. p. . the discussion is much fuller in the present essay. before summing up all the facts given in this section on the present condition of organic beings, and endeavouring to see how far they admit of explanation, it will be convenient to state all such facts in the past geographical distribution of extinct beings as seem anyway to concern the theory of descent. section second. _geographical distribution of extinct organisms._ i have stated that if the land of the entire world be divided into (we will say) three sections, according to the amount of difference of the terrestrial mammifers inhabiting them, we shall have three unequal divisions of ( st) australia and its dependent islands, ( nd) south america, ( rd) europe, asia and africa. if we now look to the mammifers which inhabited these three divisions during the later tertiary periods, we shall find them almost as distinct as at the present day, and intimately related in each division to the existing forms in that division{ }. this is wonderfully the case with the several fossil marsupial genera in the caverns of new south wales and even more wonderfully so in south america, where we have the same peculiar group of monkeys, of a guanaco-like animal, of many rodents, of the marsupial didelphys, of armadilloes and other edentata. this last family is at present very characteristic of s. america, and in a late tertiary epoch it was even more so, as is shown by the numerous enormous animals of the megatheroid family, some of which were protected by an osseous armour like that, but on a gigantic scale, of the recent armadillo. lastly, over europe the remains of the several deer, oxen, bears, foxes, beavers, field-mice, show a relation to the present inhabitants of this region; and the contemporaneous remains of the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, hyæna, show a relation with the grand africo-asiatic division of the world. in asia the fossil mammifers of the himalaya (though mingled with forms long extinct in europe) are equally related to the existing forms of the africo-asiatic division; but especially to those of india itself. as the gigantic and now extinct quadrupeds of europe have naturally excited more attention than the other and smaller remains, the relation between the past and the present mammiferous inhabitants of europe has not been sufficiently attended to. but in fact the mammifers of europe are at present nearly as much africo-asiatic as they were formerly when europe had its elephants and rhinoceroses, etc.; europe neither now nor then possessed peculiar groups as does australia and s. america. the extinction of certain peculiar forms in one quarter does not make the remaining mammifers of that quarter less related to its own great division of the world: though tierra del fuego possesses only a fox, three rodents, and the guanaco, no one (as these all belong to s. american types, but not to the most characteristic forms) would doubt for one minute <as to> classifying this district with s. america; and if fossil edentata, marsupials and monkeys were to be found in tierra del fuego, it would not make this district more truly s. american than it now is. so it is with europe{ }, and so far as is known with asia, for the lately past and present mammifers all belong to the africo-asiatic division of the world. in every case, i may add, the forms which a country has is of more importance in geographical arrangement than what it has not. { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , which corresponds to this part of the present essay, the author does not make a separate section for such cases as the occurrence of fossil marsupials in europe (_origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. ) as he does in the present essay; see the section on _changes in geographical distribution_, p. . we find some evidence of the same general fact in a relation between the recent and the tertiary sea-shells, in the different main divisions of the marine world. this general and most remarkable relation between the lately past and present mammiferous inhabitants of the three main divisions of the world is precisely the same kind of fact as the relation between the different species of the several sub-regions of any one of the main divisions. as we usually associate great physical changes with the total extinction of one series of beings, and its succession by another series, this identity of relation between the past and the present races of beings in the same quarters of the globe is more striking than the same relation between existing beings in different sub-regions: but in truth we have no reason for supposing that a change in the conditions has in any of these cases supervened, greater than that now existing between the temperate and tropical, or between the highlands and lowlands of the same main divisions, now tenanted by related beings. finally, then, we clearly see that in each main division of the world the same relation holds good between its inhabitants in time as over space{ }. { } "we can understand how it is that all the forms of life, ancient and recent, make together one grand system; for all are connected by generation." _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . _changes in geographical distribution._ if, however, we look closer, we shall find that even australia, in possessing a terrestrial pachyderm, was so far less distinct from the rest of the world than it now is; so was s. america in possessing the mastodon, horse, [hyæna,]{ } and antelope. n. america, as i have remarked, is now, in its mammifers, in some respects neutral ground between s. america and the great africo-asiatic division; formerly, in possessing the horse, mastodon and three megatheroid animals, it was more nearly related to s. america; but in the horse and mastodon, and likewise in having the elephant, oxen, sheep, and pigs, it was as much, if not more, related to the africo-asiatic division. again, northern india was much more closely related (in having the giraffe, hippopotamus, and certain musk-deer) to southern africa than it now is; for southern and eastern africa deserve, if we divide the world into five parts, to make one division by itself. turning to the dawn of the tertiary period, we must, from our ignorance of other portions of the world, confine ourselves to europe; and at that period, in the presence of marsupials{ } and edentata, we behold an _entire_ blending of those mammiferous forms which now eminently characterise australia and s. america{ }. { } the word _hyæna_ is erased. there appear to be no fossil hyænidæ in s. america. { } see note { }, p. , also _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } <note by the author.> and see eocene european mammals in n. america. if we now look at the distribution of sea-shells, we find the same changes in distribution. the red sea and the mediterranean were more nearly related in these shells than they now are. in different parts of europe, on the other hand, during the miocene period, the sea-shells seem to have been more different than at present. in{ } the tertiary period, according to lyell, the shells of n. america and europe were less related than at present, and during the cretaceous still less like; whereas, during this same cretaceous period, the shells of india and europe were more like than at present. but going further back to the carbonaceous period, in n. america and europe, the productions were much more like than they now are{ }. these facts harmonise with the conclusions drawn from the present distribution of organic beings, for we have seen, that from species being created in different points or areas, the formation of a barrier would cause or make two distinct geographical areas; and the destruction of a barrier would permit their diffusion{ }. and as long-continued geological changes must both destroy and make barriers, we might expect, the further we looked backwards, the more changed should we find the present distribution. this conclusion is worthy of attention; because, finding in widely different parts of the same main division of the world, and in volcanic islands near them, groups of distinct, but related, species;--and finding that a singularly analogous relation holds good with respect to the beings of past times, when none of the present species were living, a person might be tempted to believe in some mystical relation between certain areas of the world, and the production of certain organic forms; but we now see that such an assumption would have to be complicated by the admission that such a relation, though holding good for long revolutions of years, is not truly persistent. { } <note by the author.> all this requires much verification. { } this point seems to be less insisted on in the _origin_. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . i will only add one more observation to this section. geologists finding in the most remote period with which we are acquainted, namely in the silurian period, that the shells and other marine productions{ } in north and south america, in europe, southern africa, and western asia, are much more similar than they now are at these distant points, appear to have imagined that in these ancient times the laws of geographical distribution were quite different than what they now are: but we have only to suppose that great continents were extended east and west, and thus did not divide the inhabitants of the temperate and tropical seas, as the continents now do; and it would then become probable that the inhabitants of the seas would be much more similar than they now are. in the immense space of ocean extending from the east coast of africa to the eastern islands of the pacific, which space is connected either by lines of tropical coast or by islands not very distant from each other, we know (cuming) that many shells, perhaps even as many as , are common to the zanzibar coast, the philippines, and the eastern islands of the low or dangerous archipelago in the pacific. this space equals that from the arctic to the antarctic pole! pass over the space of quite open ocean, from the dangerous archipelago to the west coast of s. america, and every shell is different: pass over the narrow space of s. america, to its eastern shores, and again every shell is different! many fish, i may add, are also common to the pacific and indian oceans. { } <note by the author.> d'orbigny shows that this is not so. _summary on the distribution of living and extinct organic beings._ let us sum up the several facts now given with respect to the past and present geographical distribution of organic beings. in a previous chapter it was shown that species are not exterminated by universal catastrophes, and that they are slowly produced: we have also seen that each species is probably only once produced, on one point or area once in time; and that each diffuses itself, as far as barriers and its conditions of life permit. if we look at any one main division of the land, we find in the different parts, whether exposed to different conditions or to the same conditions, many groups of species wholly or nearly distinct as species, nevertheless intimately related. we find the inhabitants of islands, though distinct as species, similarly related to the inhabitants of the nearest continent; we find in some cases, that even the different islands of one such group are inhabited by species distinct, though intimately related to one another and to those of the nearest continent:--thus typifying the distribution of organic beings over the whole world. we find the floras of distant mountain-summits either very similar (which seems to admit, as shown, of a simple explanation) or very distinct but related to the floras of the surrounding region; and hence, in this latter case, the floras of two mountain-summits, although exposed to closely similar conditions, will be very different. on the mountain-summits of islands, characterised by peculiar faunas and floras, the plants are often eminently peculiar. the dissimilarity of the organic beings inhabiting nearly similar countries is best seen by comparing the main divisions of the world; in each of which some districts may be found very similarly exposed, yet the inhabitants are wholly unlike;--far more unlike than those in very dissimilar districts in the same main division. we see this strikingly in comparing two volcanic archipelagoes, with nearly the same climate, but situated not very far from two different continents; in which case their inhabitants are totally unlike. in the different main divisions of the world, the amount of difference between the organisms, even in the same class, is widely different, each main division having only the species distinct in some families, in other families having the genera distinct. the distribution of aquatic organisms is very different from that of the terrestrial organisms; and necessarily so, from the barriers to their progress being quite unlike. the nature of the conditions in an isolated district will not explain the number of species inhabiting it; nor the absence of one class or the presence of another class. we find that terrestrial mammifers are not present on islands far removed from other land. we see in two regions, that the species though distinct are more or less related, according to the greater or less _possibility_ of the transportal in past and present times of species from one to the other region; although we can hardly admit that all the species in such cases have been transported from the first to the second region, and since have become extinct in the first: we see this law in the presence of the fox on the falkland islands; in the european character of some of the plants of tierra del fuego; in the indo-asiatic character of the plants of the pacific; and in the circumstance of those genera which range widest having many species with wide ranges; and those genera with restricted ranges having species with restricted ranges. finally, we find in each of the main divisions of the land, and probably of the sea, that the existing organisms are related to those lately extinct. looking further backwards we see that the past geographical distribution of organic beings was different from the present; and indeed, considering that geology shows that all our land was once under water, and that where water now extends land is forming, the reverse could hardly have been possible. now these several facts, though evidently all more or less connected together, must by the creationist (though the geologist may explain some of the anomalies) be considered as so many ultimate facts. he can only say, that it so pleased the creator that the organic beings of the plains, deserts, mountains, tropical and temperature forests, of s. america, should all have some affinity together; that the inhabitants of the galapagos archipelago should be related to those of chile; and that some of the species on the similarly constituted islands of this archipelago, though most closely related, should be distinct; that all its inhabitants should be totally unlike those of the similarly volcanic and arid cape de verde and canary islands; that the plants on the summit of teneriffe should be eminently peculiar; that the diversified island of new zealand should have not many plants, and not one, or only one, mammifer; that the mammifers of s. america, australia and europe should be clearly related to their ancient and exterminated prototypes; and so on with other facts. but it is absolutely opposed to every analogy, drawn from the laws imposed by the creator on inorganic matter, that facts, when connected, should be considered as ultimate and not the direct consequences of more general laws. section third. _an attempt to explain the foregoing laws of geographical distribution, on the theory of allied species having a common descent._ first let us recall the circumstances most favourable for variation under domestication, as given in the first chapter--viz. st, a change, or repeated changes, in the conditions to which the organism has been exposed, continued through several seminal (_i.e._ not by buds or divisions) generations: nd, steady selection of the slight varieties thus generated with a fixed end in view: rd, isolation as perfect as possible of such selected varieties; that is, the preventing their crossing with other forms; this latter condition applies to all terrestrial animals, to most if not all plants and perhaps even to most (or all) aquatic organisms. it will be convenient here to show the advantage of isolation in the formation of a new breed, by comparing the progress of two persons (to neither of whom let time be of any consequence) endeavouring to select and form some very peculiar new breed. let one of these persons work on the vast herds of cattle in the plains of la plata{ }, and the other on a small stock of or animals in an island. the latter might have to wait centuries (by the hypothesis of no importance){ } before he obtained a "sport" approaching to what he wanted; but when he did and saved the greater number of its offspring and their offspring again, he might hope that his whole little stock would be in some degree affected, so that by continued selection he might gain his end. but on the pampas, though the man might get his first approach to his desired form sooner, how hopeless would it be to attempt, by saving its offspring amongst so many of the common kind, to affect the whole herd: the effect of this one peculiar "sport{ }" would be quite lost before he could obtain a second original sport of the same kind. if, however, he could separate a small number of cattle, including the offspring of the desirable "sport," he might hope, like the man on the island, to effect his end. if there be organic beings of which two individuals _never_ unite, then simple selection whether on a continent or island would be equally serviceable to make a new and desirable breed; and this new breed might be made in surprisingly few years from the great and geometrical powers of propagation to beat out the old breed; as has happened (notwithstanding crossing) where good breeds of dogs and pigs have been introduced into a limited country,--for instance, into the islands of the pacific. { } this instance occurs in the essay of , p. , but not in the _origin_; though the importance of isolation is discussed (_origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. ). { } the meaning of the words within parenthesis is obscure. { } it is unusual to find the author speaking of the selection of _sports_ rather than small variations. let us now take the simplest natural case of an islet upheaved by the volcanic or subterranean forces in a deep sea, at such a distance from other land that only a few organic beings at rare intervals were transported to it, whether borne by the sea{ } (like the seeds of plants to coral-reefs), or by hurricanes, or by floods, or on rafts, or in roots of large trees, or the germs of one plant or animal attached to or in the stomach of some other animal, or by the intervention (in most cases the most probable means) of other islands since sunk or destroyed. it may be remarked that when one part of the earth's crust is raised it is probably the general rule that another part sinks. let this island go on slowly, century after century, rising foot by foot; and in the course of time we shall have instead <of> a small mass of rock{ }, lowland and highland, moist woods and dry sandy spots, various soils, marshes, streams and pools: under water on the sea shore, instead of a rocky steeply shelving coast, we shall have in some parts bays with mud, sandy beaches and rocky shoals. the formation of the island by itself must often slightly affect the surrounding climate. it is impossible that the first few transported organisms could be perfectly adapted to all these stations; and it will be a chance if those successively transported will be so adapted. the greater number would probably come from the lowlands of the nearest country; and not even all these would be perfectly adapted to the new islet whilst it continued low and exposed to coast influences. moreover, as it is certain that all organisms are nearly as much adapted in their structure to the other inhabitants of their country as they are to its physical conditions, so the mere fact that a _few_ beings (and these taken in great degree by chance) were in the first case transported to the islet, would in itself greatly modify their conditions{ }. as the island continued rising we might also expect an occasional new visitant; and i repeat that even one new being must often affect beyond our calculation by occupying the room and taking part of the subsistence of another (and this again from another and so on), several or many other organisms. now as the first transported and any occasional successive visitants spread or tended to spread over the growing island, they would undoubtedly be exposed through several generations to new and varying conditions: it might also easily happen that some of the species _on an average_ might obtain an increase of food, or food of a more nourishing quality{ }. according then to every analogy with what we have seen takes place in every country, with nearly every organic being under domestication, we might expect that some of the inhabitants of the island would "sport," or have their organization rendered in some degree plastic. as the number of the inhabitants are supposed to be few and as all these cannot be so well adapted to their new and varying conditions as they were in their native country and habitat, we cannot believe that every place or office in the economy of the island would be as well filled as on a continent where the number of aboriginal species is far greater and where they consequently hold a more strictly limited place. we might therefore expect on our island that although very many slight variations were of no use to the plastic individuals, yet that occasionally in the course of a century an individual might be born{ } of which the structure or constitution in some slight degree would allow it better to fill up some office in the insular economy and to struggle against other species. if such were the case the individual and its offspring would have a better _chance_ of surviving and of beating out its parent form; and if (as is probable) it and its offspring crossed with the unvaried parent form, yet the number of the individuals being not very great, there would be a chance of the new and more serviceable form being nevertheless in some slight degree preserved. the struggle for existence would go on annually selecting such individuals until a new race or species was formed. either few or all the first visitants to the island might become modified, according as the physical conditions of the island and those resulting from the kind and number of other transported species were different from those of the parent country--according to the difficulties offered to fresh immigration--and according to the length of time since the first inhabitants were introduced. it is obvious that whatever was the country, generally the nearest from which the first tenants were transported, they would show an affinity, even if all had become modified, to the natives of that country and even if the inhabitants of the same source (?) had been modified. on this view we can at once understand the cause and meaning of the affinity of the fauna and flora of the galapagos islands with that of the coast of s. america; and consequently why the inhabitants of these islands show not the smallest affinity with those inhabiting other volcanic islands, with a very similar climate and soil, near the coast of africa{ }. { } this brief discussion is represented in the _origin_, ed. i. by a much fuller one (pp. , , vi. pp. , ). see, however, the section in the present essay, p. . { } on the formation of new stations, see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. pp. , . { } in the ms. _some of the species ... nourishing quality_ is doubtfully erased. it seems clear that he doubted whether such a problematical supply of food would be likely to cause variation. { } at this time the author clearly put more faith in the importance of sport-like variation than in later years. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . to return once again to our island, if by the continued action of the subterranean forces other neighbouring islands were formed, these would generally be stocked by the inhabitants of the first island, or by a few immigrants from the neighbouring mainland; but if considerable obstacles were interposed to any communication between the terrestrial productions of these islands, and their conditions were different (perhaps only by the number of different species on each island), a form transported from one island to another might become altered in the same manner as one from the continent; and we should have several of the islands tenanted by representative races or species, as is so wonderfully the case with the different islands of the galapagos archipelago. as the islands become mountainous, if mountain-species were not introduced, as could rarely happen, a greater amount of variation and selection would be requisite to adapt the species, which originally came from the lowlands of the nearest continent, to the mountain-summits than to the lower districts of our islands. for the lowland species from the continent would have first to struggle against other species and other conditions on the coast-land of the island, and so probably become modified by the selection of its best fitted varieties, then to undergo the same process when the land had attained a moderate elevation; and then lastly when it had become alpine. hence we can understand why the faunas of insular mountain-summits are, as in the case of teneriffe, eminently peculiar. putting on one side the case of a widely extended flora being driven up the mountain-summits, during a change of climate from cold to temperate, we can see why in other cases the floras of mountain-summits (or as i have called them islands in a sea of land) should be tenanted by peculiar species, but related to those of the surrounding lowlands, as are the inhabitants of a real island in the sea to those of the nearest continent{ }. { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , where the author speaks of alpine humming birds, rodents, plants, &c. in s. america, all of strictly american forms. in the ms. the author has added between the lines "as world has been getting hotter, there has been radiation from high-lands,--old view?--curious; i presume diluvian in origin." let us now consider the effect of a change of climate or of other conditions on the inhabitants of a continent and of an isolated island without any great change of level. on a continent the chief effects would be changes in the numerical proportion of the individuals of the different species; for whether the climate became warmer or colder, drier or damper, more uniform or extreme, some species are at present adapted to its diversified districts; if for instance it became cooler, species would migrate from its more temperate parts and from its higher land; if damper, from its damper regions, &c. on a small and isolated island, however, with few species, and these not adapted to much diversified conditions, such changes instead of merely increasing the number of certain species already adapted to such conditions, and decreasing the number of other species, would be apt to affect the constitutions of some of the insular species: thus if the island became damper it might well happen that there were no species living in any part of it adapted to the consequences resulting from more moisture. in this case therefore, and still more (as we have seen) during the production of new stations from the elevation of the land, an island would be a far more fertile source, as far as we can judge, of new specific forms than a continent. the new forms thus generated on an island, we might expect, would occasionally be transported by accident, or through long-continued geographical changes be enabled to emigrate and thus become slowly diffused. but if we look to the origin of a continent; almost every geologist will admit that in most cases it will have first existed as separate islands which gradually increased in size{ }; and therefore all that which has been said concerning the probable changes of the forms tenanting a small archipelago is applicable to a continent in its early state. furthermore, a geologist who reflects on the geological history of europe (the only region well known) will admit that it has been many times depressed, raised and left stationary. during the sinking of a continent and the probable generally accompanying changes of climate the effect would be little, _except_ on the numerical proportions and in the extinction (from the lessening of rivers, the drying of marshes and the conversion of high-lands into low &c.) of some or of many of the species. as soon however as the continent became divided into many isolated portions or islands, preventing free immigration from one part to another, the effect of climatic and other changes on the species would be greater. but let the now broken continent, forming isolated islands, begin to rise and new stations thus to be formed, exactly as in the first case of the upheaved volcanic islet, and we shall have equally favourable conditions for the modification of old forms, that is the formation of new races or species. let the islands become reunited into a continent; and then the new and old forms would all spread, as far as barriers, the means of transportal, and the preoccupation of the land by other species, would permit. some of the new species or races would probably become extinct, and some perhaps would cross and blend together. we should thus have a multitude of forms, adapted to all kinds of slightly different stations, and to diverse groups of either antagonist or food-serving species. the oftener these oscillations of level had taken place (and therefore generally the older the land) the greater the number of species <which> would tend to be formed. the inhabitants of a continent being thus derived in the first stage from the same original parents, and subsequently from the inhabitants of one wide area, since often broken up and reunited, all would be obviously related together and the inhabitants of the most _dissimilar_ stations on the same continent would be more closely allied than the inhabitants of two very _similar_ stations on two of the main divisions of the world{ }. { } see the comparison between the malay archipelago and the probable former state of europe, _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , also _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . the arrangement of the argument in the present essay leads to repetition of statements made in the earlier part of the book: in the _origin_ this is avoided. i need hardly point out that we now can obviously see why the number of species in two districts, independently of the number of stations in such districts, should be in some cases as widely different as in new zealand and the cape of good hope{ }. we can see, knowing the difficulty in the transport of terrestrial mammals, why islands far from mainlands do not possess them{ }; we see the general reason, namely accidental transport (though not the precise reason), why certain islands should, and others should not, possess members of the class of reptiles. we can see why an ancient channel of communication between two distant points, as the cordillera probably was between southern chile and the united states during the former cold periods; and icebergs between the falkland islands and tierra del fuego; and gales, at a former or present time, between the asiatic shores of the pacific and eastern islands in this ocean; is connected with (or we may now say causes) an affinity between the species, though distinct, in two such districts. we can see how the better chance of diffusion, from several of the species of any genus having wide ranges in their own countries, explains the presence of other species of the same genus in other countries{ }; and on the other hand, of species of restricted powers of ranging, forming genera with restricted ranges. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. pp. , . as every one would be surprised if two exactly similar but peculiar varieties{ } of any species were raised by man by long continued selection, in two different countries, or at two very different periods, so we ought not to expect that an exactly similar form would be produced from the modification of an old one in two distinct countries or at two distinct periods. for in such places and times they would probably be exposed to somewhat different climates and almost certainly to different associates. hence we can see why each species appears to have been produced singly, in space and in time. i need hardly remark that, according to this theory of descent, there is no necessity of modification in a species, when it reaches a new and isolated country. if it be able to survive and if slight variations better adapted to the new conditions are not selected, it might retain (as far as we can see) its old form for an indefinite time. as we see that some sub-varieties produced under domestication are more variable than others, so in nature, perhaps, some species and genera are more variable than others. the same precise form, however, would probably be seldom preserved through successive geological periods, or in widely and differently conditioned countries{ }. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . finally, during the long periods of time and probably of oscillations of level, necessary for the formation of a continent, we may conclude (as above explained) that many forms would become extinct. these extinct forms, and those surviving (whether or not modified and changed in structure), will all be related in each continent in the same manner and degree, as are the inhabitants of any two different sub-regions in that same continent. i do not mean to say that, for instance, the present marsupials of australia or edentata and rodents of s. america have descended from any one of the few fossils of the same orders which have been discovered in these countries. it is possible that, in a very few instances, this may be the case; but generally they must be considered as merely codescendants of common stocks{ }. i believe in this, from the improbability, considering the vast number of species, which (as explained in the last chapter) must by our theory have existed, that the _comparatively_ few fossils which have been found should chance to be the immediate and linear progenitors of those now existing. recent as the yet discovered fossil mammifers of s. america are, who will pretend to say that very many intermediate forms may not have existed? moreover, we shall see in the ensuing chapter that the very existence of genera and species can be explained only by a few species of each epoch leaving modified successors or new species to a future period; and the more distant that future period, the fewer will be the _linear_ heirs of the former epoch. as by our theory, all mammifers must have descended from the same parent stock, so is it necessary that each land now possessing terrestrial mammifers shall at some time have been so far united to other land as to permit the passage of mammifers{ }; and it accords with this necessity, that in looking far back into the earth's history we find, first changes in the geographical distribution, and secondly a period when the mammiferous forms most distinctive of two of the present main divisions of the world were living together{ }. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . i think then i am justified in asserting that most of the above enumerated and often trivial points in the geographical distribution of past and present organisms (which points must be viewed by the creationists as so many ultimate facts) follow as a simple consequence of specific forms being mutable and of their being adapted by natural selection to diverse ends, conjoined with their powers of dispersal, and the geologico-geographical changes now in slow progress and which undoubtedly have taken place. this large class of facts being thus explained, far more than counterbalances many separate difficulties and apparent objections in convincing my mind of the truth of this theory of common descent. _improbability of finding fossil forms intermediate between existing species._ there is one observation of considerable importance that may be here introduced, with regard to the improbability of the chief transitional forms between any two species being found fossil. with respect to the finer shades of transition, i have before remarked that no one has any cause to expect to trace them in a fossil state, without he be bold enough to imagine that geologists at a future epoch will be able to trace from fossil bones the gradations between the short-horns, herefordshire, and alderney breeds of cattle{ }. i have attempted to show that rising islands, in process of formation, must be the best nurseries of new specific forms, and these points are the least favourable for the embedment of fossils{ }: i appeal, as evidence, to the state of the _numerous_ scattered islands in the several great oceans: how rarely do any sedimentary deposits occur on them; and when present they are mere narrow fringes of no great antiquity, which the sea is generally wearing away and destroying. the cause of this lies in isolated islands being generally volcanic and rising points; and the effects of subterranean elevation is to bring up the surrounding newly-deposited strata within the destroying action of the coast-waves: the strata, deposited at greater distances, and therefore in the depths of the ocean, will be almost barren of organic remains. these remarks may be generalised:--periods of subsidence will always be most favourable to an accumulation of great thicknesses of strata, and consequently to their long preservation; for without one formation be protected by successive strata, it will seldom be preserved to a distant age, owing to the enormous amount of denudation, which seems to be a general contingent of time{ }. i may refer, as evidence of this remark, to the vast amount of subsidence evident in the great pile of the european formations, from the silurian epoch to the end of the secondary, and perhaps to even a later period. periods of elevation on the other hand cannot be favourable to the accumulation of strata and their preservation to distant ages, from the circumstance just alluded to, viz. of elevation tending to bring to the surface the circum-littoral strata (always abounding most in fossils) and destroying them. the bottom of tracts of deep water (little favourable, however, to life) must be excepted from this unfavourable influence of elevation. in the quite open ocean, probably no sediment{ } is accumulating, or at a rate so slow as not to preserve fossil remains, which will always be subject to disintegration. caverns, no doubt, will be equally likely to preserve terrestrial fossils in periods of elevation and of subsidence; but whether it be owing to the enormous amount of denudation, which all land seems to have undergone, no cavern with fossil bones has been found belonging to the secondary period{ }. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } "nature may almost be said to have guarded against the frequent discovery of her transitional or linking forms," _origin_, ed. i. p. . a similar but not identical passage occurs in _origin_, ed. vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . hence many more remains will be preserved to a distant age, in any region of the world, during periods of its subsidence{ }, than of its elevation. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . but during the subsidence of a tract of land, its inhabitants (as before shown) will from the decrease of space and of the diversity of its stations, and from the land being fully preoccupied by species fitted to diversified means of subsistence, be little liable to modification from selection, although many may, or rather must, become extinct. with respect to its circum-marine inhabitants, although during a change from a continent to a _great_ archipelago, the number of stations fitted for marine beings will be increased, their means of diffusion (an important check to change of form) will be greatly improved; for a continent stretching north and south, or a quite open space of ocean, seems to be to them the only barrier. on the other hand, during the elevation of a small archipelago and its conversion into a continent, we have, whilst the number of stations are increasing, both for aquatic and terrestrial productions, and whilst these stations are not fully preoccupied by perfectly adapted species, the most favourable conditions for the selection of new specific forms; but few of them in their early transitional states will be preserved to a distant epoch. we must wait during an enormous lapse of time, until long-continued subsidence shall have taken the place in this quarter of the world of the elevatory process, for the best conditions of the embedment and the preservation of its inhabitants. generally the great mass of the strata in every country, from having been chiefly accumulated during subsidence, will be the tomb, not of transitional forms, but of those either becoming extinct or remaining unmodified. the state of our knowledge, and the slowness of the changes of level, do not permit us to test the truth of these remarks, by observing whether there are more transitional or "fine" (as naturalists would term them) species, on a rising and enlarging tract of land, than on an area of subsidence. nor do i know whether there are more "fine" species on isolated volcanic islands in process of formation, than on a continent; but i may remark, that at the galapagos archipelago the number of forms, which according to some naturalists are true species, and according to others are mere races, is considerable: this particularly applies to the different species or races of the same genera inhabiting the different islands of this archipelago. furthermore it may be added (as bearing on the great facts discussed in this chapter) that when naturalists confine their attention to any one country, they have comparatively little difficulty in determining what forms to call species and what to call varieties; that is, those which can or cannot be traced or shown to be probably descendants of some other form: but the difficulty increases, as species are brought from many stations, countries and islands. it was this increasing (but i believe in few cases insuperable) difficulty which seems chiefly to have urged lamarck to the conclusion that species are mutable. chapter vii on the nature of the affinities and classification of organic beings{ } { } ch. xiii of the _origin_, ed. i., ch. xiv ed. vi. begins with a similar statement. in the present essay the author adds a note:--"the obviousness of the fact (_i.e._ the natural grouping of organisms) alone prevents it being remarkable. it is scarcely explicable by creationist: groups of aquatic, of vegetable feeders and carnivorous, &c., might resemble each other; but why as it is. so with plants,--analogical resemblance thus accounted for. must not here enter into details." this argument is incorporated with the text in the _origin_, ed. i. _gradual appearance and disappearance of groups._ it has been observed from the earliest times that organic beings fall into groups{ }, and these groups into others of several values, such as species into genera, and then into sub-families, into families, orders, &c. the same fact holds with those beings which no longer exist. groups of species seem to follow the same laws in their appearance and extinction{ }, as do the individuals of any one species: we have reason to believe that, first, a few species appear, that their numbers increase; and that, when tending to extinction, the numbers of the species decrease, till finally the group becomes extinct, in the same way as a species becomes extinct, by the individuals becoming rarer and rarer. moreover, groups, like the individuals of a species, appear to become extinct at different times in different countries. the palæotherium was extinct much sooner in europe than in india: the trigonia{ } was extinct in early ages in europe, but now lives in the seas of australia. as it happens that one species of a family will endure for a much longer period than another species, so we find that some whole groups, such as mollusca, tend to retain their forms, or to remain persistent, for longer periods than other groups, for instance than the mammalia. groups therefore, in their appearance, extinction, and rate of change or succession, seem to follow nearly the same laws with the individuals of a species{ }. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } in the _origin_, ed. i. this preliminary matter is replaced (pp. , , vi. pp. , ) by a discussion in which extinction is also treated, but chiefly from the point of view of the theory of divergence. _what is the natural system?_ the proper arrangement of species into groups, according to the natural system, is the object of all naturalists; but scarcely two naturalists will give the same answer to the question, what is the natural system and how are we to recognise it? the most important characters{ } it might be thought (as it was by the earliest classifiers) ought to be drawn from those parts of the structure which determine its habits and place in the economy of nature, which we may call the final end of its existence. but nothing is further from the truth than this; how much external resemblance there is between the little otter (chironectes) of guiana and the common otter; or again between the common swallow and the swift; and who can doubt that the means and ends of their existence are closely similar, yet how grossly wrong would be the classification, which put close to each other a marsupial and placental animal, and two birds with widely different skeletons. relations, such as in the two latter cases, or as that between the whale and fishes, are denominated "analogical{ }," or are sometimes described as "relations of adaption." they are infinitely numerous and often very singular; but are of no use in the classification of the higher groups. how it comes, that certain parts of the structure, by which the habits and functions of the species are settled, are of no use in classification, whilst other parts, formed at the same time, are of the greatest, it would be difficult to say, on the theory of separate creations. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . some authors as lamarck, whewell &c., believe that the degree of affinity on the natural system depends on the degrees of resemblance in organs more or less physiologically important for the preservation of life. this scale of importance in the organs is admitted to be of difficult discovery. but quite independent of this, the proposition, as a general rule, must be rejected as false; though it may be partially true. for it is universally admitted that the same part or organ, which is of the highest service in classification in one group, is of very little use in another group, though in both groups, as far as we can see, the part or organ is of equal physiological importance: moreover, characters quite unimportant physiologically, such as whether the covering of the body consists of hair or feathers, whether the nostrils communicated with the mouth{ } &c., &c., are of the highest generality in classification; even colour, which is so inconstant in many species, will sometimes well characterise even a whole group of species. lastly, the fact, that no one character is of so much importance in determining to what great group an organism belongs, as the forms through which the embryo{ } passes from the germ upwards to maturity, cannot be reconciled with the idea that natural classification follows according to the degrees of resemblance in the parts of most physiological importance. the affinity of the common rock-barnacle with the crustaceans can hardly be perceived in more than a single character in its mature state, but whilst young, locomotive, and furnished with eyes, its affinity cannot be mistaken{ }. the cause of the greater value of characters, drawn from the early stages of life, can, as we shall in a succeeding chapter see, be in a considerable degree explained, on the theory of descent, although inexplicable on the views of the creationist. { } these instances occur with others in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. pp. , . practically, naturalists seem to classify according to the resemblance of those parts or organs which in related groups are most uniform, or vary least{ }: thus the æstivation, or manner in which the petals etc. are folded over each other, is found to afford an unvarying character in most families of plants, and accordingly any difference in this respect would be sufficient to cause the rejection of a species from many families; but in the rubiaceæ the æstivation is a varying character, and a botanist would not lay much stress on it, in deciding whether or not to class a new species in this family. but this rule is obviously so arbitrary a formula, that most naturalists seem to be convinced that something ulterior is represented by the natural system; they appear to think that we only discover by such similarities what the arrangement of the system is, not that such similarities make the system. we can only thus understand linnæus'{ } well-known saying, that the characters do not make the genus; but that the genus gives the characters: for a classification, independent of characters, is here presupposed. hence many naturalists have said that the natural system reveals the plan of the creator: but without it be specified whether order in time or place, or what else is meant by the plan of the creator, such expressions appear to me to leave the question exactly where it was. { } _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. pp. , . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . some naturalists consider that the geographical position{ } of a species may enter into the consideration of the group into which it should be placed; and most naturalists (either tacitly or openly) give value to the different groups, not solely by their relative differences in structure, but by the number of forms included in them. thus a genus containing a few species might be, and has often been, raised into a family on the discovery of several other species. many natural families are retained, although most closely related to other families, from including a great number of closely similar species. the more logical naturalist would perhaps, if he could, reject these two contingents in classification. from these circumstances, and especially from the undefined objects and criterions of the natural system, the number of divisions, such as genera, sub-families, families, &c., &c., has been quite arbitrary{ }; without the clearest definition, how can it be possible to decide whether two groups of species are of equal value, and of what value? whether they should both be called genera or families; or whether one should be a genus, and the other a family{ }? { } _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. pp. , . { } this is discussed from the point of view of divergence in the _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. pp. , . { } <footnote by the author.> i discuss this because if quinarism true, i false. <the quinary system is set forth in w. s. macleay's _horæ entomologicæ_, .> _on the kind of relation between distinct groups._ i have only one other remark on the affinities of organic beings; that is, when two quite distinct groups approach each other, the approach is _generally_ generic{ } and not special; i can explain this most easily by an example: of all rodents the bizcacha, by certain peculiarities in its reproductive system, approaches nearest to the marsupials; of all marsupials the phascolomys, on the other hand, appears to approach in the form of its teeth and intestines nearest to the rodents; but there is no special relation between these two genera{ }; the bizcacha is no nearer related to the phascolomys than to any other marsupial in the points in which it approaches this division; nor again is the phascolomys, in the points of structure in which it approaches the rodents, any nearer related to the bizcacha than to any other rodent. other examples might have been chosen, but i have given (from waterhouse) this example as it illustrates another point, namely, the difficulty of determining what are analogical or adaptive and what real affinities; it seems that the teeth of the phascolomys though _appearing closely_ to resemble those of a rodent are found to be built on the marsupial type; and it is thought that these teeth and consequently the intestines may have been adapted to the peculiar life of this animal and therefore may not show any real relation. the structure in the bizcacha that connects it with the marsupials does not seem a peculiarity related to its manner of life, and i imagine that no one would doubt that this shows a real affinity, though not more with any one marsupial species than with another. the difficulty of determining what relations are real and what analogical is far from surprising when no one pretends to define the meaning of the term relation or the ulterior object of all classification. we shall immediately see on the theory of descent how it comes that there should be "real" and "analogical" affinities; and why the former alone should be of value in classification--difficulties which it would be i believe impossible to explain on the ordinary theory of separate creations. { } in the corresponding passage in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , the term _general_ is used in place of _generic_, and seems a better expression. in the margin the author gives waterhouse as his authority. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . _classification of races or varieties._ let us now for a few moments turn to the classification of the generally acknowledged varieties and subdivisions of our domestic beings{ }; we shall find them systematically arranged in groups of higher and higher value. de candolle has treated the varieties of the cabbage exactly as he would have done a natural family with various divisions and subdivisions. in dogs again we have one main division which may be called the _family_ of hounds; of these, there are several (we will call them) _genera_, such as blood-hounds, fox-hounds, and harriers; and of each of these we have different _species_, as the blood-hound of cuba and that of england; and of the latter again we have breeds truly producing their own kind, which may be called races or varieties. here we see a classification practically used which typifies on a lesser scale that which holds good in nature. but amongst true species in the natural system and amongst domestic races the number of divisions or groups, instituted between those most alike and those most unlike, seems to be quite arbitrary. the number of the forms in both cases seems practically, whether or not it ought theoretically, to influence the denomination of groups including them. in both, geographical distribution has sometimes been used as an aid to classification{ }; amongst varieties, i may instance, the cattle of india or the sheep of siberia, which from possessing some characters in common permit a classification of indian and european cattle, or siberian and european sheep. amongst domestic varieties we have even something very like the relations of "analogy" or "adaptation{ }"; thus the common and swedish turnip are both artificial varieties which strikingly resemble each other, and they fill nearly the same end in the economy of the farm-yard; but although the swede so much more resembles a turnip than its presumed parent the field cabbage, no one thinks of putting it out of the cabbages into the turnips. thus the greyhound and racehorse, having been selected and trained for extreme fleetness for short distances, present an analogical resemblance of the same kind, but less striking as that between the little otter (marsupial) of guiana and the common otter; though these two otters are really less related than <are> the horse and dog. we are even cautioned by authors treating on varieties, to follow the _natural_ in contradistinction of an artificial system and not, for instance, to class two varieties of the pine-apple{ } near each other, because their fruits accidentally resemble each other closely (though the fruit may be called _the final end_ of this plant in the economy of its world, the hothouse), but to judge from the general resemblance of the entire plants. lastly, varieties often become extinct; sometimes from unexplained causes, sometimes from accident, but more often from the production of more useful varieties, and the less useful ones being destroyed or bred out. { } in a corresponding passage in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , the author makes use of his knowledge of pigeons. the pseudo-genera among dogs are discussed in _var. under dom._, ed. ii. vol. i. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. pp. , . { } _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. pp. , . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . i think it cannot be doubted that the main cause of all the varieties which have descended from the aboriginal dog or dogs, or from the aboriginal wild cabbage, not being equally like or unlike--but on the contrary, obviously falling into groups and sub-groups--must in chief part be attributed to different degrees of true relationship; for instance, that the different kinds of blood-hound have descended from one stock, whilst the harriers have descended from another stock, and that both these have descended from a different stock from that which has been the parent of the several kinds of greyhound. we often hear of a florist having some choice variety and breeding from it a whole group of sub-varieties more or less characterised by the peculiarities of the parent. the case of the peach and nectarine, each with their many varieties, might have been introduced. no doubt the relationship of our different domestic breeds has been obscured in an extreme degree by their crossing; and likewise from the slight difference between many breeds it has probably often happened that a "sport" from one breed has less closely resembled its parent breed than some other breed, and has therefore been classed with the latter. moreover the effects of a similar climate{ } may in some cases have more than counterbalanced the similarity, consequent on a common descent, though i should think the similarity of the breeds of cattle of india or sheep of siberia was far more probably due to the community of their descent than to the effects of climate on animals descended from different stocks. { } a general statement of the influence of conditions on variation occurs in the _origin_, ed. i. pp. - , vi. pp. - . notwithstanding these great sources of difficulty, i apprehend every one would admit, that if it were possible, a genealogical classification of our domestic varieties would be the most satisfactory one; and as far as varieties were concerned would be the natural system: in some cases it has been followed. in attempting to follow out this object a person would have to class a variety, whose parentage he did not know, by its external characters; but he would have a distinct ulterior object in view, namely, its descent in the same manner as a regular systematist seems also to have an ulterior but undefined end in all his classifications. like the regular systematist he would not care whether his characters were drawn from more or less important organs as long as he found in the tribe which he was examining that the characters from such parts were persistent; thus amongst cattle he does value a character drawn from the form of the horns more than from the proportions of the limbs and whole body, for he finds that the shape of the horns is to a considerable degree persistent amongst cattle{ }, whilst the bones of the limbs and body vary. no doubt as a frequent rule the more important the organ, as being less related to external influences, the less liable it is to variation; but he would expect that according to the object for which the races had been selected, parts more or less important might differ; so that characters drawn from parts generally most liable to vary, as colour, might in some instances be highly serviceable--as is the case. he would admit that general resemblances scarcely definable by language might sometimes serve to allocate a species by its nearest relation. he would be able to assign a clear reason why the close similarity of the fruit in two varieties of pine-apple, and of the so-called root in the common and swedish turnips, and why the similar gracefulness of form in the greyhound and racehorse, are characters of little value in classification; namely, because they are the result, not of community of descent, but either of selection for a common end, or of the effects of similar external conditions. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . in the margin marshall is given as the authority. _classification of "races" and species similar._ thus seeing that both the classifiers of species and of varieties{ } work by the same means, make similar distinctions in the value of the characters, and meet with similar difficulties, and that both seem to have in their classification an ulterior object in view; i cannot avoid strongly suspecting that the same cause, which has made amongst our domestic varieties groups and sub-groups, has made similar groups (but of higher values) amongst species; and that this cause is the greater or less propinquity of actual descent. the simple fact of species, both those long since extinct and those now living, being divisible into genera, families, orders &c.--divisions analogous to those into which varieties are divisible--is otherwise an inexplicable fact, and only not remarkable from its familiarity. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . _origin of genera and families._ let us suppose{ } for example that a species spreads and arrives at six or more different regions, or being already diffused over one wide area, let this area be divided into six distinct regions, exposed to different conditions, and with stations slightly different, not fully occupied with other species, so that six different races or species were formed by selection, each best fitted to its new habits and station. i must remark that in every case, if a species becomes modified in any one sub-region, it is probable that it will become modified in some other of the sub-regions over which it is diffused, for its organization is shown to be capable of being rendered plastic; its diffusion proves that it is able to struggle with the other inhabitants of the several sub-regions; and as the organic beings of every great region are in some degree allied, and as even the physical conditions are often in some respects alike, we might expect that a modification in structure, which gave our species some advantage over antagonist species in one sub-region, would be followed by other modifications in other of the sub-regions. the races or new species supposed to be formed would be closely related to each other; and would either form a new genus or sub-genus, or would rank (probably forming a slightly different section) in the genus to which the parent species belonged. in the course of ages, and during the contingent physical changes, it is probable that some of the six new species would be destroyed; but the same advantage, whatever it may have been (whether mere tendency to vary, or some peculiarity of organization, power of mind, or means of distribution), which in the parent-species and in its six selected and changed species-offspring, caused them to prevail over other antagonist species, would generally tend to preserve some or many of them for a long period. if then, two or three of the six species were preserved, they in their turn would, during continued changes, give rise to as many small groups of species: if the parents of these small groups were closely similar, the new species would form one great genus, barely perhaps divisible into two or three sections: but if the parents were considerably unlike, their species-offspring would, from inheriting most of the peculiarities of their parent-stocks, form either two or more sub-genera or (if the course of selection tended in different ways) genera. and lastly species descending from different species of the newly formed genera would form new genera, and such genera collectively would form a family. { } the discussion here following corresponds more or less to the _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. pp. , ; although the doctrine of divergence is not mentioned in this essay (as it is in the _origin_) yet the present section seems to me a distinct approximation to it. the extermination of species follows from changes in the external conditions, and from the increase or immigration of more favoured species: and as those species which are undergoing modification in any one great region (or indeed over the world) will very often be allied ones from (as just explained) partaking of many characters, and therefore advantages in common, so the species, whose place the new or more favoured ones are seizing, from partaking of a common inferiority (whether in any particular point of structure, or of general powers of mind, of means of distribution, of capacity for variation, &c., &c.), will be apt to be allied. consequently species of the same genus will slowly, one after the other, _tend_ to become rarer and rarer in numbers, and finally extinct; and as each last species of several allied genera fails, even the family will become extinct. there may of course be occasional exceptions to the entire destruction of any genus or family. from what has gone before, we have seen that the slow and successive formation of several new species from the same stock will make a new genus, and the slow and successive formation of several other new species from another stock will make another genus; and if these two stocks were allied, such genera will make a new family. now, as far as our knowledge serves, it is in this slow and gradual manner that groups of species appear on, and disappear from, the face of the earth. the manner in which, according to our theory, the arrangement of species in groups is due to partial extinction, will perhaps be rendered clearer in the following way. let us suppose in any one great class, for instance in the mammalia, that every species and every variety, during each successive age, had sent down one unaltered descendant (either fossil or living) to the present time; we should then have had one enormous series, including by small gradations every known mammiferous form; and consequently the existence of groups{ }, or chasms in the series, which in some parts are in greater width, and in some of less, is solely due to former species, and whole groups of species, not having thus sent down descendants to the present time. { } the author probably intended to write "groups separated by chasms." with respect to the "analogical" or "adaptive" resemblances between organic beings which are not really related{ }, i will only add, that probably the isolation of different groups of species is an important element in the production of such characters: thus we can easily see, in a large increasing island, or even a continent like australia, stocked with only certain orders of the main classes, that the conditions would be highly favourable for species from these orders to become adapted to play parts in the economy of nature, which in other countries were performed by tribes especially adapted to such parts. we can understand how it might happen that an otter-like animal might have been formed in australia by slow selection from the more carnivorous marsupial types; thus we can understand that curious case in the southern hemisphere, where there are no auks (but many petrels), of a petrel{ } having been modified into the external general form so as to play the same office in nature with the auks of the northern hemisphere; although the habits and form of the petrels and auks are normally so wholly different. it follows, from our theory, that two orders must have descended from one common stock at an immensely remote epoch; and we can perceive when a species in either order, or in both, shows some affinity to the other order, why the affinity is usually generic and not particular--that is why the bizcacha amongst rodents, in the points in which it is related to the marsupial, is related to the whole group{ }, and not particularly to the phascolomys, which of all marsupialia is related most to the rodents. for the bizcacha is related to the present marsupialia, only from being related to their common parent-stock; and not to any one species in particular. and generally, it may be observed in the writings of most naturalists, that when an organism is described as intermediate between two _great_ groups, its relations are not to particular species of either group, but to both groups, as wholes. a little reflection will show how exceptions (as that of the lepidosiren, a fish closely related to _particular_ reptiles) might occur, namely from a few descendants of those species, which at a very early period branched out from a common parent-stock and so formed the two orders or groups, having survived, in nearly their original state, to the present time. { } a similar discussion occurs in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _puffinuria berardi_, see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . finally, then, we see that all the leading facts in the affinities and classification of organic beings can be explained on the theory of the natural system being simply a genealogical one. the similarity of the principles in classifying domestic varieties and true species, both those living and extinct, is at once explained; the rules followed and difficulties met with being the same. the existence of genera, families, orders, &c., and their mutual relations, naturally ensues from extinction going on at all periods amongst the diverging descendants of a common stock. these terms of affinity, relations, families, adaptive characters, &c., which naturalists cannot avoid using, though metaphorically, cease being so, and are full of plain signification. chapter viii unity of type in the great classes; and morphological structures _unity of type_{ }. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . ch. viii corresponds to a section of ch. xiii in the _origin_, ed. i. scarcely anything is more wonderful or has been oftener insisted on than that the organic beings in each great class, though living in the most distant climes and at periods immensely remote, though fitted to widely different ends in the economy of nature, yet all in their internal structure evince an obvious uniformity. what, for instance, is more wonderful than that the hand to clasp, the foot or hoof to walk, the bat's wing to fly, the porpoise's fin{ } to swim, should all be built on the same plan? and that the bones in their position and number should be so similar that they can all be classed and called by the same names. occasionally some of the bones are merely represented by an apparently useless, smooth style, or are soldered closely to other bones, but the unity of type is not by this destroyed, and hardly rendered less clear. we see in this fact some deep bond of union between the organic beings of the same great classes--to illustrate which is the object and foundation of the natural system. the perception of this bond, i may add, is the evident cause that naturalists make an ill-defined distinction between true and adaptive affinities. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . in the _origin_, ed. i. these examples occur under the heading _morphology_; the author does not there draw much distinction between this heading and that of _unity of type_. _morphology._ there is another allied or rather almost identical class of facts admitted by the least visionary naturalists and included under the name of morphology. these facts show that in an individual organic being, several of its organs consist of some other organ metamorphosed{ }: thus the sepals, petals, stamens, pistils, &c. of every plant can be shown to be metamorphosed leaves; and thus not only can the number, position and transitional states of these several organs, but likewise their monstrous changes, be most lucidly explained. it is believed that the same laws hold good with the gemmiferous vesicles of zoophytes. in the same manner the number and position of the extraordinarily complicated jaws and palpi of crustacea and of insects, and likewise their differences in the different groups, all become simple, on the view of these parts, or rather legs and all metamorphosed appendages, being metamorphosed legs. the skulls, again, of the vertebrata are composed of three metamorphosed vertebræ, and thus we can see a meaning in the number and strange complication of the bony case of the brain. in this latter instance, and in that of the jaws of the crustacea, it is only necessary to see a series taken from the different groups of each class to admit the truth of these views. it is evident that when in each species of a group its organs consist of some other part metamorphosed, that there must also be a "unity of type" in such a group. and in the cases as that above given in which the foot, hand, wing and paddle are said to be constructed on a uniform type, if we could perceive in such parts or organs traces of an apparent change from some other use or function, we should strictly include such parts or organs in the department of morphology: thus if we could trace in the limbs of the vertebrata, as we can in their ribs, traces of an apparent change from being processes of the vertebræ, it would be said that in each species of the vertebrata the limbs were "metamorphosed spinal processes," and that in all the species throughout the class the limbs displayed a "unity of type{ }." { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , where the parts of the flower, the jaws and palpi of crustaceans and the vertebrate skull are given as examples. { } the author here brings _unity of type_ and _morphology_ together. these wonderful parts of the hoof, foot, hand, wing, paddle, both in living and extinct animals, being all constructed on the same framework, and again of the petals, stamina, germens, &c. being metamorphosed leaves, can by the creationist be viewed only as ultimate facts and incapable of explanation; whilst on our theory of descent these facts all necessary follow: for by this theory all the beings of any one class, say of the mammalia, are supposed to be descended from one parent-stock, and to have been altered by such slight steps as man effects by the selection of chance domestic variations. now we can see according to this view that a foot might be selected with longer and longer bones, and wider connecting membranes, till it became a swimming organ, and so on till it became an organ by which to flap along the surface or to glide over it, and lastly to fly through the air: but in such changes there would be no tendency to alter the framework of the internal inherited structure. parts might become lost (as the tail in dogs, or horns in cattle, or the pistils in plants), others might become united together (as in the feet of the lincolnshire breed of pigs{ }, and in the stamens of many garden flowers); parts of a similar nature might become increased in number (as the vertebræ in the tails of pigs, &c., &c. and the fingers and toes in six-fingered races of men and in the dorking fowls), but analogous differences are observed in nature and are not considered by naturalists to destroy the uniformity of the types. we can, however, conceive such changes to be carried to such length that the unity of type might be obscured and finally be undistinguishable, and the paddle of the plesiosaurus has been advanced as an instance in which the uniformity of type can hardly be recognised{ }. if after long and gradual changes in the structure of the co-descendants from any parent stock, evidence (either from monstrosities or from a graduated series) could be still detected of the function, which certain parts or organs played in the parent stock, these parts or organs might be strictly determined by their former function with the term "metamorphosed" appended. naturalists have used this term in the same metaphorical manner as they have been obliged to use the terms of affinity and relation; and when they affirm, for instance, that the jaws of a crab are metamorphosed legs, so that one crab has more legs and fewer jaws than another, they are far from meaning that the jaws, either during the life of the individual crab or of its progenitors, were really legs. by our theory this term assumes its literal meaning{ }; and this wonderful fact of the complex jaws of an animal retaining numerous characters, which they would probably have retained if they had really been metamorphosed during many successive generations from true legs, is simply explained. { } the solid-hoofed pigs mentioned in _var. under dom._, ed. ii. vol. ii. p. are not _lincolnshire pigs_. for other cases see bateson, _materials for the study of variation_, , pp. - . { } in the margin c. bell is given as authority, apparently for the statement about plesiosaurus. see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , where the author speaks of the "general pattern" being obscured in "extinct gigantic sea lizards." in the same place the suctorial entomostraca are added as examples of the difficulty of recognising the type. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . _embryology_. the unity of type in the great classes is shown in another and very striking manner, namely, in the stages through which the embryo passes in coming to maturity{ }. thus, for instance, at one period of the embryo, the wings of the bat, the hand, hoof or foot of the quadruped, and the fin of the porpoise do not differ, but consist of a simple undivided bone. at a still earlier period the embryo of the fish, bird, reptile and mammal all strikingly resemble each other. let it not be supposed this resemblance is only external; for on dissection, the arteries are found to branch out and run in a peculiar course, wholly unlike that in the full-grown mammal and bird, but much less unlike that in the full-grown fish, for they run as if to ærate blood by branchiæ{ } on the neck, of which even the slit-like orifices can be discerned. how wonderful it is that this structure should be present in the embryos of animals about to be developed into such different forms, and of which two great classes respire only in the air. moreover, as the embryo of the mammal is matured in the parent's body, and that of the bird in an egg in the air, and that of the fish in an egg in the water, we cannot believe that this course of the arteries is related to any external conditions. in all shell-fish (gasteropods) the embryo passes through a state analogous to that of the pteropodous mollusca: amongst insects again, even the most different ones, as the moth, fly and beetle, the crawling larvæ are all closely analogous: amongst the radiata, the jelly-fish in its embryonic state resembles a polype, and in a still earlier state an infusorial animalcule--as does likewise the embryo of the polype. from the part of the embryo of a mammal, at one period, resembling a fish more than its parent form; from the larvæ of all orders of insects more resembling the simpler articulate animals than their parent insects{ }; and from such other cases as the embryo of the jelly-fish resembling a polype much nearer than the perfect jelly-fish; it has often been asserted that the higher animal in each class passes through the state of a lower animal; for instance, that the mammal amongst the vertebrata passes through the state of a fish{ }: but müller denies this, and affirms that the young mammal is at no time a fish, as does owen assert that the embryonic jelly-fish is at no time a polype, but that mammal and fish, jelly-fish and polype pass through the same state; the mammal and jelly-fish being only further developed or changed. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } the uselessness of the branchial arches in mammalia is insisted on in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . also the uselessness of the spots on the young blackbird and the stripes of the lion-whelp, cases which do not occur in the present essay. { } in the _origin_, ed. i. pp. , , vi. pp. , it is pointed out that in some cases the young form resembles the adult, _e.g._ in spiders; again, that in the aphis there is no "worm-like stage" of development. { } in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , the author speaks doubtfully about the recapitulation theory. as the embryo, in most cases, possesses a less complicated structure than that into which it is to be developed, it might have been thought that the resemblance of the embryo to less complicated forms in the same great class, was in some manner a necessary preparation for its higher development; but in fact the embryo, during its growth, may become less, as well as more, complicated{ }. thus certain female epizoic crustaceans in their mature state have neither eyes nor any organs of locomotion; they consist of a mere sack, with a simple apparatus for digestion and procreation; and when once attached to the body of the fish, on which they prey, they never move again during their whole lives: in their embryonic condition, on the other hand, they are furnished with eyes, and with well articulated limbs, actively swim about and seek their proper object to become attached to. the larvæ, also, of some moths are as complicated and are more active than the wingless and limbless females, which never leave their pupa-case, never feed and never see the daylight. { } this corresponds to the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , where, however, the example is taken from the cirripedes. _attempt to explain the facts of embryology._ i think considerable light can be thrown by the theory of descent on these wonderful embryological facts which are common in a greater or less degree to the whole animal kingdom, and in some manner to the vegetable kingdom: on the fact, for instance, of the arteries in the embryonic mammal, bird, reptile and fish, running and branching in the same courses and nearly in the same manner with the arteries in the full-grown fish; on the fact i may add of the high importance to systematic naturalists{ } of the characters and resemblances in the embryonic state, in ascertaining the true position in the natural system of mature organic beings. the following are the considerations which throw light on these curious points. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . in the economy, we will say of a feline animal{ }, the feline structure of the embryo or of the sucking kitten is of quite secondary importance to it; hence, if a feline animal varied (assuming for the time the possibility of this) and if some place in the economy of nature favoured the selection of a longer-limbed variety, it would be quite unimportant to the production by natural selection of a long-limbed breed, whether the limbs of the embryo and kitten were elongated if they _became_ so _as soon_ as the animal had to provide food for itself. and if it were found after continued selection and the production of several new breeds from one parent-stock, that the successive variations had supervened, not very early in the youth or embryonic life of each breed (and we have just seen that it is quite unimportant whether it does so or not), then it obviously follows that the young or embryos of the several breeds will continue resembling each other more closely than their adult parents{ }. and again, if two of these breeds became each the parent-stock of several other breeds, forming two genera, the young and embryos of these would still retain a greater resemblance to the one original stock than when in an adult state. therefore if it could be shown that the period of the slight successive variations does not always supervene at a very early period of life, the greater resemblance or closer unity in type of animals in the young than in the full-grown state would be explained. before practically{ } endeavouring to discover in our domestic races whether the structure or form of the young has or has not changed in an exactly corresponding degree with the changes of full-grown animals, it will be well to show that it is at least quite _possible_ for the primary germinal vesicle to be impressed with a tendency to produce some change on the growing tissues which will not be fully effected till the animal is advanced in life. { } this corresponds to the _origin_, ed. i. pp. - , vi. p. : the "feline animal" is not used to illustrate the generalisation, but is so used in the essay of , p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } in the margin is written "get young pigeons"; this was afterwards done, and the results are given in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . from the following peculiarities of structure being inheritable and appearing only when the animal is full-grown--namely, general size, tallness (not consequent on the tallness of the infant), fatness either over the whole body, or local; change of colour in hair and its loss; deposition of bony matter on the legs of horses; blindness and deafness, that is changes of structure in the eye and ear; gout and consequent deposition of chalk-stones; and many other diseases{ }, as of the heart and brain, &c., &c.; from all such tendencies being i repeat inheritable, we clearly see that the germinal vesicle is impressed with some power which is wonderfully preserved during the production of infinitely numerous cells in the ever changing tissues, till the part ultimately to be affected is formed and the time of life arrived at. we see this clearly when we select cattle with any peculiarity of their horns, or poultry with any peculiarity of their second plumage, for such peculiarities cannot of course reappear till the animal is mature. hence, it is certainly _possible_ that the germinal vesicle may be impressed with a tendency to produce a long-limbed animal, the full proportional length of whose limbs shall appear only when the animal is mature{ }. { } in the _origin_, ed. i. the corresponding passages are at pp. , , , vi. pp. , , . in the _origin_, ed. i. i have not found a passage so striking as that which occurs a few lines lower "that the germinal vesicle is impressed with some power which is wonderfully preserved, &c." in the _origin_ this _preservation_ is rather taken for granted. { } <in the margin is written> aborted organs show, perhaps, something about period <at> which changes supervene in embryo. in several of the cases just enumerated we know that the first cause of the peculiarity, when _not_ inherited, lies in the conditions to which the animal is exposed during mature life, thus to a certain extent general size and fatness, lameness in horses and in a lesser degree blindness, gout and some other diseases are certainly in some degree caused and accelerated by the habits of life, and these peculiarities when transmitted to the offspring of the affected person reappear at a nearly corresponding time of life. in medical works it is asserted generally that at whatever period an hereditary disease appears in the parent, it tends to reappear in the offspring at the same period. again, we find that early maturity, the season of reproduction and longevity are transmitted to corresponding periods of life. dr holland has insisted much on children of the same family exhibiting certain diseases in similar and peculiar manners; my father has known three brothers{ } die in very old age in a _singular_ comatose state; now to make these latter cases strictly bear, the children of such families ought similarly to suffer at corresponding times of life; this is probably not the case, but such facts show that a tendency in a disease to appear at particular stages of life can be transmitted through the germinal vesicle to different individuals of the same family. it is then certainly possible that diseases affecting widely different periods of life can be transmitted. so little attention is paid to very young domestic animals that i do not know whether any case is on record of selected peculiarities in young animals, for instance, in the first plumage of birds, being transmitted to their young. if, however, we turn to silk-worms{ }, we find that the caterpillars and coccoons (which must correspond to a _very early_ period of the embryonic life of mammalia) vary, and that these varieties reappear in the offspring caterpillars and coccoons. { } see p. , note .{note } { } the evidence is given in _var. under dom._, i. p. . i think these facts are sufficient to render it probable that at whatever period of life any peculiarity (capable of being inherited) appears, whether caused by the action of external influences during mature life, or from an affection of the primary germinal vesicle, it _tends_ to reappear in the offspring at the corresponding period of life{ }. hence (i may add) whatever effect training, that is the full employment or action of every newly selected slight variation, has in fully developing and increasing such variation, would only show itself in mature age, corresponding to the period of training; in the second chapter i showed that there was in this respect a marked difference in natural and artificial selection, man not regularly exercising or adapting his varieties to new ends, whereas selection by nature presupposes such exercise and adaptation in each selected and changed part. the foregoing facts show and presuppose that slight variations occur at various periods of life _after birth_; the facts of monstrosity, on the other hand, show that many changes take place before birth, for instance, all such cases as extra fingers, hare-lip and all sudden and great alterations in structure; and these when inherited reappear during the embryonic period in the offspring. i will only add that at a period even anterior to embryonic life, namely, during the _egg_ state, varieties appear in size and colour (as with the hertfordshire duck with blackish eggs{ }) which reappear in the egg; in plants also the capsule and membranes of the seed are very variable and inheritable. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } in _var. under dom._, ed. ii. vol. i. p. , such eggs are said to be laid early in each season by the black labrador duck. in the next sentence in the text the author does not distinguish the characters of the vegetable capsule from those of the ovum. if then the two following propositions are admitted (and i think the first can hardly be doubted), viz. that variation of structure takes place at all times of life, though no doubt far less in amount and seldomer in quite mature life{ } (and then generally taking the form of disease); and secondly, that these variations tend to reappear at a corresponding period of life, which seems at least probable, then we might _a priori_ have expected that in any selected breed the _young_ animal would not partake in a corresponding degree the peculiarities characterising the _full-grown_ parent; though it would in a lesser degree. for during the thousand or ten thousand selections of slight increments in the length of the limbs of individuals necessary to produce a long-limbed breed, we might expect that such increments would take place in different individuals (as we do not certainly know at what period they do take place), some earlier and some later in the embryonic state, and some during early youth; and these increments would reappear in their offspring only at corresponding periods. hence, the entire length of limb in the new long-limbed breed would only be acquired at the latest period of life, when that one which was latest of the thousand primary increments of length supervened. consequently, the foetus of the new breed during the earlier part of its existence would remain much less changed in the proportions of its limbs; and the earlier the period the less would the change be. { } this seems to me to be more strongly stated here than in the _origin_, ed. i. whatever may be thought of the facts on which this reasoning is grounded, it shows how the embryos and young of different species might come to remain less changed than their mature parents; and practically we find that the young of our domestic animals, though differing, differ less than their full-grown parents. thus if we look at the young puppies{ } of the greyhound and bulldog--(the two most obviously modified of the breeds of dog)--we find their puppies at the age of six days with legs and noses (the latter measured from the eyes to the tip) of the same length; though in the proportional thicknesses and general appearance of these parts there is a great difference. so it is with cattle, though the young calves of different breeds are easily recognisable, yet they do not differ so much in their proportions as the full-grown animals. we see this clearly in the fact that it shows the highest skill to select the best forms early in life, either in horses, cattle or poultry; no one would attempt it only a few hours after birth; and it requires great discrimination to judge with accuracy even during their full youth, and the best judges are sometimes deceived. this shows that the ultimate proportions of the body are not acquired till near mature age. if i had collected sufficient facts to firmly establish the proposition that in artificially selected breeds the embryonic and young animals are not changed in a corresponding degree with their mature parents, i might have omitted all the foregoing reasoning and the attempts to explain how this happens; for we might safely have transferred the proposition to the breeds or species naturally selected; and the ultimate effect would necessarily have been that in a number of races or species descended from a common stock and forming several genera and families the embryos would have resembled each other more closely than full-grown animals. whatever may have been the form or habits of the parent-stock of the vertebrata, in whatever course the arteries ran and branched, the selection of variations, supervening after the first formation of the arteries in the embryo, would not tend from variations supervening at corresponding periods to alter their course at that period: hence, the similar course of the arteries in the mammal, bird, reptile and fish, must be looked at as a most ancient record of the embryonic structure of the common parent-stock of these four great classes. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . a long course of selection might cause a form to become more simple, as well as more complicated; thus the adaptation of a crustaceous{ } animal to live attached during its whole life to the body of a fish, might permit with advantage great simplification of structure, and on this view the singular fact of an embryo being more complex than its parent is at once explained. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . _on the graduated complexity in each great class._ i may take this opportunity of remarking that naturalists have observed that in most of the great classes a series exists from very complicated to very simple beings; thus in fish, what a range there is between the sand-eel and shark,--in the articulata, between the common crab and the daphnia{ },--between the aphis and butterfly, and between a mite and a spider{ }. now the observation just made, namely, that selection might tend to simplify, as well as to complicate, explains this; for we can see that during the endless geologico-geographical changes, and consequent isolation of species, a station occupied in other districts by less complicated animals might be left unfilled, and be occupied by a degraded form of a higher or more complicated class; and it would by no means follow that, when the two regions became united, the degraded organism would give way to the aboriginally lower organism. according to our theory, there is obviously no power tending constantly to exalt species, except the mutual struggle between the different individuals and classes; but from the strong and general hereditary tendency we might expect to find some tendency to progressive complication in the successive production of new organic forms. { } compare _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } <note in original.> scarcely possible to distinguish between non-development and retrograde development. _modification by selection of the forms of immature animals._ i have above remarked that the feline{ } form is quite of secondary importance to the embryo and to the kitten. of course, during any great and prolonged change of structure in the mature animal, it might, and often would be, indispensable that the form of the embryo should be changed; and this could be effected, owing to the hereditary tendency at corresponding ages, by selection, equally well as in mature age: thus if the embryo tended to become, or to remain, either over its whole body or in certain parts, too bulky, the female parent would die or suffer more during parturition; and as in the case of the calves with large hinder quarters{ }, the peculiarity must be either eliminated or the species become extinct. where an embryonic form has to seek its own food, its structure and adaptation is just as important to the species as that of the full-grown animal; and as we have seen that a peculiarity appearing in a caterpillar (or in a child, as shown by the hereditariness of peculiarities in the milk-teeth) reappears in its offspring, so we can at once see that our common principle of the selection of slight accidental variations would modify and adapt a caterpillar to a new or changing condition, precisely as in the full-grown butterfly. hence probably it is that caterpillars of different species of the lepidoptera differ more than those embryos, at a corresponding early period of life, do which remain inactive in the womb of their parents. the parent during successive ages continuing to be adapted by selection for some one object, and the larva for quite another one, we need not wonder at the difference becoming wonderfully great between them; even as great as that between the fixed rock-barnacle and its free, crab-like offspring, which is furnished with eyes and well-articulated, locomotive limbs{ }. { } see p. , where the same illustration is used. { } _var. under dom._, ed. ii. vol. i. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . _importance of embryology in classification._ we are now prepared to perceive why the study of embryonic forms is of such acknowledged importance in classification{ }. for we have seen that a variation, supervening at any time, may aid in the modification and adaptation of the full-grown being; but for the modification of the embryo, only the variations which supervene at a very early period can be seized on and perpetuated by selection: hence there will be less power and less tendency (for the structure of the embryo is mostly unimportant) to modify the young: and hence we might expect to find at this period similarities preserved between different groups of species which had been obscured and quite lost in the full-grown animals. i conceive on the view of separate creations it would be impossible to offer any explanation of the affinities of organic beings thus being plainest and of the greatest importance at that period of life when their structure is not adapted to the final part they have to play in the economy of nature. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . _order in time in which the great classes have first appeared._ it follows strictly from the above reasoning only that the embryos of (for instance) existing vertebrata resemble more closely the embryo of the parent-stock of this great class than do full-grown existing vertebrata resemble their full-grown parent-stock. but it may be argued with much probability that in the earliest and simplest condition of things the parent and embryo must have resembled each other, and that the passage of any animal through embryonic states in its growth is entirely due to subsequent variations affecting _only_ the more mature periods of life. if so, the embryos of the existing vertebrata will shadow forth the full-grown structure of some of those forms of this great class which existed at the earlier periods of the earth's history{ }: and accordingly, animals with a fish-like structure ought to have preceded birds and mammals; and of fish, that higher organized division with the vertebræ extending into one division of the tail ought to have preceded the equal-tailed, because the embryos of the latter have an unequal tail; and of crustacea, entomostraca ought to have preceded the ordinary crabs and barnacles--polypes ought to have preceded jelly-fish, and infusorial animalcules to have existed before both. this order of precedence in time in some of these cases is believed to hold good; but i think our evidence is so exceedingly incomplete regarding the number and kinds of organisms which have existed during all, especially the earlier, periods of the earth's history, that i should put no stress on this accordance, even if it held truer than it probably does in our present state of knowledge. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . chapter ix abortive or rudimentary organs _the abortive organs of naturalists._ parts of structure are said to be "abortive," or when in a still lower state of development "rudimentary{ }," when the same reasoning power, which convinces us that in some cases similar parts are beautifully adapted to certain ends, declares that in others they are absolutely useless. thus the rhinoceros, the whale{ }, etc., have, when young, small but properly formed teeth, which never protrude from the jaws; certain bones, and even the entire extremities are represented by mere little cylinders or points of bone, often soldered to other bones: many beetles have exceedingly minute but regularly formed wings lying under their wing-cases{ }, which latter are united never to be opened: many plants have, instead of stamens, mere filaments or little knobs; petals are reduced to scales, and whole flowers to buds, which (as in the feather hyacinth) never expand. similar instances are almost innumerable, and are justly considered wonderful: probably not one organic being exists in which some part does not bear the stamp of inutility; for what can be clearer{ }, as far as our reasoning powers can reach, than that teeth are for eating, extremities for locomotion, wings for flight, stamens and the entire flower for reproduction; yet for these clear ends the parts in question are manifestly unfit. abortive organs are often said to be mere representatives (a metaphorical expression) of similar parts in other organic beings; but in some cases they are more than representatives, for they seem to be the actual organ not fully grown or developed; thus the existence of mammæ in the male vertebrata is one of the oftenest adduced cases of abortion; but we know that these organs in man (and in the bull) have performed their proper function and secreted milk: the cow has normally four mammæ and two abortive ones, but these latter in some instances are largely developed and even (??) give milk{ }. again in flowers, the representatives of stamens and pistils can be traced to be really these parts not developed; kölreuter has shown by crossing a diæcious plant (a cucubalus) having a rudimentary pistil{ } with another species having this organ perfect, that in the hybrid offspring the rudimentary part is more developed, though still remaining abortive; now this shows how intimately related in nature the mere rudiment and the fully developed pistil must be. { } in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , the author does not lay stress on any distinction in meaning between the terms _abortive_ and _rudimentary_ organs. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _ibid._ { } this argument occurs in _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , on male mammæ. in the _origin_ he speaks certainly of the abortive mammæ of the cow giving milk,--a point which is here queried. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . abortive organs, which must be considered as useless as far as their ordinary and normal purpose is concerned, are sometimes adapted to other ends{ }: thus the marsupial bones, which properly serve to support the young in the mother's pouch, are present in the male and serve as the fulcrum for muscles connected only with male functions: in the male of the marigold flower the pistil is abortive for its proper end of being impregnated, but serves to sweep the pollen out of the anthers{ } ready to be borne by insects to the perfect pistils in the other florets. it is likely in many cases, yet unknown to us, that abortive organs perform some useful function; but in other cases, for instance in that of teeth embedded in the solid jaw-bone, or of mere knobs, the rudiments of stamens and pistils, the boldest imagination will hardly venture to ascribe to them any function. abortive parts, even when wholly useless to the individual species, are of great signification in the system of nature; for they are often found to be of very high importance in a natural classification{ }; thus the presence and position of entire abortive flowers, in the grasses, cannot be overlooked in attempting to arrange them according to their true affinities. this corroborates a statement in a previous chapter, viz. that the physiological importance of a part is no index of its importance in classification. finally, abortive organs often are only developed, proportionally with other parts, in the embryonic or young state of each species{ }; this again, especially considering the classificatory importance of abortive organs, is evidently part of the law (stated in the last chapter) that the higher affinities of organisms are often best seen in the stages towards maturity, through which the embryo passes. on the ordinary view of individual creations, i think that scarcely any class of facts in natural history are more wonderful or less capable of receiving explanation. { } the case of rudimentary organs adapted to new purposes is discussed in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } this is here stated on the authority of sprengel; see also _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . in the margin r. brown's name is given apparently as the authority for the fact. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . _the abortive organs of physiologists._ physiologists and medical men apply the term "abortive" in a somewhat different sense from naturalists; and their application is probably the primary one; namely, to parts, which from accident or disease before birth are not developed or do not grow{ }: thus, when a young animal is born with a little stump in the place of a finger or of the whole extremity, or with a little button instead of a head, or with a mere bead of bony matter instead of a tooth, or with a stump instead of a tail, these parts are said to be aborted. naturalists on the other hand, as we have seen, apply this term to parts not stunted during the growth of the embryo, but which are as regularly produced in successive generations as any other most essential parts of the structure of the individual: naturalists, therefore, use this term in a metaphorical sense. these two classes of facts, however, blend into each other{ }; by parts accidentally aborted, during the embryonic life of one individual, becoming hereditary in the succeeding generations: thus a cat or dog, born with a stump instead of a tail, tends to transmit stumps to their offspring; and so it is with stumps representing the extremities; and so again with flowers, with defective and rudimentary parts, which are annually produced in new flower-buds and even in successive seedlings. the strong hereditary tendency to reproduce every either congenital or slowly acquired structure, whether useful or injurious to the individual, has been shown in the first part; so that we need feel no surprise at these truly abortive parts becoming hereditary. a curious instance of the force of hereditariness is sometimes seen in two little loose hanging horns, quite useless as far as the function of a horn is concerned, which are produced in hornless races of our domestic cattle{ }. now i believe no real distinction can be drawn between a stump representing a tail or a horn or the extremities; or a short shrivelled stamen without any pollen; or a dimple in a petal representing a nectary, when such rudiments are regularly reproduced in a race or family, and the true abortive organs of naturalists. and if we had reason to believe (which i think we have not) that all abortive organs had been at some period _suddenly_ produced during the embryonic life of an individual, and afterwards become inherited, we should at once have a simple explanation of the origin of abortive and rudimentary organs{ }. in the same manner as during changes of pronunciation certain letters in a word may become useless{ } in pronouncing it, but yet may aid us in searching for its derivation, so we can see that rudimentary organs, no longer useful to the individual, may be of high importance in ascertaining its descent, that is, its true classification in the natural system. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , the author in referring to semi-monstrous variations adds "but i doubt whether any of these cases throw light on the origin of rudimentary organs in a state of nature." in he was clearly more inclined to an opposite opinion. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } see _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . the author there discusses monstrosities in relation to rudimentary organs, and comes to the conclusion that disuse is of more importance, giving as a reason his doubt "whether species under nature ever undergo abrupt changes." it seems to me that in the _origin_ he gives more weight to the "lamarckian factor" than he did in . huxley took the opposite view, see the introduction. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . _abortion from gradual disuse._ there seems to be some probability that continued disuse of any part or organ, and the selection of individuals with such parts slightly less developed, would in the course of ages produce in organic beings under domesticity races with such parts abortive. we have every reason to believe that every part and organ in an individual becomes fully developed only with exercise of its functions; that it becomes developed in a somewhat lesser degree with less exercise; and if forcibly precluded from all action, such part will often become atrophied. every peculiarity, let it be remembered, tends, especially where both parents have it, to be inherited. the less power of flight in the common duck compared with the wild, must be partly attributed to disuse{ } during successive generations, and as the wing is properly adapted to flight, we must consider our domestic duck in the first stage towards the state of the apteryx, in which the wings are so curiously abortive. some naturalists have attributed (and possibly with truth) the falling ears so characteristic of most domestic dogs, some rabbits, oxen, cats, goats, horses, &c., &c., as the effects of the lesser use of the muscles of these flexible parts during successive generations of inactive life; and muscles, which cannot perform their functions, must be considered verging towards abortion. in flowers, again, we see the gradual abortion during successive seedlings (though this is more properly a conversion) of stamens into imperfect petals, and finally into perfect petals. when the eye is blinded in early life the optic nerve sometimes becomes atrophied; may we not believe that where this organ, as is the case with the subterranean mole-like tuco-tuco <_ctenomys_>{ }, is frequently impaired and lost, that in the course of generations the whole organ might become abortive, as it normally is in some burrowing quadrupeds having nearly similar habits with the tuco-tuco? { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , where drooping-ears of domestic animals are also given. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . in as far then as it is admitted as probable that the effects of disuse (together with occasional true and sudden abortions during the embryonic period) would cause a part to be less developed, and finally to become abortive and useless; then during the infinitely numerous changes of habits in the many descendants from a common stock, we might fairly have expected that cases of organs becom<ing> abortive would have been numerous. the preservation of the stump of the tail, as usually happens when an animal is born tailless, we can only explain by the strength of the hereditary principle and by the period in embryo when affected{ }: but on the theory of disuse gradually obliterating a part, we can see, according to the principles explained in the last chapter (viz. of hereditariness at corresponding periods of life{ }, together with the use and disuse of the part in question not being brought into play in early or embryonic life), that organs or parts would tend not to be utterly obliterated, but to be reduced to that state in which they existed in early embryonic life. owen often speaks of a part in a full-grown animal being in an "embryonic condition." moreover we can thus see why abortive organs are most developed at an early period of life. again, by gradual selection, we can see how an organ rendered abortive in its primary use might be converted to other purposes; a duck's wing might come to serve for a fin, as does that of the penguin; an abortive bone might come to serve, by the slow increment and change of place in the muscular fibres, as a fulcrum for a new series of muscles; the pistil{ } of the marigold might become abortive as a reproductive part, but be continued in its function of sweeping the pollen out of the anthers; for if in this latter respect the abortion had not been checked by selection, the species must have become extinct from the pollen remaining enclosed in the capsules of the anthers. { } these words seem to have been inserted as an afterthought. { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . { } this and similar cases occur in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . finally then i must repeat that these wonderful facts of organs formed with traces of exquisite care, but now either absolutely useless or adapted to ends wholly different from their ordinary end, being present and forming part of the structure of almost every inhabitant of this world, both in long-past and present times--being best developed and often only discoverable at a very early embryonic period, and being full of signification in arranging the long series of organic beings in a natural system--these wonderful facts not only receive a simple explanation on the theory of long-continued selection of many species from a few common parent-stocks, but necessarily follow from this theory. if this theory be rejected, these facts remain quite inexplicable; without indeed we rank as an explanation such loose metaphors as that of de candolle's{ }, in which the kingdom of nature is compared to a well-covered table, and the abortive organs are considered as put in for the sake of symmetry! { } the metaphor of the dishes is given in the essay of , p. , note .{note } chapter x recapitulation and conclusion _recapitulation._ i will now recapitulate the course of this work, more fully with respect to the former parts, and briefly <as to> the latter. in the first chapter we have seen that most, if not all, organic beings, when taken by man out of their natural condition, and bred during several generations, vary; that is variation is partly due to the direct effect of the new external influences, and partly to the indirect effect on the reproductive system rendering the organization of the offspring in some degree plastic. of the variations thus produced, man when uncivilised naturally preserves the life, and therefore unintentionally breeds from those individuals most useful to him in his different states: when even semi-civilised, he intentionally separates and breeds from such individuals. every part of the structure seems occasionally to vary in a very slight degree, and the extent to which all kinds of peculiarities in mind and body, when congenital and when slowly acquired either from external influences, from exercise, or from disuse <are inherited>, is truly wonderful. when several breeds are once formed, then crossing is the most fertile source of new breeds{ }. variation must be ruled, of course, by the health of the new race, by the tendency to return to the ancestral forms, and by unknown laws determining the proportional increase and symmetry of the body. the amount of variation, which has been effected under domestication, is quite unknown in the majority of domestic beings. { } compare however darwin's later view:--"the possibility of making distinct races by crossing has been greatly exaggerated," _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . the author's change of opinion was no doubt partly due to his experience in breeding pigeons. in the second chapter it was shown that wild organisms undoubtedly vary in some slight degree: and that the kind of variation, though much less in degree, is similar to that of domestic organisms. it is highly probable that every organic being, if subjected during several generations to new and varying conditions, would vary. it is certain that organisms, living in an _isolated_ country which is undergoing geological changes, must in the course of time be so subjected to new conditions; moreover an organism, when by chance transported into a new station, for instance into an island, will often be exposed to new conditions, and be surrounded by a new series of organic beings. if there were no power at work selecting every slight variation, which opened new sources of subsistence to a being thus situated, the effects of crossing, the chance of death and the constant tendency to reversion to the old parent-form, would prevent the production of new races. if there were any selective agency at work, it seems impossible to assign any limit{ } to the complexity and beauty of the adaptive structures, which _might_ thus be produced: for certainly the limit of possible variation of organic beings, either in a wild or domestic state, is not known. { } in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , darwin makes a strong statement to this effect. it was then shown, from the geometrically increasing tendency of each species to multiply (as evidenced from what we know of mankind and of other animals when favoured by circumstances), and from the means of subsistence of each species on an _average_ remaining constant, that during some part of the life of each, or during every few generations, there must be a severe struggle for existence; and that less than a grain{ } in the balance will determine which individuals shall live and which perish. in a country, therefore, undergoing changes, and cut off from the free immigration of species better adapted to the new station and conditions, it cannot be doubted that there is a most powerful means of selection, _tending_ to preserve even the slightest variation, which aided the subsistence or defence of those organic beings, during any part of their whole existence, whose organization had been rendered plastic. moreover, in animals in which the sexes are distinct, there is a sexual struggle, by which the most vigorous, and consequently the best adapted, will oftener procreate their kind. { } "a grain in the balance will determine which individual shall live and which shall die," _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . a similar statement occurs in the essay, p. , note .{note } a new race thus formed by natural selection would be undistinguishable from a species. for comparing, on the one hand, the several species of a genus, and on the other hand several domestic races from a common stock, we cannot discriminate them by the amount of external difference, but only, first, by domestic races not remaining so constant or being so "true" as species are; and secondly by races always producing fertile offspring when crossed. and it was then shown that a race naturally selected--from the variation being slower--from the selection steadily leading towards the same ends{ }, and from every new slight change in structure being adapted (as is implied by its selection) to the new conditions and being fully exercised, and lastly from the freedom from occasional crosses with other species, would almost necessarily be "truer" than a race selected by ignorant or capricious and short-lived man. with respect to the sterility of species when crossed, it was shown not to be a universal character, and when present to vary in degree: sterility also was shown probably to depend less on external than on constitutional differences. and it was shown that when individual animals and plants are placed under new conditions, they become, without losing their healths, as sterile, in the same manner and to the same degree, as hybrids; and it is therefore conceivable that the cross-bred offspring between two species, having different constitutions, might have its constitution affected in the same peculiar manner as when an individual animal or plant is placed under new conditions. man in selecting domestic races has little wish and still less power to adapt the whole frame to new conditions; in nature, however, where each species survives by a struggle against other species and external nature, the result must be very different. { } thus according to the author what is now known as _orthogenesis_ is due to selection. races descending from the same stock were then compared with species of the same genus, and they were found to present some striking analogies. the offspring also of races when crossed, that is mongrels, were compared with the cross-bred offspring of species, that is hybrids, and they were found to resemble each other in all their characters, with the one exception of sterility, and even this, when present, often becomes after some generations variable in degree. the chapter was summed up, and it was shown that no ascertained limit to the amount of variation is known; or could be predicted with due time and changes of condition granted. it was then admitted that although the production of new races, undistinguishable from true species, is probable, we must look to the relations in the past and present geographical distribution of the infinitely numerous beings, by which we are surrounded--to their affinities and to their structure--for any direct evidence. in the third chapter the inheritable variations in the mental phenomena of domestic and of wild organic beings were considered. it was shown that we are not concerned in this work with the first origin of the leading mental qualities; but that tastes, passions, dispositions, consensual movements, and habits all became, either congenitally or during mature life, modified and were inherited. several of these modified habits were found to correspond in every essential character with true instincts, and they were found to follow the same laws. instincts and dispositions &c. are fully as important to the preservation and increase of a species as its corporeal structure; and therefore the natural means of selection would act on and modify them equally with corporeal structures. this being granted, as well as the proposition that mental phenomena are variable, and that the modifications are inheritable, the possibility of the several most complicated instincts being slowly acquired was considered, and it was shown from the very imperfect series in the instincts of the animals now existing, that we are not justified in _prima facie_ rejecting a theory of the common descent of allied organisms from the difficulty of imagining the transitional stages in the various now most complicated and wonderful instincts. we were thus led on to consider the same question with respect both to highly complicated organs, and to the aggregate of several such organs, that is individual organic beings; and it was shown, by the same method of taking the existing most imperfect series, that we ought not at once to reject the theory, because we cannot trace the transitional stages in such organs, or conjecture the transitional habits of such individual species. in the second part{ } the direct evidence of allied forms having descended from the same stock was discussed. it was shown that this theory requires a long series of intermediate forms between the species and groups in the same classes--forms not directly intermediate between existing species, but intermediate with a common parent. it was admitted that if even all the preserved fossils and existing species were collected, such a series would be far from being formed; but it was shown that we have not _good_ evidence that the oldest known deposits are contemporaneous with the first appearance of living beings; or that the several subsequent formations are nearly consecutive; or that any one formation preserves a nearly perfect fauna of even the hard marine organisms, which lived in that quarter of the world. consequently, we have no reason to suppose that more than a small fraction of the organisms which have lived at any one period have ever been preserved; and hence that we ought not to expect to discover the fossilised sub-varieties between any two species. on the other hand, the evidence, though extremely imperfect, drawn from fossil remains, as far as it does go, is in favour of such a series of organisms having existed as that required. this want of evidence of the past existence of almost infinitely numerous intermediate forms, is, i conceive, much the weightiest difficulty{ } on the theory of common descent; but i must think that this is due to ignorance necessarily resulting from the imperfection of all geological records. { } part ii begins with ch. iv. see the introduction, where the absence of division into two parts (in the _origin_) is discussed. { } in the recapitulation in the last chapter of the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , the author does not insist on this point as the weightiest difficulty, though he does so in ed. i. p. . it is possible that he had come to think less of the difficulty in question: this was certainly the case when he wrote the th edition, see p. . in the fifth chapter it was shown that new species gradually{ } appear, and that the old ones gradually disappear, from the earth; and this strictly accords with our theory. the extinction of species seems to be preceded by their rarity; and if this be so, no one ought to feel more surprise at a species being exterminated than at its being rare. every species which is not increasing in number must have its geometrical tendency to increase checked by some agency seldom accurately perceived by us. each slight increase in the power of this unseen checking agency would cause a corresponding decrease in the average numbers of that species, and the species would become rarer: we feel not the least surprise at one species of a genus being rare and another abundant; why then should we be surprised at its extinction, when we have good reason to believe that this very rarity is its regular precursor and cause. { } <the following words:> the fauna changes singly <were inserted by the author, apparently to replace a doubtful erasure>. in the sixth chapter the leading facts in the geographical distribution of organic beings were considered--namely, the dissimilarity in areas widely and effectually separated, of the organic beings being exposed to very similar conditions (as for instance, within the tropical forests of africa and america, or on the volcanic islands adjoining them). also the striking similarity and general relations of the inhabitants of the same great continents, conjoined with a lesser degree of dissimilarity in the inhabitants living on opposite sides of the barriers intersecting it--whether or not these opposite sides are exposed to similar conditions. also the dissimilarity, though in a still lesser degree, in the inhabitants of different islands in the same archipelago, together with their similarity taken as a whole with the inhabitants of the nearest continent, whatever its character may be. again, the peculiar relations of alpine floras; the absence of mammifers on the smaller isolated islands; and the comparative fewness of the plants and other organisms on islands with diversified stations; the connection between the possibility of occasional transportal from one country to another, with an affinity, though not identity, of the organic beings inhabiting them. and lastly, the clear and striking relations between the living and the extinct in the same great divisions of the world; which relation, if we look very far backward, seems to die away. these facts, if we bear in mind the geological changes in progress, all simply follow from the proposition of allied organic beings having lineally descended from common parent-stocks. on the theory of independent creations they must remain, though evidently connected together, inexplicable and disconnected. in the seventh chapter, the relationship or grouping of extinct and recent species; the appearance and disappearance of groups; the ill-defined objects of the natural classification, not depending on the similarity of organs physiologically important, not being influenced by adaptive or analogical characters, though these often govern the whole economy of the individual, but depending on any character which varies least, and especially on the forms through which the embryo passes, and, as was afterwards shown, on the presence of rudimentary and useless organs. the alliance between the nearest species in _distinct_ groups being general and not especial; the close similarity in the rules and objects in classifying domestic races and true species. all these facts were shown to follow on the natural system being a genealogical system. in the eighth chapter, the unity of structure throughout large groups, in species adapted to the most different lives, and the wonderful metamorphosis (used metaphorically by naturalists) of one part or organ into another, were shown to follow simply on new species being produced by the selection and inheritance of successive _small_ changes of structure. the unity of type is wonderfully manifested by the similarity of structure, during the embryonic period, in the species of entire classes. to explain this it was shown that the different races of our domestic animals differ less, during their young state, than when full grown; and consequently, if species are produced like races, the same fact, on a greater scale, might have been expected to hold good with them. this remarkable law of nature was attempted to be explained through establishing, by sundry facts, that slight variations originally appear during all periods of life, and that when inherited they tend to appear at the corresponding period of life; according to these principles, in several species descended from the same parent-stock, their embryos would almost necessarily much more closely resemble each other than they would in their adult state. the importance of these embryonic resemblances, in making out a natural or genealogical classification, thus becomes at once obvious. the occasional greater simplicity of structure in the mature animal than in the embryo; the gradation in complexity of the species in the great classes; the adaptation of the larvæ of animals to independent powers of existence; the immense difference in certain animals in their larval and mature states, were all shown on the above principles to present no difficulty. in the <ninth> chapter, the frequent and almost general presence of organs and parts, called by naturalists abortive or rudimentary, which, though formed with exquisite care, are generally absolutely useless <was considered>. <these structures,> though sometimes applied to uses not normal,--which cannot be considered as mere representative parts, for they are sometimes capable of performing their proper function,--which are always best developed, and sometimes only developed, during a very early period of life,--and which are of admitted high importance in classification,--were shown to be simply explicable on our theory of common descent. _why do we wish to reject the theory of common descent?_ thus have many general facts, or laws, been included under one explanation; and the difficulties encountered are those which would naturally result from our acknowledged ignorance. and why should we not admit this theory of descent{ }? can it be shown that organic beings in a natural state are _all absolutely invariable_? can it be said that the _limit of variation_ or the number of varieties capable of being formed under domestication are known? can any distinct line be drawn _between a race and a species_? to these three questions we may certainly answer in the negative. as long as species were thought to be divided and defined by an impassable barrier of _sterility_, whilst we were ignorant of geology, and imagined that the _world was of short duration_, and the number of its past inhabitants few, we were justified in assuming individual creations, or in saying with whewell that the beginnings of all things are hidden from man. why then do we feel so strong an inclination to reject this theory--especially when the actual case of any two species, or even of any two races, is adduced--and one is asked, have these two originally descended from the same parent womb? i believe it is because we are always slow in admitting any great change of which we do not see the intermediate steps. the mind cannot grasp the full meaning of the term of a million or hundred million years, and cannot consequently add up and perceive the full effects of small successive variations accumulated during almost infinitely many generations. the difficulty is the same with that which, with most geologists, it has taken long years to remove, as when lyell propounded that great valleys{ } were hollowed out [and long lines of inland cliffs had been formed] by the slow action of the waves of the sea. a man may long view a grand precipice without actually believing, though he may not deny it, that thousands of feet in thickness of solid rock once extended over many square miles where the open sea now rolls; without fully believing that the same sea which he sees beating the rock at his feet has been the sole removing power. { } this question forms the subject of what is practically a section of the final chapter of the _origin_ (ed. i. p. , vi. p. ). { } _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . shall we then allow that the three distinct species of rhinoceros{ } which separately inhabit java and sumatra and the neighbouring mainland of malacca were created, male and female, out of the inorganic materials of these countries? without any adequate cause, as far as our reason serves, shall we say that they were merely, from living near each other, created very like each other, so as to form a section of the genus dissimilar from the african section, some of the species of which section inhabit very similar and some very dissimilar stations? shall we say that without any apparent cause they were created on the same generic type with the ancient woolly rhinoceros of siberia and of the other species which formerly inhabited the same main division of the world: that they were created, less and less closely related, but still with interbranching affinities, with all the other living and extinct mammalia? that without any apparent adequate cause their short necks should contain the same number of vertebræ with the giraffe; that their thick legs should be built on the same plan with those of the antelope, of the mouse, of the hand of the monkey, of the wing of the bat, and of the fin of the porpoise. that in each of these species the second bone of their leg should show clear traces of two bones having been soldered and united into one; that the complicated bones of their head should become intelligible on the supposition of their having been formed of three expanded vertebræ; that in the jaws of each when dissected young there should exist small teeth which never come to the surface. that in possessing these useless abortive teeth, and in other characters, these three rhinoceroses in their embryonic state should much more closely resemble other mammalia than they do when mature. and lastly, that in a still earlier period of life, their arteries should run and branch as in a fish, to carry the blood to gills which do not exist. now these three species of rhinoceros closely resemble each other; more closely than many generally acknowledged races of our domestic animals; these three species if domesticated would almost certainly vary, and races adapted to different ends might be selected out of such variations. in this state they would probably breed together, and their offspring would possibly be quite, and probably in some degree, fertile; and in either case, by continued crossing, one of these specific forms might be absorbed and lost in another. i repeat, shall we then say that a pair, or a gravid female, of each of these three species of rhinoceros, were separately created with deceptive appearances of true relationship, with the stamp of inutility on some parts, and of conversion in other parts, out of the inorganic elements of java, sumatra and malacca? or have they descended, like our domestic races, from the same parent-stock? for my own part i could no more admit the former proposition than i could admit that the planets move in their courses, and that a stone falls to the ground, not through the intervention of the secondary and appointed law of gravity, but from the direct volition of the creator. { } the discussion on the three species of _rhinoceros_ which also occurs in the essay of , p. , was omitted in ch. xiv of the _origin_, ed. i. before concluding it will be well to show, although this has incidentally appeared, how far the theory of common descent can legitimately be extended{ }. if we once admit that two true species of the same genus can have descended from the same parent, it will not be possible to deny that two species of two genera may also have descended from a common stock. for in some families the genera approach almost as closely as species of the same genus; and in some orders, for instance in the monocotyledonous plants, the families run closely into each other. we do not hesitate to assign a common origin to dogs or cabbages, because they are divided into groups analogous to the groups in nature. many naturalists indeed admit that all groups are artificial; and that they depend entirely on the extinction of intermediate species. some naturalists, however, affirm that though driven from considering sterility as the characteristic of species, that an entire incapacity to propagate together is the best evidence of the existence of natural genera. even if we put on one side the undoubted fact that some species of the same genus will not breed together, we cannot possibly admit the above rule, seeing that the grouse and pheasant (considered by some good ornithologists as forming two families), the bull-finch and canary-bird have bred together. { } this corresponds to a paragraph in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , where it is assumed that animals have descended "from at most only four or five progenitors, and plants from an equal or lesser number." in the _origin_, however, the author goes on, ed. i. p. , vi. p. : "analogy would lead me one step further, namely, to the belief that all animals and plants have descended from some one prototype." no doubt the more remote two species are from each other, the weaker the arguments become in favour of their common descent. in species of two distinct families the analogy, from the variation of domestic organisms and from the manner of their intermarrying, fails; and the arguments from their geographical distribution quite or almost quite fails. but if we once admit the general principles of this work, as far as a clear unity of type can be made out in groups of species, adapted to play diversified parts in the economy of nature, whether shown in the structure of the embryonic or mature being, and especially if shown by a community of abortive parts, we are legitimately led to admit their community of descent. naturalists dispute how widely this unity of type extends: most, however, admit that the vertebrata are built on one type; the articulata on another; the mollusca on a third; and the radiata on probably more than one. plants also appear to fall under three or four great types. on this theory, therefore, all the organisms _yet discovered_ are descendants of probably less than ten parent-forms. _conclusion._ my reasons have now been assigned for believing that specific forms are not immutable creations{ }. the terms used by naturalists of affinity, unity of type, adaptive characters, the metamorphosis and abortion of organs, cease to be metaphorical expressions and become intelligible facts. we no longer look at an organic being as a savage does at a ship{ } or other great work of art, as at a thing wholly beyond his comprehension, but as a production that has a history which we may search into. how interesting do all instincts become when we speculate on their origin as hereditary habits, or as slight congenital modifications of former instincts perpetuated by the individuals so characterised having been preserved. when we look at every complex instinct and mechanism as the summing up of a long history of contrivances, each most useful to its possessor, nearly in the same way as when we look at a great mechanical invention as the summing up of the labour, the experience, the reason, and even the blunders of numerous workmen. how interesting does the geographical distribution of all organic beings, past and present, become as throwing light on the ancient geography of the world. geology loses glory{ } from the imperfection of its archives, but it gains in the immensity of its subject. there is much grandeur in looking at every existing organic being either as the lineal successor of some form now buried under thousands of feet of solid rock, or as being the co-descendant of that buried form of some more ancient and utterly lost inhabitant of this world. it accords with what we know of the laws impressed by the creator{ } on matter that the production and extinction of forms should, like the birth and death of individuals, be the result of secondary means. it is derogatory that the creator of countless universes should have made by individual acts of his will the myriads of creeping parasites and worms, which since the earliest dawn of life have swarmed over the land and in the depths of the ocean. we cease to be astonished{ } that a group of animals should have been formed to lay their eggs in the bowels and flesh of other sensitive beings; that some animals should live by and even delight in cruelty; that animals should be led away by false instincts; that annually there should be an incalculable waste of the pollen, eggs and immature beings; for we see in all this the inevitable consequences of one great law, of the multiplication of organic beings not created immutable. from death, famine, and the struggle for existence, we see that the most exalted end which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the creation of the higher animals{ }, has directly proceeded. doubtless, our first impression is to disbelieve that any secondary law could produce infinitely numerous organic beings, each characterised by the most exquisite workmanship and widely extended adaptations: it at first accords better with our faculties to suppose that each required the fiat of a creator. there{ } is a [simple] grandeur in this view of life with its several powers of growth, reproduction and of sensation, having been originally breathed into matter under a few forms, perhaps into only one{ }, and that whilst this planet has gone cycling onwards according to the fixed laws of gravity and whilst land and water have gone on replacing each other--that from so simple an origin, through the selection of infinitesimal varieties, endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been evolved. { } this sentence corresponds, not to the final section of the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , but rather to the opening words of the section already referred to (_origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. ). { } this simile occurs in the essay of , p. , and in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. , _i.e._ in the final section of ch. xiv (vi. ch. xv). in the ms. there is some erasure in pencil of which i have taken no notice. { } an almost identical sentence occurs in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . the fine prophecy (in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. ) on "the almost untrodden field of inquiry" is wanting in the present essay. { } see the last paragraph on p. of the _origin_, ed. i., vi. p. . { } a passage corresponding to this occurs in the sketch of , p. , but not in the last chapter of the _origin_. { } this sentence occurs in an almost identical form in the _origin_, ed. i. p. , vi. p. . it will be noted that man is not named though clearly referred to. elsewhere (_origin_, ed. i. p. ) the author is bolder and writes "light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history." in ed. vi. p. , he writes "much light &c." { } for the history of this sentence (with which the _origin of species_ closes) see the essay of , p. , note {note }: also the concluding pages of the introduction. { } these four words are added in pencil between the lines. index for the names of authors, birds, mammals (including names of classes) and plants, see sub-indexes under _authors_, _birds_, _mammals_ and _plants_. acquired characters, _see_ characters affinities and classification, america, fossils, analogy, resemblance by, , , , , animals, marine, preservation of as fossils, , , ; --marine distribution, , australia, fossils, authors, names of:--ackerman on hybrids, ; bakewell, , ; bateson, w., xxix, _n._, ; bellinghausen, ; boitard and corbié, _n._; brougham, lord, , ; brown, r., ; buckland on fossils, , , _n._; buffon on woodpecker, ; bunbury (_sir_ h.), rules for selection, ; butler, s., _n._; d'archiac, _n._; darwin, c., origin of his evolutionary views, xi-xv; --on forbes' theory, ; --his _journal of researches_ quoted, _n._, _n._; --his _cross-and self-fertilisation_, _n._, _n._; --on crossing chinese and common goose, _n._; darwin, mrs, letter to, xxvi; darwin, f., on knight's law, _n._; darwin, r. w., fact supplied by, _n._, ; darwin and wallace, joint paper by, xxiv, _n._; de candolle, , , , , ; d'orbigny, , _n._; ehrenberg, _n._; ewart on telegony, _n._; falconer, ; forbes, e., xxvii, , _n._, _n._, _n._; gadow, dr, xxix; gärtner, , ; goebel on knight's law, _n._; gould on distribution, ; gray, asa, letter to, publication of in linnean paper explained, xxiv; henslow, g., on evolution without selection, _n._; henslow, j. s., xxvii; herbert on hybrids, , ; --sterility of crocus, _n._; hering, _n._; hogg, _n._; holland, dr, ; hooker, j. d., xxvii, xxviii, _n._; --on insular floras, , , ; huber, p., ; hudson on woodpecker, _n._; humboldt, , ; hunter, w., ; hutton, , ; huxley, _n._; --on darwin, xi, xii, xiv; --on darwin's essay of , xxviii, ; judd, xi, xiii, xxix, , _n._; knight, a., _n._, , ; --on domestication, ; knight-darwin law, _n._; kölreuter, , , , , ; lamarck, _n._, , , , ; --reasons for his belief in mutability, ; lindley, ; linnean society, joint paper, _see_ darwin and wallace; linnæus on sterility of alpine plants, ; --on generic characters, ; lonsdale, _n._; lyell, xxvii, _n._, , and _n._, _n._, , , , ; --his doctrine carried to an extreme, ; --his geological metaphor, _n._, ; --his uniformitarianism, _n._; --his views on imperfection of geological record, ; macculloch, _n._; macleay, w. s., ; magendie, ; malthus, xv, , , ; marr, dr, xxix; marshall, ; --on sheep and cattle, and _n._; --on horns of cattle, ; mivart, criticisms, _n._; mozart as a child, his skill on the piano compared to instinct, _n._; müller on consensual movements, ; --on variation under uniform conditions, ( ), ; --on recapitulation theory, ; murchison, _n._; newton, alfred, _n._; owen, r., xxvii, ; pallas, , ; pennant, _n._; pliny on selection, ; poeppig, _n._; prain, col., xxix; rengger, sterility, ; richardson, _n._; rutherford, h. w., xxix; st hilaire on races of dogs, ; --on sterility of tame and domestic animals, , ; smith, jordan, ; sprengel, ; stapf, dr, xxix; strickland, xxvii; suchetet, _n._; thiselton-dyer, sir w., xxix, ; wallace, xxiv, xxix, , _n._; waterhouse, , ; western, lord, , , ; whewell, xxviii, ; woodward, h. b., _n._; wrangel, _n._; zacharias, darwin's letter to, xv barriers and distribution, , , , bees, , ; combs of hive-bee, , , , beetles, abortive wings of, birds, transporting seeds, ; feeding young with food different to their own, , ; migration, , ; nests, , , , ; of galapagos, , ; rapid increase, ; song, birds, names of:--apteryx, , ; duck, , , , , _n._; fowl, domestic, , _n._, , , , ; goose, ; --periodic habit, _n._; grouse, hybridised, , ; guinea-fowl, ; hawk, sterility, ; --periodic habit, ; opetiorynchus, ; orpheus, ; ostrich, distribution of, ; owl, white barn, ; partridge, infertility of, ; peacock, , , ; penguin, _n._, ; petrel, _n._; pheasant, , ; pigeon, , , _n._, , , , , , ; _see_ wood-pigeon; rhea, ; robins, increase in numbers, , ; rock-thrush of guiana, ; swan, species of, ; tailor-bird, , ; turkey, australian bush-turkey, _n._, ; tyrannus, ; water-ouzel, _n._, ; woodcock, loss of migratory instinct, ; woodpecker, , , _n._, ; --in treeless lands, , ; wood-pigeon, ; wren, gold-crested, ; --willow, , breeds, domestic, parentage of, brothers, death of by same peculiar disease in old age, _n._, _n._, bud variation, ; _see_ sports butterfly, cabbage, catastrophes, geological, , caterpillars, food, , characters, acquired, inheritance of, , , , ; --congenital, ; --fixed by breeding, ; --mental, variation in, , , ; --running through whole groups, ; --useless for classification, cirripedes, , classification, natural system of, , , , ; --by any constant character, ; --relation of, to geography, ; --a law that members of two distinct groups resemble each other not specifically but generally, , ; --of domestic races, ; --rarity and extinction in relation to, compensation, law of, conditions, direct, action of, , _n._, , ; --change of, analogous to crossing, , _n._, ; --accumulated effects of, , ; --affecting reproduction, , , , ; --and geographical distribution, continent originating as archipelago, bearing of on distribution, cordillera, as channel of migration, _n._, correlation, creation, centres of, , crocodile, _cross-and self-fertilisation_, early statement of principles of, , _n._, _n._ crossing, swamping effect of, , , ; --of bisexual animals and hermaphrodite plants, ; --analogous to change in conditions, , , ; --in relation to breeds, ; --in plants, adaptations for, death, feigned by insects, difficulties, on theory of evolution, , , , disease, hereditary, _n._, , distribution, geographical, , , , , ; --in space and time, subject to same laws, ; --occasional means of (seeds, eggs, &c.), disuse, inherited effects of, , divergence, principle of, xxv, _n._, _n._, _n._ domestication, variation under, , ; --accumulated effects of, , ; --analysis of effects of, , ears, drooping, elevation, geological, favouring birth of new species, , _n._, _n._, - ; --alternating with subsidence, importance of for evolution, , ; --bad for preservation of fossils, embryo, branchial arches of, , ; --absence of special adaptation in, , _n._, , ; --less variable than parent, hence importance of embryology for classification, _n._, ; --alike in all vertebrates, , ; --occasionally more complicated than adult, , embryology, , ; its value in classification, , ; law of inheritance at corresponding ages, _n._, ; young of very distinct breeds closely similar, _n._, ephemera, selection falls on larva, _n._ epizoa, essay of , question as to date of, xvi; description of ms., xx; compared with the _origin_, xxii essay of , writing of, xvi; compared with that of and with the _origin_, xxii evolution, theory of, why do we tend to reject it, expression, inheritance of, extinction, , , ; locally sudden, ; continuous with rarity, , extinction and rarity, eye, _n._, , , faculty, in relation to instinct, faunas, alpine, , , ; of galapagos, _n._, , ; insular-alpine very peculiar, ; insular, , fauna and flora, of islands related to nearest land, fear of man, inherited, , fertility, interracial, , fish, colours of, , ; eggs of carried by water-beetle, ; flying, _n._; --transported by whirlwind, floras, alpine, ; of oceanic islands, ; alpine, related to surrounding lowlands, ; alpine, identity of on distant mountains, ; alpine resembling arctic, ; arctic relation to alpine, flower, morphology of, , ; degenerate under domestication if neglected, ; changed by selection, fly, causing extinction, flying, evolution of, , food, causing variations, , , , formation (geological) evidence from tertiary system, ; (geological), groups of species appear suddenly in secondary, , ; palæozoic, if contemporary with beginning of life, author's theory false, formations, most ancient escape denudation in conditions unfavourable to life, , forms, transitional, , _n._, , , ; on rising land, ; indirectly intermediate, , fossils, silurian, not those which first existed in the world, , ; falling into or between existing groups and indirectly intermediate, , ; conditions favourable to preservation, not favourable to existence of much life, , , fruit, attractive to animals, galapagos islands and darwin's views, xiv; physical character of in relation to fauna, _n._, galapagos islands, fauna, _n._, gasteropods, embryology, genera, crosses between, , ; wide ranging, has wide ranging species, ; origin of, geography, in relation to geology, _n._, , geographical distribution, _see_ distribution geology, as producing changed conditions, ; evidence from, , ; "destroys geography," _n._ glacial period, effect of on distribution of alpine and arctic plants, habit in relation to instinct, , , , habits in animals taught by parent, heredity, _see_ inheritance homology of limbs, , homology, serial, , hybrid, fowls and grouse, ; fowl and peacock, ; pheasant and grouse, ; azalea and rhododendron, hybrids, gradation in sterility of, , , ; sterility of not reciprocal, ; variability of, ; compared and contrasted with mongrel, individual, meaning of term, inheritance of acquired characters, _see_ character inheritance, delayed or latent, , _n._, ; of character at a time of life corresponding to that at which it first appeared, , _n._, ; germinal, , , insect, adapted to fertilise flowers, ; feigning death, ; metamorphosis, ; variation in larvæ, instinct, variation in, , ; and faculty, , ; guided by reason, , , ; migratory, ; migratory, loss of by woodcocks, ; migratory, origin of, ; due to germinal variation rather than habit, ; requiring education for perfection, ; characterised by ignorance of end: _e.g._ butterflies laying eggs, , ; butterflies laying eggs on proper plant, , ; instinct, natural selection applicable to, , instinct, for finding the way, ; periodic, _i.e._ for lapse of time, ; comb-making of bee, ; birds feeding young, , ; nest-building, gradation in, , , , ; instincts, complex, difficulty in believing in their evolution, , intermediate forms, _see_ forms island, _see_ elevation, fauna, flora island, upheaved and gradually colonised, islands, nurseries of new species, , _n._, , isolation, , _n._, , , , lepidosiren, _n._, limbs, vertebrate, of one type, , mammals, arctic, transported by icebergs, ; distribution, , , ; distribution of, ruled by barriers, ; introduced by man on islands, ; not found on oceanic islands, ; relations in time and space, similarity of, ; of tertiary period, relation of to existing forms in same region, mammals, names of:-- antelope, ; armadillo, ; ass, , , ; bat, , , _n._, , , ; bear, sterile in captivity, ; --whale-like habit, _n._; bizcacha, , , ; bull, mammæ of, ; carnivora, law of compensation in, ; cats, run wild at ascension, ; --tailless, ; cattle, horns of, , ; --increase in s. america, ; --indian, ; --niata, , ; --suffering in parturition from too large calves, ; cheetah, sterility of, and _n._; chironectes, ; cow, abortive mammæ, ; ctenomys, _see_ tuco-tuco; dog, , ; --in cuba, and _n._; --mongrel breed in oceanic islands, ; --difference in size a bar to crossing, ; --domestic, parentage of, , , ; --drooping ears, ; --effects of selection, ; --inter-fertile, ; --long-legged breed produced to catch hares, , , , ; --of savages, ; --races of resembling genera, , ; --australian, change of colour in, ; --bloodhound, cuban, ; --bull-dog, ; --foxhound, , ; --greyhound and bull-dog, young of resembling each other, , _n._, ; --pointer, , , , , ; --retriever, _n._; --setter, ; --shepherd-dog and harrier crossed, instinct of, , ; --tailless, ; --turnspit, ; echidna, _n._; edentata, fossil and living in s. america, ; elephant, sterility of, , ; elk, ; ferret, fertility of, , ; fox, , , ; galeopithecus, _n._; giraffe, fossil, ; --tail, _n._; goat, run wild at tahiti, ; guanaco, ; guinea-pig, ; hare, s. american, _n._; hedgehog, _n._; horse, , , , , ; --checks to increase, , ; --increase in s. america, ; --malconformations and lameness inherited, ; --parentage, , ; --stripes on, ; --young of cart-horse and racehorse resembling each other, ; hyena, fossil, ; jaguar, catching fish, ; lemur, flying, _n._; macrauchenia, ; marsupials, fossil in europe, _n._, ; --pouch bones, , ; mastodon, ; mouse, , ; --enormous rate of increase, , ; mule, occasionally breeding, , ; musk-deer, fossil, ; _mustela vison_, _n._, _n._; mydas, ; mydaus, ; nutria, _see_ otter; otter, , , ; --marsupial, , , ; pachydermata, ; phascolomys, , ; pig, , ; --in oceanic islands, ; --run wild at st helena, ; pole-cat, aquatic, _n._, _n._; porpoise, paddle of, , ; rabbit, , , ; rat, norway, ; reindeer, ; rhinoceros, ; --abortive teeth of, , ; --three oriental species of, , ; ruminantia, and _n._; seal, _n._, ; sheep, , , , ; --ancon variety, , , ; --inherited habit of returning home to lamb, ; --transandantes of spain, their migratory instinct, , , _n._; squirrel, flying, ; tapir, , ; tuco-tuco, blindness of, , ; whale, rudimentary teeth, , ; wolf, , , ; yak, metamorphosis, literal not metaphorical, , metamorphosis, _e.g._ leaves into petals, migrants to new land, struggle among, , migration, taking the place of variation, monstrosities, as starting-points of breeds, , ; their relation to rudimentary organs, , morphology, , ; terminology of, no longer metaphorically used, , mutation, _see_ sports natural selection, _see_ selection nest, bird's, _see_ instinct ocean, depth of, and fossils, , organisms, gradual introduction of new, , ; extinct related to, existing in the same manner as representative existing ones to each other, , ; introduced, beating indigenes, ; dependent on other organisms rather than on physical surroundings, ; graduated complexity in the great classes, ; immature, how subject to natural selection, , , ; all descended from a few parent-forms, , organs, perfect, objection to their evolution, , ; distinct in adult life, indistinguishable in embryo, , ; rudimentary, , , , ; rudimentary, compared to monstrosities, , ; rudimentary, caused by disuse, , ; rudimentary, adapted to new ends, , orthogenesis, _n._ oscillation of level in relation to continents, , _n._, pallas, on parentage of domestic animals, pampas, imaginary case of farmer on, , perfection, no inherent tendency towards, plants, _see also_ flora; fertilisation, ; migration of, to arctic and antarctic regions, ; alpine and arctic, migration of, , ; alpine, characters common to, ; alpine, sterility of, , plants, names of:--Ægilops, _n._; artichoke (jerusalem), ; ash, weeping, seeds of, ; asparagus, ; azalea, , , ; cabbage, , , ; calceolaria, , ; cardoon, ; carrot, variation of, _n._; chrysanthemum, ; crinum, , ; crocus, , _n._; cucubalus, crossing, ; dahlia, , , , , , ; foxglove, ; gentian, colour of flower, _n._; geranium, ; gladiolus, crossed, ancestry of, ; grass, abortive flowers, ; heath, sterility, ; hyacinth, colours of, ; --feather-hyacinth, ; juniperus, hybridised, ; laburnum, peculiar hybrid, ; lilac, sterility of, , ; marigold, style of, , , ; mistletoe, , , , _n._; nectarines on peach trees, ; oxalis, colour of flowers of, _n._; phaseolus, cultivated form suffers from frost, ; pine-apple, ; poppy, mexican, ; potato, , , ; rhododendron, , ; rose, moss, ; --scotch, ; seakale, ; sweet-william, ; syringa, persica and chinensis, _see_ lilac; teazle, ; thuja, hybridised, ; tulips, "breaking" of, ; turnip, swedish and common, ; vine, peculiar hybrid, ; yew, weeping, seeds of, plasticity, produced by domestication, , plesiosaurus, loss of unity of type in, , pteropods, embryology, quadrupeds, extinction of large, quinary system, race, the word used as equivalent to variety, races, domestic, classification of, rarity, , ; and extinction, , , recapitulation theory, , , , record, geological, imperfection of, , regions, geographical, of the world, , , ; formerly less distinct as judged by fossils, resemblance, analogical, , reversion, , , , "roguing," rudimentary organs, _see_ organs savages, domestic animals of, , , selection, human, , ; references to the practice of, in past times, ; great effect produced by, , ; necessary for the formation of breeds, ; methodical, effects of, , ; unconscious, , selection, natural, xvi, , ; natural compared to human, , , ; of instincts, , ; difficulty of believing, , , selection, sexual, two types of, , silk-worms, variation in larval state, _n._, skull, morphology of, , species, representative, seen in going from n. to s. in a continent, _n._, ; representative in archipelagoes, ; wide-ranging, _n._, ; and varieties, difficulty of distinguishing, , , ; sterility of crosses between, supposed to be criterion, , ; gradual appearance and disappearance of, , ; survival of a few among many extinct, species, not created more than once, , , ; evolution of, compared to birth of individuals, , , ; small number in new zealand as compared to the cape, , ; persistence of, unchanged, , sports, , , , , , , , , , sterility, due to captivity, , _n._, ; of various plants, , ; of species when crossed, , , , , ; produced by conditions, compared to sterility due to crossing, , struggle for life, , , , , subsidence, importance of, in relation to fossils, , _n._, ; of continent leading to isolation of organisms, ; not favourable to birth of new species, swimming bladder, , system, natural, is genealogical, , telegony, tibia and fibula, , time, enormous lapse of, in geological epochs, , tortoise, transitional forms, _see_ forms trigonia, _n._, tree-frogs in treeless regions, type, unity of, , ; uniformity of, lost in plesiosaurus, ; persistence of, in continents, , uniformitarian views of lyell, bearing on evolution, use, inherited effects of, _see_ characters, acquired variability, as specific character, ; produced by change and also by crossing, variation, by sports, _see_ sports; under domestication, , , , ; due to causes acting on reproductive system, _see_ variation, germinal; --germinal, , , , ; individual, _n._; causes of, , , , ; due to crossing, , ; limits of, , , , ; small in state of nature, , _n._, , ; results of _without_ selection, ; --minute, value of, ; analogous in species of same genus, ; of mental attributes, , ; in mature life, , , varieties, minute, in birds, ; resemblance of to species, _n._, , vertebrate skull, morphology of, wildness, hereditary, , cambridge: printed by john clay, m.a. at the university press +--------------------------------------------------------------+ | transcriber's notes & errata | | | | inline transcriber's notes are enclosed in curly brackets. | | | | footnote anchors and labels are enclosed in curly brackets. | | | | the footnotes have been renumbered consecutively. | | | | because of this, the changed footnote numbers are appended | | in curly brackets to the internal cross-references. | | | | superscript letters are denoted by a preceding caret e.g., | | d^o | | | | 'oe' ligatures have been rendered as separate letters. | | | | the following typographical errors have been corrected. | | | | |simplication |simplification | | | |care |case | | | |apparant |apparent | | | | | the following words were found in both hyphenated and | | unhyphenated forms. the figures in parentheses are the | | number of instances of each. | | | | |after-thought ( ) |afterthought ( ) | | | |blood-hound ( ) |bloodhound ( ) | | | |bull-dog ( ) |bulldog ( ) | | | |co-descendants ( ) |codescendants ( ) | | | |feather-hyacinth ( ) |feather hyacinth ( ) | | | |grey-hound ( ) |greyhound ( ) | | | |high-lands ( ) |highlands ( ) | | | |long-legged ( ) |long legged ( ) | | | |race-horse ( ) |racehorse ( ) | | | |shepherd-dog ( ) |shepherd dog ( ) | | | |sub-divisions ( ) |subdivisions ( ) | | | |table-land ( ) |tableland ( ) | | | | +--------------------------------------------------------------+ the descent of man and selection in relation to sex works by charles darwin, f.r.s. life and letters of charles darwin. with an autobiographical chapter. edited by francis darwin. portraits. volumes s. popular edition. condensed in volume s d. naturalist's journal of researches into the natural history and geology of countries visited during a voyage round the world. with illustrations by pritchett. s. popular edition. woodcuts. s d. cheaper edition, s. d. net. origin of species by means of natural selection; or, the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. large type edition, volumes s. popular edition, s. cheaper edition with portrait, s. d. various contrivances by which orchids are fertilized by insects. woodcuts. s. d. variation of animals and plants under domestication. illustrations. s. descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. illustrations. large type edition, volumes s. popular edition, s d. cheaper edition, s. d. net. expression of the emotions in man and animals. illustrations. s. insectivorous plants. illustrations. s. movements and habits of climbing plants. woodcuts. s. cross and self-fertilization in the vegetable kingdom. illustrations. s. different forms of flowers on plants of the same species. illustrations. s. d. formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms. woodcuts. s. the above works are published by john murray. structure and distribution of coral reefs. smith, elder, & co. geological observations on volcanic islands and parts of south america. smith, elder, & co. monograph of the cirripedia. illustrations. volumes. vo. ray society. monograph of the fossil lepadidae, or pedunculated cirripedes of great britain. palaeontographical society. monograph of the fossil balanidae and verrucidae of great britain. palaeontographical society. the descent of man and selection in relation to sex by charles darwin, m.a., f.r.s. uniform with this volume the origin of species, by means of natural selection; or, the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. popular edition, with a photogravure portrait. large crown vo. s. d. net. a naturalist's voyage. journal of researches into the natural history and geology of the countries visited during the voyage of h.m.s. "beagle" round the world, under the command of capt. fitz roy, r.n. popular edition, with many illustrations. large crown vo. s. d. net. preface to the second edition. during the successive reprints of the first edition of this work, published in , i was able to introduce several important corrections; and now that more time has elapsed, i have endeavoured to profit by the fiery ordeal through which the book has passed, and have taken advantage of all the criticisms which seem to me sound. i am also greatly indebted to a large number of correspondents for the communication of a surprising number of new facts and remarks. these have been so numerous, that i have been able to use only the more important ones; and of these, as well as of the more important corrections, i will append a list. some new illustrations have been introduced, and four of the old drawings have been replaced by better ones, done from life by mr. t.w. wood. i must especially call attention to some observations which i owe to the kindness of prof. huxley (given as a supplement at the end of part i.), on the nature of the differences between the brains of man and the higher apes. i have been particularly glad to give these observations, because during the last few years several memoirs on the subject have appeared on the continent, and their importance has been, in some cases, greatly exaggerated by popular writers. i may take this opportunity of remarking that my critics frequently assume that i attribute all changes of corporeal structure and mental power exclusively to the natural selection of such variations as are often called spontaneous; whereas, even in the first edition of the 'origin of species,' i distinctly stated that great weight must be attributed to the inherited effects of use and disuse, with respect both to the body and mind. i also attributed some amount of modification to the direct and prolonged action of changed conditions of life. some allowance, too, must be made for occasional reversions of structure; nor must we forget what i have called "correlated" growth, meaning, thereby, that various parts of the organisation are in some unknown manner so connected, that when one part varies, so do others; and if variations in the one are accumulated by selection, other parts will be modified. again, it has been said by several critics, that when i found that many details of structure in man could not be explained through natural selection, i invented sexual selection; i gave, however, a tolerably clear sketch of this principle in the first edition of the 'origin of species,' and i there stated that it was applicable to man. this subject of sexual selection has been treated at full length in the present work, simply because an opportunity was here first afforded me. i have been struck with the likeness of many of the half-favourable criticisms on sexual selection, with those which appeared at first on natural selection; such as, that it would explain some few details, but certainly was not applicable to the extent to which i have employed it. my conviction of the power of sexual selection remains unshaken; but it is probable, or almost certain, that several of my conclusions will hereafter be found erroneous; this can hardly fail to be the case in the first treatment of a subject. when naturalists have become familiar with the idea of sexual selection, it will, as i believe, be much more largely accepted; and it has already been fully and favourably received by several capable judges. down, beckenham, kent, september, . first edition february , . second edition september, . contents. introduction. part i. the descent or origin of man. chapter i. the evidence of the descent of man from some lower form. nature of the evidence bearing on the origin of man--homologous structures in man and the lower animals--miscellaneous points of correspondence--development--rudimentary structures, muscles, sense-organs, hair, bones, reproductive organs, etc.--the bearing of these three great classes of facts on the origin of man. chapter ii. on the manner of development of man from some lower form. variability of body and mind in man--inheritance--causes of variability--laws of variation the same in man as in the lower animals--direct action of the conditions of life--effects of the increased use and disuse of parts--arrested development--reversion--correlated variation--rate of increase--checks to increase--natural selection--man the most dominant animal in the world--importance of his corporeal structure--the causes which have led to his becoming erect--consequent changes of structure--decrease in size of the canine teeth--increased size and altered shape of the skull--nakedness --absence of a tail--defenceless condition of man. chapter iii. comparison of the mental powers of man and the lower animals. the difference in mental power between the highest ape and the lowest savage, immense--certain instincts in common--the emotions--curiosity--imitation--attention--memory--imagination--reason--progressive improvement --tools and weapons used by animals--abstraction, self-consciousness--language--sense of beauty--belief in god, spiritual agencies, superstitions. chapter iv. comparison of the mental powers of man and the lower animals--continued. the moral sense--fundamental proposition--the qualities of social animals--origin of sociability--struggle between opposed instincts--man a social animal--the more enduring social instincts conquer other less persistent instincts--the social virtues alone regarded by savages--the self-regarding virtues acquired at a later stage of development--the importance of the judgment of the members of the same community on conduct--transmission of moral tendencies--summary. chapter v. on the development of the intellectual and moral faculties during primeval and civilised times. advancement of the intellectual powers through natural selection--importance of imitation--social and moral faculties--their development within the limits of the same tribe--natural selection as affecting civilised nations--evidence that civilised nations were once barbarous. chapter vi. on the affinities and genealogy of man. position of man in the animal series--the natural system genealogical--adaptive characters of slight value--various small points of resemblance between man and the quadrumana--rank of man in the natural system--birthplace and antiquity of man--absence of fossil connecting-links--lower stages in the genealogy of man, as inferred firstly from his affinities and secondly from his structure--early androgynous condition of the vertebrata --conclusion. chapter vii. on the races of man. the nature and value of specific characters--application to the races of man--arguments in favour of, and opposed to, ranking the so-called races of man as distinct species--sub-species--monogenists and polygenists--convergence of character--numerous points of resemblance in body and mind between the most distinct races of man--the state of man when he first spread over the earth--each race not descended from a single pair--the extinction of races--the formation of races--the effects of crossing--slight influence of the direct action of the conditions of life--slight or no influence of natural selection--sexual selection. part ii. sexual selection. chapter viii. principles of sexual selection. secondary sexual characters--sexual selection--manner of action--excess of males--polygamy--the male alone generally modified through sexual selection--eagerness of the male--variability of the male--choice exerted by the female--sexual compared with natural selection--inheritance at corresponding periods of life, at corresponding seasons of the year, and as limited by sex--relations between the several forms of inheritance--causes why one sex and the young are not modified through sexual selection--supplement on the proportional numbers of the two sexes throughout the animal kingdom--the proportion of the sexes in relation to natural selection. chapter ix. secondary sexual characters in the lower classes of the animal kingdom. these characters are absent in the lowest classes--brilliant colours--mollusca--annelids--crustacea, secondary sexual characters strongly developed; dimorphism; colour; characters not acquired before maturity--spiders, sexual colours of; stridulation by the males--myriapoda. chapter x. secondary sexual characters of insects. diversified structures possessed by the males for seizing the females--differences between the sexes, of which the meaning is not understood--difference in size between the sexes--thysanura--diptera--hemiptera--homoptera, musical powers possessed by the males alone--orthoptera, musical instruments of the males, much diversified in structure; pugnacity; colours--neuroptera, sexual differences in colour--hymenoptera, pugnacity and odours--coleoptera, colours; furnished with great horns, apparently as an ornament; battles; stridulating organs generally common to both sexes. chapter xi. insects, continued.--order lepidoptera. (butterflies and moths.) courtship of butterflies--battles--ticking noise--colours common to both sexes, or more brilliant in the males--examples--not due to the direct action of the conditions of life--colours adapted for protection--colours of moths--display--perceptive powers of the lepidoptera--variability--causes of the difference in colour between the males and females--mimicry, female butterflies more brilliantly coloured than the males--bright colours of caterpillars--summary and concluding remarks on the secondary sexual character of insects--birds and insects compared. chapter xii. secondary sexual characters of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. fishes: courtship and battles of the males--larger size of the females--males, bright colours and ornamental appendages; other strange characters--colours and appendages acquired by the males during the breeding-season alone--fishes with both sexes brilliantly coloured--protective colours--the less conspicuous colours of the female cannot be accounted for on the principle of protection--male fishes building nests, and taking charge of the ova and young. amphibians: differences in structure and colour between the sexes--vocal organs. reptiles: chelonians--crocodiles--snakes, colours in some cases protective--lizards, battles of--ornamental appendages--strange differences in structure between the sexes--colours--sexual differences almost as great as with birds. chapter xiii. secondary sexual characters of birds. sexual differences--law of battle--special weapons--vocal organs--instrumental music--love-antics and dances--decorations, permanent and seasonal--double and single annual moults--display of ornaments by the males. chapter xiv. birds--continued. choice exerted by the female--length of courtship--unpaired birds--mental qualities and taste for the beautiful--preference or antipathy shewn by the female for particular males--variability of birds--variations sometimes abrupt--laws of variation--formation of ocelli--gradations of character--case of peacock, argus pheasant, and urosticte. chapter xv. birds--continued. discussion as to why the males alone of some species, and both sexes of others are brightly coloured--on sexually-limited inheritance, as applied to various structures and to brightly-coloured plumage--nidification in relation to colour--loss of nuptial plumage during the winter. chapter xvi. birds--concluded. the immature plumage in relation to the character of the plumage in both sexes when adult--six classes of cases--sexual differences between the males of closely-allied or representative species--the female assuming the characters of the male--plumage of the young in relation to the summer and winter plumage of the adults--on the increase of beauty in the birds of the world--protective colouring--conspicuously coloured birds--novelty appreciated--summary of the four chapters on birds. chapter xvii. secondary sexual characters of mammals. the law of battle--special weapons, confined to the males--cause of absence of weapons in the female--weapons common to both sexes, yet primarily acquired by the male--other uses of such weapons--their high importance--greater size of the male--means of defence--on the preference shewn by either sex in the pairing of quadrupeds. chapter xviii. secondary sexual characters of mammals--continued. voice--remarkable sexual peculiarities in seals--odour--development of the hair--colour of the hair and skin--anomalous case of the female being more ornamented than the male--colour and ornaments due to sexual selection--colour acquired for the sake of protection--colour, though common to both sexes, often due to sexual selection--on the disappearance of spots and stripes in adult quadrupeds--on the colours and ornaments of the quadrumana--summary. part iii. sexual selection in relation to man, and conclusion. chapter xix. secondary sexual characters of man. differences between man and woman--causes of such differences, and of certain characters common to both sexes--law of battle--differences in mental powers, and voice--on the influence of beauty in determining the marriages of mankind--attention paid by savages to ornaments--their ideas of beauty in women--the tendency to exaggerate each natural peculiarity. chapter xx. secondary sexual characters of man--continued. on the effects of the continued selection of women according to a different standard of beauty in each race--on the causes which interfere with sexual selection in civilised and savage nations--conditions favourable to sexual selection during primeval times--on the manner of action of sexual selection with mankind--on the women in savage tribes having some power to choose their husbands--absence of hair on the body, and development of the beard--colour of the skin--summary. chapter xxi. general summary and conclusion. main conclusion that man is descended from some lower form--manner of development--genealogy of man--intellectual and moral faculties--sexual selection--concluding remarks. supplemental note. index. the descent of man; and selection in relation to sex. ... introduction. the nature of the following work will be best understood by a brief account of how it came to be written. during many years i collected notes on the origin or descent of man, without any intention of publishing on the subject, but rather with the determination not to publish, as i thought that i should thus only add to the prejudices against my views. it seemed to me sufficient to indicate, in the first edition of my 'origin of species,' that by this work "light would be thrown on the origin of man and his history;" and this implies that man must be included with other organic beings in any general conclusion respecting his manner of appearance on this earth. now the case wears a wholly different aspect. when a naturalist like carl vogt ventures to say in his address as president of the national institution of geneva ( ), "personne, en europe au moins, n'ose plus soutenir la creation indépendante et de toutes pièces, des espèces," it is manifest that at least a large number of naturalists must admit that species are the modified descendants of other species; and this especially holds good with the younger and rising naturalists. the greater number accept the agency of natural selection; though some urge, whether with justice the future must decide, that i have greatly overrated its importance. of the older and honoured chiefs in natural science, many unfortunately are still opposed to evolution in every form. in consequence of the views now adopted by most naturalists, and which will ultimately, as in every other case, be followed by others who are not scientific, i have been led to put together my notes, so as to see how far the general conclusions arrived at in my former works were applicable to man. this seemed all the more desirable, as i had never deliberately applied these views to a species taken singly. when we confine our attention to any one form, we are deprived of the weighty arguments derived from the nature of the affinities which connect together whole groups of organisms--their geographical distribution in past and present times, and their geological succession. the homological structure, embryological development, and rudimentary organs of a species remain to be considered, whether it be man or any other animal, to which our attention may be directed; but these great classes of facts afford, as it appears to me, ample and conclusive evidence in favour of the principle of gradual evolution. the strong support derived from the other arguments should, however, always be kept before the mind. the sole object of this work is to consider, firstly, whether man, like every other species, is descended from some pre-existing form; secondly, the manner of his development; and thirdly, the value of the differences between the so-called races of man. as i shall confine myself to these points, it will not be necessary to describe in detail the differences between the several races--an enormous subject which has been fully described in many valuable works. the high antiquity of man has recently been demonstrated by the labours of a host of eminent men, beginning with m. boucher de perthes; and this is the indispensable basis for understanding his origin. i shall, therefore, take this conclusion for granted, and may refer my readers to the admirable treatises of sir charles lyell, sir john lubbock, and others. nor shall i have occasion to do more than to allude to the amount of difference between man and the anthropomorphous apes; for prof. huxley, in the opinion of most competent judges, has conclusively shewn that in every visible character man differs less from the higher apes, than these do from the lower members of the same order of primates. this work contains hardly any original facts in regard to man; but as the conclusions at which i arrived, after drawing up a rough draft, appeared to me interesting, i thought that they might interest others. it has often and confidently been asserted, that man's origin can never be known: but ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science. the conclusion that man is the co-descendant with other species of some ancient, lower, and extinct form, is not in any degree new. lamarck long ago came to this conclusion, which has lately been maintained by several eminent naturalists and philosophers; for instance, by wallace, huxley, lyell, vogt, lubbock, buchner, rolle, etc. ( . as the works of the first-named authors are so well known, i need not give the titles; but as those of the latter are less well known in england, i will give them:--'sechs vorlesungen über die darwin'sche theorie:' zweite auflage, , von dr l. buchner; translated into french under the title 'conférences sur la théorie darwinienne,' . 'der mensch im lichte der darwin'sche lehre,' , von dr. f. rolle. i will not attempt to give references to all the authors who have taken the same side of the question. thus g. canestrini has published ('annuario della soc. d. nat.,' modena, , page ) a very curious paper on rudimentary characters, as bearing on the origin of man. another work has ( ) been published by dr. francesco barrago, bearing in italian the title of "man, made in the image of god, was also made in the image of the ape."), and especially by haeckel. this last naturalist, besides his great work, 'generelle morphologie' ( ), has recently ( , with a second edition in ), published his 'natürliche schöpfungsgeschichte,' in which he fully discusses the genealogy of man. if this work had appeared before my essay had been written, i should probably never have completed it. almost all the conclusions at which i have arrived i find confirmed by this naturalist, whose knowledge on many points is much fuller than mine. wherever i have added any fact or view from prof. haeckel's writings, i give his authority in the text; other statements i leave as they originally stood in my manuscript, occasionally giving in the foot-notes references to his works, as a confirmation of the more doubtful or interesting points. during many years it has seemed to me highly probable that sexual selection has played an important part in differentiating the races of man; but in my 'origin of species' (first edition, page ) i contented myself by merely alluding to this belief. when i came to apply this view to man, i found it indispensable to treat the whole subject in full detail. ( . prof. haeckel was the only author who, at the time when this work first appeared, had discussed the subject of sexual selection, and had seen its full importance, since the publication of the 'origin'; and this he did in a very able manner in his various works.) consequently the second part of the present work, treating of sexual selection, has extended to an inordinate length, compared with the first part; but this could not be avoided. i had intended adding to the present volumes an essay on the expression of the various emotions by man and the lower animals. my attention was called to this subject many years ago by sir charles bell's admirable work. this illustrious anatomist maintains that man is endowed with certain muscles solely for the sake of expressing his emotions. as this view is obviously opposed to the belief that man is descended from some other and lower form, it was necessary for me to consider it. i likewise wished to ascertain how far the emotions are expressed in the same manner by the different races of man. but owing to the length of the present work, i have thought it better to reserve my essay for separate publication. part i. the descent or origin of man. chapter i. the evidence of the descent of man from some lower form. nature of the evidence bearing on the origin of man--homologous structures in man and the lower animals--miscellaneous points of correspondence--development--rudimentary structures, muscles, sense-organs, hair, bones, reproductive organs, etc.--the bearing of these three great classes of facts on the origin of man. he who wishes to decide whether man is the modified descendant of some pre-existing form, would probably first enquire whether man varies, however slightly, in bodily structure and in mental faculties; and if so, whether the variations are transmitted to his offspring in accordance with the laws which prevail with the lower animals. again, are the variations the result, as far as our ignorance permits us to judge, of the same general causes, and are they governed by the same general laws, as in the case of other organisms; for instance, by correlation, the inherited effects of use and disuse, etc.? is man subject to similar malconformations, the result of arrested development, of reduplication of parts, etc., and does he display in any of his anomalies reversion to some former and ancient type of structure? it might also naturally be enquired whether man, like so many other animals, has given rise to varieties and sub-races, differing but slightly from each other, or to races differing so much that they must be classed as doubtful species? how are such races distributed over the world; and how, when crossed, do they react on each other in the first and succeeding generations? and so with many other points. the enquirer would next come to the important point, whether man tends to increase at so rapid a rate, as to lead to occasional severe struggles for existence; and consequently to beneficial variations, whether in body or mind, being preserved, and injurious ones eliminated. do the races or species of men, whichever term may be applied, encroach on and replace one another, so that some finally become extinct? we shall see that all these questions, as indeed is obvious in respect to most of them, must be answered in the affirmative, in the same manner as with the lower animals. but the several considerations just referred to may be conveniently deferred for a time: and we will first see how far the bodily structure of man shews traces, more or less plain, of his descent from some lower form. in succeeding chapters the mental powers of man, in comparison with those of the lower animals, will be considered. the bodily structure of man. it is notorious that man is constructed on the same general type or model as other mammals. all the bones in his skeleton can be compared with corresponding bones in a monkey, bat, or seal. so it is with his muscles, nerves, blood-vessels and internal viscera. the brain, the most important of all the organs, follows the same law, as shewn by huxley and other anatomists. bischoff ( . 'grosshirnwindungen des menschen,' , s. . the conclusions of this author, as well as those of gratiolet and aeby, concerning the brain, will be discussed by prof. huxley in the appendix alluded to in the preface to this edition.), who is a hostile witness, admits that every chief fissure and fold in the brain of man has its analogy in that of the orang; but he adds that at no period of development do their brains perfectly agree; nor could perfect agreement be expected, for otherwise their mental powers would have been the same. vulpian ( . 'lec. sur la phys.' , page , as quoted by m. dally, 'l'ordre des primates et le transformisme,' , page .), remarks: "les différences réelles qui existent entre l'encephale de l'homme et celui des singes supérieurs, sont bien minimes. il ne faut pas se faire d'illusions a cet égard. l'homme est bien plus près des singes anthropomorphes par les caractères anatomiques de son cerveau que ceux-ci ne le sont non seulement des autres mammifères, mais même de certains quadrumanes, des guenons et des macaques." but it would be superfluous here to give further details on the correspondence between man and the higher mammals in the structure of the brain and all other parts of the body. it may, however, be worth while to specify a few points, not directly or obviously connected with structure, by which this correspondence or relationship is well shewn. man is liable to receive from the lower animals, and to communicate to them, certain diseases, as hydrophobia, variola, the glanders, syphilis, cholera, herpes, etc. ( . dr. w. lauder lindsay has treated this subject at some length in the 'journal of mental science,' july ; and in the 'edinburgh veterinary review,' july .); and this fact proves the close similarity ( . a reviewer has criticised ('british quarterly review,' oct. st, , page ) what i have here said with much severity and contempt; but as i do not use the term identity, i cannot see that i am greatly in error. there appears to me a strong analogy between the same infection or contagion producing the same result, or one closely similar, in two distinct animals, and the testing of two distinct fluids by the same chemical reagent.) of their tissues and blood, both in minute structure and composition, far more plainly than does their comparison under the best microscope, or by the aid of the best chemical analysis. monkeys are liable to many of the same non-contagious diseases as we are; thus rengger ( . 'naturgeschichte der säugethiere von paraguay,' , s. .), who carefully observed for a long time the cebus azarae in its native land, found it liable to catarrh, with the usual symptoms, and which, when often recurrent, led to consumption. these monkeys suffered also from apoplexy, inflammation of the bowels, and cataract in the eye. the younger ones when shedding their milk-teeth often died from fever. medicines produced the same effect on them as on us. many kinds of monkeys have a strong taste for tea, coffee, and spiritous liquors: they will also, as i have myself seen, smoke tobacco with pleasure. ( . the same tastes are common to some animals much lower in the scale. mr. a. nichols informs me that he kept in queensland, in australia, three individuals of the phaseolarctus cinereus; and that, without having been taught in any way, they acquired a strong taste for rum, and for smoking tobacco.) brehm asserts that the natives of north-eastern africa catch the wild baboons by exposing vessels with strong beer, by which they are made drunk. he has seen some of these animals, which he kept in confinement, in this state; and he gives a laughable account of their behaviour and strange grimaces. on the following morning they were very cross and dismal; they held their aching heads with both hands, and wore a most pitiable expression: when beer or wine was offered them, they turned away with disgust, but relished the juice of lemons. ( . brehm, 'thierleben,' b. i. , s. , . on the ateles, s. . for other analogous statements, see s. , .) an american monkey, an ateles, after getting drunk on brandy, would never touch it again, and thus was wiser than many men. these trifling facts prove how similar the nerves of taste must be in monkeys and man, and how similarly their whole nervous system is affected. man is infested with internal parasites, sometimes causing fatal effects; and is plagued by external parasites, all of which belong to the same genera or families as those infesting other mammals, and in the case of scabies to the same species. ( . dr. w. lauder lindsay, 'edinburgh vet. review,' july , page .) man is subject, like other mammals, birds, and even insects ( . with respect to insects see dr. laycock, "on a general law of vital periodicity," 'british association,' . dr. macculloch, 'silliman's north american journal of science,' vol. xvii. page , has seen a dog suffering from tertian ague. hereafter i shall return to this subject.), to that mysterious law, which causes certain normal processes, such as gestation, as well as the maturation and duration of various diseases, to follow lunar periods. his wounds are repaired by the same process of healing; and the stumps left after the amputation of his limbs, especially during an early embryonic period, occasionally possess some power of regeneration, as in the lowest animals. ( . i have given the evidence on this head in my 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. page , and more could be added.) the whole process of that most important function, the reproduction of the species, is strikingly the same in all mammals, from the first act of courtship by the male ( . mares e diversis generibus quadrumanorum sine dubio dignoscunt feminas humanas a maribus. primum, credo, odoratu, postea aspectu. mr. youatt, qui diu in hortis zoologicis (bestiariis) medicus animalium erat, vir in rebus observandis cautus et sagax, hoc mihi certissime probavit, et curatores ejusdem loci et alii e ministris confirmaverunt. sir andrew smith et brehm notabant idem in cynocephalo. illustrissimus cuvier etiam narrat multa de hac re, qua ut opinor, nihil turpius potest indicari inter omnia hominibus et quadrumanis communia. narrat enim cynocephalum quendam in furorem incidere aspectu feminarum aliquarem, sed nequaquam accendi tanto furore ab omnibus. semper eligebat juniores, et dignoscebat in turba, et advocabat voce gestuque.), to the birth and nurturing of the young. monkeys are born in almost as helpless a condition as our own infants; and in certain genera the young differ fully as much in appearance from the adults, as do our children from their full-grown parents. ( . this remark is made with respect to cynocephalus and the anthropomorphous apes by geoffroy saint-hilaire and f. cuvier, 'histoire nat. des mammifères,' tom. i. .) it has been urged by some writers, as an important distinction, that with man the young arrive at maturity at a much later age than with any other animal: but if we look to the races of mankind which inhabit tropical countries the difference is not great, for the orang is believed not to be adult till the age of from ten to fifteen years. ( . huxley, 'man's place in nature,' , p. .) man differs from woman in size, bodily strength, hairiness, etc., as well as in mind, in the same manner as do the two sexes of many mammals. so that the correspondence in general structure, in the minute structure of the tissues, in chemical composition and in constitution, between man and the higher animals, especially the anthropomorphous apes, is extremely close. embryonic development. [fig. . shows a human embryo, from ecker, and a dog embryo, from bischoff. labelled in each are: a. fore-brain, cerebral hemispheres, etc. b. mid-brain, corpora quadrigemina. c. hind-brain, cerebellum, medulla oblongata. d. eye. e. ear. f. first visceral arch. g. second visceral arch. h. vertebral columns and muscles in process of development. i. anterior extremities. k. posterior extremities. l. tail or os coccyx.] man is developed from an ovule, about the th of an inch in diameter, which differs in no respect from the ovules of other animals. the embryo itself at a very early period can hardly be distinguished from that of other members of the vertebrate kingdom. at this period the arteries run in arch-like branches, as if to carry the blood to branchiae which are not present in the higher vertebrata, though the slits on the sides of the neck still remain (see f, g, fig. ), marking their former position. at a somewhat later period, when the extremities are developed, "the feet of lizards and mammals," as the illustrious von baer remarks, "the wings and feet of birds, no less than the hands and feet of man, all arise from the same fundamental form." it is, says prof. huxley ( . 'man's place in nature,' , p. .), "quite in the later stages of development that the young human being presents marked differences from the young ape, while the latter departs as much from the dog in its developments, as the man does. startling as this last assertion may appear to be, it is demonstrably true." as some of my readers may never have seen a drawing of an embryo, i have given one of man and another of a dog, at about the same early stage of development, carefully copied from two works of undoubted accuracy. ( . the human embryo (upper fig.) is from ecker, 'icones phys.,' - , tab. xxx. fig. . this embryo was ten lines in length, so that the drawing is much magnified. the embryo of the dog is from bischoff, 'entwicklungsgeschichte des hunde-eies,' , tab. xi. fig. b. this drawing is five times magnified, the embryo being twenty-five days old. the internal viscera have been omitted, and the uterine appendages in both drawings removed. i was directed to these figures by prof. huxley, from whose work, 'man's place in nature,' the idea of giving them was taken. haeckel has also given analogous drawings in his 'schopfungsgeschichte.') after the foregoing statements made by such high authorities, it would be superfluous on my part to give a number of borrowed details, shewing that the embryo of man closely resembles that of other mammals. it may, however, be added, that the human embryo likewise resembles certain low forms when adult in various points of structure. for instance, the heart at first exists as a simple pulsating vessel; the excreta are voided through a cloacal passage; and the os coccyx projects like a true tail, "extending considerably beyond the rudimentary legs." ( . prof. wyman in 'proceedings of the american academy of sciences,' vol. iv. , p. .) in the embryos of all air-breathing vertebrates, certain glands, called the corpora wolffiana, correspond with, and act like the kidneys of mature fishes. ( . owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. i. p. .) even at a later embryonic period, some striking resemblances between man and the lower animals may be observed. bischoff says that "the convolutions of the brain in a human foetus at the end of the seventh month reach about the same stage of development as in a baboon when adult." ( . 'die grosshirnwindungen des menschen,' , s. .) the great toe, as professor owen remarks ( . 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. ii. p. .), "which forms the fulcrum when standing or walking, is perhaps the most characteristic peculiarity in the human structure;" but in an embryo, about an inch in length, prof. wyman ( . 'proc. soc. nat. hist.' boston, , vol. ix. p. .) found "that the great toe was shorter than the others; and, instead of being parallel to them, projected at an angle from the side of the foot, thus corresponding with the permanent condition of this part in the quadrumana." i will conclude with a quotation from huxley ( . 'man's place in nature,' p. .) who after asking, does man originate in a different way from a dog, bird, frog or fish? says, "the reply is not doubtful for a moment; without question, the mode of origin, and the early stages of the development of man, are identical with those of the animals immediately below him in the scale: without a doubt in these respects, he is far nearer to apes than the apes are to the dog." rudiments. this subject, though not intrinsically more important than the two last, will for several reasons be treated here more fully. ( . i had written a rough copy of this chapter before reading a valuable paper, "caratteri rudimentali in ordine all' origine dell' uomo" ('annuario della soc. d. naturalisti,' modena, , p. ), by g. canestrini, to which paper i am considerably indebted. haeckel has given admirable discussions on this whole subject, under the title of dysteleology, in his 'generelle morphologie' and 'schöpfungsgeschichte.') not one of the higher animals can be named which does not bear some part in a rudimentary condition; and man forms no exception to the rule. rudimentary organs must be distinguished from those that are nascent; though in some cases the distinction is not easy. the former are either absolutely useless, such as the mammae of male quadrupeds, or the incisor teeth of ruminants which never cut through the gums; or they are of such slight service to their present possessors, that we can hardly suppose that they were developed under the conditions which now exist. organs in this latter state are not strictly rudimentary, but they are tending in this direction. nascent organs, on the other hand, though not fully developed, are of high service to their possessors, and are capable of further development. rudimentary organs are eminently variable; and this is partly intelligible, as they are useless, or nearly useless, and consequently are no longer subjected to natural selection. they often become wholly suppressed. when this occurs, they are nevertheless liable to occasional reappearance through reversion--a circumstance well worthy of attention. the chief agents in causing organs to become rudimentary seem to have been disuse at that period of life when the organ is chiefly used (and this is generally during maturity), and also inheritance at a corresponding period of life. the term "disuse" does not relate merely to the lessened action of muscles, but includes a diminished flow of blood to a part or organ, from being subjected to fewer alternations of pressure, or from becoming in any way less habitually active. rudiments, however, may occur in one sex of those parts which are normally present in the other sex; and such rudiments, as we shall hereafter see, have often originated in a way distinct from those here referred to. in some cases, organs have been reduced by means of natural selection, from having become injurious to the species under changed habits of life. the process of reduction is probably often aided through the two principles of compensation and economy of growth; but the later stages of reduction, after disuse has done all that can fairly be attributed to it, and when the saving to be effected by the economy of growth would be very small ( . some good criticisms on this subject have been given by messrs. murie and mivart, in 'transact. zoological society,' , vol. vii. p. .), are difficult to understand. the final and complete suppression of a part, already useless and much reduced in size, in which case neither compensation nor economy can come into play, is perhaps intelligible by the aid of the hypothesis of pangenesis. but as the whole subject of rudimentary organs has been discussed and illustrated in my former works ( . 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii pp. and . see also 'origin of species,' th edition p. .), i need here say no more on this head. rudiments of various muscles have been observed in many parts of the human body ( . for instance, m. richard ('annales des sciences nat.,' rd series, zoolog. , tom. xviii. p. ) describes and figures rudiments of what he calls the "muscle pedieux de la main," which he says is sometimes "infiniment petit." another muscle, called "le tibial posterieur," is generally quite absent in the hand, but appears from time to time in a more or less rudimentary condition.); and not a few muscles, which are regularly present in some of the lower animals can occasionally be detected in man in a greatly reduced condition. every one must have noticed the power which many animals, especially horses, possess of moving or twitching their skin; and this is effected by the panniculus carnosus. remnants of this muscle in an efficient state are found in various parts of our bodies; for instance, the muscle on the forehead, by which the eyebrows are raised. the platysma myoides, which is well developed on the neck, belongs to this system. prof. turner, of edinburgh, has occasionally detected, as he informs me, muscular fasciculi in five different situations, namely in the axillae, near the scapulae, etc., all of which must be referred to the system of the panniculus. he has also shewn ( . prof. w. turner, 'proceedings of the royal society of edinburgh,' - , p. .) that the musculus sternalis or sternalis brutorum, which is not an extension of the rectus abdominalis, but is closely allied to the panniculus, occurred in the proportion of about three per cent. in upwards of bodies: he adds, that this muscle affords "an excellent illustration of the statement that occasional and rudimentary structures are especially liable to variation in arrangement." some few persons have the power of contracting the superficial muscles on their scalps; and these muscles are in a variable and partially rudimentary condition. m. a. de candolle has communicated to me a curious instance of the long-continued persistence or inheritance of this power, as well as of its unusual development. he knows a family, in which one member, the present head of the family, could, when a youth, pitch several heavy books from his head by the movement of the scalp alone; and he won wagers by performing this feat. his father, uncle, grandfather, and his three children possess the same power to the same unusual degree. this family became divided eight generations ago into two branches; so that the head of the above-mentioned branch is cousin in the seventh degree to the head of the other branch. this distant cousin resides in another part of france; and on being asked whether he possessed the same faculty, immediately exhibited his power. this case offers a good illustration how persistent may be the transmission of an absolutely useless faculty, probably derived from our remote semi-human progenitors; since many monkeys have, and frequently use the power, of largely moving their scalps up and down. ( . see my 'expression of the emotions in man and animals,' , p. .) the extrinsic muscles which serve to move the external ear, and the intrinsic muscles which move the different parts, are in a rudimentary condition in man, and they all belong to the system of the panniculus; they are also variable in development, or at least in function. i have seen one man who could draw the whole ear forwards; other men can draw it upwards; another who could draw it backwards ( . canestrini quotes hyrtl. ('annuario della soc. dei naturalisti,' modena, , p. ) to the same effect.); and from what one of these persons told me, it is probable that most of us, by often touching our ears, and thus directing our attention towards them, could recover some power of movement by repeated trials. the power of erecting and directing the shell of the ears to the various points of the compass, is no doubt of the highest service to many animals, as they thus perceive the direction of danger; but i have never heard, on sufficient evidence, of a man who possessed this power, the one which might be of use to him. the whole external shell may be considered a rudiment, together with the various folds and prominences (helix and anti-helix, tragus and anti-tragus, etc.) which in the lower animals strengthen and support the ear when erect, without adding much to its weight. some authors, however, suppose that the cartilage of the shell serves to transmit vibrations to the acoustic nerve; but mr. toynbee ( . 'the diseases of the ear,' by j. toynbee, f.r.s., , p. . a distinguished physiologist, prof. preyer, informs me that he had lately been experimenting on the function of the shell of the ear, and has come to nearly the same conclusion as that given here.), after collecting all the known evidence on this head, concludes that the external shell is of no distinct use. the ears of the chimpanzee and orang are curiously like those of man, and the proper muscles are likewise but very slightly developed. ( . prof. a. macalister, 'annals and magazine of natural history,' vol. vii. , p. .) i am also assured by the keepers in the zoological gardens that these animals never move or erect their ears; so that they are in an equally rudimentary condition with those of man, as far as function is concerned. why these animals, as well as the progenitors of man, should have lost the power of erecting their ears, we cannot say. it may be, though i am not satisfied with this view, that owing to their arboreal habits and great strength they were but little exposed to danger, and so during a lengthened period moved their ears but little, and thus gradually lost the power of moving them. this would be a parallel case with that of those large and heavy birds, which, from inhabiting oceanic islands, have not been exposed to the attacks of beasts of prey, and have consequently lost the power of using their wings for flight. the inability to move the ears in man and several apes is, however, partly compensated by the freedom with which they can move the head in a horizontal plane, so as to catch sounds from all directions. it has been asserted that the ear of man alone possesses a lobule; but "a rudiment of it is found in the gorilla" ( . mr. st. george mivart, 'elementary anatomy,' , p. .); and, as i hear from prof. preyer, it is not rarely absent in the negro. [fig. . human ear, modelled and drawn by mr. woolner. the projecting point is labelled a.] the celebrated sculptor, mr. woolner, informs me of one little peculiarity in the external ear, which he has often observed both in men and women, and of which he perceived the full significance. his attention was first called to the subject whilst at work on his figure of puck, to which he had given pointed ears. he was thus led to examine the ears of various monkeys, and subsequently more carefully those of man. the peculiarity consists in a little blunt point, projecting from the inwardly folded margin, or helix. when present, it is developed at birth, and, according to prof. ludwig meyer, more frequently in man than in woman. mr. woolner made an exact model of one such case, and sent me the accompanying drawing. (fig. ). these points not only project inwards towards the centre of the ear, but often a little outwards from its plane, so as to be visible when the head is viewed from directly in front or behind. they are variable in size, and somewhat in position, standing either a little higher or lower; and they sometimes occur on one ear and not on the other. they are not confined to mankind, for i observed a case in one of the spider-monkeys (ateles beelzebuth) in our zoological gardens; and mr. e. ray lankester informs me of another case in a chimpanzee in the gardens at hamburg. the helix obviously consists of the extreme margin of the ear folded inwards; and this folding appears to be in some manner connected with the whole external ear being permanently pressed backwards. in many monkeys, which do not stand high in the order, as baboons and some species of macacus ( . see also some remarks, and the drawings of the ears of the lemuroidea, in messrs. murie and mivart's excellent paper in 'transactions of the zoological society,' vol. vii. , pp. and .), the upper portion of the ear is slightly pointed, and the margin is not at all folded inwards; but if the margin were to be thus folded, a slight point would necessarily project inwards towards the centre, and probably a little outwards from the plane of the ear; and this i believe to be their origin in many cases. on the other hand, prof. l. meyer, in an able paper recently published ( . 'Ã�ber das darwin'sche spitzohr,' archiv fur path. anat. und phys., , p. .), maintains that the whole case is one of mere variability; and that the projections are not real ones, but are due to the internal cartilage on each side of the points not having been fully developed. i am quite ready to admit that this is the correct explanation in many instances, as in those figured by prof. meyer, in which there are several minute points, or the whole margin is sinuous. i have myself seen, through the kindness of dr. l. down, the ear of a microcephalous idiot, on which there is a projection on the outside of the helix, and not on the inward folded edge, so that this point can have no relation to a former apex of the ear. nevertheless in some cases, my original view, that the points are vestiges of the tips of formerly erect and pointed ears, still seems to me probable. i think so from the frequency of their occurrence, and from the general correspondence in position with that of the tip of a pointed ear. in one case, of which a photograph has been sent me, the projection is so large, that supposing, in accordance with prof. meyer's view, the ear to be made perfect by the equal development of the cartilage throughout the whole extent of the margin, it would have covered fully one-third of the whole ear. two cases have been communicated to me, one in north america, and the other in england, in which the upper margin is not at all folded inwards, but is pointed, so that it closely resembles the pointed ear of an ordinary quadruped in outline. in one of these cases, which was that of a young child, the father compared the ear with the drawing which i have given ( . 'the expression of the emotions,' p. .) of the ear of a monkey, the cynopithecus niger, and says that their outlines are closely similar. if, in these two cases, the margin had been folded inwards in the normal manner, an inward projection must have been formed. i may add that in two other cases the outline still remains somewhat pointed, although the margin of the upper part of the ear is normally folded inwards--in one of them, however, very narrowly. [fig. . foetus of an orang(?). exact copy of a photograph, shewing the form of the ear at this early age.] the following woodcut (no. ) is an accurate copy of a photograph of the foetus of an orang (kindly sent me by dr. nitsche), in which it may be seen how different the pointed outline of the ear is at this period from its adult condition, when it bears a close general resemblance to that of man. it is evident that the folding over of the tip of such an ear, unless it changed greatly during its further development, would give rise to a point projecting inwards. on the whole, it still seems to me probable that the points in question are in some cases, both in man and apes, vestiges of a former condition. the nictitating membrane, or third eyelid, with its accessory muscles and other structures, is especially well developed in birds, and is of much functional importance to them, as it can be rapidly drawn across the whole eye-ball. it is found in some reptiles and amphibians, and in certain fishes, as in sharks. it is fairly well developed in the two lower divisions of the mammalian series, namely, in the monotremata and marsupials, and in some few of the higher mammals, as in the walrus. but in man, the quadrumana, and most other mammals, it exists, as is admitted by all anatomists, as a mere rudiment, called the semilunar fold. ( . muller's 'elements of physiology,' eng. translat. , vol. ii. p. . owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. p. ; ibid. on the walrus, 'proceedings of the zoological society,' november , . see also r. knox, 'great artists and anatomists,' p. . this rudiment apparently is somewhat larger in negroes and australians than in europeans, see carl vogt, 'lectures on man,' eng. translat. p. .) the sense of smell is of the highest importance to the greater number of mammals--to some, as the ruminants, in warning them of danger; to others, as the carnivora, in finding their prey; to others, again, as the wild boar, for both purposes combined. but the sense of smell is of extremely slight service, if any, even to the dark coloured races of men, in whom it is much more highly developed than in the white and civilised races. ( . the account given by humboldt of the power of smell possessed by the natives of south america is well known, and has been confirmed by others. m. houzeau ('Ã�tudes sur les facultés mentales,' etc., tom. i. , p. ) asserts that he repeatedly made experiments, and proved that negroes and indians could recognise persons in the dark by their odour. dr. w. ogle has made some curious observations on the connection between the power of smell and the colouring matter of the mucous membrane of the olfactory region as well as of the skin of the body. i have, therefore, spoken in the text of the dark-coloured races having a finer sense of smell than the white races. see his paper, 'medico-chirurgical transactions,' london, vol. liii. , p. .) nevertheless it does not warn them of danger, nor guide them to their food; nor does it prevent the esquimaux from sleeping in the most fetid atmosphere, nor many savages from eating half-putrid meat. in europeans the power differs greatly in different individuals, as i am assured by an eminent naturalist who possesses this sense highly developed, and who has attended to the subject. those who believe in the principle of gradual evolution, will not readily admit that the sense of smell in its present state was originally acquired by man, as he now exists. he inherits the power in an enfeebled and so far rudimentary condition, from some early progenitor, to whom it was highly serviceable, and by whom it was continually used. in those animals which have this sense highly developed, such as dogs and horses, the recollection of persons and of places is strongly associated with their odour; and we can thus perhaps understand how it is, as dr. maudsley has truly remarked ( . 'the physiology and pathology of mind,' nd ed. , p. .), that the sense of smell in man "is singularly effective in recalling vividly the ideas and images of forgotten scenes and places." man differs conspicuously from all the other primates in being almost naked. but a few short straggling hairs are found over the greater part of the body in the man, and fine down on that of the woman. the different races differ much in hairiness; and in the individuals of the same race the hairs are highly variable, not only in abundance, but likewise in position: thus in some europeans the shoulders are quite naked, whilst in others they bear thick tufts of hair. ( . eschricht, Ã�ber die richtung der haare am menschlichen körper, muller's 'archiv fur anat. und phys.' , s. . i shall often have to refer to this very curious paper.) there can be little doubt that the hairs thus scattered over the body are the rudiments of the uniform hairy coat of the lower animals. this view is rendered all the more probable, as it is known that fine, short, and pale-coloured hairs on the limbs and other parts of the body, occasionally become developed into "thickset, long, and rather coarse dark hairs," when abnormally nourished near old-standing inflamed surfaces. ( . paget, 'lectures on surgical pathology,' , vol. i. p. .) i am informed by sir james paget that often several members of a family have a few hairs in their eyebrows much longer than the others; so that even this slight peculiarity seems to be inherited. these hairs, too, seem to have their representatives; for in the chimpanzee, and in certain species of macacus, there are scattered hairs of considerable length rising from the naked skin above the eyes, and corresponding to our eyebrows; similar long hairs project from the hairy covering of the superciliary ridges in some baboons. the fine wool-like hair, or so-called lanugo, with which the human foetus during the sixth month is thickly covered, offers a more curious case. it is first developed, during the fifth month, on the eyebrows and face, and especially round the mouth, where it is much longer than that on the head. a moustache of this kind was observed by eschricht ( . eschricht, ibid. s. , .) on a female foetus; but this is not so surprising a circumstance as it may at first appear, for the two sexes generally resemble each other in all external characters during an early period of growth. the direction and arrangement of the hairs on all parts of the foetal body are the same as in the adult, but are subject to much variability. the whole surface, including even the forehead and ears, is thus thickly clothed; but it is a significant fact that the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet are quite naked, like the inferior surfaces of all four extremities in most of the lower animals. as this can hardly be an accidental coincidence, the woolly covering of the foetus probably represents the first permanent coat of hair in those mammals which are born hairy. three or four cases have been recorded of persons born with their whole bodies and faces thickly covered with fine long hairs; and this strange condition is strongly inherited, and is correlated with an abnormal condition of the teeth. ( . see my 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. p. . prof. alex. brandt has recently sent me an additional case of a father and son, born in russia, with these peculiarities. i have received drawings of both from paris.) prof. alex. brandt informs me that he has compared the hair from the face of a man thus characterised, aged thirty-five, with the lanugo of a foetus, and finds it quite similar in texture; therefore, as he remarks, the case may be attributed to an arrest of development in the hair, together with its continued growth. many delicate children, as i have been assured by a surgeon to a hospital for children, have their backs covered by rather long silky hairs; and such cases probably come under the same head. it appears as if the posterior molar or wisdom-teeth were tending to become rudimentary in the more civilised races of man. these teeth are rather smaller than the other molars, as is likewise the case with the corresponding teeth in the chimpanzee and orang; and they have only two separate fangs. they do not cut through the gums till about the seventeenth year, and i have been assured that they are much more liable to decay, and are earlier lost than the other teeth; but this is denied by some eminent dentists. they are also much more liable to vary, both in structure and in the period of their development, than the other teeth. ( . dr. webb, 'teeth in man and the anthropoid apes,' as quoted by dr. c. carter blake in anthropological review, july , p. .) in the melanian races, on the other hand, the wisdom-teeth are usually furnished with three separate fangs, and are generally sound; they also differ from the other molars in size, less than in the caucasian races. ( . owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. pp. , , and .) prof. schaaffhausen accounts for this difference between the races by "the posterior dental portion of the jaw being always shortened" in those that are civilised ( . 'on the primitive form of the skull,' eng. translat., in 'anthropological review,' oct. , p. ), and this shortening may, i presume, be attributed to civilised men habitually feeding on soft, cooked food, and thus using their jaws less. i am informed by mr. brace that it is becoming quite a common practice in the united states to remove some of the molar teeth of children, as the jaw does not grow large enough for the perfect development of the normal number. ( . prof. montegazza writes to me from florence, that he has lately been studying the last molar teeth in the different races of man, and has come to the same conclusion as that given in my text, viz., that in the higher or civilised races they are on the road towards atrophy or elimination.) with respect to the alimentary canal, i have met with an account of only a single rudiment, namely the vermiform appendage of the caecum. the caecum is a branch or diverticulum of the intestine, ending in a cul-de-sac, and is extremely long in many of the lower vegetable-feeding mammals. in the marsupial koala it is actually more than thrice as long as the whole body. ( . owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. pp. , , .) it is sometimes produced into a long gradually-tapering point, and is sometimes constricted in parts. it appears as if, in consequence of changed diet or habits, the caecum had become much shortened in various animals, the vermiform appendage being left as a rudiment of the shortened part. that this appendage is a rudiment, we may infer from its small size, and from the evidence which prof. canestrini ( . 'annuario della soc. d. nat.' modena, , p. .) has collected of its variability in man. it is occasionally quite absent, or again is largely developed. the passage is sometimes completely closed for half or two-thirds of its length, with the terminal part consisting of a flattened solid expansion. in the orang this appendage is long and convoluted: in man it arises from the end of the short caecum, and is commonly from four to five inches in length, being only about the third of an inch in diameter. not only is it useless, but it is sometimes the cause of death, of which fact i have lately heard two instances: this is due to small hard bodies, such as seeds, entering the passage, and causing inflammation. ( . m. c. martins ("de l'unité organique," in 'revue des deux mondes,' june , , p. ) and haeckel ('generelle morphologie,' b. ii. s. ), have both remarked on the singular fact of this rudiment sometimes causing death.) in some of the lower quadrumana, in the lemuridae and carnivora, as well as in many marsupials, there is a passage near the lower end of the humerus, called the supra-condyloid foramen, through which the great nerve of the fore limb and often the great artery pass. now in the humerus of man, there is generally a trace of this passage, which is sometimes fairly well developed, being formed by a depending hook-like process of bone, completed by a band of ligament. dr. struthers ( . with respect to inheritance, see dr. struthers in the 'lancet,' feb. , , and another important paper, ibid. jan. , , p. . dr. knox, as i am informed, was the first anatomist who drew attention to this peculiar structure in man; see his 'great artists and anatomists,' p. . see also an important memoir on this process by dr. gruber, in the 'bulletin de l'acad. imp. de st. petersbourg,' tom. xii. , p. .), who has closely attended to the subject, has now shewn that this peculiarity is sometimes inherited, as it has occurred in a father, and in no less than four out of his seven children. when present, the great nerve invariably passes through it; and this clearly indicates that it is the homologue and rudiment of the supra-condyloid foramen of the lower animals. prof. turner estimates, as he informs me, that it occurs in about one per cent. of recent skeletons. but if the occasional development of this structure in man is, as seems probable, due to reversion, it is a return to a very ancient state of things, because in the higher quadrumana it is absent. there is another foramen or perforation in the humerus, occasionally present in man, which may be called the inter-condyloid. this occurs, but not constantly, in various anthropoid and other apes ( . mr. st. george mivart, 'transactions phil. soc.' , p. .), and likewise in many of the lower animals. it is remarkable that this perforation seems to have been present in man much more frequently during ancient times than recently. mr. busk ( . "on the caves of gibraltar," 'transactions of the international congress of prehistoric archaeology,' third session, , p. . prof. wyman has lately shewn (fourth annual report, peabody museum, , p. ), that this perforation is present in thirty-one per cent. of some human remains from ancient mounds in the western united states, and in florida. it frequently occurs in the negro.) has collected the following evidence on this head: prof. broca "noticed the perforation in four and a half per cent. of the arm-bones collected in the 'cimetière du sud,' at paris; and in the grotto of orrony, the contents of which are referred to the bronze period, as many as eight humeri out of thirty-two were perforated; but this extraordinary proportion, he thinks, might be due to the cavern having been a sort of 'family vault.' again, m. dupont found thirty per cent. of perforated bones in the caves of the valley of the lesse, belonging to the reindeer period; whilst m. leguay, in a sort of dolmen at argenteuil, observed twenty-five per cent. to be perforated; and m. pruner-bey found twenty-six per cent. in the same condition in bones from vaureal. nor should it be left unnoticed that m. pruner-bey states that this condition is common in guanche skeletons." it is an interesting fact that ancient races, in this and several other cases, more frequently present structures which resemble those of the lower animals than do the modern. one chief cause seems to be that the ancient races stand somewhat nearer in the long line of descent to their remote animal-like progenitors. in man, the os coccyx, together with certain other vertebrae hereafter to be described, though functionless as a tail, plainly represent this part in other vertebrate animals. at an early embryonic period it is free, and projects beyond the lower extremities; as may be seen in the drawing (fig. .) of a human embryo. even after birth it has been known, in certain rare and anomalous cases ( . quatrefages has lately collected the evidence on this subject. 'revue des cours scientifiques,' - , p. . in fleischmann exhibited a human foetus bearing a free tail, which, as is not always the case, included vertebral bodies; and this tail was critically examined by the many anatomists present at the meeting of naturalists at erlangen (see marshall in niederlandischen archiv für zoologie, december ).), to form a small external rudiment of a tail. the os coccyx is short, usually including only four vertebrae, all anchylosed together: and these are in a rudimentary condition, for they consist, with the exception of the basal one, of the centrum alone. ( . owen, 'on the nature of limbs,' , p. .) they are furnished with some small muscles; one of which, as i am informed by prof. turner, has been expressly described by theile as a rudimentary repetition of the extensor of the tail, a muscle which is so largely developed in many mammals. the spinal cord in man extends only as far downwards as the last dorsal or first lumbar vertebra; but a thread-like structure (the filum terminale) runs down the axis of the sacral part of the spinal canal, and even along the back of the coccygeal bones. the upper part of this filament, as prof. turner informs me, is undoubtedly homologous with the spinal cord; but the lower part apparently consists merely of the pia mater, or vascular investing membrane. even in this case the os coccyx may be said to possess a vestige of so important a structure as the spinal cord, though no longer enclosed within a bony canal. the following fact, for which i am also indebted to prof. turner, shews how closely the os coccyx corresponds with the true tail in the lower animals: luschka has recently discovered at the extremity of the coccygeal bones a very peculiar convoluted body, which is continuous with the middle sacral artery; and this discovery led krause and meyer to examine the tail of a monkey (macacus), and of a cat, in both of which they found a similarly convoluted body, though not at the extremity. the reproductive system offers various rudimentary structures; but these differ in one important respect from the foregoing cases. here we are not concerned with the vestige of a part which does not belong to the species in an efficient state, but with a part efficient in the one sex, and represented in the other by a mere rudiment. nevertheless, the occurrence of such rudiments is as difficult to explain, on the belief of the separate creation of each species, as in the foregoing cases. hereafter i shall have to recur to these rudiments, and shall shew that their presence generally depends merely on inheritance, that is, on parts acquired by one sex having been partially transmitted to the other. i will in this place only give some instances of such rudiments. it is well known that in the males of all mammals, including man, rudimentary mammae exist. these in several instances have become well developed, and have yielded a copious supply of milk. their essential identity in the two sexes is likewise shewn by their occasional sympathetic enlargement in both during an attack of the measles. the vesicula prostatica, which has been observed in many male mammals, is now universally acknowledged to be the homologue of the female uterus, together with the connected passage. it is impossible to read leuckart's able description of this organ, and his reasoning, without admitting the justness of his conclusion. this is especially clear in the case of those mammals in which the true female uterus bifurcates, for in the males of these the vesicula likewise bifurcates. ( . leuckart, in todd's 'cyclopaedia of anatomy' - , vol. iv. p. . in man this organ is only from three to six lines in length, but, like so many other rudimentary parts, it is variable in development as well as in other characters.) some other rudimentary structures belonging to the reproductive system might have been here adduced. ( . see, on this subject, owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. pp. , , .) the bearing of the three great classes of facts now given is unmistakeable. but it would be superfluous fully to recapitulate the line of argument given in detail in my 'origin of species.' the homological construction of the whole frame in the members of the same class is intelligible, if we admit their descent from a common progenitor, together with their subsequent adaptation to diversified conditions. on any other view, the similarity of pattern between the hand of a man or monkey, the foot of a horse, the flipper of a seal, the wing of a bat, etc., is utterly inexplicable. ( . prof. bianconi, in a recently published work, illustrated by admirable engravings ('la théorie darwinienne et la création dite indépendante,' ), endeavours to shew that homological structures, in the above and other cases, can be fully explained on mechanical principles, in accordance with their uses. no one has shewn so well, how admirably such structures are adapted for their final purpose; and this adaptation can, as i believe, be explained through natural selection. in considering the wing of a bat, he brings forward (p. ) what appears to me (to use auguste comte's words) a mere metaphysical principle, namely, the preservation "in its integrity of the mammalian nature of the animal." in only a few cases does he discuss rudiments, and then only those parts which are partially rudimentary, such as the little hoofs of the pig and ox, which do not touch the ground; these he shews clearly to be of service to the animal. it is unfortunate that he did not consider such cases as the minute teeth, which never cut through the jaw in the ox, or the mammae of male quadrupeds, or the wings of certain beetles, existing under the soldered wing-covers, or the vestiges of the pistil and stamens in various flowers, and many other such cases. although i greatly admire prof. bianconi's work, yet the belief now held by most naturalists seems to me left unshaken, that homological structures are inexplicable on the principle of mere adaptation.) it is no scientific explanation to assert that they have all been formed on the same ideal plan. with respect to development, we can clearly understand, on the principle of variations supervening at a rather late embryonic period, and being inherited at a corresponding period, how it is that the embryos of wonderfully different forms should still retain, more or less perfectly, the structure of their common progenitor. no other explanation has ever been given of the marvellous fact that the embryos of a man, dog, seal, bat, reptile, etc., can at first hardly be distinguished from each other. in order to understand the existence of rudimentary organs, we have only to suppose that a former progenitor possessed the parts in question in a perfect state, and that under changed habits of life they became greatly reduced, either from simple disuse, or through the natural selection of those individuals which were least encumbered with a superfluous part, aided by the other means previously indicated. thus we can understand how it has come to pass that man and all other vertebrate animals have been constructed on the same general model, why they pass through the same early stages of development, and why they retain certain rudiments in common. consequently we ought frankly to admit their community of descent: to take any other view, is to admit that our own structure, and that of all the animals around us, is a mere snare laid to entrap our judgment. this conclusion is greatly strengthened, if we look to the members of the whole animal series, and consider the evidence derived from their affinities or classification, their geographical distribution and geological succession. it is only our natural prejudice, and that arrogance which made our forefathers declare that they were descended from demi-gods, which leads us to demur to this conclusion. but the time will before long come, when it will be thought wonderful that naturalists, who were well acquainted with the comparative structure and development of man, and other mammals, should have believed that each was the work of a separate act of creation. chapter ii. on the manner of development of man from some lower form. variability of body and mind in man--inheritance--causes of variability--laws of variation the same in man as in the lower animals--direct action of the conditions of life--effects of the increased use and disuse of parts--arrested development--reversion--correlated variation--rate of increase--checks to increase--natural selection--man the most dominant animal in the world--importance of his corporeal structure--the causes which have led to his becoming erect--consequent changes of structure--decrease in size of the canine teeth--increased size and altered shape of the skull--nakedness --absence of a tail--defenceless condition of man. it is manifest that man is now subject to much variability. no two individuals of the same race are quite alike. we may compare millions of faces, and each will be distinct. there is an equally great amount of diversity in the proportions and dimensions of the various parts of the body; the length of the legs being one of the most variable points. ( . 'investigations in military and anthropological statistics of american soldiers,' by b.a. gould, , p. .) although in some quarters of the world an elongated skull, and in other quarters a short skull prevails, yet there is great diversity of shape even within the limits of the same race, as with the aborigines of america and south australia--the latter a race "probably as pure and homogeneous in blood, customs, and language as any in existence"--and even with the inhabitants of so confined an area as the sandwich islands. ( . with respect to the "cranial forms of the american aborigines," see dr. aitken meigs in 'proc. acad. nat. sci.' philadelphia, may . on the australians, see huxley, in lyell's 'antiquity of man,' , p. . on the sandwich islanders, prof. j. wyman, 'observations on crania,' boston, , p. .) an eminent dentist assures me that there is nearly as much diversity in the teeth as in the features. the chief arteries so frequently run in abnormal courses, that it has been found useful for surgical purposes to calculate from corpses how often each course prevails. ( . 'anatomy of the arteries,' by r. quain. preface, vol. i. .) the muscles are eminently variable: thus those of the foot were found by prof. turner ( . 'transactions of the royal society of edinburgh,' vol. xxiv. pp. , .) not to be strictly alike in any two out of fifty bodies; and in some the deviations were considerable. he adds, that the power of performing the appropriate movements must have been modified in accordance with the several deviations. mr. j. wood has recorded ( . 'proceedings royal society,' , p. ; also , pp. , . there is a previous paper, , p. .) the occurrence of muscular variations in thirty-six subjects, and in another set of the same number no less than variations, those occurring on both sides of the body being only reckoned as one. in the last set, not one body out of the thirty-six was "found totally wanting in departures from the standard descriptions of the muscular system given in anatomical text books." a single body presented the extraordinary number of twenty-five distinct abnormalities. the same muscle sometimes varies in many ways: thus prof. macalister describes ( . 'proc. r. irish academy,' vol. x. , p. .) no less than twenty distinct variations in the palmaris accessorius. the famous old anatomist, wolff ( . 'act. acad. st. petersburg,' , part ii. p. .), insists that the internal viscera are more variable than the external parts: nulla particula est quae non aliter et aliter in aliis se habeat hominibus. he has even written a treatise on the choice of typical examples of the viscera for representation. a discussion on the beau-ideal of the liver, lungs, kidneys, etc., as of the human face divine, sounds strange in our ears. the variability or diversity of the mental faculties in men of the same race, not to mention the greater differences between the men of distinct races, is so notorious that not a word need here be said. so it is with the lower animals. all who have had charge of menageries admit this fact, and we see it plainly in our dogs and other domestic animals. brehm especially insists that each individual monkey of those which he kept tame in africa had its own peculiar disposition and temper: he mentions one baboon remarkable for its high intelligence; and the keepers in the zoological gardens pointed out to me a monkey, belonging to the new world division, equally remarkable for intelligence. rengger, also, insists on the diversity in the various mental characters of the monkeys of the same species which he kept in paraguay; and this diversity, as he adds, is partly innate, and partly the result of the manner in which they have been treated or educated. ( . brehm, 'thierleben,' b. i. ss. , . rengger, 'säugethiere von paraguay,' s. .) i have elsewhere ( . 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. chap. xii.) so fully discussed the subject of inheritance, that i need here add hardly anything. a greater number of facts have been collected with respect to the transmission of the most trifling, as well as of the most important characters in man, than in any of the lower animals; though the facts are copious enough with respect to the latter. so in regard to mental qualities, their transmission is manifest in our dogs, horses, and other domestic animals. besides special tastes and habits, general intelligence, courage, bad and good temper, etc., are certainly transmitted. with man we see similar facts in almost every family; and we now know, through the admirable labours of mr. galton ( . 'hereditary genius: an inquiry into its laws and consequences,' .), that genius which implies a wonderfully complex combination of high faculties, tends to be inherited; and, on the other hand, it is too certain that insanity and deteriorated mental powers likewise run in families. with respect to the causes of variability, we are in all cases very ignorant; but we can see that in man as in the lower animals, they stand in some relation to the conditions to which each species has been exposed, during several generations. domesticated animals vary more than those in a state of nature; and this is apparently due to the diversified and changing nature of the conditions to which they have been subjected. in this respect the different races of man resemble domesticated animals, and so do the individuals of the same race, when inhabiting a very wide area, like that of america. we see the influence of diversified conditions in the more civilised nations; for the members belonging to different grades of rank, and following different occupations, present a greater range of character than do the members of barbarous nations. but the uniformity of savages has often been exaggerated, and in some cases can hardly be said to exist. ( . mr. bates remarks ('the naturalist on the amazons,' , vol. ii p. ), with respect to the indians of the same south american tribe, "no two of them were at all similar in the shape of the head; one man had an oval visage with fine features, and another was quite mongolian in breadth and prominence of cheek, spread of nostrils, and obliquity of eyes.") it is, nevertheless, an error to speak of man, even if we look only to the conditions to which he has been exposed, as "far more domesticated" ( . blumenbach, 'treatises on anthropology.' eng. translat., , p. .) than any other animal. some savage races, such as the australians, are not exposed to more diversified conditions than are many species which have a wide range. in another and much more important respect, man differs widely from any strictly domesticated animal; for his breeding has never long been controlled, either by methodical or unconscious selection. no race or body of men has been so completely subjugated by other men, as that certain individuals should be preserved, and thus unconsciously selected, from somehow excelling in utility to their masters. nor have certain male and female individuals been intentionally picked out and matched, except in the well-known case of the prussian grenadiers; and in this case man obeyed, as might have been expected, the law of methodical selection; for it is asserted that many tall men were reared in the villages inhabited by the grenadiers and their tall wives. in sparta, also, a form of selection was followed, for it was enacted that all children should be examined shortly after birth; the well-formed and vigorous being preserved, the others left to perish. ( . mitford's 'history of greece,' vol. i. p. . it appears also from a passage in xenophon's 'memorabilia,' b. ii. (to which my attention has been called by the rev. j.n. hoare), that it was a well recognised principle with the greeks, that men ought to select their wives with a view to the health and vigour of their children. the grecian poet, theognis, who lived b.c., clearly saw how important selection, if carefully applied, would be for the improvement of mankind. he saw, likewise, that wealth often checks the proper action of sexual selection. he thus writes: "with kine and horses, kurnus! we proceed by reasonable rules, and choose a breed for profit and increase, at any price: of a sound stock, without defect or vice. but, in the daily matches that we make, the price is everything: for money's sake, men marry: women are in marriage given the churl or ruffian, that in wealth has thriven, may match his offspring with the proudest race: thus everything is mix'd, noble and base! if then in outward manner, form, and mind, you find us a degraded, motley kind, wonder no more, my friend! the cause is plain, and to lament the consequence is vain." (the works of j. hookham frere, vol. ii. , p. .)) if we consider all the races of man as forming a single species, his range is enormous; but some separate races, as the americans and polynesians, have very wide ranges. it is a well-known law that widely-ranging species are much more variable than species with restricted ranges; and the variability of man may with more truth be compared with that of widely-ranging species, than with that of domesticated animals. not only does variability appear to be induced in man and the lower animals by the same general causes, but in both the same parts of the body are affected in a closely analogous manner. this has been proved in such full detail by godron and quatrefages, that i need here only refer to their works. ( . godron, 'de l'espèce,' , tom. ii. livre . quatrefages, 'unité de l'espèce humaine,' . also lectures on anthropology, given in the 'revue des cours scientifiques,' - .) monstrosities, which graduate into slight variations, are likewise so similar in man and the lower animals, that the same classification and the same terms can be used for both, as has been shewn by isidore geoffroy st.-hilaire. ( . 'hist. gen. et part. des anomalies de l'organisation,' in three volumes, tom. i. .) in my work on the variation of domestic animals, i have attempted to arrange in a rude fashion the laws of variation under the following heads:--the direct and definite action of changed conditions, as exhibited by all or nearly all the individuals of the same species, varying in the same manner under the same circumstances. the effects of the long-continued use or disuse of parts. the cohesion of homologous parts. the variability of multiple parts. compensation of growth; but of this law i have found no good instance in the case of man. the effects of the mechanical pressure of one part on another; as of the pelvis on the cranium of the infant in the womb. arrests of development, leading to the diminution or suppression of parts. the reappearance of long-lost characters through reversion. and lastly, correlated variation. all these so-called laws apply equally to man and the lower animals; and most of them even to plants. it would be superfluous here to discuss all of them ( . i have fully discussed these laws in my 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. chap. xxii. and xxiii. m. j.p. durand has lately ( ) published a valuable essay, 'de l'influence des milieux,' etc. he lays much stress, in the case of plants, on the nature of the soil.); but several are so important, that they must be treated at considerable length. the direct and definite action of changed conditions. this is a most perplexing subject. it cannot be denied that changed conditions produce some, and occasionally a considerable effect, on organisms of all kinds; and it seems at first probable that if sufficient time were allowed this would be the invariable result. but i have failed to obtain clear evidence in favour of this conclusion; and valid reasons may be urged on the other side, at least as far as the innumerable structures are concerned, which are adapted for special ends. there can, however, be no doubt that changed conditions induce an almost indefinite amount of fluctuating variability, by which the whole organisation is rendered in some degree plastic. in the united states, above , , soldiers, who served in the late war, were measured, and the states in which they were born and reared were recorded. ( . 'investigations in military and anthrop. statistics,' etc., , by b.a. gould, pp. , , , , .) from this astonishing number of observations it is proved that local influences of some kind act directly on stature; and we further learn that "the state where the physical growth has in great measure taken place, and the state of birth, which indicates the ancestry, seem to exert a marked influence on the stature." for instance, it is established, "that residence in the western states, during the years of growth, tends to produce increase of stature." on the other hand, it is certain that with sailors, their life delays growth, as shewn "by the great difference between the statures of soldiers and sailors at the ages of seventeen and eighteen years." mr. b.a. gould endeavoured to ascertain the nature of the influences which thus act on stature; but he arrived only at negative results, namely that they did not relate to climate, the elevation of the land, soil, nor even "in any controlling degree" to the abundance or the need of the comforts of life. this latter conclusion is directly opposed to that arrived at by villerme, from the statistics of the height of the conscripts in different parts of france. when we compare the differences in stature between the polynesian chiefs and the lower orders within the same islands, or between the inhabitants of the fertile volcanic and low barren coral islands of the same ocean ( . for the polynesians, see prichard's 'physical history of mankind,' vol. v. , pp. , . also godron, 'de l'espèce,' tom. ii. p. . there is also a remarkable difference in appearance between the closely-allied hindoos inhabiting the upper ganges and bengal; see elphinstone's 'history of india,' vol. i. p. .) or again between the fuegians on the eastern and western shores of their country, where the means of subsistence are very different, it is scarcely possible to avoid the conclusion that better food and greater comfort do influence stature. but the preceding statements shew how difficult it is to arrive at any precise result. dr. beddoe has lately proved that, with the inhabitants of britain, residence in towns and certain occupations have a deteriorating influence on height; and he infers that the result is to a certain extent inherited, as is likewise the case in the united states. dr. beddoe further believes that wherever a "race attains its maximum of physical development, it rises highest in energy and moral vigour." ( . 'memoirs, anthropological society,' vol. iii. - , pp. , , .) whether external conditions produce any other direct effect on man is not known. it might have been expected that differences of climate would have had a marked influence, inasmuch as the lungs and kidneys are brought into activity under a low temperature, and the liver and skin under a high one. ( . dr. brakenridge, 'theory of diathesis,' 'medical times,' june and july , .) it was formerly thought that the colour of the skin and the character of the hair were determined by light or heat; and although it can hardly be denied that some effect is thus produced, almost all observers now agree that the effect has been very small, even after exposure during many ages. but this subject will be more properly discussed when we treat of the different races of mankind. with our domestic animals there are grounds for believing that cold and damp directly affect the growth of the hair; but i have not met with any evidence on this head in the case of man. effects of the increased use and disuse of parts. it is well known that use strengthens the muscles in the individual, and complete disuse, or the destruction of the proper nerve, weakens them. when the eye is destroyed, the optic nerve often becomes atrophied. when an artery is tied, the lateral channels increase not only in diameter, but in the thickness and strength of their coats. when one kidney ceases to act from disease, the other increases in size, and does double work. bones increase not only in thickness, but in length, from carrying a greater weight. ( . i have given authorities for these several statements in my 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. pp. - . dr. jaeger, "Ã�ber das langenwachsthum der knochen," 'jenäischen zeitschrift,' b. v. heft. i.) different occupations, habitually followed, lead to changed proportions in various parts of the body. thus it was ascertained by the united states commission ( . 'investigations,' etc., by b.a. gould, , p. .) that the legs of the sailors employed in the late war were longer by . of an inch than those of the soldiers, though the sailors were on an average shorter men; whilst their arms were shorter by . of an inch, and therefore, out of proportion, shorter in relation to their lesser height. this shortness of the arms is apparently due to their greater use, and is an unexpected result: but sailors chiefly use their arms in pulling, and not in supporting weights. with sailors, the girth of the neck and the depth of the instep are greater, whilst the circumference of the chest, waist, and hips is less, than in soldiers. whether the several foregoing modifications would become hereditary, if the same habits of life were followed during many generations, is not known, but it is probable. rengger ( . 'säugethiere von paraguay,' , s. .) attributes the thin legs and thick arms of the payaguas indians to successive generations having passed nearly their whole lives in canoes, with their lower extremities motionless. other writers have come to a similar conclusion in analogous cases. according to cranz ( . 'history of greenland,' eng. translat., , vol. i. p. .), who lived for a long time with the esquimaux, "the natives believe that ingenuity and dexterity in seal-catching (their highest art and virtue) is hereditary; there is really something in it, for the son of a celebrated seal-catcher will distinguish himself, though he lost his father in childhood." but in this case it is mental aptitude, quite as much as bodily structure, which appears to be inherited. it is asserted that the hands of english labourers are at birth larger than those of the gentry. ( . 'intermarriage,' by alex. walker, , p. .) from the correlation which exists, at least in some cases ( . 'the variation of animals under domestication,' vol. i. p. .), between the development of the extremities and of the jaws, it is possible that in those classes which do not labour much with their hands and feet, the jaws would be reduced in size from this cause. that they are generally smaller in refined and civilised men than in hard-working men or savages, is certain. but with savages, as mr. herbert spencer ( . 'principles of biology,' vol. i. p. .) has remarked, the greater use of the jaws in chewing coarse, uncooked food, would act in a direct manner on the masticatory muscles, and on the bones to which they are attached. in infants, long before birth, the skin on the soles of the feet is thicker than on any other part of the body; ( . paget, 'lectures on surgical pathology,' vol. ii, , p. .) and it can hardly be doubted that this is due to the inherited effects of pressure during a long series of generations. it is familiar to every one that watchmakers and engravers are liable to be short-sighted, whilst men living much out of doors, and especially savages, are generally long-sighted. ( . it is a singular and unexpected fact that sailors are inferior to landsmen in their mean distance of distinct vision. dr. b.a. gould ('sanitary memoirs of the war of the rebellion,' , p. ), has proved this to be the case; and he accounts for it by the ordinary range of vision in sailors being "restricted to the length of the vessel and the height of the masts.") short-sight and long-sight certainly tend to be inherited. ( . 'the variation of animals under domestication,' vol. i. p. .) the inferiority of europeans, in comparison with savages, in eyesight and in the other senses, is no doubt the accumulated and transmitted effect of lessened use during many generations; for rengger ( . 'säugethiere von paraguay,' s. , . i have had good opportunities for observing the extraordinary power of eyesight in the fuegians. see also lawrence ('lectures on physiology,' etc., , p. ) on this same subject. m. giraud-teulon has recently collected ('revue des cours scientifiques,' , p. ) a large and valuable body of evidence proving that the cause of short-sight, "c'est le travail assidu, de près.") states that he has repeatedly observed europeans, who had been brought up and spent their whole lives with the wild indians, who nevertheless did not equal them in the sharpness of their senses. the same naturalist observes that the cavities in the skull for the reception of the several sense-organs are larger in the american aborigines than in europeans; and this probably indicates a corresponding difference in the dimensions of the organs themselves. blumenbach has also remarked on the large size of the nasal cavities in the skulls of the american aborigines, and connects this fact with their remarkably acute power of smell. the mongolians of the plains of northern asia, according to pallas, have wonderfully perfect senses; and prichard believes that the great breadth of their skulls across the zygomas follows from their highly-developed sense organs. ( . prichard, 'physical history of mankind,' on the authority of blumenbach, vol. i. , p. ; for the statement by pallas, vol. iv. , p. .) the quechua indians inhabit the lofty plateaux of peru; and alcide d'orbigny states ( . quoted by prichard, 'researches into the physical history of mankind,' vol. v. p. .) that, from continually breathing a highly rarefied atmosphere, they have acquired chests and lungs of extraordinary dimensions. the cells, also, of the lungs are larger and more numerous than in europeans. these observations have been doubted, but mr. d. forbes carefully measured many aymaras, an allied race, living at the height of between , and , feet; and he informs me ( . mr. forbes' valuable paper is now published in the 'journal of the ethnological society of london,' new series, vol. ii. , p. .) that they differ conspicuously from the men of all other races seen by him in the circumference and length of their bodies. in his table of measurements, the stature of each man is taken at , and the other measurements are reduced to this standard. it is here seen that the extended arms of the aymaras are shorter than those of europeans, and much shorter than those of negroes. the legs are likewise shorter; and they present this remarkable peculiarity, that in every aymara measured, the femur is actually shorter than the tibia. on an average, the length of the femur to that of the tibia is as to ; whilst in two europeans, measured at the same time, the femora to the tibiae were as to ; and in three negroes as to . the humerus is likewise shorter relatively to the forearm. this shortening of that part of the limb which is nearest to the body, appears to be, as suggested to me by mr. forbes, a case of compensation in relation with the greatly increased length of the trunk. the aymaras present some other singular points of structure, for instance, the very small projection of the heel. these men are so thoroughly acclimatised to their cold and lofty abode, that when formerly carried down by the spaniards to the low eastern plains, and when now tempted down by high wages to the gold-washings, they suffer a frightful rate of mortality. nevertheless mr. forbes found a few pure families which had survived during two generations: and he observed that they still inherited their characteristic peculiarities. but it was manifest, even without measurement, that these peculiarities had all decreased; and on measurement, their bodies were found not to be so much elongated as those of the men on the high plateau; whilst their femora had become somewhat lengthened, as had their tibiae, although in a less degree. the actual measurements may be seen by consulting mr. forbes's memoir. from these observations, there can, i think, be no doubt that residence during many generations at a great elevation tends, both directly and indirectly, to induce inherited modifications in the proportions of the body. ( . dr. wilckens ('landwirthschaft. wochenblatt,' no. , ) has lately published an interesting essay shewing how domestic animals, which live in mountainous regions, have their frames modified.) although man may not have been much modified during the latter stages of his existence through the increased or decreased use of parts, the facts now given shew that his liability in this respect has not been lost; and we positively know that the same law holds good with the lower animals. consequently we may infer that when at a remote epoch the progenitors of man were in a transitional state, and were changing from quadrupeds into bipeds, natural selection would probably have been greatly aided by the inherited effects of the increased or diminished use of the different parts of the body. arrests of development. there is a difference between arrested development and arrested growth, for parts in the former state continue to grow whilst still retaining their early condition. various monstrosities come under this head; and some, as a cleft palate, are known to be occasionally inherited. it will suffice for our purpose to refer to the arrested brain-development of microcephalous idiots, as described in vogt's memoir. ( . 'mémoire sur les microcephales,' , pp. , , , , - .) their skulls are smaller, and the convolutions of the brain are less complex than in normal men. the frontal sinus, or the projection over the eye-brows, is largely developed, and the jaws are prognathous to an "effrayant" degree; so that these idiots somewhat resemble the lower types of mankind. their intelligence, and most of their mental faculties, are extremely feeble. they cannot acquire the power of speech, and are wholly incapable of prolonged attention, but are much given to imitation. they are strong and remarkably active, continually gambolling and jumping about, and making grimaces. they often ascend stairs on all-fours; and are curiously fond of climbing up furniture or trees. we are thus reminded of the delight shewn by almost all boys in climbing trees; and this again reminds us how lambs and kids, originally alpine animals, delight to frisk on any hillock, however small. idiots also resemble the lower animals in some other respects; thus several cases are recorded of their carefully smelling every mouthful of food before eating it. one idiot is described as often using his mouth in aid of his hands, whilst hunting for lice. they are often filthy in their habits, and have no sense of decency; and several cases have been published of their bodies being remarkably hairy. ( . prof. laycock sums up the character of brute-like idiots by calling them "theroid;" 'journal of mental science,' july . dr. scott ('the deaf and dumb,' nd ed. , p. ) has often observed the imbecile smelling their food. see, on this same subject, and on the hairiness of idiots, dr. maudsley, 'body and mind,' , pp. - . pinel has also given a striking case of hairiness in an idiot.) reversion. many of the cases to be here given, might have been introduced under the last heading. when a structure is arrested in its development, but still continues growing, until it closely resembles a corresponding structure in some lower and adult member of the same group, it may in one sense be considered as a case of reversion. the lower members in a group give us some idea how the common progenitor was probably constructed; and it is hardly credible that a complex part, arrested at an early phase of embryonic development, should go on growing so as ultimately to perform its proper function, unless it had acquired such power during some earlier state of existence, when the present exceptional or arrested structure was normal. the simple brain of a microcephalous idiot, in as far as it resembles that of an ape, may in this sense be said to offer a case of reversion. ( . in my 'variation of animals under domestication' (vol. ii. p. ), i attributed the not very rare cases of supernumerary mammae in women to reversion. i was led to this as a probable conclusion, by the additional mammae being generally placed symmetrically on the breast; and more especially from one case, in which a single efficient mamma occurred in the inguinal region of a woman, the daughter of another woman with supernumerary mammae. but i now find (see, for instance, prof. preyer, 'der kampf um das dasein,' , s. ) that mammae erraticae, occur in other situations, as on the back, in the armpit, and on the thigh; the mammae in this latter instance having given so much milk that the child was thus nourished. the probability that the additional mammae are due to reversion is thus much weakened; nevertheless, it still seems to me probable, because two pairs are often found symmetrically on the breast; and of this i myself have received information in several cases. it is well known that some lemurs normally have two pairs of mammae on the breast. five cases have been recorded of the presence of more than a pair of mammae (of course rudimentary) in the male sex of mankind; see 'journal of anat. and physiology,' , p. , for a case given by dr. handyside, in which two brothers exhibited this peculiarity; see also a paper by dr. bartels, in 'reichert's and du bois-reymond's archiv.,' , p. . in one of the cases alluded to by dr. bartels, a man bore five mammae, one being medial and placed above the navel; meckel von hemsbach thinks that this latter case is illustrated by a medial mamma occurring in certain cheiroptera. on the whole, we may well doubt if additional mammae would ever have been developed in both sexes of mankind, had not his early progenitors been provided with more than a single pair. in the above work (vol. ii. p. ), i also attributed, though with much hesitation, the frequent cases of polydactylism in men and various animals to reversion. i was partly led to this through prof. owen's statement, that some of the ichthyopterygia possess more than five digits, and therefore, as i supposed, had retained a primordial condition; but prof. gegenbaur ('jenaischen zeitschrift,' b. v. heft , s. ), disputes owen's conclusion. on the other hand, according to the opinion lately advanced by dr. gunther, on the paddle of ceratodus, which is provided with articulated bony rays on both sides of a central chain of bones, there seems no great difficulty in admitting that six or more digits on one side, or on both sides, might reappear through reversion. i am informed by dr. zouteveen that there is a case on record of a man having twenty-four fingers and twenty-four toes! i was chiefly led to the conclusion that the presence of supernumerary digits might be due to reversion from the fact that such digits, not only are strongly inherited, but, as i then believed, had the power of regrowth after amputation, like the normal digits of the lower vertebrata. but i have explained in the second edition of my variation under domestication why i now place little reliance on the recorded cases of such regrowth. nevertheless it deserves notice, inasmuch as arrested development and reversion are intimately related processes; that various structures in an embryonic or arrested condition, such as a cleft palate, bifid uterus, etc., are frequently accompanied by polydactylism. this has been strongly insisted on by meckel and isidore geoffroy st.-hilaire. but at present it is the safest course to give up altogether the idea that there is any relation between the development of supernumerary digits and reversion to some lowly organised progenitor of man.) there are other cases which come more strictly under our present head of reversion. certain structures, regularly occurring in the lower members of the group to which man belongs, occasionally make their appearance in him, though not found in the normal human embryo; or, if normally present in the human embryo, they become abnormally developed, although in a manner which is normal in the lower members of the group. these remarks will be rendered clearer by the following illustrations. in various mammals the uterus graduates from a double organ with two distinct orifices and two passages, as in the marsupials, into a single organ, which is in no way double except from having a slight internal fold, as in the higher apes and man. the rodents exhibit a perfect series of gradations between these two extreme states. in all mammals the uterus is developed from two simple primitive tubes, the inferior portions of which form the cornua; and it is in the words of dr. farre, "by the coalescence of the two cornua at their lower extremities that the body of the uterus is formed in man; while in those animals in which no middle portion or body exists, the cornua remain ununited. as the development of the uterus proceeds, the two cornua become gradually shorter, until at length they are lost, or, as it were, absorbed into the body of the uterus." the angles of the uterus are still produced into cornua, even in animals as high up in the scale as the lower apes and lemurs. now in women, anomalous cases are not very infrequent, in which the mature uterus is furnished with cornua, or is partially divided into two organs; and such cases, according to owen, repeat "the grade of concentrative development," attained by certain rodents. here perhaps we have an instance of a simple arrest of embryonic development, with subsequent growth and perfect functional development; for either side of the partially double uterus is capable of performing the proper office of gestation. in other and rarer cases, two distinct uterine cavities are formed, each having its proper orifice and passage. ( . see dr. a. farre's well-known article in the 'cyclopaedia of anatomy and physiology,' vol. v. , p. . owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. , p. . professor turner, in 'edinburgh medical journal,' february, .) no such stage is passed through during the ordinary development of the embryo; and it is difficult to believe, though perhaps not impossible, that the two simple, minute, primitive tubes should know how (if such an expression may be used) to grow into two distinct uteri, each with a well-constructed orifice and passage, and each furnished with numerous muscles, nerves, glands and vessels, if they had not formerly passed through a similar course of development, as in the case of existing marsupials. no one will pretend that so perfect a structure as the abnormal double uterus in woman could be the result of mere chance. but the principle of reversion, by which a long-lost structure is called back into existence, might serve as the guide for its full development, even after the lapse of an enormous interval of time. professor canestrini, after discussing the foregoing and various analogous cases, arrives at the same conclusion as that just given. he adduces another instance, in the case of the malar bone ( . 'annuario della soc. dei naturalisti,' modena, , p. . prof. canestrini gives extracts on this subject from various authorities. laurillard remarks, that as he has found a complete similarity in the form, proportions, and connection of the two malar bones in several human subjects and in certain apes, he cannot consider this disposition of the parts as simply accidental. another paper on this same anomaly has been published by dr. saviotti in the 'gazzetta delle cliniche,' turin, , where he says that traces of the division may be detected in about two per cent. of adult skulls; he also remarks that it more frequently occurs in prognathous skulls, not of the aryan race, than in others. see also g. delorenzi on the same subject; 'tre nuovi casi d'anomalia dell' osso malare,' torino, . also, e. morselli, 'sopra una rara anomalia dell' osso malare,' modena, . still more recently gruber has written a pamphlet on the division of this bone. i give these references because a reviewer, without any grounds or scruples, has thrown doubts on my statements.), which, in some of the quadrumana and other mammals, normally consists of two portions. this is its condition in the human foetus when two months old; and through arrested development, it sometimes remains thus in man when adult, more especially in the lower prognathous races. hence canestrini concludes that some ancient progenitor of man must have had this bone normally divided into two portions, which afterwards became fused together. in man the frontal bone consists of a single piece, but in the embryo, and in children, and in almost all the lower mammals, it consists of two pieces separated by a distinct suture. this suture occasionally persists more or less distinctly in man after maturity; and more frequently in ancient than in recent crania, especially, as canestrini has observed, in those exhumed from the drift, and belonging to the brachycephalic type. here again he comes to the same conclusion as in the analogous case of the malar bones. in this, and other instances presently to be given, the cause of ancient races approaching the lower animals in certain characters more frequently than do the modern races, appears to be, that the latter stand at a somewhat greater distance in the long line of descent from their early semi-human progenitors. various other anomalies in man, more or less analogous to the foregoing, have been advanced by different authors, as cases of reversion; but these seem not a little doubtful, for we have to descend extremely low in the mammalian series, before we find such structures normally present. ( . a whole series of cases is given by isidore geoffroy st.-hilaire, 'hist. des anomalies,' tom, iii, p. . a reviewer ('journal of anatomy and physiology,' , p. ) blames me much for not having discussed the numerous cases, which have been recorded, of various parts arrested in their development. he says that, according to my theory, "every transient condition of an organ, during its development, is not only a means to an end, but once was an end in itself." this does not seem to me necessarily to hold good. why should not variations occur during an early period of development, having no relation to reversion; yet such variations might be preserved and accumulated, if in any way serviceable, for instance, in shortening and simplifying the course of development? and again, why should not injurious abnormalities, such as atrophied or hypertrophied parts, which have no relation to a former state of existence, occur at an early period, as well as during maturity?) in man, the canine teeth are perfectly efficient instruments for mastication. but their true canine character, as owen ( . 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. , p. .) remarks, "is indicated by the conical form of the crown, which terminates in an obtuse point, is convex outward and flat or sub-concave within, at the base of which surface there is a feeble prominence. the conical form is best expressed in the melanian races, especially the australian. the canine is more deeply implanted, and by a stronger fang than the incisors." nevertheless, this tooth no longer serves man as a special weapon for tearing his enemies or prey; it may, therefore, as far as its proper function is concerned, be considered as rudimentary. in every large collection of human skulls some may be found, as haeckel ( . 'generelle morphologie,' , b. ii. s. clv.) observes, with the canine teeth projecting considerably beyond the others in the same manner as in the anthropomorphous apes, but in a less degree. in these cases, open spaces between the teeth in the one jaw are left for the reception of the canines of the opposite jaw. an inter-space of this kind in a kaffir skull, figured by wagner, is surprisingly wide. ( . carl vogt's 'lectures on man,' eng. translat., , p. .) considering how few are the ancient skulls which have been examined, compared to recent skulls, it is an interesting fact that in at least three cases the canines project largely; and in the naulette jaw they are spoken of as enormous. ( . c. carter blake, on a jaw from la naulette, 'anthropological review,' , p. . schaaffhausen, ibid. , p. .) of the anthropomorphous apes the males alone have their canines fully developed; but in the female gorilla, and in a less degree in the female orang, these teeth project considerably beyond the others; therefore the fact, of which i have been assured, that women sometimes have considerably projecting canines, is no serious objection to the belief that their occasional great development in man is a case of reversion to an ape-like progenitor. he who rejects with scorn the belief that the shape of his own canines, and their occasional great development in other men, are due to our early forefathers having been provided with these formidable weapons, will probably reveal, by sneering, the line of his descent. for though he no longer intends, nor has the power, to use these teeth as weapons, he will unconsciously retract his "snarling muscles" (thus named by sir c. bell) ( . the anatomy of expression, , pp. , .), so as to expose them ready for action, like a dog prepared to fight. many muscles are occasionally developed in man, which are proper to the quadrumana or other mammals. professor vlacovich ( . quoted by prof. canestrini in the 'annuario della soc. dei naturalisti,' , p. .) examined forty male subjects, and found a muscle, called by him the ischio-pubic, in nineteen of them; in three others there was a ligament which represented this muscle; and in the remaining eighteen no trace of it. in only two out of thirty female subjects was this muscle developed on both sides, but in three others the rudimentary ligament was present. this muscle, therefore, appears to be much more common in the male than in the female sex; and on the belief in the descent of man from some lower form, the fact is intelligible; for it has been detected in several of the lower animals, and in all of these it serves exclusively to aid the male in the act of reproduction. mr. j. wood, in his valuable series of papers ( . these papers deserve careful study by any one who desires to learn how frequently our muscles vary, and in varying come to resemble those of the quadrumana. the following references relate to the few points touched on in my text: 'proc. royal soc.' vol. xiv. , pp. - ; vol. xv. , pp. , ; vol. xv. , p. ; vol. xvi. , p. . i may here add that dr. murie and mr. st. george mivart have shewn in their memoir on the lemuroidea ('transactions, zoological society,' vol. vii. , p. ), how extraordinarily variable some of the muscles are in these animals, the lowest members of the primates. gradations, also, in the muscles leading to structures found in animals still lower in the scale, are numerous in the lemuroidea.), has minutely described a vast number of muscular variations in man, which resemble normal structures in the lower animals. the muscles which closely resemble those regularly present in our nearest allies, the quadrumana, are too numerous to be here even specified. in a single male subject, having a strong bodily frame, and well-formed skull, no less than seven muscular variations were observed, all of which plainly represented muscles proper to various kinds of apes. this man, for instance, had on both sides of his neck a true and powerful "levator claviculae," such as is found in all kinds of apes, and which is said to occur in about one out of sixty human subjects. ( . see also prof. macalister in 'proceedings, royal irish academy,' vol. x. , p. .) again, this man had "a special abductor of the metatarsal bone of the fifth digit, such as professor huxley and mr. flower have shewn to exist uniformly in the higher and lower apes." i will give only two additional cases; the acromio-basilar muscle is found in all mammals below man, and seems to be correlated with a quadrupedal gait, ( . mr. champneys in 'journal of anatomy and physiology,' nov. , p. .) and it occurs in about one out of sixty human subjects. in the lower extremities mr. bradley ( . ibid. may , p. .) found an abductor ossis metatarsi quinti in both feet of man; this muscle had not up to that time been recorded in mankind, but is always present in the anthropomorphous apes. the muscles of the hands and arms--parts which are so eminently characteristic of man--are extremely liable to vary, so as to resemble the corresponding muscles in the lower animals. ( . prof. macalister (ibid. p. ) has tabulated his observations, and finds that muscular abnormalities are most frequent in the fore-arms, secondly, in the face, thirdly, in the foot, etc.) such resemblances are either perfect or imperfect; yet in the latter case they are manifestly of a transitional nature. certain variations are more common in man, and others in woman, without our being able to assign any reason. mr. wood, after describing numerous variations, makes the following pregnant remark. "notable departures from the ordinary type of the muscular structures run in grooves or directions, which must be taken to indicate some unknown factor, of much importance to a comprehensive knowledge of general and scientific anatomy." ( . the rev. dr. haughton, after giving ('proc. r. irish academy,' june , , p. ) a remarkable case of variation in the human flexor pollicis longus, adds, "this remarkable example shews that man may sometimes possess the arrangement of tendons of thumb and fingers characteristic of the macaque; but whether such a case should be regarded as a macaque passing upwards into a man, or a man passing downwards into a macaque, or as a congenital freak of nature, i cannot undertake to say." it is satisfactory to hear so capable an anatomist, and so embittered an opponent of evolutionism, admitting even the possibility of either of his first propositions. prof. macalister has also described ('proceedings royal irish academy,' vol. x. , p. ) variations in the flexor pollicis longus, remarkable from their relations to the same muscle in the quadrumana.) that this unknown factor is reversion to a former state of existence may be admitted as in the highest degree probable. ( . since the first edition of this book appeared, mr. wood has published another memoir in the philosophical transactions, , p. , on the varieties of the muscles of the human neck, shoulder, and chest. he here shews how extremely variable these muscles are, and how often and how closely the variations resemble the normal muscles of the lower animals. he sums up by remarking, "it will be enough for my purpose if i have succeeded in shewing the more important forms which, when occurring as varieties in the human subject, tend to exhibit in a sufficiently marked manner what may be considered as proofs and examples of the darwinian principle of reversion, or law of inheritance, in this department of anatomical science.") it is quite incredible that a man should through mere accident abnormally resemble certain apes in no less than seven of his muscles, if there had been no genetic connection between them. on the other hand, if man is descended from some ape-like creature, no valid reason can be assigned why certain muscles should not suddenly reappear after an interval of many thousand generations, in the same manner as with horses, asses, and mules, dark-coloured stripes suddenly reappear on the legs, and shoulders, after an interval of hundreds, or more probably of thousands of generations. these various cases of reversion are so closely related to those of rudimentary organs given in the first chapter, that many of them might have been indifferently introduced either there or here. thus a human uterus furnished with cornua may be said to represent, in a rudimentary condition, the same organ in its normal state in certain mammals. some parts which are rudimentary in man, as the os coccyx in both sexes, and the mammae in the male sex, are always present; whilst others, such as the supracondyloid foramen, only occasionally appear, and therefore might have been introduced under the head of reversion. these several reversionary structures, as well as the strictly rudimentary ones, reveal the descent of man from some lower form in an unmistakable manner. correlated variation. in man, as in the lower animals, many structures are so intimately related, that when one part varies so does another, without our being able, in most cases, to assign any reason. we cannot say whether the one part governs the other, or whether both are governed by some earlier developed part. various monstrosities, as i. geoffroy repeatedly insists, are thus intimately connected. homologous structures are particularly liable to change together, as we see on the opposite sides of the body, and in the upper and lower extremities. meckel long ago remarked, that when the muscles of the arm depart from their proper type, they almost always imitate those of the leg; and so, conversely, with the muscles of the legs. the organs of sight and hearing, the teeth and hair, the colour of the skin and of the hair, colour and constitution, are more or less correlated. ( . the authorities for these several statements are given in my 'variation of animals under domestication,' vol. ii. pp. - .) professor schaaffhausen first drew attention to the relation apparently existing between a muscular frame and the strongly-pronounced supra-orbital ridges, which are so characteristic of the lower races of man. besides the variations which can be grouped with more or less probability under the foregoing heads, there is a large class of variations which may be provisionally called spontaneous, for to our ignorance they appear to arise without any exciting cause. it can, however, be shewn that such variations, whether consisting of slight individual differences, or of strongly-marked and abrupt deviations of structure, depend much more on the constitution of the organism than on the nature of the conditions to which it has been subjected. ( . this whole subject has been discussed in chap. xxiii. vol. ii. of my 'variation of animals and plants under domestication.') rate of increase. civilised populations have been known under favourable conditions, as in the united states, to double their numbers in twenty-five years; and, according to a calculation, by euler, this might occur in a little over twelve years. ( . see the ever memorable 'essay on the principle of population,' by the rev. t. malthus, vol. i. . pp. , .) at the former rate, the present population of the united states (thirty millions), would in years cover the whole terraqueous globe so thickly, that four men would have to stand on each square yard of surface. the primary or fundamental check to the continued increase of man is the difficulty of gaining subsistence, and of living in comfort. we may infer that this is the case from what we see, for instance, in the united states, where subsistence is easy, and there is plenty of room. if such means were suddenly doubled in great britain, our number would be quickly doubled. with civilised nations this primary check acts chiefly by restraining marriages. the greater death-rate of infants in the poorest classes is also very important; as well as the greater mortality, from various diseases, of the inhabitants of crowded and miserable houses, at all ages. the effects of severe epidemics and wars are soon counterbalanced, and more than counterbalanced, in nations placed under favourable conditions. emigration also comes in aid as a temporary check, but, with the extremely poor classes, not to any great extent. there is reason to suspect, as malthus has remarked, that the reproductive power is actually less in barbarous, than in civilised races. we know nothing positively on this head, for with savages no census has been taken; but from the concurrent testimony of missionaries, and of others who have long resided with such people, it appears that their families are usually small, and large ones rare. this may be partly accounted for, as it is believed, by the women suckling their infants during a long time; but it is highly probable that savages, who often suffer much hardship, and who do not obtain so much nutritious food as civilised men, would be actually less prolific. i have shewn in a former work ( . 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol ii. pp. - , .), that all our domesticated quadrupeds and birds, and all our cultivated plants, are more fertile than the corresponding species in a state of nature. it is no valid objection to this conclusion that animals suddenly supplied with an excess of food, or when grown very fat; and that most plants on sudden removal from very poor to very rich soil, are rendered more or less sterile. we might, therefore, expect that civilised men, who in one sense are highly domesticated, would be more prolific than wild men. it is also probable that the increased fertility of civilised nations would become, as with our domestic animals, an inherited character: it is at least known that with mankind a tendency to produce twins runs in families. ( . mr. sedgwick, 'british and foreign medico-chirurgical review,' july , p. .) notwithstanding that savages appear to be less prolific than civilised people, they would no doubt rapidly increase if their numbers were not by some means rigidly kept down. the santali, or hill-tribes of india, have recently afforded a good illustration of this fact; for, as shewn by mr. hunter ( . 'the annals of rural bengal,' by w.w. hunter, , p. .), they have increased at an extraordinary rate since vaccination has been introduced, other pestilences mitigated, and war sternly repressed. this increase, however, would not have been possible had not these rude people spread into the adjoining districts, and worked for hire. savages almost always marry; yet there is some prudential restraint, for they do not commonly marry at the earliest possible age. the young men are often required to shew that they can support a wife; and they generally have first to earn the price with which to purchase her from her parents. with savages the difficulty of obtaining subsistence occasionally limits their number in a much more direct manner than with civilised people, for all tribes periodically suffer from severe famines. at such times savages are forced to devour much bad food, and their health can hardly fail to be injured. many accounts have been published of their protruding stomachs and emaciated limbs after and during famines. they are then, also, compelled to wander much, and, as i was assured in australia, their infants perish in large numbers. as famines are periodical, depending chiefly on extreme seasons, all tribes must fluctuate in number. they cannot steadily and regularly increase, as there is no artificial increase in the supply of food. savages, when hard pressed, encroach on each other's territories, and war is the result; but they are indeed almost always at war with their neighbours. they are liable to many accidents on land and water in their search for food; and in some countries they suffer much from the larger beasts of prey. even in india, districts have been depopulated by the ravages of tigers. malthus has discussed these several checks, but he does not lay stress enough on what is probably the most important of all, namely infanticide, especially of female infants, and the habit of procuring abortion. these practices now prevail in many quarters of the world; and infanticide seems formerly to have prevailed, as mr. m'lennan ( . 'primitive marriage,' .) has shewn, on a still more extensive scale. these practices appear to have originated in savages recognising the difficulty, or rather the impossibility of supporting all the infants that are born. licentiousness may also be added to the foregoing checks; but this does not follow from failing means of subsistence; though there is reason to believe that in some cases (as in japan) it has been intentionally encouraged as a means of keeping down the population. if we look back to an extremely remote epoch, before man had arrived at the dignity of manhood, he would have been guided more by instinct and less by reason than are the lowest savages at the present time. our early semi-human progenitors would not have practised infanticide or polyandry; for the instincts of the lower animals are never so perverted ( . a writer in the 'spectator' (march , , p. ) comments as follows on this passage:--"mr. darwin finds himself compelled to reintroduce a new doctrine of the fall of man. he shews that the instincts of the higher animals are far nobler than the habits of savage races of men, and he finds himself, therefore, compelled to re-introduce,--in a form of the substantial orthodoxy of which he appears to be quite unconscious,--and to introduce as a scientific hypothesis the doctrine that man's gain of knowledge was the cause of a temporary but long-enduring moral deterioration as indicated by the many foul customs, especially as to marriage, of savage tribes. what does the jewish tradition of the moral degeneration of man through his snatching at a knowledge forbidden him by his highest instinct assert beyond this?") as to lead them regularly to destroy their own offspring, or to be quite devoid of jealousy. there would have been no prudential restraint from marriage, and the sexes would have freely united at an early age. hence the progenitors of man would have tended to increase rapidly; but checks of some kind, either periodical or constant, must have kept down their numbers, even more severely than with existing savages. what the precise nature of these checks were, we cannot say, any more than with most other animals. we know that horses and cattle, which are not extremely prolific animals, when first turned loose in south america, increased at an enormous rate. the elephant, the slowest breeder of all known animals, would in a few thousand years stock the whole world. the increase of every species of monkey must be checked by some means; but not, as brehm remarks, by the attacks of beasts of prey. no one will assume that the actual power of reproduction in the wild horses and cattle of america, was at first in any sensible degree increased; or that, as each district became fully stocked, this same power was diminished. no doubt, in this case, and in all others, many checks concur, and different checks under different circumstances; periodical dearths, depending on unfavourable seasons, being probably the most important of all. so it will have been with the early progenitors of man. natural selection. we have now seen that man is variable in body and mind; and that the variations are induced, either directly or indirectly, by the same general causes, and obey the same general laws, as with the lower animals. man has spread widely over the face of the earth, and must have been exposed, during his incessant migrations ( . see some good remarks to this effect by w. stanley jevons, "a deduction from darwin's theory," 'nature,' , p. .), to the most diversified conditions. the inhabitants of tierra del fuego, the cape of good hope, and tasmania in the one hemisphere, and of the arctic regions in the other, must have passed through many climates, and changed their habits many times, before they reached their present homes. ( . latham, 'man and his migrations,' , p. .) the early progenitors of man must also have tended, like all other animals, to have increased beyond their means of subsistence; they must, therefore, occasionally have been exposed to a struggle for existence, and consequently to the rigid law of natural selection. beneficial variations of all kinds will thus, either occasionally or habitually, have been preserved and injurious ones eliminated. i do not refer to strongly-marked deviations of structure, which occur only at long intervals of time, but to mere individual differences. we know, for instance, that the muscles of our hands and feet, which determine our powers of movement, are liable, like those of the lower animals, ( . messrs. murie and mivart in their 'anatomy of the lemuroidea' ('transact. zoolog. soc.' vol. vii. , pp. - ) say, "some muscles are so irregular in their distribution that they cannot be well classed in any of the above groups." these muscles differ even on the opposite sides of the same individual.) to incessant variability. if then the progenitors of man inhabiting any district, especially one undergoing some change in its conditions, were divided into two equal bodies, the one half which included all the individuals best adapted by their powers of movement for gaining subsistence, or for defending themselves, would on an average survive in greater numbers, and procreate more offspring than the other and less well endowed half. man in the rudest state in which he now exists is the most dominant animal that has ever appeared on this earth. he has spread more widely than any other highly organised form: and all others have yielded before him. he manifestly owes this immense superiority to his intellectual faculties, to his social habits, which lead him to aid and defend his fellows, and to his corporeal structure. the supreme importance of these characters has been proved by the final arbitrament of the battle for life. through his powers of intellect, articulate language has been evolved; and on this his wonderful advancement has mainly depended. as mr. chauncey wright remarks ( . limits of natural selection, 'north american review,' oct. , p. .): "a psychological analysis of the faculty of language shews, that even the smallest proficiency in it might require more brain power than the greatest proficiency in any other direction." he has invented and is able to use various weapons, tools, traps, etc., with which he defends himself, kills or catches prey, and otherwise obtains food. he has made rafts or canoes for fishing or crossing over to neighbouring fertile islands. he has discovered the art of making fire, by which hard and stringy roots can be rendered digestible, and poisonous roots or herbs innocuous. this discovery of fire, probably the greatest ever made by man, excepting language, dates from before the dawn of history. these several inventions, by which man in the rudest state has become so pre-eminent, are the direct results of the development of his powers of observation, memory, curiosity, imagination, and reason. i cannot, therefore, understand how it is that mr. wallace ( . 'quarterly review,' april , p. . this subject is more fully discussed in mr. wallace's 'contributions to the theory of natural selection,' , in which all the essays referred to in this work are re-published. the 'essay on man,' has been ably criticised by prof. claparede, one of the most distinguished zoologists in europe, in an article published in the 'bibliotheque universelle,' june . the remark quoted in my text will surprise every one who has read mr. wallace's celebrated paper on 'the origin of human races deduced from the theory of natural selection,' originally published in the 'anthropological review,' may , p. clviii. i cannot here resist quoting a most just remark by sir j. lubbock ('prehistoric times,' , p. ) in reference to this paper, namely, that mr. wallace, "with characteristic unselfishness, ascribes it (i.e. the idea of natural selection) unreservedly to mr. darwin, although, as is well known, he struck out the idea independently, and published it, though not with the same elaboration, at the same time.") maintains, that "natural selection could only have endowed the savage with a brain a little superior to that of an ape." although the intellectual powers and social habits of man are of paramount importance to him, we must not underrate the importance of his bodily structure, to which subject the remainder of this chapter will be devoted; the development of the intellectual and social or moral faculties being discussed in a later chapter. even to hammer with precision is no easy matter, as every one who has tried to learn carpentry will admit. to throw a stone with as true an aim as a fuegian in defending himself, or in killing birds, requires the most consummate perfection in the correlated action of the muscles of the hand, arm, and shoulder, and, further, a fine sense of touch. in throwing a stone or spear, and in many other actions, a man must stand firmly on his feet; and this again demands the perfect co-adaptation of numerous muscles. to chip a flint into the rudest tool, or to form a barbed spear or hook from a bone, demands the use of a perfect hand; for, as a most capable judge, mr. schoolcraft ( . quoted by mr. lawson tait in his 'law of natural selection,' 'dublin quarterly journal of medical science,' feb. . dr. keller is likewise quoted to the same effect.), remarks, the shaping fragments of stone into knives, lances, or arrow-heads, shews "extraordinary ability and long practice." this is to a great extent proved by the fact that primeval men practised a division of labour; each man did not manufacture his own flint tools or rude pottery, but certain individuals appear to have devoted themselves to such work, no doubt receiving in exchange the produce of the chase. archaeologists are convinced that an enormous interval of time elapsed before our ancestors thought of grinding chipped flints into smooth tools. one can hardly doubt, that a man-like animal who possessed a hand and arm sufficiently perfect to throw a stone with precision, or to form a flint into a rude tool, could, with sufficient practice, as far as mechanical skill alone is concerned, make almost anything which a civilised man can make. the structure of the hand in this respect may be compared with that of the vocal organs, which in the apes are used for uttering various signal-cries, or, as in one genus, musical cadences; but in man the closely similar vocal organs have become adapted through the inherited effects of use for the utterance of articulate language. turning now to the nearest allies of men, and therefore to the best representatives of our early progenitors, we find that the hands of the quadrumana are constructed on the same general pattern as our own, but are far less perfectly adapted for diversified uses. their hands do not serve for locomotion so well as the feet of a dog; as may be seen in such monkeys as the chimpanzee and orang, which walk on the outer margins of the palms, or on the knuckles. ( . owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. p. .) their hands, however, are admirably adapted for climbing trees. monkeys seize thin branches or ropes, with the thumb on one side and the fingers and palm on the other, in the same manner as we do. they can thus also lift rather large objects, such as the neck of a bottle, to their mouths. baboons turn over stones, and scratch up roots with their hands. they seize nuts, insects, or other small objects with the thumb in opposition to the fingers, and no doubt they thus extract eggs and young from the nests of birds. american monkeys beat the wild oranges on the branches until the rind is cracked, and then tear it off with the fingers of the two hands. in a wild state they break open hard fruits with stones. other monkeys open mussel-shells with the two thumbs. with their fingers they pull out thorns and burs, and hunt for each other's parasites. they roll down stones, or throw them at their enemies: nevertheless, they are clumsy in these various actions, and, as i have myself seen, are quite unable to throw a stone with precision. it seems to me far from true that because "objects are grasped clumsily" by monkeys, "a much less specialised organ of prehension" would have served them ( . 'quarterly review,' april , p. .) equally well with their present hands. on the contrary, i see no reason to doubt that more perfectly constructed hands would have been an advantage to them, provided that they were not thus rendered less fitted for climbing trees. we may suspect that a hand as perfect as that of man would have been disadvantageous for climbing; for the most arboreal monkeys in the world, namely, ateles in america, colobus in africa, and hylobates in asia, are either thumbless, or their toes partially cohere, so that their limbs are converted into mere grasping hooks. ( . in hylobates syndactylus, as the name expresses, two of the toes regularly cohere; and this, as mr. blyth informs me, is occasionally the case with the toes of h. agilis, lar, and leuciscus. colobus is strictly arboreal and extraordinarily active (brehm, 'thierleben,' b. i. s. ), but whether a better climber than the species of the allied genera, i do not know. it deserves notice that the feet of the sloths, the most arboreal animals in the world, are wonderfully hook-like. as soon as some ancient member in the great series of the primates came to be less arboreal, owing to a change in its manner of procuring subsistence, or to some change in the surrounding conditions, its habitual manner of progression would have been modified: and thus it would have been rendered more strictly quadrupedal or bipedal. baboons frequent hilly and rocky districts, and only from necessity climb high trees ( . brehm, 'thierleben,' b. i. s. .); and they have acquired almost the gait of a dog. man alone has become a biped; and we can, i think, partly see how he has come to assume his erect attitude, which forms one of his most conspicuous characters. man could not have attained his present dominant position in the world without the use of his hands, which are so admirably adapted to act in obedience to his will. sir c. bell ( . 'the hand,' etc., 'bridgewater treatise,' , p. .) insists that "the hand supplies all instruments, and by its correspondence with the intellect gives him universal dominion." but the hands and arms could hardly have become perfect enough to have manufactured weapons, or to have hurled stones and spears with a true aim, as long as they were habitually used for locomotion and for supporting the whole weight of the body, or, as before remarked, so long as they were especially fitted for climbing trees. such rough treatment would also have blunted the sense of touch, on which their delicate use largely depends. from these causes alone it would have been an advantage to man to become a biped; but for many actions it is indispensable that the arms and whole upper part of the body should be free; and he must for this end stand firmly on his feet. to gain this great advantage, the feet have been rendered flat; and the great toe has been peculiarly modified, though this has entailed the almost complete loss of its power of prehension. it accords with the principle of the division of physiological labour, prevailing throughout the animal kingdom, that as the hands became perfected for prehension, the feet should have become perfected for support and locomotion. with some savages, however, the foot has not altogether lost its prehensile power, as shewn by their manner of climbing trees, and of using them in other ways. ( . haeckel has an excellent discussion on the steps by which man became a biped: 'natürliche schöpfungsgeschichte,' , s. . dr. buchner ('conférences sur la théorie darwinienne,' , p. ) has given good cases of the use of the foot as a prehensile organ by man; and has also written on the manner of progression of the higher apes, to which i allude in the following paragraph: see also owen ('anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. p. ) on this latter subject.) if it be an advantage to man to stand firmly on his feet and to have his hands and arms free, of which, from his pre-eminent success in the battle of life there can be no doubt, then i can see no reason why it should not have been advantageous to the progenitors of man to have become more and more erect or bipedal. they would thus have been better able to defend themselves with stones or clubs, to attack their prey, or otherwise to obtain food. the best built individuals would in the long run have succeeded best, and have survived in larger numbers. if the gorilla and a few allied forms had become extinct, it might have been argued, with great force and apparent truth, that an animal could not have been gradually converted from a quadruped into a biped, as all the individuals in an intermediate condition would have been miserably ill-fitted for progression. but we know (and this is well worthy of reflection) that the anthropomorphous apes are now actually in an intermediate condition; and no one doubts that they are on the whole well adapted for their conditions of life. thus the gorilla runs with a sidelong shambling gait, but more commonly progresses by resting on its bent hands. the long-armed apes occasionally use their arms like crutches, swinging their bodies forward between them, and some kinds of hylobates, without having been taught, can walk or run upright with tolerable quickness; yet they move awkwardly, and much less securely than man. we see, in short, in existing monkeys a manner of progression intermediate between that of a quadruped and a biped; but, as an unprejudiced judge ( . prof. broca, la constitution des vertèbres caudales; 'la revue d'anthropologie,' , p. , (separate copy).) insists, the anthropomorphous apes approach in structure more nearly to the bipedal than to the quadrupedal type. as the progenitors of man became more and more erect, with their hands and arms more and more modified for prehension and other purposes, with their feet and legs at the same time transformed for firm support and progression, endless other changes of structure would have become necessary. the pelvis would have to be broadened, the spine peculiarly curved, and the head fixed in an altered position, all which changes have been attained by man. prof. schaaffhausen ( . 'on the primitive form of the skull,' translated in 'anthropological review,' oct. , p. . owen ('anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. ii. , p. ) on the mastoid processes in the higher apes.) maintains that "the powerful mastoid processes of the human skull are the result of his erect position;" and these processes are absent in the orang, chimpanzee, etc., and are smaller in the gorilla than in man. various other structures, which appear connected with man's erect position, might here have been added. it is very difficult to decide how far these correlated modifications are the result of natural selection, and how far of the inherited effects of the increased use of certain parts, or of the action of one part on another. no doubt these means of change often co-operate: thus when certain muscles, and the crests of bone to which they are attached, become enlarged by habitual use, this shews that certain actions are habitually performed and must be serviceable. hence the individuals which performed them best, would tend to survive in greater numbers. the free use of the arms and hands, partly the cause and partly the result of man's erect position, appears to have led in an indirect manner to other modifications of structure. the early male forefathers of man were, as previously stated, probably furnished with great canine teeth; but as they gradually acquired the habit of using stones, clubs, or other weapons, for fighting with their enemies or rivals, they would use their jaws and teeth less and less. in this case, the jaws, together with the teeth, would become reduced in size, as we may feel almost sure from innumerable analogous cases. in a future chapter we shall meet with a closely parallel case, in the reduction or complete disappearance of the canine teeth in male ruminants, apparently in relation with the development of their horns; and in horses, in relation to their habit of fighting with their incisor teeth and hoofs. in the adult male anthropomorphous apes, as rutimeyer ( . 'die grenzen der thierwelt, eine betrachtung zu darwin's lehre,' , s. .), and others, have insisted, it is the effect on the skull of the great development of the jaw-muscles that causes it to differ so greatly in many respects from that of man, and has given to these animals "a truly frightful physiognomy." therefore, as the jaws and teeth in man's progenitors gradually become reduced in size, the adult skull would have come to resemble more and more that of existing man. as we shall hereafter see, a great reduction of the canine teeth in the males would almost certainly affect the teeth of the females through inheritance. as the various mental faculties gradually developed themselves the brain would almost certainly become larger. no one, i presume, doubts that the large proportion which the size of man's brain bears to his body, compared to the same proportion in the gorilla or orang, is closely connected with his higher mental powers. we meet with closely analogous facts with insects, for in ants the cerebral ganglia are of extraordinary dimensions, and in all the hymenoptera these ganglia are many times larger than in the less intelligent orders, such as beetles. ( . dujardin, 'annales des sciences nat.' rd series, zoolog., tom. xiv. , p. . see also mr. lowne, 'anatomy and phys. of the musca vomitoria,' , p. . my son, mr. f. darwin, dissected for me the cerebral ganglia of the formica rufa.) on the other hand, no one supposes that the intellect of any two animals or of any two men can be accurately gauged by the cubic contents of their skulls. it is certain that there may be extraordinary mental activity with an extremely small absolute mass of nervous matter: thus the wonderfully diversified instincts, mental powers, and affections of ants are notorious, yet their cerebral ganglia are not so large as the quarter of a small pin's head. under this point of view, the brain of an ant is one of the most marvellous atoms of matter in the world, perhaps more so than the brain of a man. the belief that there exists in man some close relation between the size of the brain and the development of the intellectual faculties is supported by the comparison of the skulls of savage and civilised races, of ancient and modern people, and by the analogy of the whole vertebrate series. dr. j. barnard davis has proved ( . 'philosophical transactions,' , p. .), by many careful measurements, that the mean internal capacity of the skull in europeans is . cubic inches; in americans . ; in asiatics . ; and in australians only . cubic inches. professor broca ( . 'les selections,' m. p. broca, 'revue d'anthropologies,' ; see also, as quoted in c. vogt's 'lectures on man,' engl. translat., , pp. , . prichard, 'physical history of mankind,' vol. i. , p. .) found that the nineteenth century skulls from graves in paris were larger than those from vaults of the twelfth century, in the proportion of to ; and that the increased size, as ascertained by measurements, was exclusively in the frontal part of the skull--the seat of the intellectual faculties. prichard is persuaded that the present inhabitants of britain have "much more capacious brain-cases" than the ancient inhabitants. nevertheless, it must be admitted that some skulls of very high antiquity, such as the famous one of neanderthal, are well developed and capacious. ( . in the interesting article just referred to, prof. broca has well remarked, that in civilised nations, the average capacity of the skull must be lowered by the preservation of a considerable number of individuals, weak in mind and body, who would have been promptly eliminated in the savage state. on the other hand, with savages, the average includes only the more capable individuals, who have been able to survive under extremely hard conditions of life. broca thus explains the otherwise inexplicable fact, that the mean capacity of the skull of the ancient troglodytes of lozere is greater than that of modern frenchmen.) with respect to the lower animals, m.e. lartet ( . 'comptes-rendus des sciences,' etc., june , .), by comparing the crania of tertiary and recent mammals belonging to the same groups, has come to the remarkable conclusion that the brain is generally larger and the convolutions are more complex in the more recent forms. on the other hand, i have shewn ( . the 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. i. pp. - .) that the brains of domestic rabbits are considerably reduced in bulk, in comparison with those of the wild rabbit or hare; and this may be attributed to their having been closely confined during many generations, so that they have exerted their intellect, instincts, senses and voluntary movements but little. the gradually increasing weight of the brain and skull in man must have influenced the development of the supporting spinal column, more especially whilst he was becoming erect. as this change of position was being brought about, the internal pressure of the brain will also have influenced the form of the skull; for many facts shew how easily the skull is thus affected. ethnologists believe that it is modified by the kind of cradle in which infants sleep. habitual spasms of the muscles, and a cicatrix from a severe burn, have permanently modified the facial bones. in young persons whose heads have become fixed either sideways or backwards, owing to disease, one of the two eyes has changed its position, and the shape of the skull has been altered apparently by the pressure of the brain in a new direction. ( . schaaffhausen gives from blumenbach and busch, the cases of the spasms and cicatrix, in 'anthropological review,' oct. , p. . dr. jarrold ('anthropologia,' , pp. , ) adduces from camper and from his own observations, cases of the modification of the skull from the head being fixed in an unnatural position. he believes that in certain trades, such as that of a shoemaker, where the head is habitually held forward, the forehead becomes more rounded and prominent.) i have shewn that with long-eared rabbits even so trifling a cause as the lopping forward of one ear drags forward almost every bone of the skull on that side; so that the bones on the opposite side no longer strictly correspond. lastly, if any animal were to increase or diminish much in general size, without any change in its mental powers, or if the mental powers were to be much increased or diminished, without any great change in the size of the body, the shape of the skull would almost certainly be altered. i infer this from my observations on domestic rabbits, some kinds of which have become very much larger than the wild animal, whilst others have retained nearly the same size, but in both cases the brain has been much reduced relatively to the size of the body. now i was at first much surprised on finding that in all these rabbits the skull had become elongated or dolichocephalic; for instance, of two skulls of nearly equal breadth, the one from a wild rabbit and the other from a large domestic kind, the former was . and the latter . inches in length. ( . 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. i. p. , on the elongation of the skull; p. , on the effect of the lopping of one ear.) one of the most marked distinctions in different races of men is that the skull in some is elongated, and in others rounded; and here the explanation suggested by the case of the rabbits may hold good; for welcker finds that short "men incline more to brachycephaly, and tall men to dolichocephaly" ( . quoted by schaaffhausen, in 'anthropological review,' oct. , p. .); and tall men may be compared with the larger and longer-bodied rabbits, all of which have elongated skulls or are dolichocephalic. from these several facts we can understand, to a certain extent, the means by which the great size and more or less rounded form of the skull have been acquired by man; and these are characters eminently distinctive of him in comparison with the lower animals. another most conspicuous difference between man and the lower animals is the nakedness of his skin. whales and porpoises (cetacea), dugongs (sirenia) and the hippopotamus are naked; and this may be advantageous to them for gliding through the water; nor would it be injurious to them from the loss of warmth, as the species, which inhabit the colder regions, are protected by a thick layer of blubber, serving the same purpose as the fur of seals and otters. elephants and rhinoceroses are almost hairless; and as certain extinct species, which formerly lived under an arctic climate, were covered with long wool or hair, it would almost appear as if the existing species of both genera had lost their hairy covering from exposure to heat. this appears the more probable, as the elephants in india which live on elevated and cool districts are more hairy ( . owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. p. .) than those on the lowlands. may we then infer that man became divested of hair from having aboriginally inhabited some tropical land? that the hair is chiefly retained in the male sex on the chest and face, and in both sexes at the junction of all four limbs with the trunk, favours this inference--on the assumption that the hair was lost before man became erect; for the parts which now retain most hair would then have been most protected from the heat of the sun. the crown of the head, however, offers a curious exception, for at all times it must have been one of the most exposed parts, yet it is thickly clothed with hair. the fact, however, that the other members of the order of primates, to which man belongs, although inhabiting various hot regions, are well clothed with hair, generally thickest on the upper surface ( . isidore geoffroy st.-hilaire remarks ('histoire nat. generale,' tom. ii. , pp. - ) on the head of man being covered with long hair; also on the upper surfaces of monkeys and of other mammals being more thickly clothed than the lower surfaces. this has likewise been observed by various authors. prof. p. gervais ('histoire nat. des mammifères,' tom. i. , p. ), however, states that in the gorilla the hair is thinner on the back, where it is partly rubbed off, than on the lower surface.), is opposed to the supposition that man became naked through the action of the sun. mr. belt believes ( . the 'naturalist in nicaragua,' , p. . as some confirmation of mr. belt's view, i may quote the following passage from sir w. denison ('varieties of vice-regal life,' vol. i. , p. ): "it is said to be a practice with the australians, when the vermin get troublesome, to singe themselves.") that within the tropics it is an advantage to man to be destitute of hair, as he is thus enabled to free himself of the multitude of ticks (acari) and other parasites, with which he is often infested, and which sometimes cause ulceration. but whether this evil is of sufficient magnitude to have led to the denudation of his body through natural selection, may be doubted, since none of the many quadrupeds inhabiting the tropics have, as far as i know, acquired any specialised means of relief. the view which seems to me the most probable is that man, or rather primarily woman, became divested of hair for ornamental purposes, as we shall see under sexual selection; and, according to this belief, it is not surprising that man should differ so greatly in hairiness from all other primates, for characters, gained through sexual selection, often differ to an extraordinary degree in closely related forms. according to a popular impression, the absence of a tail is eminently distinctive of man; but as those apes which come nearest to him are destitute of this organ, its disappearance does not relate exclusively to man. the tail often differs remarkably in length within the same genus: thus in some species of macacus it is longer than the whole body, and is formed of twenty-four vertebrae; in others it consists of a scarcely visible stump, containing only three or four vertebrae. in some kinds of baboons there are twenty-five, whilst in the mandrill there are ten very small stunted caudal vertebrae, or, according to cuvier ( . mr. st. george mivart, 'proc. zoolog. soc.' , pp. , . dr. j.e. gray, 'cat. brit. mus.: 'skeletons.' owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. ii. p. . isidore geoffroy, 'hist. nat. gen.' tom. ii. p. .), sometimes only five. the tail, whether it be long or short, almost always tapers towards the end; and this, i presume, results from the atrophy of the terminal muscles, together with their arteries and nerves, through disuse, leading to the atrophy of the terminal bones. but no explanation can at present be given of the great diversity which often occurs in its length. here, however, we are more specially concerned with the complete external disappearance of the tail. professor broca has recently shewn ( . 'revue d'anthropologie,' ; 'la constitution des vertèbres caudales.') that the tail in all quadrupeds consists of two portions, generally separated abruptly from each other; the basal portion consists of vertebrae, more or less perfectly channelled and furnished with apophyses like ordinary vertebrae; whereas those of the terminal portion are not channelled, are almost smooth, and scarcely resemble true vertebrae. a tail, though not externally visible, is really present in man and the anthropomorphous apes, and is constructed on exactly the same pattern in both. in the terminal portion the vertebrae, constituting the os coccyx, are quite rudimentary, being much reduced in size and number. in the basal portion, the vertebrae are likewise few, are united firmly together, and are arrested in development; but they have been rendered much broader and flatter than the corresponding vertebrae in the tails of other animals: they constitute what broca calls the accessory sacral vertebrae. these are of functional importance by supporting certain internal parts and in other ways; and their modification is directly connected with the erect or semi-erect attitude of man and the anthropomorphous apes. this conclusion is the more trustworthy, as broca formerly held a different view, which he has now abandoned. the modification, therefore, of the basal caudal vertebrae in man and the higher apes may have been effected, directly or indirectly, through natural selection. but what are we to say about the rudimentary and variable vertebrae of the terminal portion of the tail, forming the os coccyx? a notion which has often been, and will no doubt again be ridiculed, namely, that friction has had something to do with the disappearance of the external portion of the tail, is not so ridiculous as it at first appears. dr. anderson ( . 'proceedings zoological society,' , p. .) states that the extremely short tail of macacus brunneus is formed of eleven vertebrae, including the imbedded basal ones. the extremity is tendinous and contains no vertebrae; this is succeeded by five rudimentary ones, so minute that together they are only one line and a half in length, and these are permanently bent to one side in the shape of a hook. the free part of the tail, only a little above an inch in length, includes only four more small vertebrae. this short tail is carried erect; but about a quarter of its total length is doubled on to itself to the left; and this terminal part, which includes the hook-like portion, serves "to fill up the interspace between the upper divergent portion of the callosities;" so that the animal sits on it, and thus renders it rough and callous. dr. anderson thus sums up his observations: "these facts seem to me to have only one explanation; this tail, from its short size, is in the monkey's way when it sits down, and frequently becomes placed under the animal while it is in this attitude; and from the circumstance that it does not extend beyond the extremity of the ischial tuberosities, it seems as if the tail originally had been bent round by the will of the animal, into the interspace between the callosities, to escape being pressed between them and the ground, and that in time the curvature became permanent, fitting in of itself when the organ happens to be sat upon." under these circumstances it is not surprising that the surface of the tail should have been roughened and rendered callous, and dr. murie ( . 'proceedings zoological society,' , p. .), who carefully observed this species in the zoological gardens, as well as three other closely allied forms with slightly longer tails, says that when the animal sits down, the tail "is necessarily thrust to one side of the buttocks; and whether long or short its root is consequently liable to be rubbed or chafed." as we now have evidence that mutilations occasionally produce an inherited effect ( . i allude to dr. brown-sequard's observations on the transmitted effect of an operation causing epilepsy in guinea-pigs, and likewise more recently on the analogous effects of cutting the sympathetic nerve in the neck. i shall hereafter have occasion to refer to mr. salvin's interesting case of the apparently inherited effects of mot-mots biting off the barbs of their own tail-feathers. see also on the general subject 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. pp. - .), it is not very improbable that in short-tailed monkeys, the projecting part of the tail, being functionally useless, should after many generations have become rudimentary and distorted, from being continually rubbed and chafed. we see the projecting part in this condition in the macacus brunneus, and absolutely aborted in the m. ecaudatus and in several of the higher apes. finally, then, as far as we can judge, the tail has disappeared in man and the anthropomorphous apes, owing to the terminal portion having been injured by friction during a long lapse of time; the basal and embedded portion having been reduced and modified, so as to become suitable to the erect or semi-erect position. i have now endeavoured to shew that some of the most distinctive characters of man have in all probability been acquired, either directly, or more commonly indirectly, through natural selection. we should bear in mind that modifications in structure or constitution which do not serve to adapt an organism to its habits of life, to the food which it consumes, or passively to the surrounding conditions, cannot have been thus acquired. we must not, however, be too confident in deciding what modifications are of service to each being: we should remember how little we know about the use of many parts, or what changes in the blood or tissues may serve to fit an organism for a new climate or new kinds of food. nor must we forget the principle of correlation, by which, as isidore geoffroy has shewn in the case of man, many strange deviations of structure are tied together. independently of correlation, a change in one part often leads, through the increased or decreased use of other parts, to other changes of a quite unexpected nature. it is also well to reflect on such facts, as the wonderful growth of galls on plants caused by the poison of an insect, and on the remarkable changes of colour in the plumage of parrots when fed on certain fishes, or inoculated with the poison of toads ( . the 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. pp. , .); for we can thus see that the fluids of the system, if altered for some special purpose, might induce other changes. we should especially bear in mind that modifications acquired and continually used during past ages for some useful purpose, would probably become firmly fixed, and might be long inherited. thus a large yet undefined extension may safely be given to the direct and indirect results of natural selection; but i now admit, after reading the essay by nageli on plants, and the remarks by various authors with respect to animals, more especially those recently made by professor broca, that in the earlier editions of my 'origin of species' i perhaps attributed too much to the action of natural selection or the survival of the fittest. i have altered the fifth edition of the 'origin' so as to confine my remarks to adaptive changes of structure; but i am convinced, from the light gained during even the last few years, that very many structures which now appear to us useless, will hereafter be proved to be useful, and will therefore come within the range of natural selection. nevertheless, i did not formerly consider sufficiently the existence of structures, which, as far as we can at present judge, are neither beneficial nor injurious; and this i believe to be one of the greatest oversights as yet detected in my work. i may be permitted to say, as some excuse, that i had two distinct objects in view; firstly, to shew that species had not been separately created, and secondly, that natural selection had been the chief agent of change, though largely aided by the inherited effects of habit, and slightly by the direct action of the surrounding conditions. i was not, however, able to annul the influence of my former belief, then almost universal, that each species had been purposely created; and this led to my tacit assumption that every detail of structure, excepting rudiments, was of some special, though unrecognised, service. any one with this assumption in his mind would naturally extend too far the action of natural selection, either during past or present times. some of those who admit the principle of evolution, but reject natural selection, seem to forget, when criticising my book, that i had the above two objects in view; hence if i have erred in giving to natural selection great power, which i am very far from admitting, or in having exaggerated its power, which is in itself probable, i have at least, as i hope, done good service in aiding to overthrow the dogma of separate creations. it is, as i can now see, probable that all organic beings, including man, possess peculiarities of structure, which neither are now, nor were formerly of any service to them, and which, therefore, are of no physiological importance. we know not what produces the numberless slight differences between the individuals of each species, for reversion only carries the problem a few steps backwards, but each peculiarity must have had its efficient cause. if these causes, whatever they may be, were to act more uniformly and energetically during a lengthened period (and against this no reason can be assigned), the result would probably be not a mere slight individual difference, but a well-marked and constant modification, though one of no physiological importance. changed structures, which are in no way beneficial, cannot be kept uniform through natural selection, though the injurious will be thus eliminated. uniformity of character would, however, naturally follow from the assumed uniformity of the exciting causes, and likewise from the free intercrossing of many individuals. during successive periods, the same organism might in this manner acquire successive modifications, which would be transmitted in a nearly uniform state as long as the exciting causes remained the same and there was free intercrossing. with respect to the exciting causes we can only say, as when speaking of so-called spontaneous variations, that they relate much more closely to the constitution of the varying organism, than to the nature of the conditions to which it has been subjected. conclusion. in this chapter we have seen that as man at the present day is liable, like every other animal, to multiform individual differences or slight variations, so no doubt were the early progenitors of man; the variations being formerly induced by the same general causes, and governed by the same general and complex laws as at present. as all animals tend to multiply beyond their means of subsistence, so it must have been with the progenitors of man; and this would inevitably lead to a struggle for existence and to natural selection. the latter process would be greatly aided by the inherited effects of the increased use of parts, and these two processes would incessantly react on each other. it appears, also, as we shall hereafter see, that various unimportant characters have been acquired by man through sexual selection. an unexplained residuum of change must be left to the assumed uniform action of those unknown agencies, which occasionally induce strongly marked and abrupt deviations of structure in our domestic productions. judging from the habits of savages and of the greater number of the quadrumana, primeval men, and even their ape-like progenitors, probably lived in society. with strictly social animals, natural selection sometimes acts on the individual, through the preservation of variations which are beneficial to the community. a community which includes a large number of well-endowed individuals increases in number, and is victorious over other less favoured ones; even although each separate member gains no advantage over the others of the same community. associated insects have thus acquired many remarkable structures, which are of little or no service to the individual, such as the pollen-collecting apparatus, or the sting of the worker-bee, or the great jaws of soldier-ants. with the higher social animals, i am not aware that any structure has been modified solely for the good of the community, though some are of secondary service to it. for instance, the horns of ruminants and the great canine teeth of baboons appear to have been acquired by the males as weapons for sexual strife, but they are used in defence of the herd or troop. in regard to certain mental powers the case, as we shall see in the fifth chapter, is wholly different; for these faculties have been chiefly, or even exclusively, gained for the benefit of the community, and the individuals thereof have at the same time gained an advantage indirectly. it has often been objected to such views as the foregoing, that man is one of the most helpless and defenceless creatures in the world; and that during his early and less well-developed condition, he would have been still more helpless. the duke of argyll, for instance, insists ( . 'primeval man,' , p. .) that "the human frame has diverged from the structure of brutes, in the direction of greater physical helplessness and weakness. that is to say, it is a divergence which of all others it is most impossible to ascribe to mere natural selection." he adduces the naked and unprotected state of the body, the absence of great teeth or claws for defence, the small strength and speed of man, and his slight power of discovering food or of avoiding danger by smell. to these deficiencies there might be added one still more serious, namely, that he cannot climb quickly, and so escape from enemies. the loss of hair would not have been a great injury to the inhabitants of a warm country. for we know that the unclothed fuegians can exist under a wretched climate. when we compare the defenceless state of man with that of apes, we must remember that the great canine teeth with which the latter are provided, are possessed in their full development by the males alone, and are chiefly used by them for fighting with their rivals; yet the females, which are not thus provided, manage to survive. in regard to bodily size or strength, we do not know whether man is descended from some small species, like the chimpanzee, or from one as powerful as the gorilla; and, therefore, we cannot say whether man has become larger and stronger, or smaller and weaker, than his ancestors. we should, however, bear in mind that an animal possessing great size, strength, and ferocity, and which, like the gorilla, could defend itself from all enemies, would not perhaps have become social: and this would most effectually have checked the acquirement of the higher mental qualities, such as sympathy and the love of his fellows. hence it might have been an immense advantage to man to have sprung from some comparatively weak creature. the small strength and speed of man, his want of natural weapons, etc., are more than counterbalanced, firstly, by his intellectual powers, through which he has formed for himself weapons, tools, etc., though still remaining in a barbarous state, and, secondly, by his social qualities which lead him to give and receive aid from his fellow-men. no country in the world abounds in a greater degree with dangerous beasts than southern africa; no country presents more fearful physical hardships than the arctic regions; yet one of the puniest of races, that of the bushmen, maintains itself in southern africa, as do the dwarfed esquimaux in the arctic regions. the ancestors of man were, no doubt, inferior in intellect, and probably in social disposition, to the lowest existing savages; but it is quite conceivable that they might have existed, or even flourished, if they had advanced in intellect, whilst gradually losing their brute-like powers, such as that of climbing trees, etc. but these ancestors would not have been exposed to any special danger, even if far more helpless and defenceless than any existing savages, had they inhabited some warm continent or large island, such as australia, new guinea, or borneo, which is now the home of the orang. and natural selection arising from the competition of tribe with tribe, in some such large area as one of these, together with the inherited effects of habit, would, under favourable conditions, have sufficed to raise man to his present high position in the organic scale. chapter iii. comparison of the mental powers of man and the lower animals. the difference in mental power between the highest ape and the lowest savage, immense--certain instincts in common--the emotions--curiosity--imitation--attention--memory--imagination--reason--progressive improvement --tools and weapons used by animals--abstraction, self-consciousness--language--sense of beauty--belief in god, spiritual agencies, superstitions. we have seen in the last two chapters that man bears in his bodily structure clear traces of his descent from some lower form; but it may be urged that, as man differs so greatly in his mental power from all other animals, there must be some error in this conclusion. no doubt the difference in this respect is enormous, even if we compare the mind of one of the lowest savages, who has no words to express any number higher than four, and who uses hardly any abstract terms for common objects or for the affections ( . see the evidence on those points, as given by lubbock, 'prehistoric times,' p. , etc.), with that of the most highly organised ape. the difference would, no doubt, still remain immense, even if one of the higher apes had been improved or civilised as much as a dog has been in comparison with its parent-form, the wolf or jackal. the fuegians rank amongst the lowest barbarians; but i was continually struck with surprise how closely the three natives on board h.m.s. "beagle," who had lived some years in england, and could talk a little english, resembled us in disposition and in most of our mental faculties. if no organic being excepting man had possessed any mental power, or if his powers had been of a wholly different nature from those of the lower animals, then we should never have been able to convince ourselves that our high faculties had been gradually developed. but it can be shewn that there is no fundamental difference of this kind. we must also admit that there is a much wider interval in mental power between one of the lowest fishes, as a lamprey or lancelet, and one of the higher apes, than between an ape and man; yet this interval is filled up by numberless gradations. nor is the difference slight in moral disposition between a barbarian, such as the man described by the old navigator byron, who dashed his child on the rocks for dropping a basket of sea-urchins, and a howard or clarkson; and in intellect, between a savage who uses hardly any abstract terms, and a newton or shakspeare. differences of this kind between the highest men of the highest races and the lowest savages, are connected by the finest gradations. therefore it is possible that they might pass and be developed into each other. my object in this chapter is to shew that there is no fundamental difference between man and the higher mammals in their mental faculties. each division of the subject might have been extended into a separate essay, but must here be treated briefly. as no classification of the mental powers has been universally accepted, i shall arrange my remarks in the order most convenient for my purpose; and will select those facts which have struck me most, with the hope that they may produce some effect on the reader. with respect to animals very low in the scale, i shall give some additional facts under sexual selection, shewing that their mental powers are much higher than might have been expected. the variability of the faculties in the individuals of the same species is an important point for us, and some few illustrations will here be given. but it would be superfluous to enter into many details on this head, for i have found on frequent enquiry, that it is the unanimous opinion of all those who have long attended to animals of many kinds, including birds, that the individuals differ greatly in every mental characteristic. in what manner the mental powers were first developed in the lowest organisms, is as hopeless an enquiry as how life itself first originated. these are problems for the distant future, if they are ever to be solved by man. as man possesses the same senses as the lower animals, his fundamental intuitions must be the same. man has also some few instincts in common, as that of self-preservation, sexual love, the love of the mother for her new-born offspring, the desire possessed by the latter to suck, and so forth. but man, perhaps, has somewhat fewer instincts than those possessed by the animals which come next to him in the series. the orang in the eastern islands, and the chimpanzee in africa, build platforms on which they sleep; and, as both species follow the same habit, it might be argued that this was due to instinct, but we cannot feel sure that it is not the result of both animals having similar wants, and possessing similar powers of reasoning. these apes, as we may assume, avoid the many poisonous fruits of the tropics, and man has no such knowledge: but as our domestic animals, when taken to foreign lands, and when first turned out in the spring, often eat poisonous herbs, which they afterwards avoid, we cannot feel sure that the apes do not learn from their own experience or from that of their parents what fruits to select. it is, however, certain, as we shall presently see, that apes have an instinctive dread of serpents, and probably of other dangerous animals. the fewness and the comparative simplicity of the instincts in the higher animals are remarkable in contrast with those of the lower animals. cuvier maintained that instinct and intelligence stand in an inverse ratio to each other; and some have thought that the intellectual faculties of the higher animals have been gradually developed from their instincts. but pouchet, in an interesting essay ( . 'l'instinct chez les insectes,' 'revue des deux mondes,' feb. , p. .), has shewn that no such inverse ratio really exists. those insects which possess the most wonderful instincts are certainly the most intelligent. in the vertebrate series, the least intelligent members, namely fishes and amphibians, do not possess complex instincts; and amongst mammals the animal most remarkable for its instincts, namely the beaver, is highly intelligent, as will be admitted by every one who has read mr. morgan's excellent work. ( . 'the american beaver and his works,' .) although the first dawnings of intelligence, according to mr. herbert spencer ( . 'the principles of psychology,' nd edit., , pp. - .), have been developed through the multiplication and co-ordination of reflex actions, and although many of the simpler instincts graduate into reflex actions, and can hardly be distinguished from them, as in the case of young animals sucking, yet the more complex instincts seem to have originated independently of intelligence. i am, however, very far from wishing to deny that instinctive actions may lose their fixed and untaught character, and be replaced by others performed by the aid of the free will. on the other hand, some intelligent actions, after being performed during several generations, become converted into instincts and are inherited, as when birds on oceanic islands learn to avoid man. these actions may then be said to be degraded in character, for they are no longer performed through reason or from experience. but the greater number of the more complex instincts appear to have been gained in a wholly different manner, through the natural selection of variations of simpler instinctive actions. such variations appear to arise from the same unknown causes acting on the cerebral organisation, which induce slight variations or individual differences in other parts of the body; and these variations, owing to our ignorance, are often said to arise spontaneously. we can, i think, come to no other conclusion with respect to the origin of the more complex instincts, when we reflect on the marvellous instincts of sterile worker-ants and bees, which leave no offspring to inherit the effects of experience and of modified habits. although, as we learn from the above-mentioned insects and the beaver, a high degree of intelligence is certainly compatible with complex instincts, and although actions, at first learnt voluntarily can soon through habit be performed with the quickness and certainty of a reflex action, yet it is not improbable that there is a certain amount of interference between the development of free intelligence and of instinct,--which latter implies some inherited modification of the brain. little is known about the functions of the brain, but we can perceive that as the intellectual powers become highly developed, the various parts of the brain must be connected by very intricate channels of the freest intercommunication; and as a consequence each separate part would perhaps tend to be less well fitted to answer to particular sensations or associations in a definite and inherited--that is instinctive--manner. there seems even to exist some relation between a low degree of intelligence and a strong tendency to the formation of fixed, though not inherited habits; for as a sagacious physician remarked to me, persons who are slightly imbecile tend to act in everything by routine or habit; and they are rendered much happier if this is encouraged. i have thought this digression worth giving, because we may easily underrate the mental powers of the higher animals, and especially of man, when we compare their actions founded on the memory of past events, on foresight, reason, and imagination, with exactly similar actions instinctively performed by the lower animals; in this latter case the capacity of performing such actions has been gained, step by step, through the variability of the mental organs and natural selection, without any conscious intelligence on the part of the animal during each successive generation. no doubt, as mr. wallace has argued ( . 'contributions to the theory of natural selection,' , p. .), much of the intelligent work done by man is due to imitation and not to reason; but there is this great difference between his actions and many of those performed by the lower animals, namely, that man cannot, on his first trial, make, for instance, a stone hatchet or a canoe, through his power of imitation. he has to learn his work by practice; a beaver, on the other hand, can make its dam or canal, and a bird its nest, as well, or nearly as well, and a spider its wonderful web, quite as well ( . for the evidence on this head, see mr. j. traherne moggridge's most interesting work, 'harvesting ants and trap-door spiders,' , pp. , .), the first time it tries as when old and experienced. to return to our immediate subject: the lower animals, like man, manifestly feel pleasure and pain, happiness and misery. happiness is never better exhibited than by young animals, such as puppies, kittens, lambs, etc., when playing together, like our own children. even insects play together, as has been described by that excellent observer, p. huber ( . 'recherches sur les moeurs des fourmis,' , p. .), who saw ants chasing and pretending to bite each other, like so many puppies. the fact that the lower animals are excited by the same emotions as ourselves is so well established, that it will not be necessary to weary the reader by many details. terror acts in the same manner on them as on us, causing the muscles to tremble, the heart to palpitate, the sphincters to be relaxed, and the hair to stand on end. suspicion, the offspring of fear, is eminently characteristic of most wild animals. it is, i think, impossible to read the account given by sir e. tennent, of the behaviour of the female elephants, used as decoys, without admitting that they intentionally practise deceit, and well know what they are about. courage and timidity are extremely variable qualities in the individuals of the same species, as is plainly seen in our dogs. some dogs and horses are ill-tempered, and easily turn sulky; others are good-tempered; and these qualities are certainly inherited. every one knows how liable animals are to furious rage, and how plainly they shew it. many, and probably true, anecdotes have been published on the long-delayed and artful revenge of various animals. the accurate rengger, and brehm ( . all the following statements, given on the authority of these two naturalists, are taken from rengger's 'naturgesch. der säugethiere von paraguay,' , s. - , and from brehm's 'thierleben,' b. i. s. - .) state that the american and african monkeys which they kept tame, certainly revenged themselves. sir andrew smith, a zoologist whose scrupulous accuracy was known to many persons, told me the following story of which he was himself an eye-witness; at the cape of good hope an officer had often plagued a certain baboon, and the animal, seeing him approaching one sunday for parade, poured water into a hole and hastily made some thick mud, which he skilfully dashed over the officer as he passed by, to the amusement of many bystanders. for long afterwards the baboon rejoiced and triumphed whenever he saw his victim. the love of a dog for his master is notorious; as an old writer quaintly says ( . quoted by dr. lauder lindsay, in his 'physiology of mind in the lower animals,' 'journal of mental science,' april , p. .), "a dog is the only thing on this earth that luvs you more than he luvs himself." in the agony of death a dog has been known to caress his master, and every one has heard of the dog suffering under vivisection, who licked the hand of the operator; this man, unless the operation was fully justified by an increase of our knowledge, or unless he had a heart of stone, must have felt remorse to the last hour of his life. as whewell ( . 'bridgewater treatise,' p. .) has well asked, "who that reads the touching instances of maternal affection, related so often of the women of all nations, and of the females of all animals, can doubt that the principle of action is the same in the two cases?" we see maternal affection exhibited in the most trifling details; thus rengger observed an american monkey (a cebus) carefully driving away the flies which plagued her infant; and duvaucel saw a hylobates washing the faces of her young ones in a stream. so intense is the grief of female monkeys for the loss of their young, that it invariably caused the death of certain kinds kept under confinement by brehm in n. africa. orphan monkeys were always adopted and carefully guarded by the other monkeys, both males and females. one female baboon had so capacious a heart that she not only adopted young monkeys of other species, but stole young dogs and cats, which she continually carried about. her kindness, however, did not go so far as to share her food with her adopted offspring, at which brehm was surprised, as his monkeys always divided everything quite fairly with their own young ones. an adopted kitten scratched this affectionate baboon, who certainly had a fine intellect, for she was much astonished at being scratched, and immediately examined the kitten's feet, and without more ado bit off the claws. ( . a critic, without any grounds ('quarterly review,' july , p. ), disputes the possibility of this act as described by brehm, for the sake of discrediting my work. therefore i tried, and found that i could readily seize with my own teeth the sharp little claws of a kitten nearly five weeks old.) in the zoological gardens, i heard from the keeper that an old baboon (c. chacma) had adopted a rhesus monkey; but when a young drill and mandrill were placed in the cage, she seemed to perceive that these monkeys, though distinct species, were her nearer relatives, for she at once rejected the rhesus and adopted both of them. the young rhesus, as i saw, was greatly discontented at being thus rejected, and it would, like a naughty child, annoy and attack the young drill and mandrill whenever it could do so with safety; this conduct exciting great indignation in the old baboon. monkeys will also, according to brehm, defend their master when attacked by any one, as well as dogs to whom they are attached, from the attacks of other dogs. but we here trench on the subjects of sympathy and fidelity, to which i shall recur. some of brehm's monkeys took much delight in teasing a certain old dog whom they disliked, as well as other animals, in various ingenious ways. most of the more complex emotions are common to the higher animals and ourselves. every one has seen how jealous a dog is of his master's affection, if lavished on any other creature; and i have observed the same fact with monkeys. this shews that animals not only love, but have desire to be loved. animals manifestly feel emulation. they love approbation or praise; and a dog carrying a basket for his master exhibits in a high degree self-complacency or pride. there can, i think, be no doubt that a dog feels shame, as distinct from fear, and something very like modesty when begging too often for food. a great dog scorns the snarling of a little dog, and this may be called magnanimity. several observers have stated that monkeys certainly dislike being laughed at; and they sometimes invent imaginary offences. in the zoological gardens i saw a baboon who always got into a furious rage when his keeper took out a letter or book and read it aloud to him; and his rage was so violent that, as i witnessed on one occasion, he bit his own leg till the blood flowed. dogs shew what may be fairly called a sense of humour, as distinct from mere play; if a bit of stick or other such object be thrown to one, he will often carry it away for a short distance; and then squatting down with it on the ground close before him, will wait until his master comes quite close to take it away. the dog will then seize it and rush away in triumph, repeating the same manoeuvre, and evidently enjoying the practical joke. we will now turn to the more intellectual emotions and faculties, which are very important, as forming the basis for the development of the higher mental powers. animals manifestly enjoy excitement, and suffer from ennui, as may be seen with dogs, and, according to rengger, with monkeys. all animals feel wonder, and many exhibit curiosity. they sometimes suffer from this latter quality, as when the hunter plays antics and thus attracts them; i have witnessed this with deer, and so it is with the wary chamois, and with some kinds of wild-ducks. brehm gives a curious account of the instinctive dread, which his monkeys exhibited, for snakes; but their curiosity was so great that they could not desist from occasionally satiating their horror in a most human fashion, by lifting up the lid of the box in which the snakes were kept. i was so much surprised at his account, that i took a stuffed and coiled-up snake into the monkey-house at the zoological gardens, and the excitement thus caused was one of the most curious spectacles which i ever beheld. three species of cercopithecus were the most alarmed; they dashed about their cages, and uttered sharp signal cries of danger, which were understood by the other monkeys. a few young monkeys and one old anubis baboon alone took no notice of the snake. i then placed the stuffed specimen on the ground in one of the larger compartments. after a time all the monkeys collected round it in a large circle, and staring intently, presented a most ludicrous appearance. they became extremely nervous; so that when a wooden ball, with which they were familiar as a plaything, was accidentally moved in the straw, under which it was partly hidden, they all instantly started away. these monkeys behaved very differently when a dead fish, a mouse ( . i have given a short account of their behaviour on this occasion in my 'expression of the emotions in man and animals,' p. .), a living turtle, and other new objects were placed in their cages; for though at first frightened, they soon approached, handled and examined them. i then placed a live snake in a paper bag, with the mouth loosely closed, in one of the larger compartments. one of the monkeys immediately approached, cautiously opened the bag a little, peeped in, and instantly dashed away. then i witnessed what brehm has described, for monkey after monkey, with head raised high and turned on one side, could not resist taking a momentary peep into the upright bag, at the dreadful object lying quietly at the bottom. it would almost appear as if monkeys had some notion of zoological affinities, for those kept by brehm exhibited a strange, though mistaken, instinctive dread of innocent lizards and frogs. an orang, also, has been known to be much alarmed at the first sight of a turtle. ( . w.c.l. martin, 'natural history of mammalia,' , p. .) the principle of imitation is strong in man, and especially, as i have myself observed, with savages. in certain morbid states of the brain this tendency is exaggerated to an extraordinary degree: some hemiplegic patients and others, at the commencement of inflammatory softening of the brain, unconsciously imitate every word which is uttered, whether in their own or in a foreign language, and every gesture or action which is performed near them. ( . dr. bateman, 'on aphasia,' , p. .) desor ( . quoted by vogt, 'mémoire sur les microcephales,' , p. .) has remarked that no animal voluntarily imitates an action performed by man, until in the ascending scale we come to monkeys, which are well known to be ridiculous mockers. animals, however, sometimes imitate each other's actions: thus two species of wolves, which had been reared by dogs, learned to bark, as does sometimes the jackal ( . the 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. i. p. .), but whether this can be called voluntary imitation is another question. birds imitate the songs of their parents, and sometimes of other birds; and parrots are notorious imitators of any sound which they often hear. dureau de la malle gives an account ( . 'annales des sciences nat.' ( st series), tom. xxii. p. .) of a dog reared by a cat, who learnt to imitate the well-known action of a cat licking her paws, and thus washing her ears and face; this was also witnessed by the celebrated naturalist audouin. i have received several confirmatory accounts; in one of these, a dog had not been suckled by a cat, but had been brought up with one, together with kittens, and had thus acquired the above habit, which he ever afterwards practised during his life of thirteen years. dureau de la malle's dog likewise learnt from the kittens to play with a ball by rolling it about with his fore paws, and springing on it. a correspondent assures me that a cat in his house used to put her paws into jugs of milk having too narrow a mouth for her head. a kitten of this cat soon learned the same trick, and practised it ever afterwards, whenever there was an opportunity. the parents of many animals, trusting to the principle of imitation in their young, and more especially to their instinctive or inherited tendencies, may be said to educate them. we see this when a cat brings a live mouse to her kittens; and dureau de la malle has given a curious account (in the paper above quoted) of his observations on hawks which taught their young dexterity, as well as judgment of distances, by first dropping through the air dead mice and sparrows, which the young generally failed to catch, and then bringing them live birds and letting them loose. hardly any faculty is more important for the intellectual progress of man than attention. animals clearly manifest this power, as when a cat watches by a hole and prepares to spring on its prey. wild animals sometimes become so absorbed when thus engaged, that they may be easily approached. mr. bartlett has given me a curious proof how variable this faculty is in monkeys. a man who trains monkeys to act in plays, used to purchase common kinds from the zoological society at the price of five pounds for each; but he offered to give double the price, if he might keep three or four of them for a few days, in order to select one. when asked how he could possibly learn so soon, whether a particular monkey would turn out a good actor, he answered that it all depended on their power of attention. if when he was talking and explaining anything to a monkey, its attention was easily distracted, as by a fly on the wall or other trifling object, the case was hopeless. if he tried by punishment to make an inattentive monkey act, it turned sulky. on the other hand, a monkey which carefully attended to him could always be trained. it is almost superfluous to state that animals have excellent memories for persons and places. a baboon at the cape of good hope, as i have been informed by sir andrew smith, recognised him with joy after an absence of nine months. i had a dog who was savage and averse to all strangers, and i purposely tried his memory after an absence of five years and two days. i went near the stable where he lived, and shouted to him in my old manner; he shewed no joy, but instantly followed me out walking, and obeyed me, exactly as if i had parted with him only half an hour before. a train of old associations, dormant during five years, had thus been instantaneously awakened in his mind. even ants, as p. huber ( . 'les moeurs des fourmis,' , p. .) has clearly shewn, recognised their fellow-ants belonging to the same community after a separation of four months. animals can certainly by some means judge of the intervals of time between recurrent events. the imagination is one of the highest prerogatives of man. by this faculty he unites former images and ideas, independently of the will, and thus creates brilliant and novel results. a poet, as jean paul richter remarks ( . quoted in dr. maudsley's 'physiology and pathology of mind,' , pp. , .), "who must reflect whether he shall make a character say yes or no--to the devil with him; he is only a stupid corpse." dreaming gives us the best notion of this power; as jean paul again says, "the dream is an involuntary art of poetry." the value of the products of our imagination depends of course on the number, accuracy, and clearness of our impressions, on our judgment and taste in selecting or rejecting the involuntary combinations, and to a certain extent on our power of voluntarily combining them. as dogs, cats, horses, and probably all the higher animals, even birds ( . dr. jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. i. , p. xxi. houzeau says that his parokeets and canary-birds dreamt: 'etudes sur les facultes mentales des animaux,' tom. ii. p. .) have vivid dreams, and this is shewn by their movements and the sounds uttered, we must admit that they possess some power of imagination. there must be something special, which causes dogs to howl in the night, and especially during moonlight, in that remarkable and melancholy manner called baying. all dogs do not do so; and, according to houzeau ( . ibid. , tom. ii. p. .), they do not then look at the moon, but at some fixed point near the horizon. houzeau thinks that their imaginations are disturbed by the vague outlines of the surrounding objects, and conjure up before them fantastic images: if this be so, their feelings may almost be called superstitious. of all the faculties of the human mind, it will, i presume, be admitted that reason stands at the summit. only a few persons now dispute that animals possess some power of reasoning. animals may constantly be seen to pause, deliberate, and resolve. it is a significant fact, that the more the habits of any particular animal are studied by a naturalist, the more he attributes to reason and the less to unlearnt instincts. ( . mr. l.h. morgan's work on 'the american beaver,' , offers a good illustration of this remark. i cannot help thinking, however, that he goes too far in underrating the power of instinct.) in future chapters we shall see that some animals extremely low in the scale apparently display a certain amount of reason. no doubt it is often difficult to distinguish between the power of reason and that of instinct. for instance, dr. hayes, in his work on 'the open polar sea,' repeatedly remarks that his dogs, instead of continuing to draw the sledges in a compact body, diverged and separated when they came to thin ice, so that their weight might be more evenly distributed. this was often the first warning which the travellers received that the ice was becoming thin and dangerous. now, did the dogs act thus from the experience of each individual, or from the example of the older and wiser dogs, or from an inherited habit, that is from instinct? this instinct, may possibly have arisen since the time, long ago, when dogs were first employed by the natives in drawing their sledges; or the arctic wolves, the parent-stock of the esquimaux dog, may have acquired an instinct impelling them not to attack their prey in a close pack, when on thin ice. we can only judge by the circumstances under which actions are performed, whether they are due to instinct, or to reason, or to the mere association of ideas: this latter principle, however, is intimately connected with reason. a curious case has been given by prof. mobius ( . 'die bewegungen der thiere,' etc., , p. .), of a pike, separated by a plate of glass from an adjoining aquarium stocked with fish, and who often dashed himself with such violence against the glass in trying to catch the other fishes, that he was sometimes completely stunned. the pike went on thus for three months, but at last learnt caution, and ceased to do so. the plate of glass was then removed, but the pike would not attack these particular fishes, though he would devour others which were afterwards introduced; so strongly was the idea of a violent shock associated in his feeble mind with the attempt on his former neighbours. if a savage, who had never seen a large plate-glass window, were to dash himself even once against it, he would for a long time afterwards associate a shock with a window-frame; but very differently from the pike, he would probably reflect on the nature of the impediment, and be cautious under analogous circumstances. now with monkeys, as we shall presently see, a painful or merely a disagreeable impression, from an action once performed, is sometimes sufficient to prevent the animal from repeating it. if we attribute this difference between the monkey and the pike solely to the association of ideas being so much stronger and more persistent in the one than the other, though the pike often received much the more severe injury, can we maintain in the case of man that a similar difference implies the possession of a fundamentally different mind? houzeau relates ( . 'Ã�tudes sur les facultés mentales des animaux,' , tom. ii. p. .) that, whilst crossing a wide and arid plain in texas, his two dogs suffered greatly from thirst, and that between thirty and forty times they rushed down the hollows to search for water. these hollows were not valleys, and there were no trees in them, or any other difference in the vegetation, and as they were absolutely dry there could have been no smell of damp earth. the dogs behaved as if they knew that a dip in the ground offered them the best chance of finding water, and houzeau has often witnessed the same behaviour in other animals. i have seen, as i daresay have others, that when a small object is thrown on the ground beyond the reach of one of the elephants in the zoological gardens, he blows through his trunk on the ground beyond the object, so that the current reflected on all sides may drive the object within his reach. again a well-known ethnologist, mr. westropp, informs me that he observed in vienna a bear deliberately making with his paw a current in some water, which was close to the bars of his cage, so as to draw a piece of floating bread within his reach. these actions of the elephant and bear can hardly be attributed to instinct or inherited habit, as they would be of little use to an animal in a state of nature. now, what is the difference between such actions, when performed by an uncultivated man, and by one of the higher animals? the savage and the dog have often found water at a low level, and the coincidence under such circumstances has become associated in their minds. a cultivated man would perhaps make some general proposition on the subject; but from all that we know of savages it is extremely doubtful whether they would do so, and a dog certainly would not. but a savage, as well as a dog, would search in the same way, though frequently disappointed; and in both it seems to be equally an act of reason, whether or not any general proposition on the subject is consciously placed before the mind. ( . prof. huxley has analysed with admirable clearness the mental steps by which a man, as well as a dog, arrives at a conclusion in a case analogous to that given in my text. see his article, 'mr. darwin's critics,' in the 'contemporary review,' nov. , p. , and in his 'critiques and essays,' , p. .) the same would apply to the elephant and the bear making currents in the air or water. the savage would certainly neither know nor care by what law the desired movements were effected; yet his act would be guided by a rude process of reasoning, as surely as would a philosopher in his longest chain of deductions. there would no doubt be this difference between him and one of the higher animals, that he would take notice of much slighter circumstances and conditions, and would observe any connection between them after much less experience, and this would be of paramount importance. i kept a daily record of the actions of one of my infants, and when he was about eleven months old, and before he could speak a single word, i was continually struck with the greater quickness, with which all sorts of objects and sounds were associated together in his mind, compared with that of the most intelligent dogs i ever knew. but the higher animals differ in exactly the same way in this power of association from those low in the scale, such as the pike, as well as in that of drawing inferences and of observation. the promptings of reason, after very short experience, are well shewn by the following actions of american monkeys, which stand low in their order. rengger, a most careful observer, states that when he first gave eggs to his monkeys in paraguay, they smashed them, and thus lost much of their contents; afterwards they gently hit one end against some hard body, and picked off the bits of shell with their fingers. after cutting themselves only once with any sharp tool, they would not touch it again, or would handle it with the greatest caution. lumps of sugar were often given them wrapped up in paper; and rengger sometimes put a live wasp in the paper, so that in hastily unfolding it they got stung; after this had once happened, they always first held the packet to their ears to detect any movement within. ( . mr. belt, in his most interesting work, 'the naturalist in nicaragua,' , (p. ), likewise describes various actions of a tamed cebus, which, i think, clearly shew that this animal possessed some reasoning power.) the following cases relate to dogs. mr. colquhoun ( . 'the moor and the loch,' p. . col. hutchinson on 'dog breaking,' , p. .) winged two wild-ducks, which fell on the further side of a stream; his retriever tried to bring over both at once, but could not succeed; she then, though never before known to ruffle a feather, deliberately killed one, brought over the other, and returned for the dead bird. col. hutchinson relates that two partridges were shot at once, one being killed, the other wounded; the latter ran away, and was caught by the retriever, who on her return came across the dead bird; "she stopped, evidently greatly puzzled, and after one or two trials, finding she could not take it up without permitting the escape of the winged bird, she considered a moment, then deliberately murdered it by giving it a severe crunch, and afterwards brought away both together. this was the only known instance of her ever having wilfully injured any game." here we have reason though not quite perfect, for the retriever might have brought the wounded bird first and then returned for the dead one, as in the case of the two wild-ducks. i give the above cases, as resting on the evidence of two independent witnesses, and because in both instances the retrievers, after deliberation, broke through a habit which is inherited by them (that of not killing the game retrieved), and because they shew how strong their reasoning faculty must have been to overcome a fixed habit. i will conclude by quoting a remark by the illustrious humboldt. ( . 'personal narrative,' eng. translat., vol. iii. p. .) "the muleteers in s. america say, 'i will not give you the mule whose step is easiest, but la mas racional,--the one that reasons best'"; and; as, he adds, "this popular expression, dictated by long experience, combats the system of animated machines, better perhaps than all the arguments of speculative philosophy." nevertheless some writers even yet deny that the higher animals possess a trace of reason; and they endeavour to explain away, by what appears to be mere verbiage, ( . i am glad to find that so acute a reasoner as mr. leslie stephen ('darwinism and divinity, essays on free thinking,' , p. ), in speaking of the supposed impassable barrier between the minds of man and the lower animals, says, "the distinctions, indeed, which have been drawn, seem to us to rest upon no better foundation than a great many other metaphysical distinctions; that is, the assumption that because you can give two things different names, they must therefore have different natures. it is difficult to understand how anybody who has ever kept a dog, or seen an elephant, can have any doubt as to an animal's power of performing the essential processes of reasoning.") all such facts as those above given. it has, i think, now been shewn that man and the higher animals, especially the primates, have some few instincts in common. all have the same senses, intuitions, and sensations,--similar passions, affections, and emotions, even the more complex ones, such as jealousy, suspicion, emulation, gratitude, and magnanimity; they practise deceit and are revengeful; they are sometimes susceptible to ridicule, and even have a sense of humour; they feel wonder and curiosity; they possess the same faculties of imitation, attention, deliberation, choice, memory, imagination, the association of ideas, and reason, though in very different degrees. the individuals of the same species graduate in intellect from absolute imbecility to high excellence. they are also liable to insanity, though far less often than in the case of man. ( . see 'madness in animals,' by dr. w. lauder lindsay, in 'journal of mental science,' july .) nevertheless, many authors have insisted that man is divided by an insuperable barrier from all the lower animals in his mental faculties. i formerly made a collection of above a score of such aphorisms, but they are almost worthless, as their wide difference and number prove the difficulty, if not the impossibility, of the attempt. it has been asserted that man alone is capable of progressive improvement; that he alone makes use of tools or fire, domesticates other animals, or possesses property; that no animal has the power of abstraction, or of forming general concepts, is self-conscious and comprehends itself; that no animal employs language; that man alone has a sense of beauty, is liable to caprice, has the feeling of gratitude, mystery, etc.; believes in god, or is endowed with a conscience. i will hazard a few remarks on the more important and interesting of these points. archbishop sumner formerly maintained ( . quoted by sir c. lyell, 'antiquity of man,' p. .) that man alone is capable of progressive improvement. that he is capable of incomparably greater and more rapid improvement than is any other animal, admits of no dispute; and this is mainly due to his power of speaking and handing down his acquired knowledge. with animals, looking first to the individual, every one who has had any experience in setting traps, knows that young animals can be caught much more easily than old ones; and they can be much more easily approached by an enemy. even with respect to old animals, it is impossible to catch many in the same place and in the same kind of trap, or to destroy them by the same kind of poison; yet it is improbable that all should have partaken of the poison, and impossible that all should have been caught in a trap. they must learn caution by seeing their brethren caught or poisoned. in north america, where the fur-bearing animals have long been pursued, they exhibit, according to the unanimous testimony of all observers, an almost incredible amount of sagacity, caution and cunning; but trapping has been there so long carried on, that inheritance may possibly have come into play. i have received several accounts that when telegraphs are first set up in any district, many birds kill themselves by flying against the wires, but that in the course of a very few years they learn to avoid this danger, by seeing, as it would appear, their comrades killed. ( . for additional evidence, with details, see m. houzeau, 'Ã�tudes sur les facultés mentales des animaux,' tom. ii. , p. .) if we look to successive generations, or to the race, there is no doubt that birds and other animals gradually both acquire and lose caution in relation to man or other enemies ( . see, with respect to birds on oceanic islands, my 'journal of researches during the voyage of the "beagle,"' , p. . 'origin of species,' th ed. p. .); and this caution is certainly in chief part an inherited habit or instinct, but in part the result of individual experience. a good observer, leroy ( . 'lettres phil. sur l'intelligence des animaux,' nouvelle edit., , p. .), states, that in districts where foxes are much hunted, the young, on first leaving their burrows, are incontestably much more wary than the old ones in districts where they are not much disturbed. our domestic dogs are descended from wolves and jackals ( . see the evidence on this head in chap. i. vol. i., 'on the variation of animals and plants under domestication.'), and though they may not have gained in cunning, and may have lost in wariness and suspicion, yet they have progressed in certain moral qualities, such as in affection, trust-worthiness, temper, and probably in general intelligence. the common rat has conquered and beaten several other species throughout europe, in parts of north america, new zealand, and recently in formosa, as well as on the mainland of china. mr. swinhoe ( . 'proceedings zoological society,' , p. .), who describes these two latter cases, attributes the victory of the common rat over the large mus coninga to its superior cunning; and this latter quality may probably be attributed to the habitual exercise of all its faculties in avoiding extirpation by man, as well as to nearly all the less cunning or weak-minded rats having been continuously destroyed by him. it is, however, possible that the success of the common rat may be due to its having possessed greater cunning than its fellow-species, before it became associated with man. to maintain, independently of any direct evidence, that no animal during the course of ages has progressed in intellect or other mental faculties, is to beg the question of the evolution of species. we have seen that, according to lartet, existing mammals belonging to several orders have larger brains than their ancient tertiary prototypes. it has often been said that no animal uses any tool; but the chimpanzee in a state of nature cracks a native fruit, somewhat like a walnut, with a stone. ( . savage and wyman in 'boston journal of natural history,' vol. iv. - , p. .) rengger ( . 'säugethiere von paraguay,' , s. - .) easily taught an american monkey thus to break open hard palm-nuts; and afterwards of its own accord, it used stones to open other kinds of nuts, as well as boxes. it thus also removed the soft rind of fruit that had a disagreeable flavour. another monkey was taught to open the lid of a large box with a stick, and afterwards it used the stick as a lever to move heavy bodies; and i have myself seen a young orang put a stick into a crevice, slip his hand to the other end, and use it in the proper manner as a lever. the tamed elephants in india are well known to break off branches of trees and use them to drive away the flies; and this same act has been observed in an elephant in a state of nature. ( . the indian field, march , .) i have seen a young orang, when she thought she was going to be whipped, cover and protect herself with a blanket or straw. in these several cases stones and sticks were employed as implements; but they are likewise used as weapons. brehm ( . 'thierleben,' b. i. s. , .) states, on the authority of the well-known traveller schimper, that in abyssinia when the baboons belonging to one species (c. gelada) descend in troops from the mountains to plunder the fields, they sometimes encounter troops of another species (c. hamadryas), and then a fight ensues. the geladas roll down great stones, which the hamadryas try to avoid, and then both species, making a great uproar, rush furiously against each other. brehm, when accompanying the duke of coburg-gotha, aided in an attack with fire-arms on a troop of baboons in the pass of mensa in abyssinia. the baboons in return rolled so many stones down the mountain, some as large as a man's head, that the attackers had to beat a hasty retreat; and the pass was actually closed for a time against the caravan. it deserves notice that these baboons thus acted in concert. mr. wallace ( . 'the malay archipelago,' vol. i. , p. .) on three occasions saw female orangs, accompanied by their young, "breaking off branches and the great spiny fruit of the durian tree, with every appearance of rage; causing such a shower of missiles as effectually kept us from approaching too near the tree." as i have repeatedly seen, a chimpanzee will throw any object at hand at a person who offends him; and the before-mentioned baboon at the cape of good hope prepared mud for the purpose. in the zoological gardens, a monkey, which had weak teeth, used to break open nuts with a stone; and i was assured by the keepers that after using the stone, he hid it in the straw, and would not let any other monkey touch it. here, then, we have the idea of property; but this idea is common to every dog with a bone, and to most or all birds with their nests. the duke of argyll ( . 'primeval man,' , pp. , .) remarks, that the fashioning of an implement for a special purpose is absolutely peculiar to man; and he considers that this forms an immeasurable gulf between him and the brutes. this is no doubt a very important distinction; but there appears to me much truth in sir j. lubbock's suggestion ( . 'prehistoric times,' , p. , etc.), that when primeval man first used flint-stones for any purpose, he would have accidentally splintered them, and would then have used the sharp fragments. from this step it would be a small one to break the flints on purpose, and not a very wide step to fashion them rudely. this latter advance, however, may have taken long ages, if we may judge by the immense interval of time which elapsed before the men of the neolithic period took to grinding and polishing their stone tools. in breaking the flints, as sir j. lubbock likewise remarks, sparks would have been emitted, and in grinding them heat would have been evolved: thus the two usual methods of "obtaining fire may have originated." the nature of fire would have been known in the many volcanic regions where lava occasionally flows through forests. the anthropomorphous apes, guided probably by instinct, build for themselves temporary platforms; but as many instincts are largely controlled by reason, the simpler ones, such as this of building a platform, might readily pass into a voluntary and conscious act. the orang is known to cover itself at night with the leaves of the pandanus; and brehm states that one of his baboons used to protect itself from the heat of the sun by throwing a straw-mat over its head. in these several habits, we probably see the first steps towards some of the simpler arts, such as rude architecture and dress, as they arose amongst the early progenitors of man. abstraction, general conceptions, self-consciousness, mental individuality. it would be very difficult for any one with even much more knowledge than i possess, to determine how far animals exhibit any traces of these high mental powers. this difficulty arises from the impossibility of judging what passes through the mind of an animal; and again, the fact that writers differ to a great extent in the meaning which they attribute to the above terms, causes a further difficulty. if one may judge from various articles which have been published lately, the greatest stress seems to be laid on the supposed entire absence in animals of the power of abstraction, or of forming general concepts. but when a dog sees another dog at a distance, it is often clear that he perceives that it is a dog in the abstract; for when he gets nearer his whole manner suddenly changes, if the other dog be a friend. a recent writer remarks, that in all such cases it is a pure assumption to assert that the mental act is not essentially of the same nature in the animal as in man. if either refers what he perceives with his senses to a mental concept, then so do both. ( . mr. hookham, in a letter to prof. max muller, in the 'birmingham news,' may .) when i say to my terrier, in an eager voice (and i have made the trial many times), "hi, hi, where is it?" she at once takes it as a sign that something is to be hunted, and generally first looks quickly all around, and then rushes into the nearest thicket, to scent for any game, but finding nothing, she looks up into any neighbouring tree for a squirrel. now do not these actions clearly shew that she had in her mind a general idea or concept that some animal is to be discovered and hunted? it may be freely admitted that no animal is self-conscious, if by this term it is implied, that he reflects on such points, as whence he comes or whither he will go, or what is life and death, and so forth. but how can we feel sure that an old dog with an excellent memory and some power of imagination, as shewn by his dreams, never reflects on his past pleasures or pains in the chase? and this would be a form of self-consciousness. on the other hand, as buchner ( . 'conférences sur la théorie darwinienne,' french translat. , p. .) has remarked, how little can the hard-worked wife of a degraded australian savage, who uses very few abstract words, and cannot count above four, exert her self-consciousness, or reflect on the nature of her own existence. it is generally admitted, that the higher animals possess memory, attention, association, and even some imagination and reason. if these powers, which differ much in different animals, are capable of improvement, there seems no great improbability in more complex faculties, such as the higher forms of abstraction, and self-consciousness, etc., having been evolved through the development and combination of the simpler ones. it has been urged against the views here maintained that it is impossible to say at what point in the ascending scale animals become capable of abstraction, etc.; but who can say at what age this occurs in our young children? we see at least that such powers are developed in children by imperceptible degrees. that animals retain their mental individuality is unquestionable. when my voice awakened a train of old associations in the mind of the before-mentioned dog, he must have retained his mental individuality, although every atom of his brain had probably undergone change more than once during the interval of five years. this dog might have brought forward the argument lately advanced to crush all evolutionists, and said, "i abide amid all mental moods and all material changes...the teaching that atoms leave their impressions as legacies to other atoms falling into the places they have vacated is contradictory of the utterance of consciousness, and is therefore false; but it is the teaching necessitated by evolutionism, consequently the hypothesis is a false one." ( . the rev. dr. j. m'cann, 'anti-darwinism,' , p. .) language. this faculty has justly been considered as one of the chief distinctions between man and the lower animals. but man, as a highly competent judge, archbishop whately remarks, "is not the only animal that can make use of language to express what is passing in his mind, and can understand, more or less, what is so expressed by another." ( . quoted in 'anthropological review,' , p. .) in paraguay the cebus azarae when excited utters at least six distinct sounds, which excite in other monkeys similar emotions. ( . rengger, ibid. s. .) the movements of the features and gestures of monkeys are understood by us, and they partly understand ours, as rengger and others declare. it is a more remarkable fact that the dog, since being domesticated, has learnt to bark ( . see my 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. i. p. .) in at least four or five distinct tones. although barking is a new art, no doubt the wild parent-species of the dog expressed their feelings by cries of various kinds. with the domesticated dog we have the bark of eagerness, as in the chase; that of anger, as well as growling; the yelp or howl of despair, as when shut up; the baying at night; the bark of joy, as when starting on a walk with his master; and the very distinct one of demand or supplication, as when wishing for a door or window to be opened. according to houzeau, who paid particular attention to the subject, the domestic fowl utters at least a dozen significant sounds. ( . 'facultés mentales des animaux,' tom. ii. , p. - .) the habitual use of articulate language is, however, peculiar to man; but he uses, in common with the lower animals, inarticulate cries to express his meaning, aided by gestures and the movements of the muscles of the face. ( . see a discussion on this subject in mr. e.b. tylor's very interesting work, 'researches into the early history of mankind,' , chaps. ii. to iv.) this especially holds good with the more simple and vivid feelings, which are but little connected with our higher intelligence. our cries of pain, fear, surprise, anger, together with their appropriate actions, and the murmur of a mother to her beloved child are more expressive than any words. that which distinguishes man from the lower animals is not the understanding of articulate sounds, for, as every one knows, dogs understand many words and sentences. in this respect they are at the same stage of development as infants, between the ages of ten and twelve months, who understand many words and short sentences, but cannot yet utter a single word. it is not the mere articulation which is our distinguishing character, for parrots and other birds possess this power. nor is it the mere capacity of connecting definite sounds with definite ideas; for it is certain that some parrots, which have been taught to speak, connect unerringly words with things, and persons with events. ( . i have received several detailed accounts to this effect. admiral sir b.j. sulivan, whom i know to be a careful observer, assures me that an african parrot, long kept in his father's house, invariably called certain persons of the household, as well as visitors, by their names. he said "good morning" to every one at breakfast, and "good night" to each as they left the room at night, and never reversed these salutations. to sir b.j. sulivan's father, he used to add to the " good morning" a short sentence, which was never once repeated after his father's death. he scolded violently a strange dog which came into the room through the open window; and he scolded another parrot (saying "you naughty polly") which had got out of its cage, and was eating apples on the kitchen table. see also, to the same effect, houzeau on parrots, 'facultés mentales,' tom. ii. p. . dr. a. moschkau informs me that he knew a starling which never made a mistake in saying in german "good morning" to persons arriving, and "good bye, old fellow," to those departing. i could add several other such cases.) the lower animals differ from man solely in his almost infinitely larger power of associating together the most diversified sounds and ideas; and this obviously depends on the high development of his mental powers. as horne tooke, one of the founders of the noble science of philology, observes, language is an art, like brewing or baking; but writing would have been a better simile. it certainly is not a true instinct, for every language has to be learnt. it differs, however, widely from all ordinary arts, for man has an instinctive tendency to speak, as we see in the babble of our young children; whilst no child has an instinctive tendency to brew, bake, or write. moreover, no philologist now supposes that any language has been deliberately invented; it has been slowly and unconsciously developed by many steps. ( . see some good remarks on this head by prof. whitney, in his 'oriental and linguistic studies,' , p. . he observes that the desire of communication between man is the living force, which, in the development of language, "works both consciously and unconsciously; consciously as regards the immediate end to be attained; unconsciously as regards the further consequences of the act.") the sounds uttered by birds offer in several respects the nearest analogy to language, for all the members of the same species utter the same instinctive cries expressive of their emotions; and all the kinds which sing, exert their power instinctively; but the actual song, and even the call-notes, are learnt from their parents or foster-parents. these sounds, as daines barrington ( . hon. daines barrington in 'philosoph. transactions,' , p. . see also dureau de la malle, in 'ann. des. sc. nat.' rd series, zoolog., tom. x. p. .) has proved, "are no more innate than language is in man." the first attempts to sing "may be compared to the imperfect endeavour in a child to babble." the young males continue practising, or as the bird-catchers say, "recording," for ten or eleven months. their first essays shew hardly a rudiment of the future song; but as they grow older we can perceive what they are aiming at; and at last they are said "to sing their song round." nestlings which have learnt the song of a distinct species, as with the canary-birds educated in the tyrol, teach and transmit their new song to their offspring. the slight natural differences of song in the same species inhabiting different districts may be appositely compared, as barrington remarks, "to provincial dialects"; and the songs of allied, though distinct species may be compared with the languages of distinct races of man. i have given the foregoing details to shew that an instinctive tendency to acquire an art is not peculiar to man. with respect to the origin of articulate language, after having read on the one side the highly interesting works of mr. hensleigh wedgwood, the rev. f. farrar, and prof. schleicher ( . 'on the origin of language,' by h. wedgwood, . 'chapters on language,' by the rev. f.w. farrar, . these works are most interesting. see also 'de la phys. et de parole,' par albert lemoine, , p. . the work on this subject, by the late prof. aug. schleicher, has been translated by dr. bikkers into english, under the title of 'darwinism tested by the science of language,' .), and the celebrated lectures of prof. max muller on the other side, i cannot doubt that language owes its origin to the imitation and modification of various natural sounds, the voices of other animals, and man's own instinctive cries, aided by signs and gestures. when we treat of sexual selection we shall see that primeval man, or rather some early progenitor of man, probably first used his voice in producing true musical cadences, that is in singing, as do some of the gibbon-apes at the present day; and we may conclude from a widely-spread analogy, that this power would have been especially exerted during the courtship of the sexes,--would have expressed various emotions, such as love, jealousy, triumph,--and would have served as a challenge to rivals. it is, therefore, probable that the imitation of musical cries by articulate sounds may have given rise to words expressive of various complex emotions. the strong tendency in our nearest allies, the monkeys, in microcephalous idiots ( . vogt, 'mémoire sur les microcephales,' , p. . with respect to savages, i have given some facts in my 'journal of researches,' etc., , p. .), and in the barbarous races of mankind, to imitate whatever they hear deserves notice, as bearing on the subject of imitation. since monkeys certainly understand much that is said to them by man, and when wild, utter signal-cries of danger to their fellows ( . see clear evidence on this head in the two works so often quoted, by brehm and rengger.); and since fowls give distinct warnings for danger on the ground, or in the sky from hawks (both, as well as a third cry, intelligible to dogs) ( . houzeau gives a very curious account of his observations on this subject in his 'facultés mentales des animaux,' tom. ii. p. .), may not some unusually wise ape-like animal have imitated the growl of a beast of prey, and thus told his fellow-monkeys the nature of the expected danger? this would have been a first step in the formation of a language. as the voice was used more and more, the vocal organs would have been strengthened and perfected through the principle of the inherited effects of use; and this would have reacted on the power of speech. but the relation between the continued use of language and the development of the brain, has no doubt been far more important. the mental powers in some early progenitor of man must have been more highly developed than in any existing ape, before even the most imperfect form of speech could have come into use; but we may confidently believe that the continued use and advancement of this power would have reacted on the mind itself, by enabling and encouraging it to carry on long trains of thought. a complex train of thought can no more be carried on without the aid of words, whether spoken or silent, than a long calculation without the use of figures or algebra. it appears, also, that even an ordinary train of thought almost requires, or is greatly facilitated by some form of language, for the dumb, deaf, and blind girl, laura bridgman, was observed to use her fingers whilst dreaming. ( . see remarks on this head by dr. maudsley, 'the physiology and pathology of mind,' nd ed., , p. .) nevertheless, a long succession of vivid and connected ideas may pass through the mind without the aid of any form of language, as we may infer from the movements of dogs during their dreams. we have, also, seen that animals are able to reason to a certain extent, manifestly without the aid of language. the intimate connection between the brain, as it is now developed in us, and the faculty of speech, is well shewn by those curious cases of brain-disease in which speech is specially affected, as when the power to remember substantives is lost, whilst other words can be correctly used, or where substantives of a certain class, or all except the initial letters of substantives and proper names are forgotten. ( . many curious cases have been recorded. see, for instance, dr. bateman 'on aphasia,' , pp. , , , , etc. also, 'inquiries concerning the intellectual powers,' by dr. abercrombie, , p. .) there is no more improbability in the continued use of the mental and vocal organs leading to inherited changes in their structure and functions, than in the case of hand-writing, which depends partly on the form of the hand and partly on the disposition of the mind; and handwriting is certainly inherited. ( . 'the variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. p. .') several writers, more especially prof. max muller ( . lectures on 'mr. darwin's philosophy of language,' .), have lately insisted that the use of language implies the power of forming general concepts; and that as no animals are supposed to possess this power, an impassable barrier is formed between them and man. ( . the judgment of a distinguished philologist, such as prof. whitney, will have far more weight on this point than anything that i can say. he remarks ('oriental and linguistic studies,' , p. ), in speaking of bleek's views: "because on the grand scale language is the necessary auxiliary of thought, indispensable to the development of the power of thinking, to the distinctness and variety and complexity of cognitions to the full mastery of consciousness; therefore he would fain make thought absolutely impossible without speech, identifying the faculty with its instrument. he might just as reasonably assert that the human hand cannot act without a tool. with such a doctrine to start from, he cannot stop short of max muller's worst paradoxes, that an infant (in fans, not speaking) is not a human being, and that deaf-mutes do not become possessed of reason until they learn to twist their fingers into imitation of spoken words." max muller gives in italics ('lectures on mr. darwin's philosophy of language,' , third lecture) this aphorism: "there is no thought without words, as little as there are words without thought." what a strange definition must here be given to the word thought!) with respect to animals, i have already endeavoured to shew that they have this power, at least in a rude and incipient degree. as far as concerns infants of from ten to eleven months old, and deaf-mutes, it seems to me incredible, that they should be able to connect certain sounds with certain general ideas as quickly as they do, unless such ideas were already formed in their minds. the same remark may be extended to the more intelligent animals; as mr. leslie stephen observes ( . 'essays on free thinking,' etc., , p. .), "a dog frames a general concept of cats or sheep, and knows the corresponding words as well as a philosopher. and the capacity to understand is as good a proof of vocal intelligence, though in an inferior degree, as the capacity to speak." why the organs now used for speech should have been originally perfected for this purpose, rather than any other organs, it is not difficult to see. ants have considerable powers of intercommunication by means of their antennae, as shewn by huber, who devotes a whole chapter to their language. we might have used our fingers as efficient instruments, for a person with practice can report to a deaf man every word of a speech rapidly delivered at a public meeting; but the loss of our hands, whilst thus employed, would have been a serious inconvenience. as all the higher mammals possess vocal organs, constructed on the same general plan as ours, and used as a means of communication, it was obviously probable that these same organs would be still further developed if the power of communication had to be improved; and this has been effected by the aid of adjoining and well adapted parts, namely the tongue and lips. ( . see some good remarks to this effect by dr. maudsley, 'the physiology and pathology of mind,' , p. .) the fact of the higher apes not using their vocal organs for speech, no doubt depends on their intelligence not having been sufficiently advanced. the possession by them of organs, which with long-continued practice might have been used for speech, although not thus used, is paralleled by the case of many birds which possess organs fitted for singing, though they never sing. thus, the nightingale and crow have vocal organs similarly constructed, these being used by the former for diversified song, and by the latter only for croaking. ( . macgillivray, 'hist. of british birds,' vol. ii. , p. . an excellent observer, mr. blackwall, remarks that the magpie learns to pronounce single words, and even short sentences, more readily than almost any other british bird; yet, as he adds, after long and closely investigating its habits, he has never known it, in a state of nature, display any unusual capacity for imitation. 'researches in zoology,' , p. .) if it be asked why apes have not had their intellects developed to the same degree as that of man, general causes only can be assigned in answer, and it is unreasonable to expect any thing more definite, considering our ignorance with respect to the successive stages of development through which each creature has passed. the formation of different languages and of distinct species, and the proofs that both have been developed through a gradual process, are curiously parallel. ( . see the very interesting parallelism between the development of species and languages, given by sir c. lyell in 'the geological evidences of the antiquity of man,' , chap. xxiii.) but we can trace the formation of many words further back than that of species, for we can perceive how they actually arose from the imitation of various sounds. we find in distinct languages striking homologies due to community of descent, and analogies due to a similar process of formation. the manner in which certain letters or sounds change when others change is very like correlated growth. we have in both cases the reduplication of parts, the effects of long-continued use, and so forth. the frequent presence of rudiments, both in languages and in species, is still more remarkable. the letter m in the word am, means i; so that in the expression i am, a superfluous and useless rudiment has been retained. in the spelling also of words, letters often remain as the rudiments of ancient forms of pronunciation. languages, like organic beings, can be classed in groups under groups; and they can be classed either naturally according to descent, or artificially by other characters. dominant languages and dialects spread widely, and lead to the gradual extinction of other tongues. a language, like a species, when once extinct, never, as sir c. lyell remarks, reappears. the same language never has two birth-places. distinct languages may be crossed or blended together. ( . see remarks to this effect by the rev. f.w. farrar, in an interesting article, entitled 'philology and darwinism,' in 'nature,' march th, , p. .) we see variability in every tongue, and new words are continually cropping up; but as there is a limit to the powers of the memory, single words, like whole languages, gradually become extinct. as max muller ( . 'nature,' january th, , p. .) has well remarked:--"a struggle for life is constantly going on amongst the words and grammatical forms in each language. the better, the shorter, the easier forms are constantly gaining the upper hand, and they owe their success to their own inherent virtue." to these more important causes of the survival of certain words, mere novelty and fashion may be added; for there is in the mind of man a strong love for slight changes in all things. the survival or preservation of certain favoured words in the struggle for existence is natural selection. the perfectly regular and wonderfully complex construction of the languages of many barbarous nations has often been advanced as a proof, either of the divine origin of these languages, or of the high art and former civilisation of their founders. thus f. von schlegel writes: "in those languages which appear to be at the lowest grade of intellectual culture, we frequently observe a very high and elaborate degree of art in their grammatical structure. this is especially the case with the basque and the lapponian, and many of the american languages." ( . quoted by c.s. wake, 'chapters on man,' , p. .) but it is assuredly an error to speak of any language as an art, in the sense of its having been elaborately and methodically formed. philologists now admit that conjugations, declensions, etc., originally existed as distinct words, since joined together; and as such words express the most obvious relations between objects and persons, it is not surprising that they should have been used by the men of most races during the earliest ages. with respect to perfection, the following illustration will best shew how easily we may err: a crinoid sometimes consists of no less than , pieces of shell ( . buckland, 'bridgewater treatise,' p. .), all arranged with perfect symmetry in radiating lines; but a naturalist does not consider an animal of this kind as more perfect than a bilateral one with comparatively few parts, and with none of these parts alike, excepting on the opposite sides of the body. he justly considers the differentiation and specialisation of organs as the test of perfection. so with languages: the most symmetrical and complex ought not to be ranked above irregular, abbreviated, and bastardised languages, which have borrowed expressive words and useful forms of construction from various conquering, conquered, or immigrant races. from these few and imperfect remarks i conclude that the extremely complex and regular construction of many barbarous languages, is no proof that they owe their origin to a special act of creation. ( . see some good remarks on the simplification of languages, by sir j. lubbock, 'origin of civilisation,' , p. .) nor, as we have seen, does the faculty of articulate speech in itself offer any insuperable objection to the belief that man has been developed from some lower form. sense of beauty. this sense has been declared to be peculiar to man. i refer here only to the pleasure given by certain colours, forms, and sounds, and which may fairly be called a sense of the beautiful; with cultivated men such sensations are, however, intimately associated with complex ideas and trains of thought. when we behold a male bird elaborately displaying his graceful plumes or splendid colours before the female, whilst other birds, not thus decorated, make no such display, it is impossible to doubt that she admires the beauty of her male partner. as women everywhere deck themselves with these plumes, the beauty of such ornaments cannot be disputed. as we shall see later, the nests of humming-birds, and the playing passages of bower-birds are tastefully ornamented with gaily-coloured objects; and this shews that they must receive some kind of pleasure from the sight of such things. with the great majority of animals, however, the taste for the beautiful is confined, as far as we can judge, to the attractions of the opposite sex. the sweet strains poured forth by many male birds during the season of love, are certainly admired by the females, of which fact evidence will hereafter be given. if female birds had been incapable of appreciating the beautiful colours, the ornaments, and voices of their male partners, all the labour and anxiety exhibited by the latter in displaying their charms before the females would have been thrown away; and this it is impossible to admit. why certain bright colours should excite pleasure cannot, i presume, be explained, any more than why certain flavours and scents are agreeable; but habit has something to do with the result, for that which is at first unpleasant to our senses, ultimately becomes pleasant, and habits are inherited. with respect to sounds, helmholtz has explained to a certain extent on physiological principles, why harmonies and certain cadences are agreeable. but besides this, sounds frequently recurring at irregular intervals are highly disagreeable, as every one will admit who has listened at night to the irregular flapping of a rope on board ship. the same principle seems to come into play with vision, as the eye prefers symmetry or figures with some regular recurrence. patterns of this kind are employed by even the lowest savages as ornaments; and they have been developed through sexual selection for the adornment of some male animals. whether we can or not give any reason for the pleasure thus derived from vision and hearing, yet man and many of the lower animals are alike pleased by the same colours, graceful shading and forms, and the same sounds. the taste for the beautiful, at least as far as female beauty is concerned, is not of a special nature in the human mind; for it differs widely in the different races of man, and is not quite the same even in the different nations of the same race. judging from the hideous ornaments, and the equally hideous music admired by most savages, it might be urged that their aesthetic faculty was not so highly developed as in certain animals, for instance, as in birds. obviously no animal would be capable of admiring such scenes as the heavens at night, a beautiful landscape, or refined music; but such high tastes are acquired through culture, and depend on complex associations; they are not enjoyed by barbarians or by uneducated persons. many of the faculties, which have been of inestimable service to man for his progressive advancement, such as the powers of the imagination, wonder, curiosity, an undefined sense of beauty, a tendency to imitation, and the love of excitement or novelty, could hardly fail to lead to capricious changes of customs and fashions. i have alluded to this point, because a recent writer ( . 'the spectator,' dec. th, , p. .) has oddly fixed on caprice "as one of the most remarkable and typical differences between savages and brutes." but not only can we partially understand how it is that man is from various conflicting influences rendered capricious, but that the lower animals are, as we shall hereafter see, likewise capricious in their affections, aversions, and sense of beauty. there is also reason to suspect that they love novelty, for its own sake. belief in god--religion. there is no evidence that man was aboriginally endowed with the ennobling belief in the existence of an omnipotent god. on the contrary there is ample evidence, derived not from hasty travellers, but from men who have long resided with savages, that numerous races have existed, and still exist, who have no idea of one or more gods, and who have no words in their languages to express such an idea. ( . see an excellent article on this subject by the rev. f.w. farrar, in the 'anthropological review,' aug. , p. ccxvii. for further facts see sir j. lubbock, 'prehistoric times,' nd edit., , p. ; and especially the chapters on religion in his 'origin of civilisation,' .) the question is of course wholly distinct from that higher one, whether there exists a creator and ruler of the universe; and this has been answered in the affirmative by some of the highest intellects that have ever existed. if, however, we include under the term "religion" the belief in unseen or spiritual agencies, the case is wholly different; for this belief seems to be universal with the less civilised races. nor is it difficult to comprehend how it arose. as soon as the important faculties of the imagination, wonder, and curiosity, together with some power of reasoning, had become partially developed, man would naturally crave to understand what was passing around him, and would have vaguely speculated on his own existence. as mr. m'lennan ( . 'the worship of animals and plants,' in the 'fortnightly review,' oct. , , p. .) has remarked, "some explanation of the phenomena of life, a man must feign for himself, and to judge from the universality of it, the simplest hypothesis, and the first to occur to men, seems to have been that natural phenomena are ascribable to the presence in animals, plants, and things, and in the forces of nature, of such spirits prompting to action as men are conscious they themselves possess." it is also probable, as mr. tylor has shewn, that dreams may have first given rise to the notion of spirits; for savages do not readily distinguish between subjective and objective impressions. when a savage dreams, the figures which appear before him are believed to have come from a distance, and to stand over him; or "the soul of the dreamer goes out on its travels, and comes home with a remembrance of what it has seen." ( . tylor, 'early history of mankind,' , p. . see also the three striking chapters on the 'development of religion,' in lubbock's 'origin of civilisation,' . in a like manner mr. herbert spencer, in his ingenious essay in the 'fortnightly review' (may st, , p. ), accounts for the earliest forms of religious belief throughout the world, by man being led through dreams, shadows, and other causes, to look at himself as a double essence, corporeal and spiritual. as the spiritual being is supposed to exist after death and to be powerful, it is propitiated by various gifts and ceremonies, and its aid invoked. he then further shews that names or nicknames given from some animal or other object, to the early progenitors or founders of a tribe, are supposed after a long interval to represent the real progenitor of the tribe; and such animal or object is then naturally believed still to exist as a spirit, is held sacred, and worshipped as a god. nevertheless i cannot but suspect that there is a still earlier and ruder stage, when anything which manifests power or movement is thought to be endowed with some form of life, and with mental faculties analogous to our own.) but until the faculties of imagination, curiosity, reason, etc., had been fairly well developed in the mind of man, his dreams would not have led him to believe in spirits, any more than in the case of a dog. the tendency in savages to imagine that natural objects and agencies are animated by spiritual or living essences, is perhaps illustrated by a little fact which i once noticed: my dog, a full-grown and very sensible animal, was lying on the lawn during a hot and still day; but at a little distance a slight breeze occasionally moved an open parasol, which would have been wholly disregarded by the dog, had any one stood near it. as it was, every time that the parasol slightly moved, the dog growled fiercely and barked. he must, i think, have reasoned to himself in a rapid and unconscious manner, that movement without any apparent cause indicated the presence of some strange living agent, and that no stranger had a right to be on his territory. the belief in spiritual agencies would easily pass into the belief in the existence of one or more gods. for savages would naturally attribute to spirits the same passions, the same love of vengeance or simplest form of justice, and the same affections which they themselves feel. the fuegians appear to be in this respect in an intermediate condition, for when the surgeon on board the "beagle" shot some young ducklings as specimens, york minster declared in the most solemn manner, "oh, mr. bynoe, much rain, much snow, blow much"; and this was evidently a retributive punishment for wasting human food. so again he related how, when his brother killed a "wild man," storms long raged, much rain and snow fell. yet we could never discover that the fuegians believed in what we should call a god, or practised any religious rites; and jemmy button, with justifiable pride, stoutly maintained that there was no devil in his land. this latter assertion is the more remarkable, as with savages the belief in bad spirits is far more common than that in good ones. the feeling of religious devotion is a highly complex one, consisting of love, complete submission to an exalted and mysterious superior, a strong sense of dependence ( . see an able article on the 'physical elements of religion,' by mr. l. owen pike, in 'anthropological review,' april , p. lxiii.), fear, reverence, gratitude, hope for the future, and perhaps other elements. no being could experience so complex an emotion until advanced in his intellectual and moral faculties to at least a moderately high level. nevertheless, we see some distant approach to this state of mind in the deep love of a dog for his master, associated with complete submission, some fear, and perhaps other feelings. the behaviour of a dog when returning to his master after an absence, and, as i may add, of a monkey to his beloved keeper, is widely different from that towards their fellows. in the latter case the transports of joy appear to be somewhat less, and the sense of equality is shewn in every action. professor braubach goes so far as to maintain that a dog looks on his master as on a god. ( . 'religion, moral, etc., der darwin'schen art-lehre,' , s. . it is said (dr. w. lauder lindsay, 'journal of mental science,' , p. ), that bacon long ago, and the poet burns, held the same notion.) the same high mental faculties which first led man to believe in unseen spiritual agencies, then in fetishism, polytheism, and ultimately in monotheism, would infallibly lead him, as long as his reasoning powers remained poorly developed, to various strange superstitions and customs. many of these are terrible to think of--such as the sacrifice of human beings to a blood-loving god; the trial of innocent persons by the ordeal of poison or fire; witchcraft, etc.--yet it is well occasionally to reflect on these superstitions, for they shew us what an infinite debt of gratitude we owe to the improvement of our reason, to science, and to our accumulated knowledge. as sir j. lubbock ( . 'prehistoric times,' nd edit., p. . in this work (p. ) there will be found an excellent account of the many strange and capricious customs of savages.) has well observed, "it is not too much to say that the horrible dread of unknown evil hangs like a thick cloud over savage life, and embitters every pleasure." these miserable and indirect consequences of our highest faculties may be compared with the incidental and occasional mistakes of the instincts of the lower animals. chapter iv. comparison of the mental powers of man and the lower animals--continued. the moral sense--fundamental proposition--the qualities of social animals--origin of sociability--struggle between opposed instincts--man a social animal--the more enduring social instincts conquer other less persistent instincts--the social virtues alone regarded by savages--the self-regarding virtues acquired at a later stage of development--the importance of the judgment of the members of the same community on conduct--transmission of moral tendencies--summary. i fully subscribe to the judgment of those writers ( . see, for instance, on this subject, quatrefages, 'unité de l'espèce humaine,' , p. , etc.) who maintain that of all the differences between man and the lower animals, the moral sense or conscience is by far the most important. this sense, as mackintosh ( . 'dissertation on ethical philosophy,' , p. , etc.) remarks, "has a rightful supremacy over every other principle of human action"; it is summed up in that short but imperious word "ought," so full of high significance. it is the most noble of all the attributes of man, leading him without a moment's hesitation to risk his life for that of a fellow-creature; or after due deliberation, impelled simply by the deep feeling of right or duty, to sacrifice it in some great cause. immanuel kant exclaims, "duty! wondrous thought, that workest neither by fond insinuation, flattery, nor by any threat, but merely by holding up thy naked law in the soul, and so extorting for thyself always reverence, if not always obedience; before whom all appetites are dumb, however secretly they rebel; whence thy original?" ( . 'metaphysics of ethics,' translated by j.w. semple, edinburgh, , p. .) this great question has been discussed by many writers ( . mr. bain gives a list ('mental and moral science,' , pp. - ) of twenty-six british authors who have written on this subject, and whose names are familiar to every reader; to these, mr. bain's own name, and those of mr. lecky, mr. shadworth hodgson, sir j. lubbock, and others, might be added.) of consummate ability; and my sole excuse for touching on it, is the impossibility of here passing it over; and because, as far as i know, no one has approached it exclusively from the side of natural history. the investigation possesses, also, some independent interest, as an attempt to see how far the study of the lower animals throws light on one of the highest psychical faculties of man. the following proposition seems to me in a high degree probable--namely, that any animal whatever, endowed with well-marked social instincts ( . sir b. brodie, after observing that man is a social animal ('psychological enquiries,' , p. ), asks the pregnant question, "ought not this to settle the disputed question as to the existence of a moral sense?" similar ideas have probably occurred to many persons, as they did long ago to marcus aurelius. mr. j.s. mill speaks, in his celebrated work, 'utilitarianism,' ( , pp. , ), of the social feelings as a "powerful natural sentiment," and as "the natural basis of sentiment for utilitarian morality." again he says, "like the other acquired capacities above referred to, the moral faculty, if not a part of our nature, is a natural out-growth from it; capable, like them, in a certain small degree of springing up spontaneously." but in opposition to all this, he also remarks, "if, as in my own belief, the moral feelings are not innate, but acquired, they are not for that reason less natural." it is with hesitation that i venture to differ at all from so profound a thinker, but it can hardly be disputed that the social feelings are instinctive or innate in the lower animals; and why should they not be so in man? mr. bain (see, for instance, 'the emotions and the will,' , p. ) and others believe that the moral sense is acquired by each individual during his lifetime. on the general theory of evolution this is at least extremely improbable. the ignoring of all transmitted mental qualities will, as it seems to me, be hereafter judged as a most serious blemish in the works of mr. mill.), the parental and filial affections being here included, would inevitably acquire a moral sense or conscience, as soon as its intellectual powers had become as well, or nearly as well developed, as in man. for, firstly, the social instincts lead an animal to take pleasure in the society of its fellows, to feel a certain amount of sympathy with them, and to perform various services for them. the services may be of a definite and evidently instinctive nature; or there may be only a wish and readiness, as with most of the higher social animals, to aid their fellows in certain general ways. but these feelings and services are by no means extended to all the individuals of the same species, only to those of the same association. secondly, as soon as the mental faculties had become highly developed, images of all past actions and motives would be incessantly passing through the brain of each individual: and that feeling of dissatisfaction, or even misery, which invariably results, as we shall hereafter see, from any unsatisfied instinct, would arise, as often as it was perceived that the enduring and always present social instinct had yielded to some other instinct, at the time stronger, but neither enduring in its nature, nor leaving behind it a very vivid impression. it is clear that many instinctive desires, such as that of hunger, are in their nature of short duration; and after being satisfied, are not readily or vividly recalled. thirdly, after the power of language had been acquired, and the wishes of the community could be expressed, the common opinion how each member ought to act for the public good, would naturally become in a paramount degree the guide to action. but it should be borne in mind that however great weight we may attribute to public opinion, our regard for the approbation and disapprobation of our fellows depends on sympathy, which, as we shall see, forms an essential part of the social instinct, and is indeed its foundation-stone. lastly, habit in the individual would ultimately play a very important part in guiding the conduct of each member; for the social instinct, together with sympathy, is, like any other instinct, greatly strengthened by habit, and so consequently would be obedience to the wishes and judgment of the community. these several subordinate propositions must now be discussed, and some of them at considerable length. it may be well first to premise that i do not wish to maintain that any strictly social animal, if its intellectual faculties were to become as active and as highly developed as in man, would acquire exactly the same moral sense as ours. in the same manner as various animals have some sense of beauty, though they admire widely-different objects, so they might have a sense of right and wrong, though led by it to follow widely different lines of conduct. if, for instance, to take an extreme case, men were reared under precisely the same conditions as hive-bees, there can hardly be a doubt that our unmarried females would, like the worker-bees, think it a sacred duty to kill their brothers, and mothers would strive to kill their fertile daughters; and no one would think of interfering. ( . mr. h. sidgwick remarks, in an able discussion on this subject (the 'academy,' june , , p. ), "a superior bee, we may feel sure, would aspire to a milder solution of the population question." judging, however, from the habits of many or most savages, man solves the problem by female infanticide, polyandry and promiscuous intercourse; therefore it may well be doubted whether it would be by a milder method. miss cobbe, in commenting ('darwinism in morals,' 'theological review,' april , pp. - ) on the same illustration, says, the principles of social duty would be thus reversed; and by this, i presume, she means that the fulfilment of a social duty would tend to the injury of individuals; but she overlooks the fact, which she would doubtless admit, that the instincts of the bee have been acquired for the good of the community. she goes so far as to say that if the theory of ethics advocated in this chapter were ever generally accepted, "i cannot but believe that in the hour of their triumph would be sounded the knell of the virtue of mankind!" it is to be hoped that the belief in the permanence of virtue on this earth is not held by many persons on so weak a tenure.) nevertheless, the bee, or any other social animal, would gain in our supposed case, as it appears to me, some feeling of right or wrong, or a conscience. for each individual would have an inward sense of possessing certain stronger or more enduring instincts, and others less strong or enduring; so that there would often be a struggle as to which impulse should be followed; and satisfaction, dissatisfaction, or even misery would be felt, as past impressions were compared during their incessant passage through the mind. in this case an inward monitor would tell the animal that it would have been better to have followed the one impulse rather than the other. the one course ought to have been followed, and the other ought not; the one would have been right and the other wrong; but to these terms i shall recur. sociability. animals of many kinds are social; we find even distinct species living together; for example, some american monkeys; and united flocks of rooks, jackdaws, and starlings. man shews the same feeling in his strong love for the dog, which the dog returns with interest. every one must have noticed how miserable horses, dogs, sheep, etc., are when separated from their companions, and what strong mutual affection the two former kinds, at least, shew on their reunion. it is curious to speculate on the feelings of a dog, who will rest peacefully for hours in a room with his master or any of the family, without the least notice being taken of him; but if left for a short time by himself, barks or howls dismally. we will confine our attention to the higher social animals; and pass over insects, although some of these are social, and aid one another in many important ways. the most common mutual service in the higher animals is to warn one another of danger by means of the united senses of all. every sportsman knows, as dr. jaeger remarks ( . 'die darwin'sche theorie,' s. .), how difficult it is to approach animals in a herd or troop. wild horses and cattle do not, i believe, make any danger-signal; but the attitude of any one of them who first discovers an enemy, warns the others. rabbits stamp loudly on the ground with their hind-feet as a signal: sheep and chamois do the same with their forefeet, uttering likewise a whistle. many birds, and some mammals, post sentinels, which in the case of seals are said ( . mr. r. brown in 'proc. zoolog. soc.' , p. .) generally to be the females. the leader of a troop of monkeys acts as the sentinel, and utters cries expressive both of danger and of safety. ( . brehm, 'thierleben,' b. i. , s. , . for the case of the monkeys extracting thorns from each other, see s. . with respect to the hamadryas turning over stones, the fact is given (s. ), on the evidence of alvarez, whose observations brehm thinks quite trustworthy. for the cases of the old male baboons attacking the dogs, see s. ; and with respect to the eagle, s. .) social animals perform many little services for each other: horses nibble, and cows lick each other, on any spot which itches: monkeys search each other for external parasites; and brehm states that after a troop of the cercopithecus griseo-viridis has rushed through a thorny brake, each monkey stretches itself on a branch, and another monkey sitting by, "conscientiously" examines its fur, and extracts every thorn or burr. animals also render more important services to one another: thus wolves and some other beasts of prey hunt in packs, and aid one another in attacking their victims. pelicans fish in concert. the hamadryas baboons turn over stones to find insects, etc.; and when they come to a large one, as many as can stand round, turn it over together and share the booty. social animals mutually defend each other. bull bisons in n. america, when there is danger, drive the cows and calves into the middle of the herd, whilst they defend the outside. i shall also in a future chapter give an account of two young wild bulls at chillingham attacking an old one in concert, and of two stallions together trying to drive away a third stallion from a troop of mares. in abyssinia, brehm encountered a great troop of baboons who were crossing a valley: some had already ascended the opposite mountain, and some were still in the valley; the latter were attacked by the dogs, but the old males immediately hurried down from the rocks, and with mouths widely opened, roared so fearfully, that the dogs quickly drew back. they were again encouraged to the attack; but by this time all the baboons had reascended the heights, excepting a young one, about six months old, who, loudly calling for aid, climbed on a block of rock, and was surrounded. now one of the largest males, a true hero, came down again from the mountain, slowly went to the young one, coaxed him, and triumphantly led him away--the dogs being too much astonished to make an attack. i cannot resist giving another scene which was witnessed by this same naturalist; an eagle seized a young cercopithecus, which, by clinging to a branch, was not at once carried off; it cried loudly for assistance, upon which the other members of the troop, with much uproar, rushed to the rescue, surrounded the eagle, and pulled out so many feathers, that he no longer thought of his prey, but only how to escape. this eagle, as brehm remarks, assuredly would never again attack a single monkey of a troop. ( . mr. belt gives the case of a spider-monkey (ateles) in nicaragua, which was heard screaming for nearly two hours in the forest, and was found with an eagle perched close by it. the bird apparently feared to attack as long as it remained face to face; and mr. belt believes, from what he has seen of the habits of these monkeys, that they protect themselves from eagles by keeping two or three together. 'the naturalist in nicaragua,' , p. .) it is certain that associated animals have a feeling of love for each other, which is not felt by non-social adult animals. how far in most cases they actually sympathise in the pains and pleasures of others, is more doubtful, especially with respect to pleasures. mr. buxton, however, who had excellent means of observation ( . 'annals and magazine of natural history,' november , p. .), states that his macaws, which lived free in norfolk, took "an extravagant interest" in a pair with a nest; and whenever the female left it, she was surrounded by a troop "screaming horrible acclamations in her honour." it is often difficult to judge whether animals have any feeling for the sufferings of others of their kind. who can say what cows feel, when they surround and stare intently on a dying or dead companion; apparently, however, as houzeau remarks, they feel no pity. that animals sometimes are far from feeling any sympathy is too certain; for they will expel a wounded animal from the herd, or gore or worry it to death. this is almost the blackest fact in natural history, unless, indeed, the explanation which has been suggested is true, that their instinct or reason leads them to expel an injured companion, lest beasts of prey, including man, should be tempted to follow the troop. in this case their conduct is not much worse than that of the north american indians, who leave their feeble comrades to perish on the plains; or the fijians, who, when their parents get old, or fall ill, bury them alive. ( . sir j. lubbock, 'prehistoric times,' nd ed., p. .) many animals, however, certainly sympathise with each other's distress or danger. this is the case even with birds. captain stansbury ( . as quoted by mr. l.h. morgan, 'the american beaver,' , p. . capt. stansbury also gives an interesting account of the manner in which a very young pelican, carried away by a strong stream, was guided and encouraged in its attempts to reach the shore by half a dozen old birds.) found on a salt lake in utah an old and completely blind pelican, which was very fat, and must have been well fed for a long time by his companions. mr. blyth, as he informs me, saw indian crows feeding two or three of their companions which were blind; and i have heard of an analogous case with the domestic cock. we may, if we choose, call these actions instinctive; but such cases are much too rare for the development of any special instinct. ( . as mr. bain states, "effective aid to a sufferer springs from sympathy proper:" 'mental and moral science,' , p. .) i have myself seen a dog, who never passed a cat who lay sick in a basket, and was a great friend of his, without giving her a few licks with his tongue, the surest sign of kind feeling in a dog. it must be called sympathy that leads a courageous dog to fly at any one who strikes his master, as he certainly will. i saw a person pretending to beat a lady, who had a very timid little dog on her lap, and the trial had never been made before; the little creature instantly jumped away, but after the pretended beating was over, it was really pathetic to see how perseveringly he tried to lick his mistress's face, and comfort her. brehm ( . 'thierleben,' b. i. s. .) states that when a baboon in confinement was pursued to be punished, the others tried to protect him. it must have been sympathy in the cases above given which led the baboons and cercopitheci to defend their young comrades from the dogs and the eagle. i will give only one other instance of sympathetic and heroic conduct, in the case of a little american monkey. several years ago a keeper at the zoological gardens shewed me some deep and scarcely healed wounds on the nape of his own neck, inflicted on him, whilst kneeling on the floor, by a fierce baboon. the little american monkey, who was a warm friend of this keeper, lived in the same large compartment, and was dreadfully afraid of the great baboon. nevertheless, as soon as he saw his friend in peril, he rushed to the rescue, and by screams and bites so distracted the baboon that the man was able to escape, after, as the surgeon thought, running great risk of his life. besides love and sympathy, animals exhibit other qualities connected with the social instincts, which in us would be called moral; and i agree with agassiz ( . 'de l'espèce et de la classe,' , p. .) that dogs possess something very like a conscience. dogs possess some power of self-command, and this does not appear to be wholly the result of fear. as braubach ( . 'die darwin'sche art-lehre,' , s. .) remarks, they will refrain from stealing food in the absence of their master. they have long been accepted as the very type of fidelity and obedience. but the elephant is likewise very faithful to his driver or keeper, and probably considers him as the leader of the herd. dr. hooker informs me that an elephant, which he was riding in india, became so deeply bogged that he remained stuck fast until the next day, when he was extricated by men with ropes. under such circumstances elephants will seize with their trunks any object, dead or alive, to place under their knees, to prevent their sinking deeper in the mud; and the driver was dreadfully afraid lest the animal should have seized dr. hooker and crushed him to death. but the driver himself, as dr. hooker was assured, ran no risk. this forbearance under an emergency so dreadful for a heavy animal, is a wonderful proof of noble fidelity. ( . see also hooker's 'himalayan journals,' vol. ii. , p. .) all animals living in a body, which defend themselves or attack their enemies in concert, must indeed be in some degree faithful to one another; and those that follow a leader must be in some degree obedient. when the baboons in abyssinia ( . brehm, 'thierleben,' b. i. s. .) plunder a garden, they silently follow their leader; and if an imprudent young animal makes a noise, he receives a slap from the others to teach him silence and obedience. mr. galton, who has had excellent opportunities for observing the half-wild cattle in s. africa, says ( . see his extremely interesting paper on 'gregariousness in cattle, and in man,' 'macmillan's magazine,' feb. , p. .), that they cannot endure even a momentary separation from the herd. they are essentially slavish, and accept the common determination, seeking no better lot than to be led by any one ox who has enough self-reliance to accept the position. the men who break in these animals for harness, watch assiduously for those who, by grazing apart, shew a self-reliant disposition, and these they train as fore-oxen. mr. galton adds that such animals are rare and valuable; and if many were born they would soon be eliminated, as lions are always on the look-out for the individuals which wander from the herd. with respect to the impulse which leads certain animals to associate together, and to aid one another in many ways, we may infer that in most cases they are impelled by the same sense of satisfaction or pleasure which they experience in performing other instinctive actions; or by the same sense of dissatisfaction as when other instinctive actions are checked. we see this in innumerable instances, and it is illustrated in a striking manner by the acquired instincts of our domesticated animals; thus a young shepherd-dog delights in driving and running round a flock of sheep, but not in worrying them; a young fox-hound delights in hunting a fox, whilst some other kinds of dogs, as i have witnessed, utterly disregard foxes. what a strong feeling of inward satisfaction must impel a bird, so full of activity, to brood day after day over her eggs. migratory birds are quite miserable if stopped from migrating; perhaps they enjoy starting on their long flight; but it is hard to believe that the poor pinioned goose, described by audubon, which started on foot at the proper time for its journey of probably more than a thousand miles, could have felt any joy in doing so. some instincts are determined solely by painful feelings, as by fear, which leads to self-preservation, and is in some cases directed towards special enemies. no one, i presume, can analyse the sensations of pleasure or pain. in many instances, however, it is probable that instincts are persistently followed from the mere force of inheritance, without the stimulus of either pleasure or pain. a young pointer, when it first scents game, apparently cannot help pointing. a squirrel in a cage who pats the nuts which it cannot eat, as if to bury them in the ground, can hardly be thought to act thus, either from pleasure or pain. hence the common assumption that men must be impelled to every action by experiencing some pleasure or pain may be erroneous. although a habit may be blindly and implicitly followed, independently of any pleasure or pain felt at the moment, yet if it be forcibly and abruptly checked, a vague sense of dissatisfaction is generally experienced. it has often been assumed that animals were in the first place rendered social, and that they feel as a consequence uncomfortable when separated from each other, and comfortable whilst together; but it is a more probable view that these sensations were first developed, in order that those animals which would profit by living in society, should be induced to live together, in the same manner as the sense of hunger and the pleasure of eating were, no doubt, first acquired in order to induce animals to eat. the feeling of pleasure from society is probably an extension of the parental or filial affections, since the social instinct seems to be developed by the young remaining for a long time with their parents; and this extension may be attributed in part to habit, but chiefly to natural selection. with those animals which were benefited by living in close association, the individuals which took the greatest pleasure in society would best escape various dangers, whilst those that cared least for their comrades, and lived solitary, would perish in greater numbers. with respect to the origin of the parental and filial affections, which apparently lie at the base of the social instincts, we know not the steps by which they have been gained; but we may infer that it has been to a large extent through natural selection. so it has almost certainly been with the unusual and opposite feeling of hatred between the nearest relations, as with the worker-bees which kill their brother drones, and with the queen-bees which kill their daughter-queens; the desire to destroy their nearest relations having been in this case of service to the community. parental affection, or some feeling which replaces it, has been developed in certain animals extremely low in the scale, for example, in star-fishes and spiders. it is also occasionally present in a few members alone in a whole group of animals, as in the genus forficula, or earwigs. the all-important emotion of sympathy is distinct from that of love. a mother may passionately love her sleeping and passive infant, but she can hardly at such times be said to feel sympathy for it. the love of a man for his dog is distinct from sympathy, and so is that of a dog for his master. adam smith formerly argued, as has mr. bain recently, that the basis of sympathy lies in our strong retentiveness of former states of pain or pleasure. hence, "the sight of another person enduring hunger, cold, fatigue, revives in us some recollection of these states, which are painful even in idea." we are thus impelled to relieve the sufferings of another, in order that our own painful feelings may be at the same time relieved. in like manner we are led to participate in the pleasures of others. ( . see the first and striking chapter in adam smith's 'theory of moral sentiments.' also 'mr. bain's mental and moral science,' , pp. , and - . mr. bain states, that, "sympathy is, indirectly, a source of pleasure to the sympathiser"; and he accounts for this through reciprocity. he remarks that "the person benefited, or others in his stead, may make up, by sympathy and good offices returned, for all the sacrifice." but if, as appears to be the case, sympathy is strictly an instinct, its exercise would give direct pleasure, in the same manner as the exercise, as before remarked, of almost every other instinct.) but i cannot see how this view explains the fact that sympathy is excited, in an immeasurably stronger degree, by a beloved, than by an indifferent person. the mere sight of suffering, independently of love, would suffice to call up in us vivid recollections and associations. the explanation may lie in the fact that, with all animals, sympathy is directed solely towards the members of the same community, and therefore towards known, and more or less beloved members, but not to all the individuals of the same species. this fact is not more surprising than that the fears of many animals should be directed against special enemies. species which are not social, such as lions and tigers, no doubt feel sympathy for the suffering of their own young, but not for that of any other animal. with mankind, selfishness, experience, and imitation, probably add, as mr. bain has shewn, to the power of sympathy; for we are led by the hope of receiving good in return to perform acts of sympathetic kindness to others; and sympathy is much strengthened by habit. in however complex a manner this feeling may have originated, as it is one of high importance to all those animals which aid and defend one another, it will have been increased through natural selection; for those communities, which included the greatest number of the most sympathetic members, would flourish best, and rear the greatest number of offspring. it is, however, impossible to decide in many cases whether certain social instincts have been acquired through natural selection, or are the indirect result of other instincts and faculties, such as sympathy, reason, experience, and a tendency to imitation; or again, whether they are simply the result of long-continued habit. so remarkable an instinct as the placing sentinels to warn the community of danger, can hardly have been the indirect result of any of these faculties; it must, therefore, have been directly acquired. on the other hand, the habit followed by the males of some social animals of defending the community, and of attacking their enemies or their prey in concert, may perhaps have originated from mutual sympathy; but courage, and in most cases strength, must have been previously acquired, probably through natural selection. of the various instincts and habits, some are much stronger than others; that is, some either give more pleasure in their performance, and more distress in their prevention, than others; or, which is probably quite as important, they are, through inheritance, more persistently followed, without exciting any special feeling of pleasure or pain. we are ourselves conscious that some habits are much more difficult to cure or change than others. hence a struggle may often be observed in animals between different instincts, or between an instinct and some habitual disposition; as when a dog rushes after a hare, is rebuked, pauses, hesitates, pursues again, or returns ashamed to his master; or as between the love of a female dog for her young puppies and for her master,--for she may be seen to slink away to them, as if half ashamed of not accompanying her master. but the most curious instance known to me of one instinct getting the better of another, is the migratory instinct conquering the maternal instinct. the former is wonderfully strong; a confined bird will at the proper season beat her breast against the wires of her cage, until it is bare and bloody. it causes young salmon to leap out of the fresh water, in which they could continue to exist, and thus unintentionally to commit suicide. every one knows how strong the maternal instinct is, leading even timid birds to face great danger, though with hesitation, and in opposition to the instinct of self-preservation. nevertheless, the migratory instinct is so powerful, that late in the autumn swallows, house-martins, and swifts frequently desert their tender young, leaving them to perish miserably in their nests. ( . this fact, the rev. l. jenyns states (see his edition of 'white's nat. hist. of selborne,' , p. ) was first recorded by the illustrious jenner, in 'phil. transact.' , and has since been confirmed by several observers, especially by mr. blackwall. this latter careful observer examined, late in the autumn, during two years, thirty-six nests; he found that twelve contained young dead birds, five contained eggs on the point of being hatched, and three, eggs not nearly hatched. many birds, not yet old enough for a prolonged flight, are likewise deserted and left behind. see blackwall, 'researches in zoology,' , pp. , . for some additional evidence, although this is not wanted, see leroy, 'lettres phil.' , p. . for swifts, gould's 'introduction to the birds of great britain,' , p. . similar cases have been observed in canada by mr. adams; 'pop. science review,' july , p. .) we can perceive that an instinctive impulse, if it be in any way more beneficial to a species than some other or opposed instinct, would be rendered the more potent of the two through natural selection; for the individuals which had it most strongly developed would survive in larger numbers. whether this is the case with the migratory in comparison with the maternal instinct, may be doubted. the great persistence, or steady action of the former at certain seasons of the year during the whole day, may give it for a time paramount force. man a social animal. every one will admit that man is a social being. we see this in his dislike of solitude, and in his wish for society beyond that of his own family. solitary confinement is one of the severest punishments which can be inflicted. some authors suppose that man primevally lived in single families; but at the present day, though single families, or only two or three together, roam the solitudes of some savage lands, they always, as far as i can discover, hold friendly relations with other families inhabiting the same district. such families occasionally meet in council, and unite for their common defence. it is no argument against savage man being a social animal, that the tribes inhabiting adjacent districts are almost always at war with each other; for the social instincts never extend to all the individuals of the same species. judging from the analogy of the majority of the quadrumana, it is probable that the early ape-like progenitors of man were likewise social; but this is not of much importance for us. although man, as he now exists, has few special instincts, having lost any which his early progenitors may have possessed, this is no reason why he should not have retained from an extremely remote period some degree of instinctive love and sympathy for his fellows. we are indeed all conscious that we do possess such sympathetic feelings ( . hume remarks ('an enquiry concerning the principles of morals,' edit. of , p. ), "there seems a necessity for confessing that the happiness and misery of others are not spectacles altogether indifferent to us, but that the view of the former...communicates a secret joy; the appearance of the latter... throws a melancholy damp over the imagination."); but our consciousness does not tell us whether they are instinctive, having originated long ago in the same manner as with the lower animals, or whether they have been acquired by each of us during our early years. as man is a social animal, it is almost certain that he would inherit a tendency to be faithful to his comrades, and obedient to the leader of his tribe; for these qualities are common to most social animals. he would consequently possess some capacity for self-command. he would from an inherited tendency be willing to defend, in concert with others, his fellow-men; and would be ready to aid them in any way, which did not too greatly interfere with his own welfare or his own strong desires. the social animals which stand at the bottom of the scale are guided almost exclusively, and those which stand higher in the scale are largely guided, by special instincts in the aid which they give to the members of the same community; but they are likewise in part impelled by mutual love and sympathy, assisted apparently by some amount of reason. although man, as just remarked, has no special instincts to tell him how to aid his fellow-men, he still has the impulse, and with his improved intellectual faculties would naturally be much guided in this respect by reason and experience. instinctive sympathy would also cause him to value highly the approbation of his fellows; for, as mr. bain has clearly shewn ( . 'mental and moral science,' , p. .), the love of praise and the strong feeling of glory, and the still stronger horror of scorn and infamy, "are due to the workings of sympathy." consequently man would be influenced in the highest degree by the wishes, approbation, and blame of his fellow-men, as expressed by their gestures and language. thus the social instincts, which must have been acquired by man in a very rude state, and probably even by his early ape-like progenitors, still give the impulse to some of his best actions; but his actions are in a higher degree determined by the expressed wishes and judgment of his fellow-men, and unfortunately very often by his own strong selfish desires. but as love, sympathy and self-command become strengthened by habit, and as the power of reasoning becomes clearer, so that man can value justly the judgments of his fellows, he will feel himself impelled, apart from any transitory pleasure or pain, to certain lines of conduct. he might then declare--not that any barbarian or uncultivated man could thus think--i am the supreme judge of my own conduct, and in the words of kant, i will not in my own person violate the dignity of humanity. the more enduring social instincts conquer the less persistent instincts. we have not, however, as yet considered the main point, on which, from our present point of view, the whole question of the moral sense turns. why should a man feel that he ought to obey one instinctive desire rather than another? why is he bitterly regretful, if he has yielded to a strong sense of self-preservation, and has not risked his life to save that of a fellow-creature? or why does he regret having stolen food from hunger? it is evident in the first place, that with mankind the instinctive impulses have different degrees of strength; a savage will risk his own life to save that of a member of the same community, but will be wholly indifferent about a stranger: a young and timid mother urged by the maternal instinct will, without a moment's hesitation, run the greatest danger for her own infant, but not for a mere fellow-creature. nevertheless many a civilised man, or even boy, who never before risked his life for another, but full of courage and sympathy, has disregarded the instinct of self-preservation, and plunged at once into a torrent to save a drowning man, though a stranger. in this case man is impelled by the same instinctive motive, which made the heroic little american monkey, formerly described, save his keeper, by attacking the great and dreaded baboon. such actions as the above appear to be the simple result of the greater strength of the social or maternal instincts rather than that of any other instinct or motive; for they are performed too instantaneously for reflection, or for pleasure or pain to be felt at the time; though, if prevented by any cause, distress or even misery might be felt. in a timid man, on the other hand, the instinct of self-preservation might be so strong, that he would be unable to force himself to run any such risk, perhaps not even for his own child. i am aware that some persons maintain that actions performed impulsively, as in the above cases, do not come under the dominion of the moral sense, and cannot be called moral. they confine this term to actions done deliberately, after a victory over opposing desires, or when prompted by some exalted motive. but it appears scarcely possible to draw any clear line of distinction of this kind. ( . i refer here to the distinction between what has been called material and formal morality. i am glad to find that professor huxley ('critiques and addresses,' , p. ) takes the same view on this subject as i do. mr. leslie stephen remarks ('essays on freethinking and plain speaking,' , p. ), "the metaphysical distinction, between material and formal morality is as irrelevant as other such distinctions.") as far as exalted motives are concerned, many instances have been recorded of savages, destitute of any feeling of general benevolence towards mankind, and not guided by any religious motive, who have deliberately sacrificed their lives as prisoners( . i have given one such case, namely of three patagonian indians who preferred being shot, one after the other, to betraying the plans of their companions in war ('journal of researches,' , p. ).), rather than betray their comrades; and surely their conduct ought to be considered as moral. as far as deliberation, and the victory over opposing motives are concerned, animals may be seen doubting between opposed instincts, in rescuing their offspring or comrades from danger; yet their actions, though done for the good of others, are not called moral. moreover, anything performed very often by us, will at last be done without deliberation or hesitation, and can then hardly be distinguished from an instinct; yet surely no one will pretend that such an action ceases to be moral. on the contrary, we all feel that an act cannot be considered as perfect, or as performed in the most noble manner, unless it be done impulsively, without deliberation or effort, in the same manner as by a man in whom the requisite qualities are innate. he who is forced to overcome his fear or want of sympathy before he acts, deserves, however, in one way higher credit than the man whose innate disposition leads him to a good act without effort. as we cannot distinguish between motives, we rank all actions of a certain class as moral, if performed by a moral being. a moral being is one who is capable of comparing his past and future actions or motives, and of approving or disapproving of them. we have no reason to suppose that any of the lower animals have this capacity; therefore, when a newfoundland dog drags a child out of the water, or a monkey faces danger to rescue its comrade, or takes charge of an orphan monkey, we do not call its conduct moral. but in the case of man, who alone can with certainty be ranked as a moral being, actions of a certain class are called moral, whether performed deliberately, after a struggle with opposing motives, or impulsively through instinct, or from the effects of slowly-gained habit. but to return to our more immediate subject. although some instincts are more powerful than others, and thus lead to corresponding actions, yet it is untenable, that in man the social instincts (including the love of praise and fear of blame) possess greater strength, or have, through long habit, acquired greater strength than the instincts of self-preservation, hunger, lust, vengeance, etc. why then does man regret, even though trying to banish such regret, that he has followed the one natural impulse rather than the other; and why does he further feel that he ought to regret his conduct? man in this respect differs profoundly from the lower animals. nevertheless we can, i think, see with some degree of clearness the reason of this difference. man, from the activity of his mental faculties, cannot avoid reflection: past impressions and images are incessantly and clearly passing through his mind. now with those animals which live permanently in a body, the social instincts are ever present and persistent. such animals are always ready to utter the danger-signal, to defend the community, and to give aid to their fellows in accordance with their habits; they feel at all times, without the stimulus of any special passion or desire, some degree of love and sympathy for them; they are unhappy if long separated from them, and always happy to be again in their company. so it is with ourselves. even when we are quite alone, how often do we think with pleasure or pain of what others think of us,--of their imagined approbation or disapprobation; and this all follows from sympathy, a fundamental element of the social instincts. a man who possessed no trace of such instincts would be an unnatural monster. on the other hand, the desire to satisfy hunger, or any passion such as vengeance, is in its nature temporary, and can for a time be fully satisfied. nor is it easy, perhaps hardly possible, to call up with complete vividness the feeling, for instance, of hunger; nor indeed, as has often been remarked, of any suffering. the instinct of self-preservation is not felt except in the presence of danger; and many a coward has thought himself brave until he has met his enemy face to face. the wish for another man's property is perhaps as persistent a desire as any that can be named; but even in this case the satisfaction of actual possession is generally a weaker feeling than the desire: many a thief, if not a habitual one, after success has wondered why he stole some article. ( . enmity or hatred seems also to be a highly persistent feeling, perhaps more so than any other that can be named. envy is defined as hatred of another for some excellence or success; and bacon insists (essay ix.), "of all other affections envy is the most importune and continual." dogs are very apt to hate both strange men and strange dogs, especially if they live near at hand, but do not belong to the same family, tribe, or clan; this feeling would thus seem to be innate, and is certainly a most persistent one. it seems to be the complement and converse of the true social instinct. from what we hear of savages, it would appear that something of the same kind holds good with them. if this be so, it would be a small step in any one to transfer such feelings to any member of the same tribe if he had done him an injury and had become his enemy. nor is it probable that the primitive conscience would reproach a man for injuring his enemy; rather it would reproach him, if he had not revenged himself. to do good in return for evil, to love your enemy, is a height of morality to which it may be doubted whether the social instincts would, by themselves, have ever led us. it is necessary that these instincts, together with sympathy, should have been highly cultivated and extended by the aid of reason, instruction, and the love or fear of god, before any such golden rule would ever be thought of and obeyed.) a man cannot prevent past impressions often repassing through his mind; he will thus be driven to make a comparison between the impressions of past hunger, vengeance satisfied, or danger shunned at other men's cost, with the almost ever-present instinct of sympathy, and with his early knowledge of what others consider as praiseworthy or blameable. this knowledge cannot be banished from his mind, and from instinctive sympathy is esteemed of great moment. he will then feel as if he had been baulked in following a present instinct or habit, and this with all animals causes dissatisfaction, or even misery. the above case of the swallow affords an illustration, though of a reversed nature, of a temporary though for the time strongly persistent instinct conquering another instinct, which is usually dominant over all others. at the proper season these birds seem all day long to be impressed with the desire to migrate; their habits change; they become restless, are noisy and congregate in flocks. whilst the mother-bird is feeding, or brooding over her nestlings, the maternal instinct is probably stronger than the migratory; but the instinct which is the more persistent gains the victory, and at last, at a moment when her young ones are not in sight, she takes flight and deserts them. when arrived at the end of her long journey, and the migratory instinct has ceased to act, what an agony of remorse the bird would feel, if, from being endowed with great mental activity, she could not prevent the image constantly passing through her mind, of her young ones perishing in the bleak north from cold and hunger. at the moment of action, man will no doubt be apt to follow the stronger impulse; and though this may occasionally prompt him to the noblest deeds, it will more commonly lead him to gratify his own desires at the expense of other men. but after their gratification when past and weaker impressions are judged by the ever-enduring social instinct, and by his deep regard for the good opinion of his fellows, retribution will surely come. he will then feel remorse, repentance, regret, or shame; this latter feeling, however, relates almost exclusively to the judgment of others. he will consequently resolve more or less firmly to act differently for the future; and this is conscience; for conscience looks backwards, and serves as a guide for the future. the nature and strength of the feelings which we call regret, shame, repentance or remorse, depend apparently not only on the strength of the violated instinct, but partly on the strength of the temptation, and often still more on the judgment of our fellows. how far each man values the appreciation of others, depends on the strength of his innate or acquired feeling of sympathy; and on his own capacity for reasoning out the remote consequences of his acts. another element is most important, although not necessary, the reverence or fear of the gods, or spirits believed in by each man: and this applies especially in cases of remorse. several critics have objected that though some slight regret or repentance may be explained by the view advocated in this chapter, it is impossible thus to account for the soul-shaking feeling of remorse. but i can see little force in this objection. my critics do not define what they mean by remorse, and i can find no definition implying more than an overwhelming sense of repentance. remorse seems to bear the same relation to repentance, as rage does to anger, or agony to pain. it is far from strange that an instinct so strong and so generally admired, as maternal love, should, if disobeyed, lead to the deepest misery, as soon as the impression of the past cause of disobedience is weakened. even when an action is opposed to no special instinct, merely to know that our friends and equals despise us for it is enough to cause great misery. who can doubt that the refusal to fight a duel through fear has caused many men an agony of shame? many a hindoo, it is said, has been stirred to the bottom of his soul by having partaken of unclean food. here is another case of what must, i think, be called remorse. dr. landor acted as a magistrate in west australia, and relates ( . 'insanity in relation to law,' ontario, united states, , p. .), that a native on his farm, after losing one of his wives from disease, came and said that, "he was going to a distant tribe to spear a woman, to satisfy his sense of duty to his wife. i told him that if he did so, i would send him to prison for life. he remained about the farm for some months, but got exceedingly thin, and complained that he could not rest or eat, that his wife's spirit was haunting him, because he had not taken a life for hers. i was inexorable, and assured him that nothing should save him if he did." nevertheless the man disappeared for more than a year, and then returned in high condition; and his other wife told dr. landor that her husband had taken the life of a woman belonging to a distant tribe; but it was impossible to obtain legal evidence of the act. the breach of a rule held sacred by the tribe, will thus, as it seems, give rise to the deepest feelings,--and this quite apart from the social instincts, excepting in so far as the rule is grounded on the judgment of the community. how so many strange superstitions have arisen throughout the world we know not; nor can we tell how some real and great crimes, such as incest, have come to be held in an abhorrence (which is not however quite universal) by the lowest savages. it is even doubtful whether in some tribes incest would be looked on with greater horror, than would the marriage of a man with a woman bearing the same name, though not a relation. "to violate this law is a crime which the australians hold in the greatest abhorrence, in this agreeing exactly with certain tribes of north america. when the question is put in either district, is it worse to kill a girl of a foreign tribe, or to marry a girl of one's own, an answer just opposite to ours would be given without hesitation." ( . e.b. tylor, in 'contemporary review,' april , p. .) we may, therefore, reject the belief, lately insisted on by some writers, that the abhorrence of incest is due to our possessing a special god-implanted conscience. on the whole it is intelligible, that a man urged by so powerful a sentiment as remorse, though arising as above explained, should be led to act in a manner, which he has been taught to believe serves as an expiation, such as delivering himself up to justice. man prompted by his conscience, will through long habit acquire such perfect self-command, that his desires and passions will at last yield instantly and without a struggle to his social sympathies and instincts, including his feeling for the judgment of his fellows. the still hungry, or the still revengeful man will not think of stealing food, or of wreaking his vengeance. it is possible, or as we shall hereafter see, even probable, that the habit of self-command may, like other habits, be inherited. thus at last man comes to feel, through acquired and perhaps inherited habit, that it is best for him to obey his more persistent impulses. the imperious word "ought" seems merely to imply the consciousness of the existence of a rule of conduct, however it may have originated. formerly it must have been often vehemently urged that an insulted gentleman ought to fight a duel. we even say that a pointer ought to point, and a retriever to retrieve game. if they fail to do so, they fail in their duty and act wrongly. if any desire or instinct leading to an action opposed to the good of others still appears, when recalled to mind, as strong as, or stronger than, the social instinct, a man will feel no keen regret at having followed it; but he will be conscious that if his conduct were known to his fellows, it would meet with their disapprobation; and few are so destitute of sympathy as not to feel discomfort when this is realised. if he has no such sympathy, and if his desires leading to bad actions are at the time strong, and when recalled are not over-mastered by the persistent social instincts, and the judgment of others, then he is essentially a bad man ( . dr. prosper despine, in his psychologie naturelle, (tom. i. p. ; tom. ii. p. ) gives many curious cases of the worst criminals, who apparently have been entirely destitute of conscience.); and the sole restraining motive left is the fear of punishment, and the conviction that in the long run it would be best for his own selfish interests to regard the good of others rather than his own. it is obvious that every one may with an easy conscience gratify his own desires, if they do not interfere with his social instincts, that is with the good of others; but in order to be quite free from self-reproach, or at least of anxiety, it is almost necessary for him to avoid the disapprobation, whether reasonable or not, of his fellow-men. nor must he break through the fixed habits of his life, especially if these are supported by reason; for if he does, he will assuredly feel dissatisfaction. he must likewise avoid the reprobation of the one god or gods in whom, according to his knowledge or superstition, he may believe; but in this case the additional fear of divine punishment often supervenes. the strictly social virtues at first alone regarded. the above view of the origin and nature of the moral sense, which tells us what we ought to do, and of the conscience which reproves us if we disobey it, accords well with what we see of the early and undeveloped condition of this faculty in mankind. the virtues which must be practised, at least generally, by rude men, so that they may associate in a body, are those which are still recognised as the most important. but they are practised almost exclusively in relation to the men of the same tribe; and their opposites are not regarded as crimes in relation to the men of other tribes. no tribe could hold together if murder, robbery, treachery, etc., were common; consequently such crimes within the limits of the same tribe "are branded with everlasting infamy" ( . see an able article in the 'north british review,' , p. . see also mr. w. bagehot's articles on the importance of obedience and coherence to primitive man, in the 'fortnightly review,' , p. , and , p. , etc.); but excite no such sentiment beyond these limits. a north-american indian is well pleased with himself, and is honoured by others, when he scalps a man of another tribe; and a dyak cuts off the head of an unoffending person, and dries it as a trophy. the murder of infants has prevailed on the largest scale throughout the world ( . the fullest account which i have met with is by dr. gerland, in his 'ueber den aussterben der naturvölker,' ; but i shall have to recur to the subject of infanticide in a future chapter.), and has met with no reproach; but infanticide, especially of females, has been thought to be good for the tribe, or at least not injurious. suicide during former times was not generally considered as a crime ( . see the very interesting discussion on suicide in lecky's 'history of european morals,' vol. i. , p. . with respect to savages, mr. winwood reade informs me that the negroes of west africa often commit suicide. it is well known how common it was amongst the miserable aborigines of south america after the spanish conquest. for new zealand, see the voyage of the novara, and for the aleutian islands, müller, as quoted by houzeau, 'les facultés mentales,' etc., tom. ii. p. .), but rather, from the courage displayed, as an honourable act; and it is still practised by some semi-civilised and savage nations without reproach, for it does not obviously concern others of the tribe. it has been recorded that an indian thug conscientiously regretted that he had not robbed and strangled as many travellers as did his father before him. in a rude state of civilisation the robbery of strangers is, indeed, generally considered as honourable. slavery, although in some ways beneficial during ancient times ( . see mr. bagehot, 'physics and politics,' , p. .), is a great crime; yet it was not so regarded until quite recently, even by the most civilised nations. and this was especially the case, because the slaves belonged in general to a race different from that of their masters. as barbarians do not regard the opinion of their women, wives are commonly treated like slaves. most savages are utterly indifferent to the sufferings of strangers, or even delight in witnessing them. it is well known that the women and children of the north-american indians aided in torturing their enemies. some savages take a horrid pleasure in cruelty to animals ( . see, for instance, mr. hamilton's account of the kaffirs, 'anthropological review,' , p. xv.), and humanity is an unknown virtue. nevertheless, besides the family affections, kindness is common, especially during sickness, between the members of the same tribe, and is sometimes extended beyond these limits. mungo park's touching account of the kindness of the negro women of the interior to him is well known. many instances could be given of the noble fidelity of savages towards each other, but not to strangers; common experience justifies the maxim of the spaniard, "never, never trust an indian." there cannot be fidelity without truth; and this fundamental virtue is not rare between the members of the same tribe: thus mungo park heard the negro women teaching their young children to love the truth. this, again, is one of the virtues which becomes so deeply rooted in the mind, that it is sometimes practised by savages, even at a high cost, towards strangers; but to lie to your enemy has rarely been thought a sin, as the history of modern diplomacy too plainly shews. as soon as a tribe has a recognised leader, disobedience becomes a crime, and even abject submission is looked at as a sacred virtue. as during rude times no man can be useful or faithful to his tribe without courage, this quality has universally been placed in the highest rank; and although in civilised countries a good yet timid man may be far more useful to the community than a brave one, we cannot help instinctively honouring the latter above a coward, however benevolent. prudence, on the other hand, which does not concern the welfare of others, though a very useful virtue, has never been highly esteemed. as no man can practise the virtues necessary for the welfare of his tribe without self-sacrifice, self-command, and the power of endurance, these qualities have been at all times highly and most justly valued. the american savage voluntarily submits to the most horrid tortures without a groan, to prove and strengthen his fortitude and courage; and we cannot help admiring him, or even an indian fakir, who, from a foolish religious motive, swings suspended by a hook buried in his flesh. the other so-called self-regarding virtues, which do not obviously, though they may really, affect the welfare of the tribe, have never been esteemed by savages, though now highly appreciated by civilised nations. the greatest intemperance is no reproach with savages. utter licentiousness, and unnatural crimes, prevail to an astounding extent. ( . mr. m'lennan has given ('primitive marriage,' , p. ) a good collection of facts on this head.) as soon, however, as marriage, whether polygamous, or monogamous, becomes common, jealousy will lead to the inculcation of female virtue; and this, being honoured, will tend to spread to the unmarried females. how slowly it spreads to the male sex, we see at the present day. chastity eminently requires self-command; therefore it has been honoured from a very early period in the moral history of civilised man. as a consequence of this, the senseless practice of celibacy has been ranked from a remote period as a virtue. ( . lecky, 'history of european morals,' vol. i. , p. .) the hatred of indecency, which appears to us so natural as to be thought innate, and which is so valuable an aid to chastity, is a modern virtue, appertaining exclusively, as sir g. staunton remarks ( . 'embassy to china,' vol. ii. p. .), to civilised life. this is shewn by the ancient religious rites of various nations, by the drawings on the walls of pompeii, and by the practices of many savages. we have now seen that actions are regarded by savages, and were probably so regarded by primeval man, as good or bad, solely as they obviously affect the welfare of the tribe,--not that of the species, nor that of an individual member of the tribe. this conclusion agrees well with the belief that the so-called moral sense is aboriginally derived from the social instincts, for both relate at first exclusively to the community. the chief causes of the low morality of savages, as judged by our standard, are, firstly, the confinement of sympathy to the same tribe. secondly, powers of reasoning insufficient to recognise the bearing of many virtues, especially of the self-regarding virtues, on the general welfare of the tribe. savages, for instance, fail to trace the multiplied evils consequent on a want of temperance, chastity, etc. and, thirdly, weak power of self-command; for this power has not been strengthened through long-continued, perhaps inherited, habit, instruction and religion. i have entered into the above details on the immorality of savages ( . see on this subject copious evidence in chap. vii. of sir j. lubbock, 'origin of civilisation,' .), because some authors have recently taken a high view of their moral nature, or have attributed most of their crimes to mistaken benevolence. ( . for instance lecky, 'history of european morals,' vol. i. p. .) these authors appear to rest their conclusion on savages possessing those virtues which are serviceable, or even necessary, for the existence of the family and of the tribe,--qualities which they undoubtedly do possess, and often in a high degree. concluding remarks. it was assumed formerly by philosophers of the derivative ( . this term is used in an able article in the 'westminster review,' oct. , p. . for the "greatest happiness principle," see j.s. mill, 'utilitarianism,' p. .) school of morals that the foundation of morality lay in a form of selfishness; but more recently the "greatest happiness principle" has been brought prominently forward. it is, however, more correct to speak of the latter principle as the standard, and not as the motive of conduct. nevertheless, all the authors whose works i have consulted, with a few exceptions ( . mill recognises ('system of logic,' vol. ii. p. ) in the clearest manner, that actions may be performed through habit without the anticipation of pleasure. mr. h. sidgwick also, in his essay on pleasure and desire ('the contemporary review,' april , p. ), remarks: "to sum up, in contravention of the doctrine that our conscious active impulses are always directed towards the production of agreeable sensations in ourselves, i would maintain that we find everywhere in consciousness extra-regarding impulse, directed towards something that is not pleasure; that in many cases the impulse is so far incompatible with the self-regarding that the two do not easily co-exist in the same moment of consciousness." a dim feeling that our impulses do not by any means always arise from any contemporaneous or anticipated pleasure, has, i cannot but think, been one chief cause of the acceptance of the intuitive theory of morality, and of the rejection of the utilitarian or "greatest happiness" theory. with respect to the latter theory the standard and the motive of conduct have no doubt often been confused, but they are really in some degree blended.), write as if there must be a distinct motive for every action, and that this must be associated with some pleasure or displeasure. but man seems often to act impulsively, that is from instinct or long habit, without any consciousness of pleasure, in the same manner as does probably a bee or ant, when it blindly follows its instincts. under circumstances of extreme peril, as during a fire, when a man endeavours to save a fellow-creature without a moment's hesitation, he can hardly feel pleasure; and still less has he time to reflect on the dissatisfaction which he might subsequently experience if he did not make the attempt. should he afterwards reflect over his own conduct, he would feel that there lies within him an impulsive power widely different from a search after pleasure or happiness; and this seems to be the deeply planted social instinct. in the case of the lower animals it seems much more appropriate to speak of their social instincts, as having been developed for the general good rather than for the general happiness of the species. the term, general good, may be defined as the rearing of the greatest number of individuals in full vigour and health, with all their faculties perfect, under the conditions to which they are subjected. as the social instincts both of man and the lower animals have no doubt been developed by nearly the same steps, it would be advisable, if found practicable, to use the same definition in both cases, and to take as the standard of morality, the general good or welfare of the community, rather than the general happiness; but this definition would perhaps require some limitation on account of political ethics. when a man risks his life to save that of a fellow-creature, it seems also more correct to say that he acts for the general good, rather than for the general happiness of mankind. no doubt the welfare and the happiness of the individual usually coincide; and a contented, happy tribe will flourish better than one that is discontented and unhappy. we have seen that even at an early period in the history of man, the expressed wishes of the community will have naturally influenced to a large extent the conduct of each member; and as all wish for happiness, the "greatest happiness principle" will have become a most important secondary guide and object; the social instinct, however, together with sympathy (which leads to our regarding the approbation and disapprobation of others), having served as the primary impulse and guide. thus the reproach is removed of laying the foundation of the noblest part of our nature in the base principle of selfishness; unless, indeed, the satisfaction which every animal feels, when it follows its proper instincts, and the dissatisfaction felt when prevented, be called selfish. the wishes and opinions of the members of the same community, expressed at first orally, but later by writing also, either form the sole guides of our conduct, or greatly reinforce the social instincts; such opinions, however, have sometimes a tendency directly opposed to these instincts. this latter fact is well exemplified by the law of honour, that is, the law of the opinion of our equals, and not of all our countrymen. the breach of this law, even when the breach is known to be strictly accordant with true morality, has caused many a man more agony than a real crime. we recognise the same influence in the burning sense of shame which most of us have felt, even after the interval of years, when calling to mind some accidental breach of a trifling, though fixed, rule of etiquette. the judgment of the community will generally be guided by some rude experience of what is best in the long run for all the members; but this judgment will not rarely err from ignorance and weak powers of reasoning. hence the strangest customs and superstitions, in complete opposition to the true welfare and happiness of mankind, have become all-powerful throughout the world. we see this in the horror felt by a hindoo who breaks his caste, and in many other such cases. it would be difficult to distinguish between the remorse felt by a hindoo who has yielded to the temptation of eating unclean food, from that felt after committing a theft; but the former would probably be the more severe. how so many absurd rules of conduct, as well as so many absurd religious beliefs, have originated, we do not know; nor how it is that they have become, in all quarters of the world, so deeply impressed on the mind of men; but it is worthy of remark that a belief constantly inculcated during the early years of life, whilst the brain is impressible, appears to acquire almost the nature of an instinct; and the very essence of an instinct is that it is followed independently of reason. neither can we say why certain admirable virtues, such as the love of truth, are much more highly appreciated by some savage tribes than by others ( . good instances are given by mr. wallace in 'scientific opinion,' sept. , ; and more fully in his 'contributions to the theory of natural selection,' , p. .); nor, again, why similar differences prevail even amongst highly civilised nations. knowing how firmly fixed many strange customs and superstitions have become, we need feel no surprise that the self-regarding virtues, supported as they are by reason, should now appear to us so natural as to be thought innate, although they were not valued by man in his early condition. not withstanding many sources of doubt, man can generally and readily distinguish between the higher and lower moral rules. the higher are founded on the social instincts, and relate to the welfare of others. they are supported by the approbation of our fellow-men and by reason. the lower rules, though some of them when implying self-sacrifice hardly deserve to be called lower, relate chiefly to self, and arise from public opinion, matured by experience and cultivation; for they are not practised by rude tribes. as man advances in civilisation, and small tribes are united into larger communities, the simplest reason would tell each individual that he ought to extend his social instincts and sympathies to all the members of the same nation, though personally unknown to him. this point being once reached, there is only an artificial barrier to prevent his sympathies extending to the men of all nations and races. if, indeed, such men are separated from him by great differences in appearance or habits, experience unfortunately shews us how long it is, before we look at them as our fellow-creatures. sympathy beyond the confines of man, that is, humanity to the lower animals, seems to be one of the latest moral acquisitions. it is apparently unfelt by savages, except towards their pets. how little the old romans knew of it is shewn by their abhorrent gladiatorial exhibitions. the very idea of humanity, as far as i could observe, was new to most of the gauchos of the pampas. this virtue, one of the noblest with which man is endowed, seems to arise incidentally from our sympathies becoming more tender and more widely diffused, until they are extended to all sentient beings. as soon as this virtue is honoured and practised by some few men, it spreads through instruction and example to the young, and eventually becomes incorporated in public opinion. the highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognise that we ought to control our thoughts, and "not even in inmost thought to think again the sins that made the past so pleasant to us." ( . tennyson, idylls of the king, p. .) whatever makes any bad action familiar to the mind, renders its performance by so much the easier. as marcus aurelius long ago said, "such as are thy habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of thy mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts." ( . 'the thoughts of the emperor m. aurelius antoninus,' english translation, nd edit., . p. . marcus aurelius was born a.d. .) our great philosopher, herbert spencer, has recently explained his views on the moral sense. he says ( . letter to mr. mill in bain's 'mental and moral science,' , p. .), "i believe that the experiences of utility organised and consolidated through all past generations of the human race, have been producing corresponding modifications, which, by continued transmission and accumulation, have become in us certain faculties of moral intuition--certain emotions responding to right and wrong conduct, which have no apparent basis in the individual experiences of utility." there is not the least inherent improbability, as it seems to me, in virtuous tendencies being more or less strongly inherited; for, not to mention the various dispositions and habits transmitted by many of our domestic animals to their offspring, i have heard of authentic cases in which a desire to steal and a tendency to lie appeared to run in families of the upper ranks; and as stealing is a rare crime in the wealthy classes, we can hardly account by accidental coincidence for the tendency occurring in two or three members of the same family. if bad tendencies are transmitted, it is probable that good ones are likewise transmitted. that the state of the body by affecting the brain, has great influence on the moral tendencies is known to most of those who have suffered from chronic derangements of the digestion or liver. the same fact is likewise shewn by the "perversion or destruction of the moral sense being often one of the earliest symptoms of mental derangement" ( . maudsley, 'body and mind,' , p. .); and insanity is notoriously often inherited. except through the principle of the transmission of moral tendencies, we cannot understand the differences believed to exist in this respect between the various races of mankind. even the partial transmission of virtuous tendencies would be an immense assistance to the primary impulse derived directly and indirectly from the social instincts. admitting for a moment that virtuous tendencies are inherited, it appears probable, at least in such cases as chastity, temperance, humanity to animals, etc., that they become first impressed on the mental organization through habit, instruction and example, continued during several generations in the same family, and in a quite subordinate degree, or not at all, by the individuals possessing such virtues having succeeded best in the struggle for life. my chief source of doubt with respect to any such inheritance, is that senseless customs, superstitions, and tastes, such as the horror of a hindoo for unclean food, ought on the same principle to be transmitted. i have not met with any evidence in support of the transmission of superstitious customs or senseless habits, although in itself it is perhaps not less probable than that animals should acquire inherited tastes for certain kinds of food or fear of certain foes. finally the social instincts, which no doubt were acquired by man as by the lower animals for the good of the community, will from the first have given to him some wish to aid his fellows, some feeling of sympathy, and have compelled him to regard their approbation and disapprobation. such impulses will have served him at a very early period as a rude rule of right and wrong. but as man gradually advanced in intellectual power, and was enabled to trace the more remote consequences of his actions; as he acquired sufficient knowledge to reject baneful customs and superstitions; as he regarded more and more, not only the welfare, but the happiness of his fellow-men; as from habit, following on beneficial experience, instruction and example, his sympathies became more tender and widely diffused, extending to men of all races, to the imbecile, maimed, and other useless members of society, and finally to the lower animals,--so would the standard of his morality rise higher and higher. and it is admitted by moralists of the derivative school and by some intuitionists, that the standard of morality has risen since an early period in the history of man. ( . a writer in the 'north british review' (july , p. ), well capable of forming a sound judgment, expresses himself strongly in favour of this conclusion. mr. lecky ('history of morals,' vol. i. p. ) seems to a certain extent to coincide therein.) as a struggle may sometimes be seen going on between the various instincts of the lower animals, it is not surprising that there should be a struggle in man between his social instincts, with their derived virtues, and his lower, though momentarily stronger impulses or desires. this, as mr. galton ( . see his remarkable work on 'hereditary genius,' , p. . the duke of argyll ('primeval man,' , p. ) has some good remarks on the contest in man's nature between right and wrong.) has remarked, is all the less surprising, as man has emerged from a state of barbarism within a comparatively recent period. after having yielded to some temptation we feel a sense of dissatisfaction, shame, repentance, or remorse, analogous to the feelings caused by other powerful instincts or desires, when left unsatisfied or baulked. we compare the weakened impression of a past temptation with the ever present social instincts, or with habits, gained in early youth and strengthened during our whole lives, until they have become almost as strong as instincts. if with the temptation still before us we do not yield, it is because either the social instinct or some custom is at the moment predominant, or because we have learnt that it will appear to us hereafter the stronger, when compared with the weakened impression of the temptation, and we realise that its violation would cause us suffering. looking to future generations, there is no cause to fear that the social instincts will grow weaker, and we may expect that virtuous habits will grow stronger, becoming perhaps fixed by inheritance. in this case the struggle between our higher and lower impulses will be less severe, and virtue will be triumphant. summary of the last two chapters. there can be no doubt that the difference between the mind of the lowest man and that of the highest animal is immense. an anthropomorphous ape, if he could take a dispassionate view of his own case, would admit that though he could form an artful plan to plunder a garden--though he could use stones for fighting or for breaking open nuts, yet that the thought of fashioning a stone into a tool was quite beyond his scope. still less, as he would admit, could he follow out a train of metaphysical reasoning, or solve a mathematical problem, or reflect on god, or admire a grand natural scene. some apes, however, would probably declare that they could and did admire the beauty of the coloured skin and fur of their partners in marriage. they would admit, that though they could make other apes understand by cries some of their perceptions and simpler wants, the notion of expressing definite ideas by definite sounds had never crossed their minds. they might insist that they were ready to aid their fellow-apes of the same troop in many ways, to risk their lives for them, and to take charge of their orphans; but they would be forced to acknowledge that disinterested love for all living creatures, the most noble attribute of man, was quite beyond their comprehension. nevertheless the difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind. we have seen that the senses and intuitions, the various emotions and faculties, such as love, memory, attention, curiosity, imitation, reason, etc., of which man boasts, may be found in an incipient, or even sometimes in a well-developed condition, in the lower animals. they are also capable of some inherited improvement, as we see in the domestic dog compared with the wolf or jackal. if it could be proved that certain high mental powers, such as the formation of general concepts, self-consciousness, etc., were absolutely peculiar to man, which seems extremely doubtful, it is not improbable that these qualities are merely the incidental results of other highly-advanced intellectual faculties; and these again mainly the result of the continued use of a perfect language. at what age does the new-born infant possess the power of abstraction, or become self-conscious, and reflect on its own existence? we cannot answer; nor can we answer in regard to the ascending organic scale. the half-art, half-instinct of language still bears the stamp of its gradual evolution. the ennobling belief in god is not universal with man; and the belief in spiritual agencies naturally follows from other mental powers. the moral sense perhaps affords the best and highest distinction between man and the lower animals; but i need say nothing on this head, as i have so lately endeavoured to shew that the social instincts,--the prime principle of man's moral constitution ( . 'the thoughts of marcus aurelius,' etc., p. .)--with the aid of active intellectual powers and the effects of habit, naturally lead to the golden rule, "as ye would that men should do to you, do ye to them likewise;" and this lies at the foundation of morality. in the next chapter i shall make some few remarks on the probable steps and means by which the several mental and moral faculties of man have been gradually evolved. that such evolution is at least possible, ought not to be denied, for we daily see these faculties developing in every infant; and we may trace a perfect gradation from the mind of an utter idiot, lower than that of an animal low in the scale, to the mind of a newton. chapter v. on the development of the intellectual and moral faculties during primeval and civilised times. advancement of the intellectual powers through natural selection--importance of imitation--social and moral faculties--their development within the limits of the same tribe--natural selection as affecting civilised nations--evidence that civilised nations were once barbarous. the subjects to be discussed in this chapter are of the highest interest, but are treated by me in an imperfect and fragmentary manner. mr. wallace, in an admirable paper before referred to ( . anthropological review, may , p. clviii.), argues that man, after he had partially acquired those intellectual and moral faculties which distinguish him from the lower animals, would have been but little liable to bodily modifications through natural selection or any other means. for man is enabled through his mental faculties "to keep with an unchanged body in harmony with the changing universe." he has great power of adapting his habits to new conditions of life. he invents weapons, tools, and various stratagems to procure food and to defend himself. when he migrates into a colder climate he uses clothes, builds sheds, and makes fires; and by the aid of fire cooks food otherwise indigestible. he aids his fellow-men in many ways, and anticipates future events. even at a remote period he practised some division of labour. the lower animals, on the other hand, must have their bodily structure modified in order to survive under greatly changed conditions. they must be rendered stronger, or acquire more effective teeth or claws, for defence against new enemies; or they must be reduced in size, so as to escape detection and danger. when they migrate into a colder climate, they must become clothed with thicker fur, or have their constitutions altered. if they fail to be thus modified, they will cease to exist. the case, however, is widely different, as mr. wallace has with justice insisted, in relation to the intellectual and moral faculties of man. these faculties are variable; and we have every reason to believe that the variations tend to be inherited. therefore, if they were formerly of high importance to primeval man and to his ape-like progenitors, they would have been perfected or advanced through natural selection. of the high importance of the intellectual faculties there can be no doubt, for man mainly owes to them his predominant position in the world. we can see, that in the rudest state of society, the individuals who were the most sagacious, who invented and used the best weapons or traps, and who were best able to defend themselves, would rear the greatest number of offspring. the tribes, which included the largest number of men thus endowed, would increase in number and supplant other tribes. numbers depend primarily on the means of subsistence, and this depends partly on the physical nature of the country, but in a much higher degree on the arts which are there practised. as a tribe increases and is victorious, it is often still further increased by the absorption of other tribes. ( . after a time the members or tribes which are absorbed into another tribe assume, as sir henry maine remarks ('ancient law,' , p. ), that they are the co-descendants of the same ancestors.) the stature and strength of the men of a tribe are likewise of some importance for its success, and these depend in part on the nature and amount of the food which can be obtained. in europe the men of the bronze period were supplanted by a race more powerful, and, judging from their sword-handles, with larger hands ( . morlot, 'soc. vaud. sc. nat.' , p. .); but their success was probably still more due to their superiority in the arts. all that we know about savages, or may infer from their traditions and from old monuments, the history of which is quite forgotten by the present inhabitants, shew that from the remotest times successful tribes have supplanted other tribes. relics of extinct or forgotten tribes have been discovered throughout the civilised regions of the earth, on the wild plains of america, and on the isolated islands in the pacific ocean. at the present day civilised nations are everywhere supplanting barbarous nations, excepting where the climate opposes a deadly barrier; and they succeed mainly, though not exclusively, through their arts, which are the products of the intellect. it is, therefore, highly probable that with mankind the intellectual faculties have been mainly and gradually perfected through natural selection; and this conclusion is sufficient for our purpose. undoubtedly it would be interesting to trace the development of each separate faculty from the state in which it exists in the lower animals to that in which it exists in man; but neither my ability nor knowledge permits the attempt. it deserves notice that, as soon as the progenitors of man became social (and this probably occurred at a very early period), the principle of imitation, and reason, and experience would have increased, and much modified the intellectual powers in a way, of which we see only traces in the lower animals. apes are much given to imitation, as are the lowest savages; and the simple fact previously referred to, that after a time no animal can be caught in the same place by the same sort of trap, shews that animals learn by experience, and imitate the caution of others. now, if some one man in a tribe, more sagacious than the others, invented a new snare or weapon, or other means of attack or defence, the plainest self-interest, without the assistance of much reasoning power, would prompt the other members to imitate him; and all would thus profit. the habitual practice of each new art must likewise in some slight degree strengthen the intellect. if the new invention were an important one, the tribe would increase in number, spread, and supplant other tribes. in a tribe thus rendered more numerous there would always be a rather greater chance of the birth of other superior and inventive members. if such men left children to inherit their mental superiority, the chance of the birth of still more ingenious members would be somewhat better, and in a very small tribe decidedly better. even if they left no children, the tribe would still include their blood-relations; and it has been ascertained by agriculturists ( . i have given instances in my variation of animals under domestication, vol. ii. p. .) that by preserving and breeding from the family of an animal, which when slaughtered was found to be valuable, the desired character has been obtained. turning now to the social and moral faculties. in order that primeval men, or the ape-like progenitors of man, should become social, they must have acquired the same instinctive feelings, which impel other animals to live in a body; and they no doubt exhibited the same general disposition. they would have felt uneasy when separated from their comrades, for whom they would have felt some degree of love; they would have warned each other of danger, and have given mutual aid in attack or defence. all this implies some degree of sympathy, fidelity, and courage. such social qualities, the paramount importance of which to the lower animals is disputed by no one, were no doubt acquired by the progenitors of man in a similar manner, namely, through natural selection, aided by inherited habit. when two tribes of primeval man, living in the same country, came into competition, if (other circumstances being equal) the one tribe included a great number of courageous, sympathetic and faithful members, who were always ready to warn each other of danger, to aid and defend each other, this tribe would succeed better and conquer the other. let it be borne in mind how all-important in the never-ceasing wars of savages, fidelity and courage must be. the advantage which disciplined soldiers have over undisciplined hordes follows chiefly from the confidence which each man feels in his comrades. obedience, as mr. bagehot has well shewn ( . see a remarkable series of articles on 'physics and politics,' in the 'fortnightly review,' nov. ; april , ; july , , since separately published.), is of the highest value, for any form of government is better than none. selfish and contentious people will not cohere, and without coherence nothing can be effected. a tribe rich in the above qualities would spread and be victorious over other tribes: but in the course of time it would, judging from all past history, be in its turn overcome by some other tribe still more highly endowed. thus the social and moral qualities would tend slowly to advance and be diffused throughout the world. but it may be asked, how within the limits of the same tribe did a large number of members first become endowed with these social and moral qualities, and how was the standard of excellence raised? it is extremely doubtful whether the offspring of the more sympathetic and benevolent parents, or of those who were the most faithful to their comrades, would be reared in greater numbers than the children of selfish and treacherous parents belonging to the same tribe. he who was ready to sacrifice his life, as many a savage has been, rather than betray his comrades, would often leave no offspring to inherit his noble nature. the bravest men, who were always willing to come to the front in war, and who freely risked their lives for others, would on an average perish in larger numbers than other men. therefore, it hardly seems probable, that the number of men gifted with such virtues, or that the standard of their excellence, could be increased through natural selection, that is, by the survival of the fittest; for we are not here speaking of one tribe being victorious over another. although the circumstances, leading to an increase in the number of those thus endowed within the same tribe, are too complex to be clearly followed out, we can trace some of the probable steps. in the first place, as the reasoning powers and foresight of the members became improved, each man would soon learn that if he aided his fellow-men, he would commonly receive aid in return. from this low motive he might acquire the habit of aiding his fellows; and the habit of performing benevolent actions certainly strengthens the feeling of sympathy which gives the first impulse to benevolent actions. habits, moreover, followed during many generations probably tend to be inherited. but another and much more powerful stimulus to the development of the social virtues, is afforded by the praise and the blame of our fellow-men. to the instinct of sympathy, as we have already seen, it is primarily due, that we habitually bestow both praise and blame on others, whilst we love the former and dread the latter when applied to ourselves; and this instinct no doubt was originally acquired, like all the other social instincts, through natural selection. at how early a period the progenitors of man in the course of their development, became capable of feeling and being impelled by, the praise or blame of their fellow-creatures, we cannot of course say. but it appears that even dogs appreciate encouragement, praise, and blame. the rudest savages feel the sentiment of glory, as they clearly shew by preserving the trophies of their prowess, by their habit of excessive boasting, and even by the extreme care which they take of their personal appearance and decorations; for unless they regarded the opinion of their comrades, such habits would be senseless. they certainly feel shame at the breach of some of their lesser rules, and apparently remorse, as shewn by the case of the australian who grew thin and could not rest from having delayed to murder some other woman, so as to propitiate his dead wife's spirit. though i have not met with any other recorded case, it is scarcely credible that a savage, who will sacrifice his life rather than betray his tribe, or one who will deliver himself up as a prisoner rather than break his parole ( . mr. wallace gives cases in his 'contributions to the theory of natural selection,' , p. .), would not feel remorse in his inmost soul, if he had failed in a duty, which he held sacred. we may therefore conclude that primeval man, at a very remote period, was influenced by the praise and blame of his fellows. it is obvious, that the members of the same tribe would approve of conduct which appeared to them to be for the general good, and would reprobate that which appeared evil. to do good unto others--to do unto others as ye would they should do unto you--is the foundation-stone of morality. it is, therefore, hardly possible to exaggerate the importance during rude times of the love of praise and the dread of blame. a man who was not impelled by any deep, instinctive feeling, to sacrifice his life for the good of others, yet was roused to such actions by a sense of glory, would by his example excite the same wish for glory in other men, and would strengthen by exercise the noble feeling of admiration. he might thus do far more good to his tribe than by begetting offspring with a tendency to inherit his own high character. with increased experience and reason, man perceives the more remote consequences of his actions, and the self-regarding virtues, such as temperance, chastity, etc., which during early times are, as we have before seen, utterly disregarded, come to be highly esteemed or even held sacred. i need not, however, repeat what i have said on this head in the fourth chapter. ultimately our moral sense or conscience becomes a highly complex sentiment--originating in the social instincts, largely guided by the approbation of our fellow-men, ruled by reason, self-interest, and in later times by deep religious feelings, and confirmed by instruction and habit. it must not be forgotten that although a high standard of morality gives but a slight or no advantage to each individual man and his children over the other men of the same tribe, yet that an increase in the number of well-endowed men and an advancement in the standard of morality will certainly give an immense advantage to one tribe over another. a tribe including many members who, from possessing in a high degree the spirit of patriotism, fidelity, obedience, courage, and sympathy, were always ready to aid one another, and to sacrifice themselves for the common good, would be victorious over most other tribes; and this would be natural selection. at all times throughout the world tribes have supplanted other tribes; and as morality is one important element in their success, the standard of morality and the number of well-endowed men will thus everywhere tend to rise and increase. it is, however, very difficult to form any judgment why one particular tribe and not another has been successful and has risen in the scale of civilisation. many savages are in the same condition as when first discovered several centuries ago. as mr. bagehot has remarked, we are apt to look at progress as normal in human society; but history refutes this. the ancients did not even entertain the idea, nor do the oriental nations at the present day. according to another high authority, sir henry maine ( . 'ancient law,' , p. . for mr. bagehot's remarks, 'fortnightly review,' april , , p. .), "the greatest part of mankind has never shewn a particle of desire that its civil institutions should be improved." progress seems to depend on many concurrent favourable conditions, far too complex to be followed out. but it has often been remarked, that a cool climate, from leading to industry and to the various arts, has been highly favourable thereto. the esquimaux, pressed by hard necessity, have succeeded in many ingenious inventions, but their climate has been too severe for continued progress. nomadic habits, whether over wide plains, or through the dense forests of the tropics, or along the shores of the sea, have in every case been highly detrimental. whilst observing the barbarous inhabitants of tierra del fuego, it struck me that the possession of some property, a fixed abode, and the union of many families under a chief, were the indispensable requisites for civilisation. such habits almost necessitate the cultivation of the ground; and the first steps in cultivation would probably result, as i have elsewhere shewn ( . 'the variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. i. p. .), from some such accident as the seeds of a fruit-tree falling on a heap of refuse, and producing an unusually fine variety. the problem, however, of the first advance of savages towards civilisation is at present much too difficult to be solved. natural selection as affecting civilised nations. i have hitherto only considered the advancement of man from a semi-human condition to that of the modern savage. but some remarks on the action of natural selection on civilised nations may be worth adding. this subject has been ably discussed by mr. w.r. greg ( . 'fraser's magazine,' sept. , p. . this article seems to have struck many persons, and has given rise to two remarkable essays and a rejoinder in the 'spectator,' oct. rd and th, . it has also been discussed in the 'quarterly journal of science,' , p. , and by mr. lawson tait in the 'dublin quarterly journal of medical science,' feb. , and by mr. e. ray lankester in his 'comparative longevity,' , p. . similar views appeared previously in the 'australasian,' july , . i have borrowed ideas from several of these writers.), and previously by mr. wallace and mr. galton. ( . for mr. wallace, see 'anthropological review,' as before cited. mr. galton in 'macmillan's magazine,' aug. , p. ; also his great work, 'hereditary genius,' .) most of my remarks are taken from these three authors. with savages, the weak in body or mind are soon eliminated; and those that survive commonly exhibit a vigorous state of health. we civilised men, on the other hand, do our utmost to check the process of elimination; we build asylums for the imbecile, the maimed, and the sick; we institute poor-laws; and our medical men exert their utmost skill to save the life of every one to the last moment. there is reason to believe that vaccination has preserved thousands, who from a weak constitution would formerly have succumbed to small-pox. thus the weak members of civilised societies propagate their kind. no one who has attended to the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that this must be highly injurious to the race of man. it is surprising how soon a want of care, or care wrongly directed, leads to the degeneration of a domestic race; but excepting in the case of man himself, hardly any one is so ignorant as to allow his worst animals to breed. the aid which we feel impelled to give to the helpless is mainly an incidental result of the instinct of sympathy, which was originally acquired as part of the social instincts, but subsequently rendered, in the manner previously indicated, more tender and more widely diffused. nor could we check our sympathy, even at the urging of hard reason, without deterioration in the noblest part of our nature. the surgeon may harden himself whilst performing an operation, for he knows that he is acting for the good of his patient; but if we were intentionally to neglect the weak and helpless, it could only be for a contingent benefit, with an overwhelming present evil. we must therefore bear the undoubtedly bad effects of the weak surviving and propagating their kind; but there appears to be at least one check in steady action, namely that the weaker and inferior members of society do not marry so freely as the sound; and this check might be indefinitely increased by the weak in body or mind refraining from marriage, though this is more to be hoped for than expected. in every country in which a large standing army is kept up, the finest young men are taken by the conscription or are enlisted. they are thus exposed to early death during war, are often tempted into vice, and are prevented from marrying during the prime of life. on the other hand the shorter and feebler men, with poor constitutions, are left at home, and consequently have a much better chance of marrying and propagating their kind. ( . prof. h. fick ('einfluss der naturwissenschaft auf das recht,' june ) has some good remarks on this head, and on other such points.) man accumulates property and bequeaths it to his children, so that the children of the rich have an advantage over the poor in the race for success, independently of bodily or mental superiority. on the other hand, the children of parents who are short-lived, and are therefore on an average deficient in health and vigour, come into their property sooner than other children, and will be likely to marry earlier, and leave a larger number of offspring to inherit their inferior constitutions. but the inheritance of property by itself is very far from an evil; for without the accumulation of capital the arts could not progress; and it is chiefly through their power that the civilised races have extended, and are now everywhere extending their range, so as to take the place of the lower races. nor does the moderate accumulation of wealth interfere with the process of selection. when a poor man becomes moderately rich, his children enter trades or professions in which there is struggle enough, so that the able in body and mind succeed best. the presence of a body of well-instructed men, who have not to labour for their daily bread, is important to a degree which cannot be over-estimated; as all high intellectual work is carried on by them, and on such work, material progress of all kinds mainly depends, not to mention other and higher advantages. no doubt wealth when very great tends to convert men into useless drones, but their number is never large; and some degree of elimination here occurs, for we daily see rich men, who happen to be fools or profligate, squandering away their wealth. primogeniture with entailed estates is a more direct evil, though it may formerly have been a great advantage by the creation of a dominant class, and any government is better than none. most eldest sons, though they may be weak in body or mind, marry, whilst the younger sons, however superior in these respects, do not so generally marry. nor can worthless eldest sons with entailed estates squander their wealth. but here, as elsewhere, the relations of civilised life are so complex that some compensatory checks intervene. the men who are rich through primogeniture are able to select generation after generation the more beautiful and charming women; and these must generally be healthy in body and active in mind. the evil consequences, such as they may be, of the continued preservation of the same line of descent, without any selection, are checked by men of rank always wishing to increase their wealth and power; and this they effect by marrying heiresses. but the daughters of parents who have produced single children, are themselves, as mr. galton ( . 'hereditary genius,' , pp. - .) has shewn, apt to be sterile; and thus noble families are continually cut off in the direct line, and their wealth flows into some side channel; but unfortunately this channel is not determined by superiority of any kind. although civilisation thus checks in many ways the action of natural selection, it apparently favours the better development of the body, by means of good food and the freedom from occasional hardships. this may be inferred from civilised men having been found, wherever compared, to be physically stronger than savages. ( . quatrefages, 'revue des cours scientifiques,' - , p. .) they appear also to have equal powers of endurance, as has been proved in many adventurous expeditions. even the great luxury of the rich can be but little detrimental; for the expectation of life of our aristocracy, at all ages and of both sexes, is very little inferior to that of healthy english lives in the lower classes. ( . see the fifth and sixth columns, compiled from good authorities, in the table given in mr. e.r. lankester's 'comparative longevity,' , p. .) we will now look to the intellectual faculties. if in each grade of society the members were divided into two equal bodies, the one including the intellectually superior and the other the inferior, there can be little doubt that the former would succeed best in all occupations, and rear a greater number of children. even in the lowest walks of life, skill and ability must be of some advantage; though in many occupations, owing to the great division of labour, a very small one. hence in civilised nations there will be some tendency to an increase both in the number and in the standard of the intellectually able. but i do not wish to assert that this tendency may not be more than counterbalanced in other ways, as by the multiplication of the reckless and improvident; but even to such as these, ability must be some advantage. it has often been objected to views like the foregoing, that the most eminent men who have ever lived have left no offspring to inherit their great intellect. mr. galton says, "i regret i am unable to solve the simple question whether, and how far, men and women who are prodigies of genius are infertile. i have, however, shewn that men of eminence are by no means so." ( . 'hereditary genius,' , p. .) great lawgivers, the founders of beneficent religions, great philosophers and discoverers in science, aid the progress of mankind in a far higher degree by their works than by leaving a numerous progeny. in the case of corporeal structures, it is the selection of the slightly better-endowed and the elimination of the slightly less well-endowed individuals, and not the preservation of strongly-marked and rare anomalies, that leads to the advancement of a species. ( . 'origin of species' (fifth edition, ), p. .) so it will be with the intellectual faculties, since the somewhat abler men in each grade of society succeed rather better than the less able, and consequently increase in number, if not otherwise prevented. when in any nation the standard of intellect and the number of intellectual men have increased, we may expect from the law of the deviation from an average, that prodigies of genius will, as shewn by mr. galton, appear somewhat more frequently than before. in regard to the moral qualities, some elimination of the worst dispositions is always in progress even in the most civilised nations. malefactors are executed, or imprisoned for long periods, so that they cannot freely transmit their bad qualities. melancholic and insane persons are confined, or commit suicide. violent and quarrelsome men often come to a bloody end. the restless who will not follow any steady occupation--and this relic of barbarism is a great check to civilisation ( . 'hereditary genius,' , p. .)--emigrate to newly-settled countries; where they prove useful pioneers. intemperance is so highly destructive, that the expectation of life of the intemperate, at the age of thirty for instance, is only . years; whilst for the rural labourers of england at the same age it is . years. ( . e. ray lankester, 'comparative longevity,' , p. . the table of the intemperate is from neison's 'vital statistics.' in regard to profligacy, see dr. farr, 'influence of marriage on mortality,' 'nat. assoc. for the promotion of social science,' .) profligate women bear few children, and profligate men rarely marry; both suffer from disease. in the breeding of domestic animals, the elimination of those individuals, though few in number, which are in any marked manner inferior, is by no means an unimportant element towards success. this especially holds good with injurious characters which tend to reappear through reversion, such as blackness in sheep; and with mankind some of the worst dispositions, which occasionally without any assignable cause make their appearance in families, may perhaps be reversions to a savage state, from which we are not removed by very many generations. this view seems indeed recognised in the common expression that such men are the black sheep of the family. with civilised nations, as far as an advanced standard of morality, and an increased number of fairly good men are concerned, natural selection apparently effects but little; though the fundamental social instincts were originally thus gained. but i have already said enough, whilst treating of the lower races, on the causes which lead to the advance of morality, namely, the approbation of our fellow-men--the strengthening of our sympathies by habit--example and imitation--reason--experience, and even self-interest--instruction during youth, and religious feelings. a most important obstacle in civilised countries to an increase in the number of men of a superior class has been strongly insisted on by mr. greg and mr. galton ( . 'fraser's magazine,' sept. , p. . 'macmillan's magazine,' aug. , p. . the rev. f.w. farrar ('fraser's magazine,' aug. , p. ) takes a different view.), namely, the fact that the very poor and reckless, who are often degraded by vice, almost invariably marry early, whilst the careful and frugal, who are generally otherwise virtuous, marry late in life, so that they may be able to support themselves and their children in comfort. those who marry early produce within a given period not only a greater number of generations, but, as shewn by dr. duncan ( . 'on the laws of the fertility of women,' in 'transactions of the royal society,' edinburgh, vol. xxiv. p. ; now published separately under the title of 'fecundity, fertility, and sterility,' . see, also, mr. galton, 'hereditary genius,' pp. - , for observations to the above effect.), they produce many more children. the children, moreover, that are borne by mothers during the prime of life are heavier and larger, and therefore probably more vigorous, than those born at other periods. thus the reckless, degraded, and often vicious members of society, tend to increase at a quicker rate than the provident and generally virtuous members. or as mr. greg puts the case: "the careless, squalid, unaspiring irishman multiplies like rabbits: the frugal, foreseeing, self-respecting, ambitious scot, stern in his morality, spiritual in his faith, sagacious and disciplined in his intelligence, passes his best years in struggle and in celibacy, marries late, and leaves few behind him. given a land originally peopled by a thousand saxons and a thousand celts--and in a dozen generations five-sixths of the population would be celts, but five-sixths of the property, of the power, of the intellect, would belong to the one-sixth of saxons that remained. in the eternal 'struggle for existence,' it would be the inferior and less favoured race that had prevailed--and prevailed by virtue not of its good qualities but of its faults." there are, however, some checks to this downward tendency. we have seen that the intemperate suffer from a high rate of mortality, and the extremely profligate leave few offspring. the poorest classes crowd into towns, and it has been proved by dr. stark from the statistics of ten years in scotland ( . 'tenth annual report of births, deaths, etc., in scotland,' , p. xxix.), that at all ages the death-rate is higher in towns than in rural districts, "and during the first five years of life the town death-rate is almost exactly double that of the rural districts." as these returns include both the rich and the poor, no doubt more than twice the number of births would be requisite to keep up the number of the very poor inhabitants in the towns, relatively to those in the country. with women, marriage at too early an age is highly injurious; for it has been found in france that, "twice as many wives under twenty die in the year, as died out of the same number of the unmarried." the mortality, also, of husbands under twenty is "excessively high" ( . these quotations are taken from our highest authority on such questions, namely, dr. farr, in his paper 'on the influence of marriage on the mortality of the french people,' read before the nat. assoc. for the promotion of social science, .), but what the cause of this may be, seems doubtful. lastly, if the men who prudently delay marrying until they can bring up their families in comfort, were to select, as they often do, women in the prime of life, the rate of increase in the better class would be only slightly lessened. it was established from an enormous body of statistics, taken during , that the unmarried men throughout france, between the ages of twenty and eighty, die in a much larger proportion than the married: for instance, out of every unmarried men, between the ages of twenty and thirty, . annually died, whilst of the married, only . died. ( . dr. farr, ibid. the quotations given below are extracted from the same striking paper.) a similar law was proved to hold good, during the years and , with the entire population above the age of twenty in scotland: for instance, out of every unmarried men, between the ages of twenty and thirty, . annually died, whilst of the married only . died, that is less than half. ( . i have taken the mean of the quinquennial means, given in 'the tenth annual report of births, deaths, etc., in scotland,' . the quotation from dr. stark is copied from an article in the 'daily news,' oct. , , which dr. farr considers very carefully written.) dr. stark remarks on this, "bachelorhood is more destructive to life than the most unwholesome trades, or than residence in an unwholesome house or district where there has never been the most distant attempt at sanitary improvement." he considers that the lessened mortality is the direct result of "marriage, and the more regular domestic habits which attend that state." he admits, however, that the intemperate, profligate, and criminal classes, whose duration of life is low, do not commonly marry; and it must likewise be admitted that men with a weak constitution, ill health, or any great infirmity in body or mind, will often not wish to marry, or will be rejected. dr. stark seems to have come to the conclusion that marriage in itself is a main cause of prolonged life, from finding that aged married men still have a considerable advantage in this respect over the unmarried of the same advanced age; but every one must have known instances of men, who with weak health during youth did not marry, and yet have survived to old age, though remaining weak, and therefore always with a lessened chance of life or of marrying. there is another remarkable circumstance which seems to support dr. stark's conclusion, namely, that widows and widowers in france suffer in comparison with the married a very heavy rate of mortality; but dr. farr attributes this to the poverty and evil habits consequent on the disruption of the family, and to grief. on the whole we may conclude with dr. farr that the lesser mortality of married than of unmarried men, which seems to be a general law, "is mainly due to the constant elimination of imperfect types, and to the skilful selection of the finest individuals out of each successive generation;" the selection relating only to the marriage state, and acting on all corporeal, intellectual, and moral qualities. ( . dr. duncan remarks ('fecundity, fertility, etc.' , p. ) on this subject: "at every age the healthy and beautiful go over from the unmarried side to the married, leaving the unmarried columns crowded with the sickly and unfortunate.") we may, therefore, infer that sound and good men who out of prudence remain for a time unmarried, do not suffer a high rate of mortality. if the various checks specified in the two last paragraphs, and perhaps others as yet unknown, do not prevent the reckless, the vicious and otherwise inferior members of society from increasing at a quicker rate than the better class of men, the nation will retrograde, as has too often occurred in the history of the world. we must remember that progress is no invariable rule. it is very difficult to say why one civilised nation rises, becomes more powerful, and spreads more widely, than another; or why the same nation progresses more quickly at one time than at another. we can only say that it depends on an increase in the actual number of the population, on the number of men endowed with high intellectual and moral faculties, as well as on their standard of excellence. corporeal structure appears to have little influence, except so far as vigour of body leads to vigour of mind. it has been urged by several writers that as high intellectual powers are advantageous to a nation, the old greeks, who stood some grades higher in intellect than any race that has ever existed ( . see the ingenious and original argument on this subject by mr. galton, 'hereditary genius,' pp. - .), ought, if the power of natural selection were real, to have risen still higher in the scale, increased in number, and stocked the whole of europe. here we have the tacit assumption, so often made with respect to corporeal structures, that there is some innate tendency towards continued development in mind and body. but development of all kinds depends on many concurrent favourable circumstances. natural selection acts only tentatively. individuals and races may have acquired certain indisputable advantages, and yet have perished from failing in other characters. the greeks may have retrograded from a want of coherence between the many small states, from the small size of their whole country, from the practice of slavery, or from extreme sensuality; for they did not succumb until "they were enervated and corrupt to the very core." ( . mr. greg, 'fraser's magazine,' sept. , p. .) the western nations of europe, who now so immeasurably surpass their former savage progenitors, and stand at the summit of civilisation, owe little or none of their superiority to direct inheritance from the old greeks, though they owe much to the written works of that wonderful people. who can positively say why the spanish nation, so dominant at one time, has been distanced in the race. the awakening of the nations of europe from the dark ages is a still more perplexing problem. at that early period, as mr. galton has remarked, almost all the men of a gentle nature, those given to meditation or culture of the mind, had no refuge except in the bosom of a church which demanded celibacy ( . 'hereditary genius,' , pp. - . the rev. f.w. farrar ('fraser's magazine,' aug. , p. ) advances arguments on the other side. sir c. lyell had already ('principles of geology,' vol. ii. , p. ), in a striking passage called attention to the evil influence of the holy inquisition in having, through selection, lowered the general standard of intelligence in europe.); and this could hardly fail to have had a deteriorating influence on each successive generation. during this same period the holy inquisition selected with extreme care the freest and boldest men in order to burn or imprison them. in spain alone some of the best men--those who doubted and questioned, and without doubting there can be no progress--were eliminated during three centuries at the rate of a thousand a year. the evil which the catholic church has thus effected is incalculable, though no doubt counterbalanced to a certain, perhaps to a large, extent in other ways; nevertheless, europe has progressed at an unparalleled rate. the remarkable success of the english as colonists, compared to other european nations, has been ascribed to their "daring and persistent energy"; a result which is well illustrated by comparing the progress of the canadians of english and french extraction; but who can say how the english gained their energy? there is apparently much truth in the belief that the wonderful progress of the united states, as well as the character of the people, are the results of natural selection; for the more energetic, restless, and courageous men from all parts of europe have emigrated during the last ten or twelve generations to that great country, and have there succeeded best. ( . mr. galton, 'macmillan's magazine,' august , p. . see also, 'nature,' 'on darwinism and national life,' dec. , p. .) looking to the distant future, i do not think that the rev. mr. zincke takes an exaggerated view when he says ( . 'last winter in the united states,' , p. .): "all other series of events--as that which resulted in the culture of mind in greece, and that which resulted in the empire of rome--only appear to have purpose and value when viewed in connection with, or rather as subsidiary to...the great stream of anglo-saxon emigration to the west." obscure as is the problem of the advance of civilisation, we can at least see that a nation which produced during a lengthened period the greatest number of highly intellectual, energetic, brave, patriotic, and benevolent men, would generally prevail over less favoured nations. natural selection follows from the struggle for existence; and this from a rapid rate of increase. it is impossible not to regret bitterly, but whether wisely is another question, the rate at which man tends to increase; for this leads in barbarous tribes to infanticide and many other evils, and in civilised nations to abject poverty, celibacy, and to the late marriages of the prudent. but as man suffers from the same physical evils as the lower animals, he has no right to expect an immunity from the evils consequent on the struggle for existence. had he not been subjected during primeval times to natural selection, assuredly he would never have attained to his present rank. since we see in many parts of the world enormous areas of the most fertile land capable of supporting numerous happy homes, but peopled only by a few wandering savages, it might be argued that the struggle for existence had not been sufficiently severe to force man upwards to his highest standard. judging from all that we know of man and the lower animals, there has always been sufficient variability in their intellectual and moral faculties, for a steady advance through natural selection. no doubt such advance demands many favourable concurrent circumstances; but it may well be doubted whether the most favourable would have sufficed, had not the rate of increase been rapid, and the consequent struggle for existence extremely severe. it even appears from what we see, for instance, in parts of s. america, that a people which may be called civilised, such as the spanish settlers, is liable to become indolent and to retrograde, when the conditions of life are very easy. with highly civilised nations continued progress depends in a subordinate degree on natural selection; for such nations do not supplant and exterminate one another as do savage tribes. nevertheless the more intelligent members within the same community will succeed better in the long run than the inferior, and leave a more numerous progeny, and this is a form of natural selection. the more efficient causes of progress seem to consist of a good education during youth whilst the brain is impressible, and of a high standard of excellence, inculcated by the ablest and best men, embodied in the laws, customs and traditions of the nation, and enforced by public opinion. it should, however, be borne in mind, that the enforcement of public opinion depends on our appreciation of the approbation and disapprobation of others; and this appreciation is founded on our sympathy, which it can hardly be doubted was originally developed through natural selection as one of the most important elements of the social instincts. ( . i am much indebted to mr. john morley for some good criticisms on this subject: see, also broca, 'les selections,' 'revue d'anthropologie,' .) on the evidence that all civilised nations were once barbarous. the present subject has been treated in so full and admirable a manner by sir j. lubbock ( . 'on the origin of civilisation,' 'proceedings of the ethnological society,' nov. , .), mr. tylor, mr. m'lennan, and others, that i need here give only the briefest summary of their results. the arguments recently advanced by the duke of argyll ( . 'primeval man,' .) and formerly by archbishop whately, in favour of the belief that man came into the world as a civilised being, and that all savages have since undergone degradation, seem to me weak in comparison with those advanced on the other side. many nations, no doubt, have fallen away in civilisation, and some may have lapsed into utter barbarism, though on this latter head i have met with no evidence. the fuegians were probably compelled by other conquering hordes to settle in their inhospitable country, and they may have become in consequence somewhat more degraded; but it would be difficult to prove that they have fallen much below the botocudos, who inhabit the finest parts of brazil. the evidence that all civilised nations are the descendants of barbarians, consists, on the one side, of clear traces of their former low condition in still-existing customs, beliefs, language, etc.; and on the other side, of proofs that savages are independently able to raise themselves a few steps in the scale of civilisation, and have actually thus risen. the evidence on the first head is extremely curious, but cannot be here given: i refer to such cases as that of the art of enumeration, which, as mr. tylor clearly shews by reference to the words still used in some places, originated in counting the fingers, first of one hand and then of the other, and lastly of the toes. we have traces of this in our own decimal system, and in the roman numerals, where, after the v, which is supposed to be an abbreviated picture of a human hand, we pass on to vi, etc., when the other hand no doubt was used. so again, "when we speak of three-score and ten, we are counting by the vigesimal system, each score thus ideally made, standing for --for 'one man' as a mexican or carib would put it." ( . 'royal institution of great britain,' march , . also, 'researches into the early history of mankind,' .) according to a large and increasing school of philologists, every language bears the marks of its slow and gradual evolution. so it is with the art of writing, for letters are rudiments of pictorial representations. it is hardly possible to read mr. m'lennan's work ( . 'primitive marriage,' . see, likewise, an excellent article, evidently by the same author, in the 'north british review,' july . also, mr. l.h. morgan, 'a conjectural solution of the origin of the class. system of relationship,' in 'proc. american acad. of sciences,' vol. vii. feb. . prof. schaaffhausen ('anthropolog. review,' oct. , p. ) remarks on "the vestiges of human sacrifices found both in homer and the old testament.") and not admit that almost all civilised nations still retain traces of such rude habits as the forcible capture of wives. what ancient nation, as the same author asks, can be named that was originally monogamous? the primitive idea of justice, as shewn by the law of battle and other customs of which vestiges still remain, was likewise most rude. many existing superstitions are the remnants of former false religious beliefs. the highest form of religion--the grand idea of god hating sin and loving righteousness--was unknown during primeval times. turning to the other kind of evidence: sir j. lubbock has shewn that some savages have recently improved a little in some of their simpler arts. from the extremely curious account which he gives of the weapons, tools, and arts, in use amongst savages in various parts of the world, it cannot be doubted that these have nearly all been independent discoveries, excepting perhaps the art of making fire. ( . sir j. lubbock, 'prehistoric times,' nd edit. , chaps. xv. and xvi. et passim. see also the excellent th chapter in tylor's 'early history of mankind,' nd edit., .) the australian boomerang is a good instance of one such independent discovery. the tahitians when first visited had advanced in many respects beyond the inhabitants of most of the other polynesian islands. there are no just grounds for the belief that the high culture of the native peruvians and mexicans was derived from abroad ( . dr. f. müller has made some good remarks to this effect in the 'reise der novara: anthropolog. theil,' abtheil. iii. , s. .); many native plants were there cultivated, and a few native animals domesticated. we should bear in mind that, judging from the small influence of most missionaries, a wandering crew from some semi-civilised land, if washed to the shores of america, would not have produced any marked effect on the natives, unless they had already become somewhat advanced. looking to a very remote period in the history of the world, we find, to use sir j. lubbock's well-known terms, a paleolithic and neolithic period; and no one will pretend that the art of grinding rough flint tools was a borrowed one. in all parts of europe, as far east as greece, in palestine, india, japan, new zealand, and africa, including egypt, flint tools have been discovered in abundance; and of their use the existing inhabitants retain no tradition. there is also indirect evidence of their former use by the chinese and ancient jews. hence there can hardly be a doubt that the inhabitants of these countries, which include nearly the whole civilised world, were once in a barbarous condition. to believe that man was aboriginally civilised and then suffered utter degradation in so many regions, is to take a pitiably low view of human nature. it is apparently a truer and more cheerful view that progress has been much more general than retrogression; that man has risen, though by slow and interrupted steps, from a lowly condition to the highest standard as yet attained by him in knowledge, morals and religion. chapter vi. on the affinities and genealogy of man. position of man in the animal series--the natural system genealogical--adaptive characters of slight value--various small points of resemblance between man and the quadrumana--rank of man in the natural system--birthplace and antiquity of man--absence of fossil connecting links--lower stages in the genealogy of man, as inferred, firstly from his affinities and secondly from his structure--early androgynous condition of the vertebrata--conclusion. even if it be granted that the difference between man and his nearest allies is as great in corporeal structure as some naturalists maintain, and although we must grant that the difference between them is immense in mental power, yet the facts given in the earlier chapters appear to declare, in the plainest manner, that man is descended from some lower form, notwithstanding that connecting-links have not hitherto been discovered. man is liable to numerous, slight, and diversified variations, which are induced by the same general causes, are governed and transmitted in accordance with the same general laws, as in the lower animals. man has multiplied so rapidly, that he has necessarily been exposed to struggle for existence, and consequently to natural selection. he has given rise to many races, some of which differ so much from each other, that they have often been ranked by naturalists as distinct species. his body is constructed on the same homological plan as that of other mammals. he passes through the same phases of embryological development. he retains many rudimentary and useless structures, which no doubt were once serviceable. characters occasionally make their re-appearance in him, which we have reason to believe were possessed by his early progenitors. if the origin of man had been wholly different from that of all other animals, these various appearances would be mere empty deceptions; but such an admission is incredible. these appearances, on the other hand, are intelligible, at least to a large extent, if man is the co-descendant with other mammals of some unknown and lower form. some naturalists, from being deeply impressed with the mental and spiritual powers of man, have divided the whole organic world into three kingdoms, the human, the animal, and the vegetable, thus giving to man a separate kingdom. ( . isidore geoffroy st.-hilaire gives a detailed account of the position assigned to man by various naturalists in their classifications: 'hist. nat. gen.' tom. ii. , pp. - .) spiritual powers cannot be compared or classed by the naturalist: but he may endeavour to shew, as i have done, that the mental faculties of man and the lower animals do not differ in kind, although immensely in degree. a difference in degree, however great, does not justify us in placing man in a distinct kingdom, as will perhaps be best illustrated by comparing the mental powers of two insects, namely, a coccus or scale-insect and an ant, which undoubtedly belong to the same class. the difference is here greater than, though of a somewhat different kind from, that between man and the highest mammal. the female coccus, whilst young, attaches itself by its proboscis to a plant; sucks the sap, but never moves again; is fertilised and lays eggs; and this is its whole history. on the other hand, to describe the habits and mental powers of worker-ants, would require, as pierre huber has shewn, a large volume; i may, however, briefly specify a few points. ants certainly communicate information to each other, and several unite for the same work, or for games of play. they recognise their fellow-ants after months of absence, and feel sympathy for each other. they build great edifices, keep them clean, close the doors in the evening, and post sentries. they make roads as well as tunnels under rivers, and temporary bridges over them, by clinging together. they collect food for the community, and when an object, too large for entrance, is brought to the nest, they enlarge the door, and afterwards build it up again. they store up seeds, of which they prevent the germination, and which, if damp, are brought up to the surface to dry. they keep aphides and other insects as milch-cows. they go out to battle in regular bands, and freely sacrifice their lives for the common weal. they emigrate according to a preconcerted plan. they capture slaves. they move the eggs of their aphides, as well as their own eggs and cocoons, into warm parts of the nest, in order that they may be quickly hatched; and endless similar facts could be given. ( . some of the most interesting facts ever published on the habits of ants are given by mr. belt, in his 'naturalist in nicaragua,' . see also mr. moggridge's admirable work, 'harvesting ants,' etc., , also 'l'instinct chez les insectes,' by m. george pouchet, 'revue des deux mondes,' feb. , p. .) on the whole, the difference in mental power between an ant and a coccus is immense; yet no one has ever dreamed of placing these insects in distinct classes, much less in distinct kingdoms. no doubt the difference is bridged over by other insects; and this is not the case with man and the higher apes. but we have every reason to believe that the breaks in the series are simply the results of many forms having become extinct. professor owen, relying chiefly on the structure of the brain, has divided the mammalian series into four sub-classes. one of these he devotes to man; in another he places both the marsupials and the monotremata; so that he makes man as distinct from all other mammals as are these two latter groups conjoined. this view has not been accepted, as far as i am aware, by any naturalist capable of forming an independent judgment, and therefore need not here be further considered. we can understand why a classification founded on any single character or organ--even an organ so wonderfully complex and important as the brain--or on the high development of the mental faculties, is almost sure to prove unsatisfactory. this principle has indeed been tried with hymenopterous insects; but when thus classed by their habits or instincts, the arrangement proved thoroughly artificial. ( . westwood, 'modern classification of insects,' vol. ii. , p. .) classifications may, of course, be based on any character whatever, as on size, colour, or the element inhabited; but naturalists have long felt a profound conviction that there is a natural system. this system, it is now generally admitted, must be, as far as possible, genealogical in arrangement,--that is, the co-descendants of the same form must be kept together in one group, apart from the co-descendants of any other form; but if the parent-forms are related, so will be their descendants, and the two groups together will form a larger group. the amount of difference between the several groups--that is the amount of modification which each has undergone--is expressed by such terms as genera, families, orders, and classes. as we have no record of the lines of descent, the pedigree can be discovered only by observing the degrees of resemblance between the beings which are to be classed. for this object numerous points of resemblance are of much more importance than the amount of similarity or dissimilarity in a few points. if two languages were found to resemble each other in a multitude of words and points of construction, they would be universally recognised as having sprung from a common source, notwithstanding that they differed greatly in some few words or points of construction. but with organic beings the points of resemblance must not consist of adaptations to similar habits of life: two animals may, for instance, have had their whole frames modified for living in the water, and yet they will not be brought any nearer to each other in the natural system. hence we can see how it is that resemblances in several unimportant structures, in useless and rudimentary organs, or not now functionally active, or in an embryological condition, are by far the most serviceable for classification; for they can hardly be due to adaptations within a late period; and thus they reveal the old lines of descent or of true affinity. we can further see why a great amount of modification in some one character ought not to lead us to separate widely any two organisms. a part which already differs much from the same part in other allied forms has already, according to the theory of evolution, varied much; consequently it would (as long as the organism remained exposed to the same exciting conditions) be liable to further variations of the same kind; and these, if beneficial, would be preserved, and thus be continually augmented. in many cases the continued development of a part, for instance, of the beak of a bird, or of the teeth of a mammal, would not aid the species in gaining its food, or for any other object; but with man we can see no definite limit to the continued development of the brain and mental faculties, as far as advantage is concerned. therefore in determining the position of man in the natural or genealogical system, the extreme development of his brain ought not to outweigh a multitude of resemblances in other less important or quite unimportant points. the greater number of naturalists who have taken into consideration the whole structure of man, including his mental faculties, have followed blumenbach and cuvier, and have placed man in a separate order, under the title of the bimana, and therefore on an equality with the orders of the quadrumana, carnivora, etc. recently many of our best naturalists have recurred to the view first propounded by linnaeus, so remarkable for his sagacity, and have placed man in the same order with the quadrumana, under the title of the primates. the justice of this conclusion will be admitted: for in the first place, we must bear in mind the comparative insignificance for classification of the great development of the brain in man, and that the strongly-marked differences between the skulls of man and the quadrumana (lately insisted upon by bischoff, aeby, and others) apparently follow from their differently developed brains. in the second place, we must remember that nearly all the other and more important differences between man and the quadrumana are manifestly adaptive in their nature, and relate chiefly to the erect position of man; such as the structure of his hand, foot, and pelvis, the curvature of his spine, and the position of his head. the family of seals offers a good illustration of the small importance of adaptive characters for classification. these animals differ from all other carnivora in the form of their bodies and in the structure of their limbs, far more than does man from the higher apes; yet in most systems, from that of cuvier to the most recent one by mr. flower ( . 'proceedings zoological society,' , p. .), seals are ranked as a mere family in the order of the carnivora. if man had not been his own classifier, he would never have thought of founding a separate order for his own reception. it would be beyond my limits, and quite beyond my knowledge, even to name the innumerable points of structure in which man agrees with the other primates. our great anatomist and philosopher, prof. huxley, has fully discussed this subject ( . 'evidence as to man's place in nature,' , p. , et passim.), and concludes that man in all parts of his organization differs less from the higher apes, than these do from the lower members of the same group. consequently there "is no justification for placing man in a distinct order." in an early part of this work i brought forward various facts, shewing how closely man agrees in constitution with the higher mammals; and this agreement must depend on our close similarity in minute structure and chemical composition. i gave, as instances, our liability to the same diseases, and to the attacks of allied parasites; our tastes in common for the same stimulants, and the similar effects produced by them, as well as by various drugs, and other such facts. as small unimportant points of resemblance between man and the quadrumana are not commonly noticed in systematic works, and as, when numerous, they clearly reveal our relationship, i will specify a few such points. the relative position of our features is manifestly the same; and the various emotions are displayed by nearly similar movements of the muscles and skin, chiefly above the eyebrows and round the mouth. some few expressions are, indeed, almost the same, as in the weeping of certain kinds of monkeys and in the laughing noise made by others, during which the corners of the mouth are drawn backwards, and the lower eyelids wrinkled. the external ears are curiously alike. in man the nose is much more prominent than in most monkeys; but we may trace the commencement of an aquiline curvature in the nose of the hoolock gibbon; and this in the semnopithecus nasica is carried to a ridiculous extreme. the faces of many monkeys are ornamented with beards, whiskers, or moustaches. the hair on the head grows to a great length in some species of semnopithecus ( . isidore geoffroy st.-hilaire, 'hist. nat. gen.' tom. ii. , p. .); and in the bonnet monkey (macacus radiatus) it radiates from a point on the crown, with a parting down the middle. it is commonly said that the forehead gives to man his noble and intellectual appearance; but the thick hair on the head of the bonnet monkey terminates downwards abruptly, and is succeeded by hair so short and fine that at a little distance the forehead, with the exception of the eyebrows, appears quite naked. it has been erroneously asserted that eyebrows are not present in any monkey. in the species just named the degree of nakedness of the forehead differs in different individuals; and eschricht states ( . '�ber die richtung der haare,' etc., müller's 'archiv fur anat. und phys.' , s. .) that in our children the limit between the hairy scalp and the naked forehead is sometimes not well defined; so that here we seem to have a trifling case of reversion to a progenitor, in whom the forehead had not as yet become quite naked. it is well known that the hair on our arms tends to converge from above and below to a point at the elbow. this curious arrangement, so unlike that in most of the lower mammals, is common to the gorilla, chimpanzee, orang, some species of hylobates, and even to some few american monkeys. but in hylobates agilis the hair on the fore-arm is directed downwards or towards the wrist in the ordinary manner; and in h. lar it is nearly erect, with only a very slight forward inclination; so that in this latter species it is in a transitional state. it can hardly be doubted that with most mammals the thickness of the hair on the back and its direction, is adapted to throw off the rain; even the transverse hairs on the fore-legs of a dog may serve for this end when he is coiled up asleep. mr. wallace, who has carefully studied the habits of the orang, remarks that the convergence of the hair towards the elbow on the arms of the orang may be explained as serving to throw off the rain, for this animal during rainy weather sits with its arms bent, and with the hands clasped round a branch or over its head. according to livingstone, the gorilla also "sits in pelting rain with his hands over his head." ( . quoted by reade, 'the african sketch book,' vol i. , p. .) if the above explanation is correct, as seems probable, the direction of the hair on our own arms offers a curious record of our former state; for no one supposes that it is now of any use in throwing off the rain; nor, in our present erect condition, is it properly directed for this purpose. it would, however, be rash to trust too much to the principle of adaptation in regard to the direction of the hair in man or his early progenitors; for it is impossible to study the figures given by eschricht of the arrangement of the hair on the human foetus (this being the same as in the adult) and not agree with this excellent observer that other and more complex causes have intervened. the points of convergence seem to stand in some relation to those points in the embryo which are last closed in during development. there appears, also, to exist some relation between the arrangement of the hair on the limbs, and the course of the medullary arteries. ( . on the hair in hylobates, see 'natural history of mammals,' by c.l. martin, , p. . also, isidore geoffroy on the american monkeys and other kinds, 'hist. nat. gen.' vol. ii. , pp. , . eschricht, ibid. s. , , . owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. p. . wallace, 'contributions to the theory of natural selection,' , p. .) it must not be supposed that the resemblances between man and certain apes in the above and in many other points--such as in having a naked forehead, long tresses on the head, etc.,--are all necessarily the result of unbroken inheritance from a common progenitor, or of subsequent reversion. many of these resemblances are more probably due to analogous variation, which follows, as i have elsewhere attempted to shew ( . 'origin of species,' th edit. , p. . 'the variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. , p. .), from co-descended organisms having a similar constitution, and having been acted on by like causes inducing similar modifications. with respect to the similar direction of the hair on the fore-arms of man and certain monkeys, as this character is common to almost all the anthropomorphous apes, it may probably be attributed to inheritance; but this is not certain, as some very distinct american monkeys are thus characterised. although, as we have now seen, man has no just right to form a separate order for his own reception, he may perhaps claim a distinct sub-order or family. prof. huxley, in his last work ( . 'an introduction to the classification of animals,' , p. .), divides the primates into three sub-orders; namely, the anthropidae with man alone, the simiadae including monkeys of all kinds, and the lemuridae with the diversified genera of lemurs. as far as differences in certain important points of structure are concerned, man may no doubt rightly claim the rank of a sub-order; and this rank is too low, if we look chiefly to his mental faculties. nevertheless, from a genealogical point of view it appears that this rank is too high, and that man ought to form merely a family, or possibly even only a sub-family. if we imagine three lines of descent proceeding from a common stock, it is quite conceivable that two of them might after the lapse of ages be so slightly changed as still to remain as species of the same genus, whilst the third line might become so greatly modified as to deserve to rank as a distinct sub-family, family, or even order. but in this case it is almost certain that the third line would still retain through inheritance numerous small points of resemblance with the other two. here, then, would occur the difficulty, at present insoluble, how much weight we ought to assign in our classifications to strongly-marked differences in some few points,--that is, to the amount of modification undergone; and how much to close resemblance in numerous unimportant points, as indicating the lines of descent or genealogy. to attach much weight to the few but strong differences is the most obvious and perhaps the safest course, though it appears more correct to pay great attention to the many small resemblances, as giving a truly natural classification. in forming a judgment on this head with reference to man, we must glance at the classification of the simiadae. this family is divided by almost all naturalists into the catarrhine group, or old world monkeys, all of which are characterised (as their name expresses) by the peculiar structure of their nostrils, and by having four premolars in each jaw; and into the platyrrhine group or new world monkeys (including two very distinct sub-groups), all of which are characterised by differently constructed nostrils, and by having six premolars in each jaw. some other small differences might be mentioned. now man unquestionably belongs in his dentition, in the structure of his nostrils, and some other respects, to the catarrhine or old world division; nor does he resemble the platyrrhines more closely than the catarrhines in any characters, excepting in a few of not much importance and apparently of an adaptive nature. it is therefore against all probability that some new world species should have formerly varied and produced a man-like creature, with all the distinctive characters proper to the old world division; losing at the same time all its own distinctive characters. there can, consequently, hardly be a doubt that man is an off-shoot from the old world simian stem; and that under a genealogical point of view he must be classed with the catarrhine division. ( . this is nearly the same classification as that provisionally adopted by mr. st. george mivart, ('transactions, philosophical society," , p. ), who, after separating the lemuridae, divides the remainder of the primates into the hominidae, the simiadae which answer to the catarrhines, the cebidae, and the hapalidae,--these two latter groups answering to the platyrrhines. mr. mivart still abides by the same view; see 'nature,' , p. .) the anthropomorphous apes, namely the gorilla, chimpanzee, orang, and hylobates, are by most naturalists separated from the other old world monkeys, as a distinct sub-group. i am aware that gratiolet, relying on the structure of the brain, does not admit the existence of this sub-group, and no doubt it is a broken one. thus the orang, as mr. st. g. mivart remarks, "is one of the most peculiar and aberrant forms to be found in the order." ( . 'transactions, zoolog. soc.' vol. vi. , p. .) the remaining non-anthropomorphous old world monkeys, are again divided by some naturalists into two or three smaller sub-groups; the genus semnopithecus, with its peculiar sacculated stomach, being the type of one sub-group. but it appears from m. gaudry's wonderful discoveries in attica, that during the miocene period a form existed there, which connected semnopithecus and macacus; and this probably illustrates the manner in which the other and higher groups were once blended together. if the anthropomorphous apes be admitted to form a natural sub-group, then as man agrees with them, not only in all those characters which he possesses in common with the whole catarrhine group, but in other peculiar characters, such as the absence of a tail and of callosities, and in general appearance, we may infer that some ancient member of the anthropomorphous sub-group gave birth to man. it is not probable that, through the law of analogous variation, a member of one of the other lower sub-groups should have given rise to a man-like creature, resembling the higher anthropomorphous apes in so many respects. no doubt man, in comparison with most of his allies, has undergone an extraordinary amount of modification, chiefly in consequence of the great development of his brain and his erect position; nevertheless, we should bear in mind that he "is but one of several exceptional forms of primates." ( . mr. st. g. mivart, 'transactions of the philosophical society,' , p. .) every naturalist, who believes in the principle of evolution, will grant that the two main divisions of the simiadae, namely the catarrhine and platyrrhine monkeys, with their sub-groups, have all proceeded from some one extremely ancient progenitor. the early descendants of this progenitor, before they had diverged to any considerable extent from each other, would still have formed a single natural group; but some of the species or incipient genera would have already begun to indicate by their diverging characters the future distinctive marks of the catarrhine and platyrrhine divisions. hence the members of this supposed ancient group would not have been so uniform in their dentition, or in the structure of their nostrils, as are the existing catarrhine monkeys in one way and the platyrrhines in another way, but would have resembled in this respect the allied lemuridae, which differ greatly from each other in the form of their muzzles ( . messrs. murie and mivart on the lemuroidea, 'transactions, zoological society,' vol. vii, , p. .), and to an extraordinary degree in their dentition. the catarrhine and platyrrhine monkeys agree in a multitude of characters, as is shewn by their unquestionably belonging to one and the same order. the many characters which they possess in common can hardly have been independently acquired by so many distinct species; so that these characters must have been inherited. but a naturalist would undoubtedly have ranked as an ape or a monkey, an ancient form which possessed many characters common to the catarrhine and platyrrhine monkeys, other characters in an intermediate condition, and some few, perhaps, distinct from those now found in either group. and as man from a genealogical point of view belongs to the catarrhine or old world stock, we must conclude, however much the conclusion may revolt our pride, that our early progenitors would have been properly thus designated. ( . haeckel has come to this same conclusion. see '�ber die entstehung des menschengeschlechts,' in virchow's 'sammlung. gemein. wissen. vorträge,' , s. . also his 'natürliche schöpfungsgeschichte,' , in which he gives in detail his views on the genealogy of man.) but we must not fall into the error of supposing that the early progenitor of the whole simian stock, including man, was identical with, or even closely resembled, any existing ape or monkey. on the birthplace and antiquity of man. we are naturally led to enquire, where was the birthplace of man at that stage of descent when our progenitors diverged from the catarrhine stock? the fact that they belonged to this stock clearly shews that they inhabited the old world; but not australia nor any oceanic island, as we may infer from the laws of geographical distribution. in each great region of the world the living mammals are closely related to the extinct species of the same region. it is therefore probable that africa was formerly inhabited by extinct apes closely allied to the gorilla and chimpanzee; and as these two species are now man's nearest allies, it is somewhat more probable that our early progenitors lived on the african continent than elsewhere. but it is useless to speculate on this subject; for two or three anthropomorphous apes, one the dryopithecus ( . dr. c. forsyth major, 'sur les singes fossiles trouvés en italie:' 'soc. ital. des sc. nat.' tom. xv. .) of lartet, nearly as large as a man, and closely allied to hylobates, existed in europe during the miocene age; and since so remote a period the earth has certainly undergone many great revolutions, and there has been ample time for migration on the largest scale. at the period and place, whenever and wherever it was, when man first lost his hairy covering, he probably inhabited a hot country; a circumstance favourable for the frugiferous diet on which, judging from analogy, he subsisted. we are far from knowing how long ago it was when man first diverged from the catarrhine stock; but it may have occurred at an epoch as remote as the eocene period; for that the higher apes had diverged from the lower apes as early as the upper miocene period is shewn by the existence of the dryopithecus. we are also quite ignorant at how rapid a rate organisms, whether high or low in the scale, may be modified under favourable circumstances; we know, however, that some have retained the same form during an enormous lapse of time. from what we see going on under domestication, we learn that some of the co-descendants of the same species may be not at all, some a little, and some greatly changed, all within the same period. thus it may have been with man, who has undergone a great amount of modification in certain characters in comparison with the higher apes. the great break in the organic chain between man and his nearest allies, which cannot be bridged over by any extinct or living species, has often been advanced as a grave objection to the belief that man is descended from some lower form; but this objection will not appear of much weight to those who, from general reasons, believe in the general principle of evolution. breaks often occur in all parts of the series, some being wide, sharp and defined, others less so in various degrees; as between the orang and its nearest allies--between the tarsius and the other lemuridae--between the elephant, and in a more striking manner between the ornithorhynchus or echidna, and all other mammals. but these breaks depend merely on the number of related forms which have become extinct. at some future period, not very distant as measured by centuries, the civilised races of man will almost certainly exterminate, and replace, the savage races throughout the world. at the same time the anthropomorphous apes, as professor schaaffhausen has remarked ( . 'anthropological review,' april , p. .), will no doubt be exterminated. the break between man and his nearest allies will then be wider, for it will intervene between man in a more civilised state, as we may hope, even than the caucasian, and some ape as low as a baboon, instead of as now between the negro or australian and the gorilla. with respect to the absence of fossil remains, serving to connect man with his ape-like progenitors, no one will lay much stress on this fact who reads sir c. lyell's discussion ( . 'elements of geology,' , pp. - . 'antiquity of man,' , p. .), where he shews that in all the vertebrate classes the discovery of fossil remains has been a very slow and fortuitous process. nor should it be forgotten that those regions which are the most likely to afford remains connecting man with some extinct ape-like creature, have not as yet been searched by geologists. lower stages in the genealogy of man. we have seen that man appears to have diverged from the catarrhine or old world division of the simiadae, after these had diverged from the new world division. we will now endeavour to follow the remote traces of his genealogy, trusting principally to the mutual affinities between the various classes and orders, with some slight reference to the periods, as far as ascertained, of their successive appearance on the earth. the lemuridae stand below and near to the simiadae, and constitute a very distinct family of the primates, or, according to haeckel and others, a distinct order. this group is diversified and broken to an extraordinary degree, and includes many aberrant forms. it has, therefore, probably suffered much extinction. most of the remnants survive on islands, such as madagascar and the malayan archipelago, where they have not been exposed to so severe a competition as they would have been on well-stocked continents. this group likewise presents many gradations, leading, as huxley remarks ( . 'man's place in nature,' p. .), "insensibly from the crown and summit of the animal creation down to creatures from which there is but a step, as it seems, to the lowest, smallest, and least intelligent of the placental mammalia." from these various considerations it is probable that the simiadae were originally developed from the progenitors of the existing lemuridae; and these in their turn from forms standing very low in the mammalian series. the marsupials stand in many important characters below the placental mammals. they appeared at an earlier geological period, and their range was formerly much more extensive than at present. hence the placentata are generally supposed to have been derived from the implacentata or marsupials; not, however, from forms closely resembling the existing marsupials, but from their early progenitors. the monotremata are plainly allied to the marsupials, forming a third and still lower division in the great mammalian series. they are represented at the present day solely by the ornithorhynchus and echidna; and these two forms may be safely considered as relics of a much larger group, representatives of which have been preserved in australia through some favourable concurrence of circumstances. the monotremata are eminently interesting, as leading in several important points of structure towards the class of reptiles. in attempting to trace the genealogy of the mammalia, and therefore of man, lower down in the series, we become involved in greater and greater obscurity; but as a most capable judge, mr. parker, has remarked, we have good reason to believe, that no true bird or reptile intervenes in the direct line of descent. he who wishes to see what ingenuity and knowledge can effect, may consult prof. haeckel's works. ( . elaborate tables are given in his 'generelle morphologie' (b. ii. s. cliii. and s. ); and with more especial reference to man in his 'natürliche schöpfungsgeschichte,' . prof. huxley, in reviewing this latter work ('the academy,' , p. ) says, that he considers the phylum or lines of descent of the vertebrata to be admirably discussed by haeckel, although he differs on some points. he expresses, also, his high estimate of the general tenor and spirit of the whole work.) i will content myself with a few general remarks. every evolutionist will admit that the five great vertebrate classes, namely, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes, are descended from some one prototype; for they have much in common, especially during their embryonic state. as the class of fishes is the most lowly organised, and appeared before the others, we may conclude that all the members of the vertebrate kingdom are derived from some fishlike animal. the belief that animals so distinct as a monkey, an elephant, a humming-bird, a snake, a frog, and a fish, etc., could all have sprung from the same parents, will appear monstrous to those who have not attended to the recent progress of natural history. for this belief implies the former existence of links binding closely together all these forms, now so utterly unlike. nevertheless, it is certain that groups of animals have existed, or do now exist, which serve to connect several of the great vertebrate classes more or less closely. we have seen that the ornithorhynchus graduates towards reptiles; and prof. huxley has discovered, and is confirmed by mr. cope and others, that the dinosaurians are in many important characters intermediate between certain reptiles and certain birds--the birds referred to being the ostrich-tribe (itself evidently a widely-diffused remnant of a larger group) and the archeopteryx, that strange secondary bird, with a long lizard-like tail. again, according to prof. owen ( . 'palaeontology' , p. .), the ichthyosaurians--great sea-lizards furnished with paddles--present many affinities with fishes, or rather, according to huxley, with amphibians; a class which, including in its highest division frogs and toads, is plainly allied to the ganoid fishes. these latter fishes swarmed during the earlier geological periods, and were constructed on what is called a generalised type, that is, they presented diversified affinities with other groups of organisms. the lepidosiren is also so closely allied to amphibians and fishes, that naturalists long disputed in which of these two classes to rank it; it, and also some few ganoid fishes, have been preserved from utter extinction by inhabiting rivers, which are harbours of refuge, and are related to the great waters of the ocean in the same way that islands are to continents. lastly, one single member of the immense and diversified class of fishes, namely, the lancelet or amphioxus, is so different from all other fishes, that haeckel maintains that it ought to form a distinct class in the vertebrate kingdom. this fish is remarkable for its negative characters; it can hardly be said to possess a brain, vertebral column, or heart, etc.; so that it was classed by the older naturalists amongst the worms. many years ago prof. goodsir perceived that the lancelet presented some affinities with the ascidians, which are invertebrate, hermaphrodite, marine creatures permanently attached to a support. they hardly appear like animals, and consist of a simple, tough, leathery sack, with two small projecting orifices. they belong to the mulluscoida of huxley--a lower division of the great kingdom of the mollusca; but they have recently been placed by some naturalists amongst the vermes or worms. their larvae somewhat resemble tadpoles in shape ( . at the falkland islands i had the satisfaction of seeing, in april, , and therefore some years before any other naturalist, the locomotive larvae of a compound ascidian, closely allied to synoicum, but apparently generically distinct from it. the tail was about five times as long as the oblong head, and terminated in a very fine filament. it was, as sketched by me under a simple microscope, plainly divided by transverse opaque partitions, which i presume represent the great cells figured by kovalevsky. at an early stage of development the tail was closely coiled round the head of the larva.), and have the power of swimming freely about. mr. kovalevsky ( . 'memoires de l'acad. des sciences de st. petersbourg,' tom. x. no. , .) has lately observed that the larvae of ascidians are related to the vertebrata, in their manner of development, in the relative position of the nervous system, and in possessing a structure closely like the chorda dorsalis of vertebrate animals; and in this he has been since confirmed by prof. kupffer. m. kovalevsky writes to me from naples, that he has now carried these observations yet further, and should his results be well established, the whole will form a discovery of the very greatest value. thus, if we may rely on embryology, ever the safest guide in classification, it seems that we have at last gained a clue to the source whence the vertebrata were derived. ( . but i am bound to add that some competent judges dispute this conclusion; for instance, m. giard, in a series of papers in the 'archives de zoologie experimentale,' for . nevertheless, this naturalist remarks, p. , "l'organisation de la larve ascidienne en dehors de toute hypothèse et de toute théorie, nous montre comment la nature peut produire la disposition fondamentale du type vertébré (l'existence d'une corde dorsale) chez un invertébré par la seule condition vitale de l'adaptation, et cette simple possibilité du passage supprime l'abîme entre les deux sous-règnes, encore bien qu'en ignore par où le passage s'est fait en realité.") we should then be justified in believing that at an extremely remote period a group of animals existed, resembling in many respects the larvae of our present ascidians, which diverged into two great branches--the one retrograding in development and producing the present class of ascidians, the other rising to the crown and summit of the animal kingdom by giving birth to the vertebrata. we have thus far endeavoured rudely to trace the genealogy of the vertebrata by the aid of their mutual affinities. we will now look to man as he exists; and we shall, i think, be able partially to restore the structure of our early progenitors, during successive periods, but not in due order of time. this can be effected by means of the rudiments which man still retains, by the characters which occasionally make their appearance in him through reversion, and by the aid of the principles of morphology and embryology. the various facts, to which i shall here allude, have been given in the previous chapters. the early progenitors of man must have been once covered with hair, both sexes having beards; their ears were probably pointed, and capable of movement; and their bodies were provided with a tail, having the proper muscles. their limbs and bodies were also acted on by many muscles which now only occasionally reappear, but are normally present in the quadrumana. at this or some earlier period, the great artery and nerve of the humerus ran through a supra-condyloid foramen. the intestine gave forth a much larger diverticulum or caecum than that now existing. the foot was then prehensile, judging from the condition of the great toe in the foetus; and our progenitors, no doubt, were arboreal in their habits, and frequented some warm, forest-clad land. the males had great canine teeth, which served them as formidable weapons. at a much earlier period the uterus was double; the excreta were voided through a cloaca; and the eye was protected by a third eyelid or nictitating membrane. at a still earlier period the progenitors of man must have been aquatic in their habits; for morphology plainly tells us that our lungs consist of a modified swim-bladder, which once served as a float. the clefts on the neck in the embryo of man shew where the branchiae once existed. in the lunar or weekly recurrent periods of some of our functions we apparently still retain traces of our primordial birthplace, a shore washed by the tides. at about this same early period the true kidneys were replaced by the corpora wolffiana. the heart existed as a simple pulsating vessel; and the chorda dorsalis took the place of a vertebral column. these early ancestors of man, thus seen in the dim recesses of time, must have been as simply, or even still more simply organised than the lancelet or amphioxus. there is one other point deserving a fuller notice. it has long been known that in the vertebrate kingdom one sex bears rudiments of various accessory parts, appertaining to the reproductive system, which properly belong to the opposite sex; and it has now been ascertained that at a very early embryonic period both sexes possess true male and female glands. hence some remote progenitor of the whole vertebrate kingdom appears to have been hermaphrodite or androgynous. ( . this is the conclusion of prof. gegenbaur, one of the highest authorities in comparative anatomy: see 'grundzüge der vergleich. anat.' , s. . the result has been arrived at chiefly from the study of the amphibia; but it appears from the researches of waldeyer (as quoted in 'journal of anat. and phys.' , p. ), that the sexual organs of even "the higher vertebrata are, in their early condition, hermaphrodite." similar views have long been held by some authors, though until recently without a firm basis.) but here we encounter a singular difficulty. in the mammalian class the males possess rudiments of a uterus with the adjacent passage, in their vesiculae prostaticae; they bear also rudiments of mammae, and some male marsupials have traces of a marsupial sack. ( . the male thylacinus offers the best instance. owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. p. .) other analogous facts could be added. are we, then, to suppose that some extremely ancient mammal continued androgynous, after it had acquired the chief distinctions of its class, and therefore after it had diverged from the lower classes of the vertebrate kingdom? this seems very improbable, for we have to look to fishes, the lowest of all the classes, to find any still existent androgynous forms. ( . hermaphroditism has been observed in several species of serranus, as well as in some other fishes, where it is either normal and symmetrical, or abnormal and unilateral. dr. zouteveen has given me references on this subject, more especially to a paper by prof. halbertsma, in the 'transact. of the dutch acad. of sciences,' vol. xvi. dr. gunther doubts the fact, but it has now been recorded by too many good observers to be any longer disputed. dr. m. lessona writes to me, that he has verified the observations made by cavolini on serranus. prof. ercolani has recently shewn ('accad. delle scienze,' bologna, dec. , ) that eels are androgynous.) that various accessory parts, proper to each sex, are found in a rudimentary condition in the opposite sex, may be explained by such organs having been gradually acquired by the one sex, and then transmitted in a more or less imperfect state to the other. when we treat of sexual selection, we shall meet with innumerable instances of this form of transmission,--as in the case of the spurs, plumes, and brilliant colours, acquired for battle or ornament by male birds, and inherited by the females in an imperfect or rudimentary condition. the possession by male mammals of functionally imperfect mammary organs is, in some respects, especially curious. the monotremata have the proper milk-secreting glands with orifices, but no nipples; and as these animals stand at the very base of the mammalian series, it is probable that the progenitors of the class also had milk-secreting glands, but no nipples. this conclusion is supported by what is known of their manner of development; for professor turner informs me, on the authority of kolliker and langer, that in the embryo the mammary glands can be distinctly traced before the nipples are in the least visible; and the development of successive parts in the individual generally represents and accords with the development of successive beings in the same line of descent. the marsupials differ from the monotremata by possessing nipples; so that probably these organs were first acquired by the marsupials, after they had diverged from, and risen above, the monotremata, and were then transmitted to the placental mammals. ( . prof. gegenbaur has shewn ('jenäische zeitschrift,' bd. vii. p. ) that two distinct types of nipples prevail throughout the several mammalian orders, but that it is quite intelligible how both could have been derived from the nipples of the marsupials, and the latter from those of the monotremata. see, also, a memoir by dr. max huss, on the mammary glands, ibid. b. viii. p. .) no one will suppose that the marsupials still remained androgynous, after they had approximately acquired their present structure. how then are we to account for male mammals possessing mammae? it is possible that they were first developed in the females and then transferred to the males, but from what follows this is hardly probable. it may be suggested, as another view, that long after the progenitors of the whole mammalian class had ceased to be androgynous, both sexes yielded milk, and thus nourished their young; and in the case of the marsupials, that both sexes carried their young in marsupial sacks. this will not appear altogether improbable, if we reflect that the males of existing syngnathous fishes receive the eggs of the females in their abdominal pouches, hatch them, and afterwards, as some believe, nourish the young ( . mr. lockwood believes (as quoted in 'quart. journal of science,' april , p. ), from what he has observed of the development of hippocampus, that the walls of the abdominal pouch of the male in some way afford nourishment. on male fishes hatching the ova in their mouths, see a very interesting paper by prof. wyman, in 'proc. boston soc. of nat. hist.' sept. , ; also prof. turner, in 'journal of anatomy and physiology,' nov. , , p. . dr. gunther has likewise described similar cases.);--that certain other male fishes hatch the eggs within their mouths or branchial cavities;--that certain male toads take the chaplets of eggs from the females, and wind them round their own thighs, keeping them there until the tadpoles are born;--that certain male birds undertake the whole duty of incubation, and that male pigeons, as well as the females, feed their nestlings with a secretion from their crops. but the above suggestion first occurred to me from mammary glands of male mammals being so much more perfectly developed than the rudiments of the other accessory reproductive parts, which are found in the one sex though proper to the other. the mammary glands and nipples, as they exist in male mammals, can indeed hardly be called rudimentary; they are merely not fully developed, and not functionally active. they are sympathetically affected under the influence of certain diseases, like the same organs in the female. they often secrete a few drops of milk at birth and at puberty: this latter fact occurred in the curious case, before referred to, where a young man possessed two pairs of mammae. in man and some other male mammals these organs have been known occasionally to become so well developed during maturity as to yield a fair supply of milk. now if we suppose that during a former prolonged period male mammals aided the females in nursing their offspring ( . mlle. c. royer has suggested a similar view in her 'origine de l'homme,' etc., .), and that afterwards from some cause (as from the production of a smaller number of young) the males ceased to give this aid, disuse of the organs during maturity would lead to their becoming inactive; and from two well-known principles of inheritance, this state of inactivity would probably be transmitted to the males at the corresponding age of maturity. but at an earlier age these organs would be left unaffected, so that they would be almost equally well developed in the young of both sexes. conclusion. von baer has defined advancement or progress in the organic scale better than any one else, as resting on the amount of differentiation and specialisation of the several parts of a being,--when arrived at maturity, as i should be inclined to add. now as organisms have become slowly adapted to diversified lines of life by means of natural selection, their parts will have become more and more differentiated and specialised for various functions from the advantage gained by the division of physiological labour. the same part appears often to have been modified first for one purpose, and then long afterwards for some other and quite distinct purpose; and thus all the parts are rendered more and more complex. but each organism still retains the general type of structure of the progenitor from which it was aboriginally derived. in accordance with this view it seems, if we turn to geological evidence, that organisation on the whole has advanced throughout the world by slow and interrupted steps. in the great kingdom of the vertebrata it has culminated in man. it must not, however, be supposed that groups of organic beings are always supplanted, and disappear as soon as they have given birth to other and more perfect groups. the latter, though victorious over their predecessors, may not have become better adapted for all places in the economy of nature. some old forms appear to have survived from inhabiting protected sites, where they have not been exposed to very severe competition; and these often aid us in constructing our genealogies, by giving us a fair idea of former and lost populations. but we must not fall into the error of looking at the existing members of any lowly-organised group as perfect representatives of their ancient predecessors. the most ancient progenitors in the kingdom of the vertebrata, at which we are able to obtain an obscure glance, apparently consisted of a group of marine animals ( . the inhabitants of the seashore must be greatly affected by the tides; animals living either about the mean high-water mark, or about the mean low-water mark, pass through a complete cycle of tidal changes in a fortnight. consequently, their food supply will undergo marked changes week by week. the vital functions of such animals, living under these conditions for many generations, can hardly fail to run their course in regular weekly periods. now it is a mysterious fact that in the higher and now terrestrial vertebrata, as well as in other classes, many normal and abnormal processes have one or more whole weeks as their periods; this would be rendered intelligible if the vertebrata are descended from an animal allied to the existing tidal ascidians. many instances of such periodic processes might be given, as the gestation of mammals, the duration of fevers, etc. the hatching of eggs affords also a good example, for, according to mr. bartlett ('land and water,' jan. , ), the eggs of the pigeon are hatched in two weeks; those of the fowl in three; those of the duck in four; those of the goose in five; and those of the ostrich in seven weeks. as far as we can judge, a recurrent period, if approximately of the right duration for any process or function, would not, when once gained, be liable to change; consequently it might be thus transmitted through almost any number of generations. but if the function changed, the period would have to change, and would be apt to change almost abruptly by a whole week. this conclusion, if sound, is highly remarkable; for the period of gestation in each mammal, and the hatching of each bird's eggs, and many other vital processes, thus betray to us the primordial birthplace of these animals.), resembling the larvae of existing ascidians. these animals probably gave rise to a group of fishes, as lowly organised as the lancelet; and from these the ganoids, and other fishes like the lepidosiren, must have been developed. from such fish a very small advance would carry us on to the amphibians. we have seen that birds and reptiles were once intimately connected together; and the monotremata now connect mammals with reptiles in a slight degree. but no one can at present say by what line of descent the three higher and related classes, namely, mammals, birds, and reptiles, were derived from the two lower vertebrate classes, namely, amphibians and fishes. in the class of mammals the steps are not difficult to conceive which led from the ancient monotremata to the ancient marsupials; and from these to the early progenitors of the placental mammals. we may thus ascend to the lemuridae; and the interval is not very wide from these to the simiadae. the simiadae then branched off into two great stems, the new world and old world monkeys; and from the latter, at a remote period, man, the wonder and glory of the universe, proceeded. thus we have given to man a pedigree of prodigious length, but not, it may be said, of noble quality. the world, it has often been remarked, appears as if it had long been preparing for the advent of man: and this, in one sense is strictly true, for he owes his birth to a long line of progenitors. if any single link in this chain had never existed, man would not have been exactly what he now is. unless we wilfully close our eyes, we may, with our present knowledge, approximately recognise our parentage; nor need we feel ashamed of it. the most humble organism is something much higher than the inorganic dust under our feet; and no one with an unbiassed mind can study any living creature, however humble, without being struck with enthusiasm at its marvellous structure and properties. chapter vii. on the races of man. the nature and value of specific characters--application to the races of man--arguments in favour of, and opposed to, ranking the so-called races of man as distinct species--sub-species--monogenists and polygenists--convergence of character--numerous points of resemblance in body and mind between the most distinct races of man--the state of man when he first spread over the earth--each race not descended from a single pair--the extinction of races--the formation of races--the effects of crossing--slight influence of the direct action of the conditions of life--slight or no influence of natural selection--sexual selection. it is not my intention here to describe the several so-called races of men; but i am about to enquire what is the value of the differences between them under a classificatory point of view, and how they have originated. in determining whether two or more allied forms ought to be ranked as species or varieties, naturalists are practically guided by the following considerations; namely, the amount of difference between them, and whether such differences relate to few or many points of structure, and whether they are of physiological importance; but more especially whether they are constant. constancy of character is what is chiefly valued and sought for by naturalists. whenever it can be shewn, or rendered probable, that the forms in question have remained distinct for a long period, this becomes an argument of much weight in favour of treating them as species. even a slight degree of sterility between any two forms when first crossed, or in their offspring, is generally considered as a decisive test of their specific distinctness; and their continued persistence without blending within the same area, is usually accepted as sufficient evidence, either of some degree of mutual sterility, or in the case of animals of some mutual repugnance to pairing. independently of fusion from intercrossing, the complete absence, in a well-investigated region, of varieties linking together any two closely-allied forms, is probably the most important of all the criterions of their specific distinctness; and this is a somewhat different consideration from mere constancy of character, for two forms may be highly variable and yet not yield intermediate varieties. geographical distribution is often brought into play unconsciously and sometimes consciously; so that forms living in two widely separated areas, in which most of the other inhabitants are specifically distinct, are themselves usually looked at as distinct; but in truth this affords no aid in distinguishing geographical races from so-called good or true species. now let us apply these generally-admitted principles to the races of man, viewing him in the same spirit as a naturalist would any other animal. in regard to the amount of difference between the races, we must make some allowance for our nice powers of discrimination gained by the long habit of observing ourselves. in india, as elphinstone remarks, although a newly-arrived european cannot at first distinguish the various native races, yet they soon appear to him extremely dissimilar ( . 'history of india,' , vol. i. p. . father ripa makes exactly the same remark with respect to the chinese.); and the hindoo cannot at first perceive any difference between the several european nations. even the most distinct races of man are much more like each other in form than would at first be supposed; certain negro tribes must be excepted, whilst others, as dr. rohlfs writes to me, and as i have myself seen, have caucasian features. this general similarity is well shewn by the french photographs in the collection anthropologique du museum de paris of the men belonging to various races, the greater number of which might pass for europeans, as many persons to whom i have shewn them have remarked. nevertheless, these men, if seen alive, would undoubtedly appear very distinct, so that we are clearly much influenced in our judgment by the mere colour of the skin and hair, by slight differences in the features, and by expression. there is, however, no doubt that the various races, when carefully compared and measured, differ much from each other,--as in the texture of the hair, the relative proportions of all parts of the body ( . a vast number of measurements of whites, blacks, and indians, are given in the 'investigations in the military and anthropolog. statistics of american soldiers,' by b.a. gould, , pp. - ; 'on the capacity of the lungs,' p. . see also the numerous and valuable tables, by dr. weisbach, from the observations of dr. scherzer and dr. schwarz, in the 'reise der novara: anthropolog. theil,' .), the capacity of the lungs, the form and capacity of the skull, and even in the convolutions of the brain. ( . see, for instance, mr. marshall's account of the brain of a bushwoman, in 'philosophical transactions,' , p. .) but it would be an endless task to specify the numerous points of difference. the races differ also in constitution, in acclimatisation and in liability to certain diseases. their mental characteristics are likewise very distinct; chiefly as it would appear in their emotional, but partly in their intellectual faculties. every one who has had the opportunity of comparison, must have been struck with the contrast between the taciturn, even morose, aborigines of s. america and the light-hearted, talkative negroes. there is a nearly similar contrast between the malays and the papuans ( . wallace, 'the malay archipelago,' vol. ii. , p. .), who live under the same physical conditions, and are separated from each other only by a narrow space of sea. we will first consider the arguments which may be advanced in favour of classing the races of man as distinct species, and then the arguments on the other side. if a naturalist, who had never before seen a negro, hottentot, australian, or mongolian, were to compare them, he would at once perceive that they differed in a multitude of characters, some of slight and some of considerable importance. on enquiry he would find that they were adapted to live under widely different climates, and that they differed somewhat in bodily constitution and mental disposition. if he were then told that hundreds of similar specimens could be brought from the same countries, he would assuredly declare that they were as good species as many to which he had been in the habit of affixing specific names. this conclusion would be greatly strengthened as soon as he had ascertained that these forms had all retained the same character for many centuries; and that negroes, apparently identical with existing negroes, had lived at least years ago. ( . with respect to the figures in the famous egyptian caves of abou-simbel, m. pouchet says ('the plurality of the human races,' eng. translat., , p. ), that he was far from finding recognisable representations of the dozen or more nations which some authors believe that they can recognise. even some of the most strongly-marked races cannot be identified with that degree of unanimity which might have been expected from what has been written on the subject. thus messrs. nott and gliddon ('types of mankind,' p. ), state that rameses ii., or the great, has features superbly european; whereas knox, another firm believer in the specific distinctness of the races of man ('races of man,' , p. ), speaking of young memnon (the same as rameses ii., as i am informed by mr. birch), insists in the strongest manner that he is identical in character with the jews of antwerp. again, when i looked at the statue of amunoph iii., i agreed with two officers of the establishment, both competent judges, that he had a strongly-marked negro type of features; but messrs. nott and gliddon (ibid. p. , fig. ), describe him as a hybrid, but not of "negro intermixture.") he would also hear, on the authority of an excellent observer, dr. lund ( . as quoted by nott and gliddon, 'types of mankind,' , p. . they give also corroborative evidence; but c. vogt thinks that the subject requires further investigation.), that the human skulls found in the caves of brazil, entombed with many extinct mammals, belonged to the same type as that now prevailing throughout the american continent. our naturalist would then perhaps turn to geographical distribution, and he would probably declare that those forms must be distinct species, which differ not only in appearance, but are fitted for hot, as well as damp or dry countries, and for the arctic regions. he might appeal to the fact that no species in the group next to man--namely, the quadrumana, can resist a low temperature, or any considerable change of climate; and that the species which come nearest to man have never been reared to maturity, even under the temperate climate of europe. he would be deeply impressed with the fact, first noticed by agassiz ( . 'diversity of origin of the human races,' in the 'christian examiner,' july .), that the different races of man are distributed over the world in the same zoological provinces, as those inhabited by undoubtedly distinct species and genera of mammals. this is manifestly the case with the australian, mongolian, and negro races of man; in a less well-marked manner with the hottentots; but plainly with the papuans and malays, who are separated, as mr. wallace has shewn, by nearly the same line which divides the great malayan and australian zoological provinces. the aborigines of america range throughout the continent; and this at first appears opposed to the above rule, for most of the productions of the southern and northern halves differ widely: yet some few living forms, as the opossum, range from the one into the other, as did formerly some of the gigantic edentata. the esquimaux, like other arctic animals, extend round the whole polar regions. it should be observed that the amount of difference between the mammals of the several zoological provinces does not correspond with the degree of separation between the latter; so that it can hardly be considered as an anomaly that the negro differs more, and the american much less from the other races of man, than do the mammals of the african and american continents from the mammals of the other provinces. man, it may be added, does not appear to have aboriginally inhabited any oceanic island; and in this respect, he resembles the other members of his class. in determining whether the supposed varieties of the same kind of domestic animal should be ranked as such, or as specifically distinct, that is, whether any of them are descended from distinct wild species, every naturalist would lay much stress on the fact of their external parasites being specifically distinct. all the more stress would be laid on this fact, as it would be an exceptional one; for i am informed by mr. denny that the most different kinds of dogs, fowls, and pigeons, in england, are infested by the same species of pediculi or lice. now mr. a. murray has carefully examined the pediculi collected in different countries from the different races of man ( . 'transactions of the royal society of edinburgh,' vol. xxii, , p. .); and he finds that they differ, not only in colour, but in the structure of their claws and limbs. in every case in which many specimens were obtained the differences were constant. the surgeon of a whaling ship in the pacific assured me that when the pediculi, with which some sandwich islanders on board swarmed, strayed on to the bodies of the english sailors, they died in the course of three or four days. these pediculi were darker coloured, and appeared different from those proper to the natives of chiloe in south america, of which he gave me specimens. these, again, appeared larger and much softer than european lice. mr. murray procured four kinds from africa, namely, from the negroes of the eastern and western coasts, from the hottentots and kaffirs; two kinds from the natives of australia; two from north and two from south america. in these latter cases it may be presumed that the pediculi came from natives inhabiting different districts. with insects slight structural differences, if constant, are generally esteemed of specific value: and the fact of the races of man being infested by parasites, which appear to be specifically distinct, might fairly be urged as an argument that the races themselves ought to be classed as distinct species. our supposed naturalist having proceeded thus far in his investigation, would next enquire whether the races of men, when crossed, were in any degree sterile. he might consult the work ( . 'on the phenomena of hybridity in the genus homo,' eng. translat., .) of professor broca, a cautious and philosophical observer, and in this he would find good evidence that some races were quite fertile together, but evidence of an opposite nature in regard to other races. thus it has been asserted that the native women of australia and tasmania rarely produce children to european men; the evidence, however, on this head has now been shewn to be almost valueless. the half-castes are killed by the pure blacks: and an account has lately been published of eleven half-caste youths murdered and burnt at the same time, whose remains were found by the police. ( . see the interesting letter by mr. t.a. murray, in the 'anthropological review,' april , p. liii. in this letter count strzelecki's statement that australian women who have borne children to a white man, are afterwards sterile with their own race, is disproved. m. a. de quatrefages has also collected (revue des cours scientifiques, march, , p. ), much evidence that australians and europeans are not sterile when crossed.) again, it has often been said that when mulattoes intermarry, they produce few children; on the other hand, dr. bachman, of charleston ( . 'an examination of prof. agassiz's sketch of the nat. provinces of the animal world,' charleston, , p. .), positively asserts that he has known mulatto families which have intermarried for several generations, and have continued on an average as fertile as either pure whites or pure blacks. enquiries formerly made by sir c. lyell on this subject led him, as he informs me, to the same conclusion. ( . dr. rohlfs writes to me that he found the mixed races in the great sahara, derived from arabs, berbers, and negroes of three tribes, extraordinarily fertile. on the other hand, mr. winwood reade informs me that the negroes on the gold coast, though admiring white men and mulattoes, have a maxim that mulattoes should not intermarry, as the children are few and sickly. this belief, as mr. reade remarks, deserves attention, as white men have visited and resided on the gold coast for four hundred years, so that the natives have had ample time to gain knowledge through experience.) in the united states the census for the year included, according to dr. bachman, , mulattoes; and this number, considering all the circumstances of the case, seems small; but it may partly be accounted for by the degraded and anomalous position of the class, and by the profligacy of the women. a certain amount of absorption of mulattoes into negroes must always be in progress; and this would lead to an apparent diminution of the former. the inferior vitality of mulattoes is spoken of in a trustworthy work ( . 'military and anthropological statistics of american soldiers,' by b.a. gould, , p. .) as a well-known phenomenon; and this, although a different consideration from their lessened fertility, may perhaps be advanced as a proof of the specific distinctness of the parent races. no doubt both animal and vegetable hybrids, when produced from extremely distinct species, are liable to premature death; but the parents of mulattoes cannot be put under the category of extremely distinct species. the common mule, so notorious for long life and vigour, and yet so sterile, shews how little necessary connection there is in hybrids between lessened fertility and vitality; other analogous cases could be cited. even if it should hereafter be proved that all the races of men were perfectly fertile together, he who was inclined from other reasons to rank them as distinct species, might with justice argue that fertility and sterility are not safe criterions of specific distinctness. we know that these qualities are easily affected by changed conditions of life, or by close inter-breeding, and that they are governed by highly complex laws, for instance, that of the unequal fertility of converse crosses between the same two species. with forms which must be ranked as undoubted species, a perfect series exists from those which are absolutely sterile when crossed, to those which are almost or completely fertile. the degrees of sterility do not coincide strictly with the degrees of difference between the parents in external structure or habits of life. man in many respects may be compared with those animals which have long been domesticated, and a large body of evidence can be advanced in favour of the pallasian doctrine ( . the 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. p. . i may here remind the reader that the sterility of species when crossed is not a specially-acquired quality, but, like the incapacity of certain trees to be grafted together, is incidental on other acquired differences. the nature of these differences is unknown, but they relate more especially to the reproductive system, and much less so to external structure or to ordinary differences in constitution. one important element in the sterility of crossed species apparently lies in one or both having been long habituated to fixed conditions; for we know that changed conditions have a special influence on the reproductive system, and we have good reason to believe (as before remarked) that the fluctuating conditions of domestication tend to eliminate that sterility which is so general with species, in a natural state, when crossed. it has elsewhere been shewn by me (ibid. vol. ii. p. , and 'origin of species,' th edit. p. ), that the sterility of crossed species has not been acquired through natural selection: we can see that when two forms have already been rendered very sterile, it is scarcely possible that their sterility should be augmented by the preservation or survival of the more and more sterile individuals; for, as the sterility increases, fewer and fewer offspring will be produced from which to breed, and at last only single individuals will be produced at the rarest intervals. but there is even a higher grade of sterility than this. both gartner and kolreuter have proved that in genera of plants, including many species, a series can be formed from species which, when crossed, yield fewer and fewer seeds, to species which never produce a single seed, but yet are affected by the pollen of the other species, as shewn by the swelling of the germen. it is here manifestly impossible to select the more sterile individuals, which have already ceased to yield seeds; so that the acme of sterility, when the germen alone is affected, cannot have been gained through selection. this acme, and no doubt the other grades of sterility, are the incidental results of certain unknown differences in the constitution of the reproductive system of the species which are crossed.), that domestication tends to eliminate the sterility which is so general a result of the crossing of species in a state of nature. from these several considerations, it may be justly urged that the perfect fertility of the intercrossed races of man, if established, would not absolutely preclude us from ranking them as distinct species. independently of fertility, the characters presented by the offspring from a cross have been thought to indicate whether or not the parent-forms ought to be ranked as species or varieties; but after carefully studying the evidence, i have come to the conclusion that no general rules of this kind can be trusted. the ordinary result of a cross is the production of a blended or intermediate form; but in certain cases some of the offspring take closely after one parent-form, and some after the other. this is especially apt to occur when the parents differ in characters which first appeared as sudden variations or monstrosities. ( . 'the variation of animals,' etc., vol. ii. p. .) i refer to this point, because dr. rohlfs informs me that he has frequently seen in africa the offspring of negroes crossed with members of other races, either completely black or completely white, or rarely piebald. on the other hand, it is notorious that in america mulattoes commonly present an intermediate appearance. we have now seen that a naturalist might feel himself fully justified in ranking the races of man as distinct species; for he has found that they are distinguished by many differences in structure and constitution, some being of importance. these differences have, also, remained nearly constant for very long periods of time. our naturalist will have been in some degree influenced by the enormous range of man, which is a great anomaly in the class of mammals, if mankind be viewed as a single species. he will have been struck with the distribution of the several so-called races, which accords with that of other undoubtedly distinct species of mammals. finally, he might urge that the mutual fertility of all the races has not as yet been fully proved, and even if proved would not be an absolute proof of their specific identity. on the other side of the question, if our supposed naturalist were to enquire whether the forms of man keep distinct like ordinary species, when mingled together in large numbers in the same country, he would immediately discover that this was by no means the case. in brazil he would behold an immense mongrel population of negroes and portuguese; in chiloe, and other parts of south america, he would behold the whole population consisting of indians and spaniards blended in various degrees. ( . m. de quatrefages has given ('anthropological review,' jan. , p. ), an interesting account of the success and energy of the paulistas in brazil, who are a much crossed race of portuguese and indians, with a mixture of the blood of other races.) in many parts of the same continent he would meet with the most complex crosses between negroes, indians, and europeans; and judging from the vegetable kingdom, such triple crosses afford the severest test of the mutual fertility of the parent forms. in one island of the pacific he would find a small population of mingled polynesian and english blood; and in the fiji archipelago a population of polynesian and negritos crossed in all degrees. many analogous cases could be added; for instance, in africa. hence the races of man are not sufficiently distinct to inhabit the same country without fusion; and the absence of fusion affords the usual and best test of specific distinctness. our naturalist would likewise be much disturbed as soon as he perceived that the distinctive characters of all the races were highly variable. this fact strikes every one on first beholding the negro slaves in brazil, who have been imported from all parts of africa. the same remark holds good with the polynesians, and with many other races. it may be doubted whether any character can be named which is distinctive of a race and is constant. savages, even within the limits of the same tribe, are not nearly so uniform in character, as has been often asserted. hottentot women offer certain peculiarities, more strongly marked than those occurring in any other race, but these are known not to be of constant occurrence. in the several american tribes, colour and hairiness differ considerably; as does colour to a certain degree, and the shape of the features greatly, in the negroes of africa. the shape of the skull varies much in some races ( . for instance, with the aborigines of america and australia, prof. huxley says ('transact. internat. congress of prehist. arch.' , p. ), that the skulls of many south germans and swiss are "as short and as broad as those of the tartars," etc.); and so it is with every other character. now all naturalists have learnt by dearly bought experience, how rash it is to attempt to define species by the aid of inconstant characters. but the most weighty of all the arguments against treating the races of man as distinct species, is that they graduate into each other, independently in many cases, as far as we can judge, of their having intercrossed. man has been studied more carefully than any other animal, and yet there is the greatest possible diversity amongst capable judges whether he should be classed as a single species or race, or as two (virey), as three (jacquinot), as four (kant), five (blumenbach), six (buffon), seven (hunter), eight (agassiz), eleven (pickering), fifteen (bory st. vincent), sixteen (desmoulins), twenty-two (morton), sixty (crawfurd), or as sixty-three, according to burke. ( . see a good discussion on this subject in waitz, 'introduction to anthropology,' eng. translat., , pp. - , . i have taken some of the above statements from h. tuttle's 'origin and antiquity of physical man,' boston, , p. .) this diversity of judgment does not prove that the races ought not to be ranked as species, but it shews that they graduate into each other, and that it is hardly possible to discover clear distinctive characters between them. every naturalist who has had the misfortune to undertake the description of a group of highly varying organisms, has encountered cases (i speak after experience) precisely like that of man; and if of a cautious disposition, he will end by uniting all the forms which graduate into each other, under a single species; for he will say to himself that he has no right to give names to objects which he cannot define. cases of this kind occur in the order which includes man, namely in certain genera of monkeys; whilst in other genera, as in cercopithecus, most of the species can be determined with certainty. in the american genus cebus, the various forms are ranked by some naturalists as species, by others as mere geographical races. now if numerous specimens of cebus were collected from all parts of south america, and those forms which at present appear to be specifically distinct, were found to graduate into each other by close steps, they would usually be ranked as mere varieties or races; and this course has been followed by most naturalists with respect to the races of man. nevertheless, it must be confessed that there are forms, at least in the vegetable kingdom ( . prof. nageli has carefully described several striking cases in his 'botanische mittheilungen,' b. ii. , ss. - . prof. asa gray has made analogous remarks on some intermediate forms in the compositae of n. america.), which we cannot avoid naming as species, but which are connected together by numberless gradations, independently of intercrossing. some naturalists have lately employed the term "sub-species" to designate forms which possess many of the characteristics of true species, but which hardly deserve so high a rank. now if we reflect on the weighty arguments above given, for raising the races of man to the dignity of species, and the insuperable difficulties on the other side in defining them, it seems that the term "sub-species" might here be used with propriety. but from long habit the term "race" will perhaps always be employed. the choice of terms is only so far important in that it is desirable to use, as far as possible, the same terms for the same degrees of difference. unfortunately this can rarely be done: for the larger genera generally include closely-allied forms, which can be distinguished only with much difficulty, whilst the smaller genera within the same family include forms that are perfectly distinct; yet all must be ranked equally as species. so again, species within the same large genus by no means resemble each other to the same degree: on the contrary, some of them can generally be arranged in little groups round other species, like satellites round planets. ( . 'origin of species,' th edit. p. .) the question whether mankind consists of one or several species has of late years been much discussed by anthropologists, who are divided into the two schools of monogenists and polygenists. those who do not admit the principle of evolution, must look at species as separate creations, or in some manner as distinct entities; and they must decide what forms of man they will consider as species by the analogy of the method commonly pursued in ranking other organic beings as species. but it is a hopeless endeavour to decide this point, until some definition of the term "species" is generally accepted; and the definition must not include an indeterminate element such as an act of creation. we might as well attempt without any definition to decide whether a certain number of houses should be called a village, town, or city. we have a practical illustration of the difficulty in the never-ending doubts whether many closely-allied mammals, birds, insects, and plants, which represent each other respectively in north america and europe, should be ranked as species or geographical races; and the like holds true of the productions of many islands situated at some little distance from the nearest continent. those naturalists, on the other hand, who admit the principle of evolution, and this is now admitted by the majority of rising men, will feel no doubt that all the races of man are descended from a single primitive stock; whether or not they may think fit to designate the races as distinct species, for the sake of expressing their amount of difference. ( . see prof. huxley to this effect in the 'fortnightly review,' , p. .) with our domestic animals the question whether the various races have arisen from one or more species is somewhat different. although it may be admitted that all the races, as well as all the natural species within the same genus, have sprung from the same primitive stock, yet it is a fit subject for discussion, whether all the domestic races of the dog, for instance, have acquired their present amount of difference since some one species was first domesticated by man; or whether they owe some of their characters to inheritance from distinct species, which had already been differentiated in a state of nature. with man no such question can arise, for he cannot be said to have been domesticated at any particular period. during an early stage in the divergence of the races of man from a common stock, the differences between the races and their number must have been small; consequently as far as their distinguishing characters are concerned, they then had less claim to rank as distinct species than the existing so-called races. nevertheless, so arbitrary is the term of species, that such early races would perhaps have been ranked by some naturalists as distinct species, if their differences, although extremely slight, had been more constant than they are at present, and had not graduated into each other. it is however possible, though far from probable, that the early progenitors of man might formerly have diverged much in character, until they became more unlike each other than any now existing races; but that subsequently, as suggested by vogt ( . 'lectures on man,' eng. translat., , p. .), they converged in character. when man selects the offspring of two distinct species for the same object, he sometimes induces a considerable amount of convergence, as far as general appearance is concerned. this is the case, as shewn by von nathusius ( . 'die rassen des schweines,' , s. . 'vorstudien für geschichte,' etc., schweinesschädel, , s. . with respect to cattle, see m. de quatrefages, 'unité de l'espèce humaine,' , p. .), with the improved breeds of the pig, which are descended from two distinct species; and in a less marked manner with the improved breeds of cattle. a great anatomist, gratiolet, maintains that the anthropomorphous apes do not form a natural sub-group; but that the orang is a highly developed gibbon or semnopithecus, the chimpanzee a highly developed macacus, and the gorilla a highly developed mandrill. if this conclusion, which rests almost exclusively on brain-characters, be admitted, we should have a case of convergence at least in external characters, for the anthropomorphous apes are certainly more like each other in many points, than they are to other apes. all analogical resemblances, as of a whale to a fish, may indeed be said to be cases of convergence; but this term has never been applied to superficial and adaptive resemblances. it would, however, be extremely rash to attribute to convergence close similarity of character in many points of structure amongst the modified descendants of widely distinct beings. the form of a crystal is determined solely by the molecular forces, and it is not surprising that dissimilar substances should sometimes assume the same form; but with organic beings we should bear in mind that the form of each depends on an infinity of complex relations, namely on variations, due to causes far too intricate to be followed,--on the nature of the variations preserved, these depending on the physical conditions, and still more on the surrounding organisms which compete with each,--and lastly, on inheritance (in itself a fluctuating element) from innumerable progenitors, all of which have had their forms determined through equally complex relations. it appears incredible that the modified descendants of two organisms, if these differed from each other in a marked manner, should ever afterwards converge so closely as to lead to a near approach to identity throughout their whole organisation. in the case of the convergent races of pigs above referred to, evidence of their descent from two primitive stocks is, according to von nathusius, still plainly retained, in certain bones of their skulls. if the races of man had descended, as is supposed by some naturalists, from two or more species, which differed from each other as much, or nearly as much, as does the orang from the gorilla, it can hardly be doubted that marked differences in the structure of certain bones would still be discoverable in man as he now exists. although the existing races of man differ in many respects, as in colour, hair, shape of skull, proportions of the body, etc., yet if their whole structure be taken into consideration they are found to resemble each other closely in a multitude of points. many of these are of so unimportant or of so singular a nature, that it is extremely improbable that they should have been independently acquired by aboriginally distinct species or races. the same remark holds good with equal or greater force with respect to the numerous points of mental similarity between the most distinct races of man. the american aborigines, negroes and europeans are as different from each other in mind as any three races that can be named; yet i was incessantly struck, whilst living with the fuegians on board the "beagle," with the many little traits of character, shewing how similar their minds were to ours; and so it was with a full-blooded negro with whom i happened once to be intimate. he who will read mr. tylor's and sir j. lubbock's interesting works ( . tylor's 'early history of mankind,' : with respect to gesture-language, see p. . lubbock's 'prehistoric times,' nd edit. .) can hardly fail to be deeply impressed with the close similarity between the men of all races in tastes, dispositions and habits. this is shewn by the pleasure which they all take in dancing, rude music, acting, painting, tattooing, and otherwise decorating themselves; in their mutual comprehension of gesture-language, by the same expression in their features, and by the same inarticulate cries, when excited by the same emotions. this similarity, or rather identity, is striking, when contrasted with the different expressions and cries made by distinct species of monkeys. there is good evidence that the art of shooting with bows and arrows has not been handed down from any common progenitor of mankind, yet as westropp and nilsson have remarked ( . 'on analogous forms of implements,' in 'memoirs of anthropological society' by h.m. westropp. 'the primitive inhabitants of scandinavia,' eng. translat., edited by sir j. lubbock, , p. .), the stone arrow-heads, brought from the most distant parts of the world, and manufactured at the most remote periods, are almost identical; and this fact can only be accounted for by the various races having similar inventive or mental powers. the same observation has been made by archaeologists ( . westropp 'on cromlechs,' etc., 'journal of ethnological soc.' as given in 'scientific opinion,' june nd, , p. .) with respect to certain widely-prevalent ornaments, such as zig-zags, etc.; and with respect to various simple beliefs and customs, such as the burying of the dead under megalithic structures. i remember observing in south america ( . 'journal of researches: voyage of the "beagle,"' p. .), that there, as in so many other parts of the world, men have generally chosen the summits of lofty hills, to throw up piles of stones, either as a record of some remarkable event, or for burying their dead. now when naturalists observe a close agreement in numerous small details of habits, tastes, and dispositions between two or more domestic races, or between nearly-allied natural forms, they use this fact as an argument that they are descended from a common progenitor who was thus endowed; and consequently that all should be classed under the same species. the same argument may be applied with much force to the races of man. as it is improbable that the numerous and unimportant points of resemblance between the several races of man in bodily structure and mental faculties (i do not here refer to similar customs) should all have been independently acquired, they must have been inherited from progenitors who had these same characters. we thus gain some insight into the early state of man, before he had spread step by step over the face of the earth. the spreading of man to regions widely separated by the sea, no doubt, preceded any great amount of divergence of character in the several races; for otherwise we should sometimes meet with the same race in distinct continents; and this is never the case. sir j. lubbock, after comparing the arts now practised by savages in all parts of the world, specifies those which man could not have known, when he first wandered from his original birthplace; for if once learnt they would never have been forgotten. ( . 'prehistoric times,' , p. .) he thus shews that "the spear, which is but a development of the knife-point, and the club, which is but a long hammer, are the only things left." he admits, however, that the art of making fire probably had been already discovered, for it is common to all the races now existing, and was known to the ancient cave-inhabitants of europe. perhaps the art of making rude canoes or rafts was likewise known; but as man existed at a remote epoch, when the land in many places stood at a very different level to what it does now, he would have been able, without the aid of canoes, to have spread widely. sir j. lubbock further remarks how improbable it is that our earliest ancestors could have "counted as high as ten, considering that so many races now in existence cannot get beyond four." nevertheless, at this early period, the intellectual and social faculties of man could hardly have been inferior in any extreme degree to those possessed at present by the lowest savages; otherwise primeval man could not have been so eminently successful in the struggle for life, as proved by his early and wide diffusion. from the fundamental differences between certain languages, some philologists have inferred that when man first became widely diffused, he was not a speaking animal; but it may be suspected that languages, far less perfect than any now spoken, aided by gestures, might have been used, and yet have left no traces on subsequent and more highly-developed tongues. without the use of some language, however imperfect, it appears doubtful whether man's intellect could have risen to the standard implied by his dominant position at an early period. whether primeval man, when he possessed but few arts, and those of the rudest kind, and when his power of language was extremely imperfect, would have deserved to be called man, must depend on the definition which we employ. in a series of forms graduating insensibly from some ape-like creature to man as he now exists, it would be impossible to fix on any definite point where the term "man" ought to be used. but this is a matter of very little importance. so again, it is almost a matter of indifference whether the so-called races of man are thus designated, or are ranked as species or sub-species; but the latter term appears the more appropriate. finally, we may conclude that when the principle of evolution is generally accepted, as it surely will be before long, the dispute between the monogenists and the polygenists will die a silent and unobserved death. one other question ought not to be passed over without notice, namely, whether, as is sometimes assumed, each sub-species or race of man has sprung from a single pair of progenitors. with our domestic animals a new race can readily be formed by carefully matching the varying offspring from a single pair, or even from a single individual possessing some new character; but most of our races have been formed, not intentionally from a selected pair, but unconsciously by the preservation of many individuals which have varied, however slightly, in some useful or desired manner. if in one country stronger and heavier horses, and in another country lighter and fleeter ones, were habitually preferred, we may feel sure that two distinct sub-breeds would be produced in the course of time, without any one pair having been separated and bred from, in either country. many races have been thus formed, and their manner of formation is closely analogous to that of natural species. we know, also, that the horses taken to the falkland islands have, during successive generations, become smaller and weaker, whilst those which have run wild on the pampas have acquired larger and coarser heads; and such changes are manifestly due, not to any one pair, but to all the individuals having been subjected to the same conditions, aided, perhaps, by the principle of reversion. the new sub-breeds in such cases are not descended from any single pair, but from many individuals which have varied in different degrees, but in the same general manner; and we may conclude that the races of man have been similarly produced, the modifications being either the direct result of exposure to different conditions, or the indirect result of some form of selection. but to this latter subject we shall presently return. on the extinction of the races of man. the partial or complete extinction of many races and sub-races of man is historically known. humboldt saw in south america a parrot which was the sole living creature that could speak a word of the language of a lost tribe. ancient monuments and stone implements found in all parts of the world, about which no tradition has been preserved by the present inhabitants, indicate much extinction. some small and broken tribes, remnants of former races, still survive in isolated and generally mountainous districts. in europe the ancient races were all, according to shaaffhausen ( . translation in 'anthropological review,' oct. , p. .), "lower in the scale than the rudest living savages"; they must therefore have differed, to a certain extent, from any existing race. the remains described by professor broca from les eyzies, though they unfortunately appear to have belonged to a single family, indicate a race with a most singular combination of low or simious, and of high characteristics. this race is "entirely different from any other, ancient or modern, that we have heard of." ( . 'transactions, international congress of prehistoric archaeology' , pp. - . see also broca (tr.) in 'anthropological review,' oct. , p. .) it differed, therefore, from the quaternary race of the caverns of belgium. man can long resist conditions which appear extremely unfavourable for his existence. ( . dr. gerland, 'ueber das aussterben der naturvölker,' , s. .) he has long lived in the extreme regions of the north, with no wood for his canoes or implements, and with only blubber as fuel, and melted snow as drink. in the southern extremity of america the fuegians survive without the protection of clothes, or of any building worthy to be called a hovel. in south africa the aborigines wander over arid plains, where dangerous beasts abound. man can withstand the deadly influence of the terai at the foot of the himalaya, and the pestilential shores of tropical africa. extinction follows chiefly from the competition of tribe with tribe, and race with race. various checks are always in action, serving to keep down the numbers of each savage tribe,--such as periodical famines, nomadic habits and the consequent deaths of infants, prolonged suckling, wars, accidents, sickness, licentiousness, the stealing of women, infanticide, and especially lessened fertility. if any one of these checks increases in power, even slightly, the tribe thus affected tends to decrease; and when of two adjoining tribes one becomes less numerous and less powerful than the other, the contest is soon settled by war, slaughter, cannibalism, slavery, and absorption. even when a weaker tribe is not thus abruptly swept away, if it once begins to decrease, it generally goes on decreasing until it becomes extinct. ( . gerland (ibid. s. ) gives facts in support of this statement.) when civilised nations come into contact with barbarians the struggle is short, except where a deadly climate gives its aid to the native race. of the causes which lead to the victory of civilised nations, some are plain and simple, others complex and obscure. we can see that the cultivation of the land will be fatal in many ways to savages, for they cannot, or will not, change their habits. new diseases and vices have in some cases proved highly destructive; and it appears that a new disease often causes much death, until those who are most susceptible to its destructive influence are gradually weeded out ( . see remarks to this effect in sir h. holland's 'medical notes and reflections,' , p. .); and so it may be with the evil effects from spirituous liquors, as well as with the unconquerably strong taste for them shewn by so many savages. it further appears, mysterious as is the fact, that the first meeting of distinct and separated people generates disease. ( . i have collected ('journal of researches: voyage of the "beagle,"' p. ) a good many cases bearing on this subject; see also gerland, ibid. s. . poeppig speaks of the "breath of civilisation as poisonous to savages.") mr. sproat, who in vancouver island closely attended to the subject of extinction, believed that changed habits of life, consequent on the advent of europeans, induces much ill health. he lays, also, great stress on the apparently trifling cause that the natives become "bewildered and dull by the new life around them; they lose the motives for exertion, and get no new ones in their place." ( . sproat, 'scenes and studies of savage life,' , p. .) the grade of their civilisation seems to be a most important element in the success of competing nations. a few centuries ago europe feared the inroads of eastern barbarians; now any such fear would be ridiculous. it is a more curious fact, as mr. bagehot has remarked, that savages did not formerly waste away before the classical nations, as they now do before modern civilised nations; had they done so, the old moralists would have mused over the event; but there is no lament in any writer of that period over the perishing barbarians. ( . bagehot, 'physics and politics,' 'fortnightly review,' april , , p. .) the most potent of all the causes of extinction, appears in many cases to be lessened fertility and ill-health, especially amongst the children, arising from changed conditions of life, notwithstanding that the new conditions may not be injurious in themselves. i am much indebted to mr. h.h. howorth for having called my attention to this subject, and for having given me information respecting it. i have collected the following cases. when tasmania was first colonised the natives were roughly estimated by some at and by others at , . their number was soon greatly reduced, chiefly by fighting with the english and with each other. after the famous hunt by all the colonists, when the remaining natives delivered themselves up to the government, they consisted only of individuals ( . all the statements here given are taken from 'the last of the tasmanians,' by j. bonwick, .), who were in transported to flinders island. this island, situated between tasmania and australia, is forty miles long, and from twelve to eighteen miles broad: it seems healthy, and the natives were well treated. nevertheless, they suffered greatly in health. in they consisted (bonwick, p. ) of forty-seven adult males, forty-eight adult females, and sixteen children, or in all of souls. in only one hundred were left. as they continued rapidly to decrease, and as they themselves thought that they should not perish so quickly elsewhere, they were removed in to oyster cove in the southern part of tasmania. they then consisted (dec. th, ) of fourteen men, twenty-two women and ten children. ( . this is the statement of the governor of tasmania, sir w. denison, 'varieties of vice-regal life,' , vol. i. p. .) but the change of site did no good. disease and death still pursued them, and in one man (who died in ), and three elderly women alone survived. the infertility of the women is even a more remarkable fact than the liability of all to ill-health and death. at the time when only nine women were left at oyster cove, they told mr. bonwick (p. ), that only two had ever borne children: and these two had together produced only three children! with respect to the cause of this extraordinary state of things, dr. story remarks that death followed the attempts to civilise the natives. "if left to themselves to roam as they were wont and undisturbed, they would have reared more children, and there would have been less mortality." another careful observer of the natives, mr. davis, remarks, "the births have been few and the deaths numerous. this may have been in a great measure owing to their change of living and food; but more so to their banishment from the mainland of van diemen's land, and consequent depression of spirits" (bonwick, pp. , ). similar facts have been observed in two widely different parts of australia. the celebrated explorer, mr. gregory, told mr. bonwick, that in queensland "the want of reproduction was being already felt with the blacks, even in the most recently settled parts, and that decay would set in." of thirteen aborigines from shark's bay who visited murchison river, twelve died of consumption within three months. ( . for these cases, see bonwick's 'daily life of the tasmanians,' , p. : and the 'last of the tasmanians,' , p. .) the decrease of the maories of new zealand has been carefully investigated by mr. fenton, in an admirable report, from which all the following statements, with one exception, are taken. ( . 'observations on the aboriginal inhabitants of new zealand,' published by the government, .) the decrease in number since is admitted by every one, including the natives themselves, and is still steadily progressing. although it has hitherto been found impossible to take an actual census of the natives, their numbers were carefully estimated by residents in many districts. the result seems trustworthy, and shows that during the fourteen years, previous to , the decrease was . per cent. some of the tribes, thus carefully examined, lived above a hundred miles apart, some on the coast, some inland; and their means of subsistence and habits differed to a certain extent (p. ). the total number in was believed to be , , and in , after a second interval of fourteen years, another census was taken, and the number is given as only , , shewing a decrease of . per cent! ( . 'new zealand,' by alex. kennedy, , p. .) mr. fenton, after shewing in detail the insufficiency of the various causes, usually assigned in explanation of this extraordinary decrease, such as new diseases, the profligacy of the women, drunkenness, wars, etc., concludes on weighty grounds that it depends chiefly on the unproductiveness of the women, and on the extraordinary mortality of the young children (pp. , ). in proof of this he shews (p. ) that in there was one non-adult for every . adults; whereas in there was only one non-adult for every . adults. the mortality of the adults is also great. he adduces as a further cause of the decrease the inequality of the sexes; for fewer females are born than males. to this latter point, depending perhaps on a widely distinct cause, i shall return in a future chapter. mr. fenton contrasts with astonishment the decrease in new zealand with the increase in ireland; countries not very dissimilar in climate, and where the inhabitants now follow nearly similar habits. the maories themselves (p. ) "attribute their decadence, in some measure, to the introduction of new food and clothing, and the attendant change of habits"; and it will be seen, when we consider the influence of changed conditions on fertility, that they are probably right. the diminution began between the years and ; and mr. fenton shews (p. ) that about , the art of manufacturing putrid corn (maize), by long steeping in water, was discovered and largely practised; and this proves that a change of habits was beginning amongst the natives, even when new zealand was only thinly inhabited by europeans. when i visited the bay of islands in , the dress and food of the inhabitants had already been much modified: they raised potatoes, maize, and other agricultural produce, and exchanged them for english manufactured goods and tobacco. it is evident from many statements in the life of bishop patteson ( . 'life of j.c. patteson,' by c.m. younge, ; see more especially vol. i. p. .), that the melanesians of the new hebrides and neighbouring archipelagoes, suffered to an extraordinary degree in health, and perished in large numbers, when they were removed to new zealand, norfolk island, and other salubrious places, in order to be educated as missionaries. the decrease of the native population of the sandwich islands is as notorious as that of new zealand. it has been roughly estimated by those best capable of judging, that when cook discovered the islands in , the population amounted to about , . according to a loose census in , the numbers then were , . in , and at several subsequent periods, an accurate census was officially taken, but i have been able to obtain only the following returns: native population annual rate of decrease per cent., assuming it to (except during and have been uniform between , when the few the successive censuses; foreigners in the islands these censuses being taken year were included.) at irregular intervals. , . , . , . , . , . , we here see that in the interval of forty years, between and , the population has decreased no less than sixty-eight per cent.! this has been attributed by most writers to the profligacy of the women, to former bloody wars, and to the severe labour imposed on conquered tribes and to newly introduced diseases, which have been on several occasions extremely destructive. no doubt these and other such causes have been highly efficient, and may account for the extraordinary rate of decrease between the years and ; but the most potent of all the causes seems to be lessened fertility. according to dr. ruschenberger of the u.s. navy, who visited these islands between and , in one district of hawaii, only twenty-five men out of , and in another district only ten out of , had a family with as many as three children. of eighty married women, only thirty-nine had ever borne children; and "the official report gives an average of half a child to each married couple in the whole island." this is almost exactly the same average as with the tasmanians at oyster cove. jarves, who published his history in , says that "families who have three children are freed from all taxes; those having more, are rewarded by gifts of land and other encouragements." this unparalleled enactment by the government well shews how infertile the race had become. the rev. a. bishop stated in the hawaiian 'spectator' in , that a large proportion of the children die at early ages, and bishop staley informs me that this is still the case, just as in new zealand. this has been attributed to the neglect of the children by the women, but it is probably in large part due to innate weakness of constitution in the children, in relation to the lessened fertility of their parents. there is, moreover, a further resemblance to the case of new zealand, in the fact that there is a large excess of male over female births: the census of gives , males to , females of all ages, that is . males for every females; whereas in all civilised countries the females exceed the males. no doubt the profligacy of the women may in part account for their small fertility; but their changed habits of life is a much more probable cause, and which will at the same time account for the increased mortality, especially of the children. the islands were visited by cook in , vancouver in , and often subsequently by whalers. in missionaries arrived, and found that idolatry had been already abolished, and other changes effected by the king. after this period there was a rapid change in almost all the habits of life of the natives, and they soon became "the most civilised of the pacific islanders." one of my informants, mr. coan, who was born on the islands, remarks that the natives have undergone a greater change in their habits of life in the course of fifty years than englishmen during a thousand years. from information received from bishop staley, it does not appear that the poorer classes have ever much changed their diet, although many new kinds of fruit have been introduced, and the sugar-cane is in universal use. owing, however, to their passion for imitating europeans, they altered their manner of dressing at an early period, and the use of alcoholic drinks became very general. although these changes appear inconsiderable, i can well believe, from what is known with respect to animals, that they might suffice to lessen the fertility of the natives. ( . the foregoing statements are taken chiefly from the following works: jarves' 'history of the hawaiian islands,' , pp. - . cheever, 'life in the sandwich islands,' , p. . ruschenberger is quoted by bonwick, 'last of the tasmanians,' , p. . bishop is quoted by sir e. belcher, 'voyage round the world,' , vol. i. p. . i owe the census of the several years to the kindness of mr. coan, at the request of dr. youmans of new york; and in most cases i have compared the youmans figures with those given in several of the above-named works. i have omitted the census for , as i have seen two widely different numbers given.) lastly, mr. macnamara states ( . 'the indian medical gazette,' nov. , , p. .) that the low and degraded inhabitants of the andaman islands, on the eastern side of the gulf of bengal, are "eminently susceptible to any change of climate: in fact, take them away from their island homes, and they are almost certain to die, and that independently of diet or extraneous influences." he further states that the inhabitants of the valley of nepal, which is extremely hot in summer, and also the various hill-tribes of india, suffer from dysentery and fever when on the plains; and they die if they attempt to pass the whole year there. we thus see that many of the wilder races of man are apt to suffer much in health when subjected to changed conditions or habits of life, and not exclusively from being transported to a new climate. mere alterations in habits, which do not appear injurious in themselves, seem to have this same effect; and in several cases the children are particularly liable to suffer. it has often been said, as mr. macnamara remarks, that man can resist with impunity the greatest diversities of climate and other changes; but this is true only of the civilised races. man in his wild condition seems to be in this respect almost as susceptible as his nearest allies, the anthropoid apes, which have never yet survived long, when removed from their native country. lessened fertility from changed conditions, as in the case of the tasmanians, maories, sandwich islanders, and apparently the australians, is still more interesting than their liability to ill-health and death; for even a slight degree of infertility, combined with those other causes which tend to check the increase of every population, would sooner or later lead to extinction. the diminution of fertility may be explained in some cases by the profligacy of the women (as until lately with the tahitians), but mr. fenton has shewn that this explanation by no means suffices with the new zealanders, nor does it with the tasmanians. in the paper above quoted, mr. macnamara gives reasons for believing that the inhabitants of districts subject to malaria are apt to be sterile; but this cannot apply in several of the above cases. some writers have suggested that the aborigines of islands have suffered in fertility and health from long continued inter-breeding; but in the above cases infertility has coincided too closely with the arrival of europeans for us to admit this explanation. nor have we at present any reason to believe that man is highly sensitive to the evil effects of inter-breeding, especially in areas so large as new zealand, and the sandwich archipelago with its diversified stations. on the contrary, it is known that the present inhabitants of norfolk island are nearly all cousins or near relations, as are the todas in india, and the inhabitants of some of the western islands of scotland; and yet they seem not to have suffered in fertility. ( . on the close relationship of the norfolk islanders, sir w. denison, 'varieties of vice-regal life,' vol. i. , p. . for the todas, see col. marshall's work , p. . for the western islands of scotland, dr. mitchell, 'edinburgh medical journal,' march to june, .) a much more probable view is suggested by the analogy of the lower animals. the reproductive system can be shewn to be susceptible to an extraordinary degree (though why we know not) to changed conditions of life; and this susceptibility leads both to beneficial and to evil results. a large collection of facts on this subject is given in chap. xviii. of vol. ii. of my 'variation of animals and plants under domestication.' i can here give only the briefest abstract; and every one interested in the subject may consult the above work. very slight changes increase the health, vigour, and fertility of most or all organic beings, whilst other changes are known to render a large number of animals sterile. one of the most familiar cases, is that of tamed elephants not breeding in india; though they often breed in ava, where the females are allowed to roam about the forests to some extent, and are thus placed under more natural conditions. the case of various american monkeys, both sexes of which have been kept for many years together in their own countries, and yet have very rarely or never bred, is a more apposite instance, because of their relationship to man. it is remarkable how slight a change in the conditions often induces sterility in a wild animal when captured; and this is the more strange as all our domesticated animals have become more fertile than they were in a state of nature; and some of them can resist the most unnatural conditions with undiminished fertility. ( . for the evidence on this head, see 'variation of animals,' etc., vol. ii. p. .) certain groups of animals are much more liable than others to be affected by captivity; and generally all the species of the same group are affected in the same manner. but sometimes a single species in a group is rendered sterile, whilst the others are not so; on the other hand, a single species may retain its fertility whilst most of the others fail to breed. the males and females of some species when confined, or when allowed to live almost, but not quite free, in their native country, never unite; others thus circumstanced frequently unite but never produce offspring; others again produce some offspring, but fewer than in a state of nature; and as bearing on the above cases of man, it is important to remark that the young are apt to be weak and sickly, or malformed, and to perish at an early age. seeing how general is this law of the susceptibility of the reproductive system to changed conditions of life, and that it holds good with our nearest allies, the quadrumana, i can hardly doubt that it applies to man in his primeval state. hence if savages of any race are induced suddenly to change their habits of life, they become more or less sterile, and their young offspring suffer in health, in the same manner and from the same cause, as do the elephant and hunting-leopard in india, many monkeys in america, and a host of animals of all kinds, on removal from their natural conditions. we can see why it is that aborigines, who have long inhabited islands, and who must have been long exposed to nearly uniform conditions, should be specially affected by any change in their habits, as seems to be the case. civilised races can certainly resist changes of all kinds far better than savages; and in this respect they resemble domesticated animals, for though the latter sometimes suffer in health (for instance european dogs in india), yet they are rarely rendered sterile, though a few such instances have been recorded. ( . 'variation of animals,' etc., vol. ii. p. .) the immunity of civilised races and domesticated animals is probably due to their having been subjected to a greater extent, and therefore having grown somewhat more accustomed, to diversified or varying conditions, than the majority of wild animals; and to their having formerly immigrated or been carried from country to country, and to different families or sub-races having inter-crossed. it appears that a cross with civilised races at once gives to an aboriginal race an immunity from the evil consequences of changed conditions. thus the crossed offspring from the tahitians and english, when settled in pitcairn island, increased so rapidly that the island was soon overstocked; and in june they were removed to norfolk island. they then consisted of married persons and children, making a total of . here they likewise increased so rapidly, that although sixteen of them returned to pitcairn island in , they numbered in january , souls; the males and females being in exactly equal numbers. what a contrast does this case present with that of the tasmanians; the norfolk islanders increased in only twelve and a half years from to ; whereas the tasmanians decreased during fifteen years from to , of which latter number only ten were children. ( . these details are taken from 'the mutineers of the "bounty,"' by lady belcher, ; and from 'pitcairn island,' ordered to be printed by the house of commons, may , . the following statements about the sandwich islanders are from the 'honolulu gazette,' and from mr. coan.) so again in the interval between the census of and the natives of full blood in the sandwich islands decreased by , whilst the half-castes, who are believed to be healthier, increased by ; but i do not know whether the latter number includes the offspring from the half-castes, or only the half-castes of the first generation. the cases which i have here given all relate to aborigines, who have been subjected to new conditions as the result of the immigration of civilised men. but sterility and ill-health would probably follow, if savages were compelled by any cause, such as the inroad of a conquering tribe, to desert their homes and to change their habits. it is an interesting circumstance that the chief check to wild animals becoming domesticated, which implies the power of their breeding freely when first captured, and one chief check to wild men, when brought into contact with civilisation, surviving to form a civilised race, is the same, namely, sterility from changed conditions of life. finally, although the gradual decrease and ultimate extinction of the races of man is a highly complex problem, depending on many causes which differ in different places and at different times; it is the same problem as that presented by the extinction of one of the higher animals--of the fossil horse, for instance, which disappeared from south america, soon afterwards to be replaced, within the same districts, by countless troups of the spanish horse. the new zealander seems conscious of this parallelism, for he compares his future fate with that of the native rat now almost exterminated by the european rat. though the difficulty is great to our imagination, and really great, if we wish to ascertain the precise causes and their manner of action, it ought not to be so to our reason, as long as we keep steadily in mind that the increase of each species and each race is constantly checked in various ways; so that if any new check, even a slight one, be superadded, the race will surely decrease in number; and decreasing numbers will sooner or later lead to extinction; the end, in most cases, being promptly determined by the inroads of conquering tribes. on the formation of the races of man. in some cases the crossing of distinct races has led to the formation of a new race. the singular fact that the europeans and hindoos, who belong to the same aryan stock, and speak a language fundamentally the same, differ widely in appearance, whilst europeans differ but little from jews, who belong to the semitic stock, and speak quite another language, has been accounted for by broca ( . 'on anthropology,' translation, 'anthropological review,' jan. , p. .), through certain aryan branches having been largely crossed by indigenous tribes during their wide diffusion. when two races in close contact cross, the first result is a heterogeneous mixture: thus mr. hunter, in describing the santali or hill-tribes of india, says that hundreds of imperceptible gradations may be traced "from the black, squat tribes of the mountains to the tall olive-coloured brahman, with his intellectual brow, calm eyes, and high but narrow head"; so that it is necessary in courts of justice to ask the witnesses whether they are santalis or hindoos. ( . 'the annals of rural bengal,' , p. .) whether a heterogeneous people, such as the inhabitants of some of the polynesian islands, formed by the crossing of two distinct races, with few or no pure members left, would ever become homogeneous, is not known from direct evidence. but as with our domesticated animals, a cross-breed can certainly be fixed and made uniform by careful selection ( . 'the variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. p. .) in the course of a few generations, we may infer that the free intercrossing of a heterogeneous mixture during a long descent would supply the place of selection, and overcome any tendency to reversion; so that the crossed race would ultimately become homogeneous, though it might not partake in an equal degree of the characters of the two parent-races. of all the differences between the races of man, the colour of the skin is the most conspicuous and one of the best marked. it was formerly thought that differences of this kind could be accounted for by long exposure to different climates; but pallas first shewed that this is not tenable, and he has since been followed by almost all anthropologists. ( . pallas, 'act. acad. st. petersburg,' , part ii. p. . he was followed by rudolphi, in his 'beytrage zur anthropologie,' . an excellent summary of the evidence is given by godron, 'de l'espèce,' , vol. ii. p. , etc.) this view has been rejected chiefly because the distribution of the variously coloured races, most of whom must have long inhabited their present homes, does not coincide with corresponding differences of climate. some little weight may be given to such cases as that of the dutch families, who, as we hear on excellent authority ( . sir andrew smith, as quoted by knox, 'races of man,' , p. .), have not undergone the least change of colour after residing for three centuries in south africa. an argument on the same side may likewise be drawn from the uniform appearance in various parts of the world of gipsies and jews, though the uniformity of the latter has been somewhat exaggerated. ( . see de quatrefages on this head, 'revue des cours scientifiques,' oct. , , p. .) a very damp or a very dry atmosphere has been supposed to be more influential in modifying the colour of the skin than mere heat; but as d'orbigny in south america, and livingstone in africa, arrived at diametrically opposite conclusions with respect to dampness and dryness, any conclusion on this head must be considered as very doubtful. ( . livingstone's 'travels and researches in s. africa,' , pp. , . d'orbigny, as quoted by godron, 'de l'espece,' vol. ii. p. .) various facts, which i have given elsewhere, prove that the colour of the skin and hair is sometimes correlated in a surprising manner with a complete immunity from the action of certain vegetable poisons, and from the attacks of certain parasites. hence it occurred to me, that negroes and other dark races might have acquired their dark tints by the darker individuals escaping from the deadly influence of the miasma of their native countries, during a long series of generations. i afterwards found that this same idea had long ago occurred to dr. wells. ( . see a paper read before the royal soc. in , and published in his essays in . i have given an account of dr. wells' views in the historical sketch (p. xvi.) to my 'origin of species.' various cases of colour correlated with constitutional peculiarities are given in my 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. pp. , .) it has long been known that negroes, and even mulattoes, are almost completely exempt from the yellow-fever, so destructive in tropical america. ( . see, for instance, nott and gliddon, 'types of mankind,' p. .) they likewise escape to a large extent the fatal intermittent fevers, that prevail along at least miles of the shores of africa, and which annually cause one-fifth of the white settlers to die, and another fifth to return home invalided. ( . major tulloch, in a paper read before the statistical society, april , , and given in the 'athenaeum,' , p. .) this immunity in the negro seems to be partly inherent, depending on some unknown peculiarity of constitution, and partly the result of acclimatisation. pouchet ( . 'the plurality of the human race' (translat.), , p. .) states that the negro regiments recruited near the soudan, and borrowed from the viceroy of egypt for the mexican war, escaped the yellow-fever almost equally with the negroes originally brought from various parts of africa and accustomed to the climate of the west indies. that acclimatisation plays a part, is shewn by the many cases in which negroes have become somewhat liable to tropical fevers, after having resided for some time in a colder climate. ( . quatrefages, 'unité de l'espèce humaine,' , p. . waitz, 'introduction to anthropology,' translat., vol. i. , p. . livingstone gives analogous cases in his 'travels.') the nature of the climate under which the white races have long resided, likewise has some influence on them; for during the fearful epidemic of yellow fever in demerara during , dr. blair found that the death-rate of the immigrants was proportional to the latitude of the country whence they had come. with the negro the immunity, as far as it is the result of acclimatisation, implies exposure during a prodigious length of time; for the aborigines of tropical america who have resided there from time immemorial, are not exempt from yellow fever; and the rev. h.b. tristram states, that there are districts in northern africa which the native inhabitants are compelled annually to leave, though the negroes can remain with safety. that the immunity of the negro is in any degree correlated with the colour of his skin is a mere conjecture: it may be correlated with some difference in his blood, nervous system, or other tissues. nevertheless, from the facts above alluded to, and from some connection apparently existing between complexion and a tendency to consumption, the conjecture seemed to me not improbable. consequently i endeavoured, with but little success ( . in the spring of i obtained permission from the director-general of the medical department of the army, to transmit to the surgeons of the various regiments on foreign service a blank table, with the following appended remarks, but i have received no returns. "as several well-marked cases have been recorded with our domestic animals of a relation between the colour of the dermal appendages and the constitution; and it being notorious that there is some limited degree of relation between the colour of the races of man and the climate inhabited by them; the following investigation seems worth consideration. namely, whether there is any relation in europeans between the colour of their hair, and their liability to the diseases of tropical countries. if the surgeons of the several regiments, when stationed in unhealthy tropical districts, would be so good as first to count, as a standard of comparison, how many men, in the force whence the sick are drawn, have dark and light-coloured hair, and hair of intermediate or doubtful tints; and if a similar account were kept by the same medical gentlemen, of all the men who suffered from malarious and yellow fevers, or from dysentery, it would soon be apparent, after some thousand cases had been tabulated, whether there exists any relation between the colour of the hair and constitutional liability to tropical diseases. perhaps no such relation would be discovered, but the investigation is well worth making. in case any positive result were obtained, it might be of some practical use in selecting men for any particular service. theoretically the result would be of high interest, as indicating one means by which a race of men inhabiting from a remote period an unhealthy tropical climate, might have become dark-coloured by the better preservation of dark-haired or dark-complexioned individuals during a long succession of generations."), to ascertain how far it holds good. the late dr. daniell, who had long lived on the west coast of africa, told me that he did not believe in any such relation. he was himself unusually fair, and had withstood the climate in a wonderful manner. when he first arrived as a boy on the coast, an old and experienced negro chief predicted from his appearance that this would prove the case. dr. nicholson, of antigua, after having attended to this subject, writes to me that dark-coloured europeans escape the yellow fever more than those that are light-coloured. mr. j.m. harris altogether denies that europeans with dark hair withstand a hot climate better than other men: on the contrary, experience has taught him in making a selection of men for service on the coast of africa, to choose those with red hair. ( . 'anthropological review,' jan. , p. xxi. dr. sharpe also says, with respect to india ('man a special creation,' , p. ), "that it has been noticed by some medical officers that europeans with light hair and florid complexions suffer less from diseases of tropical countries than persons with dark hair and sallow complexions; and, so far as i know, there appear to be good grounds for this remark." on the other hand, mr. heddle, of sierra leone, "who has had more clerks killed under him than any other man," by the climate of the west african coast (w. reade, 'african sketch book,' vol. ii. p. ), holds a directly opposite view, as does capt. burton.) as far, therefore, as these slight indications go, there seems no foundation for the hypothesis, that blackness has resulted from the darker and darker individuals having survived better during long exposure to fever-generating miasma. dr. sharpe remarks ( . 'man a special creation,' , p. .), that a tropical sun, which burns and blisters a white skin, does not injure a black one at all; and, as he adds, this is not due to habit in the individual, for children only six or eight months old are often carried about naked, and are not affected. i have been assured by a medical man, that some years ago during each summer, but not during the winter, his hands became marked with light brown patches, like, although larger than freckles, and that these patches were never affected by sun-burning, whilst the white parts of his skin have on several occasions been much inflamed and blistered. with the lower animals there is, also, a constitutional difference in liability to the action of the sun between those parts of the skin clothed with white hair and other parts. ( . 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. pp. , .) whether the saving of the skin from being thus burnt is of sufficient importance to account for a dark tint having been gradually acquired by man through natural selection, i am unable to judge. if it be so, we should have to assume that the natives of tropical america have lived there for a much shorter time than the negroes in africa, or the papuans in the southern parts of the malay archipelago, just as the lighter-coloured hindoos have resided in india for a shorter time than the darker aborigines of the central and southern parts of the peninsula. although with our present knowledge we cannot account for the differences of colour in the races of man, through any advantage thus gained, or from the direct action of climate; yet we must not quite ignore the latter agency, for there is good reason to believe that some inherited effect is thus produced. ( . see, for instance, quatrefages ('revue des cours scientifiques,' oct. , , p. ) on the effects of residence in abyssinia and arabia, and other analogous cases. dr. rolle ('der mensch, seine abstammung,' etc., , s. ) states, on the authority of khanikof, that the greater number of german families settled in georgia, have acquired in the course of two generations dark hair and eyes. mr. d. forbes informs me that the quichuas in the andes vary greatly in colour, according to the position of the valleys inhabited by them.) we have seen in the second chapter that the conditions of life affect the development of the bodily frame in a direct manner, and that the effects are transmitted. thus, as is generally admitted, the european settlers in the united states undergo a slight but extraordinary rapid change of appearance. their bodies and limbs become elongated; and i hear from col. bernys that during the late war in the united states, good evidence was afforded of this fact by the ridiculous appearance presented by the german regiments, when dressed in ready-made clothes manufactured for the american market, and which were much too long for the men in every way. there is, also, a considerable body of evidence shewing that in the southern states the house-slaves of the third generation present a markedly different appearance from the field-slaves. ( . harlan, 'medical researches,' p. . quatrefages ('unité de l'espèce humaine,' , p. ) has collected much evidence on this head.) if, however, we look to the races of man as distributed over the world, we must infer that their characteristic differences cannot be accounted for by the direct action of different conditions of life, even after exposure to them for an enormous period of time. the esquimaux live exclusively on animal food; they are clothed in thick fur, and are exposed to intense cold and to prolonged darkness; yet they do not differ in any extreme degree from the inhabitants of southern china, who live entirely on vegetable food, and are exposed almost naked to a hot, glaring climate. the unclothed fuegians live on the marine productions of their inhospitable shores; the botocudos of brazil wander about the hot forests of the interior and live chiefly on vegetable productions; yet these tribes resemble each other so closely that the fuegians on board the "beagle" were mistaken by some brazilians for botocudos. the botocudos again, as well as the other inhabitants of tropical america, are wholly different from the negroes who inhabit the opposite shores of the atlantic, are exposed to a nearly similar climate, and follow nearly the same habits of life. nor can the differences between the races of man be accounted for by the inherited effects of the increased or decreased use of parts, except to a quite insignificant degree. men who habitually live in canoes, may have their legs somewhat stunted; those who inhabit lofty regions may have their chests enlarged; and those who constantly use certain sense-organs may have the cavities in which they are lodged somewhat increased in size, and their features consequently a little modified. with civilised nations, the reduced size of the jaws from lessened use--the habitual play of different muscles serving to express different emotions--and the increased size of the brain from greater intellectual activity, have together produced a considerable effect on their general appearance when compared with savages. ( . see prof. schaaffhausen, translat., in 'anthropological review,' oct. , p. .) increased bodily stature, without any corresponding increase in the size of the brain, may (judging from the previously adduced case of rabbits), have given to some races an elongated skull of the dolichocephalic type. lastly, the little-understood principle of correlated development has sometimes come into action, as in the case of great muscular development and strongly projecting supra-orbital ridges. the colour of the skin and hair are plainly correlated, as is the texture of the hair with its colour in the mandans of north america. ( . mr. catlin states ('n. american indians,' rd ed., , vol. i. p. ) that in the whole tribe of the mandans, about one in ten or twelve of the members, of all ages and both sexes, have bright silvery grey hair, which is hereditary. now this hair is as coarse and harsh as that of a horse's mane, whilst the hair of other colours is fine and soft.) the colour also of the skin, and the odour emitted by it, are likewise in some manner connected. with the breeds of sheep the number of hairs within a given space and the number of excretory pores are related. ( . on the odour of the skin, godron, 'sur l'espèce,' tom. ii. p. . on the pores in the skin, dr. wilckens, 'die aufgaben der landwirth. zootechnik,' , s. .) if we may judge from the analogy of our domesticated animals, many modifications of structure in man probably come under this principle of correlated development. we have now seen that the external characteristic differences between the races of man cannot be accounted for in a satisfactory manner by the direct action of the conditions of life, nor by the effects of the continued use of parts, nor through the principle of correlation. we are therefore led to enquire whether slight individual differences, to which man is eminently liable, may not have been preserved and augmented during a long series of generations through natural selection. but here we are at once met by the objection that beneficial variations alone can be thus preserved; and as far as we are enabled to judge, although always liable to err on this head, none of the differences between the races of man are of any direct or special service to him. the intellectual and moral or social faculties must of course be excepted from this remark. the great variability of all the external differences between the races of man, likewise indicates that they cannot be of much importance; for if important, they would long ago have been either fixed and preserved, or eliminated. in this respect man resembles those forms, called by naturalists protean or polymorphic, which have remained extremely variable, owing, as it seems, to such variations being of an indifferent nature, and to their having thus escaped the action of natural selection. we have thus far been baffled in all our attempts to account for the differences between the races of man; but there remains one important agency, namely sexual selection, which appears to have acted powerfully on man, as on many other animals. i do not intend to assert that sexual selection will account for all the differences between the races. an unexplained residuum is left, about which we can only say, in our ignorance, that as individuals are continually born with, for instance, heads a little rounder or narrower, and with noses a little longer or shorter, such slight differences might become fixed and uniform, if the unknown agencies which induced them were to act in a more constant manner, aided by long-continued intercrossing. such variations come under the provisional class, alluded to in our second chapter, which for want of a better term are often called spontaneous. nor do i pretend that the effects of sexual selection can be indicated with scientific precision; but it can be shewn that it would be an inexplicable fact if man had not been modified by this agency, which appears to have acted powerfully on innumerable animals. it can further be shewn that the differences between the races of man, as in colour, hairiness, form of features, etc., are of a kind which might have been expected to come under the influence of sexual selection. but in order to treat this subject properly, i have found it necessary to pass the whole animal kingdom in review. i have therefore devoted to it the second part of this work. at the close i shall return to man, and, after attempting to shew how far he has been modified through sexual selection, will give a brief summary of the chapters in this first part. note on the resemblances and differences in the structure and the development of the brain in man and apes by professor huxley, f.r.s. the controversy respecting the nature and the extent of the differences in the structure of the brain in man and the apes, which arose some fifteen years ago, has not yet come to an end, though the subject matter of the dispute is, at present, totally different from what it was formerly. it was originally asserted and re-asserted, with singular pertinacity, that the brain of all the apes, even the highest, differs from that of man, in the absence of such conspicuous structures as the posterior lobes of the cerebral hemispheres, with the posterior cornu of the lateral ventricle and the hippocampus minor, contained in those lobes, which are so obvious in man. but the truth that the three structures in question are as well developed in apes' as in human brains, or even better; and that it is characteristic of all the primates (if we exclude the lemurs) to have these parts well developed, stands at present on as secure a basis as any proposition in comparative anatomy. moreover, it is admitted by every one of the long series of anatomists who, of late years, have paid special attention to the arrangement of the complicated sulci and gyri which appear upon the surface of the cerebral hemispheres in man and the higher apes, that they are disposed after the very same pattern in him, as in them. every principal gyrus and sulcus of a chimpanzee's brain is clearly represented in that of a man, so that the terminology which applies to the one answers for the other. on this point there is no difference of opinion. some years since, professor bischoff published a memoir ( . 'die grosshirn-windungen des menschen;' 'abhandlungen der k. bayerischen akademie,' b. x. .) on the cerebral convolutions of man and apes; and as the purpose of my learned colleague was certainly not to diminish the value of the differences between apes and men in this respect, i am glad to make a citation from him. "that the apes, and especially the orang, chimpanzee and gorilla, come very close to man in their organisation, much nearer than to any other animal, is a well known fact, disputed by nobody. looking at the matter from the point of view of organisation alone, no one probably would ever have disputed the view of linnaeus, that man should be placed, merely as a peculiar species, at the head of the mammalia and of those apes. both shew, in all their organs, so close an affinity, that the most exact anatomical investigation is needed in order to demonstrate those differences which really exist. so it is with the brains. the brains of man, the orang, the chimpanzee, the gorilla, in spite of all the important differences which they present, come very close to one another" (loc. cit. p. ). there remains, then, no dispute as to the resemblance in fundamental characters, between the ape's brain and man's: nor any as to the wonderfully close similarity between the chimpanzee, orang and man, in even the details of the arrangement of the gyri and sulci of the cerebral hemispheres. nor, turning to the differences between the brains of the highest apes and that of man, is there any serious question as to the nature and extent of these differences. it is admitted that the man's cerebral hemispheres are absolutely and relatively larger than those of the orang and chimpanzee; that his frontal lobes are less excavated by the upward protrusion of the roof of the orbits; that his gyri and sulci are, as a rule, less symmetrically disposed, and present a greater number of secondary plications. and it is admitted that, as a rule, in man, the temporo-occipital or "external perpendicular" fissure, which is usually so strongly marked a feature of the ape's brain is but faintly marked. but it is also clear, that none of these differences constitutes a sharp demarcation between the man's and the ape's brain. in respect to the external perpendicular fissure of gratiolet, in the human brain for instance, professor turner remarks: ( . 'convolutions of the human cerebrum topographically considered,' , p. .) "in some brains it appears simply as an indentation of the margin of the hemisphere, but, in others, it extends for some distance more or less transversely outwards. i saw it in the right hemisphere of a female brain pass more than two inches outwards; and on another specimen, also the right hemisphere, it proceeded for four-tenths of an inch outwards, and then extended downwards, as far as the lower margin of the outer surface of the hemisphere. the imperfect definition of this fissure in the majority of human brains, as compared with its remarkable distinctness in the brain of most quadrumana, is owing to the presence, in the former, of certain superficial, well marked, secondary convolutions which bridge it over and connect the parietal with the occipital lobe. the closer the first of these bridging gyri lies to the longitudinal fissure, the shorter is the external parieto-occipital fissure" (loc. cit. p. ). the obliteration of the external perpendicular fissure of gratiolet, therefore, is not a constant character of the human brain. on the other hand, its full development is not a constant character of the higher ape's brain. for, in the chimpanzee, the more or less extensive obliteration of the external perpendicular sulcus by "bridging convolutions," on one side or the other, has been noted over and over again by prof. rolleston, mr. marshall, m. broca and professor turner. at the conclusion of a special paper on this subject the latter writes: ( . notes more especially on the bridging convolutions in the brain of the chimpanzee, 'proceedings of the royal society of edinburgh,' - .) "the three specimens of the brain of a chimpanzee, just described, prove, that the generalisation which gratiolet has attempted to draw of the complete absence of the first connecting convolution and the concealment of the second, as essentially characteristic features in the brain of this animal, is by no means universally applicable. in only one specimen did the brain, in these particulars, follow the law which gratiolet has expressed. as regards the presence of the superior bridging convolution, i am inclined to think that it has existed in one hemisphere, at least, in a majority of the brains of this animal which have, up to this time, been figured or described. the superficial position of the second bridging convolution is evidently less frequent, and has as yet, i believe, only been seen in the brain (a) recorded in this communication. the asymmetrical arrangement in the convolutions of the two hemispheres, which previous observers have referred to in their descriptions, is also well illustrated in these specimens" (pp. , ). even were the presence of the temporo-occipital, or external perpendicular, sulcus, a mark of distinction between the higher apes and man, the value of such a distinctive character would be rendered very doubtful by the structure of the brain in the platyrrhine apes. in fact, while the temporo-occipital is one of the most constant of sulci in the catarrhine, or old world, apes, it is never very strongly developed in the new world apes; it is absent in the smaller platyrrhini; rudimentary in pithecia ( . flower, 'on the anatomy of pithecia monachus,' 'proceedings of the zoological society,' .); and more or less obliterated by bridging convolutions in ateles. a character which is thus variable within the limits of a single group can have no great taxonomic value. it is further established, that the degree of asymmetry of the convolution of the two sides in the human brain is subject to much individual variation; and that, in those individuals of the bushman race who have been examined, the gyri and sulci of the two hemispheres are considerably less complicated and more symmetrical than in the european brain, while, in some individuals of the chimpanzee, their complexity and asymmetry become notable. this is particularly the case in the brain of a young male chimpanzee figured by m. broca. ('l'ordre des primates,' p. , fig. .) again, as respects the question of absolute size, it is established that the difference between the largest and the smallest healthy human brain is greater than the difference between the smallest healthy human brain and the largest chimpanzee's or orang's brain. moreover, there is one circumstance in which the orang's and chimpanzee's brains resemble man's, but in which they differ from the lower apes, and that is the presence of two corpora candicantia--the cynomorpha having but one. in view of these facts i do not hesitate in this year , to repeat and insist upon the proposition which i enunciated in : ( . 'man's place in nature,' p. .) "so far as cerebral structure goes, therefore, it is clear that man differs less from the chimpanzee or the orang, than these do even from the monkeys, and that the difference between the brain of the chimpanzee and of man is almost insignificant when compared with that between the chimpanzee brain and that of a lemur." in the paper to which i have referred, professor bischoff does not deny the second part of this statement, but he first makes the irrelevant remark that it is not wonderful if the brains of an orang and a lemur are very different; and secondly, goes on to assert that, "if we successively compare the brain of a man with that of an orang; the brain of this with that of a chimpanzee; of this with that of a gorilla, and so on of a hylobates, semnopithecus, cynocephalus, cercopithecus, macacus, cebus, callithrix, lemur, stenops, hapale, we shall not meet with a greater, or even as great a, break in the degree of development of the convolutions, as we find between the brain of a man and that of an orang or chimpanzee." to which i reply, firstly, that whether this assertion be true or false, it has nothing whatever to do with the proposition enunciated in 'man's place in nature,' which refers not to the development of the convolutions alone, but to the structure of the whole brain. if professor bischoff had taken the trouble to refer to p. of the work he criticises, in fact, he would have found the following passage: "and it is a remarkable circumstance that though, so far as our present knowledge extends, there is one true structural break in the series of forms of simian brains, this hiatus does not lie between man and the manlike apes, but between the lower and the lowest simians, or in other words, between the old and new world apes and monkeys and the lemurs. every lemur which has yet been examined, in fact, has its cerebellum partially visible from above; and its posterior lobe, with the contained posterior cornu and hippocampus minor, more or less rudimentary. every marmoset, american monkey, old world monkey, baboon or manlike ape, on the contrary, has its cerebellum entirely hidden, posteriorly, by the cerebral lobes, and possesses a large posterior cornu with a well-developed hippocampus minor." this statement was a strictly accurate account of what was known when it was made; and it does not appear to me to be more than apparently weakened by the subsequent discovery of the relatively small development of the posterior lobes in the siamang and in the howling monkey. notwithstanding the exceptional brevity of the posterior lobes in these two species, no one will pretend that their brains, in the slightest degree, approach those of the lemurs. and if, instead of putting hapale out of its natural place, as professor bischoff most unaccountably does, we write the series of animals he has chosen to mention as follows: homo, pithecus, troglodytes, hylobates, semnopithecus, cynocephalus, cercopithecus, macacus, cebus, callithrix, hapale, lemur, stenops, i venture to reaffirm that the great break in this series lies between hapale and lemur, and that this break is considerably greater than that between any other two terms of that series. professor bischoff ignores the fact that long before he wrote, gratiolet had suggested the separation of the lemurs from the other primates on the very ground of the difference in their cerebral characters; and that professor flower had made the following observations in the course of his description of the brain of the javan loris: ( . 'transactions of the zoological society,' vol. v. .) "and it is especially remarkable that, in the development of the posterior lobes, there is no approximation to the lemurine, short hemisphered brain, in those monkeys which are commonly supposed to approach this family in other respects, viz. the lower members of the platyrrhine group." so far as the structure of the adult brain is concerned, then, the very considerable additions to our knowledge, which have been made by the researches of so many investigators, during the past ten years, fully justify the statement which i made in . but it has been said, that, admitting the similarity between the adult brains of man and apes, they are nevertheless, in reality, widely different, because they exhibit fundamental differences in the mode of their development. no one would be more ready than i to admit the force of this argument, if such fundamental differences of development really exist. but i deny that they do exist. on the contrary, there is a fundamental agreement in the development of the brain in men and apes. gratiolet originated the statement that there is a fundamental difference in the development of the brains of apes and that of man--consisting in this; that, in the apes, the sulci which first make their appearance are situated on the posterior region of the cerebral hemispheres, while, in the human foetus, the sulci first become visible on the frontal lobes. ( . chez tous les singes, les plis postérieurs se developpent les premiers; les plis antérieurs se developpent plus tard, aussi la vertèbre occipitale et la parietale sont-elles relativement tres-grandes chez le foetus. l'homme présente une exception remarquable quant a l'époque de l'apparition des plis frontaux, qui sont les premiers indiqués; mais le développement general du lobe frontal, envisagé seulement par rapport a son volume, suit les mêmes lois que dans les singes: gratiolet, 'mémoire sur les plis cérèbres de l'homme et des primateaux,' p. , tab. iv, fig. .) this general statement is based upon two observations, the one of a gibbon almost ready to be born, in which the posterior gyri were "well developed," while those of the frontal lobes were "hardly indicated" ( . gratiolet's words are (loc. cit. p. ): "dans le foetus dont il s'agit les plis cérébraux posterieurs sont bien developpés, tandis que les plis du lobe frontal sont a peine indiqués." the figure, however (pl. iv, fig. ), shews the fissure of rolando, and one of the frontal sulci plainly enough. nevertheless, m. alix, in his 'notice sur les travaux anthropologiques de gratiolet' ('mem. de la societé d'anthropologie de paris,' , page ), writes thus: "gratiolet a eu entre les mains le cerveau d'un foetus de gibbon, singe eminemment supérieur, et tellement rapproché de l'orang, que des naturalistes tres-compétents l'ont rangé parmi les anthropoides. m. huxley, par exemple, n'hesite pas sur ce point. eh bien, c'est sur le cerveau d'un foetus de gibbon que gratiolet a vu les circonvolutions du lobe temporo-sphenoidal d�j� developp�es lorsqu'il n'existent pas encore de plis sur le lobe frontal. il etait donc bien autorisé a dire que, chez l'homme les circonvolutions apparaissent d'a en w, tandis que chez les singes elles se developpent d'w en a."), and the other of a human foetus at the nd or rd week of uterogestation, in which gratiolet notes that the insula was uncovered, but that nevertheless "des incisures sement de lobe anterieur, une scissure peu profonde indique la separation du lobe occipital, tres-reduit, d'ailleurs dès cette époque. le reste de la surface cérébrale est encore absolument lisse." three views of this brain are given in plate ii, figs. , , , of the work cited, shewing the upper, lateral and inferior views of the hemispheres, but not the inner view. it is worthy of note that the figure by no means bears out gratiolet's description, inasmuch as the fissure (antero-temporal) on the posterior half of the face of the hemisphere is more marked than any of those vaguely indicated in the anterior half. if the figure is correct, it in no way justifies gratiolet's conclusion: "il y a donc entre ces cerveaux [those of a callithrix and of a gibbon] et celui du foetus humain une différence fondamental. chez celui-ci, longtemps avant que les plis temporaux apparaissent, les plis frontaux, essayent d'exister." since gratiolet's time, however, the development of the gyri and sulci of the brain has been made the subject of renewed investigation by schmidt, bischoff, pansch ( . 'ueber die typische anordnung der furchen und windungen auf den grosshirn-hemisphären des menschen und der affen,' 'archiv für anthropologie,' iii. .), and more particularly by ecker ( . 'zur entwicklungs geschichte der furchen und windungen der grosshirn-hemisphären im foetus des menschen,' 'archiv für anthropologie,' iii. .), whose work is not only the latest, but by far the most complete, memoir on the subject. the final results of their inquiries may be summed up as follows:-- . in the human foetus, the sylvian fissure is formed in the course of the third month of uterogestation. in this, and in the fourth month, the cerebral hemispheres are smooth and rounded (with the exception of the sylvian depression), and they project backwards far beyond the cerebellum. . the sulci, properly so called, begin to appear in the interval between the end of the fourth and the beginning of the sixth month of foetal life, but ecker is careful to point out that, not only the time, but the order, of their appearance is subject to considerable individual variation. in no case, however, are either the frontal or the temporal sulci the earliest. the first which appears, in fact, lies on the inner face of the hemisphere (whence doubtless gratiolet, who does not seem to have examined that face in his foetus, overlooked it), and is either the internal perpendicular (occipito-parietal), or the calcarine sulcus, these two being close together and eventually running into one another. as a rule the occipito-parietal is the earlier of the two. . at the latter part of this period, another sulcus, the "posterio-parietal," or "fissure of rolando" is developed, and it is followed, in the course of the sixth month, by the other principal sulci of the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes. there is, however, no clear evidence that one of these constantly appears before the other; and it is remarkable that, in the brain at the period described and figured by ecker (loc. cit. pp. - , taf. ii, figs. , , , ), the antero-temporal sulcus (scissure parallele) so characteristic of the ape's brain, is as well, if not better developed than the fissure of rolando, and is much more marked than the proper frontal sulci. taking the facts as they now stand, it appears to me that the order of the appearance of the sulci and gyri in the foetal human brain is in perfect harmony with the general doctrine of evolution, and with the view that man has been evolved from some ape-like form; though there can be no doubt that form was, in many respects, different from any member of the primates now living. von baer taught us, half a century ago, that, in the course of their development, allied animals put on at first, the characters of the greater groups to which they belong, and, by degrees, assume those which restrict them within the limits of their family, genus, and species; and he proved, at the same time, that no developmental stage of a higher animal is precisely similar to the adult condition of any lower animal. it is quite correct to say that a frog passes through the condition of a fish, inasmuch as at one period of its life the tadpole has all the characters of a fish, and if it went no further, would have to be grouped among fishes. but it is equally true that a tadpole is very different from any known fish. in like manner, the brain of a human foetus, at the fifth month, may correctly be said to be, not only the brain of an ape, but that of an arctopithecine or marmoset-like ape; for its hemispheres, with their great posterior lobster, and with no sulci but the sylvian and the calcarine, present the characteristics found only in the group of the arctopithecine primates. but it is equally true, as gratiolet remarks, that, in its widely open sylvian fissure, it differs from the brain of any actual marmoset. no doubt it would be much more similar to the brain of an advanced foetus of a marmoset. but we know nothing whatever of the development of the brain in the marmosets. in the platyrrhini proper, the only observation with which i am acquainted is due to pansch, who found in the brain of a foetal cebus apella, in addition to the sylvian fissure and the deep calcarine fissure, only a very shallow antero-temporal fissure (scissure parallele of gratiolet). now this fact, taken together with the circumstance that the antero-temporal sulcus is present in such platyrrhini as the saimiri, which present mere traces of sulci on the anterior half of the exterior of the cerebral hemispheres, or none at all, undoubtedly, so far as it goes, affords fair evidence in favour of gratiolet's hypothesis, that the posterior sulci appear before the anterior, in the brains of the platyrrhini. but, it by no means follows, that the rule which may hold good for the platyrrhini extends to the catarrhini. we have no information whatever respecting the development of the brain in the cynomorpha; and, as regards the anthropomorpha, nothing but the account of the brain of the gibbon, near birth, already referred to. at the present moment there is not a shadow of evidence to shew that the sulci of a chimpanzee's, or orang's, brain do not appear in the same order as a man's. gratiolet opens his preface with the aphorism: "il est dangereux dans les sciences de conclure trop vite." i fear he must have forgotten this sound maxim by the time he had reached the discussion of the differences between men and apes, in the body of his work. no doubt, the excellent author of one of the most remarkable contributions to the just understanding of the mammalian brain which has ever been made, would have been the first to admit the insufficiency of his data had he lived to profit by the advance of inquiry. the misfortune is that his conclusions have been employed by persons incompetent to appreciate their foundation, as arguments in favour of obscurantism. ( . for example, m. l'abbe lecomte in his terrible pamphlet, 'le darwinisme et l'origine de l'homme,' .) but it is important to remark that, whether gratiolet was right or wrong in his hypothesis respecting the relative order of appearance of the temporal and frontal sulci, the fact remains; that before either temporal or frontal sulci, appear, the foetal brain of man presents characters which are found only in the lowest group of the primates (leaving out the lemurs); and that this is exactly what we should expect to be the case, if man has resulted from the gradual modification of the same form as that from which the other primates have sprung. part ii. sexual selection. chapter viii. principles of sexual selection. secondary sexual characters--sexual selection--manner of action--excess of males--polygamy--the male alone generally modified through sexual selection--eagerness of the male--variability of the male--choice exerted by the female--sexual compared with natural selection--inheritance, at corresponding periods of life, at corresponding seasons of the year, and as limited by sex--relations between the several forms of inheritance--causes why one sex and the young are not modified through sexual selection--supplement on the proportional numbers of the two sexes throughout the animal kingdom--the proportion of the sexes in relation to natural selection. with animals which have their sexes separated, the males necessarily differ from the females in their organs of reproduction; and these are the primary sexual characters. but the sexes often differ in what hunter has called secondary sexual characters, which are not directly connected with the act of reproduction; for instance, the male possesses certain organs of sense or locomotion, of which the female is quite destitute, or has them more highly-developed, in order that he may readily find or reach her; or again the male has special organs of prehension for holding her securely. these latter organs, of infinitely diversified kinds, graduate into those which are commonly ranked as primary, and in some cases can hardly be distinguished from them; we see instances of this in the complex appendages at the apex of the abdomen in male insects. unless indeed we confine the term "primary" to the reproductive glands, it is scarcely possible to decide which ought to be called primary and which secondary. the female often differs from the male in having organs for the nourishment or protection of her young, such as the mammary glands of mammals, and the abdominal sacks of the marsupials. in some few cases also the male possesses similar organs, which are wanting in the female, such as the receptacles for the ova in certain male fishes, and those temporarily developed in certain male frogs. the females of most bees are provided with a special apparatus for collecting and carrying pollen, and their ovipositor is modified into a sting for the defence of the larvae and the community. many similar cases could be given, but they do not here concern us. there are, however, other sexual differences quite unconnected with the primary reproductive organs, and it is with these that we are more especially concerned--such as the greater size, strength, and pugnacity of the male, his weapons of offence or means of defence against rivals, his gaudy colouring and various ornaments, his power of song, and other such characters. besides the primary and secondary sexual differences, such as the foregoing, the males and females of some animals differ in structures related to different habits of life, and not at all, or only indirectly, to the reproductive functions. thus the females of certain flies (culicidae and tabanidae) are blood-suckers, whilst the males, living on flowers, have mouths destitute of mandibles. ( . westwood, 'modern classification of insects,' vol. ii. , p. . for the statement about tanais, mentioned below, i am indebted to fritz muller.) the males of certain moths and of some crustaceans (e.g. tanais) have imperfect, closed mouths, and cannot feed. the complemental males of certain cirripedes live like epiphytic plants either on the female or the hermaphrodite form, and are destitute of a mouth and of prehensile limbs. in these cases it is the male which has been modified, and has lost certain important organs, which the females possess. in other cases it is the female which has lost such parts; for instance, the female glow-worm is destitute of wings, as also are many female moths, some of which never leave their cocoons. many female parasitic crustaceans have lost their natatory legs. in some weevil-beetles (curculionidae) there is a great difference between the male and female in the length of the rostrum or snout ( . kirby and spence, 'introduction to entomology,' vol. iii. , p. .); but the meaning of this and of many analogous differences, is not at all understood. differences of structure between the two sexes in relation to different habits of life are generally confined to the lower animals; but with some few birds the beak of the male differs from that of the female. in the huia of new zealand the difference is wonderfully great, and we hear from dr. buller ( . 'birds of new zealand,' , p. .) that the male uses his strong beak in chiselling the larvae of insects out of decayed wood, whilst the female probes the softer parts with her far longer, much curved and pliant beak: and thus they mutually aid each other. in most cases, differences of structure between the sexes are more or less directly connected with the propagation of the species: thus a female, which has to nourish a multitude of ova, requires more food than the male, and consequently requires special means for procuring it. a male animal, which lives for a very short time, might lose its organs for procuring food through disuse, without detriment; but he would retain his locomotive organs in a perfect state, so that he might reach the female. the female, on the other hand, might safely lose her organs for flying, swimming, or walking, if she gradually acquired habits which rendered such powers useless. we are, however, here concerned only with sexual selection. this depends on the advantage which certain individuals have over others of the same sex and species solely in respect of reproduction. when, as in the cases above mentioned, the two sexes differ in structure in relation to different habits of life, they have no doubt been modified through natural selection, and by inheritance limited to one and the same sex. so again the primary sexual organs, and those for nourishing or protecting the young, come under the same influence; for those individuals which generated or nourished their offspring best, would leave, ceteris paribus, the greatest number to inherit their superiority; whilst those which generated or nourished their offspring badly, would leave but few to inherit their weaker powers. as the male has to find the female, he requires organs of sense and locomotion, but if these organs are necessary for the other purposes of life, as is generally the case, they will have been developed through natural selection. when the male has found the female, he sometimes absolutely requires prehensile organs to hold her; thus dr. wallace informs me that the males of certain moths cannot unite with the females if their tarsi or feet are broken. the males of many oceanic crustaceans, when adult, have their legs and antennae modified in an extraordinary manner for the prehension of the female; hence we may suspect that it is because these animals are washed about by the waves of the open sea, that they require these organs in order to propagate their kind, and if so, their development has been the result of ordinary or natural selection. some animals extremely low in the scale have been modified for this same purpose; thus the males of certain parasitic worms, when fully grown, have the lower surface of the terminal part of their bodies roughened like a rasp, and with this they coil round and permanently hold the females. ( . m. perrier advances this case ('revue scientifique,' feb. , , p. ) as one fatal to the belief in sexual election, inasmuch as he supposes that i attribute all the differences between the sexes to sexual selection. this distinguished naturalist, therefore, like so many other frenchmen, has not taken the trouble to understand even the first principles of sexual selection. an english naturalist insists that the claspers of certain male animals could not have been developed through the choice of the female! had i not met with this remark, i should not have thought it possible for any one to have read this chapter and to have imagined that i maintain that the choice of the female had anything to do with the development of the prehensile organs in the male.) when the two sexes follow exactly the same habits of life, and the male has the sensory or locomotive organs more highly developed than those of the female, it may be that the perfection of these is indispensable to the male for finding the female; but in the vast majority of cases, they serve only to give one male an advantage over another, for with sufficient time, the less well-endowed males would succeed in pairing with the females; and judging from the structure of the female, they would be in all other respects equally well adapted for their ordinary habits of life. since in such cases the males have acquired their present structure, not from being better fitted to survive in the struggle for existence, but from having gained an advantage over other males, and from having transmitted this advantage to their male offspring alone, sexual selection must here have come into action. it was the importance of this distinction which led me to designate this form of selection as sexual selection. so again, if the chief service rendered to the male by his prehensile organs is to prevent the escape of the female before the arrival of other males, or when assaulted by them, these organs will have been perfected through sexual selection, that is by the advantage acquired by certain individuals over their rivals. but in most cases of this kind it is impossible to distinguish between the effects of natural and sexual selection. whole chapters could be filled with details on the differences between the sexes in their sensory, locomotive, and prehensile organs. as, however, these structures are not more interesting than others adapted for the ordinary purposes of life i shall pass them over almost entirely, giving only a few instances under each class. there are many other structures and instincts which must have been developed through sexual selection--such as the weapons of offence and the means of defence of the males for fighting with and driving away their rivals--their courage and pugnacity--their various ornaments--their contrivances for producing vocal or instrumental music--and their glands for emitting odours, most of these latter structures serving only to allure or excite the female. it is clear that these characters are the result of sexual and not of ordinary selection, since unarmed, unornamented, or unattractive males would succeed equally well in the battle for life and in leaving a numerous progeny, but for the presence of better endowed males. we may infer that this would be the case, because the females, which are unarmed and unornamented, are able to survive and procreate their kind. secondary sexual characters of the kind just referred to, will be fully discussed in the following chapters, as being in many respects interesting, but especially as depending on the will, choice, and rivalry of the individuals of either sex. when we behold two males fighting for the possession of the female, or several male birds displaying their gorgeous plumage, and performing strange antics before an assembled body of females, we cannot doubt that, though led by instinct, they know what they are about, and consciously exert their mental and bodily powers. just as man can improve the breeds of his game-cocks by the selection of those birds which are victorious in the cockpit, so it appears that the strongest and most vigorous males, or those provided with the best weapons, have prevailed under nature, and have led to the improvement of the natural breed or species. a slight degree of variability leading to some advantage, however slight, in reiterated deadly contests would suffice for the work of sexual selection; and it is certain that secondary sexual characters are eminently variable. just as man can give beauty, according to his standard of taste, to his male poultry, or more strictly can modify the beauty originally acquired by the parent species, can give to the sebright bantam a new and elegant plumage, an erect and peculiar carriage--so it appears that female birds in a state of nature, have by a long selection of the more attractive males, added to their beauty or other attractive qualities. no doubt this implies powers of discrimination and taste on the part of the female which will at first appear extremely improbable; but by the facts to be adduced hereafter, i hope to be able to shew that the females actually have these powers. when, however, it is said that the lower animals have a sense of beauty, it must not be supposed that such sense is comparable with that of a cultivated man, with his multiform and complex associated ideas. a more just comparison would be between the taste for the beautiful in animals, and that in the lowest savages, who admire and deck themselves with any brilliant, glittering, or curious object. from our ignorance on several points, the precise manner in which sexual selection acts is somewhat uncertain. nevertheless if those naturalists who already believe in the mutability of species, will read the following chapters, they will, i think, agree with me, that sexual selection has played an important part in the history of the organic world. it is certain that amongst almost all animals there is a struggle between the males for the possession of the female. this fact is so notorious that it would be superfluous to give instances. hence the females have the opportunity of selecting one out of several males, on the supposition that their mental capacity suffices for the exertion of a choice. in many cases special circumstances tend to make the struggle between the males particularly severe. thus the males of our migratory birds generally arrive at their places of breeding before the females, so that many males are ready to contend for each female. i am informed by mr. jenner weir, that the bird-catchers assert that this is invariably the case with the nightingale and blackcap, and with respect to the latter he can himself confirm the statement. mr. swaysland of brighton has been in the habit, during the last forty years, of catching our migratory birds on their first arrival, and he has never known the females of any species to arrive before their males. during one spring he shot thirty-nine males of ray's wagtail (budytes raii) before he saw a single female. mr. gould has ascertained by the dissection of those snipes which arrive the first in this country, that the males come before the females. and the like holds good with most of the migratory birds of the united states. ( . j.a. allen, on the 'mammals and winter birds of florida,' bulletin of comparative zoology, harvard college, p. .) the majority of the male salmon in our rivers, on coming up from the sea, are ready to breed before the females. so it appears to be with frogs and toads. throughout the great class of insects the males almost always are the first to emerge from the pupal state, so that they generally abound for a time before any females can be seen. ( . even with those plants in which the sexes are separate, the male flowers are generally mature before the female. as first shewn by c.k. sprengel, many hermaphrodite plants are dichogamous; that is, their male and female organs are not ready at the same time, so that they cannot be self-fertilised. now in such flowers, the pollen is in general matured before the stigma, though there are exceptional cases in which the female organs are beforehand.) the cause of this difference between the males and females in their periods of arrival and maturity is sufficiently obvious. those males which annually first migrated into any country, or which in the spring were first ready to breed, or were the most eager, would leave the largest number of offspring; and these would tend to inherit similar instincts and constitutions. it must be borne in mind that it would have been impossible to change very materially the time of sexual maturity in the females, without at the same time interfering with the period of the production of the young--a period which must be determined by the seasons of the year. on the whole there can be no doubt that with almost all animals, in which the sexes are separate, there is a constantly recurrent struggle between the males for the possession of the females. our difficulty in regard to sexual selection lies in understanding how it is that the males which conquer other males, or those which prove the most attractive to the females, leave a greater number of offspring to inherit their superiority than their beaten and less attractive rivals. unless this result does follow, the characters which give to certain males an advantage over others, could not be perfected and augmented through sexual selection. when the sexes exist in exactly equal numbers, the worst-endowed males will (except where polygamy prevails), ultimately find females, and leave as many offspring, as well fitted for their general habits of life, as the best-endowed males. from various facts and considerations, i formerly inferred that with most animals, in which secondary sexual characters are well developed, the males considerably exceeded the females in number; but this is not by any means always true. if the males were to the females as two to one, or as three to two, or even in a somewhat lower ratio, the whole affair would be simple; for the better-armed or more attractive males would leave the largest number of offspring. but after investigating, as far as possible, the numerical proportion of the sexes, i do not believe that any great inequality in number commonly exists. in most cases sexual selection appears to have been effective in the following manner. let us take any species, a bird for instance, and divide the females inhabiting a district into two equal bodies, the one consisting of the more vigorous and better-nourished individuals, and the other of the less vigorous and healthy. the former, there can be little doubt, would be ready to breed in the spring before the others; and this is the opinion of mr. jenner weir, who has carefully attended to the habits of birds during many years. there can also be no doubt that the most vigorous, best-nourished and earliest breeders would on an average succeed in rearing the largest number of fine offspring. ( . here is excellent evidence on the character of the offspring from an experienced ornithologist. mr. j.a. allen, in speaking ('mammals and winter birds of e. florida,' p. ) of the later broods, after the accidental destruction of the first, says, that these "are found to be smaller and paler-coloured than those hatched earlier in the season. in cases where several broods are reared each year, as a general rule the birds of the earlier broods seem in all respects the most perfect and vigorous.") the males, as we have seen, are generally ready to breed before the females; the strongest, and with some species the best armed of the males, drive away the weaker; and the former would then unite with the more vigorous and better-nourished females, because they are the first to breed. ( . hermann müller has come to this same conclusion with respect to those female bees which are the first to emerge from the pupa each year. see his remarkable essay, 'anwendung der darwin'schen lehre auf bienen,' 'verh. d. v. jahrg.' xxix. p. .) such vigorous pairs would surely rear a larger number of offspring than the retarded females, which would be compelled to unite with the conquered and less powerful males, supposing the sexes to be numerically equal; and this is all that is wanted to add, in the course of successive generations, to the size, strength and courage of the males, or to improve their weapons. but in very many cases the males which conquer their rivals, do not obtain possession of the females, independently of the choice of the latter. the courtship of animals is by no means so simple and short an affair as might be thought. the females are most excited by, or prefer pairing with, the more ornamented males, or those which are the best songsters, or play the best antics; but it is obviously probable that they would at the same time prefer the more vigorous and lively males, and this has in some cases been confirmed by actual observation. ( . with respect to poultry, i have received information, hereafter to be given, to this effect. even with birds, such as pigeons, which pair for life, the female, as i hear from mr. jenner weir, will desert her mate if he is injured or grows weak.) thus the more vigorous females, which are the first to breed, will have the choice of many males; and though they may not always select the strongest or best armed, they will select those which are vigorous and well armed, and in other respects the most attractive. both sexes, therefore, of such early pairs would as above explained, have an advantage over others in rearing offspring; and this apparently has sufficed during a long course of generations to add not only to the strength and fighting powers of the males, but likewise to their various ornaments or other attractions. in the converse and much rarer case of the males selecting particular females, it is plain that those which were the most vigorous and had conquered others, would have the freest choice; and it is almost certain that they would select vigorous as well as attractive females. such pairs would have an advantage in rearing offspring, more especially if the male had the power to defend the female during the pairing-season as occurs with some of the higher animals, or aided her in providing for the young. the same principles would apply if each sex preferred and selected certain individuals of the opposite sex; supposing that they selected not only the more attractive, but likewise the more vigorous individuals. numerical proportion of the two sexes. i have remarked that sexual selection would be a simple affair if the males were considerably more numerous than the females. hence i was led to investigate, as far as i could, the proportions between the two sexes of as many animals as possible; but the materials are scanty. i will here give only a brief abstract of the results, retaining the details for a supplementary discussion, so as not to interfere with the course of my argument. domesticated animals alone afford the means of ascertaining the proportional numbers at birth; but no records have been specially kept for this purpose. by indirect means, however, i have collected a considerable body of statistics, from which it appears that with most of our domestic animals the sexes are nearly equal at birth. thus , births of race-horses have been recorded during twenty-one years, and the male births were to the female births as . to . in greyhounds the inequality is greater than with any other animal, for out of births during twelve years, the male births were to the female as . to . it is, however, in some degree doubtful whether it is safe to infer that the proportion would be the same under natural conditions as under domestication; for slight and unknown differences in the conditions affect the proportion of the sexes. thus with mankind, the male births in england are as . , in russia as . , and with the jews of livonia as , to female births. but i shall recur to this curious point of the excess of male births in the supplement to this chapter. at the cape of good hope, however, male children of european extraction have been born during several years in the proportion of between and to female children. for our present purpose we are concerned with the proportions of the sexes, not only at birth, but also at maturity, and this adds another element of doubt; for it is a well-ascertained fact that with man the number of males dying before or during birth, and during the first two years of infancy, is considerably larger than that of females. so it almost certainly is with male lambs, and probably with some other animals. the males of some species kill one another by fighting; or they drive one another about until they become greatly emaciated. they must also be often exposed to various dangers, whilst wandering about in eager search for the females. in many kinds of fish the males are much smaller than the females, and they are believed often to be devoured by the latter, or by other fishes. the females of some birds appear to die earlier than the males; they are also liable to be destroyed on their nests, or whilst in charge of their young. with insects the female larvae are often larger than those of the males, and would consequently be more likely to be devoured. in some cases the mature females are less active and less rapid in their movements than the males, and could not escape so well from danger. hence, with animals in a state of nature, we must rely on mere estimation, in order to judge of the proportions of the sexes at maturity; and this is but little trustworthy, except when the inequality is strongly marked. nevertheless, as far as a judgment can be formed, we may conclude from the facts given in the supplement, that the males of some few mammals, of many birds, of some fish and insects, are considerably more numerous than the females. the proportion between the sexes fluctuates slightly during successive years: thus with race-horses, for every mares born the stallions varied from . in one year to . in another year, and with greyhounds from . to . . but had larger numbers been tabulated throughout an area more extensive than england, these fluctuations would probably have disappeared; and such as they are, would hardly suffice to lead to effective sexual selection in a state of nature. nevertheless, in the cases of some few wild animals, as shewn in the supplement, the proportions seem to fluctuate either during different seasons or in different localities in a sufficient degree to lead to such selection. for it should be observed that any advantage, gained during certain years or in certain localities by those males which were able to conquer their rivals, or were the most attractive to the females, would probably be transmitted to the offspring, and would not subsequently be eliminated. during the succeeding seasons, when, from the equality of the sexes, every male was able to procure a female, the stronger or more attractive males previously produced would still have at least as good a chance of leaving offspring as the weaker or less attractive. polygamy. the practice of polygamy leads to the same results as would follow from an actual inequality in the number of the sexes; for if each male secures two or more females, many males cannot pair; and the latter assuredly will be the weaker or less attractive individuals. many mammals and some few birds are polygamous, but with animals belonging to the lower classes i have found no evidence of this habit. the intellectual powers of such animals are, perhaps, not sufficient to lead them to collect and guard a harem of females. that some relation exists between polygamy and the development of secondary sexual characters, appears nearly certain; and this supports the view that a numerical preponderance of males would be eminently favourable to the action of sexual selection. nevertheless many animals, which are strictly monogamous, especially birds, display strongly-marked secondary sexual characters; whilst some few animals, which are polygamous, do not have such characters. we will first briefly run through the mammals, and then turn to birds. the gorilla seems to be polygamous, and the male differs considerably from the female; so it is with some baboons, which live in herds containing twice as many adult females as males. in south america the mycetes caraya presents well-marked sexual differences, in colour, beard, and vocal organs; and the male generally lives with two or three wives: the male of the cebus capucinus differs somewhat from the female, and appears to be polygamous. ( . on the gorilla, savage and wyman, 'boston journal of natural history,' vol. v. - , p. . on cynocephalus, brehm, 'thierleben,' b. i. , s. . on mycetes, rengger, 'naturgeschichte der säugethiere von paraguay,' , ss. , . on cebus, brehm, ibid. s. .) little is known on this head with respect to most other monkeys, but some species are strictly monogamous. the ruminants are eminently polygamous, and they present sexual differences more frequently than almost any other group of mammals; this holds good, especially in their weapons, but also in other characters. most deer, cattle, and sheep are polygamous; as are most antelopes, though some are monogamous. sir andrew smith, in speaking of the antelopes of south africa, says that in herds of about a dozen there was rarely more than one mature male. the asiatic antilope saiga appears to be the most inordinate polygamist in the world; for pallas ( . pallas, 'spicilegia zoolog., fasc.' xii. , p. . sir andrew smith, 'illustrations of the zoology of s. africa,' , pl. , on the kobus. owen, in his 'anatomy of vertebrates' (vol. iii. , p. ) gives a table shewing incidentally which species of antelopes are gregarious.) states that the male drives away all rivals, and collects a herd of about a hundred females and kids together; the female is hornless and has softer hair, but does not otherwise differ much from the male. the wild horse of the falkland islands and of the western states of n. america is polygamous, but, except in his greater size and in the proportions of his body, differs but little from the mare. the wild boar presents well-marked sexual characters, in his great tusks and some other points. in europe and in india he leads a solitary life, except during the breeding-season; but as is believed by sir w. elliot, who has had many opportunities in india of observing this animal, he consorts at this season with several females. whether this holds good in europe is doubtful, but it is supported by some evidence. the adult male indian elephant, like the boar, passes much of his time in solitude; but as dr. campbell states, when with others, "it is rare to find more than one male with a whole herd of females"; the larger males expelling or killing the smaller and weaker ones. the male differs from the female in his immense tusks, greater size, strength, and endurance; so great is the difference in these respects that the males when caught are valued at one-fifth more than the females. ( . dr. campbell, in 'proc. zoolog. soc.' , p. . see also an interesting paper by lieut. johnstone, in 'proceedings, asiatic society of bengal,' may .) the sexes of other pachydermatous animals differ very little or not at all, and, as far as known, they are not polygamists. nor have i heard of any species in the orders of cheiroptera, edentata, insectivora and rodents being polygamous, excepting that amongst the rodents, the common rat, according to some rat-catchers, lives with several females. nevertheless the two sexes of some sloths (edentata) differ in the character and colour of certain patches of hair on their shoulders. ( . dr. gray, in 'annals and magazine of natural history,' , p. .) and many kinds of bats (cheiroptera) present well-marked sexual differences, chiefly in the males possessing odoriferous glands and pouches, and by their being of a lighter colour. ( . see dr. dobson's excellent paper in 'proceedings of the zoological society,' , p. .) in the great order of rodents, as far as i can learn, the sexes rarely differ, and when they do so, it is but slightly in the tint of the fur. as i hear from sir andrew smith, the lion in south africa sometimes lives with a single female, but generally with more, and, in one case, was found with as many as five females; so that he is polygamous. as far as i can discover, he is the only polygamist amongst all the terrestrial carnivora, and he alone presents well-marked sexual characters. if, however, we turn to the marine carnivora, as we shall hereafter see, the case is widely different; for many species of seals offer extraordinary sexual differences, and they are eminently polygamous. thus, according to peron, the male sea-elephant of the southern ocean always possesses several females, and the sea-lion of forster is said to be surrounded by from twenty to thirty females. in the north, the male sea-bear of steller is accompanied by even a greater number of females. it is an interesting fact, as dr. gill remarks ( . 'the eared seals,' american naturalist, vol. iv. jan. .), that in the monogamous species, "or those living in small communities, there is little difference in size between the males and females; in the social species, or rather those of which the males have harems, the males are vastly larger than the females." amongst birds, many species, the sexes of which differ greatly from each other, are certainly monogamous. in great britain we see well-marked sexual differences, for instance, in the wild-duck which pairs with a single female, the common blackbird, and the bullfinch which is said to pair for life. i am informed by mr. wallace that the like is true of the chatterers or cotingidae of south america, and of many other birds. in several groups i have not been able to discover whether the species are polygamous or monogamous. lesson says that birds of paradise, so remarkable for their sexual differences, are polygamous, but mr. wallace doubts whether he had sufficient evidence. mr. salvin tells me he has been led to believe that humming-birds are polygamous. the male widow-bird, remarkable for his caudal plumes, certainly seems to be a polygamist. ( . 'the ibis,' vol. iii. , p. , on the progne widow-bird. see also on the vidua axillaris, ibid. vol. ii. , p. . on the polygamy of the capercailzie and great bustard, see l. lloyd, 'game birds of sweden,' , pp. , and . montagu and selby speak of the black grouse as polygamous and of the red grouse as monogamous.) i have been assured by mr. jenner weir and by others, that it is somewhat common for three starlings to frequent the same nest; but whether this is a case of polygamy or polyandry has not been ascertained. the gallinaceae exhibit almost as strongly marked sexual differences as birds of paradise or humming-birds, and many of the species are, as is well known, polygamous; others being strictly monogamous. what a contrast is presented between the sexes of the polygamous peacock or pheasant, and the monogamous guinea-fowl or partridge! many similar cases could be given, as in the grouse tribe, in which the males of the polygamous capercailzie and black-cock differ greatly from the females; whilst the sexes of the monogamous red grouse and ptarmigan differ very little. in the cursores, except amongst the bustards, few species offer strongly-marked sexual differences, and the great bustard (otis tarda) is said to be polygamous. with the grallatores, extremely few species differ sexually, but the ruff (machetes pugnax) affords a marked exception, and this species is believed by montagu to be a polygamist. hence it appears that amongst birds there often exists a close relation between polygamy and the development of strongly-marked sexual differences. i asked mr. bartlett, of the zoological gardens, who has had very large experience with birds, whether the male tragopan (one of the gallinaceae) was polygamous, and i was struck by his answering, "i do not know, but should think so from his splendid colours." it deserves notice that the instinct of pairing with a single female is easily lost under domestication. the wild-duck is strictly monogamous, the domestic-duck highly polygamous. the rev. w.d. fox informs me that out of some half-tamed wild-ducks, on a large pond in his neighbourhood, so many mallards were shot by the gamekeeper that only one was left for every seven or eight females; yet unusually large broods were reared. the guinea-fowl is strictly monogamous; but mr. fox finds that his birds succeed best when he keeps one cock to two or three hens. canary-birds pair in a state of nature, but the breeders in england successfully put one male to four or five females. i have noticed these cases, as rendering it probable that wild monogamous species might readily become either temporarily or permanently polygamous. too little is known of the habits of reptiles and fishes to enable us to speak of their marriage arrangements. the stickle-back (gasterosteus), however, is said to be a polygamist ( . noel humphreys, 'river gardens,' .); and the male during the breeding-season differs conspicuously from the female. to sum up on the means through which, as far as we can judge, sexual selection has led to the development of secondary sexual characters. it has been shewn that the largest number of vigorous offspring will be reared from the pairing of the strongest and best-armed males, victorious in contests over other males, with the most vigorous and best-nourished females, which are the first to breed in the spring. if such females select the more attractive, and at the same time vigorous males, they will rear a larger number of offspring than the retarded females, which must pair with the less vigorous and less attractive males. so it will be if the more vigorous males select the more attractive and at the same time healthy and vigorous females; and this will especially hold good if the male defends the female, and aids in providing food for the young. the advantage thus gained by the more vigorous pairs in rearing a larger number of offspring has apparently sufficed to render sexual selection efficient. but a large numerical preponderance of males over females will be still more efficient; whether the preponderance is only occasional and local, or permanent; whether it occurs at birth, or afterwards from the greater destruction of the females; or whether it indirectly follows from the practice of polygamy. the male generally more modified than the female. throughout the animal kingdom, when the sexes differ in external appearance, it is, with rare exceptions, the male which has been the more modified; for, generally, the female retains a closer resemblance to the young of her own species, and to other adult members of the same group. the cause of this seems to lie in the males of almost all animals having stronger passions than the females. hence it is the males that fight together and sedulously display their charms before the females; and the victors transmit their superiority to their male offspring. why both sexes do not thus acquire the characters of their fathers, will be considered hereafter. that the males of all mammals eagerly pursue the females is notorious to every one. so it is with birds; but many cock birds do not so much pursue the hen, as display their plumage, perform strange antics, and pour forth their song in her presence. the male in the few fish observed seems much more eager than the female; and the same is true of alligators, and apparently of batrachians. throughout the enormous class of insects, as kirby remarks, "the law is that the male shall seek the female." ( . kirby and spence, 'introduction to entomology,' vol. iii. , p. .) two good authorities, mr. blackwall and mr. c. spence bate, tell me that the males of spiders and crustaceans are more active and more erratic in their habits than the females. when the organs of sense or locomotion are present in the one sex of insects and crustaceans and absent in the other, or when, as is frequently the case, they are more highly developed in the one than in the other, it is, as far as i can discover, almost invariably the male which retains such organs, or has them most developed; and this shews that the male is the more active member in the courtship of the sexes. ( . one parasitic hymenopterous insect (westwood, 'modern class. of insects,' vol. ii. p. ) forms an exception to the rule, as the male has rudimentary wings, and never quits the cell in which it is born, whilst the female has well-developed wings. audouin believes that the females of this species are impregnated by the males which are born in the same cells with them; but it is much more probable that the females visit other cells, so that close inter-breeding is thus avoided. we shall hereafter meet in various classes, with a few exceptional cases, in which the female, instead of the male, is the seeker and wooer.) the female, on the other hand, with the rarest exceptions, is less eager than the male. as the illustrious hunter ( . 'essays and observations,' edited by owen, vol. i. , p. .) long ago observed, she generally "requires to be courted;" she is coy, and may often be seen endeavouring for a long time to escape from the male. every observer of the habits of animals will be able to call to mind instances of this kind. it is shewn by various facts, given hereafter, and by the results fairly attributable to sexual selection, that the female, though comparatively passive, generally exerts some choice and accepts one male in preference to others. or she may accept, as appearances would sometimes lead us to believe, not the male which is the most attractive to her, but the one which is the least distasteful. the exertion of some choice on the part of the female seems a law almost as general as the eagerness of the male. we are naturally led to enquire why the male, in so many and such distinct classes, has become more eager than the female, so that he searches for her, and plays the more active part in courtship. it would be no advantage and some loss of power if each sex searched for the other; but why should the male almost always be the seeker? the ovules of plants after fertilisation have to be nourished for a time; hence the pollen is necessarily brought to the female organs--being placed on the stigma, by means of insects or the wind, or by the spontaneous movements of the stamens; and in the algae, etc., by the locomotive power of the antherozooids. with lowly-organised aquatic animals, permanently affixed to the same spot and having their sexes separate, the male element is invariably brought to the female; and of this we can see the reason, for even if the ova were detached before fertilisation, and did not require subsequent nourishment or protection, there would yet be greater difficulty in transporting them than the male element, because, being larger than the latter, they are produced in far smaller numbers. so that many of the lower animals are, in this respect, analogous with plants. ( . prof. sachs ('lehrbuch der botanik,' , s. ) in speaking of the male and female reproductive cells, remarks, "verhält sich die eine bei der vereinigung activ,...die andere erscheint bei der vereinigung passiv.") the males of affixed and aquatic animals having been led to emit their fertilising element in this way, it is natural that any of their descendants, which rose in the scale and became locomotive, should retain the same habit; and they would approach the female as closely as possible, in order not to risk the loss of the fertilising element in a long passage of it through the water. with some few of the lower animals, the females alone are fixed, and the males of these must be the seekers. but it is difficult to understand why the males of species, of which the progenitors were primordially free, should invariably have acquired the habit of approaching the females, instead of being approached by them. but in all cases, in order that the males should seek efficiently, it would be necessary that they should be endowed with strong passions; and the acquirement of such passions would naturally follow from the more eager leaving a larger number of offspring than the less eager. the great eagerness of the males has thus indirectly led to their much more frequently developing secondary sexual characters than the females. but the development of such characters would be much aided, if the males were more liable to vary than the females--as i concluded they were--after a long study of domesticated animals. von nathusius, who has had very wide experience, is strongly of the same opinion. ( . 'vorträge uber viehzucht,' , p. .) good evidence also in favour of this conclusion can be produced by a comparison of the two sexes in mankind. during the novara expedition ( . 'reise der novara: anthropolog. theil,' , ss. - . the results were calculated by dr. weisbach from measurements made by drs. k. scherzer and schwarz. on the greater variability of the males of domesticated animals, see my 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. , p. .) a vast number of measurements was made of various parts of the body in different races, and the men were found in almost every case to present a greater range of variation than the women; but i shall have to recur to this subject in a future chapter. mr. j. wood ( . 'proceedings of the royal society,' vol. xvi. july , pp. and .), who has carefully attended to the variation of the muscles in man, puts in italics the conclusion that "the greatest number of abnormalities in each subject is found in the males." he had previously remarked that "altogether in subjects, the varieties of redundancy were found to be half as many again as in females, contrasting widely with the greater frequency of deficiency in females before described." professor macalister likewise remarks ( . 'proc. royal irish academy,' vol. x. , p. .) that variations in the muscles "are probably more common in males than females." certain muscles which are not normally present in mankind are also more frequently developed in the male than in the female sex, although exceptions to this rule are said to occur. dr. burt wilder ( . 'massachusetts medical society,' vol. ii. no. , , p. .) has tabulated the cases of individuals with supernumerary digits, of which were males, and , or less than half, females, the remaining being of unknown sex. it should not, however, be overlooked that women would more frequently endeavour to conceal a deformity of this kind than men. again, dr. l. meyer asserts that the ears of man are more variable in form than those of a woman. ( . 'archiv fur path. anat. und phys.' , p. .) lastly the temperature is more variable in man than in woman. ( . the conclusions recently arrived at by dr. j. stockton hough, on the temperature of man, are given in the 'pop. sci. review,' jan. st, , p. .) the cause of the greater general variability in the male sex, than in the female is unknown, except in so far as secondary sexual characters are extraordinarily variable, and are usually confined to the males; and, as we shall presently see, this fact is, to a certain extent, intelligible. through the action of sexual and natural selection male animals have been rendered in very many instances widely different from their females; but independently of selection the two sexes, from differing constitutionally, tend to vary in a somewhat different manner. the female has to expend much organic matter in the formation of her ova, whereas the male expends much force in fierce contests with his rivals, in wandering about in search of the female, in exerting his voice, pouring out odoriferous secretions, etc.: and this expenditure is generally concentrated within a short period. the great vigour of the male during the season of love seems often to intensify his colours, independently of any marked difference from the female. ( . prof. mantegazza is inclined to believe ('lettera a carlo darwin,' 'archivio per l'anthropologia,' , p. ) that the bright colours, common in so many male animals, are due to the presence and retention by them of the spermatic fluid; but this can hardly be the case; for many male birds, for instance young pheasants, become brightly coloured in the autumn of their first year.) in mankind, and even as low down in the organic scale as in the lepidoptera, the temperature of the body is higher in the male than in the female, accompanied in the case of man by a slower pulse. ( . for mankind, see dr. j. stockton hough, whose conclusions are given in the 'popular science review,' , p. . see girard's observations on the lepidoptera, as given in the 'zoological record,' , p. .) on the whole the expenditure of matter and force by the two sexes is probably nearly equal, though effected in very different ways and at different rates. from the causes just specified the two sexes can hardly fail to differ somewhat in constitution, at least during the breeding-season; and, although they may be subjected to exactly the same conditions, they will tend to vary in a different manner. if such variations are of no service to either sex, they will not be accumulated and increased by sexual or natural selection. nevertheless, they may become permanent if the exciting cause acts permanently; and in accordance with a frequent form of inheritance they may be transmitted to that sex alone in which they first appeared. in this case the two sexes will come to present permanent, yet unimportant, differences of character. for instance, mr. allen shews that with a large number of birds inhabiting the northern and southern united states, the specimens from the south are darker-coloured than those from the north; and this seems to be the direct result of the difference in temperature, light, etc., between the two regions. now, in some few cases, the two sexes of the same species appear to have been differently affected; in the agelaeus phoeniceus the males have had their colours greatly intensified in the south; whereas with cardinalis virginianus it is the females which have been thus affected; with quiscalus major the females have been rendered extremely variable in tint, whilst the males remain nearly uniform. ( . 'mammals and birds of e. florida,' pp. , , .) a few exceptional cases occur in various classes of animals, in which the females instead of the males have acquired well pronounced secondary sexual characters, such as brighter colours, greater size, strength, or pugnacity. with birds there has sometimes been a complete transposition of the ordinary characters proper to each sex; the females having become the more eager in courtship, the males remaining comparatively passive, but apparently selecting the more attractive females, as we may infer from the results. certain hen birds have thus been rendered more highly coloured or otherwise ornamented, as well as more powerful and pugnacious than the cocks; these characters being transmitted to the female offspring alone. it may be suggested that in some cases a double process of selection has been carried on; that the males have selected the more attractive females, and the latter the more attractive males. this process, however, though it might lead to the modification of both sexes, would not make the one sex different from the other, unless indeed their tastes for the beautiful differed; but this is a supposition too improbable to be worth considering in the case of any animal, excepting man. there are, however, many animals in which the sexes resemble each other, both being furnished with the same ornaments, which analogy would lead us to attribute to the agency of sexual selection. in such cases it may be suggested with more plausibility, that there has been a double or mutual process of sexual selection; the more vigorous and precocious females selecting the more attractive and vigorous males, the latter rejecting all except the more attractive females. but from what we know of the habits of animals, this view is hardly probable, for the male is generally eager to pair with any female. it is more probable that the ornaments common to both sexes were acquired by one sex, generally the male, and then transmitted to the offspring of both sexes. if, indeed, during a lengthened period the males of any species were greatly to exceed the females in number, and then during another lengthened period, but under different conditions, the reverse were to occur, a double, but not simultaneous, process of sexual selection might easily be carried on, by which the two sexes might be rendered widely different. we shall hereafter see that many animals exist, of which neither sex is brilliantly coloured or provided with special ornaments, and yet the members of both sexes or of one alone have probably acquired simple colours, such as white or black, through sexual selection. the absence of bright tints or other ornaments may be the result of variations of the right kind never having occurred, or of the animals themselves having preferred plain black or white. obscure tints have often been developed through natural selection for the sake of protection, and the acquirement through sexual selection of conspicuous colours, appears to have been sometimes checked from the danger thus incurred. but in other cases the males during long ages may have struggled together for the possession of the females, and yet no effect will have been produced, unless a larger number of offspring were left by the more successful males to inherit their superiority, than by the less successful: and this, as previously shewn, depends on many complex contingencies. sexual selection acts in a less rigorous manner than natural selection. the latter produces its effects by the life or death at all ages of the more or less successful individuals. death, indeed, not rarely ensues from the conflicts of rival males. but generally the less successful male merely fails to obtain a female, or obtains a retarded and less vigorous female later in the season, or, if polygamous, obtains fewer females; so that they leave fewer, less vigorous, or no offspring. in regard to structures acquired through ordinary or natural selection, there is in most cases, as long as the conditions of life remain the same, a limit to the amount of advantageous modification in relation to certain special purposes; but in regard to structures adapted to make one male victorious over another, either in fighting or in charming the female, there is no definite limit to the amount of advantageous modification; so that as long as the proper variations arise the work of sexual selection will go on. this circumstance may partly account for the frequent and extraordinary amount of variability presented by secondary sexual characters. nevertheless, natural selection will determine that such characters shall not be acquired by the victorious males, if they would be highly injurious, either by expending too much of their vital powers, or by exposing them to any great danger. the development, however, of certain structures--of the horns, for instance, in certain stags--has been carried to a wonderful extreme; and in some cases to an extreme which, as far as the general conditions of life are concerned, must be slightly injurious to the male. from this fact we learn that the advantages which favoured males derive from conquering other males in battle or courtship, and thus leaving a numerous progeny, are in the long run greater than those derived from rather more perfect adaptation to their conditions of life. we shall further see, and it could never have been anticipated, that the power to charm the female has sometimes been more important than the power to conquer other males in battle. laws of inheritance. in order to understand how sexual selection has acted on many animals of many classes, and in the course of ages has produced a conspicuous result, it is necessary to bear in mind the laws of inheritance, as far as they are known. two distinct elements are included under the term "inheritance"--the transmission, and the development of characters; but as these generally go together, the distinction is often overlooked. we see this distinction in those characters which are transmitted through the early years of life, but are developed only at maturity or during old age. we see the same distinction more clearly with secondary sexual characters, for these are transmitted through both sexes, though developed in one alone. that they are present in both sexes, is manifest when two species, having strongly-marked sexual characters, are crossed, for each transmits the characters proper to its own male and female sex to the hybrid offspring of either sex. the same fact is likewise manifest, when characters proper to the male are occasionally developed in the female when she grows old or becomes diseased, as, for instance, when the common hen assumes the flowing tail-feathers, hackles, comb, spurs, voice, and even pugnacity of the cock. conversely, the same thing is evident, more or less plainly, with castrated males. again, independently of old age or disease, characters are occasionally transferred from the male to the female, as when, in certain breeds of the fowl, spurs regularly appear in the young and healthy females. but in truth they are simply developed in the female; for in every breed each detail in the structure of the spur is transmitted through the female to her male offspring. many cases will hereafter be given, where the female exhibits, more or less perfectly, characters proper to the male, in whom they must have been first developed, and then transferred to the female. the converse case of the first development of characters in the female and of transference to the male, is less frequent; it will therefore be well to give one striking instance. with bees the pollen-collecting apparatus is used by the female alone for gathering pollen for the larvae, yet in most of the species it is partially developed in the males to whom it is quite useless, and it is perfectly developed in the males of bombus or the humble-bee. ( . h. muller, 'anwendung der darwin'schen lehre,' etc., verh. d. n. v. jahrg., xxix. p. .) as not a single other hymenopterous insect, not even the wasp, which is closely allied to the bee, is provided with a pollen-collecting apparatus, we have no grounds for supposing that male bees primordially collected pollen as well as the females; although we have some reason to suspect that male mammals primordially suckled their young as well as the females. lastly, in all cases of reversion, characters are transmitted through two, three, or many more generations, and are then developed under certain unknown favourable conditions. this important distinction between transmission and development will be best kept in mind by the aid of the hypothesis of pangenesis. according to this hypothesis, every unit or cell of the body throws off gemmules or undeveloped atoms, which are transmitted to the offspring of both sexes, and are multiplied by self-division. they may remain undeveloped during the early years of life or during successive generations; and their development into units or cells, like those from which they were derived, depends on their affinity for, and union with other units or cells previously developed in the due order of growth. inheritance at corresponding periods of life. this tendency is well established. a new character, appearing in a young animal, whether it lasts throughout life or is only transient, will, in general, reappear in the offspring at the same age and last for the same time. if, on the other hand, a new character appears at maturity, or even during old age, it tends to reappear in the offspring at the same advanced age. when deviations from this rule occur, the transmitted characters much oftener appear before, than after the corresponding age. as i have dwelt on this subject sufficiently in another work ( . the 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. , p. . in the last chapter but one, the provisional hypothesis of pangenesis, above alluded to, is fully explained.), i will here merely give two or three instances, for the sake of recalling the subject to the reader's mind. in several breeds of the fowl, the down-covered chickens, the young birds in their first true plumage, and the adults differ greatly from one another, as well as from their common parent-form, the gallus bankiva; and these characters are faithfully transmitted by each breed to their offspring at the corresponding periods of life. for instance, the chickens of spangled hamburgs, whilst covered with down, have a few dark spots on the head and rump, but are not striped longitudinally, as in many other breeds; in their first true plumage, "they are beautifully pencilled," that is each feather is transversely marked by numerous dark bars; but in their second plumage the feathers all become spangled or tipped with a dark round spot. ( . these facts are given on the high authority of a great breeder, mr. teebay; see tegetmeier's 'poultry book,' , p. . on the characters of chickens of different breeds, and on the breeds of the pigeon, alluded to in the following paragraph, see 'variation of animals,' etc., vol. i. pp. , ; vol. ii. p. .) hence in this breed variations have occurred at, and been transmitted to, three distinct periods of life. the pigeon offers a more remarkable case, because the aboriginal parent species does not undergo any change of plumage with advancing age, excepting that at maturity the breast becomes more iridescent; yet there are breeds which do not acquire their characteristic colours until they have moulted two, three, or four times; and these modifications of plumage are regularly transmitted. inheritance at corresponding seasons of the year. with animals in a state of nature, innumerable instances occur of characters appearing periodically at different seasons. we see this in the horns of the stag, and in the fur of arctic animals which becomes thick and white during the winter. many birds acquire bright colours and other decorations during the breeding-season alone. pallas states ( . 'novae species quadrupedum e glirium ordine,' , p. . on the transmission of colour by the horse, see 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. i. p. . also vol. ii. p. , for a general discussion on 'inheritance as limited by sex.'), that in siberia domestic cattle and horses become lighter-coloured during the winter; and i have myself observed, and heard of similar strongly marked changes of colour, that is, from brownish cream-colour or reddish-brown to a perfect white, in several ponies in england. although i do not know that this tendency to change the colour of the coat during different seasons is transmitted, yet it probably is so, as all shades of colour are strongly inherited by the horse. nor is this form of inheritance, as limited by the seasons, more remarkable than its limitation by age or sex. inheritance as limited by sex. the equal transmission of characters to both sexes is the commonest form of inheritance, at least with those animals which do not present strongly-marked sexual differences, and indeed with many of these. but characters are somewhat commonly transferred exclusively to that sex, in which they first appear. ample evidence on this head has been advanced in my work on 'variation under domestication,' but a few instances may here be given. there are breeds of the sheep and goat, in which the horns of the male differ greatly in shape from those of the female; and these differences, acquired under domestication, are regularly transmitted to the same sex. as a rule, it is the females alone in cats which are tortoise-shell, the corresponding colour in the males being rusty-red. with most breeds of the fowl, the characters proper to each sex are transmitted to the same sex alone. so general is this form of transmission that it is an anomaly when variations in certain breeds are transmitted equally to both sexes. there are also certain sub-breeds of the fowl in which the males can hardly be distinguished from one another, whilst the females differ considerably in colour. the sexes of the pigeon in the parent-species do not differ in any external character; nevertheless, in certain domesticated breeds the male is coloured differently from the female. ( . dr. chapuis, 'le pigeon voyageur belge,' , p. . boitard et corbie, 'les pigeons de volière,' etc., , p. . see, also, on similar differences in certain breeds at modena, 'le variazioni dei colombi domestici,' del paolo bonizzi, .) the wattle in the english carrier pigeon, and the crop in the pouter, are more highly developed in the male than in the female; and although these characters have been gained through long-continued selection by man, the slight differences between the sexes are wholly due to the form of inheritance which has prevailed; for they have arisen, not from, but rather in opposition to, the wish of the breeder. most of our domestic races have been formed by the accumulation of many slight variations; and as some of the successive steps have been transmitted to one sex alone, and some to both sexes, we find in the different breeds of the same species all gradations between great sexual dissimilarity and complete similarity. instances have already been given with the breeds of the fowl and pigeon, and under nature analogous cases are common. with animals under domestication, but whether in nature i will not venture to say, one sex may lose characters proper to it, and may thus come somewhat to resemble the opposite sex; for instance, the males of some breeds of the fowl have lost their masculine tail-plumes and hackles. on the other hand, the differences between the sexes may be increased under domestication, as with merino sheep, in which the ewes have lost their horns. again, characters proper to one sex may suddenly appear in the other sex; as in those sub-breeds of the fowl in which the hens acquire spurs whilst young; or, as in certain polish sub-breeds, in which the females, as there is reason to believe, originally acquired a crest, and subsequently transferred it to the males. all these cases are intelligible on the hypothesis of pangenesis; for they depend on the gemmules of certain parts, although present in both sexes, becoming, through the influence of domestication, either dormant or developed in either sex. there is one difficult question which it will be convenient to defer to a future chapter; namely, whether a character at first developed in both sexes, could through selection be limited in its development to one sex alone. if, for instance, a breeder observed that some of his pigeons (of which the characters are usually transferred in an equal degree to both sexes) varied into pale blue, could he by long-continued selection make a breed, in which the males alone should be of this tint, whilst the females remained unchanged? i will here only say, that this, though perhaps not impossible, would be extremely difficult; for the natural result of breeding from the pale-blue males would be to change the whole stock of both sexes to this tint. if, however, variations of the desired tint appeared, which were from the first limited in their development to the male sex, there would not be the least difficulty in making a breed with the two sexes of a different colour, as indeed has been effected with a belgian breed, in which the males alone are streaked with black. in a similar manner, if any variation appeared in a female pigeon, which was from the first sexually limited in its development to the females, it would be easy to make a breed with the females alone thus characterised; but if the variation was not thus originally limited, the process would be extremely difficult, perhaps impossible. ( . since the publication of the first edition of this work, it has been highly satisfactory to me to find the following remarks (the 'field,' sept. ) from so experienced a breeder as mr. tegetmeier. after describing some curious cases in pigeons, of the transmission of colour by one sex alone, and the formation of a sub-breed with this character, he says: "it is a singular circumstance that mr. darwin should have suggested the possibility of modifying the sexual colours of birds by a course of artificial selection. when he did so, he was in ignorance of these facts that i have related; but it is remarkable how very closely he suggested the right method of procedure.") on the relation between the period of development of a character and its transmission to one sex or to both sexes. why certain characters should be inherited by both sexes, and other characters by one sex alone, namely by that sex in which the character first appeared, is in most cases quite unknown. we cannot even conjecture why with certain sub-breeds of the pigeon, black striae, though transmitted through the female, should be developed in the male alone, whilst every other character is equally transferred to both sexes. why, again, with cats, the tortoise-shell colour should, with rare exceptions, be developed in the female alone. the very same character, such as deficient or supernumerary digits, colour-blindness, etc., may with mankind be inherited by the males alone of one family, and in another family by the females alone, though in both cases transmitted through the opposite as well as through the same sex. ( . references are given in my 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. p. .) although we are thus ignorant, the two following rules seem often to hold good--that variations which first appear in either sex at a late period of life, tend to be developed in the same sex alone; whilst variations which first appear early in life in either sex tend to be developed in both sexes. i am, however, far from supposing that this is the sole determining cause. as i have not elsewhere discussed this subject, and it has an important bearing on sexual selection, i must here enter into lengthy and somewhat intricate details. it is in itself probable that any character appearing at an early age would tend to be inherited equally by both sexes, for the sexes do not differ much in constitution before the power of reproduction is gained. on the other hand, after this power has been gained and the sexes have come to differ in constitution, the gemmules (if i may again use the language of pangenesis) which are cast off from each varying part in the one sex would be much more likely to possess the proper affinities for uniting with the tissues of the same sex, and thus becoming developed, than with those of the opposite sex. i was first led to infer that a relation of this kind exists, from the fact that whenever and in whatever manner the adult male differs from the adult female, he differs in the same manner from the young of both sexes. the generality of this fact is quite remarkable: it holds good with almost all mammals, birds, amphibians, and fishes; also with many crustaceans, spiders, and some few insects, such as certain orthoptera and libellulae. in all these cases the variations, through the accumulation of which the male acquired his proper masculine characters, must have occurred at a somewhat late period of life; otherwise the young males would have been similarly characterised; and conformably with our rule, the variations are transmitted to and developed in the adult males alone. when, on the other hand, the adult male closely resembles the young of both sexes (these, with rare exceptions, being alike), he generally resembles the adult female; and in most of these cases the variations through which the young and old acquired their present characters, probably occurred, according to our rule, during youth. but there is here room for doubt, for characters are sometimes transferred to the offspring at an earlier age than that at which they first appeared in the parents, so that the parents may have varied when adult, and have transferred their characters to their offspring whilst young. there are, moreover, many animals, in which the two sexes closely resemble each other, and yet both differ from their young: and here the characters of the adults must have been acquired late in life; nevertheless, these characters, in apparent contradiction to our rule, are transferred to both sexes. we must not however, overlook the possibility or even probability of successive variations of the same nature occurring, under exposure to similar conditions, simultaneously in both sexes at a rather late period of life; and in this case the variations would be transferred to the offspring of both sexes at a corresponding late age; and there would then be no real contradiction to the rule that variations occurring late in life are transferred exclusively to the sex in which they first appeared. this latter rule seems to hold true more generally than the second one, namely, that variations which occur in either sex early in life tend to be transferred to both sexes. as it was obviously impossible even to estimate in how large a number of cases throughout the animal kingdom these two propositions held good, it occurred to me to investigate some striking or crucial instances, and to rely on the result. an excellent case for investigation is afforded by the deer family. in all the species, but one, the horns are developed only in the males, though certainly transmitted through the females, and capable of abnormal development in them. in the reindeer, on the other hand, the female is provided with horns; so that in this species, the horns ought, according to our rule, to appear early in life, long before the two sexes are mature and have come to differ much in constitution. in all the other species the horns ought to appear later in life, which would lead to their development in that sex alone, in which they first appeared in the progenitor of the whole family. now in seven species, belonging to distinct sections of the family and inhabiting different regions, in which the stags alone bear horns, i find that the horns first appear at periods, varying from nine months after birth in the roebuck, to ten, twelve or even more months in the stags of the six other and larger species. ( . i am much obliged to mr. cupples for having made enquiries for me in regard to the roebuck and red deer of scotland from mr. robertson, the experienced head-forester to the marquis of breadalbane. in regard to fallow-deer, i have to thank mr. eyton and others for information. for the cervus alces of n. america, see 'land and water,' , pp. and ; and for the c. virginianus and strongyloceros of the same continent, see j.d. caton, in 'ottawa acad. of nat. sc.' , p. . for cervus eldi of pegu, see lieut. beaven, 'proccedings of the zoological society,' , p. .) but with the reindeer the case is widely different; for, as i hear from prof. nilsson, who kindly made special enquiries for me in lapland, the horns appear in the young animals within four or five weeks after birth, and at the same time in both sexes. so that here we have a structure, developed at a most unusually early age in one species of the family, and likewise common to both sexes in this one species alone. in several kinds of antelopes, only the males are provided with horns, whilst in the greater number both sexes bear horns. with respect to the period of development, mr. blyth informs me that there was at one time in the zoological gardens a young koodoo (ant. strepsiceros), of which the males alone are horned, and also the young of a closely-allied species, the eland (ant. oreas), in which both sexes are horned. now it is in strict conformity with our rule, that in the young male koodoo, although ten months old, the horns were remarkably small, considering the size ultimately attained by them; whilst in the young male eland, although only three months old, the horns were already very much larger than in the koodoo. it is also a noticeable fact that in the prong-horned antelope ( . antilocapra americana. i have to thank dr. canfield for information with respect to the horns of the female: see also his paper in 'proceedings of the zoological society,' , p. . also owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. p. ), only a few of the females, about one in five, have horns, and these are in a rudimentary state, though sometimes above four inches long: so that as far as concerns the possession of horns by the males alone, this species is in an intermediate condition, and the horns do not appear until about five or six months after birth. therefore in comparison with what little we know of the development of the horns in other antelopes, and from what we do know with respect to the horns of deer, cattle, etc., those of the prong-horned antelope appear at an intermediate period of life,--that is, not very early, as in cattle and sheep, nor very late, as in the larger deer and antelopes. the horns of sheep, goats, and cattle, which are well developed in both sexes, though not quite equal in size, can be felt, or even seen, at birth or soon afterwards. ( . i have been assured that the horns of the sheep in north wales can always be felt, and are sometimes even an inch in length, at birth. youatt says ('cattle,' , p. ), that the prominence of the frontal bone in cattle penetrates the cutis at birth, and that the horny matter is soon formed over it.) our rule, however, seems to fail in some breeds of sheep, for instance merinos, in which the rams alone are horned; for i cannot find on enquiry ( . i am greatly indebted to prof. victor carus for having made enquiries for me, from the highest authorities, with respect to the merino sheep of saxony. on the guinea coast of africa there is, however, a breed of sheep in which, as with merinos, the rams alone bear horns; and mr. winwood reade informs me that in one case observed by him, a young ram, born on feb. th, first shewed horns on march th, so that in this instance, in conformity with rule, the development of the horns occurred at a later period of life than in welsh sheep, in which both sexes are horned.), that the horns are developed later in life in this breed than in ordinary sheep in which both sexes are horned. but with domesticated sheep the presence or absence of horns is not a firmly fixed character; for a certain proportion of the merino ewes bear small horns, and some of the rams are hornless; and in most breeds hornless ewes are occasionally produced. dr. w. marshall has lately made a special study of the protuberances so common on the heads of birds ( . '�ber die knochernen schädelhöcker der vögel,' in the 'niederland. archiv fur zoologie,' b.i. heft , .), and he comes to the following conclusion:--that with those species in which they are confined to the males, they are developed late in life; whereas with those species in which they are common to the two sexes, they are developed at a very early period. this is certainly a striking confirmation of my two laws of inheritance. in most of the species of the splendid family of the pheasants, the males differ conspicuously from the females, and they acquire their ornaments at a rather late period of life. the eared pheasant (crossoptilon auritum), however, offers a remarkable exception, for both sexes possess the fine caudal plumes, the large ear-tufts and the crimson velvet about the head; i find that all these characters appear very early in life in accordance with rule. the adult male can, however, be distinguished from the adult female by the presence of spurs; and conformably with our rule, these do not begin to be developed before the age of six months, as i am assured by mr. bartlett, and even at this age, the two sexes can hardly be distinguished. ( . in the common peacock (pavo cristatus) the male alone possesses spurs, whilst both sexes of the java peacock (p. muticus) offer the unusual case of being furnished with spurs. hence i fully expected that in the latter species they would have been developed earlier in life than in the common peacock; but m. hegt of amsterdam informs me, that with young birds of the previous year, of both species, compared on april rd, , there was no difference in the development of the spurs. the spurs, however, were as yet represented merely by slight knobs or elevations. i presume that i should have been informed if any difference in the rate of development had been observed subsequently.) the male and female peacock differ conspicuously from each other in almost every part of their plumage, except in the elegant head-crest, which is common to both sexes; and this is developed very early in life, long before the other ornaments, which are confined to the male. the wild-duck offers an analogous case, for the beautiful green speculum on the wings is common to both sexes, though duller and somewhat smaller in the female, and it is developed early in life, whilst the curled tail-feathers and other ornaments of the male are developed later. ( . in some other species of the duck family the speculum differs in a greater degree in the two sexes; but i have not been able to discover whether its full development occurs later in life in the males of such species, than in the male of the common duck, as ought to be the case according to our rule. with the allied mergus cucullatus we have, however, a case of this kind: the two sexes differ conspicuously in general plumage, and to a considerable degree in the speculum, which is pure white in the male and greyish-white in the female. now the young males at first entirely resemble the females, and have a greyish-white speculum, which becomes pure white at an earlier age than that at which the adult male acquires his other and more strongly-marked sexual differences: see audubon, 'ornithological biography,' vol. iii. , pp. - .) between such extreme cases of close sexual resemblance and wide dissimilarity, as those of the crossoptilon and peacock, many intermediate ones could be given, in which the characters follow our two rules in their order of development. as most insects emerge from the pupal state in a mature condition, it is doubtful whether the period of development can determine the transference of their characters to one or to both sexes. but we do not know that the coloured scales, for instance, in two species of butterflies, in one of which the sexes differ in colour, whilst in the other they are alike, are developed at the same relative age in the cocoon. nor do we know whether all the scales are simultaneously developed on the wings of the same species of butterfly, in which certain coloured marks are confined to one sex, whilst others are common to both sexes. a difference of this kind in the period of development is not so improbable as it may at first appear; for with the orthoptera, which assume their adult state, not by a single metamorphosis, but by a succession of moults, the young males of some species at first resemble the females, and acquire their distinctive masculine characters only at a later moult. strictly analogous cases occur at the successive moults of certain male crustaceans. we have as yet considered the transference of characters, relatively to their period of development, only in species in a natural state; we will now turn to domesticated animals, and first touch on monstrosities and diseases. the presence of supernumerary digits, and the absence of certain phalanges, must be determined at an early embryonic period--the tendency to profuse bleeding is at least congenital, as is probably colour-blindness--yet these peculiarities, and other similar ones, are often limited in their transmission to one sex; so that the rule that characters, developed at an early period, tend to be transmitted to both sexes, here wholly fails. but this rule, as before remarked, does not appear to be nearly so general as the converse one, namely, that characters which appear late in life in one sex are transmitted exclusively to the same sex. from the fact of the above abnormal peculiarities becoming attached to one sex, long before the sexual functions are active, we may infer that there must be some difference between the sexes at an extremely early age. with respect to sexually-limited diseases, we know too little of the period at which they originate, to draw any safe conclusion. gout, however, seems to fall under our rule, for it is generally caused by intemperance during manhood, and is transmitted from the father to his sons in a much more marked manner than to his daughters. in the various domestic breeds of sheep, goats, and cattle, the males differ from their respective females in the shape or development of their horns, forehead, mane, dewlap, tail, and hump on the shoulders; and these peculiarities, in accordance with our rule, are not fully developed until a rather late period of life. the sexes of dogs do not differ, except that in certain breeds, especially in the scotch deer-hound, the male is much larger and heavier than the female; and, as we shall see in a future chapter, the male goes on increasing in size to an unusually late period of life, which, according to rule, will account for his increased size being transmitted to his male offspring alone. on the other hand, the tortoise-shell colour, which is confined to female cats, is quite distinct at birth, and this case violates the rule. there is a breed of pigeons in which the males alone are streaked with black, and the streaks can be detected even in the nestlings; but they become more conspicuous at each successive moult, so that this case partly opposes and partly supports the rule. with the english carrier and pouter pigeons, the full development of the wattle and the crop occurs rather late in life, and conformably with the rule, these characters are transmitted in full perfection to the males alone. the following cases perhaps come within the class previously alluded to, in which both sexes have varied in the same manner at a rather late period of life, and have consequently transferred their new characters to both sexes at a corresponding late period; and if so, these cases are not opposed to our rule:--there exist sub-breeds of the pigeon, described by neumeister ( . 'das ganze der taubenzucht,' , ss. , . for the case of the streaked pigeons, see dr. chapuis, 'le pigeon voyageur belge,' , p. .), in which both sexes change their colour during two or three moults (as is likewise the case with the almond tumbler); nevertheless, these changes, though occurring rather late in life, are common to both sexes. one variety of the canary-bird, namely the london prize, offers a nearly analogous case. with the breeds of the fowl the inheritance of various characters by one or both sexes, seems generally determined by the period at which such characters are developed. thus in all the many breeds in which the adult male differs greatly in colour from the female, as well as from the wild parent-species, he differs also from the young male, so that the newly-acquired characters must have appeared at a rather late period of life. on the other hand, in most of the breeds in which the two sexes resemble each other, the young are coloured in nearly the same manner as their parents, and this renders it probable that their colours first appeared early in life. we have instances of this fact in all black and white breeds, in which the young and old of both sexes are alike; nor can it be maintained that there is something peculiar in a black or white plumage, which leads to its transference to both sexes; for the males alone of many natural species are either black or white, the females being differently coloured. with the so-called cuckoo sub-breeds of the fowl, in which the feathers are transversely pencilled with dark stripes, both sexes and the chickens are coloured in nearly the same manner. the laced plumage of the sebright bantam is the same in both sexes, and in the young chickens the wing-feathers are distinctly, though imperfectly laced. spangled hamburgs, however, offer a partial exception; for the two sexes, though not quite alike, resemble each other more closely than do the sexes of the aboriginal parent-species; yet they acquire their characteristic plumage late in life, for the chickens are distinctly pencilled. with respect to other characters besides colour, in the wild-parent species and in most of the domestic breeds, the males alone possess a well-developed comb; but in the young of the spanish fowl it is largely developed at a very early age, and, in accordance with this early development in the male, it is of unusual size in the adult female. in the game breeds pugnacity is developed at a wonderfully early age, of which curious proofs could be given; and this character is transmitted to both sexes, so that the hens, from their extreme pugnacity, are now generally exhibited in separate pens. with the polish breeds the bony protuberance of the skull which supports the crest is partially developed even before the chickens are hatched, and the crest itself soon begins to grow, though at first feebly ( . for full particulars and references on all these points respecting the several breeds of the fowl, see 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. i. pp. , . in regard to the higher animals, the sexual differences which have arisen under domestication are described in the same work under the head of each species.); and in this breed the adults of both sexes are characterised by a great bony protuberance and an immense crest. finally, from what we have now seen of the relation which exists in many natural species and domesticated races, between the period of the development of their characters and the manner of their transmission--for example, the striking fact of the early growth of the horns in the reindeer, in which both sexes bear horns, in comparison with their much later growth in the other species in which the male alone bears horns--we may conclude that one, though not the sole cause of characters being exclusively inherited by one sex, is their development at a late age. and secondly, that one, though apparently a less efficient cause of characters being inherited by both sexes, is their development at an early age, whilst the sexes differ but little in constitution. it appears, however, that some difference must exist between the sexes even during a very early embryonic period, for characters developed at this age not rarely become attached to one sex. summary and concluding remarks. from the foregoing discussion on the various laws of inheritance, we learn that the characters of the parents often, or even generally, tend to become developed in the offspring of the same sex, at the same age, and periodically at the same season of the year, in which they first appeared in the parents. but these rules, owing to unknown causes, are far from being fixed. hence during the modification of a species, the successive changes may readily be transmitted in different ways; some to one sex, and some to both; some to the offspring at one age, and some to the offspring at all ages. not only are the laws of inheritance extremely complex, but so are the causes which induce and govern variability. the variations thus induced are preserved and accumulated by sexual selection, which is in itself an extremely complex affair, depending, as it does, on the ardour in love, the courage, and the rivalry of the males, as well as on the powers of perception, the taste, and will of the female. sexual selection will also be largely dominated by natural selection tending towards the general welfare of the species. hence the manner in which the individuals of either or both sexes have been affected through sexual selection cannot fail to be complex in the highest degree. when variations occur late in life in one sex, and are transmitted to the same sex at the same age, the other sex and the young are left unmodified. when they occur late in life, but are transmitted to both sexes at the same age, the young alone are left unmodified. variations, however, may occur at any period of life in one sex or in both, and be transmitted to both sexes at all ages, and then all the individuals of the species are similarly modified. in the following chapters it will be seen that all these cases frequently occur in nature. sexual selection can never act on any animal before the age for reproduction arrives. from the great eagerness of the male it has generally acted on this sex and not on the females. the males have thus become provided with weapons for fighting with their rivals, with organs for discovering and securely holding the female, and for exciting or charming her. when the sexes differ in these respects, it is also, as we have seen, an extremely general law that the adult male differs more or less from the young male; and we may conclude from this fact that the successive variations, by which the adult male became modified, did not generally occur much before the age for reproduction. whenever some or many of the variations occurred early in life, the young males would partake more or less of the characters of the adult males; and differences of this kind between the old and young males may be observed in many species of animals. it is probable that young male animals have often tended to vary in a manner which would not only have been of no use to them at an early age, but would have been actually injurious--as by acquiring bright colours, which would render them conspicuous to their enemies, or by acquiring structures, such as great horns, which would expend much vital force in their development. variations of this kind occurring in the young males would almost certainly be eliminated through natural selection. with the adult and experienced males, on the other hand, the advantages derived from the acquisition of such characters, would more than counterbalance some exposure to danger, and some loss of vital force. as variations which give to the male a better chance of conquering other males, or of finding, securing, or charming the opposite sex, would, if they happened to arise in the female, be of no service to her, they would not be preserved in her through sexual selection. we have also good evidence with domesticated animals, that variations of all kinds are, if not carefully selected, soon lost through intercrossing and accidental deaths. consequently in a state of nature, if variations of the above kind chanced to arise in the female line, and to be transmitted exclusively in this line, they would be extremely liable to be lost. if, however, the females varied and transmitted their newly acquired characters to their offspring of both sexes, the characters which were advantageous to the males would be preserved by them through sexual selection, and the two sexes would in consequence be modified in the same manner, although such characters were of no use to the females: but i shall hereafter have to recur to these more intricate contingencies. lastly, the females may acquire, and apparently have often acquired by transference, characters from the male sex. as variations occurring later in life, and transmitted to one sex alone, have incessantly been taken advantage of and accumulated through sexual selection in relation to the reproduction of the species; therefore it appears, at first sight, an unaccountable fact that similar variations have not frequently been accumulated through natural selection, in relation to the ordinary habits of life. if this had occurred, the two sexes would often have been differently modified, for the sake, for instance, of capturing prey or of escaping from danger. differences of this kind between the two sexes do occasionally occur, especially in the lower classes. but this implies that the two sexes follow different habits in their struggles for existence, which is a rare circumstance with the higher animals. the case, however, is widely different with the reproductive functions, in which respect the sexes necessarily differ. for variations in structure which are related to these functions, have often proved of value to one sex, and from having arisen at a late period of life, have been transmitted to one sex alone; and such variations, thus preserved and transmitted, have given rise to secondary sexual characters. in the following chapters, i shall treat of the secondary sexual characters in animals of all classes, and shall endeavour in each case to apply the principles explained in the present chapter. the lowest classes will detain us for a very short time, but the higher animals, especially birds, must be treated at considerable length. it should be borne in mind that for reasons already assigned, i intend to give only a few illustrative instances of the innumerable structures by the aid of which the male finds the female, or, when found, holds her. on the other hand, all structures and instincts by the aid of which the male conquers other males, and by which he allures or excites the female, will be fully discussed, as these are in many ways the most interesting. supplement on the proportional numbers of the two sexes in animals belonging to various classes. as no one, as far as i can discover, has paid attention to the relative numbers of the two sexes throughout the animal kingdom, i will here give such materials as i have been able to collect, although they are extremely imperfect. they consist in only a few instances of actual enumeration, and the numbers are not very large. as the proportions are known with certainty only in mankind, i will first give them as a standard of comparison. man. in england during ten years (from to ) the average number of children born alive yearly was , , in the proportion of . males to females. but in the male births throughout england were as . , and in as . to . looking to separate districts, in buckinghamshire (where about children are annually born) the mean proportion of male to female births, during the whole period of the above ten years, was as . to ; whilst in n. wales (where the average annual births are , ) it was as high as . to . taking a still smaller district, viz., rutlandshire (where the annual births average only ), in the male births were as . , and in as only . to ; but even in this small district the average of the births during the whole ten years, was as . to : that is in the same ratio as throughout england. ( . 'twenty-ninth annual report of the registrar-general for .' in this report (p. xii.) a special decennial table is given.) the proportions are sometimes slightly disturbed by unknown causes; thus prof. faye states "that in some districts of norway there has been during a decennial period a steady deficiency of boys, whilst in others the opposite condition has existed." in france during forty-four years the male to the female births have been as . to ; but during this period it has occurred five times in one department, and six times in another, that the female births have exceeded the males. in russia the average proportion is as high as . , and in philadelphia in the united states as . to . ( . for norway and russia, see abstract of prof. faye's researches, in 'british and foreign medico-chirurg. review,' april , pp. , . for france, the 'annuaire pour l'an ,' p. . for philadelphia, dr. stockton hough, 'social science assoc.' . for the cape of good hope, quetelet as quoted by dr. h.h. zouteveen, in the dutch translation of this work (vol. i. p. ), where much information is given on the proportion of the sexes.) the average for europe, deduced by bickes from about seventy million births, is males to females. on the other hand, with white children born at the cape of good hope, the proportion of males is so low as to fluctuate during successive years between and males for every females. it is a singular fact that with jews the proportion of male births is decidedly larger than with christians: thus in prussia the proportion is as , in breslau as , and in livonia as to ; the christian births in these countries being the same as usual, for instance, in livonia as to . ( . in regard to the jews, see m. thury, 'la loi de production des sexes,' , p. .) prof. faye remarks that "a still greater preponderance of males would be met with, if death struck both sexes in equal proportion in the womb and during birth. but the fact is, that for every still-born females, we have in several countries from . to . still-born males. during the first four or five years of life, also, more male children die than females, for example in england, during the first year, boys die for every girls--a proportion which in france is still more unfavourable." ( . 'british and foreign medico-chirurg. review,' april , p. . dr. stark also remarks ('tenth annual report of births, deaths, etc., in scotland,' , p. xxviii.) that "these examples may suffice to show that, at almost every stage of life, the males in scotland have a greater liability to death and a higher death-rate than the females. the fact, however, of this peculiarity being most strongly developed at that infantile period of life when the dress, food, and general treatment of both sexes are alike, seems to prove that the higher male death-rate is an impressed, natural, and constitutional peculiarity due to sex alone.") dr. stockton hough accounts for these facts in part by the more frequent defective development of males than of females. we have before seen that the male sex is more variable in structure than the female; and variations in important organs would generally be injurious. but the size of the body, and especially of the head, being greater in male than female infants is another cause: for the males are thus more liable to be injured during parturition. consequently the still-born males are more numerous; and, as a highly competent judge, dr. crichton browne ( . 'west riding lunatic asylum reports,' vol. i. , p. . sir j. simpson has proved that the head of the male infant exceeds that of the female by / ths of an inch in circumference, and by / th in transverse diameter. quetelet has shewn that woman is born smaller than man; see dr. duncan, 'fecundity, fertility, and sterility,' , p. .), believes, male infants often suffer in health for some years after birth. owing to this excess in the death-rate of male children, both at birth and for some time subsequently, and owing to the exposure of grown men to various dangers, and to their tendency to emigrate, the females in all old-settled countries, where statistical records have been kept, are found to preponderate considerably over the males. ( . with the savage guaranys of paraguay, according to the accurate azara ('voyages dans l'amerique merid.' tom. ii. , pp. , ), the women are to the men in the proportion of to .) it seems at first sight a mysterious fact that in different nations, under different conditions and climates, in naples, prussia, westphalia, holland, france, england and the united states, the excess of male over female births is less when they are illegitimate than when legitimate. ( . babbage, 'edinburgh journal of science,' , vol. i. p. ; also p. , on still-born children. on illegitimate children in england, see 'report of registrar-general for ,' p. xv.) this has been explained by different writers in many different ways, as from the mothers being generally young, from the large proportion of first pregnancies, etc. but we have seen that male infants, from the large size of their heads, suffer more than female infants during parturition; and as the mothers of illegitimate children must be more liable than other women to undergo bad labours, from various causes, such as attempts at concealment by tight lacing, hard work, distress of mind, etc., their male infants would proportionably suffer. and this probably is the most efficient of all the causes of the proportion of males to females born alive being less amongst illegitimate children than amongst the legitimate. with most animals the greater size of the adult male than of the female, is due to the stronger males having conquered the weaker in their struggles for the possession of the females, and no doubt it is owing to this fact that the two sexes of at least some animals differ in size at birth. thus we have the curious fact that we may attribute the more frequent deaths of male than female infants, especially amongst the illegitimate, at least in part to sexual selection. it has often been supposed that the relative age of the two parents determine the sex of the offspring; and prof. leuckart ( . leuckart, in wagner 'handwörterbuch der phys.' b. iv. , s. .) has advanced what he considers sufficient evidence, with respect to man and certain domesticated animals, that this is one important though not the sole factor in the result. so again the period of impregnation relatively to the state of the female has been thought by some to be the efficient cause; but recent observations discountenance this belief. according to dr. stockton hough ( . 'social science association of philadelphia,' .), the season of the year, the poverty or wealth of the parents, residence in the country or in cities, the crossing of foreign immigrants, etc., all influence the proportion of the sexes. with mankind, polygamy has also been supposed to lead to the birth of a greater proportion of female infants; but dr. j. campbell ( . 'anthropological review,' april , p. cviii.) carefully attended to this subject in the harems of siam, and concludes that the proportion of male to female births is the same as from monogamous unions. hardly any animal has been rendered so highly polygamous as the english race-horse, and we shall immediately see that his male and female offspring are almost exactly equal in number. i will now give the facts which i have collected with respect to the proportional numbers of the sexes of various animals; and will then briefly discuss how far selection has come into play in determining the result. horses. mr. tegetmeier has been so kind as to tabulate for me from the 'racing calendar' the births of race-horses during a period of twenty-one years, viz., from to ; being omitted, as no returns were that year published. the total births were , ( . during eleven years a record was kept of the number of mares which proved barren or prematurely slipped their foals; and it deserves notice, as shewing how infertile these highly-nurtured and rather closely-interbred animals have become, that not far from one-third of the mares failed to produce living foals. thus during , male colts and female colts were born, and mares failed to produce offspring. during , males and females were born, and mares failed.), consisting of , males and , females, or in the proportion of . males to females. as these numbers are tolerably large, and as they are drawn from all parts of england, during several years, we may with much confidence conclude that with the domestic horse, or at least with the race-horse, the two sexes are produced in almost equal numbers. the fluctuations in the proportions during successive years are closely like those which occur with mankind, when a small and thinly-populated area is considered; thus in the male horses were as . , and in as only . to females. in the tabulated returns the proportions vary in cycles, for the males exceeded the females during six successive years; and the females exceeded the males during two periods each of four years; this, however, may be accidental; at least i can detect nothing of the kind with man in the decennial table in the registrar's report for . dogs. during a period of twelve years, from to , the births of a large number of greyhounds, throughout england, were sent to the 'field' newspaper; and i am again indebted to mr. tegetmeier for carefully tabulating the results. the recorded births were , consisting of males and females, that is, in the proportion of . males to females. the greatest fluctuations occurred in , when the proportion was as . males, and in , as . males to females. the above average proportion of . to is probably nearly correct in the case of the greyhound, but whether it would hold with other domesticated breeds is in some degree doubtful. mr. cupples has enquired from several great breeders of dogs, and finds that all without exception believe that females are produced in excess; but he suggests that this belief may have arisen from females being less valued, and from the consequent disappointment producing a stronger impression on the mind. sheep. the sexes of sheep are not ascertained by agriculturists until several months after birth, at the period when the males are castrated; so that the following returns do not give the proportions at birth. moreover, i find that several great breeders in scotland, who annually raise some thousand sheep, are firmly convinced that a larger proportion of males than of females die during the first year or two. therefore the proportion of males would be somewhat larger at birth than at the age of castration. this is a remarkable coincidence with what, as we have seen, occurs with mankind, and both cases probably depend on the same cause. i have received returns from four gentlemen in england who have bred lowland sheep, chiefly leicesters, during the last ten to sixteen years; they amount altogether to births, consisting of males and females; that is in the proportion of . males to females. with respect to cheviot and black-faced sheep bred in scotland, i have received returns from six breeders, two of them on a large scale, chiefly for the years - , but some of the returns extend back to . the total number recorded amounts to , , consisting of , males and , females or in the proportion of . males to females. if we take the english and scotch returns together, the total number amounts to , , consisting of , males and , females, or as . to . so that with sheep at the age of castration the females are certainly in excess of the males, but probably this would not hold good at birth. ( . i am much indebted to mr. cupples for having procured for me the above returns from scotland, as well as some of the following returns on cattle. mr. r. elliot, of laighwood, first called my attention to the premature deaths of the males, --a statement subsequently confirmed by mr. aitchison and others. to this latter gentleman, and to mr. payan, i owe my thanks for large returns as to sheep.) of cattle i have received returns from nine gentlemen of births, too few to be trusted; these consisted of bull-calves and cow-calves; i.e., in the proportion of . males to females. the rev. w.d. fox informs me that in out of calves born on a farm in derbyshire only one was a bull. mr. harrison weir has enquired from several breeders of pigs, and most of them estimate the male to the female births as about to . this same gentleman has bred rabbits for many years, and has noticed that a far greater number of bucks are produced than does. but estimations are of little value. of mammalia in a state of nature i have been able to learn very little. in regard to the common rat, i have received conflicting statements. mr. r. elliot, of laighwood, informs me that a rat-catcher assured him that he had always found the males in great excess, even with the young in the nest. in consequence of this, mr. elliot himself subsequently examined some hundred old ones, and found the statement true. mr. f. buckland has bred a large number of white rats, and he also believes that the males greatly exceed the females. in regard to moles, it is said that "the males are much more numerous than the females" ( . bell, 'history of british quadrupeds,' p. .): and as the catching of these animals is a special occupation, the statement may perhaps be trusted. sir a. smith, in describing an antelope of s. africa ( . 'illustrations of the zoology of s. africa,' , pl. .) (kobus ellipsiprymnus), remarks, that in the herds of this and other species, the males are few in number compared with the females: the natives believe that they are born in this proportion; others believe that the younger males are expelled from the herds, and sir a. smith says, that though he has himself never seen herds consisting of young males alone, others affirm that this does occur. it appears probable that the young when expelled from the herd, would often fall a prey to the many beasts of prey of the country. birds. with respect to the fowl, i have received only one account, namely, that out of chickens of a highly-bred stock of cochins, reared during eight years by mr. stretch, proved males and females; i.e., as . to . in regard to domestic pigeons there is good evidence either that the males are produced in excess, or that they live longer; for these birds invariably pair, and single males, as mr. tegetmeier informs me, can always be purchased cheaper than females. usually the two birds reared from the two eggs laid in the same nest are a male and a female; but mr. harrison weir, who has been so large a breeder, says that he has often bred two cocks from the same nest, and seldom two hens; moreover, the hen is generally the weaker of the two, and more liable to perish. with respect to birds in a state of nature, mr. gould and others ( . brehm ('thierleben,' b. iv. s. ) comes to the same conclusion.) are convinced that the males are generally the more numerous; and as the young males of many species resemble the females, the latter would naturally appear to be the more numerous. large numbers of pheasants are reared by mr. baker of leadenhall from eggs laid by wild birds, and he informs mr. jenner weir that four or five males to one female are generally produced. an experienced observer remarks ( . on the authority of l. lloyd, 'game birds of sweden,' , pp. , .), that in scandinavia the broods of the capercailzie and black-cock contain more males than females; and that with the dal-ripa (a kind of ptarmigan) more males than females attend the leks or places of courtship; but this latter circumstance is accounted for by some observers by a greater number of hen birds being killed by vermin. from various facts given by white of selborne ( . 'nat. hist. of selborne,' letter xxix. edit. of , vol. i. p. .), it seems clear that the males of the partridge must be in considerable excess in the south of england; and i have been assured that this is the case in scotland. mr. weir on enquiring from the dealers, who receive at certain seasons large numbers of ruffs (machetes pugnax), was told that the males are much the more numerous. this same naturalist has also enquired for me from the birdcatchers, who annually catch an astonishing number of various small species alive for the london market, and he was unhesitatingly answered by an old and trustworthy man, that with the chaffinch the males are in large excess: he thought as high as males to female, or at least as high as to . ( . mr. jenner weir received similar information, on making enquiries during the following year. to shew the number of living chaffinches caught, i may mention that in there was a match between two experts, and one man caught in a day , and another , male chaffinches. the greatest number ever caught by one man in a single day was .) the males of the blackbird, he likewise maintained, were by far the more numerous, whether caught by traps or by netting at night. these statements may apparently be trusted, because this same man said that the sexes are about equal with the lark, the twite (linaria montana), and goldfinch. on the other hand, he is certain that with the common linnet, the females preponderate greatly, but unequally during different years; during some years he has found the females to the males as four to one. it should, however, be borne in mind, that the chief season for catching birds does not begin till september, so that with some species partial migrations may have begun, and the flocks at this period often consist of hens alone. mr. salvin paid particular attention to the sexes of the humming-birds in central america, and is convinced that with most of the species the males are in excess; thus one year he procured specimens belonging to ten species, and these consisted of males and of only females. with two other species the females were in excess: but the proportions apparently vary either during different seasons or in different localities; for on one occasion the males of campylopterus hemileucurus were to the females as to , and on another occasion ( . 'ibis,' vol. ii. p. , as quoted in gould's 'trochilidae,' , p. . for the foregoing proportions, i am indebted to mr. salvin for a table of his results.) in exactly the reversed ratio. as bearing on this latter point, i may add, that mr. powys found in corfu and epirus the sexes of the chaffinch keeping apart, and "the females by far the most numerous"; whilst in palestine mr. tristram found "the male flocks appearing greatly to exceed the female in number." ( . 'ibis,' , p. ; and , p. .) so again with the quiscalus major, mr. g. taylor says, that in florida there were "very few females in proportion to the males," ( . 'ibis,' , p. .) whilst in honduras the proportion was the other way, the species there having the character of a polygamist. fish. with fish the proportional numbers of the sexes can be ascertained only by catching them in the adult or nearly adult state; and there are many difficulties in arriving at any just conclusion. ( . leuckart quotes bloch (wagner, 'handwörterbuch der phys.' b. iv. , s. ), that with fish there are twice as many males as females.) infertile females might readily be mistaken for males, as dr. gunther has remarked to me in regard to trout. with some species the males are believed to die soon after fertilising the ova. with many species the males are of much smaller size than the females, so that a large number of males would escape from the same net by which the females were caught. m. carbonnier ( . quoted in the 'farmer,' march , , p. .), who has especially attended to the natural history of the pike (esox lucius), states that many males, owing to their small size, are devoured by the larger females; and he believes that the males of almost all fish are exposed from this same cause to greater danger than the females. nevertheless, in the few cases in which the proportional numbers have been actually observed, the males appear to be largely in excess. thus mr. r. buist, the superintendent of the stormontfield experiments, says that in , out of salmon first landed for the purpose of obtaining the ova, upwards of were males. in he again "calls attention to the vast disproportion of the males to the females. we had at the outset at least ten males to one female." afterwards females sufficient for obtaining ova were procured. he adds, "from the great proportion of the males, they are constantly fighting and tearing each other on the spawning-beds." ( . 'the stormontfield piscicultural experiments,' , p. . the 'field' newspaper, june , .) this disproportion, no doubt, can be accounted for in part, but whether wholly is doubtful, by the males ascending the rivers before the females. mr. f. buckland remarks in regard to trout, that "it is a curious fact that the males preponderate very largely in number over the females. it invariably happens that when the first rush of fish is made to the net, there will be at least seven or eight males to one female found captive. i cannot quite account for this; either the males are more numerous than the females, or the latter seek safety by concealment rather than flight." he then adds, that by carefully searching the banks sufficient females for obtaining ova can be found. ( . 'land and water,' , p. .) mr. h. lee informs me that out of trout, taken for this purpose in lord portsmouth's park, were males and females. the males of the cyprinidae likewise seem to be in excess; but several members of this family, viz., the carp, tench, bream and minnow, appear regularly to follow the practice, rare in the animal kingdom, of polyandry; for the female whilst spawning is always attended by two males, one on each side, and in the case of the bream by three or four males. this fact is so well known, that it is always recommended to stock a pond with two male tenches to one female, or at least with three males to two females. with the minnow, an excellent observer states, that on the spawning-beds the males are ten times as numerous as the females; when a female comes amongst the males, "she is immediately pressed closely by a male on each side; and when they have been in that situation for a time, are superseded by other two males." ( . yarrell, 'hist. british fishes,' vol. i. , p. ; on the cyprinus carpio, p. ; on the tinca vulgaris, p. ; on the abramis brama, p. . see, for the minnow (leuciscus phoxinus), 'loudon's magazine of natural history,' vol. v. , p. .) insects. in this great class, the lepidoptera almost alone afford means for judging of the proportional numbers of the sexes; for they have been collected with special care by many good observers, and have been largely bred from the egg or caterpillar state. i had hoped that some breeders of silk-moths might have kept an exact record, but after writing to france and italy, and consulting various treatises, i cannot find that this has ever been done. the general opinion appears to be that the sexes are nearly equal, but in italy, as i hear from professor canestrini, many breeders are convinced that the females are produced in excess. this same naturalist, however, informs me, that in the two yearly broods of the ailanthus silk-moth (bombyx cynthia), the males greatly preponderate in the first, whilst in the second the two sexes are nearly equal, or the females rather in excess. in regard to butterflies in a state of nature, several observers have been much struck by the apparently enormous preponderance of the males. ( . leuckart quotes meinecke (wagner, 'handwörterbuch der phys.' b. iv. , s. ) that the males of butterflies are three or four times as numerous as the females.) thus mr. bates ( . 'the naturalist on the amazons,' vol. ii. , pp. , .), in speaking of several species, about a hundred in number, which inhabit the upper amazons, says that the males are much more numerous than the females, even in the proportion of a hundred to one. in north america, edwards, who had great experience, estimates in the genus papilio the males to the females as four to one; and mr. walsh, who informed me of this statement, says that with p. turnus this is certainly the case. in south africa, mr. r. trimen found the males in excess in species ( . four of these cases are given by mr. trimen in his 'rhopalocera africae australis.'); and in one of these, which swarms in open places, he estimated the number of males as fifty to one female. with another species, in which the males are numerous in certain localities, he collected only five females during seven years. in the island of bourbon, m. maillard states that the males of one species of papilio are twenty times as numerous as the females. ( . quoted by trimen, 'transactions of the ent. society,' vol. v. part iv. , p. .) mr. trimen informs me that as far as he has himself seen, or heard from others, it is rare for the females of any butterfly to exceed the males in number; but three south african species perhaps offer an exception. mr. wallace ( . 'transactions, linnean society,' vol. xxv. p. .) states that the females of ornithoptera croesus, in the malay archipelago, are more common and more easily caught than the males; but this is a rare butterfly. i may here add, that in hyperythra, a genus of moths, guenee says, that from four to five females are sent in collections from india for one male. when this subject of the proportional numbers of the sexes of insects was brought before the entomological society ( . 'proceedings, entomological society,' feb. , .), it was generally admitted that the males of most lepidoptera, in the adult or imago state, are caught in greater numbers than the females: but this fact was attributed by various observers to the more retiring habits of the females, and to the males emerging earlier from the cocoon. this latter circumstance is well known to occur with most lepidoptera, as well as with other insects. so that, as m. personnat remarks, the males of the domesticated bombyx yamamai, are useless at the beginning of the season, and the females at the end, from the want of mates. ( . quoted by dr. wallace in 'proceedings, entomological society,' rd series, vol. v. , p. .) i cannot, however, persuade myself that these causes suffice to explain the great excess of males, in the above cases of certain butterflies which are extremely common in their native countries. mr. stainton, who has paid very close attention during many years to the smaller moths, informs me that when he collected them in the imago state, he thought that the males were ten times as numerous as the females, but that since he has reared them on a large scale from the caterpillar state, he is convinced that the females are the more numerous. several entomologists concur in this view. mr. doubleday, however, and some others, take an opposite view, and are convinced that they have reared from the eggs and caterpillars a larger proportion of males than of females. besides the more active habits of the males, their earlier emergence from the cocoon, and in some cases their frequenting more open stations, other causes may be assigned for an apparent or real difference in the proportional numbers of the sexes of lepidoptera, when captured in the imago state, and when reared from the egg or caterpillar state. i hear from professor canestrini, that it is believed by many breeders in italy, that the female caterpillar of the silk-moth suffers more from the recent disease than the male; and dr. staudinger informs me that in rearing lepidoptera more females die in the cocoon than males. with many species the female caterpillar is larger than the male, and a collector would naturally choose the finest specimens, and thus unintentionally collect a larger number of females. three collectors have told me that this was their practice; but dr. wallace is sure that most collectors take all the specimens which they can find of the rarer kinds, which alone are worth the trouble of rearing. birds when surrounded by caterpillars would probably devour the largest; and professor canestrini informs me that in italy some breeders believe, though on insufficient evidence, that in the first broods of the ailanthus silk-moth, the wasps destroy a larger number of the female than of the male caterpillars. dr. wallace further remarks that female caterpillars, from being larger than the males, require more time for their development, and consume more food and moisture: and thus they would be exposed during a longer time to danger from ichneumons, birds, etc., and in times of scarcity would perish in greater numbers. hence it appears quite possible that in a state of nature, fewer female lepidoptera may reach maturity than males; and for our special object we are concerned with their relative numbers at maturity, when the sexes are ready to propagate their kind. the manner in which the males of certain moths congregate in extraordinary numbers round a single female, apparently indicates a great excess of males, though this fact may perhaps be accounted for by the earlier emergence of the males from their cocoons. mr. stainton informs me that from twelve to twenty males, may often be seen congregated round a female elachista rufocinerea. it is well known that if a virgin lasiocampa quercus or saturnia carpini be exposed in a cage, vast numbers of males collect round her, and if confined in a room will even come down the chimney to her. mr. doubleday believes that he has seen from fifty to a hundred males of both these species attracted in the course of a single day by a female in confinement. in the isle of wight mr. trimen exposed a box in which a female of the lasiocampa had been confined on the previous day, and five males soon endeavoured to gain admittance. in australia, mr. verreaux, having placed the female of a small bombyx in a box in his pocket, was followed by a crowd of males, so that about entered the house with him. ( . blanchard, 'metamorphoses, moeurs des insectes,' , pp. - .) mr. doubleday has called my attention to m. staudinger's ( . 'lepidopteren-doubletten liste,' berlin, no. x. .) list of lepidoptera, which gives the prices of the males and females of species or well-marked varieties of butterflies (rhopalocera). the prices for both sexes of the very common species are of course the same; but in of the rarer species they differ; the males being in all cases, excepting one, the cheaper. on an average of the prices of the species, the price of the male to that of the female is as to ; and this apparently indicates that inversely the males exceed the females in the same proportion. about species or varieties of moths (heterocera) are catalogued, those with wingless females being here excluded on account of the difference in habits between the two sexes: of these species, differ in price according to sex, the males of being cheaper, and those of only being dearer than the females. the average price of the males of the species, to that of the females, is as to . with respect to the butterflies in this priced list, mr. doubleday thinks (and no man in england has had more experience), that there is nothing in the habits of the species which can account for the difference in the prices of the two sexes, and that it can be accounted for only by an excess in the number of the males. but i am bound to add that dr. staudinger informs me, that he is himself of a different opinion. he thinks that the less active habits of the females and the earlier emergence of the males will account for his collectors securing a larger number of males than of females, and consequently for the lower prices of the former. with respect to specimens reared from the caterpillar-state, dr. staudinger believes, as previously stated, that a greater number of females than of males die whilst confined to the cocoons. he adds that with certain species one sex seems to preponderate over the other during certain years. of direct observations on the sexes of lepidoptera, reared either from eggs or caterpillars, i have received only the few following cases: (see following table.) so that in these eight lots of cocoons and eggs, males were produced in excess. taken together the proportion of males is as . to females. but the numbers are hardly large enough to be trustworthy. on the whole, from these various sources of evidence, all pointing in the same direction, i infer that with most species of lepidoptera, the mature males generally exceed the females in number, whatever the proportions may be at their first emergence from the egg. males females the rev. j. hellins* of exeter reared, during , imagos of species, which consisted of mr. albert jones of eltham reared, during , imagos of species, which consisted of during he reared imagos from species consisting of mr. buckler of emsworth, hants, during , reared imagos from species, consisting of dr. wallace of colchester reared from one brood of bombyx cynthia dr. wallace raised, from cocoons of bombyx pernyi sent from china, during dr. wallace raised, during and , from two lots of cocoons of bombyx yamamai total (* . this naturalist has been so kind as to send me some results from former years, in which the females seemed to preponderate; but so many of the figures were estimates, that i found it impossible to tabulate them.) with reference to the other orders of insects, i have been able to collect very little reliable information. with the stag-beetle (lucanus cervus) "the males appear to be much more numerous than the females"; but when, as cornelius remarked during , an unusual number of these beetles appeared in one part of germany, the females appeared to exceed the males as six to one. with one of the elateridae, the males are said to be much more numerous than the females, and "two or three are often found united with one female ( . gunther's 'record of zoological literature,' , p. . on the excess of female lucanus, ibid, p. . on the males of lucanus in england, westwood,' 'modern classification of insects,' vol. i. p. . on the siagonium, ibid. p. .); so that here polyandry seems to prevail." with siagonium (staphylinidae), in which the males are furnished with horns, "the females are far more numerous than the opposite sex." mr. janson stated at the entomological society that the females of the bark feeding tomicus villosus are so common as to be a plague, whilst the males are so rare as to be hardly known. it is hardly worth while saying anything about the proportion of the sexes in certain species and even groups of insects, for the males are unknown or very rare, and the females are parthenogenetic, that is, fertile without sexual union; examples of this are afforded by several of the cynipidae. ( . walsh in 'the american entomologist,' vol. i. , p. . f. smith, 'record of zoological lit.' , p. .) in all the gall-making cynipidae known to mr. walsh, the females are four or five times as numerous as the males; and so it is, as he informs me, with the gall-making cecidomyiidae (diptera). with some common species of saw-flies (tenthredinae) mr. f. smith has reared hundreds of specimens from larvae of all sizes, but has never reared a single male; on the other hand, curtis says ( . 'farm insects,' pp. - .), that with certain species (athalia), bred by him, the males were to the females as six to one; whilst exactly the reverse occurred with the mature insects of the same species caught in the fields. in the family of bees, hermann müller ( . 'anwendung der darwin'schen lehre,' verh. d. n. jahrg., xxiv.), collected a large number of specimens of many species, and reared others from the cocoons, and counted the sexes. he found that the males of some species greatly exceeded the females in number; in others the reverse occurred; and in others the two sexes were nearly equal. but as in most cases the males emerge from the cocoons before the females, they are at the commencement of the breeding-season practically in excess. müller also observed that the relative number of the two sexes in some species differed much in different localities. but as h. müller has himself remarked to me, these remarks must be received with some caution, as one sex might more easily escape observation than the other. thus his brother fritz müller has noticed in brazil that the two sexes of the same species of bee sometimes frequent different kinds of flowers. with respect to the orthoptera, i know hardly anything about the relative number of the sexes: korte ( . 'die strich, zug oder wanderheuschrecke,' , p. .), however, says that out of locusts which he examined, the males were to the females as five to six. with the neuroptera, mr. walsh states that in many, but by no means in all the species of the odonatous group, there is a great overplus of males: in the genus hetaerina, also, the males are generally at least four times as numerous as the females. in certain species in the genus gomphus the males are equally in excess, whilst in two other species, the females are twice or thrice as numerous as the males. in some european species of psocus thousands of females may be collected without a single male, whilst with other species of the same genus both sexes are common. ( . 'observations on n. american neuroptera,' by h. hagen and b.d. walsh, 'proceedings, ent. soc. philadelphia,' oct. , pp. , , .) in england, mr. maclachlan has captured hundreds of the female apatania muliebris, but has never seen the male; and of boreus hyemalis only four or five males have been seen here. ( . 'proceedings, ent. soc. london,' feb. , .) with most of these species (excepting the tenthredinae) there is at present no evidence that the females are subject to parthenogenesis; and thus we see how ignorant we are of the causes of the apparent discrepancy in the proportion of the two sexes. in the other classes of the articulata i have been able to collect still less information. with spiders, mr. blackwall, who has carefully attended to this class during many years, writes to me that the males from their more erratic habits are more commonly seen, and therefore appear more numerous. this is actually the case with a few species; but he mentions several species in six genera, in which the females appear to be much more numerous than the males. ( . another great authority with respect to this class, prof. thorell of upsala ('on european spiders,' - , part i. p. ), speaks as if female spiders were generally commoner than the males.) the small size of the males in comparison with the females (a peculiarity which is sometimes carried to an extreme degree), and their widely different appearance, may account in some instances for their rarity in collections. ( . see, on this subject, mr. o.p. cambridge, as quoted in 'quarterly journal of science,' , page .) some of the lower crustaceans are able to propagate their kind sexually, and this will account for the extreme rarity of the males; thus von siebold ( . 'beiträge zur parthenogenesis,' p. .) carefully examined no less than , specimens of apus from twenty-one localities, and amongst these he found only males. with some other forms (as tanais and cypris), as fritz müller informs me, there is reason to believe that the males are much shorter-lived than the females; and this would explain their scarcity, supposing the two sexes to be at first equal in number. on the other hand, müller has invariably taken far more males than females of the diastylidae and of cypridina on the shores of brazil: thus with a species in the latter genus, specimens caught the same day included males; but he suggests that this preponderance may be due to some unknown difference in the habits of the two sexes. with one of the higher brazilian crabs, namely a gelasimus, fritz müller found the males to be more numerous than the females. according to the large experience of mr. c. spence bate, the reverse seems to be the case with six common british crabs, the names of which he has given me. the proportion of the sexes in relation to natural selection. there is reason to suspect that in some cases man has by selection indirectly influenced his own sex-producing powers. certain women tend to produce during their whole lives more children of one sex than of the other: and the same holds good of many animals, for instance, cows and horses; thus mr. wright of yeldersley house informs me that one of his arab mares, though put seven times to different horses, produced seven fillies. though i have very little evidence on this head, analogy would lead to the belief, that the tendency to produce either sex would be inherited like almost every other peculiarity, for instance, that of producing twins; and concerning the above tendency a good authority, mr. j. downing, has communicated to me facts which seem to prove that this does occur in certain families of short-horn cattle. col. marshall ( . 'the todas,' , pp. , , , .) has recently found on careful examination that the todas, a hill-tribe of india, consist of males and females of all ages--that is in a ratio of . males to females. the todas, who are polyandrous in their marriages, during former times invariably practised female infanticide; but this practice has now been discontinued for a considerable period. of the children born within late years, the males are more numerous than the females, in the proportion of to . colonel marshall accounts for this fact in the following ingenious manner. "let us for the purpose of illustration take three families as representing an average of the entire tribe; say that one mother gives birth to six daughters and no sons; a second mother has six sons only, whilst the third mother has three sons and three daughters. the first mother, following the tribal custom, destroys four daughters and preserves two. the second retains her six sons. the third kills two daughters and keeps one, as also her three sons. we have then from the three families, nine sons and three daughters, with which to continue the breed. but whilst the males belong to families in which the tendency to produce sons is great, the females are of those of a converse inclination. thus the bias strengthens with each generation, until, as we find, families grow to have habitually more sons than daughters." that this result would follow from the above form of infanticide seems almost certain; that is if we assume that a sex-producing tendency is inherited. but as the above numbers are so extremely scanty, i have searched for additional evidence, but cannot decide whether what i have found is trustworthy; nevertheless the facts are, perhaps, worth giving. the maories of new zealand have long practised infanticide; and mr. fenton ( . 'aboriginal inhabitants of new zealand: government report,' , p. .) states that he "has met with instances of women who have destroyed four, six, and even seven children, mostly females. however, the universal testimony of those best qualified to judge, is conclusive that this custom has for many years been almost extinct. probably the year may be named as the period of its ceasing to exist." now amongst the new zealanders, as with the todas, male births are considerably in excess. mr. fenton remarks (p. ), "one fact is certain, although the exact period of the commencement of this singular condition of the disproportion of the sexes cannot be demonstratively fixed, it is quite clear that this course of decrease was in full operation during the years to , when the non-adult population of was being produced, and has continued with great energy up to the present time." the following statements are taken from mr. fenton (p. ), but as the numbers are not large, and as the census was not accurate, uniform results cannot be expected. it should be borne in mind in this and the following cases, that the normal state of every population is an excess of women, at least in all civilised countries, chiefly owing to the greater mortality of the male sex during youth, and partly to accidents of all kinds later in life. in , the native population of new zealand was estimated as consisting of , males and , females of all ages, that is in the ratio of . males to females. but during this same year, and in certain limited districts, the numbers were ascertained with much care, and the males of all ages were here and the females ; that is in the ratio of . males to females. it is more important for us that during this same year of , the non-adult males within the same district were found to be , and the non-adult females , that is in the ratio of . to . it may be added that in , at which period female infanticide had only lately ceased, the non-adult males in one district were , and the non-adult females only , that is in the ratio of . males to females. in the sandwich islands, the males exceed the females in number. infanticide was formerly practised there to a frightful extent, but was by no means confined to female infants, as is shewn by mr. ellis ( . 'narrative of a tour through hawaii,' , p. .), and as i have been informed by bishop staley and the rev. mr. coan. nevertheless, another apparently trustworthy writer, mr. jarves ( . 'history of the sandwich islands,' , p. .), whose observations apply to the whole archipelago, remarks:--"numbers of women are to be found, who confess to the murder of from three to six or eight children," and he adds, "females from being considered less useful than males were more often destroyed." from what is known to occur in other parts of the world, this statement is probable; but must be received with much caution. the practice of infanticide ceased about the year , when idolatry was abolished and missionaries settled in the islands. a careful census in of the adult and taxable men and women in the island of kauai and in one district of oahu (jarves, p. ), gives males and females; that is in the ratio of . to . at the same time the number of males under fourteen years in kauai and under eighteen in oahu was , and of females of the same ages ; and here we have the ratio of . males to females. in a census of all the islands in ( . this is given in the rev. h.t. cheever's 'life in the sandwich islands,' , p. .), the males of all ages amount to , , and the females to , , or as . to . the males under seventeen years amounted to , , and the females under the same age to , or as . to . from the census of , the proportion of males of all ages (including half-castes) to females, is as . to . it must be borne in mind that all these returns for the sandwich islands give the proportion of living males to living females, and not of the births; and judging from all civilised countries the proportion of males would have been considerably higher if the numbers had referred to births. ( . dr. coulter, in describing ('journal r. geograph. soc.' vol. v. , p. ) the state of california about the year , says that the natives, reclaimed by the spanish missionaries, have nearly all perished, or are perishing, although well treated, not driven from their native land, and kept from the use of spirits. he attributes this, in great part, to the undoubted fact that the men greatly exceed the women in number; but he does not know whether this is due to a failure of female offspring, or to more females dying during early youth. the latter alternative, according to all analogy, is very improbable. he adds that "infanticide, properly so called, is not common, though very frequent recourse is had to abortion." if dr. coulter is correct about infanticide, this case cannot be advanced in support of colonel marshall's view. from the rapid decrease of the reclaimed natives, we may suspect that, as in the cases lately given, their fertility has been diminished from changed habits of life. i had hoped to gain some light on this subject from the breeding of dogs; inasmuch as in most breeds, with the exception, perhaps, of greyhounds, many more female puppies are destroyed than males, just as with the toda infants. mr. cupples assures me that this is usual with scotch deer-hounds. unfortunately, i know nothing of the proportion of the sexes in any breed, excepting greyhounds, and there the male births are to the females as . to . now from enquiries made from many breeders, it seems that the females are in some respects more esteemed, though otherwise troublesome; and it does not appear that the female puppies of the best-bred dogs are systematically destroyed more than the males, though this does sometimes take place to a limited extent. therefore i am unable to decide whether we can, on the above principles, account for the preponderance of male births in greyhounds. on the other hand, we have seen that with horses, cattle, and sheep, which are too valuable for the young of either sex to be destroyed, if there is any difference, the females are slightly in excess.) from the several foregoing cases we have some reason to believe that infanticide practised in the manner above explained, tends to make a male-producing race; but i am far from supposing that this practice in the case of man, or some analogous process with other species, has been the sole determining cause of an excess of males. there may be some unknown law leading to this result in decreasing races, which have already become somewhat infertile. besides the several causes previously alluded to, the greater facility of parturition amongst savages, and the less consequent injury to their male infants, would tend to increase the proportion of live-born males to females. there does not, however, seem to be any necessary connection between savage life and a marked excess of males; that is if we may judge by the character of the scanty offspring of the lately existing tasmanians and of the crossed offspring of the tahitians now inhabiting norfolk island. as the males and females of many animals differ somewhat in habits and are exposed in different degrees to danger, it is probable that in many cases, more of one sex than of the other are habitually destroyed. but as far as i can trace out the complication of causes, an indiscriminate though large destruction of either sex would not tend to modify the sex-producing power of the species. with strictly social animals, such as bees or ants, which produce a vast number of sterile and fertile females in comparison with the males, and to whom this preponderance is of paramount importance, we can see that those communities would flourish best which contained females having a strong inherited tendency to produce more and more females; and in such cases an unequal sex-producing tendency would be ultimately gained through natural selection. with animals living in herds or troops, in which the males come to the front and defend the herd, as with the bisons of north america and certain baboons, it is conceivable that a male-producing tendency might be gained by natural selection; for the individuals of the better defended herds would leave more numerous descendants. in the case of mankind the advantage arising from having a preponderance of men in the tribe is supposed to be one chief cause of the practice of female infanticide. in no case, as far as we can see, would an inherited tendency to produce both sexes in equal numbers or to produce one sex in excess, be a direct advantage or disadvantage to certain individuals more than to others; for instance, an individual with a tendency to produce more males than females would not succeed better in the battle for life than an individual with an opposite tendency; and therefore a tendency of this kind could not be gained through natural selection. nevertheless, there are certain animals (for instance, fishes and cirripedes) in which two or more males appear to be necessary for the fertilisation of the female; and the males accordingly largely preponderate, but it is by no means obvious how this male-producing tendency could have been acquired. i formerly thought that when a tendency to produce the two sexes in equal numbers was advantageous to the species, it would follow from natural selection, but i now see that the whole problem is so intricate that it is safer to leave its solution for the future. chapter ix. secondary sexual characters in the lower classes of the animal kingdom. these characters absent in the lowest classes--brilliant colours--mollusca --annelids--crustacea, secondary sexual characters strongly developed; dimorphism; colour; characters not acquired before maturity--spiders, sexual colours of; stridulation by the males--myriapoda. with animals belonging to the lower classes, the two sexes are not rarely united in the same individual, and therefore secondary sexual characters cannot be developed. in many cases where the sexes are separate, both are permanently attached to some support, and the one cannot search or struggle for the other. moreover it is almost certain that these animals have too imperfect senses and much too low mental powers to appreciate each other's beauty or other attractions, or to feel rivalry. hence in these classes or sub-kingdoms, such as the protozoa, coelenterata, echinodermata, scolecida, secondary sexual characters, of the kind which we have to consider, do not occur: and this fact agrees with the belief that such characters in the higher classes have been acquired through sexual selection, which depends on the will, desire, and choice of either sex. nevertheless some few apparent exceptions occur; thus, as i hear from dr. baird, the males of certain entozoa, or internal parasitic worms, differ slightly in colour from the females; but we have no reason to suppose that such differences have been augmented through sexual selection. contrivances by which the male holds the female, and which are indispensable for the propagation of the species, are independent of sexual selection, and have been acquired through ordinary selection. many of the lower animals, whether hermaphrodites or with separate sexes, are ornamented with the most brilliant tints, or are shaded and striped in an elegant manner; for instance, many corals and sea-anemones (actiniae), some jelly-fish (medusae, porpita, etc.), some planariae, many star-fishes, echini, ascidians, etc.; but we may conclude from the reasons already indicated, namely, the union of the two sexes in some of these animals, the permanently affixed condition of others, and the low mental powers of all, that such colours do not serve as a sexual attraction, and have not been acquired through sexual selection. it should be borne in mind that in no case have we sufficient evidence that colours have been thus acquired, except where one sex is much more brilliantly or conspicuously coloured than the other, and where there is no difference in habits between the sexes sufficient to account for their different colours. but the evidence is rendered as complete as it can ever be, only when the more ornamented individuals, almost always the males, voluntarily display their attractions before the other sex; for we cannot believe that such display is useless, and if it be advantageous, sexual selection will almost inevitably follow. we may, however, extend this conclusion to both sexes, when coloured alike, if their colours are plainly analogous to those of one sex alone in certain other species of the same group. how, then, are we to account for the beautiful or even gorgeous colours of many animals in the lowest classes? it appears doubtful whether such colours often serve as a protection; but that we may easily err on this head, will be admitted by every one who reads mr. wallace's excellent essay on this subject. it would not, for instance, at first occur to any one that the transparency of the medusae, or jelly-fish, is of the highest service to them as a protection; but when we are reminded by haeckel that not only the medusae, but many floating mollusca, crustaceans, and even small oceanic fishes partake of this same glass-like appearance, often accompanied by prismatic colours, we can hardly doubt that they thus escape the notice of pelagic birds and other enemies. m. giard is also convinced ( . 'archives de zoolog. exper.' oct. , p. .) that the bright tints of certain sponges and ascidians serve as a protection. conspicuous colours are likewise beneficial to many animals as a warning to their would-be devourers that they are distasteful, or that they possess some special means of defence; but this subject will be discussed more conveniently hereafter. we can, in our ignorance of most of the lowest animals, only say that their bright tints result either from the chemical nature or the minute structure of their tissues, independently of any benefit thus derived. hardly any colour is finer than that of arterial blood; but there is no reason to suppose that the colour of the blood is in itself any advantage; and though it adds to the beauty of the maiden's cheek, no one will pretend that it has been acquired for this purpose. so again with many animals, especially the lower ones, the bile is richly coloured; thus, as i am informed by mr. hancock, the extreme beauty of the eolidae (naked sea-slugs) is chiefly due to the biliary glands being seen through the translucent integuments--this beauty being probably of no service to these animals. the tints of the decaying leaves in an american forest are described by every one as gorgeous; yet no one supposes that these tints are of the least advantage to the trees. bearing in mind how many substances closely analogous to natural organic compounds have been recently formed by chemists, and which exhibit the most splendid colours, it would have been a strange fact if substances similarly coloured had not often originated, independently of any useful end thus gained, in the complex laboratory of living organisms. the sub-kingdom of the mollusca. throughout this great division of the animal kingdom, as far as i can discover, secondary sexual characters, such as we are here considering, never occur. nor could they be expected in the three lowest classes, namely, in the ascidians, polyzoa, and brachiopods (constituting the molluscoida of some authors), for most of these animals are permanently affixed to a support or have their sexes united in the same individual. in the lamellibranchiata, or bivalve shells, hermaphroditism is not rare. in the next higher class of the gasteropoda, or univalve shells, the sexes are either united or separate. but in the latter case the males never possess special organs for finding, securing, or charming the females, or for fighting with other males. as i am informed by mr. gwyn jeffreys, the sole external difference between the sexes consists in the shell sometimes differing a little in form; for instance, the shell of the male periwinkle (littorina littorea) is narrower and has a more elongated spire than that of the female. but differences of this nature, it may be presumed, are directly connected with the act of reproduction, or with the development of the ova. the gasteropoda, though capable of locomotion and furnished with imperfect eyes, do not appear to be endowed with sufficient mental powers for the members of the same sex to struggle together in rivalry, and thus to acquire secondary sexual characters. nevertheless with the pulmoniferous gasteropods, or land-snails, the pairing is preceded by courtship; for these animals, though hermaphrodites, are compelled by their structure to pair together. agassiz remarks, "quiconque a eu l'occasion d'observer les amours des limaçons, ne saurait mettre en doute la séduction deployée dans les mouvements et les allures qui préparent et accomplissent le double embrassement de ces hermaphrodites." ( . 'de l'espèce et de la class.' etc., , p. .) these animals appear also susceptible of some degree of permanent attachment: an accurate observer, mr. lonsdale, informs me that he placed a pair of land-snails, (helix pomatia), one of which was weakly, into a small and ill-provided garden. after a short time the strong and healthy individual disappeared, and was traced by its track of slime over a wall into an adjoining well-stocked garden. mr. lonsdale concluded that it had deserted its sickly mate; but after an absence of twenty-four hours it returned, and apparently communicated the result of its successful exploration, for both then started along the same track and disappeared over the wall. even in the highest class of the mollusca, the cephalopoda or cuttle-fishes, in which the sexes are separate, secondary sexual characters of the present kind do not, as far as i can discover, occur. this is a surprising circumstance, as these animals possess highly-developed sense-organs and have considerable mental powers, as will be admitted by every one who has watched their artful endeavours to escape from an enemy. ( . see, for instance, the account which i have given in my 'journal of researches,' , p. .) certain cephalopoda, however, are characterised by one extraordinary sexual character, namely that the male element collects within one of the arms or tentacles, which is then cast off, and clinging by its sucking-discs to the female, lives for a time an independent life. so completely does the cast-off arm resemble a separate animal, that it was described by cuvier as a parasitic worm under the name of hectocotyle. but this marvellous structure may be classed as a primary rather than as a secondary sexual character. although with the mollusca sexual selection does not seem to have come into play; yet many univalve and bivalve shells, such as volutes, cones, scallops, etc., are beautifully coloured and shaped. the colours do not appear in most cases to be of any use as a protection; they are probably the direct result, as in the lowest classes, of the nature of the tissues; the patterns and the sculpture of the shell depending on its manner of growth. the amount of light seems to be influential to a certain extent; for although, as repeatedly stated by mr. gwyn jeffreys, the shells of some species living at a profound depth are brightly coloured, yet we generally see the lower surfaces, as well as the parts covered by the mantle, less highly-coloured than the upper and exposed surfaces. ( . i have given ('geological observations on volcanic islands,' , p. ) a curious instance of the influence of light on the colours of a frondescent incrustation, deposited by the surf on the coast-rocks of ascension and formed by the solution of triturated sea-shells.) in some cases, as with shells living amongst corals or brightly-tinted seaweeds, the bright colours may serve as a protection. ( . dr. morse has lately discussed this subject in his paper on the 'adaptive coloration of mollusca,' 'proc. boston soc. of nat. hist.' vol. xiv. april .) but that many of the nudibranch mollusca, or sea-slugs, are as beautifully coloured as any shells, may be seen in messrs. alder and hancock's magnificent work; and from information kindly given me by mr. hancock, it seems extremely doubtful whether these colours usually serve as a protection. with some species this may be the case, as with one kind which lives on the green leaves of algae, and is itself bright-green. but many brightly-coloured, white, or otherwise conspicuous species, do not seek concealment; whilst again some equally conspicuous species, as well as other dull-coloured kinds live under stones and in dark recesses. so that with these nudibranch molluscs, colour apparently does not stand in any close relation to the nature of the places which they inhabit. these naked sea-slugs are hermaphrodites, yet they pair together, as do land-snails, many of which have extremely pretty shells. it is conceivable that two hermaphrodites, attracted by each other's greater beauty, might unite and leave offspring which would inherit their parents' greater beauty. but with such lowly-organised creatures this is extremely improbable. nor is it at all obvious how the offspring from the more beautiful pairs of hermaphrodites would have any advantage over the offspring of the less beautiful, so as to increase in number, unless indeed vigour and beauty generally coincided. we have not here the case of a number of males becoming mature before the females, with the more beautiful males selected by the more vigorous females. if, indeed, brilliant colours were beneficial to a hermaphrodite animal in relation to its general habits of life, the more brightly-tinted individuals would succeed best and would increase in number; but this would be a case of natural and not of sexual selection. sub-kingdom of the vermes: class, annelida (or sea-worms). in this class, although the sexes, when separate, sometimes differ from each other in characters of such importance that they have been placed under distinct genera or even families, yet the differences do not seem of the kind which can be safely attributed to sexual selection. these animals are often beautifully coloured, but as the sexes do not differ in this respect, we are but little concerned with them. even the nemertians, though so lowly organised, "vie in beauty and variety of colouring with any other group in the invertebrate series"; yet dr. mcintosh ( . see his beautiful monograph on 'british annelids,' part i. , p. .) cannot discover that these colours are of any service. the sedentary annelids become duller-coloured, according to m. quatrefages ( . see m. perrier: 'l'origine de l'homme d'après darwin,' 'revue scientifique', feb. , p. .), after the period of reproduction; and this i presume may be attributed to their less vigorous condition at that time. all these worm-like animals apparently stand too low in the scale for the individuals of either sex to exert any choice in selecting a partner, or for the individuals of the same sex to struggle together in rivalry. sub-kingdom of the arthropoda: class, crustacea. in this great class we first meet with undoubted secondary sexual characters, often developed in a remarkable manner. unfortunately the habits of crustaceans are very imperfectly known, and we cannot explain the uses of many structures peculiar to one sex. with the lower parasitic species the males are of small size, and they alone are furnished with perfect swimming-legs, antennae and sense-organs; the females being destitute of these organs, with their bodies often consisting of a mere distorted mass. but these extraordinary differences between the two sexes are no doubt related to their widely different habits of life, and consequently do not concern us. in various crustaceans, belonging to distinct families, the anterior antennae are furnished with peculiar thread-like bodies, which are believed to act as smelling-organs, and these are much more numerous in the males than in the females. as the males, without any unusual development of their olfactory organs, would almost certainly be able sooner or later to find the females, the increased number of the smelling-threads has probably been acquired through sexual selection, by the better provided males having been the more successful in finding partners and in producing offspring. fritz müller has described a remarkable dimorphic species of tanais, in which the male is represented by two distinct forms, which never graduate into each other. in the one form the male is furnished with more numerous smelling-threads, and in the other form with more powerful and more elongated chelae or pincers, which serve to hold the female. fritz müller suggests that these differences between the two male forms of the same species may have originated in certain individuals having varied in the number of the smelling-threads, whilst other individuals varied in the shape and size of their chelae; so that of the former, those which were best able to find the female, and of the latter, those which were best able to hold her, have left the greatest number of progeny to inherit their respective advantages. ( . 'facts and arguments for darwin,' english translat., , p. . see the previous discussion on the olfactory threads. sars has described a somewhat analogous case (as quoted in 'nature,' , p. ) in a norwegian crustacean, the pontoporeia affinis.) [fig. . labidocera darwinii (from lubbock). labelled are: a. part of right anterior antenna of male, forming a prehensile organ. b. posterior pair of thoracic legs of male. c. ditto of female.] in some of the lower crustaceans, the right anterior antenna of the male differs greatly in structure from the left, the latter resembling in its simple tapering joints the antennae of the female. in the male the modified antenna is either swollen in the middle or angularly bent, or converted (fig. ) into an elegant, and sometimes wonderfully complex, prehensile organ. ( . see sir j. lubbock in 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.' vol. xi. , pl. i. and x.; and vol. xii. ( ), pl. vii. see also lubbock in 'transactions, entomological society,' vol. iv. new series, - , p. . with respect to the zigzagged antennae mentioned below, see fritz müller, 'facts and arguments for darwin,' , p. , foot-note.) it serves, as i hear from sir j. lubbock, to hold the female, and for this same purpose one of the two posterior legs (b) on the same side of the body is converted into a forceps. in another family the inferior or posterior antennae are "curiously zigzagged" in the males alone. [fig. . anterior part of body of callianassa (from milne-edwards), showing the unequal and differently-constructed right and left-hand chelae of the male. n.b.--the artist by mistake has reversed the drawing, and made the left-hand chela the largest. fig. . second leg of male orchestia tucuratinga (from fritz müller). fig. . ditto of female.] in the higher crustaceans the anterior legs are developed into chelae or pincers; and these are generally larger in the male than in the female,--so much so that the market value of the male edible crab (cancer pagurus), according to mr. c. spence bate, is five times as great as that of the female. in many species the chelae are of unequal size on the opposite side of the body, the right-hand one being, as i am informed by mr. bate, generally, though not invariably, the largest. this inequality is also often much greater in the male than in the female. the two chelae of the male often differ in structure (figs. , , and ), the smaller one resembling that of the female. what advantage is gained by their inequality in size on the opposite sides of the body, and by the inequality being much greater in the male than in the female; and why, when they are of equal size, both are often much larger in the male than in the female, is not known. as i hear from mr. bate, the chelae are sometimes of such length and size that they cannot possibly be used for carrying food to the mouth. in the males of certain fresh-water prawns (palaemon) the right leg is actually longer than the whole body. ( . see a paper by mr. c. spence bate, with figures, in 'proceedings, zoological society,' , p. ; and on the nomenclature of the genus, ibid. p. . i am greatly indebted to mr. spence bate for nearly all the above statements with respect to the chelae of the higher crustaceans.) the great size of the one leg with its chelae may aid the male in fighting with his rivals; but this will not account for their inequality in the female on the opposite sides of the body. in gelasimus, according to a statement quoted by milne edwards ( . 'hist. nat. des crust.' tom. ii. , p. .), the male and the female live in the same burrow, and this shews that they pair; the male closes the mouth of the burrow with one of its chelae, which is enormously developed; so that here it indirectly serves as a means of defence. their main use, however, is probably to seize and to secure the female, and this in some instances, as with gammarus, is known to be the case. the male of the hermit or soldier crab (pagurus) for weeks together, carries about the shell inhabited by the female. ( . mr. c. spence bate, 'british association, fourth report on the fauna of s. devon.') the sexes, however, of the common shore-crab (carcinus maenas), as mr. bate informs me, unite directly after the female has moulted her hard shell, when she is so soft that she would be injured if seized by the strong pincers of the male; but as she is caught and carried about by the male before moulting, she could then be seized with impunity. [fig. . orchestia darwinii (from fritz müller), showing the differently-constructed chelae of the two male forms.] fritz müller states that certain species of melita are distinguished from all other amphipods by the females having "the coxal lamellae of the penultimate pair of feet produced into hook-like processes, of which the males lay hold with the hands of the first pair." the development of these hook-like processes has probably followed from those females which were the most securely held during the act of reproduction, having left the largest number of offspring. another brazilian amphipod (see orchestia darwinii, fig. ) presents a case of dimorphism, like that of tanais; for there are two male forms, which differ in the structure of their chelae. ( . fritz müller, 'facts and arguments for darwin,' , pp. - .) as either chela would certainly suffice to hold the female,--for both are now used for this purpose,--the two male forms probably originated by some having varied in one manner and some in another; both forms having derived certain special, but nearly equal advantages, from their differently shaped organs. it is not known that male crustaceans fight together for the possession of the females, but it is probably the case; for with most animals when the male is larger than the female, he seems to owe his greater size to his ancestors having fought with other males during many generations. in most of the orders, especially in the highest or the brachyura, the male is larger than the female; the parasitic genera, however, in which the sexes follow different habits of life, and most of the entomostraca must be excepted. the chelae of many crustaceans are weapons well adapted for fighting. thus when a devil-crab (portunus puber) was seen by a son of mr. bate fighting with a carcinus maenas, the latter was soon thrown on its back, and had every limb torn from its body. when several males of a brazilian gelasimus, a species furnished with immense pincers, were placed together in a glass vessel by fritz müller, they mutilated and killed one another. mr. bate put a large male carcinus maenas into a pan of water, inhabited by a female which was paired with a smaller male; but the latter was soon dispossessed. mr. bate adds, "if they fought, the victory was a bloodless one, for i saw no wounds." this same naturalist separated a male sand-skipper (so common on our sea-shores), gammarus marinus, from its female, both of whom were imprisoned in the same vessel with many individuals of the same species. the female, when thus divorced, soon joined the others. after a time the male was put again into the same vessel; and he then, after swimming about for a time, dashed into the crowd, and without any fighting at once took away his wife. this fact shews that in the amphipoda, an order low in the scale, the males and females recognise each other, and are mutually attached. the mental powers of the crustacea are probably higher than at first sight appears probable. any one who tries to catch one of the shore-crabs, so common on tropical coasts, will perceive how wary and alert they are. there is a large crab (birgus latro), found on coral islands, which makes a thick bed of the picked fibres of the cocoa-nut, at the bottom of a deep burrow. it feeds on the fallen fruit of this tree by tearing off the husk, fibre by fibre; and it always begins at that end where the three eye-like depressions are situated. it then breaks through one of these eyes by hammering with its heavy front pincers, and turning round, extracts the albuminous core with its narrow posterior pincers. but these actions are probably instinctive, so that they would be performed as well by a young animal as by an old one. the following case, however, can hardly be so considered: a trustworthy naturalist, mr. gardner ( . 'travels in the interior of brazil,' , p. . i have given, in my 'journal of researches,' p. , an account of the habits of the birgus.), whilst watching a shore-crab (gelasimus) making its burrow, threw some shells towards the hole. one rolled in, and three other shells remained within a few inches of the mouth. in about five minutes the crab brought out the shell which had fallen in, and carried it away to a distance of a foot; it then saw the three other shells lying near, and evidently thinking that they might likewise roll in, carried them to the spot where it had laid the first. it would, i think, be difficult to distinguish this act from one performed by man by the aid of reason. mr. bate does not know of any well-marked case of difference of colour in the two sexes of our british crustaceans, in which respect the sexes of the higher animals so often differ. in some cases, however, the males and females differ slightly in tint, but mr. bate thinks not more than may be accounted for by their different habits of life, such as by the male wandering more about, and being thus more exposed to the light. dr. power tried to distinguish by colour the sexes of the several species which inhabit the mauritius, but failed, except with one species of squilla, probably s. stylifera, the male of which is described as being "of a beautiful bluish-green," with some of the appendages cherry-red, whilst the female is clouded with brown and grey, "with the red about her much less vivid than in the male." ( . mr. ch. fraser, in 'proc. zoolog. soc.' , p. . i am indebted to mr. bate for dr. power's statement.) in this case, we may suspect the agency of sexual selection. from m. bert's observations on daphnia, when placed in a vessel illuminated by a prism, we have reason to believe that even the lowest crustaceans can distinguish colours. with saphirina (an oceanic genus of entomostraca), the males are furnished with minute shields or cell-like bodies, which exhibit beautiful changing colours; these are absent in the females, and in both sexes of one species. ( . claus, 'die freilebenden copepoden,' , s. .) it would, however, be extremely rash to conclude that these curious organs serve to attract the females. i am informed by fritz müller, that in the female of a brazilian species of gelasimus, the whole body is of a nearly uniform greyish-brown. in the male the posterior part of the cephalo-thorax is pure white, with the anterior part of a rich green, shading into dark brown; and it is remarkable that these colours are liable to change in the course of a few minutes--the white becoming dirty grey or even black, the green "losing much of its brilliancy." it deserves especial notice that the males do not acquire their bright colours until they become mature. they appear to be much more numerous than the females; they differ also in the larger size of their chelae. in some species of the genus, probably in all, the sexes pair and inhabit the same burrow. they are also, as we have seen, highly intelligent animals. from these various considerations it seems probable that the male in this species has become gaily ornamented in order to attract or excite the female. it has just been stated that the male gelasimus does not acquire his conspicuous colours until mature and nearly ready to breed. this seems a general rule in the whole class in respect to the many remarkable structural differences between the sexes. we shall hereafter find the same law prevailing throughout the great sub-kingdom of the vertebrata; and in all cases it is eminently distinctive of characters which have been acquired through sexual selection. fritz müller ( . 'facts and arguments,' etc., p. .) gives some striking instances of this law; thus the male sand-hopper (orchestia) does not, until nearly full grown, acquire his large claspers, which are very differently constructed from those of the female; whilst young, his claspers resemble those of the female. class, arachnida (spiders). the sexes do not generally differ much in colour, but the males are often darker than the females, as may be seen in mr. blackwall's magnificent work. ( . 'a history of the spiders of great britain,' - . for the following facts, see pp. , , .) in some species, however, the difference is conspicuous: thus the female of sparassus smaragdulus is dullish green, whilst the adult male has the abdomen of a fine yellow, with three longitudinal stripes of rich red. in certain species of thomisus the sexes closely resemble each other, in others they differ much; and analogous cases occur in many other genera. it is often difficult to say which of the two sexes departs most from the ordinary coloration of the genus to which the species belong; but mr. blackwall thinks that, as a general rule, it is the male; and canestrini ( . this author has recently published a valuable essay on the 'caratteri sessuali secondarii degli arachnidi,' in the 'atti della soc. veneto-trentina di sc. nat. padova,' vol. i. fasc. , .) remarks that in certain genera the males can be specifically distinguished with ease, but the females with great difficulty. i am informed by mr. blackwall that the sexes whilst young usually resemble each other; and both often undergo great changes in colour during their successive moults, before arriving at maturity. in other cases the male alone appears to change colour. thus the male of the above bright-coloured sparassus at first resembles the female, and acquires his peculiar tints only when nearly adult. spiders are possessed of acute senses, and exhibit much intelligence; as is well known, the females often shew the strongest affection for their eggs, which they carry about enveloped in a silken web. the males search eagerly for the females, and have been seen by canestrini and others to fight for possession of them. this same author says that the union of the two sexes has been observed in about twenty species; and he asserts positively that the female rejects some of the males who court her, threatens them with open mandibles, and at last after long hesitation accepts the chosen one. from these several considerations, we may admit with some confidence that the well-marked differences in colour between the sexes of certain species are the results of sexual selection; though we have not here the best kind of evidence,--the display by the male of his ornaments. from the extreme variability of colour in the male of some species, for instance of theridion lineatum, it would appear that these sexual characters of the males have not as yet become well fixed. canestrini draws the same conclusion from the fact that the males of certain species present two forms, differing from each other in the size and length of their jaws; and this reminds us of the above cases of dimorphic crustaceans. the male is generally much smaller than the female, sometimes to an extraordinary degree ( . aug. vinson ('araneides des iles de la reunion,' pl. vi. figs. and ) gives a good instance of the small size of the male, in epeira nigra. in this species, as i may add, the male is testaceous and the female black with legs banded with red. other even more striking cases of inequality in size between the sexes have been recorded ('quarterly journal of science,' july , p. ); but i have not seen the original accounts.), and he is forced to be extremely cautious in making his advances, as the female often carries her coyness to a dangerous pitch. de geer saw a male that "in the midst of his preparatory caresses was seized by the object of his attentions, enveloped by her in a web and then devoured, a sight which, as he adds, filled him with horror and indignation." ( . kirby and spence, 'introduction to entomology,' vol. i. , p. .) the rev. o.p. cambridge ( . 'proceedings, zoological society,' , p. .) accounts in the following manner for the extreme smallness of the male in the genus nephila. "m. vinson gives a graphic account of the agile way in which the diminutive male escapes from the ferocity of the female, by gliding about and playing hide and seek over her body and along her gigantic limbs: in such a pursuit it is evident that the chances of escape would be in favour of the smallest males, while the larger ones would fall early victims; thus gradually a diminutive race of males would be selected, until at last they would dwindle to the smallest possible size compatible with the exercise of their generative functions,--in fact, probably to the size we now see them, i.e., so small as to be a sort of parasite upon the female, and either beneath her notice, or too agile and too small for her to catch without great difficulty." westring has made the interesting discovery that the males of several species of theridion ( . theridion (asagena, sund.) serratipes, -punctatum et guttatum; see westring, in kroyer, 'naturhist. tidskrift,' vol. iv. - , p. ; and vol. ii. - , p. . see, also, for other species, 'araneae suecicae,' p. .) have the power of making a stridulating sound, whilst the females are mute. the apparatus consists of a serrated ridge at the base of the abdomen, against which the hard hinder part of the thorax is rubbed; and of this structure not a trace can be detected in the females. it deserves notice that several writers, including the well-known arachnologist walckenaer, have declared that spiders are attracted by music. ( . dr. h.h. van zouteveen, in his dutch translation of this work (vol. i. p. ), has collected several cases.) from the analogy of the orthoptera and homoptera, to be described in the next chapter, we may feel almost sure that the stridulation serves, as westring also believes, to call or to excite the female; and this is the first case known to me in the ascending scale of the animal kingdom of sounds emitted for this purpose. ( . hilgendorf, however, has lately called attention to an analogous structure in some of the higher crustaceans, which seems adapted to produce sound; see 'zoological record,' , p. .) class, myriapoda. in neither of the two orders in this class, the millipedes and centipedes, can i find any well-marked instances of such sexual differences as more particularly concern us. in glomeris limbata, however, and perhaps in some few other species, the males differ slightly in colour from the females; but this glomeris is a highly variable species. in the males of the diplopoda, the legs belonging either to one of the anterior or of the posterior segments of the body are modified into prehensile hooks which serve to secure the female. in some species of iulus the tarsi of the male are furnished with membranous suckers for the same purpose. as we shall see when we treat of insects, it is a much more unusual circumstance, that it is the female in lithobius, which is furnished with prehensile appendages at the extremity of her body for holding the male. ( . walckenaer et p. gervais, 'hist. nat. des insectes: apteres,' tom. iv. , pp. , , .) chapter x. secondary sexual characters of insects. diversified structures possessed by the males for seizing the females--differences between the sexes, of which the meaning is not understood--difference in size between the sexes--thysanura--diptera--hemiptera--homoptera, musical powers possessed by the males alone--orthoptera, musical instruments of the males, much diversified in structure; pugnacity; colours--neuroptera, sexual differences in colour--hymenoptera, pugnacity and odours--coleoptera, colours; furnished with great horns, apparently as an ornament; battles, stridulating organs generally common to both sexes. in the immense class of insects the sexes sometimes differ in their locomotive-organs, and often in their sense-organs, as in the pectinated and beautifully plumose antennae of the males of many species. in chloeon, one of the ephemerae, the male has great pillared eyes, of which the female is entirely destitute. ( . sir j. lubbock, 'transact. linnean soc.' vol. xxv, , p. . with respect to the mutillidae see westwood, 'modern class. of insects,' vol. ii. p. .) the ocelli are absent in the females of certain insects, as in the mutillidae; and here the females are likewise wingless. but we are chiefly concerned with structures by which one male is enabled to conquer another, either in battle or courtship, through his strength, pugnacity, ornaments, or music. the innumerable contrivances, therefore, by which the male is able to seize the female, may be briefly passed over. besides the complex structures at the apex of the abdomen, which ought perhaps to be ranked as primary organs ( . these organs in the male often differ in closely-allied species, and afford excellent specific characters. but their importance, from a functional point of view, as mr. r. maclachlan has remarked to me, has probably been overrated. it has been suggested, that slight differences in these organs would suffice to prevent the intercrossing of well-marked varieties or incipient species, and would thus aid in their development. that this can hardly be the case, we may infer from the many recorded cases (see, for instance, bronn, 'geschichte der natur,' b. ii. , s. ; and westwood, 'transact. ent. soc.' vol. iii. , p. ) of distinct species having been observed in union. mr. maclachlan informs me (vide 'stett. ent. zeitung,' , s. ) that when several species of phryganidae, which present strongly-pronounced differences of this kind, were confined together by dr. aug. meyer, they coupled, and one pair produced fertile ova.), "it is astonishing," as mr. b.d. walsh ( . 'the practical entomologist,' philadelphia, vol. ii. may , p. .) has remarked, "how many different organs are worked in by nature for the seemingly insignificant object of enabling the male to grasp the female firmly." the mandibles or jaws are sometimes used for this purpose; thus the male corydalis cornutus (a neuropterous insect in some degree allied to the dragon flies, etc.) has immense curved jaws, many times longer than those of the female; and they are smooth instead of being toothed, so that he is thus enabled to seize her without injury. ( . mr. walsh, ibid. p. .) one of the stag-beetles of north america (lucanus elaphus) uses his jaws, which are much larger than those of the female, for the same purpose, but probably likewise for fighting. in one of the sand-wasps (ammophila) the jaws in the two sexes are closely alike, but are used for widely different purposes: the males, as professor westwood observes, "are exceedingly ardent, seizing their partners round the neck with their sickle-shaped jaws" ( . 'modern classification of insects,' vol. ii. , pp. , . mr. walsh, who called my attention to the double use of the jaws, says that he has repeatedly observed this fact.); whilst the females use these organs for burrowing in sand-banks and making their nests. [fig. . crabro cribrarius. upper figure, male; lower figure, female.] the tarsi of the front-legs are dilated in many male beetles, or are furnished with broad cushions of hairs; and in many genera of water-beetles they are armed with a round flat sucker, so that the male may adhere to the slippery body of the female. it is a much more unusual circumstance that the females of some water-beetles (dytiscus) have their elytra deeply grooved, and in acilius sulcatus thickly set with hairs, as an aid to the male. the females of some other water-beetles (hydroporus) have their elytra punctured for the same purpose. ( . we have here a curious and inexplicable case of dimorphism, for some of the females of four european species of dytiscus, and of certain species of hydroporus, have their elytra smooth; and no intermediate gradations between the sulcated or punctured, and the quite smooth elytra have been observed. see dr. h. schaum, as quoted in the 'zoologist,' vols. v.-vi. - , p. . also kirby and spence, 'introduction to entomology,' vol. iii. , p. .) in the male of crabro cribrarius (fig. ), it is the tibia which is dilated into a broad horny plate, with minute membraneous dots, giving to it a singular appearance like that of a riddle. ( . westwood, 'modern class.' vol. ii. p. . the following statement about penthe, and others in inverted commas, are taken from mr. walsh, 'practical entomologist,' philadelphia, vol. iii. p. .) in the male of penthe (a genus of beetles) a few of the middle joints of the antennae are dilated and furnished on the inferior surface with cushions of hair, exactly like those on the tarsi of the carabidae, "and obviously for the same end." in male dragon-flies, "the appendages at the tip of the tail are modified in an almost infinite variety of curious patterns to enable them to embrace the neck of the female." lastly, in the males of many insects, the legs are furnished with peculiar spines, knobs or spurs; or the whole leg is bowed or thickened, but this is by no means invariably a sexual character; or one pair, or all three pairs are elongated, sometimes to an extravagant length. ( . kirby and spence, 'introduct.' etc., vol. iii. pp. - .) [fig. . taphroderes distortus (much enlarged). upper figure, male; lower figure, female.] the sexes of many species in all the orders present differences, of which the meaning is not understood. one curious case is that of a beetle (fig. ), the male of which has left mandible much enlarged; so that the mouth is greatly distorted. in another carabidous beetle, eurygnathus ( . 'insecta maderensia,' , page .), we have the case, unique as far as known to mr. wollaston, of the head of the female being much broader and larger, though in a variable degree, than that of the male. any number of such cases could be given. they abound in the lepidoptera: one of the most extraordinary is that certain male butterflies have their fore-legs more or less atrophied, with the tibiae and tarsi reduced to mere rudimentary knobs. the wings, also, in the two sexes often differ in neuration ( . e. doubleday, 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.' vol. i. , p. . i may add that the wings in certain hymenoptera (see shuckard, 'fossorial hymenoptera,' , pp. - ) differ in neuration according to sex.), and sometimes considerably in outline, as in the aricoris epitus, which was shewn to me in the british museum by mr. a. butler. the males of certain south american butterflies have tufts of hair on the margins of the wings, and horny excrescences on the discs of the posterior pair. ( . h.w. bates, in 'journal of proc. linn. soc.' vol. vi. , p. . mr. wonfor's observations are quoted in 'popular science review,' , p. .) in several british butterflies, as shewn by mr. wonfor, the males alone are in parts clothed with peculiar scales. the use of the bright light of the female glow-worm has been subject to much discussion. the male is feebly luminous, as are the larvae and even the eggs. it has been supposed by some authors that the light serves to frighten away enemies, and by others to guide the male to the female. at last, mr. belt ( . 'the naturalist in nicaragua,' , pp. - . on the phosphorescence of the eggs, see 'annals and magazine of natural history,' nov. , p. .) appears to have solved the difficulty: he finds that all the lampyridae which he has tried are highly distasteful to insectivorous mammals and birds. hence it is in accordance with mr. bates' view, hereafter to be explained, that many insects mimic the lampyridae closely, in order to be mistaken for them, and thus to escape destruction. he further believes that the luminous species profit by being at once recognised as unpalatable. it is probable that the same explanation may be extended to the elaters, both sexes of which are highly luminous. it is not known why the wings of the female glow-worm have not been developed; but in her present state she closely resembles a larva, and as larvae are so largely preyed on by many animals, we can understand why she has been rendered so much more luminous and conspicuous than the male; and why the larvae themselves are likewise luminous. difference in size between the sexes. with insects of all kinds the males are commonly smaller than the females; and this difference can often be detected even in the larval state. so considerable is the difference between the male and female cocoons of the silk-moth (bombyx mori), that in france they are separated by a particular mode of weighing. ( . robinet, 'vers a soie,' , p. .) in the lower classes of the animal kingdom, the greater size of the females seems generally to depend on their developing an enormous number of ova; and this may to a certain extent hold good with insects. but dr. wallace has suggested a much more probable explanation. he finds, after carefully attending to the development of the caterpillars of bombyx cynthia and yamamai, and especially to that of some dwarfed caterpillars reared from a second brood on unnatural food, "that in proportion as the individual moth is finer, so is the time required for its metamorphosis longer; and for this reason the female, which is the larger and heavier insect, from having to carry her numerous eggs, will be preceded by the male, which is smaller and has less to mature." ( . 'transact. ent. soc.' rd series, vol. v. p. .) now as most insects are short-lived, and as they are exposed to many dangers, it would manifestly be advantageous to the female to be impregnated as soon as possible. this end would be gained by the males being first matured in large numbers ready for the advent of the females; and this again would naturally follow, as mr. a.r. wallace has remarked ( . 'journal of proc. ent. soc.' feb. , , p. lxxi.), through natural selection; for the smaller males would be first matured, and thus would procreate a large number of offspring which would inherit the reduced size of their male parents, whilst the larger males from being matured later would leave fewer offspring. there are, however, exceptions to the rule of male insects being smaller than the females: and some of these exceptions are intelligible. size and strength would be an advantage to the males, which fight for the possession of the females; and in these cases, as with the stag-beetle (lucanus), the males are larger than the females. there are, however, other beetles which are not known to fight together, of which the males exceed the females in size; and the meaning of this fact is not known; but in some of these cases, as with the huge dynastes and megasoma, we can at least see that there would be no necessity for the males to be smaller than the females, in order to be matured before them, for these beetles are not short-lived, and there would be ample time for the pairing of the sexes. so again, male dragon-flies (libellulidae) are sometimes sensibly larger, and never smaller, than the females ( . for this and other statements on the size of the sexes, see kirby and spence, ibid. vol. iii. p. ; on the duration of life in insects, see p. .); and as mr. maclachlan believes, they do not generally pair with the females until a week or fortnight has elapsed, and until they have assumed their proper masculine colours. but the most curious case, shewing on what complex and easily-overlooked relations, so trifling a character as difference in size between the sexes may depend, is that of the aculeate hymenoptera; for mr. f. smith informs me that throughout nearly the whole of this large group, the males, in accordance with the general rule, are smaller than the females, and emerge about a week before them; but amongst the bees, the males of apis mellifica, anthidium manicatum, and anthophora acervorum, and amongst the fossores, the males of the methoca ichneumonides, are larger than the females. the explanation of this anomaly is that a marriage flight is absolutely necessary with these species, and the male requires great strength and size in order to carry the female through the air. increased size has here been acquired in opposition to the usual relation between size and the period of development, for the males, though larger, emerge before the smaller females. we will now review the several orders, selecting such facts as more particularly concern us. the lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) will be retained for a separate chapter. order, thysanura. the members of this lowly organised order are wingless, dull-coloured, minute insects, with ugly, almost misshapen heads and bodies. their sexes do not differ, but they are interesting as shewing us that the males pay sedulous court to the females even low down in the animal scale. sir j. lubbock ( . 'transact. linnean soc.' vol. xxvi. , p. .) says: "it is very amusing to see these little creatures (smynthurus luteus) coquetting together. the male, which is much smaller than the female, runs round her, and they butt one another, standing face to face and moving backward and forward like two playful lambs. then the female pretends to run away and the male runs after her with a queer appearance of anger, gets in front and stands facing her again; then she turns coyly round, but he, quicker and more active, scuttles round too, and seems to whip her with his antennae; then for a bit they stand face to face, play with their antennae, and seem to be all in all to one another." order, diptera (flies). the sexes differ little in colour. the greatest difference, known to mr. f. walker, is in the genus bibio, in which the males are blackish or quite black, and the females obscure brownish-orange. the genus elaphomyia, discovered by mr. wallace ( . 'the malay archipelago,' vol. ii. , p. .) in new guinea, is highly remarkable, as the males are furnished with horns, of which the females are quite destitute. the horns spring from beneath the eyes, and curiously resemble those of a stag, being either branched or palmated. in one of the species, they equal the whole body in length. they might be thought to be adapted for fighting, but as in one species they are of a beautiful pink colour, edged with black, with a pale central stripe, and as these insects have altogether a very elegant appearance, it is perhaps more probable that they serve as ornaments. that the males of some diptera fight together is certain; prof. westwood ( . 'modern classification of insects,' vol. ii. , p. .) has several times seen this with the tipulae. the males of other diptera apparently try to win the females by their music: h. müller ( . 'anwendung,' etc., 'verh. d. n. v. jahrg.' xxix. p. . mayer, in 'american naturalist,' , p. .) watched for some time two males of an eristalis courting a female; they hovered above her, and flew from side to side, making a high humming noise at the same time. gnats and mosquitoes (culicidae) also seem to attract each other by humming; and prof. mayer has recently ascertained that the hairs on the antennae of the male vibrate in unison with the notes of a tuning-fork, within the range of the sounds emitted by the female. the longer hairs vibrate sympathetically with the graver notes, and the shorter hairs with the higher ones. landois also asserts that he has repeatedly drawn down a whole swarm of gnats by uttering a particular note. it may be added that the mental faculties of the diptera are probably higher than in most other insects, in accordance with their highly-developed nervous system. ( . see mr. b.t. lowne's interesting work, 'on the anatomy of the blow-fly, musca vomitoria,' , p. . he remarks (p. ) that, "the captured flies utter a peculiar plaintive note, and that this sound causes other flies to disappear.") order, hemiptera (field-bugs). mr. j.w. douglas, who has particularly attended to the british species, has kindly given me an account of their sexual differences. the males of some species are furnished with wings, whilst the females are wingless; the sexes differ in the form of their bodies, elytra, antennae and tarsi; but as the signification of these differences are unknown, they may be here passed over. the females are generally larger and more robust than the males. with british, and, as far as mr. douglas knows, with exotic species, the sexes do not commonly differ much in colour; but in about six british species the male is considerably darker than the female, and in about four other species the female is darker than the male. both sexes of some species are beautifully coloured; and as these insects emit an extremely nauseous odour, their conspicuous colours may serve as a signal that they are unpalatable to insectivorous animals. in some few cases their colours appear to be directly protective: thus prof. hoffmann informs me that he could hardly distinguish a small pink and green species from the buds on the trunks of lime-trees, which this insect frequents. some species of reduvidae make a stridulating noise; and, in the case of pirates stridulus, this is said ( . westwood, 'modern classification of insects,' vol. ii. p. .) to be effected by the movement of the neck within the pro-thoracic cavity. according to westring, reduvius personatus also stridulates. but i have no reason to suppose that this is a sexual character, excepting that with non-social insects there seems to be no use for sound-producing organs, unless it be as a sexual call. order: homoptera. every one who has wandered in a tropical forest must have been astonished at the din made by the male cicadae. the females are mute; as the grecian poet xenarchus says, "happy the cicadas live, since they all have voiceless wives." the noise thus made could be plainly heard on board the "beagle," when anchored at a quarter of a mile from the shore of brazil; and captain hancock says it can be heard at the distance of a mile. the greeks formerly kept, and the chinese now keep these insects in cages for the sake of their song, so that it must be pleasing to the ears of some men. ( . these particulars are taken from westwood's 'modern classification of insects,' vol. ii. , p. . see, also, on the fulgoridae, kirby and spence, 'introduct.' vol. ii. p. .) the cicadidae usually sing during the day, whilst the fulgoridae appear to be night-songsters. the sound, according to landois ( . 'zeitschrift für wissenschaft. zoolog.' b. xvii. , ss. - .), is produced by the vibration of the lips of the spiracles, which are set into motion by a current of air emitted from the tracheae; but this view has lately been disputed. dr. powell appears to have proved ( . 'transactions of the new zealand institute,' vol. v. , p. .) that it is produced by the vibration of a membrane, set into action by a special muscle. in the living insect, whilst stridulating, this membrane can be seen to vibrate; and in the dead insect the proper sound is heard, if the muscle, when a little dried and hardened, is pulled with the point of a pin. in the female the whole complex musical apparatus is present, but is much less developed than in the male, and is never used for producing sound. with respect to the object of the music, dr. hartman, in speaking of the cicada septemdecim of the united states, says ( . i am indebted to mr. walsh for having sent me this extract from 'a journal of the doings of cicada septemdecim,' by dr. hartman.), "the drums are now (june th and th, ) heard in all directions. this i believe to be the marital summons from the males. standing in thick chestnut sprouts about as high as my head, where hundreds were around me, i observed the females coming around the drumming males." he adds, "this season (aug. ) a dwarf pear-tree in my garden produced about fifty larvae of cic. pruinosa; and i several times noticed the females to alight near a male while he was uttering his clanging notes." fritz müller writes to me from s. brazil that he has often listened to a musical contest between two or three males of a species with a particularly loud voice, seated at a considerable distance from each other: as soon as one had finished his song, another immediately began, and then another. as there is so much rivalry between the males, it is probable that the females not only find them by their sounds, but that, like female birds, they are excited or allured by the male with the most attractive voice. i have not heard of any well-marked cases of ornamental differences between the sexes of the homoptera. mr. douglas informs me that there are three british species, in which the male is black or marked with black bands, whilst the females are pale-coloured or obscure. order, orthoptera (crickets and grasshoppers). the males in the three saltatorial families in this order are remarkable for their musical powers, namely the achetidae or crickets, the locustidae for which there is no equivalent english name, and the acridiidae or grasshoppers. the stridulation produced by some of the locustidae is so loud that it can be heard during the night at the distance of a mile ( . l. guilding, 'transactions of the linnean society,' vol. xv. p. .); and that made by certain species is not unmusical even to the human ear, so that the indians on the amazons keep them in wicker cages. all observers agree that the sounds serve either to call or excite the mute females. with respect to the migratory locusts of russia, korte has given ( . i state this on the authority of koppen, '�ber die heuschrecken in südrussland,' , p. , for i have in vain endeavoured to procure korte's work.) an interesting case of selection by the female of a male. the males of this species (pachytylus migratorius) whilst coupled with the female stridulate from anger or jealousy, if approached by other males. the house-cricket when surprised at night uses its voice to warn its fellows. ( . gilbert white, 'natural history of selborne,' vol. ii. , p. .) in north america the katy-did (platyphyllum concavum, one of the locustidae) is described ( . harris, 'insects of new england,' , p. .) as mounting on the upper branches of a tree, and in the evening beginning "his noisy babble, while rival notes issue from the neighbouring trees, and the groves resound with the call of katy-did-she-did the live-long night." mr. bates, in speaking of the european field-cricket (one of the achetidae), says "the male has been observed to place himself in the evening at the entrance of his burrow, and stridulate until a female approaches, when the louder notes are succeeded by a more subdued tone, whilst the successful musician caresses with his antennae the mate he has won." ( . 'the naturalist on the amazons,' vol. i. , p. . mr. bates gives a very interesting discussion on the gradations in the musical apparatus of the three families. see also westwood, 'modern classification of insects,' vol. ii. pp. and .) dr. scudder was able to excite one of these insects to answer him, by rubbing on a file with a quill. ( . 'proceedings of the boston society of natural history,' vol. xi. april .) in both sexes a remarkable auditory apparatus has been discovered by von siebold, situated in the front legs. ( . 'nouveau manuel d'anat. comp.' (french translat.), tom. , , p. .) [fig. . gryllus campestris (from landois). right-hand figure, under side of part of a wing-nervure, much magnified, showing the teeth, st. left-hand figure, upper surface of wing-cover, with the projecting, smooth nervure, r, across which the teeth (st) are scraped. fig. . teeth of nervure of gryllus domesticus (from landois).] in the three families the sounds are differently produced. in the males of the achetidae both wing-covers have the same apparatus; and this in the field-cricket (see gryllus campestris, fig. ) consists, as described by landois ( . 'zeitschrift für wissenschaft. zoolog.' b. xvii. , s. .), of from to sharp, transverse ridges or teeth (st) on the under side of one of the nervures of the wing-cover. this toothed nervure is rapidly scraped across a projecting, smooth, hard nervure (r) on the upper surface of the opposite wing. first one wing is rubbed over the other, and then the movement is reversed. both wings are raised a little at the same time, so as to increase the resonance. in some species the wing-covers of the males are furnished at the base with a talc-like plate. ( . westwood, 'modern classification of insects,' vol. i. p. .) i here give a drawing (fig. ) of the teeth on the under side of the nervure of another species of gryllus, viz., g. domesticus. with respect to the formation of these teeth, dr. gruber has shewn ( . 'ueber der tonapparat der locustiden, ein beitrag zum darwinismus,' 'zeitschrift für wissenschaft. zoolog.' b. xxii. , p. .) that they have been developed by the aid of selection, from the minute scales and hairs with which the wings and body are covered, and i came to the same conclusion with respect to those of the coleoptera. but dr. gruber further shews that their development is in part directly due to the stimulus from the friction of one wing over the other. [fig. . chlorocoelus tanana (from bates). a,b. lobes of opposite wing-covers.] in the locustidae the opposite wing-covers differ from each other in structure (fig. ), and the action cannot, as in the last family, be reversed. the left wing, which acts as the bow, lies over the right wing which serves as the fiddle. one of the nervures (a) on the under surface of the former is finely serrated, and is scraped across the prominent nervures on the upper surface of the opposite or right wing. in our british phasgonura viridissima it appeared to me that the serrated nervure is rubbed against the rounded hind-corner of the opposite wing, the edge of which is thickened, coloured brown, and very sharp. in the right wing, but not in the left, there is a little plate, as transparent as talc, surrounded by nervures, and called the speculum. in ephippiger vitium, a member of this same family, we have a curious subordinate modification; for the wing-covers are greatly reduced in size, but "the posterior part of the pro-thorax is elevated into a kind of dome over the wing-covers, and which has probably the effect of increasing the sound." ( . westwood 'modern classification of insects,' vol. i. p. .) we thus see that the musical apparatus is more differentiated or specialised in the locustidae (which include, i believe, the most powerful performers in the order), than in the achetidae, in which both wing-covers have the same structure and the same function. ( . landois, 'zeitschrift für wissenschaft. zoolog.' b. xvii. , ss. , .) landois, however, detected in one of the locustidae, namely in decticus, a short and narrow row of small teeth, mere rudiments, on the inferior surface of the right wing-cover, which underlies the other and is never used as the bow. i observed the same rudimentary structure on the under side of the right wing-cover in phasgonura viridissima. hence we may infer with confidence that the locustidae are descended from a form, in which, as in the existing achetidae, both wing-covers had serrated nervures on the under surface, and could be indifferently used as the bow; but that in the locustidae the two wing-covers gradually became differentiated and perfected, on the principle of the division of labour, the one to act exclusively as the bow, and the other as the fiddle. dr. gruber takes the same view, and has shewn that rudimentary teeth are commonly found on the inferior surface of the right wing. by what steps the more simple apparatus in the achetidae originated, we do not know, but it is probable that the basal portions of the wing-covers originally overlapped each other as they do at present; and that the friction of the nervures produced a grating sound, as is now the case with the wing-covers of the females. ( . mr. walsh also informs me that he has noticed that the female of the platyphyllum concavum, "when captured makes a feeble grating noise by shuffling her wing-covers together.") a grating sound thus occasionally and accidentally made by the males, if it served them ever so little as a love-call to the females, might readily have been intensified through sexual selection, by variations in the roughness of the nervures having been continually preserved. [fig. . hind-leg of stenobothrus pratorum: r, the stridulating ridge; lower figure, the teeth forming the ridge, much magnified (from landois). fig. . pneumora (from specimens in the british museum). upper figure, male; lower figure, female.] in the last and third family, namely the acridiidae or grasshoppers, the stridulation is produced in a very different manner, and according to dr. scudder, is not so shrill as in the preceding families. the inner surface of the femur (fig. , r) is furnished with a longitudinal row of minute, elegant, lancet-shaped, elastic teeth, from to in number ( . landois, ibid. s. .); and these are scraped across the sharp, projecting nervures on the wing-covers, which are thus made to vibrate and resound. harris ( . 'insects of new england,' , p. .) says that when one of the males begins to play, he first "bends the shank of the hind-leg beneath the thigh, where it is lodged in a furrow designed to receive it, and then draws the leg briskly up and down. he does not play both fiddles together, but alternately, first upon one and then on the other." in many species, the base of the abdomen is hollowed out into a great cavity which is believed to act as a resounding board. in pneumora (fig. ), a s. african genus belonging to the same family, we meet with a new and remarkable modification; in the males a small notched ridge projects obliquely from each side of the abdomen, against which the hind femora are rubbed. ( . westwood, 'modern classification,' vol i. p. .) as the male is furnished with wings (the female being wingless), it is remarkable that the thighs are not rubbed in the usual manner against the wing-covers; but this may perhaps be accounted for by the unusually small size of the hind-legs. i have not been able to examine the inner surface of the thighs, which, judging from analogy, would be finely serrated. the species of pneumora have been more profoundly modified for the sake of stridulation than any other orthopterous insect; for in the male the whole body has been converted into a musical instrument, being distended with air, like a great pellucid bladder, so as to increase the resonance. mr. trimen informs me that at the cape of good hope these insects make a wonderful noise during the night. in the three foregoing families, the females are almost always destitute of an efficient musical apparatus. but there are a few exceptions to this rule, for dr. gruber has shewn that both sexes of ephippiger vitium are thus provided; though the organs differ in the male and female to a certain extent. hence we cannot suppose that they have been transferred from the male to the female, as appears to have been the case with the secondary sexual characters of many other animals. they must have been independently developed in the two sexes, which no doubt mutually call to each other during the season of love. in most other locustidae (but not according to landois in decticus) the females have rudiments of the stridulatory organs proper to the male; from whom it is probable that these have been transferred. landois also found such rudiments on the under surface of the wing-covers of the female achetidae, and on the femora of the female acridiidae. in the homoptera, also, the females have the proper musical apparatus in a functionless state; and we shall hereafter meet in other divisions of the animal kingdom with many instances of structures proper to the male being present in a rudimentary condition in the female. landois has observed another important fact, namely, that in the females of the acridiidae, the stridulating teeth on the femora remain throughout life in the same condition in which they first appear during the larval state in both sexes. in the males, on the other hand, they become further developed, and acquire their perfect structure at the last moult, when the insect is mature and ready to breed. from the facts now given, we see that the means by which the males of the orthoptera produce their sounds are extremely diversified, and are altogether different from those employed by the homoptera. ( . landois has recently found in certain orthoptera rudimentary structures closely similar to the sound-producing organs in the homoptera; and this is a surprising fact. see 'zeitschrift für wissenschaft, zoolog.' b. xxii. heft , , p. .) but throughout the animal kingdom we often find the same object gained by the most diversified means; this seems due to the whole organisation having undergone multifarious changes in the course of ages, and as part after part varied different variations were taken advantage of for the same general purpose. the diversity of means for producing sound in the three families of the orthoptera and in the homoptera, impresses the mind with the high importance of these structures to the males, for the sake of calling or alluring the females. we need feel no surprise at the amount of modification which the orthoptera have undergone in this respect, as we now know, from dr. scudder's remarkable discovery ( . 'transactions, entomological society,' rd series, vol. ii. ('journal of proceedings,' p. ).), that there has been more than ample time. this naturalist has lately found a fossil insect in the devonian formation of new brunswick, which is furnished with "the well-known tympanum or stridulating apparatus of the male locustidae." the insect, though in most respects related to the neuroptera, appears, as is so often the case with very ancient forms, to connect the two related orders of the neuroptera and orthoptera. i have but little more to say on the orthoptera. some of the species are very pugnacious: when two male field-crickets (gryllus campestris) are confined together, they fight till one kills the other; and the species of mantis are described as manoeuvring with their sword-like front-limbs, like hussars with their sabres. the chinese keep these insects in little bamboo cages, and match them like game-cocks. ( . westwood, 'modern classification of insects,' vol. i. p. ; for crickets, p. .) with respect to colour, some exotic locusts are beautifully ornamented; the posterior wings being marked with red, blue, and black; but as throughout the order the sexes rarely differ much in colour, it is not probable that they owe their bright tints to sexual selection. conspicuous colours may be of use to these insects, by giving notice that they are unpalatable. thus it has been observed ( . mr. ch. horne, in 'proceedings of the entomological society,' may , , p. xii.) that a bright-coloured indian locust was invariably rejected when offered to birds and lizards. some cases, however, are known of sexual differences in colour in this order. the male of an american cricket ( . the oecanthus nivalis, harris, 'insects of new england,' , p. . the two sexes of oe. pellucidus of europe differ, as i hear from victor carus, in nearly the same manner.) is described as being as white as ivory, whilst the female varies from almost white to greenish-yellow or dusky. mr. walsh informs me that the adult male of spectrum femoratum (one of the phasmidae) "is of a shining brownish-yellow colour; the adult female being of a dull, opaque, cinereous brown; the young of both sexes being green." lastly, i may mention that the male of one curious kind of cricket ( . platyblemnus: westwood, 'modern classification,' vol. i. p. .) is furnished with "a long membranous appendage, which falls over the face like a veil;" but what its use may be, is not known. order, neuroptera. little need here be said, except as to colour. in the ephemeridae the sexes often differ slightly in their obscure tints ( . b.d. walsh, the 'pseudo-neuroptera of illinois,' in 'proceedings of the entomological society of philadelphia,' , p. .); but it is not probable that the males are thus rendered attractive to the females. the libellulidae, or dragon-flies, are ornamented with splendid green, blue, yellow, and vermilion metallic tints; and the sexes often differ. thus, as prof. westwood remarks ( . 'modern classification,' vol. ii. p. .), the males of some of the agrionidae, "are of a rich blue with black wings, whilst the females are fine green with colourless wings." but in agrion ramburii these colours are exactly reversed in the two sexes. ( . walsh, ibid. p. . i am indebted to this naturalist for the following facts on hetaerina, anax, and gomphus.) in the extensive n. american genus of hetaerina, the males alone have a beautiful carmine spot at the base of each wing. in anax junius the basal part of the abdomen in the male is a vivid ultramarine blue, and in the female grass-green. in the allied genus gomphus, on the other hand, and in some other genera, the sexes differ but little in colour. in closely-allied forms throughout the animal kingdom, similar cases of the sexes differing greatly, or very little, or not at all, are of frequent occurrence. although there is so wide a difference in colour between the sexes of many libellulidae, it is often difficult to say which is the more brilliant; and the ordinary coloration of the two sexes is reversed, as we have just seen, in one species of agrion. it is not probable that their colours in any case have been gained as a protection. mr. maclachlan, who has closely attended to this family, writes to me that dragon-flies--the tyrants of the insect-world--are the least liable of any insect to be attacked by birds or other enemies, and he believes that their bright colours serve as a sexual attraction. certain dragon-flies apparently are attracted by particular colours: mr. patterson observed ( . 'transactions, ent. soc.' vol. i. , p. lxxxi.) that the agrionidae, of which the males are blue, settled in numbers on the blue float of a fishing line; whilst two other species were attracted by shining white colours. it is an interesting fact, first noticed by schelver, that, in several genera belonging to two sub-families, the males on first emergence from the pupal state, are coloured exactly like the females; but that their bodies in a short time assume a conspicuous milky-blue tint, owing to the exudation of a kind of oil, soluble in ether and alcohol. mr. maclachlan believes that in the male of libellula depressa this change of colour does not occur until nearly a fortnight after the metamorphosis, when the sexes are ready to pair. certain species of neurothemis present, according to brauer ( . see abstract in the 'zoological record' for , p. .), a curious case of dimorphism, some of the females having ordinary wings, whilst others have them "very richly netted, as in the males of the same species." brauer "explains the phenomenon on darwinian principles by the supposition that the close netting of the veins is a secondary sexual character in the males, which has been abruptly transferred to some of the females, instead of, as generally occurs, to all of them." mr. maclachlan informs me of another instance of dimorphism in several species of agrion, in which some individuals are of an orange colour, and these are invariably females. this is probably a case of reversion; for in the true libellulae, when the sexes differ in colour, the females are orange or yellow; so that supposing agrion to be descended from some primordial form which resembled the typical libellulae in its sexual characters, it would not be surprising that a tendency to vary in this manner should occur in the females alone. although many dragon-flies are large, powerful, and fierce insects, the males have not been observed by mr. maclachlan to fight together, excepting, as he believes, in some of the smaller species of agrion. in another group in this order, namely, the termites or white ants, both sexes at the time of swarming may be seen running about, "the male after the female, sometimes two chasing one female, and contending with great eagerness who shall win the prize." ( . kirby and spence, 'introduction to entomology,' vol. ii. , p. .) the atropos pulsatorius is said to make a noise with its jaws, which is answered by other individuals. ( . houzeau, 'les facultés mentales,' etc. tom. i. p. .) order, hymenoptera. that inimitable observer, m. fabre ( . see an interesting article, 'the writings of fabre,' in 'nat. hist. review,' april , p. .), in describing the habits of cerceris, a wasp-like insect, remarks that "fights frequently ensue between the males for the possession of some particular female, who sits an apparently unconcerned beholder of the struggle for supremacy, and when the victory is decided, quietly flies away in company with the conqueror." westwood ( . 'journal of proceedings of entomological society,' sept. , , p. .) says that the males of one of the saw-flies (tenthredinae) "have been found fighting together, with their mandibles locked." as m. fabre speaks of the males of cerceris striving to obtain a particular female, it may be well to bear in mind that insects belonging to this order have the power of recognising each other after long intervals of time, and are deeply attached. for instance, pierre huber, whose accuracy no one doubts, separated some ants, and when, after an interval of four months, they met others which had formerly belonged to the same community, they recognised and caressed one another with their antennae. had they been strangers they would have fought together. again, when two communities engage in a battle, the ants on the same side sometimes attack each other in the general confusion, but they soon perceive their mistake, and the one ant soothes the other. ( . p. huber, 'recherches sur les moeurs des fourmis,' , pp. , .) in this order slight differences in colour, according to sex, are common, but conspicuous differences are rare except in the family of bees; yet both sexes of certain groups are so brilliantly coloured--for instance in chrysis, in which vermilion and metallic greens prevail--that we are tempted to attribute the result to sexual selection. in the ichneumonidae, according to mr. walsh ( . 'proceedings of the entomological society of philadelphia,' , pp. , .), the males are almost universally lighter-coloured than the females. on the other hand, in the tenthredinidae the males are generally darker than the females. in the siricidae the sexes frequently differ; thus the male of sirex juvencus is banded with orange, whilst the female is dark purple; but it is difficult to say which sex is the more ornamented. in tremex columbae the female is much brighter coloured than the male. i am informed by mr. f. smith, that the male ants of several species are black, the females being testaceous. in the family of bees, especially in the solitary species, as i hear from the same entomologist, the sexes often differ in colour. the males are generally the brighter, and in bombus as well as in apathus, much more variable in colour than the females. in anthophora retusa the male is of a rich fulvous-brown, whilst the female is quite black: so are the females of several species of xylocopa, the males being bright yellow. on the other hand the females of some species, as of andraena fulva, are much brighter coloured than the males. such differences in colour can hardly be accounted for by the males being defenceless and thus requiring protection, whilst the females are well defended by their stings. h. müller ( . 'anwendung der darwinschen lehre auf bienen,' verh. d. n. v. jahrg. xxix.), who has particularly attended to the habits of bees, attributes these differences in colour in chief part to sexual selection. that bees have a keen perception of colour is certain. he says that the males search eagerly and fight for the possession of the females; and he accounts through such contests for the mandibles of the males being in certain species larger than those of the females. in some cases the males are far more numerous than the females, either early in the season, or at all times and places, or locally; whereas the females in other cases are apparently in excess. in some species the more beautiful males appear to have been selected by the females; and in others the more beautiful females by the males. consequently in certain genera (müller, p. ), the males of the several species differ much in appearance, whilst the females are almost indistinguishable; in other genera the reverse occurs. h. müller believes (p. ) that the colours gained by one sex through sexual selection have often been transferred in a variable degree to the other sex, just as the pollen-collecting apparatus of the female has often been transferred to the male, to whom it is absolutely useless. ( . m. perrier in his article 'la selection sexuelle d'après darwin' ('revue scientifique,' feb. , p. ), without apparently having reflected much on the subject, objects that as the males of social bees are known to be produced from unfertilised ova, they could not transmit new characters to their male offspring. this is an extraordinary objection. a female bee fertilised by a male, which presented some character facilitating the union of the sexes, or rendering him more attractive to the female, would lay eggs which would produce only females; but these young females would next year produce males; and will it be pretended that such males would not inherit the characters of their male grandfathers? to take a case with ordinary animals as nearly parallel as possible: if a female of any white quadruped or bird were crossed by a male of a black breed, and the male and female offspring were paired together, will it be pretended that the grandchildren would not inherit a tendency to blackness from their male grandfather? the acquirement of new characters by the sterile worker-bees is a much more difficult case, but i have endeavoured to shew in my 'origin of species,' how these sterile beings are subjected to the power of natural selection.) mutilla europaea makes a stridulating noise; and according to goureau ( . quoted by westwood, 'modern classification of insects,' vol. ii. p. .) both sexes have this power. he attributes the sound to the friction of the third and preceding abdominal segments, and i find that these surfaces are marked with very fine concentric ridges; but so is the projecting thoracic collar into which the head articulates, and this collar, when scratched with the point of a needle, emits the proper sound. it is rather surprising that both sexes should have the power of stridulating, as the male is winged and the female wingless. it is notorious that bees express certain emotions, as of anger, by the tone of their humming; and according to h. müller (p. ), the males of some species make a peculiar singing noise whilst pursuing the females. order, coleoptera (beetles). many beetles are coloured so as to resemble the surfaces which they habitually frequent, and they thus escape detection by their enemies. other species, for instance diamond-beetles, are ornamented with splendid colours, which are often arranged in stripes, spots, crosses, and other elegant patterns. such colours can hardly serve directly as a protection, except in the case of certain flower-feeding species; but they may serve as a warning or means of recognition, on the same principle as the phosphorescence of the glow-worm. as with beetles the colours of the two sexes are generally alike, we have no evidence that they have been gained through sexual selection; but this is at least possible, for they have been developed in one sex and then transferred to the other; and this view is even in some degree probable in those groups which possess other well-marked secondary sexual characters. blind beetles, which cannot of course behold each other's beauty, never, as i hear from mr. waterhouse, jun., exhibit bright colours, though they often have polished coats; but the explanation of their obscurity may be that they generally inhabit caves and other obscure stations. some longicorns, especially certain prionidae, offer an exception to the rule that the sexes of beetles do not differ in colour. most of these insects are large and splendidly coloured. the males in the genus pyrodes ( . pyrodes pulcherrimus, in which the sexes differ conspicuously, has been described by mr. bates in 'transact. ent. soc.' , p. . i will specify the few other cases in which i have heard of a difference in colour between the sexes of beetles. kirby and spence ('introduct. to entomology,' vol. iii. p. ) mention a cantharis, meloe, rhagium, and the leptura testacea; the male of the latter being testaceous, with a black thorax, and the female of a dull red all over. these two latter beetles belong to the family of longicorns. messrs. r. trimen and waterhouse, jun., inform me of two lamellicorns, viz., a peritrichia and trichius, the male of the latter being more obscurely coloured than the female. in tillus elongatus the male is black, and the female always, as it is believed, of a dark blue colour, with a red thorax. the male, also, of orsodacna atra, as i hear from mr. walsh, is black, the female (the so-called o. ruficollis) having a rufous thorax.), which i saw in mr. bates's collection, are generally redder but rather duller than the females, the latter being coloured of a more or less splendid golden-green. on the other hand, in one species the male is golden-green, the female being richly tinted with red and purple. in the genus esmeralda the sexes differ so greatly in colour that they have been ranked as distinct species; in one species both are of a beautiful shining green, but the male has a red thorax. on the whole, as far as i could judge, the females of those prionidae, in which the sexes differ, are coloured more richly than the males, and this does not accord with the common rule in regard to colour, when acquired through sexual selection. [fig. . chalcosoma atlas. upper figure, male (reduced); lower figure, female (nat. size). fig. . copris isidis. fig. . phanaeus faunus. fig. . dipelicus cantori. fig. . onthophagus rangifer, enlarged. (in figs. to the left-hand figures are males.)] a most remarkable distinction between the sexes of many beetles is presented by the great horns which rise from the head, thorax, and clypeus of the males; and in some few cases from the under surface of the body. these horns, in the great family of the lamellicorns, resemble those of various quadrupeds, such as stags, rhinoceroses, etc., and are wonderful both from their size and diversified shapes. instead of describing them, i have given figures of the males and females of some of the more remarkable forms. (figs. to .) the females generally exhibit rudiments of the horns in the form of small knobs or ridges; but some are destitute of even the slightest rudiment. on the other hand, the horns are nearly as well developed in the female as in the male phanaeus lancifer; and only a little less well developed in the females of some other species of this genus and of copris. i am informed by mr. bates that the horns do not differ in any manner corresponding with the more important characteristic differences between the several subdivisions of the family: thus within the same section of the genus onthophagus, there are species which have a single horn, and others which have two. in almost all cases, the horns are remarkable from their excessive variability; so that a graduated series can be formed, from the most highly developed males to others so degenerate that they can barely be distinguished from the females. mr. walsh ( . 'proceedings of the entomological society of philadephia,' , p. .) found that in phanaeus carnifex the horns were thrice as long in some males as in others. mr. bates, after examining above a hundred males of onthophagus rangifer (fig. ), thought that he had at last discovered a species in which the horns did not vary; but further research proved the contrary. the extraordinary size of the horns, and their widely different structure in closely-allied forms, indicate that they have been formed for some purpose; but their excessive variability in the males of the same species leads to the inference that this purpose cannot be of a definite nature. the horns do not shew marks of friction, as if used for any ordinary work. some authors suppose ( . kirby and spence, 'introduction to entomology,' vol. iii. p. .) that as the males wander about much more than the females, they require horns as a defence against their enemies; but as the horns are often blunt, they do not seem well adapted for defence. the most obvious conjecture is that they are used by the males for fighting together; but the males have never been observed to fight; nor could mr. bates, after a careful examination of numerous species, find any sufficient evidence, in their mutilated or broken condition, of their having been thus used. if the males had been habitual fighters, the size of their bodies would probably have been increased through sexual selection, so as to have exceeded that of the females; but mr. bates, after comparing the two sexes in above a hundred species of the copridae, did not find any marked difference in this respect amongst well-developed individuals. in lethrus, moreover, a beetle belonging to the same great division of the lamellicorns, the males are known to fight, but are not provided with horns, though their mandibles are much larger than those of the female. the conclusion that the horns have been acquired as ornaments is that which best agrees with the fact of their having been so immensely, yet not fixedly, developed,--as shewn by their extreme variability in the same species, and by their extreme diversity in closely-allied species. this view will at first appear extremely improbable; but we shall hereafter find with many animals standing much higher in the scale, namely fishes, amphibians, reptiles and birds, that various kinds of crests, knobs, horns and combs have been developed apparently for this sole purpose. [fig. . onitis furcifer, male viewed from beneath. fig. . onitis furcifer. left-hand figure, male, viewed laterally. right-hand figure, female. a. rudiment of cephalic horn. b. trace of thoracic horn or crest.] the males of onitis furcifer (fig. ), and of some other species of the genus, are furnished with singular projections on their anterior femora, and with a great fork or pair of horns on the lower surface of the thorax. judging from other insects, these may aid the male in clinging to the female. although the males have not even a trace of a horn on the upper surface of the body, yet the females plainly exhibit a rudiment of a single horn on the head (fig. , a), and of a crest (b) on the thorax. that the slight thoracic crest in the female is a rudiment of a projection proper to the male, though entirely absent in the male of this particular species, is clear: for the female of bubas bison (a genus which comes next to onitis) has a similar slight crest on the thorax, and the male bears a great projection in the same situation. so, again, there can hardly be a doubt that the little point (a) on the head of the female onitis furcifer, as well as on the head of the females of two or three allied species, is a rudimentary representative of the cephalic horn, which is common to the males of so many lamellicorn beetles, as in phanaeus (fig. ). the old belief that rudiments have been created to complete the scheme of nature is here so far from holding good, that we have a complete inversion of the ordinary state of things in the family. we may reasonably suspect that the males originally bore horns and transferred them to the females in a rudimentary condition, as in so many other lamellicorns. why the males subsequently lost their horns, we know not; but this may have been caused through the principle of compensation, owing to the development of the large horns and projections on the lower surface; and as these are confined to the males, the rudiments of the upper horns on the females would not have been thus obliterated. [fig. . bledius taurus, magnified. left-hand figure, male; right-hand figure, female.] the cases hitherto given refer to the lamellicorns, but the males of some few other beetles, belonging to two widely distinct groups, namely, the curculionidae and staphylinidae, are furnished with horns--in the former on the lower surface of the body ( . kirby and spence, 'introduction to entomology,' vol. iii. p. .), in the latter on the upper surface of the head and thorax. in the staphylinidae, the horns of the males are extraordinarily variable in the same species, just as we have seen with the lamellicorns. in siagonium we have a case of dimorphism, for the males can be divided into two sets, differing greatly in the size of their bodies and in the development of their horns, without intermediate gradations. in a species of bledius (fig. ), also belonging to the staphylinidae, professor westwood states that, "male specimens can be found in the same locality in which the central horn of the thorax is very large, but the horns of the head quite rudimental; and others, in which the thoracic horn is much shorter, whilst the protuberances on the head are long." ( . 'modern classification of insects,' vol. i. p. : siagonium, p. . in the british museum i noticed one male specimen of siagonium in an intermediate condition, so that the dimorphism is not strict.) here we apparently have a case of compensation, which throws light on that just given, of the supposed loss of the upper horns by the males of onitis. law of battle. some male beetles, which seem ill-fitted for fighting, nevertheless engage in conflicts for the possession of the females. mr. wallace ( . 'the malay archipelago,' vol. ii. , p. . riley, sixth 'report on insects of missouri,' , p. .) saw two males of leptorhynchus angustatus, a linear beetle with a much elongated rostrum, "fighting for a female, who stood close by busy at her boring. they pushed at each other with their rostra, and clawed and thumped, apparently in the greatest rage." the smaller male, however, "soon ran away, acknowledging himself vanquished." in some few cases male beetles are well adapted for fighting, by possessing great toothed mandibles, much larger than those of the females. this is the case with the common stag-beetle (lucanus cervus), the males of which emerge from the pupal state about a week before the other sex, so that several may often be seen pursuing the same female. at this season they engage in fierce conflicts. when mr. a.h. davis ( . 'entomological magazine,' vol. i. , p. . see also on the conflicts of this species, kirby and spence, ibid. vol. iii. p. ; and westwood, ibid. vol. i. p. .) enclosed two males with one female in a box, the larger male severely pinched the smaller one, until he resigned his pretensions. a friend informs me that when a boy he often put the males together to see them fight, and he noticed that they were much bolder and fiercer than the females, as with the higher animals. the males would seize hold of his finger, if held in front of them, but not so the females, although they have stronger jaws. the males of many of the lucanidae, as well as of the above-mentioned leptorhynchus, are larger and more powerful insects than the females. the two sexes of lethrus cephalotes (one of the lamellicorns) inhabit the same burrow; and the male has larger mandibles than the female. if, during the breeding-season, a strange male attempts to enter the burrow, he is attacked; the female does not remain passive, but closes the mouth of the burrow, and encourages her mate by continually pushing him on from behind; and the battle lasts until the aggressor is killed or runs away. ( . quoted from fischer, in 'dict. class. d'hist. nat.' tom. x. p. .) the two sexes of another lamellicorn beetle, the ateuchus cicatricosus, live in pairs, and seem much attached to each other; the male excites the females to roll the balls of dung in which the ova are deposited; and if she is removed, he becomes much agitated. if the male is removed the female ceases all work, and as m. brulerie believes, would remain on the same spot until she died. ( . 'ann. soc. entomolog. france,' , as quoted in 'journal of travel,' by a. murray, , p. .) [fig. . chiasognathus grantii, reduced. upper figure, male; lower figure, female.] the great mandibles of the male lucanidae are extremely variable both in size and structure, and in this respect resemble the horns on the head and thorax of many male lamellicorns and staphylinidae. a perfect series can be formed from the best-provided to the worst-provided or degenerate males. although the mandibles of the common stag-beetle, and probably of many other species, are used as efficient weapons for fighting, it is doubtful whether their great size can thus be accounted for. we have seen that they are used by the lucanus elaphus of n. america for seizing the female. as they are so conspicuous and so elegantly branched, and as owing to their great length they are not well adapted for pinching, the suspicion has crossed my mind that they may in addition serve as an ornament, like the horns on the head and thorax of the various species above described. the male chiasognathus grantii of s. chile--a splendid beetle belonging to the same family--has enormously developed mandibles (fig. ); he is bold and pugnacious; when threatened he faces round, opens his great jaws, and at the same time stridulates loudly. but the mandibles were not strong enough to pinch my finger so as to cause actual pain. sexual selection, which implies the possession of considerable perceptive powers and of strong passions, seems to have been more effective with the lamellicorns than with any other family of beetles. with some species the males are provided with weapons for fighting; some live in pairs and shew mutual affection; many have the power of stridulating when excited; many are furnished with the most extraordinary horns, apparently for the sake of ornament; and some, which are diurnal in their habits, are gorgeously coloured. lastly, several of the largest beetles in the world belong to this family, which was placed by linnaeus and fabricius as the head of the order. ( . westwood, 'modern classification,' vol. i. p. .) stridulating organs. beetles belonging to many and widely distinct families possess these organs. the sound thus produced can sometimes be heard at the distance of several feet or even yards ( . wollaston, 'on certain musical curculionidae,' 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.' vol. vi. , p. .), but it is not comparable with that made by the orthoptera. the rasp generally consists of a narrow, slightly-raised surface, crossed by very fine, parallel ribs, sometimes so fine as to cause iridescent colours, and having a very elegant appearance under the microscope. in some cases, as with typhoeus, minute, bristly or scale-like prominences, with which the whole surrounding surface is covered in approximately parallel lines, could be traced passing into the ribs of the rasp. the transition takes place by their becoming confluent and straight, and at the same time more prominent and smooth. a hard ridge on an adjoining part of the body serves as the scraper for the rasp, but this scraper in some cases has been specially modified for the purpose. it is rapidly moved across the rasp, or conversely the rasp across the scraper. [fig. . necrophorus (from landois). r. the two rasps. left-hand figure, part of the rasp highly magnified.] these organs are situated in widely different positions. in the carrion-beetles (necrophorus) two parallel rasps (r, fig. ) stand on the dorsal surface of the fifth abdominal segment, each rasp ( . landois, 'zeitschrift fur wissenschaft zoolog.' b. xvii. , s. .) consisting of to fine ribs. these ribs are scraped against the posterior margins of the elytra, a small portion of which projects beyond the general outline. in many crioceridae, and in clythra -punctata (one of the chrysomelidae), and in some tenebrionidae, etc. ( . i am greatly indebted to mr. g.r. crotch for having sent me many prepared specimens of various beetles belonging to these three families and to others, as well as for valuable information. he believes that the power of stridulation in the clythra has not been previously observed. i am also much indebted to mr. e.w. janson, for information and specimens. i may add that my son, mr. f. darwin, finds that dermestes murinus stridulates, but he searched in vain for the apparatus. scolytus has lately been described by dr. chapman as a stridulator, in the 'entomologist's monthly magazine,' vol. vi. p. .), the rasp is seated on the dorsal apex of the abdomen, on the pygidium or pro-pygidium, and is scraped in the same manner by the elytra. in heterocerus, which belongs to another family, the rasps are placed on the sides of the first abdominal segment, and are scraped by ridges on the femora. ( . schiodte, translated, in 'annals and magazine of natural history,' vol. xx. , p. .) in certain curculionidae and carabidae ( . westring has described (kroyer, 'naturhist. tidskrift,' b. ii. - , p. ) the stridulating organs in these two, as well as in other families. in the carabidae i have examined elaphrus uliginosus and blethisa multipunctata, sent to me by mr. crotch. in blethisa the transverse ridges on the furrowed border of the abdominal segment do not, as far as i could judge, come into play in scraping the rasps on the elytra.), the parts are completely reversed in position, for the rasps are seated on the inferior surface of the elytra, near their apices, or along their outer margins, and the edges of the abdominal segments serve as the scrapers. in pelobius hermanni (one of dytiscidae or water-beetles) a strong ridge runs parallel and near to the sutural margin of the elytra, and is crossed by ribs, coarse in the middle part, but becoming gradually finer at both ends, especially at the upper end; when this insect is held under water or in the air, a stridulating noise is produced by the extreme horny margin of the abdomen being scraped against the rasps. in a great number of long-horned beetles (longicornia) the organs are situated quite otherwise, the rasp being on the meso-thorax, which is rubbed against the pro-thorax; landois counted very fine ribs on the rasp of cerambyx heros. [fig. . hind-leg of geotrupes stercorarius (from landois). r. rasp. c. coxa. f. femur. t. tibia. tr. tarsi.] many lamellicorns have the power of stridulating, and the organs differ greatly in position. some species stridulate very loudly, so that when mr. f. smith caught a trox sabulosus, a gamekeeper, who stood by, thought he had caught a mouse; but i failed to discover the proper organs in this beetle. in geotrupes and typhoeus, a narrow ridge runs obliquely across (r, fig. ) the coxa of each hind-leg (having in g. stercorarius ribs), which is scraped by a specially projecting part of one of the abdominal segments. in the nearly allied copris lunaris, an excessively narrow fine rasp runs along the sutural margin of the elytra, with another short rasp near the basal outer margin; but in some other coprini the rasp is seated, according to leconte ( . i am indebted to mr. walsh, of illinois, for having sent me extracts from leconte's 'introduction to entomology,' pp. , .), on the dorsal surface of the abdomen. in oryctes it is seated on the pro-pygidium; and, according to the same entomologist, in some other dynastini, on the under surface of the elytra. lastly, westring states that in omaloplia brunnea the rasp is placed on the pro-sternum, and the scraper on the meta-sternum, the parts thus occupying the under surface of the body, instead of the upper surface as in the longicorns. we thus see that in the different coleopterous families the stridulating organs are wonderfully diversified in position, but not much in structure. within the same family some species are provided with these organs, and others are destitute of them. this diversity is intelligible, if we suppose that originally various beetles made a shuffling or hissing noise by the rubbing together of any hard and rough parts of their bodies, which happened to be in contact; and that from the noise thus produced being in some way useful, the rough surfaces were gradually developed into regular stridulating organs. some beetles as they move, now produce, either intentionally or unintentionally, a shuffling noise, without possessing any proper organs for the purpose. mr. wallace informs me that the euchirus longimanus (a lamellicorn, with the anterior legs wonderfully elongated in the male) "makes, whilst moving, a low hissing sound by the protrusion and contraction of the abdomen; and when seized it produces a grating sound by rubbing its hind-legs against the edges of the elytra." the hissing sound is clearly due to a narrow rasp running along the sutural margin of each elytron; and i could likewise make the grating sound by rubbing the shagreened surface of the femur against the granulated margin of the corresponding elytron; but i could not here detect any proper rasp; nor is it likely that i could have overlooked it in so large an insect. after examining cychrus, and reading what westring has written about this beetle, it seems very doubtful whether it possesses any true rasp, though it has the power of emitting a sound. from the analogy of the orthoptera and homoptera, i expected to find the stridulating organs in the coleoptera differing according to sex; but landois, who has carefully examined several species, observed no such difference; nor did westring; nor did mr. g.r. crotch in preparing the many specimens which he had the kindness to send me. any difference in these organs, if slight, would, however, be difficult to detect, on account of their great variability. thus, in the first pair of specimens of necrophorus humator and of pelobius which i examined, the rasp was considerably larger in the male than in the female; but not so with succeeding specimens. in geotrupes stercorarius the rasp appeared to me thicker, opaquer, and more prominent in three males than in the same number of females; in order, therefore, to discover whether the sexes differed in their power of stridulating, my son, mr. f. darwin, collected fifty-seven living specimens, which he separated into two lots, according as they made a greater or lesser noise, when held in the same manner. he then examined all these specimens, and found that the males were very nearly in the same proportion to the females in both the lots. mr. f. smith has kept alive numerous specimens of monoynchus pseudacori (curculionidae), and is convinced that both sexes stridulate, and apparently in an equal degree. nevertheless, the power of stridulating is certainly a sexual character in some few coleoptera. mr. crotch discovered that the males alone of two species of heliopathes (tenebrionidae) possess stridulating organs. i examined five males of h. gibbus, and in all these there was a well-developed rasp, partially divided into two, on the dorsal surface of the terminal abdominal segment; whilst in the same number of females there was not even a rudiment of the rasp, the membrane of this segment being transparent, and much thinner than in the male. in h. cribratostriatus the male has a similar rasp, excepting that it is not partially divided into two portions, and the female is completely destitute of this organ; the male in addition has on the apical margins of the elytra, on each side of the suture, three or four short longitudinal ridges, which are crossed by extremely fine ribs, parallel to and resembling those on the abdominal rasp; whether these ridges serve as an independent rasp, or as a scraper for the abdominal rasp, i could not decide: the female exhibits no trace of this latter structure. again, in three species of the lamellicorn genus oryctes, we have a nearly parallel case. in the females of o. gryphus and nasicornis the ribs on the rasp of the pro-pygidium are less continuous and less distinct than in the males; but the chief difference is that the whole upper surface of this segment, when held in the proper light, is seen to be clothed with hairs, which are absent or are represented by excessively fine down in the males. it should be noticed that in all coleoptera the effective part of the rasp is destitute of hairs. in o. senegalensis the difference between the sexes is more strongly marked, and this is best seen when the proper abdominal segment is cleaned and viewed as a transparent object. in the female the whole surface is covered with little separate crests, bearing spines; whilst in the male these crests in proceeding towards the apex, become more and more confluent, regular, and naked; so that three-fourths of the segment is covered with extremely fine parallel ribs, which are quite absent in the female. in the females, however, of all three species of oryctes, a slight grating or stridulating sound is produced, when the abdomen of a softened specimen is pushed backwards and forwards. in the case of the heliopathes and oryctes there can hardly be a doubt that the males stridulate in order to call or to excite the females; but with most beetles the stridulation apparently serves both sexes as a mutual call. beetles stridulate under various emotions, in the same manner as birds use their voices for many purposes besides singing to their mates. the great chiasognathus stridulates in anger or defiance; many species do the same from distress or fear, if held so that they cannot escape; by striking the hollow stems of trees in the canary islands, messrs. wollaston and crotch were able to discover the presence of beetles belonging to the genus acalles by their stridulation. lastly, the male ateuchus stridulates to encourage the female in her work, and from distress when she is removed. ( . m. p. de la brulerie, as quoted in 'journal of travel,' a. murray, vol. i. , p. .) some naturalists believe that beetles make this noise to frighten away their enemies; but i cannot think that a quadruped or bird, able to devour a large beetle, would be frightened by so slight a sound. the belief that the stridulation serves as a sexual call is supported by the fact that death-ticks (anobium tessellatum) are well known to answer each other's ticking, and, as i have myself observed, a tapping noise artificially made. mr. doubleday also informs me that he has sometimes observed a female ticking ( . according to mr. doubleday, "the noise is produced by the insect raising itself on its legs as high as it can, and then striking its thorax five or six times, in rapid succession, against the substance upon which it is sitting." for references on this subject see landois, 'zeitschrift für wissen. zoolog.' b. xvii. s. . olivier says (as quoted by kirby and spence, 'introduction to entomology,' vol. ii. p. ) that the female of pimelia striata produces a rather loud sound by striking her abdomen against any hard substance, "and that the male, obedient to this call, soon attends her, and they pair."), and in an hour or two afterwards has found her united with a male, and on one occasion surrounded by several males. finally, it is probable that the two sexes of many kinds of beetles were at first enabled to find each other by the slight shuffling noise produced by the rubbing together of the adjoining hard parts of their bodies; and that as those males or females which made the greatest noise succeeded best in finding partners, rugosities on various parts of their bodies were gradually developed by means of sexual selection into true stridulating organs. chapter xi. insects, continued. order lepidoptera. (butterflies and moths.) courtship of butterflies--battles--ticking noise--colours common to both sexes, or more brilliant in the males--examples--not due to the direct action of the conditions of life--colours adapted for protection--colours of moths--display--perceptive powers of the lepidoptera--variability--causes of the difference in colour between the males and females--mimicry, female butterflies more brilliantly coloured than the males--bright colours of caterpillars--summary and concluding remarks on the secondary sexual characters of insects--birds and insects compared. in this great order the most interesting points for us are the differences in colour between the sexes of the same species, and between the distinct species of the same genus. nearly the whole of the following chapter will be devoted to this subject; but i will first make a few remarks on one or two other points. several males may often be seen pursuing and crowding round the same female. their courtship appears to be a prolonged affair, for i have frequently watched one or more males pirouetting round a female until i was tired, without seeing the end of the courtship. mr. a.g. butler also informs me that he has several times watched a male courting a female for a full quarter of an hour; but she pertinaciously refused him, and at last settled on the ground and closed her wings, so as to escape from his addresses. although butterflies are weak and fragile creatures, they are pugnacious, and an emperor butterfly ( . apatura iris: 'the entomologist's weekly intelligence,' , p. . for the bornean butterflies, see c. collingwood, 'rambles of a naturalist,' , p. .) has been captured with the tips of its wings broken from a conflict with another male. mr. collingwood, in speaking of the frequent battles between the butterflies of borneo, says, "they whirl round each other with the greatest rapidity, and appear to be incited by the greatest ferocity." the ageronia feronia makes a noise like that produced by a toothed wheel passing under a spring catch, and which can be heard at the distance of several yards: i noticed this sound at rio de janeiro, only when two of these butterflies were chasing each other in an irregular course, so that it is probably made during the courtship of the sexes. ( . see my 'journal of researches,' , p. . mr. doubleday has detected ('proc. ent. soc.' march , , p. ) a peculiar membranous sac at the base of the front wings, which is probably connected with the production of the sound. for the case of thecophora, see 'zoological record,' , p. . for mr. buchanan white's observations, the scottish naturalist, july , p. .) some moths also produce sounds; for instance, the males theocophora fovea. on two occasions mr. f. buchanan white ( . 'the scottish naturalist,' july , p. .) heard a sharp quick noise made by the male of hylophila prasinana, and which he believes to be produced, as in cicada, by an elastic membrane, furnished with a muscle. he quotes, also, guenee, that setina produces a sound like the ticking of a watch, apparently by the aid of "two large tympaniform vesicles, situated in the pectoral region"; and these "are much more developed in the male than in the female." hence the sound-producing organs in the lepidoptera appear to stand in some relation with the sexual functions. i have not alluded to the well-known noise made by the death's head sphinx, for it is generally heard soon after the moth has emerged from its cocoon. giard has always observed that the musky odour, which is emitted by two species of sphinx moths, is peculiar to the males ( . 'zoological record,' , p. .); and in the higher classes we shall meet with many instances of the males alone being odoriferous. every one must have admired the extreme beauty of many butterflies and of some moths; and it may be asked, are their colours and diversified patterns the result of the direct action of the physical conditions to which these insects have been exposed, without any benefit being thus derived? or have successive variations been accumulated and determined as a protection, or for some unknown purpose, or that one sex may be attractive to the other? and, again, what is the meaning of the colours being widely different in the males and females of certain species, and alike in the two sexes of other species of the same genus? before attempting to answer these questions a body of facts must be given. with our beautiful english butterflies, the admiral, peacock, and painted lady (vanessae), as well as many others, the sexes are alike. this is also the case with the magnificent heliconidae, and most of the danaidae in the tropics. but in certain other tropical groups, and in some of our english butterflies, as the purple emperor, orange-tip, etc. (apatura iris and anthocharis cardamines), the sexes differ either greatly or slightly in colour. no language suffices to describe the splendour of the males of some tropical species. even within the same genus we often find species presenting extraordinary differences between the sexes, whilst others have their sexes closely alike. thus in the south american genus epicalia, mr. bates, to whom i am indebted for most of the following facts, and for looking over this whole discussion, informs me that he knows twelve species, the two sexes of which haunt the same stations (and this is not always the case with butterflies), and which, therefore, cannot have been differently affected by external conditions. ( . see also mr. bates's paper in 'proc. ent. soc. of philadelphia,' , p. . also mr. wallace on the same subject, in regard to diadema, in 'transactions, entomological society of london,' , p. .) in nine of these twelve species the males rank amongst the most brilliant of all butterflies, and differ so greatly from the comparatively plain females that they were formerly placed in distinct genera. the females of these nine species resemble each other in their general type of coloration; and they likewise resemble both sexes of the species in several allied genera found in various parts of the world. hence we may infer that these nine species, and probably all the others of the genus, are descended from an ancestral form which was coloured in nearly the same manner. in the tenth species the female still retains the same general colouring, but the male resembles her, so that he is coloured in a much less gaudy and contrasted manner than the males of the previous species. in the eleventh and twelfth species, the females depart from the usual type, for they are gaily decorated almost like the males, but in a somewhat less degree. hence in these two latter species the bright colours of the males seem to have been transferred to the females; whilst in the tenth species the male has either retained or recovered the plain colours of the female, as well as of the parent-form of the genus. the sexes in these three cases have thus been rendered nearly alike, though in an opposite manner. in the allied genus eubagis, both sexes of some of the species are plain-coloured and nearly alike; whilst with the greater number the males are decorated with beautiful metallic tints in a diversified manner, and differ much from their females. the females throughout the genus retain the same general style of colouring, so that they resemble one another much more closely than they resemble their own males. in the genus papilio, all the species of the aeneas group are remarkable for their conspicuous and strongly contrasted colours, and they illustrate the frequent tendency to gradation in the amount of difference between the sexes. in a few species, for instance in p. ascanius, the males and females are alike; in others the males are either a little brighter, or very much more superb than the females. the genus junonia, allied to our vanessae, offers a nearly parallel case, for although the sexes of most of the species resemble each other, and are destitute of rich colours, yet in certain species, as in j. oenone, the male is rather more bright-coloured than the female, and in a few (for instance j. andremiaja) the male is so different from the female that he might be mistaken for an entirely distinct species. another striking case was pointed out to me in the british museum by mr. a. butler, namely, one of the tropical american theclae, in which both sexes are nearly alike and wonderfully splendid; in another species the male is coloured in a similarly gorgeous manner, whilst the whole upper surface of the female is of a dull uniform brown. our common little english blue butterflies of the genus lycaena, illustrate the various differences in colour between the sexes, almost as well, though not in so striking a manner, as the above exotic genera. in lycaena agestis both sexes have wings of a brown colour, bordered with small ocellated orange spots, and are thus alike. in l. oegon the wings of the males are of a fine blue, bordered with black, whilst those of the female are brown, with a similar border, closely resembling the wings of l. agestis. lastly, in l. arion both sexes are of a blue colour and are very like, though in the female the edges of the wings are rather duskier, with the black spots plainer; and in a bright blue indian species both sexes are still more alike. i have given the foregoing details in order to shew, in the first place, that when the sexes of butterflies differ, the male as a general rule is the more beautiful, and departs more from the usual type of colouring of the group to which the species belongs. hence in most groups the females of the several species resemble each other much more closely than do the males. in some cases, however, to which i shall hereafter allude, the females are coloured more splendidly than the males. in the second place, these details have been given to bring clearly before the mind that within the same genus, the two sexes frequently present every gradation from no difference in colour, to so great a difference that it was long before the two were placed by entomologists in the same genus. in the third place, we have seen that when the sexes nearly resemble each other, this appears due either to the male having transferred his colours to the female, or to the male having retained, or perhaps recovered, the primordial colours of the group. it also deserves notice that in those groups in which the sexes differ, the females usually somewhat resemble the males, so that when the males are beautiful to an extraordinary degree, the females almost invariably exhibit some degree of beauty. from the many cases of gradation in the amount of difference between the sexes, and from the prevalence of the same general type of coloration throughout the whole of the same group, we may conclude that the causes have generally been the same which have determined the brilliant colouring of the males alone of some species, and of both sexes of other species. as so many gorgeous butterflies inhabit the tropics, it has often been supposed that they owe their colours to the great heat and moisture of these zones; but mr. bates ( . 'the naturalist on the amazons,' vol. i. , p. .) has shown by the comparison of various closely-allied groups of insects from the temperate and tropical regions, that this view cannot be maintained; and the evidence becomes conclusive when brilliantly-coloured males and plain-coloured females of the same species inhabit the same district, feed on the same food, and follow exactly the same habits of life. even when the sexes resemble each other, we can hardly believe that their brilliant and beautifully-arranged colours are the purposeless result of the nature of the tissues and of the action of the surrounding conditions. with animals of all kinds, whenever colour has been modified for some special purpose, this has been, as far as we can judge, either for direct or indirect protection, or as an attraction between the sexes. with many species of butterflies the upper surfaces of the wings are obscure; and this in all probability leads to their escaping observation and danger. but butterflies would be particularly liable to be attacked by their enemies when at rest; and most kinds whilst resting raise their wings vertically over their backs, so that the lower surface alone is exposed to view. hence it is this side which is often coloured so as to imitate the objects on which these insects commonly rest. dr. rossler, i believe, first noticed the similarity of the closed wings of certain vanessae and other butterflies to the bark of trees. many analogous and striking facts could be given. the most interesting one is that recorded by mr. wallace ( . see the interesting article in the 'westminster review,' july , p. . a woodcut of the kallima is given by mr. wallace in 'hardwicke's science gossip,' september , p. .) of a common indian and sumatran butterfly (kallima) which disappears like magic when it settles on a bush; for it hides its head and antennae between its closed wings, which, in form, colour and veining, cannot be distinguished from a withered leaf with its footstalk. in some other cases the lower surfaces of the wings are brilliantly coloured, and yet are protective; thus in thecla rubi the wings when closed are of an emerald green, and resemble the young leaves of the bramble, on which in spring this butterfly may often be seen seated. it is also remarkable that in very many species in which the sexes differ greatly in colour on their upper surface, the lower surface is closely similar or identical in both sexes, and serves as a protection. ( . mr. g. fraser, in 'nature,' april , p. .) although the obscure tints both of the upper and under sides of many butterflies no doubt serve to conceal them, yet we cannot extend this view to the brilliant and conspicuous colours on the upper surface of such species as our admiral and peacock vanessae, our white cabbage-butterflies (pieris), or the great swallow-tail papilio which haunts the open fens--for these butterflies are thus rendered visible to every living creature. in these species both sexes are alike; but in the common brimstone butterfly (gonepteryx rhamni), the male is of an intense yellow, whilst the female is much paler; and in the orange-tip (anthocharis cardamines) the males alone have their wings tipped with bright orange. both the males and females in these cases are conspicuous, and it is not credible that their difference in colour should stand in any relation to ordinary protection. prof. weismann remarks ( . 'einfluss der isolirung auf die artbildung,' , p. .), that the female of one of the lycaenae expands her brown wings when she settles on the ground, and is then almost invisible; the male, on the other hand, as if aware of the danger incurred from the bright blue of the upper surface of his wings, rests with them closed; and this shows that the blue colour cannot be in any way protective. nevertheless, it is probable that conspicuous colours are indirectly beneficial to many species, as a warning that they are unpalatable. for in certain other cases, beauty has been gained through the imitation of other beautiful species, which inhabit the same district and enjoy an immunity from attack by being in some way offensive to their enemies; but then we have to account for the beauty of the imitated species. as mr. walsh has remarked to me, the females of our orange-tip butterfly, above referred to, and of an american species (anth. genutia) probably shew us the primordial colours of the parent-species of the genus; for both sexes of four or five widely-distributed species are coloured in nearly the same manner. as in several previous cases, we may here infer that it is the males of anth. cardamines and genutia which have departed from the usual type of the genus. in the anth. sara from california, the orange-tips to the wings have been partially developed in the female; but they are paler than in the male, and slightly different in some other respects. in an allied indian form, the iphias glaucippe, the orange-tips are fully developed in both sexes. in this iphias, as pointed out to me by mr. a. butler, the under surface of the wings marvellously resembles a pale-coloured leaf; and in our english orange-tip, the under surface resembles the flower-head of the wild parsley, on which the butterfly often rests at night. ( . see the interesting observations by t.w. wood, 'the student,' sept. , p. .) the same reason which compels us to believe that the lower surfaces have here been coloured for the sake of protection, leads us to deny that the wings have been tipped with bright orange for the same purpose, especially when this character is confined to the males. most moths rest motionless during the whole or greater part of the day with their wings depressed; and the whole upper surface is often shaded and coloured in an admirable manner, as mr. wallace has remarked, for escaping detection. the front-wings of the bombycidae and noctuidae ( . mr. wallace in 'hardwicke's science gossip,' september , p. .), when at rest, generally overlap and conceal the hind-wings; so that the latter might be brightly coloured without much risk; and they are in fact often thus coloured. during flight, moths would often be able to escape from their enemies; nevertheless, as the hind-wings are then fully exposed to view, their bright colours must generally have been acquired at some little risk. but the following fact shews how cautious we ought to be in drawing conclusions on this head. the common yellow under-wings (triphaena) often fly about during the day or early evening, and are then conspicuous from the colour of their hind-wings. it would naturally be thought that this would be a source of danger; but mr. j. jenner weir believes that it actually serves them as a means of escape, for birds strike at these brightly coloured and fragile surfaces, instead of at the body. for instance, mr. weir turned into his aviary a vigorous specimen of triphaena pronuba, which was instantly pursued by a robin; but the bird's attention being caught by the coloured wings, the moth was not captured until after about fifty attempts, and small portions of the wings were repeatedly broken off. he tried the same experiment, in the open air, with a swallow and t. fimbria; but the large size of this moth probably interfered with its capture. ( . see also, on this subject, mr. weir's paper in 'transactions, entomological society,' , p. .) we are thus reminded of a statement made by mr. wallace ( . 'westminster review,' july , p. .), namely, that in the brazilian forests and malayan islands, many common and highly-decorated butterflies are weak flyers, though furnished with a broad expanse of wing; and they "are often captured with pierced and broken wings, as if they had been seized by birds, from which they had escaped: if the wings had been much smaller in proportion to the body, it seems probable that the insect would more frequently have been struck or pierced in a vital part, and thus the increased expanse of the wings may have been indirectly beneficial." display. the bright colours of many butterflies and of some moths are specially arranged for display, so that they may be readily seen. during the night colours are not visible, and there can be no doubt that the nocturnal moths, taken as a body, are much less gaily decorated than butterflies, all of which are diurnal in their habits. but the moths of certain families, such as the zygaenidae, several sphingidae, uraniidae, some arctiidae and saturniidae, fly about during the day or early evening, and many of these are extremely beautiful, being far brighter coloured than the strictly nocturnal kinds. a few exceptional cases, however, of bright-coloured nocturnal species have been recorded. ( . for instance, lithosia; but prof. westwood ('modern class. of insects,' vol. ii. p. ) seems surprised at this case. on the relative colours of diurnal and nocturnal lepidoptera, see ibid. pp. and ; also harris, 'treatise on the insects of new england,' , p. .) there is evidence of another kind in regard to display. butterflies, as before remarked, elevate their wings when at rest, but whilst basking in the sunshine often alternately raise and depress them, thus exposing both surfaces to full view; and although the lower surface is often coloured in an obscure manner as a protection, yet in many species it is as highly decorated as the upper surface, and sometimes in a very different manner. in some tropical species the lower surface is even more brilliantly coloured than the upper. ( . such differences between the upper and lower surfaces of the wings of several species of papilio may be seen in the beautiful plates to mr. wallace's 'memoir on the papilionidae of the malayan region,' in 'transactions of the linnean society,' vol. xxv. part i. .) in the english fritillaries (argynnis) the lower surface alone is ornamented with shining silver. nevertheless, as a general rule, the upper surface, which is probably more fully exposed, is coloured more brightly and diversely than the lower. hence the lower surface generally affords to entomologists the more useful character for detecting the affinities of the various species. fritz müller informs me that three species of castnia are found near his house in s. brazil: of two of them the hind-wings are obscure, and are always covered by the front-wings when these butterflies are at rest; but the third species has black hind-wings, beautifully spotted with red and white, and these are fully expanded and displayed whenever the butterfly rests. other such cases could be added. if we now turn to the enormous group of moths, which, as i hear from mr. stainton, do not habitually expose the under surface of their wings to full view, we find this side very rarely coloured with a brightness greater than, or even equal to, that of the upper side. some exceptions to the rule, either real or apparent, must be noticed, as the case of hypopyra. ( . see mr. wormald on this moth: 'proceedings of the entomological society,' march , .) mr. trimen informs me that in guenee's great work, three moths are figured, in which the under surface is much the more brilliant. for instance, in the australian gastrophora the upper surface of the fore-wing is pale greyish-ochreous, while the lower surface is magnificently ornamented by an ocellus of cobalt-blue, placed in the midst of a black mark, surrounded by orange-yellow, and this by bluish-white. but the habits of these three moths are unknown; so that no explanation can be given of their unusual style of colouring. mr. trimen also informs me that the lower surface of the wings in certain other geometrae ( . see also an account of the s. american genus erateina (one of the geometrae) in 'transactions, ent. soc.' new series, vol. v. pl. xv. and xvi.) and quadrifid noctuae are either more variegated or more brightly-coloured than the upper surface; but some of these species have the habit of "holding their wings quite erect over their backs, retaining them in this position for a considerable time," and thus exposing the under surface to view. other species, when settled on the ground or herbage, now and then suddenly and slightly lift up their wings. hence the lower surface of the wings being brighter than the upper surface in certain moths is not so anomalous as it at first appears. the saturniidae include some of the most beautiful of all moths, their wings being decorated, as in our british emperor moth, with fine ocelli; and mr. t.w. wood ( . 'proc ent. soc. of london,' july , , p. xxvii.) observes that they resemble butterflies in some of their movements; "for instance, in the gentle waving up and down of the wings as if for display, which is more characteristic of diurnal than of nocturnal lepidoptera." it is a singular fact that no british moths which are brilliantly coloured, and, as far as i can discover, hardly any foreign species, differ much in colour according to sex; though this is the case with many brilliant butterflies. the male, however, of one american moth, the saturnia io, is described as having its fore-wings deep yellow, curiously marked with purplish-red spots; whilst the wings of the female are purple-brown, marked with grey lines. ( . harris, 'treatise,' etc., edited by flint, , p. .) the british moths which differ sexually in colour are all brown, or of various dull yellow tints, or nearly white. in several species the males are much darker than the females ( . for instance, i observe in my son's cabinet that the males are darker than the females in the lasiocampa quercus, odonestis potatoria, hypogymna dispar, dasychira pudibunda, and cycnia mendica. in this latter species the difference in colour between the two sexes is strongly marked; and mr. wallace informs me that we here have, as he believes, an instance of protective mimicry confined to one sex, as will hereafter be more fully explained. the white female of the cycnia resembles the very common spilosoma menthrasti, both sexes of which are white; and mr. stainton observed that this latter moth was rejected with utter disgust by a whole brood of young turkeys, which were fond of eating other moths; so that if the cycnia was commonly mistaken by british birds for the spilosoma, it would escape being devoured, and its white deceptive colour would thus be highly beneficial.), and these belong to groups which generally fly about during the afternoon. on the other hand, in many genera, as mr. stainton informs me, the males have the hind-wings whiter than those of the female--of which fact agrotis exclamationis offers a good instance. in the ghost moth (hepialus humuli) the difference is more strongly marked; the males being white, and the females yellow with darker markings. ( . it is remarkable, that in the shetland islands the male of this moth, instead of differing widely from the female, frequently resembles her closely in colour (see mr. maclachlan, 'transactions, entomological society,' vol. ii. , p. ). mr. g. fraser suggests ('nature,' april , p. ) that at the season of the year when the ghost-moth appears in these northern islands, the whiteness of the males would not be needed to render them visible to the females in the twilight night.) it is probable that in these cases the males are thus rendered more conspicuous, and more easily seen by the females whilst flying about in the dusk. from the several foregoing facts it is impossible to admit that the brilliant colours of butterflies, and of some few moths, have commonly been acquired for the sake of protection. we have seen that their colours and elegant patterns are arranged and exhibited as if for display. hence i am led to believe that the females prefer or are most excited by the more brilliant males; for on any other supposition the males would, as far as we can see, be ornamented to no purpose. we know that ants and certain lamellicorn beetles are capable of feeling an attachment for each other, and that ants recognise their fellows after an interval of several months. hence there is no abstract improbability in the lepidoptera, which probably stand nearly or quite as high in the scale as these insects, having sufficient mental capacity to admire bright colours. they certainly discover flowers by colour. the humming-bird sphinx may often be seen to swoop down from a distance on a bunch of flowers in the midst of green foliage; and i have been assured by two persons abroad, that these moths repeatedly visit flowers painted on the walls of a room, and vainly endeavour to insert their proboscis into them. fritz müller informs me that several kinds of butterflies in s. brazil shew an unmistakable preference for certain colours over others: he observed that they very often visited the brilliant red flowers of five or six genera of plants, but never the white or yellow flowering species of the same and other genera, growing in the same garden; and i have received other accounts to the same effect. as i hear from mr. doubleday, the common white butterfly often flies down to a bit of paper on the ground, no doubt mistaking it for one of its own species. mr. collingwood ( . 'rambles of a naturalist in the chinese seas,' , p. .) in speaking of the difficulty in collecting certain butterflies in the malay archipelago, states that "a dead specimen pinned upon a conspicuous twig will often arrest an insect of the same species in its headlong flight, and bring it down within easy reach of the net, especially if it be of the opposite sex." the courtship of butterflies is, as before remarked, a prolonged affair. the males sometimes fight together in rivalry; and many may be seen pursuing or crowding round the same female. unless, then, the females prefer one male to another, the pairing must be left to mere chance, and this does not appear probable. if, on the other band, the females habitually, or even occasionally, prefer the more beautiful males, the colours of the latter will have been rendered brighter by degrees, and will have been transmitted to both sexes or to one sex, according to the law of inheritance which has prevailed. the process of sexual selection will have been much facilitated, if the conclusion can be trusted, arrived at from various kinds of evidence in the supplement to the ninth chapter; namely, that the males of many lepidoptera, at least in the imago state, greatly exceed the females in number. some facts, however, are opposed to the belief that female butterflies prefer the more beautiful males; thus, as i have been assured by several collectors, fresh females may frequently be seen paired with battered, faded, or dingy males; but this is a circumstance which could hardly fail often to follow from the males emerging from their cocoons earlier than the females. with moths of the family of the bombycidae, the sexes pair immediately after assuming the imago state; for they cannot feed, owing to the rudimentary condition of their mouths. the females, as several entomologists have remarked to me, lie in an almost torpid state, and appear not to evince the least choice in regard to their partners. this is the case with the common silk-moth (b. mori), as i have been told by some continental and english breeders. dr. wallace, who has had great experience in breeding bombyx cynthia, is convinced that the females evince no choice or preference. he has kept above of these moths together, and has often found the most vigorous females mated with stunted males. the reverse appears to occur seldom; for, as he believes, the more vigorous males pass over the weakly females, and are attracted by those endowed with most vitality. nevertheless, the bombycidae, though obscurely-coloured, are often beautiful to our eyes from their elegant and mottled shades. i have as yet only referred to the species in which the males are brighter coloured than the females, and i have attributed their beauty to the females for many generations having chosen and paired with the more attractive males. but converse cases occur, though rarely, in which the females are more brilliant than the males; and here, as i believe, the males have selected the more beautiful females, and have thus slowly added to their beauty. we do not know why in various classes of animals the males of some few species have selected the more beautiful females instead of having gladly accepted any female, as seems to be the general rule in the animal kingdom: but if, contrary to what generally occurs with the lepidoptera, the females were much more numerous than the males, the latter would be likely to pick out the more beautiful females. mr. butler shewed me several species of callidryas in the british museum, in some of which the females equalled, and in others greatly surpassed the males in beauty; for the females alone have the borders of their wings suffused with crimson and orange, and spotted with black. the plainer males of these species closely resemble each other, shewing that here the females have been modified; whereas in those cases, where the males are the more ornate, it is these which have been modified, the females remaining closely alike. in england we have some analogous cases, though not so marked. the females alone of two species of thecla have a bright-purple or orange patch on their fore-wings. in hipparchia the sexes do not differ much; but it is the female of h. janira which has a conspicuous light-brown patch on her wings; and the females of some of the other species are brighter coloured than their males. again, the females of colias edusa and hyale have "orange or yellow spots on the black marginal border, represented in the males only by thin streaks"; and in pieris it is the females which "are ornamented with black spots on the fore-wings, and these are only partially present in the males." now the males of many butterflies are known to support the females during their marriage flight; but in the species just named it is the females which support the males; so that the part which the two sexes play is reversed, as is their relative beauty. throughout the animal kingdom the males commonly take the more active share in wooing, and their beauty seems to have been increased by the females having accepted the more attractive individuals; but with these butterflies, the females take the more active part in the final marriage ceremony, so that we may suppose that they likewise do so in the wooing; and in this case we can understand how it is that they have been rendered the more beautiful. mr. meldola, from whom the foregoing statements have been taken, says in conclusion: "though i am not convinced of the action of sexual selection in producing the colours of insects, it cannot be denied that these facts are strikingly corroborative of mr. darwin's views." ( . 'nature,' april , , p. . mr. meldola quotes donzel, in 'soc. ent. de france,' , p. , on the flight of butterflies whilst pairing. see also mr. g. fraser, in 'nature,' april , , p. , on the sexual differences of several british butterflies.) as sexual selection primarily depends on variability, a few words must be added on this subject. in respect to colour there is no difficulty, for any number of highly variable lepidoptera could be named. one good instance will suffice. mr. bates shewed me a whole series of specimens of papilio sesostris and p. childrenae; in the latter the males varied much in the extent of the beautifully enamelled green patch on the fore-wings, and in the size of the white mark, and of the splendid crimson stripe on the hind-wings; so that there was a great contrast amongst the males between the most and the least gaudy. the male of papilio sesostris is much less beautiful than of p. childrenae; and it likewise varies a little in the size of the green patch on the fore-wings, and in the occasional appearance of the small crimson stripe on the hind-wings, borrowed, as it would seem, from its own female; for the females of this and of many other species in the aeneas group possess this crimson stripe. hence between the brightest specimens of p. sesostris and the dullest of p. childrenae, there was but a small interval; and it was evident that as far as mere variability is concerned, there would be no difficulty in permanently increasing the beauty of either species by means of selection. the variability is here almost confined to the male sex; but mr. wallace and mr. bates have shewn ( . wallace on the papilionidae of the malayan region, in 'transact. linn. soc.' vol. xxv. , pp. , . a striking case of a rare variety, strictly intermediate between two other well-marked female varieties, is given by mr. wallace. see also mr. bates, in 'proc. entomolog. soc.' nov. , , p. xl.) that the females of some species are extremely variable, the males being nearly constant. in a future chapter i shall have occasion to shew that the beautiful eye-like spots, or ocelli, found on the wings of many lepidoptera, are eminently variable. i may here add that these ocelli offer a difficulty on the theory of sexual selection; for though appearing to us so ornamental, they are never present in one sex and absent in the other, nor do they ever differ much in the two sexes. ( . mr. bates was so kind as to lay this subject before the entomological society, and i have received answers to this effect from several entomologists.) this fact is at present inexplicable; but if it should hereafter be found that the formation of an ocellus is due to some change in the tissues of the wings, for instance, occurring at a very early period of development, we might expect, from what we know of the laws of inheritance, that it would be transmitted to both sexes, though arising and perfected in one sex alone. on the whole, although many serious objections may be urged, it seems probable that most of the brilliantly-coloured species of lepidoptera owe their colours to sexual selection, excepting in certain cases, presently to be mentioned, in which conspicuous colours have been gained through mimicry as a protection. from the ardour of the male throughout the animal kingdom, he is generally willing to accept any female; and it is the female which usually exerts a choice. hence, if sexual selection has been efficient with the lepidoptera, the male, when the sexes differ, ought to be the more brilliantly coloured, and this undoubtedly is the case. when both sexes are brilliantly coloured and resemble each other, the characters acquired by the males appear to have been transmitted to both. we are led to this conclusion by cases, even within the same genus, of gradation from an extraordinary amount of difference to identity in colour between the two sexes. but it may be asked whether the difference in colour between the sexes may not be accounted for by other means besides sexual selection. thus the males and females of the same species of butterfly are in several cases known ( . h.w. bates, 'the naturalist on the amazons,' vol. ii. , p. . a.r. wallace, in 'transactions, linnean society,' vol. xxv. , p. .) to inhabit different stations, the former commonly basking in the sunshine, the latter haunting gloomy forests. it is therefore possible that different conditions of life may have acted directly on the two sexes; but this is not probable ( . on this whole subject see 'the variation of animals and plants under domestication,' , vol. ii. chap. xxiii.) as in the adult state they are exposed to different conditions during a very short period; and the larvae of both are exposed to the same conditions. mr. wallace believes that the difference between the sexes is due not so much to the males having been modified, as to the females having in all or almost all cases acquired dull colours for the sake of protection. it seems to me, on the contrary, far more probable that it is the males which have been chiefly modified through sexual selection, the females having been comparatively little changed. we can thus understand how it is that the females of allied species generally resemble one another so much more closely than do the males. they thus shew us approximately the primordial colouring of the parent-species of the group to which they belong. they have, however, almost always been somewhat modified by the transfer to them of some of the successive variations, through the accumulation of which the males were rendered beautiful. but i do not wish to deny that the females alone of some species may have been specially modified for protection. in most cases the males and females of distinct species will have been exposed during their prolonged larval state to different conditions, and may have been thus affected; though with the males any slight change of colour thus caused will generally have been masked by the brilliant tints gained through sexual selection. when we treat of birds, i shall have to discuss the whole question, as to how far the differences in colour between the sexes are due to the males having been modified through sexual selection for ornamental purposes, or to the females having been modified through natural selection for the sake of protection, so that i will here say but little on the subject. in all the cases in which the more common form of equal inheritance by both sexes has prevailed, the selection of bright-coloured males would tend to make the females bright-coloured; and the selection of dull-coloured females would tend to make the males dull. if both processes were carried on simultaneously, they would tend to counteract each other; and the final result would depend on whether a greater number of females from being well protected by obscure colours, or a greater number of males by being brightly-coloured and thus finding partners, succeeded in leaving more numerous offspring. in order to account for the frequent transmission of characters to one sex alone, mr. wallace expresses his belief that the more common form of equal inheritance by both sexes can be changed through natural selection into inheritance by one sex alone, but in favour of this view i can discover no evidence. we know from what occurs under domestication that new characters often appear, which from the first are transmitted to one sex alone; and by the selection of such variations there would not be the slightest difficulty in giving bright colours to the males alone, and at the same time or subsequently, dull colours to the females alone. in this manner the females of some butterflies and moths have, it is probable, been rendered inconspicuous for the sake of protection, and widely different from their males. i am, however, unwilling without distinct evidence to admit that two complex processes of selection, each requiring the transference of new characters to one sex alone, have been carried on with a multitude of species,--that the males have been rendered more brilliant by beating their rivals, and the females more dull-coloured by having escaped from their enemies. the male, for instance, of the common brimstone butterfly (gonepteryx), is of a far more intense yellow than the female, though she is equally conspicuous; and it does not seem probable that she specially acquired her pale tints as a protection, though it is probable that the male acquired his bright colours as a sexual attraction. the female of anthocharis cardamines does not possess the beautiful orange wing-tips of the male; consequently she closely resembles the white butterflies (pieris) so common in our gardens; but we have no evidence that this resemblance is beneficial to her. as, on the other hand, she resembles both sexes of several other species of the genus inhabiting various quarters of the world, it is probable that she has simply retained to a large extent her primordial colours. finally, as we have seen, various considerations lead to the conclusion that with the greater number of brilliantly-coloured lepidoptera it is the male which has been chiefly modified through sexual selection; the amount of difference between the sexes mostly depending on the form of inheritance which has prevailed. inheritance is governed by so many unknown laws or conditions, that it seems to us to act in a capricious manner ( . the 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. chap. xii. p. .); and we can thus, to a certain extent, understand how it is that with closely allied species the sexes either differ to an astonishing degree, or are identical in colour. as all the successive steps in the process of variation are necessarily transmitted through the female, a greater or less number of such steps might readily become developed in her; and thus we can understand the frequent gradations from an extreme difference to none at all between the sexes of allied species. these cases of gradation, it may be added, are much too common to favour the supposition that we here see females actually undergoing the process of transition and losing their brightness for the sake of protection; for we have every reason to conclude that at any one time the greater number of species are in a fixed condition. mimicry. this principle was first made clear in an admirable paper by mr. bates ( . 'transact. linn. soc.' vol. xxiii. , p. .), who thus threw a flood of light on many obscure problems. it had previously been observed that certain butterflies in s. america belonging to quite distinct families, resembled the heliconidae so closely in every stripe and shade of colour, that they could not be distinguished save by an experienced entomologist. as the heliconidae are coloured in their usual manner, whilst the others depart from the usual colouring of the groups to which they belong, it is clear that the latter are the imitators, and the heliconidae the imitated. mr. bates further observed that the imitating species are comparatively rare, whilst the imitated abound, and that the two sets live mingled together. from the fact of the heliconidae being conspicuous and beautiful insects, yet so numerous in individuals and species, he concluded that they must be protected from the attacks of enemies by some secretion or odour; and this conclusion has now been amply confirmed ( . 'proc. entomological soc.' dec. , , p. xlv.), especially by mr. belt. hence mr. bates inferred that the butterflies which imitate the protected species have acquired their present marvellously deceptive appearance through variation and natural selection, in order to be mistaken for the protected kinds, and thus to escape being devoured. no explanation is here attempted of the brilliant colours of the imitated, but only of the imitating butterflies. we must account for the colours of the former in the same general manner, as in the cases previously discussed in this chapter. since the publication of mr. bates' paper, similar and equally striking facts have been observed by mr. wallace in the malayan region, by mr. trimen in south africa, and by mr. riley in the united states. ( . wallace, 'transact. linn. soc.' vol. xxv. p. i.; also, 'transact. ent. soc.' vol. iv. ( rd series), , p. . trimen, 'linn. transact.' vol. xxvi. , p. . riley, 'third annual report on the noxious insects of missouri,' , pp. - . this latter essay is valuable, as mr. riley here discusses all the objections which have been raised against mr. bates's theory.) as some writers have felt much difficulty in understanding how the first steps in the process of mimicry could have been effected through natural selection, it may be well to remark that the process probably commenced long ago between forms not widely dissimilar in colour. in this case even a slight variation would be beneficial, if it rendered the one species more like the other; and afterwards the imitated species might be modified to an extreme degree through sexual selection or other means, and if the changes were gradual, the imitators might easily be led along the same track, until they differed to an equally extreme degree from their original condition; and they would thus ultimately assume an appearance or colouring wholly unlike that of the other members of the group to which they belonged. it should also be remembered that many species of lepidoptera are liable to considerable and abrupt variations in colour. a few instances have been given in this chapter; and many more may be found in the papers of mr. bates and mr. wallace. with several species the sexes are alike, and imitate the two sexes of another species. but mr. trimen gives, in the paper already referred to, three cases in which the sexes of the imitated form differ from each other in colour, and the sexes of the imitating form differ in a like manner. several cases have also been recorded where the females alone imitate brilliantly-coloured and protected species, the males retaining "the normal aspect of their immediate congeners." it is here obvious that the successive variations by which the female has been modified have been transmitted to her alone. it is, however, probable that some of the many successive variations would have been transmitted to, and developed in, the males had not such males been eliminated by being thus rendered less attractive to the females; so that only those variations were preserved which were from the first strictly limited in their transmission to the female sex. we have a partial illustration of these remarks in a statement by mr. belt ( . 'the naturalist in nicaragua,' , p. .); that the males of some of the leptalides, which imitate protected species, still retain in a concealed manner some of their original characters. thus in the males "the upper half of the lower wing is of a pure white, whilst all the rest of the wings is barred and spotted with black, red and yellow, like the species they mimic. the females have not this white patch, and the males usually conceal it by covering it with the upper wing, so that i cannot imagine its being of any other use to them than as an attraction in courtship, when they exhibit it to the females, and thus gratify their deep-seated preference for the normal colour of the order to which the leptalides belong." bright colours of caterpillars. whilst reflecting on the beauty of many butterflies, it occurred to me that some caterpillars were splendidly coloured; and as sexual selection could not possibly have here acted, it appeared rash to attribute the beauty of the mature insect to this agency, unless the bright colours of their larvae could be somehow explained. in the first place, it may be observed that the colours of caterpillars do not stand in any close correlation with those of the mature insect. secondly, their bright colours do not serve in any ordinary manner as a protection. mr. bates informs me, as an instance of this, that the most conspicuous caterpillar which he ever beheld (that of a sphinx) lived on the large green leaves of a tree on the open llanos of south america; it was about four inches in length, transversely banded with black and yellow, and with its head, legs, and tail of a bright red. hence it caught the eye of any one who passed by, even at the distance of many yards, and no doubt that of every passing bird. i then applied to mr. wallace, who has an innate genius for solving difficulties. after some consideration he replied: "most caterpillars require protection, as may be inferred from some kinds being furnished with spines or irritating hairs, and from many being coloured green like the leaves on which they feed, or being curiously like the twigs of the trees on which they live." another instance of protection, furnished me by mr. j. mansel weale, may be added, namely, that there is a caterpillar of a moth which lives on the mimosas in south africa, and fabricates for itself a case quite indistinguishable from the surrounding thorns. from such considerations mr. wallace thought it probable that conspicuously coloured caterpillars were protected by having a nauseous taste; but as their skin is extremely tender, and as their intestines readily protrude from a wound, a slight peck from the beak of a bird would be as fatal to them as if they had been devoured. hence, as mr. wallace remarks, "distastefulness alone would be insufficient to protect a caterpillar unless some outward sign indicated to its would-be destroyer that its prey was a disgusting morsel." under these circumstances it would be highly advantageous to a caterpillar to be instantaneously and certainly recognised as unpalatable by all birds and other animals. thus the most gaudy colours would be serviceable, and might have been gained by variation and the survival of the most easily-recognised individuals. this hypothesis appears at first sight very bold, but when it was brought before the entomological society ( . 'proceedings, entomological society,' dec. , , p. xlv. and march , , p. lxxx.) it was supported by various statements; and mr. j. jenner weir, who keeps a large number of birds in an aviary, informs me that he has made many trials, and finds no exception to the rule, that all caterpillars of nocturnal and retiring habits with smooth skins, all of a green colour, and all which imitate twigs, are greedily devoured by his birds. the hairy and spinose kinds are invariably rejected, as were four conspicuously-coloured species. when the birds rejected a caterpillar, they plainly shewed, by shaking their heads, and cleansing their beaks, that they were disgusted by the taste. ( . see mr. j. jenner weir's paper on insects and insectivorous birds, in 'transact. ent. soc.' , p. ; also mr. butler's paper, ibid. p. . mr. riley has given analogous facts in the 'third annual report on the noxious insects of missouri,' , p. . some opposed cases are, however, given by dr. wallace and m. h. d'orville; see 'zoological record,' , p. .) three conspicuous kinds of caterpillars and moths were also given to some lizards and frogs, by mr. a. butler, and were rejected, though other kinds were eagerly eaten. thus the probability of mr. wallace's view is confirmed, namely, that certain caterpillars have been made conspicuous for their own good, so as to be easily recognised by their enemies, on nearly the same principle that poisons are sold in coloured bottles by druggists for the good of man. we cannot, however, at present thus explain the elegant diversity in the colours of many caterpillars; but any species which had at some former period acquired a dull, mottled, or striped appearance, either in imitation of surrounding objects, or from the direct action of climate, etc., almost certainly would not become uniform in colour, when its tints were rendered intense and bright; for in order to make a caterpillar merely conspicuous, there would be no selection in any definite direction. summary and concluding remarks on insects. looking back to the several orders, we see that the sexes often differ in various characters, the meaning of which is not in the least understood. the sexes, also, often differ in their organs of sense and means of locomotion, so that the males may quickly discover and reach the females. they differ still oftener in the males possessing diversified contrivances for retaining the females when found. we are, however, here concerned only in a secondary degree with sexual differences of these kinds. in almost all the orders, the males of some species, even of weak and delicate kinds, are known to be highly pugnacious; and some few are furnished with special weapons for fighting with their rivals. but the law of battle does not prevail nearly so widely with insects as with the higher animals. hence it probably arises, that it is in only a few cases that the males have been rendered larger and stronger than the females. on the contrary, they are usually smaller, so that they may be developed within a shorter time, to be ready in large numbers for the emergence of the females. in two families of the homoptera and in three of the orthoptera, the males alone possess sound-producing organs in an efficient state. these are used incessantly during the breeding-season, not only for calling the females, but apparently for charming or exciting them in rivalry with other males. no one who admits the agency of selection of any kind, will, after reading the above discussion, dispute that these musical instruments have been acquired through sexual selection. in four other orders the members of one sex, or more commonly of both sexes, are provided with organs for producing various sounds, which apparently serve merely as call-notes. when both sexes are thus provided, the individuals which were able to make the loudest or most continuous noise would gain partners before those which were less noisy, so that their organs have probably been gained through sexual selection. it is instructive to reflect on the wonderful diversity of the means for producing sound, possessed by the males alone, or by both sexes, in no less than six orders. we thus learn how effectual sexual selection has been in leading to modifications which sometimes, as with the homoptera, relate to important parts of the organisation. from the reasons assigned in the last chapter, it is probable that the great horns possessed by the males of many lamellicorn, and some other beetles, have been acquired as ornaments. from the small size of insects, we are apt to undervalue their appearance. if we could imagine a male chalcosoma (fig. ), with its polished bronzed coat of mail, and its vast complex horns, magnified to the size of a horse, or even of a dog, it would be one of the most imposing animals in the world. the colouring of insects is a complex and obscure subject. when the male differs slightly from the female, and neither are brilliantly-coloured, it is probable that the sexes have varied in a slightly different manner, and that the variations have been transmitted by each sex to the same without any benefit or evil thus accruing. when the male is brilliantly-coloured and differs conspicuously from the female, as with some dragon-flies and many butterflies, it is probable that he owes his colours to sexual selection; whilst the female has retained a primordial or very ancient type of colouring, slightly modified by the agencies before explained. but in some cases the female has apparently been made obscure by variations transmitted to her alone, as a means of direct protection; and it is almost certain that she has sometimes been made brilliant, so as to imitate other protected species inhabiting the same district. when the sexes resemble each other and both are obscurely coloured, there is no doubt that they have been in a multitude of cases so coloured for the sake of protection. so it is in some instances when both are brightly-coloured, for they thus imitate protected species, or resemble surrounding objects such as flowers; or they give notice to their enemies that they are unpalatable. in other cases in which the sexes resemble each other and are both brilliant, especially when the colours are arranged for display, we may conclude that they have been gained by the male sex as an attraction, and have been transferred to the female. we are more especially led to this conclusion whenever the same type of coloration prevails throughout a whole group, and we find that the males of some species differ widely in colour from the females, whilst others differ slightly or not at all with intermediate gradations connecting these extreme states. in the same manner as bright colours have often been partially transferred from the males to the females, so it has been with the extraordinary horns of many lamellicorn and some other beetles. so again, the sound-producing organs proper to the males of the homoptera and orthoptera have generally been transferred in a rudimentary, or even in a nearly perfect condition, to the females; yet not sufficiently perfect to be of any use. it is also an interesting fact, as bearing on sexual selection, that the stridulating organs of certain male orthoptera are not fully developed until the last moult; and that the colours of certain male dragon-flies are not fully developed until some little time after their emergence from the pupal state, and when they are ready to breed. sexual selection implies that the more attractive individuals are preferred by the opposite sex; and as with insects, when the sexes differ, it is the male which, with some rare exceptions, is the more ornamented, and departs more from the type to which the species belongs;--and as it is the male which searches eagerly for the female, we must suppose that the females habitually or occasionally prefer the more beautiful males, and that these have thus acquired their beauty. that the females in most or all the orders would have the power of rejecting any particular male, is probable from the many singular contrivances possessed by the males, such as great jaws, adhesive cushions, spines, elongated legs, etc., for seizing the female; for these contrivances show that there is some difficulty in the act, so that her concurrence would seem necessary. judging from what we know of the perceptive powers and affections of various insects, there is no antecedent improbability in sexual selection having come largely into play; but we have as yet no direct evidence on this head, and some facts are opposed to the belief. nevertheless, when we see many males pursuing the same female, we can hardly believe that the pairing is left to blind chance--that the female exerts no choice, and is not influenced by the gorgeous colours or other ornaments with which the male is decorated. if we admit that the females of the homoptera and orthoptera appreciate the musical tones of their male partners, and that the various instruments have been perfected through sexual selection, there is little improbability in the females of other insects appreciating beauty in form or colour, and consequently in such characters having been thus gained by the males. but from the circumstance of colour being so variable, and from its having been so often modified for the sake of protection, it is difficult to decide in how large a proportion of cases sexual selection has played a part. this is more especially difficult in those orders, such as orthoptera, hymenoptera, and coleoptera, in which the two sexes rarely differ much in colour; for we are then left to mere analogy. with the coleoptera, however, as before remarked, it is in the great lamellicorn group, placed by some authors at the head of the order, and in which we sometimes see a mutual attachment between the sexes, that we find the males of some species possessing weapons for sexual strife, others furnished with wonderful horns, many with stridulating organs, and others ornamented with splendid metallic tints. hence it seems probable that all these characters have been gained through the same means, namely sexual selection. with butterflies we have the best evidence, as the males sometimes take pains to display their beautiful colours; and we cannot believe that they would act thus, unless the display was of use to them in their courtship. when we treat of birds, we shall see that they present in their secondary sexual characters the closest analogy with insects. thus, many male birds are highly pugnacious, and some are furnished with special weapons for fighting with their rivals. they possess organs which are used during the breeding-season for producing vocal and instrumental music. they are frequently ornamented with combs, horns, wattles and plumes of the most diversified kinds, and are decorated with beautiful colours, all evidently for the sake of display. we shall find that, as with insects, both sexes in certain groups are equally beautiful, and are equally provided with ornaments which are usually confined to the male sex. in other groups both sexes are equally plain-coloured and unornamented. lastly, in some few anomalous cases, the females are more beautiful than the males. we shall often find, in the same group of birds, every gradation from no difference between the sexes, to an extreme difference. we shall see that female birds, like female insects, often possess more or less plain traces or rudiments of characters which properly belong to the males and are of use only to them. the analogy, indeed, in all these respects between birds and insects is curiously close. whatever explanation applies to the one class probably applies to the other; and this explanation, as we shall hereafter attempt to shew in further detail, is sexual selection. chapter xii. secondary sexual characters of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. fishes: courtship and battles of the males--larger size of the females--males, bright colours and ornamental appendages; other strange characters--colours and appendages acquired by the males during the breeding-season alone--fishes with both sexes brilliantly coloured--protective colours--the less conspicuous colours of the female cannot be accounted for on the principle of protection--male fishes building nests, and taking charge of the ova and young. amphibians: differences in structure and colour between the sexes--vocal organs. reptiles: chelonians--crocodiles--snakes, colours in some cases protective--lizards, battles of--ornamental appendages--strange differences in structure between the sexes--colours--sexual differences almost as great as with birds. we have now arrived at the great sub-kingdom of the vertebrata, and will commence with the lowest class, that of fishes. the males of plagiostomous fishes (sharks, rays) and of chimaeroid fishes are provided with claspers which serve to retain the female, like the various structures possessed by many of the lower animals. besides the claspers, the males of many rays have clusters of strong sharp spines on their heads, and several rows along "the upper outer surface of their pectoral fins." these are present in the males of some species, which have other parts of their bodies smooth. they are only temporarily developed during the breeding-season; and dr. gunther suspects that they are brought into action as prehensile organs by the doubling inwards and downwards of the two sides of the body. it is a remarkable fact that the females and not the males of some species, as of raia clavata, have their backs studded with large hook-formed spines. ( . yarrell's 'hist. of british fishes,' vol. ii. , pp , , . dr. gunther informs me that the spines in r. clavata are peculiar to the female.) the males alone of the capelin (mallotus villosus, one of salmonidae), are provided with a ridge of closely-set, brush-like scales, by the aid of which two males, one on each side, hold the female, whilst she runs with great swiftness on the sandy beach, and there deposits her spawn. ( . the 'american naturalist,' april , p. .) the widely distinct monacanthus scopas presents a somewhat analogous structure. the male, as dr. gunther informs me, has a cluster of stiff, straight spines, like those of a comb, on the sides of the tail; and these in a specimen six inches long were nearly one and a half inches in length; the female has in the same place a cluster of bristles, which may be compared with those of a tooth-brush. in another species, m. peronii, the male has a brush like that possessed by the female of the last species, whilst the sides of the tail in the female are smooth. in some other species of the same genus the tail can be perceived to be a little roughened in the male and perfectly smooth in the female; and lastly in others, both sexes have smooth sides. the males of many fish fight for the possession of the females. thus the male stickleback (gasterosteus leiurus) has been described as "mad with delight," when the female comes out of her hiding-place and surveys the nest which he has made for her. "he darts round her in every direction, then to his accumulated materials for the nest, then back again in an instant; and as she does not advance he endeavours to push her with his snout, and then tries to pull her by the tail and side-spine to the nest." ( . see mr. r. warington's interesting articles in 'annals and magazine of natural history,' october , and november .) the males are said to be polygamists ( . noel humphreys, 'river gardens,' .); they are extraordinarily bold and pugnacious, whilst "the females are quite pacific." their battles are at times desperate; "for these puny combatants fasten tight on each other for several seconds, tumbling over and over again until their strength appears completely exhausted." with the rough-tailed stickleback (g. trachurus) the males whilst fighting swim round and round each other, biting and endeavouring to pierce each other with their raised lateral spines. the same writer adds ( . loudon's 'magazine of natural history,' vol. iii. , p. .), "the bite of these little furies is very severe. they also use their lateral spines with such fatal effect, that i have seen one during a battle absolutely rip his opponent quite open, so that he sank to the bottom and died." when a fish is conquered, "his gallant bearing forsakes him; his gay colours fade away; and he hides his disgrace among his peaceable companions, but is for some time the constant object of his conqueror's persecution." the male salmon is as pugnacious as the little stickleback; and so is the male trout, as i hear from dr. gunther. mr. shaw saw a violent contest between two male salmon which lasted the whole day; and mr. r. buist, superintendent of fisheries, informs me that he has often watched from the bridge at perth the males driving away their rivals, whilst the females were spawning. the males "are constantly fighting and tearing each other on the spawning-beds, and many so injure each other as to cause the death of numbers, many being seen swimming near the banks of the river in a state of exhaustion, and apparently in a dying state." ( . the 'field,' june , . for mr. shaw's statement, see 'edinburgh review,' . another experienced observer (scrope's 'days of salmon fishing,' p. ) remarks that like the stag, the male would, if he could, keep all other males away.) mr. buist informs me, that in june , the keeper of the stormontfield breeding-ponds visited the northern tyne and found about dead salmon, all of which with one exception were males; and he was convinced that they had lost their lives by fighting. [fig. . head of male common salmon (salmo salar) during the breeding-season. [this drawing, as well as all the others in the present chapter, have been executed by the well-known artist, mr. g. ford, from specimens in the british museum, under the kind superintendence of dr. gunther.] fig. . head of female salmon.] the most curious point about the male salmon is that during the breeding-season, besides a slight change in colour, "the lower jaw elongates, and a cartilaginous projection turns upwards from the point, which, when the jaws are closed, occupies a deep cavity between the intermaxillary bones of the upper jaw." ( . yarrell, 'history of british fishes,' vol. ii. , p. .) (figs. and .) in our salmon this change of structure lasts only during the breeding-season; but in the salmo lycaodon of n.w. america the change, as mr. j.k. lord ( . 'the naturalist in vancouver's island,' vol. i. , p. .) believes, is permanent, and best marked in the older males which have previously ascended the rivers. in these old males the jaw becomes developed into an immense hook-like projection, and the teeth grow into regular fangs, often more than half an inch in length. with the european salmon, according to mr. lloyd ( . 'scandinavian adventures,' vol. i. , pp. , .), the temporary hook-like structure serves to strengthen and protect the jaws, when one male charges another with wonderful violence; but the greatly developed teeth of the male american salmon may be compared with the tusks of many male mammals, and they indicate an offensive rather than a protective purpose. the salmon is not the only fish in which the teeth differ in the two sexes; as this is the case with many rays. in the thornback (raia clavata) the adult male has sharp, pointed teeth, directed backwards, whilst those of the female are broad and flat, and form a pavement; so that these teeth differ in the two sexes of the same species more than is usual in distinct genera of the same family. the teeth of the male become sharp only when he is adult: whilst young they are broad and flat like those of the female. as so frequently occurs with secondary sexual characters, both sexes of some species of rays (for instance r. batis), when adult, possess sharp pointed teeth; and here a character, proper to and primarily gained by the male, appears to have been transmitted to the offspring of both sexes. the teeth are likewise pointed in both sexes of r. maculata, but only when quite adult; the males acquiring them at an earlier age than the females. we shall hereafter meet with analogous cases in certain birds, in which the male acquires the plumage common to both sexes when adult, at a somewhat earlier age than does the female. with other species of rays the males even when old never possess sharp teeth, and consequently the adults of both sexes are provided with broad, flat teeth like those of the young, and like those of the mature females of the above-mentioned species. ( . see yarrell's account of the rays in his 'history of british fishes,' vol. ii. , p. , with an excellent figure, and pp. , .) as the rays are bold, strong and voracious fish, we may suspect that the males require their sharp teeth for fighting with their rivals; but as they possess many parts modified and adapted for the prehension of the female, it is possible that their teeth may be used for this purpose. in regard to size, m. carbonnier ( . as quoted in 'the farmer,' , p. .) maintains that the female of almost all fishes is larger than the male; and dr. gunther does not know of a single instance in which the male is actually larger than the female. with some cyprinodonts the male is not even half as large. as in many kinds of fishes the males habitually fight together, it is surprising that they have not generally become larger and stronger than the females through the effects of sexual selection. the males suffer from their small size, for according to m. carbonnier, they are liable to be devoured by the females of their own species when carnivorous, and no doubt by other species. increased size must be in some manner of more importance to the females, than strength and size are to the males for fighting with other males; and this perhaps is to allow of the production of a vast number of ova. [fig. . callionymus lyra. upper figure, male; lower figure, female. n.b. the lower figure is more reduced than the upper.] in many species the male alone is ornamented with bright colours; or these are much brighter in the male than the female. the male, also, is sometimes provided with appendages which appear to be of no more use to him for the ordinary purposes of life, than are the tail feathers to the peacock. i am indebted for most of the following facts to the kindness of dr. gunther. there is reason to suspect that many tropical fishes differ sexually in colour and structure; and there are some striking cases with our british fishes. the male callionymus lyra has been called the gemmeous dragonet "from its brilliant gem-like colours." when fresh caught from the sea the body is yellow of various shades, striped and spotted with vivid blue on the head; the dorsal fins are pale brown with dark longitudinal bands; the ventral, caudal, and anal fins being bluish-black. the female, or sordid dragonet, was considered by linnaeus, and by many subsequent naturalists, as a distinct species; it is of a dingy reddish-brown, with the dorsal fin brown and the other fins white. the sexes differ also in the proportional size of the head and mouth, and in the position of the eyes ( . i have drawn up this description from yarrell's 'british fishes,' vol. i. , pp. and .); but the most striking difference is the extraordinary elongation in the male (fig. ) of the dorsal fin. mr. w. saville kent remarks that this "singular appendage appears from my observations of the species in confinement, to be subservient to the same end as the wattles, crests, and other abnormal adjuncts of the male in gallinaceous birds, for the purpose of fascinating their mates." ( . 'nature,' july , p. .) the young males resemble the adult females in structure and colour. throughout the genus callionymus ( . 'catalogue of acanth. fishes in the british museum,' by dr. gunther, , pp. - .), the male is generally much more brightly spotted than the female, and in several species, not only the dorsal, but the anal fin is much elongated in the males. the male of the cottus scorpius, or sea-scorpion, is slenderer and smaller than the female. there is also a great difference in colour between them. it is difficult, as mr. lloyd ( . 'game birds of sweden,' etc., , p. .) remarks, "for any one, who has not seen this fish during the spawning-season, when its hues are brightest, to conceive the admixture of brilliant colours with which it, in other respects so ill-favoured, is at that time adorned." both sexes of the labrus mixtus, although very different in colour, are beautiful; the male being orange with bright blue stripes, and the female bright red with some black spots on the back. [fig. . xiphophorus hellerii. upper figure, male; lower figure, female.] in the very distinct family of the cyprinodontidae--inhabitants of the fresh waters of foreign lands--the sexes sometimes differ much in various characters. in the male of the mollienesia petenensis ( . with respect to this and the following species i am indebted to dr. gunther for information: see also his paper on the 'fishes of central america,' in 'transact. zoological soc.' vol. vi. , p. .), the dorsal fin is greatly developed and is marked with a row of large, round, ocellated, bright-coloured spots; whilst the same fin in the female is smaller, of a different shape, and marked only with irregularly curved brown spots. in the male the basal margin of the anal fin is also a little produced and dark coloured. in the male of an allied form, the xiphophorus hellerii (fig. ), the inferior margin of the caudal fin is developed into a long filament, which, as i hear from dr. gunther, is striped with bright colours. this filament does not contain any muscles, and apparently cannot be of any direct use to the fish. as in the case of the callionymus, the males whilst young resemble the adult females in colour and structure. sexual differences such as these may be strictly compared with those which are so frequent with gallinaceous birds. ( . dr. gunther makes this remark; 'catalogue of fishes in the british museum,' vol. iii. , p. .) [fig. . plecostomus barbatus. upper figure, head of male; lower figure, female.] in a siluroid fish, inhabiting the fresh waters of south america, the plecostomus barbatus ( . see dr. gunther on this genus, in 'proceedings of the zoological society,' , p. .) (fig. ), the male has its mouth and inter-operculum fringed with a beard of stiff hairs, of which the female shows hardly a trace. these hairs are of the nature of scales. in another species of the same genus, soft flexible tentacles project from the front part of the head of the male, which are absent in the female. these tentacles are prolongations of the true skin, and therefore are not homologous with the stiff hairs of the former species; but it can hardly be doubted that both serve the same purpose. what this purpose may be, it is difficult to conjecture; ornament does not here seem probable, but we can hardly suppose that stiff hairs and flexible filaments can be useful in any ordinary way to the males alone. in that strange monster, the chimaera monstrosa, the male has a hook-shaped bone on the top of the head, directed forwards, with its end rounded and covered with sharp spines; in the female "this crown is altogether absent," but what its use may be to the male is utterly unknown. ( . f. buckland, in 'land and water,' july , p. , with a figure. many other cases could be added of structures peculiar to the male, of which the uses are not known.) the structures as yet referred to are permanent in the male after he has arrived at maturity; but with some blennies, and in another allied genus ( . dr. gunther, 'catalogue of fishes,' vol. iii. pp. and .), a crest is developed on the head of the male only during the breeding-season, and the body at the same time becomes more brightly-coloured. there can be little doubt that this crest serves as a temporary sexual ornament, for the female does not exhibit a trace of it. in other species of the same genus both sexes possess a crest, and in at least one species neither sex is thus provided. in many of the chromidae, for instance in geophagus and especially in cichla, the males, as i hear from professor agassiz ( . see also 'a journey in brazil,' by prof. and mrs. agassiz, , p. .), have a conspicuous protuberance on the forehead, which is wholly wanting in the females and in the young males. professor agassiz adds, "i have often observed these fishes at the time of spawning when the protuberance is largest, and at other seasons when it is totally wanting, and the two sexes shew no difference whatever in the outline of the profile of the head. i never could ascertain that it subserves any special function, and the indians on the amazon know nothing about its use." these protuberances resemble, in their periodical appearance, the fleshy carbuncles on the heads of certain birds; but whether they serve as ornaments must remain at present doubtful. i hear from professor agassiz and dr. gunther, that the males of those fishes, which differ permanently in colour from the females, often become more brilliant during the breeding-season. this is likewise the case with a multitude of fishes, the sexes of which are identical in colour at all other seasons of the year. the tench, roach, and perch may be given as instances. the male salmon at this season is "marked on the cheeks with orange-coloured stripes, which give it the appearance of a labrus, and the body partakes of a golden orange tinge. the females are dark in colour, and are commonly called black-fish." ( . yarrell, 'history of british fishes,' vol. ii. , pp. , , .) an analogous and even greater change takes place with the salmo eriox or bull trout; the males of the char (s. umbla) are likewise at this season rather brighter in colour than the females. ( . w. thompson, in 'annals and magazine of natural history,' vol. vi. , p. .) the colours of the pike (esox reticulatus) of the united states, especially of the male, become, during the breeding-season, exceedingly intense, brilliant, and iridescent. ( . 'the american agriculturalist,' , p. .) another striking instance out of many is afforded by the male stickleback (gasterosteus leiurus), which is described by mr. warington ( . 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.' oct. .), as being then "beautiful beyond description." the back and eyes of the female are simply brown, and the belly white. the eyes of the male, on the other hand, are "of the most splendid green, having a metallic lustre like the green feathers of some humming-birds. the throat and belly are of a bright crimson, the back of an ashy-green, and the whole fish appears as though it were somewhat translucent and glowed with an internal incandescence." after the breeding season these colours all change, the throat and belly become of a paler red, the back more green, and the glowing tints subside. with respect to the courtship of fishes, other cases have been observed since the first edition of this book appeared, besides that already given of the stickleback. mr. w.s. kent says that the male of the labrus mixtus, which, as we have seen, differs in colour from the female, makes "a deep hollow in the sand of the tank, and then endeavours in the most persuasive manner to induce a female of the same species to share it with him, swimming backwards and forwards between her and the completed nest, and plainly exhibiting the greatest anxiety for her to follow." the males of cantharus lineatus become, during the breeding-season, of deep leaden-black; they then retire from the shoal, and excavate a hollow as a nest. "each male now mounts vigilant guard over his respective hollow, and vigorously attacks and drives away any other fish of the same sex. towards his companions of the opposite sex his conduct is far different; many of the latter are now distended with spawn, and these he endeavours by all the means in his power to lure singly to his prepared hollow, and there to deposit the myriad ova with which they are laden, which he then protects and guards with the greatest care." ( . 'nature,' may , p. .) a more striking case of courtship, as well as of display, by the males of a chinese macropus has been given by m. carbonnier, who carefully observed these fishes under confinement. ( . 'bulletin de la societé d'acclimat.' paris, july , and jan. .) the males are most beautifully coloured, more so than the females. during the breeding-season they contend for the possession of the females; and, in the act of courtship, expand their fins, which are spotted and ornamented with brightly coloured rays, in the same manner, according to m. carbonnier, as the peacock. they then also bound about the females with much vivacity, and appear by "l'étalage de leurs vives couleurs chercher a attirer l'attention des femelles, lesquelles ne paraissaient indifférentes a ce manège, elles nageaient avec une molle lenteur vers les males et semblaient se complaire dans leur voisinage." after the male has won his bride, he makes a little disc of froth by blowing air and mucus out of his mouth. he then collects the fertilised ova, dropped by the female, in his mouth; and this caused m. carbonnier much alarm, as he thought that they were going to be devoured. but the male soon deposits them in the disc of froth, afterwards guarding them, repairing the froth, and taking care of the young when hatched. i mention these particulars because, as we shall presently see, there are fishes, the males of which hatch their eggs in their mouths; and those who do not believe in the principle of gradual evolution might ask how could such a habit have originated; but the difficulty is much diminished when we know that there are fishes which thus collect and carry the eggs; for if delayed by any cause in depositing them, the habit of hatching them in their mouths might have been acquired. to return to our more immediate subject. the case stands thus: female fishes, as far as i can learn, never willingly spawn except in the presence of the males; and the males never fertilise the ova except in the presence of the females. the males fight for the possession of the females. in many species, the males whilst young resemble the females in colour; but when adult become much more brilliant, and retain their colours throughout life. in other species the males become brighter than the females and otherwise more highly ornamented, only during the season of love. the males sedulously court the females, and in one case, as we have seen, take pains in displaying their beauty before them. can it be believed that they would thus act to no purpose during their courtship? and this would be the case, unless the females exert some choice and select those males which please or excite them most. if the female exerts such choice, all the above facts on the ornamentation of the males become at once intelligible by the aid of sexual selection. we have next to inquire whether this view of the bright colours of certain male fishes having been acquired through sexual selection can, through the law of the equal transmission of characters to both sexes, be extended to those groups in which the males and females are brilliant in the same, or nearly the same degree and manner. in such a genus as labrus, which includes some of the most splendid fishes in the world--for instance, the peacock labrus (l. pavo), described ( . bory saint vincent, in 'dict. class. d'hist. nat.' tom. ix. , p. .), with pardonable exaggeration, as formed of polished scales of gold, encrusting lapis-lazuli, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and amethysts--we may, with much probability, accept this belief; for we have seen that the sexes in at least one species of the genus differ greatly in colour. with some fishes, as with many of the lowest animals, splendid colours may be the direct result of the nature of their tissues and of the surrounding conditions, without the aid of selection of any kind. the gold-fish (cyprinus auratus), judging from the analogy of the golden variety of the common carp, is perhaps a case in point, as it may owe its splendid colours to a single abrupt variation, due to the conditions to which this fish has been subjected under confinement. it is, however, more probable that these colours have been intensified through artificial selection, as this species has been carefully bred in china from a remote period. ( . owing to some remarks on this subject, made in my work 'on the variation of animals under domestication,' mr. w.f. mayers ('chinese notes and queries,' aug. , p. ) has searched the ancient chinese encyclopedias. he finds that gold-fish were first reared in confinement during the sung dynasty, which commenced a.d. . in the year these fishes abounded. in another place it is said that since the year there has been "produced at hangchow a variety called the fire-fish, from its intensely red colour. it is universally admired, and there is not a household where it is not cultivated, in rivalry as to its colour, and as a source of profit.") under natural conditions it does not seem probable that beings so highly organised as fishes, and which live under such complex relations, should become brilliantly coloured without suffering some evil or receiving some benefit from so great a change, and consequently without the intervention of natural selection. what, then, are we to conclude in regard to the many fishes, both sexes of which are splendidly coloured? mr. wallace ( . 'westminster review,' july , p. .) believes that the species which frequent reefs, where corals and other brightly-coloured organisms abound, are brightly coloured in order to escape detection by their enemies; but according to my recollection they were thus rendered highly conspicuous. in the fresh-waters of the tropics there are no brilliantly-coloured corals or other organisms for the fishes to resemble; yet many species in the amazons are beautifully coloured, and many of the carnivorous cyprinidae in india are ornamented with "bright longitudinal lines of various tints." ( . 'indian cyprinidae,' by mr. m'clelland, 'asiatic researches,' vol. xix. part ii. , p. .) mr. m'clelland, in describing these fishes, goes so far as to suppose that "the peculiar brilliancy of their colours" serves as "a better mark for king-fishers, terns, and other birds which are destined to keep the number of these fishes in check"; but at the present day few naturalists will admit that any animal has been made conspicuous as an aid to its own destruction. it is possible that certain fishes may have been rendered conspicuous in order to warn birds and beasts of prey that they were unpalatable, as explained when treating of caterpillars; but it is not, i believe, known that any fish, at least any fresh-water fish, is rejected from being distasteful to fish-devouring animals. on the whole, the most probable view in regard to the fishes, of which both sexes are brilliantly coloured, is that their colours were acquired by the males as a sexual ornament, and were transferred equally, or nearly so, to the other sex. we have now to consider whether, when the male differs in a marked manner from the female in colour or in other ornaments, he alone has been modified, the variations being inherited by his male offspring alone; or whether the female has been specially modified and rendered inconspicuous for the sake of protection, such modifications being inherited only by the females. it is impossible to doubt that colour has been gained by many fishes as a protection: no one can examine the speckled upper surface of a flounder, and overlook its resemblance to the sandy bed of the sea on which it lives. certain fishes, moreover, can through the action of the nervous system change their colours in adaptation to surrounding objects, and that within a short time. ( . g. pouchet, 'l'institut.' nov. , , p. .) one of the most striking instances ever recorded of an animal being protected by its colour (as far as it can be judged of in preserved specimens), as well as by its form, is that given by dr. gunther ( . 'proc. zoolog. soc.' , p. , pl. xiv. and xv.) of a pipe-fish, which, with its reddish streaming filaments, is hardly distinguishable from the sea-weed to which it clings with its prehensile tail. but the question now under consideration is whether the females alone have been modified for this object. we can see that one sex will not be modified through natural selection for the sake of protection more than the other, supposing both to vary, unless one sex is exposed for a longer period to danger, or has less power of escaping from such danger than the other; and it does not appear that with fishes the sexes differ in these respects. as far as there is any difference, the males, from being generally smaller and from wandering more about, are exposed to greater danger than the females; and yet, when the sexes differ, the males are almost always the more conspicuously coloured. the ova are fertilised immediately after being deposited; and when this process lasts for several days, as in the case of the salmon ( . yarrell, 'british fishes,' vol. ii. p. .), the female, during the whole time, is attended by the male. after the ova are fertilised they are, in most cases, left unprotected by both parents, so that the males and females, as far as oviposition is concerned, are equally exposed to danger, and both are equally important for the production of fertile ova; consequently the more or less brightly-coloured individuals of either sex would be equally liable to be destroyed or preserved, and both would have an equal influence on the colours of their offspring. certain fishes, belonging to several families, make nests, and some of them take care of their young when hatched. both sexes of the bright coloured crenilabrus massa and melops work together in building their nests with sea-weed, shells, etc. ( . according to the observations of m. gerbe; see gunther's 'record of zoolog. literature,' , p. .) but the males of certain fishes do all the work, and afterwards take exclusive charge of the young. this is the case with the dull-coloured gobies ( . cuvier, 'regne animal,' vol. ii. , p. .), in which the sexes are not known to differ in colour, and likewise with the sticklebacks (gasterosteus), in which the males become brilliantly coloured during the spawning season. the male of the smooth-tailed stickleback (g. leiurus) performs the duties of a nurse with exemplary care and vigilance during a long time, and is continually employed in gently leading back the young to the nest, when they stray too far. he courageously drives away all enemies including the females of his own species. it would indeed be no small relief to the male, if the female, after depositing her eggs, were immediately devoured by some enemy, for he is forced incessantly to drive her from the nest. ( . see mr. warington's most interesting description of the habits of the gasterosteus leiurus in 'annals and magazine of nat. history,' november .) the males of certain other fishes inhabiting south america and ceylon, belonging to two distinct orders, have the extraordinary habit of hatching within their mouths, or branchial cavities, the eggs laid by the females. ( . prof. wyman, in 'proc. boston soc. of nat. hist.' sept. , . also prof. turner, in 'journal of anatomy and physiology,' nov. , , p. . dr. gunther has likewise described other cases.) i am informed by professor agassiz that the males of the amazonian species which follow this habit, "not only are generally brighter than the females, but the difference is greater at the spawning-season than at any other time." the species of geophagus act in the same manner; and in this genus, a conspicuous protuberance becomes developed on the forehead of the males during the breeding-season. with the various species of chromids, as professor agassiz likewise informs me, sexual differences in colour may be observed, "whether they lay their eggs in the water among aquatic plants, or deposit them in holes, leaving them to come out without further care, or build shallow nests in the river mud, over which they sit, as our pomotis does. it ought also to be observed that these sitters are among the brightest species in their respective families; for instance, hygrogonus is bright green, with large black ocelli, encircled with the most brilliant red." whether with all the species of chromids it is the male alone which sits on the eggs is not known. it is, however, manifest that the fact of the eggs being protected or unprotected by the parents, has had little or no influence on the differences in colour between the sexes. it is further manifest, in all the cases in which the males take exclusive charge of the nests and young, that the destruction of the brighter-coloured males would be far more influential on the character of the race, than the destruction of the brighter-coloured females; for the death of the male during the period of incubation or nursing would entail the death of the young, so that they could not inherit his peculiarities; yet, in many of these very cases the males are more conspicuously coloured than the females. in most of the lophobranchii (pipe-fish, hippocampi, etc.) the males have either marsupial sacks or hemispherical depressions on the abdomen, in which the ova laid by the female are hatched. the males also shew great attachment to their young. ( . yarrell, 'history of british fishes,' vol. ii. , pp. , .) the sexes do not commonly differ much in colour; but dr. gunther believes that the male hippocampi are rather brighter than the females. the genus solenostoma, however, offers a curious exceptional case ( . dr. gunther, since publishing an account of this species in 'the fishes of zanzibar,' by col. playfair, , p. , has re-examined the specimens, and has given me the above information.), for the female is much more vividly-coloured and spotted than the male, and she alone has a marsupial sack and hatches the eggs; so that the female of solenostoma differs from all the other lophobranchii in this latter respect, and from almost all other fishes, in being more brightly-coloured than the male. it is improbable that this remarkable double inversion of character in the female should be an accidental coincidence. as the males of several fishes, which take exclusive charge of the eggs and young, are more brightly coloured than the females, and as here the female solenostoma takes the same charge and is brighter than the male, it might be argued that the conspicuous colours of that sex which is the more important of the two for the welfare of the offspring, must be in some manner protective. but from the large number of fishes, of which the males are either permanently or periodically brighter than the females, but whose life is not at all more important for the welfare of the species than that of the female, this view can hardly be maintained. when we treat of birds we shall meet with analogous cases, where there has been a complete inversion of the usual attributes of the two sexes, and we shall then give what appears to be the probable explanation, namely, that the males have selected the more attractive females, instead of the latter having selected, in accordance with the usual rule throughout the animal kingdom, the more attractive males. on the whole we may conclude, that with most fishes, in which the sexes differ in colour or in other ornamental characters, the males originally varied, with their variations transmitted to the same sex, and accumulated through sexual selection by attracting or exciting the females. in many cases, however, such characters have been transferred, either partially or completely, to the females. in other cases, again, both sexes have been coloured alike for the sake of protection; but in no instance does it appear that the female alone has had her colours or other characters specially modified for this latter purpose. the last point which need be noticed is that fishes are known to make various noises, some of which are described as being musical. dr. dufosse, who has especially attended to this subject, says that the sounds are voluntarily produced in several ways by different fishes: by the friction of the pharyngeal bones--by the vibration of certain muscles attached to the swim bladder, which serves as a resounding board--and by the vibration of the intrinsic muscles of the swim bladder. by this latter means the trigla produces pure and long-drawn sounds which range over nearly an octave. but the most interesting case for us is that of two species of ophidium, in which the males alone are provided with a sound-producing apparatus, consisting of small movable bones, with proper muscles, in connection with the swim bladder. ( . 'comptes-rendus,' tom. xlvi. , p. ; tom. xlvii. , p. ; tom. liv. , p. . the noise made by the umbrinas (sciaena aquila), is said by some authors to be more like that of a flute or organ, than drumming: dr. zouteveen, in the dutch translation of this work (vol. ii. p. ), gives some further particulars on the sounds made by fishes.) the drumming of the umbrinas in the european seas is said to be audible from a depth of twenty fathoms; and the fishermen of rochelle assert "that the males alone make the noise during the spawning-time; and that it is possible by imitating it, to take them without bait." ( . the rev. c. kingsley, in 'nature,' may , p. .) from this statement, and more especially from the case of ophidium, it is almost certain that in this, the lowest class of the vertebrata, as with so many insects and spiders, sound-producing instruments have, at least in some cases, been developed through sexual selection, as a means for bringing the sexes together. amphibians. urodela. [fig. . triton cristatus (half natural size, from bell's 'british reptiles'). upper figure, male during the breeding season; lower figure, female.] i will begin with the tailed amphibians. the sexes of salamanders or newts often differ much both in colour and structure. in some species prehensile claws are developed on the fore-legs of the males during the breeding-season: and at this season in the male triton palmipes the hind-feet are provided with a swimming-web, which is almost completely absorbed during the winter; so that their feet then resemble those of the female. ( . bell, 'history of british reptiles,' nd ed., , pp. - .) this structure no doubt aids the male in his eager search and pursuit of the female. whilst courting her he rapidly vibrates the end of his tail. with our common newts (triton punctatus and cristatus) a deep, much indented crest is developed along the back and tail of the male during the breeding-season, which disappears during the winter. mr. st. george mivart informs me that it is not furnished with muscles, and therefore cannot be used for locomotion. as during the season of courtship it becomes edged with bright colours, there can hardly be a doubt that it is a masculine ornament. in many species the body presents strongly contrasted, though lurid tints, and these become more vivid during the breeding-season. the male, for instance, of our common little newt (triton punctatus) is "brownish-grey above, passing into yellow beneath, which in the spring becomes a rich bright orange, marked everywhere with round dark spots." the edge of the crest also is then tipped with bright red or violet. the female is usually of a yellowish-brown colour with scattered brown dots, and the lower surface is often quite plain. ( . bell, 'history of british reptiles,' nd ed., , pp. , .) the young are obscurely tinted. the ova are fertilised during the act of deposition, and are not subsequently tended by either parent. we may therefore conclude that the males have acquired their strongly-marked colours and ornamental appendages through sexual selection; these being transmitted either to the male offspring alone, or to both sexes. anura or batrachia. with many frogs and toads the colours evidently serve as a protection, such as the bright green tints of tree frogs and the obscure mottled shades of many terrestrial species. the most conspicuously-coloured toad which i ever saw, the phryniscus nigricans ( . 'zoology of the voyage of the "beagle,"' . bell, ibid. p. .), had the whole upper surface of the body as black as ink, with the soles of the feet and parts of the abdomen spotted with the brightest vermilion. it crawled about the bare sandy or open grassy plains of la plata under a scorching sun, and could not fail to catch the eye of every passing creature. these colours are probably beneficial by making this animal known to all birds of prey as a nauseous mouthful. in nicaragua there is a little frog "dressed in a bright livery of red and blue" which does not conceal itself like most other species, but hops about during the daytime, and mr. belt says ( . 'the naturalist in nicaragua,' , p. .) that as soon as he saw its happy sense of security, he felt sure that it was uneatable. after several trials he succeeded in tempting a young duck to snatch up a young one, but it was instantly rejected; and the duck "went about jerking its head, as if trying to throw off some unpleasant taste." with respect to sexual differences of colour, dr. gunther does not know of any striking instance either with frogs or toads; yet he can often distinguish the male from the female by the tints of the former being a little more intense. nor does he know of any striking difference in external structure between the sexes, excepting the prominences which become developed during the breeding-season on the front legs of the male, by which he is enabled to hold the female. ( . the male alone of the bufo sikimmensis (dr. anderson, 'proc. zoolog. soc.' , p. ) has two plate-like callosities on the thorax and certain rugosities on the fingers, which perhaps subserve the same end as the above-mentioned prominences.) it is surprising that these animals have not acquired more strongly-marked sexual characters; for though cold-blooded their passions are strong. dr. gunther informs me that he has several times found an unfortunate female toad dead and smothered from having been so closely embraced by three or four males. frogs have been observed by professor hoffman in giessen fighting all day long during the breeding-season, and with so much violence that one had its body ripped open. frogs and toads offer one interesting sexual difference, namely, in the musical powers possessed by the males; but to speak of music, when applied to the discordant and overwhelming sounds emitted by male bull-frogs and some other species, seems, according to our taste, a singularly inappropriate expression. nevertheless, certain frogs sing in a decidedly pleasing manner. near rio janeiro i used often to sit in the evening to listen to a number of little hylae, perched on blades of grass close to the water, which sent forth sweet chirping notes in harmony. the various sounds are emitted chiefly by the males during the breeding-season, as in the case of the croaking of our common frog. ( . bell, 'history british reptiles,' , p. .) in accordance with this fact the vocal organs of the males are more highly-developed than those of the females. in some genera the males alone are provided with sacs which open into the larynx. ( . j. bishop, in 'todd's cyclopaedia of anatomy and physiology,' vol. iv. p. .) for instance, in the edible frog (rana esculenta) "the sacs are peculiar to the males, and become, when filled with air in the act of croaking, large globular bladders, standing out one on each side of the head, near the corners of the mouth." the croak of the male is thus rendered exceedingly powerful; whilst that of the female is only a slight groaning noise. ( . bell, ibid. pp. - .) in the several genera of the family the vocal organs differ considerably in structure, and their development in all cases may be attributed to sexual selection. reptiles. chelonia. tortoises and turtles do not offer well-marked sexual differences. in some species, the tail of the male is longer than that of the female. in some, the plastron or lower surface of the shell of the male is slightly concave in relation to the back of the female. the male of the mud-turtle of the united states (chrysemys picta) has claws on its front feet twice as long as those of the female; and these are used when the sexes unite. ( . mr. c.j. maynard, 'the american naturalist,' dec. , p. .) with the huge tortoise of the galapagos islands (testudo nigra) the males are said to grow to a larger size than the females: during the pairing-season, and at no other time, the male utters a hoarse bellowing noise, which can be heard at the distance of more than a hundred yards; the female, on the other hand, never uses her voice. ( . see my 'journal of researches during the voyage of the "beagle,"' , p. .) with the testudo elegans of india, it is said "that the combats of the males may be heard at some distance, from the noise they produce in butting against each other." ( . dr. gunther, 'reptiles of british india,' , p. .) crocodilia. the sexes apparently do not differ in colour; nor do i know that the males fight together, though this is probable, for some kinds make a prodigious display before the females. bartram ( . 'travels through carolina,' etc., , p. .) describes the male alligator as striving to win the female by splashing and roaring in the midst of a lagoon, "swollen to an extent ready to burst, with its head and tail lifted up, he springs or twirls round on the surface of the water, like an indian chief rehearsing his feats of war." during the season of love, a musky odour is emitted by the submaxillary glands of the crocodile, and pervades their haunts. ( . owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. i. , p. .) ophidia. dr. gunther informs me that the males are always smaller than the females, and generally have longer and slenderer tails; but he knows of no other difference in external structure. in regard to colour, be can almost always distinguish the male from the female, by his more strongly-pronounced tints; thus the black zigzag band on the back of the male english viper is more distinctly defined than in the female. the difference is much plainer in the rattle-snakes of n. america, the male of which, as the keeper in the zoological gardens shewed me, can at once be distinguished from the female by having more lurid yellow about its whole body. in s. africa the bucephalus capensis presents an analogous difference, for the female "is never so fully variegated with yellow on the sides as the male." ( . sir andrew smith, 'zoology of s. africa: reptilia,' , pl. x.) the male of the indian dipsas cynodon, on the other hand, is blackish-brown, with the belly partly black, whilst the female is reddish or yellowish-olive, with the belly either uniform yellowish or marbled with black. in the tragops dispar of the same country the male is bright green, and the female bronze-coloured. ( . dr. a. gunther, 'reptiles of british india,' ray soc., , pp. , .) no doubt the colours of some snakes are protective, as shewn by the green tints of tree-snakes, and the various mottled shades of the species which live in sandy places; but it is doubtful whether the colours of many kinds, for instance of the common english snake and viper, serve to conceal them; and this is still more doubtful with the many foreign species which are coloured with extreme elegance. the colours of certain species are very different in the adult and young states. ( . dr. stoliczka, 'journal of asiatic society of bengal,' vol. xxxix, , pp. , .) during the breeding-season the anal scent-glands of snakes are in active function ( . owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. i. , p. .); and so it is with the same glands in lizards, and as we have seen with the submaxillary glands of crocodiles. as the males of most animals search for the females, these odoriferous glands probably serve to excite or charm the female, rather than to guide her to the spot where the male may be found. male snakes, though appearing so sluggish, are amorous; for many have been observed crowding round the same female, and even round her dead body. they are not known to fight together from rivalry. their intellectual powers are higher than might have been anticipated. in the zoological gardens they soon learn not to strike at the iron bar with which their cages are cleaned; and dr. keen of philadelphia informs me that some snakes which he kept learned after four or five times to avoid a noose, with which they were at first easily caught. an excellent observer in ceylon, mr. e. layard, saw ( . 'rambles in ceylon,' in 'annals and magazine of natural history,' nd series, vol. ix. , p. .) a cobra thrust its head through a narrow hole and swallow a toad. "with this encumbrance he could not withdraw himself; finding this, he reluctantly disgorged the precious morsel, which began to move off; this was too much for snake philosophy to bear, and the toad was again seized, and again was the snake, after violent efforts to escape, compelled to part with its prey. this time, however, a lesson had been learnt, and the toad was seized by one leg, withdrawn, and then swallowed in triumph." the keeper in the zoological gardens is positive that certain snakes, for instance crotalus and python, distinguish him from all other persons. cobras kept together in the same cage apparently feel some attachment towards each other. ( . dr. gunther, 'reptiles of british india,' , p. .) it does not, however, follow because snakes have some reasoning power, strong passions and mutual affection, that they should likewise be endowed with sufficient taste to admire brilliant colours in their partners, so as to lead to the adornment of the species through sexual selection. nevertheless, it is difficult to account in any other manner for the extreme beauty of certain species; for instance, of the coral-snakes of s. america, which are of a rich red with black and yellow transverse bands. i well remember how much surprise i felt at the beauty of the first coral-snake which i saw gliding across a path in brazil. snakes coloured in this peculiar manner, as mr. wallace states on the authority of dr. gunther ( . 'westminster review,' july st, , p. .), are found nowhere else in the world except in s. america, and here no less than four genera occur. one of these, elaps, is venomous; a second and widely-distinct genus is doubtfully venomous, and the two others are quite harmless. the species belonging to these distinct genera inhabit the same districts, and are so like each other that no one "but a naturalist would distinguish the harmless from the poisonous kinds." hence, as mr. wallace believes, the innocuous kinds have probably acquired their colours as a protection, on the principle of imitation; for they would naturally be thought dangerous by their enemies. the cause, however, of the bright colours of the venomous elaps remains to be explained, and this may perhaps be sexual selection. snakes produce other sounds besides hissing. the deadly echis carinata has on its sides some oblique rows of scales of a peculiar structure with serrated edges; and when this snake is excited these scales are rubbed against each other, which produces "a curious prolonged, almost hissing sound." ( . dr. anderson, 'proc. zoolog. soc.' , p. .) with respect to the rattling of the rattle-snake, we have at last some definite information: for professor aughey states ( . the 'american naturalist,' , p. .), that on two occasions, being himself unseen, he watched from a little distance a rattle-snake coiled up with head erect, which continued to rattle at short intervals for half an hour: and at last he saw another snake approach, and when they met they paired. hence he is satisfied that one of the uses of the rattle is to bring the sexes together. unfortunately he did not ascertain whether it was the male or the female which remained stationary and called for the other. but it by no means follows from the above fact that the rattle may not be of use to these snakes in other ways, as a warning to animals which would otherwise attack them. nor can i quite disbelieve the several accounts which have appeared of their thus paralysing their prey with fear. some other snakes also make a distinct noise by rapidly vibrating their tails against the surrounding stalks of plants; and i have myself heard this in the case of a trigonocephalus in s. america. lacertilia. the males of some, probably of many kinds of lizards, fight together from rivalry. thus the arboreal anolis cristatellus of s. america is extremely pugnacious: "during the spring and early part of the summer, two adult males rarely meet without a contest. on first seeing one another, they nod their heads up and down three or four times, and at the same time expanding the frill or pouch beneath the throat; their eyes glisten with rage, and after waving their tails from side to side for a few seconds, as if to gather energy, they dart at each other furiously, rolling over and over, and holding firmly with their teeth. the conflict generally ends in one of the combatants losing his tail, which is often devoured by the victor." the male of this species is considerably larger than the female ( . mr. n.l. austen kept these animals alive for a considerable time; see 'land and water,' july , p. .); and this, as far as dr. gunther has been able to ascertain, is the general rule with lizards of all kinds. the male alone of the cyrtodactylus rubidus of the andaman islands possesses pre-anal pores; and these pores, judging from analogy, probably serve to emit an odour. ( . stoliczka, 'journal of the asiatic society of bengal,' vol. xxxiv. , p. .) [fig. . sitana minor. male with the gular pouch expanded (from gunther's 'reptiles of india')'] the sexes often differ greatly in various external characters. the male of the above-mentioned anolis is furnished with a crest which runs along the back and tail, and can be erected at pleasure; but of this crest the female does not exhibit a trace. in the indian cophotis ceylanica, the female has a dorsal crest, though much less developed than in the male; and so it is, as dr. gunther informs me, with the females of many iguanas, chameleons, and other lizards. in some species, however, the crest is equally developed in both sexes, as in the iguana tuberculata. in the genus sitana, the males alone are furnished with a large throat pouch (fig. ), which can be folded up like a fan, and is coloured blue, black, and red; but these splendid colours are exhibited only during the pairing-season. the female does not possess even a rudiment of this appendage. in the anolis cristatellus, according to mr. austen, the throat pouch, which is bright red marbled with yellow, is present in the female, though in a rudimental condition. again, in certain other lizards, both sexes are equally well provided with throat pouches. here we see with species belonging to the same group, as in so many previous cases, the same character either confined to the males, or more largely developed in them than in the females, or again equally developed in both sexes. the little lizards of the genus draco, which glide through the air on their rib-supported parachutes, and which in the beauty of their colours baffle description, are furnished with skinny appendages to the throat "like the wattles of gallinaceous birds." these become erected when the animal is excited. they occur in both sexes, but are best developed when the male arrives at maturity, at which age the middle appendage is sometimes twice as long as the head. most of the species likewise have a low crest running along the neck; and this is much more developed in the full-grown males than in the females or young males. ( . all the foregoing statements and quotations, in regard to cophotis, sitana and draco, as well as the following facts in regard to ceratophora and chamaeleon, are from dr. gunther himself, or from his magnificent work on the 'reptiles of british india,' ray soc., , pp. , , .) a chinese species is said to live in pairs during the spring; "and if one is caught, the other falls from the tree to the ground, and allows itself to be captured with impunity"--i presume from despair. ( . mr. swinhoe, 'proc. zoolog. soc.' , p. .) [fig. . ceratophora stoddartii. upper figure; lower figure, female.] there are other and much more remarkable differences between the sexes of certain lizards. the male of ceratophora aspera bears on the extremity of his snout an appendage half as long as the head. it is cylindrical, covered with scales, flexible, and apparently capable of erection: in the female it is quite rudimental. in a second species of the same genus a terminal scale forms a minute horn on the summit of the flexible appendage; and in a third species (c. stoddartii, fig. ) the whole appendage is converted into a horn, which is usually of a white colour, but assumes a purplish tint when the animal is excited. in the adult male of this latter species the horn is half an inch in length, but it is of quite minute size in the female and in the young. these appendages, as dr. gunther has remarked to me, may be compared with the combs of gallinaceous birds, and apparently serve as ornaments. [fig. . chamaeleo bifurcus. upper figure, male; lower figure, female. fig. . chamaeleo owenii. upper figure, male; lower figure, female.] in the genus chamaeleon we come to the acme of difference between the sexes. the upper part of the skull of the male c. bifurcus (fig. ), an inhabitant of madagascar, is produced into two great, solid, bony projections, covered with scales like the rest of the head; and of this wonderful modification of structure the female exhibits only a rudiment. again, in chamaeleo owenii (fig. ), from the west coast of africa, the male bears on his snout and forehead three curious horns, of which the female has not a trace. these horns consist of an excrescence of bone covered with a smooth sheath, forming part of the general integuments of the body, so that they are identical in structure with those of a bull, goat, or other sheath-horned ruminant. although the three horns differ so much in appearance from the two great prolongations of the skull in c. bifurcus, we can hardly doubt that they serve the same general purpose in the economy of these two animals. the first conjecture, which will occur to every one, is that they are used by the males for fighting together; and as these animals are very quarrelsome ( . dr. buchholz, 'monatsbericht k. preuss. akad.' jan. , p. .), this is probably a correct view. mr. t.w. wood also informs me that he once watched two individuals of c. pumilus fighting violently on the branch of a tree; they flung their heads about and tried to bite each other; they then rested for a time and afterwards continued their battle. with many lizards the sexes differ slightly in colour, the tints and stripes of the males being brighter and more distinctly defined than in the females. this, for instance, is the case with the above cophotis and with the acanthodactylus capensis of s. africa. in a cordylus of the latter country, the male is either much redder or greener than the female. in the indian calotes nigrilabris there is a still greater difference; the lips also of the male are black, whilst those of the female are green. in our common little viviparous lizard (zootoca vivipara) "the under side of the body and base of the tail in the male are bright orange, spotted with black; in the female these parts are pale-greyish-green without spots." ( . bell, 'history of british reptiles,' nd ed., , p. .) we have seen that the males alone of sitana possess a throat-pouch; and this is splendidly tinted with blue, black, and red. in the proctotretus tenuis of chile the male alone is marked with spots of blue, green, and coppery-red. ( . for proctotretus, see 'zoology of the voyage of the "beagle"; reptiles,' by mr. bell, p. . for the lizards of s. africa, see 'zoology of s. africa: reptiles,' by sir andrew smith, pl. and . for the indian calotes, see 'reptiles of british india,' by dr. gunther, p. .) in many cases the males retain the same colours throughout the year, but in others they become much brighter during the breeding-season; i may give as an additional instance the calotes maria, which at this season has a bright red head, the rest of the body being green. ( . gunther in 'proceedings, zoological society,' , p. , with a coloured figure.) both sexes of many species are beautifully coloured exactly alike; and there is no reason to suppose that such colours are protective. no doubt with the bright green kinds which live in the midst of vegetation, this colour serves to conceal them; and in n. patagonia i saw a lizard (proctotretus multimaculatus) which, when frightened, flattened its body, closed its eyes, and then from its mottled tints was hardly distinguishable from the surrounding sand. but the bright colours with which so many lizards are ornamented, as well as their various curious appendages, were probably acquired by the males as an attraction, and then transmitted either to their male offspring alone, or to both sexes. sexual selection, indeed, seems to have played almost as important a part with reptiles as with birds; and the less conspicuous colours of the females in comparison with the males cannot be accounted for, as mr. wallace believes to be the case with birds, by the greater exposure of the females to danger during incubation. chapter xiii. secondary sexual characters of birds. sexual differences--law of battle--special weapons--vocal organs--instrumental music--love-antics and dances--decorations, permanent and seasonal--double and single annual moults--display of ornaments by the males. secondary sexual characters are more diversified and conspicuous in birds, though not perhaps entailing more important changes of structure, than in any other class of animals. i shall, therefore, treat the subject at considerable length. male birds sometimes, though rarely, possess special weapons for fighting with each other. they charm the female by vocal or instrumental music of the most varied kinds. they are ornamented by all sorts of combs, wattles, protuberances, horns, air-distended sacks, top-knots, naked shafts, plumes and lengthened feathers gracefully springing from all parts of the body. the beak and naked skin about the head, and the feathers, are often gorgeously coloured. the males sometimes pay their court by dancing, or by fantastic antics performed either on the ground or in the air. in one instance, at least, the male emits a musky odour, which we may suppose serves to charm or excite the female; for that excellent observer, mr. ramsay ( . 'ibis,' vol. iii. (new series), , p. .), says of the australian musk-duck (biziura lobata) that "the smell which the male emits during the summer months is confined to that sex, and in some individuals is retained throughout the year; i have never, even in the breeding-season, shot a female which had any smell of musk." so powerful is this odour during the pairing-season, that it can be detected long before the bird can be seen. ( . gould, 'handbook of the birds of australia,' , vol. ii. p. .) on the whole, birds appear to be the most aesthetic of all animals, excepting of course man, and they have nearly the same taste for the beautiful as we have. this is shewn by our enjoyment of the singing of birds, and by our women, both civilised and savage, decking their heads with borrowed plumes, and using gems which are hardly more brilliantly coloured than the naked skin and wattles of certain birds. in man, however, when cultivated, the sense of beauty is manifestly a far more complex feeling, and is associated with various intellectual ideas. before treating of the sexual characters with which we are here more particularly concerned, i may just allude to certain differences between the sexes which apparently depend on differences in their habits of life; for such cases, though common in the lower, are rare in the higher classes. two humming-birds belonging to the genus eustephanus, which inhabit the island of juan fernandez, were long thought to be specifically distinct, but are now known, as mr. gould informs me, to be the male and female of the same species, and they differ slightly in the form of the beak. in another genus of humming-birds (grypus), the beak of the male is serrated along the margin and hooked at the extremity, thus differing much from that of the female. in the neomorpha of new zealand, there is, as we have seen, a still wider difference in the form of the beak in relation to the manner of feeding of the two sexes. something of the same kind has been observed with the goldfinch (carduelis elegans), for i am assured by mr. j. jenner weir that the bird-catchers can distinguish the males by their slightly longer beaks. the flocks of males are often found feeding on the seeds of the teazle (dipsacus), which they can reach with their elongated beaks, whilst the females more commonly feed on the seeds of the betony or scrophularia. with a slight difference of this kind as a foundation, we can see how the beaks of the two sexes might be made to differ greatly through natural selection. in some of the above cases, however, it is possible that the beaks of the males may have been first modified in relation to their contests with other males; and that this afterwards led to slightly changed habits of life. law of battle. almost all male birds are extremely pugnacious, using their beaks, wings, and legs for fighting together. we see this every spring with our robins and sparrows. the smallest of all birds, namely the humming-bird, is one of the most quarrelsome. mr. gosse ( . quoted by mr. gould, 'introduction to the trochilidae,' , page .) describes a battle in which a pair seized hold of each other's beaks, and whirled round and round, till they almost fell to the ground; and m. montes de oca, in speaking or another genus of humming-bird, says that two males rarely meet without a fierce aerial encounter: when kept in cages "their fighting has mostly ended in the splitting of the tongue of one of the two, which then surely dies from being unable to feed." ( . gould, ibid. p. .) with waders, the males of the common water-hen (gallinula chloropus) "when pairing, fight violently for the females: they stand nearly upright in the water and strike with their feet." two were seen to be thus engaged for half an hour, until one got hold of the head of the other, which would have been killed had not the observer interfered; the female all the time looking on as a quiet spectator. ( . w. thompson, 'natural history of ireland: birds,' vol. ii. , p. .) mr. blyth informs me that the males of an allied bird (gallicrex cristatus) are a third larger than the females, and are so pugnacious during the breeding-season that they are kept by the natives of eastern bengal for the sake of fighting. various other birds are kept in india for the same purpose, for instance, the bulbuls (pycnonotus hoemorrhous) which "fight with great spirit." ( . jerdon, 'birds of india,' , vol. ii. p. .) [fig. . the ruff or machetes pugnax (from brehm's 'thierleben').] the polygamous ruff (machetes pugnax, fig. ) is notorious for his extreme pugnacity; and in the spring, the males, which are considerably larger than the females, congregate day after day at a particular spot, where the females propose to lay their eggs. the fowlers discover these spots by the turf being trampled somewhat bare. here they fight very much like game-cocks, seizing each other with their beaks and striking with their wings. the great ruff of feathers round the neck is then erected, and according to col. montagu "sweeps the ground as a shield to defend the more tender parts"; and this is the only instance known to me in the case of birds of any structure serving as a shield. the ruff of feathers, however, from its varied and rich colours probably serves in chief part as an ornament. like most pugnacious birds, they seem always ready to fight, and when closely confined, often kill each other; but montagu observed that their pugnacity becomes greater during the spring, when the long feathers on their necks are fully developed; and at this period the least movement by any one bird provokes a general battle. ( . macgillivray, 'history of british birds,' vol. iv. , pp. - .) of the pugnacity of web-footed birds, two instances will suffice: in guiana "bloody fights occur during the breeding-season between the males of the wild musk-duck (cairina moschata); and where these fights have occurred the river is covered for some distance with feathers." ( . sir r. schomburgk, in 'journal of royal geographic society,' vol. xiii. , p. .) birds which seem ill-adapted for fighting engage in fierce conflicts; thus the stronger males of the pelican drive away the weaker ones, snapping with their huge beaks and giving heavy blows with their wings. male snipe fight together, "tugging and pushing each other with their bills in the most curious manner imaginable." some few birds are believed never to fight; this is the case, according to audubon, with one of the woodpeckers of the united states (picu sauratus), although "the hens are followed by even half a dozen of their gay suitors." ( . 'ornithological biography,' vol. i. p. . for pelicans and snipes, see vol. iii. pp. , .) the males of many birds are larger than the females, and this no doubt is the result of the advantage gained by the larger and stronger males over their rivals during many generations. the difference in size between the two sexes is carried to an extreme point in several australian species; thus the male musk-duck (biziura), and the male cincloramphus cruralis (allied to our pipits) are by measurement actually twice as large as their respective females. ( . gould, 'handbook of birds of australia,' vol. i. p. ; vol. ii. p. .) with many other birds the females are larger than the males; and, as formerly remarked, the explanation often given, namely, that the females have most of the work in feeding their young, will not suffice. in some few cases, as we shall hereafter see, the females apparently have acquired their greater size and strength for the sake of conquering other females and obtaining possession of the males. the males of many gallinaceous birds, especially of the polygamous kinds, are furnished with special weapons for fighting with their rivals, namely spurs, which can be used with fearful effect. it has been recorded by a trustworthy writer ( . mr. hewitt, in the 'poultry book' by tegetmeier, , p. .) that in derbyshire a kite struck at a game-hen accompanied by her chickens, when the cock rushed to the rescue, and drove his spur right through the eye and skull of the aggressor. the spur was with difficulty drawn from the skull, and as the kite, though dead, retained his grasp, the two birds were firmly locked together; but the cock when disentangled was very little injured. the invincible courage of the game-cock is notorious: a gentleman who long ago witnessed the brutal scene, told me that a bird had both its legs broken by some accident in the cockpit, and the owner laid a wager that if the legs could be spliced so that the bird could stand upright, he would continue fighting. this was effected on the spot, and the bird fought with undaunted courage until he received his death-stroke. in ceylon a closely allied, wild species, the gallus stanleyi, is known to fight desperately "in defence of his seraglio," so that one of the combatants is frequently found dead. ( . layard, 'annals and magazine of natural history,' vol. xiv. , p. .) an indian partridge (ortygornis gularis), the male of which is furnished with strong and sharp spurs, is so quarrelsome "that the scars of former fights disfigure the breast of almost every bird you kill." ( . jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. iii. p. .) the males of almost all gallinaceous birds, even those which are not furnished with spurs, engage during the breeding-season in fierce conflicts. the capercailzie and black-cock (tetrao urogallus and t. tetrix), which are both polygamists, have regular appointed places, where during many weeks they congregate in numbers to fight together and to display their charms before the females. dr. w. kovalevsky informs me that in russia he has seen the snow all bloody on the arenas where the capercailzie have fought; and the black-cocks "make the feathers fly in every direction," when several "engage in a battle royal." the elder brehm gives a curious account of the balz, as the love-dances and love-songs of the black-cock are called in germany. the bird utters almost continuously the strangest noises: "he holds his tail up and spreads it out like a fan, he lifts up his head and neck with all the feathers erect, and stretches his wings from the body. then he takes a few jumps in different directions, sometimes in a circle, and presses the under part of his beak so hard against the ground that the chin feathers are rubbed off. during these movements he beats his wings and turns round and round. the more ardent he grows the more lively he becomes, until at last the bird appears like a frantic creature." at such times the black-cocks are so absorbed that they become almost blind and deaf, but less so than the capercailzie: hence bird after bird may be shot on the same spot, or even caught by the hand. after performing these antics the males begin to fight: and the same black-cock, in order to prove his strength over several antagonists, will visit in the course of one morning several balz-places, which remain the same during successive years. ( . brehm, 'thierleben,' , b. iv. s. . some of the foregoing statements are taken from l. lloyd, 'the game birds of sweden,' etc., , p. .) the peacock with his long train appears more like a dandy than a warrior, but he sometimes engages in fierce contests: the rev. w. darwin fox informs me that at some little distance from chester two peacocks became so excited whilst fighting, that they flew over the whole city, still engaged, until they alighted on the top of st. john's tower. the spur, in those gallinaceous birds which are thus provided, is generally single; but polyplectron (fig. ) has two or more on each leg; and one of the blood-pheasants (ithaginis cruentus) has been seen with five spurs. the spurs are generally confined to the male, being represented by mere knobs or rudiments in the female; but the females of the java peacock (pavo muticus) and, as i am informed by mr. blyth, of the small fire-backed pheasant (euplocamus erythrophthalmus) possess spurs. in galloperdix it is usual for the males to have two spurs, and for the females to have only one on each leg. ( . jerdon, 'birds of india': on ithaginis, vol. iii. p. ; on galloperdix, p. .) hence spurs may be considered as a masculine structure, which has been occasionally more or less transferred to the females. like most other secondary sexual characters, the spurs are highly variable, both in number and development, in the same species. [fig. . palamedea cornuta (from brehm), shewing the double wing-spurs, and the filament on the head.] various birds have spurs on their wings. but the egyptian goose (chenalopex aegyptiacus) has only "bare obtuse knobs," and these probably shew us the first steps by which true spurs have been developed in other species. in the spur-winged goose, plectropterus gambensis, the males have much larger spurs than the females; and they use them, as i am informed by mr. bartlett, in fighting together, so that, in this case, the wing-spurs serve as sexual weapons; but according to livingstone, they are chiefly used in the defence of the young. the palamedea (fig. ) is armed with a pair of spurs on each wing; and these are such formidable weapons that a single blow has been known to drive a dog howling away. but it does not appear that the spurs in this case, or in that of some of the spur-winged rails, are larger in the male than in the female. ( . for the egyptian goose, see macgillivray, 'british birds,' vol. iv. p. . for plectropterus, livingstone's 'travels,' p. . for palamedea, brehm's 'thierleben,' b. iv. s. . see also on this bird azara, 'voyages dans l'amerique merid.' tom. iv. , pp. , .) in certain plovers, however, the wing-spurs must be considered as a sexual character. thus in the male of our common peewit (vanellus cristatus) the tubercle on the shoulder of the wing becomes more prominent during the breeding-season, and the males fight together. in some species of lobivanellus a similar tubercle becomes developed during the breeding-season "into a short horny spur." in the australian l. lobatus both sexes have spurs, but these are much larger in the males than in the females. in an allied bird, the hoplopterus armatus, the spurs do not increase in size during the breeding-season; but these birds have been seen in egypt to fight together, in the same manner as our peewits, by turning suddenly in the air and striking sideways at each other, sometimes with fatal results. thus also they drive away other enemies. ( . see, on our peewit, mr. r. carr in 'land and water,' aug. th, , p. . in regard to lobivanellus, see jerdon's 'birds of india,' vol. iii. p. , and gould's 'handbook of birds of australia,' vol. ii. p. . for the hoplopterus, see mr. allen in the 'ibis,' vol. v. , p. .) the season of love is that of battle; but the males of some birds, as of the game-fowl and ruff, and even the young males of the wild turkey and grouse ( . audubon, 'ornithological biography,' vol. ii. p. ; vol. i. pp. - .), are ready to fight whenever they meet. the presence of the female is the teterrima belli causa. the bengali baboos make the pretty little males of the amadavat (estrelda amandava) fight together by placing three small cages in a row, with a female in the middle; after a little time the two males are turned loose, and immediately a desperate battle ensues. ( . mr. blyth, 'land and water,' , p. .) when many males congregate at the same appointed spot and fight together, as in the case of grouse and various other birds, they are generally attended by the females ( . richardson on tetrao umbellus, 'fauna bor. amer.: birds,' , p. . l. lloyd, 'game birds of sweden,' , pp. , , on the capercailzie and black-cock. brehm, however, asserts ('thierleben,' b. iv. s. ) that in germany the grey-hens do not generally attend the balzen of the black-cocks, but this is an exception to the common rule; possibly the hens may lie hidden in the surrounding bushes, as is known to be the case with the gray-hens in scandinavia, and with other species in n. america.), which afterwards pair with the victorious combatants. but in some cases the pairing precedes instead of succeeding the combat: thus according to audubon ( . 'ornithological biography,' vol. ii. p. .), several males of the virginian goat-sucker (caprimulgus virgianus) "court, in a highly entertaining manner the female, and no sooner has she made her choice, than her approved gives chase to all intruders, and drives them beyond his dominions." generally the males try to drive away or kill their rivals before they pair. it does not, however, appear that the females invariably prefer the victorious males. i have indeed been assured by dr. w. kovalevsky that the female capercailzie sometimes steals away with a young male who has not dared to enter the arena with the older cocks, in the same manner as occasionally happens with the does of the red-deer in scotland. when two males contend in presence of a single female, the victor, no doubt, commonly gains his desire; but some of these battles are caused by wandering males trying to distract the peace of an already mated pair. ( . brehm, 'thierleben,' etc., b. iv. , p. . audubon, 'ornithological biography,' vol. ii. p. .) even with the most pugnacious species it is probable that the pairing does not depend exclusively on the mere strength and courage of the male; for such males are generally decorated with various ornaments, which often become more brilliant during the breeding-season, and which are sedulously displayed before the females. the males also endeavour to charm or excite their mates by love-notes, songs, and antics; and the courtship is, in many instances, a prolonged affair. hence it is not probable that the females are indifferent to the charms of the opposite sex, or that they are invariably compelled to yield to the victorious males. it is more probable that the females are excited, either before or after the conflict, by certain males, and thus unconsciously prefer them. in the case of tetrao umbellus, a good observer ( . 'land and water,' july , , p. .) goes so far as to believe that the battles of the male "are all a sham, performed to show themselves to the greatest advantage before the admiring females who assemble around; for i have never been able to find a maimed hero, and seldom more than a broken feather." i shall have to recur to this subject, but i may here add that with the tetrao cupido of the united states, about a score of males assemble at a particular spot, and, strutting about, make the whole air resound with their extraordinary noises. at the first answer from a female the males begin to fight furiously, and the weaker give way; but then, according to audubon, both the victors and vanquished search for the female, so that the females must either then exert a choice, or the battle must be renewed. so, again, with one of the field-starlings of the united states (sturnella ludoviciana) the males engage in fierce conflicts, "but at the sight of a female they all fly after her as if mad." ( . audubon's 'ornithological biography;' on tetrao cupido, vol. ii. p. ; on the sturnus, vol. ii. p. .) vocal and instrumental music. with birds the voice serves to express various emotions, such as distress, fear, anger, triumph, or mere happiness. it is apparently sometimes used to excite terror, as in the case of the hissing noise made by some nestling-birds. audubon ( . 'ornithological biography,' vol. v. p. .), relates that a night-heron (ardea nycticorax, linn.), which he kept tame, used to hide itself when a cat approached, and then "suddenly start up uttering one of the most frightful cries, apparently enjoying the cat's alarm and flight." the common domestic cock clucks to the hen, and the hen to her chickens, when a dainty morsel is found. the hen, when she has laid an egg, "repeats the same note very often, and concludes with the sixth above, which she holds for a longer time" ( . the hon. daines barrington, 'philosophical transactions,' , p. .); and thus she expresses her joy. some social birds apparently call to each other for aid; and as they flit from tree to tree, the flock is kept together by chirp answering chirp. during the nocturnal migrations of geese and other water-fowl, sonorous clangs from the van may be heard in the darkness overhead, answered by clangs in the rear. certain cries serve as danger signals, which, as the sportsman knows to his cost, are understood by the same species and by others. the domestic cock crows, and the humming-bird chirps, in triumph over a defeated rival. the true song, however, of most birds and various strange cries are chiefly uttered during the breeding-season, and serve as a charm, or merely as a call-note, to the other sex. naturalists are much divided with respect to the object of the singing of birds. few more careful observers ever lived than montagu, and he maintained that the "males of song-birds and of many others do not in general search for the female, but, on the contrary, their business in the spring is to perch on some conspicuous spot, breathing out their full and amorous notes, which, by instinct, the female knows, and repairs to the spot to choose her mate." ( . 'ornithological dictionary,' , p. .) mr. jenner weir informs me that this is certainly the case with the nightingale. bechstein, who kept birds during his whole life, asserts, "that the female canary always chooses the best singer, and that in a state of nature the female finch selects that male out of a hundred whose notes please her most. ( . 'naturgeschichte der stubenvögel,' , s. . mr. harrison weir likewise writes to me:--"i am informed that the best singing males generally get a mate first, when they are bred in the same room.") there can be no doubt that birds closely attend to each other's song. mr. weir has told me of the case of a bullfinch which had been taught to pipe a german waltz, and who was so good a performer that he cost ten guineas; when this bird was first introduced into a room where other birds were kept and he began to sing, all the others, consisting of about twenty linnets and canaries, ranged themselves on the nearest side of their cages, and listened with the greatest interest to the new performer. many naturalists believe that the singing of birds is almost exclusively "the effect of rivalry and emulation," and not for the sake of charming their mates. this was the opinion of daines barrington and white of selborne, who both especially attended to this subject. ( . 'philosophical transactions,' , p. . white's 'natural history of selborne,' , vol. i. p. .) barrington, however, admits that "superiority in song gives to birds an amazing ascendancy over others, as is well known to bird-catchers." it is certain that there is an intense degree of rivalry between the males in their singing. bird-fanciers match their birds to see which will sing longest; and i was told by mr. yarrell that a first-rate bird will sometimes sing till he drops down almost dead, or according to bechstein ( . 'naturgesch. der stubenvögel,' , s. .), quite dead from rupturing a vessel in the lungs. whatever the cause may be, male birds, as i hear from mr. weir, often die suddenly during the season of song. that the habit of singing is sometimes quite independent of love is clear, for a sterile, hybrid canary-bird has been described ( . mr. bold, 'zoologist,' - , p. .) as singing whilst viewing itself in a mirror, and then dashing at its own image; it likewise attacked with fury a female canary, when put into the same cage. the jealousy excited by the act of singing is constantly taken advantage of by bird-catchers; a male, in good song, is hidden and protected, whilst a stuffed bird, surrounded by limed twigs, is exposed to view. in this manner, as mr. weir informs me, a man has in the course of a single day caught fifty, and in one instance, seventy, male chaffinches. the power and inclination to sing differ so greatly with birds that although the price of an ordinary male chaffinch is only sixpence, mr. weir saw one bird for which the bird-catcher asked three pounds; the test of a really good singer being that it will continue to sing whilst the cage is swung round the owner's head. that male birds should sing from emulation as well as for charming the female, is not at all incompatible; and it might have been expected that these two habits would have concurred, like those of display and pugnacity. some authors, however, argue that the song of the male cannot serve to charm the female, because the females of some few species, such as of the canary, robin, lark, and bullfinch, especially when in a state of widowhood, as bechstein remarks, pour forth fairly melodious strains. in some of these cases the habit of singing may be in part attributed to the females having been highly fed and confined ( . d. barrington, 'philosophical transactions,' , p. . bechstein, 'stubenvögel,' , s. .), for this disturbs all the functions connected with the reproduction of the species. many instances have already been given of the partial transference of secondary masculine characters to the female, so that it is not at all surprising that the females of some species should possess the power of song. it has also been argued, that the song of the male cannot serve as a charm, because the males of certain species, for instance of the robin, sing during the autumn. ( . this is likewise the case with the water-ouzel; see mr. hepburn in the 'zoologist,' - , p. .) but nothing is more common than for animals to take pleasure in practising whatever instinct they follow at other times for some real good. how often do we see birds which fly easily, gliding and sailing through the air obviously for pleasure? the cat plays with the captured mouse, and the cormorant with the captured fish. the weaver-bird (ploceus), when confined in a cage, amuses itself by neatly weaving blades of grass between the wires of its cage. birds which habitually fight during the breeding-season are generally ready to fight at all times; and the males of the capercailzie sometimes hold their balzen or leks at the usual place of assemblage during the autumn. ( . l. lloyd, 'game birds of sweden,' , p. .) hence it is not at all surprising that male birds should continue singing for their own amusement after the season for courtship is over. as shewn in a previous chapter, singing is to a certain extent an art, and is much improved by practice. birds can be taught various tunes, and even the unmelodious sparrow has learnt to sing like a linnet. they acquire the song of their foster parents ( . barrington, ibid. p. , bechstein, ibid. s. .), and sometimes that of their neighbours. ( . dureau de la malle gives a curious instance ('annales des sc. nat.' rd series, zoolog., tom. x. p. ) of some wild blackbirds in his garden in paris, which naturally learnt a republican air from a caged bird.) all the common songsters belong to the order of insessores, and their vocal organs are much more complex than those of most other birds; yet it is a singular fact that some of the insessores, such as ravens, crows, and magpies, possess the proper apparatus ( . bishop, in 'todd's cyclopaedia of anatomy and physiology,' vol. iv. p. .), though they never sing, and do not naturally modulate their voices to any great extent. hunter asserts ( . as stated by barrington in 'philosophical transactions,' , p. .) that with the true songsters the muscles of the larynx are stronger in the males than in the females; but with this slight exception there is no difference in the vocal organs of the two sexes, although the males of most species sing so much better and more continuously than the females. it is remarkable that only small birds properly sing. the australian genus menura, however, must be excepted; for the menura alberti, which is about the size of a half-grown turkey, not only mocks other birds, but "its own whistle is exceedingly beautiful and varied." the males congregate and form "corroborying places," where they sing, raising and spreading their tails like peacocks, and drooping their wings. ( . gould, 'handbook to the birds of australia,' vol. i. , pp. - . see also mr. t.w. wood in the 'student,' april , p. .) it is also remarkable that birds which sing well are rarely decorated with brilliant colours or other ornaments. of our british birds, excepting the bullfinch and goldfinch, the best songsters are plain-coloured. the kingfisher, bee-eater, roller, hoopoe, woodpeckers, etc., utter harsh cries; and the brilliant birds of the tropics are hardly ever songsters. ( . see remarks to this effect in gould's 'introduction to the trochilidae,' , p. .) hence bright colours and the power of song seem to replace each other. we can perceive that if the plumage did not vary in brightness, or if bright colours were dangerous to the species, other means would be employed to charm the females; and melody of voice offers one such means. [fig. . tetrao cupido: male. (t.w. wood.)] in some birds the vocal organs differ greatly in the two sexes. in the tetrao cupido (fig. ) the male has two bare, orange-coloured sacks, one on each side of the neck; and these are largely inflated when the male, during the breeding-season, makes his curious hollow sound, audible at a great distance. audubon proved that the sound was intimately connected with this apparatus (which reminds us of the air-sacks on each side of the mouth of certain male frogs), for he found that the sound was much diminished when one of the sacks of a tame bird was pricked, and when both were pricked it was altogether stopped. the female has "a somewhat similar, though smaller naked space of skin on the neck; but this is not capable of inflation." ( . 'the sportsman and naturalist in canada,' by major w. ross king, , pp. - . mr. t.w. wood gives in the 'student' (april , p. ) an excellent account of the attitude and habits of this bird during its courtship. he states that the ear-tufts or neck-plumes are erected, so that they meet over the crown of the head. see his drawing, fig. .) the male of another kind of grouse (tetrao urophasianus), whilst courting the female, has his "bare yellow oesophagus inflated to a prodigious size, fully half as large as the body"; and he then utters various grating, deep, hollow tones. with his neck-feathers erect, his wings lowered, and buzzing on the ground, and his long pointed tail spread out like a fan, he displays a variety of grotesque attitudes. the oesophagus of the female is not in any way remarkable. ( . richardson, 'fauna bor. americana: birds,' , p. . audubon, ibid. vol. iv. p. .) [fig. . the umbrella-bird or cephalopterus ornatus, male (from brehm).] it seems now well made out that the great throat pouch of the european male bustard (otis tarda), and of at least four other species, does not, as was formerly supposed, serve to hold water, but is connected with the utterance during the breeding-season of a peculiar sound resembling "oak." ( . the following papers have been lately written on this subject: prof. a. newton, in the 'ibis,' , p. ; dr. cullen, ibid. , p. ; mr. flower, in 'proc. zool. soc.' , p. ; and dr. murie, in 'proc. zool. soc.' , p. . in this latter paper an excellent figure is given of the male australian bustard in full display with the sack distended. it is a singular fact that the sack is not developed in all the males of the same species.) a crow-like bird inhabiting south america (see cephalopterus ornatus, fig. ) is called the umbrella-bird, from its immense top knot, formed of bare white quills surmounted by dark-blue plumes, which it can elevate into a great dome no less than five inches in diameter, covering the whole head. this bird has on its neck a long, thin, cylindrical fleshy appendage, which is thickly clothed with scale-like blue feathers. it probably serves in part as an ornament, but likewise as a resounding apparatus; for mr. bates found that it is connected "with an unusual development of the trachea and vocal organs." it is dilated when the bird utters its singularly deep, loud and long sustained fluty note. the head-crest and neck-appendage are rudimentary in the female. ( . bates, 'the naturalist on the amazons,' , vol. ii. p. ; wallace, in 'proceedings, zoological society,' , p. . a new species, with a still larger neck-appendage (c. penduliger), has lately been discovered, see 'ibis,' vol. i. p. .) the vocal organs of various web-footed and wading birds are extraordinarily complex, and differ to a certain extent in the two sexes. in some cases the trachea is convoluted, like a french horn, and is deeply embedded in the sternum. in the wild swan (cygnus ferus) it is more deeply embedded in the adult male than in the adult female or young male. in the male merganser the enlarged portion of the trachea is furnished with an additional pair of muscles. ( . bishop, in todd's 'cyclopaedia of anatomy and physiology,' vol. iv. p. .) in one of the ducks, however, namely anas punctata, the bony enlargement is only a little more developed in the male than in the female. ( . prof. newton, 'proc. zoolog. soc.' , p. .) but the meaning of these differences in the trachea of the two sexes of the anatidae is not understood; for the male is not always the more vociferous; thus with the common duck, the male hisses, whilst the female utters a loud quack. ( . the spoonbill (platalea) has its trachea convoluted into a figure of eight, and yet this bird (jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. iii. p. ) is mute; but mr. blyth informs me that the convolutions are not constantly present, so that perhaps they are now tending towards abortion.) in both sexes of one of the cranes (grus virgo) the trachea penetrates the sternum, but presents "certain sexual modifications." in the male of the black stork there is also a well-marked sexual difference in the length and curvature of the bronchi. ( . 'elements of comparative anatomy,' by r. wagner, eng. translat. , p. . with respect to the swan, as given above, yarrell's 'history of british birds,' nd edition, , vol. iii. p. .) highly important structures have, therefore, in these cases been modified according to sex. it is often difficult to conjecture whether the many strange cries and notes uttered by male birds during the breeding-season serve as a charm or merely as a call to the female. the soft cooing of the turtle-dove and of many pigeons, it may be presumed, pleases the female. when the female of the wild turkey utters her call in the morning, the male answers by a note which differs from the gobbling noise made, when with erected feathers, rustling wings and distended wattles, he puffs and struts before her. ( . c.l. bonaparte, quoted in the 'naturalist library: birds,' vol. xiv. p. .) the spel of the black-cock certainly serves as a call to the female, for it has been known to bring four or five females from a distance to a male under confinement; but as the black-cock continues his spel for hours during successive days, and in the case of the capercailzie "with an agony of passion," we are led to suppose that the females which are present are thus charmed. ( . l. lloyd, 'the game birds of sweden,' etc., , pp. , .) the voice of the common rook is known to alter during the breeding-season, and is therefore in some way sexual. ( . jenner, 'philosophical transactions,' , p. .) but what shall we say about the harsh screams of, for instance, some kinds of macaws; have these birds as bad taste for musical sounds as they apparently have for colour, judging by the inharmonious contrast of their bright yellow and blue plumage? it is indeed possible that without any advantage being thus gained, the loud voices of many male birds may be the result of the inherited effects of the continued use of their vocal organs when excited by the strong passions of love, jealousy and rage; but to this point we shall recur when we treat of quadrupeds. we have as yet spoken only of the voice, but the males of various birds practise, during their courtship, what may be called instrumental music. peacocks and birds of paradise rattle their quills together. turkey-cocks scrape their wings against the ground, and some kinds of grouse thus produce a buzzing sound. another north american grouse, the tetrao umbellus, when with his tail erect, his ruffs displayed, "he shows off his finery to the females, who lie hid in the neighbourhood," drums by rapidly striking his wings together above his back, according to mr. r. haymond, and not, as audubon thought, by striking them against his sides. the sound thus produced is compared by some to distant thunder, and by others to the quick roll of a drum. the female never drums, "but flies directly to the place where the male is thus engaged." the male of the kalij-pheasant, in the himalayas, often makes a singular drumming noise with his wings, not unlike the sound produced by shaking a stiff piece of cloth." on the west coast of africa the little black-weavers (ploceus?) congregate in a small party on the bushes round a small open space, and sing and glide through the air with quivering wings, "which make a rapid whirring sound like a child's rattle." one bird after another thus performs for hours together, but only during the courting-season. at this season, and at no other time, the males of certain night-jars (caprimulgus) make a strange booming noise with their wings. the various species of woodpeckers strike a sonorous branch with their beaks, with so rapid a vibratory movement that "the head appears to be in two places at once." the sound thus produced is audible at a considerable distance but cannot be described; and i feel sure that its source would never be conjectured by any one hearing it for the first time. as this jarring sound is made chiefly during the breeding-season, it has been considered as a love-song; but it is perhaps more strictly a love-call. the female, when driven from her nest, has been observed thus to call her mate, who answered in the same manner and soon appeared. lastly, the male hoopoe (upupa epops) combines vocal and instrumental music; for during the breeding-season this bird, as mr. swinhoe observed, first draws in air, and then taps the end of its beak perpendicularly down against a stone or the trunk of a tree, "when the breath being forced down the tubular bill produces the correct sound." if the beak is not thus struck against some object, the sound is quite different. air is at the same time swallowed, and the oesophagus thus becomes much swollen; and this probably acts as a resonator, not only with the hoopoe, but with pigeons and other birds. ( . for the foregoing facts see, on birds of paradise, brehm, 'thierleben,' band iii. s. . on grouse, richardson, 'fauna bor. americ.: birds,' pp. and ; major w. ross king, 'the sportsman in canada,' , p. ; mr. haymond, in prof. cox's 'geol. survey of indiana,' p. ; audubon, 'american ornitholog. biograph.' vol. i. p. . on the kalij-pheasant, jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. iii. p. . on the weavers, livingstone's 'expedition to the zambesi,' , p. . on woodpeckers, macgillivray, 'hist. of british birds,' vol. iii. , pp. , , , and . on the hoopoe, mr. swinhoe, in 'proc. zoolog. soc.' june , and , p. . on the night-jar, audubon, ibid. vol. ii. p. , and 'american naturalist,' , p. . the english night-jar likewise makes in the spring a curious noise during its rapid flight.) [fig. . outer tail-feather of scolopax gallinago (from 'proc. zool. soc.' ). fig. . outer tail-feather of scolopax frenata. fig. . outer tail-feather of scolopax javensis.] in the foregoing cases sounds are made by the aid of structures already present and otherwise necessary; but in the following cases certain feathers have been specially modified for the express purpose of producing sounds. the drumming, bleating, neighing, or thundering noise (as expressed by different observers) made by the common snipe (scolopax gallinago) must have surprised every one who has ever heard it. this bird, during the pairing-season, flies to "perhaps a thousand feet in height," and after zig-zagging about for a time descends to the earth in a curved line, with outspread tail and quivering pinions, and surprising velocity. the sound is emitted only during this rapid descent. no one was able to explain the cause until m. meves observed that on each side of the tail the outer feathers are peculiarly formed (fig. ), having a stiff sabre-shaped shaft with the oblique barbs of unusual length, the outer webs being strongly bound together. he found that by blowing on these feathers, or by fastening them to a long thin stick and waving them rapidly through the air, he could reproduce the drumming noise made by the living bird. both sexes are furnished with these feathers, but they are generally larger in the male than in the female, and emit a deeper note. in some species, as in s. frenata (fig. ), four feathers, and in s. javensis (fig. ), no less than eight on each side of the tail are greatly modified. different tones are emitted by the feathers of the different species when waved through the air; and the scolopax wilsonii of the united states makes a switching noise whilst descending rapidly to the earth. ( . see m. meves' interesting paper in 'proc. zool. soc.' , p. . for the habits of the snipe, macgillivray, 'history of british birds,' vol. iv. p. . for the american snipe, capt. blakiston, 'ibis,' vol. v. , p. .) [fig. . primary wing-feather of a humming-bird, the selasphorus platycercus (from a sketch by mr. salvin). upper figure, that of male; lower figure, corresponding feather of female.] in the male of the chamaepetes unicolor (a large gallinaceous bird of america), the first primary wing-feather is arched towards the tip and is much more attenuated than in the female. in an allied bird, the penelope nigra, mr. salvin observed a male, which, whilst it flew downwards "with outstretched wings, gave forth a kind of crashing rushing noise," like the falling of a tree. ( . mr. salvin, in 'proceedings, zoological society,' , p. . i am much indebted to this distinguished ornithologist for sketches of the feathers of the chamaepetes, and for other information.) the male alone of one of the indian bustards (sypheotides auritus) has its primary wing-feathers greatly acuminated; and the male of an allied species is known to make a humming noise whilst courting the female. ( . jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. iii. pp. , .) in a widely different group of birds, namely humming-birds, the males alone of certain kinds have either the shafts of their primary wing-feathers broadly dilated, or the webs abruptly excised towards the extremity. the male, for instance, of selasphorus platycercus, when adult, has the first primary wing-feather (fig. ), thus excised. whilst flying from flower to flower he makes "a shrill, almost whistling noise" ( . gould, 'introduction to the trochilidae,' , p. . salvin, 'proceedings, zoological society,' , p. .); but it did not appear to mr. salvin that the noise was intentionally made. [fig. . secondary wing-feathers of pipra deliciosa (from mr. sclater, in 'proc. zool. soc.' ). the three upper feathers, a, b, c, from the male; the three lower corresponding feathers, d, e, f, from the female. a and d, fifth secondary wing-feather of male and female, upper surface. b and e, sixth secondary, upper surface. c and f, seventh secondary, lower surface.] lastly, in several species of a sub-genus of pipra or manakin, the males, as described by mr. sclater, have their secondary wing-feathers modified in a still more remarkable manner. in the brilliantly-coloured p. deliciosa the first three secondaries are thick-stemmed and curved towards the body; in the fourth and fifth (fig. , a) the change is greater; and in the sixth and seventh (b, c) the shaft "is thickened to an extraordinary degree, forming a solid horny lump." the barbs also are greatly changed in shape, in comparison with the corresponding feathers (d, e, f) in the female. even the bones of the wing, which support these singular feathers in the male, are said by mr. fraser to be much thickened. these little birds make an extraordinary noise, the first "sharp note being not unlike the crack of a whip." ( . sclater, in 'proceedings, zoological society,' , p. , and in 'ibis,' vol. iv. , p. . also salvin, in 'ibis,' , p. .) the diversity of the sounds, both vocal and instrumental, made by the males of many birds during the breeding-season, and the diversity of the means for producing such sounds, are highly remarkable. we thus gain a high idea of their importance for sexual purposes, and are reminded of the conclusion arrived at as to insects. it is not difficult to imagine the steps by which the notes of a bird, primarily used as a mere call or for some other purpose, might have been improved into a melodious love song. in the case of the modified feathers, by which the drumming, whistling, or roaring noises are produced, we know that some birds during their courtship flutter, shake, or rattle their unmodified feathers together; and if the females were led to select the best performers, the males which possessed the strongest or thickest, or most attenuated feathers, situated on any part of the body, would be the most successful; and thus by slow degrees the feathers might be modified to almost any extent. the females, of course, would not notice each slight successive alteration in shape, but only the sounds thus produced. it is a curious fact that in the same class of animals, sounds so different as the drumming of the snipe's tail, the tapping of the woodpecker's beak, the harsh trumpet-like cry of certain water-fowl, the cooing of the turtle-dove, and the song of the nightingale, should all be pleasing to the females of the several species. but we must not judge of the tastes of distinct species by a uniform standard; nor must we judge by the standard of man's taste. even with man, we should remember what discordant noises, the beating of tom-toms and the shrill notes of reeds, please the ears of savages. sir s. baker remarks ( . 'the nile tributaries of abyssinia,' , p. .), that "as the stomach of the arab prefers the raw meat and reeking liver taken hot from the animal, so does his ear prefer his equally coarse and discordant music to all other." love antics and dances. the curious love gestures of some birds have already been incidentally noticed; so that little need here be added. in northern america large numbers of a grouse, the tetrao phasianellus, meet every morning during the breeding-season on a selected level spot, and here they run round and round in a circle of about fifteen or twenty feet in diameter, so that the ground is worn quite bare, like a fairy-ring. in these partridge-dances, as they are called by the hunters, the birds assume the strangest attitudes, and run round, some to the left and some to the right. audubon describes the males of a heron (ardea herodias) as walking about on their long legs with great dignity before the females, bidding defiance to their rivals. with one of the disgusting carrion-vultures (cathartes jota) the same naturalist states that "the gesticulations and parade of the males at the beginning of the love-season are extremely ludicrous." certain birds perform their love-antics on the wing, as we have seen with the black african weaver, instead of on the ground. during the spring our little white-throat (sylvia cinerea) often rises a few feet or yards in the air above some bush, and "flutters with a fitful and fantastic motion, singing all the while, and then drops to its perch." the great english bustard throws himself into indescribably odd attitudes whilst courting the female, as has been figured by wolf. an allied indian bustard (otis bengalensis) at such times "rises perpendicularly into the air with a hurried flapping of his wings, raising his crest and puffing out the feathers of his neck and breast, and then drops to the ground;" he repeats this manoeuvre several times, at the same time humming in a peculiar tone. such females as happen to be near "obey this saltatory summons," and when they approach he trails his wings and spreads his tail like a turkey-cock. ( . for tetrao phasianellus, see richardson, 'fauna, bor. america,' p. , and for further particulars capt. blakiston, 'ibis,' , p. . for the cathartes and ardea, audubon, 'ornithological biography,' vol. ii. p. , and vol. iii. p. . on the white-throat, macgillivray, 'history of british birds,' vol. ii. p. . on the indian bustard, jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. iii. p. .) [fig. . bower-bird, chlamydera maculata, with bower (from brehm).] but the most curious case is afforded by three allied genera of australian birds, the famous bower-birds,--no doubt the co-descendants of some ancient species which first acquired the strange instinct of constructing bowers for performing their love-antics. the bowers (fig. ), which, as we shall hereafter see, are decorated with feathers, shells, bones, and leaves, are built on the ground for the sole purpose of courtship, for their nests are formed in trees. both sexes assist in the erection of the bowers, but the male is the principal workman. so strong is this instinct that it is practised under confinement, and mr. strange has described ( . gould, 'handbook to the birds of australia,' vol. i. pp. , , . the bower of the satin bower-bird may be seen in the zoological society's gardens, regent's park.) the habits of some satin bower-birds which he kept in an aviary in new south wales. "at times the male will chase the female all over the aviary, then go to the bower, pick up a gay feather or a large leaf, utter a curious kind of note, set all his feathers erect, run round the bower and become so excited that his eyes appear ready to start from his head; he continues opening first one wing then the other, uttering a low, whistling note, and, like the domestic cock, seems to be picking up something from the ground, until at last the female goes gently towards him." captain stokes has described the habits and "play-houses" of another species, the great bower-bird, which was seen "amusing itself by flying backwards and forwards, taking a shell alternately from each side, and carrying it through the archway in its mouth." these curious structures, formed solely as halls of assemblage, where both sexes amuse themselves and pay their court, must cost the birds much labour. the bower, for instance, of the fawn-breasted species, is nearly four feet in length, eighteen inches in height, and is raised on a thick platform of sticks. decoration. i will first discuss the cases in which the males are ornamented either exclusively or in a much higher degree than the females, and in a succeeding chapter those in which both sexes are equally ornamented, and finally the rare cases in which the female is somewhat more brightly-coloured than the male. as with the artificial ornaments used by savage and civilised men, so with the natural ornaments of birds, the head is the chief seat of decoration. ( . see remarks to this effect, on the 'feeling of beauty among animals,' by mr. j. shaw, in the 'athenaeum,' nov. th, , p. .) the ornaments, as mentioned at the commencement of this chapter, are wonderfully diversified. the plumes on the front or back of the head consist of variously-shaped feathers, sometimes capable of erection or expansion, by which their beautiful colours are fully displayed. elegant ear-tufts (fig. ) are occasionally present. the head is sometimes covered with velvety down, as with the pheasant; or is naked and vividly coloured. the throat, also, is sometimes ornamented with a beard, wattles, or caruncles. such appendages are generally brightly-coloured, and no doubt serve as ornaments, though not always ornamental in our eyes; for whilst the male is in the act of courting the female, they often swell and assume vivid tints, as in the male turkey. at such times the fleshy appendages about the head of the male tragopan pheasant (ceriornis temminckii) swell into a large lappet on the throat and into two horns, one on each side of the splendid top-knot; and these are then coloured of the most intense blue which i have ever beheld. ( . see dr. murie's account with coloured figures in 'proceedings, zoological society,' , p. .) the african hornbill (bucorax abyssinicus) inflates the scarlet bladder-like wattle on its neck, and with its wings drooping and tail expanded "makes quite a grand appearance." ( . mr. monteiro, 'ibis,' vol. iv. , p. .) even the iris of the eye is sometimes more brightly-coloured in the male than in the female; and this is frequently the case with the beak, for instance, in our common blackbird. in buceros corrugatus, the whole beak and immense casque are coloured more conspicuously in the male than in the female; and "the oblique grooves upon the sides of the lower mandible are peculiar to the male sex." ( . 'land and water,' , p. .) the head, again, often supports fleshy appendages, filaments, and solid protuberances. these, if not common to both sexes, are always confined to the males. the solid protuberances have been described in detail by dr. w. marshall ( . 'ueber die schädelhöcker,' etc., 'niederland. archiv. fur zoologie,' b. i. heft , .), who shews that they are formed either of cancellated bone coated with skin, or of dermal and other tissues. with mammals true horns are always supported on the frontal bones, but with birds various bones have been modified for this purpose; and in species of the same group the protuberances may have cores of bone, or be quite destitute of them, with intermediate gradations connecting these two extremes. hence, as dr. marshall justly remarks, variations of the most different kinds have served for the development through sexual selection of these ornamental appendages. elongated feathers or plumes spring from almost every part of the body. the feathers on the throat and breast are sometimes developed into beautiful ruffs and collars. the tail-feathers are frequently increased in length; as we see in the tail-coverts of the peacock, and in the tail itself of the argus pheasant. with the peacock even the bones of the tail have been modified to support the heavy tail-coverts. ( . dr. w. marshall, '�ber den vogelschwanz,' ibid. b. i. heft , .) the body of the argus is not larger than that of a fowl; yet the length from the end of the beak to the extremity of the tail is no less than five feet three inches ( . jardine's 'naturalist library: birds,' vol. xiv. p. .), and that of the beautifully ocellated secondary wing-feathers nearly three feet. in a small african night-jar (cosmetornis vexillarius) one of the primary wing-feathers, during the breeding-season, attains a length of twenty-six inches, whilst the bird itself is only ten inches in length. in another closely-allied genus of night-jars, the shafts of the elongated wing-feathers are naked, except at the extremity, where there is a disc. ( . sclater, in the 'ibis,' vol. vi. , p. ; livingstone, 'expedition to the zambesi,' , p. .) again, in another genus of night-jars, the tail-feathers are even still more prodigiously developed. in general the feathers of the tail are more often elongated than those of the wings, as any great elongation of the latter impedes flight. we thus see that in closely-allied birds ornaments of the same kind have been gained by the males through the development of widely different feathers. it is a curious fact that the feathers of species belonging to very distinct groups have been modified in almost exactly the same peculiar manner. thus the wing-feathers in one of the above-mentioned night-jars are bare along the shaft, and terminate in a disc; or are, as they are sometimes called, spoon or racket-shaped. feathers of this kind occur in the tail of a motmot (eumomota superciliaris), of a king-fisher, finch, humming-bird, parrot, several indian drongos (dicrurus and edolius, in one of which the disc stands vertically), and in the tail of certain birds of paradise. in these latter birds, similar feathers, beautifully ocellated, ornament the head, as is likewise the case with some gallinaceous birds. in an indian bustard (sypheotides auritus) the feathers forming the ear-tufts, which are about four inches in length, also terminate in discs. ( . jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. iii. p. .) it is a most singular fact that the motmots, as mr. salvin has clearly shewn ( . 'proceedings, zoological society,' , p. .), give to their tail feathers the racket-shape by biting off the barbs, and, further, that this continued mutilation has produced a certain amount of inherited effect. [fig. . paradisea papuana (t.w. wood).] again, the barbs of the feathers in various widely-distinct birds are filamentous or plumose, as with some herons, ibises, birds of paradise, and gallinaceae. in other cases the barbs disappear, leaving the shafts bare from end to end; and these in the tail of the paradisea apoda attain a length of thirty-four inches ( . wallace, in 'annals and magazine of natural history,' vol. xx. , p. , and in his 'malay archipelago,' vol. ii. , p. .): in p. papuana (fig. ) they are much shorter and thin. smaller feathers when thus denuded appear like bristles, as on the breast of the turkey-cock. as any fleeting fashion in dress comes to be admired by man, so with birds a change of almost any kind in the structure or colouring of the feathers in the male appears to have been admired by the female. the fact of the feathers in widely distinct groups having been modified in an analogous manner no doubt depends primarily on all the feathers having nearly the same structure and manner of development, and consequently tending to vary in the same manner. we often see a tendency to analogous variability in the plumage of our domestic breeds belonging to distinct species. thus top-knots have appeared in several species. in an extinct variety of the turkey, the top-knot consisted of bare quills surmounted with plumes of down, so that they somewhat resembled the racket-shaped feathers above described. in certain breeds of the pigeon and fowl the feathers are plumose, with some tendency in the shafts to be naked. in the sebastopol goose the scapular feathers are greatly elongated, curled, or even spirally twisted, with the margins plumose. ( . see my work on 'the variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. i. pp. , .) in regard to colour, hardly anything need here be said, for every one knows how splendid are the tints of many birds, and how harmoniously they are combined. the colours are often metallic and iridescent. circular spots are sometimes surrounded by one or more differently shaded zones, and are thus converted into ocelli. nor need much be said on the wonderful difference between the sexes of many birds. the common peacock offers a striking instance. female birds of paradise are obscurely coloured and destitute of all ornaments, whilst the males are probably the most highly decorated of all birds, and in so many different ways that they must be seen to be appreciated. the elongated and golden-orange plumes which spring from beneath the wings of the paradisea apoda, when vertically erected and made to vibrate, are described as forming a sort of halo, in the centre of which the head "looks like a little emerald sun with its rays formed by the two plumes." ( . quoted from m. de lafresnaye in 'annals and mag. of natural history,' vol. xiii. , p. : see also mr. wallace's much fuller account in vol. xx. , p. , and in his 'malay archipelago.') in another most beautiful species the head is bald, "and of a rich cobalt blue, crossed by several lines of black velvety feathers." ( . wallace, 'the malay archipelago,' vol. ii. , p. .) [fig. . lophornis ornatus, male and female (from brehm). fig. . spathura underwoodi, male and female (from brehm).] male humming-birds (figs. and ) almost vie with birds of paradise in their beauty, as every one will admit who has seen mr. gould's splendid volumes, or his rich collection. it is very remarkable in how many different ways these birds are ornamented. almost every part of their plumage has been taken advantage of, and modified; and the modifications have been carried, as mr. gould shewed me, to a wonderful extreme in some species belonging to nearly every sub-group. such cases are curiously like those which we see in our fancy breeds, reared by man for the sake of ornament; certain individuals originally varied in one character, and other individuals of the same species in other characters; and these have been seized on by man and much augmented--as shewn by the tail of the fantail-pigeon, the hood of the jacobin, the beak and wattle of the carrier, and so forth. the sole difference between these cases is that in the one, the result is due to man's selection, whilst in the other, as with humming-birds, birds of paradise, etc., it is due to the selection by the females of the more beautiful males. i will mention only one other bird, remarkable from the extreme contrast in colour between the sexes, namely the famous bell-bird (chasmorhynchus niveus) of s. america, the note of which can be distinguished at the distance of nearly three miles, and astonishes every one when first hearing it. the male is pure white, whilst the female is dusky-green; and white is a very rare colour in terrestrial species of moderate size and inoffensive habits. the male, also, as described by waterton, has a spiral tube, nearly three inches in length, which rises from the base of the beak. it is jet-black, dotted over with minute downy feathers. this tube can be inflated with air, through a communication with the palate; and when not inflated hangs down on one side. the genus consists of four species, the males of which are very distinct, whilst the females, as described by mr. sclater in a very interesting paper, closely resemble each other, thus offering an excellent instance of the common rule that within the same group the males differ much more from each other than do the females. in a second species (c. nudicollis) the male is likewise snow-white, with the exception of a large space of naked skin on the throat and round the eyes, which during the breeding-season is of a fine green colour. in a third species (c. tricarunculatus) the head and neck alone of the male are white, the rest of the body being chestnut-brown, and the male of this species is provided with three filamentous projections half as long as the body--one rising from the base of the beak, and the two others from the corners of the mouth. ( . mr. sclater, 'intellectual observer,' jan. . waterton's 'wanderings,' p. . see also mr. salvin's interesting paper, with a plate, in the 'ibis,' , p. .) the coloured plumage and certain other ornaments of the adult males are either retained for life, or are periodically renewed during the summer and breeding-season. at this same season the beak and naked skin about the head frequently change colour, as with some herons, ibises, gulls, one of the bell-birds just noticed, etc. in the white ibis, the cheeks, the inflatable skin of the throat, and the basal portion of the beak then become crimson. ( . 'land and water,' , p. .) in one of the rails, gallicrex cristatus, a large red caruncle is developed during this period on the head of the male. so it is with a thin horny crest on the beak of one of the pelicans, p. erythrorhynchus; for, after the breeding-season, these horny crests are shed, like horns from the heads of stags, and the shore of an island in a lake in nevada was found covered with these curious exuviae. ( . mr. d.g. elliot, in 'proc. zool. soc.' , p. .) changes of colour in the plumage according to the season depend, firstly on a double annual moult, secondly on an actual change of colour in the feathers themselves, and thirdly on their dull-coloured margins being periodically shed, or on these three processes more or less combined. the shedding of the deciduary margins may be compared with the shedding of their down by very young birds; for the down in most cases arises from the summits of the first true feathers. ( . nitzsch's 'pterylography,' edited by p.l. sclater, ray society, , p. .) with respect to the birds which annually undergo a double moult, there are, firstly, some kinds, for instance snipes, swallow-plovers (glareolae), and curlews, in which the two sexes resemble each other, and do not change colour at any season. i do not know whether the winter plumage is thicker and warmer than the summer plumage, but warmth seems the most probable end attained of a double moult, where there is no change of colour. secondly, there are birds, for instance, certain species of totanus and other grallatores, the sexes of which resemble each other, but in which the summer and winter plumage differ slightly in colour. the difference, however, in these cases is so small that it can hardly be an advantage to them; and it may, perhaps, be attributed to the direct action of the different conditions to which the birds are exposed during the two seasons. thirdly, there are many other birds the sexes of which are alike, but which are widely different in their summer and winter plumage. fourthly, there are birds the sexes of which differ from each other in colour; but the females, though moulting twice, retain the same colours throughout the year, whilst the males undergo a change of colour, sometimes a great one, as with certain bustards. fifthly and lastly, there are birds the sexes of which differ from each other in both their summer and winter plumage; but the male undergoes a greater amount of change at each recurrent season than the female--of which the ruff (machetes pugnax) offers a good instance. with respect to the cause or purpose of the differences in colour between the summer and winter plumage, this may in some instances, as with the ptarmigan ( . the brown mottled summer plumage of the ptarmigan is of as much importance to it, as a protection, as the white winter plumage; for in scandinavia during the spring, when the snow has disappeared, this bird is known to suffer greatly from birds of prey, before it has acquired its summer dress: see wilhelm von wright, in lloyd, 'game birds of sweden,' , p. .), serve during both seasons as a protection. when the difference between the two plumages is slight it may perhaps be attributed, as already remarked, to the direct action of the conditions of life. but with many birds there can hardly be a doubt that the summer plumage is ornamental, even when both sexes are alike. we may conclude that this is the case with many herons, egrets, etc., for they acquire their beautiful plumes only during the breeding-season. moreover, such plumes, top-knots, etc., though possessed by both sexes, are occasionally a little more developed in the male than in the female; and they resemble the plumes and ornaments possessed by the males alone of other birds. it is also known that confinement, by affecting the reproductive system of male birds, frequently checks the development of their secondary sexual characters, but has no immediate influence on any other characters; and i am informed by mr. bartlett that eight or nine specimens of the knot (tringa canutus) retained their unadorned winter plumage in the zoological gardens throughout the year, from which fact we may infer that the summer plumage, though common to both sexes, partakes of the nature of the exclusively masculine plumage of many other birds. ( . in regard to the previous statements on moulting, see, on snipes, etc., macgillivray, 'hist. brit. birds,' vol. iv. p. ; on glareolae, curlews, and bustards, jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. iii. pp. , , ; on totanus, ibid. p. ; on the plumes of herons, ibid. p. , and macgillivray, vol. iv. pp. and , and mr. stafford allen, in the 'ibis,' vol. v. , p. .) from the foregoing facts, more especially from neither sex of certain birds changing colour during either annual moult, or changing so slightly that the change can hardly be of any service to them, and from the females of other species moulting twice yet retaining the same colours throughout the year, we may conclude that the habit of annually moulting twice has not been acquired in order that the male should assume an ornamental character during the breeding-season; but that the double moult, having been originally acquired for some distinct purpose, has subsequently been taken advantage of in certain cases for gaining a nuptial plumage. it appears at first sight a surprising circumstance that some closely-allied species should regularly undergo a double annual moult, and others only a single one. the ptarmigan, for instance, moults twice or even thrice in the year, and the blackcock only once: some of the splendidly coloured honey-suckers (nectariniae) of india and some sub-genera of obscurely coloured pipits (anthus) have a double, whilst others have only a single annual moult. ( . on the moulting of the ptarmigan, see gould's 'birds of great britain.' on the honey-suckers, jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. i. pp. , , . on the moulting of anthus, see blyth, in 'ibis,' , p. .) but the gradations in the manner of moulting, which are known to occur with various birds, shew us how species, or whole groups, might have originally acquired their double annual moult, or having once gained the habit, have again lost it. with certain bustards and plovers the vernal moult is far from complete, some feathers being renewed, and some changed in colour. there is also reason to believe that with certain bustards and rail-like birds, which properly undergo a double moult, some of the older males retain their nuptial plumage throughout the year. a few highly modified feathers may merely be added during the spring to the plumage, as occurs with the disc-formed tail-feathers of certain drongos (bhringa) in india, and with the elongated feathers on the back, neck, and crest of certain herons. by such steps as these, the vernal moult might be rendered more and more complete, until a perfect double moult was acquired. some of the birds of paradise retain their nuptial feathers throughout the year, and thus have only a single moult; others cast them directly after the breeding-season, and thus have a double moult; and others again cast them at this season during the first year, but not afterwards; so that these latter species are intermediate in their manner of moulting. there is also a great difference with many birds in the length of time during which the two annual plumages are retained; so that the one might come to be retained for the whole year, and the other completely lost. thus in the spring machetes pugnax retains his ruff for barely two months. in natal the male widow-bird (chera progne) acquires his fine plumage and long tail-feathers in december or january, and loses them in march; so that they are retained only for about three months. most species, which undergo a double moult, keep their ornamental feathers for about six months. the male, however, of the wild gallus bankiva retains his neck-hackles for nine or ten months; and when these are cast off, the underlying black feathers on the neck are fully exposed to view. but with the domesticated descendant of this species, the neck-hackles of the male are immediately replaced by new ones; so that we here see, as to part of the plumage, a double moult changed under domestication into a single moult. ( . for the foregoing statements in regard to partial moults, and on old males retaining their nuptial plumage, see jerdon, on bustards and plovers, in 'birds of india,' vol. iii. pp. , , , . also blyth in 'land and water,' , p. . on the moulting of paradisea, see an interesting article by dr. w. marshall, 'archives neerlandaises,' tom. vi. . on the vidua, 'ibis,' vol. iii. , p. . on the drongo-shrikes, jerdon, ibid. vol. i. p. . on the vernal moult of the herodias bubulcus, mr. s.s. allen, in 'ibis,' , p. . on gallus bankiva, blyth, in 'annals and mag. of natural history,' vol. i. , p. ; see, also, on this subject, my 'variation of animals under domestication,' vol. i. p. .) the common drake (anas boschas), after the breeding-season, is well known to lose his male plumage for a period of three months, during which time he assumes that of the female. the male pin-tail duck (anas acuta) loses his plumage for the shorter period of six weeks or two months; and montagu remarks that "this double moult within so short a time is a most extraordinary circumstance, that seems to bid defiance to all human reasoning." but the believer in the gradual modification of species will be far from feeling surprise at finding gradations of all kinds. if the male pin-tail were to acquire his new plumage within a still shorter period, the new male feathers would almost necessarily be mingled with the old, and both with some proper to the female; and this apparently is the case with the male of a not distantly-allied bird, namely the merganser serrator, for the males are said to "undergo a change of plumage, which assimilates them in some measure to the female." by a little further acceleration in the process, the double moult would be completely lost. ( . see macgillivray, 'hist. british birds' (vol. v. pp. , , and ), on the moulting of the anatidae, with quotations from waterton and montagu. also yarrell, 'history of british birds,' vol. iii. p. .) some male birds, as before stated, become more brightly coloured in the spring, not by a vernal moult, but either by an actual change of colour in the feathers, or by their obscurely-coloured deciduary margins being shed. changes of colour thus caused may last for a longer or shorter time. in the pelecanus onocrotalus a beautiful rosy tint, with lemon-coloured marks on the breast, overspreads the whole plumage in the spring; but these tints, as mr. sclater states, "do not last long, disappearing generally in about six weeks or two months after they have been attained." certain finches shed the margins of their feathers in the spring, and then become brighter coloured, while other finches undergo no such change. thus the fringilla tristis of the united states (as well as many other american species) exhibits its bright colours only when the winter is past, whilst our goldfinch, which exactly represents this bird in habits, and our siskin, which represents it still more closely in structure, undergo no such annual change. but a difference of this kind in the plumage of allied species is not surprising, for with the common linnet, which belongs to the same family, the crimson forehead and breast are displayed only during the summer in england, whilst in madeira these colours are retained throughout the year. ( . on the pelican, see sclater, in 'proc. zool. soc.' , p. . on the american finches, see audubon, 'ornithological biography,' vol. i. pp. , , and jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. ii. p. . on the fringilla cannabina of madeira, mr. e. vernon harcourt, 'ibis,' vol. v. , p. .) display by male birds of their plumage. ornaments of all kinds, whether permanently or temporarily gained, are sedulously displayed by the males, and apparently serve to excite, attract, or fascinate the females. but the males will sometimes display their ornaments, when not in the presence of the females, as occasionally occurs with grouse at their balz-places, and as may be noticed with the peacock; this latter bird, however, evidently wishes for a spectator of some kind, and, as i have often seen, will shew off his finery before poultry, or even pigs. ( . see also 'ornamental poultry,' by rev. e.s. dixon, , p. .) all naturalists who have closely attended to the habits of birds, whether in a state of nature or under confinement, are unanimously of opinion that the males take delight in displaying their beauty. audubon frequently speaks of the male as endeavouring in various ways to charm the female. mr. gould, after describing some peculiarities in a male humming-bird, says he has no doubt that it has the power of displaying them to the greatest advantage before the female. dr. jerdon ( . 'birds of india,' introduct., vol. i. p. xxiv.; on the peacock, vol. iii. p. . see gould's 'introduction to trochilidae,' , pp. and .) insists that the beautiful plumage of the male serves "to fascinate and attract the female." mr. bartlett, at the zoological gardens, expressed himself to me in the strongest terms to the same effect. [fig. . rupicola crocea, male (t.w. wood).] it must be a grand sight in the forests of india "to come suddenly on twenty or thirty pea-fowl, the males displaying their gorgeous trains, and strutting about in all the pomp of pride before the gratified females." the wild turkey-cock erects his glittering plumage, expands his finely-zoned tail and barred wing-feathers, and altogether, with his crimson and blue wattles, makes a superb, though, to our eyes, grotesque appearance. similar facts have already been given with respect to grouse of various kinds. turning to another order: the male rupicola crocea (fig. ) is one of the most beautiful birds in the world, being of a splendid orange, with some of the feathers curiously truncated and plumose. the female is brownish-green, shaded with red, and has a much smaller crest. sir r. schomburgk has described their courtship; he found one of their meeting-places where ten males and two females were present. the space was from four to five feet in diameter, and appeared to have been cleared of every blade of grass and smoothed as if by human hands. a male "was capering, to the apparent delight of several others. now spreading its wings, throwing up its head, or opening its tail like a fan; now strutting about with a hopping gait until tired, when it gabbled some kind of note, and was relieved by another. thus three of them successively took the field, and then, with self-approbation, withdrew to rest." the indians, in order to obtain their skins, wait at one of the meeting-places till the birds are eagerly engaged in dancing, and then are able to kill with their poisoned arrows four or five males, one after the other. ( . 'journal of r. geograph. soc.' vol. x. , p. .) with birds of paradise a dozen or more full-plumaged males congregate in a tree to hold a dancing-party, as it is called by the natives: and here they fly about, raise their wings, elevate their exquisite plumes, and make them vibrate, and the whole tree seems, as mr. wallace remarks, to be filled with waving plumes. when thus engaged, they become so absorbed that a skilful archer may shoot nearly the whole party. these birds, when kept in confinement in the malay archipelago, are said to take much care in keeping their feathers clean; often spreading them out, examining them, and removing every speck of dirt. one observer, who kept several pairs alive, did not doubt that the display of the male was intended to please the female. ( . 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.' vol. xiii. , p. ; also wallace, ibid. vol. xx. , p. , and 'the malay archipelago,' vol. ii. , p. . also dr. bennett, as quoted by brehm, 'thierleben,' b. iii. s. .) [fig. . polyplectron chinquis, male (t.w. wood).] the gold and amherst pheasants during their courtship not only expand and raise their splendid frills, but twist them, as i have myself seen, obliquely towards the female on whichever side she may be standing, obviously in order that a large surface may be displayed before her. ( . mr. t.w. wood has given ('the student,' april , p. ) a full account of this manner of display, by the gold pheasant and by the japanese pheasant, ph. versicolor; and he calls it the lateral or one-sided display.) they likewise turn their beautiful tails and tail-coverts a little towards the same side. mr. bartlett has observed a male polyplectron (fig. ) in the act of courtship, and has shewn me a specimen stuffed in the attitude then assumed. the tail and wing-feathers of this bird are ornamented with beautiful ocelli, like those on the peacock's train. now when the peacock displays himself, he expands and erects his tail transversely to his body, for he stands in front of the female, and has to shew off, at the same time, his rich blue throat and breast. but the breast of the polyplectron is obscurely coloured, and the ocelli are not confined to the tail-feathers. consequently the polyplectron does not stand in front of the female; but he erects and expands his tail-feathers a little obliquely, lowering the expanded wing on the same side, and raising that on the opposite side. in this attitude the ocelli over the whole body are exposed at the same time before the eyes of the admiring female in one grand bespangled expanse. to whichever side she may turn, the expanded wings and the obliquely-held tail are turned towards her. the male tragopan pheasant acts in nearly the same manner, for he raises the feathers of the body, though not the wing itself, on the side which is opposite to the female, and which would otherwise be concealed, so that nearly all the beautifully spotted feathers are exhibited at the same time. [fig. . side view of male argus pheasant, whilst displaying before the female. observed and sketched from nature by t.w. wood.] the argus pheasant affords a much more remarkable case. the immensely developed secondary wing-feathers are confined to the male; and each is ornamented with a row of from twenty to twenty-three ocelli, above an inch in diameter. these feathers are also elegantly marked with oblique stripes and rows of spots of a dark colour, like those on the skin of a tiger and leopard combined. these beautiful ornaments are hidden until the male shows himself off before the female. he then erects his tail, and expands his wing-feathers into a great, almost upright, circular fan or shield, which is carried in front of the body. the neck and head are held on one side, so that they are concealed by the fan; but the bird in order to see the female, before whom he is displaying himself, sometimes pushes his head between two of the long wing-feathers (as mr. bartlett has seen), and then presents a grotesque appearance. this must be a frequent habit with the bird in a state of nature, for mr. bartlett and his son on examining some perfect skins sent from the east, found a place between two of the feathers which was much frayed, as if the head had here frequently been pushed through. mr. wood thinks that the male can also peep at the female on one side, beyond the margin of the fan. the ocelli on the wing-feathers are wonderful objects; for they are so shaded that, as the duke of argyll remarks ( . 'the reign of law,' , p. .), they stand out like balls lying loosely within sockets. when i looked at the specimen in the british museum, which is mounted with the wings expanded and trailing downwards, i was however greatly disappointed, for the ocelli appeared flat, or even concave. but mr. gould soon made the case clear to me, for he held the feathers erect, in the position in which they would naturally be displayed, and now, from the light shining on them from above, each ocellus at once resembled the ornament called a ball and socket. these feathers have been shown to several artists, and all have expressed their admiration at the perfect shading. it may well be asked, could such artistically shaded ornaments have been formed by means of sexual selection? but it will be convenient to defer giving an answer to this question until we treat in the next chapter of the principle of gradation. the foregoing remarks relate to the secondary wing-feathers, but the primary wing-feathers, which in most gallinaceous birds are uniformly coloured, are in the argus pheasant equally wonderful. they are of a soft brown tint with numerous dark spots, each of which consists of two or three black dots with a surrounding dark zone. but the chief ornament is a space parallel to the dark-blue shaft, which in outline forms a perfect second feather lying within the true feather. this inner part is coloured of a lighter chestnut, and is thickly dotted with minute white points. i have shewn this feather to several persons, and many have admired it even more than the ball and socket feathers, and have declared that it was more like a work of art than of nature. now these feathers are quite hidden on all ordinary occasions, but are fully displayed, together with the long secondary feathers, when they are all expanded together so as to form the great fan or shield. the case of the male argus pheasant is eminently interesting, because it affords good evidence that the most refined beauty may serve as a sexual charm, and for no other purpose. we must conclude that this is the case, as the secondary and primary wing-feathers are not at all displayed, and the ball and socket ornaments are not exhibited in full perfection until the male assumes the attitude of courtship. the argus pheasant does not possess brilliant colours, so that his success in love appears to depend on the great size of his plumes, and on the elaboration of the most elegant patterns. many will declare that it is utterly incredible that a female bird should be able to appreciate fine shading and exquisite patterns. it is undoubtedly a marvellous fact that she should possess this almost human degree of taste. he who thinks that he can safely gauge the discrimination and taste of the lower animals may deny that the female argus pheasant can appreciate such refined beauty; but he will then be compelled to admit that the extraordinary attitudes assumed by the male during the act of courtship, by which the wonderful beauty of his plumage is fully displayed, are purposeless; and this is a conclusion which i for one will never admit. although so many pheasants and allied gallinaceous birds carefully display their plumage before the females, it is remarkable, as mr. bartlett informs me, that this is not the case with the dull-coloured eared and cheer pheasants (crossoptilon auritum and phasianus wallichii); so that these birds seem conscious that they have little beauty to display. mr. bartlett has never seen the males of either of these species fighting together, though he has not had such good opportunities for observing the cheer as the eared pheasant. mr. jenner weir, also, finds that all male birds with rich or strongly-characterised plumage are more quarrelsome than the dull-coloured species belonging to the same groups. the goldfinch, for instance, is far more pugnacious than the linnet, and the blackbird than the thrush. those birds which undergo a seasonal change of plumage likewise become much more pugnacious at the period when they are most gaily ornamented. no doubt the males of some obscurely-coloured birds fight desperately together, but it appears that when sexual selection has been highly influential, and has given bright colours to the males of any species, it has also very often given a strong tendency to pugnacity. we shall meet with nearly analogous cases when we treat of mammals. on the other hand, with birds the power of song and brilliant colours have rarely been both acquired by the males of the same species; but in this case the advantage gained would have been the same, namely success in charming the female. nevertheless it must be owned that the males of several brilliantly coloured birds have had their feathers specially modified for the sake of producing instrumental music, though the beauty of this cannot be compared, at least according to our taste, with that of the vocal music of many songsters. we will now turn to male birds which are not ornamented in any high degree, but which nevertheless display during their courtship whatever attractions they may possess. these cases are in some respects more curious than the foregoing, and have been but little noticed. i owe the following facts to mr. weir, who has long kept confined birds of many kinds, including all the british fringillidae and emberizidae. the facts have been selected from a large body of valuable notes kindly sent me by him. the bullfinch makes his advances in front of the female, and then puffs out his breast, so that many more of the crimson feathers are seen at once than otherwise would be the case. at the same time he twists and bows his black tail from side to side in a ludicrous manner. the male chaffinch also stands in front of the female, thus shewing his red breast and "blue bell," as the fanciers call his head; the wings at the same time being slightly expanded, with the pure white bands on the shoulders thus rendered conspicuous. the common linnet distends his rosy breast, slightly expands his brown wings and tail, so as to make the best of them by exhibiting their white edgings. we must, however, be cautious in concluding that the wings are spread out solely for display, as some birds do so whose wings are not beautiful. this is the case with the domestic cock, but it is always the wing on the side opposite to the female which is expanded, and at the same time scraped on the ground. the male goldfinch behaves differently from all other finches: his wings are beautiful, the shoulders being black, with the dark-tipped wing-feathers spotted with white and edged with golden yellow. when he courts the female, he sways his body from side to side, and quickly turns his slightly expanded wings first to one side, then to the other, with a golden flashing effect. mr. weir informs me that no other british finch turns thus from side to side during his courtship, not even the closely-allied male siskin, for he would not thus add to his beauty. most of the british buntings are plain coloured birds; but in the spring the feathers on the head of the male reed-bunting (emberiza schoeniculus) acquire a fine black colour by the abrasion of the dusky tips; and these are erected during the act of courtship. mr. weir has kept two species of amadina from australia: the a. castanotis is a very small and chastely coloured finch, with a dark tail, white rump, and jet-black upper tail-coverts, each of the latter being marked with three large conspicuous oval spots of white. ( . for the description of these birds, see gould's 'handbook to the birds of australia,' vol. i. , p. .) this species, when courting the female, slightly spreads out and vibrates these parti-coloured tail-coverts in a very peculiar manner. the male amadina lathami behaves very differently, exhibiting before the female his brilliantly spotted breast, scarlet rump, and scarlet upper tail-coverts. i may here add from dr. jerdon that the indian bulbul (pycnonotus hoemorrhous) has its under tail-coverts of a crimson colour, and these, it might be thought, could never be well exhibited; but the bird "when excited often spreads them out laterally, so that they can be seen even from above." ( . 'birds of india,' vol. ii. p. .) the crimson under tail-coverts of some other birds, as with one of the woodpeckers, picus major, can be seen without any such display. the common pigeon has iridescent feathers on the breast, and every one must have seen how the male inflates his breast whilst courting the female, thus shewing them off to the best advantage. one of the beautiful bronze-winged pigeons of australia (ocyphaps lophotes) behaves, as described to me by mr. weir, very differently: the male, whilst standing before the female, lowers his head almost to the ground, spreads out and raises his tail, and half expands his wings. he then alternately and slowly raises and depresses his body, so that the iridescent metallic feathers are all seen at once, and glitter in the sun. sufficient facts have now been given to shew with what care male birds display their various charms, and this they do with the utmost skill. whilst preening their feathers, they have frequent opportunities for admiring themselves, and of studying how best to exhibit their beauty. but as all the males of the same species display themselves in exactly the same manner, it appears that actions, at first perhaps intentional, have become instinctive. if so, we ought not to accuse birds of conscious vanity; yet when we see a peacock strutting about, with expanded and quivering tail-feathers, he seems the very emblem of pride and vanity. the various ornaments possessed by the males are certainly of the highest importance to them, for in some cases they have been acquired at the expense of greatly impeded powers of flight or of running. the african night-jar (cosmetornis), which during the pairing-season has one of its primary wing-feathers developed into a streamer of very great length, is thereby much retarded in its flight, although at other times remarkable for its swiftness. the "unwieldy size" of the secondary wing-feathers of the male argus pheasant is said "almost entirely to deprive the bird of flight." the fine plumes of male birds of paradise trouble them during a high wind. the extremely long tail-feathers of the male widow-birds (vidua) of southern africa render "their flight heavy;" but as soon as these are cast off they fly as well as the females. as birds always breed when food is abundant, the males probably do not suffer much inconvenience in searching for food from their impeded powers of movement; but there can hardly be a doubt that they must be much more liable to be struck down by birds of prey. nor can we doubt that the long train of the peacock and the long tail and wing-feathers of the argus pheasant must render them an easier prey to any prowling tiger-cat than would otherwise be the case. even the bright colours of many male birds cannot fail to make them conspicuous to their enemies of all kinds. hence, as mr. gould has remarked, it probably is that such birds are generally of a shy disposition, as if conscious that their beauty was a source of danger, and are much more difficult to discover or approach, than the sombre coloured and comparatively tame females or than the young and as yet unadorned males. ( . on the cosmetornis, see livingstone's 'expedition to the zambesi,' , p. . on the argus pheasant, jardine's 'nat. hist. lib.: birds,' vol. xiv. p. . on birds of paradise, lesson, quoted by brehm, 'thierleben,' b. iii. s. . on the widow-bird, barrow's 'travels in africa,' vol. i. p. , and 'ibis,' vol. iii. p. . mr. gould, on the shyness of male birds, 'handbook to birds of australia,' vol. i. , pp. , .) it is a more curious fact that the males of some birds which are provided with special weapons for battle, and which in a state of nature are so pugnacious that they often kill each other, suffer from possessing certain ornaments. cock-fighters trim the hackles and cut off the combs and gills of their cocks; and the birds are then said to be dubbed. an undubbed bird, as mr. tegetmeier insists, "is at a fearful disadvantage; the comb and gills offer an easy hold to his adversary's beak, and as a cock always strikes where he holds, when once he has seized his foe, he has him entirely in his power. even supposing that the bird is not killed, the loss of blood suffered by an undubbed cock is much greater than that sustained by one that has been trimmed." ( . tegetmeier, 'the poultry book,' , p. .) young turkey-cocks in fighting always seize hold of each other's wattles; and i presume that the old birds fight in the same manner. it may perhaps be objected that the comb and wattles are not ornamental, and cannot be of service to the birds in this way; but even to our eyes, the beauty of the glossy black spanish cock is much enhanced by his white face and crimson comb; and no one who has ever seen the splendid blue wattles of the male tragopan pheasant distended in courtship can for a moment doubt that beauty is the object gained. from the foregoing facts we clearly see that the plumes and other ornaments of the males must be of the highest importance to them; and we further see that beauty is even sometimes more important than success in battle. chapter xiv. birds--continued. choice exerted by the female--length of courtship--unpaired birds--mental qualities and taste for the beautiful--preference or antipathy shewn by the female for particular males--variability of birds--variations sometimes abrupt--laws of variation--formation of ocelli--gradations of character--case of peacock, argus pheasant, and urosticte. when the sexes differ in beauty or in the power of singing, or in producing what i have called instrumental music, it is almost invariably the male who surpasses the female. these qualities, as we have just seen, are evidently of high importance to the male. when they are gained for only a part of the year it is always before the breeding-season. it is the male alone who elaborately displays his varied attractions, and often performs strange antics on the ground or in the air, in the presence of the female. each male drives away, or if he can, kills his rivals. hence we may conclude that it is the object of the male to induce the female to pair with him, and for this purpose he tries to excite or charm her in various ways; and this is the opinion of all those who have carefully studied the habits of living birds. but there remains a question which has an all important bearing on sexual selection, namely, does every male of the same species excite and attract the female equally? or does she exert a choice, and prefer certain males? this latter question can be answered in the affirmative by much direct and indirect evidence. it is far more difficult to decide what qualities determine the choice of the females; but here again we have some direct and indirect evidence that it is to a large extent the external attractions of the male; though no doubt his vigour, courage, and other mental qualities come into play. we will begin with the indirect evidence. length of courtship. the lengthened period during which both sexes of certain birds meet day after day at an appointed place probably depends partly on the courtship being a prolonged affair, and partly on reiteration in the act of pairing. thus in germany and scandinavia the balzen or leks of the black-cocks last from the middle of march, all through april into may. as many as forty or fifty, or even more birds congregate at the leks; and the same place is often frequented during successive years. the lek of the capercailzie lasts from the end of march to the middle or even end of may. in north america "the partridge dances" of the tetrao phasianellus "last for a month or more." other kinds of grouse, both in north america and eastern siberia ( . nordman describes ('bull. soc. imp. des nat. moscou,' , tom. xxxiv. p. ) the balzen of tetrao urogalloides in amur land. he estimated the number of birds assembled at above a hundred, not counting the females, which lie hid in the surrounding bushes. the noises uttered differ from those of t. urogallus.), follow nearly the same habits. the fowlers discover the hillocks where the ruffs congregate by the grass being trampled bare, and this shews that the same spot is long frequented. the indians of guiana are well acquainted with the cleared arenas, where they expect to find the beautiful cocks of the rock; and the natives of new guinea know the trees where from ten to twenty male birds of paradise in full plumage congregate. in this latter case it is not expressly stated that the females meet on the same trees, but the hunters, if not specially asked, would probably not mention their presence, as their skins are valueless. small parties of an african weaver (ploceus) congregate, during the breeding-season, and perform for hours their graceful evolutions. large numbers of the solitary snipe (scolopax major) assemble during dusk in a morass; and the same place is frequented for the same purpose during successive years; here they may be seen running about "like so many large rats," puffing out their feathers, flapping their wings, and uttering the strangest cries. ( . with respect to the assemblages of the above named grouse, see brehm, 'thierleben,' b. iv. s. ; also l. lloyd, 'game birds of sweden,' , pp. , . richardson, 'fauna bor. americana: birds,' p. . references in regard to the assemblages of other birds have already been given. on paradisea, see wallace, in 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.' vol. xx. , p. . on the snipe, lloyd, ibid. p. .) some of the above birds,--the black-cock, capercailzie, pheasant-grouse, ruff, solitary snipe, and perhaps others,--are, as is believed, polygamists. with such birds it might have been thought that the stronger males would simply have driven away the weaker, and then at once have taken possession of as many females as possible; but if it be indispensable for the male to excite or please the female, we can understand the length of the courtship and the congregation of so many individuals of both sexes at the same spot. certain strictly monogamous species likewise hold nuptial assemblages; this seems to be the case in scandinavia with one of the ptarmigans, and their leks last from the middle of march to the middle of may. in australia the lyre-bird (menura superba) forms "small round hillocks," and the m. alberti scratches for itself shallow holes, or, as they are called by the natives, "corroborying places," where it is believed both sexes assemble. the meetings of the m. superba are sometimes very large; and an account has lately been published ( . quoted by mr. t.w. wood, in the 'student,' april , p. .) by a traveller, who heard in a valley beneath him, thickly covered with scrub, "a din which completely astonished" him; on crawling onwards he beheld, to his amazement, about one hundred and fifty of the magnificent lyre-cocks, "ranged in order of battle, and fighting with indescribable fury." the bowers of the bower-birds are the resort of both sexes during the breeding-season; and "here the males meet and contend with each other for the favours of the female, and here the latter assemble and coquet with the males." with two of the genera, the same bower is resorted to during many years. ( . gould, 'handbook to the birds of australia,' vol. i. pp. , , , . on the ptarmigan, above alluded to, see lloyd, ibid. p. .) the common magpie (corvus pica, linn.), as i have been informed by the rev. w. darwin fox, used to assemble from all parts of delamere forest, in order to celebrate the "great magpie marriage." some years ago these birds abounded in extraordinary numbers, so that a gamekeeper killed in one morning nineteen males, and another killed by a single shot seven birds at roost together. they then had the habit of assembling very early in the spring at particular spots, where they could be seen in flocks, chattering, sometimes fighting, bustling and flying about the trees. the whole affair was evidently considered by the birds as one of the highest importance. shortly after the meeting they all separated, and were then observed by mr. fox and others to be paired for the season. in any district in which a species does not exist in large numbers, great assemblages cannot, of course, be held, and the same species may have different habits in different countries. for instance, i have heard of only one instance, from mr. wedderburn, of a regular assemblage of black game in scotland, yet these assemblages are so well known in germany and scandinavia that they have received special names. unpaired birds. from the facts now given, we may conclude that the courtship of birds belonging to widely different groups, is often a prolonged, delicate, and troublesome affair. there is even reason to suspect, improbable as this will at first appear, that some males and females of the same species, inhabiting the same district, do not always please each other, and consequently do not pair. many accounts have been published of either the male or female of a pair having been shot, and quickly replaced by another. this has been observed more frequently with the magpie than with any other bird, owing perhaps to its conspicuous appearance and nest. the illustrious jenner states that in wiltshire one of a pair was daily shot no less than seven times successively, "but all to no purpose, for the remaining magpie soon found another mate"; and the last pair reared their young. a new partner is generally found on the succeeding day; but mr. thompson gives the case of one being replaced on the evening of the same day. even after the eggs are hatched, if one of the old birds is destroyed a mate will often be found; this occurred after an interval of two days, in a case recently observed by one of sir j. lubbock's keepers. ( . on magpies, jenner, in 'philosophical transactions,' , p. . macgillivray, 'hist. british birds,' vol. i. p. . thompson, in 'annals and magazine of natural history,' vol. viii. , p. .) the first and most obvious conjecture is that male magpies must be much more numerous than females; and that in the above cases, as well as in many others which could be given, the males alone had been killed. this apparently holds good in some instances, for the gamekeepers in delamere forest assured mr. fox that the magpies and carrion-crows which they formerly killed in succession in large numbers near their nests, were all males; and they accounted for this fact by the males being easily killed whilst bringing food to the sitting females. macgillivray, however, gives, on the authority of an excellent observer, an instance of three magpies successively killed on the same nest, which were all females; and another case of six magpies successively killed whilst sitting on the same eggs, which renders it probable that most of them were females; though, as i hear from mr. fox, the male will sit on the eggs when the female is killed. sir j. lubbock's gamekeeper has repeatedly shot, but how often he could not say, one of a pair of jays (garrulus glandarius), and has never failed shortly afterwards to find the survivor re-matched. mr. fox, mr. f. bond, and others have shot one of a pair of carrion-crows (corvus corone), but the nest was soon again tenanted by a pair. these birds are rather common; but the peregrine-falcon (falco peregrinus) is rare, yet mr. thompson states that in ireland "if either an old male or female be killed in the breeding-season (not an uncommon circumstance), another mate is found within a very few days, so that the eyries, notwithstanding such casualties, are sure to turn out their complement of young." mr. jenner weir has known the same thing with the peregrine-falcons at beachy head. the same observer informs me that three kestrels (falco tinnunculus), all males, were killed one after the other whilst attending the same nest; two of these were in mature plumage, but the third was in the plumage of the previous year. even with the rare golden eagle (aquila chrysaetos), mr. birkbeck was assured by a trustworthy gamekeeper in scotland, that if one is killed, another is soon found. so with the white owl (strix flammea), "the survivor readily found a mate, and the mischief went on." white of selborne, who gives the case of the owl, adds that he knew a man, who from believing that partridges when paired were disturbed by the males fighting, used to shoot them; and though he had widowed the same female several times, she always soon found a fresh partner. this same naturalist ordered the sparrows, which deprived the house-martins of their nests, to be shot; but the one which was left, "be it cock or hen, presently procured a mate, and so for several times following." i could add analogous cases relating to the chaffinch, nightingale, and redstart. with respect to the latter bird (phoenicura ruticilla), a writer expresses much surprise how the sitting female could so soon have given effectual notice that she was a widow, for the species was not common in the neighbourhood. mr. jenner weir has mentioned to me a nearly similar case; at blackheath he never sees or hears the note of the wild bullfinch, yet when one of his caged males has died, a wild one in the course of a few days has generally come and perched near the widowed female, whose call-note is not loud. i will give only one other fact, on the authority of this same observer; one of a pair of starlings (sturnus vulgaris) was shot in the morning; by noon a new mate was found; this was again shot, but before night the pair was complete; so that the disconsolate widow or widower was thrice consoled during the same day. mr. engleheart also informs me that he used during several years to shoot one of a pair of starlings which built in a hole in a house at blackheath; but the loss was always immediately repaired. during one season he kept an account, and found that he had shot thirty-five birds from the same nest; these consisted of both males and females, but in what proportion he could not say: nevertheless, after all this destruction, a brood was reared. ( . on the peregrine falcon, see thompson, 'nat. hist. of ireland: birds,' vol. i. , p. . on owls, sparrows, and partridges, see white, 'nat. hist. of selborne,' edit. of , vol. i. p. . on the phoenicura, see loudon's 'mag. of nat. hist.' vol. vii. , p. . brehm ('thierleben,' b. iv. s. ) also alludes to cases of birds thrice mated during the same day.) these facts well deserve attention. how is it that there are birds enough ready to replace immediately a lost mate of either sex? magpies, jays, carrion-crows, partridges, and some other birds, are always seen during the spring in pairs, and never by themselves; and these offer at first sight the most perplexing cases. but birds of the same sex, although of course not truly paired, sometimes live in pairs or in small parties, as is known to be the case with pigeons and partridges. birds also sometimes live in triplets, as has been observed with starlings, carrion-crows, parrots, and partridges. with partridges two females have been known to live with one male, and two males with one female. in all such cases it is probable that the union would be easily broken; and one of the three would readily pair with a widow or widower. the males of certain birds may occasionally be heard pouring forth their love-song long after the proper time, shewing that they have either lost or never gained a mate. death from accident or disease of one of a pair would leave the other free and single; and there is reason to believe that female birds during the breeding-season are especially liable to premature death. again, birds which have had their nests destroyed, or barren pairs, or retarded individuals, would easily be induced to desert their mates, and would probably be glad to take what share they could of the pleasures and duties of rearing offspring although not their own. ( . see white ('nat. hist. of selborne,' , vol. i. p. ) on the existence, early in the season, of small coveys of male partridges, of which fact i have heard other instances. see jenner, on the retarded state of the generative organs in certain birds, in 'phil. transact.' . in regard to birds living in triplets, i owe to mr. jenner weir the cases of the starlings and parrots, and to mr. fox, of partridges; on carrion-crows, see the 'field,' , p. . on various male birds singing after the proper period, see rev. l. jenyns, 'observations in natural history,' , p. .) such contingencies as these probably explain most of the foregoing cases. ( . the following case has been given ('the times,' aug. , ) by the rev. f.o. morris, on the authority of the hon. and rev. o.w. forester. "the gamekeeper here found a hawk's nest this year, with five young ones on it. he took four and killed them, but left one with its wings clipped as a decoy to destroy the old ones by. they were both shot next day, in the act of feeding the young one, and the keeper thought it was done with. the next day he came again and found two other charitable hawks, who had come with an adopted feeling to succour the orphan. these two he killed, and then left the nest. on returning afterwards he found two more charitable individuals on the same errand of mercy. one of these he killed; the other he also shot, but could not find. no more came on the like fruitless errand.") nevertheless, it is a strange fact that within the same district, during the height of the breeding-season, there should be so many males and females always ready to repair the loss of a mated bird. why do not such spare birds immediately pair together? have we not some reason to suspect, and the suspicion has occurred to mr. jenner weir, that as the courtship of birds appears to be in many cases prolonged and tedious, so it occasionally happens that certain males and females do not succeed, during the proper season, in exciting each other's love, and consequently do not pair? this suspicion will appear somewhat less improbable after we have seen what strong antipathies and preferences female birds occasionally evince towards particular males. mental qualities of birds, and their taste for the beautiful. before we further discuss the question whether the females select the more attractive males or accept the first whom they may encounter, it will be advisable briefly to consider the mental powers of birds. their reason is generally, and perhaps justly, ranked as low; yet some facts could be given leading to an opposite conclusion. ( . i am indebted to prof. newton for the following passage from mr. adam's 'travels of a naturalist,' , p. . speaking of japanese nut-hatches in confinement, he says: "instead of the more yielding fruit of the yew, which is the usual food of the nut-hatch of japan, at one time i substituted hard hazel-nuts. as the bird was unable to crack them, he placed them one by one in his water-glass, evidently with the notion that they would in time become softer--an interesting proof of intelligence on the part of these birds.") low powers of reasoning, however, are compatible, as we see with mankind, with strong affections, acute perception, and a taste for the beautiful; and it is with these latter qualities that we are here concerned. it has often been said that parrots become so deeply attached to each other that when one dies the other pines for a long time; but mr. jenner weir thinks that with most birds the strength of their affection has been much exaggerated. nevertheless when one of a pair in a state of nature has been shot, the survivor has been heard for days afterwards uttering a plaintive call; and mr. st. john gives various facts proving the attachment of mated birds. ( . 'a tour in sutherlandshire,' vol. i. , p. . dr. buller says ('birds of new zealand,' , p. ) that a male king lory was killed; and the female "fretted and moped, refused her food, and died of a broken heart.") mr. bennett relates ( . 'wanderings in new south wales,' vol. ii. , p. .) that in china after a drake of the beautiful mandarin teal had been stolen, the duck remained disconsolate, though sedulously courted by another mandarin drake, who displayed before her all his charms. after an interval of three weeks the stolen drake was recovered, and instantly the pair recognised each other with extreme joy. on the other hand, starlings, as we have seen, may be consoled thrice in the same day for the loss of their mates. pigeons have such excellent local memories, that they have been known to return to their former homes after an interval of nine months, yet, as i hear from mr. harrison weir, if a pair which naturally would remain mated for life be separated for a few weeks during the winter, and afterwards matched with other birds, the two when brought together again, rarely, if ever, recognise each other. birds sometimes exhibit benevolent feelings; they will feed the deserted young ones even of distinct species, but this perhaps ought to be considered as a mistaken instinct. they will feed, as shewn in an earlier part of this work, adult birds of their own species which have become blind. mr. buxton gives a curious account of a parrot which took care of a frost-bitten and crippled bird of a distinct species, cleansed her feathers, and defended her from the attacks of the other parrots which roamed freely about his garden. it is a still more curious fact that these birds apparently evince some sympathy for the pleasures of their fellows. when a pair of cockatoos made a nest in an acacia tree, "it was ridiculous to see the extravagant interest taken in the matter by the others of the same species." these parrots, also, evinced unbounded curiosity, and clearly had "the idea of property and possession." ( . 'acclimatization of parrots,' by c. buxton, m.p., 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.' nov. , p. .) they have good memories, for in the zoological gardens they have plainly recognised their former masters after an interval of some months. birds possess acute powers of observation. every mated bird, of course, recognises its fellow. audubon states that a certain number of mocking-thrushes (mimus polyglottus) remain all the year round in louisiana, whilst others migrate to the eastern states; these latter, on their return, are instantly recognised, and always attacked, by their southern brethren. birds under confinement distinguish different persons, as is proved by the strong and permanent antipathy or affection which they shew, without any apparent cause, towards certain individuals. i have heard of numerous instances with jays, partridges, canaries, and especially bullfinches. mr. hussey has described in how extraordinary a manner a tamed partridge recognised everybody: and its likes and dislikes were very strong. this bird seemed "fond of gay colours, and no new gown or cap could be put on without catching his attention." ( . the 'zoologist,' - , p. .) mr. hewitt has described the habits of some ducks (recently descended from wild birds), which, at the approach of a strange dog or cat, would rush headlong into the water, and exhaust themselves in their attempts to escape; but they knew mr. hewitt's own dogs and cats so well that they would lie down and bask in the sun close to them. they always moved away from a strange man, and so they would from the lady who attended them if she made any great change in her dress. audubon relates that he reared and tamed a wild turkey which always ran away from any strange dog; this bird escaped into the woods, and some days afterwards audubon saw, as he thought, a wild turkey, and made his dog chase it; but, to his astonishment, the bird did not run away, and the dog, when he came up, did not attack the bird, for they mutually recognised each other as old friends. ( . hewitt on wild ducks, 'journal of horticulture,' jan. , , p. . audubon on the wild turkey, 'ornithological biography,' vol. i. p. . on the mocking-thrush, ibid. vol. i. p. .) mr. jenner weir is convinced that birds pay particular attention to the colours of other birds, sometimes out of jealousy, and sometimes as a sign of kinship. thus he turned a reed-bunting (emberiza schoeniculus), which had acquired its black head-dress, into his aviary, and the new-comer was not noticed by any bird, except by a bullfinch, which is likewise black-headed. this bullfinch was a very quiet bird, and had never before quarrelled with any of its comrades, including another reed-bunting, which had not as yet become black-headed: but the reed-bunting with a black head was so unmercifully treated that it had to be removed. spiza cyanea, during the breeding-season, is of a bright blue colour; and though generally peaceable, it attacked s. ciris, which has only the head blue, and completely scalped the unfortunate bird. mr. weir was also obliged to turn out a robin, as it fiercely attacked all the birds in his aviary with any red in their plumage, but no other kinds; it actually killed a red-breasted crossbill, and nearly killed a goldfinch. on the other hand, he has observed that some birds, when first introduced, fly towards the species which resemble them most in colour, and settle by their sides. as male birds display their fine plumage and other ornaments with so much care before the females, it is obviously probable that these appreciate the beauty of their suitors. it is, however, difficult to obtain direct evidence of their capacity to appreciate beauty. when birds gaze at themselves in a looking-glass (of which many instances have been recorded) we cannot feel sure that it is not from jealousy of a supposed rival, though this is not the conclusion of some observers. in other cases it is difficult to distinguish between mere curiosity and admiration. it is perhaps the former feeling which, as stated by lord lilford ( . the 'ibis,' vol. ii. , p. .), attracts the ruff towards any bright object, so that, in the ionian islands, "it will dart down to a bright-coloured handkerchief, regardless of repeated shots." the common lark is drawn down from the sky, and is caught in large numbers, by a small mirror made to move and glitter in the sun. is it admiration or curiosity which leads the magpie, raven, and some other birds to steal and secrete bright objects, such as silver articles or jewels? mr. gould states that certain humming-birds decorate the outsides of their nests "with the utmost taste; they instinctively fasten thereon beautiful pieces of flat lichen, the larger pieces in the middle, and the smaller on the part attached to the branch. now and then a pretty feather is intertwined or fastened to the outer sides, the stem being always so placed that the feather stands out beyond the surface." the best evidence, however, of a taste for the beautiful is afforded by the three genera of australian bower-birds already mentioned. their bowers (fig. ), where the sexes congregate and play strange antics, are variously constructed, but what most concerns us is, that they are decorated by the several species in a different manner. the satin bower-bird collects gaily-coloured articles, such as the blue tail-feathers of parrakeets, bleached bones and shells, which it sticks between the twigs or arranges at the entrance. mr. gould found in one bower a neatly-worked stone tomahawk and a slip of blue cotton, evidently procured from a native encampment. these objects are continually re-arranged, and carried about by the birds whilst at play. the bower of the spotted bower-bird "is beautifully lined with tall grasses, so disposed that the heads nearly meet, and the decorations are very profuse." round stones are used to keep the grass-stems in their proper places, and to make divergent paths leading to the bower. the stones and shells are often brought from a great distance. the regent bird, as described by mr. ramsay, ornaments its short bower with bleached land-shells belonging to five or six species, and with "berries of various colours, blue, red, and black, which give it when fresh a very pretty appearance. besides these there were several newly-picked leaves and young shoots of a pinkish colour, the whole showing a decided taste for the beautiful." well may mr. gould say that "these highly decorated halls of assembly must be regarded as the most wonderful instances of bird-architecture yet discovered;" and the taste, as we see, of the several species certainly differs. ( . on the ornamented nests of humming-birds, gould, 'introduction to the trochilidae,' , p. . on the bower-birds, gould, 'handbook to the birds of australia,' , vol. i. pp. - . ramsay, in the 'ibis,' , p. .) preference for particular males by the females. having made these preliminary remarks on the discrimination and taste of birds, i will give all the facts known to me which bear on the preference shewn by the female for particular males. it is certain that distinct species of birds occasionally pair in a state of nature and produce hybrids. many instances could be given: thus macgillivray relates how a male blackbird and female thrush "fell in love with each other," and produced offspring. ( . 'history of brit. birds,' vol. ii. p. .) several years ago eighteen cases had been recorded of the occurrence in great britain of hybrids between the black grouse and pheasant ( . 'zoologist,' - , p. .); but most of these cases may perhaps be accounted for by solitary birds not finding one of their own species to pair with. with other birds, as mr. jenner weir has reason to believe, hybrids are sometimes the result of the casual intercourse of birds building in close proximity. but these remarks do not apply to the many recorded instances of tamed or domestic birds, belonging to distinct species, which have become absolutely fascinated with each other, although living with their own species. thus waterton ( . waterton, 'essays on nat. hist.' nd series, pp. and . for the following statements see on the wigeon, 'loudon's mag. of nat. hist.' vol. ix. p. ; l. lloyd, 'scandinavian adventures,' vol. i. , p. . dixon, 'ornamental and domestic poultry,' p. ; hewitt, in 'journal of horticulture,' jan. , , p. ; bechstein, 'stubenvögel,' , s. . mr. j. jenner weir has lately given me an analogous case with ducks of two species.) states that out of a flock of twenty-three canada geese, a female paired with a solitary bernicle gander, although so different in appearance and size; and they produced hybrid offspring. a male wigeon (mareca penelope), living with females of the same species, has been known to pair with a pintail duck, querquedula acuta. lloyd describes the remarkable attachment between a shield-drake (tadorna vulpanser) and a common duck. many additional instances could be given; and the rev. e.s. dixon remarks that "those who have kept many different species of geese together well know what unaccountable attachments they are frequently forming, and that they are quite as likely to pair and rear young with individuals of a race (species) apparently the most alien to themselves as with their own stock." the rev. w.d. fox informs me that he possessed at the same time a pair of chinese geese (anser cygnoides), and a common gander with three geese. the two lots kept quite separate, until the chinese gander seduced one of the common geese to live with him. moreover, of the young birds hatched from the eggs of the common geese, only four were pure, the other eighteen proving hybrids; so that the chinese gander seems to have had prepotent charms over the common gander. i will give only one other case; mr. hewitt states that a wild duck, reared in captivity, "after breeding a couple of seasons with her own mallard, at once shook him off on my placing a male pintail on the water. it was evidently a case of love at first sight, for she swam about the new-comer caressingly, though he appeared evidently alarmed and averse to her overtures of affection. from that hour she forgot her old partner. winter passed by, and the next spring the pintail seemed to have become a convert to her blandishments, for they nested and produced seven or eight young ones." what the charm may have been in these several cases, beyond mere novelty, we cannot even conjecture. colour, however, sometimes comes into play; for in order to raise hybrids from the siskin (fringilla spinus) and the canary, it is much the best plan, according to bechstein, to place birds of the same tint together. mr. jenner weir turned a female canary into his aviary, where there were male linnets, goldfinches, siskins, greenfinches, chaffinches, and other birds, in order to see which she would choose; but there never was any doubt, and the greenfinch carried the day. they paired and produced hybrid offspring. the fact of the female preferring to pair with one male rather than with another of the same species is not so likely to excite attention, as when this occurs, as we have just seen, between distinct species. the former cases can best be observed with domesticated or confined birds; but these are often pampered by high feeding, and sometimes have their instincts vitiated to an extreme degree. of this latter fact i could give sufficient proofs with pigeons, and especially with fowls, but they cannot be here related. vitiated instincts may also account for some of the hybrid unions above mentioned; but in many of these cases the birds were allowed to range freely over large ponds, and there is no reason to suppose that they were unnaturally stimulated by high feeding. with respect to birds in a state of nature, the first and most obvious supposition which will occur to every one is that the female at the proper season accepts the first male whom she may encounter; but she has at least the opportunity for exerting a choice, as she is almost invariably pursued by many males. audubon--and we must remember that he spent a long life in prowling about the forests of the united states and observing the birds--does not doubt that the female deliberately chooses her mate; thus, speaking of a woodpecker, he says the hen is followed by half-a-dozen gay suitors, who continue performing strange antics, "until a marked preference is shewn for one." the female of the red-winged starling (agelaeus phoeniceus) is likewise pursued by several males, "until, becoming fatigued, she alights, receives their addresses, and soon makes a choice." he describes also how several male night-jars repeatedly plunge through the air with astonishing rapidity, suddenly turning, and thus making a singular noise; "but no sooner has the female made her choice than the other males are driven away." with one of the vultures (cathartes aura) of the united states, parties of eight, ten, or more males and females assemble on fallen logs, "exhibiting the strongest desire to please mutually," and after many caresses, each male leads off his partner on the wing. audubon likewise carefully observed the wild flocks of canada geese (anser canadensis), and gives a graphic description of their love-antics; he says that the birds which had been previously mated "renewed their courtship as early as the month of january, while the others would be contending or coquetting for hours every day, until all seemed satisfied with the choice they had made, after which, although they remained together, any person could easily perceive that they were careful to keep in pairs. i have observed also that the older the birds the shorter were the preliminaries of their courtship. the bachelors and old maids whether in regret, or not caring to be disturbed by the bustle, quietly moved aside and lay down at some distance from the rest." ( . audubon, 'ornithological biography,' vol. i. pp. , ; vol. ii. pp. , ; vol. iii. p. .) many similar statements with respect to other birds could be cited from this same observer. turning now to domesticated and confined birds, i will commence by giving what little i have learnt respecting the courtship of fowls. i have received long letters on this subject from messrs. hewitt and tegetmeier, and almost an essay from the late mr. brent. it will be admitted by every one that these gentlemen, so well known from their published works, are careful and experienced observers. they do not believe that the females prefer certain males on account of the beauty of their plumage; but some allowance must be made for the artificial state under which these birds have long been kept. mr. tegetmeier is convinced that a gamecock, though disfigured by being dubbed and with his hackles trimmed, would be accepted as readily as a male retaining all his natural ornaments. mr. brent, however, admits that the beauty of the male probably aids in exciting the female; and her acquiescence is necessary. mr. hewitt is convinced that the union is by no means left to mere chance, for the female almost invariably prefers the most vigorous, defiant, and mettlesome male; hence it is almost useless, as he remarks, "to attempt true breeding if a game-cock in good health and condition runs the locality, for almost every hen on leaving the roosting-place will resort to the game-cock, even though that bird may not actually drive away the male of her own variety." under ordinary circumstances the males and females of the fowl seem to come to a mutual understanding by means of certain gestures, described to me by mr. brent. but hens will often avoid the officious attentions of young males. old hens, and hens of a pugnacious disposition, as the same writer informs me, dislike strange males, and will not yield until well beaten into compliance. ferguson, however, describes how a quarrelsome hen was subdued by the gentle courtship of a shanghai cock. ( . 'rare and prize poultry,' , p. .) there is reason to believe that pigeons of both sexes prefer pairing with birds of the same breed; and dovecot-pigeons dislike all the highly improved breeds. ( . 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. p. .) mr. harrison weir has lately heard from a trustworthy observer, who keeps blue pigeons, that these drive away all other coloured varieties, such as white, red, and yellow; and from another observer, that a female dun carrier could not, after repeated trials, be matched with a black male, but immediately paired with a dun. again, mr. tegetmeier had a female blue turbit that obstinately refused to pair with two males of the same breed, which were successively shut up with her for weeks; but on being let out she would have immediately accepted the first blue dragon that offered. as she was a valuable bird, she was then shut up for many weeks with a silver (i.e., very pale blue) male, and at last mated with him. nevertheless, as a general rule, colour appears to have little influence on the pairing of pigeons. mr. tegetmeier, at my request, stained some of his birds with magenta, but they were not much noticed by the others. female pigeons occasionally feel a strong antipathy towards certain males, without any assignable cause. thus mm. boitard and corbie, whose experience extended over forty-five years, state: "quand une femelle éprouve de l'antipathie pour un mâle avec lequel on veut l'accoupler, malgré tous les feux de l'amour, malgré l'alpiste et le chenevis dont on la nourrit pour augmenter son ardeur, malgré un emprisonnement de six mois et même d'un an, elle refuse constamment ses caresses; les avances empressées, les agaceries, les tournoiemens, les tendres roucoulemens, rien ne peut lui plaire ni l'émouvoir; gonflée, boudeuse, blottie dans un coin de sa prison, elle n'en sort que pour boire et manger, ou pour repousser avec une espèce de rage des caresses devenues trop pressantes." ( . boitard and corbie, 'les pigeons,' etc., , p. . prosper lucas ('traité de l'héréd. nat.' tom. ii. , p. ) has himself observed nearly similar facts with pigeons.) on the other hand, mr. harrison weir has himself observed, and has heard from several breeders, that a female pigeon will occasionally take a strong fancy for a particular male, and will desert her own mate for him. some females, according to another experienced observer, riedel ( . die taubenzucht, , s. .), are of a profligate disposition, and prefer almost any stranger to their own mate. some amorous males, called by our english fanciers "gay birds," are so successful in their gallantries, that, as mr. h. weir informs me, they must be shut up on account of the mischief which they cause. wild turkeys in the united states, according to audubon, "sometimes pay their addresses to the domesticated females, and are generally received by them with great pleasure." so that these females apparently prefer the wild to their own males. ( . 'ornithological biography,' vol. i. p. . see to the same effect, dr. bryant, in allen's 'mammals and birds of florida,' p. .) here is a more curious case. sir r. heron during many years kept an account of the habits of the peafowl, which he bred in large numbers. he states that "the hens have frequently great preference to a particular peafowl. they were all so fond of an old pied cock, that one year, when he was confined, though still in view, they were constantly assembled close to the trellice-walls of his prison, and would not suffer a japanned peacock to touch them. on his being let out in the autumn, the oldest of the hens instantly courted him and was successful in her courtship. the next year he was shut up in a stable, and then the hens all courted his rival." ( . 'proceedings, zoological society,' , p. . the japanned peacock is considered by mr. sclater as a distinct species, and has been named pavo nigripennis; but the evidence seems to me to show that it is only a variety.) this rival was a japanned or black-winged peacock, to our eyes a more beautiful bird than the common kind. lichtenstein, who was a good observer and had excellent opportunities of observation at the cape of good hope, assured rudolphi that the female widow-bird (chera progne) disowns the male when robbed of the long tail-feathers with which he is ornamented during the breeding-season. i presume that this observation must have been made on birds under confinement. ( . rudolphi, 'beiträge zur anthropologie,' , s. .) here is an analogous case; dr. jaeger ( . 'die darwin'sche theorie, und ihre stellung zu moral und religion,' , s. .), director of the zoological gardens of vienna, states that a male silver-pheasant, who had been triumphant over all other males and was the accepted lover of the females, had his ornamental plumage spoiled. he was then immediately superseded by a rival, who got the upper hand and afterwards led the flock. it is a remarkable fact, as shewing how important colour is in the courtship of birds, that mr. boardman, a well-known collector and observer of birds for many years in the northern united states, has never in his large experience seen an albino paired with another bird; yet he has had opportunities of observing many albinos belonging to several species. ( . this statement is given by mr. a. leith adams, in his 'field and forest rambles,' , p. , and accords with his own experience.) it can hardly be maintained that albinos in a state of nature are incapable of breeding, as they can be raised with the greatest facility under confinement. it appears, therefore, that we must attribute the fact that they do not pair to their rejection by their normally coloured comrades. female birds not only exert a choice, but in some few cases they court the male, or even fight together for his possession. sir r. heron states that with peafowl, the first advances are always made by the female; something of the same kind takes place, according to audubon, with the older females of the wild turkey. with the capercailzie, the females flit round the male whilst he is parading at one of the places of assemblage, and solicit his attention. ( . in regard to peafowl, see sir r. heron, 'proc. zoolog. soc.' , p. , and the rev. e.s. dixon, 'ornamental poultry,' , p. . for the turkey, audubon, ibid. p. . for the capercailzie, lloyd, 'game birds of sweden,' , p. .) we have seen that a tame wild-duck seduced an unwilling pintail drake after a long courtship. mr. bartlett believes that the lophophorus, like many other gallinaceous birds, is naturally polygamous, but two females cannot be placed in the same cage with a male, as they fight so much together. the following instance of rivalry is more surprising as it relates to bullfinches, which usually pair for life. mr. jenner weir introduced a dull-coloured and ugly female into his aviary, and she immediately attacked another mated female so unmercifully that the latter had to be separated. the new female did all the courtship, and was at last successful, for she paired with the male; but after a time she met with a just retribution, for, ceasing to be pugnacious, she was replaced by the old female, and the male then deserted his new and returned to his old love. in all ordinary cases the male is so eager that he will accept any female, and does not, as far as we can judge, prefer one to the other; but, as we shall hereafter see, exceptions to this rule apparently occur in some few groups. with domesticated birds, i have heard of only one case of males shewing any preference for certain females, namely, that of the domestic cock, who, according to the high authority of mr. hewitt, prefers the younger to the older hens. on the other hand, in effecting hybrid unions between the male pheasant and common hens, mr. hewitt is convinced that the pheasant invariably prefers the older birds. he does not appear to be in the least influenced by their colour; but "is most capricious in his attachments" ( . mr. hewitt, quoted in tegetmeier's 'poultry book,' , p. .): from some inexplicable cause he shews the most determined aversion to certain hens, which no care on the part of the breeder can overcome. mr. hewitt informs me that some hens are quite unattractive even to the males of their own species, so that they may be kept with several cocks during a whole season, and not one egg out of forty or fifty will prove fertile. on the other hand, with the long-tailed duck (harelda glacialis), "it has been remarked," says m. ekstrom, "that certain females are much more courted than the rest. frequently, indeed, one sees an individual surrounded by six or eight amorous males." whether this statement is credible, i know not; but the native sportsmen shoot these females in order to stuff them as decoys. ( . quoted in lloyd's 'game birds of sweden,' p. .) with respect to female birds feeling a preference for particular males, we must bear in mind that we can judge of choice being exerted only by analogy. if an inhabitant of another planet were to behold a number of young rustics at a fair courting a pretty girl, and quarrelling about her like birds at one of their places of assemblage, he would, by the eagerness of the wooers to please her and to display their finery, infer that she had the power of choice. now with birds the evidence stands thus: they have acute powers of observation, and they seem to have some taste for the beautiful both in colour and sound. it is certain that the females occasionally exhibit, from unknown causes, the strongest antipathies and preferences for particular males. when the sexes differ in colour or in other ornaments the males with rare exceptions are the more decorated, either permanently or temporarily during the breeding-season. they sedulously display their various ornaments, exert their voices, and perform strange antics in the presence of the females. even well-armed males, who, it might be thought, would altogether depend for success on the law of battle, are in most cases highly ornamented; and their ornaments have been acquired at the expense of some loss of power. in other cases ornaments have been acquired, at the cost of increased risk from birds and beasts of prey. with various species many individuals of both sexes congregate at the same spot, and their courtship is a prolonged affair. there is even reason to suspect that the males and females within the same district do not always succeed in pleasing each other and pairing. what then are we to conclude from these facts and considerations? does the male parade his charms with so much pomp and rivalry for no purpose? are we not justified in believing that the female exerts a choice, and that she receives the addresses of the male who pleases her most? it is not probable that she consciously deliberates; but she is most excited or attracted by the most beautiful, or melodious, or gallant males. nor need it be supposed that the female studies each stripe or spot of colour; that the peahen, for instance, admires each detail in the gorgeous train of the peacock--she is probably struck only by the general effect. nevertheless, after hearing how carefully the male argus pheasant displays his elegant primary wing-feathers, and erects his ocellated plumes in the right position for their full effect; or again, how the male goldfinch alternately displays his gold-bespangled wings, we ought not to feel too sure that the female does not attend to each detail of beauty. we can judge, as already remarked, of choice being exerted, only from analogy; and the mental powers of birds do not differ fundamentally from ours. from these various considerations we may conclude that the pairing of birds is not left to chance; but that those males, which are best able by their various charms to please or excite the female, are under ordinary circumstances accepted. if this be admitted, there is not much difficulty in understanding how male birds have gradually acquired their ornamental characters. all animals present individual differences, and as man can modify his domesticated birds by selecting the individuals which appear to him the most beautiful, so the habitual or even occasional preference by the female of the more attractive males would almost certainly lead to their modification; and such modifications might in the course of time be augmented to almost any extent, compatible with the existence of the species. variability of birds, and especially of their secondary sexual characters. variability and inheritance are the foundations for the work of selection. that domesticated birds have varied greatly, their variations being inherited, is certain. that birds in a state of nature have been modified into distinct races is now universally admitted. ( . according to dr. blasius ('ibis,' vol. ii. , p. ), there are indubitable species of birds which breed in europe, besides sixty forms, which are frequently regarded as distinct species. of the latter, blasius thinks that only ten are really doubtful, and that the other fifty ought to be united with their nearest allies; but this shews that there must be a considerable amount of variation with some of our european birds. it is also an unsettled point with naturalists, whether several north american birds ought to be ranked as specifically distinct from the corresponding european species. so again many north american forms which until lately were named as distinct species, are now considered to be local races.) variations may be divided into two classes; those which appear to our ignorance to arise spontaneously, and those which are directly related to the surrounding conditions, so that all or nearly all the individuals of the same species are similarly modified. cases of the latter kind have recently been observed with care by mr. j.a. allen ( . 'mammals and birds of east florida,' also an 'ornithological reconnaissance of kansas,' etc. notwithstanding the influence of climate on the colours of birds, it is difficult to account for the dull or dark tints of almost all the species inhabiting certain countries, for instance, the galapagos islands under the equator, the wide temperate plains of patagonia, and, as it appears, egypt (see mr. hartshorne in the 'american naturalist,' , p. ). these countries are open, and afford little shelter to birds; but it seems doubtful whether the absence of brightly coloured species can be explained on the principle of protection, for on the pampas, which are equally open, though covered by green grass, and where the birds would be equally exposed to danger, many brilliant and conspicuously coloured species are common. i have sometimes speculated whether the prevailing dull tints of the scenery in the above named countries may not have affected the appreciation of bright colours by the birds inhabiting them.), who shews that in the united states many species of birds gradually become more strongly coloured in proceeding southward, and more lightly coloured in proceeding westward to the arid plains of the interior. both sexes seem generally to be affected in a like manner, but sometimes one sex more than the other. this result is not incompatible with the belief that the colours of birds are mainly due to the accumulation of successive variations through sexual selection; for even after the sexes have been greatly differentiated, climate might produce an equal effect on both sexes, or a greater effect on one sex than on the other, owing to some constitutional difference. individual differences between the members of the same species are admitted by every one to occur under a state of nature. sudden and strongly marked variations are rare; it is also doubtful whether if beneficial they would often be preserved through selection and transmitted to succeeding generations. ( . 'origin of species' fifth edit. , p. . i had always perceived, that rare and strongly-marked deviations of structure, deserving to be called monstrosities, could seldom be preserved through natural selection, and that the preservation of even highly-beneficial variations would depend to a certain extent on chance. i had also fully appreciated the importance of mere individual differences, and this led me to insist so strongly on the importance of that unconscious form of selection by man, which follows from the preservation of the most valued individuals of each breed, without any intention on his part to modify the characters of the breed. but until i read an able article in the 'north british review' (march , p. , et seq.), which has been of more use to me than any other review, i did not see how great the chances were against the preservation of variations, whether slight or strongly pronounced, occurring only in single individuals.) nevertheless, it may be worth while to give the few cases which i have been able to collect, relating chiefly to colour,--simple albinism and melanism being excluded. mr. gould is well known to admit the existence of few varieties, for he esteems very slight differences as specific; yet he states ( . 'introduction to the trochlidae,' p. .) that near bogota certain humming-birds belonging to the genus cynanthus are divided into two or three races or varieties, which differ from each other in the colouring of the tail--"some having the whole of the feathers blue, while others have the eight central ones tipped with beautiful green." it does not appear that intermediate gradations have been observed in this or the following cases. in the males alone of one of the australian parrakeets "the thighs in some are scarlet, in others grass-green." in another parrakeet of the same country "some individuals have the band across the wing-coverts bright-yellow, while in others the same part is tinged with red." ( . gould, 'handbook to birds of australia,' vol. ii. pp. and .) in the united states some few of the males of the scarlet tanager (tanagra rubra) have "a beautiful transverse band of glowing red on the smaller wing-coverts" ( . audubon, 'ornithological biography,' , vol. iv. p. .); but this variation seems to be somewhat rare, so that its preservation through sexual selection would follow only under usually favourable circumstances. in bengal the honey buzzard (pernis cristata) has either a small rudimental crest on its head, or none at all: so slight a difference, however, would not have been worth notice, had not this same species possessed in southern india a well-marked occipital crest formed of several graduated feathers." ( . jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. i. p. ; and mr. blyth, in 'land and water,' , p. .) the following case is in some respects more interesting. a pied variety of the raven, with the head, breast, abdomen, and parts of the wings and tail-feathers white, is confined to the feroe islands. it is not very rare there, for graba saw during his visit from eight to ten living specimens. although the characters of this variety are not quite constant, yet it has been named by several distinguished ornithologists as a distinct species. the fact of the pied birds being pursued and persecuted with much clamour by the other ravens of the island was the chief cause which led brunnich to conclude that they were specifically distinct; but this is now known to be an error. ( . graba, 'tagebuch reise nach faro,' , ss. - . macgillivray, 'history of british birds,' vol. iii. p. , 'ibis,' vol. v. , p. .) this case seems analogous to that lately given of albino birds not pairing from being rejected by their comrades. in various parts of the northern seas a remarkable variety of the common guillemot (uria troile) is found; and in feroe, one out of every five birds, according to graba's estimation, presents this variation. it is characterised ( . graba, ibid. s. . macgillivray, ibid. vol. v. p. .) by a pure white ring round the eye, with a curved narrow white line, an inch and a half in length, extending back from the ring. this conspicuous character has caused the bird to be ranked by several ornithologists as a distinct species under the name of u. lacrymans, but it is now known to be merely a variety. it often pairs with the common kind, yet intermediate gradations have never been seen; nor is this surprising, for variations which appear suddenly, are often, as i have elsewhere shewn ( . 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. p. .), transmitted either unaltered or not at all. we thus see that two distinct forms of the same species may co-exist in the same district, and we cannot doubt that if the one had possessed any advantage over the other, it would soon have been multiplied to the exclusion of the latter. if, for instance, the male pied ravens, instead of being persecuted by their comrades, had been highly attractive (like the above pied peacock) to the black female ravens their numbers would have rapidly increased. and this would have been a case of sexual selection. with respect to the slight individual differences which are common, in a greater or less degree, to all the members of the same species, we have every reason to believe that they are by far the most important for the work of selection. secondary sexual characters are eminently liable to vary, both with animals in a state of nature and under domestication. ( . on these points see also 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. i. p. ; vol ii. pp. , .) there is also reason to believe, as we have seen in our eighth chapter, that variations are more apt to occur in the male than in the female sex. all these contingencies are highly favourable for sexual selection. whether characters thus acquired are transmitted to one sex or to both sexes, depends, as we shall see in the following chapter, on the form of inheritance which prevails. it is sometimes difficult to form an opinion whether certain slight differences between the sexes of birds are simply the result of variability with sexually-limited inheritance, without the aid of sexual selection, or whether they have been augmented through this latter process. i do not here refer to the many instances where the male displays splendid colours or other ornaments, of which the female partakes to a slight degree; for these are almost certainly due to characters primarily acquired by the male having been more or less transferred to the female. but what are we to conclude with respect to certain birds in which, for instance, the eyes differ slightly in colour in the two sexes? ( . see, for instance, on the irides of a podica and gallicrex in 'ibis,' vol. ii. , p. ; and vol. v. , p. .) in some cases the eyes differ conspicuously; thus with the storks of the genus xenorhynchus, those of the male are blackish-hazel, whilst those of the females are gamboge-yellow; with many hornbills (buceros), as i hear from mr. blyth ( . see also jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. i. pp. - .), the males have intense crimson eyes, and those of the females are white. in the buceros bicornis, the hind margin of the casque and a stripe on the crest of the beak are black in the male, but not so in the female. are we to suppose that these black marks and the crimson colour of the eyes have been preserved or augmented through sexual selection in the males? this is very doubtful; for mr. bartlett shewed me in the zoological gardens that the inside of the mouth of this buceros is black in the male and flesh-coloured in the female; and their external appearance or beauty would not be thus affected. i observed in chile ( . 'zoology of the voyage of h.m.s. "beagle,"' , p. .) that the iris in the condor, when about a year old, is dark-brown, but changes at maturity into yellowish-brown in the male, and into bright red in the female. the male has also a small, longitudinal, leaden-coloured, fleshy crest or comb. the comb of many gallinaceous birds is highly ornamental, and assumes vivid colours during the act of courtship; but what are we to think of the dull-coloured comb of the condor, which does not appear to us in the least ornamental? the same question may be asked in regard to various other characters, such as the knob on the base of the beak of the chinese goose (anser cygnoides), which is much larger in the male than in the female. no certain answer can be given to these questions; but we ought to be cautious in assuming that knobs and various fleshy appendages cannot be attractive to the female, when we remember that with savage races of man various hideous deformities--deep scars on the face with the flesh raised into protuberances, the septum of the nose pierced by sticks or bones, holes in the ears and lips stretched widely open--are all admired as ornamental. whether or not unimportant differences between the sexes, such as those just specified, have been preserved through sexual selection, these differences, as well as all others, must primarily depend on the laws of variation. on the principle of correlated development, the plumage often varies on different parts of the body, or over the whole body, in the same manner. we see this well illustrated in certain breeds of the fowl. in all the breeds the feathers on the neck and loins of the males are elongated, and are called hackles; now when both sexes acquire a top-knot, which is a new character in the genus, the feathers on the head of the male become hackle-shaped, evidently on the principle of correlation; whilst those on the head of the female are of the ordinary shape. the colour also of the hackles forming the top-knot of the male, is often correlated with that of the hackles on the neck and loins, as may be seen by comparing these feathers in the golden and silver-spangled polish, the houdans, and creve-coeur breeds. in some natural species we may observe exactly the same correlation in the colours of these same feathers, as in the males of the splendid gold and amherst pheasants. the structure of each individual feather generally causes any change in its colouring to be symmetrical; we see this in the various laced, spangled, and pencilled breeds of the fowl; and on the principle of correlation the feathers over the whole body are often coloured in the same manner. we are thus enabled without much trouble to rear breeds with their plumage marked almost as symmetrically as in natural species. in laced and spangled fowls the coloured margins of the feathers are abruptly defined; but in a mongrel raised by me from a black spanish cock glossed with green, and a white game-hen, all the feathers were greenish-black, excepting towards their extremities, which were yellowish-white; but between the white extremities and the black bases, there was on each feather a symmetrical, curved zone of dark-brown. in some instances the shaft of the feather determines the distribution of the tints; thus with the body-feathers of a mongrel from the same black spanish cock and a silver-spangled polish hen, the shaft, together with a narrow space on each side, was greenish-black, and this was surrounded by a regular zone of dark-brown, edged with brownish-white. in these cases we have feathers symmetrically shaded, like those which give so much elegance to the plumage of many natural species. i have also noticed a variety of the common pigeon with the wing-bars symmetrically zoned with three bright shades, instead of being simply black on a slaty-blue ground, as in the parent-species. in many groups of birds the plumage is differently coloured in the several species, yet certain spots, marks, or stripes are retained by all. analogous cases occur with the breeds of the pigeon, which usually retain the two wing-bars, though they may be coloured red, yellow, white, black, or blue, the rest of the plumage being of some wholly different tint. here is a more curious case, in which certain marks are retained, though coloured in a manner almost exactly the opposite of what is natural; the aboriginal pigeon has a blue tail, with the terminal halves of the outer webs of the two outer tail feathers white; now there is a sub-variety having a white instead of a blue tail, with precisely that part black which is white in the parent-species. ( . bechstein, 'naturgeschichte deutschlands,' b. iv. , s. , on a sub-variety of the monck pigeon.) formation and variability of the ocelli or eye-like spots on the plumage of birds. [fig. . cyllo leda, linn., from a drawing by mr. trimen, shewing the extreme range of variation in the ocelli. a. specimen, from mauritius, upper surface of fore-wing. a . specimen, from natal, ditto. b. specimen, from java, upper surface of hind-wing. b . specimen, from mauritius, ditto.] as no ornaments are more beautiful than the ocelli on the feathers of various birds, on the hairy coats of some mammals, on the scales of reptiles and fishes, on the skin of amphibians, on the wings of many lepidoptera and other insects, they deserve to be especially noticed. an ocellus consists of a spot within a ring of another colour, like the pupil within the iris, but the central spot is often surrounded by additional concentric zones. the ocelli on the tail-coverts of the peacock offer a familiar example, as well as those on the wings of the peacock-butterfly (vanessa). mr. trimen has given me a description of a s. african moth (gynanisa isis), allied to our emperor moth, in which a magnificent ocellus occupies nearly the whole surface of each hinder wing; it consists of a black centre, including a semi-transparent crescent-shaped mark, surrounded by successive, ochre-yellow, black, ochre-yellow, pink, white, pink, brown, and whitish zones. although we do not know the steps by which these wonderfully beautiful and complex ornaments have been developed, the process has probably been a simple one, at least with insects; for, as mr. trimen writes to me, "no characters of mere marking or coloration are so unstable in the lepidoptera as the ocelli, both in number and size." mr. wallace, who first called my attention to this subject, shewed me a series of specimens of our common meadow-brown butterfly (hipparchia janira) exhibiting numerous gradations from a simple minute black spot to an elegantly-shaded ocellus. in a s. african butterfly (cyllo leda, linn.), belonging to the same family, the ocelli are even still more variable. in some specimens (a, fig. ) large spaces on the upper surface of the wings are coloured black, and include irregular white marks; and from this state a complete gradation can be traced into a tolerably perfect ocellus (a ), and this results from the contraction of the irregular blotches of colour. in another series of specimens a gradation can be followed from excessively minute white dots, surrounded by a scarcely visible black line (b), into perfectly symmetrical and large ocelli (b ). ( . this woodcut has been engraved from a beautiful drawing, most kindly made for me by mr. trimen; see also his description of the wonderful amount of variation in the coloration and shape of the wings of this butterfly, in his 'rhopalocera africae australis,' p. .) in cases like these, the development of a perfect ocellus does not require a long course of variation and selection. with birds and many other animals, it seems to follow from the comparison of allied species that circular spots are often generated by the breaking up and contraction of stripes. in the tragopan pheasant faint white lines in the female represent the beautiful white spots in the male ( . jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. iii. p. .); and something of the same kind may be observed in the two sexes of the argus pheasant. however this may be, appearances strongly favour the belief that on the one hand, a dark spot is often formed by the colouring matter being drawn towards a central point from a surrounding zone, which latter is thus rendered lighter; and, on the other hand, that a white spot is often formed by the colour being driven away from a central point, so that it accumulates in a surrounding darker zone. in either case an ocellus is the result. the colouring matter seems to be a nearly constant quantity, but is redistributed, either centripetally or centrifugally. the feathers of the common guinea-fowl offer a good instance of white spots surrounded by darker zones; and wherever the white spots are large and stand near each other, the surrounding dark zones become confluent. in the same wing-feather of the argus pheasant dark spots may be seen surrounded by a pale zone, and white spots by a dark zone. thus the formation of an ocellus in its most elementary state appears to be a simple affair. by what further steps the more complex ocelli, which are surrounded by many successive zones of colour, have been generated, i will not pretend to say. but the zoned feathers of the mongrels from differently coloured fowls, and the extraordinary variability of the ocelli on many lepidoptera, lead us to conclude that their formation is not a complex process, but depends on some slight and graduated change in the nature of the adjoining tissues. gradation of secondary sexual characters. [fig. . feather of peacock, about two-thirds of natural size, drawn by mr. ford. the transparent zone is represented by the outermost white zone, confined to the upper end of the disc.] cases of gradation are important, as shewing us that highly complex ornaments may be acquired by small successive steps. in order to discover the actual steps by which the male of any existing bird has acquired his magnificent colours or other ornaments, we ought to behold the long line of his extinct progenitors; but this is obviously impossible. we may, however, generally gain a clue by comparing all the species of the same group, if it be a large one; for some of them will probably retain, at least partially, traces of their former characters. instead of entering on tedious details respecting various groups, in which striking instances of gradation could be given, it seems the best plan to take one or two strongly marked cases, for instance that of the peacock, in order to see if light can be thrown on the steps by which this bird has become so splendidly decorated. the peacock is chiefly remarkable from the extraordinary length of his tail-coverts; the tail itself not being much elongated. the barbs along nearly the whole length of these feathers stand separate or are decomposed; but this is the case with the feathers of many species, and with some varieties of the domestic fowl and pigeon. the barbs coalesce towards the extremity of the shaft forming the oval disc or ocellus, which is certainly one of the most beautiful objects in the world. it consists of an iridescent, intensely blue, indented centre, surrounded by a rich green zone, this by a broad coppery-brown zone, and this by five other narrow zones of slightly different iridescent shades. a trifling character in the disc deserves notice; the barbs, for a space along one of the concentric zones are more or less destitute of their barbules, so that a part of the disc is surrounded by an almost transparent zone, which gives it a highly finished aspect. but i have elsewhere described ( . 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. i. p. .) an exactly analogous variation in the hackles of a sub-variety of the game-cock, in which the tips, having a metallic lustre, "are separated from the lower part of the feather by a symmetrically shaped transparent zone, composed of the naked portions of the barbs." the lower margin or base of the dark-blue centre of the ocellus is deeply indented on the line of the shaft. the surrounding zones likewise shew traces, as may be seen in the drawing (fig. ), of indentations, or rather breaks. these indentations are common to the indian and javan peacocks (pavo cristatus and p. muticus); and they seem to deserve particular attention, as probably connected with the development of the ocellus; but for a long time i could not conjecture their meaning. if we admit the principle of gradual evolution, there must formerly have existed many species which presented every successive step between the wonderfully elongated tail-coverts of the peacock and the short tail-coverts of all ordinary birds; and again between the magnificent ocelli of the former, and the simpler ocelli or mere coloured spots on other birds; and so with all the other characters of the peacock. let us look to the allied gallinaceae for any still-existing gradations. the species and sub-species of polyplectron inhabit countries adjacent to the native land of the peacock; and they so far resemble this bird that they are sometimes called peacock-pheasants. i am also informed by mr. bartlett that they resemble the peacock in their voice and in some of their habits. during the spring the males, as previously described, strut about before the comparatively plain-coloured females, expanding and erecting their tail and wing-feathers, which are ornamented with numerous ocelli. i request the reader to turn back to the drawing (fig. ) of a polyplectron; in p. napoleonis the ocelli are confined to the tail, and the back is of a rich metallic blue; in which respects this species approaches the java peacock. p. hardwickii possesses a peculiar top-knot, which is also somewhat like that of the java peacock. in all the species the ocelli on the wings and tail are either circular or oval, and consist of a beautiful, iridescent, greenish-blue or greenish-purple disc, with a black border. this border in p. chinquis shades into brown, edged with cream colour, so that the ocellus is here surrounded with variously shaded, though not bright, concentric zones. the unusual length of the tail-coverts is another remarkable character in polyplectron; for in some of the species they are half, and in others two-thirds as long as the true tail-feathers. the tail-coverts are ocellated as in the peacock. thus the several species of polyplectron manifestly make a graduated approach to the peacock in the length of their tail-coverts, in the zoning of the ocelli, and in some other characters. [fig. . part of a tail-covert of polyplectron chinquis, with the two ocelli of natural size. fig. . part of a tail-covert of polyplectron malaccense, with the two ocelli, partially confluent, of natural size.] notwithstanding this approach, the first species of polyplectron which i examined almost made me give up the search; for i found not only that the true tail-feathers, which in the peacock are quite plain, were ornamented with ocelli, but that the ocelli on all the feathers differed fundamentally from those of the peacock, in there being two on the same feather (fig. ), one on each side of the shaft. hence i concluded that the early progenitors of the peacock could not have resembled a polyplectron. but on continuing my search, i observed that in some of the species the two ocelli stood very near each other; that in the tail-feathers of p. hardwickii they touched each other; and, finally, that on the tail-coverts of this same species as well as of p. malaccense (fig. ) they were actually confluent. as the central part alone is confluent, an indentation is left at both the upper and lower ends; and the surrounding coloured zones are likewise indented. a single ocellus is thus formed on each tail-covert, though still plainly betraying its double origin. these confluent ocelli differ from the single ocelli of the peacock in having an indentation at both ends, instead of only at the lower or basal end. the explanation, however, of this difference is not difficult; in some species of polyplectron the two oval ocelli on the same feather stand parallel to each other; in other species (as in p. chinquis) they converge towards one end; now the partial confluence of two convergent ocelli would manifestly leave a much deeper indentation at the divergent than at the convergent end. it is also manifest that if the convergence were strongly pronounced and the confluence complete, the indentation at the convergent end would tend to disappear. the tail-feathers in both species of the peacock are entirely destitute of ocelli, and this apparently is related to their being covered up and concealed by the long tail-coverts. in this respect they differ remarkably from the tail-feathers of polyplectron, which in most of the species are ornamented with larger ocelli than those on the tail-coverts. hence i was led carefully to examine the tail-feathers of the several species, in order to discover whether their ocelli shewed any tendency to disappear; and to my great satisfaction, this appeared to be so. the central tail-feathers of p. napoleonis have the two ocelli on each side of the shaft perfectly developed; but the inner ocellus becomes less and less conspicuous on the more exterior tail-feathers, until a mere shadow or rudiment is left on the inner side of the outermost feather. again, in p. malaccense, the ocelli on the tail-coverts are, as we have seen, confluent; and these feathers are of unusual length, being two-thirds of the length of the tail-feathers, so that in both these respects they approach the tail-coverts of the peacock. now in p. malaccense, the two central tail-feathers alone are ornamented, each with two brightly-coloured ocelli, the inner ocellus having completely disappeared from all the other tail-feathers. consequently the tail-coverts and tail-feathers of this species of polyplectron make a near approach in structure and ornamentation to the corresponding feathers of the peacock. as far, then, as gradation throws light on the steps by which the magnificent train of the peacock has been acquired, hardly anything more is needed. if we picture to ourselves a progenitor of the peacock in an almost exactly intermediate condition between the existing peacock, with his enormously elongated tail-coverts, ornamented with single ocelli, and an ordinary gallinaceous bird with short tail-coverts, merely spotted with some colour, we shall see a bird allied to polyplectron--that is, with tail-coverts, capable of erection and expansion, ornamented with two partially confluent ocelli, and long enough almost to conceal the tail-feathers, the latter having already partially lost their ocelli. the indentation of the central disc and of the surrounding zones of the ocellus, in both species of peacock, speaks plainly in favour of this view, and is otherwise inexplicable. the males of polyplectron are no doubt beautiful birds, but their beauty, when viewed from a little distance, cannot be compared with that of the peacock. many female progenitors of the peacock must, during a long line of descent, have appreciated this superiority; for they have unconsciously, by the continued preference for the most beautiful males, rendered the peacock the most splendid of living birds. argus pheasant. another excellent case for investigation is offered by the ocelli on the wing-feathers of the argus pheasant, which are shaded in so wonderful a manner as to resemble balls lying loose within sockets, and consequently differ from ordinary ocelli. no one, i presume, will attribute the shading, which has excited the admiration of many experienced artists, to chance--to the fortuitous concourse of atoms of colouring matter. that these ornaments should have been formed through the selection of many successive variations, not one of which was originally intended to produce the ball-and-socket effect, seems as incredible as that one of raphael's madonnas should have been formed by the selection of chance daubs of paint made by a long succession of young artists, not one of whom intended at first to draw the human figure. in order to discover how the ocelli have been developed, we cannot look to a long line of progenitors, nor to many closely-allied forms, for such do not now exist. but fortunately the several feathers on the wing suffice to give us a clue to the problem, and they prove to demonstration that a gradation is at least possible from a mere spot to a finished ball-and-socket ocellus. [fig. . part of secondary wing-feather of argus pheasant, shewing two perfect ocelli, a and b. a, b, c, d, etc., are dark stripes running obliquely down, each to an ocellus. [much of the web on both sides, especially to the left of the shaft, has been cut off.] fig. . portion of one of the secondary wing-feathers near to the body, shewing the so-called elliptic ornaments. the right-hand figure is given merely as a diagram for the sake of the letters of reference. a, b, c, d, etc. rows of spots running down to and forming the elliptic ornaments. b. lowest spot or mark in row b. c. the next succeeding spot or mark in the same row. d. apparently a broken prolongation of the spot c. in the same row b.] the wing-feathers, bearing the ocelli, are covered with dark stripes (fig. ) or with rows of dark spots (fig. ), each stripe or row of spots running obliquely down the outer side of the shaft to one of the ocelli. the spots are generally elongated in a line transverse to the row in which they stand. they often become confluent either in the line of the row--and then they form a longitudinal stripe--or transversely, that is, with the spots in the adjoining rows, and then they form transverse stripes. a spot sometimes breaks up into smaller spots, which still stand in their proper places. it will be convenient first to describe a perfect ball-and-socket ocellus. this consists of an intensely black circular ring, surrounding a space shaded so as exactly to resemble a ball. the figure here given has been admirably drawn by mr. ford and well engraved, but a woodcut cannot exhibit the exquisite shading of the original. the ring is almost always slightly broken or interrupted (fig. ) at a point in the upper half, a little to the right of and above the white shade on the enclosed ball; it is also sometimes broken towards the base on the right hand. these little breaks have an important meaning. the ring is always much thickened, with the edges ill-defined towards the left-hand upper corner, the feather being held erect, in the position in which it is here drawn. beneath this thickened part there is on the surface of the ball an oblique almost pure-white mark, which shades off downwards into a pale-leaden hue, and this into yellowish and brown tints, which insensibly become darker and darker towards the lower part of the ball. it is this shading which gives so admirably the effect of light shining on a convex surface. if one of the balls be examined, it will be seen that the lower part is of a brown tint and is indistinctly separated by a curved oblique line from the upper part, which is yellower and more leaden; this curved oblique line runs at right angles to the longer axis of the white patch of light, and indeed of all the shading; but this difference in colour, which cannot of course be shewn in the woodcut, does not in the least interfere with the perfect shading of the ball. it should be particularly observed that each ocellus stands in obvious connection either with a dark stripe, or with a longitudinal row of dark spots, for both occur indifferently on the same feather. thus in fig. stripe a runs to ocellus a; b runs to ocellus b; stripe c is broken in the upper part, and runs down to the next succeeding ocellus, not represented in the woodcut; d to the next lower one, and so with the stripes e and f. lastly, the several ocelli are separated from each other by a pale surface bearing irregular black marks. [fig. . basal part of the secondary wing feather, nearest to the body.] i will next describe the other extreme of the series, namely, the first trace of an ocellus. the short secondary wing-feather (fig. ), nearest to the body, is marked like the other feathers, with oblique, longitudinal, rather irregular, rows of very dark spots. the basal spot, or that nearest the shaft, in the five lower rows (excluding the lowest one) is a little larger than the other spots of the same row, and a little more elongated in a transverse direction. it differs also from the other spots by being bordered on its upper side with some dull fulvous shading. but this spot is not in any way more remarkable than those on the plumage of many birds, and might easily be overlooked. the next higher spot does not differ at all from the upper ones in the same row. the larger basal spots occupy exactly the same relative position on these feathers as do the perfect ocelli on the longer wing-feathers. by looking to the next two or three succeeding wing-feathers, an absolutely insensible gradation can be traced from one of the last-described basal spots, together with the next higher one in the same row, to a curious ornament, which cannot be called an ocellus, and which i will name, from the want of a better term, an "elliptic ornament." these are shewn in the accompanying figure (fig. ). we here see several oblique rows, a, b, c, d, etc. (see the lettered diagram on the right hand), of dark spots of the usual character. each row of spots runs down to and is connected with one of the elliptic ornaments, in exactly the same manner as each stripe in fig. runs down to and is connected with one of the ball-and-socket ocelli. looking to any one row, for instance, b, in fig. , the lowest mark (b) is thicker and considerably longer than the upper spots, and has its left extremity pointed and curved upwards. this black mark is abruptly bordered on its upper side by a rather broad space of richly shaded tints, beginning with a narrow brown zone, which passes into orange, and this into a pale leaden tint, with the end towards the shaft much paler. these shaded tints together fill up the whole inner space of the elliptic ornament. the mark (b) corresponds in every respect with the basal shaded spot of the simple feather described in the last paragraph (fig. ), but is more highly developed and more brightly coloured. above and to the right of this spot (b, fig. ), with its bright shading, there is a long narrow, black mark (c), belonging to the same row, and which is arched a little downwards so as to face (b). this mark is sometimes broken into two portions. it is also narrowly edged on the lower side with a fulvous tint. to the left of and above c, in the same oblique direction, but always more or less distinct from it, there is another black mark (d). this mark is generally sub-triangular and irregular in shape, but in the one lettered in the diagram it is unusually narrow, elongated, and regular. it apparently consists of a lateral and broken prolongation of the mark (c), together with its confluence with a broken and prolonged part of the next spot above; but i do not feel sure of this. these three marks, b, c, and d, with the intervening bright shades, form together the so-called elliptic ornament. these ornaments placed parallel to the shaft, manifestly correspond in position with the ball-and-socket ocelli. their extremely elegant appearance cannot be appreciated in the drawing, as the orange and leaden tints, contrasting so well with the black marks, cannot be shewn. [fig. . an ocellus in an intermediate condition between the elliptic ornament and the perfect ball-and-socket ocellus.] between one of the elliptic ornaments and a perfect ball-and-socket ocellus, the gradation is so perfect that it is scarcely possible to decide when the latter term ought to be used. the passage from the one into the other is effected by the elongation and greater curvature in opposite directions of the lower black mark (b, fig. ), and more especially of the upper one (c), together with the contraction of the elongated sub-triangular or narrow mark (d), so that at last these three marks become confluent, forming an irregular elliptic ring. this ring is gradually rendered more and more circular and regular, increasing at the same time in diameter. i have here given a drawing (fig. ) of the natural size of an ocellus not as yet quite perfect. the lower part of the black ring is much more curved than is the lower mark in the elliptic ornament (b, fig. ). the upper part of the ring consists of two or three separate portions; and there is only a trace of the thickening of the portion which forms the black mark above the white shade. this white shade itself is not as yet much concentrated; and beneath it the surface is brighter coloured than in a perfect ball-and-socket ocellus. even in the most perfect ocelli traces of the junction of three or four elongated black marks, by which the ring has been formed, may often be detected. the irregular sub-triangular or narrow mark (d, fig. ), manifestly forms, by its contraction and equalisation, the thickened portion of the ring above the white shade on a perfect ball-and-socket ocellus. the lower part of the ring is invariably a little thicker than the other parts (fig. ), and this follows from the lower black mark of the elliptic ornament (b, fig. ) having originally been thicker than the upper mark (c). every step can be followed in the process of confluence and modification; and the black ring which surrounds the ball of the ocellus is unquestionably formed by the union and modification of the three black marks, b, c, d, of the elliptic ornament. the irregular zigzag black marks between the successive ocelli (fig. ) are plainly due to the breaking up of the somewhat more regular but similar marks between the elliptic ornaments. the successive steps in the shading of the ball-and-socket ocelli can be followed out with equal clearness. the brown, orange, and pale-leadened narrow zones, which border the lower black mark of the elliptic ornament, can be seen gradually to become more and more softened and shaded into each other, with the upper lighter part towards the left-hand corner rendered still lighter, so as to become almost white, and at the same time more contracted. but even in the most perfect ball-and-socket ocelli a slight difference in the tints, though not in the shading, between the upper and lower parts of the ball can be perceived, as before noticed; and the line of separation is oblique, in the same direction as the bright coloured shades of the elliptic ornaments. thus almost every minute detail in the shape and colouring of the ball-and-socket ocelli can be shewn to follow from gradual changes in the elliptic ornaments; and the development of the latter can be traced by equally small steps from the union of two almost simple spots, the lower one (fig. ) having some dull fulvous shading on its upper side. [fig. . portion near summit of one of the secondary wing-feathers, bearing perfect ball-and-socket ocelli. a. ornamented upper part. b. uppermost, imperfect ball-and-socket ocellus. (the shading above the white mark on the summit of the ocellus is here a little too dark.) c. perfect ocellus.] the extremities of the longer secondary feathers which bear the perfect ball-and-socket ocelli, are peculiarly ornamented (fig. ). the oblique longitudinal stripes suddenly cease upwards and become confused; and above this limit the whole upper end of the feather (a) is covered with white dots, surrounded by little black rings, standing on a dark ground. the oblique stripe belonging to the uppermost ocellus (b) is barely represented by a very short irregular black mark with the usual, curved, transverse base. as this stripe is thus abruptly cut off, we can perhaps understand from what has gone before, how it is that the upper thickened part of the ring is here absent; for, as before stated, this thickened part apparently stands in some relation with a broken prolongation from the next higher spot. from the absence of the upper and thickened part of the ring, the uppermost ocellus, though perfect in all other respects, appears as if its top had been obliquely sliced off. it would, i think, perplex any one, who believes that the plumage of the argus pheasant was created as we now see it, to account for the imperfect condition of the uppermost ocellus. i should add that on the secondary wing-feather farthest from the body all the ocelli are smaller and less perfect than on the other feathers, and have the upper part of the ring deficient, as in the case just mentioned. the imperfection here seems to be connected with the fact that the spots on this feather shew less tendency than usual to become confluent into stripes; they are, on the contrary, often broken up into smaller spots, so that two or three rows run down to the same ocellus. there still remains another very curious point, first observed by mr. t.w. wood ( . the 'field,' may , .), which deserves attention. in a photograph, given me by mr. ward, of a specimen mounted as in the act of display, it may be seen that on the feathers which are held perpendicularly, the white marks on the ocelli, representing light reflected from a convex surface, are at the upper or further end, that is, are directed upwards; and the bird whilst displaying himself on the ground would naturally be illuminated from above. but here comes the curious point; the outer feathers are held almost horizontally, and their ocelli ought likewise to appear as if illuminated from above, and consequently the white marks ought to be placed on the upper sides of the ocelli; and, wonderful as is the fact, they are thus placed! hence the ocelli on the several feathers, though occupying very different positions with respect to the light, all appear as if illuminated from above, just as an artist would have shaded them. nevertheless they are not illuminated from strictly the same point as they ought to be; for the white marks on the ocelli of the feathers which are held almost horizontally, are placed rather too much towards the further end; that is, they are not sufficiently lateral. we have, however, no right to expect absolute perfection in a part rendered ornamental through sexual selection, any more than we have in a part modified through natural selection for real use; for instance, in that wondrous organ the human eye. and we know what helmholtz, the highest authority in europe on the subject, has said about the human eye; that if an optician had sold him an instrument so carelessly made, he would have thought himself fully justified in returning it. ( . 'popular lectures on scientific subjects,' eng. trans. , pp. , , , .) we have now seen that a perfect series can be followed, from simple spots to the wonderful ball-and-socket ornaments. mr. gould, who kindly gave me some of these feathers, fully agrees with me in the completeness of the gradation. it is obvious that the stages in development exhibited by the feathers on the same bird do not at all necessarily shew us the steps passed through by the extinct progenitors of the species; but they probably give us the clue to the actual steps, and they at least prove to demonstration that a gradation is possible. bearing in mind how carefully the male argus pheasant displays his plumes before the female, as well as the many facts rendering it probable that female birds prefer the more attractive males, no one who admits the agency of sexual selection in any case will deny that a simple dark spot with some fulvous shading might be converted, through the approximation and modification of two adjoining spots, together with some slight increase of colour, into one of the so-called elliptic ornaments. these latter ornaments have been shewn to many persons, and all have admitted that they are beautiful, some thinking them even more so than the ball-and-socket ocelli. as the secondary plumes became lengthened through sexual selection, and as the elliptic ornaments increased in diameter, their colours apparently became less bright; and then the ornamentation of the plumes had to be gained by an improvement in the pattern and shading; and this process was carried on until the wonderful ball-and-socket ocelli were finally developed. thus we can understand--and in no other way as it seems to me--the present condition and origin of the ornaments on the wing-feathers of the argus pheasant. from the light afforded by the principle of gradation--from what we know of the laws of variation--from the changes which have taken place in many of our domesticated birds--and, lastly, from the character (as we shall hereafter see more clearly) of the immature plumage of young birds--we can sometimes indicate, with a certain amount of confidence, the probable steps by which the males have acquired their brilliant plumage and various ornaments; yet in many cases we are involved in complete darkness. mr. gould several years ago pointed out to me a humming-bird, the urosticte benjamini, remarkable for the curious differences between the sexes. the male, besides a splendid gorget, has greenish-black tail-feathers, with the four central ones tipped with white; in the female, as with most of the allied species, the three outer tail-feathers on each side are tipped with white, so that the male has the four central, whilst the female has the six exterior feathers ornamented with white tips. what makes the case more curious is that, although the colouring of the tail differs remarkably in both sexes of many kinds of humming-birds, mr. gould does not know a single species, besides the urosticte, in which the male has the four central feathers tipped with white. the duke of argyll, in commenting on this case ( . 'the reign of law,' , p. .), passes over sexual selection, and asks, "what explanation does the law of natural selection give of such specific varieties as these?" he answers "none whatever"; and i quite agree with him. but can this be so confidently said of sexual selection? seeing in how many ways the tail-feathers of humming-birds differ, why should not the four central feathers have varied in this one species alone, so as to have acquired white tips? the variations may have been gradual, or somewhat abrupt as in the case recently given of the humming-birds near bogota, in which certain individuals alone have the "central tail-feathers tipped with beautiful green." in the female of the urosticte i noticed extremely minute or rudimental white tips to the two outer of the four central black tail-feathers; so that here we have an indication of change of some kind in the plumage of this species. if we grant the possibility of the central tail-feathers of the male varying in whiteness, there is nothing strange in such variations having been sexually selected. the white tips, together with the small white ear-tufts, certainly add, as the duke of argyll admits, to the beauty of the male; and whiteness is apparently appreciated by other birds, as may be inferred from such cases as the snow-white male of the bell-bird. the statement made by sir r. heron should not be forgotten, namely, that his peahens, when debarred from access to the pied peacock, would not unite with any other male, and during that season produced no offspring. nor is it strange that variations in the tail-feathers of the urosticte should have been specially selected for the sake of ornament, for the next succeeding genus in the family takes its name of metallura from the splendour of these feathers. we have, moreover, good evidence that humming-birds take especial pains in displaying their tail-feathers; mr. belt ( . 'the naturalist in nicaragua,' , p. .), after describing the beauty of the florisuga mellivora, says, "i have seen the female sitting on a branch, and two males displaying their charms in front of her. one would shoot up like a rocket, then suddenly expanding the snow-white tail, like an inverted parachute, slowly descend in front of her, turning round gradually to shew off back and front...the expanded white tail covered more space than all the rest of the bird, and was evidently the grand feature in the performance. whilst one male was descending, the other would shoot up and come slowly down expanded. the entertainment would end in a fight between the two performers; but whether the most beautiful or the most pugnacious was the accepted suitor, i know not." mr. gould, after describing the peculiar plumage of the urosticte, adds, "that ornament and variety is the sole object, i have myself but little doubt." ( . 'introduction to the trochilidae,' , p. .) if this be admitted, we can perceive that the males which during former times were decked in the most elegant and novel manner would have gained an advantage, not in the ordinary struggle for life, but in rivalry with other males, and would have left a larger number of offspring to inherit their newly-acquired beauty. chapter xv. birds--continued. discussion as to why the males alone of some species, and both sexes of others, are brightly coloured--on sexually-limited inheritance, as applied to various structures and to brightly-coloured plumage--nidification in relation to colour--loss of nuptial plumage during the winter. we have in this chapter to consider why the females of many birds have not acquired the same ornaments as the male; and why, on the other hand, both sexes of many other birds are equally, or almost equally, ornamented? in the following chapter we shall consider the few cases in which the female is more conspicuously coloured than the male. in my 'origin of species' ( . fourth edition, , p. .) i briefly suggested that the long tail of the peacock would be inconvenient and the conspicuous black colour of the male capercailzie dangerous, to the female during the period of incubation: and consequently that the transmission of these characters from the male to the female offspring had been checked through natural selection. i still think that this may have occurred in some few instances: but after mature reflection on all the facts which i have been able to collect, i am now inclined to believe that when the sexes differ, the successive variations have generally been from the first limited in their transmission to the same sex in which they first arose. since my remarks appeared, the subject of sexual coloration has been discussed in some very interesting papers by mr. wallace ( . 'westminster review,' july . 'journal of travel,' vol. i. , p. .), who believes that in almost all cases the successive variations tended at first to be transmitted equally to both sexes; but that the female was saved, through natural selection, from acquiring the conspicuous colours of the male, owing to the danger which she would thus have incurred during incubation. this view necessitates a tedious discussion on a difficult point, namely, whether the transmission of a character, which is at first inherited by both sexes can be subsequently limited in its transmission to one sex alone by means of natural selection. we must bear in mind, as shewn in the preliminary chapter on sexual selection, that characters which are limited in their development to one sex are always latent in the other. an imaginary illustration will best aid us in seeing the difficulty of the case; we may suppose that a fancier wished to make a breed of pigeons, in which the males alone should be coloured of a pale blue, whilst the females retained their former slaty tint. as with pigeons characters of all kinds are usually transmitted to both sexes equally, the fancier would have to try to convert this latter form of inheritance into sexually-limited transmission. all that he could do would be to persevere in selecting every male pigeon which was in the least degree of a paler blue; and the natural result of this process, if steadily carried on for a long time, and if the pale variations were strongly inherited or often recurred, would be to make his whole stock of a lighter blue. but our fancier would be compelled to match, generation after generation, his pale blue males with slaty females, for he wishes to keep the latter of this colour. the result would generally be the production either of a mongrel piebald lot, or more probably the speedy and complete loss of the pale-blue tint; for the primordial slaty colour would be transmitted with prepotent force. supposing, however, that some pale-blue males and slaty females were produced during each successive generation, and were always crossed together, then the slaty females would have, if i may use the expression, much blue blood in their veins, for their fathers, grandfathers, etc., will all have been blue birds. under these circumstances it is conceivable (though i know of no distinct facts rendering it probable) that the slaty females might acquire so strong a latent tendency to pale-blueness, that they would not destroy this colour in their male offspring, their female offspring still inheriting the slaty tint. if so, the desired end of making a breed with the two sexes permanently different in colour might be gained. the extreme importance, or rather necessity in the above case of the desired character, namely, pale-blueness, being present though in a latent state in the female, so that the male offspring should not be deteriorated, will be best appreciated as follows: the male of soemmerring's pheasant has a tail thirty-seven inches in length, whilst that of the female is only eight inches; the tail of the male common pheasant is about twenty inches, and that of the female twelve inches long. now if the female soemmerring pheasant with her short tail were crossed with the male common pheasant, there can be no doubt that the male hybrid offspring would have a much longer tail than that of the pure offspring of the common pheasant. on the other hand, if the female common pheasant, with a tail much longer than that of the female soemmerring pheasant, were crossed with the male of the latter, the male hybrid offspring would have a much shorter tail than that of the pure offspring of soemmerring's pheasant. ( . temminck says that the tail of the female phasianus soemmerringii is only six inches long, 'planches coloriees,' vol. v. , pp. and : the measurements above given were made for me by mr. sclater. for the common pheasant, see macgillivray, 'history of british birds,' vol. i. pp. - .) our fancier, in order to make his new breed with the males of a pale-blue tint, and the females unchanged, would have to continue selecting the males during many generations; and each stage of paleness would have to be fixed in the males, and rendered latent in the females. the task would be an extremely difficult one, and has never been tried, but might possibly be successfully carried out. the chief obstacle would be the early and complete loss of the pale-blue tint, from the necessity of reiterated crosses with the slaty female, the latter not having at first any latent tendency to produce pale-blue offspring. on the other hand, if one or two males were to vary ever so slightly in paleness, and the variations were from the first limited in their transmission to the male sex, the task of making a new breed of the desired kind would be easy, for such males would simply have to be selected and matched with ordinary females. an analogous case has actually occurred, for there are breeds of the pigeon in belgium ( . dr. chapuis, 'le pigeon voyageur belge,' , p. .) in which the males alone are marked with black striae. so again mr. tegetmeier has recently shewn ( . the 'field,' sept. .) that dragons not rarely produce silver-coloured birds, which are almost always hens; and he himself has bred ten such females. it is on the other hand a very unusual event when a silver male is produced; so that nothing would be easier, if desired, than to make a breed of dragons with blue males and silver females. this tendency is indeed so strong that when mr. tegetmeier at last got a silver male and matched him with one of the silver females, he expected to get a breed with both sexes thus coloured; he was however disappointed, for the young male reverted to the blue colour of his grandfather, the young female alone being silver. no doubt with patience this tendency to reversion in the males, reared from an occasional silver male matched with a silver hen, might be eliminated, and then both sexes would be coloured alike; and this very process has been followed with success by mr. esquilant in the case of silver turbits. with fowls, variations of colour, limited in their transmission to the male sex, habitually occur. when this form of inheritance prevails, it might well happen that some of the successive variations would be transferred to the female, who would then slightly resemble the male, as actually occurs in some breeds. or again, the greater number, but not all, of the successive steps might be transferred to both sexes, and the female would then closely resemble the male. there can hardly be a doubt that this is the cause of the male pouter pigeon having a somewhat larger crop, and of the male carrier pigeon having somewhat larger wattles, than their respective females; for fanciers have not selected one sex more than the other, and have had no wish that these characters should be more strongly displayed in the male than in the female, yet this is the case with both breeds. the same process would have to be followed, and the same difficulties encountered, if it were desired to make a breed with the females alone of some new colour. lastly, our fancier might wish to make a breed with the two sexes differing from each other, and both from the parent species. here the difficulty would be extreme, unless the successive variations were from the first sexually limited on both sides, and then there would be no difficulty. we see this with the fowl; thus the two sexes of the pencilled hamburghs differ greatly from each other, and from the two sexes of the aboriginal gallus bankiva; and both are now kept constant to their standard of excellence by continued selection, which would be impossible unless the distinctive characters of both were limited in their transmission. the spanish fowl offers a more curious case; the male has an immense comb, but some of the successive variations, by the accumulation of which it was acquired, appear to have been transferred to the female; for she has a comb many times larger than that of the females of the parent species. but the comb of the female differs in one respect from that of the male, for it is apt to lop over; and within a recent period it has been ordered by the fancy that this should always be the case, and success has quickly followed the order. now the lopping of the comb must be sexually limited in its transmission, otherwise it would prevent the comb of the male from being perfectly upright, which would be abhorrent to every fancier. on the other hand, the uprightness of the comb in the male must likewise be a sexually-limited character, otherwise it would prevent the comb of the female from lopping over. from the foregoing illustrations, we see that even with almost unlimited time at command, it would be an extremely difficult and complex, perhaps an impossible process, to change one form of transmission into the other through selection. therefore, without distinct evidence in each case, i am unwilling to admit that this has been effected in natural species. on the other hand, by means of successive variations, which were from the first sexually limited in their transmission, there would not be the least difficulty in rendering a male bird widely different in colour or in any other character from the female; the latter being left unaltered, or slightly altered, or specially modified for the sake of protection. as bright colours are of service to the males in their rivalry with other males, such colours would be selected whether or not they were transmitted exclusively to the same sex. consequently the females might be expected often to partake of the brightness of the males to a greater or less degree; and this occurs with a host of species. if all the successive variations were transmitted equally to both sexes, the females would be indistinguishable from the males; and this likewise occurs with many birds. if, however, dull colours were of high importance for the safety of the female during incubation, as with many ground birds, the females which varied in brightness, or which received through inheritance from the males any marked accession of brightness, would sooner or later be destroyed. but the tendency in the males to continue for an indefinite period transmitting to their female offspring their own brightness, would have to be eliminated by a change in the form of inheritance; and this, as shewn by our previous illustration, would be extremely difficult. the more probable result of the long-continued destruction of the more brightly-coloured females, supposing the equal form of transmission to prevail, would be the lessening or annihilation of the bright colours of the males, owing to their continual crossing with the duller females. it would be tedious to follow out all the other possible results; but i may remind the reader that if sexually-limited variations in brightness occurred in the females, even if they were not in the least injurious to them and consequently were not eliminated, yet they would not be favoured or selected, for the male usually accepts any female, and does not select the more attractive individuals; consequently these variations would be liable to be lost, and would have little influence on the character of the race; and this will aid in accounting for the females being commonly duller-coloured than the males. in the eighth chapter instances were given, to which many might here be added, of variations occurring at various ages, and inherited at the corresponding age. it was also shewn that variations which occur late in life are commonly transmitted to the same sex in which they first appear; whilst variations occurring early in life are apt to be transmitted to both sexes; not that all the cases of sexually-limited transmission can thus be accounted for. it was further shewn that if a male bird varied by becoming brighter whilst young, such variations would be of no service until the age for reproduction had arrived, and there was competition between rival males. but in the case of birds living on the ground and commonly in need of the protection of dull colours, bright tints would be far more dangerous to the young and inexperienced than to the adult males. consequently the males which varied in brightness whilst young would suffer much destruction and be eliminated through natural selection; on the other hand, the males which varied in this manner when nearly mature, notwithstanding that they were exposed to some additional danger, might survive, and from being favoured through sexual selection, would procreate their kind. as a relation often exists between the period of variation and the form of transmission, if the bright-coloured young males were destroyed and the mature ones were successful in their courtship, the males alone would acquire brilliant colours and would transmit them exclusively to their male offspring. but i by no means wish to maintain that the influence of age on the form of transmission, is the sole cause of the great difference in brilliancy between the sexes of many birds. when the sexes of birds differ in colour, it is interesting to determine whether the males alone have been modified by sexual selection, the females having been left unchanged, or only partially and indirectly thus changed; or whether the females have been specially modified through natural selection for the sake of protection. i will therefore discuss this question at some length, even more fully than its intrinsic importance deserves; for various curious collateral points may thus be conveniently considered. before we enter on the subject of colour, more especially in reference to mr. wallace's conclusions, it may be useful to discuss some other sexual differences under a similar point of view. a breed of fowls formerly existed in germany ( . bechstein, 'naturgeschichte deutschlands,' , b. iii. .) in which the hens were furnished with spurs; they were good layers, but they so greatly disturbed their nests with their spurs that they could not be allowed to sit on their own eggs. hence at one time it appeared to me probable that with the females of the wild gallinaceae the development of spurs had been checked through natural selection, from the injury thus caused to their nests. this seemed all the more probable, as wing-spurs, which would not be injurious during incubation, are often as well-developed in the female as in the male; though in not a few cases they are rather larger in the male. when the male is furnished with leg-spurs the female almost always exhibits rudiments of them,--the rudiment sometimes consisting of a mere scale, as in gallus. hence it might be argued that the females had aboriginally been furnished with well-developed spurs, but that these had subsequently been lost through disuse or natural selection. but if this view be admitted, it would have to be extended to innumerable other cases; and it implies that the female progenitors of the existing spur-bearing species were once encumbered with an injurious appendage. in some few genera and species, as in galloperdix, acomus, and the javan peacock (pavo muticus), the females, as well as the males, possess well-developed leg-spurs. are we to infer from this fact that they construct a different sort of nest from that made by their nearest allies, and not liable to be injured by their spurs; so that the spurs have not been removed? or are we to suppose that the females of these several species especially require spurs for their defence? it is a more probable conclusion that both the presence and absence of spurs in the females result from different laws of inheritance having prevailed, independently of natural selection. with the many females in which spurs appear as rudiments, we may conclude that some few of the successive variations, through which they were developed in the males, occurred very early in life, and were consequently transferred to the females. in the other and much rarer cases, in which the females possess fully developed spurs, we may conclude that all the successive variations were transferred to them; and that they gradually acquired and inherited the habit of not disturbing their nests. the vocal organs and the feathers variously modified for producing sound, as well as the proper instincts for using them, often differ in the two sexes, but are sometimes the same in both. can such differences be accounted for by the males having acquired these organs and instincts, whilst the females have been saved from inheriting them, on account of the danger to which they would have been exposed by attracting the attention of birds or beasts of prey? this does not seem to me probable, when we think of the multitude of birds which with impunity gladden the country with their voices during the spring. ( . daines barrington, however, thought it probable ('philosophical transactions,' , p. ) that few female birds sing, because the talent would have been dangerous to them during incubation. he adds, that a similar view may possibly account for the inferiority of the female to the male in plumage.) it is a safer conclusion that, as vocal and instrumental organs are of special service only to the males during their courtship, these organs were developed through sexual selection and their constant use in that sex alone--the successive variations and the effects of use having been from the first more or less limited in transmission to the male offspring. many analogous cases could be adduced; those for instance of the plumes on the head being generally longer in the male than in the female, sometimes of equal length in both sexes, and occasionally absent in the female,--these several cases occurring in the same group of birds. it would be difficult to account for such a difference between the sexes by the female having been benefited by possessing a slightly shorter crest than the male, and its consequent diminution or complete suppression through natural selection. but i will take a more favourable case, namely the length of the tail. the long train of the peacock would have been not only inconvenient but dangerous to the peahen during the period of incubation and whilst accompanying her young. hence there is not the least a priori improbability in the development of her tail having been checked through natural selection. but the females of various pheasants, which apparently are exposed on their open nests to as much danger as the peahen, have tails of considerable length. the females as well as the males of the menura superba have long tails, and they build a domed nest, which is a great anomaly in so large a bird. naturalists have wondered how the female menura could manage her tail during incubation; but it is now known ( . mr. ramsay, in 'proc. zoolog. soc.' , p. .) that she "enters the nest head first, and then turns round with her tail sometimes over her back, but more often bent round by her side. thus in time the tail becomes quite askew, and is a tolerable guide to the length of time the bird has been sitting." both sexes of an australian kingfisher (tanysiptera sylvia) have the middle tail-feathers greatly lengthened, and the female makes her nest in a hole; and as i am informed by mr. r.b. sharpe these feathers become much crumpled during incubation. in these two latter cases the great length of the tail-feathers must be in some degree inconvenient to the female; and as in both species the tail-feathers of the female are somewhat shorter than those of the male, it might be argued that their full development had been prevented through natural selection. but if the development of the tail of the peahen had been checked only when it became inconveniently or dangerously great, she would have retained a much longer tail than she actually possesses; for her tail is not nearly so long, relatively to the size of her body, as that of many female pheasants, nor longer than that of the female turkey. it must also be borne in mind that, in accordance with this view, as soon as the tail of the peahen became dangerously long, and its development was consequently checked, she would have continually reacted on her male progeny, and thus have prevented the peacock from acquiring his present magnificent train. we may therefore infer that the length of the tail in the peacock and its shortness in the peahen are the result of the requisite variations in the male having been from the first transmitted to the male offspring alone. we are led to a nearly similar conclusion with respect to the length of the tail in the various species of pheasants. in the eared pheasant (crossoptilon auritum) the tail is of equal length in both sexes, namely sixteen or seventeen inches; in the common pheasant it is about twenty inches long in the male and twelve in the female; in soemmerring's pheasant, thirty-seven inches in the male and only eight in the female; and lastly in reeve's pheasant it is sometimes actually seventy-two inches long in the male and sixteen in the female. thus in the several species, the tail of the female differs much in length, irrespectively of that of the male; and this can be accounted for, as it seems to me, with much more probability, by the laws of inheritance,--that is by the successive variations having been from the first more or less closely limited in their transmission to the male sex than by the agency of natural selection, resulting from the length of tail being more or less injurious to the females of these several allied species. we may now consider mr. wallace's arguments in regard to the sexual coloration of birds. he believes that the bright tints originally acquired through sexual selection by the males would in all, or almost all cases, have been transmitted to the females, unless the transference had been checked through natural selection. i may here remind the reader that various facts opposed to this view have already been given under reptiles, amphibians, fishes and lepidoptera. mr. wallace rests his belief chiefly, but not exclusively, as we shall see in the next chapter, on the following statement ( . 'journal of travel,' edited by a. murray, vol. i. , p. .), that when both sexes are coloured in a very conspicuous manner, the nest is of such a nature as to conceal the sitting bird; but when there is a marked contrast of colour between the sexes, the male being gay and the female dull-coloured, the nest is open and exposes the sitting bird to view. this coincidence, as far as it goes, certainly seems to favour the belief that the females which sit on open nests have been specially modified for the sake of protection; but we shall presently see that there is another and more probable explanation, namely, that conspicuous females have acquired the instinct of building domed nests oftener than dull-coloured birds. mr. wallace admits that there are, as might have been expected, some exceptions to his two rules, but it is a question whether the exceptions are not so numerous as seriously to invalidate them. there is in the first place much truth in the duke of argyll's remark ( . 'journal of travel,' edited by a. murray, vol. i. , p. .) that a large domed nest is more conspicuous to an enemy, especially to all tree-haunting carnivorous animals, than a smaller open nest. nor must we forget that with many birds which build open nests, the male sits on the eggs and aids the female in feeding the young: this is the case, for instance, with pyranga aestiva ( . audubon, 'ornithological biography,' vol. i. p. .), one of the most splendid birds in the united states, the male being vermilion, and the female light brownish-green. now if brilliant colours had been extremely dangerous to birds whilst sitting on their open nests, the males in these cases would have suffered greatly. it might, however, be of such paramount importance to the male to be brilliantly coloured, in order to beat his rivals, that this may have more than compensated some additional danger. mr. wallace admits that with the king-crows (dicrurus), orioles, and pittidae, the females are conspicuously coloured, yet build open nests; but he urges that the birds of the first group are highly pugnacious and could defend themselves; that those of the second group take extreme care in concealing their open nests, but this does not invariably hold good ( . jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. ii. p. . gould's 'handbook of the birds of australia,' vol. i. p. .); and that with the birds of the third group the females are brightly coloured chiefly on the under surface. besides these cases, pigeons which are sometimes brightly, and almost always conspicuously coloured, and which are notoriously liable to the attacks of birds of prey, offer a serious exception to the rule, for they almost always build open and exposed nests. in another large family, that of the humming-birds, all the species build open nests, yet with some of the most gorgeous species the sexes are alike; and in the majority, the females, though less brilliant than the males, are brightly coloured. nor can it be maintained that all female humming-birds, which are brightly coloured, escape detection by their tints being green, for some display on their upper surfaces red, blue, and other colours. ( . for instance, the female eupetomena macroura has the head and tail dark blue with reddish loins; the female lampornis porphyrurus is blackish-green on the upper surface, with the lores and sides of the throat crimson; the female eulampis jugularis has the top of the head and back green, but the loins and the tail are crimson. many other instances of highly conspicuous females could be given. see mr. gould's magnificent work on this family.) in regard to birds which build in holes or construct domed nests, other advantages, as mr. wallace remarks, besides concealment are gained, such as shelter from the rain, greater warmth, and in hot countries protection from the sun ( . mr. salvin noticed in guatemala ('ibis,' , p. ) that humming-birds were much more unwilling to leave their nests during very hot weather, when the sun was shining brightly, as if their eggs would be thus injured, than during cool, cloudy, or rainy weather.); so that it is no valid objection to his view that many birds having both sexes obscurely coloured build concealed nests. ( . i may specify, as instances of dull-coloured birds building concealed nests, the species belonging to eight australian genera described in gould's 'handbook of the birds of australia,' vol. i. pp. , , , , , , , .) the female horn-bill (buceros), for instance, of india and africa is protected during incubation with extraordinary care, for she plasters up with her own excrement the orifice of the hole in which she sits on her eggs, leaving only a small orifice through which the male feeds her; she is thus kept a close prisoner during the whole period of incubation ( . mr. c. horne, 'proc. zoolog. soc.' . p. .); yet female horn-bills are not more conspicuously coloured than many other birds of equal size which build open nests. it is a more serious objection to mr. wallace's view, as is admitted by him, that in some few groups the males are brilliantly coloured and the females obscure, and yet the latter hatch their eggs in domed nests. this is the case with the grallinae of australia, the superb warblers (maluridae) of the same country, the sun-birds (nectariniae), and with several of the australian honey-suckers or meliphagidae. ( . on the nidification and colours of these latter species, see gould's 'handbook to the birds of australia,' vol. i. pp. , .) if we look to the birds of england we shall see that there is no close and general relation between the colours of the female and the nature of the nest which is constructed. about forty of our british birds (excluding those of large size which could defend themselves) build in holes in banks, rocks, or trees, or construct domed nests. if we take the colours of the female goldfinch, bullfinch, or blackbird, as a standard of the degree of conspicuousness, which is not highly dangerous to the sitting female, then out of the above forty birds the females of only twelve can be considered as conspicuous to a dangerous degree, the remaining twenty-eight being inconspicuous. ( . i have consulted, on this subject, macgillivray's 'british birds,' and though doubts may be entertained in some cases in regard to the degree of concealment of the nest, and to the degree of conspicuousness of the female, yet the following birds, which all lay their eggs in holes or in domed nests, can hardly be considered, by the above standard, as conspicuous: passer, species; sturnus, of which the female is considerably less brilliant than the male; cinclus; motallica boarula (?); erithacus (?); fruticola, sp.; saxicola; ruticilla, sp.; sylvia, sp.; parus, sp.; mecistura; anorthura; certhia; sitta; yunx; muscicapa, sp.; hirundo, sp.; and cypselus. the females of the following birds may be considered as conspicuous according to the same standard, viz., pastor, motacilla alba, parus major and p. caeruleus, upupa, picus, sp., coracias, alcedo, and merops.) nor is there any close relation within the same genus between a well-pronounced difference in colour between the sexes, and the nature of the nest constructed. thus the male house sparrow (passer domesticus) differs much from the female, the male tree-sparrow (p. montanus) hardly at all, and yet both build well-concealed nests. the two sexes of the common fly-catcher (muscicapa grisola) can hardly be distinguished, whilst the sexes of the pied fly-catcher (m. luctuosa) differ considerably, and both species build in holes or conceal their nests. the female blackbird (turdus merula) differs much, the female ring-ouzel (t. torquatus) differs less, and the female common thrush (t. musicus) hardly at all from their respective males; yet all build open nests. on the other hand, the not very distantly-allied water-ouzel (cinclus aquaticus) builds a domed nest, and the sexes differ about as much as in the ring-ouzel. the black and red grouse (tetrao tetrix and t. scoticus) build open nests in equally well-concealed spots, but in the one species the sexes differ greatly, and in the other very little. notwithstanding the foregoing objections, i cannot doubt, after reading mr. wallace's excellent essay, that looking to the birds of the world, a large majority of the species in which the females are conspicuously coloured (and in this case the males with rare exceptions are equally conspicuous), build concealed nests for the sake of protection. mr. wallace enumerates ( . 'journal of travel,' edited by a. murray, vol. i. p. .) a long series of groups in which this rule holds good; but it will suffice here to give, as instances, the more familiar groups of kingfishers, toucans, trogons, puff-birds (capitonidae), plantain-eaters (musophagae, woodpeckers, and parrots. mr. wallace believes that in these groups, as the males gradually acquired through sexual selection their brilliant colours, these were transferred to the females and were not eliminated by natural selection, owing to the protection which they already enjoyed from their manner of nidification. according to this view, their present manner of nesting was acquired before their present colours. but it seems to me much more probable that in most cases, as the females were gradually rendered more and more brilliant from partaking of the colours of the male, they were gradually led to change their instincts (supposing that they originally built open nests), and to seek protection by building domed or concealed nests. no one who studies, for instance, audubon's account of the differences in the nests of the same species in the northern and southern united states ( . see many statements in the 'ornithological biography.' see also some curious observations on the nests of italian birds by eugenio bettoni, in the 'atti della società italiana,' vol. xi. , p. .), will feel any great difficulty in admitting that birds, either by a change (in the strict sense of the word) of their habits, or through the natural selection of so-called spontaneous variations of instinct, might readily be led to modify their manner of nesting. this way of viewing the relation, as far as it holds good, between the bright colours of female birds and their manner of nesting, receives some support from certain cases occurring in the sahara desert. here, as in most other deserts, various birds, and many other animals, have had their colours adapted in a wonderful manner to the tints of the surrounding surface. nevertheless there are, as i am informed by the rev. mr. tristram, some curious exceptions to the rule; thus the male of the monticola cyanea is conspicuous from his bright blue colour, and the female almost equally conspicuous from her mottled brown and white plumage; both sexes of two species of dromolaea are of a lustrous black; so that these three species are far from receiving protection from their colours, yet they are able to survive, for they have acquired the habit of taking refuge from danger in holes or crevices in the rocks. with respect to the above groups in which the females are conspicuously coloured and build concealed nests, it is not necessary to suppose that each separate species had its nidifying instinct specially modified; but only that the early progenitors of each group were gradually led to build domed or concealed nests, and afterwards transmitted this instinct, together with their bright colours, to their modified descendants. as far as it can be trusted, the conclusion is interesting, that sexual selection together with equal or nearly equal inheritance by both sexes, have indirectly determined the manner of nidification of whole groups of birds. according to mr. wallace, even in the groups in which the females, from being protected in domed nests during incubation, have not had their bright colours eliminated through natural selection, the males often differ in a slight, and occasionally in a considerable degree from the females. this is a significant fact, for such differences in colour must be accounted for by some of the variations in the males having been from the first limited in transmission to the same sex; as it can hardly be maintained that these differences, especially when very slight, serve as a protection to the female. thus all the species in the splendid group of the trogons build in holes; and mr. gould gives figures ( . see his monograph of the trogonidae, st edition.) of both sexes of twenty-five species, in all of which, with one partial exception, the sexes differ sometimes slightly, sometimes conspicuously, in colour,--the males being always finer than the females, though the latter are likewise beautiful. all the species of kingfishers build in holes, and with most of the species the sexes are equally brilliant, and thus far mr. wallace's rule holds good; but in some of the australian species the colours of the females are rather less vivid than those of the male; and in one splendidly-coloured species, the sexes differ so much that they were at first thought to be specifically distinct. ( . namely, cyanalcyon, gould's 'handbook to the birds of australia,' vol. i. p. ; see, also, pp. , .) mr. r.b. sharpe, who has especially studied this group, has shewn me some american species (ceryle) in which the breast of the male is belted with black. again, in carcineutes, the difference between the sexes is conspicuous: in the male the upper surface is dull-blue banded with black, the lower surface being partly fawn-coloured, and there is much red about the head; in the female the upper surface is reddish-brown banded with black, and the lower surface white with black markings. it is an interesting fact, as shewing how the same peculiar style of sexual colouring often characterises allied forms, that in three species of dacelo the male differs from the female only in the tail being dull-blue banded with black, whilst that of the female is brown with blackish bars; so that here the tail differs in colour in the two sexes in exactly the same manner as the whole upper surface in the two sexes of carcineutes. with parrots, which likewise build in holes, we find analogous cases: in most of the species, both sexes are brilliantly coloured and indistinguishable, but in not a few species the males are coloured rather more vividly than the females, or even very differently from them. thus, besides other strongly-marked differences, the whole under surface of the male king lory (aprosmictus scapulatus) is scarlet, whilst the throat and chest of the female is green tinged with red: in the euphema splendida there is a similar difference, the face and wing coverts moreover of the female being of a paler blue than in the male. ( . every gradation of difference between the sexes may be followed in the parrots of australia. see gould's 'handbook,' etc., vol. ii. pp. - .) in the family of the tits (parinae), which build concealed nests, the female of our common blue tomtit (parus caeruleus), is "much less brightly coloured" than the male: and in the magnificent sultan yellow tit of india the difference is greater. ( . macgillivray's 'british birds,' vol. ii. p. . jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. ii. p. .) again, in the great group of the woodpeckers ( . all the following facts are taken from m. malherbe's magnificent 'monographie des picidees,' .), the sexes are generally nearly alike, but in the megapicus validus all those parts of the head, neck, and breast, which are crimson in the male are pale brown in the female. as in several woodpeckers the head of the male is bright crimson, whilst that of the female is plain, it occurred to me that this colour might possibly make the female dangerously conspicuous, whenever she put her head out of the hole containing her nest, and consequently that this colour, in accordance with mr. wallace's belief, had been eliminated. this view is strengthened by what malherbe states with respect to indopicus carlotta; namely, that the young females, like the young males, have some crimson about their heads, but that this colour disappears in the adult female, whilst it is intensified in the adult male. nevertheless the following considerations render this view extremely doubtful: the male takes a fair share in incubation ( . audubon's 'ornithological biography,' vol. ii. p. ; see also the 'ibis,' vol. i. p. .), and would be thus almost equally exposed to danger; both sexes of many species have their heads of an equally bright crimson; in other species the difference between the sexes in the amount of scarlet is so slight that it can hardly make any appreciable difference in the danger incurred; and lastly, the colouring of the head in the two sexes often differs slightly in other ways. the cases, as yet given, of slight and graduated differences in colour between the males and females in the groups, in which as a general rule the sexes resemble each other, all relate to species which build domed or concealed nests. but similar gradations may likewise be observed in groups in which the sexes as a general rule resemble each other, but which build open nests. as i have before instanced the australian parrots, so i may here instance, without giving any details, the australian pigeons. ( . gould's 'handbook to the birds of australia,' vol. ii. pp. - .) it deserves especial notice that in all these cases the slight differences in plumage between the sexes are of the same general nature as the occasionally greater differences. a good illustration of this fact has already been afforded by those kingfishers in which either the tail alone or the whole upper surface of the plumage differs in the same manner in the two sexes. similar cases may be observed with parrots and pigeons. the differences in colour between the sexes of the same species are, also, of the same general nature as the differences in colour between the distinct species of the same group. for when in a group in which the sexes are usually alike, the male differs considerably from the female, he is not coloured in a quite new style. hence we may infer that within the same group the special colours of both sexes when they are alike, and the colours of the male, when he differs slightly or even considerably from the female, have been in most cases determined by the same general cause; this being sexual selection. it is not probable, as has already been remarked, that differences in colour between the sexes, when very slight, can be of service to the female as a protection. assuming, however, that they are of service, they might be thought to be cases of transition; but we have no reason to believe that many species at any one time are undergoing change. therefore we can hardly admit that the numerous females which differ very slightly in colour from their males are now all commencing to become obscure for the sake of protection. even if we consider somewhat more marked sexual differences, is it probable, for instance, that the head of the female chaffinch,--the crimson on the breast of the female bullfinch,--the green of the female greenfinch,--the crest of the female golden-crested wren, have all been rendered less bright by the slow process of selection for the sake of protection? i cannot think so; and still less with the slight differences between the sexes of those birds which build concealed nests. on the other hand, the differences in colour between the sexes, whether great or small, may to a large extent be explained on the principle of the successive variations, acquired by the males through sexual selection, having been from the first more or less limited in their transmission to the females. that the degree of limitation should differ in different species of the same group will not surprise any one who has studied the laws of inheritance, for they are so complex that they appear to us in our ignorance to be capricious in their action. ( . see remarks to this effect in 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. chap. xii.) as far as i can discover there are few large groups of birds in which all the species have both sexes alike and brilliantly coloured, but i hear from mr. sclater, that this appears to be the case with the musophagae or plantain-eaters. nor do i believe that any large group exists in which the sexes of all the species are widely dissimilar in colour: mr. wallace informs me that the chatterers of s. america (cotingidae) offer one of the best instances; but with some of the species, in which the male has a splendid red breast, the female exhibits some red on her breast; and the females of other species shew traces of the green and other colours of the males. nevertheless we have a near approach to close sexual similarity or dissimilarity throughout several groups: and this, from what has just been said of the fluctuating nature of inheritance, is a somewhat surprising circumstance. but that the same laws should largely prevail with allied animals is not surprising. the domestic fowl has produced a great number of breeds and sub-breeds, and in these the sexes generally differ in plumage; so that it has been noticed as an unusual circumstance when in certain sub-breeds they resemble each other. on the other hand, the domestic pigeon has likewise produced a vast number of distinct breeds and sub-breeds, and in these, with rare exceptions, the two sexes are identically alike. therefore if other species of gallus and columba were domesticated and varied, it would not be rash to predict that similar rules of sexual similarity and dissimilarity, depending on the form of transmission, would hold good in both cases. in like manner the same form of transmission has generally prevailed under nature throughout the same groups, although marked exceptions to this rule occur. thus within the same family or even genus, the sexes may be identically alike, or very different in colour. instances have already been given in the same genus, as with sparrows, fly-catchers, thrushes and grouse. in the family of pheasants the sexes of almost all the species are wonderfully dissimilar, but are quite alike in the eared pheasant or crossoptilon auritum. in two species of chloephaga, a genus of geese, the male cannot be distinguished from the females, except by size; whilst in two others, the sexes are so unlike that they might easily be mistaken for distinct species. ( . the 'ibis,' vol. vi. , p. .) the laws of inheritance can alone account for the following cases, in which the female acquires, late in life, certain characters proper to the male, and ultimately comes to resemble him more or less completely. here protection can hardly have come into play. mr. blyth informs me that the females of oriolus melanocephalus and of some allied species, when sufficiently mature to breed, differ considerably in plumage from the adult males; but after the second or third moults they differ only in their beaks having a slight greenish tinge. in the dwarf bitterns (ardetta), according to the same authority, "the male acquires his final livery at the first moult, the female not before the third or fourth moult; in the meanwhile she presents an intermediate garb, which is ultimately exchanged for the same livery as that of the male." so again the female falco peregrinus acquires her blue plumage more slowly than the male. mr. swinhoe states that with one of the drongo shrikes (dicrurus macrocercus) the male, whilst almost a nestling, moults his soft brown plumage and becomes of a uniform glossy greenish-black; but the female retains for a long time the white striae and spots on the axillary feathers; and does not completely assume the uniform black colour of the male for three years. the same excellent observer remarks that in the spring of the second year the female spoon-bill (platalea) of china resembles the male of the first year, and that apparently it is not until the third spring that she acquires the same adult plumage as that possessed by the male at a much earlier age. the female bombycilla carolinensis differs very little from the male, but the appendages, which like beads of red sealing-wax ornament the wing-feathers ( . when the male courts the female, these ornaments are vibrated, and "are shewn off to great advantage," on the outstretched wings: a. leith adams, 'field and forest rambles,' , p. .), are not developed in her so early in life as in the male. in the male of an indian parrakeet (palaeornis javanicus) the upper mandible is coral-red from his earliest youth, but in the female, as mr. blyth has observed with caged and wild birds, it is at first black and does not become red until the bird is at least a year old, at which age the sexes resemble each other in all respects. both sexes of the wild turkey are ultimately furnished with a tuft of bristles on the breast, but in two-year-old birds the tuft is about four inches long in the male and hardly apparent in the female; when, however, the latter has reached her fourth year, it is from four to five inches in length. ( . on ardetta, translation of cuvier's 'regne animal,' by mr. blyth, footnote, p. . on the peregrine falcon, mr. blyth, in charlesworth's 'mag. of nat. hist.' vol. i. , p. . on dicrurus, 'ibis,' , p. . on the platalea, 'ibis,' vol. vi. , p. . on the bombycilla, audubon's 'ornitholog. biography,' vol. i. p. . on the palaeornis, see, also, jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. i. p. . on the wild turkey, audubon, ibid. vol. i. p. ; but i hear from judge caton that in illinois the female very rarely acquires a tuft. analogous cases with the females of petrocossyphus are given by mr. r. sharpe, 'proceedings of the zoological society,' , p. .) these cases must not be confounded with those where diseased or old females abnormally assume masculine characters, nor with those where fertile females, whilst young, acquire the characters of the male, through variation or some unknown cause. ( . of these latter cases mr. blyth has recorded (translation of cuvier's 'regne animal,' p. ) various instances with lanius, ruticilla, linaria, and anas. audubon has also recorded a similar case ('ornitholog. biography,' vol. v. p. ) with pyranga aestiva.) but all these cases have so much in common that they depend, according to the hypothesis of pangenesis, on gemmules derived from each part of the male being present, though latent, in the female; their development following on some slight change in the elective affinities of her constituent tissues. a few words must be added on changes of plumage in relation to the season of the year. from reasons formerly assigned there can be little doubt that the elegant plumes, long pendant feathers, crests, etc., of egrets, herons, and many other birds, which are developed and retained only during the summer, serve for ornamental and nuptial purposes, though common to both sexes. the female is thus rendered more conspicuous during the period of incubation than during the winter; but such birds as herons and egrets would be able to defend themselves. as, however, plumes would probably be inconvenient and certainly of no use during the winter, it is possible that the habit of moulting twice in the year may have been gradually acquired through natural selection for the sake of casting off inconvenient ornaments during the winter. but this view cannot be extended to the many waders, whose summer and winter plumages differ very little in colour. with defenceless species, in which both sexes, or the males alone, become extremely conspicuous during the breeding-season,--or when the males acquire at this season such long wing or tail-feathers as to impede their flight, as with cosmetornis and vidua,--it certainly at first appears highly probable that the second moult has been gained for the special purpose of throwing off these ornaments. we must, however, remember that many birds, such as some of the birds of paradise, the argus pheasant and peacock, do not cast their plumes during the winter; and it can hardly be maintained that the constitution of these birds, at least of the gallinaceae, renders a double moult impossible, for the ptarmigan moults thrice in the year. ( . see gould's 'birds of great britain.') hence it must be considered as doubtful whether the many species which moult their ornamental plumes or lose their bright colours during the winter, have acquired this habit on account of the inconvenience or danger which they would otherwise have suffered. i conclude, therefore, that the habit of moulting twice in the year was in most or all cases first acquired for some distinct purpose, perhaps for gaining a warmer winter covering; and that variations in the plumage occurring during the summer were accumulated through sexual selection, and transmitted to the offspring at the same season of the year; that such variations were inherited either by both sexes or by the males alone, according to the form of inheritance which prevailed. this appears more probable than that the species in all cases originally tended to retain their ornamental plumage during the winter, but were saved from this through natural selection, resulting from the inconvenience or danger thus caused. i have endeavoured in this chapter to shew that the arguments are not trustworthy in favour of the view that weapons, bright colours, and various ornaments, are now confined to the males owing to the conversion, by natural selection, of the equal transmission of characters to both sexes, into transmission to the male sex alone. it is also doubtful whether the colours of many female birds are due to the preservation, for the sake of protection, of variations which were from the first limited in their transmission to the female sex. but it will be convenient to defer any further discussion on this subject until i treat, in the following chapter, of the differences in plumage between the young and old. chapter xvi. birds--concluded. the immature plumage in relation to the character of the plumage in both sexes when adult--six classes of cases--sexual differences between the males of closely-allied or representative species--the female assuming the characters of the male--plumage of the young in relation to the summer and winter plumage of the adults--on the increase of beauty in the birds of the world--protective colouring--conspicuously coloured birds--novelty appreciated--summary of the four chapters on birds. we must now consider the transmission of characters, as limited by age, in reference to sexual selection. the truth and importance of the principle of inheritance at corresponding ages need not here be discussed, as enough has already been said on the subject. before giving the several rather complex rules or classes of cases, under which the differences in plumage between the young and the old, as far as known to me, may be included, it will be well to make a few preliminary remarks. with animals of all kinds when the adults differ in colour from the young, and the colours of the latter are not, as far as we can see, of any special service, they may generally be attributed, like various embryological structures, to the retention of a former character. but this view can be maintained with confidence, only when the young of several species resemble each other closely, and likewise resemble other adult species belonging to the same group; for the latter are the living proofs that such a state of things was formerly possible. young lions and pumas are marked with feeble stripes or rows of spots, and as many allied species both young and old are similarly marked, no believer in evolution will doubt that the progenitor of the lion and puma was a striped animal, and that the young have retained vestiges of the stripes, like the kittens of black cats, which are not in the least striped when grown up. many species of deer, which when mature are not spotted, are whilst young covered with white spots, as are likewise some few species in the adult state. so again the young in the whole family of pigs (suidae), and in certain rather distantly allied animals, such as the tapir, are marked with dark longitudinal stripes; but here we have a character apparently derived from an extinct progenitor, and now preserved by the young alone. in all such cases the old have had their colours changed in the course of time, whilst the young have remained but little altered, and this has been effected through the principle of inheritance at corresponding ages. this same principle applies to many birds belonging to various groups, in which the young closely resemble each other, and differ much from their respective adult parents. the young of almost all the gallinaceae, and of some distantly allied birds such as ostriches, are covered with longitudinally striped down; but this character points back to a state of things so remote that it hardly concerns us. young cross-bills (loxia) have at first straight beaks like those of other finches, and in their immature striated plumage they resemble the mature red-pole and female siskin, as well as the young of the goldfinch, greenfinch, and some other allied species. the young of many kinds of buntings (emberiza) resemble one another, and likewise the adult state of the common bunting, e. miliaria. in almost the whole large group of thrushes the young have their breasts spotted--a character which is retained throughout life by many species, but is quite lost by others, as by the turdus migratorius. so again with many thrushes, the feathers on the back are mottled before they are moulted for the first time, and this character is retained for life by certain eastern species. the young of many species of shrikes (lanius), of some woodpeckers, and of an indian pigeon (chalcophaps indicus), are transversely striped on the under surface; and certain allied species or whole genera are similarly marked when adult. in some closely-allied and resplendent indian cuckoos (chrysococcyx), the mature species differ considerably from one another in colour, but the young cannot be distinguished. the young of an indian goose (sarkidiornis melanonotus) closely resemble in plumage an allied genus, dendrocygna, when mature. ( . in regard to thrushes, shrikes, and woodpeckers, see mr. blyth, in charlesworth's 'mag. of nat. hist.' vol. i. , p. ; also footnote to his translation of cuvier's 'regne animal,' p. . i give the case of loxia on mr. blyth's information. on thrushes, see also audubon, 'ornith. biog.' vol. ii. p. . on chrysococcyx and chalcophaps, blyth, as quoted in jerdon's 'birds of india,' vol. iii. p. . on sarkidiornis, blyth, in 'ibis,' , p. .) similar facts will hereafter be given in regard to certain herons. young black-grouse (tetrao tetrix) resemble the young as well as the old of certain other species, for instance the red-grouse or t. scoticus. finally, as mr. blyth, who has attended closely to this subject, has well remarked, the natural affinities of many species are best exhibited in their immature plumage; and as the true affinities of all organic beings depend on their descent from a common progenitor, this remark strongly confirms the belief that the immature plumage approximately shews us the former or ancestral condition of the species. although many young birds, belonging to various families, thus give us a glimpse of the plumage of their remote progenitors, yet there are many other birds, both dull-coloured and bright-coloured, in which the young closely resemble their parents. in such cases the young of the different species cannot resemble each other more closely than do the parents; nor can they strikingly resemble allied forms when adult. they give us but little insight into the plumage of their progenitors, excepting in so far that, when the young and the old are coloured in the same general manner throughout a whole group of species, it is probable that their progenitors were similarly coloured. we may now consider the classes of cases, under which the differences and resemblances between the plumage of the young and the old, in both sexes or in one sex alone, may be grouped. rules of this kind were first enounced by cuvier; but with the progress of knowledge they require some modification and amplification. this i have attempted to do, as far as the extreme complexity of the subject permits, from information derived from various sources; but a full essay on this subject by some competent ornithologist is much needed. in order to ascertain to what extent each rule prevails, i have tabulated the facts given in four great works, namely, by macgillivray on the birds of britain, audubon on those of north america, jerdon on those of india, and gould on those of australia. i may here premise, first, that the several cases or rules graduate into each other; and secondly, that when the young are said to resemble their parents, it is not meant that they are identically alike, for their colours are almost always less vivid, and the feathers are softer and often of a different shape. rules or classes of cases. i. when the adult male is more beautiful or conspicuous than the adult female, the young of both sexes in their first plumage closely resemble the adult female, as with the common fowl and peacock; or, as occasionally occurs, they resemble her much more closely than they do the adult male. ii. when the adult female is more conspicuous than the adult male, as sometimes though rarely occurs, the young of both sexes in their first plumage resemble the adult male. iii. when the adult male resembles the adult female, the young of both sexes have a peculiar first plumage of their own, as with the robin. iv. when the adult male resembles the adult female, the young of both sexes in their first plumage resemble the adults, as with the kingfisher, many parrots, crows, hedge-warblers. v. when the adults of both sexes have a distinct winter and summer plumage, whether or not the male differs from the female, the young resemble the adults of both sexes in their winter dress, or much more rarely in their summer dress, or they resemble the females alone. or the young may have an intermediate character; or again they may differ greatly from the adults in both their seasonal plumages. vi. in some few cases the young in their first plumage differ from each other according to sex; the young males resembling more or less closely the adult males, and the young females more or less closely the adult females. class i. in this class, the young of both sexes more or less closely resemble the adult female, whilst the adult male differs from the adult female, often in the most conspicuous manner. innumerable instances in all orders could be given; it will suffice to call to mind the common pheasant, duck, and house-sparrow. the cases under this class graduate into others. thus the two sexes when adult may differ so slightly, and the young so slightly from the adults, that it is doubtful whether such cases ought to come under the present, or under the third or fourth classes. so again the young of the two sexes, instead of being quite alike, may differ in a slight degree from each other, as in our sixth class. these transitional cases, however, are few, or at least are not strongly pronounced, in comparison with those which come strictly under the present class. the force of the present law is well shewn in those groups, in which, as a general rule, the two sexes and the young are all alike; for when in these groups the male does differ from the female, as with certain parrots, kingfishers, pigeons, etc., the young of both sexes resemble the adult female. ( . see, for instance, mr. gould's account ('handbook to the birds of australia,' vol. i. p. ) of cyanalcyon (one of the kingfishers), in which, however, the young male, though resembling the adult female, is less brilliantly coloured. in some species of dacelo the males have blue tails, and the females brown ones; and mr. r.b. sharpe informs me that the tail of the young male of d. gaudichaudi is at first brown. mr. gould has described (ibid. vol. ii. pp. , , ) the sexes and the young of certain black cockatoos and of the king lory, with which the same rule prevails. also jerdon ('birds of india,' vol. i. p. ) on the palaeornis rosa, in which the young are more like the female than the male. see audubon ('ornithological biography,' vol. ii. p. ) on the two sexes and the young of columba passerina.) we see the same fact exhibited still more clearly in certain anomalous cases; thus the male of heliothrix auriculata (one of the humming-birds) differs conspicuously from the female in having a splendid gorget and fine ear-tufts, but the female is remarkable from having a much longer tail than that of the male; now the young of both sexes resemble (with the exception of the breast being spotted with bronze) the adult female in all other respects, including the length of her tail, so that the tail of the male actually becomes shorter as he reaches maturity, which is a most unusual circumstance. ( . i owe this information to mr. gould, who shewed me the specimens; see also his 'introduction to the trochilidae,' , p. .) again, the plumage of the male goosander (mergus merganser) is more conspicuously coloured than that of the female, with the scapular and secondary wing-feathers much longer; but differently from what occurs, as far as i know, in any other bird, the crest of the adult male, though broader than that of the female, is considerably shorter, being only a little above an inch in length; the crest of the female being two and a half inches long. now the young of both sexes entirely resemble the adult female, so that their crests are actually of greater length, though narrower, than in the adult male. ( . macgillivray, 'hist. brit. birds,' vol. v. pp. - .) when the young and the females closely resemble each other and both differ from the males, the most obvious conclusion is that the males alone have been modified. even in the anomalous cases of the heliothrix and mergus, it is probable that originally both adult sexes were furnished--the one species with a much elongated tail, and the other with a much elongated crest--these characters having since been partially lost by the adult males from some unexplained cause, and transmitted in their diminished state to their male offspring alone, when arrived at the corresponding age of maturity. the belief that in the present class the male alone has been modified, as far as the differences between the male and the female together with her young are concerned, is strongly supported by some remarkable facts recorded by mr. blyth ( . see his admirable paper in the 'journal of the asiatic soc. of bengal,' vol. xix. , p. ; see also jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. i. introduction, p. xxix. in regard to tanysiptera, prof. schlegel told mr. blyth that he could distinguish several distinct races, solely by comparing the adult males.), with respect to closely-allied species which represent each other in distinct countries. for with several of these representative species the adult males have undergone a certain amount of change and can be distinguished; the females and the young from the distinct countries being indistinguishable, and therefore absolutely unchanged. this is the case with certain indian chats (thamnobia), with certain honey-suckers (nectarinia), shrikes (tephrodornis), certain kingfishers (tanysiptera), kalij pheasants (gallophasis), and tree-partridges (arboricola). in some analogous cases, namely with birds having a different summer and winter plumage, but with the two sexes nearly alike, certain closely-allied species can easily be distinguished in their summer or nuptial plumage, yet are indistinguishable in their winter as well as in their immature plumage. this is the case with some of the closely-allied indian wagtails or motacillae. mr. swinhoe ( . see also mr. swinhoe, in 'ibis,' july , p. ; and a previous paper, with an extract from a note by mr. blyth, in 'ibis,' january, , p. .) informs me that three species of ardeola, a genus of herons, which represent one another on separate continents, are "most strikingly different" when ornamented with their summer plumes, but are hardly, if at all, distinguishable during the winter. the young also of these three species in their immature plumage closely resemble the adults in their winter dress. this case is all the more interesting, because with two other species of ardeola both sexes retain, during the winter and summer, nearly the same plumage as that possessed by the three first species during the winter and in their immature state; and this plumage, which is common to several distinct species at different ages and seasons, probably shews us how the progenitors of the genus were coloured. in all these cases, the nuptial plumage which we may assume was originally acquired by the adult males during the breeding-season, and transmitted to the adults of both sexes at the corresponding season, has been modified, whilst the winter and immature plumages have been left unchanged. the question naturally arises, how is it that in these latter cases the winter plumage of both sexes, and in the former cases the plumage of the adult females, as well as the immature plumage of the young, have not been at all affected? the species which represent each other in distinct countries will almost always have been exposed to somewhat different conditions, but we can hardly attribute to this action the modification of the plumage in the males alone, seeing that the females and the young, though similarly exposed, have not been affected. hardly any fact shews us more clearly how subordinate in importance is the direct action of the conditions of life, in comparison with the accumulation through selection of indefinite variations, than the surprising difference between the sexes of many birds; for both will have consumed the same food, and have been exposed to the same climate. nevertheless we are not precluded from believing that in the course of time new conditions may produce some direct effect either on both sexes, or from their constitutional differences chiefly on one sex. we see only that this is subordinate in importance to the accumulated results of selection. judging, however, from a wide-spread analogy, when a species migrates into a new country (and this must precede the formation of representative species), the changed conditions to which they will almost always have been exposed will cause them to undergo a certain amount of fluctuating variability. in this case sexual selection, which depends on an element liable to change--the taste or admiration of the female--will have had new shades of colour or other differences to act on and accumulate; and as sexual selection is always at work, it would (from what we know of the results on domestic animals of man's unintentional selection), be surprising if animals inhabiting separate districts, which can never cross and thus blend their newly-acquired characters, were not, after a sufficient lapse of time, differently modified. these remarks likewise apply to the nuptial or summer plumage, whether confined to the males, or common to both sexes. although the females of the above closely-allied or representative species, together with their young, differ hardly at all from one another, so that the males alone can be distinguished, yet the females of most species within the same genus obviously differ from each other. the differences, however, are rarely as great as between the males. we see this clearly in the whole family of the gallinaceae: the females, for instance, of the common and japan pheasant, and especially of the gold and amherst pheasant --of the silver pheasant and the wild fowl--resemble one another very closely in colour, whilst the males differ to an extraordinary degree. so it is with the females of most of the cotingidae, fringillidae, and many other families. there can indeed be no doubt that, as a general rule, the females have been less modified than the males. some few birds, however, offer a singular and inexplicable exception; thus the females of paradisea apoda and p. papuana differ from each other more than do their respective males ( . wallace, 'the malay archipelago,' vol. ii. , p. .); the female of the latter species having the under surface pure white, whilst the female p. apoda is deep brown beneath. so, again, as i hear from professor newton, the males of two species of oxynotus (shrikes), which represent each other in the islands of mauritius and bourbon ( . these species are described with coloured figures, by m. f. pollen, in 'ibis,' , p. .), differ but little in colour, whilst the females differ much. in the bourbon species the female appears to have partially retained an immature condition of plumage, for at first sight she "might be taken for the young of the mauritian species." these differences may be compared with those inexplicable ones, which occur independently of man's selection in certain sub-breeds of the game-fowl, in which the females are very different, whilst the males can hardly be distinguished. ( . 'variation of animals,' etc., vol. i. p. .) as i account so largely by sexual selection for the differences between the males of allied species, how can the differences between the females be accounted for in all ordinary cases? we need not here consider the species which belong to distinct genera; for with these, adaptation to different habits of life, and other agencies, will have come into play. in regard to the differences between the females within the same genus, it appears to me almost certain, after looking through various large groups, that the chief agent has been the greater or less transference to the female of the characters acquired by the males through sexual selection. in the several british finches, the two sexes differ either very slightly or considerably; and if we compare the females of the greenfinch, chaffinch, goldfinch, bullfinch, crossbill, sparrow, etc., we shall see that they differ from one another chiefly in the points in which they partially resemble their respective males; and the colours of the males may safely be attributed to sexual selection. with many gallinaceous species the sexes differ to an extreme degree, as with the peacock, pheasant, and fowl, whilst with other species there has been a partial or even complete transference of character from the male to the female. the females of the several species of polyplectron exhibit in a dim condition, and chiefly on the tail, the splendid ocelli of their males. the female partridge differs from the male only in the red mark on her breast being smaller; and the female wild turkey only in her colours being much duller. in the guinea-fowl the two sexes are indistinguishable. there is no improbability in the plain, though peculiarly spotted plumage of this latter bird having been acquired through sexual selection by the males, and then transmitted to both sexes; for it is not essentially different from the much more beautifully spotted plumage, characteristic of the males alone of the tragopan pheasants. it should be observed that, in some instances, the transference of characters from the male to the female has been effected apparently at a remote period, the male having subsequently undergone great changes, without transferring to the female any of his later-gained characters. for instance, the female and the young of the black-grouse (tetrao tetrix) resemble pretty closely both sexes and the young of the red-grouse (t. scoticus); and we may consequently infer that the black-grouse is descended from some ancient species, of which both sexes were coloured in nearly the same manner as the red-grouse. as both sexes of this latter species are more distinctly barred during the breeding-season than at any other time, and as the male differs slightly from the female in his more strongly-pronounced red and brown tints ( . macgillivray, 'history of british birds,' vol. i. pp. - .), we may conclude that his plumage has been influenced by sexual selection, at least to a certain extent. if so, we may further infer that nearly similar plumage of the female black-grouse was similarly produced at some former period. but since this period the male black-grouse has acquired his fine black plumage, with his forked and outwardly-curled tail-feathers; but of these characters there has hardly been any transference to the female, excepting that she shews in her tail a trace of the curved fork. we may therefore conclude that the females of distinct though allied species have often had their plumage rendered more or less different by the transference in various degrees of characters acquired by the males through sexual selection, both during former and recent times. but it deserves especial attention that brilliant colours have been transferred much more rarely than other tints. for instance, the male of the red-throated blue-breast (cyanecula suecica) has a rich blue breast, including a sub-triangular red mark; now marks of nearly the same shape have been transferred to the female, but the central space is fulvous instead of red, and is surrounded by mottled instead of blue feathers. the gallinaceae offer many analogous cases; for none of the species, such as partridges, quails, guinea-fowls, etc., in which the colours of the plumage have been largely transferred from the male to the female, are brilliantly coloured. this is well exemplified with the pheasants, in which the male is generally so much more brilliant than the female; but with the eared and cheer pheasants (crossoptilon auritum and phasianus wallichii) the sexes closely resemble each other and their colours are dull. we may go so far as to believe that if any part of the plumage in the males of these two pheasants had been brilliantly coloured, it would not have been transferred to the females. these facts strongly support mr. wallace's view that with birds which are exposed to much danger during incubation, the transference of bright colours from the male to the female has been checked through natural selection. we must not, however, forget that another explanation, before given, is possible; namely, that the males which varied and became bright, whilst they were young and inexperienced, would have been exposed to much danger, and would generally have been destroyed; the older and more cautious males, on the other hand, if they varied in a like manner, would not only have been able to survive, but would have been favoured in their rivalry with other males. now variations occurring late in life tend to be transmitted exclusively to the same sex, so that in this case extremely bright tints would not have been transmitted to the females. on the other hand, ornaments of a less conspicuous kind, such as those possessed by the eared and cheer pheasants, would not have been dangerous, and if they appeared during early youth, would generally have been transmitted to both sexes. in addition to the effects of the partial transference of characters from the males to the females, some of the differences between the females of closely allied species may be attributed to the direct or definite action of the conditions of life. ( . see, on this subject, chap. xxiii. in the 'variation of animals and plants under domestication.') with the males, any such action would generally have been masked by the brilliant colours gained through sexual selection; but not so with the females. each of the endless diversities in plumage which we see in our domesticated birds is, of course, the result of some definite cause; and under natural and more uniform conditions, some one tint, assuming that it was in no way injurious, would almost certainly sooner or later prevail. the free intercrossing of the many individuals belonging to the same species would ultimately tend to make any change of colour, thus induced, uniform in character. no one doubts that both sexes of many birds have had their colours adapted for the sake of protection; and it is possible that the females alone of some species may have been modified for this end. although it would be a difficult, perhaps an impossible process, as shewn in the last chapter, to convert one form of transmission into another through selection, there would not be the least difficulty in adapting the colours of the female, independently of those of the male, to surrounding objects, through the accumulation of variations which were from the first limited in their transmission to the female sex. if the variations were not thus limited, the bright tints of the male would be deteriorated or destroyed. whether the females alone of many species have been thus specially modified, is at present very doubtful. i wish i could follow mr. wallace to the full extent; for the admission would remove some difficulties. any variations which were of no service to the female as a protection would be at once obliterated, instead of being lost simply by not being selected, or from free intercrossing, or from being eliminated when transferred to the male and in any way injurious to him. thus the plumage of the female would be kept constant in character. it would also be a relief if we could admit that the obscure tints of both sexes of many birds had been acquired and preserved for the sake of protection,--for example, of the hedge-warbler or kitty-wren (accentor modularis and troglodytes vulgaris), with respect to which we have no sufficient evidence of the action of sexual selection. we ought, however, to be cautious in concluding that colours which appear to us dull, are not attractive to the females of certain species; we should bear in mind such cases as that of the common house-sparrow, in which the male differs much from the female, but does not exhibit any bright tints. no one probably will dispute that many gallinaceous birds which live on the open ground, have acquired their present colours, at least in part, for the sake of protection. we know how well they are thus concealed; we know that ptarmigans, whilst changing from their winter to their summer plumage, both of which are protective, suffer greatly from birds of prey. but can we believe that the very slight differences in tints and markings between, for instance, the female black-grouse and red-grouse serve as a protection? are partridges, as they are now coloured, better protected than if they had resembled quails? do the slight differences between the females of the common pheasant, the japan and gold pheasants, serve as a protection, or might not their plumages have been interchanged with impunity? from what mr. wallace has observed of the habits of certain gallinaceous birds in the east, he thinks that such slight differences are beneficial. for myself, i will only say that i am not convinced. formerly when i was inclined to lay much stress on protection as accounting for the duller colours of female birds, it occurred to me that possibly both sexes and the young might aboriginally have been equally bright coloured; but that subsequently, the females from the danger incurred during incubation, and the young from being inexperienced, had been rendered dull as a protection. but this view is not supported by any evidence, and is not probable; for we thus in imagination expose during past times the females and the young to danger, from which it has subsequently been necessary to shield their modified descendants. we have, also, to reduce, through a gradual process of selection, the females and the young to almost exactly the same tints and markings, and to transmit them to the corresponding sex and period of life. on the supposition that the females and the young have partaken during each stage of the process of modification of a tendency to be as brightly coloured as the males, it is also a somewhat strange fact that the females have never been rendered dull-coloured without the young participating in the same change; for there are no instances, as far as i can discover, of species with the females dull and the young bright coloured. a partial exception, however, is offered by the young of certain woodpeckers, for they have "the whole upper part of the head tinged with red," which afterwards either decreases into a mere circular red line in the adults of both sexes, or quite disappears in the adult females. ( . audubon, 'ornith. biography,' vol. i. p. . macgillivray, 'history of british birds,' vol. iii. p. . see also the case before given of indopicus carlotta.) finally, with respect to our present class of cases, the most probable view appears to be that successive variations in brightness or in other ornamental characters, occurring in the males at a rather late period of life have alone been preserved; and that most or all of these variations, owing to the late period of life at which they appeared, have been from the first transmitted only to the adult male offspring. any variations in brightness occurring in the females or in the young, would have been of no service to them, and would not have been selected; and moreover, if dangerous, would have been eliminated. thus the females and the young will either have been left unmodified, or (as is much more common) will have been partially modified by receiving through transference from the males some of his successive variations. both sexes have perhaps been directly acted on by the conditions of life to which they have long been exposed: but the females from not being otherwise much modified, will best exhibit any such effects. these changes and all others will have been kept uniform by the free intercrossing of many individuals. in some cases, especially with ground birds, the females and the young may possibly have been modified, independently of the males, for the sake of protection, so as to have acquired the same dull-coloured plumage. class ii. when the adult female is more conspicuous than the adult male, the young of both sexes in their first plumage resemble the adult male. this class is exactly the reverse of the last, for the females are here brighter coloured or more conspicuous than the males; and the young, as far as they are known, resemble the adult males instead of the adult females. but the difference between the sexes is never nearly so great as with many birds in the first class, and the cases are comparatively rare. mr. wallace, who first called attention to the singular relation which exists between the less bright colours of the males and their performing the duties of incubation, lays great stress on this point ( . 'westminster review,' july , and a. murray, 'journal of travel,' , p. .), as a crucial test that obscure colours have been acquired for the sake of protection during the period of nesting. a different view seems to me more probable. as the cases are curious and not numerous, i will briefly give all that i have been able to find. in one section of the genus turnix, quail-like birds, the female is invariably larger than the male (being nearly twice as large in one of the australian species), and this is an unusual circumstance with the gallinaceae. in most of the species the female is more distinctly coloured and brighter than the male ( . for the australian species, see gould's 'handbook,' etc., vol. ii. pp. , , , and . in the british museum specimens of the australian plain-wanderer (pedionomus torquatus) may be seen, shewing similar sexual differences.), but in some few species the sexes are alike. in turnix taigoor of india the male "wants the black on the throat and neck, and the whole tone of the plumage is lighter and less pronounced than that of the female." the female appears to be noisier, and is certainly much more pugnacious than the male; so that the females and not the males are often kept by the natives for fighting, like game-cocks. as male birds are exposed by the english bird-catchers for a decoy near a trap, in order to catch other males by exciting their rivalry, so the females of this turnix are employed in india. when thus exposed the females soon begin their "loud purring call, which can be heard a long way off, and any females within ear-shot run rapidly to the spot, and commence fighting with the caged bird." in this way from twelve to twenty birds, all breeding females, may be caught in the course of a single day. the natives assert that the females after laying their eggs associate in flocks, and leave the males to sit on them. there is no reason to doubt the truth of this assertion, which is supported by some observations made in china by mr. swinhoe. ( . jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. iii. p. . mr. swinhoe, in 'ibis,' , p. ; , pp. , .) mr. blyth believes, that the young of both sexes resemble the adult male. [fig. . rhynchaea capensis (from brehm).] the females of the three species of painted snipes (rhynchaea, fig. ) "are not only larger but much more richly coloured than the males." ( . jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. iii. p. .) with all other birds in which the trachea differs in structure in the two sexes it is more developed and complex in the male than in the female; but in the rhynchaea australis it is simple in the male, whilst in the female it makes four distinct convolutions before entering the lungs. ( . gould's 'handbook to the birds of australia,' vol. ii. p. .) the female therefore of this species has acquired an eminently masculine character. mr. blyth ascertained, by examining many specimens, that the trachea is not convoluted in either sex of r. bengalensis, which species resembles r. australis so closely, that it can hardly be distinguished except by its shorter toes. this fact is another striking instance of the law that secondary sexual characters are often widely different in closely-allied forms, though it is a very rare circumstance when such differences relate to the female sex. the young of both sexes of r. bengalensis in their first plumage are said to resemble the mature male. ( . 'the indian field,' sept. , p. .) there is also reason to believe that the male undertakes the duty of incubation, for mr. swinhoe ( . 'ibis,' , p. .) found the females before the close of the summer associated in flocks, as occurs with the females of the turnix. the females of phalaropus fulicarius and p. hyperboreus are larger, and in their summer plumage "more gaily attired than the males." but the difference in colour between the sexes is far from conspicuous. according to professor steenstrup, the male alone of p. fulicarius undertakes the duty of incubation; this is likewise shewn by the state of his breast-feathers during the breeding-season. the female of the dotterel plover (eudromias morinellus) is larger than the male, and has the red and black tints on the lower surface, the white crescent on the breast, and the stripes over the eyes, more strongly pronounced. the male also takes at least a share in hatching the eggs; but the female likewise attends to the young. ( . for these several statements, see mr. gould's 'birds of great britain.' prof. newton informs me that he has long been convinced, from his own observations and from those of others, that the males of the above-named species take either the whole or a large share of the duties of incubation, and that they "shew much greater devotion towards their young, when in danger, than do the females." so it is, as he informs me, with limosa lapponica and some few other waders, in which the females are larger and have more strongly contrasted colours than the males.) i have not been able to discover whether with these species the young resemble the adult males more closely than the adult females; for the comparison is somewhat difficult to make on account of the double moult. turning now to the ostrich order: the male of the common cassowary (casuarius galeatus) would be thought by any one to be the female, from his smaller size and from the appendages and naked skin about his head being much less brightly coloured; and i am informed by mr. bartlett that in the zoological gardens, it is certainly the male alone who sits on the eggs and takes care of the young. ( . the natives of ceram (wallace, 'malay archipelago,' vol. ii. p. ) assert that the male and female sit alternately on the eggs; but this assertion, as mr. bartlett thinks, may be accounted for by the female visiting the nest to lay her eggs.) the female is said by mr. t.w. wood ( . the 'student,' april , p. .) to exhibit during the breeding-season a most pugnacious disposition; and her wattles then become enlarged and more brilliantly coloured. so again the female of one of the emus (dromoeus irroratus) is considerably larger than the male, and she possesses a slight top-knot, but is otherwise indistinguishable in plumage. she appears, however, "to have greater power, when angry or otherwise excited, of erecting, like a turkey-cock, the feathers of her neck and breast. she is usually the more courageous and pugilistic. she makes a deep hollow guttural boom especially at night, sounding like a small gong. the male has a slenderer frame and is more docile, with no voice beyond a suppressed hiss when angry, or a croak." he not only performs the whole duty of incubation, but has to defend the young from their mother; "for as soon as she catches sight of her progeny she becomes violently agitated, and notwithstanding the resistance of the father appears to use her utmost endeavours to destroy them. for months afterwards it is unsafe to put the parents together, violent quarrels being the inevitable result, in which the female generally comes off conqueror." ( . see the excellent account of the habits of this bird under confinement, by mr. a.w. bennett, in 'land and water,' may , p. .) so that with this emu we have a complete reversal not only of the parental and incubating instincts, but of the usual moral qualities of the two sexes; the females being savage, quarrelsome, and noisy, the males gentle and good. the case is very different with the african ostrich, for the male is somewhat larger than the female and has finer plumes with more strongly contrasted colours; nevertheless he undertakes the whole duty of incubation. ( . mr. sclater, on the incubation of the struthiones, 'proc. zool. soc.' june , . so it is with the rhea darwinii: captain musters says ('at home with the patagonians,' , p. ), that the male is larger, stronger and swifter than the female, and of slightly darker colours; yet he takes sole charge of the eggs and of the young, just as does the male of the common species of rhea.) i will specify the few other cases known to me, in which the female is more conspicuously coloured than the male, although nothing is known about the manner of incubation. with the carrion-hawk of the falkland islands (milvago leucurus) i was much surprised to find by dissection that the individuals, which had all their tints strongly pronounced, with the cere and legs orange-coloured, were the adult females; whilst those with duller plumage and grey legs were the males or the young. in an australian tree-creeper (climacteris erythrops) the female differs from the male in "being adorned with beautiful, radiated, rufous markings on the throat, the male having this part quite plain." lastly, in an australian night-jar "the female always exceeds the male in size and in the brilliance of her tints; the males, on the other hand, have two white spots on the primaries more conspicuous than in the female." ( . for the milvago, see 'zoology of the voyage of the "beagle," birds,' , p. . for the climacteris and night-jar (eurostopodus), see gould's 'handbook to the birds of australia,' vol. i. pp. and . the new zealand shieldrake (tadorna variegata) offers a quite anomalous case; the head of the female is pure white, and her back is redder than that of the male; the head of the male is of a rich dark bronzed colour, and his back is clothed with finely pencilled slate-coloured feathers, so that altogether he may be considered as the more beautiful of the two. he is larger and more pugnacious than the female, and does not sit on the eggs. so that in all these respects this species comes under our first class of cases; but mr. sclater ('proceedings of the zoological society,' , p. ) was much surprised to observe that the young of both sexes, when about three months old, resembled in their dark heads and necks the adult males, instead of the adult females; so that it would appear in this case that the females have been modified, whilst the males and the young have retained a former state of plumage.) we thus see that the cases in which female birds are more conspicuously coloured than the males, with the young in their immature plumage resembling the adult males instead of the adult females, as in the previous class, are not numerous, though they are distributed in various orders. the amount of difference, also, between the sexes is incomparably less than that which frequently occurs in the last class; so that the cause of the difference, whatever it may have been, has here acted on the females either less energetically or less persistently than on the males in the last class. mr. wallace believes that the males have had their colours rendered less conspicuous for the sake of protection during the period of incubation; but the difference between the sexes in hardly any of the foregoing cases appears sufficiently great for this view to be safely accepted. in some of the cases, the brighter tints of the female are almost confined to the lower surface, and the males, if thus coloured, would not have been exposed to danger whilst sitting on the eggs. it should also be borne in mind that the males are not only in a slight degree less conspicuously coloured than the females, but are smaller and weaker. they have, moreover, not only acquired the maternal instinct of incubation, but are less pugnacious and vociferous than the females, and in one instance have simpler vocal organs. thus an almost complete transposition of the instincts, habits, disposition, colour, size, and of some points of structure, has been effected between the two sexes. now if we might assume that the males in the present class have lost some of that ardour which is usual to their sex, so that they no longer search eagerly for the females; or, if we might assume that the females have become much more numerous than the males--and in the case of one indian turnix the females are said to be "much more commonly met with than the males" ( . jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. iii. p. .)--then it is not improbable that the females would have been led to court the males, instead of being courted by them. this indeed is the case to a certain extent with some birds, as we have seen with the peahen, wild turkey, and certain kinds of grouse. taking as our guide the habits of most male birds, the greater size and strength as well as the extraordinary pugnacity of the females of the turnix and emu, must mean that they endeavour to drive away rival females, in order to gain possession of the male; and on this view all the facts become clear; for the males would probably be most charmed or excited by the females which were the most attractive to them by their bright colours, other ornaments, or vocal powers. sexual selection would then do its work, steadily adding to the attractions of the females; the males and the young being left not at all, or but little modified. class iii. when the adult male resembles the adult female, the young of both sexes have a peculiar first plumage of their own. in this class the sexes when adult resemble each other, and differ from the young. this occurs with many birds of many kinds. the male robin can hardly be distinguished from the female, but the young are widely different, with their mottled dusky-olive and brown plumage. the male and female of the splendid scarlet ibis are alike, whilst the young are brown; and the scarlet colour, though common to both sexes, is apparently a sexual character, for it is not well developed in either sex under confinement; and a loss of colour often occurs with brilliant males when they are confined. with many species of herons the young differ greatly from the adults; and the summer plumage of the latter, though common to both sexes, clearly has a nuptial character. young swans are slate-coloured, whilst the mature birds are pure white; but it would be superfluous to give additional instances. these differences between the young and the old apparently depend, as in the last two classes, on the young having retained a former or ancient state of plumage, whilst the old of both sexes have acquired a new one. when the adults are bright coloured, we may conclude from the remarks just made in relation to the scarlet ibis and to many herons, and from the analogy of the species in the first class, that such colours have been acquired through sexual selection by the nearly mature males; but that, differently from what occurs in the first two classes, the transmission, though limited to the same age, has not been limited to the same sex. consequently, the sexes when mature resemble each other and differ from the young. class iv. when the adult male resembles the adult female, the young of both sexes in their first plumage resemble the adults. in this class the young and the adults of both sexes, whether brilliantly or obscurely coloured, resemble each other. such cases are, i think, more common than those in the last class. we have in england instances in the kingfisher, some woodpeckers, the jay, magpie, crow, and many small dull-coloured birds, such as the hedge-warbler or kitty-wren. but the similarity in plumage between the young and the old is never complete, and graduates away into dissimilarity. thus the young of some members of the kingfisher family are not only less vividly coloured than the adults, but many of the feathers on the lower surface are edged with brown ( . jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. i. pp. , . gould's 'handbook to the birds of australia,' vol. i. pp. , .),--a vestige probably of a former state of the plumage. frequently in the same group of birds, even within the same genus, for instance in an australian genus of parrakeets (platycercus), the young of some species closely resemble, whilst the young of other species differ considerably, from their parents of both sexes, which are alike. ( . gould, ibid. vol. ii. pp. , , .) both sexes and the young of the common jay are closely similar; but in the canada jay (perisoreus canadensis) the young differ so much from their parents that they were formerly described as distinct species. ( . audubon, 'ornith. biography,' vol. ii. p. .) i may remark before proceeding that, under the present and next two classes of cases, the facts are so complex and the conclusions so doubtful, that any one who feels no especial interest in the subject had better pass them over. the brilliant or conspicuous colours which characterise many birds in the present class, can rarely or never be of service to them as a protection; so that they have probably been gained by the males through sexual selection, and then transferred to the females and the young. it is, however, possible that the males may have selected the more attractive females; and if these transmitted their characters to their offspring of both sexes, the same results would follow as from the selection of the more attractive males by the females. but there is evidence that this contingency has rarely, if ever, occurred in any of those groups of birds in which the sexes are generally alike; for, if even a few of the successive variations had failed to be transmitted to both sexes, the females would have slightly exceeded the males in beauty. exactly the reverse occurs under nature; for, in almost every large group in which the sexes generally resemble each other, the males of some few species are in a slight degree more brightly coloured than the females. it is again possible that the females may have selected the more beautiful males, these males having reciprocally selected the more beautiful females; but it is doubtful whether this double process of selection would be likely to occur, owing to the greater eagerness of one sex than the other, and whether it would be more efficient than selection on one side alone. it is, therefore, the most probable view that sexual selection has acted, in the present class, as far as ornamental characters are concerned, in accordance with the general rule throughout the animal kingdom, that is, on the males; and that these have transmitted their gradually-acquired colours, either equally or almost equally, to their offspring of both sexes. another point is more doubtful, namely, whether the successive variations first appeared in the males after they had become nearly mature, or whilst quite young. in either case sexual selection must have acted on the male when he had to compete with rivals for the possession of the female; and in both cases the characters thus acquired have been transmitted to both sexes and all ages. but these characters if acquired by the males when adult, may have been transmitted at first to the adults alone, and at some subsequent period transferred to the young. for it is known that, when the law of inheritance at corresponding ages fails, the offspring often inherit characters at an earlier age than that at which they first appeared in their parents. ( . 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. p. .) cases apparently of this kind have been observed with birds in a state of nature. for instance mr. blyth has seen specimens of lanius rufus and of colymbus glacialis which had assumed whilst young, in a quite anomalous manner, the adult plumage of their parents. ( . 'charlesworth's magazine of natural history,' vol. i. , pp. , .) again, the young of the common swan (cygnus olor) do not cast off their dark feathers and become white until eighteen months or two years old; but dr. f. forel has described the case of three vigorous young birds, out of a brood of four, which were born pure white. these young birds were not albinos, as shewn by the colour of their beaks and legs, which nearly resembled the same parts in the adults. ( . 'bulletin de la soc. vaudoise des sc. nat.' vol. x. , p. . the young of the polish swan, cygnus immutabilis of yarrell, are always white; but this species, as mr. sclater informs me, is believed to be nothing more than a variety of the domestic swan (cygnus olor).) it may be worth while to illustrate the above three modes by which, in the present class, the two sexes and the young may have come to resemble each other, by the curious case of the genus passer. ( . i am indebted to mr. blyth for information in regard to this genus. the sparrow of palestine belongs to the sub-genus petronia.) in the house-sparrow (p. domesticus) the male differs much from the female and from the young. the young and the females are alike, and resemble to a large extent both sexes and the young of the sparrow of palestine (p. brachydactylus), as well as of some allied species. we may therefore assume that the female and young of the house-sparrow approximately shew us the plumage of the progenitor of the genus. now with the tree-sparrow (p. montanus) both sexes and the young closely resemble the male of the house-sparrow; so that they have all been modified in the same manner, and all depart from the typical colouring of their early progenitor. this may have been effected by a male ancestor of the tree-sparrow having varied, firstly, when nearly mature; or, secondly, whilst quite young, and by having in either case transmitted his modified plumage to the females and the young; or, thirdly, he may have varied when adult and transmitted his plumage to both adult sexes, and, owing to the failure of the law of inheritance at corresponding ages, at some subsequent period to his young. it is impossible to decide which of these three modes has generally prevailed throughout the present class of cases. that the males varied whilst young, and transmitted their variations to their offspring of both sexes, is the most probable. i may here add that i have, with little success, endeavoured, by consulting various works, to decide how far the period of variation in birds has generally determined the transmission of characters to one sex or to both. the two rules, often referred to (namely, that variations occurring late in life are transmitted to one and the same sex, whilst those which occur early in life are transmitted to both sexes), apparently hold good in the first ( . for instance, the males of tanagra aestiva and fringilla cyanea require three years, the male of fringilla ciris four years, to complete their beautiful plumage. (see audubon, 'ornith. biography,' vol. i. pp. , , ). the harlequin duck takes three years (ibid. vol. iii. p. ). the male of the gold pheasant, as i hear from mr. jenner weir, can be distinguished from the female when about three months old, but he does not acquire his full splendour until the end of the september in the following year.), second, and fourth classes of cases; but they fail in the third, often in the fifth ( . thus the ibis tantalus and grus americanus take four years, the flamingo several years, and the ardea ludovicana two years, before they acquire their perfect plumage. see audubon, ibid. vol. i. p. ; vol. iii. pp. , , .), and in the sixth small class. they apply, however, as far as i can judge, to a considerable majority of the species; and we must not forget the striking generalisation by dr. w. marshall with respect to the protuberances on the heads of birds. whether or not the two rules generally hold good, we may conclude from the facts given in the eighth chapter, that the period of variation is one important element in determining the form of transmission. with birds it is difficult to decide by what standard we ought to judge of the earliness or lateness of the period of variation, whether by the age in reference to the duration of life, or to the power of reproduction, or to the number of moults through which the species passes. the moulting of birds, even within the same family, sometimes differs much without any assignable cause. some birds moult so early, that nearly all the body feathers are cast off before the first wing-feathers are fully grown; and we cannot believe that this was the primordial state of things. when the period of moulting has been accelerated, the age at which the colours of the adult plumage are first developed will falsely appear to us to be earlier than it really is. this may be illustrated by the practice followed by some bird-fanciers, who pull out a few feathers from the breast of nestling bullfinches, and from the head or neck of young gold-pheasants, in order to ascertain their sex; for in the males, these feathers are immediately replaced by coloured ones. ( . mr. blyth, in charlesworth's 'magazine of natural history,' vol. i. , p. . mr. bartlett has informed me in regard to gold pheasants.) the actual duration of life is known in but few birds, so that we can hardly judge by this standard. and, with reference to the period at which the power of reproduction is gained, it is a remarkable fact that various birds occasionally breed whilst retaining their immature plumage. ( . i have noticed the following cases in audubon's 'ornith. biography.' the redstart of america (muscapica ruticilla, vol. i. p. ). the ibis tantalus takes four years to come to full maturity, but sometimes breeds in the second year (vol. iii. p. ). the grus americanus takes the same time, but breeds before acquiring its full plumage (vol. iii. p. ). the adults of ardea caerulea are blue, and the young white; and white, mottled, and mature blue birds may all be seen breeding together (vol. iv. p. ): but mr. blyth informs me that certain herons apparently are dimorphic, for white and coloured individuals of the same age may be observed. the harlequin duck (anas histrionica, linn.) takes three years to acquire its full plumage, though many birds breed in the second year (vol. iii. p. ). the white-headed eagle (falco leucocephalus, vol. iii. p. ) is likewise known to breed in its immature state. some species of oriolus (according to mr. blyth and mr. swinhoe, in 'ibis,' july , p. ) likewise breed before they attain their full plumage.) the fact of birds breeding in their immature plumage seems opposed to the belief that sexual selection has played as important a part, as i believe it has, in giving ornamental colours, plumes, etc., to the males, and, by means of equal transmission, to the females of many species. the objection would be a valid one, if the younger and less ornamented males were as successful in winning females and propagating their kind, as the older and more beautiful males. but we have no reason to suppose that this is the case. audubon speaks of the breeding of the immature males of ibis tantalus as a rare event, as does mr. swinhoe, in regard to the immature males of oriolus. ( . see footnote above.) if the young of any species in their immature plumage were more successful in winning partners than the adults, the adult plumage would probably soon be lost, as the males would prevail, which retained their immature dress for the longest period, and thus the character of the species would ultimately be modified. ( . other animals, belonging to quite distinct classes, are either habitually or occasionally capable of breeding before they have fully acquired their adult characters. this is the case with the young males of the salmon. several amphibians have been known to breed whilst retaining their larval structure. fritz müller has shewn ('facts and arguments for darwin,' eng. trans. , p. ) that the males of several amphipod crustaceans become sexually mature whilst young; and i infer that this is a case of premature breeding, because they have not as yet acquired their fully-developed claspers. all such facts are highly interesting, as bearing on one means by which species may undergo great modifications of character.) if, on the other hand, the young never succeeded in obtaining a female, the habit of early reproduction would perhaps be sooner or later eliminated, from being superfluous and entailing waste of power. the plumage of certain birds goes on increasing in beauty during many years after they are fully mature; this is the case with the train of the peacock, with some of the birds of paradise, and with the crest and plumes of certain herons, for instance, the ardea ludovicana. ( . jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. iii. p. , on the peacock. dr. marshall thinks that the older and more brilliant males of birds of paradise, have an advantage over the younger males; see 'archives neerlandaises,' tom. vi. .--on ardea, audubon, ibid. vol. iii. p. .) but it is doubtful whether the continued development of such feathers is the result of the selection of successive beneficial variations (though this is the most probable view with birds of paradise) or merely of continuous growth. most fishes continue increasing in size, as long as they are in good health and have plenty of food; and a somewhat similar law may prevail with the plumes of birds. class v. when the adults of both sexes have a distinct winter and summer plumage, whether or not the male differs from the female, the young resemble the adults of both sexes in their winter dress, or much more rarely in their summer dress, or they resemble the females alone. or the young may have an intermediate character; or, again, they may differ greatly from the adults in both their seasonal plumages. the cases in this class are singularly complex; nor is this surprising, as they depend on inheritance, limited in a greater or less degree in three different ways, namely, by sex, age, and the season of the year. in some cases the individuals of the same species pass through at least five distinct states of plumage. with the species, in which the male differs from the female during the summer season alone, or, which is rarer, during both seasons ( . for illustrative cases, see vol. iv. of macgillivray's 'history of british birds;' on tringa, etc., pp. , ; on the machetes, p. ; on the charadrius hiaticula, p. ; on the charadrius pluvialis, p. .), the young generally resemble the females,--as with the so-called goldfinch of north america, and apparently with the splendid maluri of australia. ( . for the goldfinch of n. america, fringilla tristis, linn., see audubon, 'ornithological biography,' vol. i. p. . for the maluri, gould's 'handbook of the birds of australia,' vol. i. p. .) with those species, the sexes of which are alike during both the summer and winter, the young may resemble the adults, firstly, in their winter dress; secondly, and this is of much rarer occurrence, in their summer dress; thirdly, they may be intermediate between these two states; and, fourthly, they may differ greatly from the adults at all seasons. we have an instance of the first of these four cases in one of the egrets of india (buphus coromandus), in which the young and the adults of both sexes are white during the winter, the adults becoming golden-buff during the summer. with the gaper (anastomus oscitans) of india we have a similar case, but the colours are reversed: for the young and the adults of both sexes are grey and black during the winter, the adults becoming white during the summer. ( . i am indebted to mr. blyth for information as to the buphus; see also jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. iii. p. . on the anastomus, see blyth, in 'ibis,' , p. .) as an instance of the second case, the young of the razor-bill (alca torda, linn.), in an early state of plumage, are coloured like the adults during the summer; and the young of the white-crowned sparrow of north america (fringilla leucophrys), as soon as fledged, have elegant white stripes on their heads, which are lost by the young and the old during the winter. ( . on the alca, see macgillivray, 'hist. brit. birds,' vol. v. p. . on the fringilla leucophrys, audubon, ibid. vol. ii. p. . i shall have hereafter to refer to the young of certain herons and egrets being white.) with respect to the third case, namely, that of the young having an intermediate character between the summer and winter adult plumages, yarrell ( . 'history of british birds,' vol. i. , p. .) insists that this occurs with many waders. lastly, in regard to the young differing greatly from both sexes in their adult summer and winter plumages, this occurs with some herons and egrets of north america and india,--the young alone being white. i will make only a few remarks on these complicated cases. when the young resemble the females in their summer dress, or the adults of both sexes in their winter dress, the cases differ from those given under classes i. and iii. only in the characters originally acquired by the males during the breeding-season, having been limited in their transmission to the corresponding season. when the adults have a distinct summer and winter plumage, and the young differ from both, the case is more difficult to understand. we may admit as probable that the young have retained an ancient state of plumage; we can account by sexual selection for the summer or nuptial plumage of the adults, but how are we to account for their distinct winter plumage? if we could admit that this plumage serves in all cases as a protection, its acquirement would be a simple affair; but there seems no good reason for this admission. it may be suggested that the widely different conditions of life during the winter and summer have acted in a direct manner on the plumage; this may have had some effect, but i have not much confidence in so great a difference as we sometimes see between the two plumages, having been thus caused. a more probable explanation is, that an ancient style of plumage, partially modified through the transference of some characters from the summer plumage, has been retained by the adults during the winter. finally, all the cases in our present class apparently depend on characters acquired by the adult males, having been variously limited in their transmission according to age, season, and sex; but it would not be worth while to attempt to follow out these complex relations. class vi. the young in their first plumage differ from each other according to sex; the young males resembling more or less closely the adult males, and the young females more or less closely the adult females. the cases in the present class, though occurring in various groups, are not numerous; yet it seems the most natural thing that the young should at first somewhat resemble the adults of the same sex, and gradually become more and more like them. the adult male blackcap (sylvia atricapilla) has a black head, that of the female being reddish-brown; and i am informed by mr. blyth, that the young of both sexes can be distinguished by this character even as nestlings. in the family of thrushes an unusual number of similar cases have been noticed; thus, the male blackbird (turdus merula) can be distinguished in the nest from the female. the two sexes of the mocking bird (turdus polyglottus, linn.) differ very little from each other, yet the males can easily be distinguished at a very early age from the females by showing more pure white. ( . audubon, 'ornith. biography,' vol. i. p. .) the males of a forest-thrush and of a rock-thrush (orocetes erythrogastra and petrocincla cyanea) have much of their plumage of a fine blue, whilst the females are brown; and the nestling males of both species have their main wing and tail-feathers edged with blue whilst those of the female are edged with brown. ( . mr. c.a. wright, in 'ibis,' vol. vi. , p. . jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. i. p. . see also on the blackbird, blyth in charlesworth's 'magazine of natural history,' vol. i. , p. .) in the young blackbird the wing-feathers assume their mature character and become black after the others; on the other hand, in the two species just named the wing-feathers become blue before the others. the most probable view with reference to the cases in the present class is that the males, differently from what occurs in class i., have transmitted their colours to their male offspring at an earlier age than that at which they were first acquired; for, if the males had varied whilst quite young, their characters would probably have been transmitted to both sexes. ( . the following additional cases may be mentioned; the young males of tanagra rubra can be distinguished from the young females (audubon, 'ornith. biography,' vol. iv. p. ), and so it is within the nestlings of a blue nuthatch, dendrophila frontalis of india (jerdon, 'birds of india,' vol. i. p. ). mr. blyth also informs me that the sexes of the stonechat, saxicola rubicola, are distinguishable at a very early age. mr. salvin gives ('proc. zoolog. soc.' , p. ) the case of a humming-bird, like the following one of eustephanus.) in aithurus polytmus, a humming-bird, the male is splendidly coloured black and green, and two of the tail-feathers are immensely lengthened; the female has an ordinary tail and inconspicuous colours; now the young males, instead of resembling the adult female, in accordance with the common rule, begin from the first to assume the colours proper to their sex, and their tail-feathers soon become elongated. i owe this information to mr. gould, who has given me the following more striking and as yet unpublished case. two humming-birds belonging to the genus eustephanus, both beautifully coloured, inhabit the small island of juan fernandez, and have always been ranked as specifically distinct. but it has lately been ascertained that the one which is of a rich chestnut-brown colour with a golden-red head, is the male, whilst the other which is elegantly variegated with green and white with a metallic green head is the female. now the young from the first somewhat resemble the adults of the corresponding sex, the resemblance gradually becoming more and more complete. in considering this last case, if as before we take the plumage of the young as our guide, it would appear that both sexes have been rendered beautiful independently; and not that one sex has partially transferred its beauty to the other. the male apparently has acquired his bright colours through sexual selection in the same manner as, for instance, the peacock or pheasant in our first class of cases; and the female in the same manner as the female rhynchaea or turnix in our second class of cases. but there is much difficulty in understanding how this could have been effected at the same time with the two sexes of the same species. mr. salvin states, as we have seen in the eighth chapter, that with certain humming-birds the males greatly exceed the females in number, whilst with other species inhabiting the same country the females greatly exceed the males. if, then, we might assume that during some former lengthened period the males of the juan fernandez species had greatly exceeded the females in number, but that during another lengthened period the females had far exceeded the males, we could understand how the males at one time, and the females at another, might have been rendered beautiful by the selection of the brighter coloured individuals of either sex; both sexes transmitting their characters to their young at a rather earlier age than usual. whether this is the true explanation i will not pretend to say; but the case is too remarkable to be passed over without notice. we have now seen in all six classes, that an intimate relation exists between the plumage of the young and the adults, either of one sex or both. these relations are fairly well explained on the principle that one sex--this being in the great majority of cases the male--first acquired through variation and sexual selection bright colours or other ornaments, and transmitted them in various ways, in accordance with the recognised laws of inheritance. why variations have occurred at different periods of life, even sometimes with species of the same group, we do not know, but with respect to the form of transmission, one important determining cause seems to be the age at which the variations first appear. from the principle of inheritance at corresponding ages, and from any variations in colour which occurred in the males at an early age not being then selected--on the contrary being often eliminated as dangerous--whilst similar variations occurring at or near the period of reproduction have been preserved, it follows that the plumage of the young will often have been left unmodified, or but little modified. we thus get some insight into the colouring of the progenitors of our existing species. in a vast number of species in five out of our six classes of cases, the adults of one sex or of both are bright coloured, at least during the breeding-season, whilst the young are invariably less brightly coloured than the adults, or are quite dull coloured; for no instance is known, as far as i can discover, of the young of dull-coloured species displaying bright colours, or of the young of bright-coloured species being more brilliant than their parents. in the fourth class, however, in which the young and the old resemble each other, there are many species (though by no means all), of which the young are bright-coloured, and as these form old groups, we may infer that their early progenitors were likewise bright. with this exception, if we look to the birds of the world, it appears that their beauty has been much increased since that period, of which their immature plumage gives us a partial record. on the colour of the plumage in relation to protection. it will have been seen that i cannot follow mr. wallace in the belief that dull colours, when confined to the females, have been in most cases specially gained for the sake of protection. there can, however, be no doubt, as formerly remarked, that both sexes of many birds have had their colours modified, so as to escape the notice of their enemies; or in some instances, so as to approach their prey unobserved, just as owls have had their plumage rendered soft, that their flight may not be overheard. mr. wallace remarks ( . 'westminster review,' july , p. .) that "it is only in the tropics, among forests which never lose their foliage, that we find whole groups of birds, whose chief colour is green." it will be admitted by every one, who has ever tried, how difficult it is to distinguish parrots in a leaf-covered tree. nevertheless, we must remember that many parrots are ornamented with crimson, blue, and orange tints, which can hardly be protective. woodpeckers are eminently arboreal, but besides green species, there are many black, and black-and-white kinds--all the species being apparently exposed to nearly the same dangers. it is therefore probable that with tree-haunting birds, strongly-pronounced colours have been acquired through sexual selection, but that a green tint has been acquired oftener than any other, from the additional advantage of protection. in regard to birds which live on the ground, every one admits that they are coloured so as to imitate the surrounding surface. how difficult it is to see a partridge, snipe, woodcock, certain plovers, larks, and night-jars when crouched on ground. animals inhabiting deserts offer the most striking cases, for the bare surface affords no concealment, and nearly all the smaller quadrupeds, reptiles, and birds depend for safety on their colours. mr. tristram has remarked in regard to the inhabitants of the sahara, that all are protected by their "isabelline or sand-colour." ( . 'ibis,' , vol. i. p. , et seq. dr. rohlfs, however, remarks to me in a letter that according to his experience of the sahara, this statement is too strong.) calling to my recollection the desert-birds of south america, as well as most of the ground-birds of great britain, it appeared to me that both sexes in such cases are generally coloured nearly alike. accordingly, i applied to mr. tristram with respect to the birds of the sahara, and he has kindly given me the following information. there are twenty-six species belonging to fifteen genera, which manifestly have their plumage coloured in a protective manner; and this colouring is all the more striking, as with most of these birds it differs from that of their congeners. both sexes of thirteen out of the twenty-six species are coloured in the same manner; but these belong to genera in which this rule commonly prevails, so that they tell us nothing about the protective colours being the same in both sexes of desert-birds. of the other thirteen species, three belong to genera in which the sexes usually differ from each other, yet here they have the sexes alike. in the remaining ten species, the male differs from the female; but the difference is confined chiefly to the under surface of the plumage, which is concealed when the bird crouches on the ground; the head and back being of the same sand-coloured hue in the two sexes. so that in these ten species the upper surfaces of both sexes have been acted on and rendered alike, through natural selection, for the sake of protection; whilst the lower surfaces of the males alone have been diversified, through sexual selection, for the sake of ornament. here, as both sexes are equally well protected, we clearly see that the females have not been prevented by natural selection from inheriting the colours of their male parents; so that we must look to the law of sexually-limited transmission. in all parts of the world both sexes of many soft-billed birds, especially those which frequent reeds or sedges, are obscurely coloured. no doubt if their colours had been brilliant, they would have been much more conspicuous to their enemies; but whether their dull tints have been specially gained for the sake of protection seems, as far as i can judge, rather doubtful. it is still more doubtful whether such dull tints can have been gained for the sake of ornament. we must, however, bear in mind that male birds, though dull-coloured, often differ much from their females (as with the common sparrow), and this leads to the belief that such colours have been gained through sexual selection, from being attractive. many of the soft-billed birds are songsters; and a discussion in a former chapter should not be forgotten, in which it was shewn that the best songsters are rarely ornamented with bright tints. it would appear that female birds, as a general rule, have selected their mates either for their sweet voices or gay colours, but not for both charms combined. some species, which are manifestly coloured for the sake of protection, such as the jack-snipe, woodcock, and night-jar, are likewise marked and shaded, according to our standard of taste, with extreme elegance. in such cases we may conclude that both natural and sexual selection have acted conjointly for protection and ornament. whether any bird exists which does not possess some special attraction, by which to charm the opposite sex, may be doubted. when both sexes are so obscurely coloured that it would be rash to assume the agency of sexual selection, and when no direct evidence can be advanced shewing that such colours serve as a protection, it is best to own complete ignorance of the cause, or, which comes to nearly the same thing, to attribute the result to the direct action of the conditions of life. both sexes of many birds are conspicuously, though not brilliantly coloured, such as the numerous black, white, or piebald species; and these colours are probably the result of sexual selection. with the common blackbird, capercailzie, blackcock, black scoter-duck (oidemia), and even with one of the birds of paradise (lophorina atra), the males alone are black, whilst the females are brown or mottled; and there can hardly be a doubt that blackness in these cases has been a sexually selected character. therefore it is in some degree probable that the complete or partial blackness of both sexes in such birds as crows, certain cockatoos, storks, and swans, and many marine birds, is likewise the result of sexual selection, accompanied by equal transmission to both sexes; for blackness can hardly serve in any case as a protection. with several birds, in which the male alone is black, and in others in which both sexes are black, the beak or skin about the head is brightly coloured, and the contrast thus afforded adds much to their beauty; we see this in the bright yellow beak of the male blackbird, in the crimson skin over the eyes of the blackcock and capercailzie, in the brightly and variously coloured beak of the scoter-drake (oidemia), in the red beak of the chough (corvus graculus, linn.), of the black swan, and the black stork. this leads me to remark that it is not incredible that toucans may owe the enormous size of their beaks to sexual selection, for the sake of displaying the diversified and vivid stripes of colour, with which these organs are ornamented. ( . no satisfactory explanation has ever been offered of the immense size, and still less of the bright colours, of the toucan's beak. mr. bates ('the naturalist on the amazons,' vol. ii. , p. ) states that they use their beaks for reaching fruit at the extreme tips of the branches; and likewise, as stated by other authors, for extracting eggs and young birds from the nests of other birds. but, as mr. bates admits, the beak "can scarcely be considered a very perfectly-formed instrument for the end to which it is applied." the great bulk of the beak, as shewn by its breadth, depth, as well as length, is not intelligible on the view, that it serves merely as an organ of prehension. mr. belt believes ('the naturalist in nicaragua,' p. ) that the principal use of the beak is as a defence against enemies, especially to the female whilst nesting in a hole in a tree.) the naked skin, also, at the base of the beak and round the eyes is likewise often brilliantly coloured; and mr. gould, in speaking of one species ( . rhamphastos carinatus, gould's 'monograph of ramphastidae.'), says that the colours of the beak "are doubtless in the finest and most brilliant state during the time of pairing." there is no greater improbability that toucans should be encumbered with immense beaks, though rendered as light as possible by their cancellated structure, for the display of fine colours (an object falsely appearing to us unimportant), than that the male argus pheasant and some other birds should be encumbered with plumes so long as to impede their flight. in the same manner, as the males alone of various species are black, the females being dull-coloured; so in a few cases the males alone are either wholly or partially white, as with the several bell-birds of south america (chasmorhynchus), the antarctic goose (bernicla antarctica), the silver pheasant, etc., whilst the females are brown or obscurely mottled. therefore, on the same principle as before, it is probable that both sexes of many birds, such as white cockatoos, several egrets with their beautiful plumes, certain ibises, gulls, terns, etc., have acquired their more or less completely white plumage through sexual selection. in some of these cases the plumage becomes white only at maturity. this is the case with certain gannets, tropic-birds, etc., and with the snow-goose (anser hyperboreus). as the latter breeds on the "barren grounds," when not covered with snow, and as it migrates southward during the winter, there is no reason to suppose that its snow-white adult plumage serves as a protection. in the anastomus oscitans, we have still better evidence that the white plumage is a nuptial character, for it is developed only during the summer; the young in their immature state, and the adults in their winter dress, being grey and black. with many kinds of gulls (larus), the head and neck become pure white during the summer, being grey or mottled during the winter and in the young state. on the other hand, with the smaller gulls, or sea-mews (gavia), and with some terns (sterna), exactly the reverse occurs; for the heads of the young birds during the first year, and of the adults during the winter, are either pure white, or much paler coloured than during the breeding-season. these latter cases offer another instance of the capricious manner in which sexual selection appears often to have acted. ( . on larus, gavia, and sterna, see macgillivray, 'history of british birds,' vol. v. pp. , , . on the anser hyperboreus, audubon, 'ornithological biography,' vol. iv. p. . on the anastomus, mr. blyth, in 'ibis,' , p. .) that aquatic birds have acquired a white plumage so much oftener than terrestrial birds, probably depends on their large size and strong powers of flight, so that they can easily defend themselves or escape from birds of prey, to which moreover they are not much exposed. consequently, sexual selection has not here been interfered with or guided for the sake of protection. no doubt with birds which roam over the open ocean, the males and females could find each other much more easily, when made conspicuous either by being perfectly white or intensely black; so that these colours may possibly serve the same end as the call-notes of many land-birds. ( . it may be noticed that with vultures, which roam far and wide high in the air, like marine birds over the ocean, three or four species are almost wholly or largely white, and that many others are black. so that here again conspicuous colours may possibly aid the sexes in finding each other during the breeding-season.) a white or black bird when it discovers and flies down to a carcase floating on the sea or cast up on the beach, will be seen from a great distance, and will guide other birds of the same and other species, to the prey; but as this would be a disadvantage to the first finders, the individuals which were the whitest or blackest would not thus procure more food than the less strongly coloured individuals. hence conspicuous colours cannot have been gradually acquired for this purpose through natural selection. as sexual selection depends on so fluctuating an element as taste, we can understand how it is that, within the same group of birds having nearly the same habits, there should exist white or nearly white, as well as black, or nearly black species,--for instance, both white and black cockatoos, storks, ibises, swans, terns, and petrels. piebald birds likewise sometimes occur in the same groups together with black and white species; for instance, the black-necked swan, certain terns, and the common magpie. that a strong contrast in colour is agreeable to birds, we may conclude by looking through any large collection, for the sexes often differ from each other in the male having the pale parts of a purer white, and the variously coloured dark parts of still darker tints than the female. it would even appear that mere novelty, or slight changes for the sake of change, have sometimes acted on female birds as a charm, like changes of fashion with us. thus the males of some parrots can hardly be said to be more beautiful than the females, at least according to our taste, but they differ in such points, as in having a rose-coloured collar instead of "a bright emeraldine narrow green collar"; or in the male having a black collar instead of "a yellow demi-collar in front," with a pale roseate instead of a plum-blue head. ( . see jerdon on the genus palaeornis, 'birds of india,' vol. i. pp. - .) as so many male birds have elongated tail-feathers or elongated crests for their chief ornament, the shortened tail, formerly described in the male of a humming-bird, and the shortened crest of the male goosander, seem like one of the many changes of fashion which we admire in our own dresses. some members of the heron family offer a still more curious case of novelty in colouring having, as it appears, been appreciated for the sake of novelty. the young of the ardea asha are white, the adults being dark slate-coloured; and not only the young, but the adults in their winter plumage, of the allied buphus coromandus are white, this colour changing into a rich golden-buff during the breeding-season. it is incredible that the young of these two species, as well as of some other members of the same family ( . the young of ardea rufescens and a. caerulea of the united states are likewise white, the adults being coloured in accordance with their specific names. audubon ('ornithological biography,' vol. iii. p. ; vol. iv. p. ) seems rather pleased at the thought that this remarkable change of plumage will greatly "disconcert the systematists."), should for any special purpose have been rendered pure white and thus made conspicuous to their enemies; or that the adults of one of these two species should have been specially rendered white during the winter in a country which is never covered with snow. on the other hand we have good reason to believe that whiteness has been gained by many birds as a sexual ornament. we may therefore conclude that some early progenitor of the ardea asha and the buphus acquired a white plumage for nuptial purposes, and transmitted this colour to their young; so that the young and the old became white like certain existing egrets; and that the whiteness was afterwards retained by the young, whilst it was exchanged by the adults for more strongly-pronounced tints. but if we could look still further back to the still earlier progenitors of these two species, we should probably see the adults dark-coloured. i infer that this would be the case, from the analogy of many other birds, which are dark whilst young, and when adult are white; and more especially from the case of the ardea gularis, the colours of which are the reverse of those of a. asha, for the young are dark-coloured and the adults white, the young having retained a former state of plumage. it appears therefore that, during a long line of descent, the adult progenitors of the ardea asha, the buphus, and of some allies, have undergone the following changes of colour: first, a dark shade; secondly, pure white; and thirdly, owing to another change of fashion (if i may so express myself), their present slaty, reddish, or golden-buff tints. these successive changes are intelligible only on the principle of novelty having been admired by birds for its own sake. several writers have objected to the whole theory of sexual selection, by assuming that with animals and savages the taste of the female for certain colours or other ornaments would not remain constant for many generations; that first one colour and then another would be admired, and consequently that no permanent effect could be produced. we may admit that taste is fluctuating, but it is not quite arbitrary. it depends much on habit, as we see in mankind; and we may infer that this would hold good with birds and other animals. even in our own dress, the general character lasts long, and the changes are to a certain extent graduated. abundant evidence will be given in two places in a future chapter, that savages of many races have admired for many generations the same cicatrices on the skin, the same hideously perforated lips, nostrils, or ears, distorted heads, etc.; and these deformities present some analogy to the natural ornaments of various animals. nevertheless, with savages such fashions do not endure for ever, as we may infer from the differences in this respect between allied tribes on the same continent. so again the raisers of fancy animals certainly have admired for many generations and still admire the same breeds; they earnestly desire slight changes, which are considered as improvements, but any great or sudden change is looked at as the greatest blemish. with birds in a state of nature we have no reason to suppose that they would admire an entirely new style of coloration, even if great and sudden variations often occurred, which is far from being the case. we know that dovecot pigeons do not willingly associate with the variously coloured fancy breeds; that albino birds do not commonly get partners in marriage; and that the black ravens of the feroe islands chase away their piebald brethren. but this dislike of a sudden change would not preclude their appreciating slight changes, any more than it does in the case of man. hence with respect to taste, which depends on many elements, but partly on habit and partly on a love of novelty, there seems no improbability in animals admiring for a very long period the same general style of ornamentation or other attractions, and yet appreciating slight changes in colours, form, or sound. summary of the four chapters on birds. most male birds are highly pugnacious during the breeding-season, and some possess weapons adapted for fighting with their rivals. but the most pugnacious and the best armed males rarely or never depend for success solely on their power to drive away or kill their rivals, but have special means for charming the female. with some it is the power of song, or of giving forth strange cries, or instrumental music, and the males in consequence differ from the females in their vocal organs, or in the structure of certain feathers. from the curiously diversified means for producing various sounds, we gain a high idea of the importance of this means of courtship. many birds endeavour to charm the females by love-dances or antics, performed on the ground or in the air, and sometimes at prepared places. but ornaments of many kinds, the most brilliant tints, combs and wattles, beautiful plumes, elongated feathers, top-knots, and so forth, are by far the commonest means. in some cases mere novelty appears to have acted as a charm. the ornaments of the males must be highly important to them, for they have been acquired in not a few cases at the cost of increased danger from enemies, and even at some loss of power in fighting with their rivals. the males of very many species do not assume their ornamental dress until they arrive at maturity, or they assume it only during the breeding-season, or the tints then become more vivid. certain ornamental appendages become enlarged, turgid, and brightly coloured during the act of courtship. the males display their charms with elaborate care and to the best effect; and this is done in the presence of the females. the courtship is sometimes a prolonged affair, and many males and females congregate at an appointed place. to suppose that the females do not appreciate the beauty of the males, is to admit that their splendid decorations, all their pomp and display, are useless; and this is incredible. birds have fine powers of discrimination, and in some few instances it can be shewn that they have a taste for the beautiful. the females, moreover, are known occasionally to exhibit a marked preference or antipathy for certain individual males. if it be admitted that the females prefer, or are unconsciously excited by the more beautiful males, then the males would slowly but surely be rendered more and more attractive through sexual selection. that it is this sex which has been chiefly modified, we may infer from the fact that, in almost every genus where the sexes differ, the males differ much more from one another than do the females; this is well shewn in certain closely-allied representative species, in which the females can hardly be distinguished, whilst the males are quite distinct. birds in a state of nature offer individual differences which would amply suffice for the work of sexual selection; but we have seen that they occasionally present more strongly marked variations which recur so frequently that they would immediately be fixed, if they served to allure the female. the laws of variation must determine the nature of the initial changes, and will have largely influenced the final result. the gradations, which may be observed between the males of allied species, indicate the nature of the steps through which they have passed. they explain also in the most interesting manner how certain characters have originated, such as the indented ocelli on the tail-feathers of the peacock, and the ball-and-socket ocelli on the wing-feathers of the argus pheasant. it is evident that the brilliant colours, top-knots, fine plumes, etc., of many male birds cannot have been acquired as a protection; indeed, they sometimes lead to danger. that they are not due to the direct and definite action of the conditions of life, we may feel assured, because the females have been exposed to the same conditions, and yet often differ from the males to an extreme degree. although it is probable that changed conditions acting during a lengthened period have in some cases produced a definite effect on both sexes, or sometimes on one sex alone, the more important result will have been an increased tendency to vary or to present more strongly-marked individual differences; and such differences will have afforded an excellent ground-work for the action of sexual selection. the laws of inheritance, irrespectively of selection, appear to have determined whether the characters acquired by the males for the sake of ornament, for producing various sounds, and for fighting together, have been transmitted to the males alone or to both sexes, either permanently, or periodically during certain seasons of the year. why various characters should have been transmitted sometimes in one way and sometimes in another, is not in most cases known; but the period of variability seems often to have been the determining cause. when the two sexes have inherited all characters in common they necessarily resemble each other; but as the successive variations may be differently transmitted, every possible gradation may be found, even within the same genus, from the closest similarity to the widest dissimilarity between the sexes. with many closely-allied species, following nearly the same habits of life, the males have come to differ from each other chiefly through the action of sexual selection; whilst the females have come to differ chiefly from partaking more or less of the characters thus acquired by the males. the effects, moreover, of the definite action of the conditions of life, will not have been masked in the females, as in the males, by the accumulation through sexual selection of strongly-pronounced colours and other ornaments. the individuals of both sexes, however affected, will have been kept at each successive period nearly uniform by the free intercrossing of many individuals. with species, in which the sexes differ in colour, it is possible or probable that some of the successive variations often tended to be transmitted equally to both sexes; but that when this occurred the females were prevented from acquiring the bright colours of the males, by the destruction which they suffered during incubation. there is no evidence that it is possible by natural selection to convert one form of transmission into another. but there would not be the least difficulty in rendering a female dull-coloured, the male being still kept bright-coloured, by the selection of successive variations, which were from the first limited in their transmission to the same sex. whether the females of many species have actually been thus modified, must at present remain doubtful. when, through the law of the equal transmission of characters to both sexes, the females were rendered as conspicuously coloured as the males, their instincts appear often to have been modified so that they were led to build domed or concealed nests. in one small and curious class of cases the characters and habits of the two sexes have been completely transposed, for the females are larger, stronger, more vociferous and brighter coloured than the males. they have, also, become so quarrelsome that they often fight together for the possession of the males, like the males of other pugnacious species for the possession of the females. if, as seems probable, such females habitually drive away their rivals, and by the display of their bright colours or other charms endeavour to attract the males, we can understand how it is that they have gradually been rendered, by sexual selection and sexually-limited transmission, more beautiful than the males--the latter being left unmodified or only slightly modified. whenever the law of inheritance at corresponding ages prevails but not that of sexually-limited transmission, then if the parents vary late in life--and we know that this constantly occurs with our poultry, and occasionally with other birds--the young will be left unaffected, whilst the adults of both sexes will be modified. if both these laws of inheritance prevail and either sex varies late in life, that sex alone will be modified, the other sex and the young being unaffected. when variations in brightness or in other conspicuous characters occur early in life, as no doubt often happens, they will not be acted on through sexual selection until the period of reproduction arrives; consequently if dangerous to the young, they will be eliminated through natural selection. thus we can understand how it is that variations arising late in life have so often been preserved for the ornamentation of the males; the females and the young being left almost unaffected, and therefore like each other. with species having a distinct summer and winter plumage, the males of which either resemble or differ from the females during both seasons or during the summer alone, the degrees and kinds of resemblance between the young and the old are exceedingly complex; and this complexity apparently depends on characters, first acquired by the males, being transmitted in various ways and degrees, as limited by age, sex, and season. as the young of so many species have been but little modified in colour and in other ornaments, we are enabled to form some judgment with respect to the plumage of their early progenitors; and we may infer that the beauty of our existing species, if we look to the whole class, has been largely increased since that period, of which the immature plumage gives us an indirect record. many birds, especially those which live much on the ground, have undoubtedly been obscurely coloured for the sake of protection. in some instances the upper exposed surface of the plumage has been thus coloured in both sexes, whilst the lower surface in the males alone has been variously ornamented through sexual selection. finally, from the facts given in these four chapters, we may conclude that weapons for battle, organs for producing sound, ornaments of many kinds, bright and conspicuous colours, have generally been acquired by the males through variation and sexual selection, and have been transmitted in various ways according to the several laws of inheritance--the females and the young being left comparatively but little modified. ( . i am greatly indebted to the kindness of mr. sclater for having looked over these four chapters on birds, and the two following ones on mammals. in this way i have been saved from making mistakes about the names of the species, and from stating anything as a fact which is known to this distinguished naturalist to be erroneous. but, of course, he is not at all answerable for the accuracy of the statements quoted by me from various authorities.) chapter xvii. secondary sexual characters of mammals. the law of battle--special weapons, confined to the males--cause of absence of weapons in the female--weapons common to both sexes, yet primarily acquired by the male--other uses of such weapons--their high importance--greater size of the male--means of defence--on the preference shown by either sex in the pairing of quadrupeds. with mammals the male appears to win the female much more through the law of battle than through the display of his charms. the most timid animals, not provided with any special weapons for fighting, engage in desperate conflicts during the season of love. two male hares have been seen to fight together until one was killed; male moles often fight, and sometimes with fatal results; male squirrels engage in frequent contests, "and often wound each other severely"; as do male beavers, so that "hardly a skin is without scars." ( . see waterton's account of two hares fighting, 'zoologist,' vol. i. , p. . on moles, bell, 'hist. of british quadrupeds,' st ed., p. . on squirrels, audubon and bachman, viviparous quadrupeds of n. america, , p. . on beavers, mr. a.h. green, in 'journal of linnean society, zoology,' vol. x. , p. .) i observed the same fact with the hides of the guanacoes in patagonia; and on one occasion several were so absorbed in fighting that they fearlessly rushed close by me. livingstone speaks of the males of the many animals in southern africa as almost invariably shewing the scars received in former contests. the law of battle prevails with aquatic as with terrestrial mammals. it is notorious how desperately male seals fight, both with their teeth and claws, during the breeding-season; and their hides are likewise often covered with scars. male sperm-whales are very jealous at this season; and in their battles "they often lock their jaws together, and turn on their sides and twist about"; so that their lower jaws often become distorted. ( . on the battles of seals, see capt. c. abbott in 'proc. zool. soc.' , p. ; mr. r. brown, ibid. , p. ; also l. lloyd, 'game birds of sweden,' , p. ; also pennant. on the sperm-whale see mr. j.h. thompson, in 'proc. zool. soc.' , p. .) all male animals which are furnished with special weapons for fighting, are well known to engage in fierce battles. the courage and the desperate conflicts of stags have often been described; their skeletons have been found in various parts of the world, with the horns inextricably locked together, shewing how miserably the victor and vanquished had perished. ( . see scrope ('art of deer-stalking,' p. ) on the locking of the horns with the cervus elaphus. richardson, in 'fauna bor. americana,' , p. , says that the wapiti, moose, and reindeer have been found thus locked together. sir a. smith found at the cape of good hope the skeletons of two gnus in the same condition.) no animal in the world is so dangerous as an elephant in must. lord tankerville has given me a graphic description of the battles between the wild bulls in chillingham park, the descendants, degenerated in size but not in courage, of the gigantic bos primigenius. in several contended for mastery; and it was observed that two of the younger bulls attacked in concert the old leader of the herd, overthrew and disabled him, so that he was believed by the keepers to be lying mortally wounded in a neighbouring wood. but a few days afterwards one of the young bulls approached the wood alone; and then the "monarch of the chase," who had been lashing himself up for vengeance, came out and, in a short time, killed his antagonist. he then quietly joined the herd, and long held undisputed sway. admiral sir b.j. sulivan informs me that, when he lived in the falkland islands, he imported a young english stallion, which frequented the hills near port william with eight mares. on these hills there were two wild stallions, each with a small troop of mares; "and it is certain that these stallions would never have approached each other without fighting. both had tried singly to fight the english horse and drive away his mares, but had failed. one day they came in together and attacked him. this was seen by the capitan who had charge of the horses, and who, on riding to the spot, found one of the two stallions engaged with the english horse, whilst the other was driving away the mares, and had already separated four from the rest. the capitan settled the matter by driving the whole party into the corral, for the wild stallions would not leave the mares." male animals which are provided with efficient cutting or tearing teeth for the ordinary purposes of life, such as the carnivora, insectivora, and rodents, are seldom furnished with weapons especially adapted for fighting with their rivals. the case is very different with the males of many other animals. we see this in the horns of stags and of certain kinds of antelopes in which the females are hornless. with many animals the canine teeth in the upper or lower jaw, or in both, are much larger in the males than in the females, or are absent in the latter, with the exception sometimes of a hidden rudiment. certain antelopes, the musk-deer, camel, horse, boar, various apes, seals, and the walrus, offer instances. in the females of the walrus the tusks are sometimes quite absent. ( . mr. lamont ('seasons with the sea-horses,' , p. ) says that a good tusk of the male walrus weighs pounds, and is longer than that of the female, which weighs about pounds. the males are described as fighting ferociously. on the occasional absence of the tusks in the female, see mr. r. brown, 'proceedings, zoological society,' , p. .) in the male elephant of india and in the male dugong ( . owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. p. .) the upper incisors form offensive weapons. in the male narwhal the left canine alone is developed into the well-known, spirally-twisted, so-called horn, which is sometimes from nine to ten feet in length. it is believed that the males use these horns for fighting together; for "an unbroken one can rarely be got, and occasionally one may be found with the point of another jammed into the broken place." ( . mr. r. brown, in 'proc. zool. soc.' , p. . see prof. turner, in 'journal of anat. and phys.' , p. , on the homological nature of these tusks. also mr. j.w. clarke on two tusks being developed in the males, in 'proceedings of the zoological society,' , p. .) the tooth on the opposite side of the head in the male consists of a rudiment about ten inches in length, which is embedded in the jaw; but sometimes, though rarely, both are equally developed on the two sides. in the female both are always rudimentary. the male cachalot has a larger head than that of the female, and it no doubt aids him in his aquatic battles. lastly, the adult male ornithorhynchus is provided with a remarkable apparatus, namely a spur on the foreleg, closely resembling the poison-fang of a venomous snake; but according to harting, the secretion from the gland is not poisonous; and on the leg of the female there is a hollow, apparently for the reception of the spur. ( . owen on the cachalot and ornithorhynchus, ibid. vol. iii. pp. , . harting is quoted by dr. zouteveen in the dutch translation of this work, vol. ii. p. .) when the males are provided with weapons which in the females are absent, there can be hardly a doubt that these serve for fighting with other males; and that they were acquired through sexual selection, and were transmitted to the male sex alone. it is not probable, at least in most cases, that the females have been prevented from acquiring such weapons, on account of their being useless, superfluous, or in some way injurious. on the contrary, as they are often used by the males for various purposes, more especially as a defence against their enemies, it is a surprising fact that they are so poorly developed, or quite absent, in the females of so many animals. with female deer the development during each recurrent season of great branching horns, and with female elephants the development of immense tusks, would be a great waste of vital power, supposing that they were of no use to the females. consequently, they would have tended to be eliminated in the female through natural selection; that is, if the successive variations were limited in their transmission to the female sex, for otherwise the weapons of the males would have been injuriously affected, and this would have been a greater evil. on the whole, and from the consideration of the following facts, it seems probable that when the various weapons differ in the two sexes, this has generally depended on the kind of transmission which has prevailed. as the reindeer is the one species in the whole family of deer, in which the female is furnished with horns, though they are somewhat smaller, thinner, and less branched than in the male, it might naturally be thought that, at least in this case, they must be of some special service to her. the female retains her horns from the time when they are fully developed, namely, in september, throughout the winter until april or may, when she brings forth her young. mr. crotch made particular enquiries for me in norway, and it appears that the females at this season conceal themselves for about a fortnight in order to bring forth their young, and then reappear, generally hornless. in nova scotia, however, as i hear from mr. h. reeks, the female sometimes retains her horns longer. the male on the other hand casts his horns much earlier, towards the end of november. as both sexes have the same requirements and follow the same habits of life, and as the male is destitute of horns during the winter, it is improbable that they can be of any special service to the female during this season, which includes the larger part of the time during which she is horned. nor is it probable that she can have inherited horns from some ancient progenitor of the family of deer, for, from the fact of the females of so many species in all quarters of the globe not having horns, we may conclude that this was the primordial character of the group. ( . on the structure and shedding of the horns of the reindeer, hoffberg, 'amoenitates acad.' vol. iv. , p. . see richardson, 'fauna bor. americana,' p. , in regard to the american variety or species: also major w. ross king, 'the sportsman in canada,' , p. . the horns of the reindeer are developed at a most unusually early age; but what the cause of this may be is not known. the effect has apparently been the transference of the horns to both sexes. we should bear in mind that horns are always transmitted through the female, and that she has a latent capacity for their development, as we see in old or diseased females. ( . isidore geoffroy st.-hilaire, 'essais de zoolog. générale,' , p. . other masculine characters, besides the horns, are sometimes similarly transferred to the female; thus mr. boner, in speaking of an old female chamois ('chamois hunting in the mountains of bavaria,' , nd ed., p. ), says, "not only was the head very male-looking, but along the back there was a ridge of long hair, usually to be found only in bucks.") moreover the females of some other species of deer exhibit, either normally or occasionally, rudiments of horns; thus the female of cervulus moschatus has "bristly tufts, ending in a knob, instead of a horn"; and "in most specimens of the female wapiti (cervus canadensis) there is a sharp bony protuberance in the place of the horn." ( . on the cervulus, dr. gray, 'catalogue of mammalia in the british museum,' part iii. p. . on the cervus canadensis or wapiti, see hon. j.d. caton, 'ottawa academy of nat. sciences,' may , p. .) from these several considerations we may conclude that the possession of fairly well-developed horns by the female reindeer, is due to the males having first acquired them as weapons for fighting with other males; and secondarily to their development from some unknown cause at an unusually early age in the males, and their consequent transference to both sexes. turning to the sheath-horned ruminants: with antelopes a graduated series can be formed, beginning with species, the females of which are completely destitute of horns--passing on to those which have horns so small as to be almost rudimentary (as with the antilocapra americana, in which species they are present in only one out of four or five females ( . i am indebted to dr. canfield for this information; see also his paper in the 'proceedings of the zoological society,' , p. .))--to those which have fairly developed horns, but manifestly smaller and thinner than in the male and sometimes of a different shape ( . for instance the horns of the female ant. euchore resemble those of a distinct species, viz. the ant. dorcas var. corine, see desmarest, 'mammalogie,' p. .),--and ending with those in which both sexes have horns of equal size. as with the reindeer, so with antelopes, there exists, as previously shewn, a relation between the period of the development of the horns and their transmission to one or both sexes; it is therefore probable that their presence or absence in the females of some species, and their more or less perfect condition in the females of other species, depends, not on their being of any special use, but simply on inheritance. it accords with this view that even in the same restricted genus both sexes of some species, and the males alone of others, are thus provided. it is also a remarkable fact that, although the females of antilope bezoartica are normally destitute of horns, mr. blyth has seen no less than three females thus furnished; and there was no reason to suppose that they were old or diseased. in all the wild species of goats and sheep the horns are larger in the male than in the female, and are sometimes quite absent in the latter. ( . gray, 'catalogue of mammalia, the british museum,' part iii. , p. .) in several domestic breeds of these two animals, the males alone are furnished with horns; and in some breeds, for instance, in the sheep of north wales, though both sexes are properly horned, the ewes are very liable to be hornless. i have been informed by a trustworthy witness, who purposely inspected a flock of these same sheep during the lambing season, that the horns at birth are generally more fully developed in the male than in the female. mr. j. peel crossed his lonk sheep, both sexes of which always bear horns, with hornless leicesters and hornless shropshire downs; and the result was that the male offspring had their horns considerably reduced, whilst the females were wholly destitute of them. these several facts indicate that, with sheep, the horns are a much less firmly fixed character in the females than in the males; and this leads us to look at the horns as properly of masculine origin. with the adult musk-ox (ovibos moschatus) the horns of the male are larger than those of the female, and in the latter the bases do not touch. ( . richardson, 'fauna bor. americana,' p. .) in regard to ordinary cattle mr. blyth remarks: "in most of the wild bovine animals the horns are both longer and thicker in the bull than in the cow, and in the cow-banteng (bos sondaicus) the horns are remarkably small, and inclined much backwards. in the domestic races of cattle, both of the humped and humpless types, the horns are short and thick in the bull, longer and more slender in the cow and ox; and in the indian buffalo, they are shorter and thicker in the bull, longer and more slender in the cow. in the wild gaour (b. gaurus) the horns are mostly both longer and thicker in the bull than in the cow." ( . 'land and water,' , p. .) dr. forsyth major also informs me that a fossil skull, believed to be that of the female bos etruscus, has been found in val d'arno, which is wholly without horns. in the rhinoceros simus, as i may add, the horns of the female are generally longer but less powerful than in the male; and in some other species of rhinoceros they are said to be shorter in the female. ( . sir andrew smith, 'zoology of s. africa,' pl. xix. owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. p. .) from these various facts we may infer as probable that horns of all kinds, even when they are equally developed in the two sexes, were primarily acquired by the male in order to conquer other males, and have been transferred more or less completely to the female. the effects of castration deserve notice, as throwing light on this same point. stags after the operation never renew their horns. the male reindeer, however, must be excepted, as after castration he does renew them. this fact, as well as the possession of horns by both sexes, seems at first to prove that the horns in this species do not constitute a sexual character ( . this is the conclusion of seidlitz, 'die darwinsche theorie,' , p. .); but as they are developed at a very early age, before the sexes differ in constitution, it is not surprising that they should be unaffected by castration, even if they were aboriginally acquired by the male. with sheep both sexes properly bear horns; and i am informed that with welch sheep the horns of the males are considerably reduced by castration; but the degree depends much on the age at which the operation is performed, as is likewise the case with other animals. merino rams have large horns, whilst the ewes "generally speaking are without horns"; and in this breed castration seems to produce a somewhat greater effect, so that if performed at an early age the horns "remain almost undeveloped." ( . i am much obliged to prof. victor carus, for having made enquiries for me in saxony on this subject. h. von nathusius ('viehzucht,' , p. ) says that the horns of sheep castrated at an early period, either altogether disappear or remain as mere rudiments; but i do not know whether he refers to merinos or to ordinary breeds.) on the guinea coast there is a breed in which the females never bear horns, and, as mr. winwood reade informs me, the rams after castration are quite destitute of them. with cattle, the horns of the males are much altered by castration; for instead of being short and thick, they become longer than those of the cow, but otherwise resemble them. the antilope bezoartica offers a somewhat analogous case: the males have long straight spiral horns, nearly parallel to each other, and directed backwards; the females occasionally bear horns, but these when present are of a very different shape, for they are not spiral, and spreading widely, bend round with the points forwards. now it is a remarkable fact that, in the castrated male, as mr. blyth informs me, the horns are of the same peculiar shape as in the female, but longer and thicker. if we may judge from analogy, the female probably shews us, in these two cases of cattle and the antelope, the former condition of the horns in some early progenitor of each species. but why castration should lead to the reappearance of an early condition of the horns cannot be explained with any certainty. nevertheless, it seems probable, that in nearly the same manner as the constitutional disturbance in the offspring, caused by a cross between two distinct species or races, often leads to the reappearance of long-lost characters ( . i have given various experiments and other evidence proving that this is the case, in my 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. , pp. - .); so here, the disturbance in the constitution of the individual, resulting from castration, produces the same effect. the tusks of the elephant, in the different species or races, differ according to sex, nearly as do the horns of ruminants. in india and malacca the males alone are provided with well-developed tusks. the elephant of ceylon is considered by most naturalists as a distinct race, but by some as a distinct species, and here "not one in a hundred is found with tusks, the few that possess them being exclusively males." ( . sir j. emerson tennent, 'ceylon,' , vol. ii. p. . for malacca, 'journal of indian archipelago,' vol. iv. p. .) the african elephant is undoubtedly distinct, and the female has large well-developed tusks, though not so large as those of the male. these differences in the tusks of the several races and species of elephants--the great variability of the horns of deer, as notably in the wild reindeer--the occasional presence of horns in the female antilope bezoartica, and their frequent absence in the female of antilocapra americana--the presence of two tusks in some few male narwhals--the complete absence of tusks in some female walruses--are all instances of the extreme variability of secondary sexual characters, and of their liability to differ in closely-allied forms. although tusks and horns appear in all cases to have been primarily developed as sexual weapons, they often serve other purposes. the elephant uses his tusks in attacking the tiger; according to bruce, he scores the trunks of trees until they can be thrown down easily, and he likewise thus extracts the farinaceous cores of palms; in africa he often uses one tusk, always the same, to probe the ground and thus ascertain whether it will bear his weight. the common bull defends the herd with his horns; and the elk in sweden has been known, according to lloyd, to strike a wolf dead with a single blow of his great horns. many similar facts could be given. one of the most curious secondary uses to which the horns of an animal may be occasionally put is that observed by captain hutton ( . 'calcutta journal of natural history,' vol. ii, , p. .) with the wild goat (capra aegagrus) of the himalayas and, as it is also said with the ibex, namely that when the male accidentally falls from a height he bends inwards his head, and by alighting on his massive horns, breaks the shock. the female cannot thus use her horns, which are smaller, but from her more quiet disposition she does not need this strange kind of shield so much. each male animal uses his weapons in his own peculiar fashion. the common ram makes a charge and butts with such force with the bases of his horns, that i have seen a powerful man knocked over like a child. goats and certain species of sheep, for instance the ovis cycloceros of afghanistan ( . mr. blyth, in 'land and water,' march, , p. , on the authority of capt. hutton and others. for the wild pembrokeshire goats, see the 'field,' , p. .), rear on their hind legs, and then not only butt, but "make a cut down and a jerk up, with the ribbed front of their scimitar-shaped horn, as with a sabre. when the o. cycloceros attacked a large domestic ram, who was a noted bruiser, he conquered him by the sheer novelty of his mode of fighting, always closing at once with his adversary, and catching him across the face and nose with a sharp drawing jerk of the head, and then bounding out of the way before the blow could be returned." in pembrokeshire a male goat, the master of a flock which during several generations had run wild, was known to have killed several males in single combat; this goat possessed enormous horns, measuring thirty-nine inches in a straight line from tip to tip. the common bull, as every one knows, gores and tosses his opponent; but the italian buffalo is said never to use his horns: he gives a tremendous blow with his convex forehead, and then tramples on his fallen enemy with his knees--an instinct which the common bull does not possess. ( . m. e.m. bailly, "sur l'usage des cornes," etc., .annal des sciences nat.' tom. ii. , p. .) hence a dog who pins a buffalo by the nose is immediately crushed. we must, however, remember that the italian buffalo has been long domesticated, and it is by no means certain that the wild parent-form had similar horns. mr. bartlett informs me that when a female cape buffalo (bubalus caffer) was turned into an enclosure with a bull of the same species, she attacked him, and he in return pushed her about with great violence. but it was manifest to mr. bartlett that, had not the bull shewn dignified forbearance, he could easily have killed her by a single lateral thrust with his immense horns. the giraffe uses his short, hair-covered horns, which are rather longer in the male than in the female, in a curious manner; for, with his long neck, he swings his head to either side, almost upside down, with such force that i have seen a hard plank deeply indented by a single blow. [fig. . oryx leucoryx, male (from the knowsley menagerie).] with antelopes it is sometimes difficult to imagine how they can possibly use their curiously-shaped horns; thus the springboc (ant. euchore) has rather short upright horns, with the sharp points bent inwards almost at right angles, so as to face each other; mr. bartlett does not know how they are used, but suggests that they would inflict a fearful wound down each side of the face of an antagonist. the slightly-curved horns of the oryx leucoryx (fig. ) are directed backwards, and are of such length that their points reach beyond the middle of the back, over which they extend in almost parallel lines. thus they seem singularly ill-fitted for fighting; but mr. bartlett informs me that when two of these animals prepare for battle, they kneel down, with their heads between their fore legs, and in this attitude the horns stand nearly parallel and close to the ground, with the points directed forwards and a little upwards. the combatants then gradually approach each other, and each endeavours to get the upturned points under the body of the other; if one succeeds in doing this, he suddenly springs up, throwing up his head at the same time, and can thus wound or perhaps even transfix his antagonist. both animals always kneel down, so as to guard as far as possible against this manoeuvre. it has been recorded that one of these antelopes has used his horn with effect even against a lion; yet from being forced to place his head between the forelegs in order to bring the points of the horns forward, he would generally be under a great disadvantage when attacked by any other animal. it is, therefore, not probable that the horns have been modified into their present great length and peculiar position, as a protection against beasts of prey. we can however see that, as soon as some ancient male progenitor of the oryx acquired moderately long horns, directed a little backwards, he would be compelled, in his battles with rival males, to bend his head somewhat inwards or downwards, as is now done by certain stags; and it is not improbable that he might have acquired the habit of at first occasionally and afterwards of regularly kneeling down. in this case it is almost certain that the males which possessed the longest horns would have had a great advantage over others with shorter horns; and then the horns would gradually have been rendered longer and longer, through sexual selection, until they acquired their present extraordinary length and position. with stags of many kinds the branches of the horns offer a curious case of difficulty; for certainly a single straight point would inflict a much more serious wound than several diverging ones. in sir philip egerton's museum there is a horn of the red-deer (cervus elaphus), thirty inches in length, with "not fewer than fifteen snags or branches"; and at moritzburg there is still preserved a pair of antlers of a red-deer, shot in by frederick i., one of which bears the astonishing number of thirty-three branches and the other twenty-seven, making altogether sixty branches. richardson figures a pair of antlers of the wild reindeer with twenty-nine points. ( . on the horns of red-deer, owen, 'british fossil mammals,' , p. ; richardson on the horns of the reindeer, 'fauna bor. americana,' , p. . i am indebted to prof. victor carus, for the moritzburg case.) from the manner in which the horns are branched, and more especially from deer being known occasionally to fight together by kicking with their fore-feet ( . hon. j.d. caton ('ottawa acad. of nat. science,' may , p. ) says that the american deer fight with their fore-feet, after "the question of superiority has been once settled and acknowledged in the herd." bailly, 'sur l'usage des cornes,' 'annales des sciences nat.' tom. ii. , p. .), m. bailly actually comes to the conclusion that their horns are more injurious than useful to them. but this author overlooks the pitched battles between rival males. as i felt much perplexed about the use or advantage of the branches, i applied to mr. mcneill of colonsay, who has long and carefully observed the habits of red-deer, and he informs me that he has never seen some of the branches brought into use, but that the brow antlers, from inclining downwards, are a great protection to the forehead, and their points are likewise used in attack. sir philip egerton also informs me both as to red-deer and fallow-deer that, in fighting, they suddenly dash together, and getting their horns fixed against each other's bodies, a desperate struggle ensues. when one is at last forced to yield and turn round, the victor endeavours to plunge his brow antlers into his defeated foe. it thus appears that the upper branches are used chiefly or exclusively for pushing and fencing. nevertheless in some species the upper branches are used as weapons of offence; when a man was attacked by a wapiti deer (cervus canadensis) in judge caton's park in ottawa, and several men tried to rescue him, the stag "never raised his head from the ground; in fact he kept his face almost flat on the ground, with his nose nearly between his fore feet, except when he rolled his head to one side to take a new observation preparatory to a plunge." in this position the ends of the horns were directed against his adversaries. "in rolling his head he necessarily raised it somewhat, because his antlers were so long that he could not roll his head without raising them on one side, while, on the other side they touched the ground." the stag by this procedure gradually drove the party of rescuers backwards to a distance of or feet; and the attacked man was killed. ( . see a most interesting account in the appendix to hon. j.d. caton's paper, as above quoted.) [fig. . strepsiceros kudu (from sir andrew smith's 'zoology of south africa.'] although the horns of stags are efficient weapons, there can, i think, be no doubt that a single point would have been much more dangerous than a branched antler; and judge caton, who has had large experience with deer, fully concurs in this conclusion. nor do the branching horns, though highly important as a means of defence against rival stags, appear perfectly well adapted for this purpose, as they are liable to become interlocked. the suspicion has therefore crossed my mind that they may serve in part as ornaments. that the branched antlers of stags as well as the elegant lyrated horns of certain antelopes, with their graceful double curvature (fig. ), are ornamental in our eyes, no one will dispute. if, then, the horns, like the splendid accoutrements of the knights of old, add to the noble appearance of stags and antelopes, they may have been modified partly for this purpose, though mainly for actual service in battle; but i have no evidence in favour of this belief. an interesting case has lately been published, from which it appears that the horns of a deer in one district in the united states are now being modified through sexual and natural selection. a writer in an excellent american journal ( . the 'american naturalist,' dec. , p. .) says, that he has hunted for the last twenty-one years in the adirondacks, where the cervus virginianus abounds. about fourteen years ago he first heard of spike-horn bucks. these became from year to year more common; about five years ago he shot one, and afterwards another, and now they are frequently killed. "the spike-horn differs greatly from the common antler of the c. virginianus. it consists of a single spike, more slender than the antler, and scarcely half so long, projecting forward from the brow, and terminating in a very sharp point. it gives a considerable advantage to its possessor over the common buck. besides enabling him to run more swiftly through the thick woods and underbrush (every hunter knows that does and yearling bucks run much more rapidly than the large bucks when armed with their cumbrous antlers), the spike-horn is a more effective weapon than the common antler. with this advantage the spike-horn bucks are gaining upon the common bucks, and may, in time, entirely supersede them in the adirondacks. undoubtedly, the first spike-horn buck was merely an accidental freak of nature. but his spike-horns gave him an advantage, and enabled him to propagate his peculiarity. his descendants having a like advantage, have propagated the peculiarity in a constantly increasing ratio, till they are slowly crowding the antlered deer from the region they inhabit." a critic has well objected to this account by asking, why, if the simple horns are now so advantageous, were the branched antlers of the parent-form ever developed? to this i can only answer by remarking, that a new mode of attack with new weapons might be a great advantage, as shewn by the case of the ovis cycloceros, who thus conquered a domestic ram famous for his fighting power. though the branched antlers of a stag are well adapted for fighting with his rivals, and though it might be an advantage to the prong-horned variety slowly to acquire long and branched horns, if he had to fight only with others of the same kind, yet it by no means follows that branched horns would be the best fitted for conquering a foe differently armed. in the foregoing case of the oryx leucoryx, it is almost certain that the victory would rest with an antelope having short horns, and who therefore did not need to kneel down, though an oryx might profit by having still longer horns, if he fought only with his proper rivals. male quadrupeds, which are furnished with tusks, use them in various ways, as in the case of horns. the boar strikes laterally and upwards; the musk-deer downwards with serious effect. ( . pallas, 'spicilegia zoologica,' fasc. xiii. , p. .) the walrus, though having so short a neck and so unwieldy a body, "can strike either upwards, or downwards, or sideways, with equal dexterity." ( . lamont, 'seasons with the sea-horses,' , p. .) i was informed by the late dr. falconer, that the indian elephant fights in a different manner according to the position and curvature of his tusks. when they are directed forwards and upwards he is able to fling a tiger to a great distance--it is said to even thirty feet; when they are short and turned downwards he endeavours suddenly to pin the tiger to the ground and, in consequence, is dangerous to the rider, who is liable to be jerked off the howdah. ( . see also corse ('philosophical transactions,' , p. ) on the manner in which the short-tusked mooknah variety attacks other elephants.) very few male quadrupeds possess weapons of two distinct kinds specially adapted for fighting with rival males. the male muntjac-deer (cervulus), however, offers an exception, as he is provided with horns and exserted canine teeth. but we may infer from what follows that one form of weapon has often been replaced in the course of ages by another. with ruminants the development of horns generally stands in an inverse relation with that of even moderately developed canine teeth. thus camels, guanacoes, chevrotains, and musk-deer, are hornless, and they have efficient canines; these teeth being "always of smaller size in the females than in the males." the camelidae have, in addition to their true canines, a pair of canine-shaped incisors in their upper jaws. ( . owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. p. .) male deer and antelopes, on the other hand, possess horns, and they rarely have canine teeth; and these, when present, are always of small size, so that it is doubtful whether they are of any service in their battles. in antilope montana they exist only as rudiments in the young male, disappearing as he grows old; and they are absent in the female at all ages; but the females of certain other antelopes and of certain deer have been known occasionally to exhibit rudiments of these teeth. ( . see ruppell (in 'proc. zoolog. soc.' jan. , , p. ) on the canines in deer and antelopes, with a note by mr. martin on a female american deer. see also falconer ('palaeont. memoirs and notes,' vol. i. , p. ) on canines in an adult female deer. in old males of the musk-deer the canines (pallas, 'spic. zoolog.' fasc. xiii. , p. ) sometimes grow to the length of three inches, whilst in old females a rudiment projects scarcely half an inch above the gums.) stallions have small canine teeth, which are either quite absent or rudimentary in the mare; but they do not appear to be used in fighting, for stallions bite with their incisors, and do not open their mouths wide like camels and guanacoes. whenever the adult male possesses canines, now inefficient, whilst the female has either none or mere rudiments, we may conclude that the early male progenitor of the species was provided with efficient canines, which have been partially transferred to the females. the reduction of these teeth in the males seems to have followed from some change in their manner of fighting, often (but not in the horse) caused by the development of new weapons. tusks and horns are manifestly of high importance to their possessors, for their development consumes much organised matter. a single tusk of the asiatic elephant--one of the extinct woolly species--and of the african elephant, have been known to weigh respectively , , and pounds; and even greater weights have been given by some authors. ( . emerson tennent, 'ceylon,' , vol. ii. p. ; owen, 'british fossil mammals,' , p. .) with deer, in which the horns are periodically renewed, the drain on the constitution must be greater; the horns, for instance, of the moose weigh from fifty to sixty pounds, and those of the extinct irish elk from sixty to seventy pounds--the skull of the latter weighing on an average only five pounds and a quarter. although the horns are not periodically renewed in sheep, yet their development, in the opinion of many agriculturists, entails a sensible loss to the breeder. stags, moreover, in escaping from beasts of prey are loaded with an additional weight for the race, and are greatly retarded in passing through a woody country. the moose, for instance, with horns extending five and a half feet from tip to tip, although so skilful in their use that he will not touch or break a twig when walking quietly, cannot act so dexterously whilst rushing away from a pack of wolves. "during his progress he holds his nose up, so as to lay the horns horizontally back; and in this attitude cannot see the ground distinctly." ( . richardson, 'fauna bor. americana,' on the moose, alces palmata, pp. , ; on the expanse of the horns, 'land and water,' , p. . see also owen, 'british fossil mammals,' on the irish elk, pp. , .) the tips of the horns of the great irish elk were actually eight feet apart! whilst the horns are covered with velvet, which lasts with red-deer for about twelve weeks, they are extremely sensitive to a blow; so that in germany the stags at this time somewhat change their habits, and avoiding dense forests, frequent young woods and low thickets. ( . 'forest creatures,' by c. boner, , p. .) these facts remind us that male birds have acquired ornamental plumes at the cost of retarded flight, and other ornaments at the cost of some loss of power in their battles with rival males. with mammals, when, as is often the case, the sexes differ in size, the males are almost always larger and stronger. i am informed by mr. gould that this holds good in a marked manner with the marsupials of australia, the males of which appear to continue growing until an unusually late age. but the most extraordinary case is that of one of the seals (callorhinus ursinus), a full-grown female weighing less than one-sixth of a full-grown male. ( . see the very interesting paper by mr. j.a. allen in 'bull. mus. comp. zoology of cambridge, united states,' vol. ii. no. , p. . the weights were ascertained by a careful observer, capt. bryant. dr. gill in 'the american naturalist,' january, , prof. shaler on the relative size of the sexes of whales, 'american naturalist,' january, .) dr. gill remarks that it is with the polygamous seals, the males of which are well known to fight savagely together, that the sexes differ much in size; the monogamous species differing but little. whales also afford evidence of the relation existing between the pugnacity of the males and their large size compared with that of the female; the males of the right-whales do not fight together, and they are not larger, but rather smaller, than their females; on the other hand, male sperm-whales fight much together, and their bodies are "often found scarred with the imprint of their rival's teeth," and they are double the size of the females. the greater strength of the male, as hunter long ago remarked ( . 'animal economy,' p. .), is invariably displayed in those parts of the body which are brought into action in fighting with rival males--for instance, in the massive neck of the bull. male quadrupeds are also more courageous and pugnacious than the females. there can be little doubt that these characters have been gained, partly through sexual selection, owing to a long series of victories, by the stronger and more courageous males over the weaker, and partly through the inherited effects of use. it is probable that the successive variations in strength, size, and courage, whether due to mere variability or to the effects of use, by the accumulation of which male quadrupeds have acquired these characteristic qualities, occurred rather late in life, and were consequently to a large extent limited in their transmission to the same sex. from these considerations i was anxious to obtain information as to the scotch deer-hound, the sexes of which differ more in size than those of any other breed (though blood-hounds differ considerably), or than in any wild canine species known to me. accordingly, i applied to mr. cupples, well known for his success with this breed, who has weighed and measured many of his own dogs, and who has with great kindness collected for me the following facts from various sources. fine male dogs, measured at the shoulder, range from inches, which is low, to or even inches in height; and in weight from pounds, which is light, to pounds, or even more. the females range in height from to , or even to inches; and in weight from to , or even pounds. ( . see also richardson's 'manual on the dog,' p. . much valuable information on the scottish deer-hound is given by mr. mcneill, who first called attention to the inequality in size between the sexes, in scrope's 'art of deer-stalking.' i hope that mr. cupples will keep to his intention of publishing a full account and history of this famous breed.) mr. cupples concludes that from to pounds for the male, and for the female, would be a safe average; but there is reason to believe that formerly both sexes attained a greater weight. mr. cupples has weighed puppies when a fortnight old; in one litter the average weight of four males exceeded that of two females by six and a half ounces; in another litter the average weight of four males exceeded that of one female by less than one ounce; the same males when three weeks old, exceeded the female by seven and a half ounces, and at the age of six weeks by nearly fourteen ounces. mr. wright of yeldersley house, in a letter to mr. cupples, says: "i have taken notes on the sizes and weights of puppies of many litters, and as far as my experience goes, dog-puppies as a rule differ very little from bitches till they arrive at about five or six months old; and then the dogs begin to increase, gaining upon the bitches both in weight and size. at birth, and for several weeks afterwards, a bitch-puppy will occasionally be larger than any of the dogs, but they are invariably beaten by them later." mr. mcneill, of colonsay, concludes that "the males do not attain their full growth till over two years old, though the females attain it sooner." according to mr. cupples' experience, male dogs go on growing in stature till they are from twelve to eighteen months old, and in weight till from eighteen to twenty-four months old; whilst the females cease increasing in stature at the age of from nine to fourteen or fifteen months, and in weight at the age of from twelve to fifteen months. from these various statements it is clear that the full difference in size between the male and female scotch deer-hound is not acquired until rather late in life. the males almost exclusively are used for coursing, for, as mr. mcneill informs me, the females have not sufficient strength and weight to pull down a full-grown deer. from the names used in old legends, it appears, as i hear from mr. cupples, that, at a very ancient period, the males were the most celebrated, the females being mentioned only as the mothers of famous dogs. hence, during many generations, it is the male which has been chiefly tested for strength, size, speed, and courage, and the best will have been bred from. as, however, the males do not attain their full dimensions until rather late in life, they will have tended, in accordance with the law often indicated, to transmit their characters to their male offspring alone; and thus the great inequality in size between the sexes of the scotch deer-hound may probably be accounted for. [fig. . head of common wild boar, in prime of life (from brehm).] the males of some few quadrupeds possess organs or parts developed solely as a means of defence against the attacks of other males. some kinds of deer use, as we have seen, the upper branches of their horns chiefly or exclusively for defending themselves; and the oryx antelope, as i am informed by mr. bartlett, fences most skilfully with his long, gently curved horns; but these are likewise used as organs of offence. the same observer remarks that rhinoceroses in fighting, parry each other's sidelong blows with their horns, which clatter loudly together, as do the tusks of boars. although wild boars fight desperately, they seldom, according to brehm, receive fatal wounds, as the blows fall on each other's tusks, or on the layer of gristly skin covering the shoulder, called by the german hunters, the shield; and here we have a part specially modified for defence. with boars in the prime of life (fig. ) the tusks in the lower jaw are used for fighting, but they become in old age, as brehm states, so much curved inwards and upwards over the snout that they can no longer be used in this way. they may, however, still serve, and even more effectively, as a means of defence. in compensation for the loss of the lower tusks as weapons of offence, those in the upper jaw, which always project a little laterally, increase in old age so much in length and curve so much upwards that they can be used for attack. nevertheless, an old boar is not so dangerous to man as one at the age of six or seven years. ( . brehm, 'thierleben,' b. ii. ss. - .) [fig. . skull of the babirusa pig (from wallace's 'malay archipelago').] in the full-grown male babirusa pig of celebes (fig. ), the lower tusks are formidable weapons, like those of the european boar in the prime of life, whilst the upper tusks are so long and have their points so much curled inwards, sometimes even touching the forehead, that they are utterly useless as weapons of attack. they more nearly resemble horns than teeth, and are so manifestly useless as teeth that the animal was formerly supposed to rest his head by hooking them on to a branch! their convex surfaces, however, if the head were held a little laterally, would serve as an excellent guard; and hence, perhaps, it is that in old animals they "are generally broken off, as if by fighting." ( . see mr. wallace's interesting account of this animal, 'the malay archipelago,' , vol. i. p. .) here, then, we have the curious case of the upper tusks of the babirusa regularly assuming during the prime of life a structure which apparently renders them fitted only for defence; whilst in the european boar the lower tusks assume in a less degree and only during old age nearly the same form, and then serve in like manner solely for defence. [fig. . head of female aethiopian wart-hog, from 'proc. zool. soc.' , shewing the same characters as the male, though on a reduced scale. n.b. when the engraving was first made, i was under the impression that it represented the male.] in the wart-hog (see phacochoerus aethiopicus, fig. ) the tusks in the upper jaw of the male curve upwards during the prime of life, and from being pointed serve as formidable weapons. the tusks in the lower jaw are sharper than those in the upper, but from their shortness it seems hardly possible that they can be used as weapons of attack. they must, however, greatly strengthen those in the upper jaw, from being ground so as to fit closely against their bases. neither the upper nor the lower tusks appear to have been specially modified to act as guards, though no doubt they are to a certain extent used for this purpose. but the wart-hog is not destitute of other special means of protection, for it has, on each side of the face, beneath the eyes, a rather stiff, yet flexible, cartilaginous, oblong pad (fig. ), which projects two or three inches outwards; and it appeared to mr. bartlett and myself, when viewing the living animal, that these pads, when struck from beneath by the tusks of an opponent, would be turned upwards, and would thus admirably protect the somewhat prominent eyes. i may add, on the authority of mr. bartlett, that these boars when fighting stand directly face to face. lastly, the african river-hog (potomochoerus penicillatus) has a hard cartilaginous knob on each side of the face beneath the eyes, which answers to the flexible pad of the wart-hog; it has also two bony prominences on the upper jaw above the nostrils. a boar of this species in the zoological gardens recently broke into the cage of the wart-hog. they fought all night long, and were found in the morning much exhausted, but not seriously wounded. it is a significant fact, as shewing the purposes of the above-described projections and excrescences, that these were covered with blood, and were scored and abraded in an extraordinary manner. although the males of so many members of the pig family are provided with weapons, and as we have just seen with means of defence, these weapons seem to have been acquired within a rather late geological period. dr. forsyth major specifies ( . 'atti della soc. italiana di sc. nat.' , vol. xv. fasc. iv.) several miocene species, in none of which do the tusks appear to have been largely developed in the males; and professor rutimeyer was formerly struck with this same fact. the mane of the lion forms a good defence against the attacks of rival lions, the one danger to which he is liable; for the males, as sir a. smith informs me, engage in terrible battles, and a young lion dares not approach an old one. in a tiger at bromwich broke into the cage of a lion and a fearful scene ensued: "the lion's mane saved his neck and head from being much injured, but the tiger at last succeeded in ripping up his belly, and in a few minutes he was dead." ( . 'the times,' nov. , . in regard to the canada lynx, see audubon and bachman, 'quadrupeds of north america,' , p. .) the broad ruff round the throat and chin of the canadian lynx (felis canadensis) is much longer in the male than in the female; but whether it serves as a defence i do not know. male seals are well known to fight desperately together, and the males of certain kinds (otaria jubata) ( . dr. murie, on otaria, 'proc. zoolog. soc.' , p. . mr. j.a. allen, in the paper above quoted (p. ), doubts whether the hair, which is longer on the neck in the male than in the female, deserves to be called a mane.) have great manes, whilst the females have small ones or none. the male baboon of the cape of good hope (cynocephalus porcarius) has a much longer mane and larger canine teeth than the female; and the mane probably serves as a protection, for, on asking the keepers in the zoological gardens, without giving them any clue to my object, whether any of the monkeys especially attacked each other by the nape of the neck, i was answered that this was not the case, except with the above baboon. in the hamadryas baboon, ehrenberg compares the mane of the adult male to that of a young lion, whilst in the young of both sexes and in the female the mane is almost absent. it appeared to me probable that the immense woolly mane of the male american bison, which reaches almost to the ground, and is much more developed in the males than in the females, served as a protection to them in their terrible battles; but an experienced hunter told judge caton that he had never observed anything which favoured this belief. the stallion has a thicker and fuller mane than the mare; and i have made particular inquiries of two great trainers and breeders, who have had charge of many entire horses, and am assured that they "invariably endeavour to seize one another by the neck." it does not, however, follow from the foregoing statements, that when the hair on the neck serves as a defence, that it was originally developed for this purpose, though this is probable in some cases, as in that of the lion. i am informed by mr. mcneill that the long hairs on the throat of the stag (cervus elaphus) serve as a great protection to him when hunted, for the dogs generally endeavour to seize him by the throat; but it is not probable that these hairs were specially developed for this purpose; otherwise the young and the females would have been equally protected. choice in pairing by either sex of quadrupeds. before describing in the next chapter, the differences between the sexes in voice, odours emitted, and ornaments, it will be convenient here to consider whether the sexes exert any choice in their unions. does the female prefer any particular male, either before or after the males may have fought together for supremacy; or does the male, when not a polygamist, select any particular female? the general impression amongst breeders seems to be that the male accepts any female; and this owing to his eagerness, is, in most cases, probably the truth. whether the female as a general rule indifferently accepts any male is much more doubtful. in the fourteenth chapter, on birds, a considerable body of direct and indirect evidence was advanced, shewing that the female selects her partner; and it would be a strange anomaly if female quadrupeds, which stand higher in the scale and have higher mental powers, did not generally, or at least often, exert some choice. the female could in most cases escape, if wooed by a male that did not please or excite her; and when pursued by several males, as commonly occurs, she would often have the opportunity, whilst they were fighting together, of escaping with some one male, or at least of temporarily pairing with him. this latter contingency has often been observed in scotland with female red-deer, as i am informed by sir philip egerton and others. ( . mr. boner, in his excellent description of the habits of the red-deer in germany ('forest creatures,' , p. ) says, "while the stag is defending his rights against one intruder, another invades the sanctuary of his harem, and carries off trophy after trophy." exactly the same thing occurs with seals; see mr. j.a. allen, ibid. p. .) it is scarcely possible that much should be known about female quadrupeds in a state of nature making any choice in their marriage unions. the following curious details on the courtship of one of the eared seals (callorhinus ursinus) are given ( . mr. j.a. allen in 'bull. mus. comp. zoolog. of cambridge, united states,' vol. ii. no. , p. .) on the authority of capt. bryant, who had ample opportunities for observation. he says, "many of the females on their arrival at the island where they breed appear desirous of returning to some particular male, and frequently climb the outlying rocks to overlook the rookeries, calling out and listening as if for a familiar voice. then changing to another place they do the same again...as soon as a female reaches the shore, the nearest male goes down to meet her, making meanwhile a noise like the clucking of a hen to her chickens. he bows to her and coaxes her until he gets between her and the water so that she cannot escape him. then his manner changes, and with a harsh growl he drives her to a place in his harem. this continues until the lower row of harems is nearly full. then the males higher up select the time when their more fortunate neighbours are off their guard to steal their wives. this they do by taking them in their mouths and lifting them over the heads of the other females, and carefully placing them in their own harem, carrying them as cats do their kittens. those still higher up pursue the same method until the whole space is occupied. frequently a struggle ensues between two males for the possession of the same female, and both seizing her at once pull her in two or terribly lacerate her with their teeth. when the space is all filled, the old male walks around complacently reviewing his family, scolding those who crowd or disturb the others, and fiercely driving off all intruders. this surveillance always keeps him actively occupied." as so little is known about the courtship of animals in a state of nature, i have endeavoured to discover how far our domesticated quadrupeds evince any choice in their unions. dogs offer the best opportunity for observation, as they are carefully attended to and well understood. many breeders have expressed a strong opinion on this head. thus, mr. mayhew remarks, "the females are able to bestow their affections; and tender recollections are as potent over them as they are known to be in other cases, where higher animals are concerned. bitches are not always prudent in their loves, but are apt to fling themselves away on curs of low degree. if reared with a companion of vulgar appearance, there often springs up between the pair a devotion which no time can afterwards subdue. the passion, for such it really is, becomes of a more than romantic endurance." mr. mayhew, who attended chiefly to the smaller breeds, is convinced that the females are strongly attracted by males of a large size. ( . 'dogs: their management,' by e. mayhew, m.r.c.v.s., nd ed., , pp. - .) the well-known veterinary blaine states ( . quoted by alex. walker, 'on intermarriage,' , p. ; see also p. .) that his own female pug dog became so attached to a spaniel, and a female setter to a cur, that in neither case would they pair with a dog of their own breed until several weeks had elapsed. two similar and trustworthy accounts have been given me in regard to a female retriever and a spaniel, both of which became enamoured with terrier-dogs. mr. cupples informs me that he can personally vouch for the accuracy of the following more remarkable case, in which a valuable and wonderfully-intelligent female terrier loved a retriever belonging to a neighbour to such a degree, that she had often to be dragged away from him. after their permanent separation, although repeatedly shewing milk in her teats, she would never acknowledge the courtship of any other dog, and to the regret of her owner never bore puppies. mr. cupples also states, that in , a female deerhound in his kennel thrice produced puppies, and on each occasion shewed a marked preference for one of the largest and handsomest, but not the most eager, of four deerhounds living with her, all in the prime of life. mr. cupples has observed that the female generally favours a dog whom she has associated with and knows; her shyness and timidity at first incline her against a strange dog. the male, on the contrary, seems rather inclined towards strange females. it appears to be rare when the male refuses any particular female, but mr. wright, of yeldersley house, a great breeder of dogs, informs me that he has known some instances; he cites the case of one of his own deerhounds, who would not take any notice of a particular female mastiff, so that another deerhound had to be employed. it would be superfluous to give, as i could, other instances, and i will only add that mr. barr, who has carefully bred many bloodhounds, states that in almost every instance particular individuals of opposite sexes shew a decided preference for each other. finally, mr. cupples, after attending to this subject for another year, has written to me, "i have had full confirmation of my former statement, that dogs in breeding form decided preferences for each other, being often influenced by size, bright colour, and individual characters, as well as by the degree of their previous familiarity." in regard to horses, mr. blenkiron, the greatest breeder of race-horses in the world, informs me that stallions are so frequently capricious in their choice, rejecting one mare and without any apparent cause taking to another, that various artifices have to be habitually used. the famous monarque, for instance, would never consciously look at the dam of gladiateur, and a trick had to be practised. we can partly see the reason why valuable race-horse stallions, which are in such demand as to be exhausted, should be so particular in their choice. mr. blenkiron has never known a mare reject a horse; but this has occurred in mr. wright's stable, so that the mare had to be cheated. prosper lucas ( . 'traité de l'héréd. nat.' tom. ii. , p. .) quotes various statements from french authorities, and remarks, "on voit des étalons qui s'eprennent d'une jument, et negligent toutes les autres." he gives, on the authority of baelen, similar facts in regard to bulls; and mr. h. reeks assures me that a famous short-horn bull belonging to his father "invariably refused to be matched with a black cow." hoffberg, in describing the domesticated reindeer of lapland says, "foeminae majores et fortiores mares prae caeteris admittunt, ad eos confugiunt, a junioribus agitatae, qui hos in fugam conjiciunt." ( . 'amoenitates acad.' vol. iv. , p. .) a clergyman, who has bred many pigs, asserts that sows often reject one boar and immediately accept another. from these facts there can be no doubt that, with most of our domesticated quadrupeds, strong individual antipathies and preferences are frequently exhibited, and much more commonly by the female than by the male. this being the case, it is improbable that the unions of quadrupeds in a state of nature should be left to mere chance. it is much more probable that the females are allured or excited by particular males, who possess certain characters in a higher degree than other males; but what these characters are, we can seldom or never discover with certainty. chapter xviii. secondary sexual characters of mammals--continued. voice--remarkable sexual peculiarities in seals--odour--development of the hair--colour of the hair and skin--anomalous case of the female being more ornamented than the male--colour and ornaments due to sexual selection--colour acquired for the sake of protection--colour, though common to both sexes, often due to sexual selection--on the disappearance of spots and stripes in adult quadrupeds--on the colours and ornaments of the quadrumana--summary. quadrupeds use their voices for various purposes, as a signal of danger, as a call from one member of a troop to another, or from the mother to her lost offspring, or from the latter for protection to their mother; but such uses need not here be considered. we are concerned only with the difference between the voices of the sexes, for instance between that of the lion and lioness, or of the bull and cow. almost all male animals use their voices much more during the rutting-season than at any other time; and some, as the giraffe and porcupine ( . owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. p. .), are said to be completely mute excepting at this season. as the throats (i.e. the larynx and thyroid bodies ( . ibid. p. .)) of stags periodically become enlarged at the beginning of the breeding-season, it might be thought that their powerful voices must be somehow of high importance to them; but this is very doubtful. from information given to me by two experienced observers, mr. mcneill and sir p. egerton, it seems that young stags under three years old do not roar or bellow; and that the old ones begin bellowing at the commencement of the breeding-season, at first only occasionally and moderately, whilst they restlessly wander about in search of the females. their battles are prefaced by loud and prolonged bellowing, but during the actual conflict they are silent. animals of all kinds which habitually use their voices utter various noises under any strong emotion, as when enraged and preparing to fight; but this may merely be the result of nervous excitement, which leads to the spasmodic contraction of almost all the muscles of the body, as when a man grinds his teeth and clenches his fists in rage or agony. no doubt stags challenge each other to mortal combat by bellowing; but those with the more powerful voices, unless at the same time the stronger, better-armed, and more courageous, would not gain any advantage over their rivals. it is possible that the roaring of the lion may be of some service to him by striking terror into his adversary; for when enraged he likewise erects his mane and thus instinctively tries to make himself appear as terrible as possible. but it can hardly be supposed that the bellowing of the stag, even if it be of service to him in this way, can have been important enough to have led to the periodical enlargement of the throat. some writers suggest that the bellowing serves as a call to the female; but the experienced observers above quoted inform me that female deer do not search for the male, though the males search eagerly for the females, as indeed might be expected from what we know of the habits of other male quadrupeds. the voice of the female, on the other hand, quickly brings to her one or more stags ( . see, for instance, major w. ross king ('the sportsman in canada,' , pp. , ) on the habits of the moose and wild reindeer.), as is well known to the hunters who in wild countries imitate her cry. if we could believe that the male had the power to excite or allure the female by his voice, the periodical enlargement of his vocal organs would be intelligible on the principle of sexual selection, together with inheritance limited to the same sex and season; but we have no evidence in favour of this view. as the case stands, the loud voice of the stag during the breeding-season does not seem to be of any special service to him, either during his courtship or battles, or in any other way. but may we not believe that the frequent use of the voice, under the strong excitement of love, jealousy, and rage, continued during many generations, may at last have produced an inherited effect on the vocal organs of the stag, as well as of other male animals? this appears to me, in our present state of knowledge, the most probable view. the voice of the adult male gorilla is tremendous, and he is furnished with a laryngeal sack, as is the adult male orang. ( . owen 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. p. .) the gibbons rank among the noisiest of monkeys, and the sumatra species (hylobates syndactylus) is also furnished with an air sack; but mr. blyth, who has had opportunities for observation, does not believe that the male is noisier than the female. hence, these latter monkeys probably use their voices as a mutual call; and this is certainly the case with some quadrupeds, for instance the beaver. ( . mr. green, in 'journal of linnean society,' vol. x. 'zoology,' , note .) another gibbon, the h. agilis, is remarkable, from having the power of giving a complete and correct octave of musical notes ( . c.l. martin, 'general introduction to the natural history of mamm. animals,' , p. .), which we may reasonably suspect serves as a sexual charm; but i shall have to recur to this subject in the next chapter. the vocal organs of the american mycetes caraya are one-third larger in the male than in the female, and are wonderfully powerful. these monkeys in warm weather make the forests resound at morning and evening with their overwhelming voices. the males begin the dreadful concert, and often continue it during many hours, the females sometimes joining in with their less powerful voices. an excellent observer, rengger ( . 'naturgeschichte der säugethiere von paraguay,' , ss. , .), could not perceive that they were excited to begin by any special cause; he thinks that, like many birds, they delight in their own music, and try to excel each other. whether most of the foregoing monkeys have acquired their powerful voices in order to beat their rivals and charm the females--or whether the vocal organs have been strengthened and enlarged through the inherited effects of long-continued use without any particular good being thus gained--i will not pretend to say; but the former view, at least in the case of the hylobates agilis, seems the most probable. i may here mention two very curious sexual peculiarities occurring in seals, because they have been supposed by some writers to affect the voice. the nose of the male sea-elephant (macrorhinus proboscideus) becomes greatly elongated during the breeding-season, and can then be erected. in this state it is sometimes a foot in length. the female is not thus provided at any period of life. the male makes a wild, hoarse, gurgling noise, which is audible at a great distance and is believed to be strengthened by the proboscis; the voice of the female being different. lesson compares the erection of the proboscis, with the swelling of the wattles of male gallinaceous birds whilst courting the females. in another allied kind of seal, the bladder-nose (cystophora cristata), the head is covered by a great hood or bladder. this is supported by the septum of the nose, which is produced far backwards and rises into an internal crest seven inches in height. the hood is clothed with short hair, and is muscular; can be inflated until it more than equals the whole head in size! the males when rutting, fight furiously on the ice, and their roaring "is said to be sometimes so loud as to be heard four miles off." when attacked they likewise roar or bellow; and whenever irritated the bladder is inflated and quivers. some naturalists believe that the voice is thus strengthened, but various other uses have been assigned to this extraordinary structure. mr. r. brown thinks that it serves as a protection against accidents of all kinds; but this is not probable, for, as i am assured by mr. lamont who killed of these animals, the hood is rudimentary in the females, and it is not developed in the males during youth. ( . on the sea-elephant, see an article by lesson, in 'dict. class. hist. nat.' tom. xiii. p. . for the cystophora, or stemmatopus, see dr. dekay, 'annals of lyceum of nat. hist.' new york, vol. i. , p. . pennant has also collected information from the sealers on this animal. the fullest account is given by mr. brown, in 'proc. zoolog. soc.' , p. .) odour. with some animals, as with the notorious skunk of america, the overwhelming odour which they emit appears to serve exclusively as a defence. with shrew-mice (sorex) both sexes possess abdominal scent-glands, and there can be little doubt, from the rejection of their bodies by birds and beasts of prey, that the odour is protective; nevertheless, the glands become enlarged in the males during the breeding-season. in many other quadrupeds the glands are of the same size in both sexes ( . as with the castoreum of the beaver, see mr. l.h. morgan's most interesting work, 'the american beaver,' , p. . pallas ('spic. zoolog.' fasc. viii. , p. ) has well discussed the odoriferous glands of mammals. owen ('anat. of vertebrates,' vol. iii. p. ) also gives an account of these glands, including those of the elephant, and (p. ) those of shrew-mice. on bats, mr. dobson in 'proceedings of the zoological society' , p. .), but their uses are not known. in other species the glands are confined to the males, or are more developed than in the females; and they almost always become more active during the rutting-season. at this period the glands on the sides of the face of the male elephant enlarge, and emit a secretion having a strong musky odour. the males, and rarely the females, of many kinds of bats have glands and protrudable sacks situated in various parts; and it is believed that these are odoriferous. the rank effluvium of the male goat is well known, and that of certain male deer is wonderfully strong and persistent. on the banks of the plata i perceived the air tainted with the odour of the male cervus campestris, at half a mile to leeward of a herd; and a silk handkerchief, in which i carried home a skin, though often used and washed, retained, when first unfolded, traces of the odour for one year and seven months. this animal does not emit its strong odour until more than a year old, and if castrated whilst young never emits it. ( . rengger, 'naturgeschichte der säugethiere von paraguay,' , s. . this observer also gives some curious particulars in regard to the odour.) besides the general odour, permeating the whole body of certain ruminants (for instance, bos moschatus) in the breeding-season, many deer, antelopes, sheep, and goats possess odoriferous glands in various situations, more especially on their faces. the so-called tear-sacks, or suborbital pits, come under this head. these glands secrete a semi-fluid fetid matter which is sometimes so copious as to stain the whole face, as i have myself seen in an antelope. they are "usually larger in the male than in the female, and their development is checked by castration." ( . owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. p. . see also dr. murie's observations on those glands in the 'proc. zoolog. soc.' , p. . desmarest, 'on the antilope subgutturosa, 'mammalogie,' , p. .) according to desmarest they are altogether absent in the female of antilope subgutturosa. hence, there can be no doubt that they stand in close relation with the reproductive functions. they are also sometimes present, and sometimes absent, in nearly allied forms. in the adult male musk-deer (moschus moschiferus), a naked space round the tail is bedewed with an odoriferous fluid, whilst in the adult female, and in the male until two years old, this space is covered with hair and is not odoriferous. the proper musk-sack of this deer is from its position necessarily confined to the male, and forms an additional scent-organ. it is a singular fact that the matter secreted by this latter gland, does not, according to pallas, change in consistence, or increase in quantity, during the rutting-season; nevertheless this naturalist admits that its presence is in some way connected with the act of reproduction. he gives, however, only a conjectural and unsatisfactory explanation of its use. ( . pallas, 'spicilegia zoolog.' fasc. xiii. , p. ; desmoulins, 'dict. class. d'hist. nat.' tom. iii. p. .) in most cases, when only the male emits a strong odour during the breeding-season, it probably serves to excite or allure the female. we must not judge on this head by our own taste, for it is well known that rats are enticed by certain essential oils, and cats by valerian, substances far from agreeable to us; and that dogs, though they will not eat carrion, sniff and roll on it. from the reasons given when discussing the voice of the stag, we may reject the idea that the odour serves to bring the females from a distance to the males. active and long-continued use cannot here have come into play, as in the case of the vocal organs. the odour emitted must be of considerable importance to the male, inasmuch as large and complex glands, furnished with muscles for everting the sack, and for closing or opening the orifice, have in some cases been developed. the development of these organs is intelligible through sexual selection, if the most odoriferous males are the most successful in winning the females, and in leaving offspring to inherit their gradually perfected glands and odours. development of the hair. we have seen that male quadrupeds often have the hair on their necks and shoulders much more developed than the females; and many additional instances could be given. this sometimes serves as a defence to the male during his battles; but whether the hair in most cases has been specially developed for this purpose, is very doubtful. we may feel almost certain that this is not the case, when only a thin and narrow crest runs along the back; for a crest of this kind would afford scarcely any protection, and the ridge of the back is not a place likely to be injured; nevertheless such crests are sometimes confined to the males, or are much more developed in them than in the females. two antelopes, the tragelaphus scriptus ( . dr. gray, 'gleanings from the menagerie at knowsley,' pl. .) (fig. ) and portax picta may be given as instances. when stags, and the males of the wild goat, are enraged or terrified, these crests stand erect ( . judge caton on the wapiti, 'transact. ottawa acad. nat. sciences,' , pp. , ; blyth, 'land and water,' on capra aegagrus , p. .); but it cannot be supposed that they have been developed merely for the sake of exciting fear in their enemies. one of the above-named antelopes, the portax picta, has a large well-defined brush of black hair on the throat, and this is much larger in the male than in the female. in the ammotragus tragelaphus of north africa, a member of the sheep-family, the fore-legs are almost concealed by an extraordinary growth of hair, which depends from the neck and upper halves of the legs; but mr. bartlett does not believe that this mantle is of the least use to the male, in whom it is much more developed than in the female. [fig. . pithecia satanas, male (from brehm).] male quadrupeds of many kinds differ from the females in having more hair, or hair of a different character, on certain parts of their faces. thus the bull alone has curled hair on the forehead. ( . hunter's 'essays and observations,' edited by owen, . vol. i. p. .) in three closely-allied sub-genera of the goat family, only the males possess beards, sometimes of large size; in two other sub-genera both sexes have a beard, but it disappears in some of the domestic breeds of the common goat; and neither sex of the hemitragus has a beard. in the ibex the beard is not developed during the summer, and is so small at other times that it may be called rudimentary. ( . see dr. gray's 'catalogue of mammalia in the british museum,' part iii. , p. .) with some monkeys the beard is confined to the male, as in the orang; or is much larger in the male than in the female, as in the mycetes caraya and pithecia satanas (fig. ). so it is with the whiskers of some species of macacus ( . rengger, 'säugethiere,' etc., s. ; desmarest, 'mammalogie,' p. .), and, as we have seen, with the manes of some species of baboons. but with most kinds of monkeys the various tufts of hair about the face and head are alike in both sexes. the males of various members of the ox family (bovidae), and of certain antelopes, are furnished with a dewlap, or great fold of skin on the neck, which is much less developed in the female. now, what must we conclude with respect to such sexual differences as these? no one will pretend that the beards of certain male goats, or the dewlaps of the bull, or the crests of hair along the backs of certain male antelopes, are of any use to them in their ordinary habits. it is possible that the immense beard of the male pithecia, and the large beard of the male orang, may protect their throats when fighting; for the keepers in the zoological gardens inform me that many monkeys attack each other by the throat; but it is not probable that the beard has been developed for a distinct purpose from that served by the whiskers, moustache, and other tufts of hair on the face; and no one will suppose that these are useful as a protection. must we attribute all these appendages of hair or skin to mere purposeless variability in the male? it cannot be denied that this is possible; for in many domesticated quadrupeds, certain characters, apparently not derived through reversion from any wild parent form, are confined to the males, or are more developed in them than in the females--for instance, the hump on the male zebu-cattle of india, the tail of fat-tailed rams, the arched outline of the forehead in the males of several breeds of sheep, and lastly, the mane, the long hairs on the hind legs, and the dewlap of the male of the berbura goat. ( . see the chapters on these several animals in vol. i. of my 'variation of animals under domestication;' also vol. ii. p. ; also chap. xx. on the practice of selection by semi-civilised people. for the berbura goat, see dr. gray, 'catalogue,' ibid. p. .) the mane, which occurs only in the rams of an african breed of sheep, is a true secondary sexual character, for, as i hear from mr. winwood reade, it is not developed if the animal be castrated. although we ought to be extremely cautious, as shewn in my work on 'variation under domestication,' in concluding that any character, even with animals kept by semi-civilised people, has not been subjected to selection by man, and thus augmented, yet in the cases just specified this is improbable; more especially as the characters are confined to the males, or are more strongly developed in them than in the females. if it were positively known that the above african ram is a descendant of the same primitive stock as the other breeds of sheep, and if the berbura male-goat with his mane, dewlap, etc., is descended from the same stock as other goats, then, assuming that selection has not been applied to these characters, they must be due to simple variability, together with sexually-limited inheritance. hence it appears reasonable to extend this same view to all analogous cases with animals in a state of nature. nevertheless i cannot persuade myself that it generally holds good, as in the case of the extraordinary development of hair on the throat and fore-legs of the male ammotragus, or in that of the immense beard of the male pithecia. such study as i have been able to give to nature makes me believe that parts or organs which are highly developed, were acquired at some period for a special purpose. with those antelopes in which the adult male is more strongly-coloured than the female, and with those monkeys in which the hair on the face is elegantly arranged and coloured in a diversified manner, it seems probable that the crests and tufts of hair were gained as ornaments; and this i know is the opinion of some naturalists. if this be correct, there can be little doubt that they were gained or at least modified through sexual selection; but how far the same view may be extended to other mammals is doubtful. colour of the hair and of the naked skin. i will first give briefly all the cases known to me of male quadrupeds differing in colour from the females. with marsupials, as i am informed by mr. gould, the sexes rarely differ in this respect; but the great red kangaroo offers a striking exception, "delicate blue being the prevailing tint in those parts of the female which in the male are red." ( . osphranter rufus, gould, 'mammals of australia,' , vol. ii. on the didelphis, desmarest, 'mammalogie,' p. .) in the didelphis opossum of cayenne the female is said to be a little more red than the male. of the rodents, dr. gray remarks: "african squirrels, especially those found in the tropical regions, have the fur much brighter and more vivid at some seasons of the year than at others, and the fur of the male is generally brighter than that of the female." ( . 'annals and magazine of natural history,' nov. , p. . on the mus minutus, desmarest, 'mammalogie,' p. .) dr. gray informs me that he specified the african squirrels, because, from their unusually bright colours, they best exhibit this difference. the female of the mus minutus of russia is of a paler and dirtier tint than the male. in a large number of bats the fur of the male is lighter than in the female. ( . j.a. allen, in 'bulletin of mus. comp. zoolog. of cambridge, united states,' , p. . mr. dobson on sexual characters in the chiroptera, 'proceedings of the zoological society,' , p. . dr. gray on sloths, ibid. , p. .) mr. dobson also remarks, with respect to these animals: "differences, depending partly or entirely on the possession by the male of fur of a much more brilliant hue, or distinguished by different markings or by the greater length of certain portions, are met only, to any appreciable extent, in the frugivorous bats in which the sense of sight is well developed." this last remark deserves attention, as bearing on the question whether bright colours are serviceable to male animals from being ornamental. in one genus of sloths, it is now established, as dr. gray states, "that the males are ornamented differently from the females--that is to say, that they have a patch of soft short hair between the shoulders, which is generally of a more or less orange colour, and in one species pure white. the females, on the contrary, are destitute of this mark." the terrestrial carnivora and insectivora rarely exhibit sexual differences of any kind, including colour. the ocelot (felis pardalis), however, is exceptional, for the colours of the female, compared with those of the male, are "moins apparentes, le fauve, étant plus terne, le blanc moins pur, les raies ayant moins de largeur et les taches moins de diamètre." ( . desmarest, 'mammalogie,' , p. . on felis mitis, rengger, ibid. s. .) the sexes of the allied felis mitis also differ, but in a less degree; the general hues of the female being rather paler than in the male, with the spots less black. the marine carnivora or seals, on the other hand, sometimes differ considerably in colour, and they present, as we have already seen, other remarkable sexual differences. thus the male of the otaria nigrescens of the southern hemisphere is of a rich brown shade above; whilst the female, who acquires her adult tints earlier in life than the male, is dark-grey above, the young of both sexes being of a deep chocolate colour. the male of the northern phoca groenlandica is tawny grey, with a curious saddle-shaped dark mark on the back; the female is much smaller, and has a very different appearance, being "dull white or yellowish straw-colour, with a tawny hue on the back"; the young at first are pure white, and can "hardly be distinguished among the icy hummocks and snow, their colour thus acting as a protection." ( . dr. murie on the otaria, 'proceedings zoological society,' , p. . mr. r. brown on the p. groenlandica, ibid. , p. . see also on the colours of seals, desmarest, ibid. pp. , .) with ruminants sexual differences of colour occur more commonly than in any other order. a difference of this kind is general in the strepsicerene antelopes; thus the male nilghau (portax picta) is bluish-grey and much darker than the female, with the square white patch on the throat, the white marks on the fetlocks, and the black spots on the ears all much more distinct. we have seen that in this species the crests and tufts of hair are likewise more developed in the male than in the hornless female. i am informed by mr. blyth that the male, without shedding his hair, periodically becomes darker during the breeding-season. young males cannot be distinguished from young females until about twelve months old; and if the male is emasculated before this period, he never, according to the same authority, changes colour. the importance of this latter fact, as evidence that the colouring of the portax is of sexual origin, becomes obvious, when we hear ( . judge caton, in 'transactions of the ottawa academy of natural sciences,' , p. .) that neither the red summer-coat nor the blue winter-coat of the virginian deer is at all affected by emasculation. with most or all of the highly-ornamented species of tragelaphus the males are darker than the hornless females, and their crests of hair are more fully developed. in the male of that magnificent antelope, the derbyan eland, the body is redder, the whole neck much blacker, and the white band which separates these colours broader than in the female. in the cape eland, also, the male is slightly darker than the female. ( . dr. gray, 'cat. of mamm. in brit. mus.' part iii. , pp. - ; also dr. gray, 'gleanings from the menagerie of knowsley,' in which there is a splendid drawing of the oreas derbianus: see the text on tragelaphus. for the cape eland (oreas canna), see andrew smith, 'zoology of s. africa,' pl. and . there are also many of these antelopes in the zoological gardens.) in the indian black-buck (a. bezoartica), which belongs to another tribe of antelopes, the male is very dark, almost black; whilst the hornless female is fawn-coloured. we meet in this species, as mr. blyth informs me, with an exactly similar series of facts, as in the portax picta, namely, in the male periodically changing colour during the breeding-season, in the effects of emasculation on this change, and in the young of both sexes being indistinguishable from each other. in the antilope niger the male is black, the female, as well as the young of both sexes, being brown; in a. sing-sing the male is much brighter coloured than the hornless female, and his chest and belly are blacker; in the male a. caama, the marks and lines which occur on various parts of the body are black, instead of brown as in the female; in the brindled gnu (a. gorgon) "the colours of the male are nearly the same as those of the female, only deeper and of a brighter hue." ( . on the ant. niger, see 'proc. zool. soc.' , p. . with respect to an allied species, in which there is an equal sexual difference in colour, see sir s. baker, 'the albert nyanza,' , vol. ii. p. . for the a. sing-sing, gray, 'cat. b. mus.' p. . desmarest, 'mammalogie,' p. , on the a. caama. andrew smith, 'zoology of s. africa,' on the gnu.) other analogous cases could be added. the banteng bull (bos sondaicus) of the malayan archipelago is almost black, with white legs and buttocks; the cow is of a bright dun, as are the young males until about the age of three years, when they rapidly change colour. the emasculated bull reverts to the colour of the female. the female kemas goat is paler, and both it and the female capra aegagrus are said to be more uniformly tinted than their males. deer rarely present any sexual differences in colour. judge caton, however, informs me that in the males of the wapiti deer (cervus canadensis) the neck, belly, and legs are much darker than in the female; but during the winter the darker tints gradually fade away and disappear. i may here mention that judge caton has in his park three races of the virginian deer, which differ slightly in colour, but the differences are almost exclusively confined to the blue winter or breeding-coat; so that this case may be compared with those given in a previous chapter of closely-allied or representative species of birds, which differ from each other only in their breeding plumage. ( . 'ottawa academy of sciences,' may , , pp. , .) the females of cervus paludosus of s. america, as well as the young of both sexes, do not possess the black stripes on the nose and the blackish-brown line on the breast, which are characteristic of the adult males. ( . s. muller, on the banteng, 'zoog. indischen archipel.' - , tab. ; see also raffles, as quoted by mr. blyth, in 'land and water,' , p. . on goats, dr. gray, 'catalogue of the british museum,' p. ; desmarest, 'mammalogie,' p. . on the cervus paludosus, rengger, ibid. s. .) lastly, as i am informed by mr. blyth, the mature male of the beautifully coloured and spotted axis deer is considerably darker than the female: and this hue the castrated male never acquires. the last order which we need consider is that of the primates. the male of the lemur macaco is generally coal-black, whilst the female is brown. ( . sclater, 'proc. zool. soc.' , p. i. the same fact has also been fully ascertained by mm. pollen and van dam. see, also, dr. gray in 'annals and magazine of natural history,' may , p. .) of the quadrumana of the new world, the females and young of mycetes caraya are greyish-yellow and like each other; in the second year the young male becomes reddish-brown; in the third, black, excepting the stomach, which, however, becomes quite black in the fourth or fifth year. there is also a strongly-marked difference in colour between the sexes of mycetes seniculus and cebus capucinus; the young of the former, and i believe of the latter species, resembling the females. with pithecia leucocephala the young likewise resemble the females, which are brownish-black above and light rusty-red beneath, the adult males being black. the ruff of hair round the face of ateles marginatus is tinted yellow in the male and white in the female. turning to the old world, the males of hylobates hoolock are always black, with the exception of a white band over the brows; the females vary from whity-brown to a dark tint mixed with black, but are never wholly black. ( . on mycetes, rengger, ibid. s. ; and brehm, 'thierleben,' b. i. s. , . on ateles desmarest, 'mammalogie,' p. . on hylobates, blyth, 'land and water,' , p. . on the semnopithecus, s. muller, 'zoog. indischen archipel.' tab. x.) in the beautiful cercopithecus diana, the head of the adult male is of an intense black, whilst that of the female is dark grey; in the former the fur between the thighs is of an elegant fawn-colour, in the latter it is paler. in the beautiful and curious moustache monkey (cercopithecus cephus) the only difference between the sexes is that the tail of the male is chestnut and that of the female grey; but mr. bartlett informs me that all the hues become more pronounced in the male when adult, whilst in the female they remain as they were during youth. according to the coloured figures given by solomon muller, the male of semnopithecus chrysomelas is nearly black, the female being pale brown. in the cercopithecus cynosurus and griseo-viridis one part of the body, which is confined to the male sex, is of the most brilliant blue or green, and contrasts strikingly with the naked skin on the hinder part of the body, which is vivid red. [fig. . head of male mandrill (from gervais, 'hist. nat. des mammifères').] lastly, in the baboon family, the adult male of cynocephalus hamadryas differs from the female not only by his immense mane, but slightly in the colour of the hair and of the naked callosities. in the drill (c. leucophaeus) the females and young are much paler-coloured, with less green, than the adult males. no other member in the whole class of mammals is coloured in so extraordinary a manner as the adult male mandrill (c. mormon). the face at this age becomes of a fine blue, with the ridge and tip of the nose of the most brilliant red. according to some authors, the face is also marked with whitish stripes, and is shaded in parts with black, but the colours appear to be variable. on the forehead there is a crest of hair, and on the chin a yellow beard. "toutes les parties supérieures de leurs cuisses et le grand espace nu de leurs fesses sont également colorés du rouge le plus vif, avec un mélange de bleu qui ne manque reellement pas d'élégance." ( . gervais, 'hist. nat. des mammifères,' , p. . figures are given of the skull of the male. also desmarest, 'mammalogie,' p. . geoffroy st.-hilaire and f. cuvier, 'hist. nat. des mammifères,' , tom. i.) when the animal is excited all the naked parts become much more vividly tinted. several authors have used the strongest expressions in describing these resplendent colours, which they compare with those of the most brilliant birds. another remarkable peculiarity is that when the great canine teeth are fully developed, immense protuberances of bone are formed on each cheek, which are deeply furrowed longitudinally, and the naked skin over them is brilliantly-coloured, as just-described. (fig. .) in the adult females and in the young of both sexes these protuberances are scarcely perceptible; and the naked parts are much less bright coloured, the face being almost black, tinged with blue. in the adult female, however, the nose at certain regular intervals of time becomes tinted with red. in all the cases hitherto given the male is more strongly or brighter coloured than the female, and differs from the young of both sexes. but as with some few birds it is the female which is brighter coloured than the male, so with the rhesus monkey (macacus rhesus), the female has a large surface of naked skin round the tail, of a brilliant carmine red, which, as i was assured by the keepers in the zoological gardens, periodically becomes even yet more vivid, and her face also is pale red. on the other hand, in the adult male and in the young of both sexes (as i saw in the gardens), neither the naked skin at the posterior end of the body, nor the face, shew a trace of red. it appears, however, from some published accounts, that the male does occasionally, or during certain seasons, exhibit some traces of the red. although he is thus less ornamented than the female, yet in the larger size of his body, larger canine teeth, more developed whiskers, more prominent superciliary ridges, he follows the common rule of the male excelling the female. i have now given all the cases known to me of a difference in colour between the sexes of mammals. some of these may be the result of variations confined to one sex and transmitted to the same sex, without any good being gained, and therefore without the aid of selection. we have instances of this with our domesticated animals, as in the males of certain cats being rusty-red, whilst the females are tortoise-shell coloured. analogous cases occur in nature: mr. bartlett has seen many black varieties of the jaguar, leopard, vulpine phalanger, and wombat; and he is certain that all, or nearly all these animals, were males. on the other hand, with wolves, foxes, and apparently american squirrels, both sexes are occasionally born black. hence it is quite possible that with some mammals a difference in colour between the sexes, especially when this is congenital, may simply be the result, without the aid of selection, of the occurrence of one or more variations, which from the first were sexually limited in their transmission. nevertheless it is improbable that the diversified, vivid, and contrasted colours of certain quadrupeds, for instance, of the above monkeys and antelopes, can thus be accounted for. we should bear in mind that these colours do not appear in the male at birth, but only at or near maturity; and that unlike ordinary variations, they are lost if the male be emasculated. it is on the whole probable that the strongly-marked colours and other ornamental characters of male quadrupeds are beneficial to them in their rivalry with other males, and have consequently been acquired through sexual selection. this view is strengthened by the differences in colour between the sexes occurring almost exclusively, as may be collected from the previous details, in those groups and sub-groups of mammals which present other and strongly-marked secondary sexual characters; these being likewise due to sexual selection. quadrupeds manifestly take notice of colour. sir s. baker repeatedly observed that the african elephant and rhinoceros attacked white or grey horses with special fury. i have elsewhere shewn ( . the 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' , vol. ii. pp. , .) that half-wild horses apparently prefer to pair with those of the same colour, and that herds of fallow-deer of different colours, though living together, have long kept distinct. it is a more significant fact that a female zebra would not admit the addresses of a male ass until he was painted so as to resemble a zebra, and then, as john hunter remarks, "she received him very readily. in this curious fact, we have instinct excited by mere colour, which had so strong an effect as to get the better of everything else. but the male did not require this, the female being an animal somewhat similar to himself, was sufficient to rouse him." ( . 'essays and observations,' by j. hunter, edited by owen, , vol. i. p. .) in an earlier chapter we have seen that the mental powers of the higher animals do not differ in kind, though greatly in degree, from the corresponding powers of man, especially of the lower and barbarous races; and it would appear that even their taste for the beautiful is not widely different from that of the quadrumana. as the negro of africa raises the flesh on his face into parallel ridges "or cicatrices, high above the natural surface, which unsightly deformities are considered great personal attractions" ( . sir s. baker, 'the nile tributaries of abyssinia,' .);--as negroes and savages in many parts of the world paint their faces with red, blue, white, or black bars,--so the male mandrill of africa appears to have acquired his deeply-furrowed and gaudily-coloured face from having been thus rendered attractive to the female. no doubt it is to us a most grotesque notion that the posterior end of the body should be coloured for the sake of ornament even more brilliantly than the face; but this is not more strange than that the tails of many birds should be especially decorated. with mammals we do not at present possess any evidence that the males take pains to display their charms before the female; and the elaborate manner in which this is performed by male birds and other animals is the strongest argument in favour of the belief that the females admire, or are excited by, the ornaments and colours displayed before them. there is, however, a striking parallelism between mammals and birds in all their secondary sexual characters, namely in their weapons for fighting with rival males, in their ornamental appendages, and in their colours. in both classes, when the male differs from the female, the young of both sexes almost always resemble each other, and in a large majority of cases resemble the adult female. in both classes the male assumes the characters proper to his sex shortly before the age of reproduction; and if emasculated at an early period, loses them. in both classes the change of colour is sometimes seasonal, and the tints of the naked parts sometimes become more vivid during the act of courtship. in both classes the male is almost always more vividly or strongly coloured than the female, and is ornamented with larger crests of hair or feathers, or other such appendages. in a few exceptional cases the female in both classes is more highly ornamented than the male. with many mammals, and at least in the case of one bird, the male is more odoriferous than the female. in both classes the voice of the male is more powerful than that of the female. considering this parallelism, there can be little doubt that the same cause, whatever it may be, has acted on mammals and birds; and the result, as far as ornamental characters are concerned, may be attributed, as it appears to me, to the long-continued preference of the individuals of one sex for certain individuals of the opposite sex, combined with their success in leaving a larger number of offspring to inherit their superior attractions. equal transmission of ornamental characters to both sexes. with many birds, ornaments, which analogy leads us to believe were primarily acquired by the males, have been transmitted equally, or almost equally, to both sexes; and we may now enquire how far this view applies to mammals. with a considerable number of species, especially of the smaller kinds, both sexes have been coloured, independently of sexual selection, for the sake of protection; but not, as far as i can judge, in so many cases, nor in so striking a manner, as in most of the lower classes. audubon remarks that he often mistook the musk-rat ( . fiber zibethicus, audubon and bachman, 'the quadrupeds of north america,' , p. .), whilst sitting on the banks of a muddy stream, for a clod of earth, so complete was the resemblance. the hare on her form is a familiar instance of concealment through colour; yet this principle partly fails in a closely-allied species, the rabbit, for when running to its burrow, it is made conspicuous to the sportsman, and no doubt to all beasts of prey, by its upturned white tail. no one doubts that the quadrupeds inhabiting snow-clad regions have been rendered white to protect them from their enemies, or to favour their stealing on their prey. in regions where snow never lies for long, a white coat would be injurious; consequently, species of this colour are extremely rare in the hotter parts of the world. it deserves notice that many quadrupeds inhabiting moderately cold regions, although they do not assume a white winter dress, become paler during this season; and this apparently is the direct result of the conditions to which they have long been exposed. pallas ( . 'novae species quadrupedum e glirium ordine,' , p. . what i have called the roe is the capreolus sibiricus subecaudatus of pallas.) states that in siberia a change of this nature occurs with the wolf, two species of mustela, the domestic horse, the equus hemionus, the domestic cow, two species of antelopes, the musk-deer, the roe, elk, and reindeer. the roe, for instance, has a red summer and a greyish-white winter coat; and the latter may perhaps serve as a protection to the animal whilst wandering through the leafless thickets, sprinkled with snow and hoar-frost. if the above-named animals were gradually to extend their range into regions perpetually covered with snow, their pale winter-coats would probably be rendered through natural selection, whiter and whiter, until they became as white as snow. mr. reeks has given me a curious instance of an animal profiting by being peculiarly coloured. he raised from fifty to sixty white and brown piebald rabbits in a large walled orchard; and he had at the same time some similarly coloured cats in his house. such cats, as i have often noticed, are very conspicuous during day; but as they used to lie in watch during the dusk at the mouths of the burrows, the rabbits apparently did not distinguish them from their parti-coloured brethren. the result was that, within eighteen months, every one of these parti-coloured rabbits was destroyed; and there was evidence that this was effected by the cats. colour seems to be advantageous to another animal, the skunk, in a manner of which we have had many instances in other classes. no animal will voluntarily attack one of these creatures on account of the dreadful odour which it emits when irritated; but during the dusk it would not easily be recognised and might be attacked by a beast of prey. hence it is, as mr. belt believes ( . 'the naturalist in nicaragua,' p. .), that the skunk is provided with a great white bushy tail, which serves as a conspicuous warning. [fig. . tragelaphus scriptus, male (from the knowsley menagerie). fig. . damalis pygarga, male (from the knowsley menagerie).] although we must admit that many quadrupeds have received their present tints either as a protection, or as an aid in procuring prey, yet with a host of species, the colours are far too conspicuous and too singularly arranged to allow us to suppose that they serve for these purposes. we may take as an illustration certain antelopes; when we see the square white patch on the throat, the white marks on the fetlocks, and the round black spots on the ears, all more distinct in the male of the portax picta, than in the female;--when we see that the colours are more vivid, that the narrow white lines on the flank and the broad white bar on the shoulder are more distinct in the male oreas derbyanus than in the female;--when we see a similar difference between the sexes of the curiously-ornamented tragelaphus scriptus (fig. ),--we cannot believe that differences of this kind are of any service to either sex in their daily habits of life. it seems a much more probable conclusion that the various marks were first acquired by the males and their colours intensified through sexual selection, and then partially transferred to the females. if this view be admitted, there can be little doubt that the equally singular colours and marks of many other antelopes, though common to both sexes, have been gained and transmitted in a like manner. both sexes, for instance, of the koodoo (strepsiceros kudu) (fig. ) have narrow white vertical lines on their hind flanks, and an elegant angular white mark on their foreheads. both sexes in the genus damalis are very oddly coloured; in d. pygarga the back and neck are purplish-red, shading on the flanks into black; and these colours are abruptly separated from the white belly and from a large white space on the buttocks; the head is still more oddly coloured, a large oblong white mask, narrowly-edged with black, covers the face up to the eyes (fig. ); there are three white stripes on the forehead, and the ears are marked with white. the fawns of this species are of a uniform pale yellowish-brown. in damalis albifrons the colouring of the head differs from that in the last species in a single white stripe replacing the three stripes, and in the ears being almost wholly white. ( . see the fine plates in a. smith's 'zoology of south africa,' and dr. gray's 'gleanings from the menagerie of knowsley.') after having studied to the best of my ability the sexual differences of animals belonging to all classes, i cannot avoid the conclusion that the curiously-arranged colours of many antelopes, though common to both sexes, are the result of sexual selection primarily applied to the male. the same conclusion may perhaps be extended to the tiger, one of the most beautiful animals in the world, the sexes of which cannot be distinguished by colour, even by the dealers in wild beasts. mr. wallace believes ( . 'westminster review,' july , , p. .) that the striped coat of the tiger "so assimilates with the vertical stems of the bamboo, as to assist greatly in concealing him from his approaching prey." but this view does not appear to me satisfactory. we have some slight evidence that his beauty may be due to sexual selection, for in two species of felis the analogous marks and colours are rather brighter in the male than in the female. the zebra is conspicuously striped, and stripes cannot afford any protection in the open plains of south africa. burchell ( . 'travels in south africa,' , vol. ii. p. .) in describing a herd says, "their sleek ribs glistened in the sun, and the brightness and regularity of their striped coats presented a picture of extraordinary beauty, in which probably they are not surpassed by any other quadruped." but as throughout the whole group of the equidae the sexes are identical in colour, we have here no evidence of sexual selection. nevertheless he who attributes the white and dark vertical stripes on the flanks of various antelopes to this process, will probably extend the same view to the royal tiger and beautiful zebra. we have seen in a former chapter that when young animals belonging to any class follow nearly the same habits of life as their parents, and yet are coloured in a different manner, it may be inferred that they have retained the colouring of some ancient and extinct progenitor. in the family of pigs, and in the tapirs, the young are marked with longitudinal stripes, and thus differ from all the existing adult species in these two groups. with many kinds of deer the young are marked with elegant white spots, of which their parents exhibit not a trace. a graduated series can be followed from the axis deer, both sexes of which at all ages and during all seasons are beautifully spotted (the male being rather more strongly coloured than the female), to species in which neither the old nor the young are spotted. i will specify some of the steps in this series. the mantchurian deer (cervus mantchuricus) is spotted during the whole year, but, as i have seen in the zoological gardens, the spots are much plainer during the summer, when the general colour of the coat is lighter, than during the winter, when the general colour is darker and the horns are fully developed. in the hog-deer (hyelaphus porcinus) the spots are extremely conspicuous during the summer when the coat is reddish-brown, but quite disappear during the winter when the coat is brown. ( . dr. gray, 'gleanings from the menagerie of knowsley,' p. . mr. blyth, in speaking ('land and water,' , p. ) of the hog-deer of ceylon, says it is more brightly spotted with white than the common hog-deer, at the season when it renews its horns.) in both these species the young are spotted. in the virginian deer the young are likewise spotted, and about five per cent. of the adult animals living in judge caton's park, as i am informed by him, temporarily exhibit at the period when the red summer coat is being replaced by the bluish winter coat, a row of spots on each flank, which are always the same in number, though very variable in distinctness. from this condition there is but a very small step to the complete absence of spots in the adults at all seasons; and, lastly, to their absence at all ages and seasons, as occurs with certain species. from the existence of this perfect series, and more especially from the fawns of so many species being spotted, we may conclude that the now living members of the deer family are the descendants of some ancient species which, like the axis deer, was spotted at all ages and seasons. a still more ancient progenitor probably somewhat resembled the hyomoschus aquaticus--for this animal is spotted, and the hornless males have large exserted canine teeth, of which some few true deer still retain rudiments. hyomoschus, also, offers one of those interesting cases of a form linking together two groups, for it is intermediate in certain osteological characters between the pachyderms and ruminants, which were formerly thought to be quite distinct. ( . falconer and cautley, 'proc. geolog. soc.' ; and falconer's 'pal. memoirs,' vol. i. p. .) a curious difficulty here arises. if we admit that coloured spots and stripes were first acquired as ornaments, how comes it that so many existing deer, the descendants of an aboriginally spotted animal, and all the species of pigs and tapirs, the descendants of an aboriginally striped animal, have lost in their adult state their former ornaments? i cannot satisfactorily answer this question. we may feel almost sure that the spots and stripes disappeared at or near maturity in the progenitors of our existing species, so that they were still retained by the young; and, owing to the law of inheritance at corresponding ages, were transmitted to the young of all succeeding generations. it may have been a great advantage to the lion and puma, from the open nature of their usual haunts, to have lost their stripes, and to have been thus rendered less conspicuous to their prey; and if the successive variations, by which this end was gained, occurred rather late in life, the young would have retained their stripes, as is now the case. as to deer, pigs, and tapirs, fritz müller has suggested to me that these animals, by the removal of their spots or stripes through natural selection, would have been less easily seen by their enemies; and that they would have especially required this protection, as soon as the carnivora increased in size and number during the tertiary periods. this may be the true explanation, but it is rather strange that the young should not have been thus protected, and still more so that the adults of some species should have retained their spots, either partially or completely, during part of the year. we know that, when the domestic ass varies and becomes reddish-brown, grey, or black, the stripes on the shoulders and even on the spine frequently disappear, though we cannot explain the cause. very few horses, except dun-coloured kinds, have stripes on any part of their bodies, yet we have good reason to believe that the aboriginal horse was striped on the legs and spine, and probably on the shoulders. ( . the 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' , vol. i. pp. - .) hence the disappearance of the spots and stripes in our adult existing deer, pigs, and tapirs, may be due to a change in the general colour of their coats; but whether this change was effected through sexual or natural selection, or was due to the direct action of the conditions of life, or to some other unknown cause, it is impossible to decide. an observation made by mr. sclater well illustrates our ignorance of the laws which regulate the appearance and disappearance of stripes; the species of asinus which inhabit the asiatic continent are destitute of stripes, not having even the cross shoulder-stripe, whilst those which inhabit africa are conspicuously striped, with the partial exception of a. taeniopus, which has only the cross shoulder-stripe and generally some faint bars on the legs; and this species inhabits the almost intermediate region of upper egypt and abyssinia. ( . 'proc. zool. soc.' , p. . see, also, dr. hartmann, 'ann. d. landw.' bd. xliii. s. .) quadrumana. [fig. . head of semnopithecus rubicundus. this and the following figures (from prof. gervais) are given to shew the odd arrangement and development of the hair on the head. fig. . head of semnopithecus comatus. fig. . head of cebus capucinus. fig. . head of ateles marginatus. fig. . head of cebus vellerosus.] before we conclude, it will be well to add a few remarks on the ornaments of monkeys. in most of the species the sexes resemble each other in colour, but in some, as we have seen, the males differ from the females, especially in the colour of the naked parts of the skin, in the development of the beard, whiskers, and mane. many species are coloured either in so extraordinary or so beautiful a manner, and are furnished with such curious and elegant crests of hair, that we can hardly avoid looking at these characters as having been gained for the sake of ornament. the accompanying figures (figs. to ) serve to shew the arrangement of the hair on the face and head in several species. it is scarcely conceivable that these crests of hair, and the strongly contrasted colours of the fur and skin, can be the result of mere variability without the aid of selection; and it is inconceivable that they can be of use in any ordinary way to these animals. if so, they have probably been gained through sexual selection, though transmitted equally, or almost equally, to both sexes. with many of the quadrumana, we have additional evidence of the action of sexual selection in the greater size and strength of the males, and in the greater development of their canine teeth, in comparison with the females. [fig. . cercopithecus petaurista (from brehm).] a few instances will suffice of the strange manner in which both sexes of some species are coloured, and of the beauty of others. the face of the cercopithecus petaurista (fig. ) is black, the whiskers and beard being white, with a defined, round, white spot on the nose, covered with short white hair, which gives to the animal an almost ludicrous aspect. the semnopithecus frontatus likewise has a blackish face with a long black beard, and a large naked spot on the forehead of a bluish-white colour. the face of macacus lasiotus is dirty flesh-coloured, with a defined red spot on each cheek. the appearance of cercocebus aethiops is grotesque, with its black face, white whiskers and collar, chestnut head, and a large naked white spot over each eyelid. in very many species, the beard, whiskers, and crests of hair round the face are of a different colour from the rest of the head, and when different, are always of a lighter tint ( . i observed this fact in the zoological gardens; and many cases may be seen in the coloured plates in geoffroy st.-hilaire and f. cuvier, 'histoire nat. des mammifères,' tom. i. .), being often pure white, sometimes bright yellow, or reddish. the whole face of the south american brachyurus calvus is of a "glowing scarlet hue"; but this colour does not appear until the animal is nearly mature. ( . bates, 'the naturalist on the amazons,' , vol. ii. p. .) the naked skin of the face differs wonderfully in colour in the various species. it is often brown or flesh-colour, with parts perfectly white, and often as black as that of the most sooty negro. in the brachyurus the scarlet tint is brighter than that of the most blushing caucasian damsel. it is sometimes more distinctly orange than in any mongolian, and in several species it is blue, passing into violet or grey. in all the species known to mr. bartlett, in which the adults of both sexes have strongly-coloured faces, the colours are dull or absent during early youth. this likewise holds good with the mandrill and rhesus, in which the face and the posterior parts of the body are brilliantly coloured in one sex alone. in these latter cases we have reason to believe that the colours were acquired through sexual selection; and we are naturally led to extend the same view to the foregoing species, though both sexes when adult have their faces coloured in the same manner. [fig. . cercopithecus diana (from brehm).] although many kinds of monkeys are far from beautiful according to our taste, other species are universally admired for their elegant appearance and bright colours. the semnopithecus nemaeus, though peculiarly coloured, is described as extremely pretty; the orange-tinted face is surrounded by long whiskers of glossy whiteness, with a line of chestnut-red over the eyebrows; the fur on the back is of a delicate grey, with a square patch on the loins, the tail and the fore-arms being of a pure white; a gorget of chestnut surmounts the chest; the thighs are black, with the legs chestnut-red. i will mention only two other monkeys for their beauty; and i have selected these as presenting slight sexual differences in colour, which renders it in some degree probable that both sexes owe their elegant appearance to sexual selection. in the moustache-monkey (cercopithecus cephus) the general colour of the fur is mottled-greenish with the throat white; in the male the end of the tail is chestnut, but the face is the most ornamented part, the skin being chiefly bluish-grey, shading into a blackish tint beneath the eyes, with the upper lip of a delicate blue, clothed on the lower edge with a thin black moustache; the whiskers are orange-coloured, with the upper part black, forming a band which extends backwards to the ears, the latter being clothed with whitish hairs. in the zoological society's gardens i have often overheard visitors admiring the beauty of another monkey, deservedly called cercopithecus diana (fig. ); the general colour of the fur is grey; the chest and inner surface of the forelegs are white; a large triangular defined space on the hinder part of the back is rich chestnut; in the male the inner sides of the thighs and the abdomen are delicate fawn-coloured, and the top of the head is black; the face and ears are intensely black, contrasting finely with a white transverse crest over the eyebrows and a long white peaked beard, of which the basal portion is black. ( . i have seen most of the above monkeys in the zoological society's gardens. the description of the semnopithecus nemaeus is taken from mr. w.c. martin's 'natural history of mammalia,' , p. ; see also pp. , .) in these and many other monkeys, the beauty and singular arrangement of their colours, and still more the diversified and elegant arrangement of the crests and tufts of hair on their heads, force the conviction on my mind that these characters have been acquired through sexual selection exclusively as ornaments. summary. the law of battle for the possession of the female appears to prevail throughout the whole great class of mammals. most naturalists will admit that the greater size, strength, courage, and pugnacity of the male, his special weapons of offence, as well as his special means of defence, have been acquired or modified through that form of selection which i have called sexual. this does not depend on any superiority in the general struggle for life, but on certain individuals of one sex, generally the male, being successful in conquering other males, and leaving a larger number of offspring to inherit their superiority than do the less successful males. there is another and more peaceful kind of contest, in which the males endeavour to excite or allure the females by various charms. this is probably carried on in some cases by the powerful odours emitted by the males during the breeding-season; the odoriferous glands having been acquired through sexual selection. whether the same view can be extended to the voice is doubtful, for the vocal organs of the males must have been strengthened by use during maturity, under the powerful excitements of love, jealousy or rage, and will consequently have been transmitted to the same sex. various crests, tufts, and mantles of hair, which are either confined to the male, or are more developed in this sex than in the female, seem in most cases to be merely ornamental, though they sometimes serve as a defence against rival males. there is even reason to suspect that the branching horns of stags, and the elegant horns of certain antelopes, though properly serving as weapons of offence or defence, have been partly modified for ornament. when the male differs in colour from the female, he generally exhibits darker and more strongly-contrasted tints. we do not in this class meet with the splendid red, blue, yellow, and green tints, so common with male birds and many other animals. the naked parts, however, of certain quadrumana must be excepted; for such parts, often oddly situated, are brilliantly coloured in some species. the colours of the male in other cases may be due to simple variation, without the aid of selection. but when the colours are diversified and strongly pronounced, when they are not developed until near maturity, and when they are lost after emasculation, we can hardly avoid the conclusion that they have been acquired through sexual selection for the sake of ornament, and have been transmitted exclusively, or almost exclusively, to the same sex. when both sexes are coloured in the same manner, and the colours are conspicuous or curiously arranged, without being of the least apparent use as a protection, and especially when they are associated with various other ornamental appendages, we are led by analogy to the same conclusion, namely, that they have been acquired through sexual selection, although transmitted to both sexes. that conspicuous and diversified colours, whether confined to the males or common to both sexes, are as a general rule associated in the same groups and sub-groups with other secondary sexual characters serving for war or for ornament, will be found to hold good, if we look back to the various cases given in this and the last chapter. the law of the equal transmission of characters to both sexes, as far as colour and other ornaments are concerned, has prevailed far more extensively with mammals than with birds; but weapons, such as horns and tusks, have often been transmitted either exclusively or much more perfectly to the males than to the females. this is surprising, for, as the males generally use their weapons for defence against enemies of all kinds, their weapons would have been of service to the females. as far as we can see, their absence in this sex can be accounted for only by the form of inheritance which has prevailed. finally, with quadrupeds the contest between the individuals of the same sex, whether peaceful or bloody, has, with the rarest exceptions, been confined to the males; so that the latter have been modified through sexual selection, far more commonly than the females, either for fighting with each other or for alluring the opposite sex. part iii. sexual selection in relation to man, and conclusion. chapter xix. secondary sexual characters of man. differences between man and woman--causes of such differences and of certain characters common to both sexes--law of battle--differences in mental powers, and voice--on the influence of beauty in determining the marriages of mankind--attention paid by savages to ornaments--their ideas of beauty in woman--the tendency to exaggerate each natural peculiarity. with mankind the differences between the sexes are greater than in most of the quadrumana, but not so great as in some, for instance, the mandrill. man on an average is considerably taller, heavier, and stronger than woman, with squarer shoulders and more plainly-pronounced muscles. owing to the relation which exists between muscular development and the projection of the brows ( . schaaffhausen, translation in 'anthropological review,' oct. , pp. , , .), the superciliary ridge is generally more marked in man than in woman. his body, and especially his face, is more hairy, and his voice has a different and more powerful tone. in certain races the women are said to differ slightly in tint from the men. for instance, schweinfurth, in speaking of a negress belonging to the monbuttoos, who inhabit the interior of africa a few degrees north of the equator, says, "like all her race, she had a skin several shades lighter than her husband's, being something of the colour of half-roasted coffee." ( . 'the heart of africa,' english transl. , vol i. p. .) as the women labour in the fields and are quite unclothed, it is not likely that they differ in colour from the men owing to less exposure to the weather. european women are perhaps the brighter coloured of the two sexes, as may be seen when both have been equally exposed. man is more courageous, pugnacious and energetic than woman, and has a more inventive genius. his brain is absolutely larger, but whether or not proportionately to his larger body, has not, i believe, been fully ascertained. in woman the face is rounder; the jaws and the base of the skull smaller; the outlines of the body rounder, in parts more prominent; and her pelvis is broader than in man ( . ecker, translation, in 'anthropological review,' oct. , pp. - . the comparison of the form of the skull in men and women has been followed out with much care by welcker.); but this latter character may perhaps be considered rather as a primary than a secondary sexual character. she comes to maturity at an earlier age than man. as with animals of all classes, so with man, the distinctive characters of the male sex are not fully developed until he is nearly mature; and if emasculated they never appear. the beard, for instance, is a secondary sexual character, and male children are beardless, though at an early age they have abundant hair on the head. it is probably due to the rather late appearance in life of the successive variations whereby man has acquired his masculine characters, that they are transmitted to the male sex alone. male and female children resemble each other closely, like the young of so many other animals in which the adult sexes differ widely; they likewise resemble the mature female much more closely than the mature male. the female, however, ultimately assumes certain distinctive characters, and in the formation of her skull, is said to be intermediate between the child and the man. ( . ecker and welcker, ibid. pp. , ; vogt, 'lectures on man,' eng. translat. p. .) again, as the young of closely allied though distinct species do not differ nearly so much from each other as do the adults, so it is with the children of the different races of man. some have even maintained that race-differences cannot be detected in the infantile skull. ( . schaaffhausen, 'anthropolog. review,' ibid. p. .) in regard to colour, the new-born negro child is reddish nut-brown, which soon becomes slaty-grey; the black colour being fully developed within a year in the soudan, but not until three years in egypt. the eyes of the negro are at first blue, and the hair chestnut-brown rather than black, being curled only at the ends. the children of the australians immediately after birth are yellowish-brown, and become dark at a later age. those of the guaranys of paraguay are whitish-yellow, but they acquire in the course of a few weeks the yellowish-brown tint of their parents. similar observations have been made in other parts of america. ( . pruner-bey, on negro infants as quoted by vogt, 'lectures on man,' eng. translat. , p. : for further facts on negro infants, as quoted from winterbottom and camper, see lawrence, 'lectures on physiology,' etc. , p. . for the infants of the guaranys, see rengger, 'säugethiere,' etc. s. . see also godron, 'de l'espèce,' tom. ii. , p. . for the australians, waitz, 'introduction to anthropology,' eng. translat. , p. .) i have specified the foregoing differences between the male and female sex in mankind, because they are curiously like those of the quadrumana. with these animals the female is mature at an earlier age than the male; at least this is certainly the case in cebus azarae. ( . rengger, 'säugethiere,' etc., , s. .) the males of most species are larger and stronger than the females, of which fact the gorilla affords a well-known instance. even in so trifling a character as the greater prominence of the superciliary ridge, the males of certain monkeys differ from the females ( . as in macacus cynomolgus (desmarest, 'mammalogie,' p. ), and in hylobates agilis (geoffroy st.-hilaire and f. cuvier, 'histoire nat. des mammifères,' , tom. i. p. )., and agree in this respect with mankind. in the gorilla and certain other monkeys, the cranium of the adult male presents a strongly-marked sagittal crest, which is absent in the female; and ecker found a trace of a similar difference between the two sexes in the australians. ( . 'anthropological review,' oct. , p. .) with monkeys when there is any difference in the voice, that of the male is the more powerful. we have seen that certain male monkeys have a well-developed beard, which is quite deficient, or much less developed in the female. no instance is known of the beard, whiskers, or moustache being larger in the female than in the male monkey. even in the colour of the beard there is a curious parallelism between man and the quadrumana, for with man when the beard differs in colour from the hair of the head, as is commonly the case, it is, i believe, almost always of a lighter tint, being often reddish. i have repeatedly observed this fact in england; but two gentlemen have lately written to me, saying that they form an exception to the rule. one of these gentlemen accounts for the fact by the wide difference in colour of the hair on the paternal and maternal sides of his family. both had been long aware of this peculiarity (one of them having often been accused of dyeing his beard), and had been thus led to observe other men, and were convinced that the exceptions were very rare. dr. hooker attended to this little point for me in russia, and found no exception to the rule. in calcutta, mr. j. scott, of the botanic gardens, was so kind as to observe the many races of men to be seen there, as well as in some other parts of india, namely, two races of sikhim, the bhoteas, hindoos, burmese, and chinese, most of which races have very little hair on the face; and he always found that when there was any difference in colour between the hair of the head and the beard, the latter was invariably lighter. now with monkeys, as has already been stated, the beard frequently differs strikingly in colour from the hair of the head, and in such cases it is always of a lighter hue, being often pure white, sometimes yellow or reddish. ( . mr. blyth informs me that he has only seen one instance of the beard, whiskers, etc., in a monkey becoming white with old age, as is so commonly the case with us. this, however, occurred in an aged macacus cynomolgus, kept in confinement whose moustaches were "remarkably long and human-like." altogether this old monkey presented a ludicrous resemblance to one of the reigning monarchs of europe, after whom he was universally nick-named. in certain races of man the hair on the head hardly ever becomes grey; thus mr. d. forbes has never, as he informs me, seen an instance with the aymaras and quichuas of south america.) in regard to the general hairiness of the body, the women in all races are less hairy than the men; and in some few quadrumana the under side of the body of the female is less hairy than that of the male. ( . this is the case with the females of several species of hylobates; see geoffroy st.-hilaire and f. cuvier, 'hist. nat. des mamm.' tom. i. see also, on h. lar, 'penny cyclopedia,' vol. ii. pp. , .) lastly, male monkeys, like men, are bolder and fiercer than the females. they lead the troop, and when there is danger, come to the front. we thus see how close is the parallelism between the sexual differences of man and the quadrumana. with some few species, however, as with certain baboons, the orang and the gorilla, there is a considerably greater difference between the sexes, as in the size of the canine teeth, in the development and colour of the hair, and especially in the colour of the naked parts of the skin, than in mankind. all the secondary sexual characters of man are highly variable, even within the limits of the same race; and they differ much in the several races. these two rules hold good generally throughout the animal kingdom. in the excellent observations made on board the novara ( . the results were deduced by dr. weisbach from the measurements made by drs. k. scherzer and schwarz, see 'reise der novara: anthropolog. theil,' , ss. , , , , , .), the male australians were found to exceed the females by only millim. in height, whilst with the javans the average excess was millim.; so that in this latter race the difference in height between the sexes is more than thrice as great as with the australians. numerous measurements were carefully made of the stature, the circumference of the neck and chest, the length of the back-bone and of the arms, in various races; and nearly all these measurements shew that the males differ much more from one another than do the females. this fact indicates that, as far as these characters are concerned, it is the male which has been chiefly modified, since the several races diverged from their common stock. the development of the beard and the hairiness of the body differ remarkably in the men of distinct races, and even in different tribes or families of the same race. we europeans see this amongst ourselves. in the island of st. kilda, according to martin ( . 'voyage to st. kilda' ( rd ed. ), p. .), the men do not acquire beards until the age of thirty or upwards, and even then the beards are very thin. on the europaeo-asiatic continent, beards prevail until we pass beyond india; though with the natives of ceylon they are often absent, as was noticed in ancient times by diodorus. ( . sir j.e. tennent, 'ceylon,' vol. ii. , p. .) eastward of india beards disappear, as with the siamese, malays, kalmucks, chinese, and japanese; nevertheless, the ainos ( . quatrefages, 'revue des cours scientifiques,' aug. , , p. ; vogt, 'lectures on man,' eng. trans. p. .), who inhabit the northernmost islands of the japan archipelago, are the hairiest men in the world. with negroes the beard is scanty or wanting, and they rarely have whiskers; in both sexes the body is frequently almost destitute of fine down. ( . on the beards of negroes, vogt, 'lectures,' etc. p. ; waitz, 'introduct. to anthropology,' engl. translat. , vol. i. p. . it is remarkable that in the united states ('investigations in military and anthropological statistics of american soldiers,' , p. ) the pure negroes and their crossed offspring seem to have bodies almost as hairy as europeans.) on the other hand, the papuans of the malay archipelago, who are nearly as black as negroes, possess well-developed beards. ( . wallace, 'the malay arch.' vol. ii. , p. .) in the pacific ocean the inhabitants of the fiji archipelago have large bushy beards, whilst those of the not distant archipelagoes of tonga and samoa are beardless; but these men belong to distinct races. in the ellice group all the inhabitants belong to the same race; yet on one island alone, namely nunemaya, "the men have splendid beards"; whilst on the other islands "they have, as a rule, a dozen straggling hairs for a beard." ( . dr. j. barnard davis on oceanic races, in 'anthropological review,' april , pp. , .) throughout the great american continent the men may be said to be beardless; but in almost all the tribes a few short hairs are apt to appear on the face, especially in old age. with the tribes of north america, catlin estimates that eighteen out of twenty men are completely destitute by nature of a beard; but occasionally there may be seen a man, who has neglected to pluck out the hairs at puberty, with a soft beard an inch or two in length. the guaranys of paraguay differ from all the surrounding tribes in having a small beard, and even some hair on the body, but no whiskers. ( . catlin, 'north american indians,' rd. ed. , vol. ii. p. . on the guaranys, see azara, 'voyages dans l'amérique merid.' tom. ii. , p. ; also rengger, 'säugethiere von paraguay,' s. .) i am informed by mr. d. forbes, who particularly attended to this point, that the aymaras and quichuas of the cordillera are remarkably hairless, yet in old age a few straggling hairs occasionally appear on the chin. the men of these two tribes have very little hair on the various parts of the body where hair grows abundantly in europeans, and the women have none on the corresponding parts. the hair on the head, however, attains an extraordinary length in both sexes, often reaching almost to the ground; and this is likewise the case with some of the n. american tribes. in the amount of hair, and in the general shape of the body, the sexes of the american aborigines do not differ so much from each other, as in most other races. ( . prof. and mrs. agassiz ('journey in brazil,' p. ) remark that the sexes of the american indians differ less than those of the negroes and of the higher races. see also rengger, ibid. p. , on the guaranys.) this fact is analogous with what occurs with some closely allied monkeys; thus the sexes of the chimpanzee are not as different as those of the orang or gorilla. ( . rutimeyer, 'die grenzen der thierwelt; eine betrachtung zu darwin's lehre,' , s. .) in the previous chapters we have seen that with mammals, birds, fishes, insects, etc., many characters, which there is every reason to believe were primarily gained through sexual selection by one sex, have been transferred to the other. as this same form of transmission has apparently prevailed much with mankind, it will save useless repetition if we discuss the origin of characters peculiar to the male sex together with certain other characters common to both sexes. law of battle. with savages, for instance, the australians, the women are the constant cause of war both between members of the same tribe and between distinct tribes. so no doubt it was in ancient times; "nam fuit ante helenam mulier teterrima belli causa." with some of the north american indians, the contest is reduced to a system. that excellent observer, hearne ( . 'a journey from prince of wales fort,' vo. ed. dublin, , p. . sir j. lubbock ('origin of civilisation,' , p. ) gives other and similar cases in north america. for the guanas of south america see azara, 'voyages,' etc. tom. ii. p. .), says:--"it has ever been the custom among these people for the men to wrestle for any woman to whom they are attached; and, of course, the strongest party always carries off the prize. a weak man, unless he be a good hunter, and well-beloved, is seldom permitted to keep a wife that a stronger man thinks worth his notice. this custom prevails throughout all the tribes, and causes a great spirit of emulation among their youth, who are upon all occasions, from their childhood, trying their strength and skill in wrestling." with the guanas of south america, azara states that the men rarely marry till twenty years old or more, as before that age they cannot conquer their rivals. other similar facts could be given; but even if we had no evidence on this head, we might feel almost sure, from the analogy of the higher quadrumana ( . on the fighting of the male gorillas, see dr. savage, in 'boston journal of natural history,' vol. v. , p. . on presbytis entellus, see the 'indian field,' , p. .), that the law of battle had prevailed with man during the early stages of his development. the occasional appearance at the present day of canine teeth which project above the others, with traces of a diastema or open space for the reception of the opposite canines, is in all probability a case of reversion to a former state, when the progenitors of man were provided with these weapons, like so many existing male quadrumana. it was remarked in a former chapter that as man gradually became erect, and continually used his hands and arms for fighting with sticks and stones, as well as for the other purposes of life, he would have used his jaws and teeth less and less. the jaws, together with their muscles, would then have been reduced through disuse, as would the teeth through the not well understood principles of correlation and economy of growth; for we everywhere see that parts, which are no longer of service, are reduced in size. by such steps the original inequality between the jaws and teeth in the two sexes of mankind would ultimately have been obliterated. the case is almost parallel with that of many male ruminants, in which the canine teeth have been reduced to mere rudiments, or have disappeared, apparently in consequence of the development of horns. as the prodigious difference between the skulls of the two sexes in the orang and gorilla stands in close relation with the development of the immense canine teeth in the males, we may infer that the reduction of the jaws and teeth in the early male progenitors of man must have led to a most striking and favourable change in his appearance. there can be little doubt that the greater size and strength of man, in comparison with woman, together with his broader shoulders, more developed muscles, rugged outline of body, his greater courage and pugnacity, are all due in chief part to inheritance from his half-human male ancestors. these characters would, however, have been preserved or even augmented during the long ages of man's savagery, by the success of the strongest and boldest men, both in the general struggle for life and in their contests for wives; a success which would have ensured their leaving a more numerous progeny than their less favoured brethren. it is not probable that the greater strength of man was primarily acquired through the inherited effects of his having worked harder than woman for his own subsistence and that of his family; for the women in all barbarous nations are compelled to work at least as hard as the men. with civilised people the arbitrament of battle for the possession of the women has long ceased; on the other hand, the men, as a general rule, have to work harder than the women for their joint subsistence, and thus their greater strength will have been kept up. difference in the mental powers of the two sexes. with respect to differences of this nature between man and woman, it is probable that sexual selection has played a highly important part. i am aware that some writers doubt whether there is any such inherent difference; but this is at least probable from the analogy of the lower animals which present other secondary sexual characters. no one disputes that the bull differs in disposition from the cow, the wild-boar from the sow, the stallion from the mare, and, as is well known to the keepers of menageries, the males of the larger apes from the females. woman seems to differ from man in mental disposition, chiefly in her greater tenderness and less selfishness; and this holds good even with savages, as shewn by a well-known passage in mungo park's travels, and by statements made by many other travellers. woman, owing to her maternal instincts, displays these qualities towards her infants in an eminent degree; therefore it is likely that she would often extend them towards her fellow-creatures. man is the rival of other men; he delights in competition, and this leads to ambition which passes too easily into selfishness. these latter qualities seem to be his natural and unfortunate birthright. it is generally admitted that with woman the powers of intuition, of rapid perception, and perhaps of imitation, are more strongly marked than in man; but some, at least, of these faculties are characteristic of the lower races, and therefore of a past and lower state of civilisation. the chief distinction in the intellectual powers of the two sexes is shewn by man's attaining to a higher eminence, in whatever he takes up, than can woman--whether requiring deep thought, reason, or imagination, or merely the use of the senses and hands. if two lists were made of the most eminent men and women in poetry, painting, sculpture, music (inclusive both of composition and performance), history, science, and philosophy, with half-a-dozen names under each subject, the two lists would not bear comparison. we may also infer, from the law of the deviation from averages, so well illustrated by mr. galton, in his work on 'hereditary genius,' that if men are capable of a decided pre-eminence over women in many subjects, the average of mental power in man must be above that of woman. amongst the half-human progenitors of man, and amongst savages, there have been struggles between the males during many generations for the possession of the females. but mere bodily strength and size would do little for victory, unless associated with courage, perseverance, and determined energy. with social animals, the young males have to pass through many a contest before they win a female, and the older males have to retain their females by renewed battles. they have, also, in the case of mankind, to defend their females, as well as their young, from enemies of all kinds, and to hunt for their joint subsistence. but to avoid enemies or to attack them with success, to capture wild animals, and to fashion weapons, requires the aid of the higher mental faculties, namely, observation, reason, invention, or imagination. these various faculties will thus have been continually put to the test and selected during manhood; they will, moreover, have been strengthened by use during this same period of life. consequently in accordance with the principle often alluded to, we might expect that they would at least tend to be transmitted chiefly to the male offspring at the corresponding period of manhood. now, when two men are put into competition, or a man with a woman, both possessed of every mental quality in equal perfection, save that one has higher energy, perseverance, and courage, the latter will generally become more eminent in every pursuit, and will gain the ascendancy. ( . j. stuart mill remarks ('the subjection of women,' , p. ), "the things in which man most excels woman are those which require most plodding, and long hammering at single thoughts." what is this but energy and perseverance?) he may be said to possess genius--for genius has been declared by a great authority to be patience; and patience, in this sense, means unflinching, undaunted perseverance. but this view of genius is perhaps deficient; for without the higher powers of the imagination and reason, no eminent success can be gained in many subjects. these latter faculties, as well as the former, will have been developed in man, partly through sexual selection,--that is, through the contest of rival males, and partly through natural selection, that is, from success in the general struggle for life; and as in both cases the struggle will have been during maturity, the characters gained will have been transmitted more fully to the male than to the female offspring. it accords in a striking manner with this view of the modification and re-inforcement of many of our mental faculties by sexual selection, that, firstly, they notoriously undergo a considerable change at puberty ( . maudsley, 'mind and body,' p. .), and, secondly, that eunuchs remain throughout life inferior in these same qualities. thus, man has ultimately become superior to woman. it is, indeed, fortunate that the law of the equal transmission of characters to both sexes prevails with mammals; otherwise, it is probable that man would have become as superior in mental endowment to woman, as the peacock is in ornamental plumage to the peahen. it must be borne in mind that the tendency in characters acquired by either sex late in life, to be transmitted to the same sex at the same age, and of early acquired characters to be transmitted to both sexes, are rules which, though general, do not always hold. if they always held good, we might conclude (but i here exceed my proper bounds) that the inherited effects of the early education of boys and girls would be transmitted equally to both sexes; so that the present inequality in mental power between the sexes would not be effaced by a similar course of early training; nor can it have been caused by their dissimilar early training. in order that woman should reach the same standard as man, she ought, when nearly adult, to be trained to energy and perseverance, and to have her reason and imagination exercised to the highest point; and then she would probably transmit these qualities chiefly to her adult daughters. all women, however, could not be thus raised, unless during many generations those who excelled in the above robust virtues were married, and produced offspring in larger numbers than other women. as before remarked of bodily strength, although men do not now fight for their wives, and this form of selection has passed away, yet during manhood, they generally undergo a severe struggle in order to maintain themselves and their families; and this will tend to keep up or even increase their mental powers, and, as a consequence, the present inequality between the sexes. ( . an observation by vogt bears on this subject: he says, "it is a remarkable circumstance, that the difference between the sexes, as regards the cranial cavity, increases with the development of the race, so that the male european excels much more the female, than the negro the negress. welcker confirms this statement of huschke from his measurements of negro and german skulls." but vogt admits ('lectures on man,' eng. translat. , p. ) that more observations are requisite on this point. voice and musical powers. in some species of quadrumana there is a great difference between the adult sexes, in the power of their voices and in the development of the vocal organs; and man appears to have inherited this difference from his early progenitors. his vocal cords are about one-third longer than in woman, or than in boys; and emasculation produces the same effect on him as on the lower animals, for it "arrests that prominent growth of the thyroid, etc., which accompanies the elongation of the cords." ( . owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. p. .) with respect to the cause of this difference between the sexes, i have nothing to add to the remarks in the last chapter on the probable effects of the long-continued use of the vocal organs by the male under the excitement of love, rage and jealousy. according to sir duncan gibb ( . 'journal of the anthropological society,' april , p. lvii. and lxvi.), the voice and the form of the larynx differ in the different races of mankind; but with the tartars, chinese, etc., the voice of the male is said not to differ so much from that of the female, as in most other races. the capacity and love for singing or music, though not a sexual character in man, must not here be passed over. although the sounds emitted by animals of all kinds serve many purposes, a strong case can be made out, that the vocal organs were primarily used and perfected in relation to the propagation of the species. insects and some few spiders are the lowest animals which voluntarily produce any sound; and this is generally effected by the aid of beautifully constructed stridulating organs, which are often confined to the males. the sounds thus produced consist, i believe in all cases, of the same note, repeated rhythmically ( . dr. scudder, 'notes on stridulation,' in 'proc. boston soc. of nat. hist.' vol. xi. april .); and this is sometimes pleasing even to the ears of man. the chief and, in some cases, exclusive purpose appears to be either to call or charm the opposite sex. the sounds produced by fishes are said in some cases to be made only by the males during the breeding-season. all the air-breathing vertebrata necessarily possess an apparatus for inhaling and expelling air, with a pipe capable of being closed at one end. hence when the primeval members of this class were strongly excited and their muscles violently contracted, purposeless sounds would almost certainly have been produced; and these, if they proved in any way serviceable, might readily have been modified or intensified by the preservation of properly adapted variations. the lowest vertebrates which breathe air are amphibians; and of these, frogs and toads possess vocal organs, which are incessantly used during the breeding-season, and which are often more highly developed in the male than in the female. the male alone of the tortoise utters a noise, and this only during the season of love. male alligators roar or bellow during the same season. every one knows how much birds use their vocal organs as a means of courtship; and some species likewise perform what may be called instrumental music. in the class of mammals, with which we are here more particularly concerned, the males of almost all the species use their voices during the breeding-season much more than at any other time; and some are absolutely mute excepting at this season. with other species both sexes, or only the females, use their voices as a love-call. considering these facts, and that the vocal organs of some quadrupeds are much more largely developed in the male than in the female, either permanently or temporarily during the breeding-season; and considering that in most of the lower classes the sounds produced by the males, serve not only to call but to excite or allure the female, it is a surprising fact that we have not as yet any good evidence that these organs are used by male mammals to charm the females. the american mycetes caraya perhaps forms an exception, as does the hylobates agilis, an ape allied to man. this gibbon has an extremely loud but musical voice. mr. waterhouse states ( . given in w.c.l. martin's 'general introduction to natural history of mamm. animals,' , p. ; owen, 'anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii, p. .), "it appeared to me that in ascending and descending the scale, the intervals were always exactly half-tones; and i am sure that the highest note was the exact octave to the lowest. the quality of the notes is very musical; and i do not doubt that a good violinist would be able to give a correct idea of the gibbon's composition, excepting as regards its loudness." mr. waterhouse then gives the notes. professor owen, who is a musician, confirms the foregoing statement, and remarks, though erroneously, that this gibbon "alone of brute mammals may be said to sing." it appears to be much excited after its performance. unfortunately, its habits have never been closely observed in a state of nature; but from the analogy of other animals, it is probable that it uses its musical powers more especially during the season of courtship. this gibbon is not the only species in the genus which sings, for my son, francis darwin, attentively listened in the zoological gardens to h. leuciscus whilst singing a cadence of three notes, in true musical intervals and with a clear musical tone. it is a more surprising fact that certain rodents utter musical sounds. singing mice have often been mentioned and exhibited, but imposture has commonly been suspected. we have, however, at last a clear account by a well-known observer, the rev. s. lockwood ( . the 'american naturalist,' , p. .), of the musical powers of an american species, the hesperomys cognatus, belonging to a genus distinct from that of the english mouse. this little animal was kept in confinement, and the performance was repeatedly heard. in one of the two chief songs, "the last bar would frequently be prolonged to two or three; and she would sometimes change from c sharp and d, to c natural and d, then warble on these two notes awhile, and wind up with a quick chirp on c sharp and d. the distinctness between the semitones was very marked, and easily appreciable to a good ear." mr. lockwood gives both songs in musical notation; and adds that though this little mouse "had no ear for time, yet she would keep to the key of b (two flats) and strictly in a major key."..."her soft clear voice falls an octave with all the precision possible; then at the wind up, it rises again into a very quick trill on c sharp and d." a critic has asked how the ears of man, and he ought to have added of other animals, could have been adapted by selection so as to distinguish musical notes. but this question shews some confusion on the subject; a noise is the sensation resulting from the co-existence of several aerial "simple vibrations" of various periods, each of which intermits so frequently that its separate existence cannot be perceived. it is only in the want of continuity of such vibrations, and in their want of harmony inter se, that a noise differs from a musical note. thus an ear to be capable of discriminating noises--and the high importance of this power to all animals is admitted by every one--must be sensitive to musical notes. we have evidence of this capacity even low down in the animal scale: thus crustaceans are provided with auditory hairs of different lengths, which have been seen to vibrate when the proper musical notes are struck. ( . helmholtz, 'theorie phys. de la musique,' , p. .) as stated in a previous chapter, similar observations have been made on the hairs of the antennae of gnats. it has been positively asserted by good observers that spiders are attracted by music. it is also well known that some dogs howl when hearing particular tones. ( . several accounts have been published to this effect. mr. peach writes to me that an old dog of his howls when b flat is sounded on the flute, and to no other note. i may add another instance of a dog always whining, when one note on a concertina, which was out of tune, was played.) seals apparently appreciate music, and their fondness for it "was well known to the ancients, and is often taken advantage of by the hunters at the present day." ( . mr. r. brown, in 'proc. zool. soc.' , p. .) therefore, as far as the mere perception of musical notes is concerned, there seems no special difficulty in the case of man or of any other animal. helmholtz has explained on physiological principles why concords are agreeable, and discords disagreeable to the human ear; but we are little concerned with these, as music in harmony is a late invention. we are more concerned with melody, and here again, according to helmholtz, it is intelligible why the notes of our musical scale are used. the ear analyses all sounds into their component "simple vibrations," although we are not conscious of this analysis. in a musical note the lowest in pitch of these is generally predominant, and the others which are less marked are the octave, the twelfth, the second octave, etc., all harmonies of the fundamental predominant note; any two notes of our scale have many of these harmonic over-tones in common. it seems pretty clear then, that if an animal always wished to sing precisely the same song, he would guide himself by sounding those notes in succession, which possess many over-tones in common--that is, he would choose for his song, notes which belong to our musical scale. but if it be further asked why musical tones in a certain order and rhythm give man and other animals pleasure, we can no more give the reason than for the pleasantness of certain tastes and smells. that they do give pleasure of some kind to animals, we may infer from their being produced during the season of courtship by many insects, spiders, fishes, amphibians, and birds; for unless the females were able to appreciate such sounds and were excited or charmed by them, the persevering efforts of the males, and the complex structures often possessed by them alone, would be useless; and this it is impossible to believe. human song is generally admitted to be the basis or origin of instrumental music. as neither the enjoyment nor the capacity of producing musical notes are faculties of the least use to man in reference to his daily habits of life, they must be ranked amongst the most mysterious with which he is endowed. they are present, though in a very rude condition, in men of all races, even the most savage; but so different is the taste of the several races, that our music gives no pleasure to savages, and their music is to us in most cases hideous and unmeaning. dr. seemann, in some interesting remarks on this subject ( . 'journal of anthropological society,' oct. , p. clv. see also the several later chapters in sir john lubbock's 'prehistoric times,' nd ed. , which contain an admirable account of the habits of savages.), "doubts whether even amongst the nations of western europe, intimately connected as they are by close and frequent intercourse, the music of the one is interpreted in the same sense by the others. by travelling eastwards we find that there is certainly a different language of music. songs of joy and dance-accompaniments are no longer, as with us, in the major keys, but always in the minor." whether or not the half-human progenitors of man possessed, like the singing gibbons, the capacity of producing, and therefore no doubt of appreciating, musical notes, we know that man possessed these faculties at a very remote period. m. lartet has described two flutes made out of the bones and horns of the reindeer, found in caves together with flint tools and the remains of extinct animals. the arts of singing and of dancing are also very ancient, and are now practised by all or nearly all the lowest races of man. poetry, which may be considered as the offspring of song, is likewise so ancient, that many persons have felt astonished that it should have arisen during the earliest ages of which we have any record. we see that the musical faculties, which are not wholly deficient in any race, are capable of prompt and high development, for hottentots and negroes have become excellent musicians, although in their native countries they rarely practise anything that we should consider music. schweinfurth, however, was pleased with some of the simple melodies which he heard in the interior of africa. but there is nothing anomalous in the musical faculties lying dormant in man: some species of birds which never naturally sing, can without much difficulty be taught to do so; thus a house-sparrow has learnt the song of a linnet. as these two species are closely allied, and belong to the order of insessores, which includes nearly all the singing-birds in the world, it is possible that a progenitor of the sparrow may have been a songster. it is more remarkable that parrots, belonging to a group distinct from the insessores, and having differently constructed vocal organs, can be taught not only to speak, but to pipe or whistle tunes invented by man, so that they must have some musical capacity. nevertheless it would be very rash to assume that parrots are descended from some ancient form which was a songster. many cases could be advanced of organs and instincts originally adapted for one purpose, having been utilised for some distinct purpose. ( . since this chapter was printed, i have seen a valuable article by mr. chauncey wright ('north american review,' oct. , page ), who, in discussing the above subject, remarks, "there are many consequences of the ultimate laws or uniformities of nature, through which the acquisition of one useful power will bring with it many resulting advantages as well as limiting disadvantages, actual or possible, which the principle of utility may not have comprehended in its action." as i have attempted to shew in an early chapter of this work, this principle has an important bearing on the acquisition by man of some of his mental characteristics.) hence the capacity for high musical development which the savage races of man possess, may be due either to the practice by our semi-human progenitors of some rude form of music, or simply to their having acquired the proper vocal organs for a different purpose. but in this latter case we must assume, as in the above instance of parrots, and as seems to occur with many animals, that they already possessed some sense of melody. music arouses in us various emotions, but not the more terrible ones of horror, fear, rage, etc. it awakens the gentler feelings of tenderness and love, which readily pass into devotion. in the chinese annals it is said, "music hath the power of making heaven descend upon earth." it likewise stirs up in us the sense of triumph and the glorious ardour for war. these powerful and mingled feelings may well give rise to the sense of sublimity. we can concentrate, as dr. seemann observes, greater intensity of feeling in a single musical note than in pages of writing. it is probable that nearly the same emotions, but much weaker and far less complex, are felt by birds when the male pours forth his full volume of song, in rivalry with other males, to captivate the female. love is still the commonest theme of our songs. as herbert spencer remarks, "music arouses dormant sentiments of which we had not conceived the possibility, and do not know the meaning; or, as richter says, tells us of things we have not seen and shall not see." conversely, when vivid emotions are felt and expressed by the orator, or even in common speech, musical cadences and rhythm are instinctively used. the negro in africa when excited often bursts forth in song; "another will reply in song, whilst the company, as if touched by a musical wave, murmur a chorus in perfect unison." ( . winwood reade, 'the martyrdom of man,' , p. , and 'african sketch book,' , vol. ii. p. .) even monkeys express strong feelings in different tones--anger and impatience by low,--fear and pain by high notes. ( . rengger, 'säugethiere von paraguay,' s. .) the sensations and ideas thus excited in us by music, or expressed by the cadences of oratory, appear from their vagueness, yet depth, like mental reversions to the emotions and thoughts of a long-past age. all these facts with respect to music and impassioned speech become intelligible to a certain extent, if we may assume that musical tones and rhythm were used by our half-human ancestors, during the season of courtship, when animals of all kinds are excited not only by love, but by the strong passions of jealousy, rivalry, and triumph. from the deeply-laid principle of inherited associations, musical tones in this case would be likely to call up vaguely and indefinitely the strong emotions of a long-past age. as we have every reason to suppose that articulate speech is one of the latest, as it certainly is the highest, of the arts acquired by man, and as the instinctive power of producing musical notes and rhythms is developed low down in the animal series, it would be altogether opposed to the principle of evolution, if we were to admit that man's musical capacity has been developed from the tones used in impassioned speech. we must suppose that the rhythms and cadences of oratory are derived from previously developed musical powers. ( . see the very interesting discussion on the 'origin and function of music,' by mr. herbert spencer, in his collected 'essays,' , p. . mr. spencer comes to an exactly opposite conclusion to that at which i have arrived. he concludes, as did diderot formerly, that the cadences used in emotional speech afford the foundation from which music has been developed; whilst i conclude that musical notes and rhythm were first acquired by the male or female progenitors of mankind for the sake of charming the opposite sex. thus musical tones became firmly associated with some of the strongest passions an animal is capable of feeling, and are consequently used instinctively, or through association when strong emotions are expressed in speech. mr. spencer does not offer any satisfactory explanation, nor can i, why high or deep notes should be expressive, both with man and the lower animals, of certain emotions. mr. spencer gives also an interesting discussion on the relations between poetry, recitative and song.) we can thus understand how it is that music, dancing, song, and poetry are such very ancient arts. we may go even further than this, and, as remarked in a former chapter, believe that musical sounds afforded one of the bases for the development of language. ( . i find in lord monboddo's 'origin of language,' vol. i. , p. , that dr. blacklock likewise thought "that the first language among men was music, and that before our ideas were expressed by articulate sounds, they were communicated by tones varied according to different degrees of gravity and acuteness.") as the males of several quadrumanous animals have their vocal organs much more developed than in the females, and as a gibbon, one of the anthropomorphous apes, pours forth a whole octave of musical notes and may be said to sing, it appears probable that the progenitors of man, either the males or females or both sexes, before acquiring the power of expressing their mutual love in articulate language, endeavoured to charm each other with musical notes and rhythm. so little is known about the use of the voice by the quadrumana during the season of love, that we have no means of judging whether the habit of singing was first acquired by our male or female ancestors. women are generally thought to possess sweeter voices than men, and as far as this serves as any guide, we may infer that they first acquired musical powers in order to attract the other sex. ( . see an interesting discussion on this subject by haeckel, 'generelle morphologie,' b. ii. , s. .) but if so, this must have occurred long ago, before our ancestors had become sufficiently human to treat and value their women merely as useful slaves. the impassioned orator, bard, or musician, when with his varied tones and cadences he excites the strongest emotions in his hearers, little suspects that he uses the same means by which his half-human ancestors long ago aroused each other's ardent passions, during their courtship and rivalry. the influence of beauty in determining the marriages of mankind. in civilised life man is largely, but by no means exclusively, influenced in the choice of his wife by external appearance; but we are chiefly concerned with primeval times, and our only means of forming a judgment on this subject is to study the habits of existing semi-civilised and savage nations. if it can be shewn that the men of different races prefer women having various characteristics, or conversely with the women, we have then to enquire whether such choice, continued during many generations, would produce any sensible effect on the race, either on one sex or both according to the form of inheritance which has prevailed. it will be well first to shew in some detail that savages pay the greatest attention to their personal appearance. ( . a full and excellent account of the manner in which savages in all parts of the world ornament themselves, is given by the italian traveller, professor mantegazza, 'rio de la plata, viaggi e studi,' , pp. - ; all the following statements, when other references are not given, are taken from this work. see, also, waitz, 'introduction to anthropology,' eng. translat. vol. i. , p. , et passim. lawrence also gives very full details in his 'lectures on physiology,' . since this chapter was written sir j. lubbock has published his 'origin of civilisation,' , in which there is an interesting chapter on the present subject, and from which (pp. , ) i have taken some facts about savages dyeing their teeth and hair, and piercing their teeth.) that they have a passion for ornament is notorious; and an english philosopher goes so far as to maintain, that clothes were first made for ornament and not for warmth. as professor waitz remarks, "however poor and miserable man is, he finds a pleasure in adorning himself." the extravagance of the naked indians of south america in decorating themselves is shewn "by a man of large stature gaining with difficulty enough by the labour of a fortnight to procure in exchange the chica necessary to paint himself red." ( . humboldt, 'personal narrative,' eng. translat. vol. iv. p. ; on the imagination shewn in painting the body, p. ; on modifying the form of the calf of the leg, p. .) the ancient barbarians of europe during the reindeer period brought to their caves any brilliant or singular objects which they happened to find. savages at the present day everywhere deck themselves with plumes, necklaces, armlets, ear-rings, etc. they paint themselves in the most diversified manner. "if painted nations," as humboldt observes, "had been examined with the same attention as clothed nations, it would have been perceived that the most fertile imagination and the most mutable caprice have created the fashions of painting, as well as those of garments." in one part of africa the eyelids are coloured black; in another the nails are coloured yellow or purple. in many places the hair is dyed of various tints. in different countries the teeth are stained black, red, blue, etc., and in the malay archipelago it is thought shameful to have white teeth "like those of a dog." not one great country can be named, from the polar regions in the north to new zealand in the south, in which the aborigines do not tattoo themselves. this practice was followed by the jews of old, and by the ancient britons. in africa some of the natives tattoo themselves, but it is a much more common practice to raise protuberances by rubbing salt into incisions made in various parts of the body; and these are considered by the inhabitants of kordofan and darfur "to be great personal attractions." in the arab countries no beauty can be perfect until the cheeks "or temples have been gashed." ( . 'the nile tributaries,' ; 'the albert n'yanza,' , vol. i. p. .) in south america, as humboldt remarks, "a mother would be accused of culpable indifference towards her children, if she did not employ artificial means to shape the calf of the leg after the fashion of the country." in the old and new worlds the shape of the skull was formerly modified during infancy in the most extraordinary manner, as is still the case in many places, and such deformities are considered ornamental. for instance, the savages of colombia ( . quoted by prichard, 'physical history of mankind,' th ed. vol. i. , p. .) deem a much flattened head "an essential point of beauty." the hair is treated with especial care in various countries; it is allowed to grow to full length, so as to reach to the ground, or is combed into "a compact frizzled mop, which is the papuan's pride and glory." ( . on the papuans, wallace, 'the malay archipelago,' vol. ii. p. . on the coiffure of the africans, sir s. baker, 'the albert n'yanza,' vol. i. p. .) in northern africa "a man requires a period of from eight to ten years to perfect his coiffure." with other nations the head is shaved, and in parts of south america and africa even the eyebrows and eyelashes are eradicated. the natives of the upper nile knock out the four front teeth, saying that they do not wish to resemble brutes. further south, the batokas knock out only the two upper incisors, which, as livingstone ( . 'travels,' p. .) remarks, gives the face a hideous appearance, owing to the prominence of the lower jaw; but these people think the presence of the incisors most unsightly, and on beholding some europeans, cried out, "look at the great teeth!" the chief sebituani tried in vain to alter this fashion. in various parts of africa and in the malay archipelago the natives file the incisors into points like those of a saw, or pierce them with holes, into which they insert studs. as the face with us is chiefly admired for its beauty, so with savages it is the chief seat of mutilation. in all quarters of the world the septum, and more rarely the wings of the nose are pierced; rings, sticks, feathers, and other ornaments being inserted into the holes. the ears are everywhere pierced and similarly ornamented, and with the botocudos and lenguas of south america the hole is gradually so much enlarged that the lower edge touches the shoulder. in north and south america and in africa either the upper or lower lip is pierced; and with the botocudos the hole in the lower lip is so large that a disc of wood, four inches in diameter, is placed in it. mantegazza gives a curious account of the shame felt by a south american native, and of the ridicule which he excited, when he sold his tembeta,--the large coloured piece of wood which is passed through the hole. in central africa the women perforate the lower lip and wear a crystal, which, from the movement of the tongue, has "a wriggling motion, indescribably ludicrous during conversation." the wife of the chief of latooka told sir s. baker ( . 'the albert n'yanza,' , vol. i. p. .) that lady baker "would be much improved if she would extract her four front teeth from the lower jaw, and wear the long pointed polished crystal in her under lip." further south with the makalolo, the upper lip is perforated, and a large metal and bamboo ring, called a pelele, is worn in the hole. "this caused the lip in one case to project two inches beyond the tip of the nose; and when the lady smiled, the contraction of the muscles elevated it over the eyes. 'why do the women wear these things?' the venerable chief, chinsurdi, was asked. evidently surprised at such a stupid question, he replied, 'for beauty! they are the only beautiful things women have; men have beards, women have none. what kind of a person would she be without the pelele? she would not be a woman at all with a mouth like a man, but no beard.'" ( . livingstone, 'british association,' ; report given in the 'athenaeum,' july , , p. .) hardly any part of the body, which can be unnaturally modified, has escaped. the amount of suffering thus caused must have been extreme, for many of the operations require several years for their completion, so that the idea of their necessity must be imperative. the motives are various; the men paint their bodies to make themselves appear terrible in battle; certain mutilations are connected with religious rites, or they mark the age of puberty, or the rank of the man, or they serve to distinguish the tribes. amongst savages the same fashions prevail for long periods ( . sir s. baker (ibid. vol. i. p. ) speaking of the natives of central africa says, "every tribe has a distinct and unchanging fashion for dressing the hair." see agassiz ('journey in brazil,' , p. ) on invariability of the tattooing of amazonian indians.), and thus mutilations, from whatever cause first made, soon come to be valued as distinctive marks. but self-adornment, vanity, and the admiration of others, seem to be the commonest motives. in regard to tattooing, i was told by the missionaries in new zealand that when they tried to persuade some girls to give up the practice, they answered, "we must just have a few lines on our lips; else when we grow old we shall be so very ugly." with the men of new zealand, a most capable judge ( . rev. r. taylor, 'new zealand and its inhabitants,' , p. .) says, "to have fine tattooed faces was the great ambition of the young, both to render themselves attractive to the ladies, and conspicuous in war." a star tattooed on the forehead and a spot on the chin are thought by the women in one part of africa to be irresistible attractions. ( . mantegazza, 'viaggi e studi,' p. .) in most, but not all parts of the world, the men are more ornamented than the women, and often in a different manner; sometimes, though rarely, the women are hardly at all ornamented. as the women are made by savages to perform the greatest share of the work, and as they are not allowed to eat the best kinds of food, so it accords with the characteristic selfishness of man that they should not be allowed to obtain, or use the finest ornaments. lastly, it is a remarkable fact, as proved by the foregoing quotations, that the same fashions in modifying the shape of the head, in ornamenting the hair, in painting, tattooing, in perforating the nose, lips, or ears, in removing or filing the teeth, etc., now prevail, and have long prevailed, in the most distant quarters of the world. it is extremely improbable that these practices, followed by so many distinct nations, should be due to tradition from any common source. they indicate the close similarity of the mind of man, to whatever race he may belong, just as do the almost universal habits of dancing, masquerading, and making rude pictures. having made these preliminary remarks on the admiration felt by savages for various ornaments, and for deformities most unsightly in our eyes, let us see how far the men are attracted by the appearance of their women, and what are their ideas of beauty. i have heard it maintained that savages are quite indifferent about the beauty of their women, valuing them solely as slaves; it may therefore be well to observe that this conclusion does not at all agree with the care which the women take in ornamenting themselves, or with their vanity. burchell ( . 'travels in south africa,' , vol. i. p. .) gives an amusing account of a bush-woman who used as much grease, red ochre, and shining powder "as would have ruined any but a very rich husband." she displayed also "much vanity and too evident a consciousness of her superiority." mr. winwood reade informs me that the negroes of the west coast often discuss the beauty of their women. some competent observers have attributed the fearfully common practice of infanticide partly to the desire felt by the women to retain their good looks. ( . see, for references, gerland, 'ueber das aussterben der naturvölker,' , ss. , , ; also azara, 'voyages,' etc., tom. ii. p. .) in several regions the women wear charms and use love-philters to gain the affections of the men; and mr. brown enumerates four plants used for this purpose by the women of north-western america. ( . on the vegetable productions used by the north-western american indians, see 'pharmaceutical journal,' vol. x.) hearne ( . 'a journey from prince of wales fort,' vo. ed. , p. .), an excellent observer, who lived many years with the american indians, says, in speaking of the women, "ask a northern indian what is beauty, and he will answer, a broad flat face, small eyes, high cheek-bones, three or four broad black lines across each cheek, a low forehead, a large broad chin, a clumsy hook nose, a tawny hide, and breasts hanging down to the belt." pallas, who visited the northern parts of the chinese empire, says, "those women are preferred who have the mandschu form; that is to say, a broad face, high cheek-bones, very broad noses, and enormous ears"( . quoted by prichard, 'physical history of mankind,' rd ed. vol. iv. , p. ; vogt, 'lectures on man,' eng. translat. p. . on the opinion of the chinese on the cingalese, e. tennent, 'ceylon,' , vol. ii. p. .); and vogt remarks that the obliquity of the eye, which is proper to the chinese and japanese, is exaggerated in their pictures for the purpose, as it "seems, of exhibiting its beauty, as contrasted with the eye of the red-haired barbarians." it is well known, as huc repeatedly remarks, that the chinese of the interior think europeans hideous, with their white skins and prominent noses. the nose is far from being too prominent, according to our ideas, in the natives of ceylon; yet "the chinese in the seventh century, accustomed to the flat features of the mongol races, were surprised at the prominent noses of the cingalese; and thsang described them as having 'the beak of a bird, with the body of a man.'" finlayson, after minutely describing the people of cochin china, says that their rounded heads and faces are their chief characteristics; and, he adds, "the roundness of the whole countenance is more striking in the women, who are reckoned beautiful in proportion as they display this form of face." the siamese have small noses with divergent nostrils, a wide mouth, rather thick lips, a remarkably large face, with very high and broad cheek-bones. it is, therefore, not wonderful that "beauty, according to our notion, is a stranger to them. yet they consider their own females to be much more beautiful than those of europe." ( . prichard, as taken from crawfurd and finlayson, 'phys. hist. of mankind,' vol. iv. pp. , .) it is well known that with many hottentot women the posterior part of the body projects in a wonderful manner; they are steatopygous; and sir andrew smith is certain that this peculiarity is greatly admired by the men. ( . idem illustrissimus viator dixit mihi praecinctorium vel tabulam foeminae, quod nobis teterrimum est, quondam permagno aestimari ab hominibus in hac gente. nunc res mutata est, et censent talem conformationem minime optandam esse.) he once saw a woman who was considered a beauty, and she was so immensely developed behind, that when seated on level ground she could not rise, and had to push herself along until she came to a slope. some of the women in various negro tribes have the same peculiarity; and, according to burton, the somal men are said to choose their wives by ranging them in a line, and by picking her out who projects farthest a tergo. nothing can be more hateful to a negro than the opposite form." ( . the 'anthropological review,' november , p. . for additional references, see waitz, 'introduction to anthropology,' eng. translat., , vol. i. p. .) with respect to colour, the negroes rallied mungo park on the whiteness of his skin and the prominence of his nose, both of which they considered as "unsightly and unnatural conformations." he in return praised the glossy jet of their skins and the lovely depression of their noses; this they said was "honeymouth," nevertheless they gave him food. the african moors, also, "knitted their brows and seemed to shudder" at the whiteness of his skin. on the eastern coast, the negro boys when they saw burton, cried out, "look at the white man; does he not look like a white ape?" on the western coast, as mr. winwood reade informs me, the negroes admire a very black skin more than one of a lighter tint. but their horror of whiteness may be attributed, according to this same traveller, partly to the belief held by most negroes that demons and spirits are white, and partly to their thinking it a sign of ill-health. the banyai of the more southern part of the continent are negroes, but "a great many of them are of a light coffee-and-milk colour, and, indeed, this colour is considered handsome throughout the whole country"; so that here we have a different standard of taste. with the kaffirs, who differ much from negroes, "the skin, except among the tribes near delagoa bay, is not usually black, the prevailing colour being a mixture of black and red, the most common shade being chocolate. dark complexions, as being most common, are naturally held in the highest esteem. to be told that he is light-coloured, or like a white man, would be deemed a very poor compliment by a kaffir. i have heard of one unfortunate man who was so very fair that no girl would marry him." one of the titles of the zulu king is, "you who are black." ( . mungo park's 'travels in africa,' to. , pp. , . burton's statement is quoted by schaaffhausen, 'archiv. fur anthropologie,' , s. . on the banyai, livingstone, 'travels,' p. . on the kaffirs, the rev. j. shooter, 'the kafirs of natal and the zulu country,' , p. .) mr. galton, in speaking to me about the natives of s. africa, remarked that their ideas of beauty seem very different from ours; for in one tribe two slim, slight, and pretty girls were not admired by the natives. turning to other quarters of the world; in java, a yellow, not a white girl, is considered, according to madame pfeiffer, a beauty. a man of cochin china "spoke with contempt of the wife of the english ambassador, that she had white teeth like a dog, and a rosy colour like that of potato-flowers." we have seen that the chinese dislike our white skin, and that the n. americans admire "a tawny hide." in s. america, the yuracaras, who inhabit the wooded, damp slopes of the eastern cordillera, are remarkably pale-coloured, as their name in their own language expresses; nevertheless they consider european women as very inferior to their own. ( . for the javans and cochin-chinese, see waitz, 'introduct. to anthropology,' eng. translat. vol. i. p. . on the yuracaras, a. d'orbigny, as quoted in prichard, 'physical history of mankind,' vol. v. rd ed. p. .) in several of the tribes of north america the hair on the head grows to a wonderful length; and catlin gives a curious proof how much this is esteemed, for the chief of the crows was elected to this office from having the longest hair of any man in the tribe, namely ten feet and seven inches. the aymaras and quichuas of s. america, likewise have very long hair; and this, as mr. d. forbes informs me, is so much valued as a beauty, that cutting it off was the severest punishment which he could inflict on them. in both the northern and southern halves of the continent the natives sometimes increase the apparent length of their hair by weaving into it fibrous substances. although the hair on the head is thus cherished, that on the face is considered by the north american indians "as very vulgar," and every hair is carefully eradicated. this practice prevails throughout the american continent from vancouver's island in the north to tierra del fuego in the south. when york minster, a fuegian on board the "beagle," was taken back to his country, the natives told him he ought to pull out the few short hairs on his face. they also threatened a young missionary, who was left for a time with them, to strip him naked, and pluck the hair from his face and body, yet he was far from being a hairy man. this fashion is carried so far that the indians of paraguay eradicate their eyebrows and eyelashes, saying that they do not wish to be like horses. ( . 'north american indians,' by g. catlin, rd ed., , vol. i. p. ; vol. ii, p. . on the natives of vancouver's island, see sproat, 'scenes and studies of savage life,' , p. . on the indians of paraguay, azara, 'voyages,' tom. ii. p. .) it is remarkable that throughout the world the races which are almost completely destitute of a beard dislike hairs on the face and body, and take pains to eradicate them. the kalmucks are beardless, and they are well known, like the americans, to pluck out all straggling hairs; and so it is with the polynesians, some of the malays, and the siamese. mr. veitch states that the japanese ladies "all objected to our whiskers, considering them very ugly, and told us to cut them off, and be like japanese men." the new zealanders have short, curled beards; yet they formerly plucked out the hairs on the face. they had a saying that "there is no woman for a hairy man;" but it would appear that the fashion has changed in new zealand, perhaps owing to the presence of europeans, and i am assured that beards are now admired by the maories. ( . on the siamese, prichard, ibid. vol. iv. p. . on the japanese, veitch in 'gardeners' chronicle,' , p. . on the new zealanders, mantegazza, 'viaggi e studi,' , p. . for the other nations mentioned, see references in lawrence, 'lectures on physiology,' etc., , p. .) on the other hand, bearded races admire and greatly value their beards; among the anglo-saxons every part of the body had a recognised value; "the loss of the beard being estimated at twenty shillings, while the breaking of a thigh was fixed at only twelve." ( . lubbock, 'origin of civilisation,' , p. .) in the east men swear solemnly by their beards. we have seen that chinsurdi, the chief of the makalolo in africa, thought that beards were a great ornament. in the pacific the fijian's beard is "profuse and bushy, and is his greatest pride"; whilst the inhabitants of the adjacent archipelagoes of tonga and samoa are "beardless, and abhor a rough chin." in one island alone of the ellice group "the men are heavily bearded, and not a little proud thereof." ( . dr. barnard davis quotes mr. prichard and others for these facts in regard to the polynesians, in 'anthropolog. review,' april , pp. , .) we thus see how widely the different races of man differ in their taste for the beautiful. in every nation sufficiently advanced to have made effigies of their gods or of their deified rulers, the sculptors no doubt have endeavoured to express their highest ideal of beauty and grandeur. ( . ch. comte has remarks to this effect in his 'traité de législation,' rd ed. , p. .) under this point of view it is well to compare in our mind the jupiter or apollo of the greeks with the egyptian or assyrian statues; and these with the hideous bas-reliefs on the ruined buildings of central america. i have met with very few statements opposed to this conclusion. mr. winwood reade, however, who has had ample opportunities for observation, not only with the negroes of the west coast of africa, but with those of the interior who have never associated with europeans, is convinced that their ideas of beauty are on the whole the same as ours; and dr. rohlfs writes to me to the same effect with respect to bornu and the countries inhabited by the pullo tribes. mr. reade found that he agreed with the negroes in their estimation of the beauty of the native girls; and that their appreciation of the beauty of european women corresponded with ours. they admire long hair, and use artificial means to make it appear abundant; they admire also a beard, though themselves very scantily provided. mr. reade feels doubtful what kind of nose is most appreciated; a girl has been heard to say, "i do not want to marry him, he has got no nose"; and this shews that a very flat nose is not admired. we should, however, bear in mind that the depressed, broad noses and projecting jaws of the negroes of the west coast are exceptional types with the inhabitants of africa. notwithstanding the foregoing statements, mr. reade admits that negroes "do not like the colour of our skin; they look on blue eyes with aversion, and they think our noses too long and our lips too thin." he does not think it probable that negroes would ever prefer the most beautiful european woman, on the mere grounds of physical admiration, to a good-looking negress. ( . the 'african sketch book,' vol. ii. , pp. , , . the fuegians, as i have been informed by a missionary who long resided with them, consider european women as extremely beautiful; but from what we have seen of the judgment of the other aborigines of america, i cannot but think that this must be a mistake, unless indeed the statement refers to the few fuegians who have lived for some time with europeans, and who must consider us as superior beings. i should add that a most experienced observer, capt. burton, believes that a woman whom we consider beautiful is admired throughout the world. 'anthropological review,' march, , p. .) the general truth of the principle, long ago insisted on by humboldt ( . 'personal narrative,' eng. translat. vol. iv. p. , and elsewhere. mantegazza, in his 'viaggi e studi,' strongly insists on this same principle.), that man admires and often tries to exaggerate whatever characters nature may have given him, is shewn in many ways. the practice of beardless races extirpating every trace of a beard, and often all the hairs on the body affords one illustration. the skull has been greatly modified during ancient and modern times by many nations; and there can be little doubt that this has been practised, especially in n. and s. america, in order to exaggerate some natural and admired peculiarity. many american indians are known to admire a head so extremely flattened as to appear to us idiotic. the natives on the north-western coast compress the head into a pointed cone; and it is their constant practice to gather the hair into a knot on the top of the head, for the sake, as dr. wilson remarks, "of increasing the apparent elevation of the favourite conoid form." the inhabitants of arakhan admire a broad, smooth forehead, and in order to produce it, they fasten a plate of lead on the heads of the new-born children. on the other hand, "a broad, well-rounded occiput is considered a great beauty" by the natives of the fiji islands. ( . on the skulls of the american tribes, see nott and gliddon, 'types of mankind,' , p. ; prichard, 'physical history of mankind,' vol. i. rd ed. p. ; on the natives of arakhan, ibid. vol. iv. p. . wilson, 'physical ethnology,' smithsonian institution, , p. ; on the fijians, p. . sir j. lubbock ('prehistoric times,' nd ed. , p. ) gives an excellent resume on this subject.) as with the skull, so with the nose; the ancient huns during the age of attila were accustomed to flatten the noses of their infants with bandages, "for the sake of exaggerating a natural conformation." with the tahitians, to be called long-nose is considered as an insult, and they compress the noses and foreheads of their children for the sake of beauty. the same holds with the malays of sumatra, the hottentots, certain negroes, and the natives of brazil. ( . on the huns, godron, 'de l'espèce,' tom. ii. , p. . on the tahitians, waitz, 'anthropology,' eng. translat. vol. i. p. . marsden, quoted by prichard, 'phys. hist. of mankind,' rd edit. vol. v. p. . lawrence, 'lectures on physiology,' p. .) the chinese have by nature unusually small feet ( . this fact was ascertained in the 'reise der novara: anthropolog. theil.' dr. weisbach, , s. .); and it is well known that the women of the upper classes distort their feet to make them still smaller. lastly, humboldt thinks that the american indians prefer colouring their bodies with red paint in order to exaggerate their natural tint; and until recently european women added to their naturally bright colours by rouge and white cosmetics; but it may be doubted whether barbarous nations have generally had any such intention in painting themselves. in the fashions of our own dress we see exactly the same principle and the same desire to carry every point to an extreme; we exhibit, also, the same spirit of emulation. but the fashions of savages are far more permanent than ours; and whenever their bodies are artificially modified, this is necessarily the case. the arab women of the upper nile occupy about three days in dressing their hair; they never imitate other tribes, "but simply vie with each other in the superlativeness of their own style." dr. wilson, in speaking of the compressed skulls of various american races, adds, "such usages are among the least eradicable, and long survive the shock of revolutions that change dynasties and efface more important national peculiarities." ( . 'smithsonian institution,' , p. . on the fashions of arab women, sir s. baker, 'the nile tributaries,' , p. .) the same principle comes into play in the art of breeding; and we can thus understand, as i have elsewhere explained ( . the 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. i. p. ; vol. ii. p. .), the wonderful development of the many races of animals and plants, which have been kept merely for ornament. fanciers always wish each character to be somewhat increased; they do not admire a medium standard; they certainly do not desire any great and abrupt change in the character of their breeds; they admire solely what they are accustomed to, but they ardently desire to see each characteristic feature a little more developed. the senses of man and of the lower animals seem to be so constituted that brilliant colours and certain forms, as well as harmonious and rhythmical sounds, give pleasure and are called beautiful; but why this should be so we know not. it is certainly not true that there is in the mind of man any universal standard of beauty with respect to the human body. it is, however, possible that certain tastes may in the course of time become inherited, though there is no evidence in favour of this belief: and if so, each race would possess its own innate ideal standard of beauty. it has been argued ( . schaaffhausen, 'archiv. für anthropologie,' , s. .) that ugliness consists in an approach to the structure of the lower animals, and no doubt this is partly true with the more civilised nations, in which intellect is highly appreciated; but this explanation will hardly apply to all forms of ugliness. the men of each race prefer what they are accustomed to; they cannot endure any great change; but they like variety, and admire each characteristic carried to a moderate extreme. ( . mr. bain has collected ('mental and moral science,' , pp. - ) about a dozen more or less different theories of the idea of beauty; but none is quite the same as that here given.) men accustomed to a nearly oval face, to straight and regular features, and to bright colours, admire, as we europeans know, these points when strongly developed. on the other hand, men accustomed to a broad face, with high cheek-bones, a depressed nose, and a black skin, admire these peculiarities when strongly marked. no doubt characters of all kinds may be too much developed for beauty. hence a perfect beauty, which implies many characters modified in a particular manner, will be in every race a prodigy. as the great anatomist bichat long ago said, if every one were cast in the same mould, there would be no such thing as beauty. if all our women were to become as beautiful as the venus de' medici, we should for a time be charmed; but we should soon wish for variety; and as soon as we had obtained variety, we should wish to see certain characters a little exaggerated beyond the then existing common standard. chapter xx. secondary sexual characters of man--continued. on the effects of the continued selection of women according to a different standard of beauty in each race--on the causes which interfere with sexual selection in civilised and savage nations--conditions favourable to sexual selection during primeval times--on the manner of action of sexual selection with mankind--on the women in savage tribes having some power to choose their husbands--absence of hair on the body, and development of the beard--colour of the skin--summary. we have seen in the last chapter that with all barbarous races ornaments, dress, and external appearance are highly valued; and that the men judge of the beauty of their women by widely different standards. we must next inquire whether this preference and the consequent selection during many generations of those women, which appear to the men of each race the most attractive, has altered the character either of the females alone, or of both sexes. with mammals the general rule appears to be that characters of all kinds are inherited equally by the males and females; we might therefore expect that with mankind any characters gained by the females or by the males through sexual selection would commonly be transferred to the offspring of both sexes. if any change has thus been effected, it is almost certain that the different races would be differently modified, as each has its own standard of beauty. with mankind, especially with savages, many causes interfere with the action of sexual selection as far as the bodily frame is concerned. civilised men are largely attracted by the mental charms of women, by their wealth, and especially by their social position; for men rarely marry into a much lower rank. the men who succeed in obtaining the more beautiful women will not have a better chance of leaving a long line of descendants than other men with plainer wives, save the few who bequeath their fortunes according to primogeniture. with respect to the opposite form of selection, namely, of the more attractive men by the women, although in civilised nations women have free or almost free choice, which is not the case with barbarous races, yet their choice is largely influenced by the social position and wealth of the men; and the success of the latter in life depends much on their intellectual powers and energy, or on the fruits of these same powers in their forefathers. no excuse is needed for treating this subject in some detail; for, as the german philosopher schopenhauer remarks, "the final aim of all love intrigues, be they comic or tragic, is really of more importance than all other ends in human life. what it all turns upon is nothing less than the composition of the next generation...it is not the weal or woe of any one individual, but that of the human race to come, which is here at stake." ( . 'schopenhauer and darwinism,' in 'journal of anthropology,' jan. , p. . there is, however, reason to believe that in certain civilised and semi-civilised nations sexual selection has effected something in modifying the bodily frame of some of the members. many persons are convinced, as it appears to me with justice, that our aristocracy, including under this term all wealthy families in which primogeniture has long prevailed, from having chosen during many generations from all classes the more beautiful women as their wives, have become handsomer, according to the european standard, than the middle classes; yet the middle classes are placed under equally favourable conditions of life for the perfect development of the body. cook remarks that the superiority in personal appearance "which is observable in the erees or nobles in all the other islands (of the pacific) is found in the sandwich islands"; but this may be chiefly due to their better food and manner of life. the old traveller chardin, in describing the persians, says their "blood is now highly refined by frequent intermixtures with the georgians and circassians, two nations which surpass all the world in personal beauty. there is hardly a man of rank in persia who is not born of a georgian or circassian mother." he adds that they inherit their beauty, "not from their ancestors, for without the above mixture, the men of rank in persia, who are descendants of the tartars, would be extremely ugly." ( . these quotations are taken from lawrence ('lectures on physiology,' etc., , p. ), who attributes the beauty of the upper classes in england to the men having long selected the more beautiful women.) here is a more curious case; the priestesses who attended the temple of venus erycina at san-giuliano in sicily, were selected for their beauty out of the whole of greece; they were not vestal virgins, and quatrefages ( . 'anthropologie,' 'revue des cours scientifiques,' oct. , p. .), who states the foregoing fact, says that the women of san-giuliano are now famous as the most beautiful in the island, and are sought by artists as models. but it is obvious that the evidence in all the above cases is doubtful. the following case, though relating to savages, is well worth giving for its curiosity. mr. winwood reade informs me that the jollofs, a tribe of negroes on the west coast of africa, "are remarkable for their uniformly fine appearance." a friend of his asked one of these men, "how is it that every one whom i meet is so fine looking, not only your men but your women?" the jollof answered, "it is very easily explained: it has always been our custom to pick out our worst-looking slaves and to sell them." it need hardly be added that with all savages, female slaves serve as concubines. that this negro should have attributed, whether rightly or wrongly, the fine appearance of his tribe to the long-continued elimination of the ugly women is not so surprising as it may at first appear; for i have elsewhere shewn ( . 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. i. p. .) that negroes fully appreciate the importance of selection in the breeding of their domestic animals, and i could give from mr. reade additional evidence on this head. the causes which prevent or check the action of sexual selection with savages. the chief causes are, first, so-called communal marriages or promiscuous intercourse; secondly, the consequences of female infanticide; thirdly, early betrothals; and lastly, the low estimation in which women are held, as mere slaves. these four points must be considered in some detail. it is obvious that as long as the pairing of man, or of any other animal, is left to mere chance, with no choice exerted by either sex, there can be no sexual selection; and no effect will be produced on the offspring by certain individuals having had an advantage over others in their courtship. now it is asserted that there exist at the present day tribes which practise what sir j. lubbock by courtesy calls communal marriages; that is, all the men and women in the tribe are husbands and wives to one another. the licentiousness of many savages is no doubt astonishing, but it seems to me that more evidence is requisite, before we fully admit that their intercourse is in any case promiscuous. nevertheless all those who have most closely studied the subject ( . sir j. lubbock, 'the origin of civilisation,' , chap. iii. especially pp. - . mr. m'lennan, in his extremely valuable work on 'primitive marriage,' , p. , speaks of the union of the sexes "in the earliest times as loose, transitory, and in some degree promiscuous." mr. m'lennan and sir j. lubbock have collected much evidence on the extreme licentiousness of savages at the present time. mr. l.h. morgan, in his interesting memoir of the classificatory system of relationship. ('proceedings of the american academy of sciences,' vol. vii. feb. , p. ), concludes that polygamy and all forms of marriage during primeval times were essentially unknown. it appears also, from sir j. lubbock's work, that bachofen likewise believes that communal intercourse originally prevailed.), and whose judgment is worth much more than mine, believe that communal marriage (this expression being variously guarded) was the original and universal form throughout the world, including therein the intermarriage of brothers and sisters. the late sir a. smith, who had travelled widely in s. africa, and knew much about the habits of savages there and elsewhere, expressed to me the strongest opinion that no race exists in which woman is considered as the property of the community. i believe that his judgment was largely determined by what is implied by the term marriage. throughout the following discussion i use the term in the same sense as when naturalists speak of animals as monogamous, meaning thereby that the male is accepted by or chooses a single female, and lives with her either during the breeding-season or for the whole year, keeping possession of her by the law of might; or, as when they speak of a polygamous species, meaning that the male lives with several females. this kind of marriage is all that concerns us here, as it suffices for the work of sexual selection. but i know that some of the writers above referred to imply by the term marriage a recognised right protected by the tribe. the indirect evidence in favour of the belief of the former prevalence of communal marriages is strong, and rests chiefly on the terms of relationship which are employed between the members of the same tribe, implying a connection with the tribe, and not with either parent. but the subject is too large and complex for even an abstract to be here given, and i will confine myself to a few remarks. it is evident in the case of such marriages, or where the marriage tie is very loose, that the relationship of the child to its father cannot be known. but it seems almost incredible that the relationship of the child to its mother should ever be completely ignored, especially as the women in most savage tribes nurse their infants for a long time. accordingly, in many cases the lines of descent are traced through the mother alone, to the exclusion of the father. but in other cases the terms employed express a connection with the tribe alone, to the exclusion even of the mother. it seems possible that the connection between the related members of the same barbarous tribe, exposed to all sorts of danger, might be so much more important, owing to the need of mutual protection and aid, than that between the mother and her child, as to lead to the sole use of terms expressive of the former relationships; but mr. morgan is convinced that this view is by no means sufficient. the terms of relationship used in different parts of the world may be divided, according to the author just quoted, into two great classes, the classificatory and descriptive, the latter being employed by us. it is the classificatory system which so strongly leads to the belief that communal and other extremely loose forms of marriage were originally universal. but as far as i can see, there is no necessity on this ground for believing in absolutely promiscuous intercourse; and i am glad to find that this is sir j. lubbock's view. men and women, like many of the lower animals, might formerly have entered into strict though temporary unions for each birth, and in this case nearly as much confusion would have arisen in the terms of relationship as in the case of promiscuous intercourse. as far as sexual selection is concerned, all that is required is that choice should be exerted before the parents unite, and it signifies little whether the unions last for life or only for a season. besides the evidence derived from the terms of relationship, other lines of reasoning indicate the former wide prevalence of communal marriage. sir j. lubbock accounts for the strange and widely-extended habit of exogamy--that is, the men of one tribe taking wives from a distinct tribe,--by communism having been the original form of intercourse; so that a man never obtained a wife for himself unless he captured her from a neighbouring and hostile tribe, and then she would naturally have become his sole and valuable property. thus the practice of capturing wives might have arisen; and from the honour so gained it might ultimately have become the universal habit. according to sir j. lubbock ( . 'address to british association on the social and religious condition of the lower races of man,' , p. .), we can also thus understand "the necessity of expiation for marriage as an infringement of tribal rites, since according to old ideas, a man had no right to appropriate to himself that which belonged to the whole tribe." sir j. lubbock further gives a curious body of facts shewing that in old times high honour was bestowed on women who were utterly licentious; and this, as he explains, is intelligible, if we admit that promiscuous intercourse was the aboriginal, and therefore long revered custom of the tribe. ( . 'origin of civilisation,' , p. . in the several works above quoted, there will be found copious evidence on relationship through the females alone, or with the tribe alone.) although the manner of development of the marriage tie is an obscure subject, as we may infer from the divergent opinions on several points between the three authors who have studied it most closely, namely, mr. morgan, mr. m'lennan, and sir j. lubbock, yet from the foregoing and several other lines of evidence it seems probable ( . mr. c. staniland wake argues strongly ('anthropologia,' march, , p. ) against the views held by these three writers on the former prevalence of almost promiscuous intercourse; and he thinks that the classificatory system of relationship can be otherwise explained.) that the habit of marriage, in any strict sense of the word, has been gradually developed; and that almost promiscuous or very loose intercourse was once extremely common throughout the world. nevertheless, from the strength of the feeling of jealousy all through the animal kingdom, as well as from the analogy of the lower animals, more particularly of those which come nearest to man, i cannot believe that absolutely promiscuous intercourse prevailed in times past, shortly before man attained to his present rank in the zoological scale. man, as i have attempted to shew, is certainly descended from some ape-like creature. with the existing quadrumana, as far as their habits are known, the males of some species are monogamous, but live during only a part of the year with the females: of this the orang seems to afford an instance. several kinds, for example some of the indian and american monkeys, are strictly monogamous, and associate all the year round with their wives. others are polygamous, for example the gorilla and several american species, and each family lives separate. even when this occurs, the families inhabiting the same district are probably somewhat social; the chimpanzee, for instance, is occasionally met with in large bands. again, other species are polygamous, but several males, each with his own females, live associated in a body, as with several species of baboons. ( . brehm ('thierleben,' b. i. p. ) says cynocephalus hamadryas lives in great troops containing twice as many adult females as adult males. see rengger on american polygamous species, and owen ('anatomy of vertebrates,' vol. iii. p. ) on american monogamous species. other references might be added.) we may indeed conclude from what we know of the jealousy of all male quadrupeds, armed, as many of them are, with special weapons for battling with their rivals, that promiscuous intercourse in a state of nature is extremely improbable. the pairing may not last for life, but only for each birth; yet if the males which are the strongest and best able to defend or otherwise assist their females and young, were to select the more attractive females, this would suffice for sexual selection. therefore, looking far enough back in the stream of time, and judging from the social habits of man as he now exists, the most probable view is that he aboriginally lived in small communities, each with a single wife, or if powerful with several, whom he jealously guarded against all other men. or he may not have been a social animal, and yet have lived with several wives, like the gorilla; for all the natives "agree that but one adult male is seen in a band; when the young male grows up, a contest takes place for mastery, and the strongest, by killing and driving out the others, establishes himself as the head of the community." ( . dr. savage, in 'boston journal of natural history,' vol. v. - , p. .) the younger males, being thus expelled and wandering about, would, when at last successful in finding a partner, prevent too close interbreeding within the limits of the same family. although savages are now extremely licentious, and although communal marriages may formerly have largely prevailed, yet many tribes practise some form of marriage, but of a far more lax nature than that of civilised nations. polygamy, as just stated, is almost universally followed by the leading men in every tribe. nevertheless there are tribes, standing almost at the bottom of the scale, which are strictly monogamous. this is the case with the veddahs of ceylon: they have a saying, according to sir j. lubbock ( . 'prehistoric times,' , p. .), "that death alone can separate husband and wife." an intelligent kandyan chief, of course a polygamist, "was perfectly scandalised at the utter barbarism of living with only one wife, and never parting until separated by death." it was, he said, "just like the wanderoo monkeys." whether savages who now enter into some form of marriage, either polygamous or monogamous, have retained this habit from primeval times, or whether they have returned to some form of marriage, after passing through a stage of promiscuous intercourse, i will not pretend to conjecture. infanticide. this practice is now very common throughout the world, and there is reason to believe that it prevailed much more extensively during former times. ( . mr. m'lennan, 'primitive marriage,' . see especially on exogamy and infanticide, pp. , , .) barbarians find it difficult to support themselves and their children, and it is a simple plan to kill their infants. in south america some tribes, according to azara, formerly destroyed so many infants of both sexes that they were on the point of extinction. in the polynesian islands women have been known to kill from four or five, to even ten of their children; and ellis could not find a single woman who had not killed at least one. in a village on the eastern frontier of india colonel macculloch found not a single female child. wherever infanticide ( . dr. gerland ('ueber das aussterben der naturvölker,' ) has collected much information on infanticide, see especially ss. , , . azara ('voyages,' etc., tom. ii. pp. , ) enters in detail on the motives. see also m'lennan (ibid. p. ) for cases in india. in the former reprints of the nd edition of this book an incorrect quotation from sir g. grey was unfortunately given in the above passage and has now been removed from the text.) prevails the struggle for existence will be in so far less severe, and all the members of the tribe will have an almost equally good chance of rearing their few surviving children. in most cases a larger number of female than of male infants are destroyed, for it is obvious that the latter are of more value to the tribe, as they will, when grown up, aid in defending it, and can support themselves. but the trouble experienced by the women in rearing children, their consequent loss of beauty, the higher estimation set on them when few, and their happier fate, are assigned by the women themselves, and by various observers, as additional motives for infanticide. when, owing to female infanticide, the women of a tribe were few, the habit of capturing wives from neighbouring tribes would naturally arise. sir j. lubbock, however, as we have seen, attributes the practice in chief part to the former existence of communal marriage, and to the men having consequently captured women from other tribes to hold as their sole property. additional causes might be assigned, such as the communities being very small, in which case, marriageable women would often be deficient. that the habit was most extensively practised during former times, even by the ancestors of civilised nations, is clearly shewn by the preservation of many curious customs and ceremonies, of which mr. m'lennan has given an interesting account. in our own marriages the "best man" seems originally to have been the chief abettor of the bridegroom in the act of capture. now as long as men habitually procured their wives through violence and craft, they would have been glad to seize on any woman, and would not have selected the more attractive ones. but as soon as the practice of procuring wives from a distinct tribe was effected through barter, as now occurs in many places, the more attractive women would generally have been purchased. the incessant crossing, however, between tribe and tribe, which necessarily follows from any form of this habit, would tend to keep all the people inhabiting the same country nearly uniform in character; and this would interfere with the power of sexual selection in differentiating the tribes. the scarcity of women, consequent on female infanticide, leads, also, to another practice, that of polyandry, still common in several parts of the world, and which formerly, as mr. m'lennan believes, prevailed almost universally: but this latter conclusion is doubted by mr. morgan and sir j. lubbock. ( . 'primitive marriage,' p. ; sir j. lubbock, 'origin of civilisation,' p. . see also mr. morgan, loc. cit., on the former prevalence of polyandry.) whenever two or more men are compelled to marry one woman, it is certain that all the women of the tribe will get married, and there will be no selection by the men of the more attractive women. but under these circumstances the women no doubt will have the power of choice, and will prefer the more attractive men. azara, for instance, describes how carefully a guana woman bargains for all sorts of privileges, before accepting some one or more husbands; and the men in consequence take unusual care of their personal appearance. so amongst the todas of india, who practise polyandry, the girls can accept or refuse any man. ( . azara, 'voyages,' etc., tom. ii. pp. - ; colonel marshall, 'amongst the todas,' p. .) a very ugly man in these cases would perhaps altogether fail in getting a wife, or get one later in life; but the handsomer men, although more successful in obtaining wives, would not, as far as we can see, leave more offspring to inherit their beauty than the less handsome husbands of the same women. early betrothals and slavery of women. with many savages it is the custom to betroth the females whilst mere infants; and this would effectually prevent preference being exerted on either side according to personal appearance. but it would not prevent the more attractive women from being afterwards stolen or taken by force from their husbands by the more powerful men; and this often happens in australia, america, and elsewhere. the same consequences with reference to sexual selection would to a certain extent follow, when women are valued almost solely as slaves or beasts of burden, as is the case with many savages. the men, however, at all times would prefer the handsomest slaves according to their standard of beauty. we thus see that several customs prevail with savages which must greatly interfere with, or completely stop, the action of sexual selection. on the other hand, the conditions of life to which savages are exposed, and some of their habits, are favourable to natural selection; and this comes into play at the same time with sexual selection. savages are known to suffer severely from recurrent famines; they do not increase their food by artificial means; they rarely refrain from marriage ( . burchell says ('travels in s. africa,' vol. ii. , p. ), that among the wild nations of southern africa, neither men nor women ever pass their lives in a state of celibacy. azara ('voyages dans l'amérique merid.' tom. ii. , p. ) makes precisely the same remark in regard to the wild indians of south america.), and generally marry whilst young. consequently they must be subjected to occasional hard struggles for existence, and the favoured individuals will alone survive. at a very early period, before man attained to his present rank in the scale, many of his conditions would be different from what now obtains amongst savages. judging from the analogy of the lower animals, he would then either live with a single female, or be a polygamist. the most powerful and able males would succeed best in obtaining attractive females. they would also succeed best in the general struggle for life, and in defending their females, as well as their offspring, from enemies of all kinds. at this early period the ancestors of man would not be sufficiently advanced in intellect to look forward to distant contingencies; they would not foresee that the rearing of all their children, especially their female children, would make the struggle for life severer for the tribe. they would be governed more by their instincts and less by their reason than are savages at the present day. they would not at that period have partially lost one of the strongest of all instincts, common to all the lower animals, namely the love of their young offspring; and consequently they would not have practised female infanticide. women would not have been thus rendered scarce, and polyandry would not have been practised; for hardly any other cause, except the scarcity of women seems sufficient to break down the natural and widely prevalent feeling of jealousy, and the desire of each male to possess a female for himself. polyandry would be a natural stepping-stone to communal marriages or almost promiscuous intercourse; though the best authorities believe that this latter habit preceded polyandry. during primordial times there would be no early betrothals, for this implies foresight. nor would women be valued merely as useful slaves or beasts of burthen. both sexes, if the females as well as the males were permitted to exert any choice, would choose their partners not for mental charms, or property, or social position, but almost solely from external appearance. all the adults would marry or pair, and all the offspring, as far as that was possible, would be reared; so that the struggle for existence would be periodically excessively severe. thus during these times all the conditions for sexual selection would have been more favourable than at a later period, when man had advanced in his intellectual powers but had retrograded in his instincts. therefore, whatever influence sexual selection may have had in producing the differences between the races of man, and between man and the higher quadrumana, this influence would have been more powerful at a remote period than at the present day, though probably not yet wholly lost. the manner of action of sexual selection with mankind. with primeval man under the favourable conditions just stated, and with those savages who at the present time enter into any marriage tie, sexual selection has probably acted in the following manner, subject to greater or less interference from female infanticide, early betrothals, etc. the strongest and most vigorous men--those who could best defend and hunt for their families, who were provided with the best weapons and possessed the most property, such as a large number of dogs or other animals,--would succeed in rearing a greater average number of offspring than the weaker and poorer members of the same tribes. there can, also, be no doubt that such men would generally be able to select the more attractive women. at present the chiefs of nearly every tribe throughout the world succeed in obtaining more than one wife. i hear from mr. mantell that, until recently, almost every girl in new zealand who was pretty, or promised to be pretty, was tapu to some chief. with the kafirs, as mr. c. hamilton states ( . 'anthropological review,' jan. , p. xvi.), "the chiefs generally have the pick of the women for many miles round, and are most persevering in establishing or confirming their privilege." we have seen that each race has its own style of beauty, and we know that it is natural to man to admire each characteristic point in his domestic animals, dress, ornaments, and personal appearance, when carried a little beyond the average. if then the several foregoing propositions be admitted, and i cannot see that they are doubtful, it would be an inexplicable circumstance if the selection of the more attractive women by the more powerful men of each tribe, who would rear on an average a greater number of children, did not after the lapse of many generations somewhat modify the character of the tribe. when a foreign breed of our domestic animals is introduced into a new country, or when a native breed is long and carefully attended to, either for use or ornament, it is found after several generations to have undergone a greater or less amount of change whenever the means of comparison exist. this follows from unconscious selection during a long series of generations--that is, the preservation of the most approved individuals--without any wish or expectation of such a result on the part of the breeder. so again, if during many years two careful breeders rear animals of the same family, and do not compare them together or with a common standard, the animals are found to have become, to the surprise of their owners, slightly different. ( . the 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. pp. - .) each breeder has impressed, as von nathusius well expresses it, the character of his own mind--his own taste and judgment--on his animals. what reason, then, can be assigned why similar results should not follow from the long-continued selection of the most admired women by those men of each tribe who were able to rear the greatest number of children? this would be unconscious selection, for an effect would be produced, independently of any wish or expectation on the part of the men who preferred certain women to others. let us suppose the members of a tribe, practising some form of marriage, to spread over an unoccupied continent, they would soon split up into distinct hordes, separated from each other by various barriers, and still more effectually by the incessant wars between all barbarous nations. the hordes would thus be exposed to slightly different conditions and habits of life, and would sooner or later come to differ in some small degree. as soon as this occurred, each isolated tribe would form for itself a slightly different standard of beauty ( . an ingenious writer argues, from a comparison of the pictures of raphael, rubens, and modern french artists, that the idea of beauty is not absolutely the same even throughout europe: see the 'lives of haydn and mozart,' by bombet (otherwise m. beyle), english translation, p. .); and then unconscious selection would come into action through the more powerful and leading men preferring certain women to others. thus the differences between the tribes, at first very slight, would gradually and inevitably be more or less increased. with animals in a state of nature, many characters proper to the males, such as size, strength, special weapons, courage and pugnacity, have been acquired through the law of battle. the semi-human progenitors of man, like their allies the quadrumana, will almost certainly have been thus modified; and, as savages still fight for the possession of their women, a similar process of selection has probably gone on in a greater or less degree to the present day. other characters proper to the males of the lower animals, such as bright colours and various ornaments, have been acquired by the more attractive males having been preferred by the females. there are, however, exceptional cases in which the males are the selectors, instead of having been the selected. we recognise such cases by the females being more highly ornamented than the males,--their ornamental characters having been transmitted exclusively or chiefly to their female offspring. one such case has been described in the order to which man belongs, that of the rhesus monkey. man is more powerful in body and mind than woman, and in the savage state he keeps her in a far more abject state of bondage than does the male of any other animal; therefore it is not surprising that he should have gained the power of selection. women are everywhere conscious of the value of their own beauty; and when they have the means, they take more delight in decorating themselves with all sorts of ornaments than do men. they borrow the plumes of male birds, with which nature has decked this sex, in order to charm the females. as women have long been selected for beauty, it is not surprising that some of their successive variations should have been transmitted exclusively to the same sex; consequently that they should have transmitted beauty in a somewhat higher degree to their female than to their male offspring, and thus have become more beautiful, according to general opinion, than men. women, however, certainly transmit most of their characters, including some beauty, to their offspring of both sexes; so that the continued preference by the men of each race for the more attractive women, according to their standard of taste, will have tended to modify in the same manner all the individuals of both sexes belonging to the race. with respect to the other form of sexual selection (which with the lower animals is much the more common), namely, when the females are the selectors, and accept only those males which excite or charm them most, we have reason to believe that it formerly acted on our progenitors. man in all probability owes his beard, and perhaps some other characters, to inheritance from an ancient progenitor who thus gained his ornaments. but this form of selection may have occasionally acted during later times; for in utterly barbarous tribes the women have more power in choosing, rejecting, and tempting their lovers, or of afterwards changing their husbands, than might have been expected. as this is a point of some importance, i will give in detail such evidence as i have been able to collect. hearne describes how a woman in one of the tribes of arctic america repeatedly ran away from her husband and joined her lover; and with the charruas of s. america, according to azara, divorce is quite optional. amongst the abipones, a man on choosing a wife bargains with the parents about the price. but "it frequently happens that the girl rescinds what has been agreed upon between the parents and the bridegroom, obstinately rejecting the very mention of marriage." she often runs away, hides herself, and thus eludes the bridegroom. captain musters who lived with the patagonians, says that their marriages are always settled by inclination; "if the parents make a match contrary to the daughter's will, she refuses and is never compelled to comply." in tierra del fuego a young man first obtains the consent of the parents by doing them some service, and then he attempts to carry off the girl; "but if she is unwilling, she hides herself in the woods until her admirer is heartily tired of looking for her, and gives up the pursuit; but this seldom happens." in the fiji islands the man seizes on the woman whom he wishes for his wife by actual or pretended force; but "on reaching the home of her abductor, should she not approve of the match, she runs to some one who can protect her; if, however, she is satisfied, the matter is settled forthwith." with the kalmucks there is a regular race between the bride and bridegroom, the former having a fair start; and clarke "was assured that no instance occurs of a girl being caught, unless she has a partiality to the pursuer." amongst the wild tribes of the malay archipelago there is also a racing match; and it appears from m. bourien's account, as sir j. lubbock remarks, that "the race, 'is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,' but to the young man who has the good fortune to please his intended bride." a similar custom, with the same result, prevails with the koraks of north-eastern asia. turning to africa: the kafirs buy their wives, and girls are severely beaten by their fathers if they will not accept a chosen husband; but it is manifest from many facts given by the rev. mr. shooter, that they have considerable power of choice. thus very ugly, though rich men, have been known to fail in getting wives. the girls, before consenting to be betrothed, compel the men to shew themselves off first in front and then behind, and "exhibit their paces." they have been known to propose to a man, and they not rarely run away with a favoured lover. so again, mr. leslie, who was intimately acquainted with the kafirs, says, "it is a mistake to imagine that a girl is sold by her father in the same manner, and with the same authority, with which he would dispose of a cow." amongst the degraded bushmen of s. africa, "when a girl has grown up to womanhood without having been betrothed, which, however, does not often happen, her lover must gain her approbation, as well as that of the parents." ( . azara, 'voyages,' etc., tom. ii. p. . dobrizhoffer, 'an account of the abipones,' vol. ii. , p. . capt. musters, in 'proc. r. geograph. soc.' vol. xv. p. . williams on the fiji islanders, as quoted by lubbock, 'origin of civilisation,' , p. . on the fuegians, king and fitzroy, 'voyages of the "adventure" and "beagle,"' vol. ii. , p. . on the kalmucks, quoted by m'lennan, 'primitive marriage,' , p. . on the malays, lubbock, ibid. p. . the rev. j. shooter, 'on the kafirs of natal,' , pp. - . mr. d. leslie, 'kafir character and customs,' , p. . on the bush-men, burchell, 'travels in s. africa,' ii. , p. . on the koraks by mckennan, as quoted by mr. wake, in 'anthropologia,' oct. , p. .) mr. winwood reade made inquiries for me with respect to the negroes of western africa, and he informs me that "the women, at least among the more intelligent pagan tribes, have no difficulty in getting the husbands whom they may desire, although it is considered unwomanly to ask a man to marry them. they are quite capable of falling in love, and of forming tender, passionate, and faithful attachments." additional cases could be given. we thus see that with savages the women are not in quite so abject a state in relation to marriage as has often been supposed. they can tempt the men whom they prefer, and can sometimes reject those whom they dislike, either before or after marriage. preference on the part of the women, steadily acting in any one direction, would ultimately affect the character of the tribe; for the women would generally choose not merely the handsomest men, according to their standard of taste, but those who were at the same time best able to defend and support them. such well-endowed pairs would commonly rear a larger number of offspring than the less favoured. the same result would obviously follow in a still more marked manner if there was selection on both sides; that is, if the more attractive, and at the same time more powerful men were to prefer, and were preferred by, the more attractive women. and this double form of selection seems actually to have occurred, especially during the earlier periods of our long history. we will now examine a little more closely some of the characters which distinguish the several races of man from one another and from the lower animals, namely, the greater or less deficiency of hair on the body, and the colour of the skin. we need say nothing about the great diversity in the shape of the features and of the skull between the different races, as we have seen in the last chapter how different is the standard of beauty in these respects. these characters will therefore probably have been acted on through sexual selection; but we have no means of judging whether they have been acted on chiefly from the male or female side. the musical faculties of man have likewise been already discussed. absence of hair on the body, and its development on the face and head. from the presence of the woolly hair or lanugo on the human foetus, and of rudimentary hairs scattered over the body during maturity, we may infer that man is descended from some animal which was born hairy and remained so during life. the loss of hair is an inconvenience and probably an injury to man, even in a hot climate, for he is thus exposed to the scorching of the sun, and to sudden chills, especially during wet weather. as mr. wallace remarks, the natives in all countries are glad to protect their naked backs and shoulders with some slight covering. no one supposes that the nakedness of the skin is any direct advantage to man; his body therefore cannot have been divested of hair through natural selection. ( . 'contributions to the theory of natural selection,' , p. . mr. wallace believes (p. ) "that some intelligent power has guided or determined the development of man"; and he considers the hairless condition of the skin as coming under this head. the rev. t.r. stebbing, in commenting on this view ('transactions of devonshire association for science,' ) remarks, that had mr. wallace "employed his usual ingenuity on the question of man's hairless skin, he might have seen the possibility of its selection through its superior beauty or the health attaching to superior cleanliness.") nor, as shewn in a former chapter, have we any evidence that this can be due to the direct action of climate, or that it is the result of correlated development. the absence of hair on the body is to a certain extent a secondary sexual character; for in all parts of the world women are less hairy than men. therefore we may reasonably suspect that this character has been gained through sexual selection. we know that the faces of several species of monkeys, and large surfaces at the posterior end of the body of other species, have been denuded of hair; and this we may safely attribute to sexual selection, for these surfaces are not only vividly coloured, but sometimes, as with the male mandrill and female rhesus, much more vividly in the one sex than in the other, especially during the breeding-season. i am informed by mr. bartlett that, as these animals gradually reach maturity, the naked surfaces grow larger compared with the size of their bodies. the hair, however, appears to have been removed, not for the sake of nudity, but that the colour of the skin may be more fully displayed. so again with many birds, it appears as if the head and neck had been divested of feathers through sexual selection, to exhibit the brightly-coloured skin. as the body in woman is less hairy than in man, and as this character is common to all races, we may conclude that it was our female semi-human ancestors who were first divested of hair, and that this occurred at an extremely remote period before the several races had diverged from a common stock. whilst our female ancestors were gradually acquiring this new character of nudity, they must have transmitted it almost equally to their offspring of both sexes whilst young; so that its transmission, as with the ornaments of many mammals and birds, has not been limited either by sex or age. there is nothing surprising in a partial loss of hair having been esteemed as an ornament by our ape-like progenitors, for we have seen that innumerable strange characters have been thus esteemed by animals of all kinds, and have consequently been gained through sexual selection. nor is it surprising that a slightly injurious character should have been thus acquired; for we know that this is the case with the plumes of certain birds, and with the horns of certain stags. the females of some of the anthropoid apes, as stated in a former chapter, are somewhat less hairy on the under surface than the males; and here we have what might have afforded a commencement for the process of denudation. with respect to the completion of the process through sexual selection, it is well to bear in mind the new zealand proverb, "there is no woman for a hairy man." all who have seen photographs of the siamese hairy family will admit how ludicrously hideous is the opposite extreme of excessive hairiness. and the king of siam had to bribe a man to marry the first hairy woman in the family; and she transmitted this character to her young offspring of both sexes. ( . the 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' vol. ii. , p. .) some races are much more hairy than others, especially the males; but it must not be assumed that the more hairy races, such as the european, have retained their primordial condition more completely than the naked races, such as the kalmucks or americans. it is more probable that the hairiness of the former is due to partial reversion; for characters which have been at some former period long inherited are always apt to return. we have seen that idiots are often very hairy, and they are apt to revert in other characters to a lower animal type. it does not appear that a cold climate has been influential in leading to this kind of reversion; excepting perhaps with the negroes, who have been reared during several generations in the united states ( . 'investigations into military and anthropological statistics of american soldiers,' by b.a. gould, , p. :--observations were carefully made on the hairiness of black and coloured soldiers, whilst they were bathing; and by looking to the published table, "it is manifest at a glance that there is but little, if any, difference between the white and the black races in this respect." it is, however, certain that negroes in their native and much hotter land of africa, have remarkably smooth bodies. it should be particularly observed, that both pure blacks and mulattoes were included in the above enumeration; and this is an unfortunate circumstance, as in accordance with a principle, the truth of which i have elsewhere proved, crossed races of man would be eminently liable to revert to the primordial hairy character of their early ape-like progenitors.), and possibly with the ainos, who inhabit the northern islands of the japan archipelago. but the laws of inheritance are so complex that we can seldom understand their action. if the greater hairiness of certain races be the result of reversion, unchecked by any form of selection, its extreme variability, even within the limits of the same race, ceases to be remarkable. ( . hardly any view advanced in this work has met with so much disfavour (see for instance, sprengel, 'die fortschritte des darwinismus,' , p. ) as the above explanation of the loss of hair in mankind through sexual selection; but none of the opposed arguments seem to me of much weight, in comparison with the facts shewing that the nudity of the skin is to a certain extent a secondary sexual character in man and in some of the quadrumana.) with respect to the beard in man, if we turn to our best guide, the quadrumana, we find beards equally developed in both sexes of many species, but in some, either confined to the males, or more developed in them than in the females. from this fact and from the curious arrangement, as well as the bright colours of the hair about the heads of many monkeys, it is highly probable, as before explained, that the males first acquired their beards through sexual selection as an ornament, transmitting them in most cases, equally or nearly so, to their offspring of both sexes. we know from eschricht ( . 'ueber die richtung der haare am menschlichen körper,' in müller's 'archiv. für anat. und phys.' , s. .) that with mankind the female as well as the male foetus is furnished with much hair on the face, especially round the mouth; and this indicates that we are descended from progenitors of whom both sexes were bearded. it appears therefore at first sight probable that man has retained his beard from a very early period, whilst woman lost her beard at the same time that her body became almost completely divested of hair. even the colour of our beards seems to have been inherited from an ape-like progenitor; for when there is any difference in tint between the hair of the head and the beard, the latter is lighter coloured in all monkeys and in man. in those quadrumana in which the male has a larger beard than that of the female, it is fully developed only at maturity, just as with mankind; and it is possible that only the later stages of development have been retained by man. in opposition to this view of the retention of the beard from an early period is the fact of its great variability in different races, and even within the same race; for this indicates reversion,--long lost characters being very apt to vary on re-appearance. nor must we overlook the part which sexual selection may have played in later times; for we know that with savages the men of the beardless races take infinite pains in eradicating every hair from their faces as something odious, whilst the men of the bearded races feel the greatest pride in their beards. the women, no doubt, participate in these feelings, and if so sexual selection can hardly have failed to have effected something in the course of later times. it is also possible that the long-continued habit of eradicating the hair may have produced an inherited effect. dr. brown-sequard has shewn that if certain animals are operated on in a particular manner, their offspring are affected. further evidence could be given of the inheritance of the effects of mutilations; but a fact lately ascertained by mr. salvin ( . on the tail-feathers of motmots, 'proceedings of the zoological society,' , p. .) has a more direct bearing on the present question; for he has shewn that the motmots, which are known habitually to bite off the barbs of the two central tail-feathers, have the barbs of these feathers naturally somewhat reduced. ( . mr. sproat has suggested ('scenes and studies of savage life,' , p. ) this same view. some distinguished ethnologists, amongst others m. gosse of geneva, believe that artificial modifications of the skull tend to be inherited.) nevertheless, with mankind the habit of eradicating the beard and the hairs on the body would probably not have arisen until these had already become by some means reduced. it is difficult to form any judgment as to how the hair on the head became developed to its present great length in many races. eschricht ( . 'ueber die richtung,' ibid. s. .) states that in the human foetus the hair on the face during the fifth month is longer than that on the head; and this indicates that our semi-human progenitors were not furnished with long tresses, which must therefore have been a late acquisition. this is likewise indicated by the extraordinary difference in the length of the hair in the different races; in the negro the hair forms a mere curly mat; with us it is of great length, and with the american natives it not rarely reaches to the ground. some species of semnopithecus have their heads covered with moderately long hair, and this probably serves as an ornament and was acquired through sexual selection. the same view may perhaps be extended to mankind, for we know that long tresses are now and were formerly much admired, as may be observed in the works of almost every poet; st. paul says, "if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her;" and we have seen that in north america a chief was elected solely from the length of his hair. colour of the skin. the best kind of evidence that in man the colour of the skin has been modified through sexual selection is scanty; for in most races the sexes do not differ in this respect, and only slightly, as we have seen, in others. we know, however, from the many facts already given that the colour of the skin is regarded by the men of all races as a highly important element in their beauty; so that it is a character which would be likely to have been modified through selection, as has occurred in innumerable instances with the lower animals. it seems at first sight a monstrous supposition that the jet-blackness of the negro should have been gained through sexual selection; but this view is supported by various analogies, and we know that negroes admire their own colour. with mammals, when the sexes differ in colour, the male is often black or much darker than the female; and it depends merely on the form of inheritance whether this or any other tint is transmitted to both sexes or to one alone. the resemblance to a negro in miniature of pithecia satanas with his jet black skin, white rolling eyeballs, and hair parted on the top of the head, is almost ludicrous. the colour of the face differs much more widely in the various kinds of monkeys than it does in the races of man; and we have some reason to believe that the red, blue, orange, almost white and black tints of their skin, even when common to both sexes, as well as the bright colours of their fur, and the ornamental tufts about the head, have all been acquired through sexual selection. as the order of development during growth, generally indicates the order in which the characters of a species have been developed and modified during previous generations; and as the newly-born infants of the various races of man do not differ nearly as much in colour as do the adults, although their bodies are as completely destitute of hair, we have some slight evidence that the tints of the different races were acquired at a period subsequent to the removal of the hair, which must have occurred at a very early period in the history of man. summary. we may conclude that the greater size, strength, courage, pugnacity, and energy of man, in comparison with woman, were acquired during primeval times, and have subsequently been augmented, chiefly through the contests of rival males for the possession of the females. the greater intellectual vigour and power of invention in man is probably due to natural selection, combined with the inherited effects of habit, for the most able men will have succeeded best in defending and providing for themselves and for their wives and offspring. as far as the extreme intricacy of the subject permits us to judge, it appears that our male ape-like progenitors acquired their beards as an ornament to charm or excite the opposite sex, and transmitted them only to their male offspring. the females apparently first had their bodies denuded of hair, also as a sexual ornament; but they transmitted this character almost equally to both sexes. it is not improbable that the females were modified in other respects for the same purpose and by the same means; so that women have acquired sweeter voices and become more beautiful than men. it deserves attention that with mankind the conditions were in many respects much more favourable for sexual selection, during a very early period, when man had only just attained to the rank of manhood, than during later times. for he would then, as we may safely conclude, have been guided more by his instinctive passions, and less by foresight or reason. he would have jealously guarded his wife or wives. he would not have practised infanticide; nor valued his wives merely as useful slaves; nor have been betrothed to them during infancy. hence we may infer that the races of men were differentiated, as far as sexual selection is concerned, in chief part at a very remote epoch; and this conclusion throws light on the remarkable fact that at the most ancient period, of which we have not as yet any record, the races of man had already come to differ nearly or quite as much as they do at the present day. the views here advanced, on the part which sexual selection has played in the history of man, want scientific precision. he who does not admit this agency in the case of the lower animals, will disregard all that i have written in the later chapters on man. we cannot positively say that this character, but not that, has been thus modified; it has, however, been shewn that the races of man differ from each other and from their nearest allies, in certain characters which are of no service to them in their daily habits of life, and which it is extremely probable would have been modified through sexual selection. we have seen that with the lowest savages the people of each tribe admire their own characteristic qualities,--the shape of the head and face, the squareness of the cheek-bones, the prominence or depression of the nose, the colour of the skin, the length of the hair on the head, the absence of hair on the face and body, or the presence of a great beard, and so forth. hence these and other such points could hardly fail to be slowly and gradually exaggerated, from the more powerful and able men in each tribe, who would succeed in rearing the largest number of offspring, having selected during many generations for their wives the most strongly characterised and therefore most attractive women. for my own part i conclude that of all the causes which have led to the differences in external appearance between the races of man, and to a certain extent between man and the lower animals, sexual selection has been the most efficient. chapter xxi. general summary and conclusion. main conclusion that man is descended from some lower form--manner of development--genealogy of man--intellectual and moral faculties--sexual selection--concluding remarks. a brief summary will be sufficient to recall to the reader's mind the more salient points in this work. many of the views which have been advanced are highly speculative, and some no doubt will prove erroneous; but i have in every case given the reasons which have led me to one view rather than to another. it seemed worth while to try how far the principle of evolution would throw light on some of the more complex problems in the natural history of man. false facts are highly injurious to the progress of science, for they often endure long; but false views, if supported by some evidence, do little harm, for every one takes a salutary pleasure in proving their falseness: and when this is done, one path towards error is closed and the road to truth is often at the same time opened. the main conclusion here arrived at, and now held by many naturalists who are well competent to form a sound judgment, is that man is descended from some less highly organised form. the grounds upon which this conclusion rests will never be shaken, for the close similarity between man and the lower animals in embryonic development, as well as in innumerable points of structure and constitution, both of high and of the most trifling importance,--the rudiments which he retains, and the abnormal reversions to which he is occasionally liable,--are facts which cannot be disputed. they have long been known, but until recently they told us nothing with respect to the origin of man. now when viewed by the light of our knowledge of the whole organic world, their meaning is unmistakable. the great principle of evolution stands up clear and firm, when these groups or facts are considered in connection with others, such as the mutual affinities of the members of the same group, their geographical distribution in past and present times, and their geological succession. it is incredible that all these facts should speak falsely. he who is not content to look, like a savage, at the phenomena of nature as disconnected, cannot any longer believe that man is the work of a separate act of creation. he will be forced to admit that the close resemblance of the embryo of man to that, for instance, of a dog--the construction of his skull, limbs and whole frame on the same plan with that of other mammals, independently of the uses to which the parts may be put--the occasional re-appearance of various structures, for instance of several muscles, which man does not normally possess, but which are common to the quadrumana--and a crowd of analogous facts--all point in the plainest manner to the conclusion that man is the co-descendant with other mammals of a common progenitor. we have seen that man incessantly presents individual differences in all parts of his body and in his mental faculties. these differences or variations seem to be induced by the same general causes, and to obey the same laws as with the lower animals. in both cases similar laws of inheritance prevail. man tends to increase at a greater rate than his means of subsistence; consequently he is occasionally subjected to a severe struggle for existence, and natural selection will have effected whatever lies within its scope. a succession of strongly-marked variations of a similar nature is by no means requisite; slight fluctuating differences in the individual suffice for the work of natural selection; not that we have any reason to suppose that in the same species, all parts of the organisation tend to vary to the same degree. we may feel assured that the inherited effects of the long-continued use or disuse of parts will have done much in the same direction with natural selection. modifications formerly of importance, though no longer of any special use, are long-inherited. when one part is modified, other parts change through the principle of correlation, of which we have instances in many curious cases of correlated monstrosities. something may be attributed to the direct and definite action of the surrounding conditions of life, such as abundant food, heat or moisture; and lastly, many characters of slight physiological importance, some indeed of considerable importance, have been gained through sexual selection. no doubt man, as well as every other animal, presents structures, which seem to our limited knowledge, not to be now of any service to him, nor to have been so formerly, either for the general conditions of life, or in the relations of one sex to the other. such structures cannot be accounted for by any form of selection, or by the inherited effects of the use and disuse of parts. we know, however, that many strange and strongly-marked peculiarities of structure occasionally appear in our domesticated productions, and if their unknown causes were to act more uniformly, they would probably become common to all the individuals of the species. we may hope hereafter to understand something about the causes of such occasional modifications, especially through the study of monstrosities: hence the labours of experimentalists, such as those of m. camille dareste, are full of promise for the future. in general we can only say that the cause of each slight variation and of each monstrosity lies much more in the constitution of the organism, than in the nature of the surrounding conditions; though new and changed conditions certainly play an important part in exciting organic changes of many kinds. through the means just specified, aided perhaps by others as yet undiscovered, man has been raised to his present state. but since he attained to the rank of manhood, he has diverged into distinct races, or as they may be more fitly called, sub-species. some of these, such as the negro and european, are so distinct that, if specimens had been brought to a naturalist without any further information, they would undoubtedly have been considered by him as good and true species. nevertheless all the races agree in so many unimportant details of structure and in so many mental peculiarities that these can be accounted for only by inheritance from a common progenitor; and a progenitor thus characterised would probably deserve to rank as man. it must not be supposed that the divergence of each race from the other races, and of all from a common stock, can be traced back to any one pair of progenitors. on the contrary, at every stage in the process of modification, all the individuals which were in any way better fitted for their conditions of life, though in different degrees, would have survived in greater numbers than the less well-fitted. the process would have been like that followed by man, when he does not intentionally select particular individuals, but breeds from all the superior individuals, and neglects the inferior. he thus slowly but surely modifies his stock, and unconsciously forms a new strain. so with respect to modifications acquired independently of selection, and due to variations arising from the nature of the organism and the action of the surrounding conditions, or from changed habits of life, no single pair will have been modified much more than the other pairs inhabiting the same country, for all will have been continually blended through free intercrossing. by considering the embryological structure of man,--the homologies which he presents with the lower animals,--the rudiments which he retains,--and the reversions to which he is liable, we can partly recall in imagination the former condition of our early progenitors; and can approximately place them in their proper place in the zoological series. we thus learn that man is descended from a hairy, tailed quadruped, probably arboreal in its habits, and an inhabitant of the old world. this creature, if its whole structure had been examined by a naturalist, would have been classed amongst the quadrumana, as surely as the still more ancient progenitor of the old and new world monkeys. the quadrumana and all the higher mammals are probably derived from an ancient marsupial animal, and this through a long line of diversified forms, from some amphibian-like creature, and this again from some fish-like animal. in the dim obscurity of the past we can see that the early progenitor of all the vertebrata must have been an aquatic animal, provided with branchiae, with the two sexes united in the same individual, and with the most important organs of the body (such as the brain and heart) imperfectly or not at all developed. this animal seems to have been more like the larvae of the existing marine ascidians than any other known form. the high standard of our intellectual powers and moral disposition is the greatest difficulty which presents itself, after we have been driven to this conclusion on the origin of man. but every one who admits the principle of evolution, must see that the mental powers of the higher animals, which are the same in kind with those of man, though so different in degree, are capable of advancement. thus the interval between the mental powers of one of the higher apes and of a fish, or between those of an ant and scale-insect, is immense; yet their development does not offer any special difficulty; for with our domesticated animals, the mental faculties are certainly variable, and the variations are inherited. no one doubts that they are of the utmost importance to animals in a state of nature. therefore the conditions are favourable for their development through natural selection. the same conclusion may be extended to man; the intellect must have been all-important to him, even at a very remote period, as enabling him to invent and use language, to make weapons, tools, traps, etc., whereby with the aid of his social habits, he long ago became the most dominant of all living creatures. a great stride in the development of the intellect will have followed, as soon as the half-art and half-instinct of language came into use; for the continued use of language will have reacted on the brain and produced an inherited effect; and this again will have reacted on the improvement of language. as mr. chauncey wright ( . 'on the limits of natural selection,' in the 'north american review,' oct. , p. .) has well remarked, the largeness of the brain in man relatively to his body, compared with the lower animals, may be attributed in chief part to the early use of some simple form of language,--that wonderful engine which affixes signs to all sorts of objects and qualities, and excites trains of thought which would never arise from the mere impression of the senses, or if they did arise could not be followed out. the higher intellectual powers of man, such as those of ratiocination, abstraction, self-consciousness, etc., probably follow from the continued improvement and exercise of the other mental faculties. the development of the moral qualities is a more interesting problem. the foundation lies in the social instincts, including under this term the family ties. these instincts are highly complex, and in the case of the lower animals give special tendencies towards certain definite actions; but the more important elements are love, and the distinct emotion of sympathy. animals endowed with the social instincts take pleasure in one another's company, warn one another of danger, defend and aid one another in many ways. these instincts do not extend to all the individuals of the species, but only to those of the same community. as they are highly beneficial to the species, they have in all probability been acquired through natural selection. a moral being is one who is capable of reflecting on his past actions and their motives--of approving of some and disapproving of others; and the fact that man is the one being who certainly deserves this designation, is the greatest of all distinctions between him and the lower animals. but in the fourth chapter i have endeavoured to shew that the moral sense follows, firstly, from the enduring and ever-present nature of the social instincts; secondly, from man's appreciation of the approbation and disapprobation of his fellows; and thirdly, from the high activity of his mental faculties, with past impressions extremely vivid; and in these latter respects he differs from the lower animals. owing to this condition of mind, man cannot avoid looking both backwards and forwards, and comparing past impressions. hence after some temporary desire or passion has mastered his social instincts, he reflects and compares the now weakened impression of such past impulses with the ever-present social instincts; and he then feels that sense of dissatisfaction which all unsatisfied instincts leave behind them, he therefore resolves to act differently for the future,--and this is conscience. any instinct, permanently stronger or more enduring than another, gives rise to a feeling which we express by saying that it ought to be obeyed. a pointer dog, if able to reflect on his past conduct, would say to himself, i ought (as indeed we say of him) to have pointed at that hare and not have yielded to the passing temptation of hunting it. social animals are impelled partly by a wish to aid the members of their community in a general manner, but more commonly to perform certain definite actions. man is impelled by the same general wish to aid his fellows; but has few or no special instincts. he differs also from the lower animals in the power of expressing his desires by words, which thus become a guide to the aid required and bestowed. the motive to give aid is likewise much modified in man: it no longer consists solely of a blind instinctive impulse, but is much influenced by the praise or blame of his fellows. the appreciation and the bestowal of praise and blame both rest on sympathy; and this emotion, as we have seen, is one of the most important elements of the social instincts. sympathy, though gained as an instinct, is also much strengthened by exercise or habit. as all men desire their own happiness, praise or blame is bestowed on actions and motives, according as they lead to this end; and as happiness is an essential part of the general good, the greatest-happiness principle indirectly serves as a nearly safe standard of right and wrong. as the reasoning powers advance and experience is gained, the remoter effects of certain lines of conduct on the character of the individual, and on the general good, are perceived; and then the self-regarding virtues come within the scope of public opinion, and receive praise, and their opposites blame. but with the less civilised nations reason often errs, and many bad customs and base superstitions come within the same scope, and are then esteemed as high virtues, and their breach as heavy crimes. the moral faculties are generally and justly esteemed as of higher value than the intellectual powers. but we should bear in mind that the activity of the mind in vividly recalling past impressions is one of the fundamental though secondary bases of conscience. this affords the strongest argument for educating and stimulating in all possible ways the intellectual faculties of every human being. no doubt a man with a torpid mind, if his social affections and sympathies are well developed, will be led to good actions, and may have a fairly sensitive conscience. but whatever renders the imagination more vivid and strengthens the habit of recalling and comparing past impressions, will make the conscience more sensitive, and may even somewhat compensate for weak social affections and sympathies. the moral nature of man has reached its present standard, partly through the advancement of his reasoning powers and consequently of a just public opinion, but especially from his sympathies having been rendered more tender and widely diffused through the effects of habit, example, instruction, and reflection. it is not improbable that after long practice virtuous tendencies may be inherited. with the more civilised races, the conviction of the existence of an all-seeing deity has had a potent influence on the advance of morality. ultimately man does not accept the praise or blame of his fellows as his sole guide, though few escape this influence, but his habitual convictions, controlled by reason, afford him the safest rule. his conscience then becomes the supreme judge and monitor. nevertheless the first foundation or origin of the moral sense lies in the social instincts, including sympathy; and these instincts no doubt were primarily gained, as in the case of the lower animals, through natural selection. the belief in god has often been advanced as not only the greatest, but the most complete of all the distinctions between man and the lower animals. it is however impossible, as we have seen, to maintain that this belief is innate or instinctive in man. on the other hand a belief in all-pervading spiritual agencies seems to be universal; and apparently follows from a considerable advance in man's reason, and from a still greater advance in his faculties of imagination, curiosity and wonder. i am aware that the assumed instinctive belief in god has been used by many persons as an argument for his existence. but this is a rash argument, as we should thus be compelled to believe in the existence of many cruel and malignant spirits, only a little more powerful than man; for the belief in them is far more general than in a beneficent deity. the idea of a universal and beneficent creator does not seem to arise in the mind of man, until he has been elevated by long-continued culture. he who believes in the advancement of man from some low organised form, will naturally ask how does this bear on the belief in the immortality of the soul. the barbarous races of man, as sir j. lubbock has shewn, possess no clear belief of this kind; but arguments derived from the primeval beliefs of savages are, as we have just seen, of little or no avail. few persons feel any anxiety from the impossibility of determining at what precise period in the development of the individual, from the first trace of a minute germinal vesicle, man becomes an immortal being; and there is no greater cause for anxiety because the period cannot possibly be determined in the gradually ascending organic scale. ( . the rev. j.a. picton gives a discussion to this effect in his 'new theories and the old faith,' .) i am aware that the conclusions arrived at in this work will be denounced by some as highly irreligious; but he who denounces them is bound to shew why it is more irreligious to explain the origin of man as a distinct species by descent from some lower form, through the laws of variation and natural selection, than to explain the birth of the individual through the laws of ordinary reproduction. the birth both of the species and of the individual are equally parts of that grand sequence of events, which our minds refuse to accept as the result of blind chance. the understanding revolts at such a conclusion, whether or not we are able to believe that every slight variation of structure,--the union of each pair in marriage, the dissemination of each seed,--and other such events, have all been ordained for some special purpose. sexual selection has been treated at great length in this work; for, as i have attempted to shew, it has played an important part in the history of the organic world. i am aware that much remains doubtful, but i have endeavoured to give a fair view of the whole case. in the lower divisions of the animal kingdom, sexual selection seems to have done nothing: such animals are often affixed for life to the same spot, or have the sexes combined in the same individual, or what is still more important, their perceptive and intellectual faculties are not sufficiently advanced to allow of the feelings of love and jealousy, or of the exertion of choice. when, however, we come to the arthropoda and vertebrata, even to the lowest classes in these two great sub-kingdoms, sexual selection has effected much. in the several great classes of the animal kingdom,--in mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes, insects, and even crustaceans,--the differences between the sexes follow nearly the same rules. the males are almost always the wooers; and they alone are armed with special weapons for fighting with their rivals. they are generally stronger and larger than the females, and are endowed with the requisite qualities of courage and pugnacity. they are provided, either exclusively or in a much higher degree than the females, with organs for vocal or instrumental music, and with odoriferous glands. they are ornamented with infinitely diversified appendages, and with the most brilliant or conspicuous colours, often arranged in elegant patterns, whilst the females are unadorned. when the sexes differ in more important structures, it is the male which is provided with special sense-organs for discovering the female, with locomotive organs for reaching her, and often with prehensile organs for holding her. these various structures for charming or securing the female are often developed in the male during only part of the year, namely the breeding-season. they have in many cases been more or less transferred to the females; and in the latter case they often appear in her as mere rudiments. they are lost or never gained by the males after emasculation. generally they are not developed in the male during early youth, but appear a short time before the age for reproduction. hence in most cases the young of both sexes resemble each other; and the female somewhat resembles her young offspring throughout life. in almost every great class a few anomalous cases occur, where there has been an almost complete transposition of the characters proper to the two sexes; the females assuming characters which properly belong to the males. this surprising uniformity in the laws regulating the differences between the sexes in so many and such widely separated classes, is intelligible if we admit the action of one common cause, namely sexual selection. sexual selection depends on the success of certain individuals over others of the same sex, in relation to the propagation of the species; whilst natural selection depends on the success of both sexes, at all ages, in relation to the general conditions of life. the sexual struggle is of two kinds; in the one it is between individuals of the same sex, generally the males, in order to drive away or kill their rivals, the females remaining passive; whilst in the other, the struggle is likewise between the individuals of the same sex, in order to excite or charm those of the opposite sex, generally the females, which no longer remain passive, but select the more agreeable partners. this latter kind of selection is closely analogous to that which man unintentionally, yet effectually, brings to bear on his domesticated productions, when he preserves during a long period the most pleasing or useful individuals, without any wish to modify the breed. the laws of inheritance determine whether characters gained through sexual selection by either sex shall be transmitted to the same sex, or to both; as well as the age at which they shall be developed. it appears that variations arising late in life are commonly transmitted to one and the same sex. variability is the necessary basis for the action of selection, and is wholly independent of it. it follows from this, that variations of the same general nature have often been taken advantage of and accumulated through sexual selection in relation to the propagation of the species, as well as through natural selection in relation to the general purposes of life. hence secondary sexual characters, when equally transmitted to both sexes can be distinguished from ordinary specific characters only by the light of analogy. the modifications acquired through sexual selection are often so strongly pronounced that the two sexes have frequently been ranked as distinct species, or even as distinct genera. such strongly-marked differences must be in some manner highly important; and we know that they have been acquired in some instances at the cost not only of inconvenience, but of exposure to actual danger. the belief in the power of sexual selection rests chiefly on the following considerations. certain characters are confined to one sex; and this alone renders it probable that in most cases they are connected with the act of reproduction. in innumerable instances these characters are fully developed only at maturity, and often during only a part of the year, which is always the breeding-season. the males (passing over a few exceptional cases) are the more active in courtship; they are the better armed, and are rendered the more attractive in various ways. it is to be especially observed that the males display their attractions with elaborate care in the presence of the females; and that they rarely or never display them excepting during the season of love. it is incredible that all this should be purposeless. lastly we have distinct evidence with some quadrupeds and birds, that the individuals of one sex are capable of feeling a strong antipathy or preference for certain individuals of the other sex. bearing in mind these facts, and the marked results of man's unconscious selection, when applied to domesticated animals and cultivated plants, it seems to me almost certain that if the individuals of one sex were during a long series of generations to prefer pairing with certain individuals of the other sex, characterised in some peculiar manner, the offspring would slowly but surely become modified in this same manner. i have not attempted to conceal that, excepting when the males are more numerous than the females, or when polygamy prevails, it is doubtful how the more attractive males succeed in leaving a large number of offspring to inherit their superiority in ornaments or other charms than the less attractive males; but i have shewn that this would probably follow from the females,--especially the more vigorous ones, which would be the first to breed,--preferring not only the more attractive but at the same time the more vigorous and victorious males. although we have some positive evidence that birds appreciate bright and beautiful objects, as with the bower-birds of australia, and although they certainly appreciate the power of song, yet i fully admit that it is astonishing that the females of many birds and some mammals should be endowed with sufficient taste to appreciate ornaments, which we have reason to attribute to sexual selection; and this is even more astonishing in the case of reptiles, fish, and insects. but we really know little about the minds of the lower animals. it cannot be supposed, for instance, that male birds of paradise or peacocks should take such pains in erecting, spreading, and vibrating their beautiful plumes before the females for no purpose. we should remember the fact given on excellent authority in a former chapter, that several peahens, when debarred from an admired male, remained widows during a whole season rather than pair with another bird. nevertheless i know of no fact in natural history more wonderful than that the female argus pheasant should appreciate the exquisite shading of the ball-and-socket ornaments and the elegant patterns on the wing-feather of the male. he who thinks that the male was created as he now exists must admit that the great plumes, which prevent the wings from being used for flight, and which are displayed during courtship and at no other time in a manner quite peculiar to this one species, were given to him as an ornament. if so, he must likewise admit that the female was created and endowed with the capacity of appreciating such ornaments. i differ only in the conviction that the male argus pheasant acquired his beauty gradually, through the preference of the females during many generations for the more highly ornamented males; the aesthetic capacity of the females having been advanced through exercise or habit, just as our own taste is gradually improved. in the male through the fortunate chance of a few feathers being left unchanged, we can distinctly trace how simple spots with a little fulvous shading on one side may have been developed by small steps into the wonderful ball-and-socket ornaments; and it is probable that they were actually thus developed. everyone who admits the principle of evolution, and yet feels great difficulty in admitting that female mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish, could have acquired the high taste implied by the beauty of the males, and which generally coincides with our own standard, should reflect that the nerve-cells of the brain in the highest as well as in the lowest members of the vertebrate series, are derived from those of the common progenitor of this great kingdom. for we can thus see how it has come to pass that certain mental faculties, in various and widely distinct groups of animals, have been developed in nearly the same manner and to nearly the same degree. the reader who has taken the trouble to go through the several chapters devoted to sexual selection, will be able to judge how far the conclusions at which i have arrived are supported by sufficient evidence. if he accepts these conclusions he may, i think, safely extend them to mankind; but it would be superfluous here to repeat what i have so lately said on the manner in which sexual selection apparently has acted on man, both on the male and female side, causing the two sexes to differ in body and mind, and the several races to differ from each other in various characters, as well as from their ancient and lowly-organised progenitors. he who admits the principle of sexual selection will be led to the remarkable conclusion that the nervous system not only regulates most of the existing functions of the body, but has indirectly influenced the progressive development of various bodily structures and of certain mental qualities. courage, pugnacity, perseverance, strength and size of body, weapons of all kinds, musical organs, both vocal and instrumental, bright colours and ornamental appendages, have all been indirectly gained by the one sex or the other, through the exertion of choice, the influence of love and jealousy, and the appreciation of the beautiful in sound, colour or form; and these powers of the mind manifestly depend on the development of the brain. man scans with scrupulous care the character and pedigree of his horses, cattle, and dogs before he matches them; but when he comes to his own marriage he rarely, or never, takes any such care. he is impelled by nearly the same motives as the lower animals, when they are left to their own free choice, though he is in so far superior to them that he highly values mental charms and virtues. on the other hand he is strongly attracted by mere wealth or rank. yet he might by selection do something not only for the bodily constitution and frame of his offspring, but for their intellectual and moral qualities. both sexes ought to refrain from marriage if they are in any marked degree inferior in body or mind; but such hopes are utopian and will never be even partially realised until the laws of inheritance are thoroughly known. everyone does good service, who aids towards this end. when the principles of breeding and inheritance are better understood, we shall not hear ignorant members of our legislature rejecting with scorn a plan for ascertaining whether or not consanguineous marriages are injurious to man. the advancement of the welfare of mankind is a most intricate problem: all ought to refrain from marriage who cannot avoid abject poverty for their children; for poverty is not only a great evil, but tends to its own increase by leading to recklessness in marriage. on the other hand, as mr. galton has remarked, if the prudent avoid marriage, whilst the reckless marry, the inferior members tend to supplant the better members of society. man, like every other animal, has no doubt advanced to his present high condition through a struggle for existence consequent on his rapid multiplication; and if he is to advance still higher, it is to be feared that he must remain subject to a severe struggle. otherwise he would sink into indolence, and the more gifted men would not be more successful in the battle of life than the less gifted. hence our natural rate of increase, though leading to many and obvious evils, must not be greatly diminished by any means. there should be open competition for all men; and the most able should not be prevented by laws or customs from succeeding best and rearing the largest number of offspring. important as the struggle for existence has been and even still is, yet as far as the highest part of man's nature is concerned there are other agencies more important. for the moral qualities are advanced, either directly or indirectly, much more through the effects of habit, the reasoning powers, instruction, religion, etc., than through natural selection; though to this latter agency may be safely attributed the social instincts, which afforded the basis for the development of the moral sense. the main conclusion arrived at in this work, namely, that man is descended from some lowly organised form, will, i regret to think, be highly distasteful to many. but there can hardly be a doubt that we are descended from barbarians. the astonishment which i felt on first seeing a party of fuegians on a wild and broken shore will never be forgotten by me, for the reflection at once rushed into my mind--such were our ancestors. these men were absolutely naked and bedaubed with paint, their long hair was tangled, their mouths frothed with excitement, and their expression was wild, startled, and distrustful. they possessed hardly any arts, and like wild animals lived on what they could catch; they had no government, and were merciless to every one not of their own small tribe. he who has seen a savage in his native land will not feel much shame, if forced to acknowledge that the blood of some more humble creature flows in his veins. for my own part i would as soon be descended from that heroic little monkey, who braved his dreaded enemy in order to save the life of his keeper, or from that old baboon, who descending from the mountains, carried away in triumph his young comrade from a crowd of astonished dogs--as from a savage who delights to torture his enemies, offers up bloody sacrifices, practices infanticide without remorse, treats his wives like slaves, knows no decency, and is haunted by the grossest superstitions. man may be excused for feeling some pride at having risen, though not through his own exertions, to the very summit of the organic scale; and the fact of his having thus risen, instead of having been aboriginally placed there, may give him hope for a still higher destiny in the distant future. but we are not here concerned with hopes or fears, only with the truth as far as our reason permits us to discover it; and i have given the evidence to the best of my ability. we must, however, acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man with all his noble qualities, with sympathy which feels for the most debased, with benevolence which extends not only to other men but to the humblest living creature, with his god-like intellect which has penetrated into the movements and constitution of the solar system--with all these exalted powers--man still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin. supplemental note. on sexual selection in relation to monkeys. reprinted from nature, november , , p. . in the discussion on sexual selection in my 'descent of man,' no case interested and perplexed me so much as the brightly-coloured hinder ends and adjoining parts of certain monkeys. as these parts are more brightly coloured in one sex than the other, and as they become more brilliant during the season of love, i concluded that the colours had been gained as a sexual attraction. i was well aware that i thus laid myself open to ridicule; though in fact it is not more surprising that a monkey should display his bright-red hinder end than that a peacock should display his magnificent tail. i had, however, at that time no evidence of monkeys exhibiting this part of their bodies during their courtship; and such display in the case of birds affords the best evidence that the ornaments of the males are of service to them by attracting or exciting the females. i have lately read an article by joh. von fischer, of gotha, published in 'der zoologische garten,' april , on the expression of monkeys under various emotions, which is well worthy of study by any one interested in the subject, and which shews that the author is a careful and acute observer. in this article there is an account of the behaviour of a young male mandrill when he first beheld himself in a looking-glass, and it is added, that after a time he turned round and presented his red hinder end to the glass. accordingly i wrote to herr j. von fischer to ask what he supposed was the meaning of this strange action, and he has sent me two long letters full of new and curious details, which will, i hope, be hereafter published. he says that he was himself at first perplexed by the above action, and was thus led carefully to observe several individuals of various other species of monkeys, which he has long kept in his house. he finds that not only the mandrill (cynocephalus mormon) but the drill (c. leucophaeus) and three other kinds of baboons (c. hamadryas, sphinx, and babouin), also cynopithecus niger, and macacus rhesus and nemestrinus, turn this part of their bodies, which in all these species is more or less brightly coloured, to him when they are pleased, and to other persons as a sort of greeting. he took pains to cure a macacus rhesus, which he had kept for five years, of this indecorous habit, and at last succeeded. these monkeys are particularly apt to act in this manner, grinning at the same time, when first introduced to a new monkey, but often also to their old monkey friends; and after this mutual display they begin to play together. the young mandrill ceased spontaneously after a time to act in this manner towards his master, von fischer, but continued to do so towards persons who were strangers and to new monkeys. a young cynopithecus niger never acted, excepting on one occasion, in this way towards his master, but frequently towards strangers, and continues to do so up to the present time. from these facts von fischer concludes that the monkeys which behaved in this manner before a looking-glass (viz., the mandrill, drill, cynopithecus niger, macacus rhesus and nemestrinus) acted as if their reflection were a new acquaintance. the mandrill and drill, which have their hinder ends especially ornamented, display it even whilst quite young, more frequently and more ostentatiously than do the other kinds. next in order comes cynocephalus hamadryas, whilst the other species act in this manner seldomer. the individuals, however, of the same species vary in this respect, and some which were very shy never displayed their hinder ends. it deserves especial attention that von fischer has never seen any species purposely exhibit the hinder part of its body, if not at all coloured. this remark applies to many individuals of macacus cynomolgus and cercocebus radiatus (which is closely allied to m. rhesus), to three species of cercopithecus and several american monkeys. the habit of turning the hinder ends as a greeting to an old friend or new acquaintance, which seems to us so odd, is not really more so than the habits of many savages, for instance that of rubbing their bellies with their hands, or rubbing noses together. the habit with the mandrill and drill seems to be instinctive or inherited, as it was followed by very young animals; but it is modified or guided, like so many other instincts, by observation, for von fischer says that they take pains to make their display fully; and if made before two observers, they turn to him who seems to pay the most attention. with respect to the origin of the habit, von fischer remarks that his monkeys like to have their naked hinder ends patted or stroked, and that they then grunt with pleasure. they often also turn this part of their bodies to other monkeys to have bits of dirt picked off, and so no doubt it would be with respect to thorns. but the habit with adult animals is connected to a certain extent with sexual feelings, for von fischer watched through a glass door a female cynopithecus niger, and she during several days, "umdrehte und dem männchen mit gurgelnden tönen die stark geröthete sitzflache zeigte, was ich früher nie an diesem thier bemerkt hatte. beim anblick dieses gegenstandes erregte sich das männchen sichtlich, denn es polterte heftig an den stäben, ebenfalls gurgelnde laute ausstossend." as all the monkeys which have the hinder parts of their bodies more or less brightly coloured live, according to von fischer, in open rocky places, he thinks that these colours serve to render one sex conspicuous at a distance to the other; but, as monkeys are such gregarious animals, i should have thought that there was no need for the sexes to recognise each other at a distance. it seems to me more probable that the bright colours, whether on the face or hinder end, or, as in the mandrill, on both, serve as a sexual ornament and attraction. anyhow, as we now know that monkeys have the habit of turning their hinder ends towards other monkeys, it ceases to be at all surprising that it should have been this part of their bodies which has been more or less decorated. the fact that it is only the monkeys thus characterised which, as far as at present known, act in this manner as a greeting towards other monkeys renders it doubtful whether the habit was first acquired from some independent cause, and that afterwards the parts in question were coloured as a sexual ornament; or whether the colouring and the habit of turning round were first acquired through variation and sexual selection, and that afterwards the habit was retained as a sign of pleasure or as a greeting, through the principle of inherited association. this principle apparently comes into play on many occasions: thus it is generally admitted that the songs of birds serve mainly as an attraction during the season of love, and that the leks, or great congregations of the black-grouse, are connected with their courtship; but the habit of singing has been retained by some birds when they feel happy, for instance by the common robin, and the habit of congregating has been retained by the black-grouse during other seasons of the year. i beg leave to refer to one other point in relation to sexual selection. it has been objected that this form of selection, as far as the ornaments of the males are concerned, implies that all females within the same district must possess and exercise exactly the same taste. it should, however, be observed, in the first place, that although the range of variation of a species may be very large, it is by no means indefinite. i have elsewhere given a good instance of this fact in the pigeon, of which there are at least a hundred varieties differing widely in their colours, and at least a score of varieties of the fowl differing in the same kind of way; but the range of colour in these two species is extremely distinct. therefore the females of natural species cannot have an unlimited scope for their taste. in the second place, i presume that no supporter of the principle of sexual selection believes that the females select particular points of beauty in the males; they are merely excited or attracted in a greater degree by one male than by another, and this seems often to depend, especially with birds, on brilliant colouring. even man, excepting perhaps an artist, does not analyse the slight differences in the features of the woman whom he may admire, on which her beauty depends. the male mandrill has not only the hinder end of his body, but his face gorgeously coloured and marked with oblique ridges, a yellow beard, and other ornaments. we may infer from what we see of the variation of animals under domestication, that the above several ornaments of the mandrill were gradually acquired by one individual varying a little in one way, and another individual in another way. the males which were the handsomest or the most attractive in any manner to the females would pair oftenest, and would leave rather more offspring than other males. the offspring of the former, although variously intercrossed, would either inherit the peculiarities of their fathers or transmit an increased tendency to vary in the same manner. consequently the whole body of males inhabiting the same country would tend from the effects of constant intercrossing to become modified almost uniformly, but sometimes a little more in one character and sometimes in another, though at an extremely slow rate; all ultimately being thus rendered more attractive to the females. the process is like that which i have called unconscious selection by man, and of which i have given several instances. in one country the inhabitants value a fleet or light dog or horse, and in another country a heavier and more powerful one; in neither country is there any selection of individual animals with lighter or stronger bodies and limbs; nevertheless after a considerable lapse of time the individuals are found to have been modified in the desired manner almost uniformly, though differently in each country. in two absolutely distinct countries inhabited by the same species, the individuals of which can never during long ages have intermigrated and intercrossed, and where, moreover, the variations will probably not have been identically the same, sexual selection might cause the males to differ. nor does the belief appear to me altogether fanciful that two sets of females, surrounded by a very different environment, would be apt to acquire somewhat different tastes with respect to form, sound, or colour. however this may be, i have given in my 'descent of man' instances of closely-allied birds inhabiting distinct countries, of which the young and the females cannot be distinguished, whilst the adult males differ considerably, and this may be attributed with much probability to the action of sexual selection. index. abbot, c., on the battles of seals. abductor of the fifth metatarsal, presence of, in man. abercrombie, dr., on disease of the brain affecting speech. abipones, marriage customs of the. abortion, prevalence of the practice of. abou-simbel, caves of. abramis brama. abstraction, power of, in animals. acalles, stridulation of. acanthodactylus capensis, sexual differences of colour in. accentor modularis. acclimatisation, difference of, in different races of men. achetidae, stridulation of the; rudimentary stridulating organs in female. acilius sulcatus, elytra of the female. acomus, development of spurs in the female of. acridiidae, stridulation of the; rudimentary stridulating organs in female. acromio-basilar muscle, and quadrupedal gait. acting. actiniae, bright colours of. adams, mr., migration of birds; intelligence of nut-hatch; on the bombycilla carolinensis. admiral butterfly. adoption of the young of other animals by female monkeys. advancement in the organic scale, von baer's definition of. aeby, on the difference between the skulls of man and the quadrumana. aesthetic faculty, not highly developed in savages. affection, maternal; manifestation of, by animals; parental and filial, partly the result of natural selection; mutual, of birds; shewn by birds in confinement, for certain persons. africa, probably the birthplace of man; south, crossed population of; south, retention of colour by the dutch in; south, proportion of the sexes in the butterflies of; tattooing practised in; northern, coiffure of natives of. agassiz, l., on conscience in dogs; on the coincidence of the races of man with zoological provinces; on the number of species of man; on the courtship of the land-snails; on the brightness of the colours of male fishes during the breeding season; on the frontal protuberance of the males of geophagus and cichla; male fishes hatching ova in their mouths; sexual differences in colour of chromids; on the slight sexual differences of the south americans; on the tattooing of the amazonian indians. age, in relation to the transmission of characters in birds; variation in accordance with, in birds. agelaeus phoeniceus. ageronia feronia, noise produced by. agrion, dimorphism in. agrion ramburii, sexes of. agrionidae, difference in the sexes of. agrotis exclamationis. ague, tertian, dog suffering from. ainos, hairiness of the. aitchison, mr., on sheep. aithurus polytmus, young of. albino birds. alca torda, young of. alces palmata. alder and hancock, mm., on the nudi-branch mollusca. allen, j.a., vigour of birds earliest hatched; effect of difference of temperature, light, etc., on birds; colours of birds; on the relative size of the sexes of callorhinus ursinus; on the name of otaria jubata; on the pairing of seals; on sexual differences in the colour of bats. allen, s., on the habits of hoplopterus; on the plumes of herons; on the vernal moult of herodius bubulcus. alligator, courtship of the male; roaring of the male. amadavat, pugnacity of male. amadina lathami, display of plumage by the male. amadina castanotis, display of plumage by the male. amazons, butterflies of the; fishes of the. america, variation in the skulls of aborigines of; wide range of aborigines of; lice of the natives of; general beardlessness of the natives of. america, north, butterflies of; indians of, women a cause of strife among the; indians of, their notions of female beauty. america, south, character of the natives of; population of parts of; piles of stones in; extinction of the fossil horse of; desert-birds of; slight sexual difference of the aborigines of; prevalence of infanticide in. american languages, often highly artificial. americans, wide geographical range of; native, variability of; and negroes, difference of; aversion of, to hair on the face. ammophila, on the jaws of. ammotragus tragelaphus, hairy forelegs of. amphibia, affinity of, to the ganoid fishes; vocal organs of the. amphibians, breeding whilst immature. amphioxus. amphipoda, males sexually mature while young. amunoph iii., negro character of, features of. anal appendages of insects. analogous variation in the plumage of birds. anas. anas acuta, male plumage of. anas boschas, male plumage of. anas histrionica. anas punctata. anastomus oscitans, sexes and young of; white nuptial plumage of. anatidae, voices of. anax junius, differences in the sexes of. andaman islanders, susceptible to change of climate. anderson, dr., on the tail of macacus brunneus; the bufo sikimmensis; sounds of echis carinata. andreana fulva. anglo-saxons, estimation of the beard among the. animals, domesticated, more fertile than wild; cruelty of savages to; characters common to man and; domestic, change of breeds of. annelida, colours of. anobium tessellatum, sounds produced by. anolis cristatellus, male, crest of; pugnacity of the male; throat-pouch of. anser canadensis. anset cygnoides; knob at the base of the beak of. anser hyperboreus, whiteness of. antelope, prong-horned, horns of. antelopes, generally polygamous; horns of; canine teeth of some male; use of horns of; dorsal crests in; dewlaps of; winter change of two species of; peculiar markings of. antennae, furnished with cushions in the male of penthe. anthidium manicatum, large male of. anthocharis cardamines; sexual difference of colour in. anthocharis genutia. anthocharis sara. anthophora acervorum, large male of. anthophora retusa, difference of the sexes in. anthropidae. anthus, moulting of. antics of birds. antigua, dr. nicholson's observations on yellow fever in. antilocapra americana, horns of. antilope bezoartica, horned females of; sexual difference in the colour of. antilope dorcas and euchore. antilope euchore, horns of. antilope montana, rudimentary canines in the young male of. antilope niger, sing-sing, caama, and gorgon, sexual differences in the colours of. antilope oreas, horns of. antilope saiga, polygamous habits of. antilope strepsiceros, horns of. antilope subgutturosa, absence of suborbital pits in. antipathy, shewn by birds in confinement, to certain persons. ants, large size of the cerebral ganglia in; soldier, large jaws of; playing together; memory in; intercommunication of, by means of the antennae; habits of; difference of the sexes in; recognition of each other by, after separation. ants white, habits of. anura. apatania muliebris, male unknown. apathus, difference of the sexes in. apatura iris. apes, difference of the young, from the adult; semi-erect attitude of some; mastoid processes of; influences of the jaw-muscles on the physiognomy of; female, destitute of large canines; building platforms; imitative faculties of; anthropomorphous; probable speedy extermination of the; gratiolet on the evolution of; canine teeth of male; females of some, less hairy beneath than the males. apes, long-armed, their mode of progression. aphasia, dr. bateman on. apis mellifica, large male of. apollo, greek statues of. apoplexy in cebus azarae. appendages, anal, of insects. approbation, influence of the love of. aprosmictus scapulatus. apus, proportion of sexes. aquatic birds, frequency of white plumage in. aquila chrysaetos. arab women, elaborate and peculiar coiffure of. arabs, fertility of crosses with other races; gashing of cheeks and temples among the. arachnida. arakhan, artificial widening of the forehead by the natives of. arboricola, young of. archeopteryx. arctiidae, coloration of the. ardea asha, rufescens, and coerulea, change of colour in. ardea coerulea, breeding in immature plumage. ardea gularis, change of plumage in. ardea herodias, love-gestures of the male. ardea ludoviciana, age of mature plumage in; continued growth of crest and plumes in the male of. ardea nycticorax, cries of. ardeola, young of. ardetta, changes of plumage in. argenteuil. argus pheasant, display of plumage by the male; ocellated spots of the; gradation of characters in the. argyll, duke of, on the physical weakness of man; the fashioning of implements peculiar to man; on the contest in man between right and wrong; on the primitive civilisation of man; on the plumage of the male argus pheasant; on urosticte benjamini; on the nests of birds. argynnis, colouring of the lower surface of. aricoris epitus, sexual differences in the wings of. aristocracy, increased beauty of the. arms, proportions of, in soldiers and sailors; direction of the hair on the. arms and hands, free use of, indirectly correlated with diminution of canines. arrest of development. arrow-heads, stone, general resemblance of. arrows, use of. arteries, variations in the course of the. artery, effect of tying, upon the lateral channels. arthropoda. arts practised by savages. ascension, coloured incrustation on the rocks of. ascidia, affinity of the lancelet to; tad-pole like larvae of. ascidians, bright colours of some. asinus, asiatic and african species of. asinus taeniopus. ass, colour-variations of the. ateles, effects of brandy on an; absence of the thumb in. ateles beelzebuth, ears of. ateles marginatus, colour of the ruff of; hair on the head of. ateuchus cicatricosus, habits of. ateuchus, stridulation of. athalia, proportions of the sexes in. atropus pulsatorius. attention, manifestations of, in animals. audouin, v., on a hymenopterous parasite with a sedentary male. audubon, j.j., on the pinioned goose; on the speculum of mergus cucullatus; on the pugnacity of male birds; on courtship of caprimulgus; on tetrao cupido; on ardea nycticorax; on sturnella ludoviciana; on the vocal organs of tetra cupido; on the drumming of the male tetrao umbellus; on sounds produced by the nightjar; on ardea herodias and cathartes jota; on mimus polyglottus; on display in male birds; on the spring change of colour in some finches; on migration of mocking thrushes; recognition of a dog by a turkey; selection of mate by female birds; on the turkey; on variation in the male scarlet tanager; on the musk-rat; on the habits of pyranga aestiva; on local differences in the nests of the same species of birds; on the habits of woodpeckers; on bombycilla carolinensis; on young females of pyranga aestiva acquiring male characters; on the immature plumage of thrushes; on the immature plumage of birds; on birds breeding in immature plumage; on the growth of the crest and plume in the male ardea ludoviciana; on the change of colour in some species of ardea. audobon and bachman, mm., on squirrels fighting; on the canadian lynx. aughey, prof., on rattlesnakes. austen, n.l., on anolis cristatellus. australia, not the birthplace of man; half-castes killed by the natives of; lice of the natives of. australia, south, variation in the skulls of aborigines of. australians, colour of new-born children of; relative height of the sexes of; women a cause of war among the. axis deer, sexual difference in the colour of the. aymaras, measurements of the; no grey hair among the; hairlessness of the face in the; long hair of the. azara, on the proportion of men and women among the guaranys; on palamedea cornuta; on the beards of the guaranys; on strife for women among the guanas; on infanticide; on the eradication of the eyebrows and eyelashes by the indians of paraguay; on polyandry among the guanas; celibacy unknown among the savages of south america; on the freedom of divorce among the charruas. babbage c., on the greater proportion of illegitimate female births. babirusa, tusks of the. baboon, revenge in a; rage excited in, by reading; manifestation of memory by a; employing a mat for shelter against the sun; protected from punishment by its companions. baboon, cape, mane of the male; hamadryas, mane of the male. baboon, effects of intoxicating liquors on; ears of; diversity of the mental faculties in; hands of; habits of; variability of the tail in; manifestation of maternal affection by; using stones and sticks as weapons; co-operation of; silence of, on plundering expeditions; apparent polygamy of; polygamous and social habits of. baboons, courtship of. bachman, dr., on the fertility of mulattoes. baer, k.e. von, on embryonic development; definition of advancement in the organic scale. bagehot, w., on the social virtues among primitive men; slavery formerly beneficial; on the value of obedience; on human progress; on the persistence of savage tribes in classical times. bailly, e.m., on the mode of fighting of the italian buffalo; on the fighting of stags. bain, a., on the sense of duty; aid springing from sympathy; on the basis of sympathy; on the love of approbation etc.; on the idea of beauty. baird, w., on a difference in colour between the males and females of some entozoa. baker, mr., observation on the proportion of the sexes in pheasant-chicks. baker, sir s., on the fondness of the arabs for discordant music; on sexual difference in the colours of an antelope; on the elephant and rhinoceros attacking white or grey horses; on the disfigurements practised by the negroes; on the gashing of the cheeks and temples practised in arab countries; on the coiffure of the north africans; on the perforation of the lower lip by the women of latooka; on the distinctive characters of the coiffure of central african tribes; on the coiffure of arab women. "balz" of the black-cock. bantam, sebright. banteng, horns of; sexual differences in the colours of the. banyai, colour of the. barbarism, primitive, of civilised nations. barbs, filamentous, of the feathers, in certain birds. barr, mr., on sexual preference in dogs. barrago, f., on the simian resemblances of man. barrington, daines, on the language of birds; on the clucking of the hen; on the object of the song of birds; on the singing of female birds; on birds acquiring the songs of other birds; on the muscles of the larynx in song-birds; on the want of the power of song by female birds. barrow, on the widow-bird. bartels, dr., supernumerary mammae in men. bartlett, a.d., period of hatching of bird's eggs; on the tragopan; on the development of the spurs in crossoptilon auritum; on the fighting of the males of plectopterus gambensis; on the knot; on display in male birds; on the display of plumage by the male polyplectron; on crossoptilon auritum and phasianus wallichii; on the habits of lophophorus; on the colour of the mouth in buceros bicornis; on the incubation of the cassowary; on the cape buffalo; on the use of the horns of antelopes; on the fighting of male wart-hogs; on ammotragus tragelaphus; on the colours of cercopithecus cephus; on the colours of the faces of monkeys; on the naked surfaces of monkeys. bartlett, on courting of argus pheasant. bartram, on the courtship of the male alligator. basque language, highly artificial. bate, c.s., on the superior activity of male crustacea; on the proportions of the sexes in crabs; on the chelae of crustacea; on the relative size of the sexes in crustacea; on the colours of crustacea. bateman, dr., tendency to imitation in certain diseased states; on aphasia. bates, h.w., on variation in the form of the head of amazonian indians; on the proportion of the sexes among amazonian butterflies; on sexual differences in the wings of butterflies; on the field-cricket; on pyrodes pulcherrimus; on the horns of lamellicorn beetles; on the colours of epicaliae, etc.; on the coloration of tropical butterflies; on the variability of papilio sesostris and childrenae; on male and female butterflies inhabiting different stations; on mimicry; on the caterpillar of a sphinx; on the vocal organs of the umbrella-bird; on the toucans; on brackyurus calvus. batokas, knocking out two upper incisors. batrachia, eagerness of male. bats, scent-glands; sexual differences in the colour of; fur of male frugivorous. battle, law of; among beetles; among birds; among mammals; in man. beak, sexual difference in the forms of the; in the colour of the. beaks, of birds, bright colours of. beard, development of, in man; analogy of the, in man and the quadrumana; variation of the development of the, in different races of men; estimation of, among bearded nations; probable origin of the. beard, in monkeys; of mammals. beautiful, taste for the, in birds; in the quadrumana. beauty, sense of, in animals; appreciation of, by birds; influence of; variability of the standard of. beauty, sense of, sufficiently permanent for action of sexual selection. beaven, lieut., on the development of the horns in cervus eldi. beaver, instinct and intelligence of the; voice of the; castoreum of the. beavers, battles of male. bechstein, on female birds choosing the best singers among the males; on rivalry in song-birds; on the singing of female birds; on birds acquiring the songs of other birds; on pairing the canary and siskin; on a sub-variety of the monk pigeon; on spurred hens. beddoe, dr., on causes of difference in stature. bee-eater. bees, pollen-baskets and stings of; destruction of drones and queens by; female, secondary sexual characters of; proportion of sexes; difference of the sexes in colour and sexual selection. beetle, luminous larva of a. beetles, size of the cerebral ganglia in; dilatation of the foretarsi in male; blind; stridulation of. belgium, ancient inhabitants of. bell, sir c., on emotional muscles in man; "snarling muscles;" on the hand. bell, t., on the numerical proportion of the sexes in moles; on the newts; on the croaking of the frog; on the difference in the coloration of the sexes in zootoca vivipara; on moles fighting. bell-bird, sexual difference in the colour of the. bell-birds, colours of. belt, mr., on the nakedness of tropical mankind; on a spider-monkey and eagle; habits of ants; lampridae distasteful to mammals; mimicry of leptalides; colours of nicaraguan frogs; display of humming-birds; on the toucans; protective colouring of skunk. benevolence, manifested by birds. bennett, a.w., attachment of mated birds; on the habits of dromaeus irroratus. bennett, dr., on birds of paradise. berbers, fertility of crosses with other races. bernicla antarctica, colours of. bernicle gander pairing with a canada goose. bert, m., crustaceans distinguish colours. bettoni, e., on local differences in the nests of italian birds. beyle, m., see bombet. bhoteas, colour of the beard in. bhringa, disc-formed tail-feathers of. bianconi, prof., on structures as explained through mechanical principles. bibio, sexual differences in the genus. bichat, on beauty. bickes, proportion of sexes in man. bile, coloured, in many animals. bimana. birds, imitations of the songs of other birds by; dreaming; killed by telegraph wires; language of; sense of beauty in; pleasure of, in incubation; male, incubation by; and reptiles, alliance of; sexual differences in the beak of some; migratory, arrival of the male before the female; apparent relation between polygamy and marked sexual differences in; monogamous, becoming polygamous under domestication; eagerness of male in pursuit of the female; wild, numerical proportion of the sexes in; secondary sexual characters of; difference of size in the sexes of; fights of male, witnessed by females; display of male, to captivate the females; close attention of, to the songs of others; acquiring the song of their foster-parents; brilliant, rarely good songsters; love-antics and dances of; coloration of; moulting of; unpaired; male, singing out of season; mutual affection of; in confinement, distinguish persons; hybrid, production of; albino; european, number of species of; variability of; geographical distribution of colouring; gradation of secondary sexual characters in; obscurely coloured, building concealed nests; young female, acquiring male characters; breeding in immature plumage; moulting of; aquatic, frequency of white plumage in; vocal courtship of; naked skin of the head and neck in. birgus latro, habits of. birkbeck, mr., on the finding of new mates by golden eagles. birthplace of man. births, numerical proportions of the sexes in, in animals and man; male and female, numerical proportion of, in england. bischoff, prof., on the agreement between the brains of man and of the orang; figure of the embryo of the dog; on the convolutions of the brain in the human foetus; on the difference between the skulls of man and the quadrumana; resemblance between the ape's and man's. bishop, j., on the vocal organs of frogs; on the vocal organs of cervine birds; on the trachea of the merganser. bison, american, co-operation of; mane of the male. bitterns, dwarf, coloration of the sexes of. biziura lobata, musky odour of the male; large size of male. blackbird, sexual differences in the; proportion of the sexes in the; acquisition of a song by; colour of the beak in the sexes of the; pairing with a thrush; colours and nidification of the; young of the; sexual difference in coloration of the. black-buck, indian, sexual difference in the colour of the. blackcap, arrival of the male, before the female; young of the. black-cock, polygamous; proportion of the sexes in the; pugnacity and love-dance of the; call of the; moulting of the; duration of the courtship of the; and pheasant, hybrids of; sexual difference in coloration of the; crimson eye-cere of the. black-grouse, characters of young. blacklock, dr., on music. blackwall, j., on the speaking of the magpie; on the desertion of their young by swallows; on the superior activity of male spiders; on the proportion of the sexes in spiders; on sexual variation of colour in spiders; on male spiders. bladder-nose seal, hood of the. blaine, on the affections of dogs. blair, dr., on the relative liability of europeans to yellow fever. blake, c.c., on the jaw from la naulette. blakiston, captain, on the american snipe; on the dances of tetrao phasianellus. blasius, dr., on the species of european birds. bledius taurus, hornlike processes of male. bleeding, tendency to profuse. blenkiron, mr., on sexual preference in horses. blennies, crest developed on the head of male, during the breeding season. blethisa multipunctata, stridulation of. bloch, on the proportions of the sexes in fishes. blood, arterial, red colour of. blood pheasant, number of spurs in. blow-fly, sounds made by. bluebreast, red-throated, sexual differences of the. blumenbach, on man; on the large size of the nasal cavities in american aborigines; on the position of man; on the number of species of man. blyth, e., on the structure of the hand in the species of hylobates; observations on indian crows; on the development of the horns in the koodoo and eland antelopes; on the pugnacity of the males of gallicrex cristatus; on the presence of spurs in the female euplocamus erythrophthalmus; on the pugnacity of the amadavat; on the spoonbill; on the moulting of anthus; on the moulting of bustards, plovers, and gallus bankiva; on the indian honey-buzzard; on sexual differences in the colour of the eyes of hornbills; on oriolus melanocephalus; on palaeornis javanicus; on the genus ardetta; on the peregrine falcon; on young female birds acquiring male characters; on the immature plumage of birds; on representative species of birds; on the young of turnix; on anomalous young of lanius rufus and colymbus glacialis; on the sexes and young of the sparrows; on dimorphism in some herons; on the ascertainment of the sex of nestling bullfinches by pulling out breast-feathers; on orioles breeding in immature plumage; on the sexes and young of buphus and anastomus; on the young of the blackcap and blackbird; on the young of the stonechat; on the white plumage of anastomus; on the horns of bovine animals; on the horns of antilope bezoartica; on the mode of fighting of ovis cycloceros; on the voice of the gibbons; on the crest of the male wild goat; on the colours of portax picta; on the colours of antilope bezoartica; on the colour of the axis deer; on sexual difference of colour in hylobates hoolock; on the hog-deer; on the beard and whiskers in a monkey, becoming white with age. boar, wild, polygamous in india; use of the tusks by the; fighting of. boardman, mr., albino birds in u.s. boitard and corbie, mm., on the transmission of sexual peculiarities in pigeons; on the antipathy shewn by some female pigeons to certain males. bold, mr., on the singing of a sterile hybrid canary. bombet, on the variability of the standard of beauty in europe. bombus, difference of the sexes in. bombycidae, coloration of; pairing of the; colours of. bombycilla carolinensis, red appendages of. bombyx cynthia, proportion of the sexes in; pairing of. bombyx mori, difference of size of the male and female cocoons of; pairing of. bombyx pernyi, proportion of sexes of. bombyx yamamai, m. personnat on; proportion of sexes of. bonaparte, c.l., on the call-notes of the wild turkey. bond, f., on the finding of new mates by crows. bone, implements of, skill displayed in making. boner, c., on the transfer of male characters to an old female chamois; on the habits of stags; on the pairing of red deer. bones, increase of, in length and thickness, when carrying a greater weight. bonizzi, p., difference of colour in sexes of pigeons. bonnet monkey. bonwick, j., extinction of tasmanians. boomerang. boreus hyemalis, scarcity of the male. bory st. vincent, on the number of species of man; on the colours of labrus pavo. bos etruscus. bos gaurus, horns of. bos moschatus. bos primigenius. bos sondaicus, horns of, colours of. botocudos, mode of life of; disfigurement of the ears and lower lip of the. boucher de perthes, j.c. de, on the antiquity of man. bourbon, proportion of the sexes in a species of papilio from. bourien on the marriage-customs of the savages of the malay archipelago. bovidae, dewlaps of. bower-birds, habits of the; ornamented playing-places of. bows, use of. brachycephalic structure, possible explanation of. brachyura. brachyurus calvus, scarlet face of. bradley, mr., abductor ossis metatarsi quinti in man. brain, of man, agreement of the, with that of lower animals; convolutions of, in the human foetus; influence of development of mental faculties upon the size of the; influence of the development of on the spinal column and skull; larger in some existing mammals than in their tertiary prototypes; relation of the development of the, to the progress of language; disease of the, affecting speech; difference in the convolutions of, in different races of men; supplement on, by prof. huxley; development of the gyri and sulci. brakenridge, dr., on the influence of climate. brandt, a., on hairy men. braubach, prof., on the quasi-religious feeling of a dog towards his master; on the self-restraint of dogs. brauer, f., on dimorphism in neurothemis. brazil, skulls found in caves of; population of; compression of the nose by the natives of. break between man and the apes. bream, proportion of the sexes in the. breeding, age of, in birds. breeding season, sexual characters making their appearance in the, in birds. brehm, on the effects of intoxicating liquors on monkeys; on the recognition of women by male cynocephali; on the diversity of the mental faculties of monkeys; on the habits of baboons; on revenge taken by monkeys; on manifestations of maternal affection by monkeys and baboons; on the instinctive dread of monkeys for serpents; on the use of stones as missiles by baboons; on a baboon using a mat for shelter from the sun; on the signal-cries of monkeys; on sentinels posted by monkeys; on co-operation of animals; on an eagle attacking a young cercopithecus; on baboons in confinement protecting one of their number from punishment; on the habits of baboons when plundering; on polygamy in cynocephalus and cebus; on the numerical proportion of the sexes in birds; on the love-dance of the blackcock; palamedea cornuta; on the habits of the black-grouse; on sounds produced by birds of paradise; on assemblages of grouse; on the finding of new mates by birds; on the fighting of wild boars; on sexual differences in mycetes; on the habits of cynocephalus hamadryas. brent, mr., on the courtship of fowls. breslau, numerical proportion of male and female births in. bridgeman, laura. brimstone butterfly, sexual difference of colour in the. british, ancient, tattooing practised by. broca, prof., on the occurrence of the supra-condyloid foramen in the human humerus; anthropomorphous apes more bipedal than quadrupedal; on the capacity of parisian skulls at different periods; comparison of modern and mediaeval skulls; on tails of quadrupeds; on the influence of natural selection; on hybridity in man; on human remains from les eyzies; on the cause of the difference between europeans and hindoos. brodie, sir b., on the origin of the moral sense in man. bronn, h.g., on the copulation of insects of distinct species. bronze period, men of, in europe. brown, r., sentinels of seals generally females; on the battles of seals; on the narwhal; on the occasional absence of the tusks in the female walrus; on the bladder-nose seal; on the colours of the sexes in phoca groenlandica; on the appreciation of music by seals; on plants used as love-philters, by north american women. browne, dr. crichton, injury to infants during parturition. brown-sequard, dr., on the inheritance of the effects of operations by guinea-pig. bruce, on the use of the elephant's tusks. brulerie, p. de la, on the habits of ateuchus cicatricosus; on the stridulation of ateuchus. brunnich, on the pied ravens of the feroe islands. bryant, dr., preference of tame pigeon for wild mate. bryant, captain, on the courtship of callorhinus ursinus. bubas bison, thoracic projection of. bubalus caffer, use of horns. bucephalus capensis, difference of the sexes of, in colour. buceros, nidification and incubation of. buceros bicornis, sexual differences in the colouring of the casque, beak, and mouth in. buceros corrugatus, sexual differences in the beak of. buchner, l., on the origin of man; on the use of the human foot as a prehensile organ; on the mode of progression of the apes; on want of self-consciousness, etc., in savages. bucholz, dr., quarrels of chamaeleons. buckinghamshire, numerical proportion of male and female births in. buckland, f., on the numerical proportion of the sexes in rats; on the proportion of the sexes in the trout; on chimaera monstrosa. buckland, w., on the complexity of crinoids. buckler, w., proportion of sexes of lepidoptera reared by. bucorax abyssinicus, inflation of the neck-wattle of the male during courtship. budytes raii. buffalo, cape. buffalo, indian, horns of the. buffalo, italian, mode of fighting of the. buffon, on the number of species of man. bufo sikimmensis. bugs. buist, r., on the proportion of the sexes in salmon; on the pugnacity of the male salmon. bulbul, pugnacity of the male; display of under tail-coverts by the male. bull, mode of fighting of the; curled frontal hair of the. buller, dr., on the huia; the attachment of birds. bullfinch, sexual differences in the; piping; female, singing of the; courtship of the; widowed, finding a new mate; attacking a reed-bunting; nestling, sex ascertained by pulling out breast feathers. bullfinches, distinguishing persons; rivalry of female. bulls, two young, attacking an old one; wild, battles of. bull-trout, male, colouring of, during the breeding season. bunting, reed, head feathers of the male; attacked by a bullfinch. buntings, characters of young. buphus coromandus, sexes and young of; change of colour in. burchell, dr., on the zebra; on the extravagance of a bushwoman in adorning herself; celibacy unknown among the savages of south africa; on the marriage-customs of the bushwomen. burke, on the number of species of man. burmese, colour of the beard in. burton, captain, on negro ideas of female beauty; on a universal ideal of beauty. bushmen, marriage among. bushwoman, extravagant ornamentation of a. bushwomen, hair of; marriage-customs of. bustard, throat-pouch of the male; humming noise produced by a male; indian, ear-tufts of. bustards, occurrence of sexual differences and of polygamy among the; love-gestures of the male; double moult in. butler, a.g., on sexual differences in the wings of aricoris epitus; courtship of butterflies; on the colouring of the sexes in species of thecla; on the resemblance of iphias glaucippe to a leaf; on the rejection of certain moths and caterpillars by lizards and frogs. butterfly, noise produced by a; emperor; meadow brown, instability of the ocellated spots of. butterflies, proportion of the sexes in; forelegs atrophied in some males; sexual difference in the neuration of the wings of; pugnacity of male; protective resemblances of the lower surface of; display of the wings by; white, alighting upon bits of paper; attracted by a dead specimen of the same species; courtship of; male and female, inhabiting different stations. buxton, c., observations on macaws; on an instance of benevolence in a parrot. buzzard, indian honey-; variation in the crest of. cabbage butterflies. cachalot, large head of the male. cadences, musical, perception of, by animals. caecum, large, in the early progenitors of man. cairina moschata, pugnacity of the male. californian indians, decrease of. callianassa, chelae of, figured. callidryas, colours of sexes. callionymus lyra, characters of the male. callorhinus ursinus, relative size of the sexes of; courtship of. calotes maria. calotes nigrilabris, sexual difference in the colour of. cambridge, o. pickard, on the sexes of spiders; on the size of male nephila. camel, canine teeth of male. campbell, j., on the indian elephant; on the proportion of male and female births in the harems of siam. campylopterus hemileucurus. canaries distinguishing persons. canary, polygamy of the; change of plumage in, after moulting; female, selecting the best singing male; sterile hybrid, singing of a; female, singing of the; selecting a greenfinch; and siskin, pairing of. cancer pagurus. canestrini, g., on rudimentary characters and the origin of man; on rudimentary characters; on the movement of the ear in man; of the variability of the vermiform appendage in man; on the abnormal division of the malar bone in man; on abnormal conditions of the human uterus; on the persistence of the frontal suture in man; on the proportion of the sexes in silk-moths; secondary sexual characters of spiders. canfield, dr., on the horns of the antilocapra. canine teeth in man, diminution of, in man; diminution of, in horses; disappearance of, in male ruminants; large in the early progenitors of man. canines, and horns, inverse development of. canoes, use of. cantharis, difference of colour in the sexes of a species of. cantharus lineatus. capercailzie, polygamous; proportion of the sexes in the; pugnacity of the male; pairing of the; autumn meetings of the; call of the; duration of the courtship of; behaviour of the female; inconvenience of black colour to the female; sexual difference in the coloration of the; crimson eye-cere of the male. capitonidae, colours and nidification of the. capra aegagrus, crest of the male; sexual difference in the colour of. capreolus sibiricus subecaudatus. caprice, common to man and animals. caprimulgus, noise made by the males of some species of, with their wings. caprimulgus virginianus, pairing of. carabidae. carbonnier, on the natural history of the pike; on the relative size of the sexes in fishes; courtship of chinese macropus. carcineutes, sexual difference of colour in. carcinus moenas. cardinalis virginianus. carduelis elegans, sexual differences of the beak in. carnivora, marine, polygamous habits of; sexual differences in the colours of. carp, numerical proportion of the sexes in the. carr, r., on the peewit. carrier pigeon, late development of the wattle in the. carrion beetles, stridulation of. carrion-hawk, bright coloured female of. carus, prof. v., on the development of the horns in merino sheep; on antlers of red deer. cassowary, sexes and incubation of the. castnia, mode of holding wings. castoreum. castration, effects of. casuarius galeatus. cat, convoluted body in the extremity of the tail of a; sick, sympathy of a dog with a. cataract in cebus azarae. catarrh, liability of cebus azarae to. catarrhine monkeys. caterpillars, bright colours of. cathartes aura. cathartes jota, love-gestures of the male. catlin, g., correlation of colour and texture of hair in the mandans; on the development of the beard among the north american indians; on the great length of the hair in some north american tribes. caton, j.d., on the development of the horns in cervus virginianus and strongyloceros; on the wild turkey; on the presence of traces of horns in the female wapiti; on the fighting of deer; on the crest of the male wapiti; on the colours of the virginian deer; on sexual differences of colour in the wapiti; on the spots of the virginian deer. cats, dreaming; tortoise-shell; enticed by valerian; colours of. cattle, rapid increase of, in south america; domestic, lighter in winter in siberia; horns of; domestic, sexual differences of, late developed; numerical proportion of the sexes in. caudal vertebrae, number of, in macaques and baboons; basal, of monkeys, imbedded in the body. cavolini, observations on serranus. cebus, maternal affection in a; gradation of species of. cebus apella. cebus azarae, liability of, to the same diseases as man; distinct sounds produced by; early maturity of the female. cebus capucinus, polygamous; sexual differences of colour in; hair on the head of. cebus vellerosus, hair on the head of. cecidomyiidae, proportions of the sexes in. celibacy, unknown among the savages of south africa and south america. centipedes. cephalopoda, absence of secondary sexual characters in. cephalopterus ornatus. cephalopterus penduliger. cerambyx heros, stridulant organ of. ceratodus, paddle of. ceratophora aspera, nasal appendages of. ceratophora stoddartii, nasal horn of. cerceris, habits of. cercocebus aethiops, whiskers, etc., of. cercopithecus, young, seized by an eagle and rescued by the troop; definition of species of. cercopithecus cephus, sexual difference of colour in. cercopithecus cynosurus and griseo-viridis, colour of the scrotum in. cercopithecus diana, sexual differences of colour in. cercopithecus griseo-viridis. cercopithecus petaurista, whiskers, etc., of. ceres, of birds, bright colours of. ceriornis temminckii, swelling of the wattles of the male during courtship. cervulus, weapons of. cervulus moschatus, rudimentary horns of the female. cervus alces. cervus campestris, odour of. cervus canadensis, traces of horns in the female; attacking a man; sexual difference in the colour of. cervus elaphus, battles of male; horns of, with numerous points; long hairs on the throat of. cervus eldi. cervus mantchuricus. cervus paludosus, colours of. cervus strongyloceros. cervus virginianus, horns of, in course of modification. ceryle, male black-belted in some species of. cetacea, nakedness of. ceylon, frequent absence of beard in the natives of. chaffinch, proportion of the sexes in the; courtship of the. chaffinches, new mates found by. chalcophaps indicus, characters of young. chalcosoma atlas, sexual differences of. chamaeleo, sexual differences in the genus; combats of. chamaeleo bifurcus. chamaeleo owenii. chamaeleo pumilus. chamaepetes unicolor, modified wing-feather in the male. chameleons. chamois, danger-signals of; transfer of male characters to an old female. champneys, mr., acromio-basilar muscle and quadrupedal gait. chapman, dr., on stridulation in scolytus. chapuis, dr., on the transmission of sexual peculiarities in pigeons; on streaked belgian pigeons. char, male, colouring of, during the breeding season. characters, male, developed in females; secondary sexual, transmitted through both sexes; natural, artificial, exaggeration of, by man. charadrus hiaticula and pluvialis, sexes and young of. chardin on the persians. charms, worn by women. charruas, freedom of divorce among the. chasmorhynchus, difference of colour in the sexes of; colours of. chasmorhynchus niveus. chasmorhynchus nudicollis. chasmorhynchus tricarunculatus. chastity, early estimation of. chatterers, sexual differences in. cheever, rev. h.t., census of the sandwich islands. cheiroptera, absence of secondary sexual characters in. chelae of crustacea. chelonia, sexual differences in. chenalopex aegyptiacus, wing-knobs of. chera progne. chest, proportions of, in soldiers and sailors; large, of the quechua and aymara indians. chevrotains, canine teeth of. chiasognathus, stridulation of. chiasognathus grantii, mandibles of. children, legitimate and illegitimate, proportion of the sexes in. chiloe, lice of the natives of; population of. chimaera monstrosa, bony process on the head of the male. chimaeroid fishes, prehensile organs of male. chimpanzee, ears of the; representatives of the eyebrows in the; hands of the; absence of mastoid processes in the; platforms built by the; cracking nuts with a stone; direction of the hair on the arms of the; supposed evolution of the; polygamous and social habits of the. china, north, idea of female beauty in. china, southern, inhabitants of. chinese, use of flint tools by the; difficulty of distinguishing the races of the; colour of the beard in; general beardlessness of the; opinions of the, on the appearance of europeans and cingalese; compression of the feet of. chinsurdi, his opinion of beards. chlamydera maculata. chloeon, pedunculated eyes of the male of. chloephaga, coloration of the sexes in. chlorocoelus tanana. chorda dorsalis. chough, red beak of the. chromidae, frontal protuberance in male; sexual differences in colour of. chrysemys picta, long claws of the male. chrysococcyx, characters of young of. chrysomelidae, stridulation of. cicada pruinosa. cicada septendecim. cicadae, songs of the; rudimentary sound-organs in females of. cicatrix of a burn, causing modification of the facial bones. cichla, frontal protuberance of male. cimetiere du sud, paris. cincloramphus cruralis, large size of male. cinclus aquaticus. cingalese, chinese opinion of the appearance of the. cirripedes, complemental males of. civilisation, effects of, upon natural selection; influence of, in the competition of nations. clanging of geese, etc. claparede, e., on natural selection applied to man. clarke, on the marriage-customs of kalmucks. classification. claus, c., on the sexes of saphirina. cleft-palate, inherited. climacteris erythrops, sexes of. climate, cool, favourable to human progress; power of supporting extremes of, by man; want of connexion of, with colour; direct action of, on colours of birds. cloaca, existence of a, in the early progenitors of man. cloacal passage existing in the human embryo. clubs, used as weapons before dispersion of mankind. clucking of fowls. clythra -punctata, stridulation of. coan, mr., sandwich-islanders. cobbe, miss, on morality in hypothetical bee-community. cobra, ingenuity of a. coccus. coccyx, in the human embryo; convoluted body at the extremity of the; imbedded in the body. cochin-china, notions of beauty of the inhabitants of. cock, blind, fed by its companion; game, killing a kite; comb and wattles of the; preference shewn by the, for young hens; game, transparent zone in the hackles of a. cock of the rock. cockatoos, nestling; black, immature plumage of. coelenterata, absence of secondary sexual characters in. coffee, fondness of monkeys for. cold, supposed effects of; power of supporting, by man. coleoptera, stridulation of; stridulant organs of, discussed. colias edusa and hyale. collingwood, c., on the pugnacity of the butterflies of borneo; on butterflies being attracted by a dead specimen of the same species. colobus, absence of the thumb. colombia, flattened heads of savages of. colonists, success of the english as. coloration, protective, in birds. colour, supposed to be dependent on light and heat; correlation of, with immunity from certain poisons and parasites; purpose of, in lepidoptera; relation of, to sexual functions, in fishes; difference of, in the sexes of snakes; sexual differences of, in lizards; influence of, in the pairing of birds of different species; relation of, to nidification; sexual differences of, in mammals; recognition of, by quadrupeds; of children, in different races of man; of the skin in man. colours, admired alike by man and animals; bright, due to sexual selection; bright, among the lower animals; bright, protective to butterflies and moths; bright, in male fishes; transmission of, in birds. colquhoun, example of reasoning in a retriever. columba passerina, young of. colymbus glacialis, anomalous young of. comb, development of, in fowls. combs and wattles in male birds. community, preservation of variations useful to the, by natural selection. complexion, different in men and women, in an african tribe. compositae, gradation of species among the. comte, c., on the expression of the ideal of beauty by sculpture. conditions of life, action of changed, upon man; influence of, on plumage of birds. condor, eyes and comb of the. conjugations, origin of. conscience, absence of, in some criminals. constitution, difference of, in different races of men. consumption, liability of cebus azarae to; connection between complexion and. convergence of characters. cooing of pigeons and doves. cook, captain, on the nobles of the sandwich islands. cope, e.d., on the dinosauria. cophotis ceylanica, sexual differences of. copris. copris isidis, sexual differences of. copris lunaris, stridulation of. corals, bright colours of. coral-snakes. cordylus, sexual difference of colour in a species of. corfu, habits of the chaffinch in. cornelius, on the proportions of the sexes in lucanus cervus. corpora wolffiana, agreement of, with the kidneys of fishes. correlated variation. correlation, influence of, in the production of races. corse, on the mode of fighting of the elephant. corvus corone. corvus graculus, red beak of. corvus pica, nuptial assembly of. corydalis cornutus, large jaws of the male. cosmetornis. cosmetornis vexillarius, elongation of wing-feathers in. cotingidae, sexual differences in; coloration of the sexes of; resemblance of the females of distinct species of. cottus scorpius, sexual differences in. coulter, dr., on the californian indians. counting, origin of; limited power of, in primeval man. courage, variability of, in the same species; universal high appreciation of; importance of; characteristic of men. courtship, greater eagerness of males in; of fishes; of birds. cow, winter change of colour. crab, devil. crab, shore, habits of. crabro cribrarius, dilated tibiae of the male. crabs, proportions of the sexes in. cranz, on the inheritance of dexterity in seal-catching. crawfurd, on the number of species of man. crenilabrus massa and c. melops, nests, built by. crest, origin of, in polish fowls. crests, of birds, difference of, in the sexes; dorsal hairy, of mammals. cricket, field-, stridulation of the; pugnacity of male. cricket, house-, stridulation of the. crickets, sexual differences in. crinoids, complexity of. crioceridae, stridulation of the. croaking of frogs. crocodiles, musky odour of, during the breeding season. crocodilia. crossbills, characters of young. crosses in man. crossing of races, effects of the. crossoptilon auritum, adornment of both sexes of; sexes alike in. crotch, g.r., on the stridulation of beetles; on the stridulation of heliopathes; on the stridulation of acalles; habit of female deer at breeding time. crow, indians, long hair of the. crow, young of the. crows, vocal organs of the; living in triplets. crows, carrion, new mates found by. crows, indian, feeding their blind companions. cruelty of savages to animals. crustacea, parasitic, loss of limbs by female; prehensile feet and antennae of; male, more active than female; parthenogenesis in; secondary sexual characters of; amphipod, males sexually mature while young; auditory hairs of. crystal worn in the lower lip by some central african women. cuckoo fowls. culicidae, attracted by each other's humming. cullen, dr., on the throat-pouch of the male bustard. cultivation of plants, probable origin of. cupples, mr., on the numerical proportion of the sexes in dogs, sheep, and cattle; on the scotch deerhound; on sexual preference in dogs. curculionidae, sexual difference in length of snout in some; hornlike processes in male; musical. curiosity, manifestations of, by animals. curlews, double moult in. cursores, comparative absence of sexual differences among the. curtis, j., on the proportion of the sexes in athalia. cuvier, f., on the recognition of women by male quadrumana. cuvier, g., on the number of caudal vertebrae in the mandrill; on instinct and intelligence; views of, as to the position of man; on the position of the seals; on hectocotyle. cyanalcyon, sexual difference in colours of; immature plumage of. cyanecula suecica, sexual differences of. cychrus, sounds produced by. cycnia mendica, sexual difference of, in colour. cygnus ferus, trachea of. cygnus immutabilis. cygnus olor, white young of. cyllo leda, instability of the ocellated spots of. cynanthus, variation in the genus. cynipidae, proportion of the sexes in. cynocephalus, difference of the young from the adult; male, recognition of women by; polygamous habits of species of. cynocephalus babouin. cynocephalus chacma. cynocephalus gelada. cynocephalus hamadryas, sexual difference of colour in. cynocephalus leucophaeus, colours of the sexes of. cynocephalus mormon, colours of the male. cynocephalus porcarius, mane of the male. cynocephalus sphinx. cynopithecus niger, ear of. cypridina, proportions of the sexes in. cyprinidae, proportion of the sexes in the. cyprinidae, indian. cyprinodontidae, sexual differences in the. cyprinus auratus. cypris, relation of the sexes in. cyrtodactylus rubidus. cystophora cristata, hood of. dacelo, sexual difference of colour in. dacelo gaudichaudi, young male of. dal-ripa, a kind of ptarmigan. damalis albifrons, peculiar markings of. damalis pygarga, peculiar markings of. dampness of climate, supposed influence of, on the colour of the skin. danaidae. dances of birds. dancing, universality of. danger-signals of animals. daniell, dr., his experience of residence in west africa. darfur, protuberances artificially produced by natives of. darwin, f., on the stridulation of dermestes murinus. dasychira pudibunda, sexual difference of colour in. davis, a.h., on the pugnacity of the male stag-beetle. davis, j.b., on the capacity of the skull in various races of men; on the beards of the polynesians. death's head sphinx. death-rate higher in towns than in rural districts. death-tick. de candolle, alph., on a case of inherited power of moving the scalp. declensions, origin of. decoration in birds. decticus. deer, development of the horns in; spots of young; horns of; use of horns of; horns of a, in course of modification; size of the horns of; female, pairing with one male whilst others are fighting for her; male, attracted by the voice of the female; male, odour emitted by. deer, axis, sexual difference in the colour of the. deer, fallow, different coloured herds of. deer, mantchurian. deer, virginian, colour of the, not affected by castration; colours of. deerhound, scotch, greater size of the male. defensive orders of mammals. de geer, c., on a female spider destroying a male. dekay, dr., on the bladder-nose seal. delorenzi, g., division of malar bone. demerara, yellow fever in. dendrocygna. dendrophila frontalis, young of. denison, sir w., manner of ridding themselves of vermin among the australians; extinction of tasmanians. denny, h., on the lice of domestic animals. dermestes murinus, stridulation of. descent traced through the mother alone. deserts, protective colouring of animals inhabiting. desmarest, on the absence of suborbital pits in antilope subgutturosa; on the whiskers of macacus; on the colour of the opossum; on the colours of the sexes of mus minutus; on the colouring of the ocelot; on the colours of seals; on antilope caama; on the colours of goats; on sexual difference of colour in ateles marginatus; on the mandrill; on macacus cynomolgus. desmoulins, on the number of species of man; on the muskdeer. desor, on the imitation of man by monkeys. despine, p., on criminals destitute of conscience. development, embryonic of man; correlated. devil, not believed in by the fuegians. devil-crab. devonian, fossil-insect from the. dewlaps, of cattle and antelopes. diadema, sexual differences of colouring in the species of. diamond-beetles, bright colours of. diastema, occurrence of, in man. diastylidae, proportion of the sexes in. dicrurus, racket-shaped feathers in; nidification of. dicrurus macrocercus, change of plumage in. didelphis opossum, sexual difference in the colour of. differences, comparative, between different species of birds of the same sex. digits, supernumerary, more frequent in men than in women; supernumerary, inheritance of; supernumerary, early development of. dimorphism, in females of water-beetles; in neurothemis and agrion. diodorus, on the absence of beard in the natives of ceylon. dipelicus cantori, sexual differences of. diplopoda, prehensile limbs of the male. dipsas cynodon, sexual difference in the colour of. diptera. disease, generated by the contact of distinct peoples. diseases, common to man and the lower animals; difference of liability to, in different races of men; new, effects of, upon savages; sexually limited. display, coloration of lepidoptera for; of plumage by male birds. distribution, wide, of man; geographical, as evidence of specific distinctness in man. disuse, effects of, in producing rudimentary organs; and use of parts, effects of; of parts, influence of, on the races of men. divorce, freedom of, among the charruas. dixon, e.s., on the pairing of different species of geese; on the courtship of peafowl. dobrizhoffer, on the marriage-customs of the abipones. dobson, dr., on the cheiroptera; scent-glands of bats; frugivorous bats. dogs, suffering from tertian ague; memory of; dreaming; diverging when drawing sledges over thin ice; exercise of reasoning faculties by; domestic, progress of, in moral qualities; distinct tones uttered by; parallelism between his affection for his master and religious feeling; sociability of the; sympathy of, with a sick cat; sympathy of, with his master; their possession of conscience; possible use of the hair on the fore-legs of the; races of the; numerical proportion of male and female births in; sexual affection between individuals of; howling at certain notes; rolling in carrion. dolichocephalic structure, possible cause of. dolphins, nakedness of. domestic animals, races of; change of breeds of. domestication, influence of, in removing the sterility of hybrids. d'orbigny, a., on the influence of dampness and dryness on the colour of the skin; on the yuracaras. dotterel. doubleday, e., on sexual differences in the wings of butterflies. doubleday, h., on the proportion of the sexes in the smaller moths; males of lasiocampa quercus and on the attraction of the saturnia carpini by the female; on the proportion of the sexes in the lepidoptera; on the ticking of anobium tesselatum; on the structure of ageronia feronia; on white butterflies alighting upon paper. douglas, j.w., on the sexual differences of the hemiptera; colours of british homoptera. down, of birds. draco, gular appendages of. dragonet, gemmeous. dragon-flies, caudal appendages of male; relative size of the sexes of; difference in the sexes of; want of pugnacity by the male. drake, breeding plumage of the. dreams, possible source of the belief in spiritual agencies. drill, sexual difference of colour in the. dromaeus irroratus. dromolaea, saharan species of. drongo shrike. drongos, racket-shaped feathers in the tails of. dryness of climate, supposed influence of, on the colour of the skin. dryopithecus. duck, harlequin, age of mature plumage in the; breeding in immature plumage. duck, long-tailed, preference of male, for certain females. duck, pintail, pairing with a widgeon. duck, voice of the; pairing with a shield-drake; immature plumage of the. duck, wild, sexual differences in the; speculum and male characters of; pairing with a pin-tail drake. ducks, wild, becoming polygamous under partial domestication; dogs and cats recognised by. dufosse, dr., sounds produced by fish. dugong, nakedness of; tusks of. dujardin, on the relative size of the cerebral ganglia, in insects. duncan, dr., on the fertility of early marriages; comparative health of married and single. dupont, m., on the occurrence of the supra-condyloid foramen in the humerus of man. durand, j.p., on causes of variation. dureau de la malle, on the songs of birds; on the acquisition of an air by blackbirds. dutch, retention of their colour by the, in south africa. duty, sense of. duvaucel, female hylobates washing her young. dyaks, pride of, in mere homicide. dynastes, large size of males of. dynastini, stridulation of. dytiscus, dimorphism of females of; grooved elytra of the female. eagle, young cercopithecus rescued from, by the troop. eagle, white-headed, breeding in immature plumage. eagles, golden, new mates found by. ear, motion of the; external shell of the, useless in man; rudimentary point of the, in man. ears, more variable in men than women; piercing and ornamentation of the. earwigs, parental feeling in. echidna. echini, bright colours of some. echinodermata, absence of secondary sexual characters in. echis carinata. ecker, figure of the human embryo; on the development of the gyri and sulci of the brain; on the sexual differences in the pelvis in man; on the presence of a sagittal crest in australians. edentata, former wide range of, in america; absence of secondary sexual characters in. edolius, racket-shaped feathers in. edwards, mr., on the proportion of the sexes in north american species of papilio. eels, hermaphroditism of. egerton, sir p., on the use of the antlers of deer; on the pairing of red deer; on the bellowing of stags. eggs, hatched by male fishes. egret, indian, sexes and young of. egrets, breeding plumage of; white. ehrenberg, on the mane of the male hamadryas baboon. ekstrom, m., on harelda glacialis. elachista rufocinerea, habits of male. eland, development of the horns of the. elands, sexual differences of colour in. elaphomyia, sexual differences in. elaphrus uliginosus, stridulation of. elaps. elateridae, proportion of the sexes in. elaters, luminous. elephant, rate of increase of the; nakedness of the; using a fan; indian, forbearance to his keeper; polygamous habits of the; pugnacity of the male; tusks of; indian, mode of fighting of the; male, odour emitted by the; attacking white or grey horses. elevation of abode, modifying influence of. elimination of inferior individuals. elk, winter change of the. elk, irish, horns of the. ellice islands, beards of the natives. elliot, d.g., on pelecanus erythrorhynchus. elliot, r., on the numerical proportion of the sexes in young rats; on the proportion of the sexes in sheep. elliot, sir w., on the polygamous habits of the indian wild boar. ellis, on the prevalence of infanticide in polynesia. elphinstone, mr., on local difference of stature among the hindoos; on the difficulty of distinguishing the native races of india. elytra, of the females of dytiscus acilius, hydroporus. emberiza, characters of young. emberiza miliaria. emberiza schoeniclus, head-feathers of the male. embryo of man; of the dog. embryos of mammals, resemblance of the. emigration. emotions experienced by the lower animals in common with man; manifested by animals. emperor butterfly. emperor moth. emu, sexes and incubation of. emulation of singing birds. endurance, estimation of. energy, a characteristic of men. england, numerical proportion of male and female births in. engleheart, mr., on the finding of new mates by starlings. english, success of, as colonists. engravers, short-sighted. entomostraca. entozoa, difference of colour between the males and females of some. environment, direct action of the, in causing differences between the sexes. envy, persistence of. eocene period, possible divergence of men during the. eolidae, colours of, produced by the biliary glands. epeira nigra, small size of the male of. ephemerae. ephemeridae. ephippiger vitium, stridulating organs of. epicalia, sexual differences of colouring in the species of. equus hemionus, winter change of. erateina, coloration of. ercolani, prof., hermaphroditism in eels. erect attitude of man. eristalis, courting of. eschricht, on the development of hair in man; on a languinous moustache in a female foetus; on the want of definition between the scalp and the forehead in some children; on the arrangement of the hair in the human foetus; on the hairiness of the face in the human foetus of both sexes. esmeralda, difference of colour in the sexes of. esox lucius. esox reticulatus. esquimaux, their belief in the inheritance of dexterity in seal-catching; mode of life of. estrelda amandava, pugnacity of the male. eubagis, sexual differences of colouring in the species of. euchirus longimanus, sound produced by. eudromias morinellus. eulampis jugularis, colours of the female. euler, on the rate of increase in the united states. eunomota superciliaris, racket-shaped feathers in the tail of. eupetomena macroura, colours of the female. euphema splendida. euplocamus erythrophthalmus, possession of spurs by the female. europe, ancient inhabitants of. europeans, difference of, from hindoos; hairiness of, probably due to reversion. eurostopodus, sexes of. eurygnathus, different proportions of the head in the sexes of. eustephanus, sexual differences of species of; young of. exaggeration of natural characters by man. exogamy. experience, acquisition of, by animals. expression, resemblances in, between man and the apes. extinction of races, causes of. eye, destruction of the; change of position in; obliquity of, regarded as a beauty by the chinese and japanese. eyebrows, elevation of; development of long hairs in; in monkeys; eradicated in parts of south america and africa; eradication of, by the indians of paraguay. eyelashes, eradication of, by the indians of paraguay. eyelids, coloured black, in part of africa. eyes, pillared, of the male of chloeon; difference in the colour of, in the sexes of birds. eyton, t.c., observations on the development of the horns in the fallow deer. eyzies, les, human remains from. fabre, m., on the habits of cerceris. facial bones, causes of modification of the. faculties, diversity of, in the same race of men; inheritance of; diversity of, in animals of the same species; mental variation of, in the same species; of birds. fakirs, indian, tortures undergone by. falco leucocephalus. falco peregrinus. falco tinnunclus. falcon, peregrine, new mate found by. falconer, h., on the mode of fighting of the indian elephant; on canines in a female deer; on hyomoschus aquaticus. falkland islands, horses of. fallow-deer, different coloured herds of. famines, frequency of, among savages. farr, dr., on the effects of profligacy; on the influence of marriage on mortality. farrar, f.w., on the origin of language; on the crossing or blending of languages; on the absence of the idea of god in certain races of men; on early marriages of the poor; on the middle ages. farre, dr., on the structure of the uterus. fashions, long prevalence of, among savages. faye, prof., on the numerical proportion of male and female births in norway and russia; on the greater mortality of male children at and before birth. feathers, modified, producing sounds; elongated, in male birds; racket-shaped; barbless and with filamentous barbs in certain birds; shedding of margins of. feeding, high, probable influence of, in the pairing of birds of different species. feet, thickening of the skin on the soles of the; modification of, in man. felis canadensis, throat-ruff of. felis pardalis and f. mitis, sexual difference in the colouring of. female, behaviour of the, during courtship. female birds, differences of. females, presence of rudimentary male organs in; preference of, for certain males; pursuit of, by males; occurrence of secondary sexual characters in; development of male character by. females and males, comparative numbers of; comparative mortality of, while young. femur and tibia, proportions of, in the aymara indians. fenton, mr., decrease of maories; infanticide amongst the maories. ferguson, mr., on the courtship of fowls. fertilisation, phenomena of, in plants; in the lower animals. fertility lessened under changed conditions. fevers, immunity of negroes and mulattoes from. fiber zibethicus, protective colouring of it. fick, h., effect of conscription for military service. fidelity, in the elephant; of savages to one another; importance of. field-slaves, difference of, from house-slaves. fiji archipelago, population of the. fiji islands, beards of the natives; marriage-customs of the. fijians, burying their old and sick parents alive; estimation of the beard among the; admiration of, for a broad occiput. filial affection, partly the result of natural selection. filum terminale. finch, racket-shaped feathers in the tail of a. finches, spring change of colour in; british, females of the. fingers, partially coherent, in species of hylobates. finlayson, on the cochin chinese. fire, use of. fischer, on the pugnacity of the male of lethrus cephalotes. fischer, f. von, on display of brightly coloured parts by monkeys in courtship. fish, eagerness of male; proportion of the sexes in; sounds produced by. fishes, kidneys of, represented by corpora wolffiana in the human embryo; male, hatching ova in their mouths; receptacles for ova possessed by; relative size of the sexes in; fresh-water, of the tropics; protective resemblances in; change of colour in; nest-building; spawning of; sounds produced by; continued growth of. flamingo, age of mature plumage. flexor pollicis longus, similar variation of, in man. flies, humming of. flint tools. flints, difficulty of chipping into form. florida, quiscalus major in. florisuga mellivora. flounder, coloration of the. flower, w.h., on the abductor of the fifth metatarsal in apes; on the position of the seals; on the pithecia monachu; on the throat-pouch of the male bustard. fly-catchers, colours and nidification of. foetus, human, woolly covering of the; arrangement of the hair on. food, influence of, upon stature. foot, prehensile power of the, retained in some savages; prehensile, in the early progenitors of man. foramen, supra-condyloid, exceptional occurrence of in the humerus of man; in the early progenitors of man. forbes, d., on the aymara indians; on local variation of colour in the quichuas; on the hairlessness of the aymaras and quichuas; on the long hair of the aymaras and quichaus. forel, f., on white young swans. forester, hon. o.w., on an orphan hawk. formica rufa, size of the cerebral ganglia in. fossils, absence of, connecting man with the apes. fowl, occurrence of spurs in the female; game, early pugnacity of; polish, early development of cranial peculiarities of; variations in plumage of; examples of correlated development in the; domestic, breeds and sub-breeds of. fowls, spangled hamburg; inheritance of changes of plumage by; sexual peculiarities in, transmitted only to the same sex; loss of secondary sexual characters by male; polish, origin of the crest in; period of inheritance of characters by; cuckoo-; development of the comb in; numerical proportion of the sexes in; courtship of; mongrel, between a black spanish cock and different hens; pencilled hamburg, difference of the sexes in; spanish, sexual differences of the comb in; spurred, in both sexes. fox, w.d., on some half-tamed wild ducks becoming polygamous, and on polygamy in the guinea-fowl and canary-bird; on the proportion of the sexes in cattle; on the pugnacity of the peacock; on a nuptial assembly of magpies; on the finding of new mates by crows; on partridges living in triplets; on the pairing of a goose with a chinese gander. foxes, wariness of young, in hunting districts; black. fraser, c., on the different colours of the sexes in a species of squilla. fraser, g., colours of thecla. frere, hookham, quoting theognis on selection in mankind. fringilla cannabina. fringilla ciris, age of mature plumage in. fringilla cyanea, age of mature plumage in. fringilla leucophrys, young of. fringilla spinus. fringilla tristis, change of colour in, in spring; young of. fringillidae, resemblance of the females of distinct species of. frog, bright coloured and distasteful to birds. frogs, male; temporary receptacles for ova possessed by; ready to breed before the females; fighting of; vocal organs of. frontal bone, persistence of the suture in. fruits, poisonous, avoided by animals. fuegians, difference of stature among the; power of sight in the; skill of, in stone-throwing; resistance of the, to their severe climate; mental capacity of the; quasi-religious sentiments of the; resemblance of, in mental characters, to europeans; mode of life of the; aversion of, to hair on the face; said to admire european women. fulgoridae, songs of the. fur, whiteness of, in arctic animals in winter. fur-bearing animals, acquired sagacity of. gallicrex, sexual difference in the colour of the irides in. gallicrex cristatus, pugnacity of male; red carbuncle occurring in the male during the breeding-season. gallinaceae, frequency of polygamous habits and of sexual differences in the; love-gestures of; decomposed feathers in; stripes of young; comparative sexual differences between the species of; plumage of. gallinaceous birds, weapons of the male; racket-shaped feathers on the heads of. gallinula chloropus, pugnacity of the male. galloperdix, spurs of; development of spurs in the female. gallophasis, young of. galls. gallus bankiva, neck-hackles of. gallus stanleyi, pugnacity of the male. galton, mr., on hereditary genius; gregariousness and independence in animals; on the struggle between the social and personal impulses; on the effects of natural selection on civilised nations; on the sterility of sole daughters; on the degree of fertility of people of genius; on the early marriages of the poor; on the ancient greeks; on the middle ages; on the progress of the united states; on south african notions of beauty. gammarus, use of the chelae of. gammarus marinus. gannets, white only when mature. ganoid fishes. gaour, horns of the. gap between man and the apes. gaper, sexes and young of. gardner, on an example of rationality in a gelasimus. garrulus glandarius. gartner, on sterility of hybrid plants. gasteropoda, pulmoniferous, courtship of. gasterosteus, nidification of. gasterosteus leiurus. gasterosteus trachurus. gastrophora, wings of, brightly coloured beneath. gauchos, want of humanity among the. gaudry, m., on a fossil monkey. gavia, seasonal change of plumage in. geese, clanging noise made by; pairing of different species of; canada, selection of mates by. gegenbaur, c., on the number of digits in the ichthyopterygia; on the hermaphroditism of the remote progenitors of the vertebrata; two types of nipple in mammals. gelasimus, proportions of the sexes in a species of; use of the enlarged chelae of the male; pugnacity of males of; rational actions of a; difference of colour in the sexes of a species of. gemmules, dormant in one sex. genius, hereditary. genius, fertility of men and women of. geoffroy st.-hilaire, isid., on the recognition of women by male quadrumana; on monstrosities; coincidences of arrested development with polydactylism; on animal-like anomalies in the human structure; on the correlation of monstrosities; on the distribution of hair in man and monkeys; on the caudal vertebrae of monkeys; on correlated variability; on the classification of man; on the long hair on the heads of species of semnopithecus; on the hair in monkeys; on the development of horns in female deer; and f. cuvier, on the mandrill; on hylobates. geographical distribution, as evidence of specific distinctions in man. geometrae, brightly coloured beneath. geophagus, frontal protuberance of, male; eggs hatched by the male, in the mouth or branchial cavity. georgia, change of colour in germans settled in. geotrupes, stridulation of. gerbe, m., on the nest-building of crenilabus massa and c. melops. gerland, dr., on the prevalence of infanticide; on the extinction of races. gervais, p., on the hairiness of the gorilla; on the mandrill. gesture-language. ghost-moth, sexual difference of colour in the. giard, m., disputes descent of vertebrates from ascidians; colour of sponges and ascidians; musky odour of sphinx. gibbon, voice of. gibbon, hoolock, nose of. gibbs, sir d., on differences of the voice in different races of men. gill, dr., male seals larger than females; sexual differences in seals. giraffe, its mode of using the horns; mute, except in the rutting season. giraud-teulon, on the cause of short sight. glanders, communicable to man from the lower animals. glands, odoriferous, in mammals. glareola, double moult in. glomeris limbata, difference of colour in the sexes of. glow-worm, female, apterous; luminosity of the. gnats, dances of; auditory powers of. gnu, skeletons of, found locked together; sexual differences in colour of the. goat, male, wild, falling on his horns; male, odour emitted by; male, wild, crest of the; berbura, mane, dewlap, etc., of the male; kemas, sexual difference in the colour of the. goats, sexual differences in the horns of; horns of; mode of fighting of; domestic, sexual differences of, late developed; beards of. goatsucker, virginian, pairing of the. gobies, nidification of. god, want of the idea of, in some races of men. godron, m., on variability; on difference of stature; on the want of connexion between climate and the colour of the skin; on the colour of the skin; on the colour of infants. goldfinch, proportion of the sexes in the; sexual differences of the beak in the; courtship of the. goldfinch, north american, young of. goldfish. gomphus, proportions of the sexes in; difference in the sexes of. gonepteryx rhamni, sexual difference of colour in. goodsir, prof., on the affinity of the lancelet to the ascidians. goosander, young of. goose, antarctic, colours of the. goose, canada, pairing with a bernicle gander. goose, chinese, knob on the beak of the. goose, egyptian. goose, sebastopol, plumage of. goose, snow-, whiteness of the. goose, spur-winged. gorilla, semi-erect attitude of the; mastoid processes of the; protecting himself from rain with his hands; manner of sitting; supposed to be a kind of mandrill; polygamy of the; voice of the; cranium of; fighting of male. gosse, p.h., on the pugnacity of the male humming-bird. gosse, m., on the inheritance of artificial modifications of the skull. gould, b.a., on variation in the length of the legs in man; measurements of american soldiers; on the proportions of the body and capacity of the lungs in different races of men; on the inferior vitality of mulattoes. gould, j., on migration of swifts; on the arrival of male snipes before the females; on the numerical proportion of the sexes in birds; on neomorpha grypus; on the species of eustephanus; on the australian musk-duck; on the relative size of the sexes in briziura lobata and cincloramphus cruralis; on lobivanellus lobatus; on habits of menura alberti; on the rarity of song in brilliant birds; on selasphorus platycerus; on the bower-birds; on the ornamental plumage of the humming-birds; on the moulting of the ptarmigan; on the display of plumage by the male humming-birds; on the shyness of adorned male birds; on the decoration of the bowers of bower-birds; on the decoration of their nest by humming-birds; on variation in the genus cynanthus; on the colour of the thighs in a male parrakeet; on urosticte benjamini; on the nidification of the orioles; on obscurely-coloured birds building concealed nests; on trogons and king-fishers; on australian parrots; on australian pigeons; on the moulting of the ptarmigan; on the immature plumage of birds; on the australian species of turnix; on the young of aithurus polytmus; on the colours of the bills of toucans; on the relative size of the sexes in the marsupials of australia; on the colours of the marsupials. goureaux, on the stridulation of mutilla europaea. gout, sexually transmitted. graba, on the pied ravens of the feroe islands; variety of the guillemot. gradation of secondary sexual characters in birds. grallatores, absence of secondary sexual characters in; double moult in some. grallina, nidification of. grasshoppers, stridulation of the. gratiolet, prof., on the anthropomorphous apes; on the evolution of the anthropomorphous apes; on the difference in the development of the brains of apes and of man. gray, asa, on the gradation of species among the compositae. gray, j.e., on the caudal vertebrae of monkeys; on the presence of rudiments of horns in the female of cervulus moschatus; on the horns of goats and sheep; on crests of male antelopes; on the beard of the ibex; on the berbura goat; on sexual differences in the coloration of rodents; ornaments of male sloth; on the colours of the elands; on the sing-sing antelope; on the colours of goats; on lemur macaco; on the hog-deer. "greatest happiness principle." greeks, ancient. green, a.h., on beavers fighting; on the voice of the beaver. greenfinch, selected by a female canary. greg, w.r., on the effects of natural selection on civilised nations; on the early marriages of the poor; on the ancient greeks. grenadiers, prussian. greyhounds, numerical proportion of the sexes in; numerical proportion of male and female births in. grouse, red, monogamous; pugnacity of young male; producing a sound by beating their wings together; duration of courtship of; colours and nidification of. gruber, dr., on the occurrence of the supra-condyloid foramen in the humerus of man; on division of malar bone; stridulation of locust; on ephippiger. grus americanus, age of mature plumage in; breeding in immature plumage. grus virgo, trachea of. gryllus campestris, pugnacity of male. gryllus domesticus. grypus, sexual differences in the beak in. guanacoes, battles of; canine teeth of. guanas, strife for women among the; polyandry among the. guanche skeletons, occurrence of the supra-condyloid foramen in the humerus of. guaranys, proportion of men and women among; colour of new-born children of the; beards of the. guenee, a., on the sexes of hyperythra. guilding, l., on the stridulation of the locustidae. guillemot, variety of the. guinea, sheep of, with males only horned. guinea-fowl, monogamous; occasional polygamy of the; markings of the. guinea-pigs, inheritance of the effects of operations by. gulls, seasonal change of plumage in; white. gunther, dr., on paddle of ceradotus; on hermaphroditism in serranus; on male fishes hatching ova in their mouths; on mistaking infertile female fishes for males; on the prehensile organs of male plagiostomous fishes; spines and brushes on fishes; on the pugnacity of the male salmon and trout; on the relative size of the sexes in fishes; on sexual differences in fishes; on the genus callionymus; on a protective resemblance of a pipe-fish; on the genus solenostoma; on the coloration of frogs and toads; combat of testudo elegans; on the sexual differences in the ophidia; on differences of the sexes of lizards. gynanisa isis, ocellated spots of. gypsies, uniformity of, in various parts of the world. habits, bad, facilitated by familiarity; variability of the force of. haeckel, e., on the origin of man; on rudimentary characters; on death caused by inflammation of the vermiform appendage; on the canine teeth in man; on the steps by which man became a biped; on man as a member of the catarrhine group; on the position of the lemuridae; on the genealogy of the mammalia; on the lancelet; on the transparency of pelagic animals; on the musical powers of women. hagen, h., and walsh, b.d., on american neuroptera. hair, development of, in man; character of, supposed to be determined by light and heat; distribution of, in man; possibly removed for ornamental purposes; arrangement and direction of; of the early progenitors of man; different texture of, in distinct races; and skin, correlation of colour of; development of, in mammals; management of, among different peoples; great length of, in some north american tribes; elongation of the, on the human head; possible inherited effect of plucking out. hairiness, difference of, in the sexes in man; variation of, in races of men. hairs and excretory pores, numerical relation of, in sheep. hairy family, siamese. halbertsma, prof., hermaphroditism in serranus. hamadryas baboon, turning over stones; mane of the male. hamilton, c., on the cruelty of the kaffirs to animals; on the engrossment of the women by the kaffir chiefs. hammering, difficulty of. hancock, a., on the colours of the nudibranch mollusca. hands, larger at birth, in the children of labourers; structure of, in the quadrumana; and arms, freedom of, indirectly correlated with diminution of canines. handwriting, inherited. handyside, dr., supernumerary mammae in men. harcourt, e. vernon, on fringilla cannabina. hare, protective colouring of the. harelda glacialis. hares, battles of male. harlan, dr., on the difference between field-and house-slaves. harris, j.m., on the relation of complexion to climate. harris, t.w., on the katy-did locust; on the stridulation of the grasshoppers; on oecanthus nivalis; on the colouring of lepidoptera; on the colouring of saturnia io. harting, spur of the ornithorhynchus. hartman, dr., on the singing of cicada septendecim. hatred, persistence of. haughton, s., on a variation of the flexor pollicis longus in man. hawks, feeding orphan nestling. hayes, dr., on the diverging of sledge-dogs on thin ice. haymond, r., on the drumming of the male tetrao umbellus; on the drumming of birds. head, altered position of, to suit the erect attitude of man; hairiness of, in man; processes of, in male beetles; artificial alterations of the form of the. hearne, on strife for women among the north american indians; on the north american indians' notion of female beauty; repeated elopements of a north american woman. heart, in the human embryo. heat, supposed effects of. hectocotyle. hedge-warbler, young of the. heel, small projection of, in the aymara indians. hegt, m., on the development of the spurs in peacocks. heliconidae, mimicry of, by other butterflies. heliopathes, stridulation peculiar to the male. heliothrix auriculata, young of. helix pomatia, example of individual attachment in. hellins, j., proportions of sexes of lepidoptera reared by. helmholtz, on pleasure derived from harmonies; on the human eye; on the vibration of the auditory hairs of crustacea; the physiology of harmony. hemiptera. hemitragus, beardless in both sexes. hemsbach, m. von, on medial mamma in man. hen, clucking of. hepburn, mr., on the autumn song of the water-ouzel. hepialus humuli, sexual difference of colour in the. herbs, poisonous, avoided by animals. hermaphroditism, of embryos; in fishes. herodias bubulcus, vernal moult of. heron, sir r., on the habits of peafowl. herons, love-gestures of; decomposed feathers in; breeding plumage of; young of the; sometimes dimorphic; continued growth of crest and plumes in the males of some; change of colour in some. hesperomys cognatus. hetaerina, proportion of the sexes in; difference in the sexes of. heterocerus, stridulation of. hewitt, mr., on a game-cock killing a kite; on the recognition of dogs and cats by ducks; on the pairing of a wild duck with a pintail drake; on the courtship of fowls; on the coupling of pheasants with common hens. hilgendorf, sounds produced by crustaceans. hindoo, his horror of breaking his caste. hindoos, local difference of stature among; difference of, from europeans; colour of the beard in. hipparchia janira, instability of the ocellated spots of. hippocampus, development of; marsupial receptacles of the male. hippocampus minor. hippopotamus, nakedness of. hips, proportions of, in soldiers and sailors. hodgson, s., on the sense of duty. hoffberg, on the horns of the reindeer; on sexual preferences shewn by reindeer. hoffman, prof., protective colours; fighting of frogs. hog, wart-; river-. hog-deer. holland, sir h., on the effects of new diseases. homologous structures, correlated variation of. homoptera, stridulation of the, and orthoptera, discussed. honduras, quiscalus major in. honey-buzzard of india, variation in the crest of. honey-sucker, females and young of. honey-suckers, moulting of the; australian, nidification of. honour, law of. hooker, dr., forbearance of elephant to his keeper; on the colour of the beard in man. hookham, mr., on mental concepts in animals. hoolock gibbon, nose of. hoopoe, sounds produced by male. hoplopterus armatus, wing-spurs of. hornbill, african, inflation of the neck-wattle of the male during courtship. hornbills, sexual difference in the colour of the eyes in; nidification and incubation of. horne, c., on the rejection of a brightly-coloured locust by lizards and birds. horns, sexual differences of, in sheep and goats; loss of, in female merino sheep; development of, in deer; development in antelopes; from the head and thorax, in male beetles; of deer; originally a masculine character in sheep; and canine teeth, inverse development of. horse, fossil, extinction of the, in south america; polygamous; canine teeth of male; winter change of colour. horses, rapid increase of, in south america; diminution of canine teeth in; dreaming; of the falkland islands and pampas; numerical proportion of the sexes, in; lighter in winter in siberia; sexual preferences in; pairing preferently with those of the same colour; numerical proportion of male and female births in; formerly striped. hottentot women, peculiarities of. hottentots, lice of; readily become musicians; notions of female beauty of the; compression of nose by. hough, dr. s., men's temperature more variable than women's; proportion of sexes in man. house-slaves, difference of, from field-slaves. houzeau, on the baying of the dog; on reason in dogs; birds killed by telegraph wires; on the cries of domestic fowls and parrots; animals feel no pity; suicide in the aleutian islands. howorth, h.h., extinction of savages. huber, p., on ants playing together; on memory in ants; on the intercommunication of ants; on the recognition of each other by ants after separation. huc, on chinese opinions of the appearance of europeans. huia, the, of new zealand. human, man, classed alone in a kingdom. human sacrifices. humanity, unknown among some savages; deficiency of, among savages. humboldt, a. von, on the rationality of mules; on a parrot preserving the language of a lost tribe; on the cosmetic arts of savages; on the exaggeration of natural characters by man; on the red painting of american indians. hume, d., on sympathetic feelings. humming-bird, racket-shaped feathers in the tail of a; display of plumage by the male. humming-birds, ornament their nests; polygamous; proportion of the sexes in; sexual differences in; pugnacity of male; modified primaries of male; coloration of the sexes of; display by; nidification of the; colours of female; young of. humour, sense of, in dogs. humphreys, h.n., on the habits of the stickleback. hunger, instinct of. huns, ancient, flattening of the nose by the. hunter, j., on the number of species of man; on secondary sexual characters; on the general behaviour of female animals during courtship; on the muscles of the larynx in song-birds; on strength of males; on the curled frontal hair of the bull; on the rejection of an ass by a female zebra. hunter, w.w., on the recent rapid increase of the santali; on the santali. huss, dr. max, on mammary glands. hussey, mr., on a partridge distinguishing persons. hutchinson, col., example of reasoning in a retriever. hutton, captain, on the male wild goat falling on his horns. huxley, t.h., on the structural agreement of man with the apes; on the agreement of the brain in man with that of lower animals; on the adult age of the orang; on the embryonic development of man; on the origin of man; on variation in the skulls of the natives of australia; on the abductor of the fifth metatarsal in apes; on the nature of the reasoning power; on the position of man; on the suborders of primates; on the lemuridae; on the dinosauria; on the amphibian affinities of the ichthyosaurians; on variability of the skull in certain races of man; on the races of man; supplement on the brain. hybrid birds, production of. hydrophobia, communicable between man and the lower animals. hydroporus, dimorphism of females of. hyelaphus porcinus. hygrogonus. hyla, singing species of. hylobates, absence of the thumb in; upright progression of some species of; maternal affection in a; direction of the hair on the arms of species of; females of, less hairy below than males. hylobates agilis, hair on the arms of; musical voice of the; superciliary ridge of; voice of. hylobates hoolock, sexual difference of colour in. hylobates lar, hair on the arms of; female less hairy. hylobates leuciscus, song of. hylobates syndactylus, laryngeal sac of. hylophila prasinana. hymenoptera, large size of the cerebral ganglia in; classification of; sexual differences in the wings of; aculeate, relative size of the sexes of. hymenopteron, parasitic, with a sedentary male. hyomoschus aquaticus. hyperythra, proportion of the sexes in. hypogymna dispar, sexual difference of colour in. hypopyra, coloration of. ibex, male, falling on his horns; beard of the. ibis, white, change of colour of naked skin in, during the breeding season; scarlet, young of the. ibis tantalus, age of mature plumage in; breeding in immature plumage. ibises, decomposed feathers in; white; and black. ichneumonidae, difference of the sexes in. ichthyopterygia. ichthyosaurians. idiots, microcephalous, their characters and habits; hairiness and animal nature of their actions; microcephalous, imitative faculties of. iguana tuberculata. iguanas. illegitimate and legitimate children, proportion of the sexes in. imagination, existence of, in animals. imitation, of man by monkeys; tendency to, in monkeys, microcephalous idiots and savages; influence of. immature plumage of birds. implacentata. implements, employed by monkeys; fashioning of, peculiar to man. impregnation, period of, influence of, upon sex. improvement, progressive, man alone supposed to be capable of. incisor teeth, knocked out or filed by some savages. increase, rate of; necessity of checks in. indecency, hatred of, a modern virtue. india, difficulty of distinguishing the native races of; cyprinidae of; colour of the beard in races of men of. indian, north american, honoured for scalping a man of another tribe. individuality, in animals. indolence of man, when free from a struggle for existence. indopicus carlotta, colours of the sexes of. infanticide, prevalence of; supposed cause of; prevalence and causes of. inferiority, supposed physical, of man. inflammation of the bowels, occurrence of, in cebus azarae. inheritance, of long and short sight; of effects of use of vocal and mental organs; of moral tendencies; laws of; sexual; sexually limited. inquisition, influence of the. insanity, hereditary. insect, fossil, from the devonian. insectivora, absence of secondary sexual characters in. insects, relative size of the cerebral ganglia in; male, appearance of, before the females; pursuit of female, by the males; period of development of sexual characters in; secondary sexual characters of; kept in cages; stridulation. insessores, vocal organs of. instep, depth of, in soldiers and sailors. instinct and intelligence. instinct, migratory, vanquishing the maternal. instinctive actions, the result of inheritance. instinctive impulses, difference of the force; and moral impulses, alliance of. instincts, complex origin of, through natural selection; possible origin of some; acquired, of domestic animals; variability of the force of; difference of force between the social and other; utilised for new purposes. instrumental music of birds. intellect, influence of, in natural selection in civilised society. intellectual faculties, their influence on natural selection in man; probably perfected through natural selection. intelligence, mr. h. spencer on the dawn of. intemperance, no reproach among savages; its destructiveness. intoxication in monkeys. iphias glaucippe. iris, sexual difference in the colour of the, in birds. ischio-pubic muscle. ithaginis cruentus, number of spurs in. iulus, tarsal suckers of the males of. jackals learning from dogs to bark. jack-snipe, coloration of the. jacquinot, on the number of species of man. jaeger, dr., length of bones increased from carrying weights; on the difficulty of approaching herds of wild animals; male silver-pheasant, rejected when his plumage was spoilt. jaguars, black. janson, e.w., on the proportions of the sexes in tomicus villosus; on stridulant beetles. japan, encouragement of licentiousness in. japanese, general beardlessness of the; aversion of the, to whiskers. jardine, sir w., on the argus pheasant. jarrold, dr., on modifications of the skull induced by unnatural position. jarves, mr., on infanticide in the sandwich islands. javans, relative height of the sexes of; notions of female beauty. jaw, influence of the muscles of the, upon the physiognomy of the apes. jaws, smaller proportionately to the extremities; influence of food upon the size of; diminution of, in man; in man, reduced by correlation. jay, young of the; canada, young of the. jays, new mates found by; distinguishing persons. jeffreys, j. gwyn, on the form of the shell in the sexes of the gasteropoda; on the influence of light upon the colours of shells. jelly-fish, bright colours of some. jenner, dr., on the voice of the rook; on the finding of new mates by magpies; on retardation of the generative functions in birds. jenyns, l., on the desertion of their young by swallows; on male birds singing after the proper season. jerdon, dr., on birds dreaming; on the pugnacity of the male bulbul; on the pugnacity of the male ortygornis gularis; on the spurs of galloperdix; on the habits of lobivanellus; on the spoonbill; on the drumming of the kalij-pheasant; on indian bustards; on otis bengalensis; on the ear-tufts of sypheotides auritus; on the double moults of certain birds; on the moulting of the honeysuckers; on the moulting of bustards, plovers, and drongos; on the spring change of colour in some finches; on display in male birds; on the display of the under-tail coverts by the male bulbul; on the indian honey-buzzard; on sexual differences in the colour of the eyes of hornbills; on the markings of the tragopan pheasant; on the nidification of the orioles; on the nidification of the hornbills; on the sultan yellow-tit; on palaeornis javanicus; on the immature plumage of birds; on representative species of birds; on the habits of turnix; on the continued increase of beauty of the peacock; on coloration in the genus palaeornis. jevons, w.s., on the migrations of man. jews, ancient use of flint tools by the; uniformity of, in various parts of the world; numerical proportion of male and female births among the; ancient, tattooing practised by. johnstone, lieut., on the indian elephant. jollofs, fine appearance of the. jones, albert, proportion of sexes of lepidoptera, reared by. juan fernandez, humming-birds of. junonia, sexual differences of colouring in species of. jupiter, comparison with assyrian effigies. kaffir skull, occurrence of the diastema in a. kaffirs, their cruelty to animals; lice of the; colour of the; engrossment of the handsomest women by the chiefs of the; marriage-customs of the. kalij-pheasant, drumming of the male; young of. kallima, resemblance of, to a withered leaf. kulmucks, general beardlessness of; aversion of, to hairs on the face; marriage-customs of the. kangaroo, great red, sexual difference in the colour of. kant, imm., on duty; on self-restraint; on the number of species of man. katy-did, stridulation of the. keen, dr., on the mental powers of snakes. keller, dr., on the difficulty of fashioning stone implements. kent, w.s., elongation of dorsal fin of callionymus lyra; courtship of labrus mixtus; colours and courtship of cantharus lineatus. kestrels, new mates found by. kidney, one, doing double work in disease. king, w.r., on the vocal organs of tetrao cupido; on the drumming of grouse; on the reindeer; on the attraction of male deer by the voice of the female. king and fitzroy, on the marriage-customs of the fuegians. king-crows, nidification of. kingfisher, racket-shaped feathers in the tail of a. kingfishers, colours and nidification of the; immature plumage of the; young of the. king lory, immature plumage of the. kingsley, c., on the sounds produced by the umbrina. kirby and spence, on sexual differences in the length of the snout in curculionidae; on the courtship of insects; on the elytra of dytiscus; on peculiarities in the legs of male insects; on the relative size of the sexes in insects; on the fulgoridae; on the habits of the termites; on difference of colour in the sexes of beetles; on the horns of the male lamellicorn beetles; on hornlike processes in male curculionidae; on the pugnacity of the male stag-beetle. kite, killed by a game-cock. knot, retention of winter plumage by the. knox, r., on the semilunar fold; on the occurrence of the supra-condyloid foramen in the humerus of man; on the features of the young memmon. koala, length of the caecum in. kobus ellipsiprymnus, proportion of the sexes in. kolreuter, on the sterility of hybrid plants. koodoo, development of the horns of the; markings of the. koppen, f.t., on the migratory locust. koraks, marriage customs of. kordofan, protuberances artificially produced by natives of. korte, on the proportion of sexes in locusts; russian locusts. kovalevsky, a., on the affinity of the ascidia to the vertebrata. kovalevsky, w., on the pugnacity of the male capercailzie; on the pairing of the capercailzie. krause, on a convoluted body at the extremity of the tail in a macacus and a cat. kupffer, prof., on the affinity of the ascidia to the vertebrata. labidocera darwinii, prehensile organs of the male. labrus, splendid colours of the species of. labrus mixtus, sexual differences in. labrus pavo. lacertilia, sexual differences of. lafresnaye, m. de, on birds of paradise. lamarck, on the origin of man. lamellibranchiata. lamellicorn beetles, horn-like processes from the head and thorax of; influence of sexual selection on. lamellicornia, stridulation of. lamont, mr., on the tusks of the walrus; on the use of its tusks by the walrus; on the bladder-nose seal. lampornis porphyrurus, colours of the female. lampyridae, distasteful to mammals. lancelet. landois, h., gnats attracted by sound; on the production of sound by the cicadae; on the stridulating organ of the crickets; on decticus; on the stridulating organs of the acridiidae; stridulating apparatus, in orthoptera; on the stridulation of necrophorus; on the stridulant organ of cerambyx heros; on the stridulant organ of geotrupes; on the stridulating organs in the coleoptera; on the ticking of anobium. landor, dr., on remorse for not obeying tribal custom. language, an art; articulate, origin of; relation of the progress of, to the development of the brain; effects of inheritance in production of; complex structure of, among barbarous nations; natural selection in; gesture; primeval; of a lost tribe preserved by a parrot. languages, presence of rudiments in; classification of; variability of; crossing or blending of; complexity of, no test of perfection or proof of special creation; resemblance of, evidence of community of origin. languages and species, identity of evidence of their gradual development. lanius, characters of young. lanius rufus, anomalous young of. lankester, e.r., on comparative longevity; on the destructive effects of intemperance. lanugo of the human foetus. lapponian language, highly artificial. lark, proportion of the sexes in the; female, singing of the. larks, attracted by a mirror. lartet, e., comparison of cranial capacities of skulls of recent and tertiary mammals; on the size of the brain in mammals; on dryopithecus; on pre-historic flutes. larus, seasonal change of plumage in. larva, luminous, of a brazilian beetle. larynx, muscles of the, in songbirds. lasiocampa quercus, attraction of males by the female; sexual difference of colour in. latham, r.g., on the migrations of man. latooka, perforation of the lower lip by the women of. laurillard, on the abnormal division of the malar bone in man. lawrence, w., on the superiority of savages to europeans in power of sight; on the colour of negro infants; on the fondness of savages for ornaments; on beardless races; on the beauty of the english aristocracy. layard, e.l., on the instance of rationality in a cobra; on the pugnacity of gallus stanleyi. laycock, dr., on vital periodicity; theroid nature of idiots. leaves, autumn, tints useless. lecky, mr., on the sense of duty; on suicide; on the practice of celibacy; his view of the crimes of savages; on the gradual rise of morality. leconte, j.l., on the stridulant organ in the coprini and dynastini. lee, h., on the numerical proportion of the sexes in the trout. leg, calf of the, artificially modified. legitimate and illegitimate children, proportion of the sexes in. legs, variation of the length of the, in man; proportions of, in soldiers and sailors; front, atrophied in some male butterflies; peculiarities of, in male insects. leguay, on the occurrence of the supra-condyloid foramen in the humerus of man. lek of the black-cock and capercailzie. lemoine, albert, on the origin of language. lemur macaco, sexual difference of colour in. lemuridae, ears of the; variability of the muscles in the; position and derivation of the; their origin. lemurs, uterus in the. lenguas, disfigurement of the ears of the. leopards, black. lepidoptera, numerical proportions of the sexes in the; colouring of; ocellated spots of. lepidosiren. leptalides, mimicry of. leptorhynchus angustatus, pugnacity of male. leptura testacea, difference of colour in the sexes. leroy, on the wariness of young foxes in hunting-districts; on the desertion of their young by swallows. leslie, d., marriage customs of kaffirs. lesse, valley of the. lesson, on the birds of paradise; on the sea-elephant. lessona, m., observations on serranus. lethrus cephalotes, pugnacity of the males of. leuciscus phoxinus. leuckart, r., on the vesicula prostatica; on the influence of the age of parents on the sex of offspring. levator claviculae muscle. libellula depressa, colour of the male. libellulidae, relative size of the sexes of; difference in the sexes of. lice of domestic animals and man. licentiousness a check upon population; prevalence of, among savages. lichtenstein, on chera progne. life, inheritance at corresponding periods of. light, effects on complexion; influence of, upon the colours of shells. lilford, lord, the ruff attracted by bright objects. limosa lapponica. linaria. linaria montana. lindsay, dr. w.l., diseases communicated from animals to man; madness in animals; the dog considers his master his god. linnaeus, views of, as to the position of man. linnet, numerical proportion of the sexes in the; crimson forehead and breast of the; courtship of the. lion, polygamous; mane of the, defensive; roaring of the. lions, stripes of young. lips, piercing of the, by savages. lithobius, prehensile appendages of the female. lithosia, coloration in. littorina littorea. livingstone, dr., manner of sitting of gorilla; on the influence of dampness and dryness on the colour of the skin; on the liability of negroes to tropical fevers after residence in a cold climate; on the spur-winged goose; on weaverbirds; on an african night-jar; on the battle-scars of south african male mammals; on the removal of the upper incisors by the batokas; on the perforation of the upper lip by the makalolo; on the banyai. livonia, numerical proportion of male and female births in. lizards, relative size of the sexes of; gular pouches of. lloyd, l., on the polygamy of the capercailzie and bustard; on the numerical proportion of the sexes in the capercailzie and blackcock; on the salmon; on the colours of the sea-scorpion; on the pugnacity of male grouse; on the capercailzie and blackcock; on the call of the capercailzie; on assemblages of grouse and snipes; on the pairing of a shield-drake with a common duck; on the battles of seals; on the elk. lobivanellus, wing-spurs in. local influences, effect of, upon stature. lockwood, mr., on the development of hippocampus. lockwood, rev. s., musical mouse. locust, bright-coloured, rejected by lizards and birds. locust, migratory; selection by female. locustidae, stridulation of the; descent of the. locusts, proportion of sexes in; stridulation of. longicorn beetles, difference of the sexes of, in colour; stridulation of. lonsdale, mr., on an example of personal attachment in helix pomatia. lophobranchii, marsupial receptacles of the male. lophophorus, habits of. lophorina atra, sexual difference in coloration of. lophornis ornatus. lord, j.k., on salmo lycaodon. lory, king; immature plumage of the. lory, king, constancy of. love-antics and dances of birds. lowne, b.t., on musca vomitoria. loxia, characters of young of. lubbock, sir j., on the antiquity of man; on the origin of man; on the mental capacity of savages; on the origin of implements; on the simplification of languages; on the absence of the idea of god among certain races of men; on the origin of the belief in spiritual agencies; on superstitions; on the sense of duty; on the practice of burying the old and sick among the fijians; on the immorality of savages; on mr. wallace's claim to the origination of the idea of natural selection; on the former barbarism of civilised nations; on improvements in the arts among savages; on resemblances of the mental characters in different races of men; on the arts practised by savages; on the power of counting in primeval man; on the prehensile organs of the male labidocera darwinii; on chloeon; on smynthurus luteus; finding of new mates by jays; on strife for women among the north american indians; on music; on the ornamental practices of savages; on the estimation of the beard among the anglo-saxons; on artificial deformation of the skull; on "communal marriages;" on exogamy; on the veddahs; on polyandry. lucanidae, variability of the mandibles in the male. lucanus, large size of males of. lucanus cervus, numerical proportion of sexes of; weapons of the male. lucanus elaphus, use of mandibles of; large jaws of male. lucas, prosper, on pigeons; on sexual preference in horses and bulls. luminosity in insects. lunar periods. lund, dr., on skulls found in brazilian caves. lungs, enlargement of, in the quichua and aymara indians; a modified swim-bladder; different capacity of, in races of man. luschka, prof., on the termination of the coccyx. luxury, expectation of life uninfluenced by. lycaena, sexual differences of colour in species of. lycaenae, colours of. lyell, sir c., on the antiquity of man; on the origin of man; on the parallelism of the development of species and languages; on the extinction of languages; on the inquisition; on the fossil remains of vertebrata; on the fertility of mulattoes. lynx, canadian throat-ruff of the. lyre-bird, assemblies of. macacus, ears of; convoluted body in the extremity of the tail of; variability of the tail in species of; whiskers of species of. macacus brunneus. macacus cynomolgus, superciliary ridge of; beard and whiskers of; becoming white with age. macacus ecaudatus. macacus lasiotus, facial spots of. macacus nemestrinus. macacus radiatus. macacus rhesus, sexual difference in the colour of. macalister, prof., on variations of the palmaris accessorius muscle; on muscular abnormalities in man; on the greater variability of the muscles in men than in women. macaws, mr. buxton's observations on. mccann, j., on mental individuality. mcclelland, j., on the indian cyprinidae. macculloch, col., on an indian village without any female children. macculloch, dr., on tertian ague in a dog. macgillivray, w., on the vocal organs of birds; on the egyptian goose; on the habits of woodpeckers; on the habits of the snipe; on the whitethroat; on the moulting of the snipes; on the moulting of the anatidae; on the finding of new mates by magpies; on the pairing of a blackbird and thrush; on pied ravens; on the guillemots; on the colours of the tits; on the immature plumage of birds. machetes, sexes and young of. machetes pugnax, supposed to be polygamous; numerical proportion of the sexes in; pugnacity of the male; double moult in. mcintosh, dr., colours of the nemertians. mckennan, marriage customs of koraks. mackintosh, on the moral sense. maclachlan, r., on apatania muliebris and boreus hyemalis; on the anal appendages of male insects; on the pairing of dragon-flies; on dragon-flies; on dimorphism in agrion; on the want of pugnacity in male dragon-flies; colour of ghost-moth in the shetland islands. m'lennan, mr., on infanticide; on the origin of the belief in spiritual agencies; on the prevalence of licentiousness among savages; on the primitive barbarism of civilised nations; on traces of the custom of the forcible capture of wives; on polyandry. macnamara, mr., susceptibility of andaman islanders and nepalese to change. m'neill, mr., on the use of the antlers of deer; on the scotch deerhound; on the long hairs on the throat of the stag; on the bellowing of stags. macropus, courtship of. macrorhinus proboscideus, structure of the nose of. magpie, power of speech of; vocal organs of the; nuptial assemblies of; new mates found by; stealing bright objects; young of the; coloration of the. maillard, m., on the proportion of the sexes in a species of papilio from bourbon. maine, sir henry, on the absorption of one tribe by another; a desire for improvement not general. major, dr. c. forsyth, on fossil italian apes; skull of bos etruscus; tusks of miocene pigs. makalolo, perforation of the upper lip by the. malar bone, abnormal division of, in man. malay archipelago, marriage-customs of the savages of the. malays, line of separation between the papuans and the; general beardlessness of the; staining of the teeth among; aversion of some, to hairs on the face. malays and papuans, contrasted characters of. male animals, struggles of, for the possession of the females; eagerness of, in courtship; generally more modified than female; differ in the same way from females and young. male characters, developed in females; transfer of, to female birds. male, sedentary, of a hymenopterous parasite. malefactors. males, presence of rudimentary female organs in. males and females, comparative numbers of; comparative mortality of, while young. malherbe, on the woodpeckers. mallotus peronii. mallotus villosus. malthus, t., on the rate of increase of population. maluridae, nidification of the. malurus, young of. mammae, rudimentary, in male mammals; supernumerary, in women; of male human subject. mammalia, prof. owen's classification of; genealogy of the. mammals, recent and tertiary, comparison of cranial capacity of; nipples of; pursuit of female, by the males; secondary sexual characters of; weapons of; relative size of the sexes of; parallelism of, with birds in secondary sexual characters; voices of, used especially during the breeding season. man, variability of; erroneously regarded as more domesticated than other animals; migrations of; wide distribution of; causes of the nakedness of; supposed physical inferiority of; a member of the catarrhine group; early progenitors of; transition from ape indefinite; numerical proportions of the sexes in; difference between the sexes; proportion of sexes amongst the illegitimate; different complexion of male and female negroes; secondary sexual characters of; primeval condition of. mandans, correlation of colour and texture of hair in the. mandible, left, enlarged in the male of taphroderes distortus. mandibles, use of the, in ammophila; large, of corydalis cornutus; large, of male lucanus elaphus. mandrill, number of caudal vertebrae in the; colours of the male. mantegazza, prof., on last molar teeth of man; bright colours in male animals; on the ornaments of savages; on the beardlessness of the new zealanders; on the exaggeration of natural characters by man. mantell, w., on the engrossment of pretty girls by the new zealand chiefs. mantis, pugnacity of species of. maories, mortality of; infanticide and proportion of sexes; distaste for hairiness amongst men. marcus aurelius, on the origin of the moral sense; on the influence of habitual thoughts. mareca penelope. marks, retained throughout groups of birds. marriage, restraints upon, among savages; influence of, upon morals; influence of, on mortality; development of. marriages, early; communal. marshall, dr. w., protuberances on birds' heads; on the moulting of birds; advantage to older birds of paradise. marshall, col., interbreeding amongst todas; infanticide and proportion of sexes with todas; choice of husband amongst todas. marshall, mr., on the brain of a bushwoman. marsupials, development of the nictitating membrane in; uterus of; possession of nipples by; their origin from monotremata; abdominal sacs of; relative size of the sexes of; colours of. marsupium, rudimentary in male marsupials. martin, w.c.l., on alarm manifested by an orang at the sight of a turtle; on the hair in hylobates; on a female american deer; on the voice of hylobates agilis; on semnopithecus nemaeus. martin, on the beards of the inhabitants of st. kilda. martins deserting their young. martins, c., on death caused by inflammation of the vermiform appendage. mastoid processes in man and apes. maudsley, dr., on the influence of the sense of smell in man; on idiots smelling their food; on laura bridgman; on the development of the vocal organs; moral sense failing in incipient madness; change of mental faculties at puberty in man. mayers, w.f., on the domestication of the goldfish in china. mayhew, e., on the affection between individuals of different sexes in the dog. maynard, c.j., on the sexes of chrysemys picta. meckel, on correlated variation of the muscles of the arm and leg. medicines, effect produced by, the same in man and in monkeys. medusae, bright colours of some. megalithic structures, prevalence of. megapicus validus, sexual difference of colour in. megasoma, large size of males of. meigs, dr. a., on variation in the skulls of the natives of america. meinecke, on the numerical proportion of the sexes in butterflies. melanesians, decrease of. meldola, mr., colours and marriage flight of colias and pieris. meliphagidae, australian, nidification of. melita, secondary sexual characters of. meloe, difference of colour in the sexes of a species of. memnon, young. memory, manifestations of, in animals. mental characters, difference of, in different races of men. mental faculties, diversity of, in the same race of men; inheritance of; variation of, in the same species; similarity of the, in different races of man; of birds. mental powers, difference of, in the two sexes in man. menura alberti, song of. menura superba, long tails of both sexes of. merganser, trachea of the male. merganser serrator, male plumage of. mergus cucullatus, speculum of. mergus merganser, young of. metallura, splendid tail-feathers of. methoca ichneumonides, large male of. meves, m., on the drumming of the snipe. mexicans, civilisation of the, not foreign. meyer, on a convoluted body at the extremity of the tail in a macacus and a cat. meyer, dr. a., on the copulation of phryganidae of distinct species. meyer, prof. l., on development of helix of ear; men's ears more variable than women's; antennae serving as ears. migrations of man, effects of. migratory instinct of birds; vanquishing the maternal. mill, j.s., on the origin of the moral sense; on the "greatest happiness principle;" on the difference of the mental powers in the sexes of man. millipedes. milne-edwards, h., on the use of enlarged chelae of the male gelasimus. milvago leucurus, sexes and young of. mimicry. mimus polyglottus. mind, difference of, in man and the highest animals; similarity of the, in different races. minnow, proportion of the sexes in the. mirror, behaviour of monkeys before. mirrors, larks attracted by. mitchell, dr., interbreeding in the hebrides. mitford, selection of children in sparta. mivart, st. george, on the reduction of organs; on the ears of the lemuroidea; on variability of the muscles in lemuroidea; on the caudal vertebrae of monkeys; on the classification of the primates; on the orang and on man; on differences in the lemuroidea; on the crest of the male newt. mobius, prof., on reasoning powers in a pike. mocking-thrush, partial migration of; young of the. modifications, unserviceable. moggridge, j.t., on habits of spiders; on habits of ants. moles, numerical proportion of the sexes in; battles of male. mollienesia petenensis, sexual difference in. mollusca, beautiful colours and shapes of; absence of secondary sexual characters in the. molluscoida. monacanthus scopas and m. peronii. monboddo, lord, on music. mongolians, perfection of the senses in. monkey, protecting his keeper from a baboon; bonnet-; rhesus-, sexual difference in colour of the; moustache-, colours of the. monkeys, liability of, to the same diseases as man; male, recognition of women by; diversity of the mental faculties in; breaking hard fruits with stones; hands of the; basal caudal vertebrae of, imbedded in the body; revenge taken by; maternal affection in; variability of the faculty of attention in; american, manifestation of reason in; using stones and sticks; imitative faculties of; signal-cries of; mutual kindnesses of; sentinels posted by; human characters of; american, direction of the hair on the arms of some; gradation of species of; beards of; ornamental characters of; analogy of sexual differences of, with those of man; different degrees of difference in the sexes of; expression of emotions by; generally monogamous habits of; polygamous habits of some; naked surfaces of; courtship of. monogamy, not primitive. monogenists. mononychus pseudacori, stridulation of. monotremata, development of the nictitating membrane in; lactiferous glands of; connecting mammals with reptiles. monstrosities, analogous, in man and lower animals; caused by arrest of development; correlation of; transmission of. montagu, g., on the habits of the black and red grouse; on the pugnacity of the ruff; on the singing of birds; on the double moult of the male pintail. monteiro, mr., on bucorax abyssinicus. montes de oca, m., on the pugnacity of male humming-birds. monticola cyanea. monuments, as traces of extinct tribes. moose, battles of; horns of the, an incumbrance. moral and instinctive impulses, alliance of. moral faculties, their influence on natural selection in man. moral rules, distinction between the higher and lower. moral sense, so-called, derived from the social instincts; origin of the. moral tendencies, inheritance of. morality, supposed to be founded in selfishness; test of, the general welfare of the community; gradual rise of; influence of a high standard of. morgan, l.h., on the beaver; on the reasoning powers of the beaver; on the forcible capture of wives; on the castoreum of the beaver; marriage unknown in primeval times; on polyandry. morley, j., on the appreciation of praise and fear of blame. morris, f.o., on hawks feeding an orphan nestling. morse, dr., colours of mollusca. morselli, e., division of the malar bone. mortality, comparative, of female and male. morton on the number of species of man. moschkau, dr. a., on a speaking starling. moschus moschiferus, odoriferous organs of. motacillae, indian, young of. moth, odoriferous. moths, absence of mouth in some males; apterous female; male, prehensile use of the tarsi by; male, attracted by females; sound produced by; coloration of; sexual differences of colour in. motmot, inheritance of mutilation of tail feathers; racket-shaped feathers in the tail of a. moult, double; double annual, in birds. moulting of birds. moults, partial. mouse, song of. moustache-monkey, colours of the. moustaches, in monkeys. mud-turtle, long claws of the male. mulattoes, persistent fertility of; immunity of, from yellow fever. mule, sterility and strong vitality of the. mules, rational. muller, ferd., on the mexicans and peruvians. muller, fritz, on astomatous males of tanais; on the disappearance of spots and stripes in adult mammals; on the proportions of the sexes in some crustacea; on secondary sexual characters in various crustaceans; musical contest between male cicadae; mode of holding wings in castina; on birds shewing a preference for certain colours; on the sexual maturity of young amphipod crustacea. muller, hermann, emergence of bees, from pupa; pollen-gathering of bees; proportion of sexes in bees; courting of eristalis; colour and sexual selection with bees. muller, j., on the nictitating membrane and semilunar fold. muller, max, on the origin of language; language implies power of general conception; struggle for life among the words, etc., of languages. muller, s., on the banteng; on the colours of semnopithecus chrysomelas. muntjac-deer, weapons of the. murie, j., on the reduction of organs; on the ears of the lemuroidea; on variability of the muscles in the lemuroidea; basal caudal vertebrae of macacus brunneus imbedded in the body; on the manner of sitting in short-tailed apes; on differences in the lemuroidea; on the throat-pouch of the male bustard; on the mane of otaria jubata; on the sub-orbital pits of ruminants; on the colours of the sexes in otaria nigrescens. murray, a., on the pediculi of different races of men. murray, t.a., on the fertility of australian women with white men. mus coninga. mus minutus, sexual difference in the colour of. musca vomitoria. muscicapa grisola. muscicapa luctuosa. muscicapa ruticilla, breeding in immature plumage. muscle, ischio-pubic. muscles, rudimentary, occurrence of, in man; variability of the; effects of use and disuse upon; animal-like abnormalities of, in man; correlated variation of, in the arm and leg; variability of, in the hands and feet; of the jaws, influence of, on the physiognomy of the apes; habitual spasms of, causing modifications of the facial bones, of the early progenitors of man; greater variability of the, in men than in women. musculus sternalis, prof. turner on the. music, of birds; discordant, love of savages for; reason of power of perception of notes in animals; power of distinguishing notes; its connection with primeval speech; different appreciation of, by different peoples; origin of; effects of. musical cadences, perception of, by animals; powers of man. musk-deer, canine teeth of male; male, odoriferous organs of the; winter change of the. musk-duck, australian; large size of male; of guiana, pugnacity of the male. musk-ox, horns of. musk-rat, protective resemblance of the, to a clod of earth. musophagae, colours and nidification of the; both sexes of, equally brilliant. mussels opened by monkeys. mustela, winter change of two species of. musters, captain, on rhea darwinii; marriages amongst patagonians. mutilations, healing of; inheritance of. mutilla europaea, stridulation of. mutillidae, absence of ocelli in female. mycetes caraya, polygamous; vocal organs of; beard of; sexual differences of colour in; voice of. mycetes seniculus, sexual differences of colour in. myriapoda. nageli, on the influence of natural selection on plants; on the gradation of species of plants. nails, coloured yellow or purple in part of africa. narwhal, tusks of the. nasal cavities, large size of, in american aborigines. nascent organs. nathusius, h. von, on the improved breeds of pigs; male domesticated animals more variable than females; horns of castrated sheep; on the breeding of domestic animals. natural selection, its effects on the early progenitors of man; influence of, on man; limitation of the principle; influence of, on social animals; mr. wallace on the limitation of, by the influence of the mental faculties in man; influence of, in the progress of the united states; in relation to sex. natural and sexual selection contrasted. naulette, jaw from, large size of the canines in. neanderthal skull, capacity of the. neck, proportion of, in soldiers and sailors. necrophorus, stridulation of. nectarinia, young of. nectariniae, moulting of the; nidification of. negro, resemblance of a, to europeans in mental characters. negro-women, their kindness to mungo park. negroes, caucasian features in; character of; lice of; fertility of, when crossed with other races; blackness of; variability of; immunity of, from yellow fever; difference of, from americans; disfigurements of the; colour of new-born children of; comparative beardlessness of; readily become musicians; appreciation of beauty of their women by; idea of beauty among; compression of the nose by some. nemertians, colours of. neolithic period. neomorpha, sexual difference of the beak in. nephila, size of male. nests, made by fishes; decoration of, by humming-birds. neumeister, on a change of colour in pigeons after several moultings. neuration, difference of, in the two sexes of some butterflies and hymenoptera. neuroptera. neurothemis, dimorphism in. new zealand, expectation by the natives of, of their extinction; practice of tattooing in; aversion of natives of, to hairs on the face; pretty girls engrossed by the chiefs in. newton, a., on the throat-pouch of the male bustard; on the differences between the females of two species of oxynotus; on the habits of the phalarope, dotterel, and godwit. newts. nicholson, dr., on the non-immunity of dark europeans from yellow fever. nictitating membrane. nidification of fishes; relation of, to colour; of british birds. night-heron, cries of the. nightingale, arrival of the male before the female; object of the song of the. nightingales, new mates found by. nightjar, selection of a mate by the female; australian, sexes of; coloration of the. nightjars, noise made by some male, with their wings; elongated feathers in. nilghau, sexual differences of colour in the. nilsson, prof., on the resemblance of stone arrow-heads from various places; on the development of the horns of the reindeer. nipples, absence of, in monotremata. nitsche, dr., ear of foetal orang. nitzsch, c.l., on the down of birds. noctuae, brightly-coloured beneath. noctuidae, coloration of. nomadic habits, unfavourable to human progress. nordmann, a., on tetrao urogalloides. norfolk island, half-breeds on. norway, numerical proportion of male and female births in. nose, resemblance of, in man and the apes; piercing and ornamentation of the; very flat, not admired in negroes; flattening of the. nott and gliddon, on the features of rameses ii.; on the features of amunoph iii.; on skulls from brazilian caves; on the immunity of negroes and mulattoes from yellow fever; on the deformation of the skull among american tribes. novara, voyage of the, suicide in new zealand. nudibranch mollusca, bright colours of. numerals, roman. nunemaya, natives of, bearded. nuthatch, of japan, intelligence of; indian. obedience, value of. observation, powers of, possessed by birds. occupations, sometimes a cause of diminished stature; effect of, upon the proportions of the body. ocelli, absence of, in female mutilidae. ocelli of birds, formation and variability of the. ocelot, sexual differences in the colouring of the. ocyhaps lophotes. odonata. odonestis potatoria, sexual difference of colour in. odour, correlation of, with colour of skin; of moths; emitted by snakes in the breeding season; of mammals. oecanthus nivalis, difference of colour in the sexes of. oecanthus pellucidus. ogle, dr. w., relation between colour and power of smell. oidemia. oliver, on sounds produced by pimelia striata. omaloplia brunnea, stridulation of. onitis furcifer, processes of anterior femora of the male, and on the head and thorax of the female. onthophagus. onthophagus rangifer, sexual differences of; variations in the horns of the male. ophidia, sexual differences of. ophidium. opossum, wide range of, in america. optic nerve, atrophy of the, caused by destruction of the eye. orang-outan, bischoff on the agreement of the brain of the, with that of man; adult age of the; ears of the; vermiform appendage of; hands of the; absence of mastoid processes in the; platforms built by the; alarmed at the sight of a turtle; using a stick as a lever; using missiles; using the leaves of the pandanus as a night covering; direction of the hair on the arms of the; its aberrant characters; supposed evolution of the; voice of the; monogamous habits of the; male, beard of the. oranges, treatment of, by monkeys. orange-tip butterfly. orchestia darwinii, dimorphism of males of. orchestia tucuratinga, limbs of. ordeal, trial by. oreas canna, colours of. oreas derbianus, colours of. organs, prehensile; utilised for new purposes. organic scale, von baer's definition of progress in. orioles, nidification of. oriolus, species of, breeding in immature plumage. oriolus melanocephalus, coloration of the sexes in. ornaments, prevalence of similar; of male birds; fondness of savages for. ornamental characters, equal transmission of, to both sexes, in mammals; of monkeys. ornithoptera croesus. ornithorhynchus, reptilian tendency of; spur of the male. orocetes erythrogastra, young of. orrony, grotto of. orsodacna atra, difference of colour in the sexes of. orsodacna ruficollis. orthoptera, metamorphosis of; stridulating apparatus of; colours of; rudimentary stridulating organs in female; stridulation of the, and homoptera, discussed. ortygornis gularis, pugnacity of the male. oryctes, stridulation of; sexual differences in the stridulant organs of. oryx leucoryx, use of the horns of. osphranter rufus, sexual difference in the colour of. ostrich, african, sexes and incubation of the. ostriches, stripes of young. otaria jubata, mane of the male. otaria nigrescens, difference in the coloration of the sexes of. otis bengalensis, love-antics of the male. otis tarda, throat-pouch of the male; polygamous. ouzel, ring-, colours and nidification of the. ouzel, water-, singing in the autumn; colours and nidification of the. ovibos moschatus, horns of. ovipositor of insects. ovis cycloceros, mode of fighting of. ovule of man. owen, prof., on the corpora wolffiana; on the great toe in man; on the nictitating membrane and semilunar fold; on the development of the posterior molars in different races of man; on the length of the caecum in the koala; on the coccygeal vertebrae; on rudimentary structures belonging to the reproductive system; on abnormal conditions of the human uterus; on the number of digits in the ichthyopterygia; on the canine teeth in man; on the walking of the chimpanzee and orang; on the mastoid processes in the higher apes; on the hairiness of elephants in elevated districts; on the caudal vertebrae of monkeys; classification of mammalia; on the hair in monkeys; on the piscine affinities of the ichthyosaurians; on polygamy and monogamy among the antelopes; on the horns of antilocapra americana; on the musky odour of crocodiles during the breeding season; on the scent-glands of snakes; on the dugong, cachalot, and ornithorhynchus; on the antlers of the red deer; on the dentition of the camelidae; on the horns of the irish elk; on the voice of the giraffe, porcupine, and stag; on the laryngeal sac of the gorilla and orang; on the odoriferous glands of mammals; on the effects of emasculation on the vocal organs of men; on the voice of hylobates agilis; on american monogamous monkeys. owls, white, new mates found by. oxynotus, difference of the females of two species of. pachydermata. pachytylus migratorius. paget, on the abnormal development of hairs in man; on the thickness of the skin on the soles of the feet of infants. pagurus, carrying the female. painting, pleasure of savages in. palaemon, chelae of a species of. palaeornis, sexual differences of colour in. palaeornis javanicus, colour of beak of. palaeornis rosa, young of. palamedea cornuta, spurs on the wings. paleolithic period. palestine, habits of the chaffinch in. pallas, on the perfection of the senses in the mongolians; on the want of connexion between climate and the colour of the skin; on the polygamous habits of antilope saiga; on the lighter colour of horses and cattle in winter in siberia; on the tusks of the musk-deer; on the odoriferous glands of mammals; on the odoriferous glands of the musk-deer; on winter changes of colour in mammals; on the ideal of female beauty in north china. palmaris accessorius, muscle variations of the. pampas, horses of the. pangenesis, hypothesis of. panniculus carnosus. pansch, on the brain of a foetal cebus apella. papilio, proportion of the sexes in north american species of; sexual differences of colouring in species of; coloration of the wings in species of. papilio ascanius. papilio sesostris and childrenae, variability of. papilio turnus. papilionidae, variability in the. papuans, line of separation between the, and the malays; beards of the; teeth of. papuans and malays, contrast in characters of. paradise, birds of; supposed by lesson to be polygamous; rattling of their quills by; racket-shaped feathers in; sexual differences in colour of; decomposed feathers in; display of plumage by the male; sexual differences in colour of. paradisea apoda, barbless feathers in the tail of; plumage of; and p. papuana; divergence of the females of; increase of beauty with age. paradisea papuana, plumage of. paraguay, indians of, eradication of eyebrows and eyelashes by. parallelism of development of species and languages. parasites, on man and animals; as evidence of specific identity or distinctness; immunity from, correlated with colour. parental feeling in earwigs, starfishes, and spiders; affection, partly a result of natural selection. parents, age of, influence upon sex of offspring. parinae, sexual difference of colour in. park, mungo, negro-women teaching their children to love the truth; his treatment by the negro-women; on negro opinions of the appearance of white men. parker, mr., no bird or reptile in line of mammalian descent. parrakeet, young of; australian, variation in the colour of the thighs of a male. parrot, racket-shaped feathers in the tail of a; instance of benevolence in a. parrots, change of colour in; imitative faculties of; living in triplets; affection of; colours and nidification of the; immature plumage of the; colours of; sexual differences of colour in; musical powers of. parthenogenesis in the tenthredinae; in cynipidae; in crustacea. partridge, monogamous; proportion of the sexes in the; indian; female. partridge-"dances." partridges, living in triplets; spring coveys of male; distinguishing persons. parus coeruleus. passer, sexes and young of. passer brachydactylus. passer domesticus. passer montanus. patagonians, self-sacrifice by; marriages of. patterson, mr., on the agrionidae. patteson, bishop, decrease of melanesians. paulistas of brazil. pavo cristatus. pavo muticus, possession of spurs by the female. pavo nigripennis. payaguas indians, thin legs and thick arms of the. payan, mr., on the proportion of the sexes in sheep. peacock, polygamous; sexual characters of; pugnacity of the; javan, possessing spurs; rattling of the quills by; elongated tail-coverts of the; love of display of the; ocellated spots of the; inconvenience of long tail of the, to the female; continued increase of beauty of the. peacock-butterfly. peafowl, preference of females for a particular male; first advances made by the female. pediculi of domestic animals and man. pedigree of man. pedionomus torquatus, sexes of. peel, j., on horned sheep. peewit, wing-tubercles of the male. pelagic animals, transparency of. pelecanus erythrorhynchus, horny crest on the beak of the male, during the breeding season. pelecanus onocrotalus, spring plumage of. pelele, an african ornament. pelican, blind, fed by his companions; young, guided by old birds; pugnacity of the male. pelicans, fishing in concert. pelobius hermanni, stridulation of. pelvis, alteration of, to suit the erect attitude of man; differences of the, in the sexes of man. penelope nigra, sound produced by the male. pennant, on the battles of seals; on the bladder-nose seal. penthe, antennal cushions of the male. perch, brightness of male, during breeding season. peregrine falcon, new mate found by. period of variability, relation of, to sexual selection. periodicity, vital, dr. laycock on. periods, lunar, followed by functions in man and animals. periods of life, inheritance at corresponding. perisoreus canadensis, young of. peritrichia, difference of colour in the sexes of a species of. periwinkle. pernis cristata. perrier, m., on sexual selection; on bees. perseverance, a characteristic of man. persians, said to be improved by intermixture with georgians and circassians. personnat, m., on bombyx yamamai. peruvians, civilisation of the, not foreign. petrels, colours of. petrocincla cyanea, young of. petrocossyphus. petronia. pfeiffer, ida, on javan ideas of beauty. phacochoerus aethiopicus, tusks and pads of. phalanger, vulpine, black varieties of the. phalaropus fulicarius. phalaropus hyperboreus. phanaeus. phanaeus carnifex, variation of the horns of the male. phanaeus faunus, sexual differences of. phanaeus lancifer. phaseolarctus cinereus, taste for rum and tobacco. phasgonura viridissima, stridulation of. phasianus soemmerringii. phasianus versicolor. phasianus wallichii. pheasant, polygamous; and black grouse, hybrids of; production of hybrids with the common fowl; immature plumage of the. pheasant, amherst, display of. pheasant, argus, display of plumage by the male; ocellated spots of the; gradation of characters in the. pheasant, blood- pheasant, cheer. pheasant, eared, length of the tail in the; sexes alike in the. pheasant, fire-backed, possessing spurs. pheasant, golden, display of plumage by the male; age of mature plumage in the; sex of young, ascertained by pulling out head-feathers. pheasant, kalij, drumming of the male. pheasant, reeve's, length of the tail in. pheasant, silver, triumphant male, deposed on account of spoiled plumage; sexual coloration of the. pheasant, soemmerring's. pheasant, tragopan, display of plumage by the male; marking of the sexes of the. pheasants, period of acquisition of male characters in the family of the; proportion of sexes in chicks of; length of the tail in. philters, worn by women. phoca groenlandica, sexual difference in the coloration of. phoenicura ruticilla. phosphorescence of insects. phryganidae, copulation of distinct species of. phryniscus nigricans. physical inferiority, supposed, of man. pickering, on the number of species of man. picton, j.a., on the soul of man. picus auratus. picus major. pieris. pigeon, female, deserting a weakened mate; carrier, late development of the wattle in; pouter, late development of crop in; domestic, breeds and sub-breeds of. pigeons, nestling, fed by the secretion of the crop of both parents; changes of plumage in; transmission of sexual peculiarities in; belgian, with black-streaked males; changing colour after several moultings; numerical proportion of the sexes in; cooing of; variations in plumage of; display of plumage by male; local memory of; antipathy of female, to certain males; pairing of; profligate male and female; wing-bars and tail-feathers of; supposititious breed of; pouter and carrier, peculiarities of, predominant in males; nidification of; australian; immature plumage of the. pigs, origin of the improved breeds of; numerical proportion of the sexes in; stripes of young; tusks of miocene; sexual preference shewn by. pike, american, brilliant colours of the male, during the breeding season. pike, reasoning powers of; male, devoured by females. pike, l.o., on the psychical elements of religion. pimelia striata, sounds produced by the female. pinel, hairiness in idiots. pintail, drake, plumage of; pairing with a wild duck. pintail duck, pairing with a widgeon. pipe-fish, filamentous; marsupial receptacles of the male. pipits, moulting of the. pipra, modified secondary wing-feathers of male. pipra deliciosa. pirates stridulus, stridulation of. pitcairn island, half-breeds on. pithecia leucocephala, sexual differences of colour in. pithecia satanas, beard of; resemblance of, to a negro. pits, suborbital, of ruminants. pittidae, nidification of. placentata. plagiostomous fishes. plain-wanderer, australian. planariae, bright colours of some. plantain-eaters, colours and nidification of the; both sexes of, equally brilliant. plants, cultivated, more fertile than wild; nageli, on natural selection in; male flowers of, mature before the female; phenomena of fertilisation in. platalea, change of plumage in. platyblemus. platycercus, young of. platyphyllum concavum. platyrrhine monkeys. platysma myoides. plecostomus, head-tentacles of the males of a species of. plecostomus barbatus, peculiar beard of the male. plectropterus gambensis, spurred wings of. ploceus. plovers, wing-spurs of; double moult in. plumage, changes of, inheritance of, by fowls; tendency to analogous variation in; display of, by male birds; changes of, in relation to season; immature, of birds; colour of, in relation to protection. plumes on the head in birds, difference of, in the sexes. pneumora, structure of. podica, sexual difference in the colour of the irides. poeppig, on the contact of civilised and savage races. poison, avoidance of, by animals. poisonous fruits and herbs avoided by animals. poisons, immunity from, correlated with colour. polish fowls, origin of the crest in. pollen and van dam, on the colours of lemur macaco. polyandry, in certain cyprinidae; among the elateridae. polydactylism in man. polygamy, influence of, upon sexual selection; superinduced by domestication; supposed increase of female births by. in the stickleback. polygenists. polynesia, prevalence of infanticide in. polynesians, wide geographical range of; difference of stature among the; crosses of; variability of; heterogeneity of the; aversion of, to hairs on the face. polyplectron, number of spurs in; display of plumage by the male; gradation of characters in; female of. polyplectron chinquis. polyplectron hardwickii. polyplectron malaccense. polyplectron napoleonis. polyzoa. pomotis. pontoporeia affinis. porcupine, mute, except in the rutting season. pores, excretory, numerical relation of, to the hairs in sheep. porpitae, bright colours of some. portax picta, dorsal crest and throat-tuft of; sexual differences of colour in. portunus puber, pugnacity of. potamochoerus pencillatus, tusks and facial knobs of the. pouchet, g., the relation of instinct to intelligence; on the instincts of ants; on the caves of abou-simbel; on the immunity of negroes from yellow fever; change of colour in fishes. pouter pigeon, late development of the large crop in. powell, dr., on stridulation. power, dr., on the different colours of the sexes in a species of squilla. powys, mr., on the habits of the chaffinch in corfu. pre-eminence of man. preference for males by female birds; shewn by mammals, in pairing. prehensile organs. presbytis entellus, fighting of the male. preyer, dr., on function of shell of ear; on supernumerary mammae in women. prichard, on the difference of stature among the polynesians; on the connection between the breadth of the skull in the mongolians and the perfection of their senses; on the capacity of british skulls of different ages; on the flattened heads of the colombian savages; on siamese notions of beauty; on the beardlessness of the siamese; on the deformation of the head among american tribes and the natives of arakhan. primary sexual organs. primates, sexual differences of colour in. primogeniture, evils of. prionidae, difference of the sexes in colour. proctotretus multimaculatus. proctotretus tenuis, sexual difference in the colour of. profligacy. progenitors, early, of man. progress, not the normal rule in human society; elements of. prong-horn antelope, horns of. proportions, difference of, in distinct races. protective colouring in butterflies; in lizards; in birds; in mammals. protective nature of the dull colouring of female lepidoptera. protective resemblances in fishes. protozoa, absence of secondary sexual characters in. pruner-bey, on the occurrence of the supra-condyloid foramen in the humerus of man; on the colour of negro infants. prussia, numerical proportion of male and female births in. psocus, proportions of the sexes in. ptarmigan, monogamous; summer and winter plumage of the; nuptial assemblages of; triple moult of the; protective coloration of. puff-birds, colours and nidification of the. pugnacity of fine-plumaged male birds. pumas, stripes of young. puppies learning from cats to clean their faces. pycnonotus haemorrhous, pugnacity of the male; display of under-tail coverts by the male. pyranga aestiva, male aiding in incubation; male characters in female of. pyrodes, difference of the sexes in colour. quadrumana, hands of; differences between man and the; sexual differences of colour in; ornamental characters of; analogy of sexual differences of, with those of man; fighting of males for the females; monogamous habits of; beards of the. quain, r., on the variation of the muscles in man. quatrefages, a. de, on the occurrence of a rudimentary tail in man; on variability; on the moral sense as a distinction between man and animals; civilised men stronger than savages; on the fertility of australian women with white men; on the paulistas of brazil; on the evolution of the breeds of cattle; on the jews; on the liability of negroes to tropical fevers after residence in a cold climate; on the difference between field-and house-slaves; on the influence of climate on colour; colours of annelids; on the ainos; on the women of san giuliano. quechua, see quichua. querquedula acuta. quetelet, proportion of sexes in man; relative size in man and woman. quichua indians; local variation of colour in the; no grey hair among the; hairlessness of the; long hair of the. quiscalus major, proportions of the sexes of, in florida and honduras. rabbit, white tail of the. rabbits, domestic, elongation of the skull in; modification of the skull in, by the lopping of the ear; danger-signals of; numerical proportion of the sexes in. races, distinctive characters of; or species of man; crossed, fertility or sterility of; of man, variability of the; of man, resemblance of, in mental characters; formation of; of man, extinction of; effects of the crossing of; of man, formation of the; of man, children of the; beardless, aversion of, to hairs on the face. raffles, sir s., on the banteng. rafts, use of. rage, manifested by animals. raia batis, teeth of. raia clavata, female spined on the back; sexual difference in the teeth of. raia maculata, teeth of. rails, spur-winged. ram, mode of fighting of the; african, mane of an; fat-tailed. rameses ii., features of. ramsay, mr., on the australian musk-duck; on the regent-bird; on the incubation of menura superba. rana esculenta, vocal sacs of. rat, common, general dispersion of, a consequence of superior cunning; supplantation of the native in new zealand, by the european rat; common, said to be polygamous; numerical proportion of the sexes in. rats, enticed by essential oils. rationality of birds. rattlesnakes, difference of the sexes in the; rattles as a call. raven, vocal organs of the; stealing bright objects; pied, of the feroe islands. rays, prehensile organs of male. razor-bill, young of the. reade, winwood, suicide among savages in africa; mulattoes not prolific; effect of castration of horned sheep; on the guinea sheep; on the occurrence of a mane in an african ram; on singing of negroes; on the negroes' appreciation of the beauty of their women; on the admiration of negroes for a black skin; on the idea of beauty among negroes; on the jollofs; on the marriage-customs of the negroes. reason in animals. redstart, american, breeding in immature plumage. redstarts, new mates found by. reduvidae, stridulation of. reed-bunting, head-feathers of the male; attacked by a bullfinch. reefs, fishes frequenting. reeks, h., retention of horns by breeding deer; cow rejected by a bull; destruction of piebald rabbits by cats. regeneration, partial, of lost parts in man. regent bird. reindeer, horns of the; battles of; horns of the female; antlers of, with numerous points; winter change of the; sexual preferences shown by. relationship, terms of. religion, deficiency of among certain races; psychical elements of. remorse, deficiency of, among savages. rengger, on the diseases of cebus azarae; on the diversity of the mental faculties of monkeys; on the payaguas indians; on the inferiority of europeans to savages in their senses; revenge taken by monkeys; on maternal affection in a cebus; on the reasoning powers of american monkeys; on the use of stones by monkeys for cracking hard nuts; on the sounds uttered by cebus azarae; on the signal-cries of monkeys; on the polygamous habits of mycetes caraya; on the voice of the howling monkeys; on the odour of cervus campestris; on the beards of mycetes caraya and pithecia satanas; on the colours of felis mitis; on the colours of cervus paludosus; on sexual differences of colour in mycetes; on the colour of the infant guaranys; on the early maturity of the female of cebus azarae; on the beards of the guaranys; on the emotional notes employed by monkeys; on american polygamous monkeys. representative species, of birds. reproduction, unity of phenomena of, throughout the mammalia; period of, in birds. reproductive system, rudimentary structures in the; accessory parts of. reptiles. reptiles and birds, alliance of. resemblances, small, between man and the apes. retrievers, exercise of reasoning faculties by. revenge, manifested by animals. reversion, perhaps the cause of some bad dispositions. rhagium, difference of colour in the sexes of a species of. rhamphastos carinatus. rhea darwinii. rhinoceros, nakedness of; horns of; horns of, used defensively; attacking white or grey horses. rhynchaea, sexes and young of. rhynchaea australis. rhynchaea bengalensis. rhynchaea capensis. rhythm, perception of, by animals. richard, m., on rudimentary muscles in man. richardson, sir j., on the pairing of tetrao umbellus; on tetrao urophasianus; on the drumming of grouse; on the dances of tetrao phasianellus; on assemblages of grouse; on the battles of male deer; on the reindeer; on the horns of the musk-ox; on antlers of the reindeer with numerous points; on the moose; on the scotch deerhound. richter, jean paul, on imagination. riedel, on profligate female pigeons. riley, mr., on mimicry in butterflies; bird's disgust at taste of certain caterpillars. ring-ouzel, colours and nidification of the. ripa, father, on the difficulty of distinguishing the races of the chinese. rivalry, in singing, between male birds. river-hog, african, tusks and knobs of the. rivers, analogy of, to islands. roach, brightness of the male during breeding-season. robbery, of strangers, considered honourable. robertson, mr., remarks on the development of the horns in the roebuck and red deer. robin, pugnacity of the male; autumn song of the; female singing of the; attacking other birds with red in their plumage; young of the. robinet, on the difference of size of the male and female cocoons of the silk-moth. rodents, uterus in the; absence of secondary sexual characters in; sexual differences in the colours of. roe, winter changes of the. rohfs, dr., caucasian features in negro; fertility of mixed races in sahara; colours of birds in sahara; ideas of beauty amongst the bornuans. rolle, f., on the origin of man; on a change in german families settled in georgia. roller, harsh cry of. romans, ancient, gladiatorial exhibitions of the. rook, voice of the. rossler, dr., on the resemblance of the lower surface of butterflies to the bark of trees. rostrum, sexual difference in the length of in some weevils. royer, madlle., mammals giving suck. rudimentary organs, origin of. rudiments, presence of, in languages. rudolphi, on the want of connexion between climate and the colour of the skin. ruff, supposed to be polygamous; proportion of the sexes in the; pugnacity of the; double moult in; duration of dances of; attraction of the, to bright objects. ruminants, male, disappearance of canine teeth in; generally polygamous; suborbital pits of; sexual differences of colour in. rupicola crocea, display of plumage by the male. ruppell, on canine teeth in deer and antelopes. russia, numerical proportion of male and female births in. ruticilla. rutimeyer, prof., on the physiognomy of the apes; on tusks of miocene boar; on the sexual differences of monkeys. rutlandshire, numerical proportion of male and female births in. sachs, prof., on the behaviour of the male and female elements in fertilisation. sacrifices, human. sagittal crest, in male apes and australians. sahara, fertility of mixed races in; birds of the; animal inhabitants of the. sailors, growth of, delayed by conditions of life; long-sighted. sailors and soldiers, difference in the proportions of. st. john, mr., on the attachment of mated birds. st. kilda, beards of the inhabitants of. salmo eriox, and salmo umbla, colouring of the male, during the breeding season. salmo lycaodon. salmo salar. salmon, leaping out of fresh water; male, ready to breed before the female; proportion of the sexes in; male, pugnacity of the; male, characters of, during the breeding season; spawning of the; breeding of immature male. salvin, o., inheritance of mutilated feathers; on the humming-birds; on the numerical proportion of the sexes in humming-birds; on chamaepetes and penelope; on selasphorus platycercus; pipra deliciosa; on chasmorhynchus. samoa islands, beardlessness of the natives of. sandhoppers, claspers of male. sand-skipper. sandwich islands, variation in the skulls of the natives of the; decrease of native population; population of; superiority of the nobles in the. sandwich islanders, lice of. san-giuliano, women of. santali, recent rapid increase of the; mr. hunter on the. saphirina, characters of the males of. sarkidiornis melanonotus, characters of the young. sars, o., on pontoporeia affinis. saturnia carpini, attraction of males by the female. saturnia io, difference of coloration in the sexes of. saturniidae, coloration of the. savage, dr., on the fighting of the male gorillas; on the habits of the gorilla. savage and wyman on the polygamous habits of the gorilla. savages, uniformity of, exaggerated; long-sighted; rate of increase among, usually small; retention of the prehensile power of the feet by; imitative faculties of; causes of low morality of; tribes of, supplanting one another; improvements in the arts among; arts of; fondness of, for rough music; on long-enduring fashions among; attention paid by, to personal appearance; relation of the sexes among. saviotti, dr., division of malar bone. saw-fly, pugnacity of a male. saw-flies, proportions of the sexes in. saxicola rubicola, young of. scalp, motion of the. scent-glands in snakes. schaaffhausen, prof., on the development of the posterior molars in different races of man; on the jaw from la naulette; on the correlation between muscularity and prominent supra-orbital ridges; on the mastoid processes of man; on modifications of the cranial bones; on human sacrifices; on the probable speedy extermination of the anthropomorphous apes; on the ancient inhabitants of europe; on the effects of use and disuse of parts; on the superciliary ridge in man; on the absence of race-differences in the infant skull in man; on ugliness. schaum, h., on the elytra of dytiscus and hydroporus. scherzer and schwarz, measurements of savages. schelver, on dragon-flies. schiodte, on the stridulation of heterocerus. schlegel, f. von, on the complexity of the languages of uncivilised peoples. schlegel, prof., on tanysiptera. schleicher, prof, on the origin of language. schomburgk, sir r., on the pugnacity of the male musk-duck of guiana; on the courtship of rupicola crocea. schoolcraft, mr., on the difficulty of fashioning stone implements. schopenhauer, on importance of courtship to mankind. schweinfurth, complexion of negroes. sciaena aquila. sclater, p.l., on modified secondary wing-feathers in the males of pipra; on elongated feathers in nightjars; on the species of chasmorhynchus; on the plumage of pelecanus onocrotalus; on the plantain-eaters; on the sexes and young of tadorna variegata; on the colours of lemur macaco; on the stripes in asses. scolecida, absence of secondary sexual characters in. scolopax frenata, tail feathers of; scolopax gallinago, drumming of. scolopax javensis, tail-feathers of. scolopax major, assemblies of. scolopax wilsonii, sound produced by. scolytus, stridulation of. scoter-duck, black, sexual difference in coloration of the; bright beak of male. scott, dr., on idiots smelling their food. scott, j., on the colour of the beard in man. scrope, on the pugnacity of the male salmon; on the battles of stags. scudder, s.h., imitation of the stridulation of the orthoptera; on the stridulation of the acridiidae; on a devonian insect; on stridulation. sculpture, expression of the ideal of beauty by. sea-anemones, bright colours of. sea-bear, polygamous. sea-elephant, male, structure of the nose of the; polygamous. sea-lion, polygamous. seal, bladder-nose. seals, their sentinels generally females; evidence furnished by, on classification; polygamous habits of; battles of male; canine teeth of male; sexual differences; pairing of; sexual peculiarities of; in the coloration of; appreciation of music by. sea-scorpion, sexual differences in. season, changes of colour in birds, in accordance with the; changes of plumage of birds in relation to. seasons, inheritance at corresponding. sebituani, african chief, trying to alter a fashion. sebright bantam. secondary sexual characters; relations of polygamy to; transmitted through both sexes; gradation of, in birds. sedgwick, w., on hereditary tendency to produce twins. seemann, dr., on the different appreciation of music by different peoples; on the effects of music. seidlitz, on horns of reindeer. selasphorus platycercus, acuminate first primary of the male. selby, p.j., on the habits of the black and red grouse. selection as applied to primeval man. selection, double. selection, injurious forms of, in civilised nations. selection of male by female birds. selection, methodical, of prussian grenadiers. selection, sexual, explanation of; influence of, on the colouring of lepidoptera. selection, sexual and natural, contrasted. self-command, habit of, inherited; estimation of. self-consciousness, in animals. self-preservation, instinct of. self-sacrifice, by savages; estimation of. semilunar fold. semnopithecus, long hair on the heads of species of. semnopithecus chrysomelas, sexual differences of colour in. semnopithecus comatus, ornamental hair on the head of. semnopithecus frontatus, beard etc., of. semnopithecus nasica, nose of. semnopithecus nemaeus, colouring of. semnopithecus rubicundus, ornamental hair on the head of. senses, inferiority of europeans to savages in the. sentinels, among animals. serpents, instinctively dreaded by apes and monkeys. serranus, hermaphroditism in. setina, noise produced by. sex, inheritance limited by. sexes, relative proportions of, in man; proportions of, sometimes influenced by selection; probable relation of the, in primeval man. sexual and natural selection, contrasted. sexual characters, effects of the loss of; limitation of. sexual characters, secondary; relations of polygamy to; transmitted through both sexes; gradation of, in birds. sexual differences in man. sexual selection, explanation of; influence of, on the colouring of lepidoptera; objections to; action of, in mankind. sexual selection in spiders. sexual selection, supplemental note on. sexual similarity. shaler, prof., sizes of sexes in whales. shame. sharks, prehensile organs of male. sharpe, dr., europeans in the tropics. sharpe, r.b., on tanysiptera sylvia; on ceryle; on the young male of dacelo gaudi-chaudi. shaw, mr., on the pugnacity of the male salmon. shaw, j., on the decorations of birds. sheep, danger-signals of; sexual differences in the horns of; horns of; domestic, sexual differences of, late developed; numerical proportion of the sexes in; inheritance of horns by one sex; effect of castration; mode of fighting of; arched foreheads of some. sheep, merino, loss of horns in females of; horns of. shells, difference in form of, in male and female gasteropoda; beautiful colours and shapes of. shield-drake, pairing with a common duck; new zealand, sexes and young of. shooter, j., on the kaffirs; on the marriage-customs of the kaffirs. shrew-mice, odour of. shrike, drongo. shrikes, characters of young. shuckard, w.e., on sexual differences in the wings of hymenoptera. shyness of adorned male birds; siagonium, proportions of the sexes in; dimorphism in males of. siam, proportion of male and female births in. siamese, general beardlessness of the; notions of beauty of the; hairy family of. sidgwick, h., on morality in hypothetical bee community; our actions not entirely directed by pain and pleasure. siebold, c.t., von, on the proportion of sexes in the apus; on the auditory apparatus of the stridulent orthoptera. sight, inheritance of long and short. signal-cries of monkeys. silk-moth, proportion of the sexes in; ailanthus, prof. canestrini, on the destruction of its larvae by wasps; difference of size of the male and female cocoons of the; pairing of the. simiadae, their origin and divisions. similarity, sexual. singing of the cicadae and fulgoridae; of tree-frogs; of birds, object of the. sirenia, nakedness of. sirex juvencus. siricidae, difference of the sexes in. siskin, pairing with a canary. sitana, throat-pouch of the males of. size, relative, of the sexes of insects. skin, dark colour of, a protection against heat. skin, movement of the; nakedness of, in man; colour of the. skin and hair, correlation of colour of. skull, variation of, in man; cubic contents of, no absolute test of intellect; neanderthal, capacity of the; causes of modification of the; difference of, in form and capacity, in different races of men; variability of the shape of the; differences of, in the sexes in man; artificial modification of the shape of. skunk, odour emitted by the; white tail of, protective. slavery, prevalence of; of women. slaves, difference between field-and house-slaves. sloth, ornaments of male. smell, sense of, in man and animals. smith, adam, on the basis of sympathy. smith, sir a., on the recognition of women by male cynocephali; on revenge by a baboon; on an instance of memory in a baboon; on the retention of their colour by the dutch in south africa; on the polygamy of the south african antelopes; on the polygamy of the lion; on the proportion of the sexes in kobus ellipsiprymnus; on bucephalus capensis; on south african lizards; on fighting gnus; on the horns of rhinoceroses; on the fighting of lions; on the colours of the cape eland; on the colours of the gnu; on hottentot notions of beauty; disbelief in communistic marriages. smith, f., on the cynipidae and tenthredinidae; on the relative size of the sexes of aculeate hymenoptera; on the difference between the sexes of ants and bees; on the stridulation of trox sabulosus; on the stridulation of mononychus pseudacori. smynthurus luteus, courtship of. snakes, sexual differences of; mental powers of; male, ardency of. "snarling muscles." snipe, drumming of the; coloration of the. snipe, painted, sexes and young of. snipe, solitary, assemblies of. snipes, arrival of male before the female; pugnacity of male; double moult in. snow-goose, whiteness of the. sociability, the sense of duty connected with; impulse to, in animals; manifestations of, in man; instinct of, in animals. social animals, affection of, for each other; defence of, by the males. sociality, probable, of primeval men; influence of, on the development of the intellectual faculties; origin of, in man. soldiers, american, measurements of. soldiers and sailors, difference in the proportions of. solenostoma, bright colours and marsupial sac of the females of. song, of male birds appreciated by their females; want of, in brilliant plumaged birds; of birds. sorex, odour of. sounds, admired alike by man and animals; produced by fishes; produced by male frogs and toads; instrumentally produced by birds. spain, decadence of. sparassus smaragdulus, difference of colour in the sexes of. sparrow, pugnacity of the male; acquisition of the linnet's song by a; coloration of the; immature plumage of the. sparrow, white-crowned, young of the. sparrows, house-and tree-. sparrows, new mates found by. sparrows, sexes and young of; learning to sing. spathura underwoodi. spawning of fishes. spear, used before dispersion of man. species, causes of the advancement of; distinctive characters of; or races of man; sterility and fertility of, when crossed; supposed, of man; gradation of; difficulty of defining; representative, of birds; of birds, comparative differences between the sexes of distinct. spectrum femoratum, difference of colour in the sexes of. speech, connection between the brain and the faculty of; connection of intonation with music. spel, of the black-cock. spencer, herbert, on the influence of food on the size of the jaws; on the dawn of intelligence; on the origin of the belief in spiritual agencies; on the origin of the moral sense; on music. spengel, disagrees with explanation of man's hairlessness. sperm-whales, battles of male. sphingidae, coloration of the. sphinx, humming-bird. sphinx, mr. bates on the caterpillar of a. sphinx moth, musky odour of. spiders, parental feeling in; male, more active than female; proportion of the sexes in; secondary sexual characters of; courtship of male; attracted by music; male, small size of. spilosoma menthastri, rejected by turkeys. spine, alteration of, to suit the erect attitude of man. spirits, fondness of monkeys for. spiritual agencies, belief in, almost universal. spiza cyanea and ciris. spoonbill, chinese, change of plumage in. spots, retained throughout groups of birds; disappearance of, in adult mammals. sprengel, c.k., on the sexuality of plants. springboc, horns of the. sproat, mr., on the extinction of savages in vancouver island; on the eradication of facial hair by the natives of vancouver island; on the eradication of the beard by the indians of vancouver island. spurs, occurrence of, in female fowls; development of, in various species of phasianidae; of gallinaceous birds; development of, in female gallinaceae. squilla, different colours of the sexes of a species of. squirrels, battles of male; african, sexual differences in the colouring of; black. stag, long hairs of the throat of; horns of the; battles of; horns of the, with numerous branches; bellowing of the; crest of the. stag-beetle, numerical proportion of sexes of; use of jaws; large size of male; weapons of the male. stainton, h.t., on the numerical proportion of the sexes in the smaller moths; habits of elachista rufocinerea; on the coloration of moths; on the rejection of spilosoma menthastri by turkeys; on the sexes of agrotis exclamationis. staley, bishop, mortality of infant maories. stallion, mane of the. stallions, two, attacking a third; fighting; small canine teeth of. stansbury, captain, observations on pelicans. staphylinidae, hornlike processes in male. starfishes, parental feeling in; bright colours of some. stark, dr., on the death-rate in towns and rural districts; on the influence of marriage on mortality; on the higher mortality of males in scotland. starling, american field-, pugnacity of male. starling, red-winged, selection of a mate by the female. starlings, three, frequenting the same nest; new mates found by. statues, greek, egyptian, assyrian, etc., contrasted. stature, dependence of, upon local influences. staudinger, dr., on breeding lepidoptera; his list of lepidoptera. staunton, sir g., hatred of indecency a modern virtue. stealing of bright objects by birds. stebbing, t.r., on the nakedness of the human body. stemmatopus. stendhal, see bombet. stenobothrus pratorum, stridulation. stephen, mr. l., on the difference in the minds of men and animals; on general concepts in animals; distinction between material and formal morality. sterility, general, of sole daughters; when crossed, a distinctive character of species; under changed conditions. sterna, seasonal change of plumage in. stickleback, polygamous; male, courtship of the; male, brilliant colouring of, during the breeding season; nidification of the. sticks used as implements and weapons by monkeys. sting in bees. stokes, captain, on the habits of the great bower-bird. stoliczka, dr., on colours in snakes. stoliczka, on the pre-anal pores of lizards. stonechat, young of the. stone implements, difficulty of making; as traces of extinct tribes. stones, used by monkeys for breaking hard fruits and as missiles; piles of. stork, black, sexual differences in the bronchi of the; red beak of the. storks, sexual difference in the colour of the eyes of. strange, mr., on the satin bowerbird. strepsiceros kudu, horns of; markings of. stretch, mr., on the numerical proportion in the sexes of chickens. stridulation, by males of theridion; of hemiptera; of the orthoptera and homoptera discussed; of beetles. stripes, retained throughout groups of birds; disappearance of, in adult mammals. strix flammea. structure, existence of unserviceable modifications of. struggle for existence, in man. struthers, dr., on the occurrence of the supra-condyloid foramen in the humerus of man. sturnella ludoviciana, pugnacity of the male. sturnus vulgaris. sub-species. suffering, in strangers, indifference of savages to. suicide, formerly not regarded as a crime; rarely practised among the lowest savages. suidae, stripes of the young. sulivan, sir b.j., on speaking of parrots; on two stallions attacking a third. sumatra, compression of the nose by the malays of. sumner, archb., man alone capable of progressive improvement. sun-birds, nidification of. superciliary ridge in man. supernumerary digits, more frequent in men than in women; inheritance of; early development of. superstitions, prevalence of. superstitious customs. supra-condyloid foramen in the early progenitors of man. suspicion, prevalence of, among animals. swallow-tail butterfly. swallows deserting their young. swan, black, wild, trachea of the; white, young of; red beak of the; black-necked. swans, young. swaysland, mr., on the arrival of migratory birds. swifts, migration of. swinhoe, r., on the common rat in formosa and china; behaviour of lizards when caught; on the sounds produced by the male hoopoe; on dicrurus macrocercus and the spoonbill; on the young of ardeola; on the habits of turnix; on the habits of rhynchaea bengalensis; on orioles breeding in immature plumage. sylvia atricapilla, young of. sylvia cinerea, aerial love-dance of the male. sympathy, among animals; its supposed basis. sympathies, gradual widening of. syngnathous fishes, abdominal pouch in male. sypheotides auritus, acuminated primaries of the male; ear-tufts of. tabanidae, habits of. tadorna variegata, sexes and young of. tadorna vulpanser. tahitians, compression of the nose by the. tail, rudimentary, occurrence of, in man; convoluted body in the extremity of the; absence of, in man and the higher apes; variability of, in species of macacus and in baboons; presence of, in the early progenitors of man; length of, in pheasants; difference of length of the, in the two sexes of birds. tait, lawson, on the effects of natural selection on civilised nations. tanager, scarlet, variation in the male. tanagra aestiva, age of mature plumage in. tanagra rubra, young of. tanais, absence of mouth in the males of some species of; relations of the sexes in; dimorphic males of a species of. tankerville, earl, on the battles of wild bulls. tanysiptera, races of, determined from adult males. tanysiptera sylvia, long tail-feathers of. taphroderes distortus, enlarged left mandible of the male. tapirs, longitudinal stripes of young. tarsi, dilatation of front, in male beetles. tarsius. tasmania, half-castes killed by the natives of. tasmanians, extinction of. taste, in the quadrumana. tattooing, universality of. taylor, g., on quiscalus major. taylor, rev. r., on tattooing in new zealand. tea, fondness of monkeys for. teal, constancy of. tear-sacs, of ruminants. teebay, mr., on changes of plumage in spangled hamburg fowls. teeth, rudimentary incisor, in ruminants; posterior molar, in man; wisdom; diversity of; canine, in the early progenitors of man; canine, of male mammals; in man, reduced by correlation; staining of the; front, knocked out or filed by some savages. tegetmeier, mr., on the transmission of colours in pigeons by one sex alone; numerical proportion of male and female births in dogs; on the abundance of male pigeons; on the wattles of game-cocks; on the courtship of fowls; on the loves of pigeons; on dyed pigeons; blue dragon pigeons. tembeta, s. american ornament. temper, in dogs and horses, inherited. tench, proportions of the sexes in the; brightness of male, during breeding season. tenebrionidae, stridulation of. tennent, sir j.e., on the tusks of the ceylon elephant; on the frequent absence of beard in the natives of ceylon; on the chinese opinion of the aspect of the cingalese. tennyson, a., on the control of thought. tenthredinidae, proportions of the sexes in; fighting habits of male; difference of the sexes in. tephrodornis, young of. terai, in india. termites, habits of. terns, white; and black. terns, seasonal change of plumage in. terror, common action of, upon the lower animals and man. testudo elegans. testudo nigra. tetrao cupido, battles of; sexual difference in the vocal organs of. tetrao phasianellus, dances of; duration of dances of. tetrao scoticus. tetrao tetrix, pugnacity of the male. tetrao umbellus, pairing of; battles of; drumming of the male. tetrao urogalloides, dances of. tetrao urogallus, pugnacity of the male. tetrao urophasianus, inflation of the oesophagus in the male. thamnobia, young of. thecla, sexual differences of colouring in species of. thecla rubi, protective colouring of. thecophora fovea. theognis, selection in mankind. theridion, stridulation of males of. theridion lineatum. thomisus citreus, and thomisus floricolens, difference of colour in the sexes of. thompson, j.h., on the battles of sperm-whales. thompson, w., on the colouring of the male char during the breeding season; on the pugnacity of the males of gallinula chloropus; on the finding of new mates by magpies; on the finding of new mates by peregrine falcons. thorax, processes of, in male beetles. thorell, t., on the proportion of sexes in spiders. thornback, difference in the teeth of the two sexes of the. thoughts, control of. thrush, pairing with a blackbird; colours and nidification of the. thrushes, characters of young. thug, remorse of a. thumb, absence of, in ateles and hylobates. thury, m., on the numerical proportion of male and female births among the jews. thylacinus, possession of the marsupial sac by the male. thysanura. tibia, dilated, of the male crabro cribrarius. tibia and femur, proportions of, in the aymara indians. tierra del fuego, marriage-customs of. tiger, colours and markings of the. tigers, depopulation of districts by, in india. tillus elongatus, difference of colour in the sexes of. timidity, variability of, in the same species. tinca vulgaris. tipula, pugnacity of male. tits, sexual difference of colour in. toads, male, treatment of ova by some; male, ready to breed before the female. todas, infanticide and proportion of sexes; practice polyandry; choice of husbands amongst. toe, great, condition of, in the human embryo. tomicus villosus, proportion of the sexes in. tomtit, blue, sexual difference of colour in the. tonga islands, beardlessness of the natives of. tooke, horne, on language. tools, flint; used by monkeys; use of. topknots in birds. tortoise, voice of the male. tortures, submitted to by american savages. totanus, double moult in. toucans, colours and nidification of the; beaks and ceres of the. towns, residence in, a cause of diminished stature. toynbee, j., on the external shell of the ear in man. trachea, convoluted and imbedded in the sternum, in some birds; structure of the, in rhynchaea. trades, affecting the form of the skull. tragelaphus, sexual differences of colour in. tragelaphus scriptus, dorsal crest of; markings of. tragopan, swelling of the wattles of the male, during courtship; display of plumage by the male; marking of the sexes of the. tragops dispar, sexual difference in the colour of. training, effect of, on the mental difference between the sexes of man. transfer of male characters to female birds. transmission, equal, of ornamental characters, to both sexes in mammals. traps, avoidance of, by animals; use of. treachery, to comrades, avoidance of, by savages. tremex columbae. tribes, extinct; extinction of. trichius, difference of colour in the sexes of a species of. trigla. trigonocephalus, noise made by tail of. trimen, r., on the proportion of the sexes in south african butterflies; on the attraction of males by the female lasiocampa quercus; on pneumora; on difference of colour in the sexes of beetles; on moths brilliantly coloured beneath; on mimicry in butterflies; on gynanisa isis, and on the ocellated spots of lepidoptera; on cyllo leda. tringa, sexes and young of. tringa cornuta. triphaena, coloration of the species of. tristram, h.b., on unhealthy districts in north africa; on the habits of the chaffinch in palestine; on the birds of the sahara; on the animals inhabiting the sahara. triton cristatus. triton palmipes. triton punctatus. troglodyte skulls, greater than those of modern frenchmen. troglodytes vulgaris. trogons, colours and nidification of the. tropic-birds, white only when mature. tropics, freshwater fishes of the. trout, proportion of the sexes in; male, pugnacity of the. trox sabulosus, stridulation of. truth, not rare between members of the same tribe; more highly appreciated by certain tribes. tulloch, major, on the immunity of the negro from certain fevers. tumbler, almond, change of plumage in the. turdus merula, young of. turdus migratorius. turdus musicus. turdus polyglottus, young of. turdus torquatus. turkey, wild, pugnacity of young male; wild, notes of the; swelling of the wattles of the male; variety of, with a top-knot; recognition of a dog by a; male, wild, acceptable to domesticated females; wild, first advances made by older females; wild, breast-tuft of bristles of the. turkey-cock, scraping of the wings of, upon the ground; wild, display of plumage by; fighting habits of. turner, prof. w., on muscular fasciculi in man referable to the panniculus carnosus; on the occurrence of the supra-condyloid foramen in the human humerus; on muscles attached to the coccyx in man; on the filum terminale in man; on the variability of the muscles; on abnormal conditions of the human uterus; on the development of the mammary glands; on male fishes hatching ova in their mouths; on the external perpendicular fissure of the brain; on the bridging convolutions in the brain of a chimpanzee. turnix, sexes of some species of. turtle-dove, cooing of the. tuttle, h., on the number of species of man. tylor, e.b., on emotional cries, gestures, etc., of man; on the origin of the belief in spiritual agencies; remorse for violation of tribal usage in marrying; on the primitive barbarism of civilised nations; on the origin of counting; inventions of savages; on resemblances, of the mental characters in different races of man. type of structure, prevalence of. typhaeus, stridulating organs of; stridulation of. twins, tendency to produce, hereditary. twite, proportion of the sexes in. ugliness, said to consist in an approach to the lower animals. umbrella-bird. umbrina, sounds produced by. united states, rate of increase in; influence of natural selection on the progress of; change undergone by europeans in the. upupa epops, sounds produced by the male. uraniidae, coloration of the. uria troile, variety of (=u. lacrymans). urodela. urosticte benjamini, sexual differences in. use and disuse of parts, effects of; influence of, on the races of man. uterus, reversion in the; more or less divided, in the human subject; double, in the early progenitors of man. vaccination, influence of. vancouver island, mr. sproat on the savages of; natives of, eradication of facial hair by the. vanellus cristatus, wing tubercles of the male. vanessae, resemblance of lower surface of, to bark of trees. variability, causes of; in man, analogous to that in the lower animals; of the races of man; greater in men than in women; period of, relation of the, to sexual selection; of birds; of secondary sexual characters in man. variation, laws of; correlated; in man; analogous; analogous, in plumage of birds. variations, spontaneous. varieties, absence of, between two species, evidence of their distinctness. variety, an object in nature. variola, communicable between man and the lower animals. vaureal, human bones from. veddahs, monogamous habits of. veitch, mr., on the aversion of japanese ladies to whiskers. vengeance, instinct of. venus erycina, priestesses of. vermes. vermiform appendage. verreaux, m., on the attraction of numerous males by the female of an australian bombyx. vertebrae, caudal, number of in macaques and baboons; of monkeys, partly imbedded in the body. vertebrata, common origin of the; most ancient progenitors of; origin of the voice in air-breathing. vesicula prostatica, the homologue of the uterus. vibrissae, represented by long hairs in the eyebrows. vidua. vidua axillaris. villerme, m., on the influence of plenty upon stature. vinson, aug., courtship of male spider; on the male of epeira nigra. viper, difference of the sexes in the. virey, on the number of species of man. virtues, originally social only; gradual appreciation of. viscera, variability of, in man. vlacovich, prof., on the ischio-pubic muscle. vocal music of birds. vocal organs of man; of birds; of frogs; of the insessores; difference of, in the sexes of birds; primarily used in relation to the propagation of the species. vogt, karl, on the origin of species; on the origin of man; on the semilunar fold in man; on microcephalous idiots; on the imitative faculties of microcephalous idiots; on skulls from brazilian caves; on the evolution of the races of man; on the formation of the skull in women; on the ainos and negroes; on the increased cranial difference of the sexes in man with race development; on the obliquity of the eye in the chinese and japanese. voice in mammals; in monkeys and man; in man; origin of, in air-breathing vertebrates. von baer, see baer. vulpian, prof., on the resemblance between the brains of man and the higher apes. vultures, selection of a mate by the female; colours of. waders, young of. wagner, r., on the occurrence of the diastema in a kaffir skull; on the bronchi of the black stork. wagtail, ray's, arrival of the male before the female. wagtails, indian, young of. waist, proportions of, in soldiers and sailors. waitz, prof., on the number of species of man; on the liability of negroes to tropical fevers after residence in a cold climate; on the colour of australian infants; on the beardlessness of negroes; on the fondness of mankind for ornaments; on negro ideas of female beauty; on javan and cochin chinese ideas of beauty. waldeyer, m., on the hermaphroditism of the vertebrate embryo. wales, north, numerical proportion of male and female births in. walkenaer and gervais, spider attracted by music; on the myriapoda. walker, alex., on the large size of the hands of labourers' children. walker, f., on sexual differences in the diptera. wallace, dr. a., on the prehensile use of the tarsi in male moths; on the rearing of the ailanthus silkmoth; on breeding lepidoptera; proportion of sexes of bombyx cynthia, b. yamamai, and b. pernyi reared by; on the development of bombyx cynthia and b. yamamai; on the pairing of bombyx cynthia. wallace, a.r., on the origin of man; on the power of imitation in man; on the use of missiles by the orang; on the varying appreciation of truth among different tribes; on the limits of natural selection in man; on the occurrence of remorse among savages; on the effects of natural selection on civilised nations; on the use of the convergence of the hair at the elbow in the orang; on the contrast in the characters of the malays and papuans; on the line of separation between the papuans and malays; on the birds of paradise; on the sexes of ornithoptera croesus; on protective resemblances; on the relative sizes of the sexes of insects; on elaphomyia; on the pugnacity of the males of leptorhynchus angustatus; on sounds produced by euchirus longimanus; on the colours of diadema; on kallima; on the protective colouring of moths; on bright coloration as protective in butterflies; on variability in the papilionidae; on male and female butterflies, inhabiting different stations; on the protective nature of the dull colouring of female butterflies; on mimicry in butterflies; on the bright colours of caterpillars; on brightly-coloured fishes frequenting reefs; on the coral snakes; on paradisea apoda; on the display of plumage by male birds of paradise; on assemblies of birds of paradise; on the instability of the ocellated spots in hipparchia janira; on sexually limited inheritance; on the sexual coloration of birds; on the relation between the colours and nidification of birds; on the coloration of the cotingidae; on the females of paradisea apoda and papuana; on the incubation of the cassowary; on protective coloration in birds; on the babirusa; on the markings of the tiger; on the beards of the papuans; on the hair of the papuans; on the distribution of hair on the human body. walrus, development of the nictitating membrane in the; tusks of the; use of the tusks by the. walsh, b.d., on the proportion of the sexes in papilio turnus; on the cynipidae and cecidomyidae; on the jaws of ammophila; on corydalis cornutus; on the prehensile organs of male insects; on the antennae of penthe; on the caudal appendages of dragonflies; on platyphyllum concavum; on the sexes of the ephemeridae; on the difference of colour in the sexes of spectrum femoratum; on sexes of dragon-flies; on the difference of the sexes in the ichneumonidae; on the sexes of orsodacna atra; on the variation of the horns of the male phanaeas carnifex; on the coloration of the species of anthocharis. wapiti, battles of; traces of horns in the female; attacking a man; crest of the male; sexual difference in the colour of the. warbler, hedge-; young of the. warblers, superb, nidification of. wariness, acquired by animals. warington, r., on the habits of the stickleback; on the brilliant colours of the male stickleback during the breeding season. wart-hog, tusks and pads of the. watchmakers, short-sighted. waterhen. waterhouse, c.o., on blind beetles; on difference of colour in the sexes of beetles. waterhouse, g.r., on the voice of hylobates agilis. water-ouzel, autumn song of the. waterton, c., on the bell-bird; on the pairing of a canada goose with a bernicle gander; on hares fighting. wattles, disadvantageous to male birds in fighting. weale, j., mansel, on a south african caterpillar. wealth, influence of. weapons, used by man; employed by monkeys; offensive, of males; of mammals. weaver-bird. weaver-birds, rattling of the wings of; assemblies of. webb, dr., on the wisdom teeth. wedderburn, mr., assembly of black game. wedgwood, hensleigh, on the origin of language. weevils, sexual difference in length of snout in some. weir, harrison, on the numerical proportion of the sexes in pigs and rabbits; on the sexes of young pigeons; on the songs of birds; on pigeons; on the dislike of blue pigeons to other coloured varieties; on the desertion of their mates by female pigeons. weir, j. jenner, on the nightingale and blackcap; on the relative sexual maturity of male birds; on female pigeons deserting a feeble mate; on three starlings frequenting the same nest; on the proportion of the sexes in machetes pugnax and other birds; on the coloration of the triphaenae; on the rejection of certain caterpillars by birds; on sexual differences of the beak in the goldfinch; on a piping bullfinch; on the object of the nightingale's song; on song-birds; on the pugnacity of male fine-plumaged birds; on the courtship of birds; on the finding of new mates by peregrine falcons and kestrels; on the bullfinch and starling; on the cause of birds remaining unpaired; on starlings and parrots living in triplets; on recognition of colour by birds; on hybrid birds; on the selection of a greenfinch by a female canary; on a case of rivalry of female bullfinches; on the maturity of the golden pheasant. weisbach, dr., measurement of men of different races; on the greater variability of men than of women; on the relative proportions of the body in the sexes of different races of man. weismann, prof., colours of lycaenae. welcker, m., on brachycephaly and dolichocephaly; on sexual differences in the skull in man. wells, dr., on the immunity of coloured races from certain poisons. westring, on the stridulation of males of theridion; on the stridulation of reduvius personatus; on the stridulation of beetles; on the stridulation of omaloplia brunnea; on the stridulating organs of the coleoptera; on sounds produced by cychrus. westropp, h.m., on reason in a bear; on the prevalence of certain forms of ornamentation. westwood, j.o., on the classification of the hymenoptera; on the culicidae and tabanidae; on a hymenopterous parasite with a sedentary male; on the proportions of the sexes in lucanus cervus and siagonium; on the absence of ocelli in female mutillidae; on the jaws of ammophila; on the copulation of insects of distinct species; on the male of crabro cribrarius; on the pugnacity of the male tipulae; on the stridulation of pirates stridulus; on the cicadae; on the stridulating organs of the cricket; on ephippiger vitium; on pneumora; on the pugnacity of the mantides; on platyblemnus; on difference in the sexes of the agrionidae; on the pugnacity of the males of a species of tenthredinae; on the pugnacity of the male stag-beetle; on bledius taurus and siagonium; on lamellicorn beetles; on the coloration of lithosia. whale, sperm-, battles of male. whales, nakedness of. whately, arch., language not peculiar to man; on the primitive civilisation of man. whewell, prof., on maternal affection. whiskers, in monkeys. white, f.b., noise produced by hylophila. white, gilbert, on the proportion of the sexes in the partridge; on the house-cricket; on the object of the song of birds; on the finding of new mates by white owls; on spring coveys of male partridges. whiteness, a sexual ornament in some birds; of mammals inhabiting snowy countries. white-throat, aerial love-dance of the male. whitney, prof., on the development of language; language not indispensable for thought. widgeon, pairing with a pintail duck. widow-bird, polygamous; breeding plumage of the male; female, rejecting the unadorned male. widows and widowers, mortality of. wilckens, dr., on the modification of domestic animals in mountainous regions; on a numerical relation between the hairs and excretory pores in sheep. wilder, dr. burt, on the greater frequency of supernumerary digits in men than in women. williams, on the marriage-customs of the fijians. wilson, dr., on the conical heads of the natives of north-western africa; on the fijians; on the persistence of the fashion of compressing the skull. wing-spurs. wings, differences of, in the two sexes of butterflies and hymenoptera; play of, in the courtship of birds. winter, change of colour of mammals in. witchcraft. wives, traces of the forcible capture of. wolf, winter change of the. wolff, on the variability of the viscera in man. wollaston, t.v., on eurygnathus; on musical curculionidae; on the stridulation of acalles. wolves, learning to bark from dogs; hunting in packs. wolves, black. wombat, black varieties of the. women, distinguished from men by male monkeys; preponderance of, in numbers; selection of, for beauty; effects of selection of, in accordance with different standards of beauty; practice of capturing; early betrothals and slavery of; freedom of selection by, in savage tribes. wonder, manifestations of, by animals. wonfor, mr., on sexual peculiarities, in the wings of butterflies. wood, j., on muscular variations in man; on the greater variability of the muscles in men than in women. wood, t.w., on the colouring of the orange-tip butterfly; on the habits of the saturniidae; quarrels of chamaeleons; on the habits of menura alberti; on tetrao cupido; on the display of plumage by male pheasants; on the ocellated spots of the argus pheasant; on fighting of menura superba; on the habits of the female cassowary. woodcock, coloration of the. woodpecker, selection of a mate by the female. woodpeckers, tapping of; colours and nidification of the; characters of young. woolner, mr., observations on the ear in man. wormald, mr., on the coloration of hypopyra. wounds, healing of. wren, young of the. wright, c.a., on the young of orocetes and petrocincla. wright, chauncey, great brain-power requisite for language; on correlative acquisition; on the enlargement of the brain in man. wright, mr., on the scotch deer-hound; on sexual preference in dogs; on the rejection of a horse by a mare. wright, w. von, on the protective plumage of the ptarmigan. writing. wyman, prof., on the prolongation of the coccyx in the human embryo; on the condition of the great toe in the human embryo; on the occurrence of the supra-condyloid foramen in the humerus of man; on variation in the skulls of the natives of the sandwich islands; on the hatching of the eggs in the mouths and branchial cavities of male fishes. xenarchus, on the cicadae. xenophon, selection in mankind advocated by. xenorhynchus, sexual difference in the colour of the eyes in. xiphophorus hellerii, peculiar anal fin of the male. xylocopa, difference of the sexes in. yarrel, w., on the habits of the cyprinidae; on raia clavata; on the characters of the male salmon during the breeding season; on the characters of the rays; on the gemmeous dragonet; on colours of salmon; on the spawning of the salmon; on the incubation of the lophobranchii; on rivalry in song-birds; on the trachea of the swan; on the moulting of the anatidae; on the young of the waders. yellow fever, immunity of negroes and mulattoes from. youatt, mr., on the development of the horns in cattle. yura-caras, their notions of beauty. zebra, rejection of an ass by a female; stripes of the. zebus, humps of. zigzags, prevalence of, as ornaments. zincke, mr., on european emigration to america. zootoca vivipara, sexual difference in the colour of. zouteveen, dr., polydactylism; proportion of sexes at cape of good hope; spiders attracted by music; on sounds produced by fish. zygaenidae, coloration of the. the end. note on the resemblances and differences in the structure and the development of the brain in man and apes by professor t. h. huxley, f.r.s. [this essay is taken from 'the descent of man and selection in relation to sex' by charles darwin where it appears at the end of chapter vii which is also the end of part i. footnotes are numbered as they appear in 'the descent of man.'] the controversy respecting the nature and the extent of the differences in the structure of the brain in man and the apes, which arose some fifteen years ago, has not yet come to an end, though the subject matter of the dispute is, at present, totally different from what it was formerly. it was originally asserted and re-asserted, with singular pertinacity, that the brain of all the apes, even the highest, differs from that of man, in the absence of such conspicuous structures as the posterior lobes of the cerebral hemispheres, with the posterior cornu of the lateral ventricle and the hippocampus minor, contained in those lobes, which are so obvious in man. but the truth that the three structures in question are as well developed in apes' as in human brains, or even better; and that it is characteristic of all the primates (if we exclude the lemurs) to have these parts well developed, stands at present on as secure a basis as any proposition in comparative anatomy. moreover, it is admitted by every one of the long series of anatomists who, of late years, have paid special attention to the arrangement of the complicated sulci and gyri which appear upon the surface of the cerebral hemispheres in man and the higher apes, that they are disposed after the very same pattern in him, as in them. every principal gyrus and sulcus of a chimpanzee's brain is clearly represented in that of a man, so that the terminology which applies to the one answers for the other. on this point there is no difference of opinion. some years since, professor bischoff published a memoir ( . 'die grosshirn-windungen des menschen;' 'abhandlungen der k. bayerischen akademie,' b. x. .) on the cerebral convolutions of man and apes; and as the purpose of my learned colleague was certainly not to diminish the value of the differences between apes and men in this respect, i am glad to make a citation from him. "that the apes, and especially the orang, chimpanzee and gorilla, come very close to man in their organisation, much nearer than to any other animal, is a well known fact, disputed by nobody. looking at the matter from the point of view of organisation alone, no one probably would ever have disputed the view of linnaeus, that man should be placed, merely as a peculiar species, at the head of the mammalia and of those apes. both shew, in all their organs, so close an affinity, that the most exact anatomical investigation is needed in order to demonstrate those differences which really exist. so it is with the brains. the brains of man, the orang, the chimpanzee, the gorilla, in spite of all the important differences which they present, come very close to one another" (loc. cit. p. ). there remains, then, no dispute as to the resemblance in fundamental characters, between the ape's brain and man's: nor any as to the wonderfully close similarity between the chimpanzee, orang and man, in even the details of the arrangement of the gyri and sulci of the cerebral hemispheres. nor, turning to the differences between the brains of the highest apes and that of man, is there any serious question as to the nature and extent of these differences. it is admitted that the man's cerebral hemispheres are absolutely and relatively larger than those of the orang and chimpanzee; that his frontal lobes are less excavated by the upward protrusion of the roof of the orbits; that his gyri and sulci are, as a rule, less symmetrically disposed, and present a greater number of secondary plications. and it is admitted that, as a rule, in man, the temporo-occipital or "external perpendicular" fissure, which is usually so strongly marked a feature of the ape's brain is but faintly marked. but it is also clear, that none of these differences constitutes a sharp demarcation between the man's and the ape's brain. in respect to the external perpendicular fissure of gratiolet, in the human brain for instance, professor turner remarks: ( . 'convolutions of the human cerebrum topographically considered,' , p. .) "in some brains it appears simply as an indentation of the margin of the hemisphere, but, in others, it extends for some distance more or less transversely outwards. i saw it in the right hemisphere of a female brain pass more than two inches outwards; and on another specimen, also the right hemisphere, it proceeded for four-tenths of an inch outwards, and then extended downwards, as far as the lower margin of the outer surface of the hemisphere. the imperfect definition of this fissure in the majority of human brains, as compared with its remarkable distinctness in the brain of most quadrumana, is owing to the presence, in the former, of certain superficial, well marked, secondary convolutions which bridge it over and connect the parietal with the occipital lobe. the closer the first of these bridging gyri lies to the longitudinal fissure, the shorter is the external parieto-occipital fissure" (loc. cit. p. ). the obliteration of the external perpendicular fissure of gratiolet, therefore, is not a constant character of the human brain. on the other hand, its full development is not a constant character of the higher ape's brain. for, in the chimpanzee, the more or less extensive obliteration of the external perpendicular sulcus by "bridging convolutions," on one side or the other, has been noted over and over again by prof. rolleston, mr. marshall, m. broca and professor turner. at the conclusion of a special paper on this subject the latter writes: ( . notes more especially on the bridging convolutions in the brain of the chimpanzee, 'proceedings of the royal society of edinburgh,' - .) "the three specimens of the brain of a chimpanzee, just described, prove, that the generalisation which gratiolet has attempted to draw of the complete absence of the first connecting convolution and the concealment of the second, as essentially characteristic features in the brain of this animal, is by no means universally applicable. in only one specimen did the brain, in these particulars, follow the law which gratiolet has expressed. as regards the presence of the superior bridging convolution, i am inclined to think that it has existed in one hemisphere, at least, in a majority of the brains of this animal which have, up to this time, been figured or described. the superficial position of the second bridging convolution is evidently less frequent, and has as yet, i believe, only been seen in the brain (a) recorded in this communication. the asymmetrical arrangement in the convolutions of the two hemispheres, which previous observers have referred to in their descriptions, is also well illustrated in these specimens" (pp. , ). even were the presence of the temporo-occipital, or external perpendicular, sulcus, a mark of distinction between the higher apes and man, the value of such a distinctive character would be rendered very doubtful by the structure of the brain in the platyrrhine apes. in fact, while the temporo-occipital is one of the most constant of sulci in the catarrhine, or old world, apes, it is never very strongly developed in the new world apes; it is absent in the smaller platyrrhini; rudimentary in pithecia ( . flower, 'on the anatomy of pithecia monachus,' 'proceedings of the zoological society,' .); and more or less obliterated by bridging convolutions in ateles. a character which is thus variable within the limits of a single group can have no great taxonomic value. it is further established, that the degree of asymmetry of the convolution of the two sides in the human brain is subject to much individual variation; and that, in those individuals of the bushman race who have been examined, the gyri and sulci of the two hemispheres are considerably less complicated and more symmetrical than in the european brain, while, in some individuals of the chimpanzee, their complexity and asymmetry become notable. this is particularly the case in the brain of a young male chimpanzee figured by m. broca. ('l'ordre des primates,' p. , fig. .) again, as respects the question of absolute size, it is established that the difference between the largest and the smallest healthy human brain is greater than the difference between the smallest healthy human brain and the largest chimpanzee's or orang's brain. moreover, there is one circumstance in which the orang's and chimpanzee's brains resemble man's, but in which they differ from the lower apes, and that is the presence of two corpora candicantia--the cynomorpha having but one. in view of these facts i do not hesitate in this year , to repeat and insist upon the proposition which i enunciated in : ( . 'man's place in nature,' p. .) "so far as cerebral structure goes, therefore, it is clear that man differs less from the chimpanzee or the orang, than these do even from the monkeys, and that the difference between the brain of the chimpanzee and of man is almost insignificant when compared with that between the chimpanzee brain and that of a lemur." in the paper to which i have referred, professor bischoff does not deny the second part of this statement, but he first makes the irrelevant remark that it is not wonderful if the brains of an orang and a lemur are very different; and secondly, goes on to assert that, "if we successively compare the brain of a man with that of an orang; the brain of this with that of a chimpanzee; of this with that of a gorilla, and so on of a hylobates, semnopithecus, cynocephalus, cercopithecus, macacus, cebus, callithrix, lemur, stenops, hapale, we shall not meet with a greater, or even as great a, break in the degree of development of the convolutions, as we find between the brain of a man and that of an orang or chimpanzee." to which i reply, firstly, that whether this assertion be true or false, it has nothing whatever to do with the proposition enunciated in 'man's place in nature,' which refers not to the development of the convolutions alone, but to the structure of the whole brain. if professor bischoff had taken the trouble to refer to p. of the work he criticises, in fact, he would have found the following passage: "and it is a remarkable circumstance that though, so far as our present knowledge extends, there is one true structural break in the series of forms of simian brains, this hiatus does not lie between man and the manlike apes, but between the lower and the lowest simians, or in other words, between the old and new world apes and monkeys and the lemurs. every lemur which has yet been examined, in fact, has its cerebellum partially visible from above; and its posterior lobe, with the contained posterior cornu and hippocampus minor, more or less rudimentary. every marmoset, american monkey, old world monkey, baboon or manlike ape, on the contrary, has its cerebellum entirely hidden, posteriorly, by the cerebral lobes, and possesses a large posterior cornu with a well-developed hippocampus minor." this statement was a strictly accurate account of what was known when it was made; and it does not appear to me to be more than apparently weakened by the subsequent discovery of the relatively small development of the posterior lobes in the siamang and in the howling monkey. notwithstanding the exceptional brevity of the posterior lobes in these two species, no one will pretend that their brains, in the slightest degree, approach those of the lemurs. and if, instead of putting hapale out of its natural place, as professor bischoff most unaccountably does, we write the series of animals he has chosen to mention as follows: homo, pithecus, troglodytes, hylobates, semnopithecus, cynocephalus, cercopithecus, macacus, cebus, callithrix, hapale, lemur, stenops, i venture to reaffirm that the great break in this series lies between hapale and lemur, and that this break is considerably greater than that between any other two terms of that series. professor bischoff ignores the fact that long before he wrote, gratiolet had suggested the separation of the lemurs from the other primates on the very ground of the difference in their cerebral characters; and that professor flower had made the following observations in the course of his description of the brain of the javan loris: ( . 'transactions of the zoological society,' vol. v. .) "and it is especially remarkable that, in the development of the posterior lobes, there is no approximation to the lemurine, short hemisphered brain, in those monkeys which are commonly supposed to approach this family in other respects, viz. the lower members of the platyrrhine group." so far as the structure of the adult brain is concerned, then, the very considerable additions to our knowledge, which have been made by the researches of so many investigators, during the past ten years, fully justify the statement which i made in . but it has been said, that, admitting the similarity between the adult brains of man and apes, they are nevertheless, in reality, widely different, because they exhibit fundamental differences in the mode of their development. no one would be more ready than i to admit the force of this argument, if such fundamental differences of development really exist. but i deny that they do exist. on the contrary, there is a fundamental agreement in the development of the brain in men and apes. gratiolet originated the statement that there is a fundamental difference in the development of the brains of apes and that of man--consisting in this; that, in the apes, the sulci which first make their appearance are situated on the posterior region of the cerebral hemispheres, while, in the human foetus, the sulci first become visible on the frontal lobes. ( . "chez tous les singes, les plis posterieurs se developpent les premiers; les plis anterieurs se developpent plus tard, aussi la vertebre occipitale et la parietale sont-elles relativement tres-grandes chez le foetus. l'homme presente une exception remarquable quant a l'epoque de l'apparition des plis frontaux, qui sont les premiers indiques; mais le developpement general du lobe frontal, envisage seulement par rapport a son volume, suit les memes lois que dans les singes:" gratiolet, 'memoire sur les plis cerebres de l'homme et des primateaux,' p. , tab. iv, fig. .) this general statement is based upon two observations, the one of a gibbon almost ready to be born, in which the posterior gyri were "well developed," while those of the frontal lobes were "hardly indicated" ( . gratiolet's words are (loc. cit. p. ): "dans le foetus dont il s'agit les plis cerebraux posterieurs sont bien developpes, tandis que les plis du lobe frontal sont a peine indiques." the figure, however (pl. iv, fig. ), shews the fissure of rolando, and one of the frontal sulci plainly enough. nevertheless, m. alix, in his 'notice sur les travaux anthropologiques de gratiolet' ('mem. de la societe d'anthropologie de paris,' , page ), writes thus: "gratiolet a eu entre les mains le cerveau d'un foetus de gibbon, singe eminemment superieur, et tellement rapproche de l'orang, que des naturalistes tres-competents l'ont range parmi les anthropoides. m. huxley, par exemple, n'hesite pas sur ce point. eh bien, c'est sur le cerveau d'un foetus de gibbon que gratiolet a vu les circonvolutions du lobe temporo-sphenoidal deja developpees lorsqu'il n'existent pas encore de plis sur le lobe frontal. il etait donc bien autorise a dire que, chez l'homme les circonvolutions apparaissent d'a en w, tandis que chez les singes elles se developpent d'w en a."), and the other of a human foetus at the nd or rd week of uterogestation, in which gratiolet notes that the insula was uncovered, but that nevertheless "des incisures sement de lobe anterieur, une scissure peu profonde indique la separation du lobe occipital, tres-reduit, d'ailleurs des cette epoque. le reste de la surface cerebrale est encore absolument lisse." three views of this brain are given in plate ii, figs. , , , of the work cited, shewing the upper, lateral and inferior views of the hemispheres, but not the inner view. it is worthy of note that the figure by no means bears out gratiolet's description, inasmuch as the fissure (antero-temporal) on the posterior half of the face of the hemisphere is more marked than any of those vaguely indicated in the anterior half. if the figure is correct, it in no way justifies gratiolet's conclusion: "il y a donc entre ces cerveaux [those of a callithrix and of a gibbon] et celui du foetus humain une difference fondamental. chez celui-ci, longtemps avant que les plis temporaux apparaissent, les plis frontaux, essayent d'exister." since gratiolet's time, however, the development of the gyri and sulci of the brain has been made the subject of renewed investigation by schmidt, bischoff, pansch ( . 'ueber die typische anordnung der furchen und windungen auf den grosshirn-hemispharen des menschen und der affen,' 'archiv fur anthropologie,' iii. .), and more particularly by ecker ( . 'zur entwicklungs geschichte der furchen und windungen der grosshirn-hemispharen im foetus des menschen.' 'archiv fur anthropologie,' iii. .), whose work is not only the latest, but by far the most complete, memoir on the subject. the final results of their inquiries may be summed up as follows:-- . in the human foetus, the sylvian fissure is formed in the course of the third month of uterogestation. in this, and in the fourth month, the cerebral hemispheres are smooth and rounded (with the exception of the sylvian depression), and they project backwards far beyond the cerebellum. . the sulci, properly so called, begin to appear in the interval between the end of the fourth and the beginning of the sixth month of foetal life, but ecker is careful to point out that, not only the time, but the order, of their appearance is subject to considerable individual variation. in no case, however, are either the frontal or the temporal sulci the earliest. the first which appears, in fact, lies on the inner face of the hemisphere (whence doubtless gratiolet, who does not seem to have examined that face in his foetus, overlooked it), and is either the internal perpendicular (occipito-parietal), or the calcarine sulcus, these two being close together and eventually running into one another. as a rule the occipito-parietal is the earlier of the two. . at the latter part of this period, another sulcus, the "posterio-parietal," or "fissure of rolando" is developed, and it is followed, in the course of the sixth month, by the other principal sulci of the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes. there is, however, no clear evidence that one of these constantly appears before the other; and it is remarkable that, in the brain at the period described and figured by ecker (loc. cit. pp. - , taf. ii, figs. , , , ), the antero-temporal sulcus (scissure parallele) so characteristic of the ape's brain, is as well, if not better developed than the fissure of rolando, and is much more marked than the proper frontal sulci. taking the facts as they now stand, it appears to me that the order of the appearance of the sulci and gyri in the foetal human brain is in perfect harmony with the general doctrine of evolution, and with the view that man has been evolved from some ape-like form; though there can be no doubt that form was, in many respects, different from any member of the primates now living. von baer taught us, half a century ago, that, in the course of their development, allied animals put on at first, the characters of the greater groups to which they belong, and, by degrees, assume those which restrict them within the limits of their family, genus, and species; and he proved, at the same time, that no developmental stage of a higher animal is precisely similar to the adult condition of any lower animal. it is quite correct to say that a frog passes through the condition of a fish, inasmuch as at one period of its life the tadpole has all the characters of a fish, and if it went no further, would have to be grouped among fishes. but it is equally true that a tadpole is very different from any known fish. in like manner, the brain of a human foetus, at the fifth month, may correctly be said to be, not only the brain of an ape, but that of an arctopithecine or marmoset-like ape; for its hemispheres, with their great posterior lobster, and with no sulci but the sylvian and the calcarine, present the characteristics found only in the group of the arctopithecine primates. but it is equally true, as gratiolet remarks, that, in its widely open sylvian fissure, it differs from the brain of any actual marmoset. no doubt it would be much more similar to the brain of an advanced foetus of a marmoset. but we know nothing whatever of the development of the brain in the marmosets. in the platyrrhini proper, the only observation with which i am acquainted is due to pansch, who found in the brain of a foetal cebus apella, in addition to the sylvian fissure and the deep calcarine fissure, only a very shallow antero-temporal fissure (scissure parallele of gratiolet). now this fact, taken together with the circumstance that the antero-temporal sulcus is present in such platyrrhini as the saimiri, which present mere traces of sulci on the anterior half of the exterior of the cerebral hemispheres, or none at all, undoubtedly, so far as it goes, affords fair evidence in favour of gratiolet's hypothesis, that the posterior sulci appear before the anterior, in the brains of the platyrrhini. but, it by no means follows, that the rule which may hold good for the platyrrhini extends to the catarrhini. we have no information whatever respecting the development of the brain in the cynomorpha; and, as regards the anthropomorpha, nothing but the account of the brain of the gibbon, near birth, already referred to. at the present moment there is not a shadow of evidence to shew that the sulci of a chimpanzee's, or orang's, brain do not appear in the same order as a man's. gratiolet opens his preface with the aphorism: "il est dangereux dans les sciences de conclure trop vite." i fear he must have forgotten this sound maxim by the time he had reached the discussion of the differences between men and apes, in the body of his work. no doubt, the excellent author of one of the most remarkable contributions to the just understanding of the mammalian brain which has ever been made, would have been the first to admit the insufficiency of his data had he lived to profit by the advance of inquiry. the misfortune is that his conclusions have been employed by persons incompetent to appreciate their foundation, as arguments in favour of obscurantism. ( . for example, m. l'abbe lecomte in his terrible pamphlet, 'le darwinisme et l'origine de l'homme,' .) but it is important to remark that, whether gratiolet was right or wrong in his hypothesis respecting the relative order of appearance of the temporal and frontal sulci, the fact remains; that before either temporal or frontal sulci, appear, the foetal brain of man presents characters which are found only in the lowest group of the primates (leaving out the lemurs); and that this is exactly what we should expect to be the case, if man has resulted from the gradual modification of the same form as that from which the other primates have sprung. the autobiography of charles darwin from the life and letters of charles darwin by charles darwin edited by his son francis darwin [my father's autobiographical recollections, given in the present chapter, were written for his children,--and written without any thought that they would ever be published. to many this may seem an impossibility; but those who knew my father will understand how it was not only possible, but natural. the autobiography bears the heading, 'recollections of the development of my mind and character,' and end with the following note:--"aug. , . this sketch of my life was begun about may th at hopedene (mr. hensleigh wedgwood's house in surrey.), and since then i have written for nearly an hour on most afternoons." it will easily be understood that, in a narrative of a personal and intimate kind written for his wife and children, passages should occur which must here be omitted; and i have not thought it necessary to indicate where such omissions are made. it has been found necessary to make a few corrections of obvious verbal slips, but the number of such alterations has been kept down to the minimum.--f.d.] a german editor having written to me for an account of the development of my mind and character with some sketch of my autobiography, i have thought that the attempt would amuse me, and might possibly interest my children or their children. i know that it would have interested me greatly to have read even so short and dull a sketch of the mind of my grandfather, written by himself, and what he thought and did, and how he worked. i have attempted to write the following account of myself, as if i were a dead man in another world looking back at my own life. nor have i found this difficult, for life is nearly over with me. i have taken no pains about my style of writing. i was born at shrewsbury on february th, , and my earliest recollection goes back only to when i was a few months over four years old, when we went to near abergele for sea-bathing, and i recollect some events and places there with some little distinctness. my mother died in july , when i was a little over eight years old, and it is odd that i can remember hardly anything about her except her death-bed, her black velvet gown, and her curiously constructed work-table. in the spring of this same year i was sent to a day-school in shrewsbury, where i stayed a year. i have been told that i was much slower in learning than my younger sister catherine, and i believe that i was in many ways a naughty boy. by the time i went to this day-school (kept by rev. g. case, minister of the unitarian chapel in the high street. mrs. darwin was a unitarian and attended mr. case's chapel, and my father as a little boy went there with his elder sisters. but both he and his brother were christened and intended to belong to the church of england; and after his early boyhood he seems usually to have gone to church and not to mr. case's. it appears ("st. james' gazette", dec. , ) that a mural tablet has been erected to his memory in the chapel, which is now known as the 'free christian church.') my taste for natural history, and more especially for collecting, was well developed. i tried to make out the names of plants (rev. w.a. leighton, who was a schoolfellow of my father's at mr. case's school, remembers his bringing a flower to school and saying that his mother had taught him how by looking at the inside of the blossom the name of the plant could be discovered. mr. leighton goes on, "this greatly roused my attention and curiosity, and i enquired of him repeatedly how this could be done?"--but his lesson was naturally enough not transmissible.--f.d.), and collected all sorts of things, shells, seals, franks, coins, and minerals. the passion for collecting which leads a man to be a systematic naturalist, a virtuoso, or a miser, was very strong in me, and was clearly innate, as none of my sisters or brother ever had this taste. one little event during this year has fixed itself very firmly in my mind, and i hope that it has done so from my conscience having been afterwards sorely troubled by it; it is curious as showing that apparently i was interested at this early age in the variability of plants! i told another little boy (i believe it was leighton, who afterwards became a well-known lichenologist and botanist), that i could produce variously coloured polyanthuses and primroses by watering them with certain coloured fluids, which was of course a monstrous fable, and had never been tried by me. i may here also confess that as a little boy i was much given to inventing deliberate falsehoods, and this was always done for the sake of causing excitement. for instance, i once gathered much valuable fruit from my father's trees and hid it in the shrubbery, and then ran in breathless haste to spread the news that i had discovered a hoard of stolen fruit. i must have been a very simple little fellow when i first went to the school. a boy of the name of garnett took me into a cake shop one day, and bought some cakes for which he did not pay, as the shopman trusted him. when we came out i asked him why he did not pay for them, and he instantly answered, "why, do you not know that my uncle left a great sum of money to the town on condition that every tradesman should give whatever was wanted without payment to any one who wore his old hat and moved [it] in a particular manner?" and he then showed me how it was moved. he then went into another shop where he was trusted, and asked for some small article, moving his hat in the proper manner, and of course obtained it without payment. when we came out he said, "now if you like to go by yourself into that cake-shop (how well i remember its exact position) i will lend you my hat, and you can get whatever you like if you move the hat on your head properly." i gladly accepted the generous offer, and went in and asked for some cakes, moved the old hat and was walking out of the shop, when the shopman made a rush at me, so i dropped the cakes and ran for dear life, and was astonished by being greeted with shouts of laughter by my false friend garnett. i can say in my own favour that i was as a boy humane, but i owed this entirely to the instruction and example of my sisters. i doubt indeed whether humanity is a natural or innate quality. i was very fond of collecting eggs, but i never took more than a single egg out of a bird's nest, except on one single occasion, when i took all, not for their value, but from a sort of bravado. i had a strong taste for angling, and would sit for any number of hours on the bank of a river or pond watching the float; when at maer (the house of his uncle, josiah wedgwood.) i was told that i could kill the worms with salt and water, and from that day i never spitted a living worm, though at the expense probably of some loss of success. once as a very little boy whilst at the day school, or before that time, i acted cruelly, for i beat a puppy, i believe, simply from enjoying the sense of power; but the beating could not have been severe, for the puppy did not howl, of which i feel sure, as the spot was near the house. this act lay heavily on my conscience, as is shown by my remembering the exact spot where the crime was committed. it probably lay all the heavier from my love of dogs being then, and for a long time afterwards, a passion. dogs seemed to know this, for i was an adept in robbing their love from their masters. i remember clearly only one other incident during this year whilst at mr. case's daily school,--namely, the burial of a dragoon soldier; and it is surprising how clearly i can still see the horse with the man's empty boots and carbine suspended to the saddle, and the firing over the grave. this scene deeply stirred whatever poetic fancy there was in me. in the summer of i went to dr. butler's great school in shrewsbury, and remained there for seven years still midsummer , when i was sixteen years old. i boarded at this school, so that i had the great advantage of living the life of a true schoolboy; but as the distance was hardly more than a mile to my home, i very often ran there in the longer intervals between the callings over and before locking up at night. this, i think, was in many ways advantageous to me by keeping up home affections and interests. i remember in the early part of my school life that i often had to run very quickly to be in time, and from being a fleet runner was generally successful; but when in doubt i prayed earnestly to god to help me, and i well remember that i attributed my success to the prayers and not to my quick running, and marvelled how generally i was aided. i have heard my father and elder sister say that i had, as a very young boy, a strong taste for long solitary walks; but what i thought about i know not. i often became quite absorbed, and once, whilst returning to school on the summit of the old fortifications round shrewsbury, which had been converted into a public foot-path with no parapet on one side, i walked off and fell to the ground, but the height was only seven or eight feet. nevertheless the number of thoughts which passed through my mind during this very short, but sudden and wholly unexpected fall, was astonishing, and seem hardly compatible with what physiologists have, i believe, proved about each thought requiring quite an appreciable amount of time. nothing could have been worse for the development of my mind than dr. butler's school, as it was strictly classical, nothing else being taught, except a little ancient geography and history. the school as a means of education to me was simply a blank. during my whole life i have been singularly incapable of mastering any language. especial attention was paid to verse-making, and this i could never do well. i had many friends, and got together a good collection of old verses, which by patching together, sometimes aided by other boys, i could work into any subject. much attention was paid to learning by heart the lessons of the previous day; this i could effect with great facility, learning forty or fifty lines of virgil or homer, whilst i was in morning chapel; but this exercise was utterly useless, for every verse was forgotten in forty-eight hours. i was not idle, and with the exception of versification, generally worked conscientiously at my classics, not using cribs. the sole pleasure i ever received from such studies, was from some of the odes of horace, which i admired greatly. when i left the school i was for my age neither high nor low in it; and i believe that i was considered by all my masters and by my father as a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard in intellect. to my deep mortification my father once said to me, "you care for nothing but shooting, dogs, and rat-catching, and you will be a disgrace to yourself and all your family." but my father, who was the kindest man i ever knew and whose memory i love with all my heart, must have been angry and somewhat unjust when he used such words. looking back as well as i can at my character during my school life, the only qualities which at this period promised well for the future, were, that i had strong and diversified tastes, much zeal for whatever interested me, and a keen pleasure in understanding any complex subject or thing. i was taught euclid by a private tutor, and i distinctly remember the intense satisfaction which the clear geometrical proofs gave me. i remember, with equal distinctness, the delight which my uncle gave me (the father of francis galton) by explaining the principle of the vernier of a barometer with respect to diversified tastes, independently of science, i was fond of reading various books, and i used to sit for hours reading the historical plays of shakespeare, generally in an old window in the thick walls of the school. i read also other poetry, such as thomson's 'seasons,' and the recently published poems of byron and scott. i mention this because later in life i wholly lost, to my great regret, all pleasure from poetry of any kind, including shakespeare. in connection with pleasure from poetry, i may add that in a vivid delight in scenery was first awakened in my mind, during a riding tour on the borders of wales, and this has lasted longer than any other aesthetic pleasure. early in my school days a boy had a copy of the 'wonders of the world,' which i often read, and disputed with other boys about the veracity of some of the statements; and i believe that this book first gave me a wish to travel in remote countries, which was ultimately fulfilled by the voyage of the "beagle". in the latter part of my school life i became passionately fond of shooting; i do not believe that any one could have shown more zeal for the most holy cause than i did for shooting birds. how well i remember killing my first snipe, and my excitement was so great that i had much difficulty in reloading my gun from the trembling of my hands. this taste long continued, and i became a very good shot. when at cambridge i used to practise throwing up my gun to my shoulder before a looking-glass to see that i threw it up straight. another and better plan was to get a friend to wave about a lighted candle, and then to fire at it with a cap on the nipple, and if the aim was accurate the little puff of air would blow out the candle. the explosion of the cap caused a sharp crack, and i was told that the tutor of the college remarked, "what an extraordinary thing it is, mr. darwin seems to spend hours in cracking a horse-whip in his room, for i often hear the crack when i pass under his windows." i had many friends amongst the schoolboys, whom i loved dearly, and i think that my disposition was then very affectionate. with respect to science, i continued collecting minerals with much zeal, but quite unscientifically--all that i cared about was a new-_named_ mineral, and i hardly attempted to classify them. i must have observed insects with some little care, for when ten years old ( ) i went for three weeks to plas edwards on the sea-coast in wales, i was very much interested and surprised at seeing a large black and scarlet hemipterous insect, many moths (zygaena), and a cicindela which are not found in shropshire. i almost made up my mind to begin collecting all the insects which i could find dead, for on consulting my sister i concluded that it was not right to kill insects for the sake of making a collection. from reading white's 'selborne,' i took much pleasure in watching the habits of birds, and even made notes on the subject. in my simplicity i remember wondering why every gentleman did not become an ornithologist. towards the close of my school life, my brother worked hard at chemistry, and made a fair laboratory with proper apparatus in the tool-house in the garden, and i was allowed to aid him as a servant in most of his experiments. he made all the gases and many compounds, and i read with great care several books on chemistry, such as henry and parkes' 'chemical catechism.' the subject interested me greatly, and we often used to go on working till rather late at night. this was the best part of my education at school, for it showed me practically the meaning of experimental science. the fact that we worked at chemistry somehow got known at school, and as it was an unprecedented fact, i was nicknamed "gas." i was also once publicly rebuked by the head-master, dr. butler, for thus wasting my time on such useless subjects; and he called me very unjustly a "poco curante," and as i did not understand what he meant, it seemed to me a fearful reproach. as i was doing no good at school, my father wisely took me away at a rather earlier age than usual, and sent me (oct. ) to edinburgh university with my brother, where i stayed for two years or sessions. my brother was completing his medical studies, though i do not believe he ever really intended to practise, and i was sent there to commence them. but soon after this period i became convinced from various small circumstances that my father would leave me property enough to subsist on with some comfort, though i never imagined that i should be so rich a man as i am; but my belief was sufficient to check any strenuous efforts to learn medicine. the instruction at edinburgh was altogether by lectures, and these were intolerably dull, with the exception of those on chemistry by hope; but to my mind there are no advantages and many disadvantages in lectures compared with reading. dr. duncan's lectures on materia medica at o'clock on a winter's morning are something fearful to remember. dr.---- made his lectures on human anatomy as dull as he was himself, and the subject disgusted me. it has proved one of the greatest evils in my life that i was not urged to practise dissection, for i should soon have got over my disgust; and the practice would have been invaluable for all my future work. this has been an irremediable evil, as well as my incapacity to draw. i also attended regularly the clinical wards in the hospital. some of the cases distressed me a good deal, and i still have vivid pictures before me of some of them; but i was not so foolish as to allow this to lessen my attendance. i cannot understand why this part of my medical course did not interest me in a greater degree; for during the summer before coming to edinburgh i began attending some of the poor people, chiefly children and women in shrewsbury: i wrote down as full an account as i could of the case with all the symptoms, and read them aloud to my father, who suggested further inquiries and advised me what medicines to give, which i made up myself. at one time i had at least a dozen patients, and i felt a keen interest in the work. my father, who was by far the best judge of character whom i ever knew, declared that i should make a successful physician,--meaning by this one who would get many patients. he maintained that the chief element of success was exciting confidence; but what he saw in me which convinced him that i should create confidence i know not. i also attended on two occasions the operating theatre in the hospital at edinburgh, and saw two very bad operations, one on a child, but i rushed away before they were completed. nor did i ever attend again, for hardly any inducement would have been strong enough to make me do so; this being long before the blessed days of chloroform. the two cases fairly haunted me for many a long year. my brother stayed only one year at the university, so that during the second year i was left to my own resources; and this was an advantage, for i became well acquainted with several young men fond of natural science. one of these was ainsworth, who afterwards published his travels in assyria; he was a wernerian geologist, and knew a little about many subjects. dr. coldstream was a very different young man, prim, formal, highly religious, and most kind-hearted; he afterwards published some good zoological articles. a third young man was hardie, who would, i think, have made a good botanist, but died early in india. lastly, dr. grant, my senior by several years, but how i became acquainted with him i cannot remember; he published some first-rate zoological papers, but after coming to london as professor in university college, he did nothing more in science, a fact which has always been inexplicable to me. i knew him well; he was dry and formal in manner, with much enthusiasm beneath this outer crust. he one day, when we were walking together, burst forth in high admiration of lamarck and his views on evolution. i listened in silent astonishment, and as far as i can judge without any effect on my mind. i had previously read the 'zoonomia' of my grandfather, in which similar views are maintained, but without producing any effect on me. nevertheless it is probable that the hearing rather early in life such views maintained and praised may have favoured my upholding them under a different form in my 'origin of species.' at this time i admired greatly the 'zoonomia;' but on reading it a second time after an interval of ten or fifteen years, i was much disappointed; the proportion of speculation being so large to the facts given. drs. grant and coldstream attended much to marine zoology, and i often accompanied the former to collect animals in the tidal pools, which i dissected as well as i could. i also became friends with some of the newhaven fishermen, and sometimes accompanied them when they trawled for oysters, and thus got many specimens. but from not having had any regular practice in dissection, and from possessing only a wretched microscope, my attempts were very poor. nevertheless i made one interesting little discovery, and read, about the beginning of the year , a short paper on the subject before the plinian society. this was that the so-called ova of flustra had the power of independent movement by means of cilia, and were in fact larvae. in another short paper i showed that the little globular bodies which had been supposed to be the young state of fucus loreus were the egg-cases of the wormlike pontobdella muricata. the plinian society was encouraged and, i believe, founded by professor jameson: it consisted of students and met in an underground room in the university for the sake of reading papers on natural science and discussing them. i used regularly to attend, and the meetings had a good effect on me in stimulating my zeal and giving me new congenial acquaintances. one evening a poor young man got up, and after stammering for a prodigious length of time, blushing crimson, he at last slowly got out the words, "mr. president, i have forgotten what i was going to say." the poor fellow looked quite overwhelmed, and all the members were so surprised that no one could think of a word to say to cover his confusion. the papers which were read to our little society were not printed, so that i had not the satisfaction of seeing my paper in print; but i believe dr. grant noticed my small discovery in his excellent memoir on flustra. i was also a member of the royal medical society, and attended pretty regularly; but as the subjects were exclusively medical, i did not much care about them. much rubbish was talked there, but there were some good speakers, of whom the best was the present sir j. kay-shuttleworth. dr. grant took me occasionally to the meetings of the wernerian society, where various papers on natural history were read, discussed, and afterwards published in the 'transactions.' i heard audubon deliver there some interesting discourses on the habits of n. american birds, sneering somewhat unjustly at waterton. by the way, a negro lived in edinburgh, who had travelled with waterton, and gained his livelihood by stuffing birds, which he did excellently: he gave me lessons for payment, and i used often to sit with him, for he was a very pleasant and intelligent man. mr. leonard horner also took me once to a meeting of the royal society of edinburgh, where i saw sir walter scott in the chair as president, and he apologised to the meeting as not feeling fitted for such a position. i looked at him and at the whole scene with some awe and reverence, and i think it was owing to this visit during my youth, and to my having attended the royal medical society, that i felt the honour of being elected a few years ago an honorary member of both these societies, more than any other similar honour. if i had been told at that time that i should one day have been thus honoured, i declare that i should have thought it as ridiculous and improbable, as if i had been told that i should be elected king of england. during my second year at edinburgh i attended ----'s lectures on geology and zoology, but they were incredibly dull. the sole effect they produced on me was the determination never as long as i lived to read a book on geology, or in any way to study the science. yet i feel sure that i was prepared for a philosophical treatment of the subject; for an old mr. cotton in shropshire, who knew a good deal about rocks, had pointed out to me two or three years previously a well-known large erratic boulder in the town of shrewsbury, called the "bell-stone"; he told me that there was no rock of the same kind nearer than cumberland or scotland, and he solemnly assured me that the world would come to an end before any one would be able to explain how this stone came where it now lay. this produced a deep impression on me, and i meditated over this wonderful stone. so that i felt the keenest delight when i first read of the action of icebergs in transporting boulders, and i gloried in the progress of geology. equally striking is the fact that i, though now only sixty-seven years old, heard the professor, in a field lecture at salisbury craigs, discoursing on a trapdyke, with amygdaloidal margins and the strata indurated on each side, with volcanic rocks all around us, say that it was a fissure filled with sediment from above, adding with a sneer that there were men who maintained that it had been injected from beneath in a molten condition. when i think of this lecture, i do not wonder that i determined never to attend to geology. from attending ----'s lectures, i became acquainted with the curator of the museum, mr. macgillivray, who afterwards published a large and excellent book on the birds of scotland. i had much interesting natural-history talk with him, and he was very kind to me. he gave me some rare shells, for i at that time collected marine mollusca, but with no great zeal. my summer vacations during these two years were wholly given up to amusements, though i always had some book in hand, which i read with interest. during the summer of i took a long walking tour with two friends with knapsacks on our backs through north wales. we walked thirty miles most days, including one day the ascent of snowdon. i also went with my sister a riding tour in north wales, a servant with saddle-bags carrying our clothes. the autumns were devoted to shooting chiefly at mr. owen's, at woodhouse, and at my uncle jos's (josiah wedgwood, the son of the founder of the etruria works.) at maer. my zeal was so great that i used to place my shooting-boots open by my bed-side when i went to bed, so as not to lose half a minute in putting them on in the morning; and on one occasion i reached a distant part of the maer estate, on the th of august for black-game shooting, before i could see: i then toiled on with the game-keeper the whole day through thick heath and young scotch firs. i kept an exact record of every bird which i shot throughout the whole season. one day when shooting at woodhouse with captain owen, the eldest son, and major hill, his cousin, afterwards lord berwick, both of whom i liked very much, i thought myself shamefully used, for every time after i had fired and thought that i had killed a bird, one of the two acted as if loading his gun, and cried out, "you must not count that bird, for i fired at the same time," and the gamekeeper, perceiving the joke, backed them up. after some hours they told me the joke, but it was no joke to me, for i had shot a large number of birds, but did not know how many, and could not add them to my list, which i used to do by making a knot in a piece of string tied to a button-hole. this my wicked friends had perceived. how i did enjoy shooting! but i think that i must have been half-consciously ashamed of my zeal, for i tried to persuade myself that shooting was almost an intellectual employment; it required so much skill to judge where to find most game and to hunt the dogs well. one of my autumnal visits to maer in was memorable from meeting there sir j. mackintosh, who was the best converser i ever listened to. i heard afterwards with a glow of pride that he had said, "there is something in that young man that interests me." this must have been chiefly due to his perceiving that i listened with much interest to everything which he said, for i was as ignorant as a pig about his subjects of history, politics, and moral philosophy. to hear of praise from an eminent person, though no doubt apt or certain to excite vanity, is, i think, good for a young man, as it helps to keep him in the right course. my visits to maer during these two or three succeeding years were quite delightful, independently of the autumnal shooting. life there was perfectly free; the country was very pleasant for walking or riding; and in the evening there was much very agreeable conversation, not so personal as it generally is in large family parties, together with music. in the summer the whole family used often to sit on the steps of the old portico, with the flower-garden in front, and with the steep wooded bank opposite the house reflected in the lake, with here and there a fish rising or a water-bird paddling about. nothing has left a more vivid picture on my mind than these evenings at maer. i was also attached to and greatly revered my uncle jos; he was silent and reserved, so as to be a rather awful man; but he sometimes talked openly with me. he was the very type of an upright man, with the clearest judgment. i do not believe that any power on earth could have made him swerve an inch from what he considered the right course. i used to apply to him in my mind the well-known ode of horace, now forgotten by me, in which the words "nec vultus tyranni, etc.," come in. (justum et tenacem propositi virum non civium ardor prava jubentium non vultus instantis tyranni mente quatit solida.) cambridge - . after having spent two sessions in edinburgh, my father perceived, or he heard from my sisters, that i did not like the thought of being a physician, so he proposed that i should become a clergyman. he was very properly vehement against my turning into an idle sporting man, which then seemed my probable destination. i asked for some time to consider, as from what little i had heard or thought on the subject i had scruples about declaring my belief in all the dogmas of the church of england; though otherwise i liked the thought of being a country clergyman. accordingly i read with care 'pearson on the creed,' and a few other books on divinity; and as i did not then in the least doubt the strict and literal truth of every word in the bible, i soon persuaded myself that our creed must be fully accepted. considering how fiercely i have been attacked by the orthodox, it seems ludicrous that i once intended to be a clergyman. nor was this intention and my father's wish ever formerly given up, but died a natural death when, on leaving cambridge, i joined the "beagle" as naturalist. if the phrenologists are to be trusted, i was well fitted in one respect to be a clergyman. a few years ago the secretaries of a german psychological society asked me earnestly by letter for a photograph of myself; and some time afterwards i received the proceedings of one of the meetings, in which it seemed that the shape of my head had been the subject of a public discussion, and one of the speakers declared that i had the bump of reverence developed enough for ten priests. as it was decided that i should be a clergyman, it was necessary that i should go to one of the english universities and take a degree; but as i had never opened a classical book since leaving school, i found to my dismay, that in the two intervening years i had actually forgotten, incredible as it may appear, almost everything which i had learnt, even to some few of the greek letters. i did not therefore proceed to cambridge at the usual time in october, but worked with a private tutor in shrewsbury, and went to cambridge after the christmas vacation, early in . i soon recovered my school standard of knowledge, and could translate easy greek books, such as homer and the greek testament, with moderate facility. during the three years which i spent at cambridge my time was wasted, as far as the academical studies were concerned, as completely as at edinburgh and at school. i attempted mathematics, and even went during the summer of with a private tutor (a very dull man) to barmouth, but i got on very slowly. the work was repugnant to me, chiefly from my not being able to see any meaning in the early steps in algebra. this impatience was very foolish, and in after years i have deeply regretted that i did not proceed far enough at least to understand something of the great leading principles of mathematics, for men thus endowed seem to have an extra sense. but i do not believe that i should ever have succeeded beyond a very low grade. with respect to classics i did nothing except attend a few compulsory college lectures, and the attendance was almost nominal. in my second year i had to work for a month or two to pass the little-go, which i did easily. again, in my last year i worked with some earnestness for my final degree of b.a., and brushed up my classics, together with a little algebra and euclid, which latter gave me much pleasure, as it did at school. in order to pass the b.a. examination, it was also necessary to get up paley's 'evidences of christianity,' and his 'moral philosophy.' this was done in a thorough manner, and i am convinced that i could have written out the whole of the 'evidences' with perfect correctness, but not of course in the clear language of paley. the logic of this book and, as i may add, of his 'natural theology,' gave me as much delight as did euclid. the careful study of these works, without attempting to learn any part by rote, was the only part of the academical course which, as i then felt and as i still believe, was of the least use to me in the education of my mind. i did not at that time trouble myself about paley's premises; and taking these on trust, i was charmed and convinced by the long line of argumentation. by answering well the examination questions in paley, by doing euclid well, and by not failing miserably in classics, i gained a good place among the oi polloi or crowd of men who do not go in for honours. oddly enough, i cannot remember how high i stood, and my memory fluctuates between the fifth, tenth, or twelfth, name on the list. (tenth in the list of january .) public lectures on several branches were given in the university, attendance being quite voluntary; but i was so sickened with lectures at edinburgh that i did not even attend sedgwick's eloquent and interesting lectures. had i done so i should probably have become a geologist earlier than i did. i attended, however, henslow's lectures on botany, and liked them much for their extreme clearness, and the admirable illustrations; but i did not study botany. henslow used to take his pupils, including several of the older members of the university, field excursions, on foot or in coaches, to distant places, or in a barge down the river, and lectured on the rarer plants and animals which were observed. these excursions were delightful. although, as we shall presently see, there were some redeeming features in my life at cambridge, my time was sadly wasted there, and worse than wasted. from my passion for shooting and for hunting, and, when this failed, for riding across country, i got into a sporting set, including some dissipated low-minded young men. we used often to dine together in the evening, though these dinners often included men of a higher stamp, and we sometimes drank too much, with jolly singing and playing at cards afterwards. i know that i ought to feel ashamed of days and evenings thus spent, but as some of my friends were very pleasant, and we were all in the highest spirits, i cannot help looking back to these times with much pleasure. but i am glad to think that i had many other friends of a widely different nature. i was very intimate with whitley (rev. c. whitley, hon. canon of durham, formerly reader in natural philosophy in durham university.), who was afterwards senior wrangler, and we used continually to take long walks together. he inoculated me with a taste for pictures and good engravings, of which i bought some. i frequently went to the fitzwilliam gallery, and my taste must have been fairly good, for i certainly admired the best pictures, which i discussed with the old curator. i read also with much interest sir joshua reynolds' book. this taste, though not natural to me, lasted for several years, and many of the pictures in the national gallery in london gave me much pleasure; that of sebastian del piombo exciting in me a sense of sublimity. i also got into a musical set, i believe by means of my warm-hearted friend, herbert (the late john maurice herbert, county court judge of cardiff and the monmouth circuit.), who took a high wrangler's degree. from associating with these men, and hearing them play, i acquired a strong taste for music, and used very often to time my walks so as to hear on week days the anthem in king's college chapel. this gave me intense pleasure, so that my backbone would sometimes shiver. i am sure that there was no affectation or mere imitation in this taste, for i used generally to go by myself to king's college, and i sometimes hired the chorister boys to sing in my rooms. nevertheless i am so utterly destitute of an ear, that i cannot perceive a discord, or keep time and hum a tune correctly; and it is a mystery how i could possibly have derived pleasure from music. my musical friends soon perceived my state, and sometimes amused themselves by making me pass an examination, which consisted in ascertaining how many tunes i could recognise when they were played rather more quickly or slowly than usual. 'god save the king,' when thus played, was a sore puzzle. there was another man with almost as bad an ear as i had, and strange to say he played a little on the flute. once i had the triumph of beating him in one of our musical examinations. but no pursuit at cambridge was followed with nearly so much eagerness or gave me so much pleasure as collecting beetles. it was the mere passion for collecting, for i did not dissect them, and rarely compared their external characters with published descriptions, but got them named anyhow. i will give a proof of my zeal: one day, on tearing off some old bark, i saw two rare beetles, and seized one in each hand; then i saw a third and new kind, which i could not bear to lose, so that i popped the one which i held in my right hand into my mouth. alas! it ejected some intensely acrid fluid, which burnt my tongue so that i was forced to spit the beetle out, which was lost, as was the third one. i was very successful in collecting, and invented two new methods; i employed a labourer to scrape during the winter, moss off old trees and place it in a large bag, and likewise to collect the rubbish at the bottom of the barges in which reeds are brought from the fens, and thus i got some very rare species. no poet ever felt more delighted at seeing his first poem published than i did at seeing, in stephens' 'illustrations of british insects,' the magic words, "captured by c. darwin, esq." i was introduced to entomology by my second cousin w. darwin fox, a clever and most pleasant man, who was then at christ's college, and with whom i became extremely intimate. afterwards i became well acquainted, and went out collecting, with albert way of trinity, who in after years became a well-known archaeologist; also with h. thompson of the same college, afterwards a leading agriculturist, chairman of a great railway, and member of parliament. it seems therefore that a taste for collecting beetles is some indication of future success in life! i am surprised what an indelible impression many of the beetles which i caught at cambridge have left on my mind. i can remember the exact appearance of certain posts, old trees and banks where i made a good capture. the pretty panagaeus crux-major was a treasure in those days, and here at down i saw a beetle running across a walk, and on picking it up instantly perceived that it differed slightly from p. crux-major, and it turned out to be p. quadripunctatus, which is only a variety or closely allied species, differing from it very slightly in outline. i had never seen in those old days licinus alive, which to an uneducated eye hardly differs from many of the black carabidous beetles; but my sons found here a specimen, and i instantly recognised that it was new to me; yet i had not looked at a british beetle for the last twenty years. i have not as yet mentioned a circumstance which influenced my whole career more than any other. this was my friendship with professor henslow. before coming up to cambridge, i had heard of him from my brother as a man who knew every branch of science, and i was accordingly prepared to reverence him. he kept open house once every week when all undergraduates, and some older members of the university, who were attached to science, used to meet in the evening. i soon got, through fox, an invitation, and went there regularly. before long i became well acquainted with henslow, and during the latter half of my time at cambridge took long walks with him on most days; so that i was called by some of the dons "the man who walks with henslow;" and in the evening i was very often asked to join his family dinner. his knowledge was great in botany, entomology, chemistry, mineralogy, and geology. his strongest taste was to draw conclusions from long-continued minute observations. his judgment was excellent, and his whole mind well balanced; but i do not suppose that any one would say that he possessed much original genius. he was deeply religious, and so orthodox that he told me one day he should be grieved if a single word of the thirty-nine articles were altered. his moral qualities were in every way admirable. he was free from every tinge of vanity or other petty feeling; and i never saw a man who thought so little about himself or his own concerns. his temper was imperturbably good, with the most winning and courteous manners; yet, as i have seen, he could be roused by any bad action to the warmest indignation and prompt action. i once saw in his company in the streets of cambridge almost as horrid a scene as could have been witnessed during the french revolution. two body-snatchers had been arrested, and whilst being taken to prison had been torn from the constable by a crowd of the roughest men, who dragged them by their legs along the muddy and stony road. they were covered from head to foot with mud, and their faces were bleeding either from having been kicked or from the stones; they looked like corpses, but the crowd was so dense that i got only a few momentary glimpses of the wretched creatures. never in my life have i seen such wrath painted on a man's face as was shown by henslow at this horrid scene. he tried repeatedly to penetrate the mob; but it was simply impossible. he then rushed away to the mayor, telling me not to follow him, but to get more policemen. i forget the issue, except that the two men were got into the prison without being killed. henslow's benevolence was unbounded, as he proved by his many excellent schemes for his poor parishioners, when in after years he held the living of hitcham. my intimacy with such a man ought to have been, and i hope was, an inestimable benefit. i cannot resist mentioning a trifling incident, which showed his kind consideration. whilst examining some pollen-grains on a damp surface, i saw the tubes exserted, and instantly rushed off to communicate my surprising discovery to him. now i do not suppose any other professor of botany could have helped laughing at my coming in such a hurry to make such a communication. but he agreed how interesting the phenomenon was, and explained its meaning, but made me clearly understand how well it was known; so i left him not in the least mortified, but well pleased at having discovered for myself so remarkable a fact, but determined not to be in such a hurry again to communicate my discoveries. dr. whewell was one of the older and distinguished men who sometimes visited henslow, and on several occasions i walked home with him at night. next to sir j. mackintosh he was the best converser on grave subjects to whom i ever listened. leonard jenyns (the well-known soame jenyns was cousin to mr. jenyns' father.), who afterwards published some good essays in natural history (mr. jenyns (now blomefield) described the fish for the zoology of the "beagle"; and is author of a long series of papers, chiefly zoological.), often stayed with henslow, who was his brother-in-law. i visited him at his parsonage on the borders of the fens [swaffham bulbeck], and had many a good walk and talk with him about natural history. i became also acquainted with several other men older than me, who did not care much about science, but were friends of henslow. one was a scotchman, brother of sir alexander ramsay, and tutor of jesus college: he was a delightful man, but did not live for many years. another was mr. dawes, afterwards dean of hereford, and famous for his success in the education of the poor. these men and others of the same standing, together with henslow, used sometimes to take distant excursions into the country, which i was allowed to join, and they were most agreeable. looking back, i infer that there must have been something in me a little superior to the common run of youths, otherwise the above-mentioned men, so much older than me and higher in academical position, would never have allowed me to associate with them. certainly i was not aware of any such superiority, and i remember one of my sporting friends, turner, who saw me at work with my beetles, saying that i should some day be a fellow of the royal society, and the notion seemed to me preposterous. during my last year at cambridge, i read with care and profound interest humboldt's 'personal narrative.' this work, and sir j. herschel's 'introduction to the study of natural philosophy,' stirred up in me a burning zeal to add even the most humble contribution to the noble structure of natural science. no one or a dozen other books influenced me nearly so much as these two. i copied out from humboldt long passages about teneriffe, and read them aloud on one of the above-mentioned excursions, to (i think) henslow, ramsay, and dawes, for on a previous occasion i had talked about the glories of teneriffe, and some of the party declared they would endeavour to go there; but i think that they were only half in earnest. i was, however, quite in earnest, and got an introduction to a merchant in london to enquire about ships; but the scheme was, of course, knocked on the head by the voyage of the "beagle". my summer vacations were given up to collecting beetles, to some reading, and short tours. in the autumn my whole time was devoted to shooting, chiefly at woodhouse and maer, and sometimes with young eyton of eyton. upon the whole the three years which i spent at cambridge were the most joyful in my happy life; for i was then in excellent health, and almost always in high spirits. as i had at first come up to cambridge at christmas, i was forced to keep two terms after passing my final examination, at the commencement of ; and henslow then persuaded me to begin the study of geology. therefore on my return to shropshire i examined sections, and coloured a map of parts round shrewsbury. professor sedgwick intended to visit north wales in the beginning of august to pursue his famous geological investigations amongst the older rocks, and henslow asked him to allow me to accompany him. (in connection with this tour my father used to tell a story about sedgwick: they had started from their inn one morning, and had walked a mile or two, when sedgwick suddenly stopped, and vowed that he would return, being certain "that damned scoundrel" (the waiter) had not given the chambermaid the sixpence intrusted to him for the purpose. he was ultimately persuaded to give up the project, seeing that there was no reason for suspecting the waiter of especial perfidy.--f.d.) accordingly he came and slept at my father's house. a short conversation with him during this evening produced a strong impression on my mind. whilst examining an old gravel-pit near shrewsbury, a labourer told me that he had found in it a large worn tropical volute shell, such as may be seen on the chimney-pieces of cottages; and as he would not sell the shell, i was convinced that he had really found it in the pit. i told sedgwick of the fact, and he at once said (no doubt truly) that it must have been thrown away by some one into the pit; but then added, if really embedded there it would be the greatest misfortune to geology, as it would overthrow all that we know about the superficial deposits of the midland counties. these gravel-beds belong in fact to the glacial period, and in after years i found in them broken arctic shells. but i was then utterly astonished at sedgwick not being delighted at so wonderful a fact as a tropical shell being found near the surface in the middle of england. nothing before had ever made me thoroughly realise, though i had read various scientific books, that science consists in grouping facts so that general laws or conclusions may be drawn from them. next morning we started for llangollen, conway, bangor, and capel curig. this tour was of decided use in teaching me a little how to make out the geology of a country. sedgwick often sent me on a line parallel to his, telling me to bring back specimens of the rocks and to mark the stratification on a map. i have little doubt that he did this for my good, as i was too ignorant to have aided him. on this tour i had a striking instance of how easy it is to overlook phenomena, however conspicuous, before they have been observed by any one. we spent many hours in cwm idwal, examining all the rocks with extreme care, as sedgwick was anxious to find fossils in them; but neither of us saw a trace of the wonderful glacial phenomena all around us; we did not notice the plainly scored rocks, the perched boulders, the lateral and terminal moraines. yet these phenomena are so conspicuous that, as i declared in a paper published many years afterwards in the 'philosophical magazine' ('philosophical magazine,' .), a house burnt down by fire did not tell its story more plainly than did this valley. if it had still been filled by a glacier, the phenomena would have been less distinct than they now are. at capel curig i left sedgwick and went in a straight line by compass and map across the mountains to barmouth, never following any track unless it coincided with my course. i thus came on some strange wild places, and enjoyed much this manner of travelling. i visited barmouth to see some cambridge friends who were reading there, and thence returned to shrewsbury and to maer for shooting; for at that time i should have thought myself mad to give up the first days of partridge-shooting for geology or any other science. "voyage of the 'beagle' from december , , to october , ." on returning home from my short geological tour in north wales, i found a letter from henslow, informing me that captain fitz-roy was willing to give up part of his own cabin to any young man who would volunteer to go with him without pay as naturalist to the voyage of the "beagle". i have given, as i believe, in my ms. journal an account of all the circumstances which then occurred; i will here only say that i was instantly eager to accept the offer, but my father strongly objected, adding the words, fortunate for me, "if you can find any man of common sense who advises you to go i will give my consent." so i wrote that evening and refused the offer. on the next morning i went to maer to be ready for september st, and, whilst out shooting, my uncle (josiah wedgwood.) sent for me, offering to drive me over to shrewsbury and talk with my father, as my uncle thought it would be wise in me to accept the offer. my father always maintained that he was one of the most sensible men in the world, and he at once consented in the kindest manner. i had been rather extravagant at cambridge, and to console my father, said, "that i should be deuced clever to spend more than my allowance whilst on board the 'beagle';" but he answered with a smile, "but they tell me you are very clever." next day i started for cambridge to see henslow, and thence to london to see fitz-roy, and all was soon arranged. afterwards, on becoming very intimate with fitz-roy, i heard that i had run a very narrow risk of being rejected, on account of the shape of my nose! he was an ardent disciple of lavater, and was convinced that he could judge of a man's character by the outline of his features; and he doubted whether any one with my nose could possess sufficient energy and determination for the voyage. but i think he was afterwards well satisfied that my nose had spoken falsely. fitz-roy's character was a singular one, with very many noble features: he was devoted to his duty, generous to a fault, bold, determined, and indomitably energetic, and an ardent friend to all under his sway. he would undertake any sort of trouble to assist those whom he thought deserved assistance. he was a handsome man, strikingly like a gentleman, with highly courteous manners, which resembled those of his maternal uncle, the famous lord castlereagh, as i was told by the minister at rio. nevertheless he must have inherited much in his appearance from charles ii., for dr. wallich gave me a collection of photographs which he had made, and i was struck with the resemblance of one to fitz-roy; and on looking at the name, i found it ch. e. sobieski stuart, count d'albanie, a descendant of the same monarch. fitz-roy's temper was a most unfortunate one. it was usually worst in the early morning, and with his eagle eye he could generally detect something amiss about the ship, and was then unsparing in his blame. he was very kind to me, but was a man very difficult to live with on the intimate terms which necessarily followed from our messing by ourselves in the same cabin. we had several quarrels; for instance, early in the voyage at bahia, in brazil, he defended and praised slavery, which i abominated, and told me that he had just visited a great slave-owner, who had called up many of his slaves and asked them whether they were happy, and whether they wished to be free, and all answered "no." i then asked him, perhaps with a sneer, whether he thought that the answer of slaves in the presence of their master was worth anything? this made him excessively angry, and he said that as i doubted his word we could not live any longer together. i thought that i should have been compelled to leave the ship; but as soon as the news spread, which it did quickly, as the captain sent for the first lieutenant to assuage his anger by abusing me, i was deeply gratified by receiving an invitation from all the gun-room officers to mess with them. but after a few hours fitz-roy showed his usual magnanimity by sending an officer to me with an apology and a request that i would continue to live with him. his character was in several respects one of the most noble which i have ever known. the voyage of the "beagle" has been by far the most important event in my life, and has determined my whole career; yet it depended on so small a circumstance as my uncle offering to drive me thirty miles to shrewsbury, which few uncles would have done, and on such a trifle as the shape of my nose. i have always felt that i owe to the voyage the first real training or education of my mind; i was led to attend closely to several branches of natural history, and thus my powers of observation were improved, though they were always fairly developed. the investigation of the geology of all the places visited was far more important, as reasoning here comes into play. on first examining a new district nothing can appear more hopeless than the chaos of rocks; but by recording the stratification and nature of the rocks and fossils at many points, always reasoning and predicting what will be found elsewhere, light soon begins to dawn on the district, and the structure of the whole becomes more or less intelligible. i had brought with me the first volume of lyell's 'principles of geology,' which i studied attentively; and the book was of the highest service to me in many ways. the very first place which i examined, namely st. jago in the cape de verde islands, showed me clearly the wonderful superiority of lyell's manner of treating geology, compared with that of any other author, whose works i had with me or ever afterwards read. another of my occupations was collecting animals of all classes, briefly describing and roughly dissecting many of the marine ones; but from not being able to draw, and from not having sufficient anatomical knowledge, a great pile of ms. which i made during the voyage has proved almost useless. i thus lost much time, with the exception of that spent in acquiring some knowledge of the crustaceans, as this was of service when in after years i undertook a monograph of the cirripedia. during some part of the day i wrote my journal, and took much pains in describing carefully and vividly all that i had seen; and this was good practice. my journal served also, in part, as letters to my home, and portions were sent to england whenever there was an opportunity. the above various special studies were, however, of no importance compared with the habit of energetic industry and of concentrated attention to whatever i was engaged in, which i then acquired. everything about which i thought or read was made to bear directly on what i had seen or was likely to see; and this habit of mind was continued during the five years of the voyage. i feel sure that it was this training which has enabled me to do whatever i have done in science. looking backwards, i can now perceive how my love for science gradually preponderated over every other taste. during the first two years my old passion for shooting survived in nearly full force, and i shot myself all the birds and animals for my collection; but gradually i gave up my gun more and more, and finally altogether, to my servant, as shooting interfered with my work, more especially with making out the geological structure of a country. i discovered, though unconsciously and insensibly, that the pleasure of observing and reasoning was a much higher one than that of skill and sport. that my mind became developed through my pursuits during the voyage is rendered probable by a remark made by my father, who was the most acute observer whom i ever saw, of a sceptical disposition, and far from being a believer in phrenology; for on first seeing me after the voyage, he turned round to my sisters, and exclaimed, "why, the shape of his head is quite altered." to return to the voyage. on september th ( ), i paid a flying visit with fitz-roy to the "beagle" at plymouth. thence to shrewsbury to wish my father and sisters a long farewell. on october th i took up my residence at plymouth, and remained there until december th, when the "beagle" finally left the shores of england for her circumnavigation of the world. we made two earlier attempts to sail, but were driven back each time by heavy gales. these two months at plymouth were the most miserable which i ever spent, though i exerted myself in various ways. i was out of spirits at the thought of leaving all my family and friends for so long a time, and the weather seemed to me inexpressibly gloomy. i was also troubled with palpitation and pain about the heart, and like many a young ignorant man, especially one with a smattering of medical knowledge, was convinced that i had heart disease. i did not consult any doctor, as i fully expected to hear the verdict that i was not fit for the voyage, and i was resolved to go at all hazards. i need not here refer to the events of the voyage--where we went and what we did--as i have given a sufficiently full account in my published journal. the glories of the vegetation of the tropics rise before my mind at the present time more vividly than anything else; though the sense of sublimity, which the great deserts of patagonia and the forest-clad mountains of tierra del fuego excited in me, has left an indelible impression on my mind. the sight of a naked savage in his native land is an event which can never be forgotten. many of my excursions on horseback through wild countries, or in the boats, some of which lasted several weeks, were deeply interesting: their discomfort and some degree of danger were at that time hardly a drawback, and none at all afterwards. i also reflect with high satisfaction on some of my scientific work, such as solving the problem of coral islands, and making out the geological structure of certain islands, for instance, st. helena. nor must i pass over the discovery of the singular relations of the animals and plants inhabiting the several islands of the galapagos archipelago, and of all of them to the inhabitants of south america. as far as i can judge of myself, i worked to the utmost during the voyage from the mere pleasure of investigation, and from my strong desire to add a few facts to the great mass of facts in natural science. but i was also ambitious to take a fair place among scientific men,--whether more ambitious or less so than most of my fellow-workers, i can form no opinion. the geology of st. jago is very striking, yet simple: a stream of lava formerly flowed over the bed of the sea, formed of triturated recent shells and corals, which it has baked into a hard white rock. since then the whole island has been upheaved. but the line of white rock revealed to me a new and important fact, namely, that there had been afterwards subsidence round the craters, which had since been in action, and had poured forth lava. it then first dawned on me that i might perhaps write a book on the geology of the various countries visited, and this made me thrill with delight. that was a memorable hour to me, and how distinctly i can call to mind the low cliff of lava beneath which i rested, with the sun glaring hot, a few strange desert plants growing near, and with living corals in the tidal pools at my feet. later in the voyage, fitz-roy asked me to read some of my journal, and declared it would be worth publishing; so here was a second book in prospect! towards the close of our voyage i received a letter whilst at ascension, in which my sisters told me that sedgwick had called on my father, and said that i should take a place among the leading scientific men. i could not at the time understand how he could have learnt anything of my proceedings, but i heard (i believe afterwards) that henslow had read some of the letters which i wrote to him before the philosophical society of cambridge (read at the meeting held november , , and printed in a pamphlet of pages for distribution among the members of the society.), and had printed them for private distribution. my collection of fossil bones, which had been sent to henslow, also excited considerable attention amongst palaeontologists. after reading this letter, i clambered over the mountains of ascension with a bounding step, and made the volcanic rocks resound under my geological hammer. all this shows how ambitious i was; but i think that i can say with truth that in after years, though i cared in the highest degree for the approbation of such men as lyell and hooker, who were my friends, i did not care much about the general public. i do not mean to say that a favourable review or a large sale of my books did not please me greatly, but the pleasure was a fleeting one, and i am sure that i have never turned one inch out of my course to gain fame. from my return to england (october , ) to my marriage (january , .) these two years and three months were the most active ones which i ever spent, though i was occasionally unwell, and so lost some time. after going backwards and forwards several times between shrewsbury, maer, cambridge, and london, i settled in lodgings at cambridge (in fitzwilliam street.) on december th, where all my collections were under the care of henslow. i stayed here three months, and got my minerals and rocks examined by the aid of professor miller. i began preparing my 'journal of travels,' which was not hard work, as my ms. journal had been written with care, and my chief labour was making an abstract of my more interesting scientific results. i sent also, at the request of lyell, a short account of my observations on the elevation of the coast of chile to the geological society. ('geolog. soc. proc. ii. , pages - .) on march th, , i took lodgings in great marlborough street in london, and remained there for nearly two years, until i was married. during these two years i finished my journal, read several papers before the geological society, began preparing the ms. for my 'geological observations,' and arranged for the publication of the 'zoology of the voyage of the "beagle".' in july i opened my first note-book for facts in relation to the origin of species, about which i had long reflected, and never ceased working for the next twenty years. during these two years i also went a little into society, and acted as one of the honorary secretaries of the geological society. i saw a great deal of lyell. one of his chief characteristics was his sympathy with the work of others, and i was as much astonished as delighted at the interest which he showed when, on my return to england, i explained to him my views on coral reefs. this encouraged me greatly, and his advice and example had much influence on me. during this time i saw also a good deal of robert brown; i used often to call and sit with him during his breakfast on sunday mornings, and he poured forth a rich treasure of curious observations and acute remarks, but they almost always related to minute points, and he never with me discussed large or general questions in science. during these two years i took several short excursions as a relaxation, and one longer one to the parallel roads of glen roy, an account of which was published in the 'philosophical transactions.' ( , pages - .) this paper was a great failure, and i am ashamed of it. having been deeply impressed with what i had seen of the elevation of the land of south america, i attributed the parallel lines to the action of the sea; but i had to give up this view when agassiz propounded his glacier-lake theory. because no other explanation was possible under our then state of knowledge, i argued in favour of sea-action; and my error has been a good lesson to me never to trust in science to the principle of exclusion. as i was not able to work all day at science, i read a good deal during these two years on various subjects, including some metaphysical books; but i was not well fitted for such studies. about this time i took much delight in wordsworth's and coleridge's poetry; and can boast that i read the 'excursion' twice through. formerly milton's 'paradise lost' had been my chief favourite, and in my excursions during the voyage of the "beagle", when i could take only a single volume, i always chose milton. from my marriage, january , , and residence in upper gower street, to our leaving london and settling at down, september , . (after speaking of his happy married life, and of his children, he continues:--) during the three years and eight months whilst we resided in london, i did less scientific work, though i worked as hard as i possibly could, than during any other equal length of time in my life. this was owing to frequently recurring unwellness, and to one long and serious illness. the greater part of my time, when i could do anything, was devoted to my work on 'coral reefs,' which i had begun before my marriage, and of which the last proof-sheet was corrected on may th, . this book, though a small one, cost me twenty months of hard work, as i had to read every work on the islands of the pacific and to consult many charts. it was thought highly of by scientific men, and the theory therein given is, i think, now well established. no other work of mine was begun in so deductive a spirit as this, for the whole theory was thought out on the west coast of south america, before i had seen a true coral reef. i had therefore only to verify and extend my views by a careful examination of living reefs. but it should be observed that i had during the two previous years been incessantly attending to the effects on the shores of south america of the intermittent elevation of the land, together with denudation and the deposition of sediment. this necessarily led me to reflect much on the effects of subsidence, and it was easy to replace in imagination the continued deposition of sediment by the upward growth of corals. to do this was to form my theory of the formation of barrier-reefs and atolls. besides my work on coral-reefs, during my residence in london, i read before the geological society papers on the erratic boulders of south america ('geolog. soc. proc.' iii. .), on earthquakes ('geolog. trans. v. .), and on the formation by the agency of earth-worms of mould. ('geolog. soc. proc. ii. .) i also continued to superintend the publication of the 'zoology of the voyage of the "beagle".' nor did i ever intermit collecting facts bearing on the origin of species; and i could sometimes do this when i could do nothing else from illness. in the summer of i was stronger than i had been for some time, and took a little tour by myself in north wales, for the sake of observing the effects of the old glaciers which formerly filled all the larger valleys. i published a short account of what i saw in the 'philosophical magazine.' ('philosophical magazine,' .) this excursion interested me greatly, and it was the last time i was ever strong enough to climb mountains or to take long walks such as are necessary for geological work. during the early part of our life in london, i was strong enough to go into general society, and saw a good deal of several scientific men, and other more or less distinguished men. i will give my impressions with respect to some of them, though i have little to say worth saying. i saw more of lyell than of any other man, both before and after my marriage. his mind was characterised, as it appeared to me, by clearness, caution, sound judgment, and a good deal of originality. when i made any remark to him on geology, he never rested until he saw the whole case clearly, and often made me see it more clearly than i had done before. he would advance all possible objections to my suggestion, and even after these were exhausted would long remain dubious. a second characteristic was his hearty sympathy with the work of other scientific men. (the slight repetition here observable is accounted for by the notes on lyell, etc., having been added in april, , a few years after the rest of the 'recollections' were written.) on my return from the voyage of the "beagle", i explained to him my views on coral-reefs, which differed from his, and i was greatly surprised and encouraged by the vivid interest which he showed. his delight in science was ardent, and he felt the keenest interest in the future progress of mankind. he was very kind-hearted, and thoroughly liberal in his religious beliefs, or rather disbeliefs; but he was a strong theist. his candour was highly remarkable. he exhibited this by becoming a convert to the descent theory, though he had gained much fame by opposing lamarck's views, and this after he had grown old. he reminded me that i had many years before said to him, when discussing the opposition of the old school of geologists to his new views, "what a good thing it would be if every scientific man was to die when sixty years old, as afterwards he would be sure to oppose all new doctrines." but he hoped that now he might be allowed to live. the science of geology is enormously indebted to lyell--more so, as i believe, than to any other man who ever lived. when [i was] starting on the voyage of the "beagle", the sagacious henslow, who, like all other geologists, believed at that time in successive cataclysms, advised me to get and study the first volume of the 'principles,' which had then just been published, but on no account to accept the views therein advocated. how differently would anyone now speak of the 'principles'! i am proud to remember that the first place, namely, st. jago, in the cape de verde archipelago, in which i geologised, convinced me of the infinite superiority of lyell's views over those advocated in any other work known to me. the powerful effects of lyell's works could formerly be plainly seen in the different progress of the science in france and england. the present total oblivion of elie de beaumont's wild hypotheses, such as his 'craters of elevation' and 'lines of elevation' (which latter hypothesis i heard sedgwick at the geological society lauding to the skies), may be largely attributed to lyell. i saw a good deal of robert brown, "facile princeps botanicorum," as he was called by humboldt. he seemed to me to be chiefly remarkable for the minuteness of his observations, and their perfect accuracy. his knowledge was extraordinarily great, and much died with him, owing to his excessive fear of ever making a mistake. he poured out his knowledge to me in the most unreserved manner, yet was strangely jealous on some points. i called on him two or three times before the voyage of the "beagle", and on one occasion he asked me to look through a microscope and describe what i saw. this i did, and believe now that it was the marvellous currents of protoplasm in some vegetable cell. i then asked him what i had seen; but he answered me, "that is my little secret." he was capable of the most generous actions. when old, much out of health, and quite unfit for any exertion, he daily visited (as hooker told me) an old man-servant, who lived at a distance (and whom he supported), and read aloud to him. this is enough to make up for any degree of scientific penuriousness or jealousy. i may here mention a few other eminent men, whom i have occasionally seen, but i have little to say about them worth saying. i felt a high reverence for sir j. herschel, and was delighted to dine with him at his charming house at the cape of good hope, and afterwards at his london house. i saw him, also, on a few other occasions. he never talked much, but every word which he uttered was worth listening to. i once met at breakfast at sir r. murchison's house the illustrious humboldt, who honoured me by expressing a wish to see me. i was a little disappointed with the great man, but my anticipations probably were too high. i can remember nothing distinctly about our interview, except that humboldt was very cheerful and talked much. --reminds me of buckle whom i once met at hensleigh wedgwood's. i was very glad to learn from him his system of collecting facts. he told me that he bought all the books which he read, and made a full index, to each, of the facts which he thought might prove serviceable to him, and that he could always remember in what book he had read anything, for his memory was wonderful. i asked him how at first he could judge what facts would be serviceable, and he answered that he did not know, but that a sort of instinct guided him. from this habit of making indices, he was enabled to give the astonishing number of references on all sorts of subjects, which may be found in his 'history of civilisation.' this book i thought most interesting, and read it twice, but i doubt whether his generalisations are worth anything. buckle was a great talker, and i listened to him saying hardly a word, nor indeed could i have done so for he left no gaps. when mrs. farrer began to sing, i jumped up and said that i must listen to her; after i had moved away he turned around to a friend and said (as was overheard by my brother), "well, mr. darwin's books are much better than his conversation." of other great literary men, i once met sydney smith at dean milman's house. there was something inexplicably amusing in every word which he uttered. perhaps this was partly due to the expectation of being amused. he was talking about lady cork, who was then extremely old. this was the lady who, as he said, was once so much affected by one of his charity sermons, that she _borrowed_ a guinea from a friend to put in the plate. he now said "it is generally believed that my dear old friend lady cork has been overlooked," and he said this in such a manner that no one could for a moment doubt that he meant that his dear old friend had been overlooked by the devil. how he managed to express this i know not. i likewise once met macaulay at lord stanhope's (the historian's) house, and as there was only one other man at dinner, i had a grand opportunity of hearing him converse, and he was very agreeable. he did not talk at all too much; nor indeed could such a man talk too much, as long as he allowed others to turn the stream of his conversation, and this he did allow. lord stanhope once gave me a curious little proof of the accuracy and fulness of macaulay's memory: many historians used often to meet at lord stanhope's house, and in discussing various subjects they would sometimes differ from macaulay, and formerly they often referred to some book to see who was right; but latterly, as lord stanhope noticed, no historian ever took this trouble, and whatever macaulay said was final. on another occasion i met at lord stanhope's house, one of his parties of historians and other literary men, and amongst them were motley and grote. after luncheon i walked about chevening park for nearly an hour with grote, and was much interested by his conversation and pleased by the simplicity and absence of all pretension in his manners. long ago i dined occasionally with the old earl, the father of the historian; he was a strange man, but what little i knew of him i liked much. he was frank, genial, and pleasant. he had strongly marked features, with a brown complexion, and his clothes, when i saw him, were all brown. he seemed to believe in everything which was to others utterly incredible. he said one day to me, "why don't you give up your fiddle-faddle of geology and zoology, and turn to the occult sciences!" the historian, then lord mahon, seemed shocked at such a speech to me, and his charming wife much amused. the last man whom i will mention is carlyle, seen by me several times at my brother's house, and two or three times at my own house. his talk was very racy and interesting, just like his writings, but he sometimes went on too long on the same subject. i remember a funny dinner at my brother's, where, amongst a few others, were babbage and lyell, both of whom liked to talk. carlyle, however, silenced every one by haranguing during the whole dinner on the advantages of silence. after dinner babbage, in his grimmest manner, thanked carlyle for his very interesting lecture on silence. carlyle sneered at almost every one: one day in my house he called grote's 'history' "a fetid quagmire, with nothing spiritual about it." i always thought, until his 'reminiscences' appeared, that his sneers were partly jokes, but this now seems rather doubtful. his expression was that of a depressed, almost despondent yet benevolent man; and it is notorious how heartily he laughed. i believe that his benevolence was real, though stained by not a little jealousy. no one can doubt about his extraordinary power of drawing pictures of things and men--far more vivid, as it appears to me, than any drawn by macaulay. whether his pictures of men were true ones is another question. he has been all-powerful in impressing some grand moral truths on the minds of men. on the other hand, his views about slavery were revolting. in his eyes might was right. his mind seemed to me a very narrow one; even if all branches of science, which he despised, are excluded. it is astonishing to me that kingsley should have spoken of him as a man well fitted to advance science. he laughed to scorn the idea that a mathematician, such as whewell, could judge, as i maintained he could, of goethe's views on light. he thought it a most ridiculous thing that any one should care whether a glacier moved a little quicker or a little slower, or moved at all. as far as i could judge, i never met a man with a mind so ill adapted for scientific research. whilst living in london, i attended as regularly as i could the meetings of several scientific societies, and acted as secretary to the geological society. but such attendance, and ordinary society, suited my health so badly that we resolved to live in the country, which we both preferred and have never repented of. residence at down from september , , to the present time, . after several fruitless searches in surrey and elsewhere, we found this house and purchased it. i was pleased with the diversified appearance of vegetation proper to a chalk district, and so unlike what i had been accustomed to in the midland counties; and still more pleased with the extreme quietness and rusticity of the place. it is not, however, quite so retired a place as a writer in a german periodical makes it, who says that my house can be approached only by a mule-track! our fixing ourselves here has answered admirably in one way, which we did not anticipate, namely, by being very convenient for frequent visits from our children. few persons can have lived a more retired life than we have done. besides short visits to the houses of relations, and occasionally to the seaside or elsewhere, we have gone nowhere. during the first part of our residence we went a little into society, and received a few friends here; but my health almost always suffered from the excitement, violent shivering and vomiting attacks being thus brought on. i have therefore been compelled for many years to give up all dinner-parties; and this has been somewhat of a deprivation to me, as such parties always put me into high spirits. from the same cause i have been able to invite here very few scientific acquaintances. my chief enjoyment and sole employment throughout life has been scientific work; and the excitement from such work makes me for the time forget, or drives quite away, my daily discomfort. i have therefore nothing to record during the rest of my life, except the publication of my several books. perhaps a few details how they arose may be worth giving. my several publications. in the early part of , my observations on the volcanic islands visited during the voyage of the "beagle" were published. in , i took much pains in correcting a new edition of my 'journal of researches,' which was originally published in as part of fitz-roy's work. the success of this, my first literary child, always tickles my vanity more than that of any of my other books. even to this day it sells steadily in england and the united states, and has been translated for the second time into german, and into french and other languages. this success of a book of travels, especially of a scientific one, so many years after its first publication, is surprising. ten thousand copies have been sold in england of the second edition. in my 'geological observations on south america' were published. i record in a little diary, which i have always kept, that my three geological books ('coral reefs' included) consumed four and a half years' steady work; "and now it is ten years since my return to england. how much time have i lost by illness?" i have nothing to say about these three books except that to my surprise new editions have lately been called for. ('geological observations,' nd edit. . 'coral reefs,' nd edit. .) in october, , i began to work on 'cirripedia.' when on the coast of chile, i found a most curious form, which burrowed into the shells of concholepas, and which differed so much from all other cirripedes that i had to form a new sub-order for its sole reception. lately an allied burrowing genus has been found on the shores of portugal. to understand the structure of my new cirripede i had to examine and dissect many of the common forms; and this gradually led me on to take up the whole group. i worked steadily on this subject for the next eight years, and ultimately published two thick volumes (published by the ray society.), describing all the known living species, and two thin quartos on the extinct species. i do not doubt that sir e. lytton bulwer had me in his mind when he introduced in one of his novels a professor long, who had written two huge volumes on limpets. although i was employed during eight years on this work, yet i record in my diary that about two years out of this time was lost by illness. on this account i went in for some months to malvern for hydropathic treatment, which did me much good, so that on my return home i was able to resume work. so much was i out of health that when my dear father died on november th, , i was unable to attend his funeral or to act as one of his executors. my work on the cirripedia possesses, i think, considerable value, as besides describing several new and remarkable forms, i made out the homologies of the various parts--i discovered the cementing apparatus, though i blundered dreadfully about the cement glands--and lastly i proved the existence in certain genera of minute males complemental to and parasitic on the hermaphrodites. this latter discovery has at last been fully confirmed; though at one time a german writer was pleased to attribute the whole account to my fertile imagination. the cirripedes form a highly varying and difficult group of species to class; and my work was of considerable use to me, when i had to discuss in the 'origin of species' the principles of a natural classification. nevertheless, i doubt whether the work was worth the consumption of so much time. from september i devoted my whole time to arranging my huge pile of notes, to observing, and to experimenting in relation to the transmutation of species. during the voyage of the "beagle" i had been deeply impressed by discovering in the pampean formation great fossil animals covered with armour like that on the existing armadillos; secondly, by the manner in which closely allied animals replace one another in proceeding southwards over the continent; and thirdly, by the south american character of most of the productions of the galapagos archipelago, and more especially by the manner in which they differ slightly on each island of the group; none of the islands appearing to be very ancient in a geological sense. it was evident that such facts as these, as well as many others, could only be explained on the supposition that species gradually become modified; and the subject haunted me. but it was equally evident that neither the action of the surrounding conditions, nor the will of the organisms (especially in the case of plants) could account for the innumerable cases in which organisms of every kind are beautifully adapted to their habits of life--for instance, a woodpecker or a tree-frog to climb trees, or a seed for dispersal by hooks or plumes. i had always been much struck by such adaptations, and until these could be explained it seemed to me almost useless to endeavour to prove by indirect evidence that species have been modified. after my return to england it appeared to me that by following the example of lyell in geology, and by collecting all facts which bore in any way on the variation of animals and plants under domestication and nature, some light might perhaps be thrown on the whole subject. my first note-book was opened in july . i worked on true baconian principles, and without any theory collected facts on a wholesale scale, more especially with respect to domesticated productions, by printed enquiries, by conversation with skilful breeders and gardeners, and by extensive reading. when i see the list of books of all kinds which i read and abstracted, including whole series of journals and transactions, i am surprised at my industry. i soon perceived that selection was the keystone of man's success in making useful races of animals and plants. but how selection could be applied to organisms living in a state of nature remained for some time a mystery to me. in october , that is, fifteen months after i had begun my systematic enquiry, i happened to read for amusement 'malthus on population,' and being well prepared to appreciate the struggle for existence which everywhere goes on from long-continued observation of the habits of animals and plants, it at once struck me that under these circumstances favourable variations would tend to be preserved, and unfavourable ones to be destroyed. the result of this would be the formation of new species. here then i had at last got a theory by which to work; but i was so anxious to avoid prejudice, that i determined not for some time to write even the briefest sketch of it. in june i first allowed myself the satisfaction of writing a very brief abstract of my theory in pencil in pages; and this was enlarged during the summer of into one of pages, which i had fairly copied out and still possess. but at that time i overlooked one problem of great importance; and it is astonishing to me, except on the principle of columbus and his egg, how i could have overlooked it and its solution. this problem is the tendency in organic beings descended from the same stock to diverge in character as they become modified. that they have diverged greatly is obvious from the manner in which species of all kinds can be classed under genera, genera under families, families under sub-orders and so forth; and i can remember the very spot in the road, whilst in my carriage, when to my joy the solution occurred to me; and this was long after i had come to down. the solution, as i believe, is that the modified offspring of all dominant and increasing forms tend to become adapted to many and highly diversified places in the economy of nature. early in lyell advised me to write out my views pretty fully, and i began at once to do so on a scale three or four times as extensive as that which was afterwards followed in my 'origin of species;' yet it was only an abstract of the materials which i had collected, and i got through about half the work on this scale. but my plans were overthrown, for early in the summer of mr. wallace, who was then in the malay archipelago, sent me an essay "on the tendency of varieties to depart indefinitely from the original type;" and this essay contained exactly the same theory as mine. mr. wallace expressed the wish that if i thought well of his essay, i should sent it to lyell for perusal. the circumstances under which i consented at the request of lyell and hooker to allow of an abstract from my ms., together with a letter to asa gray, dated september , , to be published at the same time with wallace's essay, are given in the 'journal of the proceedings of the linnean society,' , page . i was at first very unwilling to consent, as i thought mr. wallace might consider my doing so unjustifiable, for i did not then know how generous and noble was his disposition. the extract from my ms. and the letter to asa gray had neither been intended for publication, and were badly written. mr. wallace's essay, on the other hand, was admirably expressed and quite clear. nevertheless, our joint productions excited very little attention, and the only published notice of them which i can remember was by professor haughton of dublin, whose verdict was that all that was new in them was false, and what was true was old. this shows how necessary it is that any new view should be explained at considerable length in order to arouse public attention. in september i set to work by the strong advice of lyell and hooker to prepare a volume on the transmutation of species, but was often interrupted by ill-health, and short visits to dr. lane's delightful hydropathic establishment at moor park. i abstracted the ms. begun on a much larger scale in , and completed the volume on the same reduced scale. it cost me thirteen months and ten days' hard labour. it was published under the title of the 'origin of species,' in november . though considerably added to and corrected in the later editions, it has remained substantially the same book. it is no doubt the chief work of my life. it was from the first highly successful. the first small edition of copies was sold on the day of publication, and a second edition of copies soon afterwards. sixteen thousand copies have now ( ) been sold in england; and considering how stiff a book it is, this is a large sale. it has been translated into almost every european tongue, even into such languages as spanish, bohemian, polish, and russian. it has also, according to miss bird, been translated into japanese (miss bird is mistaken, as i learn from prof. mitsukuri.--f.d.), and is there much studied. even an essay in hebrew has appeared on it, showing that the theory is contained in the old testament! the reviews were very numerous; for some time i collected all that appeared on the 'origin' and on my related books, and these amount (excluding newspaper reviews) to ; but after a time i gave up the attempt in despair. many separate essays and books on the subject have appeared; and in germany a catalogue or bibliography on "darwinismus" has appeared every year or two. the success of the 'origin' may, i think, be attributed in large part to my having long before written two condensed sketches, and to my having finally abstracted a much larger manuscript, which was itself an abstract. by this means i was enabled to select the more striking facts and conclusions. i had, also, during many years followed a golden rule, namely, that whenever a published fact, a new observation or thought came across me, which was opposed to my general results, to make a memorandum of it without fail and at once; for i had found by experience that such facts and thoughts were far more apt to escape from the memory than favourable ones. owing to this habit, very few objections were raised against my views which i had not at least noticed and attempted to answer. it has sometimes been said that the success of the 'origin' proved "that the subject was in the air," or "that men's minds were prepared for it." i do not think that this is strictly true, for i occasionally sounded not a few naturalists, and never happened to come across a single one who seemed to doubt about the permanence of species. even lyell and hooker, though they would listen with interest to me, never seemed to agree. i tried once or twice to explain to able men what i meant by natural selection, but signally failed. what i believe was strictly true is that innumerable well-observed facts were stored in the minds of naturalists ready to take their proper places as soon as any theory which would receive them was sufficiently explained. another element in the success of the book was its moderate size; and this i owe to the appearance of mr. wallace's essay; had i published on the scale in which i began to write in , the book would have been four or five times as large as the 'origin,' and very few would have had the patience to read it. i gained much by my delay in publishing from about , when the theory was clearly conceived, to ; and i lost nothing by it, for i cared very little whether men attributed most originality to me or wallace; and his essay no doubt aided in the reception of the theory. i was forestalled in only one important point, which my vanity has always made me regret, namely, the explanation by means of the glacial period of the presence of the same species of plants and of some few animals on distant mountain summits and in the arctic regions. this view pleased me so much that i wrote it out in extenso, and i believe that it was read by hooker some years before e. forbes published his celebrated memoir ('geolog. survey mem.,' .) on the subject. in the very few points in which we differed, i still think that i was in the right. i have never, of course, alluded in print to my having independently worked out this view. hardly any point gave me so much satisfaction when i was at work on the 'origin,' as the explanation of the wide difference in many classes between the embryo and the adult animal, and of the close resemblance of the embryos within the same class. no notice of this point was taken, as far as i remember, in the early reviews of the 'origin,' and i recollect expressing my surprise on this head in a letter to asa gray. within late years several reviewers have given the whole credit to fritz muller and hackel, who undoubtedly have worked it out much more fully, and in some respects more correctly than i did. i had materials for a whole chapter on the subject, and i ought to have made the discussion longer; for it is clear that i failed to impress my readers; and he who succeeds in doing so deserves, in my opinion, all the credit. this leads me to remark that i have almost always been treated honestly by my reviewers, passing over those without scientific knowledge as not worthy of notice. my views have often been grossly misrepresented, bitterly opposed and ridiculed, but this has been generally done, as i believe, in good faith. on the whole i do not doubt that my works have been over and over again greatly overpraised. i rejoice that i have avoided controversies, and this i owe to lyell, who many years ago, in reference to my geological works, strongly advised me never to get entangled in a controversy, as it rarely did any good and caused a miserable loss of time and temper. whenever i have found out that i have blundered, or that my work has been imperfect, and when i have been contemptuously criticised, and even when i have been overpraised, so that i have felt mortified, it has been my greatest comfort to say hundreds of times to myself that "i have worked as hard and as well as i could, and no man can do more than this." i remember when in good success bay, in tierra del fuego, thinking (and, i believe, that i wrote home to the effect) that i could not employ my life better than in adding a little to natural science. this i have done to the best of my abilities, and critics may say what they like, but they cannot destroy this conviction. during the two last months of i was fully occupied in preparing a second edition of the 'origin,' and by an enormous correspondence. on january st, , i began arranging my notes for my work on the 'variation of animals and plants under domestication;' but it was not published until the beginning of ; the delay having been caused partly by frequent illnesses, one of which lasted seven months, and partly by being tempted to publish on other subjects which at the time interested me more. on may th, , my little book on the 'fertilisation of orchids,' which cost me ten months' work, was published: most of the facts had been slowly accumulated during several previous years. during the summer of , and, i believe, during the previous summer, i was led to attend to the cross-fertilisation of flowers by the aid of insects, from having come to the conclusion in my speculations on the origin of species, that crossing played an important part in keeping specific forms constant. i attended to the subject more or less during every subsequent summer; and my interest in it was greatly enhanced by having procured and read in november , through the advice of robert brown, a copy of c.k. sprengel's wonderful book, 'das entdeckte geheimniss der natur.' for some years before i had specially attended to the fertilisation of our british orchids; and it seemed to me the best plan to prepare as complete a treatise on this group of plants as well as i could, rather than to utilise the great mass of matter which i had slowly collected with respect to other plants. my resolve proved a wise one; for since the appearance of my book, a surprising number of papers and separate works on the fertilisation of all kinds of flowers have appeared: and these are far better done than i could possibly have effected. the merits of poor old sprengel, so long overlooked, are now fully recognised many years after his death. during the same year i published in the 'journal of the linnean society' a paper "on the two forms, or dimorphic condition of primula," and during the next five years, five other papers on dimorphic and trimorphic plants. i do not think anything in my scientific life has given me so much satisfaction as making out the meaning of the structure of these plants. i had noticed in or the dimorphism of linum flavum, and had at first thought that it was merely a case of unmeaning variability. but on examining the common species of primula i found that the two forms were much too regular and constant to be thus viewed. i therefore became almost convinced that the common cowslip and primrose were on the high road to become dioecious;--that the short pistil in the one form, and the short stamens in the other form were tending towards abortion. the plants were therefore subjected under this point of view to trial; but as soon as the flowers with short pistils fertilised with pollen from the short stamens, were found to yield more seeds than any other of the four possible unions, the abortion-theory was knocked on the head. after some additional experiment, it became evident that the two forms, though both were perfect hermaphrodites, bore almost the same relation to one another as do the two sexes of an ordinary animal. with lythrum we have the still more wonderful case of three forms standing in a similar relation to one another. i afterwards found that the offspring from the union of two plants belonging to the same forms presented a close and curious analogy with hybrids from the union of two distinct species. in the autumn of i finished a long paper on 'climbing plants,' and sent it to the linnean society. the writing of this paper cost me four months; but i was so unwell when i received the proof-sheets that i was forced to leave them very badly and often obscurely expressed. the paper was little noticed, but when in it was corrected and published as a separate book it sold well. i was led to take up this subject by reading a short paper by asa gray, published in . he sent me seeds, and on raising some plants i was so much fascinated and perplexed by the revolving movements of the tendrils and stems, which movements are really very simple, though appearing at first sight very complex, that i procured various other kinds of climbing plants, and studied the whole subject. i was all the more attracted to it, from not being at all satisfied with the explanation which henslow gave us in his lectures, about twining plants, namely, that they had a natural tendency to grow up in a spire. this explanation proved quite erroneous. some of the adaptations displayed by climbing plants are as beautiful as those of orchids for ensuring cross-fertilisation. my 'variation of animals and plants under domestication' was begun, as already stated, in the beginning of , but was not published until the beginning of . it was a big book, and cost me four years and two months' hard labour. it gives all my observations and an immense number of facts collected from various sources, about our domestic productions. in the second volume the causes and laws of variation, inheritance, etc., are discussed as far as our present state of knowledge permits. towards the end of the work i give my well-abused hypothesis of pangenesis. an unverified hypothesis is of little or no value; but if anyone should hereafter be led to make observations by which some such hypothesis could be established, i shall have done good service, as an astonishing number of isolated facts can be thus connected together and rendered intelligible. in a second and largely corrected edition, which cost me a good deal of labour, was brought out. my 'descent of man' was published in february, . as soon as i had become, in the year or , convinced that species were mutable productions, i could not avoid the belief that man must come under the same law. accordingly i collected notes on the subject for my own satisfaction, and not for a long time with any intention of publishing. although in the 'origin of species' the derivation of any particular species is never discussed, yet i thought it best, in order that no honourable man should accuse me of concealing my views, to add that by the work "light would be thrown on the origin of man and his history." it would have been useless and injurious to the success of the book to have paraded, without giving any evidence, my conviction with respect to his origin. but when i found that many naturalists fully accepted the doctrine of the evolution of species, it seemed to me advisable to work up such notes as i possessed, and to publish a special treatise on the origin of man. i was the more glad to do so, as it gave me an opportunity of fully discussing sexual selection--a subject which had always greatly interested me. this subject, and that of the variation of our domestic productions, together with the causes and laws of variation, inheritance, and the intercrossing of plants, are the sole subjects which i have been able to write about in full, so as to use all the materials which i have collected. the 'descent of man' took me three years to write, but then as usual some of this time was lost by ill health, and some was consumed by preparing new editions and other minor works. a second and largely corrected edition of the 'descent' appeared in . my book on the 'expression of the emotions in men and animals' was published in the autumn of . i had intended to give only a chapter on the subject in the 'descent of man,' but as soon as i began to put my notes together, i saw that it would require a separate treatise. my first child was born on december th, , and i at once commenced to make notes on the first dawn of the various expressions which he exhibited, for i felt convinced, even at this early period, that the most complex and fine shades of expression must all have had a gradual and natural origin. during the summer of the following year, , i read sir c. bell's admirable work on expression, and this greatly increased the interest which i felt in the subject, though i could not at all agree with his belief that various muscles had been specially created for the sake of expression. from this time forward i occasionally attended to the subject, both with respect to man and our domesticated animals. my book sold largely; copies having been disposed of on the day of publication. in the summer of i was idling and resting near hartfield, where two species of drosera abound; and i noticed that numerous insects had been entrapped by the leaves. i carried home some plants, and on giving them insects saw the movements of the tentacles, and this made me think it probable that the insects were caught for some special purpose. fortunately a crucial test occurred to me, that of placing a large number of leaves in various nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous fluids of equal density; and as soon as i found that the former alone excited energetic movements, it was obvious that here was a fine new field for investigation. during subsequent years, whenever i had leisure, i pursued my experiments, and my book on 'insectivorous plants' was published in july --that is, sixteen years after my first observations. the delay in this case, as with all my other books, has been a great advantage to me; for a man after a long interval can criticise his own work, almost as well as if it were that of another person. the fact that a plant should secrete, when properly excited, a fluid containing an acid and ferment, closely analogous to the digestive fluid of an animal, was certainly a remarkable discovery. during this autumn of i shall publish on the 'effects of cross and self-fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom.' this book will form a complement to that on the 'fertilisation of orchids,' in which i showed how perfect were the means for cross-fertilisation, and here i shall show how important are the results. i was led to make, during eleven years, the numerous experiments recorded in this volume, by a mere accidental observation; and indeed it required the accident to be repeated before my attention was thoroughly aroused to the remarkable fact that seedlings of self-fertilised parentage are inferior, even in the first generation, in height and vigour to seedlings of cross-fertilised parentage. i hope also to republish a revised edition of my book on orchids, and hereafter my papers on dimorphic and trimorphic plants, together with some additional observations on allied points which i never have had time to arrange. my strength will then probably be exhausted, and i shall be ready to exclaim "nunc dimittis." written may st, . 'the effects of cross and self-fertilisation' was published in the autumn of ; and the results there arrived at explain, as i believe, the endless and wonderful contrivances for the transportal of pollen from one plant to another of the same species. i now believe, however, chiefly from the observations of hermann muller, that i ought to have insisted more strongly than i did on the many adaptations for self-fertilisation; though i was well aware of many such adaptations. a much enlarged edition of my 'fertilisation of orchids' was published in . in this same year 'the different forms of flowers, etc.,' appeared, and in a second edition. this book consists chiefly of the several papers on heterostyled flowers originally published by the linnean society, corrected, with much new matter added, together with observations on some other cases in which the same plant bears two kinds of flowers. as before remarked, no little discovery of mine ever gave me so much pleasure as the making out the meaning of heterostyled flowers. the results of crossing such flowers in an illegitimate manner, i believe to be very important, as bearing on the sterility of hybrids; although these results have been noticed by only a few persons. in , i had a translation of dr. ernst krause's 'life of erasmus darwin' published, and i added a sketch of his character and habits from material in my possession. many persons have been much interested by this little life, and i am surprised that only or copies were sold. in i published, with [my son] frank's assistance, our 'power of movement in plants.' this was a tough piece of work. the book bears somewhat the same relation to my little book on 'climbing plants,' which 'cross-fertilisation' did to the 'fertilisation of orchids;' for in accordance with the principle of evolution it was impossible to account for climbing plants having been developed in so many widely different groups unless all kinds of plants possess some slight power of movement of an analogous kind. this i proved to be the case; and i was further led to a rather wide generalisation, viz. that the great and important classes of movements, excited by light, the attraction of gravity, etc., are all modified forms of the fundamental movement of circumnutation. it has always pleased me to exalt plants in the scale of organised beings; and i therefore felt an especial pleasure in showing how many and what admirably well adapted movements the tip of a root possesses. i have now (may , ) sent to the printers the ms. of a little book on 'the formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms.' this is a subject of but small importance; and i know not whether it will interest any readers (between november and february , copies have been sold.), but it has interested me. it is the completion of a short paper read before the geological society more than forty years ago, and has revived old geological thoughts. i have now mentioned all the books which i have published, and these have been the milestones in my life, so that little remains to be said. i am not conscious of any change in my mind during the last thirty years, excepting in one point presently to be mentioned; nor, indeed, could any change have been expected unless one of general deterioration. but my father lived to his eighty-third year with his mind as lively as ever it was, and all his faculties undimmed; and i hope that i may die before my mind fails to a sensible extent. i think that i have become a little more skilful in guessing right explanations and in devising experimental tests; but this may probably be the result of mere practice, and of a larger store of knowledge. i have as much difficulty as ever in expressing myself clearly and concisely; and this difficulty has caused me a very great loss of time; but it has had the compensating advantage of forcing me to think long and intently about every sentence, and thus i have been led to see errors in reasoning and in my own observations or those of others. there seems to be a sort of fatality in my mind leading me to put at first my statement or proposition in a wrong or awkward form. formerly i used to think about my sentences before writing them down; but for several years i have found that it saves time to scribble in a vile hand whole pages as quickly as i possibly can, contracting half the words; and then correct deliberately. sentences thus scribbled down are often better ones than i could have written deliberately. having said thus much about my manner of writing, i will add that with my large books i spend a good deal of time over the general arrangement of the matter. i first make the rudest outline in two or three pages, and then a larger one in several pages, a few words or one word standing for a whole discussion or series of facts. each one of these headings is again enlarged and often transferred before i begin to write in extenso. as in several of my books facts observed by others have been very extensively used, and as i have always had several quite distinct subjects in hand at the same time, i may mention that i keep from thirty to forty large portfolios, in cabinets with labelled shelves, into which i can at once put a detached reference or memorandum. i have bought many books, and at their ends i make an index of all the facts that concern my work; or, if the book is not my own, write out a separate abstract, and of such abstracts i have a large drawer full. before beginning on any subject i look to all the short indexes and make a general and classified index, and by taking the one or more proper portfolios i have all the information collected during my life ready for use. i have said that in one respect my mind has changed during the last twenty or thirty years. up to the age of thirty, or beyond it, poetry of many kinds, such as the works of milton, gray, byron, wordsworth, coleridge, and shelley, gave me great pleasure, and even as a schoolboy i took intense delight in shakespeare, especially in the historical plays. i have also said that formerly pictures gave me considerable, and music very great delight. but now for many years i cannot endure to read a line of poetry: i have tried lately to read shakespeare, and found it so intolerably dull that it nauseated me. i have also almost lost my taste for pictures or music. music generally sets me thinking too energetically on what i have been at work on, instead of giving me pleasure. i retain some taste for fine scenery, but it does not cause me the exquisite delight which it formerly did. on the other hand, novels which are works of the imagination, though not of a very high order, have been for years a wonderful relief and pleasure to me, and i often bless all novelists. a surprising number have been read aloud to me, and i like all if moderately good, and if they do not end unhappily--against which a law ought to be passed. a novel, according to my taste, does not come into the first class unless it contains some person whom one can thoroughly love, and if a pretty woman all the better. this curious and lamentable loss of the higher aesthetic tastes is all the odder, as books on history, biographies, and travels (independently of any scientific facts which they may contain), and essays on all sorts of subjects interest me as much as ever they did. my mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts, but why this should have caused the atrophy of that part of the brain alone, on which the higher tastes depend, i cannot conceive. a man with a mind more highly organised or better constituted than mine, would not, i suppose, have thus suffered; and if i had to live my life again, i would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week; for perhaps the parts of my brain now atrophied would thus have been kept active through use. the loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness, and may possibly be injurious to the intellect, and more probably to the moral character, by enfeebling the emotional part of our nature. my books have sold largely in england, have been translated into many languages, and passed through several editions in foreign countries. i have heard it said that the success of a work abroad is the best test of its enduring value. i doubt whether this is at all trustworthy; but judged by this standard my name ought to last for a few years. therefore it may be worth while to try to analyse the mental qualities and the conditions on which my success has depended; though i am aware that no man can do this correctly. i have no great quickness of apprehension or wit which is so remarkable in some clever men, for instance, huxley. i am therefore a poor critic: a paper or book, when first read, generally excites my admiration, and it is only after considerable reflection that i perceive the weak points. my power to follow a long and purely abstract train of thought is very limited; and therefore i could never have succeeded with metaphysics or mathematics. my memory is extensive, yet hazy: it suffices to make me cautious by vaguely telling me that i have observed or read something opposed to the conclusion which i am drawing, or on the other hand in favour of it; and after a time i can generally recollect where to search for my authority. so poor in one sense is my memory, that i have never been able to remember for more than a few days a single date or a line of poetry. some of my critics have said, "oh, he is a good observer, but he has no power of reasoning!" i do not think that this can be true, for the 'origin of species' is one long argument from the beginning to the end, and it has convinced not a few able men. no one could have written it without having some power of reasoning. i have a fair share of invention, and of common sense or judgment, such as every fairly successful lawyer or doctor must have, but not, i believe, in any higher degree. on the favourable side of the balance, i think that i am superior to the common run of men in noticing things which easily escape attention, and in observing them carefully. my industry has been nearly as great as it could have been in the observation and collection of facts. what is far more important, my love of natural science has been steady and ardent. this pure love has, however, been much aided by the ambition to be esteemed by my fellow naturalists. from my early youth i have had the strongest desire to understand or explain whatever i observed,--that is, to group all facts under some general laws. these causes combined have given me the patience to reflect or ponder for any number of years over any unexplained problem. as far as i can judge, i am not apt to follow blindly the lead of other men. i have steadily endeavoured to keep my mind free so as to give up any hypothesis, however much beloved (and i cannot resist forming one on every subject), as soon as facts are shown to be opposed to it. indeed, i have had no choice but to act in this manner, for with the exception of the coral reefs, i cannot remember a single first-formed hypothesis which had not after a time to be given up or greatly modified. this has naturally led me to distrust greatly deductive reasoning in the mixed sciences. on the other hand, i am not very sceptical,--a frame of mind which i believe to be injurious to the progress of science. a good deal of scepticism in a scientific man is advisable to avoid much loss of time, but i have met with not a few men, who, i feel sure, have often thus been deterred from experiment or observations, which would have proved directly or indirectly serviceable. in illustration, i will give the oddest case which i have known. a gentleman (who, as i afterwards heard, is a good local botanist) wrote to me from the eastern counties that the seed or beans of the common field-bean had this year everywhere grown on the wrong side of the pod. i wrote back, asking for further information, as i did not understand what was meant; but i did not receive any answer for a very long time. i then saw in two newspapers, one published in kent and the other in yorkshire, paragraphs stating that it was a most remarkable fact that "the beans this year had all grown on the wrong side." so i thought there must be some foundation for so general a statement. accordingly, i went to my gardener, an old kentish man, and asked him whether he had heard anything about it, and he answered, "oh, no, sir, it must be a mistake, for the beans grow on the wrong side only on leap-year, and this is not leap-year." i then asked him how they grew in common years and how on leap-years, but soon found that he knew absolutely nothing of how they grew at any time, but he stuck to his belief. after a time i heard from my first informant, who, with many apologies, said that he should not have written to me had he not heard the statement from several intelligent farmers; but that he had since spoken again to every one of them, and not one knew in the least what he had himself meant. so that here a belief--if indeed a statement with no definite idea attached to it can be called a belief--had spread over almost the whole of england without any vestige of evidence. i have known in the course of my life only three intentionally falsified statements, and one of these may have been a hoax (and there have been several scientific hoaxes) which, however, took in an american agricultural journal. it related to the formation in holland of a new breed of oxen by the crossing of distinct species of bos (some of which i happen to know are sterile together), and the author had the impudence to state that he had corresponded with me, and that i had been deeply impressed with the importance of his result. the article was sent to me by the editor of an english agricultural journal, asking for my opinion before republishing it. a second case was an account of several varieties, raised by the author from several species of primula, which had spontaneously yielded a full complement of seed, although the parent plants had been carefully protected from the access of insects. this account was published before i had discovered the meaning of heterostylism, and the whole statement must have been fraudulent, or there was neglect in excluding insects so gross as to be scarcely credible. the third case was more curious: mr. huth published in his book on 'consanguineous marriage' some long extracts from a belgian author, who stated that he had interbred rabbits in the closest manner for very many generations, without the least injurious effects. the account was published in a most respectable journal, that of the royal society of belgium; but i could not avoid feeling doubts--i hardly know why, except that there were no accidents of any kind, and my experience in breeding animals made me think this very improbable. so with much hesitation i wrote to professor van beneden, asking him whether the author was a trustworthy man. i soon heard in answer that the society had been greatly shocked by discovering that the whole account was a fraud. (the falseness of the published statements on which mr. huth relied has been pointed out by himself in a slip inserted in all the copies of his book which then remained unsold.) the writer had been publicly challenged in the journal to say where he had resided and kept his large stock of rabbits while carrying on his experiments, which must have consumed several years, and no answer could be extracted from him. my habits are methodical, and this has been of not a little use for my particular line of work. lastly, i have had ample leisure from not having to earn my own bread. even ill-health, though it has annihilated several years of my life, has saved me from the distractions of society and amusement. therefore my success as a man of science, whatever this may have amounted to, has been determined, as far as i can judge, by complex and diversified mental qualities and conditions. of these, the most important have been--the love of science--unbounded patience in long reflecting over any subject--industry in observing and collecting facts--and a fair share of invention as well as of common sense. with such moderate abilities as i possess, it is truly surprising that i should have influenced to a considerable extent the belief of scientific men on some important points. the life and letters of charles darwin by charles darwin including an autobiographical chapter edited by his son francis darwin volume i preface in choosing letters for publication i have been largely guided by the wish to illustrate my father's personal character. but his life was so essentially one of work, that a history of the man could not be written without following closely the career of the author. thus it comes about that the chief part of the book falls into chapters whose titles correspond to the names of his books. in arranging the letters i have adhered as far as possible to chronological sequence, but the character and variety of his researches make a strictly chronological order an impossibility. it was his habit to work more or less simultaneously at several subjects. experimental work was often carried on as a refreshment or variety, while books entailing reasoning and the marshalling of large bodies of facts were being written. moreover, many of his researches were allowed to drop, and only resumed after an interval of years. thus a rigidly chronological series of letters would present a patchwork of subjects, each of which would be difficult to follow. the table of contents will show in what way i have attempted to avoid this result. in printing the letters i have followed (except in a few cases) the usual plan of indicating the existence of omissions or insertions. my father's letters give frequent evidence of having been written when he was tired or hurried, and they bear the marks of this circumstance. in writing to a friend, or to one of his family, he frequently omitted the articles: these have been inserted without the usual indications, except in a few instances, where it is of special interest to preserve intact the hurried character of the letter. other small words, such as "of", "to", etc., have been inserted usually within brackets. i have not followed the originals as regards the spelling of names, the use of capitals, or in the matter of punctuation. my father underlined many words in his letters; these have not always been given in italics,--a rendering which would unfairly exaggerate their effect. the diary or pocket-book, from which quotations occur in the following pages, has been of value as supplying a frame-work of facts round which letters may be grouped. it is unfortunately written with great brevity, the history of a year being compressed into a page or less; and contains little more than the dates of the principal events of his life, together with entries as to his work, and as to the duration of his more serious illnesses. he rarely dated his letters, so that but for the diary it would have been all but impossible to unravel the history of his books. it has also enabled me to assign dates to many letters which would otherwise have been shorn of half their value. of letters addressed to my father i have not made much use. it was his custom to file all letters received, and when his slender stock of files ("spits" as he called them) was exhausted, he would burn the letters of several years, in order that he might make use of the liberated "spits." this process, carried on for years, destroyed nearly all letters received before . after that date he was persuaded to keep the more interesting letters, and these are preserved in an accessible form. i have attempted to give, in chapter iii., some account of his manner of working. during the last eight years of his life i acted as his assistant, and thus had an opportunity of knowing something of his habits and methods. i have received much help from my friends in the course of my work. to some i am indebted for reminiscences of my father, to others for information, criticisms, and advice. to all these kind coadjutors i gladly acknowledge my indebtedness. the names of some occur in connection with their contributions, but i do not name those to whom i am indebted for criticisms or corrections, because i should wish to bear alone the load of my short-comings, rather than to let any of it fall on those who have done their best to lighten it. it will be seen how largely i am indebted to sir joseph hooker for the means of illustrating my father's life. the readers of these pages will, i think, be grateful to sir joseph for the care with which he has preserved his valuable collection of letters, and i should wish to add my acknowledgment of the generosity with which he has placed it at my disposal, and for the kindly encouragement given throughout my work. to mr. huxley i owe a debt of thanks, not only for much kind help, but for his willing compliance with my request that he should contribute a chapter on the reception of the 'origin of species.' finally, it is a pleasure to acknowledge the courtesy of the publishers of the 'century magazine' who have freely given me the use of their illustrations. to messrs. maull and fox and messrs. elliott and fry i am also indebted for their kindness in allowing me the use of reproductions of their photographs. francis darwin. cambridge, october, . table of contents. volume i. chapter .i.--the darwin family. chapter .ii.--autobiography. chapter .iii.--reminiscences. letters. chapter .iv.--cambridge life-- - . chapter .v.--the appointment to the 'beagle'-- . chapter .vi.--the voyage-- - . chapter .vii.--london and cambridge-- - . chapter .viii.--religion. chapter .ix.--life at down-- - . chapter .x.--the growth of the 'origin of species.' chapter .xi.--the growth of the 'origin of species'--letters-- - . chapter .xii.--the unfinished book--may -june . chapter .xiii.--the writing of the 'origin of species'--june , --november . chapter .xiv.--professor huxley on the reception of the 'origin of species.' life and letters of charles darwin. volume i. chapter .i. -- the darwin family. the earliest records of the family show the darwins to have been substantial yeomen residing on the northern borders of lincolnshire, close to yorkshire. the name is now very unusual in england, but i believe that it is not unknown in the neighbourhood of sheffield and in lancashire. down to the year we find the name spelt in a variety of ways--derwent, darwen, darwynne, etc. it is possible, therefore, that the family migrated at some unknown date from yorkshire, cumberland, or derbyshire, where derwent occurs as the name of a river. the first ancestor of whom we know was one william darwin, who lived, about the year , at marton, near gainsborough. his great grandson, richard darwyn, inherited land at marton and elsewhere, and in his will, dated , "bequeathed the sum of s. d. towards the settynge up of the queene's majestie's armes over the quearie (choir) doore in the parishe churche of marton." (we owe a knowledge of these earlier members of the family to researches amongst the wills at lincoln, made by the well-known genealogist, colonel chester.) the son of this richard, named william darwin, and described as "gentleman," appears to have been a successful man. whilst retaining his ancestral land at marton, he acquired through his wife and by purchase an estate at cleatham, in the parish of manton, near kirton lindsey, and fixed his residence there. this estate remained in the family down to the year . a cottage with thick walls, some fish-ponds and old trees, now alone show where the "old hall" once stood, and a field is still locally known as the "darwin charity," from being subject to a charge in favour of the poor of marton. william darwin must, at least in part, have owed his rise in station to his appointment in by james i. to the post of yeoman of the royal armoury of greenwich. the office appears to have been worth only pounds a year, and the duties were probably almost nominal; he held the post down to his death during the civil wars. the fact that this william was a royal servant may explain why his son, also named william, served when almost a boy for the king, as "captain-lieutenant" in sir william pelham's troop of horse. on the partial dispersion of the royal armies, and the retreat of the remainder to scotland, the boy's estates were sequestrated by the parliament, but they were redeemed on his signing the solemn league and covenant, and on his paying a fine which must have struck his finances severely; for in a petition to charles ii. he speaks of his almost utter ruin from having adhered to the royal cause. during the commonwealth, william darwin became a barrister of lincoln's inn, and this circumstance probably led to his marriage with the daughter of erasmus earle, serjeant-at-law; hence his great-grandson, erasmus darwin, the poet, derived his christian name. he ultimately became recorder of the city of lincoln. the eldest son of the recorder, again called william, was born in , and married the heiress of robert waring, a member of a good staffordshire family. this lady inherited from the family of lassells, or lascelles, the manor and hall of elston, near newark, which has remained ever since in the family. (captain lassells, or lascelles, of elston was military secretary to monk, duke of albemarle, during the civil wars. a large volume of account books, countersigned in many places by monk, are now in the possession of my cousin francis darwin. the accounts might possibly prove of interest to the antiquarian or historian. a portrait of captain lassells in armour, although used at one time as an archery-target by some small boys of our name, was not irretrievably ruined.) a portrait of this william darwin at elston shows him as a good-looking young man in a full-bottomed wig. this third william had two sons, william, and robert who was educated as a barrister. the cleatham property was left to william, but on the termination of his line in daughters reverted to the younger brother, who had received elston. on his mother's death robert gave up his profession and resided ever afterwards at elston hall. of this robert, charles darwin writes (what follows is quoted from charles darwin's biography of his grandfather, forming the preliminary notice to ernst krause's interesting essay, 'erasmus darwin,' london, , page .):-- "he seems to have had some taste for science, for he was an early member of the well-known spalding club; and the celebrated antiquary dr. stukeley, in 'an account of the almost entire sceleton of a large animal,' etc., published in the 'philosophical transactions,' april and may , begins the paper as follows: 'having an account from my friend robert darwin, esq., of lincoln's inn, a person of curiosity, of a human sceleton impressed in stone, found lately by the rector of elston,' etc. stukeley then speaks of it as a great rarity, 'the like whereof has not been observed before in this island to my knowledge.' judging from a sort of litany written by robert, and handed down in the family, he was a strong advocate of temperance, which his son ever afterwards so strongly advocated:-- from a morning that doth shine, from a boy that drinketh wine, from a wife that talketh latine, good lord deliver me! "it is suspected that the third line may be accounted for by his wife, the mother of erasmus, having been a very learned lady. the eldest son of robert, christened robert waring, succeeded to the estate of elston, and died there at the age of ninety-two, a bachelor. he had a strong taste for poetry, like his youngest brother erasmus. robert also cultivated botany, and, when an oldish man, he published his 'principia botanica.' this book in ms. was beautifully written, and my father [dr. r.w. darwin] declared that he believed it was published because his old uncle could not endure that such fine caligraphy should be wasted. but this was hardly just, as the work contains many curious notes on biology--a subject wholly neglected in england in the last century. the public, moreover, appreciated the book, as the copy in my possession is the third edition." the second son, william alvey, inherited elston, and transmitted it to his granddaughter, the late mrs. darwin, of elston and creskeld. a third son, john, became rector of elston, the living being in the gift of the family. the fourth son, the youngest child, was erasmus darwin, the poet and philosopher. table of relationship. (an incomplete list of family members.) robert darwin of elston, - , had three sons, william alvey darwin, - , robert waring darwin, - , and erasmus darwin, - . william alvey darwin, - , had a son, william brown darwin, - , and a daughter, anne darwin. william brown darwin, - , had two daughters, charlotte darwin and sarah darwin. charlotte darwin married francis rhodes, now francis darwin of creskeld and elston. sarah darwin married edward noel. anne darwin married samuel fox and had a son, william darwin fox. erasmus darwin, - , married ( ) mary howard, - , with whom he had two sons, charles darwin, - , and robert waring darwin, and ( ) eliz. chandos-pole, - , with whom he had a daughter, violetta darwin, and a son, francis sacheverel darwin. robert waring darwin, - , married susannah wedgwood and had a son, charles robert darwin, b. february , , d. april , . violetta darwin married samuel tertius galton and had a son, francis galton. francis sacheverel darwin, - , had two sons, reginald darwin and edward darwin, "high elms." the table above shows charles darwin's descent from robert, and his relationship to some other members of the family, whose names occur in his correspondence. among these are included william darwin fox, one of his earliest correspondents, and francis galton, with whom he maintained a warm friendship for many years. here also occurs the name of francis sacheverel darwin, who inherited a love of natural history from erasmus, and transmitted it to his son edward darwin, author (under the name of "high elms") of a 'gamekeeper's manual' ( th edition ), which shows keen observation of the habits of various animals. it is always interesting to see how far a man's personal characteristics can be traced in his forefathers. charles darwin inherited the tall stature, but not the bulky figure of erasmus; but in his features there is no traceable resemblance to those of his grandfather. nor, it appears, had erasmus the love of exercise and of field-sports, so characteristic of charles darwin as a young man, though he had, like his grandson, an indomitable love of hard mental work. benevolence and sympathy with others, and a great personal charm of manner, were common to the two. charles darwin possessed, in the highest degree, that "vividness of imagination" of which he speaks as strongly characteristic of erasmus, and as leading "to his overpowering tendency to theorise and generalise." this tendency, in the case of charles darwin, was fully kept in check by the determination to test his theories to the utmost. erasmus had a strong love of all kinds of mechanism, for which charles darwin had no taste. neither had charles darwin the literary temperament which made erasmus a poet as well as a philosopher. he writes of erasmus ('life of erasmus darwin,' page .): "throughout his letters i have been struck with his indifference to fame, and the complete absence of all signs of any over-estimation of his own abilities, or of the success of his works." these, indeed, seem indications of traits most strikingly prominent in his own character. yet we get no evidence in erasmus of the intense modesty and simplicity that marked charles darwin's whole nature. but by the quick bursts of anger provoked in erasmus, at the sight of any inhumanity or injustice, we are again reminded of him. on the whole, however, it seems to me that we do not know enough of the essential personal tone of erasmus darwin's character to attempt more than a superficial comparison; and i am left with an impression that, in spite of many resemblances, the two men were of a different type. it has been shown that miss seward and mrs. schimmelpenninck have misrepresented erasmus darwin's character. (ibid., pages , , etc.) it is, however, extremely probable that the faults which they exaggerate were to some extent characteristic of the man; and this leads me to think that erasmus had a certain acerbity or severity of temper which did not exist in his grandson. the sons of erasmus darwin inherited in some degree his intellectual tastes, for charles darwin writes of them as follows: "his eldest son, charles (born september , ), was a young man of extraordinary promise, but died (may , ) before he was twenty-one years old, from the effects of a wound received whilst dissecting the brain of a child. he inherited from his father a strong taste for various branches of science, for writing verses, and for mechanics...he also inherited stammering. with the hope of curing him, his father sent him to france, when about eight years old ( -' ), with a private tutor, thinking that if he was not allowed to speak english for a time, the habit of stammering might be lost; and it is a curious fact, that in after years, when speaking french, he never stammered. at a very early age he collected specimens of all kinds. when sixteen years old he was sent for a year to [christ church] oxford, but he did not like the place, and thought (in the words of his father) that the 'vigour of his mind languished in the pursuit of classical elegance like hercules at the distaff, and sighed to be removed to the robuster exercise of the medical school of edinburgh.' he stayed three years at edinburgh, working hard at his medical studies, and attending 'with diligence all the sick poor of the parish of waterleith, and supplying them with the necessary medicines.' the aesculapian society awarded him its first gold medal for an experimental inquiry on pus and mucus. notices of him appeared in various journals; and all the writers agree about his uncommon energy and abilities. he seems like his father to have excited the warm affection of his friends. professor andrew duncan... spoke...about him with the warmest affection forty-seven years after his death when i was a young medical student at edinburgh... "about the character of his second son, erasmus (born ), i have little to say, for though he wrote poetry, he seems to have had none of the other tastes of his father. he had, however, his own peculiar tastes, viz., genealogy, the collecting of coins, and statistics. when a boy he counted all the houses in the city of lichfield, and found out the number of inhabitants in as many as he could; he thus made a census, and when a real one was first made, his estimate was found to be nearly accurate. his disposition was quiet and retiring. my father had a very high opinion of his abilities, and this was probably just, for he would not otherwise have been invited to travel with, and pay long visits to, men so distinguished in different ways as boulton the engineer, and day the moralist and novelist." his death by suicide, in , seems to have taken place in a state of incipient insanity. robert waring, the father of charles darwin, was born may , , and entered the medical profession like his father. he studied for a few months at leyden, and took his m.d. (i owe this information to the kindness of professor rauwenhoff, director of the archives at leyden. he quotes from the catalogue of doctors that "robertus waring darwin, anglo-britannus," defended (february , ) in the senate a dissertation on the coloured images seen after looking at a bright object, and "medicinae doctor creatus est a clar. paradijs." the archives of leyden university are so complete that professor rauwenhoff is able to tell me that my grandfather lived together with a certain "petrus crompton, anglus," in lodgings in the apothekersdijk. dr. darwin's leyden dissertation was published in the 'philosophical transactions,' and my father used to say that the work was in fact due to erasmus darwin.--f.d.) at that university on february , . "his father" (erasmus) "brought ('life of erasmus darwin,' page .) him to shrewsbury before he was twenty-one years old ( ), and left him pounds, saying, 'let me know when you want more, and i will send it you.' his uncle, the rector of elston, afterwards also sent him pounds, and this was the sole pecuniary aid which he ever received...erasmus tells mr. edgeworth that his son robert, after being settled in shrewsbury for only six months, 'already had between forty and fifty patients.' by the second year he was in considerable, and ever afterwards in very large, practice." robert waring darwin married (april , ) susannah, the daughter of his father's friend, josiah wedgwood, of etruria, then in her thirty-second year. we have a miniature of her, with a remarkably sweet and happy face, bearing some resemblance to the portrait by sir joshua reynolds of her father; a countenance expressive of the gentle and sympathetic nature which miss meteyard ascribes to her. ('a group of englishmen,' by miss meteyard, .) she died july , , thirty-two years before her husband, whose death occurred on november , . dr. darwin lived before his marriage for two or three years on st. john's hill; afterwards at the crescent, where his eldest daughter marianne was born; lastly at the "mount," in the part of shrewsbury known as frankwell, where the other children were born. this house was built by dr. darwin about , it is now in the possession of mr. spencer phillips, and has undergone but little alteration. it is a large, plain, square, red-brick house, of which the most attractive feature is the pretty green-house, opening out of the morning-room. the house is charmingly placed, on the top of a steep bank leading down to the severn. the terraced bank is traversed by a long walk, leading from end to end, still called "the doctor's walk." at one point in this walk grows a spanish chestnut, the branches of which bend back parallel to themselves in a curious manner, and this was charles darwin's favourite tree as a boy, where he and his sister catherine had each their special seat. the doctor took a great pleasure in his garden, planting it with ornamental trees and shrubs, and being especially successful in fruit-trees; and this love of plants was, i think, the only taste kindred to natural history which he possessed. of the "mount pigeons," which miss meteyard describes as illustrating dr. darwin's natural-history taste, i have not been able to hear from those most capable of knowing. miss meteyard's account of him is not quite accurate in a few points. for instance, it is incorrect to describe dr. darwin as having a philosophical mind; his was a mind especially given to detail, and not to generalising. again, those who knew him intimately describe him as eating remarkably little, so that he was not "a great feeder, eating a goose for his dinner, as easily as other men do a partridge." ('a group of englishmen,' page .) in the matter of dress he was conservative, and wore to the end of his life knee-breeches and drab gaiters, which, however, certainly did not, as miss meteyard says, button above the knee--a form of costume chiefly known to us in grenadiers of queen anne's day, and in modern wood-cutters and ploughboys. charles darwin had the strongest feeling of love and respect for his father's memory. his recollection of everything that was connected with him was peculiarly distinct, and he spoke of him frequently; generally prefacing an anecdote with some such phrase as, "my father, who was the wisest man i ever knew, etc..." it was astonishing how clearly he remembered his father's opinions, so that he was able to quote some maxims or hint of his in most cases of illness. as a rule, he put small faith in doctors, and thus his unlimited belief in dr. darwin's medical instinct and methods of treatment was all the more striking. his reverence for him was boundless and most touching. he would have wished to judge everything else in the world dispassionately, but anything his father had said was received with almost implicit faith. his daughter mrs. litchfield remembers him saying that he hoped none of his sons would ever believe anything because he said it, unless they were themselves convinced of its truth,--a feeling in striking contrast with his own manner of faith. a visit which charles darwin made to shrewsbury in left on the mind of his daughter who accompanied him a strong impression of his love for his old home. the then tenant of the mount showed them over the house, etc., and with mistaken hospitality remained with the party during the whole visit. as they were leaving, charles darwin said, with a pathetic look of regret, "if i could have been left alone in that green-house for five minutes, i know i should have been able to see my father in his wheel-chair as vividly as if he had been there before me." perhaps this incident shows what i think is the truth, that the memory of his father he loved the best, was that of him as an old man. mrs. litchfield has noted down a few words which illustrate well his feeling towards his father. she describes him as saying with the most tender respect, "i think my father was a little unjust to me when i was young, but afterwards i am thankful to think i became a prime favourite with him." she has a vivid recollection of the expression of happy reverie that accompanied these words, as if he were reviewing the whole relation, and the remembrance left a deep sense of peace and gratitude. what follows was added by charles darwin to his autobiographical 'recollections,' and was written about or . "i may here add a few pages about my father, who was in many ways a remarkable man. "he was about feet inches in height, with broad shoulders, and very corpulent, so that he was the largest man whom i ever saw. when he last weighed himself, he was stone, but afterwards increased much in weight. his chief mental characteristics were his powers of observation and his sympathy, neither of which have i ever seen exceeded or even equalled. his sympathy was not only with the distresses of others, but in a greater degree with the pleasures of all around him. this led him to be always scheming to give pleasure to others, and, though hating extravagance, to perform many generous actions. for instance, mr. b--, a small manufacturer in shrewsbury, came to him one day, and said he should be bankrupt unless he could at once borrow , pounds, but that he was unable to give any legal security. my father heard his reasons for believing that he could ultimately repay the money, and from [his] intuitive perception of character felt sure that he was to be trusted. so he advanced this sum, which was a very large one for him while young, and was after a time repaid. "i suppose that it was his sympathy which gave him unbounded power of winning confidence, and as a consequence made him highly successful as a physician. he began to practise before he was twenty-one years old, and his fees during the first year paid for the keep of two horses and a servant. on the following year his practice was large, and so continued for about sixty years, when he ceased to attend on any one. his great success as a doctor was the more remarkable, as he told me that he at first hated his profession so much that if he had been sure of the smallest pittance, or if his father had given him any choice, nothing should have induced him to follow it. to the end of his life, the thought of an operation almost sickened him, and he could scarcely endure to see a person bled--a horror which he has transmitted to me--and i remember the horror which i felt as a schoolboy in reading about pliny (i think) bleeding to death in a warm bath... "owing to my father's power of winning confidence, many patients, especially ladies, consulted him when suffering from any misery, as a sort of father-confessor. he told me that they always began by complaining in a vague manner about their health, and by practice he soon guessed what was really the matter. he then suggested that they had been suffering in their minds, and now they would pour out their troubles, and he heard nothing more about the body...owing to my father's skill in winning confidence he received many strange confessions of misery and guilt. he often remarked how many miserable wives he had known. in several instances husbands and wives had gone on pretty well together for between twenty and thirty years, and then hated each other bitterly; this he attributed to their having lost a common bond in their young children having grown up. "but the most remarkable power which my father possessed was that of reading the characters, and even the thoughts of those whom he saw even for a short time. we had many instances of the power, some of which seemed almost supernatural. it saved my father from ever making (with one exception, and the character of this man was soon discovered) an unworthy friend. a strange clergyman came to shrewsbury, and seemed to be a rich man; everybody called on him, and he was invited to many houses. my father called, and on his return home told my sisters on no account to invite him or his family to our house; for he felt sure that the man was not to be trusted. after a few months he suddenly bolted, being heavily in debt, and was found out to be little better than an habitual swindler. here is a case of trustfulness which not many men would have ventured on. an irish gentleman, a complete stranger, called on my father one day, and said that he had lost his purse, and that it would be a serious inconvenience to him to wait in shrewsbury until he could receive a remittance from ireland. he then asked my father to lend him pounds, which was immediately done, as my father felt certain that the story was a true one. as soon as a letter could arrive from ireland, one came with the most profuse thanks, and enclosing, as he said, a pound bank of england note, but no note was enclosed. i asked my father whether this did not stagger him, but he answered 'not in the least.' on the next day another letter came with many apologies for having forgotten (like a true irishman) to put the note into his letter of the day before...(a gentleman) brought his nephew, who was insane but quite gentle, to my father; and the young man's insanity led him to accuse himself of all the crimes under heaven. when my father afterwards talked over the matter with the uncle, he said, 'i am sure that your nephew is really guilty of...a heinous crime.' whereupon [the gentleman] said, 'good god, dr. darwin, who told you; we thought that no human being knew the fact except ourselves!' my father told me the story many years after the event, and i asked him how he distinguished the true from the false self-accusations; and it was very characteristic of my father that he said he could not explain how it was. "the following story shows what good guesses my father could make. lord shelburne, afterwards the first marquis of lansdowne, was famous (as macaulay somewhere remarks) for his knowledge of the affairs of europe, on which he greatly prided himself. he consulted my father medically, and afterwards harangued him on the state of holland. my father had studied medicine at leyden, and one day [while there] went a long walk into the country with a friend who took him to the house of a clergyman (we will say the rev. mr. a--, for i have forgotten his name), who had married an englishwoman. my father was very hungry, and there was little for luncheon except cheese, which he could never eat. the old lady was surprised and grieved at this, and assured my father that it was an excellent cheese, and had been sent her from bowood, the seat of lord shelburne. my father wondered why a cheese should be sent her from bowood, but thought nothing more about it until it flashed across his mind many years afterwards, whilst lord shelburne was talking about holland. so he answered, 'i should think from what i saw of the rev. mr. a--, that he was a very able man, and well acquainted with the state of holland.' my father saw that the earl, who immediately changed the conversation was much startled. on the next morning my father received a note from the earl, saying that he had delayed starting on his journey, and wished particularly to see my father. when he called, the earl said, 'dr. darwin, it is of the utmost importance to me and to the rev. mr. a-- to learn how you have discovered that he is the source of my information about holland.' so my father had to explain the state of the case, and he supposed that lord shelburne was much struck with his diplomatic skill in guessing, for during many years afterwards he received many kind messages from him through various friends. i think that he must have told the story to his children; for sir c. lyell asked me many years ago why the marquis of lansdowne (the son or grand-son of the first marquis) felt so much interest about me, whom he had never seen, and my family. when forty new members (the forty thieves as they were then called) were added to the athenaeum club, there was much canvassing to be one of them; and without my having asked any one, lord lansdowne proposed me and got me elected. if i am right in my supposition, it was a queer concatenation of events that my father not eating cheese half-a-century before in holland led to my election as a member of the athenaeum. "the sharpness of his observation led him to predict with remarkable skill the course of any illness, and he suggested endless small details of relief. i was told that a young doctor in shrewsbury, who disliked my father, used to say that he was wholly unscientific, but owned that his power of predicting the end of an illness was unparalleled. formerly when he thought that i should be a doctor, he talked much to me about his patients. in the old days the practice of bleeding largely was universal, but my father maintained that far more evil was thus caused than good done; and he advised me if ever i was myself ill not to allow any doctor to take more than an extremely small quantity of blood. long before typhoid fever was recognised as distinct, my father told me that two utterly distinct kinds of illness were confounded under the name of typhus fever. he was vehement against drinking, and was convinced of both the direct and inherited evil effects of alcohol when habitually taken even in moderate quantity in a very large majority of cases. but he admitted and advanced instances of certain persons who could drink largely during their whole lives without apparently suffering any evil effects, and he believed that he could often beforehand tell who would thus not suffer. he himself never drank a drop of any alcoholic fluid. this remark reminds me of a case showing how a witness under the most favourable circumstances may be utterly mistaken. a gentleman-farmer was strongly urged by my father not to drink, and was encouraged by being told that he himself never touched any spirituous liquor. whereupon the gentleman said, 'come, come, doctor, this won't do--though it is very kind of you to say so for my sake--for i know that you take a very large glass of hot gin and water every evening after your dinner.' (this belief still survives, and was mentioned to my brother in by an old inhabitant of shrewsbury.--f.d.) so my father asked him how he knew this. the man answered, 'my cook was your kitchen-maid for two or three years, and she saw the butler every day prepare and take to you the gin and water.' the explanation was that my father had the odd habit of drinking hot water in a very tall and large glass after his dinner; and the butler used first to put some cold water in the glass, which the girl mistook for gin, and then filled it up with boiling water from the kitchen boiler. "my father used to tell me many little things which he had found useful in his medical practice. thus ladies often cried much while telling him their troubles, and thus caused much loss of his precious time. he soon found that begging them to command and restrain themselves, always made them weep the more, so that afterwards he always encouraged them to go on crying, saying that this would relieve them more than anything else, and with the invariable result that they soon ceased to cry, and he could hear what they had to say and give his advice. when patients who were very ill craved for some strange and unnatural food, my father asked them what had put such an idea into their heads; if they answered that they did not know, he would allow them to try the food, and often with success, as he trusted to their having a kind of instinctive desire; but if they answered that they had heard that the food in question had done good to some one else, he firmly refused his assent. "he gave one day an odd little specimen of human nature. when a very young man he was called in to consult with the family physician in the case of a gentleman of much distinction in shropshire. the old doctor told the wife that the illness was of such a nature that it must end fatally. my father took a different view and maintained that the gentleman would recover: he was proved quite wrong in all respects (i think by autopsy) and he owned his error. he was then convinced that he should never again be consulted by this family; but after a few months the widow sent for him, having dismissed the old family doctor. my father was so much surprised at this, that he asked a friend of the widow to find out why he was again consulted. the widow answered her friend, that 'she would never again see the odious old doctor who said from the first that her husband would die, while dr. darwin always maintained that he would recover!' in another case my father told a lady that her husband would certainly die. some months afterwards he saw the widow, who was a very sensible woman, and she said, 'you are a very young man, and allow me to advise you always to give, as long as you possibly can, hope to any near relative nursing a patient. you made me despair, and from that moment i lost strength.' my father said that he had often since seen the paramount importance, for the sake of the patient, of keeping up the hope and with it the strength of the nurse in charge. this he sometimes found difficult to do compatibly with truth. one old gentleman, however, caused him no such perplexity. he was sent for by mr.p--, who said, 'from all that i have seen and heard of you i believe that you are the sort of man who will speak the truth, and if i ask, you will tell me when i am dying. now i much desire that you should attend me, if you will promise, whatever i may say, always to declare that i am not going to die.' my father acquiesced on the understanding that his words should in fact have no meaning. "my father possessed an extraordinary memory, especially for dates, so that he knew, when he was very old, the day of the birth, marriage, and death of a multitude of persons in shropshire; and he once told me that this power annoyed him; for if he once heard a date, he could not forget it; and thus the deaths of many friends were often recalled to his mind. owing to his strong memory he knew an extraordinary number of curious stories, which he liked to tell, as he was a great talker. he was generally in high spirits, and laughed and joked with every one--often with his servants--with the utmost freedom; yet he had the art of making every one obey him to the letter. many persons were much afraid of him. i remember my father telling us one day, with a laugh, that several persons had asked him whether miss --, a grand old lady in shropshire, had called on him, so that at last he enquired why they asked him; and he was told that miss --, whom my father had somehow mortally offended, was telling everybody that she would call and tell 'that fat old doctor very plainly what she thought of him.' she had already called, but her courage had failed, and no one could have been more courteous and friendly. as a boy, i went to stay at the house of --, whose wife was insane; and the poor creature, as soon as she saw me, was in the most abject state of terror that i ever saw, weeping bitterly and asking me over and over again, 'is your father coming?' but was soon pacified. on my return home, i asked my father why she was so frightened, and he answered he was very glad to hear it, as he had frightened her on purpose, feeling sure that she would be kept in safety and much happier without any restraint, if her husband could influence her, whenever she became at all violent, by proposing to send for dr. darwin; and these words succeeded perfectly during the rest of her long life. "my father was very sensitive, so that many small events annoyed him or pained him much. i once asked him, when he was old and could not walk, why he did not drive out for exercise; and he answered, 'every road out of shrewsbury is associated in my mind with some painful event.' yet he was generally in high spirits. he was easily made very angry, but his kindness was unbounded. he was widely and deeply loved. "he was a cautious and good man of business, so that he hardly ever lost money by an investment, and left to his children a very large property. i remember a story showing how easily utterly false beliefs originate and spread. mr. e --, a squire of one of the oldest families in shropshire, and head partner in a bank, committed suicide. my father was sent for as a matter of form, and found him dead. i may mention, by the way, to show how matters were managed in those old days, that because mr. e -- was a rather great man, and universally respected, no inquest was held over his body. my father, in returning home, thought it proper to call at the bank (where he had an account) to tell the managing partners of the event, as it was not improbable that it would cause a run on the bank. well, the story was spread far and wide, that my father went into the bank, drew out all his money, left the bank, came back again, and said, 'i may just tell you that mr. e -- has killed himself,' and then departed. it seems that it was then a common belief that money withdrawn from a bank was not safe until the person had passed out through the door of the bank. my father did not hear this story till some little time afterwards, when the managing partner said that he had departed from his invariable rule of never allowing any one to see the account of another man, by having shown the ledger with my father's account to several persons, as this proved that my father had not drawn out a penny on that day. it would have been dishonourable in my father to have used his professional knowledge for his private advantage. nevertheless, the supposed act was greatly admired by some persons; and many years afterwards, a gentleman remarked, 'ah, doctor, what a splendid man of business you were in so cleverly getting all your money safe out of that bank!' "my father's mind was not scientific, and he did not try to generalize his knowledge under general laws; yet he formed a theory for almost everything which occurred. i do not think i gained much from him intellectually; but his example ought to have been of much moral service to all his children. one of his golden rules (a hard one to follow) was, 'never become the friend of any one whom you cannot respect.'" dr. darwin had six children (of these mrs. wedgwood is now the sole survivor.): marianne, married dr. henry parker; caroline, married josiah wedgwood; erasmus alvey; susan, died unmarried; charles robert; catherine, married rev. charles langton. the elder son, erasmus, was born in , and died unmarried at the age of seventy-seven. he, like his brother, was educated at shrewsbury school and at christ's college, cambridge. he studied medicine at edinburgh and in london, and took the degree of bachelor of medicine at cambridge. he never made any pretence of practising as a doctor, and, after leaving cambridge, lived a quiet life in london. there was something pathetic in charles darwin's affection for his brother erasmus, as if he always recollected his solitary life, and the touching patience and sweetness of his nature. he often spoke of him as "poor old ras," or "poor dear old philos"--i imagine philos (philosopher) was a relic of the days when they worked at chemistry in the tool-house at shrewsbury--a time of which he always preserved a pleasant memory. erasmus being rather more than four years older than charles darwin, they were not long together at cambridge, but previously at edinburgh they lived in the same lodgings, and after the voyage they lived for a time together in erasmus' house in great marlborough street. at this time also he often speaks with much affection of erasmus in his letters to fox, using words such as "my dear good old brother." in later years erasmus darwin came to down occasionally, or joined his brother's family in a summer holiday. but gradually it came about that he could not, through ill health, make up his mind to leave london, and then they only saw each other when charles darwin went for a week at a time to his brother's house in queen anne street. the following note on his brother's character was written by charles darwin at about the same time that the sketch of his father was added to the 'recollections.':-- "my brother erasmus possessed a remarkably clear mind with extensive and diversified tastes and knowledge in literature, art, and even in science. for a short time he collected and dried plants, and during a somewhat longer time experimented in chemistry. he was extremely agreeable, and his wit often reminded me of that in the letters and works of charles lamb. he was very kind-hearted...his health from his boyhood had been weak, and as a consequence he failed in energy. his spirits were not high, sometimes low, more especially during early and middle manhood. he read much, even whilst a boy, and at school encouraged me to read, lending me books. our minds and tastes were, however, so different, that i do not think i owe much to him intellectually. i am inclined to agree with francis galton in believing that education and environment produce only a small effect on the mind of any one, and that most of our qualities are innate." erasmus darwin's name, though not known to the general public, may be remembered from the sketch of his character in carlyle's 'reminiscences,' which i here reproduce in part:-- "erasmus darwin, a most diverse kind of mortal, came to seek us out very soon ('had heard of carlyle in germany, etc.') and continues ever since to be a quiet house-friend, honestly attached; though his visits latterly have been rarer and rarer, health so poor, i so occupied, etc., etc. he had something of original and sarcastically ingenious in him, one of the sincerest, naturally truest, and most modest of men; elder brother of charles darwin (the famed darwin on species of these days) to whom i rather prefer him for intellect, had not his health quite doomed him to silence and patient idleness...my dear one had a great favour for this honest darwin always; many a road, to shops and the like, he drove her in his cab (darwingium cabbum comparable to georgium sidus) in those early days when even the charge of omnibuses was a consideration, and his sparse utterances, sardonic often, were a great amusement to her. 'a perfect gentleman,' she at once discerned him to be, and of sound worth and kindliness in the most unaffected form." (carlyle's 'reminiscences,' vol. ii. page .) charles darwin did not appreciate this sketch of his brother; he thought carlyle had missed the essence of his most lovable nature. i am tempted by the wish of illustrating further the character of one so sincerely beloved by all charles darwin's children, to reproduce a letter to the "spectator" (september , ) by his cousin miss julia wedgwood. "a portrait from mr. carlyle's portfolio not regretted by any who loved the original, surely confers sufficient distinction to warrant a few words of notice, when the character it depicts is withdrawn from mortal gaze. erasmus, the only brother of charles darwin, and the faithful and affectionate old friend of both the carlyles, has left a circle of mourners who need no tribute from illustrious pen to embalm the memory so dear to their hearts; but a wider circle must have felt some interest excited by that tribute, and may receive with a certain attention the record of a unique and indelible impression, even though it be made only on the hearts of those who cannot bequeath it, and with whom, therefore, it must speedily pass away. they remember it with the same distinctness as they remember a creation of genius; it has in like manner enriched and sweetened life, formed a common meeting-point for those who had no other; and, in its strong fragrance of individuality, enforced that respect for the idiosyncracies of human character without which moral judgment is always hard and shallow, and often unjust. carlyle was one to find a peculiar enjoyment in the combination of liveliness and repose which gave his friend's society an influence at once stimulating and soothing, and the warmth of his appreciation was not made known first in its posthumous expression; his letters of anxiety nearly thirty years ago, when the frail life which has been prolonged to old age was threatened by serious illness, are still fresh in my memory. the friendship was equally warm with both husband and wife. i remember well a pathetic little remonstrance from her elicited by an avowal from erasmus darwin, that he preferred cats to dogs, which she felt a slur on her little 'nero;' and the tones in which she said, 'oh, but you are fond of dogs! you are too kind not to be,' spoke of a long vista of small, gracious kindnesses, remembered with a tender gratitude. he was intimate also with a person whose friends, like those of mr. carlyle, have not always had cause to congratulate themselves on their place in her gallery,--harriet martineau. i have heard him more than once call her a faithful friend, and it always seemed to me a curious tribute to something in the friendship that he alone supplied; but if she had written of him at all, i believe the mention, in its heartiness of appreciation, would have afforded a rare and curious meeting-point with the other 'reminiscences,' so like and yet so unlike. it is not possible to transfer the impression of a character; we can only suggest it by means of some resemblance; and it is a singular illustration of that irony which checks or directs our sympathies, that in trying to give some notion of the man whom, among those who were not his kindred, carlyle appears to have most loved, i can say nothing more descriptive than that he seems to me to have had something in common with the man whom carlyle least appreciated. the society of erasmus darwin had, to my mind, much the same charm as the writings of charles lamb. there was the same kind of playfulness, the same lightness of touch, the same tenderness, perhaps the same limitations. on another side of his nature, i have often been reminded of him by the quaint, delicate humour, the superficial intolerance, the deep springs of pity, the peculiar mixture of something pathetic with a sort of gay scorn, entirely remote from contempt, which distinguish the ellesmere of sir arthur helps' earlier dialogues. perhaps we recall such natures most distinctly, when such a resemblance is all that is left of them. the character is not merged in the creation; and what we lose in the power to communicate our impression, we seem to gain in its vividness. erasmus darwin has passed away in old age, yet his memory retains something of a youthful fragrance; his influence gave much happiness, of a kind usually associated with youth, to many lives besides the illustrious one whose records justify, though certainly they do not inspire, the wish to place this fading chaplet on his grave." the foregoing pages give, in a fragmentary manner, as much perhaps as need be told of the family from which charles darwin came, and may serve as an introduction to the autobiographical chapter which follows. chapter .ii. -- autobiography. [my father's autobiographical recollections, given in the present chapter, were written for his children,--and written without any thought that they would ever be published. to many this may seem an impossibility; but those who knew my father will understand how it was not only possible, but natural. the autobiography bears the heading, 'recollections of the development of my mind and character,' and end with the following note:-- "aug. , . this sketch of my life was begun about may th at hopedene (mr. hensleigh wedgwood's house in surrey.), and since then i have written for nearly an hour on most afternoons." it will easily be understood that, in a narrative of a personal and intimate kind written for his wife and children, passages should occur which must here be omitted; and i have not thought it necessary to indicate where such omissions are made. it has been found necessary to make a few corrections of obvious verbal slips, but the number of such alterations has been kept down to the minimum.--f.d.] a german editor having written to me for an account of the development of my mind and character with some sketch of my autobiography, i have thought that the attempt would amuse me, and might possibly interest my children or their children. i know that it would have interested me greatly to have read even so short and dull a sketch of the mind of my grandfather, written by himself, and what he thought and did, and how he worked. i have attempted to write the following account of myself, as if i were a dead man in another world looking back at my own life. nor have i found this difficult, for life is nearly over with me. i have taken no pains about my style of writing. i was born at shrewsbury on february th, , and my earliest recollection goes back only to when i was a few months over four years old, when we went to near abergele for sea-bathing, and i recollect some events and places there with some little distinctness. my mother died in july , when i was a little over eight years old, and it is odd that i can remember hardly anything about her except her death-bed, her black velvet gown, and her curiously constructed work-table. in the spring of this same year i was sent to a day-school in shrewsbury, where i stayed a year. i have been told that i was much slower in learning than my younger sister catherine, and i believe that i was in many ways a naughty boy. by the time i went to this day-school (kept by rev. g. case, minister of the unitarian chapel in the high street. mrs. darwin was a unitarian and attended mr. case's chapel, and my father as a little boy went there with his elder sisters. but both he and his brother were christened and intended to belong to the church of england; and after his early boyhood he seems usually to have gone to church and not to mr. case's. it appears ("st. james' gazette", dec. , ) that a mural tablet has been erected to his memory in the chapel, which is now known as the 'free christian church.') my taste for natural history, and more especially for collecting, was well developed. i tried to make out the names of plants (rev. w.a. leighton, who was a schoolfellow of my father's at mr. case's school, remembers his bringing a flower to school and saying that his mother had taught him how by looking at the inside of the blossom the name of the plant could be discovered. mr. leighton goes on, "this greatly roused my attention and curiosity, and i enquired of him repeatedly how this could be done?"--but his lesson was naturally enough not transmissible.--f.d.), and collected all sorts of things, shells, seals, franks, coins, and minerals. the passion for collecting which leads a man to be a systematic naturalist, a virtuoso, or a miser, was very strong in me, and was clearly innate, as none of my sisters or brother ever had this taste. one little event during this year has fixed itself very firmly in my mind, and i hope that it has done so from my conscience having been afterwards sorely troubled by it; it is curious as showing that apparently i was interested at this early age in the variability of plants! i told another little boy (i believe it was leighton, who afterwards became a well-known lichenologist and botanist), that i could produce variously coloured polyanthuses and primroses by watering them with certain coloured fluids, which was of course a monstrous fable, and had never been tried by me. i may here also confess that as a little boy i was much given to inventing deliberate falsehoods, and this was always done for the sake of causing excitement. for instance, i once gathered much valuable fruit from my father's trees and hid it in the shrubbery, and then ran in breathless haste to spread the news that i had discovered a hoard of stolen fruit. i must have been a very simple little fellow when i first went to the school. a boy of the name of garnett took me into a cake shop one day, and bought some cakes for which he did not pay, as the shopman trusted him. when we came out i asked him why he did not pay for them, and he instantly answered, "why, do you not know that my uncle left a great sum of money to the town on condition that every tradesman should give whatever was wanted without payment to any one who wore his old hat and moved [it] in a particular manner?" and he then showed me how it was moved. he then went into another shop where he was trusted, and asked for some small article, moving his hat in the proper manner, and of course obtained it without payment. when we came out he said, "now if you like to go by yourself into that cake-shop (how well i remember its exact position) i will lend you my hat, and you can get whatever you like if you move the hat on your head properly." i gladly accepted the generous offer, and went in and asked for some cakes, moved the old hat and was walking out of the shop, when the shopman made a rush at me, so i dropped the cakes and ran for dear life, and was astonished by being greeted with shouts of laughter by my false friend garnett. i can say in my own favour that i was as a boy humane, but i owed this entirely to the instruction and example of my sisters. i doubt indeed whether humanity is a natural or innate quality. i was very fond of collecting eggs, but i never took more than a single egg out of a bird's nest, except on one single occasion, when i took all, not for their value, but from a sort of bravado. i had a strong taste for angling, and would sit for any number of hours on the bank of a river or pond watching the float; when at maer (the house of his uncle, josiah wedgwood.) i was told that i could kill the worms with salt and water, and from that day i never spitted a living worm, though at the expense probably of some loss of success. once as a very little boy whilst at the day school, or before that time, i acted cruelly, for i beat a puppy, i believe, simply from enjoying the sense of power; but the beating could not have been severe, for the puppy did not howl, of which i feel sure, as the spot was near the house. this act lay heavily on my conscience, as is shown by my remembering the exact spot where the crime was committed. it probably lay all the heavier from my love of dogs being then, and for a long time afterwards, a passion. dogs seemed to know this, for i was an adept in robbing their love from their masters. i remember clearly only one other incident during this year whilst at mr. case's daily school,--namely, the burial of a dragoon soldier; and it is surprising how clearly i can still see the horse with the man's empty boots and carbine suspended to the saddle, and the firing over the grave. this scene deeply stirred whatever poetic fancy there was in me. in the summer of i went to dr. butler's great school in shrewsbury, and remained there for seven years still midsummer , when i was sixteen years old. i boarded at this school, so that i had the great advantage of living the life of a true schoolboy; but as the distance was hardly more than a mile to my home, i very often ran there in the longer intervals between the callings over and before locking up at night. this, i think, was in many ways advantageous to me by keeping up home affections and interests. i remember in the early part of my school life that i often had to run very quickly to be in time, and from being a fleet runner was generally successful; but when in doubt i prayed earnestly to god to help me, and i well remember that i attributed my success to the prayers and not to my quick running, and marvelled how generally i was aided. i have heard my father and elder sister say that i had, as a very young boy, a strong taste for long solitary walks; but what i thought about i know not. i often became quite absorbed, and once, whilst returning to school on the summit of the old fortifications round shrewsbury, which had been converted into a public foot-path with no parapet on one side, i walked off and fell to the ground, but the height was only seven or eight feet. nevertheless the number of thoughts which passed through my mind during this very short, but sudden and wholly unexpected fall, was astonishing, and seem hardly compatible with what physiologists have, i believe, proved about each thought requiring quite an appreciable amount of time. nothing could have been worse for the development of my mind than dr. butler's school, as it was strictly classical, nothing else being taught, except a little ancient geography and history. the school as a means of education to me was simply a blank. during my whole life i have been singularly incapable of mastering any language. especial attention was paid to verse-making, and this i could never do well. i had many friends, and got together a good collection of old verses, which by patching together, sometimes aided by other boys, i could work into any subject. much attention was paid to learning by heart the lessons of the previous day; this i could effect with great facility, learning forty or fifty lines of virgil or homer, whilst i was in morning chapel; but this exercise was utterly useless, for every verse was forgotten in forty-eight hours. i was not idle, and with the exception of versification, generally worked conscientiously at my classics, not using cribs. the sole pleasure i ever received from such studies, was from some of the odes of horace, which i admired greatly. when i left the school i was for my age neither high nor low in it; and i believe that i was considered by all my masters and by my father as a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard in intellect. to my deep mortification my father once said to me, "you care for nothing but shooting, dogs, and rat-catching, and you will be a disgrace to yourself and all your family." but my father, who was the kindest man i ever knew and whose memory i love with all my heart, must have been angry and somewhat unjust when he used such words. looking back as well as i can at my character during my school life, the only qualities which at this period promised well for the future, were, that i had strong and diversified tastes, much zeal for whatever interested me, and a keen pleasure in understanding any complex subject or thing. i was taught euclid by a private tutor, and i distinctly remember the intense satisfaction which the clear geometrical proofs gave me. i remember, with equal distinctness, the delight which my uncle gave me (the father of francis galton) by explaining the principle of the vernier of a barometer with respect to diversified tastes, independently of science, i was fond of reading various books, and i used to sit for hours reading the historical plays of shakespeare, generally in an old window in the thick walls of the school. i read also other poetry, such as thomson's 'seasons,' and the recently published poems of byron and scott. i mention this because later in life i wholly lost, to my great regret, all pleasure from poetry of any kind, including shakespeare. in connection with pleasure from poetry, i may add that in a vivid delight in scenery was first awakened in my mind, during a riding tour on the borders of wales, and this has lasted longer than any other aesthetic pleasure. early in my school days a boy had a copy of the 'wonders of the world,' which i often read, and disputed with other boys about the veracity of some of the statements; and i believe that this book first gave me a wish to travel in remote countries, which was ultimately fulfilled by the voyage of the "beagle". in the latter part of my school life i became passionately fond of shooting; i do not believe that any one could have shown more zeal for the most holy cause than i did for shooting birds. how well i remember killing my first snipe, and my excitement was so great that i had much difficulty in reloading my gun from the trembling of my hands. this taste long continued, and i became a very good shot. when at cambridge i used to practise throwing up my gun to my shoulder before a looking-glass to see that i threw it up straight. another and better plan was to get a friend to wave about a lighted candle, and then to fire at it with a cap on the nipple, and if the aim was accurate the little puff of air would blow out the candle. the explosion of the cap caused a sharp crack, and i was told that the tutor of the college remarked, "what an extraordinary thing it is, mr. darwin seems to spend hours in cracking a horse-whip in his room, for i often hear the crack when i pass under his windows." i had many friends amongst the schoolboys, whom i loved dearly, and i think that my disposition was then very affectionate. with respect to science, i continued collecting minerals with much zeal, but quite unscientifically--all that i cared about was a new-named mineral, and i hardly attempted to classify them. i must have observed insects with some little care, for when ten years old ( ) i went for three weeks to plas edwards on the sea-coast in wales, i was very much interested and surprised at seeing a large black and scarlet hemipterous insect, many moths (zygaena), and a cicindela which are not found in shropshire. i almost made up my mind to begin collecting all the insects which i could find dead, for on consulting my sister i concluded that it was not right to kill insects for the sake of making a collection. from reading white's 'selborne,' i took much pleasure in watching the habits of birds, and even made notes on the subject. in my simplicity i remember wondering why every gentleman did not become an ornithologist. towards the close of my school life, my brother worked hard at chemistry, and made a fair laboratory with proper apparatus in the tool-house in the garden, and i was allowed to aid him as a servant in most of his experiments. he made all the gases and many compounds, and i read with great care several books on chemistry, such as henry and parkes' 'chemical catechism.' the subject interested me greatly, and we often used to go on working till rather late at night. this was the best part of my education at school, for it showed me practically the meaning of experimental science. the fact that we worked at chemistry somehow got known at school, and as it was an unprecedented fact, i was nicknamed "gas." i was also once publicly rebuked by the head-master, dr. butler, for thus wasting my time on such useless subjects; and he called me very unjustly a "poco curante," and as i did not understand what he meant, it seemed to me a fearful reproach. as i was doing no good at school, my father wisely took me away at a rather earlier age than usual, and sent me (oct. ) to edinburgh university with my brother, where i stayed for two years or sessions. my brother was completing his medical studies, though i do not believe he ever really intended to practise, and i was sent there to commence them. but soon after this period i became convinced from various small circumstances that my father would leave me property enough to subsist on with some comfort, though i never imagined that i should be so rich a man as i am; but my belief was sufficient to check any strenuous efforts to learn medicine. the instruction at edinburgh was altogether by lectures, and these were intolerably dull, with the exception of those on chemistry by hope; but to my mind there are no advantages and many disadvantages in lectures compared with reading. dr. duncan's lectures on materia medica at o'clock on a winter's morning are something fearful to remember. dr.-- made his lectures on human anatomy as dull as he was himself, and the subject disgusted me. it has proved one of the greatest evils in my life that i was not urged to practise dissection, for i should soon have got over my disgust; and the practice would have been invaluable for all my future work. this has been an irremediable evil, as well as my incapacity to draw. i also attended regularly the clinical wards in the hospital. some of the cases distressed me a good deal, and i still have vivid pictures before me of some of them; but i was not so foolish as to allow this to lessen my attendance. i cannot understand why this part of my medical course did not interest me in a greater degree; for during the summer before coming to edinburgh i began attending some of the poor people, chiefly children and women in shrewsbury: i wrote down as full an account as i could of the case with all the symptoms, and read them aloud to my father, who suggested further inquiries and advised me what medicines to give, which i made up myself. at one time i had at least a dozen patients, and i felt a keen interest in the work. my father, who was by far the best judge of character whom i ever knew, declared that i should make a successful physician,--meaning by this one who would get many patients. he maintained that the chief element of success was exciting confidence; but what he saw in me which convinced him that i should create confidence i know not. i also attended on two occasions the operating theatre in the hospital at edinburgh, and saw two very bad operations, one on a child, but i rushed away before they were completed. nor did i ever attend again, for hardly any inducement would have been strong enough to make me do so; this being long before the blessed days of chloroform. the two cases fairly haunted me for many a long year. my brother stayed only one year at the university, so that during the second year i was left to my own resources; and this was an advantage, for i became well acquainted with several young men fond of natural science. one of these was ainsworth, who afterwards published his travels in assyria; he was a wernerian geologist, and knew a little about many subjects. dr. coldstream was a very different young man, prim, formal, highly religious, and most kind-hearted; he afterwards published some good zoological articles. a third young man was hardie, who would, i think, have made a good botanist, but died early in india. lastly, dr. grant, my senior by several years, but how i became acquainted with him i cannot remember; he published some first-rate zoological papers, but after coming to london as professor in university college, he did nothing more in science, a fact which has always been inexplicable to me. i knew him well; he was dry and formal in manner, with much enthusiasm beneath this outer crust. he one day, when we were walking together, burst forth in high admiration of lamarck and his views on evolution. i listened in silent astonishment, and as far as i can judge without any effect on my mind. i had previously read the 'zoonomia' of my grandfather, in which similar views are maintained, but without producing any effect on me. nevertheless it is probable that the hearing rather early in life such views maintained and praised may have favoured my upholding them under a different form in my 'origin of species.' at this time i admired greatly the 'zoonomia;' but on reading it a second time after an interval of ten or fifteen years, i was much disappointed; the proportion of speculation being so large to the facts given. drs. grant and coldstream attended much to marine zoology, and i often accompanied the former to collect animals in the tidal pools, which i dissected as well as i could. i also became friends with some of the newhaven fishermen, and sometimes accompanied them when they trawled for oysters, and thus got many specimens. but from not having had any regular practice in dissection, and from possessing only a wretched microscope, my attempts were very poor. nevertheless i made one interesting little discovery, and read, about the beginning of the year , a short paper on the subject before the plinian society. this was that the so-called ova of flustra had the power of independent movement by means of cilia, and were in fact larvae. in another short paper i showed that the little globular bodies which had been supposed to be the young state of fucus loreus were the egg-cases of the wormlike pontobdella muricata. the plinian society was encouraged and, i believe, founded by professor jameson: it consisted of students and met in an underground room in the university for the sake of reading papers on natural science and discussing them. i used regularly to attend, and the meetings had a good effect on me in stimulating my zeal and giving me new congenial acquaintances. one evening a poor young man got up, and after stammering for a prodigious length of time, blushing crimson, he at last slowly got out the words, "mr. president, i have forgotten what i was going to say." the poor fellow looked quite overwhelmed, and all the members were so surprised that no one could think of a word to say to cover his confusion. the papers which were read to our little society were not printed, so that i had not the satisfaction of seeing my paper in print; but i believe dr. grant noticed my small discovery in his excellent memoir on flustra. i was also a member of the royal medical society, and attended pretty regularly; but as the subjects were exclusively medical, i did not much care about them. much rubbish was talked there, but there were some good speakers, of whom the best was the present sir j. kay-shuttleworth. dr. grant took me occasionally to the meetings of the wernerian society, where various papers on natural history were read, discussed, and afterwards published in the 'transactions.' i heard audubon deliver there some interesting discourses on the habits of n. american birds, sneering somewhat unjustly at waterton. by the way, a negro lived in edinburgh, who had travelled with waterton, and gained his livelihood by stuffing birds, which he did excellently: he gave me lessons for payment, and i used often to sit with him, for he was a very pleasant and intelligent man. mr. leonard horner also took me once to a meeting of the royal society of edinburgh, where i saw sir walter scott in the chair as president, and he apologised to the meeting as not feeling fitted for such a position. i looked at him and at the whole scene with some awe and reverence, and i think it was owing to this visit during my youth, and to my having attended the royal medical society, that i felt the honour of being elected a few years ago an honorary member of both these societies, more than any other similar honour. if i had been told at that time that i should one day have been thus honoured, i declare that i should have thought it as ridiculous and improbable, as if i had been told that i should be elected king of england. during my second year at edinburgh i attended --'s lectures on geology and zoology, but they were incredibly dull. the sole effect they produced on me was the determination never as long as i lived to read a book on geology, or in any way to study the science. yet i feel sure that i was prepared for a philosophical treatment of the subject; for an old mr. cotton in shropshire, who knew a good deal about rocks, had pointed out to me two or three years previously a well-known large erratic boulder in the town of shrewsbury, called the "bell-stone"; he told me that there was no rock of the same kind nearer than cumberland or scotland, and he solemnly assured me that the world would come to an end before any one would be able to explain how this stone came where it now lay. this produced a deep impression on me, and i meditated over this wonderful stone. so that i felt the keenest delight when i first read of the action of icebergs in transporting boulders, and i gloried in the progress of geology. equally striking is the fact that i, though now only sixty-seven years old, heard the professor, in a field lecture at salisbury craigs, discoursing on a trapdyke, with amygdaloidal margins and the strata indurated on each side, with volcanic rocks all around us, say that it was a fissure filled with sediment from above, adding with a sneer that there were men who maintained that it had been injected from beneath in a molten condition. when i think of this lecture, i do not wonder that i determined never to attend to geology. from attending --'s lectures, i became acquainted with the curator of the museum, mr. macgillivray, who afterwards published a large and excellent book on the birds of scotland. i had much interesting natural-history talk with him, and he was very kind to me. he gave me some rare shells, for i at that time collected marine mollusca, but with no great zeal. my summer vacations during these two years were wholly given up to amusements, though i always had some book in hand, which i read with interest. during the summer of i took a long walking tour with two friends with knapsacks on our backs through north wales. we walked thirty miles most days, including one day the ascent of snowdon. i also went with my sister a riding tour in north wales, a servant with saddle-bags carrying our clothes. the autumns were devoted to shooting chiefly at mr. owen's, at woodhouse, and at my uncle jos's (josiah wedgwood, the son of the founder of the etruria works.) at maer. my zeal was so great that i used to place my shooting-boots open by my bed-side when i went to bed, so as not to lose half a minute in putting them on in the morning; and on one occasion i reached a distant part of the maer estate, on the th of august for black-game shooting, before i could see: i then toiled on with the game-keeper the whole day through thick heath and young scotch firs. i kept an exact record of every bird which i shot throughout the whole season. one day when shooting at woodhouse with captain owen, the eldest son, and major hill, his cousin, afterwards lord berwick, both of whom i liked very much, i thought myself shamefully used, for every time after i had fired and thought that i had killed a bird, one of the two acted as if loading his gun, and cried out, "you must not count that bird, for i fired at the same time," and the gamekeeper, perceiving the joke, backed them up. after some hours they told me the joke, but it was no joke to me, for i had shot a large number of birds, but did not know how many, and could not add them to my list, which i used to do by making a knot in a piece of string tied to a button-hole. this my wicked friends had perceived. how i did enjoy shooting! but i think that i must have been half-consciously ashamed of my zeal, for i tried to persuade myself that shooting was almost an intellectual employment; it required so much skill to judge where to find most game and to hunt the dogs well. one of my autumnal visits to maer in was memorable from meeting there sir j. mackintosh, who was the best converser i ever listened to. i heard afterwards with a glow of pride that he had said, "there is something in that young man that interests me." this must have been chiefly due to his perceiving that i listened with much interest to everything which he said, for i was as ignorant as a pig about his subjects of history, politics, and moral philosophy. to hear of praise from an eminent person, though no doubt apt or certain to excite vanity, is, i think, good for a young man, as it helps to keep him in the right course. my visits to maer during these two or three succeeding years were quite delightful, independently of the autumnal shooting. life there was perfectly free; the country was very pleasant for walking or riding; and in the evening there was much very agreeable conversation, not so personal as it generally is in large family parties, together with music. in the summer the whole family used often to sit on the steps of the old portico, with the flower-garden in front, and with the steep wooded bank opposite the house reflected in the lake, with here and there a fish rising or a water-bird paddling about. nothing has left a more vivid picture on my mind than these evenings at maer. i was also attached to and greatly revered my uncle jos; he was silent and reserved, so as to be a rather awful man; but he sometimes talked openly with me. he was the very type of an upright man, with the clearest judgment. i do not believe that any power on earth could have made him swerve an inch from what he considered the right course. i used to apply to him in my mind the well-known ode of horace, now forgotten by me, in which the words "nec vultus tyranni, etc.," come in. (justum et tenacem propositi virum non civium ardor prava jubentium non vultus instantis tyranni mente quatit solida.) cambridge - . after having spent two sessions in edinburgh, my father perceived, or he heard from my sisters, that i did not like the thought of being a physician, so he proposed that i should become a clergyman. he was very properly vehement against my turning into an idle sporting man, which then seemed my probable destination. i asked for some time to consider, as from what little i had heard or thought on the subject i had scruples about declaring my belief in all the dogmas of the church of england; though otherwise i liked the thought of being a country clergyman. accordingly i read with care 'pearson on the creed,' and a few other books on divinity; and as i did not then in the least doubt the strict and literal truth of every word in the bible, i soon persuaded myself that our creed must be fully accepted. considering how fiercely i have been attacked by the orthodox, it seems ludicrous that i once intended to be a clergyman. nor was this intention and my father's wish ever formerly given up, but died a natural death when, on leaving cambridge, i joined the "beagle" as naturalist. if the phrenologists are to be trusted, i was well fitted in one respect to be a clergyman. a few years ago the secretaries of a german psychological society asked me earnestly by letter for a photograph of myself; and some time afterwards i received the proceedings of one of the meetings, in which it seemed that the shape of my head had been the subject of a public discussion, and one of the speakers declared that i had the bump of reverence developed enough for ten priests. as it was decided that i should be a clergyman, it was necessary that i should go to one of the english universities and take a degree; but as i had never opened a classical book since leaving school, i found to my dismay, that in the two intervening years i had actually forgotten, incredible as it may appear, almost everything which i had learnt, even to some few of the greek letters. i did not therefore proceed to cambridge at the usual time in october, but worked with a private tutor in shrewsbury, and went to cambridge after the christmas vacation, early in . i soon recovered my school standard of knowledge, and could translate easy greek books, such as homer and the greek testament, with moderate facility. during the three years which i spent at cambridge my time was wasted, as far as the academical studies were concerned, as completely as at edinburgh and at school. i attempted mathematics, and even went during the summer of with a private tutor (a very dull man) to barmouth, but i got on very slowly. the work was repugnant to me, chiefly from my not being able to see any meaning in the early steps in algebra. this impatience was very foolish, and in after years i have deeply regretted that i did not proceed far enough at least to understand something of the great leading principles of mathematics, for men thus endowed seem to have an extra sense. but i do not believe that i should ever have succeeded beyond a very low grade. with respect to classics i did nothing except attend a few compulsory college lectures, and the attendance was almost nominal. in my second year i had to work for a month or two to pass the little-go, which i did easily. again, in my last year i worked with some earnestness for my final degree of b.a., and brushed up my classics, together with a little algebra and euclid, which latter gave me much pleasure, as it did at school. in order to pass the b.a. examination, it was also necessary to get up paley's 'evidences of christianity,' and his 'moral philosophy.' this was done in a thorough manner, and i am convinced that i could have written out the whole of the 'evidences' with perfect correctness, but not of course in the clear language of paley. the logic of this book and, as i may add, of his 'natural theology,' gave me as much delight as did euclid. the careful study of these works, without attempting to learn any part by rote, was the only part of the academical course which, as i then felt and as i still believe, was of the least use to me in the education of my mind. i did not at that time trouble myself about paley's premises; and taking these on trust, i was charmed and convinced by the long line of argumentation. by answering well the examination questions in paley, by doing euclid well, and by not failing miserably in classics, i gained a good place among the oi polloi or crowd of men who do not go in for honours. oddly enough, i cannot remember how high i stood, and my memory fluctuates between the fifth, tenth, or twelfth, name on the list. (tenth in the list of january .) public lectures on several branches were given in the university, attendance being quite voluntary; but i was so sickened with lectures at edinburgh that i did not even attend sedgwick's eloquent and interesting lectures. had i done so i should probably have become a geologist earlier than i did. i attended, however, henslow's lectures on botany, and liked them much for their extreme clearness, and the admirable illustrations; but i did not study botany. henslow used to take his pupils, including several of the older members of the university, field excursions, on foot or in coaches, to distant places, or in a barge down the river, and lectured on the rarer plants and animals which were observed. these excursions were delightful. although, as we shall presently see, there were some redeeming features in my life at cambridge, my time was sadly wasted there, and worse than wasted. from my passion for shooting and for hunting, and, when this failed, for riding across country, i got into a sporting set, including some dissipated low-minded young men. we used often to dine together in the evening, though these dinners often included men of a higher stamp, and we sometimes drank too much, with jolly singing and playing at cards afterwards. i know that i ought to feel ashamed of days and evenings thus spent, but as some of my friends were very pleasant, and we were all in the highest spirits, i cannot help looking back to these times with much pleasure. but i am glad to think that i had many other friends of a widely different nature. i was very intimate with whitley (rev. c. whitley, hon. canon of durham, formerly reader in natural philosophy in durham university.), who was afterwards senior wrangler, and we used continually to take long walks together. he inoculated me with a taste for pictures and good engravings, of which i bought some. i frequently went to the fitzwilliam gallery, and my taste must have been fairly good, for i certainly admired the best pictures, which i discussed with the old curator. i read also with much interest sir joshua reynolds' book. this taste, though not natural to me, lasted for several years, and many of the pictures in the national gallery in london gave me much pleasure; that of sebastian del piombo exciting in me a sense of sublimity. i also got into a musical set, i believe by means of my warm-hearted friend, herbert (the late john maurice herbert, county court judge of cardiff and the monmouth circuit.), who took a high wrangler's degree. from associating with these men, and hearing them play, i acquired a strong taste for music, and used very often to time my walks so as to hear on week days the anthem in king's college chapel. this gave me intense pleasure, so that my backbone would sometimes shiver. i am sure that there was no affectation or mere imitation in this taste, for i used generally to go by myself to king's college, and i sometimes hired the chorister boys to sing in my rooms. nevertheless i am so utterly destitute of an ear, that i cannot perceive a discord, or keep time and hum a tune correctly; and it is a mystery how i could possibly have derived pleasure from music. my musical friends soon perceived my state, and sometimes amused themselves by making me pass an examination, which consisted in ascertaining how many tunes i could recognise when they were played rather more quickly or slowly than usual. 'god save the king,' when thus played, was a sore puzzle. there was another man with almost as bad an ear as i had, and strange to say he played a little on the flute. once i had the triumph of beating him in one of our musical examinations. but no pursuit at cambridge was followed with nearly so much eagerness or gave me so much pleasure as collecting beetles. it was the mere passion for collecting, for i did not dissect them, and rarely compared their external characters with published descriptions, but got them named anyhow. i will give a proof of my zeal: one day, on tearing off some old bark, i saw two rare beetles, and seized one in each hand; then i saw a third and new kind, which i could not bear to lose, so that i popped the one which i held in my right hand into my mouth. alas! it ejected some intensely acrid fluid, which burnt my tongue so that i was forced to spit the beetle out, which was lost, as was the third one. i was very successful in collecting, and invented two new methods; i employed a labourer to scrape during the winter, moss off old trees and place it in a large bag, and likewise to collect the rubbish at the bottom of the barges in which reeds are brought from the fens, and thus i got some very rare species. no poet ever felt more delighted at seeing his first poem published than i did at seeing, in stephens' 'illustrations of british insects,' the magic words, "captured by c. darwin, esq." i was introduced to entomology by my second cousin w. darwin fox, a clever and most pleasant man, who was then at christ's college, and with whom i became extremely intimate. afterwards i became well acquainted, and went out collecting, with albert way of trinity, who in after years became a well-known archaeologist; also with h. thompson of the same college, afterwards a leading agriculturist, chairman of a great railway, and member of parliament. it seems therefore that a taste for collecting beetles is some indication of future success in life! i am surprised what an indelible impression many of the beetles which i caught at cambridge have left on my mind. i can remember the exact appearance of certain posts, old trees and banks where i made a good capture. the pretty panagaeus crux-major was a treasure in those days, and here at down i saw a beetle running across a walk, and on picking it up instantly perceived that it differed slightly from p. crux-major, and it turned out to be p. quadripunctatus, which is only a variety or closely allied species, differing from it very slightly in outline. i had never seen in those old days licinus alive, which to an uneducated eye hardly differs from many of the black carabidous beetles; but my sons found here a specimen, and i instantly recognised that it was new to me; yet i had not looked at a british beetle for the last twenty years. i have not as yet mentioned a circumstance which influenced my whole career more than any other. this was my friendship with professor henslow. before coming up to cambridge, i had heard of him from my brother as a man who knew every branch of science, and i was accordingly prepared to reverence him. he kept open house once every week when all undergraduates, and some older members of the university, who were attached to science, used to meet in the evening. i soon got, through fox, an invitation, and went there regularly. before long i became well acquainted with henslow, and during the latter half of my time at cambridge took long walks with him on most days; so that i was called by some of the dons "the man who walks with henslow;" and in the evening i was very often asked to join his family dinner. his knowledge was great in botany, entomology, chemistry, mineralogy, and geology. his strongest taste was to draw conclusions from long-continued minute observations. his judgment was excellent, and his whole mind well balanced; but i do not suppose that any one would say that he possessed much original genius. he was deeply religious, and so orthodox that he told me one day he should be grieved if a single word of the thirty-nine articles were altered. his moral qualities were in every way admirable. he was free from every tinge of vanity or other petty feeling; and i never saw a man who thought so little about himself or his own concerns. his temper was imperturbably good, with the most winning and courteous manners; yet, as i have seen, he could be roused by any bad action to the warmest indignation and prompt action. i once saw in his company in the streets of cambridge almost as horrid a scene as could have been witnessed during the french revolution. two body-snatchers had been arrested, and whilst being taken to prison had been torn from the constable by a crowd of the roughest men, who dragged them by their legs along the muddy and stony road. they were covered from head to foot with mud, and their faces were bleeding either from having been kicked or from the stones; they looked like corpses, but the crowd was so dense that i got only a few momentary glimpses of the wretched creatures. never in my life have i seen such wrath painted on a man's face as was shown by henslow at this horrid scene. he tried repeatedly to penetrate the mob; but it was simply impossible. he then rushed away to the mayor, telling me not to follow him, but to get more policemen. i forget the issue, except that the two men were got into the prison without being killed. henslow's benevolence was unbounded, as he proved by his many excellent schemes for his poor parishioners, when in after years he held the living of hitcham. my intimacy with such a man ought to have been, and i hope was, an inestimable benefit. i cannot resist mentioning a trifling incident, which showed his kind consideration. whilst examining some pollen-grains on a damp surface, i saw the tubes exserted, and instantly rushed off to communicate my surprising discovery to him. now i do not suppose any other professor of botany could have helped laughing at my coming in such a hurry to make such a communication. but he agreed how interesting the phenomenon was, and explained its meaning, but made me clearly understand how well it was known; so i left him not in the least mortified, but well pleased at having discovered for myself so remarkable a fact, but determined not to be in such a hurry again to communicate my discoveries. dr. whewell was one of the older and distinguished men who sometimes visited henslow, and on several occasions i walked home with him at night. next to sir j. mackintosh he was the best converser on grave subjects to whom i ever listened. leonard jenyns (the well-known soame jenyns was cousin to mr. jenyns' father.), who afterwards published some good essays in natural history (mr. jenyns (now blomefield) described the fish for the zoology of the "beagle"; and is author of a long series of papers, chiefly zoological.), often stayed with henslow, who was his brother-in-law. i visited him at his parsonage on the borders of the fens [swaffham bulbeck], and had many a good walk and talk with him about natural history. i became also acquainted with several other men older than me, who did not care much about science, but were friends of henslow. one was a scotchman, brother of sir alexander ramsay, and tutor of jesus college: he was a delightful man, but did not live for many years. another was mr. dawes, afterwards dean of hereford, and famous for his success in the education of the poor. these men and others of the same standing, together with henslow, used sometimes to take distant excursions into the country, which i was allowed to join, and they were most agreeable. looking back, i infer that there must have been something in me a little superior to the common run of youths, otherwise the above-mentioned men, so much older than me and higher in academical position, would never have allowed me to associate with them. certainly i was not aware of any such superiority, and i remember one of my sporting friends, turner, who saw me at work with my beetles, saying that i should some day be a fellow of the royal society, and the notion seemed to me preposterous. during my last year at cambridge, i read with care and profound interest humboldt's 'personal narrative.' this work, and sir j. herschel's 'introduction to the study of natural philosophy,' stirred up in me a burning zeal to add even the most humble contribution to the noble structure of natural science. no one or a dozen other books influenced me nearly so much as these two. i copied out from humboldt long passages about teneriffe, and read them aloud on one of the above-mentioned excursions, to (i think) henslow, ramsay, and dawes, for on a previous occasion i had talked about the glories of teneriffe, and some of the party declared they would endeavour to go there; but i think that they were only half in earnest. i was, however, quite in earnest, and got an introduction to a merchant in london to enquire about ships; but the scheme was, of course, knocked on the head by the voyage of the "beagle". my summer vacations were given up to collecting beetles, to some reading, and short tours. in the autumn my whole time was devoted to shooting, chiefly at woodhouse and maer, and sometimes with young eyton of eyton. upon the whole the three years which i spent at cambridge were the most joyful in my happy life; for i was then in excellent health, and almost always in high spirits. as i had at first come up to cambridge at christmas, i was forced to keep two terms after passing my final examination, at the commencement of ; and henslow then persuaded me to begin the study of geology. therefore on my return to shropshire i examined sections, and coloured a map of parts round shrewsbury. professor sedgwick intended to visit north wales in the beginning of august to pursue his famous geological investigations amongst the older rocks, and henslow asked him to allow me to accompany him. (in connection with this tour my father used to tell a story about sedgwick: they had started from their inn one morning, and had walked a mile or two, when sedgwick suddenly stopped, and vowed that he would return, being certain "that damned scoundrel" (the waiter) had not given the chambermaid the sixpence intrusted to him for the purpose. he was ultimately persuaded to give up the project, seeing that there was no reason for suspecting the waiter of especial perfidy.--f.d.) accordingly he came and slept at my father's house. a short conversation with him during this evening produced a strong impression on my mind. whilst examining an old gravel-pit near shrewsbury, a labourer told me that he had found in it a large worn tropical volute shell, such as may be seen on the chimney-pieces of cottages; and as he would not sell the shell, i was convinced that he had really found it in the pit. i told sedgwick of the fact, and he at once said (no doubt truly) that it must have been thrown away by some one into the pit; but then added, if really embedded there it would be the greatest misfortune to geology, as it would overthrow all that we know about the superficial deposits of the midland counties. these gravel-beds belong in fact to the glacial period, and in after years i found in them broken arctic shells. but i was then utterly astonished at sedgwick not being delighted at so wonderful a fact as a tropical shell being found near the surface in the middle of england. nothing before had ever made me thoroughly realise, though i had read various scientific books, that science consists in grouping facts so that general laws or conclusions may be drawn from them. next morning we started for llangollen, conway, bangor, and capel curig. this tour was of decided use in teaching me a little how to make out the geology of a country. sedgwick often sent me on a line parallel to his, telling me to bring back specimens of the rocks and to mark the stratification on a map. i have little doubt that he did this for my good, as i was too ignorant to have aided him. on this tour i had a striking instance of how easy it is to overlook phenomena, however conspicuous, before they have been observed by any one. we spent many hours in cwm idwal, examining all the rocks with extreme care, as sedgwick was anxious to find fossils in them; but neither of us saw a trace of the wonderful glacial phenomena all around us; we did not notice the plainly scored rocks, the perched boulders, the lateral and terminal moraines. yet these phenomena are so conspicuous that, as i declared in a paper published many years afterwards in the 'philosophical magazine' ('philosophical magazine,' .), a house burnt down by fire did not tell its story more plainly than did this valley. if it had still been filled by a glacier, the phenomena would have been less distinct than they now are. at capel curig i left sedgwick and went in a straight line by compass and map across the mountains to barmouth, never following any track unless it coincided with my course. i thus came on some strange wild places, and enjoyed much this manner of travelling. i visited barmouth to see some cambridge friends who were reading there, and thence returned to shrewsbury and to maer for shooting; for at that time i should have thought myself mad to give up the first days of partridge-shooting for geology or any other science. "voyage of the 'beagle' from december , , to october , ." on returning home from my short geological tour in north wales, i found a letter from henslow, informing me that captain fitz-roy was willing to give up part of his own cabin to any young man who would volunteer to go with him without pay as naturalist to the voyage of the "beagle". i have given, as i believe, in my ms. journal an account of all the circumstances which then occurred; i will here only say that i was instantly eager to accept the offer, but my father strongly objected, adding the words, fortunate for me, "if you can find any man of common sense who advises you to go i will give my consent." so i wrote that evening and refused the offer. on the next morning i went to maer to be ready for september st, and, whilst out shooting, my uncle (josiah wedgwood.) sent for me, offering to drive me over to shrewsbury and talk with my father, as my uncle thought it would be wise in me to accept the offer. my father always maintained that he was one of the most sensible men in the world, and he at once consented in the kindest manner. i had been rather extravagant at cambridge, and to console my father, said, "that i should be deuced clever to spend more than my allowance whilst on board the 'beagle';" but he answered with a smile, "but they tell me you are very clever." next day i started for cambridge to see henslow, and thence to london to see fitz-roy, and all was soon arranged. afterwards, on becoming very intimate with fitz-roy, i heard that i had run a very narrow risk of being rejected, on account of the shape of my nose! he was an ardent disciple of lavater, and was convinced that he could judge of a man's character by the outline of his features; and he doubted whether any one with my nose could possess sufficient energy and determination for the voyage. but i think he was afterwards well satisfied that my nose had spoken falsely. fitz-roy's character was a singular one, with very many noble features: he was devoted to his duty, generous to a fault, bold, determined, and indomitably energetic, and an ardent friend to all under his sway. he would undertake any sort of trouble to assist those whom he thought deserved assistance. he was a handsome man, strikingly like a gentleman, with highly courteous manners, which resembled those of his maternal uncle, the famous lord castlereagh, as i was told by the minister at rio. nevertheless he must have inherited much in his appearance from charles ii., for dr. wallich gave me a collection of photographs which he had made, and i was struck with the resemblance of one to fitz-roy; and on looking at the name, i found it ch. e. sobieski stuart, count d'albanie, a descendant of the same monarch. fitz-roy's temper was a most unfortunate one. it was usually worst in the early morning, and with his eagle eye he could generally detect something amiss about the ship, and was then unsparing in his blame. he was very kind to me, but was a man very difficult to live with on the intimate terms which necessarily followed from our messing by ourselves in the same cabin. we had several quarrels; for instance, early in the voyage at bahia, in brazil, he defended and praised slavery, which i abominated, and told me that he had just visited a great slave-owner, who had called up many of his slaves and asked them whether they were happy, and whether they wished to be free, and all answered "no." i then asked him, perhaps with a sneer, whether he thought that the answer of slaves in the presence of their master was worth anything? this made him excessively angry, and he said that as i doubted his word we could not live any longer together. i thought that i should have been compelled to leave the ship; but as soon as the news spread, which it did quickly, as the captain sent for the first lieutenant to assuage his anger by abusing me, i was deeply gratified by receiving an invitation from all the gun-room officers to mess with them. but after a few hours fitz-roy showed his usual magnanimity by sending an officer to me with an apology and a request that i would continue to live with him. his character was in several respects one of the most noble which i have ever known. the voyage of the "beagle" has been by far the most important event in my life, and has determined my whole career; yet it depended on so small a circumstance as my uncle offering to drive me thirty miles to shrewsbury, which few uncles would have done, and on such a trifle as the shape of my nose. i have always felt that i owe to the voyage the first real training or education of my mind; i was led to attend closely to several branches of natural history, and thus my powers of observation were improved, though they were always fairly developed. the investigation of the geology of all the places visited was far more important, as reasoning here comes into play. on first examining a new district nothing can appear more hopeless than the chaos of rocks; but by recording the stratification and nature of the rocks and fossils at many points, always reasoning and predicting what will be found elsewhere, light soon begins to dawn on the district, and the structure of the whole becomes more or less intelligible. i had brought with me the first volume of lyell's 'principles of geology,' which i studied attentively; and the book was of the highest service to me in many ways. the very first place which i examined, namely st. jago in the cape de verde islands, showed me clearly the wonderful superiority of lyell's manner of treating geology, compared with that of any other author, whose works i had with me or ever afterwards read. another of my occupations was collecting animals of all classes, briefly describing and roughly dissecting many of the marine ones; but from not being able to draw, and from not having sufficient anatomical knowledge, a great pile of ms. which i made during the voyage has proved almost useless. i thus lost much time, with the exception of that spent in acquiring some knowledge of the crustaceans, as this was of service when in after years i undertook a monograph of the cirripedia. during some part of the day i wrote my journal, and took much pains in describing carefully and vividly all that i had seen; and this was good practice. my journal served also, in part, as letters to my home, and portions were sent to england whenever there was an opportunity. the above various special studies were, however, of no importance compared with the habit of energetic industry and of concentrated attention to whatever i was engaged in, which i then acquired. everything about which i thought or read was made to bear directly on what i had seen or was likely to see; and this habit of mind was continued during the five years of the voyage. i feel sure that it was this training which has enabled me to do whatever i have done in science. looking backwards, i can now perceive how my love for science gradually preponderated over every other taste. during the first two years my old passion for shooting survived in nearly full force, and i shot myself all the birds and animals for my collection; but gradually i gave up my gun more and more, and finally altogether, to my servant, as shooting interfered with my work, more especially with making out the geological structure of a country. i discovered, though unconsciously and insensibly, that the pleasure of observing and reasoning was a much higher one than that of skill and sport. that my mind became developed through my pursuits during the voyage is rendered probable by a remark made by my father, who was the most acute observer whom i ever saw, of a sceptical disposition, and far from being a believer in phrenology; for on first seeing me after the voyage, he turned round to my sisters, and exclaimed, "why, the shape of his head is quite altered." to return to the voyage. on september th ( ), i paid a flying visit with fitz-roy to the "beagle" at plymouth. thence to shrewsbury to wish my father and sisters a long farewell. on october th i took up my residence at plymouth, and remained there until december th, when the "beagle" finally left the shores of england for her circumnavigation of the world. we made two earlier attempts to sail, but were driven back each time by heavy gales. these two months at plymouth were the most miserable which i ever spent, though i exerted myself in various ways. i was out of spirits at the thought of leaving all my family and friends for so long a time, and the weather seemed to me inexpressibly gloomy. i was also troubled with palpitation and pain about the heart, and like many a young ignorant man, especially one with a smattering of medical knowledge, was convinced that i had heart disease. i did not consult any doctor, as i fully expected to hear the verdict that i was not fit for the voyage, and i was resolved to go at all hazards. i need not here refer to the events of the voyage--where we went and what we did--as i have given a sufficiently full account in my published journal. the glories of the vegetation of the tropics rise before my mind at the present time more vividly than anything else; though the sense of sublimity, which the great deserts of patagonia and the forest-clad mountains of tierra del fuego excited in me, has left an indelible impression on my mind. the sight of a naked savage in his native land is an event which can never be forgotten. many of my excursions on horseback through wild countries, or in the boats, some of which lasted several weeks, were deeply interesting: their discomfort and some degree of danger were at that time hardly a drawback, and none at all afterwards. i also reflect with high satisfaction on some of my scientific work, such as solving the problem of coral islands, and making out the geological structure of certain islands, for instance, st. helena. nor must i pass over the discovery of the singular relations of the animals and plants inhabiting the several islands of the galapagos archipelago, and of all of them to the inhabitants of south america. as far as i can judge of myself, i worked to the utmost during the voyage from the mere pleasure of investigation, and from my strong desire to add a few facts to the great mass of facts in natural science. but i was also ambitious to take a fair place among scientific men,--whether more ambitious or less so than most of my fellow-workers, i can form no opinion. the geology of st. jago is very striking, yet simple: a stream of lava formerly flowed over the bed of the sea, formed of triturated recent shells and corals, which it has baked into a hard white rock. since then the whole island has been upheaved. but the line of white rock revealed to me a new and important fact, namely, that there had been afterwards subsidence round the craters, which had since been in action, and had poured forth lava. it then first dawned on me that i might perhaps write a book on the geology of the various countries visited, and this made me thrill with delight. that was a memorable hour to me, and how distinctly i can call to mind the low cliff of lava beneath which i rested, with the sun glaring hot, a few strange desert plants growing near, and with living corals in the tidal pools at my feet. later in the voyage, fitz-roy asked me to read some of my journal, and declared it would be worth publishing; so here was a second book in prospect! towards the close of our voyage i received a letter whilst at ascension, in which my sisters told me that sedgwick had called on my father, and said that i should take a place among the leading scientific men. i could not at the time understand how he could have learnt anything of my proceedings, but i heard (i believe afterwards) that henslow had read some of the letters which i wrote to him before the philosophical society of cambridge (read at the meeting held november , , and printed in a pamphlet of pages for distribution among the members of the society.), and had printed them for private distribution. my collection of fossil bones, which had been sent to henslow, also excited considerable attention amongst palaeontologists. after reading this letter, i clambered over the mountains of ascension with a bounding step, and made the volcanic rocks resound under my geological hammer. all this shows how ambitious i was; but i think that i can say with truth that in after years, though i cared in the highest degree for the approbation of such men as lyell and hooker, who were my friends, i did not care much about the general public. i do not mean to say that a favourable review or a large sale of my books did not please me greatly, but the pleasure was a fleeting one, and i am sure that i have never turned one inch out of my course to gain fame. from my return to england (october , ) to my marriage (january , .) these two years and three months were the most active ones which i ever spent, though i was occasionally unwell, and so lost some time. after going backwards and forwards several times between shrewsbury, maer, cambridge, and london, i settled in lodgings at cambridge (in fitzwilliam street.) on december th, where all my collections were under the care of henslow. i stayed here three months, and got my minerals and rocks examined by the aid of professor miller. i began preparing my 'journal of travels,' which was not hard work, as my ms. journal had been written with care, and my chief labour was making an abstract of my more interesting scientific results. i sent also, at the request of lyell, a short account of my observations on the elevation of the coast of chile to the geological society. ('geolog. soc. proc. ii. , pages - .) on march th, , i took lodgings in great marlborough street in london, and remained there for nearly two years, until i was married. during these two years i finished my journal, read several papers before the geological society, began preparing the ms. for my 'geological observations,' and arranged for the publication of the 'zoology of the voyage of the "beagle".' in july i opened my first note-book for facts in relation to the origin of species, about which i had long reflected, and never ceased working for the next twenty years. during these two years i also went a little into society, and acted as one of the honorary secretaries of the geological society. i saw a great deal of lyell. one of his chief characteristics was his sympathy with the work of others, and i was as much astonished as delighted at the interest which he showed when, on my return to england, i explained to him my views on coral reefs. this encouraged me greatly, and his advice and example had much influence on me. during this time i saw also a good deal of robert brown; i used often to call and sit with him during his breakfast on sunday mornings, and he poured forth a rich treasure of curious observations and acute remarks, but they almost always related to minute points, and he never with me discussed large or general questions in science. during these two years i took several short excursions as a relaxation, and one longer one to the parallel roads of glen roy, an account of which was published in the 'philosophical transactions.' ( , pages - .) this paper was a great failure, and i am ashamed of it. having been deeply impressed with what i had seen of the elevation of the land of south america, i attributed the parallel lines to the action of the sea; but i had to give up this view when agassiz propounded his glacier-lake theory. because no other explanation was possible under our then state of knowledge, i argued in favour of sea-action; and my error has been a good lesson to me never to trust in science to the principle of exclusion. as i was not able to work all day at science, i read a good deal during these two years on various subjects, including some metaphysical books; but i was not well fitted for such studies. about this time i took much delight in wordsworth's and coleridge's poetry; and can boast that i read the 'excursion' twice through. formerly milton's 'paradise lost' had been my chief favourite, and in my excursions during the voyage of the "beagle", when i could take only a single volume, i always chose milton. from my marriage, january , , and residence in upper gower street, to our leaving london and settling at down, september , . (after speaking of his happy married life, and of his children, he continues:--) during the three years and eight months whilst we resided in london, i did less scientific work, though i worked as hard as i possibly could, than during any other equal length of time in my life. this was owing to frequently recurring unwellness, and to one long and serious illness. the greater part of my time, when i could do anything, was devoted to my work on 'coral reefs,' which i had begun before my marriage, and of which the last proof-sheet was corrected on may th, . this book, though a small one, cost me twenty months of hard work, as i had to read every work on the islands of the pacific and to consult many charts. it was thought highly of by scientific men, and the theory therein given is, i think, now well established. no other work of mine was begun in so deductive a spirit as this, for the whole theory was thought out on the west coast of south america, before i had seen a true coral reef. i had therefore only to verify and extend my views by a careful examination of living reefs. but it should be observed that i had during the two previous years been incessantly attending to the effects on the shores of south america of the intermittent elevation of the land, together with denudation and the deposition of sediment. this necessarily led me to reflect much on the effects of subsidence, and it was easy to replace in imagination the continued deposition of sediment by the upward growth of corals. to do this was to form my theory of the formation of barrier-reefs and atolls. besides my work on coral-reefs, during my residence in london, i read before the geological society papers on the erratic boulders of south america ('geolog. soc. proc.' iii. .), on earthquakes ('geolog. trans. v. .), and on the formation by the agency of earth-worms of mould. ('geolog. soc. proc. ii. .) i also continued to superintend the publication of the 'zoology of the voyage of the "beagle".' nor did i ever intermit collecting facts bearing on the origin of species; and i could sometimes do this when i could do nothing else from illness. in the summer of i was stronger than i had been for some time, and took a little tour by myself in north wales, for the sake of observing the effects of the old glaciers which formerly filled all the larger valleys. i published a short account of what i saw in the 'philosophical magazine.' ('philosophical magazine,' .) this excursion interested me greatly, and it was the last time i was ever strong enough to climb mountains or to take long walks such as are necessary for geological work. during the early part of our life in london, i was strong enough to go into general society, and saw a good deal of several scientific men, and other more or less distinguished men. i will give my impressions with respect to some of them, though i have little to say worth saying. i saw more of lyell than of any other man, both before and after my marriage. his mind was characterised, as it appeared to me, by clearness, caution, sound judgment, and a good deal of originality. when i made any remark to him on geology, he never rested until he saw the whole case clearly, and often made me see it more clearly than i had done before. he would advance all possible objections to my suggestion, and even after these were exhausted would long remain dubious. a second characteristic was his hearty sympathy with the work of other scientific men. (the slight repetition here observable is accounted for by the notes on lyell, etc., having been added in april, , a few years after the rest of the 'recollections' were written.) on my return from the voyage of the "beagle", i explained to him my views on coral-reefs, which differed from his, and i was greatly surprised and encouraged by the vivid interest which he showed. his delight in science was ardent, and he felt the keenest interest in the future progress of mankind. he was very kind-hearted, and thoroughly liberal in his religious beliefs, or rather disbeliefs; but he was a strong theist. his candour was highly remarkable. he exhibited this by becoming a convert to the descent theory, though he had gained much fame by opposing lamarck's views, and this after he had grown old. he reminded me that i had many years before said to him, when discussing the opposition of the old school of geologists to his new views, "what a good thing it would be if every scientific man was to die when sixty years old, as afterwards he would be sure to oppose all new doctrines." but he hoped that now he might be allowed to live. the science of geology is enormously indebted to lyell--more so, as i believe, than to any other man who ever lived. when [i was] starting on the voyage of the "beagle", the sagacious henslow, who, like all other geologists, believed at that time in successive cataclysms, advised me to get and study the first volume of the 'principles,' which had then just been published, but on no account to accept the views therein advocated. how differently would any one now speak of the 'principles'! i am proud to remember that the first place, namely, st. jago, in the cape de verde archipelago, in which i geologised, convinced me of the infinite superiority of lyell's views over those advocated in any other work known to me. the powerful effects of lyell's works could formerly be plainly seen in the different progress of the science in france and england. the present total oblivion of elie de beaumont's wild hypotheses, such as his 'craters of elevation' and 'lines of elevation' (which latter hypothesis i heard sedgwick at the geological society lauding to the skies), may be largely attributed to lyell. i saw a good deal of robert brown, "facile princeps botanicorum," as he was called by humboldt. he seemed to me to be chiefly remarkable for the minuteness of his observations, and their perfect accuracy. his knowledge was extraordinarily great, and much died with him, owing to his excessive fear of ever making a mistake. he poured out his knowledge to me in the most unreserved manner, yet was strangely jealous on some points. i called on him two or three times before the voyage of the "beagle", and on one occasion he asked me to look through a microscope and describe what i saw. this i did, and believe now that it was the marvellous currents of protoplasm in some vegetable cell. i then asked him what i had seen; but he answered me, "that is my little secret." he was capable of the most generous actions. when old, much out of health, and quite unfit for any exertion, he daily visited (as hooker told me) an old man-servant, who lived at a distance (and whom he supported), and read aloud to him. this is enough to make up for any degree of scientific penuriousness or jealousy. i may here mention a few other eminent men, whom i have occasionally seen, but i have little to say about them worth saying. i felt a high reverence for sir j. herschel, and was delighted to dine with him at his charming house at the cape of good hope, and afterwards at his london house. i saw him, also, on a few other occasions. he never talked much, but every word which he uttered was worth listening to. i once met at breakfast at sir r. murchison's house the illustrious humboldt, who honoured me by expressing a wish to see me. i was a little disappointed with the great man, but my anticipations probably were too high. i can remember nothing distinctly about our interview, except that humboldt was very cheerful and talked much. --reminds me of buckle whom i once met at hensleigh wedgwood's. i was very glad to learn from him his system of collecting facts. he told me that he bought all the books which he read, and made a full index, to each, of the facts which he thought might prove serviceable to him, and that he could always remember in what book he had read anything, for his memory was wonderful. i asked him how at first he could judge what facts would be serviceable, and he answered that he did not know, but that a sort of instinct guided him. from this habit of making indices, he was enabled to give the astonishing number of references on all sorts of subjects, which may be found in his 'history of civilisation.' this book i thought most interesting, and read it twice, but i doubt whether his generalisations are worth anything. buckle was a great talker, and i listened to him saying hardly a word, nor indeed could i have done so for he left no gaps. when mrs. farrer began to sing, i jumped up and said that i must listen to her; after i had moved away he turned around to a friend and said (as was overheard by my brother), "well, mr. darwin's books are much better than his conversation." of other great literary men, i once met sydney smith at dean milman's house. there was something inexplicably amusing in every word which he uttered. perhaps this was partly due to the expectation of being amused. he was talking about lady cork, who was then extremely old. this was the lady who, as he said, was once so much affected by one of his charity sermons, that she borrowed a guinea from a friend to put in the plate. he now said "it is generally believed that my dear old friend lady cork has been overlooked," and he said this in such a manner that no one could for a moment doubt that he meant that his dear old friend had been overlooked by the devil. how he managed to express this i know not. i likewise once met macaulay at lord stanhope's (the historian's) house, and as there was only one other man at dinner, i had a grand opportunity of hearing him converse, and he was very agreeable. he did not talk at all too much; nor indeed could such a man talk too much, as long as he allowed others to turn the stream of his conversation, and this he did allow. lord stanhope once gave me a curious little proof of the accuracy and fulness of macaulay's memory: many historians used often to meet at lord stanhope's house, and in discussing various subjects they would sometimes differ from macaulay, and formerly they often referred to some book to see who was right; but latterly, as lord stanhope noticed, no historian ever took this trouble, and whatever macaulay said was final. on another occasion i met at lord stanhope's house, one of his parties of historians and other literary men, and amongst them were motley and grote. after luncheon i walked about chevening park for nearly an hour with grote, and was much interested by his conversation and pleased by the simplicity and absence of all pretension in his manners. long ago i dined occasionally with the old earl, the father of the historian; he was a strange man, but what little i knew of him i liked much. he was frank, genial, and pleasant. he had strongly marked features, with a brown complexion, and his clothes, when i saw him, were all brown. he seemed to believe in everything which was to others utterly incredible. he said one day to me, "why don't you give up your fiddle-faddle of geology and zoology, and turn to the occult sciences!" the historian, then lord mahon, seemed shocked at such a speech to me, and his charming wife much amused. the last man whom i will mention is carlyle, seen by me several times at my brother's house, and two or three times at my own house. his talk was very racy and interesting, just like his writings, but he sometimes went on too long on the same subject. i remember a funny dinner at my brother's, where, amongst a few others, were babbage and lyell, both of whom liked to talk. carlyle, however, silenced every one by haranguing during the whole dinner on the advantages of silence. after dinner babbage, in his grimmest manner, thanked carlyle for his very interesting lecture on silence. carlyle sneered at almost every one: one day in my house he called grote's 'history' "a fetid quagmire, with nothing spiritual about it." i always thought, until his 'reminiscences' appeared, that his sneers were partly jokes, but this now seems rather doubtful. his expression was that of a depressed, almost despondent yet benevolent man; and it is notorious how heartily he laughed. i believe that his benevolence was real, though stained by not a little jealousy. no one can doubt about his extraordinary power of drawing pictures of things and men--far more vivid, as it appears to me, than any drawn by macaulay. whether his pictures of men were true ones is another question. he has been all-powerful in impressing some grand moral truths on the minds of men. on the other hand, his views about slavery were revolting. in his eyes might was right. his mind seemed to me a very narrow one; even if all branches of science, which he despised, are excluded. it is astonishing to me that kingsley should have spoken of him as a man well fitted to advance science. he laughed to scorn the idea that a mathematician, such as whewell, could judge, as i maintained he could, of goethe's views on light. he thought it a most ridiculous thing that any one should care whether a glacier moved a little quicker or a little slower, or moved at all. as far as i could judge, i never met a man with a mind so ill adapted for scientific research. whilst living in london, i attended as regularly as i could the meetings of several scientific societies, and acted as secretary to the geological society. but such attendance, and ordinary society, suited my health so badly that we resolved to live in the country, which we both preferred and have never repented of. residence at down from september , , to the present time, . after several fruitless searches in surrey and elsewhere, we found this house and purchased it. i was pleased with the diversified appearance of vegetation proper to a chalk district, and so unlike what i had been accustomed to in the midland counties; and still more pleased with the extreme quietness and rusticity of the place. it is not, however, quite so retired a place as a writer in a german periodical makes it, who says that my house can be approached only by a mule-track! our fixing ourselves here has answered admirably in one way, which we did not anticipate, namely, by being very convenient for frequent visits from our children. few persons can have lived a more retired life than we have done. besides short visits to the houses of relations, and occasionally to the seaside or elsewhere, we have gone nowhere. during the first part of our residence we went a little into society, and received a few friends here; but my health almost always suffered from the excitement, violent shivering and vomiting attacks being thus brought on. i have therefore been compelled for many years to give up all dinner-parties; and this has been somewhat of a deprivation to me, as such parties always put me into high spirits. from the same cause i have been able to invite here very few scientific acquaintances. my chief enjoyment and sole employment throughout life has been scientific work; and the excitement from such work makes me for the time forget, or drives quite away, my daily discomfort. i have therefore nothing to record during the rest of my life, except the publication of my several books. perhaps a few details how they arose may be worth giving. my several publications. in the early part of , my observations on the volcanic islands visited during the voyage of the "beagle" were published. in , i took much pains in correcting a new edition of my 'journal of researches,' which was originally published in as part of fitz-roy's work. the success of this, my first literary child, always tickles my vanity more than that of any of my other books. even to this day it sells steadily in england and the united states, and has been translated for the second time into german, and into french and other languages. this success of a book of travels, especially of a scientific one, so many years after its first publication, is surprising. ten thousand copies have been sold in england of the second edition. in my 'geological observations on south america' were published. i record in a little diary, which i have always kept, that my three geological books ('coral reefs' included) consumed four and a half years' steady work; "and now it is ten years since my return to england. how much time have i lost by illness?" i have nothing to say about these three books except that to my surprise new editions have lately been called for. ('geological observations,' nd edit. . 'coral reefs,' nd edit. .) in october, , i began to work on 'cirripedia.' when on the coast of chile, i found a most curious form, which burrowed into the shells of concholepas, and which differed so much from all other cirripedes that i had to form a new sub-order for its sole reception. lately an allied burrowing genus has been found on the shores of portugal. to understand the structure of my new cirripede i had to examine and dissect many of the common forms; and this gradually led me on to take up the whole group. i worked steadily on this subject for the next eight years, and ultimately published two thick volumes (published by the ray society.), describing all the known living species, and two thin quartos on the extinct species. i do not doubt that sir e. lytton bulwer had me in his mind when he introduced in one of his novels a professor long, who had written two huge volumes on limpets. although i was employed during eight years on this work, yet i record in my diary that about two years out of this time was lost by illness. on this account i went in for some months to malvern for hydropathic treatment, which did me much good, so that on my return home i was able to resume work. so much was i out of health that when my dear father died on november th, , i was unable to attend his funeral or to act as one of his executors. my work on the cirripedia possesses, i think, considerable value, as besides describing several new and remarkable forms, i made out the homologies of the various parts--i discovered the cementing apparatus, though i blundered dreadfully about the cement glands--and lastly i proved the existence in certain genera of minute males complemental to and parasitic on the hermaphrodites. this latter discovery has at last been fully confirmed; though at one time a german writer was pleased to attribute the whole account to my fertile imagination. the cirripedes form a highly varying and difficult group of species to class; and my work was of considerable use to me, when i had to discuss in the 'origin of species' the principles of a natural classification. nevertheless, i doubt whether the work was worth the consumption of so much time. from september i devoted my whole time to arranging my huge pile of notes, to observing, and to experimenting in relation to the transmutation of species. during the voyage of the "beagle" i had been deeply impressed by discovering in the pampean formation great fossil animals covered with armour like that on the existing armadillos; secondly, by the manner in which closely allied animals replace one another in proceeding southwards over the continent; and thirdly, by the south american character of most of the productions of the galapagos archipelago, and more especially by the manner in which they differ slightly on each island of the group; none of the islands appearing to be very ancient in a geological sense. it was evident that such facts as these, as well as many others, could only be explained on the supposition that species gradually become modified; and the subject haunted me. but it was equally evident that neither the action of the surrounding conditions, nor the will of the organisms (especially in the case of plants) could account for the innumerable cases in which organisms of every kind are beautifully adapted to their habits of life--for instance, a woodpecker or a tree-frog to climb trees, or a seed for dispersal by hooks or plumes. i had always been much struck by such adaptations, and until these could be explained it seemed to me almost useless to endeavour to prove by indirect evidence that species have been modified. after my return to england it appeared to me that by following the example of lyell in geology, and by collecting all facts which bore in any way on the variation of animals and plants under domestication and nature, some light might perhaps be thrown on the whole subject. my first note-book was opened in july . i worked on true baconian principles, and without any theory collected facts on a wholesale scale, more especially with respect to domesticated productions, by printed enquiries, by conversation with skilful breeders and gardeners, and by extensive reading. when i see the list of books of all kinds which i read and abstracted, including whole series of journals and transactions, i am surprised at my industry. i soon perceived that selection was the keystone of man's success in making useful races of animals and plants. but how selection could be applied to organisms living in a state of nature remained for some time a mystery to me. in october , that is, fifteen months after i had begun my systematic enquiry, i happened to read for amusement 'malthus on population,' and being well prepared to appreciate the struggle for existence which everywhere goes on from long-continued observation of the habits of animals and plants, it at once struck me that under these circumstances favourable variations would tend to be preserved, and unfavourable ones to be destroyed. the result of this would be the formation of new species. here then i had at last got a theory by which to work; but i was so anxious to avoid prejudice, that i determined not for some time to write even the briefest sketch of it. in june i first allowed myself the satisfaction of writing a very brief abstract of my theory in pencil in pages; and this was enlarged during the summer of into one of pages, which i had fairly copied out and still possess. but at that time i overlooked one problem of great importance; and it is astonishing to me, except on the principle of columbus and his egg, how i could have overlooked it and its solution. this problem is the tendency in organic beings descended from the same stock to diverge in character as they become modified. that they have diverged greatly is obvious from the manner in which species of all kinds can be classed under genera, genera under families, families under sub-orders and so forth; and i can remember the very spot in the road, whilst in my carriage, when to my joy the solution occurred to me; and this was long after i had come to down. the solution, as i believe, is that the modified offspring of all dominant and increasing forms tend to become adapted to many and highly diversified places in the economy of nature. early in lyell advised me to write out my views pretty fully, and i began at once to do so on a scale three or four times as extensive as that which was afterwards followed in my 'origin of species;' yet it was only an abstract of the materials which i had collected, and i got through about half the work on this scale. but my plans were overthrown, for early in the summer of mr. wallace, who was then in the malay archipelago, sent me an essay "on the tendency of varieties to depart indefinitely from the original type;" and this essay contained exactly the same theory as mine. mr. wallace expressed the wish that if i thought well of his essay, i should sent it to lyell for perusal. the circumstances under which i consented at the request of lyell and hooker to allow of an abstract from my ms., together with a letter to asa gray, dated september , , to be published at the same time with wallace's essay, are given in the 'journal of the proceedings of the linnean society,' , page . i was at first very unwilling to consent, as i thought mr. wallace might consider my doing so unjustifiable, for i did not then know how generous and noble was his disposition. the extract from my ms. and the letter to asa gray had neither been intended for publication, and were badly written. mr. wallace's essay, on the other hand, was admirably expressed and quite clear. nevertheless, our joint productions excited very little attention, and the only published notice of them which i can remember was by professor haughton of dublin, whose verdict was that all that was new in them was false, and what was true was old. this shows how necessary it is that any new view should be explained at considerable length in order to arouse public attention. in september i set to work by the strong advice of lyell and hooker to prepare a volume on the transmutation of species, but was often interrupted by ill-health, and short visits to dr. lane's delightful hydropathic establishment at moor park. i abstracted the ms. begun on a much larger scale in , and completed the volume on the same reduced scale. it cost me thirteen months and ten days' hard labour. it was published under the title of the 'origin of species,' in november . though considerably added to and corrected in the later editions, it has remained substantially the same book. it is no doubt the chief work of my life. it was from the first highly successful. the first small edition of copies was sold on the day of publication, and a second edition of copies soon afterwards. sixteen thousand copies have now ( ) been sold in england; and considering how stiff a book it is, this is a large sale. it has been translated into almost every european tongue, even into such languages as spanish, bohemian, polish, and russian. it has also, according to miss bird, been translated into japanese (miss bird is mistaken, as i learn from prof. mitsukuri.--f.d.), and is there much studied. even an essay in hebrew has appeared on it, showing that the theory is contained in the old testament! the reviews were very numerous; for some time i collected all that appeared on the 'origin' and on my related books, and these amount (excluding newspaper reviews) to ; but after a time i gave up the attempt in despair. many separate essays and books on the subject have appeared; and in germany a catalogue or bibliography on "darwinismus" has appeared every year or two. the success of the 'origin' may, i think, be attributed in large part to my having long before written two condensed sketches, and to my having finally abstracted a much larger manuscript, which was itself an abstract. by this means i was enabled to select the more striking facts and conclusions. i had, also, during many years followed a golden rule, namely, that whenever a published fact, a new observation or thought came across me, which was opposed to my general results, to make a memorandum of it without fail and at once; for i had found by experience that such facts and thoughts were far more apt to escape from the memory than favourable ones. owing to this habit, very few objections were raised against my views which i had not at least noticed and attempted to answer. it has sometimes been said that the success of the 'origin' proved "that the subject was in the air," or "that men's minds were prepared for it." i do not think that this is strictly true, for i occasionally sounded not a few naturalists, and never happened to come across a single one who seemed to doubt about the permanence of species. even lyell and hooker, though they would listen with interest to me, never seemed to agree. i tried once or twice to explain to able men what i meant by natural selection, but signally failed. what i believe was strictly true is that innumerable well-observed facts were stored in the minds of naturalists ready to take their proper places as soon as any theory which would receive them was sufficiently explained. another element in the success of the book was its moderate size; and this i owe to the appearance of mr. wallace's essay; had i published on the scale in which i began to write in , the book would have been four or five times as large as the 'origin,' and very few would have had the patience to read it. i gained much by my delay in publishing from about , when the theory was clearly conceived, to ; and i lost nothing by it, for i cared very little whether men attributed most originality to me or wallace; and his essay no doubt aided in the reception of the theory. i was forestalled in only one important point, which my vanity has always made me regret, namely, the explanation by means of the glacial period of the presence of the same species of plants and of some few animals on distant mountain summits and in the arctic regions. this view pleased me so much that i wrote it out in extenso, and i believe that it was read by hooker some years before e. forbes published his celebrated memoir ('geolog. survey mem.,' .) on the subject. in the very few points in which we differed, i still think that i was in the right. i have never, of course, alluded in print to my having independently worked out this view. hardly any point gave me so much satisfaction when i was at work on the 'origin,' as the explanation of the wide difference in many classes between the embryo and the adult animal, and of the close resemblance of the embryos within the same class. no notice of this point was taken, as far as i remember, in the early reviews of the 'origin,' and i recollect expressing my surprise on this head in a letter to asa gray. within late years several reviewers have given the whole credit to fritz muller and hackel, who undoubtedly have worked it out much more fully, and in some respects more correctly than i did. i had materials for a whole chapter on the subject, and i ought to have made the discussion longer; for it is clear that i failed to impress my readers; and he who succeeds in doing so deserves, in my opinion, all the credit. this leads me to remark that i have almost always been treated honestly by my reviewers, passing over those without scientific knowledge as not worthy of notice. my views have often been grossly misrepresented, bitterly opposed and ridiculed, but this has been generally done, as i believe, in good faith. on the whole i do not doubt that my works have been over and over again greatly overpraised. i rejoice that i have avoided controversies, and this i owe to lyell, who many years ago, in reference to my geological works, strongly advised me never to get entangled in a controversy, as it rarely did any good and caused a miserable loss of time and temper. whenever i have found out that i have blundered, or that my work has been imperfect, and when i have been contemptuously criticised, and even when i have been overpraised, so that i have felt mortified, it has been my greatest comfort to say hundreds of times to myself that "i have worked as hard and as well as i could, and no man can do more than this." i remember when in good success bay, in tierra del fuego, thinking (and, i believe, that i wrote home to the effect) that i could not employ my life better than in adding a little to natural science. this i have done to the best of my abilities, and critics may say what they like, but they cannot destroy this conviction. during the two last months of i was fully occupied in preparing a second edition of the 'origin,' and by an enormous correspondence. on january st, , i began arranging my notes for my work on the 'variation of animals and plants under domestication;' but it was not published until the beginning of ; the delay having been caused partly by frequent illnesses, one of which lasted seven months, and partly by being tempted to publish on other subjects which at the time interested me more. on may th, , my little book on the 'fertilisation of orchids,' which cost me ten months' work, was published: most of the facts had been slowly accumulated during several previous years. during the summer of , and, i believe, during the previous summer, i was led to attend to the cross-fertilisation of flowers by the aid of insects, from having come to the conclusion in my speculations on the origin of species, that crossing played an important part in keeping specific forms constant. i attended to the subject more or less during every subsequent summer; and my interest in it was greatly enhanced by having procured and read in november , through the advice of robert brown, a copy of c.k. sprengel's wonderful book, 'das entdeckte geheimniss der natur.' for some years before i had specially attended to the fertilisation of our british orchids; and it seemed to me the best plan to prepare as complete a treatise on this group of plants as well as i could, rather than to utilise the great mass of matter which i had slowly collected with respect to other plants. my resolve proved a wise one; for since the appearance of my book, a surprising number of papers and separate works on the fertilisation of all kinds of flowers have appeared: and these are far better done than i could possibly have effected. the merits of poor old sprengel, so long overlooked, are now fully recognised many years after his death. during the same year i published in the 'journal of the linnean society' a paper "on the two forms, or dimorphic condition of primula," and during the next five years, five other papers on dimorphic and trimorphic plants. i do not think anything in my scientific life has given me so much satisfaction as making out the meaning of the structure of these plants. i had noticed in or the dimorphism of linum flavum, and had at first thought that it was merely a case of unmeaning variability. but on examining the common species of primula i found that the two forms were much too regular and constant to be thus viewed. i therefore became almost convinced that the common cowslip and primrose were on the high road to become dioecious;--that the short pistil in the one form, and the short stamens in the other form were tending towards abortion. the plants were therefore subjected under this point of view to trial; but as soon as the flowers with short pistils fertilised with pollen from the short stamens, were found to yield more seeds than any other of the four possible unions, the abortion-theory was knocked on the head. after some additional experiment, it became evident that the two forms, though both were perfect hermaphrodites, bore almost the same relation to one another as do the two sexes of an ordinary animal. with lythrum we have the still more wonderful case of three forms standing in a similar relation to one another. i afterwards found that the offspring from the union of two plants belonging to the same forms presented a close and curious analogy with hybrids from the union of two distinct species. in the autumn of i finished a long paper on 'climbing plants,' and sent it to the linnean society. the writing of this paper cost me four months; but i was so unwell when i received the proof-sheets that i was forced to leave them very badly and often obscurely expressed. the paper was little noticed, but when in it was corrected and published as a separate book it sold well. i was led to take up this subject by reading a short paper by asa gray, published in . he sent me seeds, and on raising some plants i was so much fascinated and perplexed by the revolving movements of the tendrils and stems, which movements are really very simple, though appearing at first sight very complex, that i procured various other kinds of climbing plants, and studied the whole subject. i was all the more attracted to it, from not being at all satisfied with the explanation which henslow gave us in his lectures, about twining plants, namely, that they had a natural tendency to grow up in a spire. this explanation proved quite erroneous. some of the adaptations displayed by climbing plants are as beautiful as those of orchids for ensuring cross-fertilisation. my 'variation of animals and plants under domestication' was begun, as already stated, in the beginning of , but was not published until the beginning of . it was a big book, and cost me four years and two months' hard labour. it gives all my observations and an immense number of facts collected from various sources, about our domestic productions. in the second volume the causes and laws of variation, inheritance, etc., are discussed as far as our present state of knowledge permits. towards the end of the work i give my well-abused hypothesis of pangenesis. an unverified hypothesis is of little or no value; but if any one should hereafter be led to make observations by which some such hypothesis could be established, i shall have done good service, as an astonishing number of isolated facts can be thus connected together and rendered intelligible. in a second and largely corrected edition, which cost me a good deal of labour, was brought out. my 'descent of man' was published in february, . as soon as i had become, in the year or , convinced that species were mutable productions, i could not avoid the belief that man must come under the same law. accordingly i collected notes on the subject for my own satisfaction, and not for a long time with any intention of publishing. although in the 'origin of species' the derivation of any particular species is never discussed, yet i thought it best, in order that no honourable man should accuse me of concealing my views, to add that by the work "light would be thrown on the origin of man and his history." it would have been useless and injurious to the success of the book to have paraded, without giving any evidence, my conviction with respect to his origin. but when i found that many naturalists fully accepted the doctrine of the evolution of species, it seemed to me advisable to work up such notes as i possessed, and to publish a special treatise on the origin of man. i was the more glad to do so, as it gave me an opportunity of fully discussing sexual selection--a subject which had always greatly interested me. this subject, and that of the variation of our domestic productions, together with the causes and laws of variation, inheritance, and the intercrossing of plants, are the sole subjects which i have been able to write about in full, so as to use all the materials which i have collected. the 'descent of man' took me three years to write, but then as usual some of this time was lost by ill health, and some was consumed by preparing new editions and other minor works. a second and largely corrected edition of the 'descent' appeared in . my book on the 'expression of the emotions in men and animals' was published in the autumn of . i had intended to give only a chapter on the subject in the 'descent of man,' but as soon as i began to put my notes together, i saw that it would require a separate treatise. my first child was born on december th, , and i at once commenced to make notes on the first dawn of the various expressions which he exhibited, for i felt convinced, even at this early period, that the most complex and fine shades of expression must all have had a gradual and natural origin. during the summer of the following year, , i read sir c. bell's admirable work on expression, and this greatly increased the interest which i felt in the subject, though i could not at all agree with his belief that various muscles had been specially created for the sake of expression. from this time forward i occasionally attended to the subject, both with respect to man and our domesticated animals. my book sold largely; copies having been disposed of on the day of publication. in the summer of i was idling and resting near hartfield, where two species of drosera abound; and i noticed that numerous insects had been entrapped by the leaves. i carried home some plants, and on giving them insects saw the movements of the tentacles, and this made me think it probable that the insects were caught for some special purpose. fortunately a crucial test occurred to me, that of placing a large number of leaves in various nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous fluids of equal density; and as soon as i found that the former alone excited energetic movements, it was obvious that here was a fine new field for investigation. during subsequent years, whenever i had leisure, i pursued my experiments, and my book on 'insectivorous plants' was published in july --that is, sixteen years after my first observations. the delay in this case, as with all my other books, has been a great advantage to me; for a man after a long interval can criticise his own work, almost as well as if it were that of another person. the fact that a plant should secrete, when properly excited, a fluid containing an acid and ferment, closely analogous to the digestive fluid of an animal, was certainly a remarkable discovery. during this autumn of i shall publish on the 'effects of cross and self-fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom.' this book will form a complement to that on the 'fertilisation of orchids,' in which i showed how perfect were the means for cross-fertilisation, and here i shall show how important are the results. i was led to make, during eleven years, the numerous experiments recorded in this volume, by a mere accidental observation; and indeed it required the accident to be repeated before my attention was thoroughly aroused to the remarkable fact that seedlings of self-fertilised parentage are inferior, even in the first generation, in height and vigour to seedlings of cross-fertilised parentage. i hope also to republish a revised edition of my book on orchids, and hereafter my papers on dimorphic and trimorphic plants, together with some additional observations on allied points which i never have had time to arrange. my strength will then probably be exhausted, and i shall be ready to exclaim "nunc dimittis." written may st, . 'the effects of cross and self-fertilisation' was published in the autumn of ; and the results there arrived at explain, as i believe, the endless and wonderful contrivances for the transportal of pollen from one plant to another of the same species. i now believe, however, chiefly from the observations of hermann muller, that i ought to have insisted more strongly than i did on the many adaptations for self-fertilisation; though i was well aware of many such adaptations. a much enlarged edition of my 'fertilisation of orchids' was published in . in this same year 'the different forms of flowers, etc.,' appeared, and in a second edition. this book consists chiefly of the several papers on heterostyled flowers originally published by the linnean society, corrected, with much new matter added, together with observations on some other cases in which the same plant bears two kinds of flowers. as before remarked, no little discovery of mine ever gave me so much pleasure as the making out the meaning of heterostyled flowers. the results of crossing such flowers in an illegitimate manner, i believe to be very important, as bearing on the sterility of hybrids; although these results have been noticed by only a few persons. in , i had a translation of dr. ernst krause's 'life of erasmus darwin' published, and i added a sketch of his character and habits from material in my possession. many persons have been much interested by this little life, and i am surprised that only or copies were sold. in i published, with [my son] frank's assistance, our 'power of movement in plants.' this was a tough piece of work. the book bears somewhat the same relation to my little book on 'climbing plants,' which 'cross-fertilisation' did to the 'fertilisation of orchids;' for in accordance with the principle of evolution it was impossible to account for climbing plants having been developed in so many widely different groups unless all kinds of plants possess some slight power of movement of an analogous kind. this i proved to be the case; and i was further led to a rather wide generalisation, viz. that the great and important classes of movements, excited by light, the attraction of gravity, etc., are all modified forms of the fundamental movement of circumnutation. it has always pleased me to exalt plants in the scale of organised beings; and i therefore felt an especial pleasure in showing how many and what admirably well adapted movements the tip of a root possesses. i have now (may , ) sent to the printers the ms. of a little book on 'the formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms.' this is a subject of but small importance; and i know not whether it will interest any readers (between november and february , copies have been sold.), but it has interested me. it is the completion of a short paper read before the geological society more than forty years ago, and has revived old geological thoughts. i have now mentioned all the books which i have published, and these have been the milestones in my life, so that little remains to be said. i am not conscious of any change in my mind during the last thirty years, excepting in one point presently to be mentioned; nor, indeed, could any change have been expected unless one of general deterioration. but my father lived to his eighty-third year with his mind as lively as ever it was, and all his faculties undimmed; and i hope that i may die before my mind fails to a sensible extent. i think that i have become a little more skilful in guessing right explanations and in devising experimental tests; but this may probably be the result of mere practice, and of a larger store of knowledge. i have as much difficulty as ever in expressing myself clearly and concisely; and this difficulty has caused me a very great loss of time; but it has had the compensating advantage of forcing me to think long and intently about every sentence, and thus i have been led to see errors in reasoning and in my own observations or those of others. there seems to be a sort of fatality in my mind leading me to put at first my statement or proposition in a wrong or awkward form. formerly i used to think about my sentences before writing them down; but for several years i have found that it saves time to scribble in a vile hand whole pages as quickly as i possibly can, contracting half the words; and then correct deliberately. sentences thus scribbled down are often better ones than i could have written deliberately. having said thus much about my manner of writing, i will add that with my large books i spend a good deal of time over the general arrangement of the matter. i first make the rudest outline in two or three pages, and then a larger one in several pages, a few words or one word standing for a whole discussion or series of facts. each one of these headings is again enlarged and often transferred before i begin to write in extenso. as in several of my books facts observed by others have been very extensively used, and as i have always had several quite distinct subjects in hand at the same time, i may mention that i keep from thirty to forty large portfolios, in cabinets with labelled shelves, into which i can at once put a detached reference or memorandum. i have bought many books, and at their ends i make an index of all the facts that concern my work; or, if the book is not my own, write out a separate abstract, and of such abstracts i have a large drawer full. before beginning on any subject i look to all the short indexes and make a general and classified index, and by taking the one or more proper portfolios i have all the information collected during my life ready for use. i have said that in one respect my mind has changed during the last twenty or thirty years. up to the age of thirty, or beyond it, poetry of many kinds, such as the works of milton, gray, byron, wordsworth, coleridge, and shelley, gave me great pleasure, and even as a schoolboy i took intense delight in shakespeare, especially in the historical plays. i have also said that formerly pictures gave me considerable, and music very great delight. but now for many years i cannot endure to read a line of poetry: i have tried lately to read shakespeare, and found it so intolerably dull that it nauseated me. i have also almost lost my taste for pictures or music. music generally sets me thinking too energetically on what i have been at work on, instead of giving me pleasure. i retain some taste for fine scenery, but it does not cause me the exquisite delight which it formerly did. on the other hand, novels which are works of the imagination, though not of a very high order, have been for years a wonderful relief and pleasure to me, and i often bless all novelists. a surprising number have been read aloud to me, and i like all if moderately good, and if they do not end unhappily--against which a law ought to be passed. a novel, according to my taste, does not come into the first class unless it contains some person whom one can thoroughly love, and if a pretty woman all the better. this curious and lamentable loss of the higher aesthetic tastes is all the odder, as books on history, biographies, and travels (independently of any scientific facts which they may contain), and essays on all sorts of subjects interest me as much as ever they did. my mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts, but why this should have caused the atrophy of that part of the brain alone, on which the higher tastes depend, i cannot conceive. a man with a mind more highly organised or better constituted than mine, would not, i suppose, have thus suffered; and if i had to live my life again, i would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week; for perhaps the parts of my brain now atrophied would thus have been kept active through use. the loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness, and may possibly be injurious to the intellect, and more probably to the moral character, by enfeebling the emotional part of our nature. my books have sold largely in england, have been translated into many languages, and passed through several editions in foreign countries. i have heard it said that the success of a work abroad is the best test of its enduring value. i doubt whether this is at all trustworthy; but judged by this standard my name ought to last for a few years. therefore it may be worth while to try to analyse the mental qualities and the conditions on which my success has depended; though i am aware that no man can do this correctly. i have no great quickness of apprehension or wit which is so remarkable in some clever men, for instance, huxley. i am therefore a poor critic: a paper or book, when first read, generally excites my admiration, and it is only after considerable reflection that i perceive the weak points. my power to follow a long and purely abstract train of thought is very limited; and therefore i could never have succeeded with metaphysics or mathematics. my memory is extensive, yet hazy: it suffices to make me cautious by vaguely telling me that i have observed or read something opposed to the conclusion which i am drawing, or on the other hand in favour of it; and after a time i can generally recollect where to search for my authority. so poor in one sense is my memory, that i have never been able to remember for more than a few days a single date or a line of poetry. some of my critics have said, "oh, he is a good observer, but he has no power of reasoning!" i do not think that this can be true, for the 'origin of species' is one long argument from the beginning to the end, and it has convinced not a few able men. no one could have written it without having some power of reasoning. i have a fair share of invention, and of common sense or judgment, such as every fairly successful lawyer or doctor must have, but not, i believe, in any higher degree. on the favourable side of the balance, i think that i am superior to the common run of men in noticing things which easily escape attention, and in observing them carefully. my industry has been nearly as great as it could have been in the observation and collection of facts. what is far more important, my love of natural science has been steady and ardent. this pure love has, however, been much aided by the ambition to be esteemed by my fellow naturalists. from my early youth i have had the strongest desire to understand or explain whatever i observed,--that is, to group all facts under some general laws. these causes combined have given me the patience to reflect or ponder for any number of years over any unexplained problem. as far as i can judge, i am not apt to follow blindly the lead of other men. i have steadily endeavoured to keep my mind free so as to give up any hypothesis, however much beloved (and i cannot resist forming one on every subject), as soon as facts are shown to be opposed to it. indeed, i have had no choice but to act in this manner, for with the exception of the coral reefs, i cannot remember a single first-formed hypothesis which had not after a time to be given up or greatly modified. this has naturally led me to distrust greatly deductive reasoning in the mixed sciences. on the other hand, i am not very sceptical,--a frame of mind which i believe to be injurious to the progress of science. a good deal of scepticism in a scientific man is advisable to avoid much loss of time, but i have met with not a few men, who, i feel sure, have often thus been deterred from experiment or observations, which would have proved directly or indirectly serviceable. in illustration, i will give the oddest case which i have known. a gentleman (who, as i afterwards heard, is a good local botanist) wrote to me from the eastern counties that the seed or beans of the common field-bean had this year everywhere grown on the wrong side of the pod. i wrote back, asking for further information, as i did not understand what was meant; but i did not receive any answer for a very long time. i then saw in two newspapers, one published in kent and the other in yorkshire, paragraphs stating that it was a most remarkable fact that "the beans this year had all grown on the wrong side." so i thought there must be some foundation for so general a statement. accordingly, i went to my gardener, an old kentish man, and asked him whether he had heard anything about it, and he answered, "oh, no, sir, it must be a mistake, for the beans grow on the wrong side only on leap-year, and this is not leap-year." i then asked him how they grew in common years and how on leap-years, but soon found that he knew absolutely nothing of how they grew at any time, but he stuck to his belief. after a time i heard from my first informant, who, with many apologies, said that he should not have written to me had he not heard the statement from several intelligent farmers; but that he had since spoken again to every one of them, and not one knew in the least what he had himself meant. so that here a belief--if indeed a statement with no definite idea attached to it can be called a belief--had spread over almost the whole of england without any vestige of evidence. i have known in the course of my life only three intentionally falsified statements, and one of these may have been a hoax (and there have been several scientific hoaxes) which, however, took in an american agricultural journal. it related to the formation in holland of a new breed of oxen by the crossing of distinct species of bos (some of which i happen to know are sterile together), and the author had the impudence to state that he had corresponded with me, and that i had been deeply impressed with the importance of his result. the article was sent to me by the editor of an english agricultural journal, asking for my opinion before republishing it. a second case was an account of several varieties, raised by the author from several species of primula, which had spontaneously yielded a full complement of seed, although the parent plants had been carefully protected from the access of insects. this account was published before i had discovered the meaning of heterostylism, and the whole statement must have been fraudulent, or there was neglect in excluding insects so gross as to be scarcely credible. the third case was more curious: mr. huth published in his book on 'consanguineous marriage' some long extracts from a belgian author, who stated that he had interbred rabbits in the closest manner for very many generations, without the least injurious effects. the account was published in a most respectable journal, that of the royal society of belgium; but i could not avoid feeling doubts--i hardly know why, except that there were no accidents of any kind, and my experience in breeding animals made me think this very improbable. so with much hesitation i wrote to professor van beneden, asking him whether the author was a trustworthy man. i soon heard in answer that the society had been greatly shocked by discovering that the whole account was a fraud. (the falseness of the published statements on which mr. huth relied has been pointed out by himself in a slip inserted in all the copies of his book which then remained unsold.) the writer had been publicly challenged in the journal to say where he had resided and kept his large stock of rabbits while carrying on his experiments, which must have consumed several years, and no answer could be extracted from him. my habits are methodical, and this has been of not a little use for my particular line of work. lastly, i have had ample leisure from not having to earn my own bread. even ill-health, though it has annihilated several years of my life, has saved me from the distractions of society and amusement. therefore my success as a man of science, whatever this may have amounted to, has been determined, as far as i can judge, by complex and diversified mental qualities and conditions. of these, the most important have been--the love of science--unbounded patience in long reflecting over any subject--industry in observing and collecting facts--and a fair share of invention as well as of common sense. with such moderate abilities as i possess, it is truly surprising that i should have influenced to a considerable extent the belief of scientific men on some important points. chapter .iii. -- reminiscences of my father's everyday life. it is my wish in the present chapter to give some idea of my father's everyday life. it has seemed to me that i might carry out this object in the form of a rough sketch of a day's life at down, interspersed with such recollections as are called up by the record. many of these recollections, which have a meaning for those who knew my father, will seem colourless or trifling to strangers. nevertheless, i give them in the hope that they may help to preserve that impression of his personality which remains on the minds of those who knew and loved him--an impression at once so vivid and so untranslatable into words. of his personal appearance (in these days of multiplied photographs) it is hardly necessary to say much. he was about six feet in height, but scarcely looked so tall, as he stooped a good deal; in later days he yielded to the stoop; but i can remember seeing him long ago swinging his arms back to open out his chest, and holding himself upright with a jerk. he gave one the idea that he had been active rather than strong; his shoulders were not broad for his height, though certainly not narrow. as a young man he must have had much endurance, for on one of the shore excursions from the "beagle", when all were suffering from want of water, he was one of the two who were better able than the rest to struggle on in search of it. as a boy he was active, and could jump a bar placed at the height of the "adam's apple" in his neck. he walked with a swinging action, using a stick heavily shod with iron, which he struck loudly against the ground, producing as he went round the "sand-walk" at down, a rhythmical click which is with all of us a very distinct remembrance. as he returned from the midday walk, often carrying the waterproof or cloak which had proved too hot, one could see that the swinging step was kept up by something of an effort. indoors his step was often slow and laboured, and as he went upstairs in the afternoon he might be heard mounting the stairs with a heavy footfall, as if each step were an effort. when interested in his work he moved about quickly and easily enough, and often in the middle of dictating he went eagerly into the hall to get a pinch of snuff, leaving the study door open, and calling out the last words of his sentence as he went. indoors he sometimes used an oak stick like a little alpenstock, and this was a sign that he felt giddiness. in spite of his strength and activity, i think he must always have had a clumsiness of movement. he was naturally awkward with his hands, and was unable to draw at all well. (the figure representing the aggregated cell-contents in 'insectivorous plants' was drawn by him.) this he always regretted much, and he frequently urged the paramount necessity of a young naturalist making himself a good draughtsman. he could dissect well under the simple microscope, but i think it was by dint of his great patience and carefulness. it was characteristic of him that he thought many little bits of skilful dissection something almost superhuman. he used to speak with admiration of the skill with which he saw newport dissect a humble bee, getting out the nervous system with a few cuts of a fine pair of scissors, held, as my father used to show, with the elbow raised, and in an attitude which certainly would render great steadiness necessary. he used to consider cutting sections a great feat, and in the last year of his life, with wonderful energy, took the pains to learn to cut sections of roots and leaves. his hand was not steady enough to hold the object to be cut, and he employed a common microtome, in which the pith for holding the object was clamped, and the razor slid on a glass surface in making the sections. he used to laugh at himself, and at his own skill in section-cutting, at which he would say he was "speechless with admiration." on the other hand, he must have had accuracy of eye and power of co-ordinating his movements, since he was a good shot with a gun as a young man, and as a boy was skilful in throwing. he once killed a hare sitting in the flower-garden at shrewsbury by throwing a marble at it, and, as a man, he once killed a cross-beak with a stone. he was so unhappy at having uselessly killed the cross-beak that he did not mention it for years, and then explained that he should never have thrown at it if he had not felt sure that his old skill had gone from him. when walking he had a fidgetting movement with his fingers, which he has described in one of his books as the habit of an old man. when he sat still he often took hold of one wrist with the other hand; he sat with his legs crossed, and from being so thin they could be crossed very far, as may be seen in one of the photographs. he had his chair in the study and in the drawing-room raised so as to be much higher than ordinary chairs; this was done because sitting on a low or even an ordinary chair caused him some discomfort. we used to laugh at him for making his tall drawing-room chair still higher by putting footstools on it, and then neutralising the result by resting his feet on another chair. his beard was full and almost untrimmed, the hair being grey and white, fine rather than coarse, and wavy or frizzled. his moustache was somewhat disfigured by being cut short and square across. he became very bald, having only a fringe of dark hair behind. his face was ruddy in colour, and this perhaps made people think him less of an invalid than he was. he wrote to dr. hooker (june , ), "every one tells me that i look quite blooming and beautiful; and most think i am shamming, but you have never been one of those." and it must be remembered that at this time he was miserably ill, far worse than in later years. his eyes were bluish grey under deep overhanging brows, with thick bushy projecting eyebrows. his high forehead was much wrinkled, but otherwise his face was not much marked or lined. his expression showed no signs of the continual discomfort he suffered. when he was excited with pleasant talk his whole manner was wonderfully bright and animated, and his face shared to the full in the general animation. his laugh was a free and sounding peal, like that of a man who gives himself sympathetically and with enjoyment to the person and the thing which have amused him. he often used some sort of gesture with his laugh, lifting up his hands or bringing one down with a slap. i think, generally speaking, he was given to gesture, and often used his hands in explaining anything (e.g. the fertilisation of a flower) in a way that seemed rather an aid to himself than to the listener. he did this on occasions when most people would illustrate their explanations by means of a rough pencil sketch. he wore dark clothes, of a loose and easy fit. of late years he gave up the tall hat even in london, and wore a soft black one in winter, and a big straw hat in summer. his usual out-of-doors dress was the short cloak in which elliot and fry's photograph represents him leaning against the pillar of the verandah. two peculiarities of his indoor dress were that he almost always wore a shawl over his shoulders, and that he had great loose cloth boots lined with fur which he could slip on over his indoor shoes. like most delicate people he suffered from heat as well as from chilliness; it was as if he could not hit the balance between too hot and too cold; often a mental cause would make him too hot, so that he would take off his coat if anything went wrong in the course of his work. he rose early, chiefly because he could not lie in bed, and i think he would have liked to get up earlier than he did. he took a short turn before breakfast, a habit which began when he went for the first time to a water-cure establishment. this habit he kept up till almost the end of his life. i used, as a little boy, to like going out with him, and i have a vague sense of the red of the winter sunrise, and a recollection of the pleasant companionship, and a certain honour and glory in it. he used to delight me as a boy by telling me how, in still earlier walks, on dark winter mornings, he had once or twice met foxes trotting home at the dawning. after breakfasting alone about . , he went to work at once, considering the / hour between and . one of his best working times. at . he came into the drawing-room for his letters--rejoicing if the post was a light one and being sometimes much worried if it was not. he would then hear any family letters read aloud as he lay on the sofa. the reading aloud, which also included part of a novel, lasted till about half-past ten, when he went back to work till twelve or a quarter past. by this time he considered his day's work over, and would often say, in a satisfied voice, "i've done a good day's work." he then went out of doors whether it was wet or fine; polly, his white terrier, went with him in fair weather, but in rain she refused or might be seen hesitating in the verandah, with a mixed expression of disgust and shame at her own want of courage; generally, however, her conscience carried the day, and as soon as he was evidently gone she could not bear to stay behind. my father was always fond of dogs, and as a young man had the power of stealing away the affections of his sister's pets; at cambridge, he won the love of his cousin w.d. fox's dog, and this may perhaps have been the little beast which used to creep down inside his bed and sleep at the foot every night. my father had a surly dog, who was devoted to him, but unfriendly to every one else, and when he came back from the "beagle" voyage, the dog remembered him, but in a curious way, which my father was fond of telling. he went into the yard and shouted in his old manner; the dog rushed out and set off with him on his walk, showing no more emotion or excitement than if the same thing had happened the day before, instead of five years ago. this story is made use of in the 'descent of man,' nd edition, page . in my memory there were only two dogs which had much connection with my father. one was a large black and white half-bred retriever, called bob, to which we, as children, were much devoted. he was the dog of whom the story of the "hot-house face" is told in the 'expression of the emotions.' but the dog most closely associated with my father was the above-mentioned polly, a rough, white fox-terrier. she was a sharp-witted, affectionate dog; when her master was going away on a journey, she always discovered the fact by the signs of packing going on in the study, and became low-spirited accordingly. she began, too, to be excited by seeing the study prepared for his return home. she was a cunning little creature, and used to tremble or put on an air of misery when my father passed, while she was waiting for dinner, just as if she knew that he would say (as he did often say) that "she was famishing." my father used to make her catch biscuits off her nose, and had an affectionate and mock-solemn way of explaining to her before-hand that she must "be a very good girl." she had a mark on her back where she had been burnt, and where the hair had re-grown red instead of white, and my father used to commend her for this tuft of hair as being in accordance with his theory of pangenesis; her father had been a red bull-terrier, thus the red hair appearing after the burn showed the presence of latent red gemmules. he was delightfully tender to polly, and never showed any impatience at the attentions she required, such as to be let in at the door, or out at the verandah window, to bark at "naughty people," a self-imposed duty she much enjoyed. she died, or rather had to be killed, a few days after his death. (the basket in which she usually lay curled up near the fire in his study is faithfully represented in mr. parson's drawing, "the study at down.") my father's midday walk generally began by a call at the greenhouse, where he looked at any germinating seeds or experimental plants which required a casual examination, but he hardly ever did any serious observing at this time. then he went on for his constitutional--either round the "sand-walk," or outside his own grounds in the immediate neighbourhood of the house. the "sand-walk" was a narrow strip of land / acres in extent, with a gravel-walk round it. on one side of it was a broad old shaw with fair-sized oaks in it, which made a sheltered shady walk; the other side was separated from a neighbouring grass field by a low quickset hedge, over which you could look at what view there was, a quiet little valley losing itself in the upland country towards the edge of the westerham hill, with hazel coppice and larch wood, the remnants of what was once a large wood, stretching away to the westerham road. i have heard my father say that the charm of this simple little valley helped to make him settle at down. the sand-walk was planted by my father with a variety of trees, such as hazel, alder, lime, hornbeam, birch, privet, and dogwood, and with a long line of hollies all down the exposed side. in earlier times he took a certain number of turns every day, and used to count them by means of a heap of flints, one of which he kicked out on the path each time he passed. of late years i think he did not keep to any fixed number of turns, but took as many as he felt strength for. the sand-walk was our play-ground as children, and here we continually saw my father as he walked round. he liked to see what we were doing, and was ever ready to sympathize in any fun that was going on. it is curious to think how, with regard to the sand-walk in connection with my father, my earliest recollections coincide with my latest; it shows how unvarying his habits have been. sometimes when alone he stood still or walked stealthily to observe birds or beasts. it was on one of these occasions that some young squirrels ran up his back and legs, while their mother barked at them in an agony from the tree. he always found birds' nests even up to the last years of his life, and we, as children, considered that he had a special genius in this direction. in his quiet prowls he came across the less common birds, but i fancy he used to conceal it from me, as a little boy, because he observed the agony of mind which i endured at not having seen the siskin or goldfinch, or whatever it might have been. he used to tell us how, when he was creeping noiselessly along in the "big-woods," he came upon a fox asleep in the daytime, which was so much astonished that it took a good stare at him before it ran off. a spitz dog which accompanied him showed no sign of excitement at the fox, and he used to end the story by wondering how the dog could have been so faint-hearted. another favourite place was "orchis bank," above the quiet cudham valley, where fly- and musk-orchis grew among the junipers, and cephalanthera and neottia under the beech boughs; the little wood "hangrove," just above this, he was also fond of, and here i remember his collecting grasses, when he took a fancy to make out the names of all the common kinds. he was fond of quoting the saying of one of his little boys, who, having found a grass that his father had not seen before, had it laid by his own plate during dinner, remarking, "i are an extraordinary grass-finder!" my father much enjoyed wandering slowly in the garden with my mother or some of his children, or making one of a party, sitting out on a bench on the lawn; he generally sat, however, on the grass, and i remember him often lying under one of the big lime-trees, with his head on the green mound at its foot. in dry summer weather, when we often sat out, the big fly-wheel of the well was commonly heard spinning round, and so the sound became associated with those pleasant days. he used to like to watch us playing at lawn-tennis, and often knocked up a stray ball for us with the curved handle of his stick. === though he took no personal share in the management of the garden, he had great delight in the beauty of flowers--for instance, in the mass of azaleas which generally stood in the drawing-room. i think he sometimes fused together his admiration of the structure of a flower and of its intrinsic beauty; for instance, in the case of the big pendulous pink and white flowers of dielytra. in the same way he had an affection, half-artistic, half-botanical, for the little blue lobelia. in admiring flowers, he would often laugh at the dingy high-art colours, and contrast them with the bright tints of nature. i used to like to hear him admire the beauty of a flower; it was a kind of gratitude to the flower itself, and a personal love for its delicate form and colour. i seem to remember him gently touching a flower he delighted in; it was the same simple admiration that a child might have. he could not help personifying natural things. this feeling came out in abuse as well as in praise--e.g. of some seedlings--"the little beggars are doing just what i don't want them to." he would speak in a half-provoked, half-admiring way of the ingenuity of a mimosa leaf in screwing itself out of a basin of water in which he had tried to fix it. one must see the same spirit in his way of speaking of sundew, earth-worms, etc. (cf. leslie stephen's 'swift,' , page , where swift's inspection of the manners and customs of servants are compared to my father's observations on worms, "the difference is," says mr. stephen, "that darwin had none but kindly feelings for worms.") within my memory, his only outdoor recreation, besides walking, was riding, which he took to on the recommendation of dr. bence jones, and we had the luck to find for him the easiest and quietest cob in the world, named "tommy." he enjoyed these rides extremely, and devised a number of short rounds which brought him home in time for lunch. our country is good for this purpose, owing to the number of small valleys which give a variety to what in a flat country would be a dull loop of road. he was not, i think, naturally fond of horses, nor had he a high opinion of their intelligence, and tommy was often laughed at for the alarm he showed at passing and repassing the same heap of hedge-clippings as he went round the field. i think he used to feel surprised at himself, when he remembered how bold a rider he had been, and how utterly old age and bad health had taken away his nerve. he would say that riding prevented him thinking much more effectually than walking--that having to attend to the horse gave him occupation sufficient to prevent any really hard thinking. and the change of scene which it gave him was good for spirits and health. unluckily, tommy one day fell heavily with him on keston common. this, and an accident with another horse, upset his nerves, and he was advised to give up riding. if i go beyond my own experience, and recall what i have heard him say of his love for sport, etc., i can think of a good deal, but much of it would be a repetition of what is contained in his 'recollections.' at school he was fond of bat-fives, and this was the only game at which he was skilful. he was fond of his gun as quite a boy, and became a good shot; he used to tell how in south america he killed twenty-three snipe in twenty-four shots. in telling the story he was careful to add that he thought they were not quite so wild as english snipe. luncheon at down came after his midday walk; and here i may say a word or two about his meals generally. he had a boy-like love of sweets, unluckily for himself, since he was constantly forbidden to take them. he was not particularly successful in keeping the "vows," as he called them, which he made against eating sweets, and never considered them binding unless he made them aloud. he drank very little wine, but enjoyed, and was revived by, the little he did drink. he had a horror of drinking, and constantly warned his boys that any one might be led into drinking too much. i remember, in my innocence as a small boy, asking him if he had been ever tipsy; and he answered very gravely that he was ashamed to say he had once drunk too much at cambridge. i was much impressed, so that i know now the place where the question was asked. after his lunch, he read the newspaper, lying on the sofa in the drawing-room. i think the paper was the only non-scientific matter which he read to himself. everything else, novels, travels, history, was read aloud to him. he took so wide an interest in life, that there was much to occupy him in newspapers, though he laughed at the wordiness of the debates; reading them, i think, only in abstract. his interest in politics was considerable, but his opinion on these matters was formed rather by the way than with any serious amount of thought. after he read his paper, came his time for writing letters. these, as well as the ms. of his books, were written by him as he sat in a huge horse-hair chair by the fire, his paper supported on a board resting on the arms of the chair. when he had many or long letters to write, he would dictate them from a rough copy; these rough copies were written on the backs of manuscript or of proof-sheets, and were almost illegible, sometimes even to himself. he made a rule of keeping all letters that he received; this was a habit which he learnt from his father, and which he said had been of great use to him. he received many letters from foolish, unscrupulous people, and all of these received replies. he used to say that if he did not answer them, he had it on his conscience afterwards, and no doubt it was in great measure the courtesy with which he answered every one, which produced the universal and widespread sense of his kindness of nature, which was so evident on his death. he was considerate to his correspondents in other and lesser things, for instance when dictating a letter to a foreigner he hardly ever failed to say to me, "you'd better try and write well, as it's to a foreigner." his letters were generally written on the assumption that they would be carelessly read; thus, when he was dictating, he was careful to tell me to make an important clause begin with an obvious paragraph "to catch his eye," as he often said. how much he thought of the trouble he gave others by asking questions, will be well enough shown by his letters. it is difficult to say anything about the general tone of his letters, they will speak for themselves. the unvarying courtesy of them is very striking. i had a proof of this quality in the feeling with which mr. hacon, his solicitor, regarded him. he had never seen my father, yet had a sincere feeling of friendship for him, and spoke especially of his letters as being such as a man seldom receives in the way of business:--"everything i did was right, and everything was profusely thanked for." he had a printed form to be used in replying to troublesome correspondents, but he hardly ever used it; i suppose he never found an occasion that seemed exactly suitable. i remember an occasion on which it might have been used with advantage. he received a letter from a stranger stating that the writer had undertaken to uphold evolution at a debating society, and that being a busy young man, without time for reading, he wished to have a sketch of my father's views. even this wonderful young man got a civil answer, though i think he did not get much material for his speech. his rule was to thank the donors of books, but not of pamphlets. he sometimes expressed surprise that so few people thanked him for his books which he gave away liberally; the letters that he did receive gave him much pleasure, because he habitually formed so humble an estimate of the value of all his works, that he was generally surprised at the interest which they excited. in money and business matters he was remarkably careful and exact. he kept accounts with great care, classifying them, and balancing at the end of the year like a merchant. i remember the quick way in which he would reach out for his account-book to enter each cheque paid, as though he were in a hurry to get it entered before he had forgotten it. his father must have allowed him to believe that he would be poorer than he really was, for some of the difficulty experienced in finding a house in the country must have arisen from the modest sum he felt prepared to give. yet he knew, of course, that he would be in easy circumstances, for in his 'recollections' he mentions this as one of the reasons for his not having worked at medicine with so much zeal as he would have done if he had been obliged to gain his living. he had a pet economy in paper, but it was rather a hobby than a real economy. all the blank sheets of letters received were kept in a portfolio to be used in making notes; it was his respect for paper that made him write so much on the backs of his old ms., and in this way, unfortunately, he destroyed large parts of the original ms. of his books. his feeling about paper extended to waste paper, and he objected, half in fun, to the careless custom of throwing a spill into the fire after it had been used for lighting a candle. my father was wonderfully liberal and generous to all his children in the matter of money, and i have special cause to remember his kindness when i think of the way in which he paid some cambridge debts of mine--making it almost seem a virtue in me to have told him of them. in his later years he had the kind and generous plan of dividing his surplus at the year's end among his children. he had a great respect for pure business capacity, and often spoke with admiration of a relative who had doubled his fortune. and of himself would often say in fun that what he really was proud of was the money he had saved. he also felt satisfaction in the money he made by his books. his anxiety to save came in a great measure from his fears that his children would not have health enough to earn their own livings, a foreboding which fairly haunted him for many years. and i have a dim recollection of his saying, "thank god, you'll have bread and cheese," when i was so young that i was rather inclined to take it literally. when letters were finished, about three in the afternoon, he rested in his bedroom, lying on the sofa and smoking a cigarette, and listening to a novel or other book not scientific. he only smoked when resting, whereas snuff was a stimulant, and was taken during working hours. he took snuff for many years of his life, having learnt the habit at edinburgh as a student. he had a nice silver snuff-box given him by mrs. wedgwood of maer, which he valued much--but he rarely carried it, because it tempted him to take too many pinches. in one of his early letters he speaks of having given up snuff for a month, and describes himself as feeling "most lethargic, stupid, and melancholy." our former neighbour and clergyman, mr. brodie innes, tells me that at one time my father made a resolve not to take snuff except away from home, "a most satisfactory arrangement for me," he adds, "as i kept a box in my study to which there was access from the garden without summoning servants, and i had more frequently, than might have been otherwise the case, the privilege of a few minutes' conversation with my dear friend." he generally took snuff from a jar on the hall table, because having to go this distance for a pinch was a slight check; the clink of the lid of the snuff jar was a very familiar sound. sometimes when he was in the drawing-room, it would occur to him that the study fire must be burning low, and when some of us offered to see after it, it would turn out that he also wished to get a pinch of snuff. smoking he only took to permanently of late years, though on his pampas rides he learned to smoke with the gauchos, and i have heard him speak of the great comfort of a cup of mate and a cigarette when he halted after a long ride and was unable to get food for some time. the reading aloud often sent him to sleep, and he used to regret losing parts of a novel, for my mother went steadily on lest the cessation of the sound might wake him. he came down at four o'clock to dress for his walk, and he was so regular that one might be quite certain it was within a few minutes of four when his descending steps were heard. from about half-past four to half-past five he worked; then he came to the drawing-room, and was idle till it was time (about six) to go up for another rest with novel-reading and a cigarette. latterly he gave up late dinner, and had a simple tea at half-past seven (while we had dinner), with an egg or a small piece of meat. after dinner he never stayed in the room, and used to apologise by saying he was an old woman, who must be allowed to leave with the ladies. this was one of the many signs and results of his constant weakness and ill-health. half an hour more or less conversation would make to him the difference of a sleepless night, and of the loss perhaps of half the next day's work. after dinner he played backgammon with my mother, two games being played every night; for many years a score of the games which each won was kept, and in this score he took the greatest interest. he became extremely animated over these games, bitterly lamenting his bad luck and exploding with exaggerated mock-anger at my mother's good fortune. after backgammon he read some scientific book to himself, either in the drawing-room, or, if much talking was going on, in the study. in the evening, that is, after he had read as much as his strength would allow, and before the reading aloud began, he would often lie on the sofa and listen to my mother playing the piano. he had not a good ear, yet in spite of this he had a true love of fine music. he used to lament that his enjoyment of music had become dulled with age, yet within my recollection, his love of a good tune was strong. i never heard him hum more than one tune, the welsh song "ar hyd y nos," which he went through correctly; he used also, i believe, to hum a little otaheitan song. from his want of ear he was unable to recognize a tune when he heard it again, but he remained constant to what he liked, and would often say, when an old favourite was played, "that's a fine thing; what is it?" he liked especially parts of beethoven's symphonies, and bits of handel. he made a little list of all the pieces which he especially liked among those which my mother played--giving in a few words the impression that each one made on him--but these notes are unfortunately lost. he was sensitive to differences in style, and enjoyed the late mrs. vernon lushington's playing intensely, and in june , when hans richter paid a visit at down, he was roused to strong enthusiasm by his magnificent performance on the piano. he much enjoyed good singing, and was moved almost to tears by grand or pathetic songs. his niece lady farrer's singing of sullivan's "will he come" was a never-failing enjoyment to him. he was humble in the extreme about his own taste, and correspondingly pleased when he found that others agreed with him. he became much tired in the evenings, especially of late years, when he left the drawing-room about ten, going to bed at half-past ten. his nights were generally bad, and he often lay awake or sat up in bed for hours, suffering much discomfort. he was troubled at night by the activity of his thoughts, and would become exhausted by his mind working at some problem which he would willingly have dismissed. at night, too, anything which had vexed or troubled him in the day would haunt him, and i think it was then that he suffered if he had not answered some troublesome person's letter. the regular readings, which i have mentioned, continued for so many years, enabled him to get through a great deal of lighter kinds of literature. he was extremely fond of novels, and i remember well the way in which he would anticipate the pleasure of having a novel read to him, as he lay down, or lighted his cigarette. he took a vivid interest both in plot and characters, and would on no account know beforehand, how a story finished; he considered looking at the end of a novel as a feminine vice. he could not enjoy any story with a tragical end, for this reason he did not keenly appreciate george eliot, though he often spoke warmly in praise of 'silas marner.' walter scott, miss austen, and mrs. gaskell, were read and re-read till they could be read no more. he had two or three books in hand at the same time--a novel and perhaps a biography and a book of travels. he did not often read out-of-the-way or old standard books, but generally kept to the books of the day obtained from a circulating library. i do not think that his literary tastes and opinions were on a level with the rest of his mind. he himself, though he was clear as to what he thought good, considered that in matters of literary taste, he was quite outside the pale, and often spoke of what those within it liked or disliked, as if they formed a class to which he had no claim to belong. in all matters of art he was inclined to laugh at professed critics, and say that their opinions were formed by fashion. thus in painting, he would say how in his day every one admired masters who are now neglected. his love of pictures as a young man is almost a proof that he must have had an appreciation of a portrait as a work of art, not as a likeness. yet he often talked laughingly of the small worth of portraits, and said that a photograph was worth any number of pictures, as if he were blind to the artistic quality in a painted portrait. but this was generally said in his attempts to persuade us to give up the idea of having his portrait painted, an operation very irksome to him. this way of looking at himself as an ignoramus in all matters of art, was strengthened by the absence of pretence, which was part of his character. with regard to questions of taste, as well as to more serious things, he always had the courage of his opinions. i remember, however, an instance that sounds like a contradiction to this: when he was looking at the turners in mr. ruskin's bedroom, he did not confess, as he did afterwards, that he could make out absolutely nothing of what mr. ruskin saw in them. but this little pretence was not for his own sake, but for the sake of courtesy to his host. he was pleased and amused when subsequently mr. ruskin brought him some photographs of pictures (i think vandyke portraits), and courteously seemed to value my father's opinion about them. much of his scientific reading was in german, and this was a great labour to him; in reading a book after him, i was often struck at seeing, from the pencil-marks made each day where he left off, how little he could read at a time. he used to call german the "verdammte," pronounced as if in english. he was especially indignant with germans, because he was convinced that they could write simply if they chose, and often praised dr. f. hildebrand for writing german which was as clear as french. he sometimes gave a german sentence to a friend, a patriotic german lady, and used to laugh at her if she did not translate it fluently. he himself learnt german simply by hammering away with a dictionary; he would say that his only way was to read a sentence a great many times over, and at last the meaning occurred to him. when he began german long ago, he boasted of the fact (as he used to tell) to sir j. hooker, who replied, "ah, my dear fellow, that's nothing; i've begun it many times." in spite of his want of grammar, he managed to get on wonderfully with german, and the sentences that he failed to make out were generally really difficult ones. he never attempted to speak german correctly, but pronounced the words as though they were english; and this made it not a little difficult to help him, when he read out a german sentence and asked for a translation. he certainly had a bad ear for vocal sounds, so that he found it impossible to perceive small differences in pronunciation. his wide interest in branches of science that were not specially his own was remarkable. in the biological sciences his doctrines make themselves felt so widely that there was something interesting to him in most departments of it. he read a good deal of many quite special works, and large parts of text books, such as huxley's 'invertebrate anatomy,' or such a book as balfour's 'embryology,' where the detail, at any rate, was not specially in his own line. and in the case of elaborate books of the monograph type, though he did not make a study of them, yet he felt the strongest admiration for them. in the non-biological sciences he felt keen sympathy with work of which he could not really judge. for instance, he used to read nearly the whole of 'nature,' though so much of it deals with mathematics and physics. i have often heard him say that he got a kind of satisfaction in reading articles which (according to himself) he could not understand. i wish i could reproduce the manner in which he would laugh at himself for it. it was remarkable, too, how he kept up his interest in subjects at which he had formerly worked. this was strikingly the case with geology. in one of his letters to mr. judd he begs him to pay him a visit, saying that since lyell's death he hardly ever gets a geological talk. his observations, made only a few years before his death, on the upright pebbles in the drift at southampton, and discussed in a letter to mr. geikie, afford another instance. again, in the letters to dr. dohrn, he shows how his interest in barnacles remained alive. i think it was all due to the vitality and persistence of his mind--a quality i have heard him speak of as if he felt that he was strongly gifted in that respect. not that he used any such phrases as these about himself, but he would say that he had the power of keeping a subject or question more or less before him for a great many years. the extent to which he possessed this power appears when we consider the number of different problems which he solved, and the early period at which some of them began to occupy him. it was a sure sign that he was not well when he was idle at any times other than his regular resting hours; for, as long as he remained moderately well, there was no break in the regularity of his life. week-days and sundays passed by alike, each with their stated intervals of work and rest. it is almost impossible, except for those who watched his daily life, to realise how essential to his well-being was the regular routine that i have sketched: and with what pain and difficulty anything beyond it was attempted. any public appearance, even of the most modest kind, was an effort to him. in he went to the little village church for the wedding of his elder daughter, but he could hardly bear the fatigue of being present through the short service. the same may be said of the few other occasions on which he was present at similar ceremonies. i remember him many years ago at a christening; a memory which has remained with me, because to us children it seemed an extraordinary and abnormal occurrence. i remember his look most distinctly at his brother erasmus's funeral, as he stood in the scattering of snow, wrapped in a long black funeral cloak, with a grave look of sad reverie. when, after an interval of many years, he again attended a meeting of the linnean society, it was felt to be, and was in fact, a serious undertaking; one not to be determined on without much sinking of heart, and hardly to be carried into effect without paying a penalty of subsequent suffering. in the same way a breakfast-party at sir james paget's, with some of the distinguished visitors to the medical congress ( ), was to him a severe exertion. the early morning was the only time at which he could make any effort of the kind, with comparative impunity. thus it came about that the visits he paid to his scientific friends in london were by preference made as early as ten in the morning. for the same reason he started on his journeys by the earliest possible train, and used to arrive at the houses of relatives in london when they were beginning their day. he kept an accurate journal of the days on which he worked and those on which his ill health prevented him from working, so that it would be possible to tell how many were idle days in any given year. in this journal--a little yellow lett's diary, which lay open on his mantel-piece, piled on the diaries of previous years--he also entered the day on which he started for a holiday and that of his return. the most frequent holidays were visits of a week to london, either to his brother's house ( queen anne street), or to his daughter's ( bryanston street). he was generally persuaded by my mother to take these short holidays, when it became clear from the frequency of "bad days," or from the swimming of his head, that he was being overworked. he went unwillingly, and tried to drive hard bargains, stipulating, for instance, that he should come home in five days instead of six. even if he were leaving home for no more than a week, the packing had to be begun early on the previous day, and the chief part of it he would do himself. the discomfort of a journey to him was, at least latterly, chiefly in the anticipation, and in the miserable sinking feeling from which he suffered immediately before the start; even a fairly long journey, such as that to coniston, tired him wonderfully little, considering how much an invalid he was; and he certainly enjoyed it in an almost boyish way, and to a curious extent. although, as he has said, some of his aesthetic tastes had suffered a gradual decay, his love of scenery remained fresh and strong. every walk at coniston was a fresh delight, and he was never tired of praising the beauty of the broken hilly country at the head of the lake. one of the happy memories of this time [ ] is that of a delightful visit to grasmere: "the perfect day," my sister writes, "and my father's vivid enjoyment and flow of spirits, form a picture in my mind that i like to think of. he could hardly sit still in the carriage for turning round and getting up to admire the view from each fresh point, and even in returning he was full of the beauty of rydal water, though he would not allow that grasmere at all equalled his beloved coniston." besides these longer holidays, there were shorter visits to various relatives--to his brother-in-law's house, close to leith hill, and to his son near southampton. he always particularly enjoyed rambling over rough open country, such as the commons near leith hill and southampton, the heath-covered wastes of ashdown forest, or the delightful "rough" near the house of his friend sir thomas farrer. he never was quite idle even on these holidays, and found things to observe. at hartfield he watched drosera catching insects, etc.; at torquay he observed the fertilisation of an orchid (spiranthes), and also made out the relations of the sexes in thyme. he was always rejoiced to get home after his holidays; he used greatly to enjoy the welcome he got from his dog polly, who would get wild with excitement, panting, squeaking, rushing round the room, and jumping on and off the chairs; and he used to stoop down, pressing her face to his, letting her lick him, and speaking to her with a peculiarly tender, caressing voice. my father had the power of giving to these summer holidays a charm which was strongly felt by all his family. the pressure of his work at home kept him at the utmost stretch of his powers of endurance, and when released from it, he entered on a holiday with a youthfulness of enjoyment that made his companionship delightful; we felt that we saw more of him in a week's holiday than in a month at home. some of these absences from home, however, had a depressing effect on him; when he had been previously much overworked it seemed as though the absence of the customary strain allowed him to fall into a peculiar condition of miserable health. besides the holidays which i have mentioned, there were his visits to water-cure establishments. in , when very ill, suffering from constant sickness, he was urged by a friend to try the water-cure, and at last agreed to go to dr. gully's establishment at malvern. his letters to mr. fox show how much good the treatment did him; he seems to have thought that he had found a cure for his troubles, but, like all other remedies, it had only a transient effect on him. however, he found it, at first, so good for him that when he came home he built himself a douche-bath, and the butler learnt to be his bathman. he paid many visits to moor park, dr. lane's water-cure establishment in surrey, not far from aldershot. these visits were pleasant ones, and he always looked back to them with pleasure. dr. lane has given his recollections of my father in dr. richardson's 'lecture on charles darwin,' october , , from which i quote:-- "in a public institution like mine, he was surrounded, of course, by multifarious types of character, by persons of both sexes, mostly very different from himself--commonplace people, in short, as the majority are everywhere, but like to him at least in this, that they were fellow-creatures and fellow-patients. and never was any one more genial, more considerate, more friendly, more altogether charming than he universally was."...he "never aimed, as too often happens with good talkers, at monopolising the conversation. it was his pleasure rather to give and take, and he was as good a listener as a speaker. he never preached nor prosed, but his talk, whether grave or gay (and it was each by turns), was full of life and salt--racy, bright, and animated." some idea of his relation to his family and his friends may be gathered from what has gone before; it would be impossible to attempt a complete account of these relationships, but a slightly fuller outline may not be out of place. of his married life i cannot speak, save in the briefest manner. in his relationship towards my mother, his tender and sympathetic nature was shown in its most beautiful aspect. in her presence he found his happiness, and through her, his life,--which might have been overshadowed by gloom,--became one of content and quiet gladness. the 'expression of the emotions' shows how closely he watched his children; it was characteristic of him that (as i have heard him tell), although he was so anxious to observe accurately the expression of a crying child, his sympathy with the grief spoiled his observation. his note-book, in which are recorded sayings of his young children, shows his pleasure in them. he seemed to retain a sort of regretful memory of the childhoods which had faded away, and thus he wrote in his 'recollections':--"when you were very young it was my delight to play with you all, and i think with a sigh that such days can never return." i may quote, as showing the tenderness of his nature, some sentences from an account of his little daughter annie, written a few days after her death:-- "our poor child, annie, was born in gower street, on march , , and expired at malvern at mid-day on the rd of april, . "i write these few pages, as i think in after years, if we live, the impressions now put down will recall more vividly her chief characteristics. from whatever point i look back at her, the main feature in her disposition which at once rises before me, is her buoyant joyousness, tempered by two other characteristics, namely, her sensitiveness, which might easily have been overlooked by a stranger, and her strong affection. her joyousness and animal spirits radiated from her whole countenance, and rendered every movement elastic and full of life and vigour. it was delightful and cheerful to behold her. her dear face now rises before me, as she used sometimes to come running downstairs with a stolen pinch of snuff for me her whole form radiant with the pleasure of giving pleasure. even when playing with her cousins, when her joyousness almost passed into boisterousness, a single glance of my eye, not of displeasure (for i thank god i hardly ever cast one on her), but of want of sympathy, would for some minutes alter her whole countenance. "the other point in her character, which made her joyousness and spirits so delightful, was her strong affection, which was of a most clinging, fondling nature. when quite a baby, this showed itself in never being easy without touching her mother, when in bed with her; and quite lately she would, when poorly, fondle for any length of time one of her mother's arms. when very unwell, her mother lying down beside her seemed to soothe her in a manner quite different from what it would have done to any of our other children. so, again, she would at almost any time spend half an hour in arranging my hair, 'making it,' as she called it, 'beautiful,' or in smoothing, the poor dear darling, my collar or cuffs--in short, in fondling me. "beside her joyousness thus tempered, she was in her manners remarkably cordial, frank, open, straightforward, natural, and without any shade of reserve. her whole mind was pure and transparent. one felt one knew her thoroughly and could trust her. i always thought, that come what might, we should have had in our old age at least one loving soul which nothing could have changed. all her movements were vigorous, active, and usually graceful. when going round the sand-walk with me, although i walked fast, yet she often used to go before, pirouetting in the most elegant way, her dear face bright all the time with the sweetest smiles. occasionally she had a pretty coquettish manner towards me, the memory of which is charming. she often used exaggerated language, and when i quizzed her by exaggerating what she had said, how clearly can i now see the little toss of the head, and exclamation of 'oh, papa what a shame of you!' in the last short illness her conduct in simple truth was angelic. she never once complained; never became fretful; was ever considerate of others, and was thankful in the most gentle, pathetic manner for everything done for her. when so exhausted that she could hardly speak, she praised everything that was given her, and said some tea 'was beautifully good.' when i gave her some water she said, 'i quite thank you;' and these, i believe, were the last precious words ever addressed by her dear lips to me. "we have lost the joy of the household, and the solace of our old age. she must have known how we loved her. oh, that she could now know how deeply, how tenderly, we do still and shall ever love her dear joyous face! blessings on her! "april , ." we his children all took especial pleasure in the games he played at with us, but i do not think he romped much with us; i suppose his health prevented any rough play. he used sometimes to tell us stories, which were considered especially delightful, partly on account of their rarity. the way he brought us up is shown by a little story about my brother leonard, which my father was fond of telling. he came into the drawing-room and found leonard dancing about on the sofa, which was forbidden, for the sake of the springs, and said, "oh, lenny, lenny, that's against all rules," and received for answer, "then i think you'd better go out of the room." i do not believe he ever spoke an angry word to any of his children in his life; but i am certain that it never entered our heads to disobey him. i well remember one occasion when my father reproved me for a piece of carelessness; and i can still recall the feeling of depression which came over me, and the care which he took to disperse it by speaking to me soon afterwards with especial kindness. he kept up his delightful, affectionate manner towards us all his life. i sometimes wonder that he could do so, with such an undemonstrative race as we are; but i hope he knew how much we delighted in his loving words and manner. how often, when a man, i have wished when my father was behind my chair, that he would pass his hand over my hair, as he used to do when i was a boy. he allowed his grown-up children to laugh with and at him, and was, generally speaking, on terms of perfect equality with us. he was always full of interest about each one's plans or successes. we used to laugh at him, and say he would not believe in his sons, because, for instance, he would be a little doubtful about their taking some bit of work for which he did not feel sure that they had knowledge enough. on the other hand, he was only too much inclined to take a favourable view of our work. when i thought he had set too high a value on anything that i had done, he used to be indignant and inclined to explode in mock anger. his doubts were part of his humility concerning what was in any way connected with himself; his too favourable view of our work was due to his sympathetic nature, which made him lenient to every one. he kept up towards his children his delightful manner of expressing his thanks; and i never wrote a letter, or read a page aloud to him, without receiving a few kind words of recognition. his love and goodness towards his little grandson bernard were great; and he often spoke of the pleasure it was to him to see "his little face opposite to him" at luncheon. he and bernard used to compare their tastes; e.g., in liking brown sugar better than white, etc.; the result being, "we always agree, don't we?" my sister writes:-- "my first remembrances of my father are of the delights of his playing with us. he was passionately attached to his own children, although he was not an indiscriminate child-lover. to all of us he was the most delightful play-fellow, and the most perfect sympathiser. indeed it is impossible adequately to describe how delightful a relation his was to his family, whether as children or in their later life. "it is a proof of the terms on which we were, and also of how much he was valued as a play-fellow, that one of his sons when about four years old tried to bribe him with sixpence to come and play in working hours. we all knew the sacredness of working-time, but that any one should resist sixpence seemed an impossibility. "he must have been the most patient and delightful of nurses. i remember the haven of peace and comfort it seemed to me when i was unwell, to be tucked up on the study sofa, idly considering the old geological map hung on the wall. this must have been in his working hours, for i always picture him sitting in the horsehair arm-chair by the corner of the fire. "another mark of his unbounded patience was the way in which we were suffered to make raids into the study when we had an absolute need of sticking-plaster, string, pins, scissors, stamps, foot-rule, or hammer. these and other such necessaries were always to be found in the study, and it was the only place where this was a certainty. we used to feel it wrong to go in during work-time; still, when the necessity was great we did so. i remember his patient look when he said once, 'don't you think you could not come in again, i have been interrupted very often.' we used to dread going in for sticking-plaster, because he disliked to see that we had cut ourselves, both for our sakes and on account of his acute sensitiveness to the sight of blood. i well remember lurking about the passage till he was safe away, and then stealing in for the plaster. "life seems to me, as i look back upon it, to have been very regular in those early days, and except relations (and a few intimate friends), i do not think any one came to the house. after lessons, we were always free to go where we would, and that was chiefly in the drawing-room and about the garden, so that we were very much with both my father and mother. we used to think it most delightful when he told us any stories about the 'beagle', or about early shrewsbury days--little bits about school-life and his boyish tastes. sometimes too he read aloud to his children such books as scott's novels, and i remember a few little lectures on the steam-engine. "i was more or less ill during the five years between my thirteenth and eighteenth years, and for a long time (years it seems to me) he used to play a couple of games of backgammon with me every afternoon. he played them with the greatest spirit, and i remember we used at one time to keep account of the games, and as this record came out in favour of him, we kept a list of the doublets thrown by each, as i was convinced that he threw better than myself. "his patience and sympathy were boundless during this weary illness, and sometimes when most miserable i felt his sympathy to be almost too keen. when at my worst, we went to my aunt's house at hartfield, in sussex, and as soon as we had made the move safely he went on to moor park for a fortnight's water-cure. i can recall now how on his return i could hardly bear to have him in the room, the expression of tender sympathy and emotion in his face was too agitating, coming fresh upon me after his little absence. "he cared for all our pursuits and interests, and lived our lives with us in a way that very few fathers do. but i am certain that none of us felt that this intimacy interfered the least with our respect or obedience. whatever he said was absolute truth and law to us. he always put his whole mind into answering any of our questions. one trifling instance makes me feel how he cared for what we cared for. he had no special taste for cats, though he admired the pretty ways of a kitten. but yet he knew and remembered the individualities of my many cats, and would talk about the habits and characters of the more remarkable ones years after they had died. "another characteristic of his treatment of his children was his respect for their liberty, and for their personality. even as quite a girl, i remember rejoicing in this sense of freedom. our father and mother would not even wish to know what we were doing or thinking unless we wished to tell. he always made us feel that we were each of us creatures whose opinions and thoughts were valuable to him, so that whatever there was best in us came out in the sunshine of his presence. "i do not think his exaggerated sense of our good qualities, intellectual or moral, made us conceited, as might perhaps have been expected, but rather more humble and grateful to him. the reason being no doubt that the influence of his character, of his sincerity and greatness of nature, had a much deeper and more lasting effect than any small exaltation which his praises or admiration may have caused to our vanity." as head of a household he was much loved and respected; he always spoke to servants with politeness, using the expression, "would you be so good," in asking for anything. he was hardly ever angry with his servants; it shows how seldom this occurred, that when, as a small boy, i overheard a servant being scolded, and my father speaking angrily, it impressed me as an appalling circumstance, and i remember running up stairs out of a general sense of awe. he did not trouble himself about the management of the garden, cows, etc. he considered the horses so little his concern, that he used to ask doubtfully whether he might have a horse and cart to send to keston for drosera, or to the westerham nurseries for plants, or the like. as a host my father had a peculiar charm: the presence of visitors excited him, and made him appear to his best advantage. at shrewsbury, he used to say, it was his father's wish that the guests should be attended to constantly, and in one of the letters to fox he speaks of the impossibility of writing a letter while the house was full of company. i think he always felt uneasy at not doing more for the entertainment of his guests, but the result was successful; and, to make up for any loss, there was the gain that the guests felt perfectly free to do as they liked. the most usual visitors were those who stayed from saturday till monday; those who remained longer were generally relatives, and were considered to be rather more my mother's affair than his. besides these visitors, there were foreigners and other strangers, who came down for luncheon and went away in the afternoon. he used conscientiously to represent to them the enormous distance of down from london, and the labour it would be to come there, unconsciously taking for granted that they would find the journey as toilsome as he did himself. if, however, they were not deterred, he used to arrange their journeys for them, telling them when to come, and practically when to go. it was pleasant to see the way in which he shook hands with a guest who was being welcomed for the first time; his hand used to shoot out in a way that gave one the feeling that it was hastening to meet the guest's hands. with old friends his hand came down with a hearty swing into the other hand in a way i always had satisfaction in seeing. his good-bye was chiefly characterised by the pleasant way in which he thanked his guests, as he stood at the door, for having come to see him. these luncheons were very successful entertainments, there was no drag or flagging about them, my father was bright and excited throughout the whole visit. professor de candolle has described a visit to down, in his admirable and sympathetic sketch of my father. ('darwin considere au point de vue des causes de son succes.'--geneva, .) he speaks of his manner as resembling that of a "savant" of oxford or cambridge. this does not strike me as quite a good comparison; in his ease and naturalness there was more of the manner of some soldiers; a manner arising from total absence of pretence or affectation. it was this absence of pose, and the natural and simple way in which he began talking to his guests, so as to get them on their own lines, which made him so charming a host to a stranger. his happy choice of matter for talk seemed to flow out of his sympathetic nature, and humble, vivid interest in other people's work. to some, i think, he caused actual pain by his modesty; i have seen the late francis balfour quite discomposed by having knowledge ascribed to himself on a point about which my father claimed to be utterly ignorant. it is difficult to seize on the characteristics of my father's conversation. he had more dread than have most people of repeating his stories, and continually said, "you must have heard me tell," or "i dare say i've told you." one peculiarity he had, which gave a curious effect to his conversation. the first few words of a sentence would often remind him of some exception to, or some reason against, what he was going to say; and this again brought up some other point, so that the sentence would become a system of parenthesis within parenthesis, and it was often impossible to understand the drift of what he was saying until he came to the end of his sentence. he used to say of himself that he was not quick enough to hold an argument with any one, and i think this was true. unless it was a subject on which he was just then at work, he could not get the train of argument into working order quickly enough. this is shown even in his letters; thus, in the case of two letters to prof. semper about the effect of isolation, he did not recall the series of facts he wanted until some days after the first letter had been sent off. when puzzled in talking, he had a peculiar stammer on the first word of a sentence. i only recall this occurring with words beginning with w; possibly he had a special difficulty with this letter, for i have heard him say that as a boy he could not pronounce w, and that sixpence was offered him if he could say "white wine," which he pronounced "rite rine." possibly he may have inherited this tendency from erasmus darwin, who stammered. (my father related a johnsonian answer of erasmus darwin's: "don't you find it very inconvenient stammering, dr. darwin?" "no, sir, because i have time to think before i speak, and don't ask impertinent questions.") he sometimes combined his metaphors in a curious way, using such a phrase as "holding on like life,"--a mixture of "holding on for his life," and "holding on like grim death." it came from his eager way of putting emphasis into what he was saying. this sometimes gave an air of exaggeration where it was not intended; but it gave, too, a noble air of strong and generous conviction; as, for instance, when he gave his evidence before the royal commission on vivisection and came out with his words about cruelty, "it deserves detestation and abhorrence." when he felt strongly about any similar question, he could hardly trust himself to speak, as he then easily became angry, a thing which he disliked excessively. he was conscious that his anger had a tendency to multiply itself in the utterance, and for this reason dreaded (for example) having to scold a servant. it was a great proof of the modesty of his style of talking, that, when, for instance, a number of visitors came over from sir john lubbock's for a sunday afternoon call he never seemed to be preaching or lecturing, although he had so much of the talk to himself. he was particularly charming when "chaffing" any one, and in high spirits over it. his manner at such times was light-hearted and boyish, and his refinement of nature came out most strongly. so, when he was talking to a lady who pleased and amused him, the combination of raillery and deference in his manner was delightful to see. when my father had several guests he managed them well, getting a talk with each, or bringing two or three together round his chair. in these conversations there was always a good deal of fun, and, speaking generally, there was either a humorous turn in his talk, or a sunny geniality which served instead. perhaps my recollection of a pervading element of humour is the more vivid, because the best talks were with mr. huxley, in whom there is the aptness which is akin to humour, even when humour itself is not there. my father enjoyed mr. huxley's humour exceedingly, and would often say, "what splendid fun huxley is!" i think he probably had more scientific argument (of the nature of a fight) with lyell and sir joseph hooker. he used to say that it grieved him to find that for the friends of his later life he had not the warm affection of his youth. certainly in his early letters from cambridge he gives proofs of very strong friendship for herbert and fox; but no one except himself would have said that his affection for his friends was not, throughout life, of the warmest possible kind. in serving a friend he would not spare himself, and precious time and strength were willingly given. he undoubtedly had, to an unusual degree, the power of attaching his friends to him. he had many warm friendships, but to sir joseph hooker he was bound by ties of affection stronger than we often see among men. he wrote in his 'recollections,' "i have known hardly any man more lovable than hooker." his relationship to the village people was a pleasant one; he treated them, one and all, with courtesy, when he came in contact with them, and took an interest in all relating to their welfare. some time after he came to live at down he helped to found a friendly club, and served as treasurer for thirty years. he took much trouble about the club, keeping its accounts with minute and scrupulous exactness, and taking pleasure in its prosperous condition. every whit-monday the club used to march round with band and banner, and paraded on the lawn in front of the house. there he met them, and explained to them their financial position in a little speech seasoned with a few well worn jokes. he was often unwell enough to make even this little ceremony an exertion, but i think he never failed to meet them. he was also treasurer of the coal club, which gave him some work, and he acted for some years as a county magistrate. with regard to my father's interest in the affairs of the village, mr. brodie innes has been so good as to give me his recollections:-- "on my becoming vicar of down in , we became friends, and so continued till his death. his conduct towards me and my family was one of unvarying kindness, and we repaid it by warm affection. "in all parish matters he was an active assistant; in matters connected with the schools, charities, and other business, his liberal contribution was ever ready, and in the differences which at times occurred in that, as in other parishes, i was always sure of his support. he held that where there was really no important objection, his assistance should be given to the clergyman, who ought to know the circumstances best, and was chiefly responsible." his intercourse with strangers was marked with scrupulous and rather formal politeness, but in fact he had few opportunities of meeting strangers. dr. lane has described (lecture by dr. b.w. richardson, in st. george's hall, october , .) how, on the rare occasion of my father attending a lecture (dr. sanderson's) at the royal institution, "the whole assembly...rose to their feet to welcome him," while he seemed "scarcely conscious that such an outburst of applause could possibly be intended for himself." the quiet life he led at down made him feel confused in a large society; for instance, at the royal society's soirees he felt oppressed by the numbers. the feeling that he ought to know people, and the difficulty he had in remembering faces in his latter years, also added to his discomfort on such occasions. he did not realise that he would be recognised from his photographs, and i remember his being uneasy at being obviously recognised by a stranger at the crystal palace aquarium. i must say something of his manner of working: one characteristic of it was his respect for time; he never forgot how precious it was. this was shown, for instance, in the way in which he tried to curtail his holidays; also, and more clearly, with respect to shorter periods. he would often say, that saving the minutes was the way to get work done; he showed his love of saving the minutes in the difference he felt between a quarter of an hour and ten minutes' work; he never wasted a few spare minutes from thinking that it was not worth while to set to work. i was often struck by his way of working up to the very limit of his strength, so that he suddenly stopped in dictating, with the words, "i believe i mustn't do any more." the same eager desire not to lose time was seen in his quick movements when at work. i particularly remember noticing this when he was making an experiment on the roots of beans, which required some care in manipulation; fastening the little bits of card upon the roots was done carefully and necessarily slowly, but the intermediate movements were all quick; taking a fresh bean, seeing that the root was healthy, impaling it on a pin, fixing it on a cork, and seeing that it was vertical, etc; all these processes were performed with a kind of restrained eagerness. he always gave one the impression of working with pleasure, and not with any drag. i have an image, too, of him as he recorded the result of some experiment, looking eagerly at each root, etc., and then writing with equal eagerness. i remember the quick movement of his head up and down as he looked from the object to the notes. he saved a great deal of time through not having to do things twice. although he would patiently go on repeating experiments where there was any good to be gained, he could not endure having to repeat an experiment which ought, if complete care had been taken, to have succeeded the first time--and this gave him a continual anxiety that the experiment should not be wasted; he felt the experiment to be sacred, however slight a one it was. he wished to learn as much as possible from an experiment, so that he did not confine himself to observing the single point to which the experiment was directed, and his power of seeing a number of other things was wonderful. i do not think he cared for preliminary or rough observation intended to serve as guides and to be repeated. any experiment done was to be of some use, and in this connection i remember how strongly he urged the necessity of keeping the notes of experiments which failed, and to this rule he always adhered. in the literary part of his work he had the same horror of losing time, and the same zeal in what he was doing at the moment, and this made him careful not to be obliged unnecessarily to read anything a second time. his natural tendency was to use simple methods and few instruments. the use of the compound microscope has much increased since his youth, and this at the expense of the simple one. it strikes us nowadays as extraordinary that he should have had no compound microscope when he went his "beagle" voyage; but in this he followed the advice of robt. brown, who was an authority in such matters. he always had a great liking for the simple microscope, and maintained that nowadays it was too much neglected, and that one ought always to see as much as possible with the simple before taking to the compound microscope. in one of his letters he speaks on this point, and remarks that he always suspects the work of a man who never uses the simple microscope. his dissecting table was a thick board, let into a window of the study; it was lower than an ordinary table, so that he could not have worked at it standing; but this, from wishing to save his strength, he would not have done in any case. he sat at his dissecting-table on a curious low stool which had belonged to his father, with a seat revolving on a vertical spindle, and mounted on large castors, so that he could turn easily from side to side. his ordinary tools, etc., were lying about on the table, but besides these a number of odds and ends were kept in a round table full of radiating drawers, and turning on a vertical axis, which stood close by his left side, as he sat at his microscope-table. the drawers were labelled, "best tools," "rough tools," "specimens," "preparations for specimens," etc. the most marked peculiarity of the contents of these drawers was the care with which little scraps and almost useless things were preserved; he held the well-known belief, that if you threw a thing away you were sure to want it directly--and so things accumulated. if any one had looked at his tools, etc., lying on the table, he would have been struck by an air of simpleness, make-shift, and oddness. at his right hand were shelves, with a number of other odds and ends, glasses, saucers, tin biscuit boxes for germinating seeds, zinc labels, saucers full of sand, etc., etc. considering how tidy and methodical he was in essential things, it is curious that he bore with so many make-shifts: for instance, instead of having a box made of a desired shape, and stained black inside, he would hunt up something like what he wanted and get it darkened inside with shoe-blacking; he did not care to have glass covers made for tumblers in which he germinated seeds, but used broken bits of irregular shape, with perhaps a narrow angle sticking uselessly out on one side. but so much of his experimenting was of a simple kind, that he had no need for any elaboration, and i think his habit in this respect was in great measure due to his desire to husband his strength, and not waste it on inessential things. his way of marking objects may here be mentioned. if he had a number of things to distinguish, such as leaves, flowers, etc., he tied threads of different colours round them. in particular he used this method when he had only two classes of objects to distinguish; thus in the case of crossed and self-fertilised flowers, one set would be marked with black and one with white thread, tied round the stalk of the flower. i remember well the look of two sets of capsules, gathered and waiting to be weighed, counted, etc., with pieces of black and of white thread to distinguish the trays in which they lay. when he had to compare two sets of seedlings, sowed in the same pot, he separated them by a partition of zinc-plate; and the zinc label, which gave the necessary details about the experiment, was always placed on a certain side, so that it became instinctive with him to know without reading the label which were the "crossed" and which were the "self-fertilised." his love of each particular experiment, and his eager zeal not to lose the fruit of it, came out markedly in these crossing experiments--in the elaborate care he took not to make any confusion in putting capsules into wrong trays, etc., etc. i can recall his appearance as he counted seeds under the simple microscope with an alertness not usually characterising such mechanical work as counting. i think he personified each seed as a small demon trying to elude him by getting into the wrong heap, or jumping away altogether; and this gave to the work the excitement of a game. he had great faith in instruments, and i do not think it naturally occurred to him to doubt the accuracy of a scale or measuring glass, etc. he was astonished when we found that one of his micrometers differed from the other. he did not require any great accuracy in most of his measurements, and had not good scales; he had an old three-foot rule, which was the common property of the household, and was constantly being borrowed, because it was the only one which was certain to be in its place--unless, indeed, the last borrower had forgotten to put it back. for measuring the height of plants he had a seven-foot deal rod, graduated by the village carpenter. latterly he took to using paper scales graduated to millimeters. for small objects he used a pair of compasses and an ivory protractor. it was characteristic of him that he took scrupulous pains in making measurements with his somewhat rough scales. a trifling example of his faith in authority is that he took his "inch in terms of millimeters" from an old book, in which it turned out to be inaccurately given. he had a chemical balance which dated from the days when he worked at chemistry with his brother erasmus. measurements of capacity were made with an apothecary's measuring glass: i remember well its rough look and bad graduation. with this, too, i remember the great care he took in getting the fluid-line on to the graduation. i do not mean by this account of his instruments that any of his experiments suffered from want of accuracy in measurement, i give them as examples of his simple methods and faith in others--faith at least in instrument-makers, whose whole trade was a mystery to him. a few of his mental characteristics, bearing especially on his mode of working, occur to me. there was one quality of mind which seemed to be of special and extreme advantage in leading him to make discoveries. it was the power of never letting exceptions pass unnoticed. everybody notices a fact as an exception when it is striking or frequent, but he had a special instinct for arresting an exception. a point apparently slight and unconnected with his present work is passed over by many a man almost unconsciously with some half-considered explanation, which is in fact no explanation. it was just these things that he seized on to make a start from. in a certain sense there is nothing special in this procedure, many discoveries being made by means of it. i only mention it because, as i watched him at work, the value of this power to an experimenter was so strongly impressed upon me. another quality which was shown in his experimental works was his power of sticking to a subject; he used almost to apologise for his patience, saying that he could not bear to be beaten, as if this were rather a sign of weakness on his part. he often quoted the saying, "it's dogged as does it;" and i think doggedness expresses his frame of mind almost better than perseverance. perseverance seems hardly to express his almost fierce desire to force the truth to reveal itself. he often said that it was important that a man should know the right point at which to give up an inquiry. and i think it was his tendency to pass this point that inclined him to apologise for his perseverance, and gave the air of doggedness to his work. he often said that no one could be a good observer unless he was an active theoriser. this brings me back to what i said about his instinct for arresting exceptions: it was as though he were charged with theorising power ready to flow into any channel on the slightest disturbance, so that no fact, however small, could avoid releasing a stream of theory, and thus the fact became magnified into importance. in this way it naturally happened that many untenable theories occurred to him; but fortunately his richness of imagination was equalled by his power of judging and condemning the thoughts that occurred to him. he was just to his theories, and did not condemn them unheard; and so it happened that he was willing to test what would seem to most people not at all worth testing. these rather wild trials he called "fool's experiments," and enjoyed extremely. as an example i may mention that finding the cotyledons of biophytum to be highly sensitive to vibrations of the table, he fancied that they might perceive the vibrations of sound, and therefore made me play my bassoon close to a plant. (this is not so much an example of superabundant theorising from a small cause, but only of his wish to test the most improbable ideas.) the love of experiment was very strong in him, and i can remember the way he would say, "i shan't be easy till i have tried it," as if an outside force were driving him. he enjoyed experimenting much more than work which only entailed reasoning, and when he was engaged on one of his books which required argument and the marshalling of facts, he felt experimental work to be a rest or holiday. thus, while working upon the 'variations of animals and plants,' in - , he made out the fertilisation of orchids, and thought himself idle for giving so much time to them. it is interesting to think that so important a piece of research should have been undertaken and largely worked out as a pastime in place of more serious work. the letters to hooker of this period contain expressions such as, "god forgive me for being so idle; i am quite sillily interested in this work." the intense pleasure he took in understanding the adaptations for fertilisation is strongly shown in these letters. he speaks in one of his letters of his intention of working at drosera as a rest from the 'descent of man.' he has described in his 'recollections' the strong satisfaction he felt in solving the problem of heterostylism. and i have heard him mention that the geology of south america gave him almost more pleasure than anything else. it was perhaps this delight in work requiring keen observation that made him value praise given to his observing powers almost more than appreciation of his other qualities. for books he had no respect, but merely considered them as tools to be worked with. thus he did not bind them, and even when a paper book fell to pieces from use, as happened to muller's 'befruchtung,' he preserved it from complete dissolution by putting a metal clip over its back. in the same way he would cut a heavy book in half, to make it more convenient to hold. he used to boast that he made lyell publish the second edition of one of his books in two volumes instead of one, by telling him how he had been obliged to cut it in half. pamphlets were often treated even more severely than books, for he would tear out, for the sake of saving room, all the pages except the one that interested him. the consequence of all this was, that his library was not ornamental, but was striking from being so evidently a working collection of books. he was methodical in his manner of reading books and pamphlets bearing on his own work. he had one shelf on which were piled up the books he had not yet read, and another to which they were transferred after having been read, and before being catalogued. he would often groan over his unread books, because there were so many which he knew he should never read. many a book was at once transferred to the other heap, either marked with a cypher at the end, to show that it contained no marked passages, or inscribed, perhaps, "not read," or "only skimmed." the books accumulated in the "read" heap until the shelves overflowed, and then, with much lamenting, a day was given up to the cataloguing. he disliked this work, and as the necessity of undertaking the work became imperative, would often say, in a voice of despair, "we really must do these books soon." in each book, as he read it, he marked passages bearing on his work. in reading a book or pamphlet, etc., he made pencil-lines at the side of the page, often adding short remarks, and at the end made a list of the pages marked. when it was to be catalogued and put away, the marked pages were looked at, and so a rough abstract of the book was made. this abstract would perhaps be written under three or four headings on different sheets, the facts being sorted out and added to the previously collected facts in different subjects. he had other sets of abstracts arranged, not according to subject, but according to periodical. when collecting facts on a large scale, in earlier years, he used to read through, and make abstracts, in this way, of whole series of periodicals. in some of his early letters he speaks of filling several note-books with facts for his book on species; but it was certainly early that he adopted his plan of using portfolios as described in the 'recollections.' (the racks on which the portfolios were placed are shown in the illustration, "the study at down," in the recess at the right-hand side of the fire-place.) my father and m. de candolle were mutually pleased to discover that they had adopted the same plan of classifying facts. de candolle describes the method in his 'phytologie,' and in his sketch of my father mentions the satisfaction he felt in seeing it in action at down. besides these portfolios, of which there are some dozens full of notes, there are large bundles of ms. marked "used" and put away. he felt the value of his notes, and had a horror of their destruction by fire. i remember, when some alarm of fire had happened, his begging me to be especially careful, adding very earnestly, that the rest of his life would be miserable if his notes and books were to be destroyed. he shows the same feeling in writing about the loss of a manuscript, the purport of his words being, "i have a copy, or the loss would have killed me." in writing a book he would spend much time and labour in making a skeleton or plan of the whole, and in enlarging and sub-classing each heading, as described in his 'recollections.' i think this careful arrangement of the plan was not at all essential to the building up of his argument, but for its presentment, and for the arrangement of his facts. in his 'life of erasmus darwin,' as it was first printed in slips, the growth of the book from a skeleton was plainly visible. the arrangement was altered afterwards, because it was too formal and categorical, and seemed to give the character of his grandfather rather by means of a list of qualities than as a complete picture. it was only within the last few years that he adopted a plan of writing which he was convinced suited him best, and which is described in the 'recollections;' namely, writing a rough copy straight off without the slightest attention to style. it was characteristic of him that he felt unable to write with sufficient want of care if he used his best paper, and thus it was that he wrote on the backs of old proofs or manuscript. the rough copy was then reconsidered, and a fair copy was made. for this purpose he had foolscap paper ruled at wide intervals, the lines being needed to prevent him writing so closely that correction became difficult. the fair copy was then corrected, and was recopied before being sent to the printers. the copying was done by mr. e. norman, who began this work many years ago when village schoolmaster at down. my father became so used to mr. norman's hand-writing, that he could not correct manuscript, even when clearly written out by one of his children, until it had been recopied by mr. norman. the ms., on returning from mr. norman was once more corrected, and then sent off to the printers. then came the work of revising and correcting the proofs, which my father found especially wearisome. it was at this stage that he first seriously considered the style of what he had written. when this was going on he usually started some other piece of work as a relief. the correction of slips consisted in fact of two processes, for the corrections were first written in pencil, and then re-considered and written in ink. when the book was passing through the "slip" stage he was glad to have corrections and suggestions from others. thus my mother looked over the proofs of the 'origin.' in some of the later works my sister, mrs. litchfield, did much of the correction. after my sister's marriage perhaps most of the work fell to my share. my sister, mrs. litchfield, writes:-- "this work was very interesting in itself, and it was inexpressibly exhilarating to work for him. he was always so ready to be convinced that any suggested alteration was an improvement, and so full of gratitude for the trouble taken. i do not think that he ever used to forget to tell me what improvement he thought that i had made, and he used almost to excuse himself if he did not agree with any correction. i think i felt the singular modesty and graciousness of his nature through thus working for him in a way i never should otherwise have done. "he did not write with ease, and was apt to invert his sentences both in writing and speaking, putting the qualifying clause before it was clear what it was to qualify. he corrected a great deal, and was eager to express himself as well as he possibly could." perhaps the commonest corrections needed were of obscurities due to the omission of a necessary link in the reasoning, something which he had evidently omitted through familiarity with the subject. not that there was any fault in the sequence of the thoughts, but that from familiarity with his argument he did not notice when the words failed to reproduce his thought. he also frequently put too much matter into one sentence, so that it had to be cut up into two. on the whole, i think the pains which my father took over the literary part of the work was very remarkable. he often laughed or grumbled at himself for the difficulty which he found in writing english, saying, for instance, that if a bad arrangement of a sentence was possible, he should be sure to adopt it. he once got much amusement and satisfaction out of the difficulty which one of the family found in writing a short circular. he had the pleasure of correcting and laughing at obscurities, involved sentences, and other defects, and thus took his revenge for all the criticism he had himself to bear with. he used to quote with astonishment miss martineau's advice to young authors, to write straight off and send the ms. to the printer without correction. but in some cases he acted in a somewhat similar manner. when a sentence got hopelessly involved, he would ask himself, "now what do you want to say?" and his answer written down, would often disentangle the confusion. his style has been much praised; on the other hand, at least one good judge has remarked to me that it is not a good style. it is, above all things, direct and clear; and it is characteristic of himself in its simplicity, bordering on naivete, and in its absence of pretence. he had the strongest disbelief in the common idea that a classical scholar must write good english; indeed, he thought that the contrary was the case. in writing, he sometimes showed the same tendency to strong expressions as he did in conversation. thus in the 'origin,' page , there is a description of a larval cirripede, "with six pairs of beautifully constructed natatory legs, a pair of magnificent compound eyes, and extremely complex antennae." we used to laugh at him for this sentence, which we compared to an advertisement. this tendency to give himself up to the enthusiastic turn of his thought, without fear of being ludicrous, appears elsewhere in his writings. his courteous and conciliatory tone towards his reader is remarkable, and it must be partly this quality which revealed his personal sweetness of character to so many who had never seen him. i have always felt it to be a curious fact, that he who had altered the face of biological science, and is in this respect the chief of the moderns, should have written and worked in so essentially a non-modern spirit and manner. in reading his books one is reminded of the older naturalists rather than of the modern school of writers. he was a naturalist in the old sense of the word, that is, a man who works at many branches of the science, not merely a specialist in one. thus it is, that, though he founded whole new divisions of special subjects--such as the fertilisation of flowers, insectivorous plants, dimorphism, etc.--yet even in treating these very subjects he does not strike the reader as a specialist. the reader feels like a friend who is being talked to by a courteous gentleman, not like a pupil being lectured by a professor. the tone of such a book as the 'origin' is charming, and almost pathetic; it is the tone of a man who, convinced of the truth of his own views, hardly expects to convince others; it is just the reverse of the style of a fanatic, who wants to force people to believe. the reader is never scorned for any amount of doubt which he may be imagined to feel, and his scepticism is treated with patient respect. a sceptical reader, or perhaps even an unreasonable reader, seems to have been generally present to his thoughts. it was in consequence of this feeling, perhaps, that he took much trouble over points which he imagined would strike the reader, or save him trouble, and so tempt him to read. for the same reason he took much interest in the illustrations of his books, and i think rated rather too highly their value. the illustrations for his earlier books were drawn by professional artists. this was the case in 'animals and plants,' the 'descent of man,' and the 'expression of the emotions.' on the other hand, 'climbing plants,' 'insectivorous plants,' the 'movements of plants,' and 'forms of flowers,' were, to a large extent, illustrated by some of his children--my brother george having drawn by far the most. it was delightful to draw for him, as he was enthusiastic in his praise of very moderate performances. i remember well his charming manner of receiving the drawings of one of his daughters-in-law, and how he would finish his words of praise by saying, "tell a--, michael angelo is nothing to it." though he praised so generously, he always looked closely at the drawing, and easily detected mistakes or carelessness. he had a horror of being lengthy, and seems to have been really much annoyed and distressed when he found how the 'variations of animals and plants' was growing under his hands. i remember his cordially agreeing with 'tristram shandy's' words, "let no man say, 'come, i'll write a duodecimo.'" his consideration for other authors was as marked a characteristic as his tone towards his reader. he speaks of all other authors as persons deserving of respect. in cases where, as in the case of --'s experiments on drosera, he thought lightly of the author, he speaks of him in such a way that no one would suspect it. in other cases he treats the confused writings of ignorant persons as though the fault lay with himself for not appreciating or understanding them. besides this general tone of respect, he had a pleasant way of expressing his opinion on the value of a quoted work, or his obligation for a piece of private information. his respectful feeling was not only morally beautiful, but was i think of practical use in making him ready to consider the ideas and observations of all manner of people. he used almost to apologise for this, and would say that he was at first inclined to rate everything too highly. it was a great merit in his mind that, in spite of having so strong a respectful feeling towards what he read, he had the keenest of instincts as to whether a man was trustworthy or not. he seemed to form a very definite opinion as to the accuracy of the men whose books he read; and made use of this judgment in his choice of facts for use in argument or as illustrations. i gained the impression that he felt this power of judging of a man's trustworthiness to be of much value. he had a keen feeling of the sense of honour that ought to reign among authors, and had a horror of any kind of laxness in quoting. he had a contempt for the love of honour and glory, and in his letters often blames himself for the pleasure he took in the success of his books, as though he were departing from his ideal--a love of truth and carelessness about fame. often, when writing to sir j. hooker what he calls a boasting letter, he laughs at himself for his conceit and want of modesty. there is a wonderfully interesting letter which he wrote to my mother bequeathing to her, in case of his death, the care of publishing the manuscript of his first essay on evolution. this letter seems to me full of the intense desire that his theory should succeed as a contribution to knowledge, and apart from any desire for personal fame. he certainly had the healthy desire for success which a man of strong feelings ought to have. but at the time of the publication of the 'origin' it is evident that he was overwhelmingly satisfied with the adherence of such men as lyell, hooker, huxley, and asa gray, and did not dream of or desire any such wide and general fame as he attained to. connected with his contempt for the undue love of fame, was an equally strong dislike of all questions of priority. the letters to lyell, at the time of the 'origin,' show the anger he felt with himself for not being able to repress a feeling of disappointment at what he thought was mr. wallace's forestalling of all his years of work. his sense of literary honour comes out strongly in these letters; and his feeling about priority is again shown in the admiration expressed in his 'recollections' of mr. wallace's self-annihilation. his feeling about reclamations, including answers to attacks and all kinds of discussions, was strong. it is simply expressed in a letter to falconer ( ?), "if i ever felt angry towards you, for whom i have a sincere friendship, i should begin to suspect that i was a little mad. i was very sorry about your reclamation, as i think it is in every case a mistake and should be left to others. whether i should so act myself under provocation is a different question." it was a feeling partly dictated by instinctive delicacy, and partly by a strong sense of the waste of time, energy, and temper thus caused. he said that he owed his determination not to get into discussions (he departed from his rule in his "note on the habits of the pampas woodpecker, colaptes campestris," 'proc. zool. soc.,' , page : also in a letter published in the 'athenaeum' ( , page ), in which case he afterwards regretted that he had not remained silent. his replies to criticisms, in the later editions of the 'origin,' can hardly be classed as infractions of his rule.) to the advice of lyell,--advice which he transmitted to those among his friends who were given to paper warfare. if the character of my father's working life is to be understood, the conditions of ill-health, under which he worked, must be constantly borne in mind. he bore his illness with such uncomplaining patience, that even his children can hardly, i believe, realise the extent of his habitual suffering. in their case the difficulty is heightened by the fact that, from the days of their earliest recollections, they saw him in constant ill-health,--and saw him, in spite of it, full of pleasure in what pleased them. thus, in later life, their perception of what he endured had to be disentangled from the impression produced in childhood by constant genial kindness under conditions of unrecognised difficulty. no one indeed, except my mother, knows the full amount of suffering he endured, or the full amount of his wonderful patience. for all the latter years of his life she never left him for a night; and her days were so planned that all his resting hours might be shared with her. she shielded him from every avoidable annoyance, and omitted nothing that might save him trouble, or prevent him becoming overtired, or that might alleviate the many discomforts of his ill-health. i hesitate to speak thus freely of a thing so sacred as the life-long devotion which prompted all this constant and tender care. but it is, i repeat, a principal feature of his life, that for nearly forty years he never knew one day of the health of ordinary men, and that thus his life was one long struggle against the weariness and strain of sickness. and this cannot be told without speaking of the one condition which enabled him to bear the strain and fight out the struggle to the end. letters. the earliest letters to which i have access are those written by my father when an undergraduate at cambridge. the history of his life, as told in his correspondence, must therefore begin with this period. chapter .iv. -- cambridge life. [my father's cambridge life comprises the time between the lent term, , when he came up as a freshman, and the end of the may term, , when he took his degree and left the university.] it appears from the college books, that my father "admissus est pensionarius minor sub magistro shaw" on october , . he did not come into residence till the lent term, , so that, although he passed his examination in due season, he was unable to take his degree at the usual time,--the beginning of the lent term, . in such a case a man usually took his degree before ash-wednesday, when he was called "baccalaureus ad diem cinerum," and ranked with the b.a.'s of the year. my father's name, however, occurs in the list of bachelors "ad baptistam," or those admitted between ash-wednesday and st. john baptist's day (june th); ("on tuesday last charles darwin, of christ's college, was admitted b.a."--"cambridge chronicle", friday, april , .) he therefore took rank among the bachelors of . he "kept" for a term or two in lodgings, over bacon the tobacconist's; not, however, over the shop in the market place, now so well known to cambridge men, but in sidney street. for the rest of his time he had pleasant rooms on the south side of the first court of christ's. (the rooms are on the first floor, on the west side of the middle staircase. a medallion (given by my brother) has recently been let into the wall of the sitting-room.) what determined the choice of this college for his brother erasmus and himself i have no means of knowing. erasmus the elder, their grandfather, had been at st. john's, and this college might have been reasonably selected for them, being connected with shrewsbury school. but the life of an under-graduate at st. john's seems, in those days, to have been a troubled one, if i may judge from the fact that a relative of mine migrated thence to christ's to escape the harassing discipline of the place. a story told by mr. herbert illustrates the same state of things:-- "in the beginning of the october term of , an incident occurred which was attended with somewhat disagreeable, though ludicrous consequences to myself. darwin asked me to take a long walk with him in the fens, to search for some natural objects he was desirous of having. after a very long, fatiguing day's work, we dined together, late in the evening, at his rooms in christ's college; and as soon as our dinner was over we threw ourselves into easy chairs and fell sound asleep. i was first to awake, about three in the morning, when, having looked at my watch, and knowing the strict rule of st. john's, which required men in statu pupillari to come into college before midnight, i rushed homeward at the utmost speed, in fear of the consequences, but hoping that the dean would accept the excuse as sufficient when i told him the real facts. he, however, was inexorable, and refused to receive my explanations, or any evidence i could bring; and although during my undergraduateship i had never been reported for coming late into college, now, when i was a hard-working b.a., and had five or six pupils, he sentenced me to confinement to the college walls for the rest of the term. darwin's indignation knew no bounds, and the stupid injustice and tyranny of the dean raised not only a perfect ferment among my friends, but was the subject of expostulation from some of the leading members of the university." my father seems to have found no difficulty in living at peace with all men in and out of office at lady margaret's other foundation. the impression of a contemporary of my father's is that christ's in their day was a pleasant, fairly quiet college, with some tendency towards "horsiness"; many of the men made a custom of going to newmarket during the races, though betting was not a regular practice. in this they were by no means discouraged by the senior tutor, mr. shaw, who was himself generally to be seen on the heath on these occasions. there was a somewhat high proportion of fellow-commoners,--eight or nine, to sixty or seventy pensioners, and this would indicate that it was not an unpleasant college for men with money to spend and with no great love of strict discipline. the way in which the service was conducted in chapel shows that the dean, at least, was not over zealous. i have heard my father tell how at evening chapel the dean used to read alternate verses of the psalms, without making even a pretence of waiting for the congregation to take their share. and when the lesson was a lengthy one, he would rise and go on with the canticles after the scholar had read fifteen or twenty verses. it is curious that my father often spoke of his cambridge life as if it had been so much time wasted, forgetting that, although the set studies of the place were barren enough for him, he yet gained in the highest degree the best advantages of a university life--the contact with men and an opportunity for his mind to grow vigorously. it is true that he valued at its highest the advantages which he gained from associating with professor henslow and some others, but he seemed to consider this as a chance outcome of his life at cambridge, not an advantage for which alma mater could claim any credit. one of my father's cambridge friends was the late mr. j.m. herbert, county court judge for south wales, from whom i was fortunate enough to obtain some notes which help us to gain an idea of how my father impressed his contemporaries. mr. herbert writes: "i think it was in the spring of that i first met darwin, either at my cousin whitley's rooms in st. john's, or at the rooms of some other of his old shrewsbury schoolfellows, with many of whom i was on terms of great intimacy. but it certainly was in the summer of that year that our acquaintance ripened into intimacy, when we happened to be together at barmouth, for the long vacation, reading with private tutors,--he with batterton of st. john's, his classical and mathematical tutor, and i with yate of st. john's." the intercourse between them practically ceased in , when my father said goodbye to herbert at cambridge, on starting on his "beagle" voyage. i once met mr. herbert, then almost an old man, and i was much struck by the evident warmth and freshness of the affection with which he remembered my father. the notes from which i quote end with this warm-hearted eulogium: "it would be idle for me to speak of his vast intellectual powers...but i cannot end this cursory and rambling sketch without testifying, and i doubt not all his surviving college friends would concur with me, that he was the most genial, warm-hearted, generous, and affectionate of friends; that his sympathies were with all that was good and true; and that he had a cordial hatred for everything false, or vile, or cruel, or mean, or dishonourable. he was not only great, but pre-eminently good, and just, and loveable." two anecdotes told by mr. herbert show that my father's feeling for suffering, whether of man or beast, was as strong in him as a young man as it was in later years: "before he left cambridge he told me that he had made up his mind not to shoot any more; that he had had two days' shooting at his friend's, mr. owen of woodhouse; and that on the second day, when going over some of the ground they had beaten on the day before, he picked up a bird not quite dead, but lingering from a shot it had received on the previous day; and that it had made and left such a painful impression on his mind, that he could not reconcile it to his conscience to continue to derive pleasure from a sport which inflicted such cruel suffering." to realise the strength of the feeling that led to this resolve, we must remember how passionate was his love of sport. we must recall the boy shooting his first snipe ('recollections.'), and trembling with excitement so that he could hardly reload his gun. or think of such a sentence as, "upon my soul, it is only about a fortnight to the 'first,' then if there is a bliss on earth that is it." (letter from c. darwin to w.d. fox.) another anecdote told by mr. herbert illustrates again his tenderness of heart:-- "when at barmouth he and i went to an exhibition of 'learned dogs.' in the middle of the entertainment one of the dogs failed in performing the trick his master told him to do. on the man reproving him, the dog put on a most piteous expression, as if in fear of the whip. darwin seeing it, asked me to leave with him, saying, 'come along, i can't stand this any longer; how those poor dogs must have been licked.'" it is curious that the same feeling recurred to my father more than fifty years afterwards, on seeing some performing dogs at the westminster aquarium; on this occasion he was reassured by the manager telling him that the dogs were taught more by reward than by punishment. mr. herbert goes on:--"it stirred one's inmost depth of feeling to hear him descant upon, and groan over, the horrors of the slave-trade, or the cruelties to which the suffering poles were subjected at warsaw...these, and other like proofs have left on my mind the conviction that a more humane or tender-hearted man never lived." his old college friends agree in speaking with affectionate warmth of his pleasant, genial temper as a young man. from what they have been able to tell me, i gain the impression of a young man overflowing with animal spirits--leading a varied healthy life--not over-industrious in the set of studies of the place, but full of other pursuits, which were followed with a rejoicing enthusiasm. entomology, riding, shooting in the fens, suppers and card-playing, music at king's chapel, engravings at the fitzwilliam museum, walks with professor henslow--all combined to fill up a happy life. he seems to have infected others with his enthusiasm. mr. herbert relates how, during the same barmouth summer, he was pressed into the service of "the science"--as my father called collecting beetles. they took their daily walks together among the hills behind barmouth, or boated in the mawddach estuary, or sailed to sarn badrig to land there at low water, or went fly-fishing in the cors-y-gedol lakes. "on these occasions darwin entomologized most industriously, picking up creatures as he walked along, and bagging everything which seemed worthy of being pursued, or of further examination. and very soon he armed me with a bottle of alcohol, in which i had to drop any beetle which struck me as not of a common kind. i performed this duty with some diligence in my constitutional walks; but alas! my powers of discrimination seldom enabled me to secure a prize--the usual result, on his examining the contents of my bottle, being an exclamation, 'well, old cherbury' (no doubt in allusion to the title of lord herbert of cherbury.) (the nickname he gave me, and by which he usually addressed me), 'none of these will do.'" again, the rev. t. butler, who was one of the barmouth reading-party in , says: "he inoculated me with a taste for botany which has stuck by me all my life." archdeacon watkins, another old college friend of my father's, remembers him unearthing beetles in the willows between cambridge and grantchester, and speaks of a certain beetle the remembrance of whose name is "crux major." (panagaeus crux-major.) how enthusiastically must my father have exulted over this beetle to have impressed its name on a companion so that he remembers it after half a century! archdeacon watkins goes on: "i do not forget the long and very interesting conversations that we had about brazilian scenery and tropical vegetation of all sorts. nor do i forget the way and the vehemence with which he rubbed his chin when he got excited on such subjects, and discoursed eloquently of lianas, orchids, etc." he became intimate with henslow, the professor of botany, and through him with some other older members of the university. "but," mr. herbert writes, "he always kept up the closest connection with the friends of his own standing; and at our frequent social gatherings--at breakfast, wine or supper parties--he was ever one of the most cheerful, the most popular, and the most welcome." my father formed one of a club for dining once a week, called the gourmet (mr. herbert mentions the name as 'the glutton club.') club, the members, besides himself and mr. herbert (from whom i quote), being whitley of st. john's, now honorary canon of durham (formerly reader in natural philosophy at durham university.); heaviside of sidney, now canon of norwich; lovett cameron of trinity, now vicar of shoreham; blane of trinity, who held a high post during the crimean war; h. lowe (brother of lord sherbrooke.) (now sherbrooke) of trinity hall; and watkins of emmanuel, now archdeacon of york. the origin of the club's name seems already to have become involved in obscurity. mr. herbert says that it was chosen in derision of another "set of men who called themselves by a long greek name signifying 'fond of dainties,' but who falsified their claim to such a designation by their weekly practice of dining at some roadside inn, six miles from cambridge, on mutton chops or beans and bacon." another old member of the club tells me that the name arose because the members were given to making experiments on "birds and beasts which were before unknown to human palate." he says that hawk and bittern were tried, and that their zeal broke down over an old brown owl, "which was indescribable." at any rate, the meetings seemed to have been successful, and to have ended with "a game of mild vingt-et-un." mr. herbert gives an amusing account of the musical examinations described by my father in his "recollections." mr. herbert speaks strongly of his love of music, and adds, "what gave him the greatest delight was some grand symphony or overture of mozart's or beethoven's, with their full harmonies." on one occasion herbert remembers "accompanying him to the afternoon service at king's, when we heard a very beautiful anthem. at the end of one of the parts, which was exceedingly impressive, he turned round to me and said, with a deep sigh, 'how's your backbone?'" he often spoke of a feeling of coldness or shivering in his back on hearing beautiful music. besides a love of music, he had certainly at this time a love of fine literature; and mr. cameron tells me that he used to read shakespeare to my father in his rooms at christ's, who took much pleasure in it. he also speaks of his "great liking for first-class line engravings, especially those of raphael morghen and muller; and he spent hours in the fitzwilliam museum in looking over the prints in that collection." my father's letters to fox show how sorely oppressed he felt by the reading of an examination: "i am reading very hard, and have spirits for nothing. i actually have not stuck a beetle this term." his despair over mathematics must have been profound, when he expressed a hope that fox's silence is due to "your being ten fathoms deep in the mathematics; and if you are, god help you, for so am i, only with this difference, i stick fast in the mud at the bottom, and there i shall remain." mr. herbert says: "he had, i imagine, no natural turn for mathematics, and he gave up his mathematical reading before he had mastered the first part of algebra, having had a special quarrel with surds and the binomial theorem." we get some evidence from his letters to fox of my father's intention of going into the church. "i am glad," he writes (march , .), "to hear that you are reading divinity. i should like to know what books you are reading, and your opinions about them; you need not be afraid of preaching to me prematurely." mr. herbert's sketch shows how doubts arose in my father's mind as to the possibility of his taking orders. he writes, "we had an earnest conversation about going into holy orders; and i remember his asking me, with reference to the question put by the bishop in the ordination service, 'do you trust that you are inwardly moved by the holy spirit, etc.,' whether i could answer in the affirmative, and on my saying i could not, he said, 'neither can i, and therefore i cannot take orders.'" this conversation appears to have taken place in , and if so, the doubts here expressed must have been quieted, for in may , he speaks of having some thoughts of reading divinity with henslow. [the greater number of the following letters are addressed by my father to his cousin, william darwin fox. mr. fox's relationship to my father is shown in the pedigree given in chapter i. the degree of kinship appears to have remained a problem to my father, as he signs himself in one letter "cousin/n to the power ." their friendship was, in fact, due to their being undergraduates together. my father's letters show clearly enough how genuine the friendship was. in after years, distance, large families, and ill-health on both sides, checked the intercourse; but a warm feeling of friendship remained. the correspondence was never quite dropped and continued till mr. fox's death in . mr. fox took orders, and worked as a country clergyman until forced by ill-health to leave his living in delamare forest. his love of natural history remained strong, and he became a skilled fancier of many kinds of birds, etc. the index to 'animals and plants,' and my father's later correspondence, show how much help he received from his old college friend.] charles darwin to j.m. herbert. saturday evening [september , ]. (the postmark being derby seems to show that the letter was written from his cousin, w.d. fox's house, osmaston, near derby.) my dear old cherbury, i am about to fulfil my promise of writing to you, but i am sorry to add there is a very selfish motive at the bottom. i am going to ask you a great favour, and you cannot imagine how much you will oblige me by procuring some more specimens of some insects which i dare say i can describe. in the first place, i must inform you that i have taken some of the rarest of the british insects, and their being found near barmouth, is quite unknown to the entomological world: i think i shall write and inform some of the crack entomologists. but now for business. several more specimens, if you can procure them without much trouble, of the following insects:--the violet-black coloured beetle, found on craig storm (the top of the hill immediately behind barmouth was called craig-storm, a hybrid cambro-english word.), under stones, also a large smooth black one very like it; a bluish metallic-coloured dung-beetle, which is very common on the hill-sides; also, if you would be so very kind as to cross the ferry, and you will find a great number under the stones on the waste land of a long, smooth, jet-black beetle (a great many of these); also, in the same situation, a very small pinkish insect, with black spots, with a curved thorax projecting beyond the head; also, upon the marshy land over the ferry, near the sea, under old sea-weed, stones, etc., you will find a small yellowish transparent beetle, with two or four blackish marks on the back. under these stones there are two sorts, one much darker than the other; the lighter-coloured is that which i want. these last two insects are excessively rare, and you will really extremely oblige me by taking all this trouble pretty soon; remember me most kindly to butler, tell him of my success, and i dare say both of you will easily recognise these insects. i hope his caterpillars go on well. i think many of the chrysalises are well worth keeping. i really am quite ashamed [of] so long a letter all about my own concerns; but do return good for evil, and send me a long account of all your proceedings. in the first week i killed seventy-five head of game--a very contemptible number--but there are very few birds. i killed, however, a brace of black game. since then i have been staying at the fox's, near derby; it is a very pleasant house, and the music meeting went off very well. i want to hear how yates likes his gun, and what use he has made of it. if the bottle is not large you can buy another for me, and when you pass through shrewsbury you can leave these treasures, and i hope, if you possibly can, you will stay a day or two with me, as i hope i need not say how glad i shall be to see you again. fox remarked what deuced good-natured fellows your friends at barmouth must be; and if i did not know how you and butler were so, i would not think of giving you so much trouble. believe me, my dear herbert, yours, most sincerely, charles darwin. remember me to all friends. [in the following january we find him looking forward with pleasure to the beginning of another year of his cambridge life: he writes to fox-- "i waited till to-day for the chance of a letter, but i will wait no longer. i must most sincerely and cordially congratulate you on having finished all your labours. i think your place a very good one considering by how much you have beaten many men who had the start of you in reading. i do so wish i were now in cambridge (a very selfish wish, however, as i was not with you in all your troubles and misery), to join in all the glory and happiness, which dangers gone by can give. how we would talk, walk, and entomologise! sappho should be the best of bitches, and dash, of dogs: then should be 'peace on earth, good will to men,'--which, by the way, i always think the most perfect description of happiness that words can give."] charles darwin to w.d. fox. cambridge, thursday [february , ]. my dear fox, when i arrived here on tuesday i found to my great grief and surprise, a letter on my table which i had written to you about a fortnight ago, the stupid porter never took the trouble of getting the letter forwarded. i suppose you have been abusing me for a most ungrateful wretch; but i am sure you will pity me now, as nothing is so vexatious as having written a letter in vain. last thursday i left shrewsbury for london, and stayed there till tuesday, on which i came down here by the 'times.' the first two days i spent entirely with mr. hope (founder of the chair of zoology at oxford.), and did little else but talk about and look at insects; his collection is most magnificent, and he himself is the most generous of entomologists; he has given me about new species, and actually often wanted to give me the rarest insects of which he had only two specimens. he made many civil speeches, and hoped you will call on him some time with me, whenever we should happen to be in london. he greatly compliments our exertions in entomology, and says we have taken a wonderfully great number of good insects. on sunday i spent the day with holland, who lent me a horse to ride in the park with. on monday evening i drank tea with stephens (j.f. stephens, author of 'a manual of british coleoptera,' , and other works.); his cabinet is more magnificent than the most zealous entomologist could dream of; he appears to be a very good-humoured pleasant little man. whilst in town i went to the royal institution, linnean society, and zoological gardens, and many other places where naturalists are gregarious. if you had been with me, i think london would be a very delightful place; as things were, it was much pleasanter than i could have supposed such a dreary wilderness of houses to be. i shot whilst in shrewsbury a dundiver (female goosander, as i suppose you know). shaw has stuffed it, and when i have an opportunity i will send it to osmaston. there have been shot also five waxen chatterers, three of which shaw has for sale; would you like to purchase a specimen? i have not yet thanked you for your last very long and agreeable letter. it would have been still more agreeable had it contained the joyful intelligence that you were coming up here; my two solitary breakfasts have already made me aware how very very much i shall miss you. ... believe me, my dear old fox, most sincerely yours, c. darwin. [later on in the lent term he writes to fox:-- "i am leading a quiet everyday sort of a life; a little of gibbon's history in the morning, and a good deal of "van john" in the evening; this, with an occasional ride with simcox and constitutional with whitley, makes up the regular routine of my days. i see a good deal both of herbert and whitley, and the more i see of them increases every day the respect i have for their excellent understandings and dispositions. they have been giving some very gay parties, nearly sixty men there both evenings."] charles darwin to w.d. fox. christ's college [cambridge], april [ ]. my dear fox, in your letter to holden you are pleased to observe "that of all the blackguards you ever met with i am the greatest." upon this observation i shall make no remarks, excepting that i must give you all due credit for acting on it most rigidly. and now i should like to know in what one particular are you less of a blackguard than i am? you idle old wretch, why have you not answered my last letter, which i am sure i forwarded to clifton nearly three weeks ago? if i was not really very anxious to hear what you are doing, i should have allowed you to remain till you thought it worth while to treat me like a gentleman. and now having vented my spleen in scolding you, and having told you, what you must know, how very much and how anxiously i want to hear how you and your family are getting on at clifton, the purport of this letter is finished. if you did but know how often i think of you, and how often i regret your absence, i am sure i should have heard from you long enough ago. i find cambridge rather stupid, and as i know scarcely any one that walks, and this joined with my lips not being quite so well, has reduced me to a sort of hybernation... i have caught mr. harbour letting -- have the first pick of the beetles; accordingly we have made our final adieus, my part in the affecting scene consisted in telling him he was a d--d rascal, and signifying i should kick him down the stairs if ever he appeared in my rooms again. it seemed altogether mightily to surprise the young gentleman. i have no news to tell you; indeed, when a correspondence has been broken off like ours has been, it is difficult to make the first start again. last night there was a terrible fire at linton, eleven miles from cambridge. seeing the reflection so plainly in the sky, hall, woodyeare, turner, and myself thought we would ride and see it. we set out at half-past nine, and rode like incarnate devils there, and did not return till two in the morning. altogether it was a most awful sight. i cannot conclude without telling you, that of all the blackguards i ever met with, you are the greatest and the best. c. darwin. charles darwin to w.d. fox. [cambridge, thursday, april , .] my dear fox, i have delayed answering your last letter for these few days, as i thought that under such melancholy circumstances my writing to you would be probably only giving you trouble. this morning i received a letter from catherine informing me of that event (the death of fox's sister, mrs. bristowe.), which, indeed, from your letter, i had hardly dared to hope would have happened otherwise. i feel most sincerely and deeply for you and all your family; but at the same time, as far as any one can, by his own good principles and religion, be supported under such a misfortune, you, i am assured, will know where to look for such support. and after so pure and holy a comfort as the bible affords, i am equally assured how useless the sympathy of all friends must appear, although it be as heartfelt and sincere, as i hope you believe me capable of feeling. at such a time of deep distress i will say nothing more, excepting that i trust your father and mrs. fox bear this blow as well as, under such circumstances, can be hoped for. i am afraid it will be a long time, my dear fox, before we meet; till then, believe me at all times, yours most affectionately, charles darwin. charles darwin to w.d. fox. shrewsbury, friday [july , ]. my dear fox, i should have written to you before only that whilst our expedition lasted i was too much engaged, and the conclusion was so unfortunate, that i was too unhappy to write to you till this week's quiet at home. the thoughts of woodhouse next week has at last given me courage to relate my unfortunate case. i started from this place about a fortnight ago to take an entomological trip with mr. hope through all north wales; and barmouth was our first destination. the two first days i went on pretty well, taking several good insects; but for the rest of that week my lips became suddenly so bad (probably with eczema, from which he often suffered.), and i myself not very well, that i was unable to leave the room, and on the monday i retreated with grief and sorrow back again to shrewsbury. the first two days i took some good insects...but the days that i was unable to go out, mr. hope did wonders...and to-day i have received another parcel of insects from him, such colymbetes, such carabi, and such magnificent elaters (two species of the bright scarlet sort). i am sure you will properly sympathise with my unfortunate situation: i am determined i will go over the same ground that he does before autumn comes, and if working hard will procure insects i will bring home a glorious stock.... my dear fox, yours most sincerely, chas. darwin. charles darwin to w.d. fox. shrewsbury, july , . i am going to maer next week in order to entomologise, and shall stay there a week, and for the rest of this summer i intend to lead a perfectly idle and wandering life...you see i am much in the same state that you are, with this difference, you make good resolutions and never keep them; i never make them, so cannot keep them; it is all very well writing in this manner, but i must read for my little-go. graham smiled and bowed so very civilly, when he told me that he was one of the six appointed to make the examination stricter, and that they were determined this would make it a very different thing from any previous examination, that from all this i am sure it will be the very devil to pay amongst all idle men and entomologists. erasmus, we expect home in a few weeks' time: he intends passing next winter in paris. be sure you order the two lists of insects published by stephens, one printed on both sides, and the other only on one; you will find them very useful in many points of view. dear old fox, yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to w.d. fox. christ's college, thursday [october , ]. my dear fox, i am afraid you will be very angry with me for not having written during the music meeting, but really i was worked so hard that i had no time; i arrived here on monday and found my rooms in dreadful confusion, as they have been taking up the floor, and you may suppose that i have had plenty to do for these two days. the music meeting (at birmingham.) was the most glorious thing i ever experienced; and as for malibran, words cannot praise her enough, she is quite the most charming person i ever saw. we had extracts out of several of the best operas, acted in character, and you cannot imagine how very superior it made the concerts to any i ever heard before. j. de begnis (de begnis's christian name was giuseppe.) acted 'il fanatico' in character; being dressed up an extraordinary figure gives a much greater effect to his acting. he kept the whole theatre in roars of laughter. i liked madame blasis very much, but nothing will do after malibran, who sung some comic songs, and [a] person's heart must have been made of stone not to have lost it to her. i lodged very near the wedgwoods, and lived entirely with them, which was very pleasant, and had you been there it would have been quite perfect. it knocked me up most dreadfully, and i will never attempt again to do two things the same day. ... charles darwin to w.d. fox. [cambridge] thursday [march, ]. my dear fox, i am through my little-go!!! i am too much exalted to humble myself by apologising for not having written before. but i assure you before i went in, and when my nerves were in a shattered and weak condition, your injured person often rose before my eyes and taunted me with my idleness. but i am through, through, through. i could write the whole sheet full with this delightful word. i went in yesterday, and have just heard the joyful news. i shall not know for a week which class i am in. the whole examination is carried on in a different system. it has one grand advantage--being over in one day. they are rather strict, and ask a wonderful number of questions. and now i want to know something about your plans; of course you intend coming up here: what fun we will have together; what beetles we will catch; it will do my heart good to go once more together to some of our old haunts. i have two very promising pupils in entomology, and we will make regular campaigns into the fens. heaven protect the beetles and mr. jenyns, for we won't leave him a pair in the whole country. my new cabinet is come down, and a gay little affair it is. and now for the time--i think i shall go for a few days to town to hear an opera and see mr. hope; not to mention my brother also, whom i should have no objection to see. if i go pretty soon, you can come afterwards, but if you will settle your plans definitely, i will arrange mine, so send me a letter by return of post. and i charge you let it be favourable--that is to say, come directly. holden has been ordained, and drove the coach out on the monday. i do not think he is looking very well. chapman wants you and myself to pay him a visit when you come up, and begs to be remembered to you. you must excuse this short letter, as i have no end more to send off by this day's post. i long to see you again, and till then, my dear good old fox, yours most sincerely, charles darwin. [in august he was in north wales and wrote to fox:-- "i have been intending to write every hour for the last fortnight, but really have had no time. i left shrewsbury this day fortnight ago, and have since that time been working from morning to night in catching fish or beetles. this is literally the first idle day i have had to myself; for on the rainy days i go fishing, on the good ones entomologising. you may recollect that for the fortnight previous to all this, you told me not to write, so that i hope i have made out some sort of defence for not having sooner answered your two long and very agreeable letters."] charles darwin to w.d. fox. [cambridge, november , .] my dear fox, i have so little time at present, and am so disgusted by reading that i have not the heart to write to anybody. i have only written once home since i came up. this must excuse me for not having answered your three letters, for which i am really very much obliged... i have not stuck an insect this term, and scarcely opened a case. if i had time i would have sent you the insects which i have so long promised; but really i have not spirits or time to do anything. reading makes me quite desperate; the plague of getting up all my subjects is next thing to intolerable. henslow is my tutor, and a most admirable one he makes; the hour with him is the pleasantest in the whole day. i think he is quite the most perfect man i ever met with. i have been to some very pleasant parties there this term. his good-nature is unbounded. i am sure you will be sorry to hear poor old whitley's father is dead. in a worldly point of view it is of great consequence to him, as it will prevent him going to the bar for some time.--(be sure answer this:) what did you pay for the iron hoop you had made in shrewsbury? because i do not mean to pay the whole of the cambridge man's bill. you need not trouble yourself about the phallus, as i have bought up both species. i have heard men say that henslow has some curious religious opinions. i never perceived anything of it, have you? i am very glad to hear, after all your delays, you have heard of a curacy where you may read all the commandments without endangering your throat. i am also still more glad to hear that your mother continues steadily to improve. i do trust that you will have no further cause for uneasiness. with every wish for your happiness, my dear old fox, believe me yours most sincerely, charles darwin. charles darwin to w.d. fox. cambridge, sunday, january , . my dear fox, i do hope you will excuse my not writing before i took my degree. i felt a quite inexplicable aversion to write to anybody. but now i do most heartily congratulate you upon passing your examination, and hope you find your curacy comfortable. if it is my last shilling (i have not many), i will come and pay you a visit. i do not know why the degree should make one so miserable, both before and afterwards. i recollect you were sufficiently wretched before, and i can assure [you] i am now, and what makes it the more ridiculous is, i know not what about. i believe it is a beautiful provision of nature to make one regret the less leaving so pleasant a place as cambridge; and amongst all its pleasures--i say it for once and for all--none so great as my friendship with you. i sent you a newspaper yesterday, in which you will see what a good place [ th] i have got in the poll. as for christ's, did you ever see such a college for producing captains and apostles? (the "captain" is at the head of the "poll": the "apostles" are the last twelve in the mathematical tripos.) there are no men either at emmanuel or christ's plucked. cameron is gulfed, together with other three trinity scholars! my plans are not at all settled. i think i shall keep this term, and then go and economise at shrewsbury, return and take my degree. a man may be excused for writing so much about himself when he has just passed the examination; so you must excuse [me]. and on the same principle do you write a letter brimful of yourself and plans. i want to know something about your examination. tell me about the state of your nerves; what books you got up, and how perfect. i take an interest about that sort of thing, as the time will come when i must suffer. your tutor, thompson, begged to be remembered to you, and so does whitley. if you will answer this, i will send as many stupid answers as you can desire. believe me, dear fox, chas. darwin. chapter .v. -- the appointment to the 'beagle.' [in a letter addressed to captain fitz-roy, before the "beagle" sailed, my father wrote, "what a glorious day the th of november (the "beagle" did not however make her final and successful start until december .) will be to me--my second life will then commence, and it shall be as a birthday for the rest of my life."] the circumstances which led to this second birth--so much more important than my father then imagined--are connected with his cambridge life, but may be more appropriately told in the present chapter. foremost in the chain of circumstances which lead to his appointment to the "beagle", was my father's friendship with professor henslow. he wrote in a pocket-book or diary, which contain a brief record of dates, etc., throughout his life:-- " . christmas.--passed my examination for b.a. degree and kept the two following terms. "during these months lived much with professor henslow, often dining with him and walking with him; became slightly acquainted with several of the learned men in cambridge, which much quickened the zeal which dinner parties and hunting had not destroyed. "in the spring paid mr. dawes a visit with ramsay and kirby, and talked over an excursion to teneriffe. in the spring henslow persuaded me to think of geology, and introduced me to sedgwick. during midsummer geologised a little in shropshire. "august.--went on geological tour (mentioned by sedgwick in his preface to salter's 'catalogue of cambrian and silurian fossils,' .) by llangollen, ruthin, conway, bangor, and capel curig, where i left professor sedgwick, and crossed the mountain to barmouth." in a letter to fox (may, ), my father writes:--"i am very busy...and see a great deal of henslow, whom i do not know whether i love or respect most." his feeling for this admirable man is finely expressed in a letter which he wrote to rev. l. blomefield (then rev. l. jenyns), when the latter was engaged in his 'memoir of professor henslow' (published ). the passage ('memoir of the rev. john stevens henslow, m.a.,' by the rev. leonard jenyns. vo. london, , page .) has been made use of in the first of the memorial notices written for 'nature,' and mr. romanes points out that my father, "while describing the character of another, is unconsciously giving a most accurate description of his own":-- "i went to cambridge early in the year , and soon became acquainted, through some of my brother entomologists, with professor henslow, for all who cared for any branch of natural history were equally encouraged by him. nothing could be more simple, cordial, and unpretending than the encouragement which he afforded to all young naturalists. i soon became intimate with him, for he had a remarkable power of making the young feel completely at ease with him; though we were all awe-struck with the amount of his knowledge. before i saw him, i heard one young man sum up his attainments by simply saying that he knew everything. when i reflect how immediately we felt at perfect ease with a man older, and in every way so immensely our superior, i think it was as much owing to the transparent sincerity of his character as to his kindness of heart; and, perhaps, even still more, to a highly remarkable absence in him of all self-consciousness. one perceived at once that he never thought of his own varied knowledge or clear intellect, but solely on the subject in hand. another charm, which must have struck every one, was that his manner to old and distinguished persons and to the youngest student was exactly the same: and to all he showed the same winning courtesy. he would receive with interest the most trifling observation in any branch of natural history; and however absurd a blunder one might make, he pointed it out so clearly and kindly, that one left him no way disheartened, but only determined to be more accurate the next time. in short, no man could be better formed to win the entire confidence of the young, and to encourage them in their pursuits. "his lectures on botany were universally popular, and as clear as daylight. so popular were they, that several of the older members of the university attended successive courses. once every week he kept open house in the evening, and all who cared for natural history attended these parties, which, by thus favouring inter-communication, did the same good in cambridge, in a very pleasant manner, as the scientific societies do in london. at these parties many of the most distinguished members of the university occasionally attended; and when only a few were present, i have listened to the great men of those days, conversing on all sorts of subjects, with the most varied and brilliant powers. this was no small advantage to some of the younger men, as it stimulated their mental activity and ambition. two or three times in each session he took excursions with his botanical class; either a long walk to the habitat of some rare plant, or in a barge down the river to the fens, or in coaches to some more distant place, as to gamlingay, to see the wild lily of the valley, and to catch on the heath the rare natter-jack. these excursions have left a delightful impression on my mind. he was, on such occasions, in as good spirits as a boy, and laughed as heartily as a boy at the misadventures of those who chased the splendid swallow-tail butterflies across the broken and treacherous fens. he used to pause every now and then to lecture on some plant or other object; and something he could tell us on every insect, shell, or fossil collected, for he had attended to every branch of natural history. after our day's work we used to dine at some inn or house, and most jovial we then were. i believe all who joined these excursions will agree with me that they have left an enduring impression of delight on our minds. "as time passed on at cambridge i became very intimate with professor henslow, and his kindness was unbounded; he continually asked me to his house, and allowed me to accompany him in his walks. he talked on all subjects, including his deep sense of religion, and was entirely open. i own more than i can express to this excellent man... "during the years when i associated so much with professor henslow, i never once saw his temper even ruffled. he never took an ill-natured view of any one's character, though very far from blind to the foibles of others. it always struck me that his mind could not be even touched by any paltry feeling of vanity, envy, or jealousy. with all this equability of temper and remarkable benevolence, there was no insipidity of character. a man must have been blind not to have perceived that beneath this placid exterior there was a vigorous and determined will. when principle came into play, no power on earth could have turned him one hair's-breadth... "reflecting over his character with gratitude and reverence, his moral attributes rise, as they should do in the highest character, in pre-eminence over his intellect." in a letter to rev. l. blomefield (jenyns), may , , my father wrote with the same feelings that he had expressed in his letters thirty years before:-- "i thank you most sincerely for your kind present of your memoir of henslow. i have read about half, and it has interested me much. i do not think that i could have venerated him more than i did; but your book has even exalted his character in my eyes. from turning over the pages of the latter half, i should think your account would be invaluable to any clergyman who wished to follow poor dear henslow's noble example. what an admirable man he was." the geological work mentioned in the quotation from my father's pocket-book was doubtless of importance as giving him some practical experience, and perhaps of more importance in helping to give him some confidence in himself. in july of the same year, , he was "working like a tiger" at geology, and trying to make a map of shropshire, but not finding it "as easy as i expected." in writing to henslow about the same time, he gives some account of his work:-- "i should have written to you some time ago, only i was determined to wait for the clinometer, and i am very glad to say i think it will answer admirably. i put all the tables in my bedroom at every conceivable angle and direction. i will venture to say i have measured them as accurately as any geologist going could do...i have been working at so many things that i have not got on much with geology. i suspect the first expedition i take, clinometer and hammer in hand, will send me back very little wiser and a good deal more puzzled than when i started. as yet i have only indulged in hypotheses, but they are such powerful ones that i suppose, if they were put into action for but one day, the world would come to an end." he was evidently most keen to get to work with sedgwick, for he wrote to henslow: "i have not heard from professor sedgwick, so i am afraid he will not pay the severn formations a visit. i hope and trust you did your best to urge him." my father has given in his recollections some account of this tour. there too we read of the projected excursion to the canaries, of which slight mention occurs in letters to fox and henslow. in april he writes to fox: "at present i talk, think, and dream of a scheme i have almost hatched of going to the canary islands. i have long had a wish of seeing tropical scenery and vegetation, and, according to humboldt, teneriffe is a very pretty specimen." and again in may: "as for my canary scheme, it is rash of you to ask questions; my other friends most sincerely wish me there, i plague them so with talking about tropical scenery, etc. eyton will go next summer, and i am learning spanish." later on in the summer the scheme took more definite form, and the date seems to have been fixed for june, . he got information in london about passage-money, and in july was working at spanish and calling fox "un grandisimo lebron," in proof of his knowledge of the language; which, however, he found "intensely stupid." but even then he seems to have had some doubts about his companions' zeal, for he writes to henslow (july , ): "i hope you continue to fan your canary ardour. i read and re-read humboldt; do you do the same? i am sure nothing will prevent us seeing the great dragon tree." geological work and teneriffe dreams carried him through the summer, till on returning from barmouth for the sacred st of september, he received the offer of appointment as naturalist to the "beagle". the following extract from the pocket-book will be a help in reading the letters:-- "returned to shrewsbury at end of august. refused offer of voyage. "september.--went to maer, returned with uncle jos. to shrewsbury, thence to cambridge. london. " th.--went with captain fitz-roy in steamer to plymouth to see the "beagle". " nd.--returned to shrewsbury, passing through cambridge. "october nd.--took leave of my home. stayed in london. " th--reached plymouth. "october and november.--these months very miserable. "december th.--sailed, but were obliged to put back. " st.--put to sea again, and were driven back. " th.--sailed from england on our circumnavigation." george peacock (formerly dean of ely, and lowndean professor of astronomy at cambridge.) to j.s. henslow. suffolk street, pall mall east. [ .] my dear henslow, captain fitz-roy is going out to survey the southern coast of tierra del fuego, and afterwards to visit many of the south sea islands, and to return by the indian archipelago. the vessel is fitted out expressly for scientific purposes, combined with the survey; it will furnish, therefore, a rare opportunity for a naturalist, and it would be a great misfortune that it should be lost. an offer has been made to me to recommend a proper person to go out as a naturalist with this expedition; he will be treated with every consideration. the captain is a young man of very pleasing manners (a nephew of the duke of grafton), of great zeal in his profession, and who is very highly spoken of; if leonard jenyns could go, what treasures he might bring home with him, as the ship would be placed at his disposal whenever his inquiries made it necessary or desirable. in the absence of so accomplished a naturalist, is there any person whom you could strongly recommend? he must be such a person as would do credit to our recommendation. do think of this subject, it would be a serious loss to the cause of natural science if this fine opportunity was lost.... the ship sails about the end of september. write immediately, and tell me what can be done. believe me, my dear henslow, most truly yours, george peacock. j.s. henslow to c. darwin. cambridge, august , . my dear darwin, before i enter upon the immediate business of this letter, let us condole together upon the loss of our inestimable friend poor ramsay, of whose death you have undoubtedly heard long before this. i will not now dwell upon this painful subject, as i shall hope to see you shortly, fully expecting that you will eagerly catch at the offer which is likely to be made you of a trip to tierra del fuego, and home by the east indies. i have been asked by peacock, who will read and forward this to you from london, to recommend him a naturalist as companion to captain fitz-roy, employed by government to survey the southern extremity of america. i have stated that i consider you to be the best qualified person i know of who is likely to undertake such a situation. i state this not in the supposition of your being a finished naturalist, but as amply qualified for collecting, observing, and noting, anything worthy to be noted in natural history. peacock has the appointment at his disposal, and if he cannot find a man willing to take the office, the opportunity will probably be lost. captain fitz-roy wants a man (i understand) more as a companion than a mere collector, and would not take any one, however good a naturalist, who was not recommended to him likewise as a gentleman. particulars of salary, etc., i know nothing. the voyage is to last two years, and if you take plenty of books with you, anything you please may be done. you will have ample opportunities at command. in short, i suppose there never was a finer chance for a man of zeal and spirit; captain fitz-roy is a young man. what i wish you to do is instantly to come and consult with peacock (at no. suffolk street, pall mall east, or else at the university club), and learn further particulars. don't put on any modest doubts or fears about your disqualifications, for i assure you i think you are the very man they are in search of; so conceive yourself to be tapped on the shoulder by your bum-bailiff and affectionate friend, j.s. henslow. the expedition is to sail on th september (at earliest), so there is no time to be lost. g. peacock to c. darwin. [ .] my dear sir, i received henslow's letter last night too late to forward it to you by the post; a circumstance which i do not regret, as it has given me an opportunity of seeing captain beaufort at the admiralty (the hydrographer), and of stating to him the offer which i have to make to you. he entirely approves of it, and you may consider the situation as at your absolute disposal. i trust that you will accept it, as it is an opportunity which should not be lost, and i look forward with great interest to the benefit which our collections of natural history may receive from your labours. the circumstances are these;-- captain fitz-roy (a nephew of the duke of grafton) sails at the end of september, in a ship to survey, in the first instance, the south coast of tierra del fuego, afterwards to visit the south sea islands, and to return by the indian archipelago to england. the expedition is entirely for scientific purposes, and the ship will generally wait your leisure for researches in natural history, etc. captain fitz-roy is a public-spirited and zealous officer, of delightful manners, and greatly beloved by all his brother officers. he went with captain beechey (for 'beechey' read 'king.' i do not find the name fitz-roy in the list of beechey's officers. the fuegians were brought back from captain king's voyage.), and spent pounds in bringing over and educating at his own charge three natives of patagonia. he engages at his own expense an artist at pounds a year to go with him. you may be sure, therefore, of having a very pleasant companion, who will enter heartily into all your views. the ship sails about the end of september, and you must lose no time in making known your acceptance to captain beaufort, admiralty hydrographer. i have had a good deal of correspondence about this matter [with henslow?], who feels, in common with myself, the greatest anxiety that you should go. i hope that no other arrangements are likely to interfere with it.... the admiralty are not disposed to give a salary, though they will furnish you with an official appointment, and every accommodation. if a salary should be required, however, i am inclined to think that it would be granted. believe me, my dear sir, very truly yours, george peacock. charles darwin to j.s. henslow. shrewsbury, tuesday [august ?, ]. my dear sir, mr. peacock's letter arrived on saturday, and i received it late yesterday evening. as far as my own mind is concerned, i should, i think certainly, most gladly have accepted the opportunity which you so kindly have offered me. but my father, although he does not decidedly refuse me, gives such strong advice against going, that i should not be comfortable if i did not follow it. my father's objections are these: the unfitting me to settle down as a clergyman, my little habit of seafaring, the shortness of the time, and the chance of my not suiting captain fitz-roy. it is certainly a very serious objection, the very short time for all my preparations, as not only body but mind wants making up for such an undertaking. but if it had not been for my father i would have taken all risks. what was the reason that a naturalist was not long ago fixed upon? i am very much obliged for the trouble you have had about it; there certainly could not have been a better opportunity.... my trip with sedgwick answered most perfectly. i did not hear of poor mr. ramsay's loss till a few days before your letter. i have been lucky hitherto in never losing any person for whom i had any esteem or affection. my acquaintance, although very short, was sufficient to give me those feelings in a great degree. i can hardly make myself believe he is no more. he was the finest character i ever knew. yours most sincerely, my dear sir, ch. darwin. i have written to mr. peacock, and i mentioned that i have asked you to send one line in the chance of his not getting my letter. i have also asked him to communicate with captain fitz-roy. even if i was to go, my father disliking would take away all energy, and i should want a good stock of that. again i must thank you, it adds a little to the heavy but pleasant load of gratitude which i owe to you. charles darwin to r.w. darwin. [maer] august , [ ]. my dear father, i am afraid i am going to make you again very uncomfortable. but, upon consideration, i think you will excuse me once again, stating my opinions on the offer of the voyage. my excuse and reason is the different way all the wedgwoods view the subject from what you and my sisters do. i have given uncle jos (josiah wedgwood.) what i fervently trust is an accurate and full list of your objections, and he is kind enough to give his opinions on all. the list and his answers will be enclosed. but may i beg of you one favour, it will be doing me the greatest kindness, if you will send me a decided answer, yes or no? if the latter, i should be most ungrateful if i did not implicitly yield to your better judgment, and to the kindest indulgence you have shown me all through my life; and you may rely upon it i will never mention the subject again. if your answer should be yes; i will go directly to henslow and consult deliberately with him, and then come to shrewsbury. the danger appears to me and all the wedgwoods not great. the expense cannot be serious, and the time i do not think, anyhow, would be more thrown away then if i stayed at home. but pray do not consider that i am so bent on going that i would for one single moment hesitate, if you thought that after a short period you should continue uncomfortable. i must again state i cannot think it would unfit me hereafter for a steady life. i do hope this letter will not give you much uneasiness. i send it by the car to-morrow morning; if you make up your mind directly will you send me an answer on the following day by the same means? if this letter should not find you at home, i hope you will answer as soon as you conveniently can. i do not know what to say about uncle jos' kindness; i never can forget how he interests himself about me. believe me, my dear father, your affectionate son, charles darwin. [here follows the list of objections which are referred to in the following letter:-- . disreputable to my character as a clergyman hereafter. . a wild scheme. . that they must have offered to many others before me the place of naturalist. . and from its not being accepted there must be some serious objection to the vessel or expedition. . that i should never settle down to a steady life hereafter. . that my accommodations would be most uncomfortable. . that you [i.e. dr. darwin] should consider it as again changing my profession. . that it would be a useless undertaking.] josiah wedgwood to r.w. darwin. maer, august , . [read this last.] (in c. darwin's writing.) my dear doctor, i feel the responsibility of your application to me on the offer that has been made to charles as being weighty, but as you have desired charles to consult me, i cannot refuse to give the result of such consideration as i have been able to [give?] it. charles has put down what he conceives to be your principal objections, and i think the best course i can take will be to state what occurs to me upon each of them. . i should not think that it would be in any degree disreputable to his character as a clergyman. i should on the contrary think the offer honourable to him; and the pursuit of natural history, though certainly not professional, is very suitable to a clergyman. . i hardly know how to meet this objection, but he would have definite objects upon which to employ himself, and might acquire and strengthen habits of application, and i should think would be as likely to do so as in any way in which he is likely to pass the next two years at home. . the notion did not occur to me in reading the letters; and on reading them again with that object in my mind i see no ground for it. . i cannot conceive that the admiralty would send out a bad vessel on such a service. as to objections to the expedition, they will differ in each man's case, and nothing would, i think, be inferred in charles's case, if it were known that others had objected. . you are a much better judge of charles's character than i can be. if on comparing this mode of spending the next two years with the way in which he will probably spend them, if he does not accept this offer, you think him more likely to be rendered unsteady and unable to settle, it is undoubtedly a weighty objection. is it not the case that sailors are prone to settle in domestic and quiet habits? . i can form no opinion on this further than that if appointed by the admiralty he will have a claim to be as well accommodated as the vessel will allow. . if i saw charles now absorbed in professional studies i should probably think it would not be advisable to interrupt them; but this is not, and, i think, will not be the case with him. his present pursuit of knowledge is in the same track as he would have to follow in the expedition. . the undertaking would be useless as regards his profession, but looking upon him as a man of enlarged curiosity, it affords him such an opportunity of seeing men and things as happens to few. you will bear in mind that i have had very little time for consideration, and that you and charles are the persons who must decide. i am, my dear doctor, affectionately yours, josiah wedgwood. charles darwin to j.s. henslow. cambridge, red lion [september ], . my dear sir, i am just arrived; you will guess the reason. my father has changed his mind. i trust the place is not given away. i am very much fatigued, and am going to bed. i dare say you have not yet got my second letter. how soon shall i come to you in the morning? send a verbal answer. good-night, yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to miss susan darwin. cambridge, sunday morning [september ]. my dear susan, as a letter would not have gone yesterday, i put off writing till to-day. i had rather a wearisome journey, but got into cambridge very fresh. the whole of yesterday i spent with henslow, thinking of what is to be done, and that i find is a great deal. by great good luck i know a man of the name of wood, nephew of lord londonderry. he is a great friend of captain fitz-roy, and has written to him about me. i heard a part of captain fitz-roy's letter, dated some time ago, in which he says: "i have a right good set of officers, and most of my men have been there before." it seems he has been there for the last few years; he was then second in command with the same vessel that he has now chosen. he is only twenty-three years old, but [has] seen a deal of service, and won the gold medal at portsmouth. the admiralty say his maps are most perfect. he had choice of two vessels, and he chose the smallest. henslow will give me letters to all travellers in town whom he thinks may assist me. peacock has sole appointment of naturalist. the first person offered was leonard jenyns, who was so near accepting it that he packed up his clothes. but having [a] living, he did not think it right to leave it--to the great regret of all his family. henslow himself was not very far from accepting it, for mrs. henslow most generously, and without being asked, gave her consent; but she looked so miserable that henslow at once settled the point.... i am afraid there will be a good deal of expense at first. henslow is much against taking many things; it is [the] mistake all young travellers fall into. i write as if it was settled, but henslow tells me by no means to make up my mind till i have had long conversations with captains beaufort and fitz-roy. good-bye. you will hear from me constantly. direct spring gardens. tell nobody in shropshire yet. be sure not. c. darwin. i was so tired that evening i was in shrewsbury that i thanked none of you for your kindness half so much as i felt. love to my father. the reason i don't want people told in shropshire: in case i should not go, it will make it more flat. charles darwin to miss s. darwin. spring gardens, monday [september , ]. i have so little time to spare that i have none to waste in re-writing letters, so that you must excuse my bringing up the other with me and altering it. the last letter was written in the morning. in [the] middle of [the] day, wood received a letter from captain fitz-roy, which i must say was most straightforward and gentlemanlike, but so much against my going, that i immediately gave up the scheme; and henslow did the same, saying that he thought peacock had acted very wrong in misrepresenting things so much. i scarcely thought of going to town, but here i am; and now for more details, and much more promising ones. captain fitz-roy is [in] town, and i have seen him; it is no use attempting to praise him as much as i feel inclined to do, for you would not believe me. one thing i am certain, nothing could be more open and kind than he was to me. it seems he had promised to take a friend with him, who is in office and cannot go, and he only received the letter five minutes before i came in; and this makes things much better for me, as want of room was one of fitz-roy's greatest objections. he offers me to go share in everything in his cabin if i like to come, and every sort of accommodation that i can have, but they will not be numerous. he says nothing would be so miserable for him as having me with him if i was uncomfortable, as in a small vessel we must be thrown together, and thought it his duty to state everything in the worst point of view. i think i shall go on sunday to plymouth to see the vessel. there is something most extremely attractive in his manners and way of coming straight to the point. if i live with him, he says i must live poorly--no wine, and the plainest dinners. the scheme is not certainly so good as peacock describes. captain fitz-roy advises me not [to] make up my mind quite yet, but that, seriously, he thinks it will have much more pleasure than pain for me. the vessel does not sail till the th of october. it contains sixty men, five or six officers, etc., but is a small vessel. it will probably be out nearly three years. i shall pay to the mess the same as [the] captain does himself, pounds per annum; and fitz-roy says if i spend, including my outfitting, pounds, it will be beyond the extreme. but now for still worse news. the round the world is not certain, but the chance most excellent. till that point is decided, i will not be so. and you may believe, after the many changes i have made, that nothing but my reason shall decide me. fitz-roy says the stormy sea is exaggerated; that if i do not choose to remain with them, i can at any time get home to england, so many vessels sail that way, and that during bad weather (probably two months), if i like i shall be left in some healthy, safe and nice country; that i shall always have assistance; that he has many books, all instruments, guns, at my service; that the fewer and cheaper clothes i take the better. the manner of proceeding will just suit me. they anchor the ship, and then remain for a fortnight at a place. i have made captain beaufort perfectly understand me. he says if i start and do not go round the world, i shall have good reason to think myself deceived. i am to call the day after to-morrow, and, if possible, to receive more certain instructions. the want of room is decidedly the most serious objection; but captain fitz-roy (probably owing to wood's letter) seems determined to make me [as] comfortable as he possibly can. i like his manner of proceeding. he asked me at once, "shall you bear being told that i want the cabin to myself--when i want to be alone? if we treat each other this way, i hope we shall suit; if not, probably we should wish each other at the devil." we stop a week at [the] madeira islands, and shall see most of [the] big cities in south america. captain beaufort is drawing up the track through the south sea. i am writing in [a] great hurry; i do not know whether you take interest enough to excuse treble postage. i hope i am judging reasonably, and not through prejudice, about captain fitz-roy; if so, i am sure we shall suit. i dine with him to-day. i could write [a] great deal more if i thought you liked it, and i had at present time. there is indeed a tide in the affairs of man, and i have experienced it, and i had entirely given it up till one to-day. love to my father. dearest susan, good-bye. ch. darwin. charles darwin to j.s. henslow. london, monday, [september , ]. my dear sir, gloria in excelsis is the most moderate beginning i can think of. things are more prosperous than i should have thought possible. captain fitz-roy is everything that is delightful. if i was to praise half so much as i feel inclined, you would say it was absurd, only once seeing him. i think he really wishes to have me. he offers me to mess with him, and he will take care i have such room as is possible. but about the cases he says i must limit myself; but then he thinks like a sailor about size. captain beaufort says i shall be upon the boards, and then it will only cost me like other officers. ship sails th of october. spends a week at madeira islands; and then rio de janeiro. they all think most extremely probable, home by the indian archipelago; but till that is decided, i will not be so. what has induced captain fitz-roy to take a better view of the case is, that mr. chester, who was going as a friend, cannot go, so that i shall have his place in every respect. captain fitz-roy has [a] good stock of books, many of which were in my list, and rifles, etc., so that the outfit will be much less expensive than i supposed. the vessel will be out three years. i do not object so that my father does not. on wednesday i have another interview with captain beaufort, and on sunday most likely go with captain fitz-roy to plymouth. so i hope you will keep on thinking on the subject, and just keep memoranda of what may strike you. i will call most probably on mr. burchell and introduce myself. i am in lodgings at spring gardens. you cannot imagine anything more pleasant, kind, and open than captain fitz-roy's manners were to me. i am sure it will be my fault if we do not suit. what changes i have had. till one to-day i was building castles in the air about hunting foxes the shropshire, now llamas in south america. there is indeed a tide in the affairs of men. if you see mr. wood, remember me very kindly to him. good-bye. my dear henslow, your most sincere friend, chas. darwin. excuse this letter in such a hurry. charles darwin to w.d. fox. spring gardens, london, september , .... your letter gave me great pleasure. you cannot imagine how much your former letter annoyed and hurt me. (he had misunderstood a letter of fox's as implying a charge of falsehood.) but, thank heaven, i firmly believe that it was my own entire fault in so interpreting your letter. i lost a friend the other day, and i doubt whether the moral death (as i then wickedly supposed) of our friendship did not grieve me as much as the real and sudden death of poor ramsay. we have known each other too long to need, i trust, any more explanations. but i will mention just one thing--that on my death-bed, i think i could say i never uttered one insincere (which at the time i did not fully feel) expression about my regard for you. one thing more--the sending immediately the insects, on my honour, was an unfortunate coincidence. i forgot how you naturally would take them. when you look at them now, i hope no unkindly feelings will rise in your mind, and that you will believe that you have always had in me a sincere, and i will add, an obliged friend. the very many pleasant minutes that we spent together in cambridge rose like departed spirits in judgment against me. may we have many more such, will be one of my last wishes in leaving england. god bless you, dear old fox. may you always be happy. yours truly, chas. darwin. i have left your letter behind, so do not know whether i direct right. charles darwin to miss susan darwin. spring gardens, tuesday, [september , .] my dear susan, again i am going to trouble you. i suspect, if i keep on at this rate, you will sincerely wish me at tierra del fuego, or any other terra, but england. first i will give my commissions. tell nancy to make me some twelve instead of eight shirts. tell edward to send me up in my carpet-bag (he can slip the key in the bag tied to some string), my slippers, a pair of lightish walking-shoes, my spanish books, my new microscope (about six inches long and three or four deep), which must have cotton stuffed inside; my geological compass; my father knows that; a little book, if i have got it in my bedroom--'taxidermy.' ask my father if he thinks there would be any objection to my taking arsenic for a little time, as my hands are not quite well, and i have always observed that if i once get them well, and change my manner of living about the same time, they will generally remain well. what is the dose? tell edward my gun is dirty. what is erasmus's direction? tell me if you think there is time to write and receive an answer before i start, as i should like particularly to know what he thinks about it. i suppose you do not know sir j. mackintosh's direction? i write all this as if it was settled, but it is not more than it was, excepting that from captain fitz-roy wishing me so much to go, and from his kindness, i feel a predestination i shall start. i spent a very pleasant evening with him yesterday. he must be more than twenty-three years old; he is of a slight figure, and a dark but handsome edition of mr. kynaston, and, according to my notions, pre-eminently good manners. he is all for economy, excepting on one point--viz., fire-arms. he recommends me strongly to get a case of pistols like his, which cost pounds!! and never to go on shore anywhere without loaded ones, and he is doubting about a rifle; he says i cannot appreciate the luxury of fresh meat here. of course i shall buy nothing till everything is settled; but i work all day long at my lists, putting in and striking out articles. this is the first really cheerful day i have spent since i received the letter, and it all is owing to the sort of involuntary confidence i place in my beau ideal of a captain. we stop at teneriffe. his object is to stop at as many places as possible. he takes out twenty chronometers, and it will be a "sin" not to settle the longitude. he tells me to get it down in writing at the admiralty that i have the free choice to leave as soon and whenever i like. i dare say you expect i shall turn back at the madeira; if i have a morsel of stomach left, i won't give up. excuse my so often troubling and writing: the one is of great utility, the other a great amusement to me. most likely i shall write to-morrow. answer by return of post. love to my father, dearest susan. c. darwin. as my instruments want altering, send my things by the 'oxonian' the same night. charles darwin to miss susan darwin. london, friday morning, september , . my dear susan, i have just received the parcel. i suppose it was not delivered yesterday owing to the coronation. i am very much obliged to my father, and everybody else. everything is done quite right. i suppose by this time you have received my letter written next day, and i hope will send off the things. my affairs remain in statu quo. captain beaufort says i am on the books for victuals, and he thinks i shall have no difficulty about my collections when i come home. but he is too deep a fish for me to make him out. the only thing that now prevents me finally making up my mind, is the want of certainty about the south sea islands; although morally i have no doubt we should go there whether or no it is put in the instructions. captain fitz-roy says i do good by plaguing captain beaufort, it stirs him up with a long pole. captain fitz-roy says he is sure he has interest enough (particularly if this administration is not everlasting--i shall soon turn tory!), anyhow, even when out, to get the ship ordered home by whatever track he likes. from what wood says, i presume the dukes of grafton and richmond interest themselves about him. by the way, wood has been of the greatest use to me; and i am sure his personal introduction of me inclined captain fitz-roy to have me. to explain things from the very beginning: captain fitz-roy first wished to have a naturalist, and then he seems to have taken a sudden horror of the chances of having somebody he should not like on board the vessel. he confesses his letter to cambridge was to throw cold water on the scheme. i don't think we shall quarrel about politics, although wood (as might be expected from a londonderry) solemnly warned fitz-roy that i was a whig. captain fitz-roy was before uncle jos., he said, "now your friends will tell you a sea-captain is the greatest brute on the face of the creation. i do not know how to help you in this case, except by hoping you will give me a trial." how one does change! i actually now wish the voyage was longer before we touch land. i feel my blood run cold at the quantity i have to do. everybody seems ready to assist me. the zoological want to make me a corresponding member. all this i can construct without crossing the equator. but one friend is quite invaluable, viz., a mr. yarrell, a stationer, and excellent naturalist. (william yarrell, well-known for his 'history of british birds' and 'history of british fishes,' was born in . he inherited from his father a newsagent's business, to which he steadily adhered up to his death, "in his rd year." he was a man of a thoroughly amiable and honourable character, and was a valued office-bearer of several of the learned societies.) he goes to the shops with me and bullies about prices (not that i yet buy): hang me if i give pounds for pistols. yesterday all the shops were shut, so that i could do nothing; and i was child enough to give pound shilling for an excellent seat to see the procession. (the coronation of william iv.) and it certainly was very well worth seeing. i was surprised that any quantity of gold could make a long row of people quite glitter. it was like only what one sees in picture-books of eastern processions. the king looked very well, and seemed popular, but there was very little enthusiasm; so little that i can hardly think there will be a coronation this time fifty years. the life guards pleased me as much as anything--they are quite magnificent; and it is beautiful to see them clear a crowd. you think that they must kill a score at least, and apparently they really hurt nobody, but most deucedly frighten them. whenever a crowd was so dense that the people were forced off the causeway, one of these six-feet gentlemen, on a black horse, rode straight at the place, making his horse rear very high, and fall on the thickest spot. you would suppose men were made of sponge to see them shrink away. in the evening there was an illumination, and much grander than the one on the reform bill. all the principal streets were crowded just like a race-ground. carriages generally being six abreast, and i will venture to say not going one mile an hour. the duke of northumberland learnt a lesson last time, for his house was very grand; much more so than the other great nobility, and in much better taste; every window in his house was full of straight lines of brilliant lights, and from their extreme regularity and number had a beautiful effect. the paucity of invention was very striking, crowns, anchors, and "w.r.'s" were repeated in endless succession. the prettiest were gas-pipes with small holes; they were almost painfully brilliant. i have written so much about the coronation, that i think you will have no occasion to read the "morning herald". for about the first time in my life i find london very pleasant; hurry, bustle, and noise are all in unison with my feelings. and i have plenty to do in spare moments. i work at astronomy, as i suppose it would astound a sailor if one did not know how to find latitude and longitude. i am now going to captain fitz-roy, and will keep [this] letter open till evening for anything that may occur. i will give you one proof of fitz-roy being a good officer--all the officers are the same as before; two-thirds of his crew and [the] eight marines who went before all offered to come again, so the service cannot be so very bad. the admiralty have just issued orders for a large stock of canister-meat and lemon-juice, etc. etc. i have just returned from spending a long day with captain fitz-roy, driving about in his gig, and shopping. this letter is too late for to-day's post. you may consider it settled that i go. yet there is room for change if any untoward accident should happen; this i can see no reason to expect. i feel convinced nothing else will alter my wish of going. i have begun to order things. i have procured a case of good strong pistols and an excellent rifle for pounds, there is a saving; a good telescope, with compass, pounds, and these are nearly the only expensive instruments i shall want. captain fitz-roy has everything. i never saw so (what i should call, he says not) extravagant a man, as regards himself, but as economical towards me. how he did order things! his fire-arms will cost pounds at least. i found the carpet bag when i arrived all right, and much obliged. i do not think i shall take any arsenic; shall send partridges to mr. yarrell; much obliged. ask edward to bargain with clemson to make for my gun--two spare hammers or cocks, two main-springs, two sere-springs, four nipples or plugs--i mean one for each barrel, except nipples, of which there must be two for each, all of excellent quality, and set about them immediately; tell edward to make inquiries about prices. i go on sunday per packet to plymouth, shall stay one or two days, then return, and hope to find a letter from you; a few days in london; then cambridge, shrewsbury, london, plymouth, madeira, is my route. it is a great bore my writing so much about the coronation; i could fill another sheet. i have just been with captain king, fitz-roy's senior officer last expedition; he thinks that the expedition will suit me. unasked, he said fitz-roy's temper was perfect. he sends his own son with him as midshipman. the key of my microscope was forgotten; it is of no consequence. love to all. chas. darwin. charles darwin to w.d. fox. spring gardens (and here i shall remain till i start) [september , ]. my dear fox, i returned from my expedition to see the "beagle" at plymouth on saturday, and found your most welcome letter on my table. it is quite ridiculous what a very long period these last twenty days have appeared to me, certainly much more than as many weeks on ordinary occasions; this will account for my not recollecting how much i told you of my plans.... but on the whole it is a grand and fortunate opportunity; there will be so many things to interest me--fine scenery and an endless occupation and amusement in the different branches of natural history; then again navigation and meteorology will amuse me on the voyage, joined to the grand requisite of there being a pleasant set of officers, and, as far as i can judge, this is certain. on the other hand there is very considerable risk to one's life and health, and the leaving for so very long a time so many people whom i dearly love, is oftentimes a feeling so painful that it requires all my resolution to overcome it. but everything is now settled, and before the th of october i trust to be on the broad sea. my objection to the vessel is its smallness, which cramps one so for room for packing my own body and all my cases, etc., etc. as to its safety, i hope the admiralty are the best judges; to a landsman's eye she looks very small. she is a ten-gun three-masted brig, but, i believe, an excellent vessel. so much for my future plans, and now for my present. i go to-night by the mail to cambridge, and from thence, after settling my affairs, proceed to shrewsbury (most likely on friday rd, or perhaps before); there i shall stay a few days, and be in london by the st of october, and start for plymouth on the th. and now for the principal part of my letter. i do not know how to tell you how very kind i feel your offer of coming to see me before i leave england. indeed i should like it very much; but i must tell you decidedly that i shall have very little time to spare, and that little time will be almost spoilt by my having so much to think about; and secondly, i can hardly think it worth your while to leave your parish for such a cause. but i shall never forget such generous kindness. now i know you will act just as you think right; but do not come up for my sake. any time is the same for me. i think from this letter you will know as much of my plans as i do myself, and will judge accordingly the where and when to write to me. every now and then i have moments of glorious enthusiasm, when i think of the date and cocoa-trees, the palms and ferns so lofty and beautiful, everything new, everything sublime. and if i live to see years in after life, how grand must such recollections be! do you know humboldt? (if you don't, do so directly.) with what intense pleasure he appears always to look back on the days spent in the tropical countries. i hope when you next write to osmaston, [you will] tell them my scheme, and give them my kindest regards and farewells. good-bye, my dear fox, yours ever sincerely, chas. darwin. charles darwin to r. fitz-roy. spring gardens [october ? ]. dear fitz-roy, very many thanks for your letter; it has made me most comfortable, for it would have been heart-breaking to have left anything quite behind, and i never should have thought of sending things by some other vessel. this letter will, i trust, accompany some talc. i read your letter without attending to the name. but i have now procured some from jones, which appears very good, and i will send it this evening by the mail. you will be surprised at not seeing me propria persona instead of my handwriting. but i had just found out that the large steam-packet did not intend to sail on sunday, and i was picturing to myself a small, dirty cabin, with the proportion of - ths of the passengers very sick, when mr. earl came in and told me the "beagle" would not sail till the beginning of november. this, of course, settled the point; so that i remain in london one week more. i shall then send heavy goods by steamer and start myself by the coach on sunday evening. have you a good set of mountain barometers? several great guns in the scientific world have told me some points in geology to ascertain which entirely depend on their relative height. if you have not a good stock, i will add one more to the list. i ought to be ashamed to trouble you so much, but will you send one line to inform me? i am daily becoming more anxious to be off, and, if i am so, you must be in a perfect fever. what a glorious day the th of november will be to me! my second life will then commence, and it shall be as a birthday for the rest of my life. believe me, dear fitz-roy, yours most sincerely, chas. darwin. monday.--i hope i have not put you to much inconvenience by ordering the room in readiness. charles darwin to j.s. henslow. devonport, november , . my dear henslow, the orders are come down from the admiralty, and everything is finally settled. we positively sail the last day of this month, and i think before that time the vessel will be ready. she looks most beautiful, even a landsman must admire her. we all think her the most perfect vessel ever turned out of the dockyard. one thing is certain, no vessel has been fitted out so expensively, and with so much care. everything that can be made so is of mahogany, and nothing can exceed the neatness and beauty of all the accommodations. the instructions are very general, and leave a great deal to the captain's discretion and judgment, paying a substantial as well as a verbal compliment to him.... no vessel ever left england with such a set of chronometers, viz., twenty-four, all very good ones. in short, everything is well, and i have only now to pray for the sickness to moderate its fierceness, and i shall do very well. yet i should not call it one of the very best opportunities for natural history that has ever occurred. the absolute want of room is an evil that nothing can surmount. i think l. jenyns did very wisely in not coming, that is judging from my own feelings, for i am sure if i had left college some few years, or been those years older, i never could have endured it. the officers (excepting the captain) are like the freshest freshmen, that is in their manners, in everything else widely different. remember me most kindly to him, and tell him if ever he dreams in the night of palm-trees, he may in the morning comfort himself with the assurance that the voyage would not have suited him. i am much obliged for your advice, de mathematicis. i suspect when i am struggling with a triangle, i shall often wish myself in your room, and as for those wicked sulky surds, i do not know what i shall do without you to conjure them. my time passes away very pleasantly. i know one or two pleasant people, foremost of whom is mr. thunder-and-lightning harris (william snow harris, the electrician.), whom i dare say you have heard of. my chief employment is to go on board the "beagle", and try to look as much like a sailor as i can. i have no evidence of having taken in man, woman or child. i am going to ask you to do one more commission, and i trust it will be the last. when i was in cambridge, i wrote to mr. ash, asking him to send my college account to my father, after having subtracted about pounds for my furniture. this he has forgotten to do, and my father has paid the bill, and i want to have the furniture-money transmitted to my father. perhaps you would be kind enough to speak to mr. ash. i have cost my father so much money, i am quite ashamed of myself. i will write once again before sailing, and perhaps you will write to me before then. remember me to professor sedgwick and mr. peacock. believe me, yours affectionately, chas. darwin. charles darwin to j.s. henslow. devonport, december , . my dear henslow, it is now late in the evening, and to-night i am going to sleep on board. on monday we most certainly sail, so you may guess what a desperate state of confusion we are all in. if you were to hear the various exclamations of the officers, you would suppose we had scarcely had a week's notice. i am just in the same way taken all aback, and in such a bustle i hardly know what to do. the number of things to be done is infinite. i look forward even to sea-sickness with something like satisfaction, anything must be better than this state of anxiety. i am very much obliged for your last kind and affectionate letter. i always like advice from you, and no one whom i have the luck to know is more capable of giving it than yourself. recollect, when you write, that i am a sort of protege of yours, and that it is your bounden duty to lecture me. i will now give you my direction; it is at first, rio; but if you will send me a letter on the first tuesday (when the packet sails) in february, directed to monte video, it will give me very great pleasure; i shall so much enjoy hearing a little cambridge news. poor dear old alma mater! i am a very worthy son in as far as affection goes. i have little more to write about...i cannot end this without telling you how cordially i feel grateful for the kindness you have shown me during my cambridge life. much of the pleasure and utility which i may have derived from it is owing to you. i long for the time when we shall again meet, and till then believe me, my dear henslow, your affectionate and obliged friend, ch. darwin. remember me most kindly to those who take any interest in me. chapter .vi. -- the voyage. "there is a natural good-humoured energy in his letters just like himself."--from a letter of dr. r.w. darwin's to prof. henslow. [the object of the "beagle" voyage is briefly described in my father's 'journal of researches,' page , as being "to complete the survey of patagonia and tierra del fuego, commenced under captain king in to ; to survey the shores of chile, peru, and some island in the pacific; and to carry a chain of chronometrical measurements round the world."] the "beagle" is described as a well-built little vessel, of tons, rigged as a barque, and carrying six guns. she belonged to the old class of ten-gun brigs, which were nicknamed "coffins," from their liability to go down in severe weather. they were very "deep-waisted," that is, their bulwarks were high in proportion to their size, so that a heavy sea breaking over them might be highly dangerous. nevertheless, she lived through the five years' work, in the most stormy regions in the world, under commanders stokes and fitz-roy, without a serious accident. when re-commissioned in for her second voyage, she was found (as i learn from admiral sir james sulivan) to be so rotten that she had practically to be rebuilt, and it was this that caused the long delay in refitting. the upper deck was raised, making her much safer in heavy weather, and giving her far more comfortable accommodation below. by these alterations and by the strong sheathing added to her bottom she was brought up to tons burthen. it is a proof of the splendid seamanship of captain fitz-roy and his officers that she returned without having carried away a spar, and that in only one of the heavy storms that she encountered was she in great danger. she was fitted out for the expedition with all possible care, being supplied with carefully chosen spars and ropes, six boats, and a "dinghy;" lightning conductors, "invented by mr. harris, were fixed in all the masts, the bowsprits, and even in the flying jib-boom." to quote my father's description, written from devonport, november , : "everybody, who can judge, says it is one of the grandest voyages that has almost ever been sent out. everything is on a grand scale. twenty-four chronometers. the whole ship is fitted up with mahogany; she is the admiration of the whole place. in short, everything is as prosperous as human means can make it." owing to the smallness of the vessel, every one on board was cramped for room, and my father's accommodation seems to have been small enough: "i have just room to turn round," he writes to henslow, "and that is all." admiral sir james sulivan writes to me: "the narrow space at the end of the chart-table was his only accommodation for working, dressing, and sleeping; the hammock being left hanging over his head by day, when the sea was at all rough, that he might lie on it with a book in his hand when he could not any longer sit at the table. his only stowage for clothes being several small drawers in the corner, reaching from deck to deck; the top one being taken out when the hammock was hung up, without which there was not length for it, so then the foot-clews took the place of the top drawer. for specimens he had a very small cabin under the forecastle." yet of this narrow room he wrote enthusiastically, september , :-- "when i wrote last i was in great alarm about my cabin. the cabins were not then marked out, but when i left they were, and mine is a capital one, certainly next best to the captain's and remarkably light. my companion most luckily, i think, will turn out to be the officer whom i shall like best. captain fitz-roy says he will take care that one corner is so fitted up that i shall be comfortable in it and shall consider it my home, but that also i shall have the run of his. my cabin is the drawing one; and in the middle is a large table, on which we two sleep in hammocks. but for the first two months there will be no drawing to be done, so that it will be quite a luxurious room, and good deal larger than the captain's cabin." my father used to say that it was the absolute necessity of tidiness in the cramped space of the "beagle" that helped 'to give him his methodical habits of working.' on the "beagle", too, he would say, that he learned what he considered the golden rule for saving time; i.e., taking care of the minutes. sir james sulivan tells me that the chief fault in the outfit of the expedition was the want of a second smaller vessel to act as tender. this want was so much felt by captain fitz-roy that he hired two decked boats to survey the coast of patagonia, at a cost of pounds, a sum which he had to supply, although the boats saved several thousand pounds to the country. he afterwards bought a schooner to act as a tender, thus saving the country a further large amount. he was ultimately ordered to sell the schooner, and was compelled to bear the loss himself, and it was only after his death that some inadequate compensation was made for all the losses which he suffered through his zeal. for want of a proper tender, much of the work had to be done in small open whale boats, which were sent away from the ship for weeks together, and this in a climate, where the crews were exposed to severe hardships from the almost constant rains, which sometimes continued for weeks together. the completeness of the equipment was also in other respects largely due to the public spirit of captain fitz-roy. he provided at his own cost an artist, and a skilled instrument-maker to look after the chronometers. (either one or both were on the books for victuals.) captain fitz-roy's wish was to take "some well-educated and scientific person" as his private guest, but this generous offer was only accepted by my father on condition of being allowed to pay a fair share of the expense of the captain's table; he was, moreover, on the ship's books for victuals. in a letter to his sister (july ) he writes contentedly of his manner of life at sea:--"i do not think i have ever given you an account of how the day passes. we breakfast at eight o'clock. the invariable maxim is to throw away all politeness--that is, never to wait for each other, and bolt off the minute one has done eating, etc. at sea, when the weather is calm, i work at marine animals, with which the whole ocean abounds. if there is any sea up i am either sick or contrive to read some voyage or travels. at one we dine. you shore-going people are lamentably mistaken about the manner of living on board. we have never yet (nor shall we) dined off salt meat. rice and peas and calavanses are excellent vegetables, and, with good bread, who could want more? judge alderson could not be more temperate, as nothing but water comes on the table. at five we have tea. the midshipmen's berth have all their meals an hour before us, and the gun-room an hour afterwards." the crew of the "beagle" consisted of captain fitz-roy, "commander and surveyor," two lieutenants, one of whom (the first lieutenant) was the late captain wickham, governor of queensland; the present admiral sir james sulivan, k.c.b., was the second lieutenant. besides the master and two mates, there was an assistant-surveyor, the present admiral lort stokes. there were also a surgeon, assistant-surgeon, two midshipmen, master's mate, a volunteer ( st class), purser, carpenter, clerk, boatswain, eight marines, thirty-four seamen, and six boys. there are not now ( ) many survivors of my father's old ship-mates. admiral mellersh, mr. hammond, and mr. philip king, of the legislative council of sydney, and mr. usborne, are among the number. admiral johnson died almost at the same time as my father. he retained to the last a most pleasant recollection of the voyage of the "beagle", and of the friends he made on board her. to his children their names were familiar, from his many stories of the voyage, and we caught his feeling of friendship for many who were to us nothing more than names. it is pleasant to know how affectionately his old companions remembered him. sir james sulivan remained, throughout my father's lifetime, one of his best and truest friends. he writes:--"i can confidently express my belief that during the five years in the "beagle", he was never known to be out of temper, or to say one unkind or hasty word of or to any one. you will therefore readily understand how this, combined with the admiration of his energy and ability, led to our giving him the name of 'the dear old philosopher.'" (his other nickname was "the flycatcher." i have heard my father tell how he overheard the boatswain of the "beagle" showing another boatswain over the ship, and pointing out the officers: "that's our first lieutenant; that's our doctor; that's our flycatcher.") admiral mellersh writes to me:--"your father is as vividly in my mind's eye as if it was only a week ago that i was in the "beagle" with him; his genial smile and conversation can never be forgotten by any who saw them and heard them. i was sent on two or three occasions away in a boat with him on some of his scientific excursions, and always looked forward to these trips with great pleasure, an anticipation that, unlike many others, was always realised. i think he was the only man i ever knew against whom i never heard a word said; and as people when shut up in a ship for five years are apt to get cross with each other, that is saying a good deal. certainly we were always so hard at work, we had no time to quarrel, but if we had done so, i feel sure your father would have tried (and have been successful) to throw oil on the troubled waters." admiral stokes, mr. king, mr. usborne, and mr. hamond, all speak of their friendship with him in the same warm-hearted way. of the life on board and on shore his letters give some idea. captain fitz-roy was a strict officer, and made himself thoroughly respected both by officers and men. the occasional severity of his manner was borne with because every one on board knew that his first thought was his duty, and that he would sacrifice anything to the real welfare of the ship. my father writes, july , "we all jog on very well together, there is no quarrelling on board, which is something to say. the captain keeps all smooth by rowing every one in turn." the best proof that fitz-roy was valued as a commander is given by the fact that many ('voyage of the "adventure" and "beagle",' vol. ii. page .) of the crew had sailed with him in the "beagle's" former voyage, and there were a few officers as well as seamen and marines, who had served in the "adventure" or "beagle" during the whole of that expedition. my father speaks of the officers as a fine determined set of men, and especially of wickham, the first lieutenant, as a "glorious fellow." the latter being responsible for the smartness and appearance of the ship strongly objected to his littering the decks, and spoke of specimens as "d--d beastly devilment," and used to add, "if i were skipper, i would soon have you and all your d--d mess out of the place." a sort of halo of sanctity was given to my father by the fact of his dining in the captain's cabin, so that the midshipmen used at first to call him "sir," a formality, however, which did not prevent his becoming fast friends with the younger officers. he wrote about the year or to mr. p.g. king, m.l.c., sydney, who, as before stated, was a midshipman on board the "beagle":--"the remembrance of old days, when we used to sit and talk on the booms of the "beagle", will always, to the day of my death, make me glad to hear of your happiness and prosperity." mr. king describes the pleasure my father seemed to take "in pointing out to me as a youngster the delights of the tropical nights, with their balmy breezes eddying out of the sails above us, and the sea lighted up by the passage of the ship through the never-ending streams of phosphorescent animalculae." it has been assumed that his ill-health in later years was due to his having suffered so much from sea-sickness. this he did not himself believe, but rather ascribed his bad health to the hereditary fault which came out as gout in some of the past generations. i am not quite clear as to how much he actually suffered from sea-sickness; my impression is distinct that, according to his own memory, he was not actually ill after the first three weeks, but constantly uncomfortable when the vessel pitched at all heavily. but, judging from his letters, and from the evidence of some of the officers, it would seem that in later years he forgot the extent of the discomfort from which he suffered. writing june , , from the cape of good hope, he says: "it is a lucky thing for me that the voyage is drawing to its close, for i positively suffer more from sea-sickness now than three years ago." admiral lort stokes wrote to the "times", april , :-- "may i beg a corner for my feeble testimony to the marvellous persevering endurance in the cause of science of that great naturalist, my old and lost friend, mr. charles darwin, whose remains are so very justly to be honoured with a resting-place in westminster abbey? "perhaps no one can better testify to his early and most trying labours than myself. we worked together for several years at the same table in the poop cabin of the 'beagle' during her celebrated voyage, he with his microscope and myself at the charts. it was often a very lively end of the little craft, and distressingly so to my old friend, who suffered greatly from sea-sickness. after perhaps an hour's work he would say to me, 'old fellow, i must take the horizontal for it,' that being the best relief position from ship motion; a stretch out on one side of the table for some time would enable him to resume his labours for a while, when he had again to lie down. "it was distressing to witness this early sacrifice of mr. darwin's health, who ever afterwards seriously felt the ill-effects of the 'beagle's' voyage." mr. a.b. usborne writes, "he was a dreadful sufferer from sea-sickness, and at times, when i have been officer of the watch, and reduced the sails, making the ship more easy, and thus relieving him, i have been pronounced by him to be 'a good officer,' and he would resume his microscopic observations in the poop cabin." the amount of work that he got through on the "beagle" shows that he was habitually in full vigour; he had, however, one severe illness, in south america, when he was received into the house of an englishman, mr. corfield, who tended him with careful kindness. i have heard him say that in this illness every secretion of the body was affected, and that when he described the symptoms to his father dr. darwin could make no guess as to the nature of the disease. my father was sometimes inclined to think that the breaking up of his health was to some extent due to this attack. the "beagle" letters give ample proof of his strong love of home, and all connected with it, from his father down to nancy, his old nurse, to whom he sometimes sends his love. his delight in home-letters is shown in such passages as:--"but if you knew the glowing, unspeakable delight, which i felt at being certain that my father and all of you were well, only four months ago, you would not grudge the labour lost in keeping up the regular series of letters." or again--his longing to return in words like these:--"it is too delightful to think that i shall see the leaves fall and hear the robin sing next autumn at shrewsbury. my feelings are those of a schoolboy to the smallest point; i doubt whether ever boy longed for his holidays as much as i do to see you all again. i am at present, although nearly half the world is between me and home, beginning to arrange what i shall do, where i shall go during the first week." another feature in his letters is the surprise and delight with which he hears of his collections and observations being of some use. it seems only to have gradually occurred to him that he would ever be more than collector of specimens and facts, of which the great men were to make use. and even as to the value of his collections he seems to have had much doubt, for he wrote to henslow in :--"i really began to think that my collections were so poor that you were puzzled what to say; the case is now quite on the opposite tack, for you are guilty of exciting all my vain feelings to a most comfortable pitch; if hard work will atone for these thoughts, i vow it shall not be spared." after his return and settlement in london, he began to realise the value of what he had done, and wrote to captain fitz-roy--"however others may look back to the 'beagle's' voyage, now that the small disagreeable parts are well-nigh forgotten, i think it far the most fortunate circumstance in my life that the chance afforded by your offer of taking a naturalist fell on me. i often have the most vivid and delightful pictures of what i saw on board the 'beagle' pass before my eyes. these recollections, and what i learnt on natural history, i would not exchange for twice ten thousand a year." [in selecting the following series of letters, i have been guided by the wish to give as much personal detail as possible. i have given only a few scientific letters, to illustrate the way in which he worked, and how he regarded his own results. in his 'journal of researches' he gives incidentally some idea of his personal character; the letters given in the present chapter serve to amplify in fresher and more spontaneous words that impression of his personality which the 'journal' has given to so many readers.] charles darwin to r.w. darwin. bahia, or san salvador, brazils [february , ]. i find after the first page i have been writing to my sisters. my dear father, i am writing this on the th of february, one day's sail past st. jago (cape de verd), and intend taking the chance of meeting with a homeward-bound vessel somewhere about the equator. the date, however, will tell this whenever the opportunity occurs. i will now begin from the day of leaving england, and give a short account of our progress. we sailed, as you know, on the th of december, and have been fortunate enough to have had from that time to the present a fair and moderate breeze. it afterwards proved that we had escaped a heavy gale in the channel, another at madeira, and another on [the] coast of africa. but in escaping the gale, we felt its consequences--a heavy sea. in the bay of biscay there was a long and continuous swell, and the misery i endured from sea-sickness is far beyond what i ever guessed at. i believe you are curious about it. i will give you all my dear-bought experience. nobody who has only been to sea for twenty-four hours has a right to say that sea-sickness is even uncomfortable. the real misery only begins when you are so exhausted that a little exertion makes a feeling of faintness come on. i found nothing but lying in my hammock did me any good. i must especially except your receipt of raisins, which is the only food that the stomach will bear. on the th of january we were not many miles from madeira, but as there was a heavy sea running, and the island lay to windward, it was not thought worth while to beat up to it. it afterwards has turned out it was lucky we saved ourselves the trouble. i was much too sick even to get up to see the distant outline. on the th, in the evening, we sailed into the harbour of santa cruz. i now first felt even moderately well, and i was picturing to myself all the delights of fresh fruits growing in beautiful valleys, and reading humboldt's descriptions of the island's glorious views, when perhaps you may nearly guess at our disappointment, when a small pale man informed us we must perform a strict quarantine of twelve days. there was a death-like stillness in the ship till the captain cried "up jib," and we left this long-wished for place. we were becalmed for a day between teneriffe and the grand canary, and here i first experienced any enjoyment. the view was glorious. the peak of teneriffe was seen amongst the clouds like another world. our only drawback was the extreme wish of visiting this glorious island. tell eyton never to forget either the canary islands or south america; that i am sure it will well repay the necessary trouble, but that he must make up his mind to find a good deal of the latter. i feel certain he will regret it if he does not make the attempt. from teneriffe to st. jago the voyage was extremely pleasant. i had a net astern the vessel which caught great numbers of curious animals, and fully occupied my time in my cabin, and on deck the weather was so delightful and clear, that the sky and water together made a picture. on the th we arrived at port praya, the capital of the cape de verds, and there we remained twenty-three days, viz., till yesterday, the th of february. the time has flown away most delightfully, indeed nothing can be pleasanter; exceedingly busy, and that business both a duty and a great delight. i do not believe i have spent one half-hour idly since leaving teneriffe. st. jago has afforded me an exceedingly rich harvest in several branches of natural history. i find the descriptions scarcely worth anything of many of the commoner animals that inhabit the tropics. i allude, of course, to those of the lower classes. geologising in a volcanic country is most delightful; besides the interest attached to itself, it leads you into most beautiful and retired spots. nobody but a person fond of natural history can imagine the pleasure of strolling under cocoa-nuts in a thicket of bananas and coffee-plants, and an endless number of wild flowers. and this island, that has given me so much instruction and delight, is reckoned the most uninteresting place that we perhaps shall touch at during our voyage. it certainly is generally very barren, but the valleys are more exquisitely beautiful, from the very contrast. it is utterly useless to say anything about the scenery; it would be as profitable to explain to a blind man colours, as to a person who has not been out of europe, the total dissimilarity of a tropical view. whenever i enjoy anything, i always either look forward to writing it down, either in my log-book (which increases in bulk), or in a letter; so you must excuse raptures, and those raptures badly expressed. i find my collections are increasing wonderfully, and from rio i think i shall be obliged to send a cargo home. all the endless delays which we experienced at plymouth have been most fortunate, as i verily believe no person ever went out better provided for collecting and observing in the different branches of natural history. in a multitude of counsellors i certainly found good. i find to my great surprise that a ship is singularly comfortable for all sorts of work. everything is so close at hand, and being cramped makes one so methodical, that in the end i have been a gainer. i already have got to look at going to sea as a regular quiet place, like going back to home after staying away from it. in short, i find a ship a very comfortable house, with everything you want, and if it was not for sea-sickness the whole world would be sailors. i do not think there is much danger of erasmus setting the example, but in case there should be, he may rely upon it he does not know one-tenth of the sufferings of sea-sickness. i like the officers much more than i did at first, especially wickham, and young king and stokes, and indeed all of them. the captain continues steadily very kind, and does everything in his power to assist me. we see very little of each other when in harbour, our pursuits lead us in such different tracks. i never in my life met with a man who could endure nearly so great a share of fatigue. he works incessantly, and when apparently not employed, he is thinking. if he does not kill himself, he will during this voyage do a wonderful quantity of work. i find i am very well, and stand the little heat we have had as yet as well as anybody. we shall soon have it in real earnest. we are now sailing for fernando noronha, off the coast of brazil, where we shall not stay very long, and then examine the shoals between there and rio, touching perhaps at bahia. i will finish this letter when an opportunity of sending it occurs. february th. about miles from bahia. on the th we spoke the packet "lyra", on her voyage to rio. i sent a short letter by her, to be sent to england on [the] first opportunity. we have been singularly unlucky in not meeting with any homeward-bound vessels, but i suppose [at] bahia we certainly shall be able to write to england. since writing the first part of [this] letter nothing has occurred except crossing the equator, and being shaved. this most disagreeable operation consists in having your face rubbed with paint and tar, which forms a lather for a saw which represents the razor, and then being half drowned in a sail filled with salt water. about miles north of the line we touched at the rocks of st. paul; this little speck (about / of a mile across) in the atlantic has seldom been visited. it is totally barren, but is covered by hosts of birds; they were so unused to men that we found we could kill plenty with stones and sticks. after remaining some hours on the island, we returned on board with the boat loaded with our prey. from this we went to fernando noronha, a small island where the [brazilians] send their exiles. the landing there was attended with so much difficulty owing [to] a heavy surf that the captain determined to sail the next day after arriving. my one day on shore was exceedingly interesting, the whole island is one single wood so matted together by creepers that it is very difficult to move out of the beaten path. i find the natural history of all these unfrequented spots most exceedingly interesting, especially the geology. i have written this much in order to save time at bahia. decidedly the most striking thing in the tropics is the novelty of the vegetable forms. cocoa-nuts could well be imagined from drawings, if you add to them a graceful lightness which no european tree partakes of. bananas and plantains are exactly the same as those in hothouses, the acacias or tamarinds are striking from the blueness of their foliage; but of the glorious orange trees, no description, no drawings, will give any just idea; instead of the sickly green of our oranges, the native ones exceed the portugal laurel in the darkness of their tint, and infinitely exceed it in beauty of form. cocoa-nuts, papaws, the light green bananas, and oranges, loaded with fruit, generally surround the more luxuriant villages. whilst viewing such scenes, one feels the impossibility that any description would come near the mark, much less be overdrawn. march st. bahia, or san salvador. i arrived at this place on the th of february, and am now writing this letter after having in real earnest strolled in the forests of the new world. no person could imagine anything so beautiful as the ancient town of bahia, it is fairly embosomed in a luxuriant wood of beautiful trees, and situated on a steep bank, and overlooks the calm waters of the great bay of all saints. the houses are white and lofty, and, from the windows being narrow and long, have a very light and elegant appearance. convents, porticos, and public buildings, vary the uniformity of the houses; the bay is scattered over with large ships; in short, and what can be said more, it is one of the finest views in the brazils. but the exquisite glorious pleasure of walking amongst such flowers, and such trees, cannot be comprehended but by those who have experienced it. although in so low a latitude the locality is not disagreeably hot, but at present it is very damp, for it is the rainy season. i find the climate as yet agrees admirably with me; it makes me long to live quietly for some time in such a country. if you really want to have [an idea] of tropical countries, study humboldt. skip the scientific parts, and commence after leaving teneriffe. my feelings amount to admiration the more i read him. tell eyton (i find i am writing to my sisters!) how exceedingly i enjoy america, and that i am sure it will be a great pity if he does not make a start. this letter will go on the th, and i am afraid will be some time before it reaches you; it must be a warning how in other parts of the world you may be a long time without hearing. a year might by accident thus pass. about the th we start for rio, but we remain some time on the way in sounding the albrolhos shoals. tell eyton as far as my experience goes let him study spanish, french, drawing, and humboldt. i do sincerely hope to hear of (if not to see him) in south america. i look forward to the letters in rio--till each one is acknowledged, mention its date in the next. we have beat all the ships in manoeuvring, so much so that the commanding officer says, we need not follow his example; because we do everything better than his great ship. i begin to take great interest in naval points, more especially now, as i find they all say we are the no. in south america. i suppose the captain is a most excellent officer. it was quite glorious to-day how we beat the "samarang" in furling sails. it is quite a new thing for a "sounding ship" to beat a regular man-of-war; and yet the "beagle" is not at all a particular ship. erasmus will clearly perceive it when he hears that in the night i have actually sat down in the sacred precincts of the quarter deck. you must excuse these queer letters, and recollect they are generally written in the evening after my day's work. i take more pains over my log-book, so that eventually you will have a good account of all the places i visit. hitherto the voyage has answered admirably to me, and yet i am now more fully aware of your wisdom in throwing cold water on the whole scheme; the chances are so numerous of turning out quite the reverse; to such an extent do i feel this, that if my advice was asked by any person on a similar occasion, i should be very cautious in encouraging him. i have not time to write to anybody else, so send to maer to let them know, that in the midst of the glorious tropical scenery, i do not forget how instrumental they were in placing me there. i will not rapturise again, but i give myself great credit in not being crazy out of pure delight. give my love to every soul at home, and to the owens. i think one's affections, like other good things, flourish and increase in these tropical regions. the conviction that i am walking in the new world is even yet marvellous in my own eyes, and i dare say it is little less so to you, the receiving a letter from a son of yours in such a quarter. believe me, my dear father, your most affectionate son, charles darwin. charles darwin to w.d. fox. botofogo bay, near rio de janeiro, may, . my dear fox, i have delayed writing to you and all my other friends till i arrived here and had some little spare time. my mind has been, since leaving england, in a perfect hurricane of delight and astonishment, and to this hour scarcely a minute has passed in idleness... at st. jago my natural history and most delightful labours commenced. during the three weeks i collected a host of marine animals, and enjoyed many a good geological walk. touching at some islands, we sailed to bahia, and from thence to rio, where i have already been some weeks. my collections go on admirably in almost every branch. as for insects, i trust i shall send a host of undescribed species to england. i believe they have no small ones in the collections, and here this morning i have taken minute hydropori, noterus, colymbetes, hydrophilus, hydrobius, gromius, etc., etc., as specimens of fresh-water beetles. i am entirely occupied with land animals, as the beach is only sand. spiders and the adjoining tribes have perhaps given me, from their novelty, the most pleasure. i think i have already taken several new genera. but geology carries the day: it is like the pleasure of gambling. speculating, on first arriving, what the rocks may be, i often mentally cry out to tertiary against primitive; but the latter have hitherto won all the bets. so much for the grand end of my voyage; in other respects things are equally flourishing. my life, when at sea, is so quiet, that to a person who can employ himself, nothing can be pleasanter; the beauty of the sky and brilliancy of the ocean together make a picture. but when on shore, and wandering in the sublime forests, surrounded by views more gorgeous than even claude ever imagined, i enjoy a delight which none but those who have experienced it can understand. if it is to be done, it must be by studying humboldt. at our ancient snug breakfasts, at cambridge, i little thought that the wide atlantic would ever separate us; but it is a rare privilege that with the body, the feelings and memory are not divided. on the contrary, the pleasantest scenes in my life, many of which have been in cambridge, rise from the contrast of the present, the more vividly in my imagination. do you think any diamond beetle will ever give me so much pleasure as our old friend crux major?... it is one of my most constant amusements to draw pictures of the past; and in them i often see you and poor little fran. oh, lord, and then old dash, poor thing! do you recollect how you all tormented me about his beautiful tail? ...think when you are picking insects off a hawthorn-hedge on a fine may day (wretchedly cold, i have no doubt), think of me collecting amongst pine-apples and orange-trees; whilst staining your fingers with dirty blackberries, think and be envious of ripe oranges. this is a proper piece of bravado, for i would walk through many a mile of sleet, snow, or rain to shake you by the hand. my dear old fox, god bless you. believe me, yours affectionately, chas. darwin. charles darwin to j.s. henslow. rio de janeiro, may , . my dear henslow,... till arriving at teneriffe (we did not touch at madeira) i was scarcely out of my hammock, and really suffered more than you can well imagine from such a cause. at santa cruz, whilst looking amongst the clouds for the peak, and repeating to myself humboldt's sublime descriptions, it was announced we must perform twelve days' strict quarantine. we had made a short passage, so "up jib," and away for st. jago. you will say all this sounds very bad, and so it was; but from that to the present time it has been nearly one scene of continual enjoyment. a net over the stern kept me at full work till we arrived at st. jago. here we spent three most delightful weeks. the geology was pre-eminently interesting, and i believe quite new; there are some facts on a large scale of upraised coast (which is an excellent epoch for all the volcanic rocks to date from), that would interest mr. lyell. one great source of perplexity to me is an utter ignorance whether i note the right facts, and whether they are of sufficient importance to interest others. in the one thing collecting i cannot go wrong. st. jago is singularly barren, and produces few plants or insects, so that my hammer was my usual companion, and in its company most delightful hours i spent. on the coast i collected many marine animals, chiefly gasteropodous (i think some new). i examined pretty accurately a caryopyllia, and, if my eyes are not bewitched, former descriptions have not the slightest resemblance to the animal. i took several specimens of an octopus which possessed a most marvellous power of changing its colours, equalling any chameleon, and evidently accommodating the changes to the colour of the ground which it passed over. yellowish green, dark brown, and red, were the prevailing colours; this fact appears to be new, as far as i can find out. geology and the invertebrate animals will be my chief object of pursuit through the whole voyage. we then sailed for bahia, and touched at the rock of st. paul. this is a serpentine formation. is it not the only island in the atlantic which is not volcanic? we likewise stayed a few hours at fernando noronha; a tremendous surf was running so that a boat was swamped, and the captain would not wait. i find my life on board when we are on blue water most delightful, so very comfortable and quiet--it is almost impossible to be idle, and that for me is saying a good deal. nobody could possibly be better fitted in every respect for collecting than i am; many cooks have not spoiled the broth this time. mr. brown's little hints about microscopes, etc., have been invaluable. i am well off in books, the 'dictionnaire classique' is most useful. if you should think of any thing or book that would be useful to me, if you would write one line, e. darwin, wyndham club, st. james's street, he will procure them, and send them with some other things to monte video, which for the next year will be my headquarters. touching at the abrolhos, we arrived here on april th, when amongst others i received your most kind letter. you may rely on it during the evening i thought of the many most happy hours i have spent with you in cambridge. i am now living at botofogo, a village about a league from the city, and shall be able to remain a month longer. the "beagle" has gone back to bahia, and will pick me up on its return. there is a most important error in the longitude of south america, to settle which this second trip has been undertaken. our chronometers, at least sixteen of them, are going superbly; none on record have ever gone at all like them. a few days after arriving i started on an expedition of miles to rio macao, which lasted eighteen days. here i first saw a tropical forest in all its sublime grander--nothing but the reality can give any idea how wonderful, how magnificent the scene is. if i was to specify any one thing i should give the pre-eminence to the host of parasitical plants. your engraving is exactly true, but underrates rather than exaggerates the luxuriance. i never experienced such intense delight. i formerly admired humboldt, i now almost adore him; he alone gives any notion of the feelings which are raised in the mind on first entering the tropics. i am now collecting fresh-water and land animals; if what was told me in london is true, viz., that there are no small insects in the collections from the tropics, i tell entomologists to look out and have their pens ready for describing. i have taken as minute (if not more so) as in england, hydropori, hygroti, hydrobii, pselaphi, staphylini, curculio, etc. etc. it is exceedingly interesting observing the difference of genera and species from those which i know, it is however much less than i had expected. i am at present red-hot with spiders; they are very interesting, and if i am not mistaken i have already taken some new genera. i shall have a large box to send very soon to cambridge, and with that i will mention some more natural history particulars. the captain does everything in his power to assist me, and we get on very well, but i thank my better fortune he has not made me a renegade to whig principles. i would not be a tory, if it was merely on account of their cold hearts about that scandal to christian nations--slavery. i am very good friends with all the officers. i have just returned from a walk, and as a specimen, how little the insects are known. noterus, according to the 'dictionary classique,' contains solely three european species. i in one haul of my net took five distinct species; is this not quite extraordinary?... tell professor sedgwick he does not know how much i am indebted to him for the welsh expedition; it has given me an interest in geology which i would not give up for any consideration. i do not think i ever spent a more delightful three weeks than pounding the north-west mountains. i look forward to the geology about monte video as i hear there are slates there, so i presume in that district i shall find the junctions of the pampas, and the enormous granite formation of brazils. at bahia the pegmatite and gneiss in beds had the same direction, as observed by humboldt, prevailing over columbia, distant miles--is it not wonderful? monte video will be for a long time my direction. i hope you will write again to me, there is nobody from whom i like receiving advice so much as from you...excuse this almost unintelligible letter, and believe me, my dear henslow, with the warmest feelings of respect and friendship, yours affectionately, chas. darwin. charles darwin to j.m. herbert. botofogo bay, rio de janeiro, june . my dear old herbert, your letter arrived here when i had given up all hopes of receiving another, it gave me, therefore, an additional degree of pleasure. at such an interval of time and space one does learn to feel truly obliged to those who do not forget one. the memory when recalling scenes past by, affords to us exiles one of the greatest pleasures. often and often whilst wandering amongst these hills do i think of barmouth, and, i may add, as often wish for such a companion. what a contrast does a walk in these two places afford; here abrupt and stony peaks are to the very summit enclosed by luxuriant woods; the whole surface of the country, excepting where cleared by man, is one impenetrable forest. how different from wales, with its sloping hills covered with turf, and its open valleys. i was not previously aware how intimately what may be called the moral part is connected with the enjoyment of scenery. i mean such ideas, as the history of the country, the utility of the produce, and more especially the happiness of the people living with them. change the english labourer into a poor slave, working for another, and you will hardly recognise the same view. i am sure you will be glad to hear how very well every part (heaven forefend, except sea-sickness) of the expedition has answered. we have already seen teneriffe and the great canary; st. jago where i spent three most delightful weeks, revelling in the delights of first naturalising a tropical volcanic island, and besides other islands, the two celebrated ports in the brazils, viz. bahia and rio. i was in my hammock till we arrived at the canaries, and i shall never forget the sublime impression the first view of teneriffe made on my mind. the first arriving into warm weather was most luxuriously pleasant; the clear blue sky of the tropics was no common change after those accursed south-west gales at plymouth. about the line it became weltering hot. we spent one day at st. paul's, a little group of rocks about a quarter of a mile in circumference, peeping up in the midst of the atlantic. there was such a scene here. wickham ( st lieutenant) and i were the only two who landed with guns and geological hammers, etc. the birds by myriads were too close to shoot; we then tried stones, but at last, proh pudor! my geological hammer was the instrument of death. we soon loaded the boat with birds and eggs. whilst we were so engaged, the men in the boat were fairly fighting with the sharks for such magnificent fish as you could not see in the london market. our boat would have made a fine subject for snyders, such a medley of game it contained. we have been here ten weeks, and shall now start for monte video, when i look forward to many a gallop over the pampas. i am ashamed of sending such a scrambling letter, but if you were to see the heap of letters on my table you would understand the reason... i am glad to hear music flourishes so well in cambridge; but it [is] as barbarous to talk to me of "celestial concerts" as to a person in arabia of cold water. in a voyage of this sort, if one gains many new and great pleasures, on the other side the loss is not inconsiderable. how should you like to be suddenly debarred from seeing every person and place, which you have ever known and loved, for five years? i do assure you i am occasionally "taken aback" by this reflection; and then for man or ship it is not so easy to right again. remember me most sincerely to the remnant of most excellent fellows whom i have the good luck to know in cambridge--i mean whitley and watkins. tell lowe i am even beneath his contempt. i can eat salt beef and musty biscuits for dinner. see what a fall man may come to! my direction for the next year and a half will be monte video. god bless you, my very dear old herbert. may you always be happy and prosperous is my most cordial wish. yours affectionately, chas. darwin. charles darwin to f. watkins. monte video, river plata, august , . my dear watkins, i do not feel very sure you will think a letter from one so far distant will be worth having; i write therefore on the selfish principle of getting an answer. in the different countries we visit the entire newness and difference from england only serves to make more keen the recollection of its scenes and delights. in consequence the pleasure of thinking of, and hearing from one's former friends, does indeed become great. recollect this, and some long winter's evening sit down and send me a long account of yourself and our friends; both what you have, and what [you] intend doing; otherwise in three or four more years when i return you will be all strangers to me. considering how many months have passed, we have not in the "beagle" made much way round the world. hitherto everything has well repaid the necessary trouble and loss of comfort. we stayed three weeks at the cape de verds; it was no ordinary pleasure rambling over the plains of lava under a tropical sun, but when i first entered on and beheld the luxuriant vegetation in brazil, it was realizing the visions in the 'arabian nights.' the brilliancy of the scenery throws one into a delirium of delight, and a beetle hunter is not likely soon to awaken from it, when whichever way he turns fresh treasures meet his eye. at rio de janeiro three months passed away like so many weeks. i made a most delightful excursion during this time of miles into the country. i stayed at an estate which is the last of the cleared ground, behind is one vast impenetrable forest. it is almost impossible to imagine the quietude of such a life. not a human being within some miles interrupts the solitude. to seat oneself amidst the gloom of such a forest on a decaying trunk, and then think of home, is a pleasure worth taking some trouble for. we are at present in a much less interesting country. one single walk over the undulatory turf plain shows everything which is to be seen. it is not at all unlike cambridgeshire, only that every hedge, tree and hill must be leveled, and arable land turned into pasture. all south america is in such an unsettled state that we have not entered one port without some sort of disturbance. at buenos ayres a shot came whistling over our heads; it is a noise i had never before heard, but i found i had an instinctive knowledge of what it meant. the other day we landed our men here, and took possession, at the request of the inhabitants, of the central fort. we philosophers do not bargain for this sort of work, and i hope there will be no more. we sail in the course of a day or two to survey the coast of patagonia; as it is entirely unknown, i expect a good deal of interest. but already do i perceive the grievous difference between sailing on these seas and the equinoctial ocean. in the "ladies' gulf," as the spaniard's call it, it is so luxurious to sit on deck and enjoy the coolness of the night, and admire the new constellations of the south...i wonder when we shall ever meet again; but be it when it may, few things will give me greater pleasure than to see you again, and talk over the long time we have passed together. if you were to meet me at present i certainly should be looked at like a wild beast, a great grizzly beard and flushing jacket would disfigure an angel. believe me, my dear watkins, with the warmest feelings of friendship. ever yours, charles darwin. charles darwin to j.s. henslow. april , . my dear henslow, we are now running up from the falkland islands to the rio negro (or colorado). the "beagle" will proceed to monte video; but if it can be managed i intend staying at the former place. it is now some months since we have been at a civilised port; nearly all this time has been spent in the most southern part of tierra del fuego. it is a detestable place; gales succeed gales with such short intervals that it is difficult to do anything. we were twenty-three days off cape horn, and could by no means get to the westward. the last and final gale before we gave up the attempt was unusually severe. a sea stove one of the boats, and there was so much water on the decks that every place was afloat; nearly all the paper for drying plants is spoiled, and half of this curious collection. we at last ran into harbour, and in the boats got to the west by the inland channels. as i was one of this party i was very glad of it. with two boats we went about miles, and thus i had an excellent opportunity of geologising and seeing much of the savages. the fuegians are in a more miserable state of barbarism than i had expected ever to have seen a human being. in this inclement country they are absolutely naked, and their temporary houses are like what children make in summer with boughs of trees. i do not think any spectacle can be more interesting than the first sight of man in his primitive wildness. it is an interest which cannot well be imagined until it is experienced. i shall never forget this when entering good success bay--the yell with which a party received us. they were seated on a rocky point, surrounded by the dark forest of beech; as they threw their arms wildly round their heads, and their long hair streaming, they seemed the troubled spirits of another world. the climate in some respects is a curious mixture of severity and mildness; as far as regards the animal kingdom, the former character prevails; i have in consequence not added much to my collections. the geology of this part of tierra del fuego was, as indeed every place is, to me very interesting. the country is non-fossiliferous, and a common-place succession of granitic rocks and slates; attempting to make out the relation of cleavage, strata, etc., etc., was my chief amusement. the mineralogy, however, of some of the rocks will, i think, be curious from their resemblance to those of volcanic origin.... after leaving tierra del fuego we sailed to the falklands. i forgot to mention the fate of the fuegians whom we took back to their country. they had become entirely european in their habits and wishes, so much so that the younger one had forgotten his own language, and their countrymen paid but very little attention to them. we built houses for them and planted gardens, but by the time we return again on our passage round the horn, i think it will be very doubtful how much of their property will be left unstolen. ...when i am sea-sick and miserable, it is one of my highest consolations to picture the future when we again shall be pacing together the roads round cambridge. that day is a weary long way off. we have another cruise to make to tierra del fuego next summer, and then our voyage round the world will really commence. captain fitz-roy has purchased a large schooner of tons. in many respects it will be a great advantage having a consort--perhaps it may somewhat shorten our cruise, which i most cordially hope it may. i trust, however, that the coral reefs and various animals of the pacific may keep up my resolution. remember me most kindly to mrs. henslow and all other friends; i am a true lover of alma mater and all its inhabitants. believe me, my dear henslow, your affectionate and most obliged friend, charles darwin. charles darwin to miss c. darwin. maldonado, rio plata, may , . ...the following business piece is to my father. having a servant of my own would be a really great addition to my comfort. for these two reasons: as at present the captain has appointed one of the men always to be with me, but i do not think it just thus to take a seaman out of the ship; and, secondly, when at sea i am rather badly off for any one to wait on me. the man is willing to be my servant, and all the expenses would be under pounds per annum. i have taught him to shoot and skin birds, so that in my main object he is very useful. i have now left england nearly a year and a half, and i find my expenses are not above pounds per annum; so that, it being hopeless (from time) to write for permission, i have come to the conclusion that you would allow me this expense. but i have not yet resolved to ask the captain, and the chances are even that he would not be willing to have an additional man in the ship. i have mentioned this because for a long time i have been thinking about it. june. i have just received a bundle more letters. i do not know how to thank you all sufficiently. one from catherine, february th, another from susan, march rd, together with notes from caroline and from my father; give my best love to my father. i almost cried for pleasure at receiving it; it was very kind thinking of writing to me. my letters are both few, short, and stupid in return for all yours; but i always ease my conscience by considering the journal as a long letter. if i can manage it, i will, before doubling the horn, send the rest. i am quite delighted to find the hide of the megatherium has given you all some little interest in my employments. these fragments are not, however, by any means the most valuable of the geological relics. i trust and believe that the time spent in this voyage, if thrown away for all other respects, will produce its full worth in natural history; and it appears to me the doing what little we can to increase the general stock of knowledge is as respectable an object of life as one can in any likelihood pursue. it is more the result of such reflections (as i have already said) than much immediate pleasure which now makes me continue the voyage, together with the glorious prospect of the future, when passing the straits of magellan, we have in truth the world before us. think of the andes, the luxuriant forest of guayaquil, the islands of the south sea, and new south wales. how many magnificent and characteristic views, how many and curious tribes of men we shall see! what fine opportunities for geology and for studying the infinite host of living beings! is not this a prospect to keep up the most flagging spirit? if i was to throw it away, i don't think i should ever rest quiet in my grave. i certainly should be a ghost and haunt the british museum. how famously the ministers appear to be going on. i always much enjoy political gossip and what you at home think will, etc., etc., take place. i steadily read up the weekly paper, but it is not sufficient to guide one's opinion; and i find it a very painful state not to be as obstinate as a pig in politics. i have watched how steadily the general feeling, as shown at elections, has been rising against slavery. what a proud thing for england if she is the first european nation which utterly abolishes it! i was told before leaving england that after living in slave countries all my opinions would be altered; the only alteration i am aware of is forming a much higher estimate of the negro character. it is impossible to see a negro and not feel kindly towards him; such cheerful, open, honest expressions and such fine muscular bodies. i never saw any of the diminutive portuguese, with their murderous countenances, without almost wishing for brazil to follow the example of hayti; and, considering the enormous healthy-looking black population, it will be wonderful if, at some future day, it does not take place. there is at rio a man (i know not his title) who has a large salary to prevent (i believe) the landing of slaves; he lives at botofogo, and yet that was the bay where, during my residence, the greater number of smuggled slaves were landed. some of the anti-slavery people ought to question about his office; it was the subject of conversation at rio amongst the lower english... charles darwin to j.m. herbert. maldonado, rio plata, june , . my dear herbert, i have been confined for the last three days to a miserable dark room, in an old spanish house, from the torrents of rain; i am not, therefore, in very good trim for writing; but, defying the blue devils, i will send you a few lines, if it is merely to thank you very sincerely for writing to me. i received your letter, dated december st, a short time since. we are now passing part of the winter in the rio plata, after having had a hard summer's work to the south. tierra del fuego is indeed a miserable place; the ceaseless fury of the gales is quite tremendous. one evening we saw old cape horn, and three weeks afterwards we were only thirty miles to windward of it. it is a grand spectacle to see all nature thus raging; but heaven knows every one in the "beagle" has seen enough in this one summer to last them their natural lives. the first place we landed at was good success bay. it was here banks and solander met such disasters on ascending one of the mountains. the weather was tolerably fine, and i enjoyed some walks in a wild country, like that behind barmouth. the valleys are impenetrable from the entangled woods, but the higher parts, near the limits of perpetual snow, are bare. from some of these hills the scenery, from its savage, solitary character, was most sublime. the only inhabitant of these heights is the guanaco, and with its shrill neighing it often breaks the stillness. the consciousness that no european foot had ever trod much of this ground added to the delight of these rambles. how often and how vividly have many of the hours spent at barmouth come before my mind! i look back to that time with no common pleasure; at this moment i can see you seated on the hill behind the inn, almost as plainly as if you were really there. it is necessary to be separated from all which one has been accustomed to, to know how properly to treasure up such recollections, and at this distance, i may add, how properly to esteem such as yourself, my dear old herbert. i wonder when i shall ever see you again. i hope it may be, as you say, surrounded with heaps of parchment; but then there must be, sooner or later, a dear little lady to take care of you and your house. such a delightful vision makes me quite envious. this is a curious life for a regular shore-going person such as myself; the worst part of it is its extreme length. there is certainly a great deal of high enjoyment, and on the contrary a tolerable share of vexation of spirit. everything, however, shall bend to the pleasure of grubbing up old bones, and captivating new animals. by the way, you rank my natural history labours far too high. i am nothing more than a lions' provider: i do not feel at all sure that they will not growl and finally destroy me. it does one's heart good to hear how things are going on in england. hurrah for the honest whigs! i trust they will soon attack that monstrous stain on our boasted liberty, colonial slavery. i have seen enough of slavery and the dispositions of the negroes, to be thoroughly disgusted with the lies and nonsense one hears on the subject in england. thank god, the cold-hearted tories, who, as j. mackintosh used to say, have no enthusiasm, except against enthusiasm, have for the present run their race. i am sorry, by your letter, to hear you have not been well, and that you partly attribute it to want of exercise. i wish you were here amongst the green plains; we would take walks which would rival the dolgelly ones, and you should tell stories, which i would believe, even to a cubic fathom of pudding. instead i must take my solitary ramble, think of cambridge days, and pick up snakes, beetles and toads. excuse this short letter (you know i never studied 'the complete letter-writer'), and believe me, my dear herbert, your affectionate friend, charles darwin. charles darwin to j.s. henslow. east falkland island, march, . ...i am quite charmed with geology, but like the wise animal between two bundles of hay, i do not know which to like the best; the old crystalline group of rocks, or the softer and fossiliferous beds. when puzzling about stratifications, etc., i feel inclined to cry "a fig for your big oysters, and your bigger megatheriums." but then when digging out some fine bones, i wonder how any man can tire his arms with hammering granite. by the way i have not one clear idea about cleavage, stratification, lines of upheaval. i have no books which tell me much, and what they do i cannot apply to what i see. in consequence i draw my own conclusions, and most gloriously ridiculous ones they are, i sometimes fancy...can you throw any light into my mind by telling me what relation cleavage and planes of deposition bear to each other? and now for my second section, zoology. i have chiefly been employed in preparing myself for the south sea by examining the polypi of the smaller corallines in these latitudes. many in themselves are very curious, and i think are quite undescribed; there was one appalling one, allied to a flustra, which i dare say i mentioned having found to the northward, where the cells have a movable organ (like a vulture's head, with a dilatable beak), fixed on the edge. but what is of more general interest is the unquestionable (as it appears to me) existence of another species of ostrich, besides the struthio rhea. all the gauchos and indians state it is the case, and i place the greatest faith in their observations. i have the head, neck, piece of skin, feathers, and legs of one. the differences are chiefly in the colour of the feathers and scales on legs, being feathered below the knees, nidification, and geographical distribution. so much for what i have lately done; the prospect before me is full of sunshine, fine weather, glorious scenery, the geology of the andes, plains abounding with organic remains (which perhaps i may have the good luck to catch in the very act of moving), and lastly, an ocean, its shores abounding with life, so that, if nothing unforeseen happens, i will stick to the voyage, although for what i can see this may last till we return a fine set of white-headed old gentlemen. i have to thank you most cordially for sending me the books. i am now reading the oxford 'report' (the second meeting of the british association was held at oxford in , the following year it was at cambridge.); the whole account of your proceedings is most glorious; you remaining in england cannot well imagine how excessively interesting i find the reports. i am sure from my own thrilling sensations when reading them, that they cannot fail to have an excellent effect upon all those residing in distant colonies, and who have little opportunity of seeing the periodicals. my hammer has flown with redoubled force on the devoted blocks; as i thought over the eloquence of the cambridge president, i hit harder and harder blows. i hope to give my arms strength for the cordilleras. you will send me through capt. beaufort a copy of the cambridge 'report.' i have forgotten to mention that for some time past, and for the future, i will put a pencil cross on the pill-boxes containing insects, as these alone will require being kept particularly dry; it may perhaps save you some trouble. when this letter will go i do not know, as this little seat of discord has lately been embroiled by a dreadful scene of murder, and at present there are more prisoners than inhabitants. if a merchant vessel is chartered to take them to rio, i will send some specimens (especially my few plants and seeds). remember me to all my cambridge friends. i love and treasure up every recollection of dear old cambridge. i am much obliged to you for putting my name down to poor ramsay's monument; i never think of him without the warmest admiration. farewell, my dear henslow. believe me your most obliged and affectionate friend, charles darwin. charles darwin to miss c. darwin. east falkland island, april , . my dear catherine, when this letter will reach you i know not, but probably some man-of-war will call here before, in the common course of events, i should have another opportunity of writing.... after visiting some of the southern islands, we beat up through the magnificent scenery of the beagle channel to jemmy button's country. (jemmy button, york minster, and fuegia basket, were natives of tierra del fuego, brought to england by captain fitz-roy in his former voyage, and restored to their country by him in .) we could hardly recognise poor jemmy. instead of the clean, well-dressed stout lad we left him, we found him a naked, thin, squalid savage. york and fuegia had moved to their own country some months ago, the former having stolen all jemmy's clothes. now he had nothing except a bit of blanket round his waist. poor jemmy was very glad to see us, and, with his usual good feeling, brought several presents (otter-skins, which are most valuable to themselves) for his old friends. the captain offered to take him to england, but this, to our surprise, he at once refused. in the evening his young wife came alongside and showed us the reason. he was quite contented. last year, in the height of his indignation, he said "his country people no sabe nothing--damned fools"--now they were very good people, with too much to eat, and all the luxuries of life. jemmy and his wife paddled away in their canoe loaded with presents, and very happy. the most curious thing is, that jemmy, instead of recovering his own language, has taught all his friends a little english. "j. button's canoe" and "jemmy's wife come," "give me knife," etc., was said by several of them. we then bore away for this island--this little miserable seat of discord. we found that the gauchos, under pretence of a revolution, had murdered and plundered all the englishmen whom they could catch, and some of their own countrymen. all the economy at home makes the foreign movements of england most contemptible. how different from old spain. here we, dog-in-the-manger fashion, seize an island, and leave to protect it a union jack; the possessor has, of course, been murdered; we now send a lieutenant with four sailors, without authority or instructions. a man-of-war, however, ventured to leave a party of marines, and by their assistance, and the treachery of some of the party, the murderers have all been taken, there being now as many prisoners as inhabitants. this island must some day become a very important halting-place in the most turbulent sea in the world. it is mid-way between australia and the south sea to england; between chili, peru, etc., and the rio plata and the rio de janeiro. there are fine harbours, plenty of fresh water, and good beef. it would doubtless produce the coarser vegetables. in other respects it is a wretched place. a little time since, i rode across the island, and returned in four days. my excursion would have been longer, but during the whole time it blew a gale of wind, with hail and snow. there is no firewood bigger than heath, and the whole country is, more or less an elastic peat-bog. sleeping out at night was too miserable work to endure it for all the rocks in south america. we shall leave this scene of iniquity in two or three days, and go to the rio de la sta. cruz. one of the objects is to look at the ship's bottom. we struck heavily on an unknown rock off port desire, and some of her copper is torn off. after this is repaired the captain has a glorious scheme; it is to go to the very head of this river, that is probably to the andes. it is quite unknown; the indians tell us it is two or three hundred yards broad, and horses can nowhere ford it. i cannot imagine anything more interesting. our plans then are to go to fort famine, and there we meet the "adventure", who is employed in making the chart of the falklands. this will be in the middle of winter, so i shall see tierra del fuego in her white drapery. we leave the straits to enter the pacific by the barbara channel, one very little known, and which passes close to the foot of mount sarmiento (the highest mountain in the south, excepting mt.!! darwin!!). we then shall scud away for concepcion in chili. i believe the ship must once again steer southward, but if any one catches me there again, i will give him leave to hang me up as a scarecrow for all future naturalists. i long to be at work in the cordilleras, the geology of this side, which i understand pretty well is so intimately connected with periods of violence in that great chain of mountains. the future is, indeed, to me a brilliant prospect. you say its very brilliancy frightens you; but really i am very careful; i may mention as a proof, in all my rambles i have never had any one accident or scrape...continue in your good custom of writing plenty of gossip; i much like hearing all about all things. remember me most kindly to uncle jos, and to all the wedgwoods. tell charlotte (their married names sound downright unnatural) i should like to have written to her, to have told her how well everything is going on; but it would only have been a transcript of this letter, and i have a host of animals at this minute surrounding me which all require embalming and numbering. i have not forgotten the comfort i received that day at maer, when my mind was like a swinging pendulum. give my best love to my father. i hope he will forgive all my extravagance, but not as a christian, for then i suppose he would send me no more money. good-bye, dear, to you, and all your goodly sisterhood. your affectionate brother, chas. darwin. my love to nancy (his old nurse.); tell her, if she was now to see me with my great beard, she would think i was some worthy solomon, come to sell the trinkets. charles darwin to c. whitley. valparaiso, july , . my dear whitley, i have long intended writing, just to put you in mind that there is a certain hunter of beetles, and pounder of rocks still in existence. why i have not done so before i know not, but it will serve me right if you have quite forgotten me. it is a very long time since i have heard any cambridge news; i neither know where you are living or what you are doing. i saw your name down as one of the indefatigable guardians of the eighteen hundred philosophers. i was delighted to see this, for when we last left cambridge you were at sad variance with poor science; you seemed to think her a public prostitute working for popularity. if your opinions are the same as formerly, you would agree most admirably with captain fitz-roy,--the object of his most devout abhorrence is one of the d--d scientific whigs. as captains of men-of-war are the greatest men going, far greater than kings or schoolmasters, i am obliged to tell him everything in my own favour. i have often said i once had a very good friend, an out-and-out tory, and we managed to get on very well together. but he is very much inclined to doubt if ever i really was so much honoured; at present we hear scarcely anything about politics; this saves a great deal of trouble, for we all stick to our former opinions rather more obstinately than before, and can give rather fewer reasons for doing so. i do hope you will write to me: ('h.m.s. "beagle", s. american station' will find me). i should much like to hear in what state you are both in body and mind. ?quien sabe? as the people say here (and god knows they well may, for they do know little enough), if you are not a married man, and may be nursing, as miss austen says, little olive branches, little pledges of mutual affection. eheu! eheu! this puts me in mind of former visions of glimpses into futurity, where i fancied i saw retirement, green cottages, and white petticoats. what will become of me hereafter i know not; i feel like a ruined man, who does not see or care how to extricate himself. that this voyage must come to a conclusion my reason tells me, but otherwise i see no end to it. it is impossible not bitterly to regret the friends and other sources of pleasure one leaves behind in england; in place of it there is much solid enjoyment, some present, but more in anticipation, when the ideas gained during the voyage can be compared to fresh ones. i find in geology a never-failing interest, as it has been remarked, it creates the same grand ideas respecting this world which astronomy does for the universe. we have seen much fine scenery; that of the tropics in its glory and luxuriance exceeds even the language of humboldt to describe. a persian writer could alone do justice to it, and if he succeeded he would in england be called the 'grandfather of all liars.' but i have seen nothing which more completely astonished me than the first sight of a savage. it was a naked fuegian, his long hair blowing about, his face besmeared with paint. there is in their countenances an expression which i believe, to those who have not seen it, must be inconceivably wild. standing on a rock he uttered tones and made gesticulations, than which the cries of domestic animals are far more intelligible. when i return to england, you must take me in hand with respect to the fine arts. i yet recollect there was a man called raffaelle sanctus. how delightful it will be once again to see, in the fitzwilliam, titian's venus. how much more than delightful to go to some good concert or fine opera. these recollections will not do. i shall not be able to-morrow to pick out the entrails of some small animal with half my usual gusto. pray tell me some news about cameron, watkins, marindin, the two thompsons of trinity, lowe, heaviside, matthew. herbert i have heard from. how is henslow getting on? and all other good friends of dear cambridge? often and often do i think over those past hours, so many of which have been passed in your company. such can never return, but their recollection can never die away. god bless you, my dear whitley, believe me, your most sincere friend, chas. darwin. charles darwin to miss c. darwin. valparaiso, november , . my dear catherine, my last letter was rather a gloomy one, for i was not very well when i wrote it. now everything is as bright as sunshine. i am quite well again after being a second time in bed for a fortnight. captain fitz-roy very generously has delayed the ship ten days on my account, and without at the time telling me for what reason. we have had some strange proceedings on board the "beagle", but which have ended most capitally for all hands. captain fitz-roy has for the last two months been working extremely hard, and at the same time constantly annoyed by interruptions from officers of other ships; the selling the schooner and its consequences were very vexatious; the cold manner the admiralty (solely i believe because he is a tory) have treated him, and a thousand other, etc. etc.'s, has made him very thin and unwell. this was accompanied by a morbid depression of spirits, and a loss of all decision and resolution... all that bynoe [the surgeon] could say, that it was merely the effect of bodily health and exhaustion after such application, would not do; he invalided, and wickham was appointed to the command. by the instructions wickham could only finish the survey of the southern part, and would then have been obliged to return direct to england. the grief on board the "beagle" about the captain's decision was universal and deeply felt; one great source of his annoyment was the feeling it impossible to fulfil the whole instructions; from his state of mind it never occurred to him that the very instructions ordered him to do as much of the west coast as he has time for, and then proceed across the pacific. wickham (very disinterestedly giving up his own promotion) urged this most strongly, stated that when he took the command nothing should induce him to go to tierra del fuego again; and then asked the captain what would be gained by his resignation? why not do the more useful part, and return as commanded by the pacific. the captain at last, to every one's joy, consented, and the resignation was withdrawn. hurrah! hurrah! it is fixed the "beagle" shall not go one mile south of cape tres montes (about miles south of chiloe), and from that point to valparaiso will be finished in about five months. we shall examine the chonos archipelago, entirely unknown, and the curious inland sea behind chiloe. for me it is glorious. cape tres montes is the most southern point where there is much geological interest, as there the modern beds end. the captain then talks of crossing the pacific; but i think we shall persuade him to finish the coast of peru, where the climate is delightful, the country hideously sterile, but abounding with the highest interest to a geologist. for the first time since leaving england i now see a clear and not so distant prospect of returning to you all: crossing the pacific, and from sydney home, will not take much time. as soon as the captain invalided i at once determined to leave the "beagle", but it was quite absurd what a revolution in five minutes was effected in all my feelings. i have long been grieved and most sorry at the interminable length of the voyage (although i never would have quitted it); but the minute it was all over, i could not make up my mind to return. i could not give up all the geological castles in the air which i had been building up for the last two years. one whole night i tried to think over the pleasure of seeing shrewsbury again, but the barren plains of peru gained the day. i made the following scheme (i know you will abuse me, and perhaps if i had put it in execution, my father would have sent a mandamus after me); it was to examine the cordilleras of chili during this summer, and in winter go from port to port on the coast of peru to lima, returning this time next year to valparaiso, cross the cordilleras to buenos ayres, and take ship to england. would not this have been a fine excursion, and in sixteen months i should have been with you all? to have endured tierra del fuego and not seen the pacific would have been miserable... i go on board to-morrow; i have been for the last six weeks in corfield's house. you cannot imagine what a kind friend i have found him. he is universally liked, and respected by the natives and foreigners. several chileno signoritas are very obligingly anxious to become the signoras of this house. tell my father i have kept my promise of being extravagant in chili. i have drawn a bill of pounds (had it not better be notified to messrs. robarts & co.); pounds goes to the captain for the ensuing year, and pounds i take to sea for the small ports; so that bona fide i have not spent pounds during these last four months. i hope not to draw another bill for six months. all the foregoing particulars were only settled yesterday. it has done me more good than a pint of medicine, and i have not been so happy for the last year. if it had not been for my illness, these four months in chili would have been very pleasant. i have had ill luck, however, in only one little earthquake having happened. i was lying in bed when there was a party at dinner in the house; on a sudden i heard such a hubbub in the dining-room; without a word being spoken, it was devil take the hindmost who should get out first; at the same moment i felt my bed slightly vibrate in a lateral direction. the party were old stagers, and heard the noise which always precedes a shock; and no old stager looks at an earthquake with philosophical eyes... good-bye to you all; you will not have another letter for some time. my dear catherine, yours affectionately, chas. darwin. my best love to my father, and all of you. love to nancy. charles darwin to miss s. darwin. valparaiso, april , . my dear susan, i received, a few days since, your letter of november; the three letters which i before mentioned are yet missing, but i do not doubt they will come to life. i returned a week ago from my excursion across the andes to mendoza. since leaving england i have never made so successful a journey; it has, however, been very expensive. i am sure my father would not regret it, if he could know how deeply i have enjoyed it: it was something more than enjoyment; i cannot express the delight which i felt at such a famous winding-up of all my geology in south america. i literally could hardly sleep at nights for thinking over my day's work. the scenery was so new, and so majestic; everything at an elevation of , feet bears so different an aspect from that in a lower country. i have seen many views more beautiful, but none with so strongly marked a character. to a geologist, also, there are such manifest proofs of excessive violence; the strata of the highest pinnacles are tossed about like the crust of a broken pie. i crossed by the portillo pass, which at this time of the year is apt to be dangerous, so could not afford to delay there. after staying a day in the stupid town of mendoza, i began my return by uspallate, which i did very leisurely. my whole trip only took up twenty-two days. i travelled with, for me, uncommon comfort, as i carried a bed! my party consisted of two peons and ten mules, two of which were with baggage, or rather food, in case of being snowed up. everything, however, favoured me; not even a speck of this year's snow had fallen on the road. i do not suppose any of you can be much interested in geological details, but i will just mention my principal results:--besides understanding to a certain extent the description and manner of the force which has elevated this great line of mountains, i can clearly demonstrate that one part of the double line is of an age long posterior to the other. in the more ancient line, which is the true chain of the andes, i can describe the sort and order of the rocks which compose it. these are chiefly remarkable by containing a bed of gypsum nearly feet thick--a quantity of this substance i should think unparalleled in the world. what is of much greater consequence, i have procured fossil shells (from an elevation of , feet). i think an examination of these will give an approximate age to these mountains, as compared to the strata of europe. in the other line of the cordilleras there is a strong presumption (in my own mind, conviction) that the enormous mass of mountains, the peaks of which rise to , and , feet, are so very modern as to be contemporaneous with the plains of patagonia (or about with the upper strata of the isle of wight). if this result shall be considered as proved (the importance of these results has been fully recognised by geologists.), it is a very important fact in the theory of the formation of the world; because, if such wonderful changes have taken place so recently in the crust of the globe, there can be no reason for supposing former epochs of excessive violence. these modern strata are very remarkable by being threaded with metallic veins of silver, gold, copper, etc.; hitherto these have been considered as appertaining to older formations. in these same beds, and close to a goldmine, i found a clump of petrified trees, standing up right, with layers of fine sandstone deposited round them, bearing the impression of their bark. these trees are covered by other sandstones and streams of lava to the thickness of several thousand feet. these rocks have been deposited beneath water; yet it is clear the spot where the trees grew must once have been above the level of the sea, so that it is certain the land must have been depressed by at least as many thousand feet as the superincumbent subaqueous deposits are thick. but i am afraid you will tell me i am prosy with my geological descriptions and theories... your account of erasmus' visit to cambridge has made me long to be back there. i cannot fancy anything more delightful than his sunday round of king's, trinity, and those talking giants, whewell and sedgwick; i hope your musical tastes continue in due force. i shall be ravenous for the pianoforte... i have not quite determined whether i will sleep at the 'lion' the first night when i arrive per 'wonder,' or disturb you all in the dead of night; everything short of that is absolutely planned. everything about shrewsbury is growing in my mind bigger and more beautiful; i am certain the acacia and copper beech are two superb trees; i shall know every bush, and i will trouble you young ladies, when each of you cut down your tree, to spare a few. as for the view behind the house, i have seen nothing like it. it is the same with north wales; snowdon, to my mind, looks much higher and much more beautiful than any peak in the cordilleras. so you will say, with my benighted faculties, it is time to return, and so it is, and i long to be with you. whatever the trees are, i know what i shall find all you. i am writing nonsense, so farewell. my most affectionate love to all, and i pray forgiveness from my father. yours most affectionately, charles darwin. charles darwin to w.d. fox. lima, july, . my dear fox, i have lately received two of your letters, one dated june and the other november, (they reached me, however, in an inverted order). i was very glad to receive a history of this most important year in your life. previously i had only heard the plain fact that you were married. you are a true christian and return good for evil, to send two such letters to so bad a correspondent as i have been. god bless you for writing so kindly and affectionately; if it is a pleasure to have friends in england, it is doubly so to think and know that one is not forgotten because absent. this voyage is terribly long. i do so earnestly desire to return, yet i dare hardly look forward to the future, for i do not know what will become of me. your situation is above envy: i do not venture even to frame such happy visions. to a person fit to take the office, the life of a clergyman is a type of all that is respectable and happy. you tempt me by talking of your fireside, whereas it is a sort of scene i never ought to think about. i saw the other day a vessel sail for england; it was quite dangerous to know how easily i might turn deserter. as for an english lady, i have almost forgotten what she is--something very angelic and good. as for the women in these countries, they wear caps and petticoats, and a very few have pretty faces, and then all is said. but if we are not wrecked on some unlucky reef, i will sit by that same fireside in vale cottage and tell some of the wonderful stories, which you seem to anticipate and, i presume, are not very ready to believe. gracias a dios, the prospect of such times is rather shorter than formerly. from this most wretched 'city of the kings' we sail in a fortnight, from thence to guayaquil, galapagos, marquesas, society islands, etc., etc. i look forward to the galapagos with more interest than any other part of the voyage. they abound with active volcanoes, and, i should hope, contain tertiary strata. i am glad to hear you have some thoughts of beginning geology. i hope you will; there is so much larger a field for thought than in the other branches of natural history. i am become a zealous disciple of mr. lyell's views, as known in his admirable book. geologising in south america, i am tempted to carry parts to a greater extent even than he does. geology is a capital science to begin, as it requires nothing but a little reading, thinking, and hammering. i have a considerable body of notes together; but it is a constant subject of perplexity to me, whether they are of sufficient value for all the time i have spent about them, or whether animals would not have been of more certain value. i shall indeed be glad once again to see you and tell you how grateful i feel for your steady friendship. god bless you, my very dear fox. believe me, yours affectionately, chas. darwin. charles darwin to j.s. henslow. sydney, january, . my dear henslow, this is the last opportunity of communicating with you before that joyful day when i shall reach cambridge. i have very little to say: but i must write if it is only to express my joy that the last year is concluded, and that the present one, in which the "beagle" will return, is gliding onwards. we have all been disappointed here in not finding even a single letter; we are, indeed, rather before our expected time, otherwise, i dare say, i should have seen your handwriting. i must feed upon the future, and it is beyond bounds delightful to feel the certainty that within eight months i shall be residing once again most quietly in cambridge. certainly, i never was intended for a traveller; my thoughts are always rambling over past or future scenes; i cannot enjoy the present happiness for anticipating the future, which is about as foolish as the dog who dropped the real bone for its shadow.... in our passage across the pacific we only touched at tahiti and new zealand; at neither of these places or at sea had i much opportunity of working. tahiti is a most charming spot. everything which former navigators have written is true. 'a new cytheraea has risen from the ocean.' delicious scenery, climate, manners of the people are all in harmony. it is, moreover, admirable to behold what the missionaries both here and at new zealand have effected. i firmly believe they are good men working for the sake of a good cause. i much suspect that those who have abused or sneered at the missionaries have generally been such as were not very anxious to find the natives moral and intelligent beings. during the remainder of our voyage we shall only visit places generally acknowledged as civilised, and nearly all under the british flag. these will be a poor field for natural history, and without it i have lately discovered that the pleasure of seeing new places is as nothing. i must return to my old resource and think of the future, but that i may not become more prosy, i will say farewell till the day arrives, when i shall see my master in natural history, and can tell him how grateful i feel for his kindness and friendship. believe me, dear henslow, ever yours, most faithfully, chas. darwin. charles darwin to miss s. darwin. bahia, brazil, august [ ]. my dear susan, i will just write a few lines to explain the cause of this letter being dated on the coast of south america. some singular disagreements in the longitudes made captain fitz-roy anxious to complete the circle in the southern hemisphere, and then retrace our steps by our first line to england. this zigzag manner of proceeding is very grievous; it has put the finishing stroke to my feelings. i loathe, i abhor the sea and all ships which sail on it. but i yet believe we shall reach england in the latter half of october. at ascension i received catherine's letter of october, and yours of november; the letter at the cape was of a later date, but letters of all sorts are inestimable treasures, and i thank you both for them. the desert, volcanic rocks, and wild sea of ascension, as soon as i knew there was news from home, suddenly wore a pleasing aspect, and i set to work with a good-will at my old work of geology. you would be surprised to know how entirely the pleasure in arriving at a new place depends on letters. we only stayed four days at ascension, and then made a very good passage to bahia. i little thought to have put my foot on south american coast again. it has been almost painful to find how much good enthusiasm has been evaporated during the last four years. i can now walk soberly through a brazilian forest; not but what it is exquisitely beautiful, but now, instead of seeking for splendid contrasts, i compare the stately mango trees with the horse-chestnuts of england. although this zigzag has lost us at least a fortnight, in some respects i am glad of it. i think i shall be able to carry away one vivid picture of inter-tropical scenery. we go from hence to the cape de verds; that is, if the winds or the equatorial calms will allow us. i have some faint hopes that a steady foul wind might induce the captain to proceed direct to the azores. for which most untoward event i heartily pray. both your letters were full of good news; especially the expressions which you tell me professor sedgwick used about my collections. i confess they are deeply gratifying--i trust one part at least will turn out true, and that i shall act as i now think--as a man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life. professor sedgwick mentioning my name at all gives me hopes that he will assist me with his advice, of which, in my geological questions, i stand much in need. it is useless to tell you from the shameful state of this scribble that i am writing against time, having been out all morning, and now there are some strangers on board to whom i must go down and talk civility. moreover, as this letter goes by a foreign ship, it is doubtful whether it will ever arrive. farewell, my very dear susan and all of you. good-bye. c. darwin. charles darwin to j.s. henslow. st. helena, july , . my dear henslow, i am going to ask you to do me a favour. i am very anxious to belong to the geological society. i do not know, but i suppose it is necessary to be proposed some time before being ballotted for; if such is the case, would you be good enough to take the proper preparatory steps? professor sedgwick very kindly offered to propose me before leaving england, if he should happen to be in london. i dare say he would yet do so. i have very little to write about. we have neither seen, done, or heard of anything particular for a long time past; and indeed if at present the wonders of another planet could be displayed before us, i believe we should unanimously exclaim, what a consummate plague. no schoolboys ever sung the half sentimental and half jovial strain of 'dulce domum' with more fervour, than we all feel inclined to do. but the whole subject of 'dulce domum,' and the delight of seeing one's friends, is most dangerous, it must infallibly make one very prosy or very boisterous. oh, the degree to which i long to be once again living quietly with not one single novel object near me! no one can imagine it till he has been whirled round the world during five long years in a ten-gun-brig. i am at present living in a small house (amongst the clouds) in the centre of the island, and within stone's throw of napoleon's tomb. it is blowing a gale of wind with heavy rain and wretchedly cold; if napoleon's ghost haunts his dreary place of confinement, this would be a most excellent night for such wandering spirits. if the weather chooses to permit me, i hope to see a little of the geology (so often partially described) of the island. i suspect that differently from most volcanic islands its structure is rather complicated. it seems strange that this little centre of a distinct creation should, as is asserted, bear marks of recent elevation. the "beagle" proceeds from this place to ascension, then to the cape de verds (what miserable places!) to the azores to plymouth, and then to home. that most glorious of all days in my life will not, however, arrive till the middle of october. some time in that month you will see me at cambridge, where i must directly come to report myself to you, as my first lord of the admiralty. at the cape of good hope we all on board suffered a bitter disappointment in missing nine months' letters, which are chasing us from one side of the globe to the other. i dare say amongst them there was a letter from you; it is long since i have seen your handwriting, but i shall soon see you yourself, which is far better. as i am your pupil, you are bound to undertake the task of criticising and scolding me for all the things ill done and not done at all, which i fear i shall need much; but i hope for the best, and i am sure i have a good if not too easy taskmaster. at the cape captain fitz-roy and myself enjoyed a memorable piece of good fortune in meeting sir j. herschel. we dined at his house and saw him a few times besides. he was exceedingly good natured, but his manners at first appeared to me rather awful. he is living in a very comfortable country house, surrounded by fir and oak trees, which alone in so open a country, give a most charming air of seclusion and comfort. he appears to find time for everything; he showed us a pretty garden full of cape bulbs of his own collecting, and i afterwards understood that everything was the work of his own hands...i am very stupid, and i have nothing more to say; the wind is whistling so mournfully over the bleak hills, that i shall go to bed and dream of england. goodnight, my dear henslow, yours most truly obliged and affectionately, chas. darwin. charles darwin to j.s. henslow. shrewsbury, thursday, october , [ ]. my dear henslow, i am sure you will congratulate me on the delight of once again being home. the "beagle" arrived at falmouth on sunday evening, and i reached shrewsbury yesterday morning. i am exceedingly anxious to see you, and as it will be necessary in four or five days to return to london to get my goods and chattels out of the "beagle", it appears to me my best plan to pass through cambridge. i want your advice on many points; indeed i am in the clouds, and neither know what to do or where to go. my chief puzzle is about the geological specimens--who will have the charity to help me in describing their mineralogical nature? will you be kind enough to write to me one line by return of post, saying whether you are now at cambridge? i am doubtful till i hear from captain fitz-roy whether i shall not be obliged to start before the answer can arrive, but pray try the chance. my dear henslow, i do long to see you; you have been the kindest friend to me that ever man possessed. i can write no more, for i am giddy with joy and confusion. farewell for the present, yours most truly obliged, charles darwin. charles darwin to r. fitz-roy. shrewsbury, thursday morning, october , [ ]. my dear fitz-roy, i arrived here yesterday morning at breakfast time, and, thank god, found all my dear good sisters and father quite well. my father appears more cheerful and very little older than when i left. my sisters assure me i do not look the least different, and i am able to return the compliment. indeed, all england appears changed excepting the good old town of shrewsbury and its inhabitants, which, for all i can see to the contrary, may go on as they now are to doomsday. i wish with all my heart i was writing to you amongst your friends instead of at that horrid plymouth. but the day will soon come, and you will be as happy as i now am. i do assure you i am a very great man at home; the five years' voyage has certainly raised me a hundred per cent. i fear such greatness must experience a fall. i am thoroughly ashamed of myself in what a dead-and-half-alive state i spent the few last days on board; my only excuse is that certainly i was not quite well. the first day in the mail tired me, but as i drew nearer to shrewsbury everything looked more beautiful and cheerful. in passing gloucestershire and worcestershire i wished much for you to admire the fields, woods, and orchards. the stupid people on the coach did not seem to think the fields one bit greener than usual; but i am sure we should have thoroughly agreed that the wide world does not contain so happy a prospect as the rich cultivated land of england. i hope you will not forget to send me a note telling me how you go on. i do indeed hope all your vexations and trouble with respect to our voyage, which we now know has an end, have come to a close. if you do not receive much satisfaction for all the mental and bodily energy you have expended in his majesty's service, you will be most hardly treated. i put my radical sisters into an uproar at some of the prudent (if they were not honest whigs, i would say shabby) proceedings of our government. by the way, i must tell you for the honour and glory of the family that my father has a large engraving of king george iv. put up in his sitting-room. but i am no renegade, and by the time we meet my politics will be as firmly fixed and as wisely founded as ever they were. i thought when i began this letter i would convince you what a steady and sober frame of mind i was in. but i find i am writing most precious nonsense. two or three of our labourers yesterday immediately set to work and got most excessively drunk in honour of the arrival of master charles. who then shall gainsay if master charles himself chooses to make himself a fool. good-bye. god bless you! i hope you are as happy, but much wiser, than your most sincere but unworthy philosopher, chas. darwin. chapter .vii. -- london and cambridge. - . [the period illustrated by the following letters includes the years between my father's return from the voyage of the "beagle" and his settling at down. it is marked by the gradual appearance of that weakness of health which ultimately forced him to leave london and take up his abode for the rest of his life in a quiet country house.] in june, , he writes to lyell: "my father scarcely seems to expect that i shall become strong for some years; it has been a bitter mortification for me to digest the conclusion that the 'race is for the strong,' and that i shall probably do little more but be content to admire the strides others make in science." there is no evidence of any intention of entering a profession after his return from the voyage, and early in he wrote to fitz-roy: "i have nothing to wish for, excepting stronger health to go on with the subjects to which i have joyfully determined to devote my life." these two conditions--permanent ill-health and a passionate love of scientific work for its own sake--determined thus early in his career, the character of his whole future life. they impelled him to lead a retired life of constant labour, carried on to the utmost limits of his physical power, a life which signally falsified his melancholy prophecy. the end of the last chapter saw my father safely arrived at shrewsbury on october , , "after an absence of five years and two days." he wrote to fox: "you cannot imagine how gloriously delightful my first visit was at home; it was worth the banishment." but it was a pleasure that he could not long enjoy, for in the last days of october he was at greenwich unpacking specimens from the "beagle". as to the destination of the collections he writes, somewhat despondingly, to henslow:-- "i have not made much progress with the great men. i find, as you told me, that they are all overwhelmed with their own business. mr. lyell has entered, in the most good-natured manner, and almost without being asked, into all my plans. he tells me, however, the same story, that i must do all myself. mr. owen seems anxious to dissect some of the animals in spirits, and, besides these two, i have scarcely met any one who seems to wish to possess any of my specimens. i must except dr. grant, who is willing to examine some of the corallines. i see it is quite unreasonable to hope for a minute that any man will undertake the examination of a whole order. it is clear the collectors so much outnumber the real naturalists that the latter have no time to spare. "i do not even find that the collections care for receiving the unnamed specimens. the zoological museum (the museum of the zoological society, then at bruton street. the collection was some years later broken up and dispersed.) is nearly full, and upwards of a thousand specimens remain unmounted. i dare say the british museum would receive them, but i cannot feel, from all i hear, any great respect even for the present state of that establishment. your plan will be not only the best, but the only one, namely, to come down to cambridge, arrange and group together the different families, and then wait till people, who are already working in different branches, may want specimens. but it appears to me [that] to do this it will be almost necessary to reside in london. as far as i can yet see my best plan will be to spend several months in cambridge, and then when, by your assistance, i know on what ground i stand, to emigrate to london, where i can complete my geology and try to push on the zoology. i assure you i grieve to find how many things make me see the necessity of living for some time in this dirty, odious london. for even in geology i suspect much assistance and communication will be necessary in this quarter, for instance, in fossil bones, of which none excepting the fragments of megatherium have been looked at, and i clearly see that without my presence they never would be.... "i only wish i had known the botanists cared so much for specimens (a passage in a subsequent letter shows that his plants also gave him some anxiety. "i met mr. brown a few days after you had called on him; he asked me in rather an ominous manner what i meant to do with my plants. in the course of conversation mr. broderip, who was present, remarked to him, 'you forget how long it is since captain king's expedition.' he answered, 'indeed, i have something in the shape of captain king's undescribed plants to make me recollect it.' could a better reason be given, if i had been asked, by me, for not giving the plants to the british museum?") and the zoologists so little; the proportional number of specimens in the two branches should have had a very different appearance. i am out of patience with the zoologists, not because they are overworked, but for their mean, quarrelsome spirit. i went the other evening to the zoological society, where the speakers were snarling at each other in a manner anything but like that of gentlemen. thank heavens! as long as i remain in cambridge there will not be any danger of falling into any such contemptible quarrels, whilst in london i do not see how it is to be avoided. of the naturalists, f. hope is out of london; westwood i have not seen, so about my insects i know nothing. i have seen mr. yarrell twice, but he is so evidently oppressed with business that it is too selfish to plague him with my concerns. he has asked me to dine with the linnean on tuesday, and on wednesday i dine with the geological, so that i shall see all the great men. mr. bell, i hear, is so much occupied that there is no chance of his wishing for specimens of reptiles. i have forgotten to mention mr. lonsdale (william lonsdale, - , was originally in the army, and served at the battles of salamanca and waterloo. after the war he left the service and gave himself up to science. he acted as assistant secretary to the geological society from - , when he resigned, owing to ill health.), who gave me a most cordial reception, and with whom i had much most interesting conversation. if i was not much more inclined for geology than the other branches of natural history, i am sure mr. lyell's and lonsdale's kindness ought to fix me. you cannot conceive anything more thoroughly good-natured than the heart-and-soul manner in which he put himself in my place and thought what would be best to do. at first he was all for london versus cambridge, but at last i made him confess that, for some time at least, the latter would be for me much the best. there is not another soul whom i could ask, excepting yourself, to wade through and criticise some of those papers which i have left with you. mr. lyell owned that, second to london, there was no place in england so good for a naturalist as cambridge. upon my word i am ashamed of writing so many foolish details, no young lady ever described her first ball with more particularity." a few days later he writes more cheerfully: "i became acquainted with mr. bell (t. bell, f.r.s., formerly prof. of zoology in king's college, london, and some time secretary to the royal society. he afterwards described the reptiles for the zoology of the voyage of the "beagle".) who to my surprise expressed a good deal of interest about my crustacea and reptiles, and seems willing to work at them. i also heard that mr. broderip would be glad to look over the south american shells, so that things flourish well with me." about his plants he writes with characteristic openness as to his own ignorance: "you have made me known amongst the botanists, but i felt very foolish when mr. don remarked on the beautiful appearance of some plant with an astounding long name, and asked me about its habitation. some one else seemed quite surprised that i knew nothing about a carex from i do not know where. i was at last forced to plead most entire innocence, and that i knew no more about the plants which i had collected than the man in the moon." as to part of his geological collection he was soon able to write: "i [have] disposed of the most important part [of] my collections, by giving all the fossil bones to the college of surgeons, casts of them will be distributed, and descriptions published. they are very curious and valuable; one head belonged to some gnawing animal, but of the size of a hippopotamus! another to an ant-eater of the size of a horse!" it is worth noting that at this time the only extinct mammalia from south america, which had been described, were mastodon (three species) and megatherium. the remains of the other extinct edentata from sir woodbine parish's collection had not been described. my father's specimens included (besides the above-mentioned toxodon and scelidotherium) the remains of mylodon, glossotherium, another gigantic animal allied to the ant-eater, and macrauchenia. his discovery of these remains is a matter of interest in itself, but it has a special importance as a point in his own life, since it was the vivid impression produced by excavating them with his own hands (i have often heard him speak of the despair with which he had to break off the projecting extremity of a huge, partly excavated bone, when the boat waiting for him would wait no longer.) that formed one of the chief starting-points of his speculation on the origin of species. this is shown in the following extract from his pocket book for this year ( ): "in july opened first note-book on transmutation of species. had been greatly struck from about the month of previous march on character of south american fossils, and species on galapagos archipelago. these facts (especially latter), origin of all my views."] - . charles darwin to w.d. fox. great marlborough street, november th [ ]. my dear fox, i have taken a shamefully long time in answering your letter. but the busiest time of the whole voyage has been tranquillity itself to this last month. after paying henslow a short but very pleasant visit, i came up to town to wait for the "beagle's" arrival. at last i have removed all my property from on board, and sent the specimens of natural history to cambridge, so that i am now a free man. my london visit has been quite idle as far as natural history goes, but has been passed in most exciting dissipation amongst the dons in science. all my affairs, indeed, are most prosperous; i find there are plenty who will undertake the description of whole tribes of animals, of which i know nothing. so that about this day month i hope to set to work tooth and nail at the geology, which i shall publish by itself. it is quite ridiculous what an immensely long period it appears to me since landing at falmouth. the fact is i have talked and laughed enough for years instead of weeks, so [that] my memory is quite confounded with the noise. i am delighted to hear you are turned geologist: when i pay the isle of wight a visit, which i am determined shall somehow come to pass, you will be a capital cicerone to the famous line of dislocation. i really suppose there are few parts of the world more interesting to a geologist than your island. amongst the great scientific men, no one has been nearly so friendly and kind as lyell. i have seen him several times, and feel inclined to like him much. you cannot imagine how good-naturedly he entered into all my plans. i speak now only of the london men, for henslow was just like his former self, and therefore a most cordial and affectionate friend. when you pay london a visit i shall be very proud to take you to the geological society, for be it known, i was proposed to be a f.g.s. last tuesday. it is, however, a great pity that these and the other letters, especially f.r.s., are so very expensive. i do not scruple to ask you to write to me in a week's time in shrewsbury, for you are a good letter writer, and if people will have such good characters they must pay the penalty. good-bye, dear fox. yours, c.d. [his affairs being thus so far prosperously managed he was able to put into execution his plan of living at cambridge, where he settled on december th, . he was at first a guest in the comfortable home of the henslows, but afterwards, for the sake of undisturbed work, he moved into lodgings.] he thus writes to fox, march th, , from london:-- "my residence at cambridge was rather longer than i expected, owing to a job which i determined to finish there, namely, looking over all my geological specimens. cambridge yet continues a very pleasant, but not half so merry a place as before. to walk through the courts of christ's college, and not know an inhabitant of a single room, gave one a feeling half melancholy. the only evil i found in cambridge was its being too pleasant: there was some agreeable party or another every evening, and one cannot say one is engaged with so much impunity there as in this great city." a trifling record of my father's presence in cambridge occurs in the book kept in christ's college combination-room, where fines and bets were recorded, the earlier entries giving a curious impression of the after-dinner frame of mind of the fellows. the bets were not allowed to be made in money, but were, like the fines, paid in wine. the bet which my father made and lost is thus recorded:-- "february , ." mr. darwin v. mr. baines, that the combination-room measures from the ceiling to the floor more than (x) feet. bottle paid same day. "n.b. mr. darwin may measure at any part of the room he pleases." besides arranging the geological and mineralogical specimens, he had his 'journal of researches' to work at, which occupied his evenings at cambridge. he also read a short paper at the zoological society ("notes upon rhea americana," 'zool. soc. proc.' v. , pages , .), and another at the geological society ('geol. soc. proc.' ii. , pages - .), on the recent elevation of the coast of chile. early in the spring of (march th) he left cambridge for london, and a week later he was settled in lodgings at great marlborough street; and except for a "short visit to shrewsbury" in june, he worked on till september, being almost entirely employed on his 'journal.' he found time, however, for two papers at the geological society. ("a sketch of the deposits containing extinct mammalia in the neighbourhood of the plata," 'geol. soc. proc.' ii. , pages - ; and "on certain areas of elevation and subsidence in the pacific and indian oceans, as deduced from the study of coral formations." 'geol. soc. proc' ii. , pages - .) he writes of his work to fox (march, ):-- "in your last letter you urge me to get ready the book. i am now hard at work and give up everything else for it. our plan is as follows: captain fitz-roy writes two volumes out of the materials collected during the last voyage under capt. king to tierra del fuego, and during our circumnavigation. i am to have the third volume, in which i intend giving a kind of journal of a naturalist, not following, however, always the order of time, but rather the order of position. the habits of animals will occupy a large portion, sketches of the geology, the appearance of the country, and personal details will make the hodge-podge complete. afterwards i shall write an account of the geology in detail, and draw up some zoological papers. so that i have plenty of work for the next year or two, and till that is finished i will have no holidays." another letter to fox (july) gives an account of the progress of his work:-- "i gave myself a holiday and a visit to shrewsbury [in june], as i had finished my journal. i shall now be very busy in filling up gaps and getting it quite ready for the press by the first of august. i shall always feel respect for every one who has written a book, let it be what it may, for i had no idea of the trouble which trying to write common english could cost one. and, alas, there yet remains the worst part of all, correcting the press. as soon as ever that is done i must put my shoulder to the wheel and commence at the geology. i have read some short papers to the geological society, and they were favourably received by the great guns, and this gives me much confidence, and i hope not a very great deal of vanity, though i confess i feel too often like a peacock admiring his tail. i never expected that my geology would ever have been worth the consideration of such men as lyell, who has been to me, since my return, a most active friend. my life is a very busy one at present, and i hope may ever remain so; though heaven knows there are many serious drawbacks to such a life, and chief amongst them is the little time it allows one for seeing one's natural friends. for the last three years, i have been longing and longing to be living at shrewsbury, and after all now in the course of several months, i see my dear good people at shrewsbury for a week. susan and catherine have, however, been staying with my brother here for some weeks, but they had returned home before my visit." [besides the work already mentioned he had much to busy him in making arrangements for the publication of the 'zoology of the voyage of the "beagle".' the following letters illustrate this subject.] charles darwin to l. jenyns. (now rev l. blomefield.) great marlborough street, april th, . dear jenyns, during the last week several of the zoologists of this place have been urging me to consider the possibility of publishing the 'zoology of the "beagle's" voyage' on some uniform plan. mr. macleay (william sharp macleay was the son of alexander macleay, formerly colonial secretary of new south wales, and for many years secretary of the linnean society.) the son, who was a most zealous naturalist, and had inherited from his father a very large general collection of insects, made entomology his chief study, and gained great notoriety by his now forgotten "quinary system", set forth in the second part of his 'horae entomologicae,' published in .--[i am indebted to rev. l. blomefield for the foregoing note.] has taken a great deal of interest in the subject, and maintains that such a publication is very desirable, because it keeps together a series of observations made respecting animals inhabiting the same part of the world, and allows any future traveller taking them with him. how far this facility of reference is of any consequence i am very doubtful; but if such is the case, it would be more satisfactory to myself to see the gleanings of my hands, after having passed through the brains of other naturalists, collected together in one work. but such considerations ought not to have much weight. the whole scheme is at present merely floating in the air; but i was determined to let you know, as i should much like to know what you think about it, and whether you would object to supply descriptions of the fish to such a work instead of to 'transactions.' i apprehend the whole will be impracticable, without government will aid in engraving the plates, and this i fear is a mere chance, only i think i can put in a strong claim, and get myself well backed by the naturalists of this place, who nearly all take a good deal of interest in my collections. i mean to-morrow to see mr. yarrell; if he approves, i shall begin and take more active steps; for i hear he is most prudent and most wise. it is scarcely any use speculating about any plan, but i thought of getting subscribers and publishing the work in parts (as long as funds would last, for i myself will not lose money by it). in such case, whoever had his own part ready on any order might publish it separately (and ultimately the parts might be sold separately), so that no one should be delayed by the other. the plan would resemble, on a humble scale, ruppel's 'atlas,' or humboldt's 'zoologie,' where latreille, cuvier, etc., wrote different parts. i myself should have little to do with it; excepting in some orders adding habits and ranges, etc., and geographical sketches, and perhaps afterwards some descriptions of invertebrate animals... i am working at my journal; it gets on slowly, though i am not idle. i thought cambridge a bad place from good dinners and other temptations, but i find london no better, and i fear it may grow worse. i have a capital friend in lyell, and see a great deal of him, which is very advantageous to me in discussing much south american geology. i miss a walk in the country very much; this london is a vile smoky place, where a man loses a great part of the best enjoyments in life. but i see no chance of escaping, even for a week, from this prison for a long time to come. i fear it will be some time before we shall meet; for i suppose you will not come up here during the spring, and i do not think i shall be able to go down to cambridge. how i should like to have a good walk along the newmarket road to-morrow, but oxford street must do instead. i do hate the streets of london. will you tell henslow to be careful with the edible fungi from tierra del fuego, for i shall want some specimens for mr. brown, who seems particularly interested about them. tell henslow, i think my silicified wood has unflintified mr. brown's heart, for he was very gracious to me, and talked about the galapagos plants; but before he never would say a word. it is just striking twelve o'clock; so i will wish you a very good night. my dear jenyns, yours most truly, charles darwin. [a few weeks later the plan seems to have been matured, and the idea of seeking government aid to have been adopted.] charles darwin to j.s. henslow. great marlborough street, [ th may, ]. my dear henslow, i was very glad to receive your letter. i wanted much to hear how you were getting on with your manifold labours. indeed i do not wonder your head began to ache; it is almost a wonder you have any head left. your account of the gamlingay expedition was cruelly tempting, but i cannot anyhow leave london. i wanted to pay my good, dear people at shrewsbury a visit of a few days, but i found i could not manage it; at present i am waiting for the signatures of the duke of somerset, as president of the linnean, and of lord derby and whewell, to a statement of the value of my collection; the instant i get this i shall apply to government for assistance in engraving, and so publish the 'zoology' on some uniform plan. it is quite ridiculous the time any operation requires which depends on many people. i have been working very steadily, but have only got two-thirds through the journal part alone. i find, though i remain daily many hours at work, the progress is very slow: it is an awful thing to say to oneself, every fool and every clever man in england, if he chooses, may make as many ill-natured remarks as he likes on this unfortunate sentence.... in august he writes to henslow to announce the success of the scheme for the publication of the 'zoology of the voyage of the "beagle",' through the promise of a grant of pounds from the treasury: "i have delayed writing to you, to thank you most sincerely for having so effectually managed my affair. i waited till i had an interview with the chancellor of the exchequer (t. spring rice.). he appointed to see me this morning, and i had a long conversation with him, mr. peacock being present. nothing could be more thoroughly obliging and kind than his whole manner. he made no sort of restriction, but only told me to make the most of [the] money, which of course i am right willing to do. "i expected rather an awful interview, but i never found anything less so in my life. it will be my fault if i do not make a good work; but i sometimes take an awful fright that i have not materials enough. it will be excessively satisfactory at the end of some two years to find all materials made the most they were capable of." later in the autumn he wrote to henslow: "i have not been very well of late, with an uncomfortable palpitation of the heart, and my doctors urge me strongly to knock off all work, and go and live in the country for a few weeks." he accordingly took a holiday of about a month at shrewsbury and maer, and paid a visit in the isle of wight. it was, i believe, during this visit, at mr. wedgwood's house at maer, that he made his first observations on the work done by earthworms, and late in the autumn he read a paper on the subject at the geological society. ("on the formation of mould," 'geol. soc. proc.' ii. , pages - .) during these two months he was also busy preparing the scheme of the 'zoology of the voyage of the "beagle",' and in beginning to put together the geological results of his travels. the following letter refers to the proposal that he should take the secretaryship of the geological society.] charles darwin to j.s. henslow. october th, [ ]. my dear henslow, ...i am much obliged to you for your message about the secretaryship. i am exceedingly anxious for you to hear my side of the question, and will you be so kind as afterwards to give me your fair judgment. the subject has haunted me all summer. i am unwilling to undertake the office for the following reasons: first, my entire ignorance of english geology, a knowledge of which would be almost necessary in order to shorten many of the papers before reading them before the society, or rather to know what parts to skip. again, my ignorance of all languages, and not knowing how to pronounce a single word of french--a language so perpetually quoted. it would be disgraceful to the society to have a secretary who could not read french. secondly, the loss of time; pray consider that i should have to look after the artists, superintend and furnish materials for the government work, which will come out in parts, and which must appear regularly. all my geological notes are in a very rough state; none of my fossil shells worked up; and i have much to read. i have had hopes, by giving up society and not wasting an hour, that i should finish my geology in a year and a half, by which time the description of the higher animals by others would be completed, and my whole time would then necessarily be required to complete myself the description of the invertebrate ones. if this plan fails, as the government work must go on, the geology would necessarily be deferred till probably at least three years from this time. in the present state of the science, a great part of the utility of the little i have done would be lost, and all freshness and pleasure quite taken from me. i know from experience the time required to make abstracts even of my own papers for the 'proceedings.' if i was secretary, and had to make double abstracts of each paper, studying them before reading, and attendance would at least cost me three days (and often more) in the fortnight. there are likewise other accidental and contingent losses of time; i know dr. royle found the office consumed much of his time. if by merely giving up any amusement, or by working harder than i have done, i could save time, i would undertake the secretaryship; but i appeal to you whether, with my slow manner of writing, with two works in hand, and with the certainty, if i cannot complete the geological part within a fixed period, that its publication must be retarded for a very long time,--whether any society whatever has any claim on me for three days' disagreeable work every fortnight. i cannot agree that it is a duty on my part, as a follower of science, as long as i devote myself to the completion of the work i have in hand, to delay that, by undertaking what may be done by any person who happens to have more spare time than i have at present. moreover, so early in my scientific life, with so very much as i have to learn, the office, though no doubt a great honour, etc., for me, would be the more burdensome. mr. whewell (i know very well), judging from himself, will think i exaggerate the time the secretaryship would require; but i absolutely know the time which with me the simplest writing consumes. i do not at all like appearing so selfish as to refuse mr. whewell, more especially as he has always shown, in the kindest manner, an interest in my affairs. but i cannot look forward with even tolerable comfort to undertaking an office without entering on it heart and soul, and that would be impossible with the government work and the geology in hand. my last objection is, that i doubt how far my health will stand the confinement of what i have to do, without any additional work. i merely repeat, that you may know i am not speaking idly, that when i consulted dr. clark in town, he at first urged me to give up entirely all writing and even correcting press for some weeks. of late anything which flurries me completely knocks me up afterwards, and brings on a violent palpitation of the heart. now the secretaryship would be a periodical source of more annoying trouble to me than all the rest of the fortnight put together. in fact, till i return to town, and see how i get on, if i wished the office ever so much, i could not say i would positively undertake it. i beg of you to excuse this very long prose all about myself, but the point is one of great interest. i can neither bear to think myself very selfish and sulky, nor can i see the possibility of my taking the secretaryship without making a sacrifice of all my plans and a good deal of comfort. if you see whewell, would you tell him the substance of this letter; or, if he will take the trouble, he may read it. my dear henslow, i appeal to you in loco parentis. pray tell me what you think? but do not judge me by the activity of mind which you and a few others possess, for in that case the more difficult things in hand the pleasanter the work; but, though i hope i never shall be idle, such is not the case with me. ever, dear henslow, yours most truly, c. darwin. [he ultimately accepted the post, and held it for three years--from february , , to february , . after being assured of the grant for the publication of the 'zoology of the voyage of the "beagle",' there was much to be done in arranging the scheme of publication, and this occupied him during part of october and november.] charles darwin to j.s. henslow. [ th november, .] my dear henslow, ...pray tell leonard (rev. l. jenyns.) that my government work is going on smoothly, and i hope will be prosperous. he will see in the prospectus his name attached to the fish; i set my shoulders to the work with a good heart. i am very much better than i was during the last month before my shrewsbury visit. i fear the geology will take me a great deal of time; i was looking over one set of notes, and the quantity i found i had to read, for that one place was frightful. if i live till i am eighty years old i shall not cease to marvel at finding myself an author; in the summer before i started, if any one had told me that i should have been an angel by this time, i should have thought it an equal impossibility. this marvellous transformation is all owing to you. i am sorry to find that a good many errata are left in the part of my volume, which is printed. during my absence mr. colburn employed some goose to revise, and he has multiplied, instead of diminishing my oversights; but for all that, the smooth paper and clear type has a charming appearance, and i sat the other evening gazing in silent admiration at the first page of my own volume, when i received it from the printers! good-bye, my dear henslow, c. darwin. . [from the beginning of this year to nearly the end of june, he was busily employed on the zoological and geological results of his voyage. this spell of work was interrupted only by a visit of three days to cambridge, in may; and even this short holiday was taken in consequence of failing health, as we may assume from the entry in his diary: "may st, unwell," and from a letter to his sister (may , ), when he wrote:-- "my trip of three days to cambridge has done me such wonderful good, and filled my limbs with such elasticity, that i must get a little work out of my body before another holiday." this holiday seems to have been thoroughly enjoyed; he wrote to his sister:-- "now for cambridge: i stayed at henslow's house and enjoyed my visit extremely. my friends gave me a most cordial welcome. indeed, i was quite a lion there. mrs. henslow unfortunately was obliged to go on friday for a visit in the country. that evening we had at henslow's a brilliant party of all the geniuses in cambridge, and a most remarkable set of men they most assuredly are. on saturday i rode over to l. jenyns', and spent the morning with him. i found him very cheerful, but bitterly complaining of his solitude. on saturday evening dined at one of the colleges, played at bowls on the college green after dinner, and was deafened with nightingales singing. sunday, dined in trinity; capital dinner, and was very glad to sit by professor lee (samuel lee, of queens', was professor of arabic from to , and regius professor of hebrew from to .)...; i find him a very pleasant chatting man, and in high spirits like a boy, at having lately returned from a living or a curacy, for seven years in somersetshire, to civilised society and oriental manuscripts. he had exchanged his living to one within fourteen miles of cambridge, and seemed perfectly happy. in the evening attended trinity chapel, and heard 'the heavens are telling the glory of god,' in magnificent style; the last chorus seemed to shake the very walls of the college. after chapel a large party in sedgwick's rooms. so much for my annals." he started, towards the end of june, on his expedition to glen roy, of which he writes to fox: "i have not been very well of late, which has suddenly determined me to leave london earlier than i had anticipated. i go by the steam-packet to edinburgh,--take a solitary walk on salisbury craigs, and call up old thoughts of former times, then go on to glasgow and the great valley of inverness, near which i intend stopping a week to geologise the parallel roads of glen roy, thence to shrewsbury, maer for one day, and london for smoke, ill-health and hard work." he spent "eight good days" over the parallel roads. his essay on this subject was written out during the same summer, and published by the royal society. ('phil. trans.' , pages - .) he wrote in his pocket book: "september [ ]. finished the paper on 'glen roy,' one of the most difficult and instructive tasks i was ever engaged on." it will be remembered that in his 'recollections' he speaks of this paper as a failure, of which he was ashamed. at the time at which he wrote, the latest theory of the formation of the parallel roads was that of sir lauder dick and dr. macculloch, who believed that lakes had anciently existed in glen roy, caused by dams of rock or alluvium. in arguing against this theory he conceived that he had disproved the admissibility of any lake theory, but in this point he was mistaken. he wrote (glen roy paper, page ) "the conclusion is inevitable, that no hypothesis founded on the supposed existence of a sheet of water confined by barriers, that is a lake, can be admitted as solving the problematical origin of the parallel roads of lochaber." mr. archibald geikie has been so good as to allow me to quote a passage from a letter addressed to me (november , ) in compliance with my request for his opinion on the character of my father's glen roy work:-- "mr. darwin's 'glen roy' paper, i need not say, is marked by all his characteristic acuteness of observation and determination to consider all possible objections. it is a curious example, however, of the danger of reasoning by a method of exclusion in natural science. finding that the waters which formed the terraces in the glen roy region could not possibly have been dammed back by barriers of rock or of detritus, he saw no alternative but to regard them as the work of the sea. had the idea of transient barriers of glacier-ice occurred to him, he would have found the difficulties vanish from the lake-theory which he opposed, and he would not have been unconsciously led to minimise the altogether overwhelming objections to the supposition that the terraces are of marine origin." it may be added that the idea of the barriers being formed by glaciers could hardly have occurred to him, considering what was the state of knowledge at the time, and bearing in mind his want of opportunities of observing glacial action on a large scale. the latter half of july was passed at shrewsbury and maer. the only entry of any interest is one of being "very idle" at shrewsbury, and of opening "a note-book connected with metaphysical inquiries." in august he records that he read "a good deal of various amusing books, and paid some attention to metaphysical subjects." the work done during the remainder of the year comprises the book on coral reefs (begun in october), and some work on the phenomena of elevation in s. america.] charles darwin to c. lyell. great marlborough street, august th [ ]. my dear lyell, i do not write to you at norwich, for i thought i should have more to say, if i waited a few more days. very many thanks for the present of your 'elements,' which i received (and i believe the very first copy distributed) together with your note. i have read it through every word, and am full of admiration of it, and, as i now see no geologist, i must talk to you about it. there is no pleasure in reading a book if one cannot have a good talk over it; i repeat, i am full of admiration of it, it is as clear as daylight, in fact i felt in many parts some mortification at thinking how geologists have laboured and struggled at proving what seems, as you have put it, so evidently probable. i read with much interest your sketch of the secondary deposits; you have contrived to make it quite "juicy," as we used to say as children of a good story. there was also much new to me, and i have to copy out some fifty notes and references. it must do good, the heretics against common sense must yield...by the way, do you recollect my telling you how much i disliked the manner -- referred to his other works, as much as to say, "you must, ought, and shall buy everything i have written." to my mind, you have somehow quite avoided this; your references only seem to say, "i can't tell you all in this work, else i would, so you must go to the 'principles'"; and many a one, i trust, you will send there, and make them, like me, adorers of the good science of rock-breaking. you will see i am in a fit of enthusiasm, and good cause i have to be, when i find you have made such infinitely more use of my journal than i could have anticipated. i will say no more about the book, for it is all praise. i must, however, admire the elaborate honesty with which you quote the words of all living and dead geologists. my scotch expedition answered brilliantly; my trip in the steam-packet was absolutely pleasant, and i enjoyed the spectacle, wretch that i am, of two ladies, and some small children quite sea-sick, i being well. moreover, on my return from glasgow to liverpool, i triumphed in a similar manner over some full-grown men. i stayed one whole day in edinburgh, or more truly on salisbury craigs; i want to hear some day what you think about that classical ground,--the structure was to me new and rather curious,--that is, if i understand it right. i crossed from edinburgh in gigs and carts (and carts without springs, as i never shall forget) to loch leven. i was disappointed in the scenery, and reached glen roy on saturday evening, one week after leaving marlborough street. here i enjoyed five [?] days of the most beautiful weather with gorgeous sunsets, and all nature looking as happy as i felt. i wandered over the mountains in all directions, and examined that most extraordinary district. i think, without any exceptions, not even the first volcanic island, the first elevated beach, or the passage of the cordillera, was so interesting to me as this week. it is far the most remarkable area i ever examined. i have fully convinced myself (after some doubting at first) that the shelves are sea-beaches, although i could not find a trace of a shell; and i think i can explain away most, if not all, the difficulties. i found a piece of a road in another valley, not hitherto observed, which is important; and i have some curious facts about erratic blocks, one of which was perched up on a peak feet above the sea. i am now employed in writing a paper on the subject, which i find very amusing work, excepting that i cannot anyhow condense it into reasonable limits. at some future day i hope to talk over some of the conclusions with you, which the examination of glen roy has led me to. now i have had my talk out, i am much easier, for i can assure you glen roy has astonished me. i am living very quietly, and therefore pleasantly, and am crawling on slowly but steadily with my work. i have come to one conclusion, which you will think proves me to be a very sensible man, namely, that whatever you say proves right; and as a proof of this, i am coming into your way of only working about two hours at a spell; i then go out and do my business in the streets, return and set to work again, and thus make two separate days out of one. the new plan answers capitally; after the second half day is finished i go and dine at the athenaeum like a gentleman, or rather like a lord, for i am sure the first evening i sat in that great drawing-room, all on a sofa by myself, i felt just like a duke. i am full of admiration at the athenaeum, one meets so many people there that one likes to see. the very first time i dined there (i.e. last week) i met dr. fitton (w.h. fitton ( - ) was a physician and geologist, and sometime president of the geological society. he established the 'proceedings,' a mode of publication afterwards adopted by other societies.) at the door, and he got together quite a party--robert brown, who is gone to paris and auvergne, macleay [?] and dr. boott. (francis boott ( - ) is chiefly known as a botanist through his work on the genus carex. he was also well-known in connection with the linnean society of which he was for many years an office-bearer. he is described (in a biographical sketch published in the "gardener's chronicle", ) as having been one of the first physicians in london who gave up the customary black coat, knee-breeches and silk stockings, and adopted the ordinary dress of the period, a blue coat with brass buttons, and a buff waiscoat, a costume which he continued to wear to the last. after giving up practice, which he did early in life, he spent much of his time in acts of unpretending philanthropy.) your helping me into the athenaeum has not been thrown away, and i enjoy it the more because i fully expected to detest it. i am writing you a most unmerciful letter, but i shall get owen to take it to newcastle. if you have a mind to be a very generous man you will write to me from kinnordy (the house of lyell's father.), and tell me some newcastle news, as well as about the craig, and about yourself and mrs. lyell, and everything else in the world. i will send by hall the 'entomological transactions,' which i have borrowed for you; you will be disappointed in --'s papers, that is if you suppose my dear friend has a single clear idea upon any one subject. he has so involved recent insects and true fossil insects in one table that i fear you will not make much out of it, though it is a subject which ought i should think to come into the 'principles.' you will be amused at some of the ridiculo-sublime passages in the papers, and no doubt will feel acutely a sneer there is at yourself. i have heard from more than one quarter that quarrelling is expected at newcastle (at the meeting of the british association.); i am sorry to hear it. i met old -- this evening at the athenaeum, and he muttered something about writing to you or some one on the subject; i am however all in the dark. i suppose, however, i shall be illuminated, for i am going to dine with him in a few days, as my inventive powers failed in making any excuse. a friend of mine dined with him the other day, a party of four, and they finished ten bottles of wine--a pleasant prospect for me; but i am determined not even to taste his wine, partly for the fun of seeing his infinite disgust and surprise... i pity you the infliction of this most unmerciful letter. pray remember me most kindly to mrs. lyell when you arrive at kinnordy. i saw her name in the landlord's book of inverorum. tell mrs. lyell to read the second series of 'mr. slick of slickville's sayings.'...he almost beats "samivel," that prince of heroes. goodnight, my dear lyell; you will think i have been drinking some strong drink to write so much nonsense, but i did not even taste minerva's small beer to-day. yours most sincerely, chas. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. friday night, september th [ ]. my dear lyell, i was astonished and delighted at your gloriously long letter, and i am sure i am very much obliged to mrs. lyell for having taken the trouble to write so much. (lyell dictated much of his correspondence.) i mean to have a good hour's enjoyment and scribble away to you, who have so much geological sympathy that i do not care how egotistically i write... i have got so much to say about all sorts of trifling things that i hardly know what to begin about. i need not say how pleased i am to hear that mr. lyell (father of the geologist.) likes my journal. to hear such tidings is a kind of resurrection, for i feel towards my first-born child as if it had long since been dead, buried, and forgotten; but the past is nothing and the future everything to us geologists, as you show in your capital motto to the 'elements.' by the way, have you read the article, in the 'edinburgh review,' on m. comte, 'cours de la philosophie' (or some such title)? it is capital; there are some fine sentences about the very essence of science being prediction, which reminded me of "its law being progress." i will now begin and go through your letter seriatim. i dare say your plan of putting the elie de beaumont's chapter separately and early will be very good; anyhow, it is showing a bold front in the first edition which is to be translated into french. it will be a curious point to geologists hereafter to note how long a man's name will support a theory so completely exposed as that of de beaumont's has been by you; you say you "begin to hope that the great principles there insisted on will stand the test of time." begin to hope: why, the possibility of a doubt has never crossed my mind for many a day. this may be very unphilosophical, but my geological salvation is staked on it. after having just come back from glen roy, and found how difficulties smooth away under your principles, it makes me quite indignant that you should talk of hoping. with respect to the question, how far my coral theory bears on de beaumont's theory, i think it would be prudent to quote me with great caution until my whole account is published, and then you (and others) can judge how far there is foundation for such generalisation. mind, i do not doubt its truth; but the extension of any view over such large spaces, from comparatively few facts, must be received with much caution. i do not myself the least doubt that within the recent (or as you, much to my annoyment, would call it, "new pliocene") period, tortuous bands--not all the bands parallel to each other--have been elevated and corresponding ones subsided, though within the same period some parts probably remained for a time stationary, or even subsided. i do not believe a more utterly false view could have been invented than great straight lines being suddenly thrown up. when my book on volcanoes and coral reefs will be published i hardly know; i fear it will be at least four or five months; though, mind, the greater part is written. i find so much time is lost in correcting details and ascertaining their accuracy. the government zoological work is a millstone round my neck, and the glen roy paper has lost me six weeks. i will not, however, say lost; for, supposing i can prove to others' satisfaction what i have convinced myself is the case, the inference i think you will allow to be important. i cannot doubt that the molten matter beneath the earth's crust possesses a high degree of fluidity, almost like the sea beneath the block ice. by the way, i hope you will give me some swedish case to quote, of shells being preserved on the surface, but not in contemporaneous beds of gravel... remember what i have often heard you say: the country is very bad for the intellects; the scotch mists will put out some volcanic speculations. you see i am affecting to become very cockneyfied, and to despise the poor country-folk, who breath fresh air instead of smoke, and see the goodly fields instead of the brick houses in marlborough street, the very sight of which i confess i abhor. i am glad to hear what a favourable report you give of the british association. i am the more pleased because i have been fighting its battles with basil hall, stokes, and several others, having made up my mind, from the report in the "athenaeum", that it must have been an excellent meeting. i have been much amused with an account i have received of the wars of don roderick (murchison.) and babbage. what a grievous pity it is that the latter should be so implacable...this is a most rigmarole letter, for after each sentence i take breath, and you will have need of it in reading it... i wish with all my heart that my geological book was out. i have every motive to work hard, and will, following your steps, work just that degree of hardness to keep well. i should like my volume to be out before your new edition of 'principles' appears. besides the coral theory, the volcanic chapters will, i think, contain some new facts. i have lately been sadly tempted to be idle--that is, as far as pure geology is concerned--by the delightful number of new views which have been coming in thickly and steadily,--on the classification and affinities and instincts of animals--bearing on the question of species. note-book after note-book has been filled with facts which begin to group themselves clearly under sub-laws. good night, my dear lyell. i have filled my letter and enjoyed my talk to you as much as i can without having you in propria persona. think of the bad effects of the country--so once more good night. ever yours, chas. darwin. pray again give my best thanks to mrs. lyell. [the record of what he wrote during the year does not give a true index of the most important work that was in progress,--the laying of the foundation-stones of what was to be the achievement of his life. this is shown in the foregoing letter to lyell, where he speaks of being "idle," and the following extract from a letter to fox, written in june, is of interest in this point of view: "i am delighted to hear you are such a good man as not to have forgotten my questions about the crossing of animals. it is my prime hobby, and i really think some day i shall be able to do something in that most intricate subject, species and varieties."] - . [in the winter of (january ) my father was married to his cousin, emma wedgwood. (daughter of josiah wedgwood of maer, and grand-daughter of the founder of the etruria pottery works.) the house in which they lived for the first few years of their married life, no. upper gower street, was a small common-place london house, with a drawing-room in front, and a small room behind, in which they lived for the sake of quietness. in later years my father used to laugh over the surpassing ugliness of the furniture, carpets, etc., of the gower street house. the only redeeming feature was a better garden than most london houses have, a strip as wide as the house, and thirty yards long. even this small space of dingy grass made their london house more tolerable to its two country-bred inhabitants. of his life in london he writes to fox (october ): "we are living a life of extreme quietness; delamere itself, which you describe as so secluded a spot, is, i will answer for it, quite dissipated compared with gower street. we have given up all parties, for they agree with neither of us; and if one is quiet in london, there is nothing like its quietness--there is a grandeur about its smoky fogs, and the dull distant sounds of cabs and coaches; in fact you may perceive i am becoming a thorough-paced cockney, and i glory in thoughts that i shall be here for the next six months." the entries of ill health in the diary increase in number during these years, and as a consequence the holidays become longer and more frequent. from april to may , , he was at maer and shrewsbury. again, from august to october he was away from london at maer, shrewsbury, and at birmingham for the meeting of the british association. the entry under august is: "during my visit to maer, read a little, was much unwell and scandalously idle. i have derived this much good, that nothing is so intolerable as idleness." at the end of his eldest child was born, and it was then that he began his observations ultimately published in the 'expression of the emotions.' his book on this subject, and the short paper published in 'mind,' (july .) show how closely he observed his child. he seems to have been surprised at his own feelings for a young baby, for he wrote to fox (july ): "he [i.e. the baby] is so charming that i cannot pretend to any modesty. i defy anybody to flatter us on our baby, for i defy any one to say anything in its praise of which we are not fully conscious...i had not the smallest conception there was so much in a five-month baby. you will perceive by this that i have a fine degree of paternal fervour." during these years he worked intermittently at 'coral reefs,' being constantly interrupted by ill health. thus he speaks of "recommencing" the subject in february , and again in the october of the same year, and once more in july , "after more than thirteen months' interval." his other scientific work consisted of a contribution to the geological society ('geol. soc. proc.' iii. , and 'geol. soc. trans.' vi), on the boulders and "till" of south america, as well as a few other minor papers on geological subjects. he also worked busily at the ornithological part of the zoology of the "beagle", i.e. the notice of the habits and ranges of the birds which were described by gould.] charles darwin to c. lyell. wednesday morning [february ]. my dear lyell, many thanks for your kind note. i will send for the "scotsman". dr. holland thinks he has found out what is the matter with me, and now hopes he shall be able to set me going again. is it not mortifying, it is now nine weeks since i have done a whole day's work, and not more than four half days. but i won't grumble any more, though it is hard work to prevent doing so. since receiving your note i have read over my chapter on coral, and find i am prepared to stand by almost everything; it is much more cautiously and accurately written than i thought. i had set my heart upon having my volume completed before your new edition, but not, you may believe me, for you to notice anything new in it (for there is very little besides details), but you are the one man in europe whose opinion of the general truth of a toughish argument i should be always most anxious to hear. my ms. is in such confusion, otherwise i am sure you should most willingly if it had been worth your while, have looked at any part you choose.... [in a letter to fox (january ) he shows that his "species work" was still occupying his mind:-- "if you attend at all to natural history i send you this p.s. as a memento, that i continue to collect all kinds of facts about 'varieties and species,' for my some-day work to be so entitled; the smallest contributions thankfully accepted; descriptions of offspring of all crosses between all domestic birds and animals, dogs, cats, etc., etc., very valuable. don't forget, if your half-bred african cat should die that i should be very much obliged for its carcase sent up in a little hamper for the skeleton; it, or any cross-bred pigeons, fowl, duck, etc., etc., will be more acceptable than the finest haunch of venison, or the finest turtle." later in the year (september) he writes to fox about his health, and also with reference to his plan of moving into the country:-- "i have steadily been gaining ground, and really believe now i shall some day be quite strong. i write daily for a couple of hours on my coral volume, and take a little walk or ride every day. i grow very tired in the evenings, and am not able to go out at that time, or hardly to receive my nearest relations; but my life ceases to be burdensome now that i can do something. we are taking steps to leave london, and live about twenty miles from it on some railway."] . [the record of work includes his volume on 'coral reefs' (a notice of the coral reef work appeared in the geograph. soc. journal, xii., page .), the manuscript of which was at last sent to the printers in january of this year, and the last proof corrected in may. he thus writes of the work in his diary:-- "i commenced this work three years and seven months ago. out of this period about twenty months (besides work during "beagle's" voyage) has been spent on it, and besides it, i have only compiled the bird part of zoology; appendix to journal, paper on boulders, and corrected papers on glen roy and earthquakes, reading on species, and rest all lost by illness." in may and june he was at shrewsbury and maer, whence he went on to make the little tour in wales, of which he spoke in his 'recollections,' and of which the results were published as "notes on the effects produced by the ancient glaciers of caernarvonshire, and on the boulders transported by floating ice." ('philosophical magazine,' , page .) mr. archibald geikie speaks of this paper as standing "almost at the top of the long list of english contributions to the history of the ice age." (charles darwin, 'nature' series, page .) the latter part of this year belongs to the period including the settlement at down, and is therefore dealt with in another chapter.] chapter .viii. -- religion. [the history of this part of my father's life may justly include some mention of his religious views. for although, as he points out, he did not give continuous systematic thought to religious questions, yet we know from his own words that about this time ( - ) the subject was much before his mind.] in his published works he was reticent on the matter of religion, and what he has left on the subject was not written with a view to publication. (as an exception may be mentioned, a few words of concurrence with dr. abbot's 'truths for the times,' which my father allowed to be published in the "index".) i believe that his reticence arose from several causes. he felt strongly that a man's religion is an essentially private matter, and one concerning himself alone. this is indicated by the following extract from a letter of :--(addressed to mr. j. fordyce, and published by him in his 'aspects of scepticism,' .) "what my own views may be is a question of no consequence to any one but myself. but, as you ask, i may state that my judgment often fluctuates...in my most extreme fluctuations i have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a god. i think that generally (and more and more as i grow older), but not always, that an agnostic would be the more correct description of my state of mind." he naturally shrank from wounding the sensibilities of others in religious matters, and he was also influenced by the consciousness that a man ought not to publish on a subject to which he has not given special and continuous thought. that he felt this caution to apply to himself in the matter of religion is shown in a letter to dr. f.e. abbot, of cambridge, u.s. (september , ). after explaining that the weakness arising from his bad health prevented him from feeling "equal to deep reflection, on the deepest subject which can fill a man's mind," he goes on to say: "with respect to my former notes to you, i quite forget their contents. i have to write many letters, and can reflect but little on what i write; but i fully believe and hope that i have never written a word, which at the time i did not think; but i think you will agree with me, that anything which is to be given to the public ought to be maturely weighed and cautiously put. it never occurred to me that you would wish to print any extract from my notes: if it had, i would have kept a copy. i put 'private' from habit, only as yet partially acquired, from some hasty notes of mine having been printed, which were not in the least degree worth printing, though otherwise unobjectionable. it is simply ridiculous to suppose that my former note to you would be worth sending to me, with any part marked which you desire to print; but if you like to do so, i will at once say whether i should have any objection. i feel in some degree unwilling to express myself publicly on religious subjects, as i do not feel that i have thought deeply enough to justify any publicity." i may also quote from another letter to dr. abbot (november , ), in which my father gives more fully his reasons for not feeling competent to write on religious and moral subjects:-- "i can say with entire truth that i feel honoured by your request that i should become a contributor to the "index", and am much obliged for the draft. i fully, also, subscribe to the proposition that it is the duty of every one to spread what he believes to be the truth; and i honour you for doing so, with so much devotion and zeal. but i cannot comply with your request for the following reasons; and excuse me for giving them in some detail, as i should be very sorry to appear in your eyes ungracious. my health is very weak: i never pass hours without many hours of discomfort, when i can do nothing whatever. i have thus, also, lost two whole consecutive months this season. owing to this weakness, and my head being often giddy, i am unable to master new subjects requiring much thought, and can deal only with old materials. at no time am i a quick thinker or writer: whatever i have done in science has solely been by long pondering, patience and industry. "now i have never systematically thought much on religion in relation to science, or on morals in relation to society; and without steadily keeping my mind on such subjects for a long period, i am really incapable of writing anything worth sending to the 'index'." he was more than once asked to give his views on religion, and he had, as a rule, no objection to doing so in a private letter. thus in answer to a dutch student he wrote (april , ):-- "i am sure you will excuse my writing at length, when i tell you that i have long been much out of health, and am now staying away from my home for rest. "it is impossible to answer your question briefly; and i am not sure that i could do so, even if i wrote at some length. but i may say that the impossibility of conceiving that this grand and wondrous universe, with our conscious selves, arose through chance, seems to me the chief argument for the existence of god; but whether this is an argument of real value, i have never been able to decide. i am aware that if we admit a first cause, the mind still craves to know whence it came, and how it arose. nor can i overlook the difficulty from the immense amount of suffering through the world. i am, also, induced to defer to a certain extent to the judgment of the many able men who have fully believed in god; but here again i see how poor an argument this is. the safest conclusion seems to me that the whole subject is beyond the scope of man's intellect; but man can do his duty." again in he was applied to by a german student, in a similar manner. the letter was answered by a member of my father's family, who wrote:-- "mr. darwin begs me to say that he receives so many letters, that he cannot answer them all. "he considers that the theory of evolution is quite compatible with the belief in a god; but that you must remember that different persons have different definitions of what they mean by god." this, however, did not satisfy the german youth, who again wrote to my father, and received from him the following reply:-- "i am much engaged, an old man, and out of health, and i cannot spare time to answer your questions fully,--nor indeed can they be answered. science has nothing to do with christ, except in so far as the habit of scientific research makes a man cautious in admitting evidence. for myself, i do not believe that there ever has been any revelation. as for a future life, every man must judge for himself between conflicting vague probabilities." the passages which here follow are extracts, somewhat abbreviated, from a part of the autobiography, written in , in which my father gives the history of his religious views:-- "during these two years (october to january .) i was led to think much about religion. whilst on board the 'beagle' i was quite orthodox, and i remember being heartily laughed at by several of the officers (though themselves orthodox) for quoting the bible as an unanswerable authority on some point of morality. i suppose it was the novelty of the argument that amused them. but i had gradually come by this time, i.e. to , to see that the old testament was no more to be trusted than the sacred books of the hindoos. the question then continually rose before my mind and would not be banished,--is it credible that if god were now to make a revelation to the hindoos, he would permit it to be connected with the belief in vishnu, siva, etc., as christianity is connected with the old testament? this appeared to me utterly incredible. "by further reflecting that the clearest evidence would be requisite to make any sane man believe in the miracles by which christianity is supported,--and that the more we know of the fixed laws of nature the more incredible do miracles become,--that the men at that time were ignorant and credulous to a degree almost incomprehensible by us,--that the gospels cannot be proved to have been written simultaneously with the events,--that they differ in many important details, far too important, as it seemed to me, to be admitted as the usual inaccuracies of eye-witnesses;--by such reflections as these, which i give not as having the least novelty or value, but as they influenced me, i gradually came to disbelieve in christianity as a divine revelation. the fact that many false religions have spread over large portions of the earth like wild-fire had some weight with me. "but i was very unwilling to give up my belief; i feel sure of this, for i can well remember often and often inventing day-dreams of old letters between distinguished romans, and manuscripts being discovered at pompeii or elsewhere, which confirmed in the most striking manner all that was written in the gospels. but i found it more and more difficult, with free scope given to my imagination, to invent evidence which would suffice to convince me. thus disbelief crept over me at a very slow rate, but was at last complete. the rate was so slow that i felt no distress. "although i did not think much about the existence of a personal god until a considerably later period of my life, i will here give the vague conclusions to which i have been driven. the old argument from design in nature, as given by paley, which formerly seemed to me so conclusive, fails, now that the law of natural selection has been discovered. we can no longer argue that, for instance, the beautiful hinge of a bivalve shell must have been made by an intelligent being, like the hinge of a door by man. there seems to be no more design in the variability of organic beings, and in the action of natural selection, than in the course which the wind blows. but i have discussed this subject at the end of my book on the 'variations of domesticated animals and plants' (my father asks whether we are to believe that the forms are preordained of the broken fragments of rock tumbled from a precipice which are fitted together by man to build his houses. if not, why should we believe that the variations of domestic animals or plants are preordained for the sake of the breeder? "but if we give up the principle in one case,... no shadow of reason can be assigned for the belief that variations, alike in nature and the result of the same general laws, which have been the groundwork through natural selection of the formation of the most perfectly adapted animals in the world, man included, were intentionally and specially guided."--'the variation of animals and plants,' st edition volume ii. page .--f.d.), and the argument there given has never, as far as i can see, been answered. "but passing over the endless beautiful adaptations which we everywhere meet with, it may be asked how can the generally beneficent arrangement of the world be accounted for? some writers indeed are so much impressed with the amount of suffering in the world, that they doubt, if we look to all sentient beings, whether there is more of misery or of happiness; whether the world as a whole is a good or bad one. according to my judgment happiness decidedly prevails, though this would be very difficult to prove. if the truth of this conclusion be granted, it harmonises well with the effects which we might expect from natural selection. if all the individuals of any species were habitually to suffer to an extreme degree, they would neglect to propagate their kind; but we have no reason to believe that this has ever, or at least often occurred. some other considerations, moreover, lead to the belief that all sentient beings have been formed so as to enjoy, as a general rule, happiness. "everyone who believes, as i do, that all the corporeal and mental organs (excepting those which are neither advantageous nor disadvantageous to the possessor) of all beings have been developed through natural selection, or the survival of the fittest, together with use or habit, will admit that these organs have been formed so that their possessors may compete successfully with other beings, and thus increase in number. now an animal may be led to pursue that course of action which is most beneficial to the species by suffering, such as pain, hunger, thirst, and fear; or by pleasure, as in eating and drinking, and in the propagation of the species, etc.; or by both means combined, as in the search for food. but pain or suffering of any kind, if long continued, causes depression and lessens the power of action, yet is well adapted to make a creature guard itself against any great or sudden evil. pleasurable sensations, on the other hand, may be long continued without any depressing effect; on the contrary, they stimulate the whole system to increased action. hence it has come to pass that most or all sentient beings have been developed in such a manner, through natural selection, that pleasurable sensations serve as their habitual guides. we see this in the pleasure from exertion, even occasionally from great exertion of the body or mind,--in the pleasure of our daily meals, and especially in the pleasure derived from sociability, and from loving our families. the sum of such pleasures as these, which are habitual or frequently recurrent, give, as i can hardly doubt, to most sentient beings an excess of happiness over misery, although many occasionally suffer much. such suffering is quite compatible with the belief in natural selection, which is not perfect in its action, but tends only to render each species as successful as possible in the battle for life with other species, in wonderfully complex and changing circumstances. "that there is much suffering in the world no one disputes. some have attempted to explain this with reference to man by imagining that it serves for his moral improvement. but the number of men in the world is as nothing compared with that of all other sentient beings, and they often suffer greatly without any moral improvement. this very old argument from the existence of suffering against the existence of an intelligent first cause seems to me a strong one; whereas, as just remarked, the presence of much suffering agrees well with the view that all organic beings have been developed through variation and natural selection. "at the present day the most usual argument for the existence of an intelligent god is drawn from the deep inward conviction and feelings which are experienced by most persons. "formerly i was led by feelings such as those just referred to (although i do not think that the religious sentiment was ever strongly developed in me), to the firm conviction of the existence of god, and of the immortality of the soul. in my journal i wrote that whilst standing in the midst of the grandeur of a brazilian forest, "it is not possible to give an adequate idea of the higher feelings of wonder, admiration, and devotion, which fill and elevate the mind." i well remember my conviction that there is more in man than the mere breath of his body. but now the grandest scenes would not cause any such convictions and feelings to rise in my mind. it may be truly said that i am like a man who has become colour-blind, and the universal belief by men of the existence of redness makes my present loss of perception of not the least value as evidence. this argument would be a valid one if all men of all races had the same inward conviction of the existence of one god; but we know that this is very far from being the case. therefore i cannot see that such inward convictions and feelings are of any weight as evidence of what really exists. the state of mind which grand scenes formerly excited in me, and which was intimately connected with a belief in god, did not essentially differ from that which is often called the sense of sublimity; and however difficult it may be to explain the genesis of this sense, it can hardly be advanced as an argument for the existence of god, any more than the powerful though vague and similar feelings excited by music. "with respect to immortality, nothing shows me [so clearly] how strong and almost instinctive a belief it is, as the consideration of the view now held by most physicists, namely, that the sun with all the planets will in time grow too cold for life, unless indeed some great body dashes into the sun, and thus gives it fresh life. believing as i do that man in the distant future will be a far more perfect creature than he now is, it is an intolerable thought that he and all other sentient beings are doomed to complete annihilation after such long-continued slow progress. to those who fully admit the immortality of the human soul, the destruction of our world will not appear so dreadful. "another source of conviction in the existence of god, connected with the reason, and not with the feelings, impresses me as having much more weight. this follows from the extreme difficulty or rather impossibility of conceiving this immense and wonderful universe, including man with his capacity of looking far backwards and far into futurity, as the result of blind chance or necessity. when thus reflecting i feel compelled to look to a first cause having an intelligent mind in some degree analogous to that of man; and i deserve to be called a theist. this conclusion was strong in my mind about the time, as far as i can remember, when i wrote the 'origin of species;' and it is since that time that it has very gradually, with many fluctuations, become weaker. but then arises the doubt, can the mind of man, which has, as i fully believe, been developed from a mind as low as that possessed by the lowest animals, be trusted when it draws such grand conclusions? "i cannot pretend to throw the least light on such abstruse problems. the mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble by us; and i for one must be content to remain an agnostic." [the following letters repeat to some extent what has been given from the autobiography. the first one refers to 'the boundaries of science, a dialogue,' published in 'macmillan's magazine,' for july .] charles darwin to miss julia wedgwood. july [ ]. some one has sent us 'macmillan'; and i must tell you how much i admire your article; though at the same time i must confess that i could not clearly follow you in some parts, which probably is in main part due to my not being at all accustomed to metaphysical trains of thought. i think that you understand my book (the 'origin of species.') perfectly, and that i find a very rare event with my critics. the ideas in the last page have several times vaguely crossed my mind. owing to several correspondents i have been led lately to think, or rather to try to think over some of the chief points discussed by you. but the result has been with me a maze--something like thinking on the origin of evil, to which you allude. the mind refuses to look at this universe, being what it is, without having been designed; yet, where one would most expect design, viz. in the structure of a sentient being, the more i think on the subject, the less i can see proof of design. asa gray and some others look at each variation, or at least at each beneficial variation (which a. gray would compare with the rain drops (dr. gray's rain-drop metaphor occurs in the essay 'darwin and his reviewers' ('darwiniana,' page ): "the whole animate life of a country depends absolutely upon the vegetation, the vegetation upon the rain. the moisture is furnished by the ocean, is raised by the sun's heat from the ocean's surface, and is wafted inland by the winds. but what multitudes of rain-drops fall back into the ocean--are as much without a final cause as the incipient varieties which come to nothing! does it therefore follow that the rains which are bestowed upon the soil with such rule and average regularity were not designed to support vegetable and animal life?") which do not fall on the sea, but on to the land to fertilize it) as having been providentially designed. yet when i ask him whether he looks at each variation in the rock-pigeon, by which man has made by accumulation a pouter or fantail pigeon, as providentially designed for man's amusement, he does not know what to answer; and if he, or any one, admits [that] these variations are accidental, as far as purpose is concerned (of course not accidental as to their cause or origin); then i can see no reason why he should rank the accumulated variations by which the beautifully adapted woodpecker has been formed, as providentially designed. for it would be easy to imagine the enlarged crop of the pouter, or tail of the fantail, as of some use to birds, in a state of nature, having peculiar habits of life. these are the considerations which perplex me about design; but whether you will care to hear them, i know not.... [on the subject of design, he wrote (july ) to dr. gray: "one word more on 'designed laws' and 'undesigned results.' i see a bird which i want for food, take my gun and kill it, i do this designedly. an innocent and good man stands under a tree and is killed by a flash of lightning. do you believe (and i really should like to hear) that god designedly killed this man? many or most persons do believe this; i can't and don't. if you believe so, do you believe that when a swallow snaps up a gnat that god designed that that particular swallow should snap up that particular gnat at that particular instant? i believe that the man and the gnat are in the same predicament. if the death of neither man nor gnat are designed, i see no good reason to believe that their first birth or production should be necessarily designed."] charles darwin to w. graham. down, july rd, . dear sir, i hope that you will not think it intrusive on my part to thank you heartily for the pleasure which i have derived from reading your admirably written 'creed of science,' though i have not yet quite finished it, as now that i am old i read very slowly. it is a very long time since any other book has interested me so much. the work must have cost you several years and much hard labour with full leisure for work. you would not probably expect any one fully to agree with you on so many abstruse subjects; and there are some points in your book which i cannot digest. the chief one is that the existence of so-called natural laws implies purpose. i cannot see this. not to mention that many expect that the several great laws will some day be found to follow inevitably from some one single law, yet taking the laws as we now know them, and look at the moon, where the law of gravitation--and no doubt of the conservation of energy--of the atomic theory, etc. etc., hold good, and i cannot see that there is then necessarily any purpose. would there be purpose if the lowest organisms alone, destitute of consciousness existed in the moon? but i have had no practice in abstract reasoning, and i may be all astray. nevertheless you have expressed my inward conviction, though far more vividly and clearly than i could have done, that the universe is not the result of chance. (the duke of argyll ('good words,' ap. , page ) has recorded a few words on this subject, spoken by my father in the last year of his life. "...in the course of that conversation i said to mr. darwin, with reference to some of his own remarkable works on the 'fertilization of orchids,' and upon 'the earthworms,' and various other observations he made of the wonderful contrivances for certain purposes in nature--i said it was impossible to look at these without seeing that they were the effect and the expression of mind. i shall never forget mr. darwin's answer. he looked at me very hard and said, 'well, that often comes over me with overwhelming force; but at other times,' and he shook his head vaguely, adding, 'it seems to go away.'") but then with me the horrid doubt always arises whether the convictions of man's mind, which has been developed from the mind of the lower animals, are of any value or at all trustworthy. would any one trust in the convictions of a monkey's mind, if there are any convictions in such a mind? secondly, i think that i could make somewhat of a case against the enormous importance which you attribute to our greatest men; i have been accustomed to think, second, third, and fourth rate men of very high importance, at least in the case of science. lastly, i could show fight on natural selection having done and doing more for the progress of civilization than you seem inclined to admit. remember what risk the nations of europe ran, not so many centuries ago of being overwhelmed by the turks, and how ridiculous such an idea now is! the more civilised so-called caucasian races have beaten the turkish hollow in the struggle for existence. looking to the world at no very distant date, what an endless number of the lower races will have been eliminated by the higher civilized races throughout the world. but i will write no more, and not even mention the many points in your work which have much interested me. i have indeed cause to apologise for troubling you with my impressions, and my sole excuse is the excitement in my mind which your book has aroused. i beg leave to remain, dear sir, yours faithfully and obliged, charles darwin. [my father spoke little on these subjects, and i can contribute nothing from my own recollection of his conversation which can add to the impression here given of his attitude towards religion. some further idea of his views may, however, be gathered from occasional remarks in his letters.] (dr. aveling has published an account of a conversation with my father. i think that the readers of this pamphlet ('the religious views of charles darwin,' free thought publishing company, ) may be misled into seeing more resemblance than really existed between the positions of my father and dr. aveling: and i say this in spite of my conviction that dr. aveling gives quite fairly his impressions of my father's views. dr. aveling tried to show that the terms "agnostic" and "atheist" were practically equivalent--that an atheist is one who, without denying the existence of god, is without god, inasmuch as he is unconvinced of the existence of a deity. my father's replies implied his preference for the unaggressive attitude of an agnostic. dr. aveling seems (page ) to regard the absence of aggressiveness in my father's views as distinguishing them in an unessential manner from his own. but, in my judgment, it is precisely differences of this kind which distinguish him so completely from the class of thinkers to which dr. aveling belongs.) chapter .ix. -- life at down. - . "my life goes on like clockwork, and i am fixed on the spot where i shall end it." letter to captain fitz-roy, october, . [with the view of giving in the following chapters a connected account of the growth of the 'origin of species,' i have taken the more important letters bearing on that subject out of their proper chronological position here, and placed them with the rest of the correspondence bearing on the same subject; so that in the present group of letters we only get occasional hints of the growth of my father's views, and we may suppose ourselves to be looking at his life, as it might have been looked at by those who had no knowledge of the quiet development of his theory of evolution during this period.] on september , , my father left london with his family and settled at down. (i must not omit to mention a member of the household who accompanied him. this was his butler, joseph parslow, who remained in the family, a valued friend and servant, for forty years, and became as sir joseph hooker once remarked to me, "an integral part of the family, and felt to be such by all visitors at the house.") in the autobiographical chapter, his motives for taking this step in the country are briefly given. he speaks of the attendance at scientific societies, and ordinary social duties, as suiting his health so "badly that we resolved to live in the country, which we both preferred and have never repented of." his intention of keeping up with scientific life in london is expressed in a letter to fox (december, ):-- "i hope by going up to town for a night every fortnight or three weeks, to keep up my communication with scientific men and my own zeal, and so not to turn into a complete kentish hog." visits to london of this kind were kept up for some years at the cost of much exertion on his part. i have often heard him speak of the wearisome drives of ten miles to or from croydon or sydenham--the nearest stations--with an old gardener acting as coachman, who drove with great caution and slowness up and down the many hills. in later years, all regular scientific intercourse with london became, as before mentioned, an impossibility. the choice of down was rather the result of despair than of actual preference; my father and mother were weary of house-hunting, and the attractive points about the place thus seemed to them to counterbalance its somewhat more obvious faults. it had at least one desideratum, namely quietness. indeed it would have been difficult to find a more retired place so near to london. in a coach drive of some twenty miles was the only means of access to down; and even now that railways have crept closer to it, it is singularly out of the world, with nothing to suggest the neighbourhood of london, unless it be the dull haze of smoke that sometimes clouds the sky. the village stands in an angle between two of the larger high-roads of the country, one leading to tunbridge and the other to westerham and edenbridge. it is cut off from the weald by a line of steep chalk hills on the south, and an abrupt hill, now smoothed down by a cutting and embankment, must formerly have been something of a barrier against encroachments from the side of london. in such a situation, a village, communicating with the main lines of traffic, only by stony tortuous lanes, may well have been enabled to preserve its retired character. nor is it hard to believe in the smugglers and their strings of pack-horses making their way up from the lawless old villages of the weald, of which the memory still existed when my father settled in down. the village stands on solitary upland country, to feet above the sea,-- a country with little natural beauty, but possessing a certain charm in the shaws, or straggling strips of wood, capping the chalky banks and looking down upon the quiet ploughed lands of the valleys. the village, of three or four hundred inhabitants, consists of three small streets of cottages meeting in front of the little flint-built church. it is a place where new-comers are seldom seen, and the names occurring far back in the old church registers are still well-known in the village. the smock-frock is not yet quite extinct, though chiefly used as a ceremonial dress by the "bearers" at funerals: but as a boy i remember the purple or green smocks of the men at church. the house stands a quarter of a mile from the village, and is built, like so many houses of the last century, as near as possible to the road--a narrow lane winding away to the westerham high-road. in , it was dull and unattractive enough: a square brick building of three storeys, covered with shabby whitewash and hanging tiles. the garden had none of the shrubberies or walls that now give shelter; it was overlooked from the lane, and was open, bleak, and desolate. one of my father's first undertakings was to lower the lane by about two feet, and to build a flint wall along that part of it which bordered the garden. the earth thus excavated was used in making banks and mounds round the lawn: these were planted with evergreens, which now give to the garden its retired and sheltered character. the house was made to look neater by being covered with stucco, but the chief improvement effected was the building of a large bow extending up through three storeys. this bow became covered with a tangle of creepers, and pleasantly varied the south side of the house. the drawing-room, with its verandah opening into the garden, as well as the study in which my father worked during the later years of his life, were added at subsequent dates. eighteen acres of land were sold with the house, of which twelve acres on the south side of the house formed a pleasant field, scattered with fair-sized oaks and ashes. from this field a strip was cut off and converted into a kitchen garden, in which the experimental plot of ground was situated, and where the greenhouses were ultimately put up. the following letter to mr. fox (march th, ) gives among other things my father's early impressions of down:-- "i will tell you all the trifling particulars about myself that i can think of. we are now exceedingly busy with the first brick laid down yesterday to an addition to our house; with this, with almost making a new kitchen garden and sundry other projected schemes, my days are very full. i find all this very bad for geology, but i am very slowly progressing with a volume, or rather pamphlet, on the volcanic islands which we visited: i manage only a couple of hours per day and that not very regularly. it is uphill work writing books, which cost money in publishing, and which are not read even by geologists. i forget whether i ever described this place: it is a good, very ugly house with acres, situated on a chalk flat, feet above sea. there are peeps of far distant country and the scenery is moderately pretty: its chief merit is its extreme rurality. i think i was never in a more perfectly quiet country. three miles south of us the great chalk escarpment quite cuts us off from the low country of kent, and between us and the escarpment there is not a village or gentleman's house, but only great woods and arable fields (the latter in sadly preponderant numbers) so that we are absolutely at the extreme verge of the world. the whole country is intersected by foot-paths; but the surface over the chalk is clayey and sticky, which is the worst feature in our purchase. the dingles and banks often remind me of cambridgeshire and walks with you to cherry hinton, and other places, though the general aspect of the country is very different. i was looking over my arranged cabinet (the only remnant i have preserved of all my english insects), and was admiring panagaeus crux-major: it is curious the vivid manner in which this insect calls up in my mind your appearance, with little fan trotting after, when i was first introduced to you. those entomological days were very pleasant ones. i am very much stronger corporeally, but am little better in being able to stand mental fatigue, or rather excitement, so that i cannot dine out or receive visitors, except relations with whom i can pass some time after dinner in silence." i could have wished to give here some idea of the position which, at this period of his life, my father occupied among scientific men and the reading public generally. but contemporary notices are few and of no particular value for my purpose,--which therefore must, in spite of a good deal of pains, remain unfulfilled. his 'journal of researches' was then the only one of his books which had any chance of being commonly known. but the fact that it was published with the 'voyages' of captains king and fitz-roy probably interfered with its general popularity. thus lyell wrote to him in ('lyell's life,' ii. page ), "i assure you my father is quite enthusiastic about your journal...and he agrees with me that it would have a large sale if published separately. he was disappointed at hearing that it was to be fettered by the other volumes, for, although he should equally buy it, he feared so many of the public would be checked from doing so." in a notice of the three voyages in the 'edinburgh review' (july, ), there is nothing leading a reader to believe that he would find it more attractive than its fellow-volumes. and, as a fact, it did not become widely known until it was separately published in . it may be noted, however, that the 'quarterly review' (december, ) called the attention of its readers to the merits of the 'journal' as a book of travels. the reviewer speaks of the "charm arising from the freshness of heart which is thrown over these virgin pages of a strong intellectual man and an acute and deep observer." the german translation ( ) of the 'journal' received a favourable notice in no. of the 'heidelberger jahrbucher der literatur,' --where the reviewer speaks of the author's "varied canvas, on which he sketches in lively colours the strange customs of those distant regions with their remarkable fauna, flora and geological peculiarities." alluding to the translation, my father writes--"dr. dieffenbach...has translated my 'journal' into german, and i must, with unpardonable vanity, boast that it was at the instigation of liebig and humboldt." the geological work of which he speaks in the above letter to mr. fox occupied him for the whole of , and was published in the spring of the following year. it was entitled 'geological observations on the volcanic islands, visited during the voyage of h.m.s. "beagle", together with some brief notices on the geology of australia and the cape of good hope': it formed the second part of the 'geology of the voyage of the "beagle",' published "with the approval of the lords commissioners of her majesty's treasury." the volume on 'coral reefs' forms part i. of the series, and was published, as we have seen, in . for the sake of the non-geological reader, i may here quote professor geikie's words (charles darwin, 'nature' series, .) on these two volumes--which were up to this time my father's chief geological works. speaking of the 'coral reefs,' he says:--page , "this well-known treatise, the most original of all its author's geological memoirs, has become one of the classics of geological literature. the origin of those remarkable rings of coral-rock in mid-ocean has given rise to much speculation, but no satisfactory solution of the problem has been proposed. after visiting many of them, and examining also coral reefs that fringe islands and continents, he offered a theory which for simplicity and grandeur strikes every reader with astonishment. it is pleasant, after the lapse of many years, to recall the delight with which one first read the 'coral reefs'; how one watched the facts being marshalled into their places, nothing being ignored or passed lightly over; and how, step by step, one was led to the grand conclusion of wide oceanic subsidence. no more admirable example of scientific method was ever given to the world, and even if he had written nothing else, the treatise alone would have placed darwin in the very front of investigators of nature." it is interesting to see in the following extract from one of lyell's letters (to sir john herschel, may , . 'life of sir charles lyell,' vol. ii. page .) how warmly and readily he embraced the theory. the extract also gives incidentally some idea of the theory itself. "i am very full of darwin's new theory of coral islands, and have urged whewell to make him read it at our next meeting. i must give up my volcanic crater theory for ever, though it cost me a pang at first, for it accounted for so much, the annular form, the central lagoon, the sudden rising of an isolated mountain in a deep sea; all went so well with the notion of submerged, crateriform, and conical volcanoes,... and then the fact that in the south pacific we had scarcely any rocks in the regions of coral islands, save two kinds, coral limestone and volcanic! yet spite of all this, the whole theory is knocked on the head, and the annular shape and central lagoon have nothing to do with volcanoes, nor even with a crateriform bottom. perhaps darwin told you when at the cape what he considers the true cause? let any mountain be submerged gradually, and coral grow in the sea in which it is sinking, and there will be a ring of coral, and finally only a lagoon in the centre. why? for the same reason that a barrier reef of coral grows along certain coasts: australia, etc. coral islands are the last efforts of drowning continents to lift their heads above water. regions of elevation and subsidence in the ocean may be traced by the state of the coral reefs." there is little to be said as to published contemporary criticism. the book was not reviewed in the 'quarterly review' till , when a favourable notice was given. the reviewer speaks of the "bold and startling" character of the work, but seems to recognize the fact that the views are generally accepted by geologists. by that time the minds of men were becoming more ready to receive geology of this type. even ten years before, in , lyell ('life of sir charles lyell,' vol. ii. page .) says, "people are now much better prepared to believe darwin when he advances proofs of the slow rise of the andes, than they were in , when i first startled them with that doctrine." this sentence refers to the theory elaborated in my father's geological observations on south america ( ), but the gradual change in receptivity of the geological mind must have been favourable to all his geological work. nevertheless, lyell seems at first not to have expected any ready acceptance of the coral theory; thus he wrote to my father in :--"i could think of nothing for days after your lesson on coral reefs, but of the tops of submerged continents. it is all true, but do not flatter yourself that you will be believed till you are growing bald like me, with hard work and vexation at the incredulity of the world." the second part of the 'geology of the voyage of the "beagle",' i.e. the volume on volcanic islands, which specially concerns us now, cannot be better described than by again quoting from professor geikie (page ):-- "full of detailed observations, this work still remains the best authority on the general geological structure of most of the regions it describes. at the time it was written the 'crater of elevation theory,' though opposed by constant prevost, scrope, and lyell, was generally accepted, at least on the continent. darwin, however, could not receive it as a valid explanation of the facts; and though he did not share the view of its chief opponents, but ventured to propose a hypothesis of his own, the observations impartially made and described by him in this volume must be regarded as having contributed towards the final solution of the difficulty." professor geikie continues (page ): "he is one of the earliest writers to recognize the magnitude of the denudation to which even recent geological accumulations have been subjected. one of the most impressive lessons to be learnt from his account of 'volcanic islands' is the prodigious extent to which they have been denuded...he was disposed to attribute more of this work to the sea than most geologists would now admit; but he lived himself to modify his original views, and on this subject his latest utterances are quite abreast of the time." an extract from a letter of my father's to lyell shows his estimate of his own work. "you have pleased me much by saying that you intend looking through my 'volcanic islands': it cost me eighteen months!!! and i have heard of very few who have read it. now i shall feel, whatever little (and little it is) there is confirmatory of old work, or new, will work its effect and not be lost." the third of his geological books, 'geological observations on south america,' may be mentioned here, although it was not published until . "in this work the author embodied all the materials collected by him for the illustration of south american geology, save some which have been published elsewhere. one of the most important features of the book was the evidence which it brought forward to prove the slow interrupted elevation of the south american continent during a recent geological period." (geikie, loc. cit.) of this book my father wrote to lyell:--"my volume will be about pages, dreadfully dull, yet much condensed. i think whenever you have time to look through it, you will think the collection of facts on the elevation of the land and on the formation of terraces pretty good." of his special geological work as a whole, professor geikie, while pointing out that it was not "of the same epoch-making kind as his biological researches," remarks that he "gave a powerful impulse to" the general reception of lyell's teaching "by the way in which he gathered from all parts of the world facts in its support." work of the period to . the work of these years may be roughly divided into a period of geology from to , and one of zoology from onwards. i extract from his diary notices of the time spent on his geological books and on his 'journal.' 'volcanic islands.' summer of to january, . 'geology of south america.' july, , to april, . second edition of 'the journal,' october, , to october, . the time between october, , and october, , was practically given up to working at the cirripedia (barnacles); the results were published in two volumes by the ray society in and . his volumes on the fossil cirripedes were published by the palaeontographical society in and . some account of these volumes will be given later. the minor works may be placed together, independently of subject matter. "observations on the structure, etc., of the genus sagitta," ann. nat. hist. xiii., , pages - . "brief descriptions of several terrestrial planariae, etc.," ann. nat. hist. xiv., , pages - . "an account of the fine dust (a sentence occurs in this paper of interest, as showing that the author was alive to the importance of all means of distribution:-- "the fact that particles of this size have been brought at least miles from the land is interesting as bearing on the distribution of cryptogamic plants.") which often falls on vessels in the atlantic ocean," geol. soc. journ. ii., , pages - . "on the geology of the falkland islands," geol. soc. journ. ii., , pages - . "on the transportal of erratic boulders, etc.," geol. soc. journ. iv., , pages - . (an extract from a letter to lyell, , is of interest in connection with this essay:--"would you be so good (if you know it) as to put maclaren's address on the enclosed letter and post it. it is chiefly to enquire in what paper he has described the boulders on arthur's seat. mr. d. milne in the last edinburgh 'new phil. journal' [ ], has a long paper on it. he says: 'some glacialists have ventured to explain the transportation of boulders even in the situation of those now referred to, by imagining that they were transported on ice floes,' etc. he treats this view, and the scratching of rocks by icebergs, as almost absurd...he has finally stirred me up so, that (without you would answer him) i think i will send a paper in opposition to the same journal. i can thus introduce some old remarks of mine, and some new, and will insist on your capital observations in n. america. it is a bore to stop one's work, but he has made me quite wroth.") the article "geology," in the admiralty manual of scientific enquiry ( ), pages - . this was written in the spring of . "on british fossil lepadidae," 'geol. soc. journ.' vi., , pages - . "analogy of the structure of some volcanic rocks with that of glaciers," 'edin. roy. soc. proc.' ii., , pages - . professor geikie has been so good as to give me (in a letter dated november ) his impressions of my father's article in the 'admiralty manual.' he mentions the following points as characteristic of the work:-- " . great breadth of view. no one who had not practically studied and profoundly reflected on the questions discussed could have written it. " . the insight so remarkable in all that mr. darwin ever did. the way in which he points out lines of enquiry that would elucidate geological problems is eminently typical of him. some of these lines have never yet been adequately followed; so with regard to them he was in advance of his time. " . interesting and sympathetic treatment. the author at once puts his readers into harmony with him. he gives them enough of information to show how delightful the field is to which he invites them, and how much they might accomplish in it. there is a broad sketch of the subject which everybody can follow, and there is enough of detail to instruct and guide a beginner and start him on the right track. "of course, geology has made great strides since , and the article, if written now, would need to take notice of other branches of inquiry, and to modify statements which are not now quite accurate; but most of the advice mr. darwin gives is as needful and valuable now as when it was given. it is curious to see with what unerring instinct he seems to have fastened on the principles that would stand the test of time." in a letter to lyell ( ) my father wrote, "i went up for a paper by the arctic dr. sutherland, on ice action, read only in abstract, but i should think with much good matter. it was very pleasant to hear that it was written owing to the admiralty manual." to give some idea of the retired life which now began for my father at down, i have noted from his diary the short periods during which he was away from home between the autumn of , when he came to down, and the end of . july.--week at maer and shrewsbury. october.--twelve days at shrewsbury. april.--week at maer and shrewsbury. july.--twelve days at shrewsbury. september .--six weeks, "shrewsbury, lincolnshire, york, the dean of manchester, waterton, chatsworth." february.--eleven days at shrewsbury. july.--ten days at shrewsbury. september.--ten days at southampton, etc., for the british association. february.--twelve days at shrewsbury. june.--ten days at oxford, etc., for the british association. october.--fortnight at shrewsbury. may.--fortnight at shrewsbury. july.--week at swanage. october.--fortnight at shrewsbury. november.--eleven days at shrewsbury. march to june.--sixteen weeks at malvern. september.--eleven days at birmingham for the british association. june.--week at malvern. august.--week at leith hill, the house of a relative. october.--week at the house of another relative. march.--week at malvern. april.--nine days at malvern. july.--twelve days in london. march.--week at rugby and shrewsbury. september.--six days at the house of a relative. july.--three weeks at eastbourne. august.--five days at the military camp at chobham. march.--five days at the house of a relative. july.--three days at the house of a relative. october.--six days at the house of a relative. it will be seen that he was absent from home sixty weeks in twelve years. but it must be remembered that much of the remaining time spent at down was lost through ill-health.] letters. charles darwin to r. fitz-roy. down [march st, ]. dear fitz-roy, i read yesterday with surprise and the greatest interest, your appointment as governor of new zealand. i do not know whether to congratulate you on it, but i am sure i may the colony, on possessing your zeal and energy. i am most anxious to know whether the report is true, for i cannot bear the thoughts of your leaving the country without seeing you once again; the past is often in my memory, and i feel that i owe to you much bygone enjoyment, and the whole destiny of my life, which (had my health been stronger) would have been one full of satisfaction to me. during the last three months i have never once gone up to london without intending to call in the hopes of seeing mrs. fitz-roy and yourself; but i find, most unfortunately for myself, that the little excitement of breaking out of my most quiet routine so generally knocks me up, that i am able to do scarcely anything when in london, and i have not even been able to attend one evening meeting of the geological society. otherwise, i am very well, as are, thank god, my wife and two children. the extreme retirement of this place suits us all very well, and we enjoy our country life much. but i am writing trifles about myself, when your mind and time must be fully occupied. my object in writing is to beg of you or mrs. fitz-roy to have the kindness to send me one line to say whether it is true, and whether you sail soon. i shall come up next week for one or two days; could you see me for even five minutes, if i called early on thursday morning, viz. at nine or ten o'clock, or at whatever hour (if you keep early ship hours) you finish your breakfast. pray remember me very kindly to mrs. fitz-roy, who i trust is able to look at her long voyage with boldness. believe me, dear fitz-roy, your ever truly obliged, charles darwin. [a quotation from another letter ( ) to fitz-roy may be worth giving, as showing my father's affectionate remembrance of his old captain. "farewell, dear fitz-roy, i often think of your many acts of kindness to me, and not seldomest on the time, no doubt quite forgotten by you, when, before making madeira, you came and arranged my hammock with your own hands, and which, as i afterwards heard, brought tears into my father's eyes."] charles darwin to w.d. fox. [down, september , .] monday morning. my dear fox, when i sent off the glacier paper, i was just going out and so had no time to write. i hope your friend will enjoy (and i wish you were going there with him) his tour as much as i did. it was a kind of geological novel. but your friend must have patience, for he will not get a good glacial eye for a few days. murchison and count keyserling rushed through north wales the same autumn and could see nothing except the effects of rain trickling over the rocks! i cross-examined murchison a little, and evidently saw he had looked carefully at nothing. i feel certain about the glacier-effects in north wales. get up your steam, if this weather lasts, and have a ramble in wales; its glorious scenery must do every one's heart and body good. i wish i had energy to come to delamere and go with you; but as you observe, you might as well ask st. paul's. whenever i give myself a trip, it shall be, i think, to scotland, to hunt for more parallel roads. my marine theory for these roads was for a time knocked on the head by agassiz ice-work, but it is now reviving again... farewell,--we are getting nearly finished--almost all the workmen gone, and the gravel laying down on the walks. ave maria! how the money does go. there are twice as many temptations to extravagance in the country compared with london. adios. yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down [ ?]. ...i have also read the 'vestiges,' ('the vestiges of the natural history of creation' was published anonymously in , and is confidently believed to have been written by the late robert chambers. my father's copy gives signs of having been carefully read, a long list of marked passages being pinned in at the end. one useful lesson he seems to have learned from it. he writes: "the idea of a fish passing into a reptile, monstrous. i will not specify any genealogies--much too little known at present." he refers again to the book in a letter to fox, february, : "have you read that strange, unphilosophical but capitally-written book, the 'vestiges': it has made more talk than any work of late, and has been by some attributed to me--at which i ought to be much flattered and unflattered."), but have been somewhat less amused at it than you appear to have been: the writing and arrangement are certainly admirable, but his geology strikes me as bad, and his zoology far worse. i should be very much obliged, if at any future or leisure time you could tell me on what you ground your doubtful belief in imagination of a mother affecting her offspring. (this refers to the case of a relative of sir j. hooker's, who insisted that a mole, which appeared on one of her children, was the effect of fright upon herself on having, before the birth of the child, blotted with sepia a copy of turner's 'liber studiorum' that had been lent to her with special injunctions to be careful.) i have attended to the several statements scattered about, but do not believe in more than accidental coincidences. w. hunter told my father, then in a lying-in hospital, that in many thousand cases, he had asked the mother, before her confinement, whether anything had affected her imagination, and recorded the answers; and absolutely not one case came right, though, when the child was anything remarkable, they afterwards made the cap to fit. reproduction seems governed by such similar laws in the whole animal kingdom, that i am most loth [to believe]... charles darwin to j.m. herbert. down [ or ]. my dear herbert, i was very glad to see your handwriting and hear a bit of news about you. though you cannot come here this autumn, i do hope you and mrs. herbert will come in the winter, and we will have lots of talk of old times, and lots of beethoven. i have little or rather nothing to say about myself; we live like clock-work, and in what most people would consider the dullest possible manner. i have of late been slaving extra hard, to the great discomfiture of wretched digestive organs, at south america, and thank all the fates, i have done three-fourths of it. writing plain english grows with me more and more difficult, and never attainable. as for your pretending that you will read anything so dull as my pure geological descriptions, lay not such a flattering unction on my soul (on the same subject he wrote to fitz-roy: "i have sent my 'south american geology' to dover street, and you will get it, no doubt, in the course of time. you do not know what you threaten when you propose to read it--it is purely geological. i said to my brother, 'you will of course read it,' and his answer was, 'upon my life, i would sooner even buy it.'") for it is incredible. i have long discovered that geologists never read each other's works, and that the only object in writing a book is a proof of earnestness, and that you do not form your opinions without undergoing labour of some kind. geology is at present very oral, and what i here say is to a great extent quite true. but i am giving you a discussion as long as a chapter in the odious book itself. i have lately been to shrewsbury, and found my father surprisingly well and cheerful. believe me, my dear old friend, ever yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, monday [february th, ]. my dear hooker, i am much obliged for your very agreeable letter; it was very good-natured, in the midst of your scientific and theatrical dissipation, to think of writing so long a letter to me. i am astonished at your news, and i must condole with you in your present view of the professorship (sir j.d. hooker was a candidate for the professorship of botany at edinburgh university.), and most heartily deplore it on my own account. there is something so chilling in a separation of so many hundred miles, though we did not see much of each other when nearer. you will hardly believe how deeply i regret for myself your present prospects. i had looked forward to [our] seeing much of each other during our lives. it is a heavy disappointment; and in a mere selfish point of view, as aiding me in my work, your loss is indeed irreparable. but, on the other hand, i cannot doubt that you take at present a desponding, instead of bright, view of your prospects: surely there are great advantages, as well as disadvantages. the place is one of eminence; and really it appears to me there are so many indifferent workers, and so few readers, that it is a high advantage, in a purely scientific point of view, for a good worker to hold a position which leads others to attend to his work. i forget whether you attended edinburgh, as a student, but in my time there was a knot of men who were far from being the indifferent and dull listeners which you expect for your audience. reflect what a satisfaction and honour it would be to make a good botanist--with your disposition you will be to many what henslow was at cambridge to me and others, a most kind friend and guide. then what a fine garden, and how good a public library! why, forbes always regrets the advantages of edinburgh for work: think of the inestimable advantage of getting within a short walk of those noble rocks and hills and sandy shores near edinburgh! indeed, i cannot pity you much, though i pity myself exceedingly in your loss. surely lecturing will, in a year or two, with your great capacity for work (whatever you may be pleased to say to the contrary) become easy, and you will have a fair time for your antarctic flora and general views of distribution. if i thought your professorship would stop your work, i should wish it and all the good worldly consequences at el diavolo. i know i shall live to see you the first authority in europe on that grand subject, that almost keystone of the laws of creation, geographical distribution. well, there is one comfort, you will be at kew, no doubt, every year, so i shall finish by forcing down your throat my sincere congratulations. thanks for all your news. i grieve to hear humboldt is failing; one cannot help feeling, though unrightly, that such an end is humiliating: even when i saw him he talked beyond all reason. if you see him again, pray give him my most respectful and kind compliments, and say that i never forget that my whole course of life is due to having read and re-read as a youth his 'personal narrative.' how true and pleasing are all your remarks on his kindness; think how many opportunities you will have, in your new place, of being a humboldt to others. ask him about the river in n.e. europe, with the flora very different on its opposite banks. i have got and read your wilkes; what a feeble book in matter and style, and how splendidly got up! do write me a line from berlin. also thanks for the proof-sheets. i do not, however, mean proof plates; i value them, as saving me copying extracts. farewell, my dear hooker, with a heavy heart i wish you joy of your prospects. your sincere friend, c. darwin. [the second edition of the 'journal,' to which the following letter refers, was completed between april th and august th. it was published by mr. murray in the 'colonial and home library,' and in this more accessible form soon had a large sale. up to the time of his first negotiations with mr. murray for its publication in this form, he had received payment only in the form of a large number of presentation copies, and he seems to have been glad to sell the copyright of the second edition to mr. murray for pounds. the points of difference between it and the first edition are of interest chiefly in connection with the growth of the author's views on evolution, and will be considered later.] charles darwin to c. lyell. down [july, ]. my dear lyell, i send you the first part (no doubt proof-sheets.) of the new edition [of the 'journal of researches'], which i so entirely owe to you. you will see that i have ventured to dedicate it to you (the dedication of the second edition of the 'journal of researches,' is as follows:--"to charles lyell, esq., f.r.s., this second edition is dedicated with grateful pleasure--as an acknowledgment that the chief part of whatever scientific merit this journal and the other works of the author may possess, has been derived from studying the well-known and admirable 'principles of geology.'"), and i trust that this cannot be disagreeable. i have long wished, not so much for your sake, as for my own feelings of honesty, to acknowledge more plainly than by mere reference, how much i geologically owe you. those authors, however, who like you, educate people's minds as well as teach them special facts, can never, i should think, have full justice done them except by posterity, for the mind thus insensibly improved can hardly perceive its own upward ascent. i had intended putting in the present acknowledgment in the third part of my geology, but its sale is so exceedingly small that i should not have had the satisfaction of thinking that as far as lay in my power i had owned, though imperfectly, my debt. pray do not think that i am so silly, as to suppose that my dedication can any ways gratify you, except so far as i trust you will receive it, as a most sincere mark of my gratitude and friendship. i think i have improved this edition, especially the second part, which i have just finished. i have added a good deal about the fuegians, and cut down into half the mercilessly long discussion on climate and glaciers, etc. i do not recollect anything added to the first part, long enough to call your attention to; there is a page of description of a very curious breed of oxen in banda oriental. i should like you to read the few last pages; there is a little discussion on extinction, which will not perhaps strike you as new, though it has so struck me, and has placed in my mind all the difficulties with respect to the causes of extinction, in the same class with other difficulties which are generally quite overlooked and undervalued by naturalists; i ought, however, to have made my discussion longer and shewn by facts, as i easily could, how steadily every species must be checked in its numbers. i received your travels ('travels in north america,' volumes, .) yesterday; and i like exceedingly its external and internal appearance; i read only about a dozen pages last night (for i was tired with hay-making), but i saw quite enough to perceive how very much it will interest me, and how many passages will be scored. i am pleased to find a good sprinkling of natural history; i shall be astonished if it does not sell very largely... how sorry i am to think that we shall not see you here again for so long; i wish you may knock yourself a little bit up before you start and require a day's fresh air, before the ocean breezes blow on you... ever yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, saturday [august st, ]. my dear lyell, i have been wishing to write to you for a week past, but every five minutes' worth of strength has been expended in getting out my second part. (of the second edition of the 'journal of researches.') your note pleased me a good deal more i dare say than my dedication did you, and i thank you much for it. your work has interested me much, and i will give you my impressions, though, as i never thought you would care to hear what i thought of the non-scientific parts, i made no notes, nor took pains to remember any particular impression of two-thirds of the first volume. the first impression i should say would be with most (though i have literally seen not one soul since reading it) regret at there not being more of the non-scientific [parts]. i am not a good judge, for i have read nothing, i.e. non-scientific about north america, but the whole struck me as very new, fresh, and interesting. your discussions bore to my mind the evident stamp of matured thought, and of conclusions drawn from facts observed by yourself, and not from the opinions of the people whom you met; and this i suspect is comparatively rare. your slave discussion disturbed me much; but as you would care no more for my opinion on this head than for the ashes of this letter, i will say nothing except that it gave me some sleepless, most uncomfortable hours. your account of the religious state of the states particularly interested me; i am surprised throughout at your very proper boldness against the clergy. in your university chapter the clergy, and not the state of education, are most severely and justly handled, and this i think is very bold, for i conceive you might crush a leaden-headed old don, as a don, with more safety, than touch the finger of that corporate animal, the clergy. what a contrast in education does england show itself! your apology (using the term, like the old religionists who meant anything but an apology) for lectures, struck me as very clever; but all the arguments in the world on your side, are not equal to one course of jamieson's lectures on the other side, which i formerly for my sins experienced. although i had read about the 'coalfields in north america,' i never in the smallest degree really comprehended their area, their thickness and favourable position; nothing hardly astounded me more in your book. some few parts struck me as rather heterogeneous, but i do not know whether to an extent that at all signified. i missed however, a good deal, some general heading to the chapters, such as the two or three principal places visited. one has no right to expect an author to write down to the zero of geographical ignorance of the reader; but i not knowing a single place, was occasionally rather plagued in tracing your course. sometimes in the beginning of a chapter, in one paragraph your course was traced through a half dozen places; anyone, as ignorant as myself, if he could be found, would prefer such a disturbing paragraph left out. i cut your map loose, and i found that a great comfort; i could not follow your engraved track. i think in a second edition, interspaces here and there of one line open, would be an improvement. by the way, i take credit to myself in giving my journal a less scientific air in having printed all names of species and genera in romans; the printing looks, also, better. all the illustrations strike me as capital, and the map is an admirable volume in itself. if your 'principles' had not met with such universal admiration, i should have feared there would have been too much geology in this for the general reader; certainly all that the most clear and light style could do, has been done. to myself the geology was an excellent, well-condensed, well-digested resume of all that has been made out in north america, and every geologist ought to be grateful to you. the summing up of the niagara chapter appeared to me the grandest part; i was also deeply interested by your discussion on the origin of the silurian formations. i have made scores of scores marking passages hereafter useful to me. all the coal theory appeared to me very good; but it is no use going on enumerating in this manner. i wish there had been more natural history; i liked all the scattered fragments. i have now given you an exact transcript of my thoughts, but they are hardly worth your reading... charles darwin to c. lyell. down, august th [ ]. my dear lyell, this is literally the first day on which i have had any time to spare; and i will amuse myself by beginning a letter to you... i was delighted with your letter in which you touch on slavery; i wish the same feelings had been apparent in your published discussion. but i will not write on this subject, i should perhaps annoy you, and most certainly myself. i have exhaled myself with a paragraph or two in my journal on the sin of brazilian slavery; you perhaps will think that it is in answer to you; but such is not the case. i have remarked on nothing which i did not hear on the coast of south america. my few sentences, however, are merely an explosion of feeling. how could you relate so placidly that atrocious sentiment (in the passage referred to, lyell does not give his own views, but those of a planter.) about separating children from their parents; and in the next page speak of being distressed at the whites not having prospered; i assure you the contrast made me exclaim out. but i have broken my intention, and so no more on this odious deadly subject. there is a favourable, but not strong enough review on you, in the "gardeners' chronicle". i am sorry to see that lindley abides by the carbonic acid gas theory. by the way, i was much pleased by lindley picking out my extinction paragraphs and giving them uncurtailed. to my mind, putting the comparative rarity of existing species in the same category with extinction has removed a great weight; though of course it does not explain anything, it shows that until we can explain comparative rarity, we ought not to feel any surprise at not explaining extinction... i am much pleased to hear of the call for a new edition of the 'principles': what glorious good that work has done. i fear this time you will not be amongst the old rocks; how i shall rejoice to live to see you publish and discover another stage below the silurian--it would be the grandest step possible, i think. i am very glad to hear what progress bunbury is making in fossil botany; there is a fine hiatus for him to fill up in this country. i will certainly call on him this winter...from what little i saw of him, i can quite believe everything which you say of his talents... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. shrewsbury [ ?]. my dear hooker, i have just received your note, which has astonished me, and has most truly grieved me. i never for one minute doubted of your success, for i most erroneously imagined, that merit was sure to gain the day. i feel most sure that the day will come soon, when those who have voted against you, if they have any shame or conscience in them, will be ashamed at having allowed politics to blind their eyes to your qualifications, and those qualifications vouched for by humboldt and brown! well, those testimonials must be a consolation to you. proh pudor! i am vexed and indignant by turns. i cannot even take comfort in thinking that i shall see more of you, and extract more knowledge from your well-arranged stock. i am pleased to think, that after having read a few of your letters, i never once doubted the position you will ultimately hold amongst european botanists. i can think about nothing else, otherwise i should like [to] discuss 'cosmos' (a translation of humboldt's 'kosmos.') with you. i trust you will pay me and my wife a visit this autumn at down. i shall be at down on the th, and till then moving about. my dear hooker, allow me to call myself your very true friend, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. october th [ ], shrewsbury. ...i have lately been taking a little tour to see a farm i have purchased in lincolnshire (he speaks of his lincolnshire farm in a letter to henslow (july th):--"i have bought a farm in lincolnshire, and when i go there this autumn, i mean to see what i can do in providing any cottage on my small estate with gardens. it is a hopeless thing to look to, but i believe few things would do this country more good in future ages than the destruction of primogeniture, so as to lessen the difference in land-wealth, and make more small freeholders. how atrociously unjust are the stamp laws, which render it so expensive for the poor man to buy his quarter of an acre; it makes one's blood burn with indignation.") and then to york, where i visited the dean of manchester (hon. and rev. w. herbert. the visit is mentioned in a letter to dr. hooker:--"i have been taking a little tour, partly on business, and visited the dean of manchester, and had very much interesting talk with him on hybrids, sterility, and variation, etc., etc. he is full of self-gained knowledge, but knows surprisingly little what others have done on the same subjects. he is very heterodox on 'species': not much better as most naturalists would esteem it, than poor mr. vestiges.") the great maker of hybrids, who gave me much curious information. i also visited waterton at walton hall, and was extremely amused with my visit there. he is an amusing strange fellow; at our early dinner, our party consisted of two catholic priests and two mulattresses! he is past sixty years old, and the day before ran down and caught a leveret in a turnip-field. it is a fine old house, and the lake swarms with water-fowl. i then saw chatsworth, and was in transport with the great hothouse; it is a perfect fragment of a tropical forest, and the sight made me think with delight of old recollections. my little ten-day tour made me feel wonderfully strong at the time, but the good effects did not last. my wife, i am sorry to say, does not get very strong, and the children are the hope of the family, for they are all happy, life, and spirits. i have been much interested with sedgwick's review (sedgwick's review of the 'vestiges of creation' in the 'edinburgh review,' july, .) though i find it far from popular with our scientific readers. i think some few passages savour of the dogmatism of the pulpit, rather than of the philosophy of the professor's chair; and some of the wit strikes me as only worthy of -- in the 'quarterly.' nevertheless, it is a grand piece of argument against mutability of species, and i read it with fear and trembling, but was well pleased to find that i had not overlooked any of the arguments, though i had put them to myself as feebly as milk and water. have you read 'cosmos' yet? the english translation is wretched, and the semi-metaphysico-politico descriptions in the first part are barely intelligible; but i think the volcanic discussion well worth your attention, it has astonished me by its vigour and information. i grieve to find humboldt an adorer of von buch, with his classification of volcanos, craters of elevation, etc., etc., and carbonic acid gas atmosphere. he is indeed a wonderful man. i hope to get home in a fortnight and stick to my wearyful south america till i finish it. i shall be very anxious to hear how you get on from the horners, but you must not think of wasting your time by writing to me. we shall miss, indeed, your visits to down, and i shall feel a lost man in london without my morning "house of call" at hart street... believe me, my dear lyell, ever yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, farnborough, kent. thursday, september, . my dear hooker, i hope this letter will catch you at clifton, but i have been prevented writing by being unwell, and having had the horners here as visitors, which, with my abominable press-work, has fully occupied my time. it is, indeed, a long time since we wrote to each other; though, i beg to tell you, that i wrote last, but what about i cannot remember, except, i know, it was after reading your last numbers (sir j.d. hooker's antarctic botany.), and i send you a uniquely laudatory epistle, considering it was from a man who hardly knows a daisy from a dandelion to a professed botanist... i cannot remember what papers have given me the impression, but i have that, which you state to be the case, firmly fixed on my mind, namely, the little chemical importance of the soil to its vegetation. what a strong fact it is, as r. brown once remarked to me, of certain plants being calcareous ones here, which are not so under a more favourable climate on the continent, or the reverse, for i forget which; but you, no doubt, will know to what i refer. by-the-way, there are some such cases in herbert's paper in the 'horticultural journal.' ('journal of the horticultural society,' .) have you read it: it struck me as extremely original, and bears directly on your present researches. (sir j.d. hooker was at this time attending to polymorphism, variability, etc.) to a non-botanist the chalk has the most peculiar aspect of any flora in england; why will you not come here to make your observations? we go to southampton, if my courage and stomach do not fail, for the brit. assoc. (do you not consider it your duty to be there?) and why cannot you come here afterward and work?... the monograph of the cirripedia, october to october . [writing to sir j.d. hooker in , my father says: "i hope this next summer to finish my south american geology, then to get out a little zoology, and hurrah for my species work..." this passage serves to show that he had at this time no intention of making an exhaustive study of the cirripedes. indeed it would seem that his original intention was, as i learn from sir j.d. hooker, merely to work out one special problem. this is quite in keeping with the following passage in the autobiography: "when on the coast of chile, i found a most curious form, which burrowed into the shells of concholepas, and which differed so much from all other cirripedes that i had to form a new sub-order for its sole reception...to understand the structure of my new cirripede i had to examine and dissect many of the common forms; and this gradually led me on to take up the whole group." in later years he seems to have felt some doubt as to the value of these eight years of work,--for instance when he wrote in his autobiography--"my work was of considerable use to me, when i had to discuss in the 'origin of species,' the principles of a natural classification. nevertheless i doubt whether the work was worth the consumption of so much time." yet i learn from sir j.d. hooker that he certainly recognised at the time its value to himself as systematic training. sir joseph writes to me: "your father recognised three stages in his career as a biologist: the mere collector at cambridge; the collector and observer in the "beagle", and for some years afterwards; and the trained naturalist after, and only after the cirripede work. that he was a thinker all along is true enough, and there is a vast deal in his writings previous to the cirripedes that a trained naturalist could but emulate...he often alluded to it as a valued discipline, and added that even the 'hateful' work of digging out synonyms, and of describing, not only improved his methods but opened his eyes to the difficulties and merits of the works of the dullest of cataloguers. one result was that he would never allow a depreciatory remark to pass unchallenged on the poorest class of scientific workers, provided that their work was honest, and good of its kind. i have always regarded it as one of the finest traits of his character,--this generous appreciation of the hod-men of science, and of their labours...and it was monographing the barnacles that brought it about."] professor huxley allows me to quote his opinion as to the value of the eight years given to the cirripedes:-- "in my opinion your sagacious father never did a wiser thing than when he devoted himself to the years of patient toil which the cirripede-book cost him. "like the rest of us, he had no proper training in biological science, and it has always struck me as a remarkable instance of his scientific insight, that he saw the necessity of giving himself such training, and of his courage, that he did not shirk the labour of obtaining it. "the great danger which besets all men of large speculative faculty, is the temptation to deal with the accepted statements of facts in natural science, as if they were not only correct, but exhaustive; as if they might be dealt with deductively, in the same way as propositions in euclid may be dealt with. in reality, every such statement, however true it may be, is true only relatively to the means of observation and the point of view of those who have enunciated it. so far it may be depended upon. but whether it will bear every speculative conclusion that may be logically deduced from it, is quite another question. "your father was building a vast superstructure upon the foundations furnished by the recognised facts of geological and biological science. in physical geography, in geology proper, in geographical distribution, and in palaeontology, he had acquired an extensive practical training during the voyage of the "beagle". he knew of his own knowledge the way in which the raw materials of these branches of science are acquired, and was therefore a most competent judge of the speculative strain they would bear. that which he needed, after his return to england, was a corresponding acquaintance with anatomy and development, and their relation to taxonomy--and he acquired this by his cirripede work. "thus, in my apprehension, the value of the cirripede monograph lies not merely in the fact that it is a very admirable piece of work, and constituted a great addition to positive knowledge, but still more in the circumstance that it was a piece of critical self-discipline, the effect of which manifested itself in everything your father wrote afterwards, and saved him from endless errors of detail. "so far from such work being a loss of time, i believe it would have been well worth his while, had it been practicable, to have supplemented it by a special study of embryology and physiology. his hands would have been greatly strengthened thereby when he came to write out sundry chapters of the 'origin of species.' but of course in those days it was almost impossible for him to find facilities for such work." no one can look a the two volumes on the recent cirripedes, of and pages respectively (not to speak of the volumes on the fossil species), without being struck by the immense amount of detailed work which they contain. the forty plates, some of them with thirty figures, and the fourteen pages of index in the two volumes together, give some rough idea of the labour spent on the work. (the reader unacquainted with zoology will find some account of the more interesting results in mr. romanes' article on "charles darwin" ('nature' series, ).) the state of knowledge, as regards the cirripedes, was most unsatisfactory at the time that my father began to work at them. as an illustration of this fact, it may be mentioned that he had even to re-organise the nomenclature of the group, or, as he expressed it, he "unwillingly found it indispensable to give names to several valves, and to some few of the softer parts of cirripedes." (vol. i. page .) it is interesting to learn from his diary the amount of time which he gave to different genera. thus the genus chthamalus, the description of which occupies twenty-two pages, occupied him for thirty-six days; coronula took nineteen days, and is described in twenty-seven pages. writing to fitz-roy, he speaks of being "for the last half-month daily hard at work in dissecting a little animal about the size of a pin's head, from the chonos archipelago, and i could spend another month, and daily see more beautiful structure." though he became excessively weary of the work before the end of the eight years, he had much keen enjoyment in the course of it. thus he wrote to sir j.d. hooker ( ?):--"as you say, there is an extraordinary pleasure in pure observation; not but what i suspect the pleasure in this case is rather derived from comparisons forming in one's mind with allied structures. after having been so long employed in writing my old geological observations, it is delightful to use one's eyes and fingers again." it was, in fact, a return to the work which occupied so much of his time when at sea during his voyage. his zoological notes of that period give an impression of vigorous work, hampered by ignorance and want of appliances. and his untiring industry in the dissection of marine animals, especially of crustacea, must have been of value to him as training for his cirripede work. most of his work was done with the simple dissecting microscope--but it was the need which he found for higher powers that induced him, in , to buy a compound microscope. he wrote to hooker:--"when i was drawing with l., i was so delighted with the appearance of the objects, especially with their perspective, as seen through the weak powers of a good compound microscope, that i am going to order one; indeed, i often have structures in which the / is not power enough." during part of the time covered by the present chapter, my father suffered perhaps more from ill-health than at any other time of his life. he felt severely the depressing influence of these long years of illness; thus as early as he wrote to fox: "i am grown a dull, old, spiritless dog to what i used to be. one gets stupider as one grows older i think." it is not wonderful that he should so have written, it is rather to be wondered at that his spirit withstood so great and constant a strain. he wrote to sir j.d. hooker in : "you are very kind in your enquiries about my health; i have nothing to say about it, being always much the same, some days better and some worse. i believe i have not had one whole day, or rather night, without my stomach having been greatly disordered, during the last three years, and most days great prostration of strength: thank you for your kindness; many of my friends, i believe, think me a hypochondriac." again, in , he notes in his diary:--"january st to march th.--health very bad, with much sickness and failure of power. worked on all well days." this was written just before his first visit to dr. gully's water-cure establishment at malvern. in april of the same year he wrote:--"i believe i am going on very well, but i am rather weary of my present inactive life, and the water-cure has the most extraordinary effect in producing indolence and stagnation of mind: till experiencing it, i could not have believed it possible. i now increase in weight, have escaped sickness for thirty days." he returned in june, after sixteen weeks' absence, much improved in health, and, as already described, continued the water-cure at home for some time.] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down [october, ]. my dear hooker, i have not heard from sulivan (admiral sir b.j. sulivan, formerly an officer of the "beagle".) lately; when he last wrote he named from th to th as the most likely time. immediately that i hear, i will fly you a line, for the chance of your being able to come. i forget whether you know him, but i suppose so; he is a real good fellow. anyhow, if you do not come then, i am very glad that you propose coming soon after... i am going to begin some papers on the lower marine animals, which will last me some months, perhaps a year, and then i shall begin looking over my ten-year-long accumulation of notes on species and varieties, which, with writing, i dare say will take me five years, and then, when published, i dare say i shall stand infinitely low in the opinion of all sound naturalists--so this is my prospect for the future. are you a good hand at inventing names. i have a quite new and curious genus of barnacle, which i want to name, and how to invent a name completely puzzles me. by the way, i have told you nothing about southampton. we enjoyed (wife and myself) our week beyond measure: the papers were all dull, but i met so many friends and made so many new acquaintances (especially some of the irish naturalists), and took so many pleasant excursions. i wish you had been there. on sunday we had so pleasant an excursion to winchester with falconer (hugh falconer, - . chiefly known as a palaeontologist, although employed as a botanist during his whole career in india, where he was also a medical officer in the h.e.i.c. service; he was superintendent of the company's garden, first at saharunpore, and then at calcutta. he was one of the first botanical explorers of kashmir. falconer's discoveries of miocene mammalian remains in the sewalik hills, were, at the time, perhaps the greatest "finds" which had been made. his book on the subject, 'fauna antiqua sivalensis,' remained unfinished at the time of his death.), colonel sabine (the late sir edward sabine, formerly president of the royal society, and author of a long series of memoirs on terrestrial magnetism.), and dr. robinson (the late dr. thomas romney robinson, of the armagh observatory.), and others. i never enjoyed a day more in my life. i missed having a look at h. watson. (the late hewett cottrell watson, author of the 'cybele britannica,' one of a most valuable series of works on the topography and geographical distribution of the plants of the british islands.) i suppose you heard that he met forbes and told him he had a severe article in the press. i understood that forbes explained to him that he had no cause to complain, but as the article was printed, he would not withdraw it, but offered it to forbes for him to append notes to it, which forbes naturally declined... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, april th [ ?]. my dear hooker, i should have written before now, had i not been almost continually unwell, and at present i am suffering from four boils and swellings, one of which hardly allows me the use of my right arm, and has stopped all my work, and damped all my spirits. i was much disappointed at missing my trip to kew, and the more so, as i had forgotten you would be away all this month; but i had no choice, and was in bed nearly all friday and saturday. i congratulate you over your improved prospects about india (sir j. hooker left england on november , , for his himalayan and tibetan journey. the expedition was supported by a small grant from the treasury, and thus assumed the character of a government mission.), but at the same time must sincerely groan over it. i shall feel quite lost without you to discuss many points with, and to point out (ill-luck to you) difficulties and objections to my species hypotheses. it will be a horrid shame if money stops your expedition; but government will surely help you to some extent...your present trip, with your new views, amongst the coal-plants, will be very interesting. if you have spare time, but not without, i should enjoy having some news of your progress. your present trip will work well in, if you go to any of the coal districts in india. would this not be a good object to parade before government; the utilitarian souls would comprehend this. by the way, i will get some work out of you, about the domestic races of animals in india... charles darwin to l. jenyns (blomefield). down [ ]. dear jenyns, ("this letter relates to a small almanack first published in , under the name of 'the naturalists' pocket almanack,' by mr. van voorst, and which i edited for him. it was intended especially for those who interest themselves in the periodic phenomena of animals and plants, of which a select list was given under each month of the year. "the pocket almanack contained, moreover, miscellaneous information relating to zoology and botany; to natural history and other scientific societies; to public museums and gardens, in addition to the ordinary celestial phenomena found in most other almanacks. it continued to be issued till , after which year the publication was abandoned."--from a letter from rev. l. blomefield to f. darwin.) i am very much obliged for the capital little almanack; it so happened that i was wishing for one to keep in my portfolio. i had never seen this kind before, and shall certainly get one for the future. i think it is very amusing to have a list before one's eyes of the order of appearance of the plants and animals around one; it gives a fresh interest to each fine day. there is one point i should like to see a little improved, viz., the correction for the clock at shorter intervals. most people, i suspect, who like myself have dials, will wish to be more precise than with a margin of three minutes. i always buy a shilling almanack for this sole end. by the way, yours, i.e., van voorst's almanack, is very dear; it ought, at least, to be advertised post-free for the shilling. do you not think a table (not rules) of conversion of french into english measures, and perhaps weights, would be exceedingly useful; also centigrade into fahrenheit,--magnifying powers according to focal distances?--in fact you might make it the more useful publication of the age. i know what i should like best of all, namely, current meteorological remarks for each month, with statement of average course of winds and prediction of weather, in accordance with movements of barometer. people, i think, are always amused at knowing the extremes and means of temperature for corresponding times in other years. i hope you will go on with it another year. with many thanks, my dear jenyns, yours very truly, charles darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, sunday [april th, ]. my dear hooker, i return with many thanks watson's letter, which i have had copied. it is a capital one, and i am extremely obliged to you for obtaining me such valuable information. surely he is rather in a hurry when he says intermediate varieties must almost be necessarily rare, otherwise they would be taken as the types of the species; for he overlooks numerical frequency as an element. surely if a, b, c were three varieties, and if a were a good deal the commonest (therefore, also, first known), it would be taken as the type, without regarding whether b was quite intermediate or not, or whether it was rare or not. what capital essays w would write; but i suppose he has written a good deal in the 'phytologist.' you ought to encourage him to publish on variation; it is a shame that such facts as those in his letter should remain unpublished. i must get you to introduce me to him; would he be a good and sociable man for dropmore? (a much enjoyed expedition made from oxford--when the british association met there in .) though if he comes, forbes must not (and i think you talked of inviting forbes), or we shall have a glorious battle. i should like to see sometime the war correspondence. have you the 'phytologist,' and could you sometime spare it? i would go through it quickly...i have read your last five numbers (of the botany of hooker's 'antarctic voyage.'), and as usual have been much interested in several points, especially with your discussions on the beech and potato. i see you have introduced several sentences against us transmutationists. i have also been looking through the latter volumes of the 'annals of natural history,' and have read two such soulless, pompous papers of --, quite worthy of the author...the contrast of the papers in the "annals" with those in the "annales" is rather humiliating; so many papers in the former, with short descriptions of species, without one word on their affinities, internal structure, range or habits. i am now reading --, and i have picked out some things which have interested me; but he strikes me as rather dullish, and with all his materia medica smells of the doctor's shop. i shall ever hate the name of the materia medica, since hearing duncan's lectures at eight o'clock on a winter's morning--a whole, cold breakfastless hour on the properties of rhubarb! i hope your journey will be very prosperous. believe me, my dear hooker, ever yours, c. darwin. p.s.--i think i have only made one new acquaintance of late, that is r. chambers; and i have just received a presentation copy of the sixth edition of the 'vestiges.' somehow i now feel perfectly convinced he is the author. he is in france, and has written to me thence. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down [ ?]. ...i am delighted to hear that brongniart thought sigillaria aquatic, and that binney considers coal a sort of submarine peat. i would bet to that in twenty years this will be generally admitted (an unfulfilled prophecy.); and i do not care for whatever the botanical difficulties or impossibilities may be. if i could but persuade myself that sigillaria and co. had a good range of depth, i.e., could live from to fathoms under water, all difficulties of nearly all kinds would be removed (for the simple fact of muddy ordinary shallow sea implies proximity of land). [n.b.--i am chuckling to think how you are sneering all this time.] it is not much of a difficulty, there not being shells with the coal, considering how unfavourable deep mud is for most mollusca, and that shells would probably decay from the humic acid, as seems to take place in peat and in the black moulds (as lyell tells me) of the mississippi. so coal question settled--q.e.d. sneer away! many thanks for your welcome note from cambridge, and i am glad you like my alma mater, which i despise heartily as a place of education, but love from many most pleasant recollections... thanks for your offer of the 'phytologist;' i shall be very much obliged for it, for i do not suppose i should be able to borrow it from any other quarter. i will not be set up too much by your praise, but i do not believe i ever lost a book or forgot to return it during a long lapse of time. your 'webb' is well wrapped up, and with your name in large letters outside. my new microscope is come home (a "splendid plaything," as old r. brown called it), and i am delighted with it; it really is a splendid plaything. i have been in london for three days, and saw many of our friends. i was extremely sorry to hear a not very good account of sir william. farewell, my dear hooker, and be a good boy, and make sigillaria a submarine sea-weed. ever yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down [may th, ]. my dear hooker, you have made a savage onslaught, and i must try to defend myself. but, first, let me say that i never write to you except for my own good pleasure; now i fear that you answer me when busy and without inclination (and i am sure i should have none if i was as busy as you). pray do not do so, and if i thought my writing entailed an answer from you nolens volens, it would destroy all my pleasure in writing. firstly, i did not consider my letter as reasoning, or even as speculation, but simply as mental rioting; and as i was sending binney's paper, i poured out to you the result of reading it. secondly, you are right, indeed, in thinking me mad, if you suppose that i would class any ferns as marine plants; but surely there is a wide distinction between the plants found upright in the coal-beds and those not upright, and which might have been drifted. is it not possible that the same circumstances which have preserved the vegetation in situ, should have preserved drifted plants? i know calamites is found upright; but i fancied its affinities were very obscure, like sigillaria. as for lepidodendron, i forgot its existence, as happens when one goes riot, and now know neither what it is, or whether upright. if these plants, i.e. calamites and lepidodendron, have very clear relations to terrestrial vegetables, like the ferns have, and are found upright in situ, of course i must give up the ghost. but surely sigillaria is the main upright plant, and on its obscure affinities i have heard you enlarge. thirdly, it never entered my head to undervalue botanical relatively to zoological evidence; except in so far as i thought it was admitted that the vegetative structure seldom yielded any evidence of affinity nearer than that of families, and not always so much. and is it not in plants, as certainly it is in animals, dangerous to judge of habits without very near affinity. could a botanist tell from structure alone that the mangrove family, almost or quite alone in dicotyledons, could live in the sea, and the zostera family almost alone among the monocotyledons? is it a safe argument, that because algae are almost the only, or the only submerged sea-plants, that formerly other groups had not members with such habits? with animals such an argument would not be conclusive, as i could illustrate by many examples; but i am forgetting myself; i want only to some degree to defend myself, and not burn my fingers by attacking you. the foundation of my letter, and what is my deliberate opinion, though i dare say you will think it absurd, is that i would rather trust, caeteris paribus, pure geological evidence than either zoological or botanical evidence. i do not say that i would sooner trust poor geological evidence than good organic. i think the basis of pure geological reasoning is simpler (consisting chiefly of the action of water on the crust of the earth, and its up and down movements) than a basis drawn from the difficult subject of affinities and of structure in relation to habits. i can hardly analyze the facts on which i have come to this conclusion; but i can illustrate it. pallas's account would lead any one to suppose that the siberian strata, with the frozen carcasses, had been quickly deposited, and hence that the embedded animals had lived in the neighbourhood; but our zoological knowledge of thirty years ago led every one falsely to reject this conclusion. tell me that an upright fern in situ occurs with sigillaria and stigmaria, or that the affinities of calamites and lepidodendron (supposing that they are found in situ with sigillaria) are so clear, that they could not have been marine, like, but in a greater degree, than the mangrove and sea-wrack, and i will humbly apologise to you and all botanists for having let my mind run riot on a subject on which assuredly i know nothing. but till i hear this, i shall keep privately to my own opinion with the same pertinacity and, as you will think, with the same philosophical spirit with which koenig maintains that cheirotherium-footsteps are fuci. whether this letter will sink me lower in your opinion, or put me a little right, i know not, but hope the latter. anyhow, i have revenged myself with boring you with a very long epistle. farewell, and be forgiving. ever yours, c. darwin. p.s.--when will you return to kew? i have forgotten one main object of my letter, to thank you much for your offer of the 'hort. journal,' but i have ordered the two numbers. [the two following extracts [ ] give the continuation and conclusion of the coal battle. "by the way, as submarine coal made you so wrath, i thought i would experimentise on falconer and bunbury (the late sir c. bunbury, well-known as a palaeobotanist.) together, and it made [them] even more savage; 'such infernal nonsense ought to be thrashed out of me.' bunbury was more polite and contemptuous. so i now know how to stir up and show off any botanist. i wonder whether zoologists and geologists have got their tender points; i wish i could find out." "i cannot resist thanking you for your most kind note. pray do not think that i was annoyed by your letter: i perceived that you had been thinking with animation, and accordingly expressed yourself strongly, and so i understood it. forfend me from a man who weighs every expression with scotch prudence. i heartily wish you all success in your noble problem, and i shall be very curious to have some talk with you and hear your ultimatum."] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. (parts of two letters.) down [october, ]. i congratulate you heartily on your arrangements being completed, with some prospect for the future. it will be a noble voyage and journey, but i wish it was over, i shall miss you selfishly and all ways to a dreadful extent ...i am in great perplexity how we are to meet...i can well understand how dreadfully busy you must be. if you cannot come here, you must let me come to you for a night; for i must have one more chat and one more quarrel with you over the coal. by the way, i endeavoured to stir up lyell (who has been staying here some days with me) to theorise on the coal: his oolitic upright equisetums are dreadful for my submarine flora. i should die much easier if some one would solve me the coal question. i sometimes think it could not have been formed at all. old sir anthony carlisle once said to me gravely, that he supposed megatherium and such cattle were just sent down from heaven to see whether the earth would support them; and i suppose the coal was rained down to puzzle mortals. you must work the coal well in india. ever yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. [november th, .] my dear hooker, i have just received your note with sincere grief: there is no help for it. i shall always look at your intention of coming here, under such circumstances, as the greatest proof of friendship i ever received from mortal man. my conscience would have upbraided me in not having come to you on thursday, but, as it turned out, i could not, for i was quite unable to leave shrewsbury before that day, and i reached home only last night, much knocked up. without i hear to-morrow (which is hardly possible), and if i am feeling pretty well, i will drive over to kew on monday morning, just to say farewell. i will stay only an hour... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. [november, .] my dear hooker, i am very unwell, and incapable of doing anything. i do hope i have not inconvenienced you. i was so unwell all yesterday, that i was rejoicing you were not here; for it would have been a bitter mortification to me to have had you here and not enjoyed your last day. i shall not now see you. farewell, and god bless you. your affectionate friend, c. darwin. i will write to you in india. [in appeared a paper by mr. d. milne (now mr. milne home. the essay was published in transactions of the edinburgh royal society, vol. xvi.), in which my father's glen roy work is criticised, and which is referred to in the following characteristic extract from a letter to sir j. hooker:] "i have been bad enough for these few last days, having had to think and write too much about glen roy...mr. milne having attacked my theory, which made me horribly sick." i have not been able to find any published reply to mr. milne, so that i imagine the "writing" mentioned was confined to letters. mr. milne's paper was not destructive to the glen roy paper, and this my father recognises in the following extract from a letter to lyell (march, ). the reference to chambers is explained by the fact that he accompanied mr. milne in his visit to glen roy. "i got r. chambers to give me a sketch of milne's glen roy views, and i have re-read my paper, and am, now that i have heard what is to be said, not even staggered. it is provoking and humiliating to find that chambers not only had not read with any care my paper on this subject, or even looked at the coloured map, so that the new shelf described by me had not been searched for, and my arguments and facts of detail not in the least attended to. i entirely gave up the ghost, and was quite chicken-hearted at the geological society, till you reassured and reminded me of the main facts in the whole case." the two following letters to lyell, though of later date (june, ), bear on the same subject:-- "i was at the evening meeting [of the geological society], but did not get within hail of you. what a fool (though i must say a very amusing one) -- did make of himself. your speech was refreshing after it, and was well characterized by fox (my cousin) in three words--'what a contrast!' that struck me as a capital speculation about the wealden continent going down. i did not hear what you settled at the council; i was quite wearied out and bewildered. i find smith, of jordan hill, has a much worse opinion of r. chambers's book than even i have. chambers has piqued me a little ('ancient sea margins, .' the words quoted by my father should be "the mobility of the land was an ascendant idea."); he says i 'propound' and 'profess my belief' that glen roy is marine, and that the idea was accepted because the 'mobility of the land was the ascendant idea of the day.' he adds some very faint upper lines in glen spean (seen, by the way, by agassiz), and has shown that milne and kemp are right in there being horizontal aqueous markings (not at coincident levels with those of glen roy) in other parts of scotland at great heights, and he adds several other cases. this is the whole of his addition to the data. he not only takes my line of argument from the buttresses and terraces below the lower shelf and some other arguments (without acknowledgment), but he sneers at all his predecessors not having perceived the importance of the short portions of lines intermediate between the chief ones in glen roy; whereas i commence the description of them with saying, that 'perceiving their importance, i examined them with scrupulous care,' and expatiate at considerable length on them. i have indirectly told him i do not think he has quite claims to consider that he alone (which he pretty directly asserts) has solved the problem of glen roy. with respect to the terraces at lower levels coincident in height all round scotland and england, i am inclined to believe he shows some little probability of there being some leading ones coincident, but much more exact evidence is required. would you believe it credible? he advances as a probable solution to account for the rise of great britain that in some great ocean one-twentieth of the bottom of the whole aqueous surface of the globe has sunk in (he does not say where he puts it) for a thickness of half a mile, and this he has calculated would make an apparent rise of feet." charles darwin to c. lyell. down [june, ]. my dear lyell, out of justice to chambers i must trouble you with one line to say, as far as i am personally concerned in glen roy, he has made the amende honorable, and pleads guilty through inadvertency of taking my two lines of arguments and facts without acknowledgment. he concluded by saying he "came to the same point by an independent course of inquiry, which in a small degree excuses this inadvertency." his letter altogether shows a very good disposition, and says he is "much gratified with the measured approbation which you bestow, etc." i am heartily glad i was able to say in truth that i thought he had done good service in calling more attention to the subject of the terraces. he protests it is unfair to call the sinking of the sea his theory, for that he with care always speaks of mere change of level, and this is quite true; but the one section in which he shows how he conceives the sea might sink is so astonishing, that i believe it will with others, as with me, more than counterbalance his previous caution. i hope that you may think better of the book than i do. yours most truly, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. october th, . ...i have lately been trying to get up an agitation (but i shall not succeed, and indeed doubt whether i have time and strength to go on with it), against the practice of naturalists appending for perpetuity the name of the first describer to species. i look at this as a direct premium to hasty work, to naming instead of describing. a species ought to have a name so well known that the addition of the author's name would be superfluous, and a [piece] of empty vanity. (his contempt for the self-regarding spirit in a naturalist is illustrated by an anecdote, for which i am indebted to rev. l. blomefield. after speaking of my father's love of entomology at cambridge, mr. blomefield continues:--"he occasionally came over from cambridge to my vicarage at swaffham bulbeck, and we went out together to collect insects in the woods at bottisham hall, close at hand, or made longer excursions in the fens. on one occasion he captured in a large bag net, with which he used vigorously to sweep the weeds and long grass, a rare coleopterous insect, one of the lepturidae, which i myself had never taken in cambridgeshire. he was pleased with his capture, and of course carried it home in triumph. some years afterwards, the voyage of the 'beagle' having been made in the interim, talking over old times with him, i reverted to this circumstance, and asked if he remembered it. 'oh, yes,' (he said,) 'i remember it well; and i was selfish enough to keep the specimen, when you were collecting materials for a fauna of cambridgeshire, and for a local museum in the philosophical society.' he followed this up with some remarks on the pettiness of collectors, who aimed at nothing beyond filling their cabinets with rare things.") at present, it would not do to give mere specific names; but i think zoologists might open the road to the omission, by referring to good systematic writers instead of to first describers. botany, i fancy, has not suffered so much as zoology from mere naming; the characters, fortunately, are more obscure. have you ever thought on this point? why should naturalists append their own names to new species, when mineralogists and chemists do not do so to new substances? when you write to falconer pray remember me affectionately to him. i grieve most sincerely to hear that he has been ill, my dear hooker, god bless you, and fare you well. your sincere friend, c. darwin. charles darwin to hugh strickland. (hugh edwin strickland, m.a., f.r.s., was born nd of march, , and educated at rugby, under arnold, and at oriel college, oxford. in and he travelled through europe to the levant with w.j. hamilton, the geologist, wintering in asia minor. in he brought the subject of natural history nomenclature before the british association, and prepared the code of rules for zoological nomenclature, now known by his name--the principles of which are very generally adopted. in he was one of the founders (if not the original projector) of the ray society. in he married the second daughter of sir william jardine, bart. in he was appointed, in consequence of buckland's illness, deputy reader in geology at oxford. his promising career was suddenly cut short on september , , when, while geologizing in a railway cutting between retford and gainsborough, he was run over by a train and instantly killed. a memoir of him and a reprint of his principal contributions to journals was published by sir william jardine in ; but he was also the author of 'the dodo and its kindred' ( ); 'bibliographia zoologiae' (the latter in conjunction with louis agassiz, and issued by the ray society); 'ornithological synonyms' (one volume only published, and that posthumously). a catalogue of his ornithological collection, given by his widow to the university of cambridge, was compiled by mr. salvin, and published in . (i am indebted to prof. newton for the above note.)) down, january th [ ]. ...what a labour you have undertaken; i do honour your devoted zeal in the good cause of natural science. do you happen to have a spare copy of the nomenclature rules published in the 'british association transactions?' if you have, and would give it to me, i should be truly obliged, for i grudge buying the volume for it. i have found the rules very useful, it is quite a comfort to have something to rest on in the turbulent ocean of nomenclature (and am accordingly grateful to you), though i find it very difficult to obey always. here is a case (and i think it should have been noticed in the rules), coronula, cineras and otion, are names adopted by cuvier, lamarck, owen, and almost every well-known writer, but i find that all three names were anticipated by a german: now i believe if i were to follow the strict rule of priority, more harm would be done than good, and more especially as i feel sure that the newly fished-up names would not be adopted. i have almost made up my mind to reject the rule of priority in this case; would you grudge the trouble to send me your opinion? i have been led of late to reflect much on the subject of naming, and i have come to a fixed opinion that the plan of the first describer's name, being appended for perpetuity to a species, had been the greatest curse to natural history. some months since, i wrote out the enclosed badly drawn-up paper, thinking that perhaps i would agitate the subject; but the fit has passed, and i do not suppose i ever shall; i send it you for the chance of your caring to see my notions. i have been surprised to find in conversation that several naturalists were of nearly my way of thinking. i feel sure as long as species-mongers have their vanity tickled by seeing their own names appended to a species, because they miserably described it in two or three lines, we shall have the same vast amount of bad work as at present, and which is enough to dishearten any man who is willing to work out any branch with care and time. i find every genus of cirripedia has half-a-dozen names, and not one careful description of any one species in any one genus. i do not believe that this would have been the case if each man knew that the memory of his own name depended on his doing his work well, and not upon merely appending a name with a few wretched lines indicating only a few prominent external characters. but i will not weary you with any longer tirade. read my paper or not, just as you like, and return it whenever you please. yours most sincerely, c. darwin. hugh strickland to charles darwin. the lodge, tewkesbury, january st, . ...i have next to notice your second objection--that retaining the name of the first describer in perpetuum along with that of the species, is a premium on hasty and careless work. this is quite a different question from that of the law of priority itself, and it never occurred to me before, though it seems highly probable that the general recognition of that law may produce such a result. we must try to counteract this evil in some other way. the object of appending the name of a man to the name of a species is not to gratify the vanity of the man, but to indicate more precisely the species. sometimes two men will, by accident, give the same name (independently) to two species of the same genus. more frequently a later author will misapply the specific name of an older one. thus the helix putris of montagu is not h. putris of linnaeus, though montague supposed it to be so. in such a case we cannot define the species by helix putris alone, but must append the name of the author whom we quote. but when a species has never borne but one name (as corvus frugilegus), and no other species of corvus has borne the same name, it is, of course, unnecessary to add the author's name. yet even here i like the form corvus frugilegus, linn., as it reminds us that this is one of the old species, long known, and to be found in the 'systema naturae,' etc. i fear, therefore, that (at least until our nomenclature is more definitely settled) it will be impossible to indicate species with scientific accuracy, without adding the name of their first author. you may, indeed, do it as you propose, by saying in lam. an. invert., etc., but then this would be incompatible with the law of priority, for where lamarck has violated that low, one cannot adopt his name. it is, nevertheless, highly conducive to accurate indication to append to the (oldest) specific name one good reference to a standard work, especially to a figure, with an accompanying synonym if necessary. this method may be cumbrous, but cumbrousness is a far less evil than uncertainty. it, moreover, seems hardly possible to carry out the priority principle, without the historical aid afforded by appending the author's name to the specific one. if i, a priority man, called a species c.d., it implies that c.d. is the oldest name that i know of; but in order that you and others may judge of the propriety of that name, you must ascertain when, and by whom, the name was first coined. now, if to the specific name c.d., i append the name a.b., of its first describer, i at once furnish you with the clue to the dates when, and the book in which, this description was given, and i thus assist you in determining whether c.d. be really the oldest, and therefore the correct, designation. i do, however, admit that the priority principle (excellent as it is) has a tendency, when the author's name is added, to encourage vanity and slovenly work. i think, however, that much might be done to discourage those obscure and unsatisfactory definitions of which you so justly complain, by writing down the practice. let the better disposed naturalists combine to make a formal protest against all vague, loose, and inadequate definitions of (supposed) new species. let a committee (say of the british association) be appointed to prepare a sort of class list of the various modern works in which new species are described, arranged in order of merit. the lowest class would contain the worst examples of the kind, and their authors would thus be exposed to the obloquy which they deserve, and be gibbeted in terrorem for the edification of those who may come after. i have thus candidly stated my views (i hope intelligibly) of what seems best to be done in the present transitional and dangerous state of systematic zoology. innumerable labourers, many of them crotchety and half-educated, are rushing into the field, and it depends, i think, on the present generation whether the science is to descend to posterity a chaotic mass, or possessed of some traces of law and organisation. if we could only get a congress of deputies from the chief scientific bodies of europe and america, something might be done, but, as the case stands, i confess i do not clearly see my way, beyond humbly endeavouring to reform number one. yours ever, h.e. strickland. charles darwin to hugh strickland. down, sunday [february th, ]. my dear strickland, i am, in truth, greatly obliged to you for your long, most interesting, and clear letter, and the report. i will consider your arguments, which are of the greatest weight, but i confess i cannot yet bring myself to reject very well-known names, not in one country, but over the world, for obscure ones,--simply on the ground that i do not believe i should be followed. pray believe that i should break the law of priority only in rare cases; will you read the enclosed (and return it), and tell me whether it does not stagger you? (n.b. i promise that i will not give you any more trouble.) i want simple answers, and not for you to waste your time in reasons; i am curious for your answer in regard to balanus. i put the case of otion, etc., to w. thompson, who is fierce for the law of priority, and he gave it up in such well-known names. i am in a perfect maze of doubt on nomenclature. in not one large genus of cirripedia has any one species been correctly defined; it is pure guesswork (being guided by range and commonness and habits) to recognise any species: thus i can make out, from plates or descriptions, hardly any of the british sessile cirripedes. i cannot bear to give new names to all the species, and yet i shall perhaps do wrong to attach old names by little better than guess; i cannot at present tell the least which of two species all writers have meant by the common anatifera laevis; i have, therefore, given that name to the one which is rather the commonest. literally, not one species is properly defined; not one naturalist has ever taken the trouble to open the shell of any species to describe it scientifically, and yet all the genera have half-a-dozen synonyms. for argument's sake, suppose i do my work thoroughly well, any one who happens to have the original specimens named, i will say by chenu, who has figured and named hundreds of species, will be able to upset all my names according to the law of priority (for he may maintain his descriptions are sufficient), do you think it advantageous to science that this should be done: i think not, and that convenience and high merit (here put as mere argument) had better come into some play. the subject is heart-breaking. i hope you will occasionally turn in your mind my argument of the evil done by the "mihi" attached to specific names; i can most clearly see the excessive evil it has caused; in mineralogy i have myself found there is no rage to merely name; a person does not take up the subject without he intends to work it out, as he knows that his only claim to merit rests on his work being ably done, and has no relation whatever to naming. i give up one point, and grant that reference to first describer's name should be given in all systematic works, but i think something would be gained if a reference was given without the author's name being actually appended as part of the binomial name, and i think, except in systematic works, a reference, such as i propose, would damp vanity much. i think a very wrong spirit runs through all natural history, as if some merit was due to a man for merely naming and defining a species; i think scarcely any, or none, is due; if he works out minutely and anatomically any one species, or systematically a whole group, credit is due, but i must think the mere defining a species is nothing, and that no injustice is done him if it be overlooked, though a great inconvenience to natural history is thus caused. i do not think more credit is due to a man for defining a species, than to a carpenter for making a box. but i am foolish and rabid against species-mongers, or rather against their vanity; it is useful and necessary work which must be done; but they act as if they had actually made the species, and it was their own property. i use agassiz's nomenclator; at least two-thirds of the dates in the cirripedia are grossly wrong. i shall do what i can in fossil cirripedia, and should be very grateful for specimens; but i do not believe that species (and hardly genera) can be defined by single valves; as in every recent species yet examined their forms vary greatly: to describe a species by valves alone, is the same as to describe a crab from small portions of its carapace alone, these portions being highly variable, and not, as in crustacea, modelled over viscera. i sincerely apologise for the trouble which i have given you, but indeed i will give no more. yours most sincerely, c. darwin. p.s.--in conversation i found owen and andrew smith much inclined to throw over the practice of attaching authors' names; i believe if i agitated i could get a large party to join. w. thompson agreed some way with me, but was not prepared to go nearly as far as i am. charles darwin to hugh strickland. down, february th [ ]. my dear strickland, i have again to thank you cordially for your letter. your remarks shall fructify to some extent, and i will try to be more faithful to rigid virtue and priority; but as for calling balanus "lepas" (which i did not think of), i cannot do it, my pen won't write it--it is impossible. i have great hopes some of my difficulties will disappear, owing to wrong dates in agassiz, and to my having to run several genera into one, for i have as yet gone, in but few cases, to original sources. with respect to adopting my own notions in my cirripedia book, i should not like to do so without i found others approved, and in some public way,--nor, indeed, is it well adapted, as i can never recognise a species without i have the original specimen, which, fortunately, i have in many cases in the british museum. thus far i mean to adopt my notion, as never putting mihi or "darwin" after my own species, and in the anatomical text giving no authors' names at all, as the systematic part will serve for those who want to know the history of a species as far as i can imperfectly work it out... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. [the lodge, malvern, march th, .] my dear hooker, your letter of the th of october has remained unanswered till this day! what an ungrateful return for a letter which interested me so much, and which contained so much and curious information. but i have had a bad winter. on the th of november, my poor dear father died, and no one who did not know him would believe that a man above eighty-three years old could have retained so tender and affectionate a disposition, with all his sagacity unclouded to the last. i was at the time so unwell, that i was unable to travel, which added to my misery. indeed, all this winter i have been bad enough...and my nervous system began to be affected, so that my hands trembled, and head was often swimming. i was not able to do anything one day out of three, and was altogether too dispirited to write to you, or to do anything but what i was compelled. i thought i was rapidly going the way of all flesh. having heard, accidentally, of two persons who had received much benefit from the water-cure, i got dr. gully's book, and made further enquiries, and at last started here, with wife, children, and all our servants. we have taken a house for two months, and have been here a fortnight. i am already a little stronger...dr. gully feels pretty sure he can do me good, which most certainly the regular doctors could not...i feel certain that the water-cure is no quackery. how i shall enjoy getting back to down with renovated health, if such is to be my good fortune, and resuming the beloved barnacles. now i hope that you will forgive me for my negligence in not having sooner answered your letter. i was uncommonly interested by the sketch you give of your intended grand expedition, from which i suppose you will soon be returning. how earnestly i hope that it may prove in every way successful... [when my father was at the water-cure establishment at malvern he was brought into contact with clairvoyance, of which he writes in the following extract from a letter to fox, september, . "you speak about homoeopathy, which is a subject which makes me more wrath, even than does clairvoyance. clairvoyance so transcends belief, that one's ordinary faculties are put out of the question, but in homoeopathy common sense and common observation come into play, and both these must go to the dogs, if the infinitesimal doses have any effect whatever. how true is a remark i saw the other day by quetelet, in respect to evidence of curative processes, viz., that no one knows in disease what is the simple result of nothing being done, as a standard with which to compare homoeopathy, and all other such things. it is a sad flaw, i cannot but think, in my beloved dr. gully, that he believes in everything. when miss -- was very ill, he had a clairvoyant girl to report on internal changes, a mesmerist to put her to sleep--an homoeopathist, viz. dr. --, and himself as hydropathist! and the girl recovered." a passage out of an earlier letter to fox (december, ) shows that he was equally sceptical on the subject of mesmerism: "with respect to mesmerism, the whole country resounds with wonderful facts or tales..i have just heard of a child, three or four years old (whose parents and self i well knew) mesmerised by his father, which is the first fact which has staggered me. i shall not believe fully till i see or hear from good evidence of animals (as has been stated is possible) not drugged, being put to stupor; of course the impossibility would not prove mesmerism false; but it is the only clear experimentum crucis, and i am astonished it has not been systematically tried. if mesmerism was investigated, like a science, this could not have been left till the present day to be done satisfactorily, as it has been i believe left. keep some cats yourself, and do get some mesmeriser to attempt it. one man told me he had succeeded, but his experiments were most vague, and as was likely from a man who said cats were more easily done than other animals, because they were so electrical!"] charles darwin to c. lyell. down, december th [ ]. my dear lyell, this letter requires no answer, and i write from exuberance of vanity. dana has sent me the geology of the united states expedition, and i have just read the coral part. to begin with a modest speech, i am astonished at my own accuracy!! if i were to rewrite now my coral book there is hardly a sentence i should have to alter, except that i ought to have attributed more effect to recent volcanic action in checking growth of coral. when i say all this i ought to add that the consequences of the theory on areas of subsidence are treated in a separate chapter to which i have not come, and in this, i suspect, we shall differ more. dana talks of agreeing with my theory in most points; i can find out not one in which he differs. considering how infinitely more he saw of coral reefs than i did, this is wonderfully satisfactory to me. he treats me most courteously. there now, my vanity is pretty well satisfied... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. malvern, april th, . my dear hooker, the very next morning after posting my last letter (i think on rd of march), i received your two interesting gossipaceous and geological letters; and the latter i have since exchanged with lyell for his. i will write higglety-pigglety just as subjects occur. i saw the review in the 'athenaeum,' it was written in an ill-natured spirit; but the whole virus consisted in saying that there was not novelty enough in your remarks for publication. no one, nowadays, cares for reviews. i may just mention that my journal got some real good abuse, "presumption," etc.,--ended with saying that the volume appeared "made up of the scraps and rubbish of the author's portfolio." i most truly enter into what you say, and quite believe you that you care only for the review with respect to your father; and that this alone would make you like to see extracts from your letters more properly noticed in this same periodical. i have considered to the very best of my judgment whether any portion of your present letters are adapted for the 'athenaeum' (in which i have no interest; the beasts not having even noticed my three geological volumes which i had sent to them), and i have come to the conclusion it is better not to send them. i feel sure, considering all the circumstances, that without you took pains and wrote with care, a condensed and finished sketch of some striking feature in your travels, it is better not to send anything. these two letters are, moreover, rather too geological for the 'athenaeum,' and almost require woodcuts. on the other hand, there are hardly enough details for a communication to the geological society. i have not the smallest doubt that your facts are of the highest interest with regard to glacial action in the himalaya; but it struck both lyell and myself that your evidence ought to have been given more distinctly... i have written so lately that i have nothing to say about myself; my health prevented me going on with a crusade against "mihi" and "nobis," of which you warn me of the dangers. i showed my paper to three or four naturalists, and they all agreed with me to a certain extent: with health and vigour, i would not have shown a white feather, [and] with aid of half-a-dozen really good naturalists, i believe something might have been done against the miserable and degrading passion of mere species naming. in your letter you wonder what "ornamental poultry" has to do with barnacles; but do not flatter yourself that i shall not yet live to finish the barnacles, and then make a fool of myself on the subject of species, under which head ornamental poultry are very interesting... charles darwin to c. lyell. the lodge, malvern [june, ]. ...i have got your book ('a second visit to the united states.'), and have read all the first and a small part of the second volume (reading is the hardest work allowed here), and greatly i have been interested by it. it makes me long to be a yankee. e. desires me to say that she quite "gloated" over the truth of your remarks on religious progress...i delight to think how you will disgust some of the bigots and educational dons. as yet there has not been much geology or natural history, for which i hope you feel a little ashamed. your remarks on all social subjects strike me as worthy of the author of the 'principles.' and yet (i know it is prejudice and pride) if i had written the principles, i never would have written any travels; but i believe i am more jealous about the honour and glory of the principles than you are yourself... charles darwin to c. lyell. september th, . ...i go on with my aqueous processes, and very steadily but slowly gain health and strength. against all rules, i dined at chevening with lord mahon, who did me the great honour of calling on me, and how he heard of me i can't guess. i was charmed with lady mahon, and any one might have been proud at the pieces of agreeableness which came from her beautiful lips with respect to you. i like old lord stanhope very much; though he abused geology and zoology heartily. "to suppose that the omnipotent god made a world, found it a failure, and broke it up, and then made it again, and again broke it up, as the geologists say, is all fiddle faddle. describing species of birds and shells, etc., is all fiddle faddle..." i am heartily glad we shall meet at birmingham, as i trust we shall, if my health will but keep up. i work now every day at the cirripedia for / hours, and so get on a little, but very slowly. i sometimes, after being a whole week employed and having described perhaps only two species, agree mentally with lord stanhope, that it is all fiddle faddle; however, the other day i got a curious case of a unisexual, instead of hermaphrodite cirripede, in which the female had the common cirripedial character, and in two valves of her shell had two little pockets, in each of which she kept a little husband; i do not know of any other case where a female invariably has two husbands. i have one still odder fact, common to several species, namely, that though they are hermaphrodite, they have small additional, or as i shall call them, complemental males, one specimen itself hermaphrodite had no less than seven, of these complemental males attached to it. truly the schemes and wonders of nature are illimitable. but i am running on as badly about my cirripedia as about geology; it makes me groan to think that probably i shall never again have the exquisite pleasure of making out some new district, of evolving geological light out of some troubled dark region. so i must make the best of my cirripedia... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, october th, . ...by the way, one of the pleasantest parts of the british association was my journey down to birmingham with mrs. sabine, mrs. reeve, and the colonel; also col. sykes and porter. mrs. sabine and myself agreed wonderfully on many points, and in none more sincerely than about you. we spoke about your letters from the erebus; and she quite agreed with me, that you and the author (sir j. hooker wrote the spirited description of cattle hunting in sir j. ross's 'voyage of discovery in the southern regions,' , vol. ii., page .), of the description of the cattle hunting in the falklands, would have made a capital book together! a very nice woman she is, and so is her sharp and sagacious mother...birmingham was very flat compared to oxford, though i had my wife with me. we saw a good deal of the lyells and horners and robinsons (the president); but the place was dismal, and i was prevented, by being unwell, from going to warwick, though that, i.e., the party, by all accounts, was wonderfully inferior to blenheim, not to say anything of that heavenly day at dropmore. one gets weary of all the spouting... you ask about my cold-water cure; i am going on very well, and am certainly a little better every month, my nights mend much slower than my days. i have built a douche, and am to go on through all the winter, frost or no frost. my treatment now is lamp five times per week, and shallow bath for five minutes afterwards; douche daily for five minutes, and dripping sheet daily. the treatment is wonderfully tonic, and i have had more better consecutive days this month than on any previous ones...i am allowed to work now two and a half hours daily, and i find it as much as i can do, for the cold-water cure, together with three short walks, is curiously exhausting; and i am actually forced to go to bed at eight o'clock completely tired. i steadily gain in weight, and eat immensely, and am never oppressed with my food. i have lost the involuntary twitching of the muscle, and all the fainting feelings, etc--black spots before eyes, etc. dr. gully thinks he shall quite cure me in six or nine months more. the greatest bore, which i find in the water-cure, is the having been compelled to give up all reading, except the newspapers; for my daily two and a half hours at the barnacles is fully as much as i can do of anything which occupies the mind; i am consequently terribly behind in all scientific books. i have of late been at work at mere species describing, which is much more difficult than i expected, and has much the same sort of interest as a puzzle has; but i confess i often feel wearied with the work, and cannot help sometimes asking myself what is the good of spending a week or fortnight in ascertaining that certain just perceptible differences blend together and constitute varieties and not species. as long as i am on anatomy i never feel myself in that disgusting, horrid, cui bono, inquiring, humour. what miserable work, again, it is searching for priority of names. i have just finished two species, which possess seven generic, and twenty-four specific names! my chief comfort is, that the work must be sometime done, and i may as well do it, as any one else. i have given up my agitation against mihi and nobis; my paper is too long to send to you, so you must see it, if you care to do so, on your return. by-the-way, you say in your letter that you care more for my species work than for the barnacles; now this is too bad of you, for i declare your decided approval of my plain barnacle work over theoretic species work, had very great influence in deciding me to go on with the former, and defer my species paper... [the following letter refers to the death of his little daughter, which took place at malvern on april , :] charles darwin to w.d. fox. down, april th [ ]. my dear fox, i do not suppose you will have heard of our bitter and cruel loss. poor dear little annie, when going on very well at malvern, was taken with a vomiting attack, which was at first thought of the smallest importance; but it rapidly assumed the form of a low and dreadful fever, which carried her off in ten days. thank god, she suffered hardly at all, and expired as tranquilly as a little angel. our only consolation is that she passed a short, though joyous life. she was my favourite child; her cordiality, openness, buoyant joyousness and strong affections made her most lovable. poor dear little soul. well it is all over... charles darwin to w.d. fox. down, march th [ ]. my dear fox, it is indeed an age since we have had any communication, and very glad i was to receive your note. our long silence occurred to me a few weeks since, and i had then thought of writing, but was idle. i congratulate and condole with you on your tenth child; but please to observe when i have a tenth, send only condolences to me. we have now seven children, all well, thank god, as well as their mother; of these seven, five are boys; and my father used to say that it was certain that a boy gave as much trouble as three girls; so that bona fide we have seventeen children. it makes me sick whenever i think of professions; all seem hopelessly bad, and as yet i cannot see a ray of light. i should very much like to talk over this (by the way, my three bugbears are californian and australian gold, beggaring me by making my money on mortgage worth nothing; the french coming by the westerham and sevenoaks roads, and therefore enclosing down; and thirdly, professions for my boys), and i should like to talk about education, on which you ask me what we are doing. no one can more truly despise the old stereotyped stupid classical education than i do; but yet i have not had courage to break through the trammels. after many doubts we have just sent our eldest boy to rugby, where for his age he has been very well placed...i honour, admire, and envy you for educating your boys at home. what on earth shall you do with your boys? towards the end of this month we go to see w. at rugby, and thence for five or six days to susan (his sister.) at shrewsbury; i then return home to look after the babies, and e. goes to f. wedgwood's of etruria for a week. very many thanks for your most kind and large invitation to delamere, but i fear we can hardly compass it. i dread going anywhere, on account of my stomach so easily failing under any excitement. i rarely even now go to london; not that i am at all worse, perhaps rather better, and lead a very comfortable life with my three hours of daily work, but it is the life of a hermit. my nights are always bad, and that stops my becoming vigorous. you ask about water-cure. i take at intervals of two or three months, five or six weeks of moderately severe treatment, and always with good effect. do you come here, i pray and beg whenever you can find time; you cannot tell how much pleasure it would give me and e. i have finished the st volume for the ray society of pedunculated cirripedes, which, as i think you are a member, you will soon get. read what i describe on the sexes of ibla and scalpellum. i am now at work on the sessile cirripedes, and am wonderfully tired of my job: a man to be a systematic naturalist ought to work at least eight hours per day. you saw through me, when you said that i must have wished to have seen the effects of the [word illegible] debacle, for i was saying a week ago to e., that had i been as i was in old days, i would have been certainly off that hour. you ask after erasmus; he is much as usual, and constantly more or less unwell. susan (his sister.) is much better, and very flourishing and happy. catherine (another sister.) is at rome, and has enjoyed it in a degree that is quite astonishing to my dry old bones. and now i think i have told you enough, and more than enough about the house of darwin; so my dear old friend, farewell. what pleasant times we had in drinking coffee in your rooms at christ's college, and think of the glories of crux major. (the beetle panagaeus crux-major.) ah, in those days there were no professions for sons, no ill-health to fear for them, no californian gold, no french invasions. how paramount the future is to the present when one is surrounded by children. my dread is hereditary ill-health. even death is better for them. my dear fox, your sincere friend, c. darwin. p.s.--susan has lately been working in a way which i think truly heroic about the scandalous violation of the act against children climbing chimneys. we have set up a little society in shrewsbury to prosecute those who break the law. it is all susan's doing. she has had very nice letters from lord shaftesbury and the duke of sutherland, but the brutal shropshire squires are as hard as stones to move. the act out of london seems most commonly violated. it makes one shudder to fancy one of one's own children at seven years old being forced up a chimney--to say nothing of the consequent loathsome disease and ulcerated limbs, and utter moral degradation. if you think strongly on this subject, do make some inquiries; add to your many good works, this other one, and try to stir up the magistrates. there are several people making a stir in different parts of england on this subject. it is not very likely that you would wish for such, but i could send you some essays and information if you so liked, either for yourself or to give away. charles darwin to w.d. fox. down [october th, ]. my dear fox, i received your long and most welcome letter this morning, and will answer it this evening, as i shall be very busy with an artist, drawing cirripedia, and much overworked for the next fortnight. but first you deserve to be well abused--and pray consider yourself well abused--for thinking or writing that i could for one minute be bored by any amount of detail about yourself and belongings. it is just what i like hearing; believe me that i often think of old days spent with you, and sometimes can hardly believe what a jolly careless individual one was in those old days. a bright autumn evening often brings to mind some shooting excursion from osmaston. i do indeed regret that we live so far off each other, and that i am so little locomotive. i have been unusually well of late (no water-cure), but i do not find that i can stand any change better than formerly...the other day i went to london and back, and the fatigue, though so trifling, brought on my bad form of vomiting. i grieve to hear that your chest has been ailing, and most sincerely do i hope that it is only the muscles; how frequently the voice fails with the clergy. i can well understand your reluctance to break up your large and happy party and go abroad; but your life is very valuable, so you ought to be very cautious in good time. you ask about all of us, now five boys (oh! the professions; oh! the gold; and oh! the french--these three oh's all rank as dreadful bugbears) and two girls...but another and the worst of my bugbears is hereditary weakness. all my sisters are well except mrs. parker, who is much out of health; and so is erasmus at his poor average: he has lately moved into queen anne street. i had heard of the intended marriage (to the rev. j. hughes.) of your sister frances. i believe i have seen her since, but my memory takes me back some twenty-five years, when she was lying down. i remember well the delightful expression of her countenance. i most sincerely wish her all happiness. i see i have not answered half your queries. we like very well all that we have seen and heard of rugby, and have never repented of sending [w.] there. i feel sure schools have greatly improved since our days; but i hate schools and the whole system of breaking through the affections of the family by separating the boys so early in life; but i see no help, and dare not run the risk of a youth being exposed to the temptations of the world without having undergone the milder ordeal of a great school. i see you even ask after our pears. we have lots of beurrees d'aremberg, winter nelis, marie louise, and "ne plus ultra," but all off the wall; the standard dwarfs have borne a few, but i have no room for more trees, so their names would be useless to me. you really must make a holiday and pay us a visit sometime; nowhere could you be more heartily welcome. i am at work at the second volume of the cirripedia, of which creatures i am wonderfully tired. i hate a barnacle as no man ever did before, not even a sailor in a slow-sailing ship. my first volume is out; the only part worth looking at is on the sexes of ibla and scalpellum. i hope by next summer to have done with my tedious work. farewell,--do come whenever you can possibly manage it. i cannot but hope that the carbuncle may possibly do you good: i have heard of all sorts of weaknesses disappearing after a carbuncle. i suppose the pain is dreadful. i agree most entirely, what a blessed discovery is chloroform. when one thinks of one's children, it makes quite a little difference in one's happiness. the other day i had five grinders (two by the elevator) out at a sitting under this wonderful substance, and felt hardly anything. my dear old friend, yours very affectionately, charles darwin. charles darwin to w.d. fox. down, january th [ ]. my dear fox, your last account some months ago was so little satisfactory that i have often been thinking of you, and should be really obliged if you would give me a few lines, and tell me how your voice and chest are. i most sincerely hope that your report will be good...our second lad has a strong mechanical turn, and we think of making him an engineer. i shall try and find out for him some less classical school, perhaps bruce castle. i certainly should like to see more diversity in education than there is in any ordinary school--no exercising of the observing or reasoning faculties, no general knowledge acquired--i must think it a wretched system. on the other hand, a boy who has learnt to stick at latin and conquer its difficulties, ought to be able to stick at any labour. i should always be glad to hear anything about schools or education from you. i am at my old, never-ending subject, but trust i shall really go to press in a few months with my second volume on cirripedes. i have been much pleased by finding some odd facts in my first volume believed by owen and a few others, whose good opinion i regard as final...do write pretty soon, and tell me all you can about yourself and family; and i trust your report of yourself may be much better than your last. ...i have been very little in london of late, and have not seen lyell since his return from america; how lucky he was to exhume with his own hand parts of three skeletons of reptiles out of the carboniferous strata, and out of the inside of a fossil tree, which had been hollow within. farewell, my dear fox, yours affectionately, charles darwin. charles darwin to w.d. fox. sea houses, eastbourne, [july th? ]. my dear fox, here we are in a state of profound idleness, which to me is a luxury; and we should all, i believe, have been in a state of high enjoyment, had it not been for the detestable cold gales and much rain, which always gives much ennui to children away from their homes. i received your letter of th june, when working like a slave with mr. sowerby at drawing for my second volume, and so put off answering it till when i knew i should be at leisure. i was extremely glad to get your letter. i had intended a couple of months ago sending you a savage or supplicating jobation to know how you were, when i met sir p. egerton, who told me you were well, and, as usual, expressed his admiration of your doings, especially your farming, and the number of animals, including children, which you kept on your land. eleven children, ave maria! it is a serious look-out for you. indeed, i look at my five boys as something awful, and hate the very thoughts of professions, etc. if one could insure moderate health for them it would not signify so much, for i cannot but hope, with the enormous emigration, professions will somewhat improve. but my bugbear is hereditary weakness. i particularly like to hear all that you can say about education, and you deserve to be scolded for saying "you did not mean to torment me with a long yarn." you ask about rugby. i like it very well, on the same principle as my neighbour, sir j. lubbock, likes eton, viz., that it is not worse than any other school; the expense, with all etc., etc., including some clothes, travelling expenses, etc., is from pounds to pounds per annum. i do not think schools are so wicked as they were, and far more industrious. the boys, i think, live too secluded in their separate studies; and i doubt whether they will get so much knowledge of character as boys used to do; and this, in my opinion, is the one good of public schools over small schools. i should think the only superiority of a small school over home was forced regularity in their work, which your boys perhaps get at your home, but which i do not believe my boys would get at my home. otherwise, it is quite lamentable sending boys so early in life from their home. ...to return to schools. my main objection to them, as places of education, is the enormous proportion of time spent over classics. i fancy (though perhaps it is only fancy) that i can perceive the ill and contracting effect on my eldest boy's mind, in checking interest in anything in which reasoning and observation come into play. mere memory seems to be worked. i shall certainly look out for some school with more diversified studies for my younger boys. i was talking lately to the dean of hereford, who takes most strongly this view; and he tells me that there is a school at hereford commencing on this plan; and that dr. kennedy at shrewsbury is going to begin vigorously to modify that school... i am extremely glad to hear that you approved of my cirripedial volume. i have spent an almost ridiculous amount of labour on the subject, and certainly would never have undertaken it had i foreseen what a job it was. i hope to have finished by the end of the year. do write again before a very long time; it is a real pleasure to me to hear from you. farewell, with my wife's kindest remembrances to yourself and mrs. fox. my dear old friend, yours affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to w.d. fox. down, august th [ ]. my dear fox, i thank you sincerely for writing to me so soon after your most heavy misfortune. your letter affected me so much. we both most truly sympathise with you and mrs. fox. we too lost, as you may remember, not so very long ago, a most dear child, of whom i can hardly yet bear to think tranquilly; yet, as you must know from your own most painful experience, time softens and deadens, in a manner truly wonderful, one's feelings and regrets. at first it is indeed bitter. i can only hope that your health and that of poor mrs. fox may be preserved, and that time may do its work softly, and bring you all together, once again, as the happy family, which, as i can well believe, you so lately formed. my dear fox, your affectionate friend, charles darwin. [the following letter refers to the royal society's medal, which was awarded to him in november, :] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, november th [ ]. my dear hooker, amongst my letters received this morning, i opened first one from colonel sabine; the contents certainly surprised me very much, but, though the letter was a very kind one, somehow, i cared very little indeed for the announcement it contained. i then opened yours, and such is the effect of warmth, friendship, and kindness from one that is loved, that the very same fact, told as you told it, made me glow with pleasure till my very heart throbbed. believe me, i shall not soon forget the pleasure of your letter. such hearty, affectionate sympathy is worth more than all the medals that ever were or will be coined. again, my dear hooker, i thank you. i hope lindley (john lindley, - , was the son of a nurseryman near norwich, through whose failure in business he was thrown at the age of twenty on his own resources. he was befriended by sir w. hooker, and employed as assistant librarian by sir j. banks. he seems to have had enormous capacity of work, and is said to have translated richard's 'analyse du fruit' at one sitting of two days and three nights. he became assistant-secretary to the horticultural society, and in was appointed professor of botany at university college, a post which he held for upwards of thirty years. his writings are numerous: the best known being perhaps his 'vegetable kingdom,' published in . his influence in helping to introduce the natural system of classification was considerable, and he brought "all the weight of his teaching and all the force of his controversial powers to support it," as against the linnean system universally taught in the earlier part of his career. sachs points out (geschichte der botanik, , page ), that though lindley adopted in the main a sound classification of plants, he only did so by abandoning his own theoretical principle that the physiological importance of an organ is a measure of its classificatory value.) will never hear that he was a competitor against me; for really it is almost ridiculous (of course you would never repeat that i said this, for it would be thought by others, though not, i believe, by you, to be affectation) his not having the medal long before me; i must feel sure that you did quite right to propose him; and what a good, dear, kind fellow you are, nevertheless, to rejoice in this honour being bestowed on me. what pleasure i have felt on the occasion, i owe almost entirely to you. farewell, my dear hooker, yours affectionately, c. darwin. p.s.--you may believe what a surprise it was, for i had never heard that the medals could be given except for papers in the 'transactions.' all this will make me work with better heart at finishing the second volume. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, february th [ ]. my dear lyell, i should have written before, had it not seemed doubtful whether you would go on to teneriffe, but now i am extremely glad to hear your further progress is certain; not that i have much of any sort to say, as you may well believe when you hear that i have only once been in london since you started. i was particularly glad to see, two days since, your letter to mr. horner, with its geological news; how fortunate for you that your knees are recovered. i am astonished at what you say of the beauty, though i had fancied it great. it really makes me quite envious to think of your clambering up and down those steep valleys. and what a pleasant party on your return from your expeditions. i often think of the delight which i felt when examining volcanic islands, and i can remember even particular rocks which i struck, and the smell of the hot, black, scoriaceous cliffs; but of those hot smells you do not seem to have had much. i do quite envy you. how i should like to be with you, and speculate on the deep and narrow valleys. how very singular the fact is which you mention about the inclination of the strata being greater round the circumference than in the middle of the island; do you suppose the elevation has had the form of a flat dome? i remember in the cordillera being often struck with the greater abruptness of the strata in the low extreme outermost ranges, compared with the great mass of inner mountains. i dare say you will have thought of measuring exactly the width of any dikes at the top and bottom of any great cliff (which was done by mr. searle [?] at st. helena), for it has often struck me as very odd that the cracks did not die out oftener upwards. i can think of hardly any news to tell you, as i have seen no one since being in london, when i was delighted to see forbes looking so well, quite big and burly. i saw at the museum some of the surprisingly rich gold ore from north wales. ramsay also told me that he has lately turned a good deal of new red sandstone into permian, together with the labyrinthodon. no doubt you see newspapers, and know that e. de beaumont is perpetual secretary, and will, i suppose, be more powerful than ever; and le verrier has arago's place in the observatory. there was a meeting lately at the geological society, at which prestwich (judging from what r. jones told me) brought forward your exact theory, viz. that the whole red clay and flints over the chalk plateau hereabouts is the residuum from the slow dissolution of the chalk! as regards ourselves, we have no news, and are all well. the hookers, sometime ago, stayed a fortnight with us, and, to our extreme delight, henslow came down, and was most quiet and comfortable here. it does one good to see so composed, benevolent, and intellectual a countenance. there have been great fears that his heart is affected; but, i hope to god, without foundation. hooker's book (sir j. hooker's 'himalayan journal.') is out, and most beautifully got up. he has honoured me beyond measure by dedicating it to me! as for myself, i am got to the page of the barnacles, and that is the sum total of my history. by-the-way, as you care so much about north america, i may mention that i had a long letter from a shipmate in australia, who says the colony is getting decidedly republican from the influx of americans, and that all the great and novel schemes for working the gold are planned and executed by these men. what a go-a-head nation it is! give my kindest remembrances to lady lyell, and to mrs. bunbury, and to bunbury. i most heartily wish that the canaries may be ten times as interesting as madeira, and that everything may go on most prosperously with your whole party. my dear lyell, yours most truly and affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, march st [ ]. my dear hooker, i finished yesterday evening the first volume, and i very sincerely congratulate you on having produced a first-class book ('himalayan journal.')--a book which certainly will last. i cannot doubt that it will take its place as a standard, not so much because it contains real solid matter, but that it gives a picture of the whole country. one can feel that one has seen it (and desperately uncomfortable i felt in going over some of the bridges and steep slopes), and one realises all the great physical features. you have in truth reason to be proud; consider how few travellers there have been with a profound knowledge of one subject, and who could in addition make a map (which, by-the-way, is one of the most distinct ones i ever looked at, wherefore blessings alight on your head), and study geology and meteorology! i thought i knew you very well, but i had not the least idea that your travels were your hobby; but i am heartily glad of it, for i feel sure that the time will never come when you and mrs. hooker will not be proud to look back at the labour bestowed on these beautiful volumes. your letter, received this morning, has interested me extremely, and i thank you sincerely for telling me your old thoughts and aspirations. all that you say makes me even more deeply gratified by the dedication; but you, bad man, do you remember asking me how i thought lyell would like the work to be dedicated to him? i remember how strongly i answered, and i presume you wanted to know what i should feel; whoever would have dreamed of your being so crafty? i am glad you have shown a little bit of ambition about your journal, for you must know that i have often abused you for not caring more about fame, though, at the same time, i must confess, i have envied and honoured you for being so free (too free, as i have always thought) of this "last infirmity of, etc." do not say, "there never was a past hitherto to me--the phantom was always in view," for you will soon find other phantoms in view. how well i know this feeling, and did formerly still more vividly; but i think my stomach has much deadened my former pure enthusiasm for science and knowledge. i am writing an unconscionably long letter, but i must return to the journals, about which i have hardly said anything in detail. imprimis, the illustrations and maps appear to me the best i have ever seen; the style seems to me everywhere perfectly clear (how rare a virtue), and some passages really eloquent. how excellently you have described the upper valleys, and how detestable their climate; i felt quite anxious on the slopes of kinchin that dreadful snowy night. nothing has astonished me more than your physical strength; and all those devilish bridges! well, thank goodness! it is not very likely that i shall ever go to the himalaya. much in a scientific point of view has interested me, especially all about those wonderful moraines. i certainly think i quite realise the valleys, more vividly perhaps from having seen the valleys of tahiti. i cannot doubt that the himalaya owe almost all their contour to running water, and that they have been subjected to such action longer than any mountains (as yet described) in the world. what a contrast with the andes! perhaps you would like to hear the very little that i can say per contra, and this only applied to the beginning, in which (as it struck me) there was not flow enough till you get to mirzapore on the ganges (but the thugs were most interesting), where the stream seemed to carry you on more equably with longer sentences and longer facts and discussions, etc. in another edition (and i am delighted to hear that murray has sold all off), i would consider whether this part could not be condensed. even if the meteorology was put in foot-notes, i think it would be an improvement. all the world is against me, but it makes me very unhappy to see the latin names all in italics, and all mingled with english names in roman type; but i must bear this burden, for all men of science seem to think it would corrupt the latin to dress it up in the same type as poor old english. well, i am very proud of my book; but there is one bore, that i do not much like asking people whether they have seen it, and how they like it, for i feel so much identified with it, that such questions become rather personal. hence, i cannot tell you the opinion of others. you will have seen a fairly good review in the 'athenaeum.' what capital news from tasmania: it really is a very remarkable and creditable fact to the colony. (this refers to an unsolicited grant by the colonial government towards the expenses of sir j. hooker's 'flora of tasmania.') i am always building veritable castles in the air about emigrating, and tasmania has been my head-quarters of late; so that i feel very proud of my adopted country: is really a very singular and delightful fact, contrasted with the slight appreciation of science in the old country. i thank you heartily for your letter this morning, and for all the gratification your dedication has given me; i could not help thinking how much -- would despise you for not having dedicated it to some great man, who would have done you and it some good in the eyes of the world. ah, my dear hooker, you were very soft on this head, and justify what i say about not caring enough for your own fame. i wish i was in every way more worthy of your good opinion. farewell. how pleasantly mrs. hooker and you must rest from one of your many labours... again farewell: i have written a wonderfully long letter. adios, and god bless you. my dear hooker, ever yours, c. darwin. p.s.--i have just looked over my rambling letter; i see that i have not at all expressed my strong admiration at the amount of scientific work, in so many branches, which you have effected. it is really grand. you have a right to rest on your oars; or even to say, if it so pleases you, that "your meridian is past;" but well assured do i feel that the day of your reputation and general recognition has only just begun to dawn. [in september, , his cirripede work was practically finished, and he wrote to dr. hooker: "i have been frittering away my time for the last several weeks in a wearisome manner, partly idleness, and odds and ends, and sending ten thousand barnacles out of the house all over the world. but i shall now in a day or two begin to look over my old notes on species. what a deal i shall have to discuss with you; i shall have to look sharp that i do not 'progress' into one of the greatest bores in life, to the few like you with lots of knowledge."] chapter .x. -- the growth of the 'origin of species.' [the growth of the 'origin of species' has been briefly described in my father's words (above). the letters given in the present and following chapters will illustrate and amplify the history thus sketched out.] it is clear that in the early part of the voyage of the "beagle" he did not feel it inconsistent with his views to express himself in thoroughly orthodox language as to the genesis of new species. thus in he wrote (ms. journals, page .) at valparaiso: "i have already found beds of recent shells yet retaining their colour at an elevation of feet, and beneath, the level country is strewn with them. it seems not a very improbable conjecture that the want of animals may be owing to none having been created since this country was raised from the sea." this passage does not occur in the published 'journal,' the last proof of which was finished in ; and this fact harmonizes with the change we know to have been proceeding in his views. but in the published 'journal' we find passages which show a point of view more in accordance with orthodox theological natural history than with his later views. thus, in speaking of the birds synallaxis and scytalopus ( st edition page ; nd edition page ), he says: "when finding, as in this case, any animal which seems to play so insignificant a part in the great scheme of nature, one is apt to wonder why a distinct species should have been created." a comparison of the two editions of the 'journal' is instructive, as giving some idea of the development of his views on evolution. it does not give us a true index of the mass of conjecture which was taking shape in his mind, but it shows us that he felt sure enough of the truth of his belief to allow a stronger tinge of evolution to appear in the second edition. he has mentioned in the autobiography that it was not until he read malthus that he got a clear view of the potency of natural selection. this was in --a year after he finished the first edition (it was not published until ), and five years before the second edition was written ( ). thus the turning-point in the formation of his theory took place between the writing of the two editions. i will first give a few passages which are practically the same in the two editions, and which are, therefore, chiefly of interest as illustrating his frame of mind in . the case of the two species of molothrus ( st edition page ; nd edition page ) must have been one of the earliest instances noticed by him of the existence of representative species--a phenomenon which we know ('autobiography,') struck him deeply. the discussion on introduced animals ( st edition page ; nd edition page ) shows how much he was impressed by the complicated interdependence of the inhabitants of a given area. an analogous point of view is given in the discussion ( st edition page ; nd edition page ) of the mistaken belief that large animals require, for their support, a luxuriant vegetation; the incorrectness of this view is illustrated by the comparison of the fauna of south africa and south america, and the vegetation of the two continents. the interest of the discussion is that it shows clearly our a priori ignorance of the conditions of life suitable to any organism. there is a passage which has been more than once quoted as bearing on the origin of his views. it is where he discusses the striking difference between the species of mice on the east and west of the andes ( st edition page ): "unless we suppose the same species to have been created in two different countries, we ought not to expect any closer similarity between the organic beings on the opposite sides of the andes than on shores separated by a broad strait of the sea." in the nd edition page , the passage is almost verbally identical, and is practically the same. there are other passages again which are more strongly evolutionary in the nd edition, but otherwise are similar to the corresponding passages in the st edition. thus, in describing the blind tuco-tuco ( st edition page ; nd edition page ), in the first edition he makes no allusion to what lamarck might have thought, nor is the instance used as an example of modification, as in the edition of . a striking passage occurs in the nd edition (page ) on the relationship between the "extinct edentata and the living sloths, ant-eaters, and armadillos." "this wonderful relationship in the same continent between the dead and the living, will, i do not doubt, hereafter throw more light on the appearance of organic beings on our earth, and their disappearance from it, than any other class of facts." this sentence does not occur in the st edition, but he was evidently profoundly struck by the disappearance of the gigantic forerunners of the present animals. the difference between the discussions in the two editions is most instructive. in both, our ignorance of the conditions of life is insisted on, but in the second edition, the discussion is made to led up to a strong statement of the intensity of the struggle for life. then follows a comparison between rarity (in the second edition, page , the destruction of niata cattle by droughts is given as a good example of our ignorance of the causes of rarity or extinction. the passage does not occur in the first edition.) and extinction, which introduces the idea that the preservation and dominance of existing species depend on the degree in which they are adapted to surrounding conditions. in the first edition, he is merely "tempted to believe in such simple relations as variation of climate and food, or introduction of enemies, or the increased number of other species, as the cause of the succession of races." but finally ( st edition) he ends the chapter by comparing the extinction of a species to the exhaustion and disappearance of varieties of fruit-trees: as if he thought that a mysterious term of life was impressed on each species at its creation. the difference of treatment of the galapagos problem is of some interest. in the earlier book, the american type of the productions of the islands is noticed, as is the fact that the different islands possess forms specially their own, but the importance of the whole problem is not so strongly put forward. thus, in the first edition, he merely says:-- "this similarity of type between distant islands and continents, while the species are distinct, has scarcely been sufficiently noticed. the circumstance would be explained, according to the views of some authors, by saying that the creative power had acted according to the same law over a wide area."--( st edition page .) this passage is not given in the second edition, and the generalisations on geographical distribution are much wider and fuller. thus he asks:-- "why were their aboriginal inhabitants, associated...in different proportions both in kind and number from those on the continent, and therefore acting on each other in a different manner--why were they created on american types of organisation?"--( nd edition page .) the same difference of treatment is shown elsewhere in this chapter. thus the gradation in the form of beak presented by the thirteen allied species of finch is described in the first edition (page ) without comment. whereas in the second edition (page ) he concludes:-- "one might really fancy that from an original paucity of birds in this archipelago, one species has been taken and modified for different ends." on the whole it seems to me remarkable that the difference between the two editions is not greater; it is another proof of the author's caution and self-restraint in the treatment of his theory. after reading the second edition of the 'journal,' we find with a strong sense of surprise how far developed were his views in . we are enabled to form an opinion on this point from the note-books in which he wrote down detached thoughts and queries. i shall quote from the first note-book, completed between july and february : and this is the more worth doing, as it gives us an insight into the condition of his thoughts before the reading of malthus. the notes are written in his most hurried style, so many words being omitted, that it is often difficult to arrive at the meaning. with a few exceptions (indicated by square brackets) (in the extracts from the note-book ordinary brackets represent my father's parentheses.) i have printed the extracts as written; the punctuation, however, has been altered, and a few obvious slips corrected where it seemed necessary. the extracts are not printed in order, but are roughly classified. (on the first page of the note-book, is written "zoonomia"; this seems to refer to the first few pages in which reproduction by gemmation is discussed, and where the "zoonomia" is mentioned. many pages have been cut out of the note-book, probably for use in writing the sketch of , and these would have no doubt contained the most interesting extracts.) "propagation explains why modern animals same type as extinct, which is law, almost proved." "we can see why structure is common in certain countries when we can hardly believe necessary, but if it was necessary to one forefather, the result would be as it is. hence antelopes at cape of good hope; marsupials at australia." "countries longest separated greatest differences--if separated from immersage, possibly two distinct types, but each having its representatives--as in australia." "will this apply to whole organic kingdom when our planet first cooled?" the two following extracts show that he applied the theory of evolution to the "whole organic kingdom" from plants to man. "if we choose to let conjecture run wild, then animals, our fellow brethren in pain, disease, death, suffering and famine--our slaves in the most laborious works, our companions in our amusements--they may partake [of?] our origin in one common ancestor--we may be all melted together." "the different intellects of man and animals not so great as between living things without thought (plants), and living things with thought (animals)." the following extracts are again concerned with an a priori view of the probability of the origin of species by descent ["propagation," he called it.]. "the tree of life should perhaps be called the coral of life, base of branches dead; so that passages cannot be seen." "there never may have been grade between pig and tapir, yet from some common progenitor. now if the intermediate ranks had produced infinite species, probably the series would have been more perfect." at another place, speaking of intermediate forms he says:-- "cuvier objects to propagation of species by saying, why have not some intermediate forms been discovered between palaeotherium, megalonyx, mastodon, and the species now living? now according to my view (in s. america) parent of all armadilloes might be brother to megatherium--uncle now dead." speaking elsewhere of intermediate forms, he remarks:-- "opponents will say--'show them me.' i will answer yes, if you will show me every step between bulldog and greyhound." here we see that the case of domestic animals was already present in his mind as bearing on the production of natural species. the disappearance of intermediate forms naturally leads up to the subject of extinction, with which the next extract begins. "it is a wonderful fact, horse, elephant, and mastodon, dying out about same time in such different quarters. "will mr. lyell say that some [same?] circumstance killed it over a tract from spain to south america?--(never). "they die, without they change, like golden pippins; it is a generation of species like generation of individuals. "why does individual die? to perpetuate certain peculiarities (therefore adaptation), and obliterate accidental varieties, and to accommodate itself to change (for, of course, change, even in varieties, is accommodation). now this argument applies to species. "if individual cannot propagate he has no issue--so with species. "if species generate other species, their race is not utterly cut off:-- like golden pippins, if produced by seed, go on--otherwise all die. "the fossil horse generated, in south africa, zebra--and continued--perished in america. "all animals of same species are bound together just like buds of plants, which die at one time, though produced either sooner or later. prove animals like plants--trace gradation between associated and non-associated animals--and the story will be complete." here we have the view already alluded to of a term of life impressed on a species. but in the following note we get extinction connected with unfavourable variation, and thus a hint is given of natural selection: "with respect to extinction, we can easily see that [a] variety of [the] ostrich (petise), may not be well adapted, and thus perish out; or, on the other hand, like orpheus [a galapagos bird], being favourable, many might be produced. this requires [the] principle that the permanent variations produced by confined breeding and changing circumstances are continued and produced according to the adaptation of such circumstance, and therefore that death of species is a consequence (contrary to what would appear from america) of non-adaptation of circumstances." the first part of the next extract has a similar bearing. the end of the passage is of much interest, as showing that he had at this early date visions of the far-reaching character of the theory of evolution:-- "with belief of transmutation and geographical grouping, we are lead to endeavour to discover causes of change; the manner of adaptation (wish of parents??), instinct and structure becomes full of speculation and lines of observation. view of generation being condensation (i imagine him to mean that each generation is "condensed" to a small number of the best organized individuals.) test of highest organisation intelligible...my theory would give zest to recent and fossil comparative anatomy; it would lead to the study of instincts, heredity, and mind-heredity, whole [of] metaphysics. "it would lead to closest examination of hybridity and generation, causes of change in order to know what we have come from and to what we tend--to what circumstances favour crossing and what prevents it--this, and direct examination of direct passages of structure in species, might lead to laws of change, which would then be [the] main object of study, to guide our speculations." the following two extracts have a similar interest; the second is especially interesting, as it contains the germ of concluding sentence of the 'origin of species': ('origin of species' ( st edition), page :-- "there is a grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved.")-- "before the attraction of gravity discovered it might have been said it was as great a difficulty to account for the movement of all [planets] by one law, as to account for each separate one; so to say that all mammalia were born from one stock, and since distributed by such means as we can recognise, may be thought to explain nothing. "astronomers might formerly have said that god fore-ordered each planet to move in its particular destiny. in the same manner god orders each animal created with certain forms in certain countries, but how much more simple and sublime [a] power--let attraction act according to certain law, such are inevitable consequences--let animals be created, then by the fixed laws of generation, such will be their successors. "let the powers of transportal be such, and so will be the forms of one country to another--let geological changes go at such a rate, so will be the number and distribution of the species!!" the three next extracts are of miscellaneous interest:-- "when one sees nipple on man's breast, one does not say some use, but sex not having been determined--so with useless wings under elytra of beetles--born from beetles with wings, and modified--if simple creation merely, would have been born without them." "in a decreasing population at any one moment fewer closely related (few species of genera); ultimately few genera (for otherwise the relationship would converge sooner), and lastly, perhaps, some one single one. will not this account for the odd genera with few species which stand between great groups, which we are bound to consider the increasing ones?" the last extract which i shall quote gives the germ of his theory of the relation between alpine plants in various parts of the world, in the publication of which he was forestalled by e. forbes (see volume i. page ). he says, in the note-book, that alpine plants, "formerly descended lower, therefore [they are] species of lower genera altered, or northern plants." when we turn to the sketch of his theory, written in (still therefore before the second edition of the 'journal' was completed), we find an enormous advance made on the note-book of . the sketch is an fact a surprisingly complete presentation of the argument afterwards familiar to us in the 'origin of species.' there is some obscurity as to the date of the short sketch which formed the basis of the essay. we know from his own words (volume i., page ), that it was in june that he first wrote out a short sketch of his views. (this version i cannot find, and it was probably destroyed, like so much of his ms., after it had been enlarged and re-copied in .) this statement is given with so much circumstance that it is almost impossible to suppose that it contains an error of date. it agrees also with the following extract from his diary. . may th. went to maer. "june th to shrewsbury, and on th to capel curig. during my stay at maer and shrewsbury (five years after commencement) wrote pencil-sketch of species theory." again in the introduction to the 'origin,' page , he writes, "after an interval of five years' work" [from , i.e. in ], "i allowed myself to speculate on the subject, and drew up some short notes." nevertheless in the letter signed by sir c. lyell and sir j.d. hooker, which serves as an introduction to the joint paper of messrs. c. darwin and a. wallace on the 'tendency of species to form varieties,' ('linn. soc. journal,' , page .) the essay of (extracts from which form part of the paper) is said to have been "sketched in , and copied in ." this statement is obviously made on the authority of a note written in my father's hand across the table of contents of the essay. it is to the following effect: "this was sketched in , and copied out in full, as here written and read by you in ." i conclude that this note was added in , when the ms. was sent to sir j.d. hooker (see letter of june , , page ). there is also some further evidence on this side of the question. writing to mr. wallace (january , ) my father says:-- "every one whom i have seen has thought your paper very well written and interesting. it puts my extracts (written in , now just twenty years ago!), which i must say in apology were never for an instant intended for publication; into the shade." the statement that the earliest sketch was written in has been frequently made in biographical notices of my father, no doubt on the authority of the 'linnean journal,' but it must, i think, be considered as erroneous. the error may possibly have arisen in this way. in writing on the table of contents of the ms. that it was sketched in , i think my father may have intended to imply that the framework of the theory was clearly thought out by him at that date. in the autobiography he speaks of the time, "about , when the theory was clearly conceived," meaning, no doubt, the end of and beginning of , when the reading of malthus had given him the key to the idea of natural selection. but this explanation does not apply to the letter to mr. wallace; and with regard to the passage (my father certainly saw the proofs of the paper, for he added a foot-note apologising for the style of the extracts, on the ground that the "work was never intended for publication.") in the 'linnean journal' it is difficult to understand how it should have been allowed to remain as it now stands, conveying, as it clearly does, the impression that was the date of his earliest written sketch. the sketch of is written in a clerk's hand, in two hundred and thirty-one pages folio, blank leaves being alternated with the ms. with a view to amplification. the text has been revised and corrected, criticisms being pencilled by himself on the margin. it is divided into two parts: i. "on the variation of organic beings under domestication and in their natural state." ii. "on the evidence favourable and opposed to the view that species are naturally formed races descended from common stocks." the first part contains the main argument of the 'origin of species.' it is founded, as is the argument of that work, on the study of domestic animals, and both the sketch and the 'origin' open with a chapter on variation under domestication and on artificial selection. this is followed, in both essays, by discussions on variation under nature, on natural selection, and on the struggle for life. here, any close resemblance between the two essays with regard to arrangement ceases. chapter iii. of the sketch, which concludes the first part, treats of the variations which occur in the instincts and habits of animals, and thus corresponds to some extent with chapter vii. of the 'origin' ( st edition). it thus forms a complement to the chapters which deal with variation in structure. it seems to have been placed thus early in the essay to prevent the hasty rejection of the whole theory by a reader to whom the idea of natural selection acting on instincts might seem impossible. this is the more probable, as the chapter on instinct in the 'origin' is specially mentioned (introduction, page ) as one of the "most apparent and gravest difficulties on the theory." moreover the chapter in the sketch ends with a discussion, "whether any particular corporeal structures...are so wonderful as to justify the rejection prima facie of our theory." under this heading comes the discussion of the eye, which in the 'origin' finds its place in chapter vi. under "difficulties of the theory." the second part seems to have been planned in accordance with his favourite point of view with regard to his theory. this is briefly given in a letter to dr. asa gray, november th, : "i cannot possibly believe that a false theory would explain so many classes of facts, as i think it certainly does explain. on these grounds i drop my anchor, and believe that the difficulties will slowly disappear." on this principle, having stated the theory in the first part, he proceeds to show to what extent various wide series of facts can be explained by its means. thus the second part of the sketch corresponds roughly to the nine concluding chapters of the first edition of the 'origin.' but we must exclude chapter vii. ('origin') on instinct, which forms a chapter in the first part of the sketch, and chapter viii. ('origin') on hybridism, a subject treated in the sketch with 'variation under nature' in the first part. the following list of the chapters of the second part of the sketch will illustrate their correspondence with the final chapters of the 'origin.' chapter i. "on the kind of intermediateness necessary, and the number of such intermediate forms." this includes a geological discussion, and corresponds to parts of chapters vi. and ix. of the 'origin.' chapter ii. "the gradual appearance and disappearance of organic beings." corresponds to chapter x. of the 'origin.' chapter iii. "geographical distribution." corresponds to chapters xi. and xii. of the 'origin.' chapter iv. "affinities and classification of organic beings." chapter v. "unity of type," morphology, embryology. chapter vi. rudimentary organs. these three chapters correspond to chapter xii. of the 'origin.' chapter vii. recapitulation and conclusion. the final sentence of the sketch, which we saw in its first rough form in the note book of , closely resembles the final sentence of the 'origin,' much of it being identical. the 'origin' is not divided into two "parts," but we see traces of such a division having been present in the writer's mind, in this resemblance between the second part of the sketch and the final chapters of the 'origin.' that he should speak ('origin,' introduction, page .) of the chapters on transition, on instinct, on hybridism, and on the geological record, as forming a group, may be due to the division of his early ms. into two parts. mr. huxley, who was good enough to read the sketch at my request, while remarking that the "main lines of argument," and the illustrations employed are the same, points out that in the essay, "much more weight is attached to the influence of external conditions in producing variation, and to the inheritance of acquired habits than in the origin.'" it is extremely interesting to find in the sketch the first mention of principles familiar to us in the 'origin of species.' foremost among these may be mentioned the principle of sexual selection, which is clearly enunciated. the important form of selection known as "unconscious," is also given. here also occurs a statement of the law that peculiarities tend to appear in the offspring at an age corresponding to that at which they occurred in the parent. professor newton, who was so kind as to look through the sketch, tells me that my father's remarks on the migration of birds, incidentally given in more than one passage, show that he had anticipated the views of some later writers. with regard to the general style of the sketch, it is not to be expected that it should have all the characteristics of the 'origin,' and we do not, in fact, find that balance and control, that concentration and grasp, which are so striking in the work of . in the autobiography (page , volume ) my father has stated what seemed to him the chief flaw of the sketch; he had overlooked "one problem of great importance," the problem of the divergence of character. this point is discussed in the 'origin of species,' but, as it may not be familiar to all readers, i will give a short account of the difficulty and its solution. the author begins by stating that varieties differ from each other less than species, and then goes on: "nevertheless, according to my view, varieties are species in process of formation...how then does the lesser difference between varieties become augmented into the greater difference between species?" ('origin,' st edition, page .) he shows how an analogous divergence takes place under domestication where an originally uniform stock of horses has been split up into race-horses, dray-horses, etc., and then goes on to explain how the same principle applies to natural species. "from the simple circumstance that the more diversified the descendants from any one species become in structure, constitution, and habits, by so much will they be better enabled to seize on many and widely diversified places in the polity of nature, and so be enabled to increase in numbers." the principle is exemplified by the fact that if on one plot of ground a single variety of wheat be sown, and on to another a mixture of varieties, in the latter case the produce is greater. more individuals have been able to exist because they were not all of the same variety. an organism becomes more perfect and more fitted to survive when by division of labour the different functions of life are performed by different organs. in the same way a species becomes more efficient and more able to survive when different sections of the species become differentiated so as to fill different stations. in reading the sketch of , i have found it difficult to recognise the absence of any definite statement of the principle of divergence as a flaw in the essay. descent with modification implies divergence, and we become so habituated to a belief in descent, and therefore in divergence, that we do not notice the absence of proof that divergence is in itself an advantage. as shown in the autobiography, my father in found it hardly credible that he should have overlooked the problem and its solution. the following letter will be more in place here than its chronological position, since it shows what was my father's feeling as to the value of the sketch at the time of its completion.] charles darwin to mrs. darwin. down, july , . i have just finished my sketch of my species theory. if, as i believe, my theory in time be accepted even by one competent judge, it will be a considerable step in science. i therefore write this in case of my sudden death, as my most solemn and last request, which i am sure you will consider the same as if legally entered in my will, that you will devote pounds to its publication, and further, will yourself, or through hensleigh (mr. h. wedgwood.), take trouble in promoting it. i wish that my sketch be given to some competent person, with this sum to induce him to take trouble in its improvement and enlargement. i give to him all my books on natural history, which are either scored or have references at the end to the pages, begging him carefully to look over and consider such passages as actually bearing, or by possibility bearing, on this subject. i wish you to make a list of all such books as some temptation to an editor. i also request that you will hand over [to] him all those scraps roughly divided in eight or ten brown paper portfolios. the scraps, with copied quotations from various works, are those which may aid my editor. i also request that you, or some amanuensis, will aid in deciphering any of the scraps which the editor may think possibly of use. i leave to the editor's judgment whether to interpolate these facts in the text, or as notes, or under appendices. as the looking over the references and scraps will be a long labour, and as the correcting and enlarging and altering my sketch will also take considerable time, i leave this sum of pounds as some remuneration, and any profits from the work. i consider that for this the editor is bound to get the sketch published either at a publisher's or his own risk. many of the scrap in the portfolios contains mere rude suggestions and early views, now useless, and many of the facts will probably turn out as having no bearing on my theory. with respect to editors, mr. lyell would be the best if he would undertake it; i believe he would find the work pleasant, and he would learn some facts new to him. as the editor must be a geologist as well as a naturalist, the next best editor would be professor forbes of london. the next best (and quite best in many respects) would be professor henslow. dr. hooker would be very good. the next, mr. strickland. (after mr. strickland's name comes the following sentence, which has been erased but remained legible. "professor owen would be very good; but i presume he would not undertake such a work." if none of these would undertake it, i would request you to consult with mr. lyell, or some other capable man for some editor, a geologist and naturalist. should one other hundred pounds make the difference of procuring a good editor, request earnestly that you will raise pounds.) my remaining collections in natural history may be given to any one or any museum where it would be accepted... [the following note seems to have formed part of the original letter, but may have been of later date: "lyell, especially with the aid of hooker (and of any good zoological aid), would be best of all. without an editor will pledge himself to give up time to it, it would be of no use paying such a sum. "if there should be any difficulty in getting an editor who would go thoroughly into the subject, and think of the bearing of the passages marked in the books and copied out of scraps of paper, then let my sketch be published as it is, stating that it was done several years ago (the words "several years ago and," seem to have been added at a later date.) and from memory without consulting any works, and with no intention of publication in its present form." the idea that the sketch of might remain, in the event of his death, as the only record of his work, seems to have been long in his mind, for in august , when he had finished with the cirripedes, and was thinking of beginning his "species work," he added on the back of the above letter, "hooker by far best man to edit my species volume. august ."] chapter .xi. -- the growth of the 'origin of species.' letters, - . [the history of my father's life is told more completely in his correspondence with sir j.d. hooker than in any other series of letters; and this is especially true of the history of the growth of the 'origin of species.' this, therefore, seems an appropriate place for the following notes, which sir joseph hooker has kindly given me. they give, moreover, an interesting picture of his early friendship with my father:-- "my first meeting with mr. darwin was in , in trafalgar square. i was walking with an officer who had been his shipmate for a short time in the "beagle" seven years before, but who had not, i believe, since met him. i was introduced; the interview was of course brief, and the memory of him that i carried away and still retain was that of a rather tall and rather broad-shouldered man, with a slight stoop, an agreeable and animated expression when talking, beetle brows, and a hollow but mellow voice; and that his greeting of his old acquaintance was sailor-like--that is, delightfully frank and cordial. i observed him well, for i was already aware of his attainments and labours, derived from having read various proof-sheets of his then unpublished 'journal.' these had been submitted to mr. (afterwards sir charles) lyell by mr. darwin, and by him sent to his father, ch. lyell, esq., of kinnordy, who (being a very old friend of my father and taking a kind interest in my projected career as a naturalist) had allowed me to peruse them. at this time i was hurrying on my studies, so as to take my degree before volunteering to accompany sir james ross in the antarctic expedition, which had just been determined on by the admiralty; and so pressed for time was i, that i used to sleep with the sheets of the 'journal' under my pillow, that i might read them between waking and rising. they impressed me profoundly, i might say despairingly, with the variety of acquirements, mental and physical, required in a naturalist who should follow in darwin's footsteps, whilst they stimulated me to enthusiasm in the desire to travel and observe. "it has been a permanent source of happiness to me that i knew so much of mr. darwin's scientific work so many years before that intimacy began which ripened into feelings as near to those of reverence for his life, works, and character as is reasonable and proper. it only remains to add to this little episode that i received a copy of the 'journal' complete,--a gift from mr. lyell,--a few days before leaving england. "very soon after the return of the antarctic expedition my correspondence with mr. darwin began (december, ) by his sending me a long letter, warmly congratulating me on my return to my family and friends, and expressing a wish to hear more of the results of the expedition, of which he had derived some knowledge from private letters of my own (written to or communicated through mr. lyell). then, plunging at once into scientific matters, he directed my attention to the importance of correlating the fuegian flora with that of the cordillera and of europe, and invited me to study the botanical collections which he had made in the galapagos islands, as well as his patagonian and fuegian plants. "this led to me sending him an outline of the conclusions i had formed regarding the distribution of plants in the southern regions, and the necessity of assuming the destruction of considerable areas of land to account for the relations of the flora of the so-called antarctic islands. i do not suppose that any of these ideas were new to him, but they led to an animated and lengthy correspondence full of instruction." here follows the letter ( ) to sir j.d. hooker above referred to.] my dear sir, i had hoped before this time to have had the pleasure of seeing you and congratulating you on your safe return from your long and glorious voyage. but as i seldom go to london, we may not yet meet for some time--without you are led to attend the geological meetings. i am anxious to know what you intend doing with all your materials--i had so much pleasure in reading parts of some of your letters, that i shall be very sorry if i, as one of the public, have no opportunity of reading a good deal more. i suppose you are very busy now and full of enjoyment: how well i remember the happiness of my first few months of england--it was worth all the discomforts of many a gale! but i have run from the subject, which made me write, of expressing my pleasure that henslow (as he informed me a few days since by letter) has sent to you my small collection of plants. you cannot think how much pleased i am, as i feared they would have been all lost, and few as they are, they cost me a good deal of trouble. there are a very few notes, which i believe henslow has got, describing the habitats, etc., of some few of the more remarkable plants. i paid particular attention to the alpine flowers of tierra del fuego, and i am sure i got every plant which was in flower in patagonia at the seasons when we were there. i have long thought that some general sketch of the flora of the point of land, stretching so far into the southern seas, would be very curious. do make comparative remarks on the species allied to the european species, for the advantage of botanical ignoramuses like myself. it has often struck me as a curious point to find out, whether there are many european genera in tierra del fuego which are not found along the ridge of the cordillera; the separation in such case would be so enormous. do point out in any sketch you draw up, what genera are american and what european, and how great the differences of the species are, when the genera are european, for the sake of the ignoramuses. i hope henslow will send you my galapagos plants (about which humboldt even expressed to me considerable curiosity)--i took much pains in collecting all i could. a flora of this archipelago would, i suspect, offer a nearly parallel case to that of st. helena, which has so long excited interest. pray excuse this long rambling note, and believe me, my dear sir, yours very sincerely, c. darwin. will you be so good as to present my respectful compliments to sir w. hooker. [referring to sir j.d. hooker's work on the galapagos flora, my father wrote in : "i cannot tell you how delighted and astonished i am at the results of your examination; how wonderfully they support my assertion on the differences in the animals of the different islands, about which i have always been fearful." again he wrote ( ):-- "i received a few weeks ago your galapagos papers (these papers include the results of sir j.d. hooker's examination of my father's galapagos plants, and were published by the linnean society in .), and i have read them since being here. i really cannot express too strongly my admiration of the geographical discussion: to my judgment it is a perfect model of what such a paper should be; it took me four days to read and think over. how interesting the flora of the sandwich islands appears to be, how i wish there were materials for you to treat its flora as you have done the galapagos. in the systematic paper i was rather disappointed in not finding general remarks on affinities, structures, etc., such as you often give in conversation, and such as de candolle and st. hilaire introduced in almost all their papers, and which make them interesting even to a non-botanist." "very soon afterwards [continues sir j.d. hooker] in a letter dated january , the subject of the 'origin of species' was brought forward by him, and i believe that i was the first to whom he communicated his then new ideas on the subject, and which being of interest as a contribution to the history of evolution, i here copy from his letter":--] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. [january th, .] besides a general interest about the southern lands, i have been now ever since my return engaged in a very presumptuous work, and i know no one individual who would not say a very foolish one. i was so struck with the distribution of the galapagos organisms, etc. etc., and with the character of the american fossil mammifers, etc. etc., that i determined to collect blindly every sort of fact, which could bear any way on what are species. i have read heaps of agricultural and horticultural books, and have never ceased collecting facts. at last gleams of light have come, and i am almost convinced (quite contrary to the opinion i started with) that species are not (it is like confessing a murder) immutable. heaven forfend me from lamarck nonsense of a "tendency to progression," "adaptations from the slow willing of animals," etc.! but the conclusions i am led to are not widely different from his; though the means of change are wholly so. i think i have found out (here's presumption!) the simple way by which species become exquisitely adapted to various ends. you will now groan, and think to yourself, "on what a man have i been wasting my time and writing to." i should, five years ago, have thought so... [the following letter written on february , , shows that the acquaintanceship with sir j.d. hooker was then fast ripening into friendship. the letter is chiefly of interest as showing the sort of problems then occupying my father's mind:] dear hooker, i hope you will excuse the freedom of my address, but i feel that as co-circum-wanderers and as fellow labourers (though myself a very weak one) we may throw aside some of the old-world formality...i have just finished a little volume on the volcanic islands which we visited. i do not know how far you care for dry simple geology, but i hope you will let me send you a copy. i suppose i can send it from london by common coach conveyance. ...i am going to ask you some more questions, though i daresay, without asking them, i shall see answers in your work, when published, which will be quite time enough for my purposes. first for the galapagos, you will see in my journal, that the birds, though peculiar species, have a most obvious s. american aspect: i have just ascertained the same thing holds good with the sea-shells. it is so with those plants which are peculiar to this archipelago; you state that their numerical proportions are continental (is not this a very curious fact?) but are they related in forms to s. america. do you know of any other case of an archipelago, with the separate islands possessing distinct representative species? i have always intended (but have not yet done so) to examine webb and berthelot on the canary islands for this object. talking with mr. bentham, he told me that the separate islands of the sandwich archipelago possessed distinct representative species of the same genera of labiatae: would not this be worth your enquiry? how is it with the azores; to be sure the heavy western gales would tend to diffuse the same species over that group. i hope you will (i dare say my hope is quite superfluous) attend to this general kind of affinity in isolated islands, though i suppose it is more difficult to perceive this sort of relation in plants, than in birds or quadrupeds, the groups of which are, i fancy, rather more confined. can st. helena be classed, though remotely, either with africa or s. america? from some facts, which i have collected, i have been led to conclude that the fauna of mountains are either remarkably similar (sometimes in the presence of the same species and at other times of same genera), or that they are remarkably dissimilar; and it has occurred to me that possibly part of this peculiarity of the st. helena and galapagos floras may be attributed to a great part of these two floras being mountain floras. i fear my notes will hardly serve to distinguish much of the habitats of the galapagos plants, but they may in some cases; most, if not all, of the green, leafy plants come from the summits of the islands, and the thin brown leafless plants come from the lower arid parts: would you be so kind as to bear this remark in mind, when examining my collection. i will trouble you with only one other question. in discussion with mr. gould, i found that in most of the genera of birds which range over the whole or greater part of the world, the individual species have wider ranges, thus the owl is mundane, and many of the species have very wide ranges. so i believe it is with land and fresh-water shells--and i might adduce other cases. is it not so with cryptogamic plants; have not most of the species wide ranges, in those genera which are mundane? i do not suppose that the converse holds, viz.--that when a species has a wide range, its genus also ranges wide. will you so far oblige me by occasionally thinking over this? it would cost me vast trouble to get a list of mundane phanerogamic genera and then search how far the species of these genera are apt to range wide in their several countries; but you might occasionally, in the course of your pursuits, just bear this in mind, though perhaps the point may long since have occurred to you or other botanists. geology is bringing to light interesting facts, concerning the ranges of shells; i think it is pretty well established, that according as the geographical range of a species is wide, so is its persistence and duration in time. i hope you will try to grudge as little as you can the trouble of my letters, and pray believe me very truly yours, c. darwin. p.s. i should feel extremely obliged for your kind offer of the sketch of humboldt; i venerate him, and after having had the pleasure of conversing with him in london, i shall still more like to have any portrait of him. [what follows is quoted from sir j. hooker's notes. "the next act in the drama of our lives opens with personal intercourse. this began with an invitation to breakfast with him at his brother's (erasmus darwin's) house in park street; which was shortly afterwards followed by an invitation to down to meet a few brother naturalists. in the short intervals of good health that followed the long illnesses which oftentimes rendered life a burthen to him, between and , i had many such invitations, and delightful they were. a more hospitable and more attractive home under every point of view could not be imagined--of society there were most often dr. falconer, edward forbes, professor bell, and mr. waterhouse--there were long walks, romps with the children on hands and knees, music that haunts me still. darwin's own hearty manner, hollow laugh, and thorough enjoyment of home life with friends; strolls with him all together, and interviews with us one by one in his study, to discuss questions in any branch of biological or physical knowledge that we had followed; and which i at any rate always left with the feeling that i had imparted nothing and carried away more than i could stagger under. latterly, as his health became more seriously affected, i was for days and weeks the only visitor, bringing my work with me and enjoying his society as opportunity offered. it was an established rule that he every day pumped me, as he called it, for half an hour or so after breakfast in his study, when he first brought out a heap of slips with questions botanical, geographical, etc., for me to answer, and concluded by telling me of the progress he had made in his own work, asking my opinion on various points. i saw no more of him till about noon, when i heard his mellow ringing voice calling my name under my window--this was to join him in his daily forenoon walk round the sand-walk. on joining him i found him in a rough grey shooting-coat in summer, and thick cape over his shoulders in winter, and a stout staff in his hand; away we trudged through the garden, where there was always some experiment to visit, and on to the sand-walk, round which a fixed number of turns were taken, during which our conversation usually ran on foreign lands and seas, old friends, old books, and things far off to both mind and eye. "in the afternoon there was another such walk, after which he again retired till dinner if well enough to join the family; if not, he generally managed to appear in the drawing-room, where seated in his high chair, with his feet in enormous carpet shoes, supported on a high stool--he enjoyed the music or conversation of his family." here follows a series of letters illustrating the growth of my father's views, and the nature of his work during this period.] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down [ ]. ...the conclusion, which i have come at is, that those areas, in which species are most numerous, have oftenest been divided and isolated from other areas, united and again divided; a process implying antiquity and some changes in the external conditions. this will justly sound very hypothetical. i cannot give my reasons in detail; but the most general conclusion, which the geographical distribution of all organic beings, appears to me to indicate, is that isolation is the chief concomitant or cause of the appearance of new forms (i well know there are some staring exceptions). secondly, from seeing how often the plants and animals swarm in a country, when introduced into it, and from seeing what a vast number of plants will live, for instance in england, if kept free from weeds, and native plants, i have been led to consider that the spreading and number of the organic beings of any country depend less on its external features, than on the number of forms, which have been there originally created or produced. i much doubt whether you will find it possible to explain the number of forms by proportional differences of exposure; and i cannot doubt if half the species in any country were destroyed or had not been created, yet that country would appear to us fully peopled. with respect to original creation or production of new forms, i have said that isolation appears the chief element. hence, with respect to terrestrial productions, a tract of country, which had oftenest within the late geological periods subsided and been converted into islands, and reunited, i should expect to contain most forms. but such speculations are amusing only to one self, and in this case useless, as they do not show any direct line of observation: if i had seen how hypothetical [is] the little, which i have unclearly written, i would not have troubled you with the reading of it. believe me,--at last not hypothetically, yours very sincerely, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, . ...i forget my last letter, but it must have been a very silly one, as it seems i gave my notion of the number of species being in great degree governed by the degree to which the area had been often isolated and divided; i must have been cracked to have written it, for i have no evidence, without a person be willing to admit all my views, and then it does follow; but in my most sanguine moments, all i expect, is that i shall be able to show even to sound naturalists, that there are two sides to the question of the immutability of species;--that facts can be viewed and grouped under the notion of allied species having descended from common stocks. with respect to books on this subject, i do not know of any systematical ones, except lamarck's, which is veritable rubbish; but there are plenty, as lyell, pritchard, etc., on the view of the immutability. agassiz lately has brought the strongest argument in favour of immutability. isidore g. st. hilaire has written some good essays, tending towards the mutability-side, in the 'suites a buffon,' entitled "zoolog. generale." is it not strange that the author, of such a book as the 'animaux sans vertebres,' should have written that insects, which never see their eggs, should will (and plants, their seeds) to be of particular forms, so as to become attached to particular objects. the other, common (specially germanic) notion is hardly less absurd, viz. that climate, food, etc., should make a pediculus formed to climb hair, or wood-pecker, to climb trees. i believe all these absurd views arise, from no one having, as far as i know, approached the subject on the side of variation under domestication, and having studied all that is known about domestication. i was very glad to hear your criticism on island-floras and on non-diffusion of plants: the subject is too long for a letter: i could defend myself to some considerable extent, but i doubt whether successfully in your eyes, or indeed in my own... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down [july, ]. ...i am now reading a wonderful book for facts on variation--bronn, 'geschichte der natur.' it is stiff german: it forestalls me, sometimes i think delightfully, and sometimes cruelly. you will be ten times hereafter more horrified at me than at h. watson. i hate arguments from results, but on my views of descent, really natural history becomes a sublimely grand result-giving subject (now you may quiz me for so foolish an escape of mouth)...i must leave this letter till to-morrow, for i am tired; but i so enjoy writing to you, that i must inflict a little more on you. have you any good evidence for absence of insects in small islands? i found thirteen species in keeling atoll. flies are good fertilizers, and i have seen a microscopic thrips and a cecidomya take flight from a flower in the direction of another with pollen adhering to them. in arctic countries a bee seems to go as far n. as any flower... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. shrewsbury [september, ]. my dear hooker, i write a line to say that cosmos (a translation of humboldt's 'kosmos.') arrived quite safely [n.b. one sheet came loose in part i.], and to thank you for your nice note. i have just begun the introduction, and groan over the style, which in such parts is full half the battle. how true many of the remarks are (i.e. as far as i can understand the wretched english) on the scenery; it is an exact expression of one's own thoughts. i wish i ever had any books to lend you in return for the many you have lent me... all of what you kindly say about my species work does not alter one iota my long self-acknowledged presumption in accumulating facts and speculating on the subject of variation, without having worked out my due share of species. but now for nine years it has been anyhow the greatest amusement to me. farewell, my dear hooker, i grieve more than you can well believe, over our prospect of so seldom meeting. i have never perceived but one fault in you, and that you have grievously, viz. modesty; you form an exception to sydney smith's aphorism, that merit and modesty have no other connection, except in their first letter. farewell, c. darwin. charles darwin to l. jenyns (blomefield). down, october th, [ ]. my dear jenyns, thanks for your note. i am sorry to say i have not even the tail-end of a fact in english zoology to communicate. i have found that even trifling observations require, in my case, some leisure and energy, both of which ingredients i have had none to spare, as writing my geology thoroughly expends both. i had always thought that i would keep a journal and record everything, but in the way i now live i find i observe nothing to record. looking after my garden and trees, and occasionally a very little walk in an idle frame of mind, fills up every afternoon in the same manner. i am surprised that with all your parish affairs, you have had time to do all that which you have done. i shall be very glad to see your little work (mr. jenyns' 'observations in natural history.' it is prefaced by an introduction on "habits of observing as connected with the study of natural history," and followed by a "calendar of periodic phenomena in natural history," with "remarks on the importance of such registers." my father seems to be alluding to this register in the p.s. to the letter dated october , .) (and proud should i have been if i could have added a single fact to it). my work on the species question has impressed me very forcibly with the importance of all such works as your intended one, containing what people are pleased generally to call trifling facts. these are the facts which make one understand the working or economy of nature. there is one subject, on which i am very curious, and which perhaps you may throw some light on, if you have ever thought on it; namely, what are the checks and what the periods of life,--by which the increase of any given species is limited. just calculate the increase of any bird, if you assume that only half the young are reared, and these breed: within the natural (i.e., if free from accidents) life of the parents the number of individuals will become enormous, and i have been much surprised to think how great destruction must annually or occasionally be falling on every species, yet the means and period of such destruction is scarcely perceived by us. i have continued steadily reading and collecting facts on variation of domestic animals and plants, and on the question of what are species. i have a grand body of facts, and i think i can draw some sound conclusions. the general conclusions at which i have slowly been driven from a directly opposite conviction, is that species are mutable, and that allied species are co-descendants from common stocks. i know how much i open myself to reproach for such a conclusion, but i have at least honestly and deliberately come to it. i shall not publish on this subject for several years. at present i am on the geology of south america. i hope to pick up from your book some facts on slight variations in structure or instincts in the animals of your acquaintance. believe me, ever yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to l. jenyns (rev. l. blomefield). down, [ ?]. my dear jenyns, i am very much obliged to you for the trouble you have taken in having written me so long a note. the question of where, when, and how the check to the increase of a given species falls appears to me particularly interesting, and our difficulty in answering it shows how really ignorant we are of the lives and habits of our most familiar species. i was aware of the bare fact of old birds driving away their young, but had never thought of the effect you so clearly point out, of local gaps in number being thus immediately filled up. but the original difficulty remains; for if your farmers had not killed your sparrows and rooks, what would have become of those which now immigrate into your parish? in the middle of england one is too far distant from the natural limits of the rook and sparrow to suppose that the young are thus far expelled from cambridgeshire. the check must fall heavily at some time of each species' life; for, if one calculates that only half the progeny are reared and bred, how enormous is the increase! one has, however, no business to feel so much surprise at one's ignorance, when one knows how impossible it is without statistics to conjecture the duration of life and percentage of deaths to births in mankind. if it could be shown that apparently the birds of passage which breed here and increase, return in the succeeding years in about the same number, whereas those that come here for their winter and non-breeding season annually, come here with the same numbers, but return with greatly decreased numbers, one would know (as indeed seems probable) that the check fell chiefly on full-grown birds in the winter season, and not on the eggs and very young birds, which has appeared to me often the most probable period. if at any time any remarks on this subject should occur to you, i should be most grateful for the benefit of them. with respect to my far distant work on species, i must have expressed myself with singular inaccuracy if i led you to suppose that i meant to say that my conclusions were inevitable. they have become so, after years of weighing puzzles, to myself alone; but in my wildest day-dream, i never expect more than to be able to show that there are two sides to the question of the immutability of species, i.e. whether species are directly created or by intermediate laws (as with the life and death of individuals). i did not approach the subject on the side of the difficulty in determining what are species and what are varieties, but (though, why i should give you such a history of my doings it would be hard to say) from such facts as the relationship between the living and extinct mammifers in south america, and between those living on the continent and on adjoining islands, such as the galapagos. it occured to me that a collection of all such analogous facts would throw light either for or against the view of related species being co-descendants from a common stock. a long searching amongst agricultural and horticultural books and people makes me believe (i well know how absurdly presumptuous this must appear) that i see the way in which new varieties become exquisitely adapted to the external conditions of life and to other surrounding beings. i am a bold man to lay myself open to being thought a complete fool, and a most deliberate one. from the nature of the grounds which make me believe that species are mutable in form, these grounds cannot be restricted to the closest-allied species; but how far they extend i cannot tell, as my reasons fall away by degrees, when applied to species more and more remote from each other. pray do not think that i am so blind as not to see that there are numerous immense difficulties in my notions, but they appear to me less than on the common view. i have drawn up a sketch and had it copied (in pages) of my conclusions; and if i thought at some future time that you would think it worth reading, i should, of course, be most thankful to have the criticism of so competent a critic. excuse this very long and egotistical and ill-written letter, which by your remarks you had led me into, and believe me, yours very truly, c. darwin. charles darwin to l. jenyns (blomefield). down, october th, . dear jenyns, i have taken a most ungrateful length of time in thanking you for your very kind present of your 'observations.' but i happened to have had in hand several other books, and have finished yours only a few days ago. i found it very pleasant reading, and many of your facts interested me much. i think i was more interested, which is odd, with your notes on some of the lower animals than on the higher ones. the introduction struck me as very good; but this is what i expected, for i well remember being quite delighted with a preliminary essay to the first number of the 'annals of natural history.' i missed one discussion, and think myself ill-used, for i remember your saying you would make some remarks on the weather and barometer, as a guide for the ignorant in prediction. i had also hoped to have perhaps met with some remarks on the amount of variation in our common species. andrew smith once declared he would get some hundreds of specimens of larks and sparrows from all parts of great britain, and see whether, with finest measurements, he could detect any proportional variations in beaks or limbs, etc. this point interests me from having lately been skimming over the absurdly opposite conclusions of gloger and brehm; the one making half-a-dozen species out of every common bird, and the other turning so many reputed species into one. have you ever done anything of this kind, or have you ever studied gloger's or brehm's works? i was interested in your account of the martins, for i had just before been utterly perplexed by noticing just such a proceeding as you describe: i counted seven, one day lately, visiting a single nest and sticking dirt on the adjoining wall. i may mention that i once saw some squirrels eagerly splitting those little semi-transparent spherical galls on the back of oak-leaves for the maggot within; so that they are insectivorous. a cychrus rostratus once squirted into my eyes and gave me extreme pain; and i must tell you what happened to me on the banks of the cam, in my early entomological days: under a piece of bark i found two carabi (i forget which), and caught one in each hand, when lo and behold i saw a sacred panagaeus crux major! i could not bear to give up either of my carabi, and to lose panagaeus was out of the question; so that in despair i gently seized one of the carabi between my teeth, when to my unspeakable disgust and pain the little inconsiderate beast squirted his acid down my throat, and i lost both carabi and panagaeus! i was quite astonished to hear of a terrestrial planaria; for about a year or two ago i described in the 'annals of natural history' several beautifully coloured terrestrial species of the southern hemisphere, and thought it quite a new fact. by the way, you speak of a sheep with a broken leg not having flukes: i have heard my father aver that a fever, or any serious accident, as a broken limb, will cause in a man all the intestinal worms to be evacuated. might not this possibly have been the case with the flukes in their early state? i hope you were none the worse for southampton (the meeting of the british association.); i wish i had seen you looking rather fatter. i enjoyed my week extremely, and it did me good. i missed you the last few days, and we never managed to see much of each other; but there were so many people there, that i for one hardly saw anything of any one. once again i thank you very cordially for your kind present, and the pleasure it has given me, and believe me, ever most truly yours, c. darwin. p.s.--i have quite forgotten to say how greatly interested i was with your discussion on the statistics of animals: when will natural history be so perfect that such points as you discuss will be perfectly known about any one animal? charles darwin to j.d. hooker. malvern, june [ ]. ...at last i am going to press with a small poor first-fruit of my confounded cirripedia, viz. the fossil pedunculate cirripedia. you ask what effect studying species has had on my variation theories; i do not think much--i have felt some difficulties more. on the other hand, i have been struck (and probably unfairly from the class) with the variability of every part in some slight degree of every species. when the same organ is rigorously compared in many individuals, i always find some slight variability, and consequently that the diagnosis of species from minute differences is always dangerous. i had thought the same parts of the same species more resemble (than they do anyhow in cirripedia) objects cast in the same mould. systematic work would be easy were it not for this confounded variation, which, however, is pleasant to me as a speculatist, though odious to me as a systematist. your remarks on the distinctness (so unpleasant to me) of the himalayan rubi, willows, etc., compared with those of northern [europe?], etc., are very interesting; if my rude species-sketch had any small share in leading you to these observations, it has already done good and ample service, and may lay its bones in the earth in peace. i never heard anything so strange as falconer's neglect of your letters; i am extremely glad you are cordial with him again, though it must have cost you an effort. falconer is a man one must love...may you prosper in every way, my dear hooker. your affectionate friend, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, wednesday [september, n.d.]. ...many thanks for your letter received yesterday, which, as always, set me thinking: i laughed at your attack at my stinginess in changes of level towards forbes (edward forbes, - , born in the isle of man. his best known work was his report on the distribution of marine animals at different depths in the mediterranean. an important memoir of his is referred to in my father's 'autobiography.' he held successively the posts of curator to the geological society's museum, and professor of natural history in the museum of practical geology; shortly before he died he was appointed professor of natural history in the university of edinburgh. he seems to have impressed his contemporaries as a man of strikingly versatile and vigorous mind. the above allusion to changes of level refers to forbes's tendency to explain the facts of geographical distribution by means of an active geological imagination.), being so liberal towards myself; but i must maintain, that i have never let down or upheaved our mother-earth's surface, for the sake of explaining any one phenomenon, and i trust i have very seldom done so without some distinct evidence. so i must still think it a bold step (perhaps a very true one) to sink into the depths of ocean, within the period of existing species, so large a tract of surface. but there is no amount or extent of change of level, which i am not fully prepared to admit, but i must say i should like better evidence, than the identity of a few plants, which possibly (i do not say probably) might have been otherwise transported. particular thanks for your attempt to get me a copy of 'l'espece' (probably godron's essay, published by the academy of nancy in - , and afterwards as a separate book in .), and almost equal thanks for your criticisms on him: i rather misdoubted him, and felt not much inclined to take as gospel his facts. i find this one of my greatest difficulties with foreign authors, viz. judging of their credibility. how painfully (to me) true is your remark, that no one has hardly a right to examine the question of species who has not minutely described many. i was, however, pleased to hear from owen (who is vehemently opposed to any mutability in species), that he thought it was a very fair subject, and that there was a mass of facts to be brought to bear on the question, not hitherto collected. my only comfort is (as i mean to attempt the subject), that i have dabbled in several branches of natural history, and seen good specific men work out my species, and know something of geology (an indispensable union); and though i shall get more kicks than half-pennies, i will, life serving, attempt my work. lamarck is the only exception, that i can think of, of an accurate describer of species at least in the invertebrate kingdom, who has disbelieved in permanent species, but he in his absurd though clever work has done the subject harm, as has mr. vestiges, and, as (some future loose naturalist attempting the same speculations will perhaps say) has mr. d... c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, september th [ ]. my dear hooker, i have read your paper with great interest; it seems all very clear, and will form an admirable introduction to the new zealand flora, or to any flora in the world. how few generalizers there are among systematists; i really suspect there is something absolutely opposed to each other and hostile in the two frames of mind required for systematising and reasoning on large collections of facts. many of your arguments appear to me very well put, and, as far as my experience goes, the candid way in which you discuss the subject is unique. the whole will be very useful to me whenever i undertake my volume, though parts take the wind very completely out of my sails; it will be all nuts to me...for i have for some time determined to give the arguments on both sides (as far as i could), instead of arguing on the mutability side alone. in my own cirripedial work (by the way, thank you for the dose of soft solder; it does one--or at least me--a great deal of good)--in my own work i have not felt conscious that disbelieving in the mere permanence of species has made much difference one way or the other; in some few cases (if publishing avowedly on doctrine of non-permanence), i should not have affixed names, and in some few cases should have affixed names to remarkable varieties. certainly i have felt it humiliating, discussing and doubting, and examining over and over again, when in my own mind the only doubt has been whether the form varied to-day or yesterday (not to put too fine a point on it, as snagsby (in 'bleak house.') would say). after describing a set of forms as distinct species, tearing up my ms., and making them one species, tearing that up and making them separate, and then making them one again (which has happened to me), i have gnashed my teeth, cursed species, and asked what sin i had committed to be so punished. but i must confess that perhaps nearly the same thing would have happened to me on any scheme of work. i am heartily glad to hear your journal (sir j.d. hooker's 'himalayan journal.') is so much advanced; how magnificently it seems to be illustrated! an "oriental naturalist," with lots of imagination and not too much regard to facts, is just the man to discuss species! i think your title of 'a journal of a naturalist in the east' very good; but whether "in the himalaya" would not be better, i have doubted, for the east sounds rather vague... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. [ ]. my dear hooker, i have no remarks at all worth sending you, nor, indeed, was it likely that i should, considering how perfect and elaborated an essay it is. ('new zealand flora,' .) as far as my judgment goes, it is the most important discussion on the points in question ever published. i can say no more. i agree with almost everything you say; but i require much time to digest an essay of such quality. it almost made me gloomy, partly from feeling i could not answer some points which theoretically i should have liked to have been different, and partly from seeing so far better done than i could have done, discussions on some points which i had intended to have taken up... i much enjoyed the slaps you have given to the provincial species-mongers. i wish i could have been of the slightest use: i have been deeply interested by the whole essay, and congratulate you on having produced a memoir which i believe will be memorable. i was deep in it when your most considerate note arrived, begging me not to hurry. i thank mrs. hooker and yourself most sincerely for your wish to see me. i will not let another summer pass without seeing you at kew, for indeed i should enjoy it much... you do me really more honour than i have any claim to, putting me in after lyell on ups and downs. in a year or two's time, when i shall be at my species book (if i do not break down), i shall gnash my teeth and abuse you for having put so many hostile facts so confoundedly well. ever yours affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, march th [ ]. my dear hooker, i had hoped that you would have had a little breathing-time after your journal, but this seems to be very far from the case; and i am the more obliged (and somewhat contrite) for the long letter received this morning, most juicy with news and most interesting to me in many ways. i am very glad indeed to hear of the reforms, etc., in the royal society. with respect to the club (the philosophical club, to which my father was elected (as professor bonney is good enough to inform me) on april , . he resigned his membership in . the club was founded in . the number of members being limited to , it was proposed to christen it "the club of ," but the name was never adopted. the nature of the club may be gathered from its first rule: "the purpose of the club is to promote as much as possible the scientific objects of the royal society; to facilitate intercourse between those fellows who are actively engaged in cultivating the various branches of natural science, and who have contributed to its progress; to increase the attendance at the evening meetings, and to encourage the contribution and discussion of papers." the club met for dinner (at first) at , and the chair was to be quitted at . , it being expected that members would go to the royal society. of late years the dinner has been at . , the society meeting in the afternoon.), i am deeply interested; only two or three days ago, i was regretting to my wife, how i was letting drop and being dropped by nearly all my acquaintances, and that i would endeavour to go oftener to london; i was not then thinking of the club, which, as far as any one thing goes, would answer my exact object in keeping up old and making some new acquaintances. i will therefore come up to london for every (with rare exceptions) club-day, and then my head, i think, will allow me on an average to go to every other meeting. but it is grievous how often any change knocks me up. i will further pledge myself, as i told lyell, to resign after a year, if i did not attend pretty often, so that i should at worst encumber the club temporarily. if you can get me elected, i certainly shall be very much pleased. very many thanks for answers about glaciers. i am very glad to hear of the second edition (of the himalayan journal.) so very soon; but am not surprised, for i have heard of several, in our small circle, reading it with very much pleasure. i shall be curious to hear what humboldt will say: it will, i should think, delight him, and meet with more praise from him than any other book of travels, for i cannot remember one, which has so many subjects in common with him. what a wonderful old fellow he is...by the way, i hope, when you go to hitcham, towards the end of may, you will be forced to have some rest. i am grieved to hear that all the bad symptoms have not left henslow; it is so strange and new to feel any uneasiness about his health. i am particularly obliged to you for sending me asa gray's letter; how very pleasantly he writes. to see his and your caution on the species-question ought to overwhelm me in confusion and shame; it does make me feel deuced uncomfortable...it is delightful to hear all that he says on agassiz: how very singular it is that so eminently clever a man, with such immense knowledge on many branches of natural history, should write as he does. lyell told me that he was so delighted with one of his (agassiz) lectures on progressive development, etc., etc., that he went to him afterwards and told him, "that it was so delightful, that he could not help all the time wishing it was true." i seldom see a zoological paper from north america, without observing the impress of agassiz's doctrines--another proof, by the way, of how great a man he is. i was pleased and surprised to see a. gray's remarks on crossing, obliterating varieties, on which, as you know, i have been collecting facts for these dozen years. how awfully flat i shall feel, if when i get my notes together on species, etc., etc., the whole thing explodes like an empty puff-ball. do not work yourself to death. ever yours most truly, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, november th [ ]. my dear hooker, i was delighted to get your note yesterday. i congratulate you very heartily (on the award to him of the royal society's medal.), and whether you care much or little, i rejoice to see the highest scientific judgment-court in great britain recognise your claims. i do hope mrs. hooker is pleased, and e. desires me particularly to send her cordial congratulations ...i pity you from the very bottom of my heart about your after-dinner speech, which i fear i shall not hear. without you have a very much greater soul than i have (and i believe that you have), you will find the medal a pleasant little stimulus, when work goes badly, and one ruminates that all is vanity, it is pleasant to have some tangible proof, that others have thought something of one's labours. good-bye my dear hooker, i can assure [you] that we both most truly enjoyed your and mrs. hooker's visit here. farewell. my dear hooker, your sincere friend, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. march [ ]. ...i have just finished working well at wollaston's (thomas vernon wollaston died (in his fifty-seventh year, as i believe) on january , . his health forcing him in early manhood to winter in the south, he devoted himself to a study of the coleoptera of madeira, the cape de verdes, and st. helena, whence he deduced evidence in support of the belief in the submerged continent of 'atlantis.' in an obituary notice by mr. rye ('nature,' ) he is described as working persistently "upon a broad conception of the science to which he was devoted," while being at the same time "accurate, elaborate, and precise ad punctum, and naturally of a minutely critical habit." his first scientific paper was written when he was an undergraduate at jesus college, cambridge. while at the university, he was an associate and afterwards a member of the ray club: this is a small society which still meets once a week, and where the undergraduate members, or associates, receive much kindly encouragement from their elders.) 'insecta maderensia': it is an admirable work. there is a very curious point in the astounding proportion of coleoptera that are apterous; and i think i have guessed the reason, viz., that powers of flight would be injurious to insects inhabiting a confined locality, and expose them to be blown to the sea: to test this, i find that the insects inhabiting the dezerte grande, a quite small islet, would be still more exposed to this danger, and here the proportion of apterous insects is even considerably greater than on madeira proper. wollaston speaks of madeira and the other archipelagoes as being "sure and certain witnesses of forbes' old continent," and of course the entomological world implicitly follows this view. but to my eyes it would be difficult to imagine facts more opposed to such a view. it is really disgusting and humiliating to see directly opposite conclusions drawn from the same facts. i have had some correspondence with wollaston on this and other subjects, and i find that he coolly assumes, ( ) that formerly insects possessed greater migratory powers than now, ( ) that the old land was specially rich in centres of creation, ( ) that the uniting land was destroyed before the special creations had time to diffuse, and ( ) that the land was broken down before certain families and genera had time to reach from europe or africa the points of land in question. are not these a jolly lot of assumptions? and yet i shall see for the next dozen or score of years wollaston quoted as proving the former existence of poor forbes' atlantis. i hope i have not wearied you, but i thought you would like to hear about this book, which strikes me as excellent in its facts, and the author a most nice and modest man. most truly yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to w.d. fox. down, march th [ ]. my dear fox, how long it is since we have had any communication, and i really want to hear how the world goes with you; but my immediate object is to ask you to observe a point for me, and as i know now you are a very busy man with too much to do, i shall have a good chance of your doing what i want, as it would be hopeless to ask a quite idle man. as you have a noah's ark, i do not doubt that you have pigeons. (how i wish by any chance they were fantails!) now what i want to know is, at what age nestling pigeons have their tail feathers sufficiently developed to be counted. i do not think i ever saw a young pigeon. i am hard at work at my notes collecting and comparing them, in order in some two or three years to write a book with all the facts and arguments, which i can collect, for and versus the immutability of species. i want to get the young of our domestic breeds, to see how young, and to what degree the differences appear. i must either breed myself (which is no amusement but a horrid bore to me) the pigeons or buy their young; and before i go to a seller, whom i have heard of from yarrell, i am really anxious to know something about their development, not to expose my excessive ignorance, and therefore be excessively liable to be cheated and gulled. with respect to the one point of the tail feathers, it is of course in relation to the wonderful development of tail feathers in the adult fantail. if you had any breed of poultry pure, i would beg a chicken with exact age stated, about a week or fortnight old! to be sent in a box by post, if you could have the heart to kill one; and secondly, would let me pay postage...indeed, i should be very glad to have a nestling common pigeon sent, for i mean to make skeletons, and have already just begun comparing wild and tame ducks. and i think the results rather curious ("i have just been testing practically what disuse does in reducing parts; i have made skeleton of wild and tame duck (oh, the smell of well-boiled, high duck!!) and i find the tame-duck wing ought, according to scale of wild prototype, to have its two wings grains in weight, but it has it only ."--a letter to sir j. hooker, .), for on weighing the several bones very carefully, when perfectly cleaned the proportional weights of the two have greatly varied, the foot of the tame having largely increased. how i wish i could get a little wild duck of a week old, but that i know is almost impossible. with respect to ourselves, i have not much to say; we have now a terribly noisy house with the whooping cough, but otherwise are all well. far the greatest fact about myself is that i have at last quite done with the everlasting barnacles. at the end of the year we had two of our little boys very ill with fever and bronchitis, and all sorts of ailments. partly for amusement, and partly for change of air, we went to london and took a house for a month, but it turned out a great failure, for that dreadful frost just set in when we went, and all our children got unwell, and e. and i had coughs and colds and rheumatism nearly all the time. we had put down first on our list of things to do, to go and see mrs. fox, but literally after waiting some time to see whether the weather would not improve, we had not a day when we both could go out. i do hope before very long you will be able to manage to pay us a visit. time is slipping away, and we are getting oldish. do tell us about yourself and all your large family. i know you will help me if you can with information about the young pigeons; and anyhow do write before very long. my dear fox, your sincere old friend, c. darwin. p.s.--amongst all sorts of odds and ends, with which i am amusing myself, i am comparing the seeds of the variations of plants. i had formerly some wild cabbage seeds, which i gave to some one, was it to you? it is a thousand to one it was thrown away, if not i should be very glad of a pinch of it. [the following extract from a letter to mr. fox (march th, ) refers to the same subject as the last letter, and gives some account of the "species work:" "the way i shall kill young things will be to put them under a tumbler glass with a teaspoon of ether or chloroform, the glass being pressed down on some yielding surface, and leave them for an hour or two, young have such power of revivication. (i have thus killed moths and butterflies.) the best way would be to send them as you procure them, in pasteboard chip-box by post, on which you could write and just tie up with string; and you will really make me happier by allowing me to keep an account of postage, etc. upon my word i can hardly believe that any one could be so good-natured as to take such trouble and do such a very disagreeable thing as kill babies; and i am very sure i do not know one soul who, except yourself, would do so. i am going to ask one thing more; should old hens of any above poultry (not duck) die or become so old as to be useless, i wish you would send her to me per rail, addressed to c. darwin, care of mr. acton, post-office, bromley, kent." will you keep this address? as shortest way for parcels. but i do not care so much for this, as i could buy the old birds dead at baily to make skeletons. i should have written at once even if i had not heard from you, to beg you not to take trouble about pigeons, for yarrell has persuaded me to attempt it, and i am now fitting up a place, and have written to baily about prices, etc., etc. sometime (when you are better) i should like very much to hear a little about your "little call duck"; why so-called? and where you got it? and what it is like?... i was so ignorant i do not even know there were three varieties of dorking fowl: how do they differ?... i forget whether i ever told you what the object of my present work is,--it is to view all facts that i can master (eheu, eheu, how ignorant i find i am) in natural history (as on geographical distribution, palaeontology, classification, hybridism, domestic animals and plants, etc., etc., etc.) to see how far they favour or are opposed to the notion that wild species are mutable or immutable: i mean with my utmost power to give all arguments and facts on both sides. i have a number of people helping me in every way, and giving me most valuable assistance; but i often doubt whether the subject will not quite overpower me. so much for the quasi-business part of my letter. i am very very sorry to hear so indifferent account of your health: with your large family your life is very precious, and i am sure with all your activity and goodness it ought to be a happy one, or as happy as can reasonably be expected with all the cares of futurity on one. one cannot expect the present to be like the old crux-major days at the foot of those noble willow stumps, the memory of which i revere. i now find my little entomology which i wholly owe to you, comes in very useful. i am very glad to hear that you have given yourself a rest from sunday duties. how much illness you have had in your life! farewell my dear fox. i assure you i thank you heartily for your proffered assistance.] charles darwin to w.d. fox. down, may th [ ]. my dear fox, my correspondence has cost you a deal of trouble, though this note will not. i found yours on my return home on saturday after a week's work in london. whilst there i saw yarrell, who told me he had carefully examined all points in the call duck, and did not feel any doubt about it being specifically identical, and that it had crossed freely with common varieties in st. james's park. i should therefore be very glad for a seven-days' duckling and for one of the old birds, should one ever die a natural death. yarrell told me that sabine had collected forty varieties of the common duck!...well, to return to business; nobody, i am sure, could fix better for me than you the characteristic age of little chickens; with respect to skeletons, i have feared it would be impossible to make them, but i suppose i shall be able to measure limbs, etc., by feeling the joints. what you say about old cocks just confirms what i thought, and i will make my skeletons of old cocks. should an old wild turkey ever die, please remember me; i do not care for a baby turkey, nor for a mastiff. very many thanks for your offer. i have puppies of bull-dogs and greyhound in salt, and i have had cart-horse and race-horse young colts carefully measured. whether i shall do any good i doubt. i am getting out of my depth. most truly yours, c. darwin. [an extract from a letter to mr. fox may find a place here, though of a later date, viz. july, ]: "many thanks for the seven days' old white dorking, and for the other promised ones. i am getting quite a 'chamber of horrors,' i appreciate your kindness even more than before; for i have done the black deed and murdered an angelic little fantail and pouter at ten days old. i tried chloroform and ether for the first, and though evidently a perfectly easy death, it was prolonged; and for the second i tried putting lumps of cyanide of potassium in a very large damp bottle, half an hour before putting in the pigeon, and the prussic acid gas thus generated was very quickly fatal." a letter to mr. fox (may rd, ) gives the first mention of my father's laborious piece of work on the breeding of pigeons: "i write now to say that i have been looking at some of our mongrel chickens, and i should say one week old would do very well. the chief points which i am, and have been for years, very curious about, is to ascertain whether the young of our domestic breeds differ as much from each other as do their parents, and i have no faith in anything short of actual measurement and the rule of three. i hope and believe i am not giving so much trouble without a motive of sufficient worth. i have got my fantails and pouters (choice birds, i hope, as i paid shillings for each pair from baily) in a grand cage and pigeon-house, and they are a decided amusement to me, and delight to h." in the course of my father's pigeon-fancying enterprise he necessarily became acquainted with breeders, and was fond of relating his experiences as a member of the columbarian and philoperistera clubs, where he met the purest enthusiasts of the "fancy," and learnt much of the mysteries of their art. in writing to mr. huxley some years afterwards, he quotes from a book on 'pigeons' by mr. j. eaton, in illustration of the "extreme attention and close observation" necessary to be a good fancier. "in his [mr. eaton's] treatise, devoted to the almond tumbler alone, which is a sub-variety of the short-faced variety, which is a variety of the tumbler, as that is of the rock-pigeon, mr. eaton says: 'there are some of the young fanciers who are over-covetous, who go for all the five properties at once [i.e., the five characteristic points which are mainly attended to,--c.d.], they have their reward by getting nothing.' in short, it is almost beyond the human intellect to attend to all the excellencies of the almond tumbler! "to be a good breeder, and to succeed in improving any breed, beyond everything enthusiasm is required. mr. eaton has gained lots of prizes, listen to him. "'if it was possible for noblemen and gentlemen to know the amazing amount of solace and pleasure derived from the almond tumbler, when they begin to understand their (i.e., the tumbler's) properties, i should think that scarce any nobleman or gentleman would be without their aviaries of almond tumblers.'" my father was fond of quoting this passage, and always with a tone of fellow-feeling for the author, though, no doubt, he had forgotten his own wonderings as a child that "every gentleman did not become an ornithologist."--('autobiography,' page .) to mr. w.b. tegetmeier, the well-known writer on poultry, etc., he was indebted for constant advice and co-operation. their correspondence began in , and lasted to , when my father wrote: "i can assure you that i often look back with pleasure to the old days when i attended to pigeons, fowls, etc., and when you gave me such valuable assistance. i not rarely regret that i have had so little strength that i have not been able to keep up old acquaintances and friendships." my father's letters to mr. tegetmeier consist almost entirely of series of questions relating to the different breeds of fowls, pigeons, etc., and are not, therefore interesting. in reading through the pile of letters, one is much struck by the diligence of the writer's search for facts, and it is made clear that mr. tegetmeier's knowledge and judgment were completely trusted and highly valued by him. numerous phrases, such as "your note is a mine of wealth to me," occur, expressing his sense of the value of mr. tegetmeier's help, as well as words expressing his warm appreciation of mr. tegetmeier's unstinting zeal and kindness, or his "pure and disinterested love of science." on the subject of hive-bees and their combs, mr. tegetmeier's help was also valued by my father, who wrote, "your paper on 'bees-cells,' read before the british association, was highly useful and suggestive to me." to work out the problems on the geographical distributions of animals and plants on evolutionary principles, he had to study the means by which seeds, eggs, etc., can be transported across wide spaces of ocean. it was this need which gave an interest to the class of experiment to which the following letters allude.] charles darwin to w.d. fox. down, may th [ ]. my dear fox, you will hate the very sight of my hand-writing; but after this time i promise i will ask for nothing more, at least for a long time. as you live on sandy soil, have you lizards at all common? if you have, should you think it too ridiculous to offer a reward for me for lizard's eggs to the boys in your school; a shilling for every half-dozen, or more if rare, till you got two or three dozen and send them to me? if snake's eggs were brought in mistake it would be very well, for i want such also; and we have neither lizards nor snakes about here. my object is to see whether such eggs will float on sea water, and whether they will keep alive thus floating for a month or two in my cellar. i am trying experiments on transportation of all organic beings that i can; and lizards are found on every island, and therefore i am very anxious to see whether their eggs stand sea water. of course this note need not be answered, without, by a strange and favourable chance, you can some day answer it with the eggs. your most troublesome friend, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. april th [ ]. ...i have had one experiment some little time in progress, which will, i think, be interesting, namely, seeds in salt water immersed in water of - degrees, which i have and shall long have, as i filled a great tank with snow. when i wrote last i was going to triumph over you, for my experiment had in a slight degree succeeded; but this, with infinite baseness, i did not tell, in hopes that you would say that you would eat all the plants which i could raise after immersion. it is very aggravating that i cannot in the least remember what you did formerly say that made me think you scoffed at the experiments vastly; for you now seem to view the experiment like a good christian. i have in small bottles out of doors, exposed to variation of temperature, cress, radish, cabbages, lettuces, carrots, and celery, and onion seed--four great families. these, after immersion for exactly one week, have all germinated, which i did not in the least expect (and thought how you would sneer at me); for the water of nearly all, and of the cress especially, smelt very badly, and the cress seed emitted a wonderful quantity of mucus (the 'vestiges' would have expected them to turn into tadpoles), so as to adhere in a mass; but these seeds germinated and grew splendidly. the germination of all (especially cress and lettuces) has been accelerated, except the cabbages, which have come up very irregularly, and a good many, i think, dead. one would have thought, from their native habitat, that the cabbage would have stood well. the umbelliferae and onions seem to stand the salt well. i wash the seed before planting them. i have written to the "gardeners' chronicle" (a few words asking for information. the results were published in the 'gardeners' chronicle,' may , november , . in the same year (page ) he sent a p.s. to his former paper, correcting a misprint and adding a few words on the seeds of the leguminosae. a fuller paper on the germination of seeds after treatment in salt water, appeared in the 'linnaean soc. journal,' , page .), though i doubt whether it was worth while. if my success seems to make it worth while, i will send a seed list, to get you to mark some different classes of seeds. to-day i replant the same seeds as above after fourteen days' immersion. as many sea-currents go a mile an hour, even in a week they might be transported miles; the gulf stream is said to go fifty and sixty miles a day. so much and too much on this head; but my geese are always swans... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. [april th, .] ...you are a good man to confess that you expected the cress would be killed in a week, for this gives me a nice little triumph. the children at first were tremendously eager, and asked me often, "whether i should beat dr. hooker!" the cress and lettuce have just vegetated well after twenty-one days' immersion. but i will write no more, which is a great virtue in me; for it is to me a very great pleasure telling you everything i do. ...if you knew some of the experiments (if they may be so-called) which i am trying, you would have a good right to sneer, for they are so absurd even in my opinion that i dare not tell you. have not some men a nice notion of experimentising? i have had a letter telling me that seeds must have great power of resisting salt water, for otherwise how could they get to islands? this is the true way to solve a problem! charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down [ ]. my dear hooker, you have been a very good man to exhale some of your satisfaction in writing two notes to me; you could not have taken a better line in my opinion; but as for showing your satisfaction in confounding my experiments, i assure you i am quite enough confounded--those horrid seeds, which, as you truly observe, if they sink they won't float. i have written to scoresby and have had a rather dry answer, but very much to the purpose, and giving me no hopes of any law unknown to me which might arrest their everlasting descent into the deepest depths of the ocean. by the way it was very odd, but i talked to col. sabine for half an hour on the subject, and could not make him see with respect to transportal the difficulty of the sinking question! the bore is, if the confounded seeds will sink, i have been taking all this trouble in salting the ungrateful rascals for nothing. everything has been going wrong with me lately; the fish at the zoological society ate up lots of soaked seeds, and in imagination they had in my mind been swallowed, fish and all, by a heron, had been carried a hundred miles, been voided on the banks of some other lake and germinated splendidly, when lo and behold, the fish ejected vehemently, and with disgust equal to my own, all the seeds from their mouths. (in describing these troubles to mr. fox, my father wrote:--"all nature is perverse and will not do as i wish it; and just at present i wish i had my old barnacles to work at, and nothing new." the experiment ultimately succeeded, and he wrote to sir j. hooker:--"i find fish will greedily eat seeds of aquatic grasses, and that millet-seed put into fish and given to a stork, and then voided, will germinate. so this is the nursery rhyme of 'this is the stick that beats the pig,' etc., etc.,") but i am not going to give up the floating yet: in first place i must try fresh seeds, though of course it seems far more probable that they will sink; and secondly, as a last resource, i must believe in the pod or even whole plant or branch being washed into the sea; with floods and slips and earthquakes; this must continually be happening, and if kept wet, i fancy the pods, etc. etc., would not open and shed their seeds. do try your mimosa seed at kew. i had intended to have asked you whether the mimosa scandens and guilandina bonduc grows at kew, to try fresh seeds. r. brown tells me he believes four w. indian seeds have been washed on shores of europe. i was assured at keeling island that seeds were not rarely washed on shore: so float they must and shall! what a long yarn i have been spinning. if you have several of the loffoden seeds, do soak some in tepid water, and get planted with the utmost care: this is an experiment after my own heart, with chances to against its success. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, may th [ ]. my dear hooker,--i have just received your note. i am most sincerely and heartily glad at the news (the appointment of sir j.d. hooker as assistant director of the royal gardens at kew.) it contains, and so is my wife. though the income is but a poor one, yet the certainty, i hope, is satisfactory to yourself and mrs. hooker. as it must lead in future years to the directorship, i do hope you look at it, as a piece of good fortune. for my own taste i cannot fancy a pleasanter position, than the head of such a noble and splendid place; far better, i should think, than a professorship in a great town. the more i think of it, the gladder i am. but i will say no more; except that i hope mrs. hooker is pretty well pleased... as the "gardeners' chronicle" put in my question, and took notice of it, i think i am bound to send, which i had thought of doing next week, my first report to lindley to give him the option of inserting it; but i think it likely that he may not think it fit for a gardening periodical. when my experiments are ended (should the results appear worthy) and should the 'linnean journal' not object to the previous publication of imperfect and provisional reports, i should be delighted to insert the final report there; for it has cost me so much trouble, that i should think that probably the result was worthy of more permanent record than a newspaper; but i think i am bound to send it first to lindley. i begin to think the floating question more serious than the germinating one; and am making all the inquiries which i can on the subject, and hope to get some little light on it... i hope you managed a good meeting at the club. the treasurership must be a plague to you, and i hope you will not be treasurer for long: i know i would much sooner give up the club than be its treasurer. farewell, mr. assistant director and dear friend, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. june th, . ...miss thorley (a lady who was for many years a governess in the family.) and i are doing a little botanical work! for our amusement, and it does amuse me very much, viz., making a collection of all the plants, which grow in a field, which has been allowed to run waste for fifteen years, but which before was cultivated from time immemorial; and we are also collecting all the plants in an adjoining and similar but cultivated field; just for the fun of seeing what plants have survived or died out. hereafter we shall want a bit of help in naming puzzlers. how dreadfully difficult it is to name plants. what a remarkably nice and kind letter dr. a. gray has sent me in answer to my troublesome queries; i retained your copy of his 'manual' till i heard from him, and when i have answered his letter, i will return it to you. i thank you much for hedysarum: i do hope it is not very precious, for as i told you it is for probably a most foolish purpose. i read somewhere that no plant closes its leaves so promptly in darkness, and i want to cover it up daily for half an hour, and see if i can teach it to close by itself, or more easily than at first in darkness...i cannot make out why you would prefer a continental transmission, as i think you do, to carriage by sea. i should have thought you would have been pleased at as many means of transmission as possible. for my own pet theoretic notions, it is quite indifferent whether they are transmitted by sea or land, as long as some tolerably probable way is shown. but it shocks my philosophy to create land, without some other and independent evidence. whenever we meet, by a very few words i should, i think, more clearly understand your views... i have just made out my first grass, hurrah! hurrah! i must confess that fortune favours the bold, for, as good luck would have it, it was the easy anthoxanthum odoratum: nevertheless it is a great discovery; i never expected to make out a grass in all my life, so hurrah! it has done my stomach surprising good... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, [june?] th, [ ]. my dear hooker, i just write one line to say that the hedysarum is come quite safely, and thank you for it. you cannot imagine what amusement you have given me by naming those three grasses: i have just got paper to dry and collect all grasses. if ever you catch quite a beginner, and want to give him a taste of botany, tell him to make a perfect list of some little field or wood. both miss thorley and i agree that it gives a really uncommon interest to the work, having a nice little definite world to work on, instead of the awful abyss and immensity of all british plants. adios. i was really consummately impudent to express my opinion "on the retrograde step" ("to imagine such enormous geological changes within the period of the existence of now living beings, on no other ground but to account for their distribution, seems to me, in our present state of ignorance on the means of transportal, an almost retrograde step in science."--extract from the paper on 'salt water and seeds' in "gardeners' chronicle", may , .), and i deserved a good snub, and upon reflection i am very glad you did not answer me in "gardeners' chronicle". i have been very much interested with the florula. (godron's 'florula juvenalis,' which gives an interesting account of plants introduced in imported wool.) [writing on june th to sir j.d. hooker, my father mentions a letter from dr. asa gray. the letter referred to was an answer to the following:] charles darwin to asa gray. (the well-known american botanist. my father's friendship with dr. gray began with the correspondence of which the present is the first letter. an extract from a letter to sir j. hooker, , shows that my father's strong personal regard for dr. gray had an early origin: "i have been glad to see a. gray's letters; there is always something in them that shows that he is a very lovable man.") down, april th [ ]. my dear sir, i hope that you will remember that i had the pleasure of being introduced to you at kew. i want to beg a great favour of you, for which i well know i can offer no apology. but the favour will not, i think, cause you much trouble, and will greatly oblige me. as i am no botanist, it will seem so absurd to you my asking botanical questions; that i may premise that i have for several years been collecting facts on "variation," and when i find that any general remark seems to hold good amongst animals, i try to test it in plants. [here follows a request for information on american alpine plants, and a suggestion as to publishing on the subject.] i can assure you that i perceive how presumptuous it is in me, not a botanist, to make even the most trifling suggestion to such a botanist as yourself; but from what i saw and have heard of you from our dear and kind friend hooker, i hope and think you will forgive me, and believe me, with much respect, dear sir, yours very faithfully, charles darwin. charles darwin to asa gray. down, june th [ ]. my dear sir, i thank you cordially for your remarkably kind letter of the d. ult., and for the extremely pleasant and obliging manner in which you have taken my rather troublesome questions. i can hardly tell you how much your list of alpine plants has interested me, and i can now in some degree picture to myself the plants of your alpine summits. the new edition of your manual is capital news for me. i know from your preface how pressed you are for room, but it would take no space to append (eu) in brackets to any european plant, and, as far as i am concerned, this would answer every purpose. (this suggestion dr. gray adopted in subsequent editions.) from my own experience, whilst making out english plants in our manuals, it has often struck me how much interest it would give if some notion of their range had been given; and so, i cannot doubt, your american inquirers and beginners would much like to know which of their plants were indigenous and which european. would it not be well in the alpine plants to append the very same addition which you have now sent me in ms.? though here, owing to your kindness, i do not speak selfishly, but merely pro bono americano publico. i presume it would be too troublesome to give in your manual the habitats of those plants found west of the rocky mountains, and likewise those found in eastern asia, taking the yenesei (?),--which, if i remember right, according to gmelin, is the main partition line of siberia. perhaps siberia more concerns the northern flora of north america. the ranges of plants to the east and west, viz., whether most found are in greenland and western europe, or in e. asia, appears to me a very interesting point as tending to show whether the migration has been eastward or westward. pray believe me that i am most entirely conscious that the only use of these remarks is to show a botanist what points a non-botanist is curious to learn; for i think every one who studies profoundly a subject often becomes unaware [on] what points the ignorant require information. i am so very glad that you think of drawing up some notice on your geographical distribution, for the air of the manual strikes me as in some points better adapted for comparison with europe than that of the whole of north america. you ask me to state definitely some of the points on which i much wish for information; but i really hardly can, for they are so vague; and i rather wish to see what results will come out from comparisons, than have as yet defined objects. i presume that, like other botanists, you would give, for your area, the proportion (leaving out introduced plants) to the whole of the great leading families: this is one point i had intended (and, indeed, have done roughly) to tabulate from your book, but of course i could have done it only very imperfectly. i should also, of course, have ascertained the proportion, to the whole flora, of the european plants (leaving out introduced) and of the separate great families, in order to speculate on means of transportal. by the way, i ventured to send a few days ago a copy of the "gardeners' chronicle" with a short report by me of some trifling experiments which i have been trying on the power of seeds to withstand sea water. i do not know whether it has struck you, but it has me, that it would be advisable for botanists to give in whole numbers, as well as in the lowest fraction, the proportional numbers of the families, thus i make out from your manual that of the indigenous plants the proportion of the umbelliferae are / = / ; for, without one knows the whole numbers, one cannot judge how really close the numbers of the plants of the same family are in two distant countries; but very likely you may think this superfluous. mentioning these proportional numbers, i may give you an instance of the sort of points, and how vague and futile they often are, which i attempt to work out...; reflecting on r. brown's and hooker's remark, that near identity of proportional numbers of the great families in two countries, shows probably that they were once continuously united, i thought i would calculate the proportions of, for instance, the introduced compositae in great britain to all the introduced plants, and the result was, / = / . . in our aboriginal or indigenous flora the proportion is / ; and in many other cases i found an equally striking correspondence. i then took your manual, and worked out the same question; here i find in the compositae an almost equally striking correspondence, viz. / = / in the introduced plants, and / = / in the indigenous; but when i came to the other families i found the proportion entirely different, showing that the coincidences in the british flora were probably accidental! you will, i presume, give the proportion of the species to the genera, i.e., show on an average how many species each genus contains; though i have done this for myself. if it would not be too troublesome, do you not think it would be very interesting, and give a very good idea of your flora, to divide the species into three groups, viz., (a) species common to the old world, stating numbers common to europe and asia; (b) indigenous species, but belonging to genera found in the old world; and (c) species belonging to genera confined to america or the new world. to make (according to my ideas) perfection perfect, one ought to be told whether there are other cases, like erica, of genera common in europe or in old world not found in your area. but honestly i feel that it is quite ridiculous my writing to you at such length on the subject; but, as you have asked me, i do it gratefully, and write to you as i should to hooker, who often laughs at me unmercifully, and i am sure you have better reason to do so. there is one point on which i am most anxious for information, and i mention it with the greatest hesitation, and only in the full belief that you will believe me that i have not the folly and presumption to hope for a second that you will give it, without you can with very little trouble. the point can at present interest no one but myself, which makes the case wholly different from geographical distribution. the only way in which, i think, you possibly could do it with little trouble would be to bear in mind, whilst correcting your proof-sheets of the manual, my question and put a cross or mark to the species, and whenever sending a parcel to hooker to let me have such old sheets. but this would give you the trouble of remembering my question, and i can hardly hope or expect that you will do it. but i will just mention what i want; it is to have marked the "close species" in a flora, so as to compare in different floras whether the same genera have "close species," and for other purposes too vague to enumerate. i have attempted, by hooker's help, to ascertain in a similar way whether the different species of the same genera in distant quarters of the globe are variable or present varieties. the definition i should give of a "close species" was one that you thought specifically distinct, but which you could conceive some other good botanist might think only a race or variety; or, again, a species that you had trouble, though having opportunities of knowing it well, in discriminating from some other species. supposing that you were inclined to be so very kind as to do this, and could (which i do not expect) spare the time, as i have said, a mere cross to each such species in any useless proof-sheets would give me the information desired, which, i may add, i know must be vague. how can i apologise enough for all my presumption and the extreme length of this letter? the great good nature of your letter to me has been partly the cause, so that, as is too often the case in this world, you are punished for your good deeds. with hearty thanks, believe me, yours very truly and gratefully, ch. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, th [july, ]. ...i think i am getting a mild case about charlock seed (in the "gardeners' chronicle", , page , appeared a notice (half a column in length) by my father on the "vitality of seeds." the facts related refer to the "sand-walk"; the wood was planted in on a piece of pasture land laid down as grass in . in , on the soil being dug in several places, charlock (brassica sinapistrum) sprang up freely. the subject continued to interest him, and i find a note dated july nd, , in which my father recorded that forty-six plants of charlock sprang up in that year over a space ( x feet) which had been dug to a considerable depth.); but just as about salting, ill-luck to it, i cannot remember how many years you would allow that charlock seed might live in the ground. next time you write, show a bold face, and say in how many years, you think, charlock seed would probably all be dead. a man told me the other day of, as i thought, a splendid instance,--and splendid it was, for according to his evidence the seed came up alive out of the lower part of the london clay!! i disgusted him by telling him that palms ought to have come up. you ask how far i go in attributing organisms to a common descent; i answer i know not; the way in which i intend treating the subject, is to show (as far as i can) the facts and arguments for and against the common descent of the species of the same genus; and then show how far the same arguments tell for or against forms, more and more widely different: and when we come to forms of different orders and classes, there remain only some such arguments as those which can perhaps be deduced from similar rudimentary structures, and very soon not an argument is left. [the following extract from a letter to mr. fox [october, (in this year he published ('phil. mag.' x.) a paper 'on the power of icebergs to make rectilinear uniformly-directed grooves across a submarine undulatory surface.'") gives a brief mention of the last meeting of the british association which he attended:] "i really have no news: the only thing we have done for a long time, was to go to glasgow; but the fatigue was to me more than it was worth, and e. caught a bad cold. on our return we stayed a single day at shrewsbury, and enjoyed seeing the old place. i saw a little of sir philip (sir p. egerton was a neighbour of mr. fox.) (whom i liked much), and he asked me "why on earth i instigated you to rob his poultry-yard?' the meeting was a good one, and the duke of argyll spoke excellently."] chapter .xii. -- the unfinished book. may to june . [in the autobiographical chapter (page ,) my father wrote:--"early in lyell advised me to write out my views pretty fully, and i began at once to do so on a scale three or four times as extensive as that which was afterwards followed in my 'origin of species;' yet it was only an abstract of the materials which i had collected." the letters in the present chapter are chiefly concerned with the preparation of this unfinished book. the work was begun on may th, and steadily continued up to june , when it was interrupted by the arrival of mr. wallace's ms. during the two years which we are now considering he wrote ten chapters (that is about one-half) of the projected book. he remained for the most part at home, but paid several visits to dr. lane's water-cure establishment at moor park, during one of which he made a pilgrimage to the shrine of gilbert white at selborne.] letters. charles darwin to c. lyell may [ ]. ...with respect to your suggestion of a sketch of my views, i hardly know what to think, but will reflect on it, but it goes against my prejudices. to give a fair sketch would be absolutely impossible, for every proposition requires such an array of facts. if i were to do anything, it could only refer to the main agency of change--selection--and perhaps point out a very few of the leading features, which countenance such a view, and some few of the main difficulties. but i do not know what to think; i rather hate the idea of writing for priority, yet i certainly should be vexed if any one were to publish my doctrines before me. anyhow, i thank you heartily for your sympathy. i shall be in london next week, and i will call on you on thursday morning for one hour precisely, so as not to lose much of your time and my own; but will you let me this time come as early as o'clock, for i have much which i must do in the morning in my strongest time? farewell, my dear old patron. yours, c. darwin. by the way, three plants have come up out of the earth, perfectly enclosed in the roots of the trees. and twenty-nine plants in the table-spoonful of mud, out of the little pond; hooker was surprised at this, and struck with it, when i showed him how much mud i had scraped off one duck's feet. if i did publish a short sketch, where on earth should i publish it? if i do not hear, i shall understand that i may come from to on thursday. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. may th, [ ]. ...i very much want advice and truthful consolation if you can give it. i had a good talk with lyell about my species work, and he urges me strongly to publish something. i am fixed against any periodical or journal, as i positively will not expose myself to an editor or a council, allowing a publication for which they might be abused. if i publish anything it must be a very thin and little volume, giving a sketch of my views and difficulties; but it is really dreadfully unphilosophical to give a resume, without exact references, of an unpublished work. but lyell seemed to think i might do this, at the suggestion of friends, and on the ground, which i might state, that i had been at work for eighteen (the interval of eighteen years, from when he began to collect facts, would bring the date of this letter to , not , nevertheless the latter seems the more probable date.) years, and yet could not publish for several years, and especially as i could point out difficulties which seemed to me to require especial investigation. now what think you? i should be really grateful for advice. i thought of giving up a couple of months and writing such a sketch, and trying to keep my judgment open whether or no to publish it when completed. it will be simply impossible for me to give exact references; anything important i should state on the authority of the author generally; and instead of giving all the facts on which i ground my opinion, i could give by memory only one or two. in the preface i would state that the work could not be considered strictly scientific, but a mere sketch or outline of a future work in which full references, etc. should be given. eheu, eheu, i believe i should sneer at any one else doing this, and my only comfort is, that i truly never dreamed of it, till lyell suggested it, and seems deliberately to think it advisable. i am in a peck of troubles and do pray forgive me for troubling you. yours affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. may th [ ]. ...now for a more important! subject, viz., my own self: i am extremely glad you think well of a separate "preliminary essay" (i.e., if anything whatever is published; for lyell seemed rather to doubt on this head) (the meaning of the sentence in parentheses is obscure.); but i cannot bear the idea of begging some editor and council to publish, and then perhaps to have to apologise humbly for having led them into a scrape. in this one respect i am in the state which, according to a very wise saying of my father's, is the only fit state for asking advice, viz., with my mind firmly made up, and then, as my father used to say, good advice was very comfortable, and it was easy to reject bad advice. but heaven knows i am not in this state with respect to publishing at all any preliminary essay. it yet strikes me as quite unphilosophical to publish results without the full details which have lead to such results. it is a melancholy, and i hope not quite true view of yours that facts will prove anything, and are therefore superfluous! but i have rather exaggerated, i see, your doctrine. i do not fear being tied down to error, i.e., i feel pretty sure i should give up anything false published in the preliminary essay, in my larger work; but i may thus, it is very true, do mischief by spreading error, which as i have often heard you say is much easier spread than corrected. i confess i lean more and more to at least making the attempt and drawing up a sketch and trying to keep my judgment, whether to publish, open. but i always return to my fixed idea that it is dreadfully unphilosophical to publish without full details. i certainly think my future work in full would profit by hearing what my friends or critics (if reviewed) thought of the outline. to any one but you i should apologise for such long discussion on so personal an affair; but i believe, and indeed you have proved it by the trouble you have taken, that this would be superfluous. yours truly obliged, ch. darwin. p.s. what you say (for i have just re-read your letter) that the essay might supersede and take away all novelty and value from any future larger book, is very true; and that would grieve me beyond everything. on the other hand (again from lyell's urgent advice), i published a preliminary sketch of the coral theory, and this did neither good nor harm. i begin most heartily to wish that lyell had never put this idea of an essay into my head. from a letter to sir c. lyell [july, ]. "i am delighted that i may say (with absolute truth) that my essay is published at your suggestion, but i hope it will not need so much apology as i at first thought; for i have resolved to make it nearly as complete as my present materials allow. i cannot put in all which you suggest, for it would appear too conceited." from a letter to w.d. fox. down, june th [ ]. "...what you say about my essay, i dare say is very true; and it gave me another fit of the wibber-gibbers: i hope that i shall succeed in making it modest. one great motive is to get information on the many points on which i want it. but i tremble about it, which i should not do, if i allowed some three or four more years to elapse before publishing anything..." [the following extracts from letters to mr. fox are worth giving, as showing how great was the accumulation of material which now had to be dealt with. june th [ ]. "very many thanks for the capital information on cats; i see i had blundered greatly, but i know i had somewhere your original notes; but my notes are so numerous during nineteen years' collection, that it would take me at least a year to go over and classify them." november . "sometimes i fear i shall break down, for my subject gets bigger and bigger with each month's work."] charles darwin to c. lyell down, th [june, ]. my dear lyell, i am going to do the most impudent thing in the world. but my blood gets hot with passion and turns cold alternately at the geological strides, which many of your disciples are taking. here, poor forbes made a continent to [i.e., extending to] north america and another (or the same) to the gulf weed; hooker makes one from new zealand to south america and round the world to kerguelen land. here is wollaston speaking of madeira and p. santo "as the sure and certain witnesses of a former continent." here is woodward writes to me, if you grant a continent over or miles of ocean depths (as if that was nothing), why not extend a continent to every island in the pacific and atlantic oceans? and all this within the existence of recent species! if you do not stop this, if there be a lower region for the punishment of geologists, i believe, my great master, you will go there. why, your disciples in a slow and creeping manner beat all the old catastrophists who ever lived. you will live to be the great chief of the catastrophists. there, i have done myself a great deal of good, and have exploded my passion. so my master, forgive me, and believe me, ever yours, c. darwin. p.s. don't answer this, i did it to ease myself. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down [june] th, . ...i have been very deeply interested by wollaston's book ('the variation of species,' .), though i differ greatly from many of his doctrines. did you ever read anything so rich, considering how very far he goes, as his denunciations against those who go further: "most mischievous," "absurd," "unsound." theology is at the bottom of some of this. i told him he was like calvin burning a heretic. it is a very valuable and clever book in my opinion. he has evidently read very little out of his own line. i urged him to read the new zealand essay. his geology also is rather eocene, as i told him. in fact i wrote most frankly; he says he is sure that ultra-honesty is my characteristic: i do not know whether he meant it as a sneer; i hope not. talking of eocene geology, i got so wrath about the atlantic continent, more especially from a note from woodward (who has published a capital book on shells), who does not seem to doubt that every island in the pacific and atlantic are the remains of continents, submerged within period of existing species, that i fairly exploded, and wrote to lyell to protest, and summed up all the continents created of late years by forbes (the head sinner!) yourself, wollaston, and woodward, and a pretty nice little extension of land they make altogether! i am fairly rabid on the question and therefore, if not wrong already, am pretty sure to become so... i have enjoyed your note much. adios, c. darwin. p.s. [june] th. lyell has written me a capital letter on your side, which ought to upset me entirely, but i cannot say it does quite. though i must try and cease being rabid and try to feel humble, and allow you all to make continents, as easily as a cook does pancakes. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, june th [ ]. my dear lyell, i will have the following tremendous letter copied to make the reading easier, and as i want to keep a copy. as you say you would like to hear my reasons for being most unwilling to believe in the continental extensions of late authors, i gladly write them, as, without i am convinced of my error, i shall have to give them condensed in my essay, when i discuss single and multiple creation; i shall therefore be particularly glad to have your general opinion on them. i may quite likely have persuaded myself in my wrath that there is more in them than there is. if there was much more reason to admit a continental extension in any one or two instances (as in madeira) than in other cases, i should feel no difficulty whatever. but if on account of european plants, and littoral sea shells, it is thought necessary to join madeira to the mainland, hooker is quite right to join new holland to new zealand, and auckland island (and raoul island to n.e.), and these to s. america and the falklands, and these to tristan d'acunha, and these to kerguelen land; thus making, either strictly at the same time, or at different periods, but all within the life of recent beings, an almost circumpolar belt of land. so again galapagos and juan fernandez must be joined to america; and if we trust to littoral see shells, the galapagos must have been joined to the pacific islands ( miles distant) as well as to america, and as woodward seems to think all the islands in the pacific into a magnificent continent; also the islands in the southern indian ocean into another continent, with madagascar and africa, and perhaps india. in the north atlantic, europe will stretch half-way across the ocean to the azores, and further north right across. in short, we must suppose probably, half the present ocean was land within the period of living organisms. the globe within this period must have had a quite different aspect. now the only way to test this, that i can see, is to consider whether the continents have undergone within this same period such wonderful permutations. in all north and south and central america, we have both recent and miocene (or eocene) shells, quite distinct on the opposite sides, and hence i cannot doubt that fundamentally america has held its place since at least, the miocene period. in africa almost all the living shells are distinct on the opposite sides of the inter-tropical regions, short as the distance is compared to the range of marine mollusca, in uninterrupted seas; hence i infer that africa has existed since our present species were created. even the isthmus of suez and the aralo-caspian basin have had a great antiquity. so i imagine, from the tertiary deposits, has india. in australia the great fauna of extinct marsupials shows that before the present mammals appeared, australia was a separate continent. i do not for one second doubt that very large portions of all these continents have undergone great changes of level within this period, but yet i conclude that fundamentally they stood as barriers in the sea, where they now stand; and therefore i should require the weightiest evidence to make me believe in such immense changes within the period of living organisms in our oceans, where, moreover, from the great depths, the changes must have been vaster in a vertical sense. secondly. submerge our present continents, leaving a few mountain peaks as islands, and what will the character of the islands be,--consider that the pyrenees, sierra nevada, apennines, alps, carpathians, are non-volcanic, etna and caucasus, volcanic. in asia, altai and himalaya, i believe non-volcanic. in north africa the non-volcanic, as i imagine, alps of abyssinia and of the atlas. in south africa, the snow mountains. in australia, the non-volcanic alps. in north america, the white mountains, alleghanies and rocky mountains--some of the latter alone, i believe, volcanic. in south america to the east, the non-volcanic [silla?] of caracas, and itacolumi of brazil, further south the sierra ventanas, and in the cordilleras, many volcanic but not all. now compare these peaks with the oceanic islands; as far as known all are volcanic, except st. paul's (a strange bedevilled rock), and the seychelles, if this latter can be called oceanic, in the line of madagascar; the falklands, only miles off, are only a shallow bank; new caledonia, hardly oceanic, is another exception. this argument has to me great weight. compare on a geographical map, islands which, we have several reasons to suppose, were connected with mainland, as sardinia, and how different it appears. believing, as i am inclined, that continents as continents, and oceans as oceans, are of immense antiquity--i should say that if any of the existing oceanic islands have any relation of any kind to continents, they are forming continents; and that by the time they could form a continent, the volcanoes would be denuded to their cores, leaving peaks of syenite, diorite, or porphyry. but have we nowhere any last wreck of a continent, in the midst of the ocean? st. paul's rock, and such old battered volcanic islands, as st. helena, may be; but i think we can see some reason why we should have less evidence of sinking than of rising continents (if my view in my coral volume has any truth in it, viz.: that volcanic outbursts accompany rising areas), for during subsidence there will be no compensating agent at work, in rising areas there will be the additional element of outpoured volcanic matter. thirdly. considering the depth of the ocean, i was, before i got your letter, inclined vehemently to dispute the vast amount of subsidence, but i must strike my colours. with respect to coral reefs, i carefully guarded against its being supposed that a continent was indicated by the groups of atolls. it is difficult to guess, as it seems to me, the amount of subsidence indicated by coral reefs; but in such large areas as the lowe archipelago, the marshall archipelago, and laccadive group, it would, judging, from the heights of existing oceanic archipelagoes, be odd, if some peaks of from to , feet had not been buried. even after your letter a suspicion crossed me whether it would be fair to argue from subsidences in the middle of the greatest oceans to continents; but refreshing my memory by talking with ramsay in regard to the probable thickness in one vertical line of the silurian and carboniferous formation, it seems there must have been at least , feet of subsidence during these formations in europe and north america, and therefore during the continuance of nearly the same set of organic beings. but even , feet would not be enough for the azores, or for hooker's continent; i believe hooker does not infer a continuous continent, but approximate groups of islands, with, if we may judge from existing continents, not profoundly deep sea between them; but the argument from the volcanic nature of nearly every existing oceanic island tell against such supposed groups of islands,--for i presume he does not suppose a mere chain of volcanic islands belting the southern hemisphere. fourthly. the supposed continental extensions do not seem to me, perfectly to account for all the phenomena of distribution on islands; as the absence of mammals and batrachians; the absence of certain great groups of insects on madeira, and of acaciae and banksias, etc., in new zealand; the paucity of plants in some cases, etc. not that those who believe in various accidental means of dispersal, can explain most of these cases; but they may at least say that these facts seem hardly compatible with former continuous land. finally. for these several reasons, and especially considering it certain (in which you will agree) that we are extremely ignorant of means of dispersal, i cannot avoid thinking that forbes' 'atlantis,' was an ill-service to science, as checking a close study of means of dissemination. i shall be really grateful to hear, as briefly as you like, whether these arguments have any weight with you, putting yourself in the position of an honest judge. i told hooker that i was going to write to you on this subject; and i should like him to read this; but whether he or you will think it worth time and postage remains to be proved. yours most truly, charles darwin. [on july th he wrote to sir charles lyell. "i am sorry you cannot give any verdict on continental extensions; and i infer that you think my argument of not much weight against such extensions. i know i wish i could believe so."] charles darwin to asa gray. down, july th [ ]. ...it is not a little egotistical, but i should like to tell you (and i do not think i have) how i view my work. nineteen years (!) ago it occurred to me that whilst otherwise employed on natural history, i might perhaps do good if i noted any sort of facts bearing on the question of the origin of species, and this i have since been doing. either species have been independently created, or they have descended from other species, like varieties from one species. i think it can be shown to be probable that man gets his most distinct varieties by preserving such as arise best worth keeping and destroying the others, but i should fill a quire if i were to go on. to be brief, i assume that species arise like our domestic varieties with much extinction; and then test this hypothesis by comparison with as many general and pretty well-established propositions as i can find made out,--in geographical distribution, geological history, affinities, etc., etc. and it seems to me that, supposing that such hypothesis were to explain such general propositions, we ought, in accordance with the common way of following all sciences, to admit it till some better hypothesis be found out. for to my mind to say that species were created so and so is no scientific explanation, only a reverent way of saying it is so and so. but it is nonsensical trying to show how i try to proceed in the compass of a note. but as an honest man, i must tell you that i have come to the heterodox conclusion that there are no such things as independently created species--that species are only strongly defined varieties. i know that this will make you despise me. i do not much underrate the many huge difficulties on this view, but yet it seems to me to explain too much, otherwise inexplicable, to be false. just to allude to one point in your last note, viz., about species of the same genus generally having a common or continuous area; if they are actual lineal descendants of one species, this of course would be the case; and the sadly too many exceptions (for me) have to be explained by climatal and geological changes. a fortiori on this view (but on exactly same grounds), all the individuals of the same species should have a continuous distribution. on this latter branch of the subject i have put a chapter together, and hooker kindly read it over. i thought the exceptions and difficulties were so great that on the whole the balance weighed against my notions, but i was much pleased to find that it seemed to have considerable weight with hooker, who said he had never been so much staggered about the permanence of species. i must say one word more in justification (for i feel sure that your tendency will be to despise me and my crotchets), that all my notions about how species change are derived from long continued study of the works of (and converse with) agriculturists and horticulturists; and i believe i see my way pretty clearly on the means used by nature to change her species and adapt them to the wondrous and exquisitely beautiful contingencies to which every living being is exposed... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, july th . my dear hooker, your letter is of much value to me. i was not able to get a definite answer from lyell (on the continental extensions of forbes and others.), as you will see in the enclosed letters, though i inferred that he thought nothing of my arguments. had it not been for this correspondence, i should have written sadly too strongly. you may rely on it i shall put my doubts moderately. there never was such a predicament as mine: here you continental extensionists would remove enormous difficulties opposed to me, and yet i cannot honestly admit the doctrine, and must therefore say so. i cannot get over the fact that not a fragment of secondary or palaeozoic rock has been found on any island above or miles from a mainland. you rather misunderstand me when you think i doubt the possibility of subsidence of , or , feet; it is only probability, considering such evidence as we have independently of distribution. i have not yet worked out in full detail the distribution of mammalia, both identical and allied, with respect to the one element of depth of the sea; but as far as i have gone, the results are to me surprisingly accordant with my very most troublesome belief in not such great geographical changes as you believe; and in mammalia we certainly know more of means of distribution than in any other class. nothing is so vexatious to me, as so constantly finding myself drawing different conclusions from better judges than myself, from the same facts. i fancy i have lately removed many (not geographical) great difficulties opposed to my notions, but god knows it may be all hallucination. please return lyell's letters. what a capital letter of lyell's that to you is, and what a wonderful man he is. i differ from him greatly in thinking that those who believe that species are not fixed will multiply specific names: i know in my own case my most frequent source of doubt was whether others would not think this or that was a god-created barnacle, and surely deserved a name. otherwise i should only have thought whether the amount of difference and permanence was sufficient to justify a name: i am, also, surprised at his thinking it immaterial whether species are absolute or not: whenever it is proved that all species are produced by generation, by laws of change, what good evidence we shall have of the gaps in formations. and what a science natural history will be, when we are in our graves, when all the laws of change are thought one of the most important parts of natural history. i cannot conceive why lyell thinks such notions as mine or of 'vestiges,' will invalidate specific centres. but i must not run on and take up your time. my ms. will not, i fear, be copied before you go abroad. with hearty thanks. ever yours, c. darwin. p.s.--after giving much condensed, my argument versus continental extensions, i shall append some such sentence, as that two better judges than myself have considered these arguments, and attach no weight to them. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, august th [ ]. ...i quite agree about lyell's letters to me, which, though to me interesting, have afforded me no new light. your letters, under the geological point of view, have been more valuable to me. you cannot imagine how earnestly i wish i could swallow continental extension, but i cannot; the more i think (and i cannot get the subject out of my head), the more difficult i find it. if there were only some half-dozen cases, i should not feel the least difficulty; but the generality of the facts of all islands (except one or two) having a considerable part of their productions in common with one or more mainlands utterly staggers me. what a wonderful case of the epacridae! it is most vexatious, also humiliating, to me that i cannot follow and subscribe to the way in which you strikingly put your view of the case. i look at your facts (about eucalyptus, etc.) as damning against continental extension, and if you like also damning against migration, or at least of enormous difficulty. i see the ground of our difference (in a letter i must put myself on an equality in arguing) lies, in my opinion, that scarcely anything is known of means of distribution. i quite agree with a. de candolle's (and i dare say your) opinion that it is poor work putting together the merely possible means of distribution; but i see no other way in which the subject can be attacked, for i think that a. de candolle's argument, that no plants have been introduced into england except by man's agency, [is] of no weight. i cannot but think that the theory of continental extension does do some little harm as stopping investigation of the means of dispersal, which, whether negative or positive, seems to me of value; when negatived, then every one who believes in single centres will have to admit continental extensions. ...i see from your remarks that you do not understand my notions (whether or no worth anything) about modification; i attribute very little to the direct action of climate, etc. i suppose, in regard to specific centres, we are at cross purposes; i should call the kitchen garden in which the red cabbage was produced, or the farm in which bakewell made the shorthorn cattle, the specific centre of these species! and surely this is centralisation enough! i thank you most sincerely for all your assistance; and whether or no my book may be wretched, you have done your best to make it less wretched. sometimes i am in very good spirits and sometimes very low about it. my own mind is decided on the question of the origin of species; but, good heavens, how little that is worth!... [with regard to "specific centres," a passage from a letter dated july , , by sir charles lyell to sir j.d. hooker ('life' ii. page ) is of interest: "i fear much that if darwin argues that species are phantoms, he will also have to admit that single centres of dispersion are phantoms also, and that would deprive me of much of the value which i ascribe to the present provinces of animals and plants, as illustrating modern and tertiary changes in physical geography." he seems to have recognised, however, that the phantom doctrine would soon have to be faced, for he wrote in the same letter: "whether darwin persuades you and me to renounce our faith in species (when geological epochs are considered) or not, i foresee that many will go over to the indefinite modifiability doctrine." in the autumn my father was still working at geographical distribution, and again sought the aid of sir j.d. hooker. a letter to sir j.d. hooker [september, ]. "in the course of some weeks, you unfortunate wretch, you will have my ms. on one point of geographical distribution. i will however, never ask such a favour again; but in regard to this one piece of ms., it is of infinite importance to me for you to see it; for never in my life have i felt such difficulty what to do, and i heartily wish i could slur the whole subject over." in a letter to sir j.d. hooker (june, ), the following characteristic passage occurs, suggested, no doubt, by the kind of work which his chapter on geographical distribution entailed: "there is wonderful ill logic in his [e. forbes'] famous and admirable memoir on distribution, as it appears to me, now that i have got it up so as to give the heads in a page. depend on it, my saying is a true one, viz., that a compiler is a great man, and an original man a commonplace man. any fool can generalise and speculate; but, oh, my heavens! to get up at second hand a new zealand flora, that is work." charles darwin to w.d. fox. october [ ]. ...i remember you protested against lyell's advice of writing a sketch of my species doctrines. well, when i began i found it such unsatisfactory work that i have desisted, and am now drawing up my work as perfect as my materials of nineteen years' collecting suffice, but do not intend to stop to perfect any line of investigation beyond current work. thus far and no farther i shall follow lyell's urgent advice. your remarks weighed with me considerably. i find to my sorrow it will run to quite a big book. i have found my careful work at pigeons really invaluable, as enlightening me on many points on variation under domestication. the copious old literature, by which i can trace the gradual changes in the breeds of pigeons has been extraordinarily useful to me. i have just had pigeons and fowls alive from the gambia! rabbits and ducks i am attending to pretty carefully, but less so than pigeons. i find most remarkable differences in the skeletons of rabbits. have you ever kept any odd breeds of rabbits, and can you give me any details? one other question: you used to keep hawks; do you at all know, after eating a bird, how soon after they throw up the pellet? no subject gives me so much trouble and doubt and difficulty as the means of dispersal of the same species of terrestrial productions on the oceanic islands. land mollusca drive me mad, and i cannot anyhow get their eggs to experimentise their power of floating and resistance to the injurious action of salt water. i will not apologise for writing so much about my own doings, as i believe you will like to hear. do sometime, i beg you, let me hear how you get on in health; and if so inclined, let me have some words on call-ducks. my dear fox, yours affectionately, ch. darwin. [with regard to his book he wrote (november th) to sir charles lyell]: "i am working very steadily at my big book; i have found it quite impossible to publish any preliminary essay or sketch; but am doing my work as completely as my present materials allow without waiting to perfect them. and this much acceleration i owe to you."] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, sunday [october ]. my dear hooker, the seeds are come all safe, many thanks for them. i was very sorry to run away so soon and miss any part of my most pleasant evening; and i ran away like a goth and vandal without wishing mrs. hooker good-bye; but i was only just in time, as i got on the platform the train had arrived. i was particularly glad of our discussion after dinner, fighting a battle with you always clears my mind wonderfully. i groan to hear that a. gray agrees with you about the condition of botanical geography. all i know is that if you had had to search for light in zoological geography you would by contrast, respect your own subject a vast deal more than you now do. the hawks have behaved like gentlemen, and have cast up pellets with lots of seeds in them; and i have just had a parcel of partridge's feet well caked with mud!!! (the mud in such cases often contains seeds, so that plants are thus transported.) adios. your insane and perverse friend, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, november th [ ]. my dear hooker, i thank you more cordially than you will think probable, for your note. your verdict (on the ms. relating to geographical distribution.) has been a great relief. on my honour i had no idea whether or not you would say it was (and i knew you would say it very kindly) so bad, that you would have begged me to have burnt the whole. to my own mind my ms. relieved me of some few difficulties, and the difficulties seemed to me pretty fairly stated, but i had become so bewildered with conflicting facts, evidence, reasoning and opinions, that i felt to myself that i had lost all judgment. your general verdict is incomparably more favourable than i had anticipated... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, november rd [ ]. my dear hooker, i fear i shall weary you with letters, but do not answer this, for in truth and without flattery, i so value your letters, that after a heavy batch, as of late, i feel that i have been extravagant and have drawn too much money, and shall therefore have to stint myself on another occasion. when i sent my ms. i felt strongly that some preliminary questions on the causes of variation ought to have been sent you. whether i am right or wrong in these points is quite a separate question, but the conclusion which i have come to, quite independently of geographical distribution, is that external conditions (to which naturalists so often appeal) do by themselves very little. how much they do is the point of all others on which i feel myself very weak. i judge from the facts of variation under domestication, and i may yet get more light. but at present, after drawing up a rough copy on this subject, my conclusion is that external conditions do extremely little, except in causing mere variability. this mere variability (causing the child not closely to resemble its parent) i look at as very different from the formation of a marked variety or new species. (no doubt the variability is governed by laws, some of which i am endeavouring very obscurely to trace.) the formation of a strong variety or species i look a as almost wholly due to the selection of what may be incorrectly called chance variations or variability. this power of selection stands in the most direct relation to time, and in the state of nature can be only excessively slow. again, the slight differences selected, by which a race or species is at last formed, stands, as i think can be shown (even with plants, and obviously with animals), in a far more important relation to its associates than to external conditions. therefore, according to my principles, whether right or wrong, i cannot agree with your proposition that time, and altered conditions, and altered associates, are 'convertible terms.' i look at the first and the last as far more important: time being important only so far as giving scope to selection. god knows whether you will perceive at what i am driving. i shall have to discuss and think more about your difficulty of the temperate and sub-arctic forms in the s. hemisphere than i have yet done. but i am inclined to think that i am right (if my general principles are right), that there would be little tendency to the formation of a new species, during the period of migration, whether shorter or longer, though considerable variability may have supervened... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. december th [ ]. ...how i do wish i lived near you to discuss matters with. i have just been comparing definitions of species, and stating briefly how systematic naturalists work out their subjects. aquilegia in the flora indica was a capital example for me. it is really laughable to see what different ideas are prominent in various naturalists' minds, when they speak of "species;" in some, resemblance is everything and descent of little weight--in some, resemblance seems to go for nothing, and creation the reigning idea--in some, descent is the key,--in some, sterility an unfailing test, with others it is not worth a farthing. it all comes, i believe, from trying to define the undefinable. i suppose you have lost the odd black seed from the birds' dung, which germinated,--anyhow, it is not worth taking trouble over. i have now got about a dozen seeds out of small birds' dung. adios, my dear hooker, ever yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to asa gray. down, january st [ ?]. my dear dr gray, i have received the second part of your paper ('statistics of the flora of the northern united states.' "silliman's journal", .), and though i have nothing particular to say, i must send you my thanks and hearty admiration. the whole paper strikes me as quite exhausting the subject, and i quite fancy and flatter myself i now appreciate the character of your flora. what a difference in regard to europe your remark in relation to the genera makes! i have been eminently glad to see your conclusion in regard to the species of large genera widely ranging; it is in strict conformity with the results i have worked out in several ways. it is of great importance to my notions. by the way you have paid me a great compliment ("from some investigations of his own, this sagacious naturalist inclines to think that [the species of] large genera range over a larger area than the species of small genera do."--asa gray, loc. cit.): to be simply mentioned even in such a paper i consider a very great honour. one of your conclusions makes me groan, viz., that the line of connection of the strictly alpine plants is through greenland. i should extremely like to see your reasons published in detail, for it "riles" me (this is a proper expression, is it not?) dreadfully. lyell told me, that agassiz having a theory about when saurians were first created, on hearing some careful observations opposed to this, said he did not believe it, "for nature never lied." i am just in this predicament, and repeat to you that, "nature never lies," ergo, theorisers are always right... overworked as you are, i dare say you will say that i am an odious plague; but here is another suggestion! i was led by one of my wild speculations to conclude (though it has nothing to do with geographical distribution, yet it has with your statistics) that trees would have a strong tendency to have flowers with dioecious, monoecious or polygamous structure. seeing that this seemed so in persoon, i took one little british flora, and discriminating trees from bushes according to loudon, i have found that the result was in species, genera and families, as i anticipated. so i sent my notions to hooker to ask him to tabulate the new zealand flora for this end, and he thought my result sufficiently curious, to do so; and the accordance with britain is very striking, and the more so, as he made three classes of trees, bushes, and herbaceous plants. (he says further he shall work the tasmanian flora on the same principle.) the bushes hold an intermediate position between the other two classes. it seems to me a curious relation in itself, and is very much so, if my theory and explanation are correct. (see 'origin,' edition i., page .) with hearty thanks, your most troublesome friend, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, april th [ ]. my dear hooker, your letter has pleased me much, for i never can get it out of my head, that i take unfair advantage of your kindness, as i receive all and give nothing. what a splendid discussion you could write on the whole subject of variation! the cases discussed in your last note are valuable to me (though odious and damnable), as showing how profoundly ignorant we are on the causes of variation. i shall just allude to these cases, as a sort of sub-division of polymorphism a little more definite, i fancy, than the variation of, for instance, the rubi, and equally or more perplexing. i have just been putting my notes together on variations apparently due to the immediate and direct action of external causes; and i have been struck with one result. the most firm sticklers for independent creation admit, that the fur of the same species is thinner towards the south of the range of the same species than to the north--that the same shells are brighter-coloured to the south than north; that the same [shell] is paler-coloured in deep water--that insects are smaller and darker on mountains--more livid and testaceous near sea--that plants are smaller and more hairy and with brighter flowers on mountains: now in all such, and other cases, distinct species in the two zones follow the same rule, which seems to me to be most simply explained by species, being only strongly marked varieties, and therefore following the same laws as recognised and admitted varieties. i mention all this on account of the variation of plants in ascending mountains; i have quoted the foregoing remark only generally with no examples, for i add, there is so much doubt and dispute what to call varieties; but yet i have stumbled on so many casual remarks on varieties of plants on mountains being so characterised, that i presume there is some truth in it. what think you? do you believe there is any tendency in varieties, as generally so-called, of plants to become more hairy and with proportionally larger and brighter-coloured flowers in ascending a mountain? i have been interested in my "weed garden," of x feet square: i mark each seedling as it appears, and i am astonished at the number that come up, and still more at the number killed by slugs, etc. already have been so killed; i expected a good many, but i had fancied that this was a less potent check than it seems to be, and i attributed almost exclusively to mere choking, the destruction of the seedlings. grass-seedlings seem to suffer much less than exogens... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. moor park, farnham [april (?) ]. my dear hooker, your letter has been forwarded to me here, where i am undergoing hydropathy for a fortnight, having been here a week, and having already received an amount of good which is quite incredible to myself and quite unaccountable. i can walk and eat like a hearty christian, and even my nights are good. i cannot in the least understand how hydropathy can act as it certainly does on me. it dulls one's brain splendidly; i have not thought about a single species of any kind since leaving home. your note has taken me aback; i thought the hairiness, etc., of alpine species was generally admitted; i am sure i have seen it alluded to a score of times. falconer was haranguing on it the other day to me. meyen or gay, or some such fellow (whom you would despise), i remember, makes some remark on chilian cordillera plants. wimmer has written a little book on the same lines, and on varieties being so characterised in the alps. but after writing to you, i confess i was staggered by finding one man (moquin-tandon, i think) saying that alpine flowers are strongly inclined to be white, and linnaeus saying that cold makes plants apetalous, even the same species! are arctic plants often apetalous? my general belief from my compiling work is quite to agree with what you say about the little direct influence of climate; and i have just alluded to the hairiness of alpine plants as an exception. the odoriferousness would be a good case for me if i knew of varieties being more odoriferous in dry habitats. i fear that i have looked at the hairiness of alpine plants as so generally acknowledged that i have not marked passages, so as at all to see what kind of evidence authors advance. i must confess, the other day, when i asked falconer, whether he knew of individual plants losing or acquiring hairiness when transported, he did not. but now this second, my memory flashes on me, and i am certain i have somewhere got marked a case of hairy plants from the pyrenees losing hairs when cultivated at montpellier. shall you think me very impudent if i tell you that i have sometimes thought that (quite independently of the present case), you are a little too hard on bad observers; that a remark made by a bad observer cannot be right; an observer who deserves to be damned you would utterly damn. i feel entire deference to any remark you make out of your own head; but when in opposition to some poor devil, i somehow involuntarily feel not quite so much, but yet much deference for your opinion. i do not know in the least whether there is any truth in this my criticism against you, but i have often thought i would tell you it. i am really very much obliged for your letter, for, though i intended to put only one sentence and that vaguely, i should probably have put that much too strongly. ever, my dear hooker, yours most truly, c. darwin. p.s. this note, as you see, has not anything requiring an answer. the distribution of fresh-water molluscs has been a horrid incubus to me, but i think i know my way now; when first hatched they are very active, and i have had thirty or forty crawl on a dead duck's foot; and they cannot be jerked off, and will live fifteen and even twenty-four hours out of water. [the following letter refers to the expedition of the austrian frigate "novara"; lyell had asked my father for suggestions.] charles darwin to c. lyell. down, february th [ ]. my dear lyell, i was glad to see in the newspapers about the austrian expedition. i have nothing to add geologically to my notes in the manual. (the article "geology" in the admiralty manual of scientific enquiry.) i do not know whether the expedition is tied down to call at only fixed spots. but if there be any choice or power in the scientific men to influence the places--this would be most desirable. it is my most deliberate conviction that nothing would aid more, natural history, than careful collecting and investigating all the productions of the most isolated islands, especially of the southern hemisphere. except tristan d'acunha and kerguelen land, they are very imperfectly known; and even at kerguelen land, how much there is to make out about the lignite beds, and whether there are signs of old glacial action. every sea shell and insect and plant is of value from such spots. some one in the expedition especially ought to have hooker's new zealand essay. what grand work to explore rodriguez, with its fossil birds, and little known productions of every kind. again the seychelles, which, with the cocos so near, must be a remnant of some older land. the outer island of juan fernandez is little known. the investigation of these little spots by a band of naturalists would be grand; st. paul's and amsterdam would be glorious, botanically, and geologically. can you not recommend them to get my 'journal' and 'volcanic islands' on account of the galapagos. if they come from the north it will be a shame and a sin if they do not call at cocos islet, one of the galapagos. i always regretted that i was not able to examine the great craters on albemarle island, one of the galapagos. in new zealand urge on them to look out for erratic boulders and marks of old glaciers. urge the use of the dredge in the tropics; how little or nothing we know of the limit of life downward in the hot seas? my present work leads me to perceive how much the domestic animals have been neglected in out of the way countries. the revillagigedo island off mexico, i believe, has never been trodden by foot of naturalist. if the expedition sticks to such places as rio, cape of good hope, ceylon and australia, etc., it will not do much. ever yours most truly, c. darwin. [the following passage occurs in a letter to mr. fox, february , , and has reference to the book on evolution on which he was still at work. the remainder of the letter is made up in details of no interest: "i am got most deeply interested in my subject; though i wish i could set less value on the bauble fame, either present or posthumous, than i do, but not i think, to any extreme degree: yet, if i know myself, i would work just as hard, though with less gusto, if i knew that my book would be published for ever anonymously."] charles darwin to a.r. wallace. moor park, may st, . my dear sir, i am much obliged for your letter of october th, from celebes, received a few days ago; in a laborious undertaking, sympathy is a valuable and real encouragement. by your letter and even still more by your paper ('on the law that has regulated the introduction of new species.'--ann. nat. hist., .) in the annals, a year or more ago, i can plainly see that we have thought much alike and to a certain extent have come to similar conclusions. in regard to the paper in the annals, i agree to the truth of almost every word of your paper; and i dare say that you will agree with me that it is very rare to find oneself agreeing pretty closely with any theoretical paper; for it is lamentable how each man draws his own different conclusions from the very same facts. this summer will make the th year (!) since i opened my first note-book, on the question how and in what way do species and varieties differ from each other. i am now preparing my work for publication, but i find the subject so very large, that though i have written many chapters, i do not suppose i shall go to press for two years. i have never heard how long you intend staying in the malay archipelago; i wish i might profit by the publication of your travels there before my work appears, for no doubt you will reap a large harvest of facts. i have acted already in accordance with your advice of keeping domestic varieties, and those appearing in a state of nature, distinct; but i have sometimes doubted of the wisdom of this, and therefore i am glad to be backed by your opinion. i must confess, however, i rather doubt the truth of the now very prevalent doctrine of all our domestic animals having descended from several wild stocks; though i do not doubt that it is so in some cases. i think there is rather better evidence on the sterility of hybrid animals than you seem to admit: and in regard to plants the collection of carefully recorded facts by kolreuter and gaertner (and herbert,) is enormous. i most entirely agree with you on the little effects of "climatal conditions," which one sees referred to ad nauseam in all books: i suppose some very little effect must be attributed to such influences, but i fully believe that they are very slight. it is really impossible to explain my views (in the compass of a letter), on the causes and means of variation in a state of nature; but i have slowly adopted a distinct and tangible idea,--whether true or false others must judge; for the firmest conviction of the truth of a doctrine by its author, seems, alas, not to be the slightest guarantee of truth!... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. moor park, saturday [may nd, ]. my dear hooker, you have shaved the hair off the alpine plants pretty effectually. the case of the anthyllis will make a "tie" with the believed case of pyrenees plants becoming glabrous at low levels. if i do find that i have marked such facts, i will lay the evidence before you. i wonder how the belief could have originated! was it through final causes to keep the plants warm? falconer in talk coupled the two facts of woolly alpine plants and mammals. how candidly and meekly you took my jeremiad on your severity to second-class men. after i had sent it off, an ugly little voice asked me, once or twice, how much of my noble defence of the poor in spirit and in fact, was owing to your having not seldom smashed favourite notions of my own. i silenced the ugly little voice with contempt, but it would whisper again and again. i sometimes despise myself as a poor compiler as heartily as you could do, though i do not despise my whole work, as i think there is enough known to lay a foundation for the discussion on the origin of species. i have been led to despise and laugh at myself as a compiler, for having put down that "alpine plants have large flowers," and now perhaps i may write over these very words, "alpine plants have small or apetalous flowers!"... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, [may] th [ ]. my dear hooker, you said--i hope honestly--that you did not dislike my asking questions on general points, you of course answering or not as time or inclination might serve. i find in the animal kingdom that the proposition that any part or organ developed normally (i.e., not a monstrosity) in a species in any high or unusual degree, compared with the same part or organ in allied species, tends to be highly variable. i cannot doubt this from my mass of collected facts. to give an instance, the cross-bill is very abnormal in the structure of its bill compared with other allied fringillidae, and the beak is eminently variable. the himantopus, remarkable from the wonderful length of its legs, is very variable in the length of its legs. i could give many most striking and curious illustrations in all classes; so many that i think it cannot be chance. but i have none in the vegetable kingdom, owing, as i believe, to my ignorance. if nepenthes consisted of one or two species in a group with a pitcher developed, then i should have expected it to have been very variable; but i do not consider nepenthes a case in point, for when a whole genus or group has an organ, however anomalous, i do not expect it to be variable,--it is only when one or few species differ greatly in some one part or organ from the forms closely allied to it in all other respects, that i believe such part or organ to be highly variable. will you turn this in your mind? it is an important apparent law (!) for me. ever yours, c. darwin. p.s.--i do not know how far you will care to hear, but i find moquin-tandon treats in his 'teratologie' on villosity of plants, and seems to attribute more to dryness than altitude; but seems to think that it must be admitted that mountain plants are villose, and that this villosity is only in part explained by de candolle's remark that the dwarfed condition of mountain plants would condense the hairs, and so give them the appearance of being more hairy. he quotes senebier, 'physiologie vegetale,' as authority--i suppose the first authority, for mountain plants being hairy. if i could show positively that the endemic species were more hairy in dry districts, then the case of the varieties becoming more hairy in dry ground would be a fact for me. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, june rd [ ]. my dear hooker, i am going to enjoy myself by having a prose on my own subjects to you, and this is a greater enjoyment to me than you will readily understand, as i for months together do not open my mouth on natural history. your letter is of great value to me, and staggers me in regard to my proposition. i dare say the absence of botanical facts may in part be accounted for by the difficulty of measuring slight variations. indeed, after writing, this occurred to me; for i have crucianella stylosa coming into flower, and the pistil ought to be very variable in length, and thinking of this i at once felt how could one judge whether it was variable in any high degree. how different, for instance, from the beak of a bird! but i am not satisfied with this explanation, and am staggered. yet i think there is something in the law; i have had so many instances, as the following: i wrote to wollaston to ask him to run through the madeira beetles and tell me whether any one presented anything very anomalous in relation to its allies. he gave me a unique case of an enormous head in a female, and then i found in his book, already stated, that the size of the head was astonishingly variable. part of the difference with plants may be accounted for by many of my cases being secondary male or female characters, but then i have striking cases with hermaphrodite cirripedes. the cases seem to me far too numerous for accidental coincidences, of great variability and abnormal development. i presume that you will not object to my putting a note saying that you had reflected over the case, and though one or two cases seemed to support, quite as many or more seemed wholly contradictory. this want of evidence is the more surprising to me, as generally i find any proposition more easily tested by observations in botanical works, which i have picked up, than in zoological works. i never dreamed that you had kept the subject at all before your mind. altogether the case is one more of my many horrid puzzles. my observations, though on so infinitely a small scale, on the struggle for existence, begin to make me see a little clearer how the fight goes on. out of sixteen kinds of seed sown on my meadow, fifteen have germinated, but now they are perishing at such a rate that i doubt whether more than one will flower. here we have choking which has taken place likewise on a great scale, with plants not seedlings, in a bit of my lawn allowed to grow up. on the other hand, in a bit of ground, by feet, i have daily marked each seedling weed as it has appeared during march, april and may, and have come up, and of these have already been killed chiefly by slugs. by the way, at moor park, i saw rather a pretty case of the effects of animals on vegetation: there are enormous commons with clumps of old scotch firs on the hills, and about eight or ten years ago some of these commons were enclosed, and all round the clumps nice young trees are springing up by the million, looking exactly as if planted, so many are of the same age. in other parts of the common, not yet enclosed, i looked for miles and not one young tree could be seen. i then went near (within quarter of a mile of the clumps) and looked closely in the heather, and there i found tens of thousands of young scotch firs (thirty in one square yard) with their tops nibbled off by the few cattle which occasionally roam over these wretched heaths. one little tree, three inches high, by the rings appeared to be twenty-six years old, with a short stem about as thick as a stick of sealing-wax. what a wondrous problem it is, what a play of forces, determining the kind and proportion of each plant in a square yard of turf! it is to my mind truly wonderful. and yet we are pleased to wonder when some animal or plant becomes extinct. i am so sorry that you will not be at the club. i see mrs. hooker is going to yarmouth; i trust that the health of your children is not the motive. good-bye. my dear hooker, ever yours, c. darwin. p.s.--i believe you are afraid to send me a ripe edwardsia pod, for fear i should float it from new zealand to chile!!! charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, june [ ]. my dear hooker, i honour your conscientious care about the medals. (the royal society's medals.) thank god! i am only an amateur (but a much interested one) on the subject. it is an old notion of mine that more good is done by giving medals to younger men in the early part of their career, than as a mere reward to men whose scientific career is nearly finished. whether medals ever do any good is a question which does not concern us, as there the medals are. i am almost inclined to think that i would rather lower the standard, and give medals to young workers than to old ones with no especial claims. with regard to especial claims, i think it just deserving your attention, that if general claims are once admitted, it opens the door to great laxity in giving them. think of the case of a very rich man, who aided solely with his money, but to a grand extent--or such an inconceivable prodigy as a minister of the crown who really cared for science. would you give such men medals? perhaps medals could not be better applied than exclusively to such men. i confess at present i incline to stick to especial claims which can be put down on paper... i am much confounded by your showing that there are not obvious instances of my (or rather waterhouse's) law of abnormal developments being highly variable. i have been thinking more of your remark about the difficulty of judging or comparing variability in plants from the great general variability of parts. i should look at the law as more completely smashed if you would turn in your mind for a little while for cases of great variability of an organ, and tell me whether it is moderately easy to pick out such cases; for if they can be picked out, and, notwithstanding, do not coincide with great or abnormal development, it would be a complete smasher. it is only beginning in your mind at the variability end of the question instead of at the abnormality end. perhaps cases in which a part is highly variable in all the species of a group should be excluded, as possibly being something distinct, and connected with the perplexing subject of polymorphism. will you perfect your assistance by further considering, for a little, the subject this way? i have been so much interested this morning in comparing all my notes on the variation of the several species of the genus equus and the results of their crossing. taking most strictly analogous facts amongst the blessed pigeons for my guide, i believe i can plainly see the colouring and marks of the grandfather of the ass, horse, quagga, hemionus and zebra, some millions of generations ago! should not i [have] sneer[ed] at any one who made such a remark to me a few years ago; but my evidence seems to me so good that i shall publish my vision at the end of my little discussion on this genus. i have of late inundated you with my notions, you best of friends and philosophers. adios, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. moor park, farnham, june th [ ]. my dear hooker, this requires no answer, but i will ask you whenever we meet. look at enclosed seedling gorses, especially one with the top knocked off. the leaves succeeding the cotyledons being almost clover-like in shape, seems to me feebly analogous to embryonic resemblances in young animals, as, for instance, the young lion being striped. i shall ask you whether this is so...(see 'power of movement in plants,' page .) dr. lane (the physician at moor park.) and wife, and mother-in-law, lady drysdale, are some of the nicest people i ever met. i return home on the th. good-bye, my dear hooker. ever yours, c. darwin. [here follows a group of letters, of various dates, bearing on the question of large genera varying.] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. march th [ ]. i was led to all this work by a remark of fries, that the species in large genera were more closely related to each other than in small genera; and if this were so, seeing that varieties and species are so hardly distinguishable, i concluded that i should find more varieties in the large genera than in the small...some day i hope you will read my short discussion on the whole subject. you have done me infinite service, whatever opinion i come to, in drawing my attention to at least the possibility or the probability of botanists recording more varieties in the large than in the small genera. it will be hard work for me to be candid in coming to my conclusion. ever yours, most truly, c. darwin. p.s.--i shall be several weeks at my present job. the work has been turning out badly for me this morning, and i am sick at heart; and, oh! how i do hate species and varieties. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. july th [ ?]. ...i write now to supplicate most earnestly a favour, viz., the loan of "boreau, flore du centre de la france", either st or nd edition, last best; also "flora ratisbonensis," by dr. furnrohr, in 'naturhist. topographie von regensburg, .' if you can possibly spare them, will you send them at once to the enclosed address. if you have not them, will you send one line by return of post: as i must try whether kippist (the late mr. kippist was at this time in charge of the linnean society's library.) can anyhow find them, which i fear will be nearly impossible in the linnean library, in which i know they are. i have been making some calculations about varieties, etc., and talking yesterday with lubbock, he has pointed out to me the grossest blunder which i have made in principle, and which entails two or three weeks' lost work; and i am at a dead-lock till i have these books to go over again, and see what the result of calculation on the right principle is. i am the most miserable, bemuddled, stupid dog in all england, and am ready to cry with vexation at my blindness and presumption. ever yours, most miserably, c. darwin. charles darwin to john lubbock. down, [july] th [ ]. my dear lubbock, you have done me the greatest possible service in helping me to clarify my brains. if i am as muzzy on all subjects as i am on proportion and chance,--what a book i shall produce! i have divided the new zealand flora as you suggested, there are species in genera of and upwards, and in genera of and less. the species have species presenting one or more varieties. the species have only . proportionately ( : :: : . ) they ought to have had / species presenting vars. so that the case goes as i want it, but not strong enough, without it be general, for me to have much confidence in. i am quite convinced yours is the right way; i had thought of it, but should never have done it had it not been for my most fortunate conversation with you. un quite shocked to find how easily i am muddled, for i had before thought over the subject much, and concluded my way was fair. it is dreadfully erroneous. what a disgraceful blunder you have saved me from. i heartily thank you. ever yours, c. darwin. p.s.--it is enough to make me tear up all my ms. and give up in despair. it will take me several weeks to go over all my materials. but oh, if you knew how thankful i am to you! charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, august [ ]. my dear hooker, it is a horrid bore you cannot come soon, and i reproach myself that i did not write sooner. how busy you must be! with such a heap of botanists at kew. only think, i have just had a letter from henslow, saying he will come here between th and th! is not that grand? many thanks about furnrohr. i must humbly supplicate kippist to search for it: he most kindly got boreau for me. i am got extremely interested in tabulating, according to mere size of genera, the species having any varieties marked by greek letters or otherwise: the result (as far as i have yet gone) seems to me one of the most important arguments i have yet met with, that varieties are only small species--or species only strongly marked varieties. the subject is in many ways so very important for me; i wish much you would think of any well-worked floras with from - species, with the varieties marked. it is good to have hair-splitters and lumpers. (those who make many species are the "splitters," and those who make few are the "lumpers.") i have done, or am doing:-- babington....................... henslow......................... british flora. london catalogue. h.c. watson... boreau.......................... france. miquel.......................... holland. asa gray........................ n.u. states. hooker.......................... new zealand. fragment of indian flora. wollaston....................... madeira insects. has not koch published a good german flora? does he mark varieties? could you send it me? is there not some grand russian flora, which perhaps has varieties marked? the floras ought to be well known. i am in no hurry for a few weeks. will you turn this in your head when, if ever, you have leisure? the subject is very important for my work, though i clearly see many causes of error... charles darwin to asa gray. down, february st [ ]. my dear gray, my last letter begged no favour, this one does: but it will really cost you very little trouble to answer to me, and it will be of very great service to me, owing to a remark made to me by hooker, which i cannot credit, and which was suggested to him by one of my letters. he suggested my asking you, and i told him i would not give the least hint what he thought. i generally believe hooker implicitly, but he is sometimes, i think, and he confesses it, rather over critical, and his ingenuity in discovering flaws seems to me admirable. here is my question:--"do you think that good botanists in drawing up a local flora, whether small or large, or in making a prodromus like de candolle's, would almost universally, but unintentionally and unconsciously, tend to record (i.e., marking with greek letters and giving short characters) varieties in the large or in the small genera? or would the tendency be to record the varieties about equally in genera of all sizes? are you yourself conscious on reflection that you have attended to, and recorded more carefully the varieties in large or small, or very small genera?" i know what fleeting and trifling things varieties very often are; but my query applies to such as have been thought worth marking and recording. if you could screw time to send me ever so brief an answer to this, pretty soon, it would be a great service to me. yours most truly obliged, ch. darwin. p.s.--do you know whether any one has ever published any remarks on the geographical range of varieties of plants in comparison with the species to which they are supposed to belong? i have in vain tried to get some vague idea, and with the exception of a little information on this head given me by mr. watson in a paper on land shells in united states, i have quite failed; but perhaps it would be difficult for you to give me even a brief answer on this head, and if so i am not so unreasonable, i assure you, as to expect it. if you are writing to england soon, you could enclose other letters [for] me to forward. please observe the question is not whether there are more or fewer varieties in larger or smaller genera, but whether there is a stronger or weaker tendency in the minds of botanists to record such in large or small genera. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, may th [ ]. ...i send by this post my ms. on the "commonness," "range," and "variation" of species in large and small genera. you have undertaken a horrid job in so very kindly offering to read it, and i thank you warmly. i have just corrected the copy, and am disappointed in finding how tough and obscure it is; i cannot make it clearer, and at present i loathe the very sight of it. the style of course requires further correction, and if published i must try, but as yet see not how, to make it clearer. if you have much to say and can have patience to consider the whole subject, i would meet you in london on the phil. club day, so as to save you the trouble of writing. for heaven's sake, you stern and awful judge and sceptic, remember that my conclusions may be true, notwithstanding that botanists may have recorded more varieties in large than in small genera. it seems to me a mere balancing of probabilities. again i thank you most sincerely, but i fear you will find it a horrid job. ever yours, c. darwin. p.s.--as usual, hydropathy has made a man of me for a short time: i hope the sea will do mrs. hooker much good. charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, december nd, . my dear sir, i thank you for your letter of september th. i am extremely glad to hear how you are attending to distribution in accordance with theoretical ideas. i am a firm believer that without speculation there is no good and original observation. few travellers have attended to such points as you are now at work on; and, indeed, the whole subject of distribution of animals is dreadfully behind that of plants. you say that you have been somewhat surprised at no notice having been taken of your paper in the annals. ('on the law that has regulated the introduction of new species.' ann. nat. hist., .) i cannot say that i am, for so very few naturalists care for anything beyond the mere description of species. but you must not suppose that your paper has not been attended to: two very good men, sir c. lyell, and mr. e. blyth at calcutta, specially called my attention to it. though agreeing with you on your conclusions in that paper, i believe i go much further than you; but it is too long a subject to enter on my speculative notions. i have not yet seen your paper on the distribution of animals in the aru islands. i shall read it with the utmost interest; for i think that the most interesting quarter of the whole globe in respect to distribution, and i have long been very imperfectly trying to collect data for the malay archipelago. i shall be quite prepared to subscribe to your doctrine of subsidence; indeed, from the quite independent evidence of the coral reefs i coloured my original map (in my coral volume) of the aru islands as one of subsidence, but got frightened and left it uncoloured. but i can see that you are inclined to go much further than i am in regard to the former connection of oceanic islands with continents. ever since poor e. forbes propounded this doctrine it has been eagerly followed; and hooker elaborately discusses the former connection of all the antarctic islands and new zealand and south america. about a year ago i discussed this subject much with lyell and hooker (for i shall have to treat of it), and wrote out my arguments in opposition; but you will be glad to hear that neither lyell nor hooker thought much of my arguments. nevertheless, for once in my life, i dare withstand the almost preternatural sagacity of lyell. you ask about land-shells on islands far distant from continents: madeira has a few identical with those of europe, and here the evidence is really good, as some of them are sub-fossil. in the pacific islands there are cases of identity, which i cannot at present persuade myself to account for by introduction through man's agency; although dr. aug. gould has conclusively shown that many land-shells have thus been distributed over the pacific by man's agency. these cases of introduction are most plaguing. have you not found it so in the malay archipelago? it has seemed to me in the lists of mammals of timor and other islands, that several in all probability have been naturalised... you ask whether i shall discuss "man." i think i shall avoid the whole subject, as so surrounded with prejudices; though i fully admit that it is the highest and most interesting problem for the naturalist. my work, on which i have now been at work more or less for twenty years, will not fix or settle anything; but i hope it will aid by giving a large collection of facts, with one definite end. i get on very slowly, partly from ill-health, partly from being a very slow worker. i have got about half written; but i do not suppose i shall publish under a couple of years. i have now been three whole months on one chapter on hybridism! i am astonished to see that you expect to remain out three or four years more. what a wonderful deal you will have seen, and what interesting areas--the grand malay archipelago and the richest parts of south america! i infinitely admire and honour your zeal and courage in the good cause of natural science; and you have my very sincere and cordial good wishes for success of all kinds, and may all your theories succeed, except that on oceanic islands, on which subject i will do battle to the death. pray believe me, my dear sir, yours very sincerely, c. darwin. charles darwin to w.d. fox. february th [ ]. ...i am working very hard at my book, perhaps too hard. it will be very big, and i am become most deeply interested in the way facts fall into groups. i am like croesus overwhelmed with my riches in facts, and i mean to make my book as perfect as ever i can. i shall not go to press at soonest for a couple of years... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. february rd [ ]. ...i was not much struck with the great buckle, and i admired the way you stuck up about deduction and induction. i am reading his book ('the history of civilisation.'), which, with much sophistry, as it seems to me, is wonderfully clever and original, and with astounding knowledge. i saw that you admired mrs. farrer's 'questa tomba' of beethoven thoroughly; there is something grand in her sweet tones. farewell. i have partly written this note to drive bee's-cells out of my head; for i am half-mad on the subject to try to make out some simple steps from which all the wondrous angles may result. (he had much correspondence on this subject with the late professor miller of cambridge.) i was very glad to see mrs. hooker on friday; how well she appears to be and looks. forgive your intolerable but affectionate friend, c. darwin. charles darwin to w.d. fox. down, april th [ ]. my dear fox, i want you to observe one point for me, on which i am extremely much interested, and which will give you no trouble beyond keeping your eyes open, and that is a habit i know full well that you have. i find horses of various colours often have a spinal band or stripe of different and darker tint than the rest of the body; rarely transverse bars on the legs, generally on the under-side of the front legs, still more rarely a very faint transverse shoulder-stripe like an ass. is there any breed of delamere forest ponies? i have found out little about ponies in these respects. sir p. egerton has, i believe, some quite thoroughbred chestnut horses; have any of them the spinal stripe? mouse-coloured ponies, or rather small horses, often have spinal and leg bars. so have dun horses (by dun i mean real colour of cream mixed with brown, bay, or chestnut). so have sometimes chestnuts, but i have not yet got a case of spinal stripe in chestnut, race horse, or in quite heavy cart-horse. any fact of this nature of such stripes in horses would be most useful to me. there is a parallel case in the legs of the donkey, and i have collected some most curious cases of stripes appearing in various crossed equine animals. i have also a large mass of parallel facts in the breeds of pigeons about the wing bars. i suspect it will throw light on the colour of the primeval horse. so do help me if occasion turns up...my health has been lately very bad from overwork, and on tuesday i go for a fortnight's hydropathy. my work is everlasting. farewell. my dear fox, i trust you are well. farewell, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. moor park, farnham [april th, ]. ...i have just had the innermost cockles of my heart rejoiced by a letter from lyell. i said to him (or he to me) that i believed from the character of the flora of the azores, that icebergs must have been stranded there; and that i expected erratic boulders would be detected embedded between the upheaved lava-beds; and i got lyell to write to hartung to ask, and now h. says my question explains what had astounded him, viz., large boulders (and some polished) of mica-schist, quartz, sandstone, etc., some embedded, and some and feet above the level of the sea, so that he had inferred that they had not been brought as ballast. is this not beautiful? the water-cure has done me some good, but i [am] nothing to boast of to-day, so good-bye. my dear friend, yours, c.d. charles darwin to c. lyell. moor park, farnham, april th [ ]. my dear lyell, i have come here for a fortnight's hydropathy, as my stomach had got, from steady work, into a horrid state. i am extremely much obliged to you for sending me hartung's interesting letter. the erratic boulders are splendid. it is a grand case of floating ice versus glaciers. he ought to have compared the northern and southern shores of the islands. it is eminently interesting to me, for i have written a very long chapter on the subject, collecting briefly all the geological evidence of glacial action in different parts of the world, and then at great length (on the theory of species changing) i have discussed the migration and modification of plants and animals, in sea and land, over a large part of the world. to my mind, it throws a flood of light on the whole subject of distribution, if combined with the modification of species. indeed, i venture to speak with some little confidence on this, for hooker, about a year ago, kindly read over my chapter, and though he then demurred gravely to the general conclusion, i was delighted to hear a week or two ago that he was inclined to come round pretty strongly to my views of distribution and change during the glacial period. i had a letter from thompson, of calcutta, the other day, which helps me much, as he is making out for me what heat our temperate plants can endure. but it is too long a subject for a note; and i have written thus only because hartung's note has set the whole subject afloat in my mind again. but i will write no more, for my object here is to think about nothing, bathe much, walk much, eat much, and read much novels. farewell, with many thanks, and very kind remembrance to lady lyell. ever yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to mrs. darwin. moor park, wednesday, april [ ]. the weather is quite delicious. yesterday, after writing to you, i strolled a little beyond the glade for an hour and a half, and enjoyed myself--the fresh yet dark-green of the grand scotch firs, the brown of the catkins of the old birches, with their white stems, and a fringe of distant green from the larches made an excessively pretty view. at last i fell fast asleep on the grass, and awoke with a chorus of birds singing around me, and squirrels running up the trees, and some woodpeckers laughing, and it was as pleasant and rural a scene as ever i saw, and i did not care one penny how any of the beasts or birds had been formed. i sat in the drawing-room till after eight, and then went and read the chief justice's summing up, and thought bernard (simon bernard was tried in april as an accessory to orsini's attempt on the life of the emperor of the french. the verdict was "not guilty.") guilty, and then read a bit of my novel, which is feminine, virtuous, clerical, philanthropical, and all that sort of thing, but very decidedly flat. i say feminine, for the author is ignorant about money matters, and not much of a lady--for she makes her men say, "my lady." i like miss craik very much, though we have some battles, and differ on every subject. i like also the hungarian; a thorough gentleman, formerly attache at paris, and then in the austrian cavalry, and now a pardoned exile, with broken health. he does not seem to like kossuth, but says, he is certain [he is] a sincere patriot, most clever and eloquent, but weak, with no determination of character... chapter . xiii. -- the writing of the 'origin of species.' june , , to november, . [the letters given in the present chapter tell their story with sufficient clearness, and need but a few words of explanation. mr. wallace's essay, referred to in the first letter, bore the sub-title, 'on the tendency of varieties to depart indefinitely from the original type,' was published in the linnean society's journal ( , volume iii. page ) as part of the joint paper of "messrs. c. darwin and a. wallace," of which the full title was 'on the tendency of species to form varieties; and on the perpetuation of varieties and species by natural means of selection.' my father's contribution to the paper consisted of ( ) extracts from the sketch of ; ( ) part of a letter addressed to dr asa gray, dated september , , and which is given above. the paper was "communicated" to the society by sir charles lyell and sir joseph hooker, in whose prefatory letter, a clear account of the circumstances of the case is given. referring to mr. wallace's essay, they wrote: "so highly did mr. darwin appreciate the value of the views therein set forth, that he proposed, in a letter to sir charles lyell, to obtain mr. wallace's consent to allow the essay to be published as soon as possible. of this step we highly approved, provided mr. darwin did not withhold from the public, as he was strongly inclined to do (in favour of mr. wallace), the memoir which he had himself written on the same subject, and which, as before stated, one of us had perused in , and the contents of which we had both of us been privy to for many years. on representing this to mr. darwin, he gave us permission to make what use we thought proper of his memoir, etc.; and in adopting our present course, of presenting it to the linnean society, we have explained to him that we are not solely considering the relative claims to priority of himself and his friend, but the interests of science generally."] letters. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, th [june ]. my dear lyell, some year or so ago you recommended me to read a paper by wallace in the 'annals' ('annals and magazine of natural history', .), which had interested you, and, as i was writing to him, i knew this would please him much, so i told him. he has to-day sent me the enclosed, and asked me to forward it to you. it seems to me well worth reading. your words have come true with a vengeance--that i should be forestalled. you said this, when i explained to you here very briefly my views of 'natural selection' depending on the struggle for existence. i never saw a more striking coincidence; if wallace had my ms. sketch written out in , he could not have made a better short abstract! even his terms now stand as heads of my chapters. please return me the ms., which he does not say he wishes me to publish, but i shall of course, at once write and offer to send to any journal. so all my originality, whatever it may amount to, will be smashed, though my book, if it will ever have any value, will not be deteriorated; as all the labour consists in the application of the theory. i hope you will approve of wallace's sketch, that i may tell him what you say. my dear lyell, yours most truly, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, friday [june , ]. my dear lyell, i am very sorry to trouble you, busy as you are, in so merely a personal an affair; but if you will give me your deliberate opinion, you will do me as great a service as ever man did, for i have entire confidence in your judgment and honour... there is nothing in wallace's sketch which is not written out much fuller in my sketch, copied out in , and read by hooker some dozen years ago. about a year ago i sent a short sketch, of which i have a copy, of my views (owing to correspondence on several points) to asa gray, so that i could most truly say and prove that i take nothing from wallace. i should be extremely glad now to publish a sketch of my general views in about a dozen pages or so; but i cannot persuade myself that i can do so honourably. wallace says nothing about publication, and i enclose his letter. but as i had not intended to publish any sketch, can i do so honourably, because wallace has sent me an outline of his doctrine? i would far rather burn my whole book, than that he or any other man should think that i had behaved in a paltry spirit. do you not think his having sent me this sketch ties my hands?... if i could honourably publish, i would state that i was induced now to publish a sketch (and i should be very glad to be permitted to say, to follow your advice long ago given) from wallace having sent me an outline of my general conclusions. we differ only, [in] that i was led to my views from what artificial selection has done for domestic animals. i would send wallace a copy of my letter to asa gray, to show him that i had not stolen his doctrine. but i cannot tell whether to publish now would not be base and paltry. this was my first impression, and i should have certainly acted on it had it not been for your letter. this is a trumpery affair to trouble you with, but you cannot tell how much obliged i should be for your advice. by the way, would you object to send this and your answer to hooker to be forwarded to me, for then i shall have the opinion of my two best and kindest friends. this letter is miserably written, and i write it now, that i may for a time banish the whole subject; and i am worn out with musing... my good dear friend forgive me. this is a trumpery letter, influenced by trumpery feelings. yours most truly, c. darwin. i will never trouble you or hooker on the subject again. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, th [june, ]. my dear lyell, forgive me for adding a p.s. to make the case as strong as possible against myself. wallace might say, "you did not intend publishing an abstract of your views till you received my communication. is it fair to take advantage of my having freely, though unasked, communicated to you my ideas, and thus prevent me forestalling you?" the advantage which i should take being that i am induced to publish from privately knowing that wallace is in the field. it seems hard on me that i should be thus compelled to lose my priority of many years' standing, but i cannot feel at all sure that this alters the justice of the case. first impressions are generally right, and i at first thought it would be dishonourable in me now to publish. yours most truly, c. darwin. p.s.--i have always thought you would make a first-rate lord chancellor; and i now appeal to you as a lord chancellor. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, tuesday [june , ]. ...i have received your letters. i cannot think now (so soon after the death, from scarlet fever, of his infant child.) on the subject, but soon will. but i can see that you have acted with more kindness, and so has lyell, even than i could have expected from you both, most kind as you are. i can easily get my letter to asa gray copied, but it is too short. ...god bless you. you shall hear soon, as soon as i can think. yours affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. tuesday night [june , ]. my dear hooker, i have just read your letter, and see you want the papers at once. i am quite prostrated, and can do nothing, but i send wallace, and the abstract ("abstract" is here used in the sense of "extract;" in this sense also it occurs in the 'linnean journal,' where the sources of my father's paper are described.) of my letter to asa gray, which gives most imperfectly only the means of change, and does not touch on reasons for believing that species do change. i dare say all is too late. i hardly care about it. but you are too generous to sacrifice so much time and kindness. it is most generous, most kind. i send my sketch of solely that you may see by your own handwriting that you did read it. i really cannot bear to look at it. do not waste much time. it is miserable in me to care at all about priority. the table of contents will show what it is. i would make a similar, but shorter and more accurate sketch for the 'linnean journal.' i will do anything. god bless you, my dear kind friend. i can write no more. i send this by my servant to kew. yours, c. darwin. [the following letter is that already referred to as forming part of the joint paper published in the linnean society's 'journal,' ]:-- charles darwin to asa gray. down, september th [ ]. (the date is given as october in the 'linnean journal.' the extracts were printed from a duplicate undated copy in my father's possession, on which he had written, "this was sent to asa gray or months ago, i think october .") my dear gray, i forget the exact words which i used in my former letter, but i dare say i said that i thought you would utterly despise me when i told you what views i had arrived at, which i did because i thought i was bound as an honest man to do so. i should have been a strange mortal, seeing how much i owe to your quite extraordinary kindness, if in saying this i had meant to attribute the least bad feeling to you. permit me to tell you that, before i had ever corresponded with you, hooker had shown me several of your letters (not of a private nature), and these gave me the warmest feeling of respect to you; and i should indeed be ungrateful if your letters to me, and all i have heard of you, had not strongly enhanced this feeling. but i did not feel in the least sure that when you knew whither i was tending, that you might not think me so wild and foolish in my views (god knows, arrived at slowly enough, and i hope conscientiously), that you would think me worth no more notice or assistance. to give one example: the last time i saw my dear old friend falconer, he attacked me most vigorously, but quite kindly, and told me, "you will do more harm than any ten naturalists will do good. i can see that you have already corrupted and half-spoiled hooker!!" now when i see such strong feeling in my oldest friends, you need not wonder that i always expect my views to be received with contempt. but enough and too much of this. i thank you most truly for the kind spirit of your last letter. i agree to every word in it, and think i go as far as almost any one in seeing the grave difficulties against my doctrine. with respect to the extent to which i go, all the arguments in favour of my notions fall rapidly away, the greater the scope of forms considered. but in animals, embryology leads me to an enormous and frightful range. the facts which kept me longest scientifically orthodox are those of adaptation--the pollen-masses in asclepias--the mistletoe, with its pollen carried by insects, and seed by birds--the woodpecker, with its feet and tail, beak and tongue, to climb the tree and secure insects. to talk of climate or lamarckian habit producing such adaptations to other organic beings is futile. this difficulty i believe i have surmounted. as you seem interested in the subject, and as it is an immense advantage to me to write to you and to hear, ever so briefly, what you think, i will enclose (copied, so as to save you trouble in reading) the briefest abstract of my notions on the means by which nature makes her species. why i think that species have really changed, depends on general facts in the affinities, embryology, rudimentary organs, geological history, and geographical distribution of organic beings. in regard to my abstract, you must take immensely on trust, each paragraph occupying one or two chapters in my book. you will, perhaps, think it paltry in me, when i ask you not to mention my doctrine; the reason is, if any one, like the author of the 'vestiges,' were to hear of them, he might easily work them in, and then i should have to quote from a work perhaps despised by naturalists, and this would greatly injure any chance of my views being received by those alone whose opinions i value. [here follows a discussion on "large genera varying," which has no direct connection with the remainder of the letter.] i. it is wonderful what the principle of selection by man, that is the picking out of individuals with any desired quality, and breeding from them, and again picking out, can do. even breeders have been astonished at their own results. they can act on differences inappreciable to an uneducated eye. selection has been methodically followed in europe for only the last half century. but it has occasionally, and even in some degree methodically, been followed in the most ancient times. there must have been also a kind of unconscious selection from the most ancient times, namely, in the preservation of the individual animals (without any thought of their offspring) most useful to each race of man in his particular circumstances. the "roguing," as nursery-men call the destroying of varieties, which depart from their type, is a kind of selection. i am convinced that intentional and occasional selection has been the main agent in making our domestic races. but, however this may be, its great power of modification has been indisputedly shown in late times. selection acts only by the accumulation of very slight or greater variations, caused by external conditions, or by the mere fact that in generation the child is not absolutely similar to its parent. man, by this power of accumulating variations, adapts living beings to his wants--he may be said to make the wool of one sheep good for carpets, and another for cloth, etc. ii. now, suppose there was a being, who did not judge by mere external appearance, but could study the whole internal organisation--who never was capricious--who should go on selecting for one end during millions of generations, who will say what he might not effect! in nature we have some slight variations, occasionally in all parts: and i think it can be shown that a change in the conditions of existence is the main cause of the child not exactly resembling its parents; and in nature, geology shows us what changes have taken place, and are taking place. we have almost unlimited time: no one but a practical geologist can fully appreciate this: think of the glacial period, during the whole of which the same species of shells at least have existed; there must have been during this period, millions on millions of generations. iii. i think it can be shown that there is such an unerring power at work, or natural selection (the title of my book), which selects exclusively for the good of each organic being. the elder de candolle, w. herbert, and lyell, have written strongly on the struggle for life; but even they have not written strongly enough. reflect that every being (even the elephant) breeds at such a rate that, in a few years, or at most a few centuries or thousands of years, the surface of the earth would not hold the progeny of any one species. i have found it hard constantly to bear in mind that the increase of every single species is checked during some part of its life, or during some shortly recurrent generation. only a few of those annually born can live to propagate their kind. what a trifling difference must often determine which shall survive and which perish. iv. now take the case of a country undergoing some change; this will tend to cause some of its inhabitants to vary slightly; not but what i believe most beings vary at all times enough for selection to act on. some of its inhabitants will be exterminated, and the remainder will be exposed to the mutual action of a different set of inhabitants, which i believe to be more important to the life of each being than mere climate. considering the infinitely various ways beings have to obtain food by struggling with other beings, to escape danger at various times of life, to have their eggs or seeds disseminated, etc., etc., i cannot doubt that during millions of generations individuals of a species will be born with some slight variation profitable to some part of its economy; such will have a better chance of surviving, propagating this variation, which again will be slowly increased by the accumulative action of natural selection; and the variety thus formed will either coexist with, or more commonly will exterminate its parent form. an organic being like the woodpecker, or the mistletoe, may thus come to be adapted to a score of contingencies; natural selection, accumulating those slight variations in all parts of its structure which are in any way useful to it, during any part of its life. v. multiform difficulties will occur to every one on this theory. most can, i think, be satisfactorily answered.--"natura non facit saltum" answer some of the most obvious. the slowness of the change, and only a very few undergoing change at any one time answers others. the extreme imperfections of our geological records answers others. vi. one other principle, which may be called the principle of divergence, plays, i believe, an important part in the origin of species. the same spot will support more life if occupied by very diverse forms: we see this in the many generic forms in a square yard of turf (i have counted twenty species belonging to eighteen genera), or in the plants and insects, on any little uniform islet, belonging to almost as many genera and families as to species. we can understand this with the higher animals, whose habits we best understand. we know that it has been experimentally shown that a plot of land will yield a greater weight, if cropped with several species of grasses, than with two or three species. now every single organic being, by propagating rapidly, may be said to be striving its utmost to increase in numbers. so it will be with the offspring of any species after it has broken into varieties, or sub-species, or true species. and it follows, i think, from the foregoing facts, that the varying offspring of each species will try (only a few will succeed) to seize on as many and as diverse places in the economy of nature as possible. each new variety or species when formed will generally take the place of, and so exterminate its less well-fitted parent. this, i believe, to be the origin of the classification or arrangement of all organic beings at all times. these always seem to branch and sub-branch like a tree from a common trunk; the flourishing twigs destroying the less vigorous--the dead and lost branches rudely representing extinct genera and families. this sketch is most imperfect; but in so short a space i cannot make it better. your imagination must fill up many wide blanks. without some reflection, it will appear all rubbish; perhaps it will appear so after reflection. c.d. p.s.--this little abstract touches only the accumulative power of natural selection, which i look at as by far the most important element in the production of new forms. the laws governing the incipient or primordial variation (unimportant except as the groundwork for selection to act on, in which respect it is all important), i shall discuss under several heads, but i can come, as you may well believe, only to very partial and imperfect conclusions. [the joint paper of mr. wallace and my father was read at the linnean society on the evening of july st. sir charles lyell and sir j.d. hooker were present, and both, i believe, made a few remarks, chiefly with a view of impressing on those present the necessity of giving the most careful consideration to what they had heard. there was, however, no semblance of a discussion. sir joseph hooker writes to me: "the interest excited was intense, but the subject was too novel and too ominous for the old school to enter the lists, before armouring. after the meeting it was talked over with bated breath: lyell's approval, and perhaps in a small way mine, as his lieutenant in the affair, rather overawed the fellows, who would otherwise have flown out against the doctrine. we had, too, the vantage ground of being familiar with the authors and their theme."] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, july th [ ]. my dear hooker, we are become more happy and less panic-struck, now that we have sent out of the house every child, and shall remove h.,as soon as she can move. the first nurse became ill with ulcerated throat and quinsey, and the second is now ill with the scarlet fever, but, thank god, is recovering. you may imagine how frightened we have been. it has been a most miserable fortnight. thank you much for your note, telling me that all had gone on prosperously at the linnean society. you must let me once again tell you how deeply i feel your generous kindness and lyell's on this occasion. but in truth it shames me that you should have lost time on a mere point of priority. i shall be curious to see the proofs. i do not in the least understand whether my letter to a. gray is to be printed; i suppose not, only your note; but i am quite indifferent, and place myself absolutely in your and lyell's hands. i can easily prepare an abstract of my whole work, but i can hardly see how it can be made scientific for a journal, without giving facts, which would be impossible. indeed, a mere abstract cannot be very short. could you give me any idea how many pages of the journal could probably be spared me? directly after my return home, i would begin and cut my cloth to my measure. if the referees were to reject it as not strictly scientific, i could, perhaps publish it as a pamphlet. with respect to my big interleaved abstract (the sketch of .), would you send it any time before you leave england, to the enclosed address? if you do not go till august th- th, i should prefer it left with you. i hope you have jotted criticisms on my ms. on big genera, etc., sufficient to make you remember your remarks, as i should be infinitely sorry to lose them. and i see no chance of our meeting if you go soon abroad. we thank you heartily for your invitation to join you: i can fancy nothing which i should enjoy more; but our children are too delicate for us to leave; i should be mere living lumber. lastly, you said you would write to wallace; i certainly should much like this, as it would quite exonerate me: if you would send me your note, sealed up, i would forward it with my own, as i know the address, etc. will you answer me sometime about your notions of the length of my abstract. if you see lyell, will you tell him how truly grateful i feel for his kind interest in this affair of mine. you must know that i look at it, as very important, for the reception of the view of species not being immutable, the fact of the greatest geologist and botanist in england taking any sort of interest in the subject: i am sure it will do much to break down prejudices. yours affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. miss wedgwood's, hartfield, tunbridge wells, [july th, ]. my dear hooker, your letter to wallace seems to me perfect, quite clear and most courteous. i do not think it could possibly be improved, and i have to day forwarded it with a letter of my own. i always thought it very possible that i might be forestalled, but i fancied that i had a grand enough soul not to care; but i found myself mistaken and punished; i had, however, quite resigned myself, and had written half a letter to wallace to give up all priority to him, and should certainly not have changed had it not been for lyell's and your quite extraordinary kindness. i assure you i feel it, and shall not forget it. i am more than satisfied at what took place at the linnean society. i had thought that your letter and mine to asa gray were to be only an appendix to wallace's paper. we go from here in a few days to the sea-side, probably to the isle of wight, and on my return (after a battle with pigeon skeletons) i will set to work at the abstract, though how on earth i shall make anything of an abstract in thirty pages of the journal, i know not, but will try my best. i shall order bentham; is it not a pity that you should waste time in tabulating varieties? for i can get the down schoolmaster to do it on my return, and can tell you all the results. i must try and see you before your journey; but do not think i am fishing to ask you to come to down, for you will have no time for that. you cannot imagine how pleased i am that the notion of natural selection has acted as a purgative on your bowels of immutability. whenever naturalists can look at species changing as certain, what a magnificent field will be open,--on all the laws of variation,--on the genealogy of all living beings,--on their lines of migration, etc., etc. pray thank mrs. hooker for her very kind little note, and pray, say how truly obliged i am, and in truth ashamed to think that she should have had the trouble of copying my ugly ms. it was extraordinarily kind in her. farewell, my dear kind friend. yours affectionately, c. darwin. p.s.--i have had some fun here in watching a slave-making ant; for i could not help rather doubting the wonderful stories, but i have now seen a defeated marauding party, and i have seen a migration from one nest to another of the slave-makers, carrying their slaves (who are house, and not field niggers) in their mouths! i am inclined to think that it is a true generalisation that, when honey is secreted at one point of the circle of the corolla, if the pistil bends, it always bends into the line of the gangway to the honey. the larkspur is a good instance, in contrast to columbine,--if you think of it, just attend to this little point. charles darwin to c. lyell. king's head hotel, sandown, isle of wight, july th [ ]. ...we are established here for ten days, and then go on to shanklin, which seems more amusing to one, like myself, who cannot walk. we hope much that the sea may do h. and l. good. and if it does, our expedition will answer, but not otherwise. i have never half thanked you for all the extraordinary trouble and kindness you showed me about wallace's affair. hooker told me what was done at the linnean society, and i am far more than satisfied, and i do not think that wallace can think my conduct unfair in allowing you and hooker to do whatever you thought fair. i certainly was a little annoyed to lose all priority, but had resigned myself to my fate. i am going to prepare a longer abstract; but it is really impossible to do justice to the subject, except by giving the facts on which each conclusion is grounded, and that will, of course, be absolutely impossible. your name and hooker's name appearing as in any way the least interested in my work will, i am certain, have the most important bearing in leading people to consider the subject without prejudice. i look at this as so very important, that i am almost glad of wallace's paper for having led to this. my dear lyell, yours most gratefully, ch. darwin. [the following letter refers to the proof-sheets of the linnean paper. the 'introduction' means the prefatory letter signed by sir c. lyell and sir j.d. hooker.] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. king's head hotel, sandown, isle of wight, july st [ ]. my dear hooker, i received only yesterday the proof-sheets, which i now return. i think your introduction cannot be improved. i am disgusted with my bad writing. i could not improve it, without rewriting all, which would not be fair or worth while, as i have begun on a better abstract for the linnean society. my excuse is that it never was intended for publication. i have made only a few corrections in the style; but i cannot make it decent, but i hope moderately intelligible. i suppose some one will correct the revise. (shall i?) could i have a clean proof to send to wallace? i have not yet fully considered your remarks on big genera (but your general concurrence is of the highest possible interest to me); nor shall i be able till i re-read my ms.; but you may rely on it that you never make a remark to me which is lost from inattention. i am particularly glad you do not object to my stating your objections in a modified form, for they always struck me as very important, and as having much inherent value, whether or no they were fatal to my notions. i will consider and reconsider all your remarks... i have ordered bentham, for, as -- says, it will be very curious to see a flora written by a man who knows nothing of british plants!! i am very glad at what you say about my abstract, but you may rely on it that i will condense to the utmost. i would aid in money if it is too long. (that is to say, he would help to pay for the printing, if it should prove too long for the linnean society.) in how many ways you have aided me! yours affectionately, c. darwin. [the 'abstract' mentioned in the last sentence of the preceding letter was in fact the 'origin of species,' on which he now set to work. in his 'autobiography' he speaks of beginning to write in september, but in his diary he wrote, "july to august , at sandown, began abstract of species book." "september , recommenced abstract." the book was begun with the idea that it would be published as a paper, or series of papers, by the linnean society, and it was only in the late autumn that it became clear that it must take the form of an independent volume.] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. norfolk house, shanklin, isle of wight, friday [july] th [ ]. my dear hooker, will you give the enclosed scrap to sir william to thank him for his kindness; and this gives me an excuse to amuse myself by writing to you a note, which requires no answer. this is a very charming place, and we have got a very comfortable house. but, alas, i cannot say that the sea has done h. or l. much good. nor has my stomach recovered from all our troubles. i am very glad we left home, for six children have now died of scarlet fever in down. we return on the th of august. i have got bentham ('british flora.'), and am charmed with it, and william (who has just started for a tour abroad) has been making out all sorts of new (to me) plants capitally. the little scraps of information are so capital...the english names in the analytical keys drive us mad: give them by all means, but why on earth [not] make them subordinate to the latin; it puts me in a passion. w. charged into the compositae and umbelliferae like a hero, and demolished ever so many in grand style. i pass my time by doing daily a couple of hours of my abstract, and i find it amusing and improving work. i am now most heartily obliged to you and lyell for having set me on this; for i shall, when it is done, be able to finish my work with greater ease and leisure. i confess i hated the thought of the job; and now i find it very unsatisfactory in not being able to give my reasons for each conclusion. i will be longer than i expected; it will take thirty-five of my ms. folio pages to give an abstract on variation under domestication alone; but i will try to put in nothing which does not seem to me of some interest, and which was once new to me. it seems a queer plan to give an abstract of an unpublished work; nevertheless, i repeat, i am extremely glad i have begun in earnest on it. i hope you and mrs. hooker will have a very very pleasant tour. farewell, my dear hooker. yours affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. norfolk house, shanklin, isle of wight, thursday [august , ]. my dear hooker, i should think the note apologetical about the style of the abstract was best as a note...but i write now to ask you to send me by return of post the ms. on big genera, that i may make an abstract of a couple of pages in length. i presume that you have quite done with it, otherwise i would not for anything have it back. if you tie it with string, and mark it ms. for printing, it will not cost, i should think, more than pence. i shall wish much to say that you have read this ms. and concur; but you shall, before i read it to the society, hear the sentence. what you tell me after speaking with busk about the length of the abstract is an immense relief to me; it will make the labour far less, not having to shorten so much every single subject; but i will try not to be too diffusive. i fear it will spoil all interest in my book (the larger book begun in .), whenever published. the abstract will do very well to divide into several parts: thus i have just finished "variation under domestication," in forty-four ms. pages, and that would do for one evening; but i should be extremely sorry if all could not be published together. what else you say about my abstract pleases me highly, but frightens me, for i fear i shall never be able to make it good enough. but how i do run on about my own affairs to you! i was astonished to see sir w. hooker's card here two or three days ago: i was unfortunately out walking. henslow, also, has written to me, proposing to come to down on the th, but alas, i do not return till the th, and my wife not till a week later; so that i am also most sorry to think i shall not see you, for i should not like to leave home so soon. i had thought of going to london and running down for an hour or two to kew... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. norfolk house, shanklin, isle of wight, [august] [ ]. my dear hooker, i write merely to say that the ms. came safely two or three days ago. i am much obliged for the correction of style: i find it unutterably difficult to write clearly. when we meet i must talk over a few points on the subject. you speak of going to the sea-side somewhere; we think this the nicest seaside place which we have ever seen, and we like shanklin better than other spots on the south coast of the island, though many are charming and prettier, so that i would suggest your thinking of this place. we are on the actual coast; but tastes differ so much about places. if you go to broadstairs, when there is a strong wind from the coast of france and in fine, dry, warm weather, look out, and you will probably (!) see thistle-seeds blown across the channel. the other day i saw one blown right inland, and then in a few minutes a second one and then a third; and i said to myself, god bless me, how many thistles there must be in france; and i wrote a letter in imagination to you. but i then looked at the low clouds, and noticed that they were not coming inland, so i feared a screw was loose. i then walked beyond a headland, and found the wind parallel to the coast, and on this very headland a noble bed of thistles, which by every wide eddy were blown far out to sea, and then came right in at right angles to the shore! one day such a number of insects were washed up by the tide, and i brought to life thirteen species of coleoptera; not that i suppose these came from france. but do you watch for thistle-seed as you saunter along the coast... charles darwin to asa gray. august th [ ]. my dear gray, your note of july th has just reached me in the isle of wight. it is a real and great pleasure to me to write to you about my notions; and even if it were not so, i should be a most ungrateful dog, after all the invaluable assistance you have rendered me, if i did not do anything which you asked. i have discussed in my long ms. the later changes of climate and the effect on migration, and i will here give you an abstract of an abstract (which latter i am preparing of my whole work for the linnean society). i cannot give you facts, and i must write dogmatically, though i do not feel so on any point. i may just mention, in order that you may believe that i have some foundation for my views, that hooker has read my ms., and though he at first demurred to my main point, he has since told me that further reflection and new facts have made him a convert. in the older, or perhaps newer, pliocene age (a little before the glacial epoch) the temperature was higher; of this there can be little doubt; the land, on a large scale, held much its present disposition: the species were mainly, judging from shells, what they are now. at this period when all animals and plants ranged or degrees nearer the poles, i believe the northern part of siberia and of north america being almost continuous, were peopled (it is quite possible, considering the shallow water, that behring straits were united, perhaps a little southward) by a nearly uniform fauna and flora, just as the arctic regions now are. the climate then became gradually colder till it became what it now is; and then the temperate parts of europe and america would be separated, as far as migration is concerned, just as they now are. then came on the glacial period, driving far south all living things; middle or even southern europe being peopled with arctic productions; as the warmth returned, the arctic productions slowly crawled up the mountains as they became denuded of snow; and we now see on their summits the remnants of a once continuous flora and fauna. this is e. forbes' theory, which, however, i may add, i had written out four years before he published. some facts have made me vaguely suspect that between the glacial and the present temperature there was a period of slightly greater warmth. according to my modification-doctrines, i look at many of the species of north america which closely represent those of europe, as having become modified since the pliocene period, when in the northern part of the world there was nearly free communication between the old and new worlds. but now comes a more important consideration; there is a considerable body of geological evidence that during the glacial epoch the whole world was colder; i inferred that, many years ago, from erratic boulder phenomena carefully observed by me on both the east and west coast of south america. now i am so bold as to believe that at the height of the glacial epoch, and when all tropical productions must have been considerably distressed, that several temperate forms slowly travelled into the heart of the tropics, and even reached the southern hemisphere; and some few southern forms penetrated in a reverse direction northward. (heights of borneo with australian forms, abyssinia with cape forms.) wherever there was nearly continuous high land, this migration would have been immensely facilitated; hence the european character of the plants of tierra del fuego and summits of cordilleras; hence ditto on himalaya. as the temperature rose, all the temperate intruders would crawl up the mountains. hence the european forms on nilgherries, ceylon, summit of java, organ mountains of brazil. but these intruders being surrounded with new forms would be very liable to be improved or modified by natural selection, to adapt them to the new forms with which they had to compete; hence most of the forms on the mountains of the tropics are not identical, but representative forms of north temperate plants. there are similar classes of facts in marine productions. all this will appear very rash to you, and rash it may be; but i am sure not so rash as it will at first appear to you: hooker could not stomach it at all at first, but has become largely a convert. from mammalia and shallow sea, i believe japan to have been joined to main land of china within no remote period; and then the migration north and south before, during, and after the glacial epoch would act on japan, as on the corresponding latitude of china and the united states. i should beyond anything like to know whether you have any alpine collections from japan, and what is their character. this letter is miserably expressed, but perhaps it will suffice to show what i believe have been the later main migrations and changes of temperature... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. [down] october th, . ...if you have or can make leisure, i should very much like to hear news of mrs. hooker, yourself, and the children. where did you go, and what did you do and are doing? there is a comprehensive text. you cannot tell how i enjoyed your little visit here, it did me much good. if harvey is still with you, pray remember me very kindly to him. ...i am working most steadily at my abstract, but it grows to an inordinate length; yet fully to make my view clear (and never giving briefly more than a fact or two, and slurring over difficulties), i cannot make it shorter. it will yet take me three or four months; so slow do i work, though never idle. you cannot imagine what a service you have done me in making me make this abstract; for though i thought i had got all clear, it has clarified my brains very much, by making me weigh the relative importance of the several elements. i have been reading with much interest your (as i believe it to be) capital memoir of r. brown in the "gardeners' chronicle"... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, october th, [ ]. ...i have sent eight copies (of the joint paper by c. darwin and a.r. wallace.) by post to wallace, and will keep the others for him, for i could not think of any one to send any to. i pray you not to pronounce too strongly against natural selection, till you have read my abstract, for though i dare say you will strike out many difficulties, which have never occurred to me; yet you cannot have thought so fully on the subject as i have. i expect my abstract will run into a small volume, which will have to be published separately... what a splendid lot of work you have in hand. ever yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, october th [ ]. ...i have been a little vexed at myself at having asked you not "to pronounce too strongly against natural selection." i am sorry to have bothered you, though i have been much interested by your note in answer. i wrote the sentence without reflection. but the truth is, that i have so accustomed myself, partly from being quizzed by my non-naturalist relations, to expect opposition and even contempt, that i forgot for the moment that you are the one living soul from whom i have constantly received sympathy. believe [me] that i never forget for even a minute how much assistance i have received from you. you are quite correct that i never even suspected that my speculations were a "jam-pot" to you; indeed, i thought, until quite lately, that my ms. had produced no effect on you, and this has often staggered me. nor did i know that you had spoken in general terms about my work to our friends, excepting to dear old falconer, who some few years ago once told me that i should do more mischief than any ten other naturalists would do good, [and] that i had half spoiled you already! all this is stupid egotistical stuff, and i write it only because you may think me ungrateful for not having valued and understood your sympathy; which god knows is not the case. it is an accursed evil to a man to become so absorbed in any subject as i am in mine. i was in london yesterday for a few hours with falconer, and he gave me a magnificent lecture on the age of man. we are not upstarts; we can boast of a pedigree going far back in time coeval with extinct species. he has a grand fact of some large molar tooth in the trias. i am quite knocked up, and am going next monday to revive under water-cure at moor park. my dear hooker, yours affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. november . ...i had vowed not to mention my everlasting abstract to you again, for i am sure i have bothered you far more than enough about it; but, as you allude to its previous publication, i may say that i have the chapters on instinct and hybridism to abstract, which may take a fortnight each; and my materials for palaeontology, geographical distribution, and affinities, being less worked up, i dare say each of these will take me three weeks, so that i shall not have done at soonest till april, and then my abstract will in bulk make a small volume. i never give more than one or two instances, and i pass over briefly all difficulties, and yet i cannot make my abstract shorter, to be satisfactory, than i am now doing, and yet it will expand to a small volume... [about this time my father revived his old knowledge of beetles in helping his boys in their collecting. he sent a short notice to the 'entomologist's weekly intelligencer,' june th, , recording the capture of licinus silphoides, clytus mysticus, panagaeus -pustulatus. the notice begins with the words, "we three very young collectors having lately taken in the parish of down," etc., and is signed by three of his boys, but was clearly not written by them. i have a vivid recollection of the pleasure of turning out my bottle of dead beetles for my father to name, and the excitement, in which he fully shared, when any of them proved to be uncommon ones. the following letters to mr. fox (november , ), and to sir john lubbock, illustrate this point:] charles darwin to w.d. fox. down, november th [ ]. ...w., my son, is now at christ's college, in the rooms above yours. my old gyp, impey, was astounded to hear that he was my son, and very simply asked, "why, has he been long married?" what pleasant hours those were when i used to come and drink coffee with you daily! i am reminded of old days by my third boy having just begun collecting beetles, and he caught the other day brachinus crepitans, of immortal whittlesea mere memory. my blood boiled with old ardour when he caught a licinus--a prize unknown to me... charles darwin to john lubbock. thursday [before ]. dear lubbock, i do not know whether you care about beetles, but for the chance i send this in a bottle, which i never remember having seen; though it is excessively rash to speak from a twenty-five-year old remembrance. whenever we meet you can tell me whether you know it... i feel like an old war-horse at the sound of the trumpet, when i read about the capturing of rare beetles--is not this a magnanimous simile for a decayed entomologist?--it really almost makes me long to begin collecting again. adios. "floreat entomologia"!--to which toast at cambridge i have drunk many a glass of wine. so again, "floreat entomologia." n.b. i have not now been drinking any glasses full of wine. yours, c.d. charles darwin to herbert spencer. down, november th [ ]. dear sir, i beg permission to thank you sincerely for your very kind present of your essays. ('essays, scientific, political, and speculative,' by herbert spencer, - .) i have already read several of them with much interest. your remarks on the general argument of the so-called development theory seems to me admirable. i am at present preparing an abstract of a larger work on the changes of species; but i treat the subject simply as a naturalist, and not from a general point of view, otherwise, in my opinion, your argument could not have been improved on, and might have been quoted by me with great advantage. your article on music has also interested me much, for i had often thought on the subject, and had come to nearly the same conclusion with you, though unable to support the notion in any detail. furthermore, by a curious coincidence, expression has been for years a persistent subject with me for loose speculation, and i must entirely agree with you that all expression has some biological meaning. i hope to profit by your criticism on style, and with very best thanks, i beg leave to remain, dear sir, yours truly obliged, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, december th [ ]. my dear hooker, your news about your unsolicited salary and house is jolly, and creditable to the government. my room ( x ), with divided room above, with all fixtures (and painted), not furniture, and plastered outside, cost about pounds. i am heartily glad of this news. your facts about distribution are, indeed, very striking. i remember well that none of your many wonderful facts in your several works, perplexed me, for years, more than the migration having been mainly from north to south, and not in the reverse direction. i have now at last satisfied myself (but that is very different from satisfying others) on this head; but it would take a little volume to fully explain myself. i did not for long see the bearing of a conclusion, at which i had arrived, with respect to this subject. it is, that species inhabiting a very large area, and therefore existing in large numbers, and which have been subjected to the severest competition with many other forms, will have arrived, through natural selection, at a higher stage of perfection than the inhabitants of a small area. thus i explain the fact of so many anomalies, or what may be called "living fossils," inhabiting now only fresh water, having been beaten out, and exterminated in the sea, by more improved forms; thus all existing ganoid fishes are fresh water, as [are] lepidosiren and ornithorhynchus, etc. the plants of europe and asia, as being the largest territory, i look at as the most "improved," and therefore as being able to withstand the less-perfected australian plants; [whilst] these could not resist the indian. see how all the productions of new zealand yield to those of europe. i dare say you will think all this utter bosh, but i believe it to be solid truth. you will, i think, admit that australian plants, flourishing so in india, is no argument that they could hold their own against the ten thousand natural contingencies of other plants, insects, animals, etc., etc. with respect to south west australia and the cape, i am shut up, and can only d--n the whole case. ...you say you should like to see my ms., but you did read and approve of my long glacial chapter, and i have not yet written my abstract on the whole of the geographical distribution, nor shall i begin it for two or three weeks. but either abstract or the old ms. i should be delighted to send you, especially the abstract chapter... i have now written folio pages of my abstract, and it will require - [more]; so that it will make a printed volume of pages, and must be printed separately, which i think will be better in many respects. the subject really seems to me too large for discussion at any society, and i believe religion would be brought in by men whom i know. i am thinking of a mo volume, like lyell's fourth or fifth edition of the 'principles.'... i have written you a scandalously long note. so now good-bye, my dear hooker, ever yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, january th, . my dear hooker, i should very much like to borrow heer at some future time, for i want to read nothing perplexing at present till my abstract is done. your last very instructive letter shall make me very cautious on the hyper-speculative points we have been discussing. when you say you cannot master the train of thoughts, i know well enough that they are too doubtful and obscure to be mastered. i have often experienced what you call the humiliating feeling of getting more and more involved in doubt the more one thinks of the facts and reasoning on doubtful points. but i always comfort myself with thinking of the future, and in the full belief that the problems which we are just entering on, will some day be solved; and if we just break the ground we shall have done some service, even if we reap no harvest. i quite agree that we only differ in degree about the means of dispersal, and that i think a satisfactory amount of accordance. you put in a very striking manner the mutation of our continents, and i quite agree; i doubt only about our oceans. i also agree (i am in a very agreeing frame of mind) with your argumentum ad hominem, about the highness of the australian flora from the number of species and genera; but here comes in a superlative bothering element of doubt, viz., the effect of isolation. the only point in which i presumptuously rather demur is about the status of the naturalised plants in australia. i think muller speaks of their having spread largely beyond cultivated ground; and i can hardly believe that our european plants would occupy stations so barren that the native plants could not live there. i should require much evidence to make me believe this. i have written this note merely to thank you, as you will see it requires no answer. i have heard to my amazement this morning from phillips that the geological council have given me the wollaston medal!!! ever yours, charles darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, january d, . ...i enclose letters to you and me from wallace. i admire extremely the spirit in which they are written. i never felt very sure what he would say. he must be an amiable man. please return that to me, and lyell ought to be told how well satisfied he is. these letters have vividly brought before me how much i owe to your and lyell's most kind and generous conduct in all this affair. ...how glad i shall be when the abstract is finished, and i can rest!... charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, january th [ ]. my dear sir, i was extremely much pleased at receiving three days ago your letter to me and that to dr. hooker. permit me to say how heartily i admire the spirit in which they are written. though i had absolutely nothing whatever to do in leading lyell and hooker to what they thought a fair course of action, yet i naturally could not but feel anxious to hear what your impression would be. i owe indirectly much to you and them; for i almost think that lyell would have proved right, and i should never have completed my larger work, for i have found my abstract hard enough with my poor health, but now, thank god, i am in my last chapter but one. my abstract will make a small volume of or pages. whenever published, i will, of course, send you a copy, and then you will see what i mean about the part which i believe selection has played with domestic productions. it is a very different part, as you suppose, from that played by "natural selection." i sent off, by the same address as this note, a copy of the 'journal of the linnean society,' and subsequently i have sent some half-dozen copies of the paper. i have many other copies at your disposal... i am glad to hear that you have been attending to birds' nests. i have done so, though almost exclusively under one point of view, viz., to show that instincts vary, so that selection could work on and improve them. few other instincts, so to speak, can be preserved in a museum. many thanks for your offer to look after horses' stripes; if there are any donkeys, pray add them. i am delighted to hear that you have collected bees' combs...this is an especial hobby of mine, and i think i can throw a light on the subject. if you can collect duplicates, at no very great expense, i should be glad of some specimens for myself with some bees of each kind. young, growing, and irregular combs, and those which have not had pupae, are most valuable for measurements and examination. their edges should be well protected against abrasion. every one whom i have seen has thought your paper very well written and interesting. it puts my extracts (written in , now just twenty years ago!), which i must say in apology were never for an instant intended for publication, into the shade. you ask about lyell's frame of mind. i think he is somewhat staggered, but does not give in, and speaks with horror, often to me, of what a thing it would be, and what a job it would be for the next edition of 'the principles,' if he were "perverted." but he is most candid and honest, and i think will end by being perverted. dr. hooker has become almost as heterodox as you or i, and i look at hooker as by far the most capable judge in europe. most cordially do i wish you health and entire success in all your pursuits, and, god knows, if admirable zeal and energy deserve success, most amply do you deserve it. i look at my own career as nearly run out. if i can publish my abstract and perhaps my greater work on the same subject, i shall look at my course as done. believe me, my dear sir, yours very sincerely, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, march nd [ ]. my dear hooker, here is an odd, though very little, fact. i think it would be hardly possible to name a bird which apparently could have less to do with distribution than a petrel. sir w. milner, at st. kilda, cut open some young nestling petrels, and he found large, curious nuts in their crops; i suspect picked up by parent birds from the gulf stream. he seems to value these nuts excessively. i have asked him (but i doubt whether he will) to send a nut to sir william hooker (i gave this address for grandeur sake) to see if any of you can name it and its native country. will you please mention this to sir william hooker, and if the nut does arrive, will you oblige me by returning it to "sir w. milner, bart., nunappleton, tadcaster," in a registered letter, and i will repay you postage. enclose slip of paper with the name and country if you can, and let me hereafter know. forgive me asking you to take this much trouble; for it is a funny little fact after my own heart. now for another subject. i have finished my abstract of the chapter on geographical distribution, as bearing on my subject. i should like you much to read it; but i say this, believing that you will not do so, if, as i believe to be the case, you are extra busy. on my honour, i shall not be mortified, and i earnestly beg you not to do it, if it will bother you. i want it, because i here feel especially unsafe, and errors may have crept in. also, i should much like to know what parts you will most vehemently object to. i know we do, and must, differ widely on several heads. lastly, i should like particularly to know whether i have taken anything from you, which you would like to retain for first publication; but i think i have chiefly taken from your published works, and, though i have several times, in this chapter and elsewhere, acknowledged your assistance, i am aware that it is not possible for me in the abstract to do it sufficiently. ("i never did pick any one's pocket, but whilst writing my present chapter i keep on feeling (even when differing most from you) just as if i were stealing from you, so much do i owe to your writings and conversation, so much more than mere acknowledgments show."--letter to sir j.d. hooker, .) but again let me say that you must not offer to read it if very irksome. it is long--about ninety pages, i expect, when fully copied out. i hope you are all well. moor park has done me some good. yours affectionately, c. darwin. p.s.--heaven forgive me, here is another question: how far am i right in supposing that with plants, the most important characters for main divisions are embryological? the seed itself cannot be considered as such, i suppose, nor the albumens, etc. but i suppose the cotyledons and their position, and the position of the plumule and the radicle, and the position and form of the whole embryo in the seed are embryological, and how far are these very important? i wish to instance plants as a case of high importance of embryological characters in classification. in the animal kingdom there is, of course, no doubt of this. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, march th [ ]. my dear hooker, many thanks about the seed...it is curious. petrels at st. kilda apparently being fed by seeds raised in the west indies. it should be noted whether it is a nut ever imported into england. i am very glad you will read my geographical ms.; it is now copying, and it will (i presume) take ten days or so in being finished; it shall be sent as soon as done... i shall be very glad to see your embryological ideas on plants; by the sentence which i sent you, you will see that i only want one sentence; if facts are at all, as i suppose, and i shall see this from your note, for sending which very many thanks. i have been so poorly, the last three days, that i sometimes doubt whether i shall ever get my little volume done, though so nearly completed... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, march th [ ]. my dear hooker, i am pleased at what you say of my chapter. you have not attacked it nearly so much as i feared you would. you do not seem to have detected many errors. it was nearly all written from memory, and hence i was particularly fearful; it would have been better if the whole had first been carefully written out, and abstracted afterwards. i look at it as morally certain that it must include much error in some of its general views. i will just run over a few points in your note, but do not trouble yourself to reply without you have something important to say... ...i should like to know whether the case of endemic bats in islands struck you; it has me especially; perhaps too strongly. with hearty thanks, ever yours, c. darwin. p.s. you cannot tell what a relief it has been to me your looking over this chapter, as i felt very shaky on it. i shall to-morrow finish my last chapter (except a recapitulation) on affinities, homologies, embryology, etc., and the facts seem to me to come out very strong for mutability of species. i have been much interested in working out the chapter. i shall now, thank god, begin looking over the old first chapters for press. but my health is now so very poor, that even this will take me long. charles darwin to w.d. fox. down [march] th [ ]. my dear fox, it was very good of you to write to me in the midst of all your troubles, though you seem to have got over some of them, in the recovery of your wife's and your own health. i had not heard lately of your mother's health, and am sorry to hear so poor an account. but as she does not suffer much, that is the great thing; for mere life i do not think is much valued by the old. what a time you must have had of it, when you had to go backwards and forwards. we are all pretty well, and our eldest daughter is improving. i can see daylight through my work, and am now finally correcting my chapters for the press; and i hope in a month or six weeks to have proof-sheets. i am weary of my work. it is a very odd thing that i have no sensation that i overwork my brain; but facts compel me to conclude that my brain was never formed for much thinking. we are resolved to go for two or three months, when i have finished, to ilkley, or some such place, to see if i can anyhow give my health a good start, for it certainly has been wretched of late, and has incapacitated me for everything. you do me injustice when you think that i work for fame; i value it to a certain extent; but, if i know myself, i work from a sort of instinct to try to make out truth. how glad i should be if you could sometime come to down; especially when i get a little better, as i still hope to be. we have set up a billiard table, and i find it does me a deal of good, and drives the horrid species out of my head. farewell, my dear old friend. yours affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, march th [ ]. my dear lyell, if i keep decently well, i hope to be able to go to press with my volume early in may. this being so, i want much to beg a little advice from you. from an expression in lady lyell's note, i fancy that you have spoken to murray. is it so? and is he willing to publish my abstract? if you will tell me whether anything, and what has passed, i will then write to him. does he know at all of the subject of the book? secondly, can you advise me, whether i had better state what terms of publication i should prefer, or first ask him to propose terms? and what do you think would be fair terms for an edition? share profits, or what? lastly, will you be so very kind as to look at the enclosed title and give me your opinion and any criticisms; you must remember that, if i have health and it appears worth doing, i have a much larger and full book on the same subject nearly ready. my abstract will be about five hundred pages of the size of your first edition of the 'elements of geology.' pray forgive me troubling you with the above queries; and you shall have no more trouble on the subject. i hope the world goes well with you, and that you are getting on with your various works. i am working very hard for me, and long to finish and be free and try to recover some health. my dear lyell, ever yours, c. darwin. very sincere thanks to you for standing my proxy for the wollaston medal. p.s. would you advise me to tell murray that my book is not more un-orthodox than the subject makes inevitable. that i do not discuss the origin of man. that i do not bring in any discussion about genesis, etc., etc., and only give facts, and such conclusions from them as seem to me fair. or had i better say nothing to murray, and assume that he cannot object to this much unorthodoxy, which in fact is not more than any geological treatise which runs slap counter to genesis. inclosure. an abstract of an essay on the origin of species and varieties through natural selection by charles darwin, m.a. fellow of the royal geological and linnean societies... london: etc., etc., etc., etc. . charles darwin to c. lyell. down, march th [ ]. my dear lyell, you have been uncommonly kind in all you have done. you not only have saved me much trouble and some anxiety, but have done all incomparably better than i could have done it. i am much pleased at all you say about murray. i will write either to-day or to-morrow to him, and will send shortly a large bundle of ms., but unfortunately i cannot for a week, as the first three chapters are in the copyists' hands. i am sorry about murray objecting to the term abstract, as i look at it as the only possible apology for not giving references and facts in full, but i will defer to him and you. i am also sorry about the term "natural selection." i hope to retain it with explanation somewhat as thus-- "through natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races." why i like the term is that it is constantly used in all works on breeding, and i am surprised that it is not familiar to murray; but i have so long studied such works that i have ceased to be a competent judge. i again most truly and cordially thank you for your really valuable assistance. yours most truly, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, april nd [ ]. ...i wrote to him [mr. murray] and gave him the headings of the chapters, and told him he could not have the ms. for ten days or so; and this morning i received a letter, offering me handsome terms, and agreeing to publish without seeing the ms.! so he is eager enough; i think i should have been cautious, anyhow, but, owing to your letter, i told him most explicitly that i accept his offer solely on condition that, after he has seen part or all the ms., he has full power of retracting. you will think me presumptuous, but i think my book will be popular to a certain extent (enough to ensure [against] heavy loss) amongst scientific and semi-scientific men; why i think so is, because i have found in conversation so great and surprising an interest amongst such men, and some o-scientific [non-scientific] men on this subject, and all my chapters are not nearly so dry and dull as that which you have read on geographical distribution. anyhow, murray ought to be the best judge, and if he chooses to publish it, i think i may wash my hands of all responsibility. i am sure my friends, i.e., lyell and you, have been extraordinarily kind in troubling yourselves on the matter. i shall be delighted to see you the day before good friday; there would be one advantage for you in any other day--as i believe both my boys come home on that day--and it would be almost impossible that i could send the carriage for you. there will, i believe, be some relations in the house--but i hope you will not care for that, as we shall easily get as much talking as my imbecile state allows. i shall deeply enjoy seeing you. ...i am tired, so no more. my dear hooker, your affectionate, c. darwin. p.s.--please to send, well tied up with strong string, my geographical ms., towards the latter half of next week--i.e., th or th--that i may send it with more to murray; and god help him if he tries to read it. ...i cannot help a little doubting whether lyell would take much pains to induce murray to publish my book; this was not done at my request, and it rather grates against my pride. i know that lyell has been infinitely kind about my affair, but your dashed (i.e., underlined) "induce" gives the idea that lyell had unfairly urged murray. charles darwin to asa gray. april th [ ]. ...you ask to see my sheets as printed off; i assure you that it will be the highest satisfaction to me to do so: i look at the request as a high compliment. i shall not, you may depend, forget a request which i look at as a favour. but (and it is a heavy "but" to me) it will be long before i go to press; i can truly say i am never idle; indeed, i work too hard for my much weakened health; yet i can do only three hours of work daily, and i cannot at all see when i shall have finished: i have done eleven long chapters, but i have got some other very difficult ones: as palaeontology, classifications, and embryology, etc., and i have to correct and add largely to all those done. i find, alas! each chapter takes me on an average three months, so slow i am. there is no end to the necessary digressions. i have just finished a chapter on instinct, and here i found grappling with such a subject as bees' cells, and comparing all my notes made during twenty years, took up a despairing length of time. but i am running on about myself in a most egotistical style. yet i must just say how useful i have again and again found your letters, which i have lately been looking over and quoting! but you need not fear that i shall quote anything you would dislike, for i try to be very cautious on this head. i most heartily hope you may succeed in getting your "incubus" of old work off your hands, and be in some degree a free man... again let me say that i do indeed feel grateful to you... charles darwin to j. murray. down, april th [ ]. my dear sir, i send by this post, the title (with some remarks on a separate page), and the first three chapters. if you have patience to read all chapter i., i honestly think you will have a fair notion of the interest of the whole book. it may be conceit, but i believe the subject will interest the public, and i am sure that the views are original. if you think otherwise, i must repeat my request that you will freely reject my work; and though i shall be a little disappointed, i shall be in no way injured. if you choose to read chapters ii. and iii., you will have a dull and rather abstruse chapter, and a plain and interesting one, in my opinion. as soon as you have done with the ms., please to send it by careful messenger, and plainly directed, to miss g. tollett, , queen anne street, cavendish square. this lady, being an excellent judge of style, is going to look out for errors for me. you must take your own time, but the sooner you finish, the sooner she will, and the sooner i shall get to press, which i so earnestly wish. i presume you will wish to see chapter iv., the key-stone of my arch, and chapters x. and xi., but please to inform me on this head. my dear sir, yours sincerely, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, april th [ ]. ...i write one line to say that i heard from murray yesterday, and he says he has read the first three chapters of one ms.(and this includes a very dull one), and he abides by his offer. hence he does not want more ms., and you can send my geographical chapter when it pleases you... [part of the ms. seems to have been lost on its way back to my father; he wrote (april ) to sir j.d. hooker:] "i have the old ms., otherwise, the loss would have killed me! the worst is now that it will cause delay in getting to press, and far worst of all, lose all advantage of your having looked over my chapter, except the third part returned. i am very sorry mrs. hooker took the trouble of copying the two pages." charles darwin to j.d. hooker. [april or may, ]. ...please do not say to any one that i thought my book on species would be fairly popular, and have a fairly remunerative sale (which was the height of my ambition), for if it prove a dead failure, it would make me the more ridiculous. i enclose a criticism, a taste of the future-- rev. s. haughton's address to the geological society, dublin. (february , .) "this speculation of messrs. darwin and wallace would not be worthy of notice were it not for the weight of authority of the names (i.e. lyell's and yours), under whose auspices it has been brought forward. if it means what it says, it is a truism; if it means anything more, it is contrary to fact." q.e.d. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, may th [ ]. my dear hooker, thank you for telling me about obscurity of style. but on my life no nigger with lash over him could have worked harder at clearness than i have done. but the very difficulty to me, of itself leads to the probability that i fail. yet one lady who has read all my ms. has found only two or three obscure sentences, but mrs. hooker having so found it, makes me tremble. i will do my best in proofs. you are a good man to take the trouble to write about it. with respect to our mutual muddle ("when i go over the chapter i will see what i can do, but i hardly know how i am obscure, and i think we are somehow in a mutual muddle with respect to each other, from starting from some fundamentally different notions."--letter of may , .), i never for a moment thought we could not make our ideas clear to each other by talk, or if either of us had time to write in extenso. i imagine from some expressions (but if you ask me what, i could not answer) that you look at variability as some necessary contingency with organisms, and further that there is some necessary tendency in the variability to go on diverging in character or degree. if you do, i do not agree. "reversion" again (a form of inheritance), i look at as in no way directly connected with variation, though of course inheritance is of fundamental importance to us, for if a variation be not inherited, it is of no significance to us. it was on such points as these i fancied that we perhaps started differently. i fear that my book will not deserve at all the pleasant things you say about it; and good lord, how i do long to have done with it! since the above was written, i have received and have been much interested by a. gray. i am delighted at his note about my and wallace's paper. he will go round, for it is futile to give up very many species, and stop at an arbitrary line at others. it is what my grandfather called unitarianism, "a feather bed to catch a falling christian."... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, may th [ ]. my dear hooker, my health has quite failed. i am off to-morrow for a week of hydropathy. i am very very sorry to say that i cannot look over any proofs (of sir j. hooker's introduction to the 'flora of australia.') in the week, as my object is to drive the subject out of my head. i shall return to-morrow week. if it be worth while, which probably it is not, you could keep back any proofs till my return home. in haste, ever yours, c. darwin. [ten days later he wrote to sir j.d. hooker: "...i write one word to say that i shall return on saturday, and if you have any proof-sheets to send, i shall be glad to do my best in any criticisms. i had... great prostration of mind and body, but entire rest, and the douche, and 'adam bede,' have together done me a world of good."] charles darwin to j. murray. down, june th [ ]. my dear sir, the diagram will do very well, and i will send it shortly to mr. west to have a few trifling corrections made. i get on very slowly with proofs. i remember writing to you that i thought there would not be much correction. i honestly wrote what i thought, but was most grievously mistaken. i find the style incredibly bad, and most difficult to make clear and smooth. i am extremely sorry to say, on account of expense, and loss of time for me, that the corrections are very heavy, as heavy as possible. but from casual glances, i still hope that later chapters are not so badly written. how i could have written so badly is quite inconceivable, but i suppose it was owing to my whole attention being fixed on the general line of argument, and not on details. all i can say is, that i am very sorry. yours very sincerely, c. darwin. p.s. i have been looking at the corrections, and considering them. it seems to me that i shall put you to a quite unfair expense. if you please i should like to enter into some such arrangement as the following: when work completed, you to allow in the account a fairly moderately heavy charge for corrections, and all excess over that to be deducted from my profits, or paid by me individually. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, june st [ ]. i am working very hard, but get on slowly, for i find that my corrections are terrifically heavy, and the work most difficult to me. i have corrected pages, and the volume will be about . i have tried my best to make it clear and striking, but very much fear that i have failed--so many discussions are and must be very perplexing. i have done my best. if you had all my materials, i am sure you would have made a splendid book. i long to finish, for i am nearly worn out. my dear lyell, ever yours most truly, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, nd [june, ]. my dear hooker, i did not answer your pleasant note, with a good deal of news to me, of may th, as i have been expecting proofs from you. but now, having nothing particular to do, i will fly a note, though i have nothing particular to say or ask. indeed, how can a man have anything to say, who spends every day in correcting accursed proofs; and such proofs! i have fairly to blacken them, and fasten slips of paper on, so miserable have i found the style. you say that you dreamt that my book was entertaining; that dream is pretty well over with me, and i begin to fear that the public will find it intolerably dry and perplexing. but i will never give up that a better man could have made a splendid book out of the materials. i was glad to hear about prestwich's paper. (mr. prestwich wrote on the occurrence of flint instruments associated with the remains of extinct animals in france.--(proc. r. soc., .)) my doubt has been (and i see wright has inserted the same in the 'athenaeum') whether the pieces of flint are really tools; their numbers make me doubt, and when i formerly looked at boucher de perthe's drawings, i came to the conclusion that they were angular fragments broken by ice action. did crossing the acacia do any good? i am so hard worked, that i can make no experiments. i have got only to pages in first proof. adios, my dear hooker, ever yours, charles darwin. charles darwin to j. murray. down, july th [ ]. my dear sir, i write to say that five sheets are returned to the printers ready to strike off, and two more sheets require only a revise; so that i presume you will soon have to decide what number of copies to print off. i am quite incapable of forming an opinion. i think i have got the style fairly good and clear, with infinite trouble. but whether the book will be successful to a degree to satisfy you, i really cannot conjecture. i heartily hope it may. my dear sir, yours very sincerely, c. darwin. charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, august th, . my dear mr. wallace, i received your letter and memoir (this seems to refer to mr. wallace's paper, "on the zoological geography of the malay archipelago," 'linn. soc. journ,' .) on the th, and will forward it to-morrow to the linnean society. but you will be aware that there is no meeting till the beginning of november. your paper seems to me admirable in matter, style, and reasoning; and i thank you for allowing me to read it. had i read it some months ago, i should have profited by it for my forthcoming volume. but my two chapters on this subject are in type, and, though not yet corrected, i am so wearied out and weak in health, that i am fully resolved not to add one word, and merely improve the style. so you will see that my views are nearly the same with yours, and you may rely on it that not one word shall be altered owing to my having read your ideas. are you aware that mr. w. earl (probably mr. w. earle's paper, geographical soc. journal, .) published several years ago the view of distribution of animals in the malay archipelago, in relation to the depth of the sea between the islands? i was much struck with this, and have been in the habit of noting all facts in distribution in that archipelago, and elsewhere, in this relation. i have been led to conclude that there has been a good deal of naturalisation in the different malay islands, and which i have thought, to a certain extent, would account for anomalies. timor has been my greatest puzzle. what do you say to the peculiar felis there? i wish that you had visited timor; it has been asserted that a fossil mastodon's or elephant's tooth (i forget which) has been found there, which would be a grand fact. i was aware that celebes was very peculiar; but the relation to africa is quite new to me, and marvellous, and almost passes belief. it is as anomalous as the relation of plants in s.w. australia to the cape of good hope. i differ wholly from you on the colonisation of oceanic islands, but you will have every one else on your side. i quite agree with respect to all islands not situated far in the ocean. i quite agree on the little occasional intermigration between lands [islands?] when once pretty well stocked with inhabitants, but think this does not apply to rising and ill-stocked islands. are you aware that annually birds are blown to madeira, the azores (and to bermuda from america). i wish i had given a fuller abstract of my reasons for not believing in forbes' great continental extensions; but it is too late, for i will alter nothing--i am worn out, and must have rest. owen, i do not doubt, will bitterly oppose us...hooker is publishing a grand introduction to the flora of australia, and goes the whole length. i have seen proofs of about half. with every good wish. believe me, yours very sincerely, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, september st [ ]. ...i am not surprised at your finding your introduction very difficult. but do not grudge the labour, and do not say you "have burnt your fingers," and are "deep in the mud"; for i feel sure that the result will be well worth the labour. unless i am a fool, i must be a judge to some extent of the value of such general essays, and i am fully convinced that yours are the must valuable ever published. i have corrected all but the last two chapters of my book, and hope to have done revises and all in about three weeks, and then i (or we all) shall start for some months' hydropathy; my health has been very bad, and i am becoming as weak as a child, and incapable of doing anything whatever, except my three hours daily work at proof-sheets. god knows whether i shall ever be good at anything again, perhaps a long rest and hydropathy may do something. i have not had a. gray's essay, and should not feel up to criticise it, even if i had the impertinence and courage. you will believe me that i speak strictly the truth when i say that your australian essay is extremely interesting to me, rather too much so. i enjoy reading it over, and if you think my criticisms are worth anything to you, i beg you to send the sheets (if you can give me time for good days); but unless i can render you any little, however little assistance, i would rather read the essay when published. pray understand that i should be truly vexed not to read them, if you wish it for your own sake. i had a terribly long fit of sickness yesterday, which makes the world rather extra gloomy to-day, and i have an insanely strong wish to finish my accursed book, such corrections every page has required as i never saw before. it is so weariful, killing the whole afternoon, after o'clock doing nothing whatever. but i will grumble no more. so farewell, we shall meet in the winter i trust. farewell, my dear hooker, your affectionate friend, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, september nd [ ]. ...i am very glad you wish to see my clean sheets: i should have offered them, but did not know whether it would bore you; i wrote by this morning's post to murray to send them. unfortunately i have not got to the part which will interest you, i think most, and which tells most in favour of the view, viz., geological succession, geographical distribution, and especially morphology, embryology and rudimentary organs. i will see that the remaining sheets, when printed off, are sent to you. but would you like for me to send the last and perfect revises of the sheets as i correct them? if so, send me your address in a blank envelope. i hope that you will read all, whether dull (especially latter part of chapter ii.) or not, for i am convinced there is not a sentence which has not a bearing on the whole argument. you will find chapter iv. perplexing and unintelligible, without the aid of the enclosed queer diagram (the diagram illustrates descent with divergence.), of which i send an old and useless proof. i have, as murray says, corrected so heavily, as almost to have re-written it; but yet i fear it is poorly written. parts are intricate; and i do not think that even you could make them quite clear. do not, i beg, be in a hurry in committing yourself (like so many naturalists) to go a certain length and no further; for i am deeply convinced that it is absolutely necessary to go the whole vast length, or stick to the creation of each separate species; i argue this point briefly in the last chapter. remember that your verdict will probably have more influence than my book in deciding whether such views as i hold will be admitted or rejected at present; in the future i cannot doubt about their admittance, and our posterity will marvel as much about the current belief as we do about fossils shells having been thought to have been created as we now see them. but forgive me for running on about my hobby-horse... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, [september] th [ ]. my dear hooker, i corrected the last proof yesterday, and i have now my revises, index, etc., which will take me near to the end of the month. so that the neck of my work, thank god, is broken. i write now to say that i am uneasy in my conscience about hesitating to look over your proofs, but i was feeling miserably unwell and shattered when i wrote. i do not suppose i could be of hardly any use, but if i could, pray send me any proofs. i should be (and fear i was) the most ungrateful man to hesitate to do anything for you after some fifteen or more years' help from you. as soon as ever i have fairly finished i shall be off to ilkley, or some other hydropathic establishment. but i shall be some time yet, as my proofs have been so utterly obscured with corrections, that i have to correct heavily on revises. murray proposes to publish the first week in november. oh, good heavens, the relief to my head and body to banish the whole subject from my mind! i hope to god, you do not think me a brute about your proof-sheets. farewell, yours affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, september th [ ]. my dear lyell, you once gave me intense pleasure, or rather delight, by the way you were interested, in a manner i never expected, in my coral reef notions, and now you have again given me similar pleasure by the manner you have noticed my species work. (sir charles was president of the geological section at the meeting of the british association at aberdeen in . the following passage occurs in the address: "on this difficult and mysterious subject a work will very shortly appear by mr. charles darwin, the result of twenty years of observations and experiments in zoology, botany, and geology, by which he had been led to the conclusion that those powers of nature which give rise to races and permanent varieties in animals and plants, are the same as those which in much longer periods produce species, and in a still longer series of ages give rise to differences of generic rank. he appears to me to have succeeded by his investigations and reasonings in throwing a flood of light on many classes of phenomena connected with the affinities, geographical distribution, and geological succession of organic beings, for which no other hypothesis has been able, or has even attempted to account.") nothing could be more satisfactory to me, and i thank you for myself, and even more for the subject's sake, as i know well that the sentence will make many fairly consider the subject, instead of ridiculing it. although your previously felt doubts on the immutability of species, may have more influence in converting you (if you be converted) than my book; yet as i regard your verdict as far more important in my own eyes, and i believe in the eyes of the world than of any other dozen men, i am naturally very anxious about it. therefore let me beg you to keep your mind open till you receive (in perhaps a fortnight's time) my latter chapters, which are the most important of all on the favourable side. the last chapter, which sums up and balances in a mass all the arguments contra and pro, will, i think, be useful to you. i cannot too strongly express my conviction of the general truth of my doctrines, and god knows i have never shirked a difficulty. i am foolishly anxious for your verdict, not that i shall be disappointed if you are not converted; for i remember the long years it took me to come round; but i shall be most deeply delighted if you do come round, especially if i have a fair share in the conversion, i shall then feel that my career is run, and care little whether i ever am good for anything again in this life. thank you much for allowing me to put in the sentence about your grave doubt. (as to the immutability of species, 'origin,' edition i., page .) so much and too much about myself. i have read with extreme interest in the aberdeen paper about the flint tools; you have made the whole case far clearer to me; i suppose that you did not think the evidence sufficient about the glacial period. with cordial thanks for your splendid notice of my book. believe me, my dear lyell, your affectionate disciple, charles darwin. charles darwin to w.d. fox. down, september rd [ ]. my dear fox, i was very glad to get your letter a few days ago. i was wishing to hear about you, but have been in such an absorbed, slavish, overworked state, that i had not heart without compulsion to write to any one or do anything beyond my daily work. though your account of yourself is better, i cannot think it at all satisfactory, and i wish you would soon go to malvern again. my father used to believe largely in an old saying that, if a man grew thinner between fifty and sixty years of age, his chance of long life was poor, and that on the contrary it was a very good sign if he grew fatter; so that your stoutness, i look at as a very good omen. my health has been as bad as it well could be all this summer; and i have kept on my legs, only by going at short intervals to moor park; but i have been better lately, and, thank heaven, i have at last as good as done my book, having only the index and two or three revises to do. it will be published in the first week in november, and a copy shall be sent you. remember it is only an abstract (but has cost me above thirteen months to write!!), and facts and authorities are far from given in full. i shall be curious to hear what you think of it, but i am not so silly as to expect to convert you. lyell has read about half of the volume in clean sheets, and gives me very great kudos. he is wavering so much about the immutability of species, that i expect he will come round. hooker has come round, and will publish his belief soon. so much for my abominable volume, which has cost me so much labour that i almost hate it. on october rd i start for ilkley, but shall take three days for the journey! it is so late that we shall not take a house; but i go there alone for three or four weeks, then return home for a week and go to moor park for three or four weeks, and then i shall get a moderate spell of hydropathy: and i intend, if i can keep to my resolution, of being idle this winter. but i fear ennui will be as bad as a bad stomach... charles darwin to c. lyell. down, september th [ ]. my dear lyell, i send by this post four corrected sheets. i have altered the sentence about the eocene fauna being beaten by recent, thanks to your remark. but i imagined that it would have been clear that i supposed the climate to be nearly similar; you do not doubt, i imagine, that the climate of the eocene and recent periods in different parts of the world could be matched. not that i think climate nearly so important as most naturalists seem to think. in my opinion no error is more mischievous than this. i was very glad to find that hooker, who read over, in ms., my geographical chapters, quite agreed in the view of the greater importance of organic relations. i should like you to consider page and reflect on the case of any organism in the midst of its range. i shall be curious hereafter to hear what you think of distribution during the glacial and preceding warmer periods. i am so glad you do not think the chapter on the imperfection of the geological record exaggerated; i was more fearful about this chapter than about any part. embryology in chapter viii. is one of my strongest points i think. but i must not bore you by running on. my mind is so wearisomely full of the subject. i do thank you for your eulogy at aberdeen. i have been so wearied and exhausted of late that i have for months doubted whether i have not been throwing away time and labour for nothing. but now i care not what the universal world says; i have always found you right, and certainly on this occasion i am not going to doubt for the first time. whether you go far, or but a very short way with me and others who believe as i do, i am contented, for my work cannot be in vain. you would laugh if you knew how often i have read your paragraph, and it has acted like a little dram... farewell, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, september th [ ]. my dear lyell, i sent off this morning the last sheets, but without index, which is not in type. i look at you as my lord high chancellor in natural science, and therefore i request you, after you have finished, just to rerun over the heads in the recapitulation-part of last chapter. i shall be deeply anxious to hear what you decide (if you are able to decide) on the balance of the pros and contras given in my volume, and of such other pros and contras as may occur to you. i hope that you will think that i have given the difficulties fairly. i feel an entire conviction that if you are now staggered to any moderate extent, that you will come more and more round, the longer you keep the subject at all before your mind. i remember well how many long years it was before i could look into the faces of some of the difficulties and not feel quite abashed. i fairly struck my colours before the case of neuter insects. i suppose that i am a very slow thinker, for you would be surprised at the number of years it took me to see clearly what some of the problems were which had to be solved, such as the necessity of the principle of divergence of character, the extinction of intermediate varieties, on a continuous area, with graduated conditions; the double problem of sterile first crosses and sterile hybrids, etc., etc. looking back, i think it was more difficult to see what the problems were than to solve them, so far as i have succeeded in doing, and this seems to me rather curious. well, good or bad, my work, thank god, is over; and hard work, i can assure you, i have had, and much work which has never borne fruit. you can see, by the way i am scribbling, that i have an idle and rainy afternoon. i was not able to start for ilkley yesterday as i was too unwell; but i hope to get there on tuesday or wednesday. do, i beg you, when you have finished my book and thought a little over it, let me hear from you. never mind and pitch into me, if you think it requisite; some future day, in london possibly, you may give me a few criticisms in detail, that is, if you have scribbled any remarks on the margin, for the chance of a second edition. murray has printed copies, which seems to me rather too large an edition, but i hope he will not lose. i make as much fuss about my book as if it were my first. forgive me, and believe me, my dear lyell, yours most sincerely, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. ilkley, yorkshire, october th [ ]. my dear hooker, be a good man and screw out time enough to write me a note and tell me a little about yourself, your doings, and belongings. is your introduction fairly finished? i know you will abuse it, and i know well how much i shall like it. i have been here nearly a fortnight, and it has done me very much good, though i sprained my ankle last sunday, which has quite stopped walking. all my family come here on monday to stop three or four weeks, and then i shall go back to the great establishment, and stay a fortnight; so that if i can keep my spirits, i shall stay eight weeks here, and thus give hydropathy a fair chance. before starting here i was in an awful state of stomach, strength, temper, and spirits. my book has been completely finished some little time; as soon as copies are ready, of course one will be sent you. i hope you will mark your copy with scores, so that i may profit by any criticisms. i should like to hear your general impression. from lyell's letters, he thinks favourably of it, but seems staggered by the lengths to which i go. but if you go any considerable length in the admission of modification, i can see no possible means of drawing the line, and saying here you must stop. lyell is going to reread my book, and i yet entertain hopes that he will be converted, or perverted, as he calls it. lyell has been extremely kind in writing me three volume-like letters; but he says nothing about dispersal during the glacial period. i should like to know what he thinks on this head. i have one question to ask: would it be any good to send a copy of my book to decaisne? and do you know any philosophical botanists on the continent, who read english and care for such subjects? if so, give their addresses. how about andersson in sweden? you cannot think how refreshing it is to idle away the whole day, and hardly ever think in the least about my confounded book which half-killed me. i much wish i could hear of your taking a real rest. i know how very strong you are, mentally, but i never will believe you can go on working as you have worked of late with impunity. you will some day stretch the string too tight. farewell, my good, and kind, and dear friend, yours affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to t.h. huxley. ilkley, otley, yorkshire, october th [ ]. my dear huxley, i am here hydropathising and coming to life again, after having finished my accursed book, which would have been easy work to any one else, but half-killed me. i have thought you would give me one bit of information, and i know not to whom else to apply; viz., the addresses of barrande, von siebold, keyserling (i dare say sir roderick would know the latter). can you tell me of any good and speculative foreigners to whom it would be worth while to send copies of my book, on the 'origin of species'? i doubt whether it is worth sending to siebold. i should like to send a few copies about, but how many i can afford i know not yet till i hear what price murray affixes. i need not say that i will send, of course, one to you, in the first week of november. i hope to send copies abroad immediately. i shall be intensely curious to hear what effect the book produces on you. i know that there will be much in it which you will object to, and i do not doubt many errors. i am very far from expecting to convert you to many of my heresies; but if, on the whole, you and two or three others think i am on the right road, i shall not care what the mob of naturalists think. the penultimate chapter (chapter xiii. is on classification, morphology, embryology, and rudimentary organs.), though i believe it includes the truth, will, i much fear, make you savage. do not act and say, like macleay versus fleming, "i write with aqua fortis to bite into brass." ever yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. ilkley, yorkshire, october th [ ]. my dear lyell, i have been reading over all your letters consecutively, and i do not feel that i have thanked you half enough for the extreme pleasure which they have given me, and for their utility. i see in them evidence of fluctuation in the degree of credence you give to the theory; nor am i at all surprised at this, for many and many fluctuations i have undergone. there is one point in your letter which i did not notice, about the animals (and many plants) naturalised in australia, which you think could not endure without man's aid. i cannot see how man does aid the feral cattle. but, letting that pass, you seem to think, that because they suffer prodigious destruction during droughts, that they would all be destroyed. in the "gran secos" of la plata, the indigenous animals, such as the american deer, die by thousands, and suffer apparently as much as the cattle. in parts of india, after a drought, it takes ten or more years before the indigenous mammals get up to their full number again. your argument would, i think, apply to the aborigines as well as to the feral. an animal or plant which becomes feral in one small territory might be destroyed by climate, but i can hardly believe so, when once feral over several large territories. again, i feel inclined to swear at climate: do not think me impudent for attacking you about climate. you say you doubt whether man could have existed under the eocene climate, but man can now withstand the climate of esquimaux-land and west equatorial africa; and surely you do not think the eocene climate differed from the present throughout all europe, as much as the arctic regions differ from equatorial africa? with respect to organisms being created on the american type in america, it might, i think, be said that they were so created to prevent them being too well created, so as to beat the aborigines; but this seems to me, somehow, a monstrous doctrine. i have reflected a good deal on what you say on the necessity of continued intervention of creative power. i cannot see this necessity; and its admission, i think, would make the theory of natural selection valueless. grant a simple archetypal creature, like the mud-fish or lepidosiren, with the five senses and some vestige of mind, and i believe natural selection will account for the production of every vertebrate animal. farewell; forgive me for indulging in this prose, and believe me, with cordial thanks, your ever attached disciple, c. darwin. p.s.--when, and if, you reread, i supplicate you to write on the margin the word "expand," when too condensed, or "not clear." or "?." such marks would cost you little trouble, and i could copy them and reflect on them, and their value would be infinite to me. my larger book will have to be wholly re-written, and not merely the present volume expanded; so that i want to waste as little time over this volume as possible, if another edition be called for; but i fear the subject will be too perplexing, as i have treated it, for general public. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. ilkley, yorkshire, sunday [october rd, ]. my dear hooker, i congratulate you on your 'introduction' ("australian flora".) being in fact finished. i am sure from what i read of it (and deeply i shall be interested in reading it straight through), that it must have cost you a prodigious amount of labour and thought. i shall like very much to see the sheet, which you wish me to look at. now i am so completely a gentleman, that i have sometimes a little difficulty to pass the day; but it is astonishing how idle a three weeks i have passed. if it is any comfort to you, pray delude yourself by saying that you intend "sticking to humdrum science." but i believe it just as much as if a plant were to say that, "i have been growing all my life, and, by jove, i will stop growing." you cannot help yourself; you are not clever enough for that. you could not even remain idle, as i have done, for three weeks! what you say about lyell pleases me exceedingly; i had not at all inferred from his letters that he had come so much round. i remember thinking, above a year ago, that if ever i lived to see lyell, yourself, and huxley come round, partly by my book, and partly by their own reflections, i should feel that the subject is safe, and all the world might rail, but that ultimately the theory of natural selection (though, no doubt, imperfect in its present condition, and embracing many errors) would prevail. nothing will ever convince me that three such men, with so much diversified knowledge, and so well accustomed to search for truth, could err greatly. i have spoken of you here as a convert made by me; but i know well how much larger the share has been of your own self-thought. i am intensely curious to hear huxley's opinion of my book. i fear my long discussion on classification will disgust him; for it is much opposed to what he once said to me. but, how i am running on. you see how idle i am; but i have so enjoyed your letter that you must forgive me. with respect to migration during the glacial period: i think lyell quite comprehends, for he has given me a supporting fact. but, perhaps, he unconsciously hates (do not say so to him) the view as slightly staggering him on his favourite theory of all changes of climate being due to changes in the relative position of land and water. i will send copies of my book to all the men specified by you;... you would be so kind as to add title, as doctor, or professor, or monsieur, or von, and initials (when wanted), and addresses to the names on the enclosed list, and let me have it pretty soon, as towards the close of this week murray says the copies to go abroad will be ready. i am anxious to get my view generally known, and not, i hope and think, for mere personal conceit... charles darwin to c. lyell. ilkley, yorkshire, october th [ ]. ...our difference on "principle of improvement" and "power of adaptation" is too profound for discussion by letter. if i am wrong, i am quite blind to my error. if i am right, our difference will be got over only by your re-reading carefully and reflecting on my first four chapters. i supplicate you to read these again carefully. the so-called improvement of our shorthorn cattle, pigeons, etc., does not presuppose or require any aboriginal "power of adaptation," or "principle of improvement;" it requires only diversified variability, and man to select or take advantage of those modifications which are useful to him; so under nature any slight modification which chances to arise, and is useful to any creature, is selected or preserved in the struggle for life; any modification which is injurious is destroyed or rejected; any which is neither useful nor injurious will be left a fluctuating element. when you contrast natural selection and "improvement," you seem always to overlook (for i do not see how you can deny) that every step in the natural selection of each species implies improvement in that species in relation to its conditions of life. no modification can be selected without it be an improvement or advantage. improvement implies, i suppose, each form obtaining many parts or organs, all excellently adapted for their functions. as each species is improved, and as the number of forms will have increased, if we look to the whole course of time, the organic condition of life for other forms will become more complex, and there will be a necessity for other forms to become improved, or they will be exterminated; and i can see no limit to this process of improvement, without the intervention of any other and direct principle of improvement. all this seems to me quite compatible with certain forms fitted for simple conditions, remaining unaltered, or being degraded. if i have a second edition, i will reiterate "natural selection," and, as a general consequence, "natural improvement." as you go, as far as you do, i begin strongly to think, judging from myself, that you will go much further. how slowly the older geologists admitted your grand views on existing geological causes of change! if at any time you think i can answer any question, it is a real pleasure to me to write. yours affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to j. murray. ilkley, yorkshire [ ]. my dear sir, i have received your kind note and the copy; i am infinitely pleased and proud at the appearance of my child. i quite agree to all you propose about price. but you are really too generous about the, to me, scandalously heavy corrections. are you not acting unfairly towards yourself? would it not be better at least to share the pounds shillings? i shall be fully satisfied, for i had no business to send, though quite unintentionally and unexpectedly, such badly composed ms. to the printers. thank you for your kind offer to distribute the copies to my friends and assistors as soon as possible. do not trouble yourself much about the foreigners, as messrs. williams and norgate have most kindly offered to do their best, and they are accustomed to send to all parts of the world. i will pay for my copies whenever you like. i am so glad that you were so good as to undertake the publication of my book. my dear sir, yours very sincerely, charles darwin. p.s.--please do not forget to let me hear about two days before the copies are distributed. i do not know when i shall leave this place, certainly not for several weeks. whenever i am in london i will call on you. chapter .xiv. -- by professor huxley. on the reception of the 'origin of species.' to the present generation, that is to say, the people a few years on the hither and thither side of thirty, the name of charles darwin stands alongside of those of isaac newton and michael faraday; and, like them, calls up the grand ideal of a searcher after truth and interpreter of nature. they think of him who bore it as a rare combination of genius, industry, and unswerving veracity, who earned his place among the most famous men of the age by sheer native power, in the teeth of a gale of popular prejudice, and uncheered by a sign of favour or appreciation from the official fountains of honour; as one who in spite of an acute sensitiveness to praise and blame, and notwithstanding provocations which might have excused any outbreak, kept himself clear of all envy, hatred, and malice, nor dealt otherwise than fairly and justly with the unfairness and injustice which was showered upon him; while, to the end of his days, he was ready to listen with patience and respect to the most insignificant of reasonable objectors. and with respect to that theory of the origin of the forms of life peopling our globe, with which darwin's name is bound up as closely as that of newton with the theory of gravitation, nothing seems to be further from the mind of the present generation than any attempt to smother it with ridicule or to crush it by vehemence of denunciation. "the struggle for existence," and "natural selection," have become household words and every-day conceptions. the reality and the importance of the natural processes on which darwin founds his deductions are no more doubted than those of growth and multiplication; and, whether the full potency attributed to them is admitted or not, no one doubts their vast and far-reaching significance. wherever the biological sciences are studied, the 'origin of species' lights the paths of the investigator; wherever they are taught it permeates the course of instruction. nor has the influence of darwinian ideas been less profound, beyond the realms of biology. the oldest of all philosophies, that of evolution, was bound hand and foot and cast into utter darkness during the millennium of theological scholasticism. but darwin poured new life-blood into the ancient frame; the bonds burst, and the revivified thought of ancient greece has proved itself to be a more adequate expression of the universal order of things than any of the schemes which have been accepted by the credulity and welcomed by the superstition of seventy later generations of men. to any one who studies the signs of the times, the emergence of the philosophy of evolution, in the attitude of claimant to the throne of the world of thought, from the limbo of hated and, as many hoped, forgotten things, is the most portentous event of the nineteenth century. but the most effective weapons of the modern champions of evolution were fabricated by darwin; and the 'origin of species' has enlisted a formidable body of combatants, trained in the severe school of physical science, whose ears might have long remained deaf to the speculations of a priori philosophers. i do not think any candid or instructed person will deny the truth of that which has just been asserted. he may hate the very name of evolution, and may deny its pretensions as vehemently as a jacobite denied those of george the second. but there it is--not only as solidly seated as the hanoverian dynasty, but happily independent of parliamentary sanction--and the dullest antagonists have come to see that they have to deal with an adversary whose bones are to be broken by no amount of bad words. even the theologians have almost ceased to pit the plain meaning of genesis against the no less plain meaning of nature. their more candid, or more cautious, representatives have given up dealing with evolution as if it were a damnable heresy, and have taken refuge in one of two courses. either they deny that genesis was meant to teach scientific truth, and thus save the veracity of the record at the expense of its authority; or they expend their energies in devising the cruel ingenuities of the reconciler, and torture texts in the vain hope of making them confess the creed of science. but when the peine forte et dure is over, the antique sincerity of the venerable sufferer always reasserts itself. genesis is honest to the core, and professes to be no more than it is, a repository of venerable traditions of unknown origin, claiming no scientific authority and possessing none. as my pen finishes these passages, i can but be amused to think what a terrible hubbub would have been made (in truth was made) about any similar expressions of opinion a quarter of a century ago. in fact, the contrast between the present condition of public opinion upon the darwinian question; between the estimation in which darwin's views are now held in the scientific world; between the acquiescence, or at least quiescence, of the theologians of the self-respecting order at the present day and the outburst of antagonism on all sides in - , when the new theory respecting the origin of species first became known to the older generation to which i belong, is so startling that, except for documentary evidence, i should be sometimes inclined to think my memories dreams. i have a great respect for the younger generation myself (they can write our lives, and ravel out all our follies, if they choose to take the trouble, by and by), and i should be glad to be assured that the feeling is reciprocal; but i am afraid that the story of our dealings with darwin may prove a great hindrance to that veneration for our wisdom which i should like them to display. we have not even the excuse that, thirty years ago, mr. darwin was an obscure novice, who had no claims on our attention. on the contrary, his remarkable zoological and geological investigations had long given him an assured position among the most eminent and original investigators of the day; while his charming 'voyage of a naturalist' had justly earned him a wide-spread reputation among the general public. i doubt if there was any man then living who had a better right to expect that anything he might choose to say on such a question as the origin of species would be listened to with profound attention, and discussed with respect; and there was certainly no man whose personal character should have afforded a better safeguard against attacks, instinct with malignity and spiced with shameless impertinences. yet such was the portion of one of the kindest and truest men that it was ever my good fortune to know; and years had to pass away before misrepresentation, ridicule, and denunciation, ceased to be the most notable constituents of the majority of the multitudinous criticisms of his work which poured from the press. i am loth to rake any of these ancient scandals from their well-deserved oblivion; but i must make good a statement which may seem overcharged to the present generation, and there is no piece justificative more apt for the purpose, or more worthy of such dishonour, than the article in the 'quarterly review' for july, . (i was not aware when i wrote these passages that the authorship of the article had been publicly acknowledged. confession unaccompanied by penitence, however, affords no ground for mitigation of judgment; and the kindliness with which mr. darwin speaks of his assailant, bishop wilberforce (vol. ii.), is so striking an exemplification of his singular gentleness and modesty, that it rather increases one's indignation against the presumption of his critic.) since lord brougham assailed dr. young, the world has seen no such specimen of the insolence of a shallow pretender to a master in science as this remarkable production, in which one of the most exact of observers, most cautious of reasoners, and most candid of expositors, of this or any other age, is held up to scorn as a "flighty" person, who endeavours "to prop up his utterly rotten fabric of guess and speculation," and whose "mode of dealing with nature" is reprobated as "utterly dishonourable to natural science." and all this high and mighty talk, which would have been indecent in one of mr. darwin's equals, proceeds from a writer whose want of intelligence, or of conscience, or of both, is so great, that, by way of an objection to mr. darwin's views, he can ask, "is it credible that all favourable varieties of turnips are tending to become men;" who is so ignorant of paleontology, that he can talk of the "flowers and fruits" of the plants of the carboniferous epoch; of comparative anatomy, that he can gravely affirm the poison apparatus of the venomous snakes to be "entirely separate from the ordinary laws of animal life, and peculiar to themselves;" of the rudiments of physiology, that he can ask, "what advantage of life could alter the shape of the corpuscles into which the blood can be evaporated?" nor does the reviewer fail to flavour this outpouring of preposterous incapacity with a little stimulation of the odium theologicum. some inkling of the history of the conflicts between astronomy, geology, and theology, leads him to keep a retreat open by the proviso that he cannot "consent to test the truth of natural science by the word of revelation;" but, for all that, he devotes pages to the exposition of his conviction that mr. darwin's theory "contradicts the revealed relation of the creation to its creator," and is "inconsistent with the fulness of his glory." if i confine my retrospect of the reception of the 'origin of species' to a twelvemonth, or thereabouts, from the time of its publication, i do not recollect anything quite so foolish and unmannerly as the 'quarterly review' article, unless, perhaps, the address of a reverend professor to the dublin geological society might enter into competition with it. but a large proportion of mr. darwin's critics had a lamentable resemblance to the 'quarterly' reviewer, in so far as they lacked either the will, or the wit, to make themselves masters of his doctrine; hardly any possessed the knowledge required to follow him through the immense range of biological and geological science which the 'origin' covered; while, too commonly, they had prejudiced the case on theological grounds, and, as seems to be inevitable when this happens, eked out lack of reason by superfluity of railing. but it will be more pleasant and more profitable to consider those criticisms, which were acknowledged by writers of scientific authority, or which bore internal evidence of the greater or less competency and, often, of the good faith, of their authors. restricting my survey to a twelvemonth, or thereabouts, after the publication of the 'origin,' i find among such critics louis agassiz ("the arguments presented by darwin in favor of a universal derivation from one primary form of all the peculiarities existing now among living beings have not made the slightest impression on my mind.") "until the facts of nature are shown to have been mistaken by those who have collected them, and that they have a different meaning from that now generally assigned to them, i shall therefore consider the transmutation theory as a scientific mistake, untrue in its facts, unscientific in its method, and mischievous in its tendency."--silliman's 'journal,' july, , pages , . extract from the rd volume of 'contributions to the natural history of the united states.'); murray, an excellent entomologist; harvey, a botanist of considerable repute; and the author of an article in the 'edinburgh review,' all strongly adverse to darwin. pictet, the distinguished and widely learned paleontogist of geneva, treats mr. darwin with a respect which forms a grateful contrast to the tone of some of the preceding writers, but consents to go with him only a very little way. ("i see no serious objections to the formation of varieties by natural selection in the existing world, and that, so far as earlier epochs are concerned, this law may be assumed to explain the origin of closely allied species, supposing for this purpose a very long period of time." "with regard to simple varieties and closely allied species, i believe that mr. darwin's theory may explain many things, and throw a great light upon numerous questions."--'sur l'origine de l'espece. par charles darwin.' ('archives des sc. de la bibliotheque universelle de geneve,' pages , , mars .) on the other hand, lyell, up to that time a pillar of the anti-transmutationists (who regarded him, ever afterwards, as pallas athene may have looked at dian, after the endymion affair), declared himself a darwinian, though not without putting in a serious caveat. nevertheless, he was a tower of strength, and his courageous stand for truth as against consistency, did him infinite honour. as evolutionists, sans phrase, i do not call to mind among the biologists more than asa gray, who fought the battle splendidly in the united states; hooker, who was no less vigorous here; the present sir john lubbock and myself. wallace was far away in the malay archipelago; but, apart from his direct share in the promulgation of the theory of natural selection, no enumeration of the influences at work, at the time i am speaking of, would be complete without the mention of his powerful essay 'on the law which has regulated the introduction of new species,' which was published in . on reading it afresh, i have been astonished to recollect how small was the impression it made. in france, the influence of elie de beaumont and of flourens--the former of whom is said to have "damned himself to everlasting fame" by inventing the nickname of "la science moussante" for evolutionism (one is reminded of the effect of another small academic epigram. the so-called vertebral theory of the skull is said to have been nipped in the bud in france by the whisper of an academician to his neighbour, that, in that case, one's head was a "vertebre pensante."),--to say nothing of the ill-will of other powerful members of the institut, produced for a long time the effect of a conspiracy of silence; and many years passed before the academy redeemed itself from the reproach that the name of darwin was not to be found on the list of its members. however, an accomplished writer, out of the range of academical influences, m. laugel, gave an excellent and appreciative notice of the 'origin' in the 'revue des deux mondes.' germany took time to consider; bronn produced a slightly bowdlerized translation of the 'origin'; and 'kladderadatsch' cut his jokes upon the ape origin of man; but i do not call to mind that any scientific notability declared himself publicly in . (however, the man who stands next to darwin in his influence on modern biologists, k.e. von baer, wrote to me, in august , expressing his general assent to evolutionist views. his phrase, "j'ai enonce les memes idees...que m. darwin" (volume ii.) is shown by his subsequent writings to mean no more than this.) none of us dreamed that, in the course of a few years, the strength (and perhaps i may add the weakness) of "darwinismus" would have its most extensive and most brilliant illustrations in the land of learning. if a foreigner may presume to speculate on the cause of this curious interval of silence, i fancy it was that one moiety of the german biologists were orthodox at any price, and the other moiety as distinctly heterodox. the latter were evolutionists, a priori, already, and they must have felt the disgust natural to deductive philosophers at being offered an inductive and experimental foundation for a conviction which they had reached by a shorter cut. it is undoubtedly trying to learn that, though your conclusions may be all right, your reasons for them are all wrong, or, at any rate, insufficient. on the whole, then, the supporters of mr. darwin's views in were numerically extremely insignificant. there is not the slightest doubt that, if a general council of the church scientific had been held at that time, we should have been condemned by an overwhelming majority. and there is as little doubt that, if such a council gathered now, the decree would be of an exactly contrary nature. it would indicate a lack of sense, as well as of modesty, to ascribe to the men of that generation less capacity or less honesty than their successors possess. what, then, are the causes which led instructed and fair-judging men of that day to arrive at a judgment so different from that which seems just and fair to those who follow them? that is really one of the most interesting of all questions connected with the history of science, and i shall try to answer it. i am afraid that in order to do so i must run the risk of appearing egotistical. however, if i tell my own story it is only because i know it better than that of other people. i think i must have read the 'vestiges' before i left england in ; but, if i did, the book made very little impression upon me, and i was not brought into serious contact with the 'species' question until after . at that time, i had long done with the pentateuchal cosmogony, which had been impressed upon my childish understanding as divine truth, with all the authority of parents and instructors, and from which it had cost me many a struggle to get free. but my mind was unbiassed in respect of any doctrine which presented itself, if it professed to be based on purely philosophical and scientific reasoning. it seemed to me then (as it does now) that "creation," in the ordinary sense of the word, is perfectly conceivable. i find no difficulty in imagining that, at some former period, this universe was not in existence; and that it made its appearance in six days (or instantaneously, if that is preferred), in consequence of the volition of some pre-existent being. then, as now, the so-called a priori arguments against theism; and, given a deity, against the possibility of creative acts, appeared to me to be devoid of reasonable foundation. i had not then, and i have not now, the smallest a priori objection to raise to the account of the creation of animals and plants given in 'paradise lost,' in which milton so vividly embodies the natural sense of genesis. far be it from me to say that it is untrue because it is impossible. i confine myself to what must be regarded as a modest and reasonable request for some particle of evidence that the existing species of animals and plants did originate in that way, as a condition of my belief in a statement which appears to me to be highly improbable. and, by way of being perfectly fair, i had exactly the same answer to give to the evolutionists of - . within the ranks of the biologists, at that time, i met with nobody, except dr. grant, of university college, who had a word to say for evolution--and his advocacy was not calculated to advance the cause. outside these ranks, the only person known to me whose knowledge and capacity compelled respect, and who was, at the same time, a thorough-going evolutionist, was mr. herbert spencer, whose acquaintance i made, i think, in , and then entered into the bonds of a friendship which, i am happy to think, has known no interruption. many and prolonged were the battles we fought on this topic. but even my friend's rare dialectic skill and copiousness of apt illustration could not drive me from my agnostic position. i took my stand upon two grounds: firstly, that up to that time, the evidence in favour of transmutation was wholly insufficient; and secondly, that no suggestion respecting the causes of the transmutation assumed, which had been made, was in any way adequate to explain the phenomena. looking back at the state of knowledge at that time, i really do not see that any other conclusion was justifiable. in those days i had never even heard of treviranus' 'biologie.' however, i had studied lamarck attentively and i had read the 'vestiges' with due care; but neither of them afforded me any good ground for changing my negative and critical attitude. as for the 'vestiges,' i confess that the book simply irritated me by the prodigious ignorance and thoroughly unscientific habit of mind manifested by the writer. if it had any influence on me at all, it set me against evolution; and the only review i ever have qualms of conscience about, on the ground of needless savagery, is one i wrote on the 'vestiges' while under that influence. with respect to the 'philosophie zoologique,' it is no reproach to lamarck to say that the discussion of the species question in that work, whatever might be said for it in , was miserably below the level of the knowledge of half a century later. in that interval of time the elucidation of the structure of the lower animals and plants had given rise to wholly new conceptions of their relations; histology and embryology, in the modern sense, had been created; physiology had been reconstituted; the facts of distribution, geological and geographical, had been prodigiously multiplied and reduced to order. to any biologist whose studies had carried him beyond mere species-mongering in , one-half of lamarck's arguments were obsolete and the other half erroneous, or defective, in virtue of omitting to deal with the various classes of evidence which had been brought to light since his time. moreover his one suggestion as to the cause of the gradual modification of species--effort excited by change of conditions--was, on the face of it, inapplicable to the whole vegetable world. i do not think that any impartial judge who reads the 'philosophie zoologique' now, and who afterwards takes up lyell's trenchant and effectual criticism (published as far back as ), will be disposed to allot to lamarck a much higher place in the establishment of biological evolution than that which bacon assigns to himself in relation to physical science generally,--buccinator tantum. (erasmus darwin first promulgated lamarck's fundamental conceptions, and, with greater logical consistency, he had applied them to plants. but the advocates of his claims have failed to show that he, in any respect, anticipated the central idea of the 'origin of species.') but, by a curious irony of fate, the same influence which led me to put as little faith in modern speculations on this subject, as in the venerable traditions recorded in the first two chapters of genesis, was perhaps more potent than any other in keeping alive a sort of pious conviction that evolution, after all, would turn out true. i have recently read afresh the first edition of the 'principles of geology'; and when i consider that this remarkable book had been nearly thirty years in everybody's hands, and that it brings home to any reader of ordinary intelligence a great principle and a great fact--the principle, that the past must be explained by the present, unless good cause be shown to the contrary; and the fact, that, so far as our knowledge of the past history of life on our globe goes, no such cause can be shown (the same principle and the same fact guide the result from all sound historical investigation. grote's 'history of greece' is a product of the same intellectual movement as lyell's 'principles.')--i cannot but believe that lyell, for others, as for myself, was the chief agent for smoothing the road for darwin. for consistent uniformitarianism postulates evolution as much in the organic as in the inorganic world. the origin of a new species by other than ordinary agencies would be a vastly greater "catastrophe" than any of those which lyell successfully eliminated from sober geological speculation. in fact, no one was better aware of this than lyell himself. (lyell, with perfect right, claims this position for himself. he speaks of having "advocated a law of continuity even in the organic world, so far as possible without adopting lamarck's theory of transmutation"...) "but while i taught that as often as certain forms of animals and plants disappeared, for reasons quite intelligible to us, others took their place by virtue of a causation which was beyond our comprehension; it remained for darwin to accumulate proof that there is no break between the incoming and the outgoing species, that they are the work of evolution, and not of special creation... "i had certainly prepared the way in this country, in six editions of my work before the 'vestiges of creation' appeared in [ ], for the reception of darwin's gradual and insensible evolution of species."--('life and letters,' letter to haeckel, volume ii. page . november , .) if one reads any of the earlier editions of the 'principles' carefully (especially by the light of the interesting series of letters recently published by sir charles lyell's biographer), it is easy to see that, with all his energetic opposition to lamarck, on the one hand, and to the ideal quasi-progressionism of agassiz, on the other, lyell, in his own mind, was strongly disposed to account for the origination of all past and present species of living things by natural causes. but he would have liked, at the same time, to keep the name of creation for a natural process which he imagined to be incomprehensible. in a letter addressed to mantell (dated march , ), lyell speaks of having just read lamarck; he expresses his delight at lamarck's theories, and his personal freedom from any objection based on theological grounds. and though he is evidently alarmed at the pithecoid origin of man involved in lamarck's doctrine, he observes:-- "but, after all, what changes species may really undergo! how impossible will it be to distinguish and lay down a line, beyond which some of the so-called extinct species have never passed into recent ones." again, the following remarkable passage occurs in the postscript of a letter addressed to sir john herschel in :-- "in regard to the origination of new species, i am very glad to find that you think it probable that it may be carried on through the intervention of intermediate causes. i left this rather to be inferred, not thinking it worth while to offend a certain class of persons by embodying in words what would only be a speculation." (in the same sense, see the letter to whewell, march , , volume ii., page ):-- "in regard to this last subject [the changes from one set of animal and vegetable species to another]...you remember what herschel said in his letter to me. if i had stated as plainly as he has done the possibility of the introduction or origination of fresh species being a natural, in contradistinction to a miraculous process, i should have raised a host of prejudices against me, which are unfortunately opposed at every step to any philosopher who attempts to address the public on these mysterious subjects." see also letter to sedgwick, january , ii. page .) he goes on to refer to the criticisms which have been directed against him on the ground that, by leaving species to be originated by miracle, he is inconsistent with his own doctrine of uniformitarianism; and he leaves it to be understood that he had not replied, on the ground of his general objection to controversy. lyell's contemporaries were not without some inkling of his esoteric doctrine. whewell's 'history of the inductive sciences,' whatever its philosophical value, is always worth reading and always interesting, if under no other aspect than that of an evidence of the speculative limits within which a highly-placed divine might, at that time, safely range at will. in the course of his discussion of uniformitarianism, the encyclopaedic master of trinity observes:-- "mr. lyell, indeed, has spoken of an hypothesis that 'the successive creation of species may constitute a regular part of the economy of nature,' but he has nowhere, i think, so described this process as to make it appear in what department of science we are to place the hypothesis. are these new species created by the production, at long intervals, of an offspring different in species from the parents? or are the species so created produced without parents? are they gradually evolved from some embryo substance? or do they suddenly start from the ground, as in the creation of the poet?... "some selection of one of these forms of the hypothesis, rather than the others, with evidence for the selection, is requisite to entitle us to place it among the known causes of change, which in this chapter we are considering. the bare conviction that a creation of species has taken place, whether once or many times, so long as it is unconnected with our organical sciences, is a tenet of natural theology rather than of physical philosophy." (whewell's 'history,' volume iii. page - (edition , .)) the earlier part of this criticism appears perfectly just and appropriate; but, from the concluding paragraph, whewell evidently imagines that by "creation" lyell means a preternatural intervention of the deity; whereas the letter to herschel shows that, in his own mind, lyell meant natural causation; and i see no reason to doubt (the following passages in lyell's letters appear to me decisive on this point):-- to darwin, october , (ii, ), on first reading the 'origin.' "i have long seen most clearly that if any concession is made, all that you claim in your concluding pages will follow. "it is this which has made me so long hesitate, always feeling that the case of man and his races, and of other animals, and that of plants, is one and the same, and that if a vera causa be admitted for one instant, [instead] of a purely unknown and imaginary one, such as the word 'creation,' all the consequences must follow." to darwin, march , (volume ii. page ). "i remember that it was the conclusion he [lamarck] came to about man that fortified me thirty years ago against the great impression which his arguments at first made on my mind, all the greater because constant prevost, a pupil of cuvier's forty years ago, told me his conviction 'that cuvier thought species not real, but that science could not advance without assuming that they were so.'" to hooker, march , (volume ii. page ), in reference to darwin's feeling about the 'antiquity of man.' "he [darwin] seems much disappointed that i do not go farther with him, or do not speak out more. i can only say that i have spoken out to the full extent of my present convictions, and even beyond my state of feeling as to man's unbroken descent from the brutes, and i find i am half converting not a few who were in arms against darwin, and are even now against huxley." he speaks of having had to abandon "old and long cherished ideas, which constituted the charm to me of the theoretical part of the science in my earlier day, when i believed with pascal in the theory, as hallam terms it, of 'the arch-angel ruined.'" see the same sentiment in the letter to darwin, march , , page :-- "i think the old 'creation' is almost as much required as ever, but of course it takes a new form if lamarck's views improved by yours are adopted." that, if sir charles could have avoided the inevitable corollary of the pithecoid origin of man--for which, to the end of his life, he entertained a profound antipathy--he would have advocated the efficiency of causes now in operation to bring about the condition of the organic world, as stoutly as he championed that doctrine in reference to inorganic nature. the fact is, that a discerning eye might have seen that some form or other of the doctrine of transmutation was inevitable, from the time when the truth enunciated by william smith that successive strata are characterised by different kinds of fossil remains, became a firmly established law of nature. no one has set forth the speculative consequences of this generalisation better than the historian of the 'inductive sciences':-- "but the study of geology opens to us the spectacle of many groups of species which have, in the course of the earth's history, succeeded each other at vast intervals of time; one set of animals and plants disappearing, as it would seem, from the face of our planet, and others, which did not before exist, becoming the only occupants of the globe. and the dilemma then presents itself to us anew:--either we must accept the doctrine of the transmutation of species, and must suppose that the organized species of one geological epoch were transmuted into those of another by some long-continued agency of natural causes; or else, we must believe in many successive acts of creation and extinction of species, out of the common course of nature; acts which, therefore, we may properly call miraculous." (whewell's 'history of the inductive sciences.' edition ii., , volume iii. pages - . see for the author's verdict, pages - .) dr. whewell decides in favour of the latter conclusion. and if any one had plied him with the four questions which he puts to lyell in the passage already cited, all that can be said now is that he would certainly have rejected the first. but would he really have had the courage to say that a rhinoceros tichorhinus, for instance, "was produced without parents;" or was "evolved from some embryo substance;" or that it suddenly started from the ground like milton's lion "pawing to get free his hinder parts." i permit myself to doubt whether even the master of trinity's well-tried courage--physical, intellectual, and moral--would have been equal to this feat. no doubt the sudden concurrence of half-a-ton of inorganic molecules into a live rhinoceros is conceivable, and therefore may be possible. but does such an event lie sufficiently within the bounds of probability to justify the belief in its occurrence on the strength of any attainable, or, indeed, imaginable, evidence? in view of the assertion (often repeated in the early days of the opposition to darwin) that he had added nothing to lamarck, it is very interesting to observe that the possibility of a fifth alternative, in addition to the four he has stated, has not dawned upon dr. whewell's mind. the suggestion that new species may result from the selective action of external conditions upon the variations from their specific type which individuals present--and which we call "spontaneous," because we are ignorant of their causation--is as wholly unknown to the historian of scientific ideas as it was to biological specialists before . but that suggestion is the central idea of the 'origin of species,' and contains the quintessence of darwinism. thus, looking back into the past, it seems to me that my own position of critical expectancy was just and reasonable, and must have been taken up, on the same grounds, by many other persons. if agassiz told me that the forms of life which had successively tenanted the globe were the incarnations of successive thoughts of the deity; and that he had wiped out one set of these embodiments by an appalling geological catastrophe as soon as his ideas took a more advanced shape, i found myself not only unable to admit the accuracy of the deductions from the facts of paleontology, upon which this astounding hypothesis was founded, but i had to confess my want of any means of testing the correctness of his explanation of them. and besides that, i could by no means see what the explanation explained. neither did it help me to be told by an eminent anatomist that species had succeeded one another in time, in virtue of "a continuously operative creational law." that seemed to me to be no more than saying that species had succeeded one another, in the form of a vote-catching resolution, with "law" to please the man of science, and "creational" to draw the orthodox. so i took refuge in that "thatige skepsis" which goethe has so well defined; and, reversing the apostolic precept to be all things to all men, i usually defended the tenability of the received doctrines, when i had to do with the transmutationists; and stood up for the possibility of transmutation among the orthodox--thereby, no doubt, increasing an already current, but quite undeserved, reputation for needless combativeness. i remember, in the course of my first interview with mr. darwin, expressing my belief in the sharpness of the lines of demarcation between natural groups and in the absence of transitional forms, with all the confidence of youth and imperfect knowledge. i was not aware, at that time, that he had then been many years brooding over the species-question; and the humorous smile which accompanied his gentle answer, that such was not altogether his view, long haunted and puzzled me. but it would seem that four or five years' hard work had enabled me to understand what it meant; for lyell ('life and letters,' volume ii. page .), writing to sir charles bunbury (under date of april , ), says:-- "when huxley, hooker, and wollaston were at darwin's last week they (all four of them) ran a tilt against species--further, i believe, than they are prepared to go." i recollect nothing of this beyond the fact of meeting mr. wollaston; and except for sir charles' distinct assurance as to "all four," i should have thought my "outrecuidance" was probably a counterblast to wollaston's conservatism. with regard to hooker, he was already, like voltaire's habbakuk, "capable du tout" in the way of advocating evolution. as i have already said, i imagine that most of those of my contemporaries who thought seriously about the matter, were very much in my own state of mind--inclined to say to both mosaists and evolutionists, "a plague on both your houses!" and disposed to turn aside from an interminable and apparently fruitless discussion, to labour in the fertile fields of ascertainable fact. and i may, therefore, further suppose that the publication of the darwin and wallace papers in , and still more that of the 'origin' in , had the effect upon them of the flash of light, which to a man who has lost himself in a dark night, suddenly reveals a road which, whether it takes him straight home or not, certainly goes his way. that which we were looking for, and could not find, was a hypothesis respecting the origin of known organic forms, which assumed the operation of no causes but such as could be proved to be actually at work. we wanted, not to pin our faith to that or any other speculation, but to get hold of clear and definite conceptions which could be brought face to face with facts and have their validity tested. the 'origin' provided us with the working hypothesis we sought. moreover, it did the immense service of freeing us for ever from the dilemma--refuse to accept the creation hypothesis, and what have you to propose that can be accepted by any cautious reasoner? in , i had no answer ready, and i do not think that any one else had. a year later, we reproached ourselves with dullness for being perplexed by such an inquiry. my reflection, when i first made myself master of the central idea of the 'origin,' was, "how extremely stupid not to have thought of that!" i suppose that columbus' companions said much the same when he made the egg stand on end. the facts of variability, of the struggle for existence, of adaptation to conditions, were notorious enough; but none of us had suspected that the road to the heart of the species problem lay through them, until darwin and wallace dispelled the darkness, and the beacon-fire of the 'origin' guided the benighted. whether the particular shape which the doctrine of evolution, as applied to the organic world, took in darwin's hands, would prove to be final or not, was, to me, a matter of indifference. in my earliest criticisms of the 'origin' i ventured to point out that its logical foundation was insecure so long as experiments in selective breeding had not produced varieties which were more or less infertile; and that insecurity remains up to the present time. but, with any and every critical doubt which my sceptical ingenuity could suggest, the darwinian hypothesis remained incomparably more probable than the creation hypothesis. and if we had none of us been able to discern the paramount significance of some of the most patent and notorious of natural facts, until they were, so to speak, thrust under our noses, what force remained in the dilemma--creation or nothing? it was obvious that, hereafter, the probability would be immensely greater, that the links of natural causation were hidden from our purblind eyes, than that natural causation should be incompetent to produce all the phenomena of nature. the only rational course for those who had no other object than the attainment of truth, was to accept "darwinism" as a working hypothesis, and see what could be made of it. either it would prove its capacity to elucidate the facts of organic life, or it would break down under the strain. this was surely the dictate of common sense; and, for once, common sense carried the day. the result has been that complete volte-face of the whole scientific world, which must seem so surprising to the present generation. i do not mean to say that all the leaders of biological science have avowed themselves darwinians; but i do not think that there is a single zoologist, or botanist, or palaeontologist, among the multitude of active workers of this generation, who is other than an evolutionist, profoundly influenced by darwin's views. whatever may be the ultimate fate of the particular theory put forth by darwin, i venture to affirm that, so far as my knowledge goes, all the ingenuity and all the learning of hostile critics have not enabled them to adduce a solitary fact, of which it can be said, this is irreconcilable with the darwinian theory. in the prodigious variety and complexity of organic nature, there are multitudes of phenomena which are not deducible from any generalisations we have yet reached. but the same may be said of every other class of natural objects. i believe that astronomers cannot yet get the moon's motions into perfect accordance with the theory of gravitation. it would be inappropriate, even if it were possible, to discuss the difficulties and unresolved problems which have hitherto met the evolutionist, and which will probably continue to puzzle him for generations to come, in the course of this brief history of the reception of mr. darwin's great work. but there are two or three objections of a more general character, based, or supposed to be based, upon philosophical and theological foundations, which were loudly expressed in the early days of the darwinian controversy, and which, though they have been answered over and over again, crop up now and then to the present day. the most singular of these, perhaps immortal, fallacies, which live on, tithonus-like, when sense and force have long deserted them, is that which charges mr. darwin with having attempted to reinstate the old pagan goddess, chance. it is said that he supposes variations to come about "by chance," and that the fittest survive the "chances" of the struggle for existence, and thus "chance" is substituted for providential design. it is not a little wonderful that such an accusation as this should be brought against a writer who has, over and over again, warned his readers that when he uses the word "spontaneous," he merely means that he is ignorant of the cause of that which is so termed; and whose whole theory crumbles to pieces if the uniformity and regularity of natural causation for illimitable past ages is denied. but probably the best answer to those who talk of darwinism meaning the reign of "chance," is to ask them what they themselves understand by "chance"? do they believe that anything in this universe happens without reason or without a cause? do they really conceive that any event has no cause, and could not have been predicted by any one who had a sufficient insight into the order of nature? if they do, it is they who are the inheritors of antique superstition and ignorance, and whose minds have never been illumined by a ray of scientific thought. the one act of faith in the convert to science, is the confession of the universality of order and of the absolute validity in all times and under all circumstances, of the law of causation. this confession is an act of faith, because, by the nature of the case, the truth of such propositions is not susceptible of proof. but such faith is not blind, but reasonable; because it is invariably confirmed by experience, and constitutes the sole trustworthy foundation for all action. if one of these people, in whom the chance-worship of our remoter ancestors thus strangely survives, should be within reach of the sea when a heavy gale is blowing, let him betake himself to the shore and watch the scene. let him note the infinite variety of form and size of the tossing waves out at sea; or of the curves of their foam-crested breakers, as they dash against the rocks; let him listen to the roar and scream of the shingle as it is cast up and torn down the beach; or look at the flakes of foam as they drive hither and thither before the wind; or note the play of colours, which answers a gleam of sunshine as it falls upon the myriad bubbles. surely here, if anywhere, he will say that chance is supreme, and bend the knee as one who has entered the very penetralia of his divinity. but the man of science knows that here, as everywhere, perfect order is manifested; that there is not a curve of the waves, not a note in the howling chorus, not a rainbow-glint on a bubble, which is other than a necessary consequence of the ascertained laws of nature; and that with a sufficient knowledge of the conditions, competent physico-mathematical skill could account for, and indeed predict, every one of these "chance" events. a second very common objection to mr. darwin's views was (and is), that they abolish teleology, and eviscerate the argument from design. it is nearly twenty years since i ventured to offer some remarks on this subject, and as my arguments have as yet received no refutation, i hope i may be excused for reproducing them. i observed, "that the doctrine of evolution is the most formidable opponent of all the commoner and coarser forms of teleology. but perhaps the most remarkable service to the philosophy of biology rendered by mr. darwin is the reconciliation of teleology and morphology, and the explanation of the facts of both, which his views offer. the teleology which supposes that the eye, such as we see it in man, or one of the higher vertebrata, was made with the precise structure it exhibits, for the purpose of enabling the animal which possesses it to see, has undoubtedly received its death-blow. nevertheless, it is necessary to remember that there is a wider teleology which is not touched by the doctrine of evolution, but is actually based upon the fundamental proposition of evolution. this proposition is that the whole world, living and not living, is the result of the mutual interaction, according to definite laws, of the forces (i should now like to substitute the word powers for "forces.") possessed by the molecules of which the primitive nebulosity of the universe was composed. if this be true, it is no less certain that the existing world lay potentially in the cosmic vapour, and that a sufficient intelligence could, from a knowledge of the properties of the molecules of that vapour, have predicted, say the state of the fauna of britain in , with as much certainty as one can say what will happen to the vapour of the breath on a cold winter's day... ...the teleological and the mechanical views of nature are not, necessarily, mutually exclusive. on the contrary, the more purely a mechanist the speculator is, the more firmly does he assume a primordial molecular arrangement of which all the phenomena of the universe are the consequences, and the more completely is he thereby at the mercy of the teleologist, who can always defy him to disprove that this primordial molecular arrangement was not intended to evolve the phenomena of the universe." (the "genealogy of animals" ('the academy,' ), reprinted in 'critiques and addresses.') the acute champion of teleology, paley, saw no difficulty in admitting that the "production of things" may be the result of trains of mechanical dispositions fixed beforehand by intelligent appointment and kept in action by a power at the centre ('natural theology,' chapter xxiii.), that is to say, he proleptically accepted the modern doctrine of evolution; and his successors might do well to follow their leader, or at any rate to attend to his weighty reasonings, before rushing into an antagonism which has no reasonable foundation. having got rid of the belief in chance and the disbelief in design, as in no sense appurtenances of evolution, the third libel upon that doctrine, that it is anti-theistic, might perhaps be left to shift for itself. but the persistence with which many people refuse to draw the plainest consequences from the propositions they profess to accept, renders it advisable to remark that the doctrine of evolution is neither anti-theistic nor theistic. it simply has no more to do with theism than the first book of euclid has. it is quite certain that a normal fresh-laid egg contains neither cock nor hen; and it is also as certain as any proposition in physics or morals, that if such an egg is kept under proper conditions for three weeks, a cock or hen chicken will be found in it. it is also quite certain that if the shell were transparent we should be able to watch the formation of the young fowl, day by day, by a process of evolution, from a microscopic cellular germ to its full size and complication of structure. therefore evolution, in the strictest sense, is actually going on in this and analogous millions and millions of instances, wherever living creatures exist. therefore, to borrow an argument from butler, as that which now happens must be consistent with the attributes of the deity, if such a being exists, evolution must be consistent with those attributes. and, if so, the evolution of the universe, which is neither more nor less explicable than that of a chicken, must also be consistent with them. the doctrine of evolution, therefore, does not even come into contact with theism, considered as a philosophical doctrine. that with which it does collide, and with which it is absolutely inconsistent, is the conception of creation, which theological speculators have based upon the history narrated in the opening of the book of genesis. there is a great deal of talk and not a little lamentation about the so-called religious difficulties which physical science has created. in theological science, as a matter of fact, it has created none. not a solitary problem presents itself to the philosophical theist, at the present day, which has not existed from the time that philosophers began to think out the logical grounds and the logical consequences of theism. all the real or imaginary perplexities which flow from the conception of the universe as a determinate mechanism, are equally involved in the assumption of an eternal, omnipotent and omniscient deity. the theological equivalent of the scientific conception of order is providence; and the doctrine of determinism follows as surely from the attributes of foreknowledge assumed by the theologian, as from the universality of natural causation assumed by the man of science. the angels in 'paradise lost' would have found the task of enlightening adam upon the mysteries of "fate, foreknowledge, and free-will," not a whit more difficult, if their pupil had been educated in a "real-schule" and trained in every laboratory of a modern university. in respect of the great problems of philosophy, the post-darwinian generation is, in one sense, exactly where the prae-darwinian generations were. they remain insoluble. but the present generation has the advantage of being better provided with the means of freeing itself from the tyranny of certain sham solutions. the known is finite, the unknown infinite; intellectually we stand on an islet in the midst of an illimitable ocean of inexplicability. our business in every generation is to reclaim a little more land, to add something to the extent and the solidity of our possessions. and even a cursory glance at the history of the biological sciences during the last quarter of a century is sufficient to justify the assertion, that the most potent instrument for the extension of the realm of natural knowledge which has come into men's hands, since the publication of newton's 'principia,' is darwin's 'origin of species.' it was badly received by the generation to which it was first addressed, and the outpouring of angry nonsense to which it gave rise is sad to think upon. but the present generation will probably behave just as badly if another darwin should arise, and inflict upon them that which the generality of mankind most hate--the necessity of revising their convictions. let them, then, be charitable to us ancients; and if they behave no better than the men of my day to some new benefactor, let them recollect that, after all, our wrath did not come to much, and vented itself chiefly in the bad language of sanctimonious scolds. let them as speedily perform a strategic right-about-face, and follow the truth wherever it leads. the opponents of the new truth will discover, as those of darwin are doing, that, after all, theories do not alter facts, and that the universe remains unaffected even though texts crumble. or, it may be, that, as history repeats itself, their happy ingenuity will also discover that the new wine is exactly of the same vintage as the old, and that (rightly viewed) the old bottles prove to have been expressly made for holding it. the life and letters of charles darwin including an autobiographical chapter edited by his son francis darwin in two volumes volume ii table of contents. volume ii. chapter .i.--the publication of the 'origin of species'--october , , to december , . chapter .ii.--the 'origin of species' (continued)-- . chapter .iii.--the spread of evolution-- - . chapter .iv.--the spread of evolution. 'variation of animals and plants' -- - . chapter .v.--the publication of the 'variation of animals and plants under domestication'--january -june . chapter .vi.--work on 'man'-- - . chapter .vii.--the publication of the 'descent of man.' work on 'expression'-- - . chapter .viii.--miscellanea, including second editions of 'coral reefs,' the 'descent of man,' and the 'variation of animals and plants'-- and . chapter .ix.--miscellanea (continued). a revival of geological work--the book on earthworms--life of erasmus darwin--miscellaneous letters-- - . botanical letters. chapter .x.--fertilisation of flowers-- - . chapter .xi.--the 'effects of cross- and self-fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom'-- - . chapter .xii.--'different forms of flowers on plants of the same species' -- - . chapter .xiii.--climbing and insectivorous plants-- - . chapter .xiv.--the 'power of movement in plants'-- - . chapter .xv.--miscellaneous botanical letters-- - .... chapter .xvi.--conclusion. appendices. i.--the funeral in westminster abbey. ii.--list of works by c. darwin. iii.--portraits. iv.--honours, degrees, societies, etc. transcript of a facsimile of a page from a note-book of . --led to comprehend true affinities. my theory would give zest to recent & fossil comparative anatomy: it would lead to study of instincts, heredity, & mind heredity, whole metaphysics, it would lead to closest examination of hybridity & generation, causes of change in order to know what we have come from & to what we tend, to what circumstances favour crossing & what prevents it, this & direct examination of direct passages of structure in species, might lead to laws of change, which would then be main object of study, to guide our speculations. life and letters of charles darwin. volume ii. chapter .i. -- the publication of the 'origin of species.' october , , to december , . . [under the date of october st, , in my father's diary occurs the entry: "finished proofs (thirteen months and ten days) of abstract on 'origin of species'; copies printed. the first edition was published on november th, and all copies sold first day." on october d he started for a water-cure establishment at ilkley, near leeds, where he remained with his family until december, and on the th of that month he was again at down. the only other entry in the diary for this year is as follows: "during end of november and beginning of december, employed in correcting for second edition of copies; multitude of letters." the first and a few of the subsequent letters refer to proof sheets, and to early copies of the 'origin' which were sent to friends before the book was published.] c. lyell to charles darwin. (part of this letter is given in the 'life of sir charles lyell,' volume ii. page .) october d, . my dear darwin, i have just finished your volume and right glad i am that i did my best with hooker to persuade you to publish it without waiting for a time which probably could never have arrived, though you lived till the age of a hundred, when you had prepared all your facts on which you ground so many grand generalizations. it is a splendid case of close reasoning, and long substantial argument throughout so many pages; the condensation immense, too great perhaps for the uninitiated, but an effective and important preliminary statement, which will admit, even before your detailed proofs appear, of some occasional useful exemplification, such as your pigeons and cirripedes, of which you make such excellent use. i mean that, when, as i fully expect, a new edition is soon called for, you may here and there insert an actual case to relieve the vast number of abstract propositions. so far as i am concerned, i am so well prepared to take your statements of facts for granted, that i do not think the "pieces justificatives" when published will make much difference, and i have long seen most clearly that if any concession is made, all that you claim in your concluding pages will follow. it is this which has made me so long hesitate, always feeling that the case of man and his races, and of other animals, and that of plants is one and the same, and that if a "vera causa" be admitted for one, instead of a purely unknown and imaginary one, such as the word "creation," all the consequences must follow. i fear i have not time to-day, as i am just leaving this place, to indulge in a variety of comments, and to say how much i was delighted with oceanic islands--rudimentary organs--embryology--the genealogical key to the natural system, geographical distribution, and if i went on i should be copying the heads of all your chapters. but i will say a word of the recapitulation, in case some slight alteration, or at least, omission of a word or two be still possible in that. in the first place, at page , it cannot surely be said that the most eminent naturalists have rejected the view of the mutability of species? you do not mean to ignore g. st. hilaire and lamarck. as to the latter, you may say, that in regard to animals you substitute natural selection for volition to a certain considerable extent, but in his theory of the changes of plants he could not introduce volition; he may, no doubt, have laid an undue comparative stress on changes in physical conditions, and too little on those of contending organisms. he at least was for the universal mutability of species and for a genealogical link between the first and the present. the men of his school also appealed to domesticated varieties. (do you mean living naturalists?) (in the published copies of the first edition, page , the words are "eminent living naturalists.") the first page of this most important summary gives the adversary an advantage, by putting forth so abruptly and crudely such a startling objection as the formation of "the eye," not by means analogous to man's reason, or rather by some power immeasurably superior to human reason, but by superinduced variation like those of which a cattle-breeder avails himself. pages would be required thus to state an objection and remove it. it would be better, as you wish to persuade, to say nothing. leave out several sentences, and in a future edition bring it out more fully. between the throwing down of such a stumbling-block in the way of the reader, and the passage to the working ants, in page , there are pages required; and these ants are a bathos to him before he has recovered from the shock of being called upon to believe the eye to have been brought to perfection, from a state of blindness or purblindness, by such variations as we witness. i think a little omission would greatly lessen the objectionableness of these sentences if you have not time to recast and amplify. ... but these are small matters, mere spots on the sun. your comparison of the letters retained in words, when no longer wanted for the sound, to rudimentary organs is excellent, as both are truly genealogical. the want of peculiar birds in madeira is a greater difficulty than seemed to me allowed for. i could cite passages where you show that variations are superinduced from the new circumstances of new colonists, which would require some madeira birds, like those of the galapagos, to be peculiar. there has been ample time in the case of madeira and porto santo... you enclose your sheets in old ms., so the post office very properly charge them as letters, pence extra. i wish all their fines on ms. were worth as much. i paid shillings pence for such wash the other day from paris, from a man who can prove deluges in the valley of the seine. with my hearty congratulations to you on your grand work, believe me, ever very affectionately yours, chas. lyell. charles darwin to c. lyell. ilkley, yorkshire, october th [ ]. my dear lyell, i thank you cordially for giving me so much of your valuable time in writing me the long letter of d, and still longer of th. i wrote a line with the missing proof-sheet to scarborough. i have adopted most thankfully all your minor corrections in the last chapter, and the greater ones as far as i could with little trouble. i damped the opening passage about the eye (in my bigger work i show the gradations in structure of the eye) by putting merely "complex organs." but you are a pretty lord chancellor to tell the barrister on one side how best to win the cause! the omission of "living" before eminent naturalists was a dreadful blunder. madeira and bermuda birds not peculiar. you are right, there is a screw out here; i thought no one would have detected it; i blundered in omitting a discussion, which i have written out in full. but once for all, let me say as an excuse, that it was most difficult to decide what to omit. birds, which have struggled in their own homes, when settled in a body, nearly simultaneously in a new country, would not be subject to much modification, for their mutual relations would not be much disturbed. but i quite agree with you, that in time they ought to undergo some. in bermuda and madeira they have, as i believe, been kept constant by the frequent arrival, and the crossing with unaltered immigrants of the same species from the mainland. in bermuda this can be proved, in madeira highly probable, as shown me by letters from e.v. harcourt. moreover, there are ample grounds for believing that the crossed offspring of the new immigrants (fresh blood as breeders would say), and old colonists of the same species would be extra vigorous, and would be the most likely to survive; thus the effects of such crossing in keeping the old colonists unaltered would be much aided. on galapagos productions having american type on view of creation. i cannot agree with you, that species if created to struggle with american forms, would have to be created on the american type. facts point diametrically the other way. look at the unbroken and untilled ground in la plata, covered with european products, which have no near affinity to the indigenous products. they are not american types which conquer the aborigines. so in every island throughout the world. alph. de candolle's results (though he does not see its full importance), that thoroughly well naturalised [plants] are in general very different from the aborigines (belonging in large proportion of cases to non-indigenous genera) is most important always to bear in mind. once for all, i am sure, you will understand that i thus write dogmatically for brevity sake. on the continued creation of monads. this doctrine is superfluous (and groundless) on the theory of natural selection, which implies no necessary tendency to progression. a monad, if no deviation in its structure profitable to it under its excessively simple conditions of life occurred, might remain unaltered from long before the silurian age to the present day. i grant there will generally be a tendency to advance in complexity of organisation, though in beings fitted for very simple conditions it would be slight and slow. how could a complex organisation profit a monad? if it did not profit it there would be no advance. the secondary infusoria differ but little from the living. the parent monad form might perfectly well survive unaltered and fitted for its simple conditions, whilst the offspring of this very monad might become fitted for more complex conditions. the one primordial prototype of all living and extinct creatures may, it is possible, be now alive! moreover, as you say, higher forms might be occasionally degraded, the snake typhlops seems (?!) to have the habits of earth-worms. so that fresh creatures of simple forms seem to me wholly superfluous. "must you not assume a primeval creative power which does not act with uniformity, or how could man supervene?" i am not sure that i understand your remarks which follow the above. we must under present knowledge assume the creation of one or of a few forms in the same manner as philosophers assume the existence of a power of attraction without any explanation. but i entirely reject, as in my judgment quite unnecessary, any subsequent addition "of new powers and attributes and forces;" or of any "principle of improvement," except in so far as every character which is naturally selected or preserved is in some way an advantage or improvement, otherwise it would not have been selected. if i were convinced that i required such additions to the theory of natural selection, i would reject it as rubbish, but i have firm faith in it, as i cannot believe, that if false, it would explain so many whole classes of facts, which, if i am in my senses, it seems to explain. as far as i understand your remarks and illustrations, you doubt the possibility of gradations of intellectual powers. now, it seems to me, looking to existing animals alone, that we have a very fine gradation in the intellectual powers of the vertebrata, with one rather wide gap (not half so wide as in many cases of corporeal structure), between say a hottentot and a ourang, even if civilised as much mentally as the dog has been from the wolf. i suppose that you do not doubt that the intellectual powers are as important for the welfare of each being as corporeal structure; if so, i can see no difficulty in the most intellectual individuals of a species being continually selected; and the intellect of the new species thus improved, aided probably by effects of inherited mental exercise. i look at this process as now going on with the races of man; the less intellectual races being exterminated. but there is not space to discuss this point. if i understand you, the turning-point in our difference must be, that you think it impossible that the intellectual powers of a species should be much improved by the continued natural selection of the most intellectual individuals. to show how minds graduate, just reflect how impossible every one has yet found it, to define the difference in mind of man and the lower animals; the latter seem to have the very same attributes in a much lower stage of perfection than the lowest savage. i would give absolutely nothing for the theory of natural selection, if it requires miraculous additions at any one stage of descent. i think embryology, homology, classification, etc., etc., show us that all vertebrata have descended from one parent; how that parent appeared we know not. if you admit in ever so little a degree, the explanation which i have given of embryology, homology and classification, you will find it difficult to say: thus far the explanation holds good, but no further; here we must call in "the addition of new creative forces." i think you will be driven to reject all or admit all: i fear by your letter it will be the former alternative; and in that case i shall feel sure it is my fault, and not the theory's fault, and this will certainly comfort me. with regard to the descent of the great kingdoms (as vertebrata, articulata, etc.) from one parent, i have said in the conclusion, that mere analogy makes me think it probable; my arguments and facts are sound in my judgment only for each separate kingdom. the forms which are beaten inheriting some inferiority in common. i dare say i have not been guarded enough, but might not the term inferiority include less perfect adaptation to physical conditions? my remarks apply not to single species, but to groups or genera; the species of most genera are adapted at least to rather hotter, and rather less hot, to rather damper and dryer climates; and when the several species of a group are beaten and exterminated by the several species of another group, it will not, i think, generally be from each new species being adapted to the climate, but from all the new species having some common advantage in obtaining sustenance, or escaping enemies. as groups are concerned, a fairer illustration than negro and white in liberia would be the almost certain future extinction of the genus ourang by the genus man, not owing to man being better fitted for the climate, but owing to the inherited intellectual inferiority of the ourang-genus to man-genus, by his intellect, inventing fire-arms and cutting down forests. i believe from reasons given in my discussion, that acclimatisation is readily effected under nature. it has taken me so many years to disabuse my mind of the too great importance of climate--its important influence being so conspicuous, whilst that of a struggle between creature and creature is so hidden--that i am inclined to swear at the north pole, and, as sydney smith said, even to speak disrespectfully of the equator. i beg you often to reflect (i have found nothing so instructive) on the case of thousands of plants in the middle point of their respective ranges, and which, as we positively know, can perfectly well withstand a little more heat and cold, a little more damp and dry, but which in the metropolis of their range do not exist in vast numbers, although if many of the other inhabitants were destroyed [they] would cover the ground. we thus clearly see that their numbers are kept down, in almost every case, not by climate, but by the struggle with other organisms. all this you will perhaps think very obvious; but, until i repeated it to myself thousands of times, i took, as i believe, a wholly wrong view of the whole economy of nature... hybridism. i am so much pleased that you approve of this chapter; you would be astonished at the labour this cost me; so often was i, on what i believe was, the wrong scent. rudimentary organs. on the theory of natural selection there is a wide distinction between rudimentary organs and what you call germs of organs, and what i call in my bigger book "nascent" organs. an organ should not be called rudimentary unless it be useless--as teeth which never cut through the gums--the papillae, representing the pistil in male flowers, wing of apteryx, or better, the little wings under soldered elytra. these organs are now plainly useless, and a fortiori, they would be useless in a less developed state. natural selection acts exclusively by preserving successive slight, useful modifications. hence natural selection cannot possibly make a useless or rudimentary organ. such organs are solely due to inheritance (as explained in my discussion), and plainly bespeak an ancestor having the organ in a useful condition. they may be, and often have been, worked in for other purposes, and then they are only rudimentary for the original function, which is sometimes plainly apparent. a nascent organ, though little developed, as it has to be developed must be useful in every stage of development. as we cannot prophesy, we cannot tell what organs are now nascent; and nascent organs will rarely have been handed down by certain members of a class from a remote period to the present day, for beings with any important organ but little developed, will generally have been supplanted by their descendants with the organ well developed. the mammary glands in ornithorhynchus may, perhaps, be considered as nascent compared with the udders of a cow--ovigerous frena, in certain cirripedes, are nascent branchiae--in [illegible] the swim bladder is almost rudimentary for this purpose, and is nascent as a lung. the small wing of penguin, used only as a fin, might be nascent as a wing; not that i think so; for the whole structure of the bird is adapted for flight, and a penguin so closely resembles other birds, that we may infer that its wings have probably been modified, and reduced by natural selection, in accordance with its sub-aquatic habits. analogy thus often serves as a guide in distinguishing whether an organ is rudimentary or nascent. i believe the os coccyx gives attachment to certain muscles, but i can not doubt that it is a rudimentary tail. the bastard wing of birds is a rudimentary digit; and i believe that if fossil birds are found very low down in the series, they will be seen to have a double or bifurcated wing. here is a bold prophecy! to admit prophetic germs, is tantamount to rejecting the theory of natural selection. i am very glad you think it worth while to run through my book again, as much, or more, for the subject's sake as for my own sake. but i look at your keeping the subject for some little time before your mind--raising your own difficulties and solving them--as far more important than reading my book. if you think enough, i expect you will be perverted, and if you ever are, i shall know that the theory of natural selection, is, in the main, safe; that it includes, as now put forth, many errors, is almost certain, though i cannot see them. do not, of course, think of answering this; but if you have other occasion to write again, just say whether i have, in ever so slight a degree, shaken any of your objections. farewell. with my cordial thanks for your long letters and valuable remarks, believe me, yours most truly, c. darwin. p.s.--you often allude to lamarck's work; i do not know what you think about it, but it appeared to me extremely poor; i got not a fact or idea from it. charles darwin to l. agassiz. (jean louis rodolphe agassiz, born at mortier, on the lake of morat in switzerland, on may , . he emigrated to america in , where he spent the rest of his life, and died december , . his 'life,' written by his widow, was published in . the following extract from a letter to agassiz ( ) is worth giving, as showing how my father regarded him, and it may be added that his cordial feelings towards the great american naturalist remained strong to the end of his life:-- "i have seldom been more deeply gratified than by receiving your most kind present of 'lake superior.' i had heard of it, and had much wished to read it, but i confess that it was the very great honour of having in my possession a work with your autograph as a presentation copy that has given me such lively and sincere pleasure. i cordially thank you for it. i have begun to read it with uncommon interest, which i see will increase as i go on.") down, november th [ ]. my dear sir, i have ventured to send you a copy of my book (as yet only an abstract) on the 'origin of species.' as the conclusions at which i have arrived on several points differ so widely from yours, i have thought (should you at any time read my volume) that you might think that i had sent it to you out of a spirit of defiance or bravado; but i assure you that i act under a wholly different frame of mind. i hope that you will at least give me credit, however erroneous you may think my conclusions, for having earnestly endeavoured to arrive at the truth. with sincere respect, i beg leave to remain, yours, very faithfully, charles darwin. charles darwin to a. de candolle. down, november th [ ]. dear sir, i have thought that you would permit me to send you (by messrs. williams and norgate, booksellers) a copy of my work (as yet only an abstract) on the 'origin of species.' i wish to do this, as the only, though quite inadequate manner, by which i can testify to you the extreme interest which i have felt, and the great advantage which i have derived, from studying your grand and noble work on geographical distribution. should you be induced to read my volume, i venture to remark that it will be intelligible only by reading the whole straight through, as it is very much condensed. it would be a high gratification to me if any portion interested you. but i am perfectly well aware that you will entirely disagree with the conclusion at which i have arrived. you will probably have quite forgotten me; but many years ago you did me the honour of dining at my house in london to meet m. and madame sismondi (jessie allen, sister of mrs. josiah wedgwood of maer.), the uncle and aunt of my wife. with sincere respect, i beg to remain, yours, very faithfully, charles darwin. charles darwin to hugh falconer. down, november th [ ]. my dear falconer, i have told murray to send you a copy of my book on the 'origin of species,' which as yet is only an abstract. if you read it, you must read it straight through, otherwise from its extremely condensed state it will be unintelligible. lord, how savage you will be, if you read it, and how you will long to crucify me alive! i fear it will produce no other effect on you; but if it should stagger you in ever so slight a degree, in this case, i am fully convinced that you will become, year after year, less fixed in your belief in the immutability of species. with this audacious and presumptuous conviction, i remain, my dear falconer, yours most truly, charles darwin. charles darwin to asa gray. down, november th [ ]. my dear gray, i have directed a copy of my book (as yet only an abstract) on the 'origin of species' to be sent you. i know how you are pressed for time; but if you can read it, i shall be infinitely gratified...if ever you do read it, and can screw out time to send me (as i value your opinion so highly), however short a note, telling me what you think its weakest and best parts, i should be extremely grateful. as you are not a geologist, you will excuse my conceit in telling you that lyell highly approves of the two geological chapters, and thinks that on the imperfection of the geological record not exaggerated. he is nearly a convert to my views... let me add i fully admit that there are very many difficulties not satisfactorily explained by my theory of descent with modification, but i cannot possibly believe that a false theory would explain so many classes of facts as i think it certainly does explain. on these grounds i drop my anchor, and believe that the difficulties will slowly disappear... charles darwin to j.s. henslow. down, november th, . my dear henslow, i have told murray to send a copy of my book on species to you, my dear old master in natural history; i fear, however, that you will not approve of your pupil in this case. the book in its present state does not show the amount of labour which i have bestowed on the subject. if you have time to read it carefully, and would take the trouble to point out what parts seem weakest to you and what best, it would be a most material aid to me in writing my bigger book, which i hope to commence in a few months. you know also how highly i value your judgment. but i am not so unreasonable as to wish or expect you to write detailed and lengthy criticisms, but merely a few general remarks, pointing out the weakest parts. if you are in even so slight a degree staggered (which i hardly expect) on the immutability of species, then i am convinced with further reflection you will become more and more staggered, for this has been the process through which my mind has gone. my dear henslow, yours affectionately and gratefully, c. darwin. charles darwin to john lubbock. (the present sir john lubbock.) ilkley, yorkshire, saturday [november th, ]. ... thank you much for asking me to brighton. i hope much that you will enjoy your holiday. i have told murray to send a copy for you to mansion house street, and i am surprised that you have not received it. there are so many valid and weighty arguments against my notions, that you, or any one, if you wish on the other side, will easily persuade yourself that i am wholly in error, and no doubt i am in part in error, perhaps wholly so, though i cannot see the blindness of my ways. i dare say when thunder and lightning were first proved to be due to secondary causes, some regretted to give up the idea that each flash was caused by the direct hand of god. farewell, i am feeling very unwell to-day, so no more. yours very truly, c. darwin. charles darwin to john lubbock. ilkley, yorkshire, tuesday [november th, ]. my dear lubbock, i beg pardon for troubling you again. i do not know how i blundered in expressing myself in making you believe that we accepted your kind invitation to brighton. i meant merely to thank you sincerely for wishing to see such a worn-out old dog as myself. i hardly know when we leave this place,--not under a fortnight, and then we shall wish to rest under our own roof-tree. i do not think i hardly ever admired a book more than paley's 'natural theology.' i could almost formerly have said it by heart. i am glad you have got my book, but i fear that you value it far too highly. i should be grateful for any criticisms. i care not for reviews; but for the opinion of men like you and hooker and huxley and lyell, etc. farewell, with our joint thanks to mrs. lubbock and yourself. adios. c. darwin. charles darwin to l. jenyns. (now rev. l. blomefield.) ilkley, yorkshire, november th, . my dear jenyns, i must thank you for your very kind note forwarded to me from down. i have been much out of health this summer, and have been hydropathising here for the last six weeks with very little good as yet. i shall stay here for another fortnight at least. please remember that my book is only an abstract, and very much condensed, and, to be at all intelligible, must be carefully read. i shall be very grateful for any criticisms. but i know perfectly well that you will not at all agree with the lengths which i go. it took long years to convert me. i may, of course, be egregiously wrong; but i cannot persuade myself that a theory which explains (as i think it certainly does) several large classes of facts, can be wholly wrong; notwithstanding the several difficulties which have to be surmounted somehow, and which stagger me even to this day. i wish that my health had allowed me to publish in extenso; if ever i get strong enough i will do so, as the greater part is written out, and of which ms. the present volume is an abstract. i fear this note will be almost illegible; but i am poorly, and can hardly sit up. farewell; with thanks for your kind note and pleasant remembrance of good old days. yours very sincerely, c. darwin. charles darwin to a.r. wallace. ilkley, november th, . my dear sir, i have told murray to send you by post (if possible) a copy of my book, and i hope that you will receive it at nearly the same time with this note. (n.b. i have got a bad finger, which makes me write extra badly.) if you are so inclined, i should very much like to hear your general impression of the book, as you have thought so profoundly on the subject, and in so nearly the same channel with myself. i hope there will be some little new to you, but i fear not much. remember it is only an abstract, and very much condensed. god knows what the public will think. no one has read it, except lyell, with whom i have had much correspondence. hooker thinks him a complete convert, but he does not seem so in his letters to me; but is evidently deeply interested in the subject. i do not think your share in the theory will be overlooked by the real judges, as hooker, lyell, asa gray, etc. i have heard from mr. slater that your paper on the malay archipelago has been read at the linnean society, and that he was extremely much interested by it. i have not seen one naturalist for six or nine months, owing to the state of my health, and therefore i really have no news to tell you. i am writing this at ilkley wells, where i have been with my family for the last six weeks, and shall stay for some few weeks longer. as yet i have profited very little. god knows when i shall have strength for my bigger book. i sincerely hope that you keep your health; i suppose that you will be thinking of returning (mr. wallace was in the malay archipelago.) soon with your magnificent collections, and still grander mental materials. you will be puzzled how to publish. the royal society fund will be worth your consideration. with every good wish, pray believe me, yours very sincerely, charles darwin. p.s. i think that i told you before that hooker is a complete convert. if i can convert huxley i shall be content. charles darwin to w.d. fox. ilkley, yorkshire, wednesday [november th, ]. ... i like the place very much, and the children have enjoyed it much, and it has done my wife good. it did h. good at first, but she has gone back again. i have had a series of calamities; first a sprained ankle, and then a badly swollen whole leg and face, much rash, and a frightful succession of boils--four or five at once. i have felt quite ill, and have little faith in this "unique crisis," as the doctor calls it, doing me much good...you will probably have received, or will very soon receive, my weariful book on species, i naturally believe it mainly includes the truth, but you will not at all agree with me. dr. hooker, whom i consider one of the best judges in europe, is a complete convert, and he thinks lyell is likewise; certainly, judging from lyell's letters to me on the subject, he is deeply staggered. farewell. if the spirit moves you, let me have a line... charles darwin to w.b. carpenter. ilkley, yorkshire, november th [ ]. my dear carpenter, i must thank you for your letter on my own account, and if i know myself, still more warmly for the subject's sake. as you seem to have understood my last chapter without reading the previous chapters, you must have maturely and most profoundly self-thought out the subject; for i have found the most extraordinary difficulty in making even able men understand at what i was driving. there will be strong opposition to my views. if i am in the main right (of course including partial errors unseen by me), the admission in my views will depend far more on men, like yourself, with well-established reputations, than on my own writings. therefore, on the supposition that when you have read my volume you think the view in the main true, i thank and honour you for being willing to run the chance of unpopularity by advocating the view. i know not in the least whether any one will review me in any of the reviews. i do not see how an author could enquire or interfere; but if you are willing to review me anywhere, i am sure from the admiration which i have long felt and expressed for your 'comparative physiology,' that your review will be excellently done, and will do good service in the cause for which i think i am not selfishly deeply interested. i am feeling very unwell to-day, and this note is badly, perhaps hardly intelligibly, expressed; but you must excuse me, for i could not let a post pass, without thanking you for your note. you will have a tough job even to shake in the slightest degree sir h. holland. i do not think (privately i say it) that the great man has knowledge enough to enter on the subject. pray believe me with sincerity, yours truly obliged, c. darwin. p.s.--as you are not a practical geologist, let me add that lyell thinks the chapter on the imperfection of the geological record not exaggerated. charles darwin to w.b. carpenter. ilkley, yorkshire, november th [ ]. my dear carpenter, i beg pardon for troubling you again. if, after reading my book, you are able to come to a conclusion in any degree definite, will you think me very unreasonable in asking you to let me hear from you. i do not ask for a long discussion, but merely for a brief idea of your general impression. from your widely extended knowledge, habit of investigating the truth, and abilities, i should value your opinion in the very highest rank. though i, of course, believe in the truth of my own doctrine, i suspect that no belief is vivid until shared by others. as yet i know only one believer, but i look at him as of the greatest authority, viz., hooker. when i think of the many cases of men who have studied one subject for years, and have persuaded themselves of the truth of the foolishest doctrines, i feel sometimes a little frightened, whether i may not be one of these mon-maniacs. again pray excuse this, i fear, unreasonable request. a short note would suffice, and i could bear a hostile verdict, and shall have to bear many a one. yours very sincerely, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. ilkley, yorkshire, sunday [november ]. my dear hooker, i have just read a review on my book in the "athenaeum" (november , .), and it excites my curiosity much who is the author. if you should hear who writes in the "athenaeum" i wish you would tell me. it seems to me well done, but the reviewer gives no new objections, and, being hostile, passes over every single argument in favour of the doctrine,... i fear from the tone of the review, that i have written in a conceited and cocksure style (the reviewer speaks of the author's "evident self-satisfaction," and of his disposing of all difficulties "more or less confidently."), which shames me a little. there is another review of which i should like to know the author, viz., of h.c. watson in the "gardener's chronicle". some of the remarks are like yours, and he does deserve punishment; but surely the review is too severe. don't you think so? i hope you got the three copies for foreign botanists in time for your parcel, and your own copy. i have heard from carpenter, who, i think, is likely to be a convert. also from quatrefages, who is inclined to go a long way with us. he says that he exhibited in his lecture a diagram closely like mine! i shall stay here one fortnight more, and then go to down, staying on the road at shrewsbury a week. i have been very unfortunate: out of seven weeks i have been confined for five to the house. this has been bad for me, as i have not been able to help thinking to a foolish extent about my book. if some four or five good men came round nearly to our view, i shall not fear ultimate success. i long to learn what huxley thinks. is your introduction (introduction to the 'flora of australia.') published? i suppose that you will sell it separately. please answer this, for i want an extra copy to send away to wallace. i am very bothersome, farewell. yours affectionately, c. darwin. i was very glad to see the royal medal for mr. bentham. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, december st, . my dear hooker, pray give my thanks to mrs. hooker for her extremely kind note, which has pleased me much. we are very sorry she cannot come here, but shall be delighted to see you and w. (our boys will be at home) here in the nd week of january, or any other time. i shall much enjoy discussing any points in my book with you... i hate to hear you abuse your own work. i, on the contrary, so sincerely value all that you have written. it is an old and firm conviction of mine, that the naturalists who accumulate facts and make many partial generalisations are the real benefactors of science. those who merely accumulate facts i cannot very much respect. i had hoped to have come up for the club to-morrow, but very much doubt whether i shall be able. ilkley seems to have done me no essential good. i attended the bench on monday, and was detained in adjudicating some troublesome cases / hours longer than usual, and came home utterly knocked up, and cannot rally. i am not worth an old button... many thanks for your pleasant note. ever yours, c. darwin. p.s.--i feel confident that for the future progress of the subject of the origin and manner of formation of species, the assent and arguments and facts of working naturalists, like yourself, are far more important than my own book; so for god's sake do not abuse your introduction. h.c. watson to charles darwin. thames ditton, november st [ ]. my dear sir, once commenced to read the 'origin,' i could not rest till i had galloped through the whole. i shall now begin to re-read it more deliberately. meantime i am tempted to write you the first impressions, not doubting that they will, in the main, be the permanent impressions:-- st. your leading idea will assuredly become recognised as an established truth in science, i.e. "natural selection." it has the characteristics of all great natural truths, clarifying what was obscure, simplifying what was intricate, adding greatly to previous knowledge. you are the greatest revolutionist in natural history of this century, if not of all centuries. nd. you will perhaps need, in some degree, to limit or modify, possibly in some degree also to extend, your present applications of the principle of natural selection. without going to matters of more detail, it strikes me that there is one considerable primary inconsistency, by one failure in the analogy between varieties and species; another by a sort of barrier assumed for nature on insufficient grounds and arising from "divergence." these may, however, be faults in my own mind, attributable to yet incomplete perception of your views. and i had better not trouble you about them before again reading the volume. rd. now these novel views are brought fairly before the scientific public, it seems truly remarkable how so many of them could have failed to see their right road sooner. how could sir c. lyell, for instance, for thirty years read, write, and think, on the subject of species and their succession, and yet constantly look down the wrong road! a quarter of a century ago, you and i must have been in something like the same state of mind on the main question, but you were able to see and work out the quo modo of the succession, the all-important thing, while i failed to grasp it. i send by this post a little controversial pamphlet of old date--combe and scott. if you will take the trouble to glance at the passages scored on the margin, you will see that, a quarter of a century ago, i was also one of the few who then doubted the absolute distinctness of species, and special creations of them. yet i, like the rest, failed to detect the quo modo which was reserved for your penetration to discover, and your discernment to apply. you answered my query about the hiatus between satyrus and homo as was expected. the obvious explanation really never occurred to me till some months after i had read the papers in the 'linnean proceedings.' the first species of fere-homo ("almost-man.") would soon make direct and exterminating war upon his infra-homo cousins. the gap would thus be made, and then go on increasing, into the present enormous and still widening hiatus. but how greatly this, with your chronology of animal life, will shock the ideas of many men! very sincerely, hewett c. watson. j.d. hooker to charles darwin. athenaeum, monday [november st, ]. my dear darwin, i am a sinner not to have written you ere this, if only to thank you for your glorious book--what a mass of close reasoning on curious facts and fresh phenomena--it is capitally written, and will be very successful. i say this on the strength of two or three plunges into as many chapters, for i have not yet attempted to read it. lyell, with whom we are staying, is perfectly enchanted, and is absolutely gloating over it. i must accept your compliment to me, and acknowledgment of supposed assistance from me, as the warm tribute of affection from an honest (though deluded) man, and furthermore accept it as very pleasing to my vanity; but, my dear fellow, neither my name nor my judgment nor my assistance deserved any such compliments, and if i am dishonest enough to be pleased with what i don't deserve, it must just pass. how different the book reads from the ms. i see i shall have much to talk over with you. those lazy printers have not finished my luckless essay; which, beside your book, will look like a ragged handkerchief beside a royal standard... all well, ever yours affectionately, jos. d. hooker. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. ilkley, yorkshire [november ]. my dear hooker, i cannot help it, i must thank you for your affectionate and most kind note. my head will be turned. by jove, i must try and get a bit modest. i was a little chagrined by the review. (this refers to the review in the "athenaeum", november , , where the reviewer, after touching on the theological aspects of the book, leaves the author to "the mercies of the divinity hall, the college, the lecture room, and the museum.") i hope it was not --. as advocate, he might think himself justified in giving the argument only on one side. but the manner in which he drags in immortality, and sets the priests at me, and leaves me to their mercies, is base. he would, on no account, burn me, but he will get the wood ready, and tell the black beasts how to catch me... it would be unspeakably grand if huxley were to lecture on the subject, but i can see this is a mere chance; faraday might think it too unorthodox. ... i had a letter from [huxley] with such tremendous praise of my book, that modesty (as i am trying to cultivate that difficult herb) prevents me sending it to you, which i should have liked to have done, as he is very modest about himself. you have cockered me up to that extent, that i now feel i can face a score of savage reviewers. i suppose you are still with the lyells. give my kindest remembrance to them. i triumph to hear that he continues to approve. believe me, your would-be modest friend, c.d. charles darwin to c. lyell. ilkley wells, yorkshire, november [ ]. my dear lyell, you seemed to have worked admirably on the species question; there could not have been a better plan than reading up on the opposite side. i rejoice profoundly that you intend admitting the doctrine of modification in your new edition (it appears from sir charles lyell's published letters that he intended to admit the doctrine of evolution in a new edition of the 'manual,' but this was not published till . he was, however, at work on the 'antiquity of man' in , and had already determined to discuss the 'origin' at the end of the book.); nothing, i am convinced, could be more important for its success. i honour you most sincerely. to have maintained in the position of a master, one side of a question for thirty years, and then deliberately give it up, is a fact to which i much doubt whether the records of science offer a parallel. for myself, also, i rejoice profoundly; for, thinking of so many cases of men pursuing an illusion for years, often and often a cold shudder has run through me, and i have asked myself whether i may not have devoted my life to a phantasy. now i look at it as morally impossible that investigators of truth, like you and hooker, can be wholly wrong, and therefore i rest in peace. thank you for criticisms, which, if there be a second edition, i will attend to. i have been thinking that if i am much execrated as an atheist, etc., whether the admission of the doctrine of natural selection could injure your works; but i hope and think not, for as far as i can remember, the virulence of bigotry is expended on the first offender, and those who adopt his views are only pitied as deluded, by the wise and cheerful bigots. i cannot help thinking that you overrate the importance of the multiple origin of dogs. the only difference is, that in the case of single origins, all difference of the races has originated since man domesticated the species. in the case of multiple origins part of the difference was produced under natural conditions. i should infinitely prefer the theory of single origin in all cases, if facts would permit its reception. but there seems to me some a priori improbability (seeing how fond savages are of taming animals), that throughout all times, and throughout all the world, that man should have domesticated one single species alone, of the widely distributed genus canis. besides this, the close resemblance of at least three kinds of american domestic dogs to wild species still inhabiting the countries where they are now domesticated, seem to almost compel admission that more than one wild canis has been domesticated by man. i thank you cordially for all the generous zeal and interest you have shown about my book, and i remain, my dear lyell, your affectionate friend and disciple, charles darwin. sir j. herschel, to whom i sent a copy, is going to read my book. he says he leans to the side opposed to me. if you should meet him after he has read me, pray find out what he thinks, for, of course, he will not write; and i should excessively like to hear whether i produce any effect on such a mind. t.h. huxley to charles darwin. jermyn street w., november rd, . my dear darwin, i finished your book yesterday, a lucky examination having furnished me with a few hours of continuous leisure. since i read von baer's (karl ernst von baer, born , died at dorpat --one of the most distinguished biologists of the century. he practically founded the modern science of embryology.) essays, nine years ago, no work on natural history science i have met with has made so great an impression upon me, and i do most heartily thank you for the great store of new views you have given me. nothing, i think, can be better than the tone of the book, it impresses those who know nothing about the subject. as for your doctrine, i am prepared to go to the stake, if requisite, in support of chapter ix., and most parts of chapters x., xi., xii., and chapter xiii. contains much that is most admirable, but on one or two points i enter a caveat until i can see further into all sides of the question. as to the first four chapters, i agree thoroughly and fully with all the principles laid down in them. i think you have demonstrated a true cause for the production of species, and have thrown the onus probandi that species did not arise in the way you suppose, on your adversaries. but i feel that i have not yet by any means fully realized the bearings of those most remarkable and original chapters iii., iv. and v., and i will write no more about them just now. the only objections that have occurred to me are, st that you have loaded yourself with an unnecessary difficulty in adopting natura non facit saltum so unreservedly... and nd, it is not clear to me why, if continual physical conditions are of so little moment as you suppose, variation should occur at all. however, i must read the book two or three times more before i presume to begin picking holes. i trust you will not allow yourself to be in any way disgusted or annoyed by the considerable abuse and misrepresentation which, unless i greatly mistake, is in store for you. depend upon it you have earned the lasting gratitude of all thoughtful men. and as to the curs which will bark and yelp, you must recollect that some of your friends, at any rate, are endowed with an amount of combativeness which (though you have often and justly rebuked it) may stand you in good stead. i am sharpening up my claws and beak in readiness. looking back over my letter, it really expresses so feebly all i think about you and your noble book that i am half ashamed of it; but you will understand that, like the parrot in the story, "i think the more." ever yours faithfully, t.h. huxley. charles darwin to t.h. huxley. ilkley, november th [ ]. my dear huxley, your letter has been forwarded to me from down. like a good catholic who has received extreme unction, i can now sing "nunc dimittis." i should have been more than contented with one quarter of what you have said. exactly fifteen months ago, when i put pen to paper for this volume, i had awful misgivings; and thought perhaps i had deluded myself, like so many have done, and i then fixed in my mind three judges, on whose decision i determined mentally to abide. the judges were lyell, hooker, and yourself. it was this which made me so excessively anxious for your verdict. i am now contented, and can sing my nunc dimittis. what a joke it would be if i pat you on the back when you attack some immovable creationist! you have most cleverly hit on one point, which has greatly troubled me; if, as i must think, external conditions produce little direct effect, what the devil determines each particular variation? what makes a tuft of feathers come on a cock's head, or moss on a moss-rose? i shall much like to talk over this with you... my dear huxley, i thank you cordially for your letter. yours very sincerely, c. darwin. p.s.--hereafter i shall be particularly curious to hear what you think of my explanation of embryological similarity. on classification i fear we shall split. did you perceive the argumentum ad hominem huxley about kangaroo and bear? erasmus darwin (his brother.) to charles darwin. november rd [ ]. dear charles, i am so much weaker in the head, that i hardly know if i can write, but at all events i will jot down a few things that the dr. (dr., afterwards sir henry holland.) has said. he has not read much above half, so as he says he can give no definite conclusion, and it is my private belief he wishes to remain in that state... he is evidently in a dreadful state of indecision, and keeps stating that he is not tied down to either view, and that he has always left an escape by the way he has spoken of varieties. i happened to speak of the eye before he had read that part, and it took away his breath--utterly impossible--structure, function, etc., etc., etc., but when he had read it he hummed and hawed, and perhaps it was partly conceivable, and then he fell back on the bones of the ear, which were beyond all probability or conceivability. he mentioned a slight blot, which i also observed, that in speaking of the slave-ants carrying one another, you change the species without giving notice first, and it makes one turn back... ... for myself i really think it is the most interesting book i ever read, and can only compare it to the first knowledge of chemistry, getting into a new world or rather behind the scenes. to me the geographical distribution, i mean the relation of islands to continents, is the most convincing of the proofs, and the relation of the oldest forms to the existing species. i dare say i don't feel enough the absence of varieties, but then i don't in the least know if everything now living were fossilized whether the paleontologists could distinguish them. in fact the a priori reasoning is so entirely satisfactory to me that if the facts won't fit in, why so much the worse for the facts is my feeling. my ague has left me in such a state of torpidity that i wish i had gone through the process of natural selection. yours affectionately, e.a.d. charles darwin to c. lyell. ilkley, november [ th, ]. my dear lyell, again i have to thank you for a most valuable lot of criticisms in a letter dated nd. this morning i heard also from murray that he sold the whole edition (first edition, copies.) the first day to the trade. he wants a new edition instantly, and this utterly confounds me. now, under water-cure, with all nervous power directed to the skin, i cannot possibly do head-work, and i must make only actually necessary corrections. but i will, as far as i can without my manuscript, take advantage of your suggestions: i must not attempt much. will you send me one line to say whether i must strike out about the secondary whale (the passage was omitted in the second edition.), it goes to my heart. about the rattle-snake, look to my journal, under trigonocephalus, and you will see the probable origin of the rattle, and generally in transitions it is the premier pas qui coute. madame belloc wants to translate my book into french; i have offered to look over proofs for scientific errors. did you ever hear of her? i believe murray has agreed at my urgent advice, but i fear i have been rash and premature. quatrefages has written to me, saying he agrees largely with my views. he is an excellent naturalist. i am pressed for time. will you give us one line about the whales? again i thank you for neve-tiring advice and assistance; i do in truth reverence your unselfish and pure love of truth. my dear lyell, ever yours, c. darwin. [with regard to a french translation, he wrote to mr. murray in november : "i am extremely anxious, for the subject's sake (and god knows not for mere fame), to have my book translated; and indirectly its being known abroad will do good to the english sale. if it depended on me, i should agree without payment, and instantly send a copy, and only beg that she [mme. belloc] would get some scientific man to look over the translation... you might say that, though i am a very poor french scholar, i could detect any scientific mistake, and would read over the french proofs." the proposed translation was not made, and a second plan fell through in the following year. he wrote to m. de quatrefages: "the gentleman who wished to translate my 'origin of species' has failed in getting a publisher. balliere, masson, and hachette all rejected it with contempt. it was foolish and presumptuous in me, hoping to appear in a french dress; but the idea would not have entered my head had it not been suggested to me. it is a great loss. i must console myself with the german edition which prof. bronn is bringing out." (see letters to bronn, page .) a sentence in another letter to m. de quatrefages shows how anxious he was to convert one of the greatest of contemporary zoologists: "how i should like to know whether milne edwards had read the copy which i sent him, and whether he thinks i have made a pretty good case on our side of the question. there is no naturalist in the world for whose opinion i have so profound a respect. of course i am not so silly as to expect to change his opinion."] charles darwin to c. lyell. ilkley, [november th, ]. my dear lyell, i have received your letter of the th. it is no use trying to thank you; your kindness is beyond thanks. i will certainly leave out the whale and bear... the edition was copies. when i was in spirits, i sometimes fancied that my book would be successful, but i never even built a castle in the air of such success as it has met with; i do not mean the sale, but the impression it has made on you (whom i have always looked at as chief judge) and hooker and huxley. the whole has infinitely exceeded my wildest hopes. farewell, i am tired, for i have been going over the sheets. my kind friend, farewell, yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. ilkley, yorkshire, december nd [ ]. my dear lyell, every note which you have sent me has interested me much. pray thank lady lyell for her remark. in the chapters she refers to, i was unable to modify the passage in accordance with your suggestion; but in the final chapter i have modified three or four. kingsley, in a note (the letter is given below) to me, had a capital paragraph on such notions as mine being not opposed to a high conception of the deity. i have inserted it as an extract from a letter to me from a celebrated author and divine. i have put in about nascent organs. i had the greatest difficulty in partially making out sedgwick's letter, and i dare say i did greatly underrate its clearness. do what i could, i fear i shall be greatly abused. in answer to sedgwick's remark that my book would be "mischievous," i asked him whether truth can be known except by being victorious over all attacks. but it is no use. h.c. watson tells me that one zoologist says he will read my book, "but i will never believe it." what a spirit to read any book in! crawford writes to me that his notice (john crawford, orientalist, ethnologist, etc., - . the review appeared in the "examiner", and, though hostile, is free from bigotry, as the following citation will show: "we cannot help saying that piety must be fastidious indeed that objects to a theory the tendency of which is to show that all organic beings, man included, are in a perpetual progress of amelioration, and that is expounded in the reverential language which we have quoted.") will be hostile, but that "he will not calumniate the author." he says he has read my book, "at least such parts as he could understand." he sent me some notes and suggestions (quite unimportant), and they show me that i have unavoidably done harm to the subject, by publishing an abstract. he is a real pallasian; nearly all our domestic races descended from a multitude of wild species now commingled. i expected murchison to be outrageous. how little he could ever have grappled with the subject of denudation! how singular so great a geologist should have so unphilosophical a mind! i have had several notes from --, very civil and less decided. says he shall not pronounce against me without much reflection, perhaps will say nothing on the subject. x. says -- will go to that part of hell, which dante tells us is appointed for those who are neither on god's side nor on that of the devil. i fully believe that i owe the comfort of the next few years of my life to your generous support, and that of a very few others. i do not think i am brave enough to have stood being odious without support; now i feel as bold as a lion. but there is one thing i can see i must learn, viz., to think less of myself and my book. farewell, with cordial thanks. yours most truly, c. darwin. i return home on the th, and shall sleep at erasmus's. i will call on you about ten o'clock, on thursday, the th, and sit with you, as i have so often sat, during your breakfast. i wish there was any chance of prestwich being shaken; but i fear he is too much of a catastrophist. [in december there appeared in 'macmillan's magazine' an article, "time and life," by professor huxley. it is mainly occupied by an analysis of the argument of the 'origin,' but it also gives the substance of a lecture delivered at the royal institution before that book was published. professor huxley spoke strongly in favour of evolution in his lecture, and explains that in so doing he was to a great extent resting on a knowledge of "the general tenor of the researches in which mr. darwin had been so long engaged," and was supported in so doing by his perfect confidence in his knowledge, perseverance, and "high-minded love of truth." my father was evidently deeply pleased by mr. huxley's words, and wrote: "i must thank you for your extremely kind notice of my book in 'macmillan.' no one could receive a more delightful and honourable compliment. i had not heard of your lecture, owing to my retired life. you attribute much too much to me from our mutual friendship. you have explained my leading idea with admirable clearness. what a gift you have of writing (or more properly) thinking clearly."] charles darwin to w.b. carpenter. ilkley, yorkshire, december rd [ ]. my dear carpenter, i am perfectly delighted at your letter. it is a great thing to have got a great physiologist on our side. i say "our" for we are now a good and compact body of really good men, and mostly not old men. in the long run we shall conquer. i do not like being abused, but i feel that i can now bear it; and, as i told lyell, i am well convinced that it is the first offender who reaps the rich harvest of abuse. you have done an essential kindness in checking the odium theologicum in the e.r. (this must refer to carpenter's critique which would now have been ready to appear in the january number of the "edinburgh review", , and in which the odium theologicum is referred to.) it much pains all one's female relations and injures the cause. i look at it as immaterial whether we go quite the same lengths; and i suspect, judging from myself, that you will go further, by thinking of a population of forms like ornithorhyncus, and by thinking of the common homological and embryological structure of the several vertebrate orders. but this is immaterial. i quite agree that the principle is everything. in my fuller ms. i have discussed a good many instincts; but there will surely be more unfilled gaps here than with corporeal structure, for we have no fossil instincts, and know scarcely any except of european animals. when i reflect how very slowly i came round myself, i am in truth astonished at the candour shown by lyell, hooker, huxley, and yourself. in my opinion it is grand. i thank you cordially for taking the trouble of writing a review for the 'national.' god knows i shall have few enough in any degree favourable. (see a letter to dr. carpenter below.) charles darwin to c. lyell. saturday [december th, ]. ... i have had a letter from carpenter this morning. he reviews me in the 'national.' he is a convert, but does not go quite so far as i, but quite far enough, for he admits that all birds are from one progenitor, and probably all fishes and reptiles from another parent. but the last mouthful chokes him. he can hardly admit all vertebrates from one parent. he will surely come to this from homology and embryology. i look at it as grand having brought round a great physiologist, for great i think he certainly is in that line. how curious i shall be to know what line owen will take; dead against us, i fear; but he wrote me a most liberal note on the reception of my book, and said he was quite prepared to consider fairly and without prejudice my line of argument. j.d. hooker to charles darwin. kew, monday. dear darwin, you have, i know, been drenched with letters since the publication of your book, and i have hence forborne to add my mite. i hope now that you are well through edition ii., and i have heard that you were flourishing in london. i have not yet got half-through the book, not from want of will, but of time--for it is the very hardest book to read, to full profits, that i ever tried--it is so cram-full of matter and reasoning. i am all the more glad that you have published in this form, for the three volumes, unprefaced by this, would have choked any naturalist of the nineteenth century, and certainly have softened my brain in the operation of assimilating their contents. i am perfectly tired of marvelling at the wonderful amount of facts you have brought to bear, and your skill in marshalling them and throwing them on the enemy; it is also extremely clear as far as i have gone, but very hard to fully appreciate. somehow it reads very different from the ms., and i often fancy i must have been very stupid not to have more fully followed it in ms. lyell told me of his criticisms. i did not appreciate them all, and there are many little matters i hope one day to talk over with you. i saw a highly flattering notice in the 'english churchman,' short and not at all entering into discussion, but praising you and your book, and talking patronizingly of the doctrine!... bentham and henslow will still shake their heads i fancy... ever yours affectionately, jos. d. hooker. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, saturday [december th, ]. ... i had very long interviews with --, which perhaps you would like to hear about... i infer from several expressions that, at bottom, he goes an immense way with us... he said to the effect that my explanation was the best ever published of the manner of formation of species. i said i was very glad to hear it. he took me up short: "you must not at all suppose that i agree with you in all respects." i said i thought it no more likely that i should be right in nearly all points, than that i should toss up a penny and get heads twenty times running. i asked him what he thought the weakest part. he said he had no particular objection to any part. he added:-- "if i must criticise, i should say, 'we do not want to know what darwin believes and is convinced of, but what he can prove.'" i agreed most fully and truly that i have probably greatly sinned in this line, and defended my general line of argument of inventing a theory and seeing how many classes of facts the theory would explain. i added that i would endeavour to modify the "believes" and "convinceds." he took me up short: "you will then spoil your book, the charm of (!) it is that it is darwin himself." he added another objection, that the book was too teres atque rotundus--that it explained everything, and that it was improbable in the highest degree that i should succeed in this. i quite agree with this rather queer objection, and it comes to this that my book must be very bad or very good... i have heard, by roundabout channel, that herschel says my book "is the law of higgledy-piggledy." what this exactly means i do not know, but it is evidently very contemptuous. if true this is a great blow and discouragement. charles darwin to john lubbock. december th [ ]. ... the latter part of my stay at ilkley did me much good, but i suppose i never shall be strong, for the work i have had since i came back has knocked me up a little more than once. i have been busy in getting a reprint (with a very few corrections) through the press. my book has been as yet very much more successful than i ever dreamed of: murray is now printing copies. have you finished it? if so, pray tell me whether you are with me on the general issue, or against me. if you are against me, i know well how honourable, fair, and candid an opponent i shall have, and which is a good deal more than i can say of all my opponents... pray tell me what you have been doing. have you had time for any natural history?... p.s.--i have got--i wish and hope i might say that we have got--a fair number of excellent men on our side of the question on the mutability of species. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, december th [ ]. my dear hooker, your approval of my book, for many reasons, gives me intense satisfaction; but i must make some allowance for your kindness and sympathy. any one with ordinary faculties, if he had patience enough and plenty of time, could have written my book. you do not know how i admire your and lyell's generous and unselfish sympathy, i do not believe either of you would have cared so much about your own work. my book, as yet, has been far more successful than i ever even formerly ventured in the wildest day-dreams to anticipate. we shall soon be a good body of working men, and shall have, i am convinced, all young and rising naturalists on our side. i shall be intensely interested to hear whether my book produces any effect on a. gray; from what i heard at lyell's, i fancy your correspondence has brought him some way already. i fear that there is no chance of bentham being staggered. will he read my book? has he a copy? i would send him one of the reprints if he has not. old j.e. gray (john edward gray ( - ), was the son of s.f. gray, author of the 'supplement to the pharmacopoeia.' in he published in his father's name 'the natural arrangement of british plants,' one of the earliest works in english on the natural method. in he became connected with the natural history department of the british museum, and was appointed keeper of the zoological collections in . he was the author of 'illustrations of indian zoology,' 'the knowsley menagerie,' etc., and of innumerable descriptive zoological papers.), at the british museum, attacked me in fine style: "you have just reproduced lamarck's doctrine and nothing else, and here lyell and others have been attacking him for twenty years, and because you (with a sneer and laugh) say the very same thing, they are all coming round; it is the most ridiculous inconsistency, etc., etc." you must be very glad to be settled in your house, and i hope all the improvements satisfy you. as far as my experience goes, improvements are never perfection. i am very sorry to hear that you are still so very busy, and have so much work. and now for the main purport of my note, which is to ask and beg you and mrs. hooker (whom it is really an age since i have seen), and all your children, if you like, to come and spend a week here. it would be a great pleasure to me and to my wife... as far as we can see, we shall be at home all the winter; and all times probably would be equally convenient; but if you can, do not put it off very late, as it may slip through. think of this and persuade mrs. hooker, and be a good man and come. farewell, my kind and dear friend, yours affectionately, c. darwin. p.s.--i shall be very curious to hear what you think of my discussion on classification in chapter xiii.; i believe huxley demurs to the whole, and says he has nailed his colours to the mast, and i would sooner die than give up; so that we are in as fine a frame of mind to discuss the point as any two religionists. embryology is my pet bit in my book, and, confound my friends, not one has noticed this to me. charles darwin to asa gray. down, december st [ ]. my dear gray, i have just received your most kind, long, and valuable letter. i will write again in a few days, for i am at present unwell and much pressed with business: to-day's note is merely personal. i should, for several reasons, be very glad of an american edition. i have made up my mind to be well abused; but i think it of importance that my notions should be read by intelligent men, accustomed to scientific argument, though not naturalists. it may seem absurd, but i think such men will drag after them those naturalists who have too firmly fixed in their heads that a species is an entity. the first edition of copies was sold on the first day, and now my publisher is printing off, as rapidly as possible, more copies. i mention this solely because it renders probable a remunerative sale in america. i should be infinitely obliged if you could aid an american reprint; and could make, for my sake and the publisher's, any arrangement for any profit. the new edition is only a reprint, yet i have made a few important corrections. i will have the clean sheets sent over in a few days of as many sheets as are printed off, and the remainder afterwards, and you can do anything you like,--if nothing, there is no harm done. i should be glad for the new edition to be reprinted and not the old.--in great haste, and with hearty thanks, yours very sincerely, c. darwin. i will write soon again. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, nd [december, ]. my dear lyell, thanks about "bears" (see 'origin,' edition i., page .), a word of il-omen to me. i am too unwell to leave home, so shall not see you. i am very glad of your remarks on hooker. (sir c. lyell wrote to sir j.d. hooker, december , ('life,' ii. page ): "i have just finished the reading of your splendid essay [the 'flora of australia'] on the origin of species, as illustrated by your wide botanical experience, and think it goes very far to raise the variety-making hypothesis to the rank of a theory, as accounting for the manner in which new species enter the world.") i have not yet got the essay. the parts which i read in sheets seemed to me grand, especially the generalization about the australian flora itself. how superior to robert brown's celebrated essay! i have not seen naudin's paper ('revue horticole,' . see historical sketch in the later editions of the 'origin of species.'), and shall not be able till i hunt the libraries. i am very anxious to see it. decaisne seems to think he gives my whole theory. i do not know when i shall have time and strength to grapple with hooker... p.s.--i have heard from sir w. jardine (jardine, sir william, bart., - ), was the son of sir a. jardine of applegarth, dumfriesshire. he was educated at edinburgh, and succeeded to the title on his father's decease in . he published, jointly with mr. prideaux, j. selby, sir stamford raffles, dr. horsfield, and other ornithologists, 'illustrations of ornithology,' and edited the 'naturalist's library,' in volumes, which included the four branches: mammalia, ornithology, ichnology, and entomology. of these volumes were written by himself. in he became editor of the 'magazine of zoology and botany,' which, two years later, was transformed into 'annals of natural history,' but remained under his direction. for bohn's standard library he edited white's 'natural history of selborne.' sir w. jardine was also joint editor of the 'edinburgh philosophical journal,' and was author of 'british salmonidae,' 'ichthyology of annandale,' 'memoirs of the late hugh strickland,' 'contributions to ornithology,' 'ornithological synonyms,' etc.--(taken from ward, 'men of the reign,' and cates, 'dictionary of general biography.'): his criticisms are quite unimportant; some of the galapagos so-called species ought to be called varieties, which i fully expected; some of the sub-genera, thought to be wholly endemic, have been found on the continent (not that he gives his authority), but i do not make out that the species are the same. his letter is brief and vague, but he says he will write again. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down [ rd december, ]. my dear hooker, i received last night your 'introduction,' for which very many thanks; i am surprised to see how big it is: i shall not be able to read it very soon. it was very good of you to send naudin, for i was very curious to see it. i am surprised that decaisne should say it was the same as mine. naudin gives artificial selection, as well as a score of english writers, and when he says species were formed in the same manner, i thought the paper would certainly prove exactly the same as mine. but i cannot find one word like the struggle for existence and natural selection. on the contrary, he brings in his principle (page ) of finality (which i do not understand), which, he says, with some authors is fatality, with others providence, and which adapts the forms of every being, and harmonises them all throughout nature. he assumes like old geologists (who assumed that the forces of nature were formerly greater), that species were at first more plastic. his simile of tree and classification is like mine (and others), but he cannot, i think, have reflected much on the subject, otherwise he would see that genealogy by itself does not give classification; i declare i cannot see a much closer approach to wallace and me in naudin than in lamarck--we all agree in modification and descent. if i do not hear from you i will return the 'revue' in a few days (with the cover). i dare say lyell would be glad to see it. by the way, i will retain the volume till i hear whether i shall or not send it to lyell. i should rather like lyell to see this note, though it is foolish work sticking up for independence or priority. ever yours, c. darwin. a. sedgwick (rev. adam sedgwick, - , woodwardian professor of geology in the university of cambridge.) to charles darwin. cambridge, december th, [ ]. my dear darwin, i write to thank you for your work on the 'origin of species.' it came, i think, in the latter part of last week; but it may have come a few days sooner, and been overlooked among my book-parcels, which often remain unopened when i am lazy or busy with any work before me. so soon as i opened it i began to read it, and i finished it, after many interruptions, on tuesday. yesterday i was employed-- st, in preparing for my lecture; ndly, in attending a meeting of my brother fellows to discuss the final propositions of the parliamentary commissioners; rdly, in lecturing; thly, in hearing the conclusion of the discussion and the college reply, whereby, in conformity with my own wishes, we accepted the scheme of the commissioners; thly, in dining with an old friend at clare college; thly, in adjourning to the weekly meeting of the ray club, from which i returned at p.m., dog-tired, and hardly able to climb my staircase. lastly, in looking through the "times" to see what was going on in the busy world. i do not state this to fill space (though i believe that nature does abhor a vacuum), but to prove that my reply and my thanks are sent to you by the earliest leisure i have, though that is but a very contracted opportunity. if i did not think you a good-tempered and truth-loving man, i should not tell you that (spite of the great knowledge, store of facts, capital views of the correlation of the various parts of organic nature, admirable hints about the diffusion, through wide regions of many related organic beings, etc., etc.) i have read your book with more pain than pleasure. parts of it i admired greatly, parts i laughed at till my sides were almost sore; other parts i read with absolute sorrow, because i think them utterly false and grievously mischievous. you have deserted--after a start in that tra-road of all solid physical truth--the true method of induction, and started us in machinery as wild, i think, as bishop wilkins's locomotive that was to sail with us to the moon. many of your wide conclusions are based upon assumptions which can neither be proved nor disproved, why then express them in the language and arrangement of philosophical induction? as to your grand principle--natural selection--what is it but a secondary consequence of supposed, or known, primary facts! development is a better word, because more close to the cause of the fact? for you do not deny causation. i call (in the abstract) causation the will of god; and i can prove that he acts for the good of his creatures. he also acts by laws which we can study and comprehend. acting by law, and under what is called final causes, comprehends, i think, your whole principle. you write of "natural selection" as if it were done curiously by the selecting agent. 'tis but a consequence of the presupposed development, and the subsequent battle for life. this view of nature you have stated admirably, though admitted by all naturalists and denied by no one of common sense. we all admit development as a fact of history: but how came it about? here, in language, and still more in logic, we are point-blank at issue. there is a moral or metaphysical part of nature as well a physical. a man who denies this is deep in the mire of folly. 'tis the crown and glory of organic science that it does through final cause, link material and moral; and yet does not allow us to mingle them in our first conception of laws, and our classification of such laws, whether we consider one side of nature or the other. you have ignored this link; and, if i do not mistake your meaning, you have done your best in one or two pregnant cases to break it. were it possible (which, thank god, it is not) to break it, humanity, in my mind, would suffer a damage that might brutalize it, and sink the human race into a lower grade of degradation than any into which it has fallen since its written records tell us of its history. take the case of the bee-cells. if your development produced the successive modification of the bee and its cells (which no mortal can prove), final cause would stand good as the directing cause under which the successive generations acted and gradually improved. passages in your book, like that to which i have alluded (and there are others almost as bad), greatly shocked my moral taste. i think, in speculating on organic descent, you over-state the evidence of geology; and that you under-state it while you are talking of the broken links of your natural pedigree: but my paper is nearly done, and i must go to my lecture-room. lastly, then, i greatly dislike the concluding chapter--not as a summary, for in that light it appears good--but i dislike it from the tone of triumphant confidence in which you appeal to the rising generation (in a tone i condemned in the author of the 'vestiges') and prophesy of things not yet in the womb of time, nor (if we are to trust the accumulated experience of human sense and the inferences of its logic) ever likely to be found anywhere but in the fertile womb of man's imagination. and now to say a word about a son of a monkey and an old friend of yours: i am better, far better, than i was last year. i have been lecturing three days a week (formerly i gave six a week) without much fatigue, but i find by the loss of activity and memory, and of all productive powers, that my bodily frame is sinking slowly towards the earth. but i have visions of the future. they are as much a part of myself as my stomach and my heart, and these visions are to have their antitype in solid fruition of what is best and greatest. but on one condition only--that i humbly accept god's revelation of himself both in his works and in his word, and do my best to act in conformity with that knowledge which he only can give me, and he only can sustain me in doing. if you and i do all this we shall meet in heaven. i have written in a hurry, and in a spirit of brotherly love, therefore forgive any sentence you happen to dislike; and believe me, spite of any disagreement in some points of the deepest moral interest, your tru-hearted old friend, a. sedgwick. charles darwin to t.h. huxley. down, december th [ ]. my dear huxley, one part of your note has pleased me so much that i must thank you for it. not only sir h.h. [holland], but several others, have attacked me about analogy leading to belief in one primordial created form. ('origin,' edition i. page .--"therefore i should infer from analogy that probably all the organic beings which have ever lived on this earth have descended from some one primordial form, into which life was first breathed.") (by which i mean only that we know nothing as yet [of] how life originates.) i thought i was universally condemned on this head. but i answered that though perhaps it would have been more prudent not to have put it in, i would not strike it out, as it seemed to me probable, and i give it on no other grounds. you will see in your mind the kind of arguments which made me think it probable, and no one fact had so great an effect on me as your most curious remarks on the apparent homologies of the head of vertebrata and articulata. you have done a real good turn in the agency business ("my general agent" was a sobriquet applied at this time by my father to mr. huxley.) (i never before heard of a hard-working, unpaid agent besides yourself), in talking with sir h.h., for he will have great influence over many. he floored me from my ignorance about the bones of the ear, and i made a mental note to ask you what the facts were. with hearty thanks and real admiration for your generous zeal for the subject. yours most truly, c. darwin. you may smile about the care and precautions i have taken about my ugly ms. (manuscript left with mr. huxley for his perusal.); it is not so much the value i set on them, but the remembrance of the intolerable labour--for instance, in tracing the history of the breeds of pigeons. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, th [december, ]. ... i shall not write to decaisne (with regard to naudin's paper in the 'revue horticole,' .); i have always had a strong feeling that no one had better defend his own priority. i cannot say that i am as indifferent to the subject as i ought to be, but one can avoid doing anything in consequence. i do not believe one iota about your having assimilated any of my notions unconsciously. you have always done me more than justice. but i do think i did you a bad turn by getting you to read the old ms., as it must have checked your own original thoughts. there is one thing i am fully convinced of, that the future progress (which is the really important point) of the subject will have depended on really good and well-known workers, like yourself, lyell, and huxley, having taken up the subject, than on my own work. i see plainly it is this that strikes my no-scientific friends. last night i said to myself, i would just cut your introduction, but would not begin to read, but i broke down, and had a good hour's read. farewell, yours affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. december th, . ... have you seen the splendid essay and notice of my book in the "times"? (december th.) i cannot avoid a strong suspicion that it is by huxley; but i never heard that he wrote in the "times". it will do grand service,... c. darwin to t.h. huxley. down, december th [ ]. my dear huxley, yesterday evening, when i read the "times" of a previous day, i was amazed to find a splendid essay and review of me. who can the author be? i am intensely curious. it included an eulogium of me which quite touched me, though i am not vain enough to think it all deserved. the author is a literary man, and german scholar. he has read my book very attentively; but, what is very remarkable, it seems that he is a profound naturalist. he knows my barnacle-book, and appreciates it too highly. lastly, he writes and thinks with quite uncommon force and clearness; and what is even still rarer, his writing is seasoned with most pleasant wit. we all laughed heartily over some of the sentences. i was charmed with those unreasonable mortals, who know anything, all thinking fit to range themselves on one side. (the reviewer proposes to pass by the orthodox view, according to which the phenomena of the organic world are "the immediate product of a creative fiat, and consequently are out of the domain of science altogether." and he does so "with less hesitation, as it so happens that those persons who are practically conversant with the facts of the case (plainly a considerable advantage) have always thought fit to range themselves" in the category of those holding "views which profess to rest on a scientific basis only, and therefore admit of being argued to their consequences.") who can it be? certainly i should have said that there was only one man in england who could have written this essay, and that you were the man. but i suppose i am wrong, and that there is some hidden genius of great calibre. for how could you influence jupiter olympius and make him give three and a half columns to pure science? the old fogies will think the world will come to an end. well, whoever the man is, he has done great service to the cause, far more than by a dozen reviews in common periodicals. the grand way he soars above common religious prejudices, and the admission of such views into the "times", i look at as of the highest importance, quite independently of the mere question of species. if you should happen to be acquainted with the author, for heaven-sake tell me who he is? my dear huxley, yours most sincerely, c. darwin. [it is impossible to give in a short space an adequate idea of mr. huxley's article in the "times" of december . it is admirably planned, so as to claim for the 'origin' a respectful hearing, and it abstains from anything like dogmatism in asserting the truth of the doctrines therein upheld. a few passages may be quoted:--"that this most ingenious hypothesis enables us to give a reason for many apparent anomalies in the distribution of living beings in time and space, and that it is not contradicted by the main phenomena of life and organisation, appear to us to be unquestionable." mr. huxley goes on to recommend to the readers of the 'origin' a condition of "thatige skepsis"--a state of "doubt which so loves truth that it neither dares rest in doubting, nor extinguish itself by unjustified belief." the final paragraph is in a strong contrast to professor sedgwick and his "ropes of bubbles" (see below). mr. huxley writes: "mr. darwin abhors mere speculation as nature abhors a vacuum. he is as greedy of cases and precedents as any constitutional lawyer, and all the principles he lays down are capable of being brought to the test of observation and experiment. the path he bids us follow professes to be not a mere airy track, fabricated of ideal cobwebs, but a solid and broad bridge of facts. if it be so, it will carry us safely over many a chasm in our knowledge, and lead us to a region free from the snares of those fascinating but barren virgins, the final causes, against whom a high authority has so justly warned us." there can be no doubt that this powerful essay, appearing as it did in the leading daily journal, must have had a strong influence on the reading public. mr. huxley allows me to quote from a letter an account of the happy chance that threw into his hands the opportunity of writing it. "the 'origin' was sent to mr. lucas, one of the staff of the "times" writers at that day, in what i suppose was the ordinary course of business. mr. lucas, though an excellent journalist, and, at a later period, editor of 'once a week,' was as innocent of any knowledge of science as a babe, and bewailed himself to an acquaintance on having to deal with such a book. whereupon he was recommended to ask me to get him out of his difficulty, and he applied to me accordingly, explaining, however, that it would be necessary for him formally to adopt anything i might be disposed to write, by prefacing it with two or three paragraphs of his own. "i was too anxious to seize upon the opportunity thus offered of giving the book a fair chance with the multitudinous readers of the "times" to make any difficulty about conditions; and being then very full of the subject, i wrote the article faster, i think, than i ever wrote anything in my life, and sent it to mr. lucas, who duly prefixed his opening sentences. "when the article appeared, there was much speculation as to its authorship. the secret leaked out in time, as all secrets will, but not by my aid; and then i used to derive a good deal of innocent amusement from the vehement assertions of some of my more acute friends, that they knew it was mine from the first paragraph! "as the "times" some years since, referred to my connection with the review, i suppose there will be no breach of confidence in the publication of this little history, if you think it worth the space it will occupy."] chapter .ii. -- the 'origin of species' (continued). . [i extract a few entries from my father's diary:-- "january th. the second edition, copies, of 'origin' was published." "may nd. the first edition of 'origin' in the united states was copies." my father has here noted down the sums received for the 'origin.' first edition...... pounds second edition..... pounds shillings pence total.............. pounds shillings pence. after the publication of the second edition he began at once, on january th, looking over his materials for the 'variation of animals and plants;' the only other work of the year was on drosera. he was at down during the whole of this year, except for a visit to dr. lane's water-cure establishment at sudbrooke, and in june, and for visits to miss elizabeth wedgwood's house at hartfield, in sussex (july), and to eastbourne, september to november .] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, january rd [ ]. my dear hooker, i have finished your essay. ('australian flora.') as probably you would like to hear my opinion, though a non-botanist, i will give it without any exaggeration. to my judgment it is by far the grandest and most interesting essay, on subjects of the nature discussed, i have ever read. you know how i admired your former essays, but this seems to me far grander. i like all the part after page xxvi better than the first part, probably because newer to me. i dare say you will demur to this, for i think every author likes the most speculative parts of his own productions. how superior your essay is to the famous one of brown (here will be sneer st from you). you have made all your conclusions so admirably clear, that it would be no use at all to be a botanist (sneer no. ). by jove, it would do harm to affix any idea to the long names of outlandish orders. one can look at your conclusions with the philosophic abstraction with which a mathematician looks at his a times x + the square root of z squared, etc. etc. i hardly know which parts have interested me most; for over and over again i exclaimed, "this beats all." the general comparison of the flora of australia with the rest of the world, strikes me (as before) as extremely original, good, and suggestive of many reflections. ... the invading indian flora is very interesting, but i think the fact you mention towards the close of the essay--that the indian vegetation, in contradistinction to the malayan vegetation, is found in low and level parts of the malay islands, greatly lessens the difficulty which at first (page ) seemed so great. there is nothing like one's own hobby-horse. i suspect it is the same case as of glacial migration, and of naturalised production--of production of greater area conquering those of lesser; of course the indian forms would have a greater difficulty in seizing on the cool parts of australia. i demur to your remarks (page ), as not "conceiving anything in soil, climate, or vegetation of india," which could stop the introduction of australian plants. towards the close of the essay (page civ), you have admirable remarks on our profound ignorance of the cause of possible naturalisation or introduction; i would answer page , by a later page, viz. page civ. your contrast of the south-west and south-east corners is one of the most wonderful cases i ever heard of... you show the case with wonderful force. your discussion on mixed invaders of the south-east corner (and of new zealand) is as curious and intricate a problem as of the races of men in britain. your remark on mixed invading flora keeping down or destroying an original flora, which was richer in number of species, strikes me as eminently new and important. i am not sure whether to me the discussion on the new zealand flora is not even more instructive. i cannot too much admire both. but it will require a long time to suck in all the facts. your case of the largest australian orders having none, or very few, species in new zealand, is truly marvellous. anyhow, you have now demonstrated (together with no mammals in new zealand) (bitter sneer no. ), that new zealand has never been continuously, or even nearly continuously, united by land to australia!! at page lxxxix, is the only sentence (on this subject) in the whole essay at which i am much inclined to quarrel, viz. that no theory of trans-oceanic migration can explain, etc. etc. now i maintain against all the world, that no man knows anything about the power of trans-oceanic migration. you do not know whether or not the absent orders have seeds which are killed by sea-water, like almost all leguminosae, and like another order which i forget. birds do not migrate from australia to new zealand, and therefore floatation seems the only possible means; but yet i maintain that we do not know enough to argue on the question, especially as we do not know the main fact whether the seeds of australian orders are killed by sea-water. the discussion on european genera is profoundly interesting; but here alone i earnestly beg for more information, viz. to know which of these genera are absent in the tropics of the world, i.e. confined to temperate regions. i excessively wish to know, on the notion of glacial migration, how much modification has taken place in australia. i had better explain when we meet, and get you to go over and mark the list. ... the list of naturalised plants is extremely interesting, but why at the end, in the name of all that is good and bad, do you not sum up and comment on your facts? come, i will have a sneer at you in return for the many which you will have launched at this letter. should you have remarked on the number of plants naturalised in australia and the united states under extremely different climates, as showing that climate is so important, and [on] the considerable sprinkling of plants from india, north america, and south africa, as showing that the frequent introduction of seeds is so important? with respect to "abundance of unoccupied ground in australia," do you believe that european plants introduced by man now grow on spots in australia which were absolutely bare? but i am an impudent dog, one must defend one's own fancy theories against such cruel men as you. i dare say this letter will appear very conceited, but one must form an opinion on what one reads with attention, and in simple truth, i cannot find words strong enough to express my admiration of your essay. my dear old friend, yours affectionately, c. darwin. p.s.--i differ about the "saturday review". ("saturday review", december , . the hostile arguments of the reviewer are geological, and he deals especially with the denudation of the weald. the reviewer remarks that, "if a million of centuries, more or less, is needed for any part of his argument, he feels no scruple in taking them to suit his purpose.") one cannot expect fairness in a reviewer, so i do not complain of all the other arguments besides the 'geological record' being omitted. some of the remarks about the lapse of years are very good, and the reviewer gives me some good and well-deserved raps--confound it. i am sorry to confess the truth: but it does not at all concern the main argument. that was a nice notice in the "gardeners' chronicle". i hope and imagine that lindley is almost a convert. do not forget to tell me if bentham gets all the more staggered. with respect to tropical plants during the glacial period, i throw in your teeth your own facts, at the base of the himalaya, on the possibility of the co-existence of at least forms of the tropical and temperate regions. i can give a parallel case for animals in mexico. oh! my dearly beloved puny child, how cruel men are to you! i am very glad you approve of the geographical chapters... charles darwin to c. lyell. down, [january th, ]. my dear l. "gardeners' chronicle" returned safe. thanks for note. i am beyond measure glad that you get more and more roused on the subject of species, for, as i have always said, i am well convinced that your opinions and writings will do far more to convince the world than mine. you will make a grand discussion on man. you are very bold in this, and i honour you. i have been, like you, quite surprised at the want of originality in opposed arguments and in favour too. gwyn jeffreys attacks me justly in his letter about strictly littoral shells not being often embedded at least in tertiary deposits. i was in a muddle, for i was thinking of secondary, yet chthamalus applied to tertiary... possibly you might like to see the enclosed note (dr. whewell wrote (january , ): "... i cannot, yet at least, become a convert. but there is so much of thought and of fact in what you have written that it is not to be contradicted without careful selection of the ground and manner of the dissent." dr. whewell dissented in a practical manner for some years, by refusing to allow a copy of the 'origin of species' to be placed in the library of trinity college.) from whewell, merely as showing that he is not horrified with us. you can return it whenever you have occasion to write, so as not to waste your time. c.d. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, [january th? ]. ... i have had a brief note from keyserling (joint author with murchison of the 'geology of russia,' .), but not worth sending you. he believes in change of species, grants that natural selection explains well adaptation of form, but thinks species change too regularly, as if by some chemical law, for natural selection to be the sole cause of change. i can hardly understand his brief note, but this is i think the upshot. ... i will send a. murray's paper whenever published. (the late andrew murray wrote two papers on the 'origin' in the proc. r. soc. edin. . the one referred to here is dated january , . the following is quoted from page of the separate copy: "but the second, and, as it appears to me, by much the most important phase of reversion to type (and which is practically, if not altogether ignored by mr. darwin), is the instinctive inclination which induces individuals of the same species by preference to intercross with those possessing the qualities which they themselves want, so as to preserve the purity or equilibrium of the breed... it is trite to a proverb, that tall men marry little women... a man of genius marries a fool... and we are told that this is the result of the charm of contrast, or of qualities admired in others because we do not possess them. i do not so explain it. i imagine it is the effort of nature to preserve the typical medium of the race.") it includes speculations (which he perhaps will modify) so rash, and without a single fact in support, that had i advanced them he or other reviewers would have hit me very hard. i am sorry to say that i have no "consolatory view" on the dignity of man. i am content that man will probably advance, and care not much whether we are looked at as mere savages in a remotely distant future. many thanks for your last note. yours affectionately, c. darwin. i have received, in a manchester newspaper, rather a good squib, showing that i have proved "might is right," and therefore that napoleon is right, and every cheating tradesman is also right. charles darwin to w.b. carpenter. down, january th [ ]? my dear carpenter, i have just read your excellent article in the 'national.' it will do great good; especially if it becomes known as your production. it seems to me to give an excellently clear account of mr. wallace's and my views. how capitally you turn the flanks of the theological opposers by opposing to them such men as bentham and the more philosophical of the systematists! i thank you sincerely for the extremely honourable manner in which you mention me. i should have liked to have seen some criticisms or remarks on embryology, on which subject you are so well instructed. i do not think any candid person can read your article without being much impressed with it. the old doctrine of immutability of specific forms will surely but slowly die away. it is a shame to give you trouble, but i should be very much obliged if you could tell me where differently coloured eggs in individuals of the cuckoo have been described, and their laying in twent-seven kinds of nests. also do you know from your own observation that the limbs of sheep imported into the west indies change colour? i have had detailed information about the loss of wool; but my accounts made the change slower than you describe. with most cordial thanks and respect, believe me, my dear carpenter, yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. charles darwin to l. jenyns. (rev. l. blomefield.) down, january th, . my dear jenyns, i am very much obliged for your letter. it is of great use and interest to me to know what impression my book produces on philosophical and instructed minds. i thank you for the kind things which you say; and you go with me much further than i expected. you will think it presumptuous, but i am convinced, if circumstances lead you to keep the subject in mind, that you will go further. no one has yet cast doubts on my explanation of the subordination of group to group, on homologies, embryology, and rudimentary organs; and if my explanation of these classes of facts be at all right, whole classes of organic beings must be included in one line of descent. the imperfection of the geological record is one of the greatest difficulties... during the earliest period the record would be most imperfect, and this seems to me sufficient to account for our not finding intermediate forms between the classes in the same great kingdoms. it was certainly rash in me putting in my belief of the probability of all beings having descended from one primordial form; but as this seems yet to me probable, i am not willing to strike it out. huxley alone supports me in this, and something could be said in its favour. with respect to man, i am very far from wishing to obtrude my belief; but i thought it dishonest to quite conceal my opinion. of course it is open to every one to believe that man appeared by a separate miracle, though i do not myself see the necessity or probability. pray accept my sincere thanks for your kind note. your going some way with me gives me great confidence that i am not very wrong. for a very long time i halted half way; but i do not believe that any enquiring mind will rest half-way. people will have to reject all or admit all; by all i mean only the members of each great kingdom. my dear jenyns, yours most sincerely, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, january th [ ]. ... it is perfectly true that i owe nearly all the corrections (the second edition of copies of the 'origin' was published on january th.) to you, and several verbal ones to you and others; i am heartily glad you approve of them, as yet only two things have annoyed me; those confounded millions (this refers to the passage in the 'origin of species' ( nd edition, page ), in which the lapse of time implied by the denudation of the weald is discussed. the discussion closes with the sentence: "so that it is not improbable that a longer period than million years has elapsed since the latter part of the secondary period." this passage is omitted in the later editions of the 'origin,' against the advice of some of his friends, as appears from the pencil notes in my father's copy of the second edition.) of years (not that i think it is probably wrong), and my not having (by inadvertance) mentioned wallace towards the close of the book in the summary, not that any one has noticed this to me. i have now put in wallace's name at page in a conspicuous place. i cannot refer you to tables of mortality of children, etc. etc. i have notes somewhere, but i have not the least idea where to hunt, and my notes would now be old. i shall be truly glad to read carefully any ms. on man, and give my opinion. you used to caution me to be cautious about man. i suspect i shall have to return the caution a hundred fold! yours will, no doubt, be a grand discussion; but it will horrify the world at first more than my whole volume; although by the sentence (page , new edition (first edition, page .)) i show that i believe man is in the same predicament with other animals. it is, in fact, impossible to doubt it. i have thought (only vaguely) on man. with respect to the races, one of my best chances of truth has broken down from the impossibility of getting facts. i have one good speculative line, but a man must have entire credence in natural selection before he will even listen to it. psychologically, i have done scarcely anything. unless, indeed, expression of countenance can be included, and on that subject i have collected a good many facts, and speculated, but i do not suppose i shall ever publish, but it is an uncommonly curious subject. by the way, i sent off a lot of questions the day before yesterday to tierra del fuego on expression! i suspect (for i have never read it) that spencer's 'psychology' has a bearing on psychology as we should look at it. by all means read the preface, in about pages, of hensleigh wedgwood's new dictionary on the first origin of language; erasmus would lend it. i agree about carpenter, a very good article, but with not much original... andrew murray has criticised, in an address to the botanical society of edinburgh, the notice in the 'linnean journal,' and "has disposed of" the whole theory by an ingenious difficulty, which i was very stupid not to have thought of; for i express surprise at more and analogous cases not being known. the difficulty is, that amongst the blind insects of the caves in distant parts of the world there are some of the same genus, and yet the genus is not found out of the caves or living in the free world. i have little doubt that, like the fish amblyopsis, and like proteus in europe, these insects are "wrecks of ancient life," or "living fossils," saved from competition and extermination. but that formerly seeing insects of the same genus roamed over the whole area in which the cases are included. farewell, yours affectionately, c. darwin. p.s.--our ancestor was an animal which breathed water, had a swim bladder, a great swimming tail, an imperfect skull, and undoubtedly was an hermaphrodite! here is a pleasant genealogy for mankind. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, january th [ ]. ... i shall be much interested in reading your man discussion, and will give my opinion carefully, whatever that may be worth; but i have so long looked at you as the type of cautious scientific judgment (to my mind one of the highest and most useful qualities), that i suspect my opinion will be superfluous. it makes me laugh to think what a joke it will be if i have to caution you, after your cautions on the same subject to me! i will order owen's book ('classification of the mammalia,' .); i am very glad to hear huxley's opinion on his classification of man; without having due knowledge, it seemed to me from the very first absurd; all classifications founded on single characters i believe have failed. ... what a grand, immense benefit you conferred on me by getting murray to publish my book. i never till to-day realised that it was getting widely distributed; for in a letter from a lady to-day to e., she says she heard a man enquiring for it at the railway station!!! at waterloo bridge; and the bookseller said that he had none till the new edition was out. the bookseller said he had not read it, but had heard it was a very remarkable book!!!... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, th [january, ]. ... i heard from lyell this morning, and he tells me a piece of news. you are a good-for-nothing man; here you are slaving yourself to death with hardly a minute to spare, and you must write a review of my book! i thought it ('gardeners' chronicle', . referred to above. sir j.d. hooker took the line of complete impartiality, so as not to commit lindley.) a very good one, and was so much struck with it that i sent it to lyell. but i assumed, as a matter of course, that it was lindley's. now that i know it is yours, i have re-read it, and, my kind and good friend, it has warmed my heart with all the honourable and noble things you say of me and it. i was a good deal surprised at lindley hitting on some of the remarks, but i never dreamed of you. i admired it chiefly as so well adapted to tell on the readers of the 'gardeners' chronicle'; but now i admired it in another spirit. farewell, with hearty thanks... lyell is going at man with an audacity that frightens me. it is a good joke; he used always to caution me to slip over man. [in the "gardeners' chronicle", january , , appeared a short letter from my father which was called forth by mr. westwood's communication to the previous number of the journal, in which certain phenomena of cros-breeding are discussed in relation to the 'origin of species.' mr. westwood wrote in reply (february ) and adduced further evidence against the doctrine of descent, such as the identity of the figures of ostriches on the ancient "egyptian records," with the bird as we now know it. the correspondence is hardly worth mentioning, except as one of the very few cases in which my father was enticed into anything resembling a controversy.] asa gray to j.d. hooker. cambridge, mass., january th, . my dear hooker, your last letter, which reached me just before christmas, has got mislaid during the upturnings in my study which take place at that season, and has not yet been discovered. i should be very sorry to lose it, for there were in it some botanical mems. which i had not secured... the principal part of your letter was high laudation of darwin's book. well, the book has reached me, and i finished its careful perusal four days ago; and i freely say that your laudation is not out of place. it is done in a masterly manner. it might well have taken twenty years to produce it. it is crammed full of most interesting matter--thoroughly digested--well expressed--close, cogent, and taken as a system it makes out a better case than i had supposed possible... agassiz, when i saw him last, had read but a part of it. he says it is poor--very poor!! (entre nous). the fact [is] he is very much annoyed by it,... and i do not wonder at it. to bring all ideal systems within the domain of science, and give good physical or natural explanations of all his capital points, is as bad as to have forbes take the glacier materials... and give scientific explanation of all the phenomena. tell darwin all this. i will write to him when i get a chance. as i have promised, he and you shall have fair-play here... i must myself write a review of darwin's book for 'silliman's journal' (the more so that i suspect agassiz means to come out upon it) for the next (march) no., and i am now setting about it (when i ought to be every moment working the expl[oring] expedition compositae, which i know far more about). and really it is no easy job, as you may well imagine. i doubt if i shall please you altogether. i know i shall not please agassiz at all. i hear another reprint is in the press, and the book will excite much attention here, and some controversy... charles darwin to asa gray. down, january th [ ]. my dear gray, hooker has forwarded to me your letter to him; and i cannot express how deeply it has gratified me. to receive the approval of a man whom one has long sincerely respected. and whose judgment and knowledge are most universally admitted, is the highest reward an author can possibly wish for; and i thank you heartily for your most kind expressions. i have been absent from home for a few days, and so could not earlier answer your letter to me of the th of january. you have been extremely kind to take so much trouble and interest about the edition. it has been a mistake of my publisher not thinking of sending over the sheets. i had entirely and utterly forgotten your offer of receiving the sheets as printed off. but i must not blame my publisher, for had i remembered your most kind offer i feel pretty sure i should not have taken advantage of it; for i never dreamed of my book being so successful with general readers; i believe i should have laughed at the idea of sending the sheets to america. (in a letter to mr. murray, , my father wrote:--"i am amused by asa gray's account of the excitement my book has made amongst naturalists in the united states. agassiz has denounced it in a newspaper, but yet in such terms that it is in fact a fine advertisement!" this seems to refer to a lecture given before the mercantile library association.) after much consideration, and on the strong advice of lyell and others, i have resolved to leave the present book as it is (excepting correcting errors, or here and there inserting short sentences) and to use all my strength, which is but little, to bring out the first part (forming a separate volume with index, etc.) of the three volumes which will make my bigger work; so that i am very unwilling to take up time in making corrections for an american edition. i enclose a list of a few corrections in the second reprint, which you will have received by this time complete, and i could send four or five corrections or additions of equally small importance, or rather of equal brevity. i also intend to write a short preface with a brief history of the subject. these i will set about, as they must some day be done, and i will send them to you in a short time--the few corrections first, and the preface afterwards, unless i hear that you have given up all idea of a separate edition. you will then be able to judge whether it is worth having the new edition with your review prefixed. whatever be the nature of your review, i assure you i should feel it a great honour to have my book thus preceded... asa gray to charles darwin. cambridge, january rd, . my dear darwin, you have my hurried letter telling you of the arrival of the remainder of the sheets of the reprint, and of the stir i had made for a reprint in boston. well, all looked pretty well, when, lo, we found that a second new york publishing house had announced a reprint also! i wrote then to both new york publishers, asking them to give way to the author and his reprint of a revised edition. i got an answer from the harpers that they withdraw --from the appletons that they had got the book out (and the next day i saw a copy); but that, "if the work should have any considerable sale, we certainly shall be disposed to pay the author reasonably and liberally." the appletons being thus out with their reprint, the boston house declined to go on. so i wrote to the appletons taking them at their word, offering to aid their reprint, to give them the use of the alterations in the london reprint, as soon as i find out what they are, etc. etc. and i sent them the first leaf, and asked them to insert in their future issue the additional matter from butler (a quotation from butler's 'analogy,' on the use of the word natural, which in the second edition is placed with the passages from whewell and bacon on page ii, opposite the title-page.), which tells just right. so there the matter stands. if you furnish any matter in advance of the london third edition, i will make them pay for it. i may get something for you. all got is clear gain; but it will not be very much, i suppose. such little notices in the papers here as have yet appeared are quite handsome and considerate. i hope next week to get printed sheets of my review from new haven, and send [them] to you, and will ask you to pass them on to dr. hooker. to fulfil your request, i ought to tell you what i think the weakest, and what the best, part of your book. but this is not easy, nor to be done in a word or two. the best part, i think, is the whole, i.e., its plan and treatment, the vast amount of facts and acute inferences handled as if you had a perfect mastery of them. i do not think twenty years too much time to produce such a book in. style clear and good, but now and then wants revision for little matters (page , self-fertilises itself, etc.). then your candour is worth everything to your cause. it is refreshing to find a person with a new theory who frankly confesses that he finds difficulties, insurmountable, at least for the present. i know some people who never have any difficulties to speak of. the moment i understood your premisses, i felt sure you had a real foundation to hold on. well, if one admits your premisses, i do not see how he is to stop short of your conclusions, as a probable hypothesis at least. it naturally happens that my review of your book does not exhibit anything like the full force of the impression the book has made upon me. under the circumstances i suppose i do your theory more good here, by bespeaking for it a fair and favourable consideration, and by standing non-committed as to its full conclusions, than i should if i announced myself a convert; nor could i say the latter, with truth. well, what seems to me the weakest point in the book is the attempt to account for the formation of organs, the making of eyes, etc., by natural selection. some of this reads quite lamarckian. the chapter on hybridism is not a weak, but a strong chapter. you have done wonders there. but still you have not accounted, as you may be held to account, for divergence up to a certain extent producing increased fertility of the crosses, but carried one short almost imperceptible step more, giving rise to sterility, or reversing the tendency. very likely you are on the right track; but you have something to do yet in that department. enough for the present. ... i am not insensible to your compliments, the very high compliment which you pay me in valuing my opinion. you evidently think more of it than i do, though from the way i write [to] you, and especially [to] hooker, this might not be inferred from the reading of my letters. i am free to say that i never learnt so much from one book as i have from yours, there remain a thousand things i long to say about it. ever yours, asa gray. charles darwin to asa gray. [february? ]. ... now i will just run through some points in your letter. what you say about my book gratifies me most deeply, and i wish i could feel all was deserved by me. i quite think a review from a man, who is not an entire convert, if fair and moderately favourable, is in all respects the best kind of review. about the weak points i agree. the eye to this day gives me a cold shudder, but when i think of the fine known gradations, my reason tells me i ought to conquer the cold shudder. pray kindly remember and tell prof. wyman how very grateful i should be for any hints, information, or criticisms. i have the highest respect for his opinion. i am so sorry about dana's health. i have already asked him to pay me a visit. farewell, you have laid me under a load of obligation--not that i feel it a load. it is the highest possible gratification to me to think that you have found my book worth reading and reflection; for you and three others i put down in my own mind as the judges whose opinions i should value most of all. my dear gray, yours most sincerely, c. darwin. p.s.--i feel pretty sure, from my own experience, that if you are led by your studies to keep the subject of the origin of species before your mind, you will go further and further in your belief. it took me long years, and i assure you i am astonished at the impression my book has made on many minds. i fear twenty years ago, i should not have been half as candid and open to conviction. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, [january st, ]. my dear hooker, i have resolved to publish a little sketch of the progress of opinion on the change of species. will you or mrs. hooker do me the favour to copy one sentence out of naudin's paper in the 'revue horticole,' , page , namely, that on his principle of finalite. can you let me have it soon, with those confounded dashes over the vowels put in carefully? asa gray, i believe, is going to get a second edition of my book, and i want to send this little preface over to him soon. i did not think of the necessity of having naudin's sentence on finality, otherwise i would have copied it. yours affectionately, c. darwin. p.s.--i shall end by just alluding to your australian flora introduction. what was the date of publication: december , or january ? please answer this. my preface will also do for the french edition, which i believe, is agreed on. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. february [ ]. ... as the 'origin' now stands, harvey's (william henry harvey was descended from a quaker family of youghal, and was born in february, , at summerville, a country house on the banks of the shannon. he died at torquay in . in , harvey went to africa (table bay) to pursue his botanical studies, the results of which were given in his 'genera of south african plants.' in , ill-health compelled him to obtain leave of absence, and return to england for a time; in he returned to cape town, to be again compelled by illness to leave. in he obtained the appointment of botanical professor at trinity college, dublin. in , , and he visited australia, new zealand, the friendly and fiji islands. in dr. harvey reached home, and was appointed the successor of professor allman to the chair of botany in dublin university. he was author of several botanical works, principally on algae.--(from a memoir published in .)) is a good hit against my talking so much of the insensibly fine gradations; and certainly it has astonished me that i should be pelted with the fact, that i had not allowed abrupt and great enough variations under nature. it would take a good deal more evidence to make me admit that forms have often changed by saltum. have you seen wollaston's attack in the 'annals'? ('annals and magazine of natural history,' .) the stones are beginning to fly. but theology has more to do with these two attacks than science... [in the above letter a paper by harvey in the "gardeners' chronicle", february , , is alluded to. he describes a case of monstrosity in begonia frigida, in which the "sport" differed so much from a normal begonia that it might have served as the type of a distinct natural order. harvey goes on to argue that such a case is hostile to the theory of natural selection, according to which changes are not supposed to take place per saltum, and adds that "a few such cases would overthrow it [mr. darwin's hypothesis] altogether." in the following number of the "gardeners' chronicle" sir j.d. hooker showed that dr. harvey had misconceived the bearing of the begonia case, which he further showed to be by no means calculated to shake the validity of the doctrine of modification by means of natural selection. my father mentions the begonia case in a letter to lyell (february , ):-- "i send by this post an attack in the "gardeners' chronicle", by harvey (a first-rate botanist, as you probably know). it seems to me rather strange; he assumes the permanence of monsters, whereas, monsters are generally sterile, and not often inheritable. but grant his case, it comes that i have been too cautious in not admitting great and sudden variations. here again comes in the mischief of my abstract. in the fuller ms. i have discussed a parallel case of a normal fish like the monstrous gold-fish." with reference to sir j.d. hooker's reply, my father wrote:] down, [february th, ]. my dear hooker, your answer to harvey seems to me admirably good. you would have made a gigantic fortune as a barrister. what an omission of harvey's about the graduated state of the flowers! but what strikes me most is that surely i ought to know my own book best, yet, by jove, you have brought forward ever so many arguments which i did not think of! your reference to classification (viz. i presume to such cases as aspicarpa) is excellent, for the monstrous begonia no doubt in all details would be begonia. i did not think of this, nor of the retrograde step from separated sexes to an hermaphrodite state; nor of the lessened fertility of the monster. proh pudor to me. the world would say what a lawyer has been lost in a mere botanist! farewell, my dear master in my own subject, yours affectionately, c. darwin. i am so heartily pleased to see that you approve of the chapter on classification. i wonder what harvey will say. but no one hardly, i think, is able at first to see when he is beaten in an argument. [the following letters refer to the first translation ( ) of the 'origin of species' into german, which was superintended by h.g. bronn, a good zoologist and palaeontologist, who was at the time at freiburg, but afterwards professor at heidelberg. i have been told that the translation was not a success, it remained an obvious translation, and was correspondingly unpleasant to read. bronn added to the translation an appendix of the difficulties that occurred to him. for instance, how can natural selection account for differences between species, when these differences appear to be of no service to their possessors; e.g., the length of the ears and tail, or the folds in the enamel of the teeth of various species of rodents? krause, in his book, 'charles darwin,' page , criticises bronn's conduct in this manner, but it will be seen that my father actually suggested the addition of bronn's remarks. a more serious charge against bronn made by krause (op. cit. page ) is that he left out passages of which he did not approve, as, for instance, the passage ('origin,' first edition, page ) "light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history." i have no evidence as to whether my father did or did not know of these alterations.] charles darwin to h.g. bronn. down, february [ ]. dear and much honoured sir, i thank you sincerely for your most kind letter; i feared that you would much disapprove of the 'origin,' and i sent it to you merely as a mark of my sincere respect. i shall read with much interest your work on the productions of islands whenever i receive it. i thank you cordially for the notice in the 'neues jahrbuch fur mineralogie,' and still more for speaking to schweitzerbart about a translation; for i am most anxious that the great and intellectual german people should know something about my book. i have told my publisher to send immediately a copy of the new (second edition.) edition to schweitzerbart, and i have written to schweitzerbart that i gave up all right to profit for myself, so that i hope a translation will appear. i fear that the book will be difficult to translate, and if you could advise schweitzerbart about a good translator, it would be of very great service. still more, if you would run your eye over the more difficult parts of the translation; but this is too great a favour to expect. i feel sure that it will be difficult to translate, from being so much condensed. again i thank you for your noble and generous sympathy, and i remain, with entire respect, yours, truly obliged, c. darwin. p.s.--the new edition has some few corrections, and i will send in ms. some additional corrections, and a short historical preface, to schweitzerbart. how interesting you could make the work by editing (i do not mean translating) the work, and appending notes of refutation or confirmation. the book has sold so very largely in england, that an editor would, i think, make profit by the translation. charles darwin to h.g. bronn. down, february [ ]. my dear and much honoured sir, i thank you cordially for your extreme kindness in superintending the translation. i have mentioned this to some eminent scientific men, and they all agree that you have done a noble and generous service. if i am proved quite wrong, yet i comfort myself in thinking that my book may do some good, as truth can only be known by rising victorious from every attack. i thank you also much for the review, and for the kind manner in which you speak of me. i send with this letter some corrections and additions to m. schweitzerbart, and a short historical preface. i am not much acquainted with german authors, as i read german very slowly; therefore i do not know whether any germans have advocated similar views with mine; if they have, would you do me the favour to insert a foot-note to the preface? m. schweitzerbart has now the reprint ready for a translator to begin. several scientific men have thought the term "natural selection" good, because its meaning is not obvious, and each man could not put on it his own interpretation, and because it at once connects variation under domestication and nature. is there any analogous term used by german breeders of animals? "adelung," ennobling, would, perhaps, be too metaphysical. it is folly in me, but i cannot help doubting whether "wahl der lebensweise" expresses my notion. it leaves the impression on my mind of the lamarckian doctrine (which i reject) of habits of life being al-important. man has altered, and thus improved the english race-horse by selecting successive fleeter individuals; and i believe, owing to the struggle for existence, that similar slight variations in a wild horse, if advantageous to it, would be selected or preserved by nature; hence natural selection. but i apologise for troubling you with these remarks on the importance of choosing good german terms for "natural selection." with my heartfelt thanks, and with sincere respect, i remain, dear sir, yours very sincerely, charles darwin. charles darwin to h.g. bronn. down, july [ ]. dear and honoured sir, on my return home, after an absence of some time, i found the translation of the third part (the german translation was published in three pamphle-like numbers.) of the 'origin,' and i have been delighted to see a final chapter of criticisms by yourself. i have read the first few paragraphs and final paragraph, and am perfectly contented, indeed more than contented, with the generous and candid spirit with which you have considered my views. you speak with too much praise of my work. i shall, of course, carefully read the whole chapter; but though i can read descriptive books like gaertner's pretty easily, when any reasoning comes in, i find german excessively difficult to understand. at some future time i should very much like to hear how my book has been received in germany, and i most sincerely hope m. schweitzerbart will not lose money by the publication. most of the reviews have been bitterly opposed to me in england, yet i have made some converts, and several naturalists who would not believe in a word of it, are now coming slightly round, and admit that natural selection may have done something. this gives me hope that more will ultimately come round to a certain extent to my views. i shall ever consider myself deeply indebted to you for the immense service and honour which you have conferred on me in making the excellent translation of my book. pray believe me, with most sincere respect, dear sir, yours gratefully, charles darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, [february th, ]. ... i think it was a great pity that huxley wasted so much time in the lecture on the preliminary remarks;... but his lecture seemed to me very fine and very bold. i have remonstrated (and he agrees) against the impression that he would leave, that sterility was a universal and infallible criterion of species. you will, i am sure, make a grand discussion on man. i am so glad to hear that you and lady lyell will come here. pray fix your own time; and if it did not suit us we would say so. we could then discuss man well... how much i owe to you and hooker! i do not suppose i should hardly ever have published had it not been for you. [the lecture referred to in the last letter was given at the royal institution, february , . the following letter was written in reply to mr. huxley's request for information about breeding, hybridisation, etc. it is of interest as giving a vivid retrospect of the writer's experience on the subject.] charles darwin to t.h. huxley. ilkley, yorks, november [ ]. my dear huxley, gartner grand, kolreuter grand, but papers scattered through many volumes and very lengthy. i had to make an abstract of the whole. herbert's volume on amaryllidaceae very good, and two excellent papers in the 'horticultural journal.' for animals, no resume to be trusted at all; facts are to be collected from all original sources. (this caution is exemplified in the following extract from an earlier letter to professor huxley:--"the inaccuracy of the blessed gang (of which i am one) of compilers passes all bounds. monsters have frequently been described as hybrids without a tittle of evidence. i must give one other case to show how we jolly fellows work. a belgian baron (i forget his name at this moment) crossed two distinct geese and got seven hybrids, which he proved subsequently to be quite sterile; well, compiler the first, chevreul, says that the hybrids were propagated for seven generations inter se. compiler second (morton) mistakes the french name, and gives latin names for two more distinct geese, and says chevreul himself propagated them inter se for seven generations; and the latter statement is copied from book to book.") i fear my ms. for the bigger book (twice or thrice as long as in present book), with all references, would be illegible, but it would save you infinite labour; of course i would gladly lend it, but i have no copy, so care would have to be taken of it. but my accursed handwriting would be fatal, i fear. about breeding, i know of no one book. i did not think well of lowe, but i can name none better. youatt i look at as a far better and more practical authority; but then his views and facts are scattered through three or four thick volumes. i have picked up most by reading really numberless special treatises and all agricultural and horticultural journals; but it is a work of long years. the difficulty is to know what to trust. no one or two statements are worth a farthing; the facts are so complicated. i hope and think i have been really cautious in what i state on this subject, although all that i have given, as yet, is far too briefly. i have found it very important associating with fanciers and breeders. for instance, i sat one evening in a gin palace in the borough amongst a set of pigeon fanciers, when it was hinted that mr. bull had crossed his pouters with runts to gain size; and if you had seen the solemn, the mysterious, and awful shakes of the head which all the fanciers gave at this scandalous proceeding, you would have recognised how little crossing has had to do with improving breeds, and how dangerous for endless generations the process was. all this was brought home far more vividly than by pages of mere statements, etc. but i am scribbling foolishly. i really do not know how to advise about getting up facts on breeding and improving breeds. go to shows is one way. read all treatises on any one domestic animal, and believe nothing without largely confirmed. for your lectures i can give you a few amusing anecdotes and sentences, if you want to make the audience laugh. i thank you particularly for telling me what naturalists think. if we can once make a compact set of believers we shall in time conquer. i am eminently glad ramsey is on our side, for he is, in my opinion, a firs-rate geologist. i sent him a copy. i hope he got it. i shall be very curious to hear whether any effect has been produced on prestwich; i sent him a copy, not as a friend, but owing to a sentence or two in some paper, which made me suspect he was doubting. rev. c. kingsley has a mind to come round. quatrefages writes that he goes some long way with me; says he exhibited diagrams like mine. with most hearty thanks, yours very tired, c. darwin. [i give the conclusion of professor huxley's lecture, as being one of the earliest, as well as one of the most eloquent of his utterances in support of the 'origin of species']: "i have said that the man of science is the sworn interpreter of nature in the high court of reason. but of what avail is his honest speech, if ignorance is the assessor of the judge, and prejudice the foreman of the jury? i hardly know of a great physical truth, whose universal reception has not been preceded by an epoch in which most estimable persons have maintained that the phenomena investigated were directly dependent on the divine will, and that the attempt to investigate them was not only futile, but blasphemous. and there is a wonderful tenacity of life about this sort of opposition to physical science. crushed and maimed in every battle, it yet seems never to be slain; and after a hundred defeats it is at this day as rampant, though happily not so mischievous, as in the time of galileo. "but to those whose life is spent, to use newton's noble words, in picking up here a pebble and there a pebble on the shores of the great ocean of truth--who watch, day by day, the slow but sure advance of that mighty tide, bearing on its bosom the thousand treasures wherewith man ennobles and beautifies his life--it would be laughable, if it were not so sad, to see the little canutes of the hour enthroned in solemn state, bidding that great wave to stay, and threatening to check its beneficent progress. the wave rises and they fly; but, unlike the brave old dane, they learn no lesson of humility: the throne is pitched at what seems a safe distance, and the folly is repeated. "surely it is the duty of the public to discourage anything of this kind, to discredit these foolish meddlers who think they do the almighty a service by preventing a thorough study of his works. "the origin of species is not the first, and it will not be the last, of the great questions born of science, which will demand settlement from this generation. the general mind is seething strangely, and to those who watch the signs of the times, it seems plain that this nineteenth century will see revolutions of thought and practice as great as those which the sixteenth witnessed. through what trials and sore contests the civilised world will have to pass in the course of this new reformation, who can tell? "but i verily believe that come what will, the part which england may play in the battle is a grand and a noble one. she may prove to the world that, for one people, at any rate, despotism and demagogy are not the necessary alternatives of government; that freedom and order are not incompatible; that reverence is the handmaid of knowledge; that free discussion is the life of truth, and of true unity in a nation. "will england play this part? that depends upon how you, the public, deal with science. cherish her, venerate her, follow her methods faithfully and implicitly in their application to all branches of human thought, and the future of this people will be greater than the past. "listen to those who would silence and crush her, and i fear our children will see the glory of england vanishing like arthur in the mist; they will cry too late the woful cry of guinever:-- 'it was my duty to have loved the highest; it surely was my profit had i known; it would have been my pleasure had i seen.'"] charles darwin to c. lyell. down [february th, ]. ... i am perfectly convinced (having read this morning) that the review in the 'annals' (annals and mag. of nat. hist. third series, vol. , page . my father has obviously taken the expression "pestilent" from the following passage (page ): "but who is this nature, we have a right to ask, who has such tremendous power, and to whose efficiency such marvellous performances are ascribed? what are her image and attributes, when dragged from her wordy lurking-place? is she aught but a pestilent abstraction, like dust cast in our eyes to obscure the workings of an intelligent first cause of all?" the reviewer pays a tribute to my father's candour, "so manly and outspoken as almost to 'cover a multitude of sins.'" the parentheses (to which allusion is made above) are so frequent as to give a characteristic appearance to mr. wollaston's pages.) is by wollaston; no one else in the world would have used so many parentheses. i have written to him, and told him that the "pestilent" fellow thanks him for his kind manner of speaking about him. i have also told him that he would be pleased to hear that the bishop of oxford says it is the most unphilosophical (another version of the words is given by lyell, to whom they were spoken, viz. "the most illogical book ever written."--'life,' volume ii. page .) work he ever read. the review seems to me clever, and only misinterprets me in a few places. like all hostile men, he passes over the explanation given of classification, morphology, embryology, and rudimentary organs, etc. i read wallace's paper in ms. ("on the zoological geography of the malay archipelago."--linn. soc. journ. .), and thought it admirably good; he does not know that he has been anticipated about the depth of intervening sea determining distribution... the most curious point in the paper seems to me that about the african character of the celebes productions, but i should require further confirmation... henslow is staying here; i have had some talk with him; he is in much the same state as bunbury (the late sir charles bunbury, well-known as a palaeo-botanist.), and will go a very little way with us, but brings up no real argument against going further. he also shudders at the eye! it is really curious (and perhaps is an argument in our favour) how differently different opposers view the subject. henslow used to rest his opposition on the imperfection of the geological record, but he now thinks nothing of this, and says i have got well out of it; i wish i could quite agree with him. baden powell says he never read anything so conclusive as my statement about the eye!! a stranger writes to me about sexual selection, and regrets that i boggle about such a trifle as the brush of hair on the male turkey, and so on. as l. jenyns has a really philosophical mind, and as you say you like to see everything, i send an old letter of his. in a later letter to henslow, which i have seen, he is more candid than any opposer i have heard of, for he says, though he cannot go so far as i do, yet he can give no good reason why he should not. it is funny how each man draws his own imaginary line at which to halt. it reminds me so vividly what i was told (by professor henslow.) about you when i first commenced geology--to believe a little, but on no account to believe all. ever yours affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to asa gray. down, february th [ ]. my dear gray, i received about a week ago two sheets of your review (the 'american journal of science and arts,' march, . reprinted in 'darwiniana,' .); read them, and sent them to hooker; they are now returned and r-read with care, and to-morrow i send them to lyell. your review seems to me admirable; by far the best which i have read. i thank you from my heart both for myself, but far more for the subject's sake. your contrast between the views of agassiz and such as mine is very curious and instructive. (the contrast is briefly summed up thus: "the theory of agassiz regards the origin of species and their present general distribution over the world as equally primordial, equally supernatural; that of darwin as equally derivative, equally natural."--'darwiniana,' page .) by the way, if agassiz writes anything on the subject, i hope you will tell me. i am charmed with your metaphor of the streamlet never running against the force of gravitation. your distinction between an hypothesis and theory seems to me very ingenious; but i do not think it is ever followed. every one now speaks of the undulatory theory of light; yet the ether is itself hypothetical, and the undulations are inferred only from explaining the phenomena of light. even in the theory of gravitation is the attractive power in any way known, except by explaining the fall of the apple, and the movements of the planets? it seems to me that an hypothesis is developed into a theory solely by explaining an ample lot of facts. again and again i thank you for your generous aid in discussing a view, about which you very properly hold yourself unbiassed. my dear gray, yours most sincerely, c. darwin. p.s.--several clergymen go far with me. rev. l. jenyns, a very good naturalist. henslow will go a very little way with me, and is not shocked with me. he has just been visiting me. [with regard to the attitude of the more liberal representatives of the church, the following letter (already referred to) from charles kingsley is of interest:] c. kingsley to charles darwin. eversley rectory, winchfield, november th, . dear sir, i have to thank you for the unexpected honour of your book. that the naturalist whom, of all naturalists living, i most wish to know and to learn from, should have sent a scientist like me his book, encourages me at least to observe more carefully, and perhaps more slowly. i am so poorly (in brain), that i fear i cannot read your book just now as i ought. all i have seen of it awes me; both with the heap of facts and the prestige of your name, and also with the clear intuition, that if you be right, i must give up much that i have believed and written. in that i care little. let god be true, and every man a liar! let us know what is, and, as old socrates has it, epesthai to logo--follow up the villainous shifty fox of an argument, into whatsoever unexpected bogs and brakes he may lead us, if we do but run into him at last. from two common superstitions, at least, i shall be free while judging of your books:-- . i have long since, from watching the crossing of domesticated animals and plants, learnt to disbelieve the dogma of the permanence of species. . i have gradually learnt to see that it is just as noble a conception of deity, to believe that he created primal forms capable of self development into all forms needful pro tempore and pro loco, as to believe that he required a fresh act of intervention to supply the lacunas which he himself had made. i question whether the former be not the loftier thought. be it as it may, i shall prize your book, both for itself, and as a proof that you are aware of the existence of such a person as your faithful servant, c. kingsley. [my father's old friend, the rev. j. brodie innes, of milton brodie, who was for many years vicar of down, writes in the same spirit: "we never attacked each other. before i knew mr. darwin i had adopted, and publicly expressed, the principle that the study of natural history, geology, and science in general, should be pursued without reference to the bible. that the book of nature and scripture came from the same divine source, ran in parallel lines, and when properly understood would never cross... "his views on this subject were very much to the same effect from his side. of course any conversations we may have had on purely religious subjects are as sacredly private now as in his life; but the quaint conclusion of one may be given. we had been speaking of the apparent contradiction of some supposed discoveries with the book of genesis; he said, 'you are (it would have been more correct to say you ought to be) a theologian, i am a naturalist, the lines are separate. i endeavour to discover facts without considering what is said in the book of genesis. i do not attack moses, and i think moses can take care of himself.' to the same effect he wrote more recently, 'i cannot remember that i ever published a word directly against religion or the clergy; but if you were to read a little pamphlet which i received a couple of days ago by a clergyman, you would laugh, and admit that i had some excuse for bitterness. after abusing me for two or three pages, in language sufficiently plain and emphatic to have satisfied any reasonable man, he sums up by saying that he has vainly searched the english language to find terms to express his contempt for me and all darwinians.' in another letter, after i had left down, he writes, 'we often differed, but you are one of those rare mortals from whom one can differ and yet feel no shade of animosity, and that is a thing [of] which i should feel very proud, if any one could say [it] of me.' "on my last visit to down, mr. darwin said, at his dinner-table, 'brodie innes and i have been fast friends for thirty years, and we never thoroughly agreed on any subject but once, and then we stared hard at each other, and thought one of us must be very ill.'"] charles darwin to c. lyell. down, february rd [ ]. my dear lyell, that is a splendid answer of the father of judge crompton. how curious that the judge should have hit on exactly the same points as yourself. it shows me what a capital lawyer you would have made, how many unjust acts you would have made appear just! but how much grander a field has science been than the law, though the latter might have made you lord kinnordy. i will, if there be another edition, enlarge on gradation in the eye, and on all forms coming from one prototype, so as to try and make both less glaringly improbable... with respect to bronn's objection that it cannot be shown how life arises, and likewise to a certain extent asa gray's remark that natural selection is not a vera causa, i was much interested by finding accidentally in brewster's 'life of newton,' that leibnitz objected to the law of gravity because newton could not show what gravity itself is. as it has chanced, i have used in letters this very same argument, little knowing that any one had really thus objected to the law of gravity. newton answers by saying that it is philosophy to make out the movements of a clock, though you do not know why the weight descends to the ground. leibnitz further objected that the law of gravity was opposed to natural religion! is this not curious? i really think i shall use the facts for some introductory remarks for my bigger book. ... you ask (i see) why we do not have monstrosities in higher animals; but when they live they are almost always sterile (even giants and dwarfs are generally sterile), and we do not know that harvey's monster would have bred. there is i believe only one case on record of a peloric flower being fertile, and i cannot remember whether this reproduced itself. to recur to the eye. i really think it would have been dishonest, not to have faced the difficulty; and worse (as talleyrand would have said), it would have been impolitic i think, for it would have been thrown in my teeth, as h. holland threw the bones of the ear, till huxley shut him up by showing what a fine gradation occurred amongst living creatures. i thank you much for your most pleasant letter. yours affectionately, c. darwin. p.s.--i send a letter by herbert spencer, which you can read or not as you think fit. he puts, to my mind, the philosophy of the argument better than almost any one, at the close of the letter. i could make nothing of dana's idealistic notions about species; but then, as wollaston says, i have not a metaphysical head. by the way, i have thrown at wollaston's head, a paper by alexander jordan, who demonstrates metaphysically that all our cultivated races are go-created species. wollaston misrepresents accidentally, to a wonderful extent, some passages in my book. he reviewed, without relooking at certain passages. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, february th [ ]. ... i cannot help wondering at your zeal about my book. i declare to heaven you seem to care as much about my book as i do myself. you have no right to be so eminently unselfish! i have taken off my spit [i.e. file] a letter of ramsay's, as every geologist convert i think very important. by the way, i saw some time ago a letter from h.d. rogers (professor of geology in the university of glasgow. born in the united states , died .) to huxley, in which he goes very far with us... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, saturday, march rd, [ ]. my dear hooker, what a day's work you had on that thursday! i was not able to go to london till monday, and then i was a fool for going, for, on tuesday night, i had an attack of fever (with a touch of pleurisy), which came on like a lion, but went off as a lamb, but has shattered me a good bit. i was much interested by your last note... i think you expect too much in regard to change of opinion on the subject of species. one large class of men, more especially i suspect of naturalists, never will care about any general question, of which old gray, of the british museum, may be taken as a type; and secondly, nearly all men past a moderate age, either in actual years or in mind, are, i am fully convinced, incapable of looking at facts under a new point of view. seriously, i am astonished and rejoiced at the progress which the subject has made; look at the enclosed memorandum. (see table of names below.) -- says my book will be forgotten in ten years, perhaps so; but, with such a list, i feel convinced the subject will not. the outsiders, as you say, are strong. you say that you think that bentham is touched, "but, like a wise man, holds his tongue." perhaps you only mean that he cannot decide, otherwise i should think such silence the reverse of magnanimity; for if others behaved the same way, how would opinion ever progress? it is a dereliction of actual duty. (in a subsequent letter to sir j.d. hooker (march th, ), my father wrote, "i now quite understand bentham's silence.") i am so glad to hear about thwaites. (dr. g.j.k. thwaites, who was born in , established a reputation in this country as an expert microscopist, and an acute observer, working especially at cryptogamic botany. on his appointment as director of the botanic gardens at peradenyia, ceylon, dr. thwaites devoted himself to the flora of ceylon. as a result of this he has left numerous and valuable collections, a description of which he embodied in his 'enumeratio plantarum zeylaniae' ( ). dr. thwaites was a fellow of the linnean society, but beyond the above facts little seems to have been recorded of his life. his death occurred in ceylon on september th, , in his seventy-second year. "athenaeum", october th, , page .)... i have had an astounding letter from dr. boott (the letter is enthusiastically laudatory, and obviously full of genuine feeling.); it might be turned into ridicule against him and me, so i will not send it to any one. he writes in a noble spirit of love of truth. i wonder what lindley thinks; probably too busy to read or think on the question. i am vexed about bentham's reticence, for it would have been of real value to know what parts appeared weakest to a man of his powers of observation. farewell, my dear hooker, yours affectionately, c. darwin. p.s.--is not harvey in the class of men who do not at all care for generalities? i remember your saying you could not get him to write on distribution. i have found his works very unfruitful in every respect. [here follows the memorandum referred to:] geologists. zoologists and physiologists. botanists. palaeontologists. lyell. huxley. carpenter. hooker. ramsay.* j. lubbock. sir h. holland h.c. watson. (to large extent). jukes.* l. jenyns asa gray (to large extent). (to some extent). h.d. rogers. searles wood.* dr. boott (to large extent). thwaites. (*andrew ramsay, late director-general of the geological survey. joseph beete jukes, m.a., f.r.s., - . he was educated at cambridge, and from to he acted as naturalist to h.m.s. "fly", on an exploring expedition in australia and new guinea. he was afterwards appointed director of the geological survey of ireland. he was the author of many papers, and of more than one good hand-book of geology. searles valentine wood, february , - . chiefly known for his work on the mollusca of the 'crag.') [the following letter is of interest in connection with the mention of mr. bentham in the last letter:] g. bentham to francis darwin. wilton place, s.w., may th, . my dear sir, in compliance with your note which i received last night, i send herewith the letters i have from your father. i should have done so on seeing the general request published in the papers, but that i did not think there were any among them which could be of any use to you. highly flattered as i was by the kind and friendly notice with which mr. darwin occasionally honoured me, i was never admitted into his intimacy, and he therefore never made any communications to me in relation to his views and labours. i have been throughout one of his most sincere admirers, and fully adopted his theories and conclusions, notwithstanding the severe pain and disappointment they at first occasioned me. on the day that his celebrated paper was read at the linnean society, july st, , a long paper of mine had been set down for reading, in which, in commenting on the british flora, i had collected a number of observations and facts illustrating what i then believed to be a fixity in species, however difficult it might be to assign their limits, and showing a tendency of abnormal forms produced by cultivation or otherwise, to withdraw within those original limits when left to themselves. most fortunately my paper had to give way to mr. darwin's and when once that was read, i felt bound to defer mine for reconsideration; i began to entertain doubts on the subject, and on the appearance of the 'origin of species,' i was forced, however reluctantly, to give up my long-cherished convictions, the results of much labour and study, and i cancelled all that part of my paper which urged original fixity, and published only portions of the remainder in another form, chiefly in the 'natural history review.' i have since acknowledged on various occasions my full adoption of mr. darwin's views, and chiefly in my presidential address of , and in my thirteenth and last address, issued in the form of a report to the british association at its meeting at belfast in . i prize so highly the letters that i have of mr. darwin's, that i should feel obliged by your returning them to me when you have done with them. unfortunately i have not kept the envelopes, and mr. darwin usually only dated them by the month not by the year, so that they are not in any chronological order. yours very sincerely, george bentham. charles darwin to c. lyell. down [march] th [ ]. my dear lyell, thinking over what we talked about, the high state of intellectual development of the old grecians with the little or no subsequent improvement, being an apparent difficulty, it has just occurred to me that in fact the case harmonises perfectly with our views. the case would be a decided difficulty on the lamarckian or vestigian doctrine of necessary progression, but on the view which i hold of progression depending on the conditions, it is no objection at all, and harmonises with the other facts of progression in the corporeal structure of other animals. for in a state of anarchy, or despotism, or bad government, or after irruption of barbarians, force, strength, or ferocity, and not intellect, would be apt to gain the day. we have so enjoyed your and lady lyell's visit. good-night. c. darwin. p.s.--by an odd chance (for i had not alluded even to the subject) the ladies attacked me this evening, and threw the high state of old grecians into my teeth, as an unanswerable difficulty, but by good chance i had my answer all pat, and silenced them. hence i have thought it worth scribbling to you... charles darwin to j. prestwich. (now professor of geology in the university of oxford.) down, march th [ ]. ... at some future time, when you have a little leisure, and when you have read my 'origin of species,' i should esteem it a singular favour if you would send me any general criticisms. i do not mean of unreasonable length, but such as you could include in a letter. i have always admired your various memoirs so much that i should be eminently glad to receive your opinion, which might be of real service to me. pray do not suppose that i expect to convert or pervert you; if i could stagger you in ever so slight a degree i should be satisfied; nor fear to annoy me by severe criticisms, for i have had some hearty kicks from some of my best friends. if it would not be disagreeable to you to send me your opinion, i certainly should be truly obliged... charles darwin to asa gray. down, april rd [ ]. ... i remember well the time when the thought of the eye made me cold all over, but i have got over this stage of the complaint, and now small trifling particulars of structure often make me very uncomfortable. the sight of a feather in a peacock's tail, whenever i gaze at it, makes me sick!... you may like to hear about reviews on my book. sedgwick (as i and lyell feel certain from internal evidence) has reviewed me savagely and unfairly in the "spectator". (see the quotations which follow the present letter.) the notice includes much abuse, and is hardly fair in several respects. he would actually lead any one, who was ignorant of geology, to suppose that i had invented the great gaps between successive geological formations, instead of its being an almost universally admitted dogma. but my dear old friend sedgwick, with his noble heart, is old, and is rabid with indignation. it is hard to please every one; you may remember that in my last letter i asked you to leave out about the weald denudation: i told jukes this (who is head man of the irish geological survey), and he blamed me much, for he believed every word of it, and thought it not at all exaggerated! in fact, geologists have no means of gauging the infinitude of past time. there has been one prodigy of a review, namely, an opposed one (by pictet (francois jules pictet, in the 'archives des sciences de la bibliotheque universelle,' mars . the article is written in a courteous and considerate tone, and concludes by saying that the 'origin' will be of real value to naturalists, especially if they are not led away by its seductive arguments to believe in the dangerous doctrine of modification. a passage which seems to have struck my father as being valuable, and opposite which he has made double pencil marks and written the word "good," is worth quoting: "la theorie de m. darwin s'accorde mal avec l'histoire des types a formes bien tranchees et definies qui paraissent n'avoir vecu que pendant un temps limite. on en pourrait citer des centaines d'exemples, tel que les reptiles volants, les ichthyosaures, les belemnites, les ammonites, etc." pictet was born in , died ; he was professor of anatomy and zoology at geneva.), the palaeontologist, in the bib. universelle of geneva) which is perfectly fair and just, and i agree to every word he says; our only difference being that he attaches less weight to arguments in favour, and more to arguments opposed, than i do. of all the opposed reviews, i think this the only quite fair one, and i never expected to see one. please observe that i do not class your review by any means as opposed, though you think so yourself! it has done me much too good service ever to appear in that rank in my eyes. but i fear i shall weary you with so much about my book. i should rather think there was a good chance of my becoming the most egotistical man in all europe! what a proud pre-eminence! well, you have helped to make me so and therefore you must forgive me if you can. my dear gray, ever yours most gratefully, c. darwin. [in a letter to sir charles lyell reference is made to sedgwick's review in the "spectator", march : "i now feel certain that sedgwick is the author of the article in the "spectator". no one else could use such abusive terms. and what a misrepresentation of my notions! any ignoramus would suppose that i had first broached the doctrine, that the breaks between successive formations marked long intervals of time. it is very unfair. but poor dear old sedgwick seems rabid on the question. "demoralised understanding!" if ever i talk with him i will tell him that i never could believe that an inquisitor could be a good man: but now i know that a man may roast another, and yet have as kind and noble a heart as sedgwick's." the following passages are taken from the review: "i need hardly go on any further with these objections. but i cannot conclude without expressing my detestation of the theory, because of its unflinching materialism;--because it has deserted the inductive track, the only track that leads to physical truth;--because it utterly repudiates final causes, and thereby indicates a demoralised understanding on the part of its advocates." "not that i believe that darwin is an atheist; though i cannot but regard his materialism as atheistical. i think it untrue, because opposed to the obvious course of nature, and the very opposite of inductive truth. and i think it intensely mischievous." "each series of facts is laced together by a series of assumptions, and repetitions of the one false principle. you cannot make a good rope out of a string of air bubbles." "but any startling and (supposed) novel paradox, maintained very boldly and with something of imposing plausibility, produces in some minds a kind of pleasing excitement which predisposes them in its favour; and if they are unused to careful reflection, and averse to the labour of accurate investigation, they will be likely to conclude that what is (apparently) original, must be a production of original genius, and that anything very much opposed to prevailing notions must be a grand discovery,--in short, that whatever comes from the 'bottom of a well' must be the 'truth' supposed to be hidden there." in a review in the december number of 'macmillan's magazine,' , fawcett vigorously defended my father from the charge of employing a false method of reasoning; a charge which occurs in sedgwick's review, and was made at the time ad nauseam, in such phrases as: "this is not the true baconian method." fawcett repeated his defence at the meeting of the british association in . (see an interesting letter from my father in mr. stephen's 'life of henry fawcett,' , page .)] charles darwin to w.b carpenter. down, april th [ ]. my dear carpenter, i have this minute finished your review in the 'med. chirurg. review.' (april .) you must let me express my admiration at this most able essay, and i hope to god it will be largely read, for it must produce a great effect. i ought not, however, to express such warm admiration, for you give my book, i fear, far too much praise. but you have gratified me extremely; and though i hope i do not care very much for the approbation of the non-scientific readers, i cannot say that this is at all so with respect to such few men as yourself. i have not a criticism to make, for i object to not a word; and i admire all, so that i cannot pick out one part as better than the rest. it is all so well balanced. but it is impossible not to be struck with your extent of knowledge in geology, botany, and zoology. the extracts which you give from hooker seem to me excellently chosen, and most forcible. i am so much pleased in what you say also about lyell. in fact i am in a fit of enthusiasm, and had better write no more. with cordial thanks, yours very sincerely, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, april th [ ]. my dear lyell, thank you much for your note of the th; i am very glad to hear that you are at torquay. i should have amused myself earlier by writing to you, but i have had hooker and huxley staying here, and they have fully occupied my time, as a little of anything is a full dose for me... there has been a plethora of reviews, and i am really quite sick of myself. there is a very long review by carpenter in the 'medical and chirurg. review,' very good and well balanced, but not brilliant. he discusses hooker's books at as great length as mine, and makes excellent extracts; but i could not get hooker to feel the least interest in being praised. carpenter speaks of you in thoroughly proper terms. there is a brilliant review by huxley ('westminster review,' april .), with capital hits, but i do not know that he much advances the subject. i think i have convinced him that he has hardly allowed weight enough to the case of varieties of plants being in some degrees sterile. to diverge from reviews: asa gray sends me from wyman (who will write), a good case of all the pigs being black in the everglades of virginia. on asking about the cause, it seems (i have got capital analogous cases) that when the black pigs eat a certain nut their bones become red, and they suffer to a certain extent, but that the white pigs lose their hoofs and perish, "and we aid by selection, for we kill most of the young white pigs." this was said by men who could hardly read. by the way, it is a great blow to me that you cannot admit the potency of natural selection. the more i think of it, the less i doubt its power for great and small changes. i have just read the 'edinburgh' ('edinburgh review,' april .), which without doubt is by --. it is extremely malignant, clever, and i fear will be very damaging. he is atrociously severe on huxley's lecture, and very bitter against hooker. so we three enjoyed it together. not that i really enjoyed it, for it made me uncomfortable for one night; but i have got quite over it to-day. it requires much study to appreciate all the bitter spite of many of the remarks against me; indeed i did not discover all myself. it scandalously misrepresents many parts. he misquotes some passages, altering words within inverted commas... it is painful to be hated in the intense degree with which -- hates me. now for a curious thing about my book, and then i have done. in last saturday's "gardeners' chronicle" (april th, .), a mr. patrick matthew publishes a long extract from his work on 'naval timber and arboriculture,' published in , in which he briefly but completely anticipates the theory of natural selection. i have ordered the book, as some few passages are rather obscure, but it is certainly, i think, a complete but not developed anticipation! erasmus always said that surely this would be shown to be the case some day. anyhow, one may be excused in not having discovered the fact in a work on naval timber. i heartily hope that your torquay work may be successful. give my kindest remembrances to falconer, and i hope he is pretty well. hooker and huxley (with mrs. huxley) were extremely pleasant. but poor dear hooker is tired to death of my book, and it is a marvel and a prodigy if you are not worse tired--if that be possible. farewell, my dear lyell, yours affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, [april th, ]. my dear hooker, questions of priority so often lead to odious quarrels, that i should esteem it a great favour if you would read the enclosed. ((my father wrote ("gardeners' chronicle", , page , april st): "i have been much interested by mr. patrick matthew's communication in the number of your paper dated april th. i freely acknowledge that mr. matthew has anticipated by many years the explanation which i have offered of the origin of species, under the name of natural selection. i think that no one will feel surprised that neither i, nor apparently any other naturalist, had heard of mr. matthew's views, considering how briefly they are given, and that they appeared in the appendix to a work on naval timber and arboriculture. i can do no more than offer my apologies to mr. matthew for my entire ignorance of this publication. if any other edition of my work is called for, i will insert to the foregoing effect." in spite of my father's recognition of his claims, mr. matthew remained unsatisfied, and complained that an article in the 'saturday analyst and leader' was "scarcely fair in alluding to mr. darwin as the parent of the origin of species, seeing that i published the whole that mr. darwin attempts to prove, more than twenty-nine years ago."--"saturday analyst and leader", november , .) if you think it proper that i should send it (and of this there can hardly be any question), and if you think it full and ample enough, please alter the date to the day on which you post it, and let that be soon. the case in the "gardeners' chronicle" seems a little stronger than in mr. matthew's book, for the passages are therein scattered in three places; but it would be mere hair-splitting to notice that. if you object to my letter, please return it; but i do not expect that you will, but i thought that you would not object to run your eye over it. my dear hooker, it is a great thing for me to have so good, true, and old a friend as you. i owe much for science to my friends. many thanks for huxley's lecture. the latter part seemed to be grandly eloquent. ... i have gone over [the 'edinburgh'] review again, and compared passages, and i am astonished at the misrepresentations. but i am glad i resolved not to answer. perhaps it is selfish, but to answer and think more on the subject is too unpleasant. i am so sorry that huxley by my means has been thus atrociously attacked. i do not suppose you much care about the gratuitous attack on you. lyell in his letter remarked that you seemed to him as if you were overworked. do, pray, be cautious, and remember how many and many a man has done this--who thought it absurd till too late. i have often thought the same. you know that you were bad enough before your indian journey. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, april [ ]. my dear lyell, i was very glad to get your nice long letter from torquay. a press of letters prevented me writing to wells. i was particularly glad to hear what you thought about not noticing [the 'edinburgh'] review. hooker and huxley thought it a sort of duty to point out the alteration of quoted citations, and there is truth in this remark; but i so hated the thought that i resolved not to do so. i shall come up to london on saturday the th, for sir b. brodie's party, as i have an accumulation of things to do in london, and will (if i do not hear to the contrary) call about a quarter before ten on sunday morning, and sit with you at breakfast, but will not sit long, and so take up much of your time. i must say one more word about our quasi-theological controversy about natural selection, and let me have your opinion when we meet in london. do you consider that the successive variations in the size of the crop of the pouter pigeon, which man has accumulated to please his caprice, have been due to "the creative and sustaining powers of brahma?" in the sense that an omnipotent and omniscient deity must order and know everything, this must be admitted; yet, in honest truth, i can hardly admit it. it seems preposterous that a maker of a universe should care about the crop of a pigeon solely to please man's silly fancies. but if you agree with me in thinking such an interposition of the deity uncalled for, i can see no reason whatever for believing in such interpositions in the case of natural beings, in which strange and admirable peculiarities have been naturally selected for the creature's own benefit. imagine a pouter in a state of nature wading into the water and then, being buoyed up by its inflated crop, sailing about in search of food. what admiration this would have excited--adaptation to the laws of hydrostatic pressure, etc. etc. for the life of me i cannot see any difficulty in natural selection producing the most exquisite structure, if such structure can be arrived at by gradation, and i know from experience how hard it is to name any structure towards which at least some gradations are not known. ever yours, c. darwin. p.s.--the conclusion at which i have come, as i have told asa gray, is that such a question, as is touched on in this note, is beyond the human intellect, like "predestination and free will," or the "origin of evil." charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, [april th, ]. my dear hooker, i return --'s letter... some of my relations say it cannot possibly be --'s article (the 'edinburgh review.'), because the reviewer speaks so very highly of --. poor dear simple folk! my clever neighbour, mr. norman, says the article is so badly written, with no definite object, that no one will read it. asa gray has sent me an article ('north american review,' april, . "by professor bowen," is written on my father's copy. the passage referred to occurs at page , where the author says that we ought to find "an infinite number of other varieties--gross, rude, and purposeless--the unmeaning creations of an unconscious cause.") from the united states, clever, and dead against me. but one argument is funny. the reviewer says, that if the doctrine were true, geological strata would be full of monsters which have failed! a very clear view this writer had of the struggle for existence! ... i am glad you like adam bede so much. i was charmed with it... we think you must by mistake have taken with your own numbers of the 'national review' my precious number. (this no doubt refers to the january number, containing dr. carpenter's review of the 'origin.') i wish you would look. charles darwin to asa gray. down, april th [ ]. my dear gray, i have no doubt i have to thank you for the copy of a review on the 'origin' in the 'north american review.' it seems to me clever, and i do not doubt will damage my book. i had meant to have made some remarks on it; but lyell wished much to keep it, and my head is quite confused between the many reviews which i have lately read. i am sure the reviewer is wrong about bees' cells, i.e. about the distance; any lesser distance would do, or even greater distance, but then some of the places would lie outside the generative spheres; but this would not add much difficulty to the work. the reviewer takes a strange view of instinct: he seems to regard intelligence as a developed instinct; which i believe to be wholly false. i suspect he has never much attended to instinct and the minds of animals, except perhaps by reading. my chief object is to ask you if you could procure for me a copy of the "new york times" for wednesday, march th. it contains a very striking review of my book, which i should much like to keep. how curious that the two most striking reviews (i.e. yours and this) should have appeared in america. this review is not really useful, but somehow is impressive. there was a good review in the 'revue des deux mondes,' april st, by m. laugel, said to be a very clever man. hooker, about a fortnight ago, stayed here a few days, and was very pleasant; but i think he overworks himself. what a gigantic undertaking, i imagine, his and bentham's 'genera plantarum' will be! i hope he will not get too much immersed in it, so as not to spare some time for geographical distribution and other such questions. i have begun to work steadily, but very slowly as usual, at details on variation under domestication. my dear gray, yours always truly and gratefully, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, [may th, ]. ... i have sent for the 'canadian naturalist.' if i cannot procure a copy i will borrow yours. i had a letter from henslow this morning, who says that sedgwick was, on last monday night, to open a battery on me at the cambridge philosophical society. anyhow, i am much honoured by being attacked there, and at the royal society of edinburgh. i do not think it worth while to contradict single cases nor is it worth while arguing against those who do not attend to what i state. a moment's reflection will show you that there must be (on our doctrine) large genera not varying (see page on the subject, in the second edition of the 'origin'). though i do not there discuss the case in detail. it may be sheer bigotry for my own notions, but i prefer to the atlantis, my notion of plants and animals having migrated from the old to the new world, or conversely, when the climate was much hotter, by approximately the line of behring's straits. it is most important, as you say, to see living forms of plants going back so far in time. i wonder whether we shall ever discover the flora of the dry land of the coal period, and find it not so anomalous as the swamp or coal-making flora. i am working away over the blessed pigeon manuscript; but, from one cause or another, i get on very slowly... this morning i got a letter from the academy of natural sciences of philadelphia, announcing that i am elected a correspondent... it shows that some naturalists there do not think me such a scientific profligate as many think me here. my dear lyell, yours gratefully, c. darwin. p.s.--what a grand fact about the extinct stag's horn worked by man! charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, [may th, ]. my dear hooker, i return henslow, which i was very glad to see. how good of him to defend me. (against sedgwick's attack before the cambridge philosophical society.) i will write and thank him. as you said you were curious to hear thomson's (dr. thomas thomson the indian botanist. he was a collaborateur in hooker and thomson's flora indica. .) opinion, i send his kind letter. he is evidently a strong opposer to us... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, [may th, ]. ... how paltry it is in such men as x, y and co. not reading your essay. it is incredibly paltry. (these remarks do not apply to dr. harvey, who was, however, in a somewhat similar position. see below.) they may all attack me to their hearts' content. i am got case-hardened. as for the old fogies in cambridge, it really signifies nothing. i look at their attacks as a proof that our work is worth the doing. it makes me resolve to buckle on my armour. i see plainly that it will be a long uphill fight. but think of lyell's progress with geology. one thing i see most plainly, that without lyell's, yours, huxley's and carpenter's aid, my book would have been a mere flash in the pan. but if we all stick to it, we shall surely gain the day. and i now see that the battle is worth fighting. i deeply hope that you think so. does bentham progress at all? i do not know what to say about oxford. (his health prevented him from going to oxford for the meeting of the british association.) i should like it much with you, but it must depend on health... yours must affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, may th [ ]. my dear lyell, i send a letter from asa gray to show how hotly the battle rages there. also one from wallace, very just in his remarks, though too laudatory and too modest, and how admirably free from envy or jealousy. he must be a good fellow. perhaps i will enclose a letter from thomson of calcutta; not that it is much, but hooker thinks so highly of him... henslow informs me that sedgwick (sedgwick's address is given somewhat abbreviated in "the cambridge chronicle", may th, .) and then professor clarke [sic] (the late william clark, professor of anatomy, my father seems to have misunderstood his informant. i am assured by mr. j.w. clark that his father (prof. clark) did not support sedgwick in the attack.) made a regular and savage onslaught on my book lately at the cambridge philosophical society, but henslow seems to have defended me well, and maintained that the subject was a legitimate one for investigation. since then phillips (john phillips, m.a., f.r.s., born , died , from the effects of a fall. professor of geology at king's college, london, and afterwards at oxford. he gave the 'rede' lecture at cambridge on may th, , on 'the succession of life on the earth.' the rede lecturer is appointed annually by the vice-chancellor, and is paid by an endowment left in by sir robert rede, lord chief justice, in the reign of henry viii.) has given lectures at cambridge on the same subject, but treated it very fairly. how splendidly asa gray is fighting the battle. the effect on me of these multiplied attacks is simply to show me that the subject is worth fighting for, and assuredly i will do my best... i hope all the attacks make you keep up your courage, and courage you assuredly will require... charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, may th, . my dear mr. wallace, i received this morning your letter from amboyna, dated february th, containing some remarks and your too high approval of my book. your letter has pleased me very much, and i most completely agree with you on the parts which are strongest and which are weakest. the imperfection of the geological record is, as you say, the weakest of all; but yet i am pleased to find that there are almost more geological converts than of pursuers of other branches of natural science... i think geologists are more easily converted than simple naturalists, because more accustomed to reasoning. before telling you about the progress of opinion on the subject, you must let me say how i admire the generous manner in which you speak of my book. most persons would in your position have felt some envy or jealousy. how nobly free you seem to be of this common failing of mankind. but you speak far too modestly of yourself. you would, if you had my leisure, have done the work just as well, perhaps better, than i have done it... ... agassiz sends me a personal civil message, but incessantly attacks me; but asa gray fights like a hero in defence. lyell keeps as firm as a tower, and this autumn will publish on the 'geological history of man,' and will then declare his conversion, which now is universally known. i hope that you have received hooker's splendid essay... yesterday i heard from lyell that a german, dr. schaaffhausen (hermann schaaffhausen 'ueber bestandigkeit und umwandlung der arten.' verhandl. d. naturhist. vereins, bonn, . see 'origin,' historical sketch.), has sent him a pamphlet published some years ago, in which the same view is nearly anticipated; but i have not yet seen this pamphlet. my brother, who is a very sagacious man, always said, "you will find that some one will have been before you." i am at work at my larger work, which i shall publish in a separate volume. but from ill-health and swarms of letters, i get on very very slowly. i hope that i shall not have wearied you with these details. with sincere thanks for your letter, and with most deeply felt wishes for your success in science, and in every way, believe me, your sincere well-wisher, c. darwin. charles darwin to asa gray. down, may nd . my dear gray, again i have to thank you for one of your very pleasant letters of may th, enclosing a very pleasant remittance of pounds. i am in simple truth astonished at all the kind trouble you have taken for me. i return appleton's account. for the chance of your wishing for a formal acknowledgment i send one. if you have any further communication to the appletons, pray express my acknowledgment for [their] generosity; for it is generosity in my opinion. i am not at all surprised at the sale diminishing; my extreme surprise is at the greatness of the sale. no doubt the public has been shamefully imposed on! for they bought the book thinking that it would be nice easy reading. i expect the sale to stop soon in england, yet lyell wrote to me the other day that calling at murray's he heard that fifty copies had gone in the previous forty-eight hours. i am extremely glad that you will notice in 'silliman' the additions in the 'origin.' judging from letters (and i have just seen one from thwaites to hooker), and from remarks, the most serious omission in my book was not explaining how it is, as i believe, that all forms do not necessarily advance, how there can now be simple organisms still existing... i hear there is a very severe review on me in the 'north british,' by a rev. mr. dunns (this statement as to authorship was made on the authority of robert chambers.), a free kirk minister, and dabbler in natural history. i should be very glad to see any good american reviews, as they are all more or less useful. you say that you shall touch on other reviews. huxley told me some time ago that after a time he would write a review on all the reviews, whether he will i know not. if you allude to the 'edinburgh,' pray notice some of the points which i will point out on a separate slip. in the "saturday review" (one of our cleverest periodicals) of may th, page , there is a nice article on [the 'edinburgh'] review, defending huxley, but not hooker; and the latter, i think, [the 'edinburgh' reviewer] treats most ungenerously. (in a letter to mr. huxley my father wrote: "have you seen the last "saturday review"? i am very glad of the defence of you and of myself. i wish the reviewer had noticed hooker. the reviewer, whoever he is, is a jolly good fellow, as this review and the last on me showed. he writes capitally, and understands well his subject. i wish he had slapped [the 'edinburgh' reviewer] a little bit harder.") but surely you will get sick unto death of me and my reviewers. with respect to the theological view of the question. this is always painful to me. i am bewildered. i had no intention to write atheistically. but i own that i cannot see as plainly as others do, and as i should wish to do, evidence of design and beneficence on all sides of us. there seems to me too much misery in the world. i cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent god would have designedly created the ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of caterpillars, or that a cat should play with mice. not believing this, i see no necessity in the belief that the eye was expressly designed. on the other hand, i cannot anyhow be contented to view this wonderful universe, and especially the nature of man, and to conclude that everything is the result of brute force. i am inclined to look at everything as resulting from designed laws, with the details, whether good or bad, left to the working out of what we may call chance. not that this notion at all satisfies me. i feel most deeply that the whole subject is too profound for the human intellect. a dog might as well speculate on the mind of newton. let each man hope and believe what he can. certainly i agree with you that my views are not at all necessarily atheistical. the lightning kills a man, whether a good one or bad one, owing to the excessively complex action of natural laws. a child (who may turn out an idiot) is born by the action of even more complex laws, and i can see no reason why a man, or other animal, may not have been aboriginally produced by other laws, and that all these laws may have been expressly designed by an omniscient creator, who foresaw every future event and consequence. but the more i think the more bewildered i become; as indeed i probably have shown by this letter. most deeply do i feel your generous kindness and interest. yours sincerely and cordially, charles darwin. {here follow my father's criticisms on the 'edinburgh review'}: "what a quibble to pretend he did not understand what i meant by inhabitants of south america; and any one would suppose that i had not throughout my volume touched on geographical distribution. he ignores also everything which i have said on classification, geological succession, homologies, embryology, and rudimentary organs--page . he falsely applies what i said (too rudely) about "blindness of preconceived opinions" to those who believe in creation, whereas i exclusively apply the remark to those who give up multitudes of species as true species, but believe in the remainder--page . he slightly alters what i say,--i ask whether creationists really believe that elemental atoms have flashed into life. he says that i describe them as so believing, and this, surely, is a difference--page . he speaks of my "clamouring against" all who believe in creation, and this seems to me an unjust accusation--page . he makes me say that the dorsal vertebrae vary; this is simply false: i nowhere say a word about dorsal vertebrae--page . what an illiberal sentence that is about my pretension to candour, and about my rushing through barriers which stopped cuvier: such an argument would stop any progress in science--page . how disingenuous to quote from my remark to you about my brief letter [published in the 'linn. soc. journal'], as if it applied to the whole subject--page . how disingenuous to say that we are called on to accept the theory, from the imperfection of the geological record, when i over and over again [say] how grave a difficulty the imperfection offers--page ."] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, may th [ ]. my dear hooker, i return harvey's letter, i have been very glad to see the reason why he has not read your essay. i feared it was bigotry, and i am glad to see that he goes a little way (very much further than i supposed) with us... i was not sorry for a natural opportunity of writing to harvey, just to show that i was not piqued at his turning me and my book into ridicule (a "serio-comic squib," read before the 'dublin university zoological and botanical association,' february , , and privately printed. my father's presentation copy is inscribed "with the writer's repentance, october ."), not that i think it was a proceeding which i deserved, or worthy of him. it delights me that you are interested in watching the progress of opinion on the change of species; i feared that you were weary of the subject; and therefore did not send a. gray's letters. the battle rages furiously in the united states. gray says he was preparing a speech, which would take / hours to deliver, and which he "fondly hoped would be a stunner." he is fighting splendidly, and there seems to have been many discussions with agassiz and others at the meetings. agassiz pities me much at being so deluded. as for the progress of opinion, i clearly see that it will be excessively slow, almost as slow as the change of species... i am getting wearied at the storm of hostile reviews and hardly any useful... charles darwin to c. lyell. down, friday night [june st, ]. ... have you seen hopkins (william hopkins died in , "in his sevent-third year." he began life with a farm in suffolk, but ultimately entered, comparatively late in life, at peterhouse, cambridge; he took his degree in , and afterward became an esquire bedell of the university. he was chiefly known as a mathematical "coach," and was eminently successful in the manufacture of senior wranglers. nevertheless mr. stephen says ('life of fawcett,' page ) that he "was conspicuous for inculcating" a "liberal view of the studies of the place. he endeavoured to stimulate a philosophical interest in the mathematical sciences, instead of simply rousing an ardour for competition." he contributed many papers on geological and mathematical subjects to the scientific journals. he had a strong influence for good over the younger men with whom he came in contact. the letter which he wrote to henry fawcett on the occasion of his blindness illustrates this. mr. stephen says ('life of fawcett,' page ) that by "this timely word of good cheer," fawcett was roused from "his temporary prostration," and enabled to take a "more cheerful and resolute tone.") in the new 'fraser'? the public will, i should think, find it heavy. he will be dead against me, as you prophesied; but he is generally civil to me personally. ('fraser's magazine,' june . my father, no doubt, refers to the following passage, page , where the reviewer expresses his "full participation in the high respect in which the author is universally held, both as a man and a naturalist; and the more so, because in the remarks which will follow in the second part of this essay we shall be found to differ widely from him as regards many of his conclusions and the reasonings on which he has founded them, and shall claim the full right to express such differences of opinion with all that freedom which the interests of scientific truth demands, and which we are sure mr. darwin would be one of the last to refuse to any one prepared to exercise it with candour and courtesy." speaking of this review, my father wrote to dr. asa gray: "i have remonstrated with him [hopkins] for so coolly saying that i base my views on what i reckon as great difficulties. any one, by taking these difficulties alone, can make a most strong case against me. i could myself write a more damning review than has as yet appeared!" a second notice by hopkins appeared in the july number of 'fraser's magazine.') on his standard of proof, natural science would never progress, for without the making of theories i am convinced there would be no observation. ... i have begun reading the 'north british' (may .), which so far strikes me as clever. phillips's lecture at cambridge is to be published. all these reiterated attacks will tell heavily; there will be no more converts, and probably some will go back. i hope you do not grow disheartened, i am determined to fight to the last. i hear, however, that the great buckle highly approves of my book. i have had a note from poor blyth (edward blyth, - . his indomitable love of natural history made him neglect the druggist's business with which he started in life, and he soon got into serious difficulties. after supporting himself for a few years as a writer on field natural history, he ultimately went out to india as curator of the museum of the r. asiatic soc. of bengal, where the greater part of his working life was spent. his chief publications were the monthly reports made as part of his duty to the society. he had stored in his remarkable memory a wonderful wealth of knowledge, especially with regard to the mammalia and birds of india--knowledge of which he freely gave to those who asked. his letters to my father give evidence of having been carefully studied, and the long list of entries after his name in the index to 'animals and plants,' show how much help was received from him. his life was an unprosperous and unhappy one, full of money difficulties and darkened by the death of his wife after a few years of marriage.), of calcutta, who is much disappointed at hearing that lord canning will not grant any money; so i much fear that all your great pains will be thrown away. blyth says (and he is in many respects a very good judge) that his ideas on species are quite revolutionised... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, june th [ ]. my dear hooker, it is a pleasure to me to write to you, as i have no one to talk about such matters as we write on. but i seriously beg you not to write to me unless so inclined; for busy as you are, and seeing many people, the case is very different between us... have you seen --'s abusive article on me?... it out does even the 'north british' and 'edinburgh' in misapprehension and misrepresentation. i never knew anything so unfair as in discussing cells of bees, his ignoring the case of melipona, which builds combs almost exactly intermediate between hive and humble bees. what has -- done that he feels so immeasurably superior to all us wretched naturalists, and to all political economists, including that great philosopher malthus? this review, however, and harvey's letter have convinced me that i must be a very bad explainer. neither really understand what i mean by natural selection. i am inclined to give up the attempt as hopeless. those who do not understand, it seems, cannot be made to understand. by the way, i think, we entirely agree, except perhaps that i use too forcible language about selection. i entirely agree, indeed would almost go further than you when you say that climate (i.e. variability from all unknown causes) is "an active handmaid, influencing its mistress most materially." indeed, i have never hinted that natural selection is "the efficient cause to the exclusion of the other," i.e. variability from climate, etc. the very term selection implies something, i.e. variation or difference, to be selected... how does your book progress (i mean your general sort of book on plants), i hope to god you will be more successful than i have been in making people understand your meaning. i should begin to think myself wholly in the wrong, and that i was an utter fool, but then i cannot yet persuade myself, that lyell, and you and huxley, carpenter, asa gray, and watson, etc., are all fools together. well, time will show, and nothing but time. farewell... charles darwin to c. lyell. down, june th [ ]. ... it consoles me that -- sneers at malthus, for that clearly shows, mathematician though he may be, he cannot understand common reasoning. by the way what a discouraging example malthus is, to show during what long years the plainest case may be misrepresented and misunderstood. i have read the 'future'; how curious it is that several of my reviewers should advance such wild arguments, as that varieties of dogs and cats do not mingle; and should bring up the old exploded doctrine of definite analogies... i am beginning to despair of ever making the majority understand my notions. even hopkins does not thoroughly. by the way, i have been so much pleased by the way he personally alludes to me. i must be a very bad explainer. i hope to heaven that you will succeed better. several reviews and several letters have shown me too clearly how little i am understood. i suppose "natural selection" was a bad term; but to change it now, i think, would make confusion worse confounded, nor can i think of a better; "natural preservation" would not imply a preservation of particular varieties, and would seem a truism, and would not bring man's and nature's selection under one point of view. i can only hope by reiterated explanations finally to make the matter clearer. if my ms. spreads out, i think i shall publish one volume exclusively on variation of animals and plants under domestication. i want to show that i have not been quite so rash as many suppose. though weary of reviews, i should like to see lowell's (the late j.a. lowell in the 'christian examiner' (boston, u.s., may, .) some time... i suppose lowell's difficulty about instinct is the same as bowen's; but it seems to me wholly to rest on the assumption that instincts cannot graduate as finely as structures. i have stated in my volume that it is hardly possible to know which, i.e. whether instinct or structure, change first by insensible steps. probably sometimes instinct, sometimes structure. when a british insect feeds on an exotic plant, instinct has changed by very small steps, and their structures might change so as to fully profit by the new food. or structure might change first, as the direction of tusks in one variety of indian elephants, which leads it to attack the tiger in a different manner from other kinds of elephants. thanks for your letter of the nd, chiefly about murray. (n.b. harvey of dublin gives me, in a letter, the argument of tall men marrying short women, as one of great weight!) i do not quite understand what you mean by saying, "that the more they prove that you underrate physical conditions, the better for you, as geology comes in to your aid." ... i see in murray and many others one incessant fallacy, when alluding to slight differences of physical conditions as being very important; namely, oblivion of the fact that all species, except very local ones, range over a considerable area, and though exposed to what the world calls considerable diversities, yet keep constant. i have just alluded to this in the 'origin' in comparing the productions of the old and the new worlds. farewell, shall you be at oxford? if h. gets quite well, perhaps i shall go there. yours affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. down [june th, ]. ... lowell's review (j.a. lowell in the 'christian examiner,' may .) is pleasantly written, but it is clear that he is not a naturalist. he quite overlooks the importance of the accumulation of mere individual differences, and which, i think i can show, is the great agency of change under domestication. i have not finished schaaffhausen, as i read german so badly. i have ordered a copy for myself, and should like to keep yours till my own arrives, but will return it to you instantly if wanted. he admits statements rather rashly, as i dare say i do. i see only one sentence as yet at all approaching natural selection. there is a notice of me in the penultimate number of 'all the year round,' but not worth consulting; chiefly a well-done hash of my own words. your last note was very interesting and consolatory to me. i have expressly stated that i believe physical conditions have a more direct effect on plants than on animals. but the more i study, the more i am led to think that natural selection regulates, in a state of nature, most trifling differences. as squared stone, or bricks, or timber, are the indispensable materials for a building, and influence its character, so is variability not only indispensable, but influential. yet in the same manner as the architect is the all important person in a building, so is selection with organic bodies... [the meeting of the british association at oxford in is famous for two pitched battles over the 'origin of species.' both of them originated in unimportant papers. on thursday, june , dr. daubeny of oxford made a communication to section d: "on the final causes of the sexuality of plants, with particular reference to mr. darwin's work on the 'origin of species.'" mr. huxley was called on by the president, but tried (according to the "athenaeum" report) to avoid a discussion, on the ground "that a general audience, in which sentiment would unduly interfere with intellect, was not the public before which such a discussion should be carried on." however, the subject was not allowed to drop. sir r. owen (i quote from the "athenaeum", july , ), who "wished to approach this subject in the spirit of the philosopher," expressed his "conviction that there were facts by which the public could come to some conclusion with regard to the probabilities of the truth of mr. darwin's theory." he went on to say that the brain of the gorilla "presented more differences, as compared with the brain of man, than it did when compared with the brains of the very lowest and most problematical of the quadrumana." mr. huxley replied, and gave these assertions a "direct and unqualified contradiction," pledging himself to "justify that unusual procedure elsewhere" ('man's place in nature,' by t.h. huxley, , page .), a pledge which he amply fulfilled. (see the 'nat. hist. review,' .) on friday there was peace, but on saturday th, the battle arose with redoubled fury over a paper by dr. draper of new york, on the 'intellectual development of europe considered with reference to the views of mr. darwin.' the following account is from an eye-witness of the scene. "the excitement was tremendous. the lecture-room, in which it had been arranged that the discussion should be held, proved far too small for the audience, and the meeting adjourned to the library of the museum, which was crammed to suffocation long before the champions entered the lists. the numbers were estimated at from to . had it been term-time, or had the general public been admitted, it would have been impossible to have accommodated the rush to hear the oratory of the bold bishop. professor henslow, the president of section d, occupied the chair and wisely announced in limine that none who had not valid arguments to bring forward on one side or the other, would be allowed to address the meeting: a caution that proved necessary, for no fewer than four combatants had their utterances burked by him, because of their indulgence in vague declamation. "the bishop was up to time, and spoke for full half-an-hour with inimitable spirit, emptiness and unfairness. it was evident from his handling of the subject that he had been 'crammed' up to the throat, and that he knew nothing at first hand; in fact, he used no argument not to be found in his 'quarterly' article. he ridiculed darwin badly, and huxley savagely, but all in such dulcet tones, so persuasive a manner, and in such well-turned periods, that i who had been inclined to blame the president for allowing a discussion that could serve no scientific purpose now forgave him from the bottom of my heart. unfortunately the bishop, hurried along on the current of his own eloquence, so far forgot himself as to push his attempted advantage to the verge of personality in a telling passage in which he turned round and addressed huxley: i forgot the precise words, and quote from lyell. 'the bishop asked whether huxley was related by his grandfather's or grandmother's side to an ape.' (lyell's 'letters,' vol. ii. page .) huxley replied to the scientific argument of his opponent with force and eloquence, and to the personal allusion with a sel-restraint, that gave dignity to his crushing rejoinder." many versions of mr. huxley's speech were current: the following report of his conclusion is from a letter addressed by the late john richard green, then an undergraduate, to a fellow-student, now professor boyd dawkins. "i asserted, and i repeat, that a man has no reason to be ashamed of having an ape for his grandfather. if there were an ancestor whom i should feel shame in recalling, it would be a man, a man of restless and versatile intellect, who, not content with an equivocal (prof. v. carus, who has a distinct recollection of the scene, does not remember the word equivocal. he believes too that lyell's version of the "ape" sentence is slightly incorrect.) success in his own sphere of activity, plunges into scientific questions with which he has no real acquaintance, only to obscure them by an aimless rhetoric, and distract the attention of his hearers from the real point at issue by eloquent digressions, and skilled appeals to religious prejudice." the letter above quoted continues: "the excitement was now at its height; a lady fainted and had to be carried out, and it was some time before the discussion was resumed. some voices called for hooker, and his name having been handed up, the president invited him to give his view of the theory from the botanical side. this he did, demonstrating that the bishop, by his own showing, had never grasped the principles of the 'origin' (with regard to the bishop's 'quarterly review,' my father wrote: "these very clever men think they can write a review with a very slight knowledge of the book reviewed or subject in question."), and that he was absolutely ignorant of the elements of botanical science. the bishop made no reply, and the meeting broke up. "there was a crowded conversazione in the evening at the rooms of the hospitable and genial professor of botany, dr. daubeny, where the almost sole topic was the battle of the 'origin,' and i was much struck with the fair and unprejudiced way in which the black coats and white cravats of oxford discussed the question, and the frankness with which they offered their congratulations to the winners in the combat.] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. sudbrook park, monday night [july nd, ]. my dear hooker, i have just received your letter. i have been very poorly, with almost continuous bad headache for forty-eight hours, and i was low enough, and thinking what a useless burthen i was to myself and all others, when your letter came, and it has so cheered me; your kindness and affection brought tears into my eyes. talk of fame, honour, pleasure, wealth, all are dirt compared with affection; and this is a doctrine with which, i know, from your letter, that you will agree with from the bottom of your heart... how i should have liked to have wandered about oxford with you, if i had been well enough; and how still more i should have liked to have heard you triumphing over the bishop. i am astonished at your success and audacity. it is something unintelligible to me how any one can argue in public like orators do. i had no idea you had this power. i have read lately so many hostile views, that i was beginning to think that perhaps i was wholly in the wrong, and that -- was right when he said the whole subject would be forgotten in ten years; but now that i hear that you and huxley will fight publicly (which i am sure i never could do), i fully believe that our cause will, in the long-run, prevail. i am glad i was not in oxford, for i should have been overwhelmed, with my [health] in its present state. charles darwin to t.h. huxley. sudbrook park, richmond, july rd [ ]. ... i had a letter from oxford, written by hooker late on sunday night, giving me some account of the awful battles which have raged about species at oxford. he tells me you fought nobly with owen (but i have heard no particulars), and that you answered the b. of o. capitally. i often think that my friends (and you far beyond others) have good cause to hate me, for having stirred up so much mud, and led them into so much odious trouble. if i had been a friend of myself, i should have hated me. (how to make that sentence good english, i know not.) but remember, if i had not stirred up the mud, some one else certainly soon would. i honour your pluck; i would as soon have died as tried to answer the bishop in such an assembly... [on july th, my father wrote to mr. huxley: "from all that i hear from several quarters, it seems that oxford did the subject great good. it is of enormous importance, the showing the world that a few first-rate men are not afraid of expressing their opinion."] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. [july ]. ... i have just read the 'quarterly.' ('quarterly review,' july . the article in question was by wilberforce, bishop of oxford, and was afterwards published in his "essays contributed to the 'quarterly review,' ." the passage from the 'anti-jacobin' gives the history of the evolution of space from the "primaeval point or punctum saliens of the universe," which is conceived to have moved "forward in a right line ad infinitum, till it grew tired; after which the right line, which it had generated, would begin to put itself in motion in a lateral direction, describing an area of infinite extent. this area, as soon as it became conscious of its own existence, would begin to ascend or descend according as its specific gravity would determine it, forming an immense solid space filled with vacuum, and capable of containing the present universe." the following (page ) may serve as an example of the passages in which the reviewer refers to sir charles lyell:--"that mr. darwin should have wandered from this broad highway of nature's works into the jungle of fanciful assumption is no small evil. we trust that he is mistaken in believing that he may count sir c. lyell as one of his converts. we know, indeed, that the strength of the temptations which he can bring to bear upon his geological brother... yet no man has been more distinct and more logical in the denial of the transmutation of species than sir c. lyell, and that not in the infancy of his scientific life, but in its full vigour and maturity." the bishop goes on to appeal to lyell, in order that with his help "this flimsy speculation may be as completely put down as was what in spite of all denials we must venture to call its twin though less instructed brother, the 'vestiges of creation.'" with reference to this article, mr. brodie innes, my father's old friend and neighbour, writes:--"most men would have been annoyed by an article written with the bishop's accustomed vigour, a mixture of argument and ridicule. mr. darwin was writing on some parish matter, and put a postscript--'if you have not seen the last 'quarterly,' do get it; the bishop of oxford has made such capital fun of me and my grandfather.' by a curious coincidence, when i received the letter, i was staying in the same house with the bishop, and showed it to him. he said, 'i am very glad he takes it in that way, he is such a capital fellow.'") it is uncommonly clever; it picks out with skill all the most conjectural parts, and brings forward well all the difficulties. it quizzes me quite splendidly by quoting the 'anti-jacobin' versus my grandfather. you are not alluded to, nor, strange to say, huxley; and i can plainly see, here and there, --'s hand. the concluding pages will make lyell shake in his shoes. by jove, if he sticks to us, he will be a real hero. good-night. your wel-quizzed, but not sorrowful, and affectionate friend. c.d. i can see there has been some queer tampering with the review, for a page has been cut out and reprinted. [writing on july to dr. asa gray my father thus refers to lyell's position:-- "considering his age, his former views and position in society, i think his conduct has been heroic on this subject."] charles darwin to asa gray. [hartfield, sussex] july nd [ ]. my dear gray, owing to absence from home at water-cure and then having to move my sick girl to whence i am now writing, i have only lately read the discussion in proc. american acad. (april , . dr. gray criticised in detail "several of the positions taken at the preceding meeting by mr. [j.a.] lowell, prof. bowen and prof. agassiz." it was reprinted in the "athenaeum", august , .), and now i cannot resist expressing my sincere admiration of your most clear powers of reasoning. as hooker lately said in a note to me, you are more than any one else the thorough master of the subject. i declare that you know my book as well as i do myself; and bring to the question new lines of illustration and argument in a manner which excites my astonishment and almost my envy! i admire these discussions, i think, almost more than your article in silliman's journal. every single word seems weighed carefully, and tells like a -pound shot. it makes me much wish (but i know that you have not time) that you could write more in detail, and give, for instance, the facts on the variability of the american wild fruits. the "athenaeum" has the largest circulation, and i have sent my copy to the editor with a request that he would republish the first discussion; i much fear he will not, as he reviewed the subject in so hostile a spirit... i shall be curious [to see] and will order the august number, as soon as i know that it contains your review of reviews. my conclusion is that you have made a mistake in being a botanist, you ought to have been a lawyer. ... henslow (professor henslow was mentioned in the december number of 'macmillan's magazine' as being an adherent of evolution. in consequence of this he published, in the february number of the following year, a letter defining his position. this he did by means of an extract from a letter addressed to him by the rev. l. jenyns (blomefield) which "very nearly," as he says, expressed his views. mr. blomefield wrote, "i was not aware that you had become a convert to his (darwin's) theory, and can hardly suppose you have accepted it as a whole, though, like myself, you may go to the length of imagining that many of the smaller groups, both of animals and plants, may at some remote period have had a common parentage. i do not with some say that the whole of his theory cannot be true--but that it is very far from proved; and i doubt its ever being possible to prove it.") and daubeny are shaken. i hear from hooker that he hears from hochstetter that my views are making very considerable progress in germany, and the good workers are discussing the question. bronn at the end of his translation has a chapter of criticism, but it is such difficult german that i have not yet read it. hopkins's review in 'fraser' is thought the best which has appeared against us. i believe that hopkins is so much opposed because his course of study has never led him to reflect much on such subjects as geographical distribution, classification, homologies, etc., so that he does not feel it a relief to have some kind of explanation. charles darwin to c. lyell. hartfield [sussex], july th [ ]. ... i had lots of pleasant letters about the british association, and our side seems to have got on very well. there has been as much discussion on the other side of the atlantic as on this. no one i think understands the whole case better than asa gray, and he has been fighting nobly. he is a capital reasoner. i have sent one of his printed discussions to our "athenaeum", and the editor says he will print it. the 'quarterly' has been out some time. it contains no malice, which is wonderful... it makes me say many things which i do not say. at the end it quotes all your conclusions against lamarck, and makes a solemn appeal to you to keep firm in the true faith. i fancy it will make you quake a little. -- has ingeniously primed the bishop (with murchison) against you as head of the uniformitarians. the only other review worth mentioning, which i can think of, is in the third no. of the 'london review,' by some geologist, and favorable for a wonder. it is very ably done, and i should like much to know who is the author. i shall be very curious to hear on your return whether bronn's german translation of the 'origin' has drawn any attention to the subject. huxley is eager about a 'natural history review,' which he and others are going to edit, and he has got so many first-rate assistants, that i really believe he will make it a first-rate production. i have been doing nothing, except a little botanical work as amusement. i shall hereafter be very anxious to hear how your tour has answered. i expect your book on the geological history of man will, with a vengeance, be a bomb-shell. i hope it will not be very long delayed. our kindest remembrances to lady lyell. this is not worth sending, but i have nothing better to say. yours affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to f. watkins. (see volume i.) down, july th, [ ?]. my dear watkins, your note gave me real pleasure. leading the retired life which i do, with bad health, i oftener think of old times than most men probably do; and your face now rises before me, with the pleasant old expression, as vividly as if i saw you. my book has been well abused, praised, and splendidly quizzed by the bishop of oxford; but from what i see of its influence on really good workers in science, i feel confident that, in the main, i am on the right road. with respect to your question, i think the arguments are valid, showing that all animals have descended from four or five primordial forms; and that analogy and weak reasons go to show that all have descended from some single prototype. farewell, my old friend. i look back to old cambridge days with unalloyed pleasure. believe me, yours most sincerely, charles darwin. t.h. huxley to charles darwin. august th, . my dear darwin, i have to announce a new and great ally for you... von baer writes to me thus:--et outre cela, je trouve que vous ecrivez encore des redactions. vous avez ecrit sur l'ouvrage de m. darwin une critique dont je n'ai trouve que des debris dans un journal allemand. j'ai oublie le nom terrible du journal anglais dans lequel se trouve votre recension. en tout cas aussi je ne peux pas trouver le journal ici. comme je m'interesse beaucoup pour les idees de m. darwin, sur lesquelles j'ai parle publiquement et sur lesquelles je ferai peut-etre imprimer quelque chose--vous m'obligeriez infiniment si vous pourriez me faire parvenir ce que vous avez ecrit sur ces idees. "j'ai enonce les memes idees sur la transformation des types ou origine d'especes que m. darwin. (see vol. i.) mais c'est seulement sur la geographie zoologique que je m'appuie. vous trouverez, dans le dernier chapitre du traite 'ueber papuas und alfuren,' que j'en parle tres decidement sans savoir que m. darwin s'occupait de cet objet." the treatise to which von baer refers he gave me when over here, but i have not been able to lay hands on it since this letter reached me two days ago. when i find it i will let you know what there is in it. ever yours faithfully, t.h. huxley. charles darwin to t.h. huxley. down, august [ ]. my dear huxley, your note contained magnificent news, and thank you heartily for sending it me. von baer weighs down with a vengeance all the virulence of [the 'edinburgh' reviewer] and weak arguments of agassiz. if you write to von baer, for heaven's sake tell him that we should think one nod of approbation on our side, of the greatest value; and if he does write anything, beg him to send us a copy, for i would try and get it translated and published in the "athenaeum" and in 'silliman' to touch up agassiz... have you seen agassiz's weak metaphysical and theological attack on the 'origin' in the last 'silliman'? (the 'american journal of science and arts' (commonly called 'silliman's journal'), july . printed from advanced sheets of vol. iii. of 'contributions to the nat. hist. of the u.s.' my father's copy has a pencilled "truly" opposite the following passage:--"unless darwin and his followers succeed in showing that the struggle for life tends to something beyond favouring the existence of certain individuals over that of other individuals, they will soon find that they are following a shadow.") i would send it you, but apprehend it would be less trouble for you to look at it in london than return it to me. r. wagner has sent me a german pamphlet ('louis agassiz's prinzipien der classification, etc., mit rucksicht auf darwins ansichten. separat-abdruck aus den gottingischen gelehrten anzeigen,' .), giving an abstract of agassiz's 'essay on classification,' "mit rucksicht auf darwins ansichten," etc. etc. he won't go very "dangerous lengths," but thinks the truth lies half-way between agassiz and the 'origin.' as he goes thus far he will, nolens volens, have to go further. he says he is going to review me in [his] yearly report. my good and kind agent for the propagation of the gospel--i.e. the devil's gospel. ever yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, august th [ ]. ... i have laughed at woodward thinking that you were a man who could be influenced in your judgment by the voice of the public; and yet after mortally sneering at him, i was obliged to confess to myself, that i had had fears, what the effect might be of so many heavy guns fired by great men. as i have (sent by murray) a spare 'quarterly review,' i send it by this post, as it may amuse you. the anti-jacobin part amused me. it is full of errors, and hooker is thinking of answering it. there has been a cancelled page; i should like to know what gigantic blunder it contained. hooker says that -- has played on the bishop, and made him strike whatever note he liked; he has wished to make the article as disagreeable to you as possible. i will send the "athenaeum" in a day or two. as you wish to hear what reviews have appeared, i may mention that agassiz has fired off a shot in the last 'silliman,' not good at all, denies variations and rests on the perfection of geological evidence. asa gray tells me that a very clever friend has been almost converted to our side by this review of agassiz's... professor parsons (theophilus parsons, professor of law in harvard university.) has published in the same 'silliman' a speculative paper correcting my notions, worth nothing. in the 'highland agricultural journal' there is a review by some entomologist, not worth much. this is all that i can remember... as huxley says, the platoon firing must soon cease. hooker and huxley, and asa gray, i see, are determined to stick to the battle and not give in; i am fully convinced that whenever you publish, it will produce a great effect on all trimmers, and on many others. by the way i forgot to mention daubeny's pamphlet ('remarks on the final causes of the sexuality of plants with particular reference to mr. darwin's work on the "origin of species."'--british association report, .), very liberal and candid, but scientifically weak. i believe hooker is going nowhere this summer; he is excessively busy... he has written me many, most nice letters. i shall be very curious to hear on your return some account of your geological doings. talking of geology, you used to be interested about the "pipes" in the chalk. about three years ago a perfectly circular hole suddenly appeared in a flat grass field to everyone's astonishment, and was filled up with many waggon loads of earth; and now two or three days ago, again it has circularly subsided about two feet more. how clearly this shows what is still slowly going on. this morning i recommenced work, and am at dogs; when i have written my short discussion on them, i will have it copied, and if you like, you can then see how the argument stands, about their multiple origin. as you seemed to think this important, it might be worth your reading; though i do not feel sure that you will come to the same probable conclusion that i have done. by the way, the bishop makes a very telling case against me, by accumulating several instances where i speak very doubtfully; but this is very unfair, as in such cases as this of the dog, the evidence is and must be very doubtful... charles darwin to asa gray. down, august [ ]. my dear gray, on my return home from sussex about a week ago, i found several articles sent by you. the first article, from the 'atlantic monthly,' i am very glad to possess. by the way, the editor of the "athenaeum" (august , .) has inserted your answer to agassiz, bowen, and co., and when i therein read them, i admired them even more than at first. they really seemed to be admirable in their condensation, force, clearness and novelty. i am surprised that agassiz did not succeed in writing something better. how absurd that logical quibble--"if species do not exist, how can they vary?" as if any one doubted their temporary existence. how coolly he assumes that there is some clearly defined distinction between individual differences and varieties. it is no wonder that a man who calls identical forms, when found in two countries, distinct species, cannot find variation in nature. again, how unreasonable to suppose that domestic varieties selected by man for his own fancy should resemble natural varieties or species. the whole article seems to me poor; it seems to me hardly worth a detailed answer (even if i could do it, and i much doubt whether i possess your skill in picking out salient points and driving a nail into them), and indeed you have already answered several points. agassiz's name, no doubt, is a heavy weight against us... if you see professor parsons, will you thank him for the extremely liberal and fair spirit in which his essay ('silliman's journal,' july, .) is written. please tell him that i reflected much on the chance of favourable monstrosities (i.e. great and sudden variation) arising. i have, of course, no objection to this, indeed it would be a great aid, but i do not allude to the subject, for, after much labour, i could find nothing which satisfied me of the probability of such occurrences. there seems to me in almost every case too much, too complex, and too beautiful adaptation, in every structure, to believe in its sudden production. i have alluded under the head of beautifully hooked seeds to such possibility. monsters are apt to be sterile, or not to transmit monstrous peculiarities. look at the fineness of gradation in the shells of successive sub-stages of the same great formation; i could give many other considerations which made me doubt such view. it holds, to a certain extent, with domestic productions no doubt, where man preserves some abrupt change in structure. it amused me to see sir r. murchison quoted as a judge of affinities of animals, and it gave me a cold shudder to hear of any one speculating about a true crustacean giving birth to a true fish! (parson's, loc. cit. page , speaking of pterichthys and cephalaspis, says:--"now is it too much to infer from these facts that either of these animals, if a crustacean, was so nearly a fish that some of its ova may have become fish; or, if itself a fish, was so nearly a crustacean that it may have been born from the ovum of a crustacean?") yours most truly, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, september st [ ]. my dear lyell, i have been much interested by your letter of the th, received this morning. it has delighted me, because it demonstrates that you have thought a good deal lately on natural selection. few things have surprised me more than the entire paucity of objections and difficulties new to me in the published reviews. your remarks are of a different stamp and new to me. i will run through them, and make a few pleadings such as occur to me. i put in the possibility of the galapagos having been continuously joined to america, out of mere subservience to the many who believe in forbes's doctrine, and did not see the danger of admission, about small mammals surviving there in such case. the case of the galapagos, from certain facts on littoral sea-shells (viz. pacific ocean and south american littoral species), in fact convinced me more than in any other case of other islands, that the galapagos had never been continuously united with the mainland; it was mere base subservience, and terror of hooker and co. with respect to atolls, i think mammals would hardly survive very long, even if the main islands (for as i have said in the coral book, the outline of groups of atolls do not look like a former continent) had been tenanted by mammals, from the extremely small area, the very peculiar conditions, and the probability that during subsidence all or nearly all atolls have been breached and flooded by the sea many times during their existence as atolls. i cannot conceive any existing reptile being converted into a mammal. from homologies i should look at it as certain that all mammals had descended from some single progenitor. what its nature was, it is impossible to speculate. more like, probably, the ornithorhynchus or echidna than any known form; as these animals combine reptilian characters (and in a less degree bird character) with mammalian. we must imagine some form as intermediate, as is lepidosiren now, between reptiles and fish, between mammals and birds on the one hand (for they retain longer the same embryological character) and reptiles on the other hand. with respect to a mammal not being developed on any island, besides want of time for so prodigious a development, there must have arrived on the island the necessary and peculiar progenitor, having a character like the embryo of a mammal; and not an already developed reptile, bird or fish. we might give to a bird the habits of a mammal, but inheritance would retain almost for eternity some of the bird-like structure, and prevent a new creature ranking as a true mammal. i have often speculated on antiquity of islands, but not with your precision, or at all under the point of view of natural selection not having done what might have been anticipated. the argument of littoral miocene shells at the canary islands is new to me. i was deeply impressed (from the amount of the denudation) [with the] antiquity of st. helena, and its age agrees with the peculiarity of the flora. with respect to bats at new zealand (n.b. there are two or three european bats in madeira, and i think in the canary islands) not having given rise to a group of non-volant bats, it is, now you put the case, surprising; more especially as the genus of bats in new zealand is very peculiar, and therefore has probably been long introduced, and they now speak of cretacean fossils there. but the first necessary step has to be shown, namely, of a bat taking to feed on the ground, or anyhow, and anywhere, except in the air. i am bound to confess i do know one single such fact, viz. of an indian species killing frogs. observe, that in my wretched polar bear case, i do show the first step by which conversion into a whale "would be easy," "would offer no difficulty"!! so with seals, i know of no fact showing any the least incipient variation of seals feeding on the shore. moreover, seals wander much; i searched in vain, and could not find one case of any species of seal confined to any islands. and hence wanderers would be apt to cross with individuals undergoing any change on an island, as in the case of land birds of madeira and bermuda. the same remark applies even to bats, as they frequently come to bermuda from the mainland, though about miles distant. with respect to the amblyrhynchus of the galapagos, one may infer as probable, from marine habits being so rare with saurians, and from the terrestrial species being confined to a few central islets, that its progenitor first arrived at the galapagos; from what country it is impossible to say, as its affinity i believe is not very clear to any known species. the offspring of the terrestrial species was probably rendered marine. now in this case i do not pretend i can show variation in habits; but we have in the terrestrial species a vegetable feeder (in itself a rather unusual circumstance), largely on lichens, and it would not be a great change for its offspring to feed first on littoral algae and then on submarine algae. i have said what i can in defence, but yours is a good line of attack. we should, however, always remember that no change will ever be effected till a variation in the habits or structure or of both chance to occur in the right direction, so as to give the organism in question an advantage over other already established occupants of land or water, and this may be in any particular case indefinitely long. i am very glad you will read my dogs ms., for it will be important to me to see what you think of the balance of evidence. after long pondering on a subject it is often hard to judge. with hearty thanks for your most interesting letter. farewell. my dear old master, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, september nd [ ]. my dear hooker, i am astounded at your news received this morning. i am become such an old fogy that i am amazed at your spirit. for god's sake do not go and get your throat cut. bless my soul, i think you must be a little insane. i must confess it will be a most interesting tour; and, if you get to the top of lebanon, i suppose extremely interesting--you ought to collect any beetles under stones there; but the entomologists are such slow coaches. i dare say no result could be made out of them. [they] have never worked the alpines of britain. if you come across any brine lakes, do attend to their minute flora and fauna; i have often been surprised how little this has been attended to. i have had a long letter from lyell, who starts ingenious difficulties opposed to natural selection, because it has not done more than it has. this is very good, as it shows that he has thoroughly mastered the subject; and shows he is in earnest. very striking letter altogether and it rejoices the cockles of my heart. ... how i shall miss you, my best and kindest of friends. god bless you. yours ever affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to asa gray. down, september [ ]. ... you will be weary of my praise, but it (dr. gray in the 'atlantic monthly' for july, .) does strike me as quite admirably argued, and so well and pleasantly written. your many metaphors are inimitably good. i said in a former letter that you were a lawyer, but i made a gross mistake, i am sure that you are a poet. no, by jove, i will tell you what you are, a hybrid, a complex cross of lawyer, poet, naturalist and theologian! was there ever such a monster seen before? i have just looked through the passages which i have marked as appearing to me extra good, but i see that they are too numerous to specify, and this is no exaggeration. my eye just alights on the happy comparison of the colours of the prism and our artificial groups. i see one little error of fossil cattle in south america. it is curious how each one, i suppose, weighs arguments in a different balance: embryology is to me by far the strongest single class of facts in favour of change of forms, and not one, i think, of my reviewers has alluded to this. variation not coming on at a very early age, and being inherited at not a very early corresponding period, explains, as it seems to me, the grandest of all facts in natural history, or rather in zoology, viz. the resemblance of embryos. [dr. gray wrote three articles in the 'atlantic monthly' for july, august, and october, which were reprinted as a pamphlet in , and now form chapter iii. in 'darwiniana' ( ), with the heading 'natural selection not inconsistent with natural theology.'] charles darwin to c. lyell down, september th [ ]. my dear lyell, i never thought of showing your letter to any one. i mentioned in a letter to hooker that i had been much interested by a letter of yours with original objections, founded chiefly on natural selection not having done so much as might have been expected... in your letter just received, you have improved your case versus natural selection; and it would tell with the public (do not be tempted by its novelty to make it too strong); yet is seems to me, not really very killing, though i cannot answer your case, especially, why rodents have not become highly developed in australia. you must assume that they have inhabited australia for a very long period, and this may or may not be the case. but i feel that our ignorance is so profound, why one form is preserved with nearly the same structure, or advances in organisation or even retrogrades, or becomes extinct, that i cannot put very great weight on the difficulty. then, as you say often in your letter, we know not how many geological ages it may have taken to make any great advance in organisation. remember monkeys in the eocene formations: but i admit that you have made out an excellent objection and difficulty, and i can give only unsatisfactory and quite vague answers, such as you have yourself put; however, you hardly put weight enough on the absolute necessity of variations first arising in the right direction, videlicet, of seals beginning to feed on the shore. i entirely agree with what you say about only one species of many becoming modified. i remember this struck me much when tabulating the varieties of plants, and i have a discussion somewhere on this point. it is absolutely implied in my ideas of classification and divergence that only one or two species, of even large genera, give birth to new species; and many whole genera become wholly extinct... please see page of the 'origin.' but i cannot remember that i have stated in the 'origin' the fact of only very few species in each genus varying. you have put the view much better in your letter. instead of saying, as i often have, that very few species vary at the same time, i ought to have said, that very few species of a genus ever vary so as to become modified; for this is the fundamental explanation of classification, and is shown in my engraved diagram... i quite agree with you on the strange and inexplicable fact of ornithorhynchus having been preserved, and australian trigonia, or the silurian lingula. i always repeat to myself that we hardly know why any one single species is rare or common in the best-known countries. i have got a set of notes somewhere on the inhabitants of fresh water; and it is singular how many of these are ancient, or intermediate forms; which i think is explained by the competition having been less severe, and the rate of change of organic forms having been slower in small confined areas, such as all the fresh waters make compared with sea or land. i see that you do allude in the last page, as a difficulty, to marsupials not having become placentals in australia; but this i think you have no right at all to expect; for we ought to look at marsupials and placentals as having descended from some intermediate and lower form. the argument of rodents not having become highly developed in australia (supposing that they have long existed there) is much stronger. i grieve to see you hint at the creation "of distinct successive types, as well as of a certain number of distinct aboriginal types." remember, if you admit this, you give up the embryological argument (the weightiest of all to me), and the morphological or homological argument. you cut my throat, and your own throat; and i believe will live to be sorry for it. so much for species. the striking extract which e. copied was your own writing!! in a note to me, many long years ago--which she copied and sent to mme. sismondi; and lately my aunt, in sorting her letters, found e.'s and returned them to her... i have been of late shamefully idle, i.e. observing (drosera) instead of writing, and how much better fun observing is than writing. yours affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. marine parade, eastbourne, sunday [september rd, ]. my dear lyell, i got your letter of the th just before starting here. you speak of saving me trouble in answering. never think of this, for i look at every letter of yours as an honour and pleasure, which is a pretty deal more than i can say of some of the letters which i receive. i have now one of closely written folio pages to answer on species!... i have a very decided opinion that all mammals must have descended from a single parent. reflect on the multitude of details, very many of them of extremely little importance to their habits (as the number of bones of the head, etc., covering of hair, identical embryological development, etc. etc.). now this large amount of similarity i must look at as certainly due to inheritance from a common stock. i am aware that some cases occur in which a similar or nearly similar organ has been acquired by independent acts of natural selection. but in most of such cases of these apparently so closely similar organs, some important homological difference may be detected. please read page , beginning, "the electric organs," and trust me that the sentence, "in all these cases of two very distinct species," etc. etc., was not put in rashly, for i went carefully into every case. apply this argument to the whole frame, internal and external, of mammifers, and you will see why i think so strongly that all have descended from one progenitor. i have just re-read your letter, and i am not perfectly sure that i understand your point. i enclose two diagrams showing the sort of manner i conjecture that mammals have been developed. i thought a little on this when writing page , beginning, "mr. waterhouse." (please read the paragraph.) i have not knowledge enough to choose between these two diagrams. if the brain of marsupials in embryo closely resembles that of placentals, i should strongly prefer no. , and this agrees with the antiquity of microlestes. as a general rule i should prefer no. diagram; whether or not marsupials have gone on being developed, or rising in rank, from a very early period would depend on circumstances too complex for even a conjecture. lingula has not risen since the silurian epoch, whereas other molluscs may have risen. here appear two diagrams. diagram i. a - mammals, not true marsupials nor true placentals. - branches - branch i, true placental, from which branch off rodents, insectivora, a branch terminating in ruminants and pachyderms, canidae and terminates in quadrumana. - branch ii, true marsupial, from which branches off kangaroo family an unnamed branch terminating in unnamed branches and terminates in didelphys family. diagram ii. a - true marsupials, lowly developed. - true marsupials, highly developed. - branches - branch i, placentals, from which branch off rodents, insectivora, a branch terminating in ruminants and pachyderms, canidae and terminates in quadrumana. - branch ii, present marsupials, splitting into two branches terminating in kangaroo family (with unnamed branches) and didelphys family. a, in the two diagrams, represents an unknown form, probably intermediate between mammals, reptiles, and birds, as intermediate as lepidosiren now is between fish and batrachians. this unknown form is probably more closely related to ornithorhynchus than to any other known form. i do not think that the multiple origin of dogs goes against the single origin of man... all the races of man are so infinitely closer together than to any ape, that (as in the case of descent of all mammals from one progenitor), i should look at all races of men as having certainly descended from one parent. i should look at it as probable that the races of men were less numerous and less divergent formerly than now, unless, indeed, some lower and more aberrant race even than the hottentot has become extinct. supposing, as i do for one believe, that our dogs have descended from two or three wolves, jackals, etc., yet these have, on our view, descended from a single remote unknown progenitor. with domestic dogs the question is simply whether the whole amount of difference has been produced since man domesticated a single species; or whether part of the difference arises in the state of nature. agassiz and co. think the negro and caucasian are now distinct species, and it is a mere vain discussion whether, when they were rather less distinct, they would, on this standard of specific value, deserve to be called species. i agree with your answer which you give to yourself on this point; and the simile of man now keeping down any new man which might be developed, strikes me as good and new. the white man is "improving off the face of the earth" even races nearly his equals. with respect to islands, i think i would trust to want of time alone, and not to bats and rodents. n.b.--i know of no rodents on oceanic islands (except my galapagos mouse, which may have been introduced by man) keeping down the development of other classes. still much more weight i should attribute to there being now, neither in islands nor elsewhere, [any] known animals of a grade of organisation intermediate between mammals, fish, reptiles, etc., whence a new mammal could be developed. if every vertebrate were destroyed throughout the world, except our now well-established reptiles, millions of ages might elapse before reptiles could become highly developed on a scale equal to mammals; and, on the principle of inheritance, they would make some quite new class, and not mammals; though possibly more intellectual! i have not an idea that you will care for this letter, so speculative. most truly yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to asa gray. down, september [ ]. ... i have had a letter of fourteen folio pages from harvey against my book, with some ingenious and new remarks; but it is an extraordinary fact that he does not understand at all what i mean by natural selection. i have begged him to read the dialogue in next 'silliman,' as you never touch the subject without making it clearer. i look at it as even more extraordinary that you never say a word or use an epithet which does not express fully my meaning. now lyell, hooker, and others, who perfectly understand my book, yet sometimes use expressions to which i demur. well, your extraordinary labour is over; if there is any fair amount of truth in my view, i am well assured that your great labour has not been thrown away... i yet hope and almost believe, that the time will come when you will go further, in believing a very large amount of modification of species, than you did at first or do now. can you tell me whether you believe further or more firmly than you did at first? i should really like to know this. i can perceive in my immense correspondence with lyell, who objected to much at first, that he has, perhaps unconsciousnessly to himself, converted himself very much during the last six months, and i think this is the case even with hooker. this fact gives me far more confidence than any other fact. charles darwin to c. lyell. marine parade, eastbourne, friday evening [september th, ]. ... i am very glad to hear about the germans reading my book. no one will be converted who has not independently begun to doubt about species. is not krohn (there are two papers by aug. krohn, one on the cement glands, and the other on the development of cirripedes, 'wiegmann's archiv,' xxv. and xxvi. my father has remarked that he "blundered dreadfully about the cement glands," 'autobiography.') a good fellow? i have long meant to write to him. he has been working at cirripedes, and has detected two or three gigantic blunders,... about which, i thank heaven, i spoke rather doubtfully. such difficult dissection that even huxley failed. it is chiefly the interpretation which i put on parts that is so wrong, and not the parts which i describe. but they were gigantic blunders, and why i say all this is because krohn, instead of crowing at all, pointed out my errors with the utmost gentleness and pleasantness. i have always meant to write to him and thank him. i suppose dr. krohn, bonn, would reach him. i cannot see yet how the multiple origin of dog can be properly brought as argument for the multiple origin of man. is not your feeling a remnant of the deeply impressed one on all our minds, that a species is an entity, something quite distinct from a variety? is it not that the dog case injures the argument from fertility, so that one main argument that the races of man are varieties and not species--i.e., because they are fertile inter se, is much weakened? i quite agree with what hooker says, that whatever variation is possible under culture, is possible under nature; not that the same form would ever be accumulated and arrived at by selection for man's pleasure, and by natural selection for the organism's own good. talking of "natural selection;" if i had to commence de novo, i would have used "natural preservation." for i find men like harvey of dublin cannot understand me, though he has read the book twice. dr. gray of the british museum remarked to me that, "selection was obviously impossible with plants! no one could tell him how it could be possible!" and he may now add that the author did not attempt it to him! yours ever affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. marine parade, eastbourne, october th [ ]. my dear lyell, i send the [english] translation of bronn (a ms. translation of bronn's chapter of objections at the end of his german translation of the 'origin of species.'), the first part of the chapter with generalities and praise is not translated. there are some good hits. he makes an apparently, and in part truly, telling case against me, says that i cannot explain why one rat has a longer tail and another longer ears, etc. but he seems to muddle in assuming that these parts did not all vary together, or one part so insensibly before the other, as to be in fact contemporaneous. i might ask the creationist whether he thinks these differences in the two rats of any use, or as standing in some relation from laws of growth; and if he admits this, selection might come into play. he who thinks that god created animals unlike for mere sport or variety, as man fashions his clothes, will not admit any force in my argumentum ad hominem. bronn blunders about my supposing several glacial periods, whether or no such ever did occur. he blunders about my supposing that development goes on at the same rate in all parts of the world. i presume that he has misunderstood this from the supposed migration into all regions of the more dominant forms. i have ordered dr. bree ('species not transmutable,' by c.r. bree, .), and will lend it to you, if you like, and if it turns out good. ... i am very glad that i misunderstood you about species not having the capacity to vary, though in fact few do give birth to new species. it seems that i am very apt to misunderstand you; i suppose i am always fancying objections. your case of the red indian shows me that we agree entirely... i had a letter yesterday from thwaites of ceylon, who was much opposed to me. he now says, "i find that the more familiar i become with your views in connection with the various phenomena of nature, the more they commend themselves to my mind." charles darwin to j.m. rodwell. (rev. j.m. rodwell, who was at cambridge with my father, remembers him saying:--"it strikes me that all our knowledge about the structure of our earth is very much like what an old hen would know of a hundred acre field, in a corner of which she is scratching.") marine parade, eastbourne. november th [ ]. my dear sir, i am extremely much obliged for your letter, which i can compare only to a plum-pudding, so full it is of good things. i have been rash about the cats ("cats with blue eyes are invariably deaf," 'origin of species,' edition i. page .): yet i spoke on what seemed to me, good authority. the rev. w.d. fox gave me a list of cases of various foreign breeds in which he had observed the correlation, and for years he had vainly sought an exception. a french paper also gives numerous cases, and one very curious case of a kitten which gradually lost the blue colour in its eyes and as gradually acquired its power of hearing. i had not heard of your uncle, mr. kirby's case (william kirby, joint author with spence, of the well-known 'introduction to entomology,' .) (whom i, for as long as i can remember, have venerated) of care in breeding cats. i do not know whether mr. kirby was your uncle by marriage, but your letters show me that you ought to have kirby blood in your veins, and that if you had not taken to languages you would have been a first-rate naturalist. i sincerely hope that you will be able to carry out your intention of writing on the "birth, life, and death of words." anyhow, you have a capital title, and some think this the most difficult part of a book. i remember years ago at the cape of good hope, sir j. herschel saying to me, i wish some one would treat language as lyell has treated geology. what a linguist you must be to translate the koran! having a vilely bad head for languages, i feel an awful respect for linguists. i do not know whether my brother-in-law, hensleigh wedgwood's 'etymological dictionary' would be at all in your line; but he treats briefly on the genesis of words; and, as it seems to me, very ingeniously. you kindly say that you would communicate any facts which might occur to you, and i am sure that i should be most grateful. of the multitude of letters which i receive, not one in a thousand is like yours in value. with my cordial thanks, and apologies for this untidy letter written in haste, pray believe me, my dear sir, yours sincerely obliged, ch. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. november th [ ]. ... i have not had heart to read phillips ('life on the earth.') yet, or a tremendous long hostile review by professor bowen in the to mem. of the american academy of sciences. ("remarks on the latest form of the development theory." by francis bowen, professor of natural religion and moral philosophy, at harvard university. 'american academy of arts and sciences,' vol. viii.) (by the way, i hear agassiz is going to thunder against me in the next part of the 'contributions.') thank you for telling me of the sale of the 'origin,' of which i had not heard. there will be some time, i presume, a new edition, and i especially want your advice on one point, and you know i think you the wisest of men, and i shall be absolutely guided by your advice. it has occurred to me, that it would perhaps be a good plan to put a set of notes (some twenty to forty or fifty) to the 'origin,' which now has none, exclusively devoted to errors of my reviewers. it has occurred to me that where a reviewer has erred, a common reader might err. secondly, it will show the reader that he must not trust implicitly to reviewers. thirdly, when any special fact has been attacked, i should like to defend it. i would show no sort of anger. i enclose a mere rough specimen, done without any care or accuracy--done from memory alone--to be torn up, just to show the sort of thing that has occurred to me. will you do me the great kindness to consider this well? it seems to me it would have a good effect, and give some confidence to the reader. it would [be] a horrid bore going through all the reviews. yours affectionately, c. darwin. [here follow samples of foot-notes, the references to volume and page being left blank. it will be seen that in some cases he seems to have forgotten that he was writing foot-notes, and to have continued as if writing to lyell:-- *dr. bree asserts that i explain the structure of the cells of the hive bee by "the exploded doctrine of pressure." but i do not say one word which directly or indirectly can be interpreted into any reference to pressure. *the 'edinburgh' reviewer quotes my work as saying that the "dorsal vertebrae of pigeons vary in number, and disputes the fact." i nowhere even allude to the dorsal vertebrae, only to the sacral and caudal vertebrae. *the 'edinburgh' reviewer throws a doubt on these organs being the branchiae of cirripedes. but professor owen in admits, without hesitation, that they are branchiae, as did john hunter long ago. *the confounded wealden calculation to be struck out, and a note to be inserted to the effect that i am convinced of its inaccuracy from a review in the "saturday review", and from phillips, as i see in his table of contents that he alludes to it. *mr. hopkins ('fraser') states--i am quoting only from vague memory--that, "i argue in favour of my views from the extreme imperfection of the geological record," and says this is the first time in the history of science he has ever heard of ignorance being adduced as an argument. but i repeatedly admit, in the most emphatic language which i can use, that the imperfect evidence which geology offers in regard to transitorial forms is most strongly opposed to my views. surely there is a wide difference in fully admitting an objection, and then in endeavouring to show that it is not so strong as it at first appears, and in mr. hopkins's assertion that i found my argument on the objection. *i would also put a note to "natural selection," and show how variously it has been misunderstood. *a writer in the 'edinburgh philosophical journal' denies my statement that the woodpecker of la plata never frequents trees. i observed its habits during two years, but, what is more to the purpose, azara, whose accuracy all admit, is more emphatic than i am in regard to its never frequenting trees. mr. a. murray denies that it ought to be called a woodpecker; it has two toes in front and two behind, pointed tail feathers, a long pointed tongue, and the same general form of body, the same manner of flight, colouring and voice. it was classed, until recently, in the same genus--picus--with all other woodpeckers, but now has been ranked as a distinct genus amongst the picidae. it differs from the typical picus only in the beak, not being quite so strong, and in the upper mandible being slightly arched. i think these facts fully justify my statement that it is "in all essential parts of its organisation" a woodpecker.] charles darwin to t.h. huxley. down, november [ ]. my dear huxley, for heaven's sake don't write an anti-darwinian article; you would do it so confoundedly well. i have sometimes amused myself with thinking how i could best pitch into myself, and i believe i could give two or three good digs; but i will see you -- first before i will try. i shall be very impatient to see the review. (the first number of the new series of the 'nat. hist. review' appeared in .) if it succeeds it may really do much, very much good... i heard to-day from murray that i must set to work at once on a new edition (the rd edition.) of the 'origin.' [murray] says the reviews have not improved the sale. i shall always think those early reviews, almost entirely yours, did the subject an enormous service. if you have any important suggestions or criticisms to make on any part of the 'origin,' i should, of course, be very grateful for [them]. for i mean to correct as far as i can, but not enlarge. how you must be wearied with and hate the subject, and it is god's blessing if you do not get to hate me. adios. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, november th [ ]. my dear lyell, i thank you much for your letter. i had got to take pleasure in thinking how i could best snub my reviewers; but i was determined, in any case, to follow your advice, and, before i had got to the end of your letter, i was convinced of the wisdom of your advice. ("i get on slowly with my new edition. i find that your advice was excellent. i can answer all reviews, without any direct notice of them, by a little enlargement here and there, with here and there a new paragraph. bronn alone i shall treat with the respect of giving his objections with his name. i think i shall improve my book a good deal, and add only some twenty pages."--from a letter to lyell, december th, .) what an advantage it is to me to have such friends as you. i shall follow every hint in your letter exactly. i have just heard from murray; he says he sold copies at his sale, and that he has not half the number to supply; so that i must begin at once (on the third edition of the 'origin of species,' published in april .)... p.s.--i must tell you one little fact which has pleased me. you may remember that i adduce electrical organs of fish as one of the greatest difficulties which have occurred to me, and -- notices the passage in a singularly disingenuous spirit. well, mcdonnell, of dublin (a first-rate man), writes to me that he felt the difficulty of the whole case as overwhelming against me. not only are the fishes which have electric organs very remote in scale, but the organ is near the head in some, and near the tail in others, and supplied by wholly different nerves. it seems impossible that there could be any transition. some friend, who is much opposed to me, seems to have crowed over mcdonnell, who reports that he said to himself, that if darwin is right, there must be homologous organs both near the head and tail in other non-electric fish. he set to work, and, by jove, he has found them! ('on an organ in the skate, which appears to be the homologue of the electrical organ of the torpedo,' by r. mcdonnell, 'nat. hist. review,' , page .) so that some of the difficulty is removed; and is it not satisfactory that my hypothetical notions should have led to pretty discoveries? mcdonnell seems very cautious; he says, years must pass before he will venture to call himself a believer in my doctrine, but that on the subjects which he knows well, viz., morphology and embryology, my views accord well, and throw light on the whole subject. charles darwin to asa gray. down, november th, . my dear gray, i have to thank you for two letters. the latter with corrections, written before you received my letter asking for an american reprint, and saying that it was hopeless to print your reviews as a pamphlet, owing to the impossibility of getting pamphlets known. i am very glad to say that the august or second 'atlantic' article has been reprinted in the 'annals and magazine of natural history'; but i have not seen it there. yesterday i read over with care the third article; and it seems to me, as before, admirable. but i grieve to say that i cannot honestly go as far as you do about design. i am conscious that i am in an utterly hopeless muddle. i cannot think that the world, as we see it, is the result of chance; and yet i cannot look at each separate thing as the result of design. to take a crucial example, you lead me to infer (page ) that you believe "that variation has been led along certain beneficial lines." i cannot believe this; and i think you would have to believe, that the tail of the fantail was led to vary in the number and direction of its feathers in order to gratify the caprice of a few men. yet if the fantail had been a wild bird, and had used its abnormal tail for some special end, as to sail before the wind, unlike other birds, every one would have said, "what a beautiful and designed adaptation." again, i say i am, and shall ever remain, in a hopeless muddle. thank you much for bowen's to. review. ('memoirs of the american academy of arts and sciences,' vol. viii.) the coolness with which he makes all animals to be destitute of reason is simply absurd. it is monstrous at page , that he should argue against the possibility of accumulative variation, and actually leave out, entirely, selection! the chance that an improved short-horn, or improved pouter-pigeon, should be produced by accumulative variation without man's selection is as almost infinity to nothing; so with natural species without natural selection. how capitally in the 'atlantic' you show that geology and astronomy are, according to bowen, metaphysics; but he leaves out this in the to. memoir. i have not much to tell you about my book. i have just heard that du boi-reymond agrees with me. the sale of my book goes on well, and the multitude of reviews has not stopped the sale...; so i must begin at once on a new corrected edition. i will send you a copy for the chance of your ever re-reading; but, good heavens, how sick you must be of it! charles darwin to t.h. huxley. down, december nd [ ]. ... i have got fairly sick of hostile reviews. nevertheless, they have been of use in showing me when to expatiate a little and to introduce a few new discussions. of course i will send you a copy of the new edition. i entirely agree with you, that the difficulties on my notions are terrific, yet having seen what all the reviews have said against me, i have far more confidence in the general truth of the doctrine than i formerly had. another thing gives me confidence, viz. that some who went half an inch with me now go further, and some who were bitterly opposed are now less bitterly opposed. and this makes me feel a little disappointed that you are not inclined to think the general view in some slight degree more probable than you did at first. this i consider rather ominous. otherwise i should be more contented with your degree of belief. i can pretty plainly see that, if my view is ever to be generally adopted, it will be by young men growing up and replacing the old workers, and then young ones finding that they can group facts and search out new lines of investigation better on the notion of descent, than on that of creation. but forgive me for running on so egotistically. living so solitary as i do, one gets to think in a silly manner of one's own work. ever yours very sincerely, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, december th [ ]. ... i heard from a. gray this morning; at my suggestion he is going to reprint the three 'atlantic' articles as a pamphlet, and send copies to england, for which i intend to pay half the cost of the whole edition, and shall give away, and try to sell by getting a few advertisements put in, and if possible notices in periodicals. ... david forbes has been carefully working the geology of chile, and as i value praise for accurate observation far higher than for any other quality, forgive (if you can) the insufferable vanity of my copying the last sentence in his note: "i regard your monograph on chile as, without exception, one of the finest specimens of geological enquiry." i feel inclined to strut like a turkey-cock! chapter .iii. -- spread of evolution. - . [the beginning of the year saw my father with the third chapter of 'the variation of animals and plants' still on his hands. it had been begun in the previous august, and was not finished until march . he was, however, for part of this time (i believe during december and january ) engaged in a new edition ( copies) of the 'origin,' which was largely corrected and added to, and was published in april . with regard to this, the third edition, he wrote to mr. murray in december :-- "i shall be glad to hear when you have decided how many copies you will print off--the more the better for me in all ways, as far as compatible with safety; for i hope never again to make so many corrections, or rather additions, which i have made in hopes of making my many rather stupid reviewers at least understand what is meant. i hope and think i shall improve the book considerably." an interesting feature in the new edition was the "historical sketch of the recent progress of opinion on the origin of species" (the historical sketch had already appeared in the first german edition ( ) and the american edition. bronn states in the german edition (footnote, page ) that it was his critique in the 'n. jahrbuch fur mineralogie' that suggested the idea of such a sketch to my father.) which now appeared for the first time, and was continued in the later editions of the work. it bears a strong impress of the author's personal character in the obvious wish to do full justice to all his predecessors,--though even in this respect it has not escaped some adverse criticism. towards the end of the present year ( ), the final arrangements for the first french edition of the 'origin' were completed, and in september a copy of the third english edition was despatched to mdlle. clemence royer, who undertook the work of translation. the book was now spreading on the continent, a dutch edition had appeared, and, as we have seen, a german translation had been published in . in a letter to mr. murray (september , ), he wrote, "my book seems exciting much attention in germany, judging from the number of discussions sent me." the silence had been broken, and in a few years the voice of german science was to become one of the strongest of the advocates of evolution. during all the early part of the year ( ) he was working at the mass of details which are marshalled in order in the early chapter of 'animals and plants.' thus in his diary occur the laconic entries, "may , finished fowls (eight weeks); may , ducks." on july , he started, with his family, for torquay, where he remained until august --a holiday which he characteristically enters in his diary as "eight weeks and a day." the house he occupied was in hesketh crescent, a pleasantly placed row of houses close above the sea, somewhat removed from what was then the main body of the town, and not far from the beautiful cliffed coast-line in the neighbourhood of anstey's cove. during the torquay holiday, and for the remainder of the year, he worked at the fertilisation of orchids. this part of the year is not dealt with in the present chapter, because (as explained in the preface) the record of his life, as told in his letters, seems to become clearer when the whole of his botanical work is placed together and treated separately. the present series of chapters will, therefore, include only the progress of his works in the direction of a general amplification of the 'origin of species'--e.g., the publication of 'animals and plants,' 'descent of man,' etc.] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, january [ ]. my dear hooker, the sight of your handwriting always rejoices the very cockles of my heart... i most fully agree to what you say about huxley's article ('natural history review,' , page , "on the zoological relations of man with the lower animals." this memoir had its origin in a discussion at the previous meeting of the british association, when professor huxley felt himself "compelled to give a diametrical contradiction to certain assertions respecting the differences which obtain between the brains of the higher apes and of man, which fell from professor owen." but in order that his criticisms might refer to deliberately recorded words, he bases them on professor owen's paper, "on the characters, etc., of the class mammalia," read before the linnean society in february and april, , in which he proposed to place man not only in a distinct order, but in "a distinct su-class of the mammalia"--the archencephala.), and the power of writing... the whole review seems to me excellent. how capitally oliver has done the resume of botanical books. good heavens, how he must have read!... i quite agree that phillips ('life on the earth' ( ), by prof. phillips, containing the substance of the rede lecture (may ).) is unreadably dull. you need not attempt bree. (the following sentence (page ) from 'species not transmutable,' by dr. bree, illustrates the degree in which he understood the 'origin of species': "the only real difference between mr. darwin and his two predecessors" [lamarck and the 'vestiges'] "is this:--that while the latter have each given a mode by which they conceive the great changes they believe in have been brought about, mr. darwin does no such thing." after this we need not be surprised at a passage in the preface: "no one has derived greater pleasure than i have in past days from the study of mr. darwin's other works, and no one has felt a greater degree of regret that he should have imperilled his fame by the publication of his treatise upon the 'origin of species.'")... if you come across dr. freke on 'origin of species by means of organic affinity,' read a page here and there... he tells the reader to observe [that his result] has been arrived at by "induction," whereas all my results are arrived at only by "analogy." i see a mr. neale has read a paper before the zoological society on 'typical selection;' what it means i know not. i have not read h. spencer, for i find that i must more and more husband the very little strength which i have. i sometimes suspect i shall soon entirely fail... as soon as this dreadful weather gets a little milder, i must try a little water cure. have you read the 'woman in white'? the plot is wonderfully interesting. i can recommend a book which has interested me greatly, viz. olmsted's 'journey in the back country.' it is an admirably lively picture of man and slavery in the southern states... charles darwin to c. lyell. february , . my dear lyell, i have thought you would like to read the enclosed passage in a letter from a. gray (who is printing his reviews as a pamphlet ("natural selection not inconsistent with natural theology," from the 'atlantic monthly' for july, august, and october, ; published by trubner.), and will send copies to england), as i think his account is really favourable in high degree to us:-- "i wish i had time to write you an account of the lengths to which bowen and agassiz, each in their own way, are going. the first denying all heredity (all transmission except specific) whatever. the second coming near to deny that we are genetically descended from our great-grea-grandfathers; and insisting that evidently affiliated languages, e.g. latin, greek, sanscrit, owe none of their similarities to a community of origin, are all autochthonal; agassiz admits that the derivation of languages, and that of species or forms, stand on the same foundation, and that he must allow the latter if he allows the former, which i tell him is perfectly logical." is not this marvellous? ever yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, february [ ]. my dear hooker, i was delighted to get your long chatty letter, and to hear that you are thawing towards science. i almost wish you had remained frozen rather longer; but do not thaw too quickly and strongly. no one can work long as you used to do. be idle; but i am a pretty man to preach, for i cannot be idle, much as i wish it, and am never comfortable except when at work. the word holiday is written in a dead language for me, and much i grieve at it. we thank you sincerely for your kind sympathy about poor h. [his daughter]... she has now come up to her old point, and can sometimes get up for an hour or two twice a day... never to look to the future or as little as possible is becoming our rule of life. what a different thing life was in youth with no dread in the future; all golden, if baseless, hopes. ... with respect to the 'natural history review' i can hardly think that ladies would be so very sensitive about "lizards' guts;" but the publication is at present certainly a sort of hybrid, and original illustrated papers ought hardly to appear in a review. i doubt its ever paying; but i shall much regret if it dies. all that you say seems very sensible, but could a review in the strict sense of the word be filled with readable matter? i have been doing little, except finishing the new edition of the 'origin,' and crawling on most slowly with my volume of 'variation under domestication'... [the following letter refers to mr. bates's paper, "contributions to an insect fauna of the amazon valley," in the 'transactions of the entomological society,' vol. , n.s. (the paper was read november , .) mr. bates points out that with the return, after the glacial period, of a warmer climate in the equatorial regions, the "species then living near the equator would retreat north and south to their former homes, leaving some of their congeners, slowly modified subsequently... to re-people the zone they had forsaken." in this case the species now living at the equator ought to show clear relationship to the species inhabiting the regions about the th parallel, whose distant relatives they would of course be. but this is not the case, and this is the difficulty my father refers to. mr. belt has offered an explanation in his 'naturalist in nicaragua' ( ), page . "i believe the answer is that there was much extermination during the glacial period, that many species (and some genera, etc., as, for instance, the american horse), did not survive it... but that a refuge was found for many species on lands now below the ocean, that were uncovered by the lowering of the sea, caused by the immense quantity of water that was locked up in frozen masses on the land."] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, th [march ]. my dear hooker, i had intended to have sent you bates's article this very day. i am so glad you like it. i have been extremely much struck with it. how well he argues, and with what crushing force against the glacial doctrine. i cannot wriggle out of it: i am dumbfounded; yet i do believe that some explanation some day will appear, and i cannot give up equatorial cooling. it explains so much and harmonises with so much. when you write (and much interested i shall be in your letter) please say how far floras are generally uniform in generic character from to degrees n. and s. before reading bates, i had become thoroughly dissatisfied with what i wrote to you. i hope you may get bates to write in the 'linnean.' here is a good joke: h.c. watson (who, i fancy and hope, is going to review the new edition (third edition of copies, published in april, .) of the 'origin') says that in the first four paragraphs of the introduction, the words "i," "me," "my," occur forty-three times! i was dimly conscious of the accursed fact. he says it can be explained phrenologically, which i suppose civilly means, that i am the most egotistically self-sufficient man alive; perhaps so. i wonder whether he will print this pleasing fact; it beats hollow the parentheses in wollaston's writing. _i_ am, my dear hooker, ever yours, c. darwin. p.s.--do not spread this pleasing joke; it is rather too biting. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, [april] ? [ ]. ... i quite agree with what you say on lieutenant hutton's review (in the 'geologist,' , page , by lieutenant frederick wollaston hutton, now professor of biology and geology at canterbury college, new zealand.) (who he is i know not); it struck me as very original. he is one of the very few who see that the change of species cannot be directly proved, and that the doctrine must sink or swim according as it groups and explains phenomena. it is really curious how few judge it in this way, which is clearly the right way. i have been much interested by bentham's paper ("on the species and genera of plants, etc.," 'natural history review,' , page .) in the n.h.r., but it would not, of course, from familiarity strike you as it did me. i liked the whole; all the facts on the nature of close and varying species. good heavens! to think of the british botanists turning up their noses, and saying that he knows nothing of british plants! i was also pleased at his remarks on classification, because it showed me that i wrote truly on this subject in the 'origin.' i saw bentham at the linnean society, and had some talk with him and lubbock, and edgeworth, wallich, and several others. i asked bentham to give us his ideas of species; whether partially with us or dead against us, he would write excellent matter. he made no answer, but his manner made me think he might do so if urged; so do you attack him. every one was speaking with affection and anxiety of henslow. (prof. henslow was in his last illness.) i dined with bell at the linnean club, and liked my dinner... dining out is such a novelty to me that i enjoyed it. bell has a real good heart. i liked rolleston's paper, but i never read anything so obscure and not sel-evident as his 'canons.' (george rolleston, m.d., f.r.s., - . linacre professor of anatomy and physiology at oxford. a man of much learning, who left but few published works, among which may be mentioned his handbook 'forms of animal life.' for the 'canons,' see 'nat. hist. review,' , page .)... i called on r. chambers, at his very nice house in st. john's wood, and had a very pleasant half-hour's talk; he is really a capital fellow. he made one good remark and chuckled over it, that the laymen universally had treated the controversy on the 'essays and reviews' as a merely professional subject, and had not joined in it, but had left it to the clergy. i shall be anxious for your next letter about henslow. (sir joseph hooker was prof. henslow's son-in-law.) farewell, with sincere sympathy, my old friend, c. darwin. p.s.--we are very much obliged for the 'london review.' we like reading much of it, and the science is incomparably better than in the "athenaeum". you shall not go on very long sending it, as you will be ruined by pennies and trouble, but i am under a horrid spell to the "athenaeum" and the "gardener's chronicle", but i have taken them in for so many years, that i cannot give them up. [the next letter refers to lyell's visit to the biddenham gravel-pits near bedford in april . the visit was made at the invitation of mr. james wyatt, who had recently discovered two stone implements "at the depth of thirteen feet from the surface of the soil," resting "immediately on solid beds of oolitic-limestone." ('antiquity of man,' fourth edition, page .) here, says sir c. lyell, "i... for the first time, saw evidence which satisfied me of the chronological relations of those three phenomena--the antique tools, the extinct mammalia, and the glacial formation."] charles darwin to c. lyell. down, april [ ]. my dear lyell, i have been most deeply interested by your letter. you seem to have done the grandest work, and made the greatest step, of any one with respect to man. it is an especial relief to hear that you think the french superficial deposits are deltoid and semi-marine; but two days ago i was saying to a friend, that the unknown manner of the accumulation of these deposits, seemed the great blot in all the work done. i could not stomach debacles or lacustrine beds. it is grand. i remember falconer told me that he thought some of the remains in the devonshire caverns were pre-glacial, and this, i presume, is now your conclusion for the older celts with hyena and hippopotamus. it is grand. what a fine long pedigree you have given the human race! i am sure i never thought of parallel roads having been accumulated during subsidence. i think i see some difficulties on this view, though, at first reading your note, i jumped at the idea. but i will think over all i saw there. i am (stomacho volente) coming up to london on tuesday to work on cocks and hens, and on wednesday morning, about a quarter before ten, i will call on you (unless i hear to the contrary), for i long to see you. i congratulate you on your grand work. ever yours, c. darwin. p.s.--tell lady lyell that i was unable to digest the funereal ceremonies of the ants, notwithstanding that erasmus has often told me that i should find some day that they have their bishops. after a battle i have always seen the ants carry away the dead for food. ants display the utmost economy, and always carry away a dead fellow-creature as food. but i have just forwarded two most extraordinary letters to busk, from a backwoodsman in texas, who has evidently watched ants carefully, and declares most positively that they plant and cultivate a kind of grass for store food, and plant other bushes for shelter! i do not know what to think, except that the old gentleman is not fibbing intentionally. i have left the responsibility with busk whether or no to read the letters. (i.e. to read them before the linnean society.) charles darwin to thomas davidson. (thomas davidson, f.r.s., born in edinburgh, may , ; died . his researches were chiefly connected with the sciences of geology and palaeontology, and were directed especially to the elucidation of the characters, classification, history, geological and geographical distribution of recent and fossil brachiopoda. on this subject he brought out an important work, 'british fossil brachiopoda,' vols. to. (cooper, 'men of the time,' .)) down, april , . my dear sir, i hope that you will excuse me for venturing to make a suggestion to you which i am perfectly well aware it is a very remote chance that you would adopt. i do not know whether you have read my 'origin of species'; in that book i have made the remark, which i apprehend will be universally admitted, that as a whole, the fauna of any formation is intermediate in character between that of the formations above and below. but several really good judges have remarked to me how desirable it would be that this should be exemplified and worked out in some detail and with some single group of beings. now every one will admit that no one in the world could do this better than you with brachiopods. the result might turn out very unfavourable to the views which i hold; if so, so much the better for those who are opposed to me. ("mr. davidson is not at all a full believer in great changes of species, which will make his work all the more valuable.--c. darwin to r. chambers (april , ).) but i am inclined to suspect that on the whole it would be favourable to the notion of descent with modification; for about a year ago, mr. salter (john william salter; - . he entered the service of the geological survey in , and ultimately became its palaeontologist, on the retirement of edward forbes, and gave up the office in . he was associated with several well-known naturalists in their work--with sedgwick, murchison, lyell, ramsay, and huxley. there are sixty entries under his name in the royal society catalogue. the above facts are taken from an obituary notice of mr. salter in the 'geological magazine,' .) in the museum in jermyn street, glued on a board some spirifers, etc., from three palaeozoic stages, and arranged them in single and branching lines, with horizontal lines marking the formations (like the diagram in my book, if you know it), and the result seemed to me very striking, though i was too ignorant fully to appreciate the lines of affinities. i longed to have had these shells engraved, as arranged by mr. salter, and connected by dotted lines, and would have gladly paid the expense: but i could not persuade mr. salter to publish a little paper on the subject. i can hardly doubt that many curious points would occur to any one thoroughly instructed in the subject, who would consider a group of beings under this point of view of descent with modification. all those forms which have come down from an ancient period very slightly modified ought, i think, to be omitted, and those forms alone considered which have undergone considerable change at each successive epoch. my fear is whether brachiopods have changed enough. the absolute amount of difference of the forms in such groups at the opposite extremes of time ought to be considered, and how far the early forms are intermediate in character between those which appeared much later in time. the antiquity of a group is not really diminished, as some seem vaguely to think, because it has transmitted to the present day closely allied forms. another point is how far the succession of each genus is unbroken, from the first time it appeared to its extinction, with due allowance made for formations poor in fossils. i cannot but think that an important essay (far more important than a hundred literary reviews) might be written by one like yourself, and without very great labour. i know it is highly probable that you may not have leisure, or not care for, or dislike the subject, but i trust to your kindness to forgive me for making this suggestion. if by any extraordinary good fortune you were inclined to take up this notion, i would ask you to read my chapter x. on geological succession. and i should like in this case to be permitted to send you a copy of the new edition, just published, in which i have added and corrected somewhat in chapters ix. and x. pray excuse this long letter, and believe me, my dear sir, yours very faithfully, c. darwin. p.s.--i write so bad a hand that i have had this note copied. charles darwin to thomas davidson. down, april , . my dear sir, i thank you warmly for your letter; i did not in the least know that you had attended to my work. i assure you that the attention which you have paid to it, considering your knowledge and the philosophical tone of your mind (for i well remember one remarkable letter you wrote to me, and have looked through your various publications), i consider one of the highest, perhaps the very highest, compliments which i have received. i live so solitary a life that i do not often hear what goes on, and i should much like to know in what work you have published some remarks on my book. i take a deep interest in the subject, and i hope not simply an egotistical interest; therefore you may believe how much your letter has gratified me; i am perfectly contented if any one will fairly consider the subject, whether or not he fully or only very slightly agrees with me. pray do not think that i feel the least surprise at your demurring to a ready acceptance; in fact, i should not much respect anyone's judgment who did so: that is, if i may judge others from the long time which it has taken me to go round. each stage of belief cost me years. the difficulties are, as you say, many and very great; but the more i reflect, the more they seem to me to be due to our underestimating our ignorance. i belong so much to old times that i find that i weigh the difficulties from the imperfection of the geological record, heavier than some of the younger men. i find, to my astonishment and joy, that such good men as ramsay, jukes, geikie, and one old worker, lyell, do not think that i have in the least exaggerated the imperfection of the record. (professor sedgwick treated this part of the 'origin of species' very differently, as might have been expected from his vehement objection to evolution in general. in the article in the "spectator" of march , , already noticed, sedgwick wrote: "we know the complicated organic phenomena of the mesozoic (or oolitic) period. it defies the transmutationist at every step. oh! but the document, says darwin, is a fragment; i will interpolate long periods to account for all the changes. i say, in reply, if you deny my conclusion, grounded on positive evidence, i toss back your conclusion, derived from negative evidence,--the inflated cushion on which you try to bolster up the defects of your hypothesis." [the punctuation of the imaginary dialogue is slightly altered from the original, which is obscure in one place.]) if my views ever are proved true, our current geological views will have to be considerably modified. my greatest trouble is, not being able to weigh the direct effects of the long-continued action of changed conditions of life without any selection, with the action of selection on mere accidental (so to speak) variability. i oscillate much on this head, but generally return to my belief that the direct action of the conditions of life has not been great. at least this direct action can have played an extremely small part in producing all the numberless and beautiful adaptations in every living creature. with respect to a person's belief, what does rather surprise me is that any one (like carpenter) should be willing to go so very far as to believe that all birds may have descended from one parent, and not go a little farther and include all the members of the same great division; for on such a scale of belief, all the facts in morphology and in embryology (the most important in my opinion of all subjects) become mere divine mockeries... i cannot express how profoundly glad i am that some day you will publish your theoretical view on the modification and endurance of brachiopodous species; i am sure it will be a most valuable contribution to knowledge. pray forgive this very egotistical letter, but you yourself are partly to blame for having pleased me so much. i have told murray to send a copy of my new edition to you, and have written your name. with cordial thanks, pray believe me, my dear sir, yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. [in mr. davidson's monograph on british brachiopoda, published shortly afterwards by the palaeontographical society, results such as my father anticipated were to some extent obtained. "no less than fifteen commonly received species are demonstrated by mr. davidson by the aid of a long series of transitional forms to appertain to... one type." "lyell, 'antiquity of man,' first edition, page .) in the autumn of , and the early part of , my father had a good deal of correspondence with professor asa gray on a subject to which reference has already been made--the publication in the form of a pamphlet, of professor gray's three articles in the july, august, and october numbers of the 'atlantic monthly,' . the pamphlet was published by messrs. trubner, with reference to whom my father wrote, "messrs. trubner have been most liberal and kind, and say they shall make no charge for all their trouble. i have settled about a few advertisements, and they will gratuitously insert one in their own periodicals." the reader will find these articles republished in dr. gray's 'darwiniana,' page , under the title "natural selection not inconsistent with natural theology." the pamphlet found many admirers among those most capable of judging of its merits, and my father believed that it was of much value in lessening opposition, and making converts to evolution. his high opinion of it is shown not only in his letters, but by the fact that he inserted a special notice of it in a most prominent place in the third edition of the 'origin.' lyell, among others, recognised its value as an antidote to the kind of criticism from which the cause of evolution suffered. thus my father wrote to dr. gray:--"just to exemplify the use of your pamphlet, the bishop of london was asking lyell what he thought of the review in the 'quarterly,' and lyell answered, 'read asa gray in the 'atlantic.'". it comes out very clearly that in the case of such publications as dr. gray's, my father did not rejoice over the success of his special view of evolution, viz. that modification is mainly due to natural selection; on the contrary, he felt strongly that the really important point was that the doctrine of descent should be accepted. thus he wrote to professor gray (may , ), with reference to lyell's 'antiquity of man':-- "you speak of lyell as a judge; now what i complain of is that he declines to be a judge... i have sometimes almost wished that lyell had pronounced against me. when i say 'me,' i only mean change of species by descent. that seems to me the turning-point. personally, of course, i care much about natural selection; but that seems to me utterly unimportant, compared to the question of creation or modification."] charles darwin to asa gray. down, april [ ]. my dear gray, i was very glad to get your photograph: i am expecting mine, which i will send off as soon as it comes. it is an ugly affair, and i fear the fault does not lie with the photographer... since writing last, i have had several letters full of the highest commendation of your essay; all agree that it is by far the best thing written, and i do not doubt it has done the 'origin' much good. i have not yet heard how it has sold. you will have seen a review in the "gardeners' chronicle". poor dear henslow, to whom i owe much, is dying, and hooker is with him. many thanks for two sets of sheets of your proceedings. i cannot understand what agassiz is driving at. you once spoke, i think, of professor bowen as a very clever man. i should have thought him a singularly unobservant man from his writings. he never can have seen much of animals, or he would have seen the difference of old and wise dogs and young ones. his paper about hereditariness beats everything. tell a breeder that he might pick out his worst individual animals and breed from them, and hope to win a prize, and he would think you... insane. [professor henslow died on may , , from a complication of bronchitis, congestion of the lungs, and enlargement of the heart. his strong constitution was slow in giving way, and he lingered for weeks in a painful condition of weakness, knowing that his end was near, and looking at death with fearless eyes. in mr. blomefield's (jenyns) 'memoir of henslow' ( ) is a dignified and touching description of prof. sedgwick's farewell visit to his old friend. sedgwick said afterwards that he had never seen "a human being whose soul was nearer heaven." my father wrote to sir j.d. hooker on hearing of henslow's death, "i fully believe a better man never walked this earth." he gave his impressions of henslow's character in mr. blomefield's 'memoir.' in reference to these recollections he wrote to sir j.d. hooker (may , ):-- "this morning i wrote my recollections and impressions of character of poor dear henslow about the year . i liked the job, and so have written four or five pages, now being copied. i do not suppose you will use all, of course you can chop and change as much as you like. if more than a sentence is used, i should like to see a proof-page, as i never can write decently till i see it in print. very likely some of my remarks may appear too trifling, but i thought it best to give my thoughts as they arose, for you or jenyns to use as you think fit. "you will see that i have exceeded your request, but, as i said when i began, i took pleasure in writing my impression of his admirable character."] charles darwin to asa gray. down, june [ ]. my dear gray, i have been rather extra busy, so have been slack in answering your note of may th. i hope you have received long ago the third edition of the 'origin.'... i have heard nothing from trubner of the sale of your essay, hence fear it has not been great; i wrote to say you could supply more. i send a copy to sir j. herschel, and in his new edition of his 'physical geography' he has a note on the 'origin of species,' and agrees, to a certain limited extent, but puts in a caution on design--much like yours... i have been led to think more on this subject of late, and grieve to say that i come to differ more from you. it is not that designed variation makes, as it seems to me, my deity "natural selection" superfluous, but rather from studying, lately, domestic variation, and seeing what an enormous field of undesigned variability there is ready for natural selection to appropriate for any purpose useful to each creature. i thank you much for sending me your review of phillips. ('life on the earth,' .) i remember once telling you a lot of trades which you ought to have followed, but now i am convinced that you are a born reviewer. by jove, how well and often you hit the nail on the head! you rank phillips's book higher than i do, or than lyell does, who thinks it fearfully retrograde. i amused myself by parodying phillips's argument as applied to domestic variation; and you might thus prove that the duck or pigeon has not varied because the goose has not, though more anciently domesticated, and no good reason can be assigned why it has not produced many varieties ... i never knew the newspapers so profoundly interesting. north america does not do england justice; i have not seen or heard of a soul who is not with the north. some few, and i am one of them, even wish to god, though at the loss of millions of lives, that the north would proclaim a crusade against slavery. in the long-run, a million horrid deaths would be amply repaid in the cause of humanity. what wonderful times we live in! massachusetts seems to show noble enthusiasm. great god! how i should like to see the greatest curse on earth--slavery--abolished! farewell. hooker has been absorbed with poor dear revered henslow's affairs. farewell. ever yours, c. darwin. hugh falconer to charles darwin. sackville st., w., june , . my dear darwin, i have been to adelsberg cave and brought back with me a live proteus anguinus, designed for you from the moment i got it; i.e. if you have got an aquarium and would care to have it. i only returned last night from the continent, and hearing from your brother that you are about to go to torquay, i lose no time in making you the offer. the poor dear animal is still alive--although it has had no appreciable means of sustenance for a month--and i am most anxious to get rid of the responsibility of starving it longer. in your hands it will thrive and have a fair chance of being developed without delay into some type of the columbidae--say a pouter or a tumbler. my dear darwin, i have been rambling through the north of italy, and germany lately. everywhere have i heard your views and your admirable essay canvassed--the views of course often dissented from, according to the special bias of the speaker--but the work, its honesty of purpose, grandeur of conception, felicity of illustration, and courageous exposition, always referred to in terms of the highest admiration. and among your warmest friends no one rejoiced more heartily in the just appreciation of charles darwin than did yours very truly, h. falconer. charles darwin to hugh falconer. down [june , ]. my dear falconer, i have just received your note, and by good luck a day earlier than properly, and i lose not a moment in answering you, and thanking you heartily for your offer of the valuable specimen; but i have no aquarium and shall soon start for torquay, so that it would be a thousand pities that i should have it. yet i should certainly much like to see it, but i fear it is impossible. would not the zoological society be the best place? and then the interest which many would take in this extraordinary animal would repay you for your trouble. kind as you have been in taking this trouble and offering me this specimen, to tell the truth i value your note more than the specimen. i shall keep your note amongst a very few precious letters. your kindness has quite touched me. yours affectionately and gratefully, ch. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. hesketh crescent, torquay, july [ ]. ... i hope harvey is better; i got his review (the 'dublin hospital gazette,' may , . the passage referred to is at page .) of me a day or two ago, from which i infer he must be convalescent; it's very good and fair; but it is funny to see a man argue on the succession of animals from noah's deluge; as god did not then wholly destroy man, probably he did not wholly destroy the races of other animals at each geological period! i never expected to have a helping hand from the old testament... charles darwin to c. lyell. , hesketh crescent, torquay, july [ ]. my dear lyell, i sent you two or three days ago a duplicate of a good review of the 'origin' by a mr. maw (mr. george maw, of benthall hall. the review was published in the 'zoologist,' july, . on the back of my father's copy is written, "must be consulted before new edit. of 'origin'"--words which are wanting on many more pretentious notices, on which frequently occur my father's brief o/-, or "nothing new."), evidently a thoughtful man, as i thought you might like to have it, as you have so many... this is quite a charming place, and i have actually walked, i believe, good two miles out and back, which is a grand feat. i saw mr. pengelly (william pengelly, the geologist, and well-known explorer of the devonshire caves.) the other day, and was pleased at his enthusiasm. i do not in the least know whether you are in london. your illness must have lost you much time, but i hope you have nearly got your great job of the new edition finished. you must be very busy, if in london, so i will be generous, and on honour bright do not expect any answer to this dull little note... charles darwin to asa gray. down, september [ ?]. my dear gray, i thank you sincerely for your very long and interesting letter, political and scientific, of august th and th, and september nd received this morning. i agree with much of what you say, and i hope to god we english are utterly wrong in doubting ( ) whether the n. can conquer the s.; ( ) whether the n. has many friends in the south, and ( ) whether you noble men of massachusetts are right in transferring your own good feelings to the men of washington. again i say i hope to god we are wrong in doubting on these points. it is number ( ) which alone causes england not to be enthusiastic with you. what it may be in lancashire i know not, but in s. england cotton has nothing whatever to do with our doubts. if abolition does follow with your victory, the whole world will look brighter in my eyes, and in many eyes. it would be a great gain even to stop the spread of slavery into the territories; if that be possible without abolition, which i should have doubted. you ought not to wonder so much at england's coldness, when you recollect at the commencement of the war how many propositions were made to get things back to the old state with the old line of latitude, but enough of this, all i can say is that massachusetts and the adjoining states have the full sympathy of every good man whom i see; and this sympathy would be extended to the whole federal states, if we could be persuaded that your feelings were at all common to them. but enough of this. it is out of my line, though i read every word of news, and formerly well studied olmsted... your question what would convince me of design is a poser. if i saw an angel come down to teach us good, and i was convinced from others seeing him that i was not mad, i should believe in design. if i could be convinced thoroughly that life and mind was in an unknown way a function of other imponderable force, i should be convinced. if man was made of brass or iron and no way connected with any other organism which had ever lived, i should perhaps be convinced. but this is childish writing. i have lately been corresponding with lyell, who, i think, adopts your idea of the stream of variation having been led or designed. i have asked him (and he says he will hereafter reflect and answer me) whether he believes that the shape of my nose was designed. if he does i have nothing more to say. if not, seeing what fanciers have done by selecting individual differences in the nasal bones of pigeons, i must think that it is illogical to suppose that the variations, which natural selection preserves for the good of any being have been designed. but i know that i am in the same sort of muddle (as i have said before) as all the world seems to be in with respect to free will, yet with everything supposed to have been foreseen or pre-ordained. farewell, my dear gray, with many thanks for your interesting letter. your unmerciful correspondent. c. darwin. charles darwin to h.w. bates. down, december [ ]. my dear sir, i thank you for your extremely interesting letter, and valuable references, though god knows when i shall come again to this part of my subject. one cannot of course judge of style when one merely hears a paper (on mimetic butterflies, read before the linnean soc., november , . for my father's opinion of it when published, see below.), but yours seemed to me very clear and good. believe me that i estimate its value most highly. under a general point of view, i am quite convinced (hooker and huxley took the same view some months ago) that a philosophic view of nature can solely be driven into naturalists by treating special subjects as you have done. under a special point of view, i think you have solved one of the most perplexing problems which could be given to solve. i am glad to hear from hooker that the linnean society will give plates if you can get drawings... do not complain of want of advice during your travels; i dare say part of your great originality of views may be due to the necessity of sel-exertion of thought. i can understand that your reception at the british museum would damp you; they are a very good set of men, but not the sort to appreciate your work. in fact i have long thought that too much systematic work [and] description somehow blunts the faculties. the general public appreciates a good dose of reasoning, or generalisation, with new and curious remarks on habits, final causes, etc. etc., far more than do the regular naturalists. i am extremely glad to hear that you have begun your travels... i am very busy, but i shall be truly glad to render any aid which i can by reading your first chapter or two. i do not think i shall be able to correct style, for this reason, that after repeated trials i find i cannot correct my own style till i see the ms. in type. some are born with a power of good writing, like wallace; others like myself and lyell have to labour very hard and slowly at every sentence. i find it a very good plan, when i cannot get a difficult discussion to please me, to fancy that some one comes into the room and asks me what i am doing; and then try at once and explain to the imaginary person what it is all about. i have done this for one paragraph to myself several times, and sometimes to mrs. darwin, till i see how the subject ought to go. it is, i think, good to read one's ms. aloud. but style to me is a great difficulty; yet some good judges think i have succeeded, and i say this to encourage you. what i think i can do will be to tell you whether parts had better be shortened. it is good, i think, to dash "in media res," and work in later any descriptions of country or any historical details which may be necessary. murray likes lots of wood-cuts--give some by all means of ants. the public appreciate monkeys--our poor cousins. what sexual differences are there in monkeys? have you kept them tame? if so, about their expression. i fear that you will hardly read my vile hand-writing, but i cannot without killing trouble write better. you shall have my candid opinion on your ms., but remember it is hard to judge from ms., one reads slowly, and heavy parts seem much heavier. a first-rate judge thought my journal very poor; now that it is in print, i happen to know, he likes it. i am sure you will understand why i am so egotistical. i was a little disappointed in wallace's book ('travels on the amazon and rio negro,' .) on the amazon; hardly facts enough. on the other hand, in gosse's book (probably the 'naturalist's sojourn in jamaica,' .) there is not reasoning enough to my taste. heaven knows whether you will care to read all this scribbling... i am glad you had a pleasant day with hooker (in a letter to sir j.d. hooker (december ), my father wrote: "i am very glad to hear that you like bates. i have seldom in my life been more struck with a man's power of mind."), he is an admirably good man in every sense. [the following extract from a letter to mr. bates on the same subject is interesting as giving an idea of the plan followed by my father in writing his 'naturalist's voyage:' "as an old hackneyed author, let me give you a bit of advice, viz. to strike out every word which is not quite necessary to the current subject, and which could not interest a stranger. i constantly asked myself, would a stranger care for this? and struck out or left in accordingly. i think too much pains cannot be taken in making the style transparently clear and throwing eloquence to the dogs." mr. bates's book, 'the naturalist on the amazons,' was published in , but the following letter may be given here rather than in its due chronological position:] charles darwin to h.w. bates. down, april , . dear bates, i have finished volume i. my criticisms may be condensed into a single sentence, namely, that it is the best work of natural history travels ever published in england. your style seems to me admirable. nothing can be better than the discussion on the struggle for existence, and nothing better than the description of the forest scenery. (in a letter to lyell my father wrote: "he [i.e. mr. bates] is second only to humboldt in describing a tropical forest.") it is a grand book, and whether or not it sells quickly, it will last. you have spoken out boldly on species; and boldness on the subject seems to get rarer and rarer. how beautifully illustrated it is. the cut on the back is most tasteful. i heartily congratulate you on its publication. the "athenaeum" ("i have read the first volume of bates's book; it is capital, and i think the best natural history travels ever published in england. he is bold about species, etc., and the "athenaeum" coolly says 'he bends his facts' for this purpose."--(from a letter to sir j.d. hooker.)) was rather cold, as it always is, and insolent in the highest degree about your leading facts. have you seen the "reader"? i can send it to you if you have not seen it... charles darwin to asa gray. down, december [ ]. my dear gray, many and cordial thanks for your two last most valuable notes. what a thing it is that when you receive this we may be at war, and we two be bound, as good patriots, to hate each other, though i shall find this hating you very hard work. how curious it is to see two countries, just like two angry and silly men, taking so opposite a view of the same transaction! i fear there is no shadow of doubt we shall fight if the two southern rogues are not given up. (the confederate commissioners slidell and mason were forcibly removed from the "trent", a west india mail steamer on november , . the news that the u.s. agreed to release them reached england on january , .) and what a wretched thing it will be if we fight on the side of slavery. no doubt it will be said that we fight to get cotton; but i fully believe that this has not entered into the motive in the least. well, thank heaven, we private individuals have nothing to do with so awful a responsibility. again, how curious it is that you seem to think that you can conquer the south; and i never meet a soul, even those who would most wish it, who thinks it possible--that is, to conquer and retain it. i do not suppose the mass of people in your country will believe it, but i feel sure if we do go to war it will be with the utmost reluctance by all classes, ministers of government and all. time will show, and it is no use writing or thinking about it. i called the other day on dr. boott, and was pleased to find him pretty well and cheerful. i see, by the way, he takes quite an english opinion of american affairs, though an american in heart. (dr. boott was born in the u.s.) buckle might write a chapter on opinion being entirely dependent on longitude! ... with respect to design, i feel more inclined to show a white flag than to fire my usual long-range shot. i like to try and ask you a puzzling question, but when you return the compliment i have great doubts whether it is a fair way of arguing. if anything is designed, certainly man must be: one's "inner consciousness" (though a false guide) tells one so; yet i cannot admit that man's rudimentary mammae... were designed. if i was to say i believed this, i should believe it in the same incredible manner as the orthodox believe the trinity in unity. you say that you are in a haze; i am in thick mud; the orthodox would say in fetid, abominable mud; yet i cannot keep out of the question. my dear gray, i have written a deal of nonsense. yours most cordially, c. darwin. . [owing to the illness from scarlet fever of one of his boys, he took a house at bournemouth in the autumn. he wrote to dr. gray from southampton (august , ):-- "we are a wretched family, and ought to be exterminated. we slept here to rest our poor boy on his journey to bournemouth, and my poor dear wife sickened with scarlet fever, and has had it pretty sharply, but is recovering well. there is no end of trouble in this weary world. i shall not feel safe till we are all at home together, and when that will be i know not. but it is foolish complaining." dr. gray used to send postage stamps to the scarlet fever patient; with regard to this good-natured deed my father wrote-- "i must just recur to stamps; my little man has calculated that he will now have stamps which no other boy in the school has. here is a triumph. your last letter was plaistered with many coloured stamps, and he long surveyed the envelope in bed with much quiet satisfaction." the greater number of the letters of deal with the orchid work, but the wave of conversion to evolution was still spreading, and reviews and letters bearing on the subject still came in numbers. as an example of the odd letters he received may be mentioned one which arrived in january of this year "from a german homoeopathic doctor, an ardent admirer of the 'origin.' had himself published nearly the same sort of book, but goes much deeper. explains the origin of plants and animals on the principles of homoeopathy or by the law of spirality. book fell dead in germany. therefore would i translate it and publish it in england."] charles darwin to t.h. huxley. down, [january?] [ ]. my dear huxley, i am heartily glad of your success in the north (this refers to two of mr. huxley's lectures, given before the philosophical institution of edinburgh in . the substance of them is given in 'man's place in nature.'), and thank you for your note and slip. by jove you have attacked bigotry in its stronghold. i thought you would have been mobbed. i am so glad that you will publish your lectures. you seem to have kept a due medium between extreme boldness and caution. i am heartily glad that all went off so well. i hope mrs. huxley is pretty well... i must say one word on the hybrid question. no doubt you are right that here is a great hiatus in the argument; yet i think you overrate it--you never allude to the excellent evidence of varieties of verbascum and nicotiana being partially sterile together. it is curious to me to read (as i have to-day) the greatest crossing gardener utterly pooh-poohing the distinction which botanists make on this head, and insisting how frequently crossed varieties produce sterile offspring. do oblige me by reading the latter half of my primula paper in the 'linn. journal,' for it leads me to suspect that sterility will hereafter have to be largely viewed as an acquired or selected character--a view which i wish i had had facts to maintain in the 'origin.' (the view here given will be discussed in the chapter on hetero-styled plants.) charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, january [ ]. my dear hooker, many thanks for your last sunday's letter, which was one of the pleasantest i ever received in my life. we are all pretty well redivivus, and i am at work again. i thought it best to make a clean breast to asa gray; and told him that the boston dinner, etc. etc., had quite turned my stomach, and that i almost thought it would be good for the peace of the world if the united states were split up; on the other hand, i said that i groaned to think of the slave-holders being triumphant, and that the difficulties of making a line of separation were fearful. i wonder what he will say... your notion of the aristocrat being kenspeckle, and the best men of a good lot being thus easily selected is new to me, and striking. the 'origin' having made you in fact a jolly old tory, made us all laugh heartily. i have sometimes speculated on this subject; primogeniture (my father had a strong feeling as to the injustice of primogeniture, and in a similar spirit was often indignant over the unfair wills that appear from time to time. he would declare energetically that if he were law-giver no will should be valid that was not published in the testator's lifetime; and this he maintained would prevent much of the monstrous injustice and meanness apparent in so many wills.) is dreadfully opposed to selection; suppose the first-born bull was necessarily made by each farmer the begetter of his stock! on the other hand, as you say, ablest men are continually raised to the peerage, and get crossed with the older lord-breeds, and the lords continually select the most beautiful and charming women out of the lower ranks; so that a good deal of indirect selection improves the lords. certainly i agree with you the present american row has a very torifying influence on us all. i am very glad to hear you are beginning to print the 'genera;' it is a wonderful satisfaction to be thus brought to bed, indeed it is one's chief satisfaction, i think, though one knows that another bantling will soon be developing... charles darwin to maxwell masters. (dr. masters is a well-known vegetable teratologist, and has been for many years the editor of the "gardeners' chronicle".) down, february [ ]. my dear sir, i am much obliged to you for sending me your article (refers to a paper on "vegetable morphology," by dr. masters, in the 'british and foreign medic-chirurgical review' for ), which i have just read with much interest. the history, and a good deal besides, was quite new to me. it seems to me capitally done, and so clearly written. you really ought to write your larger work. you speak too generously of my book; but i must confess that you have pleased me not a little; for no one, as far as i know, has ever remarked on what i say on classification--a part, which when i wrote it, pleased me. with many thanks to you for sending me your article, pray believe me, my dear sir, yours sincerely, c. darwin. [in the spring of this year ( ) my father read the second volume of buckle's 'history of civilisation." the following strongly expressed opinion about it may be worth quoting:-- "have you read buckle's second volume? it has interested me greatly; i do not care whether his views are right or wrong, but i should think they contained much truth. there is a noble love of advancement and truth throughout; and to my taste he is the very best writer of the english language that ever lived, let the other be who he may."] charles darwin to asa gray. down, march [ ]. my dear gray, thanks for the newspapers (though they did contain digs at england), and for your note of february th. it is really almost a pleasure to receive stabs from so smooth, polished, and sharp a dagger as your pen. i heartily wish i could sympathise more fully with you, instead of merely hating the south. we cannot enter into your feelings; if scotland were to rebel, i presume we should be very wrath, but i do not think we should care a penny what other nations thought. the millennium must come before nations love each other; but try and do not hate me. think of me, if you will as a poor blinded fool. i fear the dreadful state of affairs must dull your interest in science... i believe that your pamphlet has done my book great good; and i thank you from my heart for myself; and believing that the views are in large part true, i must think that you have done natural science a good turn. natural selection seems to be making a little progress in england and on the continent; a new german edition is called for, and a french (in june, , my father wrote to dr. gray: "i received, or days ago, a french translation of the 'origin,' by a madlle. royer, who must be one of the cleverest and oddest women in europe: is an ardent deist, and hates christianity, and declares that natural selection and the struggle for life will explain all morality, nature of man, politics, etc. etc.! she makes some very curious and good hits, and says she shall publish a book on these subjects." madlle. royer added foot-notes to her translation, and in many places where the author expresses great doubt, she explains the difficulty, or points out that no real difficulty exists.) one has just appeared. one of the best men, though at present unknown, who has taken up these views, is mr. bates; pray read his 'travels in amazonia,' when they appear; they will be very good, judging from ms. of the first two chapters. ... again i say, do not hate me. ever yours most truly, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. carlton terrace, southampton (the house of his son william.), august , [ ]. ... i heartily hope that you (i.e. 'the antiquity of man.') will be out in october... you say that the bishop and owen will be down on you; the latter hardly can, for i was assured that owen in his lectures this spring advanced as a new idea that wingless birds had lost their wings by disuse, also that magpies stole spoons, etc., from a remnant of some instinct like that of the bower-bird, which ornaments its playing-passage with pretty feathers. indeed, i am told that he hinted plainly that all birds are descended from one... your p.s. touches on, as it seems to me, very difficult points. i am glad to see [that] in the 'origin,' i only say that the naturalists generally consider that low organisms vary more than high; and this i think certainly is the general opinion. i put the statement this way to show that i considered it only an opinion probably true. i must own that i do not at all trust even hooker's contrary opinion, as i feel pretty sure that he has not tabulated any result. i have some materials at home, i think i attempted to make this point out, but cannot remember the result. mere variability, though the necessary foundation of all modifications, i believe to be almost always present, enough to allow of any amount of selected change; so that it does not seem to me at all incompatible that a group which at any one period (or during all successive periods) varies less, should in the long course of time have undergone more modification than a group which is generally more variable. placental animals, e.g. might be at each period less variable than marsupials, and nevertheless have undergone more differentiation and development than marsupials, owing to some advantage, probably brain development. i am surprised, but do not pretend to form an opinion at hooker's statement that higher species, genera, etc., are best limited. it seems to me a bold statement. looking to the 'origin,' i see that i state that the productions of the land seem to change quicker than those of the sea (chapter x., page , d edition), and i add there is some reason to believe that organisms considered high in the scale change quicker than those that are low. i remember writing these sentences after much deliberation... i remember well feeling much hesitation about putting in even the guarded sentences which i did. my doubts, i remember, related to the rate of change of the radiata in the secondary formation, and of the foraminifera in the oldest tertiary beds... good night, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, october [ ]. ... i found here (on his return from bournemouth.) a short and very kind note of falconer, with some pages of his 'elephant memoir,' which will be published, in which he treats admirably on long persistence of type. i thought he was going to make a good and crushing attack on me, but to my great satisfaction, he ends by pointing out a loophole, and adds (falconer, "on the american fossil elephant," in the 'nat. hist. review,' , page . the words preceding those cited by my father make the meaning of his quotation clearer. the passage begins as follows: "the inferences which i draw from these facts are not opposed to one of the leading propositions of darwin's theory. with him," etc. etc.) "with him i have no faith that the mammoth and other extinct elephants made their appearance suddenly... the most rational view seems to be that they are the modified descendants of earlier progenitors, etc." this is capital. there will not be soon one good palaeontologist who believes in immutability. falconer does not allow for the proboscidean group being a failing one, and therefore not likely to be giving off new races. he adds that he does not think natural selection suffices. i do not quite see the force of his argument, and he apparently overlooks that i say over and over again that natural selection can do nothing without variability, and that variability is subject to the most complex fixed laws... [in his letters to sir j.d. hooker, about the end of this year, are occasional notes on the progress of the 'variation of animals and plants.' thus on november th he wrote: "i hardly know why i am a little sorry, but my present work is leading me to believe rather more in the direct action of physical conditions. i presume i regret it, because it lessens the glory of natural selection, and is so confoundedly doubtful. perhaps i shall change again when i get all my facts under one point of view, and a pretty hard job this will be." again, on december nd, "to-day i have begun to think of arranging my concluding chapters on inheritance, reversion, selection, and such things, and am fairly paralyzed how to begin and how to end, and what to do, with my huge piles of materials."] charles darwin to asa gray. down, november [ ]. my dear gray, when your note of october th and th (chiefly about max muller) arrived, i was nearly at the end of the same book ('lectures on the science of language,' st edition .), and had intended recommending you to read it. i quite agree that it is extremely interesting, but the latter part about the first origin of language much the least satisfactory. it is a marvellous problem...[there are] covert sneers at me, which he seems to get the better of towards the close of the book. i cannot quite see how it will forward "my cause," as you call it; but i can see how any one with literary talent (i do not feel up to it) could make great use of the subject in illustration. (language was treated in the manner here indicated by sir c. lyell in the 'antiquity of man.' also by prof. schleicher, whose pamphlet was fully noticed in the "reader", february , (as i learn from one of prof. huxley's 'lay sermons').) what pretty metaphors you would make from it! i wish some one would keep a lot of the most noisy monkeys, half free, and study their means of communication! a book has just appeared here which will, i suppose, make a noise, by bishop colenso ('the pentateuch and book of joshua critically examined,' six parts, - .), who, judging from extracts, smashes most of the old testament. talking of books, i am in the middle of one which pleases me, though it is very innocent food, viz., miss coopers 'journal of a naturalist.' who is she? she seems a very clever woman, and gives a capital account of the battle between our and your weeds. does it not hurt your yankee pride that we thrash you so confoundedly? i am sure mrs. gray will stick up for your own weeds. ask her whether they are not more honest, downright good sort of weeds. the book gives an extremely pretty picture of one of your villages; but i see your autumn, though so much more gorgeous than ours, comes on sooner, and that is one comfort... charles darwin to h.w. bates. down, november [ ]. dear bates, i have just finished, after several reads, your paper. (this refers to mr. bates's paper, "contributions to an insect fauna of the amazons valley" ('linn. soc. trans.' xxiii., ), in which the now familiar subject of mimicry was founded. my father wrote a short review of it in the 'natural history review,' , page , parts of which occur in this review almost verbatim in the later editions of the 'origin of species.' a striking passage occurs showing the difficulties of the case from a creationist's point of view:-- "by what means, it may be asked, have so many butterflies of the amazonian region acquired their deceptive dress? most naturalists will answer that they were thus clothed from the hour of their creation--an answer which will generally be so far triumphant that it can be met only by long-drawn arguments; but it is made at the expense of putting an effectual bar to all further enquiry. in this particular case, moreover, the creationist will meet with special difficulties; for many of the mimicking forms of leptalis can be shown by a graduated series to be merely varieties of one species; other mimickers are undoubtedly distinct species, or even distinct genera. so again, some of the mimicked forms can be shown to be merely varieties; but the greater number must be ranked as distinct species. hence the creationist will have to admit that some of these forms have become imitators, by means of the laws of variation, whilst others he must look at as separately created under their present guise; he will further have to admit that some have been created in imitation of forms not themselves created as we now see them, but due to the laws of variation? prof. agassiz, indeed, would think nothing of this difficulty; for he believes that not only each species and each variety, but that groups of individuals, though identically the same, when inhabiting distinct countries, have been all separately created in due proportional numbers to the wants of each land. not many naturalists will be content thus to believe that varieties and individuals have been turned out all ready made, almost as a manufacturer turns out toys according to the temporary demand of the market.") in my opinion it is one of the most remarkable and admirable papers i ever read in my life. the mimetic cases are truly marvellous, and you connect excellently a host of analogous facts. the illustrations are beautiful, and seem very well chosen; but it would have saved the reader not a little trouble, if the name of each had been engraved below each separate figure. no doubt this would have put the engraver into fits, as it would have destroyed the beauty of the plate. i am not at all surprised at such a paper having consumed much time. i am rejoiced that i passed over the whole subject in the 'origin,' for i should have made a precious mess of it. you have most clearly stated and solved a wonderful problem. no doubt with most people this will be the cream of the paper; but i am not sure that all your facts and reasonings on variation, and on the segregation of complete and semi-complete species, is not really more, or at least as valuable, a part. i never conceived the process nearly so clearly before; one feels present at the creation of new forms. i wish, however, you had enlarged a little more on the pairing of similar varieties; a rather more numerous body of facts seems here wanted. then, again, what a host of curious miscellaneous observations there are--as on related sexual and individual variability: these will some day, if i live, be a treasure to me. with respect to mimetic resemblance being so common with insects, do you not think it may be connected with their small size; they cannot defend themselves; they cannot escape by flight, at least, from birds, therefore they escape by trickery and deception? i have one serious criticism to make, and that is about the title of the paper; i cannot but think that you ought to have called prominent attention in it to the mimetic resemblances. your paper is too good to be largely appreciated by the mob of naturalists without souls; but, rely on it, that it will have lasting value, and i cordially congratulate you on your first great work. you will find, i should think, that wallace will fully appreciate it. how gets on your book? keep your spirits up. a book is no light labour. i have been better lately, and working hard, but my health is very indifferent. how is your health? believe me, dear bates, yours very sincerely, c. darwin. chapter .iv. -- the spread of evolution. 'variation of animals and plants' - . [his book on animals and plants under domestication was my father's chief employment in the year . his diary records the length of time spent over the composition of its chapters, and shows the rate at which he arranged and wrote out for printing the observations and deductions of several years. the three chapters in volume ii. on inheritance, which occupy pages of print, were begun in january and finished on april st; the five on crossing, making pages, were written in eight weeks, while the two chapters on selection, covering pages, were begun on june th and finished on july th. the work was more than once interrupted by ill health, and in september, what proved to be the beginning of a six month's illness, forced him to leave home for the water-cure at malvern. he returned in october and remained ill and depressed, in spite of the hopeful opinion of one of the most cheery and skilful physicians of the day. thus he wrote to sir j.d. hooker in november:-- "dr. brinton has been here (recommended by busk); he does not believe my brain or heart are primarily affected, but i have been so steadily going down hill, i cannot help doubting whether i can ever crawl a little uphill again. unless i can, enough to work a little, i hope my life may be very short, for to lie on a sofa all day and do nothing but give trouble to the best and kindest of wives and good dear children is dreadful." the minor works in this year were a short paper in the 'natural history review' (n.s. vol. iii. page ), entitled "on the so-called 'auditor-sac' of cirripedes," and one in the 'geological society's journal' (vol. xix), on the "thickness of the pampaean formation near buenos ayres." the paper on cirripedes was called forth by the criticisms of a german naturalist krohn (krohn stated that the structures described by my father as ovaries were in reality salivary glands, also that the oviduct runs down to the orifice described in the 'monograph of the cirripedia' as the auditory meatus.), and is of some interest in illustration of my father's readiness to admit an error. with regard to the spread of a belief in evolution, it could not yet be said that the battle was won, but the growth of belief was undoubtedly rapid. so that, for instance, charles kingsley could write to f.d. maurice (kingsley's 'life,' ii, page .): "the state of the scientific mind is most curious; darwin is conquering everywhere, and rushing in like a flood, by the mere force of truth and fact." mr. huxley was as usual active in guiding and stimulating the growing tendency to tolerate or accept the views set forth in the 'origin of species.' he gave a series of lectures to working men at the school of mines in november, . these were printed in from the shorthand notes of mr. may, as six little blue books, price pence each, under the title, 'our knowledge of the causes of organic nature.' when published they were read with interest by my father, who thus refers to them in a letter to sir j.d. hooker:-- "i am very glad you like huxley's lectures. i have been very much struck with them, especially with the 'philosophy of induction.' i have quarrelled with him for overdoing sterility and ignoring cases from gartner and kolreuter about sterile varieties. his geology is obscure; and i rather doubt about man's mind and language. but it seems to me admirably done, and, as you say, "oh my," about the praise of the 'origin.' i can't help liking it, which makes me rather ashamed of myself." my father admired the clearness of exposition shown in the lectures, and in the following letter urges their author to make use of his powers for the advantage of students:] charles darwin to t.h. huxley. november [ ]. i want to make a suggestion to you, but which may probably have occurred to you. -- was reading your lectures and ended by saying, "i wish he would write a book." i answered, "he has just written a great book on the skull." "i don't call that a book," she replied, and added, "i want something that people can read; he does write so well." now, with your ease in writing, and with knowledge at your fingers' ends, do you not think you could write a popular treatise on zoology? of course it would be some waste of time, but i have been asked more than a dozen times to recommend something for a beginner and could only think of carpenter's zoology. i am sure that a striking treatise would do real service to science by educating naturalists. if you were to keep a portfolio open for a couple of years, and throw in slips of paper as subjects crossed your mind, you would soon have a skeleton (and that seems to me the difficulty) on which to put the flesh and colours in your inimitable manner. i believe such a book might have a brilliant success, but i did not intend to scribble so much about it. give my kindest remembrance to mrs. huxley, and tell her i was looking at 'enoch arden,' and as i know how she admires tennyson, i must call her attention to two sweetly pretty lines (page )... ... and he meant, he said he meant, perhaps he meant, or partly meant, you well. such a gem as this is enough to make me young again, and like poetry with pristine fervour. my dear huxley, yours affectionately, ch. darwin. [in another letter (january ) he returns to the above suggestion, though he was in general strongly opposed to men of science giving up to the writing of text-books, or to teaching, the time that might otherwise have been given to original research. "i knew there was very little chance of your having time to write a popular treatise on zoology, but you are about the one man who could do it. at the time i felt it would be almost a sin for you to do it, as it would of course destroy some original work. on the other hand i sometimes think that general and popular treatises are almost as important for the progress of science as original work." the series of letters will continue the history of the year .] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, january [ ]. my dear hooker, i am burning with indignation and must exhale... i could not get to sleep till past last night for indignation (it would serve no useful purpose if i were to go into the matter which so strongly roused my father's anger. it was a question of literary dishonesty, in which a friend was the sufferer, but which in no way affected himself.)... now for pleasanter subjects; we were all amused at your defence of stamp collecting and collecting generally... but, by jove, i can hardly stomach a grown man collecting stamps. who would ever have thought of your collecting wedgwoodware! but that is wholly different, like engravings or pictures. we are degenerate descendants of old josiah w., for we have not a bit of pretty ware in the house. ... notwithstanding the very pleasant reason you give for our not enjoying a holiday, namely, that we have no vices, it is a horrid bore. i have been trying for health's sake to be idle, with no success. what i shall now have to do, will be to erect a tablet in down church, "sacred to the memory, etc.," and officially die, and then publish books, "by the late charles darwin," for i cannot think what has come over me of late; i always suffered from the excitement of talking, but now it has become ludicrous. i talked lately / hours (broken by tea by myself) with my nephew, and i was [ill] half the night. it is a fearful evil for self and family. good-night. ever yours. c. darwin. [the following letter to sir julius von haast (sir julius von haast was a german by birth, but had long been resident in new zealand. he was, in , government geologist to the province of canterbury.), is an example of the sympathy which he felt with the spread and growth of science in the colonies. it was a feeling not expressed once only, but was frequently present in his mind, and often found utterance. when we, at cambridge, had the satisfaction of receiving sir j. von haast into our body as a doctor of science (july ), i had the opportunity of hearing from him of the vivid pleasure which this, and other letters from my father, gave him. it was pleasant to see how strong had been the impression made by my father's warm-hearted sympathy--an impression which seemed, after more than twenty years, to be as fresh as when it was first received:] charles darwin to julius von haast. down, january [ ]. dear sir, i thank you most sincerely for sending me your address and the geological report. (address to the 'philosophical institute of canterbury (n.z.).' the "report" is given in "the new zealand government gazette, province of canterbury", october .) i have seldom in my life read anything more spirited and interesting than your address. the progress of your colony makes one proud, and it is really admirable to see a scientific institution founded in so young a nation. i thank you for the very honourable notice of my 'origin of species.' you will easily believe how much i have been interested by your striking facts on the old glacial period, and i suppose the world might be searched in vain for so grand a display of terraces. you have, indeed, a noble field for scientific research and discovery. i have been extremely much interested by what you say about the tracks of supposed [living] mammalia. might i ask, if you succeed in discovering what the creatures are, you would have the great kindness to inform me? perhaps they may turn out something like the solenhofen bird creature, with its long tail and fingers, with claws to its wings! i may mention that in south america, in completely uninhabited regions, i found spring rat-traps, baited with cheese, were very successful in catching the smaller mammals. i would venture to suggest to you to urge on some of the capable members of your institution to observe annually the rate and manner of spreading of european weeds and insects, and especially to observe what native plants most fail; this latter point has never been attended to. do the introduced hive-bees replace any other insect? etc. all such points are, in my opinion, great desiderata in science. what an interesting discovery that of the remains of prehistoric man! believe me, dear sir, with the most cordial respect and thanks, yours very faithfully, charles darwin. charles darwin to camille dareste. (professor dareste is a well-known worker in animal teratology. he was in living at lille, but has since then been called to paris. my father took a special interest in dareste's work on the production of monsters, as bearing on the causes of variation.) down, february [ ]. dear and respected sir, i thank you sincerely for your letter and your pamphlet. i had heard (i think in one of m. quatrefages' books) of your work, and was most anxious to read it, but did not know where to find it. you could not have made me a more valuable present. i have only just returned home, and have not yet read your work; when i do if i wish to ask any questions i will venture to trouble you. your approbation of my book on species has gratified me extremely. several naturalists in england, north america, and germany, have declared that their opinions on the subject have in some degree been modified, but as far as i know, my book has produced no effect whatever in france, and this makes me the more gratified by your very kind expression of approbation. pray believe me, dear sir, with much respect, yours faithfully and obliged, ch. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, february [ ]. my dear hooker, i am astonished at your note, i have not seen the "athenaeum" (in the 'antiquity of man,' first edition, page , lyell criticised somewhat severely owen's account of the difference between the human and simian brains. the number of the "athenaeum" here referred to ( , page ) contains a reply by professor owen to lyell's strictures. the surprise expressed by my father was at the revival of a controversy which every one believed to be closed. prof. huxley ("medical times", october , , quoted in 'man's place in nature,' page ) spoke of the "two years during which this preposterous controversy has dragged its weary length." and this no doubt expressed a very general feeling.) but i have sent for it, and may get it to-morrow; and will then say what i think. i have read lyell's book. ['the antiquity of man.'] the whole certainty struck me as a compilation, but of the highest class, for when possible the facts have been verified on the spot, making it almost an original work. the glacial chapters seem to me best, and in parts magnificent. i could hardly judge about man, as all the gloss of novelty was completely worn off. but certainly the aggregation of the evidence produced a very striking effect on my mind. the chapter comparing language and changes of species, seems most ingenious and interesting. he has shown great skill in picking out salient points in the argument for change of species; but i am deeply disappointed (i do not mean personally) to find that his timidity prevents him giving any judgment... from all my communications with him i must ever think that he has really entirely lost faith in the immutability of species; and yet one of his strongest sentences is nearly as follows: "if it should ever (the italics are not lyell's.) be rendered highly probable that species change by variation and natural selection," etc., etc. i had hoped he would have guided the public as far as his own belief went... one thing does please me on this subject, that he seems to appreciate your work. no doubt the public or a part may be induced to think that as he gives to us a larger space than to lamarck, he must think there is something in our views. when reading the brain chapter, it struck me forcibly that if he had said openly that he believed in change of species, and as a consequence that man was derived from some quadrumanous animal, it would have been very proper to have discussed by compilation the differences in the most important organ, viz. the brain. as it is, the chapter seems to me to come in rather by the head and shoulders. i do not think (but then i am as prejudiced as falconer and huxley, or more so) that it is too severe; it struck me as given with judicial force. it might perhaps be said with truth that he had no business to judge on a subject on which he knows nothing; but compilers must do this to a certain extent. (you know i value and rank high compilers, being one myself!) i have taken you at your word, and scribbled at great length. if i get the "athenaeum" to-morrow, i will add my impression of owen's letter. ... the lyells are coming here on sunday evening to stay till wednesday. i dread it, but i must say how much disappointed i am that he has not spoken out on species, still less on man. and the best of the joke is that he thinks he has acted with the courage of a martyr of old. i hope i may have taken an exaggerated view of his timidity, and shall particularly be glad of your opinion on this head. (on this subject my father wrote to sir joseph hooker: "cordial thanks for your deeply interesting letters about lyell, owen, and co. i cannot say how glad i am to hear that i have not been unjust about the species-question towards lyell. i feared i had been unreasonable.") when i got his book i turned over the pages, and saw he had discussed the subject of species, and said that i thought he would do more to convert the public than all of us, and now (which makes the case worse for me) i must, in common honesty, retract. i wish to heaven he had said not a word on the subject. wednesday morning: i have read the "athenaeum". i do not think lyell will be nearly so much annoyed as you expect. the concluding sentence is no doubt very stinging. no one but a good anatomist could unravel owen's letter; at least it is quite beyond me. ... lyell's memory plays him false when he says all anatomists were astonished at owen's paper ("on the characters, etc., of the class mammalia." 'linn. soc. journal,' ii, .); it was often quoted with approbation. i well remember lyell's admiration at this new classification! (do not repeat this.) i remember it, because, though i knew nothing whatever about the brain, i felt a conviction that a classification thus founded on a single character would break down, and it seemed to me a great error not to separate more completely the marsupialia... what an accursed evil it is that there should be all this quarrelling within, what ought to be, the peaceful realms of science. i will go to my own present subject of inheritance and forget it all for a time. farewell, my dear old friend, c. darwin. charles darwin to asa gray. down, february [ ]. ... if you have time to read you will be interested by parts of lyell's book on man; but i fear that the best part, about the glacial period, may be too geological for any one except a regular geologist. he quotes you at the end with gusto. by the way, he told me the other day how pleased some had been by hearing that they could purchase your pamphlet. the "parthenon" also speaks of it as the ablest contribution to the literature of the subject. it delights me when i see your work appreciated. the lyells come here this day week, and i shall grumble at his excessive caution... the public may well say, if such a man dare not or will not speak out his mind, how can we who are ignorant form even a guess on the subject? lyell was pleased when i told him lately that you thought that language might be used as an excellent illustration of derivation of species; you will see that he has an admirable chapter on this... i read cairns's excellent lecture (prof. j.e. cairns, 'the slave power, etc.: an attempt to explain the real issues involved in the american contest.' .), which shows so well how your quarrel arose from slavery. it made me for a time wish honestly for the north; but i could never help, though i tried, all the time thinking how we should be bullied and forced into a war by you, when you were triumphant. but i do most truly think it dreadful that the south, with its accursed slavery, should triumph, and spread the evil. i think if i had power, which thank god, i have not, i would let you conquer the border states, and all west of the mississippi, and then force you to acknowledge the cotton states. for do you not now begin to doubt whether you can conquer and hold them? i have inflicted a long tirade on you. "the times" is getting more detestable (but that is too weak a word) than ever. my good wife wishes to give it up, but i tell her that is a pitch of heroism to which only a woman is equal. to give up the "bloody old 'times'," as cobbett used to call it, would be to give up meat, drink and air. farewell, my dear gray, yours most truly, c. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, march , [ ]. ... i have been of course deeply interested by your book. ('antiquity of man.') i have hardly any remarks worth sending, but will scribble a little on what most interested me. but i will first get out what i hate saying, viz., that i have been greatly disappointed that you have not given judgment and spoken fairly out what you think about the derivation of species. i should have been contented if you had boldly said that species have not been separately created, and had thrown as much doubt as you like on how far variation and natural selection suffices. i hope to heaven i am wrong (and from what you say about whewell it seems so), but i cannot see how your chapters can do more good than an extraordinary able review. i think the "parthenon" is right, that you will leave the public in a fog. no doubt they may infer that as you give more space to myself, wallace, and hooker, than to lamarck, you think more of us. but i had always thought that your judgment would have been an epoch in the subject. all that is over with me, and i will only think on the admirable skill with which you have selected the striking points, and explained them. no praise can be too strong, in my opinion, for the inimitable chapter on language in comparison with species. (after speculating on the sudden appearance of individuals far above the average of the human race, lyell asks if such leaps upwards in the scale of intellect may not "have cleared at one bound the space which separated the higher stage of the unprogressive intelligence of the inferior animals from the first and lowest form of improvable reason manifested by man.") page --a sentence at the top of the page makes me groan... i know you will forgive me for writing with perfect freedom, for you must know how deeply i respect you as my old honoured guide and master. i heartily hope and expect that your book will have gigantic circulation and may do in many ways as much good as it ought to do. i am tired, so no more. i have written so briefly that you will have to guess my meaning. i fear my remarks are hardly worth sending. farewell, with kindest remembrance to lady lyell. ever yours, c. darwin. [mr. huxley has quoted (vol. i. page ) some passages from lyell's letters which show his state of mind at this time. the following passage, from a letter of march th to my father, is also of much interest:-- "my feelings, however, more than any thought about policy or expediency, prevent me from dogmatising as to the descent of man from the brutes, which, though i am prepared to accept it, takes away much of the charm from my speculations on the past relating to such matters... but you ought to be satisfied, as i shall bring hundreds towards you who, if i treated the matter more dogmatically, would have rebelled."] charles darwin to c. lyell. down, [march, ]. my dear lyell, i thank you for your very interesting and kind, i may say, charming letter. i feared you might be huffed for a little time with me. i know some men would have been so. i have hardly any more criticisms, anyhow, worth writing. but i may mention that i felt a little surprise that old b. de perthes ( - . see footnote below.) was not rather more honourably mentioned. i would suggest whether you could not leave out some references to the 'principles;' one for the real student is as good as a hundred, and it is rather irritating, and gives a feeling of incompleteness to the general reader to be often referred to other books. as you say that you have gone as far as you believe on the species question, i have not a word to say; but i must feel convinced that at times, judging from conversation, expressions, letters, etc., you have as completely given up belief in immutability of specific forms as i have done. i must still think a clear expression from you, if you could have given it, would have been potent with the public, and all the more so, as you formerly held opposite opinions. the more i work the more satisfied i become with variation and natural selection, but that part of the case i look at as less important, though more interesting to me personally. as you ask for criticisms on this head (and believe me that i should not have made them unasked), i may specify (pages , ) that such words as "mr. d. labours to show," "is believed by the author to throw light," would lead a common reader to think that you yourself do not at all agree, but merely think it fair to give my opinion. lastly, you refer repeatedly to my view as a modification of lamarck's doctrine of development and progression. if this is your deliberate opinion there is nothing to be said, but it does not seem so to me. plato, buffon, my grandfather before lamarck, and others, propounded the obvious views that if species were not created separately they must have descended from other species, and i can see nothing else in common between the 'origin' and lamarck. i believe this way of putting the case is very injurious to its acceptance, as it implies necessary progression, and closely connects wallace's and my views with what i consider, after two deliberate readings, as a wretched book, and one from which (i well remember my surprise) i gained nothing. but i know you rank it higher, which is curious, as it did not in the least shake your belief. but enough, and more than enough. please remember you have brought it all down on yourself!!! i am very sorry to hear about falconer's "reclamation." ("falconer, whom i referred to oftener than to any other author, says i have not done justice to the part he took in resuscitating the cave question, and says he shall come out with a separate paper to prove it. i offered to alter anything in the new edition, but this he declined.--c. lyell to c. darwin, march , ; lyell's 'life,' vol. ii. page .) i hate the very word, and have a sincere affection for him. did you ever read anything so wretched as the "athenaeum" reviews of you, and of huxley ('man's place in nature,' .) especially. your object to make man old, and huxley's object to degrade him. the wretched writer has not a glimpse what the discovery of scientific truth means. how splendid some pages are in huxley, but i fear the book will not be popular... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down [march , ]. i should have thanked you sooner for the "athenaeum" and very pleasant previous note, but i have been busy, and not a little uncomfortable from frequent uneasy feeling of fullness, slight pain and tickling about the heart. but as i have no other symptoms of heart complaint i do not suppose it is affected... i have had a most kind and delightfully candid letter from lyell, who says he spoke out as far as he believes. i have no doubt his belief failed him as he wrote, for i feel sure that at times he no more believed in creation than you or i. i have grumbled a bit in my answer to him at his always classing my work as a modification of lamarck's, which it is no more than any author who did not believe in immutability of species, and did believe in descent. i am very sorry to hear from lyell that falconer is going to publish a formal reclamation of his own claims... it is cruel to think of it, but we must go to malvern in the middle of april; it is ruin to me. (he went to hartfield in sussex, on april , and to malvern in the autumn.)... charles darwin to c. lyell. down, march [ ]. my dear lyell, i have been much interested by your letters and enclosure, and thank you sincerely for giving me so much time when you must be so busy. what a curious letter from b. de p. [boucher de perthes]. he seems perfectly satisfied, and must be a very amiable man. i know something about his errors, and looked at his book many years ago, and am ashamed to think that i concluded the whole was rubbish! yet he has done for man something like what agassiz did for glaciers. (in his 'antiquites celtiques' ( ), boucher de perthes described the flint tools found at abbeville with bones of rhinoceros, hyaena, etc. "but the scientific world had no faith in the statement that works of art, however rude, had been met with in undisturbed beds of such antiquity." ('antiquity of man,' first edition, page ).) i cannot say that i agree with hooker about the public not liking to be told what to conclude, if coming from one in your position. but i am heartily sorry that i was led to make complaints, or something very like complaints, on the manner in which you have treated the subject, and still more so anything about myself. i steadily endeavour never to forget my firm belief that no one can at all judge about his own work. as for lamarck, as you have such a man as grove with you, you are triumphant; not that i can alter my opinion that to me it was an absolutely useless book. perhaps this was owing to my always searching books for facts, perhaps from knowing my grandfather's earlier and identically the same speculation. i will only further say that if i can analyse my own feelings (a very doubtful process), it is nearly as much for your sake as for my own, that i so much wish that your state of belief could have permitted you to say boldly and distinctly out that species were not separately created. i have generally told you the progress of opinion, as i have heard it, on the species question. a first-rate german naturalist (no doubt haeckel, whose monograph on the radiolaria was published in . in the same year professor w. preyer of jena published a dissertation on alca impennis, which was one of the earliest pieces of special work on the basis of the 'origin of species.') (i now forget the name!), who has lately published a grand folio, has spoken out to the utmost extent on the 'origin.' de candolle, in a very good paper on "oaks," goes, in asa gray's opinion, as far as he himself does; but de candolle, in writing to me, says we, "we think this and that;" so that i infer he really goes to the full extent with me, and tells me of a french good botanical palaeontologist (name forgotten) (the marquis de saporta.), who writes to de candolle that he is sure that my views will ultimately prevail. but i did not intend to have written all this. it satisfies me with the final results, but this result, i begin to see, will take two or three lifetimes. the entomologists are enough to keep the subject back for half a century. i really pity your having to balance the claims of so many eager aspirants for notice; it is clearly impossible to satisfy all... certainly i was struck with the full and due honour you conferred on falconer. i have just had a note from hooker... i am heartily glad that you have made him so conspicuous; he is so honest, so candid, and so modest... i have read --. i could find nothing to lay hold of, which in one sense i am very glad of, as i should hate a controversy; but in another sense i am very sorry for, as i long to be in the same boat with all my friends... i am heartily glad the book is going off so well. ever yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down [march , ]. ... many thanks for "athenaeum", received this morning, and to be returned to-morrow morning. who would have ever thought of the old stupid "athenaeum" taking to oken-like transcendental philosophy written in owenian style! (this refers to a review of dr. carpenter's 'introduction to the study of foraminifera,' that appeared in the "athenaeum" of march , (page ). the reviewer attacks dr. carpenter's views in as much as they support the doctrine of descent; and he upholds spontaneous generation (heterogeny) in place of what dr. carpenter, naturally enough, believed in, viz. the genetic connection of living and extinct foraminifera. in the next number is a letter by dr. carpenter, which chiefly consists of a protest against the reviewer's somewhat contemptuous classification of dr. carpenter and my father as disciple and master. in the course of the letter dr. carpenter says--page :-- "under the influence of his foregone conclusion that i have accepted mr. darwin as my master, and his hypothesis as my guide, your reviewer represents me as blind to the significance of the general fact stated by me, that 'there has been no advance in the foraminiferous type from the palaeozoic period to the present time.' but for such a foregone conclusion he would have recognised in this statement the expression of my conviction that the present state of scientific evidence, instead of sanctioning the idea that the descendants of the primitive type or types of foraminifera can ever rise to any higher grade, justifies the anti-darwinian influence, that however widely they diverge from each other and from their originals, they still remain foraminifera.")... it will be some time before we see "slime, protoplasm, etc.," generating a new animal. (on the same subject my father wrote in : "it is often said that all the conditions for the first production of a living organism are now present, which could ever have been present. but if (and oh! what a big if!) we could conceive in some warm little pond, with all sorts of ammonia and phosphoric salts, light, heat, electricity, etc., present, that a proteine compound was chemically formed ready to undergo still more complex changes, at the present day such matter would be instantly devoured or absorbed, which would not have been the case before living creatures were formed.") but i have long regretted that i truckled to public opinion, and used the pentateuchal term of creation (this refers to a passage in which the reviewer of dr. carpenter's books speaks of "an operation of force," or "a concurrence of forces which have now no place in nature," as being, "a creative force, in fact, which darwin could only express in pentateuchal terms as the primordial form 'into which life was first breathed.'" the conception of expressing a creative force as a primordial form is the reviewer's.), by which i really meant "appeared" by some wholly unknown process. it is mere rubbish, thinking at present of the origin of life; one might as well think of the origin of matter. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, friday night [april , ]. my dear hooker, i have heard from oliver that you will be now at kew, and so i am going to amuse myself by scribbling a bit. i hope you have thoroughly enjoyed your tour. i never in my life saw anything like the spring flowers this year. what a lot of interesting things have been lately published. i liked extremely your review of de candolle. what an awfully severe article that by falconer on lyell ("athenaeum", april , , page . the writer asserts that justice has not been done either to himself or mr. prestwich--that lyell has not made it clear that it was their original work which supplied certain material for the 'antiquity of man.' falconer attempts to draw an unjust distinction between a "philosopher" (here used as a polite word for compiler) like sir charles lyell, and original observers, presumably such as himself, and mr. prestwich. lyell's reply was published in the "athenaeum", april , . it ought to be mentioned that a letter from mr. prestwich ("athenaeum", page ), which formed part of the controversy, though of the nature of a reclamation, was written in a very different spirit and tone from dr. falconer's.); i am very sorry for it; i think falconer on his side does not do justice to old perthes and schmerling... i shall be very curious to see how he [lyell] answers it t-morrow. (i have been compelled to take in the "athenaeum" for a while.) i am very sorry that falconer should have written so spitefully, even if there is some truth in his accusations; i was rather disappointed in carpenter's letter, no one could have given a better answer, but the chief object of his letter seems to me to be to show that though he has touched pitch he is not defiled. no one would suppose he went so far as to believe all birds came from one progenitor. i have written a letter to the "athenaeum" ("athenaeum", , page : "the view given by me on the origin or derivation of species, whatever its weaknesses may be, connects (as has been candidly admitted by some of its opponents, such as pictet, bronn, etc.), by an intelligible thread of reasoning, a multitude of facts: such as the formation of domestic races by man's selection,--the classification and affinities of all organic beings,--the innumerable gradations in structure and instincts,--the similarity of pattern in the hand, wing, or paddle of animals of the same great class,--the existence of organs become rudimentary by disuse,--the similarity of an embryonic reptile, bird, and mammal, with the retention of traces of an apparatus fitted for aquatic respiration; the retention in the young calf of incisor teeth in the upper jaw, etc.--the distribution of animals and plants, and their mutual affinities within the same region,--their general geological succession, and the close relationship of the fossils in closely consecutive formations and within the same country; extinct marsupials having preceded living marsupials in australia, and armadillo-like animals having preceded and generated armadilloes in south america,--and many other phenomena, such as the gradual extinction of old forms and their gradual replacement by new forms better fitted for their new conditions in the struggle for life. when the advocate of heterogeny can thus connect large classes of facts, and not until then, he will have respectful and patient listeners.") (the first and last time i shall take such a step) to say, under the cloak of attacking heterogeny, a word in my own defence. my letter is to appear next week, so the editor says; and i mean to quote lyell's sentence (see the next letter.) in his second edition, on the principle if one puffs oneself, one had better puff handsomely... charles darwin to c. lyell. down, april [ ]. my dear lyell, i was really quite sorry that you had sent me a second copy (the second edition of the 'antiquity of man' was published a few months after the first had appeared.) of your valuable book. but after a few hours my sorrow vanished for this reason: i have written a letter to the "athenaeum", in order, under the cloak of attacking the monstrous article on heterogeny, to say a word for myself in answer to carpenter, and now i have inserted a few sentences in allusion to your analogous objection (lyell objected that the mammalia (e.g. bats and seals) which alone have been able to reach oceanic islands ought to have become modified into various terrestrial forms fitted to fill various places in their new home. my father pointed out in the "athenaeum" that sir charles has in some measure answered his own objection, and went on to quote the "amended sentence" ('antiquity of man,' nd edition page ) as showing how far lyell agreed with the general doctrines of the "origin of species': "yet we ought by no means to undervalue the importance of the step which will have been made, should it hereafter become the generally received opinion of men of science (as i fully expect it will) that the past changes of the organic world have been brought about by the subordinate agency of such causes as variation and natural selection." in the first edition the words (as i fully expect it will," do not occur.) about bats on islands, and then with infinite slyness have quoted your amended sentence, with your parenthesis ("as i fully believe") (my father here quotes lyell incorrectly; see the previous foot-note.); i do not think you can be annoyed at my doing this, and you see, that i am determined as far as i can, that the public shall see how far you go. this is the first time i have ever said a word for myself in any journal, and it shall, i think, be the last. my letter is short, and no great things. i was extremely concerned to see falconer's disrespectful and virulent letter. i like extremely your answer just read; you take a lofty and dignified position, to which you are so well entitled. (in a letter to sir j.d. hooker he wrote: "i much like lyell's letter. but all this squabbling will greatly sink scientific men. i have seen sneers already in the 'times'.") i suspect that if you had inserted a few more superlatives in speaking of the several authors there would have been none of this horrid noise. no one, i am sure, who knows you could doubt about your hearty sympathy with every one who makes any little advance in science. i still well remember my surprise at the manner in which you listened to me in hart street on my return from the "beagle's" voyage. you did me a world of good. it is horridly vexatious that so frank and apparently amiable a man as falconer should have behaved so. (it is to this affair that the extract from a letter to falconer, given in volume i., refers.) well it will all soon be forgotten... [in reply to the above-mentioned letter of my father's to the "athenaeum", an article appeared in that journal (may nd, , page ), accusing my father of claiming for his views the exclusive merit of "connecting by an intelligible thread of reasoning" a number of facts in morphology, etc. the writer remarks that, "the different generalizations cited by mr. darwin as being connected by an intelligible thread of reasoning exclusively through his attempt to explain specific transmutation are in fact related to it in this wise, that they have prepared the minds of naturalists for a better reception of such attempts to explain the way of the origin of species from species." to this my father replied in the "athenaeum" of may th, :] down, may [ ]. i hope that you will grant me space to own that your reviewer is quite correct when he states that any theory of descent will connect, "by an intelligible thread of reasoning," the several generalizations before specified. i ought to have made this admission expressly; with the reservation, however, that, as far as i can judge, no theory so well explains or connects these several generalizations (more especially the formation of domestic races in comparison with natural species, the principles of classification, embryonic resemblance, etc.) as the theory, or hypothesis, or guess, if the reviewer so likes to call it, of natural selection. nor has any other satisfactory explanation been ever offered of the almost perfect adaptation of all organic beings to each other, and to their physical conditions of life. whether the naturalist believes in the views given by lamarck, by geoffrey st. hilaire, by the author of the 'vestiges,' by mr. wallace and myself, or in any other such view, signifies extremely little in comparison with the admission that species have descended from other species, and have not been created immutable; for he who admits this as a great truth has a wide field opened to him for further inquiry. i believe, however, from what i see of the progress of opinion on the continent, and in this country, that the theory of natural selection will ultimately be adopted, with, no doubt, many subordinate modifications and improvements. charles darwin. [in the following, he refers to the above letter to the "athenaeum:] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. leith hill place, saturday [may , ]. my dear hooker, you give good advice about not writing in newspapers; i have been gnashing my teeth at my own folly; and this not caused by --'s sneers, which were so good that i almost enjoyed them. i have written once again to own to a certain extent of truth in what he says, and then if i am ever such a fool again, have no mercy on me. i have read the squib in "public opinion" ("public opinion", april , . a lively account of a police case, in which the quarrels of scientific men are satirised. mr. john bull gives evidence that-- "the whole neighbourhood was unsettled by their disputes; huxley quarrelled with owen, owen with darwin, lyell with owen, falconer and prestwich with lyell, and gray the menagerie man with everybody. he had pleasure, however, in stating that darwin was the quietest of the set. they were always picking bones with each other and fighting over their gains. if either of the gravel sifters or stone breakers found anything, he was obliged to conceal it immediately, or one of the old bone collectors would be sure to appropriate it first and deny the theft afterwards, and the consequent wrangling and disputes were as endless as they were wearisome. "lord mayor.--probably the clergyman of the parish might exert some influence over them? "the gentleman smiled, shook his head, and stated that he regretted to say that no class of men paid so little attention to the opinions of the clergy as that to which these unhappy men belonged."); it is capital; if there is more, and you have a copy, do lend it. it shows well that a scientific man had better be trampled in dirt than squabble. i have been drawing diagrams, dissecting shoots, and muddling my brains to a hopeless degree about the divergence of leaves, and have of course utterly failed. but i can see that the subject is most curious, and indeed astonishing... [the next letter refers to mr. bentham's presidential address to the linnean society (may , ). mr. bentham does not yield to the new theory of evolution, "cannot surrender at discretion as long as many important outworks remain contestable." but he shows that the great body of scientific opinion is flowing in the direction of belief. the mention of pasteur by mr. bentham is in reference to the promulgation "as it were ex cathedra," of a theory of spontaneous generation by the reviewer of dr. carpenter in the "athenaeum" (march , ). mr. bentham points out that in ignoring pasteur's refutation of the supposed facts of spontaneous generation, the writer fails to act with "that impartiality which every reviewer is supposed to possess."] charles darwin to g. bentham. down, may [ ]. my dear bentham, i am much obliged for your kind and interesting letter. i have no fear of anything that a man like you will say annoying me in the very least degree. on the other hand, any approval from one whose judgment and knowledge i have for many years so sincerely respected, will gratify me much. the objection which you well put, of certain forms remaining unaltered through long time and space, is no doubt formidable in appearance, and to a certain extent in reality according to my judgment. but does not the difficulty rest much on our silently assuming that we know more than we do? i have literally found nothing so difficult as to try and always remember our ignorance. i am never weary, when walking in any new adjoining district or country, of reflecting how absolutely ignorant we are why certain old plants are not there present, and other new ones are, and others in different proportions. if we once fully feel this, then in judging the theory of natural selection, which implies that a form will remain unaltered unless some alteration be to its benefit, is it so very wonderful that some forms should change much slower and much less, and some few should have changed not at all under conditions which to us (who really know nothing what are the important conditions) seem very different. certainly a priori we might have anticipated that all the plants anciently introduced into australia would have undergone some modification; but the fact that they have not been modified does not seem to me a difficulty of weight enough to shake a belief grounded on other arguments. i have expressed myself miserably, but i am far from well to-day. i am very glad that you are going to allude to pasteur; i was struck with infinite admiration at his work. with cordial thanks, believe me, dear bentham, yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. p.s.--in fact, the belief in natural selection must at present be grounded entirely on general considerations. ( ) on its being a vera causa, from the struggle for existence; and the certain geological fact that species do somehow change. ( ) from the analogy of change under domestication by man's selection. ( ) and chiefly from this view connecting under an intelligible point of view a host of facts. when we descend to details, we can prove that no one species has changed [i.e. we cannot prove that a single species has changed]; nor can we prove that the supposed changes are beneficial, which is the groundwork of the theory. nor can we explain why some species have changed and others have not. the latter case seems to me hardly more difficult to understand precisely and in detail than the former case of supposed change. bronn may ask in vain, the old creationist school and the new school, why one mouse has longer ears than another mouse, and one plant more pointed leaves than another plant. charles darwin to g. bentham. down, june [ ]. my dear bentham, i have been extremely much pleased and interested by your address, which you kindly sent me. it seems to be excellently done, with as much judicial calmness and impartiality as the lord chancellor could have shown. but whether the "immutable" gentlemen would agree with the impartiality may be doubted, there is too much kindness shown towards me, hooker, and others, they might say. moreover i verily believe that your address, written as it is, will do more to shake the unshaken and bring on those leaning to our side, than anything written directly in favour of transmutation. i can hardly tell why it is, but your address has pleased me as much as lyell's book disappointed me, that is, the part on species, though so cleverly written. i agree with all your remarks on the reviewers. by the way, lecoq (author of 'geographie botanique.' vols. - .) is a believer in the change of species. i, for one, can conscientiously declare that i never feel surprised at any one sticking to the belief of immutability; though i am often not a little surprised at the arguments advanced on this side. i remember too well my endless oscillations of doubt and difficulty. it is to me really laughable when i think of the years which elapsed before i saw what i believe to be the explanation of some parts of the case; i believe it was fifteen years after i began before i saw the meaning and cause of the divergence of the descendants of any one pair. you pay me some most elegant and pleasing compliments. there is much in your address which has pleased me much, especially your remarks on various naturalists. i am so glad that you have alluded so honourably to pasteur. i have just read over this note; it does not express strongly enough the interest which i have felt in reading your address. you have done, i believe, a real good turn to the right side. believe me, dear bentham, yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. . [in my father's diary for is the entry, "ill all january, february, march." about the middle of april (seven months after the beginning of the illness in the previous autumn) his health took a turn for the better. as soon as he was able to do any work, he began to write his papers on lythrum, and on climbing plants, so that the work which now concerns us did not begin until september, when he again set to work on 'animals and plants.' a letter to sir j.d. hooker gives some account of the r-commencement of the work: "i have begun looking over my old ms., and it is as fresh as if i had never written it; parts are astonishingly dull, but yet worth printing, i think; and other parts strike me as very good. i am a complete millionaire in odd and curious little facts, and i have been really astounded at my own industry whilst reading my chapters on inheritance and selection. god knows when the book will ever be completed, for i find that i am very weak and on my best days cannot do more than one or one and a half hours' work. it is a good deal harder than writing about my dear climbing plants." in this year he received the greatest honour which a scientific man can receive in this country--the copley medal of the royal society. it is presented at the anniversary meeting on st. andrew's day (november ), the medalist being usually present to receive it, but this the state of my father's health prevented. he wrote to mr. fox on this subject:-- "i was glad to see your hand-writing. the copley, being open to all sciences and all the world, is reckoned a great honour; but excepting from several kind letters, such things make little difference to me. it shows, however, that natural selection is making some progress in this country, and that pleases me. the subject, however, is safe in foreign lands." to sir j.d. hooker, also, he wrote:-- "how kind you have been about this medal; indeed, i am blessed with many good friends, and i have received four or five notes which have warmed my heart. i often wonder that so old a worn-out dog as i am is not quite forgotten. talking of medals, has falconer had the royal? he surely ought to have it, as ought john lubbock. by the way, the latter tells me that some old members of the royal are quite shocked at my having the copley. do you know who?" he wrote to mr. huxley:-- "i must and will answer you, for it is a real pleasure for me to thank you cordially for your note. such notes as this of yours, and a few others, are the real medal to me, and not the round bit of gold. these have given me a pleasure which will long endure; so believe in my cordial thanks for your note." sir charles lyell, writing to my father in november ('life,' vol. ii. page ), speaks of the supposed malcontents as being afraid to crown anything so unorthodox as the 'origin.' but he adds that if such were their feelings "they had the good sense to draw in their horns." it appears, however, from the same letter, that the proposal to give the copley medal to my father in the previous year failed owing to a similar want of courage--to lyell's great indignation. in the "reader", december , , general sabine's presidential address at the anniversary meeting is reported at some length. special weight was laid on my father's work in geology, zoology, and botany, but the 'origin of species' is praised chiefly as containing "a mass of observations," etc. it is curious that as in the case of his election to the french institution, so in this case, he was honoured not for the great work of his life, but for his less important work in special lines. the paragraph in general sabine's address which refers to the 'origin of species,' is as follows:-- "in his most recent work 'on the origin of species,' although opinions may be divided or undecided with respect to its merits in some respects, all will allow that it contains a mass of observations bearing upon the habits, structure, affinities, and distribution of animals, perhaps unrivalled for interest, minuteness, and patience of observation. some amongst us may perhaps incline to accept the theory indicated by the title of this work, while others may perhaps incline to refuse, or at least to remit it to a future time, when increased knowledge shall afford stronger grounds for its ultimate acceptance or rejection. speaking generally and collectively, we have expressly omitted it from the grounds of our award." i believe i am right in saying that no little dissatisfaction at the president's manner of allusion to the 'origin' was felt by some fellows of the society. the presentation of the copley medal is of interest in another way, inasmuch as it led to sir c. lyell making, in his after-dinner speech, a "confession of faith as to the 'origin.'" he wrote to my father ('life,' vol. ii. page ), "i said i had been forced to give up my old faith without thoroughly seeing my way to a new one. but i think you would have been satisfied with the length i went."] charles darwin to t.h. huxley. down, october [ ]. my dear huxley, if i do not pour out my admiration of your article ("criticisms on the origin of species," 'nat. hist. review,' . republished in 'lay sermons,' , page . the work of professor kolliker referred to is 'ueber die darwin'sche schopfungstheorie' (leipzig, ). toward professor kolliker my father felt not only the respect due to so distinguished a naturalist (a sentiment well expressed in professor huxley's review), but he had also a personal regard for him, and often alluded with satisfaction to the visit which professor kolliker paid at down.) on kolliker, i shall explode. i never read anything better done. i had much wished his article answered, and indeed thought of doing so myself, so that i considered several points. you have hit on all, and on some in addition, and oh! by jove, how well you have done it. as i read on and came to point after point on which i had thought, i could not help jeering and scoffing at myself, to see how infinitely better you had done it than i could have done. well, if any one, who does not understand natural selection, will read this, he will be a blockhead if it is not as clear as daylight. old flourens ('examen du livre de m. darwin sur l'origine des especes.' par p. flourens. vo. paris, .) was hardly worth the powder and shot; but how capitally you bring in about the academician, and your metaphor of the sea-sand is inimitable. it is a marvel to me how you can resist becoming a regular reviewer. well, i have exploded now, and it has done me a deal of good... [in the same article in the 'natural history review,' mr. huxley speaks of the book above alluded to by flourens, the secretaire perpetuel of the academie des sciences, as one of the two "most elaborate criticisms" of the 'origin of species' of the year. he quotes the following passage:-- "m. darwin continue: 'aucune distinction absolue n'a ete et ne peut etre entre les especes et les varietes!' je vous ai deja dit que vous vous trompiez; une distinction absolue separe les varietes d'avec les especes." mr. huxley remarks on this, "being devoid of the blessings of an academy in england, we are unaccustomed to see our ablest men treated in this way even by a perpetual secretary." after demonstrating m. flourens' misapprehension of natural selection, mr. huxley says, "how one knows it all by heart, and with what relief one reads at page 'je laisse m. darwin.'" on the same subject my father wrote to mr. wallace:-- "a great gun, flourens, has written a little dull book against me which pleases me much, for it is plain that our good work is spreading in france. he speaks of the "engouement" about this book [the 'origin'] "so full of empty and presumptuous thoughts." the passage here alluded to is as follows:-- "enfin l'ouvrage de m. darwin a paru. on ne peut qu'etre frappe du talent de l'auteur. mais que d'idees obscures, que d'idees fausses! quel jargon metaphysique jete mal a propos dans l'histoire naturelle, qui tombe dans le galimatias des qu'elle sort des idees claires, des idees justes. quel langage pretentieux et vide! quelles personifications pueriles et surannees! o lucidite! o solidite de l'esprit francais, que devene-vous?"] . [this was again a time of much ill-health, but towards the close of the year he began to recover under the care of the late dr. bence-jones, who dieted him severely, and as he expressed it, "half-starved him to death." he was able to work at 'animals and plants' until nearly the end of april, and from that time until december he did practically no work, with the exception of looking over the 'origin of species' for a second french edition. he wrote to sir j.d. hooker:--"i am, as it were, reading the 'origin' for the first time, for i am correcting for a second french edition: and upon my life, my dear fellow, it is a very good book, but oh! my gracious, it is tough reading, and i wish it were done." (towards the end of the year my father received the news of a new convert to his views, in the person of the distinguished american naturalist lesquereux. he wrote to sir j.d. hooker: "i have had an enormous letter from leo lesquereux (after doubts, i did not think it worth sending you) on coal flora. he wrote some excellent articles in 'silliman' against 'origin' views; but he says now, after repeated reading of the book, he is a convert!") the following letter refers to the duke of argyll's address to the royal society of edinburgh, december th, , in which he criticises the 'origin of species.' my father seems to have read the duke's address as reported in the "scotsman" of december th, . in a letter to my father (january , , 'life,' vol. ii. page ), lyell wrote, "the address is a great step towards your views--far greater, i believe, than it seems when read merely with reference to criticisms and objections."] charles darwin to c. lyell. down, january , [ ]. my dear lyell, i thank you for your very interesting letter. i have the true english instinctive reverence for rank, and therefore liked to hear about the princess royal. ("i had... an animated conversation on darwinism with the princess royal, who is a worthy daughter of her father, in the reading of good books, and thinking of what she reads. she was very much au fait at the 'origin,' and huxley's book, the 'antiquity,' etc."--(lyell's 'life,' vol. ii. page .) you ask what i think of the duke's address, and i shall be glad to tell you. it seems to me extremely clever, like everything i have read of his; but i am not shaken--perhaps you will say that neither gods nor men could shake me. i demur to the duke reiterating his objection that the brilliant plumage of the male humming-bird could not have been acquired through selection, at the same time entirely ignoring my discussion (page , rd edition) on beautiful plumage being acquired through sexual selection. the duke may think this insufficient, but that is another question. all analogy makes me quite disagree with the duke that the difference in the beak, wing and tail, are not of importance to the several species. in the only two species which i have watched, the difference in flight and in the use of the tail was conspicuously great. the duke, who knows my orchid book so well, might have learnt a lesson of caution from it, with respect to his doctrine of differences for mere variety or beauty. it may be confidently said that no tribe of plants presents such grotesque and beautiful differences, which no one until lately, conjectured were of any use; but now in almost every case i have been able to show their important service. it should be remembered that with humming birds or orchids, a modification in one part will cause correlated changes in other parts. i agree with what you say about beauty. i formerly thought a good deal on the subject, and was led quite to repudiate the doctrine of beauty being created for beauty's sake. i demur also to the duke's expression of "new births." that may be a very good theory, but it is not mine, unless indeed he calls a bird born with a beak / th of an inch longer than usual "a new birth;" but this is not the sense in which the term would usually be understood. the more i work the more i feel convinced that it is by the accumulation of such extremely slight variations that new species arise. i do not plead guilty to the duke's charge that i forget that natural selection means only the preservation of variations which independently arise. ("strictly speaking, therefore, mr. darwin's theory is not a theory on the origin of species at all, but only a theory on the causes which lead to the relative success and failure of such new forms as may be born into the world."--"scotsman", december , .) i have expressed this in as strong language as i could use, but it would have been infinitely tedious had i on every occasion thus guarded myself. i will cry "peccavi" when i hear of the duke or you attacking breeders for saying that man has made his improved shorthorns, or pouter pigeons, or bantams. and i could quote still stronger expressions used by agriculturists. man does make his artificial breeds, for his selective power is of such importance relatively to that of the slight spontaneous variations. but no one will attack breeders for using such expressions, and the rising generation will not blame me. many thanks for your offer of sending me the 'elements.' (sixth edition in one volume.) i hope to read it all, but unfortunately reading makes my head whiz more than anything else. i am able most days to work for two or three hours, and this makes all the difference in my happiness. i have resolved not to be tempted astray, and to publish nothing till my volume on variation is completed. you gave me excellent advice about the footnotes in my dog chapter, but their alteration gave me infinite trouble, and i often wished all the dogs, and i fear sometimes you yourself, in the nether regions. we (dictator and writer) send our best love to lady lyell. yours affectionately, charles darwin. p.s.--if ever you should speak with the duke on the subject, please say how much interested i was with his address. [in his autobiographical sketch my father has remarked that owing to certain early memories he felt the honour of being elected to the royal and royal medical societies of edinburgh "more than any similar honour." the following extract from a letter to sir joseph hooker refers to his election to the former of these societies. the latter part of the extract refers to the berlin academy, to which he was elected in :-- "here is a really curious thing, considering that brewster is president and balfour secretary. i have been elected honorary member of the royal society of edinburgh. and this leads me to a third question. does the berlin academy of sciences send their proceedings to honorary members? i want to know, to ascertain whether i am a member; i suppose not, for i think it would have made some impression on me; yet i distinctly remember receiving some diploma signed by ehrenberg. i have been so careless; i have lost several diplomas, and now i want to know what societies i belong to, as i observe every [one] tacks their titles to their names in the catalogue of the royal soc."] charles darwin to c. lyell. down, february [ ]. my dear lyell, i have taken a long time to thank you very much for your present of the 'elements.' i am going through it all, reading what is new, and what i have forgotten, and this is a good deal. i am simply astonished at the amount of labour, knowledge, and clear thought condensed in this work. the whole strikes me as something quite grand. i have been particularly interested by your account of heer's work and your discussion on the atlantic continent. i am particularly delighted at the view which you take on this subject; for i have long thought forbes did an ill service in so freely making continents. i have also been very glad to read your argument on the denudation of the weald, and your excellent resume on the purbeck beds; and this is the point at which i have at present arrived in your book. i cannot say that i am quite convinced that there is no connection beyond that pointed out by you, between glacial action and the formation of lake basins; but you will not much value my opinion on this head, as i have already changed my mind some half-dozen times. i want to make a suggestion to you. i found the weight of your volume intolerable, especially when lying down, so with great boldness cut it into two pieces, and took it out of its cover; now could not murray without any other change add to his advertisement a line saying, "if bound in two volumes, one shilling or one shilling and sixpence extra." you thus might originate a change which would be a blessing to all weak-handed readers. believe me, my dear lyell, yours most sincerely, charles darwin. originate a second real blessing and have the edges of the sheets cut like a bound book. (this was a favourite reform of my father's. he wrote to the "athenaeum" on the subject, february , , pointing out how that a book cut, even carefully, with a paper knife collects dust on its edges far more than a machine-cut book. he goes on to quote the case of a lady of his acquaintance who was in the habit of cutting books with her thumb, and finally appeals to the "athenaeum" to earn the gratitude of children "who have to cut through dry and pictureless books for the benefit of their elders." he tried to introduce the reform in the case of his own books, but found the conservatism of booksellers too strong for him. the presentation copies, however, of all his later books were sent out with the edges cut.) charles darwin to john lubbock. down, june [ ]. my dear lubbock, the latter half of your book ('prehistoric times,' .) has been read aloud to me, and the style is so clear and easy (we both think it perfection) that i am now beginning at the beginning. i cannot resist telling you how excellently well, in my opinion, you have done the very interesting chapter on savage life. though you have necessarily only compiled the materials the general result is most original. but i ought to keep the term original for your last chapter, which has struck me as an admirable and profound discussion. it has quite delighted me, for now the public will see what kind of man you are, which i am proud to think i discovered a dozen years ago. i do sincerely wish you all success in your election and in politics; but after reading this last chapter, you must let me say: oh, dear! oh, dear! oh dear! yours affectionately, ch. darwin. p.s.--you pay me a superb compliment ('prehistoric times,' page , where the words, "the discoveries of a newton or a darwin," occur.), but i fear you will be quizzed for it by some of your friends as too exaggerated. [the following letter refers to fritz muller's book, 'fur darwin,' which was afterwards translated, at my father's suggestion, by mr. dallas. it is of interest as being the first of the long series of letters which my father wrote to this distinguished naturalist. they never met, but the correspondence with muller, which continued to the close of my father's life, was a source of very great pleasure to him. my impression is that of all his unseen friends fritz muller was the one for whom he had the strongest regard. fritz muller is the brother of another distinguished man, the late hermann muller, the author of 'die befruchtung der blumen,' and of much other valuable work:] charles darwin to f. muller. down, august [ ]. my dear sir, i have been for a long time so ill that i have only just finished hearing read aloud your work on species. and now you must permit me to thank you cordially for the great interest with which i have read it. you have done admirable service in the cause in which we both believe. many of your arguments seem to me excellent, and many of your facts wonderful. of the latter, nothing has surprised me so much as the two forms of males. i have lately investigated the cases of dimorphic plants, and i should much like to send you one or two of my papers if i knew how. i did send lately by post a paper on climbing plants, as an experiment to see whether it would reach you. one of the points which has struck me most in your paper is that on the differences in the air-breathing apparatus of the several forms. this subject appeared to me very important when i formerly considered the electric apparatus of fishes. your observations on classification and embryology seem to me very good and original. they show what a wonderful field there is for enquiry on the development of crustacea, and nothing has convinced me so plainly what admirable results we shall arrive at in natural history in the course of a few years. what a marvellous range of structure the crustacea present, and how well adapted they are for your enquiry! until reading your book i knew nothing of the rhizocephala; pray look at my account and figures of anelasma, for it seems to me that this latter cirripede is a beautiful connecting link with the rhizocephala. if ever you have any opportunity, as you are so skilful a dissector, i much wish that you would look to the orifice at the base of the first pair of cirrhi in cirripedes, and at the curious organ in it, and discover what its nature is; i suppose i was quite in error, yet i cannot feel fully satisfied at krohn's (see vol. ii., pages , .) observations. also if you ever find any species of scalpellum, pray look for complemental males; a german author has recently doubted my observations for no reason except that the facts appeared to him so strange. permit me again to thank you cordially for the pleasure which i have derived from your work and to express my sincere admiration for your valuable researches. believe me, dear sir, with sincere respect, yours very faithfully, ch. darwin. p.s.--i do not know whether you care at all about plants, but if so, i should much like to send you my little work on the 'fertilization of orchids,' and i think i have a german copy. could you spare me a photograph of yourself? i should much like to possess one. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, thursday, th [september, ]. my dear hooker, i had intended writing this morning to thank mrs. hooker most sincerely for her last and several notes about you, and now your own note in your hand has rejoiced me. to walk between five and six miles is splendid, with a little patience you must soon be well. i knew you had been very ill, but i hardly knew how ill, until yesterday, when bentham (from the cranworths (robert rolfe, lord cranworth, and lord chancellor of england, lived at holwood, near down.)) called here, and i was able to see him for ten minutes. he told me also a little about the last days of your father (sir william hooker; - . he took charge of the royal gardens at kew, in , when they ceased to be the private gardens of the royal family. in doing so, he gave up his professorship at glasgow--and with it half of his income. he founded the herbarium and library, and within ten years he succeeded in making the gardens the first in the world. it is, thus, not too much to say that the creation of the establishment at kew is due to the abilities and self-devotion of sir william hooker. while, for the subsequent development of the gardens up to their present magnificent condition, the nation must thank sir joseph hooker, in whom the same qualities are so conspicuous.); i wish i had known your father better, my impression is confined to his remarkably cordial, courteous, and frank bearing. i fully concur and understand what you say about the difference of feeling in the loss of a father and child. i do not think any one could love a father much more than i did mine, and i do not believe three or four days ever pass without my still thinking of him, but his death at eight-four caused me nothing of that insufferable grief (i may quote here a passage from a letter of november, . it was written to a friend who had lost his child: "how well i remember your feeling, when we lost annie. it was my greatest comfort that i had never spoken a harsh word to her. your grief has made me shed a few tears over our poor darling; but believe me that these tears have lost that unutterable bitterness of former days.") which the loss of our poor dear annie caused. and this seems to me perfectly natural, for one knows for years previously that one's father's death is drawing slowly nearer and nearer, while the death of one's child is a sudden and dreadful wrench. what a wonderful deal you read; it is a horrid evil for me that i can read hardly anything, for it makes my head almost immediately begin to sing violently. my good womenkind read to me a great deal, but i dare not ask for much science, and am not sure that i could stand it. i enjoyed tylor ('researches into the early history of mankind,' by e.b. tylor. .) extremely, and the first part of lecky 'the rise of rationalism in europe,' by w.e.h. lecky. .); but i think the latter is often vague, and gives a false appearance of throwing light on his subject by such phrases as "spirit of the age," "spread of civilization," etc. i confine my reading to a quarter or half hour per day in skimming through the back volumes of the annals and magazine of natural history, and find much that interests me. i miss my climbing plants very much, as i could observe them when very poorly. i did not enjoy the 'mill on the floss' so much as you, but from what you say we will read it again. do you know 'silas marner'? it is a charming little story; if you run short, and like to have it, we could send it by post... we have almost finished the first volume of palgrave (william gifford palgrave's 'travels in arabia,' published in .), and i like it much; but did you ever see a book so badly arranged? the frequency of the allusions to what will be told in the future are quite laughable... by the way, i was very much pleased with the foot-note (the passage which seems to be referred to occurs in the text (page ) of 'prehistoric times.' it expresses admiration of mr. wallace's paper in the 'anthropological review' (may, ), and speaks of the author's "characteristic unselfishness" in ascribing the theory of natural selection "unreservedly to mr. darwin." about wallace in lubbock's last chapter. i had not heard that huxley had backed up lubbock about parliament... did you see a sneer some time ago in the "times" about how incomparably more interesting politics were compared with science even to scientific men? remember what trollope says, in 'can you forgive her,' about getting into parliament, as the highest earthly ambition. jeffrey, in one of his letters, i remember, says that making an effective speech in parliament is a far grander thing than writing the grandest history. all this seems to me a poor short-sighted view. i cannot tell you how it has rejoiced me once again seeing your handwriting-- my best of old friends. yours affectionately, ch. darwin. [in october he wrote sir j.d. hooker:-- "talking of the 'origin,' a yankee has called my attention to a paper attached to dr. wells's famous 'essay on dew,' which was read in to the royal society, but not [then] printed, in which he applies most distinctly the principle of natural selection to the races of man. so poor old patrick matthew is not the first, and he cannot, or ought not, any longer to put on his title-pages, 'discoverer of the principle of natural selection'!"] charles darwin to f.w. farrar. (canon of westminster.) down, november [ ?]. dear sir, as i have never studied the science of language, it may perhaps seem presumptuous, but i cannot resist the pleasure of telling you what interest and pleasure i have derived from hearing read aloud your volume ('chapters on language,' .) i formerly read max muller, and thought his theory (if it deserves to be called so) both obscure and weak; and now, after hearing what you say, i feel sure that this is the case, and that your cause will ultimately triumph. my indirect interest in your book has been increased from mr. hensleigh wedgwood, whom you often quote, being my brother-in-law. no one could dissent from my views on the modification of species with more courtesy than you do. but from the tenor of your mind i feel an entire and comfortable conviction (and which cannot possibly be disturbed) that if your studies led you to attend much to general questions in natural history you would come to the same conclusion that i have done. have you ever read huxley's little book of lectures? i would gladly send a copy if you think you would read it. considering what geology teaches us, the argument from the supposed immutability of specific types seems to me much the same as if, in a nation which had no old writings, some wise old savage was to say that his language had never changed; but my metaphor is too long to fill up. pray believe me, dear sir, yours very sincerely obliged, c. darwin. . [the year is given in my father's diary in the following words:-- "continued correcting chapters of 'domestic animals.' march st.--began on th edition of 'origin' of copies (received for it pounds), making copies altogether. may th.--finished 'origin,' except revises, and began going over chapter xiii. of 'domestic animals.' november st.--finished 'pangenesis.' december st.--finished re-going over all chapters, and sent them to printers. december nd.--began concluding chapter of book." he was in london on two occasions for a week at a time, staying with his brother, and for a few days (may th-june nd) in surrey; for the rest of the year he was at down. there seems to have been a gradual mending in his health; thus he wrote to mr. wallace (january ):--"my health is so far improved that i am able to work one or two hours a day." with respect to the th edition he wrote to sir j.d. hooker:-- "the new edition of the 'origin' has caused me two great vexations. i forgot bates's paper on variation (this appears to refer to "notes on south american butterflies," trans. entomolog. soc., vol. v. (n.s.).), but i remembered in time his mimetic work, and now, strange to say, i find i have forgotten your arctic paper! i know how it arose; i indexed for my bigger work, and never expected that a new edition of the 'origin' would be wanted. "i cannot say how all this has vexed me. everything which i have read during the last four years i find is quite washy in my mind." as far as i know, mr. bates's paper was not mentioned in the later editions of the 'origin,' for what reason i cannot say. in connection with his work on 'the variation of animals and plants,' i give here extracts from three letters addressed to mr. huxley, which are of interest as giving some idea of the development of the theory of 'pangenesis,' ultimately published in in the book in question:] charles darwin to t.h. huxley. down, may , [ ?]. ... i write now to ask a favour of you, a very great favour from one so hard worked as you are. it is to read thirty pages of ms., excellently copied out and give me, not lengthened criticism, but your opinion whether i may venture to publish it. you may keep the ms. for a month or two. i would not ask this favour, but i really know no one else whose judgment on the subject would be final with me. the case stands thus: in my next book i shall publish long chapters on bud- and seminal-variation, on inheritance, reversion, effects of use and disuse, etc. i have also for many years speculated on the different forms of reproduction. hence it has come to be a passion with me to try to connect all such facts by some sort of hypothesis. the ms. which i wish to send you gives such a hypothesis; it is a very rash and crude hypothesis, yet it has been a considerable relief to my mind, and i can hang on it a good many groups of facts. i well know that a mere hypothesis, and this is nothing more, is of little value; but it is very useful to me as serving as a kind of summary for certain chapters. now i earnestly wish for your verdict given briefly as, "burn it"--or, which is the most favourable verdict i can hope for, "it does rudely connect together certain facts, and i do not think it will immediately pass out of my mind." if you can say this much, and you do not think it absolutely ridiculous, i shall publish it in my concluding chapter. now will you grant me this favour? you must refuse if you are too much overworked. i must say for myself that i am a hero to expose my hypothesis to the fiery ordeal of your criticism. july , [ ?]. my dear huxley, i thank you most sincerely for having so carefully considered my ms. it has been a real act of kindness. it would have annoyed me extremely to have re-published buffon's views, which i did not know of, but i will get the book; and if i have strength i will also read bonnet. i do not doubt your judgment is perfectly just, and i will try to persuade myself not to publish. the whole affair is much too speculative; yet i think some such view will have to be adopted, when i call to mind such facts as the inherited effects of use and disuse, etc. but i will try to be cautious... [ ?]. my dear huxley, forgive my writing in pencil, as i can do so lying down. i have read buffon: whole pages are laughably like mine. it is surprising how candid it makes one to see one's views in another man's words. i am rather ashamed of the whole affair, but not converted to a no-belief. what a kindness you have done me with your "vulpine sharpness." nevertheless, there is a fundamental distinction between buffon's views and mine. he does not suppose that each cell or atom of tissue throws off a little bud; but he supposes that the sap or blood includes his "organic molecules," which are ready formed, fit to nourish each organ, and when this is fully formed, they collect to form buds and the sexual elements. it is all rubbish to speculate as i have done; yet, if i ever have strength to publish my next book, i fear i shall not resist "pangenesis," but i assure you i will put it humbly enough. the ordinary course of development of beings, such as the echinodermata, in which new organs are formed at quite remote spots from the analogous previous parts, seem to me extremely difficult to reconcile on any view except the free diffusion in the parent of the germs or gemmules of each separate new organ; and so in cases of alternate generation. but i will not scribble any more. hearty thanks to you, you best of critics and most learned man... [the letters now take up the history of the year .] charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, july [ ]. my dear wallace, i have been much interested by your letter, which is as clear as daylight. i fully agree with all that you say on the advantages of h. spencer's excellent expression of "the survival of the fittest." (extract from a letter of mr. wallace's, july , : "the term 'survival of the fittest' is the plain expression of the fact; 'natural selection' is a metaphorical expression of it, and to a certain degree indirect and incorrect, since... nature... does not so much select special varieties as exterminate the most unfavourable ones.") this, however, had not occurred to me till reading your letter. it is, however, a great objection to this term that it cannot be used as a substantive governing a verb; and that this is a real objection i infer from h. spencer continually using the words, natural selection. i formerly thought, probably in an exaggerated degree, that it was a great advantage to bring into connection natural and artificial selection; this indeed led me to use a term in common, and i still think it some advantage. i wish i had received your letter two months ago, for i would have worked in "the survival, etc.," often in the new edition of the 'origin,' which is now almost printed off, and of which i will of course send you a copy. i will use the term in my next book on domestic animals, etc., from which, by the way, i plainly see that you expect much, too much. the term natural selection has now been so largely used abroad and at home, that i doubt whether it could be given up, and with all its faults i should be sorry to see the attempt made. whether it will be rejected must now depend "on the survival of the fittest." as in time the term must grow intelligible the objections to its use will grow weaker and weaker. i doubt whether the use of any term would have made the subject intelligible to some minds, clear as it is to others; for do we not see even to the present day malthus on population absurdly misunderstood? this reflection about malthus has often comforted me when i have been vexed at the misstatement of my views. as for m. janet (this no doubt refers to janet's 'materialisme contemporain.'), he is a metaphysician, and such gentlemen are so acute that i think they often misunderstand common folk. your criticism on the double sense ("i find you use 'natural selection' in two senses. st, for the simple preservation of favourable and rejection of unfavourable variations, in which case it is equivalent to the 'survival of the fittest,'--and ndly, for the effect or change produced by this preservation." extract from mr. wallace's letter above quoted.) in which i have used natural selection is new to me and unanswerable; but my blunder has done no harm, for i do not believe that any one, excepting you, has ever observed it. again, i agree that i have said too much about "favourable variations;" but i am inclined to think that you put the opposite side too strongly; if every part of every being varied, i do not think we should see the same end, or object, gained by such wonderfully diversified means. i hope you are enjoying the country, and are in good health, and are working hard at your malay archipelago book, for i will always put this wish in every note i write to you, like some good people always put in a text. my health keeps much the same, or rather improves, and i am able to work some hours daily. with many thanks for your interesting letter. believe me, my dear wallace, yours sincerely, ch. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, august [ ]. my dear hooker, i was very glad to get your note and the notts. newspaper. i have seldom been more pleased in my life than at hearing how successfully your lecture (at the nottingham meeting of the british association, august , . the subject of the lecture was 'insular floras.' see "gardeners' chronicle", .) went off. mrs. h. wedgwood sent us an account, saying that you read capitally, and were listened to with profound attention and great applause. she says, when your final allegory (sir joseph hooker allegorized the oxford meeting of the british association as the gathering of a tribe of savages who believed that the new moon was created afresh each month. the anger of the priests and medicine man at a certain heresy, according to which the new moon is but the offspring of the old one, is excellently given.) began, "for a minute or two we were all mystified, and then came such bursts of applause from the audience. it was thoroughly enjoyed amid roars of laughter and noise, making a most brilliant conclusion." i am rejoiced that you will publish your lecture, and felt sure that sooner or later it would come to this, indeed it would have been a sin if you had not done so. i am especially rejoiced as you give the arguments for occasional transport, with such perfect fairness; these will now receive a fair share of attention, as coming from you a professed botanist. thanks also for grove's address; as a whole it strikes me as very good and original, but i was disappointed in the part about species; it dealt in such generalities that it would apply to any view or no view in particular... and now farewell. i do most heartily rejoice at your success, and for grove's sake at the brilliant success of the whole meeting. yours affectionately, charles darwin. [the next letter is of interest, as giving the beginning of the connection which arose between my father and professor victor carus. the translation referred to is the third german edition made from the fourth english one. from this time forward professor carus continued to translate my father's books into german. the conscientious care with which this work was done was of material service, and i well remember the admiration (mingled with a tinge of vexation at his own short-comings) with which my father used to receive the lists of oversights, etc., which professor carus discovered in the course of translation. the connection was not a mere business one, but was cemented by warm feelings of regard on both sides.] charles darwin to victor carus. down, november , . my dear sir, i thank you for your extremely kind letter. i cannot express too strongly my satisfaction that you have undertaken the revision of the new edition, and i feel the honour which you have conferred on me. i fear that you will find the labour considerable, not only on account of the additions, but i suspect that bronn's translation is very defective, at least i have heard complaints on this head from quite a large number of persons. it would be a great gratification to me to know that the translation was a really good one, such as i have no doubt you will produce. according to our english practice, you will be fully justified in entirely omitting bronn's appendix, and i shall be very glad of its omission. a new edition may be looked at as a new work... you could add anything of your own that you liked, and i should be much pleased. should you make any additions or append notes, it appears to me that nageli "entstehung und begriff," etc. ('entstehung und begriff der naturhistorischen art.' an address given at a public meeting of the 'r. academy of sciences' at munich, march , .), would be worth noticing, as one of the most able pamphlets on the subject. i am, however, far from agreeing with him that the acquisition of certain characters which appear to be of no service to plants, offers any great difficulty, or affords a proof of some innate tendency in plants towards perfection. if you intend to notice this pamphlet, i should like to write hereafter a little more in detail on the subject. ... i wish i had known when writing my historical sketch that you had in published your views on the genealogical connection of past and present forms. i suppose you have the sheets of the last english edition on which i marked with pencil all the chief additions, but many little corrections of style were not marked. pray believe that i feel sincerely grateful for the great service and honour which you do me by the present translation. i remain, my dear sir, yours very sincerely, charles darwin. p.s.--i should be very much pleased to possess your photograph, and i send mine in case you should like to have a copy. charles darwin to c. nageli. (professor of botany at munich.) down, june [ ]. dear sir, i hope you will excuse the liberty which i take in writing to you. i have just read, though imperfectly, your 'entstehung und begriff,' and have been so greatly interested by it, that i have sent it to be translated, as i am a poor german scholar. i have just finished a new [ th] edition of my 'origin,' which will be translated into german, and my object in writing to you is to say that if you should see this edition you would think that i had borrowed from you, without acknowledgment, two discussions on the beauty of flowers and fruit; but i assure you every word was printed off before i had opened your pamphlet. should you like to possess a copy of either the german or english new edition, i should be proud to send one. i may add, with respect to the beauty of flowers, that i have already hinted the same views as you hold in my paper on lythrum. many of your criticisms on my views are the best which i have met with, but i could answer some, at least to my own satisfaction; and i regret extremely that i had not read your pamphlet before printing my new edition. on one or two points, i think, you have a little misunderstood me, though i dare say i have not been cautious in expressing myself. the remark which has struck me most, is that on the position of the leaves not having been acquired through natural selection, from not being of any special importance to the plant. i well remember being formerly troubled by an analogous difficulty, namely, the position of the ovules, their anatropous condition, etc. it was owing to forgetfulness that i did not notice this difficulty in the 'origin.' (nageli's essay is noticed in the th edition.) although i can offer no explanation of such facts, and only hope to see that they may be explained, yet i hardly see how they support the doctrine of some law of necessary development, for it is not clear to me that a plant, with its leaves placed at some particular angle, or with its ovules in some particular position, thus stands higher than another plant. but i must apologise for troubling you with these remarks. as i much wish to possess your photograph, i take the liberty of enclosing my own, and with sincere respect i remain, dear sir, yours faithfully, ch. darwin. [i give a few extracts from letters of various dates showing my father's interest, alluded to in the last letter, in the problem of the arrangement of the leaves on the stems of plants. it may be added that professor schwendener of berlin has successfully attacked the question in his 'mechanische theorie der blattstellungen,' . to dr. falconer. august [ ]. "do you remember telling me that i ought to study phyllotaxy? well i have often wished you at the bottom of the sea; for i could not resist, and i muddled my brains with diagrams, etc., and specimens, and made out, as might have been expected, nothing. those angles are a most wonderful problem and i wish i could see some one give a rational explanation of them." to dr. asa gray. may [ ]. "if you wish to save me from a miserable death, do tell me why the angles / , / , / , / , etc, series occur, and no other angles. it is enough to drive the quietest man mad. did you and some mathematician (probably my father was thinking of chauncey wright's work on phyllotaxy, in gould's 'astronomical journal,' no. , , and in the 'mathematical monthly,' . these papers are mentioned in the "letters of chauncey wright.' mr. wright corresponded with my father on the subject.) publish some paper on the subject? hooker says you did; where is it? to dr. asa gray. [may , ?]. "i have been looking at nageli's work on this subject, and am astonished to see that the angle is not always the same in young shoots when the lea-buds are first distinguishable, as in full-grown branches. this shows, i think, that there must be some potent cause for those angles which do occur: i dare say there is some explanation as simple as that for the angles of the bees-cells." my father also corresponded with dr. hubert airy and was interested in his views on the subject, published in the royal soc. proceedings, , page . we now return to the year . in november, when the prosecution of governor eyre was dividing england into two bitterly opposed parties, he wrote to sir j. hooker:-- "you will shriek at me when you hear that i have just subscribed to the jamaica committee." (he subscribed pounds.) on this subject i quote from a letter of my brother's:-- "with respect to governor eyre's conduct in jamaica, he felt strongly that j.s. mill was right in prosecuting him. i remember one evening, at my uncle's, we were talking on the subject, and as i happened to think it was too strong a measure to prosecute governor eyre for murder, i made some foolish remark about the prosecutors spending the surplus of the fund in a dinner. my father turned on me almost with fury, and told me, if those were my feelings, i had better go back to southampton; the inhabitants having given a dinner to governor eyre on his landing, but with which i had had nothing to do." the end of the incident, as told by my brother, is so characteristic of my father that i cannot resist giving it, though it has no bearing on the point at issue. "next morning at o'clock, or so, he came into my bedroom and sat on my bed, and said that he had not been able to sleep from the thought that he had been so angry with me, and after a few more kind words he left me." the same restless desire to correct a disagreeable or incorrect impression is well illustrated in an extract which i quote from some notes by rev. j. brodie innes:-- "allied to the extreme carefulness of observation was his most remarkable truthfulness in all matters. on one occasion, when a parish meeting had been held on some disputed point of no great importance, i was surprised by a visit from mr. darwin at night. he came to say that, thinking over the debate, though what he had said was quite accurate, he thought i might have drawn an erroneous conclusion, and he would not sleep till he had explained it. i believe that if on any day some certain fact had come to his knowledge which contradicted his most cherished theories, he would have placed the fact on record for publication before he slept." this tallies with my father's habits, as described by himself. when a difficulty or an objection occurred to him, he thought it of paramount importance to make a note of it instantly because he found hostile facts to be especially evanescent. the same point is illustrated by the following incident, for which i am indebted to mr. romanes:-- "i have always remembered the following little incident as a good example of mr. darwin's extreme solicitude on the score of accuracy. one evening at down there was a general conversation upon the difficulty of explaining the evolution of some of the distinctively human emotions, especially those appertaining to the recognition of beauty in natural scenery. i suggested a view of my own upon the subject, which, depending upon the principle of association, required the supposition that a long line of ancestors should have inhabited regions, the scenery of which is now regarded as beautiful. just as i was about to observe that the chief difficulty attaching to my hypothesis arose from feelings of the sublime (seeing that these are associated with awe, and might therefore be expected not to be agreeable), mr. darwin anticipated the remark, by asking how the hypothesis was to meet the case of these feelings. in the conversation which followed, he said the occasion in his own life, when he was most affected by the emotions of the sublime was when he stood upon one of the summits of the cordillera, and surveyed the magnificent prospect all around. it seemed, as he quaintly observed, as if his nerves had become fiddle strings, and had all taken to rapidly vibrating. this remark was only made incidentally, and the conversation passed into some other branch. about an hour afterwards mr. darwin retired to rest, while i sat up in the smoking-room with one of his sons. we continued smoking and talking for several hours, when at about one o'clock in the morning the door gently opened and mr. darwin appeared, in his slippers and dressing-gown. as nearly as i can remember, the following are the words he used:-- "'since i went to bed i have been thinking over our conversation in the drawing-room, and it has just occurred to me that i was wrong in telling you i felt most of the sublime when on the top of the cordillera; i am quite sure that i felt it even more when in the forests of brazil. i thought it best to come and tell you this at once in case i should be putting you wrong. i am sure now that i felt most sublime in the forests.' "this was all he had come to say, and it was evident that he had come to do so, because he thought that the fact of his feeling 'most sublime in forests' was more in accordance with the hypothesis which we had been discussing, than the fact which he had previously stated. now, as no one knew better than mr. darwin the difference between a speculation and a fact, i thought this little exhibition of scientific conscientiousness very noteworthy, where the only question concerned was of so highly speculative a character. i should not have been so much impressed if he had thought that by his temporary failure of memory he had put me on a wrong scent in any matter of fact, although even in such a case he is the only man i ever knew who would care to get out of bed at such a time at night in order to make the correction immediately, instead of waiting till next morning. but as the correction only had reference to a flimsy hypothesis, i certainly was very much impressed by this display of character."] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, december [ ]. ... i have now read the last no. of h. spencer. ('principles of biology.') i do not know whether to think it better than the previous number, but it is wonderfully clever, and i dare say mostly true. i feel rather mean when i read him: i could bear, and rather enjoy feeling that he was twice as ingenious and clever as myself, but when i feel that he is about a dozen times my superior, even in the master art of wriggling, i feel aggrieved. if he had trained himself to observe more, even if at the expense, by the law of balancement, of some loss of thinking power, he would have been a wonderful man. ... i am heartily glad you are taking up the distribution of plants in new zealand, and suppose it will make part of your new book. your view, as i understand it, that new zealand subsided and formed two or more small islands, and then rose again, seems to me extremely probable... when i puzzled my brains about new zealand, i remember i came to the conclusion, as indeed i state in the 'origin,' that its flora, as well as that of other southern lands, had been tinctured by an antarctic flora, which must have existed before the glacial period. i concluded that new zealand never could have been closely connected with australia, though i supposed it had received some few australian forms by occasional means of transport. is there any reason to suppose that new zealand could have been more closely connected with south australia during the glacial period, when the eucalypti, etc., might have been driven further north? apparently there remains only the line, which i think you suggested, of sunken islands from new caledonia. please remember that the edwardsia was certainly drifted there by the sea. i remember in old days speculating on the amount of life, i.e. of organic chemical change, at different periods. there seems to me one very difficult element in the problem, namely, the state of development of the organic beings at each period, for i presume that a flora and fauna of cellular cryptogamic plants, of protozoa and radiata would lead to much less chemical change than is now going on. but i have scribbled enough. yours affectionately, ch. darwin. [the following letter is in acknowledgment of mr. rivers' reply to an earlier letter in which my father had asked for information on bu-variation: it may find a place here in illustration of the manner of my father's intercourse with those "whose avocations in life had to do with the rearing or use of living things" ("mr. dyer in 'charles darwin,'" "nature series", , page .)--an intercourse which bore such good fruit in the 'variation of animals and plants.' mr. dyer has some excellent remarks on the unexpected value thus placed on apparently trivial facts disinterred from weekly journals, or amassed by correspondence. he adds: "horticulturists who had... moulded plants almost at their will at the impulse of taste or profit were at once amazed and charmed to find that they had been doing scientific work and helping to establish a great theory."] charles darwin to t. rivers. (the late mr. rivers was an eminent horticulturist and writer on horticulture.) down, december [ ?]. my dear sir, permit me to thank you cordially for your most kind letter. for years i have read with interest every scrap which you have written in periodicals, and abstracted in ms. your book on roses, and several times i thought i would write to you, but did not know whether you would think me too intrusive. i shall, indeed, be truly obliged for any information you can supply me on bud-variation or sports. when any extra difficult points occur to me in my present subject (which is a mass of difficulties), i will apply to you, but i will not be unreasonable. it is most true what you say that any one to study well the physiology of the life of plants, ought to have under his eye a multitude of plants. i have endeavoured to do what i can by comparing statements by many writers and observing what i could myself. unfortunately few have observed like you have done. as you are so kind, i will mention one other point on which i am collecting facts; namely, the effect produced on the stock by the graft; thus, it is said, that the purple-leaved filbert affects the leaves of the common hazel on which it is grafted (i have just procured a plant to try), so variegated jessamine is said to affect its stock. i want these facts partly to throw light on the marvellous laburnum adami, trifacial oranges, etc. that laburnum case seems one of the strangest in physiology. i have now growing splendid, fertile, yellow laburnums (with a long raceme like the so-called waterer's laburnum) from seed of yellow flowers on the c. adami. to a man like myself, who is compelled to live a solitary life, and sees few persons, it is no slight satisfaction to hear that i have been able at all [to] interest by my books observers like yourself. as i shall publish on my present subject, i presume, within a year, it will be of no use your sending me the shoots of peaches and nectarines which you so kindly offer; i have recorded your facts. permit me again to thank you cordially; i have not often in my life received a kinder letter. my dear sir, yours sincerely, ch. darwin. chapter .v. -- the publication of the 'variation of animals and plants under domestication.' january , to june . [at the beginning of the year he was at work on the final chapter--"concluding remarks" of the 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' which was begun after the rest of the ms. had been sent to the printers in the preceding december. with regard to the publication of the book he wrote to mr. murray, on january :-- "i cannot tell you how sorry i am to hear of the enormous size of my book. (on january he wrote to sir j.d. hooker: "i have been these last few days vexed and annoyed to a foolish degree by hearing that my ms. on dom. an. and cult. plants will make volumes, both bigger than the 'origin.' the volumes will have to be full-sized octavo, so i have written to murray to suggest details to be printed in small type. but i feel that the size is quite ludicrous in relation to the subject. i am ready to swear at myself and at every fool who writes a book.") i fear it can never pay. but i cannot shorten it now; nor, indeed, if i had foreseen its length, do i see which parts ought to have been omitted. "if you are afraid to publish it, say so at once, i beg you, and i will consider your note as cancelled. if you think fit, get any one whose judgment you rely on, to look over some of the more legible chapters, namely, the introduction, and on dogs and plants, the latter chapters being in my opinion, the dullest in the book... the list of chapters, and the inspection of a few here and there, would give a good judge a fair idea of the whole book. pray do not publish blindly, as it would vex me all my life if i led you to heavy loss." mr. murray referred the ms. to a literary friend, and, in spite of a somewhat adverse opinion, willingly agreed to publish the book. my father wrote:-- "your note has been a great relief to me. i am rather alarmed about the verdict of your friend, as he is not a man of science. i think if you had sent the 'origin' to an unscientific man, he would have utterly condemned it. i am, however, very glad that you have consulted any one on whom you can rely. "i must add, that my 'journal of researches' was seen in ms. by an eminent semi-scientific man, and was pronounced unfit for publication." the proofs were begun in march, and the last revise was finished on november th, and during this period the only intervals of rest were two visits of a week each at his brother erasmus's house in queen anne street. he notes in his diary:-- "i began this book [in the] beginning of (and then had some ms.), but owing to interruptions from my illness, and illness of children; from various editions of the 'origin,' and papers, especially orchis book and tendrils, i have spent four years and two months over it." the edition of 'animals and plants' was of copies, and of these were sold at mr. murray's autumnal sale, but it was not published until january , . a new edition of copies was printed in february of the same year. in he received the distinction of being made a knight of the prussian order "pour le merite." (the order "pour le merite" was founded in by frederick ii. by the re-christening of an "order of generosity," founded in . it was at one time strictly military, having been previously both civil and military, and in the order was again opened to civilians. the order consists of thirty members of german extraction, but distinguished foreigners are admitted to a kind of extraordinary membership. faraday, herschel, and thomas moore, have belonged to it in this way. from the thirty members a chancellor is elected by the king (the first officer of this kind was alexander v. humboldt); and it is the duty of the chancellor to notify a vacancy in the order to the remainder of the thirty, who then elect by vote the new member--but the king has technically the appointment in his own hands.) he seems not to have known how great the distinction was, for in june he wrote to sir j.d. hooker:-- "what a man you are for sympathy. i was made "eques" some months ago, but did not think much about it. now, by jove, we all do; but you, in fact, have knighted me." the letters may now take up the story.] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, february [ ]. my dear hooker, i am heartily glad that you have been offered the presidentship of the british association, for it is a great honour, and as you have so much work to do, i am equally glad that you have declined it. i feel, however, convinced that you would have succeeded very well; but if i fancy myself in such a position, it actually makes my blood run cold. i look back with amazement at the skill and taste with which the duke of argyll made a multitude of little speeches at glasgow. by the way, i have not seen the duke's book ('the reign of law,' .), but i formerly thought that some of the articles which appeared in periodicals were very clever, but not very profound. one of these was reviewed in the "saturday review" ("saturday review", november , , 'the "edinburgh review" on the supernatural.' written by my cousin, mr. henry parker.) some years ago, and the fallacy of some main argument was admirably exposed, and i sent the article to you, and you agreed strongly with it... there was the other day a rather good review of the duke's book in the "spectator", and with a new explanation, either by the duke or the reviewer (i could not make out which), of rudimentary organs, namely, that economy of labour and material was a great guiding principle with god (ignoring waste of seed and of young monsters, etc.), and that making a new plan for the structure of animals was thought, and thought was labour, and therefore god kept to a uniform plan, and left rudiments. this is no exaggeration. in short, god is a man, rather cleverer than us... i am very much obliged for the "nation" (returned by this post); it is admirably good. you say i always guess wrong, but i do not believe any one, except asa gray, could have done the thing so well. i would bet even, or three to two, that it is asa gray, though one or two passages staggered me. i finish my book on 'domestic animals,' etc., by a single paragraph, answering, or rather throwing doubt, in so far as so little space permits, on asa gray's doctrine that each variation has been specially ordered or led along a beneficial line. it is foolish to touch such subjects, but there have been so many allusions to what i think about the part which god has played in the formation of organic beings (prof. judd allows me to quote from some notes which he has kindly given me:--"lyell once told me that he had frequently been asked if darwin was not one of the most unhappy of men, it being suggested that his outrage upon public opinion should have filled him with remorse." sir charles lyell must have been able, i think, to give a satisfactory answer on this point. professor judd continues:-- "i made a note of this and other conversations of lyell's at the time. at the present time such statements must appear strange to any one who does not recollect the revolution in opinion which has taken place during the last years [ ]."), that i thought it shabby to evade the question... i have even received several letters on the subject... i overlooked your sentence about providence, and suppose i treated it as buckland did his own theology, when his bridgewater treatise was read aloud to him for correction... [the following letter, from mrs. boole, is one of those referred to in the last letter to sir j.d. hooker:] dear sir, will you excuse my venturing to ask you a question, to which no one's answer but your own would be quite satisfactory? do you consider the holding of your theory of natural selection, in its fullest and most unreserved sense, to be inconsistent--i do not say with any particular scheme of theological doctrine--but with the following belief, namely:-- that knowledge is given to man by the direct inspiration of the spirit of god. that god is a personal and infinitely good being. that the effect of the action of the spirit of god on the brain of man is especially a moral effect. and that each individual man has within certain limits a power of choice as to how far he will yield to his hereditary animal impulses, and how far he will rather follow the guidance of the spirit, who is educating him into a power of resisting those impulses in obedience to moral motives? the reason why i ask you is this: my own impression has always been, not only that your theory was perfectly compatible with the faith to which i have just tried to give expression, but that your books afforded me a clue which would guide me in applying that faith to the solution of certain complicated psychological problems which it was of practical importance to me as a mother to solve. i felt that you had supplied one of the missing links--not to say the missing link--between the facts of science and the promises of religion. every year's experience tends to deepen in me that impression. but i have lately read remarks on the probable bearing of your theory on religious and moral questions which have perplexed and pained me sorely. i know that the persons who make such remarks must be cleverer and wiser than myself. i cannot feel sure that they are mistaken, unless you will tell me so. and i think--i cannot know for certain--but i think--that if i were an author, i would rather that the humblest student of my works should apply to me directly in a difficulty, than that she should puzzle too long over adverse and probably mistaken or thoughtless criticisms. at the same time i feel that you have a perfect right to refuse to answer such questions as i have asked you. science must take her path, and theology hers, and they will meet when and where and how god pleases, and you are in no sense responsible for it if the meeting-point should still be very far off. if i receive no answer to this letter i shall infer nothing from your silence, except that you felt i had no right to make such enquiries of a stranger. [my father replied as follows:] down, december , [ ]. dear madam, it would have gratified me much if i could have sent satisfactory answers to your questions, or, indeed, answers of any kind. but i cannot see how the belief that all organic beings, including man, have been genetically derived from some simple being, instead of having been separately created, bears on your difficulties. these, as it seems to me, can be answered only by widely different evidence from science, or by the so-called "inner consciousness." my opinion is not worth more than that of any other man who has thought on such subjects, and it would be folly in me to give it. i may, however, remark that it has always appeared to me more satisfactory to look at the immense amount of pain and suffering in this world as the inevitable result of the natural sequence of events, i.e. general laws, rather than from the direct intervention of god, though i am aware this is not logical with reference to an omniscient deity. your last question seems to resolve itself into the problem of free will and necessity, which has been found by most persons insoluble. i sincerely wish that this note had not been as utterly valueless as it is. i would have sent full answers, though i have little time or strength to spare, had it been in my power. i have the honour to remain, dear madam, yours very faithfully, charles darwin. p.s.--i am grieved that my views should incidentally have caused trouble to your mind, but i thank you for your judgment, and honour you for it, that theology and science should each run its own course, and that in the present case i am not responsible if their meeting-point should still be far off. [the next letter discusses the 'reign of law,' referred to a few pages back:] charles darwin to c. lyell. down, june [ ]. ... i am at present reading the duke, and am very much interested by him; yet i cannot but think, clever as the whole is, that parts are weak, as when he doubts whether each curvature of the beak of humming-birds is of service to each species. he admits, perhaps too fully, that i have shown the use of each little ridge and shape of each petal in orchids, and how strange he does not extend the view to humming-birds. still odder, it seems to me, all that he says on beauty, which i should have thought a nonentity, except in the mind of some sentient being. he might have as well said that love existed during the secondary or palaeozoic periods. i hope you are getting on with your book better than i am with mine, which kills me with the labour of correcting, and is intolerably dull, though i did not think so when i was writing it. a naturalist's life would be a happy one if he had only to observe, and never to write. we shall be in london for a week in about a fortnight's time, and i shall enjoy having a breakfast talk with you. yours affectionately, c. darwin. [the following letter refers to the new and improved translation of the 'origin,' undertaken by professor carus:] charles darwin to j. victor carus. down, february [ ]. my dear sir, i have read your preface with care. it seems to me that you have treated bronn with complete respect and great delicacy, and that you have alluded to your own labour with much modesty. i do not think that any of bronn's friends can complain of what you say and what you have done. for my own sake, i grieve that you have not added notes, as i am sure that i should have profited much by them; but as you have omitted bronn's objections, i believe that you have acted with excellent judgment and fairness in leaving the text without comment to the independent verdict of the reader. i heartily congratulate you that the main part of your labour is over; it would have been to most men a very troublesome task, but you seem to have indomitable powers of work, judging from those two wonderful and most useful volumes on zoological literature ('bibliotheca zoologica,' .) edited by you, and which i never open without surprise at their accuracy, and gratitude for their usefulness. i cannot sufficiently tell you how much i rejoice that you were persuaded to superintend the translation of the present edition of my book, for i have now the great satisfaction of knowing that the german public can judge fairly of its merits and demerits... with my cordial and sincere thanks, believe me, my dear sir, yours very faithfully, ch. darwin. [the earliest letter which i have seen from my father to professor haeckel, was written in , and from that time forward they corresponded (though not, i think, with any regularity) up to the end of my father's life. his friendship with haeckel was not nearly growth of correspondence, as was the case with some others, for instance, fritz muller. haeckel paid more than one visit to down, and these were thoroughly enjoyed by my father. the following letter will serve to show the strong feeling of regard which he entertained for his correspondent--a feeling which i have often heard him emphatically express, and which was warmly returned. the book referred to is haeckel's 'generelle morphologie,' published in , a copy of which my father received from the author in january . dr. e. krause ('charles darwin und sein verhaltniss zu deutschland,' .) has given a good account of professor haeckel's services to the cause of evolution. after speaking of the lukewarm reception which the 'origin' met with in germany on its first publication, he goes on to describe the first adherents of the new faith as more or less popular writers, not especially likely to advance its acceptance with the professorial or purely scientific world. and he claims for haeckel that it was his advocacy of evolution in his 'radiolaria' ( ), and at the "versammlung" of naturalists at stettin in , that placed the darwinian question for the first time publicly before the forum of german science, and his enthusiastic propagandism that chiefly contributed to its success. mr. huxley, writing in , paid a high tribute to professor haeckel as the coryphaeus of the darwinian movement in germany. of his 'generelle morphologie,' "an attempt to work out the practical application" of the doctrine of evolution to their final results, he says that it has the "force and suggestiveness, and... systematising power of oken without his extravagance." professor huxley also testifies to the value of haeckel's 'schopfungs-geschichte' as an exposition of the 'generelle morphologie' "for an educated public." again, in his 'evolution in biology' (an article in the 'encyclopaedia britannica,' th edition, reprinted in 'science and culture,' , page .), mr. huxley wrote: "whatever hesitation may, not unfrequently, be felt by less daring minds, in following haeckel in many of his speculations, his attempt to systematise the doctrine of evolution, and to exhibit its influence as the central thought of modern biology, cannot fail to have a far-reaching influence on the progress of science." in the following letter my father alludes to the somewhat fierce manner in which professor haeckel fought the battle of 'darwinismus,' and on this subject dr. krause has some good remarks (page ). he asks whether much that happened in the heat of the conflict might not well have been otherwise, and adds that haeckel himself is the last man to deny this. nevertheless he thinks that even these things may have worked well for the cause of evolution, inasmuch as haeckel "concentrated on himself by his 'ursprung des menschen-geschlechts,' his 'generelle morphologie,' and 'schopfungs-geschichte,' all the hatred and bitterness which evolution excited in certain quarters," so that, "in a surprisingly short time it became the fashion in germany that haeckel alone should be abused, while darwin was held up as the ideal of forethought and moderation."] charles darwin to e. haeckel. down, may , . dear haeckel, your letter of the th has given me great pleasure, for you have received what i said in the most kind and cordial manner. you have in part taken what i said much stronger than i had intended. it never occurred to me for a moment to doubt that your work, with the whole subject so admirably and clearly arranged, as well as fortified by so many new facts and arguments, would not advance our common object in the highest degree. all that i think is that you will excite anger, and that anger so completely blinds every one, that your arguments would have no chance of influencing those who are already opposed to our views. moreover, i do not at all like that you, towards whom i feel so much friendship, should unnecessarily make enemies, and there is pain and vexation enough in the world without more being caused. but i repeat that i can feel no doubt that your work will greatly advance our subject, and i heartily wish it could be translated into english, for my own sake and that of others. with respect to what you say about my advancing too strongly objections against my own views, some of my english friends think that i have erred on this side; but truth compelled me to write what i did, and i am inclined to think it was good policy. the belief in the descent theory is slowly spreading in england (in october he wrote to mr. wallace:--"mr. warrington has lately read an excellent and spirited abstract of the 'origin' before the victoria institute, and as this is a most orthodox body, he has gained the name of the devil's advocate. the discussion which followed during three consecutive meetings is very rich from the nonsense talked. if you would care to see the number i could send it you."), even amongst those who can give no reason for their belief. no body of men were at first so much opposed to my views as the members of the london entomological society, but now i am assured that, with the exception of two or three old men, all the members concur with me to a certain extent. it has been a great disappointment to me that i have never received your long letter written to me from the canary islands. i am rejoiced to hear that your tour, which seems to have been a most interesting one, has done your health much good. i am working away at my new book, but make very slow progress, and the work tries my health, which is much the same as when you were here. victor carus is going to translate it, but whether it is worth translation, i am rather doubtful. i am very glad to hear that there is some chance of your visiting england this autumn, and all in this house will be delighted to see you here. believe me, my dear haeckel, yours very sincerely, charles darwin. charles darwin to f. muller. down, july [ ]. my dear sir, i received a week ago your letter of june , full as usual of valuable matter and specimens. it arrived at exactly the right time, for i was enabled to give a pretty full abstract of your observations on the plant's own pollen being poisonous. i have inserted this abstract in the proo-sheets in my chapter on sterility, and it forms the most striking part of my whole chapter. (in 'the variation of animals and plants.') i thank you very sincerely for the most interesting observations, which, however, i regret that you did not publish independently. i have been forced to abbreviate one or two parts more than i wished... your letters always surprise me, from the number of points to which you attend. i wish i could make my letters of any interest to you, for i hardly ever see a naturalist, and live as retired a life as you in brazil. with respect to mimetic plants, i remember hooker many years ago saying he believed that there were many, but i agree with you that it would be most difficult to distinguish between mimetic resemblance and the effects of peculiar conditions. who can say to which of these causes to attribute the several plants with heath-like foliage at the cape of good hope? is it not also a difficulty that quadrupeds appear to recognise plants more by their [scent] than their appearance? what i have just said reminds me to ask you a question. sir j. lubbock brought me the other day what appears to be a terrestrial planaria (the first ever found in the northern hemisphere) and which was coloured exactly like our dark-coloured slugs. now slugs are not devoured by birds, like the shell-bearing species, and this made me remember that i found the brazilian planariae actually together with striped vaginuli which i believe were similarly coloured. can you throw any light on this? i wish to know, because i was puzzled some months ago how it would be possible to account for the bright colours of the planariae in reference to sexual selection. by the way, i suppose they are hermaphrodites. do not forget to aid me, if in your power, with answers to any of my questions on expression, for the subject interests me greatly. with cordial thanks for your never-failing kindness, believe me, yours very sincerely, charles darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, july [ ]. my dear lyell, many thanks for your long letter. i am sorry to hear that you are in despair about your book (the nd volume of the th edition of the 'principles.'); i well know that feeling, but am now getting out of the lower depths. i shall be very much pleased, if you can make the least use of my present book, and do not care at all whether it is published before yours. mine will appear towards the end of november of this year; you speak of yours as not coming out till november, , which i hope may be an error. there is nothing about man in my book which can interfere with you, so i will order all the completed clean sheets to be sent (and others as soon as ready) to you, but please observe you will not care for the first volume, which is a mere record of the amount of variation; but i hope the second will be somewhat more interesting. though i fear the whole must be dull. i rejoice from my heart that you are going to speak out plainly about species. my book about man, if published, will be short, and a large portion will be devoted to sexual selection, to which subject i alluded in the 'origin' as bearing on man... charles darwin to c. lyell. down, august [ ]. my dear lyell, i thank you cordially for your last two letters. the former one did me real good, for i had got so wearied with the subject that i could hardly bear to correct the proofs (the proofs of 'animals and plants,' which lyell was then reading.), and you gave me fresh heart. i remember thinking that when you came to the pigeon chapter you would pass it over as quite unreadable. your last letter has interested me in very many ways, and i have been glad to hear about those horrid unbelieving frenchmen. i have been particularly pleased that you have noticed pangenesis. i do not know whether you ever had the feeling of having thought so much over a subject that you had lost all power of judging it. this is my case with pangenesis (which is or years old), but i am inclined to think that if it be admitted as a probable hypothesis it will be a somewhat important step in biology. i cannot help still regretting that you have ever looked at the slips, for i hope to improve the whole a good deal. it is surprising to me, and delightful, that you should care in the least about the plants. altogether you have given me one of the best cordials i ever had in my life, and i heartily thank you. i despatched this morning the french edition. (of the 'origin.' it appears that my father was sending a copy of the french edition to sir charles. the introduction was by mdlle. royer, who translated the book.) the introduction was a complete surprise to me, and i dare say has injured the book in france; nevertheless... it shows, i think, that the woman is uncommonly clever. once again many thanks for the renewed courage with which i shall attack the horrid proof-sheets. yours affectionately, charles darwin. p.s.--a russian who is translating my new book into russian has been here, and says you are immensely read in russia, and many editions--how many i forget. six editions of buckle and four editions of the 'origin.' charles darwin to asa gray. down, october [ ]. my dear gray, i send by this post clean sheets of volume i. up to page , and there are only pages in this volume. i am very glad to hear that you are going to review my book; but if the "nation" (the book was reviewed by dr. gray in the "nation", march , .) is a newspaper i wish it were at the bottom of the sea, for i fear that you will thus be stopped reviewing me in a scientific journal. the first volume is all details, and you will not be able to read it; and you must remember that the chapters on plants are written for naturalists who are not botanists. the last chapter in volume i. is, however, i think, a curious compilation of facts; it is on bu-variation. in volume ii. some of the chapters are more interesting; and i shall be very curious to hear your verdict on the chapter on close inte-breeding. the chapter on what i call pangenesis will be called a mad dream, and i shall be pretty well satisfied if you think it a dream worth publishing; but at the bottom of my own mind i think it contains a great truth. i finish my book with a semi-theological paragraph, in which i quote and differ from you; what you will think of it, i know not... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, november [ ]. my dear hooker, congratulate me, for i have finished the last revise of the last sheet of my book. it has been an awful job: seven and a half months correcting the press: the book, from much small type, does not look big, but is really very big. i have had hard work to keep up to the mark, but during the last week only few revises came, so that i have rested and feel more myself. hence, after our long mutual silence, i enjoy myself by writing a note to you, for the sake of exhaling, and hearing from you. on account of the index (the index was made by mr. w.s. dallas; i have often heard my father express his admiration of this excellent piece of work.), i do not suppose that you will receive your copy till the middle of next month. i shall be intensely anxious to hear what you think about pangenesis; though i can see how fearfully imperfect, even in mere conjectural conclusions, it is; yet it has been an infinite satisfaction to me somehow to connect the various large groups of facts, which i have long considered, by an intelligible thread. i shall not be at all surprised if you attack it and me with unparalleled ferocity. it will be my endeavour to do as little as possible for some time, but [i] shall soon prepare a paper or two for the linnean society. in a short time we shall go to london for ten days, but the time is not yet fixed. now i have told you a deal about myself, and do let me hear a good deal about your own past and future doings. can you pay us a visit, early in december?... i have seen no one for an age, and heard no news. ... about my book i will give you a bit of advice. skip the whole of volume i., except the last chapter (and that need only be skimmed) and skip largely in the nd volume; and then you will say it is a very good book. . ['the variation of animals and plants' was, as already mentioned, published on january , , and on that day he sent a copy to fritz muller, and wrote to him:-- "i send by this post, by french packet, my new book, the publication of which has been much delayed. the greater part, as you will see, is not meant to be read; but i should very much like to hear what you think of 'pangenesis,' though i fear it will appear to every one far too speculative."] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. february [ ]. ... i am very much pleased at what you say about my introduction; after it was in type i was as near as possible cancelling the whole. i have been for some time in despair about my book, and if i try to read a few pages i feel fairly nauseated, but do not let this make you praise it; for i have made up my mind that it is not worth a fifth part of the enormous labour it has cost me. i assure you that all that is worth your doing (if you have time for so much) is glancing at chapter vi., and reading parts of the later chapters. the facts on self-impotent plants seem to me curious, and i have worked out to my own satisfaction the good from crossing and evil from interbreeding. i did read pangenesis the other evening, but even this, my beloved child, as i had fancied, quite disgusted me. the devil take the whole book; and yet now i am at work again as hard as i am able. it is really a great evil that from habit i have pleasure in hardly anything except natural history, for nothing else makes me forget my eve-recurrent uncomfortable sensations. but i must not howl any more, and the critics may say what they like; i did my best, and man can do no more. what a splendid pursuit natural history would be if it was all observing and no writing!... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, february [ ]. my dear hooker, what is the good of having a friend, if one may not boast to him? i heard yesterday that murray has sold in a week the whole edition of copies of my book, and the sale so pressing that he has agreed with clowes to get another edition in fourteen days! this has done me a world of good, for i had got into a sort of dogged hatred of my book. and now there has appeared a review in the "pall mall" which has pleased me excessively, more perhaps than is reasonable. i am quite content, and do not care how much i may be pitched into. if by any chance you should hear who wrote the article in the "pall mall", do please tell me; it is some one who writes capitally, and who knows the subject. i went to luncheon on sunday, to lubbock's, partly in hopes of seeing you, and, be hanged to you, you were not there. your cock-a-hoop friend, c.d. [independently of the favourable tone of the able series of notices in the "pall mall gazette" (february , , , ), my father may well have been gratified by the following passages:-- "we must call attention to the rare and noble calmness with which he expounds his own views, undisturbed by the heats of polemical agitation which those views have excited, and persistently refusing to retort on his antagonists by ridicule, by indignation, or by contempt. considering the amount of vituperation and insinuation which has come from the other side, this forbearance is supremely dignified." and again in the third notice, february :-- "nowhere has the author a word that could wound the most sensitive sel-love of an antagonist; nowhere does he, in text or note, expose the fallacies and mistakes of brother investigators... but while abstaining from impertinent censure, he is lavish in acknowledging the smallest debts he may owe; and his book will make many men happy." i am indebted to messrs. smith & elder for the information that these articles were written by mr. g.h. lewes.] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, february [ ]. my dear hooker, i have had almost as many letters to write of late as you can have, viz. from to per diem, chiefly getting up facts on sexual selection, therefore i have felt no inclination to write to you, and now i mean to write solely about my book for my own satisfaction, and not at all for yours. the first edition was copies, and now the second is printed off; sharp work. did you look at the review in the "athenaeum" ("athenaeum", february , . my father quoted pouchet's assertion that "variation under domestication throws no light on the natural modification of species." the reviewer quotes the end of a passage in which my father declares that he can see no force in pouchet's arguments, or rather assertions, and then goes on: "we are sadly mistaken if there are not clear proofs in the pages of the book before us that, on the contrary, mr. darwin has perceived, felt, and yielded to the force of the arguments or assertions of his french antagonist." the following may serve as samples of the rest of the review:-- "henceforth the rhetoricians will have a better illustration of anti-climax than the mountain which brought forth a mouse,... in the discoverer of the origin of species, who tried to explain the variation of pigeons! "a few summary words. on the 'origin of species' mr. darwin has nothing, and is never likely to have anything, to say; but on the vastly important subject of inheritance, the transmission of peculiarities once acquired through successive generations, this work is a valuable store-house of facts for curious students and practical breeders."), showing profound contempt of me?... it is a shame that he should have said that i have taken much from pouchet, without acknowledgment; for i took literally nothing, there being nothing to take. there is a capital review in the "gardeners' chronicle" which will sell the book if anything will. i don't quite see whether i or the writer is in a muddle about man causing variability. if a man drops a bit of iron into sulphuric acid he does not cause the affinities to come into play, yet he may be said to make sulphate of iron. i do not know how to avoid ambiguity. after what the "pall mall gazette" and the "chronicle" have said i do not care a d--. i fear pangenesis is stillborn; bates says he has read it twice, and is not sure that he understands it. h. spencer says the view is quite different from his (and this is a great relief to me, as i feared to be accused of plagiarism, but utterly failed to be sure what he meant, so thought it safest to give my view as almost the same as his), and he says he is not sure he understands it... am i not a poor devil? yet i took such pains, i must think that i expressed myself clearly. old sir h. holland says he has read it twice, and thinks it very tough; but believes that sooner or later "some view akin to it" will be accepted. you will think me very self-sufficient, when i declare that i feel sure if pangenesis is now stillborn it will, thank god, at some future time reappear, begotten by some other father, and christened by some other name. have you ever met with any tangible and clear view of what takes place in generation, whether by seeds or buds, or how a long-lost character can possibly reappear; or how the male element can possibly affect the mother plant, or the mother animal, so that her future progeny are affected? now all these points and many others are connected together, whether truly or falsely is another question, by pangenesis. you see i die hard, and stick up for my poor child. this letter is written for my own satisfaction, and not for yours. so bear it. yours affectionately, ch. darwin. charles darwin to a. newton. (prof. of zoology at cambridge.) down, february [ ]. dear newton, i suppose it would be universally held extremely wrong for a defendant to write to a judge to express his satisfaction at a judgment in his favour; and yet i am going thus to act. i have just read what you have said in the 'record' ('zoological record.' the volume for , published december .) about my pigeon chapters, and it has gratified me beyond measure. i have sometimes felt a little disappointed that the labour of so many years seemed to be almost thrown away, for you are the first man capable of forming a judgment (excepting partly quatrefages), who seems to have thought anything of this part of my work. the amount of labour, correspondence, and care, which the subject cost me, is more than you could well suppose. i thought the article in the "athenaeum" was very unjust; but now i feel amply repaid, and i cordially thank you for your sympathy and too warm praise. what labour you have bestowed on your part of the 'record'! i ought to be ashamed to speak of my amount of work. i thoroughly enjoyed the sunday, which you and the others spent here, and i remain, dear newton, yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, february [ ]. my dear wallace, you cannot well imagine how much i have been pleased by what you say about 'pangenesis.' none of my friends will speak out... hooker, as far as i understand him, which i hardly do at present, seems to think that the hypothesis is little more than saying that organisms have such and such potentialities. what you say exactly and fully expresses my feeling, viz. that it is a relief to have some feasible explanation of the various facts, which can be given up as soon as any better hypothesis is found. it has certainly been an immense relief to my mind; for i have been stumbling over the subject for years, dimly seeing that some relation existed between the various classes of facts. i now hear from h. spencer that his views quoted in my foot-note refer to something quite distinct, as you seem to have perceived. i shall be very glad to hear at some future day your criticisms on the "causes of variability." indeed i feel sure that i am right about sterility and natural selection... i do not quite understand your case, and we think that a word or two is misplaced. i wish sometime you would consider the case under the following point of view:--if sterility is caused or accumulated through natural selection, than as every degree exists up to absolute barrenness, natural selection must have the power of increasing it. now take two species, a and b, and assume that they are (by any means) half-sterile, i.e. produce half the full number of offspring. now try and make (by natural selection) a and b absolutely sterile when crossed, and you will find how difficult it is. i grant indeed, it is certain, that the degree of sterility of the individuals a and b will vary, but any such extra-sterile individuals of, we will say a, if they should hereafter breed with other individuals of a, will bequeath no advantage to their progeny, by which these families will tend to increase in number over other families of a, which are not more sterile when crossed with b. but i do not know that i have made this any clearer than in the chapter in my book. it is a most difficult bit of reasoning, which i have gone over and over again on paper with diagrams. ... hearty thanks for your letter. you have indeed pleased me, for i had given up the great god pan as a stillborn deity. i wish you could be induced to make it clear with your admirable powers of elucidation in one of the scientific journals... charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, february [ ]. my dear hooker, i have been deeply interested by your letter, and we had a good laugh over huxley's remark, which was so deuced clever that you could not recollect it. i cannot quite follow your train of thought, for in the last page you admit all that i wish, having apparently denied all, or thought all mere words in the previous pages of your note; but it may be my muddle. i see clearly that any satisfaction which pan may give will depend on the constitution of each man's mind. if you have arrived already at any similar conclusion, the whole will of course appear stale to you. i heard yesterday from wallace, who says (excuse horrid vanity), "i can hardly tell you how much i admire the chapter on 'pangenesis.' it is a positive comfort to me to have any feasible explanation of a difficulty that has always been haunting me, and i shall never be able to give it up till a better one supplies its place, and that i think hardly possible, etc." now his foregoing [italicised] words express my sentiments exactly and fully: though perhaps i feel the relief extra strongly from having during many years vainly attempted to form some hypothesis. when you or huxley say that a single cell of a plant, or the stump of an amputated limb, have the "potentiality" of reproducing the whole--or "diffuse an influence," these words give me no positive idea;--but when it is said that the cells of a plant, or stump, include atoms derived from every other cell of the whole organism and capable of development, i gain a distinct idea. but this idea would not be worth a rush, if it applied to one case alone; but it seems to me to apply to all the forms of reproduction--inheritance--metamorphosis--to the abnormal transposition of organs--to the direct action of the male element on the mother plant, etc. therefore i fully believe that each cell does actually throw off an atom or gemmule of its contents;--but whether or not, this hypothesis serves as a useful connecting link for various grand classes of physiological facts, which at present stand absolutely isolated. i have touched on the doubtful point (alluded to by huxley) how far atoms derived from the same cell may become developed into different structure accordingly as they are differently nourished; i advanced as illustrations galls and polypoid excrescences... it is a real pleasure to me to write to you on this subject, and i should be delighted if we can understand each other; but you must not let your good nature lead you on. remember, we always fight tooth and nail. we go to london on tuesday, first for a week to queen anne street, and afterwards to miss wedgwood's, in regent's park, and stay the whole month, which, as my gardener truly says, is a "terrible thing" for my experiments. charles darwin to w. ogle. (dr. william ogle, now the superintendent of statistics to the registrar-general.) down, march [ ]. dear sir, i thank you most sincerely for your letter, which is very interesting to me. i wish i had known of these views of hippocrates before i had published, for they seem almost identical with mine--merely a change of terms--and an application of them to classes of facts necessarily unknown to the old philosopher. the whole case is a good illustration of how rarely anything is new. hippocrates has taken the wind out of my sails, but i care very little about being forestalled. i advance the views merely as a provisional hypothesis, but with the secret expectation that sooner or later some such view will have to be admitted. ... i do not expect the reviewers will be so learned as you: otherwise, no doubt, i shall be accused of wilfully stealing pangenesis from hippocrates,--for this is the spirit some reviewers delight to show. charles darwin to victor carus. down, march [ ]. ... i am very much obliged to you for sending me so frankly your opinion on pangenesis, and i am sorry it is unfavourable, but i cannot quite understand your remark on pangenesis, selection, and the struggle for life not being more methodical. i am not at all surprised at your unfavourable verdict; i know many, probably most, will come to the same conclusion. one english review says it is much too complicated... some of my friends are enthusiastic on the hypothesis... sir c. lyell says to every one, "you may not believe in 'pangenesis,' but if you once understand it, you will never get it out of your mind." and with this criticism i am perfectly content. all cases of inheritance and reversion and development now appear to me under a new light... [an extract from a letter to fritz muller, though of later date (june), may be given here:-- "your letter of april has much interested me. i am delighted that you approve of my book, for i value your opinion more than that of almost any one. i have yet hopes that you will think well of pangenesis. i feel sure that our minds are somewhat alike, and i find it a great relief to have some definite, though hypothetical view, when i reflect on the wonderful transformations of animals,--the re-growth of parts,--and especially the direct action of pollen on the mother-form, etc. it often appears to me almost certain that the characters of the parents are "photographed" on the child, only by means of material atoms derived from each cell in both parents, and developed in the child."] charles darwin to asa gray. down, may [ ]. my dear gray, i have been a most ungrateful and ungracious man not to have written to you an immense time ago to thank you heartily for the "nation", and for all your most kind aid in regard to the american edition [of 'animals and plants']. but i have been of late overwhelmed with letters, which i was forced to answer, and so put off writing to you. this morning i received the american edition (which looks capital), with your nice preface, for which hearty thanks. i hope to heaven that the book will succeed well enough to prevent you repenting of your aid. this arrival has put the finishing stroke to my conscience, which will endure its wrongs no longer. ... your article in the "nation" [march ] seems to me very good, and you give an excellent idea of pangenesis--an infant cherished by few as yet, except his tender parent, but which will live a long life. there is parental presumption for you! you give a good slap at my concluding metaphor (a short abstract of the precipice metaphor is given in volume i. dr. gray's criticism on this point is as follows: "but in mr. darwin's parallel, to meet the case of nature according to his own view of it, not only the fragments of rock (answering to variation) should fall, but the edifice (answering to natural selection) should rise, irrespective of will or choice!" but my father's parallel demands that natural selection shall be the architect, not the edifice--the question of design only comes in with regard to the form of the building materials.): undoubtedly i ought to have brought in and contrasted natural and artificial selection; but it seems so obvious to me that natural selection depended on contingencies even more complex than those which must have determined the shape of each fragment at the base of my precipice. what i wanted to show was that in reference to pre-ordainment whatever holds good in the formation of a pouter pigeon holds good in the formation of a natural species of pigeon. i cannot see that this is false. if the right variations occurred, and no others, natural selection would be superfluous. a reviewer in an edinburgh paper, who treats me with profound contempt, says on this subject that professor asa gray could with the greatest ease smash me into little pieces. (the "daily review", april , . my father has given rather a highly coloured version of the reviewer's remarks: "we doubt not that professor asa gray... could show that natural selection... is simply an instrument in the hands of an omnipotent and omniscient creator." the reviewer goes on to say that the passage in question is a "very melancholy one," and that the theory is the "apotheosis of materialism.") believe me, my dear gray, your ungrateful but sincere friend, charles darwin. charles darwin to g. bentham. down, june , . my dear mr. bentham, as your address (presidential address to the linnean society.) is somewhat of the nature of a verdict from a judge, i do not know whether it is proper for me to do so, but i must and will thank you for the pleasure which you have given me. i am delighted at what you say about my book. i got so tired of it, that for months together i thought myself a perfect fool for having given up so much time in collecting and observing little facts, but now i do not care if a score of common critics speak as contemptuously of the book as did the "athenaeum". i feel justified in this, for i have so complete a reliance on your judgment that i feel certain that i should have bowed to your judgment had it been as unfavourable as it is the contrary. what you say about pangenesis quite satisfies me, and is as much perhaps as any one is justified in saying. i have read your whole address with the greatest interest. it must have cost you a vast amount of trouble. with cordial thanks, pray believe me, yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. p.s.--i fear that it is not likely that you have a superfluous copy of your address; if you have, i should much like to send one to fritz muller in the interior of brazil. by the way let me add that i discussed bud-variation chiefly from a belief which is common to several persons, that all variability is related to sexual generation; i wished to show clearly that this was an error. [the above series of letters may serve to show to some extent the reception which the new book received. before passing on (in the next chapter) to the 'descent of man,' i give a letter referring to the translation of fritz muller's book, 'fur darwin,' it was originally published in , but the english translation, by mr. dallas, which bore the title suggested by sir c. lyell, of 'facts and arguments for darwin,' did not appear until :] charles darwin to f. muller. down, march [ ]. my dear sir, your brother, as you will have heard from him, felt so convinced that you would not object to a translation of 'fur darwin' (in a letter to fritz muller, my father wrote:--"i am vexed to see that on the title my name is more conspicuous than yours, which i especially objected to, and i cautioned the printers after seeing one proof."), that i have ventured to arrange for a translation. engelmann has very liberally offered me cliches of the woodcuts for thalers; mr. murray has agreed to bring out a translation (and he is our best publisher) on commission, for he would not undertake the work on his own risk; and i have agreed with mr. w.s. dallas (who has translated von siebold on parthenogenesis, and many german works, and who writes very good english) to translate the book. he thinks (and he is a good judge) that it is important to have some few corrections or additions, in order to account for a translation appearing so lately [i.e. at such a long interval of time] after the original; so that i hope you will be able to send some... [two letters may be placed here as bearing on the spread of evolutionary ideas in france and germany:] charles darwin to a. gaudry. down, january [ ]. dear sir, i thank you for your interesting essay on the influence of the geological features of the country on the mind and habits of the ancient athenians (this appears to refer to m. gaudry's paper translated in the 'geol. mag.,' , page .), and for your very obliging letter. i am delighted to hear that you intend to consider the relations of fossil animals in connection with their genealogy; it will afford you a fine field for the exercise of your extensive knowledge and powers of reasoning. your belief will i suppose, at present, lower you in the estimation of your countrymen; but judging from the rapid spread in all parts of europe, excepting france, of the belief in the common descent of allied species, i must think that this belief will before long become universal. how strange it is that the country which gave birth to buffon, the elder geoffroy, and especially to lamarck, should now cling so pertinaciously to the belief that species are immutable creations. my work on variation, etc., under domestication, will appear in a french translation in a few months' time, and i will do myself the pleasure and honour of directing the publisher to send a copy to you to the same address as this letter. with sincere respect, i remain, dear sir, yours very faithfully, charles darwin. [the next letter is of especial interest, as showing how high a value my father placed on the support of the younger german naturalists:] charles darwin to w. preyer. (now professor of physiology at jena.) march , . ... i am delighted to hear that you uphold the doctrine of the modification of species, and defend my views. the support which i receive from germany is my chief ground for hoping that our views will ultimately prevail. to the present day i am continually abused or treated with contempt by writers of my own country; but the younger naturalists are almost all on my side, and sooner or later the public must follow those who make the subject their special study. the abuse and contempt of ignorant writers hurts me very little... chapter .vi. -- work on 'man.' - . [in the autobiographical chapter in volume i., my father gives the circumstances which led to his writing the 'descent of man.' he states that his collection of facts, begun in or , was continued for many years without any definite idea of publishing on the subject. the following letter to mr. wallace shows that in the period of ill-health and depression about he despaired of ever being able to do so:] charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, [may?] [ ]. dear wallace, i am so much better that i have just finished a paper for linnean society (on the three forms, etc., of lythrum.); but i am not yet at all strong, i felt much disinclination to write, and therefore you must forgive me for not having sooner thanked you for your paper on 'man' ('anthropological review,' march .), received on the th. but first let me say that i have hardly ever in my life been more struck by any paper than that on 'variation,' etc. etc., in the "reader". ('"reader", april , . "on the phenomena of variation," etc. abstract of a paper read before the linnean society, march , .) i feel sure that such papers will do more for the spreading of our views on the modification of species than any separate treatises on the simple subject itself. it is really admirable; but you ought not in the man paper to speak of the theory as mine; it is just as much yours as mine. one correspondent has already noticed to me your "high-minded" conduct on this head. but now for your man paper, about which i should like to write more than i can. the great leading idea is quite new to me, viz. that during late ages, the mind will have been modified more than the body; yet i had got as far as to see with you that the struggle between the races of man depended entirely on intellectual and moral qualities. the latter part of the paper i can designate only as grand and most eloquently done. i have shown your paper to two or three persons who have been here, and they have been equally struck with it. i am not sure that i go with you on all minor points: when reading sir g. grey's account of the constant battles of australian savages, i remember thinking that natural selection would come in, and likewise with the esquimaux, with whom the art of fishing and managing canoes is said to be hereditary. i rather differ on the rank, under a classificatory point of view, which you assign to man; i do not think any character simply in excess ought ever to be used for the higher divisions. ants would not be separated from other hymenopterous insects, however high the instinct of the one, and however low the instincts of the other. with respect to the differences of race, a conjecture has occurred to me that much may be due to the correlation of complexion (and consequently hair) with constitution. assume that a dusky individual best escaped miasma, and you will readily see what i mean. i persuaded the director-general of the medical department of the army to send printed forms to the surgeons of all regiments in tropical countries to ascertain this point, but i dare say i shall never get any returns. secondly, i suspect that a sort of sexual selection has been the most powerful means of changing the races of man. i can show that the different races have a widely different standard of beauty. among savages the most powerful men will have the pick of the women, and they will generally leave the most descendants. i have collected a few notes on man, but i do not suppose that i shall ever use them. do you intend to follow out your views, and if so, would you like at some future time to have my few references and notes? i am sure i hardly know whether they are of any value, and they are at present in a state of chaos. there is much more that i should like to write, but i have not strength. believe me, dear wallace, yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. p.s.--our aristocracy is handsomer (more hideous according to a chinese or negro) than the middle classes, from (having the) pick of the women; but oh, what a scheme is primogeniture for destroying natural selection! i fear my letter will be barely intelligible to you. [in february , when the manuscript of 'animals and plants' had been sent to messrs. clowes to be printed, and before the proofs began to come in, he had an interval of spare time, and began a "chapter on man," but he soon found it growing under his hands, and determined to publish it separately as a "very small volume." the work was interrupted by the necessity of correcting the proofs of 'animals and plants,' and by some botanical work, but was resumed in the following year, , the moment he could give himself up to it. he recognized with regret the gradual change in his mind that rendered continuous work more and more necessary to him as he grew older. this is expressed in a letter to sir j.d. hooker, june , , which repeats to some extent what is expressed in the autobiography:-- "i am glad you were at the 'messiah,' it is the one thing that i should like to hear again, but i dare say i should find my soul too dried up to appreciate it as in old days; and then i should feel very flat, for it is a horrid bore to feel as i constantly do, that i am a withered leaf for every subject except science. it sometimes makes me hate science, though god knows i ought to be thankful for such a perennial interest, which makes me forget for some hours every day my accursed stomach." the work on man was interrupted by illness in the early summer of , and he left home on july th for freshwater, in the isle of wight, where he remained with his family until august st. here he made the acquaintance of mrs. cameron. she received the whole family with open-hearted kindness and hospitality, and my father always retained a warm feeling of friendship for her. she made an excellent photograph of him, which was published with the inscription written by him: "i like this photograph very much better than any other which has been taken of me." further interruption occurred in the autumn so that continuous work on the 'descent of man' did not begin until . the following letters give some idea of the earlier work in :] charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, february , [ ?]. my dear wallace, i am hard at work on sexual selection, and am driven half mad by the number of collateral points which require investigation, such as the relative number of the two sexes, and especially on polygamy. can you aid me with respect to birds which have strongly marked secondary sexual characters, such as birds of paradise, humming-birds, the rupicola, or any other such cases? many gallinaceous birds certainly are polygamous. i suppose that birds may be known not to be polygamous if they are seen during the whole breeding season to associate in pairs, or if the male incubates or aids in feeding the young. will you have the kindness to turn this in your mind? but it is a shame to trouble you now that, as i am heartily glad to hear, you are at work on your malayan travels. i am fearfully puzzled how far to extend your protective views with respect to the females in various classes. the more i work the more important sexual selection apparently comes out. can butterflies be polygamous! i.e. will one male impregnate more than one female? forgive me troubling you, and i dare say i shall have to ask forgiveness again... charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, february [ ]. dear wallace, i much regretted that i was unable to call on you, but after monday i was unable even to leave the house. on monday evening i called on bates, and put a difficulty before him, which he could not answer, and, as on some former similar occasion, his first suggestion was, "you had better ask wallace." my difficulty is, why are caterpillars sometimes so beautifully and artistically coloured? seeing that many are coloured to escape danger, i can hardly attribute their bright colour in other cases to mere physical conditions. bates says the most gaudy caterpillar he ever saw in amazonia (of a sphinx) was conspicuous at the distance of yards, from its black and red colours, whilst feeding on large green leaves. if any one objected to male butterflies having been made beautiful by sexual selection, and asked why should they not have been made beautiful as well as their caterpillars, what would you answer? i could not answer, but should maintain my ground. will you think over this, and some time, either by letter or when we meet, tell me what you think? also i want to know whether your female mimetic butterfly is more beautiful and brighter than the male. when next in london i must get you to show me your kingfishers. my health is a dreadful evil; i failed in half my engagements during this last visit to london. believe me, yours very sincerely, c. darwin. charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, february [ ]. my dear wallace, bates was quite right; you are the man to apply to in a difficulty. i never heard anything more ingenious than your suggestion (the suggestion that conspicuous caterpillars or perfect insects (e.g. white butterflies), which are distasteful to birds, are protected by being easily recognised and avoided. see mr. wallace's 'natural selection,' nd edition, page .), and i hope you may be able to prove it true. that is a splendid fact about the white moths; it warms one's very blood to see a theory thus almost proved to be true. (mr. jenner weir's observations published in the transactions of the entomolog. soc. ( and ) give strong support to the theory in question.) with respect to the beauty of male butterflies, i must as yet think it is due to sexual selection. there is some evidence that dragon-flies are attracted by bright colours; but what leads me to the above belief is, so many male orthoptera and cicadas having musical instruments. this being the case, the analogy of birds makes me believe in sexual selection with respect to colour in insects. i wish i had strength and time to make some of the experiments suggested by you, but i thought butterflies would not pair in confinement. i am sure i have heard of some such difficulty. many years ago i had a dragon-fly painted with gorgeous colours, but i never had an opportunity of fairly trying it. the reason of my being so much interested just at present about sexual selection is, that i have almost resolved to publish a little essay on the origin of mankind, and i still strongly think (though i failed to convince you, and this, to me, is the heaviest blow possible) that sexual selection has been the main agent in forming the races of man. by the way, there is another subject which i shall introduce in my essay, namely, expression of countenance. now, do you happen to know by any odd chance a very good-natured and acute observer in the malay archipelago, who you think would make a few easy observations for me on the expression of the malays when excited by various emotions? for in this case i would send to such person a list of queries. i thank you for your most interesting letter, and remain, yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, march [ ]. my dear wallace, i thank you much for your two notes. the case of julia pastrana (a bearded woman having an irregular double set of teeth. 'animals and plants,' volume ii. page .) is a splendid addition to my other cases of correlated teeth and hair, and i will add it in correcting the press of my present volume. pray let me hear in the course of the summer if you get any evidence about the gaudy caterpillars. i should much like to give (or quote if published) this idea of yours, if in any way supported, as suggested by you. it will, however, be a long time hence, for i can see that sexual selection is growing into quite a large subject, which i shall introduce into my essay on man, supposing that i ever publish it. i had intended giving a chapter on man, inasmuch as many call him (not quite truly) an eminently domesticated animal, but i found the subject too large for a chapter. nor shall i be capable of treating the subject well, and my sole reason for taking it up is, that i am pretty well convinced that sexual selection has played an important part in the formation of races, and sexual selection has always been a subject which has interested me much. i have been very glad to see your impression from memory on the expression of malays. i fully agree with you that the subject is in no way an important one; it is simply a "hobby-horse" with me, about twenty-seven years old; and after thinking that i would write an essay on man, it flashed on me that i could work in some "supplemental remarks on expression." after the horrid, tedious, dull work of my present huge, and i fear unreadable, book ['the variation of animals and plants'], i thought i would amuse myself with my hobby-horse. the subject is, i think, more curious and more amenable to scientific treatment than you seem willing to allow. i want, anyhow, to upset sir c. bell's view, given in his most interesting work, 'the anatomy of expression,' that certain muscles have been given to man solely that he may reveal to other men his feelings. i want to try and show how expressions have arisen. that is a good suggestion about newspapers, but my experience tells me that private applications are generally most fruitful. i will, however, see if i can get the queries inserted in some indian paper. i do not know the names or addresses of any other papers. ... my two female amanuenses are busy with friends, and i fear this scrawl will give you much trouble to read. with many thanks, yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. [the following letter may be worth giving, as an example of his sources of information, and as showing what were the thoughts at this time occupying him:] charles darwin to f. muller. down, february [ ]. ... many thanks for all the curious facts about the unequal number of the sexes in crustacea, but the more i investigate this subject the deeper i sink in doubt and difficulty. thanks also for the confirmation of the rivalry of cicadae. i have often reflected with surprise on the diversity of the means for producing music with insects, and still more with birds. we thus get a high idea of the importance of song in the animal kingdom. please to tell me where i can find any account of the auditory organs in the orthoptera. your facts are quite new to me. scudder has described an insect in the devonian strata, furnished with a stridulating apparatus. i believe he is to be trusted, and, if so, the apparatus is of astonishing antiquity. after reading landois's paper i have been working at the stridulating organ in the lamellicorn beetles, in expectation of finding it sexual; but i have only found it as yet in two cases, and in these it was equally developed in both sexes. i wish you would look at any of your common lamellicorns, and take hold of both males and females, and observe whether they make the squeaking or grating noise equally. if they do not, you could, perhaps, send me a male and female in a light little box. how curious it is that there should be a special organ for an object apparently so unimportant as squeaking. here is another point; have you any toucans? if so, ask any trustworthy hunter whether the beaks of the males, or of both sexes, are more brightly coloured during the breeding season than at other times of the year... heaven knows whether i shall ever live to make use of half the valuable facts which you have communicated to me! your paper on balanus armatus, translated by mr. dallas, has just appeared in our 'annals and magazine of natural history,' and i have read it with the greatest interest. i never thought that i should live to hear of a hybrid balanus! i am very glad that you have seen the cement tubes; they appear to me extremely curious, and, as far as i know, you are the first man who has verified my observations on this point. with most cordial thanks for all your kindness, my dear sir, yours very sincerely, c. darwin. charles darwin to a. de candolle. down, july , . my dear sir, i return you my sincere thanks for your long letter, which i consider a great compliment, and which is quite full of most interesting facts and views. your references and remarks will be of great use should a new edition of my book ('variation of animals and plants.') be demanded, but this is hardly probable, for the whole edition was sold within the first week, and another large edition immediately reprinted, which i should think would supply the demand for ever. you ask me when i shall publish on the 'variation of species in a state of nature.' i have had the ms. for another volume almost ready during several years, but i was so much fatigued by my last book that i determined to amuse myself by publishing a short essay on the 'descent of man.' i was partly led to do this by having been taunted that i concealed my views, but chiefly from the interest which i had long taken in the subject. now this essay has branched out into some collateral subjects, and i suppose will take me more than a year to complete. i shall then begin on 'species,' but my health makes me a very slow workman. i hope that you will excuse these details, which i have given to show that you will have plenty of time to publish your views first, which will be a great advantage to me. of all the curious facts which you mention in your letter, i think that of the strong inheritance of the scalp-muscles has interested me most. i presume that you would not object to my giving this very curious case on your authority. as i believe all anatomists look at the scalp-muscles as a remnant of the panniculus carnosus which is common to all the lower quadrupeds, i should look at the unusual development and inheritance of these muscles as probably a case of reversion. your observation on so many remarkable men in noble families having been illegitimate is extremely curious; and should i ever meet any one capable of writing an essay on this subject, i will mention your remarks as a good suggestion. dr. hooker has several times remarked to me that morals and politics would be very interesting if discussed like any branch of natural history, and this is nearly to the same effect with your remarks... charles darwin to l. agassiz. down, august , . dear sir, i thank you cordially for your very kind letter. i certainly thought that you had formed so low an opinion of my scientific work that it might have appeared indelicate in me to have asked for information from you, but it never occurred to me that my letter would have been shown to you. i have never for a moment doubted your kindness and generosity, and i hope you will not think it presumption in me to say, that when we met, many years ago, at the british association at southampton, i felt for you the warmest admiration. your information on the amazonian fishes has interested me extremely, and tells me exactly what i wanted to know. i was aware, through notes given me by dr. gunther, that many fishes differed sexually in colour and other characters, but i was particularly anxious to learn how far this was the case with those fishes in which the male, differently from what occurs with most birds, takes the largest share in the care of the ova and young. your letter has not only interested me much, but has greatly gratified me in other respects, and i return you my sincere thanks for your kindness. pray believe me, my dear sir, yours very faithfully, charles darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, sunday, august [ ]. my dear old friend, i have received your note. i can hardly say how pleased i have been at the success of your address (sir joseph hooker was president of the british association at the norwich meeting in .), and of the whole meeting. i have seen the "times", "telegraph", "spectator", and "athenaeum", and have heard of other favourable newspapers, and have ordered a bundle. there is a "chorus of praise." the "times" reported miserably, i.e. as far as errata was concerned; but i was very glad at the leader, for i thought the way you brought in the megalithic monuments most happy. (the british association was desirous of interesting the government in certain modern cromlech builders, the khasia race of east bengal, in order that their megalithic monuments might be efficiently described.) i particularly admired tyndall's little speech (professor tyndall was president of section a.)... the "spectator" pitches a little into you about theology, in accordance with its usual spirit... your great success has rejoiced my heart. i have just carefully read the whole address in the "athenaeum"; and though, as you know, i liked it very much when you read it to me, yet, as i was trying all the time to find fault, i missed to a certain extent the effect as a whole; and this now appears to me most striking and excellent. how you must rejoice at all your bothering labour and anxiety having had so grand an end. i must say a word about myself; never has such a eulogium been passed on me, and it makes me very proud. i cannot get over my amazement at what you say about my botanical work. by jove, as far as my memory goes, you have strengthened instead of weakened some of the expressions. what is far more important than anything personal, is the conviction which i feel that you will have immensely advanced the belief in the evolution of species. this will follow from the publicity of the occasion, your position, so responsible, as president, and your own high reputation. it will make a great step in public opinion, i feel sure, and i had not thought of this before. the "athenaeum" takes your snubbing (sir joseph hooker made some reference to the review of 'animals and plants' in the "athenaeum" of february , .) with the utmost mildness. i certainly do rejoice over the snubbing, and hope [the reviewer] will feel it a little. whenever you have spare time to write again, tell me whether any astronomers (in discussing the astronomer's objection to evolution, namely that our globe has not existed for a long enough period to give time for the assumed transmutation of living beings, hooker challenged whewell's dictum that, astronomy is the queen of sciences--the only perfect science.) took your remarks in ill part; as they now stand they do not seem at all too harsh and presumptuous. many of your sentences strike me as extremely felicitous and eloquent. that of lyell's "under-pinning" (after a eulogium on sir charles lyell's heroic renunciation of his old views in accepting evolution, sir j.d. hooker continued, "well may he be proud of a superstructure, raised on the foundations of an insecure doctrine, when he finds that he can underpin it and substitute a new foundation; and after all is finished, survey his edifice, not only more secure but more harmonious in its proportion than it was before."), is capital. tell me, was lyell pleased? i am so glad that you remembered my old dedication. (the 'naturalist's voyage' was dedicated to lyell.) was wallace pleased? how about photographs? can you spare time for a line to our dear mrs. cameron? she came to see us off, and loaded us with presents of photographs, and erasmus called after her, "mrs. cameron, there are six people in this house all in love with you." when i paid her, she cried out, "oh what a lot of money!" and ran to boast to her husband. i must not write any more, though i am in tremendous spirits at your brilliant success. yours ever affectionately, c. darwin. [in the "athenaeum" of november , , appeared an article which was in fact a reply to sir joseph hooker's remarks at norwich. he seems to have consulted my father as to the wisdom of answering the article. my father wrote on september : "in my opinion dr. joseph dalton hooker need take no notice of the attack in the "athenaeum" in reference to mr. charles darwin. what an ass the man is to think he cuts one to the quick by giving one's christian name in full. how transparently false is the statement that my sole groundwork is from pigeons, because i state i have worked them out more fully than other beings! he muddles together two books of flourens." the following letter refers to a paper ('transactions of the ottawa academy of natural sciences,' , by john d. caton, late chief justice of illinois.) by judge caton, of which my father often spoke with admiration:] charles darwin to john d. caton. down, september , . dear sir, i beg leave to thank you very sincerely for your kindness in sending me, through mr. walsh, your admirable paper on american deer. it is quite full of most interesting observations, stated with the greatest clearness. i have seldom read a paper with more interest, for it abounds with facts of direct use for my work. many of them consist of little points which hardly any one besides yourself has observed, or perceived the importance of recording. i would instance the age at which the horns are developed (a point on which i have lately been in vain searching for information), the rudiment of horns in the female elk, and especially the different nature of the plants devoured by the deer and elk, and several other points. with cordial thanks for the pleasure and instruction which you have afforded me, and with high respect for your power of observation, i beg leave to remain, dear sir, yours faithfully and obliged, charles darwin. [the following extract from a letter (september , ) to the marquis de saporta, the eminent palaeo-botanist, refers to the growth of evolutionary views in france (in he was pleased at being asked to authorise a french translation of his 'naturalist's voyage.':-- "as i have formerly read with great interest many of your papers on fossil plants, you may believe with what high satisfaction i hear that you are a believer in the gradual evolution of species. i had supposed that my book on the 'origin of species' had made very little impression in france, and therefore it delights me to hear a different statement from you. all the great authorities of the institute seem firmly resolved to believe in the immutability of species, and this has always astonished me... almost the one exception, as far as i know, is m. gaudry, and i think he will be soon one of the chief leaders in zoological palaeontology in europe; and now i am delighted to hear that in the sister department of botany you take nearly the same view."] charles darwin to e. haeckel. down, november [ ]. my dear haeckel, i must write to you again, for two reasons. firstly, to thank you for your letter about your baby, which has quite charmed both me and my wife; i heartily congratulate you on its birth. i remember being surprised in my own case how soon the paternal instincts became developed, and in you they seem to be unusually strong,... i hope the large blue eyes and the principles of inheritance will make your child as good a naturalist as you are; but, judging from my own experience, you will be astonished to find how the whole mental disposition of your children changes with advancing years. a young child, and the same when nearly grown, sometimes differ almost as much as do a caterpillar and butterfly. the second point is to congratulate you on the projected translation of your great work ('generelle morphologie,' . no english translation of this book has appeared.), about which i heard from huxley last sunday. i am heartily glad of it, but how it has been brought about, i know not, for a friend who supported the supposed translation at norwich, told me he thought there would be no chance of it. huxley tells me that you consent to omit and shorten some parts, and i am confident that this is very wise. as i know your object is to instruct the public, you will assuredly thus get many more readers in england. indeed, i believe that almost every book would be improved by condensation. i have been reading a good deal of your last book ('die naturliche schopfungs-geschichte,' . it was translated and published in , under the title, 'the history of creation.'), and the style is beautifully clear and easy to me; but why it should differ so much in this respect from your great work i cannot imagine. i have not yet read the first part, but began with the chapter on lyell and myself, which you will easily believe pleased me very much. i think lyell, who was apparently much pleased by your sending him a copy, is also much gratified by this chapter. (see lyell's interesting letter to haeckel. 'life of sir c. lyell,' ii. page .) your chapters on the affinities and genealogy of the animal kingdom strike me as admirable and full of original thought. your boldness, however, sometimes makes me tremble, but as huxley remarked, some one must be bold enough to make a beginning in drawing up tables of descent. although you fully admit the imperfection of the geological record, yet huxley agreed with me in thinking that you are sometimes rather rash in venturing to say at what periods the several groups first appeared. i have this advantage over you, that i remember how wonderfully different any statement on this subject made years ago, would have been to what would now be the case, and i expect the next years will make quite as great a difference. reflect on the monocotyledonous plant just discovered in the primordial formation in sweden. i repeat how glad i am at the prospect of the translation, for i fully believe that this work and all your works will have a great influence in the advancement of science. believe me, my dear haeckel, your sincere friend, charles darwin. [it was in november of this year that he sat for the bust by mr. woolner: he wrote:-- "i should have written long ago, but i have been pestered with stupid letters, and am undergoing the purgatory of sitting for hours to woolner, who, however, is wonderfully pleasant, and lightens as much as man can, the penance; as far as i can judge, it will make a fine bust." if i may criticise the work of so eminent a sculptor as mr. woolner, i should say that the point in which the bust fails somewhat as a portrait, is that it has a certain air, almost of pomposity, which seems to me foreign to my father's expression.] . [at the beginning of the year he was at work in preparing the fifth edition of the 'origin.' this work was begun on the day after christmas, , and was continued for "forty-six days," as he notes in his diary, i.e. until february th, . he then, february th, returned to sexual selection, and continued at this subject (excepting for ten days given up to orchids, and a week in london), until june th, when he went with his family to north wales, where he remained about seven weeks, returning to down on july st. caerdeon, the house where he stayed, is built on the north shore of the beautiful barmouth estuary, and is pleasantly placed, in being close to wild hill country behind, as well as to the picturesque wooded "hummocks," between the steeper hills and the river. my father was ill and somewhat depressed throughout this visit, and i think felt saddened at being imprisoned by his want of strength, and unable even to reach the hills over which he had once wandered for days together. he wrote from caerdeon to sir j.d. hooker (june nd):-- "we have been here for ten days, how i wish it was possible for you to pay us a visit here; we have a beautiful house with a terraced garden, and a really magnificent view of cader, right opposite. old cader is a grand fellow, and shows himself off superbly with every changing light. we remain here till the end of july, when the h. wedgwoods have the house. i have been as yet in a very poor way; it seems as soon as the stimulus of mental work stops, my whole strength gives way. as yet i have hardly crawled half a mile from the house, and then have been fearfully fatigued. it is enough to make one wish oneself quiet in a comfortable tomb." with regard to the fifth edition of the 'origin,' he wrote to mr. wallace (january , ):-- "i have been interrupted in my regular work in preparing a new edition of the 'origin,' which has cost me much labour, and which i hope i have considerably improved in two or three important points. i always thought individual differences more important than single variations, but now i have come to the conclusion that they are of paramount importance, and in this i believe i agree with you. fleeming jenkin's arguments have convinced me." this somewhat obscure sentence was explained, february , in another letter to mr. wallace:-- "i must have expressed myself atrociously; i meant to say exactly the reverse of what you have understood. f. jenkin argued in the 'north british review' against single variations ever being perpetuated, and has convinced me, though not in quite so broad a manner as here put. i always thought individual differences more important; but i was blind and thought that single variations might be preserved much oftener than i now see is possible or probable. i mentioned this in my former note merely because i believed that you had come to a similar conclusion, and i like much to be in accord with you. i believe i was mainly deceived by single variations offering such simple illustrations, as when man selects." the late mr. fleeming jenkin's review, on the 'origin of species,' was published in the 'north british review' for june . it is not a little remarkable that the criticisms, which my father, as i believe, felt to be the most valuable ever made on his views should have come, not from a professed naturalist but from a professor of engineering. it is impossible to give in a short compass an account of fleeming jenkin's argument. my father's copy of the paper (ripped out of the volume as usual, and tied with a bit of string) is annotated in pencil in many places. i may quote one passage opposite which my father has written "good sneers"--but it should be remembered that he used the word "sneer" in rather a special sense, not as necessarily implying a feeling of bitterness in the critic, but rather in the sense of "banter." speaking of the 'true believer,' fleeming jenkin says, page :-- "he can invent trains of ancestors of whose existence there is no evidence; he can marshal hosts of equally imaginary foes; he can call up continents, floods, and peculiar atmospheres; he can dry up oceans, split islands, and parcel out eternity at will; surely with these advantages he must be a dull fellow if he cannot scheme some series of animals and circumstances explaining our assumed difficulty quite naturally. feeling the difficulty of dealing with adversaries who command so huge a domain of fancy, we will abandon these arguments, and trust to those which at least cannot be assailed by mere efforts of imagination." in the fifth edition of the 'origin,' my father altered a passage in the historical sketch (fourth edition page xviii.). he thus practically gave up the difficult task of understanding whether or no sir r. owen claims to have discovered the principle of natural selection. adding, "as far as the mere enunciation of the principle of natural selection is concerned, it is quite immaterial whether or not professor owen preceded me, for both of us... were long ago preceded by dr. wells and mr. matthew." a somewhat severe critique on the fifth edition, by mr. john robertson, appeared in the "athenaeum", august , . the writer comments with some little bitterness on the success of the 'origin:' "attention is not acceptance. many editions do not mean real success. the book has sold; the guess has been talked over; and the circulation and discussion sum up the significance of the editions." mr. robertson makes the true, but misleading statement: "mr. darwin prefaces his fifth english edition with an essay, which he calls 'an historical sketch,' etc." as a matter of fact the sketch appeared in the third edition in . mr. robertson goes on to say that the sketch ought to be called a collection of extracts anticipatory or corroborative of the hypothesis of natural selection. "for no account is given of any hostile opinions. the fact is very significant. this historical sketch thus resembles the histories of the reign of louis xviii., published after the restoration, from which the republic and the empire, robespierre and buonaparte were omitted." the following letter to prof. victor carus gives an idea of the character of the new edition of the 'origin:'] charles darwin to victor carus. down, may , . ... i have gone very carefully through the whole, trying to make some parts clearer, and adding a few discussions and facts of some importance. the new edition is only two pages at the end longer than the old; though in one part nine pages in advance, for i have condensed several parts and omitted some passages. the translation i fear will cause you a great deal of trouble; the alterations took me six weeks, besides correcting the press; you ought to make a special agreement with m. koch [the publisher]. many of the corrections are only a few words, but they have been made from the evidence on various points appearing to have become a little stronger or weaker. thus i have been led to place somewhat more value on the definite and direct action of external conditions; to think the lapse of time, as measured by years, not quite so great as most geologists have thought; and to infer that single variations are of even less importance, in comparison with individual differences, than i formerly thought. i mention these points because i have been thus led to alter in many places a few words; and unless you go through the whole new edition, one part will not agree with another, which would be a great blemish... [the desire that his views might spread in france was always strong with my father, and he was therefore justly annoyed to find that in the editor of the first french edition had brought out a third edition without consulting the author. he was accordingly glad to enter into an arrangement for a french translation of the fifth edition; this was undertaken by m. reinwald, with whom he continued to have pleasant relations as the publisher of many of his books into french. he wrote to sir j.d. hooker:-- "i must enjoy myself and tell you about mdlle. c. royer, who translated the 'origin' into french, and for whose second edition i took infinite trouble. she has now just brought out a third edition without informing me, so that all the corrections, etc., in the fourth and fifth english editions are lost. besides her enormously long preface to the first edition, she has added a second preface abusing me like a pick-pocket for pangenesis, which of course has no relation to the 'origin.' so i wrote to paris; and reinwald agrees to bring out at once a new translation from the fifth english edition, in competition with her third edition... this fact shows that "evolution of species" must at last be spreading in france." with reference to the spread of evolution among the orthodox, the following letter is of some interest. in march he received, from the author, a copy of a lecture by rev. t.r.r. stebbing, given before the torquay natural history society, february , , bearing the title "darwinism." my father wrote to mr. stebbing:] dear sir, i am very much obliged to you for your kindness in sending me your spirited and interesting lecture; if a layman had delivered the same address, he would have done good service in spreading what, as i hope and believe, is to a large extent the truth; but a clergyman in delivering such an address does, as it appears to me, much more good by his power to shake ignorant prejudices, and by setting, if i may be permitted to say so, an admirable example of liberality. with sincere respect, i beg leave to remain, dear sir, yours faithfully and obliged, charles darwin. [the references to the subject of expression in the following letter are explained by the fact that my father's original intention was to give his essay on this subject as a chapter in the 'descent of man,' which in its turn grew, as we have seen, out of a proposed chapter in 'animals and plants:'] charles darwin to f. muller. down, february [ ?]. ... although you have aided me to so great an extent in many ways, i am going to beg for any information on two other subjects. i am preparing a discussion on "sexual selection," and i want much to know how low down in the animal scale sexual selection of a particular kind extends. do you know of any lowly organised animals, in which the sexes are separated, and in which the male differs from the female in arms of offence, like the horns and tusks of male mammals, or in gaudy plumage and ornaments, as with birds and butterflies? i do not refer to secondary sexual characters, by which the male is able to discover the female, like the plumed antennae of moths, or by which the male is enabled to seize the female, like the curious pincers described by you in some of the lower crustaceans. but what i want to know is, how low in the scale sexual differences occur which require some degree of self-consciousness in the males, as weapons by which they fight for the female, or ornaments which attract the opposite sex. any differences between males and females which follow different habits of life would have to be excluded. i think you will easily see what i wish to learn. a priori, it would never have been anticipated that insects would have been attracted by the beautiful colouring of the opposite sex, or by the sounds emitted by the various musical instruments of the male orthoptera. i know no one so likely to answer this question as yourself, and should be grateful for any information, however small. my second subject refers to expression of countenance, to which i have long attended, and on which i feel a keen interest; but to which, unfortunately, i did not attend when i had the opportunity of observing various races of man. it has occurred to me that you might, without much trouble, make a few observations for me, in the course of some months, on negroes, or possibly on native south americans, though i care most about negroes; accordingly i enclose some questions as a guide, and if you could answer me even one or two i should feel truly obliged. i am thinking of writing a little essay on the origin of mankind, as i have been taunted with concealing my opinions, and i should do this immediately after the completion of my present book. in this case i should add a chapter on the cause or meaning of expression... [the remaining letters of this year deal chiefly with the books, reviews, etc., which interested him.] charles darwin to h. thiel. down, february , . dear sir, on my return home after a short absence, i found your very courteous note, and the pamphlet ('ueber einige formen der landwirthschaftlichen genossenschaften.' by dr. h. thiel, then of the agricultural station at poppelsdorf.), and i hasten to thank you for both, and for the very honourable mention which you make of my name. you will readily believe how much interested i am in observing that you apply to moral and social questions analogous views to those which i have used in regard to the modification of species. it did not occur to me formerly that my views could be extended to such widely different, and most important, subjects. with much respect, i beg leave to remain, dear sir, yours faithfully and obliged, charles darwin. charles darwin to t.h. huxley. down, march [ ]. my dear huxley, thanks for your 'address.' (in his 'anniversary address' to the geological society, , mr. huxley criticised sir william thomson's paper ('trans. geol. soc., glasgow,' volume iii.) "on geological time.") people complain of the unequal distribution of wealth, but it is a much greater shame and injustice that any one man should have the power to write so many brilliant essays as you have lately done. there is no one who writes like you... if i were in your shoes, i should tremble for my life. i agree with all you say, except that i must think that you draw too great a distinction between the evolutionists and the uniformitarians. i find that the few sentences which i have sent to press in the 'origin' about the age of the world will do fairly well... ever yours, c. darwin. charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, march [ ]. my dear wallace, i have finished your book ('the malay archipelago,' etc., .); it seems to me excellent, and at the same time most pleasant to read. that you ever returned alive is wonderful after all your risks from illness and sea voyages, especially that most interesting one to waigiou and back. of all the impressions which i have received from your book, the strongest is that your perseverance in the cause of science was heroic. your descriptions of catching the splendid butterflies have made me quite envious, and at the same time have made me feel almost young again, so vividly have they brought before my mind old days when i collected, though i never made such captures as yours. certainly collecting is the best sport in the world. i shall be astonished if your book has not a great success; and your splendid generalizations on geographical distribution, with which i am familiar from your papers, will be new to most of your readers. i think i enjoyed most the timor case, as it is best demonstrated; but perhaps celebes is really the most valuable. i should prefer looking at the whole asiatic continent as having formerly been more african in its fauna, than admitting the former existence of a continent across the indian ocean... [the following letter refers to mr. wallace's article in the april number of the 'quarterly review' (my father wrote to mr. murray: "the article by wallace is inimitably good, and it is a great triumph that such an article should appear in the 'quarterly,' and will make the bishop of oxford and --gnash their teeth."), , which to a large extent deals with the tenth edition of sir charles lyell's 'principles,' published in and . the review contains a striking passage on sir charles lyell's confession of evolutionary faith in the tenth edition of his 'principles,' which is worth quoting: "the history of science hardly presents so striking an instance of youthfulness of mind in advanced life as is shown by this abandonment of opinions so long held and so powerfully advocated; and if we bear in mind the extreme caution, combined with the ardent love of truth which characterise every work which our author has produced, we shall be convinced that so great a change was not decided on without long and anxious deliberation, and that the views now adopted must indeed be supported by arguments of overwhelming force. if for no other reason than that sir charles lyell in his tenth edition has adopted it, the theory of mr. darwin deserves an attentive and respectful consideration from every earnest seeker after truth."] charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, april , . my dear wallace, i have been wonderfully interested by your article, and i should think lyell will be much gratified by it. i declare if i had been editor, and had the power of directing you, i should have selected for discussion the very points which you have chosen. i have often said to younger geologists (for i began in the year ) that they did not know what a revolution lyell had effected; nevertheless, your extracts from cuvier have quite astonished me. though not able really to judge, i am inclined to put more confidence in croll than you seem to do; but i have been much struck by many of your remarks on degradation. thomson's views of the recent age of the world have been for some time one of my sorest troubles, and so i have been glad to read what you say. your exposition of natural selection seems to me inimitably good; there never lived a better expounder than you. i was also much pleased at your discussing the difference between our views and lamarck's. one sometimes sees the odious expression, "justice to myself compels me to say," etc., but you are the only man i ever heard of who persistently does himself an injustice, and never demands justice. indeed, you ought in the review to have alluded to your paper in the 'linnean journal,' and i feel sure all our friends will agree in this. but you cannot "burke" yourself, however much you may try, as may be seen in half the articles which appear. i was asked but the other day by a german professor for your paper, which i sent him. altogether i look at your article as appearing in the 'quarterly' as an immense triumph for our cause. i presume that your remarks on man are those to which you alluded in your note. if you had not told me i should have thought that they had been added by some one else. as you expected, i differ grievously from you, and i am very sorry for it. i can see no necessity for calling in an additional and proximate cause in regard to man. (mr. wallace points out that any one acquainted merely with the "unaided productions of nature," might reasonably doubt whether a dray-horse, for example, could have been developed by the power of man directing the "action of the laws of variation, multiplication, and survival, for his own purpose. we know, however, that this has been done, and we must therefore admit the possibility that in the development of the human race, a higher intelligence has guided the same laws for nobler ends.") but the subject is too long for a letter. i have been particularly glad to read your discussion because i am now writing and thinking much about man. i hope that your malay book sells well; i was extremely pleased with the article in the 'quarterly journal of science,' inasmuch as it is thoroughly appreciative of your work: alas! you will probably agree with what the writer says about the uses of the bamboo. i hear that there is also a good article in the "saturday review", but have heard nothing more about it. believe me my dear wallace, yours ever sincerely, ch. darwin. charles darwin to c. lyell. down, may [ ]. my dear lyell, i have been applied to for some photographs (carte de visite) to be copied to ornament the diplomas of honorary members of a new society in servia! will you give me one for this purpose? i possess only a full-length one of you in my own album, and the face is too small, i think, to be copied. i hope that you get on well with your work, and have satisfied yourself on the difficult point of glacier lakes. thank heaven, i have finished correcting the new edition of the 'origin,' and am at my old work of sexual selection. wallace's article struck me as admirable; how well he brought out the revolution which you effected some years ago. i thought i had fully appreciated the revolution, but i was astounded at the extracts from cuvier. what a good sketch of natural selection! but i was dreadfully disappointed about man, it seems to me incredibly strange...; and had i not known to the contrary, would have sworn it had been inserted by some other hand. but i believe that you will not agree quite in all this. my dear lyell, ever yours sincerely, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.l.a. de quatrefages. down, may [ or ]. dear sir, i have received and read your volume (essays reprinted from the 'revue des deux mondes,' under the title 'histoire naturelle generale,' etc., .), and am much obliged for your present. the whole strikes me as a wonderfully clear and able discussion, and i was much interested by it to the last page. it is impossible that any account of my views could be fairer, or, as far as space permitted, fuller, than that which you have given. the way in which you repeatedly mention my name is most gratifying to me. when i had finished the second part, i thought that you had stated the case so favourably that you would make more converts on my side than on your own side. on reading the subsequent parts i had to change my sanguine view. in these latter parts many of your strictures are severe enough, but all are given with perfect courtesy and fairness. i can truly say i would rather be criticised by you in this manner than praised by many others. i agree with some of your criticisms, but differ entirely from the remainder; but i will not trouble you with any remarks. i may, however, say, that you must have been deceived by the french translation, as you infer that i believe that the parus and the nuthatch (or sitta) are related by direct filiation. i wished only to show by an imaginary illustration, how either instincts or structures might first change. if you had seen canis magellanicus alive you would have perceived how foxlike its appearance is, or if you had heard its voice, i think that you would never have hazarded the idea that it was a domestic dog run wild; but this does not much concern me. it is curious how nationality influences opinion; a week hardly passes without my hearing of some naturalist in germany who supports my views, and often puts an exaggerated value on my works; whilst in france i have not heard of a single zoologist, except m. gaudry (and he only partially), who supports my views. but i must have a good many readers as my books are translated, and i must hope, notwithstanding your strictures, that i may influence some embryo naturalists in france. you frequently speak of my good faith, and no compliment can be more delightful to me, but i may return you the compliment with interest, for every word which you write bears the stamp of your cordial love for the truth. believe me, dear sir, with sincere respect, yours very faithfully, charles darwin. charles darwin to t.h. huxley. down, october [ ]. my dear huxley, i have been delighted to see your review of haeckel (a review of haeckel's 'schopfungs-geschichte.' the "academy", . reprinted in 'critiques and addresses,' page .), and as usual you pile honours high on my head. but i write now (requiring no answer) to groan a little over what you have said about rudimentary organs. (in discussing teleology and haeckel's "dysteleology," prof. huxley says:--"such cases as the existence of lateral rudiments of toes, in the foot of a horse, place us in a dilemma. for either these rudiments are of no use to the animals, in which case... they surely ought to have disappeared; or they are of some use to the animal, in which case they are of no use as arguments against teleology."--('critiques and addresses,' page .) many heretics will take advantage of what you have said. i cannot but think that the explanation given at page of the last edition of the 'origin' of the long retention of rudimentary organs and of their greater relative size during early life, is satisfactory. their final and complete abortion seems to me a much greater difficulty. do look in my 'variations under domestication,' volume ii. page , at what pangenesis suggests on this head, though i did not dare to put in the 'origin.' the passage bears also a little on the struggle between the molecules or gemmules. ("it is a probable hypothesis, that what the world is to organisms in general, each organism is to the molecules of which it is composed. multitudes of these having diverse tendencies, are competing with one another for opportunity to exist and multiply; and the organism, as a whole, is as much the product of the molecules which are victorious as the fauna, or flora, of a country is the product of the victorious organic beings in it."--('critiques and addresses,' page .) there is likewise a word or two indirectly bearing on this subject at pages - . it won't take you five minutes, so do look at these passages. i am very glad that you have been bold enough to give your idea about natural selection amongst the molecules, though i can not quite follow you. and beginning of . [my father wrote in his diary:--"the whole of this year [ ] at work on the 'descent of man.'... went to press august , ." the letters are again of miscellaneous interest, dealing, not only with his work, but also serving to indicate the course of his reading.] charles darwin to e. ray lankester. down, march [ ]. my dear sir, i do not know whether you will consider me a very troublesome man, but i have just finished your book ('comparative longevity.'), and can not resist telling you how the whole has much interested me. no doubt, as you say, there must be much speculation on such a subject, and certain results can not be reached; but all your views are highly suggestive, and to my mind that is high praise. i have been all the more interested as i am now writing on closely allied though not quite identical points. i was pleased to see you refer to my much despised child, 'pangenesis,' who i think will some day, under some better nurse, turn out a fine stripling. it has also pleased me to see how thoroughly you appreciate (and i do not think that this is general with the men of science) h. spencer; i suspect that hereafter he will be looked at as by far the greatest living philosopher in england; perhaps equal to any that have lived. but i have no business to trouble you with my notions. with sincere thanks for the interest which your work has given me, i remain, yours very faithfully, ch. darwin. [the next letter refers to mr. wallace's 'natural selection' ( ), a collection of essays reprinted with certain alterations of which a list is given in the volume:] charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, april [ ]. my dear wallace, i have just received your book, and read the preface. there never has been passed on me, or indeed on any one, a higher eulogium than yours. i wish that i fully deserved it. your modesty and candour are very far from new to me. i hope it is a satisfaction to you to reflect--and very few things in my life have been more satisfactory to me--that we have never felt any jealousy towards each other, though in one sense rivals. i believe that i can say this of myself with truth, and i am absolutely sure that it is true of you. you have been a good christian to give a list of your additions, for i want much to read them, and i should hardly have had time just at present to have gone through all your articles. of course i shall immediately read those that are new or greatly altered, and i will endeavour to be as honest as can reasonably be expected. your book looks remarkably well got up. believe me, my dear wallace, to remain, yours very cordially, ch. darwin. [here follow one or two letters indicating the progress of the 'descent of man;' the woodcuts referred to were being prepared for that work:] charles darwin to a. gunther. (dr. gunther, keeper of zoology in the british museum.) march , [ ?]. dear gunther, as i do not know mr. ford's address, will you hand him this note, which is written solely to express my unbounded admiration of the woodcuts. i fairly gloat over them. the only evil is that they will make all the other woodcuts look very poor! they are all excellent, and for the feathers i declare i think it the most wonderful woodcut i ever saw; i can not help touching it to make sure that it is smooth. how i wish to see the two other, and even more important, ones of the feathers, and the four [of] reptiles, etc. once again accept my very sincere thanks for all your kindness. i am greatly indebted to mr. ford. engravings have always hitherto been my greatest misery, and now they are a real pleasure to me. yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. p.s.--i thought i should have been in press by this time, but my subject has branched off into sub-branches, which have cost me infinite time, and heaven knows when i shall have all my ms. ready, but i am never idle. charles darwin to a. gunther. may [ ]. my dear dr. gunther, sincere thanks. your answers are wonderfully clear and complete. i have some analogous questions on reptiles, etc., which i will send in a few days, and then i think i shall cause no more trouble. i will get the books you refer me to. the case of the solenostoma (in most of the lophobranchii the male has a marsupial sack in which the eggs are hatched, and in these species the male is slightly brighter coloured than the female. but in solenostoma the female is the hatcher, and is also the more brightly coloured.--'descent of man,' ii. .) is magnificent, so exactly analogous to that of those birds in which the female is the more gay, but ten times better for me, as she is the incubator. as i crawl on with the successive classes i am astonished to find how similar the rules are about the nuptial or "wedding dress" of all animals. the subject has begun to interest me in an extraordinary degree; but i must try not to fall into my common error of being too speculative. but a drunkard might as well say he would drink a little and not too much! my essay, as far as fishes, batrachians and reptiles are concerned, will be in fact yours, only written by me. with hearty thanks. yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. [the following letter is of interest, as showing the excessive care and pains which my father took in forming his opinion on a difficult point:] charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, september [undated]. my dear wallace, i am very much obliged for all your trouble in writing me your long letter, which i will keep by me and ponder over. to answer it would require at least folio pages! if you could see how often i have re-written some pages you would know how anxious i am to arrive as near as i can to the truth. i lay great stress on what i know takes place under domestication; i think we start with different fundamental notions on inheritance. i find it is most difficult, but not i think impossible, to see how, for instance, a few red feathers appearing on the head of a male bird, and which are at first transmitted to both sexes, could come to be transmitted to males alone. it is not enough that females should be produced from the males with red feathers, which should be destitute of red feathers; but these females must have a latent tendency to produce such feathers, otherwise they would cause deterioration in the red head-feathers of their male offspring. such latent tendency would be shown by their producing the red feathers when old, or diseased in their ovaria. but i have no difficulty in making the whole head red if the few red feathers in the male from the first tended to be sexually transmitted. i am quite willing to admit that the female may have been modified, either at the same time or subsequently, for protection by the accumulation of variations limited in their transmission to the female sex. i owe to your writings the consideration of this latter point. but i cannot yet persuade myself that females alone have often been modified for protection. should you grudge the trouble briefly to tell me whether you believe that the plainer head and less bright colours of a female chaffinch, the less red on the head and less clean colours of the female goldfinch, the much less red on the breast of the female bull-finch, the paler crest of golden-crested wren, etc., have been acquired by them for protection. i cannot think so any more than i can that the considerable differences between female and male house sparrow, or much greater brightness of the male parus coeruleus (both of which build under cover) than of the female parus, are related to protection. i even mis-doubt much whether the less blackness of the female blackbird is for protection. again, can you give me reasons for believing that the moderate differences between the female pheasant, the female gallus bankiva, the female black grouse, the pea-hen, the female partridge, [and their respective males,] have all special references to protection under slightly different conditions? i, of course, admit that they are all protected by dull colours, derived, as i think, from some dull-ground progenitor; and i account partly for their difference by partial transference of colour from the male and by other means too long to specify; but i earnestly wish to see reason to believe that each is specially adapted for concealment to its environment. i grieve to differ from you, and it actually terrifies me and makes me constantly distrust myself. i fear we shall never quite understand each other. i value the cases of bright-coloured, incubating male fishes, and brilliant female butterflies, solely as showing that one sex may be made brilliant without any necessary transference of beauty to the other sex; for in these cases i cannot suppose that beauty in the other sex was checked by selection. i fear this letter will trouble you to read it. a very short answer about your belief in regard to the female finches and gallinaceae would suffice. believe me, my dear wallace, yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, may [ ]. ... last friday we all went to the bull hotel at cambridge to see the boys, and for a little rest and enjoyment. the backs of the colleges are simply paradisaical. on monday i saw sedgwick, who was most cordial and kind; in the morning i thought his brain was enfeebled; in the evening he was brilliant and quite himself. his affection and kindness charmed us all. my visit to him was in one way unfortunate; for after a long sit he proposed to take me to the museum, and i could not refuse, and in consequence he utterly prostrated me; so that we left cambridge next morning, and i have not recovered the exhaustion yet. is it not humiliating to be thus killed by a man of eighty-six, who evidently never dreamed that he was killing me? as he said to me, "oh, i consider you as a mere baby to me!" i saw newton several times, and several nice friends of f.'s. but cambridge without dear henslow was not itself; i tried to get to the two old houses, but it was too far for me... charles darwin to b.j. sulivan. (admiral sir james sulivan was a lieutenant on board the "beagle".) down, june [ ]. my dear sulivan, it was very good of you to write to me so long a letter, telling me much about yourself and your children, which i was extremely glad to hear. think what a benighted wretch i am, seeing no one and reading but little in the newspapers, for i did not know (until seeing the paper of your natural history society) that you were a k.c.b. most heartily glad i am that the government have at last appreciated your most just claim for this high distinction. on the other hand, i am sorry to hear so poor an account of your health; but you were surely very rash to do all that you did and then pass through so exciting a scene as a ball at the palace. it was enough to have tired a man in robust health. complete rest will, however, i hope, quite set you up again. as for myself, i have been rather better of late, and if nothing disturbs me i can do some hours' work every day. i shall this autumn publish another book partly on man, which i dare say many will decry as very wicked. i could have travelled to oxford, but could no more have withstood the excitement of a commemoration (this refers to an invitation to receive the honorary degree of d.c.l. he was one of those nominated for the degree by lord salisbury on assuming the office of chancellor of the university of oxford. the fact that the honour was declined on the score of ill-health was published in the "oxford university gazette", june , .) than i could a ball at buckingham palace. many thanks for your kind remarks about my boys. thank god, all give me complete satisfaction; my fourth stands second at woolwich, and will be an engineer officer at christmas. my wife desires to be very kindly remembered to lady sulivan, in which i very sincerely join, and in congratulation about your daughter's marriage. we are at present solitary, for all our younger children are gone a tour in switzerland. i had never heard a word about the success of the t. del fuego mission. it is most wonderful, and shames me, as i always prophesied utter failure. it is a grand success. i shall feel proud if your committee think fit to elect me an honorary member of your society. with all good wishes and affectionate remembrances of ancient days, believe me, my dear sulivan, your sincere friend, ch. darwin. [my father's connection with the south american mission, which is referred to in the above letter, has given rise to some public comment, and has been to some extent misunderstood. the archbishop of canterbury, speaking at the annual meeting of the south american missionary society, april st, (i quote a 'leaflet,' published by the society.), said that the society "drew the attention of charles darwin, and made him, in his pursuit of the wonders of the kingdom of nature, realise that there was another kingdom just as wonderful and more lasting." some discussion on the subject appeared in the "daily news" of april rd, th, th, , and finally admiral sir james sulivan, on april th, wrote to the same journal, giving a clear account of my father's connection with the society:-- "your article in the "daily news" of yesterday induces me to give you a correct statement of the connection between the south american missionary society and mr. charles darwin, my old friend and shipmate for five years. i have been closely connected with the society from the time of captain allen gardiner's death, and mr. darwin has often expressed to me his conviction that it was utterly useless to send missionaries to such a set of savages as the fuegians, probably the very lowest of the human race. i had always replied that i did not believe any human beings existed too low to comprehend the simple message of the gospel of christ. after many years, i think about (it seems to have been in .), but i cannot find the letter, he wrote to me that the recent accounts of the mission proved to him that he had been wrong and i right in our estimates of the native character, and the possibility of doing them good through missionaries; and he requested me to forward to the society an enclosed cheque for pounds, as a testimony of the interest he took in their good work. on june th, , he wrote: 'i am very glad to hear so good an account of the fuegians, and it is wonderful.' on june th, : 'the progress of the fuegians is wonderful, and had it not occurred would have been to me quite incredible.' on january rd, : 'your extracts' [from a journal] 'about the fuegians are extremely curious, and have interested me much. i have often said that the progress of japan was the greatest wonder in the world, but i declare that the progress of fuegia is almost equally wonderful. on march th, : 'the account of the fuegians interested not only me, but all my family. it is truly wonderful what you have heard from mr. bridges about their honesty and their language. i certainly should have predicted that not all the missionaries in the world could have done what has been done.' on december st, , sending me his annual subscription to the orphanage at the mission station, he wrote: 'judging from the "missionary journal", the mission in tierra del fuego seems going on quite wonderfully well.'"] charles darwin to john lubbock. down, july , . my dear lubbock, as i hear that the census will be brought before the house to-morrow, i write to say how much i hope that you will express your opinion on the desirability of queries in relation to consanguineous marriages being inserted. as you are aware, i have made experiments on the subject during several years; and it is my clear conviction that there is now ample evidence of the existence of a great physiological law, rendering an enquiry with reference to mankind of much importance. in england and many parts of europe the marriages of cousins are objected to from their supposed injurious consequences; but this belief rests on no direct evidence. it is therefore manifestly desirable that the belief should either be proved false, or should be confirmed, so that in this latter case the marriages of cousins might be discouraged. if the proper queries are inserted, the returns would show whether married cousins have in their households on the night of the census as many children as have parents of who are not related; and should the number prove fewer, we might safely infer either lessened fertility in the parents, or which is more probable, lessened vitality in the offspring. it is, moreover, much to be wished that the truth of the often repeated assertion that consanguineous marriages lead to deafness, and dumbness, blindness, etc., should be ascertained; and all such assertions could be easily tested by the returns from a single census. believe me, yours very sincerely, charles darwin. [when the census act was passing through the house of commons, sir john lubbock and dr. playfair attempted to carry out this suggestion. the question came to a division, which was lost, but not by many votes. the subject of cousin marriages was afterwards investigated by my brother. ("marriages between first cousins in england, and their effects.' by george darwin. 'journal of the statistical society,' june, .) the results of this laborious piece of work were negative; the author sums up in the sentence:-- "my paper is far from giving any thing like a satisfactory solution of the question as to the effects of consanguineous marriages, but it does, i think, show that the assertion that this question has already been set at rest, cannot be substantiated."] chapter .vii. -- publication of the 'descent of man.' work on 'expression.' - . [the last revise of the 'descent of man' was corrected on january th, , so that the book occupied him for about three years. he wrote to sir j. hooker: "i finished the last proofs of my book a few days ago, the work half-killed me, and i have not the most remote idea whether the book is worth publishing." he also wrote to dr. gray:-- "i have finished my book on the 'descent of man,' etc., and its publication is delayed only by the index: when published, i will send you a copy, but i do not know that you will care about it. parts, as on the moral sense, will, i dare say, aggravate you, and if i hear from you, i shall probably receive a few stabs from your polished stiletto of a pen." the book was published on february , . copies were printed at first, and more before the end of the year. my father notes that he received for this edition pounds. the letters given in the present chapter deal with its reception, and also with the progress of the work on expression. the letters are given, approximately, in chronological order, an arrangement which necessarily separates letters of kindred subjec-matter, but gives perhaps a truer picture of the mingled interests and labours of my father's life. nothing can give a better idea (in small compass) of the growth of evolutionism and its position at this time, than a quotation from mr. huxley ('contemporary review,' .):-- "the gradual lapse of time has now separated us by more than a decade from the date of the publication of the 'origin of species;' and whatever may be thought or said about mr. darwin's doctrines, or the manner in which he has propounded them, this much is certain, that in a dozen years the 'origin of species' has worked as complete a revolution in biological science as the 'principia' did in astronomy;" and it has done so, "because, in the words of helmholtz, it contains 'an essentially new creative thought.' and, as time has slipped by, a happy change has come over mr. darwin's critics. the mixture of ignorance and insolence which at first characterised a large proportion of the attacks with which he was assailed, is no longer the sad distinction of anti-darwinian criticism." a passage in the introduction to the 'descent of man' shows that the author recognised clearly this improvement in the position of evolution. "when a naturalist like carl vogt ventures to say in his address, as president of the national institution of geneva ( ), 'personne en europe au moins, n'ose plus soutenir la creation independante et de toutes pieces, des especes,' it is manifest that at least a large number of naturalists must admit that species are the modified descendants of other species; and this especially holds good with the younger and rising naturalists... of the older and honoured chiefs in natural science, many, unfortunately, are still opposed to evolution in every form." in mr. james hague's pleasantly written article, "a reminiscence of mr. darwin" ('harper's magazine,' october ), he describes a visit to my father "early in " (it must have been at the end of february, within a week after the publication of the book.), shortly after the publication of the 'descent of man.' mr. hague represents my father as "much impressed by the general assent with which his views had been received," and as remarking that "everybody is talking about it without being shocked." later in the year the reception of the book is described in different language in the 'edinburgh review' (july . an adverse criticism. the reviewer sums up by saying that: "never perhaps in the history of philosophy have such wide generalisations been derived from such a small basis of fact."): "on every side it is raising a storm of mingled wrath, wonder, and admiration." with regard to the subsequent reception of the 'descent of man,' my father wrote to dr. dohrn, february , :-- "i did not know until reading your article (in 'das ausland.'), that my 'descent of man' had excited so much furore in germany. it has had an immense circulation in this country and in america, but has met the approval of hardly any naturalists as far as i know. therefore i suppose it was a mistake on my part to publish it; but, anyhow, it will pave the way for some better work." the book on the 'expression of the emotions' was begun on january th, , the last proof of the 'descent of man' having been finished on january th. the rough copy was finished by april th, and shortly after this (in june) the work was interrupted by the preparation of a sixth edition of the 'origin.' in november and december the proofs of the 'expression' book were taken in hand, and occupied him until the following year, when the book was published. some references to the work on expression have occurred in letters already given, showing that the foundation of the book was, to some extent, laid down for some years before he began to write it. thus he wrote to dr. asa gray, april , :-- "i have been lately getting up and looking over my old notes on expression, and fear that i shall not make so much of my hobby-horse as i thought i could; nevertheless, it seems to me a curious subject which has been strangely neglected." it should, however, be remembered that the subject had been before his mind, more or less, from or , as i judge from entries in his early note-books. it was in december, , that he began to make observations on children. the work required much correspondence, not only with missionaries and others living among savages, to whom he sent his printed queries, but among physiologists and physicians. he obtained much information from professor donders, sir w. bowman, sir james paget, dr. w. ogle, dr. crichton browne, as well as from other observers. the first letter refers to the 'descent of man.'] charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, january [ ]. my dear wallace, (in the note referred to, dated january , mr. wallace wrote:-- "many thanks for your first volume which i have just finished reading through with the greatest pleasure and interest; and i have also to thank you for the great tenderness with which you have treated me and my heresies." the heresy is the limitation of natural selection as applied to man. my father wrote ('descent of man,' i. page ):--"i cannot therefore understand how it is that mr. wallace maintains that 'natural selection could only have endowed the savage with a brain a little superior to that of an ape.'" in the above quoted letter mr. wallace wrote:--"your chapters on 'man' are of intense interest, but as touching my special heresy not as yet altogether convincing, though of course i fully agree with every word and every argument which goes to prove the evolution or development of man out of a lower form.") your note has given me very great pleasure, chiefly because i was so anxious not to treat you with the least disrespect, and it is so difficult to speak fairly when differing from any one. if i had offended you, it would have grieved me more than you will readily believe. secondly, i am greatly pleased to hear that volume i. interests you; i have got so sick of the whole subject that i felt in utter doubt about the value of any part. i intended, when speaking of females not having been specially modified for protection, to include the prevention of characters acquired by the male being transmitted to the female; but i now see it would have been better to have said "specially acted on," or some such term. possibly my intention may be clearer in volume ii. let me say that my conclusions are chiefly founded on the consideration of all animals taken in a body, bearing in mind how common the rules of sexual differences appear to be in all classes. the first copy of the chapter on lepidoptera agreed pretty closely with you. i then worked on, came back to lepidoptera, and thought myself compelled to alter it--finished sexual selection and for the last time went over lepidoptera, and again i felt forced to alter it. i hope to god there will be nothing disagreeable to you in volume ii., and that i have spoken fairly of your views; i am fearful on this head, because i have just read (but not with sufficient care) mivart's book ('the genesis of species,' by st. g. mivart, .), and i feel absolutely certain that he meant to be fair (but he was stimulated by theological fervour); yet i do not think he has been quite fair... the part which, i think, will have most influence is where he gives the whole series of cases like that of the whalebone, in which we cannot explain the gradational steps; but such cases have no weight on my mind--if a few fish were extinct, who on earth would have ventured even to conjecture that lungs had originated in a swi-bladder? in such a case as the thylacine, i think he was bound to say that the resemblance of the jaw to that of the dog is superficial; the number and correspondence and development of teeth being widely different. i think again when speaking of the necessity of altering a number of characters together, he ought to have thought of man having power by selection to modify simultaneously or almost simultaneously many points, as in making a greyhound or racehorse--as enlarged upon in my 'domestic animals.' mivart is savage or contemptuous about my "moral sense," and so probably will you be. i am extremely pleased that he agrees with my position, as far as animal nature is concerned, of man in the series; or if anything, thinks i have erred in making him too distinct. forgive me for scribbling at such length. you have put me quite in good spirits; i did so dread having been unintentionally unfair towards your views. i hope earnestly the second volume will escape as well. i care now very little what others say. as for our not quite agreeing, really in such complex subjects, it is almost impossible for two men who arrive independently at their conclusions to agree fully, it would be unnatural for them to do so. yours ever, very sincerely, ch. darwin. [professor haeckel seems to have been one of the first to write to my father about the 'descent of man.' i quote from his reply:-- "i must send you a few words to thank you for your interesting, and i may truly say, charming letter. i am delighted that you approve of my book, as far as you have read it. i felt very great difficulty and doubt how often i ought to allude to what you have published; strictly speaking every idea, although occurring independently to me, if published by you previously ought to have appeared as if taken from your works, but this would have made my book very dull reading; and i hoped that a full acknowledgment at the beginning would suffice. (in the introduction to the 'descent of man' the author wrote:-- "this last naturalist [haeckel]... has recently... published his 'naturliche schopfungs-geschichte,' in which he fully discusses the genealogy of man. if this work had appeared before my essay had been written, i should probably never have completed it. almost all the conclusions at which i have arrived, i find confirmed by this naturalist, whose knowledge on many points is much fuller than mine.") i cannot tell you how glad i am to find that i have expressed my high admiration of your labours with sufficient clearness; i am sure that i have not expressed it too strongly."] charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, march , . my dear wallace, i have just read your grand review. ("academy", march , .) it is in every way as kindly expressed towards myself as it is excellent in matter. the lyells have been here, and sir c. remarked that no one wrote such good scientific reviews as you, and as miss buckley added, you delight in picking out all that is good, though very far from blind to the bad. in all this i most entirely agree. i shall always consider your review as a great honour; and however much my book may hereafter be abused, as no doubt it will be, your review will console me, notwithstanding that we differ so greatly. i will keep your objections to my views in my mind, but i fear that the latter are almost stereotyped in my mind. i thought for long weeks about the inheritance and selection difficulty, and covered quires of paper with notes in trying to get out of it, but could not, though clearly seeing that it would be a great relief if i could. i will confine myself to two or three remarks. i have been much impressed with what you urge against colour (mr. wallace says that the pairing of butterflies is probably determined by the fact that one male is stronger-winged, or more pertinacious than the rest, rather than by the choice of the females. he quotes the case of caterpillars which are brightly coloured and yet sexless. mr. wallace also makes the good criticism that the 'descent of man' consists of two books mixed together.) in the case of insects, having been acquired through sexual selection. i always saw that the evidence was very weak; but i still think, if it be admitted that the musical instruments of insects have been gained through sexual selection, that there is not the least improbability in colour having been thus gained. your argument with respect to the denudation of mankind and also to insects, that taste on the part of one sex would have to remain nearly the same during many generations, in order that sexual selection should produce any effect, i agree to; and i think this argument would be sound if used by one who denied that, for instance, the plumes of birds of paradise had been so gained. i believe you admit this, and if so i do not see how your argument applies in other cases. i have recognized for some short time that i have made a great omission in not having discussed, as far as i could, the acquisition of taste, its inherited nature, and its permanence within pretty close limits for long periods. [with regard to the success of the 'descent of man,' i quote from a letter to professor ray lankester (march , ):-- "i think you will be glad to hear, as a proof of the increasing liberality of england, that my book has sold wonderfully... and as yet no abuse (though some, no doubt, will come, strong enough), and only contempt even in the poor old 'athenaeum'." as to reviews that struck him he wrote to mr. wallace (march , ):-- "there is a very striking second article on my book in the 'pall mall'. the articles in the "spectator" ("spectator", march and , . with regard to the evolution of conscience the reviewer thinks that my father comes much nearer to the "kernel of the psychological problem" than many of his predecessors. the second article contains a good discussion of the bearing of the book on the question of design, and concludes by finding in it a vindication of theism more wonderful than that in paley's 'natural theology.') have also interested me much." on march he wrote to mr. murray:-- "many thanks for the "nonconformist" [march , ]. i like to see all that is written, and it is of some real use. if you hear of reviewers in out-of-the-way papers, especially the religious, as "record", "guardian", "tablet", kindly inform me. it is wonderful that there has been no abuse ("i feel a full conviction that my chapter on man will excite attention and plenty of abuse, and i suppose abuse is as good as praise for selling a book."--(from a letter to mr. murray, january , .) as yet, but i suppose i shall not escape. on the whole, the reviews have been highly favourable." the following extract from a letter to mr. murray (april , ) refers to a review in the "times". ("times", april and , . the review is not only unfavourable as regards the book under discussion, but also as regards evolution in general, as the following citation will show: "even had it been rendered highly probable, which we doubt, that the animal creation has been developed into its numerous and widely different varieties by mere evolution, it would still require an independent investigation of overwhelming force and completeness to justify the presumption that man is but a term in this self-evolving series.") "i have no idea who wrote the "times" review. he has no knowledge of science, and seems to me a wind-bag full of metaphysics and classics, so that i do not much regard his adverse judgment, though i suppose it will injure the sale." a review of the 'descent of man,' which my father spoke of as "capital," appeared in the "saturday review" (march and , ). a passage from the first notice (march ) may be quoted in illustration of the broad basis as regards general acceptance, on which the doctrine of evolution now stood: "he claims to have brought man himself, his origin and constitution, within that unity which he had previously sought to trace through all lower animal forms. the growth of opinion in the interval, due in chief measure to his own intermediate works, has placed the discussion of this problem in a position very much in advance of that held by it fifteen years ago. the problem of evolution is hardly any longer to be treated as one of first principles; nor has mr. darwin to do battle for a first hearing of his central hypothesis, upborne as it is by a phalanx of names full of distinction and promise, in either hemisphere." the infolded point of the human ear, discovered by mr. woolner, and described in the 'descent of man,' seems especially to have struck the popular imagination; my father wrote to mr. woolner:-- "the tips to the ears have become quite celebrated. one reviewer ('nature') says they ought to be called, as i suggested in joke, angulus woolnerianus. ('nature' april , . the term suggested is angulus woolnerii.) a german is very proud to find that he has the tips well developed, and i believe will send me a photograph of his ears."] charles darwin to john brodie innes. (rev. j. brodie innes, of milton brodie, formerly vicar of down.) down, may [ ]. my dear innes, i have been very glad to receive your pleasant letter, for to tell you the truth, i have sometimes wondered whether you would not think me an outcast and a reprobate after the publication of my last book ['descent']. (in a former letter of my father's to mr. innes:--"we often differed, but you are one of those rare mortals from whom one can differ and yet feel no shade of animosity, and that is a thing which i should feel very proud of, if any one could say it of me.") i do not wonder at all at your not agreeing with me, for a good many professed naturalists do not. yet when i see in how extraordinary a manner the judgment of naturalists has changed since i published the 'origin,' i feel convinced that there will be in ten years quite as much unanimity about man, as far as his corporeal frame is concerned... [the following letters addressed to dr. ogle deal with the progress of the work on expression.] down, march [ ]. my dear dr. ogle, i have received both your letters, and they tell me all that i wanted to know in the clearest possible way, as, indeed, all your letters have ever done. i thank you cordially. i will give the case of the murderer ('expression of the emotions,' page . the arrest of a murderer, as witnessed by dr. ogle in a hospital.) in my hobby-horse essay on expression. i fear that the eustachian tube question must have cost you a deal of labour; it is quite a complete little essay. it is pretty clear that the mouth is not opened under surprise merely to improve the hearing. yet why do deaf men generally keep their mouths open? the other day a man here was mimicking a deaf friend, leaning his head forward and sideways to the speaker, with his mouth well open; it was a lifelike representation of a deaf man. shakespeare somewhere says: "hold your breath, listen" or "hark," i forget which. surprise hurries the breath, and it seems to me one can breathe, at least hurriedly, much quieter through the open mouth than through the nose. i saw the other day you doubted this. as objection is your province at present, i think breathing through the nose ought to come within it likewise, so do pray consider this point, and let me hear your judgment. consider the nose to be a flower to be fertilised, and then you will make out all about it. (dr. ogle had corresponded with my father on his own observations on the fertilisation of flowers.) i have had to allude to your paper on 'sense of smell' (medico-chirurg. trans. liii.); is the paging right, namely, , , ? if not, i protest by all the gods against the plan followed by some, of having presentation copies falsely paged; and so does rolleston, as he wrote to me the other day. in haste. yours very sincerely, c. darwin. charles darwin to w. ogle. down, march [ ]. my dear dr. ogle, you will think me a horrid bore, but i beg you, in relation to a new point for observation, to imagine as well as you can that you suddenly come across some dreadful object, and act with a sudden little start, a shudder of horror; please do this once or twice, and observe yourself as well as you can, and afterwards read the rest of this note, which i have consequently pinned down. i find, to my surprise, whenever i act thus my platysma contracts. does yours? (n.b.--see what a man will do for science; i began this note with a horrid fib, namely, that i want you to attend to a new point. (the point was doubtless described as a new one, to avoid the possibility of dr. ogle's attention being directed to the platysma, a muscle which had been the subject of discussion in other letters.)) i will try and get some persons thus to act who are so lucky as not to know that they even possess this muscle, so troublesome for any one making out about expression. is a shudder akin to the rigor or shivering before fever? if so, perhaps the platysma could be observed in such cases. paget told me that he had attended much to shivering, and had written in ms. on the subject, and been much perplexed about it. he mentioned that passing a catheter often causes shivering. perhaps i will write to him about the platysma. he is always most kind in aiding me in all ways, but he is so overworked that it hurts my conscience to trouble him, for i have a conscience, little as you have reason to think so. help me if you can, and forgive me. your murderer case has come in splendidly as the acme of prostration from fear. yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. charles darwin to dr. ogle. down, april [ ]. my dear dr. ogle, i am truly obliged for all the great trouble which you have so kindly taken. i am sure you have no cause to say that you are sorry you can give me no definite information, for you have given me far more than i ever expected to get. the action of the platysma is not very important for me, but i believe that you will fully understand (for i have always fancied that our minds were very similar) the intolerable desire i had not to be utterly baffled. now i know that it sometimes contracts from fear and from shuddering, but not apparently from a prolonged state of fear such as the insane suffer... [mr. mivart's 'genesis of species,'--a contribution to the literature of evolution, which excited much attention--was published in , before the appearance of the 'descent of man.' to this book the following letter (june , ) from the late chauncey wright to my father refers. (chauncey wright was born at northampton, massachusetts, september , , and came of a family settled in that town since . he became in a computer in the nautical almanac office at cambridge, mass., and lived a quiet uneventful life, supported by the small stipend of his office, and by what he earned from his occasional articles, as well as by a little teaching. he thought and read much on metaphysical subjects, but on the whole with an outcome (as far as the world was concerned) not commensurate to the power of his mind. he seems to have been a man of strong individuality, and to have made a lasting impression on his friends. he died in september, .)]: "i send... revised proofs of an article which will be published in the july number of the 'north american review,' sending it in the hope that it will interest or even be of greater value to you. mr. mivart's book ['genesis of species'] of which this article is substantially a review, seems to me a very good background from which to present the considerations which i have endeavoured to set forth in the article, in defence and illustration of the theory of natural selection. my special purpose has been to contribute to the theory by placing it in its proper relations to philosophical enquiries in general." ('letters of chauncey wright,' by j.b. thayer. privately printed, , page .) with regard to the proofs received from mr. wright, my father wrote to mr. wallace:] down, july [ ]. my dear wallace, i send by this post a review by chauncey wright, as i much want your opinion of it as soon as you can send it. i consider you an incomparably better critic than i am. the article, though not very clearly written, and poor in parts from want of knowledge, seems to me admirable. mivart's book is producing a great effect against natural selection, and more especially against me. therefore if you think the article even somewhat good i will write and get permission to publish it as a shilling pamphlet, together with the ms. additions (enclosed), for which there was not room at the end of the review... i am now at work at a new and cheap edition of the 'origin,' and shall answer several points in mivart's book, and introduce a new chapter for this purpose; but i treat the subject so much more concretely, and i dare say less philosophically, than wright, that we shall not interfere with each other. you will think me a bigot when i say, after studying mivart, i was never before in my life so convinced of the general (i.e. not in detail) truth of the views in the 'origin.' i grieve to see the omission of the words by mivart, detected by wright. ('north american review,' volume , pages , . chauncey wright points out that the words omitted are "essential to the point on which he [mr. mivart] cites mr. darwin's authority." it should be mentioned that the passage from which words are omitted is not given within inverted commas by mr. mivart.) i complained to mivart that in two cases he quotes only the commencement of sentences by me, and thus modifies my meaning; but i never supposed he would have omitted words. there are other cases of what i consider unfair treatment. i conclude with sorrow that though he means to be honourable he is so bigoted that he cannot act fairly... charles darwin to chauncey wright. down, july , . my dear sir, i have hardly ever in my life read an article which has given me so much satisfaction as the review which you have been so kind as to send me. i agree to almost everything which you say. your memory must be wonderfully accurate, for you know my works as well as i do myself, and your power of grasping other men's thoughts is something quite surprising; and this, as far as my experience goes, is a very rare quality. as i read on i perceived how you have acquired this power, viz. by thoroughly analyzing each word. ... now i am going to beg a favour. will you provisionally give me permission to reprint your article as a shilling pamphlet? i ask only provisionally, as i have not yet had time to reflect on the subject. it would cost me, i fancy, with advertisements, some or pounds; but the worst is that, as i hear, pamphlets never will sell. and this makes me doubtful. should you think it too much trouble to send me a title for the chance? the title ought, i think, to have mr. mivart's name on it. ... if you grant permission and send a title, you will kindly understand that i will first make further enquiries whether there is any chance of a pamphlet being read. pray believe me yours very sincerely obliged, ch. darwin. [the pamphlet was published in the autumn, and on october my father wrote to mr. wright:-- "it pleases me much that you are satisfied with the appearance of your pamphlet. i am sure it will do our cause good service; and this same opinion huxley has expressed to me. ('letters of chauncey wright,' page ."] charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, july [ ]. ... i feel very doubtful how far i shall succeed in answering mivart, it is so difficult to answer objections to doubtful points, and make the discussion readable. i shall make only a selection. the worst of it is, that i cannot possibly hunt through all my references for isolated points, it would take me three weeks of intolerably hard work. i wish i had your power of arguing clearly. at present i feel sick of everything, and if i could occupy my time and forget my daily discomforts, or rather miseries, i would never publish another word. but i shall cheer up, i dare say, soon, having only just got over a bad attack. farewell; god knows why i bother you about myself. i can say nothing more about missing-links than what i have said. i should rely much on pre-silurian times; but then comes sir w. thomson like an odious spectre. farewell. ... there is a most cutting review of me in the 'quarterly' (july .); i have only read a few pages. the skill and style make me think of mivart. i shall soon be viewed as the most despicable of men. this 'quarterly review' tempts me to republish ch. wright, even if not read by any one, just to show some one will say a word against mivart, and that his (i.e. mivart's) remarks ought not to be swallowed without some reflection... god knows whether my strength and spirit will last out to write a chapter versus mivart and others; i do so hate controversy and feel i shall do it so badly. [the above-mentioned 'quarterly' review was the subject of an article by mr. huxley in the november number of the 'contemporary review.' here, also, are discussed mr. wallace's 'contribution to the theory of natural selection,' and the second edition of mr. mivart's 'genesis of species.' what follows is taken from mr. huxley's article. the 'quarterly' reviewer, though being to some extent an evolutionist, believes that man "differs more from an elephant or a gorilla, than do these from the dust of the earth on which they tread." the reviewer also declares that my father has "with needless opposition, set at naught the first principles of both philosophy and religion." mr. huxley passes from the 'quarterly' reviewer's further statement, that there is no necessary opposition between evolution and religion, to the more definite position taken by mr. mivart, that the orthodox authorities of the roman catholic church agree in distinctly asserting derivative creation, so that "their teachings harmonise with all that modern science can possibly require." here mr. huxley felt the want of that "study of christian philosophy" (at any rate, in its jesuitic garb), which mr. mivart speaks of, and it was a want he at once set to work to fill up. he was then staying at st. andrews, whence he wrote to my father:-- "by great good luck there is an excellent library here, with a good copy of suarez (the learned jesuit on whom mr. mivart mainly relies.), in a dozen big folios. among these i dived, to the great astonishment of the librarian, and looking into them 'as the careful robin eyes the delver's toil' (vide 'idylls'), i carried off the two venerable clasped volumes which were most promising." even those who know mr. huxley's unrivalled power of tearing the heart out of a book must marvel at the skill with which he has made suarez speak on his side. "so i have come out," he wrote, "in the new character of a defender of catholic orthodoxy, and upset mivart out of the mouth of his own prophet." the remainder of mr. huxley's critique is largely occupied with a dissection of the 'quarterly' reviewer's psychology, and his ethical views. he deals, too, with mr. wallace's objections to the doctrine of evolution by natural causes when applied to the mental faculties of man. finally, he devotes a couple of pages to justifying his description of the 'quarterly' reviewer's "treatment of mr. darwin as alike unjust and unbecoming." it will be seen that the two following letters were written before the publication of mr. huxley's article.] charles darwin to t.h. huxley. down, september [ ]. my dear huxley, your letter has pleased me in many ways, to a wonderful degree... what a wonderful man you are to grapple with those old metaphysico-divinity books. it quite delights me that you are going to some extent to answer and attack mivart. his book, as you say, has produced a great effect; yesterday i perceived the reverberations from it, even from italy. it was this that made me ask chauncey wright to publish at my expense his article, which seems to me very clever, though ill-written. he has not knowledge enough to grapple with mivart in detail. i think there can be no shadow of doubt that he is the author of the article in the 'quarterly review'... i am preparing a new edition of the 'origin,' and shall introduce a new chapter in answer to miscellaneous objections, and shall give up the greater part to answer mivart's cases of difficulty of incipient structures being of no use: and i find it can be done easily. he never states his case fairly, and makes wonderful blunders... the pendulum is now swinging against our side, but i feel positive it will soon swing the other way; and no mortal man will do half as much as you in giving it a start in the right direction, as you did at the first commencement. god forgive me for writing so long and egotistical a letter; but it is your fault, for you have so delighted me; i never dreamed that you would have time to say a word in defence of the cause which you have so often defended. it will be a long battle, after we are dead and gone... great is the power of misrepresentation... charles darwin to t.h. huxley. down, september [ ]. my dear huxley, it was very good of you to send the proof-sheets, for i was very anxious to read your article. i have been delighted with it. how you do smash mivart's theology: it is almost equal to your article versus comte ('fortnightly review,' . with regard to the relations of positivism to science my father wrote to mr. spencer in : "how curious and amusing it is to see to what an extent the positivists hate all men of science; i fancy they are dimly conscious what laughable and gigantic blunders their prophet made in predicting the course of science."),--that never can be transcended... but i have been preeminently glad to read your discussion on [the 'quarterly' reviewer's] metaphysics, especially about reason and his definition of it. i felt sure he was wrong, but having only common observation and sense to trust to, i did not know what to say in my second edition of my 'descent.' now a footnote and reference to you will do the work... for me, this is one of the most important parts of the review. but for pleasure, i have been particularly glad that my few words ('descent of man,' volume i. page . a discussion on the question whether an act done impulsively or instinctively can be called moral.) on the distinction, if it can be so called, between mivart's two forms of morality, caught your attention. i am so pleased that you take the same view, and give authorities for it; but i searched mill in vain on this head. how well you argue the whole case. i am mounting climax on climax; for after all there is nothing, i think, better in your whole review than your arguments v. wallace on the intellect of savages. i must tell you what hooker said to me a few years ago. "when i read huxley, i feel quite infantile in intellect." by jove i have felt the truth of this throughout your review. what a man you are. there are scores of splendid passages, and vivid flashes of wit. i have been a good deal more than merely pleased by the concluding part of your review; and all the more, as i own i felt mortified by the accusation of bigotry, arrogance, etc., in the 'quarterly review.' but i assure you, he may write his worst, and he will never mortify me again. my dear huxley, yours gratefully, charles darwin. charles darwin to f. muller. haredene, albury, august [ ]. my dear sir, your last letter has interested me greatly; it is wonderfully rich in facts and original thoughts. first, let me say that i have been much pleased by what you say about my book. it has had a very large sale; but i have been much abused for it, especially for the chapter on the moral sense; and most of my reviewers consider the book as a poor affair. god knows what its merits may really be; all that i know is that i did my best. with familiarity i think naturalists will accept sexual selection to a greater extent than they now seem inclined to do. i should very much like to publish your letter, but i do not see how it could be made intelligible, without numerous coloured illustrations, but i will consult mr. wallace on this head. i earnestly hope that you keep notes of all your letters, and that some day you will publish a book: 'notes of a naturalist in s. brazil,' or some such title. wallace will hardly admit the possibility of sexual selection with lepidoptera, and no doubt it is very improbable. therefore, i am very glad to hear of your cases (which i will quote in the next edition) of the two sets of hesperiadae, which display their wings differently, according to which surface is coloured. i cannot believe that such display is accidental and purposeless... no fact of your letter has interested me more than that about mimicry. it is a capital fact about the males pursuing the wrong females. you put the difficulty of the first steps in imitation in a most striking and convincing manner. your idea of sexual selection having aided protective imitation interests me greatly, for the same idea had occurred to me in quite different cases, viz. the dulness of all animals in the galapagos islands, patagonia, etc., and in some other cases; but i was afraid even to hint at such an idea. would you object to my giving some such sentence as follows: "f. muller suspects that sexual selection may have come into play, in aid of protective imitation, in a very peculiar manner, which will appear extremely improbable to those who do not fully believe in sexual selection. it is that the appreciation of certain colour is developed in those species which frequently behold other species thus ornamented." again let me thank you cordially for your most interesting letter... charles darwin to e.b. tylor. down, [september , ]. my dear sir, i hope that you will allow me to have the pleasure of telling you how greatly i have been interested by your 'primitive culture,' now that i have finished it. it seems to me a most profound work, which will be certain to have permanent value, and to be referred to for years to come. it is wonderful how you trace animism from the lower races up to the religious belief of the highest races. it will make me for the future look at religion--a belief in the soul, etc.--from a new point of view. how curious, also, are the survivals or rudiments of old customs... you will perhaps be surprised at my writing at so late a period, but i have had the book read aloud to me, and from much ill-health of late could only stand occasional short reads. the undertaking must have cost you gigantic labour. nevertheless, i earnestly hope that you may be induced to treat morals in the same enlarged yet careful manner, as you have animism. i fancy from the last chapter that you have thought of this. no man could do the work so well as you, and the subject assuredly is a most important and interesting one. you must now possess references which would guide you to a sound estimation of the morals of savages; and how writers like wallace, lubbock, etc., etc., do differ on this head. forgive me for troubling you, and believe me, with much respect, yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. . [at the beginning of the year the sixth edition of the 'origin,' which had been begun in june, , was nearly completed. the last sheet was revised on january , , and the book was published in the course of the month. this volume differs from the previous ones in appearance and size--it consists of pages instead of pages and is a few ounces lighter; it is printed on bad paper, in small type, and with the lines unpleasantly close together. it had, however, one advantage over previous editions, namely that it was issued at a lower price. it is to be regretted that this the final edition of the 'origin' should have appeared in so unattractive a form; a form which has doubtless kept off many readers from the book. the discussion suggested by the 'genesis of species' was perhaps the most important addition to the book. the objection that incipient structures cannot be of use was dealt with in some detail, because it seemed to the author that this was the point in mr. mivart's book which has struck most readers in england. it is a striking proof of how wide and general had become the acceptance of his views that my father found it necessary to insert (sixth edition, page ), the sentence: "as a record of a former state of things, i have retained in the foregoing paragraphs and also elsewhere, several sentences which imply that naturalists believe in the separate creation of each species; and i have been much censured for having thus expressed myself. but undoubtedly this was the general belief when the first edition of the present work appeared... now things are wholly changed, and almost every naturalist admits the great principle of evolution." a small correction introduced into this sixth edition is connected with one of his minor papers: "note on the habits of the pampas woodpecker." (zoolog. soc. proc. .) in the fifth edition of the 'origin,' page , he wrote:-- "yet as i can assert not only from my own observation, but from that of the accurate azara, it [the ground woodpecker] never climbs a tree." the paper in question was a reply to mr. hudson's remarks on the woodpecker in a previous number of the same journal. the last sentence of my father's paper is worth quoting for its temperate tone: "finally, i trust that mr. hudson is mistaken when he says that any one acquainted with the habits of this bird might be induced to believe that i 'had purposely wrested the truth' in order to prove my theory. he exonerates me from this charge; but i should be loath to think that there are many naturalists who, without any evidence, would accuse a fellow-worker of telling a deliberate falsehood to prove his theory." in the sixth edition, page , the passage runs "in certain large districts it does not climb trees." and he goes on to give mr. hudson's statement that in other regions it does frequent trees. one of the additions in the sixth edition (page ), was a reference to mr. a. hyatt's and professor cope's theory of "acceleration." with regard to this he wrote (october , ) in characteristic words to mr. hyatt:-- "permit me to take this opportunity to express my sincere regret at having committed two grave errors in the last edition of my 'origin of species,' in my allusion to yours and professor cope's views on acceleration and retardation of development. i had thought that professor cope had preceded you; but i now well remember having formerly read with lively interest, and marked, a paper by you somewhere in my library, on fossil cephalapods with remarks on the subject. it seems also that i have quite misrepresented your joint view. this has vexed me much. i confess that i have never been able to grasp fully what you wish to show, and i presume that this must be owing to some dulness on my part." lastly, it may be mentioned that this cheap edition being to some extent intended as a popular one, was made to include a glossary of technical terms, "given because several readers have complained... that some of the terms used were unintelligible to them." the glossary was compiled by mr. dallas, and being an excellent collection of clear and sufficient definitions, must have proved useful to many readers.] charles darwin to j.l.a. de quatrefages. down, january , . my dear sir, i am much obliged for your very kind letter and exertions in my favour. i had thought that the publication of my last book ['descent of man'] would have destroyed all your sympathy with me, but though i estimated very highly your great liberality of mind, it seems that i underrated it. i am gratified to hear that m. lacaze-duthiers will vote (he was not elected as a corresponding member of the french academy until .) for me, for i have long honoured his name. i cannot help regretting that you should expend your valuable time in trying to obtain for me the honour of election, for i fear, judging from the last time, that all your labour will be in vain. whatever the result may be, i shall always retain the most lively recollection of your sympathy and kindness, and this will quite console me for my rejection. with much respect and esteem, i remain, dear sir, yours truly obliged, charles darwin. p.s.--with respect to the great stress which you lay on man walking on two legs, whilst the quadrumana go on all fours, permit me to remind you that no one much values the great difference in the mode of locomotion, and consequently in structure, between seals and the terrestrial carnivora, or between the almost biped kangaroos and other marsupials. charles darwin to august weismann. (professor of zoology in freiburg.) down, april , . my dear sir, i have now read your essay ('ueber den einfluss der isolirung auf die artbildung.' leipzig, .) with very great interest. your view of the 'origin' of local races through "amixie," is altogether new to me, and seems to throw an important light on an obscure problem. there is, however, something strange about the periods or endurance of variability. i formerly endeavoured to investigate the subject, not by looking to past time, but to species of the same genus widely distributed; and i found in many cases that all the species, with perhaps one or two exceptions, were variable. it would be a very interesting subject for a conchologist to investigate, viz., whether the species of the same genus were variable during many successive geological formations. i began to make enquiries on this head, but failed in this, as in so many other things, from the want of time and strength. in your remarks on crossing, you do not, as it seems to me, lay nearly stress enough on the increased vigour of the offspring derived from parents which have been exposed to different conditions. i have during the last five years been making experiments on this subject with plants, and have been astonished at the results, which have not yet been published. in the first part of your essay, i thought that you wasted (to use an english expression) too much powder and shot on m. wagner (prof. wagner has written two essays on the same subject. 'die darwin'sche theorie und das migrationsgesetz, in , and 'ueber den einfluss der geographischen isolirung, etc.,' an address to the bavarian academy of sciences at munich, .); but i changed my opinion when i saw how admirably you treated the whole case, and how well you used the facts about the planorbis. i wish i had studied this latter case more carefully. the manner in which, as you show, the different varieties blend together and make a constant whole, agrees perfectly with my hypothetical illustrations. many years ago the late e. forbes described three closely consecutive beds in a secondary formation, each with representative forms of the same fres-water shells: the case is evidently analogous with that of hilgendorf ("ueber planorbis multiformis im steinheimer susswasser-kalk." monatsbericht of the berlin academy, .), but the interesting connecting varieties or links were here absent. i rejoice to think that i formerly said as emphatically as i could, that neither isolation nor time by themselves do anything for the modification of species. hardly anything in your essay has pleased me so much personally, as to find that you believe to a certain extent in sexual selection. as far as i can judge, very few naturalists believe in this. i may have erred on many points, and extended the doctrine too far, but i feel a strong conviction that sexual selection will hereafter be admitted to be a powerful agency. i cannot agree with what you say about the taste for beauty in animals not easily varying. it may be suspected that even the habit of viewing differently coloured surrounding objects would influence their taste, and fritz muller even goes so far as to believe that the sight of gaudy butterflies might influence the taste of distinct species. there are many remarks and statements in your essay which have interested me greatly, and i thank you for the pleasure which i have received from reading it. with sincere respect, i remain, my dear sir, yours very faithfully, charles darwin. p.s.--if you should ever be induced to consider the whole doctrine of sexual selection, i think that you will be led to the conclusion, that characters thus gained by one sex are very commonly transferred in a greater or less degree to the other sex. [with regard to moritz wagner's first essay, my father wrote to that naturalist, apparently in :] dear and respected sir, i thank you sincerely for sending me your 'migrationsgesetz, etc.,' and for the very kind and most honourable notice which you have taken of my works. that a naturalist who has travelled into so many and such distant regions, and who has studied animals of so many classes, should, to a considerable extent, agree with me, is, i can assure you, the highest gratification of which i am capable... although i saw the effects of isolation in the case of islands and mountain-ranges, and knew of a few instances of rivers, yet the greater number of your facts were quite unknown to me. i now see that from the want of knowledge i did not make nearly sufficient use of the views which you advocate; and i almost wish i could believe in its importance to the same extent with you; for you well show, in a manner which never occurred to me, that it removes many difficulties and objections. but i must still believe that in many large areas all the individuals of the same species have been slowly modified, in the same manner, for instance, as the english race-horse has been improved, that is by the continued selection of the fleetest individuals, without any separation. but i admit that by this process two or more new species could hardly be found within the same limited area; some degree of separation, if not indispensable, would be highly advantageous; and here your facts and views will be of great value... [the following letter bears on the same subject. it refers to professor m. wagner's essay, published in "das ausland", may , :] charles darwin to moritz wagner. down, october , . dear sir, i have now finished reading your essays, which have interested me in a very high degree, notwithstanding that i differ much from you on various points. for instance, several considerations make me doubt whether species are much more variable at one period than at another, except through the agency of changed conditions. i wish, however, that i could believe in this doctrine, as it removes many difficulties. but my strongest objection to your theory is that it does not explain the manifold adaptations in structure in every organic being--for instance in a picus for climbing trees and catching insects--or in a strix for catching animals at night, and so on ad infinitum. no theory is in the least satisfactory to me unless it clearly explains such adaptations. i think that you misunderstand my views on isolation. i believe that all the individuals of a species can be slowly modified within the same district, in nearly the same manner as man effects by what i have called the process of unconscious selection... i do not believe that one species will give birth to two or more new species as long as they are mingled together within the same district. nevertheless i cannot doubt that many new species have been simultaneously developed within the same large continental area; and in my 'origin of species' i endeavoured to explain how two new species might be developed, although they met and intermingled on the borders of their range. it would have been a strange fact if i had overlooked the importance of isolation, seeing that it was such cases as that of the galapagos archipelago, which chiefly led me to study the origin of species. in my opinion the greatest error which i have committed, has been not allowing sufficient weight to the direct action of the environment, i.e. food, climate, etc., independently of natural selection. modifications thus caused, which are neither of advantage nor disadvantage to the modified organism, would be especially favoured, as i can now see chiefly through your observations, by isolation in a small area, where only a few individuals lived under nearly uniform conditions. when i wrote the 'origin,' and for some years afterwards, i could find little good evidence of the direct action of the environment; now there is a large body of evidence, and your case of the saturnia is one of the most remarkable of which i have heard. although we differ so greatly, i hope that you will permit me to express my respect for your long-continued and successful labours in the good cause of natural science. i remain, dear sir, yours very faithfully, charles darwin. [the two following letters are also of interest as bearing on my father's views on the action of isolation as regards the origin of new species:] charles darwin to k. semper. down, november , . my dear professor semper, when i published the sixth edition of the 'origin,' i thought a good deal on the subject to which you refer, and the opinion therein expressed was my deliberate conviction. i went as far as i could, perhaps too far in agreement with wagner; since that time i have seen no reason to change my mind, but then i must add that my attention has been absorbed on other subjects. there are two different classes of cases, as it appears to me, viz. those in which a species becomes slowly modified in the same country (of which i cannot doubt there are innumerable instances) and those cases in which a species splits into two or three or more new species, and in the latter case, i should think nearly perfect separation would greatly aid in their "specification," to coin a new word. i am very glad that you are taking up this subject, for you will be sure to throw much light on it. i remember well, long ago, oscillating much; when i thought of the fauna and flora of the galapagos islands i was all for isolation, when i thought of s. america i doubted much. pray believe me, yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. p.s.--i hope that this letter will not be quite illegible, but i have no amanuensis at present. charles darwin to k. semper. down, november , . dear professor semper, since writing i have recalled some of the thoughts and conclusions which have passed through my mind of late years. in north america, in going from north to south or from east to west, it is clear that the changed conditions of life have modified the organisms in the different regions, so that they now form distinct races or even species. it is further clear that in isolated districts, however small, the inhabitants almost always get slightly modified, and how far this is due to the nature of the slightly different conditions to which they are exposed, and how far to mere interbreeding, in the manner explained by weismann, i can form no opinion. the same difficulty occurred to me (as shown in my 'variation of animals and plants under domestication') with respect to the aboriginal breeds of cattle, sheep, etc., in the separated districts of great britain, and indeed throughout europe. as our knowledge advances, very slight differences, considered by systematists as of no importance in structure, are continually found to be functionally important; and i have been especially struck with this fact in the case of plants to which my observations have of late years been confined. therefore it seems to me rather rash to consider the slight differences between representative species, for instance those inhabiting the different islands of the same archipelago, as of no functional importance, and as not in any way due to natural selection. with respect to all adapted structures, and these are innumerable, i cannot see how m. wagner's view throws any light, nor indeed do i see at all more clearly than i did before, from the numerous cases which he has brought forward, how and why it is that a long isolated form should almost always become slightly modified. i do not know whether you will care about hearing my further opinion on the point in question, for as before remarked i have not attended much of late years to such questions, thinking it prudent, now that i am growing old, to work at easier subjects. believe me, yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. i hope and trust that you will throw light on these points. p.s.--i will add another remark which i remember occurred to me when i first read m. wagner. when a species first arrives on a small island, it will probably increase rapidly, and unless all the individuals change instantaneously (which is improbable in the highest degree), the slowly, more or less, modifying offspring must intercross one with another, and with their unmodified parents, and any offspring not as yet modified. the case will then be like that of domesticated animals which have slowly become modified, either by the action of the external conditions or by the process which i have called the unconscious selection by man--i.e., in contrast with methodical selection. [the letters continue the history of the year , which has been interrupted by a digression on isolation.] charles darwin to the marquis de saporta. down, april , . dear sir, i thank you very sincerely and feel much honoured by the trouble which you have taken in giving me your reflections on the origin of man. it gratifies me extremely that some parts of my work have interested you, and that we agree on the main conclusion of the derivation of man from some lower form. i will reflect on what you have said, but i cannot at present give up my belief in the close relationship of man to the higher simiae. i do not put much trust in any single character, even that of dentition; but i put the greatest faith in resemblances in many parts of the whole organisation, for i cannot believe that such resemblances can be due to any cause except close blood relationship. that man is closely allied to the higher simiae is shown by the classification of linnaeus, who was so good a judge of affinity. the man who in england knows most about the structure of the simiae, namely, mr. mivart, and who is bitterly opposed to my doctrines about the derivation of the mental powers, yet has publicly admitted that i have not put man too close to the higher simiae, as far as bodily structure is concerned. i do not think the absence of reversions of structure in man is of much weight; c. vogt, indeed, argues that [the existence of] micr-cephalous idiots is a case of reversion. no one who believes in evolution will doubt that the phocae are descended from some terrestrial carnivore. yet no one would expect to meet with any such reversion in them. the lesser divergence of character in the races of man in comparison with the species of simiadae may perhaps be accounted for by man having spread over the world at a much later period than did the simiadae. i am fully prepared to admit the high antiquity of man; but then we have evidence, in the dryopithecus, of the high antiquity of the anthropomorphous simiae. i am glad to hear that you are at work on your fossil plants, which of late years have afforded so rich a field for discovery. with my best thanks for your great kindness, and with much respect, i remain, dear sir, yours very faithfully, charles darwin. [in april, , he was elected to the royal society of holland, and wrote to professor donders:-- "very many thanks for your letter. the honour of being elected a foreign member of your royal society has pleased me much. the sympathy of his fellow workers has always appeared to me by far the highest reward to which any scientific man can look. my gratification has been not a little increased by first hearing of the honour from you."] charles darwin to chauncey wright. down, june , . my dear sir, many thanks for your article (the proof-sheets of an article which appeared in the july number of the 'north american review.' it was a rejoinder to mr. mivart's reply ('north american review,' april ) to mr. chauncey wright's pamphlet. chauncey wright says of it ('letters,' page ):--"it is not properly a rejoinder but a new article, repeating and expounding some of the points of my pamphlet, and answering some of mr. mivart's replies incidentally.") in the 'north american review,' which i have read with great interest. nothing can be clearer than the way in which you discuss the permanence or fixity of species. it never occurred to me to suppose that any one looked at the case as it seems mr. mivart does. had i read his answer to you, perhaps i should have perceived this; but i have resolved to waste no more time in reading reviews of my works or on evolution, excepting when i hear that they are good and contain new matter... it is pretty clear that mr. mivart has come to the end of his tether on this subject. as your mind is so clear, and as you consider so carefully the meaning of words, i wish you would take some incidental occasion to consider when a thing may properly be said to be effected by the will of man. i have been led to the wish by reading an article by your professor whitney versus schleicher. he argues, because each step of change in language is made by the will of man, the whole language so changes; but i do not think that this is so, as man has no intention or wish to change the language. it is a parallel case with what i have called "unconscious selection," which depends on men consciously preserving the best individuals, and thus unconsciously altering the breed. my dear sir, yours sincerely, charles darwin. [not long afterwards (september) mr. chauncey wright paid a visit to down (mr. and mrs. c.l. brace, who had given much of their lives to philanthropic work in new york, also paid a visit at down in this summer. some of their work is recorded in mr. brace's 'the dangerous classes of new york,' and of this book my father wrote to the author:-- "since you were here my wife has read aloud to me more than half of your work, and it has interested us both in the highest degree, and we shall read every word of the remainder. the facts seem to me very well told, and the inferences very striking. but after all this is but a weak part of the impression left on our minds by what we have read; for we are both filled with earnest admiration at the heroic labours of yourself and others."), which he described in a letter ('letters, page - .) to miss s. sedgwick (now mrs. william darwin): "if you can imagine me enthusiastic--absolutely and unqualifiedly so, without a but or criticism, then think of my last evening's and this morning's talks with mr. darwin... i was never so worked up in my life, and did not sleep many hours under the hospitable roof... it would be quite impossible to give by way of report any idea of these talks before and at and after dinner, at breakfast, and at leav-taking; and yet i dislike the egotism of 'testifying' like other religious enthusiasts, without any verification, or hint of similar experience."] charles darwin to herbert spencer. bassett, southampton, june , [ ]. dear spencer, i dare say you will think me a foolish fellow, but i cannot resist the wish to express my unbounded admiration of your article ('mr. martineau on evolution,' by herbert spencer, 'contemporary review,' july .) in answer to mr. martineau. it is, indeed, admirable, and hardly less so your second article on sociology (which, however, i have not yet finished): i never believed in the reigning influence of great men on the world's progress; but if asked why i did not believe, i should have been sorely perplexed to have given a good answer. every one with eyes to see and ears to hear (the number, i fear, are not many) ought to bow their knee to you, and i for one do. believe me, yours most sincerely, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, july [ ]. my dear hooker, i must exhale and express my joy at the way in which the newspapers have taken up your case. i have seen the "times", the "daily news", and the "pall mall", and hear that others have taken up the case. the memorial has done great good this way, whatever may be the result in the action of our wretched government. on my soul, it is enough to make one turn into an old honest tory... if you answer this, i shall be sorry that i have relieved my feelings by writing. yours affectionately, c. darwin. [the memorial here referred to was addressed to mr. gladstone, and was signed by a number of distinguished men, including sir charles lyell, mr. bentham, mr. huxley, and sir james paget. it gives a complete account of the arbitrary and unjust treatment received by sir j.d. hooker at the hands of his official chief, the first commissioner of works. the document is published in full in 'nature' (july , ), and is well worth studying as an example of the treatment which it is possible for science to receive from officialism. as 'nature' observes, it is a paper which must be read with the greatest indignation by scientific men in every part of the world, and with shame by all englishmen. the signatories of the memorial conclude by protesting against the expected consequences of sir joseph hooker's persecution--namely his resignation, and the loss of "a man honoured for his integrity, beloved for his courtesy and kindliness of heart; and who has spent in the public service not only a stainless but an illustrious life." happily this misfortune was averted, and sir joseph was freed from further molestation.] charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, august [ ]. my dear wallace, i hate controversy, chiefly perhaps because i do it badly; but as dr. bree accuses you (mr. wallace had reviewed dr. bree's book, 'an exposition of fallacies in the hypothesis of mr. darwin,' in 'nature,' july , .) of "blundering," i have thought myself bound to send the enclosed letter (the letter is as follows:--"bree on darwinism." 'nature,' august , . permit me to state--though the statement is almost superfluous--that mr. wallace, in his review of dr. bree's work, gives with perfect correctness what i intended to express, and what i believe was expressed clearly, with respect to the probable position of man in the early part of his pedigree. as i have not seen dr. bree's recent work, and as his letter is unintelligible to me, i cannot even conjecture how he has so completely mistaken my meaning: but, perhaps, no one who has read mr. wallace's article, or who has read a work formerly published by dr. bree on the same subject as his recent one, will be surprised at any amount of misunderstanding on his part.--charles darwin. august .) to 'nature,' that is if you in the least desire it. in this case please post it. if you do not at all wish it, i should rather prefer not sending it, and in this case please to tear it up. and i beg you to do the same, if you intend answering dr. bree yourself, as you will do it incomparably better than i should. also please tear it up if you don't like the letter. my dear wallace, yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. charles darwin to a.r. wallace. down, august , . my dear wallace, i have at last finished the gigantic job of reading dr. bastian's book ('the beginnings of life.' h.c. bastian, .) and have been deeply interested by it. you wished to hear my impression, but it is not worth sending. he seems to me an extremely able man, as, indeed, i thought when i read his first essay. his general argument in favour of archebiosis (that is to say, spontaneous generation. for the distinction between archebiosis and heterogenesis, see bastian, chapter vi.) is wonderfully strong, though i cannot think much of some few of his arguments. the result is that i am bewildered and astonished by his statements, but am not convinced, though, on the whole, it seems to me probable that archebiosis is true. i am not convinced, partly i think owing to the deductive cast of much of his reasoning; and i know not why, but i never feel convinced by deduction, even in the case of h. spencer's writings. if dr. bastian's book had been turned upside down, and he had begun with the various cases of heterogenesis, and then gone on to organic, and afterwards to saline solutions, and had then given his general arguments, i should have been, i believe, much more influenced. i suspect, however, that my chief difficulty is the effect of old convictions being stereotyped on my brain. i must have more evidence that germs, or the minutest fragments of the lowest forms, are always killed by degrees of fahr. perhaps the mere reiteration of the statements given by dr. bastian [by] other men, whose judgment i respect, and who have worked long on the lower organisms, would suffice to convince me. here is a fine confession of intellectual weakness; but what an inexplicable frame of mind is that of belief! as for rotifers and tardigrades being spontaneously generated, my mind can no more digest such statements, whether true or false, than my stomach can digest a lump of lead. dr. bastian is always comparing archebiosis, as well as growth, to crystallisation; but, on this view, a rotifer or tardigrade is adapted to its humble conditions of life by a happy accident, and this i cannot believe... he must have worked with very impure materials in some cases, as plenty of organisms appeared in a saline solution not containing an atom of nitrogen. i wholly disagree with dr. bastian about many points in his latter chapters. thus the frequency of generalised forms in the older strata seems to me clearly to indicate the common descent with divergence of more recent forms. notwithstanding all his sneers, i do not strike my colours as yet about pangenesis. i should like to live to see archebiosis proved true, for it would be a discovery of transcendent importance; or, if false, i should like to see it disproved, and the facts otherwise explained; but i shall not live to see all this. if ever proved, dr. bastian will have taken a prominent part in the work. how grand is the onward rush of science; it is enough to console us for the many errors which we have committed, and for our efforts being overlaid and forgotten in the mass of new facts and new views which are daily turning up. this is all i have to say about dr. bastian's book, and it certainly has not been worth saying... charles darwin to a. de candolle. down, december , . my dear sir, i began reading your new book ('histoire des sciences et des savants.' .) sooner than i intended, and when i once began, i could not stop; and now you must allow me to thank you for the very great pleasure which it has given me. i have hardly ever read anything more original and interesting than your treatment of the causes which favour the development of scientific men. the whole was quite new to me, and most curious. when i began your essay i was afraid that you were going to attack the principle of inheritance in relation to mind, but i soon found myself fully content to follow you and accept your limitations. i have felt, of course, special interest in the latter part of your work, but there was here less novelty to me. in many parts you do me much honour, and everywhere more than justice. authors generally like to hear what points most strike different readers, so i will mention that of your shorter essays, that on the future prevalence of languages, and on vaccination interested me the most, as, indeed, did that on statistics, and free will. great liability to certain diseases, being probably liable to atavism, is quite a new idea to me. at page you suggest that a young swallow ought to be separated, and then let loose in order to test the power of instinct; but nature annually performs this experiment, as old cuckoos migrate in england some weeks before the young birds of the same year. by the way, i have just used the forbidden word "nature," which, after reading your essay, i almost determined never to use again. there are very few remarks in your book to which i demur, but when you back up asa gray in saying that all instincts are congenital habits, i must protest. finally, will you permit me to ask you a question: have you yourself, or some one who can be quite trusted, observed (page ) that the butterflies on the alps are tamer than those on the lowlands? do they belong to the same species? has this fact been observed with more than one species? are they brightly coloured kinds? i am especially curious about their alighting on the brightly coloured parts of ladies' dresses, more especially because i have been more than once assured that butterflies like bright colours, for instance, in india the scarlet leaves of poinsettia. once again allow me to thank you for having sent me your work, and for the very unusual amount of pleasure which i have received in reading it. with much respect, i remain, my dear sir, yours very sincerely, charles darwin. [the last revise of the 'expression of the emotions' was finished on august nd, , and he wrote in his diary:--"has taken me about twelve months." as usual he had no belief in the possibility of the book being generally successful. the following passage in a letter to haeckel gives the impression that he had felt the writing of this book as a somewhat severe strain:-- "i have finished my little book on 'expression,' and when it is published in november i will of course send you a copy, in case you would like to read it for amusement. i have resumed some old botanical work, and perhaps i shall never again attempt to discuss theoretical views. "i am growing old and weak, and no man can tell when his intellectual powers begin to fail. long life and happiness to you for your own sake and for that of science." it was published in the autumn. the edition consisted of , and of these copies were sold at mr. murray's sale in november. two thousand were printed at the end of the year, and this proved a misfortune, as they did not afterwards sell so rapidly, and thus a mass of notes collected by the author was never employed for a second edition during his lifetime. among the reviews of the 'expression of the emotions' may be mentioned the unfavourable notices in the "athenaeum", november , , and the "times", december , . a good review by mr. wallace appeared in the 'quarterly journal of science,' january . mr. wallace truly remarks that the book exhibits certain "characteristics of the author's mind in an eminent degree," namely, "the insatiable longing to discover the causes of the varied and complex phenomena presented by living things." he adds that in the case of the author "the restless curiosity of the child to know the 'what for?' the 'why?' and the 'how?' of everything" seems "never to have abated its force." a writer in one of the theological reviews describes the book as the most "powerful and insidious" of all the author's works. professor alexander bain criticised the book in a postscript to the 'senses and the intellect;' to this essay the following letter refers:] charles darwin to alexander bain. down, october , . my dear sir, i am particularly obliged to you for having send me your essay. your criticisms are all written in a quite fair spirit, and indeed no one who knows you or your works would expect anything else. what you say about the vagueness of what i have called the direct action of the nervous system, is perfectly just. i felt it so at the time, and even more of late. i confess that i have never been able fully to grasp your principle of spontaneity, as well as some other of your points, so as to apply them to special cases. but as we look at everything from different points of view, it is not likely that we should agree closely. (professor bain expounded his theory of spontaneity in the essay here alluded to. it would be impossible to do justice to it within the limits of a foot-note. the following quotations may give some notion of it:-- "by spontaneity i understand the readiness to pass into movement in the absence of all stimulation whatever; the essential requisite being that the nerve-centres and muscles shall be fresh and vigorous... the gesticulations and the carols of young and active animals are mere overflow of nervous energy; and although they are very apt to concur with pleasing emotion, they have an independent source... they are not properly movements of expression; they express nothing at all except an abundant stock of physical power.") i have been greatly pleased by what you say about the crying expression and about blushing. did you read a review in a late 'edinburgh?' (the review on the 'expression of the emotions' appeared in the april number of the 'edinburgh review,' . the opening sentence is a fair sample of the general tone of the article: "mr. darwin has added another volume of amusing stories and grotesque illustrations to the remarkable series of works already devoted to the exposition and defence of the evolutionary hypothesis." a few other quotations may be worth giving. "his one-sided devotion to an a priori scheme of interpretation seems thus steadily tending to impair the author's hitherto unrivalled powers as an observer. however this may be, most impartial critics will, we think, admit that there is a marked falling off both in philosophical tone and scientific interest in the works produced since mr. darwin committed himself to the crude metaphysical conception so largely associated with his name." the article is directed against evolution as a whole, almost as much as against the doctrines of the book under discussion. we find throughout plenty of that effective style of criticism which consists in the use of such expressions as "dogmatism," "intolerance," "presumptuous," "arrogant." together with accusations of such various faults a "virtual abandonment of the inductive method," and the use of slang and vulgarisms. the part of the article which seems to have interested my father is the discussion on the use which he ought to have made of painting and sculpture.) it was magnificently contemptuous towards myself and many others. i retain a very pleasant recollection of our sojourn together at that delightful place, moor park. with my renewed thanks, i remain, my dear sir, yours sincerely, ch. darwin. charles darwin to mrs. haliburton. (mrs. haliburton was a daughter of my father's old friend, mr. owen of woodhouse. her husband, judge haliburton, was the well-known author of 'sam slick.') down, november [ ]. my dear mrs. haliburton, i dare say you will be surprised to hear from me. my object in writing now is to say that i have just published a book on the 'expression of the emotions in man and animals;' and it has occurred to me that you might possibly like to read some parts of it; and i can hardly think that this would have been the case with any of the books which i have already published. so i send by this post my present book. although i have had no communication with you or the other members of your family for so long a time, no scenes in my whole life pass so frequently or so vividly before my mind as those which relate to happy old days spent at woodhouse. i should very much like to hear a little news about yourself and the other members of your family, if you will take the trouble to write to me. formerly i used to glean some news about you from my sisters. i have had many years of bad health and have not been able to visit anywhere; and now i feel very old. as long as i pass a perfectly uniform life, i am able to do some daily work in natural history, which is still my passion, as it was in old days, when you used to laugh at me for collecting beetles with such zeal at woodhouse. excepting from my continued il-health, which has excluded me from society, my life has been a very happy one; the greatest drawback being that several of my children have inherited from me feeble health. i hope with all my heart that you retain, at least to a large extent, the famous "owen constitution." with sincere feelings of gratitude and affection for all bearing the name of owen, i venture to sign myself, yours affectionately, charles darwin. charles darwin to mrs. haliburton. down, november [ ]. my dear sarah, i have been very much pleased by your letter, which i must call charming. i hardly ventured to think that you would have retained a friendly recollection of me for so many years. yet i ought to have felt assured that you would remain as warm-hearted and as true-hearted as you have ever been from my earliest recollection. i know well how many grievous sorrows you have gone through; but i am very sorry to hear that your health is not good. in the spring or summer, when the weather is better, if you can summon up courage to pay us a visit here, both my wife, as she desires me to say, and myself, would be truly glad to see you, and i know that you would not care about being rather dull here. it would be a real pleasure to me to see you.--thank you much for telling about your family,--much of which was new to me. how kind you all were to me as a boy, and you especially, and how much happiness i owe to you. believe me your affectionate and obliged friend, charles darwin. p.s.--perhaps you would like to see a photograph of me now that i am old. . [the only work (other than botanical) of this year was the preparation of a second edition of the 'descent of man,' the publication of which is referred to in the following chapter. this work was undertaken much against the grain, as he was at the time deeply immersed in the manuscript of 'insectivorous plants.' thus he wrote to mr. wallace (november ), "i never in my lifetime regretted an interruption so much as this new edition of the 'descent.'" and later (in december) he wrote to mr. huxley: "the new edition of the 'descent' has turned out an awful job. it took me ten days merely to glance over letters and reviews with criticisms and new facts. it is a devil of a job." the work was continued until april , , when he was able to return to his much loved drosera. he wrote to mr. murray:-- "i have at last finished, after above three months as hard work as i have ever had in my life, a corrected edition of the 'descent,' and i much wish to have it printed off as soon as possible. as it is to be stereotyped i shall never touch it again." the first of the miscellaneous letters of refers to a pleasant visit received from colonel higginson of newport, u.s.] charles darwin to thos. wentworth higginson. down, february th [ ]. my dear sir, my wife has just finished reading aloud your 'life with a black regiment,' and you must allow me to thank you heartily for the very great pleasure which it has in many ways given us. i always thought well of the negroes, from the little which i have seen of them; and i have been delighted to have my vague impressions confirmed, and their character and mental powers so ably discussed. when you were here i did not know of the noble position which you had filled. i had formerly read about the black regiments, but failed to connect your name with your admirable undertaking. although we enjoyed greatly your visit to down, my wife and myself have over and over again regretted that we did not know about the black regiment, as we should have greatly liked to have heard a little about the south from your own lips. your descriptions have vividly recalled walks taken forty years ago in brazil. we have your collected essays, which were kindly sent us by mr. [moncure] conway, but have not yet had time to read them. i occasionally glean a little news of you in the 'index'; and within the last hour have read an interesting article of yours on the progress of free thought. believe me, my dear sir, with sincere admiration, yours very faithfully, ch. darwin. [on may th he sent the following answers to the questions that mr. galton was at that time addressing to various scientific men, in the course of the inquiry which is given in his 'english men of science, their nature and nurture,' . with regard to the questions my father wrote, "i have filled up the answers as well as i could, but it is simply impossible for me to estimate the degrees." for the sake of convenience, the questions and answers relating to "nurture" are made to precede those on "nature": nurture. education? how taught? i consider that all i have learnt of any value has been sel-taught. conducive to or restrictive of habits of observation? restrictive of observation, being almost entirely classical. conducive to health or otherwise? yes. peculiar merits? none whatever. chief omissions? no mathematics or modern languages, nor any habits of observation or reasoning. religion. has the religious creed taught in your youth had any deterrent effect on the freedom of your researches? no. scientific tastes. do your scientific tastes appear to have been innate? certainly innate. were they determined by any and what events? my innate taste for natural history strongly confirmed and directed by the voyage in the "beagle". nature. specify any interests that have been very actively pursued. science, and field sports to a passionate degree during youth. (c.d. = charles darwin, r.d. = robert darwin, his father.) religion? c.d.--nominally to church of england. r.d.--nominally to church of england. politics? c.d.--liberal or radical. r.d.--liberal. health? c.d.--good when young--bad for last years. r.d.--good throughout life, except from gout. height, etc? c.d.-- ft. figure, etc.?--spare, whilst young rather stout. measurement round inside of hat?-- / in. colour of hair?--brown. complexion?--rather sallow. r.d.-- ft. in. figure, etc?--very broad and corpulent. colour of hair? --brown. complexion?--ruddy. temperament? c.d.--somewhat nervous. r.d.--sanguine. energy of body, etc.? c.d.--energy shown by much activity, and whilst i had health, power of resisting fatigue. i and one other man were alone able to fetch water for a large party of officers and sailors utterly prostrated. some of my expeditions in s. america were adventurous. an early riser in the morning. r.d.--great power of endurance although feeling much fatigue, as after consultations after long journeys; very active--not restless--very early riser, no travels. my father said his father suffered much from sense of fatigue, that he worked very hard. energy of mind, etc.? c.d.--shown by rigorous and long-continued work on same subject, as years on the 'origin of species,' and years on 'cirripedia.' r.d.--habitually very active mind--shown in conversation with a succession of people during the whole day. memory? c.d.--memory very bad for dates, and for learning by rote; but good in retaining a general or vague recollection of many facts. r.d.--wonderful memory for dates. in old age he told a person, reading aloud to him a book only read in youth, the passages which were coming--knew the birthdays and death, etc., of all friends and acquaintances. studiousness? c.d.--very studious, but not large acquirements. r.d.--not very studious or mentally receptive, except for facts in conversation--great collector of anecdotes. independence of judgment? c.d.--i think fairly independent; but i can give no instances. i gave up common religious belief almost independently from my own reflections. r.d.--free thinker in religious matters. liberal, with rather a tendency to toryism. originality or eccentricity? c.d.-- -- thinks this applies to me; i do not think so--i.e., as far as eccentricity. i suppose that i have shown originality in science, as i have made discoveries with regard to common objects. r.d.--original character, had great personal influence and power of producing fear of himself in others. he kept his accounts with great care in a peculiar way, in a number of separate little books, without any general ledger. special talents? c.d.--none, except for business as evinced by keeping accounts, replies to correspondence, and investing money very well. very methodical in all my habits. r.d.--practical business--made a large fortune and incurred no losses. strongly marked mental peculiarities, bearing on scientific success, and not specified above? c.d.--steadiness--great curiosity about facts and their meaning. some love of the new and marvellous. r.d.--strong social affection and great sympathy in the pleasures of others. sceptical as to new things. curious as to facts. great foresight. not much public spirit--great generosity in giving money and assistance. n.b.--i find it quite impossible to estimate my character by your degrees. the following letter refers inter alia to a letter which appeared in 'nature' (september , ), "on the males and complemental males of certain cirripedes, and on rudimentary organs:"] charles darwin to e. haeckel. down, september , . my dear haeckel, i thank you for the present of your book ('schopfungs-geschichte,' th edition. the translation ('the history of creation') was not published until .), and i am heartily glad to see its great success. you will do a wonderful amount of good in spreading the doctrine of evolution, supporting it as you do by so many original observations. i have read the new preface with very great interest. the delay in the appearance of the english translation vexes and surprises me, for i have never been able to read it thoroughly in german, and i shall assuredly do so when it appears in english. has the problem of the later stages of reduction of useless structures ever perplexed you? this problem has of late caused me much perplexity. i have just written a letter to 'nature' with a hypothetical explanation of this difficulty, and i will send you the paper with the passage marked. i will at the same time send a paper which has interested me; it need not be returned. it contains a singular statement bearing on so-called spontaneous generation. i much wish that this latter question could be settled, but i see no prospect of it. if it could be proved true this would be most important to us... wishing you every success in your admirable labours, i remain, my dear haeckel, yours very sincerely, charles darwin. chapter .viii. -- miscellanea including second editions of 'coral reefs,' the 'descent of man,' and the 'variation of animals and plants.' and . [the year was given up to 'insectivorous plants,' with the exception of the months devoted to the second edition of the 'descent of man,' and with the further exception of the time given to a second edition of his 'coral reefs' ( ). the preface to the latter states that new facts have been added, the whole book revised, and "the latter chapters almost rewritten." in the appendix some account is given of professor semper's objections, and this was the occasion of correspondence between that naturalist and my father. in professor semper's volume, 'animal life' (one of the international series), the author calls attention to the subject in the following passage which i give in german, the published english translation being, as it seems to me, incorrect: "es scheint mir als ob er in der zweiten ausgabe seines allgemein bekannten werks uber korallenriffe einem irrthume uber meine beobachtungen zum opfer gefallen ist, indem er die angaben, die ich allerdings bisher immer nur sehr kurz gehalten hatte, vollstandig falsch wiedergegeben hat." the proof-sheets containing this passage were sent by professor semper to my father before 'animal life' was published, and this was the occasion for the following letter, which was afterwards published in professor semper's book.] charles darwin to k. semper. down, october , . my dear professor semper, i thank you for your extremely kind letter of the th, and for the proo-sheets. i believe that i understand all, excepting one or two sentences, where my imperfect knowledge of german has interfered. this is my sole and poor excuse for the mistake which i made in the second edition of my 'coral' book. your account of the pellew islands is a fine addition to our knowledge on coral reefs. i have very little to say on the subject, even if i had formerly read your account and seen your maps, but had known nothing of the proofs of recent elevation, and of your belief that the islands have not since subsided. i have no doubt that i should have considered them as formed during subsidence. but i should have been much troubled in my mind by the sea not being so deep as it usually is round atolls, and by the reef on one side sloping so gradually beneath the sea; for this latter fact, as far as my memory serves me, is a very unusual and almost unparalleled case. i always foresaw that a bank at the proper depth beneath the surface would give rise to a reef which could not be distinguished from an atoll, formed during subsidence. i must still adhere to my opinion that the atolls and barrier reefs in the middle of the pacific and indian oceans indicate subsidence; but i fully agree with you that such cases as that of the pellew islands, if of at all frequent occurrence, would make my general conclusions of very little value. future observers must decide between us. it will be a strange fact if there has not been subsidence of the beds of the great oceans, and if this has not affected the forms of the coral reefs. in the last three pages of the last sheet sent i am extremely glad to see that you are going to treat of the dispersion of animals. your preliminary remarks seem to me quite excellent. there is nothing about m. wagner, as i expected to find. i suppose that you have seen moseley's last book, which contains some good observations on dispersion. i am glad that your book will appear in english, for then i can read it with ease. pray believe me, yours very sincerely, charles darwin. [the most recent criticism on the coral-reef theory is by mr. murray, one of the staff of the "challenger", who read a paper before the royal society of edinburgh, april , . (an abstract is published in volume x. of the 'proceedings,' page , and in 'nature,' august , .) the chief point brought forward is the possibility of the building up of submarine mountains, which may serve as foundations for coral reefs. mr. murray also seeks to prove that "the chief features of coral reefs and islands can be accounted for without calling in the aid of great and general subsidence." the following letter refers to this subject:] charles darwin to a. agassiz. down, may , . ... you will have seen mr. murray's views on the formation of atolls and barrier reefs. before publishing my book, i thought long over the same view, but only as far as ordinary marine organisms are concerned, for at that time little was known of the multitude of minute oceanic organisms. i rejected this view, as from the few dredgings made in the "beagle", in the south temperate regions, i concluded that shells, the smaller corals, etc., decayed, and were dissolved, when not protected by the deposition of sediment, and sediment could not accumulate in the open ocean. certainly, shells, etc., were in several cases completely rotten, and crumbled into mud between my fingers; but you will know well whether this is in any degree common. i have expressly said that a bank at the proper depth would give rise to an atoll, which could not be distinguished from one formed during subsidence. i can, however, hardly believe in the former presence of as many banks (there having been no subsidence) as there are atolls in the great oceans, within a reasonable depth, on which minute oceanic organisms could have accumulated to the thickness of many hundred feet... pray forgive me for troubling you at such length, but it has occurred [to me] that you might be disposed to give, after your wide experience, your judgment. if i am wrong, the sooner i am knocked on the head and annihilated so much the better. it still seems to me a marvellous thing that there should not have been much, and long continued, subsidence in the beds of the great oceans. i wish that some doubly rich millionaire would take it into his head to have borings made in some of the pacific and indian atolls, and bring home cores for slicing from a depth of or feet... [the second edition of the 'descent of man' was published in the autumn of . some severe remarks on the "monistic hypothesis" appeared in the july (the review necessarily deals with the first edition of the 'descent of man.') number of the 'quarterly review' (page ). the reviewer expresses his astonishment at the ignorance of certain elementary distinctions and principles (e.g. with regard to the verbum mentale) exhibited, among others, by mr. darwin, who does not exhibit the faintest indication of having grasped them, yet a clear perception of them, and a direct and detailed examination of his facts with regard to them, "was a sine qua non for attempting, with a chance of success, the solution of the mystery as to the descent of man." some further criticisms of a later date may be here alluded to. in the 'academy,' (pages , ), appeared a review of mr. mivart's 'lessons from nature,' by mr. wallace. when considering the part of mr. mivart's book relating to natural and sexual selection, mr. wallace says: "in his violent attack on mr. darwin's theories our author uses unusually strong language. not content with mere argument, he expresses 'reprobation of mr. darwin's views'; and asserts that though he (mr. darwin) has been obliged, virtually, to give up his theory, it is still maintained by darwinians with 'unscrupulous audacity,' and the actual repudiation of it concealed by the 'conspiracy of silence.'" mr. wallace goes on to show that these charges are without foundation, and points out that, "if there is one thing more than another for which mr. darwin is pre-eminent among modern literary and scientific men, it is for his perfect literary honesty, his self-abnegation in confessing himself wrong, and the eager haste with which he proclaims and even magnifies small errors in his works, for the most part discovered by himself." the following extract from a letter to mr. wallace (june th) refers to mr. mivart's statement ('lessons from nature,' page ) that mr. darwin at first studiously disguised his views as to the "bestiality of man":-- "i have only just heard of and procured your two articles in the academy. i thank you most cordially for your generous defence of me against mr. mivart. in the 'origin' i did not discuss the derivation of any one species; but that i might not be accused of concealing my opinion, i went out of my way, and inserted a sentence which seemed to me (and still so seems) to disclose plainly my belief. this was quoted in my 'descent of man.' therefore it is very unjust,... of mr. mivart to accuse me of base fraudulent concealment." the letter which here follows is of interest in connection with the discussion, in the 'descent of man,' on the origin of the musical sense in man:] charles darwin to e. gurney. (author of 'the power of sound.') down, july , . my dear mr. gurney, i have read your article ("some disputed points in music."--'fortnightly review,' july, .) with much interest, except the latter part, which soared above my ken. i am greatly pleased that you uphold my views to a certain extent. your criticism of the rasping noise made by insects being necessarily rhythmical is very good; but though not made intentionally, it may be pleasing to the females from the nerve cells being nearly similar in function throughout the animal kingdom. with respect to your letter, i believe that i understand your meaning, and agree with you. i never supposed that the different degrees and kinds of pleasure derived from different music could be explained by the musical powers of our semi-human progenitors. does not the fact that different people belonging to the same civilised nation are very differently affected by the same music, almost show that these diversities of taste and pleasure have been acquired during their individual lives? your simile of architecture seems to me particularly good; for in this case the appreciation almost must be individual, though possibly the sense of sublimity excited by a grand cathedral, may have some connection with the vague feelings of terror and superstition in our savage ancestors, when they entered a great cavern or gloomy forest. i wish some one could analyse the feeling of sublimity. it amuses me to think how horrified some high flying aesthetic men will be at your encouraging such low degraded views as mine. believe me, yours very sincerely, charles darwin. [the letters which follow are of a miscellaneous interest. the first extract (from a letter, january , ) refers to a spiritualistic seance, held at erasmus darwin's house, queen anne street, under the auspices of a well-known medium:] "... we had grand fun, one afternoon, for george hired a medium, who made the chairs, a flute, a bell, and candlestick, and fiery points jump about in my brother's diningroom, in a manner that astounded every one, and took away all their breaths. it was in the dark, but george and hensleigh wedgwood held the medium's hands and feet on both sides all the time. i found it so hot and tiring that i went away before all these astounding miracles, or jugglery, took place. how the man could possibly do what was done passes my understanding. i came downstairs, and saw all the chairs, etc., on the table, which had been lifted over the heads of those sitting round it. the lord have mercy on us all, if we have to believe in such rubbish. f. galton was there, and says it was a good seance..." the seance in question led to a smaller and more carefully organised one being undertaken, at which mr. huxley was present, and on which he reported to my father:] charles darwin to professor t.h. huxley. down, january [ ]. my dear huxley, it was very good of you to write so long an account. though the seance did tire you so much it was, i think, really worth the exertion, as the same sort of things are done at all the seances, even at --'s; and now to my mind an enormous weight of evidence would be requisite to make one believe in anything beyond mere trickery... i am pleased to think that i declared to all my family, the day before yesterday, that the more i thought of all that i had heard happened at queen anne st., the more convinced i was it was all imposture... my theory was that [the medium] managed to get the two men on each side of him to hold each other's hands, instead of his, and that he was thus free to perform his antics. i am very glad that i issued my ukase to you to attend. yours affectionately, ch. darwin. [in the spring of this year ( ) he read a book which gave him great pleasure and of which he often spoke with admiration:--'the naturalist in nicaragua,' by the late thomas belt. mr. belt, whose untimely death may well be deplored by naturalists, was by profession an engineer, so that all his admirable observations in natural history in nicaragua and elsewhere were the fruit of his leisure. the book is direct and vivid in style and is full of description and suggestive discussions. with reference to it my father wrote to sir j.d. hooker:-- "belt i have read, and i am delighted that you like it so much, it appears to me the best of all natural history journals which have ever been published."] charles darwin to the marquis de saporta. down, may , . dear sir, i have been very neglectful in not having sooner thanked you for your kindness in having sent me your 'etudes sur la vegetation,' etc., and other memoirs. i have read several of them with very great interest, and nothing can be more important, in my opinion, than your evidence of the extremely slow and gradual manner in which specific forms change. i observe that m. a. de candolle has lately quoted you on this head versus heer. i hope that you may be able to throw light on the question whether such protean, or polymorphic forms, as those of rubus, hieracium, etc., at the present day, are those which generate new species; as for myself, i have always felt some doubt on this head. i trust that you may soon bring many of your countrymen to believe in evolution, and my name will then perhaps cease to be scorned. with the most sincere respect, i remain, dear sir, yours faithfully, ch. darwin. charles darwin to asa gray. down, june [ ]. my dear gray, i have now read your article (the article, "charles darwin," in the series of "scientific worthies" ('nature,' june , ). this admirable estimate of my father's work in science is given in the form of a comparison and contrast between robert brown and charles darwin.) in 'nature,' and the last two paragraphs were not included in the slip sent before. i wrote yesterday and cannot remember exactly what i said, and now cannot be easy without again telling you how profoundly i have been gratified. every one, i suppose, occasionally thinks that he has worked in vain, and when one of these fits overtakes me, i will think of your article, and if that does not dispel the evil spirit, i shall know that i am at the time a little bit insane, as we all are occasionally. what you say about teleology ("let us recognise darwin's great service to natural science in bringing back to it teleology: so that instead of morphology versus teleology, we shall have morphology wedded to teleology.") pleases me especially, and i do not think any one else has ever noticed the point. (see, however, mr. huxley's chapter on the 'reception of the origin of species' in volume i.) i have always said you were the man to hit the nail on the head. yours gratefully and affectionately, ch. darwin. [as a contribution to the history of the reception of the 'origin of species,' the meeting of the british association in , at belfast, should be mentioned. it is memorable for professor tyndall's brilliant presidential address, in which a sketch of the history of evolution is given culminating in an eloquent analysis of the 'origin of species,' and of the nature of its great success. with regard to prof. tyndall's address, lyell wrote ('life,' ii. page ) congratulating my father on the meeting, "on which occasion you and your theory of evolution may be fairly said to have had an ovation." in the same letter sir charles speaks of a paper (on the ancient volcanoes of the highlands, 'journal of geological soc.,' .) of professor judd's, and it is to this that the following letter refers:] charles darwin to c. lyell. down, september , . my dear lyell, i suppose that you have returned, or will soon return, to london (sir charles lyell returned from scotland towards the end of september.); and, i hope, reinvigorated by your outing. in your last letter you spoke of mr. judd's paper on the volcanoes of the hebrides. i have just finished it, and to ease my mind must express my extreme admiration. it is years since i have read a purely geological paper which has interested me so greatly. i was all the more interested, as in the cordillera i often speculated on the sources of the deluges of submarine porphyritic lavas, of which they are built; and, as i have stated, i saw to a certain extent the causes of the obliteration of the points of eruption. i was also not a little pleased to see my volcanic book quoted, for i thought it was completely dead and forgotten. what fine work will mr. judd assuredly do!... now i have eased my mind; and so farewell, with both e.d.'s and c.d.'s very kind remembrances to miss lyell. yours affectionately, charles darwin. [sir charles lyell's reply to the above letter must have been one of the latest that my father received from his old friend, and it is with this letter that the volumes of his published correspondence closes.] charles darwin to aug. forel. down, october , . my dear sir, i have now read the whole of your admirable work ('les fourmis de la suisse,' to, .) and seldom in my life have i been more interested by any book. there are so many interesting facts and discussions, that i hardly know which to specify; but i think, firstly, the newest points to me have been about the size of the brain in the three sexes, together with your suggestion that increase of mind power may have led to the sterility of the workers. secondly about the battles of the ants, and your curious account of the enraged ants being held by their comrades until they calmed down. thirdly, the evidence of ants of the same community being the offspring of brothers and sisters. you admit, i think, that new communities will often be the product of a cross between not-related ants. fritz muller has made some interesting observations on this head with respect to termites. the case of anergates is most perplexing in many ways, but i have such faith in the law of occasional crossing that i believe an explanation will hereafter be found, such as the dimorphism of either sex and the occasional production of winged males. i see that you are puzzled how ants of the same community recognize each other; i once placed two (f. rufa) in a pill-box smelling strongly of asafoetida and after a day returned them to their homes; they were threatened, but at last recognized. i made the trial thinking that they might know each other by their odour; but this cannot have been the case, and i have often fancied that they must have some common signal. your last chapter is one great mass of wonderful facts and suggestions, and the whole profoundly interesting. i have seldom been more gratified than by [your] honourable mention of my work. i should like to tell you one little observation which i made with care many years ago; i saw ants (formica rufa) carrying cocoons from a nest which was the largest i ever saw and which was well-known to all the country people near, and an old man, apparently about eighty years of age, told me that he had known it ever since he was a boy. the ants carrying the cocoons did not appear to be emigrating; following the line, i saw many ascending a tall fir tree still carrying their cocoons. but when i looked closely i found that all the cocoons were empty cases. this astonished me, and next day i got a man to observe with me, and we again saw ants bringing empty cocoons out of the nest; each of us fixed on one ant and slowly followed it, and repeated the observation on many others. we thus found that some ants soon dropped their empty cocoons; others carried them for many yards, as much as thirty paces, and others carried them high up the fir tree out of sight. now here i think we have one instinct in contest with another and mistaken one. the first instinct being to carry the empty cocoons out of the nest, and it would have been sufficient to have laid them on the heap of rubbish, as the first breath of wind would have blown them away. and then came in the contest with the other very powerful instinct of preserving and carrying their cocoons as long as possible; and this they could not help doing although the cocoons were empty. according as the one or other instinct was the stronger in each individual ant, so did it carry the empty cocoon to a greater or less distance. if this little observation should ever prove of any use to you, you are quite at liberty to use it. again thanking you cordially for the great pleasure which your work has given me, i remain with much respect, yours sincerely, ch. darwin. p.s.--if you read english easily i should like to send you mr. belt's book, as i think you would like it as much as did fritz muller. charles darwin to j. fiske. down, december , . my dear sir, you must allow me to thank you for the very great interest with which i have at last slowly read the whole of your work. ('outlines of cosmic philosophy,' volumes, vo. .) i have long wished to know something about the views of the many great men whose doctrines you give. with the exception of special points i did not even understand h. spencer's general doctrine; for his style is too hard work for me. i never in my life read so lucid an expositor (and therefore thinker) as you are; and i think that i understand nearly the whole--perhaps less clearly about cosmic theism and causation than other parts. it is hopeless to attempt out of so much to specify what has interested me most, and probably you would not care to hear. i wish some chemist would attempt to ascertain the result of the cooling of heated gases of the proper kinds, in relation to your hypothesis of the origin of living matter. it pleased me to find that here and there i had arrived from my own crude thoughts at some of the same conclusions with you; though i could seldom or never have given my reasons for such conclusions. i find that my mind is so fixed by the inducive method, that i cannot appreciate deductive reasoning: i must begin with a good body of facts and not from a principle (in which i always suspect some fallacy) and then as much deduction as you please. this may be very narrow-minded; but the result is that such parts of h. spencer, as i have read with care impress my mind with the idea of his inexhaustible wealth of suggestion, but never convince me; and so i find it with some others. i believe the cause to lie in the frequency with which i have found first-formed theories [to be] erroneous. i thank you for the honourable mention which you make of my works. parts of the 'descent of man' must have appeared laughably weak to you: nevertheless, i have sent you a new edition just published. thanking you for the profound interest and profit with which i have read your work. i remain, my dear sir, yours very faithfully, ch. darwin. . [the only work, not purely botanical, which occupied my father in the present year was the correction of the second edition of 'the variation of animals and plants,' and on this he was engaged from the beginning of july till october rd. the rest of the year was taken up with his work on insectivorous plants, and on cross-fertilisation, as will be shown in a later chapter. the chief alterations in the second edition of 'animals and plants' are in the eleventh chapter on "bud-variation and on certain anomalous modes of reproduction;" the chapter on pangenesis "was also largely altered and remodelled." he mentions briefly some of the authors who have noticed the doctrine. professor delpino's 'sulla darwiniana teoria della pangenesi' ( ), an adverse but fair criticism, seems to have impressed him as valuable. of another critique my father characteristically says ('animals and plants,' nd edition volume ii. page .), "dr. lionel beale ('nature,' may , , page ) sneers at the whole doctrine with much acerbity and some justice." he also points out that, in mantegazza's 'elementi di igiene,' the theory of pangenesis was clearly foreseen. in connection with this subject, a letter of my father's to 'nature' (april , ) should be mentioned. a paper by mr. galton had been read before the royal society (march , ) in which were described experiments, on intertransfusion of blood, designed to test the truth of the hypothesis of pangenesis. my father, while giving all due credit to mr. galton for his ingenious experiments, does not allow that pangenesis has "as yet received its death-blow, though from presenting so many vulnerable points its life is always in jeopardy." he seems to have found the work of correcting very wearisome, for he wrote:-- "i have no news about myself, as i am merely slaving over the sickening work of preparing new editions. i wish i could get a touch of poor lyell's feelings, that it was delightful to improve a sentence, like a painter improving a picture." the feeling of effort or strain over this piece of work, is shown in a letter to professor haeckel:-- "what i shall do in future if i live, heaven only knows; i ought perhaps to avoid general and large subjects, as too difficult for me with my advancing years, and i suppose enfeebled brain." at the end of march, in this year, the portrait for which he was sitting to mr. ouless was finished. he felt the sittings a great fatigue, in spite of mr. ouless's considerate desire to spare him as far as was possible. in a letter to sir j.d. hooker he wrote, "i look a very venerable, acute, melancholy old dog; whether i really look so i do not know." the picture is in the possession of the family, and is known to many through m. rajon's etching. mr. ouless's portrait is, in my opinion, the finest representation of my father that has been produced. the following letter refers to the death of sir charles lyell, which took place on february nd, , in his seventy-eighth year.] charles darwin to miss buckley (now mrs. fisher). (mrs. fisher acted as secretary to sir charles lyell.) down, february , . my dear miss buckley, i am grieved to hear of the death of my old and kind friend, though i knew that it could not be long delayed, and that it was a happy thing that his life should not have been prolonged, as i suppose that his mind would inevitably have suffered. i am glad that lady lyell (lady lyell died in .) has been saved this terrible blow. his death makes me think of the time when i first saw him, and how full of sympathy and interest he was about what i could tell him of coral reefs and south america. i think that this sympathy with the work of every other naturalist was one of the finest features of his character. how completely he revolutionised geology: for i can remember something of pre-lyellian days. i never forget that almost everything which i have done in science i owe to the study of his great works. well, he has had a grand and happy career, and no one ever worked with a truer zeal in a noble cause. it seems strange to me that i shall never again sit with him and lady lyell at their breakfast. i am very much obliged to you for having so kindly written to me. pray give our kindest remembrances to miss lyell, and i hope that she has not suffered much in health, from fatigue and anxiety. believe me, my dear miss buckley, yours very sincerely, charles darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, february [ ]. my dear hooker, your letter so full of feeling has interested me greatly. i cannot say that i felt his [lyell's] death much, for i fully expected it, and have looked for some little time at his career as finished. i dreaded nothing so much as his surviving with impaired mental powers. he was, indeed, a noble man in very many ways; perhaps in none more than in his warm sympathy with the work of others. how vividly i can recall my first conversation with him, and how he astonished me by his interest in what i told him. how grand also was his candour and pure love of truth. well, he is gone, and i feel as if we were all soon to go... i am deeply rejoiced about westminster abbey (sir c. lyell was buried in westminster abbey.), the possibility of which had not occurred to me when i wrote before. i did think that his works were the most enduring of all testimonials (as you say) to him; but then i did not like the idea of his passing away with no outward sign of what scientific men thought of his merits. now all this is changed, and nothing can be better than westminster abbey. mrs. lyell has asked me to be one of the pall-bearers, but i have written to say that i dared not, as i should so likely fail in the midst of the ceremony, and have my head whirling off my shoulders. all this affair must have cost you much fatigue and worry, and how i do wish you were out of england... [in he wrote to mrs. fisher in reference to her article on sir charles lyell in the 'encyclopaedia britannica':-- "for such a publication i suppose you do not want to say much about his private character, otherwise his strong sense of humour and love of society might have been added. also his extreme interest in the progress of the world, and in the happiness of mankind. also his freedom from all religious bigotry, though these perhaps would be a superfluity." the following refers to the zoological station at naples, a subject on which my father felt an enthusiastic interest:] charles darwin to anton dohrn. down, [ ?]. my dear dr. dohrn, many thanks for your most kind letter, i most heartily rejoice at your improved health and at the success of your grand undertaking, which will have so much influence on the progress of zoology throughout europe. if we look to england alone, what capital work has already been done at the station by balfour and ray lankester... when you come to england, i suppose that you will bring mrs. dohrn, and we shall be delighted to see you both here. i have often boasted that i have had a live uhlan in my house! it will be very interesting to me to read your new views on the ancestry of the vertebrates. i shall be sorry to give up the ascidians, to whom i feel profound gratitude; but the great thing, as it appears to me, is that any link whatever should be found between the main divisions of the animal kingdom... charles darwin to august weismann. down, december , . my dear sir, i have been profoundly interested by your essay on amblystoma ('umwandlung des axolotl.'), and think that you have removed a great stumbling block in the way of evolution. i once thought of reversion in this case; but in a crude and imperfect manner. i write now to call your attention to the sterility of moths when hatched out of their proper season; i give references in chapter of my 'variation under domestication' (volume ii. page , of english edition), and these cases illustrate, i think, the sterility of amblystoma. would it not be worth while to examine the reproductive organs of those individuals of wingless hemiptera which occasionally have wings, as in the case of the bed-bug. i think i have heard that the females of mutilla sometimes have wings. these cases must be due to reversion. i dare say many anomalous cases will be hereafter explained on the same principle. i hinted at this explanation in the extraordinary case of the blac-shouldered peacock, the so-called pavo nigripennis given in my 'variation under domestication;' and i might have been bolder, as the variety is in many respects intermediate between the two known species. with much respect, yours sincerely, ch. darwin. the vivisection question. [it was in november that my father gave his evidence before the royal commission on vivisection. (see volume i.) i have, therefore, placed together here the matter relating to this subject, irrespective of date. something has already been said of my father's strong feeling with regard to suffering both in man and beast. it was indeed one of the strongest feelings in his nature, and was exemplified in matters small and great, in his sympathy with the educational miseries of dancing dogs, or in his horror at the sufferings of slaves. (he once made an attempt to free a patient in a mad-house, who (as he wrongly supposed) was sane. he had some correspondence with the gardener at the asylum, and on one occasion he found a letter from a patient enclosed with one from the gardener. the letter was rational in tone and declared that the writer was sane and wrongfully confined. my father wrote to the lunacy commissioners (without explaining the source of his information) and in due time heard that the man had been visited by the commissioners, and that he was certainly insane. sometime afterwards the patient was discharged, and wrote to thank my father for his interference, adding that he had undoubtedly been insane, when he wrote his former letter.) the remembrance of screams, or other sounds heard in brazil, when he was powerless to interfere with what he believed to be the torture of a slave, haunted him for years, especially at night. in smaller matters, where he could interfere, he did so vigorously. he returned one day from his walk pale and faint from having seen a horse ill-used, and from the agitation of violently remonstrating with the man. on another occasion he saw a hors-breaker teaching his son to ride, the little boy was frightened and the man was rough; my father stopped, and jumping out of the carriage reproved the man in no measured terms. one other little incident may be mentioned, showing that his humanity to animals was well-known in his own neighbourhood. a visitor, driving from orpington to down, told the man to go faster, "why," said the driver, "if i had whipped the horse this much, driving mr. darwin, he would have got out of the carriage and abused me well." with respect to the special point under consideration,--the sufferings of animals subjected to experiment,--nothing could show a stronger feeling than the following extract from a letter to professor ray lankester (march , ):-- "you ask about my opinion on vivisection. i quite agree that it is justifiable for real investigations on physiology; but not for mere damnable and detestable curiosity. it is a subject which makes me sick with horror, so i will not say another word about it, else i shall not sleep to-night." an extract from sir thomas farrer's notes shows how strongly he expressed himself in a similar manner in conversation:-- "the last time i had any conversation with him was at my house in bryanston square, just before one of his last seizures. he was then deeply interested in the vivisection question; and what he said made a deep impression on me. he was a man eminently fond of animals and tender to them; he would not knowingly have inflicted pain on a living creature; but he entertained the strongest opinion that to prohibit experiments on living animals, would be to put a stop to the knowledge of and the remedies for pain and disease." the anti-vivisection agitation, to which the following letters refer, seems to have become specially active in , as may be seen, e.g. by the index to 'nature' for that year, in which the word "vivisection," suddenly comes into prominence. but before that date the subject had received the earnest attention of biologists. thus at the liverpool meeting of the british association in , a committee was appointed, which reported, defining the circumstances and conditions under which, in the opinion of the signatories, experiments on living animals were justifiable. in the spring of , lord hartismere introduced a bill into the upper house to regulate the course of physiological research. shortly afterwards a bill more just towards science in its provisions was introduced to the house of commons by messrs. lyon playfair, walpole, and ashley. it was, however, withdrawn on the appointment of a royal commission to inquire into the whole question. the commissioners were lords cardwell and winmarleigh, mr. w.e. forster, sir j.b. karslake, mr. huxley, professor erichssen, and mr. r.h. hutton: they commenced their inquiry in july, , and the report was published early in the following year. in the early summer of , lord carnarvon's bill, entitled, "an act to amend the law relating to cruelty to animals," was introduced. it cannot be denied that the framers of this bill, yielding to the unreasonable clamour of the public, went far beyond the recommendations of the royal commission. as a correspondent in 'nature' put it ( , page ), "the evidence on the strength of which legislation was recommended went beyond the facts, the report went beyond the evidence, the recommendations beyond the report; and the bill can hardly be said to have gone beyond the recommendations; but rather to have contradicted them." the legislation which my father worked for, as described in the following letters, was practically what was introduced as dr. lyon playfair's bill.] charles darwin to mrs. litchfield. (his daughter.) january , . my dear h. your letter has led me to think over vivisection (i wish some new word like anaes-section could be invented (he communicated to 'nature' (september , ) an article by dr. wilder, of cornell university, an abstract of which was published (page ). dr. wilder advocated the use of the word 'callisection' for painless operations on animals.) for some hours, and i will jot down my conclusions, which will appear very unsatisfactory to you. i have long thought physiology one of the greatest of sciences, sure sooner, or more probably later, greatly to benefit mankind; but, judging from all other sciences, the benefits will accrue only indirectly in the search for abstract truth. it is certain that physiology can progress only by experiments on living animals. therefore the proposal to limit research to points of which we can now see the bearings in regard to health, etc., i look at as puerile. i thought at first it would be good to limit vivisection to public laboratories; but i have heard only of those in london and cambridge, and i think oxford; but probably there may be a few others. therefore only men living in a few great towns would carry on investigation, and this i should consider a great evil. if private men were permitted to work in their own houses, and required a licence, i do not see who is to determine whether any particular man should receive one. it is young unknown men who are the most likely to do good work. i would gladly punish severely any one who operated on an animal not rendered insensible, if the experiment made this possible; but here again i do not see that a magistrate or jury could possibly determine such a point. therefore i conclude, if (as is likely) some experiments have been tried too often, or anaesthetics have not been used when they could have been, the cure must be in the improvement of humanitarian feelings. under this point of view i have rejoiced at the present agitation. if stringent laws are passed, and this is likely, seeing how unscientific the house of commons is, and that the gentlemen of england are humane, as long as their sports are not considered, which entailed a hundred or thousand-fold more suffering than the experiments of physiologists--if such laws are passed, the result will assuredly be that physiology, which has been until within the last few years at a standstill in england, will languish or quite cease. it will then be carried on solely on the continent; and there will be so many the fewer workers on this grand subject, and this i should greatly regret. by the way, f. balfour, who has worked for two or three years in the laboratory at cambridge, declares to george that he has never seen an experiment, except with animals rendered insensible. no doubt the names of doctors will have great weight with the house of commons; but very many practitioners neither know nor care anything about the progress of knowledge. i cannot at present see my way to sign any petition, without hearing what physiologists thought would be its effect, and then judging for myself. i certainly could not sign the paper sent me by miss cobbe, with its monstrous (as it seems to me) attack on virchow for experimenting on the trichinae. i am tired and so no more. yours affectionately, charles darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, april [ ]. my dear hooker, i worked all the time in london on the vivisection question; and we now think it advisable to go further than a mere petition. litchfield (mr. r.b. litchfield, his son-in-law.) drew up a sketch of a bill, the essential features of which have been approved by sanderson, simon and huxley, and from conversation, will, i believe, be approved by paget, and almost certainly, i think, by michael foster. sanderson, simon and paget wish me to see lord derby, and endeavour to gain his advocacy with the home secretary. now, if this is carried into effect, it will be of great importance to me to be able to say that the bill in its essential features has the approval of some half-dozen eminent scientific men. i have therefore asked litchfield to enclose a copy to you in its first rough form; and if it is not essentially modified may i say that it meets with your approval as president of the royal society? the object is to protect animals, and at the same time not to injure physiology, and huxley and sanderson's approval almost suffices on this head. pray let me have a line from you soon. yours affectionately, charles darwin. [the physiological society, which was founded in , was in some measure the outcome of the anti-vivisection movement, since it was this agitation which impressed on physiologists the need of a centre for those engaged in this particular branch of science. with respect to the society, my father wrote to mr. romanes (may , ):-- "i was very much gratified by the wholly unexpected honour of being elected one of the honorary members. this mark of sympathy has pleased me to a very high degree." the following letter appeared in the "times", april th, :] charles darwin to frithiof holmgren. (professor of physiology at upsala.) down, april , . dear sir, in answer to your courteous letter of april , i have no objection to express my opinion with respect to the right of experimenting on living animals. i use this latter expression as more correct and comprehensive than that of vivisection. you are at liberty to make any use of this letter which you may think fit, but if published i should wish the whole to appear. i have all my life been a strong advocate for humanity to animals, and have done what i could in my writings to enforce this duty. several years ago, when the agitation against physiologists commenced in england, it was asserted that inhumanity was here practised, and useless suffering caused to animals; and i was led to think that it might be advisable to have an act of parliament on the subject. i then took an active part in trying to get a bill passed, such as would have removed all just cause of complaint, and at the same time have left physiologists free to pursue their researches,--a bill very different from the act which has since been passed. it is right to add that the investigation of the matter by a royal commission proved that the accusations made against our english physiologists were false. from all that i have heard, however, i fear that in some parts of europe little regard is paid to the sufferings of animals, and if this be the case, i should be glad to hear of legislation against inhumanity in any such country. on the other hand, i know that physiology cannot possibly progress except by means of experiments on living animals, and i feel the deepest conviction that he who retards the progress of physiology commits a crime against mankind. any one who remembers, as i can, the state of this science half a century ago, must admit that it has made immense progress, and it is now progressing at an ever-increasing rate. what improvements in medical practice may be directly attributed to physiological research is a question which can be properly discussed only by those physiologists and medical practitioners who have studied the history of their subjects; but, as far as i can learn, the benefits are already great. however this may be, no one, unless he is grossly ignorant of what science has done for mankind, can entertain any doubt of the incalculable benefits which will hereafter be derived from physiology, not only by man, but by the lower animals. look for instance at pasteur's results in modifying the germs of the most malignant diseases, from which, as it so happens, animals will in the first place receive more relief than man. let it be remembered how many lives and what a fearful amount of suffering have been saved by the knowledge gained of parasitic worms through the experiments of virchow and others on living animals. in the future every one will be astonished at the ingratitude shown, at least in england, to these benefactors of mankind. as for myself, permit me to assure you that i honour, and shall always honour, every one who advances the noble science of physiology. dear sir, yours faithfully, charles darwin. [in the "times" of the following day appeared a letter headed "mr. darwin and vivisection," signed by miss frances power cobbe. to this my father replied in the "times" of april , . on the same day he wrote to mr. romanes:-- "as i have a fair opportunity, i sent a letter to the "times" on vivisection, which is printed to-day. i thought it fair to bear my share of the abuse poured in so atrocious a manner on all physiologists.] charles darwin to the editor of the times. sir, i do not wish to discuss the views expressed by miss cobbe in the letter which appeared in the "times" of the th inst.; but as she asserts that i have "misinformed" my correspondent in sweden in saying that "the investigation of the matter by a royal commission proved that the accusations made against our english physiologists were false," i will merely ask leave to refer to some other sentences from the report of the commission. . the sentence--"it is not to be doubted that inhumanity may be found in persons of very high position as physiologists," which miss cobbe quotes from page of the report, and which, in her opinion, "can necessarily concern english physiologists alone and not foreigners," is immediately followed by the words "we have seen that it was so in magendie." magendie was a french physiologist who became notorious some half century ago for his cruel experiments on living animals. . the commissioners, after speaking of the "general sentiment of humanity" prevailing in this country, say (page ):-- "this principle is accepted generally by the very highly educated men whose lives are devoted either to scientific investigation and education or to the mitigation or the removal of the sufferings of their fellow-creatures; though differences of degree in regard to its practical application will be easily discernible by those who study the evidence as it has been laid before us." again, according to the commissioners (page ):-- "the secretary of the royal society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, when asked whether the general tendency of the scientific world in this country is at variance with humanity, says he believes it to be very different, indeed, from that of foreign physiologists; and while giving it as the opinion of the society that experiments are performed which are in their nature beyond any legitimate province of science, and that the pain which they inflict is pain which it is not justifiable to inflict even for the scientific object in view, he readily acknowledges that he does not know a single case of wanton cruelty, and that in general the english physiologists have used anaesthetics where they think they can do so with safety to the experiment." i am, sir, your obedient servant, charles darwin. april . [in the "times" of saturday, april , , appeared a letter from miss cobbe in reply:] charles darwin to g.j. romanes. down, april , . my dear romanes, i was very glad to read your last note with much news interesting to me. but i write now to say how i, and indeed all of us in the house have admired your letter in the "times". (april , .--mr. romanes defended dr. sanderson against the accusations made by miss cobbe.) it was so simple and direct. i was particularly glad about burton sanderson, of whom i have been for several years a great admirer. i was also especially glad to read the last sentences. i have been bothered with several letters, but none abusive. under a selfish point of view i am very glad of the publication of your letter, as i was at first inclined to think that i had done mischief by stirring up the mud. now i feel sure that i have done good. mr. jesse has written to me very politely, he says his society has had nothing to do with placards and diagrams against physiology, and i suppose, therefore, that these all originate with miss cobbe... mr. jesse complains bitterly that the "times" will "burke" all his letters to this newspaper, nor am i surprised, judging from the laughable tirades advertised in "nature". ever yours, very sincerely, ch. darwin. [the next letter refers to a projected conjoint article on vivisection, to which mr. romanes wished my father to contribute:] charles darwin to g.j. romanes. down, september , . my dear romanes, your letter has perplexed me beyond all measure. i fully recognise the duty of every one whose opinion is worth anything, expressing his opinion publicly on vivisection; and this made me send my letter to the "times". i have been thinking at intervals all morning what i could say, and it is the simple truth that i have nothing worth saying. you and men like you, whose ideas flow freely, and who can express them easily, cannot understand the state of mental paralysis in which i find myself. what is most wanted is a careful and accurate attempt to show what physiology has already done for man, and even still more strongly what there is every reason to believe it will hereafter do. now i am absolutely incapable of doing this, or of discussing the other points suggested by you. if you wish for my name (and i should be glad that it should appear with that of others in the same cause), could you not quote some sentence from my letter in the "times" which i enclose, but please return it. if you thought fit you might say you quoted it with my approval, and that after still further reflection i still abide most strongly in my expressed conviction. for heaven's sake, do think of this. i do not grudge the labour and thought; but i could write nothing worth any one reading. allow me to demur to your calling your conjoint article a "symposium" strictly a "drinking party." this seems to me very bad taste, and i do hope every one of you will avoid any semblance of a joke on the subject. i know that words, like a joke, on this subject have quite disgusted some persons not at all inimical to physiology. one person lamented to me that mr. simon, in his truly admirable address at the medical congress (by far the best thing which i have read), spoke of the fantastic sensuality ('transactions of the international medical congress,' , volume iv. page . the expression "lackadaisical" (not fantastic), and "feeble sensuality," are used with regard to the feelings of the ant-vivisectionists.) (or some such term) of the many mistaken, but honest men and women who are half mad on the subject... [to dr. lauder brunton my father wrote in february :-- "have you read mr. [edmund] gurney's articles in the 'fortnightly' ("a chapter in the ethics of pain," 'fortnightly review,' , volume xxx. page .) and 'cornhill?' ("an epilogue on vivisection," 'cornhill magazine,' , volume xlv. page .) they seem to me very clever, though obscurely written, and i agree with almost everything he says, except with some passages which appear to imply that no experiments should be tried unless some immediate good can be predicted, and this is a gigantic mistake contradicted by the whole history of science."] chapter .ix. -- miscellanea (continued) a revival of geological work--the book on earthworms--life of erasmus darwin--miscellaneous letters. - . [we have now to consider the work (other than botanical) which occupied the concluding six years of my father's life. a letter to his old friend rev. l. blomefield (jenyns), written in march, , shows what was my father's estimate of his own powers of work at this time:-- "my dear jenyns (i see i have forgotten your proper names).--your extremely kind letter has given me warm pleasure. as one gets old, one's thoughts turn back to the past rather than to the future, and i often think of the pleasant, and to me valuable, hours which i spent with you on the borders of the fens. "you ask about my future work; i doubt whether i shall be able to do much more that is new, and i always keep before my mind the example of poor old --, who in his old age had a cacoethes for writing. but i cannot endure doing nothing, so i suppose that i shall go on as long as i can without obviously making a fool of myself. i have a great mass of matter with respect to variation under nature; but so much has been published since the appearance of the 'origin of species,' that i very much doubt whether i retain power of mind and strength to reduce the mass into a digested whole. i have sometimes thought that i would try, but dread the attempt..." his prophecy proved to be a true one with regard to any continuation of any general work in the direction of evolution, but his estimate of powers which could afterwards prove capable of grappling with the 'power of movement in plants,' and with the work on 'earthworms,' was certainly a low one. the year , with which the present chapter begins, brought with it a revival of geological work. he had been astonished, as i hear from professor judd, and as appears in his letters, to learn that his books on 'volcanic islands,' , and on 'south america,' , were still consulted by geologists, and it was a surprise to him that new editions should be required. both these works were originally published by messrs. smith and elder, and the new edition of was also brought out by them. this appeared in one volume with the title 'geological observations on the volcanic islands, and parts of south america visited during the voyage of h.m.s. "beagle".' he has explained in the preface his reasons for leaving untouched the text of the original editions: "they relate to parts of the world which have been so rarely visited by men of science, that i am not aware that much could be corrected or added from observations subsequently made. owing to the great progress which geology has made within recent times, my views on some few points may be somewhat antiquated; but i have thought it best to leave them as they originally appeared." it may have been the revival of geological speculation, due to the revision of his early books, that led to his recording the observations of which some account is given in the following letter. part of it has been published in professor james geikie's 'prehistoric europe,' chapters vii. and ix. (my father's suggestion is also noticed in prof. geikie's address on the 'ice age in europe and north america,' given at edinburgh, november , .), a few verbal alterations having been made at my father's request in the passages quoted. mr. geikie lately wrote to me: "the views suggested in his letter as to the origin of the angular gravels, etc., in the south of england will, i believe, come to be accepted as the truth. this question has a much wider bearing than might at first appear. in point of fact it solves one of the most difficult problems in quaternary geology--and has already attracted the attention of german geologists."] charles darwin to james geikie. down, november , . my dear sir, i hope that you will forgive me for troubling you with a very long letter. but first allow me to tell you with what extreme pleasure and admiration i have just finished reading your 'great ice age.' it seems to me admirably done, and most clear. interesting as many chapters are in the history of the world, i do not think that any one comes [up] nearly to the glacial period or periods. though i have steadily read much on the subject, your book makes the whole appear almost new to me. i am now going to mention a small observation, made by me two or three years ago, near southampton, but not followed out, as i have no strength for excursions. i need say nothing about the character of the drift there (which includes palaeolithic celts), for you have described its essential features in a few words at page . it covers the whole country [in an] even plain-like surface, almost irrespective of the present outline of the land. the coarse stratification has sometimes been disturbed. i find that you allude "to the larger stones often standing on end;" and this is the point which struck me so much. not only moderately sized angular stones, but small oval pebbles often stand vertically up, in a manner which i have never seen in ordinary gravel beds. this fact reminded me of what occurs near my home, in the stiff red clay, full of unworn flints over the chalk, which is no doubt the residue left undissolved by rain water. in this clay, flints as long and thin as my arm often stand perpendicularly up; and i have been told by the tank-diggers that it is their "natural position!" i presume that this position may safely be attributed to the differential movement of parts of the red clay as it subsided very slowly from the dissolution of the underlying chalk; so that the flints arrange themselves in the lines of least resistance. the similar but less strongly marked arrangement of the stones in the drift near southampton makes me suspect that it also must have slowly subsided; and the notion has crossed my mind that during the commencement and height of the glacial period great beds of frozen snow accumulated over the south of england, and that, during the summer, gravel and stones were washed from the higher land over its surface, and in superficial channels. the larger streams may have cut right through the frozen snow, and deposited gravel in lines at the bottom. but on each succeeding autumn, when the running water failed, i imagine that the lines of drainage would have been filled up by blown snow afterwards congealed, and that, owing to great surface accumulations of snow, it would be a mere chance whether the drainage, together with gravel and sand, would follow the same lines during the next summer. thus, as i apprehend, alternate layers of frozen snow and drift, in sheets and lines, would ultimately have covered the country to a great thickness, with lines of drift probably deposited in various directions at the bottom by the larger streams. as the climate became warmer, the lower beds of frozen snow would have melted with extreme slowness, and the many irregular beds of interstratified drift would have sunk down with equal slowness; and during this movement the elongated pebbles would have arranged themselves more or less vertically. the drift would also have been deposited almost irrespective of the outline of the underlying land. when i viewed the country i could not persuade myself that any flood, however great, could have deposited such coarse gravel over the almost level platforms between the valleys. my view differs from that of holst, page ['great ice age'], of which i had never heard, as his relates to channels cut through glaciers, and mine to beds of drift interstratified with frozen snow where no glaciers existed. the upshot of this long letter is to ask you to keep my notion in your head, and look out for upright pebbles in any lowland country which you may examine, where glaciers have not existed. or if you think the notion deserves any further thought, but not otherwise, to tell any one of it, for instance mr. skertchly, who is examining such districts. pray forgive me for writing so long a letter, and again thanking you for the great pleasure derived from your book, i remain yours very faithfully, ch. darwin. p.s.... i am glad that you have read blytt (axel blytt.--'essay on the immigration of the norwegian flora during alternate rainy and dry seasons.' christiania, .); his paper seemed to me a most important contribution to botanical geography. how curious that the same conclusions should have been arrived at by mr. skertchly, who seems to be a first-rate observer; and this implies, as i always think, a sound theoriser. i have told my publisher to send you in two or three days a copy (second edition) of my geological work during the voyage of the "beagle". the sole point which would perhaps interest you is about the steppe-like plains of patagonia. for many years past i have had fearful misgivings that it must have been the level of the sea, and not that of the land which has changed. i read a few months ago your [brother's] very interesting life of murchison. (by mr. archibald geikie.) though i have always thought that he ranked next to w. smith in the classification of formations, and though i knew how kind-hearted [he was], yet the book has raised him greatly in my respect, notwithstanding his foibles and want of broad philosophical views. [the only other geological work of his later years was embodied in his book on earthworms ( ), which may therefore be conveniently considered in this place. this subject was one which had interested him many years before this date, and in a paper on the formation of mould was published in the proceedings of the geological society (see volume i.). here he showed that "fragments of burnt marl, cinders, etc., which had been thickly strewed over the surface of several meadows were found after a few years lying at a depth of some inches beneath the turf, but still forming a layer." for the explanation of this fact, which forms the central idea of the geological part of the book, he was indebted to his uncle josiah wedgwood, who suggested that worms, by bringing earth to the surface in their castings, must undermine any objects lying on the surface and cause an apparent sinking. in the book of he extended his observations on this burying action, and devised a number of different ways of checking his estimates as to the amount of work done. (he received much valuable help from dr. king, of the botanical gardens, calcutta. the following passage is from a letter to dr. king, dated january , :-- "i really do not know how to thank you enough for the immense trouble which you have taken. you have attended exactly and fully to the points about which i was most anxious. if i had been each evening by your side, i could not have suggested anything else.") he also added a mass of observations on the habits, natural history and intelligence of worms, a part of the work which added greatly to its popularity. in sir thomas farrer had discovered close to his garden the remains of a building of roman-british times, and thus gave my father the opportunity of seeing for himself the effects produced by earthworms' work on the old concrete-floors, walls, etc. on his return he wrote to sir thomas farrer: "i cannot remember a more delightful week than the last. i know very well that e. will not believe me, but the worms were by no means the sole charm." in the autumn of , when the 'power of movement in plants' was nearly finished, he began once more on the subject. he wrote to professor carus (september ):-- "in the intervals of correcting the press, i am writing a very little book, and have done nearly half of it. its title will be (as at present designed) 'the formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms.' (the full title is 'the formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms with observations on their habits,' .) as far as i can judge it will be a curious little book." the manuscript was sent to the printers in april, , and when the proo-sheets were coming in he wrote to professor carus: "the subject has been to me a hobby-horse, and i have perhaps treated it in foolish detail." it was published on october , and copies were sold at once. he wrote to sir j.d. hooker, "i am glad that you approve of the 'worms.' when in old days i used to tell you whatever i was doing, if you were at all interested, i always felt as most men do when their work is finally published." to mr. mellard reade he wrote (november ): "it has been a complete surprise to me how many persons have cared for the subject." and to mr. dyer (in november): "my book has been received with almost laughable enthusiasm, and copies have been sold!!!" again, to his friend mr. anthony rich, he wrote on february , , "i have been plagued with an endless stream of letters on the subject; most of them very foolish and enthusiastic; but some containing good facts which i have used in correcting yesterday the 'sixth thousand.'" the popularity of the book may be roughly estimated by the fact that, in the three years following its publication, copies were sold--a sale relatively greater than that of the 'origin of species.' it is not difficult to account for its success with the non-scientific public. conclusions so wide and so novel, and so easily understood, drawn from the study of creatures so familiar, and treated with unabated vigour and freshness, may well have attracted many readers. a reviewer remarks: "in the eyes of most men... the earthworm is a mere blind, dumb, senseless, and unpleasantly slimy annelid. mr. darwin undertakes to rehabilitate his character, and the earthworm steps forth at once as an intelligent and beneficent personage, a worker of vast geological changes, a planer down of mountain sides... a friend of man... and an ally of the society for the preservation of ancient monuments." the "st. james gazette", october , , pointed out that the teaching of the cumulative importance of the infinitely little is the point of contact between this book and the author's previous work. one more book remains to be noticed, the 'life of erasmus darwin.' in february an essay by dr. ernst krause, on the scientific work of erasmus darwin, appeared in the evolutionary journal, 'kosmos.' the number of 'kosmos' in question was a "gratulationsheft" (the same number contains a good biographical sketch of my father, of which the material was to a large extent supplied by him to the writer, professor preyer of jena. the article contains an excellent list of my father's publications.), or special congratulatory issue in honour of my father's birthday, so that dr. krause's essay, glorifying the older evolutionist, was quite in its place. he wrote to dr. krause, thanking him cordially for the honour paid to erasmus, and asking his permission to publish (the wish to do so was shared by his brother, erasmus darwin the younger, who continued to be associated with the project.) an english translation of the essay. his chief reason for writing a notice of his grandfather's life was "to contradict flatly some calumnies by miss seward." this appears from a letter of march , , to his cousin reginald darwin, in which he asks for any documents and letters which might throw light on the character of erasmus. this led to mr. reginald darwin placing in my father's hands a quantity of valuable material, including a curious folio common-place book, of which he wrote: "i have been deeply interested by the great book,... reading and looking at it is like having communion with the dead...[it] has taught me a good deal about the occupations and tastes of our grandfather." a subsequent letter (april ) to the same correspondent describes the source of a further supply of material:-- since my last letter i have made a strange discovery; for an old box from my father marked "old deeds," and which consequently i had never opened, i found full of letters--hundreds from dr. erasmus--and others from old members of the family: some few very curious. also a drawing of elston before it was altered, about , of which i think i will give a copy." dr. krause's contribution formed the second part of the 'life of erasmus darwin,' my father supplying a "preliminary notice." this expression on the title-page is somewhat misleading; my father's contribution is more than half the book, and should have been described as a biography. work of this kind was new to him, and he wrote doubtfully to mr. thiselton dyer, june th: "god only knows what i shall make of his life, it is such a new kind of work to me." the strong interest he felt about his forebears helped to give zest to the work, which became a decided enjoyment to him. with the general public the book was not markedly successful, but many of his friends recognised its merits. sir j.d. hooker was one of these, and to him my father wrote, "your praise of the life of dr. d. has pleased me exceedingly, for i despised my work, and thought myself a perfect fool to have undertaken such a job." to mr. galton, too, he wrote, november :-- "i am extremely glad that you approve of the little 'life' of our grandfather, for i have been repenting that i ever undertook it, as the work was quite beyond my tether." the publication of the 'life of erasmus darwin' led to an attack by mr. samuel butler, which amounted to a charge of falsehood against my father. after consulting his friends, he came to the determination to leave the charge unanswered, as unworthy of his notice. (he had, in a letter to mr. butler, expressed his regret at the oversight which caused so much offence.) those who wish to know more of the matter, may gather the facts of the case from ernst krause's 'charles darwin,' and they will find mr. butler's statement of his grievance in the "athenaeum", january , , and in the "st. james's gazette", december , . the affair gave my father much pain, but the warm sympathy of those whose opinion he respected soon helped him to let it pass into a well-merited oblivion. the following letter refers to m. j.h. fabre's 'souvenirs entomologiques.' it may find a place here, as it contains a defence of erasmus darwin on a small point. the postscript is interesting, as an example of one of my father's bold ideas both as to experiment and theory:] charles darwin to j.h. fabre. down, january , . my dear sir, i hope that you will permit me to have the satisfaction of thanking you cordially for the lively pleasure which i have derived from reading your book. never have the wonderful habits of insects been more vividly described, and it is almost as good to read about them as to see them. i feel sure that you would not be unjust to even an insect, much less to a man. now, you have been misled by some translator, for my grandfather, erasmus darwin, states ('zoonomia,' volume i. page , ) that it was a wasp (guepe) which he saw cutting off the wings of a large fly. i have no doubt that you are right in saying that the wings are generally cut off instinctively; but in the case described by my grandfather, the wasp, after cutting off the two ends of the body, rose in the air, and was turned round by the wind; he then alighted and cut off the wings. i must believe, with pierre huber, that insects have "une petite dose de raison." in the next edition of your book, i hope that you will alter part of what you say about my grandfather. i am sorry that you are so strongly opposed to the descent theory; i have found the searching for the history of each structure or instinct an excellent aid to observation; and wonderful observer as you are, it would suggest new points to you. if i were to write on the evolution of instincts, i could make good use of some of the facts which you give. permit me to add, that when i read the last sentence in your book, i sympathised deeply with you. (the book is intended as a memorial of the early death of m. fabre's son, who had been his father's assistant in his observations on insect life.) with the most sincere respect, i remain, dear sir, yours faithfully, charles darwin. p.s.--allow me to make a suggestion in relation to your wonderful account of insects finding their way home. i formerly wished to try it with pigeons: namely, to carry the insects in their paper "cornets," about a hundred paces in the opposite direction to that which you ultimately intended to carry them; but before turning round to return, to put the insect in a circular box, with an axle which could be made to revolve very rapidly, first in one direction, and then in another, so as to destroy for a time all sense of direction in the insects. i have sometimes imagined that animals may feel in which direction they were at the first start carried. (this idea was a favourite one with him, and he has described in 'nature' (volume vii. , page ) the behaviour of his cob tommy, in whom he fancied he detected a sense of direction. the horse had been taken by rail from kent to the isle of wight; when there he exhibited a marked desire to go eastward, even when his stable lay in the opposite direction. in the same volume of 'nature,' page , is a letter on the 'origin of certain instincts,' which contains a short discussion on the sense of direction.) if this plan failed, i had intended placing the pigeons within an induction coil, so as to disturb any magnetic or dia-magnetic sensibility, which it seems just possible that they may possess. c.d. [during the latter years of my father's life there was a growing tendency in the public to do him honour. in he received the honorary degree of ll.d. from the university of cambridge. the degree was conferred on november , and with the customary latin speech from the public orator, concluding with the words: "tu vero, qui leges naturae tam docte illustraveris, legum doctor nobis esto." the honorary degree led to a movement being set on foot in the university to obtain some permanent memorial of my father. a sum of about pounds was subscribed, and after the rejection of the idea that a bust would be the best memorial, a picture was determined on. in june he sat to mr. w. richmond for the portrait in the possession of the university, now placed in the library of the philosophical society at cambridge. he is represented seated in his doctor's gown, the head turned towards the spectator: the picture has many admirers, but, according to my own view, neither the attitude nor the expression are characteristic of my father. a similar wish on the part of the linnean society-- with which my father was so closely associated--led to his sitting in august, , to mr. john collier, for the portrait now in the possession of the society. of the artist, he wrote, "collier was the most considerate, kind and pleasant painter a sitter could desire." the portrait represents him standing facing the observer in the loose cloak so familiar to those who knew him, and with his slouch hat in his hand. many of those who knew his face most intimately, think that mr. collier's picture is the best of the portraits, and in this judgment the sitter himself was inclined to agree. according to my feeling it is not so simple or strong a representation of him as that given by mr. ouless. there is a certain expression in mr. collier's portrait which i am inclined to consider an exaggeration of the almost painful expression which professor cohn has described in my father's face, and which he had previously noticed in humboldt. professor cohn's remarks occur in a pleasantly written account of a visit to down in , published in the "breslauer zeitung", april , . (in this connection may be mentioned a visit ( ) from another distinguished german, hans richter. the occurrence is otherwise worthy of mention, inasmuch as it led to the publication, after my father's death, of herr richter's recollections of the visit. the sketch is simply and sympathetically written, and the author has succeeded in giving a true picture of my father as he lived at down. it appeared in the "neue tagblatt" of vienna, and was republished by dr. o. zacharias in his 'charles r. darwin,' berlin, .) besides the cambridge degree, he received about the same time honours of an academic kind from some foreign societies. on august , , he was elected a corresponding member of the french institute ("lyell always spoke of it as a great scandal that darwin was so long kept out of the french institute. as he said, even if the development hypothesis were objected to, darwin's original works on coral reefs, the cirripedia, and other subjects, constituted a more than sufficient claim"--from professor judd's notes.), in the botanical section, and wrote to dr. asa gray:-- "i see that we are both elected corresponding members of the institute. it is rather a good joke that i should be elected in the botanical section, as the extent of my knowledge is little more than that a daisy is a compositous plant and a pea a leguminous one." (the statement has been more than once published that he was elected to the zoological section, but this was not the case. he received twenty-six votes out of a possible , five blank papers were sent in, and eight votes were recorded for the other candidates. in an attempt had been made to elect him to the section of zoology, when, however, he only received out of votes, and loven was chosen for the vacant place. it appears ('nature,' august , ) that an eminent member of the academy wrote to "les mondes" to the following effect:-- "what has closed the doors of the academy to mr. darwin is that the science of those of his books which have made his chief title to fame-the 'origin of species,' and still more the 'descent of man,' is not science, but a mass of assertions and absolutely gratuitous hypotheses, often evidently fallacious. this kind of publication and these theories are a bad example, which a body that respects itself cannot encourage.") in the early part of the same year he was elected a corresponding member of the berlin academy of sciences, and he wrote (march ) to professor du bois reymond, who had proposed him for election:-- "i thank you sincerely for your most kind letter, in which you announce the great honour conferred on me. the knowledge of the names of the illustrious men, who seconded the proposal is even a greater pleasure to me than the honour itself." the seconders were helmholtz, peters, ewald, pringsheim and virchow. in he received the baly medal of the royal college of physicians. (the visit to london, necessitated by the presentation of the baly medal, was combined with a visit to miss forster's house at abinger, in surrey, and this was the occasion of the following characteristic letter:--"i must write a few words to thank you cordially for lending us your house. it was a most kind thought, and has pleased me greatly; but i know well that i do not deserve such kindness from any one. on the other hand, no one can be too kind to my dear wife, who is worth her weight in gold many times over, and she was anxious that i should get some complete rest, and here i cannot rest. your house will be a delightful haven and again i thank you truly.") again in he received from the royal academy of turin the "bressa" prize for the years - , amounting to the sum of , francs. in the following year he received on his birthday, as on previous occasions, a kind letter of congratulation from dr. dohrn of naples. in writing (february th) to thank him and the other naturalists at the zoological station, my father added:-- "perhaps you saw in the papers that the turin society honoured me to an extraordinary degree by awarding me the "bressa" prize. now it occurred to me that if your station wanted some pieces of apparatus, of about the value of pounds, i should very much like to be allowed to pay for it. will you be so kind as to keep this in mind, and if any want should occur to you, i would send you a cheque at any time." i find from my father's accounts that pounds was presented to the naples station. he received also several tokens of respect and sympathy of a more private character from various sources. with regard to such incidents and to the estimation of the public generally, his attitude may be illustrated by a passage from a letter to mr. romanes:--(the lecture referred to was given at the dublin meeting of the british association.) "you have indeed passed a most magnificent eulogium upon me, and i wonder that you were not afraid of hearing 'oh! oh!' or some other sign of disapprobation. many persons think that what i have done in science has been much overrated, and i very often think so myself; but my comfort is that i have never consciously done anything to gain applause. enough and too much about my dear self." among such expressions of regard he valued very highly the two photographic albums received from germany and holland on his birthday, . herr emil rade of munster, originated the idea of the german birthday gift, and undertook the necessary arrangements. to him my father wrote (february , ):-- "i hope that you will inform the one hundred and fifty-four men of science, including some of the most highly honoured names in the world, how grateful i am for their kindness and generous sympathy in having sent me their photographs on my birthday." to professor haeckel he wrote (february , ):-- the album has just arrived quite safe. it is most superb. (the album is magnificently bound and decorated with a beautifully illuminated title page, the work of an artist, herr a. fitger of bremen, who also contributed the dedicatory poem.) it is by far the greatest honour which i have ever received, and my satisfaction has been greatly enhanced by your most kind letter of february ... i thank you all from my heart. i have written by this post to herr rade, and i hope he will somehow manage to thank all my generous friends." to professor a. van bemmelen he wrote, on receiving a similar present from a number of distinguished men and lovers of natural history in the netherlands:-- "sir, i received yesterday the magnificent present of the album, together with your letter. i hope that you will endeavour to find some means to express to the two hundred and seventeen distinguished observers and lovers of natural science, who have sent me their photographs, my gratitude for their extreme kindness. i feel deeply gratified by this gift, and i do not think that any testimonial more honourable to me could have been imagined. i am well aware that my books could never have been written, and would not have made any impression on the public mind, had not an immense amount of material been collected by a long series of admirable observers; and it is to them that honour is chiefly due. i suppose that every worker at science occasionally feels depressed, and doubts whether what he has published has been worth the labour which it has cost him, but for the few remaining years of my life, whenever i want cheering, i will look at the portraits of my distinguished co-workers in the field of science, and remember their generous sympathy. when i die, the album will be a most precious bequest to my children. i must further express my obligation for the very interesting history contained in your letter of the progress of opinion in the netherlands, with respect to evolution, the whole of which is quite new to me. i must again thank all my kind friends, from my heart, for their ever-memorable testimonial, and i remain, sir, your obliged and grateful servant, charles r. darwin." [in the june of the following year ( ) he was gratified by learning that the emperor of brazil had expressed a wish to meet him. owing to absence from home my father was unable to comply with this wish; he wrote to sir j.d. hooker:-- "the emperor has done so much for science, that every scientific man is bound to show him the utmost respect, and i hope that you will express in the strongest language, and which you can do with entire truth, how greatly i feel honoured by his wish to see me; and how much i regret my absence from home." finally it should be mentioned that in he received an address personally presented by members of the council of the birmingham philosophical society, as well as a memorial from the yorkshire naturalist union presented by some of the members, headed by dr. sorby. he also received in the same year a visit from some of the members of the lewisham and blackheath scientific association,--a visit which was, i think, enjoyed by both guests and host.] miscellaneous letters-- - . [the chief incident of a personal kind (not already dealt with) in the years which we are now considering was the death of his brother erasmus, who died at his house in queen anne street, on august th, . my father wrote to sir j.d. hooker (august ):-- "the death of erasmus is a very heavy loss to all of us, for he had a most affectionate disposition. he always appeared to me the most pleasant and clearest headed man, whom i have ever known. london will seem a strange place to me without his presence; i am deeply glad that he died without any great suffering, after a very short illness from mere weakness and not from any definite disease. ("he was not, i think, a happy man, and for many years did not value life, though never complaining."--from a letter to sir thomas farrer.) "i cannot quite agree with you about the death of the old and young. death in the latter case, when there is a bright future ahead, causes grief never to be wholly obliterated." an incident of a happy character may also be selected for especial notice, since it was one which strongly moved my father's sympathy. a letter (december , ) to sir joseph hooker shows that the possibility of a government pension being conferred on mr. wallace first occurred to my father at this time. the idea was taken up by others, and my father's letters show that he felt the most lively interest in the success of the plan. he wrote, for instance, to mrs. fisher, "i hardly ever wished for anything more than i do for the success of our plan." he was deeply pleased when this thoroughly deserved honour was bestowed on his friend, and wrote to the same correspondent (january , ), on receiving a letter from mr. gladstone announcing the fact: "how extraordinarily kind of mr. gladstone to find time to write under the present circumstances. (mr. gladstone was then in office, and the letter must have been written when he was overwhelmed with business connected with the opening of parliament (january ). good heavens! how pleased i am!" the letters which follow are of a miscellaneous character and refer principally to the books he read, and to his minor writings.] charles darwin to miss buckley (mrs. fisher). down, february [ ]. my dear miss buckley, you must let me have the pleasure of saying that i have just finished reading with very great interest your new book. ('a short history of natural science.') the idea seems to me a capital one, and as far as i can judge very well carried out. there is much fascination in taking a bird's eye view of all the grand leading steps in the progress of science. at first i regretted that you had not kept each science more separate; but i dare say you found it impossible. i have hardly any criticisms, except that i think you ought to have introduced murchison as a great classifier of formations, second only to w. smith. you have done full justice, and not more than justice, to our dear old master, lyell. perhaps a little more ought to have been said about botany, and if you should ever add this, you would find sachs' 'history,' lately published, very good for your purpose. you have crowned wallace and myself with much honour and glory. i heartily congratulate you on having produced so novel and interesting a work, and remain, my dear miss buckley, yours very faithfully, ch. darwin. charles darwin to a.r. wallace. [hopedene] (mr. hensleigh wedgwood's house in surrey.), june , . my dear wallace, i must have the pleasure of expressing to you my unbounded admiration of your book ('geographical distribution,' .), though i have read only to page --my object having been to do as little as possible while resting. i feel sure that you have laid a broad and safe foundation for all future work on distribution. how interesting it will be to see hereafter plants treated in strict relation to your views; and then all insects, pulmonate molluscs and fresh-water fishes, in greater detail than i suppose you have given to these lower animals. the point which has interested me most, but i do not say the most valuable point, is your protest against sinking imaginary continents in a quite reckless manner, as was stated by forbes, followed, alas, by hooker, and caricatured by wollaston and [andrew] murray! by the way, the main impression that the latter author has left on my mind is his utter want of all scientific judgment. i have lifted up my voice against the above view with no avail, but i have no doubt that you will succeed, owing to your new arguments and the coloured chart. of a special value, as it seems to me, is the conclusion that we must determine the areas, chiefly by the nature of the mammals. when i worked many years ago on this subject, i doubted much whether the now called palaearctic and nearctic regions ought to be separated; and i determined if i made another region that it should be madagascar. i have, therefore, been able to appreciate your evidence on these points. what progress palaeontology has made during the last years; but if it advances at the same rate in the future, our views on the migration and birth-place of the various groups will, i fear, be greatly altered. i cannot feel quite easy about the glacial period, and the extinction of large mammals, but i must hope that you are right. i think you will have to modify your belief about the difficulty of dispersal of land molluscs; i was interrupted when beginning to experimentize on the just hatched young adhering to the feet of groun-roosting birds. i differ on one other point, viz. in the belief that there must have existed a tertiary antarctic continent, from which various forms radiated to the southern extremities of our present continents. but i could go on scribbling forever. you have written, as i believe, a grand and memorable work which will last for years as the foundation for all future treatises on geographical distribution. my dear wallace, yours very sincerely, charles darwin. p.s.--you have paid me the highest conceivable compliment, by what you say of your work in relation to my chapters on distribution in the 'origin,' and i heartily thank you for it. [the following letters illustrate my father's power of taking a vivid interest in work bearing on evolution, but unconnected with his own special researches at the time. the books referred to in the first letter are professor weismann's 'studien zur descendenzlehre' (my father contributed a prefatory note to mr. meldola's translation of prof. weismann's 'studien,' - .), being part of the series of essays by which the author has done such admirable service to the cause of evolution:] charles darwin to august weismann. january , . ... i read german so slowly, and have had lately to read several other papers, so that i have as yet finished only half of your first essay and two-thirds of your second. they have excited my interest and admiration in the highest degree, and whichever i think of last, seems to me the most valuable. i never expected to see the coloured marks on caterpillars so well explained; and the case of the ocelli delights me especially... ... there is one other subject which has always seemed to me more difficult to explain than even the colours of caterpillars, and that is the colour of birds' eggs, and i wish you would take this up. charles darwin to melchior neumayr (professor of palaeontology at vienna.), vienna. down, beckenham, kent, march , . dear sir, from having been obliged to read other books, i finished only yesterday your essay on 'die congerien,' etc. ('die congerien und paludinenschichten slavoneins.' to, .) i hope that you will allow me to express my gratitude for the pleasure and instruction which i have derived from reading it. it seems to me to be an admirable work; and is by far the best case which i have ever met with, showing the direct influence of the conditions of life on the organization. mr. hyatt, who has been studying the hilgendorf case, writes to me with respect to the conclusions at which he has arrived, and these are nearly the same as yours. he insists that closely similar forms may be derived from distinct lines of descent; and this is what i formerly called analogical variation. there can now be no doubt that species may become greatly modified through the direct action of the environment. i have some excuse for not having formerly insisted more strongly on this head in my 'origin of species,' as most of the best facts have been observed since its publication. with my renewed thanks for your most interesting essay, and with the highest respect, i remain, dear sir, yours very faithfully, charles darwin. charles darwin to e.s. morse. down, april , . my dear sir, you must allow me just to tell you how very much i have been interested with the excellent address ("what american zoologists have done for evolution," an address to the american association for the advancement of science, august, . volume xxv. of the proceedings of the association.) which you have been so kind as to send me, and which i had much wished to read. i believe that i had read all, or very nearly all, the papers by your countrymen to which you refer, but i have been fairly astonished at their number and importance when seeing them thus put together. i quite agree about the high value of mr. allen's works (mr. j.a. allen shows the existence of geographical races of birds and mammals. proc. boston soc. nat. hist. volume xv.), as showing how much change may be expected apparently through the direct action of the conditions of life. as for the fossil remains in the west, no words will express how wonderful they are. there is one point which i regret that you did not make clear in your address, namely what is the meaning and importance of professors cope and hyatt's views on acceleration and retardation. i have endeavoured, and given up in despair, the attempt to grasp their meaning. permit me to thank you cordially for the kind feeling shown towards me through your address, and i remain, my dear sir, yours faithfully, ch. darwin. [the next letter refers to his 'biographical sketch of an infant,' written from notes made years previously, and published in 'mind,' july, . the article attracted a good deal of attention, and was translated at the time in 'kosmos,' and the 'revue scientifique,' and has been recently published in dr. krause's 'gesammelte kleinere schriften von charles darwin,' :] charles darwin to g. croom robertson. (the editor of 'mind.') down, april , . dear sir, i hope that you will be so good as to take the trouble to read the enclosed ms., and if you think it fit for publication in your admirable journal of 'mind,' i shall be gratified. if you do not think it fit, as is very likely, will you please to return it to me. i hope that you will read it in an extra critical spirit, as i cannot judge whether it is worth publishing from having been so much interested in watching the dawn of the several faculties in my own infant. i may add that i should never have thought of sending you the ms., had not m. taine's article appeared in your journal. ( , page . the original appeared in the 'revue philosophique' .) if my ms. is printed, i think that i had better see a proof. i remain, dear sir, yours faithfully, ch. darwin. [the two following extracts show the lively interest he preserved in diverse fields of enquiry. professor cohn of breslau had mentioned, in a letter, koch's researches on splenic fever, my father replied, january :-- "i well remember saying to myself, between twenty and thirty years ago, that if ever the origin of any infectious disease could be proved, it would be the greatest triumph to science; and now i rejoice to have seen the triumph." in the spring he received a copy of dr. e. von mojsisovics' 'dolomit riffe,' his letter to the author (june , ) is interesting as bearing on the influence of his own work on the methods of geology. "i have at last found time to read the first chapter of your 'dolomit riffe,' and have been exceedingly interested by it. what a wonderful change in the future of geological chronology you indicate, by assuming the descent theory to be established, and then taking the graduated changes of the same group of organisms as the true standard! i never hoped to live to see such a step even proposed by any one." another geological research which roused my father's admiration was mr. d. mackintosh's work on erratic blocks. apart from its intrinsic merit the work keenly excited his sympathy from the conditions under which it was executed, mr. mackintosh being compelled to give nearly his whole time to tuition. the following passage is from a letter to mr. mackintosh of october , , and refers to his paper in the journal of the geological society, :-- "i hope that you will allow me to have the pleasure of thanking you for the very great pleasure which i have derived from just reading your paper on erratic blocks. the map is wonderful, and what labour each of those lines show! i have thought for some years that the agency of floating ice, which nearly half a century ago was overrated, has of late been underrated. you are the sole man who has ever noticed the distinction suggested by me (in his paper on the 'ancient glaciers of carnarvonshire,' phil. mag. xxi. .) between flat or planed scored rocks, and mammillated scored rocks."] charles darwin to c. ridley. down, november , . dear sir, i just skimmed through dr. pusey's sermon, as published in the "guardian", but it did [not] seem to me worthy of any attention. as i have never answered criticisms excepting those made by scientific men, i am not willing that this letter should be published; but i have no objection to your saying that you sent me the three questions, and that i answered that dr. pusey was mistaken in imagining that i wrote the 'origin' with any relation whatever to theology. i should have thought that this would have been evident to any one who had taken the trouble to read the book, more especially as in the opening lines of the introduction i specify how the subject arose in my mind. this answer disposes of your two other questions; but i may add that many years ago, when i was collecting facts for the 'origin,' my belief in what is called a personal god was as firm as that of dr. pusey himself, and as to the eternity of matter i have never troubled myself about such insoluble questions. dr. pusey's attack will be as powerless to retard by a day the belief in evolution, as were the virulent attacks made by divines fifty years ago against geology, and the still older ones of the catholic church against galileo, for the public is wise enough always to follow scientific men when they agree on any subject; and now there is almost complete unanimity amongst biologists about evolution, though there is still considerable difference as to the means, such as how far natural selection has acted, and how far external conditions, or whether there exists some mysterious innate tendency to perfectability. i remain, dear sir, yours faithfully, ch. darwin. [theologians were not the only adversaries of freedom in science. on september , , prof. virchow delivered an address at the munich meeting of german naturalists and physicians, which had the effect of connecting socialism with the descent theory. this point of view was taken up by anti-evolutionists to such an extent that, according to haeckel, the "kreuz zeitung" threw "all the blame of" the "treasonable attempts of the democrats hodel and nobiling... directly on the theory of descent." prof. haeckel replied with vigour and ability in his 'freedom in science and teaching' (english translation ), an essay which must have the sympathy of all lovers of freedom. the following passage from a letter (december , ) to dr. scherzer, the author of the 'voyage of the "novara",' gives a hint of my father's views on this once burning question:-- "what a foolish idea seems to prevail in germany on the connection between socialism and evolution through natural selection."] charles darwin to h.n. moseley. (professor of zoology at oxford. the book alluded to is prof. moseley's 'notes by a naturalist on the "challenger".') down, january , . dear moseley, i have just received your book, and i declare that never in my life have i seen a dedication which i admired so much. ("to charles darwin, esquire, ll.d., f.r.s., etc., from the study of whose 'journal of researches' i mainly derived my desire to travel round the world; to the development of whose theory i owe the principal pleasures and interests of my life, and who has personally given me much kindly encouragement in the prosecution of my studies, this book is, by permission, gratefully dedicated.") of course i am not a fair judge, but i hope that i speak dispassionately, though you have touched me in my very tenderest point, by saying that my old journal mainly gave you the wish to travel as a naturalist. i shall begin to read your book this very evening, and am sure that i shall enjoy it much. yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. charles darwin to h.n. moseley. down, february , . dear moseley, i have at last read every word of your book, and it has excited in me greater interest than any other scientific book which i have read for a long time. you will perhaps be surprised how slow i have been, but my head prevents me reading except at intervals. if i were asked which parts have interested me most, i should be somewhat puzzled to answer. i fancy that the general reader would prefer your account of japan. for myself i hesitate between your discussions and description of the southern ice, which seems to me admirable, and the last chapter which contained many facts and views new to me, though i had read your papers on the stony hydroid corals, yet your resume made me realise better than i had done before, what a most curious case it is. you have also collected a surprising number of valuable facts bearing on the dispersal of plants, far more than in any other book known to me. in fact your volume is a mass of interesting facts and discussions, with hardly a superfluous word; and i heartily congratulate you on its publication. your dedication makes me prouder than ever. believe me, yours sincerely, ch. darwin. [in november, , he answered for mr. galton a series of questions utilised in his 'inquiries into human faculty,' . he wrote to mr. galton:-- "i have answered the questions as well as i could, but they are miserably answered, for i have never tried looking into my own mind. unless others answer very much better than i can do, you will get no good from your queries. do you not think you ought to have the age of the answerer? i think so, because i can call up faces of many schoolboys, not seen for sixty years, with much distinctness, but nowadays i may talk with a man for an hour, and see him several times consecutively, and, after a month, i am utterly unable to recollect what he is at all like. the picture is quite washed out. the greater number of the answers are given in the annexed table."] questions on the faculty of visualising. . illumination? moderate, but my solitary breakfast was early, and the morning dark. . definition? some objects quite defined, a slice of cold beef, some grapes and a pear, the state of my plate when i had finished, and a few other objects, are as distinct as if i had photo's before me. . completeness? very moderately so. . colouring? the objects above named perfectly coloured. . extent of field of view? rather small. different kinds of imagery. . printed pages. i cannot remember a single sentence, but i remember the place of the sentence and the kind of type. . furniture? i have never attended to it. . persons? i remember the faces of persons formerly well-known vividly, and can make them do anything i like. . scenery? remembrance vivid and distinct, and gives me pleasure. . geography? no. . military movements? no. . mechanism? never tried. . geometry? i do not think i have any power of the kind. . numerals? when i think of any number, printed figures arise before my mind. i can't remember for an hour four consecutive figures. . card playing? have not played for many years, but i am sure should not remember. . chess? never played. [in he published a short paper in 'nature' (volume xxi. page ) on the "fertility of hybrids from the common and chinese goose." he received the hybrids from the rev. dr. goodacre, and was glad of the opportunity of testing the accuracy of the statement that these species are fertile inter se. this fact, which was given in the 'origin' on the authority of mr. eyton, he considered the most remarkable as yet recorded with respect to the fertility of hybrids. the fact (as confirmed by himself and dr. goodacre) is of interest as giving another proof that sterility is no criterion of specific difference, since the two species of goose now shown to be fertile inter se are so distinct that they have been placed by some authorities in distinct genera or sub-genera. the following letter refers to mr. huxley's lecture: "the coming of age of the origin of species" (this same "coming of age" was the subject of an address from the council of the otago institute. it is given in 'nature,' february , .), given at the royal institution, april , , published in 'nature,' and in 'science and culture,' page :] charles darwin to t.h. huxley. abinger hall, dorking, sunday, april , . my dear huxley, i wished much to attend your lecture, but i have had a bad cough, and we have come here to see whether a change would do me good, as it has done. what a magnificent success your lecture seems to have been, as i judge from the reports in the "standard" and "daily news", and more especially from the accounts given me by three of my children. i suppose that you have not written out your lecture, so i fear there is no chance of its being printed in extenso. you appear to have piled, as on so many other occasions, honours high and thick on my old head. but i well know how great a part you have played in establishing and spreading the belief in the descen-theory, ever since that grand review in the "times" and the battle royal at oxford up to the present day. ever my dear huxley, yours sincerely and gratefully, charles darwin. p.s.--it was absurdly stupid in me, but i had read the announcement of your lecture, and thought that you meant the maturity of the subject, until my wife one day remarked, "it is almost twenty-one years since the 'origin' appeared," and then for the first time the meaning of your words flashed on me! [in the above-mentioned lecture mr. huxley made a strong point of the accumulation of palaeontological evidence which the years between and have given us in favour of evolution. on this subject my father wrote (august , ):] my dear professor marsh, i received some time ago your very kind note of july th, and yesterday the magnificent volume. (odontornithes. a monograph on the extinct toothed birds of north america. . by o.c. marsh.) i have looked with renewed admiration at the plates, and will soon read the text. your work on these old birds, and on the many fossil animals of north america has afforded the best support to the theory of evolution, which has appeared within the last twenty years. (mr. huxley has well pointed out ('science and culture,' page ) that: "in , the discovery of the toothed birds of the cretaceous formation in north america, by prof. marsh, completed the series of transitional forms between birds and reptiles, and removed mr. darwin's proposition that, 'many animal forms of life have been utterly lost, through which the early progenitors of birds were formerly connected with the early progenitors of the other vertebrate classes,' from the region of hypothesis to that of demonstrable fact.") the general appearance of the copy which you have sent me is worthy of its contents, and i can say nothing stronger than this. with cordial thanks, believe me, yours very sincerely, charles darwin. [in november, , he received an account of a flood in brazil, from which his friend fritz muller had barely escaped with his life. my father immediately wrote to hermann muller anxiously enquiring whether his brother had lost books, instruments, etc., by this accident, and begging in that case "for the sake of science, so that science should not suffer," to be allowed to help in making good the loss. fortunately, however, the injury to fritz muller's possessions was not so great as was expected, and the incident remains only as a memento, which i trust cannot be otherwise than pleasing to the survivor, of the friendship of the two naturalists. in 'nature' (november , ) appeared a letter from my father, which is, i believe, the only instance in which he wrote publicly with anything like severity. the late sir wyville thomson wrote, in the introduction to the 'voyage of the "challenger"': "the character of the abyssal fauna refuses to give the least support to the theory which refers the evolution of species to extreme variation guided only by natural selection." my father, after characterising these remarks as a "standard of criticism, not uncommonly reached by theologians and metaphysicians," goes on to take exception to the term "extreme variation," and challenges sir wyville to name any one who has "said that the evolution of species depends only on natural selection." the letter closes with an imaginary scene between sir wyville and a breeder, in which sir wyville criticises artificial selection in a somewhat similar manner. the breeder is silent, but on the departure of his critic he is supposed to make use of "emphatic but irreverent language about naturalists." the letter, as originally written, ended with a quotation from sedgwick on the invulnerability of those who write on what they do not understand, but this was omitted on the advice of a friend, and curiously enough a friend whose combativeness in the good cause my father had occasionally curbed.] charles darwin to g.j. romanes. down, april , . my dear romanes, my ms. on 'worms' has been sent to the printers, so i am going to amuse myself by scribbling to you on a few points; but you must not waste your time in answering at any length this scribble. firstly, your letter on intelligence was very useful to me and i tor up and re-wrote what i sent to you. i have not attempted to define intelligence; but have quoted your remarks on experience, and have shown how far they apply to worms. it seems to me that they must be said to work with some intelligence, anyhow they are not guided by a blind instinct. secondly, i was greatly interested by the abstract in 'nature' of your work on echinoderms ("on the locomotor system of echinoderms," by g.j. romanes and j. cossar ewart. 'philosophical transactions,' , page .), the complexity with simplicity, and with such curious co-ordination of the nervous system is marvellous; and you showed me before what splendid gymnastic feats they can perform. thirdly, dr. roux has sent me a book just published by him: 'der kampf der theile,' etc., ( pages in length). he is manifestly a well-read physiologist and pathologist, and from his position a good anatomist. it is full of reasoning, and this in german is very difficult to me, so that i have only skimmed through each page; here and there reading with a little more care. as far as i can imperfectly judge, it is the most important book on evolution, which has appeared for some time. i believe that g.h. lewes hinted at the same fundamental idea, viz. that there is a struggle going on within every organism between the organic molecules, the cells and the organs. i think that his basis is, that every cell which best performs its function is, in consequence, at the same time best nourished and best propagates its kind. the book does not touch on mental phenomena, but there is much discussion on rudimentary or atrophied parts, to which subject you formerly attended. now if you would like to read this book, i would sent it... if you read it, and are struck with it (but i may be wholly mistaken about its value), you would do a public service by analysing and criticising it in 'nature.' dr. roux makes, i think, a gigantic oversight in never considering plants; these would simplify the problem for him. fourthly, i do not know whether you will discuss in your book on the mind of animals any of the more complex and wonderful instincts. it is unsatisfactory work, as there can be no fossilised instincts, and the sole guide is their state in other members of the same order, and mere probability. but if you do discuss any (and it will perhaps be expected of you), i should think that you could not select a better case than that of the sand wasps, which paralyse their prey, as formerly described by fabre, in his wonderful paper in the 'annales des sciences,' and since amplified in his admirable 'souvenirs.' whilst reading this latter book, i speculated a little on the subject. astonishing nonsense is often spoken of the sand wasp's knowledge of anatomy. now will any one say that the gauchos on the plains of la plata have such knowledge, yet i have often seen them pith a struggling and lassoed cow on the ground with unerring skill, which no mere anatomist could imitate. the pointed knife was infallibly driven in between the vertebrae by a single slight thrust. i presume that the art was first discovered by chance, and that each young gaucho sees exactly how the others do it, and then with a very little practice learns the art. now i suppose that the sand wasps originally merely killed their prey by stinging them in many places (see page of fabre's 'souvenirs,' and page ) on the lower and softest side of the body--and that to sting a certain segment was found by far the most successful method; and was inherited like the tendency of a bulldog to pin the nose of a bull, or of a ferret to bite the cerebellum. it would not be a very great step in advance to prick the ganglion of its prey only slightly, and thus to give its larvae fresh meat instead of old dried meat. though fabre insists so strongly on the unvarying character of instinct, yet it is shown that there is some variability, as at pages , . i fear that i shall have utterly wearied you with my scribbling and bad handwriting. my dear romanes, yours, very sincerely, ch. darwin. postscript of a letter to professor a. agassiz, may th, :-- i read with much interest your address before the american association. however true your remarks on the genealogies of the several groups may be, i hope and believe that you have over-estimated the difficulties to be encountered in the future:--a few days after reading your address, i interpreted to myself your remarks on one point (i hope in some degree correctly) in the following fashion:-- any character of an ancient, generalised, or intermediate form may, and often does, re-appear in its descendants, after countless generations, and this explains the extraordinarily complicated affinities of existing groups. this idea seems to me to throw a flood of light on the lines, sometimes used to represent affinities, which radiate in all directions, often to very distant sub-groups,--a difficulty which has haunted me for half a century. a strong case could be made out in favour of believing in such reversion after immense intervals of time. i wish the idea had been put into my head in old days, for i shall never again write on difficult subjects, as i have seen too many cases of old men becoming feeble in their minds, without being in the least conscious of it. if i have interpreted your ideas at all correctly, i hope that you will re-urge, on any fitting occasion, your view. i have mentioned it to a few persons capable of judging, and it seemed quite new to them. i beg you to forgive the proverbial garrulity of old age. c.d. [the following letter refers to sir j.d. hooker's geographical address at the york meeting ( ) of the british association:] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, august , . my dear hooker, for heaven's sake never speak of boring me, as it would be the greatest pleasure to aid you in the slightest degree and your letter has interested me exceedingly. i will go through your points seriatim, but i have never attended much to the history of any subject, and my memory has become atrociously bad. it will therefore be a mere chance whether any of my remarks are of any use. your idea, to show what travellers have done, seems to me a brilliant and just one, especially considering your audience. . i know nothing about tournefort's works. . i believe that you are fully right in calling humboldt the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived, i have lately read two or three volumes again. his geology is funny stuff; but that merely means that he was not in advance of his age. i should say he was wonderful, more for his near approach to omniscience than for originality. whether or not his position as a scientific man is as eminent as we think, you might truly call him the parent of a grand progeny of scientific travellers, who, taken together, have done much for science. . it seems to me quite just to give lyell (and secondarily e. forbes) a very prominent place. . dana was, i believe, the first man who maintained the permanence of continents and the great oceans... when i read the 'challenger's' conclusion that sediment from the land is not deposited at greater distances than or miles from the land, i was much strengthened in my old belief. wallace seems to me to have argued the case excellently. nevertheless, i would speak, if i were in your place, rather cautiously; for t. mellard reade has argued lately with some force against the view; but i cannot call to mind his arguments. if forced to express a judgment, i should abide by the view of approximate permanence since cambrian days. . the extreme importance of the arctic fossil-plants, is self-evident. take the opportunity of groaning over [our] ignorance of the lignite plants of kerguelen land, or any antarctic land. it might do good. . i cannot avoid feeling sceptical about the travelling of plants from the north except during the tertiary period. it may of course have been so and probably was so from one of the two poles at the earliest period, during pre-cambrian ages; but such speculations seem to me hardly scientific seeing how little we know of the old floras. i will now jot down without any order a few miscellaneous remarks. i think you ought to allude to alph. de candolle's great book, for though it (like almost everything else) is washed out of my mind, yet i remember most distinctly thinking it a very valuable work. anyhow, you might allude to his excellent account of the history of all cultivated plants. how shall you manage to allude to your new zealand and tierra del fuego work? if you do not allude to them you will be scandalously unjust. the many angiosperm plants in the cretacean beds of the united states (and as far as i can judge the age of these beds has been fairly well made out) seems to me a fact of very great importance, so is their relation to the existing flora of the united states under an evolutionary point of view. have not some australian extinct forms been lately found in australia? or have i dreamed it? again, the recent discovery of plants rather low down in our silurian beds is very important. nothing is more extraordinary in the history of the vegetable kingdom, as it seems to me, than the apparently very sudden or abrupt development of the higher plants. i have sometimes speculated whether there did not exist somewhere during long ages an extremely isolated continent, perhaps near the south pole. hence i was greatly interested by a view which saporta propounded to me, a few years ago, at great length in ms. and which i fancy he has since published, as i urged him to do--viz., that as soon as flower-frequenting insects were developed, during the latter part of the secondary period, an enormous impulse was given to the development of the higher plants by cross-fertilization being thus suddenly formed. a few years ago i was much struck with axel blytt's essay showing from observation, on the peat beds in scandinavia, that there had apparently been long periods with more rain and other with less rain (perhaps connected with croll's recurrent astronomical periods), and that these periods had largely determined the present distribution of the plants of norway and sweden. this seemed to me, a very important essay. i have just read over my remarks and i fear that they will not be of the slightest use to you. i cannot but think that you have got through the hardest, or at least the most difficult, part of your work in having made so good and striking a sketch of what you intend to say; but i can quite understand how you must groan over the great necessary labour. i most heartily sympathise with you on the successes of b. and r.: as years advance what happens to oneself becomes of very little consequence, in comparison with the careers of our children. keep your spirits up, for i am convinced that you will make an excellent address. ever yours, affectionately, charles darwin. [in september he wrote:-- "i have this minute finished reading your splendid but too short address. i cannot doubt that it will have been fully appreciated by the geographers of york; if not, they are asses and fools."] charles darwin to john lubbock. sunday evening [ ]. my dear l., your address (presidential address at the york meeting of the british association.) has made me think over what have been the great steps in geology during the last fifty years, and there can be no harm in telling you my impression. but it is very odd that i cannot remember what you have said on geology. i suppose that the classification of the silurian and cambrian formations must be considered the greatest or most important step; for i well remember when all these older rocks were called grau-wacke, and nobody dreamed of classing them; and now we have three azoic formations pretty well made out beneath the cambrian! but the most striking step has been the discovery of the glacial period: you are too young to remember the prodigious effect this produced about the year (?) on all our minds. elie de beaumont never believed in it to the day of his death! the study of the glacial deposits led to the study of the superficial drift, which was formerly never studied and called diluvium, as i well remember. the study under the microscope of rock-sections is another not inconsiderable step. so again the making out of cleavage and the foliation of the metamorphic rocks. but i will not run on, having now eased my mind. pray do not waste even one minute in acknowledging my horrid scrawls. ever yours, ch. darwin. [the following extracts referring to the late francis maitland balfour (professor of animal morphology at cambridge. he was born in , and was killed, with his guide, on the aiguille blanche, near courmayeur, in july, .), show my father's estimate of his work and intellectual qualities, but they give merely an indication of his strong appreciation of balfour's most lovable personal character:-- from a letter to fritz muller, january , :-- "your appreciation of balfour's book ['comparative embryology'] has pleased me excessively, for though i could not properly judge of it, yet it seemed to me one of the most remarkable books which have been published for some considerable time. he is quite a young man, and if he keeps his health, will do splendid work... he has a fair fortune of his own, so that he can give up his whole time to biology. he is very modest, and very pleasant, and often visits here and we like him very much." from a letter to dr. dohrn, february , :-- "i have got one very bad piece of news to tell you, that f. balfour is very ill at cambridge with typhoid fever... i hope that he is not in a very dangerous state; but the fever is severe. good heavens, what a loss he would be to science, and to his many loving friends!"] charles darwin to t.h. huxley. down, january , . my dear huxley, very many thanks for 'science and culture,' and i am sure that i shall read most of the essays with much interest. with respect to automatism ("on the hypothesis that animals are automata and its history," an address given at the belfast meeting of the british association, , and published in the 'fortnightly review,' , and in 'science and culture.'), i wish that you could review yourself in the old, and of course forgotten, trenchant style, and then you would here answer yourself with equal incisiveness; and thus, by jove, you might go on ad infinitum, to the joy and instruction of the world. ever yours very sincerely, charles darwin. [the following letter refers to dr. ogle's translation of aristotle, 'on the parts of animals' ( ):] charles darwin to w. ogle. down, february , . my dear dr. ogle, you must let me thank you for the pleasure which the introduction to the aristotle book has given me. i have rarely read anything which has interested me more, though i have not read as yet more than a quarter of the book proper. from quotations which i had seen, i had a high notion of aristotle's merits, but i had not the most remote notion what a wonderful man he was. linnaeus and cuvier have been my two gods, though in very different ways, but they were mere schoolboys to old aristotle. how very curious, also, his ignorance on some points, as on muscles as the means of movement. i am glad that you have explained in so probable a manner some of the grossest mistakes attributed to him. i never realized, before reading your book, to what an enormous summation of labour we owe even our common knowledge. i wish old aristotle could know what a grand defender of the faith he had found in you. believe me, my dear dr. ogle, yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. [in february, he received a letter and a specimen from a mr. w.d. crick, which illustrated a curious mode of dispersal of bivalve shells, namely, by closure of their valves so as to hold on to the leg of a water-beetle. this class of fact had a special charm for him, and he wrote to 'nature,' describing the case. ('nature,' april , .) in april he received a letter from dr. w. van dyck, lecturer in zoology at the protestant college of beyrout. the letter showed that the street dogs of beyrout had been rapidly mongrelised by introduced european dogs, and the facts have an interesting bearing on my father's theory of sexual selection.] charles darwin to w.t. van dyck. down, april , . dear sir, after much deliberation, i have thought it best to send your very interesting paper to the zoological society, in hopes that it will be published in their journal. this journal goes to every scientific institution in the world, and the contents are abstracted in all year-books on zoology. therefore i have preferred it to 'nature,' though the latter has a wider circulation, but is ephemeral. i have prefaced your essay by a few general remarks, to which i hope that you will not object. of course i do not know that the zoological society, which is much addicted to mere systematic work, will publish your essay. if it does, i will send you copies of your essay, but these will not be ready for some months. if not published by the zoological society, i will endeavour to get 'nature' to publish it. i am very anxious that it should be published and preserved. dear sir, yours faithfully, ch. darwin. [the paper was read at a meeting of the zoological society on april th--the day before my father's death. the preliminary remarks with which dr. van dyck's paper is prefaced are thus the latest of my father's writings.] we must now return to an early period of his life, and give a connected account of his botanical work, which has hitherto been omitted. chapter .x. -- fertilisation of flowers. [in the letters already given we have had occasion to notice the general bearing of a number of botanical problems on the wider question of evolution. the detailed work in botany which my father accomplished by the guidance of the light cast on the study of natural history by his own work on evolution remains to be noticed. in a letter to mr. murray, september th, , speaking of his book on the 'fertilisation of orchids,' he says: "it will perhaps serve to illustrate how natural history may be worked under the belief of the modification of species." this remark gives a suggestion as to the value and interest of his botanical work, and it might be expressed in far more emphatic language without danger of exaggeration. in the same letter to mr. murray, he says: "i think this little volume will do good to the 'origin,' as it will show that i have worked hard at details." it is true that his botanical work added a mass of corroborative detail to the case for evolution, but the chief support to his doctrines given by these researches was of another kind. they supplied an argument against those critics who have so freely dogmatised as to the uselessness of particular structures, and as to the consequent impossibility of their having been developed by means of natural selection. his observations on orchids enabled him to say: "i can show the meaning of some of the apparently meaningless ridges, horns, who will now venture to say that this or that structure is useless?" a kindred point is expressed in a letter to sir j.d. hooker (may th, :)-- "when many parts of structure, as in the woodpecker, show distinct adaptation to external bodies, it is preposterous to attribute them to the effects of climate, etc., but when a single point alone, as a hooked seed, it is conceivable it may thus have arisen. i have found the study of orchids eminently useful in showing me how nearly all parts of the flower are co-adapted for fertilization by insects, and therefore the results of natural selection--even the most trifling details of structure." one of the greatest services rendered by my father to the study of natural history is the revival of teleology. the evolutionist studies the purpose or meaning of organs with the zeal of the older teleology, but with far wider and more coherent purpose. he has the invigorating knowledge that he is gaining not isolated conceptions of the economy of the present, but a coherent view of both past and present. and even where he fails to discover the use of any part, he may, by a knowledge of its structure, unravel the history of the past vicissitudes in the life of the species. in this way a vigour and unity is given to the study of the forms of organised beings, which before it lacked. this point has already been discussed in mr. huxley's chapter on the 'reception of the "origin of species",' and need not be here considered. it does, however, concern us to recognize that this "great service to natural science," as dr. gray describes it, was effected almost as much by his special botanical work as by the 'origin of species.' for a statement of the scope and influence of my father's botanical work, i may refer to mr. thiselton dyer's article in 'charles darwin,' one of the "nature series". mr. dyer's wide knowledge, his friendship with my father, and especially his power of sympathising with the work of others, combine to give this essay a permanent value. the following passage (page ) gives a true picture:-- "notwithstanding the extent and variety of his botanical work, mr. darwin always disclaimed any right to be regarded as a professed botanist. he turned his attention to plants, doubtless because they were convenient objects for studying organic phenomena in their least complicated forms; and this point of view, which, if one may use the expression without disrespect, had something of the amateur about it, was in itself of the greatest importance. for, from not being, till he took up any point, familiar with the literature bearing on it, his mind was absolutely free from any prepossession. he was never afraid of his facts, or of framing any hypothesis, however startling, which seemed to explain them... in any one else such an attitude would have produced much work that was crude and rash. but mr. darwin--if one may venture on language which will strike no one who had conversed with him as over-strained--seemed by gentle persuasion to have penetrated that reserve of nature which baffles smaller men. in other words, his long experience had given him a kind of instinctive insight into the method of attack of any biological problem, however unfamiliar to him, while he rigidly controlled the fertility of his mind in hypothetical explanations by the no less fertility of ingeniously devised experiment." to form any just idea of the greatness of the revolution worked by my father's researches in the study of the fertilisation of flowers, it is necessary to know from what a condition this branch of knowledge has emerged. it should be remembered that it was only during the early years of the present century that the idea of sex, as applied to plants, became at all firmly established. sachs, in his 'history of botany' ( ), has given some striking illustrations of the remarkable slowness with which its acceptance gained ground. he remarks that when we consider the experimental proofs given by camerarius ( ), and by kolreuter ( - ), it appears incredible that doubts should afterwards have been raised as to the sexuality of plants. yet he shows that such doubts did actually repeatedly crop up. these adverse criticisms rested for the most part on careless experiments, but in many cases on a priori arguments. even as late as , a book of this kind, which would now rank with circle squaring, or flat-earth philosophy, was seriously noticed in a botanical journal. a distinct conception of sex as applied to plants, had not long emerged from the mists of profitless discussion and feeble experiment, at the time when my father began botany by attending henslow's lectures at cambridge. when the belief in the sexuality of plants had become established as an incontrovertible piece of knowledge, a weight of misconception remained, weighing down any rational view of the subject. camerarius (sachs, 'geschichte,' page .) believed (naturally enough in his day) that hermaphrodite flowers are necessarily self-fertilised. he had the wit to be astonished at this, a degree of intelligence which, as sachs points out, the majority of his successors did not attain to. the following extracts from a note-book show that this point occurred to my father as early as :-- "do not plants which have male and female organs together [i.e. in the same flower] yet receive influence from other plants? does not lyell give some argument about varieties being difficult to keep [true] on account of pollen from other plants? because this may be applied to show all plants do receive intermixture." sprengel (christian conrad sprengel, - .), indeed, understood that the hermaphrodite structure of flowers by no means necessarily leads to self-fertilisation. but although he discovered that in many cases pollen is of necessity carried to the stigma of another flower, he did not understand that in the advantage gained by the intercrossing of distinct plants lies the key to the whole question. hermann muller has well remarked that this "omission was for several generations fatal to sprengel's work... for both at the time and subsequently, botanists felt above all the weakness of his theory, and they set aside, along with his defective ideas, his rich store of patient and acute observations and his comprehensive and accurate interpretations." it remained for my father to convince the world that the meaning hidden in the structure of flowers was to be found by seeking light in the same direction in which sprengel, seventy years before, had laboured. robert brown was the connecting link between them, for it was at his recommendation that my father in read sprengel's now celebrated 'secret of nature displayed.' ('das entdeckte geheimniss der natur im baue und in der befruchtung der blumen.' berlin, .) the book impressed him as being "full of truth," although "with some little nonsense." it not only encouraged him in kindred speculation, but guided him in his work, for in he speaks of verifying sprengel's observations. it may be doubted whether robert brown ever planted a more beautiful seed than in putting such a book into such hands. a passage in the 'autobiography' (volume i.) shows how it was that my father was attracted to the subject of fertilisation: "during the summer of , and i believe during the previous summer, i was led to attend to the cross-fertilisation of flowers by the aid of insects, from having come to the conclusion in my speculations on the origin of species, that crossing played an important part in keeping specific forms constant." the original connection between the study of flowers and the problem of evolution is curious, and could hardly have been predicted. moreover, it was not a permanent bond. as soon as the idea arose that the offspring of cross-fertilisation is, in the struggle for life, likely to conquer the seedlings of self-fertilised parentage, a far more vigorous belief in the potency of natural selection in moulding the structure of flowers is attained. a central idea is gained towards which experiment and observation may be directed. dr. gray has well remarked with regard to this central idea ('nature,' june , ):--"the aphorism, 'nature abhors a vacuum,' is a characteristic specimen of the science of the middle ages. the aphorism, nature abhors close fertilisation,' and the demonstration of the principle, belong to our age and to mr. darwin. to have originated this, and also the principle of natural selection... and to have applied these principles to the system of nature, in such a manner as to make, within a dozen years, a deeper impression upon natural history than has been made since linnaeus, is ample title for one man's fame." the flowers of the papilionaceae attracted his attention early, and were the subject of his first paper on fertilisation. ("gardeners' chronicle", , page . it appears that this paper was a piece of "over-time" work. he wrote to a friend, "that confounded leguminous paper was done in the afternoon, and the consequence was i had to go to moor park for a week.") the following extract from an undated letter to dr. asa gray seems to have been written before the publication of this paper, probably in or :-- "... what you say on papilionaceous flowers is very true; and i have no facts to show that varieties are crossed; but yet (and the same remark is applicable in a beautiful way to fumaria and dielytra, as i noticed many years ago), i must believe that the flowers are constructed partly in direct relation to the visits of insects; and how insects can avoid bringing pollen from other individuals i cannot understand. it is really pretty to watch the action of a humble-bee on the scarlet kidney bean, and in this genus (and in lathyrus grandiflorus) the honey is so placed that the bee invariably alights on that one side of the flower towards which the spiral pistil is protruded (bringing out with it pollen), and by the depression of the wing-petal is forced against the bee's side all dusted with pollen. (if you will look at a bed of scarlet kidney beans you will find that the wing-petals on the left side alone are all scratched by the tarsi of the bees. [note in the original letter by c. darwin.]) in the broom the pistil is rubbed on the centre of the back of the bee. i suspect there is something to be made out about the leguminosae, which will bring the case within our theory; though i have failed to do so. our theory will explain why in the vegetable and animal kingdom the act of fertilisation even in hermaphrodites usually takes place sub-jove, though thus exposed to great injury from damp and rain. in animals which cannot be [fertilised] by insects or wind, there is no case of land-animals being hermaphrodite without the concourse of two individuals." a letter to dr. asa gray (september th, ) gives the substance of the paper in the "gardeners' chronicle":-- "lately i was led to examine buds of kidney bean with the pollen shed; but i was led to believe that the pollen could hardly get on the stigma by wind or otherwise, except by bees visiting [the flower] and moving the wing petals: hence i included a small bunch of flowers in two bottles in every way treated the same: the flowers in one i daily just momentarily moved, as if by a bee; these set three fine pods, the other not one. of course this little experiment must be tried again, and this year in england it is too late, as the flowers seem now seldom to set. if bees are necessary to this flower's self-fertilisation, bees must almost cross them, as their dusted right-side of head and right legs constantly touch the stigma. "i have, also, lately been re-observing daily lobelia fulgens--this in my garden is never visited by insects, and never sets seeds, without pollen be put on the stigma (whereas the small blue lobelia is visited by bees and does set seed); i mention this because there are such beautiful contrivances to prevent the stigma ever getting its own pollen; which seems only explicable on the doctrine of the advantage of crosses." the paper was supplemented by a second in . ("gardeners' chronicle", , page . in another paper on fertilisation appeared in the "gardeners' chronicle", page , in which he explained the action of insects on vinca major. he was attracted to the periwinkle by the fact that it is not visited by insects and never set seeds.) the chief object of these publications seems to have been to obtain information as to the possibility of growing varieties of leguminous plants near each other, and yet keeping them true. it is curious that the papilionaceae should not only have been the first flowers which attracted his attention by their obvious adaptation to the visits of insects, but should also have constituted one of his sorest puzzles. the common pea and the sweet pea gave him much difficulty, because, although they are as obviously fitted for insect-visits as the rest of the order, yet their varieties keep true. the fact is that neither of these plants being indigenous, they are not perfectly adapted for fertilisation by british insects. he could not, at this stage of his observations, know that the co-ordination between a flower and the particular insect which fertilises it may be as delicate as that between a lock and its key, so that this explanation was not likely to occur to him. (he was of course alive to variety in the habits of insects. he published a short note in the "entomologists weekly intelligencer", , asking whether the tineina and other small moths suck flowers.) besides observing the leguminosae, he had already begun, as shown in the foregoing extracts, to attend to the structure of other flowers in relation to insects. at the beginning of he worked at leschenaultia (he published a short paper on the manner of fertilisation of this flower, in the "gardeners' chronicle", , page .), which at first puzzled him, but was ultimately made out. a passage in a letter chiefly relating to leschenaultia seems to show that it was only in the spring of that he began widely to apply his knowledge to the relation of insects to other flowers. this is somewhat surprising, when we remember that he had read sprengel many years before. he wrote (may ):-- "i should look at this curious contrivance as specially related to visits of insects; as i begin to think is almost universally the case." even in july he wrote to dr. asa gray:-- "there is no end to the adaptations. ought not these cases to make one very cautious when one doubts about the use of all parts? i fully believe that the structure of all irregular flowers is governed in relation to insects. insects are the lords of the floral (to quote the witty "athenaeum") world." he was probably attracted to the study of orchids by the fact that several kinds are common near down. the letters of show that these plants occupied a good deal of his attention; and in he gave part of the summer and all the autumn to the subject. he evidently considered himself idle for wasting time on orchids, which ought to have been given to 'variation under domestication.' thus he wrote:-- "there is to me incomparably more interest in observing than in writing; but i feel quite guilty in trespassing on these subjects, and not sticking to varieties of the confounded cocks, hens and ducks. i hear that lyell is savage at me. i shall never resist linum next summer." it was in the summer of that he made out one of the most striking and familiar facts in the book, namely, the manner in which the pollen masses in orchis are adapted for removal by insects. he wrote to sir j.d. hooker july :-- "i have been examining orchis pyramidalis, and it almost equals, perhaps even beats, your listera case; the sticky glands are congenitally united into a saddle-shaped organ, which has great power of movement, and seizes hold of a bristle (or proboscis) in an admirable manner, and then another movement takes place in the pollen masses, by which they are beautifully adapted to leave pollen on the two lateral stigmatic surfaces. i never saw anything so beautiful." in june of the same year he wrote:-- "you speak of adaptation being rarely visible, though present in plants. i have just recently been looking at the common orchis, and i declare i think its adaptations in every part of the flower quite as beautiful and plain, or even more beautiful than in the woodpecker. i have written and sent a notice for the "gardeners' chronicle" (june , . this seems to have attracted some attention, especially among entomologists, as it was reprinted in the "entomologists weekly intelligencer", .), on a curious difficulty in the bee orchis, and should much like to hear what you think of the case. in this article i have incidentally touched on adaptation to visits of insects; but the contrivance to keep the sticky glands fresh and sticky beats almost everything in nature. i never remember having seen it described, but it must have been, and, as i ought not in my book to give the observation as my own, i should be very glad to know where this beautiful contrivance is described." he wrote also to dr. gray, june , :-- "talking of adaptation, i have lately been looking at our common orchids, and i dare say the facts are as old and well-known as the hills, but i have been so struck with admiration at the contrivances, that i have sent a notice to the "gardeners' chronicle". the ophrys apifera, offers, as you will see, a curious contradiction in structure." besides attending to the fertilisation of the flowers he was already, in , busy with the homologies of the parts, a subject of which he made good use in the orchid book. he wrote to sir joseph hooker (july):-- "it is a real good joke my discussing homologies of orchids with you, after examining only three or four genera; and this very fact makes me feel positive i am right! i do not quite understand some of your terms; but sometime i must get you to explain the homologies; for i am intensely interested on the subject, just as at a game of chess." this work was valuable from a systematic point of view. in he wrote to mr. bentham:-- "it was very kind in you to write to me about the orchideae, for it has pleased me to an extreme degree that i could have been of the least use to you about the nature of the parts." the pleasure which his early observations on orchids gave him is shown in such extracts as the following from a letter to sir j.d. hooker (july , ):-- "you cannot conceive how the orchids have delighted me. they came safe, but box rather smashed; cylindrical old cocoa- or snuff-canister much safer. i enclose postage. as an account of the movement, i shall allude to what i suppose is oncidium, to make certain,--is the enclosed flower with crumpled petals this genus? also i most specially want to know what the enclosed little globular brown orchid is. i have only seen pollen of a cattleya on a bee, but surely have you not unintentionally sent me what i wanted most (after catasetum or mormodes), viz. one of the epidendreae?! i particularly want (and will presently tell you why) another spike of this little orchid, with older flowers, some even almost withered." his delight in observation is again shown in a letter to dr. gray ( ). referring to cruger's letters from trinidad, he wrote:--"happy man, he has actually seen crowds of bees flying round catasetum, with the pollinia sticking to their backs!" the following extracts of letters to sir j.d. hooker illustrate further the interest which his work excited in him:-- "veitch sent me a grand lot this morning. what wonderful structures! "i have now seen enough, and you must not send me more, for though i enjoy looking at them much, and it has been very useful to me, seeing so many different forms, it is idleness. for my object each species requires studying for days. i wish you had time to take up the group. i would give a good deal to know what the rostellum is, of which i have traced so many curious modifications. i suppose it cannot be one of the stigmas (it is a modification of the upper stigma.), there seems a great tendency for two lateral stigmas to appear. my paper, though touching on only subordinate points will run, i fear, to ms. folio pages! the beauty of the adaptation of parts seems to me unparalleled. i should think or guess waxy pollen was most differentiated. in cypripedium which seems least modified, and a much exterminated group, the grains are single. in all others, as far as i have seen, they are in packets of four; and these packets cohere into many wedge-formed masses in orchis; into eight, four, and finally two. it seems curious that a flower should exist, which could at most fertilise only two other flowers, seeing how abundant pollen generally is; this fact i look at as explaining the perfection of the contrivance by which the pollen, so important from its fewness, is carried from flower to flower" ( ). "i was thinking of writing to you to-day, when your note with the orchids came. what frightful trouble you have taken about vanilla; you really must not take an atom more; for the orchids are more play than real work. i have been much interested by epidendrum, and have worked all morning at them; for heaven's sake, do not corrupt me by any more" (august , ). he originally intended to publish his notes on orchids as a paper in the linnean society's journal, but it soon became evident that a separate volume would be a more suitable form of publication. in a letter to sir j.d. hooker, september , , he writes:-- "i have been acting, i fear that you will think, like a goose; and perhaps in truth i have. when i finished a few days ago my orchis paper, which turns out folio pages!! and thought of the expense of woodcuts, i said to myself, i will offer the linnean society to withdraw it, and publish it in a pamphlet. it then flashed on me that perhaps murray would publish it, so i gave him a cautious description, and offered to share risks and profits. this morning he writes that he will publish and take all risks, and share profits and pay for all illustrations. it is a risk, and heaven knows whether it will not be a dead failure, but i have not deceived murray, and [have] told him that it would interest those alone who cared much for natural history. i hope i do not exaggerate the curiosity of the many special contrivances." he wrote the two following letters to mr. murray about the publication of the book:] down, september [ ]. my dear sir, will you have the kindness to give me your opinion, which i shall implicitly follow. i have just finished a very long paper intended for linnean society (the title is enclosed), and yesterday for the first time it occurred to me that possibly it might be worth publishing separately which would save me trouble and delay. the facts are new, and have been collected during twenty years and strike me as curious. like a bridgewater treatise, the chief object is to show the perfection of the many contrivances in orchids. the subject of propagation is interesting to most people, and is treated in my paper so that any woman could read it. parts are dry and purely scientific; but i think my paper would interest a good many of such persons who care for natural history, but no others. ... it would be a very little book, and i believe you think very little books objectionable. i have myself great doubts on the subject. i am very apt to think that my geese are swans; but the subject seems to me curious and interesting. i beg you not to be guided in the least in order to oblige me, but as far as you can judge, please give me your opinion. if i were to publish separately, i would agree to any terms, such as half risk and half profit, or what you liked; but i would not publish on my sole risk, for to be frank, i have been told that no publisher whatever, under such circumstances, cares for the success of a book. charles darwin to j. murray. down, september [ ]. my dear sir, i am very much obliged for your note and very liberal offer. i have had some qualms and fears. all that i can feel sure of is that the ms. contains many new and curious facts, and i am sure the essay would have interested me, and will interest those who feel lively interest in the wonders of nature; but how far the public will care for such minute details, i cannot at all tell. it is a bold experiment; and at worst, cannot entail much loss; as a certain amount of sale will, i think, be pretty certain. a large sale is out of the question. as far as i can judge, generally the points which interest me i find interest others; but i make the experiment with fear and trembling,--not for my own sake, but for yours... [on september th he wrote to sir j.d. hooker:-- "what a good soul you are not to sneer at me, but to pat me on the back. i have the greatest doubt whether i am not going to do, in publishing my paper, a most ridiculous thing. it would annoy me much, but only for murray's sake, if the publication were a dead failure." there was still much work to be done, and in october he was still receiving orchids from kew, and wrote to hooker:-- "it is impossible to thank you enough. i was almost mad at the wealth of orchids." and again-- "mr. veitch most generously has sent me two splendid buds of mormodes, which will be capital for dissection, but i fear will never be irritable; so for the sake of charity and love of heaven do, i beseech you, observe what movement takes place in cychnoches, and what part must be touched. mr. v. has also sent me one splendid flower of catasetum, the most wonderful orchid i have seen." on october th he wrote to sir joseph hooker:-- "it seems that i cannot exhaust your good nature. i have had the hardest day's work at catasetum and buds of mormodes, and believe i understand at last the mechanism of movements and the functions. catasetum is a beautiful case of slight modification of structure leading to new functions. i never was more interested in any subject in my life than in this of orchids. i owe very much to you." again to the same friend, november , :-- "if you really can spare another catasetum, when nearly ready, i shall be most grateful; had i not better send for it? the case is truly marvellous; the (so-called) sensation, or stimulus from a light touch is certainly transmitted through the antennae for more than one inch instantaneously... a cursed insect or something let my last flower off last night." professor de candolle has remarked ('darwin considere, etc.,' 'archives des sciences physiques et naturelles,' eme periode. tome vii. , (may).) of my father, "ce n'est pas lui qui aurait demande de construire des palais pour y loger des laboratoires." this was singularly true of his orchid work, or rather it would be nearer the truth to say that he had no laboratory, for it was only after the publication of the 'fertilisation of orchids,' that he built himself a greenhouse. he wrote to sir j.d. hooker (december th, ):-- "and now i am going to tell you a most important piece of news!! i have almost resolved to build a small hot-house; my neighbour's really firs-rate gardener has suggested it, and offered to make me plans, and see that it is well done, and he is really a clever fellow, who wins lots of prizes, and is very observant. he believes that we should succeed with a little patience; it will be a grand amusement for me to experiment with plants." again he wrote (february th, ):-- "i write now because the new hot-house is ready, and i long to stock it, just like a schoolboy. could you tell me pretty soon what plants you can give me; and then i shall know what to order? and do advise me how i had better get such plants as you can spare. would it do to send my tax-cart early in the morning, on a day that was not frosty, lining the cart with mats, and arriving here before night? i have no idea whether this degree of exposure (and of course the cart would be cold) could injure stov-plants; they would be about five hours (with bait) on the journey home." a week later he wrote:-- "you cannot imagine what pleasure your plants give me (far more than your dead wedgwood ware can give you); and i go and gloat over them, but we privately confessed to each other, that if they were not our own, perhaps we should not see such transcendent beauty in each leaf." and in march, when he was extremely unwell he wrote:-- "a few words about the stove-plants; they do so amuse me. i have crawled to see them two or three times. will you correct and answer, and return enclosed. i have hunted in all my books and cannot find these names (his difficulty with regard to the names of plants is illustrated, with regard to a lupine on which he was at work, in an extract from a letter (july , ) to sir j.d. hooker: "i sent to the nursery garden, whence i bought the seed, and could only hear that it was 'the common blue lupine,' the man saying 'he was no scholard, and did not know latin, and that parties who make experiments ought to find out the names.'"), and i like much to know the family." the book was published may th, . of its reception he writes to murray, june th and th:-- "the botanists praise my orchid-book to the skies. some one sent me (perhaps you) the 'parthenon,' with a good review. the "athenaeum" (may , .) treats me with very kind pity and contempt; but the reviewer knew nothing of his subject." "there is a superb, but i fear exaggerated, review in the 'london review,' (june , .) but i have not been a fool, as i thought i was, to publish (doubts on this point still, however, occurred to him about this time. he wrote to prof. oliver (june ): "i am glad that you have read my orchis-book and seem to approve of it; for i never published anything which i so much doubted whether it was worth publishing, and indeed i still doubt. the subject interested me beyond what, i suppose, it is worth."); for asa gray, about the most competent judge in the world, thinks almost as highly of the book as does the 'london review.' the "athenaeum" will hinder the sale greatly." the rev. m.j. berkeley was the author of the notice in the 'london review,' as my father learned from sir j.d. hooker, who added, 'i thought it very well done indeed. i have read a good deal of the orchid-book, and echo all he says." to this my father replied (june th, ):-- "my dear old friend, you speak of my warming the cockles of your heart, but you will never know how often you have warmed mine. it is not your approbation of my scientific work (though i care for that more than for any one's): it is something deeper. to this day i remember keenly a letter you wrote to me from oxford, when i was at the water-cure, and how it cheered me when i was utterly weary of life. well, my orchis-book is a success (but i do not know whether it sells.)" in another letter to the same friend, he wrote:-- "you have pleased me much by what you say in regard to bentham and oliver approving of my book; for i had got a sort of nervousness, and doubted whether i had not made an egregious fool of myself, and concocted pleasant little stinging remarks for reviews, such as 'mr. darwin's head seems to have been turned by a certain degree of success, and he thinks that the most trifling observations are worth publication.'" mr. bentham's approval was given in his presidential address to the linnean society, may , , and was all the more valuable because it came from one who was by no means supposed to be favourable to evolutionary doctrines.] charles darwin to asa gray. down, june [ ]. my dear gray, your generous sympathy makes you overestimate what you have read of my orchid-book. but your letter of may th and th has given me an almost foolish amount of satisfaction. the subject interested me, i knew, beyond its real value; but i had lately got to think that i had made myself a complete fool by publishing in a semi-popular form. now i shall confidently defy the world. i have heard that bentham and oliver approve of it; but i have heard the opinion of no one else whose opinion is worth a farthing... no doubt my volume contains much error: how curiously difficult it is to be accurate, though i try my utmost. your notes have interested me beyond measure. i can now afford to d-- my critics with ineffable complacency of mind. cordial thanks for this benefit. it is surprising to me that you should have strength of mind to care for science, amidst the awful events daily occurring in your country. i daily look at the "times" with almost as much interest as an american could do. when will peace come? it is dreadful to think of the desolation of large parts of your magnificent country; and all the speechless misery suffered by many. i hope and think it not unlikely that we english are wrong in concluding that it will take a long time for prosperity to return to you. it is an awful subject to reflect on... [dr. asa gray reviewed the book in 'silliman's journal' ('silliman's journal,' volume xxiv. page . here is given an account of the fertilisation of platanthera hookeri. p. hyperborea is discussed in dr. gray's 'enumeration' in the same volume, page ; also, with other species, in a second notice of the orchid-book at page .), where he speaks, in strong terms, of the fascination which it must have for even slightly instructed readers. he made, too, some original observations on an american orchid, and these first-fruits of the subject, sent in ms. or proof sheet to my father, were welcomed by him in a letter (july rd):-- "last night, after writing the above, i read the great bundle of notes. little did i think what i had to read. what admirable observations! you have distanced me on my own hobby-horse! i have not had for weeks such a glow of pleasure as your observations gave me." the next letter refers to the publication of the review:] charles darwin to asa gray. down, july [ ]. my dear gray, i hardly know what to thank for first. your stamps gave infinite satisfaction. i took him (one of his boys who was ill.) first one lot, and then an hour afterwards another lot. he actually raised himself on one elbow to look at them. it was the first animation he showed. he said only: "you must thank professor gray awfully." in the evening after a long silence, there came out the oracular sentence: "he is awfully kind." and indeed you are, overworked as you are, to take so much trouble for our poor dear little man.--and now i must begin the "awfullys" on my own account: what a capital notice you have published on the orchids! it could not have been better; but i fear that you overrate it. i am very sure that i had not the least idea that you or any one would approve of it so much. i return your last note for the chance of your publishing any notice on the subject; but after all perhaps you may not think it worth while; yet in my judgment several of your facts, especially platanthera hyperborea, are much too good to be merged in a review. but i have always noticed that you are prodigal in originality in your reviews... [sir joseph hooker reviewed the book in the "gardeners' chronicle", writing in a successful imitation of the style of lindley, the editor. my father wrote to sir joseph (november , ):-- "so you did write the review in the "gardeners' chronicle". once or twice i doubted whether it was lindley; but when i came to a little slap at r. brown, i doubted no longer. you arch-rogue! i do not wonder you have deceived others also. perhaps i am a conceited dog; but if so, you have much to answer for; i never received so much praise, and coming from you i value it much more than from any other." with regard to botanical opinion generally, he wrote to dr. gray, "i am fairly astonished at the success of my book with botanists." among naturalists who were not botanists, lyell was pre-eminent in his appreciation of the book. i have no means of knowing when he read it, but in later life, as i learn from professor judd, he was enthusiastic in praise of the 'fertilisation of orchids,' which he considered "next to the 'origin,' as the most valuable of all darwin's works." among the general public the author did not at first hear of many disciples, thus he wrote to his cousin fox in september : "hardly any one not a botanist, except yourself, as far as i know, has cared for it." a favourable notice appeared in the "saturday review", october th, ; the reviewer points out that the book would escape the angry polemics aroused by the 'origin.' (dr. gray pointed out that if the orchid-book (with a few trifling omissions) had appeared before the 'origin,' the author would have been canonised rather than anathematised by the natural theologians.) this is illustrated by a review in the "literary churchman", in which only one fault found, namely, that mr. darwin's expression of admiration at the contrivances in orchids is too indirect a way of saying, "o lord, how manifold are thy works!" a somewhat similar criticism occurs in the 'edinburgh review' (october ). the writer points out that mr. darwin constantly uses phrases, such as "beautiful contrivance," "the labellum is... in order to attract," "the nectar is purposely lodged." the reviewer concludes his discussion thus: "we know, too that these purposes and ideas are not our own, but the ideas and purposes of another." the 'edinburgh' reviewer's treatment of this subject was criticised in the "saturday review", november th, : with reference to this article my father wrote to sir joseph hooker (december th, ):-- "here is an odd chance; my nephew henry parker, an oxford classic, and fellow of oriel, came here this evening; and i asked him whether he knew who had written the little article in the "saturday", smashing the [edinburgh reviewer], which we liked; and after a little hesitation he owned he had. i never knew that he wrote in the "saturday"; and was it not an odd chance?" the 'edinburgh' article was written by the duke of argyll, and has since been made use of in his 'reign of law,' . mr. wallace replied ('quarterly journal of science,' october . republished in 'natural selection,' .) to the duke's criticisms, making some specially good remarks on those which refer to orchids. he shows how, by a "beautiful self-acting adjustment," the nectary of the orchid angraecum (from to inches in length), and the proboscis of a moth sufficiently long to reach the nectar, might be developed by natural selection. he goes on to point out that on any other theory we must suppose that the flower was created with an enormously long nectary, and that then by a special act, an insect was created fitted to visit the flower, which would otherwise remain sterile. with regard to this point my father wrote (october or , ):-- "i forgot to remark how capitally you turn the tables on the duke, when you make him create the angraecum and moth by special creation." if we examine the literature relating to the fertilisation of flowers, we do not find that this new branch of study showed any great activity immediately after the publication of the orchid-book. there are a few papers by asa gray, in and , by hildebrand in , and by moggridge in , but the great mass of work by axell, delpino, hildebrand, and the mullers, did not begin to appear until about . the period during which the new views were being assimilated, and before they became thoroughly fruitful, was, however, surprisingly short. the later activity in this department may be roughly gauged by the fact that the valuable 'bibliography,' given by prof. d'arcy thompson in his translation of muller's 'befruchtung' ( ), contains references to papers. besides the book on orchids, my father wrote two or three papers on the subject, which will be found mentioned in the appendix. the earliest of these, on the three sexual forms of catasetum, was published in ; it is an anticipation of part of the orchid-book, and was merely published in the linnean society's journal, in acknowledgment of the use made of a specimen in the society's possession. the possibility of apparently distinct species being merely sexual forms of a single species, suggested a characteristic experiment, which is alluded to in the following letter to one of his earliest disciples in the study of the fertilisation of flowers:] charles darwin to j. traherne moggridge. (the late mr. moggridge, author of 'harvesting ants and trap-door spiders,' 'flora of mentone,' etc.) down, october [ ]. my dear sir, i am especially obliged to you for your beautiful plates and letter-press; for no single point in natural history interests and perplexes me so much as the self-fertilisation (he once remarked to dr. norman moore that one of the things that made him wish to live a few thousand years, was his desire to see the extinction of the bee-orchis,--an end to which he believed its self-fertilising habit was leading.) of the bee-orchis. you have already thrown some light on the subject, and your present observations promise to throw more. i formed two conjectures: first, that some insect during certain seasons might cross the plants, but i have almost given up this; nevertheless, pray have a look at the flowers next season. secondly, i conjectured that the spider and bee-orchis might be a crossing and self-fertile form of the same species. accordingly i wrote some years ago to an acquaintance, asking him to mark some spider-orchids, and observe whether they retained the same character; but he evidently thought the request as foolish as if i had asked him to mark one of his cows with a ribbon, to see if it would turn next spring into a horse. now will you be so kind as to tie a string round the stem of a half-a-dozen spider-orchids, and when you leave mentone dig them up, and i would try and cultivate them and see if they kept constant; but i should require to know in what sort of soil and situations they grow. it would be indispensable to mark the plant so that there could be no mistake about the individual. it is also just possible that the same plant would throw up, at different seasons different flower-scapes, and the marked plants would serve as evidence. with many thanks, my dear sir, yours sincerely, ch. darwin. p.s.--i send by this post my paper on climbing plants, parts of which you might like to read. [sir thomas farrer and dr. w. ogle were also guided and encouraged by my father in their observations. the following refers to a paper by sir thomas farrer, in the 'annals and magazine of natural history,' , on the fertilisation of the scarlet runner:] charles darwin to t.h. farrer. down, september , . my dear mr. farrer, i grieve to say that the main features of your case are known. i am the sinner and described them some ten years ago. but i overlooked many details, as the appendage to the single stamen, and several other points. i send my notes, but i must beg for their return, as i have no other copy. i quite agree, the facts are most striking, especially as you put them. are you sure that the hive-bee is the cutter? it is against my experience. if sure, make the point more prominent, or if not sure, erase it. i do not think the subject is quite new enough for the linnean society; but i dare say the 'annals and magazine of natural history,' or "gardeners' chronicle" would gladly publish your observations, and it is a great pity they should be lost. if you like i would send your paper to either quarter with a note. in this case you must give a title, and your name, and perhaps it would be well to premise your remarks with a line of reference to my paper stating that you had observed independently and more fully. i have read my own paper over after an interval of several years, and am amused at the caution with which i put the case that the final end was for crossing distinct individuals, of which i was then as fully convinced as now, but i knew that the doctrine would shock all botanists. now the opinion is becoming familiar. to see penetration of pollen-tubes is not difficult, but in most cases requires some practice with dissecting under a one-tenth of an inch focal distance single lens; and just at first this will seem to you extremely difficult. what a capital observer you are--a first-rate naturalist has been sacrificed, or partly sacrificed to public life. believe me, yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. p.s.--if you come across any large salvia, look at it--the contrivance is admirable. it went to my heart to tell a man who came here a few weeks ago with splendid drawings and ms. on salvia, that the work had been all done in germany. (dr. w. ogle, the observer of the fertilisation of salvia here alluded to, published his results in the 'pop. science review,' . he refers both gracefully and gratefully to his relationship with my father in the introduction to his translation of kerner's 'flowers and their unbidden guests.') [the following extract is from a letter, november th, , to sir thomas farrer, written as i learn from him, "in answer to a request for some advice as to the best modes of observation." "in my opinion the best plan is to go on working and making copious notes, without much thought of publication, and then if the results turn out striking publish them. it is my impression, but i do not feel sure that i am right, that the best and most novel plan would be, instead of describing the means of fertilisation in particular plants, to investigate the part which certain structures play with all plants or throughout certain orders; for instance, the brush of hairs on the style, or the diadelphous condition of the stamens, in the leguminosae, or the hairs within the corolla, etc. etc. looking to your note, i think that this is perhaps the plan which you suggest. "it is well to remember that naturalists value observations far more than reasoning; therefore your conclusions should be as often as possible fortified by noticing how insects actually do the work." in , sir thomas farrer corresponded with my father on the fertilisation of passiflora and of tacsonia. he has given me his impressions of the correspondence:-- "i had suggested that the elaborate series of chevaux-de-frise, by which the nectary of the common passiflora is guarded, were specially calculated to protect the flower from the stiff-beaked humming birds which would not fertilise it, and to facilitate the access of the little proboscis of the humble bee, which would do so; whilst, on the other hand, the long pendent tube and flexible valve-like corona which retains the nectar of tacsonia would shut out the bee, which would not, and admit the humming bird which would, fertilise that flower. the suggestion is very possibly worthless, and could only be verified or refuted by examination of flowers in the countries where they grow naturally... what interested me was to see that on this as on almost any other point of detailed observation, mr. darwin could always say, 'yes; but at one time i made some observations myself on this particular point; and i think you will find, etc. etc.' that he should after years of interval remember that he had noticed the peculiar structure to which i was referring in the passiflora princeps struck me at the time as very remarkable." with regard to the spread of a belief in the adaptation of flowers for cross-fertilisation, my father wrote to mr. bentham april , : "most of the criticisms which i sometimes meet with in french works against the frequency of crossing, i am certain are the result of mere ignorance. i have never hitherto found the rule to fail that when an author describes the structure of a flower as specially adapted for self-fertilisation, it is really adapted for crossing. the fumariaceae offer a good instance of this, and treviranus threw this order in my teeth; but in corydalis, hildebrand shows how utterly false the idea of self-fertilisation is. this author's paper on salvia is really worth reading, and i have observed some species, and know that he is accurate." the next letter refers to professor hildebrand's paper on corydalis, published in the 'proc. internat. hort. congress,' london, , and in pringsheim's 'jahrbucher,' volume v. the memoir on salvia alluded to is contained in the previous volume of the same journal:] charles darwin to f. hildebrand. (professor of botany at freiburg.) down, may [ ]. my dear sir, the state of my health prevents my attending the hort. congress; but i forwarded yesterday your paper to the secretary, and if they are not overwhelmed with papers, yours will be gladly received. i have made many observations on the fumariaceae, and convinced myself that they were adapted for insect agency; but i never observed anything nearly so curious as your most interesting facts. i hope you will repeat your experiments on the corydalis on a larger scale, and especially on several distinct plants; for your plant might have been individually peculiar, like certain individual plants of lobelia, etc., described by gartner, and of passiflora and orchids described by mr. scott... since writing to you before, i have read your admirable memoir on salvia, and it has interested me almost as much as when i first investigated the structure of orchids. your paper illustrates several points in my 'origin of species,' especially the transition of organs. knowing only two or three species in the genus, i had often marvelled how one cell of the anther could have been transformed into the movable plate or spoon; and how well you show the gradations; but i am surprised that you did not more strongly insist on this point. i shall be still more surprised if you do not ultimately come to the same belief with me, as shown by so many beautiful contrivances, that all plants require, from some unknown cause, to be occasionally fertilized by pollen from a distinct individual. with sincere respect, believe me, my dear sir, yours very faithfully, ch. darwin. [the following letter refers to the late hermann muller's 'befruchtung der blumen,' by far the most valuable of the mass of literature originating in the 'fertilisation of orchids.' an english translation, by prof. d'arcy thompson was published in . my father's "prefatory notice" to this work is dated february , , and is therefore almost the last of his writings:] charles darwin to h. muller. down, may , . my dear sir, owing to all sorts of interruptions and to my reading german so slowly, i have read only to page of your book; but i must have the pleasure of telling you how very valuable a work it appears to me. independently of the many original observations, which of course form the most important part, the work will be of the highest use as a means of reference to all that has been done on the subject. i am fairly astonished at the number of species of insects, the visits of which to different flowers you have recorded. you must have worked in the most indefatigable manner. about half a year ago the editor of 'nature' suggested that it would be a grand undertaking if a number of naturalists were to do what you have already done on so large a scale with respect to the visits of insects. i have been particularly glad to read your historical sketch, for i had never before seen all the references put together. i have sometimes feared that i was in error when i said that c.k. sprengel did not fully perceive that cross-fertilisation was the final end of the structure of flowers; but now this fear is relieved, and it is a great satisfaction to me to believe that i have aided in making his excellent book more generally known. nothing has surprised me more than to see in your historical sketch how much i myself have done on the subject, as it never before occurred to me to think of all my papers as a whole. but i do not doubt that your generous appreciation of the labours of others has led you to over-estimate what i have done. with very sincere thanks and respect, believe me, yours faithfully, charles darwin. p.s.--i have mentioned your book to almost every one who, as far as i know, cares for the subject in england; and i have ordered a copy to be send to our royal society. [the next letter, to dr. behrens, refers to the same subject as the last:] charles darwin to w. behrens. down, august [ ]. dear sir, i am very much obliged to you for having sent me your 'geschichte der bestaubungs-theorie' (progr. der k. gewerbschule zu elberfeld, , .), and which has interested me much. it has put some things in a new light, and has told me other things which i did not know. i heartily agree with you in your high appreciation of poor old c. sprengel's work; and one regrets bitterly that he did not live to see his labours thus valued. it rejoices me also to notice how highly you appreciate h. muller, who has always seemed to me an admirable observer and reasoner. i am at present endeavouring to persuade an english publisher to bring out a translation of his 'befruchtung.' lastly, permit me to thank you for your very generous remarks on my works. by placing what i have been able to do on this subject in systematic order, you have made me think more highly of my own work than i ever did before! nevertheless, i fear that you have done me more than justice. i remain, dear sir, yours faithfully and obliged, charles darwin. [the letter which follows was called forth by dr. gray's article in 'nature,' to which reference has already been made, and which appeared june , :] charles darwin to asa gray. down, june [ ]. my dear gray, i was rejoiced to see your hand-writing again in your note of the th, of which more anon. i was astonished to see announced about a week ago that you were going to write in 'nature' an article on me, and this morning i received an advance copy. it is the grandest thing ever written about me, especially as coming from a man like yourself. it has deeply pleased me, particularly some of your side remarks. it is a wonderful thing to me to live to see my name coupled in any fashion with that of robert brown. but you are a bold man, for i am sure that you will be sneered at by not a few botanists. i have never been so honoured before, and i hope it will do me good and make me try to be as careful as possible; and good heavens, how difficult accuracy is! i feel a very proud man, but i hope this won't last... [fritz muller has observed that the flowers of hedychium are so arranged that the pollen is removed by the wings of hovering butterflies. my father's prediction of this observation is given in the following letter:] charles darwin to h. muller. down, august , . ... i was much interested by your brother's article on hedychium; about two years ago i was so convinced that the flowers were fertilized by the tips of the wings of large moths, that i wrote to india to ask a man to observe the flowers and catch the moths at work, and he sent me to sphin-moths, but so badly packed that they all arrived in fragments; and i could make out nothing... yours sincerely, ch. darwin. [the following extract from a letter (february , ), to dr. gray refers to another prediction fulfilled:-- "i have of course seen no one, and except good dear hooker, i hear from no one. he, like a good and true friend, though so overworked, often writes to me. "i have had one letter which has interested me greatly, with a paper, which will appear in the linnean journal, by dr. cruger of trinidad, which shows that i am all right about catasetum, even to the spot where the pollinia adhere to the bees, which visit the flower, as i said, to gnaw the labellum. cruger's account of coryanthes and the use of the bucket-like labellum full of water beats everything: i suspect that the bees being well wetted flattens their hairs, and allows the viscid disc to adhere."] charles darwin to the marquis de saporta. down, december , . my dear sir, i thank you sincerely for your long and most interesting letter, which i should have answered sooner had it not been delayed in london. i had not heard before that i was to be proposed as a corresponding member of the institute. living so retired a life as i do, such honours affect me very little, and i can say with entire truth that your kind expression of sympathy has given and will give me much more pleasure than the election itself, should i be elected. your idea that dicotyledonous plants were not developed in force until sucking insects had been evolved seems to me a splendid one. i am surprised that the idea never occurred to me, but this is always the case when one first hears a new and simple explanation of some mysterious phenomenon... i formerly showed that we might fairly assume that the beauty of flowers, their sweet odour and copious nectar, may be attributed to the existence of flower-haunting insects, but your idea, which i hope you will publish, goes much further and is much more important. with respect to the great development of mammifers in the later geological periods following from the development of dicotyledons, i think it ought to be proved that such animals as deer, cows, horses, etc. could not flourish if fed exclusively on the gramineae and other anemophilous monocotyledons; and i do not suppose that any evidence on this head exists. your suggestion of studying the manner of fertilisation of the surviving members of the most ancient forms of the dicotyledons is a very good one, and i hope that you will keep it in mind yourself, for i have turned my attention to other subjects. delpino i think says that magnolia is fertilised by insects which gnaw the petals, and i should not be surprised if the same fact holds good with nymphaea. whenever i have looked at the flowers of these latter plants i have felt inclined to admit the view that petals are modified stamens, and not modified leaves; though poinsettia seems to show that true leaves might be converted into coloured petals. i grieve to say that i have never been properly grounded in botany and have studied only special points--therefore i cannot pretend to express any opinion on your remarks on the origin of the flowers of the coniferae, gnetaceae, etc.; but i have been delighted with what you say on the conversion of a monoecious species into a hermaphrodite one by the condensations of the verticils on a branch bearing female flowers near the summit, and male flowers below. i expect hooker to come here before long, and i will then show him your drawing, and if he makes any important remarks i will communicate with you. he is very busy at present in clearing off arrears after his american expedition, so that i do not like to trouble him, even with the briefest note. i am at present working with my son at some physiological subjects, and we are arriving at very curious results, but they are not as yet sufficiently certain to be worth communicating to you... [in a second edition of the 'fertilisation of orchids' was published, the first edition having been for some time out of print. the new edition was remodelled and almost re-written, and a large amount of new matter added, much of which the author owed to his friend fritz muller. with regard to this edition he wrote to dr. gray:-- "i do not suppose i shall ever again touch the book. after much doubt i have resolved to act in this way with all my books for the future; that is to correct them once and never touch them again, so as to use the small quantity of work left in me for new matter." he may have felt a diminution of his powers of reviewing large bodies of facts, such as would be needed in the preparation of new editions, but his powers of observation were certainly not diminished. he wrote to mr. dyer on july , :] my dear dyer, thalia dealbata was sent me from kew: it has flowered and after looking casually at the flowers, they have driven me almost mad, and i have worked at them for a week: it is as grand a case as that of catasetum. pistil vigorously motile (so that whole flower shakes when pistil suddenly coils up); when excited by a touch the two filaments [are] produced laterally and transversely across the flower (just over the nectar) from one of the petals or modified stamens. it is splendid to watch the phenomenon under a weak power when a bristle is inserted into a young flower which no insect has visited. as far as i know stylidium is the sole case of sensitive pistil and here it is the pistil + stamens. in thalia (hildebrand has described an explosive arrangement in some of the maranteae--the tribe to which thalia belongs.) cross-fertilisation is ensured by the wonderful movement, if bees visit several flowers. i have now relieved my mind and will tell the purport of this note--viz. if any other species of thalia besides t. dealbata should flower with you, for the love of heaven and all the saints, send me a few in tin box with damp moss. your insane friend, ch. darwin. [in dr. ogle's translation of kerner's interesting book, 'flowers and their unbidden guests,' was published. my father, who felt much interest in the translation (as appears in the following letter), contributed some prefatory words of approval:] charles darwin to w. ogle. down, december [ ]. ... i have now read kerner's book, which is better even than i anticipated. the translation seems to me as clear as daylight, and written in forcible and good familiar english. i am rather afraid that it is too good for the english public, which seems to like very washy food, unless it be administered by some one whose name is well-known, and then i suspect a good deal of the unintelligible is very pleasing to them. i hope to heaven that i may be wrong. anyhow, you and mrs. ogle have done a right good service for botanical science. yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. p.s.--you have done me much honour in your prefatory remarks. [one of the latest references to his orchid-work occurs in a letter to mr. bentham, february , . it shows the amount of pleasure which this subject gave to my father, and (what is characteristic of him) that his reminiscence of the work was one of delight in the observations which preceded its publication. not to the applause which followed it:-- "they are wonderful creatures, these orchids, and i sometimes think with a glow of pleasure, when i remember making out some little point in their method of fertilisation."] chapter .xi. -- the 'effects of cross- and self-fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom.' . [this book, as pointed out in the 'autobiography,' is a complement to the 'fertilisation of orchids,' because it shows how important are the results of cross-fertilisation which are ensured by the mechanisms described in that book. by proving that the offspring of cross-fertilisation are more vigorous than the offspring of self-fertilisation, he showed that one circumstance which influences the fate of young plants in the struggle for life is the degree to which their parents are fitted for cross-fertilisation. he thus convinced himself that the intensity of the struggle (which he had elsewhere shown to exist among young plants) is a measure of the strength of a selective agency perpetually sifting out every modification in the structure of flowers which can effect its capabilities for cros-fertilisation. the book is also valuable in another respect, because it throws light on the difficult problems of the origin of sexuality. the increased vigour resulting from cross-fertilisation is allied in the closest manner to the advantage gained by change of conditions. so strongly is this the case, that in some instances cross-fertilisation gives no advantage to the offspring, unless the parents have lived under slightly different conditions. so that the really important thing is not that two individuals of different blood shall unite, but two individuals which have been subjected to different conditions. we are thus led to believe that sexuality is a means for infusing vigour into the offspring by the coalescence of differentiated elements, an advantage which could not follow if reproductions were entirely asexual. it is remarkable that this book, the result of eleven years of experimental work, owed its origin to a chance observation. my father had raised two beds of linaria vulgaris--one set being the offspring of cross- and the other of self-fertilisation. these plants were grown for the sake of some observations on inheritance, and not with any view to cross-breeding, and he was astonished to observe that the offspring of self-fertilisation were clearly less vigorous than the others. it seemed incredible to him that this result could be due to a single act of self-fertilisation, and it was only in the following year when precisely the same result occurred in the case of a similar experiment on inheritance in carnations, that his attention was "thoroughly aroused" and that he determined to make a series of experiments specially directed to the question. the following letters give some account of the work in question.] charles darwin to asa gray. september , [ ?]. ... i have just begun a large course of experiments on the germination of the seed, and on the growth of the young plants when raised from a pistil fertilised by pollen from the same flower, and from pollen from a distinct plant of the same, or of some other variety. i have not made sufficient experiments to judge certainly, but in some cases the difference in the growth of the young plants is highly remarkable. i have taken every kind of precaution in getting seed from the same plant, in germinating the seed on my own chimney-piece, in planting the seedlings in the same flower-pot, and under this similar treatment i have seen the young seedlings from the crossed seed exactly twice as tall as the seedlings from the sel-fertilised seed; both seeds having germinated on the same day. if i can establish this fact (but perhaps it will all go to the dogs), in some fifty cases, with plants of different orders, i think it will be very important, for then we shall positively know why the structure of every flower permits, or favours, or necessitates an occasional cross with a distinct individual. but all this is rather cooking my hare before i have caught it. but somehow it is a great pleasure to me to tell you what i am about. believe me, my dear gray, ever yours most truly, and with cordial thanks, ch. darwin. charles darwin to g. bentham. april , . ... i am experimenting on a very large scale on the difference in power of growth between plants raised from self-fertilised and crossed seeds; and it is no exaggeration to say that the difference in growth and vigour is sometimes truly wonderful. lyell, huxley and hooker have seen some of my plants, and been astonished; and i should much like to show them to you. i always supposed until lately that no evil effects would be visible until after several generations of self-fertilisation; but now i see that one generation sometimes suffices; and the existence of dimorphic plants and all the wonderful contrivances of orchids are quite intelligible to me. with cordial thanks for your letter, which has pleased me greatly, yours very sincerely, charles darwin. [an extract from a letter to dr. gray (march , ) mentions the progress of the work:-- "i worked last summer hard at drosera, but could not finish till i got fresh plants, and consequently took up the effects of crossing and sel-fertilising plants, and am got so interested that drosera must go to the dogs till i finish with this, and get it published; but then i will resume my beloved drosera, and i heartily apologise for having sent the precious little things even for a moment to the dogs." the following letters give the author's impression of his own book.] charles darwin to j. murray. down, september , . my dear sir, i have just received proofs in sheet of five sheets, so you will have to decide soon how many copies will have to be struck off. i do not know what to advise. the greater part of the book is extremely dry, and the whole on a special subject. nevertheless, i am convinced that the book is of value, and i am convinced that for many years copies will be occasionally sold. judging from the sale of my former books, and from supposing that some persons will purchase it to complete the set of my works, i would suggest . but you must be guided by your larger experience. i will only repeat that i am convinced the book is of some permanent value... charles darwin to victor carus. down, september , . my dear sir, i sent by this morning's post the four first perfect sheets of my new book, the title of which you will see on the first page, and which will be published early in november. i am sorry to say that it is only shorter by a few pages than my 'insectivorous plants.' the whole is now in type, though i have corrected finally only half the volume. you will, therefore, rapidly receive the remainder. the book is very dull. chapters ii. to vi., inclusive, are simply a record of experiments. nevertheless, i believe (though a man can never judge his own books) that the book is valuable. you will have to decide whether it is worth translating. i hope so. it has cost me very great labour, and the results seem to me remarkable and well established. if you translate it, you could easily get aid for chapters ii. to vi., as there is here endless, but i have thought necessary repetition. i shall be anxious to hear what you decide... i most sincerely hope that your health has been fairly good this summer. my dear sir, yours very truly, ch. darwin. charles darwin to asa gray. down, october , . my dear gray, i send by this post all the clean sheets as yet printed, and i hope to send the remainder within a fortnight. please observe that the first six chapters are not readable, and the six last very dull. still i believe that the results are valuable. if you review the book, i shall be very curious to see what you think of it, for i care more for your judgment than for that of almost any one else. i know also that you will speak the truth, whether you approve or disapprove. very few will take the trouble to read the book, and i do not expect you to read the whole, but i hope you will read the latter chapters. ... i am so sick of correcting the press and licking my horrid bad style into intelligible english. [the 'effects of cross and self-fertilisation' was published on november , , and copies were sold before the end of the year. the following letter refers to a review in 'nature' (february , .):] charles darwin to w. thiselton dyer. down, february , . dear dyer, i must tell you how greatly i am pleased and honoured by your article in 'nature,' which i have just read. you are an adept in saying what will please an author, not that i suppose you wrote with this express intention. i should be very well contented to deserve a fraction of your praise. i have also been much interested, and this is better than mere pleasure, by your argument about the separation of the sexes. i dare say that i am wrong, and will hereafter consider what you say more carefully: but at present i cannot drive out of my head that the sexes must have originated from two individuals, slightly different, which conjugated. but i am aware that some cases of conjugation are opposed to any such views. with hearty thanks, yours sincerely, charles darwin. chapter .xii. -- 'different forms of flowers on plants of the same species.' . [the volume bearing the above title was published in , and was dedicated by the author to professor asa gray, "as a small tribute of respect and affection." it consists of certain earlier papers re-edited, with the addition of a quantity of new matter. the subjects treated in the book are:-- . heterostyled plants. . polygamous, dioecious, and gynodioecious plants. . cleistogamic flowers. the nature of heterostyled plants may be illustrated in the primrose, one of the best known examples of the class. if a number of primroses be gathered, it will be found that some plants yield nothing but "pin-eyed" flowers, in which the style (or organ for the transmission of the pollen to the ovule) is long, while the others yield only "thrum-eyed" flowers with short styles. thus primroses are divided into two sets or castes differing structurally from each other. my father showed that they also differ sexually, and that in fact the bond between the two castes more nearly resembles that between separate sexes than any other known relationship. thus for example a long-styled primrose, though it can be fertilised by its own pollen, is not fully fertile unless it is impregnated by the pollen of a short-styled flower. heterostyled plants are comparable to hermaphrodite animals, such as snails, which require the concourse of two individuals, although each possesses both the sexual elements. the difference is that in the case of the primrose it is perfect fertility, and not simply fertility, that depends on the mutual action of the two sets of individuals. the work on heterostyled plants has a special bearing, to which the author attached much importance, on the problem of origin of species. (see 'autobiography,' volume i.) he found that a wonderfully close parallelism exists between hybridisation and certain forms of fertilisation among heterostyled plants. so that it is hardly an exaggeration to say that the "illegitimately" reared seedlings are hybrids, although both their parents belong to identically the same species. in a letter to professor huxley, my father writes as if his researches on heterostyled plants tended to make him believe that sterility is a selected or acquired quality. but in his later publications, e.g. in the sixth edition of the 'origin,' he adheres to the belief that sterility is an incidental rather than a selected quality. the result of his work on heterostyled plants is of importance as showing that sterility is no test of specific distinctness, and that it depends on differentiation of the sexual elements which is independent of any racial difference. i imagine that it was his instinctive love of making out a difficulty which to a great extent kept him at work so patiently on the heterostyled plants. but it was the fact that general conclusions of the above character could be drawn from his results which made him think his results worthy of publication. (see 'forms of flowers,' page .) the papers which on this subject preceded and contributed to 'forms of flowers' were the following:-- "on the two forms or dimorphic condition in the species of primula, and on their remarkable sexual relations." linn. soc. journal, .) "on the existence of two forms, and on their reciprocal sexual relations, in several species of the genus linum." linn. soc. journal, . "on the sexual relations of the three forms of lythrum salicaria," ibid. . "on the character and hybrid-like nature of the offspring from the illegitimate unions of dimorphic and trimorphic plants." ibid. . "on the specific differences between primula veris, brit. fl. (var. officinalis, linn.), p. vulgaris, brit. fl. (var. acaulis, linn.) and p. elatior, jacq.; and on the hybrid nature of the common oxlip. with supplementary remarks on naturally produced hybrids in the genus verbascum." ibid. . the following letter shows that he began the work on heterostyled plants with an erroneous view as to the meaning of the facts.] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, may [ ]. ... i have this morning been looking at my experimental cowslips, and i find some plants have all flowers with long stamens and short pistils, which i will call "male plants," others with short stamens and long pistils, which i will call "female plants." this i have somewhere seen noticed, i think by henslow; but i find (after looking at my two sets of plants) that the stigmas of the male and female are of slightly different shape, and certainly different degree of roughness, and what has astonished me, the pollen of the so-called female plant, though very abundant, is more transparent, and each granule is exactly only / of the size of the pollen of the so-called male plant. has this been observed? i cannot help suspecting [that] the cowslip is in fact dioecious, but it may turn out all a blunder, but anyhow i will mark with sticks the so-called male and female plants and watch their seeding. it would be a fine case of gradation between an hermaphrodite and unisexual condition. likewise a sort of case of balancement of long and short pistils and stamens. likewise perhaps throws light on oxlips... i have now examined primroses and find exactly the same difference in the size of the pollen, correlated with the same difference in the length of the style and roughness of the stigmas. charles darwin to asa gray. june [ ]. ... i have been making some little trifling observations which have interested and perplexed me much. i find with primroses and cowslips, that about an equal number of plants are thus characterised. so-called (by me) male plant. pistil much shorter than stamens; stigma rather smooth,--pollen grains large, throat of corolla short. so-called female plant. pistil much longer than stamens, stigma rougher, pollen-grains smaller,--throat of corolla long. i have marked a lot of plants, and expected to find the so-called male plant barren; but judging from the feel of the capsules, this is not the case, and i am very much surprised at the difference in the size of the pollen... if it should prove that the so-called male plants produce less seed than the so-called females, what a beautiful case of gradation from hermaphrodite to unisexual condition it will be! if they produce about equal number of seed, how perplexing it will be. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, december [ ?]. ... i have just been ordering a photograph of myself for a friend; and have ordered one for you, and for heaven's sake oblige me, and burn that now hanging up in your room.--it makes me look atrociously wicked. ... in the spring i must get you to look for long pistils and short pistils in the rarer species of primula and in some allied genera. it holds with p. sinensis. you remember all the fuss i made on this subject last spring; well, the other day at last i had time to weigh the seeds, and by jove the plants of primroses and cowslip with short pistils and large grained pollen (thus the plants which he imagined to be tending towards a male condition were more productive than the supposed females.) are rather more fertile than those with long pistils, and small-grained pollen. i find that they require the action of insects to set them, and i never will believe that these differences are without some meaning. some of my experiments lead me to suspect that the large-grained pollen suits the long pistils and the small-grained pollen suits the short pistils; but i am determined to see if i cannot make out the mystery next spring. how does your book on plants brew in your mind? have you begun it?... remember me most kindly to oliver. he must be astonished at not having a string of questions, i fear he will get out of practice! [the primula-work was finished in the autumn of , and on november th he wrote to sir j.d. hooker:-- "i have sent my paper on dimorphism in primula to the linn. soc. i shall go up and read it whenever it comes on; i hope you may be able to attend, for i do not suppose many will care a penny for the subject." with regard to the reading of the paper (on november st), he wrote to the same friend:-- "i by no means thought that i produced a "tremendous effect" in the linn. soc., but by jove the linn. soc. produced a tremendous effect on me, for i could not get out of bed till late next evening, so that i just crawled home. i fear i must give up trying to read any paper or speak; it is a horrid bore, i can do nothing like other people." to dr. gray he wrote, (december ):-- "you may rely on it, i will send you a copy of my primula paper as soon as i can get one; but i believe it will not be printed till april st, and therefore after my orchid book. i care more for your and hooker's opinion than for that of all the rest of the world, and for lyell's on geological points. bentham and hooker thought well of my paper when read; but no one can judge of evidence by merely hearing a paper." the work on primula was the means of bringing my father in contact with the late mr. john scott, then working as a gardener in the botanic gardens at edinburgh,--an employment which he seems to have chosen in order to gratify his passion for natural history. he wrote one or two excellent botanical papers, and ultimately obtained a post in india. (while in india he made some admirable observations on expression for my father.) he died in . a few phrases may be quoted from letters to sir j.d. hooker, showing my father's estimate of scott:-- "if you know, do please tell me who is john scott of the botanical gardens of edinburgh; i have been corresponding largely with him; he is no common man." "if he had leisure he would make a wonderful observer; to my judgment i have come across no one like him." "he has interested me strangely, and i have formed a very high opinion of his intellect. i hope he will accept pecuniary assistance from me; but he has hitherto refused." (he ultimately succeeded in being allowed to pay for mr. scott's passage to india.) "i know nothing of him excepting from his letters; these show remarkable talent, astonishing perseverance, much modesty, and what i admire, determined difference from me on many points." so highly did he estimate scott's abilities that he formed a plan (which however never went beyond an early stage of discussion) of employing him to work out certain problems connected with intercrossing. the following letter refers to my father's investigations on lythrum (he was led to this, his first case of trimorphism by lecoq's 'geographie botanique,' and this must have consoled him for the trick this work played him in turning out to be so much larger than he expected. he wrote to sir j.d. hooker: "here is a good joke: i saw an extract from lecoq, 'geograph. bot.,' and ordered it and hoped that it was a good sized pamphlet, and nine thick volumes have arrived!"), a plant which reveals even a more wonderful condition of sexual complexity than that of primula. for in lythrum there are not merely two, but three castes, differing structurally and physiologically from each other:] charles darwin to asa gray. down, august [ ]. my dear gray, it is late at night, and i am going to write briefly, and of course to beg a favour. the mitchella very good, but pollen apparently equal-sized. i have just examined hottonia, grand difference in pollen. echium vulgare, a humbug, merely a case like thymus. but i am almost stark staring mad over lythrum (on another occasion he wrote (to dr. gray) with regard to lythrum: "i must hold hard, otherwise i shall spend my life over dimorphism."); if i can prove what i fully believe, it is a grand case of trimorphism, with three different pollens and three stigmas; i have castrated and fertilised above ninety flowers, trying all the eighteen distinct crosses which are possible within the limits of this one species! i cannot explain, but i feel sure you would think it a grand case. i have been writing to botanists to see if i can possibly get l. hyssopifolia, and it has just flashed on me that you might have lythrum in north america, and i have looked to your manual. for the love of heaven have a look at some of your species, and if you can get me seed, do; i want much to try species with few stamens, if they are dimorphic; nesaea verticillata i should expect to be trimorphic. seed! seed! seed! i should rather like seed of mitchella. but oh, lythrum! your utterly mad friend, c. darwin. p.s.--there is reason in my madness, for i can see that to those who already believe in change of species, these facts will modify to a certain extent the whole view of hybridity. (a letter to dr. gray (july, ) bears on this point: "a few days ago i made an observation which has surprised me more than it ought to do--it will have to be repeated several times, but i have scarcely a doubt of its accuracy. i stated in my primula paper that the long-styled form of linum grandiflorum was utterly sterile with its own pollen; i have lately been putting the pollen of the two forms on the stigma of the same flower; and it strikes me as truly wonderful, that the stigma distinguishes the pollen; and is penetrated by the tubes of the one and not by those of the other; nor are the tubes exserted. or (which is the same thing) the stigma of the one form acts on and is acted on by pollen, which produces not the least effect on the stigma of the other form. taking sexual power as the criterion of difference, the two forms of this one species may be said to be generically distinct.") [on the same subject he wrote to sir joseph hooker in august :-- "is oliver at kew? when i am established at bournemouth i am completely mad to examine any fresh flowers of any lythraceous plant, and i would write and ask him if any are in bloom." again he wrote to the same friend in october:-- "if you ask oliver, i think he will tell you i have got a real odd case in lythrum, it interests me extremely, and seems to me the strangest case of propagation recorded amongst plants or animals, viz. a necessary triple alliance between three hermaphrodites. i feel sure i can now prove the truth of the case from a multitude of crosses made this summer." in an article, 'dimorphism in the genitalia of plants' ('silliman's journal,' , volume xxxiv. page ), dr. gray pointed out that the structural difference between the two forms of primula had already been defined in the 'flora of north america,' as dioecio-dimorphism. the use of this term called forth the following remarks from my father. the letter also alludes to a review of the 'fertilisation of orchids' in the same volume of 'silliman's journal.'] charles darwin to asa gray. down, november [ ]. my dear gray, the very day after my last letter, yours of november th, and the review in 'silliman,' which i feared might have been lost, reached me. we were all very much interested by the political part of your letter; and in some odd way one never feels that information and opinions painted in a newspaper come from a living source; they seem dead, whereas all that you write is full of life. the reviews interested me profoundly; you rashly ask for my opinion, and you must consequently endure a long letter. first for dimorphism; i do not at present like the term "dioecio-dimorphism;" for i think it gives quite a false notion, that the phenomena are connected with a separation of the sexes. certainly in primula there is unequal fertility in the two forms, and i suspect this is the case with linum; and, therefore i felt bound in the primula paper to state that it might be a step towards a dioecious condition; though i believe there are no dioecious forms in primulaceae or linaceae. but the three forms in lythrum convince me that the phenomenon is in no way necessarily connected with any tendency to separation of sexes. the case seems to me in result or function to be almost identical with what old c.k. sprengel called "dichogamy," and which is so frequent in truly hermaphrodite groups; namely, the pollen and stigma of each flower being mature at different periods. if i am right, it is very advisable not to use the term "dioecious," as this at once brings notions of separation of sexes. ... i was much perplexed by oliver's remarks in the 'natural history review' on the primula case, on the lower plants having sexes more often separated than in the higher plants,--so exactly the reverse of what takes place in animals. hooker in his review of the 'orchids' repeats this remark. there seems to be much truth in what you say ("forms which are low in the scale as respects morphological completeness may be high in the scale of rank founded on specialisation of structure and function."--dr. gray, in 'silliman's journal.'), and it did not occur to me, about no improbability of specialisation in certain lines in lowly organised beings. i could hardly doubt that the hermaphrodite state is the aboriginal one. but how is it in the conjugation of confervae--is not one of the two individuals here in fact male, and the other female? i have been much puzzled by this contrast in sexual arrangements between plants and animals. can there be anything in the following consideration: by roughest calculation about one-third of the british genera of aquatic plants belong to the linnean classes of mono and dioecia; whilst of terrestrial plants (the aquatic genera being subtracted) only one-thirteenth of the genera belong to these two classes. is there any truth in this fact generally? can aquatic plants, being confined to a small area or small community of individuals, require more free crossing, and therefore have separate sexes? but to return to our point, does not alph. de candolle say that aquatic plants taken as a whole are lowly organised, compared with terrestrial; and may not oliver's remark on the separation of the sexes in lowly organised plants stand in some relation to their being frequently aquatic? or is this all rubbish? ... what a magnificent compliment you end your review with! you and hooker seem determined to turn my head with conceit and vanity (if not already turned) and make me an unbearable wretch. with most cordial thanks, my good and kind friend, farewell, c. darwin. [the following passage from a letter (july , ), to prof. hildebrand, contains a reference to the reception of the dimorphic work in france:-- "i am extremely much pleased to hear that you have been looking at the manner of fertilisation of your native orchids, and still more pleased to hear that you have been experimenting on linum. i much hope that you may publish the result of these experiments; because i was told that the most eminent french botanists of paris said that my paper on primula was the work of imagination, and that the case was so improbable they did not believe in my results."] charles darwin to asa gray. april [ ]. ... i received a little time ago a paper with a good account of your herbarium and library, and a long time previously your excellent review of scott's 'primulaceae,' and i forwarded it to him in india, as it would much please him. i was very glad to see in it a new case of dimorphism (i forget just now the name of the plant); i shall be grateful to hear of any other cases, as i still feel an interest in the subject. i should be very glad to get some seed of your dimorphic plantagos; for i cannot banish the suspicion that they must belong to a very different class like that of the common thyme. (in this prediction he was right. see 'forms of flowers,' page .) how could the wind, which is the agent of fertilisation, with plantago, fertilise "reciprocally dimorphic" flowers like primula? theory says this cannot be, and in such cases of one's own theories i follow agassiz and declare, "that nature never lies." i should even be very glad to examine the two dried forms of plantago. indeed, any dried dimorphic plants would be gratefully received... did my lythrum paper interest you? i crawl on at the rate of two hours per diem, with 'variation under domestication.' charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, november [ ]. ... you do not know how pleased i am that you have read my lythrum paper; i thought you would not have time, and i have for long years looked at you as my public, and care more for your opinion than that of all the rest of the world. i have done nothing which has interested me so much as lythrum, since making out the complemental males of cirripedes. i fear that i have dragged in too much miscellaneous matter into the paper. ... i get letters occasionally, which show me that natural selection is making great progress in germany, and some amongst the young in france. i have just received a pamphlet from germany, with the complimentary title of "darwinische arten-enstehung-humbug"! farewell, my best of old friends, c. darwin. charles darwin to asa gray. september , [ ?]. ... the only point which i have made out this summer, which could possibly interest you, is that the common oxlip found everywhere, more or less commonly in england, is certainly a hybrid between the primrose and cowslip; whilst the p. elatior (jacq.), found only in the eastern counties, is a perfectly distinct and good species; hardly distinguishable from the common oxlip, except by the length of the seed-capsule relatively to the calyx. this seems to me rather a horrid fact for all systematic botanists... charles darwin to f. hildebrand. down, november , . my dear sir, i wrote my last note in such a hurry from london, that i quite forgot what i chiefly wished to say, namely to thank you for your excellent notices in the 'bot. zeitung' of my paper on the offspring of dimorphic plants. the subject is so obscure that i did not expect that any one would have noticed my paper, and i am accordingly very much pleased that you should have brought the subject before the many excellent naturalists of germany. of all the german authors (but they are not many) whose works i have read, you write by far the clearest style, but whether this is a compliment to a german writer i do not know. [the two following letters refer to the small bud-like "cleistogamic" flowers found in the violet and many other plants. they do not open and are necessarily self-fertilised:] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, may [ ]. ... what will become of my book on variation? i am involved in a multiplicity of experiments. i have been amusing myself by looking at the small flowers of viola. if oliver (shortly afterwards he wrote: "oliver, the omniscient, has sent me a paper in the 'bot. zeitung,' with most accurate description of all that i saw in viola.") has had time to study them, he will have seen the curious case (as it seems to me) which i have just made clearly out, viz. that in these flowers, the few pollen grains are never shed, or never leave the anther-cells, but emit long pollen tubes, which penetrate the stigma. to-day i got the anther with the included pollen grain (now empty) at one end, and a bundle of tubes penetrating the stigmatic tissue at the other end; i got the whole under a microscope without breaking the tubes; i wonder whether the stigma pours some fluid into the anther so as to excite the included grains. it is a rather odd case of correlation, that in the double sweet violet the small flowers are double; i.e., have a multitude of minute scales representing the petals. what queer little flowers they are. have you had time to read poor dear henslow's life? it has interested me for the man's sake, and, what i did not think possible, has even exalted his character in my estimation... [the following is an extract from the letter given in part above, and refers to dr. gray's article on the sexual differences of plants:] charles darwin to asa gray. november [ ]. ... you will think that i am in the most unpleasant, contradictory, fractious humour, when i tell you that i do not like your term of "precocious fertilisation" for your second class of dimorphism [i.e. for cleistogamic fertilisation]. if i can trust my memory, the state of the corolla, of the stigma, and the pollen-grains is different from the state of the parts in the bud; that they are in a condition of special modification. but upon my life i am ashamed of myself to differ so much from my betters on this head. the temporary theory (this view is now generally accepted.) which i have formed on this class of dimorphism, just to guide experiment, is that the perfect flowers can only be perfectly fertilised by insects, and are in this case abundantly crossed; but that the flowers are not always, especially in early spring, visited enough by insects, and therefore the little imperfect self-fertilising flowers are developed to ensure a sufficiency of seed for present generations. viola canina is sterile, when not visited by insects, but when so visited forms plenty of seed. i infer from the structure of three or four forms of balsamineae, that these require insects; at least there is almost as plain adaptation to insects as in the orchids. i have oxalis acetosella ready in pots for experiment next spring; and i fear this will upset my little theory... campanula carpathica, as i found this summer, is absolutely sterile if insects are excluded. specularia speculum is fairly fertile when enclosed; and this seemed to me to be partially effected by the frequent closing of the flower; the inward angular folds of the corolla corresponding with the clefts of the open stigma, and in this action pushing pollen from the outside of the stigma on to its surface. now can you tell me, does s. perfoliata close its flower like s. speculum, with angular inward folds? if so, i am smashed without some fearful "wriggling." are the imperfect flowers of your specularia the early or the later ones? very early or very late? it is rather pretty to see the importance of the closing of flowers of s. speculum. ['forms of flowers' was published in july; in june, , he wrote to professor carus with regard to the translation:-- "my new book is not a long one, viz. pages, chiefly of the larger type, with fifteen simple woodcuts. all the proofs are corrected except the index, so that it will soon be published. "... i do not suppose that i shall publish any more books, though perhaps a few more papers. i cannot endure being idle, but heaven knows whether i am capable of any more good work." the review alluded to in the next letter is at page of the volume of 'nature' for :] charles darwin to w. thiselton dyer. down, april , . my dear dyer, i have just read in 'nature' the review of 'forms of flowers,' and i am sure that it is by you. i wish with all my heart that it deserved one quarter of the praises which you give it. some of your remarks have interested me greatly... hearty thanks for your generous and most kind sympathy, which does a man real good, when he is as dog-tired as i am at this minute with working all day, so good-bye. c. darwin. chapter .xiii. -- climbing and insectivorous plants. [my father mentions in his 'autobiography' (volume i.) that he was led to take up the subject of climbing plants by reading dr. gray's paper, "note on the coiling of the tendrils of plants." ('proc. amer. acad. of arts and sciences,' .) this essay seems to have been read in , but i am only able to guess at the date of the letter in which he asks for a reference to it, so that the precise date of his beginning this work cannot be determined. in june he was certainly at work, and wrote to sir j.d. hooker for information as to previous publications on the subject, being then in ignorance of palm's and h. v. mohl's works on climbing plants, both of which were published in .] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down [june] [ ]. my dear hooker, i have been observing pretty carefully a little fact which has surprised me; and i want to know from you and oliver whether it seems new or odd to you, so just tell me whenever you write; it is a very trifling fact, so do not answer on purpose. i have got a plant of echinocystis lobata to observe the irritability of the tendrils described by asa gray, and which of course, is plain enough. having the plant in my study, i have been surprised to find that the uppermost part of each branch (i.e. the stem between the two uppermost leaves excluding the growing tip) is constantly and slowly twisting round making a circle in from one-half to two hours; it will sometimes go round two or three times, and then at the same rate untwists and twists in opposite directions. it generally rests half an hour before it retrogrades. the stem does not become permanently twisted. the stem beneath the twisting portion does not move in the least, though not tied. the movement goes on all day and all early night. it has no relation to light for the plant stands in my window and twists from the light just as quickly as towards it. this may be a common phenomenon for what i know, but it confounded me quite, when i began to observe the irritability of the tendrils. i do not say it is the final cause, but the result is pretty, for the plant every one and a half or two hours sweeps a circle (according to the length of the bending shoot and the length of the tendril) of from one foot to twenty inches in diameter, and immediately that the tendril touches any object its sensitiveness causes it immediately to seize it; a clever gardener, my neighbour, who saw the plant on my table last night, said: "i believe, sir, the tendrils can see, for wherever i put a plant it finds out any stick near enough." i believe the above is the explanation, viz. that it sweeps slowly round and round. the tendrils have some sense, for they do not grasp each other when young. yours affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, july [ ]. my dear hooker, i am getting very much amused by my tendrils, it is just the sort of niggling work which suits me, and takes up no time and rather rests me whilst writing. so will you just think whether you know any plant, which you could give or lend me, or i could buy, with tendrils, remarkable in any way for development, for odd or peculiar structure, or even for an odd place in natural arrangement. i have seen or can see cucurbitaceae, passion-flower, virginian-creeper, cissus discolor, common-pea and everlasting-pea. it is really curious the diversification of irritability (i do not mean the spontaneous movement, about which i wrote before and correctly, as further observation shows): for instance, i find a slight pinch between the thumb and finger at the end of the tendril of the cucurbitaceae causes prompt movement, but a pinch excites no movement in cissus. the cause is that one side alone (the concave) is irritable in the former; whereas both sides are irritable in cissus, so if you excite at the same time both opposite sides there is no movement, but by touching with a pencil the two branches of the tendril, in any part whatever, you cause movement towards that point; so that i can mould, by a mere touch, the two branches into any shape i like... charles darwin to asa gray. down, august [ ]. my present hobby-horse i owe to you, viz. the tendrils: their irritability is beautiful, as beautiful in all its modifications as anything in orchids. about the spontaneous movement (independent of touch) of the tendrils and upper internodes, i am rather taken aback by your saying, "is it not wel-known?" i can find nothing in any book which i have... the spontaneous movement of the tendrils is independent of the movement of the upper internodes, but both work harmoniously together in sweeping a circle for the tendrils to grasp a stick. so with all climbing plants (without tendrils) as yet examined, the upper internodes go on night and day sweeping a circle in one fixed direction. it is surprising to watch the apocyneae with shoots inches long (beyond the supporting stick), steadily searching for something to climb up. when the shoot meets a stick, the motion at that point is arrested, but in the upper part is continued; so that the climbing of all plants yet examined is the simple result of the spontaneous circulatory movement of the upper internodes. pray tell me whether anything has been published on this subject? i hate publishing what is old; but i shall hardly regret my work if it is old, as it has much amused me... charles darwin to asa gray. may , . ... an irish nobleman on his death-bed declared that he could conscientiously say that he had never throughout life denied himself any pleasure; and i can conscientiously say that i have never scrupled to trouble you; so here goes.--have you travelled south, and can you tell me whether the trees, which bignonia capreolata climbs, are covered with moss or filamentous lichen or tillandsia? (he subsequently learned from dr. gray that polypodium incanum abounds on the trees in the districts where this species of bignonia grows. see 'climbing plants,' page .) i ask because its tendrils abhor a simple stick, do not much relish rough bark, but delight in wool or moss. they adhere in a curious manner by making little disks, like the ampelopsis... by the way, i will enclose some specimens, and if you think it worth while, you can put them under the simple microscope. it is remarkable how specially adapted some tendrils are; those of eccremocarpus scaber do not like a stick, will have nothing to say to wool; but give them a bundle of culms of grass, or a bundle of bristles and they seize them well. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, june [ ]. ... i have now read two german books, and all i believe that has been written on climbers, and it has stirred me up to find that i have a good deal of new matter. it is strange, but i really think no one has explained simple twining plants. these books have stirred me up, and made me wish for plants specified in them. i shall be very glad of those you mention. i have written to veitch for young nepenthes and vanilla (which i believe will turn out a grand case, though a root creeper), if i cannot buy young vanilla i will ask you. i have ordered a leaf-climbing fern, lygodium. all this work about climbers would hurt my conscience, did i think i could do harder work. (he was much out of health at this time.) [he continued his observations on climbing plants during the prolonged illness from which he suffered in the autumn of , and in the following spring. he wrote to sir j.d. hooker, apparently in march :-- "for several days i have been decidedly better, and what i lay much stress on (whatever doctors say), my brain feels far stronger, and i have lost many dreadful sensations. the hot-house is such an amusement to me, and my amusement i owe to you, as my delight is to look at the many odd leaves and plants from kew... the only approach to work which i can do is to look at tendrils and climbers, this does not distress my weakened brain. ask oliver to look over the enclosed queries (and do you look) and amuse a broken-down brother naturalist by answering any which he can. if you ever lounge through your houses, remember me and climbing plants." on october , , he wrote to dr. gray:-- "i have not been able to resist doing a little more at your godchild, my climbing paper, or rather in size little book, which by jove i will have copied out, else i shall never stop. this has been new sort of work for me, and i have been pleased to find what a capital guide for observations a full conviction of the change of species is." on january , , he wrote to sir j.d. hooker:-- "it is working hours, but i am trying to take a day's holiday, for i finished and despatched yesterday my climbing paper. for the last ten days i have done nothing but correct refractory sentences, and i loathe the whole subject." a letter to dr. gray, april , , has a word or two on the subject:-- "i have begun correcting proofs of my paper on 'climbing plants.' i suppose i shall be able to send you a copy in four or five weeks. i think it contains a good deal new and some curious points, but it is so fearfully long, that no one will ever read it. if, however, you do not skim through it, you will be an unnatural parent, for it is your child." dr. gray not only read it but approved of it, to my father's great satisfaction, as the following extracts show:-- "i was much pleased to get your letter of july th. now that i can do nothing, i maunder over old subjects, and your approbation of my climbing paper gives me very great satisfaction. i made my observations when i could do nothing else and much enjoyed it, but always doubted whether they were worth publishing. i demur to its not being necessary to explain in detail about the spires in caught tendrils running in opposite directions; for the fact for a long time confounded me, and i have found it difficult enough to explain the cause to two or three persons." (august , .) "i received yesterday your article (in the september number of 'silliman's journal,' concluded in the january number, .) on climbers, and it has pleased me in an extraordinary and even silly manner. you pay me a superb compliment, and as i have just said to my wife, i think my friends must perceive that i like praise, they give me such hearty doses. i always admire your skill in reviews or abstracts, and you have done this article excellently and given the whole essence of my paper... i have had a letter from a good zoologist in s. brazil, f. muller, who has been stirred up to observe climbers and gives me some curious cases of branch-climbers, in which branches are converted into tendrils, and then continue to grow and throw out leaves and new branches, and then lose their tendril character." (october .) the paper on climbing plants was republished in , as a separate book. the author had been unable to give his customary amount of care to the style of the original essay, owing to the fact that it was written during a period of continued ill-health, and it was now found to require a great deal of alteration. he wrote to sir j.d. hooker (march , ): "it is lucky for authors in general that they do not require such dreadful work in merely licking what they write into shape." and to mr. murray in september he wrote: "the corrections are heavy in 'climbing plants,' and yet i deliberately went over the ms. and old sheets three times." the book was published in september , an edition of copies was struck off; the edition sold fairly well, and additional copies were printed in june of the following year.] insectivorous plants. [in the summer of he was staying at the house of his sister-in-law, miss wedgwood, in ashdown forest, whence he wrote (july , ), to sir joseph hooker;-- "latterly i have done nothing here; but at first i amused myself with a few observations on the insect-catching power of drosera; and i must consult you some time whether my 'twaddle' is worth communicating to the linnean society." in august he wrote to the same friend:-- "i will gratefully send my notes on drosera when copied by my copier: the subject amused me when i had nothing to do." he has described in the 'autobiography' (volume i.), the general nature of these early experiments. he noticed insects sticking to the leaves, and finding that flies, etc., placed on the adhesive glands were held fast and embraced, he suspected that the leaves were adapted to supply nitrogenous food to the plant. he therefore tried the effect on the leaves of various nitrogenous fluids--with results which, as far as they went, verified his surmise. in september, , he wrote to dr. gray:-- "i have been infinitely amused by working at drosera: the movements are really curious; and the manner in which the leaves detect certain nitrogenous compounds is marvellous. you will laugh; but it is, at present, my full belief (after endless experiments) that they detect (and move in consequence of) the / part of a single grain of nitrate of ammonia; but the muriate and sulphate of ammonia bother their chemical skill, and they cannot make anything of the nitrogen in these salts! i began this work on drosera in relation to gradation as throwing light on dionaea." later in the autumn he was again obliged to leave home for eastbourne, where he continued his work on drosera. the work was so new to him that he found himself in difficulties in the preparation of solutions, and became puzzled over fluid and solid ounces, etc. etc. to a friend, the late mr. e. cresy, who came to his help in the matter of weights and measures, he wrote giving an account of the experiments. the extract (november , ) which follows illustrates the almost superstitious precautions he often applied to his researches:-- "generally i have scrutinised every gland and hair on the leaf before experimenting; but it occurred to me that i might in some way affect the leaf; though this is almost impossible, as i scrutinised with equal care those that i put into distilled water (the same water being used for dissolving the carbonate of ammonia). i then cut off four leaves (not touching them with my fingers), and put them in plain water, and four other leaves into the weak solution, and after leaving them for an hour and a half, i examined every hair on all eight leaves; no change on the four in water; every gland and hair affected in those in ammonia. "i had measured the quantity of weak solution, and i counted the glands which had absorbed the ammonia, and were plainly affected; the result convinced me that each gland could not have absorbed more than / or / of a grain. i have tried numbers of other experiments all pointing to the same result. some experiments lead me to believe that very sensitive leaves are acted on by much smaller doses. reflect how little ammonia a plant can get growing on poor soil--yet it is nourished. the really surprising part seems to me that the effect should be visible, and not under very high power; for after trying a high power, i thought it would be safer not to consider any effect which was not plainly visible under a two-thirds object glass and middle eye-piece. the effect which the carbonate of ammonia produces is the segregation of the homogeneous fluid in the cells into a cloud of granules and colourless fluid; and subsequently the granules coalesce into larger masses, and for hours have the oddest movements--coalescing, dividing, coalescing ad infinitum. i do not know whether you will care for these ill-written details; but, as you asked, i am sure i am bound to comply, after all the very kind and great trouble which you have taken." on his return home he wrote to sir j.d. hooker (november , ):-- "i have been working like a madman at drosera. here is a fact for you which is certain as you stand where you are, though you won't believe it, that a bit of hair / of one grain in weight placed on gland, will cause one of the gland-bearing hairs of drosera to curve inwards, and will alter the condition of the contents of every cell in the foot-stalk of the gland." and a few days later to lyell:-- "i will and must finish my drosera ms., which will take me a week, for, at the present moment, i care more about drosera than the origin of all the species in the world. but i will not publish on drosera till next year, for i am frightened and astounded at my results. i declare it is a certain fact, that one organ is so sensitive to touch, that a weight seventy-eight times less than that, viz., / of a grain, which will move the best chemical balance, suffices to cause a conspicuous movement. is it not curious that a plant should be far more sensitive to the touch than any nerve in the human body? yet i am perfectly sure that this is true. when i am on my hobby-horse, i never can resist telling my friends how well my hobby goes, so you must forgive the rider." the work was continued, as a holiday task, at bournemouth, where he stayed during the autumn of . the discussion in the following letter on "nervous matter" in drosera is of interest in relation to recent researches on the continuity of protoplasm from cell to cell:] charles darwin to j.d. hooker. cliff cottage, bournemouth. september [ ]. my dear hooker, do not read this till you have leisure. if that blessed moment ever comes, i should be very glad to have your opinion on the subject of this letter. i am led to the opinion that drosera must have diffused matter in organic connection, closely analogous to the nervous matter of animals. when the glands of one of the papillae or tentacles, in its natural position is supplied with nitrogenised fluid and certain other stimulants, or when loaded with an extremely slight weight, or when struck several times with a needle, the pedicel bends near its base in under one minute. these varied stimulants are conveyed down the pedicel by some means; it cannot be vibration, for drops of fluid put on quite quietly cause the movement; it cannot be absorption of the fluid from cell to cell, for i can see the rate of absorption, which though quick, is far slower, and in dionaea the transmission is instantaneous; analogy from animals would point to transmission through nervous matter. reflecting on the rapid power of absorption in the glands, the extreme sensibility of the whole organ, and the conspicuous movement caused by varied stimulants, i have tried a number of substances which are not caustic or corrosive,... but most of which are known to have a remarkable action on the nervous matter of animals. you will see the results in the enclosed paper. as the nervous matter of different animals are differently acted on by the same poisons, one would not expect the same action on plants and animals; only if plants have diffused nervous matter, some degree of analogous action. and this is partially the case. considering these experiments, together with the previously made remarks on the functions of the parts, i cannot avoid the conclusion, that drosera possesses matter at least in some degree analogous in constitution and function to nervous matter. now do tell me what you think, as far as you can judge from my abstract; of course many more experiments would have to be tried; but in former years i tried on the whole leaf, instead of on separate glands, a number of innocuous (this line of investigation made him wish for information on the action of poisons on plants; as in many other cases he applied to professor oliver, and in reference to the result wrote to hooker: "pray thank oliver heartily for his heap of references on poisons.") substances, such as sugar, gum, starch, etc., and they produced no effect. your opinion will aid me in deciding some future year in going on with this subject. i should not have thought it worth attempting, but i had nothing on earth to do. my dear hooker, yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. p.s.--we return home on monday th. thank heaven! [a long break now ensued in his work on insectivorous plants, and it was not till that the subject seriously occupied him again. a passage in a letter to dr. asa gray, written in or , shows, however, that the question was not altogether absent from his mind in the interim:-- "depend on it you are unjust on the merits of my beloved drosera; it is a wonderful plant, or rather a most sagacious animal. i will stick up for drosera to the day of my death. heaven knows whether i shall ever publish my pile of experiments on it." he notes in his diary that the last proof of the 'expression of the emotions' was finished on august , , and that he began to work on drosera on the following day.] charles darwin to asa gray. [sevenoaks], october [ ]. ... i have worked pretty hard for four or five weeks on drosera, and then broke down; so that we took a house near sevenoaks for three weeks (where i now am) to get complete rest. i have very little power of working now, and must put off the rest of the work on drosera till next spring, as my plants are dying. it is an endless subject, and i must cut it short, and for this reason shall not do much on dionaea. the point which has interested me most is tracing the nerves! which follow the vascular bundles. by a prick with a sharp lancet at a certain point, i can paralyse one-half the leaf, so that a stimulus to the other half causes no movement. it is just like dividing the spinal marrow of a frog:--no stimulus can be sent from the brain or anterior part of the spine to the hind legs; but if these latter are stimulated, they move by reflex action. i find my old results about the astonishing sensitiveness of the nervous system (!?)of drosera to various stimulants fully confirmed and extended... [his work on digestion in drosera and other points in the physiology of the plant soon led him into regions where his knowledge was defective, and here the advice and assistance which he received from dr. burdon sanderson was of much value:] charles darwin to j. burdon sanderson. down, july , . my dear dr. sanderson, i should like to tell you a little about my recent work with drosera, to show that i have profited by your suggestions, and to ask a question or two. . it is really beautiful how quickly and well drosera and dionaea dissolve little cubes of albumen and gelatine. i kept the same sized cubes on wet moss for comparison. when you were here i forgot that i had tried gelatine, but albumen is far better for watching its dissolution and absorption. frankland has told me how to test in a rough way for pepsin; and in the autumn he will discover what acid the digestive juice contains. . a decoction of cabbage-leaves and green peas causes as much inflection as an infusion of raw meat; a decoction of grass is less powerful. though i hear that the chemists try to precipitate all albumen from the extract of belladonna, i think they must fail, as the extract causes inflection, whereas a new lot of atropine, as well as the valerianate [of atropine], produce no effect. . i have been trying a good many experiments with heated water... should you not call the following case one of heat rigor? two leaves were heated to deg, and had every tentacle closely inflected; one was taken out and placed in cold water, and it re-expanded; the other was heated to deg, and had not the least power of re-expansion. is not this latter case heat rigor? if you can inform me, i should very much like to hear at what temperature cold-blooded and invertebrate animals are killed. . i must tell you my final result, of which i am sure, [as to] the sensitiveness of drosera. i made a solution of one part of phosphate of ammonia by weight to , of water; of this solution i gave so much that a leaf got / of a grain of the phosphate. i then counted the glands, and each could have got only / of a grain; this being absorbed by the glands, sufficed to cause the tentacles bearing these glands to bend through an angle of deg. such sensitiveness requires hot weather, and carefully selected young yet mature leaves. it strikes me as a wonderful fact. i must add that i took every precaution, by trying numerous leaves at the same time in the solution and in the same water which was used for making the solution. . if you can persuade your friend to try the effects of carbonate of ammonia on the aggregation of the white blood corpuscles, i should very much like to hear the result. i hope this letter will not have wearied you. believe me, yours very sincerely, charles darwin. charles darwin to w. thiselton dyer. down, [december ?]. my dear mr. dyer, i fear that you will think me a great bore, but i cannot resist telling you that i have just found out that the leaves of pinguicula possess a beautifully adapted power of movement. last night i put on a row of little flies near one edge of two youngish leaves; and after hours these edges are beautifully folded over so as to clasp the flies, thus bringing the glands into contact with the upper surfaces of the flies, and they are now secreting copiously above and below the flies and no doubt absorbing. the acid secretion has run down the channelled edge and has collected in the spoon-shaped extremity, where no doubt the glands are absorbing the delicious soup. the leaf on one side looks just like the helix of a human ear, if you were to stuff flies within the fold. yours most sincerely, ch. darwin. charles darwin to asa gray. down, june [ ]. ... i am now hard at work getting my book on drosera & co. ready for the printers, but it will take some time, for i am always finding out new points to observe. i think you will be interested by my observations on the digestive process in drosera; the secretion contains an acid of the acetic series, and some ferment closely analogous to, but not identical with, pepsin; for i have been making a long series of comparative trials. no human being will believe what i shall publish about the smallness of the doses of phosphate of ammonia which act. ... i began reading the madagascar squib (a description of a carnivorous plant supposed to subsist on human beings.) quite gravely, and when i found it stated that felis and bos inhabited madagascar, i thought it was a false story, and did not perceive it was a hoax till i came to the woman... charles darwin to f.c. donders. (professor donders, the well-known physiologist of utrecht.) down, july , . my dear professor donders, my son george writes to me that he has seen you, and that you have been very kind to him, for which i return to you my cordial thanks. he tells me on your authority, of a fact which interests me in the highest degree, and which i much wish to be allowed to quote. it relates to the action of one millionth of a grain of atropine on the eye. now will you be so kind, whenever you can find a little leisure, to tell me whether you yourself have observed this fact, or believe it on good authority. i also wish to know what proportion by weight the atropine bore to the water solution, and how much of the solution was applied to the eye. the reason why i am so anxious on this head is that it gives some support to certain facts repeatedly observed by me with respect to the action of phosphate of ammonia on drosera. the / of a grain absorbed by a gland clearly makes the tentacle which bears this gland become inflected; and i am fully convinced that / of a grain of the crystallised salt (i.e. containing about one-third of its weight of water of crystallisation) does the same. now i am quite unhappy at the thought of having to publish such a statement. it will be of great value to me to be able to give any analogous facts in support. the case of drosera is all the more interesting as the absorption of the salt or any other stimulant applied to the gland causes it to transmit a motor influence to the base of the tentacle which bears the gland. pray forgive me for troubling you, and do not trouble yourself to answer this until your health is fully re-established. pray believe me, yours very sincerely, charles darwin. [during the summer of he was at work on the genus utricularia, and he wrote (july th) to sir j.d. hooker giving some account of the progress of his work:-- "i am rather glad you have not been able to send utricularia, for the common species has driven f. and me almost mad. the structure is most complex. the bladders catch a multitude of entomostraca, and larvae of insects. the mechanism for capture is excellent. but there is much that we cannot understand. from what i have seen to-day, i strongly suspect that it is necrophagous, i.e. that it cannot digest, but absorbs decaying matter." he was indebted to lady dorothy nevill for specimens of the curious utricularia montana, which is not aquatic like the european species, but grows among the moss and debris on the branches of trees. to this species the following letter refers:] charles darwin to lady dorothy nevill. down september [ ]. dear lady dorothy nevill, i am so much obliged to you. i was so convinced that the bladders were with the leaves that i never thought of removing the moss, and this was very stupid of me. the great solid bladder-like swellings almost on the surface are wonderful objects, but are not the true bladders. these i found on the roots near the surface, and down to a depth of two inches in the sand. they are as transparent as glass, from / to / of an inch in size, and hollow. they have all the important points of structure of the bladders of the floating english species, and i felt confident i should find captured prey. and so i have to my delight in two bladders, with clear proof that they had absorbed food from the decaying mass. for utricularia is a carrion-feeder, and not strictly carnivorous like drosera. the great solid bladder-like bodies, i believe, are reservoirs of water like a camel's stomach. as soon as i have made a few more observations, i mean to be so cruel as to give your plant no water, and observe whether the great bladders shrink and contain air instead of water; i shall then also wash all earth from all roots, and see whether there are true bladders for capturing subterranean insects down to the very bottom of the pot. now shall you think me very greedy, if i say that supposing the species is not very precious, and you have several, will you give me one more plant, and if so, please to send it to "orpington station, s.e.r., to be forwarded by foot messenger." i have hardly ever enjoyed a day more in my life than i have this day's work; and this i owe to your ladyship's great kindness. the seeds are very curious monsters; i fancy of some plant allied to medicago, but i will show them to dr. hooker. your ladyship's very gratefully, ch. darwin. charles darwin to j.d. hooker. down, september , . my dear h., your magnificent present of aldrovanda has arrived quite safe. i have enjoyed greatly a good look at the shut leaves, one of which i cut open. it is an aquatic dionaea, which has acquired some structures identical with those of utricularia! if the leaves open and i can transfer them open under the microscope, i will try some experiments, for mortal man cannot resist the temptation. if i cannot transfer, i will do nothing, for otherwise it would require hundreds of leaves. you are a good man to give me such pleasure. yours affectionately, c. darwin. [the manuscript of 'insectivorous plants' was finished in march . he seems to have been more than usually oppressed by the writing of this book, thus he wrote to sir j.d. hooker in february:-- "you ask about my book, and all that i can say is that i am ready to commit suicide; i thought it was decently written, but find so much wants rewriting, that it will not be ready to go to printers for two months, and will then make a confoundedly big book. murray will say that it is no use publishing in the middle of summer, so i do not know what will be the upshot; but i begin to think that every one who publishes a book is a fool." the book was published on july nd, , and copies were sold out of the edition of .] chapter .xiv. -- the 'power of movement in plants.' . [the few sentences in the autobiographical chapter give with sufficient clearness the connection between the 'power of movement,' and one of the author's earlier books, that on 'climbing plants.' the central idea of the book is that the movements of plants in relation to light, gravitation, etc., are modifications of a spontaneous tendency to revolve or circumnutate, which is widely inherent in the growing parts of plants. this conception has not been generally adopted, and has not taken a place among the canons of orthodox physiology. the book has been treated by professor sachs with a few words of professorial contempt; and by professor wiesner it has been honoured by careful and generously expressed criticism. mr. thiselton dyer ('charles darwin' ('nature' series), page .) has well said: "whether this masterly conception of the unity of what has hitherto seemed a chaos of unrelated phenomena will be sustained, time alone will show. but no one can doubt the importance of what mr. darwin has done, in showing that for the future the phenomena of plant movement can and indeed must be studied from a single point of view." the work was begun in the summer of , after the publication of 'different forms of flowers,' and by the autumn his enthusiasm for the subject was thoroughly established, and he wrote to mr. dyer: "i am all on fire at the work." at this time he was studying the movements of cotyledons, in which the sleep of plants is to be observed in its simplest form; in the following spring he was trying to discover what useful purpose these sleep-movements could serve, and wrote to sir joseph hooker (march th, ):-- "i think we have proved that the sleep of plants is to lessen the injury to the leaves from radiation. this has interested me much, and has cost us great labour, as it has been a problem since the time of linnaeus. but we have killed or badly injured a multitude of plants: n.b.--oxalis carnosa was most valuable, but last night was killed." his letters of this period do not give any connected account of the progress of the work. the two following are given as being characteristic of the author:] charles darwin to w. thiselton dyer. down, june , . my dear dyer, i remember saying that i should die a disgraced man if i did not observe a seedling cactus and cycas, and you have saved me from this horrible fate, as they move splendidly and normally. but i have two questions to ask: the cycas observed was a huge seed in a broad and very shallow pot with cocoa-nut fibre as i suppose. it was named only cycas. was it cycas pectinata? i suppose that i cannot be wrong in believing that what first appears above ground is a true leaf, for i can see no stem or axis. lastly, you may remember that i said that we could not raise opuntia nigricans; now i must confess to a piece of stupidity; one did come up, but my gardener and self stared at it, and concluded that it could not be a seedling opuntia, but now that i have seen one of o. basilaris, i am sure it was; i observed it only casually, and saw movements, which makes me wish to observe carefully another. if you have any fruit, will mr. lynch (mr. r.i. lynch, now curator of the botanic garden at cambridge was at this time in the royal gardens, kew.) be so kind as to send one more? i am working away like a slave at radicles [roots] and at movements of true leaves, for i have pretty well done with cotyledons... that was an excellent letter about the gardens (this refers to an attempt to induce the government to open the royal gardens at kew in the morning.): i had hoped that the agitation was over. politicians are a poor truckling lot, for [they] must see the wretched effects of keeping the gardens open all day long. your ever troublesome friend, ch. darwin. charles darwin to w. thiselton dyer. bryanston st., portman square, november [ ]. my dear dyer, i must thank you for all the wonderful trouble which you have taken about the seeds of impatiens, and on scores of other occasions. it in truth makes me feel ashamed of myself, and i cannot help thinking: "oh lord, when he sees our book he will cry out, is this all for which i have helped so much!" in seriousness, i hope that we have made out some points, but i fear that we have done very little for the labour which we have expended on our work. we are here for a week for a little rest, which i needed. if i remember right, november th, is the anniversary at the royal, and i fear sir joseph must be almost at the last gasp. i shall be glad when he is no longer president. yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. [in the spring of the following year, . when he was engaged in putting his results together, he wrote somewhat despondingly to mr. dyer: "i am overwhelmed with my notes, and almost too old to undertake the job which i have in hand--i.e. movements of all kinds. yet it is worse to be idle." later on in the year, when the work was approaching completion, he wrote to prof. carus (july , ), with respect to a translation:-- "together with my son francis, i am preparing a rather large volume on the general movements of plants, and i think that we have made out a good many new points and views. "i fear that our views will meet a good deal of opposition in germany; but we have been working very hard for some years at the subject. "i shall be much pleased if you think the book worth translating, and proof-sheets shall be sent you, whenever they are ready." in the autumn he was hard at work on the manuscript, and wrote to dr. gray (october , ):-- "i have written a rather big book--more is the pity--on the movements of plants, and i am now just beginning to go over the ms. for the second time, which is a horrid bore." only the concluding part of the next letter refers to the 'power of movements':] charles darwin to a. de candolle. may , . my dear sir, i am particularly obliged to you for having so kindly send me your 'phytographie' (a book on the methods of botanical research, more especially of systematic work.); for if i had merely seen it advertised, i should not have supposed that it could have concerned me. as it is, i have read with very great interest about a quarter, but will not delay longer thanking you. all that you say seems to me very clear and convincing, and as in all your writings i find a large number of philosophical remarks new to me, and no doubt shall find many more. they have recalled many a puzzle through which i passed when monographing the cirripedia; and your book in those days would have been quite invaluable to me. it has pleased me to find that i have always followed your plan of making notes on separate pieces of paper; i keep several scores of large portfolios, arranged on very thin shelves about two inches apart, fastened to the walls of my study, and each shelf has its proper name or title; and i can thus put at once every memorandum into its proper place. your book will, i am sure, be very useful to many young students, and i shall beg my son francis (who intends to devote himself to the physiology of plants) to read it carefully. as for myself i am taking a fortnight's rest, after sending a pile of ms. to the printers, and it was a piece of good fortune that your book arrived as i was getting into my carriage, for i wanted something to read whilst away from home. my ms. relates to the movements of plants, and i think that i have succeeded in showing that all the more important great classes of movements are due to the modification of a kind of movement common to all parts of all plants from their earliest youth. pray give my kind remembrances to your son, and with my highest respect and best thanks, believe me, my dear sir, yours very sincerely, charles darwin. p.s.--it always pleases me to exalt plants in the organic scale, and if you will take the trouble to read my last chapter when my book (which will be sadly too big) is published and sent to you, i hope and think that you also will admire some of the beautiful adaptations by which seedling plants are enabled to perform their proper functions. [the book was published on november , , and copies were disposed of at mr. murray's sale. with regard to it he wrote to sir j.d. hooker (november ):-- "your note has pleased me much--for i did not expect that you would have had time to read any of it. read the last chapter, and you will know the whole result, but without the evidence. the case, however, of radicles bending after exposure for an hour to geotropism, with their tips (or brains) cut off is, i think, worth your reading (bottom of page ); it astounded me. the next most remarkable fact, as it appeared to me (page ), is the discrimination of the tip of the radicle between a slightly harder and softer object affixed on opposite sides of tip. but i will bother you no more about my book. the sensitiveness of seedlings to light is marvellous." to another friend, mr. thiselton dyer, he wrote (november , ):-- "very many thanks for your most kind note, but you think too highly of our work, not but what this is very pleasant... many of the germans are very contemptuous about making out the use of organs; but they may sneer the souls out of their bodies, and i for one shall think it the most interesting part of natural history. indeed you are greatly mistaken if you doubt for one moment on the very great value of your constant and most kind assistance to us." the book was widely reviewed, and excited much interest among the general public. the following letter refers to a leading article in the "times", november , :] charles darwin to mrs. haliburton. (mrs. haliburton was a daughter of my father's early friend, the late mr. owen, of woodhouse.) down, november , . my dear sarah, you see how audaciously i begin; but i have always loved and shall ever love this name. your letter has done more than please me, for its kindness has touched my heart. i often think of old days and of the delight of my visits to woodhouse, and of the deep debt of gratitude i owe to your father. it was very good of you to write. i had quite forgotten my old ambition about the shrewsbury newspaper (mrs. haliburton had reminded him of his saying as a boy that if eddowes' newspaper ever alluded to him as "our deserving fellow-townsman," his ambition would be amply gratified.); but i remember the pride which i felt when i saw in a book about beetles the impressive words "captured by c. darwin." captured sounded so grand compared with caught. this seemed to me glory enough for any man! i do not know in the least what made the "times" glorify me (the following is the opening sentence of the leading article:--"of all our living men of science none have laboured longer and to more splendid purpose than mr. darwin."), for it has sometimes pitched into me ferociously. i should very much like to see you again, but you would find a visit here very dull, for we feel very old and have no amusement, and lead a solitary life. but we intend in a few weeks to spend a few days in london, and then if you have anything else to do in london, you would perhaps come and lunch with us. (my father had the pleasure of seeing mrs. haliburton at his brother's house in queen anne street.) believe me, my dear sarah, yours gratefully and affectionately, charles darwin. [the following letter was called forth by the publication of a volume devoted to the criticism of the 'power of movement in plants' by an accomplished botanist, dr. julius wiesner, professor of botany in the university of vienna:] charles darwin to julius wiesner. down, october th, . my dear sir, i have now finished your book ('das bewegungsvermogen der pflanzen.' vienna, .), and have understood the whole except a very few passages. in the first place, let me thank you cordially for the manner in which you have everywhere treated me. you have shown how a man may differ from another in the most decided manner, and yet express his difference with the most perfect courtesy. not a few english and german naturalists might learn a useful lesson from your example; for the coarse language often used by scientific men towards each other does no good, and only degrades science. i have been profoundly interested by your book, and some of your experiments are so beautiful, that i actually felt pleasure while being vivisected. it would take up too much space to discuss all the important topics in your book. i fear that you have quite upset the interpretation which i have given of the effects of cutting off the tips of horizontally extended roots, and of those laterally exposed to moisture; but i cannot persuade myself that the horizontal position of lateral branches and roots is due simply to their lessened power of growth. nor when i think of my experiments with the cotyledons of phalaris, can i give up the belief of the transmission of some stimulus due to light from the upper to the lower part. at page you have misunderstood my meaning, when you say that i believe that the effects from light are transmitted to a part which is not itself heliotropic. i never considered whether or not the short part beneath the ground was heliotropic; but i believe that with young seedlings the part which bends near, but above the ground is heliotropic, and i believe so from this part bending only moderately when the light is oblique, and bending rectangularly when the light is horizontal. nevertheless the bending of this lower part, as i conclude from my experiments with opaque caps, is influenced by the action of light on the upper part. my opinion, however, on the above and many other points, signifies very little, for i have no doubt that your book will convince most botanists that i am wrong in all the points on which we differ. independently of the question of transmission, my mind is so full of facts leading me to believe that light, gravity, etc., act not in a direct manner on growth, but as stimuli, that i am quite unable to modify my judgment on this head. i could not understand the passage at page , until i consulted my son george, who is a mathematician. he supposes that your objection is founded on the diffused light from the lamp illuminating both sides of the object, and not being reduced, with increasing distance in the same ratio as the direct light; but he doubts whether this necessary correction will account for the very little difference in the heliotropic curvature of the plants in the successive pots. with respect to the sensitiveness of the tips of roots to contact, i cannot admit your view until it is proved that i am in error about bits of card attached by liquid gum causing movement; whereas no movement was caused if the card remained separated from the tip by a layer of the liquid gum. the fact also of thicker and thinner bits of card attached on opposite sides of the same root by shellac, causing movement in one direction, has to be explained. you often speak of the tip having been injured; but externally there was no sign of injury: and when the tip was plainly injured, the extreme part became curved towards the injured side. i can no more believe that the tip was injured by the bits of card, at least when attached by gum-water, than that the glands of drosera are injured by a particle of thread or hair placed on it, or that the human tongue [is so] when it feels any such object. about the most important subject in my book, namely circumnutation, i can only say that i feel utterly bewildered at the difference in our conclusions; but i could not fully understand some parts which my son francis will be able to translate to me when he returns home. the greater part of your book is beautifully clear. finally, i wish that i had enough strength and spirit to commence a fresh set of experiments, and publish the results, with a full recantation of my errors when convinced of them; but i am too old for such an undertaking, nor do i suppose that i shall be able to do much, or any more, original work. i imagine that i see one possible source of error in your beautiful experiment of a plant rotating and exposed to a lateral light. with high respect and with sincere thanks for the kind manner in which you have treated me and my mistakes, i remain, my dear sir, yours sincerely, charles darwin. chapter .xv. -- miscellaneous botanical letters. - . [the present chapter contains a series of miscellaneous letters on botanical subjects. some of them show my father's varied interests in botanical science, and others give account of researches which never reached completion.] bloom on leaves and fruit. [his researches into the meaning of the "bloom," or waxy coating found on many leaves, was one of those inquiries which remained unfinished at the time of his death. he amassed a quantity of notes on the subject, part of which i hope to publish at no distant date. (a small instalment on the relation between bloom and the distribution of the stomata on leaves has appeared in the 'journal of the linnean society,' . tschirsch ("linnaea", ) has published results identical with some which my father and myself obtained, viz. that bloom diminishes transpiration. the same fact was previously published by garreau in .) one of his earliest letters on this subject was addressed in august, , to sir joseph hooker:-- "i want a little information from you, and if you do not yourself know, please to enquire of some of the wise men of kew. "why are the leaves and fruit of so many plants protected by a thin layer of waxy matter (like the common cabbage), or with fine hair, so that when such leaves or fruit are immersed in water they appear as if encased in thin glass? it is really a pretty sight to put a pod of the common pea, or a raspberry into water. i find several leaves are thus protected on the under surface and not on the upper. "how can water injure the leaves if indeed this is at all the case?" on this latter point he wrote to sir thomas farrer:-- "i am now become mad about drops of water injuring leaves. please ask mr. paine (sir thomas farrer's gardener.) whether he believes, from his own experience, that drops of water injure leaves or fruit in his conservatories. it is said that the drops act as burning-glasses; if this is true, they would not be at all injurious on cloudy days. as he is so acute a man, i should very much like to hear his opinion. i remember when i grew hot-house orchids i was cautioned not to wet their leaves; but i never then thought on the subject. "i enjoyed my visit greatly with you, and i am very sure that all england could not afford a kinder and pleasanter host." some years later he took up the subject again, and wrote to sir joseph hooker (may , ):-- "i have been looking over my old notes about the "bloom" on plants, and i think that the subject is well worth pursuing, though i am very doubtful of any success. are you inclined to aid me on the mere chance of success, for without your aid i could do hardly anything?"] charles darwin to asa gray. down, june [ ]. ... i am now trying to make out the use or function of "bloom," or the waxy secretion on the leaves and fruit of plants, but am very doubtful whether i shall succeed. can you give me any light? are such plants commoner in warm than in colder climates? i ask because i often walk out in heavy rain, and the leaves of very few wild dicotyledons can be here seen with drops of water rolling off them like quick-silver. whereas in my flower garden, greenhouse, and hot-houses there are several. again, are bloo-protected plants common on your dry western plains? hooker thinks that they are common at the cape of good hope. it is a puzzle to me if they are common under very dry climates, and i find bloom very common on the acacias and eucalypti of australia. some of the eucalypti which do not appear to be covered with bloom have the epidermis protected by a layer of some substance which is dissolved in boiling alcohol. are there any bloo-protected leaves or fruit in the arctic regions? if you can illuminate me, as you so often have done, pray do so; but otherwise do not bother yourself by answering. yours affectionately, c. darwin. charles darwin to w. thiselton dyer. down, september [ ]. my dear dyer, one word to thank you. i declare had it not been for your kindness, we should have broken down. as it is we have made out clearly that with some plants (chiefly succulent) the bloom checks evaporation--with some certainly prevents attacks of insects; with some sea-shore plants prevents injury from salt-water, and, i believe, with a few prevents injury from pure water resting on the leaves. this latter is as yet the most doubtful and the most interesting point in relation to the movements of plants... charles darwin to f. muller. down, july [ ]. my dear sir, your kindness is unbounded, and i cannot tell you how much your last letter (may ) has interested me. i have piles of notes about the effect of water resting on leaves, and their movements (as i supposed) to shake off the drops. but i have not looked over these notes for a long time, and had come to think that perhaps my notion was mere fancy, but i had intended to begin experimenting as soon as i returned home; and now with your invaluable letter about the position of the leaves of various plants during rain (i have one analogous case with acacia from south africa), i shall be stimulated to work in earnest. variability. [the following letter refers to a subject on which my father felt the strongest interest:--the experimental investigation of the causes of variability. the experiments alluded to were to some extent planned out, and some preliminary work was begun in the direction indicated below, but the research was ultimately abandoned.] charles darwin to j.h. gilbert. (dr. gilbert, f.r.s., joint author with sir john bennett lawes of a long series of valuable researches in scientific agriculture.) down, february , . my dear sir, when i met you at the linnean society, you were so kind as to say that you would aid me with advice, and this will be of the utmost value to me and my son. i will first state my object, and hope that you will excuse a long letter. it is admitted by all naturalists that no problem is so perplexing as what causes almost every cultivated plant to vary, and no experiments as yet tried have thrown any light on the subject. now for the last ten years i have been experimenting in crossing and self-fertilising plants; and one indirect result has surprised me much; namely, that by taking pains to cultivate plants in pots under glass during several successive generations, under nearly similar conditions, and by self-fertilising them in each generation, the colour of the flowers often changes, and, what is very remarkable, they became in some of the most variable species, such as mimulus, carnation, etc., quite constant, like those of a wild species. this fact and several others have led me to the suspicion that the cause of variation must be in different substances absorbed from the soil by these plants when their powers of absorption are not interfered with by other plants with which they grow mingled in a state of nature. therefore my son and i wish to grow plants in pots in soil entirely, or as nearly entirely as is possible, destitute of all matter which plants absorb, and then to give during several successive generations to several plants of the same species as different solutions as may be compatible with their life and health. and now, can you advise me how to make soil approximately free of all the substances which plants naturally absorb? i suppose white silver sand, sold for cleaning harness, etc., is nearly pure silica, but what am i to do for alumina? without some alumina i imagine that it would be impossible to keep the soil damp and fit for the growth of plants. i presume that clay washed over and over again in water would still yield mineral matter to the carbonic acid secreted by the roots. i should want a good deal of soil, for it would be useless to experimentise unless we could fill from twenty to thirty moderately sized flower-pots every year. can you suggest any plan? for unless you can it would, i fear, be useless for us to commence an attempt to discover whether variability depends at all on matter absorbed from the soil. after obtaining the requisite kind of soil, my notion is to water one set of plants with nitrate of potassium, another set with nitrate of sodium, and another with nitrate of lime, giving all as much phosphate of ammonia as they seemed to support, for i wish the plants to grow as luxuriantly as possible. the plants watered with nitrate of na and of ca would require, i suppose, some k; but perhaps they would get what is absolutely necessary from such soil as i should be forced to employ, and from the rain-water collected in tanks. i could use hard water from a deep well in the chalk, but then all the plants would get lime. if the plants to which i give nitrate of na and of ca would not grow i might give them a little alum. i am well aware how very ignorant i am, and how crude my notions are; and if you could suggest any other solutions by which plants would be likely to be affected it would be a very great kindness. i suppose that there are no organic fluids which plants would absorb, and which i could procure? i must trust to your kindness to excuse me for troubling you at such length, and, i remain, dear sir, yours sincerely, charles darwin. [the next letter to professor semper (professor of zoology at wurzburg.) bears on the same subject:] from charles darwin to k. semper. down, july , . my dear professor semper, i have been much pleased to receive your letter, but i did not expect you to answer my former one... i cannot remember what i wrote to you, but i am sure that it must have expressed the interest which i felt in reading your book. (published in the 'international scientific series,' in , under the title, 'the natural conditions of existence as they affect animal life.') i thought that you attributed too much weight to the direct action of the environment; but whether i said so i know not, for without being asked i should have thought it presumptuous to have criticised your book, nor should i now say so had i not during the last few days been struck with professor hoffmann's review of his own work in the 'botanische zeitung,' on the variability of plants; and it is really surprising how little effect he produced by cultivating certain plants under unnatural conditions, as the presence of salt, lime, zinc, etc., etc., during several generations. plants, moreover, were selected which were the most likely to vary under such conditions, judging from the existence of closely-allied forms adapted for these conditions. no doubt i originally attributed too little weight to the direct action of conditions, but hoffmann's paper has staggered me. perhaps hundreds of generations of exposure are necessary. it is a most perplexing subject. i wish i was not so old, and had more strength, for i see lines of research to follow. hoffmann even doubts whether plants vary more under cultivation than in their native home and under their natural conditions. if so, the astonishing variations of almost all cultivated plants must be due to selection and breeding from the varying individuals. this idea crossed my mind many years ago, but i was afraid to publish it, as i thought that people would say, "how he does exaggerate the importance of selection." i still must believe that changed conditions give the impulse to variability, but that they act in most cases in a very indirect manner. but, as i said, it is a most perplexing problem. pray forgive me for writing at such length; i had no intention of doing so when i sat down to write. i am extremely sorry to hear, for your own sake and for that of science, that you are so hard worked, and that so much of your time is consumed in official labour. pray believe me, dear professor semper, yours sincerely, charles darwin. galls. [shortly before his death, my father began to experimentise on the possibility of producing galls artificially. a letter to sir j.d. hooker (november , ) shows the interest which he felt in the question:-- "i was delighted with paget's essay ('disease in plants,' by sir james paget.--see "gardeners' chronicle", .); i hear that he has occasionally attended to this subject from his youth... i am very glad he has called attention to galls: this has always seemed to me a profoundly interesting subject; and if i had been younger would take it up." his interest in this subject was connected with his ever-present wish to learn something of the causes of variation. he imagined to himself wonderful galls caused to appear on the ovaries of plants, and by these means he thought it possible that the seed might be influenced, and thus new varieties arise. he made a considerable number of experiments by injecting various reagents into the tissues of leaves, and with some slight indications of success.] aggregation. [the following letter gives an idea of the subject of the last of his published papers. ('journal of the linnean society.' volume xix, , pages and .) the appearances which he observed in leaves and roots attracted him, on account of their relation to the phenomena of aggregation which had so deeply interested him when he was at work on drosera:] charles darwin to s.h. vines. (reader in botany in the university of cambridge.) down, november , . my dear mr. vines, as i know how busy you are, it is a great shame to trouble you. but you are so rich in chemical knowledge about plants, and i am so poor, that i appeal to your charity as a pauper. my question is--do you know of any solid substance in the cells of plants which glycerine and water dissolves? but you will understand my perplexity better if i give you the facts: i mentioned to you that if a plant of euphorbia peplus is gently dug up and the roots placed for a short time in a weak solution ( to , of water, suffices in hours) of carbonate of ammonia the (generally) alternate longitudinal rows of cells in every rootlet, from the root-cap up to the very top of the root (but not as far as i have yet seen in the green stem) become filled with translucent, brownish grains of matter. these rounded grains often cohere and even become confluent. pure phosphate and nitrate of ammonia produce (though more slowly) the same effect, as does pure carbonate of soda. now, if slices of root under a cover-glass are irrigated with glycerine and water, every one of the innumerable grains in the cells disappear after some hours. what am i to think of this.?... forgive me for bothering you to such an extent; but i must mention that if the roots are dipped in boiling water there is no deposition of matter, and carbonate of ammonia afterwards produces no effect. i should state that i now find that the granular matter is formed in the cells immediately beneath the thin epidermis, and a few other cells near the vascular tissue. if the granules consisted of living protoplasm (but i can see no traces of movement in them), then i should infer that the glycerine killed them and aggregation ceased with the diffusion of invisibly minute particles, for i have seen an analogous phenomenon in drosera. if you can aid me, pray do so, and anyhow forgive me. yours very sincerely, ch. darwin. mr. torbitt's experiments on the potato-disease. [mr. james torbitt, of belfast, has been engaged for the last twelve years in the difficult undertaking, in which he has been to a large extent successful, of raising fungus-proof varieties of the potato. my father felt great interest in mr. torbitt's work, and corresponded with him from onwards. the following letter, giving a clear account of mr. torbitt's method and of my father's opinion of the probability of its success, was written with the idea that government aid for the work might possibly be obtainable:] charles darwin to t.h. farrer. down, march , . my dear farrer, mr. torbitt's plan of overcoming the potato-disease seems to me by far the best which has ever been suggested. it consists, as you know from his printed letter, of rearing a vast number of seedlings from cross-fertilised parents, exposing them to infection, ruthlessly destroying all that suffer, saving those which resist best, and repeating the process in successive seminal generations. my belief in the probability of good results from this process rests on the fact of all characters whatever occasionally varying. it is known, for instance, that certain species and varieties of the vine resist phylloxera better than others. andrew knight found in one variety or species of the apple which was not in the least attacked by coccus, and another variety has been observed in south australia. certain varieties of the peach resist mildew, and several other such cases could be given. therefore there is no great improbability in a new variety of potato arising which would resist the fungus completely, or at least much better than any existing variety. with respect to the cross-fertilisation of two distinct seedling plants, it has been ascertained that the offspring thus raised inherit much more vigorous constitutions and generally are more prolific than seedlings from self-fertilised parents. it is also probable that cross-fertilisation would be especially valuable in the case of the potato, as there is reason to believe that the flowers are seldom crossed by our native insects; and some varieties are absolutely sterile unless fertilised with pollen from a distinct variety. there is some evidence that the good effects from a cross are transmitted for several generations; it would not, therefore be necessary to cross-fertilise the seedlings in each generation, though this would be desirable, as it is almost certain that a greater number of seeds would thus be obtained. it should be remembered that a cross between plants raised from the tubers of the same plant, though growing on distinct roots, does no more good than a cross between flowers on the same individual. considering the whole subject, it appears to me that it would be a national misfortune if the cros-fertilised seeds in mr. torbitt's possession produced by parents which have already shown some power of resisting the disease, are not utilised by the government, or some public body, and the process of selection continued during several more generations. should the agricultural society undertake the work, mr. torbitt's knowledge gained by experience would be especially valuable; and an outline of the plan is given in his printed letter. it would be necessary that all the tubers produced by each plant should be collected separately, and carefully examined in each succeeding generation. it would be advisable that some kind of potato eminently liable to the disease should be planted in considerable numbers near the seedlings so as to infect them. altogether the trial would be one requiring much care and extreme patience, as i know from experience with analogous work, and it may be feared that it would be difficult to find any one who would pursue the experiment with sufficient energy. it seems, therefore, to me highly desirable that mr. torbitt should be aided with some small grant so as to continue the work himself. judging from his reports, his efforts have already been crowned in so short a time with more success than could have been anticipated; and i think you will agree with me, that any one who raises a fungus-proof potato will be a public benefactor of no common kind. my dear farrer, yours sincerely, charles darwin. [after further consultation with sir thomas farrer and with mr. caird, my father became convinced that it was hopeless to attempt to obtain government aid. he wrote to mr. torbitt to this effect, adding, "it would be less trouble to get up a subscription from a few rich leading agriculturists than from government. this plan i think you cannot object to, as you have asked nothing, and will have nothing whatever to do with the subscription. in fact, the affair is, in my opinion, a compliment to you." the idea here broached was carried out, and mr. torbitt was enabled to continue his work by the aid of a sum to which sir t. farrer, mr. caird, my father, and a few friends, subscribed. my father's sympathy and encouragement were highly valued by mr. torbitt, who tells me that without them he should long ago have given up his attempt. a few extracts will illustrate my father's fellow feeling with mr. torbitt's energy and perseverance:-- "i admire your indomitable spirit. if any one ever deserved success, you do so, and i keep to my original opinion that you have a very good chance of raising a fungus-proof variety of the potato. "a pioneer in a new undertaking is sure to meet with many disappointments, so i hope that you will keep up your courage, though we have done so very little for you." mr. torbitt tells me that he still ( ) succeeds in raising varieties possessing well-marked powers of resisting disease; but this immunity is not permanent, and, after some years, the varieties become liable to the attacks of the fungus.] the kew index of plant-names, or 'nomenclator darwinianus.' [some account of my father's connection with the index of plant-names now ( ) in course of preparation at kew will be found in mr. b. daydon jackson's paper in the 'journal of botany,' , page . mr. jackson quotes the following statement by sir j.d. hooker:-- "shortly before his death, mr. charles darwin informed sir joseph hooker that it was his intention to devote a considerable sum of money annually for some years in aid or furtherance of some work or works of practical utility to biological science, and to make provisions in his will in the event of these not being completed during his lifetime. "amongst other objects connected with botanical science, mr. darwin regarded with especial interest the importance of a complete index to the names and authors of the genera and species of plants known to botanists, together with their native countries. steudel's 'nomenclator' is the only existing work of this nature, and although now nearly half a century old, mr. darwin had found it of great aid in his own researches. it has been indispensable to every botanical institution, whether as a list of all known flowering plants, as an indication of their authors, or as a digest of botanical geography." since , when the 'nomenclator' was published, the number of described plants may be said to have doubled, so that the 'nomenclator' is now seriously below the requirements of botanical work. to remedy this want, the 'nomenclator' has been from time to time posted up in an interleaved copy in the herbarium at kew, by the help of "funds supplied by private liberality." (kew gardens report, , page .) my father, like other botanists, had as sir joseph hooker points out, experienced the value of steudel's work. he obtained plants from all sorts of sources, which were often incorrectly named, and he felt the necessity of adhering to the accepted nomenclature, so that he might convey to other workers precise indications as to the plants which he had studied. it was also frequently a matter of importance to him to know the native country of his experimental plants. thus it was natural that he should recognize the desirability of completing and publishing the interleaved volume at kew. the wish to help in this object was heightened by the admiration he felt for the results for which the world has to thank the royal gardens at kew, and by his gratitude for the invaluable aid which for so many years he received from its director and his staff. he expressly stated that it was his wish "to aid in some way the scientific work carried on at the royal gardens" (kew gardens report, , page .)--which induced him to offer to supply funds for the completion of the kew 'nomenclator.' the following passage, for which i am indebted to professor judd, is of much interest, as illustrating the motives that actuated my father in this matter. professor judd writes:-- "on the occasion of my last visit to him, he told me that his income having recently greatly increased, while his wants remained the same, he was most anxious to devote what he could spare to the advancement of geology or biology. he dwelt in the most touching manner on the fact that he owed so much happiness and fame to the natural-history sciences, which had been the solace of what might have been a painful existence;--and he begged me, if i knew of any research which could be aided by a grant of a few hundreds of pounds, to let him know, as it would be a delight to him to feel that he was helping in promoting the progress of science. he informed me at the same time that he was making the same suggestion to sir joseph hooker and professor huxley with respect to botany and zoology respectively. i was much impressed by the earnestness, and, indeed, deep emotion, with which he spoke of his indebtedness to science, and his desire to promote its interests." sir joseph hooker was asked by my father "to take into consideration, with the aid of the botanical staff at kew and the late mr. bentham, the extent and scope of the proposed work, and to suggest the best means of having it executed. in doing this, sir joseph had further the advantage of the great knowledge and experience of professor asa gray, of cambridge, u.s.a., and of mr. john ball, f.r.s." ('journal of botany,' loc. cit.) the plan of the proposed work having been carefully considered, sir joseph hooker was able to confide its elaboration in detail to mr. b. daydon jackson, secretary of the linnean society, whose extensive knowledge of botanical literature qualifies him for the task. my father's original idea of producing a modern edition of steudel's 'nomenclator' has been practically abandoned, the aim now kept in view is rather to construct a list of genera and species (with references) founded on bentham and hooker's 'genera plantarum.' the colossal nature of the work in progress at kew may be estimated by the fact that the manuscript of the 'index' is at the present time ( ) believed to weigh more than a ton. under sir joseph hooker's supervision the work goes steadily forward, being carried out with admirable zeal by mr. jackson, who devotes himself unsparingly to the enterprise, in which, too, he has the advantage of the active interest in the work felt by professor oliver and mr. thiselton dyer. the kew 'index,' which will, in all probability, be ready to go to press in four or five years, will be a fitting memorial of my father: and his share in its completion illustrates a part of his character--his ready sympathy with work outside his own lines of investigation--and his respect for minute and patient labour in all branches of science.] chapter .xvi. -- conclusion. some idea of the general course of my father's health may have been gathered from the letters given in the preceding pages. the subject of health appears more prominently than is often necessary in a biography, because it was, unfortunately, so real an element in determining the outward form of his life. during the last ten years of his life the condition of his health was a cause of satisfaction and hope to his family. his condition showed signs of amendment in several particulars. he suffered less distress and discomfort, and was able to work more steadily. something has been already said of dr. bence jones's treatment, from which my father certainly derived benefit. in later years he became a patient of sir andrew clark, under whose care he improved greatly in general health. it was not only for his generously rendered service that my father felt a debt of gratitude towards sir andrew clark. he owed to his cheering personal influence an ofte-repeated encouragement, which laterally added something real to his happiness, and he found sincere pleasure in sir andrew's friendship and kindness towards himself and his children. scattered through the past pages are one or two references to pain or uneasiness felt in the region of the heart. how far these indicate that the heart was affected early in life, i cannot pretend to say; in any case it is certain that he had no serious or permanent trouble of this nature until shortly before his death. in spite of the general improvement in his health, which has been above alluded to, there was a certain loss of physical vigour occasionally apparent during the last few years of his life. this is illustrated by a sentence in a letter to his old friend sir james sulivan, written on january , : "my scientific work tires me more than it used to do, but i have nothing else to do, and whether one is worn out a year or two sooner or later signifies but little." a similar feeling is shown in a letter to sir j.d. hooker of june , . my father was staying at patterdale, and wrote: "i am rather despondent about myself... i have not the heart or strength to begin any investigation lasting years, which is the only thing which i enjoy, and i have no little jobs which i can do." in july, , he wrote to mr. wallace, "we have just returned home after spending five weeks on ullswater; the scenery is quite charming, but i cannot walk, and everything tires me, even seeing scenery... what i shall do with my few remaining years of life i can hardly tell. i have everything to make me happy and contented, but life has become very wearisome to me." he was, however, able to do a good deal of work, and that of a trying sort (on the action of carbonate of ammonia on roots and leaves.), during the autumn of , but towards the end of the year he was clearly in need of rest; and during the winter was in a lower condition than was usual with him. on december he went for a week to his daughter's house in bryanston street. during his stay in london he went to call on mr. romanes, and was seized when on the door-step with an attack apparently of the same kind as those which afterwards became so frequent. the rest of the incident, which i give in mr. romanes' words, is interesting too from a different point of view, as giving one more illustration of my father's scrupulous consideration for others:-- "i happened to be out, but my butler, observing that mr. darwin was ill, asked him to come in, he said he would prefer going home, and although the butler urged him to wait at least until a cab could be fetched, he said he would rather not give so much trouble. for the same reason he refused to allow the butler to accompany him. accordingly he watched him walking with difficulty towards the direction in which cabs were to be met with, and saw that, when he had got about three hundred yards from the house, he staggered and caught hold of the park-railings as if to prevent himself from falling. the butler therefore hastened to his assistance, but after a few seconds saw him turn round with the evident purpose of retracing his steps to my house. however, after he had returned part of the way he seems to have felt better, for he again changed his mind, and proceeded to find a cab." during the last week of february and in the beginning of march, attacks of pain in the region of the heart, with irregularity of the pulse, became frequent, coming on indeed nearly every afternoon. a seizure of this sort occurred about march , when he was walking alone at a short distance from the house; he got home with difficulty, and this was the last time that he was able to reach his favourite 'sand-walk.' shortly after this, his illness became obviously more serious and alarming, and he was seen by sir andrew clark, whose treatment was continued by dr. norman moore, of st. bartholomew's hospital, and mr. alfrey, of st. mary cray. he suffered from distressing sensations of exhaustion and faintness, and seemed to recognise with deep depression the fact that his working days were over. he gradually recovered from this condition, and became more cheerful and hopeful, as is shown in the following letter to mr. huxley, who was anxious that my father should have closer medical supervision than the existing arrangements allowed: down, march , . my dear huxley, your most kind letter has been a real cordial to me. i have felt better to-day than for three weeks, and have felt as yet no pain. your plan seems an excellent one, and i will probably act upon it, unless i get very much better. dr. clark's kindness is unbounded to me, but he is too busy to come here. once again, accept my cordial thanks, my dear old friend. i wish to god there were more automata (the allusion is to mr. huxley's address 'on the hypothesis that animals are automata, and its history,' given at the belfast meeting of the british association in , and republished in 'science and culture.') in the world like you. ever yours, ch. darwin." the allusion to sir andrew clark requires a word of explanation. sir andrew clark himself was ever ready to devote himself to my father, who, however, could not endure the thought of sending for him, knowing how severely his great practice taxed his strength. no especial change occurred during the beginning of april, but on saturday th he was seized with giddiness while sitting at dinner in the evening, and fainted in an attempt to reach his sofa. on the th he was again better, and in my temporary absence recorded for me the progress of an experiment in which i was engaged. during the night of april th, about a quarter to twelve, he had a severe attack and passed into a faint, from which he was brought back to consciousness with great difficulty. he seemed to recognise the approach of death, and said, "i am not the least afraid to die." all the next morning he suffered from terrible nausea and faintness, and hardly rallied before the end came. he died at about four o'clock on wednesday, april th, , in the seventy-fourth year of his age. i close the record of my father's life with a few words of retrospect added to the manuscript of his 'autobiography' in :-- "as for myself, i believe that i have acted rightly in steadily following, and devoting my life to science. i feel no remorse from having committed any great sin, but have often and often regretted that i have not done more direct good to my fellow creatures." appendix i. the funeral in westminster abbey. on the friday succeeding my father's death, the following letter, signed by twenty members of parliament, was addressed to dr. bradley, dean of westminster:-- house of commons, april , . very rev. sir, we hope you will not think we are taking a liberty if we venture to suggest that it would be acceptable to a very large number of our fellow-countrymen of all classes and opinions that our illustrious countryman, mr. darwin, should be buried in westminster abbey. we remain, your obedient servants, john lubbock, nevil storey maskelyne, a.j. mundella, g.o. trevelyan, lyon playfair, charles w. dilke, david wedderburn, arthur russel, horace davey, benjamin armitage, richard b. martin, francis w. buxton, e.l. stanley, henry broadhurst, john barran, f.j. cheetham, h.s. holland, h. campbell-bannerman, charles bruce, richard fort. the dean was abroad at the time, and telegraphed his cordial acquiescence. the family had desired that my father should be buried at down: with regard to their wishes, sir john lubbock wrote:-- house of commons, april , . my dear darwin, i quite sympathise with your feeling, and personally i should greatly have preferred that your father should have rested in down amongst us all. it is, i am sure, quite understood that the initiative was not taken by you. still, from a national point of view, it is clearly right that he should be buried in the abbey. i esteem it a great privilege to be allowed to accompany my dear master to the grave. believe me, yours most sincerely, john lubbock. w.e. darwin, esq. the family gave up their first-formed plans, and the funeral took place in westminster abbey on april th. the pall-bearers were:-- sir john lubbock, mr. huxley, mr. james russell lowell (american minister), mr. a.r. wallace, the duke of devonshire, canon farrar, sir j.d. hooker, mr. wm. spottiswoode (president of the royal society), the earl of derby, the duke of argyll. the funeral was attended by the representatives of france, germany, italy, spain, russia, and by those of the universities, and learned societies, as well as by large numbers of personal friends and distinguished men. the grave is in the north aisle of the nave close to the angle of the choir-screen, and a few feet from the grave of sir isaac newton. the stone bears the inscription-- charles robert darwin. born february, . died april, . appendix ii. i.--list of works by charles darwin. narrative of the surveying voyages of her majesty's ships 'adventure' and 'beagle' between the years and , describing their examination of the southern shores of south america, and the 'beagle's' circumnavigation of the globe. volume iii. journal and remarks, - . by charles darwin. vo. london, . journal of researches into the natural history and geology of the countries visited during the voyage of h.m.s. 'beagle' round the world, under the command of captain fitz-roy, r.n. nd edition, corrected, with additions. vo. london, . (colonial and home library.) a naturalist's voyage. journal of researches, etc., vo. london, . [contains a postscript dated february , .] zoology of the voyage of h.m.s. 'beagle.' edited and superintended by charles darwin. part i. fossil mammalia, by richard owen. with a geological introduction, by charles darwin. to. london, . --part ii. mammalia, by george r. waterhouse. with a notice of their habits and ranges, by charles darwin. to. london, . --part iii. birds, by john gould. an "advertisement" ( pages) states that in consequence of mr. gould's having left england for australia, many descriptions were supplied by mr. g.r. gray of the british museum. to. london, . --part iv. fish, by rev. leonard jenyns. to. london, . --part v. reptiles, by thomas bell. to. london, . the structure and distribution of coral reefs. being the first part of the geology of the voyage of the 'beagle.' vo. london, . the structure and distribution of coral reefs. nd edition. vo. london, . geological observations on the volcanic islands, visited during the voyage of h.m.s. 'beagle.' being the second part of the geology of the voyage of the 'beagle.' vo. london, . geological observations on south america. being the third part of the geology of the voyage of the 'beagle.' vo. london, . geological observations on the volcanic islands and parts of south america visited during the voyage of h.m.s. 'beagle.' nd edition. vo. london, . a monograph of the fossil lepadidae; or, pedunculated cirripedes of great britain. to. london, . (palaeontographical society.) a monograph of the sub-class cirripedia, with figures of all the species. the lepadidae; or, pedunculated cirripedes. vo. london, . (ray society.) --the balanidae (or sessile cirripedes); the verrucidae, etc. vo. london, . (ray society.) a monograph of the fossil balanidae and verrucidae of great britain. to. london, . (palaeontographical society.) on the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. vo. london, . (dated october st, , published november , .) --fifth thousand. vo. london, . --third edition, with additions and corrections. (seventh thousand.) vo. london, . (dated march, .) --fourth edition with additions and corrections. (eighth thousand.) vo. london, . (dated june, .) --fifth edition, with additions and corrections. (tenth thousand.) vo. london, . (dated may, .) --sixth edition, with additions and corrections to . (twenty-fourth thousand.) vo. london, . (dated january, .) on the various contrivances by which orchids are fertilised by insects. vo. london, . --second edition. vo. london, . [in the second edition the word "on" is omitted from the title.] the movements and habits of climbing plants. second edition. vo. london, . [first appeared in the ninth volume of the 'journal of the linnean society.'] the variation of animals and plants under domestication. volumes. vo. london, . --second edition, revised. volumes. vo. london, . the descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. volumes. vo. london, . --second edition. vo. london, . (in volume.) the expression of the emotions in man and animals. vo. london, . insectivorous plants. vo. london, . the effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom. vo. london, . --second edition. vo. london, . the different forms of flowers on plants of the same species. vo. london, . --second edition. vo. london, . the power of movement in plants. by charles darwin, assisted by francis darwin. vo. london, . the formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. vo. london, . ii.--list of books containing contributions by charles darwin. a manual of scientific enquiry; prepared for the use of her majesty's navy: and adapted for travellers in general. edited by sir john f.w. herschel, bart. vo. london, . (section vi. geology. by charles darwin.) memoir of the rev. john stevens henslow. by the rev. leonard jenyns. vo. london, . [in chapter iii., recollections by charles darwin.] a letter ( ) on the 'drift' near southampton published in prof. j. geikie's 'prehistoric europe.' flowers and their unbidden guests. by a. kerner. with a prefatory letter by charles darwin. the translation revised and edited by w. ogle. vo. london, . erasmus darwin. by ernst krause. translated from the german by w.s. dallas. with a preliminary notice by charles darwin. vo. london, . studies in the theory of descent. by august weismann. translated and edited by raphael meldola. with a prefatory notice by charles darwin. vo. london, --. the fertilisation of flowers. by hermann muller. translated and edited by d'arcy w. thompson. with a preface by charles darwin. vo. london, . mental evolution in animals. by g.j. romanes. with a posthumous essay on instinct by charles darwin, . [also published in the journal of the linnean society.] some notes on a curious habit of male humble bees were sent to prof. hermann muller, of lippstadt, who had permission from mr. darwin to make what use he pleased of them. after muller's death the notes were given by his son to dr. e. krause, who published them under the title, "ueber die wege der hummel-mannchen" in his book, 'gesammelte kleinere schriften von charles darwin.' ( ). iii.--list of scientific papers, including a selection of letters and short communications to scientific journals. letters to professor henslow, read by him at the meeting of the cambridge philosophical society, held november , . pages. vo. privately printed for distribution among the members of the society. geological notes made during a survey of the east and west coasts of south america in the years , , , and ; with an account of a transverse section of the cordilleras of the andes between valparaiso and mendoza. [read november , .] geology society proc. ii. , pages - . [this paper is incorrectly described in geology society proc. ii., page as follows:--"geological notes, etc., by f. darwin, esq., of st. john's college, cambridge: communicated by prof. sedgwick." it is indexed under c. darwin.] notes upon the rhea americana. zoology society proc., part v. . pages - . observations of proofs of recent elevation on the coast of chili, made during the survey of h.m.s. "beagle," commanded by captain fitz-roy. [ .] geological society proc. ii. , pages - . a sketch of the deposits containing extinct mammalia in the neighbourhood of the plata. [ .] geological society proc. ii. , pages - . on certain areas of elevation and subsidence in the pacific and indian oceans, as deduced from the study of coral formations. [ .] geological society proc. ii. , pages - . on the formation of mould. [read november , .] geological society proc. ii. , pages - ; geological society transactions v. , pages - . on the connexion of certain volcanic phenomena and on the formation of mountain-chains and the effects of continental elevations. [read march , .] geological society proc. ii. , pages - ; geological society transactions v. , pages - . [in the society's transactions the wording of the title is slightly different.] origin of saliferous deposits. salt lakes of patagonia and la plata. geological society journal ii. (part ii.), , pages - . note on a rock seen on an iceberg in deg south latitude. geographical society journal ix. , pages - . observations on the parallel roads of glen roy, and of other parts of lochaber in scotland, with an attempt to prove that they are of marine origin. phil. trans. , pages - . on a remarkable bar of sandstone off pernambuco, on the coast of brazil. phil. mag. xix. , pages - . on the distribution of the erratic boulders and on the contemporaneous unstratified deposits of south america. [ .] geological society proc. iii. , pages - ; geological society transactions vi. , pages - . notes on the effects produced by the ancient glaciers of caernarvonshire, and on the boulders transported by floating ice. london philosophical magazine volume xxi. page . . remarks on the preceding paper, in a letter from charles darwin, esq., to mr. maclaren. edinburgh new philosophical journal xxxiv. , pages - . [the "preceding" paper is: "on coral islands and reefs as described by mr. darwin. by charles maclaren, esq., f.r.s.e."] observations on the structure and propagation of the genus sagitta. annals and magazine of natural history xiii. , pages - . brief descriptions of several terrestrial planariae, and of some remarkable marine species, with an account of their habits. annals and magazine of natural history xiv. , pages - . an account of the fine dust which often falls on vessels in the atlantic ocean. geological society journal ii. , pages - . on the geology of the falkland islands. geological society journal ii. , pages - . a review of waterhouse's 'natural history of the mammalia.' [not signed.] annals and magazine of natural history . volume xix. page . on the transportal of erratic boulders from a lower to a higher level. geological society journal iv. , pages - . on british fossil lepadidae. geological society journal vi. , pages - . [the g.s.j. says "this paper was withdrawn by the author with the permission of the council."] analogy of the structure of some volcanic rocks with that of glaciers. edinburgh royal society proc. ii. , pages - . on the power of icebergs to make rectilinear, uniformly-directed grooves across a submarine undulatory surface. philosophical magazine x. , pages - . vitality of seeds. "gardeners' chronicle", november , , page . on the action of sea-water on the germination of seeds. [ .] linnean society journal i. ("botany"), pages - . on the agency of bees in the fertilisation of papilionaceous flowers. "gardeners' chronicle", page , . on the tendency of species to form varieties; and on the perpetuation of varieties and species by natural means of selection. by charles darwin, esq., f.r.s., f.l.s., and f.g.s., and alfred wallace, esq. [read july st, .] journal of the linnean society , volume iii. ("zoology"), page . special titles of charles darwin's contributions to the foregoing:-- i. extract from an unpublished work on species by charles darwin esq., consisting of a portion of a chapter entitled, "on the variation of organic beings in a state of nature; on the natural means of selection; on the comparison of domestic races and true species." ii. abstract of a letter from c. darwin, esq., to professor asa gray, of boston u.s., dated september , . on the agency of bees in the fertilisation of papilionaceous flowers, and on the crossing of kidney beans. "gardeners' chronicle", , page and annals of natural history rd series ii. , pages - . do the tineina or other small moths suck flowers, and if so what flowers? "entomological weekly intelligencer" volume viii. , page . note on the achenia of pumilio argyrolepis. "gardeners' chronicle", january , , page . fertilisation of vincas. "gardeners' chronicle", pages , , . . on the two forms, or dimorphic condition, in the species of primula, and on their remarkable sexual relations. linnean society journal vi. ("botany"), pages - . on the three remarkable sexual forms of catasetum tridentatum, an orchid in the possession of the linnean society. linnean society journal vi. ("botany"), pages - . yellow rain. "gardeners' chronicle", july , , page . on the thickness of the pampean formation near buenos ayres. geological society journal xix. , pages - . on the so-called "auditory-sac" of cirripedes. natural history review, , pages - . a review of mr. bates' paper on 'mimetic butterflies.' natural history review, , page -. [not signed.] on the existence of two forms, and on their reciprocal sexual relation, in several species of the genus linum. linnean society journal vii. ("botany"), pages - . on the sexual relations of the three forms of lythrum salicaria. [ .] linnean society journal viii. ("botany"), pages - . on the movement and habits of climbing plants. [ .] linnean society journal ix. ("botany"), pages - . note on the common broom (cytisus scoparius). [ .] linnean society journal ix. ("botany"), page . notes on the fertilization of orchids. annals and magazine of natural history, th series, iv. , pages - . on the character and hybrid-like nature of the offspring from the illegitimate unions of dimorphic and trimorphic plants. [ .] linnean society journal x. ("botany"), pages - . on the specific difference between primula veris, british fl. (var. officinalis, of linn.), p. vulgaris, british fl. (var. acaulis, linn.), and p. elatior, jacq.; and on the hybrid nature of the common oxlip. with supplementary remarks on naturally produced hybrids in the genus verbascum. [ .] linnean society journal x. ("botany"), pages - . note on the habits of the pampas woodpecker (colaptes campestris). zoological society proceedings november , , pages - . fertilisation of leschenaultia. "gardeners' chronicle", page , . the fertilisation of winter-flowering plants. 'nature,' november , , volume i. page . pangenesis. 'nature,' april , , volume iii. page . a new view of darwinism. 'nature,' july , , volume iv. page . bree on darwinism. 'nature,' august , , volume vi. page . inherited instinct. 'nature,' february , , volume vii. page . perception in the lower animals. 'nature,' march , , volume vii. page . origin of certain instincts. 'nature,' april , , volume vii. page . habits of ants. 'nature,' july , , volume viii. page . on the males and complemental males of certain cirripedes, and on rudimentary structures. 'nature,' september , , volume viii. page . recent researches on termites and honey-bees. 'nature,' february , , volume ix. page . fertilisation of the fumariaceae. 'nature,' april , , volume ix. page . flowers of the primrose destroyed by birds. 'nature,' april , , volume ix. page ; may , , volume x. page . cherry blossoms. 'nature,' may , , volume xiv. page . sexual selection in relation to monkeys. 'nature,' november , , volume xv. page . reprinted as a supplement to the 'descent of man,' .. fritz muller on flowers and insects. 'nature,' november , , volume xvii. page . the scarcity of holly berries and bees. "gardeners' chronicle", january , , page . note on fertilization of plants. "gardeners' chronicle", volume vii. page , . a biographical sketch of an infant. 'mind,' no. , july, . transplantation of shells. 'nature,' may , , volume xviii. page . fritz muller on a frog having eggs on its back--on the abortion of the hairs on the legs of certain caddis-flies, etc. 'nature,' march , , volume xix. page . rats and water-casks. 'nature,' march , , volume xix. page . fertility of hybrids from the common and chinese goose. 'nature,' january , , volume xxi. page . the sexual colours of certain butterflies. 'nature,' january , , volume xxi. page . the omori shell mounds. 'nature,' april , , volume xxi. page . sir wyville thomson and natural selection. 'nature,' november , , volume xxiii. page . black sheep. 'nature,' december , , volume xxiii. page . movements of plants. 'nature,' march , , volume xxiii. page . the movements of leaves. 'nature,' april , , volume xxiii. page . inheritance. 'nature,' july , , volume xxiv. page . leaves injured at night by free radiation. 'nature,' september , , volume xxiv. page . the parasitic habits of molothrus. 'nature,' november , , volume xxv. page . on the dispersal of freshwater bivalves. 'nature,' april , , volume xxv. page . the action of carbonate of ammonia on the roots of certain plants. [read march , .] linnean society journal ("botany"), volume xix. , pages - . the action of carbonate of ammonia on chlorophyll-bodies. [read march , .] linnean society journal ("botany"), volume xix. , pages - . on the modification of a race of syrian street-dogs by means of sexual selection. by w. van dyck. with a preliminary notice by charles darwin. [read april , .] proceedings of the zoological society , pages - . appendix iii. portraits. : water-colour by g. richmond in the possession of the family. : lithograph by ipswich british association series. : chalk drawing by samuel lawrence in the possession of the family. ?: chalk drawing (probably a sketch made at one of the sittings for the last mentioned.) by samuel lawrence in the possession of prof. hughes, cambridge. : bust, marble, by t. woolner, r.a. in the possession of the family. : oil painting (a replica by the artist is in the possession of christ's college, cambridge.) by w. ouless, r.a., etched by p. rajon, in the possession of the family. : oil painting by w.b. richmond in the possession of the university of cambridge. : oil painting (a replica by the artist is in the possession of w.e. darwin, esq., southampton.) by the hon. john collier, in the possession of the linnaean society, etched by leopold flameng. chief portraits and memorials not taken from life. statue by joseph boehm, r.a., in the possession of museum, south kensington. bust by chr. lehr, junr. plaque by t. woolner, r.a., and josiah wedgwood and sons in the possession of christ's college, in charles darwin's room. deep medallion by j. boehm, r.a. to be placed in westminster abbey. chief engravings from photographs. ?: by messrs. maull and fox, engraved on wood for 'harper's magazine' (october ). ?: by o.j. rejlander, engraved on steel by c.h. jeens for 'nature' (june , ). ?: by captain darwin, r.e., engraved on wood for the 'century magazine' (january ). frontispiece, volume i. (the dates of these photographs must, from various causes, remain uncertain. owing to a loss of books by fire, messrs. maull and fox can give only an approximate date. mr. rejlander died some years ago, and his business was broken up. my brother, captain darwin, has no record of the date at which his photograph was taken.) : by messrs. elliott and fry, engraved on wood by g. kruells, for the present work. appendix iv. honours, degrees, societies, etc. (the list has been compiled from the diplomas and letters in my father's possession, and is no doubt incomplete, as he seems to have lost or mislaid some of the papers received from foreign societies. where the name of a foreign society (excluding those in the united states) is given in english, it is a translation of the latin (or in one case russian) of the original diploma.) order.--prussian order, 'pour le merite.' . office.--county magistrate. . degrees. cambridge: b.a. [ ]. see volume i. m.a. . hon. ll.d. . breslau: hon. doctor in medicine and surgery. . bonn: hon. doctor in medicine and surgery. . leyden: hon. m.d. . societies.--london: zoological. corresponding member. . (he afterwards became a fellow of the society.) entomological. , original member. geological. . wollaston medal, . royal geographical. . royal. . royal medal, . copley medal, . linnean. . ethnological. . medico-chirurgical. hon. member. . baly medal of the royal college of physicians, . societies.--provincial, colonial, and indian. royal society of edinburgh, . royal medical society of edinburgh, . hon. member, . royal irish academy. hon. member, . literary and philosophical society of manchester. hon. member, . watford natural history society. hon. member, . asiatic society of bengal. hon. member, . royal society of new south wales. hon. member, . philosophical institute of canterbury, new zealand. hon. member, . new zealand institute. hon. member, . foreign societies.--america. sociedad cientifica argentina. hon. member, . academia nacional de ciencias, argentine republic. hon. member, . sociedad zoologica arjentina. hon. member, . boston society of natural history. hon. member, . american academy of arts and sciences (boston). foreign hon. member, . california academy of sciences. hon. member, . california state geological society. corresponding member, . franklin literary society, indiana. hon. member, . sociedad de naturalistas neo-granadinos. hon. member, . new york academy of sciences. hon. member, . gabinete portuguez de leitura em pernambuco. corresponding member, . academy of natural sciences of philadelphia. correspondent, . american philosophical society, philadelphia. member, . austria-hungary. imperial academy of sciences of vienna. foreign corresponding member, ; hon. foreign member, . anthropologische gesellschaft in wien. hon. member, . k. k. zoologisch-botanische gesellschaft in wien. member, . magyar tudomanyos akademia, pest, . belgium. societe royale des sciences medicales et naturelles de bruxelles. hon. member, . societie royale de botanique de belgique. 'membre associe,' . academie royale des sciences, etc., de belgique. 'associe de la classe des sciences.' . denmark. royal society of copenhagen. fellow, . france. societe d'anthropologie de paris. foreign member, . societe entomologique de france. hon. member, . societe geologique de france (life member), . institut de france. 'correspondant' section of botany, . germany. royal prussian academy of sciences (berlin). corresponding member, ; fellow, . berliner gesellschaft fur anthropologie, etc. corresponding member, . schlesische gesellschaft fur vaterlandische cultur (breslau). hon. member . caesarea leopoldino-carolina academia naturae curiosorum (dresden). . (the diploma contains the words "accipe... ex antiqua nostra consuetudine cognomen forster." it was formerly the custom in the "caesarea leopoldin-carolina academia", that each new member should receive as a 'cognomen,' a name celebrated in that branch of science to which he belonged. thus a physician might be christened boerhave, or an astronomer, kepler. my father seems to have been named after the traveller john reinhold forster.) senkenbergische naturforschende gesellschaft zu frankfurt am main. corresponding member, . naturforschende gesellschaft zu halle. member . siebenburgische verein fur naturwissenschaften (hermannstadt). hon. member, . medicinisch-naturwissenschaftliche gesellschaft zu jena. hon. member, . royal bavarian academy of literature and science (munich). foreign member, . holland. koninklijke natuurkundige vereeniging in nederlandsch-indie (batavia). corresponding member, . societe hollandaise des sciences a harlem. foreign member, . zeeuwsch genootschap der wetenschappen te middelburg. foreign member, . italy. societa geografica italiana (florence). . societa italiana di antropologia e di etnologia (florence). hon. member, . societa dei naturalisti in modena. hon. member, . academia de' lincei di roma. foreign member, . la scuola italica, academia pitagorica, reale ed imp. societa (rome). "presidente onoraria degli anziani pitagorici," . royal academy of turin. . "bressa" prize, . portugal. sociedade de geographia de lisboa (lisbon). corresponding member, . russia. society of naturalists of the imperial kazan university. hon. member, . societas caesarea naturae curiosorum (moscow). hon. member, . imperial academy of sciences (st. petersburg). corresponding member, . spain. institucion libre de ensenanza (madrid). hon. professor, . sweden. royal swedish academy of sciences (stockholm). foreign member, . royal society of sciences (upsala). fellow, . switzerland. societe des sciences naturelles de neuchatel. corresponding member, . index. abbot, f.e., letter to. academy of natural sciences (philadelphia) elects darwin a member. agassiz, alexander, letter to. agassiz, louis, darwin's estimate of. letters to. his attitude toward the 'origin of species.' reviews the 'origin of species.' aggregation, studied by darwin. 'almanack, the naturalists' pocket,' mentioned. andes, darwin crosses the. 'annals and magazine of natural history,' mentioned. anticipation of darwin's views. ants, observations on. appleton, d., & co., publish 'origin of species' in america. argyll, duke of, criticises the 'origin of species.' darwin's comments on his criticisms. darwin on his 'reign of law.' reviews the 'fertilisation of orchids.' aristotle, darwin's estimate of. arrangement of leaves on the stems of plants. 'athenaeum,' darwin on its review of the 'origin of species.' reports british association discussion. darwin's letters to, in his own defence. criticises darwin. australia, development of animals in. australian flora. austrian expedition. autobiography, extracts from. aveling, dr., on darwin's religious views. note. bain, alexander, letter to. balfour, francis m., darwin's estimate of. baly medal presented to darwin. baer, k.e. von, agrees with darwin. bastian, h.c., darwin on his 'beginnings of life.' bates, h.w., darwin on his insect fauna of the amazon valley. letters to. darwin on his mimetic variations of butterflies. bats. "beagle", voyage of. darwin offered an appointment to the. her equipments. object of her voyage. her crew. beetles, collecting. behrens, w., letter to. bell, t., describes darwin's reptiles. bell-stone of shrewsbury mentioned. belt, thomas, darwin on his 'naturalist in nicaragua.' bemmelen, a. van, letter to. bentham, george, his silence on natural selection. letter to francis darwin on his adoption of darwin's views. his view of natural selection. letters to. berkeley, rev. m.j., reviews the 'fertilisation of orchids.' berlin academy of sciences elects darwin corresponding member. bet made by darwin. blomefield (jenyns), rev. leonard, darwin becomes acquainted with. letters to. darwin on his 'observations in natural history.' bloom on leaves and fruit, darwin's work on. blyth, edward, mentioned. boole, mrs., her letter on natural selection and religion. letter to. boott, francis, mentioned. botany, darwin's work on, and its relation to natural selection. bowen, francis, reviews the 'origin of species.' brace, c.l., and wife, darwin on their philanthropic work. brazil, emperor of, wishes to meet darwin. bree, c.r., his work 'species not transmutable.' accuses wallace of blundering, and is answered by darwin. breeding, sources of information on. bressa prize presented to darwin. british association discusses the 'origin of species.' oxford meeting of, allegorized. belfast meeting. bronn, h.g., edits the 'origin of species' in german. letters to. criticisms on the 'origin of species.' brown, robert, mentioned. brunton, t. lauder, letter to. buckle, his system of collecting facts. darwin on his 'history of civilisation.' buckley, miss a.b., letters to. buffon, darwin on. bunbury, sir c., mentioned. butler, samuel, charges darwin of falsehood. butler, dr., his school at shrewsbury. button, jemmy, a visit to. cairns, j.e., his lecture on 'the slave power.' cam bridge, university of, makes darwin ll.d. obtains memorial portrait of him. cameron, mrs., makes a photograph of darwin. canary islands, projected trip to. candolle, alphonse de, letters to. his view of the 'origin of species.' darwin on his 'histoire des sciences et des savants.' carlyle, thomas, on erasmus a. darwin. his interesting talk. carpenter, w.b., letters to. reviews the 'origin of species.' his work on 'foraminifera.' carus, j. victor, letters to. caton, john d., letter to. chambers, r., darwin on his geological views. chance, not implied in evolution. chimney-sweeps, darwin's efforts for. cirripedia, monograph of the. nomenclature of. work on. the so-called auditory sac of. civil war in the united states. darwin on. clark, william, mentioned. clark, sir andrew, is darwin's physician. climate and migration. 'climbing plants,' written and published. work on. republished in book-form. coal, discussion on submarine. cohn, prof., describes a visit to darwin. colenso, bishop, his 'pentateuch and the book of joshua.' collecting, darwin on. butterflies. collier, john, paints darwin's portrait. colours of insects. continental extension, darwin's reasons against. continents, permanence of. cope, e.d., darwin on his theory of acceleration. copley medal presented to darwin. 'coral reefs,' at work upon. opinions on. criticised by semper. darwin's answer to semper. darwin on murray's criticisms of. second edition. crawford, john, reviews the 'origin of species.' creative power. 'creed of science,' read by darwin. cresy, e., letter to. crick, w.d., communicates to darwin a mode of dispersal of bivalve shells. cutting edges of books, darwin on. dana, prof., sends darwin 'geology of u.s. expedition.' dareste, camille, letter to. darwin family. darwin, annie, darwin's account of. death of. darwin, miss c., letter to. darwin, catherine, letters to. darwin, charles, studies medicine at edinburgh. young man of great promise. darwin, charles robert ( - ). table of relationship. ancestors. personal characteristics as traced from his forefathers. love and respect for his father's memory. his affection for his brother erasmus. autobiography. mother dies. taste for natural history. school-boy experiences. humane disposition toward animals. goes to dr. butler's school at shrewsbury. taste for long, solitary walks. inability to master a language. leaves school with strong and diversified tastes. fondness for poetry in early life. a wish to travel first roused by reading 'wonders of the world.' fondness for shooting. collects minerals and becomes interested in insects and birds. studies chemistry. goes to edinburgh university. and attends medical lectures. collects and dissects marine animals. attends meetings of the plinian royal medical and wernerian societies. attends lectures on geology and zoology. meets sir j. mackintosh. spends three years at cambridge studying for the ministry. phrenological characteristics. reads paley with delight. attends henslow's lectures on botany. his taste for pictures and music. his interest in entomology. friendship of prof. henslow and its influence upon his career. meets dr. whewell. reads humboldt's 'personal narrative' and herschel's 'introduction to the study of natural history.' begins the study of geology. field-work in north wales. voyage of the "beagle". receives a proposal to sail in the "beagle". starts for cambridge and thence to london. 'voyage of the "beagle" the most important event in my life.' sails in the "beagle". his letters read before the philosophical society of cambridge. returns to england. begins his 'journal of travels.' takes lodgings in london. begins preparing ms. for his 'geological observations.' arranges for publication of 'zoology of the voyage of the "beagle". opens first note-book of 'origin of species.' meets lyell and robert brown. marries. works on his 'coral reefs.' reads papers before geological society. acts as secretary of the geological society. residence at down. his absorption in science. his publications. 'geological observations' published. success of the 'journal of researches.' begins work on 'cirripedia.' visits to water-cure establishments. work on the 'origin of species.' reads 'malthus on population.' begins notes on 'variation of animals and plants under domestication.' becomes interested in cross-fertilisation of flowers. publishes papers on dimorphic and trimorphic plants. publishes 'descent of man.' first child born. publishes translation and sketch of 'life of erasmus darwin.' methods of work. mental qualities. fond of novel reading. a good observer. habits and personal appearance. ill health. fondness for dogs. correspondence. business habits. scientific reading. wide interest in science. journals of daily events. holidays. relation to his family and friends. his account of his little daughter annie. how he brought up his children. manner towards servants. as a host. modesty. not quick at argument. intercourse with strangers. use of simple methods and few instruments. perseverance. theorizing power. books used only as tools. use of note-books and portfolios. courteous tone toward his reader. illustration of his books. consideration for other authors. his wife's tender care. cambridge life. his character. intention of going into the church. appointment to the "beagle". the voyage. life at sea. views on slavery. excursion across the andes. meets sir j. herschel. reaches home. life at london and cambridge. residence at cambridge. works on his 'journal of researches.' appointed secretary of geological society. visits glen roy. admiration for lyell's 'elements.' increasing ill-health. at work on 'coral reefs.' his religious views. life at down, - . reasons for leaving london. early impressions of down. theory of coral islands. time spent on geological books. purchases farm in lincolnshire. dines with lord mahon. daughter annie dies. his children. growth of views on 'origin of species.' plan for publishing 'sketch of ,' in case of his sudden death. pigeon fancying enterprise. collecting plants. general acceptance of his work. publishes 'origin of species.' elected correspondent of the academy of natural sciences (philadelphia). his views on the civil war in the united states. at bournemouth. his view of lyell's 'antiquity of man.' receives the copley medal. elected to royal society of edinburgh. his conscientiousness in argument. his intercourse with horticulturists and stock-raisers. elected to the royal society of holland. made a knight of the prussian order pour le merite. sits for a bust. declines a nomination for the degree of d.c.l. because of ill-health. his connection with the south american missionary society. his answers to galton's questions on nature and nurture. sits for portrait to w. ouless. elected to physiological society. replies to miss cobbe on vivisection in the "times". publishes the 'life of erasmus darwin.' sits for memorial portraits. receives various honours. makes a present to the naples zoological station. his answers to galton's questions on the faculty of visualising. offers aid to fritz muller. replies to sir w. thomson on abyssal fauna. his botanical work. builds a greenhouse. publishes work on the fertilisation of orchids. studies the bloom on leaves and fruit. studies the causes of variability. studies the production of galls. studies aggregation. encourages torbitt's work on the potato disease. aids the preparation of the kew 'index of plant-names.' death. burial in westminster abbey. list of works. darwin & wallace's joint paper on variation. darwin, edward, author of 'gamekeeper's manual.' darwin, mrs. emma (wedgwood), letter to. darwin, erasmus (born ), poet and philosopher. character of. life published in english. darwin, erasmus (born ). darwin, erasmus alvey ( - ), educated as a physician. character of. carlyle's sketch of his character. miss wedgwood's letter on his character. letter from. his death. darwin, robert, of elston hall. charles darwin's estimate of. darwin, robert waring, (born ), publishes 'principia botanica.' darwin, robert waring, (born ), studies medicine at leyden. settles in shrewsbury. marries susannah wedgwood. his son charles's description of him. his six children. letters to. darwin, susan, letters to. darwin, william, of marton, first known ancestor of charles. darwin, william, son of richard, appointed yeoman of the royal armoury. darwin, william ( ). darwyn, richard, of marton, mentioned. davidson, thomas, letter to, asking him to investigate brachiopods. letter to. on british brachiopoda. de candolle, a., see candolle, a. de. descent, doctrine of. descent of animals. 'descent of man,' published. work on. reviews of. reception in germany. wallace's views on. second edition. connected with socialism. design in nature, doctrine of. diagrams of descent of mammals. 'different forms of flowers,' published. reviewed in 'nature.' digestion of plants, darwin's work on. distribution of animals. divergence of character, principle of. dogs, multiple origin of. dohrn, anton, letter to. donders, f.c., letters to. down, description of. drift near southampton, stones standing on end in. du bois-reymond agrees with darwin. dyck, w.t. van, letter to. dyer, w. thiselton, on darwin's botanical work. letters to. ear, human, infolded point of. earthquakes, paper read on. eaton, j., extract from his book on 'pigeons.' 'edinburgh review,' darwin's criticisms on. education, darwin on. 'effects of cross and self-fertilisation,' published. work on. electrical organs in fish. erratic boulders of south america, paper on, read. evolution, doctrine of, objections to, answered. not a doctrine of chance. and teleology. neither anti-theistic nor theistic. mental. expression, facial, origin of. 'expression of the emotions,' published. work on. reviews of. eyre, gov., darwin's views on the prosecution of. fabre, j.h., letter to. falconer, hugh, letters to. mentioned. letter to darwin. views on the origin of elephants. reclamation from lyell's 'antiquity of man.' farrer, f.w., letter to. farrer, sir thomas h., aids darwin's researches on earthworms. letters to. fawcett, henry, defends darwin's reasoning. 'fertilisation of orchids,' published. fiske, john, letter to. fisher, mrs., letters to. fitton, w.h., mentioned. fitz-roy, r.,captain of the "beagle". his character. meets darwin. letters to. his intention of resigning. flint instruments. flourens, p.,on the 'origin of species.' flowers, fertilisation of. forbes, david, praises darwin's work on chile. forbes, edward, his theory of change of level. fordyce, j.,letter to. forel, aug., letter to. 'formation of vegetable mould,' paper read on. published. work on. its reception. fox, william darwin, darwin's friendship with. letters to. france, institute of, elects darwin corresponding member. frauds, scientific. free-will, doctrine of. freke, dr., his 'origin of species by means of organic affinity.' feugians, darwin's impressions of. galapagos animals and plants. galls, production of, studied by darwin. galton, francis, mentioned. his questions on nature and nurture, and darwin's answers. his questions on the faculty of visualising, and darwin's answers. 'gardeners' chronicle,' darwin answers mr. westwood in. gaudry, a., letter to. geikie, archibald, his opinion of darwin's geological works. geikie, james, letter to. genera, varying of large. generation, spontaneous. geographical distribution. 'geological observations,' ms. begun. 'geological observations on volcanic islands' published. opinions on. second edition. 'geological observations on south america,' opinions on. geological record, imperfection of. succession in. geological society, darwin wishes to become a member. papers contributed to. geological specimens secured during voyage. disposed of. geological, importance of. of st. jago. article on, in 'admiralty manual.' darwin on the progress of. germany, progress of natural selection in. germination, experiments in. gilbert, j.h., letter to. glacial period, its effect on species. phenomena at cwm idwal. glaciers, paper on ancient, in wales. glen roy, darwin visits. 'observations' on, published. work criticised by d. milne. gourmet club and its members. government aid in publication of 'zoology of voyage of "beagle".' graham, w., letter to. gray, asa, his papers on natural selection and natural theology. letters to. letter to hooker on the 'origin of species.' on the 'origin of species.' reviews the 'fertilisation of orchids.' reviews the 'variation of animals and plants.' gray, j.e., mentioned. gunther, a., letters to. gurney, e., letter to. haast, sir julius von, letter to. haeckel, e., his views on the 'origin of species.' darwin's friendship with. his work for natural selection in germany. letters to. haliburton, mrs., letters to. harvey, w.h., criticises the 'origin of species.' haughton, rev. s., criticises darwin and wallace's joint paper. henslow, j.s., his friendship with darwin. his character. letter from. letters to. presides at the oxford discussion on the 'origin of species.' his views on natural selection. his death. herbert, john maurice, darwin's friendship with. letters to. herschel, sir j., darwin's opinion of. meets darwin. heterogeny, darwin on. higginson, t.w., letter to. hildebrand, f., letters to. hippocrates anticipates darwin on pangenesis. holmgren, frithiof, letter to. holland, royal society of, elects darwin a member. holland, sir henry, his view of the 'origin of species.' homoeopathy, darwin's estimate of. honours conferred on darwin, list of. hooker, sir joseph d., darwin's friendship for. letters to. letter from. his reminiscences of darwin. on the 'origin of species.' darwin on his 'australian flora.' answers harvey. memorial on his treatment by the first commissioner of works. reviews the 'fertilisation of orchids.' hooker, sir william, mentioned. hopkins, william, reviews the 'origin of species.' hudson, darwin's reply to. humboldt, darwin's estimate of. hutton, f.w., reviews the 'origin of species.' huxley, thomas henry, mentioned. his opinion of darwin's work on 'cirripedes.' on the 'vestiges of creation.' on the 'philosophie zoologique.' on the 'principles of geology.' on the reception of the 'origin of species.' letters to. on the 'origin of species.' reviews the 'origin of species' in 'westminster review.' defends darwin before the british association. contradicts r. owen. letter from. lectures to workingmen on natural selection. asked by darwin to write a text-book on zoology. replies to the 'quarterly' reviewer on the 'descent of man.' hyatt, alpheus, letter to, on his theory of acceleration. hybrid geese, fertility of. hybridism. immortality, darwin's views upon. 'infant, biographical sketch of an.' inferiority inherited by the forms which are beaten. innes, rev. j. brodie, on darwin's interest in village affairs. on the 'origin of species' and the bible. on darwin's conscientiousness. letter to. 'insectivorous plants,' published. work on. insects, instinct of. as carriers of pollen. instinct, darwin on. islands, animals of. isolation, effect of, on the origin of species. jardine, sir w., mentioned. jeffreys, gwyn, mentioned. jenkins, fleeming, reviews the 'origin of species.' darwin on his criticisms. jenyns (blomefield), rev. leonard, mentioned. letters to. letter from. his 'observations in natural history.' jones, dr. bence, is darwin's physician. 'journal of researches,' work on. lyell's opinion of. the german translation and its reception. second edition published. dedication of. condemned in manuscript. judd, prof., his paper on 'volcanoes of the hebrides.' on darwin's desire to promote the progress of science. jukes, joseph b., mentioned. kew, 'index of plant names.' kingsley, rev c., letter from, on the 'origin of species.' koch's researches on splenic fever. darwin on. kolliker, prof., is reviewed by huxley. krause, ernst, criticises bronn's german edition of the 'origin of species.' his essay on erasmus darwin published. krohn, aug., finds mistakes in the 'origin of species.' lamarck's discussion of the species question, its insufficiency. darwin on. lane, dr., his recollections of darwin. langel reviews the 'origin of species.' lankester, e. ray, letter to. lansdowne, marquis of, anecdote of. lee, samuel, mentioned. lesquereux, leo, accepts the doctrine of natural selection. lewes, g.h., reviews the 'variation of animals and plants.' lindley, john, mentioned. linnean society obtains memorial portrait of darwin. litchfield, mrs., on darwin's style. letter to. lizards. lonsdale, william, mentioned. lowell, j.a., reviews the 'origin of species.' lubbock, sir john, letters to. on the burial of darwin. lyell, sir charles, estimate of his character as a geologist. letters to. letters from. opinion of 'coral reefs.' his views of the 'origin of species.' on the origin of species by natural causes. admission of the doctrine of natural selection. darwin on his 'antiquity of man.' falconer's reclamation from his 'antiquity of man.' darwin on his 'elements of geology.' his death. darwin's opinion of. macaulay and his memory. mcdonnell, r., his study of electrical organs in fish. mackintosh, d., his work on erratic blocks. macleay, w.s., mentioned. madeira and bermuda birds not peculiar. malay archipelago,' wallace's 'zoological geography of. mammals, descent of, from a single type. man, all races of, descended from one type. antiquity of. origin of. relationship to apes. marriages, consanguineous. marsh, o.c., letter to. masters, maxwell, letter to. matthew, patrick, anticipates the doctrine of natural selection. maw, george, reviews the 'origin of species.' medal of royal society awarded to darwin. megatherium sent down from heaven. mesmerism, darwin's estimate of. milne, d., criticises glen roy paper. mimetic modifications in plants. mivart, st. g., darwin on his 'genesis of species.' his 'genesis of species' reviewed by chauncey wright. criticised by huxley. his 'lessons from nature' reviewed in the 'academy.' modification. modifications, absence of. moggridge, j.t., letter to. mojsisovic, e. von, darwin on 'dolomit riffe.' monads, persistence of. monsters. monstrosities are sterile. morse, e.s., letter to. moseley, h.n., letters to. muller, fritz, letters to. his 'fur darwin' translated. receives offer of aid from darwin. muller, hermann, letters to. muller, max, his 'lectures on the science of language.' murray, andrew, quoted on the 'origin of species.' murray, john, letters to. music of insects. mutability of species. nageli, c., his 'entstehung und begriff der naturhistorischen art.' letter to. naples zoological station receives a present from darwin. natural history, darwin's passion for. natural selection, see selection, natural. naudin, darwin on. neumayr, melchior, letter to. nevill, lady dorothy, letter to. newton, a., letter to. reviews the 'variation of animals and plants.' new zealand, animals of. plants of. nobility, natural selection among. nomenclature of species, discussion on. norman, e., darwin's secretary. novara expedition. 'observations on parallel roads of glen roy,' published. extract from. ogle, william, letter to. 'orchids, fertilisation of,' work on. published. reviews of. second edition published. 'orchis bank' described. organs, rudimentary. 'origin of species,' first note-book of, opened. growth of the. published. its success. second edition. darwin's change of views upon. description of sketch of . huxley's view of sketch of . prof. newton's view of same. the writing of. abstract book. unorthodoxy of. faults of style. lyell on. huxley on. bishop wilberforce on. huxley's summary of reviews of. answer to lyell on. h.c. watson on. jos. d. hooker on. french translation proposed. first german edition. reviewed in the "times". first american edition. asa gray on. kingsley on. and the bible. rev. j. brodie innes on. reviewed in the 'edinburgh review.' reviewed in the 'north american review.' reviewed in the 'revue des deux mondes.' reviewed in the "new york times". reviewed in the "christian examiner". discussed by the british association. reviewed in 'quarterly review.' reviewed in the 'london review.' reviewed in the 'american journal of science and arts. bronn's criticisms of. reviewed in the 'memoirs of the american academy of arts and sciences.' answers to criticisms on. third edition. 'historical sketch of the recent progress of opinion on the.' dutch edition. first french edition. reviewed in the 'geologist.' reviewed in the 'dublin hospital gazette.' reviewed in the 'zoologist.' de candolle's view of. haeckel's view of. gen. sabine on. flourens on. second french edition. criticised by the duke of argyll. fourth edition. third german edition. russian editions of. fifth edition. reviewed in the 'north british review.' reviewed in the 'athenaeum.' third and fourth french editions. sixth edition. criticised by pusey. 'coming of age of.' ostrich, darwin discovers a new species of. ouless, w., paints darwin's portrait. owen, sir r., criticises darwin's theory. contradicted by huxley. his views on variation by descent. paley's argument of design in nature no longer good. his 'natural theology' mentioned. pampaean formation, darwin on. pangenesis, hypothesis of. opinions on. anticipated by hippocrates. parker, henry, defends the 'fertilisation of orchids.' parsons, theophilus, reviews the 'origin of species.' peacock, george, letter on appointment of naturalist to "beagle". letter from, appointing darwin to "beagle". pengelly, william, mentioned. perthes, boucher de, darwin on. petrels as agents of distribution. phillips, john, mentioned. philosophical club, its nature. 'philosophie zoologique,' huxley on. photographs, albums of, presented to darwin by german and dutch scientists. physiological society elects darwin an honorary member. pictet, francois jules, reviews the 'origin of species.' pigeons, darwin's interest in. plants, fossil. sexuality of. a recent discovery. platysma, contraction of, from shuddering. portraits of darwin, list of. potato disease, torbitt's experiments on. pour le merite, darwin admitted to order. pouter pigeon, variation in. 'power of movement in plants,' published. work on. prestwich, j., letter to. preyer, w., letter to. primogeniture, law of, darwin on. 'principles of geology,' huxley on. priority, nomenclature of species by. progression, necessary. protection, modification for. pusey's criticisms of the 'origin of species.' 'quarterly review,' recognises merits of 'journal of researches.' quatrefages, j.l.a. de, letters to. religious views of darwin, difficulties not created by science. reminiscences of darwin by hooker. revelation, darwin's disbelief in. reversion, darwin on. reymond, du bois-, letter to. richmond, w.b., paints darwin's portrait. ridley, c., letter to. rivers, t., letter to. robertson, g. croom, letter to. robertson, john, reviews the 'origin of species.' rodwell, rev. j.m., letter to. rolleston, george, his 'canons.' roman catholic church on evolution. romanes, g.j., on darwin's conscientiousness. letters to. royal college of physicians presents the baly medal to darwin. royal society of edinburgh elects darwin honorary member. royer, mlle. clemence, translates the 'origin of species.' publishes third french edition. rudimentary organs. sabine, gen., on the 'origin of species.' salter, j.w., his diagram of spirifers. 'sand-walk' described. sanderson, j. burdon, letter to. saporta, marquis de, letter to. schaaffhausen, h., claims to anticipate darwin. scott, john, darwin's estimate of. sedgwick, rev. adam, mentioned. on the 'origin of species.' his review of the 'origin of species.' criticises the 'origin of species.' on the imperfection of the geological record. seeds, vitality of. selection, natural, doctrine of, clearly conceived by darwin about . opposed to doctrine of design. effect of, on the scientific mind. and religion. small effects of, in changing species. among the nobility. huxley's lectures to workingmen on. progress of. darwin anticipated on. use of the term. effect on sterility. progress among the clergy. progress of, in germany. progress of, in france. selection, sexual, instance of, in the dogs of beyrout. semper, k., letters to. shelburne, lord, anecdote of. slavery, darwin's opinion of. in the united states. smith, sydney, inexplicably amusing. socialism and the descent of man. societies, learned, darwin's membership in. south american missionary society, darwin's connection with. species, mutability of. origin of, effect of isolation on. specific centres. spencer, herbert, letters to. prof. huxley's friendship with. darwin on. originates the term 'survival of the fittest.' his impression of 'pangenesis.' spiritism, darwin on. spontaneity, bain's theory of. sprengel, c.c., his work on the fertilisation of flowers. stanhope, lord, his parties of historians. stebbing, rev. t.r.r., letter to. stendel's 'nomenclator.' sterility, effect of natural selection on. of moths. stokes, admiral, lord, extract from letter of. stones standing on end in the southampton drift. strickland, hugh, letters to. letter from. striped horses. struggle for life. style of darwin. sublimity, where felt most by darwin. sulivan, b.j., letter to. sulivan, admiral sir james, extract from letter of. survival of the fittest, use of the term. tegetmeier, w.b., extract from letter to. teleology, evolution and. darwin's revival of. teneriffe, projected trip to. thiel, h., letter to. thomson, thomas, mentioned. thomson, sir wyville, on abyssal fauna. thorley, miss, botanical work with. thwaites, g.j.k., mentioned. tierra del fuego mission, darwin's connection with. "times", its review of the 'origin of species.' darwin on. torbitt, james, his work on the potato disease. turin, royal academy of, presents darwin the bressa prize. tylor, e.b., letter to. tyndall, john, praises the 'origin of species.' usborne, a.b., extract from a letter of. van dyck, w.t., letter to. variations in species, wallace's essay on. darwin and wallace's joint paper on. sudden. governed by design. cause of. mimetic, of butterflies. governed by design. mimetic, of plants. in colours of insects. transmission of. analogical. darwin studies the causes of. 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' work on. publication of. reviewed in the "nation". russian edition. second edition. reviewed in the "pall mall gazette". reviewed in the "gardeners' chronicle". reviewed in the "athenaeum". reviewed in the 'zoological record.' american edition. varieties, production of. and species, collecting facts about. 'vestiges of creation' read by darwin. huxley on. vines, s.h., letter to. virchow connects the descent of man with socialism. visualising, questions and answers on the faculty of. vivisection. wagner, moritz, criticised by a. weismann. letters to. wagner, r., mentioned. wallace, a.r., sends essay to darwin. letters to. essay on variation. his 'zoological geography.' reviews the 'descent of man.' reviews mivart's 'lessons from nature.' pension granted to. defends the 'fertilisation of orchids.' watkins, archdeacon, reminiscence of darwin. letter to. watson, h.c., mentioned. on the 'origin of species.' wedgwood, josiah, his character. mentioned. letter from. wedgwood, miss julia, on erasmus darwin, in "spectator". letter to. weismann, august, letters to. wells, dr., anticipates darwin on natural selection. westminster abbey, darwin buried in. whewell, dr., mentioned. on the succession of species. whitley, c., letter to. wiesner, julius, letter to. wilberforce, bishop, criticises the 'origin of species.' william iv, coronation of. woodpecker, pampas, darwin on. woolner, t., makes a bust of darwin. discovers infolded point of the human ear. wollaston medal. wollaston's 'insecta maderensia.' his 'variation of species' referred to. works by darwin, list of. wright, chauncey, letter from. letters to. on his visit to darwin at down. yarrell, william, mentioned. zoological society, darwin visits. reads a paper at. 'zoology of the voyage of h.m.s. "beagle",' arrangement for publication. none none a naturalist's voyage round the world by charles darwin first edition...may . second edition...may . third edition...february . fourth edition...july . fifth edition...march . sixth edition...january . seventh edition...may . eighth edition...february . ninth edition...august . tenth edition...january . eleventh edition...january . reprinted...june . (frontispiece. h.m.s. beagle in straits of magellan. mt. sarmiento in the distance.) journal of researches into the natural history and geology of the countries visited during the voyage round the world of h.m.s. 'beagle' under the command of captain fitz roy, r.n. by charles darwin, m.a., f.r.s. author of 'origin of species,' etc. (plate . h.m.s. beagle under full sail, view from astern.) a new edition with illustrations by r.t. pritchett of places visited and objects described. london john murray, albemarle street . to charles lyell, esq., f.r.s., this second edition is dedicated with grateful pleasure, as an acknowledgment that the chief part of whatever scientific merit this journal and the other works of the author may possess, has been derived from studying the well-known and admirable principles of geology. prefatory notice to the illustrated edition. this work was described, on its first appearance, by a writer in the "quarterly review" as "one of the most interesting narratives of voyaging that it has fallen to our lot to take up, and one which must always occupy a distinguished place in the history of scientific navigation." this prophecy has been amply verified by experience; the extraordinary minuteness and accuracy of mr. darwin's observations, combined with the charm and simplicity of his descriptions, have ensured the popularity of this book with all classes of readers--and that popularity has even increased in recent years. no attempt, however, has hitherto been made to produce an illustrated edition of this valuable work: numberless places and objects are mentioned and described, but the difficulty of obtaining authentic and original representations of them drawn for the purpose has never been overcome until now. most of the views given in this work are from sketches made on the spot by mr. pritchett, with mr. darwin's book by his side. some few of the others are taken from engravings which mr. darwin had himself selected for their interest as illustrating his voyage, and which have been kindly lent by his son. mr. pritchett's name is well known in connection with the voyages of the "sunbeam" and "wanderer," and it is believed that the illustrations, which have been chosen and verified with the utmost care and pains, will greatly add to the value and interest of the "voyage of a naturalist." john murray. december . author's preface. i have stated in the preface to the first edition of this work, and in the "zoology of the voyage of the beagle," that it was in consequence of a wish expressed by captain fitz roy, of having some scientific person on board, accompanied by an offer from him of giving up part of his own accommodations, that i volunteered my services, which received, through the kindness of the hydrographer, captain beaufort, the sanction of the lords of the admiralty. as i feel that the opportunities which i enjoyed of studying the natural history of the different countries we visited have been wholly due to captain fitz roy, i hope i may here be permitted to repeat my expression of gratitude to him; and to add that, during the five years we were together, i received from him the most cordial friendship and steady assistance. both to captain fitz roy and to all the officers of the "beagle" i shall ever feel most thankful for the undeviating kindness with which i was treated during our long voyage. (preface/ . i must take this opportunity of returning my sincere thanks to mr. bynoe, the surgeon of the "beagle," for his very kind attention to me when i was ill at valparaiso.) this volume contains, in the form of a journal, a history of our voyage, and a sketch of those observations in natural history and geology, which i think will possess some interest for the general reader. i have in this edition largely condensed and corrected some parts, and have added a little to others, in order to render the volume more fitted for popular reading; but i trust that naturalists will remember that they must refer for details to the larger publications which comprise the scientific results of the expedition. the "zoology of the voyage of the 'beagle'" includes an account of the fossil mammalia, by professor owen; of the living mammalia, by mr. waterhouse; of the birds, by mr. gould; of the fish, by the reverend l. jenyns; and of the reptiles, by mr. bell. i have appended to the descriptions of each species an account of its habits and range. these works, which i owe to the high talents and disinterested zeal of the above distinguished authors, could not have been undertaken had it not been for the liberality of the lords commissioners of her majesty's treasury, who, through the representation of the right honourable the chancellor of the exchequer, have been pleased to grant a sum of one thousand pounds towards defraying part of the expenses of publication. i have myself published separate volumes on the "structure and distribution of coral reefs"; on the "volcanic islands visited during the voyage of the 'beagle'"; and on the "geology of south america." the sixth volume of the "geological transactions" contains two papers of mine on the erratic boulders and volcanic phenomena of south america. messrs. waterhouse, walker, newman, and white, have published several able papers on the insects which were collected, and i trust that many others will hereafter follow. the plants from the southern parts of america will be given by dr. j. hooker, in his great work on the botany of the southern hemisphere. the flora of the galapagos archipelago is the subject of a separate memoir by him, in the "linnean transactions." the reverend professor henslow has published a list of the plants collected by me at the keeling islands; and the reverend j.m. berkeley has described my cryptogamic plants. i shall have the pleasure of acknowledging the great assistance which i have received from several other naturalists in the course of this and my other works; but i must be here allowed to return my most sincere thanks to the reverend professor henslow, who, when i was an undergraduate at cambridge, was one chief means of giving me a taste for natural history,--who, during my absence, took charge of the collections i sent home, and by his correspondence directed my endeavours,--and who, since my return, has constantly rendered me every assistance which the kindest friend could offer. down, bromley, kent, june . contents. chapter i. porto praya--ribeira grande--atmospheric dust with infusoria --habits of a sea-slug and cuttle-fish--st. paul's rocks, non-volcanic--singular incrustations--insects the first colonists of islands--fernando noronha--bahia--burnished rocks--habits of a diodon--pelagic confervae and infusoria-- causes of discoloured sea. chapter ii. rio de janeiro--excursion north of cape frio--great evaporation--slavery--botofogo bay--terrestrial planariae --clouds on the corcovado--heavy rain--musical frogs-- phosphorescent insects--elater, springing powers of--blue haze--noise made by a butterfly--entomology--ants--wasp killing a spider--parasitical spider--artifices of an epeira --gregarious spider--spider with an unsymmetrical web. chapter iii. monte video--maldonado--excursion to r. polanco--lazo and bolas--partridges--absence of trees--deer--capybara, or river hog--tucutuco--molothrus, cuckoo-like habits-- tyrant-flycatcher--mocking-bird--carrion hawks--tubes formed by lightning--house struck. chapter iv. rio negro--estancias attacked by the indians--salt-lakes-- flamingoes--r. negro to r. colorado--sacred tree-- patagonian hare--indian families--general rosas--proceed to bahia blanca--sand dunes--negro lieutenant--bahia blanca-- saline incrustations--punta alta--zorillo. chapter v. bahia blanca--geology--numerous gigantic extinct quadrupeds --recent extinction--longevity of species--large animals do not require a luxuriant vegetation--southern africa--siberian fossils--two species of ostrich--habits of oven-bird-- armadilloes--venomous snake, toad, lizard--hybernation of animals--habits of sea-pen--indian wars and massacres-- arrowhead--antiquarian relic. chapter vi. set out for buenos ayres--rio sauce--sierra ventana--third posta--driving horses--bolas--partridges and foxes-- features of the country--long-legged plover--teru-tero-- hail-storm--natural enclosures in the sierra tapalguen--flesh of puma--meat diet--guardia del monte--effects of cattle on the vegetation--cardoon--buenos ayres--corral where cattle are slaughtered. chapter vii. excursion to st. fé--thistle beds--habits of the bizcacha-- little owl--saline streams--level plains--mastodon--st. fé--change in landscape--geology--tooth of extinct horse-- relation of the fossil and recent quadrupeds of north and south america--effects of a great drought--parana--habits of the jaguar--scissor-beak--kingfisher, parrot, and scissor-tail-- revolution--buenos ayres--state of government. chapter viii. excursion to colonia del sacramiento--value of an estancia-- cattle, how counted--singular breed of oxen--perforated pebbles--shepherd-dogs--horses broken-in, gauchos riding-- character of inhabitants--rio plata--flocks of butterflies-- aeronaut spiders--phosphorescence of the sea--port desire-- guanaco--port st. julian--geology of patagonia--fossil gigantic animal--types of organisation constant--change in the zoology of america--causes of extinction. chapter ix. santa cruz--expedition up the river--indians--immense streams of basaltic lava--fragments not transported by the river--excavation of the valley--condor, habits of-- cordillera--erratic boulders of great size--indian relics-- return to the ship--falkland islands--wild horses, cattle, rabbits--wolf-like fox--fire made of bones--manner of hunting wild cattle--geology--streams of stones--scenes of violence--penguin--geese--eggs of doris--compound animals. chapter x. tierra del fuego, first arrival--good success bay--an account of the fuegians on board--interview with the savages--scenery of the forests--cape horn--wigwam cove--miserable condition of the savages--famines--cannibals--matricide--religious feelings--great gale--beagle channel--ponsonby sound-- build wigwams and settle the fuegians--bifurcation of the beagle channel--glaciers--return to the ship--second visit in the ship to the settlement--equality of condition amongst the natives. chapter xi. strait of magellan--port famine--ascent of mount tarn-- forests--edible fungus--zoology--great seaweed--leave tierra del fuego--climate--fruit-trees and productions of the southern coasts--height of snow-line on the cordillera-- descent of glaciers to the sea--icebergs formed--transportal of boulders--climate and productions of the antarctic islands --preservation of frozen carcasses--recapitulation. chapter xii. valparaiso--excursion to the foot of the andes--structure of the land--ascend the bell of quillota--shattered masses of greenstone--immense valleys--mines--state of miners-- santiago--hot-baths of cauquenes--gold-mines-- grinding-mills--perforated stones--habits of the puma--el turco and tapacolo--humming-birds. chapter xiii. chiloe--general aspect--boat excursion--native indians-- castro--tame fox--ascend san pedro--chonos archipelago-- peninsula of tres montes--granitic range--boat-wrecked sailors--low's harbour--wild potato--formation of peat-- myopotamus, otter and mice--cheucau and barking-bird-- opetiorhynchus--singular character of ornithology--petrels. chapter xiv. san carlos, chiloe--osorno in eruption, contemporaneously with aconcagua and coseguina--ride to cucao--impenetrable forests --valdivia--indians--earthquake--concepcion--great earthquake--rocks fissured--appearance of the former towns-- the sea black and boiling--direction of the vibrations-- stones twisted round--great wave--permanent elevation of the land--area of volcanic phenomena--the connection between the elevatory and eruptive forces--cause of earthquakes--slow elevation of mountain-chains. chapter xv. valparaiso--portillo pass--sagacity of mules-- mountain-torrents--mines, how discovered--proofs of the gradual elevation of the cordillera--effect of snow on rocks-- geological structure of the two main ranges, their distinct origin and upheaval--great subsidence--red snow--winds-- pinnacles of snow--dry and clear atmosphere--electricity-- pampas--zoology of the opposite sides of the andes--locusts --great bugs--mendoza--uspallata pass--silicified trees buried as they grew--incas bridge--badness of the passes exaggerated--cumbre--casuchas--valparaiso. chapter xvi. coast-road to coquimbo--great loads carried by the miners-- coquimbo--earthquake--step-formed terraces--absence of recent deposits--contemporaneousness of the tertiary formations --excursion up the valley--road to guasco--deserts--valley of copiapó--rain and earthquakes--hydrophobia--the despoblado--indian ruins--probable change of climate-- river-bed arched by an earthquake--cold gales of wind--noises from a hill--iquique--salt alluvium--nitrate of soda-- lima--unhealthy country--ruins of callao, overthrown by an earthquake--recent subsidence--elevated shells on san lorenzo, their decomposition--plain with embedded shells and fragments of pottery--antiquity of the indian race. chapter xvii. galapagos archipelago--the whole group volcanic--number of craters--leafless bushes--colony at charles island--james island--salt-lake in crater--natural history of the group-- ornithology, curious finches--reptiles--great tortoises, habits of--marine lizard, feeds on seaweed--terrestrial lizard, burrowing habits, herbivorous--importance of reptiles in the archipelago--fish, shells, insects--botany--american type of organisation--differences in the species or races on different islands--tameness of the birds--fear of man an acquired instinct. chapter xviii. pass through the low archipelago--tahiti--aspect-- vegetation on the mountains--view of eimeo--excursion into the interior--profound ravines--succession of waterfalls-- number of wild useful plants--temperance of the inhabitants-- their moral state--parliament convened--new zealand--bay of islands--hippahs--excursion to waimate--missionary establishment--english weeds now run wild--waiomio--funeral of a new zealand woman--sail for australia. chapter xix. sydney--excursion to bathurst--aspect of the woods--party of natives--gradual extinction of the aborigines--infection generated by associated men in health--blue mountains--view of the grand gulf-like valleys--their origin and formation-- bathurst, general civility of the lower orders--state of society--van diemen's land--hobart town--aborigines all banished--mount wellington--king george's sound--cheerless aspect of the country--bald head, calcareous casts of branches of trees--party of natives--leave australia. chapter xx. keeling island--singular appearance--scanty flora-- transport of seeds--birds and insects--ebbing and flowing springs--fields of dead coral--stones transported in the roots of trees--great crab--stinging corals--coral-eating fish--coral formations--lagoon islands or atolls--depth at which reef-building corals can live--vast areas interspersed with low coral islands--subsidence of their foundations-- barrier-reefs--fringing-reefs--conversion of fringing-reefs into barrier-reefs, and into atolls--evidence of changes in level--breaches in barrier-reefs--maldiva atolls, their peculiar structure--dead and submerged reefs--areas of subsidence and elevation--distribution of volcanoes-- subsidence slow and vast in amount. chapter xxi. mauritius, beautiful appearance of--great crateriform ring of mountains--hindoos--st. helena--history of the changes in the vegetation--cause of the extinction of land-shells-- ascension--variation in the imported rats--volcanic bombs-- beds of infusoria--bahia, brazil--splendour of tropical scenery--pernambuco--singular reefs--slavery--return to england--retrospect on our voyage. index. ..... list of illustrations. frontispiece. h.m.s. "beagle" in straits of magellan. mt. sarmiento in the distance. plate . h.m.s. "beagle" under full sail, view from astern. plate . h.m.s. "beagle": middle section fore and aft, upper deck, . plate . fernando noronha. plate . incrustation of shelly sand. plate . diodon maculatus (distended and contracted). plate . pelagic confervae. plate . catamaran (bahia). plate . botofogo bay, rio de janeiro. plate . vampire bat (desmodus d'orbigny). plate . virgin forest. plate . cabbage palm. plate . mandioca or cassava. plate . rio de janeiro. plate . darwin's papilio feronia, , now called ageronia feronia, . plate . hydrochaerus capybara or water-hog. plate . recado or surcingle of gaucho. plate . halt at a pulperia on the pampas. plate . el carmen, or patagones, rio negro. plate . brazilian whips, hobbles, and spurs. plate . bringing in a prisoner. plate . irregular troops. plate . skinning uji or water serpents. plate . rhea darwinii (avestruz petise). plate . landing at buenos ayres. plate . mat� pots and bambillio. plate . giant thistle of pampas. plate . cynara cardunculus or cardoon. plate . evening camp, buenos ayres. plate . rozario. plate . parana river. plate . toxodon platensis. (found at saladillo.) plate . fossil tooth of horse. (from bahia blanca.) plate . mylodon. plate . head of scissor-beak. plate . rhynchops nigra, or scissor-beak. plate . buenos ayres bullock-waggons. plate . fuegians and wigwams. plate . opuntia darwinii. plate . raised beaches, patagonia. plate . ladies' combs, banda oriental. plate . condor (sarcorhamphus gryphus). plate . basaltic glen, santa cruz. plate . berkeley sound, falkland islands. plate . york minster (bearing south degrees east.) plate . cape horn. plate . cape horn (another view). plate . bad weather, magellan straits. plate . fuegian basket and bone weapons. plate . false horn, cape horn. plate . wollaston island, tierra del fuego. plate . patagonians from cape gregory. plate . port famine, magellan. plate . patagonian bolas. plate . patagonian spurs and pipe. plate . cyttaria darwinii. plate . eyre sound. plate . glacier in gulf of penas. plate . flora of magellan. plate . macrocystis pyrifera, or magellan kelp. plate . trochilus forficatus. plate . hacienda, condor, cactus, etc. plate . chilian miner. plate . cactus (cereus peruviana). plate . cordilleras from santiago de chile. plate . chilian spurs, stirrup, etc. plate . old church, castro, chiloe. plate . inside chonos archipelago. plate . gunnera scabra, chiloe. plate . antuco volcano, near talcahuano. plate . panoramic view of coast, chiloe. plate . inside island of chiloe. san carlos. plate . hide bridge, santiago de chile. plate . chilenos. plate . south american bit. plate . bridge of the incas, uspallata pass. plate . lima and san lorenzo. plate . coquimbo, chile. plate . huacas, peruvian pottery. plate . testudo abingdonii, galapagos islands. plate . galapagos archipelago. plate . finches from galapagos archipelago. plate . amblyrhynchus cristatus. plate . opuntia galapageia. plate . ava or kava (macropiper methysticum), tahiti. plate . eimeo and barrier-reef. plate . fatahua fall, tahiti. plate . tahitian. plate . hippah, new zealand. plate . sydney, . plate . hobart town and mount wellington. plate . australian group of weapons and throwing sticks. plate . inside an atoll, keeling island. plate . whitsunday island. plate . barrier-reef, bolabola. plate . sections of barrier-reefs. plate . section of coral-reef. plate . section of coral-reef. plate . bolabola island. plate . corals. plate . birgos latro, keeling island. plate . st. louis, mauritius. plate . st. helena. plate . cellular formation of volcanic bomb. plate . cicada homoptera. plate . homeward bound. plate . ascension. terns and noddies. plate . map of south america. plate . map of the world, showing the track of h.m.s. "beagle." ... (plate . h.m.s. "beagle": middle section fore and aft, upper deck, .) (plate . fernando noronha.) journal. chapter i. porto praya. ribeira grande. atmospheric dust with infusoria. habits of a sea-slug and cuttle-fish. st. paul's rocks, non-volcanic. singular incrustations. insects the first colonists of islands. fernando noronha. bahia. burnished rocks. habits of a diodon. pelagic confervae and infusoria. causes of discoloured sea. st. jago--cape de verd islands. after having been twice driven back by heavy south-western gales, her majesty's ship "beagle," a ten-gun brig, under the command of captain fitz roy, r.n., sailed from devonport on the th of december, . the object of the expedition was to complete the survey of patagonia and tierra del fuego, commenced under captain king in to --to survey the shores of chile, peru, and of some islands in the pacific--and to carry a chain of chronometrical measurements round the world. on the th of january we reached teneriffe, but were prevented landing, by fears of our bringing the cholera: the next morning we saw the sun rise behind the rugged outline of the grand canary island, and suddenly illumine the peak of teneriffe, whilst the lower parts were veiled in fleecy clouds. this was the first of many delightful days never to be forgotten. on the th of january we anchored at porto praya, in st. jago, the chief island of the cape de verd archipelago. the neighbourhood of porto praya, viewed from the sea, wears a desolate aspect. the volcanic fires of a past age, and the scorching heat of a tropical sun, have in most places rendered the soil unfit for vegetation. the country rises in successive steps of table-land, interspersed with some truncate conical hills, and the horizon is bounded by an irregular chain of more lofty mountains. the scene, as beheld through the hazy atmosphere of this climate, is one of great interest; if, indeed, a person, fresh from sea, and who has just walked, for the first time, in a grove of cocoa-nut trees, can be a judge of anything but his own happiness. the island would generally be considered as very uninteresting, but to any one accustomed only to an english landscape, the novel aspect of an utterly sterile land possesses a grandeur which more vegetation might spoil. a single green leaf can scarcely be discovered over wide tracts of the lava plains; yet flocks of goats, together with a few cows, contrive to exist. it rains very seldom, but during a short portion of the year heavy torrents fall, and immediately afterwards a light vegetation springs out of every crevice. this soon withers; and upon such naturally formed hay the animals live. it had not now rained for an entire year. when the island was discovered, the immediate neighbourhood of porto praya was clothed with trees ( / . i state this on the authority of dr. e. dieffenbach, in his german translation of the first edition of this journal.), the reckless destruction of which has caused here, as at st. helena, and at some of the canary islands, almost entire sterility. the broad, flat-bottomed valleys, many of which serve during a few days only in the season as watercourses, are clothed with thickets of leafless bushes. few living creatures inhabit these valleys. the commonest bird is a kingfisher (dacelo iagoensis), which tamely sits on the branches of the castor-oil plant, and thence darts on grasshoppers and lizards. it is brightly coloured, but not so beautiful as the european species: in its flight, manners, and place of habitation, which is generally in the driest valley, there is also a wide difference. one day, two of the officers and myself rode to ribeira grande, a village a few miles eastward of porto praya. until we reached the valley of st. martin, the country presented its usual dull brown appearance; but here, a very small rill of water produces a most refreshing margin of luxuriant vegetation. in the course of an hour we arrived at ribeira grande, and were surprised at the sight of a large ruined fort and cathedral. this little town, before its harbour was filled up, was the principal place in the island: it now presents a melancholy, but very picturesque appearance. having procured a black padre for a guide, and a spaniard who had served in the peninsular war as an interpreter, we visited a collection of buildings, of which an ancient church formed the principal part. it is here the governors and captain-generals of the islands have been buried. some of the tombstones recorded dates of the sixteenth century. ( / . the cape de verd islands were discovered in . there was a tombstone of a bishop with the date of ; and a crest of a hand and dagger, dated .) the heraldic ornaments were the only things in this retired place that reminded us of europe. the church or chapel formed one side of a quadrangle, in the middle of which a large clump of bananas were growing. on another side was a hospital, containing about a dozen miserable-looking inmates. we returned to the vênda to eat our dinners. a considerable number of men, women, and children, all as black as jet, collected to watch us. our companions were extremely merry; and everything we said or did was followed by their hearty laughter. before leaving the town we visited the cathedral. it does not appear so rich as the smaller church, but boasts of a little organ, which sent forth singularly inharmonious cries. we presented the black priest with a few shillings, and the spaniard, patting him on the head, said, with much candour, he thought his colour made no great difference. we then returned, as fast as the ponies would go, to porto praya. another day we rode to the village of st. domingo, situated near the centre of the island. on a small plain which we crossed, a few stunted acacias were growing; their tops had been bent by the steady trade-wind, in a singular manner--some of them even at right angles to their trunks. the direction of the branches was exactly north-east by north, and south-west by south, and these natural vanes must indicate the prevailing direction of the force of the trade-wind. the travelling had made so little impression on the barren soil, that we here missed our track, and took that to fuentes. this we did not find out till we arrived there; and we were afterwards glad of our mistake. fuentes is a pretty village, with a small stream; and everything appeared to prosper well, excepting, indeed, that which ought to do so most--its inhabitants. the black children, completely naked, and looking very wretched, were carrying bundles of firewood half as big as their own bodies. near fuentes we saw a large flock of guinea-fowl--probably fifty or sixty in number. they were extremely wary, and could not be approached. they avoided us, like partridges on a rainy day in september, running with their heads cocked up; and if pursued, they readily took to the wing. the scenery of st. domingo possesses a beauty totally unexpected, from the prevalent gloomy character of the rest of the island. the village is situated at the bottom of a valley, bounded by lofty and jagged walls of stratified lava. the black rocks afford a most striking contrast with the bright green vegetation, which follows the banks of a little stream of clear water. it happened to be a grand feast-day, and the village was full of people. on our return we overtook a party of about twenty young black girls, dressed in excellent taste; their black skins and snow-white linen being set off by coloured turbans and large shawls. as soon as we approached near, they suddenly all turned round, and covering the path with their shawls, sung with great energy a wild song, beating time with their hands upon their legs. we threw them some vintéms, which were received with screams of laughter, and we left them redoubling the noise of their song. one morning the view was singularly clear; the distant mountains being projected with the sharpest outline, on a heavy bank of dark blue clouds. judging from the appearance, and from similar cases in england, i supposed that the air was saturated with moisture. the fact, however, turned out quite the contrary. the hygrometer gave a difference of . degrees, between the temperature of the air, and the point at which dew was precipitated. this difference was nearly double that which i had observed on the previous mornings. this unusual degree of atmospheric dryness was accompanied by continual flashes of lightning. is it not an uncommon case, thus to find a remarkable degree of aerial transparency with such a state of weather? generally the atmosphere is hazy; and this is caused by the falling of impalpably fine dust, which was found to have slightly injured the astronomical instruments. the morning before we anchored at porto praya, i collected a little packet of this brown-coloured fine dust, which appeared to have been filtered from the wind by the gauze of the vane at the masthead. mr. lyell has also given me four packets of dust which fell on a vessel a few hundred miles northward of these islands. professor ehrenberg finds that this dust consists in great part of infusoria with siliceous shields, and of the siliceous tissue of plants. ( / . i must take this opportunity of acknowledging the great kindness with which this illustrious naturalist has examined many of my specimens. i have sent (june ) a full account of the falling of this dust to the geological society.) in five little packets which i sent him, he has ascertained no less than sixty-seven different organic forms! the infusoria, with the exception of two marine species, are all inhabitants of fresh-water. i have found no less than fifteen different accounts of dust having fallen on vessels when far out in the atlantic. from the direction of the wind whenever it has fallen, and from its having always fallen during those months when the harmattan is known to raise clouds of dust high into the atmosphere, we may feel sure that it all comes from africa. it is, however, a very singular fact, that, although professor ehrenberg knows many species of infusoria peculiar to africa, he finds none of these in the dust which i sent him. on the other hand, he finds in it two species which hitherto he knows as living only in south america. the dust falls in such quantities as to dirty everything on board, and to hurt people's eyes; vessels even have run on shore owing to the obscurity of the atmosphere. it has often fallen on ships when several hundred, and even more than a thousand miles from the coast of africa, and at points sixteen hundred miles distant in a north and south direction. in some dust which was collected on a vessel three hundred miles from the land, i was much surprised to find particles of stone above the thousandth of an inch square, mixed with finer matter. after this fact one need not be surprised at the diffusion of the far lighter and smaller sporules of cryptogamic plants. the geology of this island is the most interesting part of its natural history. on entering the harbour, a perfectly horizontal white band in the face of the sea cliff, may be seen running for some miles along the coast, and at the height of about forty-five feet above the water. upon examination, this white stratum is found to consist of calcareous matter, with numerous shells embedded, most or all of which now exist on the neighbouring coast. it rests on ancient volcanic rocks, and has been covered by a stream of basalt, which must have entered the sea when the white shelly bed was lying at the bottom. it is interesting to trace the changes, produced by the heat of the overlying lava, on the friable mass, which in parts has been converted into a crystalline limestone, and in other parts into a compact spotted stone. where the lime has been caught up by the scoriaceous fragments of the lower surface of the stream, it is converted into groups of beautifully radiated fibres resembling arragonite. the beds of lava rise in successive gently-sloping plains, towards the interior, whence the deluges of melted stone have originally proceeded. within historical times no signs of volcanic activity have, i believe, been manifested in any part of st. jago. even the form of a crater can but rarely be discovered on the summits of the many red cindery hills; yet the more recent streams can be distinguished on the coast, forming lines of cliffs of less height, but stretching out in advance of those belonging to an older series: the height of the cliffs thus affording a rude measure of the age of the streams. during our stay, i observed the habits of some marine animals. a large aplysia is very common. this sea-slug is about five inches long; and is of a dirty yellowish colour, veined with purple. on each side of the lower surface, or foot, there is a broad membrane, which appears sometimes to act as a ventilator, in causing a current of water to flow over the dorsal branchiae or lungs. it feeds on the delicate seaweeds which grow among the stones in muddy and shallow water; and i found in its stomach several small pebbles, as in the gizzard of a bird. this slug, when disturbed, emits a very fine purplish-red fluid, which stains the water for the space of a foot around. besides this means of defence, an acrid secretion, which is spread over its body, causes a sharp, stinging sensation, similar to that produced by the physalia, or portuguese man-of-war. i was much interested, on several occasions, by watching the habits of an octopus, or cuttle-fish. although common in the pools of water left by the retiring tide, these animals were not easily caught. by means of their long arms and suckers, they could drag their bodies into very narrow crevices; and when thus fixed, it required great force to remove them. at other times they darted tail first, with the rapidity of an arrow, from one side of the pool to the other, at the same instant discolouring the water with a dark chestnut-brown ink. these animals also escape detection by a very extraordinary, chameleon-like power of changing their colour. they appear to vary their tints according to the nature of the ground over which they pass: when in deep water, their general shade was brownish purple, but when placed on the land, or in shallow water, this dark tint changed into one of a yellowish green. the colour, examined more carefully, was a french grey, with numerous minute spots of bright yellow: the former of these varied in intensity; the latter entirely disappeared and appeared again by turns. these changes were effected in such a manner that clouds, varying in tint between a hyacinth red and a chestnut-brown, were continually passing over the body. ( / . so named according to patrick symes's nomenclature.) any part, being subjected to a slight shock of galvanism, became almost black: a similar effect, but in a less degree, was produced by scratching the skin with a needle. these clouds, or blushes as they may be called, are said to be produced by the alternate expansion and contraction of minute vesicles containing variously coloured fluids. ( / . see "encyclopedia of anatomy and physiology" article "cephalopoda.") this cuttle-fish displayed its chameleon-like power both during the act of swimming and whilst remaining stationary at the bottom. i was much amused by the various arts to escape detection used by one individual, which seemed fully aware that i was watching it. remaining for a time motionless, it would then stealthily advance an inch or two, like a cat after a mouse; sometimes changing its colour: it thus proceeded, till having gained a deeper part, it darted away, leaving a dusky train of ink to hide the hole into which it had crawled. while looking for marine animals, with my head about two feet above the rocky shore, i was more than once saluted by a jet of water, accompanied by a slight grating noise. at first i could not think what it was, but afterwards i found out that it was this cuttle-fish, which, though concealed in a hole, thus often led me to its discovery. that it possesses the power of ejecting water there is no doubt, and it appeared to me that it could certainly take good aim by directing the tube or siphon on the under side of its body. from the difficulty which these animals have in carrying their heads, they cannot crawl with ease when placed on the ground. i observed that one which i kept in the cabin was slightly phosphorescent in the dark. st. paul's rocks. in crossing the atlantic we hove-to, during the morning of february th, , close to the island of st. paul's. this cluster of rocks is situated in degrees ' north latitude, and degrees ' west longitude. it is miles distant from the coast of america, and from the island of fernando noronha. the highest point is only fifty feet above the level of the sea, and the entire circumference is under three-quarters of a mile. this small point rises abruptly out of the depths of the ocean. its mineralogical constitution is not simple; in some parts the rock is of a cherty, in others of a feldspathic nature, including thin veins of serpentine. it is a remarkable fact that all the many small islands, lying far from any continent, in the pacific, indian, and atlantic oceans, with the exception of the seychelles and this little point of rock, are, i believe, composed either of coral or of erupted matter. the volcanic nature of these oceanic islands is evidently an extension of that law, and the effect of those same causes, whether chemical or mechanical, from which it results that a vast majority of the volcanoes now in action stand either near sea-coasts or as islands in the midst of the sea. (plate . incrustation of shelly sand.) the rocks of st. paul appear from a distance of a brilliantly white colour. this is partly owing to the dung of a vast multitude of seafowl, and partly to a coating of a hard glossy substance with a pearly lustre, which is intimately united to the surface of the rocks. this, when examined with a lens, is found to consist of numerous exceedingly thin layers, its total thickness being about the tenth of an inch. it contains much animal matter, and its origin, no doubt, is due to the action of the rain or spray on the birds' dung. below some small masses of guano at ascension, and on the abrolhos islets, i found certain stalactitic branching bodies, formed apparently in the same manner as the thin white coating on these rocks. the branching bodies so closely resembled in general appearance certain nulliporae (a family of hard calcareous sea-plants), that in lately looking hastily over my collection i did not perceive the difference. the globular extremities of the branches are of a pearly texture, like the enamel of teeth, but so hard as just to scratch plate-glass. i may here mention, that on a part of the coast of ascension, where there is a vast accumulation of shelly sand, an incrustation is deposited on the tidal rocks, by the water of the sea, resembling, as represented in plate , certain cryptogamic plants (marchantiae) often seen on damp walls. the surface of the fronds is beautifully glossy; and those parts formed where fully exposed to the light, are of a jet black colour, but those shaded under ledges are only grey. i have shown specimens of this incrustation to several geologists, and they all thought that they were of volcanic or igneous origin! in its hardness and translucency--in its polish, equal to that of the finest oliva-shell--in the bad smell given out, and loss of colour under the blowpipe--it shows a close similarity with living sea-shells. moreover in sea-shells, it is known that the parts habitually covered and shaded by the mantle of the animal, are of a paler colour than those fully exposed to the light, just as is the case with this incrustation. when we remember that lime, either as a phosphate or carbonate, enters into the composition of the hard parts, such as bones and shells, of all living animals, it is an interesting physiological fact to find substances harder than the enamel of teeth, and coloured surfaces as well polished as those of a fresh shell, re-formed through inorganic means from dead organic matter--mocking, also, in shape, some of the lower vegetable productions. ( / . mr. horner and sir david brewster have described ("philosophical transactions" page ) a singular "artificial substance resembling shell." it is deposited in fine, transparent, highly polished, brown-coloured laminae, possessing peculiar optical properties, on the inside of a vessel, in which cloth, first prepared with glue and then with lime, is made to revolve rapidly in water. it is much softer, more transparent, and contains more animal matter, than the natural incrustation at ascension; but we here again see the strong tendency which carbonate of lime and animal matter evince to form a solid substance allied to shell.) we found on st. paul's only two kinds of birds--the booby and the noddy. the former is a species of gannet, and the latter a tern. both are of a tame and stupid disposition, and are so unaccustomed to visitors, that i could have killed any number of them with my geological hammer. the booby lays her eggs on the bare rock; but the tern makes a very simple nest with seaweed. by the side of many of these nests a small flying-fish was placed; which i suppose, had been brought by the male bird for its partner. it was amusing to watch how quickly a large and active crab (graspus), which inhabits the crevices of the rock, stole the fish from the side of the nest, as soon as we had disturbed the parent birds. sir w. symonds, one of the few persons who have landed here, informs me that he saw the crabs dragging even the young birds out of their nests, and devouring them. not a single plant, not even a lichen, grows on this islet; yet it is inhabited by several insects and spiders. the following list completes, i believe, the terrestrial fauna: a fly (olfersia) living on the booby, and a tick which must have come here as a parasite on the birds; a small brown moth, belonging to a genus that feeds on feathers; a beetle (quedius) and a woodlouse from beneath the dung; and lastly, numerous spiders, which i suppose prey on these small attendants and scavengers of the waterfowl. the often-repeated description of the stately palm and other noble tropical plants, then birds, and lastly man, taking possession of the coral islets as soon as formed, in the pacific, is probably not quite correct; i fear it destroys the poetry of this story, that feather and dirt-feeding and parasitic insects and spiders should be the first inhabitants of newly formed oceanic land. the smallest rock in the tropical seas, by giving a foundation for the growth of innumerable kinds of seaweed and compound animals, supports likewise a large number of fish. the sharks and the seamen in the boats maintained a constant struggle which should secure the greater share of the prey caught by the fishing-lines. i have heard that a rock near the bermudas, lying many miles out at sea, and at a considerable depth, was first discovered by the circumstance of fish having been observed in the neighbourhood. fernando noronha, february , . as far as i was enabled to observe, during the few hours we stayed at this place, the constitution of the island is volcanic, but probably not of a recent date. the most remarkable feature is a conical hill, about one thousand feet high, the upper part of which is exceedingly steep, and on one side overhangs its base. the rock is phonolite, and is divided into irregular columns. on viewing one of these isolated masses, at first one is inclined to believe that it has been suddenly pushed up in a semi-fluid state. at st. helena, however, i ascertained that some pinnacles, of a nearly similar figure and constitution, had been formed by the injection of melted rock into yielding strata, which thus had formed the moulds for these gigantic obelisks. the whole island is covered with wood; but from the dryness of the climate there is no appearance of luxuriance. half-way up the mountain some great masses of the columnar rock, shaded by laurel-like trees, and ornamented by others covered with fine pink flowers but without a single leaf, gave a pleasing effect to the nearer parts of the scenery. bahia, or san salvador. brazil, february , . the day has past delightfully. delight itself, however, is a weak term to express the feelings of a naturalist who, for the first time, has wandered by himself in a brazilian forest. the elegance of the grasses, the novelty of the parasitical plants, the beauty of the flowers, the glossy green of the foliage, but above all the general luxuriance of the vegetation, filled me with admiration. a most paradoxical mixture of sound and silence pervades the shady parts of the wood. the noise from the insects is so loud, that it may be heard even in a vessel anchored several hundred yards from the shore; yet within the recesses of the forest a universal silence appears to reign. to a person fond of natural history, such a day as this brings with it a deeper pleasure than he can ever hope to experience again. after wandering about for some hours, i returned to the landing-place; but, before reaching it, i was overtaken by a tropical storm. i tried to find shelter under a tree, which was so thick that it would never have been penetrated by common english rain; but here, in a couple of minutes, a little torrent flowed down the trunk. it is to this violence of the rain that we must attribute the verdure at the bottom of the thickest woods: if the showers were like those of a colder clime, the greater part would be absorbed or evaporated before it reached the ground. i will not at present attempt to describe the gaudy scenery of this noble bay, because, in our homeward voyage, we called here a second time, and i shall then have occasion to remark on it. along the whole coast of brazil, for a length of at least miles, and certainly for a considerable space inland, wherever solid rock occurs, it belongs to a granitic formation. the circumstance of this enormous area being constituted of materials which most geologists believe to have been crystallised when heated under pressure, gives rise to many curious reflections. was this effect produced beneath the depths of a profound ocean? or did a covering of strata formerly extend over it, which has since been removed? can we believe that any power, acting for a time short of infinity, could have denuded the granite over so many thousand square leagues? on a point not far from the city, where a rivulet entered the sea, i observed a fact connected with a subject discussed by humboldt. ( / . "personal narrative" volume part page .) at the cataracts of the great rivers orinoco, nile, and congo, the syenitic rocks are coated by a black substance, appearing as if they had been polished with plumbago. the layer is of extreme thinness; and on analysis by berzelius it was found to consist of the oxides of manganese and iron. in the orinoco it occurs on the rocks periodically washed by the floods, and in those parts alone where the stream is rapid; or, as the indians say, "the rocks are black where the waters are white." here the coating is of a rich brown instead of a black colour, and seems to be composed of ferruginous matter alone. hand specimens fail to give a just idea of these brown burnished stones which glitter in the sun's rays. they occur only within the limits of the tidal waves; and as the rivulet slowly trickles down, the surf must supply the polishing power of the cataracts in the great rivers. in like manner, the rise and fall of the tide probably answer to the periodical inundations; and thus the same effects are produced under apparently different but really similar circumstances. the origin, however, of these coatings of metallic oxides, which seem as if cemented to the rocks, is not understood; and no reason, i believe, can be assigned for their thickness remaining the same. (plate . diodon maculatus (distended and contracted).) one day i was amused by watching the habits of the diodon antennatus, which was caught swimming near the shore. this fish, with its flabby skin, is well known to possess the singular power of distending itself into a nearly spherical form. after having been taken out of water for a short time, and then again immersed in it, a considerable quantity both of water and air is absorbed by the mouth, and perhaps likewise by the branchial orifices. this process is effected by two methods: the air is swallowed, and is then forced into the cavity of the body, its return being prevented by a muscular contraction which is externally visible: but the water enters in a gentle stream through the mouth, which is kept wide open and motionless; this latter action must, therefore, depend on suction. the skin about the abdomen is much looser than that on the back; hence, during the inflation, the lower surface becomes far more distended than the upper; and the fish, in consequence, floats with its back downwards. cuvier doubts whether the diodon in this position is able to swim; but not only can it thus move forward in a straight line, but it can turn round to either side. this latter movement is effected solely by the aid of the pectoral fins; the tail being collapsed and not used. from the body being buoyed up with so much air, the branchial openings are out of water, but a stream drawn in by the mouth constantly flows through them. the fish, having remained in this distended state for a short time, generally expelled the air and water with considerable force from the branchial apertures and mouth. it could emit, at will, a certain portion of the water, and it appears, therefore probable that this fluid is taken in partly for the sake of regulating its specific gravity. this diodon possessed several means of defence. it could give a severe bite, and could eject water from its mouth to some distance, at the same time making a curious noise by the movement of its jaws. by the inflation of its body, the papillae, with which the skin is covered, become erect and pointed. but the most curious circumstance is, that it secretes from the skin of its belly, when handled, a most beautiful carmine-red fibrous matter, which stains ivory and paper in so permanent a manner, that the tint is retained with all its brightness to the present day: i am quite ignorant of the nature and use of this secretion. i have heard from dr. allan of forres, that he has frequently found a diodon, floating alive and distended, in the stomach of the shark; and that on several occasions he has known it eat its way, not only through the coats of the stomach, but through the sides of the monster, which has thus been killed. who would ever have imagined that a little soft fish could have destroyed the great and savage shark? march , . (plate . pelagic confervae.) we sailed from bahia. a few days afterwards, when not far distant from the abrolhos islets, my attention was called to a reddish-brown appearance in the sea. the whole surface of the water, as it appeared under a weak lens, seemed as if covered by chopped bits of hay, with their ends jagged. these are minute cylindrical confervae, in bundles or rafts of from twenty to sixty in each. mr. berkeley informs me that they are the same species (trichodesmium erythraeum) with that found over large spaces in the red sea, and whence its name of red sea is derived. ( / . m. montagne in "comptes rendus" etc. juillet ; and "annales des sciences naturelles" december .) their numbers must be infinite: the ship passed through several bands of them, one of which was about ten yards wide, and, judging from the mud-like colour of the water, at least two and a half miles long. in almost every long voyage some account is given of these confervae. they appear especially common in the sea near australia; and off cape leeuwin i found an allied, but smaller and apparently different species. captain cook, in his third voyage, remarks that the sailors gave to this appearance the name of sea-sawdust. near keeling atoll, in the indian ocean, i observed many little masses of confervae a few inches square, consisting of long cylindrical threads of excessive thinness, so as to be barely visible to the naked eye, mingled with other rather larger bodies, finely conical at both ends. two of these are shown in plate united together. they vary in length from . to . , and even to . of an inch in length; and in diameter from . to . of an inch. near one extremity of the cylindrical part, a green septum, formed of granular matter, and thickest in the middle, may generally be seen. this, i believe, is the bottom of a most delicate, colourless sac, composed of a pulpy substance, which lines the exterior case, but does not extend within the extreme conical points. in some specimens, small but perfect spheres of brownish granular matter supplied the places of the septa; and i observed the curious process by which they were produced. the pulpy matter of the internal coating suddenly grouped itself into lines, some of which assumed a form radiating from a common centre; it then continued, with an irregular and rapid movement, to contract itself, so that in the course of a second the whole was united into a perfect little sphere, which occupied the position of the septum at one end of the now quite hollow case. the formation of the granular sphere was hastened by any accidental injury. i may add, that frequently a pair of these bodies were attached to each other, as represented above, cone beside cone, at that end where the septum occurs. i will here add a few other observations connected with the discoloration of the sea from organic causes. on the coast of chile, a few leagues north of concepcion, the "beagle" one day passed through great bands of muddy water, exactly like that of a swollen river; and again, a degree south of valparaiso, when fifty miles from the land, the same appearance was still more extensive. some of the water placed in a glass was of a pale reddish tint; and, examined under a microscope, was seen to swarm with minute animalcula darting about, and often exploding. their shape is oval, and contracted in the middle by a ring of vibrating curved ciliae. it was, however, very difficult to examine them with care, for almost the instant motion ceased, even while crossing the field of vision, their bodies burst. sometimes both ends burst at once, sometimes only one, and a quantity of coarse, brownish, granular matter was ejected. the animal an instant before bursting expanded to half again its natural size; and the explosion took place about fifteen seconds after the rapid progressive motion had ceased: in a few cases it was preceded for a short interval by a rotatory movement on the longer axis. about two minutes after any number were isolated in a drop of water, they thus perished. the animals move with the narrow apex forwards, by the aid of their vibratory ciliae, and generally by rapid starts. they are exceedingly minute, and quite invisible to the naked eye, only covering a space equal to the square of the thousandth of an inch. their numbers were infinite; for the smallest drop of water which i could remove contained very many. in one day we passed through two spaces of water thus stained, one of which alone must have extended over several square miles. what incalculable numbers of these microscopical animals! the colour of the water, as seen at some distance, was like that of a river which has flowed through a red clay district; but under the shade of the vessel's side it was quite as dark as chocolate. the line where the red and blue water joined was distinctly defined. the weather for some days previously had been calm, and the ocean abounded, to an unusual degree, with living creatures. ( / . m. lesson "voyage de la coquille" tome page , mentions red water off lima, apparently produced by the same cause. peron, the distinguished naturalist, in the "voyage aux terres australes," gives no less than twelve references to voyagers who have alluded to the discoloured waters of the sea (volume page ). to the references given by peron may be added, humboldt's "personal narrative" volume page ; flinder's "voyage" volume page ; labillardière, volume page ; ulloa's "voyage"; "voyage of the astrolabe and of the coquille"; captain king's "survey of australia" etc.) in the sea around tierra del fuego, and at no great distance from the land, i have seen narrow lines of water of a bright red colour, from the number of crustacea, which somewhat resemble in form large prawns. the sealers call them whale-food. whether whales feed on them i do not know; but terns, cormorants, and immense herds of great unwieldy seals derive, on some parts of the coast, their chief sustenance from these swimming crabs. seamen invariably attribute the discoloration of the water to spawn; but i found this to be the case only on one occasion. at the distance of several leagues from the archipelago of the galapagos, the ship sailed through three strips of a dark yellowish, or mud-like water; these strips were some miles long, but only a few yards wide, and they were separated from the surrounding water by a sinuous yet distinct margin. the colour was caused by little gelatinous balls, about the fifth of an inch in diameter, in which numerous minute spherical ovules were embedded: they were of two distinct kinds, one being of a reddish colour and of a different shape from the other. i cannot form a conjecture as to what two kinds of animals these belonged. captain colnett remarks that this appearance is very common among the galapagos islands, and that the direction of the bands indicates that of the currents; in the described case, however, the line was caused by the wind. the only other appearance which i have to notice, is a thin oily coat on the water which displays iridescent colours. i saw a considerable tract of the ocean thus covered on the coast of brazil; the seamen attributed it to the putrefying carcass of some whale, which probably was floating at no great distance. i do not here mention the minute gelatinous particles, hereafter to be referred to, which are frequently dispersed throughout the water, for they are not sufficiently abundant to create any change of colour. there are two circumstances in the above accounts which appear remarkable: first, how do the various bodies which form the bands with defined edges keep together? in the case of the prawn-like crabs, their movements were as coinstantaneous as in a regiment of soldiers; but this cannot happen from anything like voluntary action with the ovules, or the confervae, nor is it probable among the infusoria. secondly, what causes the length and narrowness of the bands? the appearance so much resembles that which may be seen in every torrent, where the stream uncoils into long streaks the froth collected in the eddies, that i must attribute the effect to a similar action either of the currents of the air or sea. under this supposition we must believe that the various organised bodies are produced in certain favourable places, and are thence removed by the set of either wind or water. i confess, however, there is a very great difficulty in imagining any one spot to be the birthplace of the millions of millions of animalcula and confervae: for whence come the germs at such points?--the parent bodies having been distributed by the winds and waves over the immense ocean. but on no other hypothesis can i understand their linear grouping. i may add that scoresby remarks that green water abounding with pelagic animals is invariably found in a certain part of the arctic sea. (plate . catamaran (bahia).) chapter ii. (plate . botofogo bay, rio de janeiro.) rio de janeiro. excursion north of cape frio. great evaporation. slavery. botofogo bay. terrestrial planariae. clouds on the corcovado. heavy rain. musical frogs. phosphorescent insects. elater, springing powers of. blue haze. noise made by a butterfly. entomology. ants. wasp killing a spider. parasitical spider. artifices of an epeira. gregarious spider. spider with an unsymmetrical web. rio de janeiro. april to july , . a few days after our arrival i became acquainted with an englishman who was going to visit his estate, situated rather more than a hundred miles from the capital, to the northward of cape frio. i gladly accepted his kind offer of allowing me to accompany him. april , . our party amounted to seven. the first stage was very interesting. the day was powerfully hot, and as we passed through the woods, everything was motionless, excepting the large and brilliant butterflies, which lazily fluttered about. the view seen when crossing the hills behind praia grande was most beautiful; the colours were intense, and the prevailing tint a dark blue; the sky and the calm waters of the bay vied with each other in splendour. after passing through some cultivated country, we entered a forest which in the grandeur of all its parts could not be exceeded. we arrived by midday at ithacaia; this small village is situated on a plain, and round the central house are the huts of the negroes. these, from their regular form and position, reminded me of the drawings of the hottentot habitations in southern africa. as the moon rose early, we determined to start the same evening for our sleeping-place at the lagoa marica. as it was growing dark we passed under one of the massive, bare, and steep hills of granite which are so common in this country. this spot is notorious from having been, for a long time, the residence of some runaway slaves, who, by cultivating a little ground near the top, contrived to eke out a subsistence. at length they were discovered, and a party of soldiers being sent, the whole were seized with the exception of one old woman, who, sooner than again be led into slavery, dashed herself to pieces from the summit of the mountain. in a roman matron this would have been called the noble love of freedom: in a poor negress it is mere brutal obstinacy. we continued riding for some hours. for the few last miles the road was intricate, and it passed through a desert waste of marshes and lagoons. the scene by the dimmed light of the moon was most desolate. a few fireflies flitted by us; and the solitary snipe, as it rose, uttered its plaintive cry. the distant and sullen roar of the sea scarcely broke the stillness of the night. april , . we left our miserable sleeping-place before sunrise. the road passed through a narrow sandy plain, lying between the sea and the interior salt lagoons. the number of beautiful fishing birds, such as egrets and cranes, and the succulent plants assuming most fantastical forms, gave to the scene an interest which it would not otherwise have possessed. the few stunted trees were loaded with parasitical plants, among which the beauty and delicious fragrance of some of the orchideae were most to be admired. as the sun rose, the day became extremely hot, and the reflection of the light and heat from the white sand was very distressing. we dined at mandetiba; the thermometer in the shade being degrees. the beautiful view of the distant wooded hills, reflected in the perfectly calm water of an extensive lagoon, quite refreshed us. as the vênda here was a very good one, and i have the pleasant, but rare remembrance, of an excellent dinner, i will be grateful and presently describe it, as the type of its class. ( / . vênda, the portuguese name for an inn.) these houses are often large, and are built of thick upright posts, with boughs interwoven, and afterwards plastered. they seldom have floors, and never glazed windows; but are generally pretty well roofed. universally the front part is open, forming a kind of verandah, in which tables and benches are placed. the bedrooms join on each side, and here the passenger may sleep as comfortably as he can, on a wooden platform covered by a thin straw mat. the vênda stands in a courtyard, where the horses are fed. on first arriving, it was our custom to unsaddle the horses and give them their indian corn; then, with a low bow, to ask the senhôr to do us the favour to give us something to eat. "anything you choose, sir," was his usual answer. for the few first times, vainly i thanked providence for having guided us to so good a man. the conversation proceeding, the case universally became deplorable. "any fish can you do us the favour of giving ?"--"oh no, sir."--"any soup?"--"no, sir."--"any bread?"--"oh no, sir."--"any dried meat?"--"oh no, sir." if we were lucky, by waiting a couple of hours, we obtained fowls, rice, and farinha. it not unfrequently happened that we were obliged to kill, with stones, the poultry for our own supper. when, thoroughly exhausted by fatigue and hunger, we timorously hinted that we should be glad of our meal, the pompous, and (though true) most unsatisfactory answer was, "it will be ready when it is ready." if we had dared to remonstrate any further, we should have been told to proceed on our journey, as being too impertinent. the hosts are most ungracious and disagreeable in their manners; their houses and their persons are often filthily dirty; the want of the accommodation of forks, knives, and spoons is common; and i am sure no cottage or hovel in england could be found in a state so utterly destitute of every comfort. at campos novos, however, we fared sumptuously; having rice and fowls, biscuit, wine, and spirits, for dinner; coffee in the evening, and fish with coffee for breakfast. all this, with good food for the horses, only cost shillings pence per head. yet the host of this vênda, being asked if he knew anything of a whip which one of the party had lost, gruffly answered, "how should i know? why did you not take care of it?--i suppose the dogs have eaten it." leaving mandetiba, we continued to pass through an intricate wilderness of lakes; in some of which were fresh, in others salt water shells. of the former kind, i found a limnaea in great numbers in a lake, into which the inhabitants assured me that the sea enters once a year, and sometimes oftener, and makes the water quite salt. i have no doubt many interesting facts in relation to marine and fresh-water animals might be observed in this chain of lagoons which skirt the coast of brazil. m. gay has stated that he found in the neighbourhood of rio shells of the marine genera solen and mytilus, and fresh-water ampullariae, living together in brackish water. ( / . "annales des sciences naturelles" for .) i also frequently observed in the lagoon near the botanic garden, where the water is only a little less salt than in the sea, a species of hydrophilus, very similar to a water-beetle common in the ditches of england: in the same lake the only shell belonged to a genus generally found in estuaries. (plate . vampire bat (desmodus d'orbigny). caught on back of darwin's horse near coquimbo. head, full size.) leaving the coast for a time, we again entered the forest. the trees were very lofty, and remarkable, compared with those of europe, from the whiteness of their trunks. i see by my notebook, "wonderful and beautiful flowering parasites," invariably struck me as the most novel object in these grand scenes. travelling onwards we passed through tracts of pasturage, much injured by the enormous conical ants' nests, which were nearly twelve feet high. they gave to the plain exactly the appearance of the mud volcanoes at jorullo, as figured by humboldt. we arrived at engenhodo after it was dark, having been ten hours on horseback. i never ceased, during the whole journey, to be surprised at the amount of labour which the horses were capable of enduring; they appeared also to recover from any injury much sooner than those of our english breed. the vampire bat is often the cause of much trouble, by biting the horses on their withers. the injury is generally not so much owing to the loss of blood, as to the inflammation which the pressure of the saddle afterwards produces. the whole circumstance has lately been doubted in england; i was therefore fortunate in being present when one (desmodus d'orbignyi, wat.) was actually caught on a horse's back. we were bivouacking late one evening near coquimbo, in chile, when my servant, noticing that one of the horses was very restive, went to see what was the matter, and fancying he could distinguish something, suddenly put his hand on the beast's withers, and secured the vampire. in the morning the spot where the bite had been inflicted was easily distinguished from being slightly swollen and bloody. the third day afterwards we rode the horse, without any ill effects. april , . after three days' travelling we arrived at socêgo, the estate of senhôr manuel figuireda, a relation of one of our party. the house was simple, and, though like a barn in form, was well suited to the climate. in the sitting-room gilded chairs and sofas were oddly contrasted with the whitewashed walls, thatched roof, and windows without glass. the house, together with the granaries, the stables, and workshops for the blacks, who had been taught various trades, formed a rude kind of quadrangle; in the centre of which a large pile of coffee was drying. these buildings stand on a little hill, overlooking the cultivated ground, and surrounded on every side by a wall of dark green luxuriant forest. the chief produce of this part of the country is coffee. each tree is supposed to yield annually, on an average, two pounds; but some give as much as eight. mandioca or cassava is likewise cultivated in great quantity. every part of this plant is useful: the leaves and stalks are eaten by the horses, and the roots are ground into a pulp, which, when pressed dry and baked, forms the farinha, the principal article of sustenance in the brazils. it is a curious, though well-known fact, that the juice of this most nutritious plant is highly poisonous. a few years ago a cow died at this fazênda, in consequence of having drunk some of it. senhôr figuireda told me that he had planted, the year before, one bag of feijaô or beans, and three of rice; the former of which produced eighty, and the latter three hundred and twenty fold. the pasturage supports a fine stock of cattle, and the woods are so full of game that a deer had been killed on each of the three previous days. this profusion of food showed itself at dinner, where, if the tables did not groan, the guests surely did; for each person is expected to eat of every dish. one day, having, as i thought, nicely calculated so that nothing should go away untasted, to my utter dismay a roast turkey and a pig appeared in all their substantial reality. during the meals, it was the employment of a man to drive out of the room sundry old hounds, and dozens of little black children, which crawled in together, at every opportunity. as long as the idea of slavery could be banished, there was something exceedingly fascinating in this simple and patriarchal style of living: it was such a perfect retirement and independence from the rest of the world. as soon as any stranger is seen arriving, a large bell is set tolling, and generally some small cannon are fired. the event is thus announced to the rocks and woods, but to nothing else. one morning i walked out an hour before daylight to admire the solemn stillness of the scene; at last, the silence was broken by the morning hymn, raised on high by the whole body of the blacks; and in this manner their daily work is generally begun. on such fazêndas as these, i have no doubt the slaves pass happy and contented lives. on saturday and sunday they work for themselves, and in this fertile climate the labour of two days is sufficient to support a man and his family for the whole week. april , . (plate . virgin forest.) leaving soc�go, we rode to another estate on the rio mac�e, which was the last patch of cultivated ground in that direction. the estate was two and a half miles long, and the owner had forgotten how many broad. only a very small piece had been cleared, yet almost every acre was capable of yielding all the various rich productions of a tropical land. considering the enormous area of brazil, the proportion of cultivated ground can scarcely be considered as anything compared to that which is left in the state of nature: at some future age, how vast a population it will support! during the second day's journey we found the road so shut up that it was necessary that a man should go ahead with a sword to cut away the creepers. the forest abounded with beautiful objects; among which the tree ferns, though not large, were, from their bright green foliage, and the elegant curvature of their fronds, most worthy of admiration. in the evening it rained very heavily, and although the thermometer stood at degrees, i felt very cold. as soon as the rain ceased, it was curious to observe the extraordinary evaporation which commenced over the whole extent of the forest. at the height of a hundred feet the hills were buried in a dense white vapour, which rose like columns of smoke from the most thickly-wooded parts, and especially from the valleys. i observed this phenomenon on several occasions: i suppose it is owing to the large surface of foliage, previously heated by the sun's rays. while staying at this estate, i was very nearly being an eye-witness to one of those atrocious acts which can only take place in a slave country. owing to a quarrel and a lawsuit, the owner was on the point of taking all the women and children from the male slaves, and selling them separately at the public auction at rio. interest, and not any feeling of compassion, prevented this act. indeed, i do not believe the inhumanity of separating thirty families, who had lived together for many years, even occurred to the owner. yet i will pledge myself, that in humanity and good feeling he was superior to the common run of men. it may be said there exists no limit to the blindness of interest and selfish habit. i may mention one very trifling anecdote, which at the time struck me more forcibly than any story of cruelty. i was crossing a ferry with a negro who was uncommonly stupid. in endeavouring to make him understand, i talked loud, and made signs, in doing which i passed my hand near his face. he, i suppose, thought i was in a passion, and was going to strike him; for instantly, with a frightened look and half-shut eyes, he dropped his hands. i shall never forget my feelings of surprise, disgust, and shame, at seeing a great powerful man afraid even to ward off a blow, directed, as he thought, at his face. this man had been trained to a degradation lower than the slavery of the most helpless animal. april , . (plate . cabbage palm.) in returning we spent two days at soc�go, and i employed them in collecting insects in the forest. the greater number of trees, although so lofty, are not more than three or four feet in circumference. there are, of course, a few of much greater dimension. senhôr manuel was then making a canoe feet in length from a solid trunk, which had originally been feet long, and of great thickness. the contrast of palm trees, growing amidst the common branching kinds, never fails to give the scene an intertropical character. here the woods were ornamented by the cabbage palm--one of the most beautiful of its family. with a stem so narrow that it might be clasped with the two hands, it waves its elegant head at the height of forty or fifty feet above the ground. the woody creepers, themselves covered by other creepers, were of great thickness: some which i measured were two feet in circumference. many of the older trees presented a very curious appearance from the tresses of a liana hanging from their boughs, and resembling bundles of hay. if the eye was turned from the world of foliage above, to the ground beneath, it was attracted by the extreme elegance of the leaves of the ferns and mimosae. the latter, in some parts, covered the surface with a brushwood only a few inches high. in walking across these thick beds of mimosae, a broad track was marked by the change of shade, produced by the drooping of their sensitive petioles. it is easy to specify the individual objects of admiration in these grand scenes; but it is not possible to give an adequate idea of the higher feelings of wonder, astonishment, and devotion, which fill and elevate the mind. (plate . mandioca or cassava.) april , . leaving soc�go, during the two first days we retraced our steps. it was very wearisome work, as the road generally ran across a glaring hot sandy plain, not far from the coast. i noticed that each time the horse put its foot on the fine siliceous sand, a gentle chirping noise was produced. on the third day we took a different line, and passed through the gay little village of madre de de�s. this is one of the principal lines of road in brazil; yet it was in so bad a state that no wheel vehicle, excepting the clumsy bullock-wagon, could pass along. in our whole journey we did not cross a single bridge built of stone; and those made of logs of wood were frequently so much out of repair that it was necessary to go on one side to avoid them. all distances are inaccurately known. the road is often marked by crosses, in the place of milestones, to signify where human blood has been spilled. on the evening of the rd we arrived at rio, having finished our pleasant little excursion. during the remainder of my stay at rio, i resided in a cottage at botofogo bay. it was impossible to wish for anything more delightful than thus to spend some weeks in so magnificent a country. in england any person fond of natural history enjoys in his walks a great advantage, by always having something to attract his attention; but in these fertile climates, teeming with life, the attractions are so numerous, that he is scarcely able to walk at all. the few observations which i was enabled to make were almost exclusively confined to the invertebrate animals. the existence of a division of the genus planaria, which inhabits the dry land, interested me much. these animals are of so simple a structure, that cuvier has arranged them with the intestinal worms, though never found within the bodies of other animals. numerous species inhabit both salt and fresh water; but those to which i allude were found, even in the drier parts of the forest, beneath logs of rotten wood, on which i believe they feed. in general form they resemble little slugs, but are very much narrower in proportion, and several of the species are beautifully coloured with longitudinal stripes. their structure is very simple: near the middle of the under or crawling surface there are two small transverse slits, from the anterior one of which a funnel-shaped and highly irritable mouth can be protruded. for some time after the rest of the animal was completely dead from the effects of salt water or any other cause, this organ still retained its vitality. i found no less than twelve different species of terrestrial planariae in different parts of the southern hemisphere. ( / . i have described and named these species in the "annals of natural history" volume page .) some specimens which i obtained at van dieman's land, i kept alive for nearly two months, feeding them on rotten wood. having cut one of them transversely into two nearly equal parts, in the course of a fortnight both had the shape of perfect animals. i had, however, so divided the body, that one of the halves contained both the inferior orifices, and the other, in consequence, none. in the course of twenty-five days from the operation, the more perfect half could not have been distinguished from any other specimen. the other had increased much in size; and towards its posterior end, a clear space was formed in the parenchymatous mass, in which a rudimentary cup-shaped mouth could clearly be distinguished; on the under surface, however, no corresponding slit was yet open. if the increased heat of the weather, as we approached the equator, had not destroyed all the individuals, there can be no doubt that this last step would have completed its structure. although so well known an experiment, it was interesting to watch the gradual production of every essential organ, out of the simple extremity of another animal. it is extremely difficult to preserve these planariae; as soon as the cessation of life allows the ordinary laws of change to act, their entire bodies become soft and fluid, with a rapidity which i have never seen equalled. i first visited the forest in which these planariae were found, in company with an old portuguese priest who took me out to hunt with him. the sport consisted in turning into the cover a few dogs, and then patiently waiting to fire at any animal which might appear. we were accompanied by the son of a neighbouring farmer--a good specimen of a wild brazilian youth. he was dressed in a tattered old shirt and trousers, and had his head uncovered: he carried an old-fashioned gun and a large knife. the habit of carrying the knife is universal; and in traversing a thick wood it is almost necessary, on account of the creeping plants. the frequent occurrence of murder may be partly attributed to this habit. the brazilians are so dexterous with the knife that they can throw it to some distance with precision, and with sufficient force to cause a fatal wound. i have seen a number of little boys practising this art as a game of play, and from their skill in hitting an upright stick, they promised well for more earnest attempts. my companion, the day before, had shot two large bearded monkeys. these animals have prehensile tails, the extremity of which, even after death, can support the whole weight of the body. one of them thus remained fast to a branch, and it was necessary to cut down a large tree to procure it. this was soon effected, and down came tree and monkey with an awful crash. our day's sport, besides the monkey, was confined to sundry small green parrots and a few toucans. i profited, however, by my acquaintance with the portuguese padre, for on another occasion he gave me a fine specimen of the yagouaroundi cat. every one has heard of the beauty of the scenery near botofogo. the house in which i lived was seated close beneath the well-known mountain of the corcovado. it has been remarked, with much truth, that abruptly conical hills are characteristic of the formation which humboldt designates as gneiss-granite. nothing can be more striking than the effect of these huge rounded masses of naked rock rising out of the most luxuriant vegetation. i was often interested by watching the clouds, which, rolling in from seaward, formed a bank just beneath the highest point of the corcovado. this mountain, like most others, when thus partly veiled, appeared to rise to a far prouder elevation than its real height of feet. mr. daniell has observed, in his meteorological essays, that a cloud sometimes appears fixed on a mountain summit, while the wind continues to blow over it. the same phenomenon here presented a slightly different appearance. in this case the cloud was clearly seen to curl over, and rapidly pass by the summit, and yet was neither diminished nor increased in size. the sun was setting, and a gentle southerly breeze, striking against the southern side of the rock, mingled its current with the colder air above; and the vapour was thus condensed: but as the light wreaths of cloud passed over the ridge, and came within the influence of the warmer atmosphere of the northern sloping bank, they were immediately redissolved. the climate, during the months of may and june, or the beginning of winter, was delightful. the mean temperature, from observations taken at nine o'clock, both morning and evening, was only degrees. it often rained heavily, but the drying southerly winds soon again rendered the walks pleasant. one morning, in the course of six hours, . inches of rain fell. as this storm passed over the forests which surround the corcovado, the sound produced by the drops pattering on the countless multitude of leaves was very remarkable, it could be heard at the distance of a quarter of a mile, and was like the rushing of a great body of water. after the hotter days, it was delicious to sit quietly in the garden and watch the evening pass into night. nature, in these climes, chooses her vocalists from more humble performers than in europe. a small frog, of the genus hyla, sits on a blade of grass about an inch above the surface of the water, and sends forth a pleasing chirp: when several are together they sing in harmony on different notes. i had some difficulty in catching a specimen of this frog. the genus hyla has its toes terminated by small suckers; and i found this animal could crawl up a pane of glass, when placed absolutely perpendicular. various cicadae and crickets, at the same time, keep up a ceaseless shrill cry, but which, softened by the distance, is not unpleasant. every evening after dark this great concert commenced; and often have i sat listening to it, until my attention has been drawn away by some curious passing insect. at these times the fireflies are seen flitting about from hedge to hedge. on a dark night the light can be seen at about two hundred paces distant. it is remarkable that in all the different kinds of glowworms, shining elaters, and various marine animals (such as the crustacea, medusae, nereidae, a coralline of the genus clytia, and pyrosoma), which i have observed, the light has been of a well-marked green colour. all the fireflies, which i caught here, belonged to the lampyridae (in which family the english glowworm is included), and the greater number of specimens were of lampyris occidentalis. ( / . i am greatly indebted to mr. waterhouse for his kindness in naming for me this and many other insects, and giving me much valuable assistance.) i found that this insect emitted the most brilliant flashes when irritated: in the intervals, the abdominal rings were obscured. the flash was almost coinstantaneous in the two rings, but it was just perceptible first in the anterior one. the shining matter was fluid and very adhesive: little spots, where the skin had been torn, continued bright with a slight scintillation, whilst the uninjured parts were obscured. when the insect was decapitated the rings remained uninterruptedly bright, but not so brilliant as before: local irritation with a needle always increased the vividness of the light. the rings in one instance retained their luminous property nearly twenty-four hours after the death of the insect. from these facts it would appear probable, that the animal has only the power of concealing or extinguishing the light for short intervals, and that at other times the display is involuntary. on the muddy and wet gravel-walks i found the larvae of this lampyris in great numbers: they resembled in general form the female of the english glowworm. these larvae possessed but feeble luminous powers; very differently from their parents, on the slightest touch they feigned death, and ceased to shine; nor did irritation excite any fresh display. i kept several of them alive for some time: their tails are very singular organs, for they act, by a well-fitted contrivance, as suckers or organs of attachment, and likewise as reservoirs for saliva, or some such fluid. i repeatedly fed them on raw meat; and i invariably observed, that every now and then the extremity of the tail was applied to the mouth, and a drop of fluid exuded on the meat, which was then in the act of being consumed. the tail, notwithstanding so much practice, does not seem to be able to find its way to the mouth; at least the neck was always touched first, and apparently as a guide. when we were at bahia, an elater or beetle (pyrophorus luminosus, illig.) seemed the most common luminous insect. the light in this case was also rendered more brilliant by irritation. i amused myself one day by observing the springing powers of this insect, which have not, as it appears to me, been properly described. ( / . kirby's "entomology" volume page .) the elater, when placed on its back and preparing to spring, moved its head and thorax backwards, so that the pectoral spine was drawn out, and rested on the edge of its sheath. the same backward movement being continued, the spine, by the full action of the muscles, was bent like a spring; and the insect at this moment rested on the extremity of its head and wing-cases. the effort being suddenly relaxed, the head and thorax flew up, and in consequence, the base of the wing-cases struck the supporting surface with such force, that the insect by the reaction was jerked upwards to the height of one or two inches. the projecting points of the thorax, and the sheath of the spine, served to steady the whole body during the spring. in the descriptions which i have read, sufficient stress does not appear to have been laid on the elasticity of the spine: so sudden a spring could not be the result of simple muscular contraction, without the aid of some mechanical contrivance. on several occasions i enjoyed some short but most pleasant excursions in the neighbouring country. one day i went to the botanic garden, where many plants, well known for their great utility, might be seen growing. the leaves of the camphor, pepper, cinnamon, and clove trees were delightfully aromatic; and the bread-fruit, the jaca, and the mango, vied with each other in the magnificence of their foliage. the landscape in the neighbourhood of bahia almost takes its character from the two latter trees. before seeing them, i had no idea that any trees could cast so black a shade on the ground. both of them bear to the evergreen vegetation of these climates the same kind of relation which laurels and hollies in england do to the lighter green of the deciduous trees. it may be observed that the houses within the tropics are surrounded by the most beautiful forms of vegetation, because many of them are at the same time most useful to man. who can doubt that these qualities are united in the banana, the cocoa-nut, the many kinds of palm, the orange, and the bread-fruit tree? during this day i was particularly struck with a remark of humboldt's, who often alludes to "the thin vapour which, without changing the transparency of the air, renders its tints more harmonious, and softens its effects." this is an appearance which i have never observed in the temperate zones. the atmosphere, seen through a short space of half or three-quarters of a mile, was perfectly lucid, but at a greater distance all colours were blended into a most beautiful haze, of a pale french grey, mingled with a little blue. the condition of the atmosphere between the morning and about noon, when the effect was most evident, had undergone little change, excepting in its dryness. in the interval, the difference between the dew point and temperature had increased from . to degrees. on another occasion i started early and walked to the gavia, or topsail mountain. the air was delightfully cool and fragrant; and the drops of dew still glittered on the leaves of the large liliaceous plants, which shaded the streamlets of clear water. sitting down on a block of granite, it was delightful to watch the various insects and birds as they flew past. the humming-bird seems particularly fond of such shady retired spots. whenever i saw these little creatures buzzing round a flower, with their wings vibrating so rapidly as to be scarcely visible, i was reminded of the sphinx moths: their movements and habits are indeed in many respects very similar. (plate . rio de janeiro.) following a pathway i entered a noble forest, and from a height of five or six hundred feet, one of those splendid views was presented, which are so common on every side of rio. at this elevation the landscape attains its most brilliant tint; and every form, every shade, so completely surpasses in magnificence all that the european has ever beheld in his own country, that he knows not how to express his feelings. the general effect frequently recalled to my mind the gayest scenery of the opera-house or the great theatres. i never returned from these excursions empty-handed. this day i found a specimen of a curious fungus, called hymenophallus. most people know the english phallus, which in autumn taints the air with its odious smell: this, however, as the entomologist is aware, is to some of our beetles a delightful fragrance. so was it here; for a strongylus, attracted by the odour, alighted on the fungus as i carried it in my hand. we here see in two distant countries a similar relation between plants and insects of the same families, though the species of both are different. when man is the agent in introducing into a country a new species this relation is often broken: as one instance of this i may mention that the leaves of the cabbages and lettuces, which in england afford food to such a multitude of slugs and caterpillars, in the gardens near rio are untouched. during our stay at brazil i made a large collection of insects. a few general observations on the comparative importance of the different orders may be interesting to the english entomologist. the large and brilliantly-coloured lepidoptera bespeak the zone they inhabit, far more plainly than any other race of animals. i allude only to the butterflies; for the moths, contrary to what might have been expected from the rankness of the vegetation, certainly appeared in much fewer numbers than in our own temperate regions. i was much surprised at the habits of papilio feronia. this butterfly is not uncommon, and generally frequents the orange-groves. although a high flier, yet it very frequently alights on the trunks of trees. on these occasions its head is invariably placed downwards; and its wings are expanded in a horizontal plane, instead of being folded vertically, as is commonly the case. this is the only butterfly which i have ever seen that uses its legs for running. not being aware of this fact, the insect, more than once, as i cautiously approached with my forceps, shuffled on one side just as the instrument was on the point of closing, and thus escaped. but a far more singular fact is the power which this species possesses of making a noise. ( / . mr. doubleday has lately described (before the entomological society, march , ) a peculiar structure in the wings of this butterfly, which seems to be the means of its making its noise. he says, "it is remarkable for having a sort of drum at the base of the fore wings, between the costal nervure and the subcostal. these two nervures, moreover, have a peculiar screw-like diaphragm or vessel in the interior." i find in langsdorff's travels (in the years - page ) it is said, that in the island of st. catherine's on the coast of brazil, a butterfly called februa hoffmanseggi, makes a noise, when flying away, like a rattle.) several times when a pair, probably male and female, were chasing each other in an irregular course, they passed within a few yards of me; and i distinctly heard a clicking noise, similar to that produced by a toothed wheel passing under a spring catch. the noise was continued at short intervals, and could be distinguished at about twenty yards' distance: i am certain there is no error in the observation. i was disappointed in the general aspect of the coleoptera. the number of minute and obscurely coloured beetles is exceedingly great. ( / . i may mention, as a common instance of one day's (june rd) collecting, when i was not attending particularly to the coleoptera, that i caught sixty-eight species of that order. among these, there were only two of the carabidae, four brachelytra, fifteen rhyncophora, and fourteen of the chrysomelidae. thirty-seven species of arachnidae, which i brought home, will be sufficient to prove that i was not paying overmuch attention to the generally favoured order of coleoptera.) the cabinets of europe can, as yet, boast only of the larger species from tropical climates. it is sufficient to disturb the composure of an entomologist's mind, to look forward to the future dimensions of a complete catalogue. the carnivorous beetles, or carabidae, appear in extremely few numbers within the tropics: this is the more remarkable when compared to the case of the carnivorous quadrupeds, which are so abundant in hot countries. i was struck with this observation both on entering brazil, and when i saw the many elegant and active forms of the harpalidae reappearing on the temperate plains of la plata. do the very numerous spiders and rapacious hymenoptera supply the place of the carnivorous beetles? the carrion-feeders and brachelytra are very uncommon; on the other hand, the rhyncophora and chrysomelidae, all of which depend on the vegetable world for subsistence, are present in astonishing numbers. i do not here refer to the number of different species, but to that of the individual insects; for on this it is that the most striking character in the entomology of different countries depends. the orders orthoptera and hemiptera are particularly numerous; as likewise is the stinging division of the hymenoptera; the bees, perhaps, being excepted. a person, on first entering a tropical forest, is astonished at the labours of the ants: well-beaten paths branch off in every direction, on which an army of never-failing foragers may be seen, some going forth, and others returning, burdened with pieces of green leaf, often larger than their own bodies. a small dark-coloured ant sometimes migrates in countless numbers. one day, at bahia, my attention was drawn by observing many spiders, cockroaches, and other insects, and some lizards, rushing in the greatest agitation across a bare piece of ground. a little way behind, every stalk and leaf was blackened by a small ant. the swarm having crossed the bare space, divided itself, and descended an old wall. by this means many insects were fairly enclosed; and the efforts which the poor little creatures made to extricate themselves from such a death were wonderful. when the ants came to the road they changed their course, and in narrow files reascended the wall. having placed a small stone so as to intercept one of the lines, the whole body attacked it, and then immediately retired. shortly afterwards another body came to the charge, and again having failed to make any impression, this line of march was entirely given up. by going an inch round, the file might have avoided the stone, and this doubtless would have happened, if it had been originally there: but having been attacked, the lion-hearted little warriors scorned the idea of yielding. certain wasp-like insects, which construct in the corners of the verandahs clay cells for their larvae, are very numerous in the neighbourhood of rio. these cells they stuff full of half-dead spiders and caterpillars, which they seem wonderfully to know how to sting to that degree as to leave them paralysed but alive, until their eggs are hatched; and the larvae feed on the horrid mass of powerless, half-killed victims--a sight which has been described by an enthusiastic naturalist as curious and pleasing! ( / . in a manuscript in the british museum by mr. abbott, who made his observations in georgia; see mr. a. white's paper in the "annals of natural history" volume page . lieutenant hutton has described a sphex with similar habits in india, in the "journal of the asiatic society" volume page .) i was much interested one day by watching a deadly contest between a pepsis and a large spider of the genus lycosa. the wasp made a sudden dash at its prey, and then flew away: the spider was evidently wounded, for, trying to escape, it rolled down a little slope, but had still strength sufficient to crawl into a thick tuft of grass. the wasp soon returned, and seemed surprised at not immediately finding its victim. it then commenced as regular a hunt as ever hound did after fox; making short semicircular casts, and all the time rapidly vibrating its wings and antennae. the spider, though well concealed, was soon discovered, and the wasp, evidently still afraid of its adversary's jaws, after much manoeuvring, inflicted two stings on the under side of its thorax. at last, carefully examining with its antennae the now motionless spider, it proceeded to drag away the body. but i stopped both tyrant and prey. ( / . don felix azara volume page , mentioning a hymenopterous insect, probably of the same genus, says he saw it dragging a dead spider through tall grass, in a straight line to its nest, which was one hundred and sixty-three paces distant. he adds that the wasp, in order to find the road, every now and then made "demi-tours d'environ trois palmes.") the number of spiders, in proportion to other insects, is here compared with england very much larger; perhaps more so than with any other division of the articulate animals. the variety of species among the jumping spiders appears almost infinite. the genus, or rather family of epeira, is here characterized by many singular forms; some species have pointed coriaceous shells, others enlarged and spiny tibiae. every path in the forest is barricaded with the strong yellow web of a species, belonging to the same division with the epeira clavipes of fabricius, which was formerly said by sloane to make, in the west indies, webs so strong as to catch birds. a small and pretty kind of spider, with very long fore-legs, and which appears to belong to an undescribed genus, lives as a parasite on almost every one of these webs. i suppose it is too insignificant to be noticed by the great epeira, and is therefore allowed to prey on the minute insects, which, adhering to the lines, would otherwise be wasted. when frightened, this little spider either feigns death by extending its front legs, or suddenly drops from the web. a large epeira of the same division with epeira tuberculata and conica is extremely common, especially in dry situations. its web, which is generally placed among the great leaves of the common agave, is sometimes strengthened near the centre by a pair or even four zigzag ribbons, which connect two adjoining rays. when any large insect, as a grasshopper or wasp, is caught, the spider, by a dexterous movement, makes it revolve very rapidly, and at the same time emitting a band of threads from its spinners, soon envelops its prey in a case like the cocoon of a silkworm. the spider now examines the powerless victim, and gives the fatal bite on the hinder part of its thorax; then retreating, patiently waits till the poison has taken effect. the virulence of this poison may be judged of from the fact that in half a minute i opened the mesh, and found a large wasp quite lifeless. this epeira always stands with its head downwards near the centre of the web. when disturbed, it acts differently according to circumstances: if there is a thicket below, it suddenly falls down; and i have distinctly seen the thread from the spinners lengthened by the animal while yet stationary, as preparatory to its fall. if the ground is clear beneath, the epeira seldom falls, but moves quickly through a central passage from one to the other side. when still further disturbed, it practises a most curious manoeuvre: standing in the middle, it violently jerks the web, which is attached to elastic twigs, till at last the whole acquires such a rapid vibratory movement, that even the outline of the spider's body becomes indistinct. it is well known that most of the british spiders, when a large insect is caught in their webs, endeavour to cut the lines and liberate their prey, to save their nets from being entirely spoiled. i once, however, saw in a hot-house in shropshire a large female wasp caught in the irregular web of a quite small spider; and this spider, instead of cutting the web, most perseveringly continued to entangle the body, and especially the wings, of its prey. the wasp at first aimed in vain repeated thrusts with its sting at its little antagonist. pitying the wasp, after allowing it to struggle for more than an hour, i killed it and put it back into the web. the spider soon returned; and an hour afterwards i was much surprised to find it with its jaws buried in the orifice through which the sting is protruded by the living wasp. i drove the spider away two or three times, but for the next twenty-four hours i always found it again sucking at the same place. the spider became much distended by the juices of its prey, which was many times larger than itself. i may here just mention, that i found, near st. fé bajada, many large black spiders, with ruby-coloured marks on their backs, having gregarious habits. the webs were placed vertically, as is invariably the case with the genus epeira: they were separated from each other by a space of about two feet, but were all attached to certain common lines, which were of great length, and extended to all parts of the community. in this manner the tops of some large bushes were encompassed by the united nets. azara has described a gregarious spider in paraguay, which walckanaer thinks must be a theridion, but probably it is an epeira, and perhaps even the same species with mine. ( / . azara's "voyage" volume page .) i cannot, however, recollect seeing a central nest as large as a hat, in which, during autumn, when the spiders die, azara says the eggs are deposited. as all the spiders which i saw were of the same size, they must have been nearly of the same age. this gregarious habit, in so typical a genus as epeira, among insects, which are so bloodthirsty and solitary that even the two sexes attack each other, is a very singular fact. in a lofty valley of the cordillera, near mendoza, i found another spider with a singularly-formed web. strong lines radiated in a vertical plane from a common centre, where the insect had its station; but only two of the rays were connected by a symmetrical mesh-work; so that the net, instead of being, as is generally the case, circular, consisted of a wedge-shaped segment. all the webs were similarly constructed. (plate . darwin's papilio feronia, , now called ageronia feronia, .) chapter iii. (plate . hydrochaerus capybara or water-hog.) monte video. maldonado. excursion to r. polanco. lazo and bolas. partridges. absence of trees. deer. capybara, or river hog. tucutuco. molothrus, cuckoo-like habits. tyrant-flycatcher. mocking-bird. carrion hawks. tubes formed by lightning. house struck. maldonado. july , . in the morning we got under way, and stood out of the splendid harbour of rio de janeiro. in our passage to the plata, we saw nothing particular, excepting on one day a great shoal of porpoises, many hundreds in number. the whole sea was in places furrowed by them; and a most extraordinary spectacle was presented, as hundreds, proceeding together by jumps, in which their whole bodies were exposed, thus cut the water. when the ship was running nine knots an hour, these animals could cross and recross the bows with the greatest ease, and then dash away right ahead. as soon as we entered the estuary of the plata, the weather was very unsettled. one dark night we were surrounded by numerous seals and penguins, which made such strange noises, that the officer on watch reported he could hear the cattle bellowing on shore. on a second night we witnessed a splendid scene of natural fireworks; the mast-head and yard-arm-ends shone with st. elmo's light; and the form of the vane could almost be traced, as if it had been rubbed with phosphorus. the sea was so highly luminous, that the tracks of the penguins were marked by a fiery wake, and the darkness of the sky was momentarily illuminated by the most vivid lightning. when within the mouth of the river, i was interested by observing how slowly the waters of the sea and river mixed. the latter, muddy and discoloured, from its less specific gravity, floated on the surface of the salt water. this was curiously exhibited in the wake of the vessel, where a line of blue water was seen mingling in little eddies with the adjoining fluid. july , . we anchored at monte video. the "beagle" was employed in surveying the extreme southern and eastern coasts of america, south of the plata, during the two succeeding years. to prevent useless repetitions, i will extract those parts of my journal which refer to the same districts, without always attending to the order in which we visited them. maldonado is situated on the northern bank of the plata, and not very far from the mouth of the estuary. it is a most quiet, forlorn, little town; built, as is universally the case in these countries, with the streets running at right angles to each other, and having in the middle a large plaza or square, which, from its size, renders the scantiness of the population more evident. it possesses scarcely any trade; the exports being confined to a few hides and living cattle. the inhabitants are chiefly landowners, together with a few shopkeepers and the necessary tradesmen, such as blacksmiths and carpenters, who do nearly all the business for a circuit of fifty miles round. the town is separated from the river by a band of sand-hillocks, about a mile broad: it is surrounded on all other sides by an open slightly-undulating country, covered by one uniform layer of fine green turf, on which countless herds of cattle, sheep, and horses graze. there is very little land cultivated even close to the town. a few hedges made of cacti and agave mark out where some wheat or indian corn has been planted. the features of the country are very similar along the whole northern bank of the plata. the only difference is, that here the granitic hills are a little bolder. the scenery is very uninteresting; there is scarcely a house, an enclosed piece of ground, or even a tree, to give it an air of cheerfulness. yet, after being imprisoned for some time in a ship, there is a charm in the unconfined feeling of walking over boundless plains of turf. moreover, if your view is limited to a small space, many objects possess beauty. some of the smaller birds are brilliantly coloured; and the bright green sward, browsed short by the cattle, is ornamented by dwarf flowers, among which a plant, looking like the daisy, claimed the place of an old friend. what would a florist say to whole tracts, so thickly covered by the verbena melindres, as, even at a distance, to appear of the most gaudy scarlet? i stayed ten weeks at maldonado, in which time a nearly perfect collection of the animals, birds, and reptiles, was procured. before making any observations respecting them, i will give an account of a little excursion i made as far as the river polanco, which is about seventy miles distant, in a northerly direction. i may mention, as a proof how cheap everything is in this country, that i paid only two dollars a day or eight shillings, for two men, together with a troop of about a dozen riding-horses. my companions were well armed with pistols and sabres; a precaution which i thought rather unnecessary; but the first piece of news we heard was, that, the day before, a traveller from monte video had been found dead on the road, with his throat cut. this happened close to a cross, the record of a former murder. on the first night we slept at a retired little country-house; and there i soon found out that i possessed two or three articles, especially a pocket compass, which created unbounded astonishment. in every house i was asked to show the compass, and by its aid, together with a map, to point out the direction of various places. it excited the liveliest admiration that i, a perfect stranger, should know the road (for direction and road are synonymous in this open country) to places where i had never been. at one house a young woman who was ill in bed, sent to entreat me to come and show her the compass. if their surprise was great, mine was greater, to find such ignorance among people who possessed their thousands of cattle, and "estancias" of great extent. it can only be accounted for by the circumstance that this retired part of the country is seldom visited by foreigners. i was asked whether the earth or sun moved; whether it was hotter or colder to the north; where spain was, and many other such questions. the greater number of the inhabitants had an indistinct idea that england, london, and north america, were different names for the same place; but the better informed well knew that london and north america were separate countries close together, and that england was a large town in london! i carried with me some promethean matches, which i ignited by biting; it was thought so wonderful that a man should strike fire with his teeth, that it was usual to collect the whole family to see it: i was once offered a dollar for a single one. washing my face in the morning caused much speculation at the village of las minas; a superior tradesman closely cross-questioned me about so singular a practice; and likewise why on board we wore our beards; for he had heard from my guide that we did so. he eyed me with much suspicion; perhaps he had heard of ablutions in the mahomedan religion, and knowing me to be a heretic, probably he came to the conclusion that all heretics were turks. it is the general custom in this country to ask for a night's lodging at the first convenient house. the astonishment at the compass, and my other feats of jugglery, was to a certain degree advantageous, as with that, and the long stories my guides told of my breaking stones, knowing venomous from harmless snakes, collecting insects, etc., i repaid them for their hospitality. i am writing as if i had been among the inhabitants of central africa: banda oriental would not be flattered by the comparison; but such were my feelings at the time. the next day we rode to the village of las minas. the country was rather more hilly, but otherwise continued the same; an inhabitant of the pampas no doubt would have considered it as truly alpine. the country is so thinly inhabited, that during the whole day we scarcely met a single person. las minas is much smaller even than maldonado. it is seated on a little plain, and is surrounded by low rocky mountains. it is of the usual symmetrical form, and with its whitewashed church standing in the centre, had rather a pretty appearance. the outskirting houses rose out of the plain like isolated beings, without the accompaniment of gardens or courtyards. this is generally the case in the country, and all the houses have, in consequence, an uncomfortable aspect. at night we stopped at a pulperia, or drinking-shop. during the evening a great number of gauchos came in to drink spirits and smoke cigars: their appearance is very striking; they are generally tall and handsome, but with a proud and dissolute expression of countenance. they frequently wear their moustaches, and long black hair curling down their backs. with their brightly coloured garments, great spurs clanking about their heels, and knives stuck as daggers (and often so used) at their waists, they look a very different race of men from what might be expected from their name of gauchos, or simple countrymen. their politeness is excessive; they never drink their spirits without expecting you to taste it; but whilst making their exceedingly graceful bow, they seem quite as ready, if occasion offered, to cut your throat. on the third day we pursued rather an irregular course, as i was employed in examining some beds of marble. on the fine plains of turf we saw many ostriches (struthio rhea). some of the flocks contained as many as twenty or thirty birds. these, when standing on any little eminence, and seen against the clear sky, presented a very noble appearance. i never met with such tame ostriches in any other part of the country: it was easy to gallop up within a short distance of them; but then, expanding their wings, they made all sail right before the wind, and soon left the horse astern. at night we came to the house of don juan fuentes, a rich landed proprietor, but not personally known to either of my companions. on approaching the house of a stranger, it is usual to follow several little points of etiquette: riding up slowly to the door, the salutation of ave maria is given, and until somebody comes out and asks you to alight, it is not customary even to get off your horse: the formal answer of the owner is, "sin pecado concebida"--that is, conceived without sin. having entered the house, some general conversation is kept up for a few minutes, till permission is asked to pass the night there. this is granted as a matter of course. the stranger then takes his meals with the family, and a room is assigned him, where with the horsecloths belonging to his recado (or saddle of the pampas) he makes his bed. it is curious how similar circumstances produce such similar results in manners. at the cape of good hope the same hospitality, and very nearly the same points of etiquette, are universally observed. the difference, however, between the character of the spaniard and that of the dutch boor is shown, by the former never asking his guest a single question beyond the strictest rule of politeness, whilst the honest dutchman demands where he has been, where he is going, what is his business, and even how many brothers, sisters, or children he may happen to have. shortly after our arrival at don juan's one of the largest herds of cattle was driven in towards the house, and three beasts were picked out to be slaughtered for the supply of the establishment. these half-wild cattle are very active; and knowing full well the fatal lazo, they led the horses a long and laborious chase. after witnessing the rude wealth displayed in the number of cattle, men, and horses, don juan's miserable house was quite curious. the floor consisted of hardened mud, and the windows were without glass; the sitting-room boasted only of a few of the roughest chairs and stools, with a couple of tables. the supper, although several strangers were present, consisted of two huge piles, one of roast beef, the other of boiled, with some pieces of pumpkin: besides this latter there was no other vegetable, and not even a morsel of bread. for drinking, a large earthenware jug of water served the whole party. yet this man was the owner of several square miles of land, of which nearly every acre would produce corn, and, with a little trouble, all the common vegetables. the evening was spent in smoking, with a little impromptu singing, accompanied by the guitar. the signoritas all sat together in one corner of the room, and did not sup with the men. (plate . recado or surcingle of gaucho.) so many works have been written about these countries, that it is almost superfluous to describe either the lazo or the bolas. the lazo consists of a very strong, but thin, well-plaited rope, made of raw hide. one end is attached to the broad surcingle, which fastens together the complicated gear of the recado, or saddle used in the pampas; the other is terminated by a small ring of iron or brass, by which a noose can be formed. the gaucho, when he is going to use the lazo, keeps a small coil in his bridle-hand, and in the other holds the running noose, which is made very large, generally having a diameter of about eight feet. this he whirls round his head, and by the dexterous movement of his wrist keeps the noose open; then, throwing it, he causes it to fall on any particular spot he chooses. the lazo, when not used, is tied up in a small coil to the after part of the recado. the bolas, or balls, are of two kinds: the simplest, which is chiefly used for catching ostriches, consists of two round stones, covered with leather, and united by a thin plaited thong, about eight feet long. (see chapter .) the other kind differs only in having three balls united by the thongs to a common centre. the gaucho holds the smallest of the three in his hand, and whirls the other two round and round his head; then, taking aim, sends them like chain shot revolving through the air. the balls no sooner strike any object, than, winding round it, they cross each other, and become firmly hitched. the size and weight of the balls varies, according to the purpose for which they are made: when of stone, although not larger than an apple, they are sent with such force as sometimes to break the leg even of a horse. i have seen the balls made of wood, and as large as a turnip, for the sake of catching these animals without injuring them. the balls are sometimes made of iron, and these can be hurled to the greatest distance. the main difficulty in using either lazo or bolas is to ride so well as to be able at full speed, and while suddenly turning about, to whirl them so steadily round the head, as to take aim: on foot any person would soon learn the art. one day, as i was amusing myself by galloping and whirling the balls round my head, by accident the free one struck a bush, and its revolving motion being thus destroyed, it immediately fell to the ground, and, like magic caught one hind leg of my horse; the other ball was then jerked out of my hand, and the horse fairly secured. luckily he was an old practised animal, and knew what it meant; otherwise he would probably have kicked till he had thrown himself down. the gauchos roared with laughter; they cried out that they had seen every sort of animal caught, but had never before seen a man caught by himself. during the two succeeding days, i reached the farthest point which i was anxious to examine. the country wore the same aspect, till at last the fine green turf became more wearisome than a dusty turnpike road. we everywhere saw great numbers of partridges (nothura major). these birds do not go in coveys, nor do they conceal themselves like the english kind. it appears a very silly bird. a man on horseback by riding round and round in a circle, or rather in a spire, so as to approach closer each time, may knock on the head as many as he pleases. the more common method is to catch them with a running noose, or little lazo, made of the stem of an ostrich's feather, fastened to the end of a long stick. a boy on a quiet old horse will frequently thus catch thirty or forty in a day. in arctic north america the indians catch the varying hare by walking spirally round and round it, when on its form: the middle of the day is reckoned the best time, when the sun is high, and the shadow of the hunter not very long. ( / . hearne's "journey" page .) on our return to maldonado, we followed rather a different line of road. near pan de azucar, a landmark well known to all those who have sailed up the plata, i stayed a day at the house of a most hospitable old spaniard. early in the morning we ascended the sierra de las animas. by the aid of the rising sun the scenery was almost picturesque. to the westward the view extended over an immense level plain as far as the mount, at monte video, and to the eastward, over the mammillated country of maldonado. on the summit of the mountain there were several small heaps of stones, which evidently had lain there for many years. my companion assured me that they were the work of the indians in the old time. the heaps were similar, but on a much smaller scale, to those so commonly found on the mountains of wales. the desire to signalise any event, on the highest point of the neighbouring land, seems a universal passion with mankind. at the present day, not a single indian, either civilised or wild, exists in this part of the province; nor am i aware that the former inhabitants have left behind them any more permanent records than these insignificant piles on the summit of the sierra de las animas. the general, and almost entire absence of trees in banda oriental is remarkable. some of the rocky hills are partly covered by thickets, and on the banks of the larger streams, especially to the north of las minas, willow-trees are not uncommon. near the arroyo tapes i heard of a wood of palms; and one of these trees, of considerable size, i saw near the pan de azucar, in latitude degrees. these, and the trees planted by the spaniards, offer the only exceptions to the general scarcity of wood. among the introduced kinds may be enumerated poplars, olives, peach, and other fruit trees: the peaches succeed so well, that they afford the main supply of firewood to the city of buenos ayres. extremely level countries, such as the pampas, seldom appear favourable to the growth of trees. this may possibly be attributed either to the force of the winds, or the kind of drainage. in the nature of the land, however, around maldonado, no such reason is apparent; the rocky mountains afford protected situations; enjoying various kinds of soil; streamlets of water are common at the bottoms of nearly every valley; and the clayey nature of the earth seems adapted to retain moisture. it has been inferred, with much probability, that the presence of woodland is generally determined by the annual amount of moisture ( / . maclaren, article "america" "encyclopedia brittannica."); yet in this province abundant and heavy rain falls during the winter; and the summer, though dry, is not so in any excessive degree. ( / . azara says "je crois que la quantité annuelle des pluies est, dans toutes ces contrées, plus considérable qu'en espagne."--volume page .) we see nearly the whole of australia covered by lofty trees, yet that country possesses a far more arid climate. hence we must look to some other and unknown cause. confining our view to south america, we should certainly be tempted to believe that trees flourished only under a very humid climate; for the limit of the forest-land follows, in a most remarkable manner, that of the damp winds. in the southern part of the continent, where the western gales, charged with moisture from the pacific, prevail, every island on the broken west coast, from latitude degrees to the extreme point of tierra del fuego, is densely covered by impenetrable forests. on the eastern side of the cordillera, over the same extent of latitude, where a blue sky and a fine climate prove that the atmosphere has been deprived of its moisture by passing over the mountains, the arid plains of patagonia support a most scanty vegetation. in the more northern parts of the continent, within the limits of the constant south-eastern trade-wind, the eastern side is ornamented by magnificent forests; whilst the western coast, from latitude degrees south to latitude degrees south, may be described as a desert; on this western coast, northward of latitude degrees south, where the trade-wind loses its regularity, and heavy torrents of rain fall periodically, the shores of the pacific, so utterly desert in peru, assume near cape blanco the character of luxuriance so celebrated at guayaquil and panama. hence in the southern and northern parts of the continent, the forest and desert lands occupy reversed positions with respect to the cordillera, and these positions are apparently determined by the direction of the prevalent winds. in the middle of the continent there is a broad intermediate band, including central chile and the provinces of la plata, where the rain-bringing winds have not to pass over lofty mountains, and where the land is neither a desert nor covered by forests. but even the rule, if confined to south america, of trees flourishing only in a climate rendered humid by rain-bearing winds, has a strongly marked exception in the case of the falkland islands. these islands, situated in the same latitude with tierra del fuego and only between two and three hundred miles distant from it, having a nearly similar climate, with a geological formation almost identical, with favourable situations and the same kind of peaty soil, yet can boast of few plants deserving even the title of bushes; whilst in tierra del fuego it is impossible to find an acre of land not covered by the densest forest. in this case, both the direction of the heavy gales of wind and of the currents of the sea are favourable to the transport of seeds from tierra del fuego, as is shown by the canoes and trunks of trees drifted from that country, and frequently thrown on the shores of the western falkland. hence perhaps it is, that there are many plants in common to the two countries: but with respect to the trees of tierra del fuego, even attempts made to transplant them have failed. during our stay at maldonado i collected several quadrupeds, eighty kinds of birds, and many reptiles, including nine species of snakes. of the indigenous mammalia, the only one now left of any size, which is common, is the cervus campestris. this deer is exceedingly abundant, often in small herds, throughout the countries bordering the plata and in northern patagonia. if a person crawling close along the ground, slowly advances towards a herd, the deer frequently, out of curiosity, approach to reconnoitre him. i have by this means, killed from one spot, three out of the same herd. although so tame and inquisitive, yet when approached on horseback, they are exceedingly wary. in this country nobody goes on foot, and the deer knows man as its enemy only when he is mounted and armed with the bolas. at bahia blanca, a recent establishment in northern patagonia, i was surprised to find how little the deer cared for the noise of a gun: one day i fired ten times from within eighty yards at one animal; and it was much more startled at the ball cutting up the ground than at the report of the rifle. my powder being exhausted, i was obliged to get up (to my shame as a sportsman be it spoken, though well able to kill birds on the wing) and halloo till the deer ran away. the most curious fact with respect to this animal, is the overpoweringly strong and offensive odour which proceeds from the buck. it is quite indescribable: several times whilst skinning the specimen which is now mounted at the zoological museum, i was almost overcome by nausea. i tied up the skin in a silk pocket-handkerchief, and so carried it home: this handkerchief, after being well washed, i continually used, and it was of course as repeatedly washed; yet every time, for a space of one year and seven months, when first unfolded, i distinctly perceived the odour. this appears an astonishing instance of the permanence of some matter, which nevertheless in its nature must be most subtile and volatile. frequently, when passing at the distance of half a mile to leeward of a herd, i have perceived the whole air tainted with the effluvium. i believe the smell from the buck is most powerful at the period when its horns are perfect, or free from the hairy skin. when in this state the meat is, of course, quite uneatable; but the gauchos assert, that if buried for some time in fresh earth, the taint is removed. i have somewhere read that the islanders in the north of scotland treat the rank carcasses of the fish-eating birds in the same manner. the order rodentia is here very numerous in species: of mice alone i obtained no less than eight kinds. ( / . in south america i collected altogether twenty-seven species of mice, and thirteen more are known from the works of azara and other authors. those collected by myself have been named and described by mr. waterhouse at the meetings of the zoological society. i must be allowed to take this opportunity of returning my cordial thanks to mr. waterhouse, and to the other gentleman attached to that society, for their kind and most liberal assistance on all occasions.) the largest gnawing animal in the world, the hydrochaerus capybara (the water-hog), is here also common. one which i shot at monte video weighed ninety-eight pounds: its length, from the end of the snout to the stump-like tail, was three feet two inches; and its girth three feet eight. these great rodents occasionally frequent the islands in the mouth of the plata, where the water is quite salt, but are far more abundant on the borders of fresh-water lakes and rivers. near maldonado three or four generally live together. in the daytime they either lie among the aquatic plants, or openly feed on the turf plain. ( / . in the stomach and duodenum of a capybara which i opened, i found a very large quantity of a thin yellowish fluid, in which scarcely a fibre could be distinguished. mr. owen informs me that a part of the oesophagus is so constructed that nothing much larger than a crowquill can be passed down. certainly the broad teeth and strong jaws of this animal are well fitted to grind into pulp the aquatic plants on which it feeds.) when viewed at a distance, from their manner of walking and colour they resemble pigs: but when seated on their haunches, and attentively watching any object with one eye, they reassume the appearance of their congeners, cavies and rabbits. both the front and side view of their head has quite a ludicrous aspect, from the great depth of their jaw. these animals, at maldonado, were very tame; by cautiously walking, i approached within three yards of four old ones. this tameness may probably be accounted for, by the jaguar having been banished for some years, and by the gaucho not thinking it worth his while to hunt them. as i approached nearer and nearer they frequently made their peculiar noise, which is a low abrupt grunt, not having much actual sound, but rather arising from the sudden expulsion of air: the only noise i know at all like it, is the first hoarse bark of a large dog. having watched the four from almost within arm's length (and they me) for several minutes, they rushed into the water at full gallop with the greatest impetuosity, and emitted at the same time their bark. after diving a short distance they came again to the surface, but only just showed the upper part of their heads. when the female is swimming in the water, and has young ones, they are said to sit on her back. these animals are easily killed in numbers; but their skins are of trifling value, and the meat is very indifferent. on the islands in the rio parana they are exceedingly abundant, and afford the ordinary prey to the jaguar. the tucutuco (ctenomys brasiliensis) is a curious small animal, which may be briefly described as a gnawer, with the habits of a mole. it is extremely numerous in some parts of the country, but it is difficult to be procured, and never, i believe, comes out of the ground. it throws up at the mouth of its burrows hillocks of earth like those of the mole, but smaller. considerable tracts of country are so completely undermined by these animals that horses, in passing over, sink above their fetlocks. the tucutucos appear, to a certain degree, to be gregarious: the man who procured the specimens for me had caught six together, and he said this was a common occurrence. they are nocturnal in their habits; and their principal food is the roots of plants, which are the object of their extensive and superficial burrows. this animal is universally known by a very peculiar noise which it makes when beneath the ground. a person, the first time he hears it, is much surprised; for it is not easy to tell whence it comes, nor is it possible to guess what kind of creature utters it. the noise consists in a short, but not rough, nasal grunt, which is monotonously repeated about four times in quick succession ( / . at the r. negro, in northern patagonia, there is an animal of the same habits, and probably a closely allied species, but which i never saw. its noise is different from that of the maldonado kind; it is repeated only twice instead of three or four times, and is more distinct and sonorous: when heard from a distance it so closely resembles the sound made in cutting down a small tree with an axe, that i have sometimes remained in doubt concerning it.): the name tucutuco is given in imitation of the sound. where this animal is abundant, it may be heard at all times of the day, and sometimes directly beneath one's feet. when kept in a room, the tucutucos move both slowly and clumsily, which appears owing to the outward action of their hind legs; and they are quite incapable, from the socket of the thigh-bone not having a certain ligament, of jumping even the smallest vertical height. they are very stupid in making any attempt to escape; when angry or frightened they utter the tucu-tuco. of those i kept alive, several, even the first day, became quite tame, not attempting to bite or to run away; others were a little wilder. the man who caught them asserted that very many are invariably found blind. a specimen which i preserved in spirits was in this state; mr. reid considers it to be the effect of inflammation in the nictitating membrane. when the animal was alive i placed my finger within half an inch of its head, and not the slightest notice was taken: it made its way, however, about the room nearly as well as the others. considering the strictly subterranean habits of the tucu-tuco, the blindness, though so common, cannot be a very serious evil; yet it appears strange that any animal should possess an organ frequently subject to be injured. lamarck would have been delighted with this fact, had he known it, when speculating (probably with more truth than usual with him) on the gradually-acquired blindness of the aspalax, a gnawer living under ground, and of the proteus, a reptile living in dark caverns filled with water; in both of which animals the eye is in an almost rudimentary state, and is covered by a tendinous membrane and skin. ( / . "philosoph. zoolog." tome page .) in the common mole the eye is extraordinarily small but perfect, though many anatomists doubt whether it is connected with the true optic nerve; its vision must certainly be imperfect, though probably useful to the animal when it leaves its burrow. in the tucu-tuco, which i believe never comes to the surface of the ground, the eye is rather larger, but often rendered blind and useless, though without apparently causing any inconvenience to the animal; no doubt lamarck would have said that the tucu-tuco is now passing into the state of the aspalax and proteus. birds of many kinds are extremely abundant on the undulating grassy plains around maldonado. there are several species of a family allied in structure and manners to our starling: one of these (molothrus niger) is remarkable from its habits. several may often be seen standing together on the back of a cow or horse; and while perched on a hedge, pluming themselves in the sun, they sometimes attempt to sing, or rather to hiss; the noise being very peculiar, resembling that of bubbles of air passing rapidly from a small orifice under water, so as to produce an acute sound. according to azara, this bird, like the cuckoo, deposits its eggs in other birds' nests. i was several times told by the country people that there certainly is some bird having this habit; and my assistant in collecting, who is a very accurate person, found a nest of the sparrow of this country (zonotrichia matutina), with one egg in it larger than the others, and of a different colour and shape. in north america there is another species of molothrus (m. pecoris), which has a similar cuckoo-like habit, and which is most closely allied in every respect to the species from the plata, even in such trifling peculiarities as standing on the backs of cattle; it differs only in being a little smaller, and in its plumage and eggs being of a slightly different shade of colour. this close agreement in structure and habits, in representative species coming from opposite quarters of a great continent, always strikes one as interesting, though of common occurrence. mr. swainson has well remarked, that with the exception of the molothrus pecoris, to which must be added the m. niger, the cuckoos are the only birds which can be called truly parasitical; namely, such as "fasten themselves, as it were, on another living animal, whose animal heat brings their young into life, whose food they live upon, and whose death would cause theirs during the period of infancy." ( / . "magazine of zoology and botany" volume page .) it is remarkable that some of the species, but not all, both of the cuckoo and molothrus should agree in this one strange habit of their parasitical propagation, whilst opposed to each other in almost every other habit: the molothrus, like our starling, is eminently sociable, and lives on the open plains without art or disguise: the cuckoo, as every one knows, is a singularly shy bird; it frequents the most retired thickets, and feeds on fruit and caterpillars. in structure also these two genera are widely removed from each other. many theories, even phrenological theories, have been advanced to explain the origin of the cuckoo laying its eggs in other birds' nests. m. prévost alone, i think, has thrown light by his observations on this puzzle: he finds that the female cuckoo, which, according to most observers, lays at least from four to six eggs, must pair with the male each time after laying only one or two eggs. ( / . read before the academy of sciences in paris. l'institut page .) now, if the cuckoo was obliged to sit on her own eggs, she would either have to sit on all together, and therefore leave those first laid so long, that they probably would become addled; or she would have to hatch separately each egg or two eggs, as soon as laid: but as the cuckoo stays a shorter time in this country than any other migratory bird, she certainly would not have time enough for the successive hatchings. hence we can perceive in the fact of the cuckoo pairing several times, and laying her eggs at intervals, the cause of her depositing her eggs in other birds' nests, and leaving them to the care of foster-parents. i am strongly inclined to believe that this view is correct, from having been independently led (as we shall hereafter see) to an analogous conclusion with regard to the south american ostrich, the females of which are parasitical, if i may so express it, on each other; each female laying several eggs in the nests of several other females, and the male ostrich undertaking all the cares of incubation, like the strange foster-parents with the cuckoo. i will mention only two other birds, which are very common, and render themselves prominent from their habits. the saurophagus sulphuratus is typical of the great american tribe of tyrant-flycatchers. in its structure it closely approaches the true shrikes, but in its habits may be compared to many birds. i have frequently observed it, hunting a field, hovering over one spot like a hawk, and then proceeding on to another. when seen thus suspended in the air, it might very readily at a short distance be mistaken for one of the rapacious order; its stoop, however, is very inferior in force and rapidity to that of a hawk. at other times the saurophagus haunts the neighbourhood of water, and there, like a kingfisher, remaining stationary, it catches any small fish which may come near the margin. these birds are not unfrequently kept either in cages or in courtyards, with their wings cut. they soon become tame, and are very amusing from their cunning odd manners, which were described to me as being similar to those of the common magpie. their flight is undulatory, for the weight of the head and bill appears too great for the body. in the evening the saurophagus takes its stand on a bush, often by the roadside, and continually repeats without change a shrill and rather agreeable cry, which somewhat resembles articulate words: the spaniards say it is like the words "bien te veo" (i see you well), and accordingly have given it this name. a mocking-bird (mimus orpheus), called by the inhabitants calandria, is remarkable, from possessing a song far superior to that of any other bird in the country: indeed, it is nearly the only bird in south america which i have observed to take its stand for the purpose of singing. the song may be compared to that of the sedge warbler, but is more powerful; some harsh notes and some very high ones, being mingled with a pleasant warbling. it is heard only during the spring. at other times its cry is harsh and far from harmonious. near maldonado these birds were tame and bold; they constantly attended the country houses in numbers, to pick the meat which was hung up on the posts or walls: if any other small bird joined the feast, the calandria soon chased it away. on the wide uninhabited plains of patagonia another closely allied species, o. patagonica of d'orbigny, which frequents the valleys clothed with spiny bushes, is a wilder bird, and has a slightly different tone of voice. it appears to me a curious circumstance, as showing the fine shades of difference in habits, that judging from this latter respect alone, when i first saw this second species, i thought it was different from the maldonado kind. having afterwards procured a specimen, and comparing the two without particular care, they appeared so very similar, that i changed my opinion; but now mr. gould says that they are certainly distinct; a conclusion in conformity with the trifling difference of habit, of which, however, he was not aware. the number, tameness, and disgusting habits of the carrion-feeding hawks of south america make them pre-eminently striking to any one accustomed only to the birds of northern europe. in this list may be included four species of the caracara or polyborus, the turkey buzzard, the gallinazo, and the condor. the caracaras are, from their structure, placed among the eagles: we shall soon see how ill they become so high a rank. in their habits they well supply the place of our carrion-crows, magpies, and ravens; a tribe of birds widely distributed over the rest of the world, but entirely absent in south america. to begin with the polyborus brasiliensis: this is a common bird, and has a wide geographical range; it is most numerous on the grassy savannahs of la plata (where it goes by the name of carrancha), and is far from unfrequent throughout the sterile plains of patagonia. in the desert between the rivers negro and colorado, numbers constantly attend the line of road to devour the carcasses of the exhausted animals which chance to perish from fatigue and thirst. although thus common in these dry and open countries, and likewise on the arid shores of the pacific, it is nevertheless found inhabiting the damp impervious forests of west patagonia and tierra del fuego. the carranchas, together with the chimango, constantly attend in numbers the estancias and slaughtering-houses. if an animal dies on the plain the gallinazo commences the feast, and then the two species of polyborus pick the bones clean. these birds, although thus commonly feeding together, are far from being friends. when the carrancha is quietly seated on the branch of a tree or on the ground, the chimango often continues for a long time flying backwards and forwards, up and down, in a semicircle, trying each time at the bottom of the curve to strike its larger relative. the carrancha takes little notice, except by bobbing its head. although the carranchas frequently assemble in numbers, they are not gregarious; for in desert places they may be seen solitary, or more commonly by pairs. the carranchas are said to be very crafty, and to steal great numbers of eggs. they attempt, also, together with the chimango, to pick off the scabs from the sore backs of horses and mules. the poor animal, on the one hand, with its ears down and its back arched; and, on the other, the hovering bird, eyeing at the distance of a yard the disgusting morsel, form a picture, which has been described by captain head with his own peculiar spirit and accuracy. these false eagles most rarely kill any living bird or animal; and their vulture-like, necrophagous habits are very evident to any one who has fallen asleep on the desolate plains of patagonia, for when he wakes, he will see, on each surrounding hillock, one of these birds patiently watching him with an evil eye: it is a feature in the landscape of these countries, which will be recognised by every one who has wandered over them. if a party of men go out hunting with dogs and horses, they will be accompanied, during the day, by several of these attendants. after feeding, the uncovered craw protrudes; at such times, and indeed generally, the carrancha is an inactive, tame, and cowardly bird. its flight is heavy and slow, like that of an english rook. it seldom soars; but i have twice seen one at a great height gliding through the air with much ease. it runs (in contradistinction to hopping), but not quite so quickly as some of its congeners. at times the carrancha is noisy, but is not generally so: its cry is loud, very harsh and peculiar, and may be likened to the sound of the spanish guttural g, followed by a rough double r r; when uttering this cry it elevates its head higher and higher, till at last, with its beak wide open, the crown almost touches the lower part of the back. this fact, which has been doubted, is quite true; i have seen them several times with their heads backwards in a completely inverted position. to these observations i may add, on the high authority of azara, that the carrancha feeds on worms, shells, slugs, grasshoppers, and frogs; that it destroys young lambs by tearing the umbilical cord; and that it pursues the gallinazo, till that bird is compelled to vomit up the carrion it may have recently gorged. lastly, azara states that several carranchas, five or six together, will unite in chase of large birds, even such as herons. all these facts show that it is a bird of very versatile habits and considerable ingenuity. the polyborus chimango is considerably smaller than the last species. it is truly omnivorous, and will eat even bread; and i was assured that it materially injures the potato-crops in chiloe, by stocking up the roots when first planted. of all the carrion-feeders it is generally the last which leaves the skeleton of a dead animal, and may often be seen within the ribs of a cow or horse, like a bird in a cage. another species is the polyborus novae zelandiae, which is exceedingly common in the falkland islands. these birds in many respects resemble in their habits the carranchas. they live on the flesh of dead animals and on marine productions; and on the ramirez rocks their whole sustenance must depend on the sea. they are extraordinarily tame and fearless, and haunt the neighbourhood of houses for offal. if a hunting party kills an animal, a number soon collect and patiently await, standing on the ground on all sides. after eating, their uncovered craws are largely protruded, giving them a disgusting appearance. they readily attack wounded birds: a cormorant in this state having taken to the shore, was immediately seized on by several, and its death hastened by their blows. the "beagle" was at the falklands only during the summer, but the officers of the "adventure," who were there in the winter, mention many extraordinary instances of the boldness and rapacity of these birds. they actually pounced on a dog that was lying fast asleep close by one of the party; and the sportsmen had difficulty in preventing the wounded geese from being seized before their eyes. it is said that several together (in this respect resembling the carranchas) wait at the mouth of a rabbit-hole, and together seize on the animal when it comes out. they were constantly flying on board the vessel when in the harbour; and it was necessary to keep a good look-out to prevent the leather being torn from the rigging, and the meat or game from the stern. these birds are very mischievous and inquisitive; they will pick up almost anything from the ground; a large black glazed hat was carried nearly a mile, as was a pair of the heavy balls used in catching cattle. mr. usborne experienced during the survey a more severe loss, in their stealing a small kater's compass in a red morocco leather case, which was never recovered. these birds are, moreover, quarrelsome and very passionate; tearing up the grass with their bills from rage. they are not truly gregarious; they do not soar, and their flight is heavy and clumsy; on the ground they run extremely fast, very much like pheasants. they are noisy, uttering several harsh cries, one of which is like that of the english rook, hence the sealers always call them rooks. it is a curious circumstance that, when crying out, they throw their heads upwards and backwards, after the same manner as the carrancha. they build in the rocky cliffs of the sea-coast, but only on the small adjoining islets, and not on the two main islands: this is a singular precaution in so tame and fearless a bird. the sealers say that the flesh of these birds, when cooked, is quite white, and very good eating; but bold must the man be who attempts such a meal. we have now only to mention the turkey-buzzard (vultur aura), and the gallinazo. the former is found wherever the country is moderately damp, from cape horn to north america. differently from the polyborus brasiliensis and chimango, it has found its way to the falkland islands. the turkey-buzzard is a solitary bird, or at most goes in pairs. it may at once be recognised from a long distance, by its lofty, soaring, and most elegant flight. it is well known to be a true carrion-feeder. on the west coast of patagonia, among the thickly-wooded islets and broken land, it lives exclusively on what the sea throws up, and on the carcasses of dead seals. wherever these animals are congregated on the rocks, there the vultures may be seen. the gallinazo (cathartes atratus) has a different range from the last species, as it never occurs southward of latitude degrees. azara states that there exists a tradition that these birds, at the time of the conquest, were not found near monte video, but that they subsequently followed the inhabitants from more northern districts. at the present day they are numerous in the valley of the colorado, which is three hundred miles due south of monte video. it seems probable that this additional migration has happened since the time of azara. the gallinazo generally prefers a humid climate, or rather the neighbourhood of fresh water; hence it is extremely abundant in brazil and la plata, while it is never found on the desert and arid plains of northern patagonia, excepting near some stream. these birds frequent the whole pampas to the foot of the cordillera, but i never saw or heard of one in chile: in peru they are preserved as scavengers. these vultures certainly may be called gregarious, for they seem to have pleasure in society, and are not solely brought together by the attraction of a common prey. on a fine day a flock may often be observed at a great height, each bird wheeling round and round without closing its wings, in the most graceful evolutions. this is clearly performed for the mere pleasure of the exercise, or perhaps is connected with their matrimonial alliances. i have now mentioned all the carrion-feeders, excepting the condor, an account of which will be more appropriately introduced when we visit a country more congenial to its habits than the plains of la plata. in a broad band of sand-hillocks which separate the laguna del potrero from the shores of the plata, at the distance of a few miles from maldonado, i found a group of those vitrified, siliceous tubes, which are formed by lightning entering loose sand. these tubes resemble in every particular those from drigg in cumberland, described in the "geological transactions." ( / . "geological transactions" volume page . in the "philosophical transactions" page , dr. priestley has described some imperfect siliceous tubes and a melted pebble of quartz, found in digging into the ground, under a tree, where a man had been killed by lightning.) the sand-hillocks of maldonado, not being protected by vegetation, are constantly changing their position. from this cause the tubes projected above the surface; and numerous fragments lying near, showed that they had formerly been buried to a greater depth. four sets entered the sand perpendicularly: by working with my hands i traced one of them two feet deep; and some fragments which evidently had belonged to the same tube, when added to the other part, measured five feet three inches. the diameter of the whole tube was nearly equal, and therefore we must suppose that originally it extended to a much greater depth. these dimensions are however small, compared to those of the tubes from drigg, one of which was traced to a depth of not less than thirty feet. the internal surface is completely vitrified, glossy, and smooth. a small fragment examined under the microscope appeared, from the number of minute entangled air or perhaps steam bubbles, like an assay fused before the blowpipe. the sand is entirely, or in greater part, siliceous; but some points are of a black colour, and from their glossy surface possess a metallic lustre. the thickness of the wall of the tube varies from a thirtieth to a twentieth of an inch, and occasionally even equals a tenth. on the outside the grains of sand are rounded, and have a slightly glazed appearance: i could not distinguish any signs of crystallisation. in a similar manner to that described in the "geological transactions," the tubes are generally compressed, and have deep longitudinal furrows, so as closely to resemble a shrivelled vegetable stalk, or the bark of the elm or cork tree. their circumference is about two inches, but in some fragments, which are cylindrical and without any furrows, it is as much as four inches. the compression from the surrounding loose sand, acting while the tube was still softened from the effects of the intense heat, has evidently caused the creases or furrows. judging from the uncompressed fragments, the measure or bore of the lightning (if such a term may be used) must have been about one inch and a quarter. at paris, m. hachette and m. beudant succeeded in making tubes, in most respects similar to these fulgurites, by passing very strong shocks of galvanism through finely-powdered glass: when salt was added, so as to increase its fusibility, the tubes were larger in every dimension. ( / . "annales de chimie et de physique" tome page .) they failed both with powdered feldspar and quartz. one tube, formed with pounded glass, was very nearly an inch long, namely . , and had an internal diameter of . of an inch. when we hear that the strongest battery in paris was used, and that its power on a substance of such easy fusibility as glass was to form tubes so diminutive, we must feel greatly astonished at the force of a shock of lightning, which, striking the sand in several places, has formed cylinders, in one instance of at least thirty feet long, and having an internal bore, where not compressed, of full an inch and a half; and this in a material so extraordinarily refractory as quartz! the tubes, as i have already remarked, enter the sand nearly in a vertical direction. one, however, which was less regular than the others, deviated from a right line, at the most considerable bend, to the amount of thirty-three degrees. from this same tube, two small branches, about a foot apart, were sent off; one pointed downwards, and the other upwards. this latter case is remarkable, as the electric fluid must have turned back at the acute angle of degrees, to the line of its main course. besides the four tubes which i found vertical, and traced beneath the surface, there were several other groups of fragments, the original sites of which without doubt were near. all occurred in a level area of shifting sand, sixty yards by twenty, situated among some high sand-hillocks, and at the distance of about half a mile from a chain of hills four or five hundred feet in height. the most remarkable circumstance, as it appears to me, in this case as well as in that of drigg, and in one described by m. ribbentrop in germany, is the number of tubes found within such limited spaces. at drigg, within an area of fifteen yards, three were observed, and the same number occurred in germany. in the case which i have described, certainly more than four existed within the space of the sixty by twenty yards. as it does not appear probable that the tubes are produced by successive distinct shocks, we must believe that the lightning, shortly before entering the ground, divides itself into separate branches. the neighbourhood of the rio plata seems peculiarly subject to electric phenomena. in the year , one of the most destructive thunderstorms perhaps on record happened at buenos ayres: thirty-seven places within the city were struck by lightning, and nineteen people killed. ( / . azara's "voyage" volume page .) from facts stated in several books of travels, i am inclined to suspect that thunderstorms are very common near the mouths of great rivers. is it not possible that the mixture of large bodies of fresh and salt water may disturb the electrical equilibrium? even during our occasional visits to this part of south america, we heard of a ship, two churches, and a house having been struck. both the church and the house i saw shortly afterwards: the house belonged to mr. hood, the consul-general at monte video. some of the effects were curious: the paper, for nearly a foot on each side of the line where the bell-wires had run, was blackened. the metal had been fused, and although the room was about fifteen feet high, the globules, dropping on the chairs and furniture, had drilled in them a chain of minute holes. a part of the wall was shattered as if by gunpowder, and the fragments had been blown off with force sufficient to dent the wall on the opposite side of the room. the frame of a looking-glass was blackened, and the gilding must have been volatilised, for a smelling-bottle, which stood on the chimney-piece, was coated with bright metallic particles, which adhered as firmly as if they had been enamelled. (plate . halt at a pulperia on the pampas.) chapter iv. (plate . el carmen, or patagones, rio negro.) rio negro. estancias attacked by the indians. salt lakes. flamingoes. r. negro to r. colorado. sacred tree. patagonian hare. indian families. general rosas. proceed to bahia blanca. sand dunes. negro lieutenant. bahia blanca. saline incrustations. punta alta. zorillo. rio negro to bahia blanca. july , . the "beagle" sailed from maldonado, and on august the rd she arrived off the mouth of the rio negro. this is the principal river on the whole line of coast between the strait of magellan and the plata. it enters the sea about three hundred miles south of the estuary of the plata. about fifty years ago, under the old spanish government, a small colony was established here; and it is still the most southern position (latitude degrees) on this eastern coast of america inhabited by civilised man. the country near the mouth of the river is wretched in the extreme: on the south side a long line of perpendicular cliffs commences, which exposes a section of the geological nature of the country. the strata are of sandstone, and one layer was remarkable from being composed of a firmly-cemented conglomerate of pumice pebbles, which must have travelled more than four hundred miles, from the andes. the surface is everywhere covered up by a thick bed of gravel, which extends far and wide over the open plain. water is extremely scarce, and, where found, is almost invariably brackish. the vegetation is scanty; and although there are bushes of many kinds, all are armed with formidable thorns, which seem to warn the stranger not to enter on these inhospitable regions. the settlement is situated eighteen miles up the river. the road follows the foot of the sloping cliff, which forms the northern boundary of the great valley in which the rio negro flows. on the way we passed the ruins of some fine estancias, which a few years since had been destroyed by the indians. they withstood several attacks. a man present at one gave me a very lively description of what took place. the inhabitants had sufficient notice to drive all the cattle and horses into the corral which surrounded the house, and likewise to mount some small cannon. ( / . the corral is an enclosure made of tall and strong stakes. every estancia, or farming estate, has one attached to it.) the indians were araucanians from the south of chile; several hundreds in number, and highly disciplined. they first appeared in two bodies on a neighbouring hill; having there dismounted, and taken off their fur mantles, they advanced naked to the charge. the only weapon of an indian is a very long bamboo or chuzo, ornamented with ostrich feathers, and pointed by a sharp spear-head. my informer seemed to remember with the greatest horror the quivering of these chuzos as they approached near. when close, the cacique pincheira hailed the besieged to give up their arms, or he would cut all their throats. as this would probably have been the result of their entrance under any circumstances, the answer was given by a volley of musketry. the indians, with great steadiness, came to the very fence of the corral: but to their surprise they found the posts fastened together by iron nails instead of leather thongs, and, of course, in vain attempted to cut them with their knives. this saved the lives of the christians: many of the wounded indians were carried away by their companions, and at last, one of the under caciques being wounded, the bugle sounded a retreat. they retired to their horses, and seemed to hold a council of war. this was an awful pause for the spaniards, as all their ammunition, with the exception of a few cartridges, was expended. in an instant the indians mounted their horses, and galloped out of sight. another attack was still more quickly repulsed. a cool frenchman managed the gun; he stopped till the indians approached close, and then raked their line with grape-shot: he thus laid thirty-nine of them on the ground; and, of course, such a blow immediately routed the whole party. the town is indifferently called el carmen or patagones. it is built on the face of a cliff which fronts the river, and many of the houses are excavated even in the sandstone. the river is about two or three hundred yards wide, and is deep and rapid. the many islands, with their willow-trees, and the flat headlands, seen one behind the other on the northern boundary of the broad green valley, form, by the aid of a bright sun, a view almost picturesque. the number of inhabitants does not exceed a few hundreds. these spanish colonies do not, like our british ones, carry within themselves the elements of growth. many indians of pure blood reside here: the tribe of the cacique lucanee constantly have their toldos on the outskirts of the town. ( / . the hovels of the indians are thus called.) the local government partly supplies them with provisions, by giving them all the old worn-out horses, and they earn a little by making horse-rugs and other articles of riding-gear. these indians are considered civilised; but what their character may have gained by a lesser degree of ferocity, is almost counterbalanced by their entire immorality. some of the younger men are, however, improving; they are willing to labour, and a short time since a party went on a sealing-voyage, and behaved very well. they were now enjoying the fruits of their labour, by being dressed in very gay, clean clothes, and by being very idle. the taste they showed in their dress was admirable; if you could have turned one of these young indians into a statue of bronze, his drapery would have been perfectly graceful. one day i rode to a large salt-lake, or salina, which is distant fifteen miles from the town. during the winter it consists of a shallow lake of brine, which in summer is converted into a field of snow-white salt. the layer near the margin is from four to five inches thick, but towards the centre its thickness increases. this lake was two and a half miles long, and one broad. others occur in the neighbourhood many times larger, and with a floor of salt, two and three feet in thickness, even when under water during the winter. one of these brilliantly white and level expanses, in the midst of the brown and desolate plain, offers an extraordinary spectacle. a large quantity of salt is annually drawn from the salina: and great piles, some hundred tons in weight, were lying ready for exportation. the season for working the salinas forms the harvest of patagones; for on it the prosperity of the place depends. nearly the whole population encamps on the bank of the river, and the people are employed in drawing out the salt in bullock-waggons. this salt is crystallised in great cubes, and is remarkably pure: mr. trenham reeks has kindly analysed some for me, and he finds in it only . of gypsum and . of earthy matter. it is a singular fact that it does not serve so well for preserving meat as sea-salt from the cape de verd islands; and a merchant at buenos ayres told me that he considered it as fifty per cent less valuable. hence the cape de verd salt is constantly imported, and is mixed with that from these salinas. the purity of the patagonian salt, or absence from it of those other saline bodies found in all sea-water, is the only assignable cause for this inferiority: a conclusion which no one, i think, would have suspected, but which is supported by the fact lately ascertained, that those salts answer best for preserving cheese which contain most of the deliquescent chlorides. ( / . report of the agricultural chemistry association in the "agricultural gazette" page .) the border of the lake is formed of mud: and in this numerous large crystals of gypsum, some of which are three inches long, lie embedded; whilst on the surface others of sulphate of soda lie scattered about. the gauchos call the former the "padre del sal," and the latter the "madre;" they state that these progenitive salts always occur on the borders of the salinas, when the water begins to evaporate. the mud is black, and has a fetid odour. i could not at first imagine the cause of this, but i afterwards perceived that the froth which the wind drifted on shore was coloured green, as if by confervae; i attempted to carry home some of this green matter, but from an accident failed. parts of the lake seen from a short distance appeared of a reddish colour, and this perhaps was owing to some infusorial animalcula. the mud in many places was thrown up by numbers of some kind of worm, or annelidous animal. how surprising it is that any creatures should be able to exist in brine, and that they should be crawling among crystals of sulphate of soda and lime! and what becomes of these worms when, during the long summer, the surface is hardened into a solid layer of salt? flamingoes in considerable numbers inhabit this lake, and breed here, throughout patagonia, in northern chile, and at the galapagos islands, i met with these birds wherever there were lakes of brine. i saw them here wading about in search of food--probably for the worms which burrow in the mud; and these latter probably feed on infusoria or confervae. thus we have a little living world within itself, adapted to these inland lakes of brine. a minute crustaceous animal (cancer salinus) is said to live in countless numbers in the brine-pans at lymington: but only in those in which the fluid has attained, from evaporation, considerable strength--namely, about a quarter of a pound of salt to a pint of water. ( / . "linnaean transactions" volume page . it is remarkable how all the circumstances connected with the salt-lakes in siberia and patagonia are similar. siberia, like patagonia, appears to have been recently elevated above the waters of the sea. in both countries the salt-lakes occupy shallow depressions in the plains; in both the mud on the borders is black and fetid; beneath the crust of common salt, sulphate of soda or of magnesia occurs, imperfectly crystallised; and in both, the muddy sand is mixed with lentils of gypsum. the siberian salt-lakes are inhabited by small crustaceous animals; and flamingoes ("edinburgh new philosical journal" january ) likewise frequent them. as these circumstances, apparently so trifling, occur in two distant continents, we may feel sure that they are the necessary results of common causes.--see "pallas's travels" to pages to .) well may we affirm that every part of the world is habitable! whether lakes of brine, or those subterranean ones hidden beneath volcanic mountains--warm mineral springs--the wide expanse and depths of the ocean--the upper regions of the atmosphere, and even the surface of perpetual snow--all support organic beings. to the northward of the rio negro, between it and the inhabited country near buenos ayres, the spaniards have only one small settlement, recently established at bahia blanca. the distance in a straight line to buenos ayres is very nearly five hundred british miles. the wandering tribes of horse indians, which have always occupied the greater part of this country, having of late much harassed the outlying estancias, the government at buenos ayres equipped some time since an army under the command of general rosas for the purpose of exterminating them. the troops were now encamped on the banks of the colorado; a river lying about eighty miles northward of the rio negro. when general rosas left buenos ayres he struck in a direct line across the unexplored plains: and as the country was thus pretty well cleared of indians, he left behind him, at wide intervals, a small party of soldiers with a troop of horses (a posta), so as to be enabled to keep up a communication with the capital. as the "beagle" intended to call at bahia blanca, i determined to proceed there by land; and ultimately i extended my plan to travel the whole way by the postas to buenos ayres. august , . mr. harris, an englishman residing at patagones, a guide, and five gauchos who were proceeding to the army on business, were my companions on the journey. the colorado, as i have already said, is nearly eighty miles distant: and as we travelled slowly, we were two days and a half on the road. the whole line of country deserves scarcely a better name than that of a desert. water is found only in two small wells; it is called fresh; but even at this time of the year, during the rainy season, it was quite brackish. in the summer this must be a distressing passage; for now it was sufficiently desolate. the valley of the rio negro, broad as it is, has merely been excavated out of the sandstone plain; for immediately above the bank on which the town stands, a level country commences, which is interrupted only by a few trifling valleys and depressions. everywhere the landscape wears the same sterile aspect; a dry gravelly soil supports tufts of brown withered grass, and low scattered bushes, armed with thorns. shortly after passing the first spring we came in sight of a famous tree, which the indians reverence as the altar of walleechu. it is situated on a high part of the plain; and hence is a landmark visible at a great distance. as soon as a tribe of indians come in sight of it, they offer their adorations by loud shouts. the tree itself is low, much branched, and thorny: just above the root it has a diameter of about three feet. it stands by itself without any neighbour, and was indeed the first tree we saw; afterwards we met with a few others of the same kind, but they were far from common. being winter the tree had no leaves, but in their place numberless threads, by which the various offerings, such as cigars, bread, meat, pieces of cloth, etc., had been suspended. poor indians, not having anything better, only pull a thread out of their ponchos, and fasten it to the tree. richer indians are accustomed to pour spirits and mate into a certain hole, and likewise to smoke upwards, thinking thus to afford all possible gratification to walleechu. to complete the scene, the tree was surrounded by the bleached bones of horses which had been slaughtered as sacrifices. all indians of every age and sex make their offerings; they then think that their horses will not tire, and that they themselves shall be prosperous. the gaucho who told me this, said that in the time of peace he had witnessed this scene, and that he and others used to wait till the indians had passed by, for the sake of stealing from walleechu the offerings. the gauchos think that the indians consider the tree as the god itself; but it seems far more probable that they regard it as the altar. the only cause which i can imagine for this choice, is its being a landmark in a dangerous passage. the sierra de la ventana is visible at an immense distance; and a gaucho told me that he was once riding with an indian a few miles to the north of the rio colorado, when the indian commenced making the same loud noise, which is usual at the first sight of the distant tree, putting his hand to his head, and then pointing in the direction of the sierra. upon being asked the reason of this, the indian said in broken spanish, "first see the sierra." about two leagues beyond this curious tree we halted for the night: at this instant an unfortunate cow was spied by the lynx-eyed gauchos, who set off in full chase, and in a few minutes dragged her in with their lazos, and slaughtered her. we here had the four necessaries of life "en el campo,"--pasture for the horses, water (only a muddy puddle), meat and firewood. the gauchos were in high spirits at finding all these luxuries; and we soon set to work at the poor cow. this was the first night which i passed under the open sky, with the gear of the recado for my bed. there is high enjoyment in the independence of the gaucho life--to be able at any moment to pull up your horse, and say, "here we will pass the night." the deathlike stillness of the plain, the dogs keeping watch, the gipsy-group of gauchos making their beds round the fire, have left in my mind a strongly-marked picture of this first night, which will never be forgotten. the next day the country continued similar to that above described. it is inhabited by few birds or animals of any kind. occasionally a deer, or a guanaco (wild llama) may be seen; but the agouti (cavia patagonica) is the commonest quadruped. this animal here represents our hares. it differs, however, from that genus in many essential respects; for instance, it has only three toes behind. it is also nearly twice the size, weighing from twenty to twenty-five pounds. the agouti is a true friend of the desert; it is a common feature of the landscape to see two or three hopping quickly one after the other in a straight line across these wild plains. they are found as far north as the sierra tapalguen (latitude degrees '), where the plain rather suddenly becomes greener and more humid; and their southern limit is between port desire and st. julian, where there is no change in the nature of the country. it is a singular fact, that although the agouti is not now found as far south as port st. julian, yet that captain wood, in his voyage in , talks of them as being numerous there. what cause can have altered, in a wide, uninhabited, and rarely-visited country, the range of an animal like this? it appears also, from the number shot by captain wood in one day at port desire, that they must have been considerably more abundant there formerly than at present. where the bizcacha lives and makes its burrows, the agouti uses them; but where, as at bahia blanca, the bizcacha is not found, the agouti burrows for itself. the same thing occurs with the little owl of the pampas (athene cunicularia), which has so often been described as standing like a sentinel at the mouth of the burrows; for in banda oriental, owing to the absence of the bizcacha, it is obliged to hollow out its own habitation. the next morning, as we approached the rio colorado, the appearance of the country changed; we soon came on a plain covered with turf, which, from its flowers, tall clover, and little owls, resembled the pampas. we passed also a muddy swamp of considerable extent, which in summer dries, and becomes incrusted with various salts; and hence is called a salitral. it was covered by low succulent plants, of the same kind with those growing on the sea-shore. the colorado, at the pass where we crossed it, is only about sixty yards wide; generally it must be nearly double that width. its course is very tortuous, being marked by willow-trees and beds of reeds: in a direct line the distance to the mouth of the river is said to be nine leagues, but by water twenty-five. we were delayed crossing in the canoe by some immense troops of mares, which were swimming the river in order to follow a division of troops into the interior. a more ludicrous spectacle i never beheld than the hundreds and hundreds of heads, all directed one way, with pointed ears and distended snorting nostrils, appearing just above the water like a great shoal of some amphibious animal. mare's flesh is the only food which the soldiers have when on an expedition. this gives them a great facility of movement; for the distance to which horses can be driven over these plains is quite surprising: i have been assured that an unloaded horse can travel a hundred miles a day for many days successively. the encampment of general rosas was close to the river. it consisted of a square formed by waggons, artillery, straw huts, etc. the soldiers were nearly all cavalry; and i should think such a villainous, banditti-like army was never before collected together. the greater number of men were of a mixed breed, between negro, indian, and spaniard. i know not the reason, but men of such origin seldom have a good expression of countenance. i called on the secretary to show my passport. he began to cross-question me in the most dignified and mysterious manner. by good luck i had a letter of recommendation from the government of buenos ayres to the commandant of patagones. ( / . i am bound to express, in the strongest terms, my obligation to the government of buenos ayres for the obliging manner in which passports to all parts of the country were given me, as naturalist of the "beagle.") this was taken to general rosas, who sent me a very obliging message; and the secretary returned all smiles and graciousness. we took up our residence in the rancho, or hovel, of a curious old spaniard, who had served with napoleon in the expedition against russia. we stayed two days at the colorado; i had little to do, for the surrounding country was a swamp, which in summer (december), when the snow melts on the cordillera, is overflowed by the river. my chief amusement was watching the indian families as they came to buy little articles at the rancho where we stayed. it was supposed that general rosas had about six hundred indian allies. the men were a tall, fine race, yet it was afterwards easy to see in the fuegian savage the same countenance rendered hideous by cold, want of food, and less civilisation. some authors, in defining the primary races of mankind, have separated these indians into two classes; but this is certainly incorrect. among the young women or chinas, some deserve to be called even beautiful. their hair was coarse, but bright and black; and they wore it in two plaits hanging down to the waist. they had a high colour, and eyes that glistened with brilliancy; their legs, feet, and arms were small and elegantly formed; their ankles, and sometimes their waists, were ornamented by broad bracelets of blue beads. nothing could be more interesting than some of the family groups. a mother with one or two daughters would often come to our rancho, mounted on the same horse. they ride like men, but with their knees tucked up much higher. this habit, perhaps, arises from their being accustomed, when travelling, to ride the loaded horses. the duty of the women is to load and unload the horses; to make the tents for the night; in short to be, like the wives of all savages, useful slaves. the men fight, hunt, take care of the horses, and make the riding gear. one of their chief indoor occupations is to knock two stones together till they become round, in order to make the bolas. with this important weapon the indian catches his game, and also his horse, which roams free over the plain. in fighting, his first attempt is to throw down the horse of his adversary with the bolas, and when entangled by the fall to kill him with the chuzo. if the balls only catch the neck or body of an animal, they are often carried away and lost. as the making the stones round is the labour of two days, the manufacture of the balls is a very common employment. several of the men and women had their faces painted red, but i never saw the horizontal bands which are so common among the fuegians. their chief pride consists in having everything made of silver; i have seen a cacique with his spurs, stirrups, handle of his knife, and bridle made of this metal: the head-stall and reins being of wire, were not thicker than whipcord; and to see a fiery steed wheeling about under the command of so light a chain, gave to the horsemanship a remarkable character of elegance. (plate . brazilian whips, hobbles, and spurs.) general rosas intimated a wish to see me; a circumstance which i was afterwards very glad of. he is a man of an extraordinary character, and has a most predominant influence in the country, which it seems probable he will use to its prosperity and advancement. ( / . this prophecy has turned out entirely and miserably wrong. .) he is said to be the owner of seventy-four square leagues of land, and to have about three hundred thousand head of cattle. his estates are admirably managed, and are far more productive of corn than those of others. he first gained his celebrity by his laws for his own estancias, and by disciplining several hundred men, so as to resist with success the attacks of the indians. there are many stories current about the rigid manner in which his laws were enforced. one of these was, that no man, on penalty of being put into the stocks, should carry his knife on a sunday: this being the principal day for gambling and drinking, many quarrels arose, which from the general manner of fighting with the knife often proved fatal. one sunday the governor came in great form to pay the estancia a visit, and general rosas, in his hurry, walked out to receive him with his knife, as usual, stuck in his belt. the steward touched his arm, and reminded him of the law; upon which turning to the governor, he said he was extremely sorry, but that he must go into the stocks, and that till let out, he possessed no power even in his own house. after a little time the steward was persuaded to open the stocks, and to let him out, but no sooner was this done, than he turned to the steward and said, "you now have broken the laws, so you must take my place in the stocks." such actions as these delighted the gauchos, who all possess high notions of their own equality and dignity. general rosas is also a perfect horseman--an accomplishment of no small consequence in a country where an assembled army elected its general by the following trial: a troop of unbroken horses being driven into a corral, were let out through a gateway, above which was a cross-bar: it was agreed whoever should drop from the bar on one of these wild animals, as it rushed out, and should be able, without saddle or bridle, not only to ride it, but also to bring it back to the door of the corral, should be their general. the person who succeeded was accordingly elected; and doubtless made a fit general for such an army. this extraordinary feat has also been performed by rosas. by these means, and by conforming to the dress and habits of the gauchos, he has obtained an unbounded popularity in the country, and in consequence a despotic power. i was assured by an english merchant, that a man who had murdered another, when arrested and questioned concerning his motive, answered, "he spoke disrespectfully of general rosas, so i killed him." at the end of a week the murderer was at liberty. this doubtless was the act of the general's party, and not of the general himself. in conversation he is enthusiastic, sensible, and very grave. his gravity is carried to a high pitch: i heard one of his mad buffoons (for he keeps two, like the barons of old) relate the following anecdote. "i wanted very much to hear a certain piece of music, so i went to the general two or three times to ask him; he said to me, 'go about your business, for i am engaged.' i went a second time; he said, 'if you come again i will punish you.' a third time i asked, and he laughed. i rushed out of the tent, but it was too late--he ordered two soldiers to catch and stake me. i begged by all the saints in heaven he would let me off; but it would not do,--when the general laughs he spares neither mad man nor sound." the poor flighty gentleman looked quite dolorous, at the very recollection of the staking. this is a very severe punishment; four posts are driven into the ground, and the man is extended by his arms and legs horizontally, and there left to stretch for several hours. the idea is evidently taken from the usual method of drying hides. my interview passed away without a smile, and i obtained a passport and order for the government post-horses, and this he gave me in the most obliging and ready manner. in the morning we started for bahia blanca, which we reached in two days. leaving the regular encampment, we passed by the toldos of the indians. these are round like ovens, and covered with hides; by the mouth of each, a tapering chuzo was stuck in the ground. the toldos were divided into separate groups, which belonged to the different caciques' tribes, and the groups were again divided into smaller ones, according to the relationship of the owners. for several miles we travelled along the valley of the colorado. the alluvial plains on the side appeared fertile, and it is supposed that they are well adapted to the growth of corn. turning northward from the river, we soon entered on a country, differing from the plains south of the river. the land still continued dry and sterile: but it supported many different kinds of plants, and the grass, though brown and withered, was more abundant, as the thorny bushes were less so. these latter in a short space entirely disappeared, and the plains were left without a thicket to cover their nakedness. this change in the vegetation marks the commencement of the grand calcareo-argillaceous deposit, which forms the wide extent of the pampas, and covers the granitic rocks of banda oriental. from the strait of magellan to the colorado, a distance of about eight hundred miles, the face of the country is everywhere composed of shingle: the pebbles are chiefly of porphyry, and probably owe their origin to the rocks of the cordillera. north of the colorado this bed thins out, and the pebbles become exceedingly small, and here the characteristic vegetation of patagonia ceases. having ridden about twenty-five miles, we came to a broad belt of sand-dunes, which stretches, as far as the eye can reach, to the east and west. the sand-hillocks resting on the clay, allow small pools of water to collect, and thus afford in this dry country an invaluable supply of fresh water. the great advantage arising from depressions and elevations of the soil, is not often brought home to the mind. the two miserable springs in the long passage between the rio negro and colorado were caused by trifling inequalities in the plain, without them not a drop of water would have been found. the belt of sand-dunes is about eight miles wide; at some former period, it probably formed the margin of a grand estuary, where the colorado now flows. in this district, where absolute proofs of the recent elevation of the land occur, such speculations can hardly be neglected by any one, although merely considering the physical geography of the country. having crossed the sandy tract, we arrived in the evening at one of the post-houses; and, as the fresh horses were grazing at a distance we determined to pass the night there. the house was situated at the base of a ridge between one and two hundred feet high--a most remarkable feature in this country. this posta was commanded by a negro lieutenant, born in africa: to his credit be it said, there was not a ranche between the colorado and buenos ayres in nearly such neat order as his. he had a little room for strangers, and a small corral for the horses, all made of sticks and reeds; he had also dug a ditch round his house as a defence in case of being attacked. this would, however, have been of little avail, if the indians had come; but his chief comfort seemed to rest in the thought of selling his life dearly. a short time before, a body of indians had travelled past in the night; if they had been aware of the posta, our black friend and his four soldiers would assuredly have been slaughtered. i did not anywhere meet a more civil and obliging man than this negro; it was therefore the more painful to see that he would not sit down and eat with us. in the morning we sent for the horses very early, and started for another exhilarating gallop. we passed the cabeza del buey, an old name given to the head of a large marsh, which extends from bahia blanca. here we changed horses, and passed through some leagues of swamps and saline marshes. changing horses for the last time, we again began wading through the mud. my animal fell, and i was well soused in black mire--a very disagreeable accident, when one does not possess a change of clothes. some miles from the fort we met a man, who told us that a great gun had been fired, which is a signal that indians are near. we immediately left the road, and followed the edge of a marsh, which when chased offers the best mode of escape. we were glad to arrive within the walls, when we found all the alarm was about nothing, for the indians turned out to be friendly ones, who wished to join general rosas. bahia blanca scarcely deserves the name of a village. a few houses and the barracks for the troops are enclosed by a deep ditch and fortified wall. the settlement is only of recent standing (since ); and its growth has been one of trouble. the government of buenos ayres unjustly occupied it by force, instead of following the wise example of the spanish viceroys, who purchased the land near the older settlement of the rio negro, from the indians. hence the need of the fortifications; hence the few houses and little cultivated land without the limits of the walls; even the cattle are not safe from the attacks of the indians beyond the boundaries of the plain on which the fortress stands. the part of the harbour where the "beagle" intended to anchor being distant twenty-five miles, i obtained from the commandant a guide and horses, to take me to see whether she had arrived. leaving the plain of green turf, which extended along the course of a little brook, we soon entered on a wide level waste consisting either of sand, saline marshes, or bare mud. some parts were clothed by low thickets, and others with those succulent plants which luxuriate only where salt abounds. bad as the country was, ostriches, deers, agoutis, and armadilloes, were abundant. my guide told me, that two months before he had a most narrow escape of his life: he was out hunting with two other men, at no great distance from this part of the country, when they were suddenly met by a party of indians, who giving chase, soon overtook and killed his two friends. his own horse's legs were also caught by the bolas, but he jumped off, and with his knife cut them free: while doing this he was obliged to dodge round his horse, and received two severe wounds from their chuzos. springing on the saddle, he managed, by a most wonderful exertion, just to keep ahead of the long spears of his pursuers, who followed him to within sight of the fort. from that time there was an order that no one should stray far from the settlement. i did not know of this when i started, and was surprised to observe how earnestly my guide watched a deer, which appeared to have been frightened from a distant quarter. we found the "beagle" had not arrived, and consequently set out on our return, but the horses soon tiring, we were obliged to bivouac on the plain. in the morning we had caught an armadillo, which, although a most excellent dish when roasted in its shell, did not make a very substantial breakfast and dinner for two hungry men. the ground at the place where we stopped for the night was incrusted with a layer of sulphate of soda, and hence, of course, was without water. yet many of the smaller rodents managed to exist even here, and the tucutuco was making its odd little grunt beneath my head, during half the night. our horses were very poor ones, and in the morning they were soon exhausted from not having had anything to drink, so that we were obliged to walk. about noon the dogs killed a kid, which we roasted. i ate some of it, but it made me intolerably thirsty. this was the more distressing as the road, from some recent rain, was full of little puddles of clear water, yet not a drop was drinkable. i had scarcely been twenty hours without water, and only part of the time under a hot sun, yet the thirst rendered me very weak. how people survive two or three days under such circumstances, i cannot imagine: at the same time, i must confess that my guide did not suffer at all, and was astonished that one day's deprivation should be so troublesome to me. i have several times alluded to the surface of the ground being incrusted with salt. this phenomenon is quite different from that of the salinas, and more extraordinary. in many parts of south america, wherever the climate is moderately dry, these incrustations occur; but i have nowhere seen them so abundant as near bahia blanca. the salt here, and in other parts of patagonia, consists chiefly of sulphate of soda with some common salt. as long as the ground remains moist in the salitrales (as the spaniards improperly call them, mistaking this substance for saltpetre), nothing is to be seen but an extensive plain composed of a black, muddy soil, supporting scattered tufts of succulent plants. on returning through one of these tracts, after a week's hot weather, one is surprised to see square miles of the plain white, as if from a slight fall of snow, here and there heaped up by the wind into little drifts. this latter appearance is chiefly caused by the salts being drawn up, during the slow evaporation of the moisture, round blades of dead grass, stumps of wood, and pieces of broken earth, instead of being crystallised at the bottoms of the puddles of water. the salitrales occur either on level tracts elevated only a few feet above the level of the sea, or on alluvial land bordering rivers. m. parchappe found that the saline incrustation on the plain, at the distance of some miles from the sea, consisted chiefly of sulphate of soda, with only seven per cent of common salt; whilst nearer to the coast, the common salt increased to parts in a hundred. ( / . "voyage dans l'amerique merid." par m. a. d'orbigny. part. hist. tome page .) this circumstance would tempt one to believe that the sulphate of soda is generated in the soil, from the muriate left on the surface during the slow and recent elevation of this dry country. the whole phenomenon is well worthy the attention of naturalists. have the succulent, salt-loving plants, which are well known to contain much soda, the power of decomposing the muriate? does the black fetid mud, abounding with organic matter, yield the sulphur and ultimately the sulphuric acid? two days afterwards i again rode to the harbour: when not far from our destination, my companion, the same man as before, spied three people hunting on horseback. he immediately dismounted, and watching them intently, said, "they don't ride like christians, and nobody can leave the fort." the three hunters joined company, and likewise dismounted from their horses. at last one mounted again and rode over the hill out of sight. my companion said, "we must now get on our horses: load your pistol;" and he looked to his own sword. i asked, "are they indians?"--"quien sabe? (who knows?) if there are no more than three, it does not signify." it then struck me, that the one man had gone over the hill to fetch the rest of his tribe. i suggested this; but all the answer i could extort was, "quien sabe?" his head and eye never for a minute ceased scanning slowly the distant horizon. i thought his uncommon coolness too good a joke, and asked him why he did not return home. i was startled when he answered, "we are returning, but in a line so as to pass near a swamp, into which we can gallop the horses as far as they can go, and then trust to our own legs; so that there is no danger." i did not feel quite so confident of this, and wanted to increase our pace. he said, "no, not until they do." when any little inequality concealed us, we galloped; but when in sight, continued walking. at last we reached a valley, and turning to the left, galloped quickly to the foot of a hill; he gave me his horse to hold, made the dogs lie down, and then crawled on his hands and knees to reconnoitre. he remained in this position for some time, and at last, bursting out in laughter, exclaimed, "mugeres!" (women!) he knew them to be the wife and sister-in-law of the major's son, hunting for ostrich's eggs. i have described this man's conduct, because he acted under the full impression that they were indians. as soon, however, as the absurd mistake was found out, he gave me a hundred reasons why they could not have been indians; but all these were forgotten at the time. we then rode on in peace and quietness to a low point called punta alta, whence we could see nearly the whole of the great harbour of bahia blanca. the wide expanse of water is choked up by numerous great mudbanks, which the inhabitants call cangrejales, or crabberies, from the number of small crabs. the mud is so soft that it is impossible to walk over them, even for the shortest distance. many of the banks have their surfaces covered with long rushes, the tops of which alone are visible at high water. on one occasion, when in a boat, we were so entangled by these shallows that we could hardly find our way. nothing was visible but the flat beds of mud; the day was not very clear, and there was much refraction, or, as the sailors expressed it, "things loomed high." the only object within our view which was not level was the horizon; rushes looked like bushes unsupported in the air, and water like mudbanks, and mudbanks like water. we passed the night in punta alta, and i employed myself in searching for fossil bones; this point being a perfect catacomb for monsters of extinct races. the evening was perfectly calm and clear; the extreme monotony of the view gave it an interest even in the midst of mudbanks and gulls, sand-hillocks and solitary vultures. in riding back in the morning we came across a very fresh track of a puma, but did not succeed in finding it. we saw also a couple of zorillos, or skunks,--odious animals, which are far from uncommon. in general appearance the zorillo resembles a polecat, but it is rather larger, and much thicker in proportion. conscious of its power, it roams by day about the open plain, and fears neither dog nor man. if a dog is urged to the attack, its courage is instantly checked by a few drops of the fetid oil, which brings on violent sickness and running at the nose. whatever is once polluted by it, is for ever useless. azara says the smell can be perceived at a league distant; more than once, when entering the harbour of monte video, the wind being off shore, we have perceived the odour on board the "beagle." certain it is, that every animal most willingly makes room for the zorillo. (plate . bringing in a prisoner.) (plate . irregular troops.) chapter v. bahia blanca. geology. numerous gigantic extinct quadrupeds. recent extinction. longevity of species. large animals do not require a luxuriant vegetation. southern africa. siberian fossils. two species of ostrich. habits of oven-bird. armadilloes. venomous snake, toad, lizard. hybernation of animals. habits of sea-pen. indian wars and massacres. arrowhead, antiquarian relic. bahia blanca. the "beagle" arrived here on the th of august, and a week afterwards sailed for the plata. with captain fitz roy's consent i was left behind, to travel by land to buenos ayres. i will here add some observations, which were made during this visit and on a previous occasion, when the "beagle" was employed in surveying the harbour. the plain, at the distance of a few miles from the coast, belongs to the great pampean formation, which consists in part of a reddish clay, and in part of a highly calcareous marly rock. nearer the coast there are some plains formed from the wreck of the upper plain, and from mud, gravel, and sand thrown up by the sea during the slow elevation of the land, of which elevation we have evidence in upraised beds of recent shells, and in rounded pebbles of pumice scattered over the country. at punta alta we have a section of one of these later-formed little plains, which is highly interesting from the number and extraordinary character of the remains of gigantic land-animals embedded in it. these have been fully described by professor owen, in the "zoology of the voyage of the 'beagle,'" and are deposited in the college of surgeons. i will here give only a brief outline of their nature. first, parts of three heads and other bones of the megatherium, the huge dimensions of which are expressed by its name. secondly, the megalonyx, a great allied animal. thirdly, the scelidotherium, also an allied animal, of which i obtained a nearly perfect skeleton. it must have been as large as a rhinoceros: in the structure of its head it comes, according to mr. owen, nearest to the cape ant-eater, but in some other respects it approaches to the armadilloes. fourthly, the mylodon darwinii, a closely related genus of little inferior size. fifthly, another gigantic edental quadruped. sixthly, a large animal, with an osseous coat in compartments, very like that of an armadillo. seventhly, an extinct kind of horse, to which i shall have again to refer. eighthly, a tooth of a pachydermatous animal, probably the same with the macrauchenia, a huge beast with a long neck like a camel, which i shall also refer to again. lastly, the toxodon, perhaps one of the strangest animals ever discovered: in size it equalled an elephant or megatherium, but the structure of its teeth, as mr. owen states, proves indisputably that it was intimately related to the gnawers, the order which, at the present day, includes most of the smallest quadrupeds: in many details it is allied to the pachydermata: judging from the position of its eyes, ears, and nostrils, it was probably aquatic, like the dugong and manatee, to which it is also allied. how wonderfully are the different orders, at the present time so well separated, blended together in different points of the structure of the toxodon! the remains of these nine great quadrupeds and many detached bones were found embedded on the beach, within the space of about yards square. it is a remarkable circumstance that so many different species should be found together; and it proves how numerous in kind the ancient inhabitants of this country must have been. at the distance of about thirty miles from punta alta, in a cliff of red earth, i found several fragments of bones, some of large size. among them were the teeth of a gnawer, equalling in size and closely resembling those of the capybara, whose habits have been described; and therefore, probably, an aquatic animal. there was also part of the head of a ctenomys; the species being different from the tucutuco, but with a close general resemblance. the red earth, like that of the pampas, in which these remains were embedded, contains, according to professor ehrenberg, eight fresh-water and one salt-water infusorial animalcule; therefore, probably, it was an estuary deposit. the remains at punta alta were embedded in stratified gravel and reddish mud, just such as the sea might now wash up on a shallow bank. they were associated with twenty-three species of shells, of which thirteen are recent and four others very closely related to recent forms. ( / . since this was written, m. alcide d'orbigny has examined these shells, and pronounces them all to be recent.) from the bones of the scelidotherium, including even the kneecap, being entombed in their proper relative positions, and from the osseous armour of the great armadillo-like animal being so well preserved, together with the bones of one of its legs, we may feel assured that these remains were fresh and united by their ligaments, when deposited in the gravel together with the shells. ( / . m. aug. bravard has described, in a spanish work "observaciones geologicas" , this district, and he believes that the bones of the extinct mammals were washed out of the underlying pampean deposit, and subsequently became embedded with the still existing shells; but i am not convinced by his remarks. m. bravard believes that the whole enormous pampean deposit is a sub-aerial formation, like sand-dunes: this seems to me to be an untenable doctrine.) hence we have good evidence that the above enumerated gigantic quadrupeds, more different from those of the present day than the oldest of the tertiary quadrupeds of europe, lived whilst the sea was peopled with most of its present inhabitants; and we have confirmed that remarkable law so often insisted on by mr. lyell, namely, that the "longevity of the species in the mammalia is upon the whole inferior to that of the testacea." ( / . "principles of geology" volume page .) the great size of the bones of the megatheroid animals, including the megatherium, megalonyx, scelidotherium, and mylodon, is truly wonderful. the habits of life of these animals were a complete puzzle to naturalists, until professor owen solved the problem with remarkable ingenuity. ( / . this theory was first developed in the "zoology of the voyage of the 'beagle,'" and subsequently in professor owen's "memoir on mylodon robustus.") the teeth indicate, by their simple structure, that these megatheroid animals lived on vegetable food, and probably on the leaves and small twigs of trees; their ponderous forms and great strong curved claws seem so little adapted for locomotion, that some eminent naturalists have actually believed that, like the sloths, to which they are intimately related, they subsisted by climbing back downwards on trees, and feeding on the leaves. it was a bold, not to say preposterous, idea to conceive even antediluvian trees, with branches strong enough to bear animals as large as elephants. professor owen, with far more probability, believes that, instead of climbing on the trees, they pulled the branches down to them, and tore up the smaller ones by the roots, and so fed on the leaves. the colossal breadth and weight of their hinder quarters, which can hardly be imagined without having been seen, become, on this view, of obvious service, instead of being an encumbrance: their apparent clumsiness disappears. with their great tails and their huge heels firmly fixed like a tripod on the ground, they could freely exert the full force of their most powerful arms and great claws. strongly rooted, indeed, must that tree have been, which could have resisted such force! the mylodon, moreover, was furnished with a long extensile tongue like that of the giraffe, which, by one of those beautiful provisions of nature, thus reaches with the aid of its long neck its leafy food. i may remark, that in abyssinia the elephant, according to bruce, when it cannot reach with its proboscis the branches, deeply scores with its tusks the trunk of the tree, up and down and all round, till it is sufficiently weakened to be broken down. the beds including the above fossil remains stand only from fifteen to twenty feet above the level of high water; and hence the elevation of the land has been small (without there has been an intercalated period of subsidence, of which we have no evidence) since the great quadrupeds wandered over the surrounding plains; and the external features of the country must then have been very nearly the same as now. what, it may naturally be asked, was the character of the vegetation at that period; was the country as wretchedly sterile as it now is? as so many of the co-embedded shells are the same with those now living in the bay, i was at first inclined to think that the former vegetation was probably similar to the existing one; but this would have been an erroneous inference, for some of these same shells live on the luxuriant coast of brazil; and generally, the characters of the inhabitants of the sea are useless as guides to judge of those on the land. nevertheless, from the following considerations, i do not believe that the simple fact of many gigantic quadrupeds having lived on the plains round bahia blanca, is any sure guide that they formerly were clothed with a luxuriant vegetation: i have no doubt that the sterile country a little southward, near the rio negro, with its scattered thorny trees, would support many and large quadrupeds. that large animals require a luxuriant vegetation, has been a general assumption which has passed from one work to another; but i do not hesitate to say that it is completely false, and that it has vitiated the reasoning of geologists on some points of great interest in the ancient history of the world. the prejudice has probably been derived from india, and the indian islands, where troops of elephants, noble forests, and impenetrable jungles, are associated together in every one's mind. if, however, we refer to any work of travels through the southern parts of africa, we shall find allusions in almost every page either to the desert character of the country, or to the numbers of large animals inhabiting it. the same thing is rendered evident by the many engravings which have been published of various parts of the interior. when the "beagle" was at cape town, i made an excursion of some days' length into the country, which at least was sufficient to render that which i had read more fully intelligible. dr. andrew smith, who, at the head of his adventurous party, has lately succeeded in passing the tropic of capricorn, informs me that, taking into consideration the whole of the southern part of africa, there can be no doubt of its being a sterile country. on the southern and south-eastern coasts there are some fine forests, but with these exceptions, the traveller may pass for days together through open plains, covered by a poor and scanty vegetation. it is difficult to convey any accurate idea of degrees of comparative fertility; but it may be safely said that the amount of vegetation supported at any one time by great britain, exceeds, perhaps even tenfold, the quantity on an equal area in the interior parts of southern africa. ( / . i mean by this to exclude the total amount which may have been successively produced and consumed during a given period.) the fact that bullock-waggons can travel in any direction, excepting near the coast, without more than occasionally half an hour's delay in cutting down bushes, gives, perhaps, a more definite notion of the scantiness of the vegetation. now, if we look to the animals inhabiting these wide plains, we shall find their numbers extraordinarily great, and their bulk immense. we must enumerate the elephant, three species of rhinoceros, and probably, according to dr. smith, two others, the hippopotamus, the giraffe, the bos caffer--as large as a full-grown bull, and the elan--but little less, two zebras, and the quaccha, two gnus, and several antelopes even larger than these latter animals. it may be supposed that although the species are numerous, the individuals of each kind are few. by the kindness of dr. smith, i am enabled to show that the case is very different. he informs me, that in latitude degrees, in one day's march with the bullock-waggons, he saw, without wandering to any great distance on either side, between one hundred and one hundred and fifty rhinoceroses, which belonged to three species: the same day he saw several herds of giraffes, amounting together to nearly a hundred; and that, although no elephant was observed, yet they are found in this district. at the distance of a little more than one hour's march from their place of encampment on the previous night, his party actually killed at one spot eight hippopotamuses, and saw many more. in this same river there were likewise crocodiles. of course it was a case quite extraordinary, to see so many great animals crowded together, but it evidently proves that they must exist in great numbers. dr. smith describes the country passed through that day, as "being thinly covered with grass, and bushes about four feet high, and still more thinly with mimosa-trees." the waggons were not prevented travelling in a nearly straight line. besides these large animals, every one the least acquainted with the natural history of the cape has read of the herds of antelopes, which can be compared only with the flocks of migratory birds. the numbers indeed of the lion, panther, and hyaena, and the multitude of birds of prey, plainly speak of the abundance of the smaller quadrupeds: one evening seven lions were counted at the same time prowling round dr. smith's encampment. as this able naturalist remarked to me, the carnage each day in southern africa must indeed be terrific! i confess it is truly surprising how such a number of animals can find support in a country producing so little food. the larger quadrupeds no doubt roam over wide tracts in search of it; and their food chiefly consists of underwood, which probably contains much nutriment in a small bulk. dr. smith also informs me that the vegetation has a rapid growth; no sooner is a part consumed, than its place is supplied by a fresh stock. there can be no doubt, however, that our ideas respecting the apparent amount of food necessary for the support of large quadrupeds are much exaggerated: it should have been remembered that the camel, an animal of no mean bulk, has always been considered as the emblem of the desert. the belief that where large quadrupeds exist, the vegetation must necessarily be luxuriant, is the more remarkable, because the converse is far from true. mr. burchell observed to me that when entering brazil, nothing struck him more forcibly than the splendour of the south american vegetation contrasted with that of south africa, together with the absence of all large quadrupeds. in his "travels," he has suggested that the comparison of the respective weights (if there were sufficient data) of an equal number of the largest herbivorous quadrupeds of each country would be extremely curious. ( / . "travels in the interior of south africa" volume page .) if we take on the one side, the elephant, hippopotamus, giraffe, bos caffer, elan, certainly three, and probably five species of rhinoceros; and on the american side, two tapirs, the guanaco, three deer, the vicuna, peccari, capybara (after which we must choose from the monkeys to complete the number), and then place these two groups alongside each other, it is not easy to conceive ranks more disproportionate in size. ( / . the elephant which was killed at exeter change was estimated (being partly weighed) at five tons and a half. the elephant actress, as i was informed, weighed one ton less; so that we may take five as the average of a full-grown elephant. i was told at the surry gardens, that a hippopotamus which was sent to england cut up into pieces was estimated at three tons and a half; we will call it three. from these premises we may give three tons and a half to each of the five rhinoceroses; perhaps a ton to the giraffe, and half to the bos caffer as well as to the elan (a large ox weighs from to pounds). this will give an average (from the above estimates) of . of a ton for the ten largest herbivorous animals of southern africa. in south america, allowing pounds for the two tapirs together, for the guanaco and vicuna, for three deer, for the capybara, peccari, and a monkey, we shall have an average of pounds, which i believe is overstating the result. the ratio will therefore be as to , or to , for the ten largest animals from the two continents.) after the above facts, we are compelled to conclude, against anterior probability, that among the mammalia there exists no close relation between the bulk of the species and the quantity of the vegetation in the countries which they inhabit. ( / . if we suppose the case of the discovery of a skeleton of a greenland whale in a fossil state, not a single cetaceous animal being known to exist, what naturalist would have ventured conjecture on the possibility of a carcass so gigantic being supported on the minute crustacea and mollusca living in the frozen seas of the extreme north?) with regard to the number of large quadrupeds, there certainly exists no quarter of the globe which will bear comparison with southern africa. after the different statements which have been given, the extremely desert character of that region will not be disputed. in the european division of the world, we must look back to the tertiary epochs, to find a condition of things among the mammalia, resembling that now existing at the cape of good hope. those tertiary epochs, which we are apt to consider as abounding to an astonishing degree with large animals, because we find the remains of many ages accumulated at certain spots, could hardly boast of more large quadrupeds than southern africa does at present. if we speculate on the condition of the vegetation during those epochs, we are at least bound so far to consider existing analogies, as not to urge as absolutely necessary a luxuriant vegetation, when we see a state of things so totally different at the cape of good hope. we know that the extreme regions of north america many degrees beyond the limit where the ground at the depth of a few feet remains perpetually congealed, are covered by forests of large and tall trees. ( / . see "zoological remarks to captain back's expedition" by dr. richardson. he says, "the subsoil north of latitude degrees is perpetually frozen, the thaw on the coast not penetrating above three feet, and at bear lake, in latitude degrees, not more than twenty inches. the frozen substratum does not of itself destroy vegetation, for forests flourish on the surface, at a distance from the coast.") in a like manner, in siberia, we have woods of birch, fir, aspen, and larch, growing in a latitude ( degrees) where the mean temperature of the air falls below the freezing point, and where the earth is so completely frozen, that the carcass of an animal embedded in it is perfectly preserved. ( / . see humboldt "fragmens asiatiques" page : barton's "geography of plants"; and malte brun. in the latter work it is said that the limit of the growth of trees in siberia may be drawn under the parallel of degrees.) with these facts we must grant, as far as quantity alone of vegetation is concerned, that the great quadrupeds of the later tertiary epochs might, in most parts of northern europe and asia, have lived on the spots where their remains are now found. i do not here speak of the kind of vegetation necessary for their support; because, as there is evidence of physical changes, and as the animals have become extinct, so may we suppose that the species of plants have likewise been changed. these remarks, i may be permitted to add, directly bear on the case of the siberian animals preserved in ice. the firm conviction of the necessity of a vegetation possessing a character of tropical luxuriance, to support such large animals, and the impossibility of reconciling this with the proximity of perpetual congelation, was one chief cause of the several theories of sudden revolutions of climate, and of overwhelming catastrophes, which were invented to account for their entombment. i am far from supposing that the climate has not changed since the period when those animals lived, which now lie buried in the ice. at present i only wish to show, that as far as quantity of food alone is concerned, the ancient rhinoceroses might have roamed over the steppes of central siberia (the northern parts probably being under water) even in their present condition, as well as the living rhinoceroses and elephants over the karros of southern africa. i will now give an account of the habits of some of the more interesting birds which are common on the wild plains of northern patagonia: and first for the largest, or south american ostrich. the ordinary habits of the ostrich are familiar to every one. they live on vegetable matter, such as roots and grass; but at bahia blanca i have repeatedly seen three or four come down at low water to the extensive mudbanks which are then dry, for the sake, as the gauchos say, of feeding on small fish. although the ostrich in its habits is so shy, wary, and solitary, and although so fleet in its pace, it is caught without much difficulty by the indian or gaucho armed with the bolas. when several horsemen appear in a semicircle, it becomes confounded, and does not know which way to escape. they generally prefer running against the wind; yet at the first start they expand their wings, and like a vessel make all sail. on one fine hot day i saw several ostriches enter a bed of tall rushes, where they squatted concealed, till quite closely approached. it is not generally known that ostriches readily take to the water. mr. king informs me that at the bay of san blas, and at port valdes in patagonia, he saw these birds swimming several times from island to island. they ran into the water both when driven down to a point, and likewise of their own accord when not frightened: the distance crossed was about two hundred yards. when swimming, very little of their bodies appear above water; their necks are extended a little forward, and their progress is slow. on two occasions i saw some ostriches swimming across the santa cruz river, where its course was about four hundred yards wide, and the stream rapid. captain sturt, when descending the murrumbidgee, in australia, saw two emus in the act of swimming. ( / . sturt's travels, volume page .) the inhabitants of the country readily distinguish, even at a distance, the cock bird from the hen. the former is larger and darker-coloured, and has a bigger head. ( / . a gucho assured me that he had once seen a snow-white or albino variety, and that it was a most beautiful bird.) the ostrich, i believe the cock, emits a singular, deep-toned, hissing note: when first i heard it, standing in the midst of some sand-hillocks, i thought it was made by some wild beast, for it is a sound that one cannot tell whence it comes, or from how far distant. when we were at bahia blanca in the months of september and october, the eggs, in extraordinary numbers, were found all over the country. they lie either scattered and single, in which case they are never hatched, and are called by the spaniards huachos; or they are collected together into a shallow excavation, which forms the nest. out of the four nests which i saw, three contained twenty-two eggs each, and the fourth twenty-seven. in one day's hunting on horseback sixty-four eggs were found; forty-four of these were in two nests, and the remaining twenty, scattered huachos. the gauchos unanimously affirm, and there is no reason to doubt their statement, that the male bird alone hatches the eggs, and for some time afterwards accompanies the young. the cock when on the nest lies very close; i have myself almost ridden over one. it is asserted that at such times they are occasionally fierce, and even dangerous, and that they have been known to attack a man on horseback, trying to kick and leap on him. my informer pointed out to me an old man, whom he had seen much terrified by one chasing him. i observe in burchell's "travels in south africa" that he remarks, "having killed a male ostrich, and the feathers being dirty, it was said by the hottentots to be a nest bird." i understand that the male emu in the zoological gardens takes charge of the nest: this habit, therefore, is common to the family. the gauchos unanimously affirm that several females lay in one nest. i have been positively told that four or five hen birds have been watched to go in the middle of the day, one after the other, to the same nest. i may add, also, that it is believed in africa that two or more females lay in one nest. ( / . burchell's "travels" volume page .) although this habit at first appears very strange, i think the cause may be explained in a simple manner. the number of eggs in the nest varies from twenty to forty, and even to fifty; and according to azara, sometimes to seventy or eighty. now although it is most probable, from the number of eggs found in one district being so extraordinarily great in proportion to the parent birds, and likewise from the state of the ovarium of the hen, that she may in the course of the season lay a large number, yet the time required must be very long. azara states that a female in a state of domestication laid seventeen eggs, each at the interval of three days one from another. ( / . azara volume page .) if the hen was obliged to hatch her own eggs, before the last was laid the first probably would be addled; but if each laid a few eggs at successive periods, in different nests, and several hens, as is stated to be the case, combined together, then the eggs in one collection would be nearly of the same age. if the number of eggs in one of these nests is, as i believe, not greater on an average than the number laid by one female in the season, then there must be as many nests as females, and each cock bird will have its fair share of the labour of incubation; and that during a period when the females probably could not sit, from not having finished laying. ( / . lichtenstein, however, asserts "travels" volume page , that the hens begin sitting when they have laid ten or twelve eggs; and that they continue laying, i presume in another nest. this appears to me very improbable. he asserts that four or five hens associate for incubation with one cock, who sits only at night.) i have before mentioned the great numbers of huachos, or deserted eggs; so that in one day's hunting twenty were found in this state. it appears odd that so many should be wasted. does it not arise from the difficulty of several females associating together, and finding a male ready to undertake the office of incubation? it is evident that there must at first be some degree of association between at least two females; otherwise the eggs would remain scattered over the wide plains, at distances far too great to allow of the male collecting them into one nest: some authors have believed that the scattered eggs were deposited for the young birds to feed on. this can hardly be the case in america, because the huachos, although often found addled and putrid, are generally whole. when at the rio negro in northern patagonia, i repeatedly heard the gauchos talking of a very rare bird which they called avestruz petise. they described it as being less than the common ostrich (which is there abundant), but with a very close general resemblance. they said its colour was dark and mottled, and that its legs were shorter, and feathered lower down than those of the common ostrich. it is more easily caught by the bolas than the other species. the few inhabitants who had seen both kinds, affirmed they could distinguish them apart from a long distance. the eggs of the small species appeared, however, more generally known; and it was remarked, with surprise, that they were very little less than those of the rhea but of a slightly different form, and with a tinge of pale blue. this species occurs most rarely on the plains bordering the rio negro; but about a degree and a half farther south they are tolerably abundant. when at port desire, in patagonia (latitude degrees), mr. martens shot an ostrich; and i looked at it, forgetting at the moment, in the most unaccountable manner, the whole subject of the petises, and thought it was a not full-grown bird of the common sort. it was cooked and eaten before my memory returned. fortunately the head, neck, legs, wings, many of the larger feathers, and a large part of the skin, had been preserved; and from these a very nearly perfect specimen has been put together, and is now exhibited in the museum of the zoological society. mr. gould, in describing this new species, has done me the honour of calling it after my name. among the patagonian indians in the strait of magellan, we found a half indian, who had lived some years with the tribe, but had been born in the northern provinces. i asked him if he had ever heard of the avestruz petise. he answered by saying, "why, there are none others in these southern countries." he informed me that the number of eggs in the nest of the petise is considerably less than in that of the other kind, namely, not more than fifteen on an average, but he asserted that more than one female deposited them. at santa cruz we saw several of these birds. they were excessively wary: i think they could see a person approaching when too far off to be distinguished themselves. in ascending the river few were seen; but in our quiet and rapid descent many, in pairs and by fours or fives, were observed. it was remarked that this bird did not expand its wings, when first starting at full speed, after the manner of the northern kind. in conclusion i may observe that the struthio rhea inhabits the country of la plata as far as a little south of the rio negro in latitude degrees, and that the struthio darwinii takes its place in southern patagonia; the part about the rio negro being neutral territory. m. a. d'orbigny, when at the rio negro, made great exertions to procure this bird, but never had the good fortune to succeed. ( / . when at the rio negro, we heard much of the indefatigable labours of this naturalist. m. alcide d'orbigny, during the years to , traversed several large portions of south america, and has made a collection, and is now publishing the results on a scale of magnificence, which at once places himself in the list of american travellers second only to humboldt.) dobrizhoffer long ago was aware of there being two kinds of ostriches, he says, "you must know, moreover, that emus differ in size and habits in different tracts of land; for those that inhabit the plains of buenos ayres and tucuman are larger, and have black, white and grey feathers; those near to the strait of magellan are smaller and more beautiful, for their white feathers are tipped with black at the extremity, and their black ones in like manner terminate in white." ( / . "account of the abipones" a.d. volume english translation page .) a very singular little bird, tinochorus rumicivorus, is here common: in its habits and general appearance it nearly equally partakes of the characters, different as they are, of the quail and snipe. the tinochorus is found in the whole of southern south america, wherever there are sterile plains, or open dry pasture land. it frequents in pairs or small flocks the most desolate places, where scarcely another living creature can exist. upon being approached they squat close, and then are very difficult to be distinguished from the ground. when feeding they walk rather slowly, with their legs wide apart. they dust themselves in roads and sandy places, and frequent particular spots, where they may be found day after day: like partridges, they take wing in a flock. in all these respects, in the muscular gizzard adapted for vegetable food, in the arched beak and fleshy nostrils, short legs and form of foot, the tinochorus has a close affinity with quails. but as soon as the bird is seen flying, its whole appearance changes; the long pointed wings, so different from those in the gallinaceous order, the irregular manner of flight, and plaintive cry uttered at the moment of rising, recall the idea of a snipe. the sportsmen of the "beagle" unanimously called it the short-billed snipe. to this genus, or rather to the family of the waders, its skeleton shows that it is really related. the tinochorus is closely related to some other south american birds. two species of the genus attagis are in almost every respect ptarmigans in their habits; one lives in tierra del fuego, above the limits of the forest land; and the other just beneath the snow-line on the cordillera of central chile. a bird of another closely allied genus, chionis alba, is an inhabitant of the antarctic regions; it feeds on seaweed and shells on the tidal rocks. although not web-footed, from some unaccountable habit it is frequently met with far out at sea. this small family of birds is one of those which, from its varied relations to other families, although at present offering only difficulties to the systematic naturalist, ultimately may assist in revealing the grand scheme, common to the present and past ages, on which organised beings have been created. the genus furnarius contains several species, all small birds, living on the ground, and inhabiting open dry countries. in structure they cannot be compared to any european form. ornithologists have generally included them among the creepers, although opposed to that family in every habit. the best known species is the common oven-bird of la plata, the casara or housemaker of the spaniards. the nest, whence it takes its name, is placed in the most exposed situations, as on the top of a post, a bare rock, or on a cactus. it is composed of mud and bits of straw, and has strong thick walls: in shape it precisely resembles an oven, or depressed beehive. the opening is large and arched, and directly in front, within the nest, there is a partition, which reaches nearly to the roof, thus forming a passage or antechamber to the true nest. another and smaller species of furnarius (f. cunicularius), resembles the oven-bird in the general reddish tint of its plumage, in a peculiar shrill reiterated cry, and in an odd manner of running by starts. from its affinity, the spaniards call it casarita (or little housebuilder), although its nidification is quite different. the casarita builds its nest at the bottom of a narrow cylindrical hole, which is said to extend horizontally to nearly six feet under ground. several of the country people told me, that when boys, they had attempted to dig out the nest, but had scarcely ever succeeded in getting to the end of the passage. the bird chooses any low bank of firm sandy soil by the side of a road or stream. here (at bahia blanca) the walls round the houses are built of hardened mud, and i noticed that one, which enclosed a courtyard where i lodged, was bored through by round holes in a score of places. on asking the owner the cause of this, he bitterly complained of the little casarita, several of which i afterwards observed at work. it is rather curious to find how incapable these birds must be of acquiring any notion of thickness, for although they were constantly flitting over the low wall, they continued vainly to bore through it, thinking it an excellent bank for their nests. i do not doubt that each bird, as often as it came to daylight on the opposite side, was greatly surprised at the marvellous fact. i have already mentioned nearly all the mammalia common in this country. of armadilloes three species occur, namely, the dasypus minutus or pichy, the d. villosus or peludo, and the apar. the first extends ten degrees farther south than any other kind; a fourth species, the mulita, does not come as far south as bahia blanca. the four species have nearly similar habits; the peludo, however, is nocturnal, while the others wander by day over the open plains, feeding on beetles, larvae, roots, and even small snakes. the apar, commonly called mataco, is remarkable by having only three movable bands; the rest of its tesselated covering being nearly inflexible. it has the power of rolling itself into a perfect sphere, like one kind of english woodlouse. in this state it is safe from the attack of dogs; for the dog not being able to take the whole in its mouth, tries to bite one side, and the ball slips away. the smooth hard covering of the mataco offers a better defence than the sharp spines of the hedgehog. the pichy prefers a very dry soil; and the sand-dunes near the coast, where for many months it can never taste water, is its favourite resort: it often tries to escape notice, by squatting close to the ground. in the course of a day's ride, near bahia blanca, several were generally met with. the instant one was perceived, it was necessary, in order to catch it, almost to tumble off one's horse; for in soft soil the animal burrowed so quickly, that its hinder quarters would almost disappear before one could alight. it seems almost a pity to kill such nice little animals, for as a gaucho said, while sharpening his knife on the back of one, "son tan mansos" (they are so quiet). of reptiles there are many kinds: one snake (a trigonocephalus, or cophias, subsequently called by m. bibron t. crepitans), from the size of the poison channel in its fangs, must be very deadly. cuvier, in opposition to some other naturalists, makes this a sub-genus of the rattlesnake, and intermediate between it and the viper. in confirmation of this opinion, i observed a fact, which appears to me very curious and instructive, as showing how every character, even though it may be in some degree independent of structure, has a tendency to vary by slow degrees. the extremity of the tail of this snake is terminated by a point, which is very slightly enlarged; and as the animal glides along, it constantly vibrates the last inch; and this part striking against the dry grass and brushwood, produces a rattling noise, which can be distinctly heard at the distance of six feet. as often as the animal was irritated or surprised, its tail was shaken; and the vibrations were extremely rapid. even as long as the body retained its irritability, a tendency to this habitual movement was evident. this trigonocephalus has, therefore, in some respects the structure of a viper, with the habits of a rattlesnake: the noise, however, being produced by a simpler device. the expression of this snake's face was hideous and fierce; the pupil consisted of a vertical slit in a mottled and coppery iris; the jaws were broad at the base, and the nose terminated in a triangular projection. i do not think i ever saw anything more ugly, excepting, perhaps, some of the vampire bats. i imagine this repulsive aspect originates from the features being placed in positions, with respect to each other, somewhat proportional to those of the human face; and thus we obtain a scale of hideousness. amongst the batrachian reptiles, i found only one little toad (phryniscus nigricans), which was most singular from its colour. if we imagine, first, that it had been steeped in the blackest ink, and then, when dry, allowed to crawl over a board, freshly painted with the brightest vermilion, so as to colour the soles of its feet and parts of its stomach, a good idea of its appearance will be gained. if it had been an unnamed species, surely it ought to have been called diabolicus, for it is a fit toad to preach in the ear of eve. instead of being nocturnal in its habits, as other toads are, and living in damp obscure recesses, it crawls during the heat of the day about the dry sand-hillocks and arid plains, where not a single drop of water can be found. it must necessarily depend on the dew for its moisture; and this probably is absorbed by the skin, for it is known that these reptiles possess great powers of cutaneous absorption. at maldonado, i found one in a situation nearly as dry as at bahia blanca, and thinking to give it a great treat, carried it to a pool of water; not only was the little animal unable to swim, but i think without help it would soon have been drowned. of lizards there were many kinds, but only one (proctotretus multimaculatus) remarkable from its habits. it lives on the bare sand near the sea-coast, and from its mottled colour, the brownish scales being speckled with white, yellowish red, and dirty blue, can hardly be distinguished from the surrounding surface. when frightened, it attempts to avoid discovery by feigning death, with outstretched legs, depressed body, and closed eyes: if further molested, it buries itself with great quickness in the loose sand. this lizard, from its flattened body and short legs, cannot run quickly. i will here add a few remarks on the hybernation of animals in this part of south america. when we first arrived at bahia blanca, september th, , we thought nature had granted scarcely a living creature to this sandy and dry country. by digging, however, in the ground, several insects, large spiders, and lizards were found in a half-torpid state. on the th, a few animals began to appear, and by the th (three days from the equinox), everything announced the commencement of spring. the plains were ornamented by the flowers of a pink wood-sorrel, wild peas, oenotherae, and geraniums; and the birds began to lay their eggs. numerous lamellicorn and heteromerous insects, the latter remarkable for their deeply sculptured bodies, were slowly crawling about; while the lizard tribe, the constant inhabitants of a sandy soil, darted about in every direction. during the first eleven days, whilst nature was dormant, the mean temperature taken from observations made every two hours on board the "beagle," was degrees; and in the middle of the day the thermometer seldom ranged above degrees. on the eleven succeeding days, in which all living things became so animated, the mean was degrees, and the range in the middle of the day between sixty and seventy. here then an increase of seven degrees in mean temperature, but a greater one of extreme heat, was sufficient to awake the functions of life. at monte video, from which we had just before sailed, in the twenty-three days included between the th of july and the th of august, the mean temperature from observations was . degrees; the mean hottest day being . degrees, and the coldest degrees. the lowest point to which the thermometer fell was . degrees, and occasionally in the middle of the day it rose to or degrees. yet with this high temperature, almost every beetle, several genera of spiders, snails, and land-shells, toads and lizards, were all lying torpid beneath stones. but we have seen that at bahia blanca, which is four degrees southward, and therefore with a climate only a very little colder, this same temperature, with a rather less extreme heat, was sufficient to awake all orders of animated beings. this shows how nicely the stimulus required to arouse hybernating animals is governed by the usual climate of the district, and not by the absolute heat. it is well known that within the tropics the hybernation, or more properly aestivation, of animals is determined not by the temperature, but by the times of drought. near rio de janeiro, i was at first surprised to observe that, a few days after some little depressions had been filled with water, they were peopled by numerous full-grown shells and beetles, which must have been lying dormant. humboldt has related the strange accident of a hovel having been erected over a spot where a young crocodile lay buried in the hardened mud. he adds, "the indians often find enormous boas, which they call uji, or water serpents, in the same lethargic state. to reanimate them, they must be irritated or wetted with water." i will only mention one other animal, a zoophyte (i believe virgularia patagonica), a kind of sea-pen. it consists of a thin, straight, fleshy stem, with alternate rows of polypi on each side, and surrounding an elastic stony axis, varying in length from eight inches to two feet. the stem at one extremity is truncate, but at the other is terminated by a vermiform fleshy appendage. the stony axis which gives strength to the stem may be traced at this extremity into a mere vessel filled with granular matter. at low water hundreds of these zoophytes might be seen, projecting like stubble, with the truncate end upwards, a few inches above the surface of the muddy sand. when touched or pulled they suddenly drew themselves in with force, so as nearly or quite to disappear. by this action, the highly elastic axis must be bent at the lower extremity, where it is naturally slightly curved; and i imagine it is by this elasticity alone that the zoophyte is enabled to rise again through the mud. each polypus, though closely united to its brethren, has a distinct mouth, body, and tentacula. of these polypi, in a large specimen, there must be many thousands; yet we see that they act by one movement: they have also one central axis connected with a system of obscure circulation, and the ova are produced in an organ distinct from the separate individuals. ( / . the cavities leading from the fleshy compartments of the extremity were filled with a yellow pulpy matter, which, examined under a microscope, presented an extraordinary appearance. the mass consisted of rounded, semi-transparent, irregular grains, aggregated together into particles of various sizes. all such particles, and the separate grains, possessed the power of rapid movement; generally revolving around different axes, but sometimes progressive. the movement was visible with a very weak power, but even with the highest its cause could not be perceived. it was very different from the circulation of the fluid in the elastic bag, containing the thin extremity of the axis. on other occasions, when dissecting small marine animals beneath the microscope, i have seen particles of pulpy matter, some of large size, as soon as they were disengaged, commence revolving. i have imagined, i know not with how much truth, that this granulo-pulpy matter was in process of being converted into ova. certainly in this zoophyte such appeared to be the case.) well may one be allowed to ask, what is an individual? it is always interesting to discover the foundation of the strange tales of the old voyagers; and i have no doubt but that the habits of this virgularia explain one such case. captain lancaster, in his voyage in , narrates that on the sea-sands of the island of sombrero, in the east indies, he "found a small twig growing up like a young tree, and on offering to pluck it up it shrinks down to the ground, and sinks, unless held very hard. on being plucked up, a great worm is found to be its root, and as the tree groweth in greatness, so doth the worm diminish, and as soon as the worm is entirely turned into a tree it rooteth in the earth, and so becomes great. this transformation is one of the strangest wonders that i saw in all my travels: for if this tree is plucked up, while young, and the leaves and bark stripped off, it becomes a hard stone when dry, much like white coral: thus is this worm twice transformed into different natures. of these we gathered and brought home many." ( / . kerr's "collection of voyages" volume page .) nam simul expletus dapibus, vinoque sepultus cervicem inflexam posuit, jacuitque per antrum immensus, saniem eructans, ac frusta cruenta per somnum commixta mero. during my stay at bahia blanca, while waiting for the "beagle," the place was in a constant state of excitement, from rumours of wars and victories, between the troops of rosas and the wild indians. one day an account came that a small party forming one of the postas on the line to buenos ayres had been found all murdered. the next day three hundred men arrived from the colorado, under the command of commandant miranda. a large portion of these men were indians (mansos, or tame), belonging to the tribe of the cacique bernantio. they passed the night here; and it was impossible to conceive anything more wild and savage than the scene of their bivouac. some drank till they were intoxicated; others swallowed the steaming blood of the cattle slaughtered for their suppers, and then, being sick from drunkenness, they cast it up again, and were besmeared with filth and gore. in the morning they started for the scene of the murder, with orders to follow the rastro, or track, even if it led them to chile. we subsequently heard that the wild indians had escaped into the great pampas, and from some cause the track had been missed. one glance at the rastro tells these people a whole history. supposing they examine the track of a thousand horses, they will soon guess the number of mounted ones by seeing how many have cantered; by the depth of the other impressions, whether any horses were loaded with cargoes; by the irregularity of the footsteps, how far tired; by the manner in which the food has been cooked, whether the pursued travelled in haste; by the general appearance, how long it has been since they passed. they consider a rastro of ten days or a fortnight quite recent enough to be hunted out. we also heard that miranda struck from the west end of the sierra ventana, in a direct line to the island of cholechel, situated seventy leagues up the rio negro. this is a distance of between two and three hundred miles, through a country completely unknown. what other troops in the world are so independent? with the sun for their guide, mare's flesh for food, their saddle-cloths for beds,--as long as there is a little water, these men would penetrate to the end of the world. a few days afterwards i saw another troop of these banditti-like soldiers start on an expedition against a tribe of indians at the small salinas, who had been betrayed by a prisoner cacique. the spaniard who brought the orders for this expedition was a very intelligent man. he gave me an account of the last engagement at which he was present. some indians, who had been taken prisoners, gave information of a tribe living north of the colorado. two hundred soldiers were sent; and they first discovered the indians by a cloud of dust from their horses' feet as they chanced to be travelling. the country was mountainous and wild, and it must have been far in the interior, for the cordillera were in sight. the indians, men, women, and children, were about one hundred and ten in number, and they were nearly all taken or killed, for the soldiers sabre every man. the indians are now so terrified that they offer no resistance in a body, but each flies, neglecting even his wife and children; but when overtaken, like wild animals, they fight against any number to the last moment. one dying indian seized with his teeth the thumb of his adversary, and allowed his own eye to be forced out sooner than relinquish his hold. another, who was wounded, feigned death, keeping a knife ready to strike one more fatal blow. my informer said, when he was pursuing an indian, the man cried out for mercy, at the same time that he was covertly loosing the bolas from his waist, meaning to whirl it round his head and so strike his pursuer. "i however struck him with my sabre to the ground, and then got off my horse, and cut his throat with my knife." this is a dark picture; but how much more shocking is the unquestionable fact, that all the women who appear above twenty years old are massacred in cold blood? when i exclaimed that this appeared rather inhuman, he answered, "why, what can be done? they breed so!" every one here is fully convinced that this is the most just war, because it is against barbarians. who would believe in this age that such atrocities could be committed in a christian civilised country? the children of the indians are saved, to be sold or given away as servants, or rather slaves for as long a time as the owners can make them believe themselves slaves; but i believe in their treatment there is little to complain of. in the battle four men ran away together. they were pursued, one was killed, and the other three were taken alive. they turned out to be messengers or ambassadors from a large body of indians, united in the common cause of defence, near the cordillera. the tribe to which they had been sent was on the point of holding a grand council, the feast of mare's flesh was ready, and the dance prepared: in the morning the ambassadors were to have returned to the cordillera. they were remarkably fine men, very fair, above six feet high, and all under thirty years of age. the three survivors of course possessed very valuable information and to extort this they were placed in a line. the two first being questioned, answered, "no s�" (i do not know), and were one after the other shot. the third also said "no s�;" adding, "fire, i am a man, and can die!" not one syllable would they breathe to injure the united cause of their country! the conduct of the above-mentioned cacique was very different; he saved his life by betraying the intended plan of warfare, and the point of union in the andes. it was believed that there were already six or seven hundred indians together, and that in summer their numbers would be doubled. ambassadors were to have been sent to the indians at the small salinas, near bahia blanca, whom i have mentioned that this same cacique had betrayed. the communication, therefore, between the indians, extends from the cordillera to the coast of the atlantic. general rosas's plan is to kill all stragglers, and having driven the remainder to a common point, to attack them in a body, in the summer, with the assistance of the chilenos. this operation is to be repeated for three successive years. i imagine the summer is chosen as the time for the main attack, because the plains are then without water, and the indians can only travel in particular directions. the escape of the indians to the south of the rio negro, where in such a vast unknown country they would be safe, is prevented by a treaty with the tehuelches to this effect;--that rosas pays them so much to slaughter every indian who passes to the south of the river, but if they fail in so doing, they themselves are to be exterminated. the war is waged chiefly against the indians near the cordillera; for many of the tribes on this eastern side are fighting with rosas. the general, however, like lord chesterfield, thinking that his friends may in a future day become his enemies, always places them in the front ranks, so that their numbers may be thinned. since leaving south america we have heard that this war of extermination completely failed. among the captive girls taken in the same engagement, there were two very pretty spanish ones, who had been carried away by the indians when young, and could now only speak the indian tongue. from their account they must have come from salta, a distance in a straight line of nearly one thousand miles. this gives one a grand idea of the immense territory over which the indians roam: yet, great as it is, i think there will not, in another half-century, be a wild indian northward of the rio negro. the warfare is too bloody to last; the christians killing every indian, and the indians doing the same by the christians. it is melancholy to trace how the indians have given way before the spanish invaders. schirdel says that in , when buenos ayres was founded, there were villages containing two and three thousand inhabitants. ( / . purchas's "collection of voyages." i believe the date was really .) even in falconer's time ( ) the indians made inroads as far as luxan, areco, and arrecife, but now they are driven beyond the salado. not only have whole tribes been exterminated, but the remaining indians have become more barbarous: instead of living in large villages, and being employed in the arts of fishing, as well as of the chase, they now wander about the open plains, without home or fixed occupation. i heard also some account of an engagement which took place, a few weeks previously to the one mentioned, at cholechel. this is a very important station on account of being a pass for horses; and it was, in consequence, for some time the head-quarters of a division of the army. when the troops first arrived there they found a tribe of indians, of whom they killed twenty or thirty. the cacique escaped in a manner which astonished every one. the chief indians always have one or two picked horses, which they keep ready for any urgent occasion. on one of these, an old white horse, the cacique sprung, taking with him his little son. the horse had neither saddle nor bridle. to avoid the shots, the indian rode in the peculiar method of his nation; namely, with an arm round the horse's neck, and one leg only on its back. thus hanging on one side, he was seen patting the horse's head, and talking to him. the pursuers urged every effort in the chase; the commandant three times changed his horse, but all in vain. the old indian father and his son escaped, and were free. what a fine picture one can form in one's mind,--the naked, bronze-like figure of the old man with his little boy, riding like a mazeppa on the white horse, thus leaving far behind him the host of his pursuers! i saw one day a soldier striking fire with a piece of flint, which i immediately recognised as having been a part of the head of an arrow. he told me it was found near the island of cholechel, and that they are frequently picked up there. it was between two and three inches long, and therefore twice as large as those now used in tierra del fuego: it was made of opaque cream-coloured flint, but the point and barbs had been intentionally broken off. it is well known that no pampas indians now use bows and arrows. i believe a small tribe in banda oriental must be excepted; but they are widely separated from the pampas indians, and border close on those tribes that inhabit the forest, and live on foot. it appears, therefore, that these arrow-heads are antiquarian relics of the indians, before the great change in habits consequent on the introduction of the horse into south america. ( / . azara has even doubted whether the pampas indians ever used bows. [several similar agate arrow-heads have since been dug up at chupat, and two were given to me, on the occasion of my visit there, by the governor.--r.t. pritchett, .]) (plate . rhea darwinii (avestruz petise).) chapter vi. (plate . landing at buenos ayres.) set out for buenos ayres. rio sauce. sierra ventana. third posta. driving horses. bolas. partridges and foxes. features of the country. long-legged plover. teru-tero. hail-storm. natural enclosures in the sierra tapalguen. flesh of puma. meat diet. guardia del monte. effects of cattle on the vegetation. cardoon. buenos ayres. corral where cattle are slaughtered. bahia blanca to buenos ayres. september , . i hired a gaucho to accompany me on my ride to buenos ayres, though with some difficulty, as the father of one man was afraid to let him go, and another who seemed willing, was described to me as so fearful that i was afraid to take him, for i was told that even if he saw an ostrich at a distance, he would mistake it for an indian, and would fly like the wind away. the distance to buenos ayres is about four hundred miles, and nearly the whole way through an uninhabited country. we started early in the morning; ascending a few hundred feet from the basin of green turf on which bahia blanca stands, we entered on a wide desolate plain. it consists of a crumbling argillaceo-calcareous rock, which, from the dry nature of the climate, supports only scattered tufts of withered grass, without a single bush or tree to break the monotonous uniformity. the weather was fine, but the atmosphere remarkably hazy; i thought the appearance foreboded a gale, but the gauchos said it was owing to the plain, at some great distance in the interior, being on fire. after a long gallop, having changed horses twice, we reached the rio sauce: it is a deep, rapid, little stream, not above twenty-five feet wide. the second posta on the road to buenos ayres stands on its banks, a little above there is a ford for horses, where the water does not reach to the horses' belly; but from that point, in its course to the sea, it is quite impassable, and hence makes a most useful barrier against the indians. insignificant as this stream is, the jesuit falconer, whose information is generally so very correct, figures it as a considerable river, rising at the foot of the cordillera. with respect to its source, i do not doubt that this is the case; for the gauchos assured me, that in the middle of the dry summer this stream, at the same time with the colorado, has periodical floods, which can only originate in the snow melting on the andes. it is extremely improbable that a stream so small as the sauce then was should traverse the entire width of the continent; and indeed, if it were the residue of a large river, its waters, as in other ascertained cases, would be saline. during the winter we must look to the springs round the sierra ventana as the source of its pure and limpid stream. i suspect the plains of patagonia, like those of australia, are traversed by many watercourses, which only perform their proper parts at certain periods. probably this is the case with the water which flows into the head of port desire, and likewise with the rio chupat, on the banks of which masses of highly cellular scoriae were found by the officers employed in the survey. as it was early in the afternoon when we arrived, we took fresh horses and a soldier for a guide, and started for the sierra de la ventana. this mountain is visible from the anchorage at bahia blanca; and captain fitz roy calculates its height to be feet--an altitude very remarkable on this eastern side of the continent. i am not aware that any foreigner, previous to my visit, had ascended this mountain; and indeed very few of the soldiers at bahia blanca knew anything about it. hence we heard of beds of coal, of gold and silver, of caves, and of forests, all of which inflamed my curiosity, only to disappoint it. the distance from the posta was about six leagues, over a level plain of the same character as before. the ride was, however, interesting, as the mountain began to show its true form. when we reached the foot of the main ridge, we had much difficulty in finding any water, and we thought we should have been obliged to have passed the night without any. at last we discovered some by looking close to the mountain, for at the distance even of a few hundred yards, the streamlets were buried and entirely lost in the friable calcareous stone and loose detritus. i do not think nature ever made a more solitary, desolate pile of rock;--it well deserves its name of hurtado, or separated. the mountain is steep, extremely rugged, and broken, and so entirely destitute of trees, and even bushes, that we actually could not make a skewer to stretch out our meat over the fire of thistle-stalks. ( / . i call these thistle-stalks for the want of a more correct name. i believe it is a species of eryngium.) the strange aspect of this mountain is contrasted by the sea-like plain, which not only abuts against its steep sides, but likewise separates the parallel ranges. the uniformity of the colouring gives an extreme quietness to the view;--the whitish grey of the quartz rock, and the light brown of the withered grass of the plain, being unrelieved by any brighter tint. from custom one expects to see in the neighbourhood of a lofty and bold mountain a broken country strewed over with huge fragments. here nature shows that the last movement before the bed of the sea is changed into dry land may sometimes be one of tranquillity. under these circumstances i was curious to observe how far from the parent rock any pebbles could be found. on the shores of bahia blanca, and near the settlement, there were some of quartz, which certainly must have come from this source: the distance is forty-five miles. the dew, which in the early part of the night wetted the saddle-cloths under which we slept, was in the morning frozen. the plain, though appearing horizontal, had insensibly sloped up to a height of between and feet above the sea. in the morning ( th of september) the guide told me to ascend the nearest ridge, which he thought would lead me to the four peaks that crown the summit. the climbing up such rough rocks was very fatiguing; the sides were so indented, that what was gained in one five minutes was often lost in the next. at last, when i reached the ridge, my disappointment was extreme in finding a precipitous valley as deep as the plain, which cut the chain traversely in two, and separated me from the four points. this valley is very narrow, but flat-bottomed, and it forms a fine horse-pass for the indians, as it connects the plains on the northern and southern sides of the range. having descended, and while crossing it, i saw two horses grazing: i immediately hid myself in the long grass, and began to reconnoitre; but as i could see no signs of indians i proceeded cautiously on my second ascent. it was late in the day, and this part of the mountain, like the other, was steep and rugged. i was on the top of the second peak by two o'clock, but got there with extreme difficulty; every twenty yards i had the cramp in the upper part of both thighs, so that i was afraid i should not have been able to have got down again. it was also necessary to return by another road, as it was out of the question to pass over the saddle-back. i was therefore obliged to give up the two higher peaks. their altitude was but little greater, and every purpose of geology had been answered; so that the attempt was not worth the hazard of any further exertion. i presume the cause of the cramp was the great change in the kind of muscular action, from that of hard riding to that of still harder climbing. it is a lesson worth remembering, as in some cases it might cause much difficulty. i have already said the mountain is composed of white quartz rock, and with it a little glossy clay-slate is associated. at the height of a few hundred feet above the plain, patches of conglomerate adhered in several places to the solid rock. they resembled in hardness, and in the nature of the cement, the masses which may be seen daily forming on some coasts. i do not doubt these pebbles were in a similar manner aggregated, at a period when the great calcareous formation was depositing beneath the surrounding sea. we may believe that the jagged and battered forms of the hard quartz yet show the effects of the waves of an open ocean. i was, on the whole, disappointed with this ascent. even the view was insignificant;--a plain like the sea, but without its beautiful colour and defined outline. the scene, however, was novel, and a little danger, like salt to meat, gave it a relish. that the danger was very little was certain, for my two companions made a good fire--a thing which is never done when it is suspected that indians are near. i reached the place of our bivouac by sunset, and drinking much mat�, and smoking several cigaritos, soon made up my bed for the night. the wind was very strong and cold, but i never slept more comfortably. september , . in the morning, having fairly scudded before the gale, we arrived by the middle of the day at the sauce posta. on the road we saw great numbers of deer, and near the mountain a guanaco. the plain, which abuts against the sierra, is traversed by some curious gulleys, of which one was about twenty feet wide, and at least thirty deep; we were obliged in consequence to make a considerable circuit before we could find a pass. we stayed the night at the posta, the conversation, as was generally the case, being about the indians. the sierra ventana was formerly a great place of resort; and three or four years ago there was much fighting there. my guide had been present when many indians were killed: the women escaped to the top of the ridge, and fought most desperately with great stones; many thus saving themselves. september , . proceeded to the third posta in company with the lieutenant who commanded it. the distance is called fifteen leagues; but it is only guess-work, and is generally overstated. the road was uninteresting, over a dry grassy plain; and on our left hand at a greater or less distance there were some low hills; a continuation of which we crossed close to the posta. before our arrival we met a large herd of cattle and horses, guarded by fifteen soldiers; but we were told many had been lost. it is very difficult to drive animals across the plains; for if in the night a puma, or even a fox, approaches, nothing can prevent the horses dispersing in every direction; and a storm will have the same effect. a short time since, an officer left buenos ayres with five hundred horses, and when he arrived at the army he had under twenty. soon afterwards we perceived by the cloud of dust, that a party of horsemen were coming towards us; when far distant my companions knew them to be indians, by their long hair streaming behind their backs. the indians generally have a fillet round their heads, but never any covering; and their black hair blowing across their swarthy faces, heightens to an uncommon degree the wildness of their appearance. they turned out to be a party of bernantio's friendly tribe, going to a salina for salt. the indians eat much salt, their children sucking it like sugar. this habit is very different from that of the spanish gauchos, who, leading the same kind of life, eat scarcely any: according to mungo park, it is people who live on vegetable food who have an unconquerable desire for salt. ( / . "travels in africa" page .) the indians gave us good-humoured nods as they passed at full gallop, driving before them a troop of horses, and followed by a train of lanky dogs. september and , . i stayed at this posta two days, waiting for a troop of soldiers, which general rosas had the kindness to send to inform me would shortly travel to buenos ayres; and he advised me to take the opportunity of the escort. in the morning we rode to some neighbouring hills to view the country, and to examine the geology. after dinner the soldiers divided themselves into two parties for a trial of skill with the bolas. two spears were stuck in the ground twenty-five yards apart, but they were struck and entangled only once in four or five times. the balls can be thrown fifty or sixty yards, but with little certainty. this, however, does not apply to a man on horseback; for when the speed of the horse is added to the force of the arm, it is said that they can be whirled with effect to the distance of eighty yards. as a proof of their force, i may mention, that at the falkland islands, when the spaniards murdered some of their own countrymen and all the englishmen, a young friendly spaniard was running away, when a great tall man, by name luciano, came at full gallop after him, shouting to him to stop, and saying that he only wanted to speak to him. just as the spaniard was on the point of reaching the boat, luciano threw the balls: they struck him on the legs with such a jerk, as to throw him down and to render him for some time insensible. the man, after luciano had had his talk, was allowed to escape. he told us that his legs were marked by great weals, where the thong had wound round, as if he had been flogged with a whip. in the middle of the day two men arrived, who brought a parcel from the next posta to be forwarded to the general: so that besides these two, our party consisted this evening of my guide and self, the lieutenant, and his four soldiers. the latter were strange beings; the first a fine young negro; the second half indian and negro; and the two others nondescripts; namely, an old chilian miner, the colour of mahogany, and another partly a mulatto; but two such mongrels, with such detestable expressions, i never saw before. at night, when they were sitting round the fire, and playing at cards, i retired to view such a salvator rosa scene. they were seated under a low cliff, so that i could look down upon them; around the party were lying dogs, arms, remnants of deer and ostriches; and their long spears were stuck in the turf. farther in the dark background their horses were tied up, ready for any sudden danger. if the stillness of the desolate plain was broken by one of the dogs barking, a soldier, leaving the fire, would place his head close to the ground, and thus slowly scan the horizon. even if the noisy teru-tero uttered its scream, there would be a pause in the conversation, and every head, for a moment, a little inclined. what a life of misery these men appear to us to lead! they were at least ten leagues from the sauce posta, and since the murder committed by the indians, twenty from another. the indians are supposed to have made their attack in the middle of the night; for very early in the morning after the murder, they were luckily seen approaching this posta. the whole party here, however, escaped, together with the troop of horses; each one taking a line for himself, and driving with him as many animals as he was able to manage. the little hovel, built of thistle-stalks, in which they slept, neither kept out the wind nor rain; indeed in the latter case the only effect the roof had, was to condense it into larger drops. they had nothing to eat excepting what they could catch, such as ostriches, deer, armadilloes, etc., and their only fuel was the dry stalks of a small plant, somewhat resembling an aloe. the sole luxury which these men enjoyed was smoking the little paper cigars, and sucking mat�. i used to think that the carrion vultures, man's constant attendants on these dreary plains, while seated on the little neighbouring cliffs, seemed by their very patience to say, "ah! when the indians come we shall have a feast." (plate . mat� pots and bambillio.) in the morning we all sallied forth to hunt, and although we had not much success, there were some animated chases. soon after starting the party separated, and so arranged their plans, that at a certain time of the day (in guessing which they show much skill) they should all meet from different points of the compass on a plain piece of ground, and thus drive together the wild animals. one day i went out hunting at bahia blanca, but the men there merely rode in a crescent, each being about a quarter of a mile apart from the other. a fine male ostrich being turned by the headmost riders, tried to escape on one side. the gauchos pursued at a reckless pace, twisting their horses about with the most admirable command, and each man whirling the balls round his head. at length the foremost threw them, revolving through the air: in an instant the ostrich rolled over and over, its legs fairly lashed together by the thong. the plains abound with three kinds of partridge, two of which are as large as hen pheasants. ( / . two species of tinamus and eudromia elegans of a. d'orbigny, which can only be called a partridge with regard to its habits.) their destroyer, a small and pretty fox, was also singularly numerous; in the course of the day we could not have seen less than forty or fifty. they were generally near their earths, but the dogs killed one. when we returned to the posta, we found two of the party returned who had been hunting by themselves. they had killed a puma, and had found an ostrich's nest with twenty-seven eggs in it. each of these is said to equal in weight eleven hens' eggs; so that we obtained from this one nest as much food as hens' eggs would have given. september , . as the soldiers belonging to the next posta meant to return, and we should together make a party of five, and all armed, i determined not to wait for the expected troops. my host, the lieutenant, pressed me much to stop. as he had been very obliging--not only providing me with food, but lending me his private horses--i wanted to make him some remuneration. i asked my guide whether i might do so, but he told me certainly not; that the only answer i should receive probably would be, "we have meat for the dogs in our country, and therefore do not grudge it to a christian." it must not be supposed that the rank of lieutenant in such an army would at all prevent the acceptance of payment: it was only the high sense of hospitality, which every traveller is bound to acknowledge as nearly universal throughout these provinces. after galloping some leagues, we came to a low swampy country, which extends for nearly eighty miles northward, as far as the sierra tapalguen. in some parts there were fine damp plains, covered with grass, while others had a soft, black, and peaty soil. there were also many extensive but shallow lakes, and large beds of reeds. the country on the whole resembled the better parts of the cambridgeshire fens. at night we had some difficulty in finding, amidst the swamps, a dry place for our bivouac. september , . rose very early in the morning, and shortly after passed the posta where the indians had murdered the five soldiers. the officer had eighteen chuzo wounds in his body. by the middle of the day, after a hard gallop, we reached the fifth posta: on account of some difficulty in procuring horses we stayed there the night. as this point was the most exposed on the whole line, twenty-one soldiers were stationed here; at sunset they returned from hunting, bringing with them seven deer, three ostriches, and many armadilloes and partridges. when riding through the country, it is a common practice to set fire to the plain; and hence at night, as on this occasion, the horizon was illuminated in several places by brilliant conflagrations. this is done partly for the sake of puzzling any stray indians, but chiefly for improving the pasture. in grassy plains unoccupied by the larger ruminating quadrupeds, it seems necessary to remove the superfluous vegetation by fire, so as to render the new year's growth serviceable. the rancho at this place did not boast even of a roof, but merely consisted of a ring of thistle-stalks, to break the force of the wind. it was situated on the borders of an extensive but shallow lake, swarming with wild fowl, among which the black-necked swan was conspicuous. the kind of plover which appears as if mounted on stilts (himantopus nigricollis), is here common in flocks of considerable size. it has been wrongfully accused of inelegance; when wading about in shallow water, which is its favourite resort, its gait is far from awkward. these birds in a flock utter a noise, that singularly resembles the cry of a pack of small dogs in full chase: waking in the night, i have more than once been for a moment startled at the distant sound. the teru-tero (vanellus cayanus) is another bird which often disturbs the stillness of the night. in appearance and habits it resembles in many respects our peewits; its wings, however, are armed with sharp spurs, like those on the legs of the common cock. as our peewit takes its name from the sound of its voice, so does the teru-tero. while riding over the grassy plains, one is constantly pursued by these birds, which appear to hate mankind, and i am sure deserve to be hated for their never-ceasing, unvaried, harsh screams. to the sportsman they are most annoying, by telling every other bird and animal of his approach: to the traveller in the country they may possibly, as molina says, do good, by warning him of the midnight robber. during the breeding season, they attempt, like our peewits, by feigning to be wounded, to draw away from their nests dogs and other enemies. the eggs of this bird are esteemed a great delicacy. september , . to the seventh posta at the foot of the sierra tapalguen. the country was quite level, with a coarse herbage and a soft peaty soil. the hovel was here remarkably neat, the posts and rafters being made of about a dozen dry thistle-stalks bound together with thongs of hide; and by the support of these ionic-like columns, the roof and sides were thatched with reeds. we were here told a fact, which i would not have credited, if i had not had partly ocular proof of it; namely, that, during the previous night, hail as large as small apples, and extremely hard, had fallen with such violence as to kill the greater number of the wild animals. one of the men had already found thirteen deer (cervus campestris) lying dead, and i saw their fresh hides; another of the party, a few minutes after my arrival, brought in seven more. now i well know, that one man without dogs could hardly have killed seven deer in a week. the men believed they had seen about fifteen dead ostriches (part of one of which we had for dinner); and they said that several were running about evidently blind in one eye. numbers of smaller birds, as ducks, hawks, and partridges, were killed. i saw one of the latter with a black mark on its back, as if it had been struck with a paving-stone. a fence of thistle-stalks round the hovel was nearly broken down, and my informer, putting his head out to see what was the matter, received a severe cut, and now wore a bandage. the storm was said to have been of limited extent: we certainly saw from our last night's bivouac a dense cloud and lightning in this direction. it is marvellous how such strong animals as deer could thus have been killed; but i have no doubt, from the evidence i have given, that the story is not in the least exaggerated. i am glad, however, to have its credibility supported by the jesuit dobrizhoffen, who, speaking of a country much to the northward, says, hail fell of an enormous size and killed vast numbers of cattle ( / . "history of the abipones" volume page .): the indians hence called the place lalegraicavalca, meaning "the little white things." dr. malcolmson, also, informs me that he witnessed in in india a hail-storm, which killed numbers of large birds and much injured the cattle. these hail-stones were flat, and one was ten inches in circumference, and another weighed two ounces. they ploughed up a gravel-walk like musket-balls, and passed through glass-windows, making round holes, but not cracking them. having finished our dinner of hail-stricken meat, we crossed the sierra tapalguen; a low range of hills, a few hundred feet in height, which commences at cape corrientes. the rock in this part is pure quartz; farther eastward i understand it is granitic. the hills are of a remarkable form; they consist of flat patches of table-land, surrounded by low perpendicular cliffs, like the outliers of a sedimentary deposit. the hill which i ascended was very small, not above a couple of hundred yards in diameter; but i saw others larger. one which goes by the name of the "corral," is said to be two or three miles in diameter, and encompassed by perpendicular cliffs between thirty and forty feet high, excepting at one spot, where the entrance lies. falconer gives a curious account of the indians driving troops of wild horses into it, and then by guarding the entrance keeping them secure. ( / . falconer's "patagonia" page .) i have never heard of any other instance of table-land in a formation of quartz, and which, in the hill i examined, had neither cleavage nor stratification. i was told that the rock of the "corral" was white, and would strike fire. we did not reach the posta on the rio tapalguen till after it was dark. at supper, from something which was said, i was suddenly struck with horror at thinking that i was eating one of the favourite dishes of the country, namely, a half formed calf, long before its proper time of birth. it turned out to be puma; the meat is very white, and remarkably like veal in taste. dr. shaw was laughed at for stating that "the flesh of the lion is in great esteem, having no small affinity with veal, both in colour, taste, and flavour." such certainly is the case with the puma. the gauchos differ in their opinion whether the jaguar is good eating, but are unanimous in saying that cat is excellent. september , . we followed the course of the rio tapalguen, through a very fertile country, to the ninth posta. tapalguen itself, or the town of tapalguen, if it may be so called, consists of a perfectly level plain, studded over, as far as the eye can reach, with the toldos, or oven-shaped huts of the indians. the families of the friendly indians, who were fighting on the side of rosas, resided here. we met and passed many young indian women, riding by two or three together on the same horse: they, as well as many of the young men, were strikingly handsome,--their fine ruddy complexions being the picture of health. besides the toldos, there were three ranchos; one inhabited by the commandant, and the two others by spaniards with small shops. we were here able to buy some biscuit. i had now been several days without tasting anything besides meat: i did not at all dislike this new regimen; but i felt as if it would only have agreed with me with hard exercise. i have heard that patients in england, when desired to confine themselves exclusively to an animal diet, even with the hope of life before their eyes, have hardly been able to endure it. yet the gaucho in the pampas, for months together, touches nothing but beef. but they eat, i observe, a very large proportion of fat, which is of a less animalised nature; and they particularly dislike dry meat, such as that of the agouti. dr. richardson, also, has remarked, "that when people have fed for a long time solely upon lean animal food, the desire for fat becomes so insatiable, that they can consume a large quantity of unmixed and even oily fat without nausea" ( / . "fauna boreali-americana" volume page .): this appears to me a curious physiological fact. it is, perhaps, from their meat regimen that the gauchos, like other carnivorous animals, can abstain long from food. i was told that at tandeel some troops voluntarily pursued a party of indians for three days, without eating or drinking. we saw in the shops many articles, such as horsecloths, belts, and garters, woven by the indian women. the patterns were very pretty, and the colours brilliant; the workmanship of the garters was so good that an english merchant at buenos ayres maintained they must have been manufactured in england, till he found the tassels had been fastened by split sinew. september , . we had a very long ride this day. at the twelfth posta, which is seven leagues south of the rio salado, we came to the first estancia with cattle and white women. afterwards we had to ride for many miles through a country flooded with water above our horses' knees. by crossing the stirrups, and riding arab-like with our legs bent up, we contrived to keep tolerably dry. it was nearly dark when we arrived at the salado; the stream was deep, and about forty yards wide; in summer, however, its bed becomes almost dry, and the little remaining water nearly as salt as that of the sea. we slept at one of the great estancias of general rosas. it was fortified, and of such an extent, that arriving in the dark i thought it was a town and fortress. in the morning we saw immense herds of cattle, the general here having seventy-four square leagues of land. formerly nearly three hundred men were employed about this estate, and they defied all the attacks of the indians. september , . passed the guardia del monte. this is a nice scattered little town, with many gardens, full of peach and quince trees. the plain here looked like that around buenos ayres; the turf being short and bright green, with beds of clover and thistles, and with bizcacha holes. i was very much struck with the marked change in the aspect of the country after having crossed the salado. from a coarse herbage we passed on to a carpet of fine green verdure. i at first attributed this to some change in the nature of the soil, but the inhabitants assured me that here, as well as in banda oriental, where there is as great a difference between the country around monte video and the thinly-inhabited savannahs of colonia, the whole was to be attributed to the manuring and grazing of the cattle. exactly the same fact has been observed in the prairies of north america, where coarse grass, between five and six feet high, when grazed by cattle, changes into common pasture land. ( / . see mr. atwater's "account of the prairies" in "silliman's north american journal" volume page .) i am not botanist enough to say whether the change here is owing to the introduction of new species, to the altered growth of the same, or to a difference in their proportional numbers. azara has also observed with astonishment this change: he is likewise much perplexed by the immediate appearance of plants not occurring in the neighbourhood, on the borders of any track that leads to a newly-constructed hovel. in another part he says, "ces chevaux (sauvages) ont la manie de préférer les chemins, et le bord des routes pour déposer leurs excrémens, dont on trouve des monceaux dans ces endroits." ( / . azara's "voyage" volume page .) does this not partly explain the circumstance? we thus have lines of richly manured land serving as channels of communication across wide districts. (plate . giant thistle of pampas.) (plate . cynara cardunculus or cardoon.) near the guardia we find the southern limit of two european plants, now become extraordinarily common. the fennel in great profusion covers the ditch-banks in the neighbourhood of buenos ayres, monte video, and other towns. but the cardoon (cynara cardunculus) has a far wider range: it occurs in these latitudes on both sides of the cordillera, across the continent. ( / . m. a. d'orbigny volume page , says that the cardoon and artichoke are both found wild. dr. hooker "botanical magazine" volume page , has described a variety of the cynara from this part of south america under the name of inermis. he states that botanists are now generally agreed that the cardoon and the artichoke are varieties of one plant. i may add, that an intelligent farmer assured me that he had observed in a deserted garden some artichokes changing into the common cardoon. dr. hooker believes that head's vivid description of the thistle of the pampas applies to the cardoon, but this is a mistake. captain head referred to the plant which i have mentioned a few lines lower down under the title of giant thistle. whether it is a true thistle, i do not know; but it is quite different from the cardoon; and more like a thistle properly so called.) i saw it in unfrequented spots in chile, entre rios, and banda oriental. in the latter country alone, very many (probably several hundred) square miles are covered by one mass of these prickly plants, and are impenetrable by man or beast. over the undulating plains, where these great beds occur, nothing else can now live. before their introduction, however, the surface must have supported, as in other parts, a rank herbage. i doubt whether any case is on record of an invasion on so grand a scale of one plant over the aborigines. as i have already said, i nowhere saw the cardoon south of the salado; but it is probable that in proportion as that country becomes inhabited, the cardoon will extend its limits. the case is different with the giant thistle (with variegated leaves) of the pampas, for i met with it in the valley of the sauce. according to the principles so well laid down by mr. lyell, few countries have undergone more remarkable changes, since the year , when the first colonist of la plata landed with seventy-two horses. the countless herds of horses, cattle, and sheep, not only have altered the whole aspect of the vegetation, but they have almost banished the guanaco, deer, and ostrich. numberless other changes must likewise have taken place; the wild pig in some parts probably replaces the peccari; packs of wild dogs may be heard howling on the wooded banks of the less-frequented streams; and the common cat, altered into a large and fierce animal, inhabits rocky hills. as m. d'orbigny has remarked, the increase in numbers of the carrion-vulture, since the introduction of the domestic animals, must have been infinitely great; and we have given reasons for believing that they have extended their southern range. no doubt many plants, besides the cardoon and fennel, are naturalised; thus the islands near the mouth of the parana are thickly clothed with peach and orange trees, springing from seeds carried there by the waters of the river. while changing horses at the guardia several people questioned us much about the army,--i never saw anything like the enthusiasm for rosas, and for the success of the "most just of all wars, because against barbarians." this expression, it must be confessed, is very natural, for till lately, neither man, woman, nor horse was safe from the attacks of the indians. we had a long day's ride over the same rich green plain, abounding with various flocks, and with here and there a solitary estancia, and its one ombu tree. in the evening it rained heavily: on arriving at a post-house we were told by the owner that if we had not a regular passport we must pass on, for there were so many robbers he would trust no one. when he read, however, my passport, which began with "el naturalista don carlos," his respect and civility were as unbounded as his suspicions had been before. what a naturalist might be, neither he nor his countrymen, i suspect, had any idea; but probably my title lost nothing of its value from that cause. september , . we arrived by the middle of the day at buenos ayres. the outskirts of the city looked quite pretty, with the agave hedges, and groves of olive, peach and willow trees, all just throwing out their fresh green leaves. i rode to the house of mr. lumb, an english merchant, to whose kindness and hospitality, during my stay in the country, i was greatly indebted. the city of buenos ayres is large; and i should think one of the most regular in the world. ( / . it is said to contain , inhabitants. monte video, the second town of importance on the banks of the plata, has , .) every street is at right angles to the one it crosses, and the parallel ones being equidistant, the houses are collected into solid squares of equal dimensions, which are called quadras. on the other hand, the houses themselves are hollow squares; all the rooms opening into a neat little courtyard. they are generally only one story high, with flat roofs, which are fitted with seats, and are much frequented by the inhabitants in summer. in the centre of the town is the plaza, where the public offices, fortress, cathedral, etc., stand. here also, the old viceroys, before the revolution, had their palaces. the general assemblage of buildings possesses considerable architectural beauty, although none individually can boast of any. the great corral, where the animals are kept for slaughter to supply food to this beef-eating population, is one of the spectacles best worth seeing. the strength of the horse as compared to that of the bullock is quite astonishing: a man on horseback having thrown his lazo round the horns of a beast, can drag it anywhere he chooses. the animal ploughing up the ground with outstretched legs, in vain efforts to resist the force, generally dashes at full speed to one side; but the horse, immediately turning to receive the shock, stands so firmly that the bullock is almost thrown down, and it is surprising that their necks are not broken. the struggle is not, however, one of fair strength; the horse's girth being matched against the bullock's extended neck. in a similar manner a man can hold the wildest horse, if caught with the lazo, just behind the ears. when the bullock has been dragged to the spot where it is to be slaughtered, the matador with great caution cuts the hamstrings. then is given the death bellow; a noise more expressive of fierce agony than any i know. i have often distinguished it from a long distance, and have always known that the struggle was then drawing to a close. the whole sight is horrible and revolting: the ground is almost made of bones; and the horses and riders are drenched with gore. (plate . evening camp, buenos ayres.) chapter vii. (plate . rozario.) excursion to st. fé. thistle beds. habits of the bizcacha. little owl. saline streams. level plains. mastodon. st. fé. change in landscape. geology. tooth of extinct horse. relation of the fossil and recent quadrupeds of north and south america. effects of a great drought. parana. habits of the jaguar. scissor-beak. kingfisher, parrot, and scissor-tail. revolution. buenos ayres. state of government. buenos ayres to st. f�. september , . in the evening i set out on an excursion to st. fé, which is situated nearly three hundred english miles from buenos ayres, on the banks of the parana. the roads in the neighbourhood of the city, after the rainy weather, were extraordinarily bad. i should never have thought it possible for a bullock waggon to have crawled along: as it was, they scarcely went at the rate of a mile an hour, and a man was kept ahead, to survey the best line for making the attempt. the bullocks were terribly jaded: it is a great mistake to suppose that with improved roads, and an accelerated rate of travelling, the sufferings of the animals increase in the same proportion. we passed a train of waggons and a troop of beasts on their road to mendoza. the distance is about geographical miles, and the journey is generally performed in fifty days. these waggons are very long, narrow, and thatched with reeds; they have only two wheels, the diameter of which in some cases is as much as ten feet. each is drawn by six bullocks, which are urged on by a goad at least twenty feet long: this is suspended from within the roof; for the wheel bullocks a smaller one is kept; and for the intermediate pair, a point projects at right angles from the middle of the long one. the whole apparatus looked like some implement of war. september , . we passed the small town of luxan, where there is a wooden bridge over the river--a most unusual convenience in this country. we passed also areco. the plains appeared level, but were not so in fact; for in various places the horizon was distant. the estancias are here wide apart; for there is little good pasture, owing to the land being covered by beds either of an acrid clover, or of the great thistle. the latter, well known from the animated description given by sir f. head, were at this time of the year two-thirds grown; in some parts they were as high as the horse's back, but in others they had not yet sprung up, and the ground was bare and dusty as on a turnpike-road. the clumps were of the most brilliant green, and they made a pleasing miniature-likeness of broken forest land. when the thistles are full grown, the great beds are impenetrable, except by a few tracks, as intricate as those in a labyrinth. these are only known to the robbers, who at this season inhabit them, and sally forth at night to rob and cut throats with impunity. upon asking at a house whether robbers were numerous, i was answered, "the thistles are not up yet;"--the meaning of which reply was not at first very obvious. there is little interest in passing over these tracts, for they are inhabited by few animals or birds, excepting the bizcacha and its friend the little owl. the bizcacha is well known to form a prominent feature in the zoology of the pampas. ( / . the bizcacha (lagostomus trichodactylus) somewhat resembles a large rabbit, but with bigger gnawing teeth and a long tail; it has, however, only three toes behind, like the agouti. during the last three or four years the skins of these animals have been sent to england for the sake of the fur.) it is found as far south as the rio negro, in latitude degrees, but not beyond. it cannot, like the agouti, subsist on the gravelly and desert plains of patagonia, but prefers a clayey or sandy soil, which produces a different and more abundant vegetation. near mendoza, at the foot of the cordillera, it occurs in close neighbourhood with the allied alpine species. it is a very curious circumstance in its geographical distribution, that it has never been seen, fortunately for the inhabitants of banda oriental, to the eastward of the river uruguay: yet in this province there are plains which appear admirably adapted to its habits. the uruguay has formed an insuperable obstacle to its migration: although the broader barrier of the parana has been passed, and the bizcacha is common in entre rios, the province between these two great rivers. near buenos ayres these animals are exceedingly common. their most favourite resort appears to be those parts of the plain which during one-half of the year are covered with giant thistles, to the exclusion of other plants. the gauchos affirm that it lives on roots; which, from the great strength of its gnawing teeth, and the kind of places frequented by it, seems probable. in the evening the bizcachas come out in numbers, and quietly sit at the mouths of their burrows on their haunches. at such times they are very tame, and a man on horseback passing by seems only to present an object for their grave contemplation. they run very awkwardly, and when running out of danger, from their elevated tails and short front legs, much resemble great rats. their flesh, when cooked, is very white and good, but it is seldom used. the bizcacha has one very singular habit; namely, dragging every hard object to the mouth of its burrow: around each group of holes many bones of cattle, stones, thistle-stalks, hard lumps of earth, dry dung, etc., are collected into an irregular heap, which frequently amounts to as much as a wheelbarrow would contain. i was credibly informed that a gentleman, when riding on a dark night, dropped his watch; he returned in the morning, and by searching the neighbourhood of every bizcacha hole on the line of road, as he expected, he soon found it. this habit of picking up whatever may be lying on the ground anywhere near its habitation must cost much trouble. for what purpose it is done, i am quite unable to form even the most remote conjecture: it cannot be for defence, because the rubbish is chiefly placed above the mouth of the burrow, which enters the ground at a very small inclination. no doubt there must exist some good reason; but the inhabitants of the country are quite ignorant of it. the only fact which i know analogous to it, is the habit of that extraordinary australian bird, the calodera maculata, which makes an elegant vaulted passage of twigs for playing in, and which collects near the spot land and sea-shells, bones, and the feathers of birds, especially brightly coloured ones. mr. gould, who has described these facts, informs me, that the natives, when they lose any hard object, search the playing passages, and he has known a tobacco-pipe thus recovered. the little owl (athene cunicularia), which has been so often mentioned, on the plains of buenos ayres exclusively inhabits the holes of the bizcacha; but in banda oriental it is its own workman. during the open day, but more especially in the evening, these birds may be seen in every direction standing frequently by pairs on the hillock near their burrows. if disturbed they either enter the hole, or, uttering a shrill harsh cry, move with a remarkably undulatory flight to a short distance, and then turning round, steadily gaze at their pursuer. occasionally in the evening they may be heard hooting. i found in the stomachs of two which i opened the remains of mice, and i one day saw a small snake killed and carried away. it is said that snakes are their common prey during the daytime. i may here mention, as showing on what various kinds of food owls subsist, that a species killed among the islets of the chonos archipelago had its stomach full of good-sized crabs. in india there is a fishing genus of owls, which likewise catches crabs. ( / . "journal of asiatic soc." volume page .) in the evening we crossed the rio arrecife on a simple raft made of barrels lashed together, and slept at the post-house on the other side. i this day paid horse-hire for thirty-one leagues; and although the sun was glaring hot i was but little fatigued. when captain head talks of riding fifty leagues a day, i do not imagine the distance is equal to english miles. at all events, the thirty-one leagues was only miles in a straight line, and in an open country i should think four additional miles for turnings would be a sufficient allowance. september and , . (plate . parana river.) we continued to ride over plains of the same character. at san nicolas i first saw the noble river of the parana. at the foot of the cliff on which the town stands, some large vessels were at anchor. before arriving at rozario, we crossed the saladillo, a stream of fine clear running water, but too saline to drink. rozario is a large town built on a dead level plain, which forms a cliff about sixty feet high over the parana. the river here is very broad, with many islands, which are low and wooded, as is also the opposite shore. the view would resemble that of a great lake, if it were not for the linear-shaped islets, which alone give the idea of running water. the cliffs are the most picturesque part; sometimes they are absolutely perpendicular, and of a red colour; at other times in large broken masses, covered with cacti and mimosa-trees. the real grandeur, however, of an immense river like this is derived from reflecting how important a means of communication and commerce it forms between one nation and another; to what a distance it travels, and from how vast a territory it drains the great body of fresh water which flows past your feet. for many leagues north and south of san nicolas and rozario, the country is really level. scarcely anything which travellers have written about its extreme flatness can be considered as exaggeration. yet i could never find a spot where, by slowly turning round, objects were not seen at greater distances in some directions than in others; and this manifestly proves inequality in the plain. at sea, a person's eye being six feet above the surface of the water, his horizon is two miles and four-fifths distant. in like manner, the more level the plain, the more nearly does the horizon approach within these narrow limits; and this, in my opinion, entirely destroys that grandeur which one would have imagined that a vast level plain would have possessed. (plate . toxodon platensis. (found at saladillo.)) october , . we started by moonlight and arrived at the rio tercero by sunrise. this river is also called the saladillo, and it deserves the name, for the water is brackish. i stayed here the greater part of the day, searching for fossil bones. besides a perfect tooth of the toxodon, and many scattered bones, i found two immense skeletons near each other, projecting in bold relief from the perpendicular cliff of the parana. they were, however, so completely decayed, that i could only bring away small fragments of one of the great molar teeth; but these are sufficient to show that the remains belonged to a mastodon, probably to the same species with that which formerly must have inhabited the cordillera in upper peru in such great numbers. the men who took me in the canoe said they had long known of these skeletons, and had often wondered how they had got there: the necessity of a theory being felt, they came to the conclusion that, like the bizcacha, the mastodon was formerly a burrowing animal! in the evening we rode another stage, and crossed the monge, another brackish stream, bearing the dregs of the washings of the pampas. october , . we passed through corunda, which, from the luxuriance of its gardens, was one of the prettiest villages i saw. from this point to st. fé the road is not very safe. the western side of the parana northward ceases to be inhabited; and hence the indians sometimes come down thus far, and waylay travellers. the nature of the country also favours this, for instead of a grassy plain, there is an open woodland, composed of low prickly mimosas. we passed some houses that had been ransacked and since deserted; we saw also a spectacle, which my guides viewed with high satisfaction; it was the skeleton of an indian with the dried skin hanging on the bones, suspended to the branch of a tree. in the morning we arrived at st. fé. i was surprised to observe how great a change of climate a difference of only three degrees of latitude between this place and buenos ayres had caused. this was evident from the dress and complexion of the men--from the increased size of the ombu-trees--the number of new cacti and other plants--and especially from the birds. in the course of an hour i remarked half-a-dozen birds, which i had never seen at buenos ayres. considering that there is no natural boundary between the two places, and that the character of the country is nearly similar, the difference was much greater than i should have expected. october and , . i was confined for these two days to my bed by a headache. a good-natured old woman, who attended me, wished me to try many odd remedies. a common practice is, to bind an orange-leaf or a bit of black plaster to each temple: and a still more general plan is, to split a bean into halves, moisten them, and place one on each temple, where they will easily adhere. it is not thought proper ever to remove the beans or plaster, but to allow them to drop off, and sometimes, if a man, with patches on his head, is asked, what is the matter? he will answer, "i had a headache the day before yesterday." many of the remedies used by the people of the country are ludicrously strange, but too disgusting to be mentioned. one of the least nasty is to kill and cut open two puppies and bind them on each side of a broken limb. little hairless dogs are in great request to sleep at the feet of invalids. st. fé is a quiet little town, and is kept clean and in good order. the governor, lopez, was a common soldier at the time of the revolution; but has now been seventeen years in power. this stability of government is owing to his tyrannical habits; for tyranny seems as yet better adapted to these countries than republicanism. the governor's favourite occupation is hunting indians: a short time since he slaughtered forty-eight, and sold the children at the rate of three or four pounds apiece. october , . we crossed the parana to st. fé bajada, a town on the opposite shore. the passage took some hours, as the river here consisted of a labyrinth of small streams, separated by low wooded islands. i had a letter of introduction to an old catalonian spaniard, who treated me with the most uncommon hospitality. the bajada is the capital of entre rios. in the town contained inhabitants, and the province , ; yet, few as the inhabitants are, no province has suffered more from bloody and desperate revolutions. they boast here of representatives, ministers, a standing army, and governors: so it is no wonder that they have their revolutions. at some future day this must be one of the richest countries of la plata. the soil is varied and productive; and its almost insular form gives it two grand lines of communication by the rivers parana and uruguay. i was delayed here five days, and employed myself in examining the geology of the surrounding country, which was very interesting. we here see at the bottom of the cliffs, beds containing sharks' teeth and sea-shells of extinct species, passing above into an indurated marl, and from that into the red clayey earth of the pampas, with its calcareous concretions and the bones of terrestrial quadrupeds. this vertical section clearly tells us of a large bay of pure salt-water, gradually encroached on, and at last converted into the bed of a muddy estuary, into which floating carcasses were swept. at punta gorda, in banda oriental, i found an alternation of the pampaean estuary deposit, with a limestone containing some of the same extinct sea-shells; and this shows either a change in the former currents, or more probably an oscillation of level in the bottom of the ancient estuary. until lately, my reasons for considering the pampaean formation to be an estuary deposit were, its general appearance, its position at the mouth of the existing great river the plata, and the presence of so many bones of terrestrial quadrupeds: but now professor ehrenberg has had the kindness to examine for me a little of the red earth, taken from low down in the deposit, close to the skeletons of the mastodon, and he finds in it many infusoria, partly salt-water and partly fresh-water forms, with the latter rather preponderating; and therefore, as he remarks, the water must have been brackish. m. a. d'orbigny found on the banks of the parana, at the height of a hundred feet, great beds of an estuary shell, now living a hundred miles lower down nearer the sea; and i found similar shells at a less height on the banks of the uruguay; this shows that just before the pampas was slowly elevated into dry land, the water covering it was brackish. below buenos ayres there are upraised beds of sea-shells of existing species, which also proves that the period of elevation of the pampas was within the recent period. in the pampaean deposit at the bajada i found the osseous armour of a gigantic armadillo-like animal, the inside of which, when the earth was removed, was like a great cauldron; i found also teeth of the toxodon and mastodon, and one tooth of a horse, in the same stained and decayed state. this latter tooth greatly interested me, and i took scrupulous care in ascertaining that it had been embedded contemporaneously with the other remains; for i was not then aware that amongst the fossils from bahia blanca there was a horse's tooth hidden in the matrix: nor was it then known with certainty that the remains of horses are common in north america. ( / . i need hardly state here that there is good evidence against any horse living in america at the time of columbus.) mr. lyell has lately brought from the united states a tooth of a horse; and it is an interesting fact, that professor owen could find in no species, either fossil or recent, a slight but peculiar curvature characterising it, until he thought of comparing it with my specimen found here: he has named this american horse equus curvidens. certainly it is a marvellous fact in the history of the mammalia, that in south america a native horse should have lived and disappeared, to be succeeded in after ages by the countless herds descended from the few introduced with the spanish colonists! (plate . fossil tooth of horse, from bahia blanca.) the existence in south america of a fossil horse, of the mastodon, possibly of an elephant ( / . cuvier "ossemens fossils" tome page .), and of a hollow-horned ruminant, discovered by mm. lund and clausen in the caves of brazil, are highly interesting facts with respect to the geographical distribution of animals. at the present time, if we divide america, not by the isthmus of panama, but by the southern part of mexico in latitude degrees, where the great table-land presents an obstacle to the migration of species, by affecting the climate, and by forming, with the exception of some valleys and of a fringe of low land on the coast, a broad barrier; we shall then have the two zoological provinces of north and south america strongly contrasted with each other. ( / . this is the geographical division followed by lichtenstein, swainson, erichson, and richardson. the section from vera cruz to acapulco, given by humboldt in the "polit. essay on kingdom of n. spain" will show how immense a barrier the mexican table-land forms. dr. richardson, in his admirable "report on the zoology of n. america" read before the british association page , talking of the identification of a mexican animal with the synetheres prehensilis, says, "we do not know with what propriety, but if correct, it is, if not a solitary instance, at least very nearly so, of a rodent animal being common to north and south america.") some few species alone have passed the barrier, and may be considered as wanderers from the south, such as the puma, opossum, kinkajou, and peccari. south america is characterised by possessing many peculiar gnawers, a family of monkeys, the llama, peccari, tapir, opossums, and, especially, several genera of edentata, the order which includes the sloths, ant-eaters, and armadilloes. north america, on the other hand, is characterised (putting on one side a few wandering species) by numerous peculiar gnawers, and by four genera (the ox, sheep, goat, and antelope) of hollow-horned ruminants, of which great division south america is not known to possess a single species. formerly, but within the period when most of the now existing shells were living, north america possessed, besides hollow-horned ruminants, the elephant, mastodon, horse, and three genera of edentata, namely, the megatherium, megalonyx, and mylodon. within nearly this same period (as proved by the shells at bahia blanca) south america possessed, as we have just seen, a mastodon, horse, hollow-horned ruminant, and the same three genera (as well as several others) of the edentata. hence it is evident that north and south america, in having within a late geological period these several genera in common, were much more closely related in the character of their terrestrial inhabitants than they now are. the more i reflect on this case, the more interesting it appears: i know of no other instance where we can almost mark the period and manner of the splitting up of one great region into two well-characterised zoological provinces. the geologist, who is fully impressed with the vast oscillations of level which have affected the earth's crust within late periods, will not fear to speculate on the recent elevation of the mexican platform, or, more probably, on the recent submergence of land in the west indian archipelago, as the cause of the present zoological separation of north and south america. the south american character of the west indian mammals seems to indicate that this archipelago was formerly united to the southern continent, and that it has subsequently been an area of subsidence. ( / . see dr. richardson's "report" page ; also "l'institut" page . cuvier says the kinkajou is found in the larger antilles, but this is doubtful. m. gervais states that the didelphis crancrivora is found there. it is certain that the west indies possess some mammifers peculiar to themselves. a tooth of a mastodon has been brought from bahama; "edinburgh new philosophical journal" page .) (plate . mylodon. height, feet inches; girth round chest, feet inches; maximum breadth of pelvis, feet inches.) when america, and especially north america, possessed its elephants, mastodons, horse, and hollow-horned ruminants, it was much more closely related in its zoological characters to the temperate parts of europe and asia than it now is. as the remains of these genera are found on both sides of behring's straits and on the plains of siberia, we are led to look to the north-western side of north america as the former point of communication between the old and so-called new world. ( / . see the admirable appendix by dr. buckland to beechey's "voyage"; also the writings of chamisso in kotzebue's "voyage.") and as so many species, both living and extinct, of these same genera inhabit and have inhabited the old world, it seems most probable that the north american elephants, mastodons, horse, and hollow-horned ruminants migrated, on land since submerged near behring's straits, from siberia into north america, and thence, on land since submerged in the west indies, into south america, where for a time they mingled with the forms characteristic of that southern continent, and have since become extinct. while travelling through the country, i received several vivid descriptions of the effects of a late great drought; and the account of this may throw some light on the cases where vast numbers of animals of all kinds have been embedded together. the period included between the years and is called the "gran seco," or the great drought. during this time so little rain fell, that the vegetation, even to the thistles, failed; the brooks were dried up, and the whole country assumed the appearance of a dusty high-road. this was especially the case in the northern part of the province of buenos ayres and the southern part of st. fé. very great numbers of birds, wild animals, cattle, and horses perished from the want of food and water. a man told me that the deer used to come into his courtyard to the well, which he had been obliged to dig to supply his own family with water; and that the partridges had hardly strength to fly away when pursued. ( / . in captain owen's "surveying voyage" volume page , there is a curious account of the effects of a drought on the elephants, at benguela (west coast of africa). "a number of these animals had some time since entered the town, in a body, to possess themselves of the wells, not being able to procure any water in the country. the inhabitants mustered, when a desperate conflict ensued, which terminated in the ultimate discomfiture of the invaders, but not until they had killed one man, and wounded several others." the town is said to have a population of nearly three thousand! dr. malcolmson informs me, that during a great drought in india the wild animals entered the tents of some troops at ellore, and that a hare drank out of a vessel held by the adjutant of the regiment.) the lowest estimation of the loss of cattle in the province of buenos ayres alone, was taken at one million head. a proprietor at san pedro had previously to these years , cattle; at the end not one remained. san pedro is situated in the middle of the finest country; and even now abounds again with animals; yet during the latter part of the "gran seco," live cattle were brought in vessels for the consumption of the inhabitants. the animals roamed from their estancias, and, wandering far southward, were mingled together in such multitudes, that a government commission was sent from buenos ayres to settle the disputes of the owners. sir woodbine parish informed me of another and very curious source of dispute; the ground being so long dry, such quantities of dust were blown about, that in this open country the landmarks became obliterated, and people could not tell the limits of their estates. i was informed by an eye-witness that the cattle in herds of thousands rushed into the parana, and being exhausted by hunger they were unable to crawl up the muddy banks, and thus were drowned. the arm of the river which runs by san pedro was so full of putrid carcasses, that the master of a vessel told me that the smell rendered it quite impassable. without doubt several hundred thousand animals thus perished in the river: their bodies when putrid were seen floating down the stream; and many in all probability were deposited in the estuary of the plata. all the small rivers became highly saline, and this caused the death of vast numbers in particular spots; for when an animal drinks of such water it does not recover. azara describes the fury of the wild horses on a similar occasion, rushing into the marshes, those which arrived first being overwhelmed and crushed by those which followed. ( / . "travels" volume page .) he adds that more than once he has seen the carcasses of upwards of a thousand wild horses thus destroyed. i noticed that the smaller streams in the pampas were paved with a breccia of bones, but this probably is the effect of a gradual increase, rather than of the destruction at any one period. subsequently to the drought of to , a very rainy season followed which caused great floods. hence it is almost certain that some thousands of the skeletons were buried by the deposits of the very next year. what would be the opinion of a geologist, viewing such an enormous collection of bones, of all kinds of animals and of all ages, thus embedded in one thick earthy mass? would he not attribute it to a flood having swept over the surface of the land, rather than to the common order of things? ( / . these droughts to a certain degree seem to be almost periodical; i was told the dates of several others, and the intervals were about fifteen years.) october , . i had intended to push my excursion farther, but not being quite well, i was compelled to return by a balandra, or one-masted vessel of about a hundred tons' burden, which was bound to buenos ayres. as the weather was not fair, we moored early in the day to a branch of a tree on one of the islands. the parana is full of islands, which undergo a constant round of decay and renovation. in the memory of the master several large ones had disappeared, and others again had been formed and protected by vegetation. they are composed of muddy sand, without even the smallest pebble, and were then about four feet above the level of the river; but during the periodical floods they are inundated. they all present one character; numerous willows and a few other trees are bound together by a great variety of creeping plants, thus forming a thick jungle. these thickets afford a retreat for capybaras and jaguars. the fear of the latter animal quite destroyed all pleasure in scrambling through the woods. this evening i had not proceeded a hundred yards, before, finding indubitable signs of the recent presence of the tiger, i was obliged to come back. on every island there were tracks; and as on the former excursion "el rastro de los indios" had been the subject of conversation, so in this was "el rastro del tigre." the wooded banks of the great rivers appear to be the favourite haunts of the jaguar; but south of the plata, i was told that they frequented the reeds bordering lakes: wherever they are, they seem to require water. their common prey is the capybara, so that it is generally said, where capybaras are numerous there is little danger from the jaguar. falconer states that near the southern side of the mouth of the plata there are many jaguars, and that they chiefly live on fish; this account i have heard repeated. on the parana they have killed many wood-cutters, and have even entered vessels at night. there is a man now living in the bajada, who, coming up from below when it was dark, was seized on the deck; he escaped, however, with the loss of the use of one arm. when the floods drive these animals from the islands, they are most dangerous. i was told that a few years since a very large one found its way into a church at st. fé: two padres entering one after the other were killed, and a third, who came to see what was the matter, escaped with difficulty. the beast was destroyed by being shot from a corner of the building which was unroofed. they commit also at these times great ravages among cattle and horses. it is said that they kill their prey by breaking their necks. if driven from the carcass, they seldom return to it. the gauchos say that the jaguar, when wandering about at night, is much tormented by the foxes yelping as they follow him. this is a curious coincidence with the fact which is generally affirmed of the jackals accompanying, in a similarly officious manner, the east indian tiger. the jaguar is a noisy animal, roaring much by night, and especially before bad weather. one day, when hunting on the banks of the uruguay, i was shown certain trees, to which these animals constantly recur for the purpose, as it is said, of sharpening their claws. i saw three well-known trees; in front, the bark was worn smooth, as if by the breast of the animal, and on each side there were deep scratches, or rather grooves, extending in an oblique line, nearly a yard in length. the scars were of different ages. a common method of ascertaining whether a jaguar is in the neighbourhood is to examine these trees. i imagine this habit of the jaguar is exactly similar to one which may any day be seen in the common cat, as with outstretched legs and exserted claws it scrapes the leg of a chair; and i have heard of young fruit-trees in an orchard in england having been thus much injured. some such habit must also be common to the puma, for on the bare hard soil of patagonia i have frequently seen scores so deep that no other animal could have made them. the object of this practice is, i believe, to tear off the ragged points of their claws, and not, as the gauchos think, to sharpen them. the jaguar is killed, without much difficulty, by the aid of dogs baying and driving him up a tree, where he is despatched with bullets. owing to bad weather we remained two days at our moorings. our only amusement was catching fish for our dinner: there were several kinds, and all good eating. a fish called the "armado" (a silurus) is remarkable from a harsh grating noise which it makes when caught by hook and line, and which can be distinctly heard when the fish is beneath the water. this same fish has the power of firmly catching hold of any object, such as the blade of an oar or the fishing-line, with the strong spine both of its pectoral and dorsal fin. in the evening the weather was quite tropical, the thermometer standing at degrees. numbers of fireflies were hovering about, and the musquitoes were very troublesome. i exposed my hand for five minutes, and it was soon black with them; i do not suppose there could have been less than fifty, all busy sucking. october , . (plate . head of scissor-beak.) (plate . rhynchops nigra, or scissor-beak.) we got under way and passed punta gorda, where there is a colony of tame indians from the province of missiones. we sailed rapidly down the current, but before sunset, from a silly fear of bad weather, we brought-to in a narrow arm of the river. i took the boat and rowed some distance up this creek. it was very narrow, winding, and deep; on each side a wall thirty or forty feet high, formed by trees intwined with creepers, gave to the canal a singularly gloomy appearance. i here saw a very extraordinary bird, called the scissor-beak (rhynchops nigra). it has short legs, web feet, extremely long-pointed wings, and is of about the size of a tern. the beak is flattened laterally, that is, in a plane at right angles to that of a spoonbill or duck. it is as flat and elastic as an ivory paper-cutter, and the lower mandible, differently from every other bird, is an inch and a half longer than the upper. in a lake near maldonado, from which the water had been nearly drained, and which, in consequence, swarmed with small fry, i saw several of these birds, generally in small flocks, flying rapidly backwards and forwards close to the surface of the lake. they kept their bills wide open, and the lower mandible half buried in the water. thus skimming the surface, they ploughed it in their course: the water was quite smooth, and it formed a most curious spectacle to behold a flock, each bird leaving its narrow wake on the mirror-like surface. in their flight they frequently twist about with extreme quickness, and dexterously manage with their projecting lower mandible to plough up small fish, which are secured by the upper and shorter half of their scissor-like bills. this fact i repeatedly saw, as, like swallows, they continued to fly backwards and forwards close before me. occasionally when leaving the surface of the water their flight was wild, irregular, and rapid; they then uttered loud harsh cries. when these birds are fishing, the advantage of the long primary feathers of their wings, in keeping them dry, is very evident. when thus employed, their forms resemble the symbol by which many artists represent marine birds. their tails are much used in steering their irregular course. these birds are common far inland along the course of the rio parana; it is said that they remain here during the whole year, and breed in the marshes. during the day they rest in flocks on the grassy plains, at some distance from the water. being at anchor, as i have said, in one of the deep creeks between the islands of the parana, as the evening drew to a close, one of these scissor-beaks suddenly appeared. the water was quite still, and many little fish were rising. the bird continued for a long time to skim the surface, flying in its wild and irregular manner up and down the narrow canal, now dark with the growing night and the shadows of the overhanging trees. at monte video, i observed that some large flocks during the day remained on the mud-banks at the head of the harbour, in the same manner as on the grassy plains near the parana; and every evening they took flight seaward. from these facts i suspect that the rhynchops generally fishes by night, at which time many of the lower animals come most abundantly to the surface. m. lesson states that he has seen these birds opening the shells of the mactrae buried in the sand-banks on the coast of chile: from their weak bills, with the lower mandible so much projecting, their short legs and long wings, it is very improbable that this can be a general habit. in our course down the parana, i observed only three other birds, whose habits are worth mentioning. one is a small kingfisher (ceryle americana); it has a longer tail than the european species, and hence does not sit in so stiff and upright a position. its flight also, instead of being direct and rapid, like the course of an arrow, is weak and undulatory, as among the soft-billed birds. it utters a low note, like the clicking together of two small stones. a small green parrot (conurus murinus), with a grey breast, appears to prefer the tall trees on the islands to any other situation for its building-place. a number of nests are placed so close together as to form one great mass of sticks. these parrots always live in flocks, and commit great ravages on the corn-fields. i was told that near colonia were killed in the course of one year. a bird with a forked tail, terminated by two long feathers (tyrannus savana), and named by the spaniards scissor-tail, is very common near buenos ayres: it commonly sits on a branch of the ombu tree, near a house, and thence takes a short flight in pursuit of insects, and returns to the same spot. when on the wing it presents in its manner of flight and general appearance a caricature-likeness of the common swallow. it has the power of turning very shortly in the air, and in so doing opens and shuts its tail, sometimes in a horizontal or lateral and sometimes in a vertical direction, just like a pair of scissors. october , . some leagues below rozario, the western shore of the parana is bounded by perpendicular cliffs, which extend in a long line to below san nicolas; hence it more resembles a sea-coast than that of a fresh-water river. it is a great drawback to the scenery of the parana, that, from the soft nature of its banks, the water is very muddy. the uruguay, flowing through a granitic country, is much clearer; and where the two channels unite at the head of the plata, the waters may for a long distance be distinguished by their black and red colours. in the evening, the wind being not quite fair, as usual we immediately moored, and the next day, as it blew rather freshly, though with a favouring current, the master was much too indolent to think of starting. at bajada, he was described to me as "hombre muy aflicto"--a man always miserable to get on; but certainly he bore all delays with admirable resignation. he was an old spaniard, and had been many years in this country. he professed a great liking to the english, but stoutly maintained that the battle of trafalgar was merely won by the spanish captains having been all bought over; and that the only really gallant action on either side was performed by the spanish admiral. it struck me as rather characteristic, that this man should prefer his countrymen being thought the worst of traitors, rather than unskilful or cowardly. october and , . we continued slowly to sail down the noble stream: the current helped us but little. we met, during our descent, very few vessels. one of the best gifts of nature, in so grand a channel of communication, seems here wilfully thrown away--a river in which ships might navigate from a temperate country, as surprisingly abundant in certain productions as destitute of others, to another possessing a tropical climate, and a soil which, according to the best of judges, m. bonpland, is perhaps unequalled in fertility in any part of the world. how different would have been the aspect of this river if english colonists had by good fortune first sailed up the plata! what noble towns would now have occupied its shores! till the death of francia, the dictator of paraguay, these two countries must remain distinct, as if placed on opposite sides of the globe. and when the old bloody-minded tyrant is gone to his long account, paraguay will be torn by revolutions, violent in proportion to the previous unnatural calm. that country will have to learn, like every other south american state, that a republic cannot succeed till it contains a certain body of men imbued with the principles of justice and honour. october , . being arrived at the mouth of the parana, and as i was very anxious to reach buenos ayres, i went on shore at las conchas, with the intention of riding there. upon landing, i found to my great surprise that i was to a certain degree a prisoner. a violent revolution having broken out, all the ports were laid under an embargo. i could not return to my vessel, and as for going by land to the city, it was out of the question. after a long conversation with the commandant, i obtained permission to go the next day to general rolor, who commanded a division of the rebels on this side the capital. in the morning i rode to the encampment. the general, officers, and soldiers, all appeared, and i believe really were, great villains. the general, the very evening before he left the city, voluntarily went to the governor, and with his hand to his heart, pledged his word of honour that he at least would remain faithful to the last. the general told me that the city was in a state of close blockade, and that all he could do was to give me a passport to the commander-in-chief of the rebels at quilmes. we had therefore to take a great sweep round the city, and it was with much difficulty that we procured horses. my reception at the encampment was quite civil, but i was told it was impossible that i could be allowed to enter the city. i was very anxious about this, as i anticipated the "beagle's" departure from the rio plata earlier than it took place. having mentioned, however, general rosas's obliging kindness to me when at the colorado, magic itself could not have altered circumstances quicker than did this conversation. i was instantly told that though they could not give me a passport, if i chose to leave my guide and horses, i might pass their sentinels. i was too glad to accept of this, and an officer was sent with me to give directions that i should not be stopped at the bridge. the road for the space of a league was quite deserted. i met one party of soldiers, who were satisfied by gravely looking at an old passport: and at length i was not a little pleased to find myself within the city. this revolution was supported by scarcely any pretext of grievances: but in a state which, in the course of nine months (from february to october, ), underwent fifteen changes in its government--each governor, according to the constitution, being elected for three years--it would be very unreasonable to ask for pretexts. in this case, a party of men--who, being attached to rosas, were disgusted with the governor balcarce--to the number of seventy left the city, and with the cry of rosas the whole country took arms. the city was then blockaded, no provisions, cattle or horses, were allowed to enter; besides this, there was only a little skirmishing, and a few men daily killed. the outside party well knew that by stopping the supply of meat they would certainly be victorious. general rosas could not have known of this rising; but it appears to be quite consonant with the plans of his party. a year ago he was elected governor, but he refused it, unless the sala would also confer on him extraordinary powers. this was refused, and since then his party have shown that no other governor can keep his place. the warfare on both sides was avowedly protracted till it was possible to hear from rosas. a note arrived a few days after i left buenos ayres, which stated that the general disapproved of peace having been broken, but that he thought the outside party had justice on their side. on the bare reception of this the governor, ministers, and part of the military, to the number of some hundreds, fled from the city. the rebels entered, elected a new governor, and were paid for their services to the number of men. from these proceedings, it was clear that rosas ultimately would become the dictator: to the term king, the people in this, as in other republics, have a particular dislike. since leaving south america, we have heard that rosas has been elected, with powers and for a time altogether opposed to the constitutional principles of the republic. (plate . buenos ayres bullock-waggons.) chapter viii. (plate . fuegians and wigwams.) excursion to colonia del sacramiento. value of an estancia. cattle, how counted. singular breed of oxen. perforated pebbles. shepherd-dogs. horses broken-in, gauchos riding. character of inhabitants. rio plata. flocks of butterflies. aeronaut spiders. phosphorescence of the sea. port desire. guanaco. port st. julian. geology of patagonia. fossil gigantic animal. types of organisation constant. change in the zoology of america. causes of extinction. banda oriental and patagonia. having been delayed for nearly a fortnight in the city, i was glad to escape on board a packet bound for monte video. a town in a state of blockade must always be a disagreeable place of residence; in this case moreover there were constant apprehensions from robbers within. the sentinels were the worst of all; for, from their office and from having arms in their hands, they robbed with a degree of authority which other men could not imitate. our passage was a very long and tedious one. the plata looks like a noble estuary on the map; but is in truth a poor affair. a wide expanse of muddy water has neither grandeur nor beauty. at one time of the day, the two shores, both of which are extremely low, could just be distinguished from the deck. on arriving at monte video i found that the "beagle" would not sail for some time, so i prepared for a short excursion in this part of banda oriental. everything which i have said about the country near maldonado is applicable to monte video; but the land, with the one exception of the green mount, feet high, from which it takes its name, is far more level. very little of the undulating grassy plain is enclosed; but near the town there are a few hedge-banks, covered with agaves, cacti, and fennel. november , . we left monte video in the afternoon. i intended to proceed to colonia del sacramiento, situated on the northern bank of the plata and opposite to buenos ayres, and thence, following up the uruguay, to the village of mercedes on the rio negro (one of the many rivers of this name in south america), and from this point to return direct to monte video. we slept at the house of my guide at canelones. in the morning we rose early, in the hopes of being able to ride a good distance; but it was a vain attempt, for all the rivers were flooded. we passed in boats the streams of canelones, st. lucia, and san jos�, and thus lost much time. on a former excursion i crossed the lucia near its mouth, and i was surprised to observe how easily our horses, although not used to swim, passed over a width of at least six hundred yards. on mentioning this at monte video, i was told that a vessel containing some mountebanks and their horses, being wrecked in the plata, one horse swam seven miles to the shore. in the course of the day i was amused by the dexterity with which a gaucho forced a restive horse to swim a river. he stripped off his clothes, and jumping on its back, rode into the water till it was out of its depth; then slipping off over the crupper, he caught hold of the tail, and as often as the horse turned round the man frightened it back by splashing water in its face. as soon as the horse touched the bottom on the other side, the man pulled himself on, and was firmly seated, bridle in hand, before the horse gained the bank. a naked man on a naked horse is a fine spectacle; i had no idea how well the two animals suited each other. the tail of a horse is a very useful appendage; i have passed a river in a boat with four people in it, which was ferried across in the same way as the gaucho. if a man and horse have to cross a broad river, the best plan is for the man to catch hold of the pommel or mane, and help himself with the other arm. we slept and stayed the following day at the post of cufre. in the evening the postman or letter-carrier arrived. he was a day after his time, owing to the rio rozario being flooded. it would not, however, be of much consequence; for, although he had passed through some of the principal towns in banda oriental, his luggage consisted of two letters! the view from the house was pleasing; an undulating green surface, with distant glimpses of the plata. i find that i look at this province with very different eyes from what i did upon my first arrival. i recollect i then thought it singularly level; but now, after galloping over the pampas, my only surprise is, what could have induced me ever to have called it level. the country is a series of undulations, in themselves perhaps not absolutely great, but, as compared to the plains of st. fé, real mountains. from these inequalities there is an abundance of small rivulets, and the turf is green and luxuriant. november , . we crossed the rozario, which was deep and rapid, and passing the village of colla, arrived at mid-day at colonia del sacramiento. the distance is twenty leagues, through a country covered with fine grass, but poorly stocked with cattle or inhabitants. i was invited to sleep at colonia, and to accompany on the following day a gentleman to his estancia, where there were some limestone rocks. the town is built on a stony promontory something in the same manner as at monte video. it is strongly fortified, but both fortifications and town suffered much in the brazilian war. it is very ancient; and the irregularity of the streets, and the surrounding groves of old orange and peach trees, gave it a pretty appearance. the church is a curious ruin; it was used as a powder-magazine, and was struck by lightning in one of the ten thousand thunderstorms of the rio plata. two-thirds of the building were blown away to the very foundation; and the rest stands a shattered and curious monument of the united powers of lightning and gunpowder. in the evening i wandered about the half-demolished walls of the town. it was the chief seat of the brazilian war--a war most injurious to this country, not so much in its immediate effects, as in being the origin of a multitude of generals and all other grades of officers. more generals are numbered (but not paid) in the united provinces of la plata than in the united kingdom of great britain. these gentlemen have learned to like power, and do not object to a little skirmishing. hence there are many always on the watch to create disturbance and to overturn a government which as yet has never rested on any stable foundation. i noticed, however, both here and in other places, a very general interest in the ensuing election for the president; and this appears a good sign for the prosperity of this little country. the inhabitants do not require much education in their representatives; i heard some men discussing the merits of those for colonia; and it was said that, "although they were not men of business, they could all sign their names:" with this they seemed to think every reasonable man ought to be satisfied. november , . rode with my host to his estancia, at the arroyo de san juan. in the evening we took a ride round the estate: it contained two square leagues and a half, and was situated in what is called a rincon; that is, one side was fronted by the plata, and the two others guarded by impassable brooks. there was an excellent port for little vessels, and an abundance of small wood, which is valuable as supplying fuel to buenos ayres. i was curious to know the value of so complete an estancia. of cattle there were , and it would well support three or four times that number; of mares , together with broken-in horses, and sheep. there was plenty of water and limestone, a rough house, excellent corrals, and a peach orchard. for all this he had been offered pounds sterling, and he only wanted pounds sterling additional, and probably would sell it for less. the chief trouble with an estancia is driving the cattle twice a week to a central spot, in order to make them tame, and to count them. this latter operation would be thought difficult, where there are ten or fifteen thousand head together. it is managed on the principle that the cattle invariably divide themselves into little troops of from forty to one hundred. each troop is recognised by a few peculiarly marked animals, and its number is known: so that, one being lost out of ten thousand, it is perceived by its absence from one of the tropillas. during a stormy night the cattle all mingle together; but the next morning the tropillas separate as before; so that each animal must know its fellow out of ten thousand others. on two occasions i met with in this province some oxen of a very curious breed, called nãta or niata. they appear externally to hold nearly the same relation to other cattle, which bull or pug dogs do to other dogs. their forehead is very short and broad, with the nasal end turned up, and the upper lip much drawn back; their lower jaws project beyond the upper, and have a corresponding upward curve; hence their teeth are always exposed. their nostrils are seated high up and are very open; their eyes project outwards. when walking they carry their heads low, on a short neck; and their hinder legs are rather longer compared with the front legs than is usual. their bare teeth, their short heads, and upturned nostrils give them the most ludicrous self-confident air of defiance imaginable. since my return, i have procured a skeleton head, through the kindness of my friend captain sulivan, r.n., which is now deposited in the college of surgeons. ( / . mr. waterhouse has drawn up a detailed description of this head, which i hope he will publish in some journal.) don f. muniz, of luxan, has kindly collected for me all the information which he could respecting this breed. from his account it seems that about eighty or ninety years ago, they were rare and kept as curiosities at buenos ayres. the breed is universally believed to have originated amongst the indians southward of the plata; and that it was with them the commonest kind. even to this day, those reared in the provinces near the plata show their less civilised origin, in being fiercer than common cattle, and in the cow easily deserting her first calf, if visited too often or molested. it is a singular fact that an almost similar structure to the abnormal one of the niata breed, characterises, as i am informed by dr. falconer, that great extinct ruminant of india, the sivatherium. ( / . a nearly similar abnormal, but i do not know whether hereditary, structure has been observed in the carp, and likewise in the crocodile of the ganges: "histoire des anomalies" par m. isid. geoffroy st. hilaire tome page .) the breed is very true; and a niata bull and cow invariably produce niata calves. a niata bull with a common cow, or the reverse cross, produces offspring having an intermediate character, but with the niata characters strongly displayed: according to se¤or muniz, there is the clearest evidence, contrary to the common belief of agriculturists in analogous cases, that the niata cow when crossed with a common bull transmits her peculiarities more strongly than the niata bull when crossed with a common cow. when the pasture is tolerably long, the niata cattle feed with the tongue and palate as well as common cattle; but during the great droughts, when so many animals perish, the niata breed is under a great disadvantage, and would be exterminated if not attended to; for the common cattle, like horses, are able just to keep alive, by browsing with their lips on twigs of trees and reeds; this the niatas cannot so well do, as their lips do not join, and hence they are found to perish before the common cattle. this strikes me as a good illustration of how little we are able to judge from the ordinary habits of life, on what circumstances, occurring only at long intervals, the rarity or extinction of a species may be determined. november , . passing the valley of las vacas, we slept at a house of a north american, who worked a lime-kiln on the arroyo de las vivoras. in the morning we rode to a projecting headland on the banks of the river, called punta gorda. on the way we tried to find a jaguar. there were plenty of fresh tracks, and we visited the trees on which they are said to sharpen their claws; but we did not succeed in disturbing one. from this point the rio uruguay presented to our view a noble volume of water. from the clearness and rapidity of the stream, its appearance was far superior to that of its neighbour the parana. on the opposite coast, several branches from the latter river entered the uruguay. as the sun was shining, the two colours of the waters could be seen quite distinct. in the evening we proceeded on our road towards mercedes on the rio negro. at night we asked permission to sleep at an estancia at which we happened to arrive. it was a very large estate, being ten leagues square, and the owner is one of the greatest landowners in the country. his nephew had charge of it, and with him there was a captain in the army, who the other day ran away from buenos ayres. considering their station, their conversation was rather amusing. they expressed, as was usual, unbounded astonishment at the globe being round, and could scarcely credit that a hole would, if deep enough, come out on the other side. they had, however, heard of a country where there were six months of light and six of darkness, and where the inhabitants were very tall and thin! they were curious about the price and condition of horses and cattle in england. upon finding out we did not catch our animals with the lazo, they cried out, "ah, then, you use nothing but the bolas:" the idea of an enclosed country was quite new to them. the captain at last said, he had one question to ask me, which he should be very much obliged if i would answer with all truth. i trembled to think how deeply scientific it would be: it was, "whether the ladies of buenos ayres were not the handsomest in the world." i replied, like a renegade, "charmingly so." he added, "i have one other question: do ladies in any other part of the world wear such large combs?" i solemnly assured him that they did not. they were absolutely delighted. the captain exclaimed, "look there! a man who has seen half the world says it is the case; we always thought so, but now we know it." my excellent judgment in combs and beauty procured me a most hospitable reception; the captain forced me to take his bed, and he would sleep on his recado. november , . started at sunrise, and rode slowly during the whole day. the geological nature of this part of the province was different from the rest, and closely resembled that of the pampas. in consequence, there were immense beds of the thistle, as well as of the cardoon: the whole country, indeed, may be called one great bed of these plants. the two sorts grow separate, each plant in company with its own kind. the cardoon is as high as a horse's back, but the pampas thistle is often higher than the crown of the rider's head. to leave the road for a yard is out of the question; and the road itself is partly, and in some cases entirely, closed. pasture, of course, there is none; if cattle or horses once enter the bed, they are for the time completely lost. hence it is very hazardous to attempt to drive cattle at this season of the year; for when jaded enough to face the thistles, they rush among them, and are seen no more. in these districts there are very few estancias, and these few are situated in the neighbourhood of damp valleys, where fortunately neither of these overwhelming plants can exist. as night came on before we arrived at our journey's end, we slept at a miserable little hovel inhabited by the poorest people. the extreme though rather formal courtesy of our host and hostess, considering their grade of life, was quite delightful. november , . arrived at an estancia on the berquelo belonging to a very hospitable englishman, to whom i had a letter of introduction from my friend mr. lumb. i stayed here three days. one morning i rode with my host to the sierra del pedro flaco, about twenty miles up the rio negro. nearly the whole country was covered with good though coarse grass, which was as high as a horse's belly; yet there were square leagues without a single head of cattle. the province of banda oriental, if well stocked, would support an astonishing number of animals, at present the annual export of hides from monte video amounts to three hundred thousand; and the home consumption, from waste, is very considerable. an estanciero told me that he often had to send large herds of cattle a long journey to a salting establishment, and that the tired beasts were frequently obliged to be killed and skinned; but that he could never persuade the gauchos to eat of them, and every evening a fresh beast was slaughtered for their suppers! the view of the rio negro from the sierra was more picturesque than any other which i saw in this province. the river, broad, deep, and rapid, wound at the foot of a rocky precipitous cliff: a belt of wood followed its course, and the horizon terminated in the distant undulations of the turf-plain. when in this neighbourhood, i several times heard of the sierra de las cuentas: a hill distant many miles to the northward. the name signifies hill of beads. i was assured that vast numbers of little round stones, of various colours, each with a small cylindrical hole, are found there. formerly the indians used to collect them, for the purpose of making necklaces and bracelets--a taste, i may observe, which is common to all savage nations, as well as to the most polished. i did not know what to understand from this story, but upon mentioning it at the cape of good hope to dr. andrew smith, he told me that he recollected finding on the south-eastern coast of africa, about one hundred miles to the eastward of st. john's river, some quartz crystals with their edges blunted from attrition, and mixed with gravel on the sea-beach. each crystal was about five lines in diameter, and from an inch to an inch and a half in length. many of them had a small canal extending from one extremity to the other, perfectly cylindrical, and of a size that readily admitted a coarse thread or a piece of fine catgut. their colour was red or dull white. the natives were acquainted with this structure in crystals. i have mentioned these circumstances because, although no crystallised body is at present known to assume this form, it may lead some future traveller to investigate the real nature of such stones. while staying at this estancia, i was amused with what i saw and heard of the shepherd-dogs of the country. ( / . m. a. d'orbigny has given nearly a similar account of these dogs, tome page .) when riding, it is a common thing to meet a large flock of sheep guarded by one or two dogs, at the distance of some miles from any house or man. i often wondered how so firm a friendship had been established. the method of education consists in separating the puppy, while very young, from the bitch, and in accustoming it to its future companions. an ewe is held three or four times a day for the little thing to suck, and a nest of wool is made for it in the sheep-pen; at no time is it allowed to associate with other dogs, or with the children of the family. the puppy is, moreover, generally castrated; so that, when grown up, it can scarcely have any feelings in common with the rest of its kind. from this education it has no wish to leave the flock, and just as another dog will defend its master, man, so will these the sheep. it is amusing to observe, when approaching a flock, how the dog immediately advances barking, and the sheep all close in his rear, as if round the oldest ram. these dogs are also easily taught to bring home the flock at a certain hour in the evening. their most troublesome fault, when young, is their desire of playing with the sheep; for in their sport they sometimes gallop their poor subjects most unmercifully. the shepherd-dog comes to the house every day for some meat, and as soon as it is given him, he skulks away as if ashamed of himself. on these occasions the house-dogs are very tyrannical, and the least of them will attack and pursue the stranger. the minute, however, the latter has reached the flock, he turns round and begins to bark, and then all the house-dogs take very quickly to their heels. in a similar manner a whole pack of the hungry wild dogs will scarcely ever (and i was told by some never) venture to attack a flock guarded by even one of these faithful shepherds. the whole account appears to me a curious instance of the pliability of the affections in the dog; and yet, whether wild or however educated, he has a feeling of respect or fear for those that are fulfilling their instinct of association. for we can understand on no principle the wild dogs being driven away by the single one with its flock, except that they consider, from some confused notion, that the one thus associated gains power, as if in company with its own kind. f. cuvier has observed that all animals that readily enter into domestication consider man as a member of their own society, and thus fulfil their instinct of association. in the above case the shepherd-dog ranks the sheep as its fellow-brethren, and thus gains confidence; and the wild dogs, though knowing that the individual sheep are not dogs, but are good to eat, yet partly consent to this view when seeing them in a flock with a shepherd-dog at their head. one evening a "domidor" (a subduer of horses) came for the purpose of breaking-in some colts. i will describe the preparatory steps, for i believe they have not been mentioned by other travellers. a troop of wild young horses is driven into the corral, or large enclosure of stakes, and the door is shut. we will suppose that one man alone has to catch and mount a horse, which as yet had never felt bridle or saddle. i conceive, except by a gaucho, such a feat would be utterly impracticable. the gaucho picks out a full-grown colt; and as the beast rushes round the circus, he throws his lazo so as to catch both the front legs. instantly the horse rolls over with a heavy shock, and whilst struggling on the ground, the gaucho, holding the lazo tight, makes a circle, so as to catch one of the hind legs just beneath the fetlock, and draws it close to the two front legs: he then hitches the lazo, so that the three are bound together. then sitting on the horse's neck, he fixes a strong bridle, without a bit, to the lower jaw: this he does by passing a narrow thong through the eye-holes at the end of the reins, and several times round both jaw and tongue. the two front legs are now tied closely together with a strong leathern thong, fastened by a slip-knot. the lazo, which bound the three together, being then loosed, the horse rises with difficulty. the gaucho, now holding fast the bridle fixed to the lower jaw, leads the horse outside the corral. if a second man is present (otherwise the trouble is much greater) he holds the animal's head, whilst the first puts on the horsecloths and saddle, and girths the whole together. during this operation, the horse, from dread and astonishment at thus being bound round the waist, throws himself over and over again on the ground, and, till beaten, is unwilling to rise. at last, when the saddling is finished, the poor animal can hardly breathe from fear, and is white with foam and sweat. the man now prepares to mount by pressing heavily on the stirrup, so that the horse may not lose its balance; and at the moment that he throws his leg over the animal's back, he pulls the slip-knot binding the front legs, and the beast is free. some "domidors" pull the knot while the animal is lying on the ground, and, standing over the saddle, allow him to rise beneath them. the horse, wild with dread, gives a few most violent bounds, and then starts off at full gallop: when quite exhausted, the man, by patience, brings him back to the corral, where, reeking hot and scarcely alive, the poor beast is let free. those animals which will not gallop away, but obstinately throw themselves on the ground, are by far the most troublesome. this process is tremendously severe, but in two or three trials the horse is tamed. it is not, however, for some weeks that the animal is ridden with the iron bit and solid ring, for it must learn to associate the will of its rider with the feel of the rein, before the most powerful bridle can be of any service. animals are so abundant in these countries, that humanity and self-interest are not closely united; therefore i fear it is that the former is here scarcely known. one day, riding in the pampas with a very respectable "estanciero," my horse, being tired, lagged behind. the man often shouted to me to spur him. when i remonstrated that it was a pity, for the horse was quite exhausted, he cried out, "why not?--never mind--spur him--it is my horse." i had then some difficulty in making him comprehend that it was for the horse's sake, and not on his account, that i did not choose to use my spurs. he exclaimed, with a look of great surprise, "ah, don carlos, que cosa!" it was clear that such an idea had never before entered his head. the gauchos are well known to be perfect riders. the idea of being thrown, let the horse do what it likes; never enters their head. their criterion of a good rider is, a man who can manage an untamed colt, or who, if his horse falls, alights on his own feet, or can perform other such exploits. i have heard of a man betting that he would throw his horse down twenty times, and that nineteen times he would not fall himself. i recollect seeing a gaucho riding a very stubborn horse, which three times successively reared so high as to fall backwards with great violence. the man judged with uncommon coolness the proper moment for slipping off, not an instant before or after the right time; and as soon as the horse got up, the man jumped on his back, and at last they started at a gallop. the gaucho never appears to exert any muscular force. i was one day watching a good rider, as we were galloping along at a rapid pace, and thought to myself, "surely if the horse starts, you appear so careless on your seat, you must fall." at this moment a male ostrich sprang from its nest right beneath the horse's nose: the young colt bounded on one side like a stag; but as for the man, all that could be said was, that he started and took fright with his horse. in chile and peru more pains are taken with the mouth of the horse than in la plata, and this is evidently a consequence of the more intricate nature of the country. in chile a horse is not considered perfectly broken till he can be brought up standing, in the midst of his full speed, on any particular spot,--for instance, on a cloak thrown on the ground: or, again, he will charge a wall, and rearing, scrape the surface with his hoofs. i have seen an animal bounding with spirit, yet merely reined by a forefinger and thumb, taken at full gallop across a courtyard, and then made to wheel round the post of a veranda with great speed, but at so equal a distance, that the rider, with outstretched arm, all the while kept one finger rubbing the post. then making a demi-volte in the air, with the other arm outstretched in a like manner, he wheeled round, with astonishing force, in an opposite direction. such a horse is well broken; and although this at first may appear useless, it is far otherwise. it is only carrying that which is daily necessary into perfection. when a bullock is checked and caught by the lazo, it will sometimes gallop round and round in a circle, and the horse being alarmed at the great strain, if not well broken, will not readily turn like the pivot of a wheel. in consequence many men have been killed; for if the lazo once takes a twist round a man's body, it will instantly, from the power of the two opposed animals, almost cut him in twain. on the same principle the races are managed; the course is only two or three hundred yards long, the wish being to have horses that can make a rapid dash. the racehorses are trained not only to stand with their hoofs touching a line, but to draw all four feet together, so as at the first spring to bring into play the full action of the hind-quarters. in chile i was told an anecdote, which i believe was true; and it offers a good illustration of the use of a well-broken animal. a respectable man riding one day met two others, one of whom was mounted on a horse, which he knew to have been stolen from himself. he challenged them; they answered him by drawing their sabres and giving chase. the man, on his good and fleet beast, kept just ahead: as he passed a thick bush he wheeled round it, and brought up his horse to a dead check. the pursuers were obliged to shoot on one side and ahead. then instantly dashing on, right behind them, he buried his knife in the back of one, wounded the other, recovered his horse from the dying robber, and rode home. for these feats of horsemanship two things are necessary: a most severe bit, like the mameluke, the power of which, though seldom used, the horse knows full well; and large blunt spurs, that can be applied either as a mere touch, or as an instrument of extreme pain. i conceive that with english spurs, the slightest touch of which pricks the skin, it would be impossible to break in a horse after the south american fashion. at an estancia near las vacas large numbers of mares are weekly slaughtered for the sake of their hides, although worth only five paper dollars, or about half a crown apiece. it seems at first strange that it can answer to kill mares for such a trifle; but as it is thought ridiculous in this country ever to break in or ride a mare, they are of no value except for breeding. the only thing for which i ever saw mares used, was to tread out wheat from the ear, for which purpose they were driven round a circular enclosure, where the wheat-sheaves were strewed. the man employed for slaughtering the mares happened to be celebrated for his dexterity with the lazo. standing at the distance of twelve yards from the mouth of the corral, he has laid a wager that he would catch by the legs every animal, without missing one, as it rushed past him. there was another man who said he would enter the corral on foot, catch a mare, fasten her front legs together, drive her out, throw her down, kill, skin, and stake the hide for drying (which latter is a tedious job); and he engaged that he would perform this whole operation on twenty-two animals in one day. or he would kill and take the skin off fifty in the same time. this would have been a prodigious task, for it is considered a good day's work to skin and stake the hides of fifteen or sixteen animals. november , . i set out on my return in a direct line for monte video. having heard of some giant's bones at a neighbouring farmhouse on the sarandis, a small stream entering the rio negro, i rode there accompanied by my host, and purchased for the value of eighteenpence the head of the toxodon. ( / . i must express my obligation to mr. keane, at whose house i was staying on the berquelo, and to mr. lumb at buenos ayres, for without their assistance these valuable remains would never have reached england.) when found it was quite perfect; but the boys knocked out some of the teeth with stones, and then set up the head as a mark to throw at. by a most fortunate chance i found a perfect tooth, which exactly fitted one of the sockets in this skull, embedded by itself on the banks of the rio tercero, at the distance of about miles from this place. i found remains of this extraordinary animal at two other places, so that it must formerly have been common. i found here, also, some large portions of the armour of a gigantic armadillo-like animal, and part of the great head of a mylodon. the bones of this head are so fresh, that they contain, according to the analysis by mr. t. reeks, seven per cent of animal matter; and when placed in a spirit-lamp, they burn with a small flame. the number of the remains embedded in the grand estuary deposit which forms the pampas and covers the granitic rocks of banda oriental, must be extraordinarily great. i believe a straight line drawn in any direction through the pampas would cut through some skeleton or bones. besides those which i found during my short excursions, i heard of many others, and the origin of such names as "the stream of the animal," "the hill of the giant," is obvious. at other times i heard of the marvellous property of certain rivers, which had the power of changing small bones into large; or, as some maintained, the bones themselves grew. as far as i am aware, not one of these animals perished, as was formerly supposed, in the marshes or muddy river-beds of the present land, but their bones have been exposed by the streams intersecting the subaqueous deposit in which they were originally embedded. we may conclude that the whole area of the pampas is one wide sepulchre of these extinct gigantic quadrupeds. by the middle of the day, on the th, we arrived at monte video, having been two days and a half on the road. the country for the whole way was of a very uniform character, some parts being rather more rocky and hilly than near the plata. not far from monte video we passed through the village of las pietras, so named from some large rounded masses of syenite. its appearance was rather pretty. in this country a few fig-trees round a group of houses, and a site elevated a hundred feet above the general level, ought always to be called picturesque. during the last six months i have had an opportunity of seeing a little of the character of the inhabitants of these provinces. the gauchos, or countrymen, are very superior to those who reside in the towns. the gaucho is invariably most obliging, polite, and hospitable: i did not meet with even one instance of rudeness or inhospitality. he is modest, both respecting himself and country, but at the same time a spirited, bold fellow. on the other hand, many robberies are committed, and there is much bloodshed: the habit of constantly wearing the knife is the chief cause of the latter. it is lamentable to hear how many lives are lost in trifling quarrels. in fighting, each party tries to mark the face of his adversary by slashing his nose or eyes; as is often attested by deep and horrid-looking scars. robberies are a natural consequence of universal gambling, much drinking, and extreme indolence. at mercedes i asked two men why they did not work. one gravely said the days were too long; the other that he was too poor. the number of horses and the profusion of food are the destruction of all industry. moreover, there are so many feast-days; and again, nothing can succeed without it be begun when the moon is on the increase; so that half the month is lost from these two causes. police and justice are quite inefficient. if a man who is poor commits murder and is taken, he will be imprisoned, and perhaps even shot; but if he is rich and has friends, he may rely on it no very severe consequence will ensue. it is curious that the most respectable inhabitants of the country invariably assist a murderer to escape: they seem to think that the individual sins against the government, and not against the people. a traveller has no protection besides his firearms; and the constant habit of carrying them is the main check to more frequent robberies. the character of the higher and more educated classes who reside in the towns, partakes, but perhaps in a lesser degree, of the good parts of the gaucho, but is, i fear, stained by many vices of which he is free. sensuality, mockery of all religion, and the grossest corruption, are far from uncommon. nearly every public officer can be bribed. the head man in the post-office sold forged government franks. the governor and prime minister openly combined to plunder the state. justice, where gold came into play, was hardly expected by any one. i knew an englishman who went to the chief justice (he told me that, not then understanding the ways of the place, he trembled as he entered the room), and said, "sir, i have come to offer you two hundred (paper) dollars (value about five pounds sterling) if you will arrest before a certain time a man who has cheated me. i know it is against the law, but my lawyer (naming him) recommended me to take this step." the chief justice smiled acquiescence, thanked him, and the man before night was safe in prison. with this entire want of principle in many of the leading men, with the country full of ill-paid turbulent officers, the people yet hope that a democratic form of government can succeed! on first entering society in these countries, two or three features strike one as particularly remarkable. the polite and dignified manners pervading every rank of life, the excellent taste displayed by the women in their dresses, and the equality amongst all ranks. at the rio colorado some men who kept the humblest shops used to dine with general rosas. a son of a major at bahia blanca gained his livelihood by making paper cigars, and he wished to accompany me, as guide or servant, to buenos ayres, but his father objected on the score of the danger alone. many officers in the army can neither read nor write, yet all meet in society as equals. in entre rios, the sala consisted of only six representatives. one of them kept a common shop, and evidently was not degraded by the office. all this is what would be expected in a new country; nevertheless the absence of gentlemen by profession appears to an englishman something strange. when speaking of these countries, the manner in which they have been brought up by their unnatural parent, spain, should always be borne in mind. on the whole, perhaps, more credit is due for what has been done, than blame for that which may be deficient. it is impossible to doubt but that the extreme liberalism of these countries must ultimately lead to good results. the very general toleration of foreign religions, the regard paid to the means of education, the freedom of the press, the facilities offered to all foreigners, and especially, as i am bound to add, to every one professing the humblest pretensions to science, should be recollected with gratitude by those who have visited spanish south america. december , . the "beagle" sailed from the rio plata, never again to enter its muddy stream. our course was directed to port desire, on the coast of patagonia. before proceeding any farther, i will here put together a few observations made at sea. several times when the ship has been some miles off the mouth of the plata, and at other times when off the shores of northern patagonia, we have been surrounded by insects. one evening, when we were about ten miles from the bay of san blas, vast numbers of butterflies, in bands or flocks of countless myriads, extended as far as the eye could range. even by the aid of a telescope it was not possible to see a space free from butterflies. the seamen cried out "it was snowing butterflies," and such in fact was the appearance. more species than one were present, but the main part belonged to a kind very similar to, but not identical with, the common english colias edusa. some moths and hymenoptera accompanied the butterflies; and a fine beetle (calosoma) flew on board. other instances are known of this beetle having been caught far out at sea; and this is the more remarkable, as the greater number of the carabidae seldom or never take wing. the day had been fine and calm, and the one previous to it equally so, with light and variable airs. hence we cannot suppose that the insects were blown off the land, but we must conclude that they voluntarily took flight. the great bands of the colias seem at first to afford an instance like those on record of the migrations of another butterfly, vanessa cardui ( / . lyell's "principles of geology" volume page .); but the presence of other insects makes the case distinct, and even less intelligible. before sunset a strong breeze sprung up from the north, and this must have caused tens of thousands of the butterflies and other insects to have perished. on another occasion, when seventeen miles off cape corrientes, i had a net overboard to catch pelagic animals. upon drawing it up, to my surprise i found a considerable number of beetles in it, and although in the open sea, they did not appear much injured by the salt water. i lost some of the specimens, but those which i preserved belonged to the genera colymbetes, hydroporus, hydrobius (two species), notaphus, cynucus, adimonia, and scarabaeus. at first i thought that these insects had been blown from the shore; but upon reflecting that out of the eight species four were aquatic, and two others partly so in their habits, it appeared to me most probable that they were floated into the sea by a small stream which drains a lake near cape corrientes. on any supposition it is an interesting circumstance to find live insects swimming in the open ocean seventeen miles from the nearest point of land. there are several accounts of insects having been blown off the patagonian shore. captain cook observed it, as did more lately captain king of the "adventure." the cause probably is due to the want of shelter, both of trees and hills, so that an insect on the wing with an offshore breeze, would be very apt to be blown out to sea. the most remarkable instance i have known of an insect being caught far from the land, was that of a large grasshopper (acrydium), which flew on board, when the "beagle" was to windward of the cape de verd islands, and when the nearest point of land, not directly opposed to the trade-wind, was cape blanco on the coast of africa, miles distant. ( / . the flies which frequently accompany a ship for some days on its passage from harbour to harbour, wandering from the vessel, are soon lost, and all disappear.) on several occasions, when the "beagle" has been within the mouth of the plata, the rigging has been coated with the web of the gossamer spider. one day (november st, ) i paid particular attention to this subject. the weather had been fine and clear, and in the morning the air was full of patches of the flocculent web, as on an autumnal day in england. the ship was sixty miles distant from the land, in the direction of a steady though light breeze. vast numbers of a small spider, about one-tenth of an inch in length, and of a dusky red colour, were attached to the webs. there must have been, i should suppose, some thousands on the ship. the little spider, when first coming in contact with the rigging, was always seated on a single thread, and not on the flocculent mass. this latter seems merely to be produced by the entanglement of the single threads. the spiders were all of one species, but of both sexes, together with young ones. these latter were distinguished by their smaller size and more dusky colour. i will not give the description of this spider, but merely state that it does not appear to me to be included in any of latreille's genera. the little aeronaut as soon as it arrived on board was very active, running about, sometimes letting itself fall, and then reascending the same thread; sometimes employing itself in making a small and very irregular mesh in the corners between the ropes. it could run with facility on the surface of water. when disturbed it lifted up its front legs, in the attitude of attention. on its first arrival it appeared very thirsty, and with exserted maxillae drank eagerly of drops of water; this same circumstance has been observed by strack: may it not be in consequence of the little insect having passed through a dry and rarefied atmosphere? its stock of web seemed inexhaustible. while watching some that were suspended by a single thread, i several times observed that the slightest breath of air bore them away out of sight, in a horizontal line. on another occasion ( th) under similar circumstances, i repeatedly observed the same kind of small spider, either when placed or having crawled on some little eminence, elevate its abdomen, send forth a thread, and then sail away horizontally, but with a rapidity which was quite unaccountable. i thought i could perceive that the spider, before performing the above preparatory steps, connected its legs together with the most delicate threads, but i am not sure whether this observation was correct. one day, at st. fé, i had a better opportunity of observing some similar facts. a spider which was about three-tenths of an inch in length, and which in its general appearance resembled a citigrade (therefore quite different from the gossamer), while standing on the summit of a post, darted forth four or five threads from its spinners. these, glittering in the sunshine, might be compared to diverging rays of light; they were not, however, straight, but in undulations like films of silk blown by the wind. they were more than a yard in length, and diverged in an ascending direction from the orifices. the spider then suddenly let go its hold of the post, and was quickly borne out of sight. the day was hot and apparently quite calm; yet under such circumstances, the atmosphere can never be so tranquil as not to affect a vane so delicate as the thread of a spider's web. if during a warm day we look either at the shadow of any object cast on a bank, or over a level plain at a distant landmark, the effect of an ascending current of heated air is almost always evident: such upward currents, it has been remarked, are also shown by the ascent of soap-bubbles, which will not rise in an indoors room. hence i think there is not much difficulty in understanding the ascent of the fine lines projected from a spider's spinners, and afterwards of the spider itself; the divergence of the lines has been attempted to be explained, i believe by mr. murray, by their similar electrical condition. the circumstance of spiders of the same species, but of different sexes and ages, being found on several occasions at the distance of many leagues from the land, attached in vast numbers to the lines, renders it probable that the habit of sailing through the air is as characteristic of this tribe, as that of diving is of the argyroneta. we may then reject latreille's supposition, that the gossamer owes its origin indifferently to the young of several genera of spiders: although, as we have seen, the young of other spiders do possess the power of performing aerial voyages. ( / . mr. blackwall in his "researches in zoology" has many excellent observations on the habits of spiders.) during our different passages south of the plata, i often towed astern a net made of bunting, and thus caught many curious animals. of crustacea there were many strange and undescribed genera. one, which in some respects is allied to the notopods (or those crabs which have their posterior legs placed almost on their backs, for the purpose of adhering to the under side of rocks), is very remarkable from the structure of its hind pair of legs. the penultimate joint, instead of terminating in a simple claw, ends in three bristle-like appendages of dissimilar lengths--the longest equalling that of the entire leg. these claws are very thin, and are serrated with the finest teeth, directed backwards: their curved extremities are flattened, and on this part five most minute cups are placed which seem to act in the same manner as the suckers on the arms of the cuttle-fish. as the animal lives in the open sea, and probably wants a place of rest, i suppose this beautiful and most anomalous structure is adapted to take hold of floating marine animals. in deep water, far from the land, the number of living creatures is extremely small: south of the latitude degrees, i never succeeded in catching anything besides some beroe, and a few species of minute entomostracous crustacea. in shoaler water, at the distance of a few miles from the coast, very many kinds of crustacea and some other animals are numerous, but only during the night. between latitudes and degrees south of cape horn, the net was put astern several times; it never, however, brought up anything besides a few of two extremely minute species of entomostraca. yet whales and seals, petrels and albatross, are exceedingly abundant throughout this part of the ocean. it has always been a mystery to me on what the albatross, which lives far from the shore, can subsist; i presume that, like the condor, it is able to fast long; and that one good feast on the carcass of a putrid whale lasts for a long time. the central and intertropical parts of the atlantic swarm with pteropoda, crustacea, and radiata, and with their devourers the flying-fish, and again with their devourers the bonitos and albicores; i presume that the numerous lower pelagic animals feed on the infusoria, which are now known, from the researches of ehrenberg, to abound in the open ocean: but on what, in the clear blue water, do these infusoria subsist? while sailing a little south of the plata on one very dark night, the sea presented a wonderful and most beautiful spectacle. there was a fresh breeze, and every part of the surface, which during the day is seen as foam, now glowed with a pale light. the vessel drove before her bows two billows of liquid phosphorus, and in her wake she was followed by a milky train. as far as the eye reached, the crest of every wave was bright, and the sky above the horizon, from the reflected glare of these livid flames, was not so utterly obscure as over the vault of the heavens. as we proceed farther southward the sea is seldom phosphorescent; and off cape horn i do not recollect more than once having seen it so, and then it was far from being brilliant. this circumstance probably has a close connection with the scarcity of organic beings in that part of the ocean. after the elaborate paper by ehrenberg, on the phosphorescence of the sea, it is almost superfluous on my part to make any observations on the subject. ( / . an abstract is given in no. of the "magazine of zoology and botany.") i may however add, that the same torn and irregular particles of gelatinous matter, described by ehrenberg, seem in the southern as well as in the northern hemisphere to be the common cause of this phenomenon. the particles were so minute as easily to pass through fine gauze; yet many were distinctly visible by the naked eye. the water when placed in a tumbler and agitated gave out sparks, but a small portion in a watch-glass scarcely ever was luminous. ehrenberg states that these particles all retain a certain degree of irritability. my observations, some of which were made directly after taking up the water, gave a different result. i may also mention, that having used the net during one night, i allowed it to become partially dry, and having occasion twelve hours afterwards to employ it again, i found the whole surface sparkled as brightly as when first taken out of the water. it does not appear probable in this case that the particles could have remained so long alive. on one occasion having kept a jelly-fish of the genus dianaea till it was dead, the water in which it was placed became luminous. when the waves scintillate with bright green sparks, i believe it is generally owing to minute crustacea. but there can be no doubt that very many other pelagic animals, when alive, are phosphorescent. on two occasions i have observed the sea luminous at considerable depths beneath the surface. near the mouth of the plata some circular and oval patches, from two to four yards in diameter, and with defined outlines, shone with a steady but pale light; while the surrounding water only gave out a few sparks. the appearance resembled the reflection of the moon, or some luminous body; for the edges were sinuous from the undulations of the surface. the ship, which drew thirteen feet water, passed over, without disturbing these patches. therefore we must suppose that some animals were congregated together at a greater depth than the bottom of the vessel. near fernando noronha the sea gave out light in flashes. the appearance was very similar to that which might be expected from a large fish moving rapidly through a luminous fluid. to this cause the sailors attributed it; at the time, however, i entertained some doubts, on account of the frequency and rapidity of the flashes. i have already remarked that the phenomenon is very much more common in warm than in cold countries; and i have sometimes imagined that a disturbed electrical condition of the atmosphere was most favourable to its production. certainly i think the sea is most luminous after a few days of more calm weather than ordinary, during which time it has swarmed with various animals. observing that the water charged with gelatinous particles is in an impure state, and that the luminous appearance in all common cases is produced by the agitation of the fluid in contact with the atmosphere, i am inclined to consider that the phosphorescence is the result of the decomposition of the organic particles, by which process (one is tempted almost to call it a kind of respiration) the ocean becomes purified. december , . we arrived at port desire, situated in latitude degrees, on the coast of patagonia. the creek runs for about twenty miles inland, with an irregular width. the "beagle" anchored a few miles within the entrance, in front of the ruins of an old spanish settlement. the same evening i went on shore. the first landing in any new country is very interesting, and especially when, as in this case, the whole aspect bears the stamp of a marked and individual character. at the height of between two and three hundred feet above some masses of porphyry a wide plain extends, which is truly characteristic of patagonia. the surface is quite level, and is composed of well-rounded shingle mixed with a whitish earth. here and there scattered tufts of brown wiry grass are supported, and still more rarely, some low thorny bushes. the weather is dry and pleasant, and the fine blue sky is but seldom obscured. when standing in the middle of one of these desert plains and looking towards the interior, the view is generally bounded by the escarpment of another plain, rather higher, but equally level and desolate; and in every other direction the horizon is indistinct from the trembling mirage which seems to rise from the heated surface. in such a country the fate of the spanish settlement was soon decided; the dryness of the climate during the greater part of the year, and the occasional hostile attacks of the wandering indians, compelled the colonists to desert their half-finished buildings. the style, however, in which they were commenced shows the strong and liberal hand of spain in the old time. the result of all the attempts to colonise this side of america south of degrees has been miserable. port famine expresses by its name the lingering and extreme sufferings of several hundred wretched people, of whom one alone survived to relate their misfortunes. at st. joseph's bay, on the coast of patagonia, a small settlement was made; but during one sunday the indians made an attack and massacred the whole party, excepting two men, who remained captives during many years. at the rio negro i conversed with one of these men, now in extreme old age. (plate . opuntia darwinii.) the zoology of patagonia is as limited as its flora. ( / . i found here a species of cactus, described by professor henslow, under the name of opuntia darwinii "magazine of zoology and botany" volume page , which was remarkable for the irritability of the stamens, when i inserted either a piece of stick or the end of my finger in the flower. the segments of the perianth also closed on the pistil, but more slowly than the stamens. plants of this family, generally considered as tropical, occur in north america "lewis and clarke's travels" page , in the same high latitude as here, namely, in both cases, in degrees.) on the arid plains a few black beetles (heteromera) might be seen slowly crawling about, and occasionally a lizard darted from side to side. of birds we have three carrion hawks, and in the valleys a few finches and insect-feeders. an ibis (theristicus melanops--a species said to be found in central africa) is not uncommon on the most desert parts: in their stomachs i found grasshoppers, cicadae, small lizards, and even scorpions. ( / . these insects were not uncommon beneath stones. i found one cannibal scorpion quietly devouring another.) at one time of the year these birds go in flocks, at another in pairs, their cry is very loud and singular, like the neighing of the guanaco. the guanaco, or wild llama, is the characteristic quadruped of the plains of patagonia; it is the south american representative of the camel of the east. it is an elegant animal in a state of nature, with a long slender neck and fine legs. it is very common over the whole of the temperate parts of the continent, as far south as the islands near cape horn. it generally lives in small herds of from half a dozen to thirty in each; but on the banks of the st. cruz we saw one herd which must have contained at least five hundred. they are generally wild and extremely wary. mr. stokes told me that he one day saw through a glass a herd of these animals which evidently had been frightened, and were running away at full speed, although their distance was so great that he could not distinguish them with his naked eye. the sportsman frequently receives the first notice of their presence, by hearing from a long distance their peculiar shrill neighing note of alarm. if he then looks attentively, he will probably see the herd standing in a line on the side of some distant hill. on approaching nearer, a few more squeals are given, and off they set at an apparently slow, but really quick canter, along some narrow beaten track to a neighbouring hill. if, however, by chance he abruptly meets a single animal, or several together, they will generally stand motionless and intently gaze at him; then perhaps move on a few yards, turn round, and look again. what is the cause of this difference in their shyness? do they mistake a man in the distance for their chief enemy the puma? or does curiosity overcome their timidity? that they are curious is certain; for if a person lies on the ground, and plays strange antics, such as throwing up his feet in the air, they will almost always approach by degrees to reconnoitre him. it was an artifice that was repeatedly practised by our sportsmen with success, and it had moreover the advantage of allowing several shots to be fired, which were all taken as parts of the performance. on the mountains of tierra del fuego, i have more than once seen a guanaco, on being approached, not only neigh and squeal, but prance and leap about in the most ridiculous manner, apparently in defiance as a challenge. these animals are very easily domesticated, and i have seen some thus kept in northern patagonia near a house, though not under any restraint. they are in this state very bold, and readily attack a man by striking him from behind with both knees. it is asserted that the motive for these attacks is jealousy on account of their females. the wild guanacos, however, have no idea of defence; even a single dog will secure one of these large animals, till the huntsman can come up. in many of their habits they are like sheep in a flock. thus when they see men approaching in several directions on horseback, they soon become bewildered, and know not which way to run. this greatly facilitates the indian method of hunting, for they are thus easily driven to a central point, and are encompassed. the guanacos readily take to the water: several times at port valdes they were seen swimming from island to island. byron, in his voyage, says he saw them drinking salt water. some of our officers likewise saw a herd apparently drinking the briny fluid from a salina near cape blanco. i imagine in several parts of the country, if they do not drink salt water, they drink none at all. in the middle of the day they frequently roll in the dust, in saucer-shaped hollows. the males fight together; two one day passed quite close to me, squealing and trying to bite each other; and several were shot with their hides deeply scored. herds sometimes appear to set out on exploring parties: at bahia blanca, where, within thirty miles of the coast, these animals are extremely unfrequent, i one day saw the tracks of thirty or forty, which had come in a direct line to a muddy salt-water creek. they then must have perceived that they were approaching the sea, for they had wheeled with the regularity of cavalry, and had returned back in as straight a line as they had advanced. the guanacos have one singular habit, which is to me quite inexplicable; namely, that on successive days they drop their dung in the same defined heap. i saw one of these heaps which was eight feet in diameter, and was composed of a large quantity. this habit, according to m. a. d'orbigny, is common to all the species of the genus; it is very useful to the peruvian indians, who use the dung for fuel, and are thus saved the trouble of collecting it. the guanacos appear to have favourite spots for lying down to die. on the banks of the st. cruz, in certain circumscribed spaces, which were generally bushy and all near the river, the ground was actually white with bones. on one such spot i counted between ten and twenty heads. i particularly examined the bones; they did not appear, as some scattered ones which i had seen, gnawed or broken, as if dragged together by beasts of prey. the animals in most cases must have crawled, before dying, beneath and amongst the bushes. mr. bynoe informs me that during a former voyage he observed the same circumstance on the banks of the rio gallegos. i do not at all understand the reason of this, but i may observe, that the wounded guanacos at the st. cruz invariably walked towards the river. at st. jago in the cape de verd islands, i remember having seen in a ravine a retired corner covered with bones of the goat; we at the time exclaimed that it was the burial-ground of all the goats in the island. i mention these trifling circumstances, because in certain cases they might explain the occurrence of a number of uninjured bones in a cave, or buried under alluvial accumulations; and likewise the cause why certain animals are more commonly embedded than others in sedimentary deposits. "none can reply--all seems eternal now. the wilderness has a mysterious tongue, which teaches awful doubt." ( / . shelley, lines on mt. blanc.) one day the yawl was sent under the command of mr. chaffers with three days' provisions to survey the upper part of the harbour. in the morning we searched for some watering-places mentioned in an old spanish chart. we found one creek, at the head of which there was a trickling rill (the first we had seen) of brackish water. here the tide compelled us to wait several hours; and in the interval i walked some miles into the interior. the plain as usual consisted of gravel, mingled with soil resembling chalk in appearance, but very different from it in nature. from the softness of these materials it was worn into many gulleys. there was not a tree, and, excepting the guanaco, which stood on the hilltop a watchful sentinel over its herd, scarcely an animal or a bird. all was stillness and desolation. yet in passing over these scenes, without one bright object near, an ill-defined but strong sense of pleasure is vividly excited. one asked how many ages the plain had thus lasted, and how many more it was doomed thus to continue. in the evening we sailed a few miles farther up, and then pitched the tents for the night. by the middle of the next day the yawl was aground, and from the shoalness of the water could not proceed any higher. the water being found partly fresh, mr. chaffers took the dingey and went up two or three miles farther, where she also grounded, but in a fresh-water river. the water was muddy, and though the stream was most insignificant in size, it would be difficult to account for its origin, except from the melting snow on the cordillera. at the spot where we bivouacked, we were surrounded by bold cliffs and steep pinnacles of porphyry. i do not think i ever saw a spot which appeared more secluded from the rest of the world than this rocky crevice in the wide plain. the second day after our return to the anchorage, a party of officers and myself went to ransack an old indian grave, which i had found on the summit of a neighbouring hill. two immense stones, each probably weighing at least a couple of tons, had been placed in front of a ledge of rock about six feet high. at the bottom of the grave on the hard rock there was a layer of earth about a foot deep, which must have been brought up from the plain below. above it a pavement of flat stones was placed, on which others were piled, so as to fill up the space between the ledge and the two great blocks. to complete the grave, the indians had contrived to detach from the ledge a huge fragment, and to throw it over the pile so as to rest on the two blocks. we undermined the grave on both sides, but could not find any relics, or even bones. the latter probably had decayed long since (in which case the grave must have been of extreme antiquity), for i found in another place some smaller heaps, beneath which a very few crumbling fragments could yet be distinguished as having belonged to a man. falconer states, that where an indian dies he is buried, but that subsequently his bones are carefully taken up and carried, let the distance be ever so great, to be deposited near the sea-coast. this custom, i think, may be accounted for by recollecting that, before the introduction of horses, these indians must have led nearly the same life as the fuegians now do, and therefore generally have resided in the neighbourhood of the sea. the common prejudice of lying where one's ancestors have lain, would make the now roaming indians bring the less perishable part of their dead to their ancient burial-ground on the coast. january , . before it was dark the "beagle" anchored in the fine spacious harbour of port st. julian, situated about one hundred and ten miles to the south of port desire. we remained here eight days. the country is nearly similar to that of port desire, but perhaps rather more sterile. one day a party accompanied captain fitz roy on a long walk round the head of the harbour. we were eleven hours without tasting any water, and some of the party were quite exhausted. from the summit of a hill (since well named thirsty hill) a fine lake was spied, and two of the party proceeded with concerted signals to show whether it was fresh water. what was our disappointment to find a snow-white expanse of salt, crystallised in great cubes! we attributed our extreme thirst to the dryness of the atmosphere; but whatever the cause might be, we were exceedingly glad late in the evening to get back to the boats. although we could nowhere find, during our whole visit, a single drop of fresh water, yet some must exist; for by an odd chance i found on the surface of the salt water, near the head of the bay, a colymbetes not quite dead, which must have lived in some not far distant pool. three other insects (a cincindela, like hybrida, a cymindis, and a harpalus, which all live on muddy flats occasionally overflowed by the sea), and one other found dead on the plain, complete the list of the beetles. a good-sized fly (tabanus) was extremely numerous, and tormented us by its painful bite. the common horsefly, which is so troublesome in the shady lanes of england, belongs to this same genus. we here have the puzzle that so frequently occurs in the case of musquitoes--on the blood of what animals do these insects commonly feed? the guanaco is nearly the only warm-blooded quadruped, and it is found in quite inconsiderable numbers compared with the multitude of flies. the geology of patagonia is interesting. differently from europe, where the tertiary formations appear to have accumulated in bays, here along hundreds of miles of coast we have one great deposit, including many tertiary shells, all apparently extinct. the most common shell is a massive gigantic oyster, sometimes even a foot in diameter. these beds are covered by others of a peculiar soft white stone, including much gypsum, and resembling chalk, but really of a pumiceous nature. it is highly remarkable, from being composed, to at least one-tenth part of its bulk, of infusoria: professor ehrenberg has already ascertained in it thirty oceanic forms. this bed extends for miles along the coast, and probably for a considerably greater distance. at port st. julian its thickness is more than feet! these white beds are everywhere capped by a mass of gravel, forming probably one of the largest beds of shingle in the world: it certainly extends from near the rio colorado to between and nautical miles southward, at santa cruz (a river a little south of st. julian) it reaches to the foot of the cordillera; half way up the river its thickness is more than feet; it probably everywhere extends to this great chain, whence the well-rounded pebbles of porphyry have been derived: we may consider its average breadth as miles, and its average thickness as about feet. if this great bed of pebbles, without including the mud necessarily derived from their attrition, was piled into a mound, it would form a great mountain chain! when we consider that all these pebbles, countless as the grains of sand in the desert, have been derived from the slow falling of masses of rock on the old coast-lines and banks of rivers, and that these fragments have been dashed into smaller pieces, and that each of them has since been slowly rolled, rounded, and far transported, the mind is stupefied in thinking over the long, absolutely necessary, lapse of years. yet all this gravel has been transported, and probably rounded, subsequently to the deposition of the white beds, and long subsequently to the underlying beds with the tertiary shells. everything in this southern continent has been effected on a grand scale: the land, from the rio plata to tierra del fuego, a distance of miles, has been raised in mass (and in patagonia to a height of between and feet), within the period of the now existing sea-shells. the old and weathered shells left on the surface of the upraised plain still partially retain their colours. the uprising movement has been interrupted by at least eight long periods of rest, during which the sea ate deeply back into the land, forming at successive levels the long lines of cliffs or escarpments, which separate the different plains as they rise like steps one behind the other. the elevatory movement, and the eating-back power of the sea during the periods of rest, have been equable over long lines of coast; for i was astonished to find that the step-like plains stand at nearly corresponding heights at far distant points. the lowest plain is feet high; and the highest, which i ascended near the coast, is feet; and of this only relics are left in the form of flat gravel-capped hills. the upper plain of santa cruz slopes up to a height of feet at the foot of the cordillera. i have said that within the period of existing sea-shells, patagonia has been upraised to feet: i may add, that within the period when icebergs transported boulders over the upper plain of santa cruz, the elevation has been at least feet. nor has patagonia been affected only by upward movements: the extinct tertiary shells from port st. julian and santa cruz cannot have lived, according to professor e. forbes, in a greater depth of water than from to feet; but they are now covered with sea-deposited strata from to feet in thickness: hence the bed of the sea, on which these shells once lived, must have sunk downwards several hundred feet, to allow of the accumulation of the superincumbent strata. what a history of geological changes does the simply-constructed coast of patagonia reveal! (plate . raised beaches, patagonia.) at port st. julian, in some red mud capping the gravel on the -feet plain, i found half the skeleton of the macrauchenia patachonica, a remarkable quadruped, full as large as a camel. ( / . i have lately heard that captain sulivan, r.n., has found numerous fossil bones, embedded in regular strata, on the banks of the r. gallegos, in latitude degrees '. some of the bones are large; others are small, and appear to have belonged to an armadillo. this is a most interesting and important discovery.) it belongs to the same division of the pachydermata with the rhinoceros, tapir, and palaeotherium; but in the structure of the bones of its long neck it shows a clear relation to the camel, or rather to the guanaco and llama. from recent sea-shells being found on two of the higher step-formed plains, which must have been modelled and upraised before the mud was deposited in which the macrauchenia was intombed, it is certain that this curious quadruped lived long after the sea was inhabited by its present shells. i was at first much surprised how a large quadruped could so lately have subsisted, in latitude degrees ', on these wretched gravel plains with their stunted vegetation; but the relationship of the macrauchenia to the guanaco, now an inhabitant of the most sterile parts, partly explains this difficulty. the relationship, though distant, between the macrauchenia and the guanaco, between the toxodon and the capybara,--the closer relationship between the many extinct edentata and the living sloths, ant-eaters, and armadillos, now so eminently characteristic of south american zoology,--and the still closer relationship between the fossil and living species of ctenomys and hydrochaerus, are most interesting facts. this relationship is shown wonderfully--as wonderfully as between the fossil and extinct marsupial animals of australia--by the great collection lately brought to europe from the caves of brazil by mm. lund and clausen. in this collection there are extinct species of all the thirty-two genera, excepting four, of the terrestrial quadrupeds now inhabiting the provinces in which the caves occur; and the extinct species are much more numerous than those now living: there are fossil ant-eaters, armadillos, tapirs, peccaries, guanacos, opossums, and numerous south american gnawers and monkeys, and other animals. this wonderful relationship in the same continent between the dead and the living, will, i do not doubt, hereafter throw more light on the appearance of organic beings on our earth, and their disappearance from it, than any other class of facts. it is impossible to reflect on the changed state of the american continent without the deepest astonishment. formerly it must have swarmed with great monsters: now we find mere pigmies, compared with the antecedent allied races. if buffon had known of the gigantic sloth and armadillo-like animals, and of the lost pachydermata, he might have said with a greater semblance of truth that the creative force in america had lost its power, rather than that it had never possessed great vigour. the greater number, if not all, of these extinct quadrupeds lived at a late period, and were the contemporaries of most of the existing sea-shells. since they lived, no very great change in the form of the land can have taken place. what, then, has exterminated so many species and whole genera? the mind at first is irresistibly hurried into the belief of some great catastrophe; but thus to destroy animals, both large and small, in southern patagonia, in brazil, on the cordillera of peru, in north america up to behring's straits, we must shake the entire framework of the globe. an examination, moreover, of the geology of la plata and patagonia, leads to the belief that all the features of the land result from slow and gradual changes. it appears from the character of the fossils in europe, asia, australia, and in north and south america, that those conditions which favour the life of the larger quadrupeds were lately coextensive with the world: what those conditions were, no one has yet even conjectured. it could hardly have been a change of temperature, which at about the same time destroyed the inhabitants of tropical, temperate, and arctic latitudes on both sides of the globe. in north america we positively know from mr. lyell that the large quadrupeds lived subsequently to that period, when boulders were brought into latitudes at which icebergs now never arrive: from conclusive but indirect reasons we may feel sure, that in the southern hemisphere the macrauchenia, also, lived long subsequently to the ice-transporting boulder-period. did man, after his first inroad into south america, destroy, as has been suggested, the unwieldy megatherium and the other edentata? we must at least look to some other cause for the destruction of the little tucutuco at bahia blanca, and of the many fossil mice and other small quadrupeds in brazil. no one will imagine that a drought, even far severer than those which cause such losses in the provinces of la plata, could destroy every individual of every species from southern patagonia to behring's straits. what shall we say of the extinction of the horse? did those plains fail of pasture, which have since been overrun by thousands and hundreds of thousands of the descendants of the stock introduced by the spaniards? have the subsequently introduced species consumed the food of the great antecedent races? can we believe that the capybara has taken the food of the toxodon, the guanaco of the macrauchenia, the existing small edentata of their numerous gigantic prototypes? certainly, no fact in the long history of the world is so startling as the wide and repeated exterminations of its inhabitants. nevertheless, if we consider the subject under another point of view, it will appear less perplexing. we do not steadily bear in mind how profoundly ignorant we are of the conditions of existence of every animal; nor do we always remember that some check is constantly preventing the too rapid increase of every organised being left in a state of nature. the supply of food, on an average, remains constant, yet the tendency in every animal to increase by propagation is geometrical; and its surprising effects have nowhere been more astonishingly shown, than in the case of the european animals run wild during the last few centuries in america. every animal in a state of nature regularly breeds; yet in a species long established, any great increase in numbers is obviously impossible, and must be checked by some means. we are, nevertheless, seldom able with certainty to tell in any given species, at what period of life, or at what period of the year, or whether only at long intervals, the check falls; or, again, what is the precise nature of the check. hence probably it is that we feel so little surprise at one, of two species closely allied in habits, being rare and the other abundant in the same district; or, again, that one should be abundant in one district, and another, filling the same place in the economy of nature, should be abundant in a neighbouring district, differing very little in its conditions. if asked how this is, one immediately replies that it is determined by some slight difference in climate, food, or the number of enemies: yet how rarely, if ever, we can point out the precise cause and manner of action of the check! we are therefore, driven to the conclusion that causes generally quite inappreciable by us, determine whether a given species shall be abundant or scanty in numbers. in the cases where we can trace the extinction of a species through man, either wholly or in one limited district, we know that it becomes rarer and rarer, and is then lost: it would be difficult to point out any just distinction between a species destroyed by man or by the increase of its natural enemies. ( / . see the excellent remarks on this subject by mr. lyell in his "principles of geology.") the evidence of rarity preceding extinction is more striking in the successive tertiary strata, as remarked by several able observers; it has often been found that a shell very common in a tertiary stratum is now most rare, and has even long been thought to be extinct. if then, as appears probable, species first become rare and then extinct--if the too rapid increase of every species, even the most favoured, is steadily checked, as we must admit, though how and when it is hard to say--and if we see, without the smallest surprise, though unable to assign the precise reason, one species abundant and another closely-allied species rare in the same district--why should we feel such great astonishment at the rarity being carried a step farther to extinction? an action going on, on every side of us, and yet barely appreciable, might surely be carried a little farther without exciting our observation. who would feel any great surprise at hearing that the magalonyx was formerly rare compared with the megatherium, or that one of the fossil monkeys was few in number compared with one of the now living monkeys? and yet in this comparative rarity, we should have the plainest evidence of less favourable conditions for their existence. to admit that species generally become rare before they become extinct--to feel no surprise at the comparative rarity of one species with another, and yet to call in some extraordinary agent and to marvel greatly when a species ceases to exist, appears to me much the same as to admit that sickness in the individual is the prelude to death--to feel no surprise at sickness--but when the sick man dies to wonder, and to believe that he died through violence. (plate . ladies' combs, banda oriental.) chapter ix. (plate . condor (sarcorhamphus gryphus).) santa cruz. expedition up the river. indians. immense streams of basaltic lava. fragments not transported by the river. excavation of the valley. condor, habits of. cordillera. erratic boulders of great size. indian relics. return to the ship. falkland islands. wild horses, cattle, rabbits. wolf-like fox. fire made of bones. manner of hunting wild cattle. geology. streams of stones. scenes of violence. penguin. geese. eggs of doris. compound animals. santa cruz, patagonia, and the falkland islands. april , . the "beagle" anchored within the mouth of the santa cruz. this river is situated about sixty miles south of port st. julian. during the last voyage captain stokes proceeded thirty miles up it, but then, from the want of provisions, was obliged to return. excepting what was discovered at that time, scarcely anything was known about this large river. captain fitz roy now determined to follow its course as far as time would allow. on the th three whale-boats started, carrying three weeks' provisions; and the party consisted of twenty-five souls--a force which would have been sufficient to have defied a host of indians. with a strong flood-tide and a fine day we made a good run, soon drank some of the fresh water, and were at night nearly above the tidal influence. the river here assumed a size and appearance which, even at the highest point we ultimately reached, was scarcely diminished. it was generally from three to four hundred yards broad, and in the middle about seventeen feet deep. the rapidity of the current, which in its whole course runs at the rate of from four to six knots an hour, is perhaps its most remarkable feature. the water is of a fine blue colour, but with a slight milky tinge, and not so transparent as at first sight would have been expected. it flows over a bed of pebbles, like those which compose the beach and the surrounding plains. it runs in a winding course through a valley, which extends in a direct line westward. this valley varies from five to ten miles in breadth; it is bounded by step-formed terraces, which rise in most parts, one above the other, to the height of five hundred feet, and have on the opposite sides a remarkable correspondence. april , . against so strong a current it was, of course, quite impossible to row or sail: consequently the three boats were fastened together head and stern, two hands left in each, and the rest came on shore to track. as the general arrangements made by captain fitz roy were very good for facilitating the work of all, and as all had a share in it, i will describe the system. the party, including every one, was divided into two spells, each of which hauled at the tracking line alternately for an hour and a half. the officers of each boat lived with, ate the same food, and slept in the same tent with their crew, so that each boat was quite independent of the others. after sunset the first level spot where any bushes were growing was chosen for our night's lodging. each of the crew took it in turns to be cook. immediately the boat was hauled up, the cook made his fire; two others pitched the tent; the coxswain handed the things out of the boat; the rest carried them up to the tents and collected firewood. by this order, in half an hour everything was ready for the night. a watch of two men and an officer was always kept, whose duty it was to look after the boats, keep up the fire, and guard against indians. each in the party had his one hour every night. during this day we tracked but a short distance, for there were many islets, covered by thorny bushes, and the channels between them were shallow. april , . we passed the islands and set to work. our regular day's march, although it was hard enough, carried us on an average only ten miles in a straight line, and perhaps fifteen or twenty altogether. beyond the place where we slept last night, the country is completely terra incognita, for it was there that captain stokes turned back. we saw in the distance a great smoke, and found the skeleton of a horse, so we knew that indians were in the neighbourhood. on the next morning ( st) tracks of a party of horse, and marks left by the trailing of the chuzos, or long spears, were observed on the ground. it was generally thought that the indians had reconnoitred us during the night. shortly afterwards we came to a spot where, from the fresh footsteps of men, children, and horses, it was evident that the party had crossed the river. april , . the country remained the same, and was extremely uninteresting. the complete similarity of the productions throughout patagonia is one of its most striking characters. the level plains of arid shingle support the same stunted and dwarf plants; and in the valleys the same thorn-bearing bushes grow. everywhere we see the same birds and insects. even the very banks of the river and of the clear streamlets which entered it, were scarcely enlivened by a brighter tint of green. the curse of sterility is on the land, and the water flowing over a bed of pebbles partakes of the same curse. hence the number of waterfowl is very scanty; for there is nothing to support life in the stream of this barren river. patagonia, poor as she is in some respects, can however boast of a greater stock of small rodents than perhaps any other country in the world. ( / . the desserts of syria are characterised, according to volney tome page , by woody bushes, numerous rats, gazelles and hares. in the landscape of patagonia the guanaco replaces the gazelle, and the agouti the hare.) several species of mice are externally characterised by large thin ears and a very fine fur. these little animals swarm amongst the thickets in the valleys, where they cannot for months together taste a drop of water excepting the dew. they all seem to be cannibals; for no sooner was a mouse caught in one of my traps than it was devoured by others. a small and delicately-shaped fox, which is likewise very abundant, probably derives its entire support from these small animals. the guanaco is also in his proper district, herds of fifty or a hundred were common; and, as i have stated, we saw one which must have contained at least five hundred. the puma, with the condor and other carrion-hawks in its train, follows and preys upon these animals. the footsteps of the puma were to be seen almost everywhere on the banks of the river; and the remains of several guanacos, with their necks dislocated and bones broken, showed how they had met their death. april , . like the navigators of old when approaching an unknown land, we examined and watched for the most trivial sign of a change. the drifted trunk of a tree, or a boulder of primitive rock, was hailed with joy, as if we had seen a forest growing on the flanks of the cordillera. the top, however, of a heavy bank of clouds, which remained almost constantly in one position, was the most promising sign, and eventually turned out a true harbinger. at first the clouds were mistaken for the mountains themselves, instead of the masses of vapour condensed by their icy summits. april , . we this day met with a marked change in the geological structure of the plains. from the first starting i had carefully examined the gravel in the river, and for the two last days had noticed the presence of a few small pebbles of a very cellular basalt. these gradually increased in number and in size, but none were as large as a man's head. this morning, however, pebbles of the same rock, but more compact, suddenly became abundant, and in the course of half an hour we saw, at the distance of five or six miles, the angular edge of a great basaltic platform. when we arrived at its base we found the stream bubbling among the fallen blocks. for the next twenty-eight miles the river-course was encumbered with these basaltic masses. above that limit immense fragments of primitive rocks, derived from the surrounding boulder-formation, were equally numerous. none of the fragments of any considerable size had been washed more than three or four miles down the river below their parent-source: considering the singular rapidity of the great body of water in the santa cruz, and that no still reaches occur in any part, this example is a most striking one, of the inefficiency of rivers in transporting even moderately-sized fragments. the basalt is only lava which has flowed beneath the sea; but the eruptions must have been on the grandest scale. at the point where we first met this formation it was feet in thickness; following up the river-course, the surface imperceptibly rose and the mass became thicker, so that at forty miles above the first station it was feet thick. what the thickness may be close to the cordillera, i have no means of knowing, but the platform there attains a height of about three thousand feet above the level of the sea: we must therefore look to the mountains of that great chain for its source; and worthy of such a source are streams that have flowed over the gently inclined bed of the sea to a distance of one hundred miles. at the first glance of the basaltic cliffs on the opposite sides of the valley it was evident that the strata once were united. what power, then, has removed along a whole line of country a solid mass of very hard rock, which had an average thickness of nearly three hundred feet, and a breadth varying from rather less than two miles to four miles? the river, though it has so little power in transporting even inconsiderable fragments, yet in the lapse of ages might produce by its gradual erosion an effect, of which it is difficult to judge the amount. but in this case, independently of the insignificance of such an agency, good reasons can be assigned for believing that this valley was formerly occupied by an arm of the sea. it is needless in this work to detail the arguments leading to this conclusion, derived from the form and the nature of the step-formed terraces on both sides of the valley, from the manner in which the bottom of the valley near the andes expands into a great estuary-like plain with sand-hillocks on it, and from the occurrence of a few sea-shells lying in the bed of the river. if i had space i could prove that south america was formerly here cut off by a strait, joining the atlantic and pacific oceans, like that of magellan. but it may yet be asked, how has the solid basalt been removed? geologists formerly would have brought into play the violent action of some overwhelming debacle; but in this case such a supposition would have been quite inadmissible; because, the same step-like plains with existing sea-shells lying on their surface, which front the long line of the patagonian coast, sweep up on each side of the valley of santa cruz. no possible action of any flood could thus have modelled the land, either within the valley or along the open coast; and by the formation of such step-like plains or terraces the valley itself has been hollowed out. although we know that there are tides which run within the narrows of the strait of magellan at the rate of eight knots an hour, yet we must confess that it makes the head almost giddy to reflect on the number of years, century after century, which the tides, unaided by a heavy surf, must have required to have corroded so vast an area and thickness of solid basaltic lava. nevertheless, we must believe that the strata undermined by the waters of this ancient strait were broken up into huge fragments, and these lying scattered on the beach were reduced first to smaller blocks, then to pebbles, and lastly to the most impalpable mud, which the tides drifted far into the eastern or western ocean. with the change in the geological structure of the plains the character of the landscape likewise altered. while rambling up some of the narrow and rocky defiles, i could almost have fancied myself transported back again to the barren valleys of the island of st. jago. among the basaltic cliffs i found some plants which i had seen nowhere else, but others i recognised as being wanderers from tierra del fuego. these porous rocks serve as a reservoir for the scanty rain-water; and consequently on the line where the igneous and sedimentary formations unite, some small springs (most rare occurrences in patagonia) burst forth; and they could be distinguished at a distance by the circumscribed patches of bright green herbage. (plate . basaltic glen, santa cruz (rio negro). april , . the bed of the river became rather narrower, and hence the stream more rapid. it here ran at the rate of six knots an hour. from this cause, and from the many great angular fragments, tracking the boats became both dangerous and laborious. this day i shot a condor. it measured from tip to tip of the wings eight and a half feet, and from beak to tail four feet. this bird is known to have a wide geographical range, being found on the west coast of south america, from the strait of magellan along the cordillera as far as eight degrees north of the equator. the steep cliff near the mouth of the rio negro is its northern limit on the patagonian coast; and they have there wandered about four hundred miles from the great central line of their habitation in the andes. further south, among the bold precipices at the head of port desire, the condor is not uncommon; yet only a few stragglers occasionally visit the sea-coast. a line of cliff near the mouth of the santa cruz is frequented by these birds, and about eighty miles up the river, where the sides of the valley are formed by steep basaltic precipices, the condor reappears. from these facts, it seems that the condors require perpendicular cliffs. in chile, they haunt, during the greater part of the year, the lower country near the shores of the pacific, and at night several roost together in one tree; but in the early part of summer they retire to the most inaccessible parts of the inner cordillera, there to breed in peace. with respect to their propagation, i was told by the country people in chile that the condor makes no sort of nest, but in the months of november and december lays two large white eggs on a shelf of bare rock. it is said that the young condors cannot fly for an entire year; and long after they are able, they continue to roost by night, an hunt by day with their parents. the old birds generally live in pairs; but among the inland basaltic cliffs of the santa cruz i found a spot where scores must usually haunt. on coming suddenly to the brow of the precipice, it was a grand spectacle to see between twenty and thirty of these great birds start heavily from their resting-place, and wheel away in majestic circles. from the quantity of dung on the rocks, they must long have frequented this cliff for roosting and breeding. having gorged themselves with carrion on the plains below, they retire to these favourite ledges to digest their food. from these facts, the condor, like the gallinazo must to a certain degree be considered as a gregarious bird. in this part of the country they live altogether on the guanacos which have died a natural death, or as more commonly happens, have been killed by the pumas. i believe, from what i saw in patagonia, that they do not on ordinary occasions extend their daily excursions to any great distance from their regular sleeping-places. the condors may oftentimes be seen at a great height, soaring over a certain spot in the most graceful circles. on some occasions i am sure that they do this only for pleasure, but on others, the chileno countryman tells you that they are watching a dying animal, or the puma devouring its prey. if the condors glide down, and then suddenly all rise together, the chileno knows that it is the puma which, watching the carcass, has sprung out to drive away the robbers. besides feeding on carrion, the condors frequently attack young goats and lambs; and the shepherd-dogs are trained, whenever they pass over, to run out, and looking upwards to bark violently. the chilenos destroy and catch numbers. two methods are used; one is to place a carcass on a level piece of ground within an enclosure of sticks with an opening, and when the condors are gorged, to gallop up on horseback to the entrance, and thus enclose them: for when this bird has not space to run, it cannot give its body sufficient momentum to rise from the ground. the second method is to mark the trees in which, frequently to the number of five or six together, they roost, and then at night to climb up and noose them. they are such heavy sleepers, as i have myself witnessed, that this is not a difficult task. at valparaiso i have seen a living condor sold for sixpence, but the common price is eight or ten shillings. one which i saw brought in, had been tied with rope, and was much injured; yet, the moment the line was cut by which its bill was secured, although surrounded by people, it began ravenously to tear a piece of carrion. in a garden at the same place, between twenty and thirty were kept alive. they were fed only once a week, but they appeared in pretty good health. the chileno countrymen assert that the condor will live, and retain its vigour, between five and six weeks without eating: i cannot answer for the truth of this, but it is a cruel experiment, which very likely has been tried. ( / . i noticed that several hours before any one of the condors died, all the lice, with which it was infested, crawled to the outside feathers. i was assured that this always happens.) when an animal is killed in the country, it is well known that the condors, like other carrion-vultures, soon gain intelligence of it, and congregate in an inexplicable manner. in most cases it must not be overlooked, that the birds have discovered their prey, and have picked the skeleton clean, before the flesh is in the least degree tainted. remembering the experiments of m. audubon, on the little smelling powers of carrion-hawks, i tried in the above-mentioned garden the following experiment: the condors were tied, each by a rope, in a long row at the bottom of a wall; and having folded up a piece of meat in white paper, i walked backwards and forwards, carrying it in my hand at the distance of about three yards from them, but no notice whatever was taken. i then threw it on the ground, within one yard of an old male bird; he looked at it for a moment with attention, but then regarded it no more. with a stick i pushed it closer and closer, until at last he touched it with his beak; the paper was then instantly torn off with fury, and at the same moment, every bird in the long row began struggling and flapping its wings. under the same circumstances it would have been quite impossible to have deceived a dog. the evidence in favour of and against the acute smelling powers of carrion-vultures is singularly balanced. professor owen has demonstrated that the olfactory nerves of the turkey-buzzard (cathartes aura) are highly developed, and on the evening when mr. owen's paper was read at the zoological society, it was mentioned by a gentleman that he had seen the carrion-hawks in the west indies on two occasions collect on the roof of a house, when a corpse had become offensive from not having been buried: in this case, the intelligence could hardly have been acquired by sight. on the other hand, besides the experiments of audubon and that one by myself, mr. bachman has tried in the united states many varied plans, showing that neither the turkey-buzzard (the species dissected by professor owen) nor the gallinazo find their food by smell. he covered portions of highly-offensive offal with a thin canvas cloth, and strewed pieces of meat on it: these the carrion-vultures ate up, and then remained quietly standing, with their beaks within the eighth of an inch of the putrid mass, without discovering it. a small rent was made in the canvas, and the offal was immediately discovered; the canvas was replaced by a fresh piece, and meat again put on it, and was again devoured by the vultures without their discovering the hidden mass on which they were trampling. these facts are attested by the signatures of six gentlemen, besides that of mr. bachman. ( / . loudon's "magazine of natural history" volume .) often when lying down to rest on the open plains, on looking upwards, i have seen carrion-hawks sailing through the air at a great height. where the country is level i do not believe a space of the heavens, of more than fifteen degrees above the horizon, is commonly viewed with any attention by a person either walking or on horseback. if such be the case, and the vulture is on the wing at a height of between three and four thousand feet, before it could come within the range of vision, its distance in a straight line from the beholder's eye would be rather more than two british miles. might it not thus readily be overlooked? when an animal is killed by the sportsman in a lonely valley, may he not all the while be watched from above by the sharp-sighted bird? and will not the manner of its descent proclaim throughout the district to the whole family of carrion-feeders, that their prey is at hand? when the condors are wheeling in a flock round an round any spot, their flight is beautiful. except when rising from the ground, i do not recollect ever having seen one of these birds flap its wings. near lima, i watched several for nearly half an hour, without once taking off my eyes: they moved in large curves, sweeping in circles, descending and ascending without giving a single flap. as they glided close over my head, i intently watched from an oblique position the outlines of the separate and great terminal feathers of each wing; and these separate feathers, if there had been the least vibratory movement, would have appeared as if blended together; but they were seen distinct against the blue sky. the head and neck were moved frequently, and apparently with force; and the extended wings seemed to form the fulcrum on which the movements of the neck, body and tail acted. if the bird wished to descend, the wings were for a moment collapsed; and when again expanded with an altered inclination, the momentum gained by the rapid descent seemed to urge the bird upwards with the even and steady movement of a paper kite. in the case of any bird soaring, its motion must be sufficiently rapid, so that the action of the inclined surface of its body on the atmosphere may counterbalance its gravity. the force to keep up the momentum of a body moving in a horizontal plane in the air (in which there is so little friction) cannot be great, and this force is all that is wanted. the movement of the neck and body of the condor, we must suppose is sufficient for this. however this may be, it is truly wonderful and beautiful to see so great a bird, hour after hour, without any apparent exertion, wheeling and gliding over mountain and river. april , . from some high land we hailed with joy the white summits of the cordillera, as they were seen occasionally peeping through their dusky envelope of clouds. during the few succeeding days we continued to get on slowly, for we found the river-course very tortuous, and strewed with immense fragments of various ancient slaty rocks, and of granite. the plain bordering the valley had here attained an elevation of about feet above the river, and its character was much altered. the well-rounded pebbles of porphyry were mingled with many immense angular fragments of basalt and of primary rocks. the first of these erratic boulders which i noticed was sixty-seven miles distant from the nearest mountain; another which i measured was five yards square, and projected five feet above the gravel. its edges were so angular, and its size so great, that i at first mistook it for a rock in situ, and took out my compass to observe the direction of its cleavage. the plain here was not quite so level as that nearer the coast, but yet it betrayed no signs of any great violence. under these circumstances it is, i believe, quite impossible to explain the transportal of these gigantic masses of rock so many miles from their parent-source, on any theory except by that of floating icebergs. during the two last days we met with signs of horses, and with several small articles which had belonged to the indians--such as parts of a mantle and a bunch of ostrich feathers--but they appeared to have been lying long on the ground. between the place where the indians had so lately crossed the river and this neighbourhood, though so many miles apart, the country appears to be quite unfrequented. at first, considering the abundance of the guanacos, i was surprised at this; but it is explained by the stony nature of the plains, which would soon disable an unshod horse from taking part in the chase. nevertheless, in two places in this very central region, i found small heaps of stones, which i do not think could have been accidentally thrown together. they were placed on points projecting over the edge of the highest lava cliff, and they resembled, but on a small scale, those near port desire. may , . captain fitz roy determined to take the boats no higher. the river had a winding course, and was very rapid; and the appearance of the country offered no temptation to proceed any farther. everywhere we met with the same productions, and the same dreary landscape. we were now one hundred and forty miles distant from the atlantic, and about sixty from the nearest arm of the pacific. the valley in this upper part expanded into a wide basin, bounded on the north and south by the basaltic platforms, and fronted by the long range of the snow-clad cordillera. but we viewed these grand mountains with regret, for we were obliged to imagine their nature and productions, instead of standing, as we had hoped, on their summits. besides the useless loss of time which an attempt to ascend the river any higher would have cost us, we had already been for some days on half allowance of bread. this, although really enough for reasonable men, was, after a hard day's march, rather scanty food: a light stomach and an easy digestion are good things to talk about, but very unpleasant in practice. may , . before sunrise we commenced our descent. we shot down the stream with great rapidity, generally at the rate of ten knots an hour. in this one day we effected what had cost us five and a half hard days' labour in ascending. on the th we reached the "beagle" after our twenty-one days' expedition. every one, excepting myself, had cause to be dissatisfied; but to me the ascent afforded a most interesting section of the great tertiary formation of patagonia. on march st, , and again on march th, , the "beagle" anchored in berkeley sound, in east falkland island. this archipelago is situated in nearly the same latitude with the mouth of the strait of magellan; it covers a space of one hundred and twenty by sixty geographical miles, and is a little more than half the size of ireland. after the possession of these miserable islands had been contested by france, spain, and england, they were left uninhabited. the government of buenos ayres then sold them to a private individual, but likewise used them, as old spain had done before, for a penal settlement. england claimed her right an seized them. the englishman who was left in charge of the flag was consequently murdered. a british officer was next sent, unsupported by any power: and when we arrived, we found him in charge of a population, of which rather more than half were runaway rebels and murderers. the theatre is worthy of the scenes acted on it. an undulating land, with a desolate and wretched aspect, is everywhere covered by a peaty soil and wiry grass, of one monotonous brown colour. here and there a peak or ridge of grey quartz rock breaks through the smooth surface. every one has heard of the climate of these regions; it may be compared to that which is experienced at the height of between one and two thousand feet, on the mountains of north wales; having however less sunshine and less frost, but more wind and rain. ( / . from accounts published since our voyage, and more especially from several interesting letters from captain sulivan, r.n., employed on the survey, it appears that we took an exaggerated view of the badness of the climate on these islands. but when i reflect on the almost universal covering of peat, and on the fact of wheat seldom ripening here, i can hardly believe that the climate in summer is so fine and dry as it has lately been represented.) may , . i will now describe a short excursion which i made round a part of this island. in the morning i started with six horses and two gauchos: the latter were capital men for the purpose, and well accustomed to living on their own resources. the weather was very boisterous and cold, with heavy hail-storms. we got on, however, pretty well, but, except the geology, nothing could be less interesting than our day's ride. the country is uniformly the same undulating moorland; the surface being covered by light brown withered grass and a few very small shrubs, all springing out of an elastic peaty soil. in the valleys here and there might be seen a small flock of wild geese, and everywhere the ground was so soft that the snipe were able to feed. besides these two birds there were few others. there is one main range of hills, nearly two thousand feet in height, and composed of quartz rock, the rugged and barren crests of which gave us some trouble to cross. on the south side we came to the best country for wild cattle; we met, however, no great number, for they had been lately much harassed. in the evening we came across a small herd. one of my companions, st. jago by name, soon separated a fat cow; he threw the bolas, and it struck her legs, but failed in becoming entangled. then dropping his hat to mark the spot where the balls were left, while at full gallop he uncoiled his lazo, and after a most severe chase again came up to the cow, and caught her round the horns. the other gaucho had gone on ahead with the spare horses, so that st. jago had some difficulty in killing the furious beast. he managed to get her on a level piece of ground, by taking advantage of her as often as she rushed at him; and when she would not move, my horse, from having been trained, would canter up, and with his chest give her a violent push. but when on level ground it does not appear an easy job for one man to kill a beast mad with terror. nor would it be so if the horse, when left to itself without its rider, did not soon learn, for its own safety, to keep the lazo tight; so that, if the cow or ox moves forward, the horse moves just as quickly forward; otherwise, it stands motionless leaning on one side. this horse, however, was a young one, and would not stand still, but gave in to the cow as she struggled. it was admirable to see with what dexterity st. jago dodged behind the beast, till at last he contrived to give the fatal touch to the main tendon of the hind leg; after which, without much difficulty, he drove his knife into the head of the spinal marrow, and the cow dropped as if struck by lightning. he cut off pieces of flesh with the skin to it, but without any bones, sufficient for our expedition. we then rode on to our sleeping-place, and had for supper "carne con cuero," or meat roasted with the skin on it. this is as superior to common beef as venison is to mutton. a large circular piece taken from the back is roasted on the embers with the hide downwards and in the form of a saucer, so that none of the gravy is lost. if any worthy alderman had supped with us that evening, "carne con cuero," without doubt, would soon have been celebrated in london. during the night it rained, and the next day ( th) was very stormy, with much hail and snow. we rode across the island to the neck of land which joins the rincon del tor (the great peninsula at the south-west extremity) to the rest of the island. from the great number of cows which have been killed, there is a large proportion of bulls. these wander about single, or two and three together, and are very savage. i never saw such magnificent beasts; they equalled in the size of their huge heads and necks the grecian marble sculptures. captain sulivan informs me that the hide of an average-sized bull weighs forty-seven pounds, whereas a hide of this weight, less thoroughly dried, is considered as a very heavy one at monte video. the young bulls generally run away for a short distance; but the old ones do not stir a step, except to rush at man and horse; and many horses have been thus killed. an old bull crossed a boggy stream, and took his stand on the opposite side to us; we in vain tried to drive him away, and failing, were obliged to make a large circuit. the gauchos in revenge determined to emasculate him and render him for the future harmless. it was very interesting to see how art completely mastered force. one lazo was thrown over his horns as he rushed at the horse, and another round his hind legs: in a minute the monster was stretched powerless on the ground. after the lazo has once been drawn tightly round the horns of a furious animal, it does not at first appear an easy thing to disengage it again without killing the beast: nor, i apprehend, would it be so if the man was by himself. by the aid, however, of a second person throwing his lazo so as to catch both hind legs, it is quickly managed: for the animal, as long as its hind legs are kept outstretched, is quite helpless, and the first man can with his hands loosen his lazo from the horns, and then quietly mount his horse; but the moment the second man, by backing ever so little, relaxes the strain, the lazo slips off the legs of the struggling beast which then rises free, shakes himself, and vainly rushes at his antagonist. during our whole ride we saw only one troop of wild horses. these animals, as well as the cattle, were introduced by the french in , since which time both have greatly increased. it is a curious fact that the horses have never left the eastern end of the island, although there is no natural boundary to prevent them from roaming, and that part of the island is not more tempting than the rest. the gauchos whom i asked, though asserting this to be the case, were unable to account for it, except from the strong attachment which horses have to any locality to which they are accustomed. considering that the island does not appear fully stocked, and that there are no beasts of prey, i was particularly curious to know what has checked their originally rapid increase. that in a limited island some check would sooner or later supervene, is inevitable; but why has the increase of the horse been checked sooner than that of the cattle? captain sulivan has taken much pains for me in this inquiry. the gauchos employed here attribute it chiefly to the stallions constantly roaming from place to place, and compelling the mares to accompany them, whether or not the young foals are able to follow. one gaucho told captain sulivan that he had watched a stallion for a whole hour, violently kicking and biting a mare till he forced her to leave her foal to its fate. captain sulivan can so far corroborate this curious account, that he has several times found young foals dead, whereas he has never found a dead calf. moreover, the dead bodies of full-grown horses are more frequently found, as if more subject to disease or accidents than those of the cattle. from the softness of the ground their hoofs often grow irregularly to a great length, and this causes lameness. the predominant colours are roan and iron-grey. all the horses bred here, both tame and wild, are rather small-sized, though generally in good condition; and they have lost so much strength, that they are unfit to be used in taking wild cattle with the lazo: in consequence, it is necessary to go to the great expense of importing fresh horses from the plata. at some future period the southern hemisphere probably will have its breed of falkland ponies, as the northern has its shetland breed. the cattle, instead of having degenerated like the horses, seem, as before remarked, to have increased in size; and they are much more numerous than the horses. captain sulivan informs me that they vary much less in the general form of their bodies and in the shape of their horns than english cattle. in colour they differ much; and it is a remarkable circumstance, that in different parts of this one small island, different colours predominate. round mount usborne, at a height of from to feet above the sea, about half of some of the herds are mouse or lead coloured, a tint which is not common in other parts of the island. near port pleasant dark brown prevails, whereas south of choiseul sound (which almost divides the island into two parts) white beasts with black heads and feet are the most common: in all parts black, and some spotted animals may be observed. captain sulivan remarks that the difference in the prevailing colours was so obvious, that in looking for the herds near port pleasant, they appeared from a long distance like black spots, whilst south of choiseul sound they appeared like white spots on the hill-sides. captain sulivan thinks that the herds do not mingle; and it is a singular fact, that the mouse-coloured cattle, though living on the high land, calve about a month earlier in the season than the other coloured beasts on the lower land. it is interesting thus to find the once domesticated cattle breaking into three colours, of which some one colour would in all probability ultimately prevail over the others, if the herd were left undisturbed for the next several centuries. the rabbit is another animal which has been introduced, and has succeeded very well; so that they abound over large parts of the island. yet, like the horses, they are confined within certain limits; for they have not crossed the central chain of hills, nor would they have extended even so far as its base, if, as the gauchos informed me, small colonies had not been carried there. i should not have supposed that these animals, natives of northern africa, could have existed in a climate so humid as this, and which enjoys so little sunshine that even wheat ripens only occasionally. it is asserted that in sweden, which any one would have thought a more favourable climate, the rabbit cannot live out of doors. the first few pairs, moreover, had here to contend against pre-existing enemies, in the fox and some large hawks. the french naturalists have considered the black variety a distinct species, and called it lepus magellanicus. ( / . lesson's "zoology of the voyage of the coquille" tome page . all the early voyagers, and especially bougainville, distinctly state that the wolf-like fox was the only native animal on the island. the distinction of the rabbit as a species is taken from peculiarities in the fur, from the shape of the head, and from the shortness of the ears. i may here observe that the difference between the irish and english hare rests upon nearly similar characters, only more strongly marked.) they imagined that magellan, when talking of an animal under the name of "conejos" in the strait of magellan, referred to this species; but he was alluding to a small cavy, which to this day is thus called by the spaniards. the gauchos laughed at the idea of the black kind being different from the grey, and they said that at all events it had not extended its range any farther than the grey kind; that the two were never found separate; and that they readily bred together, and produced piebald offspring. of the latter i now possess a specimen, and it is marked about the head differently from the french specific description. this circumstance shows how cautious naturalists should be in making species; for even cuvier, on looking at the skull of one of these rabbits, thought it was probably distinct! the only quadruped native to the island is a large wolf-like fox (canis antarcticus), which is common to both east and west falkland. ( / . i have reason, however, to suspect that there is a field-mouse. the common european rat and mouse have roamed far from the habitations of the settlers. the common hog has also run wild on one islet; all are of a black colour: the boars are very fierce, and have great tusks.) i have no doubt it is a peculiar species, and confined to this archipelago; because many sealers, gauchos, and indians, who have visited these islands, all maintain that no such animal is found in any part of south america. molina, from a similarity in habits, thought that this was the same with his "culpeu" ( / . the "culpeu" is the canis magellanicus brought home by captain king from the strait of magellan. it is common in chile.); but i have seen both, and they are quite distinct. these wolves are well known from byron's account of their tameness and curiosity, which the sailors, who ran into the water to avoid them, mistook for fierceness. to this day their manners remain the same. they have been observed to enter a tent, and actually pull some meat from beneath the head of a sleeping seaman. the gauchos also have frequently in the evening killed them, by holding out a piece of meat in one hand, and in the other a knife ready to stick them. as far as i am aware, there is no other instance in any part of the world, of so small a mass of broken land, distant from a continent, possessing so large an aboriginal quadruped peculiar to itself. their numbers have rapidly decreased; they are already banished from that half of the island which lies to the eastward of the neck of land between st. salvador bay and berkeley sound. within a very few years after these islands shall have become regularly settled, in all probability this fox will be classed with the dodo, as an animal which has perished from the face of the earth. at night ( th) we slept on the neck of land at the head of choiseul sound, which forms the south-west peninsula. the valley was pretty well sheltered from the cold wind; but there was very little brushwood for fuel. the gauchos, however, soon found what, to my great surprise, made nearly as hot a fire as coals; this was the skeleton of a bullock lately killed, from which the flesh had been picked by the carrion-hawks. they told me that in winter they often killed a beast, cleaned the flesh from the bones with their knives and then with these same bones roasted the meat for their suppers. may , . it rained during nearly the whole day. at night we managed, however, with our saddle-cloths to keep ourselves pretty well dry and warm; but the ground on which we slept was on each occasion nearly in the state of a bog, and there was not a dry spot to sit down on after our day's ride. i have in another part stated how singular it is that there should be absolutely no trees on these islands, although tierra del fuego is covered by one large forest. the largest bush in the island (belonging to the family of compositae) is scarcely so tall as our gorse. the best fuel is afforded by a green little bush about the size of common heath, which has the useful property of burning while fresh and green. it was very surprising to see the gauchos, in the midst of rain and everything soaking wet, with nothing more than a tinder-box and a piece of rag, immediately make a fire. they sought beneath the tufts of grass and bushes for a few dry twigs, and these they rubbed into fibres; then surrounding them with coarser twigs, something like a bird's nest, they put the rag with its spark of fire in the middle and covered it up. the nest being then held up to the wind, by degrees it smoked more and more, and at last burst out in flames. i do not think any other method would have had a chance of succeeding with such damp materials. may , . each morning, from not having ridden for some time previously, i was very stiff. i was surprised to hear the gauchos, who have from infancy almost lived on horseback, say that, under similar circumstances, they always suffer. st. jago told me, that having been confined for three months by illness, he went out hunting wild cattle, and in consequence, for the next two days, his thighs were so stiff that he was obliged to lie in bed. this shows that the gauchos, although they do not appear to do so, yet really must exert much muscular effort in riding. the hunting wild cattle, in a country so difficult to pass as this is on account of the swampy ground, must be very hard work. the gauchos say they often pass at full speed over ground which would be impassable at a slower pace; in the same manner as a man is able to skate over thin ice. when hunting, the party endeavours to get as close as possible to the herd without being discovered. each man carries four or five pair of the bolas; these he throws one after the other at as many cattle, which, when once entangled, are left for some days, till they become a little exhausted by hunger and struggling. they are then let free and driven towards a small herd of tame animals, which have been brought to the spot on purpose. from their previous treatment, being too much terrified to leave the herd, they are easily driven, if their strength last out, to the settlement. the weather continued so very bad that we determine to make a push, and try to reach the vessel before night. from the quantity of rain which had fallen, the surface of the whole country was swampy. i suppose my horse fell at least a dozen times, and sometimes the whole six horses were floundering in the mud together. all the little streams are bordered by soft peat, which makes it very difficult for the horses to leap them without falling. to complete our discomforts we were obliged to cross the head of a creek of the sea, in which the water was as high as our horses' backs; and the little waves, owing to the violence of the wind, broke over us, and made us very wet and cold. even the iron-framed gauchos professed themselves glad when they reached the settlement, after our little excursion. the geological structure of these islands is in most respects simple. the lower country consists of clay-slate and sandstone, containing fossils, very closely related to, but not identical with, those found in the silurian formations of europe; the hills are formed of white granular quartz rock. the strata of the latter are frequently arched with perfect symmetry, and the appearance of some of the masses is in consequence most singular. pernety has devoted several pages to the description of a hill of ruins, the successive strata of which he has justly compared to the seats of an amphitheatre. ( / . pernety "voyage aux isles malouines" page .) the quartz rock must have been quite pasty when it underwent such remarkable flexures without being shattered into fragments. as the quartz insensibly passes into the sandstone, it seems probable that the former owes its origin to the sandstone having been heated to such a degree that it became viscid, and upon cooling crystallised. while in the soft state it must have been pushed up through the overlying beds. in many parts of the island the bottoms of the valleys are covered in an extraordinary manner by myriads of great loose angular fragments of the quartz rock, forming "streams of stones." these have been mentioned with surprise by every voyager since the time of pernety. the blocks are not waterworn, their angles being only a little blunted; they vary in size from one or two feet in diameter to ten, or even more than twenty times as much. they are not thrown together into irregular piles, but are spread out into level sheets or great streams. it is not possible to ascertain their thickness, but the water of small streamlets can be heard trickling through the stones many feet below the surface. the actual depth is probably great, because the crevices between the lower fragments must long ago have been filled up with sand. the width of these sheets of stones varies from a few hundred feet to a mile; but the peaty soil daily encroaches on the borders, and even forms islets wherever a few fragments happen to lie close together. in a valley south of berkeley sound, which some of our party called the "great valley of fragments," it was necessary to cross an uninterrupted band half a mile wide, by jumping from one pointed stone to another. so large were the fragments, that being overtaken by a shower of rain, i readily found shelter beneath one of them. their little inclination is the most remarkable circumstance in these "streams of stones." on the hill-sides i have seen them sloping at an angle of ten degrees with the horizon; but in some of the level, broad-bottomed valleys, the inclination is only just sufficient to be clearly perceived. on so rugged a surface there was no means of measuring the angle; but to give a common illustration, i may say that the slope would not have checked the speed of an english mail-coach. in some places a continuous stream of these fragments followed up the course of a valley, and even extended to the very crest of the hill. on these crests huge masses, exceeding in dimensions any small building, seemed to stand arrested in their headlong course: there, also, the curved strata of the archways lay piled on each other, like the ruins of some vast and ancient cathedral. in endeavouring to describe these scenes of violence one is tempted to pass from one simile to another. we may imagine that streams of white lava had flowed from many parts of the mountains into the lower country, and that when solidified they had been rent by some enormous convulsion into myriads of fragments. the expression "streams of stones," which immediately occurred to every one, conveys the same idea. these scenes are on the spot rendered more striking by the contrast of the low, rounded forms of the neighbouring hills. i was interested by finding on the highest peak of one range (about feet above the sea) a great arched fragment, lying on its convex side, or back downwards. must we believe that it was fairly pitched up in the air, and thus turned? or, with more probability, that there existed formerly a part of the same range more elevated than the point on which this monument of a great convulsion of nature now lies. as the fragments in the valleys are neither rounded nor the crevices filled up with sand, we must infer that the period of violence was subsequent to the land having been raised above the waters of the sea. in a transverse section within these valleys the bottom is nearly level, or rises but very little towards either side. hence the fragments appear to have travelled from the head of the valley; but in reality it seems more probable that they have been hurled down from the nearest slopes; and that since, by a vibratory movement of overwhelming force, the fragments have been levelled into one continuous sheet. ( / . "nous n'avons pas été moins saisis d'étonnement à la vûe de l'innombrable quantité de pierres de toutes grandeurs, bouleversées les unes sur les autres, et cependant rangées, comme si elles avoient été amoncelées négligemment pour remplir des ravins. on ne se lassoit pas d'admirer les effets prodigieux de la nature." "pernety" page .) if during the earthquake which in overthrew concepcion, in chile, it was thought wonderful that small bodies should have been pitched a few inches from the ground, what must we say to a movement which has caused fragments many tons in weight to move onwards like so much sand on a vibrating board, and find their level? ( / . an inhabitant of mendoza, and hence well capable of judging, assured me that, during the several years he had resided on these islands, he had never felt the slightest shock of an earthquake.) i have seen, in the cordillera of the andes, the evident marks where stupendous mountains have been broken into pieces like so much thin crust, and the strata thrown on their vertical edges; but never did any scene, like these "streams of stones," so forcibly convey to my mind the idea of a convulsion, of which in historical records we might in vain seek for any counterpart: yet the progress of knowledge will probably some day give a simple explanation of this phenomenon, as it already has of the so long thought inexplicable transportal of the erratic boulders which are strewed over the plains of europe. i have little to remark on the zoology of these islands. i have before described the carrion-vulture of polyborus. there are some other hawks, owls, and a few small land-birds. the waterfowl are particularly numerous, and they must formerly, from the accounts of the old navigators, have been much more so. one day i observed a cormorant playing with a fish which it had caught. eight times successively the bird let its prey go, then dived after it, and although in deep water, brought it each time to the surface. in the zoological gardens i have seen the otter treat a fish in the same manner, much as a cat does a mouse: i do not know of any other instance where dame nature appears so wilfully cruel. another day, having placed myself between a penguin (aptenodytes demersa) and the water, i was much amused by watching its habits. it was a brave bird; and till reaching the sea, it regularly fought and drove me backwards. nothing less than heavy blows would have stopped him; every inch he gained he firmly kept, standing close before me erect and determined. when thus opposed he continually rolled his head from side to side, in a very odd manner, as if the power of distinct vision lay only in the anterior and basal part of each eye. this bird is commonly called the jackass penguin, from its habit, while on shore, of throwing its head backwards, and making a loud strange noise, very like the braying of an ass; but while at sea, and undisturbed, its note is very deep and solemn, and is often heard in the night-time. in diving, its little wings are used as fins; but on the land, as front legs. when crawling, it may be said on four legs, through the tussocks or on the side of a grassy cliff, it moves so very quickly that it might easily be mistaken for a quadruped. when at sea and fishing, it comes to the surface for the purpose of breathing with such a spring, and dives again so instantaneously, that i defy any one at first sight to be sure that it was not a fish leaping for sport. two kinds of geese frequent the falklands. the upland species (anas magellanica) is common, in pairs and in small flocks, throughout the island. they do not migrate, but build on the small outlying islets. this is supposed to be from fear of the foxes: and it is perhaps from the same cause that these birds, though very tame by day, are shy and wild in the dusk of the evening. they live entirely on vegetable matter. the rock-goose, so called from living exclusively on the sea-beach (anas antarctica), is common both here and on the west coast of america, as far north as chile. in the deep and retired channels of tierra del fuego, the snow-white gander, invariably accompanied by his darker consort, and standing close by each other on some distant rocky point, is a common feature in the landscape. in these islands a great loggerheaded duck or goose (anas brachyptera), which sometimes weighs twenty-two pounds, is very abundant. these birds were in former days called, from their extraordinary manner of paddling and splashing upon the water, racehorses; but now they are named, much more appropriately, steamers. their wings are too small and weak to allow of flight, but by their aid, partly swimming and partly flapping the surface of the water, they move very quickly. the manner is something like that by which the common house-duck escapes when pursued by a dog; but i am nearly sure that the steamer moves its wings alternately, instead of both together, as in other birds. these clumsy, loggerheaded ducks make such a noise and splashing, that the effect is exceedingly curious. thus we find in south america three birds which use their wings for other purposes besides flight; the penguin as fins, the steamer as paddles, and the ostrich as sails: and the apteryx of new zealand, as well as its gigantic extinct prototype the deinornis, possess only rudimentary representatives of wings. the steamer is able to dive only to a very short distance. it feeds entirely on shell-fish from the kelp and tidal rocks; hence the beak and head, for the purpose of breaking them, are surprisingly heavy and strong: the head is so strong that i have scarcely been able to fracture it with my geological hammer; and all our sportsmen soon discovered how tenacious these birds were of life. when in the evening pluming themselves in a flock, they make the same odd mixture of sounds which bull-frogs do within the tropics. in tierra del fuego, as well as in the falkland islands, i made many observations on the lower marine animals, but they are of little general interest. ( / . i was surprised to find, on counting the eggs of a large white doris (this sea-slug was three and a half inches long), how extraordinarily numerous they were. from two to five eggs (each three-thousandths of an inch in diameter) were contained in spherical little case. these were arranged two deep in transverse rows forming a ribbon. the ribbon adhered by its edge to the rock in an oval spire. one which i found measured nearly twenty inches in length and half in breadth. by counting how many balls were contained in a tenth of an inch in the row, and how many rows in an equal length of the ribbon, on the most moderate computation there were six hundred thousand eggs. yet this doris was certainly not very common: although i was often searching under the stones, i saw only seven individuals. no fallacy is more common with naturalists, than that the numbers of an individual species depend on its powers of propagation.) i will mention only one class of facts, relating to certain zoophytes in the more highly organised division of that class. several genera (flustra, eschara, cellaria, crisia, and others) agree in having singular movable organs (like those of flustra avicularia, found in the european seas) attached to their cells. the organ, in the greater number of cases, very closely resembles the head of a vulture; but the lower mandible can be opened much wider than in a real bird's beak. the head itself possesses considerable powers of movement, by means of a short neck. in one zoophyte the head itself was fixed, but the lower jaw free: in another it was replaced by a triangular hood, with a beautifully-fitted trap-door, which evidently answered to the lower mandible. in the greater number of species, each cell was provided with one head, but in others each cell had two. the young cells at the end of the branches of these corallines contain quite immature polypi, yet the vulture-heads attached to them, though small, are in every respect perfect. when the polypus was removed by a needle from any of the cells, these organs did not appear in the least affected. when one of the vulture-like heads was cut off from the cell, the lower mandible retained its power of opening and closing. perhaps the most singular part of their structure is, that when there were more than two rows of cells on a branch, the central cells were furnished with these appendages, of only one-fourth the size of the outside ones. their movements varied according to the species; but in some i never saw the least motion; while others, with the lower mandible generally wide open, oscillated backwards and forwards at the rate of about five seconds each turn; others moved rapidly and by starts. when touched with a needle, the beak generally seized the point so firmly that the whole branch might be shaken. these bodies have no relation whatever with the production of the eggs or gemmules, as they are formed before the young polypi appear in the cells at the end of the growing branches; as they move independently of the polypi, and do not appear to be in any way connected with them; and as they differ in size on the outer and inner rows of cells, i have little doubt that in their functions they are related rather to the horny axis of the branches than to the polypi in the cells. the fleshy appendage at the lower extremity of the sea-pen (described at bahia blanca) also forms part of the zoophyte, as a whole, in the same manner as the roots of a tree form part of the whole tree, and not of the individual leaf or flower-buds. in another elegant little coralline (crisia?) each cell was furnished with a long-toothed bristle, which had the power of moving quickly. each of these bristles and each of the vulture-like heads generally moved quite independently of the others, but sometimes all on both sides of a branch, sometimes only those on one side, moved together coinstantaneously; sometimes each moved in regular order one after another. in these actions we apparently behold as perfect a transmission of will in the zoophyte, though composed of thousands of distinct polypi, as in any single animal. the case, indeed, is not different from that of the sea-pens, which, when touched, drew themselves into the sand on the coast of bahia blanca. i will state one other instance of uniform action, though of a very different nature, in a zoophyte closely allied to clytia, and therefore very simply organised. having kept a large tuft of it in a basin of salt-water, when it was dark i found that as often as i rubbed any part of a branch, the whole became strongly phosphorescent with a green light: i do not think i ever saw any object more beautifully so. but the remarkable circumstance was, that the flashes of light always proceeded up the branches, from the base towards the extremities. the examination of these compound animals was always very interesting to me. what can be more remarkable than to see a plant-like body producing an egg, capable of swimming about and of choosing a proper place to adhere to, which then sprouts into branches, each crowded with innumerable distinct animals, often of complicated organisations. the branches, moreover, as we have just seen, sometimes possess organs capable of movement and independent of the polypi. surprising as this union of separate individuals in a common stock must always appear, every tree displays the same fact, for buds must be considered as individual plants. it is, however, natural to consider a polypus, furnished with a mouth, intestines, and other organs, as a distinct individual, whereas the individuality of a leaf-bud is not easily realised; so that the union of separate individuals in a common body is more striking in a coralline than in a tree. our conception of a compound animal, where in some respects the individuality of each is not completed, may be aided, by reflecting on the production of two distinct creatures by bisecting a single one with a knife, or where nature herself performs the task of bisection. we may consider the polypi in a zoophyte, or the buds in a tree, as cases where the division of the individual has not been completely effected. certainly in the case of trees, and judging from analogy in that of corallines, the individuals propagated by buds seem more intimately related to each other, than eggs or seeds are to their parents. it seems now pretty well established that plants propagated by buds all partake of a common duration of life; and it is familiar to every one, what singular and numerous peculiarities are transmitted with certainty, by buds, layers, and grafts, which by seminal propagation never or only casually reappear. (plate . berkeley sound, falkland islands.) chapter x. (plate . york minster (bearing south degrees east.) tierra del fuego, first arrival. good success bay. an account of the fuegians on board. interview with the savages. scenery of the forests. cape horn. wigwam cove. miserable condition of the savages. famines. cannibals. matricide. religious feelings. great gale. beagle channel. ponsonby sound. build wigwams and settle the fuegians. bifurcation of the beagle channel. glaciers. return to the ship. second visit in the ship to the settlement. equality of condition amongst the natives. tierra del fuego. december , . having now finished with patagonia and the falkland islands, i will describe our first arrival in tierra del fuego. a little after noon we doubled cape st. diego, and entered the famous strait of le maire. we kept close to the fuegian shore, but the outline of the rugged, inhospitable staten-land was visible amidst the clouds. in the afternoon we anchored in the bay of good success. while entering we were saluted in a manner becoming the inhabitants of this savage land. a group of fuegians partly concealed by the entangled forest, were perched on a wild point overhanging the sea; and as we passed by, they sprang up and waving their tattered cloaks sent forth a loud and sonorous shout. the savages followed the ship, and just before dark we saw their fire, and again heard their wild cry. the harbour consists of a fine piece of water half surrounded by low rounded mountains of clay-slate, which are covered to the water's edge by one dense gloomy forest. a single glance at the landscape was sufficient to show me how widely different it was from anything i had ever beheld. at night it blew a gale of wind, and heavy squalls from the mountains swept past us. it would have been a bad time out at sea, and we, as well as others, may call this good success bay. in the morning the captain sent a party to communicate with the fuegians. when we came within hail, one of the four natives who were present advanced to receive us, and began to shout most vehemently, wishing to direct us where to land. when we were on shore the party looked rather alarmed, but continued talking and making gestures with great rapidity. it was without exception the most curious and interesting spectacle i ever beheld: i could not have believed how wide was the difference between savage and civilised man: it is greater than between a wild and domesticated animal, inasmuch as in man there is a greater power of improvement. the chief spokesman was old, and appeared to be the head of the family; the three others were powerful young men, about six feet high. the women and children had been sent away. these fuegians are a very different race from the stunted, miserable wretches farther westward; and they seem closely allied to the famous patagonians of the strait of magellan. their only garment consists of a mantle made of guanaco skin, with the wool outside: this they wear just thrown over their shoulders, leaving their persons as often exposed as covered. their skin is of a dirty coppery-red colour. the old man had a fillet of white feathers tied round his head, which partly confined his black, coarse, and entangled hair. his face was crossed by two broad transverse bars; one, painted bright red, reached from ear to ear and included the upper lip; the other, white like chalk, extended above and parallel to the first, so that even his eyelids were thus coloured. the other two men were ornamented by streaks of black powder, made of charcoal. the party altogether closely resembled the devils which come on the stage in plays like der freischutz. their very attitudes were abject, and the expression of their countenances distrustful, surprised, and startled. after we had presented them with some scarlet cloth, which they immediately tied round their necks, they became good friends. this was shown by the old man patting our breasts, and making a chuckling kind of noise, as people do when feeding chickens. i walked with the old man, and this demonstration of friendship was repeated several times; it was concluded by three hard slaps, which were given me on the breast and back at the same time. he then bared his bosom for me to return the compliment, which being done, he seemed highly pleased. the language of these people, according to our notions, scarcely deserves to be called articulate. captain cook has compared it to a man clearing his throat, but certainly no european ever cleared his throat with so many hoarse, guttural, and clicking sounds. they are excellent mimics: as often as we coughed or yawned, or made any odd motion, they immediately imitated us. some of our party began to squint and look awry; but one of the young fuegians (whose whole face was painted black, excepting a white band across his eyes) succeeded in making far more hideous grimaces. they could repeat with perfect correctness each word in any sentence we addressed them, and they remembered such words for some time. yet we europeans all know how difficult it is to distinguish apart the sounds in a foreign language. which of us, for instance, could follow an american indian through a sentence of more than three words? all savages appear to possess, to an uncommon degree, this power of mimicry. i was told, almost in the same words, of the same ludicrous habit among the caffres; the australians, likewise, have long been notorious for being able to imitate and describe the gait of any man, so that he may be recognised. how can this faculty be explained? is it a consequence of the more practised habits of perception and keener senses, common to all men in a savage state, as compared with those long civilised? when a song was struck up by our party, i thought the fuegians would have fallen down with astonishment. with equal surprise they viewed our dancing; but one of the young men, when asked, had no objection to a little waltzing. little accustomed to europeans as they appeared to be, yet they knew and dreaded our firearms; nothing would tempt them to take a gun in their hands. they begged for knives, calling them by the spanish word "cuchilla." they explained also what they wanted, by acting as if they had a piece of blubber in their mouth, and then pretending to cut instead of tear it. i have not as yet noticed the fuegians whom we had on board. during the former voyage of the "adventure" and "beagle" in to , captain fitz roy seized on a party of natives, as hostages for the loss of a boat, which had been stolen, to the great jeopardy of a party employed on the survey; and some of these natives, as well as a child whom he bought for a pearl-button, he took with him to england, determining to educate them and instruct them in religion at his own expense. to settle these natives in their own country was one chief inducement to captain fitz roy to undertake our present voyage; and before the admiralty had resolved to send out this expedition, captain fitz roy had generously chartered a vessel, and would himself have taken them back. the natives were accompanied by a missionary, r. matthews; of whom and of the natives, captain fitz roy has published a full and excellent account. two men, one of whom died in england of the smallpox, a boy and a little girl, were originally taken; and we had now on board, york minster, jemmy button (whose name expresses his purchase-money), and fuegia basket. york minster was a full-grown, short, thick, powerful man: his disposition was reserved, taciturn, morose, and when excited violently passionate; his affections were very strong towards a few friends on board; his intellect good. jemmy button was a universal favourite, but likewise passionate; the expression of his face at once showed his nice disposition. he was merry and often laughed, and was remarkably sympathetic with any one in pain: when the water was rough, i was often a little sea-sick, and he used to come to me and say in a plaintive voice, "poor, poor fellow!" but the notion, after his aquatic life, of a man being sea-sick, was too ludicrous, and he was generally obliged to turn on one side to hide a smile or laugh, and then he would repeat his "poor, poor fellow!" he was of a patriotic disposition; and he liked to praise his own tribe and country, in which he truly said there were "plenty of trees," and he abused all the other tribes: he stoutly declared that there was no devil in his land. jemmy was short, thick, and fat, but vain of his personal appearance; he used always to wear gloves, his hair was neatly cut, and he was distressed if his well-polished shoes were dirtied. he was fond of admiring himself in a looking glass; and a merry-faced little indian boy from the rio negro, whom we had for some months on board, soon perceived this, and used to mock him: jemmy, who was always rather jealous of the attention paid to this little boy, did not at all like this, and used to say, with rather a contemptuous twist of his head, "too much skylark." it seems yet wonderful to me, when i think over all his many good qualities, that he should have been of the same race, and doubtless partaken of the same character, with the miserable, degraded savages whom we first met here. lastly, fuegia basket was a nice, modest, reserved young girl, with a rather pleasing but sometimes sullen expression, and very quick in learning anything, especially languages. this she showed in picking up some portuguese and spanish, when left on shore for only a short time at rio de janeiro and monte video, and in her knowledge of english. york minster was very jealous of any attention paid to her; for it was clear he determined to marry her as soon as they were settled on shore. although all three could both speak and understand a good deal of english, it was singularly difficult to obtain much information from them concerning the habits of their countrymen; this was partly owing to their apparent difficulty in understanding the simplest alternative. every one accustomed to very young children knows how seldom one can get an answer even to so simple a question as whether a thing is black or white; the idea of black or white seems alternately to fill their minds. so it was with these fuegians, and hence it was generally impossible to find out, by cross-questioning, whether one had rightly understood anything which they had asserted. their sight was remarkably acute; it is well known that sailors, from long practice, can make out a distant object much better than a landsman; but both york and jemmy were much superior to any sailor on board: several times they have declared what some distant object has been, and though doubted by every one, they have proved right when it has been examined through a telescope. they were quite conscious of this power; and jemmy, when he had any little quarrel with the officer on watch, would say, "me see ship, me no tell." it was interesting to watch the conduct of the savages, when we landed, towards jemmy button: they immediately perceived the difference between him and ourselves, and held much conversation one with another on the subject. the old man addressed a long harangue to jemmy, which it seems was to invite him to stay with them. but jemmy understood very little of their language, and was, moreover, thoroughly ashamed of his countrymen. when york minster afterwards came on shore, they noticed him in the same way, and told him he ought to shave; yet he had not twenty dwarf hairs on his face, whilst we all wore our untrimmed beards. they examined the colour of his skin, and compared it with ours. one of our arms being bared, they expressed the liveliest surprise and admiration at its whiteness, just in the same way in which i have seen the ourang-outang do at the zoological gardens. we thought that they mistook two or three of the officers, who were rather shorter and fairer, though adorned with large beards, for the ladies of our party. the tallest amongst the fuegians was evidently much pleased at his height being noticed. when placed back to back with the tallest of the boat's crew, he tried his best to edge on higher ground, and to stand on tiptoe. he opened his mouth to show his teeth, and turned his face for a side view; and all this was done with such alacrity, that i daresay he thought himself the handsomest man in tierra del fuego. after our first feeling of grave astonishment was over, nothing could be more ludicrous than the odd mixture of surprise and imitation which these savages every moment exhibited. the next day i attempted to penetrate some way into the country. tierra del fuego may be described as a mountainous land, partly submerged in the sea, so that deep inlets and bays occupy the place where valleys should exist. the mountain sides, except on the exposed western coast, are covered from the water's edge upwards by one great forest. the trees reach to an elevation of between and feet, and are succeeded by a band of peat, with minute alpine plants; and this again is succeeded by the line of perpetual snow, which, according to captain king, in the strait of magellan descends to between and feet. to find an acre of level land in any part of the country is most rare. i recollect only one little flat piece near port famine, and another of rather larger extent near goeree road. in both places, and everywhere else, the surface is covered by a thick bed of swampy peat. even within the forest, the ground is concealed by a mass of slowly putrefying vegetable matter, which, from being soaked with water, yields to the foot. finding it nearly hopeless to push my way through the wood, i followed the course of a mountain torrent. at first, from the waterfalls and number of dead trees, i could hardly crawl along; but the bed of the stream soon became a little more open, from the floods having swept the sides. i continued slowly to advance for an hour along the broken and rocky banks, and was amply repaid by the grandeur of the scene. the gloomy depth of the ravine well accorded with the universal signs of violence. on every side were lying irregular masses of rock and torn-up trees; other trees, though still erect, were decayed to the heart and ready to fall. the entangled mass of the thriving and the fallen reminded me of the forests within the tropics--yet there was a difference: for in these still solitudes, death, instead of life, seemed the predominant spirit. i followed the watercourse till i came to a spot where a great slip had cleared a straight space down the mountain side. by this road i ascended to a considerable elevation, and obtained a good view of the surrounding woods. the trees all belong to one kind, the fagus betuloides; for the number of the other species of fagus and of the winter's bark is quite inconsiderable. this beech keeps its leaves throughout the year; but its foliage is of a peculiar brownish-green colour, with a tinge of yellow. as the whole landscape is thus coloured, it has a sombre, dull appearance; nor is it often enlivened by the rays of the sun. december , . one side of the harbour is formed by a hill about feet high, which captain fitz roy has called after sir j. banks, in commemoration of his disastrous excursion which proved fatal to two men of his party, and nearly so to dr. solander. the snow-storm, which was the cause of their misfortune, happened in the middle of january, corresponding to our july, and in the latitude of durham! i was anxious to reach the summit of this mountain to collect alpine plants; for flowers of any kind in the lower parts are few in number. we followed the same watercourse as on the previous day, till it dwindled away, and we were then compelled to crawl blindly among the trees. these, from the effects of the elevation and of the impetuous winds, were low, thick and crooked. at length we reached that which from a distance appeared like a carpet of fine green turf, but which, to our vexation, turned out to be a compact mass of little beech-trees about four or five feet high. they were as thick together as box in the border of a garden, and we were obliged to struggle over the flat but treacherous surface. after a little more trouble we gained the peat, and then the bare slate rock. a ridge connected this hill with another, distant some miles, and more lofty, so that patches of snow were lying on it. as the day was not far advanced, i determined to walk there and collect plants along the road. it would have been very hard work, had it not been for a well-beaten and straight path made by the guanacos; for these animals, like sheep, always follow the same line. when we reached the hill we found it the highest in the immediate neighbourhood, and the waters flowed to the sea in opposite directions. we obtained a wide view over the surrounding country: to the north a swampy moorland extended, but to the south we had a scene of savage magnificence, well becoming tierra del fuego. there was a degree of mysterious grandeur in mountain behind mountain, with the deep intervening valleys, all covered by one thick, dusky mass of forest. the atmosphere, likewise, in this climate, where gale succeeds gale, with rain, hail, and sleet, seems blacker than anywhere else. in the strait of magellan, looking due southward from port famine, the distant channels between the mountains appeared from their gloominess to lead beyond the confines of this world. december , . (plate . cape horn.) (plate . cape horn (another view).) the "beagle" got under way: and on the succeeding day, favoured to an uncommon degree by a fine easterly breeze, we closed in with the barnevelts, and running past cape deceit with its stony peaks, about three o'clock doubled the weather-beaten cape horn. the evening was calm and bright, and we enjoyed a fine view of the surrounding isles. cape horn, however, demanded his tribute, and before night sent us a gale of wind directly in our teeth. we stood out to sea, and on the second day again made the land, when we saw on our weather-bow this notorious promontory in its proper form--veiled in a mist, and its dim outline surrounded by a storm of wind and water. great black clouds were rolling across the heavens, and squalls of rain, with hail, swept by us with such extreme violence, that the captain determined to run into wigwam cove. this is a snug little harbour, not far from cape horn; and here, at christmas-eve, we anchored in smooth water. the only thing which reminded us of the gale outside was every now and then a puff from the mountains, which made the ship surge at her anchors. december , . close by the cove, a pointed hill, called kater's peak, rises to the height of feet. the surrounding islands all consist of conical masses of greenstone, associated sometimes with less regular hills of baked and altered clay-slate. this part of tierra del fuego may be considered as the extremity of the submerged chain of mountains already alluded to. the cove takes its name of "wigwam" from some of the fuegian habitations; but every bay in the neighbourhood might be so called with equal propriety. the inhabitants, living chiefly upon shell-fish, are obliged constantly to change their place of residence; but they return at intervals to the same spots, as is evident from the piles of old shells, which must often amount to many tons in weight. these heaps can be distinguished at a long distance by the bright green colour of certain plants, which invariably grow on them. among these may be enumerated the wild celery and scurvy grass, two very serviceable plants, the use of which has not been discovered by the natives. the fuegian wigwam resembles, in size and dimensions, a haycock. it merely consists of a few broken branches stuck in the ground, and very imperfectly thatched on one side with a few tufts of grass and rushes. the whole cannot be the work of an hour, and it is only used for a few days. at goeree roads i saw a place where one of these naked men had slept, which absolutely offered no more cover than the form of a hare. the man was evidently living by himself, and york minster said he was "very bad man," and that probably he had stolen something. on the west coast, however, the wigwams are rather better, for they are covered with seal-skins. we were detained here several days by the bad weather. the climate is certainly wretched: the summer solstice was now past, yet every day snow fell on the hills, and in the valleys there was rain, accompanied by sleet. the thermometer generally stood about degrees, but in the night fell to or degrees. from the damp and boisterous state of the atmosphere, not cheered by a gleam of sunshine, one fancied the climate even worse than it really was. while going one day on shore near wollaston island, we pulled alongside a canoe with six fuegians. these were the most abject and miserable creatures i anywhere beheld. on the east coast the natives, as we have seen, have guanaco cloaks, and on the west they possess seal-skins. amongst these central tribes the men generally have an otter-skin, or some small scrap about as large as a pocket-handkerchief, which is barely sufficient to cover their backs as low down as their loins. it is laced across the breast by strings, and according as the wind blows, it is shifted from side to side. but these fuegians in the canoe were quite naked, and even one full-grown woman was absolutely so. it was raining heavily, and the fresh water, together with the spray, trickled down her body. in another harbour not far distant, a woman, who was suckling a recently-born child, came one day alongside the vessel, and remained there out of mere curiosity, whilst the sleet fell and thawed on her naked bosom, and on the skin of her naked baby! these poor wretches were stunted in their growth, their hideous faces bedaubed with white paint, their skins filthy and greasy, their hair entangled, their voices discordant, and their gestures violent. viewing such men, one can hardly make oneself believe that they are fellow-creatures, and inhabitants of the same world. it is a common subject of conjecture what pleasure in life some of the lower animals can enjoy: how much more reasonably the same question may be asked with respect to these barbarians! at night five or six human beings, naked and scarcely protected from the wind and rain of this tempestuous climate, sleep on the wet ground coiled up like animals. whenever it is low water, winter or summer, night or day, they must rise to pick shellfish from the rocks; and the women either dive to collect sea-eggs, or sit patiently in their canoes, and with a baited hair-line without any hook, jerk out little fish. if a seal is killed, or the floating carcass of a putrid whale is discovered, it is a feast; and such miserable food is assisted by a few tasteless berries and fungi. they often suffer from famine: i heard mr. low, a sealing-master intimately acquainted with the natives of this country, give a curious account of the state of a party of one hundred and fifty natives on the west coast, who were very thin and in great distress. a succession of gales prevented the women from getting shell-fish on the rocks, and they could not go out in their canoes to catch seal. a small party of these men one morning set out, and the other indians explained to him that they were going a four days' journey for food: on their return, low went to meet them, and he found them excessively tired, each man carrying a great square piece of putrid whales-blubber with a hole in the middle, through which they put their heads, like the gauchos do through their ponchos or cloaks. as soon as the blubber was brought into a wigwam, an old man cut off thin slices, and muttering over them, broiled them for a minute, and distributed them to the famished party, who during this time preserved a profound silence. mr. low believes that whenever a whale is cast on shore, the natives bury large pieces of it in the sand, as a resource in time of famine; and a native boy, whom he had on board, once found a stock thus buried. the different tribes when at war are cannibals. from the concurrent, but quite independent evidence of the boy taken by mr. low, and of jemmy button, it is certainly true, that when pressed in winter by hunger they kill and devour their old women before they kill their dogs: the boy, being asked by mr. low why they did this, answered, "doggies catch otters, old women no." this boy described the manner in which they are killed by being held over smoke and thus choked; he imitated their screams as a joke, and described the parts of their bodies which are considered best to eat. horrid as such a death by the hands of their friends and relatives must be, the fears of the old women, when hunger begins to press, are more painful to think of; we were told that they then often run away into the mountains, but that they are pursued by the men and brought back to the slaughter-house at their own firesides! captain fitz roy could never ascertain that the fuegians have any distinct belief in a future life. they sometimes bury their dead in caves, and sometimes in the mountain forests; we do not know what ceremonies they perform. jemmy button would not eat land-birds, because "eat dead men"; they are unwilling even to mention their dead friends. we have no reason to believe that they perform any sort of religious worship; though perhaps the muttering of the old man before he distributed the putrid blubber to his famished party may be of this nature. each family or tribe has a wizard or conjuring doctor, whose office we could never clearly ascertain. jemmy believed in dreams, though not, as i have said, in the devil: i do not think that our fuegians were much more superstitious than some of the sailors; for an old quartermaster firmly believed that the successive heavy gales, which we encountered off cape horn, were caused by our having the fuegians on board. the nearest approach to a religious feeling which i heard of, was shown by york minster, who, when mr. bynoe shot some very young ducklings as specimens, declared in the most solemn manner, "oh, mr. bynoe, much rain, snow, blow much." this was evidently a retributive punishment for wasting human food. in a wild and excited manner he also related that his brother one day, whilst returning to pick up some dead birds which he had left on the coast, observed some feathers blown by the wind. his brother said (york imitating his manner), "what that?" and crawling onwards, he peeped over the cliff, and saw "wild man" picking his birds; he crawled a little nearer, and then hurled down a great stone and killed him. york declared for a long time afterwards storms raged, and much rain and snow fell. as far as we could make out, he seemed to consider the elements themselves as the avenging agents: it is evident in this case, how naturally, in a race a little more advanced in culture, the elements would become personified. what the "bad wild men" were, has always appeared to me most mysterious: from what york said, when we found the place like the form of a hare, where a single man had slept the night before, i should have thought that they were thieves who had been driven from their tribes; but other obscure speeches made me doubt this; i have sometimes imagined that the most probable explanation was that they were insane. the different tribes have no government or chief; yet each is surrounded by other hostile tribes, speaking different dialects, and separated from each other only by a deserted border or neutral territory: the cause of their warfare appears to be the means of subsistence. their country is a broken mass of wild rocks, lofty hills, and useless forests: and these are viewed through mists and endless storms. the habitable land is reduced to the stones on the beach; in search of food they are compelled unceasingly to wander from spot to spot, and so steep is the coast, that they can only move about in their wretched canoes. they cannot know the feeling of having a home, and still less that of domestic affection; for the husband is to the wife a brutal master to a laborious slave. was a more horrid deed ever perpetrated, than that witnessed on the west coast by byron, who saw a wretched mother pick up her bleeding dying infant-boy, whom her husband had mercilessly dashed on the stones for dropping a basket of sea-eggs! how little can the higher powers of the mind be brought into play: what is there for imagination to picture, for reason to compare, for judgment to decide upon? to knock a limpet from the rock does not require even cunning, that lowest power of the mind. their skill in some respects may be compared to the instinct of animals; for it is not improved by experience: the canoe, their most ingenious work, poor as it is, has remained the same, as we know from drake, for the last two hundred and fifty years. whilst beholding these savages, one asks, whence have they come? what could have tempted, or what change compelled, a tribe of men, to leave the fine regions of the north, to travel down the cordillera or backbone of america, to invent and build canoes, which are not used by the tribes of chile, peru, and brazil, and then to enter on one of the most inhospitable countries within the limits of the globe? although such reflections must at first seize on the mind, yet we may feel sure that they are partly erroneous. there is no reason to believe that the fuegians decrease in number; therefore we must suppose that they enjoy a sufficient share of happiness, of whatever kind it may be, to render life worth having. nature by making habit omnipotent, and its effects hereditary, has fitted the fuegian to the climate and the productions of his miserable country. (plate . bad weather, magellan straits.) after having been detained six days in wigwam cove by very bad weather, we put to sea on the th of december. captain fitz roy wished to get westward to land york and fuegia in their own country. when at sea we had a constant succession of gales, and the current was against us: we drifted to degrees ' south. on the th of january, , by carrying a press of sail, we fetched within a few miles of the great rugged mountain of york minster (so called by captain cook, and the origin of the name of the elder fuegian), when a violent squall compelled us to shorten sail and stand out to sea. the surf was breaking fearfully on the coast, and the spray was carried over a cliff estimated at feet in height. on the th the gale was very heavy, and we did not know exactly where we were: it was a most unpleasant sound to hear constantly repeated, "keep a good lookout to leeward." on the th the storm raged with its full fury: our horizon was narrowly limited by the sheets of spray borne by the wind. the sea looked ominous, like a dreary waving plain with patches of drifted snow: whilst the ship laboured heavily, the albatross glided with its expanded wings right up the wind. at noon a great sea broke over us, and filled one of the whale-boats, which was obliged to be instantly cut away. the poor "beagle" trembled at the shock, and for a few minutes would not obey her helm; but soon, like a good ship that she was, she righted and came up to the wind again. had another sea followed the first, our fate would have been decided soon, and for ever. we had now been twenty-four days trying in vain to get westward; the men were worn out with fatigue, and they had not had for many nights or days a dry thing to put on. captain fitz roy gave up the attempt to get westward by the outside coast. in the evening we ran in behind false cape horn, and dropped our anchor in forty-seven fathoms, fire flashing from the windlass as the chain rushed round it. how delightful was that still night, after having been so long involved in the din of the warring elements! (plate . fuegian basket and bone weapons.) (plate . false horn, cape horn.) january , . the "beagle" anchored in goeree roads. captain fitz roy having resolved to settle the fuegians, according to their wishes, in ponsonby sound, four boats were equipped to carry them there through the beagle channel. this channel, which was discovered by captain fitz roy during the last voyage, is a most remarkable feature in the geography of this, or indeed of any other country: it may be compared to the valley of loch ness in scotland, with its chain of lakes and friths. it is about one hundred and twenty miles long, with an average breadth, not subject to any very great variation, of about two miles; and is throughout the greater part so perfectly straight, that the view, bounded on each side by a line of mountains, gradually becomes indistinct in the long distance. it crosses the southern part of tierra del fuego in an east and west line, and in the middle is joined at right angles on the south side by an irregular channel, which has been called ponsonby sound. this is the residence of jemmy button's tribe and family. january , . three whale-boats and the yawl, with a party of twenty-eight, started under the command of captain fitz roy. in the afternoon we entered the eastern mouth of the channel, and shortly afterwards found a snug little cove concealed by some surrounding islets. here we pitched our tents and lighted our fires. nothing could look more comfortable than this scene. the glassy water of the little harbour, with the branches of the trees hanging over the rocky beach, the boats at anchor, the tents supported by the crossed oars, and the smoke curling up the wooded valley, formed a picture of quiet retirement. the next day ( th) we smoothly glided onwards in our little fleet, and came to a more inhabited district. few if any of these natives could ever have seen a white man; certainly nothing could exceed their astonishment at the apparition of the four boats. fires were lighted on every point (hence the name of tierra del fuego, or the land of fire), both to attract our attention and to spread far and wide the news. some of the men ran for miles along the shore. i shall never forget how wild and savage one group appeared: suddenly four or five men came to the edge of an overhanging cliff; they were absolutely naked, and their long hair streamed about their faces; they held rugged staffs in their hands, and, springing from the ground, they waved their arms round their heads, and sent forth the most hideous yells. at dinner-time we landed among a party of fuegians. at first they were not inclined to be friendly; for until the captain pulled in ahead of the other boats, they kept their slings in their hands. we soon, however, delighted them by trifling presents, such as tying red tape round their heads. they liked our biscuit: but one of the savages touched with his finger some of the meat preserved in tin cases which i was eating, and feeling it soft and cold, showed as much disgust at it, as i should have done at putrid blubber. jemmy was thoroughly ashamed of his countrymen, and declared his own tribe were quite different, in which he was woefully mistaken. it was as easy to please as it was difficult to satisfy these savages. young and old, men and children, never ceased repeating the word "yammerschooner," which means "give me." after pointing to almost every object, one after the other, even to the buttons on our coats, and saying their favourite word in as many intonations as possible, they would then use it in a neuter sense, and vacantly repeat "yammerschooner." after yammerschoonering for any article very eagerly, they would by a simple artifice point to their young women or little children, as much as to say, "if you will not give it me, surely you will to such as these." at night we endeavoured in vain to find an uninhabited cove; and at last were obliged to bivouac not far from a party of natives. they were very inoffensive as long as they were few in numbers, but in the morning ( st) being joined by others they showed symptoms of hostility, and we thought that we should have come to a skirmish. an european labours under great disadvantages when treating with savages like these who have not the least idea of the power of firearms. in the very act of levelling his musket he appears to the savage far inferior to a man armed with a bow and arrow, a spear, or even a sling. nor is it easy to teach them our superiority except by striking a fatal blow. like wild beasts, they do not appear to compare numbers; for each individual, if attacked, instead of retiring, will endeavour to dash your brains out with a stone, as certainly as a tiger under similar circumstances would tear you. captain fitz roy, on one occasion being very anxious, from good reasons, to frighten away a small party, first flourished a cutlass near them, at which they only laughed; he then twice fired his pistol close to a native. the man both times looked astounded, and carefully but quickly rubbed his head; he then stared awhile, and gabbled to his companions, but he never seemed to think of running away. we can hardly put ourselves in the position of these savages, and understand their actions. in the case of this fuegian, the possibility of such a sound as the report of a gun close to his ear could never have entered his mind. he perhaps literally did not for a second know whether it was a sound or a blow, and therefore very naturally rubbed his head. in a similar manner, when a savage sees a mark struck by a bullet, it may be some time before he is able at all to understand how it is effected; for the fact of a body being invisible from its velocity would perhaps be to him an idea totally inconceivable. moreover, the extreme force of a bullet that penetrates a hard substance without tearing it, may convince the savage that it has no force at all. certainly i believe that many savages of the lowest grade, such as these of tierra del fuego, have seen objects struck, and even small animals killed by the musket, without being in the least aware how deadly an instrument it is. january , . after having passed an unmolested night, in what would appear to be neutral territory between jemmy's tribe and the people whom we saw yesterday, we sailed pleasantly along. i do not know anything which shows more clearly the hostile state of the different tribes, than these wide border or neutral tracts. although jemmy button well knew the force of our party, he was, at first, unwilling to land amidst the hostile tribe nearest to his own. he often told us how the savage oens men "when the leaf red," crossed the mountains from the eastern coast of tierra del fuego, and made inroads on the natives of this part of the country. it was most curious to watch him when thus talking, and see his eyes gleaming and his whole face assume a new and wild expression. as we proceeded along the beagle channel, the scenery assumed a peculiar and very magnificent character; but the effect was much lessened from the lowness of the point of view in a boat, and from looking along the valley, and thus losing all the beauty of a succession of ridges. the mountains were here about three thousand feet high, and terminated in sharp and jagged points. they rose in one unbroken sweep from the water's edge, and were covered to the height of fourteen or fifteen hundred feet by the dusky-coloured forest. it was most curious to observe, as far as the eye could range, how level and truly horizontal the line on the mountain side was, at which trees ceased to grow: it precisely resembled the high-water mark of driftweed on a sea-beach. at night we slept close to the junction of ponsonby sound with the beagle channel. a small family of fuegians, who were living in the cove, were quiet and inoffensive, and soon joined our party round a blazing fire. we were well clothed, and though sitting close to the fire were far from too warm; yet these naked savages, though farther off, were observed, to our great surprise, to be streaming with perspiration at undergoing such a roasting. they seemed, however, very well pleased, and all joined in the chorus of the seamen's songs: but the manner in which they were invariably a little behindhand was quite ludicrous. during the night the news had spread, and early in the morning ( rd) a fresh party arrived, belonging to the tekenika, or jemmy's tribe. several of them had run so fast that their noses were bleeding, and their mouths frothed from the rapidity with which they talked; and with their naked bodies all bedaubed with black, white, and red, they looked like so many demoniacs who had been fighting. ( / . this substance, when dry, is tolerably compact, and of little specific gravity: professor ehrenberg has examined it: he states "konig akad. der wissen" berlin february , that it is composed of infusoria, including fourteen polygastrica and four phytolitharia. he says that they are all inhabitants of fresh water; this is a beautiful example of the results obtainable through professor ehrenberg's microscopic researches; for jemmy button told me that it is always collected at the bottoms of mountain-brooks. it is, moreover, a striking fact in the geographical distribution of the infusoria, which are well known to have very wide ranges, that all the species in this substance, although brought from the extreme southern point of tierra del fuego, are old, known forms.) we then proceeded (accompanied by twelve canoes, each holding four or five people) down ponsonby sound to the spot where poor jemmy expected to find his mother and relatives. he had already heard that his father was dead; but as he had had a "dream in his head" to that effect, he did not seem to care much about it, and repeatedly comforted himself with the very natural reflection--"me no help it." he was not able to learn any particulars regarding his father's death, as his relations would not speak about it. jemmy was now in a district well known to him, and guided the boats to a quiet pretty cove named woollya, surrounded by islets, every one of which and every point had its proper native name. we found here a family of jemmy's tribe, but not his relations: we made friends with them; and in the evening they sent a canoe to inform jemmy's mother and brothers. the cove was bordered by some acres of good sloping land, not covered (as elsewhere) either by peat or by forest-trees. captain fitz roy originally intended, as before stated, to have taken york minster and fuegia to their own tribe on the west coast; but as they expressed a wish to remain here, and as the spot was singularly favourable, captain fitz roy determined to settle here the whole party, including matthews, the missionary. five days were spent in building for them three large wigwams, in landing their goods, in digging two gardens, and sowing seeds. the next morning after our arrival (the th) the fuegians began to pour in, and jemmy's mother and brothers arrived. jemmy recognised the stentorian voice of one of his brothers at a prodigious distance. the meeting was less interesting than that between a horse, turned out into a field, when he joins an old companion. there was no demonstration of affection; they simply stared for a short time at each other; and the mother immediately went to look after her canoe. we heard, however, through york that the mother had been inconsolable for the loss of jemmy, and had searched everywhere for him, thinking that he might have been left after having been taken in the boat. the women took much notice of and were very kind to fuegia. we had already perceived that jemmy had almost forgotten his own language. i should think there was scarcely another human being with so small a stock of language, for his english was very imperfect. it was laughable, but almost pitiable, to hear him speak to his wild brother in english, and then ask him in spanish ("no sabe?") whether he did not understand him. everything went on peaceably during the three next days, whilst the gardens were digging and wigwams building. we estimated the number of natives at about one hundred and twenty. the women worked hard, whilst the men lounged about all day long, watching us. they asked for everything they saw, and stole what they could. they were delighted at our dancing and singing, and were particularly interested at seeing us wash in a neighbouring brook; they did not pay much attention to anything else, not even to our boats. of all the things which york saw, during his absence from his country, nothing seems more to have astonished him than an ostrich, near maldonado: breathless with astonishment he came running to mr. bynoe, with whom he was out walking--"oh, mr. bynoe, oh, bird all same horse!" much as our white skins surprised the natives, by mr. low's account a negro-cook to a sealing vessel did so more effectually, and the poor fellow was so mobbed and shouted at that he would never go on shore again. everything went on so quietly, that some of the officers and myself took long walks in the surrounding hills and woods. suddenly, however, on the th, every woman and child disappeared. we were all uneasy at this, as neither york nor jemmy could make out the cause. it was thought by some that they had been frightened by our cleaning and firing off our muskets on the previous evening: by others, that it was owing to offence taken by an old savage, who, when told to keep farther off, had coolly spit in the sentry's face, and had then, by gestures acted over a sleeping fuegian, plainly showed, as it was said, that he should like to cut up and eat our man. captain fitz roy, to avoid the chance of an encounter, which would have been fatal to so many of the fuegians, thought it advisable for us to sleep at a cove a few miles distant. matthews, with his usual quiet fortitude (remarkable in a man apparently possessing little energy of character), determined to stay with the fuegians, who evinced no alarm for themselves; and so we left them to pass their first awful night. on our return in the morning ( th) we were delighted to find all quiet, and the men employed in their canoes spearing fish. captain fitz roy determined to send the yawl and one whale-boat back to the ship; and to proceed with the two other boats, one under his own command (in which he most kindly allowed me to accompany him), and one under mr. hammond, to survey the western parts of the beagle channel, and afterwards to return and visit the settlement. the day to our astonishment was overpoweringly hot, so that our skins were scorched; with this beautiful weather, the view in the middle of the beagle channel was very remarkable. looking towards either hand, no object intercepted the vanishing points of this long canal between the mountains. the circumstance of its being an arm of the sea was rendered very evident by several huge whales spouting in different directions. ( / . one day, off the east coast of tierra del fuego, we saw a grand sight in several spermaceti whales jumping upright quite out of the water, with the exception of their tail-fins. as they fell down sideways, they splashed the water high up, and the sound reverberated like a distant broadside.) on one occasion i saw two of these monsters, probably male and female, slowly swimming one after the other, within less than a stone's throw of the shore, over which the beech-tree extended its branches. we sailed on till it was dark, and then pitched our tents in a quiet creek. the greatest luxury was to find for our beds a beach of pebbles, for they were dry and yielded to the body. peaty soil is damp; rock is uneven and hard; sand gets into one's meat, when cooked and eaten boat-fashion; but when lying in our blanket-bags, on a good bed of smooth pebbles, we passed most comfortable nights. it was my watch till one o'clock. there is something very solemn in these scenes. at no time does the consciousness in what a remote corner of the world you are then standing come so strongly before the mind. everything tends to this effect; the stillness of the night is interrupted only by the heavy breathing of the seamen beneath the tents, and sometimes by the cry of a night-bird. the occasional barking of a dog, heard in the distance, reminds one that it is the land of the savage. january , . early in the morning we arrived at the point where the beagle channel divides into two arms; and we entered the northern one. the scenery here becomes even grander than before. the lofty mountains on the north side compose the granitic axis, or backbone of the country, and boldly rise to a height of between three and four thousand feet, with one peak above six thousand feet. they are covered by a wide mantle of perpetual snow, and numerous cascades pour their waters, through the woods, into the narrow channel below. in many parts, magnificent glaciers extend from the mountain side to the water's edge. it is scarcely possible to imagine anything more beautiful than the beryl-like blue of these glaciers, and especially as contrasted with the dead white of the upper expanse of snow. the fragments which had fallen from the glacier into the water were floating away, and the channel with its icebergs presented, for the space of a mile, a miniature likeness of the polar sea. the boats being hauled on shore at our dinner-hour, we were admiring from the distance of half a mile a perpendicular cliff of ice, and were wishing that some more fragments would fall. at last, down came a mass with a roaring noise, and immediately we saw the smooth outline of a wave travelling towards us. the men ran down as quickly as they could to the boats; for the chance of their being dashed to pieces was evident. one of the seamen just caught hold of the bows, as the curling breaker reached it: he was knocked over and over, but not hurt, and the boats, though thrice lifted on high and let fall again, received no damage. this was most fortunate for us, for we were a hundred miles distant from the ship, and we should have been left without provisions or firearms. i had previously observed that some large fragments of rock on the beach had been lately displaced; but until seeing this wave i did not understand the cause. one side of the creek was formed by a spur of mica-slate; the head by a cliff of ice about forty feet high; and the other side by a promontory fifty feet high, built up of huge rounded fragments of granite and mica-slate, out of which old trees were growing. this promontory was evidently a moraine, heaped up at a period when the glacier had greater dimensions. when we reached the western mouth of this northern branch of the beagle channel, we sailed amongst many unknown desolate islands, and the weather was wretchedly bad. we met with no natives. the coast was almost everywhere so steep that we had several times to pull many miles before we could find space enough to pitch our two tents: one night we slept on large round boulders, with putrefying sea-weed between them; and when the tide rose, we had to get up and move our blanket-bags. the farthest point westward which we reached was stewart island, a distance of about one hundred and fifty miles from our ship. we returned into the beagle channel by the southern arm, and thence proceeded, with no adventure, back to ponsonby sound. february , . we arrived at woollya. matthews gave so bad an account of the conduct of the fuegians, that captain fitz roy determined to take him back to the "beagle"; and ultimately he was left at new zealand, where his brother was a missionary. from the time of our leaving, a regular system of plunder commenced; fresh parties of the natives kept arriving: york and jemmy lost many things, and matthews almost everything which had not been concealed underground. every article seemed to have been torn up and divided by the natives. matthews described the watch he was obliged always to keep as most harassing; night and day he was surrounded by the natives, who tried to tire him out by making an incessant noise close to his head. one day an old man, whom matthews asked to leave his wigwam, immediately returned with a large stone in his hand: another day a whole party came armed with stones and stakes, and some of the younger men and jemmy's brother were crying: matthews met them with presents. another party showed by signs that they wished to strip him naked and pluck all the hairs out of his face and body. i think we arrived just in time to save his life. jemmy's relatives had been so vain and foolish, that they had showed to strangers their plunder, and their manner of obtaining it. it was quite melancholy leaving the three fuegians with their savage countrymen; but it was a great comfort that they had no personal fears. york, being a powerful resolute man, was pretty sure to get on well, together with his wife fuegia. poor jemmy looked rather disconsolate, and would then, i have little doubt, have been glad to have returned with us. his own brother had stolen many things from him; and as he remarked, "what fashion call that:" he abused his countrymen, "all bad men, no sabe (know) nothing" and, though i never heard him swear before, "damned fools." our three fuegians, though they had been only three years with civilised men, would, i am sure, have been glad to have retained their new habits; but this was obviously impossible. i fear it is more than doubtful whether their visit will have been of any use to them. in the evening, with matthews on board, we made sail back to the ship, not by the beagle channel, but by the southern coast. the boats were heavily laden and the sea rough, and we had a dangerous passage. by the evening of the th we were on board the "beagle" after an absence of twenty days, during which time we had gone three hundred miles in the open boats. on the th captain fitz roy paid a visit by himself to the fuegians and found them going on well; and that they had lost very few more things. on the last day of february in the succeeding year ( ) the "beagle" anchored in a beautiful little cove at the eastern entrance of the beagle channel. captain fitz roy determined on the bold, and as it proved successful, attempt to beat against the westerly winds by the same route which we had followed in the boats to the settlement at woollya. we did not see many natives until we were near ponsonby sound, where we were followed by ten or twelve canoes. the natives did not at all understand the reason of our tacking, and, instead of meeting us at each tack, vainly strove to follow us in our zigzag course. i was amused at finding what a difference the circumstance of being quite superior in force made, in the interest of beholding these savages. while in the boats i got to hate the very sound of their voices, so much trouble did they give us. the first and last word was "yammerschooner." when, entering some quiet little cove, we have looked round and thought to pass a quiet night, the odious word "yammerschooner" has shrilly sounded from some gloomy nook, and then the little signal-smoke has curled up to spread the news far and wide. on leaving some place we have said to each other, "thank heaven, we have at last fairly left these wretches!" when one more faint halloo from an all-powerful voice, heard at a prodigious distance, would reach our ears, and clearly could we distinguish--"yammerschooner." but now, the more fuegians the merrier; and very merry work it was. both parties laughing, wondering, gaping at each other; we pitying them, for giving us good fish and crabs for rags, etc.; they grasping at the chance of finding people so foolish as to exchange such splendid ornaments for a good supper. it was most amusing to see the undisguised smile of satisfaction with which one young woman with her face painted black, tied several bits of scarlet cloth round her head with rushes. her husband, who enjoyed the very universal privilege in this country of possessing two wives, evidently became jealous of all the attention paid to his young wife; and, after a consultation with his naked beauties, was paddled away by them. some of the fuegians plainly showed that they had a fair notion of barter. i gave one man a large nail (a most valuable present) without making any signs for a return; but he immediately picked out two fish, and handed them up on the point of his spear. if any present was designed for one canoe, and it fell near another, it was invariably given to the right owner. the fuegian boy, whom mr. low had on board, showed, by going into the most violent passion, that he quite understood the reproach of being called a liar, which in truth he was. we were this time, as on all former occasions, much surprised at the little notice, or rather none whatever, which was taken of many things, the use of which must have been evident to the natives. simple circumstances--such as the beauty of scarlet cloth or blue beads, the absence of women, our care in washing ourselves,--excited their admiration far more than any grand or complicated object, such as our ship. bougainville has well remarked concerning these people, that they treat the "chefs d'oeuvre de l'industrie humaine, comme ils traitent les loix de la nature et ses phénomènes." on the th of march we anchored in a cove at woollya, but we saw not a soul there. we were alarmed at this, for the natives in ponsonby sound showed by gestures that there had been fighting; and we afterwards heard that the dreaded oens men had made a descent. soon a canoe, with a little flag flying, was seen approaching, with one of the men in it washing the paint off his face. this man was poor jemmy,--now a thin, haggard savage, with long disordered hair, and naked, except a bit of blanket round his waist. we did not recognize him till he was close to us, for he was ashamed of himself, and turned his back to the ship. we had left him plump, fat, clean, and well-dressed;--i never saw so complete and grievous a change. as soon however as he was clothed, and the first flurry was over, things wore a good appearance. he dined with captain fitz roy, and ate his dinner as tidily as formerly. he told us that he had "too much" (meaning enough) to eat, that he was not cold, that his relations were very good people, and that he did not wish to go back to england: in the evening we found out the cause of this great change in jemmy's feelings, in the arrival of his young and nice-looking wife. with his usual good feeling, he brought two beautiful otter-skins for two of his best friends, and some spear-heads and arrows made with his own hands for the captain. he said he had built a canoe for himself, and he boasted that he could talk a little of his own language! but it is a most singular fact, that he appears to have taught all his tribe some english: an old man spontaneously announced "jemmy button's wife." jemmy had lost all his property. he told us that york minster had built a large canoe, and with his wife fuegia, had several months since gone to his own country, and had taken farewell by an act of consummate villainy; he persuaded jemmy and his mother to come with him, and then on the way deserted them by night, stealing every article of their property. ( / . captain sulivan, who, since his voyage in the "beagle," has been employed on the survey of the falkland islands, heard from a sealer in ( ?), that when in the western part of the strait of magellan, he was astonished by a native woman coming on board, who could talk some english. without doubt this was fuegia basket. she lived (i fear the term probably bears a double interpretation) some days on board.) jemmy went to sleep on shore, and in the morning returned, and remained on board till the ship got under weigh, which frightened his wife, who continued crying violently till he got into his canoe. he returned loaded with valuable property. every soul on board was heartily sorry to shake hands with him for the last time. i do not now doubt that he will be as happy as, perhaps happier than, if he had never left his own country. every one must sincerely hope that captain fitz roy's noble hope may be fulfilled, of being rewarded for the many generous sacrifices which he made for these fuegians, by some shipwrecked sailor being protected by the descendants of jemmy button and his tribe! when jemmy reached the shore, he lighted a signal fire, and the smoke curled up, bidding us a last and long farewell, as the ship stood on her course into the open sea. the perfect equality among the individuals composing the fuegian tribes must for a long time retard their civilisation. as we see those animals, whose instinct compels them to live in society and obey a chief, are most capable of improvement, so is it with the races of mankind. whether we look at it as a cause or a consequence, the more civilised always have the most artificial governments. for instance, the inhabitants of otaheite, who, when first discovered, were governed by hereditary kings, had arrived at a far higher grade than another branch of the same people, the new zealanders,--who, although benefited by being compelled to turn their attention to agriculture, were republicans in the most absolute sense. in tierra del fuego, until some chief shall arise with power sufficient to secure any acquired advantage, such as the domesticated animals, it seems scarcely possible that the political state of the country can be improved. at present, even a piece of cloth given to one is torn into shreds and distributed; and no one individual becomes richer than another. on the other hand, it is difficult to understand how a chief can arise till there is property of some sort by which he might manifest his superiority and increase his power. i believe, in this extreme part of south america, man exists in a lower state of improvement than in any other part of the world. the south sea islanders, of the two races inhabiting the pacific, are comparatively civilised. the esquimaux, in his subterranean hut, enjoys some of the comforts of life, and in his canoe, when fully equipped, manifests much skill. some of the tribes of southern africa, prowling about in search of roots, and living concealed on the wild and arid plains, are sufficiently wretched. the australian, in the simplicity of the arts of life, comes nearest the fuegian: he can, however, boast of his boomerang, his spear and throwing-stick, his method of climbing trees, of tracking animals, and of hunting. although the australian may be superior in acquirements, it by no means follows that he is likewise superior in mental capacity: indeed, from what i saw of the fuegians when on board and from what i have read of the australians, i should think the case was exactly the reverse. chapter xi. (plate . wollaston island, tierra del fuego.) (plate . patagonians from cape gregory.) strait of magellan. port famine. ascent of mount tarn. forests. edible fungus. zoology. great seaweed. leave tierra del fuego. climate. fruit-trees and productions of the southern coasts. height of snow-line on the cordillera. descent of glaciers to the sea. icebergs formed. transportal of boulders. climate and productions of the antarctic islands. preservation of frozen carcasses. recapitulation. strait of magellan.--climate of the southern coasts. in the end of may we entered for a second time the eastern mouth of the strait of magellan. the country on both sides of this part of the strait consists of nearly level plains, like those of patagonia. cape negro, a little within the second narrows, may be considered as the point where the land begins to assume the marked features of tierra del fuego. on the east coast, south of the strait, broken park-like scenery in a like manner connects these two countries, which are opposed to each other in almost every feature. it is truly surprising to find in a space of twenty miles such a change in the landscape. if we take a rather greater distance, as between port famine and gregory bay, that is about sixty miles, the difference is still more wonderful. at the former place we have rounded mountains concealed by impervious forests, which are drenched with the rain brought by an endless succession of gales; while at cape gregory there is a clear and bright blue sky over the dry and sterile plains. the atmospheric currents, although rapid, turbulent, and unconfined by any apparent limits, yet seem to follow, like a river in its bed, a regularly determined course. ( / . the south-westerly breezes are generally very dry. january th, being at anchor under cape gregory: a very hard gale from west by south, clear sky with few cumuli; temperature degrees, dew-point degrees,--difference degrees. on january th, at port st. julian: in the morning light winds with much rain, followed by a very heavy squall with rain,--settled into heavy gale with large cumuli,--cleared up, blowing very strong from south-south-west. temperature degrees, dew-point degrees,--difference degrees.) during our previous visit (in january), we had an interview at cape gregory with the famous so-called gigantic patagonians, who gave us a cordial reception. their height appears greater than it really is, from their large guanaco mantles, their long flowing hair, and general figure: on an average their height is about six feet, with some men taller and only a few shorter; and the women are also tall; altogether they are certainly the tallest race which we anywhere saw. in features they strikingly resemble the more northern indians whom i saw with rosas, but they have a wilder and more formidable appearance: their faces were much painted with red and black, and one man was ringed and dotted with white like a fuegian. captain fitz roy offered to take any three of them on board, and all seemed determined to be of the three. it was long before we could clear the boat; at last we got on board with our three giants, who dined with the captain, and behaved quite like gentlemen, helping themselves with knives, forks, and spoons: nothing was so much relished as sugar. this tribe has had so much communication with sealers and whalers, that most of the men can speak a little english and spanish; and they are half civilised, and proportionally demoralised. the next morning a large party went on shore, to barter for skins and ostrich-feathers; fire-arms being refused, tobacco was in greatest request, far more so than axes or tools. the whole population of the toldos, men, women, and children, were arranged on a bank. it was an amusing scene, and it was impossible not to like the so-called giants, they were so thoroughly good-humoured and unsuspecting: they asked us to come again. they seem to like to have europeans to live with them; and old maria, an important woman in the tribe, once begged mr. low to leave any one of his sailors with them. they spend the greater part of the year here; but in summer they hunt along the foot of the cordillera: sometimes they travel as far as the rio negro, miles to the north. they are well stocked with horses, each man having, according to mr. low, six or seven, and all the women, and even children, their one own horse. in the time of sarmiento ( ) these indians had bows and arrows, now long since disused; they then also possessed some horses. this is a very curious fact, showing the extraordinarily rapid multiplication of horses in south america. the horse was first landed at buenos ayres in , and the colony being then for a time deserted, the horse ran wild ( / . rengger "natur. der saugethiere von paraguay" s. .); in , only forty-three years afterwards, we hear of them at the strait of magellan! mr. low informs me, that a neighbouring tribe of foot-indians is now changing into horse-indians: the tribe at gregory bay giving them their worn-out horses, and sending in winter a few of their best skilled men to hunt for them. june , . (plate . port famine, magellan.) we anchored in the fine bay of port famine. it was now the beginning of winter, and i never saw a more cheerless prospect; the dusky woods, piebald with snow, could be only seen indistinctly through a drizzling hazy atmosphere. we were, however, lucky in getting two fine days. on one of these, mount sarmiento, a distant mountain feet high, presented a very noble spectacle. i was frequently surprised, in the scenery of tierra del fuego, at the little apparent elevation of mountains really lofty. i suspect it is owing to a cause which would not at first be imagined, namely, that the whole mass, from the summit to the water's edge, is generally in full view. i remember having seen a mountain, first from the beagle channel, where the whole sweep from the summit to the base was full in view, and then from ponsonby sound across several successive ridges; and it was curious to observe in the latter case, as each fresh ridge afforded fresh means of judging of the distance, how the mountain rose in height. before reaching port famine, two men were seen running along the shore and hailing the ship. a boat was sent for them. they turned out to be two sailors who had run away from a sealing-vessel, and had joined the patagonians. these indians had treated them with their usual disinterested hospitality. they had parted company through accident, and were then proceeding to port famine in hopes of finding some ship. i daresay they were worthless vagabonds, but i never saw more miserable-looking ones. they had been living for some days on mussel-shells and berries, and their tattered clothes had been burnt by sleeping so near their fires. they had been exposed night and day, without any shelter, to the late incessant gales, with rain, sleet, and snow, and yet they were in good health. (plate . patagonian bolas.) (plate . patagonian spurs and pipe.) during our stay at port famine, the fuegians twice came and plagued us. as there were many instruments, clothes, and men on shore, it was thought necessary to frighten them away. the first time a few great guns were fired, when they were far distant. it was most ludicrous to watch through a glass the indians, as often as the shot struck the water, take up stones, and, as a bold defiance, throw them towards the ship, though about a mile and a half distant! a boat was then sent with orders to fire a few musket-shots wide of them. the fuegians hid themselves behind the trees, and for every discharge of the muskets they fired their arrows; all, however, fell short of the boat, and the officer as he pointed at them laughed. this made the fuegians frantic with passion, and they shook their mantles in vain rage. at last, seeing the balls cut and strike the trees, they ran away, and we were left in peace and quietness. during the former voyage the fuegians were here very troublesome, and to frighten them a rocket was fired at night over their wigwams; it answered effectually, and one of the officers told me that the clamour first raised, and the barking of the dogs, was quite ludicrous in contrast with the profound silence which in a minute or two afterwards prevailed. the next morning not a single fuegian was in the neighbourhood. when the "beagle" was here in the month of february, i started one morning at four o'clock to ascend mount tarn, which is feet high, and is the most elevated point in this immediate district. we went in a boat to the foot of the mountain (but unluckily not to the best part), and then began our ascent. the forest commences at the line of high-water mark, and during the first two hours i gave over all hopes of reaching the summit. so thick was the wood, that it was necessary to have constant recourse to the compass; for every landmark, though in a mountainous country, was completely shut out. in the deep ravines the death-like scene of desolation exceeded all description; outside it was blowing a gale, but in these hollows not even a breath of wind stirred the leaves of the tallest trees. so gloomy, cold, and wet was every part, that not even the fungi, mosses, or ferns could flourish. in the valleys it was scarcely possible to crawl along, they were so completely barricaded by great mouldering trunks, which had fallen down in every direction. when passing over these natural bridges, one's course was often arrested by sinking knee deep into the rotten wood; at other times, when attempting to lean against a firm tree, one was startled by finding a mass of decayed matter ready to fall at the slightest touch. we at last found ourselves among the stunted trees, and then soon reached the bare ridge, which conducted us to the summit. here was a view characteristic of tierra del fuego; irregular chains of hills, mottled with patches of snow, deep yellowish-green valleys, and arms of the sea intersecting the land in many directions. the strong wind was piercingly cold, and the atmosphere rather hazy, so that we did not stay long on the top of the mountain. our descent was not quite so laborious as our ascent, for the weight of the body forced a passage, and all the slips and falls were in the right direction. i have already mentioned the sombre and dull character of the evergreen forests, in which two or three species of trees grow, to the exclusion of all others. ( / . captain fitz roy informs me that in april (our october) the leaves of those trees which grow near the base of the mountains change colour, but not those on the more elevated parts. i remember having read some observations, showing that in england the leaves fall earlier in a warm and fine autumn than in a late and cold one. the change in the colour being here retarded in the more elevated, and therefore colder situations, must be owing to the same general law of vegetation. the trees of tierra del fuego during no part of the year entirely shed their leaves.) above the forest land there are many dwarf alpine plants, which all spring from the mass of peat, and help to compose it: these plants are very remarkable from their close alliance with the species growing on the mountains of europe, though so many thousand miles distant. the central part of tierra del fuego, where the clay-slate formation occurs, is most favourable to the growth of trees; on the outer coast the poorer granitic soil, and a situation more exposed to the violent winds, do not allow of their attaining any great size. near port famine i have seen more large trees than anywhere else: i measured a winter's bark which was four feet six inches in girth, and several of the beech were as much as thirteen feet. captain king also mentions a beech which was seven feet in diameter seventeen feet above the roots. (plate . cyttaria darwinii.) there is one vegetable production deserving notice from its importance as an article of food to the fuegians. it is a globular, bright-yellow fungus, which grows in vast numbers on the beech-trees. when young it is elastic and turgid, with a smooth surface; but when mature, it shrinks, becomes tougher, and has its entire surface deeply pitted or honeycombed, as represented in plate . this fungus belongs to a new and curious genus ( / . described from my specimens and notes by the reverend j.m. berkeley in the "linnean transactions" volume page , under the name of cyttaria darwinii: the chilean species is the c. berteroii. this genus is allied to bulgaria.); i found a second species on another species of beech in chile: and dr. hooker informs me that just lately a third species has been discovered on a third species of beech in van dieman's land. how singular is this relationship between parasitical fungi and the trees on which they grow, in distant parts of the world! in tierra del fuego the fungus in its tough and mature state is collected in large quantities by the women and children, and is eaten un-cooked. it has a mucilaginous, slightly sweet taste, with a faint smell like that of a mushroom. with the exception of a few berries, chiefly of a dwarf arbutus, the natives eat no vegetable food besides this fungus. in new zealand, before the introduction of the potato, the roots of the fern were largely consumed; at the present time, i believe, tierra del fuego is the only country in the world where a cryptogamic plant affords a staple article of food. the zoology of tierra del fuego, as might have been expected from the nature of its climate and vegetation, is very poor. of mammalia, besides whales and seals, there is one bat, a kind of mouse (reithrodon chinchilloides), two true mice, a ctenomys allied to or identical with the tucutuco, two foxes (canis magellanicus and c. azarae), a sea-otter, the guanaco, and a deer. most of these animals inhabit only the drier eastern parts of the country; and the deer has never been seen south of the strait of magellan. observing the general correspondence of the cliffs of soft sandstone, mud, and shingle, on the opposite sides of the strait, and on some intervening islands, one is strongly tempted to believe that the land was once joined, and thus allowed animals so delicate and helpless as the tucutuco and reithrodon to pass over. the correspondence of the cliffs is far from proving any junction; because such cliffs generally are formed by the intersection of sloping deposits, which, before the elevation of the land, had been accumulated near the then existing shores. it is, however, a remarkable coincidence, that in the two large islands cut off by the beagle channel from the rest of tierra del fuego, one has cliffs composed of matter that may be called stratified alluvium, which front similar ones on the opposite side of the channel,--while the other is exclusively bordered by old crystalline rocks; in the former, called navarin island, both foxes and guanacos occur; but in the latter, hoste island, although similar in every respect, and only separated by a channel a little more than half a mile wide, i have the word of jemmy button for saying that neither of these animals is found. the gloomy woods are inhabited by few birds: occasionally the plaintive note of a white-tufted tyrant-flycatcher (myiobius albiceps) may be heard, concealed near the summit of the most lofty trees; and more rarely the loud strange cry of a black woodpecker, with a fine scarlet crest on its head. a little, dusky-coloured wren (scytalopus magellanicus) hops in a skulking manner among the entangled mass of the fallen and decaying trunks. but the creeper (oxyurus tupinieri) is the commonest bird in the country. throughout the beech forests, high up and low down, in the most gloomy, wet, and impenetrable ravines, it may be met with. this little bird no doubt appears more numerous than it really is, from its habit of following with seeming curiosity any person who enters these silent woods: continually uttering a harsh twitter, it flutters from tree to tree, within a few feet of the intruder's face. it is far from wishing for the modest concealment of the true creeper (certhia familiaris); nor does it, like that bird, run up the trunks of trees, but industriously, after the manner of a willow-wren, hops about, and searches for insects on every twig and branch. in the more open parts, three or four species of finches, a thrush, a starling (or icterus), two opetiorhynchi, and several hawks and owls occur. the absence of any species whatever in the whole class of reptiles is a marked feature in the zoology of this country, as well as in that of the falkland islands. i do not ground this statement merely on my own observation, but i heard it from the spanish inhabitants of the latter place, and from jemmy button with regard to tierra del fuego. on the banks of the santa cruz, in degrees south, i saw a frog; and it is not improbable that these animals, as well as lizards, may be found as far south as the strait of magellan, where the country retains the character of patagonia; but within the damp and cold limit of tierra del fuego not one occurs. that the climate would not have suited some of the orders, such as lizards, might have been foreseen; but with respect to frogs, this was not so obvious. beetles occur in very small numbers: it was long before i could believe that a country as large as scotland, covered with vegetable productions and with a variety of stations, could be so unproductive. the few which i found were alpine species (harpalidae and heteromidae) living under stones. the vegetable-feeding chrysomelidae, so eminently characteristic of the tropics, are here almost entirely absent ( / . i believe i must except one alpine haltica, and a single specimen of a melasoma. mr. waterhouse informs me, that of the harpalidae there are eight or nine species--the forms of the greater number being very peculiar; of heteromera, four or five species; of rhyncophora, six or seven; and of the following families one species in each: staphylinidae, elateridae, cebrionidae, melolonthidae. the species in the other orders are even fewer. in all the orders, the scarcity of the individuals is even more remarkable than that of the species. most of the coleoptera have been carefully described by mr. waterhouse in the "annals of natural history."); i saw very few flies, butterflies, or bees, and no crickets or orthoptera. in the pools of water i found but few aquatic beetles, and not any fresh-water shells: succinea at first appears an exception; but here it must be called a terrestrial shell, for it lives on the damp herbage far from water. land-shells could be procured only in the same alpine situations with the beetles. i have already contrasted the climate as well as the general appearance of tierra del fuego with that of patagonia; and the difference is strongly exemplified in the entomology. i do not believe they have one species in common; certainly the general character of the insects is widely different. if we turn from the land to the sea, we shall find the latter as abundantly stocked with living creatures as the former is poorly so. in all parts of the world a rocky and partially protected shore perhaps supports, in a given space, a greater number of individual animals than any other station. there is one marine production which, from its importance, is worthy of a particular history. it is the kelp, or macrocystis pyrifera. this plant grows on every rock from low-water mark to a great depth, both on the outer coast and within the channels. ( / . its geographical range is remarkably wide; it is found from the extreme southern islets near cape horn, as far north on the eastern coast (according to information given me by mr. stokes) as latitude degrees,--but on the western coast, as dr. hooker tells me, it extends to the r. san francisco in california, and perhaps even to kamtschatka. we thus have an immense range in latitude; and as cook, who must have been well acquainted with the species, found it at kerguelen land, no less than degrees in longitude.) i believe, during the voyages of the "adventure" and "beagle," not one rock near the surface was discovered which was not buoyed by this floating weed. the good service it thus affords to vessels navigating near this stormy land is evident; and it certainly has saved many a one from being wrecked. i know few things more surprising than to see this plant growing and flourishing amidst those great breakers of the western ocean, which no mass of rock, let it be ever so hard, can long resist. the stem is round, slimy, and smooth, and seldom has a diameter of so much as an inch. a few taken together are sufficiently strong to support the weight of the large loose stones, to which in the inland channels they grow attached; and yet some of these stones were so heavy that when drawn to the surface, they could scarcely be lifted into a boat by one person. captain cook, in his second voyage, says that this plant at kerguelen land rises from a greater depth than twenty-four fathoms; "and as it does not grow in a perpendicular direction, but makes a very acute angle with the bottom, and much of it afterwards spreads many fathoms on the surface of the sea, i am well warranted to say that some of it grows to the length of sixty fathoms and upwards." i do not suppose the stem of any other plant attains so great a length as three hundred and sixty feet, as stated by captain cook. captain fitz roy, moreover, found it growing up from the greater depth of forty-five fathoms. ( / . "voyages of the 'adventure' and 'beagle'" volume page . it appears that seaweed grows extremely quick. mr. stephenson found wilson's "voyage round scotland" volume page , that a rock uncovered only at spring-tides, which had been chiselled smooth in november, on the following may, that is, within six months afterwards, was thickly covered with fucus digitatus two feet, and f. esculentus six feet, in length.) the beds of this sea-weed, even when of not great breadth, make excellent natural floating breakwaters. it is quite curious to see, in an exposed harbour, how soon the waves from the open sea, as they travel through the straggling stems, sink in height, and pass into smooth water. the number of living creatures of all orders, whose existence intimately depends on the kelp, is wonderful. a great volume might be written, describing the inhabitants of one of these beds of seaweed. almost all the leaves, excepting those that float on the surface, are so thickly incrusted with corallines as to be of a white colour. we find exquisitely delicate structures, some inhabited by simple hydra-like polypi, others by more organised kinds, and beautiful compound ascidiae. on the leaves, also, various patelliform shells, trochi, uncovered molluscs, and some bivalves are attached. innumerable crustacea frequent every part of the plant. on shaking the great entangled roots, a pile of small fish, shells, cuttlefish, crabs of all orders, sea-eggs, starfish, beautiful holothuriae, planariae, and crawling nereidous animals of a multitude of forms, all fall out together. often as i recurred to a branch of the kelp, i never failed to discover animals of new and curious structures. in chiloe, where the kelp does not thrive very well, the numerous shells, corallines, and crustacea are absent; but there yet remain a few of the flustraceae, and some compound ascidiae; the latter, however, are of different species from those in tierra del fuego; we see here the fucus possessing a wider range than the animals which use it as an abode. i can only compare these great aquatic forests of the southern hemisphere with the terrestrial ones in the intertropical regions. yet if in any country a forest was destroyed, i do not believe nearly so many species of animals would perish as would here, from the destruction of the kelp. amidst the leaves of this plant numerous species of fish live, which nowhere else could find food or shelter; with their destruction the many cormorants and other fishing birds, the otters, seals, and porpoises, would soon perish also; and lastly, the fuegian savage, the miserable lord of this miserable land, would redouble his cannibal feast, decrease in numbers, and perhaps cease to exist. june , . we weighed anchor early in the morning and left port famine. captain fitz roy determined to leave the strait of magellan by the magdalen channel, which had not long been discovered. our course lay due south, down that gloomy passage which i have before alluded to as appearing to lead to another and worse world. the wind was fair, but the atmosphere was very thick; so that we missed much curious scenery. the dark ragged clouds were rapidly driven over the mountains, from their summits nearly down to their bases. the glimpses which we caught through the dusky mass were highly interesting; jagged points, cones of snow, blue glaciers, strong outlines, marked on a lurid sky, were seen at different distances and heights. in the midst of such scenery we anchored at cape turn, close to mount sarmiento, which was then hidden in the clouds. at the base of the lofty and almost perpendicular sides of our little cove there was one deserted wigwam, and it alone reminded us that man sometimes wandered into these desolate regions. but it would be difficult to imagine a scene where he seemed to have fewer claims or less authority. the inanimate works of nature--rock, ice, snow, wind, and water, all warring with each other, yet combined against man--here reigned in absolute sovereignty. june , . in the morning we were delighted by seeing the veil of mist gradually rise from sarmiento, and display it to our view. this mountain, which is one of the highest in tierra del fuego, has an altitude of feet. its base, for about an eighth of its total height, is clothed by dusky woods, and above this a field of snow extends to the summit. these vast piles of snow, which never melt, and seem destined to last as long as the world holds together, present a noble and even sublime spectacle. the outline of the mountain was admirably clear and defined. owing to the abundance of light reflected from the white and glittering surface, no shadows were cast on any part; and those lines which intersected the sky could alone be distinguished: hence the mass stood out in the boldest relief. several glaciers descended in a winding course from the upper great expanse of snow to the sea-coast: they may be likened to great frozen niagaras; and perhaps these cataracts of blue ice are full as beautiful as the moving ones of water. by night we reached the western part of the channel; but the water was so deep that no anchorage could be found. we were in consequence obliged to stand off and on in this narrow arm of the sea, during a pitch-dark night of fourteen hours long. june , . in the morning we made the best of our way into the open pacific. the western coast generally consists of low, rounded, quite barren hills of granite and greenstone. sir j. narborough called one part south desolation, because it is "so desolate a land to behold:" and well indeed might he say so. outside the main islands there are numberless scattered rocks on which the long swell of the open ocean incessantly rages. we passed out between the east and west furies; and a little farther northward there are so many breakers that the sea is called the milky way. one sight of such a coast is enough to make a landsman dream for a week about shipwrecks, peril, and death; and with this sight we bade farewell for ever to tierra del fuego. the following discussion on the climate of the southern parts of the continent with relation to its productions, on the snow-line, on the extraordinarily low descent of the glaciers, and on the zone of perpetual congelation in the antarctic islands, may be passed over by any one not interested in these curious subjects, or the final recapitulation alone may be read. i shall, however, here give only an abstract, and must refer for details to the thirteenth chapter and the appendix of the former edition of this work. on the climate and productions of tierra del fuego and of the south-west coast. the following table gives the mean temperature of tierra del fuego, the falkland islands, and, for comparison, that of dublin:-- latitude summer winter mean of summer degrees ' temp. temp. and winter deg. f. deg. f. deg. f. --------------------------------------------------------------- tierra del fuego s. . . falkland islands s. -- -- dublin n. . . . hence we see that the central part of tierra del fuego is colder in winter, and no less than / degrees less hot in summer, than dublin. according to von buch the mean temperature of july (not the hottest month in the year) at saltenfiord in norway, is as high as . degrees, and this place is actually degrees nearer the pole than port famine! ( / . with respect to tierra del fuego, the results are deduced from the observations of captain king "geographical journal" , and those taken on board the "beagle." for the falkland islands, i am indebted to captain sulivan for the mean of the mean temperature (reduced from careful observation at midnight, a.m., noon, and p.m.) of the three hottest months, namely, december, january, and february. the temperature of dublin is taken from barton.) inhospitable as this climate appears to our feelings, evergreen trees flourish luxuriantly under it. humming-birds may be seen sucking the flowers, and parrots feeding on the seeds of the winter's bark, in latitude degrees south. i have already remarked to what a degree the sea swarms with living creatures; and the shells (such as the patellae, fissurellae, chitons, and barnacles), according to mr. g.b. sowerby, are of a much larger size, and of a more vigorous growth, than the analogous species in the northern hemisphere. a large voluta is abundant in southern tierra del fuego and the falkland islands. at bahia blanca, in latitude degrees south, the most abundant shells were three species of oliva (one of large size), one or two volutas, and a terebra. now these are amongst the best characterised tropical forms. it is doubtful whether even one small species of oliva exists on the southern shores of europe, and there are no species of the two other genera. if a geologist were to find in latitude degrees on the coast of portugal a bed containing numerous shells belonging to three species of oliva, to a voluta, and terebra, he would probably assert that the climate at the period of their existence must have been tropical; but, judging from south america, such an inference might be erroneous. the equable, humid, and windy climate of tierra del fuego extends, with only a small increase of heat, for many degrees along the west coast of the continent. the forests for miles northward of cape horn, have a very similar aspect. as a proof of the equable climate, even for or miles still farther northward, i may mention that in chiloe (corresponding in latitude with the northern parts of spain) the peach seldom produces fruit, whilst strawberries and apples thrive to perfection. even the crops of barley and wheat are often brought into the houses to be dried and ripened. ( / . agüeros "descrip. hist. de la prov. de chiloé" page .) at valdivia (in the same latitude of degrees with madrid) grapes and figs ripen, but are not common; olives seldom ripen even partially, and oranges not at all. these fruits, in corresponding latitudes in europe, are well known to succeed to perfection; and even in this continent, at the rio negro, under nearly the same parallel with valdivia, sweet potatoes (convolvulus) are cultivated; and grapes, figs, olives, oranges, water and musk melons, produce abundant fruit. although the humid and equable climate of chiloe, and of the coast northward and southward of it, is so unfavourable to our fruits, yet the native forests, from latitude to degrees, almost rival in luxuriance those of the glowing intertropical regions. stately trees of many kinds, with smooth and highly coloured barks, are loaded by parasitical monocotyledonous plants; large and elegant ferns are numerous, and arborescent grasses entwine the trees into one entangled mass to the height of thirty or forty feet above the ground. palm-trees grow in latitude degrees; an arborescent grass, very like a bamboo, in degrees; and another closely allied kind, of great length, but not erect, flourishes even as far south as degrees south. on the height of the snow-line, and on the descent of the glaciers, in south america. for the detailed authorities for the following table, i must refer to the former edition:-- height in feet latitude of snow-line observer ---------------------------------------------------------------- equatorial region; mean result , humboldt. bolivia, latitude to degrees south , pentland. central chile, latitude degrees south , to , gillies and the author. chiloe, latitude to degrees south , officers of the "beagle" and the author. tierra del fuego degrees south , - , king. an equable climate, evidently due to the large area of sea compared with the land, seems to extend over the greater part of the southern hemisphere; and as a consequence, the vegetation partakes of a semi-tropical character. tree-ferns thrive luxuriantly in van diemen's land (latitude degrees), and i measured one trunk no less than six feet in circumference. an arborescent fern was found by forster in new zealand in degrees, where orchideous plants are parasitical on the trees. in the auckland islands, ferns, according to dr. dieffenbach have trunks so thick and high that they may be almost called tree-ferns; and in these islands, and even as far south as latitude degrees in the macquarie islands, parrots abound. ( / . see the german translation of this journal; and for the other facts mr. brown's appendix to flinders's "voyage.") as the height of the plane of perpetual snow seems chiefly to be determined by the extreme heat of the summer, rather than by the mean temperature of the year, we ought not to be surprised at its descent in the strait of magellan, where the summer is so cool, to only or feet above the level of the sea; although in norway, we must travel to between latitude and degrees north, that is, about degrees nearer the pole, to meet with perpetual snow at this low level. the difference in height, namely, about feet, between the snow-line on the cordillera behind chiloe (with its highest points ranging from only to feet) and in central chile (a distance of only degrees of latitude), is truly wonderful. ( / . on the cordillera of central chile, i believe the snow-line varies exceedingly in height in different summers. i was assured that during one very dry and long summer, all the snow disappeared from aconcagua, although it attains the prodigious height of , feet. it is probable that much of the snow at these great heights is evaporated, rather than thawed.) the land from the southward of chiloe to near concepcion (latitude degrees) is hidden by one dense forest dripping with moisture. the sky is cloudy, and we have seen how badly the fruits of southern europe succeed. in central chile, on the other hand, a little northward of concepcion, the sky is generally clear, rain does not fall for the seven summer months, and southern european fruits succeed admirably; and even the sugar-cane has been cultivated. ( / . miers's "chile" volume page . it is said that the sugar-cane grew at ingenio, latitude to degrees, but not in sufficient quantity to make the manufacture profitable. in the valley of quillota, south of ingenio, i saw some large date-palm trees.) no doubt the plane of perpetual snow undergoes the above remarkable flexure of feet, unparalleled in other parts of the world, not far from the latitude of concepcion, where the land ceases to be covered with forest-trees; for trees in south america indicate a rainy climate, and rain a clouded sky and little heat in summer. (plate . eyre sound.) the descent of glaciers to the sea must, i conceive, mainly depend (subject, of course, to a proper supply of snow in the upper region) on the lowness of the line of perpetual snow on steep mountains near the coast. as the snow-line is so low in tierra del fuego, we might have expected that many of the glaciers would have reached the sea. nevertheless i was astonished when i first saw a range, only from to feet in height, in the latitude of cumberland, with every valley filled with streams of ice descending to the sea-coast. almost every arm of the sea, which penetrates to the interior higher chain, not only in tierra del fuego, but on the coast for miles northwards, is terminated by "tremendous and astonishing glaciers," as described by one of the officers on the survey. great masses of ice frequently fall from these icy cliffs, and the crash reverberates like the broadside of a man-of-war through the lonely channels. these falls, as noticed in the last chapter, produce great waves which break on the adjoining coasts. it is known that earthquakes frequently cause masses of earth to fall from sea-cliffs: how terrific, then, would be the effect of a severe shock (and such occur here ( / . bulkeley's and cummin's "faithful narrative of the loss of the wager." the earthquake happened august , .)) on a body like a glacier, already in motion, and traversed by fissures! i can readily believe that the water would be fairly beaten back out of the deepest channel, and then, returning with an overwhelming force, would whirl about huge masses of rock like so much chaff. in eyre's sound, in the latitude of paris, there are immense glaciers, and yet the loftiest neighbouring mountain is only feet high. in this sound, about fifty icebergs were seen at one time floating outwards, and one of them must have been at least feet in total height. some of the icebergs were loaded with blocks of no inconsiderable size, of granite and other rocks, different from the clay-slate of the surrounding mountains. (plate . glacier in gulf of penas.) the glacier farthest from the pole, surveyed during the voyages of the "adventure" and "beagle," is in latitude degrees ', in the gulf of penas. it is miles long, and in one part broad, and descends to the sea-coast. but even a few miles northward of this glacier, in the laguna de san rafael, some spanish missionaries encountered "many icebergs, some great, some small, and others middle-sized," in a narrow arm of the sea, on the of the month corresponding with our june, and in a latitude corresponding with that of the lake of geneva! ( / . agüeros "desc. hist. de chiloé" page .) in europe, the most southern glacier which comes down to the sea is met with, according to von buch, on the coast of norway, in latitude degrees. now, this is more than degrees of latitude, or miles, nearer the pole than the laguna de san rafael. the position of the glaciers at this place and in the gulf of penas may be put even in a more striking point of view, for they descend to the sea-coast within / degrees of latitude, or miles, of a harbour, where three species of oliva, a voluta, and a terebra, are the commonest shells, within less than degrees from where palms grow, within / degrees of a region where the jaguar and puma range over the plains, less than / degrees from arborescent grasses, and (looking to the westward in the same hemisphere) less than degrees from orchideous parasites, and within a single degree of tree-ferns! these facts are of high geological interest with respect to the climate of the northern hemisphere, at the period when boulders were transported. i will not here detail how simply the theory of icebergs being charged with fragments of rock explains the origin and position of the gigantic boulders of eastern tierra del fuego, on the high plain of santa cruz, and on the island of chiloe. in tierra del fuego the greater number of boulders lie on the lines of old sea-channels, now converted into dry valleys by the elevation of the land. they are associated with a great unstratified formation of mud and sand, containing rounded and angular fragments of all sizes, which has originated in the repeated ploughing up of the sea-bottom by the stranding of icebergs, and by the matter transported on them. ( / . "geological transactions" volume page .) few geologists now doubt that those erratic boulders which lie near lofty mountains have been pushed forward by the glaciers themselves, and that those distant from mountains, and embedded in subaqueous deposits, have been conveyed thither either on icebergs, or frozen in coast-ice. the connection between the transportal of boulders and the presence of ice in some form, is strikingly shown by their geographical distribution over the earth. in south america they are not found farther than degrees of latitude, measured from the southern pole; in north america it appears that the limit of their transportal extends to / degrees from the northern pole; but in europe to not more than degrees of latitude, measured from the same point. on the other hand, in the intertropical parts of america, asia, and africa, they have never been observed; nor at the cape of good hope, nor in australia. ( / . i have given details (the first, i believe, published) on this subject in the first edition, and in the appendix to it. i have there shown that the apparent exceptions to the absence of erratic boulders in certain hot countries are due to erroneous observations; several statements there given i have since found confirmed by various authors.) on the climate and productions of the antarctic islands. considering the rankness of the vegetation in tierra del fuego, and on the coast northward of it, the condition of the islands south and south-west of america is truly surprising. sandwich land, in the latitude of the north part of scotland, was found by cook, during the hottest month of the year, "covered many fathoms thick with everlasting snow;" and there seems to be scarcely any vegetation. georgia, an island miles long and broad, in the latitude of yorkshire, "in the very height of summer, is in a manner wholly covered with frozen snow." it can boast only of moss, some tufts of grass, and wild burnet; it has only one land-bird (anthus correndera), yet iceland, which is degrees nearer the pole, has, according to mackenzie, fifteen land-birds. the south shetland islands, in the same latitude as the southern half of norway, possess only some lichens, moss, and a little grass; and lieutenant kendall found the bay in which he was at anchor, beginning to freeze at a period corresponding with our th of september. ( / . "geographical journal" pages , .) the soil here consists of ice and volcanic ashes interstratified; and at a little depth beneath the surface it must remain perpetually congealed, for lieutenant kendall found the body of a foreign sailor which had long been buried, with the flesh and all the features perfectly preserved. it is a singular fact that on the two great continents in the northern hemisphere (but not in the broken land of europe between them) we have the zone of perpetually frozen under-soil in a low latitude--namely, in degrees in north america at the depth of three feet ( / . richardson's "append. to back's exped." and humboldt's "fragm. asiat." tome page .), and in degrees in siberia at the depth of twelve to fifteen feet--as the result of a directly opposite condition of things to those of the southern hemisphere. on the northern continents, the winter is rendered excessively cold by the radiation from a large area of land into a clear sky, nor is it moderated by the warmth-bringing currents of the sea; the short summer, on the other hand, is hot. in the southern ocean the winter is not so excessively cold, but the summer is far less hot, for the clouded sky seldom allows the sun to warm the ocean, itself a bad absorbent of heat: and hence the mean temperature of the year, which regulates the zone of perpetually congealed under-soil, is low. it is evident that a rank vegetation, which does not so much require heat as it does protection from intense cold, would approach much nearer to this zone of perpetual congelation under the equable climate of the southern hemisphere, than under the extreme climate of the northern continents. the case of the sailor's body perfectly preserved in the icy soil of the south shetland islands (latitude to degrees south), in a rather lower latitude than that (latitude degrees north) under which pallas found the frozen rhinoceros in siberia, is very interesting. although it is a fallacy, as i have endeavoured to show in a former chapter, to suppose that the larger quadrupeds require a luxuriant vegetation for their support, nevertheless it is important to find in the south shetland islands a frozen under-soil within miles of the forest-clad islands near cape horn, where, as far as the bulk of vegetation is concerned, any number of great quadrupeds might be supported. the perfect preservation of the carcasses of the siberian elephants and rhinoceroses is certainly one of the most wonderful facts in geology; but independently of the imagined difficulty of supplying them with food from the adjoining countries, the whole case is not, i think, so perplexing as it has generally been considered. the plains of siberia, like those of the pampas, appear to have been formed under the sea, into which rivers brought down the bodies of many animals; of the greater number of these only the skeletons have been preserved, but of others the perfect carcass. now it is known that in the shallow sea on the arctic coast of america the bottom freezes ( / . messrs. dease and simpson, in "geographical journal" volume pages and .), and does not thaw in spring so soon as the surface of the land, moreover, at greater depths, where the bottom of the sea does not freeze, the mud a few feet beneath the top layer might remain even in summer below degrees, as is the case on the land with the soil at the depth of a few feet. at still greater depths the temperature of the mud and water would probably not be low enough to preserve the flesh; and hence, carcasses drifted beyond the shallow parts near an arctic coast, would have only their skeletons preserved: now in the extreme northern parts of siberia bones are infinitely numerous, so that even islets are said to be almost composed of them ( / . cuvier "ossemens fossiles" tome page , from billing's "voyage."); and those islets lie no less than ten degrees of latitude north of the place where pallas found the frozen rhinoceros. on the other hand, a carcass washed by a flood into a shallow part of the arctic sea, would be preserved for an indefinite period, if it were soon afterwards covered with mud sufficiently thick to prevent the heat of the summer water penetrating to it; and if, when the sea-bottom was upraised into land, the covering was sufficiently thick to prevent the heat of the summer air and sun thawing and corrupting it. (plate . flora of magellan.) (plate . macrocystis pyrifera, or magellan kelp.) recapitulation. i will recapitulate the principal facts with regard to the climate, ice-action, and organic productions of the southern hemisphere, transposing the places in imagination to europe, with which we are so much better acquainted. then, near lisbon, the commonest sea-shells, namely, three species of oliva, a voluta, and a terebra, would have a tropical character. in the southern provinces of france, magnificent forests, intwined by arborescent grasses and with the trees loaded with parasitical plants, would hide the face of the land. the puma and the jaguar would haunt the pyrenees. in the latitude of mont blanc, but on an island as far westward as central north america, tree-ferns and parasitical orchideae would thrive amidst the thick woods. even as far north as central denmark humming-birds would be seen fluttering about delicate flowers, and parrots feeding amidst the evergreen woods; and in the sea there we should have a voluta, and all the shells of large size and vigorous growth. nevertheless, on some islands only miles northward of our new cape horn in denmark, a carcass buried in the soil (or if washed into a shallow sea, and covered up with mud) would be preserved perpetually frozen. if some bold navigator attempted to penetrate northward of these islands, he would run a thousand dangers amidst gigantic icebergs, on some of which he would see great blocks of rock borne far away from their original site. another island of large size in the latitude of southern scotland, but twice as far to the west, would be "almost wholly covered with everlasting snow," and would have each bay terminated by ice-cliffs, whence great masses would be yearly detached: this island would boast only of a little moss, grass, and burnet, and a titlark would be its only land inhabitant. from our new cape horn in denmark, a chain of mountains, scarcely half the height of the alps, would run in a straight line due southward; and on its western flank every deep creek of the sea, or fiord, would end in "bold and astonishing glaciers." these lonely channels would frequently reverberate with the falls of ice, and so often would great waves rush along their coasts; numerous icebergs, some as tall as cathedrals, and occasionally loaded with "no inconsiderable blocks of rock," would be stranded on the outlying islets; at intervals violent earthquakes would shoot prodigious masses of ice into the waters below. lastly, some missionaries attempting to penetrate a long arm of the sea, would behold the not lofty surrounding mountains, sending down their many grand icy streams to the sea-coast, and their progress in the boats would be checked by the innumerable floating icebergs, some small and some great; and this would have occurred on our twenty-second of june, and where the lake of geneva is now spread out! ( / . in the former edition and appendix, i have given some facts on the transportal of erratic boulders and icebergs in the antarctic ocean. this subject has lately been treated excellently by mr. hayes, in the "boston journal" volume page . the author does not appear aware of a case published by me "geographical journal" volume page , of a gigantic boulder embedded in an iceberg in the antarctic ocean, almost certainly one hundred miles distant from any land, and perhaps much more distant. in the appendix i have discussed at length the probability (at that time hardly thought of) of icebergs, when stranded, grooving and polishing rocks, like glaciers. this is now a very commonly received opinion; and i cannot still avoid the suspicion that it is applicable even to such cases as that of the jura. dr. richardson has assured me that the icebergs off north america push before them pebbles and sand, and leave the submarine rocky flats quite bare; it is hardly possible to doubt that such ledges must be polished and scored in the direction of the set of the prevailing currents. since writing that appendix i have seen in north wales "london philosophical magazine" volume page ) the adjoining action of glaciers and floating icebergs. chapter xii. (plate . trochilus forficatus.) valparaiso. excursion to the foot of the andes. structure of the land. ascend the bell of quillota. shattered masses of greenstone. immense valleys. mines. state of miners. santiago. hot-baths of cauquenes. gold-mines. grinding-mills. perforated stones. habits of the puma. el turco and tapacolo. humming-birds. central chile. july , . the "beagle" anchored late at night in the bay of valparaiso, the chief seaport of chile. when morning came, everything appeared delightful. after tierra del fuego, the climate felt quite delicious--the atmosphere so dry, and the heavens so clear and blue with the sun shining brightly, that all nature seemed sparkling with life. the view from the anchorage is very pretty. the town is built at the very foot of a range of hills, about feet high, and rather steep. from its position, it consists of one long, straggling street, which runs parallel to the beach, and wherever a ravine comes down, the houses are piled up on each side of it. the rounded hills, being only partially protected by a very scanty vegetation, are worn into numberless little gullies, which expose a singularly bright red soil. from this cause, and from the low whitewashed houses with tile roofs, the view reminded me of st. cruz in teneriffe. in a north-easterly direction there are some fine glimpses of the andes: but these mountains appear much grander when viewed from the neighbouring hills: the great distance at which they are situated can then more readily be perceived. the volcano of aconcagua is particularly magnificent. this huge and irregularly conical mass has an elevation greater than that of chimborazo; for, from measurements made by the officers in the "beagle," its height is no less than , feet. the cordillera, however, viewed from this point, owe the greater part of their beauty to the atmosphere through which they are seen. when the sun was setting in the pacific, it was admirable to watch how clearly their rugged outlines could be distinguished, yet how varied and how delicate were the shades of their colour. i had the good fortune to find living here mr. richard corfield, an old schoolfellow and friend, to whose hospitality and kindness i was greatly indebted, in having afforded me a most pleasant residence during the "beagle's" stay in chile. the immediate neighbourhood of valparaiso is not very productive to the naturalist. during the long summer the wind blows steadily from the southward, and a little off shore, so that rain never falls; during the three winter months, however, it is sufficiently abundant. the vegetation in consequence is very scanty: except in some deep valleys there are no trees, and only a little grass and a few low bushes are scattered over the less steep parts of the hills. when we reflect that at the distance of miles to the south, this side of the andes is completely hidden by one impenetrable forest, the contrast is very remarkable. i took several long walks while collecting objects of natural history. the country is pleasant for exercise. there are many very beautiful flowers; and, as in most other dry climates, the plants and shrubs possess strong and peculiar odours--even one's clothes by brushing through them became scented. i did not cease from wonder at finding each succeeding day as fine as the foregoing. what a difference does climate make in the enjoyment of life! how opposite are the sensations when viewing black mountains half-enveloped in clouds, and seeing another range through the light blue haze of a fine day! the one for a time may be very sublime; the other is all gaiety and happy life. august , . i set out on a riding excursion, for the purpose of geologising the basal parts of the andes, which alone at this time of the year are not shut up by the winter snow. our first day's ride was northward along the sea-coast. after dark we reached the hacienda of quintero, the estate which formerly belonged to lord cochrane. my object in coming here was to see the great beds of shells which stand some yards above the level of the sea, and are burnt for lime. the proofs of the elevation of this whole line of coast are unequivocal: at the height of a few hundred feet old-looking shells are numerous, and i found some at feet. these shells either lie loose on the surface, or are embedded in a reddish-black vegetable mould. i was much surprised to find under the microscope that this vegetable mould is really marine mud, full of minute particles of organic bodies. august , . we returned towards the valley of quillota. the country was exceedingly pleasant; just such as poets would call pastoral: green open lawns, separated by small valleys with rivulets, and the cottages, we may suppose of the shepherds, scattered on the hill-sides. we were obliged to cross the ridge of the chilicauquen. at its base there were many fine evergreen forest-trees, but these flourished only in the ravines, where there was running water. any person who had seen only the country near valparaiso would never have imagined that there had been such picturesque spots in chile. as soon as we reached the brow of the sierra, the valley of quillota was immediately under our feet. the prospect was one of remarkable artificial luxuriance. the valley is very broad and quite flat, and is thus easily irrigated in all parts. the little square gardens are crowded with orange and olive trees and every sort of vegetable. on each side huge bare mountains rise, and this from the contrast renders the patchwork valley the more pleasing. whoever called "valparaiso" the "valley of paradise," must have been thinking of quillota. we crossed over to the hacienda de san isidro, situated at the very foot of the bell mountain. (plate . hacienda, condor, cactus, etc.) chile, as may be seen in the maps, is a narrow strip of land between the cordillera and the pacific; and this strip is itself traversed by several mountain-lines, which in this part run parallel to the great range. between these outer lines and the main cordillera, a succession of level basins, generally opening into each other by narrow passages, extend far to the southward: in these, the principal towns are situated, as san felipe, santiago, san fernando. these basins or plains, together with the transverse flat valleys (like that of quillota) which connect them with the coast, i have no doubt are the bottoms of ancient inlets and deep bays, such as at the present day intersect every part of tierra del fuego and the western coast. chile must formerly have resembled the latter country in the configuration of its land and water. the resemblance was occasionally shown strikingly when a level fog-bank covered, as with a mantle, all the lower parts of the country: the white vapour curling into the ravines, beautifully represented little coves and bays; and here and there a solitary hillock peeping up showed that it had formerly stood there as an islet. the contrast of these flat valleys and basins with the irregular mountains gave the scenery a character which to me was new and very interesting. from the natural slope to seaward of these plains, they are very easily irrigated, and in consequence singularly fertile. without this process the land would produce scarcely anything, for during the whole summer the sky is cloudless. the mountains and hills are dotted over with bushes and low trees, and excepting these the vegetation is very scanty. each landowner in the valley possesses a certain portion of hill-country, where his half-wild cattle, in considerable numbers, manage to find sufficient pasture. once every year there is a grand "rodeo," when all the cattle are driven down, counted, and marked, and a certain number separated to be fattened in the irrigated fields. wheat is extensively cultivated, and a good deal of indian corn: a kind of bean is, however, the staple article of food for the common labourers. the orchards produce an overflowing abundance of peaches, figs, and grapes. with all these advantages the inhabitants of the country ought to be much more prosperous than they are. august , . the mayor-domo of the hacienda was good enough to give me a guide and fresh horses; and in the morning we set out to ascend the campana, or bell mountain, which is feet high. the paths were very bad, but both the geology and scenery amply repaid the trouble. we reached, by the evening, a spring called the agua del guanaco, which is situated at a great height. this must be an old name, for it is very many years since a guanaco drank its waters. during the ascent i noticed that nothing but bushes grew on the northern slope, whilst on the southern slope there was a bamboo about fifteen feet high. in a few places there were palms, and i was surprised to see one at an elevation of at least feet. these palms are, for their family, ugly trees. their stem is very large, and of a curious form, being thicker in the middle than at the base or top. they are excessively numerous in some parts of chile, and valuable on account of a sort of treacle made from the sap. on one estate near petorca they tried to count them, but failed, after having numbered several hundred thousand. every year in the early spring, in august, very many are cut down, and when the trunk is lying on the ground, the crown of leaves is lopped off. the sap then immediately begins to flow from the upper end, and continues so doing for some months: it is, however, necessary that a thin slice should be shaved off from that end every morning, so as to expose a fresh surface. a good tree will give ninety gallons, and all this must have been contained in the vessels of the apparently dry trunk. it is said that the sap flows much more quickly on those days when the sun is powerful; and likewise, that it is absolutely necessary to take care, in cutting down the tree, that it should fall with its head upwards on the side of the hill; for if it falls down the slope, scarcely any sap will flow; although in that case one would have thought that the action would have been aided, instead of checked, by the force of gravity. the sap is concentrated by boiling, and is then called treacle, which it very much resembles in taste. we unsaddled our horses near the spring, and prepared to pass the night. the evening was fine, and the atmosphere so clear that the masts of the vessels at anchor in the bay of valparaiso, although no less than twenty-six geographical miles distant, could be distinguished clearly as little black streaks. a ship doubling the point under sail appeared as a bright white speck. anson expresses much surprise, in his voyage, at the distance at which his vessels were discovered from the coast; but he did not sufficiently allow for the height of the land and the great transparency of the air. the setting of the sun was glorious; the valleys being black, whilst the snowy peaks of the andes yet retained a ruby tint. when it was dark, we made a fire beneath a little arbour of bamboos, fried our charqui (or dried slips of beef), took our maté, and were quite comfortable. there is an inexpressible charm in thus living in the open air. the evening was calm and still;--the shrill noise of the mountain bizcacha, and the faint cry of a goatsucker, were occasionally to be heard. besides these, few birds, or even insects, frequent these dry, parched mountains. august , . in the morning we climbed up the rough mass of greenstone which crowns the summit. this rock, as frequently happens, was much shattered and broken into huge angular fragments. i observed, however, one remarkable circumstance, namely, that many of the surfaces presented every degree of freshness--some appearing as if broken the day before, whilst on others lichens had either just become, or had long grown, attached. i so fully believed that this was owing to the frequent earthquakes, that i felt inclined to hurry from below each loose pile. as one might very easily be deceived in a fact of this kind, i doubted its accuracy, until ascending mount wellington, in van diemen's land, where earthquakes do not occur; and there i saw the summit of the mountain similarly composed and similarly shattered, but all the blocks appeared as if they had been hurled into their present position thousands of years ago. we spent the day on the summit, and i never enjoyed one more thoroughly. chile, bounded by the andes and the pacific, was seen as in a map. the pleasure from the scenery, in itself beautiful, was heightened by the many reflections which arose from the mere view of the campana range with its lesser parallel ones, and of the broad valley of quillota directly intersecting them. who can avoid wondering at the force which has upheaved these mountains, and even more so at the countless ages which it must have required to have broken through, removed, and levelled whole masses of them? it is well in this case to call to mind the vast shingle and sedimentary beds of patagonia, which, if heaped on the cordillera, would increase its height by so many thousand feet. when in that country, i wondered how any mountain-chain could have supplied such masses, and not have been utterly obliterated. we must not now reverse the wonder, and doubt whether all-powerful time can grind down mountains--even the gigantic cordillera--into gravel and mud. the appearance of the andes was different from that which i had expected. the lower line of the snow was of course horizontal, and to this line the even summits of the range seemed quite parallel. only at long intervals a group of points or a single cone showed where a volcano had existed, or does now exist. hence the range resembled a great solid wall, surmounted here and there by a tower, and making a most perfect barrier to the country. almost every part of the hill had been drilled by attempts to open gold-mines: the rage for mining has left scarcely a spot in chile unexamined. i spent the evening as before, talking round the fire with my two companions. the guasos of chile, who correspond to the gauchos of the pampas, are, however, a very different set of beings. chile is the more civilised of the two countries, and the inhabitants, in consequence, have lost much individual character. gradations in rank are much more strongly marked: the guaso does not by any means consider every man his equal; and i was quite surprised to find that my companions did not like to eat at the same time with myself. this feeling of inequality is a necessary consequence of the existence of an aristocracy of wealth. it is said that some few of the greater landowners possess from five to ten thousand pounds sterling per annum: an inequality of riches which i believe is not met with in any of the cattle-breeding countries eastward of the andes. a traveller does not here meet that unbounded hospitality which refuses all payment, but yet is so kindly offered that no scruples can be raised in accepting it. almost every house in chile will receive you for the night, but a trifle is expected to be given in the morning; even a rich man will accept two or three shillings. the gaucho, although he may be a cutthroat, is a gentleman; the guaso is in few respects better, but at the same time a vulgar, ordinary fellow. the two men, although employed much in the same manner, are different in their habits and attire; and the peculiarities of each are universal in their respective countries. the gaucho seems part of his horse, and scorns to exert himself excepting when on its back; the guaso may be hired to work as a labourer in the fields. the former lives entirely on animal food; the latter almost wholly on vegetable. we do not here see the white boots, the broad drawers, and scarlet chilipa; the picturesque costume of the pampas. here, common trousers are protected by black and green worsted leggings. the poncho, however, is common to both. the chief pride of the guaso lies in his spurs, which are absurdly large. i measured one which was six inches in the diameter of the rowel, and the rowel itself contained upwards of thirty points. the stirrups are on the same scale, each consisting of a square, carved block of wood, hollowed out, yet weighing three or four pounds. the guaso is perhaps more expert with the lazo than the gaucho; but, from the nature of the country, he does not know the use of the bolas. august , . we descended the mountain, and passed some beautiful little spots, with rivulets and fine trees. having slept at the same hacienda as before, we rode during the two succeeding days up the valley, and passed through quillota, which is more like a collection of nursery-gardens than a town. the orchards were beautiful, presenting one mass of peach-blossoms. i saw, also, in one or two places the date-palm; it is a most stately tree; and i should think a group of them in their native asiatic or african deserts must be superb. we passed likewise san felipe, a pretty straggling town like quillota. the valley in this part expands into one of those great bays or plains, reaching to the foot of the cordillera, which have been mentioned as forming so curious a part of the scenery of chile. in the evening we reached the mines of jajuel, situated in a ravine at the flank of the great chain. i stayed here five days. my host, the superintendent of the mine, was a shrewd but rather ignorant cornish miner. he had married a spanish woman, and did not mean to return home; but his admiration for the mines of cornwall remained unbounded. amongst many other questions, he asked me, "now that george rex is dead, how many more of the family of rexes are yet alive?" this rex certainly must be a relation of the great author finis, who wrote all books! these mines are of copper, and the ore is all shipped to swansea, to be smelted. hence the mines have an aspect singularly quiet, as compared to those in england: here no smoke, furnaces, or great steam-engines, disturb the solitude of the surrounding mountains. the chilian government, or rather the old spanish law, encourages by every method the searching for mines. the discoverer may work a mine on any ground, by paying five shillings; and before paying this he may try, even in the garden of another man, for twenty days. it is now well known that the chilian method of mining is the cheapest. my host says that the two principal improvements introduced by foreigners have been, first, reducing by previous roasting the copper pyrites--which, being the common ore in cornwall, the english miners were astounded on their arrival to find thrown away as useless: secondly, stamping and washing the scoriae from the old furnaces--by which process particles of metal are recovered in abundance. i have actually seen mules carrying to the coast, for transportation to england, a cargo of such cinders. but the first case is much the most curious. the chilian miners were so convinced that copper pyrites contained not a particle of copper, that they laughed at the englishmen for their ignorance, who laughed in turn, and bought their richest veins for a few dollars. it is very odd that, in a country where mining had been extensively carried on for many years, so simple a process as gently roasting the ore to expel the sulphur previous to smelting it, had never been discovered. a few improvements have likewise been introduced in some of the simple machinery; but even to the present day, water is removed from some mines by men carrying it up the shaft in leathern bags! (plate . chilian miner.) the labouring men work very hard. they have little time allowed for their meals, and during summer and winter they begin when it is light, and leave off at dark. they are paid one pound sterling a month, and their food is given them: this for breakfast consists of sixteen figs and two small loaves of bread; for dinner, boiled beans; for supper, broken roasted wheat grain. they scarcely ever taste meat; as, with the twelve pounds per annum, they have to clothe themselves and support their families. the miners who work in the mine itself have twenty-five shillings per month, and are allowed a little charqui. but these men come down from their bleak habitations only once in every fortnight or three weeks. (plate . cactus (cereus peruviana).) during my stay here i thoroughly enjoyed scrambling about these huge mountains. the geology, as might have been expected, was very interesting. the shattered and baked rocks, traversed by innumerable dikes of greenstone, showed what commotions had formerly taken place. the scenery was much the same as that near the bell of quillota--dry barren mountains, dotted at intervals by bushes with a scanty foliage. the cactuses, or rather opuntias, were here very numerous. i measured one of a spherical figure, which, including the spines, was six feet and four inches in circumference. the height of the common cylindrical, branching kind, is from twelve to fifteen feet, and the girth (with spines) of the branches between three and four feet. a heavy fall of snow on the mountains prevented me, during the last two days, from making some interesting excursions. i attempted to reach a lake which the inhabitants, from some unaccountable reason, believe to be an arm of the sea. during a very dry season, it was proposed to attempt cutting a channel from it for the sake of the water, but the padre, after a consultation, declared it was too dangerous, as all chile would be inundated, if, as generally supposed, the lake was connected with the pacific. we ascended to a great height, but becoming involved in the snow-drifts failed in reaching this wonderful lake, and had some difficulty in returning. i thought we should have lost our horses; for there was no means of guessing how deep the drifts were, and the animals, when led, could only move by jumping. the black sky showed that a fresh snowstorm was gathering, and we therefore were not a little glad when we escaped. by the time we reached the base the storm commenced, and it was lucky for us that this did not happen three hours earlier in the day. august , . we left jajuel and again crossed the basin of san felipe. the day was truly chilian: glaringly bright, and the atmosphere quite clear. the thick and uniform covering of newly-fallen snow rendered the view of the volcano of aconcagua and the main chain quite glorious. we were now on the road to santiago, the capital of chile. we crossed the cerro del talguen, and slept at a little rancho. the host, talking about the state of chile as compared to other countries, was very humble: "some see with two eyes, and some with one, but for my part i do not think that chile sees with any." august , . after crossing many low hills we descended into the small land-locked plain of guitron. in the basins, such as this one, which are elevated from one thousand to two thousand feet above the sea, two species of acacia, which are stunted in their forms, and stand wide apart from each other, grow in large numbers. these trees are never found near the sea-coast; and this gives another characteristic feature to the scenery of these basins. we crossed a low ridge which separates guitron from the great plain on which santiago stands. the view was here pre-eminently striking: the dead level surface, covered in parts by woods of acacia, and with the city in the distance, abutting horizontally against the base of the andes, whose snowy peaks were bright with the evening sun. at the first glance of this view, it was quite evident that the plain represented the extent of a former inland sea. as soon as we gained the level road we pushed our horses into a gallop, and reached the city before it was dark. i stayed a week in santiago and enjoyed myself very much. in the morning i rode to various places on the plain, and in the evening dined with several of the english merchants, whose hospitality at this place is well known. a never-failing source of pleasure was to ascend the little hillock of rock (st. lucia) which projects in the middle of the city. the scenery certainly is most striking, and, as i have said, very peculiar. i am informed that this same character is common to the cities on the great mexican platform. of the town i have nothing to say in detail: it is not so fine or so large as buenos ayres, but is built after the same model. i arrived here by a circuit to the north; so i resolved to return to valparaiso by a rather longer excursion to the south of the direct road. september , . by the middle of the day we arrived at one of the suspension bridges made of hide, which cross the maypu, a large turbulent river a few leagues southward of santiago. these bridges are very poor affairs. the road, following the curvature of the suspending ropes, is made of bundles of sticks placed close together. it was full of holes, and oscillated rather fearfully, even with the weight of a man leading his horse. in the evening we reached a comfortable farm-house, where there were several very pretty señoritas. they were much horrified at my having entered one of their churches out of mere curiosity. they asked me, "why do you not become a christian--for our religion is certain?" i assured them i was a sort of christian; but they would not hear of it--appealing to my own words, "do not your padres, your very bishops, marry?" the absurdity of a bishop having a wife particularly struck them: they scarcely knew whether to be most amused or horror-struck at such an enormity. september , . we proceeded due south, and slept at rancagua. the road passed over the level but narrow plain, bounded on one side by lofty hills, and on the other by the cordillera. the next day we turned up the valley of the rio cachapual, in which the hot-baths of cauquenes, long celebrated for their medicinal properties, are situated. the suspension bridges, in the less frequented parts, are generally taken down during the winter when the rivers are low. such was the case in this valley, and we were therefore obliged to cross the stream on horseback. this is rather disagreeable, for the foaming water, though not deep, rushes so quickly over the bed of large rounded stones, that one's head becomes quite confused, and it is difficult even to perceive whether the horse is moving onward or standing still. in summer, when the snow melts, the torrents are quite impassable; their strength and fury are then extremely great, as might be plainly seen by the marks which they had left. we reached the baths in the evening, and stayed there five days, being confined the two last by heavy rain. the buildings consist of a square of miserable little hovels, each with a single table and bench. they are situated in a narrow deep valley just without the central cordillera. it is a quiet, solitary spot, with a good deal of wild beauty. the mineral springs of cauquenes burst forth on a line of dislocation, crossing a mass of stratified rock, the whole of which betrays the action of heat. a considerable quantity of gas is continually escaping from the same orifices with the water. though the springs are only a few yards apart, they have very different temperatures; and this appears to be the result of an unequal mixture of cold water: for those with the lowest temperature have scarcely any mineral taste. after the great earthquake of the springs ceased, and the water did not return for nearly a year. they were also much affected by the earthquake of ; the temperature being suddenly changed from to degrees. ( / . caldcleugh in "philosophical transactions" .) it seems probable that mineral waters rising deep from the bowels of the earth would always be more deranged by subterranean disturbances than those nearer the surface. the man who had charge of the baths assured me that in summer the water is hotter and more plentiful than in winter. the former circumstance i should have expected, from the less mixture, during the dry season, of cold water; but the latter statement appears very strange and contradictory. the periodical increase during the summer, when rain never falls, can, i think, only be accounted for by the melting of the snow: yet the mountains which are covered by snow during that season are three or four leagues distant from the springs. i have no reason to doubt the accuracy of my informer, who, having lived on the spot for several years, ought to be well acquainted with the circumstance,--which, if true, certainly is very curious: for we must suppose that the snow-water, being conducted through porous strata to the regions of heat, is again thrown up to the surface by the line of dislocated and injected rocks at cauquenes; and the regularity of the phenomenon would seem to indicate that in this district heated rock occurred at a depth not very great. one day i rode up the valley to the farthest inhabited spot. shortly above that point, the cachapual divides into two deep tremendous ravines, which penetrate directly into the great range. i scrambled up a peaked mountain, probably more than six thousand feet high. here, as indeed everywhere else, scenes of the highest interest presented themselves. it was by one of these ravines that pincheira entered chile and ravaged the neighbouring country. this is the same man whose attack on an estancia at the rio negro i have described. he was a renegade half-caste spaniard, who collected a great body of indians together and established himself by a stream in the pampas, which place none of the forces sent after him could ever discover. from this point he used to sally forth, and crossing the cordillera by passes hitherto unattempted, he ravaged the farm-houses and drove the cattle to his secret rendezvous. pincheira was a capital horseman, and he made all around him equally good, for he invariably shot any one who hesitated to follow him. it was against this man, and other wandering indian tribes, that rosas waged the war of extermination. september , . (plate . cordilleras from santiago de chile.) we left the baths of cauquenes, and, rejoining the main road, slept at the rio claro. from this place we rode to the town of san fernando. before arriving there, the last land-locked basin had expanded into a great plain, which extended so far to the south that the snowy summits of the more distant andes were seen as if above the horizon of the sea. san fernando is forty leagues from santiago; and it was my farthest point southward; for we here turned at right angles towards the coast. we slept at the gold-mines of yaquil, which are worked by mr. nixon, an american gentleman, to whose kindness i was much indebted during the four days i stayed at his house. the next morning we rode to the mines, which are situated at the distance of some leagues, near the summit of a lofty hill. on the way we had a glimpse of the lake tagua-tagua, celebrated for its floating islands, which have been described by m. gay. ( / . "annales des sciences naturelles" march, . m. gay, a zealous and able naturalist, was then occupied in studying every branch of natural history throughout the kingdom of chile.) they are composed of the stalks of various dead plants intertwined together, and on the surface of which other living ones take root. their form is generally circular, and their thickness from four to six feet, of which the greater part is immersed in the water. as the wind blows, they pass from one side of the lake to the other, and often carry cattle and horses as passengers. when we arrived at the mine, i was struck by the pale appearance of many of the men, and inquired from mr. nixon respecting their condition. the mine is feet deep, and each man brings up about pounds weight of stone. with this load they have to climb up the alternate notches cut in the trunks of trees, placed in a zigzag line up the shaft. even beardless young men, eighteen and twenty years old, with little muscular development of their bodies (they are quite naked excepting drawers) ascend with this great load from nearly the same depth. a strong man, who is not accustomed to this labour, perspires most profusely, with merely carrying up his own body. with this very severe labour, they live entirely on boiled beans and bread. they would prefer having bread alone; but their masters, finding that they cannot work so hard upon this, treat them like horses, and make them eat the beans. their pay is here rather more than at the mines of jajuel, being from to shillings per month. they leave the mine only once in three weeks; when they stay with their families for two days. one of the rules of this mine sounds very harsh, but answers pretty well for the master. the only method of stealing gold is to secrete pieces of the ore, and take them out as occasion may offer. whenever the major-domo finds a lump thus hidden, its full value is stopped out of the wages of all the men; who thus, without they all combine, are obliged to keep watch over each other. when the ore is brought to the mill, it is ground into an impalpable powder; the process of washing removes all the lighter particles, and amalgamation finally secures the gold-dust. the washing, when described, sounds a very simple process; but it is beautiful to see how the exact adaptation of the current of water to the specific gravity of the gold so easily separates the powdered matrix from the metal. the mud which passes from the mills is collected into pools, where it subsides, and every now and then is cleared out, and thrown into a common heap. a great deal of chemical action then commences, salts of various kinds effloresce on the surface, and the mass becomes hard. after having been left for a year or two, and then rewashed, it yields gold; and this process may be repeated even six or seven times; but the gold each time becomes less in quantity, and the intervals required (as the inhabitants say, to generate the metal) are longer. there can be no doubt that the chemical action, already mentioned, each time liberates fresh gold from some combination. the discovery of a method to effect this before the first grinding would without doubt raise the value of gold-ores many fold. it is curious to find how the minute particles of gold, being scattered about and not corroding, at last accumulate in some quantity. a short time since a few miners, being out of work, obtained permission to scrape the ground round the house and mill; they washed the earth thus got together, and so procured thirty dollars worth of gold. this is an exact counterpart of what takes place in nature. mountains suffer degradation and wear away, and with them the metallic veins which they contain. the hardest rock is worn into impalpable mud, the ordinary metals oxidate, and both are removed; but gold, platina, and a few others are nearly indestructible, and from their weight, sinking to the bottom, are left behind. after whole mountains have passed through this grinding mill, and have been washed by the hand of nature, the residue becomes metalliferous, and man finds it worth his while to complete the task of separation. bad as the above treatment of the miners appears, it is gladly accepted of by them; for the condition of the labouring agriculturists is much worse. their wages are lower, and they live almost exclusively on beans. this poverty must be chiefly owing to the feudal-like system on which the land is tilled: the landowner gives a small plot of ground to the labourer, for building on and cultivating, and in return has his services (or those of a proxy) for every day of his life, without any wages. until a father has a grown-up son, who can by his labour pay the rent, there is no one, except on occasional days, to take care of his own patch of ground. hence extreme poverty is very common among the labouring classes in this country. there are some old indian ruins in this neighbourhood, and i was shown one of the perforated stones, which molina mentions as being found in many places in considerable numbers. they are of a circular flattened form, from five to six inches in diameter, with a hole passing quite through the centre. it has generally been supposed that they were used as heads to clubs, although their form does not appear at all well adapted for that purpose. burchell states that some of the tribes in southern africa dig up roots by the aid of a stick pointed at one end, the force and weight of which are increased by a round stone with a hole in it, into which the other end is firmly wedged. ( / . burchell's "travels" volume page .) it appears probable that the indians of chile formerly used some such rude agricultural instrument. one day, a german collector in natural history, of the name of renous, called, and nearly at the same time an old spanish lawyer. i was amused at being told the conversation which took place between them. renous speaks spanish so well that the old lawyer mistook him for a chilian. renous alluding to me, asked him what he thought of the king of england sending out a collector to their country, to pick up lizards and beetles, and to break stones? the old gentleman thought seriously for some time, and then said, "it is not well,--hay un gato encerrado aqui (there is a cat shut up here). no man is so rich as to send out people to pick up such rubbish. i do not like it: if one of us were to go and do such things in england, do not you think the king of england would very soon send us out of his country?" and this old gentleman, from his profession, belongs to the better informed and more intelligent classes! renous himself, two or three years before, left in a house at san fernando some caterpillars, under charge of a girl to feed, that they might turn into butterflies. this was rumoured through the town, and at last the padres and governor consulted together, and agreed it must be some heresy. accordingly, when renous returned, he was arrested. september , . we left yaquil, and followed the flat valley, formed like that of quillota, in which the rio tinderidica flows. even at these few miles south of santiago the climate is much damper; in consequence there were fine tracts of pasturage which were not irrigated. ( th.) we followed this valley till it expanded into a great plain, which reaches from the sea to the mountains west of rancagua. we shortly lost all trees and even bushes; so that the inhabitants are nearly as badly off for firewood as those in the pampas. never having heard of these plains, i was much surprised at meeting with such scenery in chile. the plains belong to more than one series of different elevations, and they are traversed by broad flat-bottomed valleys; both of which circumstances, as in patagonia, bespeak the action of the sea on gently rising land. in the steep cliffs bordering these valleys there are some large caves, which no doubt were originally formed by the waves: one of these is celebrated under the name of cueva del obispo; having formerly been consecrated. during the day i felt very unwell, and from that time till the end of october did not recover. september , . we continued to pass over green plains without a tree. the next day we arrived at a house near navedad, on the sea-coast, where a rich haciendero gave us lodgings. i stayed here the two ensuing days, and although very unwell, managed to collect from the tertiary formation some marine shells. september , . our course was now directed towards valparaiso, which with great difficulty i reached on the th, and was there confined to my bed till the end of october. during this time i was an inmate in mr. corfield's house, whose kindness to me i do not know how to express. i will here add a few observations on some of the animals and birds of chile. the puma, or south american lion, is not uncommon. this animal has a wide geographical range; being found from the equatorial forests, throughout the deserts of patagonia, as far south as the damp and cold latitudes ( to degrees) of tierra del fuego. i have seen its footsteps in the cordillera of central chile, at an elevation of at least , feet. in la plata the puma preys chiefly on deer, ostriches, bizcacha, and other small quadrupeds; it there seldom attacks cattle or horses, and most rarely man. in chile, however, it destroys many young horses and cattle, owing probably to the scarcity of other quadrupeds: i heard, likewise, of two men and a woman who had been thus killed. it is asserted that the puma always kills its prey by springing on the shoulders, and then drawing back the head with one of its paws, until the vertebrae break: i have seen in patagonia the skeletons of guanacos, with their necks thus dislocated. the puma, after eating its fill, covers the carcass with many large bushes, and lies down to watch it. this habit is often the cause of its being discovered; for the condors wheeling in the air, every now and then descend to partake of the feast, and being angrily driven away, rise all together on the wing. the chileno guaso then knows there is a lion watching his prey--the word is given--and men and dogs hurry to the chase. sir f. head says that a gaucho in the pampas, upon merely seeing some condors wheeling in the air, cried "a lion!" i could never myself meet with any one who pretended to such powers of discrimination. it is asserted that if a puma has once been betrayed by thus watching the carcass, and has then been hunted, it never resumes this habit; but that having gorged itself, it wanders far away. the puma is easily killed. in an open country it is first entangled with the bolas, then lazoed, and dragged along the ground till rendered insensible. at tandeel (south of the plata), i was told that within three months one hundred were thus destroyed. in chile they are generally driven up bushes or trees, and are then either shot, or baited to death by dogs. the dogs employed in this chase belong to a particular breed, called leoneros: they are weak, slight animals, like long-legged terriers, but are born with a particular instinct for this sport. the puma is described as being very crafty: when pursued, it often returns on its former track, and then suddenly making a spring on one side, waits there till the dogs have passed by. it is a very silent animal, uttering no cry even when wounded, and only rarely during the breeding season. of birds, two species of the genus pteroptochos (megapodius and albicollis of kittlitz) are perhaps the most conspicuous. the former, called by the chilenos "el turco," is as large as a fieldfare, to which bird it has some alliance; but its legs are much longer, tail shorter, and beak stronger: its colour is a reddish brown. the turco is not uncommon. it lives on the ground, sheltered among the thickets which are scattered over the dry and sterile hills. with its tail erect, and stilt-like legs, it may be seen every now and then popping from one bush to another with uncommon quickness. it really requires little imagination to believe that the bird is ashamed of itself, and is aware of its most ridiculous figure. on first seeing it, one is tempted to exclaim, "a vilely stuffed specimen has escaped from some museum, and has come to life again!" it cannot be made to take flight without the greatest trouble, nor does it run, but only hops. the various loud cries which it utters when concealed amongst the bushes are as strange as its appearance. it is said to build its nest in a deep hole beneath the ground. i dissected several specimens: the gizzard, which was very muscular, contained beetles, vegetable fibres, and pebbles. from this character, from the length of its legs, scratching feet, membranous covering to the nostrils, short and arched wings, this bird seems in a certain degree to connect the thrushes with the gallinaceous order. the second species (or p. albicollis) is allied to the first in its general form. it is called tapacolo, or "cover your posterior;" and well does the shameless little bird deserve its name; for it carries its tail more than erect, that is, inclined backwards towards its head. it is very common, and frequents the bottoms of hedgerows, and the bushes scattered over the barren hills, where scarcely another bird can exist. in its general manner of feeding, of quickly hopping out of the thickets and back again, in its desire of concealment, unwillingness to take flight, and nidification, it bears a close resemblance to the turco; but its appearance is not quite so ridiculous. the tapacolo is very crafty: when frightened by any person, it will remain motionless at the bottom of a bush, and will then, after a little while, try with much address to crawl away on the opposite side. it is also an active bird, and continually making a noise: these noises are various and strangely odd; some are like the cooing of doves, others like the bubbling of water, and many defy all similes. the country people say it changes its cry five times in the year--according to some change of season, i suppose. ( / . it is a remarkable fact that molina, though describing in detail all the birds and animals of chile, never once mentions this genus, the species of which are so common, and so remarkable in their habits. was he at a loss how to classify them, and did he consequently think that silence was the more prudent course? it is one more instance of the frequency of omissions by authors on those very subjects where it might have been least expected.) two species of humming-birds are common; trochilus forficatus is found over a space of miles on the west coast, from the hot dry country of lima to the forests of tierra del fuego--where it may be seen flitting about in snow-storms. in the wooded island of chiloe, which has an extremely humid climate, this little bird, skipping from side to side amidst the dripping foliage, is perhaps more abundant than almost any other kind. i opened the stomachs of several specimens, shot in different parts of the continent, and in all, remains of insects were as numerous as in the stomach of a creeper. when this species migrates in the summer southward, it is replaced by the arrival of another species coming from the north. this second kind (trochilus gigas) is a very large bird for the delicate family to which it belongs: when on the wing its appearance is singular. like others of the genus, it moves from place to place with a rapidity which may be compared to that of syrphus amongst flies, and sphinx among moths; but whilst hovering over a flower, it flaps its wings with a very slow and powerful movement, totally different from that vibratory one common to most of the species, which produces the humming noise. i never saw any other bird where the force of its wings appeared (as in a butterfly) so powerful in proportion to the weight of its body. when hovering by a flower, its tail is constantly expanded and shut like a fan, the body being kept in a nearly vertical position. this action appears to steady and support the bird, between the slow movements of its wings. although flying from flower to flower in search of food, its stomach generally contained abundant remains of insects, which i suspect are much more the object of its search than honey. the note of this species, like that of nearly the whole family, is extremely shrill. (plate . chilian spurs, stirrup, etc.) chapter xiii. (plate . old church, castro, chiloe.) chiloe. general aspect. boat excursion. native indians. castro. tame fox. ascend san pedro. chonos archipelago. peninsula of tres montes. granitic range. boat-wrecked sailors. low's harbour. wild potato. formation of peat. myopotamus, otter and mice. cheucau and barking-bird. opetiorhynchus. singular character of ornithology. petrels. chiloe and chonos islands. november , . the "beagle" sailed from valparaiso to the south, for the purpose of surveying the southern part of chile, the island of chiloe, and the broken land called the chonos archipelago, as far south as the peninsula of tres montes. on the st we anchored in the bay of s. carlos, the capital of chiloe. this island is about ninety miles long, with a breadth of rather less than thirty. the land is hilly, but not mountainous, and is covered by one great forest, except where a few green patches have been cleared round the thatched cottages. from a distance the view somewhat resembles that of tierra del fuego; but the woods, when seen nearer, are incomparably more beautiful. many kinds of fine evergreen trees, and plants with a tropical character, here take the place of the gloomy beech of the southern shores. in winter the climate is detestable, and in summer it is only a little better. i should think there are few parts of the world, within the temperate regions, where so much rain falls. the winds are very boisterous, and the sky almost always clouded: to have a week of fine weather is something wonderful. it is even difficult to get a single glimpse of the cordillera: during our first visit, once only the volcano of osorno stood out in bold relief, and that was before sunrise; it was curious to watch, as the sun rose, the outline gradually fading away in the glare of the eastern sky. the inhabitants, from their complexion and low stature, appear to have three-fourths of indian blood in their veins. they are an humble, quiet, industrious set of men. although the fertile soil, resulting from the decomposition of the volcanic rocks, supports a rank vegetation, yet the climate is not favourable to any production which requires much sunshine to ripen it. there is very little pasture for the larger quadrupeds; and in consequence, the staple articles of food are pigs, potatoes, and fish. the people all dress in strong woollen garments, which each family makes for itself, and dyes with indigo of a dark blue colour. the arts, however, are in the rudest state;--as may be seen in their strange fashion of ploughing, their method of spinning, grinding corn, and in the construction of their boats. the forests are so impenetrable that the land is nowhere cultivated except near the coast and on the adjoining islets. even where paths exist, they are scarcely passable from the soft and swampy state of the soil. the inhabitants, like those of tierra del fuego, move about chiefly on the beach or in boats. although with plenty to eat, the people are very poor: there is no demand for labour, and consequently the lower orders cannot scrape together money sufficient to purchase even the smallest luxuries. there is also a great deficiency of a circulating medium. i have seen a man bringing on his back a bag of charcoal, with which to buy some trifle, and another carrying a plank to exchange for a bottle of wine. hence every tradesman must also be a merchant, and again sell the goods which he takes in exchange. november , . the yawl and whale-boat were sent under the command of mr. (now captain) sulivan to survey the eastern or inland coast of chiloe; and with orders to meet the "beagle" at the southern extremity of the island; to which point she would proceed by the outside, so as thus to circumnavigate the whole. i accompanied this expedition, but instead of going in the boats the first day, i hired horses to take me to chacao, at the northern extremity of the island. the road followed the coast; every now and then crossing promontories covered by fine forests. in these shaded paths it is absolutely necessary that the whole road should be made of logs of wood, which are squared and placed by the side of each other. from the rays of the sun never penetrating the evergreen foliage, the ground is so damp and soft, that except by this means neither man nor horse would be able to pass along. i arrived at the village of chacao shortly after the tents belonging to the boats were pitched for the night. the land in this neighbourhood has been extensively cleared, and there were many quiet and most picturesque nooks in the forest. chacao was formerly the principal port in the island; but many vessels having been lost, owing to the dangerous currents and rocks in the straits, the spanish government burnt the church, and thus arbitrarily compelled the greater number of inhabitants to migrate to s. carlos. we had not long bivouacked, before the barefooted son of the governor came down to reconnoitre us. seeing the english flag hoisted at the yawl's masthead, he asked with the utmost indifference, whether it was always to fly at chacao. in several places the inhabitants were much astonished at the appearance of men-of-war's boats, and hoped and believed it was the forerunner of a spanish fleet, coming to recover the island from the patriot government of chile. all the men in power, however, had been informed of our intended visit, and were exceedingly civil. while we were eating our supper, the governor paid us a visit. he had been a lieutenant-colonel in the spanish service, but now was miserably poor. he gave us two sheep, and accepted in return two cotton handkerchiefs, some brass trinkets, and a little tobacco. november , . torrents of rain: we managed, however, to run down the coast as far as huapi-lenou. the whole of this eastern side of chiloe has one aspect; it is a plain, broken by valleys and divided into little islands, and the whole thickly covered with one impervious blackish-green forest. on the margins there are some cleared spaces, surrounding the high-roofed cottages. november , . the day rose splendidly clear. the volcano of orsono was spouting out volumes of smoke. this most beautiful mountain, formed like a perfect cone, and white with snow, stands out in front of the cordillera. another great volcano, with a saddle-shaped summit, also emitted from its immense crater little jets of steam. subsequently we saw the lofty-peaked corcovado--well deserving the name of "el famoso corcovado." thus we beheld, from one point of view, three great active volcanoes, each about seven thousand feet high. in addition to this, far to the south there were other lofty cones covered with snow, which, although not known to be active, must be in their origin volcanic. the line of the andes is not, in this neighbourhood, nearly so elevated as in chile; neither does it appear to form so perfect a barrier between the regions of the earth. this great range, although running in a straight north and south line, owing to an optical deception always appeared more or less curved; for the lines drawn from each peak to the beholder's eye necessarily converged like the radii of a semicircle, and as it was not possible (owing to the clearness of the atmosphere and the absence of all intermediate objects) to judge how far distant the farthest peaks were off, they appeared to stand in a flattish semicircle. landing at midday, we saw a family of pure indian extraction. the father was singularly like york minster; and some of the younger boys, with their ruddy complexions, might have been mistaken for pampas indians. everything i have seen convinces me of the close connexion of the different american tribes, who nevertheless speak distinct languages. this party could muster but little spanish, and talked to each other in their own tongue. it is a pleasant thing to see the aborigines advanced to the same degree of civilisation, however low that may be, which their white conquerors have attained. more to the south we saw many pure indians: indeed, all the inhabitants of some of the islets retain their indian surnames. in the census of there were in chiloe and its dependencies forty-two thousand souls: the greater number of these appear to be of mixed blood. eleven thousand retain their indian surnames, but it is probable that not nearly all of these are of a pure breed. their manner of life is the same with that of the other poor inhabitants, and they are all christians; but it is said that they yet retain some strange superstitious ceremonies, and that they pretend to hold communication with the devil in certain caves. formerly, every one convicted of this offence was sent to the inquisition at lima. many of the inhabitants who are not included in the eleven thousand with indian surnames, cannot be distinguished by their appearance from indians. gomez, the governor of lemuy, is descended from noblemen of spain on both sides; but by constant intermarriages with the natives the present man is an indian. on the other hand, the governor of quinchao boasts much of his purely kept spanish blood. we reached at night a beautiful little cove, north of the island of caucahue. the people here complained of want of land. this is partly owing to their own negligence in not clearing the woods, and partly to restrictions by the government, which makes it necessary, before buying ever so small a piece, to pay two shillings to the surveyor for measuring each quadra ( yards square), together with whatever price he fixes for the value of the land. after his valuation the land must be put up three times to auction, and if no one bids more, the purchaser can have it at that rate. all these exactions must be a serious check to clearing the ground, where the inhabitants are so extremely poor. in most countries, forests are removed without much difficulty by the aid of fire; but in chiloe, from the damp nature of the climate, and the sort of trees, it is necessary first to cut them down. this is a heavy drawback to the prosperity of chiloe. in the time of the spaniards the indians could not hold land; and a family, after having cleared a piece of ground, might be driven away, and the property seized by the government. the chilian authorities are now performing an act of justice by making retribution to these poor indians, giving to each man, according to his grade of life, a certain portion of land. the value of uncleared ground is very little. the government gave mr. douglas (the present surveyor, who informed me of these circumstances) eight and a half square miles of forest near s. carlos, in lieu of a debt; and this he sold for dollars, or about pounds sterling. the two succeeding days were fine, and at night we reached the island of quinchao. this neighbourhood is the most cultivated part of the archipelago; for a broad strip of land on the coast of the main island, as well as on many of the smaller adjoining ones, is almost completely cleared. some of the farmhouses seemed very comfortable. i was curious to ascertain how rich any of these people might be, but mr. douglas says that no one can be considered as possessing a regular income. one of the richest landowners might possibly accumulate, in a long industrious life, as much as pounds sterling; but should this happen, it would all be stowed away in some secret corner, for it is the custom of almost every family to have a jar or treasure-chest buried in the ground. november , . early on sunday morning we reached castro, the ancient capital of chiloe, but now a most forlorn and deserted place. the usual quadrangular arrangement of spanish towns could be traced, but the streets and plaza were coated with fine green turf, on which sheep were browsing. the church, which stands in the middle, is entirely built of plank, and has a picturesque and venerable appearance. the poverty of the place may be conceived from the fact, that although containing some hundreds of inhabitants, one of our party was unable anywhere to purchase either a pound of sugar or an ordinary knife. no individual possessed either a watch or a clock; and an old man who was supposed to have a good idea of time, was employed to strike the church bell by guess. the arrival of our boats was a rare event in this quiet retired corner of the world; and nearly all the inhabitants came down to the beach to see us pitch our tents. they were very civil, and offered us a house; and one man even sent us a cask of cider as a present. in the afternoon we paid our respects to the governor--a quiet old man, who, in his appearance and manner of life, was scarcely superior to an english cottager. at night heavy rain set in, which was hardly sufficient to drive away from our tents the large circle of lookers on. an indian family, who had come to trade in a canoe from caylen, bivouacked near us. they had no shelter during the rain. in the morning i asked a young indian, who was wet to the skin, how he had passed the night. he seemed perfectly content, and answered, "muy bien, señor." december , . we steered for the island of lemuy. i was anxious to examine a reported coal-mine which turned out to be lignite of little value, in the sandstone (probably of an ancient tertiary epoch) of which these islands are composed. when we reached lemuy we had much difficulty in finding any place to pitch our tents, for it was spring-tide, and the land was wooded down to the water's edge. in a short time we were surrounded by a large group of the nearly pure indian inhabitants. they were much surprised at our arrival, and said one to the other, "this is the reason we have seen so many parrots lately; the cheucau (an odd red-breasted little bird, which inhabits the thick forest, and utters very peculiar noises) has not cried 'beware' for nothing." they were soon anxious for barter. money was scarcely worth anything, but their eagerness for tobacco was something quite extraordinary. after tobacco, indigo came next in value; then capsicum, old clothes, and gunpowder. the latter article was required for a very innocent purpose: each parish has a public musket, and the gunpowder was wanted for making a noise on their saint or feast days. the people here live chiefly on shell-fish and potatoes. at certain seasons they catch also, in "corrales," or hedges under water, many fish which are left on the mud-banks as the tide falls. they occasionally possess fowls, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, and cattle; the order in which they are here mentioned, expressing their respective numbers. i never saw anything more obliging and humble than the manners of these people. they generally began with stating that they were poor natives of the place, and not spaniards and that they were in sad want of tobacco and other comforts. at caylen, the most southern island, the sailors bought with a stick of tobacco, of the value of three-halfpence, two fowls, one of which, the indian stated, had skin between its toes, and turned out to be a fine duck; and with some cotton handkerchiefs, worth three shillings, three sheep and a large bunch of onions were procured. the yawl at this place was anchored some way from the shore, and we had fears for her safety from robbers during the night. our pilot, mr. douglas, accordingly told the constable of the district that we always placed sentinels with loaded arms, and not understanding spanish, if we saw any person in the dark, we should assuredly shoot him. the constable, with much humility, agreed to the perfect propriety of this arrangement, and promised us that no one should stir out of his house during that night. during the four succeeding days we continued sailing southward. the general features of the country remained the same, but it was much less thickly inhabited. on the large island of tanqui there was scarcely one cleared spot, the trees on every side extending their branches over the sea-beach. i one day noticed, growing on the sandstone cliffs, some very fine plants of the panke (gunnera scabra), which somewhat resembles the rhubarb on a gigantic scale. the inhabitants eat the stalks, which are subacid, and tan leather with the roots, and prepare a black dye from them. the leaf is nearly circular, but deeply indented on its margin. i measured one which was nearly eight feet in diameter, and therefore no less than twenty-four in circumference! the stalk is rather more than a yard high, and each plant sends out four or five of these enormous leaves, presenting together a very noble appearance. december , . we reached caylen, called "el fin del cristiandad." in the morning we stopped for a few minutes at a house on the northern end of laylec, which was the extreme point of south american christendom, and a miserable hovel it was. the latitude is degrees ', which is two degrees farther south than the rio negro on the atlantic coast. these extreme christians were very poor, and, under the plea of their situation, begged for some tobacco. as a proof of the poverty of these indians, i may mention that shortly before this we had met a man, who had travelled three days and a half on foot, and had as many to return, for the sake of recovering the value of a small axe and a few fish. how very difficult it must be to buy the smallest article, when such trouble is taken to recover so small a debt. in the evening we reached the island of san pedro, where we found the "beagle" at anchor. in doubling the point, two of the officers landed to take a round of angles with the theodolite. a fox (canis fulvipes), of a kind said to be peculiar to the island, and very rare in it, and which is a new species, was sitting on the rocks. he was so intently absorbed in watching the work of the officers, that i was able, by quietly walking up behind, to knock him on the head with my geological hammer. this fox, more curious or more scientific, but less wise, than the generality of his brethren, is now mounted in the museum of the zoological society. we stayed three days in this harbour, on one of which captain fitz roy, with a party, attempted to ascend to the summit of san pedro. the woods here had rather a different appearance from those on the northern part of the island. the rock, also, being micaceous slate, there was no beach, but the steep sides dipped directly beneath the water. the general aspect in consequence was more like that of tierra del fuego than of chiloe. in vain we tried to gain the summit: the forest was so impenetrable, that no one who has not beheld it can imagine so entangled a mass of dying and dead trunks. i am sure that often, for more than ten minutes together, our feet never touched the ground, and we were frequently ten or fifteen feet above it, so that the seamen as a joke called out the soundings. at other times we crept one after another, on our hands and knees, under the rotten trunks. in the lower part of the mountain, noble trees of the winter's bark, and a laurel like the sassafras with fragrant leaves, and others, the names of which i do not know, were matted together by a trailing bamboo or cane. here we were more like fishes struggling in a net than any other animal. on the higher parts, brushwood takes the place of larger trees, with here and there a red cedar or an alerce pine. i was also pleased to see, at an elevation of a little less than feet, our old friend the southern beech. they were, however, poor stunted trees, and i should think that this must be nearly their northern limit. we ultimately gave up the attempt in despair. december , . (plate . inside chonos archipelago.) the yawl and whale-boat, with mr. sulivan, proceeded on their survey, but i remained on board the "beagle," which the next day left san pedro for the southward. on the th we ran into an opening in the southern part of guayatecas, or the chonos archipelago; and it was fortunate we did so, for on the following day a storm, worthy of tierra del fuego, raged with great fury. white massive clouds were piled up against a dark blue sky, and across them black ragged sheets of vapour were rapidly driven. the successive mountain ranges appeared like dim shadows, and the setting sun cast on the woodland a yellow gleam, much like that produced by the flame of spirits of wine. the water was white with the flying spray, and the wind lulled and roared again through the rigging: it was an ominous, sublime scene. during a few minutes there was a bright rainbow, and it was curious to observe the effect of the spray, which, being carried along the surface of the water, changed the ordinary semicircle into a circle--a band of prismatic colours being continued, from both feet of the common arch across the bay, close to the vessel's side: thus forming a distorted, but very nearly entire ring. we stayed here three days. the weather continued bad: but this did not much signify, for the surface of the land in all these islands is all but impassable. the coast is so very rugged that to attempt to walk in that direction requires continued scrambling up and down over the sharp rocks of mica-slate; and as for the woods, our faces, hands, and shin-bones all bore witness to the maltreatment we received, in merely attempting to penetrate their forbidden recesses. december , . we stood out to sea. on the th we bade farewell to the south, and with a fair wind turned the ship's head northward. from cape tres montes we sailed pleasantly along the lofty weather-beaten coast, which is remarkable for the bold outline of its hills, and the thick covering of forest even on the almost precipitous flanks. the next day a harbour was discovered, which on this dangerous coast might be of great service to a distressed vessel. it can easily be recognised by a hill feet high, which is even more perfectly conical than the famous sugar-loaf at rio de janeiro. the next day, after anchoring, i succeeded in reaching the summit of this hill. it was a laborious undertaking, for the sides were so steep that in some parts it was necessary to use the trees as ladders. there were also several extensive brakes of the fuchsia, covered with its beautiful drooping flowers, but very difficult to crawl through. in these wild countries it gives much delight to gain the summit of any mountain. there is an indefinite expectation of seeing something very strange, which, however often it may be balked, never failed with me to recur on each successive attempt. every one must know the feeling of triumph and pride which a grand view from a height communicates to the mind. in these little frequented countries there is also joined to it some vanity, that you perhaps are the first man who ever stood on this pinnacle or admired this view. a strong desire is always felt to ascertain whether any human being has previously visited an unfrequented spot. a bit of wood with a nail in it is picked up and studied as if it were covered with hieroglyphics. possessed with this feeling, i was much interested by finding, on a wild part of the coast, a bed made of grass beneath a ledge of rock. close by it there had been a fire, and the man had used an axe. the fire, bed, and situation showed the dexterity of an indian; but he could scarcely have been an indian, for the race is in this part extinct, owing to the catholic desire of making at one blow christians and slaves. i had at the time some misgivings that the solitary man who had made his bed on this wild spot, must have been some poor shipwrecked sailor, who, in trying to travel up the coast, had here laid himself down for his dreary night. december , . the weather continued very bad, but it at last permitted us to proceed with the survey. the time hung heavy on our hands, as it always did when we were delayed from day to day by successive gales of wind. in the evening another harbour was discovered, where we anchored. directly afterwards a man was seen waving his shirt, and a boat was sent which brought back two seamen. a party of six had run away from an american whaling vessel, and had landed a little to the southward in a boat, which was shortly afterwards knocked to pieces by the surf. they had now been wandering up and down the coast for fifteen months, without knowing which way to go, or where they were. what a singular piece of good fortune it was that this harbour was now discovered! had it not been for this one chance, they might have wandered till they had grown old men, and at last have perished on this wild coast. their sufferings had been very great, and one of their party had lost his life by falling from the cliffs. they were sometimes obliged to separate in search of food, and this explained the bed of the solitary man. considering what they had undergone, i think they had kept a very good reckoning of time, for they had lost only four days. december , . we anchored in a snug little cove at the foot of some high hills, near the northern extremity of tres montes. after breakfast the next morning a party ascended one of these mountains, which was feet high. the scenery was remarkable. the chief part of the range was composed of grand, solid, abrupt masses of granite, which appeared as if they had been coeval with the beginning of the world. the granite was capped with mica-slate, and this in the lapse of ages had been worn into strange finger-shaped points. these two formations, thus differing in their outlines, agree in being almost destitute of vegetation. this barrenness had to our eyes a strange appearance, from having been so long accustomed to the sight of an almost universal forest of dark-green trees. i took much delight in examining the structure of these mountains. the complicated and lofty ranges bore a noble aspect of durability--equally profitless, however, to man and to all other animals. granite to the geologist is classic ground: from its widespread limits, and its beautiful and compact texture, few rocks have been more anciently recognised. granite has given rise, perhaps, to more discussion concerning its origin than any other formation. we generally see it constituting the fundamental rock, and, however formed, we know it is the deepest layer in the crust of this globe to which man has penetrated. the limit of man's knowledge in any subject possesses a high interest, which is perhaps increased by its close neighbourhood to the realms of imagination. january , . the new year is ushered in with the ceremonies proper to it in these regions. she lays out no false hopes: a heavy north-western gale, with steady rain, bespeaks the rising year. thank god, we are not destined here to see the end of it, but hope then to be in the pacific ocean, where a blue sky tells one there is a heaven,--a something beyond the clouds above our heads. the north-west winds prevailing for the next four days, we only managed to cross a great bay, and then anchored in another secure harbour. i accompanied the captain in a boat to the head of a deep creek. on the way the number of seals which we saw was quite astonishing: every bit of flat rock and parts of the beach were covered with them. they appeared to be of a loving disposition, and lay huddled together, fast asleep, like so many pigs; but even pigs would have been ashamed of their dirt, and of the foul smell which came from them. each herd was watched by the patient but inauspicious eyes of the turkey-buzzard. this disgusting bird, with its bald scarlet head, formed to wallow in putridity, is very common on the west coast, and their attendance on the seals shows on what they rely for their food. we found the water (probably only that of the surface) nearly fresh: this was caused by the number of torrents which, in the form of cascades, came tumbling over the bold granite mountains into the sea. the fresh water attracts the fish, and these bring many terns, gulls, and two kinds of cormorant. we saw also a pair of the beautiful black-necked swans, and several small sea-otters, the fur of which is held in such high estimation. in returning, we were again amused by the impetuous manner in which the heap of seals, old and young, tumbled into the water as the boat passed. they did not remain long under water, but rising, followed us with outstretched necks, expressing great wonder and curiosity. january , . having run up the coast, we anchored near the northern end of the chonos archipelago, in low's harbour, where we remained a week. the islands were here, as in chiloe, composed of a stratified, soft, littoral deposit; and the vegetation in consequence was beautifully luxuriant. the woods came down to the sea-beach, just in the manner of an evergreen shrubbery over a gravel walk. we also enjoyed from the anchorage a splendid view of four great snowy cones of the cordillera, including "el famoso corcovado;" the range itself had in this latitude so little height, that few parts of it appeared above the tops of the neighbouring islets. we found here a party of five men from caylen, "el fin del cristiandad," who had most adventurously crossed in their miserable boat-canoe, for the purpose of fishing, the open space of sea which separates chonos from chiloe. these islands will, in all probability, in a short time become peopled like those adjoining the coast of chiloe. the wild potato grows on these islands in great abundance, on the sandy, shelly soil near the sea-beach. the tallest plant was four feet in height. the tubers were generally small, but i found one, of an oval shape, two inches in diameter: they resembled in every respect, and had the same smell as english potatoes; but when boiled they shrunk much, and were watery and insipid, without any bitter taste. they are undoubtedly here indigenous: they grow as far south, according to mr. low, as latitude degrees, and are called aquinas by the wild indians of that part: the chilotan indians have a different name for them. professor henslow, who has examined the dried specimens which i brought home, says that they are the same with those described by mr. sabine from valparaiso, but that they form a variety which by some botanists has been considered as specifically distinct. ( / . "horticultural transactions" volume page . mr. caldeleugh sent home two tubers, which, being well manured, even the first season produced numerous potatoes and an abundance of leaves. see humboldt's interesting discussion on this plant, which it appears was unknown in mexico,--in "political essay on new spain" book chapter .) it is remarkable that the same plant should be found on the sterile mountains of central chile, where a drop of rain does not fall for more than six months, and within the damp forests of these southern islands. in the central parts of the chonos archipelago (latitude degrees), the forest has very much the same character with that along the whole west coast, for miles southward to cape horn. the arborescent grass of chiloe is not found here; while the beech of tierra del fuego grows to a good size, and forms a considerable proportion of the wood; not, however, in the same exclusive manner as it does farther southward. cryptogamic plants here find a most congenial climate. in the strait of magellan, as i have before remarked, the country appears too cold and wet to allow of their arriving at perfection; but in these islands, within the forest, the number of species and great abundance of mosses, lichens, and small ferns, is quite extraordinary. ( / . by sweeping with my insect-net, i procured from these situations a considerable number of minute insects, of the family of staphylinidae, and others allied to pselaphus, and minute hymenoptera. but the most characteristic family in number, both of individuals and species, throughout the more open parts of chiloe and chonos is that of telephoridae.) in tierra del fuego trees grow only on the hillsides; every level piece of land being invariably covered by a thick bed of peat; but in chiloe flat land supports the most luxuriant forests. here, within the chonos archipelago, the nature of the climate more closely approaches that of tierra del fuego than that of northern chiloe; for every patch of level ground is covered by two species of plants (astelia pumila and donatia magellanica), which by their joint decay compose a thick bed of elastic peat. in tierra del fuego, above the region of woodland, the former of these eminently sociable plants is the chief agent in the production of peat. fresh leaves are always succeeding one to the other round the central tap-root, the lower ones soon decay, and in tracing a root downwards in the peat, the leaves, yet holding their place, can be observed passing through every stage of decomposition, till the whole becomes blended in one confused mass. the astelia is assisted by a few other plants,--here and there a small creeping myrtus (m. nummularia), with a woody stem like our cranberry and with a sweet berry,--an empetrum (e. rubrum), like our heath,--a rush (juncus grandiflorus), are nearly the only ones that grow on the swampy surface. these plants, though possessing a very close general resemblance to the english species of the same genera, are different. in the more level parts of the country, the surface of the peat is broken up into little pools of water, which stand at different heights, and appear as if artificially excavated. small streams of water, flowing underground, complete the disorganisation of the vegetable matter, and consolidate the whole. the climate of the southern part of america appears particularly favourable to the production of peat. in the falkland islands almost every kind of plant, even the coarse grass which covers the whole surface of the land, becomes converted into this substance: scarcely any situation checks its growth; some of the beds are as much as twelve feet thick, and the lower part becomes so solid when dry, that it will hardly burn. although every plant lends its aid, yet in most parts the astelia is the most efficient. it is rather a singular circumstance, as being so very different from what occurs in europe, that i nowhere saw moss forming by its decay any portion of the peat in south america. with respect to the northern limit at which the climate allows of that peculiar kind of slow decomposition which is necessary for its production, i believe that in chiloe (latitude to degrees), although there is much swampy ground, no well-characterised peat occurs: but in the chonos islands, three degrees farther southward, we have seen that it is abundant. on the eastern coast in la plata (latitude degrees) i was told by a spanish resident who had visited ireland, that he had often sought for this substance, but had never been able to find any. he showed me, as the nearest approach to it which he had discovered, a black peaty soil, so penetrated with roots as to allow of an extremely slow and imperfect combustion. the zoology of these broken islets of the chonos archipelago is, as might have been expected, very poor. of quadrupeds two aquatic kinds are common. the myopotamus coypus (like a beaver, but with a round tail) is well known from its fine fur, which is an object of trade throughout the tributaries of la plata. it here, however, exclusively frequents salt water; which same circumstance has been mentioned as sometimes occurring with the great rodent, the capybara. a small sea-otter is very numerous; this animal does not feed exclusively on fish, but, like the seals, draws a large supply from a small red crab, which swims in shoals near the surface of the water. mr. bynoe saw one in tierra del fuego eating a cuttle-fish; and at low's harbour, another was killed in the act of carrying to its hole a large volute shell. at one place i caught in a trap a singular little mouse (m. brachiotis); it appeared common on several of the islets, but the chilotans at low's harbour said that it was not found in all. what a succession of chances, or what changes of level must have been brought into play, thus to spread these small animals throughout this broken archipelago! ( / . it is said that some rapacious birds bring their prey alive to their nests. if so, in the course of centuries, every now and then, one might escape from the young birds. some such agency is necessary, to account for the distribution of the smaller gnawing animals on islands not very near each other.) in all parts of chiloe and chonos, two very strange birds occur, which are allied to, and replace, the turco and tapacolo of central chile. one is called by the inhabitants "cheucau" (pteroptochos rubecula): it frequents the most gloomy and retired spots within the damp forests. sometimes, although its cry may be heard close at hand, let a person watch ever so attentively he will not see the cheucau; at other times let him stand motionless and the red-breasted little bird will approach within a few feet in the most familiar manner. it then busily hops about the entangled mass of rotting canes and branches, with its little tail cocked upwards. the cheucau is held in superstitious fear by the chilotans, on account of its strange and varied cries. there are three very distinct cries: one is called "chiduco," and is an omen of good; another, "huitreu," which is extremely unfavourable; and a third, which i have forgotten. these words are given in imitation of the noises; and the natives are in some things absolutely governed by them. the chilotans assuredly have chosen a most comical little creature for their prophet. an allied species, but rather larger, is called by the natives "guid-guid" (pteroptochos tarnii), and by the english the barking-bird. this latter name is well given; for i defy any one at first to feel certain that a small dog is not yelping somewhere in the forest. just as with the cheucau, a person will sometimes hear the bark close by, but in vain may endeavour by watching, and with still less chance by beating the bushes, to see the bird; yet at other times the guid-guid fearlessly comes near. its manner of feeding and its general habits are very similar to those of the cheucau. on the coast, a small dusky-coloured bird (opetiorhynchus patagonicus) is very common. ( / . i may mention, as a proof of how great a difference there is between the seasons of the wooded and the open parts of this coast, that on september th, in latitude degrees, these birds had young ones in the nest, while among the chonos islands, three months later in the summer, they were only laying, the difference in latitude between these two places being about miles.) it is remarkable from its quiet habits; it lives entirely on the sea-beach, like a sandpiper. besides these birds only few others inhabit this broken land. in my rough notes i describe the strange noises, which, although frequently heard within these gloomy forests, yet scarcely disturb the general silence. the yelping of the guid-guid, and the sudden whew-whew of the cheucau, sometimes come from afar off, and sometimes from close at hand; the little black wren of tierra del fuego occasionally adds its cry; the creeper (oxyurus) follows the intruder screaming and twittering; the humming-bird may be seen every now and then darting from side to side, and emitting, like an insect, its shrill chirp; lastly, from the top of some lofty tree the indistinct but plaintive note of the white-tufted tyrant-flycatcher (myiobius) may be noticed. from the great preponderance in most countries of certain common genera of birds, such as the finches, one feels at first surprised at meeting with the peculiar forms above enumerated, as the commonest birds in any district. in central chile two of them, namely, the oxyurus and scytalopus, occur, although most rarely. when finding, as in this case, animals which seem to play so insignificant a part in the great scheme of nature, one is apt to wonder why they were created. but it should always be recollected, that in some other country perhaps they are essential members of society, or at some former period may have been so. if america south of degrees were sunk beneath the waters of the ocean, these two birds might continue to exist in central chile for a long period, but it is very improbable that their numbers would increase. we should then see a case which must inevitably have happened with very many animals. these southern seas are frequented by several species of petrels: the largest kind, procellaria gigantea, or nelly (quebrantahuesos, or break-bones, of the spaniards), is a common bird, both in the inland channels and on the open sea. in its habits and manner of flight there is a very close resemblance with the albatross; and as with the albatross, a person may watch it for hours together without seeing on what it feeds. the "break-bones" is, however, a rapacious bird, for it was observed by some of the officers at port st. antonio chasing a diver, which tried to escape by diving and flying, but was continually struck down, and at last killed by a blow on its head. at port st. julian these great petrels were seen killing and devouring young gulls. a second species (puffinus cinereus), which is common to europe, cape horn, and the coast of peru, is of a much smaller size than the p. gigantea, but, like it, of a dirty black colour. it generally frequents the inland sounds in very large flocks: i do not think i ever saw so many birds of any other sort together, as i once saw of these behind the island of chiloe. hundreds of thousands flew in an irregular line for several hours in one direction. when part of the flock settled on the water the surface was blackened, and a noise proceeded from them as of human beings talking in the distance. there are several other species of petrels, but i will only mention one other kind, the pelacanoides berardi, which offers an example of those extraordinary cases, of a bird evidently belonging to one well-marked family, yet both in its habits and structure allied to a very distinct tribe. this bird never leaves the quiet inland sounds. when disturbed it dives to a distance, and on coming to the surface, with the same movement takes flight. after flying by the rapid movement of its short wings for a space in a straight line, it drops, as if struck dead, and dives again. the form of its beak and nostrils, length of foot, and even the colouring of its plumage, show that this bird is a petrel: on the other hand, its short wings and consequent little power of flight, its form of body and shape of tail, the absence of a hind toe to its foot, its habit of living, and its choice of situation, make it at first doubtful whether its relationship is not equally close with the auks. it would undoubtedly be mistaken for an auk, when seen from a distance, either on the wing, or when diving and quietly swimming about the retired channels of tierra del fuego. chapter xiv. (plate . antuco volcano, near talcahuano.) san carlos, chiloe. osorno in eruption, contemporaneously with aconcagua and coseguina. ride to cucao. impenetrable forests. valdivia. indians. earthquake. concepcion. great earthquake. rocks fissured. appearance of the former towns. the sea black and boiling. direction of the vibrations. stones twisted round. great wave. permanent elevation of the land. area of volcanic phenomena. the connection between the elevatory and eruptive forces. cause of earthquakes. slow elevation of mountain-chains. chiloe and concepcion: great earthquake. (plate . panoramic view of coast, chiloe. osorno and quellaypo.) (plate . inside island of chiloe. san carlos.) (plate . gunnera scabra, chiloe.) on january the th, we sailed from low's harbour, and three days afterwards anchored a second time in the bay of s. carlos in chiloe. on the night of the th the volcano of osorno was in action. at midnight the sentry observed something like a large star, which gradually increased in size till about three o'clock, when it presented a very magnificent spectacle. by the aid of a glass, dark objects, in constant succession, were seen, in the midst of a great glare of red light, to be thrown up and to fall down. the light was sufficient to cast on the water a long bright reflection. large masses of molten matter seem very commonly to be cast out of the craters in this part of the cordillera. i was assured that when the corcovado is in eruption, great masses are projected upwards and are seen to burst in the air, assuming many fantastical forms, such as trees: their size must be immense, for they can be distinguished from the high land behind s. carlos, which is no less than ninety-three miles from the corcovado. in the morning the volcano became tranquil. i was surprised at hearing afterwards that aconcagua in chile, miles northwards, was in action on the same night; and still more surprised to hear that the great eruption of coseguina ( miles north of aconcagua), accompanied by an earthquake felt over miles, also occurred within six hours of this same time. this coincidence is the more remarkable, as coseguina had been dormant for twenty-six years: and aconcagua most rarely shows any signs of action. it is difficult even to conjecture whether this coincidence was accidental, or shows some subterranean connection. if vesuvius, etna, and hecla in iceland (all three relatively nearer each other than the corresponding points in south america), suddenly burst forth in eruption on the same night, the coincidence would be thought remarkable; but it is far more remarkable in this case, where the three vents fall on the same great mountain-chain, and where the vast plains along the entire eastern coast, and the upraised recent shells along more than miles on the western coast, show in how equable and connected a manner the elevatory forces have acted. captain fitz roy being anxious that some bearings should be taken on the outer coast of chiloe, it was planned that mr. king and myself should ride to castro, and thence across the island to the capella de cucao, situated on the west coast. having hired horses and a guide, we set out on the morning of the nd. we had not proceeded far, before we were joined by a woman and two boys, who were bent on the same journey. every one on this road acts on a "hail-fellow-well-met" fashion; and one may here enjoy the privilege, so rare in south america, of travelling without firearms. at first the country consisted of a succession of hills and valleys: nearer to castro it became very level. the road itself is a curious affair; it consists in its whole length, with the exception of very few parts, of great logs of wood, which are either broad and laid longitudinally, or narrow and placed transversely. in summer the road is not very bad: but in winter, when the wood is rendered slippery from rain, travelling is exceedingly difficult. at that time of the year, the ground on each side becomes a morass, and is often overflowed: hence it is necessary that the longitudinal logs should be fastened down by transverse poles, which are pegged on each side into the earth. these pegs render a fall from a horse dangerous, as the chance of alighting on one of them is not small. it is remarkable, however, how active custom has made the chilotan horses. in crossing bad parts, where the logs had been displaced, they skipped from one to the other, almost with the quickness and certainty of a dog. on both hands the road is bordered by the lofty forest-trees, with their bases matted together by canes. when occasionally a long reach of this avenue could be beheld, it presented a curious scene of uniformity: the white line of logs, narrowing in perspective, became hidden by the gloomy forest, or terminated in a zigzag which ascended some steep hill. although the distance from s. carlos to castro is only twelve leagues in a straight line, the formation of the road must have been a great labour. i was told that several people had formerly lost their lives in attempting to cross the forest. the first who succeeded was an indian, who cut his way through the canes in eight days, and reached s. carlos: he was rewarded by the spanish government with a grant of land. during the summer, many of the indians wander about the forests (but chiefly in the higher parts, where the woods are not quite so thick), in search of the half-wild cattle which live on the leaves of the cane and certain trees. it was one of these huntsmen who by chance discovered, a few years since, an english vessel, which had been wrecked on the outer coast. the crew were beginning to fail in provisions, and it is not probable that, without the aid of this man, they would ever have extricated themselves from these scarcely penetrable woods. as it was, one seaman died on the march, from fatigue. the indians in these excursions steer by the sun; so that if there is a continuance of cloudy weather, they cannot travel. the day was beautiful, and the number of trees which were in full flower perfumed the air; yet even this could hardly dissipate the effect of the gloomy dampness of the forest. moreover, the many dead trunks that stand like skeletons, never fail to give to these primeval woods a character of solemnity, absent in those of countries long civilised. shortly after sunset we bivouacked for the night. our female companion, who was rather good-looking, belonged to one of the most respectable families in castro: she rode, however, astride, and without shoes or stockings. i was surprised at the total want of pride shown by her and her brother. they brought food with them, but at all our meals sat watching mr. king and myself whilst eating, till we were fairly shamed into feeding the whole party. the night was cloudless; and while lying in our beds, we enjoyed the sight (and it is a high enjoyment) of the multitude of stars which illumined the darkness of the forest. january , . we rose early in the morning, and reached the pretty quiet town of castro by two o'clock. the old governor had died since our last visit, and a chileno was acting in his place. we had a letter of introduction to don pedro, whom we found exceedingly hospitable and kind, and more disinterested than is usual on this side of the continent. the next day don pedro procured us fresh horses, and offered to accompany us himself. we proceeded to the south--generally following the coast, and passing through several hamlets, each with its large barn-like chapel built of wood. at vilipilli, don pedro asked the commandant to give us a guide to cucao. the old gentleman offered to come himself; but for a long time nothing would persuade him that two englishmen really wished to go to such an out-of-the-way place as cucao. we were thus accompanied by the two greatest aristocrats in the country, as was plainly to be seen in the manner of all the poorer indians towards them. at chonchi we struck across the island, following intricate winding paths, sometimes passing through magnificent forests, and sometimes through pretty cleared spots, abounding with corn and potato crops. this undulating woody country, partially cultivated, reminded me of the wilder parts of england, and therefore had to my eye a most fascinating aspect. at vilinco, which is situated on the borders of the lake of cucao, only a few fields were cleared; and all the inhabitants appeared to be indians. this lake is twelve miles long, and runs in an east and west direction. from local circumstances, the sea-breeze blows very regularly during the day, and during the night it falls calm: this has given rise to strange exaggerations, for the phenomenon, as described to us at s. carlos, was quite a prodigy. the road to cucao was so very bad that we determined to embark in a periagua. the commandant, in the most authoritative manner, ordered six indians to get ready to pull us over, without deigning to tell them whether they would be paid. the periagua is a strange rough boat, but the crew were still stranger: i doubt if six uglier little men ever got into a boat together. they pulled, however, very well and cheerfully. the stroke-oarsman gabbled indian, and uttered strange cries, much after the fashion of a pig-driver driving his pigs. we started with a light breeze against us, but yet reached the capella de cucao before it was late. the country on each side of the lake was one unbroken forest. in the same periagua with us a cow was embarked. to get so large an animal into a small boat appears at first a difficulty, but the indians managed it in a minute. they brought the cow alongside the boat, which was heeled towards her; then placing two oars under her belly, with their ends resting on the gunwale, by the aid of these levers they fairly tumbled the poor beast heels over head into the bottom of the boat, and then lashed her down with ropes. at cucao we found an uninhabited hovel (which is the residence of the padre when he pays this capella a visit), where, lighting a fire, we cooked our supper, and were very comfortable. the district of cucao is the only inhabited part on the whole west coast of chiloe. it contains about thirty or forty indian families, who are scattered along four or five miles of the shore. they are very much secluded from the rest of chiloe, and have scarcely any sort of commerce, except sometimes in a little oil, which they get from seal-blubber. they are tolerably dressed in clothes of their own manufacture, and they have plenty to eat. they seemed, however, discontented, yet humble to a degree which it was quite painful to witness. these feelings are, i think, chiefly to be attributed to the harsh and authoritative manner in which they are treated by their rulers. our companions, although so very civil to us, behaved to the poor indians as if they had been slaves, rather than free men. they ordered provisions and the use of their horses, without ever condescending to say how much, or indeed whether the owners should be paid at all. in the morning, being left alone with these poor people, we soon ingratiated ourselves by presents of cigars and maté. a lump of white sugar was divided between all present, and tasted with the greatest curiosity. the indians ended all their complaints by saying, "and it is only because we are poor indians, and know nothing; but it was not so when we had a king." the next day after breakfast we rode a few miles northward to punta huantamó. the road lay along a very broad beach, on which, even after so many fine days, a terrible surf was breaking. i was assured that after a heavy gale, the roar can be heard at night even at castro, a distance of no less than twenty-one sea-miles across a hilly and wooded country. we had some difficulty in reaching the point, owing to the intolerably bad paths; for everywhere in the shade the ground soon becomes a perfect quagmire. the point itself is a bold rocky hill. it is covered by a plant allied, i believe, to bromelia, and called by the inhabitants chepones. in scrambling through the beds, our hands were very much scratched. i was amused by observing the precaution our indian guide took, in turning up his trousers, thinking that they were more delicate than his own hard skin. this plant bears a fruit, in shape like an artichoke, in which a number of seed-vessels are packed: these contain a pleasant sweet pulp, here much esteemed. i saw at low's harbour the chilotans making chichi, or cider, with this fruit: so true is it, as humboldt remarks, that almost everywhere man finds means of preparing some kind of beverage from the vegetable kingdom. the savages, however, of tierra del fuego, and i believe of australia, have not advanced thus far in the arts. the coast to the north of punta huantamó is exceedingly rugged and broken, and is fronted by many breakers, on which the sea is eternally roaring. mr. king and myself were anxious to return, if it had been possible, on foot along this coast; but even the indians said it was quite impracticable. we were told that men have crossed by striking directly through the woods from cucao to s. carlos, but never by the coast. on these expeditions, the indians carry with them only roasted corn, and of this they eat sparingly twice a day. january , . re-embarking in the periagua, we returned across the lake, and then mounted our horses. the whole of chiloe took advantage of this week of unusually fine weather, to clear the ground by burning. in every direction volumes of smoke were curling upwards. although the inhabitants were so assiduous in setting fire to every part of the wood, yet i did not see a single fire which they had succeeded in making extensive. we dined with our friend the commandant, and did not reach castro till after dark. the next morning we started very early. after having ridden for some time, we obtained from the brow of a steep hill an extensive view (and it is a rare thing on this road) of the great forest. over the horizon of trees, the volcano of corcovado, and the great flat-topped one to the north, stood out in proud pre-eminence: scarcely another peak in the long range showed its snowy summit. i hope it will be long before i forget this farewell view of the magnificent cordillera fronting chiloe. at night we bivouacked under a cloudless sky, and the next morning reached s. carlos. we arrived on the right day, for before evening heavy rain commenced. february , . sailed from chiloe. during the last week i made several short excursions. one was to examine a great bed of now-existing shells, elevated feet above the level of the sea: from among these shells, large forest-trees were growing. another ride was to p. huechucucuy. i had with me a guide who knew the country far too well; for he would pertinaciously tell me endless indian names for every little point, rivulet, and creek. in the same manner as in tierra del fuego, the indian language appears singularly well adapted for attaching names to the most trivial features of the land. i believe every one was glad to say farewell to chiloe; yet if we could forget the gloom and ceaseless rain of winter, chiloe might pass for a charming island. there is also something very attractive in the simplicity and humble politeness of the poor inhabitants. we steered northward along shore, but owing to thick weather did not reach valdivia till the night of the th. the next morning the boat proceeded to the town, which is distant about ten miles. we followed the course of the river, occasionally passing a few hovels, and patches of ground cleared out of the otherwise unbroken forest; and sometimes meeting a canoe with an indian family. the town is situated on the low banks of the stream, and is so completely buried in a wood of apple-trees that the streets are merely paths in an orchard. i have never seen any country where apple-trees appeared to thrive so well as in this damp part of south america: on the borders of the roads there were many young trees evidently self-sown. in chiloe the inhabitants possess a marvellously short method of making an orchard. at the lower part of almost every branch, small, conical, brown, wrinkled points project: these are always ready to change into roots, as may sometimes be seen, where any mud has been accidentally splashed against the tree. a branch as thick as a man's thigh is chosen in the early spring, and is cut off just beneath a group of these points, all the smaller branches are lopped off, and it is then placed about two feet deep in the ground. during the ensuing summer the stump throws out long shoots, and sometimes even bears fruit: i was shown one which had produced as many as twenty-three apples, but this was thought very unusual. in the third season the stump is changed (as i have myself seen) into a well-wooded tree, loaded with fruit. an old man near valdivia illustrated his motto, "necesidad es la madre del invencion," by giving an account of the several useful things he manufactured from his apples. after making cider, and likewise wine, he extracted from the refuse a white and finely flavoured spirit; by another process he procured a sweet treacle, or, as he called it, honey. his children and pigs seemed almost to live, during this season of the year, in his orchard. february , . i set out with a guide on a short ride, in which, however, i managed to see singularly little, either of the geology of the country or of its inhabitants. there is not much cleared land near valdivia: after crossing a river at the distance of a few miles, we entered the forest, and then passed only one miserable hovel, before reaching our sleeping-place for the night. the short difference in latitude, of miles, has given a new aspect to the forest compared with that of chiloe. this is owing to a slightly different proportion in the kinds of trees. the evergreens do not appear to be quite so numerous, and the forest in consequence has a brighter tint. as in chiloe, the lower parts are matted together by canes: here also another kind (resembling the bamboo of brazil and about twenty feet in height) grows in clusters, and ornaments the banks of some of the streams in a very pretty manner. it is with this plant that the indians make their chuzos, or long tapering spears. our resting-house was so dirty that i preferred sleeping outside: on these journeys the first night is generally very uncomfortable, because one is not accustomed to the tickling and biting of the fleas. i am sure, in the morning, there was not a space on my legs of the size of a shilling which had not its little red mark where the flea had feasted. february , . we continued to ride through the uncleared forest; only occasionally meeting an indian on horseback, or a troop of fine mules bringing alerce-planks and corn from the southern plains. in the afternoon one of the horses knocked up; we were then on a brow of a hill, which commanded a fine view of the llanos. the view of these open plains was very refreshing, after being hemmed in and buried in the wilderness of trees. the uniformity of a forest soon becomes very wearisome. this west coast makes me remember with pleasure the free, unbounded plains of patagonia; yet, with the true spirit of contradiction, i cannot forget how sublime is the silence of the forest. the llanos are the most fertile and thickly peopled parts of the country, as they possess the immense advantage of being nearly free from trees. before leaving the forest we crossed some flat little lawns, around which single trees stood, as in an english park: i have often noticed with surprise, in wooded undulatory districts, that the quite level parts have been destitute of trees. on account of the tired horse, i determined to stop at the mission of cudico, to the friar of which i had a letter of introduction. cudico is an intermediate district between the forest and the llanos. there are a good many cottages, with patches of corn and potatoes, nearly all belonging to indians. the tribes dependent on valdivia are "reducidos y cristianos." the indians farther northward, about arauco and imperial, are still very wild, and not converted; but they have all much intercourse with the spaniards. the padre said that the christian indians did not much like coming to mass, but that otherwise they showed respect for religion. the greatest difficulty is in making them observe the ceremonies of marriage. the wild indians take as many wives as they can support, and a cacique will sometimes have more than ten: on entering his house, the number may be told by that of the separate fires. each wife lives a week in turn with the cacique; but all are employed in weaving ponchos, etc., for his profit. to be the wife of a cacique is an honour much sought after by the indian women. the men of all these tribes wear a coarse woolen poncho: those south of valdivia wear short trousers, and those north of it a petticoat, like the chilipa of the gauchos. all have their long hair bound by a scarlet fillet, but with no other covering on their heads. these indians are good-sized men; their cheek-bones are prominent, and in general appearance they resemble the great american family to which they belong; but their physiognomy seemed to me to be slightly different from that of any other tribe which i had before seen. their expression is generally grave, and even austere, and possesses much character: this may pass either for honest bluntness or fierce determination. the long black hair, the grave and much-lined features, and the dark complexion, called to my mind old portraits of james i. on the road we met with none of that humble politeness so universal in chiloe. some gave their "mari-mari" (good morning) with promptness, but the greater number did not seem inclined to offer any salute. this independence of manners is probably a consequence of their long wars, and the repeated victories which they alone, of all the tribes in america, have gained over the spaniards. i spent the evening very pleasantly, talking with the padre. he was exceedingly kind and hospitable; and coming from santiago, had contrived to surround himself with some few comforts. being a man of some little education, he bitterly complained of the total want of society. with no particular zeal for religion, no business or pursuit, how completely must this man's life be wasted! the next day, on our return, we met seven very wild-looking indians, of whom some were caciques that had just received from the chilian government their yearly small stipend for having long remained faithful. they were fine-looking men, and they rode one after the other, with most gloomy faces. an old cacique, who headed them, had been, i suppose, more excessively drunk than the rest, for he seemed both extremely grave and very crabbed. shortly before this, two indians joined us, who were travelling from a distant mission to valdivia concerning some lawsuit. one was a good-humoured old man, but from his wrinkled beardless face looked more like an old woman than a man. i frequently presented both of them with cigars; and though ready to receive them, and i daresay grateful, they would hardly condescend to thank me. a chilotan indian would have taken off his hat, and given his "dios le page!" the travelling was very tedious, both from the badness of the roads and from the number of great fallen trees, which it was necessary either to leap over or to avoid by making long circuits. we slept on the road, and next morning reached valdivia, whence i proceeded on board. a few days afterwards i crossed the bay with a party of officers, and landed near the fort called niebla. the buildings were in a most ruinous state, and the gun-carriages quite rotten. mr. wickham remarked to the commanding officer, that with one discharge they would certainly all fall to pieces. the poor man, trying to put a good face upon it, gravely replied, "no, i am sure, sir, they would stand two!" the spaniards must have intended to have made this place impregnable. there is now lying in the middle of the courtyard a little mountain of mortar, which rivals in hardness the rock on which it is placed. it was brought from chile, and cost dollars. the revolution having broken out prevented its being applied to any purpose, and now it remains a monument of the fallen greatness of spain. i wanted to go to a house about a mile and a half distant, but my guide said it was quite impossible to penetrate the wood in a straight line. he offered, however, to lead me, by following obscure cattle-tracks, the shortest way: the walk, nevertheless, took no less than three hours! this man is employed in hunting strayed cattle; yet, well as he must know the woods, he was not long since lost for two whole days, and had nothing to eat. these facts convey a good idea of the impracticability of the forests of these countries. a question often occurred to me--how long does any vestige of a fallen tree remain? this man showed me one which a party of fugitive royalists had cut down fourteen years ago; and taking this as a criterion, i should think a bole a foot and a half in diameter would in thirty years be changed into a heap of mould. february ,, . this day has been memorable in the annals of valdivia, for the most severe earthquake experienced by the oldest inhabitant. i happened to be on shore, and was lying down in the wood to rest myself. it came on suddenly, and lasted two minutes, but the time appeared much longer. the rocking of the ground was very sensible. the undulations appeared to my companion and myself to come from due east, whilst others thought they proceeded from south-west: this shows how difficult it sometimes is to perceive the direction of the vibrations. there was no difficulty in standing upright, but the motion made me almost giddy: it was something like the movement of a vessel in a little cross-ripple, or still more like that felt by a person skating over thin ice, which bends under the weight of his body. a bad earthquake at once destroys our oldest associations: the earth, the very emblem of solidity, has moved beneath our feet like a thin crust over a fluid;--one second of time has created in the mind a strange idea of insecurity, which hours of reflection would not have produced. in the forest, as a breeze moved the trees, i felt only the earth tremble, but saw no other effect. captain fitz roy and some officers were at the town during the shock, and there the scene was more striking; for although the houses, from being built of wood, did not fall, they were violently shaken, and the boards creaked and rattled together. the people rushed out of doors in the greatest alarm. it is these accompaniments that create that perfect horror of earthquakes, experienced by all who have thus seen, as well as felt, their effects. within the forest it was a deeply interesting, but by no means an awe-exciting phenomenon. the tides were very curiously affected. the great shock took place at the time of low water; and an old woman who was on the beach told me that the water flowed very quickly, but not in great waves, to high-water mark, and then as quickly returned to its proper level; this was also evident by the line of wet sand. the same kind of quick but quiet movement in the tide happened a few years since at chiloe, during a slight earthquake, and created much causeless alarm. in the course of the evening there were many weaker shocks, which seemed to produce in the harbour the most complicated currents, and some of great strength. march , . we entered the harbour of concepcion. while the ship was beating up to the anchorage, i landed on the island of quiriquina. the mayor-domo of the estate quickly rode down to tell me the terrible news of the great earthquake of the th:--"that not a house in concepcion or talcahuano (the port) was standing; that seventy villages were destroyed; and that a great wave had almost washed away the ruins of talcahuano." of this latter statement i soon saw abundant proofs--the whole coast being strewed over with timber and furniture as if a thousand ships had been wrecked. besides chairs, tables, book-shelves, etc., in great numbers, there were several roofs of cottages, which had been transported almost whole. the storehouses at talcahuano had been burst open, and great bags of cotton, yerba, and other valuable merchandise were scattered on the shore. during my walk round the island, i observed that numerous fragments of rock, which, from the marine productions adhering to them, must recently have been lying in deep water, had been cast up high on the beach; one of these was six feet long, three broad, and two thick. the island itself as plainly showed the overwhelming power of the earthquake, as the beach did that of the consequent great wave. the ground in many parts was fissured in north and south lines, perhaps caused by the yielding of the parallel and steep sides of this narrow island. some of the fissures near the cliffs were a yard wide. many enormous masses had already fallen on the beach; and the inhabitants thought that when the rains commenced far greater slips would happen. the effect of the vibration on the hard primary slate, which composes the foundation of the island, was still more curious: the superficial parts of some narrow ridges were as completely shivered as if they had been blasted by gunpowder. this effect, which was rendered conspicuous by the fresh fractures and displaced soil, must be confined to near the surface, for otherwise there would not exist a block of solid rock throughout chile; nor is this improbable, as it is known that the surface of a vibrating body is affected differently from the central part. it is, perhaps, owing to this same reason that earthquakes do not cause quite such terrific havoc within deep mines as would be expected. i believe this convulsion has been more effectual in lessening the size of the island of quiriquina, than the ordinary wear-and-tear of the sea and weather during the course of a whole century. the next day i landed at talcahuano, and afterwards rode to concepcion. both towns presented the most awful yet interesting spectacle i ever beheld. to a person who had formerly known them, it possibly might have been still more impressive; for the ruins were so mingled together, and the whole scene possessed so little the air of a habitable place, that it was scarcely possible to imagine its former condition. the earthquake commenced at half-past eleven o'clock in the forenoon. if it had happened in the middle of the night, the greater number of the inhabitants (which in this one province amount to many thousands) must have perished, instead of less than a hundred: as it was, the invariable practice of running out of doors at the first trembling of the ground, alone saved them. in concepcion each house, or row of houses, stood by itself, a heap or line of ruins; but in talcahuano, owing to the great wave, little more than one layer of bricks, tiles, and timber, with here and there part of a wall left standing, could be distinguished. from this circumstance concepcion, although not so completely desolated, was a more terrible, and if i may so call it, picturesque sight. the first shock was very sudden. the mayor-domo at quiriquina told me that the first notice he received of it, was finding both the horse he rode and himself rolling together on the ground. rising up, he was again thrown down. he also told me that some cows which were standing on the steep side of the island were rolled into the sea. the great wave caused the destruction of many cattle; on one low island near the head of the bay, seventy animals were washed off and drowned. it is generally thought that this has been the worst earthquake ever recorded in chile; but as the very severe ones occur only after long intervals, this cannot easily be known; nor indeed would a much worse shock have made any great difference, for the ruin was now complete. innumerable small tremblings followed the great earthquake, and within the first twelve days no less than three hundred were counted. after viewing concepcion, i cannot understand how the greater number of inhabitants escaped unhurt. the houses in many parts fell outwards; thus forming in the middle of the streets little hillocks of brickwork and rubbish. mr. rouse, the english consul, told us that he was at breakfast when the first movement warned him to run out. he had scarcely reached the middle of the courtyard, when one side of his house came thundering down. he retained presence of mind to remember that, if he once got on the top of that part which had already fallen, he would be safe. not being able from the motion of the ground to stand, he crawled up on his hands and knees; and no sooner had he ascended this little eminence, than the other side of the house fell in, the great beams sweeping close in front of his head. with his eyes blinded and his mouth choked with the cloud of dust which darkened the sky, at last he gained the street. as shock succeeded shock, at the interval of a few minutes, no one dared approach the shattered ruins, and no one knew whether his dearest friends and relations were not perishing from the want of help. those who had saved any property were obliged to keep a constant watch, for thieves prowled about, and at each little trembling of the ground, with one hand they beat their breasts and cried "misericordia!" and then with the other filched what they could from the ruins. the thatched roofs fell over the fires, and flames burst forth in all parts. hundreds knew themselves ruined, and few had the means of providing food for the day. earthquakes alone are sufficient to destroy the prosperity of any country. if beneath england the now inert subterranean forces should exert those powers which most assuredly in former geological ages they have exerted, how completely would the entire condition of the country be changed! what would become of the lofty houses, thickly packed cities, great manufactories, the beautiful public and private edifices? if the new period of disturbance were first to commence by some great earthquake in the dead of the night, how terrific would be the carnage! england would at once be bankrupt; all papers, records, and accounts would from that moment be lost. government being unable to collect the taxes, and failing to maintain its authority, the hand of violence and rapine would remain uncontrolled. in every large town famine would go forth, pestilence and death following in its train. shortly after the shock, a great wave was seen from the distance of three or four miles, approaching in the middle of the bay with a smooth outline; but along the shore it tore up cottages and trees, as it swept onwards with irresistible force. at the head of the bay it broke in a fearful line of white breakers, which rushed up to a height of vertical feet above the highest spring-tides. their force must have been prodigious; for at the fort a cannon with its carriage, estimated at four tons in weight, was moved feet inwards. a schooner was left in the midst of the ruins, yards from the beach. the first wave was followed by two others, which in their retreat carried away a vast wreck of floating objects. in one part of the bay, a ship was pitched high and dry on shore, was carried off, again driven on shore, and again carried off. in another part two large vessels anchored near together were whirled about, and their cables were thrice wound round each other: though anchored at a depth of feet, they were for some minutes aground. the great wave must have travelled slowly, for the inhabitants of talcahuano had time to run up the hills behind the town; and some sailors pulled out seaward, trusting successfully to their boat riding securely over the swell, if they could reach it before it broke. one old woman with a little boy, four or five years old, ran into a boat, but there was nobody to row it out: the boat was consequently dashed against an anchor and cut in twain; the old woman was drowned, but the child was picked up some hours afterwards clinging to the wreck. pools of salt-water were still standing amidst the ruins of the houses, and children, making boats with old tables and chairs, appeared as happy as their parents were miserable. it was, however, exceedingly interesting to observe, how much more active and cheerful all appeared than could have been expected. it was remarked with much truth, that from the destruction being universal, no one individual was humbled more than another, or could suspect his friends of coldness--that most grievous result of the loss of wealth. mr. rouse, and a large party whom he kindly took under his protection, lived for the first week in a garden beneath some apple-trees. at first they were as merry as if it had been a picnic; but soon afterwards heavy rain caused much discomfort, for they were absolutely without shelter. in captain fitz roy's excellent account of the earthquake it is said that two explosions, one like a column of smoke and another like the blowing of a great whale, were seen in the bay. the water also appeared everywhere to be boiling; and it "became black, and exhaled a most disagreeable sulphureous smell." these latter circumstances were observed in the bay of valparaiso during the earthquake of ; they may, i think, be accounted for by the disturbance of the mud at the bottom of the sea containing organic matter in decay. in the bay of callao, during a calm day, i noticed, that as the ship dragged her cable over the bottom, its course was marked by a line of bubbles. the lower orders in talcahuano thought that the earthquake was caused by some old indian women, who two years ago, being offended, stopped the volcano of antuco. this silly belief is curious, because it shows that experience has taught them to observe that there exists a relation between the suppressed action of the volcanos, and the trembling of the ground. it was necessary to apply the witchcraft to the point where their perception of cause and effect failed; and this was the closing of the volcanic vent. this belief is the more singular in this particular instance because, according to captain fitz roy, there is reason to believe that antuco was noways affected. the town of concepcion was built in the usual spanish fashion, with all the streets running at right angles to each other; one set ranging south-west by west, and the other set north-west by north. the walls in the former direction certainly stood better than those in the latter; the greater number of the masses of brickwork were thrown down towards the north-east. both these circumstances perfectly agree with the general idea of the undulations having come from the south-west; in which quarter subterranean noises were also heard; for it is evident that the walls running south-west and north-east which presented their ends to the point whence the undulations came, would be much less likely to fall than those walls which, running north-west and south-east, must in their whole lengths have been at the same instant thrown out of the perpendicular; for the undulations, coming from the south-west, must have extended in north-west and south-east waves, as they passed under the foundations. this may be illustrated by placing books edgeways on a carpet, and then, after the manner suggested by michell, imitating the undulations of an earthquake: it will be found that they fall with more or less readiness, according as their direction more or less nearly coincides with the line of the waves. the fissures in the ground generally, though not uniformly, extended in a south-east and north-west direction, and therefore corresponded to the lines of undulation or of principal flexure. bearing in mind all these circumstances, which so clearly point to the south-west as the chief focus of disturbance, it is a very interesting fact that the island of s. maria, situated in that quarter, was, during the general uplifting of the land, raised to nearly three times the height of any other part of the coast. the different resistance offered by the walls, according to their direction, was well exemplified in the case of the cathedral. the side which fronted the north-east presented a grand pile of ruins, in the midst of which door-cases and masses of timber stood up, as if floating in a stream. some of the angular blocks of brickwork were of great dimensions; and they were rolled to a distance on the level plaza, like fragments of rock at the base of some high mountain. the side walls (running south-west and north-east), though exceedingly fractured, yet remained standing; but the vast buttresses (at right angles to them, and therefore parallel to the walls that fell) were in many cases cut clean off, as if by a chisel, and hurled to the ground. some square ornaments on the coping of these same walls were moved by the earthquake into a diagonal position. a similar circumstance was observed after an earthquake at valparaiso, calabria, and other places, including some of the ancient greek temples. ( / . m. arago in "l'institut" page . see also miers's "chile" volume page ; also lyell's "principles of geology" chapter book .) this twisting displacement at first appears to indicate a vorticose movement beneath each point thus affected; but this is highly improbable. may it not be caused by a tendency in each stone to arrange itself in some particular position with respect to the lines of vibration,--in a manner somewhat similar to pins on a sheet of paper when shaken? generally speaking, arched doorways or windows stood much better than any other part of the buildings. nevertheless, a poor lame old man, who had been in the habit, during trifling shocks, of crawling to a certain doorway, was this time crushed to pieces. i have not attempted to give any detailed description of the appearance of concepcion, for i feel that it is quite impossible to convey the mingled feelings which i experienced. several of the officers visited it before me, but their strongest language failed to give a just idea of the scene of desolation. it is a bitter and humiliating thing to see works, which have cost man so much time and labour, overthrown in one minute; yet compassion for the inhabitants was almost instantly banished, by the surprise in seeing a state of things produced in a moment of time, which one was accustomed to attribute to a succession of ages. in my opinion, we have scarcely beheld, since leaving england, any sight so deeply interesting. in almost every severe earthquake, the neighbouring waters of the sea are said to have been greatly agitated. the disturbance seems generally, as in the case of concepcion, to have been of two kinds: first, at the instant of the shock, the water swells high up on the beach with a gentle motion, and then as quietly retreats; secondly, some time afterwards, the whole body of the sea retires from the coast, and then returns in waves of overwhelming force. the first movement seems to be an immediate consequence of the earthquake affecting differently a fluid and a solid, so that their respective levels are slightly deranged: but the second case is a far more important phenomenon. during most earthquakes, and especially during those on the west coast of america, it is certain that the first great movement of the waters has been a retirement. some authors have attempted to explain this, by supposing that the water retains its level, whilst the land oscillates upwards; but surely the water close to the land, even on a rather steep coast, would partake of the motion of the bottom: moreover, as urged by mr. lyell, similar movements of the sea have occurred at islands far distant from the chief line of disturbance, as was the case with juan fernandez during this earthquake, and with madeira during the famous lisbon shock. i suspect (but the subject is a very obscure one) that a wave, however produced, first draws the water from the shore, on which it is advancing to break: i have observed that this happens with the little waves from the paddles of a steam-boat. it is remarkable that whilst talcahuano and callao (near lima), both situated at the head of large shallow bays, have suffered during every severe earthquake from great waves, valparaiso, seated close to the edge of profoundly deep water, has never been overwhelmed, though so often shaken by the severest shocks. from the great wave not immediately following the earthquake, but sometimes after the interval of even half an hour, and from distant islands being affected similarly with the coasts near the focus of the disturbance, it appears that the wave first rises in the offing; and as this is of general occurrence, the cause must be general: i suspect we must look to the line where the less disturbed waters of the deep ocean join the water nearer the coast, which has partaken of the movements of the land, as the place where the great wave is first generated; it would also appear that the wave is larger or smaller, according to the extent of shoal water which has been agitated together with the bottom on which it rested. the most remarkable effect of this earthquake was the permanent elevation of the land; it would probably be far more correct to speak of it as the cause. there can be no doubt that the land round the bay of concepcion was upraised two or three feet; but it deserves notice, that owing to the wave having obliterated the old lines of tidal action on the sloping sandy shores, i could discover no evidence of this fact, except in the united testimony of the inhabitants, that one little rocky shoal, now exposed, was formerly covered with water. at the island of s. maria (about thirty miles distant) the elevation was greater; on one part, captain fitz roy found beds of putrid mussel-shells still adhering to the rocks, ten feet above high-water mark: the inhabitants had formerly dived at lower-water spring-tides for these shells. the elevation of this province is particularly interesting, from its having been the theatre of several other violent earthquakes, and from the vast numbers of sea-shells scattered over the land, up to a height of certainly , and i believe, of feet. at valparaiso, as i have remarked, similar shells are found at the height of feet: it is hardly possible to doubt that this great elevation has been effected by successive small uprisings, such as that which accompanied or caused the earthquake of this year, and likewise by an insensibly slow rise, which is certainly in progress on some parts of this coast. the island of juan fernandez, miles to the north-east, was, at the time of the great shock of the th, violently shaken, so that the trees beat against each other, and a volcano burst forth under water close to the shore: these facts are remarkable because this island, during the earthquake of , was then also affected more violently than other places at an equal distance from concepcion, and this seems to show some subterranean connexion between these two points. chiloe, about miles southward of concepcion, appears to have been shaken more strongly than the intermediate district of valdivia, where the volcano of villarica was noways affected, whilst in the cordillera in front of chiloe two of the volcanos burst forth at the same instant in violent action. these two volcanos, and some neighbouring ones, continued for a long time in eruption, and ten months afterwards were again influenced by an earthquake at concepcion. some men cutting wood near the base of one of these volcanos, did not perceive the shock of the th, although the whole surrounding province was then trembling; here we have an eruption relieving and taking the place of an earthquake, as would have happened at concepcion, according to the belief of the lower orders, if the volcano at antuco had not been closed by witchcraft. two years and three-quarters afterwards valdivia and chiloe were again shaken, more violently than on the th, and an island in the chonos archipelago was permanently elevated more than eight feet. it will give a better idea of the scale of these phenomena, if (as in the case of the glaciers) we suppose them to have taken place at corresponding distances in europe:--then would the land from the north sea to the mediterranean have been violently shaken, and at the same instant of time a large tract of the eastern coast of england would have been permanently elevated, together with some outlying islands,--a train of volcanos on the coast of holland would have burst forth in action, and an eruption taken place at the bottom of the sea, near the northern extremity of ireland--and lastly, the ancient vents of auvergne, cantal, and mont d'or would each have sent up to the sky a dark column of smoke, and have long remained in fierce action. two years and three-quarters afterwards, france, from its centre to the english channel, would have been again desolated by an earthquake, and an island permanently upraised in the mediterranean. the space, from under which volcanic matter on the th was actually erupted, is miles in one line, and miles in another line at right angles to the first: hence, in all probability, a subterranean lake of lava is here stretched out, of nearly double the area of the black sea. from the intimate and complicated manner in which the elevatory and eruptive forces were shown to be connected during this train of phenomena, we may confidently come to the conclusion that the forces which slowly and by little starts uplift continents, and those which at successive periods pour forth volcanic matter from open orifices, are identical. from many reasons, i believe that the frequent quakings of the earth on this line of coast are caused by the rending of the strata, necessarily consequent on the tension of the land when upraised, and their injection by fluidified rock. this rending and injection would, if repeated often enough (and we know that earthquakes repeatedly affect the same areas in the same manner), form a chain of hills;--and the linear island of st. mary, which was upraised thrice the height of the neighbouring country, seems to be undergoing this process. i believe that the solid axis of a mountain differs in its manner of formation from a volcanic hill, only in the molten stone having been repeatedly injected, instead of having been repeatedly ejected. moreover, i believe that it is impossible to explain the structure of great mountain-chains, such as that of the cordillera, where the strata, capping the injected axis of plutonic rock, have been thrown on their edges along several parallel and neighbouring lines of elevation, except on this view of the rock of the axis having been repeatedly injected, after intervals sufficiently long to allow the upper parts or wedges to cool and become solid;--for if the strata had been thrown into their present highly-inclined, vertical, and even inverted positions, by a single blow, the very bowels of the earth would have gushed out; and instead of beholding abrupt mountain-axes of rock solidified under great pressure, deluges of lava would have flowed out at innumerable points on every line of elevation. ( / . for a full account of the volcanic phenomena which accompanied the earthquake of the th, and for the conclusions deducible from them, i must refer to volume of the "geological transactions.") chapter xv. (plate . hide bridge, santiago de chile.) valparaiso. portillo pass. sagacity of mules. mountain-torrents. mines, how discovered. proofs of the gradual elevation of the cordillera. effect of snow on rocks. geological structure of the two main ranges, their distinct origin and upheaval. great subsidence. red snow. winds. pinnacles of snow. dry and clear atmosphere. electricity. pampas. zoology of the opposite sides of the andes. locusts. great bugs. mendoza. uspallata pass. silicified trees buried as they grew. incas bridge. badness of the passes exaggerated. cumbre. casuchas. valparaiso. passage of the cordillera. march , . we stayed three days at concepcion, and then sailed for valparaiso. the wind being northerly, we only reached the mouth of the harbour of concepcion before it was dark. being very near the land, and a fog coming on, the anchor was dropped. presently a large american whaler appeared close alongside of us; and we heard the yankee swearing at his men to keep quiet, whilst he listened for the breakers. captain fitz roy hailed him, in a loud clear voice, to anchor where he then was. the poor man must have thought the voice came from the shore: such a babel of cries issued at once from the ship--every one hallooing out, "let go the anchor! veer cable! shorten sail!" it was the most laughable thing i ever heard. if the ship's crew had been all captains, and no men, there could not have been a greater uproar of orders. we afterwards found that the mate stuttered: i suppose all hands were assisting him in giving his orders. on the th we anchored at valparaiso, and two days afterwards i set out to cross the cordillera. i proceeded to santiago, where mr. caldcleugh most kindly assisted me in every possible way in making the little preparations which were necessary. in this part of chile there are two passes across the andes to mendoza: the one most commonly used, namely, that of aconcagua or uspallata--is situated some way to the north; the other, called the portillo, is to the south, and nearer, but more lofty and dangerous. march , . (plate . chilenos.) we set out for the portillo pass. leaving santiago we crossed the wide burnt-up plain on which that city stands, and in the afternoon arrived at the maypu, one of the principal rivers in chile. the valley, at the point where it enters the first cordillera, is bounded on each side by lofty barren mountains; and although not broad, it is very fertile. numerous cottages were surrounded by vines, and by orchards of apple, nectarine, and peach-trees--their boughs breaking with the weight of the beautiful ripe fruit. in the evening we passed the custom-house, where our luggage was examined. the frontier of chile is better guarded by the cordillera than by the waters of the sea. there are very few valleys which lead to the central ranges, and the mountains are quite impassable in other parts by beasts of burden. the custom-house officers were very civil, which was perhaps partly owing to the passport which the president of the republic had given me; but i must express my admiration at the natural politeness of almost every chileno. in this instance, the contrast with the same class of men in most other countries was strongly marked. i may mention an anecdote with which i was at the time much pleased: we met near mendoza a little and very fat negress, riding astride on a mule. she had a goitre so enormous that it was scarcely possible to avoid gazing at her for a moment; but my two companions almost instantly, by way of apology, made the common salute of the country by taking off their hats. where would one of the lower or higher classes in europe have shown such feeling politeness to a poor and miserable object of a degraded race? at night we slept at a cottage. our manner of travelling was delightfully independent. in the inhabited parts we bought a little firewood, hired pasture for the animals, and bivouacked in the corner of the same field with them. carrying an iron pot, we cooked and ate our supper under a cloudless sky, and knew no trouble. my companions were mariano gonzales, who had formerly accompanied me in chile, and an "arriero," with his ten mules and a "madrina." the madrina (or godmother) is a most important personage: she is an old steady mare, with a little bell round her neck; and wherever she goes, the mules, like good children, follow her. the affection of these animals for their madrinas saves infinite trouble. if several large troops are turned into one field to graze, in the morning the muleteers have only to lead the madrinas a little apart, and tinkle their bells; and although there may be two or three hundred together, each mule immediately knows the bell of its own madrina, and comes to her. it is nearly impossible to lose an old mule; for if detained for several hours by force, she will, by the power of smell, like a dog, track out her companions, or rather the madrina, for, according to the muleteer, she is the chief object of affection. the feeling, however, is not of an individual nature; for i believe i am right in saying that any animal with a bell will serve as a madrina. in a troop each animal carries on a level road, a cargo weighing pounds (more than stone), but in a mountainous country pounds less; yet with what delicate slim limbs, without any proportional bulk of muscle, these animals support so great a burden! the mule always appears to me a most surprising animal. that a hybrid should possess more reason, memory, obstinacy, social affection, powers of muscular endurance, and length of life, than either of its parents, seems to indicate that art has here outdone nature. of our ten animals, six were intended for riding, and four for carrying cargoes, each taking turn about. we carried a good deal of food in case we should be snowed up, as the season was rather late for passing the portillo. march , . we rode during this day to the last, and therefore most elevated, house in the valley. the number of inhabitants became scanty; but wherever water could be brought on the land, it was very fertile. all the main valleys in the cordillera are characterised by having, on both sides, a fringe or terrace of shingle and sand, rudely stratified, and generally of considerable thickness. these fringes evidently once extended across the valleys and were united; and the bottoms of the valleys in northern chile, where there are no streams, are thus smoothly filled up. on these fringes the roads are generally carried, for their surfaces are even, and they rise with a very gentle slope up the valleys: hence, also, they are easily cultivated by irrigation. they may be traced up to a height of between and feet, where they become hidden by the irregular piles of debris. at the lower end or mouths of the valleys they are continuously united to those land-locked plains (also formed of shingle) at the foot of the main cordillera, which i have described in a former chapter as characteristic of the scenery of chile, and which were undoubtedly deposited when the sea penetrated chile, as it now does the more southern coasts. no one fact in the geology of south america interested me more than these terraces of rudely-stratified shingle. they precisely resemble in composition the matter which the torrents in each valley would deposit if they were checked in their course by any cause, such as entering a lake or arm of the sea; but the torrents, instead of depositing matter, are now steadily at work wearing away both the solid rock and these alluvial deposits, along the whole line of every main valley and side valley. it is impossible here to give the reasons, but i am convinced that the shingle terraces were accumulated, during the gradual elevation of the cordillera, by the torrents delivering, at successive levels, their detritus on the beach-heads of long narrow arms of the sea, first high up the valleys, then lower and lower down as the land slowly rose. if this be so, and i cannot doubt it, the grand and broken chain of the cordillera, instead of having been suddenly thrown up, as was till lately the universal, and still is the common opinion of geologists, has been slowly upheaved in mass, in the same gradual manner as the coasts of the atlantic and pacific have risen within the recent period. a multitude of facts in the structure of the cordillera, on this view receive a simple explanation. (plate . south american bit.) the rivers which flow in these valleys ought rather to be called mountain-torrents. their inclination is very great, and their water the colour of mud. the roar which the maypu made, as it rushed over the great rounded fragments, was like that of the sea. amidst the din of rushing waters, the noise from the stones, as they rattled one over another, was most distinctly audible even from a distance. this rattling noise, night and day, may be heard along the whole course of the torrent. the sound spoke eloquently to the geologist; the thousands and thousands of stones which, striking against each other, made the one dull uniform sound, were all hurrying in one direction. it was like thinking on time, where the minute that now glides past is irrevocable. so was it with these stones; the ocean is their eternity, and each note of that wild music told of one more step towards their destiny. it is not possible for the mind to comprehend, except by a slow process, any effect which is produced by a cause repeated so often that the multiplier itself conveys an idea not more definite than the savage implies when he points to the hairs of his head. as often as i have seen beds of mud, sand, and shingle, accumulated to the thickness of many thousand feet, i have felt inclined to exclaim that causes, such as the present rivers and the present beaches, could never have ground down and produced such masses. but, on the other hand, when listening to the rattling noise of these torrents, and calling to mind that whole races of animals have passed away from the face of the earth, and that during this whole period, night and day, these stones have gone rattling onwards in their course, i have thought to myself, can any mountains, any continent, withstand such waste? in this part of the valley, the mountains on each side were from to or feet high, with rounded outlines and steep bare flanks. the general colour of the rock was dullish purple, and the stratification very distinct. if the scenery was not beautiful, it was remarkable and grand. we met during the day several herds of cattle, which men were driving down from the higher valleys in the cordillera. this sign of the approaching winter hurried our steps, more than was convenient for geologising. the house where we slept was situated at the foot of a mountain, on the summit of which are the mines of s. pedro de nolasko. sir f. head marvels how mines have been discovered in such extraordinary situations, as the bleak summit of the mountain of s. pedro de nolasko. in the first place, metallic veins in this country are generally harder than the surrounding strata: hence, during the gradual wear of the hills, they project above the surface of the ground. secondly, almost every labourer, especially in the northern parts of chile, understands something about the appearance of ores. in the great mining provinces of coquimbo and copiapó, firewood is very scarce, and men search for it over every hill and dale; and by this means nearly all the richest mines have there been discovered. chanuncillo, from which silver to the value of many hundred thousand pounds has been raised in the course of a few years, was discovered by a man who threw a stone at his loaded donkey, and thinking that it was very heavy, he picked it up, and found it full of pure silver: the vein occurred at no great distance, standing up like a wedge of metal. the miners, also, taking a crowbar with them, often wander on sundays over the mountains. in this south part of chile the men who drive cattle into the cordillera, and who frequent every ravine where there is a little pasture, are the usual discoverers. march , . as we ascended the valley, the vegetation, with the exception of a few pretty alpine flowers, became exceedingly scanty; and of quadrupeds, birds, or insects, scarcely one could be seen. the lofty mountains, their summits marked with a few patches of snow, stood well separated from each other; the valleys being filled up with an immense thickness of stratified alluvium. the features in the scenery of the andes which struck me most, as contrasted with the other mountain chains with which i am acquainted, were,--the flat fringes sometimes expanding into narrow plains on each side of the valleys,--the bright colours, chiefly red and purple, of the utterly bare and precipitous hills of porphyry, the grand and continuous wall-like dikes,--the plainly-divided strata which, where nearly vertical, formed the picturesque and wild central pinnacles, but where less inclined, composed the great massive mountains on the outskirts of the range,--and lastly, the smooth conical piles of fine and brightly coloured detritus, which sloped up at a high angle from the base of the mountains, sometimes to a height of more than feet. i frequently observed, both in tierra del fuego and within the andes, that where the rock was covered during the greater part of the year with snow, it was shivered in a very extraordinary manner into small angular fragments. scoresby has observed the same fact in spitzbergen. ( / . scoresby's "arctic regions" volume page .) the case appears to me rather obscure: for that part of the mountain which is protected by a mantle of snow must be less subject to repeated and great changes of temperature than any other part. i have sometimes thought that the earth and fragments of stone on the surface were perhaps less effectually removed by slowly percolating snow-water than by rain, and therefore that the appearance of a quicker disintegration of the solid rock under the snow was deceptive. ( / . i have heard it remarked in shropshire that the water, when the severn is flooded from long-continued rain, is much more turbid than when it proceeds from the snow melting on the welsh mountains. d'orbigny tome page , in explaining the cause of the various colours of the rivers in south america, remarks that those with blue or clear water have their source in the cordillera, where the snow melts.) whatever the cause may be, the quantity of crumbling stone on the cordillera is very great. occasionally in the spring great masses of this detritus slide down the mountains, and cover the snow-drifts in the valleys, thus forming natural ice-houses. we rode over one, the height of which was far below the limit of perpetual snow. as the evening drew to a close, we reached a singular basin-like plain, called the valle del yeso. it was covered by a little dry pasture, and we had the pleasant sight of a herd of cattle amidst the surrounding rocky deserts. the valley takes its name of yeso from a great bed, i should think at least feet thick, of white, and in some parts quite pure, gypsum. we slept with a party of men, who were employed in loading mules with this substance, which is used in the manufacture of wine. we set out early in the morning ( st), and continued to follow the course of the river, which had become very small, till we arrived at the foot of the ridge that separates the waters flowing into the pacific and atlantic oceans. the road, which as yet had been good with a steady but very gradual ascent, now changed into a steep zigzag track up the great range dividing the republics of chile and mendoza. i will here give a very brief sketch of the geology of the several parallel lines forming the cordillera. of these lines, there are two considerably higher than the others; namely, on the chilian side, the peuquenes ridge, which, where the road crosses it, is , feet above the sea; and the portillo ridge, on the mendoza side, which is , feet. the lower beds of the peuquenes ridge, and of the several great lines to the westward of it, are composed of a vast pile, many thousand feet in thickness, of porphyries which have flowed as submarine lavas, alternating with angular and rounded fragments of the same rocks, thrown out of the submarine craters. these alternating masses are covered in the central parts by a great thickness of red sandstone, conglomerate, and calcareous clay-slate, associated with, and passing into, prodigious beds of gypsum. in these upper beds shells are tolerably frequent; and they belong to about the period of the lower chalk of europe. it is an old story, but not the less wonderful, to hear of shells which were once crawling on the bottom of the sea, now standing nearly , feet above its level. the lower beds in this great pile of strata have been dislocated, baked, crystallised and almost blended together, through the agency of mountain masses of a peculiar white soda-granitic rock. the other main line, namely, that of the portillo, is of a totally different formation: it consists chiefly of grand bare pinnacles of a red potash-granite, which low down on the western flank are covered by a sandstone, converted by the former heat into a quartz-rock. on the quartz there rest beds of a conglomerate several thousand feet in thickness, which have been upheaved by the red granite, and dip at an angle of degrees towards the peuquenes line. i was astonished to find that this conglomerate was partly composed of pebbles, derived from the rocks, with their fossil shells, of the peuquenes range; and partly of red potash-granite, like that of the portillo. hence we must conclude that both the peuquenes and portillo ranges were partially upheaved and exposed to wear and tear when the conglomerate was forming; but as the beds of the conglomerate have been thrown off at an angle of degrees by the red portillo granite (with the underlying sandstone baked by it), we may feel sure that the greater part of the injection and upheaval of the already partially formed portillo line took place after the accumulation of the conglomerate, and long after the elevation of the peuquenes ridge. so that the portillo, the loftiest line in this part of the cordillera, is not so old as the less lofty line of the peuquenes. evidence derived from an inclined stream of lava at the eastern base of the portillo might be adduced to show that it owes part of its great height to elevations of a still later date. looking to its earliest origin, the red granite seems to have been injected on an ancient pre-existing line of white granite and mica-slate. in most parts, perhaps in all parts, of the cordillera, it may be concluded that each line has been formed by repeated upheavals and injections; and that the several parallel lines are of different ages. only thus can we gain time at all sufficient to explain the truly astonishing amount of denudation which these great, though comparatively with most other ranges recent, mountains have suffered. finally, the shells in the peuquenes or oldest ridge prove, as before remarked, that it has been upraised , feet since a secondary period, which in europe we are accustomed to consider as far from ancient; but since these shells lived in a moderately deep sea, it can be shown that the area now occupied by the cordillera must have subsided several thousand feet--in northern chile as much as feet--so as to have allowed that amount of submarine strata to have been heaped on the bed on which the shells lived. the proof is the same with that by which it was shown that, at a much later period since the tertiary shells of patagonia lived, there must have been there a subsidence of several hundred feet, as well as an ensuing elevation. daily it is forced home on the mind of the geologist that nothing, not even the wind that blows, is so unstable as the level of the crust of this earth. i will make only one other geological remark: although the portillo chain is here higher than the peuquenes, the waters, draining the intermediate valleys, have burst through it. the same fact, on a grander scale, has been remarked in the eastern and loftiest line of the bolivian cordillera, through which the rivers pass: analogous facts have also been observed in other quarters of the world. on the supposition of the subsequent and gradual elevation of the portillo line, this can be understood; for a chain of islets would at first appear, and, as these were lifted up, the tides would be always wearing deeper and broader channels between them. at the present day, even in the most retired sounds on the coast of tierra del fuego, the currents in the transverse breaks which connect the longitudinal channels are very strong, so that in one transverse channel even a small vessel under sail was whirled round and round. about noon we began the tedious ascent of the peuquenes ridge, and then for the first time experienced some little difficulty in our respiration. the mules would halt every fifty yards, and after resting for a few seconds the poor willing animals started of their own accord again. the short breathing from the rarefied atmosphere is called by the chilenos "puna;" and they have most ridiculous notions concerning its origin. some say "all the waters here have puna;" others that "where there is snow there is puna;"--and this no doubt is true. the only sensation i experienced was a slight tightness across the head and chest, like that felt on leaving a warm room and running quickly in frosty weather. there was some imagination even in this; for upon finding fossil shells on the highest ridge, i entirely forgot the puna in my delight. certainly the exertion of walking was extremely great, and the respiration became deep and laborious: i am told that in potosi (about , feet above the sea) strangers do not become thoroughly accustomed to the atmosphere for an entire year. the inhabitants all recommend onions for the puna; as this vegetable has sometimes been given in europe for pectoral complaints, it may possibly be of real service:--for my part i found nothing so good as the fossil shells! when about half-way up we met a large party with seventy loaded mules. it was interesting to hear the wild cries of the muleteers, and to watch the long descending string of the animals; they appeared so diminutive, there being nothing but the black mountains with which they could be compared. when near the summit, the wind, as generally happens, was impetuous and extremely cold. on each side of the ridge we had to pass over broad bands of perpetual snow, which were now soon to be covered by a fresh layer. when we reached the crest and looked backwards, a glorious view was presented. the atmosphere resplendently clear; the sky an intense blue; the profound valleys; the wild broken forms: the heaps of ruins, piled up during the lapse of ages; the bright-coloured rocks, contrasted with the quiet mountains of snow, all these together produced a scene no one could have imagined. neither plant nor bird, excepting a few condors wheeling around the higher pinnacles, distracted my attention from the inanimate mass. i felt glad that i was alone: it was like watching a thunderstorm, or hearing in full orchestra a chorus of the messiah. on several patches of the snow i found the protococcus nivalis, or red snow, so well known from the accounts of arctic navigators. my attention was called to it by observing the footsteps of the mules stained a pale red, as if their hoofs had been slightly bloody. i at first thought that it was owing to dust blown from the surrounding mountains of red porphyry; for from the magnifying power of the crystals of snow, the groups of these microscopical plants appeared like coarse particles. the snow was coloured only where it had thawed very rapidly, or had been accidentally crushed. a little rubbed on paper gave it a faint rose tinge mingled with a little brick-red. i afterwards scraped some off the paper, and found that it consisted of groups of little spheres in colourless cases, each the thousandth part of an inch in diameter. the wind on the crest of the peuquenes, as just remarked, is generally impetuous and very cold: it is said to blow steadily from the westward or pacific side. ( / . dr. gillies in "journal of natural and geographical science" august . this author gives the heights of the passes.) as the observations have been chiefly made in summer, this wind must be an upper and return current. the peak of teneriffe, with a less elevation, and situated in latitude degrees, in like manner falls within an upper return stream. at first it appears rather surprising that the trade-wind along the northern parts of chile and on the coast of peru should blow in so very southerly a direction as it does; but when we reflect that the cordillera, running in a north and south line, intercepts, like a great wall, the entire depth of the lower atmospheric current, we can easily see that the trade-wind must be drawn northward, following the line of mountains, towards the equatorial regions, and thus lose part of that easterly movement which it otherwise would have gained from the earth's rotation. at mendoza, on the eastern foot of the andes, the climate is said to be subject to long calms, and to frequent though false appearances of gathering rain-storms: we may imagine that the wind, which coming from the eastward is thus banked up by the line of mountains, would become stagnant and irregular in its movements. having crossed the peuquenes, we descended into a mountainous country, intermediate between the two main ranges, and then took up our quarters for the night. we were now in the republic of mendoza. the elevation was probably not under , feet, and the vegetation in consequence exceedingly scanty. the root of a small scrubby plant served as fuel, but it made a miserable fire, and the wind was piercingly cold. being quite tired with my days work, i made up my bed as quickly as i could, and went to sleep. about midnight i observed the sky became suddenly clouded: i awakened the arriero to know if there was any danger of bad weather; but he said that without thunder and lightning there was no risk of a heavy snow-storm. the peril is imminent, and the difficulty of subsequent escape great, to any one overtaken by bad weather between the two ranges. a certain cave offers the only place of refuge: mr. caldcleugh, who crossed on this same day of the month, was detained there for some time by a heavy fall of snow. casuchas, or houses of refuge, have not been built in this pass as in that of uspallata, and therefore, during the autumn, the portillo is little frequented. i may here remark that within the main cordillera rain never falls, for during the summer the sky is cloudless, and in winter snow-storms alone occur. at the place where we slept water necessarily boiled, from the diminished pressure of the atmosphere, at a lower temperature than it does in a less lofty country; the case being the converse of that of a papin's digester. hence the potatoes, after remaining for some hours in the boiling water, were nearly as hard as ever. the pot was left on the fire all night, and next morning it was boiled again, but yet the potatoes were not cooked. i found out this by overhearing my two companions discussing the cause, they had come to the simple conclusion "that the cursed pot (which was a new one) did not choose to boil potatoes." march , . after eating our potato-less breakfast, we travelled across the intermediate tract to the foot of the portillo range. in the middle of summer cattle are brought up here to graze; but they had now all been removed: even the greater number of the guanacos had decamped, knowing well that if overtaken here by a snow-storm, they would be caught in a trap. we had a fine view of a mass of mountains called tupungato, the whole clothed with unbroken snow, in the midst of which there was a blue patch, no doubt a glacier;--a circumstance of rare occurrence in these mountains. now commenced a heavy and long climb, similar to that of the peuquenes. bold conical hills of red granite rose on each hand; in the valleys there were several broad fields of perpetual snow. these frozen masses, during the process of thawing, had in some parts been converted into pinnacles or columns, which, as they were high and close together, made it difficult for the cargo mules to pass. ( / . this structure in frozen snow was long since observed by scoresby in the icebergs near spitzbergen, and, lately, with more care, by colonel jackson "journal of geographical society" volume page , on the neva. mr. lyell "principles" volume page , has compared the fissures, by which the columnar structure seems to be determined, to the joints that traverse nearly all rocks, but which are best seen in the non-stratified masses. i may observe that in the case of the frozen snow the columnar structure must be owing to a "metamorphic" action, and not to a process during deposition.) on one of these columns of ice a frozen horse was sticking as on a pedestal, but with its hind legs straight up in the air. the animal, i suppose, must have fallen with its head downward into a hole, when the snow was continuous, and afterwards the surrounding parts must have been removed by the thaw. when nearly on the crest of the portillo, we were enveloped in a falling cloud of minute frozen spicula. this was very unfortunate, as it continued the whole day, and quite intercepted our view. the pass takes its name of portillo from a narrow cleft or doorway on the highest ridge, through which the road passes. from this point, on a clear day, those vast plains which uninterruptedly extend to the atlantic ocean can be seen. we descended to the upper limit of vegetation, and found good quarters for the night under the shelter of some large fragments of rock. we met here some passengers, who made anxious inquiries about the state of the road. shortly after it was dark the clouds suddenly cleared away, and the effect was quite magical. the great mountains, bright with the full moon, seemed impending over us on all sides, as over a deep crevice: one morning, very early, i witnessed the same striking effect. as soon as the clouds were dispersed it froze severely; but as there was no wind, we slept very comfortably. the increased brilliancy of the moon and stars at this elevation, owing to the perfect transparency of the atmosphere, was very remarkable. travellers having observed the difficulty of judging heights and distances amidst lofty mountains, have generally attributed it to the absence of objects of comparison. it appears to me, that it is fully as much owing to the transparency of the air confounding objects at different distances, and likewise partly to the novelty of an unusual degree of fatigue arising from a little exertion,--habit being thus opposed to the evidence of the senses. i am sure that this extreme clearness of the air gives a peculiar character to the landscape, all objects appearing to be brought nearly into one plane, as in a drawing or panorama. the transparency is, i presume, owing to the equable and high state of atmospheric dryness. this dryness was shown by the manner in which woodwork shrank (as i soon found by the trouble my geological hammer gave me); by articles of food, such as bread and sugar, becoming extremely hard; and by the preservation of the skin and parts of the flesh of the beasts which had perished on the road. to the same cause we must attribute the singular facility with which electricity is excited. my flannel-waistcoat, when rubbed in the dark, appeared as if it had been washed with phosphorus,--every hair on a dog's back crackled;--even the linen sheets, and leathern straps of the saddle, when handled, emitted sparks. march , . the descent on the eastern side of the cordillera is much shorter or steeper than on the pacific side; in other words, the mountains rise more abruptly from the plains than from the alpine country of chile. a level and brilliantly white sea of clouds was stretched out beneath our feet, shutting out the view of the equally level pampas. we soon entered the band of clouds, and did not again emerge from it that day. about noon, finding pasture for the animals and bushes for firewood at los arenales, we stopped for the night. this was near the uppermost limit of bushes, and the elevation, i suppose, was between seven and eight thousand feet. i was much struck with the marked difference between the vegetation of these eastern valleys and those on the chilian side: yet the climate, as well as the kind of soil, is nearly the same, and the difference of longitude very trifling. the same remark holds good with the quadrupeds, and in a lesser degree with the birds and insects. i may instance the mice, of which i obtained thirteen species on the shores of the atlantic, and five on the pacific, and not one of them is identical. we must except all those species which habitually or occasionally frequent elevated mountains; and certain birds, which range as far south as the strait of magellan. this fact is in perfect accordance with the geological history of the andes; for these mountains have existed as a great barrier since the present races of animals have appeared; and therefore, unless we suppose the same species to have been created in two different places, we ought not to expect any closer similarity between the organic beings on the opposite sides of the andes than on the opposite shores of the ocean. in both cases, we must leave out of the question those kinds which have been able to cross the barrier, whether of solid rock or salt-water. ( / . this is merely an illustration of the admirable laws, first laid down by mr. lyell, on the geographical distribution of animals, as influenced by geological changes. the whole reasoning, of course, is founded on the assumption of the immutability of species; otherwise the difference in the species in the two regions might be considered as superinduced during a length of time.) a great number of the plants and animals were absolutely the same as, or most closely allied to, those of patagonia. we here have the agouti, bizcacha, three species of armadillo, the ostrich, certain kinds of partridges and other birds, none of which are ever seen in chile, but are the characteristic animals of the desert plains of patagonia. we have likewise many of the same (to the eyes of a person who is not a botanist) thorny stunted bushes, withered grass, and dwarf plants. even the black slowly crawling beetles are closely similar, and some, i believe, on rigorous examination, absolutely identical. it had always been to me a subject of regret that we were unavoidably compelled to give up the ascent of the s. cruz river before reaching the mountains: i always had a latent hope of meeting with some great change in the features of the country; but i now feel sure that it would only have been following the plains of patagonia up a mountainous ascent. march , . early in the morning i climbed up a mountain on one side of the valley, and enjoyed a far extended view over the pampas. this was a spectacle to which i had always looked forward with interest, but i was disappointed: at the first glance it much resembled a distant view of the ocean, but in the northern parts many irregularities were soon distinguishable. the most striking feature consisted in the rivers, which, facing the rising sun, glittered like silver threads, till lost in the immensity of the distance. at mid-day we descended the valley, and reached a hovel, where an officer and three soldiers were posted to examine passports. one of these men was a thoroughbred pampas indian: he was kept much for the same purpose as a bloodhound, to track out any person who might pass by secretly, either on foot or horseback. some years ago a passenger endeavoured to escape detection by making a long circuit over a neighbouring mountain; but this indian, having by chance crossed his track, followed it for the whole day over dry and very stony hills, till at last he came on his prey hidden in a gully. we here heard that the silvery clouds, which we had admired from the bright region above, had poured down torrents of rain. the valley from this point gradually opened, and the hills became mere water-worn hillocks compared to the giants behind; it then expanded into a gently sloping plain of shingle, covered with low trees and bushes. this talus, although appearing narrow, must be nearly ten miles wide before it blends into the apparently dead level pampas. we passed the only house in this neighbourhood, the estancia of chaquaio: and at sunset we pulled up in the first snug corner, and there bivouacked. march , . i was reminded of the pampas of buenos ayres, by seeing the disk of the rising sun intersected by an horizon level as that of the ocean. during the night a heavy dew fell, a circumstance which we did not experience within the cordillera. the road proceeded for some distance due east across a low swamp; then meeting the dry plain, it turned to the north towards mendoza. the distance is two very long days' journey. our first day's journey was called fourteen leagues to estacado, and the second seventeen to luxan, near mendoza. the whole distance is over a level desert plain, with not more than two or three houses. the sun was exceedingly powerful, and the ride devoid of all interest. there is very little water in this "traversia," and in our second day's journey we found only one little pool. little water flows from the mountains, and it soon becomes absorbed by the dry and porous soil; so that, although we travelled at the distance of only ten or fifteen miles from the outer range of the cordillera, we did not cross a single stream. in many parts the ground was incrusted with a saline efflorescence; hence we had the same salt-loving plants which are common near bahia blanca. the landscape has a uniform character from the strait of magellan, along the whole eastern coast of patagonia, to the rio colorado; and it appears that the same kind of country extends inland from this river, in a sweeping line as far as san luis, and perhaps even farther north. to the eastward of this curved line lies the basin of the comparatively damp and green plains of buenos ayres. the sterile plains of mendoza and patagonia consist of a bed of shingle, worn smooth and accumulated by the waves of the sea; while the pampas, covered by thistles, clover, and grass, have been formed by the ancient estuary mud of the plata. after our two days' tedious journey, it was refreshing to see in the distance the rows of poplars and willows growing round the village and river of luxan. shortly before we arrived at this place we observed to the south a ragged cloud of a dark reddish-brown colour. at first we thought that it was smoke from some great fire on the plains; but we soon found that it was a swarm of locusts. they were flying northward; and with the aid of a light breeze, they overtook us at a rate of ten or fifteen miles an hour. the main body filled the air from a height of twenty feet to that, as it appeared, of two or three thousand above the ground; "and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle:" or rather, i should say, like a strong breeze passing through the rigging of a ship. the sky, seen through the advanced guard, appeared like a mezzotinto engraving, but the main body was impervious to sight; they were not, however, so thick together, but that they could escape a stick waved backwards and forwards. when they alighted, they were more numerous than the leaves in the field, and the surface became reddish instead of being green: the swarm having once alighted, the individuals flew from side to side in all directions. locusts are not an uncommon pest in this country: already during this season several smaller swarms had come up from the south, where, as apparently in all other parts of the world, they are bred in the deserts. the poor cottagers in vain attempted by lighting fires, by shouts, and by waving branches, to avert the attack. this species of locust closely resembles, and perhaps is identical with, the famous gryllus migratorius of the east. we crossed the luxan, which is a river of considerable size, though its course towards the sea-coast is very imperfectly known: it is even doubtful whether, in passing over the plains, it is not evaporated and lost. we slept in the village of luxan, which is a small place surrounded by gardens, and forms the most southern cultivated district in the province of mendoza; it is five leagues south of the capital. at night i experienced an attack (for it deserves no less a name) of the benchuca, a species of reduvius, the great black bug of the pampas. it is most disgusting to feel soft wingless insects, about an inch long, crawling over one's body. before sucking they are quite thin, but afterwards they become round and bloated with blood, and in this state are easily crushed. one which i caught at iquique (for they are found in chile and peru) was very empty. when placed on a table, and though surrounded by people, if a finger was presented, the bold insect would immediately protrude its sucker, make a charge, and if allowed, draw blood. no pain was caused by the wound. it was curious to watch its body during the act of sucking, as in less than ten minutes it changed from being as flat as a wafer to a globular form. this one feast, for which the benchuca was indebted to one of the officers, kept it fat during four whole months; but, after the first fortnight, it was quite ready to have another suck. march , . we rode on to mendoza. the country was beautifully cultivated, and resembled chile. this neighbourhood is celebrated for its fruit; and certainly nothing could appear more flourishing than the vineyards and the orchards of figs, peaches, and olives. we bought water-melons nearly twice as large as a man's head, most deliciously cool and well-flavoured, for a halfpenny apiece; and for the value of threepence, half a wheelbarrowful of peaches. the cultivated and enclosed part of this province is very small; there is little more than that which we passed through between luxan and the capital. the land, as in chile, owes its fertility entirely to artificial irrigation; and it is really wonderful to observe how extraordinarily productive a barren traversia is thus rendered. we stayed the ensuing day in mendoza. the prosperity of the place has much declined of late years. the inhabitants say "it is good to live in, but very bad to grow rich in." the lower orders have the lounging, reckless manners of the gauchos of the pampas; and their dress, riding-gear, and habits of life, are nearly the same. to my mind the town had a stupid, forlorn aspect. neither the boasted alameda, nor the scenery, is at all comparable with that of santiago; but to those who, coming from buenos ayres, have just crossed the unvaried pampas, the gardens and orchards must appear delightful. sir f. head, speaking of the inhabitants, says, "they eat their dinners, and it is so very hot, they go to sleep--and could they do better?" i quite agree with sir f. head: the happy doom of the mendozinos is to eat, sleep and be idle. march , . we set out on our return to chile by the uspallata pass situated north of mendoza. we had to cross a long and most sterile traversia of fifteen leagues. the soil in parts was absolutely bare, in others covered by numberless dwarf cacti, armed with formidable spines, and called by the inhabitants "little lions." there were, also, a few low bushes. although the plain is nearly three thousand feet above the sea, the sun was very powerful; and the heat, as well as the clouds of impalpable dust, rendered the travelling extremely irksome. our course during the day lay nearly parallel to the cordillera, but gradually approaching them. before sunset we entered one of the wide valleys, or rather bays, which open on the plain: this soon narrowed into a ravine, where a little higher up the house of villa vicencio is situated. as we had ridden all day without a drop of water, both our mules and selves were very thirsty, and we looked out anxiously for the stream which flows down this valley. it was curious to observe how gradually the water made its appearance: on the plain the course was quite dry; by degrees it became a little damper; then puddles of water appeared; these soon became connected; and at villa vicencio there was a nice little rivulet. march , . the solitary hovel which bears the imposing name of villa vicencio has been mentioned by every traveller who has crossed the andes. i stayed here and at some neighbouring mines during the two succeeding days. the geology of the surrounding country is very curious. the uspallata range is separated from the main cordillera by a long narrow plain or basin, like those so often mentioned in chile, but higher, being six thousand feet above the sea. this range has nearly the same geographical position with respect to the cordillera, which the gigantic portillo line has, but it is of a totally different origin: it consists of various kinds of submarine lava, alternating with volcanic sandstones and other remarkable sedimentary deposits; the whole having a very close resemblance to some of the tertiary beds on the shores of the pacific. from this resemblance i expected to find silicified wood, which is generally characteristic of those formations. i was gratified in a very extraordinary manner. in the central part of the range, at an elevation of about seven thousand feet, i observed on a bare slope some snow-white projecting columns. these were petrified trees, eleven being silicified, and from thirty to forty converted into coarsely-crystallised white calcareous spar. they were abruptly broken off, the upright stumps projecting a few feet above the ground. the trunks measured from three to five feet each in circumference. they stood a little way apart from each other, but the whole formed one group. mr. robert brown has been kind enough to examine the wood: he says it belongs to the fir tribe, partaking of the character of the araucarian family, but with some curious points of affinity with the yew. the volcanic sandstone in which the trees were embedded, and from the lower part of which they must have sprung, had accumulated in successive thin layers around their trunks; and the stone yet retained the impression of the bark. it required little geological practice to interpret the marvellous story which this scene at once unfolded; though i confess i was at first so much astonished that i could scarcely believe the plainest evidence. i saw the spot where a cluster of fine trees once waved their branches on the shores of the atlantic, when that ocean (now driven back miles) came to the foot of the andes. i saw that they had sprung from a volcanic soil which had been raised above the level of the sea, and that subsequently this dry land, with its upright trees, had been let down into the depths of the ocean. in these depths, the formerly dry land was covered by sedimentary beds, and these again by enormous streams of submarine lava--one such mass attaining the thickness of a thousand feet; and these deluges of molten stone and aqueous deposits five times alternately had been spread out. the ocean which received such thick masses must have been profoundly deep; but again the subterranean forces exerted themselves, and i now beheld the bed of that ocean, forming a chain of mountains more than seven thousand feet in height. nor had those antagonistic forces been dormant, which are always at work wearing down the surface of the land; the great piles of strata had been intersected by many wide valleys, and the trees, now changed into silex, were exposed projecting from the volcanic soil, now changed into rock, whence formerly, in a green and budding state, they had raised their lofty heads. now, all is utterly irreclaimable and desert; even the lichen cannot adhere to the stony casts of former trees. vast, and scarcely comprehensible as such changes must ever appear, yet they have all occurred within a period, recent when compared with the history of the cordillera; and the cordillera itself is absolutely modern as compared with many of the fossiliferous strata of europe and america. april , . we crossed the uspallata range, and at night slept at the custom-house--the only inhabited spot on the plain. shortly before leaving the mountains, there was a very extraordinary view; red, purple, green, and quite white sedimentary rocks, alternating with black lavas, were broken up and thrown into all kinds of disorder by masses of porphyry of every shade of colour, from dark brown to the brightest lilac. it was the first view i ever saw, which really resembled those pretty sections which geologists make of the inside of the earth. the next day we crossed the plain, and followed the course of the same great mountain stream which flows by luxan. here it was a furious torrent, quite impassable, and appeared larger than in the low country, as was the case with the rivulet of villa vicencio. on the evening of the succeeding day we reached the rio de las vacas, which is considered the worst stream in the cordillera to cross. as all these rivers have a rapid and short course, and are formed by the melting of the snow, the hour of the day makes a considerable difference in their volume. in the evening the stream is muddy and full, but about daybreak it becomes clearer and much less impetuous. this we found to be the case with the rio vacas, and in the morning we crossed it with little difficulty. the scenery thus far was very uninteresting, compared with that of the portillo pass. little can be seen beyond the bare walls of the one grand, flat-bottomed valley, which the road follows up to the highest crest. the valley and the huge rocky mountains are extremely barren: during the two previous nights the poor mules had absolutely nothing to eat, for excepting a few low resinous bushes, scarcely a plant can be seen. in the course of this day we crossed some of the worst passes in the cordillera, but their danger has been much exaggerated. i was told that if i attempted to pass on foot, my head would turn giddy, and that there was no room to dismount; but i did not see a place where any one might not have walked over backwards, or got off his mule on either side. one of the bad passes, called las animas (the souls), i had crossed, and did not find out till a day afterwards that it was one of the awful dangers. no doubt there are many parts in which, if the mule should stumble, the rider would be hurled down a great precipice; but of this there is little chance. i daresay, in the spring, the "laderas," or roads, which each year are formed anew across the piles of fallen detritus, are very bad; but from what i saw, i suspect the real danger is nothing. with cargo-mules the case is rather different, for the loads project so far, that the animals, occasionally running against each other, or against a point of rock, lose their balance, and are thrown down the precipices. in crossing the rivers i can well believe that the difficulty may be very great: at this season there was little trouble, but in the summer they must be very hazardous. i can quite imagine, as sir f. head describes, the different expressions of those who have passed the gulf, and those who are passing. i never heard of any man being drowned, but with loaded mules it frequently happens. the arriero tells you to show your mule the best line, and then allow her to cross as she likes: the cargo-mule takes a bad line, and is often lost. april , . from the rio de las vacas to the puente del incas, half a day's journey. as there was pasture for the mules, and geology for me, we bivouacked here for the night. when one hears of a natural bridge, one pictures to oneself some deep and narrow ravine, across which a bold mass of rock has fallen; or a great arch hollowed out like the vault of a cavern. instead of this, the incas bridge consists of a crust of stratified shingle cemented together by the deposits of the neighbouring hot springs. it appears as if the stream had scooped out a channel on one side, leaving an overhanging ledge, which was met by earth and stones falling down from the opposite cliff. certainly an oblique junction, as would happen in such a case, was very distinct on one side. the bridge of the incas is by no means worthy of the great monarchs whose name it bears. april , . we had a long day's ride across the central ridge, from the incas bridge to the ojos del agua, which are situated near the lowest casucha on the chilian side. these casuchas are round little towers, with steps outside to reach the floor, which is raised some feet above the ground on account of the snow-drifts. they are eight in number, and under the spanish government were kept during the winter well stored with food and charcoal, and each courier had a master-key. now they only answer the purpose of caves, or rather dungeons. seated on some little eminence, they are not, however, ill suited to the surrounding scene of desolation. the zigzag ascent of the cumbre, or the partition of the waters, was very steep and tedious; its height, according to mr. pentland, is , feet. the road did not pass over any perpetual snow, although there were patches of it on both hands. the wind on the summit was exceedingly cold, but it was impossible not to stop for a few minutes to admire, again and again, the colour of the heavens, and the brilliant transparency of the atmosphere. the scenery was grand: to the westward there was a fine chaos of mountains, divided by profound ravines. some snow generally falls before this period of the season, and it has even happened that the cordillera have been finally closed by this time. but we were most fortunate. the sky, by night and by day, was cloudless, excepting a few round little masses of vapour, that floated over the highest pinnacles. i have often seen these islets in the sky, marking the position of the cordillera, when the far-distant mountains have been hidden beneath the horizon. april , . in the morning we found some thief had stolen one of our mules, and the bell of the madrina. we therefore rode only two or three miles down the valley, and stayed there the ensuing day in hopes of recovering the mule, which the arriero thought had been hidden in some ravine. the scenery in this part had assumed a chilian character: the lower sides of the mountains, dotted over with the pale evergreen quillay tree, and with the great chandelier-like cactus, are certainly more to be admired than the bare eastern valleys; but i cannot quite agree with the admiration expressed by some travellers. the extreme pleasure, i suspect, is chiefly owing to the prospect of a good fire and of a good supper, after escaping from the cold regions above: and i am sure i most heartily participated in these feelings. april , . we left the valley of the aconcagua, by which we had descended, and reached in the evening a cottage near the villa de st. rosa. the fertility of the plain was delightful: the autumn being advanced, the leaves of many of the fruit-trees were falling; and of the labourers,--some were busy in drying figs and peaches on the roofs of their cottages, while others were gathering the grapes from the vineyards. it was a pretty scene; but i missed that pensive stillness which makes the autumn in england indeed the evening of the year. on the th we reached santiago, where i received a very kind and hospitable reception from mr. caldcleugh. my excursion only cost me twenty-four days, and never did i more deeply enjoy an equal space of time. a few days afterwards i returned to mr. corfield's house at valparaiso. chapter xvi. (plate . lima and san lorenzo.) coast-road to coquimbo. great loads carried by the miners. coquimbo. earthquake. step-formed terraces. absence of recent deposits. contemporaneousness of the tertiary formations. excursion up the valley. road to guasco. deserts. valley of copiapó. rain and earthquakes. hydrophobia. the despoblado. indian ruins. probable change of climate. river-bed arched by an earthquake. cold gales of wind. noises from a hill. iquique. salt alluvium. nitrate of soda. lima. unhealthy country. ruins of callao, overthrown by an earthquake. recent subsidence. elevated shells on san lorenzo, their decomposition. plain with embedded shells and fragments of pottery. antiquity of the indian race. northern chile and peru. april , . i set out on a journey to coquimbo, and thence through guasco to copiapó, where captain fitz roy kindly offered to pick me up in the "beagle." the distance in a straight line along the shore northward is only miles; but my mode of travelling made it a very long journey. i bought four horses and two mules, the latter carrying the luggage on alternate days. the six animals together only cost the value of twenty-five pounds sterling, and at copiapó i sold them again for twenty-three. we travelled in the same independent manner as before, cooking our own meals, and sleeping in the open air. as we rode towards the viño del mar, i took a farewell view of valparaiso, and admired its picturesque appearance. for geological purposes i made a detour from the high road to the foot of the bell of quillota. we passed through an alluvial district rich in gold, to the neighbourhood of limache, where we slept. washing for gold supports the inhabitants of numerous hovels, scattered along the sides of each little rivulet; but, like all those whose gains are uncertain, they are unthrifty in their habits, and consequently poor. april , . in the afternoon we arrived at a cottage at the foot of the bell mountain. the inhabitants were freeholders, which is not very usual in chile. they supported themselves on the produce of a garden and a little field, but were very poor. capital is here so deficient that the people are obliged to sell their green corn while standing in the field, in order to buy necessaries for the ensuing year. wheat in consequence was dearer in the very district of its production than at valparaiso, where the contractors live. the next day we joined the main road to coquimbo. at night there was a very light shower of rain: this was the first drop that had fallen since the heavy rain of september th and th, which detained me a prisoner at the baths of cauquenes. the interval was seven and a half months; but the rain this year in chile was rather later than usual. the distant andes were now covered by a thick mass of snow, and were a glorious sight. may , . the road continued to follow the coast at no great distance from the sea. the few trees and bushes which are common in central chile decreased rapidly in numbers, and were replaced by a tall plant, something like a yucca in appearance. the surface of the country, on a small scale, was singularly broken and irregular; abrupt little peaks of rock rising out of small plains or basins. the indented coast and the bottom of the neighbouring sea, studded with breakers, would, if converted into dry land, present similar forms; and such a conversion without doubt has taken place in the part over which we rode. may , . quilimari to conchalee. the country became more and more barren. in the valleys there was scarcely sufficient water for any irrigation; and the intermediate land was quite bare, not supporting even goats. in the spring, after the winter showers, a thin pasture rapidly springs up, and cattle are then driven down from the cordillera to graze for a short time. it is curious to observe how the seeds of the grass and other plants seem to accommodate themselves, as if by an acquired habit, to the quantity of rain which falls upon different parts of this coast. one shower far northward at copiapó produces as great an effect on the vegetation, as two at guasco, and three or four in this district. at valparaiso a winter so dry as greatly to injure the pasture, would at guasco produce the most unusual abundance. proceeding northward, the quantity of rain does not appear to decrease in strict proportion to the latitude. at conchalee, which is only miles north of valparaiso, rain is not expected till the end of may; whereas at valparaiso some generally falls early in april: the annual quantity is likewise small in proportion to the lateness of the season at which it commences. may , . finding the coast-road devoid of interest of any kind, we turned inland towards the mining district and valley of illapel. this valley, like every other in chile, is level, broad, and very fertile: it is bordered on each side, either by cliffs of stratified shingle, or by bare rocky mountains. above the straight line of the uppermost irrigating ditch, all is brown as on a high-road; while all below is of as bright a green as verdigris, from the beds of alfarfa, a kind of clover. we proceeded to los hornos, another mining district, where the principal hill was drilled with holes, like a great ants'-nest. the chilian miners are a peculiar race of men in their habits. living for weeks together in the most desolate spots, when they descend to the villages on feast-days there is no excess of extravagance into which they do not run. they sometimes gain a considerable sum, and then, like sailors with prize-money, they try how soon they can contrive to squander it. they drink excessively, buy quantities of clothes, and in a few days return penniless to their miserable abodes, there to work harder than beasts of burden. this thoughtlessness, as with sailors, is evidently the result of a similar manner of life. their daily food is found them, and they acquire no habits of carefulness; moreover, temptation and the means of yielding to it are placed in their power at the same time. on the other hand, in cornwall, and some other parts of england, where the system of selling part of the vein is followed, the miners, from being obliged to act and think for themselves, are a singularly intelligent and well-conducted set of men. the dress of the chilian miner is peculiar and rather picturesque. he wears a very long shirt of some dark-coloured baize, with a leathern apron; the whole being fastened round his waist by a bright-coloured sash. his trousers are very broad, and his small cap of scarlet cloth is made to fit the head closely. we met a party of these miners in full costume, carrying the body of one of their companions to be buried. they marched at a very quick trot, four men supporting the corpse. one set having run as hard as they could for about two hundred yards, were relieved by four others, who had previously dashed on ahead on horseback. thus they proceeded, encouraging each other by wild cries: altogether the scene formed a most strange funeral. we continued travelling northward in a zigzag line; sometimes stopping a day to geologise. the country was so thinly inhabited, and the track so obscure, that we often had difficulty in finding our way. on the th i stayed at some mines. the ore in this case was not considered particularly good, but from being abundant it was supposed the mine would sell for about thirty or forty thousand dollars (that is, or pounds sterling); yet it had been bought by one of the english associations for an ounce of gold (three pounds eight shillings). the ore is yellow pyrites, which, as i have already remarked, before the arrival of the english was not supposed to contain a particle of copper. on a scale of profits nearly as great as in the above instance, piles of cinders, abounding with minute globules of metallic copper, were purchased; yet with these advantages, the mining associations, as is well known, contrived to lose immense sums of money. the folly of the greater number of the commissioners and shareholders amounted to infatuation;--a thousand pounds per annum given in some cases to entertain the chilian authorities; libraries of well-bound geological books; miners brought out for particular metals, as tin, which are not found in chile; contracts to supply the miners with milk, in parts where there are no cows; machinery, where it could not possibly be used; and a hundred similar arrangements, bore witness to our absurdity, and to this day afford amusement to the natives. yet there can be no doubt, that the same capital well employed in these mines would have yielded an immense return: a confidential man of business, a practical miner and assayer, would have been all that was required. captain head has described the wonderful load which the "apires," truly beasts of burden, carry up from the deepest mines. i confess i thought the account exaggerated: so that i was glad to take an opportunity of weighing one of the loads, which i picked out by hazard. it required considerable exertion on my part, when standing directly over it, to lift it from the ground. the load was considered under weight when found to be pounds. the apire had carried this up eighty perpendicular yards,--part of the way by a steep passage, but the greater part up notched poles, placed in a zigzag line up the shaft. according to the general regulation, the apire is not allowed to halt for breath, except the mine is six hundred feet deep. the average load is considered as rather more than pounds, and i have been assured that one of pounds (twenty-two stone and a half) by way of a trial has been brought up from the deepest mine! at this time the apires were bringing up the usual load twelve times in the day; that is pounds from eighty yards deep; and they were employed in the intervals in breaking and picking ore. these men, excepting from accidents, are healthy, and appear cheerful. their bodies are not very muscular. they rarely eat meat once a week, and never oftener, and then only the hard dry charqui. although with a knowledge that the labour was voluntary, it was nevertheless quite revolting to see the state in which they reached the mouth of the mine; their bodies bent forward, leaning with their arms on the steps, their legs bowed, their muscles quivering, the perspiration streaming from their faces over their breasts, their nostrils distended, the corners of their mouth forcibly drawn back, and the expulsion of their breath most laborious. each time they draw their breath they utter an articulate cry of "ay-ay," which ends in a sound rising from deep in the chest, but shrill like the note of a fife. after staggering to the pile of ore, they emptied the "carpacho;" in two or three seconds recovering their breath, they wiped the sweat from their brows, and apparently quite fresh descended the mine again at a quick pace. this appears to me a wonderful instance of the amount of labour which habit, for it can be nothing else, will enable a man to endure. in the evening, talking with the mayor-domo of these mines about the number of foreigners now scattered over the whole country, he told me that, though quite a young man, he remembers when he was a boy at school at coquimbo, a holiday being given to see the captain of an english ship, who was brought to the city to speak to the governor. he believes that nothing would have induced any boy in the school, himself included, to have gone close to the englishman; so deeply had they been impressed with an idea of the heresy, contamination, and evil to be derived from contact with such a person. to this day they relate the atrocious actions of the bucaniers; and especially of one man, who took away the figure of the virgin mary, and returned the year after for that of st. joseph, saying it was a pity the lady should not have a husband. i heard also of an old lady who, at a dinner at coquimbo, remarked how wonderfully strange it was that she should have lived to dine in the same room with an englishman; for she remembered as a girl, that twice, at the mere cry of "los ingleses," every soul, carrying what valuables they could, had taken to the mountains. may , . we reached coquimbo, where we stayed a few days. the town is remarkable for nothing but its extreme quietness. it is said to contain from to inhabitants. on the morning of the th it rained lightly, the first time this year, for about five hours. the farmers, who plant corn near the sea-coast where the atmosphere is more humid, taking advantage of this shower, would break up the ground; after a second they would put the seed in; and if a third shower should fall, they would reap a good harvest in the spring. it was interesting to watch the effect of this trifling amount of moisture. twelve hours afterwards the ground appeared as dry as ever; yet after an interval of ten days all the hills were faintly tinged with green patches; the grass being sparingly scattered in hair-like fibres a full inch in length. before this shower every part of the surface was bare as on a high-road. (plate . coquimbo, chile.) in the evening, captain fitz roy and myself were dining with mr. edwards, an english resident well known for his hospitality by all who have visited coquimbo, when a sharp earthquake happened. i heard the forecoming rumble, but from the screams of the ladies, the running of the servants, and the rush of several of the gentlemen to the doorway, i could not distinguish the motion. some of the women afterwards were crying with terror, and one gentleman said he should not be able to sleep all night, or if he did, it would only be to dream of falling houses. the father of this person had lately lost all his property at talcahuano, and he himself had only just escaped a falling roof at valparaiso in . he mentioned a curious coincidence which then happened: he was playing at cards, when a german, one of the party, got up, and said he would never sit in a room in these countries with the door shut, as, owing to his having done so, he had nearly lost his life at copiapó. accordingly he opened the door; and no sooner had he done this, than he cried out, "here it comes again!" and the famous shock commenced. the whole party escaped. the danger in an earthquake is not from the time lost in opening the door, but from the chance of its becoming jammed by the movement of the walls. it is impossible to be much surprised at the fear which natives and old residents, though some of them known to be men of great command of mind, so generally experience during earthquakes. i think, however, this excess of panic may be partly attributed to a want of habit in governing their fear, as it is not a feeling they are ashamed of. indeed, the natives do not like to see a person indifferent. i heard of two englishmen who, sleeping in the open air during a smart shock, knowing that there was no danger, did not rise. the natives cried out indignantly, "look at those heretics, they do not even get out of their beds!" i spent some days in examining the step-formed terraces of shingle, first noticed by captain b. hall, and believed by mr. lyell to have been formed by the sea during the gradual rising of the land. this certainly is the true explanation, for i found numerous shells of existing species on these terraces. five narrow, gently sloping, fringe-like terraces rise one behind the other, and where best developed are formed of shingle: they front the bay, and sweep up both sides of the valley. at guasco, north of coquimbo, the phenomenon is displayed on a much grander scale, so as to strike with surprise even some of the inhabitants. the terraces are there much broader, and may be called plains, in some parts there are six of them, but generally only five; they run up the valley for thirty-seven miles from the coast. these step-formed terraces or fringes closely resemble those in the valley of s. cruz, and, except in being on a smaller scale, those great ones along the whole coast-line of patagonia. they have undoubtedly been formed by the denuding power of the sea, during long periods of rest in the gradual elevation of the continent. shells of many existing species not only lie on the surface of the terraces at coquimbo (to a height of feet), but are embedded in a friable calcareous rock, which in some places is as much as between twenty and thirty feet in thickness, but is of little extent. these modern beds rest on an ancient tertiary formation containing shells, apparently all extinct. although i examined so many hundred miles of coast on the pacific, as well as atlantic side of the continent, i found no regular strata containing sea-shells of recent species, excepting at this place, and at a few points northward on the road to guasco. this fact appears to me highly remarkable; for the explanation generally given by geologists, of the absence in any district of stratified fossiliferous deposits of a given period, namely, that the surface then existed as dry land, is not here applicable; for we know from the shells strewed on the surface and embedded in loose sand or mould, that the land for thousands of miles along both coasts has lately been submerged. the explanation, no doubt, must be sought in the fact, that the whole southern part of the continent has been for a long time slowly rising; and therefore that all matter deposited along shore in shallow water must have been soon brought up and slowly exposed to the wearing action of the sea-beach; and it is only in comparatively shallow water that the greater number of marine organic beings can flourish, and in such water it is obviously impossible that strata of any great thickness can accumulate. to show the vast power of the wearing action of sea-beaches, we need only appeal to the great cliffs along the present coast of patagonia, and to the escarpments or ancient sea-cliffs at different levels, one above another, on that same line of coast. the old underlying tertiary formation at coquimbo appears to be of about the same age with several deposits on the coast of chile (of which that of navedad is the principal one), and with the great formation of patagonia. both at navedad and in patagonia there is evidence, that since the shells (a list of which has been seen by professor e. forbes) there intombed were living, there has been a subsidence of several hundred feet, as well as an ensuing elevation. it may naturally be asked how it comes that although no extensive fossiliferous deposits of the recent period, nor of any period intermediate between it and the ancient tertiary epoch, have been preserved on either side of the continent, yet that at this ancient tertiary epoch, sedimentary matter containing fossil remains should have been deposited and preserved at different points in north and south lines, over a space of miles on the shores of the pacific, and of at least miles on the shores of the atlantic, and in an east and west line of miles across the widest part of the continent? i believe the explanation is not difficult, and that it is perhaps applicable to nearly analogous facts observed in other quarters of the world. considering the enormous power of denudation which the sea possesses, as shown by numberless facts, it is not probable that a sedimentary deposit, when being upraised, could pass through the ordeal of the beach, so as to be preserved in sufficient masses to last to a distant period, without it were originally of wide extent and of considerable thickness: now it is impossible on a moderately shallow bottom, which alone is favourable to most living creatures, that a thick and widely extended covering of sediment could be spread out, without the bottom sank down to receive the successive layers. this seems to have actually taken place at about the same period in southern patagonia and chile, though these places are a thousand miles apart. hence, if prolonged movements of approximately contemporaneous subsidence are generally widely extensive, as i am strongly inclined to believe from my examination of the coral reefs of the great oceans--or if, confining our view to south america, the subsiding movements have been coextensive with those of elevation, by which, within the same period of existing shells, the shores of peru, chile, tierra del fuego, patagonia, and la plata have been upraised--then we can see that at the same time, at far distant points, circumstances would have been favourable to the formation of fossiliferous deposits, of wide extent and of considerable thickness; and such deposits, consequently, would have a good chance of resisting the wear and tear of successive beach-lines, and of lasting to a future epoch. may , . i set out in company with don josé edwards to the silver-mine of arqueros, and thence up the valley of coquimbo. passing through a mountainous country, we reached by nightfall the mines belonging to mr. edwards. i enjoyed my night's rest here from a reason which will not be fully appreciated in england, namely, the absence of fleas! the rooms in coquimbo swarm with them; but they will not live here at the height of only three or four thousand feet: it can scarcely be the trifling diminution of temperature, but some other cause which destroys these troublesome insects at this place. the mines are now in a bad state, though they formerly yielded about pounds in weight of silver a year. it has been said that "a person with a copper-mine will gain; with silver he may gain; but with gold he is sure to lose." this is not true: all the large chilian fortunes have been made by mines of the more precious metals. a short time since an english physician returned to england from copiapó, taking with him the profits of one share in a silver-mine, which amounted to about , pounds sterling. no doubt a copper-mine with care is a sure game, whereas the other is gambling, or rather taking a ticket in a lottery. the owners lose great quantities of rich ores; for no precautions can prevent robberies. i heard of a gentleman laying a bet with another, that one of his men should rob him before his face. the ore when brought out of the mine is broken into pieces, and the useless stone thrown on one side. a couple of the miners who were thus employed, pitched, as if by accident, two fragments away at the same moment, and then cried out for a joke "let us see which rolls furthest." the owner, who was standing by, bet a cigar with his friend on the race. the miner by this means watched the very point amongst the rubbish where the stone lay. in the evening he picked it up and carried it to his master, showing him a rich mass of silver-ore, and saying, "this was the stone on which you won a cigar by its rolling so far." may , . we descended into the fertile valley of coquimbo, and followed it till we reached an hacienda belonging to a relation of don josé, where we stayed the next day. i then rode one day's journey farther, to see what were declared to be some petrified shells and beans, which latter turned out to be small quartz pebbles. we passed through several small villages; and the valley was beautifully cultivated, and the whole scenery very grand. we were here near the main cordillera, and the surrounding hills were lofty. in all parts of northern chile fruit trees produce much more abundantly at a considerable height near the andes than in the lower country. the figs and grapes of this district are famous for their excellence, and are cultivated to a great extent. this valley is, perhaps, the most productive one north of quillota. i believe it contains, including coquimbo, , inhabitants. the next day i returned to the hacienda, and thence, together with don josé, to coquimbo. june , . we set out for the valley of guasco, following the coast-road, which was considered rather less desert than the other. our first day's ride was to a solitary house, called yerba buena, where there was pasture for our horses. the shower mentioned as having fallen a fortnight ago, only reached about half-way to guasco; we had, therefore, in the first part of our journey a most faint tinge of green, which soon faded quite away. even where brightest, it was scarcely sufficient to remind one of the fresh turf and budding flowers of the spring of other countries. while travelling through these deserts one feels like a prisoner shut up in a gloomy court, who longs to see something green and to smell a moist atmosphere. june , . yerba buena to carizal. during the first part of the day we crossed a mountainous rocky desert, and afterwards a long deep sandy plain, strewed with broken sea-shells. there was very little water, and that little saline: the whole country, from the coast to the cordillera, is an uninhabited desert. i saw traces only of one living animal in abundance, namely, the shells of a bulimus, which were collected together in extraordinary numbers on the driest spots. in the spring one humble little plant sends out a few leaves, and on these the snails feed. as they are seen only very early in the morning, when the ground is slightly damp with dew, the guasos believe that they are bred from it. i have observed in other places that extremely dry and sterile districts, where the soil is calcareous, are extraordinarily favourable to land-shells. at carizal there were a few cottages, some brackish water, and a trace of cultivation: but it was with difficulty that we purchased a little corn and straw for our horses. june , . carizal to sauce. we continued to ride over desert plains, tenanted by large herds of guanaco. we crossed also the valley of chañeral; which, although the most fertile one between guasco and coquimbo, is very narrow, and produces so little pasture that we could not purchase any for our horses. at sauce we found a very civil old gentleman, superintending a copper-smelting furnace. as an especial favour, he allowed me to purchase at a high price an armful of dirty straw, which was all the poor horses had for supper after their long day's journey. few smelting-furnaces are now at work in any part of chile; it is found more profitable, on account of the extreme scarcity of firewood, and from the chilian method of reduction being so unskilful, to ship the ore for swansea. the next day we crossed some mountains to freyrina, in the valley of guasco. during each day's ride farther northward, the vegetation became more and more scanty; even the great chandelier-like cactus was here replaced by a different and much smaller species. during the winter months, both in northern chile and in peru, a uniform bank of clouds hangs, at no great height, over the pacific. from the mountains we had a very striking view of this white and brilliant aerial-field, which sent arms up the valleys, leaving islands and promontories in the same manner as the sea does in the chonos archipelago and in tierra del fuego. we stayed two days at freyrina. in the valley of guasco there are four small towns. at the mouth there is the port, a spot entirely desert, and without any water in the immediate neighbourhood. five leagues higher up stands freyrina, a long straggling village, with decent whitewashed houses. again, ten leagues further up ballenar is situated, and above this guasco alto, a horticultural village, famous for its dried fruit. on a clear day the view up the valley is very fine; the straight opening terminates in the far-distant snowy cordillera; on each side an infinity of crossing lines are blended together in a beautiful haze. the foreground is singular from the number of parallel and step-formed terraces; and the included strip of green valley, with its willow-bushes, is contrasted on both hands with the naked hills. that the surrounding country was most barren will be readily believed, when it is known that a shower of rain had not fallen during the last thirteen months. the inhabitants heard with the greatest envy of the rain at coquimbo; from the appearance of the sky they had hopes of equally good fortune, which, a fortnight afterwards, were realised. i was at copiapó at the time; and there the people, with equal envy, talked of the abundant rain at guasco. after two or three very dry years, perhaps with not more than one shower during the whole time, a rainy year generally follows; and this does more harm than even the drought. the rivers swell, and cover with gravel and sand the narrow strips of ground which alone are fit for cultivation. the floods also injure the irrigating ditches. great devastation had thus been caused three years ago. june , . we rode on to ballenar, which takes its name from ballenagh in ireland, the birthplace of the family of o'higgins, who, under the spanish government, were presidents and generals in chile. as the rocky mountains on each hand were concealed by clouds, the terrace-like plains gave to the valley an appearance like that of santa cruz in patagonia. after spending one day at ballenar i set out, on the th, for the upper part of the valley of copiapó. we rode all day over an uninteresting country. i am tired of repeating the epithets barren and sterile. these words, however, as commonly used, are comparative; i have always applied them to the plains of patagonia, which can boast of spiny bushes and some tufts of grass; and this is absolute fertility, as compared with northern chile. here again, there are not many spaces of two hundred yards square, where some little bush, cactus or lichen, may not be discovered by careful examination; and in the soil seeds lie dormant ready to spring up during the first rainy winter. in peru real deserts occur over wide tracts of country. in the evening we arrived at a valley in which the bed of the streamlet was damp: following it up, we came to tolerably good water. during the night the stream, from not being evaporated and absorbed so quickly, flows a league lower down than during the day. sticks were plentiful for firewood, so that it was a good place of bivouac for us; but for the poor animals there was not a mouthful to eat. june , . we rode without stopping for twelve hours till we reached an old smelting-furnace, where there was water and firewood; but our horses again had nothing to eat, being shut up in an old courtyard. the line of road was hilly, and the distant views interesting from the varied colours of the bare mountains. it was almost a pity to see the sun shining constantly over so useless a country; such splendid weather ought to have brightened fields and pretty gardens. the next day we reached the valley of copiapó. i was heartily glad of it; for the whole journey was a continued source of anxiety; it was most disagreeable to hear, whilst eating our own suppers, our horses gnawing the posts to which they were tied, and to have no means of relieving their hunger. to all appearance, however, the animals were quite fresh; and no one could have told that they had eaten nothing for the last fifty-five hours. i had a letter of introduction to mr. bingley, who received me very kindly at the hacienda of potrero seco. this estate is between twenty and thirty miles long, but very narrow, being generally only two fields wide, one on each side the river. in some parts the estate is of no width, that is to say, the land cannot be irrigated, and therefore is valueless, like the surrounding rocky desert. the small quantity of cultivated land in the whole line of valley does not so much depend on inequalities of level, and consequent unfitness for irrigation, as on the small supply of water. the river this year was remarkably full: here, high up the valley, it reached to the horse's belly, and was about fifteen yards wide, and rapid; lower down it becomes smaller and smaller, and is generally quite lost, as happened during one period of thirty years, so that not a drop entered the sea. the inhabitants watch a storm over the cordillera with great interest; as one good fall of snow provides them with water for the ensuing year. this is of infinitely more consequence than rain in the lower country. rain, as often as it falls, which is about once in every two or three years, is a great advantage, because the cattle and mules can for some time afterwards find a little pasture in the mountains. but without snow on the andes, desolation extends throughout the valley. it is on record that three times nearly all the inhabitants have been obliged to emigrate to the south. this year there was plenty of water, and every man irrigated his ground as much as he chose; but it has frequently been necessary to post soldiers at the sluices, to see that each estate took only its proper allowance during so many hours in the week. the valley is said to contain , souls, but its produce is sufficient only for three months in the year; the rest of the supply being drawn from valparaiso and the south. before the discovery of the famous silver-mines of chanuncillo, copiapó was in a rapid state of decay; but now it is in a very thriving condition; and the town, which was completely overthrown by an earthquake, has been rebuilt. the valley of copiapó, forming a mere ribbon of green in a desert, runs in a very southerly direction; so that it is of considerable length to its source in the cordillera. the valleys of guasco and copiapó may both be considered as long narrow islands, separated from the rest of chile by deserts of rock instead of by salt water. northward of these, there is one other very miserable valley, called paposo, which contains about two hundred souls; and then there extends the real desert of atacama--a barrier far worse than the most turbulent ocean. after staying a few days at potrero seco, i proceeded up the valley to the house of don benito cruz, to whom i had a letter of introduction. i found him most hospitable; indeed it is impossible to bear too strong testimony to the kindness with which travellers are received in almost every part of south america. the next day i hired some mules to take me by the ravine of jolquera into the central cordillera. on the second night the weather seemed to foretell a storm of snow or rain, and whilst lying in our beds we felt a trifling shock of an earthquake. the connexion between earthquakes and the weather has been often disputed: it appears to me to be a point of great interest, which is little understood. humboldt has remarked in one part of the "personal narrative," that it would be difficult for any person who had long resided in new andalusia, or in lower peru, to deny that there exists some connection between these phenomena: in another part, however, he seems to think the connexion fanciful. ( / . volume page and volume page . for the remarks on guayaquil see silliman's "journal" volume page . for those on tacna by mr. hamilton see "transactions of british association" . for those on coseguina see mr. caldcleugh in "philosophical transactions" . in the former edition i collected several references on the coincidences between sudden falls in the barometer and earthquakes; and between earthquakes and meteors.) at guayaquil it is said that a heavy shower in the dry season is invariably followed by an earthquake. in northern chile, from the extreme infrequency of rain, or even of weather foreboding rain, the probability of accidental coincidences becomes very small; yet the inhabitants are here most firmly convinced of some connexion between the state of the atmosphere and of the trembling of the ground: i was much struck by this when mentioning to some people at copiapó that there had been a sharp shock at coquimbo: they immediately cried out, "how fortunate! there will be plenty of pasture there this year." to their minds an earthquake foretold rain as surely as rain foretold abundant pasture. certainly it did so happen that on the very day of the earthquake that shower of rain fell which i have described as in ten days' time producing a thin sprinkling of grass. at other times rain has followed earthquakes at a period of the year when it is a far greater prodigy than the earthquake itself: this happened after the shock of november , and again in at valparaiso; also after that of september , at tacna. a person must be somewhat habituated to the climate of these countries to perceive the extreme improbability of rain falling at such seasons, except as a consequence of some law quite unconnected with the ordinary course of the weather. in the cases of great volcanic eruptions, as that of coseguina, where torrents of rain fell at a time of the year most unusual for it, and "almost unprecedented in central america," it is not difficult to understand that the volumes of vapour and clouds of ashes might have disturbed the atmospheric equilibrium. humboldt extends this view to the case of earthquakes unaccompanied by eruptions; but i can hardly conceive it possible that the small quantity of aeriform fluids which then escape from the fissured ground can produce such remarkable effects. there appears much probability in the view first proposed by mr. p. scrope, that when the barometer is low, and when rain might naturally be expected to fall, the diminished pressure of the atmosphere over a wide extent of country might well determine the precise day on which the earth, already stretched to the utmost by the subterranean forces, should yield, crack, and consequently tremble. it is, however, doubtful how far this idea will explain the circumstance of torrents of rain falling in the dry season during several days, after an earthquake unaccompanied by an eruption; such cases seem to bespeak some more intimate connexion between the atmospheric and subterranean regions. finding little of interest in this part of the ravine, we retraced our steps to the house of don benito, where i stayed two days collecting fossil shells and wood. great prostrate silicified trunks of trees, embedded in a conglomerate, were extraordinarily numerous. i measured one which was fifteen feet in circumference: how surprising it is that every atom of the woody matter in this great cylinder should have been removed and replaced by silex so perfectly that each vessel and pore is preserved! these trees flourished at about the period of our lower chalk; they all belonged to the fir-tribe. it was amusing to hear the inhabitants discussing the nature of the fossil shells which i collected, almost in the same terms as were used a century ago in europe,--namely, whether or not they had been thus "born by nature." my geological examination of the country generally created a good deal of surprise amongst the chilenos: it was long before they could be convinced that i was not hunting for mines. this was sometimes troublesome: i found the most ready way of explaining my employment was to ask them how it was that they themselves were not curious concerning earthquakes and volcanos?--why some springs were hot and others cold?--why there were mountains in chile, and not a hill in la plata? these bare questions at once satisfied and silenced the greater number; some, however (like a few in england who are a century behindhand), thought that all such inquiries were useless and impious; and that it was quite sufficient that god had thus made the mountains. an order had recently been issued that all stray dogs should be killed, and we saw many lying dead on the road. a great number had lately gone mad, and several men had been bitten and had died in consequence. on several occasions hydrophobia has prevailed in this valley. it is remarkable thus to find so strange and dreadful a disease appearing time after time in the same isolated spot. it has been remarked that certain villages in england are in like manner much more subject to this visitation than others. dr. unanùe states that hydrophobia was first known in south america in : this statement is corroborated by azara and ulloa having never heard of it in their time. dr. unanùe says that it broke out in central america, and slowly travelled southward. it reached arequipa in ; and it is said that some men there, who had not been bitten, were affected, as were some negroes, who had eaten a bullock which had died of hydrophobia. at ica forty-two people thus miserably perished. the disease came on between twelve and ninety days after the bite; and in those cases where it did come on, death ensued invariably within five days. after a long interval ensued without any cases. on inquiry, i did not hear of hydrophobia in van diemen's land, or in australia; and burchell says that during the five years he was at the cape of good hope, he never heard of an instance of it. webster asserts that at the azores hydrophobia has never occurred; and the same assertion has been made with respect to mauritius and st. helena. ( / . "observa. sobre el clima de lima" page .--azara's "travels" volume page .--ulloa's "voyage" volume page .--burchell's "travels" volume page .--webster's "description of the azores" page .--"voyage à l'isle de france par un officier du roi" tome page .--"description of st. helena" page .) in so strange a disease some information might possibly be gained by considering the circumstances under which it originates in distant climates; for it is improbable that a dog already bitten should have been brought to these distant countries. at night a stranger arrived at the house of don benito and asked permission to sleep there. he said he had been wandering about the mountains for seventeen days, having lost his way. he started from guasco, and being accustomed to travelling in the cordillera, did not expect any difficulty in following the track to copiapó; but he soon became involved in a labyrinth of mountains whence he could not escape. some of his mules had fallen over precipices and he had been in great distress. his chief difficulty arose from not knowing where to find water in the lower country, so that he was obliged to keep bordering the central ranges. we returned down the valley, and on the nd reached the town of copiapó. the lower part of the valley is broad, forming a fine plain like that of quillota. the town covers a considerable space of ground, each house possessing a garden: but it is an uncomfortable place, and the dwellings are poorly furnished. every one seems bent on the one object of making money, and then migrating as quickly as possible. all the inhabitants are more or less directly concerned with mines; and mines and ores are the sole subjects of conversation. necessaries of all sorts are extremely dear; as the distance from the town to the port is eighteen leagues, and the land carriage very expensive. a fowl costs five or six shillings; meat is nearly as dear as in england; firewood, or rather sticks, are brought on donkeys from a distance of two and three days' journey within the cordillera; and pasturage for animals is a shilling a day: all this for south america is wonderfully exorbitant. june , . i hired a guide and eight mules to take me into the cordillera by a different line from my last excursion. as the country was utterly desert, we took a cargo and a half of barley mixed with chopped straw. about two leagues above the town a broad valley called the "despoblado," or uninhabited, branches off from that one by which we had arrived. although a valley of the grandest dimensions, and leading to a pass across the cordillera, yet it is completely dry, excepting perhaps for a few days during some very rainy winter. the sides of the crumbling mountains were furrowed by scarcely any ravines; and the bottom of the main valley, filled with shingle, was smooth and nearly level. no considerable torrent could ever have flowed down this bed of shingle; for if it had, a great cliff-bounded channel, as in all the southern valleys, would assuredly have been formed. i feel little doubt that this valley, as well as those mentioned by travellers in peru, were left in the state we now see them by the waves of the sea, as the land slowly rose. i observed in one place where the despoblado was joined by a ravine (which in almost any other chain would have been called a grand valley), that its bed, though composed merely of sand and gravel, was higher than that of its tributary. a mere rivulet of water, in the course of an hour, would have cut a channel for itself; but it was evident that ages had passed away, and no such rivulet had drained this great tributary. it was curious to behold the machinery, if such a term may be used, for the drainage, all, with the last trifling exception, perfect, yet without any signs of action. every one must have remarked how mud-banks, left by the retiring tide, imitate in miniature a country with hill and dale; and here we have the original model in rock, formed as the continent rose during the secular retirement of the ocean, instead of during the ebbing and flowing of the tides. if a shower of rain falls on the mud-bank, when left dry, it deepens the already-formed shallow lines of excavation; and so it is with the rain of successive centuries on the bank of rock and soil, which we call a continent. we rode on after it was dark, till we reached a side ravine with a small well, called "agua amarga." the water deserved its name, for besides being saline it was most offensively putrid and bitter; so that we could not force ourselves to drink either tea or maté. i suppose the distance from the river of copiapó to this spot was at least twenty-five or thirty english miles; in the whole space there was not a single drop of water, the country deserving the name of desert in the strictest sense. yet about half-way we passed some old indian ruins near punta gorda: i noticed also in front of some of the valleys which branch off from the despoblado, two piles of stones placed a little way apart, and directed so as to point up the mouths of these small valleys. my companions knew nothing about them, and only answered my queries by their imperturbable "quien sabe?" i observed indian ruins in several parts of the cordillera: the most perfect which i saw were the ruinas de tambillos in the uspallata pass. small square rooms were there huddled together in separate groups: some of the doorways were yet standing; they were formed by a cross slab of stone only about three feet high. ulloa has remarked on the lowness of the doors in the ancient peruvian dwellings. these houses, when perfect, must have been capable of containing a considerable number of persons. tradition says that they were used as halting-places for the incas, when they crossed the mountains. traces of indian habitations have been discovered in many other parts, where it does not appear probable that they were used as mere resting-places, but yet where the land is as utterly unfit for any kind of cultivation as it is near the tambillos or at the incas bridge, or in the portillo pass, at all which places i saw ruins. in the ravine of jajuel, near aconcagua, where there is no pass, i heard of remains of houses situated at a great height, where it is extremely cold and sterile. at first i imagined that these buildings had been places of refuge, built by the indians on the first arrival of the spaniards; but i have since been inclined to speculate on the probability of a small change of climate. in this northern part of chile, within the cordillera, old indian houses are said to be especially numerous: by digging amongst the ruins, bits of woollen articles, instruments of precious metals, and heads of indian corn, are not unfrequently discovered: an arrow-head made of agate, and of precisely the same form with those now used in tierra del fuego, was given me. i am aware that the peruvian indians now frequently inhabit most lofty and bleak situations; but at copiapó i was assured by men who had spent their lives in travelling through the andes, that there were very many (muchisimas) buildings at heights so great as almost to border on the perpetual snow, and in parts where there exist no passes, and where the land produces absolutely nothing, and what is still more extraordinary, where there is no water. nevertheless it is the opinion of the people of the country (although they are much puzzled by the circumstance), that, from the appearance of the houses, the indians must have used them as places of residence. in this valley, at punta gorda, the remains consisted of seven or eight square little rooms, which were of a similar form with those at tambillos, but built chiefly of mud, which the present inhabitants cannot, either here or, according to ulloa, in peru, imitate in durability. they were situated in the most conspicuous and defenceless position, at the bottom of the flat broad valley. there was no water nearer than three or four leagues, and that only in very small quantity, and bad: the soil was absolutely sterile; i looked in vain even for a lichen adhering to the rocks. at the present day, with the advantage of beasts of burden, a mine, unless it were very rich, could scarcely be worked here with profit. yet the indians formerly chose it as a place of residence! if at the present time two or three showers of rain were to fall annually, instead of one, as now is the case, during as many years, a small rill of water would probably be formed in this great valley; and then, by irrigation (which was formerly so well understood by the indians), the soil would easily be rendered sufficiently productive to support a few families. i have convincing proofs that this part of the continent of south america has been elevated near the coast at least from to , and in some parts from to feet, since the epoch of existing shells; and farther inland the rise possibly may have been greater. as the peculiarly arid character of the climate is evidently a consequence of the height of the cordillera, we may feel almost sure that before the later elevations, the atmosphere could not have been so completely drained of its moisture as it now is; and as the rise has been gradual, so would have been the change in climate. on this notion of a change of climate since the buildings were inhabited, the ruins must be of extreme antiquity, but i do not think their preservation under the chilian climate any great difficulty. we must also admit on this notion (and this perhaps is a greater difficulty) that man has inhabited south america for an immensely long period, inasmuch as any change of climate effected by the elevation of the land must have been extremely gradual. at valparaiso, within the last years, the rise has been somewhat less than feet: at lima a sea-beach has certainly been upheaved from to feet, within the indio-human period: but such small elevations could have had little power in deflecting the moisture-bringing atmospheric currents. dr. lund, however, found human skeletons in the caves of brazil, the appearance of which induced him to believe that the indian race has existed during a vast lapse of time in south america. when at lima, i conversed on these subjects with mr. gill, a civil engineer, who had seen much of the interior country. ( / . temple, in his travels through upper peru, or bolivia, in going from potosi to oruro, says "i saw many indian villages or dwellings in ruins, up even to the very tops of the mountains, attesting a former population where now all is desolate." he makes similar remarks in another place; but i cannot tell whether this desolation has been caused by a want of population, or by an altered condition of the land.) he told me that a conjecture of a change of climate had sometimes crossed his mind; but that he thought that the greater portion of land, now incapable of cultivation, but covered with indian ruins, had been reduced to this state by the water-conduits, which the indians formerly constructed on so wonderful a scale, having been injured by neglect and by subterranean movements. i may here mention that the peruvians actually carried their irrigating streams in tunnels through hills of solid rock. mr. gill told me he had been employed professionally to examine one: he found the passage low, narrow, crooked, and not of uniform breadth, but of very considerable length. is it not most wonderful that men should have attempted such operations, without the use of iron or gunpowder? mr. gill also mentioned to me a most interesting, and, as far as i am aware, quite unparalleled case, of a subterranean disturbance having changed the drainage of a country. travelling from casma to huaraz (not very far distant from lima), he found a plain covered with ruins and marks of ancient cultivation but now quite barren. near it was the dry course of a considerable river, whence the water for irrigation had formerly been conducted. there was nothing in the appearance of the watercourse to indicate that the river had not flowed there a few years previously; in some parts, beds of sand and gravel were spread out; in others, the solid rock had been worn into a broad channel, which in one spot was about yards in breadth and feet deep. it is self-evident that a person following up the course of a stream will always ascend at a greater or less inclination: mr. gill, therefore, was much astonished, when walking up the bed of this ancient river, to find himself suddenly going down hill. he imagined that the downward slope had a fall of about or feet perpendicular. we here have unequivocal evidence that a ridge had been uplifted right across the old bed of a stream. from the moment the river-course was thus arched, the water must necessarily have been thrown back, and a new channel formed. from that moment, also, the neighbouring plain must have lost its fertilising stream, and become a desert. june , . we set out early in the morning, and by mid-day reached the ravine of paypote, where there is a tiny rill of water, with a little vegetation, and even a few algarroba trees, a kind of mimosa. from having firewood, a smelting-furnace had formerly been built here: we found a solitary man in charge of it, whose sole employment was hunting guanacos. at night it froze sharply; but having plenty of wood for our fire, we kept ourselves warm. june , . we continued gradually ascending, and the valley now changed into a ravine. during the day we saw several guanacos, and the track of the closely-allied species, the vicuña: this latter animal is pre-eminently alpine in its habits; it seldom descends much below the limit of perpetual snow, and therefore haunts even a more lofty and sterile situation than the guanaco. the only other animal which we saw in any number was a small fox: i suppose this animal preys on the mice and other small rodents which, as long as there is the least vegetation, subsist in considerable numbers in very desert places. in patagonia, even on the borders of the salinas, where a drop of fresh water can never be found, excepting dew, these little animals swarm. next to lizards, mice appear to be able to support existence on the smallest and driest portions of the earth--even on islets in the midst of great oceans. the scene on all sides showed desolation, brightened and made palpable by a clear, unclouded sky. for a time such scenery is sublime, but this feeling cannot last, and then it becomes uninteresting. we bivouacked at the foot of the "primera linea," or the first line of the partition of the waters. the streams, however, on the east side do not flow to the atlantic, but into an elevated district, in the middle of which there is a large salina, or salt lake;--thus forming a little caspian sea at the height, perhaps, of ten thousand feet. where we slept, there were some considerable patches of snow, but they do not remain throughout the year. the winds in these lofty regions obey very regular laws; every day a fresh breeze blows up the valley, and at night, an hour or two after sunset, the air from the cold regions above descends as through a funnel. this night it blew a gale of wind, and the temperature must have been considerably below the freezing-point, for water in a vessel soon became a block of ice. no clothes seemed to oppose any obstacle to the air; i suffered very much from the cold, so that i could not sleep, and in the morning rose with my body quite dull and benumbed. in the cordillera farther southward people lose their lives from snow-storms; here, it sometimes happens from another cause. my guide, when a boy of fourteen years old, was passing the cordillera with a party in the month of may; and while in the central parts, a furious gale of wind arose, so that the men could hardly cling on their mules, and stones were flying along the ground. the day was cloudless, and not a speck of snow fell, but the temperature was low. it is probable that the thermometer would not have stood very many degrees below the freezing-point, but the effect on their bodies, ill protected by clothing, must have been in proportion to the rapidity of the current of cold air. the gale lasted for more than a day; the men began to lose their strength, and the mules would not move onwards. my guide's brother tried to return, but he perished, and his body was found two years afterwards, lying by the side of his mule near the road, with the bridle still in his hand. two other men in the party lost their fingers and toes; and out of two hundred mules and thirty cows, only fourteen mules escaped alive. many years ago the whole of a large party are supposed to have perished from a similar cause, but their bodies to this day have never been discovered. the union of a cloudless sky, low temperature, and a furious gale of wind, must be, i should think, in all parts of the world an unusual occurrence. june , . we gladly travelled down the valley to our former night's lodging, and thence to near the agua amarga. on july st we reached the valley of copiapó. the smell of the fresh clover was quite delightful, after the scentless air of the dry sterile despoblado. whilst staying in the town i heard an account from several of the inhabitants, of a hill in the neighbourhood which they called "el bramador,"--the roarer or bellower. i did not at the time pay sufficient attention to the account; but, as far as i understood, the hill was covered by sand, and the noise was produced only when people, by ascending it, put the sand in motion. the same circumstances are described in detail on the authority of seetzen and ehrenberg, as the cause of the sounds which have been heard by many travellers on mount sinai near the red sea. ( / . "edinburgh philosophical journal" january page and april page . also daubeny on volcanoes page and "bengal journal" volume page .) one person with whom i conversed had himself heard the noise: he described it as very surprising; and he distinctly stated that, although he could not understand how it was caused, yet it was necessary to set the sand rolling down the acclivity. a horse walking over dry and coarse sand causes a peculiar chirping noise from the friction of the particles; a circumstance which i several times noticed on the coast of brazil. three days afterwards i heard of the "beagle's" arrival at the port, distant eighteen leagues from the town. there is very little land cultivated down the valley; its wide expanse supports a wretched wiry grass, which even the donkeys can hardly eat. this poorness of the vegetation is owing to the quantity of saline matter with which the soil is impregnated. the port consists of an assemblage of miserable little hovels, situated at the foot of a sterile plain. at present, as the river contains water enough to reach the sea, the inhabitants enjoy the advantage of having fresh water within a mile and a half. on the beach there were large piles of merchandise, and the little place had an air of activity. in the evening i gave my adios, with a hearty good-will, to my companion mariano gonzales, with whom i had ridden so many leagues in chile. the next morning the "beagle" sailed for iquique. july , . we anchored in the port of iquique, in latitude degrees ', on the coast of peru. the town contains about a thousand inhabitants, and stands on a little plain of sand at the foot of a great wall of rock, feet in height, here forming the coast. the whole is utterly desert. a light shower of rain falls only once in very many years; and the ravines consequently are filled with detritus, and the mountainsides covered by piles of fine white sand, even to a height of a thousand feet. during this season of the year a heavy bank of clouds, stretched over the ocean, seldom rises above the wall of rocks on the coast. the aspect of the place was most gloomy; the little port, with its few vessels, and small group of wretched houses, seemed overwhelmed and out of all proportion with the rest of the scene. the inhabitants live like persons on board a ship: every necessary comes from a distance: water is brought in boats from pisagua, about forty miles northward, and is sold at the rate of nine reals (four shillings and sixpence) an eighteen-gallon cask: i bought a wine-bottle full for threepence. in like manner firewood, and of course every article of food, is imported. very few animals can be maintained in such a place: on the ensuing morning i hired with difficulty, at the price of four pounds sterling, two mules and a guide to take me to the nitrate of soda works. these are at present the support of iquique. this salt was first exported in : in one year an amount in value of one hundred thousand pounds sterling was sent to france and england. it is principally used as a manure and in the manufacture of nitric acid: owing to its deliquescent property it will not serve for gunpowder. formerly there were two exceedingly rich silver-mines in this neighbourhood, but their produce is now very small. our arrival in the offing caused some little apprehension. peru was in a state of anarchy; and each party having demanded a contribution, the poor town of iquique was in tribulation, thinking the evil hour was come. the people had also their domestic troubles; a short time before, three french carpenters had broken open, during the same night, the two churches, and stolen all the plate: one of the robbers, however, subsequently confessed, and the plate was recovered. the convicts were sent to arequipa, which though the capital of this province, is two hundred leagues distant, the government there thought it a pity to punish such useful workmen who could make all sorts of furniture; and accordingly liberated them. things being in this state, the churches were again broken open, but this time the plate was not recovered. the inhabitants became dreadfully enraged, and declaring that none but heretics would thus "eat god almighty," proceeded to torture some englishmen, with the intention of afterwards shooting them. at last the authorities interfered, and peace was established. july , . in the morning i started for the saltpetre-works, a distance of fourteen leagues. having ascended the steep coast-mountains by a zigzag sandy track, we soon came in view of the mines of guantajaya and st. rosa. these two small villages are placed at the very mouths of the mines; and being perched up on hills, they had a still more unnatural and desolate appearance than the town of iquique. we did not reach the saltpetre works till after sunset, having ridden all day across an undulating country, a complete and utter desert. the road was strewed with the bones and dried skins of many beasts of burden which had perished on it from fatigue. excepting the vultur aura, which preys on the carcasses, i saw neither bird, quadruped, reptile, nor insect. on the coast-mountains, at the height of about feet, where during this season the clouds generally hang, a very few cacti were growing in the clefts of rock; and the loose sand was strewed over with a lichen, which lies on the surface quite unattached. this plant belongs to the genus cladonia, and somewhat resembles the reindeer lichen. in some parts it was in sufficient quantity to tinge the sand, as seen from a distance, of a pale yellowish colour. farther inland, during the whole ride of fourteen leagues, i saw only one other vegetable production, and that was a most minute yellow lichen, growing on the bones of the dead mules. this was the first true desert which i had seen: the effect on me was not impressive; but i believe this was owing to my having become gradually accustomed to such scenes, as i rode northward from valparaiso, through coquimbo, to copiapó. the appearance of the country was remarkable, from being covered by a thick crust of common salt, and of a stratified saliferous alluvium, which seems to have been deposited as the land slowly rose above the level of the sea. the salt is white, very hard, and compact: it occurs in water-worn nodules projecting from the agglutinated sand, and is associated with much gypsum. the appearance of this superficial mass very closely resembled that of a country after snow, before the last dirty patches are thawed. the existence of this crust of a soluble substance over the whole face of the country shows how extraordinarily dry the climate must have been for a long period. at night i slept at the house of the owner of one of the saltpetre mines. the country is here as unproductive as near the coast; but water, having rather a bitter and brackish taste, can be procured by digging wells. the well at this house was thirty-six yards deep: as scarcely any rain falls, it is evident the water is not thus derived; indeed if it were, it could not fail to be as salt as brine, for the whole surrounding country is incrusted with various saline substances. we must therefore conclude that it percolates under ground from the cordillera, though distant many leagues. in that direction there are a few small villages, where the inhabitants, having more water, are enabled to irrigate a little land, and raise hay, on which the mules and asses, employed in carrying the saltpetre, are fed. the nitrate of soda was now selling at the ship's side at fourteen shillings per hundred pounds: the chief expense is its transport to the sea-coast. the mine consists of a hard stratum, between two and three feet thick, of the nitrate mingled with a little of the sulphate of soda and a good deal of common salt. it lies close beneath the surface, and follows for a length of one hundred and fifty miles the margin of a grand basin or plain; this, from its outline, manifestly must once have been a lake, or more probably an inland arm of the sea, as may be inferred from the presence of iodic salts in the saline stratum. the surface of the plain is feet above the pacific. july , . we anchored in the bay of callao, the seaport of lima, the capital of peru. we stayed here six weeks, but from the troubled state of public affairs i saw very little of the country. during our whole visit the climate was far from being so delightful as it is generally represented. a dull heavy bank of clouds constantly hung over the land, so that during the first sixteen days i had only one view of the cordillera behind lima. these mountains, seen in stages, one above the other, through openings in the clouds, had a very grand appearance. it is almost become a proverb, that rain never falls in the lower part of peru. yet this can hardly be considered correct; for during almost every day of our visit there was a thick drizzling mist, which was sufficient to make the streets muddy and one's clothes damp: this the people are pleased to call peruvian dew. that much rain does not fall is very certain, for the houses are covered only with flat roofs made of hardened mud; and on the mole ship-loads of wheat were piled up, being thus left for weeks together without any shelter. i cannot say i liked the very little i saw of peru: in summer, however, it is said that the climate is much pleasanter. in all seasons, both inhabitants and foreigners suffer from severe attacks of ague. this disease is common on the whole coast of peru, but is unknown in the interior. the attacks of illness which arise from miasma never fail to appear most mysterious. so difficult is it to judge from the aspect of a country, whether or not it is healthy, that if a person had been told to choose within the tropics a situation appearing favourable for health, very probably he would have named this coast. the plain round the outskirts of callao is sparingly covered with a coarse grass, and in some parts there are a few stagnant, though very small, pools of water. the miasma, in all probability, arises from these: for the town of arica was similarly circumstanced, and its healthiness was much improved by the drainage of some little pools. miasma is not always produced by a luxuriant vegetation with an ardent climate; for many parts of brazil, even where there are marshes and a rank vegetation, are much more healthy than this sterile coast of peru. the densest forests in a temperate climate, as in chiloe, do not seem in the slightest degree to affect the healthy condition of the atmosphere. the island of st. jago, at the cape de verds, offers another strongly-marked instance of a country, which any one would have expected to find most healthy, being very much the contrary. i have described the bare and open plains as supporting, during a few weeks after the rainy season, a thin vegetation, which directly withers away and dries up: at this period the air appears to become quite poisonous; both natives and foreigners often being affected with violent fevers. on the other hand, the galapagos archipelago, in the pacific, with a similar soil, and periodically subject to the same process of vegetation, is perfectly healthy. humboldt has observed that "under the torrid zone, the smallest marshes are the most dangerous, being surrounded, as at vera cruz and carthagena, with an arid and sandy soil, which raises the temperature of the ambient air." ( / . "political essay on the kingdom of new spain" volume page .) on the coast of peru, however, the temperature is not hot to any excessive degree; and perhaps in consequence the intermittent fevers are not of the most malignant order. in all unhealthy countries the greatest risk is run by sleeping on shore. is this owing to the state of the body during sleep, or to a greater abundance of miasma at such times? it appears certain that those who stay on board a vessel, though anchored at only a short distance from the coast, generally suffer less than those actually on shore. on the other hand, i have heard of one remarkable case where a fever broke out among the crew of a man-of-war some hundred miles off the coast of africa, and at the same time one of those fearful periods of death commenced at sierra leone. ( / . a similar interesting case is recorded in the "madras medical quarterly journal" page . dr. ferguson in his admirable paper see th volume of "edinburgh royal transactions" shows clearly that the poison is generated in the drying process; and hence that dry hot countries are often the most unhealthy.) no state in south america, since the declaration of independence, has suffered more from anarchy than peru. at the time of our visit there were four chiefs in arms contending for supremacy in the government: if one succeeded in becoming for a time very powerful, the others coalesced against him; but no sooner were they victorious than they were again hostile to each other. the other day, at the anniversary of the independence, high mass was performed, the president partaking of the sacrament: during the "te deum laudamus," instead of each regiment displaying the peruvian flag, a black one with death's head was unfurled. imagine a government under which such a scene could be ordered, on such an occasion, to be typical of their determination of fighting to death! this state of affairs happened at a time very unfortunately for me, as i was precluded from taking any excursions much beyond the limits of the town. the barren island of san lorenzo, which forms the harbour, was nearly the only place where one could walk securely. the upper part, which is upwards of feet in height, during this season of the year (winter), comes within the lower limit of the clouds; and in consequence an abundant cryptogamic vegetation and a few flowers cover the summit. on the hills near lima, at a height but little greater, the ground is carpeted with moss, and beds of beautiful yellow lilies, called amancaes. this indicates a very much greater degree of humidity than at a corresponding height at iquique. proceeding northward of lima, the climate becomes damper, till on the banks of the guayaquil, nearly under the equator, we find the most luxuriant forests. the change, however, from the sterile coast of peru to that fertile land is described as taking place rather abruptly in the latitude of cape blanco, two degrees south of guayaquil. callao is a filthy, ill-built, small seaport. the inhabitants, both here and at lima, present every imaginable shade of mixture, between european, negro, and indian blood. they appear a depraved, drunken set of people. the atmosphere is loaded with foul smells, and that peculiar one, which may be perceived in almost every town within the tropics, was here very strong. the fortress, which withstood lord cochrane's long siege, has an imposing appearance. but the president, during our stay, sold the brass guns, and proceeded to dismantle parts of it. the reason assigned was, that he had not an officer to whom he could trust so important a charge. he himself had good reason for thinking so, as he had obtained the presidentship by rebelling while in charge of this same fortress. after we left south america, he paid the penalty in the usual manner, by being conquered, taken prisoner, and shot. lima stands on a plain in a valley, formed during the gradual retreat of the sea. it is seven miles from callao, and is elevated feet above it; but from the slope being very gradual, the road appears absolutely level; so that when at lima it is difficult to believe one has ascended even one hundred feet: humboldt has remarked on this singularly deceptive case. steep barren hills rise like islands from the plain, which is divided, by straight mud-walls, into large green fields. in these scarcely a tree grows excepting a few willows, and an occasional clump of bananas and of oranges. the city of lima is now in a wretched state of decay: the streets are nearly unpaved; and heaps of filth are piled up in all directions, where the black gallinazos, tame as poultry, pick up bits of carrion. the houses have generally an upper story, built, on account of the earthquakes, of plastered woodwork; but some of the old ones, which are now used by several families, are immensely large, and would rival in suites of apartments the most magnificent in any place. lima, the city of the kings, must formerly have been a splendid town. the extraordinary number of churches gives it, even at the present day, a peculiar and striking character, especially when viewed from a short distance. one day i went out with some merchants to hunt in the immediate vicinity of the city. our sport was very poor; but i had an opportunity of seeing the ruins of one of the ancient indian villages, with its mound like a natural hill in the centre. the remains of houses, enclosures, irrigating streams, and burial mounds, scattered over this plain, cannot fail to give one a high idea of the condition and number of the ancient population. when their earthenware, woollen clothes, utensils of elegant forms cut out of the hardest rocks, tools of copper, ornaments of precious stones, palaces, and hydraulic works, are considered, it is impossible not to respect the considerable advance made by them in the arts of civilisation. the burial mounds, called huacas, are really stupendous; although in some places they appear to be natural hills encased and modelled. there is also another and very different class of ruins which possesses some interest, namely, those of old callao, overwhelmed by the great earthquake of , and its accompanying wave. the destruction must have been more complete even than at talcahuano. quantities of shingle almost conceal the foundations of the walls, and vast masses of brickwork appear to have been whirled about like pebbles by the retiring waves. it has been stated that the land subsided during this memorable shock: i could not discover any proof of this; yet it seems far from improbable, for the form of the coast must certainly have undergone some change since the foundation of the old town; as no people in their senses would willingly have chosen for their building place the narrow spit of shingle on which the ruins now stand. since our voyage, m. tschudi has come to the conclusion, by the comparison of old and modern maps, that the coast both north and south of lima has certainly subsided. on the island of san lorenzo there are very satisfactory proofs of elevation within the recent period; this of course is not opposed to the belief of a small sinking of the ground having subsequently taken place. the side of this island fronting the bay of callao is worn into three obscure terraces, the lower one of which is covered by a bed a mile in length, almost wholly composed of shells of eighteen species, now living in the adjoining sea. the height of this bed is eighty-five feet. many of the shells are deeply corroded, and have a much older and more decayed appearance than those at the height of or feet on the coast of chile. these shells are associated with much common salt, a little sulphate of lime (both probably left by the evaporation of the spray, as the land slowly rose), together with sulphate of soda and muriate of lime. they rest on fragments of the underlying sandstone, and are covered by a few inches thick of detritus. the shells higher up on this terrace could be traced scaling off in flakes, and falling into an impalpable powder; and on an upper terrace, at the height of feet, and likewise at some considerably higher points, i found a layer of saline powder of exactly similar appearance, and lying in the same relative position. i have no doubt that this upper layer originally existed as a bed of shells, like that on the eighty-five-feet ledge; but it does not now contain even a trace of organic structure. the powder has been analysed for me by mr. t. reeks; it consists of sulphates and muriates both of lime and soda, with very little carbonate of lime. it is known that common salt and carbonate of lime left in a mass for some time together partly decompose each other; though this does not happen with small quantities in solution. as the half-decomposed shells in the lower parts are associated with much common salt, together with some of the saline substances composing the upper saline layer, and as these shells are corroded and decayed in a remarkable manner, i strongly suspect that this double decomposition has here taken place. the resultant salts, however, ought to be carbonate of soda and muriate of lime, the latter is present, but not the carbonate of soda. hence i am led to imagine that by some unexplained means the carbonate of soda becomes changed into the sulphate. it is obvious that the saline layer could not have been preserved in any country in which abundant rain occasionally fell: on the other hand this very circumstance, which at first sight appears so highly favourable to the long preservation of exposed shells, has probably been the indirect means, through the common salt not having been washed away, of their decomposition and early decay. i was much interested by finding on the terrace, at the height of eighty-five feet, embedded amidst the shells and much sea-drifted rubbish, some bits of cotton thread, plaited rush, and the head of a stalk of indian corn: i compared these relics with similar ones taken out of the huacas, or old peruvian tombs, and found them identical in appearance. on the mainland in front of san lorenzo, near bellavista, there is an extensive and level plain about a hundred feet high, of which the lower part is formed of alternating layers of sand and impure clay, together with some gravel, and the surface, to the depth of from three to six feet, of a reddish loam, containing a few scattered sea-shells and numerous small fragments of coarse red earthenware, more abundant at certain spots than at others. at first i was inclined to believe that this superficial bed, from its wide extent and smoothness, must have been deposited beneath the sea; but i afterwards found in one spot that it lay on an artificial floor of round stones. it seems, therefore, most probable that at a period when the land stood at a lower level there was a plain very similar to that now surrounding callao, which, being protected by a shingle beach, is raised but very little above the level of the sea. on this plain, with its underlying red-clay beds, i imagine that the indians manufactured their earthen vessels; and that, during some violent earthquake, the sea broke over the beach, and converted the plain into a temporary lake, as happened round callao in and . the water would then have deposited mud containing fragments of pottery from the kilns, more abundant at some spots than at others, and shells from the sea. this bed with fossil earthenware stands at about the same height with the shells on the lower terrace of san lorenzo, in which the cotton-thread and other relics were embedded. hence we may safely conclude that within the indo-human period there has been an elevation, as before alluded to, of more than eighty-five feet; for some little elevation must have been lost by the coast having subsided since the old maps were engraved. at valparaiso, although in the years before our visit the elevation cannot have exceeded nineteen feet, yet subsequently to there has been a rise, partly insensible and partly by a start during the shock of , of ten or eleven feet. the antiquity of the indo-human race here, judging by the eighty-five feet rise of the land since the relics were embedded, is the more remarkable, as on the coast of patagonia, when the land stood about the same number of feet lower, the macrauchenia was a living beast; but as the patagonian coast is some way distant from the cordillera, the rising there may have been slower than here. at bahia blanca the elevation has been only a few feet since the numerous gigantic quadrupeds were there entombed; and, according to the generally received opinion, when these extinct animals were living man did not exist. but the rising of that part of the coast of patagonia is perhaps no way connected with the cordillera, but rather with a line of old volcanic rocks in banda oriental, so that it may have been infinitely slower than on the shores of peru. all these speculations, however, must be vague; for who will pretend to say that there may not have been several periods of subsidence, intercalated between the movements of elevation? for we know that along the whole coast of patagonia there have certainly been many and long pauses in the upward action of the elevatory forces. (plate . huacas, peruvian pottery.) chapter xvii. galapagos archipelago. (plate . testudo abingdonii, galapagos islands.) the whole group volcanic. number of craters. leafless bushes. colony at charles island. james island. salt-lake in crater. natural history of the group. ornithology, curious finches. reptiles. great tortoises, habits of. marine lizard, feeds on sea-weed. terrestrial lizard, burrowing habits, herbivorous. importance of reptiles in the archipelago. fish, shells, insects. botany. american type of organisation. differences in the species or races on different islands. tameness of the birds. fear of man an acquired instinct. september , . (plate . galapagos archipelago.) this archipelago consists of ten principal islands, of which five exceed the others in size. they are situated under the equator, and between five and six hundred miles westward of the coast of america. they are all formed of volcanic rocks; a few fragments of granite curiously glazed and altered by the heat can hardly be considered as an exception. some of the craters surmounting the larger islands are of immense size, and they rise to a height of between three and four thousand feet. their flanks are studded by innumerable smaller orifices. i scarcely hesitate to affirm that there must be in the whole archipelago at least two thousand craters. these consist either of lava and scoriae, or of finely-stratified, sandstone-like tuff. most of the latter are beautifully symmetrical; they owe their origin to eruptions of volcanic mud without any lava: it is a remarkable circumstance that every one of the twenty-eight tuff-craters which were examined had their southern sides either much lower than the other sides, or quite broken down and removed. as all these craters apparently have been formed when standing in the sea, and as the waves from the trade wind and the swell from the open pacific here unite their forces on the southern coasts of all the islands, this singular uniformity in the broken state of the craters, composed of the soft and yielding tuff, is easily explained. considering that these islands are placed directly under the equator, the climate is far from being excessively hot; this seems chiefly caused by the singularly low temperature of the surrounding water, brought here by the great southern polar current. excepting during one short season very little rain falls, and even then it is irregular; but the clouds generally hang low. hence, whilst the lower parts of the islands are very sterile, the upper parts, at a height of a thousand feet and upwards, possess a damp climate and a tolerably luxuriant vegetation. this is especially the case on the windward sides of the islands, which first receive and condense the moisture from the atmosphere. in the morning ( th) we landed on chatham island, which, like the others, rises with a tame and rounded outline, broken here and there by scattered hillocks, the remains of former craters. nothing could be less inviting than the first appearance. a broken field of black basaltic lava, thrown into the most rugged waves, and crossed by great fissures, is everywhere covered by stunted, sunburnt brushwood, which shows little signs of life. the dry and parched surface, being heated by the noonday sun, gave to the air a close and sultry feeling, like that from a stove: we fancied even that the bushes smelt unpleasantly. although i diligently tried to collect as many plants as possible, i succeeded in getting very few; and such wretched-looking little weeds would have better become an arctic than an equatorial flora. the brushwood appears, from a short distance, as leafless as our trees during winter; and it was some time before i discovered that not only almost every plant was now in full leaf, but that the greater number were in flower. the commonest bush is one of the euphorbiaceae: an acacia and a great odd-looking cactus are the only trees which afford any shade. after the season of heavy rains, the islands are said to appear for a short time partially green. the volcanic island of fernando noronha, placed in many respects under nearly similar conditions, is the only other country where i have seen a vegetation at all like this of the galapagos islands. the "beagle" sailed round chatham island, and anchored in several bays. one night i slept on shore on a part of the island where black truncated cones were extraordinarily numerous: from one small eminence i counted sixty of them, all surmounted by craters more or less perfect. the greater number consisted merely of a ring of red scoriae or slags cemented together: and their height above the plain of lava was not more than from fifty to a hundred feet: none had been very lately active. the entire surface of this part of the island seems to have been permeated, like a sieve, by the subterranean vapours: here and there the lava, whilst soft, has been blown into great bubbles; and in other parts, the tops of caverns similarly formed have fallen in, leaving circular pits with steep sides. from the regular form of the many craters, they gave to the country an artificial appearance, which vividly reminded me of those parts of staffordshire where the great iron-foundries are most numerous. the day was glowing hot, and the scrambling over the rough surface and through the intricate thickets was very fatiguing; but i was well repaid by the strange cyclopean scene. as i was walking along i met two large tortoises, each of which must have weighed at least two hundred pounds: one was eating a piece of cactus, and as i approached, it stared at me and slowly walked away; the other gave a deep hiss, and drew in its head. these huge reptiles, surrounded by the black lava, the leafless shrubs, and large cacti, seemed to my fancy like some antediluvian animals. the few dull-coloured birds cared no more for me than they did for the great tortoises. september , . the "beagle" proceeded to charles island. this archipelago has long been frequented, first by the bucaniers, and latterly by whalers, but it is only within the last six years that a small colony has been established here. the inhabitants are between two and three hundred in number; they are nearly all people of colour, who have been banished for political crimes from the republic of the equator, of which quito is the capital. the settlement is placed about four and a half miles inland, and at a height probably of a thousand feet. in the first part of the road we passed through leafless thickets, as in chatham island. higher up the woods gradually became greener; and as soon as we crossed the ridge of the island we were cooled by a fine southerly breeze, and our sight refreshed by a green and thriving vegetation. in this upper region coarse grasses and ferns abound; but there are no tree-ferns: i saw nowhere any member of the palm family, which is the more singular, as miles northward, cocos island takes its name from the number of cocoa-nuts. the houses are irregularly scattered over a flat space of ground, which is cultivated with sweet potatoes and bananas. it will not easily be imagined how pleasant the sight of black mud was to us, after having been so long accustomed to the parched soil of peru and northern chile. the inhabitants, although complaining of poverty, obtain, without much trouble, the means of subsistence. in the woods there are many wild pigs and goats; but the staple article of animal food is supplied by the tortoises. their numbers have of course been greatly reduced in this island, but the people yet count on two days' hunting giving them food for the rest of the week. it is said that formerly single vessels have taken away as many as seven hundred, and that the ship's company of a frigate some years since brought down in one day two hundred tortoises to the beach. september , . we doubled the south-west extremity of albemarle island, and the next day were nearly becalmed between it and narborough island. both are covered with immense deluges of black naked lava, which have flowed either over the rims of the great caldrons, like pitch over the rim of a pot in which it has been boiled, or have burst forth from smaller orifices on the flanks; in their descent they have spread over miles of the sea-coast. on both of these islands eruptions are known to have taken place; and in albemarle we saw a small jet of smoke curling from the summit of one of the great craters. in the evening we anchored in bank's cove, in albemarle island. the next morning i went out walking. to the south of the broken tuff-crater, in which the "beagle" was anchored, there was another beautifully symmetrical one of an elliptic form; its longer axis was a little less than a mile, and its depth about feet. at its bottom there was a shallow lake, in the middle of which a tiny crater formed an islet. the day was overpoweringly hot, and the lake looked clear and blue: i hurried down the cindery slope, and, choked with dust, eagerly tasted the water--but, to my sorrow, i found it salt as brine. the rocks on the coast abounded with great black lizards, between three and four feet long; and on the hills, an ugly yellowish-brown species was equally common. we saw many of this latter kind, some clumsily running out of the way, and others shuffling into their burrows. i shall presently describe in more detail the habits of both these reptiles. the whole of this northern part of albemarle island is miserably sterile. october , . we arrived at james island: this island, as well as charles island, were long since thus named after our kings of the stuart line. mr. bynoe, myself, and our servants were left here for a week, with provisions and a tent, whilst the "beagle" went for water. we found here a party of spaniards who had been sent from charles island to dry fish and to salt tortoise-meat. about six miles inland and at the height of nearly feet, a hovel had been built in which two men lived, who were employed in catching tortoises, whilst the others were fishing on the coast. i paid this party two visits, and slept there one night. as in the other islands, the lower region was covered by nearly leafless bushes, but the trees were here of a larger growth than elsewhere, several being two feet and some even two feet nine inches in diameter. the upper region, being kept damp by the clouds, supports a green and flourishing vegetation. so damp was the ground, that there were large beds of a coarse cyperus, in which great numbers of a very small water-rail lived and bred. while staying in this upper region, we lived entirely upon tortoise-meat: the breast-plate roasted (as the gauchos do carne con cuero), with the flesh on it, is very good; and the young tortoises make excellent soup; but otherwise the meat to my taste is indifferent. one day we accompanied a party of the spaniards in their whale-boat to a salina, or lake from which salt is procured. after landing we had a very rough walk over a rugged field of recent lava, which has almost surrounded a tuff-crater at the bottom of which the salt-lake lies. the water is only three or four inches deep and rests on a layer of beautifully crystallised, white salt. the lake is quite circular, and is fringed with a border of bright green succulent plants; the almost precipitous walls of the crater are clothed with wood, so that the scene was altogether both picturesque and curious. a few years since the sailors belonging to a sealing-vessel murdered their captain in this quiet spot; and we saw his skull lying among the bushes. during the greater part of our stay of a week the sky was cloudless, and if the trade-wind failed for an hour the heat became very oppressive. on two days the thermometer within the tent stood for some hours at degrees; but in the open air, in the wind and sun, at only degrees. the sand was extremely hot; the thermometer placed in some of a brown colour immediately rose to degrees, and how much above that it would have risen i do not know for it was not graduated any higher. the black sand felt much hotter, so that even in thick boots it was quite disagreeable to walk over it. the natural history of these islands is eminently curious, and well deserves attention. most of the organic productions are aboriginal creations found nowhere else; there is even a difference between the inhabitants of the different islands; yet all show a marked relationship with those of america, though separated from that continent by an open space of ocean, between and miles in width. the archipelago is a little world within itself, or rather a satellite attached to america, whence it has derived a few stray colonists, and has received the general character of its indigenous productions. considering the small size of these islands, we feel the more astonished at the number of their aboriginal beings, and at their confined range. seeing every height crowned with its crater, and the boundaries of most of the lava-streams still distinct, we are led to believe that within a period geologically recent the unbroken ocean was here spread out. hence, both in space and time, we seem to be brought somewhat near to that great fact--that mystery of mysteries--the first appearance of new beings on this earth. of terrestrial mammals there is only one which must be considered as indigenous, namely a mouse (mus galapagoensis) and this is confined, as far as i could ascertain, to chatham island, the most easterly island of the group. it belongs, as i am informed by mr. waterhouse, to a division of the family of mice characteristic of america. at james island there is a rat sufficiently distinct from the common kind to have been named and described by mr. waterhouse; but as it belongs to the old-world division of the family, and as this island has been frequented by ships for the last hundred and fifty years, i can hardly doubt that this rat is merely a variety produced by the new and peculiar climate, food, and soil, to which it has been subjected. although no one has a right to speculate without distinct facts, yet even with respect to the chatham island mouse, it should be borne in mind that it may possibly be an american species imported here; for i have seen, in a most unfrequented part of the pampas, a native mouse living in the roof of a newly built hovel, and therefore its transportation in a vessel is not improbable: analogous facts have been observed by dr. richardson in north america. of land-birds i obtained twenty-six kinds, all peculiar to the group and found nowhere else, with the exception of one lark-like finch from north america (dolichonyx oryzivorus) which ranges on that continent as far north as degrees, and generally frequents marshes. the other twenty-five birds consist, firstly, of a hawk, curiously intermediate in structure between a buzzard and the american group of carrion-feeding polybori; and with these latter birds it agrees most closely in every habit and even tone of voice. secondly there are two owls, representing the short-eared and white barn-owls of europe. thirdly a wren, three tyrant-flycatchers (two of them species of pyrocephalus, one or both of which would be ranked by some ornithologists as only varieties), and a dove--all analogous to, but distinct from, american species. fourthly a swallow, which though differing from the progne purpurea of both americas, only in being rather duller coloured, smaller, and slenderer, is considered by mr. gould as specifically distinct. fifthly there are three species of mocking-thrush--a form highly characteristic of america. the remaining land-birds form a most singular group of finches, related to each other in the structure of their beaks, short tails, form of body and plumage: there are thirteen species which mr. gould has divided into four sub-groups. all these species are peculiar to this archipelago; and so is the whole group, with the exception of one species of the sub-group cactornis, lately brought from bow island, in the low archipelago. of cactornis the two species may be often seen climbing about the flowers of the great cactus-trees; but all the other species of this group of finches, mingled together in flocks, feed on the dry and sterile ground of the lower districts. the males of all, or certainly of the greater number, are jet black; and the females (with perhaps one or two exceptions) are brown. (plate . finches from galapagos archipelago. . geospiza magnirostris. . geospiza fortis. . geospiza parvula. . certhidea olivasea.) the most curious fact is the perfect gradation in the size of the beaks in the different species of geospiza, from one as large as that of a hawfinch to that of a chaffinch, and (if mr. gould is right in including his sub-group, certhidea, in the main group) even to that of a warbler. the largest beak in the genus geospiza is shown in (plate ) figure , and the smallest in figure ; but instead of there being only one intermediate species, with a beak of the size shown in figure , there are no less than six species with insensibly graduated beaks. the beak of the sub-group certhidea, is shown in figure . the beak of cactornis is somewhat like that of a starling, and that of the fourth sub-group, camarhynchus, is slightly parrot-shaped. seeing this gradation and diversity of structure in one small, intimately related group of birds, one might really fancy that from an original paucity of birds in this archipelago, one species had been taken and modified for different ends. in a like manner it might be fancied that a bird, originally a buzzard, had been induced here to undertake the office of the carrion-feeding polybori of the american continent. of waders and water-birds i was able to get only eleven kinds, and of these only three (including a rail confined to the damp summits of the islands) are new species. considering the wandering habits of the gulls, i was surprised to find that the species inhabiting these islands is peculiar, but allied to one from the southern parts of south america. the far greater peculiarity of the land-birds, namely, twenty-five out of twenty-six being new species, or at least new races, compared with the waders and web-footed birds, is in accordance with the greater range which these latter orders have in all parts of the world. we shall hereafter see this law of aquatic forms, whether marine or fresh water, being less peculiar at any given point of the earth's surface than the terrestrial forms of the same classes, strikingly illustrated in the shells, and in a lesser degree in the insects of this archipelago. two of the waders are rather smaller than the same species brought from other places: the swallow is also smaller, though it is doubtful whether or not it is distinct from its analogue. the two owls, the two tyrant-flycatchers (pyrocephalus) and the dove, are also smaller than the analogous but distinct species, to which they are most nearly related; on the other hand, the gull is rather larger. the two owls, the swallow, all three species of mocking-thrush, the dove in its separate colours though not in its whole plumage, the totanus, and the gull, are likewise duskier coloured than their analogous species; and in the case of the mocking-thrush and totanus, than any other species of the two genera. with the exception of a wren with a fine yellow breast, and of a tyrant-flycatcher with a scarlet tuft and breast, none of the birds are brilliantly coloured, as might have been expected in an equatorial district. hence it would appear probable that the same causes which here make the immigrants of some species smaller, make most of the peculiar galapageian species also smaller, as well as very generally more dusky coloured. all the plants have a wretched, weedy appearance, and i did not see one beautiful flower. the insects, again, are small-sized and dull coloured, and, as mr. waterhouse informs me, there is nothing in their general appearance which would have led him to imagine that they had come from under the equator. ( / . the progress of research has shown that some of these birds, which were then thought to be confined to the islands, occur on the american continent. the eminent ornithologist, mr. sclater, informs me that this is the case with the strix punctatissima and pyrocephalus nanus; and probably with the otus galapagoensis and zenaida galapagoensis: so that the number of endemic birds is reduced to twenty-three, or probably to twenty-one. mr. sclater thinks that one or two of these endemic forms should be ranked rather as varieties than species, which always seemed to me probable.) the birds, plants, and insects have a desert character, and are not more brilliantly coloured than those from southern patagonia; we may, therefore, conclude that the usual gaudy colouring of the intertropical productions is not related either to the heat or light of those zones, but to some other cause, perhaps to the conditions of existence being generally favourable to life. we will now turn to the order of reptiles, which gives the most striking character to the zoology of these islands. the species are not numerous, but the numbers of individuals of each species are extraordinarily great. there is one small lizard belonging to a south american genus, and two species (and probably more) of the amblyrhynchus--a genus confined to the galapagos islands. there is one snake which is numerous; it is identical, as i am informed by m. bibron, with the psammophis temminckii from chile. ( / . this is stated by dr. gunther "zoological society" january , , to be a peculiar species, not known to inhabit any other country.) of sea-turtle i believe there are more than one species, and of tortoises there are, as we shall presently show, two or three species or races. of toads and frogs there are none: i was surprised at this, considering how well suited for them the temperate and damp upper woods appeared to be. it recalled to my mind the remark made by bory st. vincent, namely, that none of this family are found on any of the volcanic islands in the great oceans. ( / . "voyage aux quatres iles d'afrique." with respect to the sandwich islands see tyerman and bennett's "journal" volume page . for mauritius see "voyage par un officier" etc. part page . there are no frogs in the canary islands, webb et berthelot "hist. nat. des iles canaries." i saw none at st. jago in the cape de verds. there are none at st. helena.) as far as i can ascertain from various works, this seems to hold good throughout the pacific, and even in the large islands of the sandwich archipelago. mauritius offers an apparent exception, where i saw the rana mascariensis in abundance: this frog is said now to inhabit the seychelles, madagascar, and bourbon; but on the other hand, du bois, in his voyage in , states that there were no reptiles in bourbon except tortoises; and the officier du roi asserts that before it had been attempted, without success, to introduce frogs into mauritius--i presume for the purpose of eating: hence it may be well doubted whether this frog is an aboriginal of these islands. the absence of the frog family in the oceanic islands is the more remarkable, when contrasted with the case of lizards, which swarm on most of the smallest islands. may this difference not be caused by the greater facility with which the eggs of lizards, protected by calcareous shells, might be transported through salt-water, than could the slimy spawn of frogs? i will first describe the habits of the tortoise (testudo nigra, formerly called indica), which has been so frequently alluded to. these animals are found, i believe, on all the islands of the archipelago; certainly on the greater number. they frequent in preference the high damp parts, but they likewise live in the lower and arid districts. i have already shown, from the numbers which have been caught in a single day, how very numerous they must be. some grow to an immense size: mr. lawson, an englishman, and vice-governor of the colony, told us that he had seen several so large that it required six or eight men to lift them from the ground; and that some had afforded as much as two hundred pounds of meat. the old males are the largest, the females rarely growing to so great a size: the male can readily be distinguished from the female by the greater length of its tail. the tortoises which live on those islands where there is no water, or in the lower and arid parts of the others, feed chiefly on the succulent cactus. those which frequent the higher and damp regions eat the leaves of various trees, a kind of berry (called guayavita) which is acid and austere, and likewise a pale green filamentous lichen (usnera plicata), that hangs from the boughs of the trees. the tortoise is very fond of water, drinking large quantities, and wallowing in the mud. the larger islands alone possess springs, and these are always situated towards the central parts, and at a considerable height. the tortoises, therefore, which frequent the lower districts, when thirsty, are obliged to travel from a long distance. hence broad and well-beaten paths branch off in every direction from the wells down to the sea-coast; and the spaniards, by following them up, first discovered the watering-places. when i landed at chatham island, i could not imagine what animal travelled so methodically along well-chosen tracks. near the springs it was a curious spectacle to behold many of these huge creatures, one set eagerly travelling onwards with outstretched necks, and another set returning, after having drunk their fill. when the tortoise arrives at the spring, quite regardless of any spectator, he buries his head in the water above his eyes, and greedily swallows great mouthfuls, at the rate of about ten in a minute. the inhabitants say each animal stays three or four days in the neighbourhood of the water, and then returns to the lower country; but they differed respecting the frequency of these visits. the animal probably regulates them according to the nature of the food on which it has lived. it is, however, certain that tortoises can subsist even on those islands where there is no other water than what falls during a few rainy days in the year. i believe it is well ascertained that the bladder of the frog acts as a reservoir for the moisture necessary to its existence: such seems to be the case with the tortoise. for some time after a visit to the springs, their urinary bladders are distended with fluid, which is said gradually to decrease in volume, and to become less pure. the inhabitants, when walking in the lower district, and overcome with thirst, often take advantage of this circumstance, and drink the contents of the bladder if full: in one i saw killed, the fluid was quite limpid, and had only a very slightly bitter taste. the inhabitants, however, always first drink the water in the pericardium, which is described as being best. the tortoises, when purposely moving towards any point, travel by night and day and arrive at their journey's end much sooner than would be expected. the inhabitants, from observing marked individuals, consider that they travel a distance of about eight miles in two or three days. one large tortoise, which i watched, walked at the rate of sixty yards in ten minutes, that is yards in the hour, or four miles a day,--allowing a little time for it to eat on the road. during the breeding season, when the male and female are together, the male utters a hoarse roar or bellowing, which, it is said, can be heard at the distance of more than a hundred yards. the female never uses her voice, and the male only at these times; so that when the people hear this noise, they know that the two are together. they were at this time (october) laying their eggs. the female, where the soil is sandy, deposits them together, and covers them up with sand; but where the ground is rocky she drops them indiscriminately in any hole: mr. bynoe found seven placed in a fissure. the egg is white and spherical; one which i measured was seven inches and three-eighths in circumference, and therefore larger than a hen's egg. the young tortoises, as soon as they are hatched, fall a prey in great numbers to the carrion-feeding buzzard. the old ones seem generally to die from accidents, as from falling down precipices: at least, several of the inhabitants told me that they never found one dead without some evident cause. the inhabitants believe that these animals are absolutely deaf; certainly they do not overhear a person walking close behind them. i was always amused when overtaking one of these great monsters, as it was quietly pacing along, to see how suddenly, the instant i passed, it would draw in its head and legs, and uttering a deep hiss fall to the ground with a heavy sound, as if struck dead. i frequently got on their backs, and then giving a few raps on the hinder part of their shells, they would rise up and walk away;--but i found it very difficult to keep my balance. the flesh of this animal is largely employed, both fresh and salted; and a beautifully clear oil is prepared from the fat. when a tortoise is caught, the man makes a slit in the skin near its tail, so as to see inside its body, whether the fat under the dorsal plate is thick. if it is not, the animal is liberated; and it is said to recover soon from this strange operation. in order to secure the tortoises, it is not sufficient to turn them like turtle, for they are often able to get on their legs again. there can be little doubt that this tortoise is an aboriginal inhabitant of the galapagos; for it is found on all, or nearly all, the islands, even on some of the smaller ones where there is no water; had it been an imported species this would hardly have been the case in a group which has been so little frequented. moreover, the old bucaniers found this tortoise in greater numbers even than at present: wood and rogers also, in , say that it is the opinion of the spaniards that it is found nowhere else in this quarter of the world. it is now widely distributed; but it may be questioned whether it is in any other place an aboriginal. the bones of a tortoise at mauritius, associated with those of the extinct dodo, have generally been considered as belonging to this tortoise; if this had been so, undoubtedly it must have been there indigenous; but m. bibron informs me that he believes that it was distinct, as the species now living there certainly is. (plate . amblyrhynchus cristatus. a. tooth of natural size, and likewise magnified.) the amblyrhynchus, a remarkable genus of lizards, is confined to this archipelago; there are two species, resembling each other in general form, one being terrestrial and the other aquatic. this latter species (a. cristatus) was first characterised by mr. bell, who well foresaw, from its short, broad head, and strong claws of equal length, that its habits of life would turn out very peculiar, and different from those of its nearest ally, the iguana. it is extremely common on all the islands throughout the group, and lives exclusively on the rocky sea-beaches, being never found, at least i never saw one, even ten yards in-shore. it is a hideous-looking creature, of a dirty black colour, stupid, and sluggish in its movements. the usual length of a full-grown one is about a yard, but there are some even four feet long; a large one weighed twenty pounds: on the island of albemarle they seem to grow to a greater size than elsewhere. their tails are flattened sideways, and all four feet partially webbed. they are occasionally seen some hundred yards from the shore, swimming about; and captain collnett, in his voyage says, "they go to sea in herds a-fishing, and sun themselves on the rocks; and may be called alligators in miniature." it must not, however, be supposed that they live on fish. when in the water this lizard swims with perfect ease and quickness, by a serpentine movement of its body and flattened tail--the legs being motionless and closely collapsed on its sides. a seaman on board sank one, with a heavy weight attached to it, thinking thus to kill it directly; but when, an hour afterwards, he drew up the line, it was quite active. their limbs and strong claws are admirably adapted for crawling over the rugged and fissured masses of lava which everywhere form the coast. in such situations a group of six or seven of these hideous reptiles may oftentimes be seen on the black rocks, a few feet above the surf, basking in the sun with outstretched legs. i opened the stomachs of several, and found them largely distended with minced sea-weed (ulvae), which grows in thin foliaceous expansions of a bright green or a dull red colour. i do not recollect having observed this sea-weed in any quantity on the tidal rocks; and i have reason to believe it grows at the bottom of the sea, at some little distance from the coast. if such be the case, the object of these animals occasionally going out to sea is explained. the stomach contained nothing but the sea-weed. mr. bynoe, however, found a piece of a crab in one; but this might have got in accidentally, in the same manner as i have seen a caterpillar, in the midst of some lichen, in the paunch of a tortoise. the intestines were large, as in other herbivorous animals. the nature of this lizard's food, as well as the structure of its tail and feet, and the fact of its having been seen voluntarily swimming out at sea, absolutely prove its aquatic habits; yet there is in this respect one strange anomaly, namely, that when frightened it will not enter the water. hence it is easy to drive these lizards down to any little point overhanging the sea, where they will sooner allow a person to catch hold of their tails than jump into the water. they do not seem to have any notion of biting; but when much frightened they squirt a drop of fluid from each nostril. i threw one several times as far as i could, into a deep pool left by the retiring tide; but it invariably returned in a direct line to the spot where i stood. it swam near the bottom, with a very graceful and rapid movement, and occasionally aided itself over the uneven ground with its feet. as soon as it arrived near the edge, but still being under water, it tried to conceal itself in the tufts of sea-weed, or it entered some crevice. as soon as it thought the danger was past, it crawled out on the dry rocks, and shuffled away as quickly as it could. i several times caught this same lizard, by driving it down to a point, and though possessed of such perfect powers of diving and swimming, nothing would induce it to enter the water; and as often as i threw it in, it returned in the manner above described. perhaps this singular piece of apparent stupidity may be accounted for by the circumstance that this reptile has no enemy whatever on shore, whereas at sea it must often fall a prey to the numerous sharks. hence, probably, urged by a fixed and hereditary instinct that the shore is its place of safety, whatever the emergency may be, it there takes refuge. during our visit (in october) i saw extremely few small individuals of this species, and none i should think under a year old. from this circumstance it seems probable that the breeding season had not then commenced. i asked several of the inhabitants if they knew where it laid its eggs: they said that they knew nothing of its propagation, although well acquainted with the eggs of the land kind--a fact, considering how very common this lizard is, not a little extraordinary. we will now turn to the terrestrial species (a. demarlii), with a round tail, and toes without webs. this lizard, instead of being found like the other on all the islands, is confined to the central part of the archipelago, namely to albemarle, james, barrington, and indefatigable islands. to the southward, in charles, hood, and chatham islands, and to the northward, in towers, bindloes, and abingdon, i neither saw nor heard of any. it would appear as if it had been created in the centre of the archipelago, and thence had been dispersed only to a certain distance. some of these lizards inhabit the high and damp parts of the islands, but they are much more numerous in the lower and sterile districts near the coast. i cannot give a more forcible proof of their numbers, than by stating that when we were left at james island, we could not for some time find a spot free from their burrows on which to pitch our single tent. like their brothers the sea-kind, they are ugly animals, of a yellowish orange beneath, and of a brownish-red colour above: from their low facial angle they have a singularly stupid appearance. they are, perhaps, of a rather less size than the marine species; but several of them weighed between ten and fifteen pounds. in their movements they are lazy and half torpid. when not frightened, they slowly crawl along with their tails and bellies dragging on the ground. they often stop, and doze for a minute or two, with closed eyes and hind legs spread out on the parched soil. they inhabit burrows which they sometimes make between fragments of lava, but more generally on level patches of the soft sandstone-like tuff. the holes do not appear to be very deep, and they enter the ground at a small angle; so that when walking over these lizard-warrens, the soil is constantly giving way, much to the annoyance of the tired walker. this animal, when making its burrow, works alternately the opposite sides of its body. one front leg for a short time scratches up the soil, and throws it towards the hind foot, which is well placed so as to heave it beyond the mouth of the hole. that side of the body being tired, the other takes up the task, and so on alternately. i watched one for a long time, till half its body was buried; i then walked up and pulled it by the tail; at this it was greatly astonished, and soon shuffled up to see what was the matter; and then stared me in the face, as much as to say, "what made you pull my tail?" they feed by day, and do not wander far from their burrows; if frightened, they rush to them with a most awkward gait. except when running down hill, they cannot move very fast, apparently from the lateral position of their legs. they are not at all timorous: when attentively watching any one, they curl their tails, and, raising themselves on their front legs, nod their heads vertically, with a quick movement, and try to look very fierce; but in reality they are not at all so: if one just stamps on the ground, down go their tails, and off they shuffle as quickly as they can. i have frequently observed small fly-eating lizards, when watching anything, nod their heads in precisely the same manner; but i do not at all know for what purpose. if this amblyrhynchus is held and plagued with a stick, it will bite it very severely; but i caught many by the tail, and they never tried to bite me. if two are placed on the ground and held together, they will fight, and bite each other till blood is drawn. the individuals, and they are the greater number, which inhabit the lower country, can scarcely taste a drop of water throughout the year; but they consume much of the succulent cactus, the branches of which are occasionally broken off by the wind. i several times threw a piece to two or three of them when together; and it was amusing enough to see them trying to seize and carry it away in their mouths, like so many hungry dogs with a bone. they eat very deliberately, but do not chew their food. the little birds are aware how harmless these creatures are: i have seen one of the thick-billed finches picking at one end of a piece of cactus (which is much relished by all the animals of the lower region), whilst a lizard was eating at the other end; and afterwards the little bird with the utmost indifference hopped on the back of the reptile. i opened the stomachs of several, and found them full of vegetable fibres and leaves of different trees, especially of an acacia. in the upper region they live chiefly on the acid and astringent berries of the guayavita, under which trees i have seen these lizards and the huge tortoises feeding together. to obtain the acacia-leaves they crawl up the low stunted trees; and it is not uncommon to see a pair quietly browsing, whilst seated on a branch several feet above the ground. these lizards, when cooked, yield a white meat, which is liked by those whose stomachs soar above all prejudices. humboldt has remarked that in intertropical south america all lizards which inhabit dry regions are esteemed delicacies for the table. the inhabitants state that those which inhabit the upper damp parts drink water, but that the others do not, like the tortoises, travel up for it from the lower sterile country. at the time of our visit, the females had within their bodies numerous, large, elongated eggs, which they lay in their burrows: the inhabitants seek them for food. these two species of amblyrhynchus agree, as i have already stated, in their general structure, and in many of their habits. neither have that rapid movement, so characteristic of the genera lacerta and iguana. they are both herbivorous, although the kind of vegetation on which they feed is so very different. mr. bell has given the name to the genus from the shortness of the snout: indeed, the form of the mouth may almost be compared to that of the tortoise: one is led to suppose that this is an adaptation to their herbivorous appetites. it is very interesting thus to find a well-characterised genus, having its marine and terrestrial species, belonging to so confined a portion of the world. the aquatic species is by far the most remarkable, because it is the only existing lizard which lives on marine vegetable productions. as i at first observed, these islands are not so remarkable for the number of the species of reptiles, as for that of the individuals, when we remember the well-beaten paths made by the thousands of huge tortoises--the many turtles--the great warrens of the terrestrial amblyrhynchus--and the groups of the marine species basking on the coast-rocks of every island--we must admit that there is no other quarter of the world where this order replaces the herbivorous mammalia in so extraordinary a manner. the geologist on hearing this will probably refer back in his mind to the secondary epochs, when lizards, some herbivorous, some carnivorous, and of dimensions comparable only with our existing whales, swarmed on the land and in the sea. it is, therefore, worthy of his observation that this archipelago, instead of possessing a humid climate and rank vegetation, cannot be considered otherwise than extremely arid, and, for an equatorial region, remarkably temperate. to finish with the zoology: the fifteen kinds of sea-fish which i procured here are all new species; they belong to twelve genera, all widely distributed, with the exception of prionotus, of which the four previously known species live on the eastern side of america. of land-shells i collected sixteen kinds (and two marked varieties) of which, with the exception of one helix found at tahiti, all are peculiar to this archipelago: a single fresh-water shell (paludina) is common to tahiti and van diemen's land. mr. cuming, before our voyage, procured here ninety species of sea-shells, and this does not include several species not yet specifically examined, of trochus, turbo, monodonta, and nassa. he has been kind enough to give me the following interesting results: of the ninety shells, no less than forty-seven are unknown elsewhere--a wonderful fact, considering how widely distributed sea-shells generally are. of the forty-three shells found in other parts of the world, twenty-five inhabit the western coast of america, and of these eight are distinguishable as varieties; the remaining eighteen (including one variety) were found by mr. cuming in the low archipelago, and some of them also at the philippines. this fact of shells from islands in the central parts of the pacific occurring here, deserves notice, for not one single sea-shell is known to be common to the islands of that ocean and to the west coast of america. the space of open sea running north and south off the west coast separates two quite distinct conchological provinces; but at the galapagos archipelago we have a halting-place, where many new forms have been created, and whither these two great conchological provinces have each sent several colonists. the american province has also sent here representative species; for there is a galapageian species of monoceros, a genus only found on the west coast of america; and there are galapageian species of fissurella and cancellaria, genera common on the west coast, but not found (as i am informed by mr. cuming) in the central islands of the pacific. on the other hand, there are galapageian species of oniscia and stylifer, genera common to the west indies and to the chinese and indian seas, but not found either on the west coast of america or in the central pacific. i may here add, that after the comparison by messrs. cuming and hinds of about shells from the eastern and western coasts of america, only one single shell was found in common, namely, the purpura patula, which inhabits the west indies, the coast of panama, and the galapagos. we have, therefore, in this quarter of the world, three great conchological sea-provinces, quite distinct, though surprisingly near each other, being separated by long north and south spaces either of land or of open sea. i took great pains in collecting the insects, but excepting tierra del fuego, i never saw in this respect so poor a country. even in the upper and damp region i procured very few, excepting some minute diptera and hymenoptera, mostly of common mundane forms. as before remarked, the insects, for a tropical region, are of very small size and dull colours. of beetles i collected twenty-five species (excluding a dermestes and corynetes imported wherever a ship touches); of these, two belong to the harpalidae, two to the hydrophilidae, nine to three families of the heteromera, and the remaining twelve to as many different families. this circumstance of insects (and i may add plants), where few in number, belonging to many different families, is, i believe, very general. mr. waterhouse, who has published an account of the insects of this archipelago, and to whom i am indebted for the above details, informs me that there are several new genera; and that of the genera not new, one or two are american, and the rest of mundane distribution. ( / . "annals and magazine of natural history" volume page .) with the exception of a wood-feeding apate, and of one or probably two water-beetles from the american continent, all the species appear to be new. the botany of this group is fully as interesting as the zoology. dr. j. hooker will soon publish in the "linnean transactions" a full account of the flora, and i am much indebted to him for the following details. of flowering plants there are, as far as at present is known, species, and cryptogamic species, making together ; of this number i was fortunate enough to bring home . of the flowering plants, are new species, and are probably confined to this archipelago. dr. hooker conceives that, of the plants not so confined, at least species found near the cultivated ground at charles island have been imported. it is, i think, surprising that more american species have not been introduced naturally, considering that the distance is only between and miles from the continent, and that (according to collnet, page ) drift-wood, bamboos, canes, and the nuts of a palm, are often washed on the south-eastern shores. the proportion of flowering plants out of (or excluding the imported weeds) being new, is sufficient, i conceive, to make the galapagos archipelago a distinct botanical province; but this flora is not nearly so peculiar as that of st. helena, nor, as i am informed by dr. hooker, of juan fernandez. the peculiarity of the galapageian flora is best shown in certain families;--thus there are species of compositae, of which are peculiar to this archipelago; these belong to twelve genera, and of these genera no less than ten are confined to the archipelago! dr. hooker informs me that the flora has an undoubted western american character; nor can he detect in it any affinity with that of the pacific. if, therefore, we except the eighteen marine, the one fresh-water, and one land-shell, which have apparently come here as colonists from the central islands of the pacific, and likewise the one distinct pacific species of the galapageian group of finches, we see that this archipelago, though standing in the pacific ocean, is zoologically part of america. if this character were owing merely to immigrants from america, there would be little remarkable in it; but we see that a vast majority of all the land animals, and that more than half of the flowering plants, are aboriginal productions. it was most striking to be surrounded by new birds, new reptiles, new shells, new insects, new plants, and yet by innumerable trifling details of structure, and even by the tones of voice and plumage of the birds, to have the temperate plains of patagonia, or the hot dry deserts of northern chile, vividly brought before my eyes. why, on these small points of land, which within a late geological period must have been covered by the ocean, which are formed of basaltic lava, and therefore differ in geological character from the american continent, and which are placed under a peculiar climate,--why were their aboriginal inhabitants, associated, i may add, in different proportions both in kind and number from those on the continent, and therefore acting on each other in a different manner--why were they created on american types of organisation? it is probable that the islands of the cape de verd group resemble, in all their physical conditions, far more closely the galapagos islands than these latter physically resemble the coast of america, yet the aboriginal inhabitants of the two groups are totally unlike; those of the cape de verd islands bearing the impress of africa, as the inhabitants of the galapagos archipelago are stamped with that of america. i have not as yet noticed by far the most remarkable feature in the natural history of this archipelago; it is, that the different islands to a considerable extent are inhabited by a different set of beings. my attention was first called to this fact by the vice-governor, mr. lawson, declaring that the tortoises differed from the different islands, and that he could with certainty tell from which island any one was brought. i did not for some time pay sufficient attention to this statement, and i had already partially mingled together the collections from two of the islands. i never dreamed that islands, about or miles apart, and most of them in sight of each other, formed of precisely the same rocks, placed under a quite similar climate, rising to a nearly equal height, would have been differently tenanted; but we shall soon see that this is the case. it is the fate of most voyagers, no sooner to discover what is most interesting in any locality, than they are hurried from it; but i ought, perhaps, to be thankful that i obtained sufficient materials to establish this most remarkable fact in the distribution of organic beings. the inhabitants, as i have said, state that they can distinguish the tortoises from the different islands; and that they differ not only in size, but in other characters. captain porter has described those from charles and from the nearest island to it, namely, hood island, as having their shells in front thick and turned up like a spanish saddle, whilst the tortoises from james island are rounder, blacker, and have a better taste when cooked. ( / . "voyage in the u.s. ship essex" volume page .) m. bibron, moreover, informs me that he has seen what he considers two distinct species of tortoise from the galapagos, but he does not know from which islands. the specimens that i brought from three islands were young ones: and probably owing to this cause neither mr. gray nor myself could find in them any specific differences. i have remarked that the marine amblyrhynchus was larger at albemarle island than elsewhere; and m. bibron informs me that he has seen two distinct aquatic species of this genus; so that the different islands probably have their representative species or races of the amblyrhynchus, as well as of the tortoise. my attention was first thoroughly aroused by comparing together the numerous specimens, shot by myself and several other parties on board, of the mocking-thrushes, when, to my astonishment, i discovered that all those from charles island belonged to one species (mimus trifasciatus) all from albemarle island to m. parvulus; and all from james and chatham islands (between which two other islands are situated, as connecting links) belonged to m. melanotis. these two latter species are closely allied, and would by some ornithologists be considered as only well-marked races or varieties; but the mimus trifasciatus is very distinct. unfortunately most of the specimens of the finch tribe were mingled together; but i have strong reasons to suspect that some of the species of the sub-group geospiza are confined to separate islands. if the different islands have their representatives of geospiza, it may help to explain the singularly large number of the species of this sub-group in this one small archipelago, and as a probable consequence of their numbers, the perfectly graduated series in the size of their beaks. two species of the sub-group cactornis, and two of the camarhynchus, were procured in the archipelago; and of the numerous specimens of these two sub-groups shot by four collectors at james island, all were found to belong to one species of each; whereas the numerous specimens shot either on chatham or charles island (for the two sets were mingled together) all belonged to the two other species: hence we may feel almost sure that these islands possess their representative species of these two sub-groups. in land-shells this law of distribution does not appear to hold good. in my very small collection of insects, mr. waterhouse remarks that of those which were ticketed with their locality, not one was common to any two of the islands. table / . column : name of island. column : total number of species. column : number of species found in other parts of the world. column : number of species confined to the galapagos archipelago. column : number confined to the one island. column : number of species confined to the galapagos archipelago, but found on more than the one island. james : : : : : . albemarle : : : : : . chatham : : : : : . charles : : * : : : . *(or , if the probably imported plants be subtracted.) if we now turn to the flora, we shall find the aboriginal plants of the different islands wonderfully different. i give all the following results (table / ) on the high authority of my friend dr. j. hooker. i may premise that i indiscriminately collected everything in flower on the different islands, and fortunately kept my collections separate. too much confidence, however, must not be placed in the proportional results, as the small collections brought home by some other naturalists though in some respects confirming the results, plainly show that much remains to be done in the botany of this group: the leguminosae, moreover, have as yet been only approximately worked out:-- hence we have the truly wonderful fact, that in james island, of the thirty-eight galapageian plants, or those found in no other part of the world, thirty are exclusively confined to this one island; and in albemarle island, of the twenty-six aboriginal galapageian plants, twenty-two are confined to this one island, that is, only four are at present known to grow in the other islands of the archipelago; and so on, as shown in the above table, with the plants from chatham and charles islands. this fact will, perhaps, be rendered even more striking, by giving a few illustrations:--thus, scalesia, a remarkable arborescent genus of the compositae, is confined to the archipelago: it has six species: one from chatham, one from albemarle, one from charles island, two from james island, and the sixth from one of the three latter islands, but it is not known from which: not one of these six species grows on any two islands. again, euphorbia, a mundane or widely distributed genus, has here eight species, of which seven are confined to the archipelago, and not one found on any two islands: acalypha and borreria, both mundane genera, have respectively six and seven species, none of which have the same species on two islands, with the exception of one borreria, which does occur on two islands. the species of the compositae are particularly local; and dr. hooker has furnished me with several other most striking illustrations of the difference of the species on the different islands. he remarks that this law of distribution holds good both with those genera confined to the archipelago, and those distributed in other quarters of the world: in like manner we have seen that the different islands have their proper species of the mundane genus of tortoise, and of the widely distributed american genus of the mocking-thrush, as well as of two of the galapageian sub-groups of finches, and almost certainly of the galapageian genus amblyrhynchus. the distribution of the tenants of this archipelago would not be nearly so wonderful, if, for instance, one island had a mocking-thrush, and a second island some other quite distinct genus;--if one island had its genus of lizard, and a second island another distinct genus, or none whatever;--or if the different islands were inhabited, not by representative species of the same genera of plants, but by totally different genera, as does to a certain extent hold good; for, to give one instance, a large berry-bearing tree at james island has no representative species in charles island. but it is the circumstance that several of the islands possess their own species of the tortoise, mocking-thrush, finches, and numerous plants, these species having the same general habits, occupying analogous situations, and obviously filling the same place in the natural economy of this archipelago, that strikes me with wonder. it may be suspected that some of these representative species, at least in the case of the tortoise and of some of the birds, may hereafter prove to be only well-marked races; but this would be of equally great interest to the philosophical naturalist. i have said that most of the islands are in sight of each other: i may specify that charles island is fifty miles from the nearest part of chatham island, and thirty-three miles from the nearest part of albemarle island. chatham island is sixty miles from the nearest part of james island, but there are two intermediate islands between them which were not visited by me. james island is only ten miles from the nearest part of albemarle island, but the two points where the collections were made are thirty-two miles apart. i must repeat, that neither the nature of the soil, nor height of the land, nor the climate, nor the general character of the associated beings, and therefore their action one on another, can differ much in the different islands. if there be any sensible difference in their climates, it must be between the windward group (namely, charles and chatham islands), and that to leeward; but there seems to be no corresponding difference in the productions of these two halves of the archipelago. the only light which i can throw on this remarkable difference in the inhabitants of the different islands is that very strong currents of the sea running in a westerly and west-north-westerly direction must separate, as far as transportal by the sea is concerned, the southern islands from the northern ones; and between these northern islands a strong north-west current was observed, which must effectually separate james and albemarle islands. as the archipelago is free to a most remarkable degree from gales of wind, neither the birds, insects, nor lighter seeds, would be blown from island to island. and lastly, the profound depth of the ocean between the islands, and their apparently recent (in a geological sense) volcanic origin, render it highly unlikely that they were ever united; and this, probably, is a far more important consideration than any other with respect to the geographical distribution of their inhabitants. reviewing the facts here given, one is astonished at the amount of creative force, if such an expression may be used, displayed on these small, barren, and rocky islands; and still more so, at its diverse yet analogous action on points so near each other. i have said that the galapagos archipelago might be called a satellite attached to america, but it should rather be called a group of satellites, physically similar, organically distinct, yet intimately related to each other, and all related in a marked though much lesser degree, to the great american continent. i will conclude my description of the natural history of these islands by giving an account of the extreme tameness of the birds. this disposition is common to all the terrestrial species; namely, to the mocking-thrushes, the finches, wrens, tyrant-flycatchers, the dove, and carrion-buzzard. all of them often approached sufficiently near to be killed with a switch, and sometimes, as i myself tried, with a cap or hat. a gun is here almost superfluous; for with the muzzle i pushed a hawk off the branch of a tree. one day, whilst lying down, a mocking-thrush alighted on the edge of a pitcher, made of the shell of a tortoise, which i held in my hand, and began very quietly to sip the water; it allowed me to lift it from the ground whilst seated on the vessel: i often tried, and very nearly succeeded, in catching these birds by their legs. formerly the birds appear to have been even tamer than at present. cowley (in the year ) says that the "turtledoves were so tame, that they would often alight on our hats and arms, so as that we could take them alive: they not fearing man, until such time as some of our company did fire at them, whereby they were rendered more shy." dampier also, in the same year, says that a man in a morning's walk might kill six or seven dozen of these doves. at present, although certainly very tame, they do not alight on people's arms, nor do they suffer themselves to be killed in such large numbers. it is surprising that they have not become wilder; for these islands during the last hundred and fifty years have been frequently visited by bucaniers and whalers; and the sailors, wandering through the wood in search of tortoises, always take cruel delight in knocking down the little birds. these birds, although now still more persecuted, do not readily become wild: in charles island, which had then been colonised about six years, i saw a boy sitting by a well with a switch in his hand, with which he killed the doves and finches as they came to drink. he had already procured a little heap of them for his dinner, and he said that he had constantly been in the habit of waiting by this well for the same purpose. it would appear that the birds of this archipelago, not having as yet learnt that man is a more dangerous animal than the tortoise or the amblyrhynchus, disregard him, in the same manner as in england shy birds, such as magpies, disregard the cows and horses grazing in our fields. the falkland islands offer a second instance of birds with a similar disposition. the extraordinary tameness of the little opetiorhynchus has been remarked by pernety, lesson, and other voyagers. it is not, however, peculiar to that bird: the polyborus, snipe, upland and lowland goose, thrush, bunting, and even some true hawks, are all more or less tame. as the birds are so tame there, where foxes, hawks, and owls occur, we may infer that the absence of all rapacious animals at the galapagos is not the cause of their tameness here. the upland geese at the falklands show, by the precaution they take in building on the islets, that they are aware of their danger from the foxes; but they are not by this rendered wild towards man. this tameness of the birds, especially of the waterfowl, is strongly contrasted with the habits of the same species in tierra del fuego, where for ages past they have been persecuted by the wild inhabitants. in the falklands, the sportsman may sometimes kill more of the upland geese in one day than he can carry home; whereas in tierra del fuego it is nearly as difficult to kill one as it is in england to shoot the common wild goose. in the time of pernety ( ) all the birds there appear to have been much tamer than at present; he states that the opetiorhynchus would almost perch on his finger; and that with a wand he killed ten in half an hour. at that period the birds must have been about as tame as they now are at the galapagos. they appear to have learnt caution more slowly at these latter islands than at the falklands, where they have had proportionate means of experience; for besides frequent visits from vessels, those islands have been at intervals colonised during the entire period. even formerly, when all the birds were so tame, it was impossible by pernety's account to kill the black-necked swan--a bird of passage, which probably brought with it the wisdom learnt in foreign countries. i may add that, according to du bois, all the birds at bourbon in - , with the exception of the flamingoes and geese, were so extremely tame, that they could be caught by the hand, or killed in any number with a stick. again, at tristan d'acunha in the atlantic, carmichael states that the only two land-birds, a thrush and a bunting, were "so tame as to suffer themselves to be caught with a hand-net." ( / . "linnean transactions" volume page . the most anomalous fact on this subject which i have met with is the wildness of the small birds in the arctic parts of north america (as described by richardson "fauna bor." volume page ), where they are said never to be persecuted. this case is the more strange, because it is asserted that some of the same species in their winter-quarters in the united states are tame. there is much, as dr. richardson well remarks, utterly inexplicable connected with the different degrees of shyness and care with which birds conceal their nests. how strange it is that the english wood-pigeon, generally so wild a bird, should very frequently rear its young in shrubberies close to houses!) from these several facts we may, i think, conclude, first, that the wildness of birds with regard to man is a particular instinct directed against him, and not dependent upon any general degree of caution arising from other sources of danger; secondly, that it is not acquired by individual birds in a short time, even when much persecuted; but that in the course of successive generations it becomes hereditary. with domesticated animals we are accustomed to see new mental habits or instincts acquired and rendered hereditary; but with animals in a state of nature it must always be most difficult to discover instances of acquired hereditary knowledge. in regard to the wildness of birds towards man, there is no way of accounting for it, except as an inherited habit: comparatively few young birds, in any one year, have been injured by man in england, yet almost all, even nestlings, are afraid of him; many individuals, on the other hand, both at the galapagos and at the falklands, have been pursued and injured by man, but yet have not learned a salutary dread of him. we may infer from these facts, what havoc the introduction of any new beast of prey must cause in a country, before the instincts of the indigenous inhabitants have become adapted to the stranger's craft or power. (plate . opuntia galapageia, james island. c. darwin's sketch. stem to feet. diameter foot.) chapter xviii. (plate . ava or kava (macropiper methysticum), tahiti.) tahiti and new zealand. pass through the low archipelago. tahiti. aspect. vegetation on the mountains. view of eimeo. excursion into the interior. profound ravines. succession of waterfalls. number of wild useful plants. temperance of the inhabitants. their moral state. parliament convened. new zealand. bay of islands. hippahs. excursion to waimate. missionary establishment. english weeds now run wild. waiomio. funeral of a new zealand woman. sail for australia. october , . the survey of the galapagos archipelago being concluded, we steered towards tahiti and commenced our long passage of miles. in the course of a few days we sailed out of the gloomy and clouded ocean-district which extends during the winter far from the coast of south america. we then enjoyed bright and clear weather, while running pleasantly along at the rate of or miles a day before the steady trade-wind. the temperature in this more central part of the pacific is higher than near the american shore. the thermometer in the poop cabin, by night and day, ranged between and degrees, which feels very pleasant; but with one degree or two higher, the heat becomes oppressive. we passed through the low or dangerous archipelago, and saw several of those most curious rings of coral land, just rising above the water's edge, which have been called lagoon islands. a long and brilliantly-white beach is capped by a margin of green vegetation; and the strip, looking either way, rapidly narrows away in the distance, and sinks beneath the horizon. from the mast-head a wide expanse of smooth water can be seen within the ring. these low hollow coral islands bear no proportion to the vast ocean out of which they abruptly rise; and it seems wonderful that such weak invaders are not overwhelmed by the all-powerful and never-tiring waves of that great sea, miscalled the pacific. november , . at daylight, tahiti, an island which must for ever remain classical to the voyager in the south sea, was in view. at a distance the appearance was not attractive. the luxuriant vegetation of the lower part could not yet be seen, and as the clouds rolled past, the wildest and most precipitous peaks showed themselves towards the centre of the island. as soon as we anchored in matavai bay, we were surrounded by canoes. this was our sunday, but the monday of tahiti: if the case had been reversed, we should not have received a single visit; for the injunction not to launch a canoe on the sabbath is rigidly obeyed. after dinner we landed to enjoy all the delights produced by the first impressions of a new country, and that country the charming tahiti. a crowd of men, women, and children, was collected on the memorable point venus, ready to receive us with laughing, merry faces. they marshalled us towards the house of mr. wilson, the missionary of the district, who met us on the road, and gave us a very friendly reception. after sitting a short time in his house, we separated to walk about, but returned there in the evening. the land capable of cultivation is scarcely in any part more than a fringe of low alluvial soil, accumulated round the base of the mountains, and protected from the waves of the sea by a coral reef, which encircles the entire line of coast. within the reef there is an expanse of smooth water, like that of a lake, where the canoes of the natives can ply with safety and where ships anchor. the low land which comes down to the beach of coral-sand is covered by the most beautiful productions of the intertropical regions. in the midst of bananas, orange, cocoa-nut, and bread-fruit trees, spots are cleared where yams, sweet potatoes, the sugar-cane, and pine-apples are cultivated. even the brushwood is an imported fruit-tree, namely, the guava, which from its abundance has become as noxious as a weed. in brazil i have often admired the varied beauty of the bananas, palms, and orange-trees contrasted together; and here we also have the bread-fruit, conspicuous from its large, glossy, and deeply digitated leaf. it is admirable to behold groves of a tree, sending forth its branches with the vigour of an english oak, loaded with large and most nutritious fruit. however seldom the usefulness of an object can account for the pleasure of beholding it, in the case of these beautiful woods, the knowledge of their high productiveness no doubt enters largely into the feeling of admiration. the little winding paths, cool from the surrounding shade, led to the scattered houses; the owners of which everywhere gave us a cheerful and most hospitable reception. i was pleased with nothing so much as with the inhabitants. there is a mildness in the expression of their countenances which at once banishes the idea of a savage; and an intelligence which shows that they are advancing in civilisation. the common people, when working, keep the upper part of their bodies quite naked; and it is then that the tahitians are seen to advantage. they are very tall, broad-shouldered, athletic, and well-proportioned. it has been remarked that it requires little habit to make a dark skin more pleasing and natural to the eye of a european than his own colour. a white man bathing by the side of a tahitian was like a plant bleached by the gardener's art compared with a fine dark green one growing vigorously in the open fields. most of the men are tattooed, and the ornaments follow the curvature of the body so gracefully that they have a very elegant effect. one common pattern, varying in its details, is somewhat like the crown of a palm-tree. it springs from the central line of the back, and gracefully curls round both sides. the simile may be a fanciful one, but i thought the body of a man thus ornamented was like the trunk of a noble tree embraced by a delicate creeper. many of the elder people had their feet covered with small figures, so placed as to resemble a sock. this fashion, however, is partly gone by, and has been succeeded by others. here, although fashion is far from immutable, every one must abide by that prevailing in his youth. an old man has thus his age for ever stamped on his body, and he cannot assume the airs of a young dandy. the women are tattooed in the same manner as the men, and very commonly on their fingers. one unbecoming fashion is now almost universal: namely, shaving the hair from the upper part of the head, in a circular form, so as to leave only an outer ring. the missionaries have tried to persuade the people to change this habit; but it is the fashion, and that is a sufficient answer at tahiti, as well as at paris. i was much disappointed in the personal appearance of the women: they are far inferior in every respect to the men. the custom of wearing a white or scarlet flower in the back of the head, or through a small hole in each ear, is pretty. a crown of woven cocoa-nut leaves is also worn as a shade for the eyes. the women appear to be in greater want of some becoming costume even than the men. nearly all the natives understand a little english--that is, they know the names of common things; and by the aid of this, together with signs, a lame sort of conversation could be carried on. in returning in the evening to the boat, we stopped to witness a very pretty scene. numbers of children were playing on the beach, and had lighted bonfires which illumined the placid sea and surrounding trees; others, in circles, were singing tahitian verses. we seated ourselves on the sand, and joined their party. the songs were impromptu, and i believe related to our arrival: one little girl sang a line, which the rest took up in parts, forming a very pretty chorus. the whole scene made us unequivocally aware that we were seated on the shores of an island in the far-famed south sea. november , . this day is reckoned in the log-book as tuesday the th, instead of monday the th, owing to our, so far, successful chase of the sun. before breakfast the ship was hemmed in by a flotilla of canoes; and when the natives were allowed to come on board, i suppose there could not have been less than two hundred. it was the opinion of every one that it would have been difficult to have picked out an equal number from any other nation, who would have given so little trouble. everybody brought something for sale: shells were the main article of trade. the tahitians now fully understand the value of money, and prefer it to old clothes or other articles. the various coins, however, of english and spanish denomination puzzle them, and they never seemed to think the small silver quite secure until changed into dollars. some of the chiefs have accumulated considerable sums of money. one chief, not long since, offered dollars (about pounds sterling) for a small vessel; and frequently they purchase whale-boats and horses at the rate of from to dollars. after breakfast i went on shore, and ascended the nearest slope to a height of between two and three thousand feet. the outer mountains are smooth and conical, but steep; and the old volcanic rocks, of which they are formed, have been cut through by many profound ravines, diverging from the central broken parts of the island to the coast. having crossed the narrow low girt of inhabited and fertile land, i followed a smooth steep ridge between two of the deep ravines. the vegetation was singular, consisting almost exclusively of small dwarf ferns, mingled, higher up, with coarse grass; it was not very dissimilar from that on some of the welsh hills, and this so close above the orchard of tropical plants on the coast was very surprising. at the highest point which i reached trees again appeared. of the three zones of comparative luxuriance, the lower one owes its moisture, and therefore fertility, to its flatness; for, being scarcely raised above the level of the sea, the water from the higher land drains away slowly. the intermediate zone does not, like the upper one, reach into a damp and cloudy atmosphere, and therefore remains sterile. the woods in the upper zone are very pretty, tree-ferns replacing the cocoa-nuts on the coast. it must not, however, be supposed that these woods at all equal in splendour the forests of brazil. the vast number of productions, which characterise a continent, cannot be expected to occur in an island. (plate . eimeo and barrier-reef.) from the highest point which i attained there was a good view of the distant island of eimeo, dependent on the same sovereign with tahiti. on the lofty and broken pinnacles white massive clouds were piled up, which formed an island in the blue sky, as eimeo itself did in the blue ocean. the island, with the exception of one small gateway, is completely encircled by a reef. at this distance, a narrow but well-defined brilliantly white line was alone visible, where the waves first encountered the wall of coral. the mountains rose abruptly out of the glassy expanse of the lagoon, included within this narrow white line, outside which the heaving waters of the ocean were dark-coloured. the view was striking: it may aptly be compared to a framed engraving, where the frame represents the breakers, the marginal paper the smooth lagoon, and the drawing the island itself. when in the evening i descended from the mountain, a man, whom i had pleased with a trifling gift, met me, bringing with him hot roasted bananas, a pine-apple, and cocoa-nuts. after walking under a burning sun, i do not know anything more delicious than the milk of a young cocoa-nut. pine-apples are here so abundant that the people eat them in the same wasteful manner as we might turnips. they are of an excellent flavour--perhaps even better than those cultivated in england; and this i believe is the highest compliment which can be paid to any fruit. before going on board, mr. wilson interpreted for me to the tahitian who had paid me so adroit an attention, that i wanted him and another man to accompany me on a short excursion into the mountains. november , . in the morning i came on shore early, bringing with me some provisions in a bag, and two blankets for myself and servant. these were lashed to each end of a long pole, which was alternately carried by my tahitian companions on their shoulders. these men are accustomed thus to carry, for a whole day, as much as fifty pounds at each end of their poles. i told my guides to provide themselves with food and clothing; but they said that there was plenty of food in the mountains, and for clothing, that their skins were sufficient. our line of march was the valley of tia-auru, down which a river flows into the sea by point venus. this is one of the principal streams in the island, and its source lies at the base of the loftiest central pinnacles, which rise to a height of about feet. the whole island is so mountainous that the only way to penetrate into the interior is to follow up the valleys. our road, at first, lay through woods which bordered each side of the river; and the glimpses of the lofty central peaks, seen as through an avenue, with here and there a waving cocoa-nut tree on one side, were extremely picturesque. the valley soon began to narrow, and the sides to grow lofty and more precipitous. after having walked between three and four hours, we found the width of the ravine scarcely exceeded that of the bed of the stream. on each hand the walls were nearly vertical; yet from the soft nature of the volcanic strata, trees and a rank vegetation sprung from every projecting ledge. these precipices must have been some thousand feet high; and the whole formed a mountain gorge far more magnificent than anything which i had ever before beheld. until the mid-day sun stood vertically over the ravine, the air felt cool and damp, but now it became very sultry. shaded by a ledge of rock, beneath a facade of columnar lava, we ate our dinner. my guides had already procured a dish of small fish and fresh-water prawns. they carried with them a small net stretched on a hoop; and where the water was deep and in eddies, they dived, and like otters, with their eyes open followed the fish into holes and corners, and thus caught them. the tahitians have the dexterity of amphibious animals in the water. an anecdote mentioned by ellis shows how much they feel at home in this element. when a horse was landing for pomarre in , the slings broke, and it fell into the water; immediately the natives jumped overboard, and by their cries and vain efforts at assistance almost drowned it. as soon, however, as it reached the shore, the whole population took to flight, and tried to hide themselves from the man-carrying pig, as they christened the horse. a little higher up, the river divided itself into three little streams. the two northern ones were impracticable, owing to a succession of waterfalls which descended from the jagged summit of the highest mountain; the other to all appearance was equally inaccessible, but we managed to ascend it by a most extraordinary road. the sides of the valley were here nearly precipitous; but, as frequently happens with stratified rocks, small ledges projected, which were thickly covered by wild bananas, liliaceous plants, and other luxuriant productions of the tropics. the tahitians, by climbing amongst these ledges, searching for fruit, had discovered a track by which the whole precipice could be scaled. the first ascent from the valley was very dangerous; for it was necessary to pass a steeply inclined face of naked rock by the aid of ropes which we brought with us. how any person discovered that this formidable spot was the only point where the side of the mountain was practicable, i cannot imagine. we then cautiously walked along one of the ledges till we came to one of the three streams. this ledge formed a flat spot above which a beautiful cascade, some hundred feet in height, poured down its waters, and beneath, another high cascade fell into the main stream in the valley below. from this cool and shady recess we made a circuit to avoid the overhanging waterfall. as before, we followed little projecting ledges, the danger being partly concealed by the thickness of the vegetation. in passing from one of the ledges to another there was a vertical wall of rock. one of the tahitians, a fine active man, placed the trunk of a tree against this, climbed up it, and then by the aid of crevices reached the summit. he fixed the ropes to a projecting point, and lowered them for our dog and luggage, and then we clambered up ourselves. beneath the ledge on which the dead tree was placed, the precipice must have been five or six hundred feet deep; and if the abyss had not been partly concealed by the overhanging ferns and lilies my head would have turned giddy, and nothing should have induced me to have attempted it. we continued to ascend, sometimes along ledges, and sometimes along knife-edged ridges, having on each hand profound ravines. in the cordillera i have seen mountains on a far grander scale, but for abruptness nothing at all comparable with this. in the evening we reached a flat little spot on the banks of the same stream which we had continued to follow, and which descends in a chain of waterfalls: here we bivouacked for the night. on each side of the ravine there were great beds of the mountain-banana, covered with ripe fruit. many of these plants were from twenty to twenty-five feet high, and from three to four in circumference. by the aid of strips of bark for rope, the stems of bamboos for rafters, and the large leaf of the banana for a thatch, the tahitians in a few minutes built us an excellent house; and with withered leaves made a soft bed. (plate . fatahua fall, tahiti.) (plate . tahitian.) they then proceeded to make a fire, and cook our evening meal. a light was procured by rubbing a blunt pointed stick in a groove made in another, as if with intention of deepening it, until by the friction the dust became ignited. a peculiarly white and very light wood (the hibiscus tiliaceus) is alone used for this purpose: it is the same which serves for poles to carry any burden, and for the floating out-riggers to their canoes. the fire was produced in a few seconds: but to a person who does not understand the art, it requires, as i found, the greatest exertion; but at last, to my great pride, i succeeded in igniting the dust. the gaucho in the pampas uses a different method: taking an elastic stick about eighteen inches long, he presses one end on his breast, and the other pointed end into a hole in a piece of wood, and then rapidly turns the curved part like a carpenter's centre-bit. the tahitians having made a small fire of sticks, placed a score of stones of about the size of cricket-balls, on the burning wood. in about ten minutes the sticks were consumed, and the stones hot. they had previously folded up in small parcels of leaves, pieces of beef, fish, ripe and unripe bananas, and the tops of the wild arum. these green parcels were laid in a layer between two layers of the hot stones, and the whole then covered up with earth, so that no smoke or steam could escape. in about a quarter of an hour the whole was most deliciously cooked. the choice green parcels were now laid on a cloth of banana leaves, and with a cocoa-nut shell we drank the cool water of the running stream; and thus we enjoyed our rustic meal. i could not look on the surrounding plants without admiration. on every side were forests of bananas; the fruit of which, though serving for food in various ways, lay in heaps decaying on the ground. in front of us there was an extensive brake of wild sugar-cane; and the stream was shaded by the dark green knotted stem of the ava,--so famous in former days for its powerful intoxicating effects. i chewed a piece, and found that it had an acrid and unpleasant taste, which would have induced any one at once to have pronounced it poisonous. thanks to the missionaries, this plant now thrives only in these deep ravines, innocuous to every one. close by i saw the wild arum, the roots of which, when well baked, are good to eat, and the young leaves better than spinach. there was the wild yam, and a liliaceous plant called ti, which grows in abundance, and has a soft brown root, in shape and size like a huge log of wood: this served us for dessert, for it is as sweet as treacle, and with a pleasant taste. there were, moreover, several other wild fruits, and useful vegetables. the little stream, besides its cool water, produced eels and crayfish. i did indeed admire this scene, when i compared it with an uncultivated one in the temperate zones. i felt the force of the remark that man, at least savage man, with his reasoning powers only partly developed, is the child of the tropics. as the evening drew to a close, i strolled beneath the gloomy shade of the bananas up the course of the stream. my walk was soon brought to a close by coming to a waterfall between two and three hundred feet high; and again above this there was another. i mention all these waterfalls in this one brook to give a general idea of the inclination of the land. in the little recess where the water fell, it did not appear that a breath of wind had ever blown. the thin edges of the great leaves of the banana, damp with spray, were unbroken, instead of being, as is so generally the case, split into a thousand shreds. from our position, almost suspended on the mountain-side, there were glimpses into the depths of the neighbouring valleys; and the lofty points of the central mountains, towering up within sixty degrees of the zenith, hid half the evening sky. thus seated, it was a sublime spectacle to watch the shades of night gradually obscuring the last and highest pinnacles. before we laid ourselves down to sleep, the elder tahitian fell on his knees, and with closed eyes repeated a long prayer in his native tongue. he prayed as a christian should do, with fitting reverence, and without the fear of ridicule or any ostentation of piety. at our meals neither of the men would taste food, without saying beforehand a short grace. those travellers who think that a tahitian prays only when the eyes of the missionary are fixed on him, should have slept with us that night on the mountain-side. before morning it rained very heavily; but the good thatch of banana-leaves kept us dry. november , . at daylight my friends, after their morning prayer, prepared an excellent breakfast in the same manner as in the evening. they themselves certainly partook of it largely; indeed i never saw any men eat near so much. i suppose such enormously capacious stomachs must be the effect of a large part of their diet consisting of fruit and vegetables which contain, in a given bulk, a comparatively small portion of nutriment. unwittingly, i was the means of my companions breaking, as i afterwards learned, one of their own laws and resolutions: i took with me a flask of spirits, which they could not refuse to partake of; but as often as they drank a little, they put their fingers before their mouths, and uttered the word "missionary." about two years ago, although the use of the ava was prevented, drunkenness from the introduction of spirits became very prevalent. the missionaries prevailed on a few good men who saw that their country was rapidly going to ruin, to join with them in a temperance society. from good sense or shame, all the chiefs and the queen were at last persuaded to join. immediately a law was passed that no spirits should be allowed to be introduced into the island, and that he who sold and he who bought the forbidden article should be punished by a fine. with remarkable justice, a certain period was allowed for stock in hand to be sold, before the law came into effect. but when it did, a general search was made, in which even the houses of the missionaries were not exempted, and all the ava (as the natives call all ardent spirits) was poured on the ground. when one reflects on the effect of intemperance on the aborigines of the two americas, i think it will be acknowledged that every well-wisher of tahiti owes no common debt of gratitude to the missionaries. as long as the little island of st. helena remained under the government of the east india company, spirits, owing to the great injury they had produced, were not allowed to be imported; but wine was supplied from the cape of good hope. it is rather a striking, and not very gratifying fact, that in the same year that spirits were allowed to be sold in st. helena, their use was banished from tahiti by the free will of the people. after breakfast we proceeded on our journey. as my object was merely to see a little of the interior scenery, we returned by another track, which descended into the main valley lower down. for some distance we wound, by a most intricate path, along the side of the mountain which formed the valley. in the less precipitous parts we passed through extensive groves of the wild banana. the tahitians, with their naked, tattooed bodies, their heads ornamented with flowers, and seen in the dark shade of these groves, would have formed a fine picture of man inhabiting some primeval land. in our descent we followed the line of ridges; these were exceedingly narrow, and for considerable lengths steep as a ladder; but all clothed with vegetation. the extreme care necessary in poising each step rendered the walk fatiguing. i did not cease to wonder at these ravines and precipices: when viewing the country from one of the knife-edged ridges, the point of support was so small that the effect was nearly the same as it must be from a balloon. in this descent we had occasion to use the ropes only once, at the point where we entered the main valley. we slept under the same ledge of rock where we had dined the day before: the night was fine, but from the depth and narrowness of the gorge, profoundly dark. before actually seeing this country, i found it difficult to understand two facts mentioned by ellis; namely, that after the murderous battles of former times, the survivors on the conquered side retired into the mountains, where a handful of men could resist a multitude. certainly half a dozen men, at the spot where the tahitian reared the old tree, could easily have repulsed thousands. secondly, that after the introduction of christianity, there were wild men who lived in the mountains, and whose retreats were unknown to the more civilised inhabitants. november , . in the morning we started early, and reached matavai at noon. on the road we met a large party of noble athletic men, going for wild bananas. i found that the ship, on account of the difficulty in watering, had moved to the harbour of papawa, to which place i immediately walked. this is a very pretty spot. the cove is surrounded by reefs, and the water as smooth as in a lake. the cultivated ground, with its beautiful productions, interspersed with cottages, comes close down to the water's edge. from the varying accounts which i had read before reaching these islands, i was very anxious to form, from my own observation, a judgment of their moral state,--although such judgment would necessarily be very imperfect. first impressions at all times very much depend on one's previously acquired ideas. my notions were drawn from ellis's "polynesian researches"--an admirable and most interesting work, but naturally looking at everything under a favourable point of view, from beechey's "voyage;" and from that of kotzebue, which is strongly adverse to the whole missionary system. he who compares these three accounts will, i think, form a tolerably accurate conception of the present state of tahiti. one of my impressions, which i took from the two last authorities, was decidedly incorrect; namely, that the tahitians had become a gloomy race, and lived in fear of the missionaries. of the latter feeling i saw no trace, unless, indeed, fear and respect be confounded under one name. instead of discontent being a common feeling, it would be difficult in europe to pick out of a crowd half so many merry and happy faces. the prohibition of the flute and dancing is inveighed against as wrong and foolish;--the more than presbyterian manner of keeping the sabbath is looked at in a similar light. on these points i will not pretend to offer any opinion, in opposition to men who have resided as many years as i was days on the island. on the whole, it appears to me that the morality and religion of the inhabitants are highly creditable. there are many who attack, even more acrimoniously than kotzebue, both the missionaries, their system, and the effects produced by it. such reasoners never compare the present state with that of the island only twenty years ago; nor even with that of europe at this day; but they compare it with the high standard of gospel perfection. they expect the missionaries to effect that which the apostles themselves failed to do. inasmuch as the condition of the people falls short of this high standard, blame is attached to the missionary, instead of credit for that which he has effected. they forget, or will not remember, that human sacrifices, and the power of an idolatrous priesthood--a system of profligacy unparalleled in any other part of the world--infanticide a consequence of that system--bloody wars, where the conquerors spared neither women nor children--that all these have been abolished; and that dishonesty, intemperance, and licentiousness have been greatly reduced by the introduction of christianity. in a voyager to forget these things is base ingratitude; for should he chance to be at the point of shipwreck on some unknown coast, he will most devoutly pray that the lesson of the missionary may have extended thus far. in point of morality, the virtue of the women, it has been often said, is most open to exception. but before they are blamed too severely, it will be well distinctly to call to mind the scenes described by captain cook and mr. banks, in which the grandmothers and mothers of the present race played a part. those who are most severe, should consider how much of the morality of the women in europe is owing to the system early impressed by mothers on their daughters, and how much in each individual case to the precepts of religion. but it is useless to argue against such reasoners;--i believe that, disappointed in not finding the field of licentiousness quite so open as formerly, they will not give credit to a morality which they do not wish to practise, or to a religion which they undervalue, if not despise. sunday, november , . the harbour of papiete, where the queen resides, may be considered as the capital of the island: it is also the seat of government, and the chief resort of shipping. captain fitz roy took a party there this day to hear divine service, first in the tahitian language, and afterwards in our own. mr. pritchard, the leading missionary in the island, performed the service. the chapel consisted of a large airy framework of wood; and it was filled to excess by tidy, clean people, of all ages and both sexes. i was rather disappointed in the apparent degree of attention; but i believe my expectations were raised too high. at all events the appearance was quite equal to that in a country church in england. the singing of the hymns was decidedly very pleasing, but the language from the pulpit, although fluently delivered, did not sound well: a constant repetition of words, like "tata ta, mata mai," rendered it monotonous. after english service, a party returned on foot to matavai. it was a pleasant walk, sometimes along the sea-beach and sometimes under the shade of the many beautiful trees. about two years ago, a small vessel under english colours was plundered by some of the inhabitants of the low islands, which were then under the dominion of the queen of tahiti. it was believed that the perpetrators were instigated to this act by some indiscreet laws issued by her majesty. the british government demanded compensation; which was acceded to, and a sum of nearly three thousand dollars was agreed to be paid on the first of last september. the commodore at lima ordered captain fitz roy to inquire concerning this debt, and to demand satisfaction if it were not paid. captain fitz roy accordingly requested an interview with the queen pomarre, since famous from the ill-treatment she has received from the french; and a parliament was held to consider the question, at which all the principal chiefs of the island and the queen were assembled. i will not attempt to describe what took place, after the interesting account given by captain fitz roy. the money, it appeared, had not been paid; perhaps the alleged reasons were rather equivocal; but otherwise i cannot sufficiently express our general surprise at the extreme good sense, the reasoning powers, moderation, candour, and prompt resolution, which were displayed on all sides. i believe we all left the meeting with a very different opinion of the tahitians from what we entertained when we entered. the chiefs and people resolved to subscribe and complete the sum which was wanting; captain fitz roy urged that it was hard that their private property should be sacrificed for the crimes of distant islanders. they replied that they were grateful for his consideration, but that pomarre was their queen, and that they were determined to help her in this her difficulty. this resolution and its prompt execution, for a book was opened early the next morning, made a perfect conclusion to this very remarkable scene of loyalty and good feeling. after the main discussion was ended, several of the chiefs took the opportunity of asking captain fitz roy many intelligent questions on international customs and laws, relating to the treatment of ships and foreigners. on some points, as soon as the decision was made, the law was issued verbally on the spot. this tahitian parliament lasted for several hours; and when it was over captain fitz roy invited queen pomarre to pay the "beagle" a visit. november , . in the evening four boats were sent for her majesty; the ship was dressed with flags, and the yards manned on her coming on board. she was accompanied by most of the chiefs. the behaviour of all was very proper: they begged for nothing, and seemed much pleased with captain fitz roy's presents. the queen is a large awkward woman, without any beauty, grace or dignity. she has only one royal attribute: a perfect immovability of expression under all circumstances, and that rather a sullen one. the rockets were most admired, and a deep "oh!" could be heard from the shore, all round the dark bay, after each explosion. the sailors' songs were also much admired; and the queen said she thought that one of the most boisterous ones certainly could not be a hymn! the royal party did not return on shore till past midnight. november , . in the evening, with a gentle land-breeze, a course was steered for new zealand; and as the sun set, we had a farewell view of the mountains of tahiti--the island to which every voyager has offered up his tribute of admiration. december , . in the evening we saw in the distance new zealand. we may now consider that we have nearly crossed the pacific. it is necessary to sail over this great ocean to comprehend its immensity. moving quickly onwards for weeks together, we meet with nothing but the same blue, profoundly deep, ocean. even within the archipelagoes, the islands are mere specks, and far distant one from the other. accustomed to look at maps drawn on a small scale, where dots, shading, and names are crowded together, we do not rightly judge how infinitely small the proportion of dry land is to the water of this vast expanse. the meridian of the antipodes has likewise been passed; and now every league, it made us happy to think, was one league nearer to england. these antipodes call to one's mind old recollections of childish doubt and wonder. only the other day i looked forward to this airy barrier as a definite point in our voyage homewards; but now i find it, and all such resting-places for the imagination, are like shadows, which a man moving onwards cannot catch. a gale of wind lasting for some days has lately given us full leisure to measure the future stages in our homeward voyage, and to wish most earnestly for its termination. december , . early in the morning we entered the bay of islands, and being becalmed for some hours near the mouth, we did not reach the anchorage till the middle of the day. the country is hilly, with a smooth outline, and is deeply intersected by numerous arms of the sea extending from the bay. the surface appears from a distance as if clothed with coarse pasture, but this in truth is nothing but fern. on the more distant hills, as well as in parts of the valleys, there is a good deal of woodland. the general tint of the landscape is not a bright green; and it resembles the country a short distance to the south of concepcion in chile. in several parts of the bay little villages of square tidy-looking houses are scattered close down to the water's edge. three whaling-ships were lying at anchor, and a canoe every now and then crossed from shore to shore; with these exceptions, an air of extreme quietness reigned over the whole district. only a single canoe came alongside. this, and the aspect of the whole scene, afforded a remarkable, and not very pleasing contrast, with our joyful and boisterous welcome at tahiti. in the afternoon we went on shore to one of the larger groups of houses, which yet hardly deserves the title of a village. its name is pahia: it is the residence of the missionaries; and there are no native residents except servants and labourers. in the vicinity of the bay of islands the number of englishmen, including their families, amounts to between two and three hundred. all the cottages, many of which are whitewashed and look very neat, are the property of the english. the hovels of the natives are so diminutive and paltry that they can scarcely be perceived from a distance. at pahia it was quite pleasing to behold the english flowers in the gardens before the houses; there were roses of several kinds, honeysuckle, jasmine, stocks, and whole hedges of sweetbriar. december , . in the morning i went out walking; but i soon found that the country was very impracticable. all the hills are thickly covered with tall fern, together with a low bush which grows like a cypress; and very little ground has been cleared or cultivated. i then tried the sea-beach; but proceeding towards either hand, my walk was soon stopped by salt-water creeks and deep brooks. the communication between the inhabitants of the different parts of the bay is (as in chiloe) almost entirely kept up by boats. i was surprised to find that almost every hill which i ascended had been at some former time more or less fortified. the summits were cut into steps or successive terraces, and frequently they had been protected by deep trenches. i afterwards observed that the principal hills inland in like manner showed an artificial outline. these are the pas, so frequently mentioned by captain cook under the name of "hippah;" the difference of sound being owing to the prefixed article. that the pas had formerly been much used was evident from the piles of shells, and the pits in which, as i was informed, sweet potatoes used to be kept as a reserve. as there was no water on these hills, the defenders could never have anticipated a long siege, but only a hurried attack for plunder, against which the successive terraces would have afforded good protection. the general introduction of firearms has changed the whole system of warfare; and an exposed situation on the top of a hill is now worse than useless. the pas in consequence are, at the present day, always built on a level piece of ground. they consist of a double stockade of thick and tall posts, placed in a zigzag line, so that every part can be flanked. within the stockade a mound of earth is thrown up, behind which the defenders can rest in safety, or use their firearms over it. on the level of the ground little archways sometimes pass through this breastwork, by which means the defenders can crawl out to the stockade and reconnoitre their enemies. the reverend w. williams, who gave me this account, added that in one pas he had noticed spurs or buttresses projecting on the inner and protected side of the mound of earth. on asking the chief the use of them, he replied, that if two or three of his men were shot their neighbours would not see the bodies, and so be discouraged. these pas are considered by the new zealanders as very perfect means of defence: for the attacking force is never so well disciplined as to rush in a body to the stockade, cut it down, and effect their entry. when a tribe goes to war, the chief cannot order one party to go here and another there; but every man fights in the manner which best pleases himself; and to each separate individual to approach a stockade defended by firearms must appear certain death. i should think a more warlike race of inhabitants could not be found in any part of the world than the new zealanders. their conduct on first seeing a ship, as described by captain cook, strongly illustrates this: the act of throwing volleys of stones at so great and novel an object, and their defiance of "come on shore and we will kill and eat you all," shows uncommon boldness. this warlike spirit is evident in many of their customs, and even in their smallest actions. if a new zealander is struck, although but in joke, the blow must be returned; and of this i saw an instance with one of our officers. at the present day, from the progress of civilisation, there is much less warfare, except among some of the southern tribes. i heard a characteristic anecdote of what took place some time ago in the south. a missionary found a chief and his tribe in preparation for war;--their muskets clean and bright, and their ammunition ready. he reasoned long on the inutility of the war, and the little provocation which had been given for it. the chief was much shaken in his resolution, and seemed in doubt: but at length it occurred to him that a barrel of his gunpowder was in a bad state, and that it would not keep much longer. this was brought forward as an unanswerable argument for the necessity of immediately declaring war: the idea of allowing so much good gunpowder to spoil was not to be thought of; and this settled the point. i was told by the missionaries that in the life of shongi, the chief who visited england, the love of war was the one and lasting spring of every action. the tribe in which he was a principal chief had at one time been much oppressed by another tribe from the thames river. a solemn oath was taken by the men that when their boys should grow up, and they should be powerful enough, they would never forget or forgive these injuries. to fulfil this oath appears to have been shongi's chief motive for going to england; and when there it was his sole object. presents were valued only as they could be converted into arms; of the arts, those alone interested him which were connected with the manufacture of arms. when at sydney, shongi, by a strange coincidence, met the hostile chief of the thames river at the house of mr. marsden: their conduct was civil to each other; but shongi told him that when again in new zealand he would never cease to carry war into his country. the challenge was accepted; and shongi on his return fulfilled the threat to the utmost letter. the tribe on the thames river was utterly overthrown, and the chief to whom the challenge had been given was himself killed. shongi, although harbouring such deep feelings of hatred and revenge, is described as having been a good-natured person. in the evening i went with captain fitz roy and mr. baker, one of the missionaries, to pay a visit to kororadika: we wandered about the village, and saw and conversed with many of the people, both men, women, and children. looking at the new zealander, one naturally compares him with the tahitian; both belonging to the same family of mankind. the comparison, however, tells heavily against the new zealander. he may, perhaps be superior in energy, but in every other respect his character is of a much lower order. one glance at their respective expressions brings conviction to the mind that one is a savage, the other a civilised man. it would be vain to seek in the whole of new zealand a person with the face and mien of the old tahitian chief utamme. no doubt the extraordinary manner in which tattooing is here practised gives a disagreeable expression to their countenances. the complicated but symmetrical figures covering the whole face puzzle and mislead an unaccustomed eye: it is moreover probable that the deep incisions, by destroying the play of the superficial muscles, give an air of rigid inflexibility. but, besides this, there is a twinkling in the eye which cannot indicate anything but cunning and ferocity. their figures are tall and bulky; but not comparable in elegance with those of the working-classes in tahiti. both their persons and houses are filthily dirty and offensive: the idea of washing either their bodies or their clothes never seems to enter their heads. i saw a chief, who was wearing a shirt black and matted with filth, and when asked how it came to be so dirty, he replied, with surprise, "do not you see it is an old one?" some of the men have shirts; but the common dress is one or two large blankets, generally black with dirt, which are thrown over their shoulders in a very inconvenient and awkward fashion. a few of the principal chiefs have decent suits of english clothes; but these are only worn on great occasions. december , . at a place called waimate, about fifteen miles from the bay of islands, and midway between the eastern and western coasts, the missionaries have purchased some land for agricultural purposes. i had been introduced to the reverend w. williams, who, upon my expressing a wish, invited me to pay him a visit there. mr. bushby, the british resident, offered to take me in his boat by a creek, where i should see a pretty waterfall, and by which means my walk would be shortened. he likewise procured for me a guide. upon asking a neighbouring chief to recommend a man, the chief himself offered to go; but his ignorance of the value of money was so complete, that at first he asked how many pounds i would give him, but afterwards was well contented with two dollars. when i showed the chief a very small bundle which i wanted carried, it became absolutely necessary for him to take a slave. these feelings of pride are beginning to wear away; but formerly a leading man would sooner have died than undergone the indignity of carrying the smallest burden. my companion was a light active man, dressed in a dirty blanket, and with his face completely tattooed. he had formerly been a great warrior. he appeared to be on very cordial terms with mr. bushby; but at various times they had quarrelled violently. mr. bushby remarked that a little quiet irony would frequently silence any one of these natives in their most blustering moments. this chief has come and harangued mr. bushby in a hectoring manner, saying, "a great chief, a great man, a friend of mine, has come to pay me a visit--you must give him something good to eat, some fine presents, etc." mr. bushby has allowed him to finish his discourse, and then has quietly replied by some answer such as, "what else shall your slave do for you?" the man would then instantly, with a very comical expression, cease his braggadocio. some time ago mr. bushby suffered a far more serious attack. a chief and a party of men tried to break into his house in the middle of the night, and not finding this so easy, commenced a brisk firing with their muskets. mr. bushby was slightly wounded, but the party was at length driven away. shortly afterwards it was discovered who was the aggressor; and a general meeting of the chiefs was convened to consider the case. it was considered by the new zealanders as very atrocious, inasmuch as it was a night attack, and that mrs. bushby was lying ill in the house: this latter circumstance, much to their honour, being considered in all cases as a protection. the chiefs agreed to confiscate the land of the aggressor to the king of england. the whole proceeding, however, in thus trying and punishing a chief was entirely without precedent. the aggressor, moreover, lost caste in the estimation of his equals; and this was considered by the british as of more consequence than the confiscation of his land. as the boat was shoving off, a second chief stepped into her, who only wanted the amusement of the passage up and down the creek. i never saw a more horrid and ferocious expression than this man had. it immediately struck me i had somewhere seen his likeness: it will be found in retzch's outlines to schiller's ballad of fridolin, where two men are pushing robert into the burning iron furnace. it is the man who has his arm on robert's breast. physiognomy here spoke the truth; this chief had been a notorious murderer, and was an arrant coward to boot. at the point where the boat landed, mr. bushby accompanied me a few hundred yards on the road: i could not help admiring the cool impudence of the hoary old villain, whom we left lying in the boat, when he shouted to mr. bushby, "do not you stay long, i shall be tired of waiting here." we now commenced our walk. the road lay along a well-beaten path, bordered on each side by the tall fern which covers the whole country. after travelling some miles we came to a little country village, where a few hovels were collected together, and some patches of ground cultivated with potatoes. the introduction of the potato has been the most essential benefit to the island; it is now much more used than any native vegetable. new zealand is favoured by one great natural advantage; namely, that the inhabitants can never perish from famine. the whole country abounds with fern: and the roots of this plant, if not very palatable, yet contain much nutriment. a native can always subsist on these, and on the shell-fish which are abundant on all parts of the sea-coast. the villages are chiefly conspicuous by the platforms which are raised on four posts ten or twelve feet above the ground, and on which the produce of the fields is kept secure from all accidents. on coming near one of the huts i was much amused by seeing in due form the ceremony of rubbing, or, as it ought to be called, pressing noses. the women, on our first approach, began uttering something in a most dolorous voice; they then squatted themselves down and held up their faces; my companion standing over them, one after another, placed the bridge of his nose at right angles to theirs, and commenced pressing. this lasted rather longer than a cordial shake of the hand with us, and as we vary the force of the grasp of the hand in shaking, so do they in pressing. during the process they uttered comfortable little grunts, very much in the same manner as two pigs do, when rubbing against each other. i noticed that the slave would press noses with any one he met, indifferently either before or after his master the chief. although among these savages the chief has absolute power of life and death over his slave, yet there is an entire absence of ceremony between them. mr. burchell has remarked the same thing in southern africa with the rude bachapins. where civilisation has arrived at a certain point, complex formalities soon arise between the different grades of society: thus at tahiti all were formerly obliged to uncover themselves as low as the waist in presence of the king. the ceremony of pressing noses having been duly completed with all present, we seated ourselves in a circle in the front of one of the-hovels, and rested there half an hour. all the hovels have nearly the same form and dimensions, and all agree in being filthily dirty. they resemble a cow-shed with one end open, but having a partition a little way within, with a square hole in it, making a small gloomy chamber. in this the inhabitants keep all their property, and when the weather is cold they sleep there. they eat, however, and pass their time in the open part in front. my guides having finished their pipes, we continued our walk. the path led through the same undulating country, the whole uniformly clothed as before with fern. on our right hand we had a serpentine river, the banks of which were fringed with trees, and here and there on the hill-sides there was a clump of wood. the whole scene, in spite of its green colour, had rather a desolate aspect. the sight of so much fern impresses the mind with an idea of sterility: this, however, is not correct; for wherever the fern grows thick and breast-high, the land by tillage becomes productive. some of the residents think that all this extensive open country originally was covered with forests, and that it has been cleared by fire. it is said, that by digging in the barest spots, lumps of the kind of resin which flows from the kauri pine are frequently found. the natives had an evident motive in clearing the country; for the fern, formerly a staple article of food, flourishes only in the open cleared tracks. the almost entire absence of associated grasses, which forms so remarkable a feature in the vegetation of this island, may perhaps be accounted for by the land having been aboriginally covered with forest-trees. the soil is volcanic; in several parts we passed over slaggy lavas, and craters could clearly be distinguished on several of the neighbouring hills. although the scenery is nowhere beautiful, and only occasionally pretty, i enjoyed my walk. i should have enjoyed it more, if my companion, the chief, had not possessed extraordinary conversational powers. i knew only three words: "good," "bad," and "yes:" and with these i answered all his remarks, without of course having understood one word he said. this, however, was quite sufficient: i was a good listener, an agreeable person, and he never ceased talking to me. at length we reached waimate. after having passed over so many miles of an uninhabited useless country, the sudden appearance of an english farm-house, and its well-dressed fields, placed there as if by an enchanter's wand, was exceedingly pleasant. mr. williams not being at home, i received in mr. davies's house a cordial welcome. after drinking tea with his family party, we took a stroll about the farm. at waimate there are three large houses, where the missionary gentlemen, messrs. williams, davies, and clarke, reside; and near them are the huts of the native labourers. on an adjoining slope fine crops of barley and wheat were standing in full ear; and in another part fields of potatoes and clover. but i cannot attempt to describe all i saw; there were large gardens, with every fruit and vegetable which england produces; and many belonging to a warmer clime. i may instance asparagus, kidney beans, cucumbers, rhubarb, apples, pears, figs, peaches, apricots, grapes, olives, gooseberries, currants, hops, gorse for fences, and english oaks; also many kinds of flowers. around the farmyard there were stables, a thrashing-barn with its winnowing machine, a blacksmith's forge, and on the ground ploughshares and other tools: in the middle was that happy mixture of pigs and poultry, lying comfortably together, as in every english farmyard. at the distance of a few hundred yards, where the water of a little rill had been dammed up into a pool, there was a large and substantial water-mill. all this is very surprising when it is considered that five years ago nothing but the fern flourished here. moreover, native workmanship, taught by the missionaries, has effected this change;--the lesson of the missionary is the enchanter's wand. the house had been built, the windows framed, the fields ploughed, and even the trees grafted, by the new zealander. at the mill a new zealander was seen powdered white with flower, like his brother miller in england. when i looked at this whole scene i thought it admirable. it was not merely that england was brought vividly before my mind; yet, as the evening drew to a close, the domestic sounds, the fields of corn, the distant undulating country with its trees, might well have been mistaken for our fatherland: nor was it the triumphant feeling at seeing what englishmen could effect, but rather the high hopes thus inspired for the future progress of this fine island. several young men, redeemed by the missionaries from slavery, were employed on the farm. they were dressed in a shirt, jacket, and trousers, and had a respectable appearance. judging from one trifling anecdote, i should think they must be honest. when walking in the fields, a young labourer came up to mr. davies and gave him a knife and gimlet, saying that he had found them on the road, and did not know to whom they belonged! these young men and boys appeared very merry and good-humoured. in the evening i saw a party of them at cricket: when i thought of the austerity of which the missionaries have been accused, i was amused by observing one of their own sons taking an active part in the game. a more decided and pleasing change was manifested in the young women, who acted as servants within the houses. their clean, tidy, and healthy appearance, like that of the dairy-maids in england, formed a wonderful contrast with the women of the filthy hovels in kororadika. the wives of the missionaries tried to persuade them not to be tattooed; but a famous operator having arrived from the south, they said, "we really must just have a few lines on our lips; else when we grow old, our lips will shrivel, and we shall be so very ugly." there is not nearly so much tattooing as formerly; but as it is a badge of distinction between the chief and the slave, it will probably long be practised. so soon does any train of ideas become habitual, that the missionaries told me that even in their eyes a plain face looked mean, and not like that of a new zealand gentleman. late in the evening i went to mr. williams's house, where i passed the night. i found there a large party of children, collected together for christmas day, and all sitting round a table at tea. i never saw a nicer or more merry group; and to think that this was in the centre of the land of cannibalism, murder, and all atrocious crimes! the cordiality and happiness so plainly pictured in the faces of the little circle appeared equally felt by the older persons of the mission. december , . in the morning prayers were read in the native tongue to the whole family. after breakfast i rambled about the gardens and farm. this was a market-day, when the natives of the surrounding hamlets bring their potatoes, indian corn, or pigs, to exchange for blankets, tobacco, and sometimes, through the persuasions of the missionaries, for soap. mr. davies's eldest son, who manages a farm of his own, is the man of business in the market. the children of the missionaries, who came while young to the island, understand the language better than their parents, and can get anything more readily done by the natives. a little before noon messrs. williams and davies walked with me to part of a neighbouring forest, to show me the famous kauri pine. i measured one of these noble trees, and found it thirty-one feet in circumference above the roots. there was another close by, which i did not see, thirty-three feet; and i heard of one no less than forty feet. these trees are remarkable for their smooth cylindrical boles, which run up to a height of sixty, and even ninety feet, with a nearly equal diameter, and without a single branch. the crown of branches at the summit is out of all proportion small to the trunk; and the leaves are likewise small compared with the branches. the forest was here almost composed of the kauri; and the largest trees, from the parallelism of their sides, stood up like gigantic columns of wood. the timber of the kauri is the most valuable production of the island; moreover, a quantity of resin oozes from the bark, which is sold at a penny a pound to the americans, but its use was then unknown. some of the new zealand forests must be impenetrable to an extraordinary degree. mr. matthews informed me that one forest only thirty-four miles in width, and separating two inhabited districts, had only lately, for the first time, been crossed. he and another missionary, each with a party of about fifty men, undertook to open a road, but it cost them more than a fortnight's labour! in the woods i saw very few birds. with regard to animals, it is a most remarkable fact, that so large an island, extending over more than miles in latitude, and in many parts ninety broad, with varied stations, a fine climate, and land of all heights, from , feet downwards, with the exception of a small rat, did not possess one indigenous animal. the several species of that gigantic genus of birds, the deinornis, seem here to have replaced mammiferous quadrupeds, in the same manner as the reptiles still do at the galapagos archipelago. it is said that the common norway rat, in the short space of two years, annihilated in this northern end of the island the new zealand species. in many places i noticed several sorts of weeds, which, like the rats, i was forced to own as countrymen. a leek has overrun whole districts, and will prove very troublesome, but it was imported as a favour by a french vessel. the common dock is also widely disseminated, and will, i fear, for ever remain a proof of the rascality of an englishman who sold the seeds for those of the tobacco plant. on returning from our pleasant walk to the house, i dined with mr. williams; and then, a horse being lent me, i returned to the bay of islands. i took leave of the missionaries with thankfulness for their kind welcome, and with feelings of high respect for their gentlemanlike, useful, and upright characters. i think it would be difficult to find a body of men better adapted for the high office which they fulfil. christmas day, . in a few more days the fourth year of our absence from england will be completed. our first christmas day was spent at plymouth, the second at st. martin's cove near cape horn; the third at port desire in patagonia; the fourth at anchor in a wild harbour in the peninsula of tres montes, this fifth here, and the next, i trust in providence, will be in england. we attended divine service in the chapel of pahia; part of the service being read in english, and part in the native language. whilst at new zealand we did not hear of any recent acts of cannibalism; but mr. stokes found burnt human bones strewed round a fireplace on a small island near the anchorage; but these remains of a comfortable banquet might have been lying there for several years. it is probable that the moral state of the people will rapidly improve. mr. bushby mentioned one pleasing anecdote as a proof of the sincerity of some, at least, of those who profess christianity. one of his young men left him, who had been accustomed to read prayers to the rest of the servants. some weeks afterwards, happening to pass late in the evening by an outhouse, he saw and heard one of his men reading the bible with difficulty by the light of the fire, to the others. after this the party knelt and prayed: in their prayers they mentioned mr. bushby and his family, and the missionaries, each separately in his respective district. december , . mr. bushby offered to take mr. sulivan and myself in his boat some miles up the river to cawa-cawa, and proposed afterwards to walk on to the village of waiomio, where there are some curious rocks. following one of the arms of the bay we enjoyed a pleasant row, and passed through pretty scenery, until we came to a village, beyond which the boat could not pass. from this place a chief and a party of men volunteered to walk with us to waiomio, a distance of four miles. the chief was at this time rather notorious from having lately hung one of his wives and a slave for adultery. when one of the missionaries remonstrated with him he seemed surprised, and said he thought he was exactly following the english method. old shongi, who happened to be in england during the queen's trial, expressed great disapprobation at the whole proceeding: he said he had five wives, and he would rather cut off all their heads than be so much troubled about one. leaving this village, we crossed over to another, seated on a hill-side at a little distance. the daughter of a chief, who was still a heathen, had died there five days before. the hovel in which she had expired had been burnt to the ground: her body, being enclosed between two small canoes, was placed upright on the ground, and protected by an enclosure bearing wooden images of their gods, and the whole was painted bright red, so as to be conspicuous from afar. her gown was fastened to the coffin, and her hair being cut off was cast at its foot. the relatives of the family had torn the flesh of their arms, bodies, and faces, so that they were covered with clotted blood; and the old women looked most filthy, disgusting objects. on the following day some of the officers visited this place, and found the women still howling and cutting themselves. we continued our walk, and soon reached waiomio. here there are some singular masses of limestone resembling ruined castles. these rocks have long served for burial places, and in consequence are held too sacred to be approached. one of the young men, however, cried out, "let us all be brave," and ran on ahead; but when within a hundred yards, the whole party thought better of it, and stopped short. with perfect indifference, however, they allowed us to examine the whole place. at this village we rested some hours, during which time there was a long discussion with mr. bushby, concerning the right of sale of certain lands. one old man, who appeared a perfect genealogist, illustrated the successive possessors by bits of stick driven into the ground. before leaving the houses a little basketful of roasted sweet potatoes was given to each of our party; and we all, according to the custom, carried them away to eat on the road. i noticed that among the women employed in cooking, there was a man-slave: it must be a humiliating thing for a man in this warlike country to be employed in doing that which is considered as the lowest woman's work. slaves are not allowed to go to war; but this perhaps can hardly be considered as a hardship. i heard of one poor wretch who, during hostilities, ran away to the opposite party; being met by two men, he was immediately seized; but as they could not agree to whom he should belong, each stood over him with a stone hatchet, and seemed determined that the other at least should not take him away alive. the poor man, almost dead with fright, was only saved by the address of a chief's wife. we afterwards enjoyed a pleasant walk back to the boat, but did not reach the ship till late in the evening. december , . in the afternoon we stood out of the bay of islands, on our course to sydney. i believe we were all glad to leave new zealand. it is not a pleasant place. amongst the natives there is absent that charming simplicity which is found in tahiti; and the greater part of the english are the very refuse of society. neither is the country itself attractive. i look back but to one bright spot, and that is waimate, with its christian inhabitants. (plate . hippah, new zealand.) chapter xix. (plate . sydney, .) australia. sydney. excursion to bathurst. aspect of the woods. party of natives. gradual extinction of the aborigines. infection generated by associated men in health. blue mountains. view of the grand gulf-like valleys. their origin and formation. bathurst, general civility of the lower orders. state of society. van diemen's land. hobart town. aborigines all banished. mount wellington. king george's sound. cheerless aspect of the country. bald head, calcareous casts of branches of trees. party of natives. leave australia. january , . early in the morning a light air carried us towards the entrance of port jackson. instead of beholding a verdant country, interspersed with fine houses, a straight line of yellowish cliff brought to our minds the coast of patagonia. a solitary lighthouse, built of white stone, alone told us that we were near a great and populous city. having entered the harbour, it appears fine and spacious, with cliff-formed shores of horizontally stratified sandstone. the nearly level country is covered with thin scrubby trees, bespeaking the curse of sterility. proceeding farther inland, the country improves: beautiful villas and nice cottages are here and there scattered along the beach. in the distance stone houses, two and three stories high, and windmills standing on the edge of a bank, pointed out to us the neighbourhood of the capital of australia. at last we anchored within sydney cove. we found the little basin occupied by many large ships, and surrounded by warehouses. in the evening i walked through the town, and returned full of admiration at the whole scene. it is a most magnificent testimony to the power of the british nation. here, in a less promising country, scores of years have done many more times more than an equal number of centuries have effected in south america. my first feeling was to congratulate myself that i was born an englishman. upon seeing more of the town afterwards, perhaps my admiration fell a little; but yet it is a fine town. the streets are regular, broad, clean, and kept in excellent order; the houses are of a good size, and the shops well furnished. it may be faithfully compared to the large suburbs which stretch out from london and a few other great towns in england; but not even near london or birmingham is there an appearance of such rapid growth. the number of large houses and other buildings just finished was truly surprising; nevertheless, every one complained of the high rents and difficulty in procuring a house. coming from south america, where in the towns every man of property is known, no one thing surprised me more than not being able to ascertain at once to whom this or that carriage belonged. i hired a man and two horses to take me to bathurst, a village about one hundred and twenty miles in the interior, and the centre of a great pastoral district. by this means i hoped to gain a general idea of the appearance of the country. on the morning of the th (january) i set out on my excursion. the first stage took us to paramatta, a small country town, next to sydney in importance. the roads were excellent, and made upon the macadam principle, whinstone having been brought for the purpose from the distance of several miles. in all respects there was a close resemblance to england: perhaps the alehouses here were more numerous. the iron gangs, or parties of convicts who have committed here some offence, appeared the least like england: they were working in chains, under the charge of sentries with loaded arms. the power which the government possesses, by means of forced labour, of at once opening good roads throughout the country, has been, i believe, one main cause of the early prosperity of this colony. i slept at night at a very comfortable inn at emu ferry, thirty-five miles from sydney, and near the ascent of the blue mountains. this line of road is the most frequented, and has been the longest inhabited of any in the colony. the whole land is enclosed with high railings, for the farmers have not succeeded in rearing hedges. there are many substantial houses and good cottages scattered about; but although considerable pieces of land are under cultivation, the greater part yet remains as when first discovered. the extreme uniformity of the vegetation is the most remarkable feature in the landscape of the greater part of new south wales. everywhere we have an open woodland, the ground being partially covered with a very thin pasture, with little appearance of verdure. the trees nearly all belong to one family, and mostly have their leaves placed in a vertical, instead of as in europe, in a nearly horizontal position: the foliage is scanty, and of a peculiar pale green tint, without any gloss. hence the woods appear light and shadowless: this, although a loss of comfort to the traveller under the scorching rays of summer, is of importance to the farmer, as it allows grass to grow where it otherwise would not. the leaves are not shed periodically: this character appears common to the entire southern hemisphere, namely, south america, australia, and the cape of good hope. the inhabitants of this hemisphere, and of the intertropical regions, thus lose perhaps one of the most glorious, though to our eyes common, spectacles in the world--the first bursting into full foliage of the leafless tree. they may, however, say that we pay dearly for this by having the land covered with mere naked skeletons for so many months. this is too true; but our senses thus acquire a keen relish for the exquisite green of the spring, which the eyes of those living within the tropics, sated during the long year with the gorgeous productions of those glowing climates, can never experience. the greater number of the trees, with the exception of some of the blue-gums, do not attain a large size; but they grow tall and tolerably straight, and stand well apart. the bark of some of the eucalypti falls annually, or hangs dead in long shreds which swing about with the wind, and give to the woods a desolate and untidy appearance. i cannot imagine a more complete contrast, in every respect, than between the forests of valdivia or chiloe, and the woods of australia. at sunset, a party of a score of the black aborigines passed by, each carrying, in their accustomed manner, a bundle of spears and other weapons. by giving a leading young man a shilling, they were easily detained, and threw their spears for my amusement. they were all partly clothed, and several could speak a little english: their countenances were good-humoured and pleasant, and they appeared far from being such utterly degraded beings as they have usually been represented. in their own arts they are admirable. a cap being fixed at thirty yards distance, they transfixed it with a spear, delivered by the throwing-stick with the rapidity of an arrow from the bow of a practised archer. in tracking animals or men they show most wonderful sagacity; and i heard of several of their remarks which manifested considerable acuteness. they will not, however, cultivate the ground, or build houses and remain stationary, or even take the trouble of tending a flock of sheep when given to them. on the whole they appear to me to stand some few degrees higher in the scale of civilisation than the fuegians. it is very curious thus to see in the midst of a civilised people, a set of harmless savages wandering about without knowing where they shall sleep at night, and gaining their livelihood by hunting in the woods. as the white man has travelled onwards, he has spread over the country belonging to several tribes. these, although thus enclosed by one common people, keep up their ancient distinctions, and sometimes go to war with each other. in an engagement which took place lately, the two parties most singularly chose the centre of the village of bathurst for the field of battle. this was of service to the defeated side, for the runaway warriors took refuge in the barracks. the number of aborigines is rapidly decreasing. in my whole ride, with the exception of some boys brought up by englishmen, i saw only one other party. this decrease, no doubt, must be partly owing to the introduction of spirits, to european diseases (even the milder ones of which, such as the measles, prove very destructive), and to the gradual extinction of the wild animals. ( / . it is remarkable how the same disease is modified in different climates. at the little island of st. helena the introduction of scarlet-fever is dreaded as a plague. in some countries foreigners and natives are as differently affected by certain contagious disorders as if they had been different animals; of which fact some instances have occurred in chile; and according to humboldt in mexico "political essay new spain" volume .) it is said that numbers of their children invariably perish in very early infancy from the effects of their wandering life; and as the difficulty of procuring food increases, so must their wandering habits increase; and hence the population, without any apparent deaths from famine, is repressed in a manner extremely sudden compared to what happens in civilised countries, where the father, though in adding to his labour he may injure himself, does not destroy his offspring. besides these several evident causes of destruction, there appears to be some more mysterious agency generally at work. wherever the european has trod, death seems to pursue the aboriginal. we may look to the wide extent of the americas, polynesia, the cape of good hope, and australia, and we find the same result. nor is it the white man alone that thus acts the destroyer; the polynesian of malay extraction has in parts of the east indian archipelago thus driven before him the dark-coloured native. the varieties of man seem to act on each other in the same way as different species of animals--the stronger always extirpating the weaker. it was melancholy at new zealand to hear the fine energetic natives saying that they knew the land was doomed to pass from their children. every one has heard of the inexplicable reduction of the population in the beautiful and healthy island of tahiti since the date of captain cook's voyages: although in that case we might have expected that it would have been increased; for infanticide, which formerly prevailed to so extraordinary a degree, has ceased, profligacy has greatly diminished, and the murderous wars become less frequent. the reverend j. williams, in his interesting work, says that the first intercourse between natives and europeans "is invariably attended with the introduction of fever, dysentery, or some other disease which carries off numbers of the people." ( / . "narrative of missionary enterprise" page .) again he affirms "it is certainly a fact, which cannot be controverted, that most of the diseases which have raged in the islands during my residence there have been introduced by ships; and what renders this fact remarkable is that there might be no appearance of disease among the crew of the ship which conveyed this destructive importation." ( / . captain beechey chapter volume , states that the inhabitants of pitcairn island are firmly convinced that after the arrival of every ship they suffer cutaneous and other disorders. captain beechey attributes this to the change of diet during the time of the visit. dr. macculloch "western isles" volume page , says "it is asserted that on the arrival of a stranger (at st. kilda) all the inhabitants, in the common phraseology, catch a cold." dr. macculloch considers the whole case, although often previously affirmed, as ludicrous. he adds, however, that "the question was put by us to the inhabitants who unanimously agreed in the story." in vancouver's "voyage" there is a somewhat similar statement with respect to otaheite. dr. dieffenbach, in a note to his translation of this journal, states that the same fact is universally believed by the inhabitants of the chatham islands and in parts of new zealand. it is impossible that such a belief should have become universal in the northern hemisphere, at the antipodes, and in the pacific, without some good foundation. humboldt "political essay on kingdom of new spain" volume , says that the great epidemics at panama and callao are "marked" by the arrival of ships from chile, because the people from that temperate region first experience the fatal effects of the torrid zones. i may add that i have heard it stated in shropshire that sheep which have been imported from vessels, although themselves in a healthy condition, if placed in the same fold with others, frequently produce sickness in the flock.) this statement is not quite so extraordinary as it at first appears; for several cases are on record of the most malignant fevers having broken out, although the parties themselves, who were the cause, were not affected. in the early part of the reign of george iii, a prisoner who had been confined in a dungeon was taken in a coach with four constables before a magistrate; and although the man himself was not ill, the four constables died from a short putrid fever; but the contagion extended to no others. from these facts it would almost appear as if the effluvium of one set of men shut up for some time together was poisonous when inhaled by others; and possibly more so, if the men be of different races. mysterious as this circumstance appears to be, it is not more surprising than that the body of one's fellow-creature, directly after death, and before putrefaction has commenced, should often be of so deleterious a quality that the mere puncture from an instrument used in its dissection should prove fatal. january , . early in the morning we passed the nepean in a ferry-boat. the river, although at this spot both broad and deep, had a very small body of running water. having crossed a low piece of land on the opposite side, we reached the slope of the blue mountains. the ascent is not steep, the road having been cut with much care on the side of a sandstone cliff. on the summit an almost level plain extends, which, rising imperceptibly to the westward, at last attains a height of more than feet. from so grand a title as blue mountains, and from their absolute altitude, i expected to have seen a bold chain of mountains crossing the country; but instead of this, a sloping plain presents merely an inconsiderable front to the low land near the coast. from this first slope the view of the extensive woodland to the east was striking, and the surrounding trees grew bold and lofty. but when once on the sandstone platform, the scenery becomes exceedingly monotonous; each side of the road is bordered by scrubby trees of the never-failing eucalyptus family; and with the exception of two or three small inns, there are no houses or cultivated land; the road, moreover, is solitary; the most frequent object being a bullock-waggon, piled up with bales of wool. in the middle of the day we baited our horses at a little inn, called the weatherboard. the country here is elevated feet above the sea. about a mile and a half from this place there is a view exceedingly well worth visiting. following down a little valley and its tiny rill of water, an immense gulf unexpectedly opens through the trees which border the pathway, at the depth of perhaps feet. walking on a few yards, one stands on the brink of a vast precipice, and below one sees a grand bay or gulf, for i know not what other name to give it, thickly covered with forest. the point of view is situated as if at the head of a bay, the line of cliff diverging on each side, and showing headland behind headland, as on a bold sea-coast. these cliffs are composed of horizontal strata of whitish sandstone; and are so absolutely vertical, that in many places a person standing on the edge and throwing down a stone, can see it strike the trees in the abyss below. so unbroken is the line of cliff that in order to reach the foot of the waterfall formed by this little stream, it is said to be necessary to go sixteen miles round. about five miles distant in front another line of cliff extends, which thus appears completely to encircle the valley; and hence the name of bay is justified, as applied to this grand amphitheatrical depression. if we imagine a winding harbour, with its deep water surrounded by bold cliff-like shores, to be laid dry, and a forest to spring up on its sandy bottom, we should then have the appearance and structure here exhibited. this kind of view was to me quite novel, and extremely magnificent. in the evening we reached the blackheath. the sandstone plateau has here attained the height of feet; and is covered, as before, with the same scrubby woods. from the road there were occasional glimpses into a profound valley of the same character as the one described; but from the steepness and depth of its sides, the bottom was scarcely ever to be seen. the blackheath is a very comfortable inn, kept by an old soldier; and it reminded me of the small inns in north wales. january , . very early in the morning i walked about three miles to see govett's leap: a view of a similar character with that near the weatherboard, but perhaps even more stupendous. so early in the day the gulf was filled with a thin blue haze, which, although destroying the general effect of the view, added to the apparent depth at which the forest was stretched out beneath our feet. these valleys, which so long presented an insuperable barrier to the attempts of the most enterprising of the colonists to reach the interior, are most remarkable. great armlike bays, expanding at their upper ends, often branch from the main valleys and penetrate the sandstone platform; on the other hand, the platform often sends promontories into the valleys, and even leaves in them great, almost insulated, masses. to descend into some of these valleys, it is necessary to go round twenty miles; and into others, the surveyors have only lately penetrated, and the colonists have not yet been able to drive in their cattle. but the most remarkable feature in their structure is, that although several miles wide at their heads, they generally contract towards their mouths to such a degree as to become impassable. the surveyor-general, sir t. mitchell, endeavoured in vain, first walking and then by crawling between the great fallen fragments of sandstone, to ascend through the gorge by which the river grose joins the nepean ( / . "travels in australia" volume page . i must express my obligation to sir t. mitchell for several interesting personal communications on the subject of these great valleys of new south wales.); yet the valley of the grose in its upper part, as i saw, forms a magnificent level basin some miles in width, and is on all sides surrounded by cliffs, the summits of which are believed to be nowhere less than feet above the level of the sea. when cattle are driven into the valley of the wolgan by a path (which i descended), partly natural and partly made by the owner of the land, they cannot escape; for this valley is in every other part surrounded by perpendicular cliffs, and eight miles lower down it contracts from an average width of half a mile, to a mere chasm, impassable to man or beast. sir t. mitchell states that the great valley of the cox river with all its branches, contracts, where it unites with the nepean, into a gorge yards in width, and about feet in depth. other similar cases might have been added. the first impression on seeing the correspondence of the horizontal strata on each side of these valleys and great amphitheatrical depressions, is that they have been hollowed out, like other valleys, by the action of water; but when one reflects on the enormous amount of stone which on this view must have been removed through mere gorges or chasms, one is led to ask whether these spaces may not have subsided. but considering the form of the irregularly branching valleys, and of the narrow promontories projecting into them from the platforms, we are compelled to abandon this notion. to attribute these hollows to the present alluvial action would be preposterous; nor does the drainage from the summit-level always fall, as i remarked near the weatherboard, into the head of these valleys, but into one side of their baylike recesses. some of the inhabitants remarked to me that they never viewed one of those baylike recesses, with the headlands receding on both hands, without being struck with their resemblance to a bold sea-coast. this is certainly the case; moreover, on the present coast of new south wales, the numerous fine, widely-branching harbours, which are generally connected with the sea by a narrow mouth worn through the sandstone coast-cliffs, varying from one mile in width to a quarter of a mile, present a likeness, though on a miniature scale, to the great valleys of the interior. but then immediately occurs the startling difficulty, why has the sea worn out these great though circumscribed depressions on a wide platform, and left mere gorges at the openings, through which the whole vast amount of triturated matter must have been carried away? the only light i can throw upon this enigma is by remarking that banks of the most irregular forms appear to be now forming in some seas, as in parts of the west indies and in the red sea, and that their sides are exceedingly steep. such banks, i have been led to suppose, have been formed by sediment heaped by strong currents on an irregular bottom. that in some cases the sea, instead of spreading out sediment in a uniform sheet, heaps it round submarine rocks and islands, it is hardly possible to doubt, after examining the charts of the west indies; and that the waves have power to form high and precipitous cliffs, even in land-locked harbours, i have noticed in many parts of south america. to apply these ideas to the sandstone platforms of new south wales, i imagine that the strata were heaped by the action of strong currents, and of the undulations of an open sea, on an irregular bottom; and that the valley-like spaces thus left unfilled had their steeply sloping flanks worn into cliffs during a slow elevation of the land; the worn-down sandstone being removed, either at the time when the narrow gorges were cut by the retreating sea, or subsequently by alluvial action. soon after leaving the blackheath we descended from the sandstone platform by the pass of mount victoria. to effect this pass an enormous quantity of stone has been cut through; the design and its manner of execution being worthy of any line of road in england. we now entered upon a country less elevated by nearly a thousand feet, and consisting of granite. with the change of rock the vegetation improved; the trees were both finer and stood farther apart; and the pasture between them was a little greener and more plentiful. at hassan's walls i left the high-road, and made a short detour to a farm called walerawang; to the superintendent of which i had a letter of introduction from the owner in sydney. mr. browne had the kindness to ask me to stay the ensuing day, which i had much pleasure in doing. this place offers an example of one of the large farming, or rather sheep-grazing, establishments of the colony. cattle and horses are, however, in this case rather more numerous than usual, owing to some of the valleys being swampy and producing a coarser pasture. two or three flat pieces of ground near the house were cleared and cultivated with corn, which the harvest-men were now reaping: but no more wheat is sown than sufficient for the annual support of the labourers employed on the establishment. the usual number of assigned convict-servants here is about forty, but at the present time there were rather more. although the farm was well stocked with every necessary, there was an apparent absence of comfort; and not one single woman resided here. the sunset of a fine day will generally cast an air of happy contentment on any scene; but here, at this retired farmhouse, the brightest tints on the surrounding woods could not make me forget that forty hardened, profligate men were ceasing from their daily labours, like the slaves from africa, yet without their holy claim for compassion. early on the next morning mr. archer, the joint superintendent, had the kindness to take me out kangaroo-hunting. we continued riding the greater part of the day, but had very bad sport, not seeing a kangaroo, or even a wild dog. the greyhounds pursued a kangaroo rat into a hollow tree, out of which we dragged it: it is an animal as large as a rabbit, but with the figure of a kangaroo. a few years since this country abounded with wild animals; but now the emu is banished to a long distance, and the kangaroo is become scarce; to both the english greyhound has been highly destructive. it may be long before these animals are altogether exterminated, but their doom is fixed. the aborigines are always anxious to borrow the dogs from the farmhouses: the use of them, the offal when an animal is killed, and some milk from the cows, are the peace-offerings of the settlers, who push farther and farther towards the interior. the thoughtless aboriginal, blinded by these trifling advantages, is delighted at the approach of the white man, who seems predestined to inherit the country of his children. although having poor sport, we enjoyed a pleasant ride. the woodland is generally so open that a person on horseback can gallop through it. it is traversed by a few flat-bottomed valleys, which are green and free from trees: in such spots the scenery was pretty like that of a park. in the whole country i scarcely saw a place without the marks of a fire; whether these had been more or less recent--whether the stumps were more or less black, was the greatest change which varied the uniformity so wearisome to the traveller's eye. in these woods there are not many birds; i saw, however, some large flocks of the white cockatoo feeding in a corn-field, and a few most beautiful parrots; crows like our jackdaws were not uncommon, and another bird something like the magpie. in the dusk of the evening i took a stroll along a chain of ponds, which in this dry country represented the course of a river, and had the good fortune to see several of the famous ornithorhynchus paradoxus. they were diving and playing about the surface of the water, but showed so little of their bodies that they might easily have been mistaken for water-rats. mr. browne shot one: certainly it is a most extraordinary animal; a stuffed specimen does not at all give a good idea of the appearance of the head and beak when fresh; the latter becoming hard and contracted. ( / . i was interested by finding here the hollow conical pitfall of the lion-ant, or some other insect: first a fly fell down the treacherous slope and immediately disappeared; then came a large but unwary ant; its struggles to escape being very violent, those curious little jets of sand, described by kirby and spence "entomology" volume page , as being flirted by the insect's tail, were promptly directed against the expected victim. but the ant enjoyed a better fate than the fly and escaped the fatal jaws which lay concealed at the base of the conical hollow. this australian pitfall was only about half the size of that made by the european lion-ant.) january , . a long day's ride to bathurst. before joining the high road we followed a mere path through the forest; and the country, with the exception of a few squatters' huts, was very solitary. we experienced this day the sirocco-like wind of australia, which comes from the parched deserts of the interior. clouds of dust were travelling in every direction; and the wind felt as if it had passed over a fire. i afterwards heard that the thermometer out of doors had stood at degrees, and in a closed room at degrees. in the afternoon we came in view of the downs of bathurst. these undulating but nearly smooth plains are very remarkable in this country, from being absolutely destitute of trees. they support only a thin brown pasture. we rode some miles over this country, and then reached the township of bathurst, seated in the middle of what may be called either a very broad valley, or narrow plain. i was told at sydney not to form too bad an opinion of australia by judging of the country from the roadside, nor too good a one from bathurst; in this latter respect i did not feel myself in the least danger of being prejudiced. the season, it must be owned, had been one of great drought, and the country did not wear a favourable aspect; although i understand it was incomparably worse two or three months before. the secret of the rapidly growing prosperity of bathurst is that the brown pasture which appears to the stranger's eye so wretched is excellent for sheep-grazing. the town stands at the height of feet above the sea, on the banks of the macquarie: this is one of the rivers flowing into the vast and scarcely known interior. the line of watershed which divides the inland streams from those on the coast, has a height of about feet, and runs in a north and south direction at the distance of from eighty to a hundred miles from the seaside. the macquarie figures in the map as a respectable river, and it is the largest of those draining this part of the watershed; yet to my surprise i found it a mere chain of ponds, separated from each other by spaces almost dry. generally a small stream is running; and sometimes there are high and impetuous floods. scanty as the supply of the water is throughout this district, it becomes still scantier further inland. january , . i commenced my return and followed a new road called lockyer's line along which the country is rather more hilly and picturesque. this was a long day's ride; and the house where i wished to sleep was some way off the road, and not easily found. i met on this occasion, and indeed on all others, a very general and ready civility among the lower orders, which, when one considers what they are, and what they have been, would scarcely have been expected. the farm where i passed the night was owned by two young men who had only lately come out, and were beginning a settler's life. the total want of almost every comfort was not very attractive; but future and certain prosperity was before their eyes, and that not far distant. the next day we passed through large tracts of country in flames, volumes of smoke sweeping across the road. before noon we joined our former road and ascended mount victoria. i slept at the weatherboard, and before dark took another walk to the amphitheatre. on the road to sydney i spent a very pleasant evening with captain king at dunheved; and thus ended my little excursion in the colony of new south wales. before arriving here the three things which interested me most were--the state of society amongst the higher classes, the condition of the convicts, and the degree of attraction sufficient to induce persons to emigrate. of course, after so very short a visit, one's opinion is worth scarcely anything; but it is as difficult not to form some opinion, as it is to form a correct judgment. on the whole, from what i heard, more than from what i saw, i was disappointed in the state of society. the whole community is rancorously divided into parties on almost every subject. among those who, from their station in life, ought to be the best, many live in such open profligacy that respectable people cannot associate with them. there is much jealousy between the children of the rich emancipist and the free settlers, the former being pleased to consider honest men as interlopers. the whole population, poor and rich, are bent on acquiring wealth: amongst the higher orders, wool and sheep-grazing form the constant subject of conversation. there are many serious drawbacks to the comforts of a family, the chief of which, perhaps, is being surrounded by convict servants. how thoroughly odious to every feeling, to be waited on by a man who the day before, perhaps, was flogged, from your representation, for some trifling misdemeanour. the female servants are of course much worse: hence children learn the vilest expressions, and it is fortunate if not equally vile ideas. on the other hand, the capital of a person, without any trouble on his part, produces him treble interest to what it will in england; and with care he is sure to grow rich. the luxuries of life are in abundance, and very little dearer than in england, and most articles of food are cheaper. the climate is splendid, and perfectly healthy; but to my mind its charms are lost by the uninviting aspect of the country. settlers possess a great advantage in finding their sons of service when very young. at the age of from sixteen to twenty they frequently take charge of distant farming stations. this, however, must happen at the expense of their boys associating entirely with convict servants. i am not aware that the tone of society has assumed any peculiar character; but with such habits, and without intellectual pursuits, it can hardly fail to deteriorate. my opinion is such that nothing but rather sharp necessity should compel me to emigrate. the rapid prosperity and future prospects of this colony are to me, not understanding these subjects, very puzzling. the two main exports are wool and whale-oil, and to both of these productions there is a limit. the country is totally unfit for canals, therefore there is a not very distant point beyond which the land-carriage of wool will not repay the expense of shearing and tending sheep. pasture everywhere is so thin that settlers have already pushed far into the interior; moreover, the country farther inland becomes extremely poor. agriculture, on account of the droughts, can never succeed on an extended scale: therefore, so far as i can see, australia must ultimately depend upon being the centre of commerce for the southern hemisphere and perhaps on her future manufactories. possessing coal, she always has the moving power at hand. from the habitable country extending along the coast, and from her english extraction, she is sure to be a maritime nation. i formerly imagined that australia would rise to be as grand and powerful a country as north america, but now it appears to me that such future grandeur is rather problematical. with respect to the state of the convicts, i had still fewer opportunities of judging than on other points. the first question is, whether their condition is at all one of punishment: no one will maintain that it is a very severe one. this, however, i suppose, is of little consequence as long as it continues to be an object of dread to criminals at home. the corporeal wants of the convicts are tolerably well supplied: their prospect of future liberty and comfort is not distant, and, after good conduct, certain. a "ticket of leave," which, as long as a man keeps clear of suspicion as well as of crime, makes him free within a certain district, is given upon good conduct, after years proportional to the length of the sentence; yet with all this, and overlooking the previous imprisonment and wretched passage out, i believe the years of assignment are passed away with discontent and unhappiness. as an intelligent man remarked to me, the convicts know no pleasure beyond sensuality, and in this they are not gratified. the enormous bribe which government possesses in offering free pardons, together with the deep horror of the secluded penal settlements, destroys confidence between the convicts, and so prevents crime. as to a sense of shame, such a feeling does not appear to be known, and of this i witnessed some very singular proofs. though it is a curious fact, i was universally told that the character of the convict population is one of arrant cowardice; not unfrequently some become desperate, and quite indifferent as to life, yet a plan requiring cool or continued courage is seldom put into execution. the worst feature in the whole case is that although there exists what may be called a legal reform, and comparatively little is committed which the law can touch, yet that any moral reform should take place appears to be quite out of the question. i was assured by well-informed people that a man who should try to improve, could not while living with other assigned servants;--his life would be one of intolerable misery and persecution. nor must the contamination of the convict-ships and prisons, both here and in england, be forgotten. on the whole, as a place of punishment, the object is scarcely gained; as a real system of reform it has failed, as perhaps would every other plan; but as a means of making men outwardly honest,--of converting vagabonds, most useless in one hemisphere, into active citizens of another, and thus giving birth to a new and splendid country--a grand centre of civilisation--it has succeeded to a degree perhaps unparalleled in history. january , . (plate . hobart town and mount wellington.) the "beagle" sailed for hobart town in van diemen's land. on the th of february, after a six days' passage, of which the first part was fine, and the latter very cold and squally, we entered the mouth of storm bay; the weather justified this awful name. the bay should rather be called an estuary, for it receives at its head the waters of the derwent. near the mouth there are some extensive basaltic platforms; but higher up the land becomes mountainous, and is covered by a light wood. the lower parts of the hills which skirt the bay are cleared; and the bright yellow fields of corn, and dark green ones of potatoes, appear very luxuriant. late in the evening we anchored in the snug cove on the shores of which stands the capital of tasmania. the first aspect of the place was very inferior to that of sydney; the latter might be called a city, this is only a town. it stands at the base of mount wellington, a mountain feet high, but of little picturesque beauty; from this source, however, it receives a good supply of water. round the cove there are some fine warehouses and on one side a small fort. coming from the spanish settlements, where such magnificent care has generally been paid to the fortifications, the means of defence in these colonies appeared very contemptible. comparing the town with sydney, i was chiefly struck with the comparative fewness of the large houses, either built or building. hobart town, from the census of , contained , inhabitants, and the whole of tasmania , . all the aborigines have been removed to an island in bass's straits, so that van diemen's land enjoys the great advantage of being free from a native population. this most cruel step seems to have been quite unavoidable, as the only means of stopping a fearful succession of robberies, burnings, and murders, committed by the blacks; and which sooner or later would have ended in their utter destruction. i fear there is no doubt that this train of evil and its consequences originated in the infamous conduct of some of our countrymen. thirty years is a short period in which to have banished the last aboriginal from his native island,--and that island nearly as large as ireland. the correspondence on this subject which took place between the government at home and that of van diemen's land, is very interesting. although numbers of natives were shot and taken prisoners in the skirmishing, which was going on at intervals for several years, nothing seems fully to have impressed them with the idea of our overwhelming power, until the whole island, in , was put under martial law, and by proclamation the whole population commanded to assist in one great attempt to secure the entire race. the plan adopted was nearly similar to that of the great hunting-matches in india: a line was formed reaching across the island, with the intention of driving the natives into a cul-de-sac on tasman's peninsula. the attempt failed; the natives, having tied up their dogs, stole during one night through the lines. this is far from surprising, when their practised senses and usual manner of crawling after wild animals is considered. i have been assured that they can conceal themselves on almost bare ground, in a manner which until witnessed is scarcely credible; their dusky bodies being easily mistaken for the blackened stumps which are scattered all over the country. i was told of a trial between a party of englishmen and a native, who was to stand in full view on the side of a bare hill; if the englishmen closed their eyes for less than a minute, he would squat down, and then they were never able to distinguish him from the surrounding stumps. but to return to the hunting-match; the natives understanding this kind of warfare, were terribly alarmed, for they at once perceived the power and numbers of the whites. shortly afterwards a party of thirteen belonging to two tribes came in; and, conscious of their unprotected condition, delivered themselves up in despair. subsequently by the intrepid exertions of mr. robinson, an active and benevolent man, who fearlessly visited by himself the most hostile of the natives, the whole were induced to act in a similar manner. they were then removed to an island, where food and clothes were provided them. count strzelecki states that "at the epoch of their deportation in , the number of natives amounted to . in , that is after the interval of seven years, they mustered only fifty-four individuals; and, while each family of the interior of new south wales, uncontaminated by contact with the whites, swarms with children, those of flinders' island had during eight years an accession of only fourteen in number!" ( / . "physical description of new south wales and van diemen's land" page .) the "beagle" stayed here ten days, and in this time i made several pleasant little excursions, chiefly with the object of examining the geological structure of the immediate neighbourhood. the main points of interest consist, first in some highly fossiliferous strata belonging to the devonian or carboniferous period; secondly, in proofs of a late small rise of the land; and lastly, in a solitary and superficial patch of yellowish limestone or travertin, which contains numerous impressions of leaves of trees, together with land-shells, not now existing. it is not improbable that this one small quarry includes the only remaining record of the vegetation of van diemen's land during one former epoch. the climate here is damper than in new south wales, and hence the land is more fertile. agriculture flourishes; the cultivated fields look well, and the gardens abound with thriving vegetables and fruit-trees. some of the farmhouses, situated in retired spots, had a very attractive appearance. the general aspect of the vegetation is similar to that of australia; perhaps it is a little more green and cheerful; and the pasture between the trees rather more abundant. one day i took a long walk on the side of the bay opposite to the town: i crossed in a steamboat, two of which are constantly plying backwards and forwards. the machinery of one of these vessels was entirely manufactured in this colony, which, from its very foundation, then numbered only three and thirty years! another day i ascended mount wellington; i took with me a guide, for i failed in a first attempt, from the thickness of the wood. our guide, however, was a stupid fellow, and conducted us to the southern and damp side of the mountain, where the vegetation was very luxuriant; and where the labour of the ascent, from the number of rotten trunks, was almost as great as on a mountain in tierra del fuego or in chiloe. it cost us five and a half hours of hard climbing before we reached the summit. in many parts the eucalypti grew to a great size and composed a noble forest. in some of the dampest ravines tree-ferns flourished in an extraordinary manner; i saw one which must have been at least twenty feet high to the base of the fronds, and was in girth exactly six feet. the fronds, forming the most elegant parasols, produced a gloomy shade, like that of the first hour of night. the summit of the mountain is broad and flat and is composed of huge angular masses of naked greenstone. its elevation is feet above the level of the sea. the day was splendidly clear, and we enjoyed a most extensive view; to the north, the country appeared a mass of wooded mountains, of about the same height with that on which we were standing, and with an equally tame outline: to the south the broken land and water, forming many intricate bays, was mapped with clearness before us. after staying some hours on the summit we found a better way to descend, but did not reach the "beagle" till eight o'clock, after a severe day's work. february , . the "beagle" sailed from tasmania, and, on the th of the ensuing month, reached king george's sound, situated close to the south-west corner of australia. we stayed there eight days; and we did not during our voyage pass a more dull and uninteresting time. the country, viewed from an eminence, appears a woody plain, with here and there rounded and partly bare hills of granite protruding. one day i went out with a party, in hopes of seeing a kangaroo-hunt, and walked over a good many miles of country. everywhere we found the soil sandy, and very poor; it supported either a coarse vegetation of thin, low brushwood and wiry grass, or a forest of stunted trees. the scenery resembled that of the high sandstone platform of the blue mountains; the casuarina (a tree somewhat resembling a scotch fir) is, however, here in greater number, and the eucalyptus in rather less. in the open parts there were many grass-trees,--a plant which, in appearance, has some affinity with the palm; but, instead of being surmounted by a crown of noble fronds, it can boast merely of a tuft of very coarse grass-like leaves. the general bright green colour of the brushwood and other plants, viewed from a distance, seemed to promise fertility. a single walk, however, was enough to dispel such an illusion; and he who thinks with me will never wish to walk again in so uninviting a country. one day i accompanied captain fitz roy to bald head, the place mentioned by so many navigators, where some imagined that they saw corals, and others that they saw petrified trees, standing in the position in which they had grown. according to our view, the beds have been formed by the wind having heaped up fine sand, composed of minute rounded particles of shells and corals, during which process branches and roots of trees, together with many land-shells, became enclosed. the whole then became consolidated by the percolation of calcareous matter; and the cylindrical cavities left by the decaying of the wood were thus also filled up with a hard pseudo-stalactitical stone. the weather is now wearing away the softer parts, and in consequence the hard casts of the roots and branches of the trees project above the surface, and, in a singularly deceptive manner, resemble the stumps of a dead thicket. a large tribe of natives, called the white cockatoo men happened to pay the settlement a visit while we were there. these men, as well as those of the tribe belonging to king george's sound, being tempted by the offer of some tubs of rice and sugar, were persuaded to hold a "corrobery," or great dancing-party. as soon as it grew dark, small fires were lighted, and the men commenced their toilet, which consisted in painting themselves white in spots and lines. as soon as all was ready, large fires were kept blazing, round which the women and children were collected as spectators; the cockatoo and king george's men formed two distinct parties, and generally danced in answer to each other. the dancing consisted in their running either sideways or in indian file into an open space, and stamping the ground with great force as they marched together. their heavy footsteps were accompanied by a kind of grunt, by beating their clubs and spears together, and by various other gesticulations, such as extending their arms and wriggling their bodies. it was a most rude, barbarous scene, and, to our ideas, without any sort of meaning; but we observed that the black women and children watched it with the greatest pleasure. perhaps these dances originally represented actions, such as wars and victories; there was one called the emu dance, in which each man extended his arm in a bent manner, like the neck of that bird. in another dance one man imitated the movements of a kangaroo grazing in the woods, whilst a second crawled up and pretended to spear him. when both tribes mingled in the dance, the ground trembled with the heaviness of their steps, and the air resounded with their wild cries. every one appeared in high spirits, and the group of nearly naked figures, viewed by the light of the blazing fires, all moving in hideous harmony, formed a perfect display of a festival amongst the lowest barbarians. in tierra del fuego we have beheld many curious scenes in savage life, but never, i think, one where the natives were in such high spirits, and so perfectly at their ease. after the dancing was over the whole party formed a great circle on the ground, and the boiled rice and sugar was distributed, to the delight of all. after several tedious delays from clouded weather, on the th of march we gladly stood out of king george's sound on our course to keeling island. farewell, australia! you are a rising child, and doubtless some day will reign a great princess in the south; but you are too great and ambitious for affection, yet not great enough for respect. i leave your shores without sorrow or regret. (plate . australian group of weapons and throwing sticks.) chapter xx. (plate . inside an atoll, keeling island.) keeling island:--coral formations. keeling island. singular appearance. scanty flora. transport of seeds. birds and insects. ebbing and flowing springs. fields of dead coral. stones transported in the roots of trees. great crab. stinging corals. coral-eating fish. coral formations. lagoon islands or atolls. depth at which reef-building corals can live. vast areas interspersed with low coral islands. subsidence of their foundations. barrier reefs. fringing reefs. conversion of fringing-reefs into barrier-reefs, and into atolls. evidence of changes in level. breaches in barrier-reefs. maldiva atolls; their peculiar structure. dead and submerged reefs. areas of subsidence and elevation. distribution of volcanoes. subsidence slow and vast in amount. april , . we arrived in view of the keeling or cocos islands, situated in the indian ocean, and about six hundred miles distant from the coast of sumatra. this is one of the lagoon-islands (or atolls) of coral formation similar to those in the low archipelago which we passed near. when the ship was in the channel at the entrance, mr. liesk, an english resident, came off in his boat. the history of the inhabitants of this place, in as few words as possible, is as follows. about nine years ago, mr. hare, a worthless character, brought from the east indian archipelago a number of malay slaves, which now, including children, amount to more than a hundred. shortly afterwards captain ross, who had before visited these islands in his merchant-ship, arrived from england, bringing with him his family and goods for settlement: along with him came mr. liesk, who had been a mate in his vessel. the malay slaves soon ran away from the islet on which mr. hare was settled, and joined captain ross's party. mr. hare upon this was ultimately obliged to leave the place. the malays are now nominally in a state of freedom, and certainly are so as far as regards their personal treatment; but in most other points they are considered as slaves. from their discontented state, from the repeated removals from islet to islet, and perhaps also from a little mismanagement, things are not very prosperous. the island has no domestic quadruped excepting the pig, and the main vegetable production is the cocoa-nut. the whole prosperity of the place depends on this tree; the only exports being oil from the nut, and the nuts themselves, which are taken to singapore and mauritius, where they are chiefly used, when grated, in making curries. on the cocoa-nut, also, the pigs, which are loaded with fat, almost entirely subsist, as do the ducks and poultry. even a huge land-crab is furnished by nature with the means to open and feed on this most useful production. the ring-formed reef of the lagoon-island is surmounted in the greater part of its length by linear islets. on the northern or leeward side there is an opening through which vessels can pass to the anchorage within. on entering, the scene was very curious and rather pretty; its beauty, however, entirely depended on the brilliancy of the surrounding colours. the shallow, clear, and still water of the lagoon, resting in its greater part on white sand, is, when illumined by a vertical sun, of the most vivid green. this brilliant expanse, several miles in width, is on all sides divided, either by a line of snow-white breakers from the dark heaving waters of the ocean, or from the blue vault of heaven by the strips of land, crowned by the level tops of the cocoa-nut trees. as a white cloud here and there affords a pleasing contrast with the azure sky, so in the lagoon bands of living coral darken the emerald green water. the next morning after anchoring i went on shore on direction island. the strip of dry land is only a few hundred yards in width; on the lagoon side there is a white calcareous beach, the radiation from which under this sultry climate was very oppressive; and on the outer coast a solid broad flat of coral-rock served to break the violence of the open sea. excepting near the lagoon, where there is some sand, the land is entirely composed of rounded fragments of coral. in such a loose, dry, stony soil, the climate of the intertropical regions alone could produce a vigorous vegetation. on some of the smaller islets nothing could be more elegant than the manner in which the young and full-grown cocoa-nut trees, without destroying each other's symmetry, were mingled into one wood. a beach of glittering white sand formed a border to these fairy spots. i will now give a sketch of the natural history of these islands, which, from its very paucity, possesses a peculiar interest. the cocoa-nut tree, at first glance, seems to compose the whole wood; there are however, five or six other trees. one of these grows to a very large size, but, from the extreme softness of its wood, is useless; another sort affords excellent timber for ship-building. besides the trees the number of plants is exceedingly limited and consists of insignificant weeds. in my collection, which includes, i believe, nearly the perfect flora, there are twenty species without reckoning a moss, lichen, and fungus. to this number two trees must be added; one of which was not in flower, and the other i only heard of. the latter is a solitary tree of its kind, and grows near the beach, where, without doubt, the one seed was thrown up by the waves. a guilandina also grows on only one of the islets. i do not include in the above list the sugar-cane, banana, some other vegetables, fruit-trees, and imported grasses. as the islands consist entirely of coral, and at one time must have existed as mere water-washed reefs, all their terrestrial productions must have been transported here by the waves of the sea. in accordance with this, the florula has quite the character of a refuge for the destitute: professor henslow informs me that of the twenty species nineteen belong to different genera, and these again to no less than sixteen families! ( / . these plants are described in the "annals of natural history" volume page .) in holman's "travels" an account is given, on the authority of mr. a.s. keating, who resided twelve months on these islands, of the various seeds and other bodies which have been known to have been washed on shore. ( / . holman's "travels" volume page .) "seeds and plants from sumatra and java have been driven up by the surf on the windward side of the islands. among them have been found the kimiri, native of sumatra and the peninsula of malacca; the cocoa-nut of balci, known by its shape and size; the dadass, which is planted by the malays with the pepper-vine, the latter entwining round its trunk, and supporting itself by the prickles on its stem; the soap-tree; the castor-oil plant; trunks of the sago palm; and various kinds of seeds unknown to the malays settled on the islands. these are all supposed to have been driven by the north-west monsoon to the coast of new holland, and thence to these islands by the south-east trade-wind. large masses of java teak and yellow wood have also been found, besides immense trees of red and white cedar, and the blue gum-wood of new holland, in a perfectly sound condition. all the hardy seeds, such as creepers, retain their germinating power, but the softer kinds, among which is the mangostin, are destroyed in the passage. fishing-canoes, apparently from java, have at times been washed on shore." it is interesting thus to discover how numerous the seeds are, which, coming from several countries, are drifted over the wide ocean. professor henslow tells me he believes that nearly all the plants which i brought from these islands are common littoral species in the east indian archipelago. from the direction, however, of the winds and currents, it seems scarcely possible that they could have come here in a direct line. if, as suggested with much probability by mr. keating, they were first carried towards the coast of new holland, and thence drifted back together with the productions of that country, the seeds, before germinating, must have travelled between and miles. chamisso, when describing the radack archipelago, situated in the western part of the pacific, states that "the sea brings to these islands the seeds and fruits of many trees, most of which have yet not grown here. the greater part of these seeds appear to have not yet lost the capability of growing." ( / . kotzebue's "first voyage" volume page .) it is also said that palms and bamboos from somewhere in the torrid zone, and trunks of northern firs, are washed on shore; these firs must have come from an immense distance. these facts are highly interesting. it cannot be doubted that, if there were land-birds to pick up the seeds when first cast on shore, and a soil better adapted for their growth than the loose blocks of coral, the most isolated of the lagoon islands would in time possess a far more abundant flora than they now have. the list of land animals is even poorer than that of the plants. some of the islets are inhabited by rats, which were brought in a ship from the mauritius, wrecked here. these rats are considered by mr. waterhouse as identical with the english kind, but they are smaller, and more brightly coloured. there are no true land-birds, for a snipe and a rail (rallus phillippensis), though living entirely in the dry herbage, belong to the order of waders. birds of this order are said to occur on several of the small low islands in the pacific. at ascension, where there is no land-bird, a rail (porphyrio simplex) was shot near the summit of the mountain, and it was evidently a solitary straggler. at tristan d'acunha, where, according to carmichael, there are only two land-birds, there is a coot. from these facts i believe that the waders, after the innumerable web-footed species, are generally the first colonists of small isolated islands. i may add that whenever i noticed birds, not of oceanic species, very far out at sea, they always belonged to this order; and hence they would naturally become the earliest colonists of any remote point of land. of reptiles i saw only one small lizard. of insects i took pains to collect every kind. exclusive of spiders, which were numerous, there were thirteen species. ( / . the thirteen species belong to the following orders:--in the coleoptera, a minute elater; orthoptera, a gryllus and a blatta; hemiptera, one species; homoptera, two; neuroptera, a chrysopa; hymenoptera, two ants; lepidoptera nocturna, a diopaea, and a pterophorus (?); diptera, two species.) of these one only was a beetle. a small ant swarmed by thousands under the loose dry blocks of coral, and was the only true insect which was abundant. although the productions of the land are thus scanty, if we look to the waters of the surrounding sea the number of organic beings is indeed infinite. chamisso has described the natural history of a lagoon-island in the radack archipelago ( / . kotzebue's "first voyage" volume page .); and it is remarkable how closely its inhabitants, in number and kind, resemble those of keeling island. there is one lizard and two waders, namely, a snipe and curlew. of plants there are nineteen species, including a fern; and some of these are the same with those growing here, though on a spot so immensely remote, and in a different ocean. the long strips of land, forming the linear islets, have been raised only to that height to which the surf can throw fragments of coral, and the wind heap up calcareous sand. the solid flat of coral rock on the outside, by its breadth, breaks the first violence of the waves, which otherwise, in a day, would sweep away these islets and all their productions. the ocean and the land seem here struggling for mastery: although terra firma has obtained a footing, the denizens of the water think their claim at least equally good. in every part one meets hermit crabs of more than one species, carrying on their backs the shells which they have stolen from the neighbouring beach. ( / . the large claws or pincers of some of these crabs are most beautifully adapted, when drawn back, to form an operculum to the shell, nearly as perfect as the proper one originally belonging to the molluscous animal. i was assured, and as far as my observations went i found it so, that certain species of the hermit-crab always use certain species of shells.) overhead numerous gannets, frigate-birds, and terns, rest on the trees; and the wood, from the many nests and from the smell of the atmosphere, might be called a sea-rookery. the gannets, sitting on their rude nests, gaze at one with a stupid yet angry air. the noddies, as their name expresses, are silly little creatures. but there is one charming bird: it is a small, snow-white tern, which smoothly hovers at the distance of a few feet above one's head, its large black eye scanning, with quiet curiosity, your expression. little imagination is required to fancy that so light and delicate a body must be tenanted by some wandering fairy spirit. sunday, april , . after service i accompanied captain fitz roy to the settlement, situated at the distance of some miles, on the point of an islet thickly covered with tall cocoa-nut trees. captain ross and mr. liesk live in a large barn-like house open at both ends, and lined with mats made of woven bark. the houses of the malays are arranged along the shore of the lagoon. the whole place had rather a desolate aspect, for there were no gardens to show the signs of care and cultivation. the natives belong to different islands in the east indian archipelago, but all speak the same language: we saw the inhabitants of borneo, celebes, java, and sumatra. in colour they resemble the tahitians, from whom they do not widely differ in features. some of the women, however, show a good deal of the chinese character. i liked both their general expressions and the sound of their voices. they appeared poor, and their houses were destitute of furniture; but it was evident from the plumpness of the little children, that cocoa-nuts and turtle afford no bad sustenance. on this island the wells are situated from which ships obtain water. at first sight it appears not a little remarkable that the fresh water should regularly ebb and flow with the tides; and it has even been imagined that sand has the power of filtering the salt from the sea-water. these ebbing wells are common on some of the low islands in the west indies. the compressed sand, or porous coral rock, is permeated like a sponge with the salt water, but the rain which falls on the surface must sink to the level of the surrounding sea, and must accumulate there, displacing an equal bulk of the salt water. as the water in the lower part of the great sponge-like coral mass rises and falls with the tides, so will the water near the surface; and this will keep fresh, if the mass be sufficiently compact to prevent much mechanical admixture; but where the land consists of great loose blocks of coral with open interstices, if a well be dug, the water, as i have seen, is brackish. after dinner we stayed to see a curious half superstitious scene acted by the malay women. a large wooden spoon dressed in garments, and which had been carried to the grave of a dead man, they pretend becomes inspired at the full of the moon, and will dance and jump about. after the proper preparations, the spoon, held by two women, became convulsed, and danced in good time to the song of the surrounding children and women. it was a most foolish spectacle; but mr. liesk maintained that many of the malays believed in its spiritual movements. the dance did not commence till the moon had risen, and it was well worth remaining to behold her bright orb so quietly shining through the long arms of the cocoa-nut trees as they waved in the evening breeze. these scenes of the tropics are in themselves so delicious that they almost equal those dearer ones at home, to which we are bound by each best feeling of the mind. the next day i employed myself in examining the very interesting, yet simple structure and origin of these islands. the water being unusually smooth, i waded over the outer flat of dead rock as far as the living mounds of coral, on which the swell of the open sea breaks. in some of the gullies and hollows there were beautiful green and other coloured fishes, and the form and tints of many of the zoophytes were admirable. it is excusable to grow enthusiastic over the infinite numbers of organic beings with which the sea of the tropics, so prodigal of life, teems; yet i must confess i think those naturalists who have described, in well-known words, the submarine grottoes decked with a thousand beauties, have indulged in rather exuberant language. april , . i accompanied captain fitz roy to an island at the head of the lagoon: the channel was exceedingly intricate, winding through fields of delicately branched corals. we saw several turtle and two boats were then employed in catching them. the water was so clear and shallow, that although at first a turtle quickly dives out of sight, yet in a canoe or boat under sail the pursuers after no very long chase come up to it. a man standing ready in the bow at this moment dashes through the water upon the turtle's back; then clinging with both hands by the shell of its neck, he is carried away till the animal becomes exhausted and is secured. it was quite an interesting chase to see the two boats thus doubling about, and the men dashing head foremost into the water trying to seize their prey. captain moresby informs me that in the chagos archipelago in this same ocean, the natives, by a horrible process, take the shell from the back of the living turtle. "it is covered with burning charcoal, which causes the outer shell to curl upwards, it is then forced off with a knife, and before it becomes cold flattened between boards. after this barbarous process the animal is suffered to regain its native element, where, after a certain time, a new shell is formed; it is, however, too thin to be of any service, and the animal always appears languishing and sickly." when we arrived at the head of the lagoon we crossed a narrow islet and found a great surf breaking on the windward coast. i can hardly explain the reason, but there is to my mind much grandeur in the view of the outer shores of these lagoon-islands. there is a simplicity in the barrier-like beach, the margin of green bushes and tall cocoa-nuts, the solid flat of dead coral-rock, strewed here and there with great loose fragments, and the line of furious breakers, all rounding away towards either hand. the ocean throwing its waters over the broad reef appears an invincible, all-powerful enemy; yet we see it resisted, and even conquered, by means which at first seem most weak and inefficient. it is not that the ocean spares the rock of coral; the great fragments scattered over the reef, and heaped on the beach, whence the tall cocoa-nut springs, plainly bespeak the unrelenting power of the waves. nor are any periods of repose granted. the long swell caused by the gentle but steady action of the trade-wind, always blowing in one direction over a wide area, causes breakers, almost equalling in force those during a gale of wind in the temperate regions, and which never cease to rage. it is impossible to behold these waves without feeling a conviction that an island, though built of the hardest rock, let it be porphyry, granite, or quartz, would ultimately yield and be demolished by such an irresistible power. yet these low, insignificant coral-islets stand and are victorious: for here another power, as an antagonist, takes part in the contest. the organic forces separate the atoms of carbonate of lime, one by one, from the foaming breakers, and unite them into a symmetrical structure. let the hurricane tear up its thousand huge fragments; yet what will that tell against the accumulated labour of myriads of architects at work night and day, month after month? thus do we see the soft and gelatinous body of a polypus, through the agency of the vital laws, conquering the great mechanical power of the waves of an ocean which neither the art of man nor the inanimate works of nature could successfully resist. we did not return on board till late in the evening, for we stayed a long time in the lagoon, examining the fields of coral and the gigantic shells of the chama, into which, if a man were to put his hand, he would not, as long as the animal lived, be able to withdraw it. near the head of the lagoon i was much surprised to find a wide area, considerably more than a mile square, covered with a forest of delicately branching corals, which, though standing upright, were all dead and rotten. at first i was quite at a loss to understand the cause; afterwards it occurred to me that it was owing to the following rather curious combination of circumstances. it should, however, first be stated, that corals are not able to survive even a short exposure in the air to the sun's rays, so that their upward limit of growth is determined by that of lowest water at spring tides. it appears, from some old charts, that the long island to windward was formerly separated by wide channels into several islets; this fact is likewise indicated by the trees being younger on these portions. under the former condition of the reef, a strong breeze, by throwing more water over the barrier, would tend to raise the level of the lagoon. now it acts in a directly contrary manner; for the water within the lagoon not only is not increased by currents from the outside, but is itself blown outwards by the force of the wind. hence it is observed that the tide near the head of the lagoon does not rise so high during a strong breeze as it does when it is calm. this difference of level, although no doubt very small, has, i believe, caused the death of those coral-groves, which under the former and more open condition of the outer reef had attained the utmost possible limit of upward growth. a few miles north of keeling there is another small atoll, the lagoon of which is nearly filled up with coral-mud. captain ross found embedded in the conglomerate on the outer coast a well-rounded fragment of greenstone, rather larger than a man's head: he and the men with him were so much surprised at this, that they brought it away and preserved it as a curiosity. the occurrence of this one stone, where every other particle of matter is calcareous, certainly is very puzzling. the island has scarcely ever been visited, nor is it probable that a ship had been wrecked there. from the absence of any better explanation, i came to the conclusion that it must have come entangled in the roots of some large tree: when, however, i considered the great distance from the nearest land, the combination of chances against a stone thus being entangled, the tree washed into the sea, floated so far, then landed safely, and the stone finally so embedded as to allow of its discovery, i was almost afraid of imagining a means of transport apparently so improbable. it was therefore with great interest that i found chamisso, the justly distinguished naturalist who accompanied kotzebue, stating that the inhabitants of the radack archipelago, a group of lagoon islands in the midst of the pacific, obtained stones for sharpening their instruments by searching the roots of trees which are cast upon the beach. it will be evident that this must have happened several times, since laws have been established that such stones belong to the chief, and a punishment is inflicted on any one who attempts to steal them. when the isolated position of these small islands in the midst of a vast ocean--their great distance from any land excepting that of coral formation, attested by the value which the inhabitants, who are such bold navigators, attach to a stone of any kind--and the slowness of the currents of the open sea, are all considered, the occurrence of pebbles thus transported does appear wonderful. ( / . some natives carried by kotzebue to kamtschatka collected stones to take back to their country.) stones may often be thus carried; and if the island on which they are stranded is constructed of any other substance besides coral, they would scarcely attract attention, and their origin at least would never be guessed. moreover, this agency may long escape discovery from the probability of trees, especially those loaded with stones, floating beneath the surface. in the channels of tierra del fuego large quantities of drift timber are cast upon the beach, yet it is extremely rare to meet a tree swimming on the water. these facts may possibly throw light on single stones, whether angular or rounded, occasionally found embedded in fine sedimentary masses. during another day i visited west islet, on which the vegetation was perhaps more luxuriant than on any other. the cocoa-nut trees generally grow separate, but here the young ones flourished beneath their tall parents, and formed with their long and curved fronds the most shady arbours. those alone who have tried it know how delicious it is to be seated in such shade, and drink the cool pleasant fluid of the cocoa-nut. in this island there is a large bay-like space, composed of the finest white sand: it is quite level and is only covered by the tide at high water; from this large bay smaller creeks penetrate the surrounding woods. to see a field of glittering white sand representing water, with the cocoa-nut trees extending their tall and waving trunks round the margin, formed a singular and very pretty view. i have before alluded to a crab which lives on the cocoa-nuts; it is very common on all parts of the dry land, and grows to a monstrous size: it is closely allied or identical with the birgos latro. the front pair of legs terminate in very strong and heavy pincers, and the last pair are fitted with others weaker and much narrower. it would at first be thought quite impossible for a crab to open a strong cocoa-nut covered with the husk; but mr. liesk assures me that he has repeatedly seen this effected. the crab begins by tearing the husk, fibre by fibre, and always from that end under which the three eye-holes are situated; when this is completed, the crab commences hammering with its heavy claws on one of the eye-holes till an opening is made. then turning round its body, by the aid of its posterior and narrow pair of pincers it extracts the white albuminous substance. i think this is as curious a case of instinct as ever i heard of, and likewise of adaptation in structure between two objects apparently so remote from each other in the scheme of nature as a crab and a cocoa-nut tree. the birgos is diurnal in its habits; but every night it is said to pay a visit to the sea, no doubt for the purpose of moistening its branchiae. the young are likewise hatched, and live for some time, on the coast. these crabs inhabit deep burrows, which they hollow out beneath the roots of trees; and where they accumulate surprising quantities of the picked fibres of the cocoa-nut husk, on which they rest as on a bed. the malays sometimes take advantage of this, and collect the fibrous mass to use as junk. these crabs are very good to eat; moreover, under the tail of the larger ones there is a mass of fat, which, when melted, sometimes yields as much as a quart-bottleful of limpid oil. it has been stated by some authors that the birgos crawls up the cocoa-nut trees for the purpose of stealing the nuts: i very much doubt the possibility of this; but with the pandanus the task would be very much easier. ( / . see "proceedings of the zoological society" page .) i was told by mr. liesk that on these islands the birgos lives only on the nuts which have fallen to the ground. captain moresby informs me that this crab inhabits the chagos and seychelle groups, but not the neighbouring maldiva archipelago. it formerly abounded at mauritius, but only a few small ones are now found there. in the pacific this species, or one with closely allied habits, is said to inhabit a single coral island north of the society group. ( / . tyerman and bennett "voyage" etc. volume page .) to show the wonderful strength of the front pair of pincers, i may mention that captain moresby confined one in a strong tin box, which had held biscuits, the lid being secured with wire; but the crab turned down the edges and escaped. in turning down the edges it actually punched many small holes quite through the tin! i was a good deal surprised by finding two species of coral of the genus millepora (m. complanata and alcicornis), possessed of the power of stinging. the stony branches or plates, when taken fresh from the water, have a harsh feel and are not slimy, although possessing a strong and disagreeable smell. the stinging property seems to vary in different specimens: when a piece was pressed or rubbed on the tender skin of the face or arm, a pricking sensation was usually caused, which came on after the interval of a second, and lasted only for a few minutes. one day, however, by merely touching my face with one of the branches, pain was instantaneously caused; it increased as usual after a few seconds, and remaining sharp for some minutes, was perceptible for half an hour afterwards. the sensation was as bad as that from a nettle, but more like that caused by the physalia or portuguese man-of-war. little red spots were produced on the tender skin of the arm, which appeared as if they would have formed watery pustules, but did not. m. quoy mentions this case of the millepora; and i have heard of stinging corals in the west indies. many marine animals seem to have this power of stinging: besides the portuguese man-of-war, many jelly-fish, and the aplysia or sea-slug of the cape de verd islands, it is stated in the "voyage of the astrolabe" that an actinia or sea-anemone, as well as a flexible coralline allied to sertularia, both possess this means of offence or defence. in the east indian sea a stinging sea-weed is said to be found. two species of fish, of the genus scarus, which are common here, exclusively feed on coral: both are coloured of a splendid bluish-green, one living invariably in the lagoon, and the other amongst the outer breakers. mr. liesk assured us that he had repeatedly seen whole shoals grazing with their strong bony jaws on the tops of the coral branches: i opened the intestines of several and found them distended with yellowish calcareous sandy mud. the slimy disgusting holuthuriae (allied to our star-fish), which the chinese gourmands are so fond of, also feed largely, as i am informed by dr. allan, on corals; and the bony apparatus within their bodies seems well adapted for this end. these holuthuriae, the fish, the numerous burrowing shells, and nereidous worms, which perforate every block of dead coral, must be very efficient agents in producing the fine white mud which lies at the bottom and on the shores of the lagoon. a portion, however, of this mud, which when wet resembled pounded chalk, was found by professor ehrenberg to be partly composed of siliceous-shielded infusoria. april , . in the morning we stood out of the lagoon on our passage to the isle of france. i am glad we have visited these islands: such formations surely rank high amongst the wonderful objects of this world. captain fitz roy found no bottom with a line feet in length, at the distance of only yards from the shore; hence this island forms a lofty submarine mountain, with sides steeper even than those of the most abrupt volcanic cone. the saucer-shaped summit is nearly ten miles across; and every single atom, from the least particle to the largest fragment of rock, in this great pile, which however is small compared with very many other lagoon islands, bears the stamp of having been subjected to organic arrangement. ( / . i exclude, of course, some soil which has been imported here in vessels from malacca and java, and likewise some small fragments of pumice, drifted here by the waves. the one block of greenstone, moreover, on the northern island must be excepted.) we feel surprise when travellers tell us of the vast dimensions of the pyramids and other great ruins, but how utterly insignificant are the greatest of these, when compared to these mountains of stone accumulated by the agency of various minute and tender animals! this is a wonder which does not at first strike the eye of the body, but, after reflection, the eye of reason. (plate . whitsunday island.) i will now give a very brief account of the three great classes of coral-reefs; namely, atolls, barrier, and fringing reefs, and will explain my views on their formation. ( / . these were first read before the geological society in may and have since been developed in a separate volume on the "structure and distribution of coral reefs.") almost every voyager who has crossed the pacific has expressed his unbounded astonishment at the lagoon islands, or as i shall for the future call them by their indian name of atolls, and has attempted some explanation. even as long ago as the year , pyrard de laval well exclaimed, "c'est une merveille de voir chacun de ces atollons, environné d'un grand banc de pierre tout autour, n'y ayant point d'artifice humain." the accompanying sketch of whitsunday island in the pacific, copied from captain beechey's admirable "voyage" (plate ), gives but a faint idea of the singular aspect of an atoll: it is one of the smallest size, and has its narrow islets united together in a ring. the immensity of the ocean, the fury of the breakers, contrasted with the lowness of the land and the smoothness of the bright green water within the lagoon, can hardly be imagined without having been seen. the earlier voyagers fancied that the coral-building animals instinctively built up their great circles to afford themselves protection in the inner parts; but so far is this from the truth that those massive kinds, to whose growth on the exposed outer shores the very existence of the reef depends, cannot live within the lagoon, where other delicately-branching kinds flourish. moreover, on this view, many species of distinct genera and families are supposed to combine for one end; and of such a combination, not a single instance can be found in the whole of nature. the theory that has been most generally received is that atolls are based on submarine craters; but when we consider the form and size of some, the number, proximity, and relative positions of others, this idea loses its plausible character: thus suadiva atoll is geographical miles in diameter in one line, by miles in another line; rimsky is by miles across, and it has a strangely sinuous margin; bow atoll is miles long, and on an average only in width; menchicoff atoll consists of three atolls united or tied together. this theory, moreover, is totally inapplicable to the northern maldiva atolls in the indian ocean (one of which is miles in length, and between and in breadth), for they are not bounded like ordinary atolls by narrow reefs, but by a vast number of separate little atolls; other little atolls rising out of the great central lagoon-like spaces. a third and better theory was advanced by chamisso, who thought that from the corals growing more vigorously where exposed to the open sea, as undoubtedly is the case, the outer edges would grow up from the general foundation before any other part, and that this would account for the ring or cup-shaped structure. but we shall immediately see, that in this, as well as in the crater-theory, a most important consideration has been overlooked, namely, on what have the reef-building corals, which cannot live at a great depth, based their massive structures? numerous soundings were carefully taken by captain fitz roy on the steep outside of keeling atoll, and it was found that within ten fathoms the prepared tallow at the bottom of the lead invariably came up marked with the impressions of living corals, but as perfectly clean as if it had been dropped on a carpet of turf; as the depth increased, the impressions became less numerous, but the adhering particles of sand more and more numerous, until at last it was evident that the bottom consisted of a smooth sandy layer; to carry on the analogy of the turf, the blades of grass grew thinner and thinner, till at last the soil was so sterile that nothing sprang from it. from these observations, confirmed by many others, it may be safely inferred that the utmost depth at which corals can construct reefs is between and fathoms. now there are enormous areas in the pacific and indian oceans in which every single island is of coral formation, and is raised only to that height to which the waves can throw up fragments, and the winds pile up sand. thus the radack group of atolls is an irregular square, miles long and broad; the low archipelago is elliptic-formed, miles in its longer, and in its shorter axis: there are other small groups and single low islands between these two archipelagoes, making a linear space of ocean actually more than miles in length, in which not one single island rises above the specified height. again, in the indian ocean there is a space of ocean miles in length, including three archipelagoes, in which every island is low and of coral formation. from the fact of the reef-building corals not living at great depths, it is absolutely certain that throughout these vast areas, wherever there is now an atoll, a foundation must have originally existed within a depth of from to fathoms from the surface. it is improbable in the highest degree that broad, lofty, isolated, steep-sided banks of sediment, arranged in groups and lines hundreds of leagues in length, could have been deposited in the central and profoundest parts of the pacific and indian oceans, at an immense distance from any continent, and where the water is perfectly limpid. it is equally improbable that the elevatory forces should have uplifted throughout the above vast areas, innumerable great rocky banks within to fathoms, or to feet, of the surface of the sea, and not one single point above that level; for where on the whole face of the globe can we find a single chain of mountains, even a few hundred miles in length, with their many summits rising within a few feet of a given level, and not one pinnacle above it? if then the foundations, whence the atoll-building corals sprang, were not formed of sediment, and if they were not lifted up to the required level, they must of necessity have subsided into it; and this at once solves the difficulty. for as mountain after mountain, and island after island, slowly sank beneath the water, fresh bases would be successively afforded for the growth of the corals. it is impossible here to enter into all the necessary details, but i venture to defy any one to explain in any other manner how it is possible that numerous islands should be distributed throughout vast areas--all the islands being low--all being built of corals, absolutely requiring a foundation within a limited depth from the surface. ( / . it is remarkable that mr. lyell, even in the first edition of his "principles of geology," inferred that the amount of subsidence in the pacific must have exceeded that of elevation, from the area of land being very small relatively to the agents there tending to form it, namely, the growth of coral and volcanic action.) (plate . barrier-reef, bolabola.) before explaining how atoll-formed reefs acquire their peculiar structure, we must turn to the second great class, namely, barrier-reefs. these either extend in straight lines in front of the shores of a continent or of a large island, or they encircle smaller islands; in both cases, being separated from the land by a broad and rather deep channel of water, analogous to the lagoon within an atoll. it is remarkable how little attention has been paid to encircling barrier-reefs; yet they are truly wonderful structures. the sketch (plate ) represents part of the barrier encircling the island of bolabola in the pacific, as seen from one of the central peaks. in this instance the whole line of reef has been converted into land; but usually a snow-white line of great breakers, with only here and there a single low islet crowned with cocoa-nut trees, divides the dark heaving waters of the ocean from the light green expanse of the lagoon-channel. and the quiet waters of this channel generally bathe a fringe of low alluvial soil, loaded with the most beautiful productions of the tropics, and lying at the foot of the wild, abrupt, central mountains. encircling barrier-reefs are of all sizes, from three miles to no less than forty-four miles in diameter; and that which fronts one side, and encircles both ends, of new caledonia, is miles long. each reef includes one, two, or several rocky islands of various heights; and in one instance, even as many as twelve separate islands. the reef runs at a greater or less distance from the included land; in the society archipelago generally from one to three or four miles; but at hogoleu the reef is miles on the southern side, and miles on the opposite or northern side, from the included islands. the depth within the lagoon-channel also varies much; from to fathoms may be taken as an average; but at vanikoro there are spaces no less than fathoms or feet deep. internally the reef either slopes gently into the lagoon-channel, or ends in a perpendicular wall sometimes between two and three hundred feet under water in height: externally the reef rises, like an atoll, with extreme abruptness out of the profound depths of the ocean. what can be more singular than these structures? we see an island, which may be compared to a castle situated on the summit of a lofty submarine mountain, protected by a great wall of coral-rock, always steep externally and sometimes internally, with a broad level summit, here and there breached by narrow gateways, through which the largest ships can enter the wide and deep encircling moat. as far as the actual reef of coral is concerned, there is not the smallest difference in general size, outline, grouping, and even in quite trifling details of structure, between a barrier and an atoll. the geographer balbi has well remarked that an encircled island is an atoll with high land rising out of its lagoon; remove the land from within, and a perfect atoll is left. but what has caused these reefs to spring up at such great distances from the shores of the included islands? it cannot be that the corals will not grow close to the land; for the shores within the lagoon-channel, when not surrounded by alluvial soil, are often fringed by living reefs; and we shall presently see that there is a whole class, which i have called fringing-reefs from their close attachment to the shores both of continents and of islands. again, on what have the reef-building corals, which cannot live at great depths, based their encircling structures? this is a great apparent difficulty, analogous to that in the case of atolls, which has generally been overlooked. it will be perceived more clearly by inspecting the following sections which are real ones, taken in north and south lines, through the islands with their barrier-reefs, of vanikoro, gambier, and maurua; and they are laid down, both vertically and horizontally, on the same scale of a quarter of an inch to a mile. (plate . sections of barrier-reefs. . vanikoro. . gambier islands. . maurua. the horizontal shading shows the barrier-reefs and lagoon-channels. the inclined shading above the level of the sea (aa) shows the actual form of the land; the inclined shading below this line shows its probable prolongation under water.) it should be observed that the sections might have been taken in any direction through these islands, or through many other encircled islands, and the general features would have been the same. now bearing in mind that reef-building coral cannot live at a greater depth than from to fathoms, and that the scale is so small that the plummets on the right hand show a depth of fathoms, on what are these barrier-reefs based? are we to suppose that each island is surrounded by a collar-like submarine ledge of rock, or by a great bank of sediment, ending abruptly where the reef ends? if the sea had formerly eaten deeply into the islands, before they were protected by the reefs, thus having left a shallow ledge round them under water, the present shores would have been invariably bounded by great precipices; but this is most rarely the case. moreover, on this notion, it is not possible to explain why the corals should have sprung up, like a wall, from the extreme outer margin of the ledge, often leaving a broad space of water within, too deep for the growth of corals. the accumulation of a wide bank of sediment all round these islands, and generally widest where the included islands are smallest, is highly improbable, considering their exposed positions in the central and deepest parts of the ocean. in the case of the barrier-reef of new caledonia, which extends for miles beyond the northern point of the island, in the same straight line with which it fronts the west coast, it is hardly possible to believe that a bank of sediment could thus have been straightly deposited in front of a lofty island, and so far beyond its termination in the open sea. finally, if we look to other oceanic islands of about the same height and of similar geological constitution, but not encircled by coral-reefs, we may in vain search for so trifling a circumambient depth as fathoms, except quite near to their shores; for usually land that rises abruptly out of water, as do most of the encircled and non-encircled oceanic islands, plunges abruptly under it. on what then, i repeat, are these barrier reefs based? why, with their wide and deep moat-like channels, do they stand so far from the included land? we shall soon see how easily these difficulties disappear. we come now to our third class of fringing-reefs, which will require a very short notice. where the land slopes abruptly under water, these reefs are only a few yards in width, forming a mere ribbon or fringe round the shores: where the land slopes gently under the water the reef extends farther, sometimes even as much as a mile from the land; but in such cases the soundings outside the reef always show that the submarine prolongation of the land is gently inclined. in fact the reefs extend only to that distance from the shore at which a foundation within the requisite depth from to fathoms is found. as far as the actual reef is concerned, there is no essential difference between it and that forming a barrier or an atoll: it is, however, generally of less width, and consequently few islets have been formed on it. from the corals growing more vigorously on the outside, and from the noxious effect of the sediment washed inwards, the outer edge of the reef is the highest part, and between it and the land there is generally a shallow sandy channel a few feet in depth. where banks of sediment have accumulated near to the surface, as in parts of the west indies, they sometimes become fringed with corals, and hence in some degree resemble lagoon-islands or atolls, in the same manner as fringing-reefs, surrounding gently sloping islands, in some degree resemble barrier-reefs. (plate . section of coral-reef. aa, outer edges of the fringing-reef, at the level of the sea. bb, the shores of the fringed island. a'a', outer edges of the reef, after its upward growth during a period of subsidence, now converted into a barrier, with islets on it. b'b', the shores of the now encircled islands. cc, lagoon-channel. nb.--in this and plate , the subsidence of the land could be represented only by an apparent rise in the level of the sea.) no theory on the formation of coral-reefs can be considered satisfactory which does not include the three great classes. we have seen that we are driven to believe in the subsidence of those vast areas, interspersed with low islands, of which not one rises above the height to which the wind and waves can throw up matter, and yet are constructed by animals requiring a foundation, and that foundation to lie at no great depth. let us then take an island surrounded by fringing-reefs, which offer no difficulty in their structure; and let this island with its reef, represented by the unbroken lines in plate , slowly subside. now as the island sinks down, either a few feet at a time or quite insensibly, we may safely infer, from what is known of the conditions favourable to the growth of coral, that the living masses, bathed by the surf on the margin of the reef, will soon regain the surface. the water, however, will encroach little by little on the shore, the island becoming lower and smaller, and the space between the inner edge of the reef and the beach proportionally broader. a section of the reef and island in this state, after a subsidence of several hundred feet, is given by the dotted lines. coral islets are supposed to have been formed on the reef; and a ship is anchored in the lagoon-channel. this channel will be more or less deep, according to the rate of subsidence, to the amount of sediment accumulated in it, and to the growth of the delicately branched corals which can live there. the section in this state resembles in every respect one drawn through an encircled island: in fact, it is a real section (on the scale of . of an inch to a mile) through bolabola in the pacific. we can now at once see why encircling barrier-reefs stand so far from the shores which they front. we can also perceive that a line drawn perpendicularly down from the outer edge of the new reef, to the foundation of solid rock beneath the old fringing-reef, will exceed by as many feet as there have been feet of subsidence, that small limit of depth at which the effective corals can live:--the little architects having built up their great wall-like mass, as the whole sank down, upon a basis formed of other corals and their consolidated fragments. thus the difficulty on this head, which appeared so great, disappears. if, instead of an island, we had taken the shore of a continent fringed with reefs, and had imagined it to have subsided, a great straight barrier, like that of australia or new caledonia, separated from the land by a wide and deep channel, would evidently have been the result. (plate . section of coral-reef. a'a', outer edges of the barrier-reef at the level of the sea, with islets on it. b'b', the shores of the included island. cc, the lagoon-channel. a''a'', outer edges of the reef, now converted into an atoll. c', the lagoon of the new atoll. nb.--according to the true scale, the depths of the lagoon-channel and lagoon are much exaggerated.) let us take our new encircling barrier-reef (plate ), of which the section is now represented by unbroken lines, and which, as i have said, is a real section through bolabola, and let it go on subsiding. as the barrier-reef slowly sinks down, the corals will go on vigorously growing upwards; but as the island sinks, the water will gain inch by inch on the shore--the separate mountains first forming separate islands within one great reef--and finally, the last and highest pinnacle disappearing. the instant this takes place, a perfect atoll is formed: i have said, remove the high land from within an encircling barrier-reef, and an atoll is left, and the land has been removed. we can now perceive how it comes that atolls, having sprung from encircling barrier-reefs, resemble them in general size, form, in the manner in which they are grouped together, and in their arrangement in single or double lines; for they may be called rude outline charts of the sunken islands over which they stand. we can further see how it arises that the atolls in the pacific and indian oceans extend in lines parallel to the generally prevailing strike of the high islands and great coast-lines of those oceans. i venture, therefore, to affirm that on the theory of the upward growth of the corals during the sinking of the land, all the leading features in those wonderful structures, the lagoon-islands or atolls, which have so long excited the attention of voyagers, as well as in the no less wonderful barrier-reefs, whether encircling small islands or stretching for hundreds of miles along the shores of a continent, are simply explained. ( / . it has been highly satisfactory to me to find the following passage in a pamphlet by mr. couthouy, one of the naturalists in the great antarctic expedition of the united states:--"having personally examined a large number of coral-islands, and resided eight months among the volcanic class having shore and partially encircling reefs, i may be permitted to state that my own observations have impressed a conviction of the correctness of the theory of mr. darwin." the naturalists, however, of this expedition differ with me on some points respecting coral formations.) (plate . bolabola island.) it may be asked whether i can offer any direct evidence of the subsidence of barrier-reefs or atolls; but it must be borne in mind how difficult it must ever be to detect a movement, the tendency of which is to hide under water the part affected. nevertheless, at keeling atoll i observed on all sides of the lagoon old cocoa-nut trees undermined and falling; and in one place the foundation-posts of a shed, which the inhabitants asserted had stood seven years before just above high-water mark, but now was daily washed by every tide; on inquiry i found that three earthquakes, one of them severe, had been felt here during the last ten years. at vanikoro the lagoon-channel is remarkably deep, scarcely any alluvial soil has accumulated at the foot of the lofty included mountains, and remarkably few islets have been formed by the heaping of fragments and sand on the wall-like barrier reef; these facts, and some analogous ones, led me to believe that this island must lately have subsided and the reef grown upwards: here again earthquakes are frequent and very severe. in the society archipelago, on the other hand, where the lagoon-channels are almost choked up, where much low alluvial land has accumulated, and where in some cases long islets have been formed on the barrier-reefs--facts all showing that the islands have not very lately subsided--only feeble shocks are most rarely felt. in these coral formations, where the land and water seem struggling for mastery, it must be ever difficult to decide between the effects of a change in the set of the tides and of a slight subsidence: that many of these reefs and atolls are subject to changes of some kind is certain; on some atolls the islets appear to have increased greatly within a late period; on others they have been partially or wholly washed away. the inhabitants of parts of the maldiva archipelago know the date of the first formation of some islets; in other parts the corals are now flourishing on water-washed reefs, where holes made for graves attest the former existence of inhabited land. it is difficult to believe in frequent changes in the tidal currents of an open ocean; whereas we have in the earthquakes recorded by the natives on some atolls, and in the great fissures observed on other atolls, plain evidence of changes and disturbances in progress in the subterranean regions. it is evident, on our theory, that coasts merely fringed by reefs cannot have subsided to any perceptible amount; and therefore they must, since the growth of their corals, either have remained stationary or have been upheaved. now it is remarkable how generally it can be shown, by the presence of upraised organic remains, that the fringed islands have been elevated: and so far, this is indirect evidence in favour of our theory. i was particularly struck with this fact, when i found, to my surprise, that the descriptions given by mm. quoy and gaimard were applicable, not to reefs in general as implied by them, but only to those of the fringing class; my surprise, however, ceased when i afterwards found that, by a strange chance, all the several islands visited by these eminent naturalists could be shown by their own statements to have been elevated within a recent geological era. not only the grand features in the structure of barrier-reefs and of atolls, and of their likeness to each other in form, size, and other characters, are explained on the theory of subsidence--which theory we are independently forced to admit in the very areas in question, from the necessity of finding bases for the corals within the requisite depth--but many details in structure and exceptional cases can thus also be simply explained. i will give only a few instances. in barrier-reefs it has long been remarked with surprise that the passages through the reef exactly face valleys in the included land, even in cases where the reef is separated from the land by a lagoon-channel so wide and so much deeper than the actual passage itself, that it seems hardly possible that the very small quantity of water or sediment brought down could injure the corals on the reef. now, every reef of the fringing class is breached by a narrow gateway in front of the smallest rivulet, even if dry during the greater part of the year, for the mud, sand, or gravel occasionally washed down kills the corals on which it is deposited. consequently, when an island thus fringed subsides, though most of the narrow gateways will probably become closed by the outward and upward growth of the corals, yet any that are not closed (and some must always be kept open by the sediment and impure water flowing out of the lagoon-channel) will still continue to front exactly the upper parts of those valleys at the mouths of which the original basal fringing-reef was breached. we can easily see how an island fronted only on one side, or on one side with one end or both ends encircled by barrier-reefs, might after long-continued subsidence be converted either into a single wall-like reef, or into an atoll with a great straight spur projecting from it, or into two or three atolls tied together by straight reefs--all of which exceptional cases actually occur. as the reef-building corals require food, are preyed upon by other animals, are killed by sediment, cannot adhere to a loose bottom, and may be easily carried down to a depth whence they cannot spring up again, we need feel no surprise at the reefs both of atolls and barriers becoming in parts imperfect. the great barrier of new caledonia is thus imperfect and broken in many parts; hence, after long subsidence, this great reef would not produce one great atoll miles in length, but a chain or archipelago of atolls, of very nearly the same dimensions with those in the maldiva archipelago. moreover, in an atoll once breached on opposite sides, from the likelihood of the oceanic and tidal currents passing straight through the breaches, it is extremely improbable that the corals, especially during continued subsidence, would ever be able again to unite the rim; if they did not, as the whole sank downwards, one atoll would be divided into two or more. in the maldiva archipelago there are distinct atolls so related to each other in position, and separated by channels either unfathomable or very deep (the channel between ross and ari atolls is fathoms, and that between the north and south nillandoo atolls is fathoms in depth), that it is impossible to look at a map of them without believing that they were once more intimately related. and in this same archipelago, mahlos-mahdoo atoll is divided by a bifurcating channel from to fathoms in depth, in such a manner that it is scarcely possible to say whether it ought strictly to be called three separate atolls, or one great atoll not yet finally divided. (plate . corals.) i will not enter on many more details; but i must remark that the curious structure of the northern maldiva atolls receives (taking into consideration the free entrance of the sea through their broken margins) a simple explanation in the upward and outward growth of the corals, originally based both on small detached reefs in their lagoons, such as occur in common atolls, and on broken portions of the linear marginal reef, such as bounds every atoll of the ordinary form. i cannot refrain from once again remarking on the singularity of these complex structures--a great sandy and generally concave disk rises abruptly from the unfathomable ocean, with its central expanse studded and its edge symmetrically bordered with oval basins of coral-rock just lipping the surface of the sea, sometimes clothed with vegetation, and each containing a lake of clear water! one more point in detail: as in the two neighbouring archipelagoes corals flourish in one and not in the other, and as so many conditions before enumerated must affect their existence, it would be an inexplicable fact if, during the changes to which earth, air, and water are subjected, the reef-building corals were to keep alive for perpetuity on any one spot or area. and as by our theory the areas including atolls and barrier-reefs are subsiding, we ought occasionally to find reefs both dead and submerged. in all reefs, owing to the sediment being washed out of the lagoon or lagoon-channel to leeward, that side is least favourable to the long-continued vigorous growth of the corals; hence dead portions of reef not unfrequently occur on the leeward side; and these, though still retaining their proper wall-like form, are now in several instances sunk several fathoms beneath the surface. the chagos group appears from some cause, possibly from the subsidence having been too rapid, at present to be much less favourably circumstanced for the growth of reefs than formerly: one atoll has a portion of its marginal reef, nine miles in length, dead and submerged; a second has only a few quite small living points which rise to the surface, a third and fourth are entirely dead and submerged; a fifth is a mere wreck, with its structure almost obliterated. it is remarkable that in all these cases the dead reefs and portions of reef lie at nearly the same depth, namely, from six to eight fathoms beneath the surface, as if they had been carried down by one uniform movement. one of these "half-drowned atolls," so called by captain moresby (to whom i am indebted for much invaluable information), is of vast size, namely, ninety nautical miles across in one direction, and seventy miles in another line; and is in many respects eminently curious. as by our theory it follows that new atolls will generally be formed in each new area of subsidence, two weighty objections might have been raised, namely, that atolls must be increasing indefinitely in number; and secondly, that in old areas of subsidence each separate atoll must be increasing indefinitely in thickness, if proofs of their occasional destruction could not have been adduced. thus have we traced the history of these great rings of coral-rock, from their first origin through their normal changes, and through the occasional accidents of their existence, to their death and final obliteration. in my volume on "coral formations" i have published a map, in which i have coloured all the atolls dark-blue, the barrier-reefs pale-blue, and the fringing reefs red. these latter reefs have been formed whilst the land has been stationary, or, as appears from the frequent presence of upraised organic remains, whilst it has been slowly rising: atolls and barrier-reefs, on the other hand, have grown up during the directly opposite movement of subsidence, which movement must have been very gradual, and in the case of atolls so vast in amount as to have buried every mountain-summit over wide ocean-spaces. now in this map we see that the reefs tinted pale and dark-blue, which have been produced by the same order of movement, as a general rule manifestly stand near each other. again we see that the areas with the two blue tints are of wide extent; and that they lie separate from extensive lines of coast coloured red, both of which circumstances might naturally have been inferred, on the theory of the nature of the reefs having been governed by the nature of the earth's movement. it deserves notice that in more than one instance where single red and blue circles approach near each other, i can show that there have been oscillations of level; for in such cases the red or fringed circles consist of atolls, originally by our theory formed during subsidence, but subsequently upheaved; and on the other hand, some of the pale-blue or encircled islands are composed of coral-rock, which must have been uplifted to its present height before that subsidence took place, during which the existing barrier-reefs grew upwards. authors have noticed with surprise that although atolls are the commonest coral-structures throughout some enormous oceanic tracts, they are entirely absent in other seas, as in the west indies: we can now at once perceive the cause, for where there has not been subsidence, atolls cannot have been formed; and in the case of the west indies and parts of the east indies, these tracts are known to have been rising within the recent period. the larger areas, coloured red and blue, are all elongated; and between the two colours there is a degree of rude alternation, as if the rising of one had balanced the sinking of the other. taking into consideration the proofs of recent elevation both on the fringed coasts and on some others (for instance, in south america) where there are no reefs, we are led to conclude that the great continents are for the most part rising areas: and from the nature of the coral-reefs, that the central parts of the great oceans are sinking areas. the east indian archipelago, the most broken land in the world, is in most parts an area of elevation, but surrounded and penetrated, probably in more lines than one, by narrow areas of subsidence. i have marked with vermilion spots all the many known active volcanos within the limits of this same map. their entire absence from every one of the great subsiding areas, coloured either pale or dark blue, is most striking; and not less so is the coincidence of the chief volcanic chains with the parts coloured red, which we are led to conclude have either long remained stationary, or more generally have been recently upraised. although a few of the vermilion spots occur within no great distance of single circles tinted blue, yet not one single active volcano is situated within several hundred miles of an archipelago, or even small group of atolls. it is, therefore, a striking fact that in the friendly archipelago, which consists of a group of atolls upheaved and since partially worn down, two volcanos, and perhaps more, are historically known to have been in action. on the other hand, although most of the islands in the pacific which are encircled by barrier-reefs are of volcanic origin, often with the remnants of craters still distinguishable, not one of them is known to have ever been in eruption. hence in these cases it would appear that volcanos burst forth into action and become extinguished on the same spots, accordingly as elevatory or subsiding movements prevail there. numberless facts could be adduced to prove that upraised organic remains are common wherever there are active volcanos; but until it could be shown that in areas of subsidence volcanos were either absent or inactive, the inference, however probable in itself, that their distribution depended on the rising or falling of the earth's surface, would have been hazardous. but now, i think, we may freely admit this important deduction. taking a final view of the map, and bearing in mind the statements made with respect to the upraised organic remains, we must feel astonished at the vastness of the areas which have suffered changes in level either downwards or upwards, within a period not geologically remote. it would appear also that the elevatory and subsiding movements follow nearly the same laws. throughout the spaces interspersed with atolls, where not a single peak of high land has been left above the level of the sea, the sinking must have been immense in amount. the sinking, moreover, whether continuous, or recurrent with intervals sufficiently long for the corals again to bring up their living edifices to the surface, must necessarily have been extremely slow. this conclusion is probably the most important one which can be deduced from the study of coral formations;--and it is one which it is difficult to imagine how otherwise could ever have been arrived at. nor can i quite pass over the probability of the former existence of large archipelagoes of lofty islands, where now only rings of coral-rock scarcely break the open expanse of the sea, throwing some light on the distribution of the inhabitants of the other high islands, now left standing so immensely remote from each other in the midst of the great oceans. the reef-constructing corals have indeed reared and preserved wonderful memorials of the subterranean oscillations of level; we see in each barrier-reef a proof that the land has there subsided, and in each atoll a monument over an island now lost. we may thus, like unto a geologist who had lived his ten thousand years and kept a record of the passing changes, gain some insight into the great system by which the surface of this globe has been broken up, and land and water interchanged. (plate . birgos latro, keeling island.) chapter xxi. (plate . st. louis, mauritius.) mauritius to england. mauritius, beautiful appearance of. great crateriform ring of mountains. hindoos. st. helena. history of the changes in the vegetation. cause of the extinction of land-shells. ascension. variation in the imported rats. volcanic bombs. beds of infusoria. bahia, brazil. splendour of tropical scenery. pernambuco. singular reef. slavery. return to england. retrospect on our voyage. april , . in the morning we passed round the northern end of mauritius, or the isle of france. from this point of view the aspect of the island equalled the expectations raised by the many well-known descriptions of its beautiful scenery. the sloping plain of the pamplemousses, interspersed with houses, and coloured by the large fields of sugar-cane of a bright green, composed the foreground. the brilliancy of the green was the more remarkable because it is a colour which generally is conspicuous only from a very short distance. towards the centre of the island groups of wooded mountains rose out of this highly cultivated plain; their summits, as so commonly happens with ancient volcanic rocks, being jagged into the sharpest points. masses of white clouds were collected around these pinnacles, as if for the sake of pleasing the stranger's eye. the whole island, with its sloping border and central mountains, was adorned with an air of perfect elegance: the scenery, if i may use such an expression, appeared to the sight harmonious. i spent the greater part of the next day in walking about the town and visiting different people. the town is of considerable size, and is said to contain , inhabitants; the streets are very clean and regular. although the island has been so many years under the english government, the general character of the place is quite french: englishmen speak to their servants in french, and the shops are all french; indeed i should think that calais or boulogne was much more anglified. there is a very pretty little theatre in which operas are excellently performed. we were also surprised at seeing large booksellers' shops, with well-stored shelves;--music and reading bespeak our approach to the old world of civilisation; for in truth both australia and america are new worlds. the various races of men walking in the streets afford the most interesting spectacle in port louis. convicts from india are banished here for life; at present there are about , and they are employed in various public works. before seeing these people, i had no idea that the inhabitants of india were such noble-looking figures. their skin is extremely dark, and many of the older men had large mustaches and beards of a snow-white colour; this, together with the fire of their expression, gave them quite an imposing aspect. the greater number had been banished for murder and the worst crimes; others for causes which can scarcely be considered as moral faults, such as for not obeying, from superstitious motives, the english laws. these men are generally quiet and well-conducted; from their outward conduct, their cleanliness and faithful observance of their strange religious rites, it was impossible to look at them with the same eyes as on our wretched convicts in new south wales. sunday, may , . i took a quiet walk along the sea-coast to the north of the town. the plain in this part is quite uncultivated; it consists of a field of black lava, smoothed over with coarse grass and bushes, the latter being chiefly mimosas. the scenery may be described as intermediate in character between that of the galapagos and of tahiti; but this will convey a definite idea to very few persons. it is a very pleasant country, but it has not the charms of tahiti, or the grandeur of brazil. the next day i ascended la pouce, a mountain so called from a thumb-like projection, which rises close behind the town to a height of , feet. the centre of the island consists of a great platform, surrounded by old broken basaltic mountains, with their strata dipping seawards. the central platform, formed of comparatively recent streams of lava, is of an oval shape, thirteen geographical miles across in the line of its shorter axis. the exterior bounding mountains come into that class of structures called craters of elevation, which are supposed to have been formed not like ordinary craters, but by a great and sudden upheaval. there appear to me to be insuperable objections to this view: on the other hand, i can hardly believe, in this and in some other cases, that these marginal crateriform mountains are merely the basal remnants of immense volcanos, of which the summits either have been blown off or swallowed up in subterranean abysses. from our elevated position we enjoyed an excellent view over the island. the country on this side appears pretty well cultivated, being divided into fields and studded with farm-houses. i was however assured that of the whole land not more than half is yet in a productive state; if such be the case, considering the present large export of sugar, this island, at some future period when thickly peopled, will be of great value. since england has taken possession of it, a period of only twenty-five years, the export of sugar is said to have increased seventy-five fold. one great cause of its prosperity is the excellent state of the roads. in the neighbouring isle of bourbon, which remains under the french government, the roads are still in the same miserable state as they were here only a few years ago. although the french residents must have largely profited by the increased prosperity of their island, yet the english government is far from popular. may , . in the evening captain lloyd, the surveyor-general, so well known from his examination of the isthmus of panama, invited mr. stokes and myself to his country-house, which is situated on the edge of wilheim plains, and about six miles from the port. we stayed at this delightful place two days; standing nearly feet above the sea, the air was cool and fresh, and on every side there were delightful walks. close by a grand ravine has been worn to a depth of about feet through the slightly inclined streams of lava, which have flowed from the central platform. may , . captain lloyd took us to the rivière noire, which is several miles to the southward, that i might examine some rocks of elevated coral. we passed through pleasant gardens, and fine fields of sugar-cane growing amidst huge blocks of lava. the roads were bordered by hedges of mimosa, and near many of the houses there were avenues of the mango. some of the views where the peaked hills and the cultivated farms were seen together, were exceedingly picturesque; and we were constantly tempted to exclaim "how pleasant it would be to pass one's life in such quiet abodes!" captain lloyd possessed an elephant, and he sent it half-way with us, that we might enjoy a ride in true indian fashion. the circumstance which surprised me most was its quite noiseless step. this elephant is the only one at present on the island; but it is said others will be sent for. may , . (plate . st. helena.) we sailed from port louis, and, calling at the cape of good hope, on the th of july we arrived off st. helena. this island, the forbidding aspect of which has been so often described, rises abruptly like a huge black castle from the ocean. near the town, as if to complete nature's defence, small forts and guns fill up every gap in the rugged rocks. the town runs up a flat and narrow valley; the houses look respectable, and are interspersed with a very few green trees. when approaching the anchorage there was one striking view: an irregular castle perched on the summit of a lofty hill, and surrounded by a few scattered fir-trees, boldly projected against the sky. the next day i obtained lodgings within a stone's throw of napoleon's tomb; it was a capital central situation, whence i could make excursions in every direction. ( / . after the volumes of eloquence which have poured forth on this subject, it is dangerous even to mention the tomb. a modern traveller, in twelve lines, burdens the poor little island with the following titles,--it is a grave, tomb, pyramid, cemetery, sepulchre, catacomb, sarcophagus, minaret, and mausoleum!) during the four days i stayed here i wandered over the island from morning to night and examined its geological history. my lodgings were situated at a height of about feet; here the weather was cold and boisterous, with constant showers of rain; and every now and then the whole scene was veiled in thick clouds. near the coast the rough lava is quite bare: in the central and higher parts feldspathic rocks by their decomposition have produced a clayey soil, which, where not covered by vegetation, is stained in broad bands of many bright colours. at this season the land, moistened by constant showers, produces a singularly bright green pasture, which lower and lower down gradually fades away and at last disappears. in latitude degrees, and at the trifling elevation of feet, it is surprising to behold a vegetation possessing a character decidedly british. the hills are crowned with irregular plantations of scotch firs; and the sloping banks are thickly scattered over with thickets of gorse, covered with its bright yellow flowers. weeping-willows are common on the banks of the rivulets, and the hedges are made of the blackberry, producing its well-known fruit. when we consider that the number of plants now found on the island is , and that out of these fifty-two alone are indigenous species, the rest having been imported, and most of them from england, we see the reason of the british character of the vegetation. many of these english plants appear to flourish better than in their native country; some also from the opposite quarter of australia succeed remarkably well. the many imported species must have destroyed some of the native kinds; and it is only on the highest and steepest ridges that the indigenous flora is now predominant. the english, or rather welsh character of the scenery, is kept up by the numerous cottages and small white houses; some buried at the bottom of the deepest valleys, and others mounted on the crests of the lofty hills. some of the views are striking, for instance that from near sir w. doveton's house, where the bold peak called lot is seen over a dark wood of firs, the whole being backed by the red water-worn mountains of the southern coast. on viewing the island from an eminence, the first circumstance which strikes one is the number of the roads and forts: the labour bestowed on the public works, if one forgets its character as a prison, seems out of all proportion to its extent or value. there is so little level or useful land that it seems surprising how so many people, about , can subsist here. the lower orders, or the emancipated slaves, are, i believe, extremely poor: they complain of the want of work. from the reduction in the number of public servants, owing to the island having been given up by the east india company, and the consequent emigration of many of the richer people, the poverty probably will increase. the chief food of the working class is rice with a little salt meat; as neither of these articles are the products of the island, but must be purchased with money, the low wages tell heavily on the poor people. now that the people are blessed with freedom, a right which i believe they value fully, it seems probable that their numbers will quickly increase: if so, what is to become of the little state of st. helena? my guide was an elderly man who had been a goatherd when a boy, and knew every step amongst the rocks. he was of a race many times crossed, and although with a dusky skin, he had not the disagreeable expression of a mulatto. he was a very civil, quiet old man, and such appears the character of the greater number of the lower classes. it was strange to my ears to hear a man, nearly white and respectably dressed, talking with indifference of the times when he was a slave. with my companion, who carried our dinners and a horn of water, which is quite necessary, as all the water in the lower valleys is saline, i every day took long walks. beneath the upper and central green circle, the wild valleys are quite desolate and untenanted. here, to the geologist, there were scenes of high interest, showing successive changes and complicated disturbances. according to my views, st. helena has existed as an island from a very remote epoch: some obscure proofs, however, of the elevation of the land are still extant. i believe that the central and highest peaks form parts of the rim of a great crater, the southern half of which has been entirely removed by the waves of the sea: there is, moreover, an external wall of black basaltic rocks, like the coast-mountains of mauritius, which are older than the central volcanic streams. on the higher parts of the island considerable numbers of a shell, long thought to be a marine species, occur imbedded in the soil. it proves to be a cochlogena, or land-shell of a very peculiar form; with it i found six other kinds; and in another spot an eighth species. ( / . it deserves notice that all the many specimens of this shell found by me in one spot differ as a marked variety from another set of specimens procured from a different spot.) it is remarkable that none of them are now found living. their extinction has probably been caused by the entire destruction of the woods, and the consequent loss of food and shelter, which occurred during the early part of the last century. the history of the changes which the elevated plains of longwood and deadwood have undergone, as given in general beatson's account of the island, is extremely curious. both plains, it is said, in former times were covered with wood, and were therefore called the great wood. so late as the year there were many trees, but in the old trees had mostly fallen; and as goats and hogs had been suffered to range about, all the young trees had been killed. it appears also from the official records that the trees were unexpectedly, some years afterwards, succeeded by a wire grass which spread over the whole surface. ( / . beatson's "st. helena" introductory chapter page .) general beatson adds that now this plain "is covered with fine sward, and is become the finest piece of pasture on the island." the extent of surface, probably covered by wood at a former period, is estimated at no less than two thousand acres; at the present day scarcely a single tree can be found there. it is also said that in there were quantities of dead trees in sandy bay; this place is now so utterly desert that nothing but so well attested an account could have made me believe that they could ever have grown there. the fact that the goats and hogs destroyed all the young trees as they sprang up, and that in the course of time the old ones, which were safe from their attacks, perished from age, seems clearly made out. goats were introduced in the year ; eighty-six years afterwards, in the time of cavendish, it is known that they were exceedingly numerous. more than a century afterwards, in , when the evil was complete and irretrievable, an order was issued that all stray animals should be destroyed. it is very interesting thus to find that the arrival of animals at st. helena in did not change the whole aspect of the island, until a period of two hundred and twenty years had elapsed: for the goats were introduced in , and in it is said "the old trees had mostly fallen." there can be little doubt that this great change in the vegetation affected not only the land-shells, causing eight species to become extinct, but likewise a multitude of insects. st. helena, situated so remote from any continent, in the midst of a great ocean, and possessing a unique flora, excites our curiosity. the eight land-shells, though now extinct, and one living succinea, are peculiar species found nowhere else. mr. cuming, however, informs me that an english helix is common here, its eggs no doubt having been imported in some of the many introduced plants. mr. cuming collected on the coast sixteen species of sea-shells, of which seven, as far as he knows, are confined to this island. birds and insects, as might have been expected, are very few in number; indeed i believe all the birds have been introduced within late years. ( / . among these few insects i was surprised to find a small aphodius (nov. spec.) and an oryctes, both extremely numerous under dung. when the island was discovered it certainly possessed no quadruped excepting perhaps a mouse: it becomes, therefore, a difficult point to ascertain, whether these stercovorous insects have since been imported by accident, or if aborigines, on what food they formerly subsisted. on the banks of the plata, where, from the vast number of cattle and horses, the fine plains of turf are richly manured, it is vain to seek the many kinds of dung-feeding beetles which occur so abundantly in europe. i observed only an oryctes (the insects of this genus in europe generally feed on decayed vegetable matter) and two species of phanaeus, common in such situations. on the opposite side of the cordillera in chiloe another species of phanaeus is exceedingly abundant, and it buries the dung of the cattle in large earthen balls beneath the ground. there is reason to believe that the genus phanaeus, before the introduction of cattle, acted as scavengers to man. in europe beetles which find support in the matter which has already contributed towards the life of other and larger animals, are so numerous that there must be considerably more than one hundred different species. considering this, and observing what a quantity of food of this kind is lost on the plains of la plata, i imagined i saw an instance where man had disturbed that chain by which so many animals are linked together in their native country. in van diemen's land, however, i found four species of onthophagus, two of aphodius, and one of a third genus, very abundant under the dung of cows; yet these latter animals had been then introduced only thirty-three years. previous to that time the kangaroo and some other small animals were the only quadrupeds; and their dung is of a very different quality from that of their successors introduced by man. in england the greater number of stercovorous beetles are confined in their appetites; that is, they do not depend indifferently on any quadruped for the means of subsistence. the change, therefore, in habits which must have taken place in van diemen's land is highly remarkable. i am indebted to the reverend f.w. hope, who, i hope, will permit me to call him my master in entomology, for giving me the names of the foregoing insects.) partridges and pheasants are tolerably abundant; the island is much too english not to be subject to strict game-laws. i was told of a more unjust sacrifice to such ordinances than i ever heard of even in england. the poor people formerly used to burn a plant which grows on the coast-rocks, and export the soda from its ashes; but a peremptory order came out prohibiting this practice, and giving as a reason that the partridges would have nowhere to build! in my walks i passed more than once over the grassy plain, bounded by deep valleys, on which longwood stands. viewed from a short distance, it appears like a respectable gentleman's country-seat. in front there are a few cultivated fields, and beyond them the smooth hill of coloured rocks called the flagstaff, and the rugged square black mass of the barn. on the whole the view was rather bleak and uninteresting. the only inconvenience i suffered during my walks was from the impetuous winds. one day i noticed a curious circumstance: standing on the edge of a plain, terminated by a great cliff of about a thousand feet in depth, i saw at the distance of a few yards right to windward, some tern, struggling against a very strong breeze, whilst, where i stood, the air was quite calm. approaching close to the brink, where the current seemed to be deflected upwards from the face of the cliff, i stretched out my arm, and immediately felt the full force of the wind: an invisible barrier, two yards in width, separated perfectly calm air from a strong blast. i so much enjoyed my rambles among the rocks and mountains of st. helena that i felt almost sorry on the morning of the th to descend to the town. before noon i was on board, and the "beagle" made sail. on the th of july we reached ascension. those who have beheld a volcanic island situated under an arid climate will at once be able to picture to themselves the appearance of ascension. they will imagine smooth conical hills of a bright red colour, with their summits generally truncated, rising separately out of a level surface of black rugged lava. a principal mound in the centre of the island seems the father of the lesser cones. it is called green hill: its name being taken from the faintest tinge of that colour, which at this time of the year is barely perceptible from the anchorage. to complete the desolate scene, the black rocks on the coast are lashed by a wild and turbulent sea. the settlement is near the beach; it consists of several houses and barracks placed irregularly, but well built of white freestone. the only inhabitants are marines, and some negroes liberated from slave-ships, who are paid and victualled by government. there is not a private person on the island. many of the marines appeared well contented with their situation; they think it better to serve their one-and-twenty years on shore, let it be what it may, than in a ship; in this choice, if i were a marine, i should most heartily agree. the next morning i ascended green hill, feet high, and thence walked across the island to the windward point. a good cart-road leads from the coast-settlement to the houses, gardens, and fields, placed near the summit of the central mountain. on the roadside there are milestones, and likewise cisterns, where each thirsty passer-by can drink some good water. similar care is displayed in each part of the establishment, and especially in the management of the springs, so that a single drop of water may not be lost: indeed the whole island may be compared to a huge ship kept in first-rate order. i could not help, when admiring the active industry which had created such effects out of such means, at the same time regretting that it had been wasted on so poor and trifling an end. m. lesson has remarked with justice that the english nation would have thought of making the island of ascension a productive spot, any other people would have held it as a mere fortress in the ocean. near this coast nothing grows; farther inland an occasional green castor-oil plant, and a few grasshoppers, true friends of the desert, may be met with. some grass is scattered over the surface of the central elevated region, and the whole much resembles the worse parts of the welsh mountains. but, scanty as the pasture appears, about six hundred sheep, many goats, a few cows and horses, all thrive well on it. of native animals, land-crabs and rats swarm in numbers. whether the rat is really indigenous may well be doubted; there are two varieties as described by mr. waterhouse; one is of a black colour, with fine glossy fur, and lives on the grassy summit, the other is brown-coloured and less glossy, with longer hairs, and lives near the settlement on the coast. both these varieties are one-third smaller than the common black rat (m. rattus); and they differ from it both in the colour and character of their fur, but in no other essential respect. i can hardly doubt that these rats (like the common mouse, which has also run wild) have been imported, and, as at the galapagos, have varied from the effect of the new conditions to which they have been exposed: hence the variety on the summit of the island differs from that on the coast. of native birds there are none; but the guinea-fowl, imported from the cape de verd islands, is abundant, and the common fowl has likewise run wild. some cats which were originally turned out to destroy the rats and mice, have increased, so as to become a great plague. the island is entirely without trees, in which, and in every other respect, it is very far inferior to st. helena. one of my excursions took me towards the south-west extremity of the island. the day was clear and hot, and i saw the island, not smiling with beauty, but staring with naked hideousness. the lava streams are covered with hummocks, and are rugged to a degree which, geologically speaking, is not of easy explanation. the intervening spaces are concealed with layers of pumice, ashes and volcanic tuff. whilst passing this end of the island at sea, i could not imagine what the white patches were with which the whole plain was mottled; i now found that they were sea-fowl, sleeping in such full confidence, that even in mid-day a man could walk up and seize hold of them. these birds were the only living creatures i saw during the whole day. on the beach a great surf, although the breeze was light, came tumbling over the broken lava rocks. (plate . cellular formation of volcanic bomb.) the geology of this island is in many respects interesting. in several places i noticed volcanic bombs, that is, masses of lava which have been shot through the air whilst fluid, and have consequently assumed a spherical or pear-shape. not only their external form, but, in several cases, their internal structure shows in a very curious manner that they have revolved in their aerial course. the internal structure of one of these bombs, when broken, is represented very accurately in plate . the central part is coarsely cellular, the cells decreasing in size towards the exterior; where there is a shell-like case about the third of an inch in thickness, of compact stone, which again is overlaid by the outside crust of finely cellular lava. i think there can be little doubt, first, that the external crust cooled rapidly in the state in which we now see it; secondly, that the still fluid lava within was packed by the centrifugal force generated by the revolving of the bomb, against the external cooled crust, and so produced the solid shell of stone; and lastly, that the centrifugal force, by relieving the pressure in the more central parts of the bomb, allowed the heated vapours to expand their cells, thus forming the coarse cellular mass of the centre. a hill formed of the older series of volcanic rocks, and which has been incorrectly considered as the crater of a volcano, is remarkable from its broad, slightly hollowed, and circular summit having been filled up with many successive layers of ashes and fine scoriae. these saucer-shaped layers crop out on the margin, forming perfect rings of many different colours, giving to the summit a most fantastic appearance; one of these rings is white and broad, and resembles a course round which horses have been exercised; hence the hill has been called the devil's riding school. i brought away specimens of one of the tufaceous layers of a pinkish colour and it is a most extraordinary fact that professor ehrenberg finds it almost wholly composed of matter which has been organised; he detects in it some siliceous-shielded, fresh-water infusoria, and no less than twenty-five different kinds of the siliceous tissue of plants, chiefly of grasses. ( / . "monats. der konig. akad. d. wiss. zu berlin" vom april .) from the absence of all carbonaceous matter, professor ehrenberg believes that these organic bodies have passed through the volcanic fire, and have been erupted in the state in which we now see them. the appearance of the layers induced me to believe that they had been deposited under water, though from the extreme dryness of the climate i was forced to imagine that torrents of rain had probably fallen during some great eruption, and that thus a temporary lake had been formed into which the ashes fell. but it may now be suspected that the lake was not a temporary one. anyhow we may feel sure that at some former epoch the climate and productions of ascension were very different from what they now are. where on the face of the earth can we find a spot on which close investigation will not discover signs of that endless cycle of change, to which this earth has been, is, and will be subjected? on leaving ascension, we sailed for bahia, on the coast of brazil, in order to complete the chronometrical measurement of the world. we arrived there on august st, and stayed four days, during which i took several long walks. i was glad to find my enjoyment in tropical scenery had not decreased from the want of novelty, even in the slightest degree. the elements of the scenery are so simple that they are worth mentioning, as a proof on what trifling circumstances exquisite natural beauty depends. the country may be described as a level plain of about three hundred feet in elevation, which in all parts has been worn into flat-bottomed valleys. this structure is remarkable in a granitic land, but is nearly universal in all those softer formations of which plains are usually composed. the whole surface is covered by various kinds of stately trees, interspersed with patches of cultivated ground, out of which houses, convents, and chapels arise. it must be remembered that within the tropics the wild luxuriance of nature is not lost even in the vicinity of large cities: for the natural vegetation of the hedges and hill-sides overpowers in picturesque effect the artificial labour of man. hence, there are only a few spots where the bright red soil affords a strong contrast with the universal clothing of green. from the edges of the plain there are distant views either of the ocean, or of the great bay with its low-wooded shores, and on which numerous boats and canoes show their white sails. excepting from these points, the scene is extremely limited; following the level pathways, on each hand, only glimpses into the wooded valleys below can be obtained. the houses i may add, and especially the sacred edifices, are built in a peculiar and rather fantastic style of architecture. they are all whitewashed; so that when illumined by the brilliant sun of mid-day, and as seen against the pale blue sky of the horizon, they stand out more like shadows than real buildings. such are the elements of the scenery, but it is a hopeless attempt to paint the general effect. learned naturalists describe these scenes of the tropics by naming a multitude of objects, and mentioning some characteristic feature of each. to a learned traveller this possibly may communicate some definite ideas: but who else from seeing a plant in an herbarium can imagine its appearance when growing in its native soil? who from seeing choice plants in a hothouse can magnify some into the dimensions of forest trees, and crowd others into an entangled jungle? who when examining in the cabinet of the entomologist the gay exotic butterflies, and singular cicadas, will associate with these lifeless objects the ceaseless harsh music of the latter and the lazy flight of the former,--the sure accompaniments of the still, glowing noonday of the tropics? it is when the sun has attained its greatest height that such scenes should be viewed: then the dense splendid foliage of the mango hides the ground with its darkest shade, whilst the upper branches are rendered from the profusion of light of the most brilliant green. in the temperate zones the case is different--the vegetation there is not so dark or so rich, and hence the rays of the declining sun, tinged of a red, purple, or bright yellow colour, add most to the beauties of those climes. when quietly walking along the shady pathways, and admiring each successive view, i wished to find language to express my ideas. epithet after epithet was found too weak to convey to those who have not visited the intertropical regions the sensation of delight which the mind experiences. i have said that the plants in a hothouse fail to communicate a just idea of the vegetation, yet i must recur to it. the land is one great wild, untidy, luxuriant hothouse, made by nature for herself, but taken possession of by man, who has studded it with gay houses and formal gardens. how great would be the desire in every admirer of nature to behold, if such were possible, the scenery of another planet! yet to every person in europe, it may be truly said, that at the distance of only a few degrees from his native soil the glories of another world are opened to him. in my last walk i stopped again and again to gaze on these beauties, and endeavoured to fix in my mind for ever an impression which at the time i knew sooner or later must fail. the form of the orange-tree, the cocoa-nut, the palm, the mango, the tree-fern, the banana, will remain clear and separate; but the thousand beauties which unite these into one perfect scene must fade away: yet they will leave, like a tale heard in childhood, a picture full of indistinct, but most beautiful figures. august , . in the afternoon we stood out to sea, with the intention of making a direct course to the cape de verd islands. unfavourable winds, however, delayed us, and on the th we ran into pernambuco,--a large city on the coast of brazil, in latitude degrees south. we anchored outside the reef; but in a short time a pilot came on board and took us into the inner harbour, where we lay close to the town. pernambuco is built on some narrow and low sand-banks which are separated from each other by shoal channels of salt water. the three parts of the town are connected together by two long bridges built on wooden piles. the town is in all parts disgusting, the streets being narrow, ill-paved, and filthy; the houses tall and gloomy. the season of heavy rains had hardly come to an end, and hence the surrounding country, which is scarcely raised above the level of the sea, was flooded with water; and i failed in all my attempts to take long walks. the flat swampy land on which pernambuco stands is surrounded, at the distance of a few miles, by a semicircle of low hills, or rather by the edge of a country elevated perhaps two hundred feet above the sea. the old city of olinda stands on one extremity of this range. one day i took a canoe, and proceeded up one of the channels to visit it; i found the old town from its situation both sweeter and cleaner than that of pernambuco. i must here commemorate what happened for the first time during our nearly five years' wandering, namely, having met with a want of politeness; i was refused in a sullen manner at two different houses, and obtained with difficulty from a third, permission to pass through their gardens to an uncultivated hill, for the purpose of viewing the country. i feel glad that this happened in the land of the brazilians, for i bear them no good will--a land also of slavery, and therefore of moral debasement. a spaniard would have felt ashamed at the very thought of refusing such a request, or of behaving to a stranger with rudeness. the channel by which we went to and returned from olinda was bordered on each side by mangroves, which sprang like a miniature forest out of the greasy mud-banks. the bright green colour of these bushes always reminded me of the rank grass in a churchyard: both are nourished by putrid exhalations; the one speaks of death past, and the other too often of death to come. (plate . cicada homoptera.) the most curious object which i saw in this neighbourhood was the reef that forms the harbour. i doubt whether in the whole world any other natural structure has so artificial an appearance. ( / . i have described this bar in detail in the "london and edinburgh philosophical magazine" volume page .) it runs for a length of several miles in an absolutely straight line, parallel to and not far distant from the shore. it varies in width from thirty to sixty yards, and its surface is level and smooth; it is composed of obscurely-stratified hard sandstone. at high water the waves break over it; at low water its summit is left dry, and it might then be mistaken for a breakwater erected by cyclopean workmen. on this coast the currents of the sea tend to throw up in front of the land long spits and bars of loose sand, and on one of these part of the town of pernambuco stands. in former times a long spit of this nature seems to have become consolidated by the percolation of calcareous matter, and afterwards to have been gradually upheaved; the outer and loose parts during this process having been worn away by the action of the sea, and the solid nucleus left as we now see it. although night and day the waves of the open atlantic, turbid with sediment, are driven against the steep outside edges of this wall of stone, yet the oldest pilots know of no tradition of any change in its appearance. this durability is much the most curious fact in its history: it is due to a tough layer, a few inches thick, of calcareous matter, wholly formed by the successive growth and death of the small shells of serpulae, together with some few barnacles and nulliporae. these nulliporae, which are hard, very simply-organised sea-plants, play an analogous and important part in protecting the upper surfaces of coral-reefs, behind and within the breakers, where the true corals, during the outward growth of the mass, become killed by exposure to the sun and air. these insignificant organic beings, especially the serpulae, have done good service to the people of pernambuco; for without their protective aid the bar of sandstone would inevitably have been long ago worn away and without the bar, there would have been no harbour. on the th of august we finally left the shores of brazil. i thank god, i shall never again visit a slave-country. to this day, if i hear a distant scream, it recalls with painful vividness my feelings, when passing a house near pernambuco, i heard the most pitiable moans, and could not but suspect that some poor slave was being tortured, yet knew that i was as powerless as a child even to remonstrate. i suspected that these moans were from a tortured slave, for i was told that this was the case in another instance. near rio de janeiro i lived opposite to an old lady, who kept screws to crush the fingers of her female slaves. i have stayed in a house where a young household mulatto, daily and hourly, was reviled, beaten, and persecuted enough to break the spirit of the lowest animal. i have seen a little boy, six or seven years old, struck thrice with a horse-whip (before i could interfere) on his naked head, for having handed me a glass of water not quite clean; i saw his father tremble at a mere glance from his master's eye. these latter cruelties were witnessed by me in a spanish colony, in which it has always been said that slaves are better treated than by the portuguese, english, or other european nations. i have seen at rio de janeiro a powerful negro afraid to ward off a blow directed, as he thought, at his face. i was present when a kind-hearted man was on the point of separating forever the men, women, and little children of a large number of families who had long lived together. i will not even allude to the many heart-sickening atrocities which i authentically heard of;--nor would i have mentioned the above revolting details, had i not met with several people, so blinded by the constitutional gaiety of the negro as to speak of slavery as a tolerable evil. such people have generally visited at the houses of the upper classes, where the domestic slaves are usually well treated, and they have not, like myself, lived amongst the lower classes. such inquirers will ask slaves about their condition; they forget that the slave must indeed be dull who does not calculate on the chance of his answer reaching his master's ears. it is argued that self-interest will prevent excessive cruelty; as if self-interest protected our domestic animals, which are far less likely than degraded slaves to stir up the rage of their savage masters. it is an argument long since protested against with noble feeling, and strikingly exemplified, by the ever-illustrious humboldt. it is often attempted to palliate slavery by comparing the state of slaves with our poorer countrymen: if the misery of our poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin; but how this bears on slavery, i cannot see; as well might the use of the thumb-screw be defended in one land, by showing that men in another land suffered from some dreadful disease. those who look tenderly at the slave owner, and with a cold heart at the slave, never seem to put themselves into the position of the latter;--what a cheerless prospect, with not even a hope of change! picture to yourself the chance, ever hanging over you, of your wife and your little children--those objects which nature urges even the slave to call his own--being torn from you and sold like beasts to the first bidder! and these deeds are done and palliated by men who profess to love their neighbours as themselves, who believe in god, and pray that his will be done on earth! it makes one's blood boil, yet heart tremble, to think that we englishmen and our american descendants, with their boastful cry of liberty, have been and are so guilty; but it is a consolation to reflect, that we at least have made a greater sacrifice than ever made by any nation, to expiate our sin. on the last day of august we anchored for the second time at porto praya in the cape de verd archipelago; thence we proceeded to the azores, where we stayed six days. on the nd of october we made the shores of england; and at falmouth i left the "beagle," having lived on board the good little vessel nearly five years. (plate . homeward bound, the "beagle.") our voyage having come to an end, i will take a short retrospect of the advantages and disadvantages, the pains and pleasures, of our circumnavigation of the world. if a person asked my advice, before undertaking a long voyage, my answer would depend upon his possessing a decided taste for some branch of knowledge, which could by this means be advanced. no doubt it is a high satisfaction to behold various countries and the many races of mankind, but the pleasures gained at the time do not counterbalance the evils. it is necessary to look forward to a harvest, however distant that may be, when some fruit will be reaped, some good effected. many of the losses which must be experienced are obvious; such as that of the society of every old friend, and of the sight of those places with which every dearest remembrance is so intimately connected. these losses, however, are at the time partly relieved by the exhaustless delight of anticipating the long-wished-for day of return. if, as poets say, life is a dream, i am sure in a voyage these are the visions which best serve to pass away the long night. other losses, although not at first felt, tell heavily after a period: these are the want of room, of seclusion, of rest; the jading feeling of constant hurry; the privation of small luxuries, the loss of domestic society and even of music and the other pleasures of imagination. when such trifles are mentioned, it is evident that the real grievances, excepting from accidents, of a sea-life are at an end. the short space of sixty years has made an astonishing difference in the facility of distant navigation. even in the time of cook, a man who left his fireside for such expeditions underwent severe privations. a yacht now, with every luxury of life, can circumnavigate the globe. besides the vast improvements in ships and naval resources, the whole western shores of america are thrown open, and australia has become the capital of a rising continent. how different are the circumstances to a man shipwrecked at the present day in the pacific, to what they were in the time of cook! since his voyage a hemisphere has been added to the civilised world. if a person suffer much from sea-sickness, let him weigh it heavily in the balance. i speak from experience: it is no trifling evil, cured in a week. if, on the other hand, he take pleasure in naval tactics, he will assuredly have full scope for his taste. but it must be borne in mind how large a proportion of the time, during a long voyage, is spent on the water, as compared with the days in harbour. and what are the boasted glories of the illimitable ocean? a tedious waste, a desert of water, as the arabian calls it. no doubt there are some delightful scenes. a moonlight night, with the clear heavens and the dark glittering sea, and the white sails filled by the soft air of a gently-blowing trade-wind, a dead calm, with the heaving surface polished like a mirror, and all still except the occasional flapping of the canvas. it is well once to behold a squall with its rising arch and coming fury, or the heavy gale of wind and mountainous waves. i confess, however, my imagination had painted something more grand, more terrific, in the full-grown storm. it is an incomparably finer spectacle when beheld on shore, where the waving trees, the wild flight of the birds, the dark shadows and bright lights, the rushing of the torrents, all proclaim the strife of the unloosed elements. at sea the albatross and little petrel fly as if the storm were their proper sphere, the water rises and sinks as if fulfilling its usual task, the ship alone and its inhabitants seem the objects of wrath. on a forlorn and weather-beaten coast the scene is indeed different, but the feelings partake more of horror than of wild delight. let us now look at the brighter side of the past time. the pleasure derived from beholding the scenery and the general aspect of the various countries we have visited has decidedly been the most constant and highest source of enjoyment. it is probable that the picturesque beauty of many parts of europe exceeds anything which we beheld. but there is a growing pleasure in comparing the character of the scenery in different countries, which to a certain degree is distinct from merely admiring its beauty. it depends chiefly on an acquaintance with the individual parts of each view; i am strongly induced to believe that as in music, the person who understands every note will, if he also possesses a proper taste, more thoroughly enjoy the whole, so he who examines each part of a fine view may also thoroughly comprehend the full and combined effect. hence, a traveller should be a botanist, for in all views plants form the chief embellishment. group masses of naked rock even in the wildest forms, and they may for a time afford a sublime spectacle, but they will soon grow monotonous. paint them with bright and varied colours, as in northern chile, they will become fantastic; clothe them with vegetation, they must form a decent, if not a beautiful picture. when i say that the scenery of parts of europe is probably superior to anything which we beheld, i except, as a class by itself, that of the intertropical zones. the two classes cannot be compared together; but i have already often enlarged on the grandeur of those regions. as the force of impressions generally depends on preconceived ideas, i may add that mine were taken from the vivid descriptions in the "personal narrative" of humboldt, which far exceed in merit anything else which i have read. yet with these high-wrought ideas, my feelings were far from partaking of a tinge of disappointment on my first and final landing on the shores of brazil. among the scenes which are deeply impressed on my mind, none exceed in sublimity the primeval forests undefaced by the hand of man; whether those of brazil, where the powers of life are predominant, or those of tierra del fuego, where death and decay prevail. both are temples filled with the varied productions of the god of nature:--no one can stand in these solitudes unmoved, and not feel that there is more in man than the mere breath of his body. in calling up images of the past, i find that the plains of patagonia frequently cross before my eyes; yet these plains are pronounced by all wretched and useless. they can be described only by negative characters; without habitations, without water, without trees, without mountains, they support merely a few dwarf plants. why, then, and the case is not peculiar to myself, have these arid wastes taken so firm a hold on my memory? why have not the still more level, the greener and more fertile pampas, which are serviceable to mankind, produced an equal impression? i can scarcely analyse these feelings: but it must be partly owing to the free scope given to the imagination. the plains of patagonia are boundless, for they are scarcely passable, and hence unknown: they bear the stamp of having lasted, as they are now, for ages, and there appears no limit to their duration through future time. if, as the ancients supposed, the flat earth was surrounded by an impassable breadth of water, or by deserts heated to an intolerable excess, who would not look at these last boundaries to man's knowledge with deep but ill-defined sensations? lastly, of natural scenery, the views from lofty mountains, though certainly in one sense not beautiful, are very memorable. when looking down from the highest crest of the cordillera, the mind, undisturbed by minute details, was filled with the stupendous dimensions of the surrounding masses. of individual objects, perhaps nothing is more certain to create astonishment than the first sight in his native haunt of a barbarian,--of man in his lowest and most savage state. one's mind hurries back over past centuries, and then asks, could our progenitors have been men like these?--men, whose very signs and expressions are less intelligible to us than those of the domesticated animals; men, who do not possess the instinct of those animals, nor yet appear to boast of human reason, or at least of arts consequent on that reason. i do not believe it is possible to describe or paint the difference between savage and civilised man. it is the difference between a wild and tame animal: and part of the interest in beholding a savage is the same which would lead every one to desire to see the lion in his desert, the tiger tearing his prey in the jungle, or the rhinoceros wandering over the wild plains of africa. among the other most remarkable spectacles which we have beheld, may be ranked the southern cross, the cloud of magellan, and the other constellations of the southern hemisphere--the waterspout--the glacier leading its blue stream of ice, overhanging the sea in a bold precipice--a lagoon-island raised by the reef-building corals--an active volcano--and the overwhelming effects of a violent earthquake. these latter phenomena, perhaps, possess for me a peculiar interest, from their intimate connexion with the geological structure of the world. the earthquake, however, must be to every one a most impressive event: the earth, considered from our earliest childhood as the type of solidity, has oscillated like a thin crust beneath our feet; and in seeing the laboured works of man in a moment overthrown, we feel the insignificance of his boasted power. it has been said that the love of the chase is an inherent delight in man--a relic of an instinctive passion. if so, i am sure the pleasure of living in the open air, with the sky for a roof and the ground for a table, is part of the same feeling; it is the savage returning to his wild and native habits. i always look back to our boat cruises, and my land journeys, when through unfrequented countries, with an extreme delight, which no scenes of civilisation could have created. i do not doubt that every traveller must remember the glowing sense of happiness which he experienced when he first breathed in a foreign clime where the civilised man had seldom or never trod. there are several other sources of enjoyment in a long voyage which are of a more reasonable nature. the map of the world ceases to be a blank; it becomes a picture full of the most varied and animated figures. each part assumes its proper dimensions: continents are not looked at in the light of islands, or islands considered as mere specks, which are, in truth, larger than many kingdoms of europe. africa, or north and south america, are well-sounding names, and easily pronounced; but it is not until having sailed for weeks along small portions of their shores, that one is thoroughly convinced what vast spaces on our immense world these names imply. from seeing the present state, it is impossible not to look forward with high expectations to the future progress of nearly an entire hemisphere. the march of improvement, consequent on the introduction of christianity throughout the south sea, probably stands by itself in the records of history. it is the more striking when we remember that only sixty years since, cook, whose excellent judgment none will dispute, could foresee no prospect of a change. yet these changes have now been effected by the philanthropic spirit of the british nation. in the same quarter of the globe australia is rising, or indeed may be said to have risen, into a grand centre of civilisation, which, at some not very remote period, will rule as empress over the southern hemisphere. it is impossible for an englishman to behold these distant colonies without a high pride and satisfaction. to hoist the british flag seems to draw with it as a certain consequence, wealth, prosperity, and civilisation. in conclusion it appears to me that nothing can be more improving to a young naturalist than a journey in distant countries. it both sharpens and partly allays that want and craving, which, as sir j. herschel remarks, a man experiences although every corporeal sense be fully satisfied. the excitement from the novelty of objects, and the chance of success, stimulate him to increased activity. moreover, as a number of isolated facts soon become uninteresting, the habit of comparison leads to generalisation. on the other hand, as the traveller stays but a short time in each place, his descriptions must generally consist of mere sketches, instead of detailed observations. hence arises, as i have found to my cost, a constant tendency to fill up the wide gaps of knowledge by inaccurate and superficial hypotheses. but i have too deeply enjoyed the voyage, not to recommend any naturalist, although he must not expect to be so fortunate in his companions as i have been, to take all chances, and to start, on travels by land if possible, if otherwise, on a long voyage. he may feel assured he will meet with no difficulties or dangers, excepting in rare cases, nearly so bad as he beforehand anticipates. in a moral point of view the effect ought to be to teach him good-humoured patience, freedom from selfishness, the habit of acting for himself, and of making the best of every occurrence. in short, he ought to partake of the characteristic qualities of most sailors. travelling ought also to teach him distrust; but at the same time he will discover how many truly kind-hearted people there are, with whom he never before had, or ever again will have any further communication, who yet are ready to offer him the most disinterested assistance. (plate . ascension. terns and noddies.) (plate . map of south america.) (plate . map of the world, showing the track of h.m.s. "beagle.") index. abbott, mr., on spiders. aborigines banished from van diemen's land. of australia. abrolhos islands. absence of trees in pampas. aconcagua, volcano of. actinia, stinging species. africa, southern part desert, yet supports large animals. ageronia feronia. agouti, habits of. ague common in peru. albemarle island. allan, dr., on diodon. on holuthuriae. alluvium, saliferous, in peru. stratified, in andes. amblyrhynchus. anas, species of. animalculae. see infusoria. antarctic islands. antipodes. ants at keeling island. in brazil. antuco volcano. apires, or miners. aplysia. apple-trees. aptenodytes demersa. araucanian indians. areas of alternate movements in the pacific and indian oceans. armadilloes, habits of. fossil animals allied to. arqueros mines. arrow-heads, ancient. ascension. aspalax, blindness of. athene cunicularia. atolls. attagis. atwater, mr., on the prairies. audubon, m., on smelling-power of carrion-hawks. australia. australian barrier. group of weapons. ava (macropiper methysticum). azara on spiders. on rain in la plata. on habits of carrion-hawks. on range of carrion-hawks. on a thunder-storm. on ostrich-eggs. on bows and arrows. on new plants springing up. on great droughts. on hydrophobia. bachman, mr., on carrion-hawks. bahia blanca. fossil tooth of horse from. bahia, brazil. scenery of. bajada. balbi on coral reefs. bald head, australia. ballenar, chile. banda oriental. banks's hill. barking-bird. barrier-reef, bolabola. reefs, sections of. basaltic platform of santa cruz. bathurst, australia. batrachian reptiles. bats, vampire. bay of islands, new zealand. beads, hill of. beagle channel, tierra del fuego. beech-trees. beetles in brackish water. on a fungus. alive in sea. at st. julian. dung-feeders. behring's straits, fossils of. bell of quillota. benchuca. berkeley sound. berkeley, reverend j., on confervae. on cyttaria. berquelo river. bibron, m. bien te veo. birds of the galapagos archipelago. tameness of. birgos latro. bizcacha, habits of. blackheath, australia. blackwall, mr., on spiders. blindness of tucutuco. blue mountains. body, frozen. bolabola, barrier-reef. bolas, manner of using. bombs, volcanic. bones of the guanaco collected in certain spots. fire made of. recent in pampas. fossil. bory st. vincent on frogs. boulders. bramador, el. brazil, great area of granite. brazilian whips, etc. breaches in coral reefs. breakwater of seaweed. brewster, sir d., on a calcareous deposit. bridge of hide. of incas. buckland, dr., on fossils. buenos ayres. trading at. evening camp. bullock-waggons. buffon on american animals. bug of pampas. buildings, indian. bulimus on desert places. burchell, mr., on food of quadrupeds. on ostrich-eggs. on perforated stones. butterflies, flocks of. butterfly producing clicking sound. button, jemmy. byron's account of fox of falklands. on an indian killing his child. cabbage palm. cacti. cactornis. cactus, cereus peruviana. calasoma on wing out at sea. calcareous casts of branches and roots of trees at king george's sound. incrustations on rocks of ascension. callao. calodera. calomys bizcacha. camarhynchus. camelidae, fossil animal allied to. cancer salinus. canis antarcticus. fulvipes. cape horn. false horn. of good hope. capybara, or carpincho. fossil allied to. caracara, or carrancha. cardoon, beds of. carizal. carmichael, captain. carrion-hawks. casarita. cassava. castro, chiloe. old church at. casuchas. catamaran. cathartes. cats run wild. good to eat. scratch trees. cruelty to mice. cattle, effects of their grazing on the vegetation. killed by great droughts. know each other. curious breed of. waste of. wild at the falkland islands. caucahue. cauquenes, hot springs of. causes of extinction of species among mammalia. of discoloured sea. cavia patagonica. cawa-cawa, new zealand. caylen. cervus campestris. ceryle americana. chacao, chiloe. chagos atolls. chalk-like mud. chamisso on drifted seeds and trees. on coral reefs. changes in vegetation of pampas. in vegetation of st. helena. charles island. chatham island. cheese, salt required for. cheucau. chile. features of country. chilenos. chilian miner. spurs, stirrup, etc. vegetation. chiloe. old church at castro. forests of, and climate. inhabitants of. roads of. gunnera scabra. chionis alba. cholechel, conflict at. chonos archipelago. climate of. zoology of. ornithology of. chupat, rio. chuzo. cicada homoptera. cladonia. clearness of atmosphere within andes, in chile. climate of tierra del fuego and falkland islands. antarctic islands. change of, in chile. galapagos. clouds of vapour after rain. on corcovado. hanging low. at sea. coloeoptera in tropics. out at sea. of st. julian. colias edusa, flocks of. colnett, captain, on spawn in sea. on a marine lizard. on transport of seeds. colonia del sacramiento. colorado, rio. compound animals. concepcion, chile. conchalee. condor, habits of. (sarcorhamphus gryphus.) confervae, pelagic. conglomerate on the ventana. in cordillera. conurus. convicts of mauritius. condition, in new south wales. cook, captain, on kelp. copiapó, river and valley of. town of. coquimbo. coral formations. stinging species of. reefs, sections of. dead. corallines. corals. corcovado, clouds on. volcano. cordillera, appearance of. different productions on east and west side. passage of. structure of valleys. rivers of. geology of. valley of copiapó. mountains. cormorant catching fish. corral, where animals are slaughtered at buenos ayres. corrientes, cape. corrobery, or native australian dance. corunda. coseguina, eruption of. countries, unhealthy. couthouy, mr., on coral-reefs. crabberies. crabs, hermit species of. at st. paul's. at keeling island. craters, number of, at the galapagos archipelago. of elevation. crisia. cruelty to animals. crustacea, pelagic. ctenomys brasiliensis. fossil species of. cucao, chiloe. cuckoo-like habits of molothrus. cudico, mission at. cuentas, sierra de. cufre. cumbre of cordillera. cuming, mr., on shells. cuttlefish, habits of. cuvier on diodon. cynara cardunculus. cyttaria darwinii. dacelo iagoensis. dasypus, three species of. deer. degradation of tertiary formations. deinornis. deserts. desmodus. despoblado, valley of. dieffenbach, dr. e. on auckland island. diodon, habits of. discoloured sea. diseases from miasma. distribution of mammalia in america. of animals on opposite sides of cordillera. of frogs. of fauna of galapagos. dobrizhoffer on ostriches. on a hail-storm. docks, imported. dogs, shepherd. dolichonyx oryzivorus. d'orbigny, travels in south america. doris, eggs of. dormidor, or horse-tamer. doubleday, mr., on a noise made by a butterfly. drigg, lightning tubes at. droughts, great, in pampas. dryness of st. jago. of winds in tierra del fuego. of air in cordillera. dubois. dung-feeding beetles. dust, falling from atmosphere. earthenware, fossil. earthquake, accompanied by an elevation of the coast. accompanied by rain. at callao. at concepcion. at coquimbo. at keeling and vanikoro, and society islands. at valdivia. causes of. effect of, on springs. on bottom of sea. effects of, on rocks. effects of, on sea. effects of, on a river-bed. line of vibration of. on south-west coast. tossing fragments from the ground. twisting movement of. eggs of doris. ehrenberg, professor, on atlantic dust. on infusoria in pampas. in the open sea. in patagonia. in fuegian paint. in coral mud. in tuff at ascension. on phosphorescence of the sea. on noises from a hill. eimeo, island of. barrier-reef. elater, springing powers of. electricity of atmosphere within andes. elephant, weight of. elevated shells. elevation of coasts of chile. bahia blanca. pampas. patagonia. mountain-chains. cordillera. peru. within human period. fringing-reefs. entomology of the galapagos archipelago. brazil. patagonia. tierra del fuego. keeling island. st. helena. entre rios, geology of. epeira, habits of. erratic blocks, how transported. absent in intertropical countries. on plains of santa cruz. of tierra del fuego. estancia, value of. extermination of species and races. extinction of shells at st. helena. of species, causes of. of man in new south wales. eyes of tucutuco and mole. eyre sound. falconer, dr., on the sivatherium. on the indians. on rivers in pampas. on natural enclosures. falkland islands. absence of trees at. carrion-hawks of. wild cattle and horses of. fox of. climate of. peat of. tame birds at. fat, quantity eaten. fatahua fall. fear an acquired instinct. februa hoffmanseggi, butterfly. fennel run wild. ferguson, dr., on miasma. fernando noronha. ferns, tree. fields of dead coral. fire, art of making. fireflies. fish emitting harsh sound. of galapagos. eating coral. flamingoes. fleas. floods after droughts. clear after snow. flora of the galapagos. of keeling island. of st. helena. flustraceae. forests, absence of, in la plata. of tierra del fuego. of chiloe. of valdivia. of new zealand. of australia. fossil mammalia. earthenware. fox of the falkland islands. of chiloe. freyrina. friendly archipelago. fringing reefs. frogs, noises of. bladders of. and toads, not found on oceanic islands. frozen soil. fruit-trees, southern limit of. fucus giganteus. fuegians. wigwams. basket and bone weapons. fulgurites. fungus, edible. furnarius. galapagos archipelago. natural history of. marked relationship with america. zoology of. finches from. gale of wind. gallegos river, fossil bones at. gallinazo. gauchos. character of. live on meat. surcingle of. gavia mountain. gay, m., on floating islands. on shells in brackish water. geese at the falkland islands. geographical distribution of american animals. of frogs. of fauna of galapagos. geology of cordillera. of st. jago. of st. paul. of brazil. of bahia blanca. of pampas. of patagonia. georgia, climate of. geospiza. gill, mr., on an upheaved river-bed. gillies, dr., on the cordillera. glaciers in tierra del fuego. in latitude degrees '. in cordillera. glow-worms. goats destructive to vegetation at st. helena. bones of. goeree roads. goitre. gold-washing. good success bay. gossamer spider. gould, mr., on the calodera. on birds of galapagos. granite mountains, tres montes. of cordillera. graspus. gravel, how far transported. of patagonia. graves of indians. greenstone, fragments of. gregory, cape. gryllus migratorius. guanaco, habits of. fossil allied genus. guantajaya, mines of. guardia del monte. guasco. guasos of chile. guava imported into tahiti. guinea-fowl. guitron. gunnera scabra. gypsum, great beds of. in salt-lake. in patagonian tertiary beds. at iquique with salt. at lima with shells. hachette, m., on lightning-tubes. hacienda, condor, and cactus. hail-storm. hall, captain basil, on terraces of coquimbo. hare, varying. head, captain, on thistle-beds. height of snow-line on cordillera. henslow, professor, on potatoes. on plants of keeling island. hermit crabs. hide bridge. hill emitting a noise. himantopus. hippah, new zealand. hobart town and mount wellington. hogoleu barrier-reef. holes made by a bird. holman on drifted seeds. holothuriae feeding on coral. homeward bound. hooker, sir j., on the cardoon. dr. j.d., on the kelp. on galapageian plants. horn, cape. horner, mr., on a calcareous deposit. horse, swimming powers of. horse, wild at the falkland islands. fossil of extinct species of. horse-fly. horsemanship of the gauchos. horses difficult to drive. drop excrement on paths. killed by great droughts. multiplication of. broken in. hot springs of cauquenes. huacas. humboldt on burnished rocks. on the atmosphere in tropics. on frozen soil. on hybernation. on potatoes. on earthquakes and rain. on miasma. humming-birds of rio de janeiro. of chiloe. hurtado. hybernation of animals. hydrochaerus capybara. hydrophobia. hyla. hymenophallus. ibis melanops. ice, prismatic structure of. icebergs. incas' bridge. incrustations on coast rocks. indian fossil remains. indians, attacks of. antiquarian relics of. araucanian. of the pampas. decrease in numbers of. grave of. patagonian. perforated stones used by. valdivian. powers of tracking. ruins of houses of. infection. infusoria in dust in the atlantic. in the sea. in the pampas. in patagonia. in white paint. in coral mud. at ascension. insects first colonists of st. paul's rocks. blown out to sea. of patagonia. of tierra del fuego. of galapagos. of keeling island. of st. helena. instincts of birds. iodine with salt at iquique. iquique. iron, oxide of, on rocks. irregular troops. islands, oceanic, volcanic. antarctic. floating. low. jackson, colonel, on frozen snow. jaguar, habits of. jajuel, mines of. james island. jemmy button. juan fernandez, volcano of. flora of. kangaroo-hunting. kater's peak. kauri pine. keeling island. inside an atoll. flora of. birds of. entomology of. subsidence of. birgos latro. kelp, or seaweed. kendall, lieutenant, on a frozen body. kingfishers. king george's sound. kororadika. labourers, condition of, in chile. lagoon-islands. lagostomus. lake, brackish, near rio. with floating islands. formed during earthquake. lamarck on acquired blindness. lampyris. lancaster, captain, on a sea-tree. land-shells. las minas. lazo. leaves. fossil. leeks in new zealand, imported. lemuy island. lepus magellanicus. lesson, m., on the scissor-beak. on rabbit of the falklands. lichen on loose sand. lichtenstein on ostriches. lightning storms. tubes. lima. and san lorenzo. elevation of a river near. lime, changed by lava into crystalline rock. limnaea in brackish water. lion-ant. lizard. marine species of. lizards, transport of. llama or guanaco, habits of. locusts. longevity of species in mollusca. lorenzo, san, island of. low archipelago. luciano, story of. lumb, mr. lund, m., on antiquity of man. lund and clausen on fossils of brazil. luxan. luxuriant vegetation not necessary to support large animals. lycosa. lyell, mr., on terraces of coquimbo. on longevity of mollusca. on change in vegetation. on fossil horses' teeth. on flocks of butterflies. on extinct mammals and ice-period. on stones twisted by earthquakes. on frozen snow. on distribution of animals. on subsidence in the pacific. macculloch on infection. macquarie river. macrauchenia. macrocystis. madrina, or godmother of a troop of mules. magdalen channel. magellan, flora of. h.m.s. "beagle" in straits of. straits of. port famine. kelp of. malays. malcolmson, dr., on hail. maldiva atolls. maldonado. mammalia, fossil. man, antiquity of. body frozen. fossil remains of. fear of, an acquired instinct. extinction of races. mandetiba. mandioca or cassava. mare's flesh eaten by troops. mares killed for their hides. mastodon. maté pots and bambillio. matter, granular, movements in. mauritius. maypu river. megalonyx. megatherium. mendoza. climate of. mercedes on the rio negro. mexico, elevation of. miasmata. mice inhabit sterile places. number of, in america. how transported. different on opposite sides of andes. of the galapagos. of ascension. millepora. mills for grinding ores. mimosae. mimus. miners, condition of. mines. how discovered. miranda, commandant. missionaries at new zealand. mitchell, sir t., on valleys of australia. mocking-bird. molina omits description of certain birds. molothrus, habits of. monkeys with prehensile tails. monte video. moresby, captain, on a great crab. on coral-reefs. mount sarmiento. tarn. victoria. mountains, elevation of. movements in granular matter. mud, chalk-like. disturbed by earthquake. mules. muniz, signor, on niata cattle. murray, mr., on spiders. mylodon. myopotamus coypus. narborough island. negress with goitre. negro, rio. lieutenant. nepean river. new caledonia, reef of. new zealand. niata cattle. noises from a hill. noses, ceremony of pressing. nothura. notopod, crustacean. nulliporae, incrustations like. protecting reefs. octopus, habits of. oily coating on sea. olfersia. opetiorhynchus. opuntia. darwinii. galapageia. orange-trees self-sown. ores, gold. ornithology of galapagos. ornithorhynchus. osorno, volcano of. ostrich, habits of. ostrich's eggs. otaheite. otter. ova in sea. oven-bird. owen, captain, on a drought in africa. professor, on the capybara. fossil quadrupeds. nostrils of the gallinazo. owl of pampas. of galapagos islands. oxyurus. oysters, gigantic. paint, white. pallas on siberia. palm-trees in la plata. south limit of. in chile. palms absent at galapagos. pampas, halt at a pulperia on the. number of embedded remains in. southern limit of. changes in. giant thistle of. not quite level. geology of. view of, from the andes. pan de azucar. papilio feronia. parana, rio. river. islands in. parish, sir w., on the great drought. park, mungo, on eating salt. parrots. partridges. pas, fortresss of new zealand. passes in cordillera. pasture altered from grazing of cattle. patagones. patagonia, geology of. birds of. zoology of. raised beaches. patagonian bolas, etc. patagonians, cape gregory. paypote ravine. peach-trees self-sown. peat, formation of. pebbles perforated. transported in roots of trees. pelagic animals in southern ocean. penas, glacier in gulf of. penguin, habits of. pepsis, habits of. pernambuco, reef of. pernety on hill of ruins. on tame birds. peru. dry valleys of. peruvian pottery. petrels, habits of. peuquenes, pass of. phonolite at fernando noronha. phosphorescence of the sea. of land insects and sea animals. of a coralline. phryniscus. pine of new zealand. plains at foot of andes in chile. almost horizontal near st. fé. planariae, terrestrial species of. plants of the galapagos. of keeling island. of st. helena. plants, fossil, in australia. plata, river. thunderstorms of. plover, long-legged. polished rocks, brazil. polyborus chimango. braziliensis. novae zelandiae. ponsonby sound. porpoises. port desire. river of. st. julian. famine. jackson. portillo pass. porto praya. potato, wild. potrero seco. prairies, vegetation of. prévost, m., on cuckoos. priestley, dr., on lightning-tubes. prisoner, bringing in a. procellaria gigantea, habits of. proctotretus. proteus, blindness of. protococcus nivalis. pteroptochos, two species of. species of. puenta del inca. puffinuria berardii. puffinus cinereus. puma, habits of. flesh of. puna, or short respiration. punta alta, bahia blanca. gorda. huantamó. pyrophorus luminosus. quadrupeds, fossil. large, do not require luxuriant vegetation. weight of. quartz of the ventana. of tapalguen. of falkland island. quedius. quellaypo volcano. quilimari. quillota, valley of. quinchao island. quintero. quiriquina island. quoy and gaimard on stinging corals. on coral-reefs. rabbit, wild, at the falkland islands. rain at coquimbo. at rio. effects on vegetation. and earthquakes. in chile, formerly more abundant. in peru. rana mascariensis. rat, only aboriginal animal of new zealand. rats at galapagos. at keeling island. at ascension. rattlesnake, species with allied habit. red snow. reduvius. reef at pernambuco of sandstone. reefs of coral. barrier. fringing. reeks, mr., analysis of salt. bones. salt and shells. remains, human, elevated. remedies of the gauchos. rengger on the horse. reptiles absent in tierra del fuego. at galapagos. respiration difficult in andes. retrospect. revolutions at buenos ayres. rhea darwinii (avestruz petise). rhinoceroses live in desert countries. frozen. rhynchops nigra. richardson, dr., on mice of north america. on frozen soil. on eating fat. on geographical distribution. on polished rocks. rimsky atoll. rio de janeiro. botofogo bay. plata. negro. colorado. sauce. salado. s. cruz. river-bed, arched. river-courses dry in america. rivers, power of, in wearing channels. rocks burnished with ferruginous matter. rodents, number of, in america. fossil species of. rolor, general. rosas, general. rozario. ruins of callao. of indian buildings in cordillera. salado, rio. saladillo river. salinas at the galapagos archipelago. in patagonia. saline efflorescences. salt with vegetable food. superficial crust of. with elevated shells. salt-lakes. san carlos. nicolas. felipe. pedro. pedro, forests of. lorenzo island. sand-dunes. sand, hot from sun's rays, at galapagos archipelago. noise from friction of. sandstone of new south wales. reef of. sandwich archipelago, no frogs at. land. santa cruz, river of. santiago, chile. sarmiento, mount. sauce, rio. saurophagus sulphureus. scarus eating corals. scelidotherium. scenery of andes. scissor-beak, habits of. scissor-tail. scoresby, mr., on effects of snow on rocks. scorpions, cannibals. scrope, mr., on earthquakes. scytalopus. sea, open, inhabitants of. phosphorescence of. explosions in. sea-pen, habits of. seals, number of. seaweed, growth of. seeds transported by sea. serpulae. sertularia, protecting reef. shark killed by diodon. shaw, dr., on lion's flesh. sheep, infected. shelley, lines on mont blanc. shells, land, in great numbers. elevated. tropical forms of, far south. fossil, of cordillera. decomposition of, with salt. of galapagos. at st. helena. shepherd's dogs. shingle-bed of patagonia. shongi, new zealand chief. siberia compared with patagonia. zoology of, related to north america. siberian animals, how preserved in ice. food necessary during their existence. sierra de la ventana. tapalguen. silicified trees. silurian formations at falkland islands. silurus, habits of. sivatherium. skunks. slavery. smelling power of carrion-hawks. smith, dr. andrew, on the support of large quadrupeds. on perforated pebbles. snake, venomous. snow, effects of, on rocks. prismatic structure of. red. snow-line on cordillera. socêgo. society, state of, in la plata. state of, in australia. archipelago. volcanic phenomena at. soda, nitrate of. sulphate of. soil, frozen. south american bit. spawn on surface of sea. species, distribution of. extinction of. spiders, habits of. gossamer, killed by and killing wasps. on keeling island. on st. paul's. spurs of guaso. springs, hot. stevenson, mr., on growth of seaweed. st. helena. jago, c. verds. unhealthiness of. paul's rocks. fé. maria, elevated. introduction of spirits into. louis, mauritius. stinging animals. stones perforated. transported in roots. storm. in cordillera. streams of stones at falkland islands. strongylus. struthio rhea. darwinii. strzelecki,count. suadiva atoll. subsidence of coral-reefs. of patagonia. of cordillera. of coasts of chile. cause of distinctness in tertiary epochs. of coast of peru. of keeling island. of vanikoro. of coral-reefs great in amount. sulphate of lime. soda with common salt. soda incrusting the ground. swainson, mr., on cuckoos. sydney. tabanus. tahiti (otaheite). three zones of fertility. fatahua fall. christianity in. tahitian. talcahuano. tambillos, ruinas de. tameness of birds. tandeel, pumas at. tapacolo and turco. tapalguen, sierra, flat hills of quartz. tarn, mount. tasmania. tattooing. temperance of the tahitians. temperature of tierra del fuego and falkland islands. of galapagos. tercero, rio, fossils in banks of. terraces in valleys of cordillera. of patagonia. of coquimbo. tertiary formations of the pampas. of patagonia. in chile, epochs of. teru-tero. habits of. testudo, two species of. abingdonii. nigra, habits of. theory of lagoon-islands. theristicus melanops. thistle beds. thunder-storms. ti, liliaceous plant. tierra del fuego. climate and vegetation of. zoology of. entomology of. tinamus rufescens. tinochorus rumicivorus. toad, habits of. not found in oceanic islands. torrents in cordillera. tortoise, habits of. toxodon. transparency of air in andes. in st. jago. transport of boulders. of fragments of rock on banks of the st. cruz river. of seeds. of stones in roots of trees. travertin with leaves of trees, van diemen's land. tree-ferns. southern limits of. trees, absence of, in pampas. time required to rot. silicified, vertical. size of. floating, transport stones. tres montes. trichodesmium. trigonocephalus. tristan d'acunha. trochilus forficatus. tropical scenery. tschudi, m., on subsidence. tubes, siliceous, formed by lightning. tucutuco, habits of. fossil species of. tuff, craters of. infusoria in. tupungato, volcano of. turco, el. turkey buzzard. turtle, manner of catching. type of organisation in galapagos islands, american. types of organisation in different countries, constant. tyrannus savana. ulloa on hydrophobia. on indian buildings. unanùe, dr., on hydrophobia. uruguay, rio. not crossed by the bizcacha. uspallata range and pass. vacas, rio. valdivia. forests of. valley of st. cruz, how excavated. dry, at copiapó. valleys, excavation of, in chile. of new south wales. in cordillera. of tahiti. valparaiso. vampire bat. van diemen's land. vanellus cayanus. vanessa, flocks of. vanikoro. vapour from forests. vegetation of st. helena, changes of. luxuriant, not necessary to support large animals. on opposite sides of cordillera. ventana, sierra. verbena melindres. vilipilli. villa vicencio. villarica volcano. virgin forest. virgularia patagonica. volcanic bombs. cellular formation of. islands. phenomena. volcanoes near chiloe. their presence determined by elevation or subsidence. vultur aura. waders, first colonists of distant islands. waimate, new zealand. waiomio. walckenaer on spiders. walleechu tree. wasps preying on spiders and killed by. water-hog (hydrochaerus capybara). water-serpents. water sold at iquique. water, fresh, floating on salt. waterhouse, mr., on rodents. on the niata ox. on the insects of tierra del fuego. of galapagos. on the terrestrial mammals of galapagos. waves caused by fall of ice. from earthquakes. weather, connection with earthquakes. weatherboard, new south wales. weeds in new zealand, imported. weight of large quadrupeds. wellington, mount. wells, ebbing and flowing. at iquique. west indies, banks of sediment. zoology of. coral-reefs of. whales, oil from. leaping out of water. white, mr., on spiders. whitsunday island. wigwam cove. wigwams of fuegians. williams, reverend mr. on infectious disorders. winds, dry, in tierra del fuego. at the cape verds. on cordillera. cold, on cordillera. winter's bark. wolf at the falklands. wollaston island. wood, captain, on the agouti. woollya. yaquil gold mines. yeso, valle del. york minster. zonotrichia. zoological provinces of north and south america. zoology of galapagos. of tierra del fuego. of chonos islands. of keeling island. of st. helena. zoophytes. at falkland islands. zorillo, or skunk. the internet wiretap online edition of the voyage of the beagle by charles darwin about the online edition. the degree symbol is represented as "degs." italics are represented as _italics_. footnotes are collected at the end of each chapter. the voyage of the beagle preface i have stated in the preface to the first edition of this work, and in the zoology of the voyage of the beagle, that it was in consequence of a wish expressed by captain fitz roy, of having some scientific person on board, accompanied by an offer from him of giving up part of his own accommodations, that i volunteered my services, which received, through the kindness of the hydrographer, captain beaufort, the sanction of the lords of the admiralty. as i feel that the opportunities which i enjoyed of studying the natural history of the different countries we visited, have been wholly due to captain fitz roy, i hope i may here be permitted to repeat my expression of gratitude to him; and to add that, during the five years we were together, i received from him the most cordial friendship and steady assistance. both to captain fitz roy and to all the officers of the beagle [ ] i shall ever feel most thankful for the undeviating kindness with which i was treated during our long voyage. this volume contains, in the form of a journal, a history of our voyage, and a sketch of those observations in natural history and geology, which i think will possess some interest for the general reader. i have in this edition largely condensed and corrected some parts, and have added a little to others, in order to render the volume more fitted for popular reading; but i trust that naturalists will remember, that they must refer for details to the larger publications which comprise the scientific results of the expedition. the zoology of the voyage of the beagle includes an account of the fossil mammalia, by professor owen; of the living mammalia, by mr. waterhouse; of the birds, by mr. gould; of the fish, by the rev. l. jenyns; and of the reptiles, by mr. bell. i have appended to the descriptions of each species an account of its habits and range. these works, which i owe to the high talents and disinterested zeal of the above distinguished authors, could not have been undertaken, had it not been for the liberality of the lords commissioners of her majesty's treasury, who, through the representation of the right honourable the chancellor of the exchequer, have been pleased to grant a sum of one thousand pounds towards defraying part of the expenses of publication. i have myself published separate volumes on the 'structure and distribution of coral reefs;' on the 'volcanic islands visited during the voyage of the beagle;' and on the 'geology of south america.' the sixth volume of the 'geological transactions' contains two papers of mine on the erratic boulders and volcanic phenomena of south america. messrs. waterhouse, walker, newman, and white, have published several able papers on the insects which were collected, and i trust that many others will hereafter follow. the plants from the southern parts of america will be given by dr. j. hooker, in his great work on the botany of the southern hemisphere. the flora of the galapagos archipelago is the subject of a separate memoir by him, in the 'linnean transactions.' the reverend professor henslow has published a list of the plants collected by me at the keeling islands; and the reverend j. m. berkeley has described my cryptogamic plants. i shall have the pleasure of acknowledging the great assistance which i have received from several other naturalists, in the course of this and my other works; but i must be here allowed to return my most sincere thanks to the reverend professor henslow, who, when i was an undergraduate at cambridge, was one chief means of giving me a taste for natural history,--who, during my absence, took charge of the collections i sent home, and by his correspondence directed my endeavours,--and who, since my return, has constantly rendered me every assistance which the kindest friend could offer. down, bromley, kent, june , [ ] i must take this opportunity of returning my sincere thanks to mr. bynoe, the surgeon of the beagle, for his very kind attention to me when i was ill at valparaiso. the voyage of the beagle chapter i st. jago--cape de verd islands porto praya--ribeira grande--atmospheric dust with infusoria--habits of a sea-slug and cuttle-fish--st. paul's rocks, non-volcanic--singular incrustations--insects the first colonists of islands--fernando noronha--bahia--burnished rocks--habits of a diodon--pelagic confervae and infusoria--causes of discoloured sea. after having been twice driven back by heavy southwestern gales, her majesty's ship beagle, a ten-gun brig, under the command of captain fitz roy, r. n., sailed from devonport on the th of december, . the object of the expedition was to complete the survey of patagonia and tierra del fuego, commenced under captain king in to ,--to survey the shores of chile, peru, and of some islands in the pacific--and to carry a chain of chronometrical measurements round the world. on the th of january we reached teneriffe, but were prevented landing, by fears of our bringing the cholera: the next morning we saw the sun rise behind the rugged outline of the grand canary island, and suddenly illuminate the peak of teneriffe, whilst the lower parts were veiled in fleecy clouds. this was the first of many delightful days never to be forgotten. on the th of january, , we anchored at porto praya, in st. jago, the chief island of the cape de verd archipelago. the neighbourhood of porto praya, viewed from the sea, wears a desolate aspect. the volcanic fires of a past age, and the scorching heat of a tropical sun, have in most places rendered the soil unfit for vegetation. the country rises in successive steps of table-land, interspersed with some truncate conical hills, and the horizon is bounded by an irregular chain of more lofty mountains. the scene, as beheld through the hazy atmosphere of this climate, is one of great interest; if, indeed, a person, fresh from sea, and who has just walked, for the first time, in a grove of cocoa-nut trees, can be a judge of anything but his own happiness. the island would generally be considered as very uninteresting, but to anyone accustomed only to an english landscape, the novel aspect of an utterly sterile land possesses a grandeur which more vegetation might spoil. a single green leaf can scarcely be discovered over wide tracts of the lava plains; yet flocks of goats, together with a few cows, contrive to exist. it rains very seldom, but during a short portion of the year heavy torrents fall, and immediately afterwards a light vegetation springs out of every crevice. this soon withers; and upon such naturally formed hay the animals live. it had not now rained for an entire year. when the island was discovered, the immediate neighbourhood of porto praya was clothed with trees, [ ] the reckless destruction of which has caused here, as at st. helena, and at some of the canary islands, almost entire sterility. the broad, flat-bottomed valleys, many of which serve during a few days only in the season as water-courses, are clothed with thickets of leafless bushes. few living creatures inhabit these valleys. the commonest bird is a kingfisher (dacelo iagoensis), which tamely sits on the branches of the castor-oil plant, and thence darts on grasshoppers and lizards. it is brightly coloured, but not so beautiful as the european species: in its flight, manners, and place of habitation, which is generally in the driest valley, there is also a wide difference. one day, two of the officers and myself rode to ribeira grande, a village a few miles eastward of porto praya. until we reached the valley of st. martin, the country presented its usual dull brown appearance; but here, a very small rill of water produces a most refreshing margin of luxuriant vegetation. in the course of an hour we arrived at ribeira grande, and were surprised at the sight of a large ruined fort and cathedral. this little town, before its harbour was filled up, was the principal place in the island: it now presents a melancholy, but very picturesque appearance. having procured a black padre for a guide, and a spaniard who had served in the peninsular war as an interpreter, we visited a collection of buildings, of which an ancient church formed the principal part. it is here the governors and captain-generals of the islands have been buried. some of the tombstones recorded dates of the sixteenth century. [ ] the heraldic ornaments were the only things in this retired place that reminded us of europe. the church or chapel formed one side of a quadrangle, in the middle of which a large clump of bananas were growing. on another side was a hospital, containing about a dozen miserable-looking inmates. we returned to the venda to eat our dinners. a considerable number of men, women, and children, all as black as jet, collected to watch us. our companions were extremely merry; and everything we said or did was followed by their hearty laughter. before leaving the town we visited the cathedral. it does not appear so rich as the smaller church, but boasts of a little organ, which sent forth singularly inharmonious cries. we presented the black priest with a few shillings, and the spaniard, patting him on the head, said, with much candour, he thought his colour made no great difference. we then returned, as fast as the ponies would go, to porto praya. another day we rode to the village of st. domingo, situated near the centre of the island. on a small plain which we crossed, a few stunted acacias were growing; their tops had been bent by the steady trade-wind, in a singular manner--some of them even at right angles to their trunks. the direction of the branches was exactly n. e. by n., and s. w. by s., and these natural vanes must indicate the prevailing direction of the force of the trade-wind. the travelling had made so little impression on the barren soil, that we here missed our track, and took that to fuentes. this we did not find out till we arrived there; and we were afterwards glad of our mistake. fuentes is a pretty village, with a small stream; and everything appeared to prosper well, excepting, indeed, that which ought to do so most--its inhabitants. the black children, completely naked, and looking very wretched, were carrying bundles of firewood half as big as their own bodies. near fuentes we saw a large flock of guinea-fowl--probably fifty or sixty in number. they were extremely wary, and could not be approached. they avoided us, like partridges on a rainy day in september, running with their heads cocked up; and if pursued, they readily took to the wing. the scenery of st. domingo possesses a beauty totally unexpected, from the prevalent gloomy character of the rest of the island. the village is situated at the bottom of a valley, bounded by lofty and jagged walls of stratified lava. the black rocks afford a most striking contrast with the bright green vegetation, which follows the banks of a little stream of clear water. it happened to be a grand feast-day, and the village was full of people. on our return we overtook a party of about twenty young black girls, dressed in excellent taste; their black skins and snow-white linen being set off by coloured turbans and large shawls. as soon as we approached near, they suddenly all turned round, and covering the path with their shawls, sung with great energy a wild song, beating time with their hands upon their legs. we threw them some vintems, which were received with screams of laughter, and we left them redoubling the noise of their song. one morning the view was singularly clear; the distant mountains being projected with the sharpest outline on a heavy bank of dark blue clouds. judging from the appearance, and from similar cases in england, i supposed that the air was saturated with moisture. the fact, however, turned out quite the contrary. the hygrometer gave a difference of . degs., between the temperature of the air, and the point at which dew was precipitated. this difference was nearly double that which i had observed on the previous mornings. this unusual degree of atmospheric dryness was accompanied by continual flashes of lightning. is it not an uncommon case, thus to find a remarkable degree of aerial transparency with such a state of weather? generally the atmosphere is hazy; and this is caused by the falling of impalpably fine dust, which was found to have slightly injured the astronomical instruments. the morning before we anchored at porto praya, i collected a little packet of this brown-coloured fine dust, which appeared to have been filtered from the wind by the gauze of the vane at the mast-head. mr. lyell has also given me four packets of dust which fell on a vessel a few hundred miles northward of these islands. professor ehrenberg [ ] finds that this dust consists in great part of infusoria with siliceous shields, and of the siliceous tissue of plants. in five little packets which i sent him, he has ascertained no less than sixty-seven different organic forms! the infusoria, with the exception of two marine species, are all inhabitants of fresh-water. i have found no less than fifteen different accounts of dust having fallen on vessels when far out in the atlantic. from the direction of the wind whenever it has fallen, and from its having always fallen during those months when the harmattan is known to raise clouds of dust high into the atmosphere, we may feel sure that it all comes from africa. it is, however, a very singular fact, that, although professor ehrenberg knows many species of infusoria peculiar to africa, he finds none of these in the dust which i sent him. on the other hand, he finds in it two species which hitherto he knows as living only in south america. the dust falls in such quantities as to dirty everything on board, and to hurt people's eyes; vessels even have run on shore owing to the obscurity of the atmosphere. it has often fallen on ships when several hundred, and even more than a thousand miles from the coast of africa, and at points sixteen hundred miles distant in a north and south direction. in some dust which was collected on a vessel three hundred miles from the land, i was much surprised to find particles of stone above the thousandth of an inch square, mixed with finer matter. after this fact one need not be surprised at the diffusion of the far lighter and smaller sporules of cryptogamic plants. the geology of this island is the most interesting part of its natural history. on entering the harbour, a perfectly horizontal white band, in the face of the sea cliff, may be seen running for some miles along the coast, and at the height of about forty-five feet above the water. upon examination this white stratum is found to consist of calcareous matter with numerous shells embedded, most or all of which now exist on the neighbouring coast. it rests on ancient volcanic rocks, and has been covered by a stream of basalt, which must have entered the sea when the white shelly bed was lying at the bottom. it is interesting to trace the changes produced by the heat of the overlying lava, on the friable mass, which in parts has been converted into a crystalline limestone, and in other parts into a compact spotted stone where the lime has been caught up by the scoriaceous fragments of the lower surface of the stream, it is converted into groups of beautifully radiated fibres resembling arragonite. the beds of lava rise in successive gently-sloping plains, towards the interior, whence the deluges of melted stone have originally proceeded. within historical times, no signs of volcanic activity have, i believe, been manifested in any part of st. jago. even the form of a crater can but rarely be discovered on the summits of the many red cindery hills; yet the more recent streams can be distinguished on the coast, forming lines of cliffs of less height, but stretching out in advance of those belonging to an older series: the height of the cliffs thus affording a rude measure of the age of the streams. during our stay, i observed the habits of some marine animals. a large aplysia is very common. this sea-slug is about five inches long; and is of a dirty yellowish colour veined with purple. on each side of the lower surface, or foot, there is a broad membrane, which appears sometimes to act as a ventilator, in causing a current of water to flow over the dorsal branchiae or lungs. it feeds on the delicate sea-weeds which grow among the stones in muddy and shallow water; and i found in its stomach several small pebbles, as in the gizzard of a bird. this slug, when disturbed, emits a very fine purplish-red fluid, which stains the water for the space of a foot around. besides this means of defence, an acrid secretion, which is spread over its body, causes a sharp, stinging sensation, similar to that produced by the physalia, or portuguese man-of-war. i was much interested, on several occasions, by watching the habits of an octopus, or cuttle-fish. although common in the pools of water left by the retiring tide, these animals were not easily caught. by means of their long arms and suckers, they could drag their bodies into very narrow crevices; and when thus fixed, it required great force to remove them. at other times they darted tail first, with the rapidity of an arrow, from one side of the pool to the other, at the same instant discolouring the water with a dark chestnut-brown ink. these animals also escape detection by a very extraordinary, chameleon-like power of changing their colour. they appear to vary their tints according to the nature of the ground over which they pass: when in deep water, their general shade was brownish purple, but when placed on the land, or in shallow water, this dark tint changed into one of a yellowish green. the colour, examined more carefully, was a french grey, with numerous minute spots of bright yellow: the former of these varied in intensity; the latter entirely disappeared and appeared again by turns. these changes were effected in such a manner, that clouds, varying in tint between a hyacinth red and a chestnut-brown, [ ] were continually passing over the body. any part, being subjected to a slight shock of galvanism, became almost black: a similar effect, but in a less degree, was produced by scratching the skin with a needle. these clouds, or blushes as they may be called, are said to be produced by the alternate expansion and contraction of minute vesicles containing variously coloured fluids. [ ] this cuttle-fish displayed its chameleon-like power both during the act of swimming and whilst remaining stationary at the bottom. i was much amused by the various arts to escape detection used by one individual, which seemed fully aware that i was watching it. remaining for a time motionless, it would then stealthily advance an inch or two, like a cat after a mouse; sometimes changing its colour: it thus proceeded, till having gained a deeper part, it darted away, leaving a dusky train of ink to hide the hole into which it had crawled. while looking for marine animals, with my head about two feet above the rocky shore, i was more than once saluted by a jet of water, accompanied by a slight grating noise. at first i could not think what it was, but afterwards i found out that it was this cuttle-fish, which, though concealed in a hole, thus often led me to its discovery. that it possesses the power of ejecting water there is no doubt, and it appeared to me that it could certainly take good aim by directing the tube or siphon on the under side of its body. from the difficulty which these animals have in carrying their heads, they cannot crawl with ease when placed on the ground. i observed that one which i kept in the cabin was slightly phosphorescent in the dark. st. paul's rocks.--in crossing the atlantic we hove-to during the morning of february th, close to the island of st. paul's. this cluster of rocks is situated in degs. ' north latitude, and degs. ' west longitude. it is miles distant from the coast of america, and from the island of fernando noronha. the highest point is only fifty feet above the level of the sea, and the entire circumference is under three-quarters of a mile. this small point rises abruptly out of the depths of the ocean. its mineralogical constitution is not simple; in some parts the rock is of a cherty, in others of a felspathic nature, including thin veins of serpentine. it is a remarkable fact, that all the many small islands, lying far from any continent, in the pacific, indian, and atlantic oceans, with the exception of the seychelles and this little point of rock, are, i believe, composed either of coral or of erupted matter. the volcanic nature of these oceanic islands is evidently an extension of that law, and the effect of those same causes, whether chemical or mechanical, from which it results that a vast majority of the volcanoes now in action stand either near sea-coasts or as islands in the midst of the sea. the rocks of st. paul appear from a distance of a brilliantly white colour. this is partly owing to the dung of a vast multitude of seafowl, and partly to a coating of a hard glossy substance with a pearly lustre, which is intimately united to the surface of the rocks. this, when examined with a lens, is found to consist of numerous exceedingly thin layers, its total thickness being about the tenth of an inch. it contains much animal matter, and its origin, no doubt, is due to the action of the rain or spray on the birds' dung. below some small masses of guano at ascension, and on the abrolhos islets, i found certain stalactitic branching bodies, formed apparently in the same manner as the thin white coating on these rocks. the branching bodies so closely resembled in general appearance certain nulliporae (a family of hard calcareous sea-plants), that in lately looking hastily over my collection i did not perceive the difference. the globular extremities of the branches are of a pearly texture, like the enamel of teeth, but so hard as just to scratch plate-glass. i may here mention, that on a part of the coast of ascension, where there is a vast accumulation of shelly sand, an incrustation is deposited on the tidal rocks by the water of the sea, resembling, as represented in the woodcut, certain cryptogamic plants (marchantiae) often seen on damp walls. the surface of the fronds is beautifully glossy; and those parts formed where fully exposed to the light are of a jet black colour, but those shaded under ledges are only grey. i have shown specimens of this incrustation to several geologists, and they all thought that they were of volcanic or igneous origin! in its hardness and translucency--in its polish, equal to that of the finest oliva-shell--in the bad smell given out, and loss of colour under the blowpipe--it shows a close similarity with living sea-shells. moreover, in sea-shells, it is known that the parts habitually covered and shaded by the mantle of the animal, are of a paler colour than those fully exposed to the light, just as is the case with this incrustation. when we remember that lime, either as a phosphate or carbonate, enters into the composition of the hard parts, such as bones and shells, of all living animals, it is an interesting physiological fact [ ] to find substances harder than the enamel of teeth, and coloured surfaces as well polished as those of a fresh shell, reformed through inorganic means from dead organic matter--mocking, also, in shape, some of the lower vegetable productions. we found on st. paul's only two kinds of birds--the booby and the noddy. the former is a species of gannet, and the latter a tern. both are of a tame and stupid disposition, and are so unaccustomed to visitors, that i could have killed any number of them with my geological hammer. the booby lays her eggs on the bare rock; but the tern makes a very simple nest with sea-weed. by the side of many of these nests a small flying-fish was placed; which i suppose, had been brought by the male bird for its partner. it was amusing to watch how quickly a large and active crab (graspus), which inhabits the crevices of the rock, stole the fish from the side of the nest, as soon as we had disturbed the parent birds. sir w. symonds, one of the few persons who have landed here, informs me that he saw the crabs dragging even the young birds out of their nests, and devouring them. not a single plant, not even a lichen, grows on this islet; yet it is inhabited by several insects and spiders. the following list completes, i believe, the terrestrial fauna: a fly (olfersia) living on the booby, and a tick which must have come here as a parasite on the birds; a small brown moth, belonging to a genus that feeds on feathers; a beetle (quedius) and a woodlouse from beneath the dung; and lastly, numerous spiders, which i suppose prey on these small attendants and scavengers of the water-fowl. the often repeated description of the stately palm and other noble tropical plants, then birds, and lastly man, taking possession of the coral islets as soon as formed, in the pacific, is probably not correct; i fear it destroys the poetry of this story, that feather and dirt-feeding and parasitic insects and spiders should be the first inhabitants of newly formed oceanic land. the smallest rock in the tropical seas, by giving a foundation for the growth of innumerable kinds of sea-weed and compound animals, supports likewise a large number of fish. the sharks and the seamen in the boats maintained a constant struggle which should secure the greater share of the prey caught by the fishing-lines. i have heard that a rock near the bermudas, lying many miles out at sea, and at a considerable depth, was first discovered by the circumstance of fish having been observed in the neighbourhood. fernando noronha, feb. th.--as far as i was enabled to observe, during the few hours we stayed at this place, the constitution of the island is volcanic, but probably not of a recent date. the most remarkable feature is a conical hill, about one thousand feet high, the upper part of which is exceedingly steep, and on one side overhangs its base. the rock is phonolite, and is divided into irregular columns. on viewing one of these isolated masses, at first one is inclined to believe that it has been suddenly pushed up in a semi-fluid state. at st. helena, however, i ascertained that some pinnacles, of a nearly similar figure and constitution, had been formed by the injection of melted rock into yielding strata, which thus had formed the moulds for these gigantic obelisks. the whole island is covered with wood; but from the dryness of the climate there is no appearance of luxuriance. half-way up the mountain, some great masses of the columnar rock, shaded by laurel-like trees, and ornamented by others covered with fine pink flowers but without a single leaf, gave a pleasing effect to the nearer parts of the scenery. bahia, or san salvador. brazil, feb. th.--the day has passed delightfully. delight itself, however, is a weak term to express the feelings of a naturalist who, for the first time, has wandered by himself in a brazilian forest. the elegance of the grasses, the novelty of the parasitical plants, the beauty of the flowers, the glossy green of the foliage, but above all the general luxuriance of the vegetation, filled me with admiration. a most paradoxical mixture of sound and silence pervades the shady parts of the wood. the noise from the insects is so loud, that it may be heard even in a vessel anchored several hundred yards from the shore; yet within the recesses of the forest a universal silence appears to reign. to a person fond of natural history, such a day as this brings with it a deeper pleasure than he can ever hope to experience again. after wandering about for some hours, i returned to the landing-place; but, before reaching it, i was overtaken by a tropical storm. i tried to find shelter under a tree, which was so thick that it would never have been penetrated by common english rain; but here, in a couple of minutes, a little torrent flowed down the trunk. it is to this violence of the rain that we must attribute the verdure at the bottom of the thickest woods: if the showers were like those of a colder climate, the greater part would be absorbed or evaporated before it reached the ground. i will not at present attempt to describe the gaudy scenery of this noble bay, because, in our homeward voyage, we called here a second time, and i shall then have occasion to remark on it. along the whole coast of brazil, for a length of at least miles, and certainly for a considerable space inland, wherever solid rock occurs, it belongs to a granitic formation. the circumstance of this enormous area being constituted of materials which most geologists believe to have been crystallized when heated under pressure, gives rise to many curious reflections. was this effect produced beneath the depths of a profound ocean? or did a covering of strata formerly extend over it, which has since been removed? can we believe that any power, acting for a time short of infinity, could have denuded the granite over so many thousand square leagues? on a point not far from the city, where a rivulet entered the sea, i observed a fact connected with a subject discussed by humboldt. [ ] at the cataracts of the great rivers orinoco, nile, and congo, the syenitic rocks are coated by a black substance, appearing as if they had been polished with plumbago. the layer is of extreme thinness; and on analysis by berzelius it was found to consist of the oxides of manganese and iron. in the orinoco it occurs on the rocks periodically washed by the floods, and in those parts alone where the stream is rapid; or, as the indians say, "the rocks are black where the waters are white." here the coating is of a rich brown instead of a black colour, and seems to be composed of ferruginous matter alone. hand specimens fail to give a just idea of these brown burnished stones which glitter in the sun's rays. they occur only within the limits of the tidal waves; and as the rivulet slowly trickles down, the surf must supply the polishing power of the cataracts in the great rivers. in like manner, the rise and fall of the tide probably answer to the periodical inundations; and thus the same effects are produced under apparently different but really similar circumstances. the origin, however, of these coatings of metallic oxides, which seem as if cemented to the rocks, is not understood; and no reason, i believe, can be assigned for their thickness remaining the same. one day i was amused by watching the habits of the diodon antennatus, which was caught swimming near the shore. this fish, with its flabby skin, is well known to possess the singular power of distending itself into a nearly spherical form. after having been taken out of water for a short time, and then again immersed in it, a considerable quantity both of water and air is absorbed by the mouth, and perhaps likewise by the branchial orifices. this process is effected by two methods: the air is swallowed, and is then forced into the cavity of the body, its return being prevented by a muscular contraction which is externally visible: but the water enters in a gentle stream through the mouth, which is kept wide open and motionless; this latter action must, therefore, depend on suction. the skin about the abdomen is much looser than that on the back; hence, during the inflation, the lower surface becomes far more distended than the upper; and the fish, in consequence, floats with its back downwards. cuvier doubts whether the diodon in this position is able to swim; but not only can it thus move forward in a straight line, but it can turn round to either side. this latter movement is effected solely by the aid of the pectoral fins; the tail being collapsed, and not used. from the body being buoyed up with so much air, the branchial openings are out of water, but a stream drawn in by the mouth constantly flows through them. the fish, having remained in this distended state for a short time, generally expelled the air and water with considerable force from the branchial apertures and mouth. it could emit, at will, a certain portion of the water, and it appears, therefore, probable that this fluid is taken in partly for the sake of regulating its specific gravity. this diodon possessed several means of defence. it could give a severe bite, and could eject water from its mouth to some distance, at the same time making a curious noise by the movement of its jaws. by the inflation of its body, the papillae, with which the skin is covered, become erect and pointed. but the most curious circumstance is, that it secretes from the skin of its belly, when handled, a most beautiful carmine-red fibrous matter, which stains ivory and paper in so permanent a manner that the tint is retained with all its brightness to the present day: i am quite ignorant of the nature and use of this secretion. i have heard from dr. allan of forres, that he has frequently found a diodon, floating alive and distended, in the stomach of the shark, and that on several occasions he has known it eat its way, not only through the coats of the stomach, but through the sides of the monster, which has thus been killed. who would ever have imagined that a little soft fish could have destroyed the great and savage shark? march th.--we sailed from bahia. a few days afterwards, when not far distant from the abrolhos islets, my attention was called to a reddish-brown appearance in the sea. the whole surface of the water, as it appeared under a weak lens, seemed as if covered by chopped bits of hay, with their ends jagged. these are minute cylindrical confervae, in bundles or rafts of from twenty to sixty in each. mr. berkeley informs me that they are the same species (trichodesmium erythraeum) with that found over large spaces in the red sea, and whence its name of red sea is derived. [ ] their numbers must be infinite: the ship passed through several bands of them, one of which was about ten yards wide, and, judging from the mud-like colour of the water, at least two and a half miles long. in almost every long voyage some account is given of these confervae. they appear especially common in the sea near australia; and off cape leeuwin i found an allied but smaller and apparently different species. captain cook, in his third voyage, remarks, that the sailors gave to this appearance the name of sea-sawdust. near keeling atoll, in the indian ocean, i observed many little masses of confervae a few inches square, consisting of long cylindrical threads of excessive thinness, so as to be barely visible to the naked eye, mingled with other rather larger bodies, finely conical at both ends. two of these are shown in the woodcut united together. they vary in length from . to . , and even to . of an inch in length; and in diameter from . to . of an inch. near one extremity of the cylindrical part, a green septum, formed of granular matter, and thickest in the middle, may generally be seen. this, i believe, is the bottom of a most delicate, colourless sac, composed of a pulpy substance, which lines the exterior case, but does not extend within the extreme conical points. in some specimens, small but perfect spheres of brownish granular matter supplied the places of the septa; and i observed the curious process by which they were produced. the pulpy matter of the internal coating suddenly grouped itself into lines, some of which assumed a form radiating from a common centre; it then continued, with an irregular and rapid movement, to contract itself, so that in the course of a second the whole was united into a perfect little sphere, which occupied the position of the septum at one end of the now quite hollow case. the formation of the granular sphere was hastened by any accidental injury. i may add, that frequently a pair of these bodies were attached to each other, as represented above, cone beside cone, at that end where the septum occurs. i will add here a few other observations connected with the discoloration of the sea from organic causes. on the coast of chile, a few leagues north of concepcion, the beagle one day passed through great bands of muddy water, exactly like that of a swollen river; and again, a degree south of valparaiso, when fifty miles from the land, the same appearance was still more extensive. some of the water placed in a glass was of a pale reddish tint; and, examined under a microscope, was seen to swarm with minute animalcula darting about, and often exploding. their shape is oval, and contracted in the middle by a ring of vibrating curved ciliae. it was, however, very difficult to examine them with care, for almost the instant motion ceased, even while crossing the field of vision, their bodies burst. sometimes both ends burst at once, sometimes only one, and a quantity of coarse, brownish, granular matter was ejected. the animal an instant before bursting expanded to half again its natural size; and the explosion took place about fifteen seconds after the rapid progressive motion had ceased: in a few cases it was preceded for a short interval by a rotatory movement on the longer axis. about two minutes after any number were isolated in a drop of water, they thus perished. the animals move with the narrow apex forwards, by the aid of their vibratory ciliae, and generally by rapid starts. they are exceedingly minute, and quite invisible to the naked eye, only covering a space equal to the square of the thousandth of an inch. their numbers were infinite; for the smallest drop of water which i could remove contained very many. in one day we passed through two spaces of water thus stained, one of which alone must have extended over several square miles. what incalculable numbers of these microscopical animals! the colour of the water, as seen at some distance, was like that of a river which has flowed through a red clay district, but under the shade of the vessel's side it was quite as dark as chocolate. the line where the red and blue water joined was distinctly defined. the weather for some days previously had been calm, and the ocean abounded, to an unusual degree, with living creatures. [ ] in the sea around tierra del fuego, and at no great distance from the land, i have seen narrow lines of water of a bright red colour, from the number of crustacea, which somewhat resemble in form large prawns. the sealers call them whale-food. whether whales feed on them i do not know; but terns, cormorants, and immense herds of great unwieldy seals derive, on some parts of the coast, their chief sustenance from these swimming crabs. seamen invariably attribute the discoloration of the water to spawn; but i found this to be the case only on one occasion. at the distance of several leagues from the archipelago of the galapagos, the ship sailed through three strips of a dark yellowish, or mud-like water; these strips were some miles long, but only a few yards wide, and they were separated from the surrounding water by a sinuous yet distinct margin. the colour was caused by little gelatinous balls, about the fifth of an inch in diameter, in which numerous minute spherical ovules were imbedded: they were of two distinct kinds, one being of a reddish colour and of a different shape from the other. i cannot form a conjecture as to what two kinds of animals these belonged. captain colnett remarks, that this appearance is very common among the galapagos islands, and that the directions of the bands indicate that of the currents; in the described case, however, the line was caused by the wind. the only other appearance which i have to notice, is a thin oily coat on the water which displays iridescent colours. i saw a considerable tract of the ocean thus covered on the coast of brazil; the seamen attributed it to the putrefying carcase of some whale, which probably was floating at no great distance. i do not here mention the minute gelatinous particles, hereafter to be referred to, which are frequently dispersed throughout the water, for they are not sufficiently abundant to create any change of colour. there are two circumstances in the above accounts which appear remarkable: first, how do the various bodies which form the bands with defined edges keep together? in the case of the prawn-like crabs, their movements were as co-instantaneous as in a regiment of soldiers; but this cannot happen from anything like voluntary action with the ovules, or the confervae, nor is it probable among the infusoria. secondly, what causes the length and narrowness of the bands? the appearance so much resembles that which may be seen in every torrent, where the stream uncoils into long streaks the froth collected in the eddies, that i must attribute the effect to a similar action either of the currents of the air or sea. under this supposition we must believe that the various organized bodies are produced in certain favourable places, and are thence removed by the set of either wind or water. i confess, however, there is a very great difficulty in imagining any one spot to be the birthplace of the millions of millions of animalcula and confervae: for whence come the germs at such points?--the parent bodies having been distributed by the winds and waves over the immense ocean. but on no other hypothesis can i understand their linear grouping. i may add that scoresby remarks that green water abounding with pelagic animals is invariably found in a certain part of the arctic sea. [ ] i state this on the authority of dr. e. dieffenbach, in his german translation of the first edition of this journal. [ ] the cape de verd islands were discovered in . there was a tombstone of a bishop with the date of ; and a crest of a hand and dagger, dated . [ ] i must take this opportunity of acknowledging the great kindness with which this illustrious naturalist has examined many of my specimens. i have sent (june, ) a full account of the falling of this dust to the geological society. [ ] so named according to patrick symes's nomenclature. [ ] see encyclop. of anat. and physiol., article cephalopoda [ ] mr. horner and sir david brewster have described (philosophical transactions, , p. ) a singular "artificial substance resembling shell." it is deposited in fine, transparent, highly polished, brown-coloured laminae, possessing peculiar optical properties, on the inside of a vessel, in which cloth, first prepared with glue and then with lime, is made to revolve rapidly in water. it is much softer, more transparent, and contains more animal matter, than the natural incrustation at ascension; but we here again see the strong tendency which carbonate of lime and animal matter evince to form a solid substance allied to shell. [ ] pers. narr., vol. v., pt. ., p. . [ ] m. montagne, in comptes rendus, etc., juillet, ; and annal. des scienc. nat., dec. [ ] m. lesson (voyage de la coquille, tom. i., p. ) mentions red water off lima, apparently produced by the same cause. peron, the distinguished naturalist, in the voyage aux terres australes, gives no less than twelve references to voyagers who have alluded to the discoloured waters of the sea (vol. ii. p. ). to the references given by peron may be added, humboldt's pers. narr., vol. vi. p. ; flinder's voyage, vol. i. p. ; labillardiere, vol. i. p. ; ulloa's voyage; voyage of the astrolabe and of the coquille; captain king's survey of australia, etc. chapter ii rio de janeiro rio de janeiro--excursion north of cape frio--great evaporation--slavery--botofogo bay--terrestrial planariae--clouds on the corcovado--heavy rain--musical frogs--phosphorescent insects--elater, springing powers of--blue haze--noise made by a butterfly--entomology--ants--wasp killing a spider--parasitical spider--artifices of an epeira--gregarious spider--spider with an unsymmetrical web. april th to july th, .--a few days after our arrival i became acquainted with an englishman who was going to visit his estate, situated rather more than a hundred miles from the capital, to the northward of cape frio. i gladly accepted his kind offer of allowing me to accompany him. april th.--our party amounted to seven. the first stage was very interesting. the day was powerfully hot, and as we passed through the woods, everything was motionless, excepting the large and brilliant butterflies, which lazily fluttered about. the view seen when crossing the hills behind praia grande was most beautiful; the colours were intense, and the prevailing tint a dark blue; the sky and the calm waters of the bay vied with each other in splendour. after passing through some cultivated country, we entered a forest, which in the grandeur of all its parts could not be exceeded. we arrived by midday at ithacaia; this small village is situated on a plain, and round the central house are the huts of the negroes. these, from their regular form and position, reminded me of the drawings of the hottentot habitations in southern africa. as the moon rose early, we determined to start the same evening for our sleeping-place at the lagoa marica. as it was growing dark we passed under one of the massive, bare, and steep hills of granite which are so common in this country. this spot is notorious from having been, for a long time, the residence of some runaway slaves, who, by cultivating a little ground near the top, contrived to eke out a subsistence. at length they were discovered, and a party of soldiers being sent, the whole were seized with the exception of one old woman, who, sooner than again be led into slavery, dashed herself to pieces from the summit of the mountain. in a roman matron this would have been called the noble love of freedom: in a poor negress it is mere brutal obstinacy. we continued riding for some hours. for the few last miles the road was intricate, and it passed through a desert waste of marshes and lagoons. the scene by the dimmed light of the moon was most desolate. a few fireflies flitted by us; and the solitary snipe, as it rose, uttered its plaintive cry. the distant and sullen roar of the sea scarcely broke the stillness of the night. april th.--we left our miserable sleeping-place before sunrise. the road passed through a narrow sandy plain, lying between the sea and the interior salt lagoons. the number of beautiful fishing birds, such as egrets and cranes, and the succulent plants assuming most fantastical forms, gave to the scene an interest which it would not otherwise have possessed. the few stunted trees were loaded with parasitical plants, among which the beauty and delicious fragrance of some of the orchideae were most to be admired. as the sun rose, the day became extremely hot, and the reflection of the light and heat from the white sand was very distressing. we dined at mandetiba; the thermometer in the shade being degs. the beautiful view of the distant wooded hills, reflected in the perfectly calm water of an extensive lagoon, quite refreshed us. as the venda [ ] here was a very good one, and i have the pleasant, but rare remembrance, of an excellent dinner, i will be grateful and presently describe it, as the type of its class. these houses are often large, and are built of thick upright posts, with boughs interwoven, and afterwards plastered. they seldom have floors, and never glazed windows; but are generally pretty well roofed. universally the front part is open, forming a kind of verandah, in which tables and benches are placed. the bed-rooms join on each side, and here the passenger may sleep as comfortably as he can, on a wooden platform, covered by a thin straw mat. the venda stands in a courtyard, where the horses are fed. on first arriving it was our custom to unsaddle the horses and give them their indian corn; then, with a low bow, to ask the senhor to do us the favour to give up something to eat. "anything you choose, sir," was his usual answer. for the few first times, vainly i thanked providence for having guided us to so good a man. the conversation proceeding, the case universally became deplorable. "any fish can you do us the favour of giving ?"--"oh! no, sir."--"any soup?"--"no, sir."--"any bread?"--"oh! no, sir."--"any dried meat?"--"oh! no, sir." if we were lucky, by waiting a couple of hours, we obtained fowls, rice, and farinha. it not unfrequently happened, that we were obliged to kill, with stones, the poultry for our own supper. when, thoroughly exhausted by fatigue and hunger, we timorously hinted that we should be glad of our meal, the pompous, and (though true) most unsatisfactory answer was, "it will be ready when it is ready." if we had dared to remonstrate any further, we should have been told to proceed on our journey, as being too impertinent. the hosts are most ungracious and disagreeable in their manners; their houses and their persons are often filthily dirty; the want of the accommodation of forks, knives, and spoons is common; and i am sure no cottage or hovel in england could be found in a state so utterly destitute of every comfort. at campos novos, however, we fared sumptuously; having rice and fowls, biscuit, wine, and spirits, for dinner; coffee in the evening, and fish with coffee for breakfast. all this, with good food for the horses, only cost s. d. per head. yet the host of this venda, being asked if he knew anything of a whip which one of the party had lost, gruffly answered, "how should i know? why did you not take care of it?--i suppose the dogs have eaten it." leaving mandetiba, we continued to pass through an intricate wilderness of lakes; in some of which were fresh, in others salt water shells. of the former kinds, i found a limnaea in great numbers in a lake, into which, the inhabitants assured me that the sea enters once a year, and sometimes oftener, and makes the water quite salt. i have no doubt many interesting facts, in relation to marine and fresh water animals, might be observed in this chain of lagoons, which skirt the coast of brazil. m. gay [ ] has stated that he found in the neighbourhood of rio, shells of the marine genera solen and mytilus, and fresh water ampullariae, living together in brackish water. i also frequently observed in the lagoon near the botanic garden, where the water is only a little less salt than in the sea, a species of hydrophilus, very similar to a water-beetle common in the ditches of england: in the same lake the only shell belonged to a genus generally found in estuaries. leaving the coast for a time, we again entered the forest. the trees were very lofty, and remarkable, compared with those of europe, from the whiteness of their trunks. i see by my note-book, "wonderful and beautiful, flowering parasites," invariably struck me as the most novel object in these grand scenes. travelling onwards we passed through tracts of pasturage, much injured by the enormous conical ants' nests, which were nearly twelve feet high. they gave to the plain exactly the appearance of the mud volcanos at jorullo, as figured by humboldt. we arrived at engenhodo after it was dark, having been ten hours on horseback. i never ceased, during the whole journey, to be surprised at the amount of labour which the horses were capable of enduring; they appeared also to recover from any injury much sooner than those of our english breed. the vampire bat is often the cause of much trouble, by biting the horses on their withers. the injury is generally not so much owing to the loss of blood, as to the inflammation which the pressure of the saddle afterwards produces. the whole circumstance has lately been doubted in england; i was therefore fortunate in being present when one (desmodus d'orbignyi, wat.) was actually caught on a horse's back. we were bivouacking late one evening near coquimbo, in chile, when my servant, noticing that one of the horses was very restive, went to see what was the matter, and fancying he could distinguish something, suddenly put his hand on the beast's withers, and secured the vampire. in the morning the spot where the bite had been inflicted was easily distinguished from being slightly swollen and bloody. the third day afterwards we rode the horse, without any ill effects. april th.--after three days' travelling we arrived at socego, the estate of senhor manuel figuireda, a relation of one of our party. the house was simple, and, though like a barn in form, was well suited to the climate. in the sitting-room gilded chairs and sofas were oddly contrasted with the whitewashed walls, thatched roof, and windows without glass. the house, together with the granaries, the stables, and workshops for the blacks, who had been taught various trades, formed a rude kind of quadrangle; in the centre of which a large pile of coffee was drying. these buildings stand on a little hill, overlooking the cultivated ground, and surrounded on every side by a wall of dark green luxuriant forest. the chief produce of this part of the country is coffee. each tree is supposed to yield annually, on an average, two pounds; but some give as much as eight. mandioca or cassada is likewise cultivated in great quantity. every part of this plant is useful; the leaves and stalks are eaten by the horses, and the roots are ground into a pulp, which, when pressed dry and baked, forms the farinha, the principal article of sustenance in the brazils. it is a curious, though well-known fact, that the juice of this most nutritious plant is highly poisonous. a few years ago a cow died at this fazenda, in consequence of having drunk some of it. senhor figuireda told me that he had planted, the year before, one bag of feijao or beans, and three of rice; the former of which produced eighty, and the latter three hundred and twenty fold. the pasturage supports a fine stock of cattle, and the woods are so full of game that a deer had been killed on each of the three previous days. this profusion of food showed itself at dinner, where, if the tables did not groan, the guests surely did; for each person is expected to eat of every dish. one day, having, as i thought, nicely calculated so that nothing should go away untasted, to my utter dismay a roast turkey and a pig appeared in all their substantial reality. during the meals, it was the employment of a man to drive out of the room sundry old hounds, and dozens of little black children, which crawled in together, at every opportunity. as long as the idea of slavery could be banished, there was something exceedingly fascinating in this simple and patriarchal style of living: it was such a perfect retirement and independence from the rest of the world. as soon as any stranger is seen arriving, a large bell is set tolling, and generally some small cannon are fired. the event is thus announced to the rocks and woods, but to nothing else. one morning i walked out an hour before daylight to admire the solemn stillness of the scene; at last, the silence was broken by the morning hymn, raised on high by the whole body of the blacks; and in this manner their daily work is generally begun. on such fazendas as these, i have no doubt the slaves pass happy and contented lives. on saturday and sunday they work for themselves, and in this fertile climate the labour of two days is sufficient to support a man and his family for the whole week. april th.--leaving socego, we rode to another estate on the rio macae, which was the last patch of cultivated ground in that direction. the estate was two and a half miles long, and the owner had forgotten how many broad. only a very small piece had been cleared, yet almost every acre was capable of yielding all the various rich productions of a tropical land. considering the enormous area of brazil, the proportion of cultivated ground can scarcely be considered as anything, compared to that which is left in the state of nature: at some future age, how vast a population it will support! during the second day's journey we found the road so shut up, that it was necessary that a man should go ahead with a sword to cut away the creepers. the forest abounded with beautiful objects; among which the tree ferns, though not large, were, from their bright green foliage, and the elegant curvature of their fronds, most worthy of admiration. in the evening it rained very heavily, and although the thermometer stood at degs., i felt very cold. as soon as the rain ceased, it was curious to observe the extraordinary evaporation which commenced over the whole extent of the forest. at the height of a hundred feet the hills were buried in a dense white vapour, which rose like columns of smoke from the most thickly wooded parts, and especially from the valleys. i observed this phenomenon on several occasions. i suppose it is owing to the large surface of foliage, previously heated by the sun's rays. while staying at this estate, i was very nearly being an eye-witness to one of those atrocious acts which can only take place in a slave country. owing to a quarrel and a lawsuit, the owner was on the point of taking all the women and children from the male slaves, and selling them separately at the public auction at rio. interest, and not any feeling of compassion, prevented this act. indeed, i do not believe the inhumanity of separating thirty families, who had lived together for many years, even occurred to the owner. yet i will pledge myself, that in humanity and good feeling he was superior to the common run of men. it may be said there exists no limit to the blindness of interest and selfish habit. i may mention one very trifling anecdote, which at the time struck me more forcibly than any story of cruelty. i was crossing a ferry with a negro, who was uncommonly stupid. in endeavouring to make him understand, i talked loud, and made signs, in doing which i passed my hand near his face. he, i suppose, thought i was in a passion, and was going to strike him; for instantly, with a frightened look and half-shut eyes, he dropped his hands. i shall never forget my feelings of surprise, disgust, and shame, at seeing a great powerful man afraid even to ward off a blow, directed, as he thought, at his face. this man had been trained to a degradation lower than the slavery of the most helpless animal. april th.--in returning we spent two days at socego, and i employed them in collecting insects in the forest. the greater number of trees, although so lofty, are not more than three or four feet in circumference. there are, of course, a few of much greater dimensions. senhor manuel was then making a canoe feet in length from a solid trunk, which had originally been feet long, and of great thickness. the contrast of palm trees, growing amidst the common branching kinds, never fails to give the scene an intertropical character. here the woods were ornamented by the cabbage palm--one of the most beautiful of its family. with a stem so narrow that it might be clasped with the two hands, it waves its elegant head at the height of forty or fifty feet above the ground. the woody creepers, themselves covered by other creepers, were of great thickness: some which i measured were two feet in circumference. many of the older trees presented a very curious appearance from the tresses of a liana hanging from their boughs, and resembling bundles of hay. if the eye was turned from the world of foliage above, to the ground beneath, it was attracted by the extreme elegance of the leaves of the ferns and mimosae. the latter, in some parts, covered the surface with a brushwood only a few inches high. in walking across these thick beds of mimosae, a broad track was marked by the change of shade, produced by the drooping of their sensitive petioles. it is easy to specify the individual objects of admiration in these grand scenes; but it is not possible to give an adequate idea of the higher feelings of wonder, astonishment, and devotion, which fill and elevate the mind. april th.--leaving socego, during the two first days, we retraced our steps. it was very wearisome work, as the road generally ran across a glaring hot sandy plain, not far from the coast. i noticed that each time the horse put its foot on the fine siliceous sand, a gentle chirping noise was produced. on the third day we took a different line, and passed through the gay little village of madre de deos. this is one of the principal lines of road in brazil; yet it was in so bad a state that no wheeled vehicle, excepting the clumsy bullock-wagon, could pass along. in our whole journey we did not cross a single bridge built of stone; and those made of logs of wood were frequently so much out of repair, that it was necessary to go on one side to avoid them. all distances are inaccurately known. the road is often marked by crosses, in the place of milestones, to signify where human blood has been spilled. on the evening of the rd we arrived at rio, having finished our pleasant little excursion. during the remainder of my stay at rio, i resided in a cottage at botofogo bay. it was impossible to wish for anything more delightful than thus to spend some weeks in so magnificent a country. in england any person fond of natural history enjoys in his walks a great advantage, by always having something to attract his attention; but in these fertile climates, teeming with life, the attractions are so numerous, that he is scarcely able to walk at all. the few observations which i was enabled to make were almost exclusively confined to the invertebrate animals. the existence of a division of the genus planaria, which inhabits the dry land, interested me much. these animals are of so simple a structure, that cuvier has arranged them with the intestinal worms, though never found within the bodies of other animals. numerous species inhabit both salt and fresh water; but those to which i allude were found, even in the drier parts of the forest, beneath logs of rotten wood, on which i believe they feed. in general form they resemble little slugs, but are very much narrower in proportion, and several of the species are beautifully coloured with longitudinal stripes. their structure is very simple: near the middle of the under or crawling surface there are two small transverse slits, from the anterior one of which a funnel-shaped and highly irritable mouth can be protruded. for some time after the rest of the animal was completely dead from the effects of salt water or any other cause, this organ still retained its vitality. i found no less than twelve different species of terrestrial planariae in different parts of the southern hemisphere. [ ] some specimens which i obtained at van dieman's land, i kept alive for nearly two months, feeding them on rotten wood. having cut one of them transversely into two nearly equal parts, in the course of a fortnight both had the shape of perfect animals. i had, however, so divided the body, that one of the halves contained both the inferior orifices, and the other, in consequence, none. in the course of twenty-five days from the operation, the more perfect half could not have been distinguished from any other specimen. the other had increased much in size; and towards its posterior end, a clear space was formed in the parenchymatous mass, in which a rudimentary cup-shaped mouth could clearly be distinguished; on the under surface, however, no corresponding slit was yet open. if the increased heat of the weather, as we approached the equator, had not destroyed all the individuals, there can be no doubt that this last step would have completed its structure. although so well-known an experiment, it was interesting to watch the gradual production of every essential organ, out of the simple extremity of another animal. it is extremely difficult to preserve these planariae; as soon as the cessation of life allows the ordinary laws of change to act, their entire bodies become soft and fluid, with a rapidity which i have never seen equalled. i first visited the forest in which these planariae were found, in company with an old portuguese priest who took me out to hunt with him. the sport consisted in turning into the cover a few dogs, and then patiently waiting to fire at any animal which might appear. we were accompanied by the son of a neighbouring farmer--a good specimen of a wild brazilian youth. he was dressed in a tattered old shirt and trousers, and had his head uncovered: he carried an old-fashioned gun and a large knife. the habit of carrying the knife is universal; and in traversing a thick wood it is almost necessary, on account of the creeping plants. the frequent occurrence of murder may be partly attributed to this habit. the brazilians are so dexterous with the knife, that they can throw it to some distance with precision, and with sufficient force to cause a fatal wound. i have seen a number of little boys practising this art as a game of play and from their skill in hitting an upright stick, they promised well for more earnest attempts. my companion, the day before, had shot two large bearded monkeys. these animals have prehensile tails, the extremity of which, even after death, can support the whole weight of the body. one of them thus remained fast to a branch, and it was necessary to cut down a large tree to procure it. this was soon effected, and down came tree and monkey with an awful crash. our day's sport, besides the monkey, was confined to sundry small green parrots and a few toucans. i profited, however, by my acquaintance with the portuguese padre, for on another occasion he gave me a fine specimen of the yagouaroundi cat. every one has heard of the beauty of the scenery near botofogo. the house in which i lived was seated close beneath the well-known mountain of the corcovado. it has been remarked, with much truth, that abruptly conical hills are characteristic of the formation which humboldt designates as gneiss-granite. nothing can be more striking than the effect of these huge rounded masses of naked rock rising out of the most luxuriant vegetation. i was often interested by watching the clouds, which, rolling in from seaward, formed a bank just beneath the highest point of the corcovado. this mountain, like most others, when thus partly veiled, appeared to rise to a far prouder elevation than its real height of feet. mr. daniell has observed, in his meteorological essays, that a cloud sometimes appears fixed on a mountain summit, while the wind continues to blow over it. the same phenomenon here presented a slightly different appearance. in this case the cloud was clearly seen to curl over, and rapidly pass by the summit, and yet was neither diminished nor increased in size. the sun was setting, and a gentle southerly breeze, striking against the southern side of the rock, mingled its current with the colder air above; and the vapour was thus condensed; but as the light wreaths of cloud passed over the ridge, and came within the influence of the warmer atmosphere of the northern sloping bank, they were immediately re-dissolved. the climate, during the months of may and june, or the beginning of winter, was delightful. the mean temperature, from observations taken at nine o'clock, both morning and evening, was only degs. it often rained heavily, but the drying southerly winds soon again rendered the walks pleasant. one morning, in the course of six hours, . inches of rain fell. as this storm passed over the forests which surround the corcovado, the sound produced by the drops pattering on the countless multitude of leaves was very remarkable, it could be heard at the distance of a quarter of a mile, and was like the rushing of a great body of water. after the hotter days, it was delicious to sit quietly in the garden and watch the evening pass into night. nature, in these climes, chooses her vocalists from more humble performers than in europe. a small frog, of the genus hyla, sits on a blade of grass about an inch above the surface of the water, and sends forth a pleasing chirp: when several are together they sing in harmony on different notes. i had some difficulty in catching a specimen of this frog. the genus hyla has its toes terminated by small suckers; and i found this animal could crawl up a pane of glass, when placed absolutely perpendicular. various cicidae and crickets, at the same time, keep up a ceaseless shrill cry, but which, softened by the distance, is not unpleasant. every evening after dark this great concert commenced; and often have i sat listening to it, until my attention has been drawn away by some curious passing insect. at these times the fireflies are seen flitting about from hedge to hedge. on a dark night the light can be seen at about two hundred paces distant. it is remarkable that in all the different kinds of glowworms, shining elaters, and various marine animals (such as the crustacea, medusae, nereidae, a coralline of the genus clytia, and pyrosma), which i have observed, the light has been of a well-marked green colour. all the fireflies, which i caught here, belonged to the lampyridae (in which family the english glowworm is included), and the greater number of specimens were of lampyris occidentalis. [ ] i found that this insect emitted the most brilliant flashes when irritated: in the intervals, the abdominal rings were obscured. the flash was almost co-instantaneous in the two rings, but it was just perceptible first in the anterior one. the shining matter was fluid and very adhesive: little spots, where the skin had been torn, continued bright with a slight scintillation, whilst the uninjured parts were obscured. when the insect was decapitated the rings remained uninterruptedly bright, but not so brilliant as before: local irritation with a needle always increased the vividness of the light. the rings in one instance retained their luminous property nearly twenty-four hours after the death of the insect. from these facts it would appear probable, that the animal has only the power of concealing or extinguishing the light for short intervals, and that at other times the display is involuntary. on the muddy and wet gravel-walks i found the larvae of this lampyris in great numbers: they resembled in general form the female of the english glowworm. these larvae possessed but feeble luminous powers; very differently from their parents, on the slightest touch they feigned death and ceased to shine; nor did irritation excite any fresh display. i kept several of them alive for some time: their tails are very singular organs, for they act, by a well-fitted contrivance, as suckers or organs of attachment, and likewise as reservoirs for saliva, or some such fluid. i repeatedly fed them on raw meat; and i invariably observed, that every now and then the extremity of the tail was applied to the mouth, and a drop of fluid exuded on the meat, which was then in the act of being consumed. the tail, notwithstanding so much practice, does not seem to be able to find its way to the mouth; at least the neck was always touched first, and apparently as a guide. when we were at bahia, an elater or beetle (pyrophorus luminosus, illig.) seemed the most common luminous insect. the light in this case was also rendered more brilliant by irritation. i amused myself one day by observing the springing powers of this insect, which have not, as it appears to me, been properly described. [ ] the elater, when placed on its back and preparing to spring, moved its head and thorax backwards, so that the pectoral spine was drawn out, and rested on the edge of its sheath. the same backward movement being continued, the spine, by the full action of the muscles, was bent like a spring; and the insect at this moment rested on the extremity of its head and wing-cases. the effort being suddenly relaxed, the head and thorax flew up, and in consequence, the base of the wing-cases struck the supporting surface with such force, that the insect by the reaction was jerked upwards to the height of one or two inches. the projecting points of the thorax, and the sheath of the spine, served to steady the whole body during the spring. in the descriptions which i have read, sufficient stress does not appear to have been laid on the elasticity of the spine: so sudden a spring could not be the result of simple muscular contraction, without the aid of some mechanical contrivance. on several occasions i enjoyed some short but most pleasant excursions in the neighbouring country. one day i went to the botanic garden, where many plants, well known for their great utility, might be seen growing. the leaves of the camphor, pepper, cinnamon, and clove trees were delightfully aromatic; and the bread-fruit, the jaca, and the mango, vied with each other in the magnificence of their foliage. the landscape in the neighbourhood of bahia almost takes its character from the two latter trees. before seeing them, i had no idea that any trees could cast so black a shade on the ground. both of them bear to the evergreen vegetation of these climates the same kind of relation which laurels and hollies in england do to the lighter green of the deciduous trees. it may be observed, that the houses within the tropics are surrounded by the most beautiful forms of vegetation, because many of them are at the same time most useful to man. who can doubt that these qualities are united in the banana, the cocoa-nut, the many kinds of palm, the orange, and the bread-fruit tree? during this day i was particularly struck with a remark of humboldt's, who often alludes to "the thin vapour which, without changing the transparency of the air, renders its tints more harmonious, and softens its effects." this is an appearance which i have never observed in the temperate zones. the atmosphere, seen through a short space of half or three-quarters of a mile, was perfectly lucid, but at a greater distance all colours were blended into a most beautiful haze, of a pale french grey, mingled with a little blue. the condition of the atmosphere between the morning and about noon, when the effect was most evident, had undergone little change, excepting in its dryness. in the interval, the difference between the dew point and temperature had increased from . to degs. on another occasion i started early and walked to the gavia, or topsail mountain. the air was delightfully cool and fragrant; and the drops of dew still glittered on the leaves of the large liliaceous plants, which shaded the streamlets of clear water. sitting down on a block of granite, it was delightful to watch the various insects and birds as they flew past. the humming-bird seems particularly fond of such shady retired spots. whenever i saw these little creatures buzzing round a flower, with their wings vibrating so rapidly as to be scarcely visible, i was reminded of the sphinx moths: their movements and habits are indeed in many respects very similar. following a pathway, i entered a noble forest, and from a height of five or six hundred feet, one of those splendid views was presented, which are so common on every side of rio. at this elevation the landscape attains its most brilliant tint; and every form, every shade, so completely surpasses in magnificence all that the european has ever beheld in his own country, that he knows not how to express his feelings. the general effect frequently recalled to my mind the gayest scenery of the opera-house or the great theatres. i never returned from these excursions empty-handed. this day i found a specimen of a curious fungus, called hymenophallus. most people know the english phallus, which in autumn taints the air with its odious smell: this, however, as the entomologist is aware, is, to some of our beetles a delightful fragrance. so was it here; for a strongylus, attracted by the odour, alighted on the fungus as i carried it in my hand. we here see in two distant countries a similar relation between plants and insects of the same families, though the species of both are different. when man is the agent in introducing into a country a new species, this relation is often broken: as one instance of this i may mention, that the leaves of the cabbages and lettuces, which in england afford food to such a multitude of slugs and caterpillars, in the gardens near rio are untouched. during our stay at brazil i made a large collection of insects. a few general observations on the comparative importance of the different orders may be interesting to the english entomologist. the large and brilliantly coloured lepidoptera bespeak the zone they inhabit, far more plainly than any other race of animals. i allude only to the butterflies; for the moths, contrary to what might have been expected from the rankness of the vegetation, certainly appeared in much fewer numbers than in our own temperate regions. i was much surprised at the habits of papilio feronia. this butterfly is not uncommon, and generally frequents the orange-groves. although a high flier, yet it very frequently alights on the trunks of trees. on these occasions its head is invariably placed downwards; and its wings are expanded in a horizontal plane, instead of being folded vertically, as is commonly the case. this is the only butterfly which i have ever seen, that uses its legs for running. not being aware of this fact, the insect, more than once, as i cautiously approached with my forceps, shuffled on one side just as the instrument was on the point of closing, and thus escaped. but a far more singular fact is the power which this species possesses of making a noise. [ ] several times when a pair, probably male and female, were chasing each other in an irregular course, they passed within a few yards of me; and i distinctly heard a clicking noise, similar to that produced by a toothed wheel passing under a spring catch. the noise was continued at short intervals, and could be distinguished at about twenty yards' distance: i am certain there is no error in the observation. i was disappointed in the general aspect of the coleoptera. the number of minute and obscurely coloured beetles is exceedingly great. [ ] the cabinets of europe can, as yet, boast only of the larger species from tropical climates. it is sufficient to disturb the composure of an entomologist's mind, to look forward to the future dimensions of a complete catalogue. the carnivorous beetles, or carabidae, appear in extremely few numbers within the tropics: this is the more remarkable when compared to the case of the carnivorous quadrupeds, which are so abundant in hot countries. i was struck with this observation both on entering brazil, and when i saw the many elegant and active forms of the harpalidae re-appearing on the temperate plains of la plata. do the very numerous spiders and rapacious hymenoptera supply the place of the carnivorous beetles? the carrion-feeders and brachelytra are very uncommon; on the other hand, the rhyncophora and chrysomelidae, all of which depend on the vegetable world for subsistence, are present in astonishing numbers. i do not here refer to the number of different species, but to that of the individual insects; for on this it is that the most striking character in the entomology of different countries depends. the orders orthoptera and hemiptera are particularly numerous; as likewise is the stinging division of the hymenoptera the bees, perhaps, being excepted. a person, on first entering a tropical forest, is astonished at the labours of the ants: well-beaten paths branch off in every direction, on which an army of never-failing foragers may be seen, some going forth, and others returning, burdened with pieces of green leaf, often larger than their own bodies. a small dark-coloured ant sometimes migrates in countless numbers. one day, at bahia, my attention was drawn by observing many spiders, cockroaches, and other insects, and some lizards, rushing in the greatest agitation across a bare piece of ground. a little way behind, every stalk and leaf was blackened by a small ant. the swarm having crossed the bare space, divided itself, and descended an old wall. by this means many insects were fairly enclosed; and the efforts which the poor little creatures made to extricate themselves from such a death were wonderful. when the ants came to the road they changed their course, and in narrow files reascended the wall. having placed a small stone so as to intercept one of the lines, the whole body attacked it, and then immediately retired. shortly afterwards another body came to the charge, and again having failed to make any impression, this line of march was entirely given up. by going an inch round, the file might have avoided the stone, and this doubtless would have happened, if it had been originally there: but having been attacked, the lion-hearted little warriors scorned the idea of yielding. certain wasp-like insects, which construct in the corners of the verandahs clay cells for their larvae, are very numerous in the neighbourhood of rio. these cells they stuff full of half-dead spiders and caterpillars, which they seem wonderfully to know how to sting to that degree as to leave them paralysed but alive, until their eggs are hatched; and the larvae feed on the horrid mass of powerless, half-killed victims--a sight which has been described by an enthusiastic naturalist [ ] as curious and pleasing! i was much interested one day by watching a deadly contest between a pepsis and a large spider of the genus lycosa. the wasp made a sudden dash at its prey, and then flew away: the spider was evidently wounded, for, trying to escape, it rolled down a little slope, but had still strength sufficient to crawl into a thick tuft of grass. the wasp soon returned, and seemed surprised at not immediately finding its victim. it then commenced as regular a hunt as ever hound did after fox; making short semicircular casts, and all the time rapidly vibrating its wings and antennae. the spider, though well concealed, was soon discovered, and the wasp, evidently still afraid of its adversary's jaws, after much manoeuvring, inflicted two stings on the under side of its thorax. at last, carefully examining with its antennae the now motionless spider, it proceeded to drag away the body. but i stopped both tyrant and prey. [ ] the number of spiders, in proportion to other insects, is here compared with england very much larger; perhaps more so than with any other division of the articulate animals. the variety of species among the jumping spiders appears almost infinite. the genus, or rather family, of epeira, is here characterized by many singular forms; some species have pointed coriaceous shells, others enlarged and spiny tibiae. every path in the forest is barricaded with the strong yellow web of a species, belonging to the same division with the epeira clavipes of fabricius, which was formerly said by sloane to make, in the west indies, webs so strong as to catch birds. a small and pretty kind of spider, with very long fore-legs, and which appears to belong to an undescribed genus, lives as a parasite on almost every one of these webs. i suppose it is too insignificant to be noticed by the great epeira, and is therefore allowed to prey on the minute insects, which, adhering to the lines, would otherwise be wasted. when frightened, this little spider either feigns death by extending its front legs, or suddenly drops from the web. a large epeira of the same division with epeira tuberculata and conica is extremely common, especially in dry situations. its web, which is generally placed among the great leaves of the common agave, is sometimes strengthened near the centre by a pair or even four zigzag ribbons, which connect two adjoining rays. when any large insect, as a grasshopper or wasp, is caught, the spider, by a dexterous movement, makes it revolve very rapidly, and at the same time emitting a band of threads from its spinners, soon envelops its prey in a case like the cocoon of a silkworm. the spider now examines the powerless victim, and gives the fatal bite on the hinder part of its thorax; then retreating, patiently waits till the poison has taken effect. the virulence of this poison may be judged of from the fact that in half a minute i opened the mesh, and found a large wasp quite lifeless. this epeira always stands with its head downwards near the centre of the web. when disturbed, it acts differently according to circumstances: if there is a thicket below, it suddenly falls down; and i have distinctly seen the thread from the spinners lengthened by the animal while yet stationary, as preparatory to its fall. if the ground is clear beneath, the epeira seldom falls, but moves quickly through a central passage from one to the other side. when still further disturbed, it practises a most curious manoeuvre: standing in the middle, it violently jerks the web, which it attached to elastic twigs, till at last the whole acquires such a rapid vibratory movement, that even the outline of the spider's body becomes indistinct. it is well known that most of the british spiders, when a large insect is caught in their webs, endeavour to cut the lines and liberate their prey, to save their nets from being entirely spoiled. i once, however, saw in a hothouse in shropshire a large female wasp caught in the irregular web of a quite small spider; and this spider, instead of cutting the web, most perseveringly continued to entangle the body, and especially the wings, of its prey. the wasp at first aimed in vain repeated thrusts with its sting at its little antagonist. pitying the wasp, after allowing it to struggle for more than an hour, i killed it and put it back into the web. the spider soon returned; and an hour afterwards i was much surprised to find it with its jaws buried in the orifice, through which the sting is protruded by the living wasp. i drove the spider away two or three times, but for the next twenty-four hours i always found it again sucking at the same place. the spider became much distended by the juices of its prey, which was many times larger than itself. i may here just mention, that i found, near st. fe bajada, many large black spiders, with ruby-coloured marks on their backs, having gregarious habits. the webs were placed vertically, as is invariably the case with the genus epeira: they were separated from each other by a space of about two feet, but were all attached to certain common lines, which were of great length, and extended to all parts of the community. in this manner the tops of some large bushes were encompassed by the united nets. azara [ ] has described a gregarious spider in paraguay, which walckanaer thinks must be a theridion, but probably it is an epeira, and perhaps even the same species with mine. i cannot, however, recollect seeing a central nest as large as a hat, in which, during autumn, when the spiders die, azara says the eggs are deposited. as all the spiders which i saw were of the same size, they must have been nearly of the same age. this gregarious habit, in so typical a genus as epeira, among insects, which are so bloodthirsty and solitary that even the two sexes attack each other, is a very singular fact. in a lofty valley of the cordillera, near mendoza, i found another spider with a singularly-formed web. strong lines radiated in a vertical plane from a common centre, where the insect had its station; but only two of the rays were connected by a symmetrical mesh-work; so that the net, instead of being, as is generally the case, circular, consisted of a wedge-shaped segment. all the webs were similarly constructed. [ ] venda, the portuguese name for an inn. [ ] annales des sciences naturelles for . [ ] i have described and named these species in the annals of nat. hist., vol. xiv. p. . [ ] i am greatly indebted to mr. waterhouse for his kindness in naming for me this and many other insects, and giving me much valuable assistance. [ ] kirby's entomology, vol. ii. p. . [ ] mr. doubleday has lately described (before the entomological society, march rd, ) a peculiar structure in the wings of this butterfly, which seems to be the means of its making its noise. he says, "it is remarkable for having a sort of drum at the base of the fore wings, between the costal nervure and the subcostal. these two nervures, moreover, have a peculiar screw-like diaphragm or vessel in the interior." i find in langsdorff's travels (in the years - , p. ) it is said, that in the island of st. catherine's on the coast of brazil, a butterfly called februa hoffmanseggi, makes a noise, when flying away, like a rattle. [ ] i may mention, as a common instance of one day's (june rd) collecting, when i was not attending particularly to the coleoptera, that i caught sixty-eight species of that order. among these, there were only two of the carabidae, four brachelytra, fifteen rhyncophora, and fourteen of the chrysomelidae. thirty-seven species of arachnidae, which i brought home, will be sufficient to prove that i was not paying overmuch attention to the generally favoured order of coleoptera. [ ] in a ms. in the british museum by mr. abbott, who made his observations in georgia; see mr. a. white's paper in the "annals of nat. hist.," vol. vii. p. . lieut. hutton has described a sphex with similar habits in india, in the "journal of the asiatic society," vol. i. p. . [ ] don felix azara (vol. i. p. ), mentioning a hymenopterous insect, probably of the same genus, says he saw it dragging a dead spider through tall grass, in a straight line to its nest, which was one hundred and sixty-three paces distant. he adds that the wasp, in order to find the road, every now and then made "demi-tours d'environ trois palmes." [ ] azara's voyage, vol. i. p. chapter iii maldonado monte video--excursion to r. polanco--lazo and bolas--partridges--absence of trees--deer--capybara, or river hog--tucutuco--molothrus, cuckoo-like habits--tyrant-flycatcher--mocking-bird--carrion hawks--tubes formed by lightning--house struck. july th, --in the morning we got under way, and stood out of the splendid harbour of rio de janeiro. in our passage to the plata, we saw nothing particular, excepting on one day a great shoal of porpoises, many hundreds in number. the whole sea was in places furrowed by them; and a most extraordinary spectacle was presented, as hundreds, proceeding together by jumps, in which their whole bodies were exposed, thus cut the water. when the ship was running nine knots an hour, these animals could cross and recross the bows with the greatest of ease, and then dash away right ahead. as soon as we entered the estuary of the plata, the weather was very unsettled. one dark night we were surrounded by numerous seals and penguins, which made such strange noises, that the officer on watch reported he could hear the cattle bellowing on shore. on a second night we witnessed a splendid scene of natural fireworks; the mast-head and yard-arm-ends shone with st. elmo's light; and the form of the vane could almost be traced, as if it had been rubbed with phosphorus. the sea was so highly luminous, that the tracks of the penguins were marked by a fiery wake, and the darkness of the sky was momentarily illuminated by the most vivid lightning. when within the mouth of the river, i was interested by observing how slowly the waters of the sea and river mixed. the latter, muddy and discoloured, from its less specific gravity, floated on the surface of the salt water. this was curiously exhibited in the wake of the vessel, where a line of blue water was seen mingling in little eddies, with the adjoining fluid. july th.--we anchored at monte video. the beagle was employed in surveying the extreme southern and eastern coasts of america, south of the plata, during the two succeeding years. to prevent useless repetitions, i will extract those parts of my journal which refer to the same districts without always attending to the order in which we visited them. maldonado is situated on the northern bank of the plata, and not very far from the mouth of the estuary. it is a most quiet, forlorn, little town; built, as is universally the case in these countries, with the streets running at right angles to each other, and having in the middle a large plaza or square, which, from its size, renders the scantiness of the population more evident. it possesses scarcely any trade; the exports being confined to a few hides and living cattle. the inhabitants are chiefly landowners, together with a few shopkeepers and the necessary tradesmen, such as blacksmiths and carpenters, who do nearly all the business for a circuit of fifty miles round. the town is separated from the river by a band of sand-hillocks, about a mile broad: it is surrounded, on all other sides, by an open slightly-undulating country, covered by one uniform layer of fine green turf, on which countless herds of cattle, sheep, and horses graze. there is very little land cultivated even close to the town. a few hedges, made of cacti and agave, mark out where some wheat or indian corn has been planted. the features of the country are very similar along the whole northern bank of the plata. the only difference is, that here the granitic hills are a little bolder. the scenery is very uninteresting; there is scarcely a house, an enclosed piece of ground, or even a tree, to give it an air of cheerfulness yet, after being imprisoned for some time in a ship, there is a charm in the unconfined feeling of walking over boundless plains of turf. moreover, if your view is limited to a small space, many objects possess beauty. some of the smaller birds are brilliantly coloured; and the bright green sward, browsed short by the cattle, is ornamented by dwarf flowers, among which a plant, looking like the daisy, claimed the place of an old friend. what would a florist say to whole tracts, so thickly covered by the verbena melindres, as, even at a distance, to appear of the most gaudy scarlet? i stayed ten weeks at maldonado, in which time a nearly perfect collection of the animals, birds, and reptiles, was procured. before making any observations respecting them, i will give an account of a little excursion i made as far as the river polanco, which is about seventy miles distant, in a northerly direction. i may mention, as a proof how cheap everything is in this country, that i paid only two dollars a day, or eight shillings, for two men, together with a troop of about a dozen riding-horses. my companions were well armed with pistols and sabres; a precaution which i thought rather unnecessary but the first piece of news we heard was, that, the day before, a traveller from monte video had been found dead on the road, with his throat cut. this happened close to a cross, the record of a former murder. on the first night we slept at a retired little country-house; and there i soon found out that i possessed two or three articles, especially a pocket compass, which created unbounded astonishment. in every house i was asked to show the compass, and by its aid, together with a map, to point out the direction of various places. it excited the liveliest admiration that i, a perfect stranger, should know the road (for direction and road are synonymous in this open country) to places where i had never been. at one house a young woman, who was ill in bed, sent to entreat me to come and show her the compass. if their surprise was great, mine was greater, to find such ignorance among people who possessed their thousands of cattle, and "estancias" of great extent. it can only be accounted for by the circumstance that this retired part of the country is seldom visited by foreigners. i was asked whether the earth or sun moved; whether it was hotter or colder to the north; where spain was, and many other such questions. the greater number of the inhabitants had an indistinct idea that england, london, and north america, were different names for the same place; but the better informed well knew that london and north america were separate countries close together, and that england was a large town in london! i carried with me some promethean matches, which i ignited by biting; it was thought so wonderful that a man should strike fire with his teeth, that it was usual to collect the whole family to see it: i was once offered a dollar for a single one. washing my face in the morning caused much speculation at the village of las minas; a superior tradesman closely cross-questioned me about so singular a practice; and likewise why on board we wore our beards; for he had heard from my guide that we did so. he eyed me with much suspicion; perhaps he had heard of ablutions in the mahomedan religion, and knowing me to be a heretick, probably he came to the conclusion that all hereticks were turks. it is the general custom in this country to ask for a night's lodging at the first convenient house. the astonishment at the compass, and my other feats of jugglery, was to a certain degree advantageous, as with that, and the long stories my guides told of my breaking stones, knowing venomous from harmless snakes, collecting insects, etc., i repaid them for their hospitality. i am writing as if i had been among the inhabitants of central africa: banda oriental would not be flattered by the comparison; but such were my feelings at the time. the next day we rode to the village of las minas. the country was rather more hilly, but otherwise continued the same; an inhabitant of the pampas no doubt would have considered it as truly alpine. the country is so thinly inhabited, that during the whole day we scarcely met a single person. las minas is much smaller even than maldonado. it is seated on a little plain, and is surrounded by low rocky mountains. it is of the usual symmetrical form, and with its whitewashed church standing in the centre, had rather a pretty appearance. the outskirting houses rose out of the plain like isolated beings, without the accompaniment of gardens or courtyards. this is generally the case in the country, and all the houses have, in consequence an uncomfortable aspect. at night we stopped at a pulperia, or drinking-shop. during the evening a great number of gauchos came in to drink spirits and smoke cigars: their appearance is very striking; they are generally tall and handsome, but with a proud and dissolute expression of countenance. they frequently wear their moustaches and long black hair curling down their backs. with their brightly coloured garments, great spurs clanking about their heels, and knives stuck as daggers (and often so used) at their waists, they look a very different race of men from what might be expected from their name of gauchos, or simple countrymen. their politeness is excessive; they never drink their spirits without expecting you to taste it; but whilst making their exceedingly graceful bow, they seem quite as ready, if occasion offered, to cut your throat. on the third day we pursued rather an irregular course, as i was employed in examining some beds of marble. on the fine plains of turf we saw many ostriches (struthio rhea). some of the flocks contained as many as twenty or thirty birds. these, when standing on any little eminence, and seen against the clear sky, presented a very noble appearance. i never met with such tame ostriches in any other part of the country: it was easy to gallop up within a short distance of them; but then, expanding their wings, they made all sail right before the wind, and soon left the horse astern. at night we came to the house of don juan fuentes, a rich landed proprietor, but not personally known to either of my companions. on approaching the house of a stranger, it is usual to follow several little points of etiquette: riding up slowly to the door, the salutation of ave maria is given, and until somebody comes out and asks you to alight, it is not customary even to get off your horse: the formal answer of the owner is, "sin pecado concebida"--that is, conceived without sin. having entered the house, some general conversation is kept up for a few minutes, till permission is asked to pass the night there. this is granted as a matter of course. the stranger then takes his meals with the family, and a room is assigned him, where with the horsecloths belonging to his recado (or saddle of the pampas) he makes his bed. it is curious how similar circumstances produce such similar results in manners. at the cape of good hope the same hospitality, and very nearly the same points of etiquette, are universally observed. the difference, however, between the character of the spaniard and that of the dutch boer is shown, by the former never asking his guest a single question beyond the strictest rule of politeness, whilst the honest dutchman demands where he has been, where he is going, what is his business, and even how many brothers sisters, or children he may happen to have. shortly after our arrival at don juan's, one of the largest herds of cattle was driven in towards the house, and three beasts were picked out to be slaughtered for the supply of the establishment. these half-wild cattle are very active; and knowing full well the fatal lazo, they led the horses a long and laborious chase. after witnessing the rude wealth displayed in the number of cattle, men, and horses, don juan's miserable house was quite curious. the floor consisted of hardened mud, and the windows were without glass; the sitting-room boasted only of a few of the roughest chairs and stools, with a couple of tables. the supper, although several strangers were present, consisted of two huge piles, one of roast beef, the other of boiled, with some pieces of pumpkin: besides this latter there was no other vegetable, and not even a morsel of bread. for drinking, a large earthenware jug of water served the whole party. yet this man was the owner of several square miles of land, of which nearly every acre would produce corn, and, with a little trouble, all the common vegetables. the evening was spent in smoking, with a little impromptu singing, accompanied by the guitar. the signoritas all sat together in one corner of the room, and did not sup with the men. so many works have been written about these countries, that it is almost superfluous to describe either the lazo or the bolas. the lazo consists of a very strong, but thin, well-plaited rope, made of raw hide. one end is attached to the broad surcingle, which fastens together the complicated gear of the recado, or saddle used in the pampas; the other is terminated by a small ring of iron or brass, by which a noose can be formed. the gaucho, when he is going to use the lazo, keeps a small coil in his bridle-hand, and in the other holds the running noose which is made very large, generally having a diameter of about eight feet. this he whirls round his head, and by the dexterous movement of his wrist keeps the noose open; then, throwing it, he causes it to fall on any particular spot he chooses. the lazo, when not used, is tied up in a small coil to the after part of the recado. the bolas, or balls, are of two kinds: the simplest, which is chiefly used for catching ostriches, consists of two round stones, covered with leather, and united by a thin plaited thong, about eight feet long. the other kind differs only in having three balls united by the thongs to a common centre. the gaucho holds the smallest of the three in his hand, and whirls the other two round and round his head; then, taking aim, sends them like chain shot revolving through the air. the balls no sooner strike any object, than, winding round it, they cross each other, and become firmly hitched. the size and weight of the balls vary, according to the purpose for which they are made: when of stone, although not larger than an apple, they are sent with such force as sometimes to break the leg even of a horse. i have seen the balls made of wood, and as large as a turnip, for the sake of catching these animals without injuring them. the balls are sometimes made of iron, and these can be hurled to the greatest distance. the main difficulty in using either lazo or bolas is to ride so well as to be able at full speed, and while suddenly turning about, to whirl them so steadily round the head, as to take aim: on foot any person would soon learn the art. one day, as i was amusing myself by galloping and whirling the balls round my head, by accident the free one struck a bush, and its revolving motion being thus destroyed, it immediately fell to the ground, and, like magic, caught one hind leg of my horse; the other ball was then jerked out of my hand, and the horse fairly secured. luckily he was an old practised animal, and knew what it meant; otherwise he would probably have kicked till he had thrown himself down. the gauchos roared with laughter; they cried out that they had seen every sort of animal caught, but had never before seen a man caught by himself. during the two succeeding days, i reached the furthest point which i was anxious to examine. the country wore the same aspect, till at last the fine green turf became more wearisome than a dusty turnpike road. we everywhere saw great numbers of partridges (nothura major). these birds do not go in coveys, nor do they conceal themselves like the english kind. it appears a very silly bird. a man on horseback by riding round and round in a circle, or rather in a spire, so as to approach closer each time, may knock on the head as many as he pleases. the more common method is to catch them with a running noose, or little lazo, made of the stem of an ostrich's feather, fastened to the end of a long stick. a boy on a quiet old horse will frequently thus catch thirty or forty in a day. in arctic north america [ ] the indians catch the varying hare by walking spirally round and round it, when on its form: the middle of the day is reckoned the best time, when the sun is high, and the shadow of the hunter not very long. on our return to maldonado, we followed rather a different line of road. near pan de azucar, a landmark well known to all those who have sailed up the plata, i stayed a day at the house of a most hospitable old spaniard. early in the morning we ascended the sierra de las animas. by the aid of the rising sun the scenery was almost picturesque. to the westward the view extended over an immense level plain as far as the mount, at monte video, and to the eastward, over the mammillated country of maldonado. on the summit of the mountain there were several small heaps of stones, which evidently had lain there for many years. my companion assured me that they were the work of the indians in the old time. the heaps were similar, but on a much smaller scale, to those so commonly found on the mountains of wales. the desire to signalize any event, on the highest point of the neighbouring land, seems an universal passion with mankind. at the present day, not a single indian, either civilized or wild, exists in this part of the province; nor am i aware that the former inhabitants have left behind them any more permanent records than these insignificant piles on the summit of the sierra de las animas. the general, and almost entire absence of trees in banda oriental is remarkable. some of the rocky hills are partly covered by thickets, and on the banks of the larger streams, especially to the north of las minas, willow-trees are not uncommon. near the arroyo tapes i heard of a wood of palms; and one of these trees, of considerable size, i saw near the pan de azucar, in lat. degs. these, and the trees planted by the spaniards, offer the only exceptions to the general scarcity of wood. among the introduced kinds may be enumerated poplars, olives, peach, and other fruit trees: the peaches succeed so well, that they afford the main supply of firewood to the city of buenos ayres. extremely level countries, such as the pampas, seldom appear favourable to the growth of trees. this may possibly be attributed either to the force of the winds, or the kind of drainage. in the nature of the land, however, around maldonado, no such reason is apparent; the rocky mountains afford protected situations; enjoying various kinds of soil; streamlets of water are common at the bottoms of nearly every valley; and the clayey nature of the earth seems adapted to retain moisture. it has been inferred with much probability, that the presence of woodland is generally determined [ ] by the annual amount of moisture; yet in this province abundant and heavy rain falls during the winter; and the summer, though dry, is not so in any excessive degree. [ ] we see nearly the whole of australia covered by lofty trees, yet that country possesses a far more arid climate. hence we must look to some other and unknown cause. confining our view to south america, we should certainly be tempted to believe that trees flourished only under a very humid climate; for the limit of the forest-land follows, in a most remarkable manner, that of the damp winds. in the southern part of the continent, where the western gales, charged with moisture from the pacific, prevail, every island on the broken west coast, from lat. degs. to the extreme point of tierra del fuego, is densely covered by impenetrable forests. on the eastern side of the cordillera, over the same extent of latitude, where a blue sky and a fine climate prove that the atmosphere has been deprived of its moisture by passing over the mountains, the arid plains of patagonia support a most scanty vegetation. in the more northern parts of the continent, within the limits of the constant south-eastern trade-wind, the eastern side is ornamented by magnificent forests; whilst the western coast, from lat. degs. s. to lat. degs. s., may be described as a desert; on this western coast, northward of lat. degs. s., where the trade-wind loses its regularity, and heavy torrents of rain fall periodically, the shores of the pacific, so utterly desert in peru, assume near cape blanco the character of luxuriance so celebrated at guyaquil and panama. hence in the southern and northern parts of the continent, the forest and desert lands occupy reversed positions with respect to the cordillera, and these positions are apparently determined by the direction of the prevalent winds. in the middle of the continent there is a broad intermediate band, including central chile and the provinces of la plata, where the rain-bringing winds have not to pass over lofty mountains, and where the land is neither a desert nor covered by forests. but even the rule, if confined to south america, of trees flourishing only in a climate rendered humid by rain-bearing winds, has a strongly marked exception in the case of the falkland islands. these islands, situated in the same latitude with tierra del fuego and only between two and three hundred miles distant from it, having a nearly similar climate, with a geological formation almost identical, with favourable situations and the same kind of peaty soil, yet can boast of few plants deserving even the title of bushes; whilst in tierra del fuego it is impossible to find an acre of land not covered by the densest forest. in this case, both the direction of the heavy gales of wind and of the currents of the sea are favourable to the transport of seeds from tierra del fuego, as is shown by the canoes and trunks of trees drifted from that country, and frequently thrown on the shores of the western falkland. hence perhaps it is, that there are many plants in common to the two countries but with respect to the trees of tierra del fuego, even attempts made to transplant them have failed. during our stay at maldonado i collected several quadrupeds, eighty kinds of birds, and many reptiles, including nine species of snakes. of the indigenous mammalia, the only one now left of any size, which is common, is the cervus campestris. this deer is exceedingly abundant, often in small herds, throughout the countries bordering the plata and in northern patagonia. if a person crawling close along the ground, slowly advances towards a herd, the deer frequently, out of curiosity, approach to reconnoitre him. i have by this means, killed from one spot, three out of the same herd. although so tame and inquisitive, yet when approached on horseback, they are exceedingly wary. in this country nobody goes on foot, and the deer knows man as its enemy only when he is mounted and armed with the bolas. at bahia blanca, a recent establishment in northern patagonia, i was surprised to find how little the deer cared for the noise of a gun: one day i fired ten times from within eighty yards at one animal; and it was much more startled at the ball cutting up the ground than at the report of the rifle. my powder being exhausted, i was obliged to get up (to my shame as a sportsman be it spoken, though well able to kill birds on the wing) and halloo till the deer ran away. the most curious fact with respect to this animal, is the overpoweringly strong and offensive odour which proceeds from the buck. it is quite indescribable: several times whilst skinning the specimen which is now mounted at the zoological museum, i was almost overcome by nausea. i tied up the skin in a silk pocket-handkerchief, and so carried it home: this handkerchief, after being well washed, i continually used, and it was of course as repeatedly washed; yet every time, for a space of one year and seven months, when first unfolded, i distinctly perceived the odour. this appears an astonishing instance of the permanence of some matter, which nevertheless in its nature must be most subtile and volatile. frequently, when passing at the distance of half a mile to leeward of a herd, i have perceived the whole air tainted with the effluvium. i believe the smell from the buck is most powerful at the period when its horns are perfect, or free from the hairy skin. when in this state the meat is, of course, quite uneatable; but the gauchos assert, that if buried for some time in fresh earth, the taint is removed. i have somewhere read that the islanders in the north of scotland treat the rank carcasses of the fish-eating birds in the same manner. the order rodentia is here very numerous in species: of mice alone i obtained no less than eight kinds. [ ] the largest gnawing animal in the world, the hydrochaerus capybara (the water-hog), is here also common. one which i shot at monte video weighed ninety-eight pounds: its length from the end of the snout to the stump-like tail, was three feet two inches; and its girth three feet eight. these great rodents occasionally frequent the islands in the mouth of the plata, where the water is quite salt, but are far more abundant on the borders of fresh-water lakes and rivers. near maldonado three or four generally live together. in the daytime they either lie among the aquatic plants, or openly feed on the turf plain. [ ] when viewed at a distance, from their manner of walking and colour they resemble pigs: but when seated on their haunches, and attentively watching any object with one eye, they reassume the appearance of their congeners, cavies and rabbits. both the front and side view of their head has quite a ludicrous aspect, from the great depth of their jaw. these animals, at maldonado, were very tame; by cautiously walking, i approached within three yards of four old ones. this tameness may probably be accounted for, by the jaguar having been banished for some years, and by the gaucho not thinking it worth his while to hunt them. as i approached nearer and nearer they frequently made their peculiar noise, which is a low abrupt grunt, not having much actual sound, but rather arising from the sudden expulsion of air: the only noise i know at all like it, is the first hoarse bark of a large dog. having watched the four from almost within arm's length (and they me) for several minutes, they rushed into the water at full gallop with the greatest impetuosity, and emitted at the same time their bark. after diving a short distance they came again to the surface, but only just showed the upper part of their heads. when the female is swimming in the water, and has young ones, they are said to sit on her back. these animals are easily killed in numbers; but their skins are of trifling value, and the meat is very indifferent. on the islands in the rio parana they are exceedingly abundant, and afford the ordinary prey to the jaguar. the tucutuco (ctenomys brasiliensis) is a curious small animal, which may be briefly described as a gnawer, with the habits of a mole. it is extremely numerous in some parts of the country, but it is difficult to be procured, and never, i believe, comes out of the ground. it throws up at the mouth of its burrows hillocks of earth like those of the mole, but smaller. considerable tracts of country are so completely undermined by these animals, that horses in passing over, sink above their fetlocks. the tucutucos appear, to a certain degree, to be gregarious: the man who procured the specimens for me had caught six together, and he said this was a common occurrence. they are nocturnal in their habits; and their principal food is the roots of plants, which are the object of their extensive and superficial burrows. this animal is universally known by a very peculiar noise which it makes when beneath the ground. a person, the first time he hears it, is much surprised; for it is not easy to tell whence it comes, nor is it possible to guess what kind of creature utters it. the noise consists in a short, but not rough, nasal grunt, which is monotonously repeated about four times in quick succession: [ ] the name tucutuco is given in imitation of the sound. where this animal is abundant, it may be heard at all times of the day, and sometimes directly beneath one's feet. when kept in a room, the tucutucos move both slowly and clumsily, which appears owing to the outward action of their hind legs; and they are quite incapable, from the socket of the thigh-bone not having a certain ligament, of jumping even the smallest vertical height. they are very stupid in making any attempt to escape; when angry or frightened they utter the tucutuco. of those i kept alive several, even the first day, became quite tame, not attempting to bite or to run away; others were a little wilder. the man who caught them asserted that very many are invariably found blind. a specimen which i preserved in spirits was in this state; mr. reid considers it to be the effect of inflammation in the nictitating membrane. when the animal was alive i placed my finger within half an inch of its head, and not the slightest notice was taken: it made its way, however, about the room nearly as well as the others. considering the strictly subterranean habits of the tucutuco, the blindness, though so common, cannot be a very serious evil; yet it appears strange that any animal should possess an organ frequently subject to be injured. lamarck would have been delighted with this fact, had he known it, when speculating [ ] (probably with more truth than usual with him) on the gradually _acquired_ blindness of the asphalax, a gnawer living under ground, and of the proteus, a reptile living in dark caverns filled with water; in both of which animals the eye is in an almost rudimentary state, and is covered by a tendinous membrane and skin. in the common mole the eye is extraordinarily small but perfect, though many anatomists doubt whether it is connected with the true optic nerve; its vision must certainly be imperfect, though probably useful to the animal when it leaves its burrow. in the tucutuco, which i believe never comes to the surface of the ground, the eye is rather larger, but often rendered blind and useless, though without apparently causing any inconvenience to the animal; no doubt lamarck would have said that the tucutuco is now passing into the state of the asphalax and proteus. birds of many kinds are extremely abundant on the undulating, grassy plains around maldonado. there are several species of a family allied in structure and manners to our starling: one of these (molothrus niger) is remarkable from its habits. several may often be seen standing together on the back of a cow or horse; and while perched on a hedge, pluming themselves in the sun, they sometimes attempt to sing, or rather to hiss; the noise being very peculiar, resembling that of bubbles of air passing rapidly from a small orifice under water, so as to produce an acute sound. according to azara, this bird, like the cuckoo, deposits its eggs in other birds' nests. i was several times told by the country people that there certainly is some bird having this habit; and my assistant in collecting, who is a very accurate person, found a nest of the sparrow of this country (zonotrichia matutina), with one egg in it larger than the others, and of a different colour and shape. in north america there is another species of molothrus (m. pecoris), which has a similar cuckoo-like habit, and which is most closely allied in every respect to the species from the plata, even in such trifling peculiarities as standing on the backs of cattle; it differs only in being a little smaller, and in its plumage and eggs being of a slightly different shade of colour. this close agreement in structure and habits, in representative species coming from opposite quarters of a great continent, always strikes one as interesting, though of common occurrence. mr. swainson has well remarked, [ ] that with the exception of the molothrus pecoris, to which must be added the m. niger, the cuckoos are the only birds which can be called truly parasitical; namely, such as "fasten themselves, as it were, on another living animal, whose animal heat brings their young into life, whose food they live upon, and whose death would cause theirs during the period of infancy." it is remarkable that some of the species, but not all, both of the cuckoo and molothrus, should agree in this one strange habit of their parasitical propagation, whilst opposed to each other in almost every other habit: the molothrus, like our starling, is eminently sociable, and lives on the open plains without art or disguise: the cuckoo, as every one knows, is a singularly shy bird; it frequents the most retired thickets, and feeds on fruit and caterpillars. in structure also these two genera are widely removed from each other. many theories, even phrenological theories, have been advanced to explain the origin of the cuckoo laying its eggs in other birds' nests. m. prevost alone, i think, has thrown light by his observations [ ] on this puzzle: he finds that the female cuckoo, which, according to most observers, lays at least from four to six eggs, must pair with the male each time after laying only one or two eggs. now, if the cuckoo was obliged to sit on her own eggs, she would either have to sit on all together, and therefore leave those first laid so long, that they probably would become addled; or she would have to hatch separately each egg, or two eggs, as soon as laid: but as the cuckoo stays a shorter time in this country than any other migratory bird, she certainly would not have time enough for the successive hatchings. hence we can perceive in the fact of the cuckoo pairing several times, and laying her eggs at intervals, the cause of her depositing her eggs in other birds' nests, and leaving them to the care of foster-parents. i am strongly inclined to believe that this view is correct, from having been independently led (as we shall hereafter see) to an analogous conclusion with regard to the south american ostrich, the females of which are parasitical, if i may so express it, on each other; each female laying several eggs in the nests of several other females, and the male ostrich undertaking all the cares of incubation, like the strange foster-parents with the cuckoo. i will mention only two other birds, which are very common, and render themselves prominent from their habits. the saurophagus sulphuratus is typical of the great american tribe of tyrant-flycatchers. in its structure it closely approaches the true shrikes, but in its habits may be compared to many birds. i have frequently observed it, hunting a field, hovering over one spot like a hawk, and then proceeding on to another. when seen thus suspended in the air, it might very readily at a short distance be mistaken for one of the rapacious order; its stoop, however, is very inferior in force and rapidity to that of a hawk. at other times the saurophagus haunts the neighbourhood of water, and there, like a kingfisher, remaining stationary, it catches any small fish which may come near the margin. these birds are not unfrequently kept either in cages or in courtyards, with their wings cut. they soon become tame, and are very amusing from their cunning odd manners, which were described to me as being similar to those of the common magpie. their flight is undulatory, for the weight of the head and bill appears too great for the body. in the evening the saurophagus takes its stand on a bush, often by the roadside, and continually repeats without a change a shrill and rather agreeable cry, which somewhat resembles articulate words: the spaniards say it is like the words "bien te veo" (i see you well), and accordingly have given it this name. a mocking-bird (mimus orpheus), called by the inhabitants calandria, is remarkable, from possessing a song far superior to that of any other bird in the country: indeed, it is nearly the only bird in south america which i have observed to take its stand for the purpose of singing. the song may be compared to that of the sedge warbler, but is more powerful; some harsh notes and some very high ones, being mingled with a pleasant warbling. it is heard only during the spring. at other times its cry is harsh and far from harmonious. near maldonado these birds were tame and bold; they constantly attended the country houses in numbers, to pick the meat which was hung up on the posts or walls: if any other small bird joined the feast, the calandria soon chased it away. on the wide uninhabited plains of patagonia another closely allied species, o. patagonica of d'orbigny, which frequents the valleys clothed with spiny bushes, is a wilder bird, and has a slightly different tone of voice. it appears to me a curious circumstance, as showing the fine shades of difference in habits, that judging from this latter respect alone, when i first saw this second species, i thought it was different from the maldonado kind. having afterwards procured a specimen, and comparing the two without particular care, they appeared so very similar, that i changed my opinion; but now mr. gould says that they are certainly distinct; a conclusion in conformity with the trifling difference of habit, of which, of course, he was not aware. the number, tameness, and disgusting habits of the carrion-feeding hawks of south america make them pre-eminently striking to any one accustomed only to the birds of northern europe. in this list may be included four species of the caracara or polyborus, the turkey buzzard, the gallinazo, and the condor. the caracaras are, from their structure, placed among the eagles: we shall soon see how ill they become so high a rank. in their habits they well supply the place of our carrion-crows, magpies, and ravens; a tribe of birds widely distributed over the rest of the world, but entirely absent in south america. to begin with the polyborus brasiliensis: this is a common bird, and has a wide geographical range; it is most numerous on the grassy savannahs of la plata (where it goes by the name of carrancha), and is far from unfrequent throughout the sterile plains of patagonia. in the desert between the rivers negro and colorado, numbers constantly attend the line of road to devour the carcasses of the exhausted animals which chance to perish from fatigue and thirst. although thus common in these dry and open countries, and likewise on the arid shores of the pacific, it is nevertheless found inhabiting the damp impervious forests of west patagonia and tierra del fuego. the carranchas, together with the chimango, constantly attend in numbers the estancias and slaughtering-houses. if an animal dies on the plain the gallinazo commences the feast, and then the two species of polyborus pick the bones clean. these birds, although thus commonly feeding together, are far from being friends. when the carrancha is quietly seated on the branch of a tree or on the ground, the chimango often continues for a long time flying backwards and forwards, up and down, in a semicircle, trying each time at the bottom of the curve to strike its larger relative. the carrancha takes little notice, except by bobbing its head. although the carranchas frequently assemble in numbers, they are not gregarious; for in desert places they may be seen solitary, or more commonly by pairs. the carranchas are said to be very crafty, and to steal great numbers of eggs. they attempt, also, together with the chimango, to pick off the scabs from the sore backs of horses and mules. the poor animal, on the one hand, with its ears down and its back arched; and, on the other, the hovering bird, eyeing at the distance of a yard the disgusting morsel, form a picture, which has been described by captain head with his own peculiar spirit and accuracy. these false eagles most rarely kill any living bird or animal; and their vulture-like, necrophagous habits are very evident to any one who has fallen asleep on the desolate plains of patagonia, for when he wakes, he will see, on each surrounding hillock, one of these birds patiently watching him with an evil eye: it is a feature in the landscape of these countries, which will be recognised by every one who has wandered over them. if a party of men go out hunting with dogs and horses, they will be accompanied, during the day, by several of these attendants. after feeding, the uncovered craw protrudes; at such times, and indeed generally, the carrancha is an inactive, tame, and cowardly bird. its flight is heavy and slow, like that of an english rook. it seldom soars; but i have twice seen one at a great height gliding through the air with much ease. it runs (in contradistinction to hopping), but not quite so quickly as some of its congeners. at times the carrancha is noisy, but is not generally so: its cry is loud, very harsh and peculiar, and may be likened to the sound of the spanish guttural g, followed by a rough double r r; when uttering this cry it elevates its head higher and higher, till at last, with its beak wide open, the crown almost touches the lower part of the back. this fact, which has been doubted, is quite true; i have seen them several times with their heads backwards in a completely inverted position. to these observations i may add, on the high authority of azara, that the carrancha feeds on worms, shells, slugs, grasshoppers, and frogs; that it destroys young lambs by tearing the umbilical cord; and that it pursues the gallinazo, till that bird is compelled to vomit up the carrion it may have recently gorged. lastly, azara states that several carranchas, five or six together, will unite in chase of large birds, even such as herons. all these facts show that it is a bird of very versatile habits and considerable ingenuity. the polyborus chimango is considerably smaller than the last species. it is truly omnivorous, and will eat even bread; and i was assured that it materially injures the potato crops in chiloe, by stocking up the roots when first planted. of all the carrion-feeders it is generally the last which leaves the skeleton of a dead animal, and may often be seen within the ribs of a cow or horse, like a bird in a cage. another species is the polyborus novae zelandiae, which is exceedingly common in the falkland islands. these birds in many respects resemble in their habits the carranchas. they live on the flesh of dead animals and on marine productions; and on the ramirez rocks their whole sustenance must depend on the sea. they are extraordinarily tame and fearless, and haunt the neighborhood of houses for offal. if a hunting party kills an animal, a number soon collect and patiently await, standing on the ground on all sides. after eating, their uncovered craws are largely protruded, giving them a disgusting appearance. they readily attack wounded birds: a cormorant in this state having taken to the shore, was immediately seized on by several, and its death hastened by their blows. the beagle was at the falklands only during the summer, but the officers of the adventure, who were there in the winter, mention many extraordinary instances of the boldness and rapacity of these birds. they actually pounced on a dog that was lying fast asleep close by one of the party; and the sportsmen had difficulty in preventing the wounded geese from being seized before their eyes. it is said that several together (in this respect resembling the carranchas) wait at the mouth of a rabbit-hole, and together seize on the animal when it comes out. they were constantly flying on board the vessel when in the harbour; and it was necessary to keep a good look out to prevent the leather being torn from the rigging, and the meat or game from the stern. these birds are very mischievous and inquisitive; they will pick up almost anything from the ground; a large black glazed hat was carried nearly a mile, as was a pair of the heavy balls used in catching cattle. mr. usborne experienced during the survey a more severe loss, in their stealing a small kater's compass in a red morocco leather case, which was never recovered. these birds are, moreover, quarrelsome and very passionate; tearing up the grass with their bills from rage. they are not truly gregarious; they do not soar, and their flight is heavy and clumsy; on the ground they run extremely fast, very much like pheasants. they are noisy, uttering several harsh cries, one of which is like that of the english rook, hence the sealers always call them rooks. it is a curious circumstance that, when crying out, they throw their heads upwards and backwards, after the same manner as the carrancha. they build in the rocky cliffs of the sea-coast, but only on the small adjoining islets, and not on the two main islands: this is a singular precaution in so tame and fearless a bird. the sealers say that the flesh of these birds, when cooked, is quite white, and very good eating; but bold must the man be who attempts such a meal. we have now only to mention the turkey-buzzard (vultur aura), and the gallinazo. the former is found wherever the country is moderately damp, from cape horn to north america. differently from the polyborus brasiliensis and chimango, it has found its way to the falkland islands. the turkey-buzzard is a solitary bird, or at most goes in pairs. it may at once be recognised from a long distance, by its lofty, soaring, and most elegant flight. it is well known to be a true carrion-feeder. on the west coast of patagonia, among the thickly-wooded islets and broken land, it lives exclusively on what the sea throws up, and on the carcasses of dead seals. wherever these animals are congregated on the rocks, there the vultures may be seen. the gallinazo (cathartes atratus) has a different range from the last species, as it never occurs southward of lat. degs. azara states that there exists a tradition that these birds, at the time of the conquest, were not found near monte video, but that they subsequently followed the inhabitants from more northern districts. at the present day they are numerous in the valley of the colorado, which is three hundred miles due south of monte video. it seems probable that this additional migration has happened since the time of azara. the gallinazo generally prefers a humid climate, or rather the neighbourhood of fresh water; hence it is extremely abundant in brazil and la plata, while it is never found on the desert and arid plains of northern patagonia, excepting near some stream. these birds frequent the whole pampas to the foot of the cordillera, but i never saw or heard of one in chile; in peru they are preserved as scavengers. these vultures certainly may be called gregarious, for they seem to have pleasure in society, and are not solely brought together by the attraction of a common prey. on a fine day a flock may often be observed at a great height, each bird wheeling round and round without closing its wings, in the most graceful evolutions. this is clearly performed for the mere pleasure of the exercise, or perhaps is connected with their matrimonial alliances. i have now mentioned all the carrion-feeders, excepting the condor, an account of which will be more appropriately introduced when we visit a country more congenial to its habits than the plains of la plata. in a broad band of sand-hillocks which separate the laguna del potrero from the shores of the plata, at the distance of a few miles from maldonado, i found a group of those vitrified, siliceous tubes, which are formed by lightning entering loose sand. these tubes resemble in every particular those from drigg in cumberland, described in the geological transactions. [ ] the sand-hillocks of maldonado not being protected by vegetation, are constantly changing their position. from this cause the tubes projected above the surface, and numerous fragments lying near, showed that they had formerly been buried to a greater depth. four sets entered the sand perpendicularly: by working with my hands i traced one of them two feet deep; and some fragments which evidently had belonged to the same tube, when added to the other part, measured five feet three inches. the diameter of the whole tube was nearly equal, and therefore we must suppose that originally it extended to a much greater depth. these dimensions are however small, compared to those of the tubes from drigg, one of which was traced to a depth of not less than thirty feet. the internal surface is completely vitrified, glossy, and smooth. a small fragment examined under the microscope appeared, from the number of minute entangled air or perhaps steam bubbles, like an assay fused before the blowpipe. the sand is entirely, or in greater part, siliceous; but some points are of a black colour, and from their glossy surface possess a metallic lustre. the thickness of the wall of the tube varies from a thirtieth to a twentieth of an inch, and occasionally even equals a tenth. on the outside the grains of sand are rounded, and have a slightly glazed appearance: i could not distinguish any signs of crystallization. in a similar manner to that described in the geological transactions, the tubes are generally compressed, and have deep longitudinal furrows, so as closely to resemble a shrivelled vegetable stalk, or the bark of the elm or cork tree. their circumference is about two inches, but in some fragments, which are cylindrical and without any furrows, it is as much as four inches. the compression from the surrounding loose sand, acting while the tube was still softened from the effects of the intense heat, has evidently caused the creases or furrows. judging from the uncompressed fragments, the measure or bore of the lightning (if such a term may be used) must have been about one inch and a quarter. at paris, m. hachette and m. beudant [ ] succeeded in making tubes, in most respects similar to these fulgurites, by passing very strong shocks of galvanism through finely-powdered glass: when salt was added, so as to increase its fusibility, the tubes were larger in every dimension. they failed both with powdered felspar and quartz. one tube, formed with pounded glass, was very nearly an inch long, namely . , and had an internal diameter of . of an inch. when we hear that the strongest battery in paris was used, and that its power on a substance of such easy fusibility as glass was to form tubes so diminutive, we must feel greatly astonished at the force of a shock of lightning, which, striking the sand in several places, has formed cylinders, in one instance of at least thirty feet long, and having an internal bore, where not compressed, of full an inch and a half; and this in a material so extraordinarily refractory as quartz! the tubes, as i have already remarked, enter the sand nearly in a vertical direction. one, however, which was less regular than the others, deviated from a right line, at the most considerable bend, to the amount of thirty-three degrees. from this same tube, two small branches, about a foot apart, were sent off; one pointed downwards, and the other upwards. this latter case is remarkable, as the electric fluid must have turned back at the acute angle of degs., to the line of its main course. besides the four tubes which i found vertical, and traced beneath the surface, there were several other groups of fragments, the original sites of which without doubt were near. all occurred in a level area of shifting sand, sixty yards by twenty, situated among some high sand-hillocks, and at the distance of about half a mile from a chain of hills four or five hundred feet in height. the most remarkable circumstance, as it appears to me, in this case as well as in that of drigg, and in one described by m. ribbentrop in germany, is the number of tubes found within such limited spaces. at drigg, within an area of fifteen yards, three were observed, and the same number occurred in germany. in the case which i have described, certainly more than four existed within the space of the sixty by twenty yards. as it does not appear probable that the tubes are produced by successive distinct shocks, we must believe that the lightning, shortly before entering the ground, divides itself into separate branches. the neighbourhood of the rio plata seems peculiarly subject to electric phenomena. in the year , [ ] one of the most destructive thunderstorms perhaps on record happened at buenos ayres: thirty-seven places within the city were struck by lightning, and nineteen people killed. from facts stated in several books of travels, i am inclined to suspect that thunderstorms are very common near the mouths of great rivers. is it not possible that the mixture of large bodies of fresh and salt water may disturb the electrical equilibrium? even during our occasional visits to this part of south america, we heard of a ship, two churches, and a house having been struck. both the church and the house i saw shortly afterwards: the house belonged to mr. hood, the consul-general at monte video. some of the effects were curious: the paper, for nearly a foot on each side of the line where the bell-wires had run, was blackened. the metal had been fused, and although the room was about fifteen feet high, the globules, dropping on the chairs and furniture, had drilled in them a chain of minute holes. a part of the wall was shattered, as if by gunpowder, and the fragments had been blown off with force sufficient to dent the wall on the opposite side of the room. the frame of a looking-glass was blackened, and the gilding must have been volatilized, for a smelling-bottle, which stood on the chimney-piece, was coated with bright metallic particles, which adhered as firmly as if they had been enamelled. [ ] hearne's journey, p. . [ ] maclaren, art. "america," encyclop. brittann. [ ] azara says, "je crois que la quantite annuelle des pluies est, dans toutes ces contrees, plus considerable qu'en espagne."--vol. i. p. . [ ] in south america i collected altogether twenty-seven species of mice, and thirteen more are known from the works of azara and other authors. those collected by myself have been named and described by mr. waterhouse at the meetings of the zoological society. i must be allowed to take this opportunity of returning my cordial thanks to mr. waterhouse, and to the other gentleman attached to that society, for their kind and most liberal assistance on all occasions. [ ] in the stomach and duodenum of a capybara which i opened i found a very large quantity of a thin yellowish fluid, in which scarcely a fibre could be distinguished. mr. owen informs me that a part of the oesophagus is so constructed that nothing much larger than a crowquill can be passed down. certainly the broad teeth and strong jaws of this animal are well fitted to grind into pulp the aquatic plants on which it feeds. [ ] at the r. negro, in northern patagonia, there is an animal of the same habits, and probably a closely allied species, but which i never saw. its noise is different from that of the maldonado kind; it is repeated only twice instead of three or four times, and is more distinct and sonorous; when heard from a distance it so closely resembles the sound made in cutting down a small tree with an axe, that i have sometimes remained in doubt concerning it. [ ] philosoph. zoolog., tom. i. p. . [ ] magazine of zoology and botany, vol. i. p. . [ ] read before the academy of sciences in paris. l'institut, , p. . [ ] geolog. transact. vol. ii. p. . in the philosoph. transact. ( , p. ) dr. priestly has described some imperfect siliceous tubes and a melted pebble of quartz, found in digging into the ground, under a tree, where a man had been killed by lightning. [ ] annals de chimie et de physique, tom. xxxvii. p. . [ ] azara's voyage, vol. i. p. . chapter iv rio negro to bahia blanca rio negro--estancias attacked by the indians--salt-lakes--flamingoes--r. negro to r. colorado--sacred tree--patagonian hare--indian families--general rosas--proceed to bahia blanca--sand dunes--negro lieutenant--bahia blanca--saline incrustations--punta alta--zorillo. july th, .--the beagle sailed from maldonado, and on august the rd she arrived off the mouth of the rio negro. this is the principal river on the whole line of coast between the strait of magellan and the plata. it enters the sea about three hundred miles south of the estuary of the plata. about fifty years ago, under the old spanish government, a small colony was established here; and it is still the most southern position (lat. degs.) on this eastern coast of america inhabited by civilized man. the country near the mouth of the river is wretched in the extreme: on the south side a long line of perpendicular cliffs commences, which exposes a section of the geological nature of the country. the strata are of sandstone, and one layer was remarkable from being composed of a firmly-cemented conglomerate of pumice pebbles, which must have travelled more than four hundred miles, from the andes. the surface is everywhere covered up by a thick bed of gravel, which extends far and wide over the open plain. water is extremely scarce, and, where found, is almost invariably brackish. the vegetation is scanty; and although there are bushes of many kinds, all are armed with formidable thorns, which seem to warn the stranger not to enter on these inhospitable regions. the settlement is situated eighteen miles up the river. the road follows the foot of the sloping cliff, which forms the northern boundary of the great valley, in which the rio negro flows. on the way we passed the ruins of some fine "estancias," which a few years since had been destroyed by the indians. they withstood several attacks. a man present at one gave me a very lively description of what took place. the inhabitants had sufficient notice to drive all the cattle and horses into the "corral" [ ] which surrounded the house, and likewise to mount some small cannon. the indians were araucanians from the south of chile; several hundreds in number, and highly disciplined. they first appeared in two bodies on a neighbouring hill; having there dismounted, and taken off their fur mantles, they advanced naked to the charge. the only weapon of an indian is a very long bamboo or chuzo, ornamented with ostrich feathers, and pointed by a sharp spearhead. my informer seemed to remember with the greatest horror the quivering of these chuzos as they approached near. when close, the cacique pincheira hailed the besieged to give up their arms, or he would cut all their throats. as this would probably have been the result of their entrance under any circumstances, the answer was given by a volley of musketry. the indians, with great steadiness, came to the very fence of the corral: but to their surprise they found the posts fastened together by iron nails instead of leather thongs, and, of course, in vain attempted to cut them with their knives. this saved the lives of the christians: many of the wounded indians were carried away by their companions, and at last, one of the under caciques being wounded, the bugle sounded a retreat. they retired to their horses, and seemed to hold a council of war. this was an awful pause for the spaniards, as all their ammunition, with the exception of a few cartridges, was expended. in an instant the indians mounted their horses, and galloped out of sight. another attack was still more quickly repulsed. a cool frenchman managed the gun; he stopped till the indians approached close, and then raked their line with grape-shot: he thus laid thirty-nine of them on the ground; and, of course, such a blow immediately routed the whole party. the town is indifferently called el carmen or patagones. it is built on the face of a cliff which fronts the river, and many of the houses are excavated even in the sandstone. the river is about two or three hundred yards wide, and is deep and rapid. the many islands, with their willow-trees, and the flat headlands, seen one behind the other on the northern boundary of the broad green valley, form, by the aid of a bright sun, a view almost picturesque. the number of inhabitants does not exceed a few hundreds. these spanish colonies do not, like our british ones, carry within themselves the elements of growth. many indians of pure blood reside here: the tribe of the cacique lucanee constantly have their toldos [ ] on the outskirts of the town. the local government partly supplies them with provisions, by giving them all the old worn-out horses, and they earn a little by making horse-rugs and other articles of riding-gear. these indians are considered civilized; but what their character may have gained by a lesser degree of ferocity, is almost counterbalanced by their entire immorality. some of the younger men are, however, improving; they are willing to labour, and a short time since a party went on a sealing-voyage, and behaved very well. they were now enjoying the fruits of their labour, by being dressed in very gay, clean clothes, and by being very idle. the taste they showed in their dress was admirable; if you could have turned one of these young indians into a statue of bronze, his drapery would have been perfectly graceful. one day i rode to a large salt-lake, or salina, which is distant fifteen miles from the town. during the winter it consists of a shallow lake of brine, which in summer is converted into a field of snow-white salt. the layer near the margin is from four to five inches thick, but towards the centre its thickness increases. this lake was two and a half miles long, and one broad. others occur in the neighbourhood many times larger, and with a floor of salt, two and three feet in thickness, even when under water during the winter. one of these brilliantly white and level expanses in the midst of the brown and desolate plain, offers an extraordinary spectacle. a large quantity of salt is annually drawn from the salina: and great piles, some hundred tons in weight, were lying ready for exportation. the season for working the salinas forms the harvest of patagones; for on it the prosperity of the place depends. nearly the whole population encamps on the bank of the river, and the people are employed in drawing out the salt in bullock-waggons, this salt is crystallized in great cubes, and is remarkably pure: mr. trenham reeks has kindly analyzed some for me, and he finds in it only . of gypsum and . of earthy matter. it is a singular fact, that it does not serve so well for preserving meat as sea-salt from the cape de verd islands; and a merchant at buenos ayres told me that he considered it as fifty per cent. less valuable. hence the cape de verd salt is constantly imported, and is mixed with that from these salinas. the purity of the patagonian salt, or absence from it of those other saline bodies found in all sea-water, is the only assignable cause for this inferiority: a conclusion which no one, i think, would have suspected, but which is supported by the fact lately ascertained, [ ] that those salts answer best for preserving cheese which contain most of the deliquescent chlorides. the border of this lake is formed of mud: and in this numerous large crystals of gypsum, some of which are three inches long, lie embedded; whilst on the surface others of sulphate of soda lie scattered about. the gauchos call the former the "padre del sal," and the latter the "madre;" they state that these progenitive salts always occur on the borders of the salinas, when the water begins to evaporate. the mud is black, and has a fetid odour. i could not at first imagine the cause of this, but i afterwards perceived that the froth which the wind drifted on shore was coloured green, as if by confervae; i attempted to carry home some of this green matter, but from an accident failed. parts of the lake seen from a short distance appeared of a reddish colour, and this perhaps was owing to some infusorial animalcula. the mud in many places was thrown up by numbers of some kind of worm, or annelidous animal. how surprising it is that any creatures should be able to exist in brine, and that they should be crawling among crystals of sulphate of soda and lime! and what becomes of these worms when, during the long summer, the surface is hardened into a solid layer of salt? flamingoes in considerable numbers inhabit this lake, and breed here, throughout patagonia, in northern chile, and at the galapagos islands, i met with these birds wherever there were lakes of brine. i saw them here wading about in search of food--probably for the worms which burrow in the mud; and these latter probably feed on infusoria or confervae. thus we have a little living world within itself adapted to these inland lakes of brine. a minute crustaceous animal (cancer salinus) is said [ ] to live in countless numbers in the brine-pans at lymington: but only in those in which the fluid has attained, from evaporation, considerable strength--namely, about a quarter of a pound of salt to a pint of water. well may we affirm that every part of the world is habitable! whether lakes of brine, or those subterranean ones hidden beneath volcanic mountains--warm mineral springs--the wide expanse and depths of the ocean--the upper regions of the atmosphere, and even the surface of perpetual snow--all support organic beings. to the northward of the rio negro, between it and the inhabited country near buenos ayres, the spaniards have only one small settlement, recently established at bahia blanca. the distance in a straight line to buenos ayres is very nearly five hundred british miles. the wandering tribes of horse indians, which have always occupied the greater part of this country, having of late much harassed the outlying estancias, the government at buenos ayres equipped some time since an army under the command of general rosas for the purpose of exterminating them. the troops were now encamped on the banks of the colorado; a river lying about eighty miles northward of the rio negro. when general rosas left buenos ayres he struck in a direct line across the unexplored plains: and as the country was thus pretty well cleared of indians, he left behind him, at wide intervals, a small party of soldiers with a troop of horses (a posta), so as to be enabled to keep up a communication with the capital. as the beagle intended to call at bahia blanca, i determined to proceed there by land; and ultimately i extended my plan to travel the whole way by the postas to buenos ayres. august th.--mr. harris, an englishman residing at patagones, a guide, and five gauchos who were proceeding to the army on business, were my companions on the journey. the colorado, as i have already said, is nearly eighty miles distant: and as we travelled slowly, we were two days and a half on the road. the whole line of country deserves scarcely a better name than that of a desert. water is found only in two small wells; it is called fresh; but even at this time of the year, during the rainy season, it was quite brackish. in the summer this must be a distressing passage; for now it was sufficiently desolate. the valley of the rio negro, broad as it is, has merely been excavated out of the sandstone plain; for immediately above the bank on which the town stands, a level country commences, which is interrupted only by a few trifling valleys and depressions. everywhere the landscape wears the same sterile aspect; a dry gravelly soil supports tufts of brown withered grass, and low scattered bushes, armed with thorns. shortly after passing the first spring we came in sight of a famous tree, which the indians reverence as the altar of walleechu. it is situated on a high part of the plain; and hence is a landmark visible at a great distance. as soon as a tribe of indians come in sight of it, they offer their adorations by loud shouts. the tree itself is low, much branched, and thorny: just above the root it has a diameter of about three feet. it stands by itself without any neighbour, and was indeed the first tree we saw; afterwards we met with a few others of the same kind, but they were far from common. being winter the tree had no leaves, but in their place numberless threads, by which the various offerings, such as cigars, bread, meat, pieces of cloth, etc., had been suspended. poor indians, not having anything better, only pull a thread out of their ponchos, and fasten it to the tree. richer indians are accustomed to pour spirits and mate into a certain hole, and likewise to smoke upwards, thinking thus to afford all possible gratification to walleechu. to complete the scene, the tree was surrounded by the bleached bones of horses which had been slaughtered as sacrifices. all indians of every age and sex make their offerings; they then think that their horses will not tire, and that they themselves shall be prosperous. the gaucho who told me this, said that in the time of peace he had witnessed this scene, and that he and others used to wait till the indians had passed by, for the sake of stealing from walleechu the offerings. the gauchos think that the indians consider the tree as the god itself, but it seems far more probable that they regard it as the altar. the only cause which i can imagine for this choice, is its being a landmark in a dangerous passage. the sierra de la ventana is visible at an immense distance; and a gaucho told me that he was once riding with an indian a few miles to the north of the rio colorado when the indian commenced making the same loud noise which is usual at the first sight of the distant tree, putting his hand to his head, and then pointing in the direction of the sierra. upon being asked the reason of this, the indian said in broken spanish, "first see the sierra." about two leagues beyond this curious tree we halted for the night: at this instant an unfortunate cow was spied by the lynx-eyed gauchos, who set off in full chase, and in a few minutes dragged her in with their lazos, and slaughtered her. we here had the four necessaries of life "en el campo,"--pasture for the horses, water (only a muddy puddle), meat and firewood. the gauchos were in high spirits at finding all these luxuries; and we soon set to work at the poor cow. this was the first night which i passed under the open sky, with the gear of the recado for my bed. there is high enjoyment in the independence of the gaucho life--to be able at any moment to pull up your horse, and say, "here we will pass the night." the death-like stillness of the plain, the dogs keeping watch, the gipsy-group of gauchos making their beds round the fire, have left in my mind a strongly-marked picture of this first night, which will never be forgotten. the next day the country continued similar to that above described. it is inhabited by few birds or animals of any kind. occasionally a deer, or a guanaco (wild llama) may be seen; but the agouti (cavia patagonica) is the commonest quadruped. this animal here represents our hares. it differs, however, from that genus in many essential respects; for instance, it has only three toes behind. it is also nearly twice the size, weighing from twenty to twenty-five pounds. the agouti is a true friend of the desert; it is a common feature of the landscape to see two or three hopping quickly one after the other in a straight line across these wild plains. they are found as far north as the sierra tapalguen (lat. degs. '), where the plain rather suddenly becomes greener and more humid; and their southern limit is between port desire and st. julian, where there is no change in the nature of the country. it is a singular fact, that although the agouti is not now found as far south as port st. julian, yet that captain wood, in his voyage in , talks of them as being numerous there. what cause can have altered, in a wide, uninhabited, and rarely-visited country, the range of an animal like this? it appears also, from the number shot by captain wood in one day at port desire, that they must have been considerably more abundant there formerly than at present. where the bizcacha lives and makes its burrows, the agouti uses them; but where, as at bahia blanca, the bizcacha is not found, the agouti burrows for itself. the same thing occurs with the little owl of the pampas (athene cunicularia), which has so often been described as standing like a sentinel at the mouth of the burrows; for in banda oriental, owing to the absence of the bizcacha, it is obliged to hollow out its own habitation. the next morning, as we approached the rio colorado, the appearance of the country changed; we soon came on a plain covered with turf, which, from its flowers, tall clover, and little owls, resembled the pampas. we passed also a muddy swamp of considerable extent, which in summer dries, and becomes incrusted with various salts; and hence is called a salitral. it was covered by low succulent plants, of the same kind with those growing on the sea-shore. the colorado, at the pass where we crossed it, is only about sixty yards wide; generally it must be nearly double that width. its course is very tortuous, being marked by willow-trees and beds of reeds: in a direct line the distance to the mouth of the river is said to be nine leagues, but by water twenty-five. we were delayed crossing in the canoe by some immense troops of mares, which were swimming the river in order to follow a division of troops into the interior. a more ludicrous spectacle i never beheld than the hundreds and hundreds of heads, all directed one way, with pointed ears and distended snorting nostrils, appearing just above the water like a great shoal of some amphibious animal. mare's flesh is the only food which the soldiers have when on an expedition. this gives them a great facility of movement; for the distance to which horses can be driven over these plains is quite surprising: i have been assured that an unloaded horse can travel a hundred miles a day for many days successively. the encampment of general rosas was close to the river. it consisted of a square formed by waggons, artillery, straw huts, etc. the soldiers were nearly all cavalry; and i should think such a villainous, banditti-like army was never before collected together. the greater number of men were of a mixed breed, between negro, indian, and spaniard. i know not the reason, but men of such origin seldom have a good expression of countenance. i called on the secretary to show my passport. he began to cross-question me in the most dignified and mysterious manner. by good luck i had a letter of recommendation from the government of buenos ayres [ ] to the commandant of patagones. this was taken to general rosas, who sent me a very obliging message; and the secretary returned all smiles and graciousness. we took up our residence in the _rancho_, or hovel, of a curious old spaniard, who had served with napoleon in the expedition against russia. we stayed two days at the colorado; i had little to do, for the surrounding country was a swamp, which in summer (december), when the snow melts on the cordillera, is over-flowed by the river. my chief amusement was watching the indian families as they came to buy little articles at the rancho where we stayed. it was supposed that general rosas had about six hundred indian allies. the men were a tall, fine race, yet it was afterwards easy to see in the fuegian savage the same countenance rendered hideous by cold, want of food, and less civilization. some authors, in defining the primary races of mankind, have separated these indians into two classes; but this is certainly incorrect. among the young women or chinas, some deserve to be called even beautiful. their hair was coarse, but bright and black; and they wore it in two plaits hanging down to the waist. they had a high colour, and eyes that glistened with brilliancy; their legs, feet, and arms were small and elegantly formed; their ankles, and sometimes their wrists, were ornamented by broad bracelets of blue beads. nothing could be more interesting than some of the family groups. a mother with one or two daughters would often come to our rancho, mounted on the same horse. they ride like men, but with their knees tucked up much higher. this habit, perhaps, arises from their being accustomed, when travelling, to ride the loaded horses. the duty of the women is to load and unload the horses; to make the tents for the night; in short to be, like the wives of all savages, useful slaves. the men fight, hunt, take care of the horses, and make the riding gear. one of their chief indoor occupations is to knock two stones together till they become round, in order to make the bolas. with this important weapon the indian catches his game, and also his horse, which roams free over the plain. in fighting, his first attempt is to throw down the horse of his adversary with the bolas, and when entangled by the fall to kill him with the chuzo. if the balls only catch the neck or body of an animal, they are often carried away and lost. as the making the stones round is the labour of two days, the manufacture of the balls is a very common employment. several of the men and women had their faces painted red, but i never saw the horizontal bands which are so common among the fuegians. their chief pride consists in having everything made of silver; i have seen a cacique with his spurs, stirrups, handle of his knife, and bridle made of this metal: the head-stall and reins being of wire, were not thicker than whipcord; and to see a fiery steed wheeling about under the command of so light a chain, gave to the horsemanship a remarkable character of elegance. general rosas intimated a wish to see me; a circumstance which i was afterwards very glad of. he is a man of an extraordinary character, and has a most predominant influence in the country, which it seems he will use to its prosperity and advancement. [ ] he is said to be the owner of seventy-four square leagues of land, and to have about three hundred thousand head of cattle. his estates are admirably managed, and are far more productive of corn than those of others. he first gained his celebrity by his laws for his own estancias, and by disciplining several hundred men, so as to resist with success the attacks of the indians. there are many stories current about the rigid manner in which his laws were enforced. one of these was, that no man, on penalty of being put into the stocks, should carry his knife on a sunday: this being the principal day for gambling and drinking, many quarrels arose, which from the general manner of fighting with the knife often proved fatal. one sunday the governor came in great form to pay the estancia a visit, and general rosas, in his hurry, walked out to receive him with his knife, as usual, stuck in his belt. the steward touched his arm, and reminded him of the law; upon which turning to the governor, he said he was extremely sorry, but that he must go into the stocks, and that till let out, he possessed no power even in his own house. after a little time the steward was persuaded to open the stocks, and to let him out, but no sooner was this done, than he turned to the steward and said, "you now have broken the laws, so you must take my place in the stocks." such actions as these delighted the gauchos, who all possess high notions of their own equality and dignity. general rosas is also a perfect horseman--an accomplishment of no small consequence in a country where an assembled army elected its general by the following trial: a troop of unbroken horses being driven into a corral, were let out through a gateway, above which was a cross-bar: it was agreed whoever should drop from the bar on one of these wild animals, as it rushed out, and should be able, without saddle or bridle, not only to ride it, but also to bring it back to the door of the corral, should be their general. the person who succeeded was accordingly elected; and doubtless made a fit general for such an army. this extraordinary feat has also been performed by rosas. by these means, and by conforming to the dress and habits of the gauchos, he has obtained an unbounded popularity in the country, and in consequence a despotic power. i was assured by an english merchant, that a man who had murdered another, when arrested and questioned concerning his motive, answered, "he spoke disrespectfully of general rosas, so i killed him." at the end of a week the murderer was at liberty. this doubtless was the act of the general's party, and not of the general himself. in conversation he is enthusiastic, sensible, and very grave. his gravity is carried to a high pitch: i heard one of his mad buffoons (for he keeps two, like the barons of old) relate the following anecdote. "i wanted very much to hear a certain piece of music, so i went to the general two or three times to ask him; he said to me, 'go about your business, for i am engaged.' i went a second time; he said, 'if you come again i will punish you.' a third time i asked, and he laughed. i rushed out of the tent, but it was too late--he ordered two soldiers to catch and stake me. i begged by all the saints in heaven he would let me off; but it would not do,--when the general laughs he spares neither mad man nor sound." the poor flighty gentleman looked quite dolorous, at the very recollection of the staking. this is a very severe punishment; four posts are driven into the ground, and the man is extended by his arms and legs horizontally, and there left to stretch for several hours. the idea is evidently taken from the usual method of drying hides. my interview passed away, without a smile, and i obtained a passport and order for the government post-horses, and this he gave me in the most obliging and ready manner. in the morning we started for bahia blanca, which we reached in two days. leaving the regular encampment, we passed by the toldos of the indians. these are round like ovens, and covered with hides; by the mouth of each, a tapering chuzo was stuck in the ground. the toldos were divided into separate groups, which belong to the different caciques' tribes, and the groups were again divided into smaller ones, according to the relationship of the owners. for several miles we travelled along the valley of the colorado. the alluvial plains on the side appeared fertile, and it is supposed that they are well adapted to the growth of corn. turning northward from the river, we soon entered on a country, differing from the plains south of the river. the land still continued dry and sterile: but it supported many different kinds of plants, and the grass, though brown and withered, was more abundant, as the thorny bushes were less so. these latter in a short space entirely disappeared, and the plains were left without a thicket to cover their nakedness. this change in the vegetation marks the commencement of the grand calcareo argillaceous deposit, which forms the wide extent of the pampas, and covers the granitic rocks of banda oriental. from the strait of magellan to the colorado, a distance of about eight hundred miles, the face of the country is everywhere composed of shingle: the pebbles are chiefly of porphyry, and probably owe their origin to the rocks of the cordillera. north of the colorado this bed thins out, and the pebbles become exceedingly small, and here the characteristic vegetation of patagonia ceases. having ridden about twenty-five miles, we came to a broad belt of sand-dunes, which stretches, as far as the eye can reach, to the east and west. the sand-hillocks resting on the clay, allow small pools of water to collect, and thus afford in this dry country an invaluable supply of fresh water. the great advantage arising from depressions and elevations of the soil, is not often brought home to the mind. the two miserable springs in the long passage between the rio negro and colorado were caused by trifling inequalities in the plain, without them not a drop of water would have been found. the belt of sand-dunes is about eight miles wide; at some former period, it probably formed the margin of a grand estuary, where the colorado now flows. in this district, where absolute proofs of the recent elevation of the land occur, such speculations can hardly be neglected by any one, although merely considering the physical geography of the country. having crossed the sandy tract, we arrived in the evening at one of the post-houses; and, as the fresh horses were grazing at a distance we determined to pass the night there. the house was situated at the base of a ridge between one and two hundred feet high--a most remarkable feature in this country. this posta was commanded by a negro lieutenant, born in africa: to his credit be it said, there was not a ranche between the colorado and buenos ayres in nearly such neat order as his. he had a little room for strangers, and a small corral for the horses, all made of sticks and reeds; he had also dug a ditch round his house as a defence in case of being attacked. this would, however, have been of little avail, if the indians had come; but his chief comfort seemed to rest in the thought of selling his life dearly. a short time before, a body of indians had travelled past in the night; if they had been aware of the posta, our black friend and his four soldiers would assuredly have been slaughtered. i did not anywhere meet a more civil and obliging man than this negro; it was therefore the more painful to see that he would not sit down and eat with us. in the morning we sent for the horses very early, and started for another exhilarating gallop. we passed the cabeza del buey, an old name given to the head of a large marsh, which extends from bahia blanca. here we changed horses, and passed through some leagues of swamps and saline marshes. changing horses for the last time, we again began wading through the mud. my animal fell and i was well soused in black mire--a very disagreeable accident when one does not possess a change of clothes. some miles from the fort we met a man, who told us that a great gun had been fired, which is a signal that indians are near. we immediately left the road, and followed the edge of a marsh, which when chased offers the best mode of escape. we were glad to arrive within the walls, when we found all the alarm was about nothing, for the indians turned out to be friendly ones, who wished to join general rosas. bahia blanca scarcely deserves the name of a village. a few houses and the barracks for the troops are enclosed by a deep ditch and fortified wall. the settlement is only of recent standing (since ); and its growth has been one of trouble. the government of buenos ayres unjustly occupied it by force, instead of following the wise example of the spanish viceroys, who purchased the land near the older settlement of the rio negro, from the indians. hence the need of the fortifications; hence the few houses and little cultivated land without the limits of the walls; even the cattle are not safe from the attacks of the indians beyond the boundaries of the plain, on which the fortress stands. the part of the harbour where the beagle intended to anchor being distant twenty-five miles, i obtained from the commandant a guide and horses, to take me to see whether she had arrived. leaving the plain of green turf, which extended along the course of a little brook, we soon entered on a wide level waste consisting either of sand, saline marshes, or bare mud. some parts were clothed by low thickets, and others with those succulent plants, which luxuriate only where salt abounds. bad as the country was, ostriches, deer, agoutis, and armadilloes, were abundant. my guide told me, that two months before he had a most narrow escape of his life: he was out hunting with two other men, at no great distance from this part of the country, when they were suddenly met by a party of indians, who giving chase, soon overtook and killed his two friends. his own horse's legs were also caught by the bolas, but he jumped off, and with his knife cut them free: while doing this he was obliged to dodge round his horse, and received two severe wounds from their chuzos. springing on the saddle, he managed, by a most wonderful exertion, just to keep ahead of the long spears of his pursuers, who followed him to within sight of the fort. from that time there was an order that no one should stray far from the settlement. i did not know of this when i started, and was surprised to observe how earnestly my guide watched a deer, which appeared to have been frightened from a distant quarter. we found the beagle had not arrived, and consequently set out on our return, but the horses soon tiring, we were obliged to bivouac on the plain. in the morning we had caught an armadillo, which although a most excellent dish when roasted in its shell, did not make a very substantial breakfast and dinner for two hungry men. the ground at the place where we stopped for the night, was incrusted with a layer of sulphate of soda, and hence, of course, was without water. yet many of the smaller rodents managed to exist even here, and the tucutuco was making its odd little grunt beneath my head, during half the night. our horses were very poor ones, and in the morning they were soon exhausted from not having had anything to drink, so that we were obliged to walk. about noon the dogs killed a kid, which we roasted. i ate some of it, but it made me intolerably thirsty. this was the more distressing as the road, from some recent rain, was full of little puddles of clear water, yet not a drop was drinkable. i had scarcely been twenty hours without water, and only part of the time under a hot sun, yet the thirst rendered me very weak. how people survive two or three days under such circumstances, i cannot imagine: at the same time, i must confess that my guide did not suffer at all, and was astonished that one day's deprivation should be so troublesome to me. i have several times alluded to the surface of the ground being incrusted with salt. this phenomenon is quite different from that of the salinas, and more extraordinary. in many parts of south america, wherever the climate is moderately dry, these incrustations occur; but i have nowhere seen them so abundant as near bahia blanca. the salt here, and in other parts of patagonia, consists chiefly of sulphate of soda with some common salt. as long as the ground remains moist in the salitrales (as the spaniards improperly call them, mistaking this substance for saltpeter), nothing is to be seen but an extensive plain composed of a black, muddy soil, supporting scattered tufts of succulent plants. on returning through one of these tracts, after a week's hot weather, one is surprised to see square miles of the plain white, as if from a slight fall of snow, here and there heaped up by the wind into little drifts. this latter appearance is chiefly caused by the salts being drawn up, during the slow evaporation of the moisture, round blades of dead grass, stumps of wood, and pieces of broken earth, instead of being crystallized at the bottoms of the puddles of water. the salitrales occur either on level tracts elevated only a few feet above the level of the sea, or on alluvial land bordering rivers. m. parchappe [ ] found that the saline incrustation on the plain, at the distance of some miles from the sea, consisted chiefly of sulphate of soda, with only seven per cent. of common salt; whilst nearer to the coast, the common salt increased to parts in a hundred. this circumstance would tempt one to believe that the sulphate of soda is generated in the soil, from the muriate, left on the surface during the slow and recent elevation of this dry country. the whole phenomenon is well worthy the attention of naturalists. have the succulent, salt-loving plants, which are well known to contain much soda, the power of decomposing the muriate? does the black fetid mud, abounding with organic matter, yield the sulphur and ultimately the sulphuric acid? two days afterwards i again rode to the harbour: when not far from our destination, my companion, the same man as before, spied three people hunting on horseback. he immediately dismounted, and watching them intently, said, "they don't ride like christians, and nobody can leave the fort." the three hunters joined company, and likewise dismounted from their horses. at last one mounted again and rode over the hill out of sight. my companion said, "we must now get on our horses: load your pistol;" and he looked to his own sword. i asked, "are they indians?"--"quien sabe? (who knows?) if there are no more than three, it does not signify." it then struck me, that the one man had gone over the hill to fetch the rest of his tribe. i suggested this; but all the answer i could extort was, "quien sabe?" his head and eye never for a minute ceased scanning slowly the distant horizon. i thought his uncommon coolness too good a joke, and asked him why he did not return home. i was startled when he answered, "we are returning, but in a line so as to pass near a swamp, into which we can gallop the horses as far as they can go, and then trust to our own legs; so that there is no danger." i did not feel quite so confident of this, and wanted to increase our pace. he said, "no, not until they do." when any little inequality concealed us, we galloped; but when in sight, continued walking. at last we reached a valley, and turning to the left, galloped quickly to the foot of a hill; he gave me his horse to hold, made the dogs lie down, and then crawled on his hands and knees to reconnoitre. he remained in this position for some time, and at last, bursting out in laughter, exclaimed, "mugeres!" (women!). he knew them to be the wife and sister-in-law of the major's son, hunting for ostrich's eggs. i have described this man's conduct, because he acted under the full impression that they were indians. as soon, however, as the absurd mistake was found out, he gave me a hundred reasons why they could not have been indians; but all these were forgotten at the time. we then rode on in peace and quietness to a low point called punta alta, whence we could see nearly the whole of the great harbour of bahia blanca. the wide expanse of water is choked up by numerous great mud-banks, which the inhabitants call cangrejales, or _crabberies_, from the number of small crabs. the mud is so soft that it is impossible to walk over them, even for the shortest distance. many of the banks have their surfaces covered with long rushes, the tops of which alone are visible at high water. on one occasion, when in a boat, we were so entangled by these shallows that we could hardly find our way. nothing was visible but the flat beds of mud; the day was not very clear, and there was much refraction, or as the sailors expressed it, "things loomed high." the only object within our view which was not level was the horizon; rushes looked like bushes unsupported in the air, and water like mud-banks, and mud-banks like water. we passed the night in punta alta, and i employed myself in searching for fossil bones; this point being a perfect catacomb for monsters of extinct races. the evening was perfectly calm and clear; the extreme monotony of the view gave it an interest even in the midst of mud-banks and gulls sand-hillocks and solitary vultures. in riding back in the morning we came across a very fresh track of a puma, but did not succeed in finding it. we saw also a couple of zorillos, or skunks,--odious animals, which are far from uncommon. in general appearance, the zorillo resembles a polecat, but it is rather larger, and much thicker in proportion. conscious of its power, it roams by day about the open plain, and fears neither dog nor man. if a dog is urged to the attack, its courage is instantly checked by a few drops of the fetid oil, which brings on violent sickness and running at the nose. whatever is once polluted by it, is for ever useless. azara says the smell can be perceived at a league distant; more than once, when entering the harbour of monte video, the wind being off shore, we have perceived the odour on board the beagle. certain it is, that every animal most willingly makes room for the zorillo. [ ] the corral is an enclosure made of tall and strong stakes. every estancia, or farming estate, has one attached to it. [ ] the hovels of the indians are thus called. [ ] report of the agricult. chem. assoc. in the agricult. gazette, , p. . [ ] linnaean trans., vol. xi. p. . it is remarkable how all the circumstances connected with the salt-lakes in siberia and patagonia are similar. siberia, like patagonia, appears to have been recently elevated above the waters of the sea. in both countries the salt-lakes occupy shallow depressions in the plains; in both the mud on the borders is black and fetid; beneath the crust of common salt, sulphate of soda or of magnesium occurs, imperfectly crystallized; and in both, the muddy sand is mixed with lentils of gypsum. the siberian salt-lakes are inhabited by small crustaceous animals; and flamingoes (edin. new philos. jour., jan ) likewise frequent them. as these circumstances, apparently so trifling, occur in two distant continents, we may feel sure that they are the necessary results of a common cause--see pallas's travels, to , pp. - . [ ] i am bound to express in the strongest terms, my obligation to the government of buenos ayres for the obliging manner in which passports to all parts of the country were given me, as naturalist of the beagle. [ ] this prophecy has turned out entirely and miserably wrong. . [ ] voyage dans l'amerique merid. par m. a. d'orbigny. part. hist. tom. i. p. . chapter v bahia blanca bahia blanca--geology--numerous gigantic quadrupeds--recent extinction--longevity of species--large animals do not require a luxuriant vegetation--southern africa--siberian fossils--two species of ostrich--habits of oven-bird--armadilloes--venomous snake, toad, lizard--hybernation of animal--habits of sea-pen--indian wars and massacres--arrow-head, antiquarian relic. the beagle arrived here on the th of august, and a week afterwards sailed for the plata. with captain fitz roy's consent i was left behind, to travel by land to buenos ayres. i will here add some observations, which were made during this visit and on a previous occasion, when the beagle was employed in surveying the harbour. the plain, at the distance of a few miles from the coast, belongs to the great pampean formation, which consists in part of a reddish clay, and in part of a highly calcareous marly rock. nearer the coast there are some plains formed from the wreck of the upper plain, and from mud, gravel, and sand thrown up by the sea during the slow elevation of the land, of which elevation we have evidence in upraised beds of recent shells, and in rounded pebbles of pumice scattered over the country. at punta alta we have a section of one of these later-formed little plains, which is highly interesting from the number and extraordinary character of the remains of gigantic land-animals embedded in it. these have been fully described by professor owen, in the zoology of the voyage of the beagle, and are deposited in the college of surgeons. i will here give only a brief outline of their nature. first, parts of three heads and other bones of the megatherium, the huge dimensions of which are expressed by its name. secondly, the megalonyx, a great allied animal. thirdly, the scelidotherium, also an allied animal, of which i obtained a nearly perfect skeleton. it must have been as large as a rhinoceros: in the structure of its head it comes according to mr. owen, nearest to the cape anteater, but in some other respects it approaches to the armadilloes. fourthly, the mylodon darwinii, a closely related genus of little inferior size. fifthly, another gigantic edental quadruped. sixthly, a large animal, with an osseous coat in compartments, very like that of an armadillo. seventhly, an extinct kind of horse, to which i shall have again to refer. eighthly, a tooth of a pachydermatous animal, probably the same with the macrauchenia, a huge beast with a long neck like a camel, which i shall also refer to again. lastly, the toxodon, perhaps one of the strangest animals ever discovered: in size it equalled an elephant or megatherium, but the structure of its teeth, as mr. owen states, proves indisputably that it was intimately related to the gnawers, the order which, at the present day, includes most of the smallest quadrupeds: in many details it is allied to the pachydermata: judging from the position of its eyes, ears, and nostrils, it was probably aquatic, like the dugong and manatee, to which it is also allied. how wonderfully are the different orders, at the present time so well separated, blended together in different points of the structure of the toxodon! the remains of these nine great quadrupeds, and many detached bones, were found embedded on the beach, within the space of about yards square. it is a remarkable circumstance that so many different species should be found together; and it proves how numerous in kind the ancient inhabitants of this country must have been. at the distance of about thirty miles from punta alta, in a cliff of red earth, i found several fragments of bones, some of large size. among them were the teeth of a gnawer, equalling in size and closely resembling those of the capybara, whose habits have been described; and therefore, probably, an aquatic animal. there was also part of the head of a ctenomys; the species being different from the tucutuco, but with a close general resemblance. the red earth, like that of the pampas, in which these remains were embedded, contains, according to professor ehrenberg, eight fresh-water and one salt-water infusorial animalcule; therefore, probably, it was an estuary deposit. the remains at punta alta were embedded in stratified gravel and reddish mud, just such as the sea might now wash up on a shallow bank. they were associated with twenty-three species of shells, of which thirteen are recent and four others very closely related to recent forms. [ ] from the bones of the scelidotherium, including even the knee-cap, being intombed in their proper relative positions, and from the osseous armour of the great armadillo-like animal being so well preserved, together with the bones of one of its legs, we may feel assured that these remains were fresh and united by their ligaments, when deposited in the gravel together with the shells. [ ] hence we have good evidence that the above enumerated gigantic quadrupeds, more different from those of the present day than the oldest of the tertiary quadrupeds of europe, lived whilst the sea was peopled with most of its present inhabitants; and we have confirmed that remarkable law so often insisted on by mr. lyell, namely, that the "longevity of the species in the mammalia is upon the whole inferior to that of the testacea." [ ] the great size of the bones of the megatheroid animals, including the megatherium, megalonyx, scelidotherium, and mylodon, is truly wonderful. the habits of life of these animals were a complete puzzle to naturalists, until professor owen [ ] solved the problem with remarkable ingenuity. the teeth indicate, by their simple structure, that these megatheroid animals lived on vegetable food, and probably on the leaves and small twigs of trees; their ponderous forms and great strong curved claws seem so little adapted for locomotion, that some eminent naturalists have actually believed, that, like the sloths, to which they are intimately related, they subsisted by climbing back downwards on trees, and feeding on the leaves. it was a bold, not to say preposterous, idea to conceive even antediluvian trees, with branches strong enough to bear animals as large as elephants. professor owen, with far more probability, believes that, instead of climbing on the trees, they pulled the branches down to them, and tore up the smaller ones by the roots, and so fed on the leaves. the colossal breadth and weight of their hinder quarters, which can hardly be imagined without having been seen, become on this view, of obvious service, instead of being an incumbrance: their apparent clumsiness disappears. with their great tails and their huge heels firmly fixed like a tripod on the ground, they could freely exert the full force of their most powerful arms and great claws. strongly rooted, indeed, must that tree have been, which could have resisted such force! the mylodon, moreover, was furnished with a long extensile tongue like that of the giraffe, which, by one of those beautiful provisions of nature, thus reaches with the aid of its long neck its leafy food. i may remark, that in abyssinia the elephant, according to bruce, when it cannot reach with its proboscis the branches, deeply scores with its tusks the trunk of the tree, up and down and all round, till it is sufficiently weakened to be broken down. the beds including the above fossil remains, stand only from fifteen to twenty feet above the level of high-water; and hence the elevation of the land has been small (without there has been an intercalated period of subsidence, of which we have no evidence) since the great quadrupeds wandered over the surrounding plains; and the external features of the country must then have been very nearly the same as now. what, it may naturally be asked, was the character of the vegetation at that period; was the country as wretchedly sterile as it now is? as so many of the co-embedded shells are the same with those now living in the bay, i was at first inclined to think that the former vegetation was probably similar to the existing one; but this would have been an erroneous inference for some of these same shells live on the luxuriant coast of brazil; and generally, the character of the inhabitants of the sea are useless as guides to judge of those on the land. nevertheless, from the following considerations, i do not believe that the simple fact of many gigantic quadrupeds having lived on the plains round bahia blanca, is any sure guide that they formerly were clothed with a luxuriant vegetation: i have no doubt that the sterile country a little southward, near the rio negro, with its scattered thorny trees, would support many and large quadrupeds. that large animals require a luxuriant vegetation, has been a general assumption which has passed from one work to another; but i do not hesitate to say that it is completely false, and that it has vitiated the reasoning of geologists on some points of great interest in the ancient history of the world. the prejudice has probably been derived from india, and the indian islands, where troops of elephants, noble forests, and impenetrable jungles, are associated together in every one's mind. if, however, we refer to any work of travels through the southern parts of africa, we shall find allusions in almost every page either to the desert character of the country, or to the numbers of large animals inhabiting it. the same thing is rendered evident by the many engravings which have been published of various parts of the interior. when the beagle was at cape town, i made an excursion of some days' length into the country, which at least was sufficient to render that which i had read more fully intelligible. dr. andrew smith, who, at the head of his adventurous party, has lately succeeded in passing the tropic of capricorn, informs me that, taking into consideration the whole of the southern part of africa, there can be no doubt of its being a sterile country. on the southern and south-eastern coasts there are some fine forests, but with these exceptions, the traveller may pass for days together through open plains, covered by a poor and scanty vegetation. it is difficult to convey any accurate idea of degrees of comparative fertility; but it may be safely said that the amount of vegetation supported at any one time [ ] by great britain, exceeds, perhaps even tenfold, the quantity on an equal area, in the interior parts of southern africa. the fact that bullock-waggons can travel in any direction, excepting near the coast, without more than occasionally half an hour's delay in cutting down bushes, gives, perhaps, a more definite notion of the scantiness of the vegetation. now, if we look to the animals inhabiting these wide plains, we shall find their numbers extraordinarily great, and their bulk immense. we must enumerate the elephant, three species of rhinoceros, and probably, according to dr. smith, two others, the hippopotamus, the giraffe, the bos caffer--as large as a full-grown bull, and the elan--but little less, two zebras, and the quaccha, two gnus, and several antelopes even larger than these latter animals. it may be supposed that although the species are numerous, the individuals of each kind are few. by the kindness of dr. smith, i am enabled to show that the case is very different. he informs me, that in lat. degs., in one day's march with the bullock-waggons, he saw, without wandering to any great distance on either side, between one hundred and one hundred and fifty rhinoceroses, which belonged to three species: the same day he saw several herds of giraffes, amounting together to nearly a hundred; and that although no elephant was observed, yet they are found in this district. at the distance of a little more than one hour's march from their place of encampment on the previous night, his party actually killed at one spot eight hippopotamuses, and saw many more. in this same river there were likewise crocodiles. of course it was a case quite extraordinary, to see so many great animals crowded together, but it evidently proves that they must exist in great numbers. dr. smith describes the country passed through that day, as "being thinly covered with grass, and bushes about four feet high, and still more thinly with mimosa-trees." the waggons were not prevented travelling in a nearly straight line. besides these large animals, every one the least acquainted with the natural history of the cape, has read of the herds of antelopes, which can be compared only with the flocks of migratory birds. the numbers indeed of the lion, panther, and hyaena, and the multitude of birds of prey, plainly speak of the abundance of the smaller quadrupeds: one evening seven lions were counted at the same time prowling round dr. smith's encampment. as this able naturalist remarked to me, the carnage each day in southern africa must indeed be terrific! i confess it is truly surprising how such a number of animals can find support in a country producing so little food. the larger quadrupeds no doubt roam over wide tracts in search of it; and their food chiefly consists of underwood, which probably contains much nutriment in a small bulk. dr. smith also informs me that the vegetation has a rapid growth; no sooner is a part consumed, than its place is supplied by a fresh stock. there can be no doubt, however, that our ideas respecting the apparent amount of food necessary for the support of large quadrupeds are much exaggerated: it should have been remembered that the camel, an animal of no mean bulk, has always been considered as the emblem of the desert. the belief that where large quadrupeds exist, the vegetation must necessarily be luxuriant, is the more remarkable, because the converse is far from true. mr. burchell observed to me that when entering brazil, nothing struck him more forcibly than the splendour of the south american vegetation contrasted with that of south africa, together with the absence of all large quadrupeds. in his travels, [ ] he has suggested that the comparison of the respective weights (if there were sufficient data) of an equal number of the largest herbivorous quadrupeds of each country would be extremely curious. if we take on the one side, the elephant, [ ] hippopotamus, giraffe, bos caffer, elan, certainly three, and probably five species of rhinoceros; and on the american side, two tapirs, the guanaco, three deer, the vicuna, peccari, capybara (after which we must choose from the monkeys to complete the number), and then place these two groups alongside each other, it is not easy to conceive ranks more disproportionate in size. after the above facts, we are compelled to conclude, against anterior probability, [ ] that among the mammalia there exists no close relation between the bulk of the species, and the _quantity_ of the vegetation, in the countries which they inhabit. with regard to the number of large quadrupeds, there certainly exists no quarter of the globe which will bear comparison with southern africa. after the different statements which have been given, the extremely desert character of that region will not be disputed. in the european division of the world, we must look back to the tertiary epochs, to find a condition of things among the mammalia, resembling that now existing at the cape of good hope. those tertiary epochs, which we are apt to consider as abounding to an astonishing degree with large animals, because we find the remains of many ages accumulated at certain spots, could hardly boast of more large quadrupeds than southern africa does at present. if we speculate on the condition of the vegetation during these epochs we are at least bound so far to consider existing analogies, as not to urge as absolutely necessary a luxuriant vegetation, when we see a state of things so totally different at the cape of good hope. we know [ ] that the extreme regions of north america, many degrees beyond the limit where the ground at the depth of a few feet remains perpetually congealed, are covered by forests of large and tall trees. in a like manner, in siberia, we have woods of birch, fir, aspen, and larch, growing in a latitude [ ] ( degs.) where the mean temperature of the air falls below the freezing point, and where the earth is so completely frozen, that the carcass of an animal embedded in it is perfectly preserved. with these facts we must grant, as far as _quantity alone_ of vegetation is concerned, that the great quadrupeds of the later tertiary epochs might, in most parts of northern europe and asia, have lived on the spots where their remains are now found. i do not here speak of the kind of vegetation necessary for their support; because, as there is evidence of physical changes, and as the animals have become extinct, so may we suppose that the species of plants have likewise been changed. these remarks, i may be permitted to add, directly bear on the case of the siberian animals preserved in ice. the firm conviction of the necessity of a vegetation possessing a character of tropical luxuriance, to support such large animals, and the impossibility of reconciling this with the proximity of perpetual congelation, was one chief cause of the several theories of sudden revolutions of climate, and of overwhelming catastrophes, which were invented to account for their entombment. i am far from supposing that the climate has not changed since the period when those animals lived, which now lie buried in the ice. at present i only wish to show, that as far as _quantity_ of food _alone_ is concerned, the ancient rhinoceroses might have roamed over the _steppes_ of central siberia (the northern parts probably being under water) even in their present condition, as well as the living rhinoceroses and elephants over the _karros_ of southern africa. i will now give an account of the habits of some of the more interesting birds which are common on the wild plains of northern patagonia: and first for the largest, or south american ostrich. the ordinary habits of the ostrich are familiar to every one. they live on vegetable matter, such as roots and grass; but at bahia blanca i have repeatedly seen three or four come down at low water to the extensive mud-banks which are then dry, for the sake, as the gauchos say, of feeding on small fish. although the ostrich in its habits is so shy, wary, and solitary, and although so fleet in its pace, it is caught without much difficulty by the indian or gaucho armed with the bolas. when several horsemen appear in a semicircle, it becomes confounded, and does not know which way to escape. they generally prefer running against the wind; yet at the first start they expand their wings, and like a vessel make all sail. on one fine hot day i saw several ostriches enter a bed of tall rushes, where they squatted concealed, till quite closely approached. it is not generally known that ostriches readily take to the water. mr. king informs me that at the bay of san blas, and at port valdes in patagonia, he saw these birds swimming several times from island to island. they ran into the water both when driven down to a point, and likewise of their own accord when not frightened: the distance crossed was about two hundred yards. when swimming, very little of their bodies appear above water; their necks are extended a little forward, and their progress is slow. on two occasions i saw some ostriches swimming across the santa cruz river, where its course was about four hundred yards wide, and the stream rapid. captain sturt, [ ] when descending the murrumbidgee, in australia, saw two emus in the act of swimming. the inhabitants of the country readily distinguish, even at a distance, the cock bird from the hen. the former is larger and darker-coloured, [ ] and has a bigger head. the ostrich, i believe the cock, emits a singular, deep-toned, hissing note: when first i heard it, standing in the midst of some sand-hillocks, i thought it was made by some wild beast, for it is a sound that one cannot tell whence it comes, or from how far distant. when we were at bahia blanca in the months of september and october, the eggs, in extraordinary numbers, were found all over the country. they lie either scattered and single, in which case they are never hatched, and are called by the spaniards huachos; or they are collected together into a shallow excavation, which forms the nest. out of the four nests which i saw, three contained twenty-two eggs each, and the fourth twenty-seven. in one day's hunting on horseback sixty-four eggs were found; forty-four of these were in two nests, and the remaining twenty, scattered huachos. the gauchos unanimously affirm, and there is no reason to doubt their statement, that the male bird alone hatches the eggs, and for some time afterwards accompanies the young. the cock when on the nest lies very close; i have myself almost ridden over one. it is asserted that at such times they are occasionally fierce, and even dangerous, and that they have been known to attack a man on horseback, trying to kick and leap on him. my informer pointed out to me an old man, whom he had seen much terrified by one chasing him. i observe in burchell's travels in south africa, that he remarks, "having killed a male ostrich, and the feathers being dirty, it was said by the hottentots to be a nest bird." i understand that the male emu in the zoological gardens takes charge of the nest: this habit, therefore, is common to the family. the gauchos unanimously affirm that several females lay in one nest. i have been positively told that four or five hen birds have been watched to go in the middle of the day, one after the other, to the same nest. i may add, also, that it is believed in africa, that two or more females lay in one nest. [ ] although this habit at first appears very strange, i think the cause may be explained in a simple manner. the number of eggs in the nest varies from twenty to forty, and even to fifty; and according to azara, some times to seventy or eighty. now, although it is most probable, from the number of eggs found in one district being so extraordinarily great in proportion to the parent birds, and likewise from the state of the ovarium of the hen, that she may in the course of the season lay a large number, yet the time required must be very long. azara states, [ ] that a female in a state of domestication laid seventeen eggs, each at the interval of three days one from another. if the hen was obliged to hatch her own eggs, before the last was laid the first probably would be addled; but if each laid a few eggs at successive periods, in different nests, and several hens, as is stated to be the case, combined together, then the eggs in one collection would be nearly of the same age. if the number of eggs in one of these nests is, as i believe, not greater on an average than the number laid by one female in the season, then there must be as many nests as females, and each cock bird will have its fair share of the labour of incubation; and that during a period when the females probably could not sit, from not having finished laying. [ ] i have before mentioned the great numbers of huachos, or deserted eggs; so that in one day's hunting twenty were found in this state. it appears odd that so many should be wasted. does it not arise from the difficulty of several females associating together, and finding a male ready to undertake the office of incubation? it is evident that there must at first be some degree of association between at least two females; otherwise the eggs would remain scattered over the wide plain, at distances far too great to allow of the male collecting them into one nest: some authors have believed that the scattered eggs were deposited for the young birds to feed on. this can hardly be the case in america, because the huachos, although often found addled and putrid, are generally whole. when at the rio negro in northern patagonia, i repeatedly heard the gauchos talking of a very rare bird which they called avestruz petise. they described it as being less than the common ostrich (which is there abundant), but with a very close general resemblance. they said its colour was dark and mottled, and that its legs were shorter, and feathered lower down than those of the common ostrich. it is more easily caught by the bolas than the other species. the few inhabitants who had seen both kinds, affirmed they could distinguish them apart from a long distance. the eggs of the small species appeared, however, more generally known; and it was remarked, with surprise, that they were very little less than those of the rhea, but of a slightly different form, and with a tinge of pale blue. this species occurs most rarely on the plains bordering the rio negro; but about a degree and a half further south they are tolerably abundant. when at port desire, in patagonia (lat. degs.), mr. martens shot an ostrich; and i looked at it, forgetting at the moment, in the most unaccountable manner, the whole subject of the petises, and thought it was a not full-grown bird of the common sort. it was cooked and eaten before my memory returned. fortunately the head, neck, legs, wings, many of the larger feathers, and a large part of the skin, had been preserved; and from these a very nearly perfect specimen has been put together, and is now exhibited in the museum of the zoological society. mr. gould, in describing this new species, has done me the honour of calling it after my name. among the patagonian indians in the strait of magellan, we found a half indian, who had lived some years with the tribe, but had been born in the northern provinces. i asked him if he had ever heard of the avestruz petise? he answered by saying, "why, there are none others in these southern countries." he informed me that the number of eggs in the nest of the petise is considerably less than in that of the other kind, namely, not more than fifteen on an average, but he asserted that more than one female deposited them. at santa cruz we saw several of these birds. they were excessively wary: i think they could see a person approaching when too far off to be distinguished themselves. in ascending the river few were seen; but in our quiet and rapid descent, many, in pairs and by fours or fives, were observed. it was remarked that this bird did not expand its wings, when first starting at full speed, after the manner of the northern kind. in conclusion i may observe, that the struthio rhea inhabits the country of la plata as far as a little south of the rio negro in lat. degs., and that the struthio darwinii takes its place in southern patagonia; the part about the rio negro being neutral territory. m. a. d'orbigny, [ ] when at the rio negro, made great exertions to procure this bird, but never had the good fortune to succeed. dobrizhoffer [ ] long ago was aware of there being two kinds of ostriches, he says, "you must know, moreover, that emus differ in size and habits in different tracts of land; for those that inhabit the plains of buenos ayres and tucuman are larger, and have black, white and grey feathers; those near to the strait of magellan are smaller and more beautiful, for their white feathers are tipped with black at the extremity, and their black ones in like manner terminate in white." a very singular little bird, tinochorus rumicivorus, is here common: in its habits and general appearance, it nearly equally partakes of the characters, different as they are, of the quail and snipe. the tinochorus is found in the whole of southern south america, wherever there are sterile plains, or open dry pasture land. it frequents in pairs or small flocks the most desolate places, where scarcely another living creature can exist. upon being approached they squat close, and then are very difficult to be distinguished from the ground. when feeding they walk rather slowly, with their legs wide apart. they dust themselves in roads and sandy places, and frequent particular spots, where they may be found day after day: like partridges, they take wing in a flock. in all these respects, in the muscular gizzard adapted for vegetable food, in the arched beak and fleshy nostrils, short legs and form of foot, the tinochorus has a close affinity with quails. but as soon as the bird is seen flying, its whole appearance changes; the long pointed wings, so different from those in the gallinaceous order, the irregular manner of flight, and plaintive cry uttered at the moment of rising, recall the idea of a snipe. the sportsmen of the beagle unanimously called it the short-billed snipe. to this genus, or rather to the family of the waders, its skeleton shows that it is really related. the tinochorus is closely related to some other south american birds. two species of the genus attagis are in almost every respect ptarmigans in their habits; one lives in tierra del fuego, above the limits of the forest land; and the other just beneath the snow-line on the cordillera of central chile. a bird of another closely allied genus, chionis alba, is an inhabitant of the antarctic regions; it feeds on sea-weed and shells on the tidal rocks. although not web footed, from some unaccountable habit, it is frequently met with far out at sea. this small family of birds is one of those which, from its varied relations to other families, although at present offering only difficulties to the systematic naturalist, ultimately may assist in revealing the grand scheme, common to the present and past ages, on which organized beings have been created. the genus furnarius contains several species, all small birds, living on the ground, and inhabiting open dry countries. in structure they cannot be compared to any european form. ornithologists have generally included them among the creepers, although opposed to that family in every habit. the best known species is the common oven-bird of la plata, the casara or housemaker of the spaniards. the nest, whence it takes its name, is placed in the most exposed situations, as on the top of a post, a bare rock, or on a cactus. it is composed of mud and bits of straw, and has strong thick walls: in shape it precisely resembles an oven, or depressed beehive. the opening is large and arched, and directly in front, within the nest, there is a partition, which reaches nearly to the roof, thus forming a passage or antechamber to the true nest. another and smaller species of furnarius (f. cunicularius), resembles the oven-bird in the general reddish tint of its plumage, in a peculiar shrill reiterated cry, and in an odd manner of running by starts. from its affinity, the spaniards call it casarita (or little housebuilder), although its nidification is quite different. the casarita builds its nest at the bottom of a narrow cylindrical hole, which is said to extend horizontally to nearly six feet under ground. several of the country people told me, that when boys, they had attempted to dig out the nest, but had scarcely ever succeeded in getting to the end of the passage. the bird chooses any low bank of firm sandy soil by the side of a road or stream. here (at bahia blanca) the walls round the houses are built of hardened mud, and i noticed that one, which enclosed a courtyard where i lodged, was bored through by round holes in a score of places. on asking the owner the cause of this he bitterly complained of the little casarita, several of which i afterwards observed at work. it is rather curious to find how incapable these birds must be of acquiring any notion of thickness, for although they were constantly flitting over the low wall, they continued vainly to bore through it, thinking it an excellent bank for their nests. i do not doubt that each bird, as often as it came to daylight on the opposite side, was greatly surprised at the marvellous fact. i have already mentioned nearly all the mammalia common in this country. of armadilloes three species occur namely, the dasypus minutus or _pichy_, the d. villosus or _peludo_, and the _apar_. the first extends ten degrees further south than any other kind; a fourth species, the _mulita_, does not come as far south as bahia blanca. the four species have nearly similar habits; the _peludo_, however, is nocturnal, while the others wander by day over the open plains, feeding on beetles, larvae, roots, and even small snakes. the _apar_, commonly called _mataco_, is remarkable by having only three moveable bands; the rest of its tesselated covering being nearly inflexible. it has the power of rolling itself into a perfect sphere, like one kind of english woodlouse. in this state it is safe from the attack of dogs; for the dog not being able to take the whole in its mouth, tries to bite one side, and the ball slips away. the smooth hard covering of the _mataco_ offers a better defence than the sharp spines of the hedgehog. the _pichy_ prefers a very dry soil; and the sand-dunes near the coast, where for many months it can never taste water, is its favourite resort: it often tries to escape notice, by squatting close to the ground. in the course of a day's ride, near bahia blanca, several were generally met with. the instant one was perceived, it was necessary, in order to catch it, almost to tumble off one's horse; for in soft soil the animal burrowed so quickly, that its hinder quarters would almost disappear before one could alight. it seems almost a pity to kill such nice little animals, for as a gaucho said, while sharpening his knife on the back of one, "son tan mansos" (they are so quiet). of reptiles there are many kinds: one snake (a trigonocephalus, or cophias [ ]), from the size of the poison channel in its fangs, must be very deadly. cuvier, in opposition to some other naturalists, makes this a sub-genus of the rattlesnake, and intermediate between it and the viper. in confirmation of this opinion, i observed a fact, which appears to me very curious and instructive, as showing how every character, even though it may be in some degree independent of structure, has a tendency to vary by slow degrees. the extremity of the tail of this snake is terminated by a point, which is very slightly enlarged; and as the animal glides along, it constantly vibrates the last inch; and this part striking against the dry grass and brushwood, produces a rattling noise, which can be distinctly heard at the distance of six feet. as often as the animal was irritated or surprised, its tail was shaken; and the vibrations were extremely rapid. even as long as the body retained its irritability, a tendency to this habitual movement was evident. this trigonocephalus has, therefore, in some respects the structure of a viper, with the habits of a rattlesnake: the noise, however, being produced by a simpler device. the expression of this snake's face was hideous and fierce; the pupil consisted of a vertical slit in a mottled and coppery iris; the jaws were broad at the base, and the nose terminated in a triangular projection. i do not think i ever saw anything more ugly, excepting, perhaps, some of the vampire bats. i imagine this repulsive aspect originates from the features being placed in positions, with respect to each other, somewhat proportional to those of the human face; and thus we obtain a scale of hideousness. amongst the batrachian reptiles, i found only one little toad (phryniscus nigricans), which was most singular from its colour. if we imagine, first, that it had been steeped in the blackest ink, and then, when dry, allowed to crawl over a board, freshly painted with the brightest vermilion, so as to colour the soles of its feet and parts of its stomach, a good idea of its appearance will be gained. if it had been an unnamed species, surely it ought to have been called _diabolicus_, for it is a fit toad to preach in the ear of eve. instead of being nocturnal in its habits, as other toads are, and living in damp obscure recesses, it crawls during the heat of the day about the dry sand-hillocks and arid plains, where not a single drop of water can be found. it must necessarily depend on the dew for its moisture; and this probably is absorbed by the skin, for it is known, that these reptiles possess great powers of cutaneous absorption. at maldonado, i found one in a situation nearly as dry as at bahia blanca, and thinking to give it a great treat, carried it to a pool of water; not only was the little animal unable to swim, but i think without help it would soon have been drowned. of lizards there were many kinds, but only one (proctotretus multimaculatus) remarkable from its habits. it lives on the bare sand near the sea coast, and from its mottled colour, the brownish scales being speckled with white, yellowish red, and dirty blue, can hardly be distinguished from the surrounding surface. when frightened, it attempts to avoid discovery by feigning death, with outstretched legs, depressed body, and closed eyes: if further molested, it buries itself with great quickness in the loose sand. this lizard, from its flattened body and short legs, cannot run quickly. i will here add a few remarks on the hybernation of animals in this part of south america. when we first arrived at bahia blanca, september th, , we thought nature had granted scarcely a living creature to this sandy and dry country. by digging, however, in the ground, several insects, large spiders, and lizards were found in a half-torpid state. on the th, a few animals began to appear, and by the th (three days from the equinox), everything announced the commencement of spring. the plains were ornamented by the flowers of a pink wood-sorrel, wild peas, cenotherae, and geraniums; and the birds began to lay their eggs. numerous lamellicorn and heteromerous insects, the latter remarkable for their deeply sculptured bodies, were slowly crawling about; while the lizard tribe, the constant inhabitants of a sandy soil, darted about in every direction. during the first eleven days, whilst nature was dormant, the mean temperature taken from observations made every two hours on board the beagle, was degs.; and in the middle of the day the thermometer seldom ranged above degs. on the eleven succeeding days, in which all living things became so animated, the mean was degs., and the range in the middle of the day between and degs. here, then, an increase of seven degrees in mean temperature, but a greater one of extreme heat, was sufficient to awake the functions of life. at monte video, from which we had just before sailed, in the twenty-three days included between the th of july and the th of august, the mean temperature from observations was . degs.; the mean hottest day being . degs., and the coldest degs. the lowest point to which the thermometer fell was . degs., and occasionally in the middle of the day it rose to or degs. yet with this high temperature, almost every beetle, several genera of spiders, snails, and land-shells, toads and lizards were all lying torpid beneath stones. but we have seen that at bahia blanca, which is four degrees southward and therefore with a climate only a very little colder, this same temperature with a rather less extreme heat, was sufficient to awake all orders of animated beings. this shows how nicely the stimulus required to arouse hybernating animals is governed by the usual climate of the district, and not by the absolute heat. it is well known that within the tropics, the hybernation, or more properly aestivation, of animals is determined not by the temperature, but by the times of drought. near rio de janeiro, i was at first surprised to observe, that, a few days after some little depressions had been filled with water, they were peopled by numerous full-grown shells and beetles, which must have been lying dormant. humboldt has related the strange accident of a hovel having been erected over a spot where a young crocodile lay buried in the hardened mud. he adds, "the indians often find enormous boas, which they call uji or water serpents, in the same lethargic state. to reanimate them, they must be irritated or wetted with water." i will only mention one other animal, a zoophyte (i believe virgularia patagonica), a kind of sea-pen. it consists of a thin, straight, fleshy stem, with alternate rows of polypi on each side, and surrounding an elastic stony axis, varying in length from eight inches to two feet. the stem at one extremity is truncate, but at the other is terminated by a vermiform fleshy appendage. the stony axis which gives strength to the stem may be traced at this extremity into a mere vessel filled with granular matter. at low water hundreds of these zoophytes might be seen, projecting like stubble, with the truncate end upwards, a few inches above the surface of the muddy sand. when touched or pulled they suddenly drew themselves in with force, so as nearly or quite to disappear. by this action, the highly elastic axis must be bent at the lower extremity, where it is naturally slightly curved; and i imagine it is by this elasticity alone that the zoophyte is enabled to rise again through the mud. each polypus, though closely united to its brethren, has a distinct mouth, body, and tentacula. of these polypi, in a large specimen, there must be many thousands; yet we see that they act by one movement: they have also one central axis connected with a system of obscure circulation, and the ova are produced in an organ distinct from the separate individuals. [ ] well may one be allowed to ask, what is an individual? it is always interesting to discover the foundation of the strange tales of the old voyagers; and i have no doubt but that the habits of this virgularia explain one such case. captain lancaster, in his voyage [ ] in , narrates that on the sea-sands of the island of sombrero, in the east indies, he "found a small twig growing up like a young tree, and on offering to pluck it up it shrinks down to the ground, and sinks, unless held very hard. on being plucked up, a great worm is found to be its root, and as the tree groweth in greatness, so doth the worm diminish, and as soon as the worm is entirely turned into a tree it rooteth in the earth, and so becomes great. this transformation is one of the strangest wonders that i saw in all my travels: for if this tree is plucked up, while young, and the leaves and bark stripped off, it becomes a hard stone when dry, much like white coral: thus is this worm twice transformed into different natures. of these we gathered and brought home many." during my stay at bahia blanca, while waiting for the beagle, the place was in a constant state of excitement, from rumours of wars and victories, between the troops of rosas and the wild indians. one day an account came that a small party forming one of the postas on the line to buenos ayres, had been found all murdered. the next day three hundred men arrived from the colorado, under the command of commandant miranda. a large portion of these men were indians (mansos, or tame), belonging to the tribe of the cacique bernantio. they passed the night here; and it was impossible to conceive anything more wild and savage than the scene of their bivouac. some drank till they were intoxicated; others swallowed the steaming blood of the cattle slaughtered for their suppers, and then, being sick from drunkenness, they cast it up again, and were besmeared with filth and gore. nam simul expletus dapibus, vinoque sepultus cervicem inflexam posuit, jacuitque per antrum immensus, saniem eructans, ac frusta cruenta per somnum commixta mero. in the morning they started for the scene of the murder, with orders to follow the "rastro," or track, even if it led them to chile. we subsequently heard that the wild indians had escaped into the great pampas, and from some cause the track had been missed. one glance at the rastro tells these people a whole history. supposing they examine the track of a thousand horses, they will soon guess the number of mounted ones by seeing how many have cantered; by the depth of the other impressions, whether any horses were loaded with cargoes; by the irregularity of the footsteps, how far tired; by the manner in which the food has been cooked, whether the pursued travelled in haste; by the general appearance, how long it has been since they passed. they consider a rastro of ten days or a fortnight, quite recent enough to be hunted out. we also heard that miranda struck from the west end of the sierra ventana, in a direct line to the island of cholechel, situated seventy leagues up the rio negro. this is a distance of between two and three hundred miles, through a country completely unknown. what other troops in the world are so independent? with the sun for their guide, mare's flesh for food, their saddle-cloths for beds,--as long as there is a little water, these men would penetrate to the end of the world. a few days afterwards i saw another troop of these banditti-like soldiers start on an expedition against a tribe of indians at the small salinas, who had been betrayed by a prisoner cacique. the spaniard who brought the orders for this expedition was a very intelligent man. he gave me an account of the last engagement at which he was present. some indians, who had been taken prisoners, gave information of a tribe living north of the colorado. two hundred soldiers were sent; and they first discovered the indians by a cloud of dust from their horses' feet, as they chanced to be travelling. the country was mountainous and wild, and it must have been far in the interior, for the cordillera were in sight. the indians, men, women, and children, were about one hundred and ten in number, and they were nearly all taken or killed, for the soldiers sabre every man. the indians are now so terrified that they offer no resistance in a body, but each flies, neglecting even his wife and children; but when overtaken, like wild animals, they fight against any number to the last moment. one dying indian seized with his teeth the thumb of his adversary, and allowed his own eye to be forced out sooner than relinquish his hold. another, who was wounded, feigned death, keeping a knife ready to strike one more fatal blow. my informer said, when he was pursuing an indian, the man cried out for mercy, at the same time that he was covertly loosing the bolas from his waist, meaning to whirl it round his head and so strike his pursuer. "i however struck him with my sabre to the ground, and then got off my horse, and cut his throat with my knife." this is a dark picture; but how much more shocking is the unquestionable fact, that all the women who appear above twenty years old are massacred in cold blood! when i exclaimed that this appeared rather inhuman, he answered, "why, what can be done? they breed so!" every one here is fully convinced that this is the most just war, because it is against barbarians. who would believe in this age that such atrocities could be committed in a christian civilized country? the children of the indians are saved, to be sold or given away as servants, or rather slaves for as long a time as the owners can make them believe themselves slaves; but i believe in their treatment there is little to complain of. in the battle four men ran away together. they were pursued, one was killed, and the other three were taken alive. they turned out to be messengers or ambassadors from a large body of indians, united in the common cause of defence, near the cordillera. the tribe to which they had been sent was on the point of holding a grand council, the feast of mare's flesh was ready, and the dance prepared: in the morning the ambassadors were to have returned to the cordillera. they were remarkably fine men, very fair, above six feet high, and all under thirty years of age. the three survivors of course possessed very valuable information and to extort this they were placed in a line. the two first being questioned, answered, "no se" (i do not know), and were one after the other shot. the third also said "no se;" adding, "fire, i am a man, and can die!" not one syllable would they breathe to injure the united cause of their country! the conduct of the above-mentioned cacique was very different; he saved his life by betraying the intended plan of warfare, and the point of union in the andes. it was believed that there were already six or seven hundred indians together, and that in summer their numbers would be doubled. ambassadors were to have been sent to the indians at the small salinas, near bahia blanca, whom i have mentioned that this same cacique had betrayed. the communication, therefore, between the indians, extends from the cordillera to the coast of the atlantic. general rosas's plan is to kill all stragglers, and having driven the remainder to a common point, to attack them in a body, in the summer, with the assistance of the chilenos. this operation is to be repeated for three successive years. i imagine the summer is chosen as the time for the main attack, because the plains are then without water, and the indians can only travel in particular directions. the escape of the indians to the south of the rio negro, where in such a vast unknown country they would be safe, is prevented by a treaty with the tehuelches to this effect;--that rosas pays them so much to slaughter every indian who passes to the south of the river, but if they fail in so doing, they themselves are to be exterminated. the war is waged chiefly against the indians near the cordillera; for many of the tribes on this eastern side are fighting with rosas. the general, however, like lord chesterfield, thinking that his friends may in a future day become his enemies, always places them in the front ranks, so that their numbers may be thinned. since leaving south america we have heard that this war of extermination completely failed. among the captive girls taken in the same engagement, there were two very pretty spanish ones, who had been carried away by the indians when young, and could now only speak the indian tongue. from their account they must have come from salta, a distance in a straight line of nearly one thousand miles. this gives one a grand idea of the immense territory over which the indians roam: yet, great as it is, i think there will not, in another half-century, be a wild indian northward of the rio negro. the warfare is too bloody to last; the christians killing every indian, and the indians doing the same by the christians. it is melancholy to trace how the indians have given way before the spanish invaders. schirdel [ ] says that in , when buenos ayres was founded, there were villages containing two and three thousand inhabitants. even in falconer's time ( ) the indians made inroads as far as luxan, areco, and arrecife, but now they are driven beyond the salado. not only have whole tribes been exterminated, but the remaining indians have become more barbarous: instead of living in large villages, and being employed in the arts of fishing, as well as of the chase, they now wander about the open plains, without home or fixed occupation. i heard also some account of an engagement which took place, a few weeks previously to the one mentioned, at cholechel. this is a very important station on account of being a pass for horses; and it was, in consequence, for some time the head-quarters of a division of the army. when the troops first arrived there they found a tribe of indians, of whom they killed twenty or thirty. the cacique escaped in a manner which astonished every one. the chief indians always have one or two picked horses, which they keep ready for any urgent occasion. on one of these, an old white horse, the cacique sprung, taking with him his little son. the horse had neither saddle nor bridle. to avoid the shots, the indian rode in the peculiar method of his nation namely, with an arm round the horse's neck, and one leg only on its back. thus hanging on one side, he was seen patting the horse's head, and talking to him. the pursuers urged every effort in the chase; the commandant three times changed his horse, but all in vain. the old indian father and his son escaped, and were free. what a fine picture one can form in one's mind,--the naked, bronze-like figure of the old man with his little boy, riding like a mazeppa on the white horse, thus leaving far behind him the host of his pursuers! i saw one day a soldier striking fire with a piece of flint, which i immediately recognised as having been a part of the head of an arrow. he told me it was found near the island of cholechel, and that they are frequently picked up there. it was between two and three inches long, and therefore twice as large as those now used in tierra del fuego: it was made of opaque cream-coloured flint, but the point and barbs had been intentionally broken off. it is well known that no pampas indians now use bows and arrows. i believe a small tribe in banda oriental must be excepted; but they are widely separated from the pampas indians, and border close on those tribes that inhabit the forest, and live on foot. it appears, therefore, that these arrow-heads are antiquarian [ ] relics of the indians, before the great change in habits consequent on the introduction of the horse into south america. [ ] since this was written, m. alcide d'orbingy has examined these shells, and pronounces them all to be recent. [ ] m. aug. bravard has described, in a spanish work ('observaciones geologicas,' ), this district, and he believes that the bones of the extinct mammals were washed out of the underlying pampean deposit, and subsequently became embedded with the still existing shells; but i am not convinced by his remarks. m. bravard believes that the whole enormous pampean deposit is a sub-aerial formation, like sand-dunes: this seems to me to be an untenable doctrine. [ ] principles of geology, vol. iv. p. . [ ] this theory was first developed in the zoology of the voyage of the beagle, and subsequently in professor owen's memoir on mylodon robustus. [ ] i mean this to exclude the total amount which may have been successively produced and consumed during a given period. [ ] travels in the interior of south africa, vol. ii. p. [ ] the elephant which was killed at exeter change was estimated (being partly weighed) at five tons and a half. the elephant actress, as i was informed, weighed one ton less; so that we may take five as the average of a full-grown elephant. i was told at the surry gardens, that a hippopotamus which was sent to england cut up into pieces was estimated at three tons and a half; we will call it three. from these premises we may give three tons and a half to each of the five rhinoceroses; perhaps a ton to the giraffe, and half to the bos caffer as well as to the elan (a large ox weighs from to pounds). this will give an average (from the above estimates) of . of a ton for the ten largest herbivorous animals of southern africa. in south america, allowing pounds for the two tapirs together, for the guanaco and vicuna, for three deer, for the capybara, peccari, and a monkey, we shall have an average of pounds, which i believe is overstating the result. the ratio will therefore be as to , or to , for the ten largest animals from the two continents. [ ] if we suppose the case of the discovery of a skeleton of a greenland whale in a fossil state, not a single cetaceous animal being known to exist, what naturalist would have ventured conjecture on the possibility of a carcass so gigantic being supported on the minute crustacea and mollusca living in the frozen seas of the extreme north? [ ] see zoological remarks to capt. back's expedition, by dr. richardson. he says, "the subsoil north of latitude degs. is perpetually frozen, the thaw on the coast not penetrating above three feet, and at bear lake, in latitude degs., not more than twenty inches. the frozen substratum does not of itself destroy vegetation, for forests flourish on the surface, at a distance from the coast." [ ] see humboldt, fragments asiatiques, p. : barton's geography of plants: and malte brun. in the latter work it is said that the limit of the growth of trees in siberia may be drawn under the parallel of degs. [ ] sturt's travels, vol. ii. p. . [ ] a gaucho assured me that he had once seen a snow-white or albino variety, and that it was a most beautiful bird. [ ] burchell's travels, vol. i. p. . [ ] azara, vol. iv. p. . [ ] lichtenstein, however, asserts (travels, vol. ii. p. ) that the hens begin sitting when they have laid ten or twelve eggs; and that they continue laying, i presume, in another nest. this appears to me very improbable. he asserts that four or five hens associate for incubation with one cock, who sits only at night. [ ] when at the rio negro, we heard much of the indefatigable labours of this naturalist. m. alcide d'orbigny, during the years to , traversed several large portions of south america, and has made a collection, and is now publishing the results on a scale of magnificence, which at once places himself in the list of american travellers second only to humboldt. [ ] account of the abipones, a.d. , vol. i. (english translation) p. [ ] m. bibron calls it t. crepitans. [ ] the cavities leading from the fleshy compartments of the extremity, were filled with a yellow pulpy matter, which, examined under a microscope, presented an extraordinary appearance. the mass consisted of rounded, semi-transparent, irregular grains, aggregated together into particles of various sizes. all such particles, and the separate grains, possessed the power of rapid movement; generally revolving around different axes, but sometimes progressive. the movement was visible with a very weak power, but even with the highest its cause could not be perceived. it was very different from the circulation of the fluid in the elastic bag, containing the thin extremity of the axis. on other occasions, when dissecting small marine animals beneath the microscope, i have seen particles of pulpy matter, some of large size, as soon as they were disengaged, commence revolving. i have imagined, i know not with how much truth, that this granulo-pulpy matter was in process of being converted into ova. certainly in this zoophyte such appeared to be the case. [ ] kerr's collection of voyages, vol. viii. p. . [ ] purchas's collection of voyages. i believe the date was really . [ ] azara has even doubted whether the pampas indians ever used bows. chapter vi bahia blanca to buenos ayres set out for buenos ayres--rio sauce--sierra ventana--third posta--driving horses--bolas--partridges and foxes--features of the country--long-legged plover--teru-tero--hail-storm--natural enclosures in the sierra tapalguen--flesh of puma--meat diet--guardia del monte--effects of cattle on the vegetation--cardoon--buenos ayres--corral where cattle are slaughtered. september th.--i hired a gaucho to accompany me on my ride to buenos ayres, though with some difficulty, as the father of one man was afraid to let him go, and another, who seemed willing, was described to me as so fearful, that i was afraid to take him, for i was told that even if he saw an ostrich at a distance, he would mistake it for an indian, and would fly like the wind away. the distance to buenos ayres is about four hundred miles, and nearly the whole way through an uninhabited country. we started early in the morning; ascending a few hundred feet from the basin of green turf on which bahia blanca stands, we entered on a wide desolate plain. it consists of a crumbling argillaceo-calcareous rock, which, from the dry nature of the climate, supports only scattered tufts of withered grass, without a single bush or tree to break the monotonous uniformity. the weather was fine, but the atmosphere remarkably hazy; i thought the appearance foreboded a gale, but the gauchos said it was owing to the plain, at some great distance in the interior, being on fire. after a long gallop, having changed horses twice, we reached the rio sauce: it is a deep, rapid, little stream, not above twenty-five feet wide. the second posta on the road to buenos ayres stands on its banks, a little above there is a ford for horses, where the water does not reach to the horses' belly; but from that point, in its course to the sea, it is quite impassable, and hence makes a most useful barrier against the indians. insignificant as this stream is, the jesuit falconer, whose information is generally so very correct, figures it as a considerable river, rising at the foot of the cordillera. with respect to its source, i do not doubt that this is the case for the gauchos assured me, that in the middle of the dry summer, this stream, at the same time with the colorado has periodical floods; which can only originate in the snow melting on the andes. it is extremely improbable that a stream so small as the sauce then was, should traverse the entire width of the continent; and indeed, if it were the residue of a large river, its waters, as in other ascertained cases, would be saline. during the winter we must look to the springs round the sierra ventana as the source of its pure and limpid stream. i suspect the plains of patagonia like those of australia, are traversed by many water-courses which only perform their proper parts at certain periods. probably this is the case with the water which flows into the head of port desire, and likewise with the rio chupat, on the banks of which masses of highly cellular scoriae were found by the officers employed in the survey. as it was early in the afternoon when we arrived, we took fresh horses, and a soldier for a guide, and started for the sierra de la ventana. this mountain is visible from the anchorage at bahia blanca; and capt. fitz roy calculates its height to be feet--an altitude very remarkable on this eastern side of the continent. i am not aware that any foreigner, previous to my visit, had ascended this mountain; and indeed very few of the soldiers at bahia blanca knew anything about it. hence we heard of beds of coal, of gold and silver, of caves, and of forests, all of which inflamed my curiosity, only to disappoint it. the distance from the posta was about six leagues over a level plain of the same character as before. the ride was, however, interesting, as the mountain began to show its true form. when we reached the foot of the main ridge, we had much difficulty in finding any water, and we thought we should have been obliged to have passed the night without any. at last we discovered some by looking close to the mountain, for at the distance even of a few hundred yards the streamlets were buried and entirely lost in the friable calcareous stone and loose detritus. i do not think nature ever made a more solitary, desolate pile of rock;--it well deserves its name of _hurtado_, or separated. the mountain is steep, extremely rugged, and broken, and so entirely destitute of trees, and even bushes, that we actually could not make a skewer to stretch out our meat over the fire of thistle-stalks. [ ] the strange aspect of this mountain is contrasted by the sea-like plain, which not only abuts against its steep sides, but likewise separates the parallel ranges. the uniformity of the colouring gives an extreme quietness to the view,--the whitish grey of the quartz rock, and the light brown of the withered grass of the plain, being unrelieved by any brighter tint. from custom, one expects to see in the neighbourhood of a lofty and bold mountain, a broken country strewed over with huge fragments. here nature shows that the last movement before the bed of the sea is changed into dry land may sometimes be one of tranquillity. under these circumstances i was curious to observe how far from the parent rock any pebbles could be found. on the shores of bahia blanca, and near the settlement, there were some of quartz, which certainly must have come from this source: the distance is forty-five miles. the dew, which in the early part of the night wetted the saddle-cloths under which we slept, was in the morning frozen. the plain, though appearing horizontal, had insensibly sloped up to a height of between and feet above the sea. in the morning ( th of september) the guide told me to ascend the nearest ridge, which he thought would lead me to the four peaks that crown the summit. the climbing up such rough rocks was very fatiguing; the sides were so indented, that what was gained in one five minutes was often lost in the next. at last, when i reached the ridge, my disappointment was extreme in finding a precipitous valley as deep as the plain, which cut the chain transversely in two, and separated me from the four points. this valley is very narrow, but flat-bottomed, and it forms a fine horse-pass for the indians, as it connects the plains on the northern and southern sides of the range. having descended, and while crossing it, i saw two horses grazing: i immediately hid myself in the long grass, and began to reconnoitre; but as i could see no signs of indians i proceeded cautiously on my second ascent. it was late in the day, and this part of the mountain, like the other, was steep and rugged. i was on the top of the second peak by two o'clock, but got there with extreme difficulty; every twenty yards i had the cramp in the upper part of both thighs, so that i was afraid i should not have been able to have got down again. it was also necessary to return by another road, as it was out of the question to pass over the saddle-back. i was therefore obliged to give up the two higher peaks. their altitude was but little greater, and every purpose of geology had been answered; so that the attempt was not worth the hazard of any further exertion. i presume the cause of the cramp was the great change in the kind of muscular action, from that of hard riding to that of still harder climbing. it is a lesson worth remembering, as in some cases it might cause much difficulty. i have already said the mountain is composed of white quartz rock, and with it a little glossy clay-slate is associated. at the height of a few hundred feet above the plain patches of conglomerate adhered in several places to the solid rock. they resembled in hardness, and in the nature of the cement, the masses which may be seen daily forming on some coasts. i do not doubt these pebbles were in a similar manner aggregated, at a period when the great calcareous formation was depositing beneath the surrounding sea. we may believe that the jagged and battered forms of the hard quartz yet show the effects of the waves of an open ocean. i was, on the whole, disappointed with this ascent. even the view was insignificant;--a plain like the sea, but without its beautiful colour and defined outline. the scene, however, was novel, and a little danger, like salt to meat, gave it a relish. that the danger was very little was certain, for my two companions made a good fire--a thing which is never done when it is suspected that indians are near. i reached the place of our bivouac by sunset, and drinking much mate, and smoking several cigaritos, soon made up my bed for the night. the wind was very strong and cold, but i never slept more comfortably. september th.--in the morning, having fairly scudded before the gale, we arrived by the middle of the day at the sauce posta. in the road we saw great numbers of deer, and near the mountain a guanaco. the plain, which abuts against the sierra, is traversed by some curious gullies, of which one was about twenty feet wide, and at least thirty deep; we were obliged in consequence to make a considerable circuit before we could find a pass. we stayed the night at the posta, the conversation, as was generally the case, being about the indians. the sierra ventana was formerly a great place of resort; and three or four years ago there was much fighting there. my guide had been present when many indians were killed: the women escaped to the top of the ridge, and fought most desperately with great stones; many thus saving themselves. september th.--proceeded to the third posta in company with the lieutenant who commanded it. the distance is called fifteen leagues; but it is only guess-work, and is generally overstated. the road was uninteresting, over a dry grassy plain; and on our left hand at a greater or less distance there were some low hills; a continuation of which we crossed close to the posta. before our arrival we met a large herd of cattle and horses, guarded by fifteen soldiers; but we were told many had been lost. it is very difficult to drive animals across the plains; for if in the night a puma, or even a fox, approaches, nothing can prevent the horses dispersing in every direction; and a storm will have the same effect. a short time since, an officer left buenos ayres with five hundred horses, and when he arrived at the army he had under twenty. soon afterwards we perceived by the cloud of dust, that a party of horsemen were coming towards us; when far distant my companions knew them to be indians, by their long hair streaming behind their backs. the indians generally have a fillet round their heads, but never any covering; and their black hair blowing across their swarthy faces, heightens to an uncommon degree the wildness of their appearance. they turned out to be a party of bernantio's friendly tribe, going to a salina for salt. the indians eat much salt, their children sucking it like sugar. this habit is very different from that of the spanish gauchos, who, leading the same kind of life, eat scarcely any; according to mungo park, [ ] it is people who live on vegetable food who have an unconquerable desire for salt. the indians gave us good-humoured nods as they passed at full gallop, driving before them a troop of horses, and followed by a train of lanky dogs. september th and th.--i stayed at this posta two days, waiting for a troop of soldiers, which general rosas had the kindness to send to inform me, would shortly travel to buenos ayres; and he advised me to take the opportunity of the escort. in the morning we rode to some neighbouring hills to view the country, and to examine the geology. after dinner the soldiers divided themselves into two parties for a trial of skill with the bolas. two spears were stuck in the ground twenty-five yards apart, but they were struck and entangled only once in four or five times. the balls can be thrown fifty or sixty yards, but with little certainty. this, however, does not apply to a man on horseback; for when the speed of the horse is added to the force of the arm, it is said, that they can be whirled with effect to the distance of eighty yards. as a proof of their force, i may mention, that at the falkland islands, when the spaniards murdered some of their own countrymen and all the englishmen, a young friendly spaniard was running away, when a great tall man, by name luciano, came at full gallop after him, shouting to him to stop, and saying that he only wanted to speak to him. just as the spaniard was on the point of reaching the boat, luciano threw the balls: they struck him on the legs with such a jerk, as to throw him down and to render him for some time insensible. the man, after luciano had had his talk, was allowed to escape. he told us that his legs were marked by great weals, where the thong had wound round, as if he had been flogged with a whip. in the middle of the day two men arrived, who brought a parcel from the next posta to be forwarded to the general: so that besides these two, our party consisted this evening of my guide and self, the lieutenant, and his four soldiers. the latter were strange beings; the first a fine young negro; the second half indian and negro; and the two others non-descripts; namely, an old chilian miner, the colour of mahogany, and another partly a mulatto; but two such mongrels with such detestable expressions, i never saw before. at night, when they were sitting round the fire, and playing at cards, i retired to view such a salvator rosa scene. they were seated under a low cliff, so that i could look down upon them; around the party were lying dogs, arms, remnants of deer and ostriches; and their long spears were stuck in the turf. further in the dark background, their horses were tied up, ready for any sudden danger. if the stillness of the desolate plain was broken by one of the dogs barking, a soldier, leaving the fire, would place his head close to the ground, and thus slowly scan the horizon. even if the noisy teru-tero uttered its scream, there would be a pause in the conversation, and every head, for a moment, a little inclined. what a life of misery these men appear to us to lead! they were at least ten leagues from the sauce posta, and since the murder committed by the indians, twenty from another. the indians are supposed to have made their attack in the middle of the night; for very early in the morning after the murder, they were luckily seen approaching this posta. the whole party here, however, escaped, together with the troop of horses; each one taking a line for himself, and driving with him as many animals as he was able to manage. the little hovel, built of thistle-stalks, in which they slept, neither kept out the wind nor rain; indeed in the latter case the only effect the roof had, was to condense it into larger drops. they had nothing to eat excepting what they could catch, such as ostriches, deer, armadilloes, etc., and their only fuel was the dry stalks of a small plant, somewhat resembling an aloe. the sole luxury which these men enjoyed was smoking the little paper cigars, and sucking mate. i used to think that the carrion vultures, man's constant attendants on these dreary plains, while seated on the little neighbouring cliffs seemed by their very patience to say, "ah! when the indians come we shall have a feast." in the morning we all sallied forth to hunt, and although we had not much success, there were some animated chases. soon after starting the party separated, and so arranged their plans, that at a certain time of the day (in guessing which they show much skill) they should all meet from different points of the compass on a plain piece of ground, and thus drive together the wild animals. one day i went out hunting at bahia blanca, but the men there merely rode in a crescent, each being about a quarter of a mile apart from the other. a fine male ostrich being turned by the headmost riders, tried to escape on one side. the gauchos pursued at a reckless pace, twisting their horses about with the most admirable command, and each man whirling the balls round his head. at length the foremost threw them, revolving through the air: in an instant the ostrich rolled over and over, its legs fairly lashed together by the thong. the plains abound with three kinds of partridge, [ ] two of which are as large as hen pheasants. their destroyer, a small and pretty fox, was also singularly numerous; in the course of the day we could not have seen less than forty or fifty. they were generally near their earths, but the dogs killed one. when we returned to the posta, we found two of the party returned who had been hunting by themselves. they had killed a puma, and had found an ostrich's nest with twenty-seven eggs in it. each of these is said to equal in weight eleven hen's eggs; so that we obtained from this one nest as much food as hen's eggs would have given. september th.--as the soldiers belonging to the next posta meant to return, and we should together make a party of five, and all armed, i determined not to wait for the expected troops. my host, the lieutenant, pressed me much to stop. as he had been very obliging--not only providing me with food, but lending me his private horses--i wanted to make him some remuneration. i asked my guide whether i might do so, but he told me certainly not; that the only answer i should receive, probably would be, "we have meat for the dogs in our country, and therefore do not grudge it to a christian." it must not be supposed that the rank of lieutenant in such an army would at all prevent the acceptance of payment: it was only the high sense of hospitality, which every traveller is bound to acknowledge as nearly universal throughout these provinces. after galloping some leagues, we came to a low swampy country, which extends for nearly eighty miles northward, as far as the sierra tapalguen. in some parts there were fine damp plains, covered with grass, while others had a soft, black, and peaty soil. there were also many extensive but shallow lakes, and large beds of reeds. the country on the whole resembled the better parts of the cambridgeshire fens. at night we had some difficulty in finding amidst the swamps, a dry place for our bivouac. september th.--rose very early in the morning and shortly after passed the posta where the indians had murdered the five soldiers. the officer had eighteen chuzo wounds in his body. by the middle of the day, after a hard gallop, we reached the fifth posta: on account of some difficulty in procuring horses we stayed there the night. as this point was the most exposed on the whole line, twenty-one soldiers were stationed here; at sunset they returned from hunting, bringing with them seven deer, three ostriches, and many armadilloes and partridges. when riding through the country, it is a common practice to set fire to the plain; and hence at night, as on this occasion, the horizon was illuminated in several places by brilliant conflagrations. this is done partly for the sake of puzzling any stray indians, but chiefly for improving the pasture. in grassy plains unoccupied by the larger ruminating quadrupeds, it seems necessary to remove the superfluous vegetation by fire, so as to render the new year's growth serviceable. the rancho at this place did not boast even of a roof, but merely consisted of a ring of thistle-stalks, to break the force of the wind. it was situated on the borders of an extensive but shallow lake, swarming with wild fowl, among which the black-necked swan was conspicuous. the kind of plover, which appears as if mounted on stilts (himantopus nigricollis), is here common in flocks of considerable size. it has been wrongfully accused of inelegance; when wading about in shallow water, which is its favourite resort, its gait is far from awkward. these birds in a flock utter a noise, that singularly resembles the cry of a pack of small dogs in full chase: waking in the night, i have more than once been for a moment startled at the distant sound. the teru-tero (vanellus cayanus) is another bird, which often disturbs the stillness of the night. in appearance and habits it resembles in many respects our peewits; its wings, however, are armed with sharp spurs, like those on the legs of the common cock. as our peewit takes its name from the sound of its voice, so does the teru-tero. while riding over the grassy plains, one is constantly pursued by these birds, which appear to hate mankind, and i am sure deserve to be hated for their never-ceasing, unvaried, harsh screams. to the sportsman they are most annoying, by telling every other bird and animal of his approach: to the traveller in the country, they may possibly, as molina says, do good, by warning him of the midnight robber. during the breeding season, they attempt, like our peewits, by feigning to be wounded, to draw away from their nests dogs and other enemies. the eggs of this bird are esteemed a great delicacy. september th.--to the seventh posta at the foot of the sierra tapalguen. the country was quite level, with a coarse herbage and a soft peaty soil. the hovel was here remarkably neat, the posts and rafters being made of about a dozen dry thistle-stalks bound together with thongs of hide; and by the support of these ionic-like columns, the roof and sides were thatched with reeds. we were here told a fact, which i would not have credited, if i had not had partly ocular proof of it; namely, that, during the previous night hail as large as small apples, and extremely hard, had fallen with such violence, as to kill the greater number of the wild animals. one of the men had already found thirteen deer (cervus campestris) lying dead, and i saw their _fresh_ hides; another of the party, a few minutes after my arrival brought in seven more. now i well know, that one man without dogs could hardly have killed seven deer in a week. the men believed they had seen about fifteen ostriches (part of one of which we had for dinner); and they said that several were running about evidently blind in one eye. numbers of smaller birds, as ducks, hawks, and partridges, were killed. i saw one of the latter with a black mark on its back, as if it had been struck with a paving-stone. a fence of thistle-stalks round the hovel was nearly broken down, and my informer, putting his head out to see what was the matter, received a severe cut, and now wore a bandage. the storm was said to have been of limited extent: we certainly saw from our last night's bivouac a dense cloud and lightning in this direction. it is marvellous how such strong animals as deer could thus have been killed; but i have no doubt, from the evidence i have given, that the story is not in the least exaggerated. i am glad, however, to have its credibility supported by the jesuit dobrizhoffen, [ ] who, speaking of a country much to the northward, says, hail fell of an enormous size and killed vast numbers of cattle: the indians hence called the place _lalegraicavalca_, meaning "the little white things." dr. malcolmson, also, informs me that he witnessed in in india, a hail-storm, which killed numbers of large birds and much injured the cattle. these hailstones were flat, and one was ten inches in circumference, and another weighed two ounces. they ploughed up a gravel-walk like musket-balls, and passed through glass-windows, making round holes, but not cracking them. having finished our dinner, of hail-stricken meat, we crossed the sierra tapalguen; a low range of hills, a few hundred feet in height, which commences at cape corrientes. the rock in this part is pure quartz; further eastward i understand it is granitic. the hills are of a remarkable form; they consist of flat patches of table-land, surrounded by low perpendicular cliffs, like the outliers of a sedimentary deposit. the hill which i ascended was very small, not above a couple of hundred yards in diameter; but i saw others larger. one which goes by the name of the "corral," is said to be two or three miles in diameter, and encompassed by perpendicular cliffs, between thirty and forty feet high, excepting at one spot, where the entrance lies. falconer [ ] gives a curious account of the indians driving troops of wild horses into it, and then by guarding the entrance, keeping them secure. i have never heard of any other instance of table-land in a formation of quartz, and which, in the hill i examined, had neither cleavage nor stratification. i was told that the rock of the "corral" was white, and would strike fire. we did not reach the posta on the rio tapalguen till after it was dark. at supper, from something which was said, i was suddenly struck with horror at thinking that i was eating one of the favourite dishes of the country namely, a half-formed calf, long before its proper time of birth. it turned out to be puma; the meat is very white and remarkably like veal in taste. dr. shaw was laughed at for stating that "the flesh of the lion is in great esteem having no small affinity with veal, both in colour, taste, and flavour." such certainly is the case with the puma. the gauchos differ in their opinion, whether the jaguar is good eating, but are unanimous in saying that cat is excellent. september th.--we followed the course of the rio tapalguen, through a very fertile country, to the ninth posta. tapalguen, itself, or the town of tapalguen, if it may be so called, consists of a perfectly level plain, studded over, as far as the eye can reach, with the toldos or oven-shaped huts of the indians. the families of the friendly indians, who were fighting on the side of rosas, resided here. we met and passed many young indian women, riding by two or three together on the same horse: they, as well as many of the young men, were strikingly handsome,--their fine ruddy complexions being the picture of health. besides the toldos, there were three ranchos; one inhabited by the commandant, and the two others by spaniards with small shops. we were here able to buy some biscuit. i had now been several days without tasting anything besides meat: i did not at all dislike this new regimen; but i felt as if it would only have agreed with me with hard exercise. i have heard that patients in england, when desired to confine themselves exclusively to an animal diet, even with the hope of life before their eyes, have hardly been able to endure it. yet the gaucho in the pampas, for months together, touches nothing but beef. but they eat, i observe, a very large proportion of fat, which is of a less animalized nature; and they particularly dislike dry meat, such as that of the agouti. dr. richardson [ ] also, has remarked, "that when people have fed for a long time solely upon lean animal food, the desire for fat becomes so insatiable, that they can consume a large quantity of unmixed and even oily fat without nausea:" this appears to me a curious physiological fact. it is, perhaps, from their meat regimen that the gauchos, like other carnivorous animals, can abstain long from food. i was told that at tandeel, some troops voluntarily pursued a party of indians for three days, without eating or drinking. we saw in the shops many articles, such as horsecloths, belts, and garters, woven by the indian women. the patterns were very pretty, and the colours brilliant; the workmanship of the garters was so good that an english merchant at buenos ayres maintained they must have been manufactured in england, till he found the tassels had been fastened by split sinew. september th.--we had a very long ride this day. at the twelfth posta, which is seven leagues south of the rio salado, we came to the first estancia with cattle and white women. afterwards we had to ride for many miles through a country flooded with water above our horses' knees. by crossing the stirrups, and riding arab-like with our legs bent up, we contrived to keep tolerably dry. it was nearly dark when we arrived at the salado; the stream was deep, and about forty yards wide; in summer, however, its bed becomes almost dry, and the little remaining water nearly as salt as that of the sea. we slept at one of the great estancias of general rosas. it was fortified, and of such an extent, that arriving in the dark i thought it was a town and fortress. in the morning we saw immense herds of cattle, the general here having seventy-four square leagues of land. formerly nearly three hundred men were employed about this estate, and they defied all the attacks of the indians. september th.--passed the guardia del monte. this is a nice scattered little town, with many gardens, full of peach and quince trees. the plain here looked like that around buenos ayres; the turf being short and bright green, with beds of clover and thistles, and with bizcacha holes. i was very much struck with the marked change in the aspect of the country after having crossed the salado. from a coarse herbage we passed on to a carpet of fine green verdure. i at first attributed this to some change in the nature of the soil, but the inhabitants assured me that here, as well as in banda oriental, where there is as great a difference between the country round monte video and the thinly-inhabited savannahs of colonia, the whole was to be attributed to the manuring and grazing of the cattle. exactly the same fact has been observed in the prairies [ ] of north america, where coarse grass, between five and six feet high, when grazed by cattle, changes into common pasture land. i am not botanist enough to say whether the change here is owing to the introduction of new species, to the altered growth of the same, or to a difference in their proportional numbers. azara has also observed with astonishment this change: he is likewise much perplexed by the immediate appearance of plants not occurring in the neighbourhood, on the borders of any track that leads to a newly-constructed hovel. in another part he says, [ ] "ces chevaux (sauvages) ont la manie de preferer les chemins, et le bord des routes pour deposer leurs excremens, dont on trouve des monceaux dans ces endroits." does this not partly explain the circumstance? we thus have lines of richly manured land serving as channels of communication across wide districts. near the guardia we find the southern limit of two european plants, now become extraordinarily common. the fennel in great profusion covers the ditch-banks in the neighbourhood of buenos ayres, monte video, and other towns. but the cardoon (cynara cardunculus) has a far wider range: [ ] it occurs in these latitudes on both sides of the, cordillera, across the continent. i saw it in unfrequented spots in chile, entre rios, and banda oriental. in the latter country alone, very many (probably several hundred) square miles are covered by one mass of these prickly plants, and are impenetrable by man or beast. over the undulating plains, where these great beds occur, nothing else can now live. before their introduction, however, the surface must have supported, as in other parts, a rank herbage. i doubt whether any case is on record of an invasion on so grand a scale of one plant over the aborigines. as i have already said, i nowhere saw the cardoon south of the salado; but it is probable that in proportion as that country becomes inhabited, the cardoon will extend its limits. the case is different with the giant thistle (with variegated leaves) of the pampas, for i met with it in the valley of the sauce. according to the principles so well laid down by mr. lyell, few countries have undergone more remarkable changes, since the year , when the first colonist of la plata landed with seventy-two horses. the countless herds of horses, cattle, and sheep, not only have altered the whole aspect of the vegetation, but they have almost banished the guanaco, deer and ostrich. numberless other changes must likewise have taken place; the wild pig in some parts probably replaces the peccari; packs of wild dogs may be heard howling on the wooded banks of the less-frequented streams; and the common cat, altered into a large and fierce animal, inhabits rocky hills. as m. d'orbigny has remarked, the increase in numbers of the carrion-vulture, since the introduction of the domestic animals, must have been infinitely great; and we have given reasons for believing that they have extended their southern range. no doubt many plants, besides the cardoon and fennel, are naturalized; thus the islands near the mouth of the parana, are thickly clothed with peach and orange trees, springing from seeds carried there by the waters of the river. while changing horses at the guardia several people questioned us much about the army,--i never saw anything like the enthusiasm for rosas, and for the success of the "most just of all wars, because against barbarians." this expression, it must be confessed, is very natural, for till lately, neither man, woman nor horse, was safe from the attacks of the indians. we had a long day's ride over the same rich green plain, abounding with various flocks, and with here and there a solitary estancia, and its one _ombu_ tree. in the evening it rained heavily: on arriving at a posthouse we were told by the owner, that if we had not a regular passport we must pass on, for there were so many robbers he would trust no one. when he read, however, my passport, which began with "el naturalista don carlos," his respect and civility were as unbounded as his suspicions had been before. what a naturalist might be, neither he nor his countrymen, i suspect, had any idea; but probably my title lost nothing of its value from that cause. september th.--we arrived by the middle of the day at buenos ayres. the outskirts of the city looked quite pretty, with the agave hedges, and groves of olive, peach and willow trees, all just throwing out their fresh green leaves. i rode to the house of mr. lumb, an english merchant, to whose kindness and hospitality, during my stay in the country, i was greatly indebted. the city of buenos ayres is large; [ ] and i should think one of the most regular in the world. every street is at right angles to the one it crosses, and the parallel ones being equidistant, the houses are collected into solid squares of equal dimensions, which are called quadras. on the other hand, the houses themselves are hollow squares; all the rooms opening into a neat little courtyard. they are generally only one story high, with flat roofs, which are fitted with seats and are much frequented by the inhabitants in summer. in the centre of the town is the plaza, where the public offices, fortress, cathedral, etc., stand. here also, the old viceroys, before the revolution, had their palaces. the general assemblage of buildings possesses considerable architectural beauty, although none individually can boast of any. the great _corral_, where the animals are kept for slaughter to supply food to this beef-eating population, is one of the spectacles best worth seeing. the strength of the horse as compared to that of the bullock is quite astonishing: a man on horseback having thrown his lazo round the horns of a beast, can drag it anywhere he chooses. the animal ploughing up the ground with outstretched legs, in vain efforts to resist the force, generally dashes at full speed to one side; but the horse immediately turning to receive the shock, stands so firmly that the bullock is almost thrown down, and it is surprising that their necks are not broken. the struggle is not, however, one of fair strength; the horse's girth being matched against the bullock's extended neck. in a similar manner a man can hold the wildest horse, if caught with the lazo, just behind the ears. when the bullock has been dragged to the spot where it is to be slaughtered, the matador with great caution cuts the hamstrings. then is given the death bellow; a noise more expressive of fierce agony than any i know. i have often distinguished it from a long distance, and have always known that the struggle was then drawing to a close. the whole sight is horrible and revolting: the ground is almost made of bones; and the horses and riders are drenched with gore. [ ] i call these thistle-stalks for the want of a more correct name. i believe it is a species of eryngium. [ ] travels in africa, p. . [ ] two species of tinamus and eudromia elegans of a. d'orbigny, which can only be called a partridge with regard to its habits. [ ] history of the abipones, vol. ii. p. . [ ] falconer's patagonia, p. . [ ] fauna boreali-americana, vol. i. p. . [ ] see mr. atwater's account of the prairies, in silliman's n. a. journal, vol. i. p. . [ ] azara's voyages, vol. i. p. . [ ] m. a. d'orbigny (vol. i. p. ) says that the cardoon and artichoke are both found wild. dr. hooker (botanical magazine, vol. iv. p. ), has described a variety of the cynara from this part of south america under the name of inermis. he states that botanists are now generally agreed that the cardoon and the artichoke are varieties of one plant. i may add, that an intelligent farmer assured me that he had observed in a deserted garden some artichokes changing into the common cardoon. dr. hooker believes that head's vivid description of the thistle of the pampas applies to the cardoon, but this is a mistake. captain head referred to the plant, which i have mentioned a few lines lower down, under the title of giant thistle. whether it is a true thistle i do not know; but it is quite different from the cardoon; and more like a thistle properly so called. [ ] it is said to contain , inhabitants. monte video, the second town of importance on the banks of the plata, has , . chapter vii buenos ayres and st. fe excursion to st. fe--thistle beds--habits of the bizcacha--little owl--saline streams--level plain--mastodon--st. fe--change in landscape--geology--tooth of extinct horse--relation of the fossil and recent quadrupeds of north and south america--effects of a great drought--parana--habits of the jaguar--scissor-beak--kingfisher, parrot, and scissor-tail--revolution--buenos ayres state of government. september th.--in the evening i set out on an excursion to st. fe, which is situated nearly three hundred english miles from buenos ayres, on the banks of the parana. the roads in the neighbourhood of the city after the rainy weather, were extraordinarily bad. i should never have thought it possible for a bullock waggon to have crawled along: as it was, they scarcely went at the rate of a mile an hour, and a man was kept ahead, to survey the best line for making the attempt. the bullocks were terribly jaded: it is a great mistake to suppose that with improved roads, and an accelerated rate of travelling, the sufferings of the animals increase in the same proportion. we passed a train of waggons and a troop of beasts on their road to mendoza. the distance is about geographical miles, and the journey is generally performed in fifty days. these waggons are very long, narrow, and thatched with reeds; they have only two wheels, the diameter of which in some cases is as much as ten feet. each is drawn by six bullocks, which are urged on by a goad at least twenty feet long: this is suspended from within the roof; for the wheel bullocks a smaller one is kept; and for the intermediate pair, a point projects at right angles from the middle of the long one. the whole apparatus looked like some implement of war. september th.--we passed the small town of luxan where there is a wooden bridge over the river--a most unusual convenience in this country. we passed also areco. the plains appeared level, but were not so in fact; for in various places the horizon was distant. the estancias are here wide apart; for there is little good pasture, owing to the land being covered by beds either of an acrid clover, or of the great thistle. the latter, well known from the animated description given by sir f. head, were at this time of the year two-thirds grown; in some parts they were as high as the horse's back, but in others they had not yet sprung up, and the ground was bare and dusty as on a turnpike-road. the clumps were of the most brilliant green, and they made a pleasing miniature-likeness of broken forest land. when the thistles are full grown, the great beds are impenetrable, except by a few tracts, as intricate as those in a labyrinth. these are only known to the robbers, who at this season inhabit them, and sally forth at night to rob and cut throats with impunity. upon asking at a house whether robbers were numerous, i was answered, "the thistles are not up yet;"--the meaning of which reply was not at first very obvious. there is little interest in passing over these tracts, for they are inhabited by few animals or birds, excepting the bizcacha and its friend the little owl. the bizcacha [ ] is well known to form a prominent feature in the zoology of the pampas. it is found as far south as the rio negro, in lat. degs., but not beyond. it cannot, like the agouti, subsist on the gravelly and desert plains of patagonia, but prefers a clayey or sandy soil, which produces a different and more abundant vegetation. near mendoza, at the foot of the cordillera, it occurs in close neighbourhood with the allied alpine species. it is a very curious circumstance in its geographical distribution, that it has never been seen, fortunately for the inhabitants of banda oriental, to the eastward of the river uruguay: yet in this province there are plains which appear admirably adapted to its habits. the uruguay has formed an insuperable obstacle to its migration: although the broader barrier of the parana has been passed, and the bizcacha is common in entre rios, the province between these two great rivers. near buenos ayres these animals are exceedingly common. their most favourite resort appears to be those parts of the plain which during one-half of the year are covered with giant thistles, to the exclusion of other plants. the gauchos affirm that it lives on roots; which, from the great strength of its gnawing teeth, and the kind of places frequented by it, seems probable. in the evening the bizcachas come out in numbers, and quietly sit at the mouths of their burrows on their haunches. at such times they are very tame, and a man on horseback passing by seems only to present an object for their grave contemplation. they run very awkwardly, and when running out of danger, from their elevated tails and short front legs much resemble great rats. their flesh, when cooked, is very white and good, but it is seldom used. the bizcacha has one very singular habit; namely, dragging every hard object to the mouth of its burrow: around each group of holes many bones of cattle, stones, thistle-stalks, hard lumps of earth, dry dung, etc., are collected into an irregular heap, which frequently amounts to as much as a wheelbarrow would contain. i was credibly informed that a gentleman, when riding on a dark night, dropped his watch; he returned in the morning, and by searching the neighbourhood of every bizcacha hole on the line of road, as he expected, he soon found it. this habit of picking up whatever may be lying on the ground anywhere near its habitation, must cost much trouble. for what purpose it is done, i am quite unable to form even the most remote conjecture: it cannot be for defence, because the rubbish is chiefly placed above the mouth of the burrow, which enters the ground at a very small inclination. no doubt there must exist some good reason; but the inhabitants of the country are quite ignorant of it. the only fact which i know analogous to it, is the habit of that extraordinary australian bird, the calodera maculata, which makes an elegant vaulted passage of twigs for playing in, and which collects near the spot, land and sea-shells, bones and the feathers of birds, especially brightly coloured ones. mr. gould, who has described these facts, informs me, that the natives, when they lose any hard object, search the playing passages, and he has known a tobacco-pipe thus recovered. the little owl (athene cunicularia), which has been so often mentioned, on the plains of buenos ayres exclusively inhabits the holes of the bizcacha; but in banda oriental it is its own workman. during the open day, but more especially in the evening, these birds may be seen in every direction standing frequently by pairs on the hillock near their burrows. if disturbed they either enter the hole, or, uttering a shrill harsh cry, move with a remarkably undulatory flight to a short distance, and then turning round, steadily gaze at their pursuer. occasionally in the evening they may be heard hooting. i found in the stomachs of two which i opened the remains of mice, and i one day saw a small snake killed and carried away. it is said that snakes are their common prey during the daytime. i may here mention, as showing on what various kinds of food owls subsist, that a species killed among the islets of the chonos archipelago, had its stomach full of good-sized crabs. in india [ ] there is a fishing genus of owls, which likewise catches crabs. in the evening we crossed the rio arrecife on a simple raft made of barrels lashed together, and slept at the post-house on the other side. i this day paid horse-hire for thirty-one leagues; and although the sun was glaring hot i was but little fatigued. when captain head talks of riding fifty leagues a day, i do not imagine the distance is equal to english miles. at all events, the thirty-one leagues was only miles in a straight line, and in an open country i should think four additional miles for turnings would be a sufficient allowance. th and th.--we continued to ride over plains of the same character. at san nicolas i first saw the noble river of the parana. at the foot of the cliff on which the town stands, some large vessels were at anchor. before arriving at rozario, we crossed the saladillo, a stream of fine clear running water, but too saline to drink. rozario is a large town built on a dead level plain, which forms a cliff about sixty feet high over the parana. the river here is very broad, with many islands, which are low and wooded, as is also the opposite shore. the view would resemble that of a great lake, if it were not for the linear-shaped islets, which alone give the idea of running water. the cliffs are the most picturesque part; sometimes they are absolutely perpendicular, and of a red colour; at other times in large broken masses, covered with cacti and mimosa-trees. the real grandeur, however, of an immense river like this, is derived from reflecting how important a means of communication and commerce it forms between one nation and another; to what a distance it travels, and from how vast a territory it drains the great body of fresh water which flows past your feet. for many leagues north and south of san nicolas and rozario, the country is really level. scarcely anything which travellers have written about its extreme flatness, can be considered as exaggeration. yet i could never find a spot where, by slowly turning round, objects were not seen at greater distances in some directions than in others; and this manifestly proves inequality in the plain. at sea, a person's eye being six feet above the surface of the water, his horizon is two miles and four-fifths distant. in like manner, the more level the plain, the more nearly does the horizon approach within these narrow limits; and this, in my opinion, entirely destroys that grandeur which one would have imagined that a vast level plain would have possessed. october st.--we started by moonlight and arrived at the rio tercero by sunrise. the river is also called the saladillo, and it deserves the name, for the water is brackish. i stayed here the greater part of the day, searching for fossil bones. besides a perfect tooth of the toxodon, and many scattered bones, i found two immense skeletons near each other, projecting in bold relief from the perpendicular cliff of the parana. they were, however, so completely decayed, that i could only bring away small fragments of one of the great molar teeth; but these are sufficient to show that the remains belonged to a mastodon, probably to the same species with that, which formerly must have inhabited the cordillera in upper peru in such great numbers. the men who took me in the canoe, said they had long known of these skeletons, and had often wondered how they had got there: the necessity of a theory being felt, they came to the conclusion that, like the bizcacha, the mastodon was formerly a burrowing animal! in the evening we rode another stage, and crossed the monge, another brackish stream, bearing the dregs of the washings of the pampas. october nd.--we passed through corunda, which, from the luxuriance of its gardens, was one of the prettiest villages i saw. from this point to st. fe the road is not very safe. the western side of the parana northward, ceases to be inhabited; and hence the indians sometimes come down thus far, and waylay travellers. the nature of the country also favours this, for instead of a grassy plain, there is an open woodland, composed of low prickly mimosas. we passed some houses that had been ransacked and since deserted; we saw also a spectacle, which my guides viewed with high satisfaction; it was the skeleton of an indian with the dried skin hanging on the bones, suspended to the branch of a tree. in the morning we arrived at st. fe. i was surprised to observe how great a change of climate a difference of only three degrees of latitude between this place and buenos ayres had caused. this was evident from the dress and complexion of the men--from the increased size of the ombu-trees--the number of new cacti and other plants--and especially from the birds. in the course of an hour i remarked half-a-dozen birds, which i had never seen at buenos ayres. considering that there is no natural boundary between the two places, and that the character of the country is nearly similar, the difference was much greater than i should have expected. october rd and th.--i was confined for these two days to my bed by a headache. a good-natured old woman, who attended me, wished me to try many odd remedies. a common practice is, to bind an orange-leaf or a bit of black plaster to each temple: and a still more general plan is, to split a bean into halves, moisten them, and place one on each temple, where they will easily adhere. it is not thought proper ever to remove the beans or plaster, but to allow them to drop off, and sometimes, if a man, with patches on his head, is asked, what is the matter? he will answer, "i had a headache the day before yesterday." many of the remedies used by the people of the country are ludicrously strange, but too disgusting to be mentioned. one of the least nasty is to kill and cut open two puppies and bind them on each side of a broken limb. little hairless dogs are in great request to sleep at the feet of invalids. st. fe is a quiet little town, and is kept clean and in good order. the governor, lopez, was a common soldier at the time of the revolution; but has now been seventeen years in power. this stability of government is owing to his tyrannical habits; for tyranny seems as yet better adapted to these countries than republicanism. the governor's favourite occupation is hunting indians: a short time since he slaughtered forty-eight, and sold the children at the rate of three or four pounds apiece. october th.--we crossed the parana to st. fe bajada, a town on the opposite shore. the passage took some hours, as the river here consisted of a labyrinth of small streams, separated by low wooded islands. i had a letter of introduction to an old catalonian spaniard, who treated me with the most uncommon hospitality. the bajada is the capital of entre rios. in the town contained inhabitants, and the province , ; yet, few as the inhabitants are, no province has suffered more from bloody and desperate revolutions. they boast here of representatives, ministers, a standing army, and governors: so it is no wonder that they have their revolutions. at some future day this must be one of the richest countries of la plata. the soil is varied and productive; and its almost insular form gives it two grand lines of communication by the rivers parana and uruguay. i was delayed here five days, and employed myself in examining the geology of the surrounding country, which was very interesting. we here see at the bottom of the cliffs, beds containing sharks' teeth and sea-shells of extinct species, passing above into an indurated marl, and from that into the red clayey earth of the pampas, with its calcareous concretions and the bones of terrestrial quadrupeds. this vertical section clearly tells us of a large bay of pure salt-water, gradually encroached on, and at last converted into the bed of a muddy estuary, into which floating carcasses were swept. at punta gorda, in banda oriental, i found an alternation of the pampaean estuary deposit, with a limestone containing some of the same extinct sea-shells; and this shows either a change in the former currents, or more probably an oscillation of level in the bottom of the ancient estuary. until lately, my reasons for considering the pampaean formation to be an estuary deposit were, its general appearance, its position at the mouth of the existing great river the plata, and the presence of so many bones of terrestrial quadrupeds: but now professor ehrenberg has had the kindness to examine for me a little of the red earth, taken from low down in the deposit, close to the skeletons of the mastodon, and he finds in it many infusoria, partly salt-water and partly fresh-water forms, with the latter rather preponderating; and therefore, as he remarks, the water must have been brackish. m. a. d'orbigny found on the banks of the parana, at the height of a hundred feet, great beds of an estuary shell, now living a hundred miles lower down nearer the sea; and i found similar shells at a less height on the banks of the uruguay; this shows that just before the pampas was slowly elevated into dry land, the water covering it was brackish. below buenos ayres there are upraised beds of sea-shells of existing species, which also proves that the period of elevation of the pampas was within the recent period. in the pampaean deposit at the bajada i found the osseous armour of a gigantic armadillo-like animal, the inside of which, when the earth was removed, was like a great cauldron; i found also teeth of the toxodon and mastodon, and one tooth of a horse, in the same stained and decayed state. this latter tooth greatly interested me, [ ] and i took scrupulous care in ascertaining that it had been embedded contemporaneously with the other remains; for i was not then aware that amongst the fossils from bahia blanca there was a horse's tooth hidden in the matrix: nor was it then known with certainty that the remains of horses are common in north america. mr. lyell has lately brought from the united states a tooth of a horse; and it is an interesting fact, that professor owen could find in no species, either fossil or recent, a slight but peculiar curvature characterizing it, until he thought of comparing it with my specimen found here: he has named this american horse equus curvidens. certainly it is a marvellous fact in the history of the mammalia, that in south america a native horse should have lived and disappeared, to be succeeded in after-ages by the countless herds descended from the few introduced with the spanish colonists! the existence in south america of a fossil horse, of the mastodon, possibly of an elephant, [ ] and of a hollow-horned ruminant, discovered by mm. lund and clausen in the caves of brazil, are highly interesting facts with respect to the geographical distribution of animals. at the present time, if we divide america, not by the isthmus of panama, but by the southern part of mexico [ ] in lat. degs., where the great table-land presents an obstacle to the migration of species, by affecting the climate, and by forming, with the exception of some valleys and of a fringe of low land on the coast, a broad barrier; we shall then have the two zoological provinces of north and south america strongly contrasted with each other. some few species alone have passed the barrier, and may be considered as wanderers from the south, such as the puma, opossum, kinkajou, and peccari. south america is characterized by possessing many peculiar gnawers, a family of monkeys, the llama, peccari, tapir, opossums, and, especially, several genera of edentata, the order which includes the sloths, ant-eaters, and armadilloes. north america, on the other hand, is characterized (putting on one side a few wandering species) by numerous peculiar gnawers, and by four genera (the ox, sheep, goat, and antelope) of hollow-horned ruminants, of which great division south america is not known to possess a single species. formerly, but within the period when most of the now existing shells were living, north america possessed, besides hollow-horned ruminants, the elephant, mastodon, horse, and three genera of edentata, namely, the megatherium, megalonyx, and mylodon. within nearly this same period (as proved by the shells at bahia blanca) south america possessed, as we have just seen, a mastodon, horse, hollow-horned ruminant, and the same three genera (as well as several others) of the edentata. hence it is evident that north and south america, in having within a late geological period these several genera in common, were much more closely related in the character of their terrestrial inhabitants than they now are. the more i reflect on this case, the more interesting it appears: i know of no other instance where we can almost mark the period and manner of the splitting up of one great region into two well-characterized zoological provinces. the geologist, who is fully impressed with the vast oscillations of level which have affected the earth's crust within late periods, will not fear to speculate on the recent elevation of the mexican platform, or, more probably, on the recent submergence of land in the west indian archipelago, as the cause of the present zoological separation of north and south america. the south american character of the west indian mammals [ ] seems to indicate that this archipelago was formerly united to the southern continent, and that it has subsequently been an area of subsidence. when america, and especially north america, possessed its elephants, mastodons, horse, and hollow-horned ruminants, it was much more closely related in its zoological characters to the temperate parts of europe and asia than it now is. as the remains of these genera are found on both sides of behring's straits [ ] and on the plains of siberia, we are led to look to the north-western side of north america as the former point of communication between the old and so-called new world. and as so many species, both living and extinct, of these same genera inhabit and have inhabited the old world, it seems most probable that the north american elephants, mastodons, horse, and hollow-horned ruminants migrated, on land since submerged near behring's straits, from siberia into north america, and thence, on land since submerged in the west indies, into south america, where for a time they mingled with the forms characteristic of that southern continent, and have since become extinct. while travelling through the country, i received several vivid descriptions of the effects of a late great drought; and the account of this may throw some light on the cases where vast numbers of animals of all kinds have been embedded together. the period included between the years and is called the "gran seco," or the great drought. during this time so little rain fell, that the vegetation, even to the thistles, failed; the brooks were dried up, and the whole country assumed the appearance of a dusty high road. this was especially the case in the northern part of the province of buenos ayres and the southern part of st. fe. very great numbers of birds, wild animals, cattle, and horses perished from the want of food and water. a man told me that the deer [ ] used to come into his courtyard to the well, which he had been obliged to dig to supply his own family with water; and that the partridges had hardly strength to fly away when pursued. the lowest estimation of the loss of cattle in the province of buenos ayres alone, was taken at one million head. a proprietor at san pedro had previously to these years , cattle; at the end not one remained. san pedro is situated in the middle of the finest country; and even now abounds again with animals; yet during the latter part of the "gran seco," live cattle were brought in vessels for the consumption of the inhabitants. the animals roamed from their estancias, and, wandering far southward, were mingled together in such multitudes, that a government commission was sent from buenos ayres to settle the disputes of the owners. sir woodbine parish informed me of another and very curious source of dispute; the ground being so long dry, such quantities of dust were blown about, that in this open country the landmarks became obliterated, and people could not tell the limits of their estates. i was informed by an eye-witness that the cattle in herds of thousands rushed into the parana, and being exhausted by hunger they were unable to crawl up the muddy banks, and thus were drowned. the arm of the river which runs by san pedro was so full of putrid carcasses, that the master of a vessel told me that the smell rendered it quite impassable. without doubt several hundred thousand animals thus perished in the river: their bodies when putrid were seen floating down the stream; and many in all probability were deposited in the estuary of the plata. all the small rivers became highly saline, and this caused the death of vast numbers in particular spots; for when an animal drinks of such water it does not recover. azara describes [ ] the fury of the wild horses on a similar occasion, rushing into the marshes, those which arrived first being overwhelmed and crushed by those which followed. he adds that more than once he has seen the carcasses of upwards of a thousand wild horses thus destroyed. i noticed that the smaller streams in the pampas were paved with a breccia of bones but this probably is the effect of a gradual increase, rather than of the destruction at any one period. subsequently to the drought of to , a very rainy season followed which caused great floods. hence it is almost certain that some thousands of the skeletons were buried by the deposits of the very next year. what would be the opinion of a geologist, viewing such an enormous collection of bones, of all kinds of animals and of all ages, thus embedded in one thick earthy mass? would he not attribute it to a flood having swept over the surface of the land, rather than to the common order of things? [ ] october th.--i had intended to push my excursion further, but not being quite well, i was compelled to return by a balandra, or one-masted vessel of about a hundred tons' burden, which was bound to buenos ayres. as the weather was not fair, we moored early in the day to a branch of a tree on one of the islands. the parana is full of islands, which undergo a constant round of decay and renovation. in the memory of the master several large ones had disappeared, and others again had been formed and protected by vegetation. they are composed of muddy sand, without even the smallest pebble, and were then about four feet above the level of the river; but during the periodical floods they are inundated. they all present one character; numerous willows and a few other trees are bound together by a great variety of creeping plants, thus forming a thick jungle. these thickets afford a retreat for capybaras and jaguars. the fear of the latter animal quite destroyed all pleasure in scrambling through the woods. this evening i had not proceeded a hundred yards, before finding indubitable signs of the recent presence of the tiger, i was obliged to come back. on every island there were tracks; and as on the former excursion "el rastro de los indios" had been the subject of conversation, so in this was "el rastro del tigre." the wooded banks of the great rivers appear to be the favourite haunts of the jaguar; but south of the plata, i was told that they frequented the reeds bordering lakes: wherever they are, they seem to require water. their common prey is the capybara, so that it is generally said, where capybaras are numerous there is little danger from the jaguar. falconer states that near the southern side of the mouth of the plata there are many jaguars, and that they chiefly live on fish; this account i have heard repeated. on the parana they have killed many wood-cutters, and have even entered vessels at night. there is a man now living in the bajada, who, coming up from below when it was dark, was seized on the deck; he escaped, however, with the loss of the use of one arm. when the floods drive these animals from the islands, they are most dangerous. i was told that a few years since a very large one found its way into a church at st. fe: two padres entering one after the other were killed, and a third, who came to see what was the matter, escaped with difficulty. the beast was destroyed by being shot from a corner of the building which was unroofed. they commit also at these times great ravages among cattle and horses. it is said that they kill their prey by breaking their necks. if driven from the carcass, they seldom return to it. the gauchos say that the jaguar, when wandering about at night, is much tormented by the foxes yelping as they follow him. this is a curious coincidence with the fact which is generally affirmed of the jackals accompanying, in a similarly officious manner, the east indian tiger. the jaguar is a noisy animal, roaring much by night, and especially before bad weather. one day, when hunting on the banks of the uruguay, i was shown certain trees, to which these animals constantly recur for the purpose, as it is said, of sharpening their claws. i saw three well-known trees; in front, the bark was worn smooth, as if by the breast of the animal, and on each side there were deep scratches, or rather grooves, extending in an oblique line, nearly a yard in length. the scars were of different ages. a common method of ascertaining whether a jaguar is in the neighbourhood is to examine these trees. i imagine this habit of the jaguar is exactly similar to one which may any day be seen in the common cat, as with outstretched legs and exserted claws it scrapes the leg of a chair; and i have heard of young fruit-trees in an orchard in england having been thus much injured. some such habit must also be common to the puma, for on the bare hard soil of patagonia i have frequently seen scores so deep that no other animal could have made them. the object of this practice is, i believe, to tear off the ragged points of their claws, and not, as the gauchos think, to sharpen them. the jaguar is killed, without much difficulty, by the aid of dogs baying and driving him up a tree, where he is despatched with bullets. owing to bad weather we remained two days at our moorings. our only amusement was catching fish for our dinner: there were several kinds, and all good eating. a fish called the "armado" (a silurus) is remarkable from a harsh grating noise which it makes when caught by hook and line, and which can be distinctly heard when the fish is beneath the water. this same fish has the power of firmly catching hold of any object, such as the blade of an oar or the fishing-line, with the strong spine both of its pectoral and dorsal fin. in the evening the weather was quite tropical, the thermometer standing at degs. numbers of fireflies were hovering about, and the musquitoes were very troublesome. i exposed my hand for five minutes, and it was soon black with them; i do not suppose there could have been less than fifty, all busy sucking. october th.--we got under way and passed punta gorda, where there is a colony of tame indians from the province of missiones. we sailed rapidly down the current, but before sunset, from a silly fear of bad weather, we brought-to in a narrow arm of the river. i took the boat and rowed some distance up this creek. it was very narrow, winding, and deep; on each side a wall thirty or forty feet high, formed by trees intwined with creepers, gave to the canal a singularly gloomy appearance. i here saw a very extraordinary bird, called the scissor-beak (rhynchops nigra). it has short legs, web feet, extremely long-pointed wings, and is of about the size of a tern. the beak is flattened laterally, that is, in a plane at right angles to that of a spoonbill or duck. it is as flat and elastic as an ivory paper-cutter, and the lower mandible, differing from every other bird, is an inch and a half longer than the upper. in a lake near maldonado, from which the water had been nearly drained, and which, in consequence, swarmed with small fry, i saw several of these birds, generally in small flocks, flying rapidly backwards and forwards close to the surface of the lake. they kept their bills wide open, and the lower mandible half buried in the water. thus skimming the surface, they ploughed it in their course: the water was quite smooth, and it formed a most curious spectacle to behold a flock, each bird leaving its narrow wake on the mirror-like surface. in their flight they frequently twist about with extreme quickness, and dexterously manage with their projecting lower mandible to plough up small fish, which are secured by the upper and shorter half of their scissor-like [picture] bills. this fact i repeatedly saw, as, like swallows, they continued to fly backwards and forwards close before me. occasionally when leaving the surface of the water their flight was wild, irregular, and rapid; they then uttered loud harsh cries. when these birds are fishing, the advantage of the long primary feathers of their wings, in keeping them dry, is very evident. when thus employed, their forms resemble the symbol by which many artists represent marine birds. their tails are much used in steering their irregular course. these birds are common far inland along the course of the rio parana; it is said that they remain here during the whole year, and breed in the marshes. during the day they rest in flocks on the grassy plains at some distance from the water. being at anchor, as i have said, in one of the deep creeks between the islands of the parana, as the evening drew to a close, one of these scissor-beaks suddenly appeared. the water was quite still, and many little fish were rising. the bird continued for a long time to skim the surface, flying in its wild and irregular manner up and down the narrow canal, now dark with the growing night and the shadows of the overhanging trees. at monte video, i observed that some large flocks during the day remained on the mud-banks at the head of the harbour, in the same manner as on the grassy plains near the parana; and every evening they took flight seaward. from these facts i suspect that the rhynchops generally fishes by night, at which time many of the lower animals come most abundantly to the surface. m. lesson states that he has seen these birds opening the shells of the mactrae buried in the sand-banks on the coast of chile: from their weak bills, with the lower mandible so much projecting, their short legs and long wings, it is very improbable that this can be a general habit. in our course down the parana, i observed only three other birds, whose habits are worth mentioning. one is a small kingfisher (ceryle americana); it has a longer tail than the european species, and hence does not sit in so stiff and upright a position. its flight also, instead of being direct and rapid, like the course of an arrow, is weak and undulatory, as among the soft-billed birds. it utters a low note, like the clicking together of two small stones. a small green parrot (conurus murinus), with a grey breast, appears to prefer the tall trees on the islands to any other situation for its building-place. a number of nests are placed so close together as to form one great mass of sticks. these parrots always live in flocks, and commit great ravages on the corn-fields. i was told, that near colonia were killed in the course of one year. a bird with a forked tail, terminated by two long feathers (tyrannus savana), and named by the spaniards scissor-tail, is very common near buenos ayres: it commonly sits on a branch of the _ombu_ tree, near a house, and thence takes a short flight in pursuit of insects, and returns to the same spot. when on the wing it presents in its manner of flight and general appearance a caricature-likeness of the common swallow. it has the power of turning very shortly in the air, and in so doing opens and shuts its tail, sometimes in a horizontal or lateral and sometimes in a vertical direction, just like a pair of scissors. october th.--some leagues below rozario, the western shore of the parana is bounded by perpendicular cliffs, which extend in a long line to below san nicolas; hence it more resembles a sea-coast than that of a fresh-water river. it is a great drawback to the scenery of the parana, that, from the soft nature of its banks, the water is very muddy. the uruguay, flowing through a granitic country, is much clearer; and where the two channels unite at the head of the plata, the waters may for a long distance be distinguished by their black and red colours. in the evening, the wind being not quite fair, as usual we immediately moored, and the next day, as it blew rather freshly, though with a favouring current, the master was much too indolent to think of starting. at bajada, he was described to me as "hombre muy aflicto"--a man always miserable to get on; but certainly he bore all delays with admirable resignation. he was an old spaniard, and had been many years in this country. he professed a great liking to the english, but stoutly maintained that the battle of trafalgar was merely won by the spanish captains having been all bought over; and that the only really gallant action on either side was performed by the spanish admiral. it struck me as rather characteristic, that this man should prefer his countrymen being thought the worst of traitors, rather than unskilful or cowardly. th and th.--we continued slowly to sail down the noble stream: the current helped us but little. we met, during our descent, very few vessels. one of the best gifts of nature, in so grand a channel of communication, seems here wilfully thrown away--a river in which ships might navigate from a temperate country, as surprisingly abundant in certain productions as destitute of others, to another possessing a tropical climate, and a soil which, according to the best of judges, m. bonpland, is perhaps unequalled in fertility in any part of the world. how different would have been the aspect of this river if english colonists had by good fortune first sailed up the plata! what noble towns would now have occupied its shores! till the death of francia, the dictator of paraguay, these two countries must remain distinct, as if placed on opposite sides of the globe. and when the old bloody-minded tyrant is gone to his long account, paraguay will be torn by revolutions, violent in proportion to the previous unnatural calm. that country will have to learn, like every other south american state, that a republic cannot succeed till it contains a certain body of men imbued with the principles of justice and honour. october th.--being arrived at the mouth of the parana, and as i was very anxious to reach buenos ayres, i went on shore at las conchas, with the intention of riding there. upon landing, i found to my great surprise that i was to a certain degree a prisoner. a violent revolution having broken out, all the ports were laid under an embargo. i could not return to my vessel, and as for going by land to the city, it was out of the question. after a long conversation with the commandant, i obtained permission to go the next day to general rolor, who commanded a division of the rebels on this side the capital. in the morning i rode to the encampment. the general, officers, and soldiers, all appeared, and i believe really were, great villains. the general, the very evening before he left the city, voluntarily went to the governor, and with his hand to his heart, pledged his word of honour that he at least would remain faithful to the last. the general told me that the city was in a state of close blockade, and that all he could do was to give me a passport to the commander-in-chief of the rebels at quilmes. we had therefore to take a great sweep round the city, and it was with much difficulty that we procured horses. my reception at the encampment was quite civil, but i was told it was impossible that i could be allowed to enter the city. i was very anxious about this, as i anticipated the beagle's departure from the rio plata earlier than it took place. having mentioned, however, general rosas's obliging kindness to me when at the colorado, magic itself could not have altered circumstances quicker than did this conversation. i was instantly told that though they could not give me a passport, if i chose to leave my guide and horses, i might pass their sentinels. i was too glad to accept of this, and an officer was sent with me to give directions that i should not be stopped at the bridge. the road for the space of a league was quite deserted. i met one party of soldiers, who were satisfied by gravely looking at an old passport: and at length i was not a little pleased to find myself within the city. this revolution was supported by scarcely any pretext of grievances: but in a state which, in the course of nine months (from february to october, ), underwent fifteen changes in its government--each governor, according to the constitution, being elected for three years--it would be very unreasonable to ask for pretexts. in this case, a party of men--who, being attached to rosas, were disgusted with the governor balcarce--to the number of seventy left the city, and with the cry of rosas the whole country took arms. the city was then blockaded, no provisions, cattle or horses, were allowed to enter; besides this, there was only a little skirmishing, and a few men daily killed. the outside party well knew that by stopping the supply of meat they would certainly be victorious. general rosas could not have known of this rising; but it appears to be quite consonant with the plans of his party. a year ago he was elected governor, but he refused it, unless the sala would also confer on him extraordinary powers. this was refused, and since then his party have shown that no other governor can keep his place. the warfare on both sides was avowedly protracted till it was possible to hear from rosas. a note arrived a few days after i left buenos ayres, which stated that the general disapproved of peace having been broken, but that he thought the outside party had justice on their side. on the bare reception of this, the governor, ministers, and part of the military, to the number of some hundreds, fled from the city. the rebels entered, elected a new governor, and were paid for their services to the number of men. from these proceedings, it was clear that rosas ultimately would become the dictator: to the term king, the people in this, as in other republics, have a particular dislike. since leaving south america, we have heard that rosas has been elected, with powers and for a time altogether opposed to the constitutional principles of the republic. [ ] the bizcacha (lagostomus trichodactylus) somewhat resembles a large rabbit, but with bigger gnawing teeth and a long tail; it has, however, only three toes behind, like the agouti. during the last three or four years the skins of these animals have been sent to england for the sake of the fur. [ ] journal of asiatic soc., vol. v. p. . [ ] i need hardly state here that there is good evidence against any horse living in america at the time of columbus. [ ] cuvier. ossemens fossils, tom. i. p. . [ ] this is the geographical division followed by lichtenstein, swainson, erichson, and richardson. the section from vera cruz to acapulco, given by humboldt in the polit. essay on kingdom of n. spain will show how immense a barrier the mexican table-land forms. dr. richardson, in his admirable report on the zoology of n. america read before the brit. assoc. (p. ), talking of the identification of a mexican animal with the synetheres prehensilis, says, "we do not know with what propriety, but if correct, it is, if not a solitary instance, at least very nearly so, of a rodent animal being common to north and south america." [ ] see dr. richardson's report, p. ; also l'institut, , p. . cuvier says the kinkajou is found in the larger antilles, but this is doubtful. m. gervais states that the didelphis crancrivora is found there. it is certain that the west indies possess some mammifers peculiar to themselves. a tooth of a mastadon has been brought from bahama; edin. new phil. journ., , p. . [ ] see the admirable appendix by dr. buckland to beechey's voyage; also the writings of chamisso in kotzebue's voyage. [ ] in captain owen's surveying voyage (vol. ii. p. ) there is a curious account of the effects of a drought on the elephants, at benguela (west coast of africa). "a number of these animals had some time since entered the town, in a body, to possess themselves of the wells, not being able to procure any water in the country. the inhabitants mustered, when a desperate conflict ensued, which terminated in the ultimate discomfiture of the invaders, but not until they had killed one man, and wounded several others." the town is said to have a population of nearly three thousand! dr. malcolmson informs me that, during a great drought in india, the wild animals entered the tents of some troops at ellore, and that a hare drank out of a vessel held by the adjutant of the regiment. [ ] travels, vol. i. p. . [ ] these droughts to a certain degree seem to be almost periodical; i was told the dates of several others, and the intervals were about fifteen years. chapter viii banda oriental and patagonia excursion to colonia del sacramiento--value of an estancia--cattle, how counted--singular breed of oxen--perforated pebbles--shepherd dogs--horses broken-in, gauchos riding--character of inhabitants--rio plata--flocks of butterflies--aeronaut spiders--phosphorescence of the sea--port desire--guanaco--port st. julian--geology of patagonia--fossil gigantic animal--types of organization constant--change in the zoology of america--causes of extinction. having been delayed for nearly a fortnight in the city, i was glad to escape on board a packet bound for monte video. a town in a state of blockade must always be a disagreeable place of residence; in this case moreover there were constant apprehensions from robbers within. the sentinels were the worst of all; for, from their office and from having arms in their hands, they robbed with a degree of authority which other men could not imitate. our passage was a very long and tedious one. the plata looks like a noble estuary on the map; but is in truth a poor affair. a wide expanse of muddy water has neither grandeur nor beauty. at one time of the day, the two shores, both of which are extremely low, could just be distinguished from the deck. on arriving at monte video i found that the beagle would not sail for some time, so i prepared for a short excursion in this part of banda oriental. everything which i have said about the country near maldonado is applicable to monte video; but the land, with the one exception of the green mount feet high, from which it takes its name, is far more level. very little of the undulating grassy plain is enclosed; but near the town there are a few hedge-banks, covered with agaves, cacti, and fennel. november th.--we left monte video in the afternoon. i intended to proceed to colonia del sacramiento, situated on the northern bank of the plata and opposite to buenos ayres, and thence, following up the uruguay, to the village of mercedes on the rio negro (one of the many rivers of this name in south america), and from this point to return direct to monte video. we slept at the house of my guide at canelones. in the morning we rose early, in the hopes of being able to ride a good distance; but it was a vain attempt, for all the rivers were flooded. we passed in boats the streams of canelones, st. lucia, and san jose, and thus lost much time. on a former excursion i crossed the lucia near its mouth, and i was surprised to observe how easily our horses, although not used to swim, passed over a width of at least six hundred yards. on mentioning this at monte video, i was told that a vessel containing some mountebanks and their horses, being wrecked in the plata, one horse swam seven miles to the shore. in the course of the day i was amused by the dexterity with which a gaucho forced a restive horse to swim a river. he stripped off his clothes, and jumping on its back, rode into the water till it was out of its depth; then slipping off over the crupper, he caught hold of the tail, and as often as the horse turned round the man frightened it back by splashing water in its face. as soon as the horse touched the bottom on the other side, the man pulled himself on, and was firmly seated, bridle in hand, before the horse gained the bank. a naked man on a naked horse is a fine spectacle; i had no idea how well the two animals suited each other. the tail of a horse is a very useful appendage; i have passed a river in a boat with four people in it, which was ferried across in the same way as the gaucho. if a man and horse have to cross a broad river, the best plan is for the man to catch hold of the pommel or mane, and help himself with the other arm. we slept and stayed the following day at the post of cufre. in the evening the postman or letter-carrier arrived. he was a day after his time, owing to the rio rozario being flooded. it would not, however, be of much consequence; for, although he had passed through some of the principal towns in banda oriental, his luggage consisted of two letters! the view from the house was pleasing; an undulating green surface, with distant glimpses of the plata. i find that i look at this province with very different eyes from what i did upon my first arrival. i recollect i then thought it singularly level; but now, after galloping over the pampas, my only surprise is, what could have induced me ever to call it level. the country is a series of undulations, in themselves perhaps not absolutely great, but, as compared to the plains of st. fe, real mountains. from these inequalities there is an abundance of small rivulets, and the turf is green and luxuriant. november th.--we crossed the rozario, which was deep and rapid, and passing the village of colla, arrived at midday at colonia del sacramiento. the distance is twenty leagues, through a country covered with fine grass, but poorly stocked with cattle or inhabitants. i was invited to sleep at colonia, and to accompany on the following day a gentleman to his estancia, where there were some limestone rocks. the town is built on a stony promontory something in the same manner as at monte video. it is strongly fortified, but both fortifications and town suffered much in the brazilian war. it is very ancient; and the irregularity of the streets, and the surrounding groves of old orange and peach trees, gave it a pretty appearance. the church is a curious ruin; it was used as a powder-magazine, and was struck by lightning in one of the ten thousand thunderstorms of the rio plata. two-thirds of the building were blown away to the very foundation; and the rest stands a shattered and curious monument of the united powers of lightning and gunpowder. in the evening i wandered about the half-demolished walls of the town. it was the chief seat of the brazilian war;--a war most injurious to this country, not so much in its immediate effects, as in being the origin of a multitude of generals and all other grades of officers. more generals are numbered (but not paid) in the united provinces of la plata than in the united kingdom of great britain. these gentlemen have learned to like power, and do not object to a little skirmishing. hence there are many always on the watch to create disturbance and to overturn a government which as yet has never rested on any staple foundation. i noticed, however, both here and in other places, a very general interest in the ensuing election for the president; and this appears a good sign for the prosperity of this little country. the inhabitants do not require much education in their representatives; i heard some men discussing the merits of those for colonia; and it was said that, "although they were not men of business, they could all sign their names:" with this they seemed to think every reasonable man ought to be satisfied. th.--rode with my host to his estancia, at the arroyo de san juan. in the evening we took a ride round the estate: it contained two square leagues and a half, and was situated in what is called a rincon; that is, one side was fronted by the plata, and the two others guarded by impassable brooks. there was an excellent port for little vessels, and an abundance of small wood, which is valuable as supplying fuel to buenos ayres. i was curious to know the value of so complete an estancia. of cattle there were , and it would well support three or four times that number; of mares , together with broken-in horses, and sheep. there was plenty of water and limestone, a rough house, excellent corrals, and a peach orchard. for all this he had been offered pounds, and he only wanted pounds additional, and probably would sell it for less. the chief trouble with an estancia is driving the cattle twice a week to a central spot, in order to make them tame, and to count them. this latter operation would be thought difficult, where there are ten or fifteen thousand head together. it is managed on the principle that the cattle invariably divide themselves into little troops of from forty to one hundred. each troop is recognized by a few peculiarly marked animals, and its number is known: so that, one being lost out of ten thousand, it is perceived by its absence from one of the tropillas. during a stormy night the cattle all mingle together; but the next morning the tropillas separate as before; so that each animal must know its fellow out of ten thousand others. on two occasions i met with in this province some oxen of a very curious breed, called nata or niata. they appear externally to hold nearly the same relation to other cattle, which bull or pug dogs do to other dogs. their forehead is very short and broad, with the nasal end turned up, and the upper lip much drawn back; their lower jaws project beyond the upper, and have a corresponding upward curve; hence their teeth are always exposed. their nostrils are seated high up and are very open; their eyes project outwards. when walking they carry their heads low, on a short neck; and their hinder legs are rather longer compared with the front legs than is usual. their bare teeth, their short heads, and upturned nostrils give them the most ludicrous self-confident air of defiance imaginable. since my return, i have procured a skeleton head, through the kindness of my friend captain sulivan, r. n., which is now deposited in the college of surgeons. [ ] don f. muniz, of luxan, has kindly collected for me all the information which he could respecting this breed. from his account it seems that about eighty or ninety years ago, they were rare and kept as curiosities at buenos ayres. the breed is universally believed to have originated amongst the indians southward of the plata; and that it was with them the commonest kind. even to this day, those reared in the provinces near the plata show their less civilized origin, in being fiercer than common cattle, and in the cow easily deserting her first calf, if visited too often or molested. it is a singular fact that an almost similar structure to the abnormal [ ] one of the niata breed, characterizes, as i am informed by dr. falconer, that great extinct ruminant of india, the sivatherium. the breed is very _true_; and a niata bull and cow invariably produce niata calves. a niata bull with a common cow, or the reverse cross, produces offspring having an intermediate character, but with the niata characters strongly displayed: according to senor muniz, there is the clearest evidence, contrary to the common belief of agriculturists in analogous cases, that the niata cow when crossed with a common bull transmits her peculiarities more strongly than the niata bull when crossed with a common cow. when the pasture is tolerably long, the niata cattle feed with the tongue and palate as well as common cattle; but during the great droughts, when so many animals perish, the niata breed is under a great disadvantage, and would be exterminated if not attended to; for the common cattle, like horses, are able just to keep alive, by browsing with their lips on twigs of trees and reeds; this the niatas cannot so well do, as their lips do not join, and hence they are found to perish before the common cattle. this strikes me as a good illustration of how little we are able to judge from the ordinary habits of life, on what circumstances, occurring only at long intervals, the rarity or extinction of a species may be determined. november th.--passing the valley of las vacas, we slept at a house of a north american, who worked a lime-kiln on the arroyo de las vivoras. in the morning we rode to a protecting headland on the banks of the river, called punta gorda. on the way we tried to find a jaguar. there were plenty of fresh tracks, and we visited the trees, on which they are said to sharpen their claws; but we did not succeed in disturbing one. from this point the rio uruguay presented to our view a noble volume of water. from the clearness and rapidity of the stream, its appearance was far superior to that of its neighbour the parana. on the opposite coast, several branches from the latter river entered the uruguay. as the sun was shining, the two colours of the waters could be seen quite distinct. in the evening we proceeded on our road towards mercedes on the rio negro. at night we asked permission to sleep at an estancia at which we happened to arrive. it was a very large estate, being ten leagues square, and the owner is one of the greatest landowners in the country. his nephew had charge of it, and with him there was a captain in the army, who the other day ran away from buenos ayres. considering their station, their conversation was rather amusing. they expressed, as was usual, unbounded astonishment at the globe being round, and could scarcely credit that a hole would, if deep enough, come out on the other side. they had, however, heard of a country where there were six months of light and six of darkness, and where the inhabitants were very tall and thin! they were curious about the price and condition of horses and cattle in england. upon finding out we did not catch our animals with the lazo, they cried out, "ah, then, you use nothing but the bolas:" the idea of an enclosed country was quite new to them. the captain at last said, he had one question to ask me, which he should be very much obliged if i would answer with all truth. i trembled to think how deeply scientific it would be: it was, "whether the ladies of buenos ayres were not the handsomest in the world." i replied, like a renegade, "charmingly so." he added, "i have one other question: do ladies in any other part of the world wear such large combs?" i solemnly assured him that they did not. they were absolutely delighted. the captain exclaimed, "look there! a man who has seen half the world says it is the case; we always thought so, but now we know it." my excellent judgment in combs and beauty procured me a most hospitable reception; the captain forced me to take his bed, and he would sleep on his recado. st.--started at sunrise, and rode slowly during the whole day. the geological nature of this part of the province was different from the rest, and closely resembled that of the pampas. in consequence, there were immense beds of the thistle, as well as of the cardoon: the whole country, indeed, may be called one great bed of these plants. the two sorts grow separate, each plant in company with its own kind. the cardoon is as high as a horse's back, but the pampas thistle is often higher than the crown of the rider's head. to leave the road for a yard is out of the question; and the road itself is partly, and in some cases entirely closed. pasture, of course there is none; if cattle or horses once enter the bed, they are for the time completely lost. hence it is very hazardous to attempt to drive cattle at this season of the year; for when jaded enough to face the thistles, they rush among them, and are seen no more. in these districts there are very few estancias, and these few are situated in the neighbourhood of damp valleys, where fortunately neither of these overwhelming plants can exist. as night came on before we arrived at our journey's end, we slept at a miserable little hovel inhabited by the poorest people. the extreme though rather formal courtesy of our host and hostess, considering their grade of life, was quite delightful. november nd.--arrived at an estancia on the berquelo belonging to a very hospitable englishman, to whom i had a letter of introduction from my friend mr. lumb. i stayed here three days. one morning i rode with my host to the sierra del pedro flaco, about twenty miles up the rio negro. nearly the whole country was covered with good though coarse grass, which was as high as a horse's belly; yet there were square leagues without a single head of cattle. the province of banda oriental, if well stocked, would support an astonishing number of animals, at present the annual export of hides from monte video amounts to three hundred thousand; and the home consumption, from waste, is very considerable. an "estanciero" told me that he often had to send large herds of cattle a long journey to a salting establishment, and that the tired beasts were frequently obliged to be killed and skinned; but that he could never persuade the gauchos to eat of them, and every evening a fresh beast was slaughtered for their suppers! the view of the rio negro from the sierra was more picturesque than any other which i saw in this province. the river, broad, deep, and rapid, wound at the foot of a rocky precipitous cliff: a belt of wood followed its course, and the horizon terminated in the distant undulations of the turf-plain. when in this neighbourhood, i several times heard of the sierra de las cuentas: a hill distant many miles to the northward. the name signifies hill of beads. i was assured that vast numbers of little round stones, of various colours, each with a small cylindrical hole, are found there. formerly the indians used to collect them, for the purpose of making necklaces and bracelets--a taste, i may observe, which is common to all savage nations, as well as to the most polished. i did not know what to understand from this story, but upon mentioning it at the cape of good hope to dr. andrew smith, he told me that he recollected finding on the south-eastern coast of africa, about one hundred miles to the eastward of st. john's river, some quartz crystals with their edges blunted from attrition, and mixed with gravel on the sea-beach. each crystal was about five lines in diameter, and from an inch to an inch and a half in length. many of them had a small canal extending from one extremity to the other, perfectly cylindrical, and of a size that readily admitted a coarse thread or a piece of fine catgut. their colour was red or dull white. the natives were acquainted with this structure in crystals. i have mentioned these circumstances because, although no crystallized body is at present known to assume this form, it may lead some future traveller to investigate the real nature of such stones. while staying at this estancia, i was amused with what i saw and heard of the shepherd-dogs of the country. [ ] when riding, it is a common thing to meet a large flock of sheep guarded by one or two dogs, at the distance of some miles from any house or man. i often wondered how so firm a friendship had been established. the method of education consists in separating the puppy, while very young, from the bitch, and in accustoming it to its future companions. an ewe is held three or four times a day for the little thing to suck, and a nest of wool is made for it in the sheep-pen; at no time is it allowed to associate with other dogs, or with the children of the family. the puppy is, moreover, generally castrated; so that, when grown up, it can scarcely have any feelings in common with the rest of its kind. from this education it has no wish to leave the flock, and just as another dog will defend its master, man, so will these the sheep. it is amusing to observe, when approaching a flock, how the dog immediately advances barking, and the sheep all close in his rear, as if round the oldest ram. these dogs are also easily taught to bring home the flock, at a certain hour in the evening. their most troublesome fault, when young, is their desire of playing with the sheep; for in their sport they sometimes gallop their poor subjects most unmercifully. the shepherd-dog comes to the house every day for some meat, and as soon as it is given him, he skulks away as if ashamed of himself. on these occasions the house-dogs are very tyrannical, and the least of them will attack and pursue the stranger. the minute, however, the latter has reached the flock, he turns round and begins to bark, and then all the house-dogs take very quickly to their heels. in a similar manner a whole pack of the hungry wild dogs will scarcely ever (and i was told by some never) venture to attack a flock guarded by even one of these faithful shepherds. the whole account appears to me a curious instance of the pliability of the affections in the dog; and yet, whether wild or however educated, he has a feeling of respect or fear for those that are fulfilling their instinct of association. for we can understand on no principle the wild dogs being driven away by the single one with its flock, except that they consider, from some confused notion, that the one thus associated gains power, as if in company with its own kind. f. cuvier has observed that all animals that readily enter into domestication, consider man as a member of their own society, and thus fulfil their instinct of association. in the above case the shepherd-dog ranks the sheep as its fellow-brethren, and thus gains confidence; and the wild dogs, though knowing that the individual sheep are not dogs, but are good to eat, yet partly consent to this view when seeing them in a flock with a shepherd-dog at their head. one evening a "domidor" (a subduer of horses) came for the purpose of breaking-in some colts. i will describe the preparatory steps, for i believe they have not been mentioned by other travellers. a troop of wild young horses is driven into the corral, or large enclosure of stakes, and the door is shut. we will suppose that one man alone has to catch and mount a horse, which as yet had never felt bridle or saddle. i conceive, except by a gaucho, such a feat would be utterly impracticable. the gaucho picks out a full-grown colt; and as the beast rushes round the circus he throws his lazo so as to catch both the front legs. instantly the horse rolls over with a heavy shock, and whilst struggling on the ground, the gaucho, holding the lazo tight, makes a circle, so as to catch one of the hind legs just beneath the fetlock, and draws it close to the two front legs: he then hitches the lazo, so that the three are bound together. then sitting on the horse's neck, he fixes a strong bridle, without a bit, to the lower jaw: this he does by passing a narrow thong through the eye-holes at the end of the reins, and several times round both jaw and tongue. the two front legs are now tied closely together with a strong leathern thong, fastened by a slip-knot. the lazo, which bound the three together, being then loosed, the horse rises with difficulty. the gaucho now holding fast the bridle fixed to the lower jaw, leads the horse outside the corral. if a second man is present (otherwise the trouble is much greater) he holds the animal's head, whilst the first puts on the horsecloths and saddle, and girths the whole together. during this operation, the horse, from dread and astonishment at thus being bound round the waist, throws himself over and over again on the ground, and, till beaten, is unwilling to rise. at last, when the saddling is finished, the poor animal can hardly breathe from fear, and is white with foam and sweat. the man now prepares to mount by pressing heavily on the stirrup, so that the horse may not lose its balance; and at the moment that he throws his leg over the animal's back, he pulls the slip-knot binding the front legs, and the beast is free. some "domidors" pull the knot while the animal is lying on the ground, and, standing over the saddle, allow him to rise beneath them. the horse, wild with dread, gives a few most violent bounds, and then starts off at full gallop: when quite exhausted, the man, by patience, brings him back to the corral, where, reeking hot and scarcely alive, the poor beast is let free. those animals which will not gallop away, but obstinately throw themselves on the ground, are by far the most troublesome. this process is tremendously severe, but in two or three trials the horse is tamed. it is not, however, for some weeks that the animal is ridden with the iron bit and solid ring, for it must learn to associate the will of its rider with the feel of the rein, before the most powerful bridle can be of any service. animals are so abundant in these countries, that humanity and self-interest are not closely united; therefore i fear it is that the former is here scarcely known. one day, riding in the pampas with a very respectable "estanciero," my horse, being tired, lagged behind. the man often shouted to me to spur him. when i remonstrated that it was a pity, for the horse was quite exhausted, he cried out, "why not?--never mind--spur him--it is my horse." i had then some difficulty in making him comprehend that it was for the horse's sake, and not on his account, that i did not choose to use my spurs. he exclaimed, with a look of great surprise, "ah, don carlos, que cosa!" it was clear that such an idea had never before entered his head. the gauchos are well known to be perfect riders. the idea of being thrown, let the horse do what it likes; never enters their head. their criterion of a good rider is, a man who can manage an untamed colt, or who, if his horse falls, alights on his own feet, or can perform other such exploits. i have heard of a man betting that he would throw his horse down twenty times, and that nineteen times he would not fall himself. i recollect seeing a gaucho riding a very stubborn horse, which three times successively reared so high as to fall backwards with great violence. the man judged with uncommon coolness the proper moment for slipping off, not an instant before or after the right time; and as soon as the horse got up, the man jumped on his back, and at last they started at a gallop. the gaucho never appears to exert any muscular force. i was one day watching a good rider, as we were galloping along at a rapid pace, and thought to myself, "surely if the horse starts, you appear so careless on your seat, you must fall." at this moment, a male ostrich sprang from its nest right beneath the horse's nose: the young colt bounded on one side like a stag; but as for the man, all that could be said was, that he started and took fright with his horse. in chile and peru more pains are taken with the mouth of the horse than in la plata, and this is evidently a consequence of the more intricate nature of the country. in chile a horse is not considered perfectly broken, till he can be brought up standing, in the midst of his full speed, on any particular spot,--for instance, on a cloak thrown on the ground: or, again, he will charge a wall, and rearing, scrape the surface with his hoofs. i have seen an animal bounding with spirit, yet merely reined by a fore-finger and thumb, taken at full gallop across a courtyard, and then made to wheel round the post of a veranda with great speed, but at so equal a distance, that the rider, with outstretched arm, all the while kept one finger rubbing the post. then making a demi-volte in the air, with the other arm outstretched in a like manner, he wheeled round, with astonishing force, in an opposite direction. such a horse is well broken; and although this at first may appear useless, it is far otherwise. it is only carrying that which is daily necessary into perfection. when a bullock is checked and caught by the lazo, it will sometimes gallop round and round in a circle, and the horse being alarmed at the great strain, if not well broken, will not readily turn like the pivot of a wheel. in consequence many men have been killed; for if the lazo once takes a twist round a man's body, it will instantly, from the power of the two opposed animals, almost cut him in twain. on the same principle the races are managed; the course is only two or three hundred yards long, the wish being to have horses that can make a rapid dash. the race-horses are trained not only to stand with their hoofs touching a line, but to draw all four feet together, so as at the first spring to bring into play the full action of the hind-quarters. in chile i was told an anecdote, which i believe was true; and it offers a good illustration of the use of a well-broken animal. a respectable man riding one day met two others, one of whom was mounted on a horse, which he knew to have been stolen from himself. he challenged them; they answered him by drawing their sabres and giving chase. the man, on his good and fleet beast, kept just ahead: as he passed a thick bush he wheeled round it, and brought up his horse to a dead check. the pursuers were obliged to shoot on one side and ahead. then instantly dashing on, right behind them, he buried his knife in the back of one, wounded the other, recovered his horse from the dying robber, and rode home. for these feats of horsemanship two things are necessary: a most severe bit, like the mameluke, the power of which, though seldom used, the horse knows full well; and large blunt spurs, that can be applied either as a mere touch, or as an instrument of extreme pain. i conceive that with english spurs, the slightest touch of which pricks the skin, it would be impossible to break in a horse after the south american fashion. at an estancia near las vacas large numbers of mares are weekly slaughtered for the sake of their hides, although worth only five paper dollars, or about half a crown apiece. it seems at first strange that it can answer to kill mares for such a trifle; but as it is thought ridiculous in this country ever to break in or ride a mare, they are of no value except for breeding. the only thing for which i ever saw mares used, was to tread out wheat from the ear, for which purpose they were driven round a circular enclosure, where the wheat-sheaves were strewed. the man employed for slaughtering the mares happened to be celebrated for his dexterity with the lazo. standing at the distance of twelve yards from the mouth of the corral, he has laid a wager that he would catch by the legs every animal, without missing one, as it rushed past him. there was another man who said he would enter the corral on foot, catch a mare, fasten her front legs together, drive her out, throw her down, kill, skin, and stake the hide for drying (which latter is a tedious job); and he engaged that he would perform this whole operation on twenty-two animals in one day. or he would kill and take the skin off fifty in the same time. this would have been a prodigious task, for it is considered a good day's work to skin and stake the hides of fifteen or sixteen animals. november th.--i set out on my return in a direct line for monte video. having heard of some giant's bones at a neighbouring farm-house on the sarandis, a small stream entering the rio negro, i rode there accompanied by my host, and purchased for the value of eighteen pence the head of the toxodon. [ ] when found it was quite perfect; but the boys knocked out some of the teeth with stones, and then set up the head as a mark to throw at. by a most fortunate chance i found a perfect tooth, which exactly fitted one of the sockets in this skull, embedded by itself on the banks of the rio tercero, at the distance of about miles from this place. i found remains of this extraordinary animal at two other places, so that it must formerly have been common. i found here, also, some large portions of the armour of a gigantic armadillo-like animal, and part of the great head of a mylodon. the bones of this head are so fresh, that they contain, according to the analysis by mr. t. reeks, seven per cent of animal matter; and when placed in a spirit-lamp, they burn with a small flame. the number of the remains embedded in the grand estuary deposit which forms the pampas and covers the granitic rocks of banda oriental, must be extraordinarily great. i believe a straight line drawn in any direction through the pampas would cut through some skeleton or bones. besides those which i found during my short excursions, i heard of many others, and the origin of such names as "the stream of the animal," "the hill of the giant," is obvious. at other times i heard of the marvellous property of certain rivers, which had the power of changing small bones into large; or, as some maintained, the bones themselves grew. as far as i am aware, not one of these animals perished, as was formerly supposed, in the marshes or muddy river-beds of the present land, but their bones have been exposed by the streams intersecting the subaqueous deposit in which they were originally embedded. we may conclude that the whole area of the pampas is one wide sepulchre of these extinct gigantic quadrupeds. by the middle of the day, on the th, we arrived at monte video, having been two days and a half on the road. the country for the whole way was of a very uniform character, some parts being rather more rocky and hilly than near the plata. not far from monte video we passed through the village of las pietras, so named from some large rounded masses of syenite. its appearance was rather pretty. in this country a few fig-trees round a group of houses, and a site elevated a hundred feet above the general level, ought always to be called picturesque. during the last six months i have had an opportunity of seeing a little of the character of the inhabitants of these provinces. the gauchos, or countryrmen, are very superior to those who reside in the towns. the gaucho is invariably most obliging, polite, and hospitable: i did not meet with even one instance of rudeness or inhospitality. he is modest, both respecting himself and country, but at the same time a spirited, bold fellow. on the other hand, many robberies are committed, and there is much bloodshed: the habit of constantly wearing the knife is the chief cause of the latter. it is lamentable to hear how many lives are lost in trifling quarrels. in fighting, each party tries to mark the face of his adversary by slashing his nose or eyes; as is often attested by deep and horrid-looking scars. robberies are a natural consequence of universal gambling, much drinking, and extreme indolence. at mercedes i asked two men why they did not work. one gravely said the days were too long; the other that he was too poor. the number of horses and the profusion of food are the destruction of all industry. moreover, there are so many feast-days; and again, nothing can succeed without it be begun when the moon is on the increase; so that half the month is lost from these two causes. police and justice are quite inefficient. if a man who is poor commits murder and is taken, he will be imprisoned, and perhaps even shot; but if he is rich and has friends, he may rely on it no very severe consequence will ensue. it is curious that the most respectable inhabitants of the country invariably assist a murderer to escape: they seem to think that the individual sins against the government, and not against the people. a traveller has no protection besides his fire-arms; and the constant habit of carrying them is the main check to more frequent robberies. the character of the higher and more educated classes who reside in the towns, partakes, but perhaps in a lesser degree, of the good parts of the gaucho, but is, i fear, stained by many vices of which he is free. sensuality, mockery of all religion, and the grossest corruption, are far from uncommon. nearly every public officer can be bribed. the head man in the post-office sold forged government franks. the governor and prime minister openly combined to plunder the state. justice, where gold came into play, was hardly expected by any one. i knew an englishman, who went to the chief justice (he told me, that not then understanding the ways of the place, he trembled as he entered the room), and said, "sir, i have come to offer you two hundred (paper) dollars (value about five pounds sterling) if you will arrest before a certain time a man who has cheated me. i know it is against the law, but my lawyer (naming him) recommended me to take this step." the chief justice smiled acquiescence, thanked him, and the man before night was safe in prison. with this entire want of principle in many of the leading men, with the country full of ill-paid turbulent officers, the people yet hope that a democratic form of government can succeed! on first entering society in these countries, two or three features strike one as particularly remarkable. the polite and dignified manners pervading every rank of life, the excellent taste displayed by the women in their dresses, and the equality amongst all ranks. at the rio colorado some men who kept the humblest shops used to dine with general rosas. a son of a major at bahia blanca gained his livelihood by making paper cigars, and he wished to accompany me, as guide or servant, to buenos ayres, but his father objected on the score of the danger alone. many officers in the army can neither read nor write, yet all meet in society as equals. in entre rios, the sala consisted of only six representatives. one of them kept a common shop, and evidently was not degraded by the office. all this is what would be expected in a new country; nevertheless the absence of gentlemen by profession appears to an englishman something strange. when speaking of these countries, the manner in which they have been brought up by their unnatural parent, spain, should always be borne in mind. on the whole, perhaps, more credit is due for what has been done, than blame for that which may be deficient. it is impossible to doubt but that the extreme liberalism of these countries must ultimately lead to good results. the very general toleration of foreign religions, the regard paid to the means of education, the freedom of the press, the facilities offered to all foreigners, and especially, as i am bound to add, to every one professing the humblest pretensions to science, should be recollected with gratitude by those who have visited spanish south america. december th.--the beagle sailed from the rio plata, never again to enter its muddy stream. our course was directed to port desire, on the coast of patagonia. before proceeding any further, i will here put together a few observations made at sea. several times when the ship has been some miles off the mouth of the plata, and at other times when off the shores of northern patagonia, we have been surrounded by insects. one evening, when we were about ten miles from the bay of san blas, vast numbers of butterflies, in bands or flocks of countless myriads, extended as far as the eye could range. even by the aid of a telescope it was not possible to see a space free from butterflies. the seamen cried out "it was snowing butterflies," and such in fact was the appearance. more species than one were present, but the main part belonged to a kind very similar to, but not identical with, the common english colias edusa. some moths and hymenoptera accompanied the butterflies; and a fine beetle (calosoma) flew on board. other instances are known of this beetle having been caught far out at sea; and this is the more remarkable, as the greater number of the carabidae seldom or never take wing. the day had been fine and calm, and the one previous to it equally so, with light and variable airs. hence we cannot suppose that the insects were blown off the land, but we must conclude that they voluntarily took flight. the great bands of the colias seem at first to afford an instance like those on record of the migrations of another butterfly, vanessa cardui; [ ] but the presence of other insects makes the case distinct, and even less intelligible. before sunset a strong breeze sprung up from the north, and this must have caused tens of thousands of the butterflies and other insects to have perished. on another occasion, when seventeen miles off cape corrientes, i had a net overboard to catch pelagic animals. upon drawing it up, to my surprise, i found a considerable number of beetles in it, and although in the open sea, they did not appear much injured by the salt water. i lost some of the specimens, but those which i preserved belonged to the genera colymbetes, hydroporus, hydrobius (two species), notaphus, cynucus, adimonia, and scarabaeus. at first i thought that these insects had been blown from the shore; but upon reflecting that out of the eight species four were aquatic, and two others partly so in their habits, it appeared to me most probable that they were floated into the sea by a small stream which drains a lake near cape corrientes. on any supposition it is an interesting circumstance to find live insects swimming in the open ocean seventeen miles from the nearest point of land. there are several accounts of insects having been blown off the patagonian shore. captain cook observed it, as did more lately captain king of the adventure. the cause probably is due to the want of shelter, both of trees and hills, so that an insect on the wing with an off-shore breeze, would be very apt to be blown out to sea. the most remarkable instance i have known of an insect being caught far from the land, was that of a large grasshopper (acrydium), which flew on board, when the beagle was to windward of the cape de verd islands, and when the nearest point of land, not directly opposed to the trade-wind, was cape blanco on the coast of africa, miles distant. [ ] on several occasions, when the beagle has been within the mouth of the plata, the rigging has been coated with the web of the gossamer spider. one day (november st, ) i paid particular attention to this subject. the weather had been fine and clear, and in the morning the air was full of patches of the flocculent web, as on an autumnal day in england. the ship was sixty miles distant from the land, in the direction of a steady though light breeze. vast numbers of a small spider, about one-tenth of an inch in length, and of a dusky red colour, were attached to the webs. there must have been, i should suppose, some thousands on the ship. the little spider, when first coming in contact with the rigging, was always seated on a single thread, and not on the flocculent mass. this latter seems merely to be produced by the entanglement of the single threads. the spiders were all of one species, but of both sexes, together with young ones. these latter were distinguished by their smaller size and more dusky colour. i will not give the description of this spider, but merely state that it does not appear to me to be included in any of latreille's genera. the little aeronaut as soon as it arrived on board was very active, running about, sometimes letting itself fall, and then reascending the same thread; sometimes employing itself in making a small and very irregular mesh in the corners between the ropes. it could run with facility on the surface of the water. when disturbed it lifted up its front legs, in the attitude of attention. on its first arrival it appeared very thirsty, and with exserted maxillae drank eagerly of drops of water, this same circumstance has been observed by strack: may it not be in consequence of the little insect having passed through a dry and rarefied atmosphere? its stock of web seemed inexhaustible. while watching some that were suspended by a single thread, i several times observed that the slightest breath of air bore them away out of sight, in a horizontal line. on another occasion ( th) under similar circumstances, i repeatedly observed the same kind of small spider, either when placed or having crawled on some little eminence, elevate its abdomen, send forth a thread, and then sail away horizontally, but with a rapidity which was quite unaccountable. i thought i could perceive that the spider, before performing the above preparatory steps, connected its legs together with the most delicate threads, but i am not sure whether this observation was correct. one day, at st. fe, i had a better opportunity of observing some similar facts. a spider which was about three-tenths of an inch in length, and which in its general appearance resembled a citigrade (therefore quite different from the gossamer), while standing on the summit of a post, darted forth four or five threads from its spinners. these, glittering in the sunshine, might be compared to diverging rays of light; they were not, however, straight, but in undulations like films of silk blown by the wind. they were more than a yard in length, and diverged in an ascending direction from the orifices. the spider then suddenly let go its hold of the post, and was quickly borne out of sight. the day was hot and apparently calm; yet under such circumstances, the atmosphere can never be so tranquil as not to affect a vane so delicate as the thread of a spider's web. if during a warm day we look either at the shadow of any object cast on a bank, or over a level plain at a distant landmark, the effect of an ascending current of heated air is almost always evident: such upward currents, it has been remarked, are also shown by the ascent of soap-bubbles, which will not rise in an in-doors room. hence i think there is not much difficulty in understanding the ascent of the fine lines projected from a spider's spinners, and afterwards of the spider itself; the divergence of the lines has been attempted to be explained, i believe by mr. murray, by their similar electrical condition. the circumstance of spiders of the same species, but of different sexes and ages, being found on several occasions at the distance of many leagues from the land, attached in vast numbers to the lines, renders it probable that the habit of sailing through the air is as characteristic of this tribe, as that of diving is of the argyroneta. we may then reject latreille's supposition, that the gossamer owes its origin indifferently to the young of several genera of spiders: although, as we have seen, the young of other spiders do possess the power of performing aerial voyages. [ ] during our different passages south of the plata, i often towed astern a net made of bunting, and thus caught many curious animals. of crustacea there were many strange and undescribed genera. one, which in some respects is allied to the notopods (or those crabs which have their posterior legs placed almost on their backs, for the purpose of adhering to the under side of rocks), is very remarkable from the structure of its hind pair of legs. the penultimate joint, instead of terminating in a simple claw, ends in three bristle-like appendages of dissimilar lengths--the longest equalling that of the entire leg. these claws are very thin, and are serrated with the finest teeth, directed backwards: their curved extremities are flattened, and on this part five most minute cups are placed which seem to act in the same manner as the suckers on the arms of the cuttle-fish. as the animal lives in the open sea, and probably wants a place of rest, i suppose this beautiful and most anomalous structure is adapted to take hold of floating marine animals. in deep water, far from the land, the number of living creatures is extremely small: south of the latitude degs., i never succeeded in catching anything besides some beroe, and a few species of minute entomostracous crustacea. in shoaler water, at the distance of a few miles from the coast, very many kinds of crustacea and some other animals are numerous, but only during the night. between latitudes and degs. south of cape horn, the net was put astern several times; it never, however, brought up anything besides a few of two extremely minute species of entomostraca. yet whales and seals, petrels and albatross, are exceedingly abundant throughout this part of the ocean. it has always been a mystery to me on what the albatross, which lives far from the shore, can subsist; i presume that, like the condor, it is able to fast long; and that one good feast on the carcass of a putrid whale lasts for a long time. the central and intertropical parts of the atlantic swarm with pteropoda, crustacea, and radiata, and with their devourers the flying-fish, and again with their devourers the bonitos and albicores; i presume that the numerous lower pelagic animals feed on the infusoria, which are now known, from the researches of ehrenberg, to abound in the open ocean: but on what, in the clear blue water, do these infusoria subsist? while sailing a little south of the plata on one very dark night, the sea presented a wonderful and most beautiful spectacle. there was a fresh breeze, and every part of the surface, which during the day is seen as foam, now glowed with a pale light. the vessel drove before her bows two billows of liquid phosphorus, and in her wake she was followed by a milky train. as far as the eye reached, the crest of every wave was bright, and the sky above the horizon, from the reflected glare of these livid flames, was not so utterly obscure as over the vault of the heavens. as we proceed further southward the sea is seldom phosphorescent; and off cape horn i do not recollect more than once having seen it so, and then it was far from being brilliant. this circumstance probably has a close connection with the scarcity of organic beings in that part of the ocean. after the elaborate paper, [ ] by ehrenberg, on the phosphorescence of the sea, it is almost superfluous on my part to make any observations on the subject. i may however add, that the same torn and irregular particles of gelatinous matter, described by ehrenberg, seem in the southern as well as in the northern hemisphere, to be the common cause of this phenomenon. the particles were so minute as easily to pass through fine gauze; yet many were distinctly visible by the naked eye. the water when placed in a tumbler and agitated, gave out sparks, but a small portion in a watch-glass scarcely ever was luminous. ehrenberg states that these particles all retain a certain degree of irritability. my observations, some of which were made directly after taking up the water, gave a different result. i may also mention, that having used the net during one night, i allowed it to become partially dry, and having occasion twelve hours afterwards to employ it again, i found the whole surface sparkled as brightly as when first taken out of the water. it does not appear probable in this case, that the particles could have remained so long alive. on one occasion having kept a jelly-fish of the genus dianaea till it was dead, the water in which it was placed became luminous. when the waves scintillate with bright green sparks, i believe it is generally owing to minute crustacea. but there can be no doubt that very many other pelagic animals, when alive, are phosphorescent. on two occasions i have observed the sea luminous at considerable depths beneath the surface. near the mouth of the plata some circular and oval patches, from two to four yards in diameter, and with defined outlines, shone with a steady but pale light; while the surrounding water only gave out a few sparks. the appearance resembled the reflection of the moon, or some luminous body; for the edges were sinuous from the undulations of the surface. the ship, which drew thirteen feet of water, passed over, without disturbing these patches. therefore we must suppose that some animals were congregated together at a greater depth than the bottom of the vessel. near fernando noronha the sea gave out light in flashes. the appearance was very similar to that which might be expected from a large fish moving rapidly through a luminous fluid. to this cause the sailors attributed it; at the time, however, i entertained some doubts, on account of the frequency and rapidity of the flashes. i have already remarked that the phenomenon is very much more common in warm than in cold countries; and i have sometimes imagined that a disturbed electrical condition of the atmosphere was most favourable to its production. certainly i think the sea is most luminous after a few days of more calm weather than ordinary, during which time it has swarmed with various animals. observing that the water charged with gelatinous particles is in an impure state, and that the luminous appearance in all common cases is produced by the agitation of the fluid in contact with the atmosphere, i am inclined to consider that the phosphorescence is the result of the decomposition of the organic particles, by which process (one is tempted almost to call it a kind of respiration) the ocean becomes purified. december rd.--we arrived at port desire, situated in lat. degs., on the coast of patagonia. the creek runs for about twenty miles inland, with an irregular width. the beagle anchored a few miles within the entrance, in front of the ruins of an old spanish settlement. the same evening i went on shore. the first landing in any new country is very interesting, and especially when, as in this case, the whole aspect bears the stamp of a marked and individual character. at the height of between two and three hundred feet above some masses of porphyry a wide plain extends, which is truly characteristic of patagonia. the surface is quite level, and is composed of well-rounded shingle mixed with a whitish earth. here and there scattered tufts of brown wiry grass are supported, and still more rarely, some low thorny bushes. the weather is dry and pleasant, and the fine blue sky is but seldom obscured. when standing in the middle of one of these desert plains and looking towards the interior, the view is generally bounded by the escarpment of another plain, rather higher, but equally level and desolate; and in every other direction the horizon is indistinct from the trembling mirage which seems to rise from the heated surface. in such a country the fate of the spanish settlement was soon decided; the dryness of the climate during the greater part of the year, and the occasional hostile attacks of the wandering indians, compelled the colonists to desert their half-finished buildings. the style, however, in which they were commenced shows the strong and liberal hand of spain in the old time. the result of all the attempts to colonize this side of america south of degs., has been miserable. port famine expresses by its name the lingering and extreme sufferings of several hundred wretched people, of whom one alone survived to relate their misfortunes. at st. joseph's bay, on the coast of patagonia, a small settlement was made; but during one sunday the indians made an attack and massacred the whole party, excepting two men, who remained captives during many years. at the rio negro i conversed with one of these men, now in extreme old age. the zoology of patagonia is as limited as its flora. [ ] on the arid plains a few black beetles (heteromera) might be seen slowly crawling about, and occasionally a lizard darted from side to side. of birds we have three carrion hawks and in the valleys a few finches and insect-feeders. an ibis (theristicus melanops--a species said to be found in central africa) is not uncommon on the most desert parts: in their stomachs i found grasshoppers, cicadae, small lizards, and even scorpions. [ ] at one time of the year these birds go in flocks, at another in pairs, their cry is very loud and singular, like the neighing of the guanaco. the guanaco, or wild llama, is the characteristic quadruped of the plains of patagonia; it is the south american representative of the camel of the east. it is an elegant animal in a state of nature, with a long slender neck and fine legs. it is very common over the whole of the temperate parts of the continent, as far south as the islands near cape horn. it generally lives in small herds of from half a dozen to thirty in each; but on the banks of the st. cruz we saw one herd which must have contained at least five hundred. they are generally wild and extremely wary. mr. stokes told me, that he one day saw through a glass a herd of these animals which evidently had been frightened, and were running away at full speed, although their distance was so great that he could not distinguish them with his naked eye. the sportsman frequently receives the first notice of their presence, by hearing from a long distance their peculiar shrill neighing note of alarm. if he then looks attentively, he will probably see the herd standing in a line on the side of some distant hill. on approaching nearer, a few more squeals are given, and off they set at an apparently slow, but really quick canter, along some narrow beaten track to a neighbouring hill. if, however, by chance he abruptly meets a single animal, or several together, they will generally stand motionless and intently gaze at him; then perhaps move on a few yards, turn round, and look again. what is the cause of this difference in their shyness? do they mistake a man in the distance for their chief enemy the puma? or does curiosity overcome their timidity? that they are curious is certain; for if a person lies on the ground, and plays strange antics, such as throwing up his feet in the air, they will almost always approach by degrees to reconnoitre him. it was an artifice that was repeatedly practised by our sportsmen with success, and it had moreover the advantage of allowing several shots to be fired, which were all taken as parts of the performance. on the mountains of tierra del fuego, i have more than once seen a guanaco, on being approached, not only neigh and squeal, but prance and leap about in the most ridiculous manner, apparently in defiance as a challenge. these animals are very easily domesticated, and i have seen some thus kept in northern patagonia near a house, though not under any restraint. they are in this state very bold, and readily attack a man by striking him from behind with both knees. it is asserted that the motive for these attacks is jealousy on account of their females. the wild guanacos, however, have no idea of defence; even a single dog will secure one of these large animals, till the huntsman can come up. in many of their habits they are like sheep in a flock. thus when they see men approaching in several directions on horseback, they soon become bewildered, and know not which way to run. this greatly facilitates the indian method of hunting, for they are thus easily driven to a central point, and are encompassed. the guanacos readily take to the water: several times at port valdes they were seen swimming from island to island. byron, in his voyage says he saw them drinking salt water. some of our officers likewise saw a herd apparently drinking the briny fluid from a salina near cape blanco. i imagine in several parts of the country, if they do not drink salt water, they drink none at all. in the middle of the day they frequently roll in the dust, in saucer-shaped hollows. the males fight together; two one day passed quite close to me, squealing and trying to bite each other; and several were shot with their hides deeply scored. herds sometimes appear to set out on exploring parties: at bahia blanca, where, within thirty miles of the coast, these animals are extremely unfrequent, i one day saw the tracks of thirty or forty, which had come in a direct line to a muddy salt-water creek. they then must have perceived that they were approaching the sea, for they had wheeled with the regularity of cavalry, and had returned back in as straight a line as they had advanced. the guanacos have one singular habit, which is to me quite inexplicable; namely, that on successive days they drop their dung in the same defined heap. i saw one of these heaps which was eight feet in diameter, and was composed of a large quantity. this habit, according to m. a. d'orbigny, is common to all the species of the genus; it is very useful to the peruvian indians, who use the dung for fuel, and are thus saved the trouble of collecting it. the guanacos appear to have favourite spots for lying down to die. on the banks of the st. cruz, in certain circumscribed spaces, which were generally bushy and all near the river, the ground was actually white with bones. on one such spot i counted between ten and twenty heads. i particularly examined the bones; they did not appear, as some scattered ones which i had seen, gnawed or broken, as if dragged together by beasts of prey. the animals in most cases must have crawled, before dying, beneath and amongst the bushes. mr. bynoe informs me that during a former voyage he observed the same circumstance on the banks of the rio gallegos. i do not at all understand the reason of this, but i may observe, that the wounded guanacos at the st. cruz invariably walked towards the river. at st. jago in the cape de verd islands, i remember having seen in a ravine a retired corner covered with bones of the goat; we at the time exclaimed that it was the burial ground of all the goats in the island. i mention these trifling circumstances, because in certain cases they might explain the occurrence of a number of uninjured bones in a cave, or buried under alluvial accumulations; and likewise the cause why certain animals are more commonly embedded than others in sedimentary deposits. one day the yawl was sent under the command of mr. chaffers with three days' provisions to survey the upper part of the harbour. in the morning we searched for some watering-places mentioned in an old spanish chart. we found one creek, at the head of which there was a trickling rill (the first we had seen) of brackish water. here the tide compelled us to wait several hours; and in the interval i walked some miles into the interior. the plain as usual consisted of gravel, mingled with soil resembling chalk in appearance, but very different from it in nature. from the softness of these materials it was worn into many gulleys. there was not a tree, and, excepting the guanaco, which stood on the hill-top a watchful sentinel over its herd, scarcely an animal or a bird. all was stillness and desolation. yet in passing over these scenes, without one bright object near, an ill-defined but strong sense of pleasure is vividly excited. one asked how many ages the plain had thus lasted, and how many more it was doomed thus to continue. "none can reply--all seems eternal now. the wilderness has a mysterious tongue, which teaches awful doubt." [ ] in the evening we sailed a few miles further up, and then pitched the tents for the night. by the middle of the next day the yawl was aground, and from the shoalness of the water could not proceed any higher. the water being found partly fresh, mr. chaffers took the dingey and went up two or three miles further, where she also grounded, but in a fresh-water river. the water was muddy, and though the stream was most insignificant in size, it would be difficult to account for its origin, except from the melting snow on the cordillera. at the spot where we bivouacked, we were surrounded by bold cliffs and steep pinnacles of porphyry. i do not think i ever saw a spot which appeared more secluded from the rest of the world, than this rocky crevice in the wide plain. the second day after our return to the anchorage, a party of officers and myself went to ransack an old indian grave, which i had found on the summit of a neighbouring hill. two immense stones, each probably weighing at least a couple of tons, had been placed in front of a ledge of rock about six feet high. at the bottom of the grave on the hard rock there was a layer of earth about a foot deep, which must have been brought up from the plain below. above it a pavement of flat stones was placed, on which others were piled, so as to fill up the space between the ledge and the two great blocks. to complete the grave, the indians had contrived to detach from the ledge a huge fragment, and to throw it over the pile so as to rest on the two blocks. we undermined the grave on both sides, but could not find any relics, or even bones. the latter probably had decayed long since (in which case the grave must have been of extreme antiquity), for i found in another place some smaller heaps beneath which a very few crumbling fragments could yet be distinguished as having belonged to a man. falconer states, that where an indian dies he is buried, but that subsequently his bones are carefully taken up and carried, let the distance be ever so great, to be deposited near the sea-coast. this custom, i think, may be accounted for by recollecting, that before the introduction of horses, these indians must have led nearly the same life as the fuegians now do, and therefore generally have resided in the neighbourhood of the sea. the common prejudice of lying where one's ancestors have lain, would make the now roaming indians bring the less perishable part of their dead to their ancient burial-ground on the coast. january th, .--before it was dark the beagle anchored in the fine spacious harbour of port st. julian, situated about one hundred and ten miles to the south of port desire. we remained here eight days. the country is nearly similar to that of port desire, but perhaps rather more sterile. one day a party accompanied captain fitz roy on a long walk round the head of the harbour. we were eleven hours without tasting any water, and some of the party were quite exhausted. from the summit of a hill (since well named thirsty hill) a fine lake was spied, and two of the party proceeded with concerted signals to show whether it was fresh water. what was our disappointment to find a snow-white expanse of salt, crystallized in great cubes! we attributed our extreme thirst to the dryness of the atmosphere; but whatever the cause might be, we were exceedingly glad late in the evening to get back to the boats. although we could nowhere find, during our whole visit, a single drop of fresh water, yet some must exist; for by an odd chance i found on the surface of the salt water, near the head of the bay, a colymbetes not quite dead, which must have lived in some not far distant pool. three other insects (a cincindela, like hybrida, a cymindis, and a harpalus, which all live on muddy flats occasionally overflowed by the sea), and one other found dead on the plain, complete the list of the beetles. a good-sized fly (tabanus) was extremely numerous, and tormented us by its painful bite. the common horsefly, which is so troublesome in the shady lanes of england, belongs to this same genus. we here have the puzzle that so frequently occurs in the case of musquitoes--on the blood of what animals do these insects commonly feed? the guanaco is nearly the only warm-blooded quadruped, and it is found in quite inconsiderable numbers compared with the multitude of flies. the geology of patagonia is interesting. differently from europe, where the tertiary formations appear to have accumulated in bays, here along hundreds of miles of coast we have one great deposit, including many tertiary shells, all apparently extinct. the most common shell is a massive gigantic oyster, sometimes even a foot in diameter. these beds are covered by others of a peculiar soft white stone, including much gypsum, and resembling chalk, but really of a pumiceous nature. it is highly remarkable, from being composed, to at least one-tenth of its bulk, of infusoria. professor ehrenberg has already ascertained in it thirty oceanic forms. this bed extends for miles along the coast, and probably for a considerably greater distance. at port st. julian its thickness is more than feet! these white beds are everywhere capped by a mass of gravel, forming probably one of the largest beds of shingle in the world: it certainly extends from near the rio colorado to between and nautical miles southward, at santa cruz (a river a little south of st. julian), it reaches to the foot of the cordillera; half way up the river, its thickness is more than feet; it probably everywhere extends to this great chain, whence the well-rounded pebbles of porphyry have been derived: we may consider its average breadth as miles, and its average thickness as about feet. if this great bed of pebbles, without including the mud necessarily derived from their attrition, was piled into a mound, it would form a great mountain chain! when we consider that all these pebbles, countless as the grains of sand in the desert, have been derived from the slow falling of masses of rock on the old coast-lines and banks of rivers, and that these fragments have been dashed into smaller pieces, and that each of them has since been slowly rolled, rounded, and far transported the mind is stupefied in thinking over the long, absolutely necessary, lapse of years. yet all this gravel has been transported, and probably rounded, subsequently to the deposition of the white beds, and long subsequently to the underlying beds with the tertiary shells. everything in this southern continent has been effected on a grand scale: the land, from the rio plata to tierra del fuego, a distance of miles, has been raised in mass (and in patagonia to a height of between and feet), within the period of the now existing sea-shells. the old and weathered shells left on the surface of the upraised plain still partially retain their colours. the uprising movement has been interrupted by at least eight long periods of rest, during which the sea ate, deeply back into the land, forming at successive levels the long lines of cliffs, or escarpments, which separate the different plains as they rise like steps one behind the other. the elevatory movement, and the eating-back power of the sea during the periods of rest, have been equable over long lines of coast; for i was astonished to find that the step-like plains stand at nearly corresponding heights at far distant points. the lowest plain is feet high; and the highest, which i ascended near the coast, is feet; and of this, only relics are left in the form of flat gravel-capped hills. the upper plain of santa cruz slopes up to a height of feet at the foot of the cordillera. i have said that within the period of existing sea-shells, patagonia has been upraised to feet: i may add, that within the period when icebergs transported boulders over the upper plain of santa cruz, the elevation has been at least feet. nor has patagonia been affected only by upward movements: the extinct tertiary shells from port st. julian and santa cruz cannot have lived, according to professor e. forbes, in a greater depth of water than from to feet; but they are now covered with sea-deposited strata from to feet in thickness: hence the bed of the sea, on which these shells once lived, must have sunk downwards several hundred feet, to allow of the accumulation of the superincumbent strata. what a history of geological changes does the simply-constructed coast of patagonia reveal! at port st. julian, [ ] in some red mud capping the gravel on the -feet plain, i found half the skeleton of the macrauchenia patachonica, a remarkable quadruped, full as large as a camel. it belongs to the same division of the pachydermata with the rhinoceros, tapir, and palaeotherium; but in the structure of the bones of its long neck it shows a clear relation to the camel, or rather to the guanaco and llama. from recent sea-shells being found on two of the higher step-formed plains, which must have been modelled and upraised before the mud was deposited in which the macrauchenia was entombed, it is certain that this curious quadruped lived long after the sea was inhabited by its present shells. i was at first much surprised how a large quadruped could so lately have subsisted, in lat. degs. ', on these wretched gravel plains, with their stunted vegetation; but the relationship of the macrauchenia to the guanaco, now an inhabitant of the most sterile parts, partly explains this difficulty. the relationship, though distant, between the macrauchenia and the guanaco, between the toxodon and the capybara,--the closer relationship between the many extinct edentata and the living sloths, ant-eaters, and armadillos, now so eminently characteristic of south american zoology,--and the still closer relationship between the fossil and living species of ctenomys and hydrochaerus, are most interesting facts. this relationship is shown wonderfully--as wonderfully as between the fossil and extinct marsupial animals of australia--by the great collection lately brought to europe from the caves of brazil by mm. lund and clausen. in this collection there are extinct species of all the thirty-two genera, excepting four, of the terrestrial quadrupeds now inhabiting the provinces in which the caves occur; and the extinct species are much more numerous than those now living: there are fossil ant-eaters, armadillos, tapirs, peccaries, guanacos, opossums, and numerous south american gnawers and monkeys, and other animals. this wonderful relationship in the same continent between the dead and the living, will, i do not doubt, hereafter throw more light on the appearance of organic beings on our earth, and their disappearance from it, than any other class of facts. it is impossible to reflect on the changed state of the american continent without the deepest astonishment. formerly it must have swarmed with great monsters: now we find mere pigmies, compared with the antecedent, allied races. if buffon had known of the gigantic sloth and armadillo-like animals, and of the lost pachydermata, he might have said with a greater semblance of truth that the creative force in america had lost its power, rather than that it had never possessed great vigour. the greater number, if not all, of these extinct quadrupeds lived at a late period, and were the contemporaries of most of the existing sea-shells. since they lived, no very great change in the form of the land can have taken place. what, then, has exterminated so many species and whole genera? the mind at first is irresistibly hurried into the belief of some great catastrophe; but thus to destroy animals, both large and small, in southern patagonia, in brazil, on the cordillera of peru, in north america up to behring's straits, we must shake the entire framework of the globe. an examination, moreover, of the geology of la plata and patagonia, leads to the belief that all the features of the land result from slow and gradual changes. it appears from the character of the fossils in europe, asia, australia, and in north and south america, that those conditions which favour the life of the _larger_ quadrupeds were lately co-extensive with the world: what those conditions were, no one has yet even conjectured. it could hardly have been a change of temperature, which at about the same time destroyed the inhabitants of tropical, temperate, and arctic latitudes on both sides of the globe. in north america we positively know from mr. lyell, that the large quadrupeds lived subsequently to that period, when boulders were brought into latitudes at which icebergs now never arrive: from conclusive but indirect reasons we may feel sure, that in the southern hemisphere the macrauchenia, also, lived long subsequently to the ice-transporting boulder-period. did man, after his first inroad into south america, destroy, as has been suggested, the unwieldy megatherium and the other edentata? we must at least look to some other cause for the destruction of the little tucutuco at bahia blanca, and of the many fossil mice and other small quadrupeds in brazil. no one will imagine that a drought, even far severer than those which cause such losses in the provinces of la plata, could destroy every individual of every species from southern patagonia to behring's straits. what shall we say of the extinction of the horse? did those plains fail of pasture, which have since been overrun by thousands and hundreds of thousands of the descendants of the stock introduced by the spaniards? have the subsequently introduced species consumed the food of the great antecedent races? can we believe that the capybara has taken the food of the toxodon, the guanaco of the macrauchenia, the existing small edentata of their numerous gigantic prototypes? certainly, no fact in the long history of the world is so startling as the wide and repeated exterminations of its inhabitants. nevertheless, if we consider the subject under another point of view, it will appear less perplexing. we do not steadily bear in mind, how profoundly ignorant we are of the conditions of existence of every animal; nor do we always remember, that some check is constantly preventing the too rapid increase of every organized being left in a state of nature. the supply of food, on an average, remains constant, yet the tendency in every animal to increase by propagation is geometrical; and its surprising effects have nowhere been more astonishingly shown, than in the case of the european animals run wild during the last few centuries in america. every animal in a state of nature regularly breeds; yet in a species long established, any _great_ increase in numbers is obviously impossible, and must be checked by some means. we are, nevertheless, seldom able with certainty to tell in any given species, at what period of life, or at what period of the year, or whether only at long intervals, the check falls; or, again, what is the precise nature of the check. hence probably it is, that we feel so little surprise at one, of two species closely allied in habits, being rare and the other abundant in the same district; or, again, that one should be abundant in one district, and another, filling the same place in the economy of nature, should be abundant in a neighbouring district, differing very little in its conditions. if asked how this is, one immediately replies that it is determined by some slight difference, in climate, food, or the number of enemies: yet how rarely, if ever, we can point out the precise cause and manner of action of the check! we are therefore, driven to the conclusion, that causes generally quite inappreciable by us, determine whether a given species shall be abundant or scanty in numbers. in the cases where we can trace the extinction of a species through man, either wholly or in one limited district, we know that it becomes rarer and rarer, and is then lost: it would be difficult to point out any just distinction [ ] between a species destroyed by man or by the increase of its natural enemies. the evidence of rarity preceding extinction, is more striking in the successive tertiary strata, as remarked by several able observers; it has often been found that a shell very common in a tertiary stratum is now most rare, and has even long been thought extinct. if then, as appears probable, species first become rare and then extinct--if the too rapid increase of every species, even the most favoured, is steadily checked, as we must admit, though how and when it is hard to say--and if we see, without the smallest surprise, though unable to assign the precise reason, one species abundant and another closely allied species rare in the same district--why should we feel such great astonishment at the rarity being carried one step further to extinction? an action going on, on every side of us, and yet barely appreciable, might surely be carried a little further, without exciting our observation. who would feel any great surprise at hearing that the magalonyx was formerly rare compared with the megatherium, or that one of the fossil monkeys was few in number compared with one of the now living monkeys? and yet in this comparative rarity, we should have the plainest evidence of less favourable conditions for their existence. to admit that species generally become rare before they become extinct--to feel no surprise at the comparative rarity of one species with another, and yet to call in some extraordinary agent and to marvel greatly when a species ceases to exist, appears to me much the same as to admit that sickness in the individual is the prelude to death--to feel no surprise at sickness--but when the sick man dies to wonder, and to believe that he died through violence. [ ] mr. waterhouse has drawn up a detailed description of this head, which i hope he will publish in some journal. [ ] a nearly similar abnormal, but i do not know whether hereditary, structure has been observed in the carp, and likewise in the crocodile of the ganges: histoire des anomalies, par m. isid. geoffroy st. hilaire, tom. i. p. . [ ] m. a. d'orbigny has given nearly a similar account of these dogs, tom. i. p. . [ ] i must express my obligations to mr. keane, at whose house i was staying on the berquelo, and to mr. lumb at buenos ayres, for without their assistance these valuable remains would never have reached england. [ ] lyell's principles of geology, vol. iii. p. . [ ] the flies which frequently accompany a ship for some days on its passage from harbour to harbour, wandering from the vessel, are soon lost, and all disappear. [ ] mr. blackwall, in his researches in zoology, has many excellent observations on the habits of spiders. [ ] an abstract is given in no. iv. of the magazine of zoology and botany. [ ] i found here a species of cactus, described by professor henslow, under the name of opuntia darwinii (magazine of zoology and botany, vol. i. p. ), which was remarkable for the irritability of the stamens, when i inserted either a piece of stick or the end of my finger in the flower. the segments of the perianth also closed on the pistil, but more slowly than the stamens. plants of this family, generally considered as tropical, occur in north america (lewis and clarke's travels, p. ), in the same high latitude as here, namely, in both cases, in degs. [ ] these insects were not uncommon beneath stones. i found one cannibal scorpion quietly devouring another. [ ] shelley, lines on mt. blanc. [ ] i have lately heard that capt. sulivan, r.n., has found numerous fossil bones, embedded in regular strata, on the banks of the r. gallegos, in lat. degs. '. some of the bones are large; others are small, and appear to have belonged to an armadillo. this is a most interesting and important discovery. [ ] see the excellent remarks on this subject by mr. lyell, in his principles of geology. chapter ix santa cruz, patagonia, and the falkland islands santa cruz--expedition up the river--indians--immense streams of basaltic lava--fragments not transported by the river--excavations of the valley--condor, habits of--cordillera--erratic boulders of great size--indian relics--return to the ship--falkland islands--wild horses, cattle, rabbits--wolf-like fox--fire made of bones--manner of hunting wild cattle--geology--streams of stones--scenes of violence--penguins--geese--eggs of doris--compound animals. april , .--the beagle anchored within the mouth of the santa cruz. this river is situated about sixty miles south of port st. julian. during the last voyage captain stokes proceeded thirty miles up it, but then, from the want of provisions, was obliged to return. excepting what was discovered at that time, scarcely anything was known about this large river. captain fitz roy now determined to follow its course as far as time would allow. on the th three whale-boats started, carrying three weeks' provisions; and the party consisted of twenty-five souls--a force which would have been sufficient to have defied a host of indians. with a strong flood-tide and a fine day we made a good run, soon drank some of the fresh water, and were at night nearly above the tidal influence. the river here assumed a size and appearance which, even at the highest point we ultimately reached, was scarcely diminished. it was generally from three to four hundred yards broad, and in the middle about seventeen feet deep. the rapidity of the current, which in its whole course runs at the rate of from four to six knots an hour, is perhaps its most remarkable feature. the water is of a fine blue colour, but with a slight milky tinge, and not so transparent as at first sight would have been expected. it flows over a bed of pebbles, like those which compose the beach and the surrounding plains. it runs in a winding course through a valley, which extends in a direct line westward. this valley varies from five to ten miles in breadth; it is bounded by step-formed terraces, which rise in most parts, one above the other, to the height of five hundred feet, and have on the opposite sides a remarkable correspondence. april th.--against so strong a current it was, of course, quite impossible to row or sail: consequently the three boats were fastened together head and stern, two hands left in each, and the rest came on shore to track. as the general arrangements made by captain fitz roy were very good for facilitating the work of all, and as all had a share in it, i will describe the system. the party including every one, was divided into two spells, each of which hauled at the tracking line alternately for an hour and a half. the officers of each boat lived with, ate the same food, and slept in the same tent with their crew, so that each boat was quite independent of the others. after sunset the first level spot where any bushes were growing, was chosen for our night's lodging. each of the crew took it in turns to be cook. immediately the boat was hauled up, the cook made his fire; two others pitched the tent; the coxswain handed the things out of the boat; the rest carried them up to the tents and collected firewood. by this order, in half an hour everything was ready for the night. a watch of two men and an officer was always kept, whose duty it was to look after the boats, keep up the fire, and guard against indians. each in the party had his one hour every night. during this day we tracked but a short distance, for there were many islets, covered by thorny bushes, and the channels between them were shallow. april th.--we passed the islands and set to work. our regular day's march, although it was hard enough, carried us on an average only ten miles in a straight line, and perhaps fifteen or twenty altogether. beyond the place where we slept last night, the country is completely _terra incognita_, for it was there that captain stokes turned back. we saw in the distance a great smoke, and found the skeleton of a horse, so we knew that indians were in the neighbourhood. on the next morning ( st) tracks of a party of horse and marks left by the trailing of the chuzos, or long spears, were observed on the ground. it was generally thought that the indians had reconnoitred us during the night. shortly afterwards we came to a spot where, from the fresh footsteps of men, children, and horses, it was evident that the party had crossed the river. april nd.--the country remained the same, and was extremely uninteresting. the complete similarity of the productions throughout patagonia is one of its most striking characters. the level plains of arid shingle support the same stunted and dwarf plants; and in the valleys the same thorn-bearing bushes grow. everywhere we see the same birds and insects. even the very banks of the river and of the clear streamlets which entered it, were scarcely enlivened by a brighter tint of green. the curse of sterility is on the land, and the water flowing over a bed of pebbles partakes of the same curse. hence the number of water-fowls is very scanty; for there is nothing to support life in the stream of this barren river. patagonia, poor as she is in some respects, can however boast of a greater stock of small rodents [ ] than perhaps any other country in the world. several species of mice are externally characterized by large thin ears and a very fine fur. these little animals swarm amongst the thickets in the valleys, where they cannot for months together taste a drop of water excepting the dew. they all seem to be cannibals for no sooner was a mouse caught in one of my traps that it was devoured by others. a small and delicately shaped fox, which is likewise very abundant, probably derives its entire support from these small animals. the guanaco is also in his proper district, herds of fifty or a hundred were common; and, as i have stated, we saw one which must have contained at least five hundred. the puma, with the condor and other carrion-hawks in its train, follows and preys upon these animals. the footsteps of the puma were to be seen almost everywhere on the banks of the river; and the remains of several guanacos, with their necks dislocated and bones broken, showed how they had met their death. april th.--like the navigators of old when approaching an unknown land, we examined and watched for the most trivial sign of a change. the drifted trunk of a tree, or a boulder of primitive rock, was hailed with joy, as if we had seen a forest growing on the flanks of the cordillera. the top, however, of a heavy bank of clouds, which remained almost constantly in one position, was the most promising sign, and eventually turned out a true harbinger. at first the clouds were mistaken for the mountains themselves, instead of the masses of vapour condensed by their icy summits. april th.--we this day met with a marked change in the geological structure of the plains. from the first starting i had carefully examined the gravel in the river, and for the two last days had noticed the presence of a few small pebbles of a very cellular basalt. these gradually increased in number and in size, but none were as large as a man's head. this morning, however, pebbles of the same rock, but more compact, suddenly became abundant, and in the course of half an hour we saw, at the distance of five of six miles, the angular edge of a great basaltic platform. when we arrived at its base we found the stream bubbling among the fallen blocks. for the next twenty-eight miles the river-course was encumbered with these basaltic masses. above that limit immense fragments of primitive rocks, derived from its surrounding boulder-formation, were equally numerous. none of the fragments of any considerable size had been washed more than three or four miles down the river below their parent-source: considering the singular rapidity of the great body of water in the santa cruz, and that no still reaches occur in any part, this example is a most striking one, of the inefficiency of rivers in transporting even moderately-sized fragments. the basalt is only lava, which has flowed beneath the sea; but the eruptions must have been on the grandest scale. at the point where we first met this formation it was feet in thickness; following up the river course, the surface imperceptibly rose and the mass became thicker, so that at forty miles above the first station it was feet thick. what the thickness may be close to the cordillera, i have no means of knowing, but the platform there attains a height of about three thousand feet above the level of the sea; we must therefore look to the mountains of that great chain for its source; and worthy of such a source are streams that have flowed over the gently inclined bed of the sea to a distance of one hundred miles. at the first glance of the basaltic cliffs on the opposite sides of the valley, it was evident that the strata once were united. what power, then, has removed along a whole line of country, a solid mass of very hard rock, which had an average thickness of nearly three hundred feet, and a breadth varying from rather less than two miles to four miles? the river, though it has so little power in transporting even inconsiderable fragments, yet in the lapse of ages might produce by its gradual erosion an effect of which it is difficult to judge the amount. but in this case, independently of the insignificance of such an agency, good reasons can be assigned for believing that this valley was formerly occupied by an arm of the sea. it is needless in this work to detail the arguments leading to this conclusion, derived from the form and the nature of the step-formed terraces on both sides of the valley, from the manner in which the bottom of the valley near the andes expands into a great estuary-like plain with sand-hillocks on it, and from the occurrence of a few sea-shells lying in the bed of the river. if i had space i could prove that south america was formerly here cut off by a strait, joining the atlantic and pacific oceans, like that of magellan. but it may yet be asked, how has the solid basalt been moved? geologists formerly would have brought into play the violent action of some overwhelming debacle; but in this case such a supposition would have been quite inadmissible, because, the same step-like plains with existing sea-shells lying on their surface, which front the long line of the patagonian coast, sweep up on each side of the valley of santa cruz. no possible action of any flood could thus have modelled the land, either within the valley or along the open coast; and by the formation of such step-like plains or terraces the valley itself had been hollowed out. although we know that there are tides, which run within the narrows of the strait of magellan at the rate of eight knots an hour, yet we must confess that it makes the head almost giddy to reflect on the number of years, century after century, which the tides, unaided by a heavy surf, must have required to have corroded so vast an area and thickness of solid basaltic lava. nevertheless, we must believe that the strata undermined by the waters of this ancient strait, were broken up into huge fragments, and these lying scattered on the beach were reduced first to smaller blocks, then to pebbles and lastly to the most impalpable mud, which the tides drifted far into the eastern or western ocean. with the change in the geological structure of the plains the character of the landscape likewise altered. while rambling up some of the narrow and rocky defiles, i could almost have fancied myself transported back again to the barren valleys of the island of st. jago. among the basaltic cliffs i found some plants which i had seen nowhere else, but others i recognised as being wanderers from tierra del fuego. these porous rocks serve as a reservoir for the scanty rain-water; and consequently on the line where the igneous and sedimentary formations unite, some small springs (most rare occurrences in patagonia) burst forth; and they could be distinguished at a distance by the circumscribed patches of bright green herbage. april th.--the bed of the river became rather narrower and hence the stream more rapid. it here ran at the rate of six knots an hour. from this cause, and from the many great angular fragments, tracking the boats became both dangerous and laborious. this day i shot a condor. it measured from tip to tip of the wings, eight and a half feet, and from beak to tail, four feet. this bird is known to have a wide geographical range, being found on the west coast of south america, from the strait of magellan along the cordillera as far as eight degrees north of the equator. the steep cliff near the mouth of the rio negro is its northern limit on the patagonian coast; and they have there wandered about four hundred miles from the great central line of their habitations in the andes. further south, among the bold precipices at the head of port desire, the condor is not uncommon; yet only a few stragglers occasionally visit the sea-coast. a line of cliff near the mouth of the santa cruz is frequented by these birds, and about eighty miles up the river, where the sides of the valley are formed by steep basaltic precipices, the condor reappears. from these facts it seems that the condors require perpendicular cliffs. in chile, they haunt, during the greater part of the year, the lower country near the shores of the pacific, and at night several roost together in one tree; but in the early part of summer, they retire to the most inaccessible parts of the inner cordillera, there to breed in peace. with respect to their propagation, i was told by the country people in chile, that the condor makes no sort of nest, but in the months of november and december lays two large white eggs on a shelf of bare rock. it is said that the young condors cannot fly for an entire year; and long after they are able, they continue to roost by night, and hunt by day with their parents. the old birds generally live in pairs; but among the inland basaltic cliffs of the santa cruz, i found a spot, where scores must usually haunt. on coming suddenly to the brow of the precipice, it was a grand spectacle to see between twenty and thirty of these great birds start heavily from their resting-place, and wheel away in majestic circles. from the quantity of dung on the rocks they must long have frequented this cliff for roosting and breeding. having gorged themselves with carrion on the plains below, they retire to these favourite ledges to digest their food. from these facts, the condor, like the gallinazo, must to a certain degree be considered as a gregarious bird. in this part of the country they live altogether on the guanacos which have died a natural death, or as more commonly happens, have been killed by the pumas. i believe, from what i saw in patagonia, that they do not on ordinary occasions extend their daily excursions to any great distance from their regular sleeping-places. the condors may oftentimes be seen at a great height, soaring over a certain spot in the most graceful circles. on some occasions i am sure that they do this only for pleasure, but on others, the chileno countryman tells you that they are watching a dying animal, or the puma devouring its prey. if the condors glide down, and then suddenly all rise together, the chileno knows that it is the puma which, watching the carcass, has sprung out to drive away the robbers. besides feeding on carrion, the condors frequently attack young goats and lambs; and the shepherd-dogs are trained, whenever they pass over, to run out, and looking upwards to bark violently. the chilenos destroy and catch numbers. two methods are used; one is to place a carcass on a level piece of ground within an enclosure of sticks with an opening, and when the condors are gorged to gallop up on horseback to the entrance, and thus enclose them: for when this bird has not space to run, it cannot give its body sufficient momentum to rise from the ground. the second method is to mark the trees in which, frequently to the number of five or six together, they roost, and they at night to climb up and noose them. they are such heavy sleepers, as i have myself witnessed, that this is not a difficult task. at valparaiso, i have seen a living condor sold for sixpence, but the common price is eight or ten shillings. one which i saw brought in, had been tied with rope, and was much injured; yet, the moment the line was cut by which its bill was secured, although surrounded by people, it began ravenously to tear a piece of carrion. in a garden at the same place, between twenty and thirty were kept alive. they were fed only once a week, but they appeared in pretty good health. [ ] the chileno countrymen assert that the condor will live, and retain its vigour, between five and six weeks without eating: i cannot answer for the truth of this, but it is a cruel experiment, which very likely has been tried. when an animal is killed in the country, it is well known that the condors, like other carrion-vultures, soon gain intelligence of it, and congregate in an inexplicable manner. in most cases it must not be overlooked, that the birds have discovered their prey, and have picked the skeleton clean, before the flesh is in the least degree tainted. remembering the experiments of m. audubon, on the little smelling powers of carrion-hawks, i tried in the above mentioned garden the following experiment: the condors were tied, each by a rope, in a long row at the bottom of a wall; and having folded up a piece of meat in white paper, i walked backwards and forwards, carrying it in my hand at the distance of about three yards from them, but no notice whatever was taken. i then threw it on the ground, within one yard of an old male bird; he looked at it for a moment with attention, but then regarded it no more. with a stick i pushed it closer and closer, until at last he touched it with his beak; the paper was then instantly torn off with fury, and at the same moment, every bird in the long row began struggling and flapping its wings. under the same circumstances, it would have been quite impossible to have deceived a dog. the evidence in favour of and against the acute smelling powers of carrion-vultures is singularly balanced. professor owen has demonstrated that the olfactory nerves of the turkey-buzzard (cathartes aura) are highly developed, and on the evening when mr. owen's paper was read at the zoological society, it was mentioned by a gentleman that he had seen the carrion-hawks in the west indies on two occasions collect on the roof of a house, when a corpse had become offensive from not having been buried, in this case, the intelligence could hardly have been acquired by sight. on the other hand, besides the experiments of audubon and that one by myself, mr. bachman has tried in the united states many varied plans, showing that neither the turkey-buzzard (the species dissected by professor owen) nor the gallinazo find their food by smell. he covered portions of highly-offensive offal with a thin canvas cloth, and strewed pieces of meat on it: these the carrion-vultures ate up, and then remained quietly standing, with their beaks within the eighth of an inch of the putrid mass, without discovering it. a small rent was made in the canvas, and the offal was immediately discovered; the canvas was replaced by a fresh piece, and meat again put on it, and was again devoured by the vultures without their discovering the hidden mass on which they were trampling. these facts are attested by the signatures of six gentlemen, besides that of mr. bachman. [ ] often when lying down to rest on the open plains, on looking upwards, i have seen carrion-hawks sailing through the air at a great height. where the country is level i do not believe a space of the heavens, of more than fifteen degrees above the horizon, is commonly viewed with any attention by a person either walking or on horseback. if such be the case, and the vulture is on the wing at a height of between three and four thousand feet, before it could come within the range of vision, its distance in a straight line from the beholder's eye, would be rather more than two british miles. might it not thus readily be overlooked? when an animal is killed by the sportsman in a lonely valley, may he not all the while be watched from above by the sharp-sighted bird? and will not the manner of its descend proclaim throughout the district to the whole family of carrion-feeders, that their prey is at hand? when the condors are wheeling in a flock round and round any spot, their flight is beautiful. except when rising from the ground, i do not recollect ever having seen one of these birds flap its wings. near lima, i watched several for nearly half an hour, without once taking off my eyes, they moved in large curves, sweeping in circles, descending and ascending without giving a single flap. as they glided close over my head, i intently watched from an oblique position, the outlines of the separate and great terminal feathers of each wing; and these separate feathers, if there had been the least vibratory movement, would have appeared as if blended together; but they were seen distinct against the blue sky. the head and neck were moved frequently, and apparently with force; and the extended wings seemed to form the fulcrum on which the movements of the neck, body, and tail acted. if the bird wished to descend, the wings were for a moment collapsed; and when again expanded with an altered inclination, the momentum gained by the rapid descent seemed to urge the bird upwards with the even and steady movement of a paper kite. in the case of any bird soaring, its motion must be sufficiently rapid so that the action of the inclined surface of its body on the atmosphere may counterbalance its gravity. the force to keep up the momentum of a body moving in a horizontal plane in the air (in which there is so little friction) cannot be great, and this force is all that is wanted. the movements of the neck and body of the condor, we must suppose, is sufficient for this. however this may be, it is truly wonderful and beautiful to see so great a bird, hour after hour, without any apparent exertion, wheeling and gliding over mountain and river. april th.--from some high land we hailed with joy the white summits of the cordillera, as they were seen occasionally peeping through their dusky envelope of clouds. during the few succeeding days we continued to get on slowly, for we found the river-course very tortuous, and strewed with immense fragments of various ancient slate rocks, and of granite. the plain bordering the valley has here attained an elevation of about feet above the river, and its character was much altered. the well-rounded pebbles of porphyry were mingled with many immense angular fragments of basalt and of primary rocks. the first of these erratic boulders which i noticed, was sixty-seven miles distant from the nearest mountain; another which i measured was five yards square, and projected five feet above the gravel. its edges were so angular, and its size so great, that i at first mistook it for a rock _in situ_, and took out my compass to observe the direction of its cleavage. the plain here was not quite so level as that nearer the coast, but yet in betrayed no signs of any great violence. under these circumstances it is, i believe, quite impossible to explain the transportal of these gigantic masses of rock so many miles from their parent-source, on any theory except by that of floating icebergs. during the two last days we met with signs of horses, and with several small articles which had belonged to the indians--such as parts of a mantle and a bunch of ostrich feathers--, but they appeared to have been lying long on the ground. between the place where the indians had so lately crossed the river and this neighbourhood, though so many miles apart, the country appears to be quite unfrequented. at first, considering the abundance of the guanacos, i was surprised at this; but it is explained by the stony nature of the plains, which would soon disable an unshod horse from taking part in the chase. nevertheless, in two places in this very central region, i found small heaps of stones, which i do not think could have been accidentally thrown together. they were placed on points, projecting over the edge of the highest lava cliff, and they resembled, but on a small scale, those near port desire. may th.--captain fitz roy determined to take the boats no higher. the river had a winding course, and was very rapid; and the appearance of the country offered no temptation to proceed any further. everywhere we met with the same productions, and the same dreary landscape. we were now one hundred and forty miles distant from the atlantic and about sixty from the nearest arm of the pacific. the valley in this upper part expanded into a wide basin, bounded on the north and south by the basaltic platforms, and fronted by the long range of the snow-clad cordillera. but we viewed these grand mountains with regret, for we were obliged to imagine their nature and productions, instead of standing, as we had hoped, on their summits. besides the useless loss of time which an attempt to ascend the river and higher would have cost us, we had already been for some days on half allowance of bread. this, although really enough for reasonable men, was, after a hard day's march, rather scanty food: a light stomach and an easy digestion are good things to talk about, but very unpleasant in practice. th.--before sunrise we commenced our descent. we shot down the stream with great rapidity, generally at the rate of ten knots an hour. in this one day we effected what had cost us five-and-a-half hard days' labour in ascending. on the th, we reached the beagle after our twenty-one days' expedition. every one, excepting myself, had cause to be dissatisfied; but to me the ascent afforded a most interesting section of the great tertiary formation of patagonia. on march st, , and again on march th, , the beagle anchored in berkeley sound, in east falkland island. this archipelago is situated in nearly the same latitude with the mouth of the strait of magellan; it covers a space of one hundred and twenty by sixty geographical miles, and is little more than half the size of ireland. after the possession of these miserable islands had been contested by france, spain, and england, they were left uninhabited. the government of buenos ayres then sold them to a private individual, but likewise used them, as old spain had done before, for a penal settlement. england claimed her right and seized them. the englishman who was left in charge of the flag was consequently murdered. a british officer was next sent, unsupported by any power: and when we arrived, we found him in charge of a population, of which rather more than half were runaway rebels and murderers. the theatre is worthy of the scenes acted on it. an undulating land, with a desolate and wretched aspect, is everywhere covered by a peaty soil and wiry grass, of one monotonous brown colour. here and there a peak or ridge of grey quartz rock breaks through the smooth surface every one has heard of the climate of these regions; it may be compared to that which is experienced at the height of between one and two thousand feet, on the mountains of north wales; having however less sunshine and less frost but more wind and rain. [ ] th.--i will now describe a short excursion which made round a part of this island. in the morning i started with six horses and two gauchos: the latter were capital men for the purpose, and well accustomed to living on their own resources. the weather was very boisterous and cold with heavy hail-storms. we got on, however, pretty well but, except the geology, nothing could be less interesting than our day's ride. the country is uniformly the same undulating moorland; the surface being covered by light brown withered grass and a few very small shrubs, all springing out of an elastic peaty soil. in the valleys here and there might be seen a small flock of wild geese, and everywhere the ground was so soft that the snipe were able to feed. besides these two birds there were few others. there is one main range of hills, nearly two thousand feet in height, and composed of quartz rock, the rugged and barren crests of which gave us some trouble to cross. on the south side we came to the best country for wild cattle; we met, however, no great number, for they had been lately much harassed. in the evening we came across a small herd. one of my companions, st. jago by name, soon separated a fat cow: he threw the bolas, and it struck her legs, but failed in becoming entangled. then dropping his hat to mark the spot where the balls were left, while at full gallop, he uncoiled his lazo, and after a most severe chase, again came up to the cow, and caught her round the horns. the other gaucho had gone on ahead with the spare horses, so that st. jago had some difficulty in killing the furious beast. he managed to get her on a level piece of ground, by taking advantage of her as often as she rushed at him; and when she would not move, my horse, from having been trained, would canter up, and with his chest give her a violent push. but when on level ground it does not appear an easy job for one man to kill a beast mad with terror. nor would it be so, if the horse, when left to itself without its rider, did not soon learn, for its own safety, to keep the lazo tight, so that, if the cow or ox moves forward, the horse moves just as quickly forward; otherwise, it stands motionless leaning on one side. this horse, however, was a young one, and would not stand still, but gave in to the cow as she struggled. it was admirable to see with what dexterity st. jago dodged behind the beast, till at last he contrived to give the fatal touch to the main tendon of the hind leg after which, without much difficulty, he drove his knife into the head of the spinal marrow, and the cow dropped as if struck by lightning. he cut off pieces of flesh with the skin to it, but without any bones, sufficient for our expedition. we then rode on to our sleeping-place, and had for supper "carne con cuero," or meat roasted with the skin on it. this is as superior to common beef as venison is to mutton. a large circular piece taken from the back is roasted on the embers with the hide downwards and is the form of a saucer, so that none of the gravy is lost. if any worthy alderman had supped with us that evening, "carne con cuero," without doubt, would soon have been celebrated in london. during the night it rained, and the next day ( th) was very stormy, with much hail and snow. we rode across the island to the neck of land which joins the rincon del toro (the great peninsula at the s. w. extremity) to the rest of the island. from the great number of cows which have been killed, there is a large proportion of bulls. these wander about single, or two and three together, and are very savage. i never saw such magnificent beasts; they equalled in the size of their huge heads and necks the grecian marble sculptures. capt. sulivan informs me that the hide of an average-sized bull weighs forty-seven pounds, whereas a hide of this weight, less thoroughly dried, is considered as a very heavy one at monte video. the young bulls generally run away, for a short distance; but the old ones do not stir a step, except to rush at man and horse; and many horses have been thus killed. an old bull crossed a boggy stream, and took his stand on the opposite side to us; we in vain tried to drive him away, and failing, were obliged to make a large circuit. the gauchos in revenge determined to emasculate him and render him for the future harmless. it was very interesting to see how art completely mastered force. one lazo was thrown over his horns as he rushed at the horse, and another round his hind legs: in a minute the monster was stretched powerless on the ground. after the lazo has once been drawn tightly round the horns of a furious animal, it does not at first appear an easy thing to disengage it again without killing the beast: nor, i apprehend, would it be so if the man was by himself. by the aid, however, of a second person throwing his lazo so as to catch both hind legs, it is quickly managed: for the animal, as long as its hind legs are kept outstretched, is quite helpless, and the first man can with his hands loosen his lazo from the horns, and then quietly mount his horse; but the moment the second man, by backing ever so little, relaxes the strain, the lazo slips off the legs of the struggling beast, which then rises free, shakes himself, and vainly rushes at his antagonist. during our whole ride we saw only one troop of wild horses. these animals, as well as the cattle, were introduced by the french in , since which time both have greatly increased. it is a curious fact, that the horses have never left the eastern end of the island, although there is no natural boundary to prevent them from roaming, and that part of the island is not more tempting than the rest. the gauchos whom i asked, though asserting this to be the case, were unable to account for it, except from the strong attachment which horses have to any locality to which they are accustomed. considering that the island does not appear fully stocked, and that there are no beasts of prey, i was particularly curious to know what has checked their originally rapid increase. that in a limited island some check would sooner or later supervene, is inevitable; but why had the increase of the horse been checked sooner than that of the cattle? capt. sulivan has taken much pains for me in this inquiry. the gauchos employed here attribute it chiefly to the stallions constantly roaming from place to place, and compelling the mares to accompany them, whether or not the young foals are able to follow. one gaucho told capt. sulivan that he had watched a stallion for a whole hour, violently kicking and biting a mare till he forced her to leave her foal to its fate. capt. sulivan can so far corroborate this curious account, that he has several times found young foals dead, whereas he has never found a dead calf. moreover, the dead bodies of full-grown horses are more frequently found, as if more subject to disease or accidents, than those of the cattle. from the softness of the ground their hoofs often grow irregularly to a great length, and this causes lameness. the predominant colours are roan and iron-grey. all the horses bred here, both tame and wild, are rather small-sized, though generally in good condition; and they have lost so much strength, that they are unfit to be used in taking wild cattle with the lazo: in consequence, it is necessary to go to the great expense of importing fresh horses from the plata. at some future period the southern hemisphere probably will have its breed of falkland ponies, as the northern has its shetland breed. the cattle, instead of having degenerated like the horses seem, as before remarked, to have increased in size; and they are much more numerous than the horses. capt. sulivan informs me that they vary much less in the general form of their bodies and in the shape of their horns than english cattle. in colour they differ much; and it is a remarkable circumstance, that in different parts of this one small island, different colours predominate. round mount usborne, at a height of from to feet above the sea, about half of some of the herds are mouse or lead-coloured, a tint which is not common in other parts of the island. near port pleasant dark brown prevails, whereas south of choiseul sound (which almost divides the island into two parts), white beasts with black heads and feet are the most common: in all parts black, and some spotted animals may be observed. capt. sulivan remarks, that the difference in the prevailing colours was so obvious, that in looking for the herds near port pleasant, they appeared from a long distance like black spots, whilst south of choiseul sound they appeared like white spots on the hill-sides. capt. sulivan thinks that the herds do not mingle; and it is a singular fact, that the mouse-coloured cattle, though living on the high land, calve about a month earlier in the season than the other coloured beasts on the lower land. it is interesting thus to find the once domesticated cattle breaking into three colours, of which some one colour would in all probability ultimately prevail over the others, if the herds were left undisturbed for the next several centuries. the rabbit is another animal which has been introduced; and has succeeded very well; so that they abound over large parts of the island. yet, like the horses, they are confined within certain limits; for they have not crossed the central chain of hills, nor would they have extended even so far as its base, if, as the gauchos informed me, small colonies has not been carried there. i should not have supposed that these animals, natives of northern africa, could have existed in a climate so humid as this, and which enjoys so little sunshine that even wheat ripens only occasionally. it is asserted that in sweden, which any one would have thought a more favourable climate, the rabbit cannot live out of doors. the first few pairs, moreover, had here to content against pre-existing enemies, in the fox and some large hawks. the french naturalists have considered the black variety a distinct species, and called it lepus magellanicus. [ ] they imagined that magellan, when talking of an animal under the name of "conejos" in the strait of magellan, referred to this species; but he was alluding to a small cavy, which to this day is thus called by the spaniards. the gauchos laughed at the idea of the black kind being different from the grey, and they said that at all events it had not extended its range any further than the grey kind; that the two were never found separate; and that they readily bred together, and produced piebald offspring. of the latter i now possess a specimen, and it is marked about the head differently from the french specific description. this circumstance shows how cautious naturalists should be in making species; for even cuvier, on looking at the skull of one of these rabbits, thought it was probably distinct! the only quadruped native to the island [ ]; is a large wolf-like fox (canis antarcticus), which is common to both east and west falkland. i have no doubt it is a peculiar species, and confined to this archipelago; because many sealers, gauchos, and indians, who have visited these islands, all maintain that no such animal is found in any part of south america. molina, from a similarity in habits, thought that this was the same with his "culpeu;" [ ] but i have seen both, and they are quite distinct. these wolves are well known from byron's account of their tameness and curiosity, which the sailors, who ran into the water to avoid them, mistook for fierceness. to this day their manners remain the same. they have been observed to enter a tent, and actually pull some meat from beneath the head of a sleeping seaman. the gauchos also have frequently in the evening killed them, by holding out a piece of meat in one hand, and in the other a knife ready to stick them. as far as i am aware, there is no other instance in any part of the world, of so small a mass of broken land, distant from a continent, possessing so large an aboriginal quadruped peculiar to itself. their numbers have rapidly decreased; they are already banished from that half of the island which lies to the eastward of the neck of land between st. salvador bay and berkeley sound. within a very few years after these islands shall have become regularly settled, in all probability this for will be classed with the dodo, as an animal which has perished from the face of the earth. at night ( th) we slept on the neck of land at the head of choiseul sound, which forms the south-west peninsula. the valley was pretty well sheltered from the cold wind, but there was very little brushwood for fuel. the gauchos, however, soon found what, to my great surprise, made nearly as hot a fire as coals; this was the skeleton of a bullock lately killed, from which the flesh had been picked by the carrion-hawks. they told me that in winter they often killed a beast, cleaned the flesh from the bones with their knives, and then with these same bones roasted the meat for their suppers. th.--it rained during nearly the whole day. at night we managed, however, with our saddle-cloths to keep ourselves pretty well dry and warm; but the ground on which we slept was on each occasion nearly in the state of a bog, and there was not a dry spot to sit down on after our day's ride. i have in another part stated how singular it is that there should be absolutely no trees on these islands, although tierra del fuego is covered by one large forest. the largest bush in the island (belonging to the family of compositae) is scarcely so tall as our gorse. the best fuel is afforded by a green little bush about the size of common heath, which has the useful property of burning while fresh and green. it was very surprising to see the gauchos, in the midst of rain and everything soaking wet, with nothing more than a tinder-box and a piece of rag, immediately make a fire. they sought beneath the tufts of grass and bushel for a few dry twigs, and these they rubbed into fibres; then surrounding them with coarser twigs, something like a bird's nest, they put the rag with its spark of fire in the middle and covered it up. the nest being then held up to the wind, by degrees it smoked more and more, and at last burst out in flames. i do not think any other method would have had a chance of succeeding with such damp materials. th.--each morning, from not having ridden for some time previously, i was very stiff. i was surprised to hear the gauchos, who have from infancy almost lived on horseback, say that, under similar circumstances, they always suffer. st. jago told me, that having been confined for three months by illness, he went out hunting wild cattle, and in consequence, for the next two days, his thighs were so stiff that he was obliged to lie in bed. this shows that the gauchos, although they do not appear to do so, yet really must exert much muscular effort in riding. the hunting wild cattle, in a country so difficult to pass as this is on account of the swampy ground, must be very hard work. the gauchos say they often pass at full speed over ground which would be impassable at a slower pace; in the same manner as a man is able to skate over thin ice. when hunting, the party endeavours to get as close as possible to the herd without being discovered. each man carries four or five pair of the bolas; these he throws one after the other at as many cattle, which, when once entangled, are left for some days till they become a little exhausted by hunger and struggling. they are then let free and driven towards a small herd of tame animals, which have been brought to the spot on purpose. from their previous treatment, being too much terrified to leave the herd, they are easily driven, if their strength last out, to the settlement. the weather continued so very bad that we determine to make a push, and try to reach the vessel before night. from the quantity of rain which had fallen, the surface of the whole country was swampy. i suppose my horse fell at least a dozen times, and sometimes the whole six horses were floundering in the mud together. all the little streams are bordered by soft peat, which makes it very difficult for the horses to leap them without falling. to complete our discomforts we were obliged to cross the head of a creek of the sea, in which the water was as high as our horses' backs; and the little waves, owing to the violence of the wind, broke over us, and made us very wet and cold. even the iron-framed gauchos professed themselves glad when they reached the settlement, after our little excursion. the geological structure of these islands is in most respects simple. the lower country consists of clay-slate and sandstone, containing fossils, very closely related to, but not identical with, those found in the silurian formations of europe; the hills are formed of white granular quartz rock. the strata of the latter are frequently arched with perfect symmetry, and the appearance of some of the masses is in consequence most singular. pernety [ ] has devoted several pages to the description of a hill of ruins, the successive strata of which he has justly compared to the seats of an amphitheatre. the quartz rock must have been quite pasty when it underwent such remarkable flexures without being shattered into fragments. as the quartz insensibly passes into the sandstone, it seems probable that the former owes its origin to the sandstone having been heated to such a degree that it became viscid, and upon cooling crystallized. while in the soft state it must have been pushed up through the overlying beds. in many parts of the island the bottoms of the valleys are covered in an extraordinary manner by myriads of great loose angular fragments of the quartz rock, forming "streams of stones." these have been mentioned with surprise by every voyager since the time of pernety. the blocks are not water-worn, their angles being only a little blunted; they vary in size from one or two feet in diameter to ten, or even more than twenty times as much. they are not thrown together into irregular piles, but are spread out into level sheets or great streams. it is not possible to ascertain their thickness, but the water of small streamlets can be heard trickling through the stones many feet below the surface. the actual depth is probably great, because the crevices between the lower fragments must long ago have been filled up with sand. the width of these sheets of stones varied from a few hundred feet to a mile; but the peaty soil daily encroaches on the borders, and even forms islets wherever a few fragments happen to lie close together. in a valley south of berkeley sound, which some of our party called the "great valley of fragments," it was necessary to cross an uninterrupted band half a mile wide, by jumping from one pointed stone to another. so large were the fragments, that being overtaken by a shower of rain, i readily found shelter beneath one of them. their little inclination is the most remarkable circumstance in these "streams of stones." on the hill-sides i have seen them sloping at an angle of ten degrees with the horizon; but in some of the level, broad-bottomed valleys, the inclination is only just sufficient to be clearly perceived. on so rugged a surface there was no means of measuring the angle, but to give a common illustration, i may say that the slope would not have checked the speed of an english mail-coach. in some places, a continuous stream of these fragments followed up the course of a valley, and even extended to the very crest of the hill. on these crests huge masses, exceeding in dimensions any small building, seemed to stand arrested in their headlong course: there, also, the curved strata of the archways lay piled on each other, like the ruins of some vast and ancient cathedral. in endeavouring to describe these scenes of violence one is tempted to pass from one simile to another. we may imagine that streams of white lava had flowed from many parts of the mountains into the lower country, and that when solidified they had been rent by some enormous convulsion into myriads of fragments. the expression "streams of stones," which immediately occurred to every one, conveys the same idea. these scenes are on the spot rendered more striking by the contrast of the low rounded forms of the neighbouring hills. i was interested by finding on the highest peak of one range (about feet above the sea) a great arched fragment, lying on its convex side, or back downwards. must we believe that it was fairly pitched up in the air, and thus turned? or, with more probability, that there existed formerly a part of the same range more elevated than the point on which this monument of a great convulsion of nature now lies. as the fragments in the valleys are neither rounded nor the crevices filled up with sand, we must infer that the period of violence was subsequent to the land having been raised above the waters of the sea. in a transverse section within these valleys, the bottom is nearly level, or rises but very little towards either side. hence the fragments appear to have travelled from the head of the valley; but in reality it seems more probable that they have been hurled down from the nearest slopes; and that since, by a vibratory movement of overwhelming force, [ ] the fragments have been levelled into one continuous sheet. if during the earthquake [ ] which in overthrew concepcion, in chile, it was thought wonderful that small bodies should have been pitched a few inches from the ground, what must we say to a movement which has caused fragments many tons in weight, to move onwards like so much sand on a vibrating board, and find their level? i have seen, in the cordillera of the andes, the evident marks where stupendous mountains have been broken into pieces like so much thin crust, and the strata thrown of their vertical edges; but never did any scene, like these "streams of stones," so forcibly convey to my mind the idea of a convulsion, of which in historical records we might in vain seek for any counterpart: yet the progress of knowledge will probably some day give a simple explanation of this phenomenon, as it already has of the so long-thought inexplicable transportal of the erratic boulders, which are strewed over the plains of europe. i have little to remark on the zoology of these islands. have before described the carrion-vulture of polyborus. there are some other hawks, owls, and a few small land-birds. the water-fowl are particularly numerous, and they must formerly, from the accounts of the old navigators, have been much more so. one day i observed a cormorant playing with a fish which it had caught. eight times successively the bird let its prey go, then dived after it, and although in deep water, brought it each time to the surface. in the zoological gardens i have seen the otter treat a fish in the same manner, much as a cat does a mouse: i do not know of any other instance where dame nature appears so wilfully cruel. another day, having placed myself between a penguin (aptenodytes demersa) and the water, i was much amused by watching its habits. it was a brave bird; and till reaching the sea, it regularly fought and drove me backwards. nothing less than heavy blows would have stopped him; every inch he gained he firmly kept, standing close before me erect and determined. when thus opposed he continually rolled his head from side to side, in a very odd manner, as if the power of distinct vision lay only in the anterior and basal part of each eye. this bird is commonly called the jackass penguin, from its habit, while on shore, of throwing its head backwards, and making a loud strange noise, very like the braying of an ass; but while at sea, and undisturbed, its note is very deep and solemn, and is often heard in the night-time. in diving, its little wings are used as fins; but on the land, as front legs. when crawling, it may be said on four legs, through the tussocks or on the side of a grassy cliff, it moves so very quickly that it might easily be mistaken for a quadruped. when at sea and fishing, it comes to the surface for the purpose of breathing with such a spring, and dives again so instantaneously, that i defy any one at first sight to be sure that it was not a fish leaping for sport. two kinds of geese frequent the falklands. the upland species (anas magellanica) is common, in pairs and in small flocks, throughout the island. they do not migrate, but build on the small outlying islets. this is supposed to be from fear of the foxes: and it is perhaps from the same cause that these birds, though very tame by day, are shy and wild in the dusk of the evening. they live entirely on vegetable matter. the rock-goose, so called from living exclusively on the sea-beach (anas antarctica), is common both here and on the west coast of america, as far north as chile. in the deep and retired channels of tierra del fuego, the snow-white gander, invariably accompanied by his darker consort, and standing close by each other on some distant rocky point, is a common feature in the landscape. in these islands a great loggerheaded duck or goose (anas brachyptera), which sometimes weighs twenty-two pounds, is very abundant. these birds were in former days called, from their extraordinary manner of paddling and splashing upon the water, race-horses; but now they are named, much more appropriately, steamers. their wings are too small and weak to allow of flight, but by their aid, partly swimming and partly flapping the surface of the water, they move very quickly. the manner is something like that by which the common house-duck escapes when pursued by a dog; but i am nearly sure that the steamer moves its wings alternately, instead of both together, as in other birds. these clumsy, loggerheaded ducks make such a noise and splashing, that the effect is exceedingly curious. thus we find in south america three birds which use their wings for other purposes besides flight; the penguins as fins, the steamer as paddles, and the ostrich as sails: and the apteryz of new zealand, as well as its gigantic extinct prototype the deinornis, possess only rudimentary representatives of wings. the steamer is able to dive only to a very short distance. it feeds entirely on shell-fish from the kelp and tidal rocks: hence the beak and head, for the purpose of breaking them, are surprisingly heavy and strong: the head is so strong that i have scarcely been able to fracture it with my geological hammer; and all our sportsmen soon discovered how tenacious these birds were of life. when in the evening pluming themselves in a flock, they make the same odd mixture of sounds which bull-frogs do within the tropics. in tierra del fuego, as well as in the falkland islands, made many observations on the lower marine animals, [ ] but they are of little general interest. i will mention only one class of facts, relating to certain zoophytes in the more highly organized division of that class. several genera (flustra, eschara, cellaria, crisia, and others) agree in having singular moveable organs (like those of flustra avicularia, found in the european seas) attached to their cells. the organ, in the greater number of cases, very closely resembles the head of a vulture; but the lower mandible can be opened much wider than in a real bird's beak. the head itself possessed considerable powers of movement, by means of a short neck. in one zoophyte the head itself was fixed, but the lower jaw free: in another it was replaced by a triangular hood, with beautifully-fitted trap-door, which evidently answered to the lower mandible. in the greater number of species, each cell was provided with one head, but in others each cell had two. the young cells at the end of the branches of these corallines contain quite immature polypi, yet the vulture-head attached to them, though small, are in every respect perfect when the polypus was removed by a needle from any of the cells, these organs did not appear in the least affected. when one of the vulture-like heads was cut off from the cell, the lower mandible retained its power of opening and closing. perhaps the most singular part of their structure is, that when there were more than two rows of cells on a branch, the central cells were furnished with these appendages, of only one-fourth the size of the outside ones. their movements varied according to the species; but in some i never saw the least motion; while others, with the lower mandible generally wide open, oscillated backwards and forwards at the rate of about five seconds each turn, others moved rapidly and by starts. when touched with a needle, the beak generally seized the point so firmly, that the whole branch might be shaken. these bodies have no relation whatever with the production of the eggs or gemmules, as they are formed before the young polypi appear in the cells at the end of the growing branches; as they move independently of the polypi, and do not appear to be in any way connected with them; and as they differ in size on the outer and inner rows of cells, i have little doubt, that in their functions, they are related rather to the horny axis of the branches than to the polypi in the cells. the fleshy appendage at the lower extremity of the sea-pen (described at bahia blanca) also forms part of the zoophyte, as a whole, in the same manner as the roots of a tree form part of the whole tree, and not of the individual leaf or flower-buds. in another elegant little coralline (crisia?), each cell was furnished with a long-toothed bristle, which had the power of moving quickly. each of these bristles and each of the vulture-like heads generally moved quite independently of the others, but sometimes all on both sides of a branch, sometimes only those on one side, moved together coinstantaneously, sometimes each moved in regular order one after another. in these actions we apparently behold as perfect a transmission of will in the zoophyte, though composed of thousands of distinct polypi, as in any single animal. the case, indeed, is not different from that of the sea-pens, which, when touched, drew themselves into the sand on the coast of bahia blanca. i will state one other instance of uniform action, though of a very different nature, in a zoophyte closely allied to clytia, and therefore very simply organized. having kept a large tuft of it in a basin of salt-water, when it was dark i found that as often as i rubbed any part of a branch, the whole became strongly phosphorescent with a green light: i do not think i ever saw any object more beautifully so. but the remarkable circumstance was, that the flashes of light always proceeded up the branches, from the base towards the extremities. the examination of these compound animals was always very interesting to me. what can be more remarkable that to see a plant-like body producing an egg, capable of swimming about and of choosing a proper place to adhere to, which then sprouts into branches, each crowded with innumerable distinct animals, often of complicated organizations. the branches, moreover, as we have just seen, sometimes possess organs capable of movement and independent of the polypi. surprising as this union of separate individuals in common stock must always appear, every tree displays the same fact, for buds must be considered as individual plants. it is, however, natural to consider a polypus, furnished with a mouth, intestines, and other organs, as a distinct individual, whereas the individuality of a leaf-bud is not easily realised, so that the union of separate individuals in a common body is more striking in a coralline than in a tree. our conception of a compound animal, where in some respects the individuality of each is not completed, may be aided, by reflecting on the production of two distinct creatures by bisecting a single one with a knife, or where nature herself performs the task of bisection. we may consider the polypi in a zoophyte, or the buds in a tree, as cases where the division of the individual has not been completely effected. certainly in the case of trees, and judging from analogy in that of corallines, the individuals propagated by buds seem more intimately related to each other, than eggs or seeds are to their parents. it seems now pretty well established that plants propagated by buds all partake of a common duration of life; and it is familiar to every one, what singular and numerous peculiarities are transmitted with certainty, by buds, layers, and grafts, which by seminal propagation never or only casually reappear. [ ] the desserts of syria are characterized, according to volney (tom. i. p. ), by woody bushes, numerous rats, gazelles and hares. in the landscape of patagonia, the guanaco replaces the gazelle, and the agouti the hare. [ ] i noticed that several hours before any one of the condors died, all the lice, with which it was infested, crawled to the outside feathers. i was assured that this always happens. [ ] london's magazine of nat. hist., vol. vii. [ ] from accounts published since our voyage, and more especially from several interesting letters from capt. sulivan, r. n., employed on the survey, it appears that we took an exaggerated view of the badness of the climate on these islands. but when i reflect on the almost universal covering of peat, and on the fact of wheat seldom ripening here, i can hardly believe that the climate in summer is so fine and dry as it has lately been represented. [ ] lesson's zoology of the voyage of the coquille, tom. i. p. . all the early voyagers, and especially bougainville, distinctly state that the wolf-like fox was the only native animal on the island. the distinction of the rabbit as a species, is taken from peculiarities in the fur, from the shape of the head, and from the shortness of the ears. i may here observe that the difference between the irish and english hare rests upon nearly similar characters, only more strongly marked. [ ] i have reason, however, to suspect that there is a field-mouse. the common european rat and mouse have roamed far from the habitations of the settlers. the common hog has also run wild on one islet; all are of a black colour: the boars are very fierce, and have great trunks. [ ] the "culpeu" is the canis magellanicus brought home by captain king from the strait of magellan. it is common in chile. [ ] pernety, voyage aux isles malouines, p. . [ ] "nous n'avons pas ete moins saisis d'etonnement a la vue de l'innombrable quantite de pierres de touts grandeurs, bouleversees les unes sur les autres, et cependent rangees, comme si elles avoient ete amoncelees negligemment pour remplir des ravins. on ne se lassoit pas d'admirer les effets prodigieux de la nature."--pernety, p. . [ ] an inhabitant of mendoza, and hence well capable of judging, assured me that, during the several years he had resided on these islands, he had never felt the slightest shock of an earthquake. [ ] i was surprised to find, on counting the eggs of a large white doris (this sea-slug was three and a half inches long), how extraordinarily numerous they were. from two to five eggs (each three-thousandths of an inch in diameter) were contained in spherical little case. these were arranged two deep in transverse rows forming a ribbon. the ribbon adhered by its edge to the rock in an oval spire. one which i found, measured nearly twenty inches in length and half in breadth. by counting how many balls were contained in a tenth of an inch in the row, and how many rows in an equal length of the ribbon, on the most moderate computation there were six hundred thousand eggs. yet this doris was certainly not very common; although i was often searching under the stones, i saw only seven individuals. no fallacy is more common with naturalists, than that the numbers of an individual species depend on its powers of propagation. chapter x tierra del fuego tierra del fuego, first arrival--good success bay--an account of the fuegians on board--interview with the savages--scenery of the forests--cape horn--wigwam cove--miserable condition of the savages--famines--cannibals--matricide--religious feelings--great gale--beagle channel--ponsonby sound--build wigwams and settle the fuegians--bifurcation of the beagle channel--glaciers--return to the ship--second visit in the ship to the settlement--equality of condition amongst the natives. december th, .--having now finished with patagonia and the falkland islands, i will describe our first arrival in tierra del fuego. a little after noon we doubled cape st. diego, and entered the famous strait of le maire. we kept close to the fuegian shore, but the outline of the rugged, inhospitable statenland was visible amidst the clouds. in the afternoon we anchored in the bay of good success. while entering we were saluted in a manner becoming the inhabitants of this savage land. a group of fuegians partly concealed by the entangled forest, were perched on a wild point overhanging the sea; and as we passed by, they sprang up and waving their tattered cloaks sent forth a loud and sonorous shout. the savages followed the ship, and just before dark we saw their fire, and again heard their wild cry. the harbour consists of a fine piece of water half surrounded by low rounded mountains of clay-slate, which are covered to the water's edge by one dense gloomy forest. a single glance at the landscape was sufficient to show me how widely different it was from anything i had ever beheld. at night it blew a gale of wind, and heavy squalls from the mountains swept past us. it would have been a bad time out at sea, and we, as well as others, may call this good success bay. in the morning the captain sent a party to communicate with the fuegians. when we came within hail, one of the four natives who were present advanced to receive us, and began to shout most vehemently, wishing to direct us where to land. when we were on shore the party looked rather alarmed, but continued talking and making gestures with great rapidity. it was without exception the most curious and interesting spectacle i ever beheld: i could not have believed how wide was the difference between savage and civilized man: it is greater than between a wild and domesticated animal, inasmuch as in man there is a greater power of improvement. the chief spokesman was old, and appeared to be the head of the family; the three others were powerful young men, about six feet high. the women and children had been sent away. these fuegians are a very different race from the stunted, miserable wretches farther westward; and they seem closely allied to the famous patagonians of the strait of magellan. their only garment consists of a mantle made of guanaco skin, with the wool outside: this they wear just thrown over their shoulders, leaving their persons as often exposed as covered. their skin is of a dirty coppery-red colour. the old man had a fillet of white feathers tied round his head, which partly confined his black, coarse, and entangled hair. his face was crossed by two broad transverse bars; one, painted bright red, reached from ear to ear and included the upper lip; the other, white like chalk, extended above and parallel to the first, so that even his eyelids were thus coloured. the other two men were ornamented by streaks of black powder, made of charcoal. the party altogether closely resembled the devils which come on the stage in plays like der freischutz. their very attitudes were abject, and the expression of their countenances distrustful, surprised, and startled. after we had presented them with some scarlet cloth, which they immediately tied round their necks, they became good friends. this was shown by the old man patting our breasts, and making a chuckling kind of noise, as people do when feeding chickens. i walked with the old man, and this demonstration of friendship was repeated several times; it was concluded by three hard slaps, which were given me on the breast and back at the same time. he then bared his bosom for me to return the compliment, which being done, he seemed highly pleased. the language of these people, according to our notions, scarcely deserves to be called articulate. captain cook has compared it to a man clearing his throat, but certainly no european ever cleared his throat with so many hoarse, guttural, and clicking sounds. they are excellent mimics: as often as we coughed or yawned, or made any odd motion, they immediately imitated us. some of our party began to squint and look awry; but one of the young fuegians (whose whole face was painted black, excepting a white band across his eyes) succeeded in making far more hideous grimaces. they could repeat with perfect correctness each word in any sentence we addressed them, and they remembered such words for some time. yet we europeans all know how difficult it is to distinguish apart the sounds in a foreign language. which of us, for instance, could follow an american indian through a sentence of more than three words? all savages appear to possess, to an uncommon degree, this power of mimicry. i was told, almost in the same words, of the same ludicrous habit among the caffres; the australians, likewise, have long been notorious for being able to imitate and describe the gait of any man, so that he may be recognized. how can this faculty be explained? is it a consequence of the more practised habits of perception and keener senses, common to all men in a savage state, as compared with those long civilized? when a song was struck up by our party, i thought the fuegians would have fallen down with astonishment. with equal surprise they viewed our dancing; but one of the young men, when asked, had no objection to a little waltzing. little accustomed to europeans as they appeared to be, yet they knew and dreaded our fire-arms; nothing would tempt them to take a gun in their hands. they begged for knives, calling them by the spanish word "cuchilla." they explained also what they wanted, by acting as if they had a piece of blubber in their mouth, and then pretending to cut instead of tear it. i have not as yet noticed the fuegians whom we had on board. during the former voyage of the adventure and beagle in to , captain fitz roy seized on a party of natives, as hostages for the loss of a boat, which had been stolen, to the great jeopardy of a party employed on the survey; and some of these natives, as well as a child whom he bought for a pearl-button, he took with him to england, determining to educate them and instruct them in religion at his own expense. to settle these natives in their own country, was one chief inducement to captain fitz roy to undertake our present voyage; and before the admiralty had resolved to send out this expedition, captain fitz roy had generously chartered a vessel, and would himself have taken them back. the natives were accompanied by a missionary, r. matthews; of whom and of the natives, captain fitz roy has published a full and excellent account. two men, one of whom died in england of the small-pox, a boy and a little girl, were originally taken; and we had now on board, york minster, jemmy button (whose name expresses his purchase-money), and fuegia basket. york minster was a full-grown, short, thick, powerful man: his disposition was reserved, taciturn, morose, and when excited violently passionate; his affections were very strong towards a few friends on board; his intellect good. jemmy button was a universal favourite, but likewise passionate; the expression of his face at once showed his nice disposition. he was merry and often laughed, and was remarkably sympathetic with any one in pain: when the water was rough, i was often a little sea-sick, and he used to come to me and say in a plaintive voice, "poor, poor fellow!" but the notion, after his aquatic life, of a man being sea-sick, was too ludicrous, and he was generally obliged to turn on one side to hide a smile or laugh, and then he would repeat his "poor, poor fellow!" he was of a patriotic disposition; and he liked to praise his own tribe and country, in which he truly said there were "plenty of trees," and he abused all the other tribes: he stoutly declared that there was no devil in his land. jemmy was short, thick, and fat, but vain of his personal appearance; he used always to wear gloves, his hair was neatly cut, and he was distressed if his well-polished shoes were dirtied. he was fond of admiring himself in a looking glass; and a merry-faced little indian boy from the rio negro, whom we had for some months on board, soon perceived this, and used to mock him: jemmy, who was always rather jealous of the attention paid to this little boy, did not at all like this, and used to say, with rather a contemptuous twist of his head, "too much skylark." it seems yet wonderful to me, when i think over all his many good qualities that he should have been of the same race, and doubtless partaken of the same character, with the miserable, degraded savages whom we first met here. lastly, fuegia basket was a nice, modest, reserved young girl, with a rather pleasing but sometimes sullen expression, and very quick in learning anything, especially languages. this she showed in picking up some portuguese and spanish, when left on shore for only a short time at rio de janeiro and monte video, and in her knowledge of english. york minster was very jealous of any attention paid to her; for it was clear he determined to marry her as soon as they were settled on shore. although all three could both speak and understand a good deal of english, it was singularly difficult to obtain much information from them, concerning the habits of their countrymen; this was partly owing to their apparent difficulty in understanding the simplest alternative. every one accustomed to very young children, knows how seldom one can get an answer even to so simple a question as whether a thing is black or white; the idea of black or white seems alternately to fill their minds. so it was with these fuegians, and hence it was generally impossible to find out, by cross questioning, whether one had rightly understood anything which they had asserted. their sight was remarkably acute; it is well known that sailors, from long practice, can make out a distant object much better than a landsman; but both york and jemmy were much superior to any sailor on board: several times they have declared what some distant object has been, and though doubted by every one, they have proved right, when it has been examined through a telescope. they were quite conscious of this power; and jemmy, when he had any little quarrel with the officer on watch, would say, "me see ship, me no tell." it was interesting to watch the conduct of the savages, when we landed, towards jemmy button: they immediately perceived the difference between him and ourselves, and held much conversation one with another on the subject. the old man addressed a long harangue to jemmy, which it seems was to invite him to stay with them. but jemmy understood very little of their language, and was, moreover, thoroughly ashamed of his countrymen. when york minster afterwards came on shore, they noticed him in the same way, and told him he ought to shave; yet he had not twenty dwarf hairs on his face, whilst we all wore our untrimmed beards. they examined the colour of his skin, and compared it with ours. one of our arms being bared, they expressed the liveliest surprise and admiration at its whiteness, just in the same way in which i have seen the ourangoutang do at the zoological gardens. we thought that they mistook two or three of the officers, who were rather shorter and fairer, though adorned with large beards, for the ladies of our party. the tallest amongst the fuegians was evidently much pleased at his height being noticed. when placed back to back with the tallest of the boat's crew, he tried his best to edge on higher ground, and to stand on tiptoe. he opened his mouth to show his teeth, and turned his face for a side view; and all this was done with such alacrity, that i dare say he thought himself the handsomest man in tierra del fuego. after our first feeling of grave astonishment was over, nothing could be more ludicrous than the odd mixture of surprise and imitation which these savages every moment exhibited. the next day i attempted to penetrate some way into the country. tierra del fuego may be described as a mountainous land, partly submerged in the sea, so that deep inlets and bays occupy the place where valleys should exist. the mountain sides, except on the exposed western coast, are covered from the water's edge upwards by one great forest. the trees reach to an elevation of between and feet, and are succeeded by a band of peat, with minute alpine plants; and this again is succeeded by the line of perpetual snow, which, according to captain king, in the strait of magellan descends to between and feet. to find an acre of level land in any part of the country is most rare. i recollect only one little flat piece near port famine, and another of rather larger extent near goeree road. in both places, and everywhere else, the surface is covered by a thick bed of swampy peat. even within the forest, the ground is concealed by a mass of slowly putrefying vegetable matter, which, from being soaked with water, yields to the foot. finding it nearly hopeless to push my way through the wood, i followed the course of a mountain torrent. at first, from the waterfalls and number of dead trees, i could hardly crawl along; but the bed of the stream soon became a little more open, from the floods having swept the sides. i continued slowly to advance for an hour along the broken and rocky banks, and was amply repaid by the grandeur of the scene. the gloomy depth of the ravine well accorded with the universal signs of violence. on every side were lying irregular masses of rock and torn-up trees; other trees, though still erect, were decayed to the heart and ready to fall. the entangled mass of the thriving and the fallen reminded me of the forests within the tropics--yet there was a difference: for in these still solitudes, death, instead of life, seemed the predominant spirit. i followed the water-course till i came to a spot where a great slip had cleared a straight space down the mountain side. by this road i ascended to a considerable elevation, and obtained a good view of the surrounding woods. the trees all belong to one kind, the fagus betuloides; for the number of the other species of fagus and of the winter's bark, is quite inconsiderable. this beech keeps its leaves throughout the year; but its foliage is of a peculiar brownish-green colour, with a tinge of yellow. as the whole landscape is thus coloured, it has a sombre, dull appearance; nor is it often enlivened by the rays of the sun. december th.--one side of the harbour is formed by a hill about feet high, which captain fitz roy has called after sir j. banks, in commemoration of his disastrous excursion, which proved fatal to two men of his party, and nearly so to dr. solander. the snow-storm, which was the cause of their misfortune, happened in the middle of january, corresponding to our july, and in the latitude of durham! i was anxious to reach the summit of this mountain to collect alpine plants; for flowers of any kind in the lower parts are few in number. we followed the same water-course as on the previous day, till it dwindled away, and we were then compelled to crawl blindly among the trees. these, from the effects of the elevation and of the impetuous winds, were low, thick and crooked. at length we reached that which from a distance appeared like a carpet of fine green turf, but which, to our vexation, turned out to be a compact mass of little beech-trees about four or five feet high. they were as thick together as box in the border of a garden, and we were obliged to struggle over the flat but treacherous surface. after a little more trouble we gained the peat, and then the bare slate rock. a ridge connected this hill with another, distant some miles, and more lofty, so that patches of snow were lying on it. as the day was not far advanced, i determined to walk there and collect plants along the road. it would have been very hard work, had it not been for a well-beaten and straight path made by the guanacos; for these animals, like sheep, always follow the same line. when we reached the hill we found it the highest in the immediate neighbourhood, and the waters flowed to the sea in opposite directions. we obtained a wide view over the surrounding country: to the north a swampy moorland extended, but to the south we had a scene of savage magnificence, well becoming tierra del fuego. there was a degree of mysterious grandeur in mountain behind mountain, with the deep intervening valleys, all covered by one thick, dusky mass of forest. the atmosphere, likewise, in this climate, where gale succeeds gale, with rain, hail, and sleet, seems blacker than anywhere else. in the strait of magellan looking due southward from port famine, the distant channels between the mountains appeared from their gloominess to lead beyond the confines of this world. december st.--the beagle got under way: and on the succeeding day, favoured to an uncommon degree by a fine easterly breeze, we closed in with the barnevelts, and running past cape deceit with its stony peaks, about three o'clock doubled the weather-beaten cape horn. the evening was calm and bright, and we enjoyed a fine view of the surrounding isles. cape horn, however, demanded his tribute, and before night sent us a gale of wind directly in our teeth. we stood out to sea, and on the second day again made the land, when we saw on our weather-bow this notorious promontory in its proper form--veiled in a mist, and its dim outline surrounded by a storm of wind and water. great black clouds were rolling across the heavens, and squalls of rain, with hail, swept by us with such extreme violence, that the captain determined to run into wigwam cove. this is a snug little harbour, not far from cape horn; and here, at christmas-eve, we anchored in smooth water. the only thing which reminded us of the gale outside, was every now and then a puff from the mountains, which made the ship surge at her anchors. december th.--close by the cove, a pointed hill, called kater's peak, rises to the height of feet. the surrounding islands all consist of conical masses of greenstone, associated sometimes with less regular hills of baked and altered clay-slate. this part of tierra del fuego may be considered as the extremity of the submerged chain of mountains already alluded to. the cove takes its name of "wigwam" from some of the fuegian habitations; but every bay in the neighbourhood might be so called with equal propriety. the inhabitants, living chiefly upon shell-fish, are obliged constantly to change their place of residence; but they return at intervals to the same spots, as is evident from the piles of old shells, which must often amount to many tons in freight. these heaps can be distinguished at a long distance by the bright green colour of certain plants, which invariably grow on them. among these may be enumerated the wild celery and scurvy grass, two very serviceable plants, the use of which has not been discovered by the natives. the fuegian wigwam resembles, in size and dimensions, a haycock. it merely consists of a few broken branches stuck in the ground, and very imperfectly thatched on one side with a few tufts of grass and rushes. the whole cannot be the work of an hour, and it is only used for a few days. at goeree roads i saw a place where one of these naked men had slept, which absolutely offered no more cover than the form of a hare. the man was evidently living by himself, and york minster said he was "very bad man," and that probably he had stolen something. on the west coast, however, the wigwams are rather better, for they are covered with seal-skins. we were detained here several days by the bad weather. the climate is certainly wretched: the summer solstice was now passed, yet every day snow fell on the hills, and in the valleys there was rain, accompanied by sleet. the thermometer generally stood about degs., but in the night fell to or degs. from the damp and boisterous state of the atmosphere, not cheered by a gleam of sunshine, one fancied the climate even worse than it really was. while going one day on shore near wollaston island, we pulled alongside a canoe with six fuegians. these were the most abject and miserable creatures i anywhere beheld. on the east coast the natives, as we have seen, have guanaco cloaks, and on the west they possess seal-skins. amongst these central tribes the men generally have an otter-skin, or some small scrap about as large as a pocket-handkerchief, which is barely sufficient to cover their backs as low down as their loins. it is laced across the breast by strings, and according as the wind blows, it is shifted from side to side. but these fuegians in the canoe were quite naked, and even one full-grown woman was absolutely so. it was raining heavily, and the fresh water, together with the spray, trickled down her body. in another harbour not far distant, a woman, who was suckling a recently-born child, came one day alongside the vessel, and remained there out of mere curiosity, whilst the sleet fell and thawed on her naked bosom, and on the skin of her naked baby! these poor wretches were stunted in their growth, their hideous faces bedaubed with white paint, their skins filthy and greasy, their hair entangled, their voices discordant, and their gestures violent. viewing such men, one can hardly make one's self believe that they are fellow-creatures, and inhabitants of the same world. it is a common subject of conjecture what pleasure in life some of the lower animals can enjoy: how much more reasonably the same question may be asked with respect to these barbarians! at night, five or six human beings, naked and scarcely protected from the wind and rain of this tempestuous climate, sleep on the wet ground coiled up like animals. whenever it is low water, winter or summer, night or day, they must rise to pick shell-fish from the rocks; and the women either dive to collect sea-eggs, or sit patiently in their canoes, and with a baited hair-line without any hook, jerk out little fish. if a seal is killed, or the floating carcass of a putrid whale is discovered, it is a feast; and such miserable food is assisted by a few tasteless berries and fungi. they often suffer from famine: i heard mr. low, a sealing-master intimately acquainted with the natives of this country, give a curious account of the state of a party of one hundred and fifty natives on the west coast, who were very thin and in great distress. a succession of gales prevented the women from getting shell-fish on the rocks, and they could not go out in their canoes to catch seal. a small party of these men one morning set out, and the other indians explained to him, that they were going a four days' journey for food: on their return, low went to meet them, and he found them excessively tired, each man carrying a great square piece of putrid whale's-blubber with a hole in the middle, through which they put their heads, like the gauchos do through their ponchos or cloaks. as soon as the blubber was brought into a wigwam, an old man cut off thin slices, and muttering over them, broiled them for a minute, and distributed them to the famished party, who during this time preserved a profound silence. mr. low believes that whenever a whale is cast on shore, the natives bury large pieces of it in the sand, as a resource in time of famine; and a native boy, whom he had on board, once found a stock thus buried. the different tribes when at war are cannibals. from the concurrent, but quite independent evidence of the boy taken by mr. low, and of jemmy button, it is certainly true, that when pressed in winter by hunger, they kill and devour their old women before they kill their dogs: the boy, being asked by mr. low why they did this, answered, "doggies catch otters, old women no." this boy described the manner in which they are killed by being held over smoke and thus choked; he imitated their screams as a joke, and described the parts of their bodies which are considered best to eat. horrid as such a death by the hands of their friends and relatives must be, the fears of the old women, when hunger begins to press, are more painful to think of; we are told that they then often run away into the mountains, but that they are pursued by the men and brought back to the slaughter-house at their own firesides! captain fitz roy could never ascertain that the fuegians have any distinct belief in a future life. they sometimes bury their dead in caves, and sometimes in the mountain forests; we do not know what ceremonies they perform. jemmy button would not eat land-birds, because "eat dead men": they are unwilling even to mention their dead friends. we have no reason to believe that they perform any sort of religious worship; though perhaps the muttering of the old man before he distributed the putrid blubber to his famished party, may be of this nature. each family or tribe has a wizard or conjuring doctor, whose office we could never clearly ascertain. jemmy believed in dreams, though not, as i have said, in the devil: i do not think that our fuegians were much more superstitious than some of the sailors; for an old quartermaster firmly believed that the successive heavy gales, which we encountered off cape horn, were caused by our having the fuegians on board. the nearest approach to a religious feeling which i heard of, was shown by york minster, who, when mr. bynoe shot some very young ducklings as specimens, declared in the most solemn manner, "oh, mr. bynoe, much rain, snow, blow much." this was evidently a retributive punishment for wasting human food. in a wild and excited manner he also related, that his brother, one day whilst returning to pick up some dead birds which he had left on the coast, observed some feathers blown by the wind. his brother said (york imitating his manner), "what that?" and crawling onwards, he peeped over the cliff, and saw "wild man" picking his birds; he crawled a little nearer, and then hurled down a great stone and killed him. york declared for a long time afterwards storms raged, and much rain and snow fell. as far as we could make out, he seemed to consider the elements themselves as the avenging agents: it is evident in this case, how naturally, in a race a little more advanced in culture, the elements would become personified. what the "bad wild men" were, has always appeared to me most mysterious: from what york said, when we found the place like the form of a hare, where a single man had slept the night before, i should have thought that they were thieves who had been driven from their tribes; but other obscure speeches made me doubt this; i have sometimes imagined that the most probable explanation was that they were insane. the different tribes have no government or chief; yet each is surrounded by other hostile tribes, speaking different dialects, and separated from each other only by a deserted border or neutral territory: the cause of their warfare appears to be the means of subsistence. their country is a broken mass of wild rocks, lofty hills, and useless forests: and these are viewed through mists and endless storms. the habitable land is reduced to the stones on the beach; in search of food they are compelled unceasingly to wander from spot to spot, and so steep is the coast, that they can only move about in their wretched canoes. they cannot know the feeling of having a home, and still less that of domestic affection; for the husband is to the wife a brutal master to a laborious slave. was a more horrid deed ever perpetrated, than that witnessed on the west coast by byron, who saw a wretched mother pick up her bleeding dying infant-boy, whom her husband had mercilessly dashed on the stones for dropping a basket of sea-eggs! how little can the higher powers of the mind be brought into play: what is there for imagination to picture, for reason to compare, or judgment to decide upon? to knock a limpet from the rock does not require even cunning, that lowest power of the mind. their skill in some respects may be compared to the instinct of animals; for it is not improved by experience: the canoe, their most ingenious work, poor as it is, has remained the same, as we know from drake, for the last two hundred and fifty years. whilst beholding these savages, one asks, whence have they come? what could have tempted, or what change compelled a tribe of men, to leave the fine regions of the north, to travel down the cordillera or backbone of america, to invent and build canoes, which are not used by the tribes of chile, peru, and brazil, and then to enter on one of the most inhospitable countries within the limits of the globe? although such reflections must at first seize on the mind, yet we may feel sure that they are partly erroneous. there is no reason to believe that the fuegians decrease in number; therefore we must suppose that they enjoy a sufficient share of happiness, of whatever kind it may be, to render life worth having. nature by making habit omnipotent, and its effects hereditary, has fitted the fuegian to the climate and the productions of his miserable country. after having been detained six days in wigwam cove by very bad weather, we put to sea on the th of december. captain fitz roy wished to get westward to land york and fuegia in their own country. when at sea we had a constant succession of gales, and the current was against us: we drifted to degs. ' south. on the th of january, , by carrying a press of sail, we fetched within a few miles of the great rugged mountain of york minster (so called by captain cook, and the origin of the name of the elder fuegian), when a violent squall compelled us to shorten sail and stand out to sea. the surf was breaking fearfully on the coast, and the spray was carried over a cliff estimated to feet in height. on the th the gale was very heavy, and we did not know exactly where we were: it was a most unpleasant sound to hear constantly repeated, "keep a good look-out to leeward." on the th the storm raged with its full fury: our horizon was narrowly limited by the sheets of spray borne by the wind. the sea looked ominous, like a dreary waving plain with patches of drifted snow: whilst the ship laboured heavily, the albatross glided with its expanded wings right up the wind. at noon a great sea broke over us, and filled one of the whale boats, which was obliged to be instantly cut away. the poor beagle trembled at the shock, and for a few minutes would not obey her helm; but soon, like a good ship that she was, she righted and came up to the wind again. had another sea followed the first, our fate would have been decided soon, and for ever. we had now been twenty-four days trying in vain to get westward; the men were worn out with fatigue, and they had not had for many nights or days a dry thing to put on. captain fitz roy gave up the attempt to get westward by the outside coast. in the evening we ran in behind false cape horn, and dropped our anchor in forty-seven fathoms, fire flashing from the windlass as the chain rushed round it. how delightful was that still night, after having been so long involved in the din of the warring elements! january th, .--the beagle anchored in goeree roads. captain fitz roy having resolved to settle the fuegians, according to their wishes, in ponsonby sound, four boats were equipped to carry them there through the beagle channel. this channel, which was discovered by captain fitz roy during the last voyage, is a most remarkable feature in the geography of this, or indeed of any other country: it may be compared to the valley of lochness in scotland, with its chain of lakes and friths. it is about one hundred and twenty miles long, with an average breadth, not subject to any very great variation, of about two miles; and is throughout the greater part so perfectly straight, that the view, bounded on each side by a line of mountains, gradually becomes indistinct in the long distance. it crosses the southern part of tierra del fuego in an east and west line, and in the middle is joined at right angles on the south side by an irregular channel, which has been called ponsonby sound. this is the residence of jemmy button's tribe and family. th.--three whale-boats and the yawl, with a party of twenty-eight, started under the command of captain fitz roy. in the afternoon we entered the eastern mouth of the channel, and shortly afterwards found a snug little cove concealed by some surrounding islets. here we pitched our tents and lighted our fires. nothing could look more comfortable than this scene. the glassy water of the little harbour, with the branches of the trees hanging over the rocky beach, the boats at anchor, the tents supported by the crossed oars, and the smoke curling up the wooded valley, formed a picture of quiet retirement. the next day ( th) we smoothly glided onwards in our little fleet, and came to a more inhabited district. few if any of these natives could ever have seen a white man; certainly nothing could exceed their astonishment at the apparition of the four boats. fires were lighted on every point (hence the name of tierra del fuego, or the land of fire), both to attract our attention and to spread far and wide the news. some of the men ran for miles along the shore. i shall never forget how wild and savage one group appeared: suddenly four or five men came to the edge of an overhanging cliff; they were absolutely naked, and their long hair streamed about their faces; they held rugged staffs in their hands, and, springing from the ground, they waved their arms round their heads, and sent forth the most hideous yells. at dinner-time we landed among a party of fuegians. at first they were not inclined to be friendly; for until the captain pulled in ahead of the other boats, they kept their slings in their hands. we soon, however, delighted them by trifling presents, such as tying red tape round their heads. they liked our biscuit: but one of the savages touched with his finger some of the meat preserved in tin cases which i was eating, and feeling it soft and cold, showed as much disgust at it, as i should have done at putrid blubber. jemmy was thoroughly ashamed of his countrymen, and declared his own tribe were quite different, in which he was wofully mistaken. it was as easy to please as it was difficult to satisfy these savages. young and old, men and children, never ceased repeating the word "yammerschooner," which means "give me." after pointing to almost every object, one after the other, even to the buttons on our coats, and saying their favourite word in as many intonations as possible, they would then use it in a neuter sense, and vacantly repeat "yammerschooner." after yammerschoonering for any article very eagerly, they would by a simple artifice point to their young women or little children, as much as to say, "if you will not give it me, surely you will to such as these." at night we endeavoured in vain to find an uninhabited cove; and at last were obliged to bivouac not far from a party of natives. they were very inoffensive as long as they were few in numbers, but in the morning ( st) being joined by others they showed symptoms of hostility, and we thought that we should have come to a skirmish. an european labours under great disadvantages when treating with savages like these, who have not the least idea of the power of fire-arms. in the very act of levelling his musket he appears to the savage far inferior to a man armed with a bow and arrow, a spear, or even a sling. nor is it easy to teach them our superiority except by striking a fatal blow. like wild beasts, they do not appear to compare numbers; for each individual, if attacked, instead of retiring, will endeavour to dash your brains out with a stone, as certainly as a tiger under similar circumstances would tear you. captain fitz roy on one occasion being very anxious, from good reasons, to frighten away a small party, first flourished a cutlass near them, at which they only laughed; he then twice fired his pistol close to a native. the man both times looked astounded, and carefully but quickly rubbed his head; he then stared awhile, and gabbled to his companions, but he never seemed to think of running away. we can hardly put ourselves in the position of these savages, and understand their actions. in the case of this fuegian, the possibility of such a sound as the report of a gun close to his ear could never have entered his mind. he perhaps literally did not for a second know whether it was a sound or a blow, and therefore very naturally rubbed his head. in a similar manner, when a savage sees a mark struck by a bullet, it may be some time before he is able at all to understand how it is effected; for the fact of a body being invisible from its velocity would perhaps be to him an idea totally inconceivable. moreover, the extreme force of a bullet, that penetrates a hard substance without tearing it, may convince the savage that it has no force at all. certainly i believe that many savages of the lowest grade, such as these of tierra del fuego, have seen objects struck, and even small animals killed by the musket, without being in the least aware how deadly an instrument it is. nd.--after having passed an unmolested night, in what would appear to be neutral territory between jemmy's tribe and the people whom we saw yesterday, we sailed pleasantly along. i do not know anything which shows more clearly the hostile state of the different tribes, than these wide border or neutral tracts. although jemmy button well knew the force of our party, he was, at first, unwilling to land amidst the hostile tribe nearest to his own. he often told us how the savage oens men "when the leaf red," crossed the mountains from the eastern coast of tierra del fuego, and made inroads on the natives of this part of the country. it was most curious to watch him when thus talking, and see his eyes gleaming and his whole face assume a new and wild expression. as we proceeded along the beagle channel, the scenery assumed a peculiar and very magnificent character; but the effect was much lessened from the lowness of the point of view in a boat, and from looking along the valley, and thus losing all the beauty of a succession of ridges. the mountains were here about three thousand feet high, and terminated in sharp and jagged points. they rose in one unbroken sweep from the water's edge, and were covered to the height of fourteen or fifteen hundred feet by the dusky-coloured forest. it was most curious to observe, as far as the eye could range, how level and truly horizontal the line on the mountain side was, at which trees ceased to grow: it precisely resembled the high-water mark of drift-weed on a sea-beach. at night we slept close to the junction of ponsonby sound with the beagle channel. a small family of fuegians, who were living in the cove, were quiet and inoffensive, and soon joined our party round a blazing fire. we were well clothed, and though sitting close to the fire were far from too warm; yet these naked savages, though further off, were observed, to our great surprise, to be streaming with perspiration at undergoing such a roasting. they seemed, however, very well pleased, and all joined in the chorus of the seamen's songs: but the manner in which they were invariably a little behindhand was quite ludicrous. during the night the news had spread, and early in the morning ( rd) a fresh party arrived, belonging to the tekenika, or jemmy's tribe. several of them had run so fast that their noses were bleeding, and their mouths frothed from the rapidity with which they talked; and with their naked bodies all bedaubed with black, white, [ ] and red, they looked like so many demoniacs who had been fighting. we then proceeded (accompanied by twelve canoes, each holding four or five people) down ponsonby sound to the spot where poor jemmy expected to find his mother and relatives. he had already heard that his father was dead; but as he had had a "dream in his head" to that effect, he did not seem to care much about it, and repeatedly comforted himself with the very natural reflection--"me no help it." he was not able to learn any particulars regarding his father's death, as his relations would not speak about it. jemmy was now in a district well known to him, and guided the boats to a quiet pretty cove named woollya, surrounded by islets, every one of which and every point had its proper native name. we found here a family of jemmy's tribe, but not his relations: we made friends with them; and in the evening they sent a canoe to inform jemmy's mother and brothers. the cove was bordered by some acres of good sloping land, not covered (as elsewhere) either by peat or by forest-trees. captain fitz roy originally intended, as before stated, to have taken york minster and fuegia to their own tribe on the west coast; but as they expressed a wish to remain here, and as the spot was singularly favourable, captain fitz roy determined to settle here the whole party, including matthews, the missionary. five days were spent in building for them three large wigwams, in landing their goods, in digging two gardens, and sowing seeds. the next morning after our arrival (the th) the fuegians began to pour in, and jemmy's mother and brothers arrived. jemmy recognised the stentorian voice of one of his brothers at a prodigious distance. the meeting was less interesting than that between a horse, turned out into a field, when he joins an old companion. there was no demonstration of affection; they simply stared for a short time at each other; and the mother immediately went to look after her canoe. we heard, however, through york that the mother has been inconsolable for the loss of jemmy and had searched everywhere for him, thinking that he might have been left after having been taken in the boat. the women took much notice of and were very kind to fuegia. we had already perceived that jemmy had almost forgotten his own language. i should think there was scarcely another human being with so small a stock of language, for his english was very imperfect. it was laughable, but almost pitiable, to hear him speak to his wild brother in english, and then ask him in spanish ("no sabe?") whether he did not understand him. everything went on peaceably during the three next days whilst the gardens were digging and wigwams building. we estimated the number of natives at about one hundred and twenty. the women worked hard, whilst the men lounged about all day long, watching us. they asked for everything they saw, and stole what they could. they were delighted at our dancing and singing, and were particularly interested at seeing us wash in a neighbouring brook; they did not pay much attention to anything else, not even to our boats. of all the things which york saw, during his absence from his country, nothing seems more to have astonished him than an ostrich, near maldonado: breathless with astonishment he came running to mr. bynoe, with whom he was out walking--"oh, mr. bynoe, oh, bird all same horse!" much as our white skins surprised the natives, by mr. low's account a negro-cook to a sealing vessel, did so more effectually, and the poor fellow was so mobbed and shouted at that he would never go on shore again. everything went on so quietly that some of the officers and myself took long walks in the surrounding hills and woods. suddenly, however, on the th, every woman and child disappeared. we were all uneasy at this, as neither york nor jemmy could make out the cause. it was thought by some that they had been frightened by our cleaning and firing off our muskets on the previous evening; by others, that it was owing to offence taken by an old savage, who, when told to keep further off, had coolly spit in the sentry's face, and had then, by gestures acted over a sleeping fuegian, plainly showed, as it was said, that he should like to cut up and eat our man. captain fitz roy, to avoid the chance of an encounter, which would have been fatal to so many of the fuegians, thought it advisable for us to sleep at a cove a few miles distant. matthews, with his usual quiet fortitude (remarkable in a man apparently possessing little energy of character), determined to stay with the fuegians, who evinced no alarm for themselves; and so we left them to pass their first awful night. on our return in the morning ( th) we were delighted to find all quiet, and the men employed in their canoes spearing fish. captain fitz roy determined to send the yawl and one whale-boat back to the ship; and to proceed with the two other boats, one under his own command (in which he most kindly allowed me to accompany him), and one under mr. hammond, to survey the western parts of the beagle channel, and afterwards to return and visit the settlement. the day to our astonishment was overpoweringly hot, so that our skins were scorched: with this beautiful weather, the view in the middle of the beagle channel was very remarkable. looking towards either hand, no object intercepted the vanishing points of this long canal between the mountains. the circumstance of its being an arm of the sea was rendered very evident by several huge whales [ ] spouting in different directions. on one occasion i saw two of these monsters, probably male and female, slowly swimming one after the other, within less than a stone's throw of the shore, over which the beech-tree extended its branches. we sailed on till it was dark, and then pitched our tents in a quiet creek. the greatest luxury was to find for our beds a beach of pebbles, for they were dry and yielded to the body. peaty soil is damp; rock is uneven and hard; sand gets into one's meat, when cooked and eaten boat-fashion; but when lying in our blanket-bags, on a good bed of smooth pebbles, we passed most comfortable nights. it was my watch till one o'clock. there is something very solemn in these scenes. at no time does the consciousness in what a remote corner of the world you are then standing, come so strongly before the mind. everything tends to this effect; the stillness of the night is interrupted only by the heavy breathing of the seamen beneath the tents, and sometimes by the cry of a night-bird. the occasional barking of a dog, heard in the distance, reminds one that it is the land of the savage. january th.--early in the morning we arrived at the point where the beagle channel divides into two arms; and we entered the northern one. the scenery here becomes even grander than before. the lofty mountains on the north side compose the granitic axis, or backbone of the country and boldly rise to a height of between three and four thousand feet, with one peak above six thousand feet. they are covered by a wide mantle of perpetual snow, and numerous cascades pour their waters, through the woods, into the narrow channel below. in many parts, magnificent glaciers extend from the mountain side to the water's edge. it is scarcely possible to imagine anything more beautiful than the beryl-like blue of these glaciers, and especially as contrasted with the dead white of the upper expanse of snow. the fragments which had fallen from the glacier into the water were floating away, and the channel with its icebergs presented, for the space of a mile, a miniature likeness of the polar sea. the boats being hauled on shore at our dinner-hour, we were admiring from the distance of half a mile a perpendicular cliff of ice, and were wishing that some more fragments would fall. at last, down came a mass with a roaring noise, and immediately we saw the smooth outline of a wave travelling towards us. the men ran down as quickly as they could to the boats; for the chance of their being dashed to pieces was evident. one of the seamen just caught hold of the bows, as the curling breaker reached it: he was knocked over and over, but not hurt, and the boats though thrice lifted on high and let fall again, received no damage. this was most fortunate for us, for we were a hundred miles distant from the ship, and we should have been left without provisions or fire-arms. i had previously observed that some large fragments of rock on the beach had been lately displaced; but until seeing this wave, i did not understand the cause. one side of the creek was formed by a spur of mica-slate; the head by a cliff of ice about forty feet high; and the other side by a promontory fifty feet high, built up of huge rounded fragments of granite and mica-slate, out of which old trees were growing. this promontory was evidently a moraine, heaped up at a period when the glacier had greater dimensions. when we reached the western mouth of this northern branch of the beagle channel, we sailed amongst many unknown desolate islands, and the weather was wretchedly bad. we met with no natives. the coast was almost everywhere so steep, that we had several times to pull many miles before we could find space enough to pitch our two tents: one night we slept on large round boulders, with putrefying sea-weed between them; and when the tide rose, we had to get up and move our blanket-bags. the farthest point westward which we reached was stewart island, a distance of about one hundred and fifty miles from our ship. we returned into the beagle channel by the southern arm, and thence proceeded, with no adventure, back to ponsonby sound. february th.--we arrived at woollya. matthews gave so bad an account of the conduct of the fuegians, that captain fitz roy determined to take him back to the beagle; and ultimately he was left at new zealand, where his brother was a missionary. from the time of our leaving, a regular system of plunder commenced; fresh parties of the natives kept arriving: york and jemmy lost many things, and matthews almost everything which had not been concealed underground. every article seemed to have been torn up and divided by the natives. matthews described the watch he was obliged always to keep as most harassing; night and day he was surrounded by the natives, who tried to tire him out by making an incessant noise close to his head. one day an old man, whom matthews asked to leave his wigwam, immediately returned with a large stone in his hand: another day a whole party came armed with stones and stakes, and some of the younger men and jemmy's brother were crying: matthews met them with presents. another party showed by signs that they wished to strip him naked and pluck all the hairs out of his face and body. i think we arrived just in time to save his life. jemmy's relatives had been so vain and foolish, that they had showed to strangers their plunder, and their manner of obtaining it. it was quite melancholy leaving the three fuegians with their savage countrymen; but it was a great comfort that they had no personal fears. york, being a powerful resolute man, was pretty sure to get on well, together with his wife fuegia. poor jemmy looked rather disconsolate, and would then, i have little doubt, have been glad to have returned with us. his own brother had stolen many things from him; and as he remarked, "what fashion call that:" he abused his countrymen, "all bad men, no sabe (know) nothing" and, though i never heard him swear before, "damned fools." our three fuegians, though they had been only three years with civilized men, would, i am sure, have been glad to have retained their new habits; but this was obviously impossible. i fear it is more than doubtful, whether their visit will have been of any use to them. in the evening, with matthews on board, we made sail back to the ship, not by the beagle channel, but by the southern coast. the boats were heavily laden and the sea rough, and we had a dangerous passage. by the evening of the th we were on board the beagle after an absence of twenty days, during which time we had gone three hundred miles in the open boats. on the th, captain fitz roy paid a visit by himself to the fuegians and found them going on well; and that they had lost very few more things. on the last day of february in the succeeding year ( ) the beagle anchored in a beautiful little cove at the eastern entrance of the beagle channel. captain fitz roy determined on the bold, and as it proved successful, attempt to beat against the westerly winds by the same route, which we had followed in the boats to the settlement at woollya. we did not see many natives until we were near ponsonby sound, where we were followed by ten or twelve canoes. the natives did not at all understand the reason of our tacking, and, instead of meeting us at each tack, vainly strove to follow us in our zigzag course. i was amused at finding what a difference the circumstance of being quite superior in force made, in the interest of beholding these savages. while in the boats i got to hate the very sound of their voices, so much trouble did they give us. the first and last word was "yammerschooner." when, entering some quiet little cove, we have looked round and thought to pass a quiet night, the odious word "yammerschooner" has shrilly sounded from some gloomy nook, and then the little signal-smoke has curled up to spread the news far and wide. on leaving some place we have said to each other, "thank heaven, we have at last fairly left these wretches!" when one more faint hallo from an all-powerful voice, heard at a prodigious distance, would reach our ears, and clearly could we distinguish--"yammerschooner." but now, the more fuegians the merrier; and very merry work it was. both parties laughing, wondering, gaping at each other; we pitying them, for giving us good fish and crabs for rags, etc.; they grasping at the chance of finding people so foolish as to exchange such splendid ornaments for a good supper. it was most amusing to see the undisguised smile of satisfaction with which one young woman with her face painted black, tied several bits of scarlet cloth round her head with rushes. her husband, who enjoyed the very universal privilege in this country of possessing two wives, evidently became jealous of all the attention paid to his young wife; and, after a consultation with his naked beauties, was paddled away by them. some of the fuegians plainly showed that they had a fair notion of barter. i gave one man a large nail (a most valuable present) without making any signs for a return; but he immediately picked out two fish, and handed them up on the point of his spear. if any present was designed for one canoe, and it fell near another, it was invariably given to the right owner. the fuegian boy, whom mr. low had on board showed, by going into the most violent passion, that he quite understood the reproach of being called a liar, which in truth he was. we were this time, as on all former occasions, much surprised at the little notice, or rather none whatever, which was taken of many things, the use of which must have been evident to the natives. simple circumstances--such as the beauty of scarlet cloth or blue beads, the absence of women, our care in washing ourselves,--excited their admiration far more than any grand or complicated object, such as our ship. bougainville has well remarked concerning these people, that they treat the "chefs d'oeuvre de l'industrie humaine, comme ils traitent les loix de la nature et ses phenomenes." on the th of march, we anchored in a cove at woollya, but we saw not a soul there. we were alarmed at this, for the natives in ponsonby sound showed by gestures, that there had been fighting; and we afterwards heard that the dreaded oens men had made a descent. soon a canoe, with a little flag flying, was seen approaching, with one of the men in it washing the paint off his face. this man was poor jemmy,--now a thin, haggard savage, with long disordered hair, and naked, except a bit of blanket round his waist. we did not recognize him till he was close to us, for he was ashamed of himself, and turned his back to the ship. we had left him plump, fat, clean, and well-dressed;--i never saw so complete and grievous a change. as soon, however, as he was clothed, and the first flurry was over, things wore a good appearance. he dined with captain fitz roy, and ate his dinner as tidily as formerly. he told us that he had "too much" (meaning enough) to eat, that he was not cold, that his relations were very good people, and that he did not wish to go back to england: in the evening we found out the cause of this great change in jemmy's feelings, in the arrival of his young and nice-looking wife. with his usual good feeling he brought two beautiful otter-skins for two of his best friends, and some spear-heads and arrows made with his own hands for the captain. he said he had built a canoe for himself, and he boasted that he could talk a little of his own language! but it is a most singular fact, that he appears to have taught all his tribe some english: an old man spontaneously announced "jemmy button's wife." jemmy had lost all his property. he told us that york minster had built a large canoe, and with his wife fuegia, [ ] had several months since gone to his own country, and had taken farewell by an act of consummate villainy; he persuaded jemmy and his mother to come with him, and then on the way deserted them by night, stealing every article of their property. jemmy went to sleep on shore, and in the morning returned, and remained on board till the ship got under way, which frightened his wife, who continued crying violently till he got into his canoe. he returned loaded with valuable property. every soul on board was heartily sorry to shake hands with him for the last time. i do not now doubt that he will be as happy as, perhaps happier than, if he had never left his own country. every one must sincerely hope that captain fitz roy's noble hope may be fulfilled, of being rewarded for the many generous sacrifices which he made for these fuegians, by some shipwrecked sailor being protected by the descendants of jemmy button and his tribe! when jemmy reached the shore, he lighted a signal fire, and the smoke curled up, bidding us a last and long farewell, as the ship stood on her course into the open sea. the perfect equality among the individuals composing the fuegian tribes must for a long time retard their civilization. as we see those animals, whose instinct compels them to live in society and obey a chief, are most capable of improvement, so is it with the races of mankind. whether we look at it as a cause or a consequence, the more civilized always have the most artificial governments. for instance, the inhabitants of otaheite, who, when first discovered, were governed by hereditary kings, had arrived at a far higher grade than another branch of the same people, the new zealanders,--who, although benefited by being compelled to turn their attention to agriculture, were republicans in the most absolute sense. in tierra del fuego, until some chief shall arise with power sufficient to secure any acquired advantage, such as the domesticated animals, it seems scarcely possible that the political state of the country can be improved. at present, even a piece of cloth given to one is torn into shreds and distributed; and no one individual becomes richer than another. on the other hand, it is difficult to understand how a chief can arise till there is property of some sort by which he might manifest his superiority and increase his power. i believe, in this extreme part of south america, man exists in a lower state of improvement than in any other part of the world. the south sea islanders, of the two races inhabiting the pacific, are comparatively civilized. the esquimau in his subterranean hut, enjoys some of the comforts of life, and in his canoe, when fully equipped, manifests much skill. some of the tribes of southern africa prowling about in search of roots, and living concealed on the wild and arid plains, are sufficiently wretched. the australian, in the simplicity of the arts of life, comes nearest the fuegian: he can, however, boast of his boomerang, his spear and throwing-stick, his method of climbing trees, of tracking animals, and of hunting. although the australian may be superior in acquirements, it by no means follows that he is likewise superior in mental capacity: indeed, from what i saw of the fuegians when on board and from what i have read of the australians, i should think the case was exactly the reverse. [ ] this substance, when dry, is tolerably compact, and of little specific gravity: professor ehrenberg has examined it: he states (konig akad. der wissen: berlin, feb. ) that it is composed of infusoria, including fourteen polygastrica, and four phytolitharia. he says that they are all inhabitants of fresh-water; this is a beautiful example of the results obtainable through professor ehrenberg's microscopic researches; for jemmy button told me that it is always collected at the bottoms of mountain-brooks. it is, moreover, a striking fact that in the geographical distribution of the infusoria, which are well known to have very wide ranges, that all the species in this substance, although brought from the extreme southern point of tierra del fuego, are old, known forms. [ ] one day, off the east coast of tierra del fuego, we saw a grand sight in several spermaceti whales jumping upright quite out of the water, with the exception of their tail-fins. as they fell down sideways, they splashed the water high up, and the sound reverberated like a distant broadside. [ ] captain sulivan, who, since his voyage in the beagle, has been employed on the survey of the falkland islands, heard from a sealer in ( ?), that when in the western part of the strait of magellan, he was astonished by a native woman coming on board, who could talk some english. without doubt this was fuega basket. she lived (i fear the term probably bears a double interpretation) some days on board. chapter xi strait of magellan.--climate of the southern coasts strait of magellan--port famine--ascent of mount tarn--forests--edible fungus--zoology--great sea-weed--leave tierra del fuego--climate--fruit-trees and productions of the southern coasts--height of snow-line on the cordillera--descent of glaciers to the sea--icebergs formed--transportal of boulders--climate and productions of the antarctic islands--preservation of frozen carcasses--recapitulation. in the end of may, , we entered for a second time the eastern mouth of the strait of magellan. the country on both sides of this part of the strait consists of nearly level plains, like those of patagonia. cape negro, a little within the second narrows, may be considered as the point where the land begins to assume the marked features of tierra del fuego. on the east coast, south of the strait, broken park-like scenery in a like manner connects these two countries, which are opposed to each other in almost every feature. it is truly surprising to find in a space of twenty miles such a change in the landscape. if we take a rather greater distance, as between port famine and gregory bay, that is about sixty miles, the difference is still more wonderful. at the former place, we have rounded mountains concealed by impervious forests, which are drenched with the rain, brought by an endless succession of gales; while at cape gregory, there is a clear and bright blue sky over the dry and sterile plains. the atmospheric currents, [ ] although rapid, turbulent, and unconfined by any apparent limits, yet seem to follow, like a river in its bed, a regularly determined course. during our previous visit (in january), we had an interview at cape gregory with the famous so-called gigantic patagonians, who gave us a cordial reception. their height appears greater than it really is, from their large guanaco mantles, their long flowing hair, and general figure: on an average, their height is about six feet, with some men taller and only a few shorter; and the women are also tall; altogether they are certainly the tallest race which we anywhere saw. in features they strikingly resemble the more northern indians whom i saw with rosas, but they have a wilder and more formidable appearance: their faces were much painted with red and black, and one man was ringed and dotted with white like a fuegian. captain fitz roy offered to take any three of them on board, and all seemed determined to be of the three. it was long before we could clear the boat; at last we got on board with our three giants, who dined with the captain, and behaved quite like gentlemen, helping themselves with knives, forks, and spoons: nothing was so much relished as sugar. this tribe has had so much communication with sealers and whalers that most of the men can speak a little english and spanish; and they are half civilized, and proportionally demoralized. the next morning a large party went on shore, to barter for skins and ostrich-feathers; fire-arms being refused, tobacco was in greatest request, far more so than axes or tools. the whole population of the toldos, men, women, and children, were arranged on a bank. it was an amusing scene, and it was impossible not to like the so-called giants, they were so thoroughly good-humoured and unsuspecting: they asked us to come again. they seem to like to have europeans to live with them; and old maria, an important woman in the tribe, once begged mr. low to leave any one of his sailors with them. they spend the greater part of the year here; but in summer they hunt along the foot of the cordillera: sometimes they travel as far as the rio negro miles to the north. they are well stocked with horses, each man having, according to mr. low, six or seven, and all the women, and even children, their one own horse. in the time of sarmiento ( ), these indians had bows and arrows, now long since disused; they then also possessed some horses. this is a very curious fact, showing the extraordinarily rapid multiplication of horses in south america. the horse was first landed at buenos ayres in , and the colony being then for a time deserted, the horse ran wild; [ ] in , only forty-three years afterwards, we hear of them at the strait of magellan! mr. low informs me, that a neighbouring tribe of foot-indians is now changing into horse-indians: the tribe at gregory bay giving them their worn-out horses, and sending in winter a few of their best skilled men to hunt for them. june st.--we anchored in the fine bay of port famine. it was now the beginning of winter, and i never saw a more cheerless prospect; the dusky woods, piebald with snow, could be only seen indistinctly, through a drizzling hazy atmosphere. we were, however, lucky in getting two fine days. on one of these, mount sarmiento, a distant mountain feet high, presented a very noble spectacle. i was frequently surprised in the scenery of tierra del fuego, at the little apparent elevation of mountains really lofty. i suspect it is owing to a cause which would not at first be imagined, namely, that the whole mass, from the summit to the water's edge, is generally in full view. i remember having seen a mountain, first from the beagle channel, where the whole sweep from the summit to the base was full in view, and then from ponsonby sound across several successive ridges; and it was curious to observe in the latter case, as each fresh ridge afforded fresh means of judging of the distance, how the mountain rose in height. before reaching port famine, two men were seen running along the shore and hailing the ship. a boat was sent for them. they turned out to be two sailors who had run away from a sealing-vessel, and had joined the patagonians. these indians had treated them with their usual disinterested hospitality. they had parted company through accident, and were then proceeding to port famine in hopes of finding some ship. i dare say they were worthless vagabonds, but i never saw more miserable-looking ones. they had been living for some days on mussel-shells and berries, and their tattered clothes had been burnt by sleeping so near their fires. they had been exposed night and day, without any shelter, to the late incessant gales, with rain, sleet, and snow, and yet they were in good health. during our stay at port famine, the fuegians twice came and plagued us. as there were many instruments, clothes, and men on shore, it was thought necessary to frighten them away. the first time a few great guns were fired, when they were far distant. it was most ludicrous to watch through a glass the indians, as often as the shot struck the water, take up stones, and, as a bold defiance, throw them towards the ship, though about a mile and a half distant! a boat was sent with orders to fire a few musket-shots wide of them. the fuegians hid themselves behind the trees, and for every discharge of the muskets they fired their arrows; all, however, fell short of the boat, and the officer as he pointed at them laughed. this made the fuegians frantic with passion, and they shook their mantles in vain rage. at last, seeing the balls cut and strike the trees, they ran away, and we were left in peace and quietness. during the former voyage the fuegians were here very troublesome, and to frighten them a rocket was fired at night over their wigwams; it answered effectually, and one of the officers told me that the clamour first raised, and the barking of the dogs, was quite ludicrous in contrast with the profound silence which in a minute or two afterwards prevailed. the next morning not a single fuegian was in the neighbourhood. when the beagle was here in the month of february, i started one morning at four o'clock to ascend mount tarn, which is feet high, and is the most elevated point in this immediate district. we went in a boat to the foot of the mountain (but unluckily not to the best part), and then began our ascent. the forest commences at the line of high-water mark, and during the first two hours i gave over all hopes of reaching the summit. so thick was the wood, that it was necessary to have constant recourse to the compass; for every landmark, though in a mountainous country, was completely shut out. in the deep ravines, the death-like scene of desolation exceeded all description; outside it was blowing a gale, but in these hollows, not even a breath of wind stirred the leaves of the tallest trees. so gloomy, cold, and wet was every part, that not even the fungi, mosses, or ferns could flourish. in the valleys it was scarcely possible to crawl along, they were so completely barricaded by great mouldering trunks, which had fallen down in every direction. when passing over these natural bridges, one's course was often arrested by sinking knee deep into the rotten wood; at other times, when attempting to lean against a firm tree, one was startled by finding a mass of decayed matter ready to fall at the slightest touch. we at last found ourselves among the stunted trees, and then soon reached the bare ridge, which conducted us to the summit. here was a view characteristic of tierra del fuego; irregular chains of hills, mottled with patches of snow, deep yellowish-green valleys, and arms of the sea intersecting the land in many directions. the strong wind was piercingly cold, and the atmosphere rather hazy, so that we did not stay long on the top of the mountain. our descent was not quite so laborious as our ascent, for the weight of the body forced a passage, and all the slips and falls were in the right direction. i have already mentioned the sombre and dull character of the evergreen forests, [ ] in which two or three species of trees grow, to the exclusion of all others. above the forest land, there are many dwarf alpine plants, which all spring from the mass of peat, and help to compose it: these plants are very remarkable from their close alliance with the species growing on the mountains of europe, though so many thousand miles distant. the central part of tierra del fuego, where the clay-slate formation occurs, is most favourable to the growth of trees; on the outer coast the poorer granitic soil, and a situation more exposed to the violent winds, do not allow of their attaining any great size. near port famine i have seen more large trees than anywhere else: i measured a winter's bark which was four feet six inches in girth, and several of the beech were as much as thirteen feet. captain king also mentions a beech which was seven feet in diameter, seventeen feet above the roots. there is one vegetable production deserving notice from its importance as an article of food to the fuegians. it is a globular, bright-yellow fungus, which grows in vast numbers on the beech-trees. when young it is elastic and turgid, with [picture] a smooth surface; but when mature it shrinks, becomes tougher, and has its entire surface deeply pitted or honey-combed, as represented in the accompanying woodcut. this fungus belongs to a new and curious genus, [ ] i found a second species on another species of beech in chile: and dr. hooker informs me, that just lately a third species has been discovered on a third species of beech in van diernan's land. how singular is this relationship between parasitical fungi and the trees on which they grow, in distant parts of the world! in tierra del fuego the fungus in its tough and mature state is collected in large quantities by the women and children, and is eaten un-cooked. it has a mucilaginous, slightly sweet taste, with a faint smell like that of a mushroom. with the exception of a few berries, chiefly of a dwarf arbutus, the natives eat no vegetable food besides this fungus. in new zealand, before the introduction of the potato, the roots of the fern were largely consumed; at the present time, i believe, tierra del fuego is the only country in the world where a cryptogamic plant affords a staple article of food. the zoology of tierra del fuego, as might have been expected from the nature of its climate and vegetation, is very poor. of mammalia, besides whales and seals, there is one bat, a kind of mouse (reithrodon chinchilloides), two true mice, a ctenomys allied to or identical with the tucutuco, two foxes (canis magellanicus and c. azarae), a sea-otter, the guanaco, and a deer. most of these animals inhabit only the drier eastern parts of the country; and the deer has never been seen south of the strait of magellan. observing the general correspondence of the cliffs of soft sandstone, mud, and shingle, on the opposite sides of the strait, and on some intervening islands, one is strongly tempted to believe that the land was once joined, and thus allowed animals so delicate and helpless as the tucutuco and reithrodon to pass over. the correspondence of the cliffs is far from proving any junction; because such cliffs generally are formed by the intersection of sloping deposits, which, before the elevation of the land, had been accumulated near the then existing shores. it is, however, a remarkable coincidence, that in the two large islands cut off by the beagle channel from the rest of tierra del fuego, one has cliffs composed of matter that may be called stratified alluvium, which front similar ones on the opposite side of the channel,--while the other is exclusively bordered by old crystalline rocks: in the former, called navarin island, both foxes and guanacos occur; but in the latter, hoste island, although similar in every respect, and only separated by a channel a little more than half a mile wide, i have the word of jemmy button for saying that neither of these animals are found. the gloomy woods are inhabited by few birds: occasionally the plaintive note of a white-tufted tyrant-flycatcher (myiobius albiceps) may be heard, concealed near the summit of the most lofty trees; and more rarely the loud strange cry of a black wood-pecker, with a fine scarlet crest on its head. a little, dusky-coloured wren (scytalopus magellanicus) hops in a skulking manner among the entangled mass of the fallen and decaying trunks. but the creeper (oxyurus tupinieri) is the commonest bird in the country. throughout the beech forests, high up and low down, in the most gloomy, wet, and impenetrable ravines, it may be met with. this little bird no doubt appears more numerous than it really is, from its habit of following with seeming curiosity any person who enters these silent woods: continually uttering a harsh twitter, it flutters from tree to tree, within a few feet of the intruder's face. it is far from wishing for the modest concealment of the true creeper (certhia familiaris); nor does it, like that bird, run up the trunks of trees, but industriously, after the manner of a willow-wren, hops about, and searches for insects on every twig and branch. in the more open parts, three or four species of finches, a thrush, a starling (or icterus), two opetiorhynchi, and several hawks and owls occur. the absence of any species whatever in the whole class of reptiles, is a marked feature in the zoology of this country, as well as in that of the falkland islands. i do not ground this statement merely on my own observation, but i heard it from the spanish inhabitants of the latter place, and from jemmy button with regard to tierra del fuego. on the banks of the santa cruz, in degs. south, i saw a frog; and it is not improbable that these animals, as well as lizards, may be found as far south as the strait of magellan, where the country retains the character of patagonia; but within the damp and cold limit of tierra del fuego not one occurs. that the climate would not have suited some of the orders, such as lizards, might have been foreseen; but with respect to frogs, this was not so obvious. beetles occur in very small numbers: it was long before i could believe that a country as large as scotland, covered with vegetable productions and with a variety of stations, could be so unproductive. the few which i found were alpine species (harpalidae and heteromidae) living under stones. the vegetable-feeding chrysomelidae, so eminently characteristic of the tropics, are here almost entirely absent; [ ] i saw very few flies, butterflies, or bees, and no crickets or orthoptera. in the pools of water i found but a few aquatic beetles, and not any fresh-water shells: succinea at first appears an exception; but here it must be called a terrestrial shell, for it lives on the damp herbage far from the water. land-shells could be procured only in the same alpine situations with the beetles. i have already contrasted the climate as well as the general appearance of tierra del fuego with that of patagonia; and the difference is strongly exemplified in the entomology. i do not believe they have one species in common; certainly the general character of the insects is widely different. if we turn from the land to the sea, we shall find the latter as abundantly stocked with living creatures as the former is poorly so. in all parts of the world a rocky and partially protected shore perhaps supports, in a given space, a greater number of individual animals than any other station. there is one marine production which, from its importance, is worthy of a particular history. it is the kelp, or macrocystis pyrifera. this plant grows on every rock from low-water mark to a great depth, both on the outer coast and within the channels. [ ] i believe, during the voyages of the adventure and beagle, not one rock near the surface was discovered which was not buoyed by this floating weed. the good service it thus affords to vessels navigating near this stormy land is evident; and it certainly has saved many a one from being wrecked. i know few things more surprising than to see this plant growing and flourishing amidst those great breakers of the western ocean, which no mass of rock, let it be ever so hard, can long resist. the stem is round, slimy, and smooth, and seldom has a diameter of so much as an inch. a few taken together are sufficiently strong to support the weight of the large loose stones, to which in the inland channels they grow attached; and yet some of these stones were so heavy that when drawn to the surface, they could scarcely be lifted into a boat by one person. captain cook, in his second voyage, says, that this plant at kerguelen land rises from a greater depth than twenty-four fathoms; "and as it does not grow in a perpendicular direction, but makes a very acute angle with the bottom, and much of it afterwards spreads many fathoms on the surface of the sea, i am well warranted to say that some of it grows to the length of sixty fathoms and upwards." i do not suppose the stem of any other plant attains so great a length as three hundred and sixty feet, as stated by captain cook. captain fitz roy, moreover, found it growing [ ] up from the greater depth of forty-five fathoms. the beds of this sea-weed, even when of not great breadth, make excellent natural floating breakwaters. it is quite curious to see, in an exposed harbour, how soon the waves from the open sea, as they travel through the straggling stems, sink in height, and pass into smooth water. the number of living creatures of all orders, whose existence intimately depends on the kelp, is wonderful. a great volume might be written, describing the inhabitants of one of these beds of sea-weed. almost all the leaves, excepting those that float on the surface, are so thickly incrusted with corallines as to be of a white colour. we find exquisitely delicate structures, some inhabited by simple hydra-like polypi, others by more organized kinds, and beautiful compound ascidiae. on the leaves, also, various patelliform shells, trochi, uncovered molluscs, and some bivalves are attached. innumerable crustacea frequent every part of the plant. on shaking the great entangled roots, a pile of small fish, shells, cuttle-fish, crabs of all orders, sea-eggs, star-fish, beautiful holuthuriae, planariae, and crawling nereidous animals of a multitude of forms, all fall out together. often as i recurred to a branch of the kelp, i never failed to discover animals of new and curious structures. in chiloe, where the kelp does not thrive very well, the numerous shells, corallines, and crustacea are absent; but there yet remain a few of the flustraceae, and some compound ascidiae; the latter, however, are of different species from those in tierra del fuego: we see here the fucus possessing a wider range than the animals which use it as an abode. i can only compare these great aquatic forests of the southern hemisphere with the terrestrial ones in the intertropical regions. yet if in any country a forest was destroyed, i do not believe nearly so many species of animals would perish as would here, from the destruction of the kelp. amidst the leaves of this plant numerous species of fish live, which nowhere else could find food or shelter; with their destruction the many cormorants and other fishing birds, the otters, seals, and porpoises, would soon perish also; and lastly, the fuegian savage, the miserable lord of this miserable land, would redouble his cannibal feast, decrease in numbers, and perhaps cease to exist. june th.--we weighed anchor early in the morning and left port famine. captain fitz roy determined to leave the strait of magellan by the magdalen channel, which had not long been discovered. our course lay due south, down that gloomy passage which i have before alluded to as appearing to lead to another and worse world. the wind was fair, but the atmosphere was very thick; so that we missed much curious scenery. the dark ragged clouds were rapidly driven over the mountains, from their summits nearly down to their bases. the glimpses which we caught through the dusky mass were highly interesting; jagged points, cones of snow, blue glaciers, strong outlines, marked on a lurid sky, were seen at different distances and heights. in the midst of such scenery we anchored at cape turn, close to mount sarmiento, which was then hidden in the clouds. at the base of the lofty and almost perpendicular sides of our little cove there was one deserted wigwam, and it alone reminded us that man sometimes wandered into these desolate regions. but it would be difficult to imagine a scene where he seemed to have fewer claims or less authority. the inanimate works of nature--rock, ice, snow, wind, and water--all warring with each other, yet combined against man--here reigned in absolute sovereignty. june th.--in the morning we were delighted by seeing the veil of mist gradually rise from sarmiento, and display it to our view. this mountain, which is one of the highest in tierra del fuego, has an altitude of feet. its base, for about an eighth of its total height, is clothed by dusky woods, and above this a field of snow extends to the summit. these vast piles of snow, which never melt, and seem destined to last as long as the world holds together, present a noble and even sublime spectacle. the outline of the mountain was admirably clear and defined. owing to the abundance of light reflected from the white and glittering surface, no shadows were cast on any part; and those lines which intersected the sky could alone be distinguished: hence the mass stood out in the boldest relief. several glaciers descended in a winding course from the upper great expanse of snow to the sea-coast: they may be likened to great frozen niagaras; and perhaps these cataracts of blue ice are full as beautiful as the moving ones of water. by night we reached the western part of the channel; but the water was so deep that no anchorage could be found. we were in consequence obliged to stand off and on in this narrow arm of the sea, during a pitch-dark night of fourteen hours long. june th.--in the morning we made the best of our way into the open pacific. the western coast generally consists of low, rounded, quite barren hills of granite and greenstone. sir j. narborough called one part south desolation, because it is "so desolate a land to behold:" and well indeed might he say so. outside the main islands, there are numberless scattered rocks on which the long swell of the open ocean incessantly rages. we passed out between the east and west furies; and a little farther northward there are so many breakers that the sea is called the milky way. one sight of such a coast is enough to make a landsman dream for a week about shipwrecks, peril, and death; and with this sight we bade farewell for ever to tierra del fuego. the following discussion on the climate of the southern parts of the continent with relation to its productions, on the snow-line, on the extraordinarily low descent of the glaciers, and on the zone of perpetual congelation in the antarctic islands, may be passed over by any one not interested in these curious subjects, or the final recapitulation alone may be read. i shall, however, here give only an abstract, and must refer for details to the thirteenth chapter and the appendix of the former edition of this work. on the climate and productions of tierra del fuego and of the south-west coast.--the following table gives the mean temperature of tierra del fuego, the falkland islands, and, for comparison, that of dublin:-- summer winter mean of summer latitude temp. temp. and winter --------------------------------------------------------------- tierra del fuego ' s. . . falkland islands ' s. -- -- dublin ' n. . . . hence we see that the central part of tierra del fuego is colder in winter, and no less than . degs. less hot in summer, than dublin. according to von buch, the mean temperature of july (not the hottest month in the year) at saltenfiord in norway, is as high as . degs., and this place is actually degs. nearer the pole than port famine! [ ] inhospitable as this climate appears to our feelings evergreen trees flourish luxuriantly under it. humming-birds may be seen sucking the flowers, and parrots feeding on the seeds of the winter's bark, in lat. degs. s. i have already remarked to what a degree the sea swarms with living creatures; and the shells (such as the patellae, fissurellae, chitons, and barnacles), according to mr. g. b. sowerby, are of a much larger size and of a more vigorous growth, than the analogous species in the northern hemisphere. a large voluta is abundant in southern tierra del fuego and the falkland islands. at bahia blanca, in lat. degs. s., the most abundant shells were three species of oliva (one of large size), one or two volutas, and a terebra. now, these are amongst the best characterized tropical forms. it is doubtful whether even one small species of oliva exists on the southern shores of europe, and there are no species of the two other genera. if a geologist were to find in lat degs. on the coast of portugal a bed containing numerous shells belonging to three species of oliva, to a voluta and terebra, he would probably assert that the climate at the period of their existence must have been tropical; but judging from south america, such an inference might be erroneous. the equable, humid, and windy climate of tierra del fuego extends, with only a small increase of heat, for many degrees along the west coast of the continent. the forests for miles northward of cape horn, have a very similar aspect. as a proof of the equable climate, even for or miles still further northward, i may mention that in chiloe (corresponding in latitude with the northern parts of spain) the peach seldom produces fruit, whilst strawberries and apples thrive to perfection. even the crops of barley and wheat [ ] are often brought into the houses to be dried and ripened. at valdivia (in the same latitude of degs., with madrid) grapes and figs ripen, but are not common; olives seldom ripen even partially, and oranges not at all. these fruits, in corresponding latitudes in europe, are well known to succeed to perfection; and even in this continent, at the rio negro, under nearly the same parallel with valdivia, sweet potatoes (convolvulus) are cultivated; and grapes, figs, olives, oranges, water and musk melons, produce abundant fruit. although the humid and equable climate of chiloe, and of the coast northward and southward of it, is so unfavourable to our fruits, yet the native forests, from lat. to degs., almost rival in luxuriance those of the glowing intertropical regions. stately trees of many kinds, with smooth and highly coloured barks, are loaded by parasitical monocotyledonous plants; large and elegant ferns are numerous, and arborescent grasses entwine the trees into one entangled mass to the height of thirty or forty feet above the ground. palm-trees grow in lat degs.; an arborescent grass, very like a bamboo, in degs.; and another closely allied kind, of great length, but not erect, flourishes even as far south as degs. s. an equable climate, evidently due to the large area of sea compared with the land, seems to extend over the greater part of the southern hemisphere; and, as a consequence, the vegetation partakes of a semi-tropical character. tree-ferns thrive luxuriantly in van diemen's land (lat. degs.), and i measured one trunk no less than six feet in circumference. an arborescent fern was found by forster in new zealand in degs., where orchideous plants are parasitical on the trees. in the auckland islands, ferns, according to dr. dieffenbach [ ] have trunks so thick and high that they may be almost called tree-ferns; and in these islands, and even as far south as lat. degs. in the macquarrie islands, parrots abound. on the height of the snow-line, and on the descent of the glaciers in south america.--for the detailed authorities for the following table, i must refer to the former edition:-- height in feet latitude of snow-line observer ---------------------------------------------------------------- equatorial region; mean result , humboldt. bolivia, lat. to degs. s. , pentland. central chile, lat. degs. s. , - , gillies, and the author. chiloe, lat. to degs. s. , officers of the beagle and the author. tierra del fuego, degs. s. , - , king. as the height of the plane of perpetual snow seems chiefly to be determined by the extreme heat of the summer, rather than by the mean temperature of the year, we ought not to be surprised at its descent in the strait of magellan, where the summer is so cool, to only or feet above the level of the sea; although in norway, we must travel to between lat. and degs. n., that is, about degs. nearer the pole, to meet with perpetual snow at this low level. the difference in height, namely, about feet, between the snow-line on the cordillera behind chiloe (with its highest points ranging from only to feet) and in central chile [ ] (a distance of only degs. of latitude), is truly wonderful. the land from the southward of chiloe to near concepcion (lat. degs.) is hidden by one dense forest dripping with moisture. the sky is cloudy, and we have seen how badly the fruits of southern europe succeed. in central chile, on the other hand, a little northward of concepcion, the sky is generally clear, rain does not fall for the seven summer months, and southern european fruits succeed admirably; and even the sugar-cane has been cultivated. [ ] no doubt the plane of perpetual snow undergoes the above remarkable flexure of feet, unparalleled in other parts of the world, not far from the latitude of concepcion, where the land ceases to be covered with forest-trees; for trees in south america indicate a rainy climate, and rain a clouded sky and little heat in summer. the descent of glaciers to the sea must, i conceive, mainly depend (subject, of course, to a proper supply of snow in the upper region) on the lowness of the line of perpetual snow on steep mountains near the coast. as the snow-line is so low in tierra del fuego, we might have expected that many of the glaciers would have reached the sea. nevertheless, i was astonished when i first saw a range, only from to feet in height, in the latitude of cumberland, with every valley filled with streams of ice descending to the sea-coast. almost every arm of the sea, which penetrates to the interior higher chain, not only in tierra del fuego, but on the coast for miles northwards, is terminated by "tremendous and astonishing glaciers," as described by one of the officers on the survey. great masses of ice frequently fall from these icy cliffs, and the crash reverberates like the broadside of a man-of-war through the lonely channels. these falls, as noticed in the last chapter, produce great waves which break on the adjoining coasts. it is known that earthquakes frequently cause masses of earth to fall from sea-cliffs: how terrific, then, would be the effect of a severe shock (and such occur here [ ]) on a body like a glacier, already in motion, and traversed by fissures! i can readily believe that the water would be fairly beaten back out of the deepest channel, and then, returning with an overwhelming force, would whirl about huge masses of rock like so much chaff. in eyre's sound, in the latitude of paris, there are immense glaciers, and yet the loftiest neighbouring mountain is only feet high. in this sound, about fifty icebergs were seen at one time floating outwards, and one of them must have been at least feet in total height. some of the icebergs were loaded with blocks of no inconsiderable size, of granite and other rocks, different from the clay-slate of the surrounding mountains. the glacier furthest from the pole, surveyed during the voyages of the adventure and beagle, is in lat. degs. ', in the gulf of penas. it is miles long, and in one part broad and descends to the sea-coast. but even a few miles northward of this glacier, in laguna de san [picture] rafael, some spanish missionaries [ ] encountered "many icebergs, some great, some small, and others middle-sized," in a narrow arm of the sea, on the nd of the month corresponding with our june, and in a latitude corresponding with that of the lake of geneva! in europe, the most southern glacier which comes down to the sea is met with, according to von buch, on the coast of norway, in lat. degs. now, this is more than degs. of latitude, or miles, nearer the pole than the laguna de san rafael. the position of the glaciers at this place and in the gulf of penas may be put even in a more striking point of view, for they descend to the sea-coast within . degs. of latitude, or miles, of a harbour, where three species of oliva, a voluta, and a terebra, are the commonest shells, within less than degs. from where palms grow, within . degs. of a region where the jaguar and puma range over the plains, less than . degs. from arborescent grasses, and (looking to the westward in the same hemisphere) less than degs. from orchideous parasites, and within a single degree of tree-ferns! these facts are of high geological interest with respect to the climate of the northern hemisphere at the period when boulders were transported. i will not here detail how simply the theory of icebergs being charged with fragments of rock, explain the origin and position of the gigantic boulders of eastern tierra del fuego, on the high plain of santa cruz, and on the island of chiloe. in tierra del fuego, the greater number of boulders lie on the lines of old sea-channels, now converted into dry valleys by the elevation of the land. they are associated with a great unstratified formation of mud and sand, containing rounded and angular fragments of all sizes, which has originated [ ] in the repeated ploughing up of the sea-bottom by the stranding of icebergs, and by the matter transported on them. few geologists now doubt that those erratic boulders which lie near lofty mountains have been pushed forward by the glaciers themselves, and that those distant from mountains, and embedded in subaqueous deposits, have been conveyed thither either on icebergs or frozen in coast-ice. the connection between the transportal of boulders and the presence of ice in some form, is strikingly shown by their geographical distribution over the earth. in south america they are not found further than degs. of latitude, measured from the southern pole; in north america it appears that the limit of their transportal extends to . degs. from the northern pole; but in europe to not more than degs. of latitude, measured from the same point. on the other hand, in the intertropical parts of america, asia, and africa, they have never been observed; nor at the cape of good hope, nor in australia. [ ] on the climate and productions of the antarctic islands.--considering the rankness of the vegetation in tierra del fuego, and on the coast northward of it, the condition of the islands south and south-west of america is truly surprising. sandwich land, in the latitude of the north part of scotland, was found by cook, during the hottest month of the year, "covered many fathoms thick with everlasting snow;" and there seems to be scarcely any vegetation. georgia, an island miles long and broad, in the latitude of yorkshire, "in the very height of summer, is in a manner wholly covered with frozen snow." it can boast only of moss, some tufts of grass, and wild burnet; it has only one land-bird (anthus correndera), yet iceland, which is degs. nearer the pole, has, according to mackenzie, fifteen land-birds. the south shetland islands, in the same latitude as the southern half of norway, possess only some lichens, moss, and a little grass; and lieut. kendall [ ] found the bay, in which he was at anchor, beginning to freeze at a period corresponding with our th of september. the soil here consists of ice and volcanic ashes interstratified; and at a little depth beneath the surface it must remain perpetually congealed, for lieut. kendall found the body of a foreign sailor which had long been buried, with the flesh and all the features perfectly preserved. it is a singular fact, that on the two great continents in the northern hemisphere (but not in the broken land of europe between them ), we have the zone of perpetually frozen under-soil in a low latitude--namely, in degs. in north america at the depth of three feet, [ ] and in degs. in siberia at the depth of twelve to fifteen feet--as the result of a directly opposite condition of things to those of the southern hemisphere. on the northern continents, the winter is rendered excessively cold by the radiation from a large area of land into a clear sky, nor is it moderated by the warmth-bringing currents of the sea; the short summer, on the other hand, is hot. in the southern ocean the winter is not so excessively cold, but the summer is far less hot, for the clouded sky seldom allows the sun to warm the ocean, itself a bad absorbent of heat: and hence the mean temperature of the year, which regulates the zone of perpetually congealed under-soil, is low. it is evident that a rank vegetation, which does not so much require heat as it does protection from intense cold, would approach much nearer to this zone of perpetual congelation under the equable climate of the southern hemisphere, than under the extreme climate of the northern continents. the case of the sailor's body perfectly preserved in the icy soil of the south shetland islands (lat. to degs. s.), in a rather lower latitude than that (lat. degs. n.) under which pallas found the frozen rhinoceros in siberia, is very interesting. although it is a fallacy, as i have endeavoured to show in a former chapter, to suppose that the larger quadrupeds require a luxuriant vegetation for their support, nevertheless it is important to find in the south shetland islands a frozen under-soil within miles of the forest-clad islands near cape horn, where, as far as the _bulk_ of vegetation is concerned, any number of great quadrupeds might be supported. the perfect preservation of the carcasses of the siberian elephants and rhinoceroses is certainly one of the most wonderful facts in geology; but independently of the imagined difficulty of supplying them with food from the adjoining countries, the whole case is not, i think, so perplexing as it has generally been considered. the plains of siberia, like those of the pampas, appear to have been formed under the sea, into which rivers brought down the bodies of many animals; of the greater number of these, only the skeletons have been preserved, but of others the perfect carcass. now, it is known that in the shallow sea on the arctic coast of america the bottom freezes, [ ] and does not thaw in spring so soon as the surface of the land, moreover at greater depths, where the bottom of the sea does not freeze the mud a few feet beneath the top layer might remain even in summer below degs., as in the case on the land with the soil at the depth of a few feet. at still greater depths, the temperature of the mud and water would probably not be low enough to preserve the flesh; and hence, carcasses drifted beyond the shallow parts near an arctic coast, would have only their skeletons preserved: now in the extreme northern parts of siberia bones are infinitely numerous, so that even islets are said to be almost composed of them; [ ] and those islets lie no less than ten degrees of latitude north of the place where pallas found the frozen rhinoceros. on the other hand, a carcass washed by a flood into a shallow part of the arctic sea, would be preserved for an indefinite period, if it were soon afterwards covered with mud sufficiently thick to prevent the heat of the summer-water penetrating to it; and if, when the sea-bottom was upraised into land, the covering was sufficiently thick to prevent the heat of the summer air and sun thawing and corrupting it. recapitulation.--i will recapitulate the principal facts with regard to the climate, ice-action, and organic productions of the southern hemisphere, transposing the places in imagination to europe, with which we are so much better acquainted. then, near lisbon, the commonest sea-shells, namely, three species of oliva, a voluta, and a terebra, would have a tropical character. in the southern provinces of france, magnificent forests, intwined by arborescent grasses and with the trees loaded with parasitical plants, would hide the face of the land. the puma and the jaguar would haunt the pyrenees. in the latitude of mont blanc, but on an island as far westward as central north america, tree-ferns and parasitical orchideae would thrive amidst the thick woods. even as far north as central denmark, humming-birds would be seen fluttering about delicate flowers, and parrots feeding amidst the evergreen woods; and in the sea there, we should have a voluta, and all the shells of large size and vigorous growth. nevertheless, on some islands only miles northward of our new cape horn in denmark, a carcass buried in the soil (or if washed into a shallow sea, and covered up with mud) would be preserved perpetually frozen. if some bold navigator attempted to penetrate northward of these islands, he would run a thousand dangers amidst gigantic icebergs, on some of which he would see great blocks of rock borne far away from their original site. another island of large size in the latitude of southern scotland, but twice as far to the west, would be "almost wholly covered with everlasting snow," and would have each bay terminated by ice-cliffs, whence great masses would be yearly detached: this island would boast only of a little moss, grass, and burnet, and a titlark would be its only land inhabitant. from our new cape horn in denmark, a chain of mountains, scarcely half the height of the alps, would run in a straight line due southward; and on its western flank every deep creek of the sea, or fiord, would end in "bold and astonishing glaciers." these lonely channels would frequently reverberate with the falls of ice, and so often would great waves rush along their coasts; numerous icebergs, some as tall as cathedrals, and occasionally loaded with "no inconsiderable blocks of rock," would be stranded on the outlying islets; at intervals violent earthquakes would shoot prodigious masses of ice into the waters below. lastly, some missionaries attempting to penetrate a long arm of the sea, would behold the not lofty surrounding mountains, sending down their many grand icy streams to the sea-coast, and their progress in the boats would be checked by the innumerable floating icebergs, some small and some great; and this would have occurred on our twenty-second of june, and where the lake of geneva is now spread out! [ ] [ ] the south-westerly breezes are generally very dry. january th, being at anchor under cape gregory: a very hard gale from w. by s., clear sky with few cumuli; temperature degs., dew-point degs.,--difference degs. on january th, at port st. julian: in the morning, light winds with much rain, followed by a very heavy squall with rain,--settled into heavy gale with large cumuli,--cleared up, blowing very strong from s.s.w. temperature degs., dew-point degs.,--difference degs. [ ] rengger, natur. der saeugethiere von paraguay. s. . [ ] captain fitz roy informs me that in april (our october), the leaves of those trees which grow near the base of the mountains change colour, but not those on the more elevated parts. i remember having read some observations, showing that in england the leaves fall earlier in a warm and fine autumn than in a late and cold one, the change in the colour being here retarded in the more elevated, and therefore colder situations, must be owing to the same general law of vegetation. the trees of tierra del fuego during no part of the year entirely shed their leaves. [ ] described from my specimens and notes by the rev. j. m. berkeley, in the linnean transactions (vol. xix. p. ), under the name of cyttaria darwinii; the chilean species is the c. berteroii. this genus is allied to bulgaria. [ ] i believe i must except one alpine haltica, and a single specimen of a melasoma. mr. waterhouse informs me, that of the harpalidae there are eight or nine species--the forms of the greater number being very peculiar; of heteromera, four or five species; of rhyncophora, six or seven; and of the following families one species in each: staphylinidae, elateridae, cebrionidae, melolonthidae. the species in the other orders are even fewer. in all the orders, the scarcity of the individuals is even more remarkable than that of the species. most of the coleoptera have been carefully described by mr. waterhouse in the annals of nat. hist. [ ] its geographical range is remarkably wide; it is found from the extreme southern islets near cape horn, as far north on the eastern coast (according to information given me by mr. stokes) as lat. degs.,--but on the western coast, as dr. hooker tells me, it extends to the r. san francisco in california, and perhaps even to kamtschatka. we thus have an immense range in latitude; and as cook, who must have been well acquainted with the species, found it at kerguelen land, no less than degs. in longitude. [ ] voyages of the adventure and beagle, vol. i. p. .--it appears that sea-weed grows extremely quick.--mr. stephenson found (wilson's voyage round scotland, vol. ii. p. ) that a rock uncovered only at spring-tides, which had been chiselled smooth in november, on the following may, that is, within six months afterwards, was thickly covered with fucus digitatus two feet, and f. esculentus six feet, in length. [ ] with regard to tierra del fuego, the results are deduced from the observations of capt. king (geographical journal, ), and those taken on board the beagle. for the falkland islands, i am indebted to capt. sulivan for the mean of the mean temperature (reduced from careful observations at midnight, a.m., noon, and p.m.) of the three hottest months, viz., december, january, and february. the temperature of dublin is taken from barton. [ ] agueros, descrip. hist. de la prov. de chiloe, , p. . [ ] see the german translation of this journal; and for the other facts, mr. brown's appendix to flinders's voyage. [ ] on the cordillera of central chile, i believe the snow-line varies exceedingly in height in different summers. i was assured that during one very dry and long summer, all the snow disappeared from aconcagua, although it attains the prodigious height of , feet. it is probable that much of the snow at these great heights is evaporated rather than thawed. [ ] miers's chile, vol. i. p. . it is said that the sugar-cane grew at ingenio, lat. to degs., but not in sufficient quantity to make the manufacture profitable. in the valley of quillota, south of ingenio, i saw some large date palm trees. [ ] bulkeley's and cummin's faithful narrative of the loss of the wager. the earthquake happened august , . [ ] agueros, desc. hist. de chiloe, p. . [ ] geological transactions, vol. vi. p. . [ ] i have given details (the first, i believe, published) on this subject in the first edition, and in the appendix to it. i have there shown that the apparent exceptions to the absence of erratic boulders in certain countries, are due to erroneous observations; several statements there given i have since found confirmed by various authors. [ ] geographical journal, , pp. , . [ ] richardson's append. to back's exped., and humboldt's fragm. asiat., tom. ii. p. . [ ] messrs. dease and simpson, in geograph. journ., vol. viii. pp. and . [ ] cuvier (ossemens fossiles, tom. i. p. ), from billing's voyage. [ ] in the former edition and appendix, i have given some facts on the transportal of erratic boulders and icebergs in the atlantic ocean. this subject has lately been treated excellently by mr. hayes, in the boston journal (vol. iv. p. ). the author does not appear aware of a case published by me (geographical journal, vol. ix. p. ) of a gigantic boulder embedded in an iceberg in the antarctic ocean, almost certainly one hundred miles distant from any land, and perhaps much more distant. in the appendix i have discussed at length the probability (at that time hardly thought of) of icebergs, when stranded, grooving and polishing rocks, like glaciers. this is now a very commonly received opinion; and i cannot still avoid the suspicion that it is applicable even to such cases as that of the jura. dr. richardson has assured me that the icebergs off north america push before them pebbles and sand, and leave the submarine rocky flats quite bare; it is hardly possible to doubt that such ledges must be polished and scored in the direction of the set of the prevailing currents. since writing that appendix, i have seen in north wales (london phil. mag., vol. xxi. p. ) the adjoining action of glaciers and floating icebergs. chapter xii central chile valparaiso--excursion to the foot of the andes--structure of the land--ascend the bell of quillota--shattered masses of greenstone--immense valleys--mines--state of miners--santiago--hot-baths of cauquenes--gold-mines--grinding-mills--perforated stones--habits of the puma--el turco and tapacolo--humming-birds. july rd.--the beagle anchored late at night in the bay of valparaiso, the chief seaport of chile. when morning came, everything appeared delightful. after tierra del fuego, the climate felt quite delicious--the atmosphere so dry, and the heavens so clear and blue with the sun shining brightly, that all nature seemed sparkling with life. the view from the anchorage is very pretty. the town is built at the very foot of a range of hills, about feet high, and rather steep. from its position, it consists of one long, straggling street, which runs parallel to the beach, and wherever a ravine comes down, the houses are piled up on each side of it. the rounded hills, being only partially protected by a very scanty vegetation, are worn into numberless little gullies, which expose a singularly bright red soil. from this cause, and from the low whitewashed houses with tile roofs, the view reminded me of st. cruz in teneriffe. in a north-westerly direction there are some fine glimpses of the andes: but these mountains appear much grander when viewed from the neighbouring hills: the great distance at which they are situated can then more readily be perceived. the volcano of aconcagua is particularly magnificent. this huge and irregularly conical mass has an elevation greater than that of chimborazo; for, from measurements made by the officers in the beagle, its height is no less than , feet. the cordillera, however, viewed from this point, owe the greater part of their beauty to the atmosphere through which they are seen. when the sun was setting in the pacific, it was admirable to watch how clearly their rugged outlines could be distinguished, yet how varied and how delicate were the shades of their colour. i had the good fortune to find living here mr. richard corfield, an old schoolfellow and friend, to whose hospitality and kindness i was greatly indebted, in having afforded me a most pleasant residence during the beagle's stay in chile. the immediate neighbourhood of valparaiso is not very productive to the naturalist. during the long summer the wind blows steadily from the southward, and a little off shore, so that rain never falls; during the three winter months, however, it is sufficiently abundant. the vegetation in consequence is very scanty: except in some deep valleys, there are no trees, and only a little grass and a few low bushes are scattered over the less steep parts of the hills. when we reflect, that at the distance of miles to the south, this side of the andes is completely hidden by one impenetrable forest, the contrast is very remarkable. i took several long walks while collecting objects of natural history. the country is pleasant for exercise. there are many very beautiful flowers; and, as in most other dry climates, the plants and shrubs possess strong and peculiar odours--even one's clothes by brushing through them became scented. i did not cease from wonder at finding each succeeding day as fine as the foregoing. what a difference does climate make in the enjoyment of life! how opposite are the sensations when viewing black mountains half enveloped in clouds, and seeing another range through the light blue haze of a fine day! the one for a time may be very sublime; the other is all gaiety and happy life. august th.--i set out on a riding excursion, for the purpose of geologizing the basal parts of the andes, which alone at this time of the year are not shut up by the winter snow. our first day's ride was northward along the sea-coast. after dark we reached the hacienda of quintero, the estate which formerly belonged to lord cochrane. my object in coming here was to see the great beds of shells, which stand some yards above the level of the sea, and are burnt for lime. the proofs of the elevation of this whole line of coast are unequivocal: at the height of a few hundred feet old-looking shells are numerous, and i found some at feet. these shells either lie loose on the surface, or are embedded in a reddish-black vegetable mould. i was much surprised to find under the microscope that this vegetable mould is really marine mud, full of minute particles of organic bodies. th.--we returned towards the valley of quillota. the country was exceedingly pleasant; just such as poets would call pastoral: green open lawns, separated by small valleys with rivulets, and the cottages, we may suppose of the shepherds scattered on the hill-sides. we were obliged to cross the ridge of the chilicauquen. at its base there were many fine evergreen forest-trees, but these flourished only in the ravines, where there was running water. any person who had seen only the country near valparaiso, would never have imagined that there had been such picturesque spots in chile. as soon as we reached the brow of the sierra, the valley of quillota was immediately under our feet. the prospect was one of remarkable artificial luxuriance. the valley is very broad and quite flat, and is thus easily irrigated in all parts. the little square gardens are crowded with orange and olive trees, and every sort of vegetable. on each side huge bare mountains rise, and this from the contrast renders the patchwork valley the more pleasing. whoever called "valparaiso" the "valley of paradise," must have been thinking of quillota. we crossed over to the hacienda de san isidro, situated at the very foot of the bell mountain. chile, as may be seen in the maps, is a narrow strip of land between the cordillera and the pacific; and this strip is itself traversed by several mountain-lines, which in this part run parallel to the great range. between these outer lines and the main cordillera, a succession of level basins, generally opening into each other by narrow passages, extend far to the southward: in these, the principal towns are situated, as san felipe, santiago, san fernando. these basins or plains, together with the transverse flat valleys (like that of quillota) which connect them with the coast, i have no doubt are the bottoms of ancient inlets and deep bays, such as at the present day intersect every part of tierra del fuego and the western coast. chile must formerly have resembled the latter country in the configuration of its land and water. the resemblance was occasionally shown strikingly when a level fog-bank covered, as with a mantle, all the lower parts of the country: the white vapour curling into the ravines, beautifully represented little coves and bays; and here and there a solitary hillock peeping up, showed that it had formerly stood there as an islet. the contrast of these flat valleys and basins with the irregular mountains, gave the scenery a character which to me was new and very interesting. from the natural slope to seaward of these plains, they are very easily irrigated, and in consequence singularly fertile. without this process the land would produce scarcely anything, for during the whole summer the sky is cloudless. the mountains and hills are dotted over with bushes and low trees, and excepting these the vegetation is very scanty. each landowner in the valley possesses a certain portion of hill-country, where his half-wild cattle, in considerable numbers, manage to find sufficient pasture. once every year there is a grand "rodeo," when all the cattle are driven down, counted, and marked, and a certain number separated to be fattened in the irrigated fields. wheat is extensively cultivated, and a good deal of indian corn: a kind of bean is, however, the staple article of food for the common labourers. the orchards produce an overflowing abundance of peaches figs, and grapes. with all these advantages, the inhabitants of the country ought to be much more prosperous than they are. th.--the mayor-domo of the hacienda was good enough to give me a guide and fresh horses; and in the morning we set out to ascend the campana, or bell mountain, which is feet high. the paths were very bad, but both the geology and scenery amply repaid the trouble. we reached by the evening, a spring called the agua del guanaco, which is situated at a great height. this must be an old name, for it is very many years since a guanaco drank its waters. during the ascent i noticed that nothing but bushes grew on the northern slope, whilst on the southern slope there was a bamboo about fifteen feet high. in a few places there were palms, and i was surprised to see one at an elevation of at least feet. these palms are, for their family, ugly trees. their stem is very large, and of a curious form, being thicker in the middle than at the base or top. they are excessively numerous in some parts of chile, and valuable on account of a sort of treacle made from the sap. on one estate near petorca they tried to count them, but failed, after having numbered several hundred thousand. every year in the early spring, in august, very many are cut down, and when the trunk is lying on the ground, the crown of leaves is lopped off. the sap then immediately begins to flow from the upper end, and continues so doing for some months: it is, however, necessary that a thin slice should be shaved off from that end every morning, so as to expose a fresh surface. a good tree will give ninety gallons, and all this must have been contained in the vessels of the apparently dry trunk. it is said that the sap flows much more quickly on those days when the sun is powerful; and likewise, that it is absolutely necessary to take care, in cutting down the tree, that it should fall with its head upwards on the side of the hill; for if it falls down the slope, scarcely any sap will flow; although in that case one would have thought that the action would have been aided, instead of checked, by the force of gravity. the sap is concentrated by boiling, and is then called treacle, which it very much resembles in taste. we unsaddled our horses near the spring, and prepared to pass the night. the evening was fine, and the atmosphere so clear, that the masts of the vessels at anchor in the bay of valparaiso, although no less than twenty-six geographical miles distant, could be distinguished clearly as little black streaks. a ship doubling the point under sail, appeared as a bright white speck. anson expresses much surprise, in his voyage, at the distance at which his vessels were discovered from the coast; but he did not sufficiently allow for the height of the land, and the great transparency of the air. the setting of the sun was glorious; the valleys being black whilst the snowy peaks of the andes yet retained a ruby tint. when it was dark, we made a fire beneath a little arbour of bamboos, fried our charqui (or dried slips of beef), took our mate, and were quite comfortable. there is an inexpressible charm in thus living in the open air. the evening was calm and still;--the shrill noise of the mountain bizcacha, and the faint cry of a goatsucker, were occasionally to be heard. besides these, few birds, or even insects, frequent these dry, parched mountains. august th.--in the morning we climbed up the rough mass of greenstone which crowns the summit. this rock, as frequently happens, was much shattered and broken into huge angular fragments. i observed, however, one remarkable circumstance, namely, that many of the surfaces presented every degree of freshness some appearing as if broken the day before, whilst on others lichens had either just become, or had long grown, attached. i so fully believed that this was owing to the frequent earthquakes, that i felt inclined to hurry from below each loose pile. as one might very easily be deceived in a fact of this kind, i doubted its accuracy, until ascending mount wellington, in van diemen's land, where earthquakes do not occur; and there i saw the summit of the mountain similarly composed and similarly shattered, but all the blocks appeared as if they had been hurled into their present position thousands of years ago. we spent the day on the summit, and i never enjoyed one more thoroughly. chile, bounded by the andes and the pacific, was seen as in a map. the pleasure from the scenery, in itself beautiful, was heightened by the many reflections which arose from the mere view of the campana range with its lesser parallel ones, and of the broad valley of quillota directly intersecting them. who can avoid wondering at the force which has upheaved these mountains, and even more so at the countless ages which it must have required to have broken through, removed, and levelled whole masses of them? it is well in this case to call to mind the vast shingle and sedimentary beds of patagonia, which, if heaped on the cordillera, would increase its height by so many thousand feet. when in that country, i wondered how any mountain-chain could have supplied such masses, and not have been utterly obliterated. we must not now reverse the wonder, and doubt whether all-powerful time can grind down mountains--even the gigantic cordillera--into-gravel and mud. the appearance of the andes was different from that which i had expected. the lower line of the snow was of course horizontal, and to this line the even summits of the range seemed quite parallel. only at long intervals, a group of points or a single cone showed where a volcano had existed, or does now exist. hence the range resembled a great solid wall, surmounted here and there by a tower, and making a most perfect barrier to the country. almost every part of the hill had been drilled by attempts to open gold-mines: the rage for mining has left scarcely a spot in chile unexamined. i spent the evening as before, talking round the fire with my two companions. the guasos of chile, who correspond to the gauchos of the pampas, are, however, a very different set of beings. chile is the more civilized of the two countries, and the inhabitants, in consequence, have lost much individual character. gradations in rank are much more strongly marked: the guaso does not by any means consider every man his equal; and i was quite surprised to find that my companions did not like to eat at the same time with myself. this feeling of inequality is a necessary consequence of the existence of an aristocracy of wealth. it is said that some few of the greater landowners possess from five to ten thousand pounds sterling per annum: an inequality of riches which i believe is not met with in any of the cattle-breeding countries eastward of the andes. a traveller does not here meet that unbounded hospitality which refuses all payment, but yet is so kindly offered that no scruples can be raised in accepting it. almost every house in chile will receive you for the night, but a trifle is expected to be given in the morning; even a rich man will accept two or three shillings. the gaucho, although he may be a cutthroat, is a gentleman; the guaso is in few respects better, but at the same time a vulgar, ordinary fellow. the two men, although employed much in the same manner, are different in their habits and attire; and the peculiarities of each are universal in their respective countries. the gaucho seems part of his horse, and scorns to exert himself except when on his back: the guaso may be hired to work as a labourer in the fields. the former lives entirely on animal food; the latter almost wholly on vegetable. we do not here see the white boots, the broad drawers and scarlet chilipa; the picturesque costume of the pampas. here, common trousers are protected by black and green worsted leggings. the poncho, however, is common to both. the chief pride of the guaso lies in his spurs, which are absurdly large. i measured one which was six inches in the _diameter_ of the rowel, and the rowel itself contained upwards of thirty points. the stirrups are on the same scale, each consisting of a square, carved block of wood, hollowed out, yet weighing three or four pounds. the guaso is perhaps more expert with the lazo than the gaucho; but, from the nature of the country, he does not know the use of the bolas. august th.--we descended the mountain, and passed some beautiful little spots, with rivulets and fine trees. having slept at the same hacienda as before, we rode during the two succeeding days up the valley, and passed through quillota, which is more like a collection of nursery-gardens than a town. the orchards were beautiful, presenting one mass of peach-blossoms. i saw, also, in one or two places the date-palm; it is a most stately tree; and i should think a group of them in their native asiatic or african deserts must be superb. we passed likewise san felipe, a pretty straggling town like quillota. the valley in this part expands into one of those great bays or plains, reaching to the foot of the cordillera, which have been mentioned as forming so curious a part of the scenery of chile. in the evening we reached the mines of jajuel, situated in a ravine at the flank of the great chain. i stayed here five days. my host the superintendent of the mine, was a shrewd but rather ignorant cornish miner. he had married a spanish woman, and did not mean to return home; but his admiration for the mines of cornwall remained unbounded. amongst many other questions, he asked me, "now that george rex is dead, how many more of the family of rexes are yet alive?" this rex certainly must be a relation of the great author finis, who wrote all books! these mines are of copper, and the ore is all shipped to swansea, to be smelted. hence the mines have an aspect singularly quiet, as compared to those in england: here no smoke, furnaces, or great steam-engines, disturb the solitude of the surrounding mountains. the chilian government, or rather the old spanish law, encourages by every method the searching for mines. the discoverer may work a mine on any ground, by paying five shillings; and before paying this he may try, even in the garden of another man, for twenty days. it is now well known that the chilian method of mining is the cheapest. my host says that the two principal improvements introduced by foreigners have been, first, reducing by previous roasting the copper pyrites--which, being the common ore in cornwall, the english miners were astounded on their arrival to find thrown away as useless: secondly, stamping and washing the scoriae from the old furnaces--by which process particles of metal are recovered in abundance. i have actually seen mules carrying to the coast, for transportation to england, a cargo of such cinders. but the first case is much the most curious. the chilian miners were so convinced that copper pyrites contained not a particle of copper, that they laughed at the englishmen for their ignorance, who laughed in turn, and bought their richest veins for a few dollars. it is very odd that, in a country where mining had been extensively carried on for many years, so simple a process as gently roasting the ore to expel the sulphur previous to smelting it, had never been discovered. a few improvements have likewise been introduced in some of the simple machinery; but even to the present day, water is removed from some mines by men carrying it up the shaft in leathern bags! the labouring men work very hard. they have little time allowed for their meals, and during summer and winter they begin when it is light, and leave off at dark. they are paid one pound sterling a month, and their food is given them: this for breakfast consists of sixteen figs and two small loaves of bread; for dinner, boiled beans; for supper, broken roasted wheat grain. they scarcely ever taste meat; as, with the twelve pounds per annum, they have to clothe themselves, and support their families. the miners who work in the mine itself have twenty-five shillings per month, and are allowed a little charqui. but these men come down from their bleak habitations only once in every fortnight or three weeks. during my stay here i thoroughly enjoyed scrambling about these huge mountains. the geology, as might have been expected, was very interesting. the shattered and baked rocks, traversed by innumerable dykes of greenstone, showed what commotions had formerly taken place. the scenery was much the same as that near the bell of quillota--dry barren mountains, dotted at intervals by bushes with a scanty foliage. the cactuses, or rather opuntias were here very numerous. i measured one of a spherical figure, which, including the spines, was six feet and four inches in circumference. the height of the common cylindrical, branching kind, is from twelve to fifteen feet, and the girth (with spines) of the branches between three and four feet. a heavy fall of snow on the mountains prevented me during the last two days, from making some interesting excursions. i attempted to reach a lake which the inhabitants, from some unaccountable reason, believe to be an arm of the sea. during a very dry season, it was proposed to attempt cutting a channel from it for the sake of the water, but the padre, after a consultation, declared it was too dangerous, as all chile would be inundated, if, as generally supposed, the lake was connected with the pacific. we ascended to a great height, but becoming involved in the snow-drifts failed in reaching this wonderful lake, and had some difficulty in returning. i thought we should have lost our horses; for there was no means of guessing how deep the drifts were, and the animals, when led, could only move by jumping. the black sky showed that a fresh snow-storm was gathering, and we therefore were not a little glad when we escaped. by the time we reached the base the storm commenced, and it was lucky for us that this did not happen three hours earlier in the day. august th.--we left jajuel and again crossed the basin of san felipe. the day was truly chilian: glaringly bright, and the atmosphere quite clear. the thick and uniform covering of newly fallen snow rendered the view of the volcano of aconcagua and the main chain quite glorious. we were now on the road to santiago, the capital of chile. we crossed the cerro del talguen, and slept at a little rancho. the host, talking about the state of chile as compared to other countries, was very humble: "some see with two eyes, and some with one, but for my part i do not think that chile sees with any." august th.--after crossing many low hills we descended into the small land-locked plain of guitron. in the basins, such as this one, which are elevated from one thousand to two thousand feet above the sea, two species of acacia, which are stunted in their forms, and stand wide apart from each other, grow in large numbers. these trees are never found near the sea-coast; and this gives another characteristic feature to the scenery of these basins. we crossed a low ridge which separates guitron from the great plain on which santiago stands. the view was here pre-eminently striking: the dead level surface, covered in parts by woods of acacia, and with the city in the distance, abutting horizontally against the base of the andes, whose snowy peaks were bright with the evening sun. at the first glance of this view, it was quite evident that the plain represented the extent of a former inland sea. as soon as we gained the level road we pushed our horses into a gallop, and reached the city before it was dark. i stayed a week in santiago, and enjoyed myself very much. in the morning i rode to various places on the plain, and in the evening dined with several of the english merchants, whose hospitality at this place is well known. a never-failing source of pleasure was to ascend the little hillock of rock (st. lucia) which projects in the middle of the city. the scenery certainly is most striking, and, as i have said, very peculiar. i am informed that this same character is common to the cities on the great mexican platform. of the town i have nothing to say in detail: it is not so fine or so large as buenos ayres, but is built after the same model. i arrived here by a circuit to the north; so i resolved to return to valparaiso by a rather longer excursion to the south of the direct road. september th.--by the middle of the day we arrived at one of the suspension bridges, made of hide, which cross the maypu, a large turbulent river a few leagues southward of santiago. these bridges are very poor affairs. the road, following the curvature of the suspending ropes, is made of bundles of sticks placed close together. it was full of holes, and oscillated rather fearfully, even with the weight of a man leading his horse. in the evening we reached a comfortable farm-house, where there were several very pretty senoritas. they were much horrified at my having entered one of their churches out of mere curiosity. they asked me, "why do you not become a christian--for our religion is certain?" i assured them i was a sort of christian; but they would not hear of it--appealing to my own words, "do not your padres, your very bishops, marry?" the absurdity of a bishop having a wife particularly struck them: they scarcely knew whether to be most amused or horror-struck at such an enormity. th.--we proceeded due south, and slept at rancagua. the road passed over the level but narrow plain, bounded on one side by lofty hills, and on the other by the cordillera. the next day we turned up the valley of the rio cachapual, in which the hot-baths of cauquenes, long celebrated for their medicinal properties, are situated. the suspension bridges, in the less frequented parts, are generally taken down during the winter when the rivers are low. such was the case in this valley, and we were therefore obliged to cross the stream on horseback. this is rather disagreeable, for the foaming water, though not deep, rushes so quickly over the bed of large rounded stones, that one's head becomes quite confused, and it is difficult even to perceive whether the horse is moving onward or standing still. in summer, when the snow melts, the torrents are quite impassable; their strength and fury are then extremely great, as might be plainly seen by the marks which they had left. we reached the baths in the evening, and stayed there five days, being confined the two last by heavy rain. the buildings consist of a square of miserable little hovels, each with a single table and bench. they are situated in a narrow deep valley just without the central cordillera. it is a quiet, solitary spot, with a good deal of wild beauty. the mineral springs of cauquenes burst forth on a line of dislocation, crossing a mass of stratified rock, the whole of which betrays the action of heat. a considerable quantity of gas is continually escaping from the same orifices with the water. though the springs are only a few yards apart, they have very different temperature; and this appears to be the result of an unequal mixture of cold water: for those with the lowest temperature have scarcely any mineral taste. after the great earthquake of the springs ceased, and the water did not return for nearly a year. they were also much affected by the earthquake of ; the temperature being suddenly changed from to degs. [ ] it seems probable that mineral waters rising deep from the bowels of the earth, would always be more deranged by subterranean disturbances than those nearer the surface. the man who had charge of the baths assured me that in summer the water is hotter and more plentiful than in winter. the former circumstance i should have expected, from the less mixture, during the dry season, of cold water; but the latter statement appears very strange and contradictory. the periodical increase during the summer, when rain never falls, can, i think, only be accounted for by the melting of the snow: yet the mountains which are covered by snow during that season, are three or four leagues distant from the springs. i have no reason to doubt the accuracy of my informer, who, having lived on the spot for several years, ought to be well acquainted with the circumstance,--which, if true, certainly is very curious: for we must suppose that the snow-water, being conducted through porous strata to the regions of heat, is again thrown up to the surface by the line of dislocated and injected rocks at cauquenes; and the regularity of the phenomenon would seem to indicate that in this district heated rock occurred at a depth not very great. one day i rode up the valley to the farthest inhabited spot. shortly above that point, the cachapual divides into two deep tremendous ravines, which penetrate directly into the great range. i scrambled up a peaked mountain, probably more than six thousand feet high. here, as indeed everywhere else, scenes of the highest interest presented themselves. it was by one of these ravines, that pincheira entered chile and ravaged the neighbouring country. this is the same man whose attack on an estancia at the rio negro i have described. he was a renegade half-caste spaniard, who collected a great body of indians together and established himself by a stream in the pampas, which place none of the forces sent after him could ever discover. from this point he used to sally forth, and crossing the cordillera by passes hitherto unattempted, he ravaged the farm-houses and drove the cattle to his secret rendezvous. pincheira was a capital horseman, and he made all around him equally good, for he invariably shot any one who hesitated to follow him. it was against this man, and other wandering indian tribes, that rosas waged the war of extermination. september th.--we left the baths of cauquenes, and, rejoining the main road, slept at the rio clara. from this place we rode to the town of san fernando. before arriving there, the last land-locked basin had expanded into a great plain, which extended so far to the south, that the snowy summits of the more distant andes were seen as if above the horizon of the sea. san fernando is forty leagues from santiago; and it was my farthest point southward; for we here turned at right angles towards the coast. we slept at the gold-mines of yaquil, which are worked by mr. nixon, an american gentleman, to whose kindness i was much indebted during the four days i stayed at his house. the next morning we rode to the mines, which are situated at the distance of some leagues, near the summit of a lofty hill. on the way we had a glimpse of the lake tagua-tagua, celebrated for its floating islands, which have been described by m. gay. [ ] they are composed of the stalks of various dead plants intertwined together, and on the surface of which other living ones take root. their form is generally circular, and their thickness from four to six feet, of which the greater part is immersed in the water. as the wind blows, they pass from one side of the lake to the other, and often carry cattle and horses as passengers. when we arrived at the mine, i was struck by the pale appearance of many of the men, and inquired from mr. nixon respecting their condition. the mine is feet deep, and each man brings up about pounds weight of stone. with this load they have to climb up the alternate notches cut in the trunks of trees, placed in a zigzag line up the shaft. even beardless young men, eighteen and twenty years old, with little muscular development of their bodies (they are quite naked excepting drawers) ascend with this great load from nearly the same depth. a strong man, who is not accustomed to this labour, perspires most profusely, with merely carrying up his own body. with this very severe labour, they live entirely on boiled beans and bread. they would prefer having bread alone; but their masters, finding that they cannot work so hard upon this, treat them like horses, and make them eat the beans. their pay is here rather more than at the mines of jajuel, being from to shillings per month. they leave the mine only once in three weeks; when they stay with their families for two days. one of the rules of this mine sounds very harsh, but answers pretty well for the master. the only method of stealing gold is to secrete pieces of the ore, and take them out as occasion may offer. whenever the major-domo finds a lump thus hidden, its full value is stopped out of the wages of all the men; who thus, without they all combine, are obliged to keep watch over each other. when the ore is brought to the mill, it is ground into an impalpable powder; the process of washing removes all the lighter particles, and amalgamation finally secures the gold-dust. the washing, when described, sounds a very simple process; but it is beautiful to see how the exact adaptation of the current of water to the specific gravity of the gold, so easily separates the powdered matrix from the metal. the mud which passes from the mills is collected into pools, where it subsides, and every now and then is cleared out, and thrown into a common heap. a great deal of chemical action then commences, salts of various kinds effloresce on the surface, and the mass becomes hard. after having been left for a year or two, and then rewashed, it yields gold; and this process may be repeated even six or seven times; but the gold each time becomes less in quantity, and the intervals required (as the inhabitants say, to generate the metal) are longer. there can be no doubt that the chemical action, already mentioned, each time liberates fresh gold from some combination. the discovery of a method to effect this before the first grinding would without doubt raise the value of gold-ores many fold. it is curious to find how the minute particles of gold, being scattered about and not corroding, at last accumulate in some quantity. a short time since a few miners, being out of work, obtained permission to scrape the ground round the house and mills; they washed the earth thus got together, and so procured thirty dollars' worth of gold. this is an exact counterpart of what takes place in nature. mountains suffer degradation and wear away, and with them the metallic veins which they contain. the hardest rock is worn into impalpable mud, the ordinary metals oxidate, and both are removed; but gold, platina, and a few others are nearly indestructible, and from their weight, sinking to the bottom, are left behind. after whole mountains have passed through this grinding mill, and have been washed by the hand of nature, the residue becomes metalliferous, and man finds it worth his while to complete the task of separation. bad as the above treatment of the miners appears, it is gladly accepted of by them; for the condition of the labouring agriculturists is much worse. their wages are lower, and they live almost exclusively on beans. this poverty must be chiefly owing to the feudal-like system on which the land is tilled: the landowner gives a small plot of ground to the labourer for building on and cultivating, and in return has his services (or those of a proxy) for every day of his life, without any wages. until a father has a grown-up son, who can by his labour pay the rent, there is no one, except on occasional days, to take care of his own patch of ground. hence extreme poverty is very common among the labouring classes in this country. there are some old indian ruins in this neighbourhood, and i was shown one of the perforated stones, which molina mentions as being found in many places in considerable numbers. they are of a circular flattened form, from five to six inches in diameter, with a hole passing quite through the centre. it has generally been supposed that they were used as heads to clubs, although their form does not appear at all well adapted for that purpose. burchell [ ] states that some of the tribes in southern africa dig up roots by the aid of a stick pointed at one end, the force and weight of which are increased by a round stone with a hole in it, into which the other end is firmly wedged. it appears probable that the indians of chile formerly used some such rude agricultural instrument. one day, a german collector in natural history, of the name of renous, called, and nearly at the same time an old spanish lawyer. i was amused at being told the conversation which took place between them. renous speaks spanish so well, that the old lawyer mistook him for a chilian. renous alluding to me, asked him what he thought of the king of england sending out a collector to their country, to pick up lizards and beetles, and to break stones? the old gentleman thought seriously for some time, and then said, "it is not well,--_hay un gato encerrado aqui_ (there is a cat shut up here). no man is so rich as to send out people to pick up such rubbish. i do not like it: if one of us were to go and do such things in england, do not you think the king of england would very soon send us out of his country?" and this old gentleman, from his profession, belongs to the better informed and more intelligent classes! renous himself, two or three years before, left in a house at san fernando some caterpillars, under charge of a girl to feed, that they might turn into butterflies. this was rumoured through the town, and at last the padres and governor consulted together, and agreed it must be some heresy. accordingly, when renous returned, he was arrested. september th.--we left yaquil, and followed the flat valley, formed like that of quillota, in which the rio tinderidica flows. even at these few miles south of santiago the climate is much damper; in consequence there are fine tracts of pasturage, which are not irrigated. ( th.) we followed this valley till it expanded into a great plain, which reaches from the sea to the mountains west of rancagua. we shortly lost all trees and even bushes; so that the inhabitants are nearly as badly off for firewood as those in the pampas. never having heard of these plains, i was much surprised at meeting with such scenery in chile. the plains belong to more than one series of different elevations, and they are traversed by broad flat-bottomed valleys; both of which circumstances, as in patagonia, bespeak the action of the sea on gently rising land. in the steep cliffs bordering these valleys, there are some large caves, which no doubt were originally formed by the waves: one of these is celebrated under the name of cueva del obispo; having formerly been consecrated. during the day i felt very unwell, and from that time till the end of october did not recover. september nd.--we continued to pass over green plains without a tree. the next day we arrived at a house near navedad, on the sea-coast, where a rich haciendero gave us lodgings. i stayed here the two ensuing days, and although very unwell, managed to collect from the tertiary formation some marine shells. th.--our course was now directed towards valparaiso, which with great difficulty i reached on the th, and was there confined to my bed till the end of october. during this time i was an inmate in mr. corfield's house, whose kindness to me i do not know how to express. i will here add a few observations on some of the animals and birds of chile. the puma, or south american lion, is not uncommon. this animal has a wide geographical range; being found from the equatorial forests, throughout the deserts of patagonia as far south as the damp and cold latitudes ( to degs.) of tierra del fuego. i have seen its footsteps in the cordillera of central chile, at an elevation of at least , feet. in la plata the puma preys chiefly on deer, ostriches, bizcacha, and other small quadrupeds; it there seldom attacks cattle or horses, and most rarely man. in chile, however, it destroys many young horses and cattle, owing probably to the scarcity of other quadrupeds: i heard, likewise, of two men and a woman who had been thus killed. it is asserted that the puma always kills its prey by springing on the shoulders, and then drawing back the head with one of its paws, until the vertebrae break: i have seen in patagonia the skeletons of guanacos, with their necks thus dislocated. the puma, after eating its fill, covers the carcass with many large bushes, and lies down to watch it. this habit is often the cause of its being discovered; for the condors wheeling in the air every now and then descend to partake of the feast, and being angrily driven away, rise all together on the wing. the chileno guaso then knows there is a lion watching his prey--the word is given--and men and dogs hurry to the chase. sir f. head says that a gaucho in the pampas, upon merely seeing some condors wheeling in the air, cried "a lion!" i could never myself meet with any one who pretended to such powers of discrimination. it is asserted that, if a puma has once been betrayed by thus watching the carcass, and has then been hunted, it never resumes this habit; but that, having gorged itself, it wanders far away. the puma is easily killed. in an open country, it is first entangled with the bolas, then lazoed, and dragged along the ground till rendered insensible. at tandeel (south of the plata), i was told that within three months one hundred were thus destroyed. in chile they are generally driven up bushes or trees, and are then either shot, or baited to death by dogs. the dogs employed in this chase belong to a particular breed, called leoneros: they are weak, slight animals, like long-legged terriers, but are born with a particular instinct for this sport. the puma is described as being very crafty: when pursued, it often returns on its former track, and then suddenly making a spring on one side, waits there till the dogs have passed by. it is a very silent animal, uttering no cry even when wounded, and only rarely during the breeding season. of birds, two species of the genus pteroptochos (megapodius and albicollis of kittlitz) are perhaps the most conspicuous. the former, called by the chilenos "el turco," is as large as a fieldfare, to which bird it has some alliance; but its legs are much longer, tail shorter, and beak stronger: its colour is a reddish brown. the turco is not uncommon. it lives on the ground, sheltered among the thickets which are scattered over the dry and sterile hills. with its tail erect, and stilt-like legs, it may be seen every now and then popping from one bush to another with uncommon quickness. it really requires little imagination to believe that the bird is ashamed of itself, and is aware of its most ridiculous figure. on first seeing it, one is tempted to exclaim, "a vilely stuffed specimen has escaped from some museum, and has come to life again!" it cannot be made to take flight without the greatest trouble, nor does it run, but only hops. the various loud cries which it utters when concealed amongst the bushes, are as strange as its appearance. it is said to build its nest in a deep hole beneath the ground. i dissected several specimens: the gizzard, which was very muscular, contained beetles, vegetable fibres, and pebbles. from this character, from the length of its legs, scratching feet, membranous covering to the nostrils, short and arched wings, this bird seems in a certain degree to connect the thrushes with the gallinaceous order. the second species (or p. albicollis) is allied to the first in its general form. it is called tapacolo, or "cover your posterior;" and well does the shameless little bird deserve its name; for it carries its tail more than erect, that is, inclined backwards towards its head. it is very common, and frequents the bottoms of hedge-rows, and the bushes scattered over the barren hills, where scarcely another bird can exist. in its general manner of feeding, of quickly hopping out of the thickets and back again, in its desire of concealment, unwillingness to take flight, and nidification, it bears a close resemblance to the turco; but its appearance is not quite so ridiculous. the tapacolo is very crafty: when frightened by any person, it will remain motionless at the bottom of a bush, and will then, after a little while, try with much address to crawl away on the opposite side. it is also an active bird, and continually making a noise: these noises are various and strangely odd; some are like the cooing of doves, others like the bubbling of water, and many defy all similes. the country people say it changes its cry five times in the year--according to some change of season, i suppose. [ ] two species of humming-birds are common; trochilus forficatus is found over a space of miles on the west coast, from the hot dry country of lima, to the forests of tierra del fuego--where it may be seen flitting about in snow-storms. in the wooded island of chiloe, which has an extremely humid climate, this little bird, skipping from side to side amidst the dripping foliage, is perhaps more abundant than almost any other kind. i opened the stomachs of several specimens, shot in different parts of the continent, and in all, remains of insects were as numerous as in the stomach of a creeper. when this species migrates in the summer southward, it is replaced by the arrival of another species coming from the north. this second kind (trochilus gigas) is a very large bird for the delicate family to which it belongs: when on the wing its appearance is singular. like others of the genus, it moves from place to place with a rapidity which may be compared to that of syrphus amongst flies, and sphinx among moths; but whilst hovering over a flower, it flaps its wings with a very slow and powerful movement, totally different from that vibratory one common to most of the species, which produces the humming noise. i never saw any other bird where the force of its wings appeared (as in a butterfly) so powerful in proportion to the weight of its body. when hovering by a flower, its tail is constantly expanded and shut like a fan, the body being kept in a nearly vertical position. this action appears to steady and support the bird, between the slow movements of its wings. although flying from flower to flower in search of food, its stomach generally contained abundant remains of insects, which i suspect are much more the object of its search than honey. the note of this species, like that of nearly the whole family, is extremely shrill. [ ] caldeleugh, in philosoph. transact. for . [ ] annales des sciences naturelles, march, . m. gay, a zealous and able naturalist, was then occupied in studying every branch of natural history throughout the kingdom of chile. [ ] burchess's travels, vol. ii. p. . [ ] it is a remarkable fact, that molina, though describing in detail all the birds and animals of chile, never once mentions this genus, the species of which are so common, and so remarkable in their habits. was he at a loss how to classify them, and did he consequently think that silence was the more prudent course? it is one more instance of the frequency of omissions by authors, on those very subjects where it might have been least expected. chapter xiii chiloe and chonos islands chiloe--general aspect--boat excursion--native indians--castro--tame fox--ascend san pedro--chonos archipelago--peninsula of tres montes--granitic range--boat-wrecked sailors--low's harbour--wild potato--formation of peat--myopotamus, otter and mice--cheucau and barking-bird--opetiorhynchus--singular character of ornithology--petrels. november th.--the beagle sailed from valparaiso to the south, for the purpose of surveying the southern part of chile, the island of chiloe, and the broken land called the chonos archipelago, as far south as the peninsula of tres montes. on the st we anchored in the bay of s. carlos, the capital of chiloe. this island is about ninety miles long, with a breadth of rather less than thirty. the land is hilly, but not mountainous, and is covered by one great forest, except where a few green patches have been cleared round the thatched cottages. from a distance the view somewhat resembles that of tierra del fuego; but the woods, when seen nearer, are incomparably more beautiful. many kinds of fine evergreen trees, and plants with a tropical character, here take the place of the gloomy beech of the southern shores. in winter the climate is detestable, and in summer it is only a little better. i should think there are few parts of the world, within the temperate regions, where so much rain falls. the winds are very boisterous, and the sky almost always clouded: to have a week of fine weather is something wonderful. it is even difficult to get a single glimpse of the cordillera: during our first visit, once only the volcano of osorno stood out in bold relief, and that was before sunrise; it was curious to watch, as the sun rose, the outline gradually fading away in the glare of the eastern sky. the inhabitants, from their complexion and low stature; appear to have three-fourths of indian blood in their veins. they are an humble, quiet, industrious set of men. although the fertile soil, resulting from the decomposition of the volcanic rocks, supports a rank vegetation, yet the climate is not favourable to any production which requires much sunshine to ripen it. there is very little pasture for the larger quadrupeds; and in consequence, the staple articles of food are pigs, potatoes, and fish. the people all dress in strong woollen garments, which each family makes for itself, and dyes with indigo of a dark blue colour. the arts, however, are in the rudest state;--as may be seen in their strange fashion of ploughing, their method of spinning, grinding corn, and in the construction of their boats. the forests are so impenetrable, that the land is nowhere cultivated except near the coast and on the adjoining islets. even where paths exist, they are scarcely passable from the soft and swampy state of the soil. the inhabitants, like those of tierra del fuego, move about chiefly on the beach or in boats. although with plenty to eat, the people are very poor: there is no demand for labour, and consequently the lower orders cannot scrape together money sufficient to purchase even the smallest luxuries. there is also a great deficiency of a circulating medium. i have seen a man bringing on his back a bag of charcoal, with which to buy some trifle, and another carrying a plank to exchange for a bottle of wine. hence every tradesman must also be a merchant, and again sell the goods which he takes in exchange. november th.--the yawl and whale-boat were sent under the command of mr. (now captain) sulivan, to survey the eastern or inland coast of chiloe; and with orders to meet the beagle at the southern extremity of the island; to which point she would proceed by the outside, so as thus to circumnavigate the whole. i accompanied this expedition, but instead of going in the boats the first day, i hired horses to take me to chacao, at the northern extremity of the island. the road followed the coast; every now and then crossing promontories covered by fine forests. in these shaded paths it is absolutely necessary that the whole road should be made of logs of wood, which are squared and placed by the side of each other. from the rays of the sun never penetrating the evergreen foliage, the ground is so damp and soft, that except by this means neither man nor horse would be able to pass along. i arrived at the village of chacao shortly after the tents belonging to the boats were pitched for the night. the land in this neighbourhood has been extensively cleared, and there were many quiet and most picturesque nooks in the forest. chacao was formerly the principal port in the island; but many vessels having been lost, owing to the dangerous currents and rocks in the straits, the spanish government burnt the church, and thus arbitrarily compelled the greater number of inhabitants to migrate to s. carlos. we had not long bivouacked, before the barefooted son of the governor came down to reconnoitre us. seeing the english flag hoisted at the yawl's mast-head, he asked with the utmost indifference, whether it was always to fly at chacao. in several places the inhabitants were much astonished at the appearance of men-of-war's boats, and hoped and believed it was the forerunner of a spanish fleet, coming to recover the island from the patriot government of chile. all the men in power, however, had been informed of our intended visit, and were exceedingly civil. while we were eating our supper, the governor paid us a visit. he had been a lieutenant-colonel in the spanish service, but now was miserably poor. he gave us two sheep, and accepted in return two cotton handkerchiefs, some brass trinkets, and a little tobacco. th.--torrents of rain: we managed, however, to run down the coast as far as huapi-lenou. the whole of this eastern side of chiloe has one aspect; it is a plain, broken by valleys and divided into little islands, and the whole thickly covered with one impervious blackish-green forest. on the margins there are some cleared spaces, surrounding the high-roofed cottages. th--the day rose splendidly clear. the volcano of orsono was spouting out volumes of smoke. this most beautiful mountain, formed like a perfect cone, and white with snow, stands out in front of the cordillera. another great volcano, with a saddle-shaped summit, also emitted from its immense crater little jets of steam. subsequently we saw the lofty-peaked corcovado--well deserving the name of "el famoso corcovado." thus we beheld, from one point of view, three great active volcanoes, each about seven thousand feet high. in addition to this, far to the south, there were other lofty cones covered with snow, which, although not known to be active, must be in their origin volcanic. the line of the andes is not, in this neighbourhood, nearly so elevated as in chile; neither does it appear to form so perfect a barrier between the regions of the earth. this great range, although running in a straight north and south line, owing to an optical deception, always appeared more or less curved; for the lines drawn from each peak to the beholder's eye, necessarily converged like the radii of a semicircle, and as it was not possible (owing to the clearness of the atmosphere and the absence of all intermediate objects) to judge how far distant the farthest peaks were off, they appeared to stand in a flattish semicircle. landing at midday, we saw a family of pure indian extraction. the father was singularly like york minster; and some of the younger boys, with their ruddy complexions, might have been mistaken for pampas indians. everything i have seen, convinces me of the close connexion of the different american tribes, who nevertheless speak distinct languages. this party could muster but little spanish, and talked to each other in their own tongue. it is a pleasant thing to see the aborigines advanced to the same degree of civilization, however low that may be, which their white conquerors have attained. more to the south we saw many pure indians: indeed, all the inhabitants of some of the islets retain their indian surnames. in the census of , there were in chiloe and its dependencies forty-two thousand souls; the greater number of these appear to be of mixed blood. eleven thousand retain their indian surnames, but it is probable that not nearly all of these are of a pure breed. their manner of life is the same with that of the other poor inhabitants, and they are all christians; but it is said that they yet retain some strange superstitious ceremonies, and that they pretend to hold communication with the devil in certain caves. formerly, every one convicted of this offence was sent to the inquisition at lima. many of the inhabitants who are not included in the eleven thousand with indian surnames, cannot be distinguished by their appearance from indians. gomez, the governor of lemuy, is descended from noblemen of spain on both sides; but by constant intermarriages with the natives the present man is an indian. on the other hand the governor of quinchao boasts much of his purely kept spanish blood. we reached at night a beautiful little cove, north of the island of caucahue. the people here complained of want of land. this is partly owing to their own negligence in not clearing the woods, and partly to restrictions by the government, which makes it necessary, before buying ever so small a piece, to pay two shillings to the surveyor for measuring each quadra ( yards square), together with whatever price he fixes for the value of the land. after his valuation the land must be put up three times to auction, and if no one bids more, the purchaser can have it at that rate. all these exactions must be a serious check to clearing the ground, where the inhabitants are so extremely poor. in most countries, forests are removed without much difficulty by the aid of fire; but in chiloe, from the damp nature of the climate, and the sort of trees, it is necessary first to cut them down. this is a heavy drawback to the prosperity of chiloe. in the time of the spaniards the indians could not hold land; and a family, after having cleared a piece of ground, might be driven away, and the property seized by the government. the chilian authorities are now performing an act of justice by making retribution to these poor indians, giving to each man, according to his grade of life, a certain portion of land. the value of uncleared ground is very little. the government gave mr. douglas (the present surveyor, who informed me of these circumstances) eight and a half square miles of forest near s. carlos, in lieu of a debt; and this he sold for dollars, or about pounds sterling. the two succeeding days were fine, and at night we reached the island of quinchao. this neighbourhood is the most cultivated part of the archipelago; for a broad strip of land on the coast of the main island, as well as on many of the smaller adjoining ones, is almost completely cleared. some of the farm-houses seemed very comfortable. i was curious to ascertain how rich any of these people might be, but mr. douglas says that no one can be considered as possessing a regular income. one of the richest landowners might possibly accumulate, in a long industrious life, as much as pounds sterling; but should this happen, it would all be stowed away in some secret corner, for it is the custom of almost every family to have a jar or treasure-chest buried in the ground. november th.--early on sunday morning we reached castro, the ancient capital of chiloe, but now a most forlorn and deserted place. the usual quadrangular arrangement of spanish towns could be traced, but the streets and plaza were coated with fine green turf, on which sheep were browsing. the church, which stands in the middle, is entirely built of plank, and has a picturesque and venerable appearance. the poverty of the place may be conceived from the fact, that although containing some hundreds of inhabitants, one of our party was unable anywhere to purchase either a pound of sugar or an ordinary knife. no individual possessed either a watch or a clock; and an old man, who was supposed to have a good idea of time, was employed to strike the church bell by guess. the arrival of our boats was a rare event in this quiet retired corner of the world; and nearly all the inhabitants came down to the beach to see us pitch our tents. they were very civil, and offered us a house; and one man even sent us a cask of cider as a present. in the afternoon we paid our respects to the governor--a quiet old man, who, in his appearance and manner of life, was scarcely superior to an english cottager. at night heavy rain set in, which was hardly sufficient to drive away from our tents the large circle of lookers-on. an indian family, who had come to trade in a canoe from caylen, bivouacked near us. they had no shelter during the rain. in the morning i asked a young indian, who was wet to the skin, how he had passed the night. he seemed perfectly content, and answered, "muy bien, senor." december st.--we steered for the island of lemuy. i was anxious to examine a reported coal-mine which turned out to be lignite of little value, in the sandstone (probably of an ancient tertiary epoch) of which these islands are composed. when we reached lemuy we had much difficulty in finding any place to pitch our tents, for it was spring-tide, and the land was wooded down to the water's edge. in a short time we were surrounded by a large group of the nearly pure indian inhabitants. they were much surprised at our arrival, and said one to the other, "this is the reason we have seen so many parrots lately; the cheucau (an odd red-breasted little bird, which inhabits the thick forest, and utters very peculiar noises) has not cried 'beware' for nothing." they were soon anxious for barter. money was scarcely worth anything, but their eagerness for tobacco was something quite extraordinary. after tobacco, indigo came next in value; then capsicum, old clothes, and gunpowder. the latter article was required for a very innocent purpose: each parish has a public musket, and the gunpowder was wanted for making a noise on their saint or feast days. the people here live chiefly on shell-fish and potatoes. at certain seasons they catch also, in "corrales," or hedges under water, many fish which are left on the mud-banks as the tide falls. they occasionally possess fowls, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, and cattle; the order in which they are here mentioned, expressing their respective numbers. i never saw anything more obliging and humble than the manners of these people. they generally began with stating that they were poor natives of the place, and not spaniards and that they were in sad want of tobacco and other comforts. at caylen, the most southern island, the sailors bought with a stick of tobacco, of the value of three-halfpence, two fowls, one of which, the indian stated, had skin between its toes, and turned out to be a fine duck; and with some cotton handkerchiefs, worth three shillings, three sheep and a large bunch of onions were procured. the yawl at this place was anchored some way from the shore, and we had fears for her safety from robbers during the night. our pilot, mr. douglas, accordingly told the constable of the district that we always placed sentinels with loaded arms and not understanding spanish, if we saw any person in the dark, we should assuredly shoot him. the constable, with much humility, agreed to the perfect propriety of this arrangement, and promised us that no one should stir out of his house during that night. during the four succeeding days we continued sailing southward. the general features of the country remained the same, but it was much less thickly inhabited. on the large island of tanqui there was scarcely one cleared spot, the trees on every side extending their branches over the sea-beach. i one day noticed, growing on the sandstone cliffs, some very fine plants of the panke (gunnera scabra), which somewhat resembles the rhubarb on a gigantic scale. the inhabitants eat the stalks, which are subacid, and tan leather with the roots, and prepare a black dye from them. the leaf is nearly circular, but deeply indented on its margin. i measured one which was nearly eight feet in diameter, and therefore no less than twenty-four in circumference! the stalk is rather more than a yard high, and each plant sends out four or five of these enormous leaves, presenting together a very noble appearance. december th.--we reached caylen, called "el fin del cristiandad." in the morning we stopped for a few minutes at a house on the northern end of laylec, which was the extreme point of south american christendom, and a miserable hovel it was. the latitude is degs. ', which is two degrees farther south than the rio negro on the atlantic coast. these extreme christians were very poor, and, under the plea of their situation, begged for some tobacco. as a proof of the poverty of these indians, i may mention that shortly before this, we had met a man, who had travelled three days and a half on foot, and had as many to return, for the sake of recovering the value of a small axe and a few fish. how very difficult it must be to buy the smallest article, when such trouble is taken to recover so small a debt. in the evening we reached the island of san pedro, where we found the beagle at anchor. in doubling the point, two of the officers landed to take a round of angles with the theodolite. a fox (canis fulvipes), of a kind said to be peculiar to the island, and very rare in it, and which is a new species, was sitting on the rocks. he was so intently absorbed in watching the work of the officers, that i was able, by quietly walking up behind, to knock him on the head with my geological hammer. this fox, more curious or more scientific, but less wise, than the generality of his brethren, is now mounted in the museum of the zoological society. we stayed three days in this harbour, on one of which captain fitz roy, with a party, attempted to ascend to the summit of san pedro. the woods here had rather a different appearance from those on the northern part of the island. the rock, also, being micaceous slate, there was no beach, but the steep sides dipped directly beneath the water. the general aspect in consequence was more like that of tierra del fuego than of chiloe. in vain we tried to gain the summit: the forest was so impenetrable, that no one who has not beheld it can imagine so entangled a mass of dying and dead trunks. i am sure that often, for more than ten minutes together, our feet never touched the ground, and we were frequently ten or fifteen feet above it, so that the seamen as a joke called out the soundings. at other times we crept one after another on our hands and knees, under the rotten trunks. in the lower part of the mountain, noble trees of the winter's bark, and a laurel like the sassafras with fragrant leaves, and others, the names of which i do not know, were matted together by a trailing bamboo or cane. here we were more like fishes struggling in a net than any other animal. on the higher parts, brushwood takes the place of larger trees, with here and there a red cedar or an alerce pine. i was also pleased to see, at an elevation of a little less than feet, our old friend the southern beech. they were, however, poor stunted trees, and i should think that this must be nearly their northern limit. we ultimately gave up the attempt in despair. december th.--the yawl and whale-boat, with mr. sulivan, proceeded on their survey, but i remained on board the beagle, which the next day left san pedro for the southward. on the th we ran into an opening in the southern part of guayatecas, or the chonos archipelago; and it was fortunate we did so, for on the following day a storm, worthy of tierra del fuego, raged with great fury. white massive clouds were piled up against a dark blue sky, and across them black ragged sheets of vapour were rapidly driven. the successive mountain ranges appeared like dim shadows, and the setting sun cast on the woodland a yellow gleam, much like that produced by the flame of spirits of wine. the water was white with the flying spray, and the wind lulled and roared again through the rigging: it was an ominous, sublime scene. during a few minutes there was a bright rainbow, and it was curious to observe the effect of the spray, which being carried along the surface of the water, changed the ordinary semicircle into a circle--a band of prismatic colours being continued, from both feet of the common arch across the bay, close to the vessel's side: thus forming a distorted, but very nearly entire ring. we stayed here three days. the weather continued bad: but this did not much signify, for the surface of the land in all these islands is all but impassable. the coast is so very rugged that to attempt to walk in that direction requires continued scrambling up and down over the sharp rocks of mica-slate; and as for the woods, our faces, hands, and shin-bones all bore witness to the maltreatment we received, in merely attempting to penetrate their forbidden recesses. december th.--we stood out to sea. on the th we bade farewell to the south, and with a fair wind turned the ship's head northward. from cape tres montes we sailed pleasantly along the lofty weather-beaten coast, which is remarkable for the bold outline of its hills, and the thick covering of forest even on the almost precipitous flanks. the next day a harbour was discovered, which on this dangerous coast might be of great service to a distressed vessel. it can easily be recognized by a hill feet high, which is even more perfectly conical than the famous sugar-loaf at rio de janeiro. the next day, after anchoring, i succeeded in reaching the summit of this hill. it was a laborious undertaking, for the sides were so steep that in some parts it was necessary to use the trees as ladders. there were also several extensive brakes of the fuchsia, covered with its beautiful drooping flowers, but very difficult to crawl through. in these wild countries it gives much delight to gain the summit of any mountain. there is an indefinite expectation of seeing something very strange, which, however often it may be balked, never failed with me to recur on each successive attempt. every one must know the feeling of triumph and pride which a grand view from a height communicates to the mind. in these little frequented countries there is also joined to it some vanity, that you perhaps are the first man who ever stood on this pinnacle or admired this view. a strong desire is always felt to ascertain whether any human being has previously visited an unfrequented spot. a bit of wood with a nail in it, is picked up and studied as if it were covered with hieroglyphics. possessed with this feeling, i was much interested by finding, on a wild part of the coast, a bed made of grass beneath a ledge of rock. close by it there had been a fire, and the man had used an axe. the fire, bed, and situation showed the dexterity of an indian; but he could scarcely have been an indian, for the race is in this part extinct, owing to the catholic desire of making at one blow christians and slaves. i had at the time some misgivings that the solitary man who had made his bed on this wild spot, must have been some poor shipwrecked sailor, who, in trying to travel up the coast, had here laid himself down for his dreary night. december th.--the weather continued very bad, but it at last permitted us to proceed with the survey. the time hung heavy on our hands, as it always did when we were delayed from day to day by successive gales of wind. in the evening another harbour was discovered, where we anchored. directly afterwards a man was seen waving a shirt, and a boat was sent which brought back two seamen. a party of six had run away from an american whaling vessel, and had landed a little to the southward in a boat, which was shortly afterwards knocked to pieces by the surf. they had now been wandering up and down the coast for fifteen months, without knowing which way to go, or where they were. what a singular piece of good fortune it was that this harbour was now discovered! had it not been for this one chance, they might have wandered till they had grown old men, and at last have perished on this wild coast. their sufferings had been very great, and one of their party had lost his life by falling from the cliffs. they were sometimes obliged to separate in search of food, and this explained the bed of the solitary man. considering what they had undergone, i think they had kept a very good reckoning of time, for they had lost only four days. december th.--we anchored in a snug little cove at the foot of some high hills, near the northern extremity of tres montes. after breakfast the next morning, a party ascended one of these mountains, which was feet high. the scenery was remarkable the chief part of the range was composed of grand, solid, abrupt masses of granite, which appeared as if they had been coeval with the beginning of the world. the granite was capped with mica-slate, and this in the lapse of ages had been worn into strange finger-shaped points. these two formations, thus differing in their outlines, agree in being almost destitute of vegetation. this barrenness had to our eyes a strange appearance, from having been so long accustomed to the sight of an almost universal forest of dark-green trees. i took much delight in examining the structure of these mountains. the complicated and lofty ranges bore a noble aspect of durability--equally profitless, however, to man and to all other animals. granite to the geologist is classic ground: from its widespread limits, and its beautiful and compact texture, few rocks have been more anciently recognised. granite has given rise, perhaps, to more discussion concerning its origin than any other formation. we generally see it constituting the fundamental rock, and, however formed, we know it is the deepest layer in the crust of this globe to which man has penetrated. the limit of man's knowledge in any subject possesses a high interest, which is perhaps increased by its close neighbourhood to the realms of imagination. january st .--the new year is ushered in with the ceremonies proper to it in these regions. she lays out no false hopes: a heavy north-western gale, with steady rain, bespeaks the rising year. thank god, we are not destined here to see the end of it, but hope then to be in the pacific ocean, where a blue sky tells one there is a heaven,--a something beyond the clouds above our heads. the north-west winds prevailing for the next four days, we only managed to cross a great bay, and then anchored in another secure harbour. i accompanied the captain in a boat to the head of a deep creek. on the way the number of seals which we saw was quite astonishing: every bit of flat rock, and parts of the beach, were covered with them. there appeared to be of a loving disposition, and lay huddled together, fast asleep, like so many pigs; but even pigs would have been ashamed of their dirt, and of the foul smell which came from them. each herd was watched by the patient but inauspicious eyes of the turkey-buzzard. this disgusting bird, with its bald scarlet head, formed to wallow in putridity, is very common on the west coast, and their attendance on the seals shows on what they rely for their food. we found the water (probably only that of the surface) nearly fresh: this was caused by the number of torrents which, in the form of cascades, came tumbling over the bold granite mountains into the sea. the fresh water attracts the fish, and these bring many terns, gulls, and two kinds of cormorant. we saw also a pair of the beautiful black-necked swans, and several small sea-otters, the fur of which is held in such high estimation. in returning, we were again amused by the impetuous manner in which the heap of seals, old and young, tumbled into the water as the boat passed. they did not remain long under water, but rising, followed us with outstretched necks, expressing great wonder and curiosity. th.--having run up the coast, we anchored near the northern end of the chonos archipelago, in low's harbour, where we remained a week. the islands were here, as in chiloe, composed of a stratified, soft, littoral deposit; and the vegetation in consequence was beautifully luxuriant. the woods came down to the sea-beach, just in the manner of an evergreen shrubbery over a gravel walk. we also enjoyed from the anchorage a splendid view of four great snowy cones of the cordillera, including "el famoso corcovado;" the range itself had in this latitude so little height, that few parts of it appeared above the tops of the neighbouring islets. we found here a party of five men from caylen, "el fin del cristiandad," who had most adventurously crossed in their miserable boat-canoe, for the purpose of fishing, the open space of sea which separates chonos from chiloe. these islands will, in all probability, in a short time become peopled like those adjoining the coast of chiloe. the wild potato grows on these islands in great abundance, on the sandy, shelly soil near the sea-beach. the tallest plant was four feet in height. the tubers were generally small, but i found one, of an oval shape, two inches in diameter: they resembled in every respect, and had the same smell as english potatoes; but when boiled they shrunk much, and were watery and insipid, without any bitter taste. they are undoubtedly here indigenous: they grow as far south, according to mr. low, as lat. degs., and are called aquinas by the wild indians of that part: the chilotan indians have a different name for them. professor henslow, who has examined the dried specimens which i brought home, says that they are the same with those described by mr. sabine [ ] from valparaiso, but that they form a variety which by some botanists has been considered as specifically distinct. it is remarkable that the same plant should be found on the sterile mountains of central chile, where a drop of rain does not fall for more than six months, and within the damp forests of these southern islands. in the central parts of the chonos archipelago (lat. degs.), the forest has very much the same character with that along the whole west coast, for miles southward to cape horn. the arborescent grass of chiloe is not found here; while the beech of tierra del fuego grows to a good size, and forms a considerable proportion of the wood; not, however, in the same exclusive manner as it does farther southward. cryptogamic plants here find a most congenial climate. in the strait of magellan, as i have before remarked, the country appears too cold and wet to allow of their arriving at perfection; but in these islands, within the forest, the number of species and great abundance of mosses, lichens, and small ferns, is quite extraordinary. [ ] in tierra del fuego trees grow only on the hill-sides; every level piece of land being invariably covered by a thick bed of peat; but in chiloe flat land supports the most luxuriant forests. here, within the chonos archipelago, the nature of the climate more closely approaches that of tierra del fuego than that of northern chiloe; for every patch of level ground is covered by two species of plants (astelia pumila and donatia magellanica), which by their joint decay compose a thick bed of elastic peat. in tierra del fuego, above the region of woodland, the former of these eminently sociable plants is the chief agent in the production of peat. fresh leaves are always succeeding one to the other round the central tap-root, the lower ones soon decay, and in tracing a root downwards in the peat, the leaves, yet holding their place, can be observed passing through every stage of decomposition, till the whole becomes blended in one confused mass. the astelia is assisted by a few other plants,--here and there a small creeping myrtus (m. nummularia), with a woody stem like our cranberry and with a sweet berry,--an empetrum (e. rubrum), like our heath,--a rush (juncus grandiflorus), are nearly the only ones that grow on the swampy surface. these plants, though possessing a very close general resemblance to the english species of the same genera, are different. in the more level parts of the country, the surface of the peat is broken up into little pools of water, which stand at different heights, and appear as if artificially excavated. small streams of water, flowing underground, complete the disorganization of the vegetable matter, and consolidate the whole. the climate of the southern part of america appears particularly favourable to the production of peat. in the falkland islands almost every kind of plant, even the coarse grass which covers the whole surface of the land, becomes converted into this substance: scarcely any situation checks its growth; some of the beds are as much as twelve feet thick, and the lower part becomes so solid when dry, that it will hardly burn. although every plant lends its aid, yet in most parts the astelia is the most efficient. it is rather a singular circumstance, as being so very different from what occurs in europe, that i nowhere saw moss forming by its decay any portion of the peat in south america. with respect to the northern limit, at which the climate allows of that peculiar kind of slow decomposition which is necessary for its production, i believe that in chiloe (lat. to degs.), although there is much swampy ground, no well-characterized peat occurs: but in the chonos islands, three degrees farther southward, we have seen that it is abundant. on the eastern coast in la plata (lat. degs.) i was told by a spanish resident who had visited ireland, that he had often sought for this substance, but had never been able to find any. he showed me, as the nearest approach to it which he had discovered, a black peaty soil, so penetrated with roots as to allow of an extremely slow and imperfect combustion. the zoology of these broken islets of the chonos archipelago is, as might have been expected, very poor. of quadrupeds two aquatic kinds are common. the myopotamus coypus (like a beaver, but with a round tail) is well known from its fine fur, which is an object of trade throughout the tributaries of la plata. it here, however, exclusively frequents salt water; which same circumstance has been mentioned as sometimes occurring with the great rodent, the capybara. a small sea-otter is very numerous; this animal does not feed exclusively on fish, but, like the seals, draws a large supply from a small red crab, which swims in shoals near the surface of the water. mr. bynoe saw one in tierra del fuego eating a cuttle-fish; and at low's harbour, another was killed in the act of carrying to its hole a large volute shell. at one place i caught in a trap a singular little mouse (m. brachiotis); it appeared common on several of the islets, but the chilotans at low's harbour said that it was not found in all. what a succession of chances, [ ] or what changes of level must have been brought into play, thus to spread these small animals throughout this broken archipelago! in all parts of chiloe and chonos, two very strange birds occur, which are allied to, and replace, the turco and tapacolo of central chile. one is called by the inhabitants "cheucau" (pteroptochos rubecula): it frequents the most gloomy and retired spots within the damp forests. sometimes, although its cry may be heard close at hand, let a person watch ever so attentively he will not see the cheucau; at other times, let him stand motionless and the red-breasted little bird will approach within a few feet in the most familiar manner. it then busily hops about the entangled mass of rotting cones and branches, with its little tail cocked upwards. the cheucau is held in superstitious fear by the chilotans, on account of its strange and varied cries. there are three very distinct cries: one is called "chiduco," and is an omen of good; another, "huitreu," which is extremely unfavourable; and a third, which i have forgotten. these words are given in imitation of the noises; and the natives are in some things absolutely governed by them. the chilotans assuredly have chosen a most comical little creature for their prophet. an allied species, but rather larger, is called by the natives "guid-guid" (pteroptochos tarnii), and by the english the barking-bird. this latter name is well given; for i defy any one at first to feel certain that a small dog is not yelping somewhere in the forest. just as with the cheucau, a person will sometimes hear the bark close by, but in vain many endeavour by watching, and with still less chance by beating the bushes, to see the bird; yet at other times the guid-guid fearlessly comes near. its manner of feeding and its general habits are very similar to those of the cheucau. on the coast, [ ] a small dusky-coloured bird (opetiorhynchus patagonicus) is very common. it is remarkable from its quiet habits; it lives entirely on the sea-beach, like a sandpiper. besides these birds only few others inhabit this broken land. in my rough notes i describe the strange noises, which, although frequently heard within these gloomy forests, yet scarcely disturb the general silence. the yelping of the guid-guid, and the sudden whew-whew of the cheucau, sometimes come from afar off, and sometimes from close at hand; the little black wren of tierra del fuego occasionally adds its cry; the creeper (oxyurus) follows the intruder screaming and twittering; the humming-bird may be seen every now and then darting from side to side, and emitting, like an insect, its shrill chirp; lastly, from the top of some lofty tree the indistinct but plaintive note of the white-tufted tyrant-flycatcher (myiobius) may be noticed. from the great preponderance in most countries of certain common genera of birds, such as the finches, one feels at first surprised at meeting with the peculiar forms above enumerated, as the commonest birds in any district. in central chile two of them, namely, the oxyurus and scytalopus, occur, although most rarely. when finding, as in this case, animals which seem to play so insignificant a part in the great scheme of nature, one is apt to wonder why they were created. but it should always be recollected, that in some other country perhaps they are essential members of society, or at some former period may have been so. if america south of degs. were sunk beneath the waters of the ocean, these two birds might continue to exist in central chile for a long period, but it is very improbable that their numbers would increase. we should then see a case which must inevitably have happened with very many animals. these southern seas are frequented by several species of petrels: the largest kind, procellaria gigantea, or nelly (quebrantahuesos, or break-bones, of the spaniards), is a common bird, both in the inland channels and on the open sea. in its habits and manner of flight, there is a very close resemblance with the albatross; and as with the albatross, a person may watch it for hours together without seeing on what it feeds. the "break-bones" is, however, a rapacious bird, for it was observed by some of the officers at port st. antonio chasing a diver, which tried to escape by diving and flying, but was continually struck down, and at last killed by a blow on its head. at port st. julian these great petrels were seen killing and devouring young gulls. a second species (puffinus cinereus), which is common to europe, cape horn, and the coast of peru, is of much smaller size than the p. gigantea, but, like it, of a dirty black colour. it generally frequents the inland sounds in very large flocks: i do not think i ever saw so many birds of any other sort together, as i once saw of these behind the island of chiloe. hundreds of thousands flew in an irregular line for several hours in one direction. when part of the flock settled on the water the surface was blackened, and a noise proceeded from them as of human beings talking in the distance. there are several other species of petrels, but i will only mention one other kind, the pelacanoides berardi which offers an example of those extraordinary cases, of a bird evidently belonging to one well-marked family, yet both in its habits and structure allied to a very distinct tribe. this bird never leaves the quiet inland sounds. when disturbed it dives to a distance, and on coming to the surface, with the same movement takes flight. after flying by a rapid movement of its short wings for a space in a straight line, it drops, as if struck dead, and dives again. the form of its beak and nostrils, length of foot, and even the colouring of its plumage, show that this bird is a petrel: on the other hand, its short wings and consequent little power of flight, its form of body and shape of tail, the absence of a hind toe to its foot, its habit of diving, and its choice of situation, make it at first doubtful whether its relationship is not equally close with the auks. it would undoubtedly be mistaken for an auk, when seen from a distance, either on the wing, or when diving and quietly swimming about the retired channels of tierra del fuego. [ ] horticultural transact., vol. v. p. . mr. caldeleugh sent home two tubers, which, being well manured, even the first season produced numerous potatoes and an abundance of leaves. see humboldt's interesting discussion on this plant, which it appears was unknown in mexico,--in polit. essay on new spain, book iv. chap. ix. [ ] by sweeping with my insect-net, i procured from these situations a considerable number of minute insects, of the family of staphylinidae, and others allied to pselaphus, and minute hymenoptera. but the most characteristic family in number, both of individuals and species, throughout the more open parts of chiloe and chonos is that of telephoridae. [ ] it is said that some rapacious birds bring their prey alive to their nests. if so, in the course of centuries, every now and then, one might escape from the young birds. some such agency is necessary, to account for the distribution of the smaller gnawing animals on islands not very near each other. [ ] i may mention, as a proof of how great a difference there is between the seasons of the wooded and the open parts of this coast, that on september th, in lat. degs., these birds had young ones in the nest, while among the chonos islands, three months later in the summer, they were only laying, the difference in latitude between these two places being about miles. chapter xiv chiloe and concepcion: great earthquake san carlos, chiloe--osorno in eruption, contemporaneously with aconcagua and coseguina--ride to cucao--impenetrable forests--valdivia indians--earthquake--concepcion--great earthquake--rocks fissured--appearance of the former towns--the sea black and boiling--direction of the vibrations--stones twisted round--great wave--permanent elevation of the land--area of volcanic phenomena--the connection between the elevatory and eruptive forces--cause of earthquakes--slow elevation of mountain-chains. on january the th we sailed from low's harbour, and three days afterwards anchored a second time in the bay of s. carlos in chiloe. on the night of the th the volcano of osorno was in action. at midnight the sentry observed something like a large star, which gradually increased in size till about three o'clock, when it presented a very magnificent spectacle. by the aid of a glass, dark objects, in constant succession, were seen, in the midst of a great glare of red light, to be thrown up and to fall down. the light was sufficient to cast on the water a long bright reflection. large masses of molten matter seem very commonly to be cast out of the craters in this part of the cordillera. i was assured that when the corcovado is in eruption, great masses are projected upwards and are seen to burst in the air, assuming many fantastical forms, such as trees: their size must be immense, for they can be distinguished from the high land behind s. carlos, which is no less than ninety-three miles from the corcovado. in the morning the volcano became tranquil. i was surprised at hearing afterwards that aconcagua in chile, miles northwards, was in action on the same night; and still more surprised to hear that the great eruption of coseguina ( miles north of aconcagua), accompanied by an earthquake felt over a miles, also occurred within six hours of this same time. this coincidence is the more remarkable, as coseguina had been dormant for twenty-six years; and aconcagua most rarely shows any signs of action. it is difficult even to conjecture whether this coincidence was accidental, or shows some subterranean connection. if vesuvius, etna, and hecla in iceland (all three relatively nearer each other than the corresponding points in south america), suddenly burst forth in eruption on the same night, the coincidence would be thought remarkable; but it is far more remarkable in this case, where the three vents fall on the same great mountain-chain, and where the vast plains along the entire eastern coast, and the upraised recent shells along more than miles on the western coast, show in how equable and connected a manner the elevatory forces have acted. captain fitz roy being anxious that some bearings should be taken on the outer coast of chiloe, it was planned that mr. king and myself should ride to castro, and thence across the island to the capella de cucao, situated on the west coast. having hired horses and a guide, we set out on the morning of the nd. we had not proceeded far, before we were joined by a woman and two boys, who were bent on the same journey. every one on this road acts on a "hail fellow well met" fashion; and one may here enjoy the privilege, so rare in south america, of travelling without fire-arms. at first, the country consisted of a succession of hills and valleys: nearer to castro it became very level. the road itself is a curious affair; it consists in its whole length, with the exception of very few parts, of great logs of wood, which are either broad and laid longitudinally, or narrow and placed transversely. in summer the road is not very bad; but in winter, when the wood is rendered slippery from rain, travelling is exceedingly difficult. at that time of the year, the ground on each side becomes a morass, and is often overflowed: hence it is necessary that the longitudinal logs should be fastened down by transverse poles, which are pegged on each side into the earth. these pegs render a fall from a horse dangerous, as the chance of alighting on one of them is not small. it is remarkable, however, how active custom has made the chilotan horses. in crossing bad parts, where the logs had been displaced, they skipped from one to the other, almost with the quickness and certainty of a dog. on both hands the road is bordered by the lofty forest-trees, with their bases matted together by canes. when occasionally a long reach of this avenue could be beheld, it presented a curious scene of uniformity: the white line of logs, narrowing in perspective, became hidden by the gloomy forest, or terminated in a zigzag which ascended some steep hill. although the distance from s. carlos to castro is only twelve leagues in a straight line, the formation of the road must have been a great labour. i was told that several people had formerly lost their lives in attempting to cross the forest. the first who succeeded was an indian, who cut his way through the canes in eight days, and reached s. carlos: he was rewarded by the spanish government with a grant of land. during the summer, many of the indians wander about the forests (but chiefly in the higher parts, where the woods are not quite so thick) in search of the half-wild cattle which live on the leaves of the cane and certain trees. it was one of these huntsmen who by chance discovered, a few years since, an english vessel, which had been wrecked on the outer coast. the crew were beginning to fail in provisions, and it is not probable that, without the aid of this man, they would ever have extricated themselves from these scarcely penetrable woods. as it was, one seaman died on the march, from fatigue. the indians in these excursions steer by the sun; so that if there is a continuance of cloudy weather, they can not travel. the day was beautiful, and the number of trees which were in full flower perfumed the air; yet even this could hardly dissipate the effects of the gloomy dampness of the forest. moreover, the many dead trunks that stand like skeletons, never fail to give to these primeval woods a character of solemnity, absent in those of countries long civilized. shortly after sunset we bivouacked for the night. our female companion, who was rather good-looking, belonged to one of the most respectable families in castro: she rode, however, astride, and without shoes or stockings. i was surprised at the total want of pride shown by her and her brother. they brought food with them, but at all our meals sat watching mr. king and myself whilst eating, till we were fairly shamed into feeding the whole party. the night was cloudless; and while lying in our beds, we enjoyed the sight (and it is a high enjoyment) of the multitude of stars which illumined the darkness of the forest. january rd.--we rose early in the morning, and reached the pretty quiet town of castro by two o'clock. the old governor had died since our last visit, and a chileno was acting in his place. we had a letter of introduction to don pedro, whom we found exceedingly hospitable and kind, and more disinterested than is usual on this side of the continent. the next day don pedro procured us fresh horses, and offered to accompany us himself. we proceeded to the south--generally following the coast, and passing through several hamlets, each with its large barn-like chapel built of wood. at vilipilli, don pedro asked the commandant to give us a guide to cucao. the old gentleman offered to come himself; but for a long time nothing would persuade him that two englishmen really wished to go to such an out-of-the-way place as cucao. we were thus accompanied by the two greatest aristocrats in the country, as was plainly to be seen in the manner of all the poorer indians towards them. at chonchi we struck across the island, following intricate winding paths, sometimes passing through magnificent forests, and sometimes through pretty cleared spots, abounding with corn and potato crops. this undulating woody country, partially cultivated, reminded me of the wilder parts of england, and therefore had to my eye a most fascinating aspect. at vilinco, which is situated on the borders of the lake of cucao, only a few fields were cleared; and all the inhabitants appeared to be indians. this lake is twelve miles long, and runs in an east and west direction. from local circumstances, the sea-breeze blows very regularly during the day, and during the night it falls calm: this has given rise to strange exaggerations, for the phenomenon, as described to us at s. carlos, was quite a prodigy. the road to cucao was so very bad that we determined to embark in a _periagua_. the commandant, in the most authoritative manner, ordered six indians to get ready to pull us over, without deigning to tell them whether they would be paid. the periagua is a strange rough boat, but the crew were still stranger: i doubt if six uglier little men ever got into a boat together. they pulled, however, very well and cheerfully. the stroke-oarsman gabbled indian, and uttered strange cries, much after the fashion of a pig-driver driving his pigs. we started with a light breeze against us, but yet reached the capella de cucao before it was late. the country on each side of the lake was one unbroken forest. in the same periagua with us, a cow was embarked. to get so large an animal into a small boat appears at first a difficulty, but the indians managed it in a minute. they brought the cow alongside the boat, which was heeled towards her; then placing two oars under her belly, with their ends resting on the gunwale, by the aid of these levers they fairly tumbled the poor beast heels over head into the bottom of the boat, and then lashed her down with ropes. at cucao we found an uninhabited hovel (which is the residence of the padre when he pays this capella a visit), where, lighting a fire, we cooked our supper, and were very comfortable. the district of cucao is the only inhabited part on the whole west coast of chiloe. it contains about thirty or forty indian families, who are scattered along four or five miles of the shore. they are very much secluded from the rest of chiloe, and have scarcely any sort of commerce, except sometimes in a little oil, which they get from seal-blubber. they are tolerably dressed in clothes of their own manufacture, and they have plenty to eat. they seemed, however, discontented, yet humble to a degree which it was quite painful to witness. these feelings are, i think, chiefly to be attributed to the harsh and authoritative manner in which they are treated by their rulers. our companions, although so very civil to us, behaved to the poor indians as if they had been slaves, rather than free men. they ordered provisions and the use of their horses, without ever condescending to say how much, or indeed whether the owners should be paid at all. in the morning, being left alone with these poor people, we soon ingratiated ourselves by presents of cigars and mate. a lump of white sugar was divided between all present, and tasted with the greatest curiosity. the indians ended all their complaints by saying, "and it is only because we are poor indians, and know nothing; but it was not so when we had a king." the next day after breakfast, we rode a few miles northward to punta huantamo. the road lay along a very broad beach, on which, even after so many fine days, a terrible surf was breaking. i was assured that after a heavy gale, the roar can be heard at night even at castro, a distance of no less than twenty-one sea-miles across a hilly and wooded country. we had some difficulty in reaching the point, owing to the intolerably bad paths; for everywhere in the shade the ground soon becomes a perfect quagmire. the point itself is a bold rocky hill. it is covered by a plant allied, i believe, to bromelia, and called by the inhabitants chepones. in scrambling through the beds, our hands were very much scratched. i was amused by observing the precaution our indian guide took, in turning up his trousers, thinking that they were more delicate than his own hard skin. this plant bears a fruit, in shape like an artichoke, in which a number of seed-vessels are packed: these contain a pleasant sweet pulp, here much esteemed. i saw at low's harbour the chilotans making chichi, or cider, with this fruit: so true is it, as humboldt remarks, that almost everywhere man finds means of preparing some kind of beverage from the vegetable kingdom. the savages, however, of tierra del fuego, and i believe of australia, have not advanced thus far in the arts. the coast to the north of punta huantamo is exceedingly rugged and broken, and is fronted by many breakers, on which the sea is eternally roaring. mr. king and myself were anxious to return, if it had been possible, on foot along this coast; but even the indians said it was quite impracticable. we were told that men have crossed by striking directly through the woods from cucao to s. carlos, but never by the coast. on these expeditions, the indians carry with them only roasted corn, and of this they eat sparingly twice a day. th.--re-embarking in the periagua, we returned across the lake, and then mounted our horses. the whole of chiloe took advantage of this week of unusually fine weather, to clear the ground by burning. in every direction volumes of smoke were curling upwards. although the inhabitants were so assiduous in setting fire to every part of the wood, yet i did not see a single fire which they had succeeded in making extensive. we dined with our friend the commandant, and did not reach castro till after dark. the next morning we started very early. after having ridden for some time, we obtained from the brow of a steep hill an extensive view (and it is a rare thing on this road) of the great forest. over the horizon of trees, the volcano of corcovado, and the great flat-topped one to the north, stood out in proud pre-eminence: scarcely another peak in the long range showed its snowy summit. i hope it will be long before i forget this farewell view of the magnificent cordillera fronting chiloe. at night we bivouacked under a cloudless sky, and the next morning reached s. carlos. we arrived on the right day, for before evening heavy rain commenced. february th.--sailed from chiloe. during the last week i made several short excursions. one was to examine a great bed of now-existing shells, elevated feet above the level of the sea: from among these shells, large forest-trees were growing. another ride was to p. huechucucuy. i had with me a guide who knew the country far too well; for he would pertinaciously tell me endless indian names for every little point, rivulet, and creek. in the same manner as in tierra del fuego, the indian language appears singularly well adapted for attaching names to the most trivial features of the land. i believe every one was glad to say farewell to chiloe; yet if we could forget the gloom and ceaseless rain of winter, chiloe might pass for a charming island. there is also something very attractive in the simplicity and humble politeness of the poor inhabitants. we steered northward along shore, but owing to thick weather did not reach valdivia till the night of the th. the next morning the boat proceeded to the town, which is distant about ten miles. we followed the course of the river, occasionally passing a few hovels, and patches of ground cleared out of the otherwise unbroken forest; and sometimes meeting a canoe with an indian family. the town is situated on the low banks of the stream, and is so completely buried in a wood of apple-trees that the streets are merely paths in an orchard. i have never seen any country, where apple-trees appeared to thrive so well as in this damp part of south america: on the borders of the roads there were many young trees evidently self-grown. in chiloe the inhabitants possess a marvellously short method of making an orchard. at the lower part of almost every branch, small, conical, brown, wrinkled points project: these are always ready to change into roots, as may sometimes be seen, where any mud has been accidentally splashed against the tree. a branch as thick as a man's thigh is chosen in the early spring, and is cut off just beneath a group of these points, all the smaller branches are lopped off, and it is then placed about two feet deep in the ground. during the ensuing summer the stump throws out long shoots, and sometimes even bears fruit: i was shown one which had produced as many as twenty-three apples, but this was thought very unusual. in the third season the stump is changed (as i have myself seen) into a well-wooded tree, loaded with fruit. an old man near valdivia illustrated his motto, "necesidad es la madre del invencion," by giving an account of the several useful things he manufactured from his apples. after making cider, and likewise wine, he extracted from the refuse a white and finely flavoured spirit; by another process he procured a sweet treacle, or, as he called it, honey. his children and pigs seemed almost to live, during this season of the year, in his orchard. february th.--i set out with a guide on a short ride, in which, however, i managed to see singularly little, either of the geology of the country or of its inhabitants. there is not much cleared land near valdivia: after crossing a river at the distance of a few miles, we entered the forest, and then passed only one miserable hovel, before reaching our sleeping-place for the night. the short difference in latitude, of miles, has given a new aspect to the forest compared with that of chiloe. this is owing to a slightly different proportion in the kinds of trees. the evergreens do not appear to be quite so numerous, and the forest in consequence has a brighter tint. as in chiloe, the lower parts are matted together by canes: here also another kind (resembling the bamboo of brazil and about twenty feet in height) grows in clusters, and ornaments the banks of some of the streams in a very pretty manner. it is with this plant that the indians make their chuzos, or long tapering spears. our resting-house was so dirty that i preferred sleeping outside: on these journeys the first night is generally very uncomfortable, because one is not accustomed to the tickling and biting of the fleas. i am sure, in the morning, there was not a space on my legs the size of a shilling which had not its little red mark where the flea had feasted. th.--we continued to ride through the uncleared forest; only occasionally meeting an indian on horseback, or a troop of fine mules bringing alerce-planks and corn from the southern plains. in the afternoon one of the horses knocked up: we were then on a brow of a hill, which commanded a fine view of the llanos. the view of these open plains was very refreshing, after being hemmed in and buried in the wilderness of trees. the uniformity of a forest soon becomes very wearisome. this west coast makes me remember with pleasure the free, unbounded plains of patagonia; yet, with the true spirit of contradiction, i cannot forget how sublime is the silence of the forest. the llanos are the most fertile and thickly peopled parts of the country, as they possess the immense advantage of being nearly free from trees. before leaving the forest we crossed some flat little lawns, around which single trees stood, as in an english park: i have often noticed with surprise, in wooded undulatory districts, that the quite level parts have been destitute of trees. on account of the tired horse, i determined to stop at the mission of cudico, to the friar of which i had a letter of introduction. cudico is an intermediate district between the forest and the llanos. there are a good many cottages, with patches of corn and potatoes, nearly all belonging to indians. the tribes dependent on valdivia are "reducidos y cristianos." the indians farther northward, about arauco and imperial, are still very wild, and not converted; but they have all much intercourse with the spaniards. the padre said that the christian indians did not much like coming to mass, but that otherwise they showed respect for religion. the greatest difficulty is in making them observe the ceremonies of marriage. the wild indians take as many wives as they can support, and a cacique will sometimes have more than ten: on entering his house, the number may be told by that of the separate fires. each wife lives a week in turn with the cacique; but all are employed in weaving ponchos, etc., for his profit. to be the wife of a cacique, is an honour much sought after by the indian women. the men of all these tribes wear a coarse woolen poncho: those south of valdivia wear short trousers, and those north of it a petticoat, like the chilipa of the gauchos. all have their long hair bound by a scarlet fillet, but with no other covering on their heads. these indians are good-sized men; their cheek-bones are prominent, and in general appearance they resemble the great american family to which they belong; but their physiognomy seemed to me to be slightly different from that of any other tribe which i had before seen. their expression is generally grave, and even austere, and possesses much character: this may pass either for honest bluntness or fierce determination. the long black hair, the grave and much-lined features, and the dark complexion, called to my mind old portraits of james i. on the road we met with none of that humble politeness so universal in chiloe. some gave their "mari-mari" (good morning) with promptness, but the greater number did not seem inclined to offer any salute. this independence of manners is probably a consequence of their long wars, and the repeated victories which they alone, of all the tribes in america, have gained over the spaniards. i spent the evening very pleasantly, talking with the padre. he was exceedingly kind and hospitable; and coming from santiago, had contrived to surround himself with some few comforts. being a man of some little education, he bitterly complained of the total want of society. with no particular zeal for religion, no business or pursuit, how completely must this man's life be wasted! the next day, on our return, we met seven very wild-looking indians, of whom some were caciques that had just received from the chilian government their yearly small stipend for having long remained faithful. they were fine-looking men, and they rode one after the other, with most gloomy faces. an old cacique, who headed them, had been, i suppose, more excessively drunk than the rest, for he seemed extremely grave and very crabbed. shortly before this, two indians joined us, who were travelling from a distant mission to valdivia concerning some lawsuit. one was a good-humoured old man, but from his wrinkled beardless face looked more like an old woman than a man. i frequently presented both of them with cigars; and though ready to receive them, and i dare say grateful, they would hardly condescend to thank me. a chilotan indian would have taken off his hat, and given his "dios le page!" the travelling was very tedious, both from the badness of the roads, and from the number of great fallen trees, which it was necessary either to leap over or to avoid by making long circuits. we slept on the road, and next morning reached valdivia, whence i proceeded on board. a few days afterwards i crossed the bay with a party of officers, and landed near the fort called niebla. the buildings were in a most ruinous state, and the gun-carriages quite rotten. mr. wickham remarked to the commanding officer, that with one discharge they would certainly all fall to pieces. the poor man, trying to put a good face upon it, gravely replied, "no, i am sure, sir, they would stand two!" the spaniards must have intended to have made this place impregnable. there is now lying in the middle of the courtyard a little mountain of mortar, which rivals in hardness the rock on which it is placed. it was brought from chile, and cost dollars. the revolution having broken out, prevented its being applied to any purpose, and now it remains a monument of the fallen greatness of spain. i wanted to go to a house about a mile and a half distant, but my guide said it was quite impossible to penetrate the wood in a straight line. he offered, however, to lead me, by following obscure cattle-tracks, the shortest way: the walk, nevertheless, took no less than three hours! this man is employed in hunting strayed cattle; yet, well as he must know the woods, he was not long since lost for two whole days, and had nothing to eat. these facts convey a good idea of the impracticability of the forests of these countries. a question often occurred to me--how long does any vestige of a fallen tree remain? this man showed me one which a party of fugitive royalists had cut down fourteen years ago; and taking this as a criterion, i should think a bole a foot and a half in diameter would in thirty years be changed into a heap of mould. february th.--this day has been memorable in the annals of valdivia, for the most severe earthquake experienced by the oldest inhabitant. i happened to be on shore, and was lying down in the wood to rest myself. it came on suddenly, and lasted two minutes, but the time appeared much longer. the rocking of the ground was very sensible. the undulations appeared to my companion and myself to come from due east, whilst others thought they proceeded from south-west: this shows how difficult it sometimes is to perceive the directions of the vibrations. there was no difficulty in standing upright, but the motion made me almost giddy: it was something like the movement of a vessel in a little cross-ripple, or still more like that felt by a person skating over thin ice, which bends under the weight of his body. a bad earthquake at once destroys our oldest associations: the earth, the very emblem of solidity, has moved beneath our feet like a thin crust over a fluid;--one second of time has created in the mind a strange idea of insecurity, which hours of reflection would not have produced. in the forest, as a breeze moved the trees, i felt only the earth tremble, but saw no other effect. captain fitz roy and some officers were at the town during the shock, and there the scene was more striking; for although the houses, from being built of wood, did not fall, they were violently shaken, and the boards creaked and rattled together. the people rushed out of doors in the greatest alarm. it is these accompaniments that create that perfect horror of earthquakes, experienced by all who have thus seen, as well as felt, their effects. within the forest it was a deeply interesting, but by no means an awe-exciting phenomenon. the tides were very curiously affected. the great shock took place at the time of low water; and an old woman who was on the beach told me that the water flowed very quickly, but not in great waves, to high-water mark, and then as quickly returned to its proper level; this was also evident by the line of wet sand. the same kind of quick but quiet movement in the tide happened a few years since at chiloe, during a slight earthquake, and created much causeless alarm. in the course of the evening there were many weaker shocks, which seemed to produce in the harbour the most complicated currents, and some of great strength. march th.--we entered the harbour of concepcion. while the ship was beating up to the anchorage, i landed on the island of quiriquina. the mayor-domo of the estate quickly rode down to tell me the terrible news of the great earthquake of the th:--"that not a house in concepcion or talcahuano (the port) was standing; that seventy villages were destroyed; and that a great wave had almost washed away the ruins of talcahuano." of this latter statement i soon saw abundant proofs--the whole coast being strewed over with timber and furniture as if a thousand ships had been wrecked. besides chairs, tables, book-shelves, etc., in great numbers, there were several roofs of cottages, which had been transported almost whole. the storehouses at talcahuano had been burst open, and great bags of cotton, yerba, and other valuable merchandise were scattered on the shore. during my walk round the island, i observed that numerous fragments of rock, which, from the marine productions adhering to them, must recently have been lying in deep water, had been cast up high on the beach; one of these was six feet long, three broad, and two thick. the island itself as plainly showed the overwhelming power of the earthquake, as the beach did that of the consequent great wave. the ground in many parts was fissured in north and south lines, perhaps caused by the yielding of the parallel and steep sides of this narrow island. some of the fissures near the cliffs were a yard wide. many enormous masses had already fallen on the beach; and the inhabitants thought that when the rains commenced far greater slips would happen. the effect of the vibration on the hard primary slate, which composes the foundation of the island, was still more curious: the superficial parts of some narrow ridges were as completely shivered as if they had been blasted by gunpowder. this effect, which was rendered conspicuous by the fresh fractures and displaced soil, must be confined to near the surface, for otherwise there would not exist a block of solid rock throughout chile; nor is this improbable, as it is known that the surface of a vibrating body is affected differently from the central part. it is, perhaps, owing to this same reason, that earthquakes do not cause quite such terrific havoc within deep mines as would be expected. i believe this convulsion has been more effectual in lessening the size of the island of quiriquina, than the ordinary wear-and-tear of the sea and weather during the course of a whole century. the next day i landed at talcahuano, and afterwards rode to concepcion. both towns presented the most awful yet interesting spectacle i ever beheld. to a person who had formerly known them, it possibly might have been still more impressive; for the ruins were so mingled together, and the whole scene possessed so little the air of a habitable place, that it was scarcely possible to imagine its former condition. the earthquake commenced at half-past eleven o'clock in the forenoon. if it had happened in the middle of the night, the greater number of the inhabitants (which in this one province must amount to many thousands) must have perished, instead of less than a hundred: as it was, the invariable practice of running out of doors at the first trembling of the ground, alone saved them. in concepcion each house, or row of houses, stood by itself, a heap or line of ruins; but in talcahuano, owing to the great wave, little more than one layer of bricks, tiles, and timber with here and there part of a wall left standing, could be distinguished. from this circumstance concepcion, although not so completely desolated, was a more terrible, and if i may so call it, picturesque sight. the first shock was very sudden. the mayor-domo at quiriquina told me, that the first notice he received of it, was finding both the horse he rode and himself, rolling together on the ground. rising up, he was again thrown down. he also told me that some cows which were standing on the steep side of the island were rolled into the sea. the great wave caused the destruction of many cattle; on one low island near the head of the bay, seventy animals were washed off and drowned. it is generally thought that this has been the worst earthquake ever recorded in chile; but as the very severe ones occur only after long intervals, this cannot easily be known; nor indeed would a much worse shock have made any difference, for the ruin was now complete. innumerable small tremblings followed the great earthquake, and within the first twelve days no less than three hundred were counted. after viewing concepcion, i cannot understand how the greater number of inhabitants escaped unhurt. the houses in many parts fell outwards; thus forming in the middle of the streets little hillocks of brickwork and rubbish. mr. rouse, the english consul, told us that he was at breakfast when the first movement warned him to run out. he had scarcely reached the middle of the courtyard, when one side of his house came thundering down. he retained presence of mind to remember, that if he once got on the top of that part which had already fallen, he would be safe. not being able from the motion of the ground to stand, he crawled up on his hands and knees; and no sooner had he ascended this little eminence, than the other side of the house fell in, the great beams sweeping close in front of his head. with his eyes blinded, and his mouth choked with the cloud of dust which darkened the sky, at last he gained the street. as shock succeeded shock, at the interval of a few minutes, no one dared approach the shattered ruins, and no one knew whether his dearest friends and relations were not perishing from the want of help. those who had saved any property were obliged to keep a constant watch, for thieves prowled about, and at each little trembling of the ground, with one hand they beat their breasts and cried "misericordia!" and then with the other filched what they could from the ruins. the thatched roofs fell over the fires, and flames burst forth in all parts. hundreds knew themselves ruined, and few had the means of providing food for the day. earthquakes alone are sufficient to destroy the prosperity of any country. if beneath england the now inert subterranean forces should exert those powers, which most assuredly in former geological ages they have exerted, how completely would the entire condition of the country be changed! what would become of the lofty houses, thickly packed cities, great manufactories, the beautiful public and private edifices? if the new period of disturbance were first to commence by some great earthquake in the dead of the night, how terrific would be the carnage! england would at once be bankrupt; all papers, records, and accounts would from that moment be lost. government being unable to collect the taxes, and failing to maintain its authority, the hand of violence and rapine would remain uncontrolled. in every large town famine would go forth, pestilence and death following in its train. shortly after the shock, a great wave was seen from the distance of three or four miles, approaching in the middle of the bay with a smooth outline; but along the shore it tore up cottages and trees, as it swept onwards with irresistible force. at the head of the bay it broke in a fearful line of white breakers, which rushed up to a height of vertical feet above the highest spring-tides. their force must have been prodigious; for at the fort a cannon with its carriage, estimated at four tons in weight, was moved feet inwards. a schooner was left in the midst of the ruins, yards from the beach. the first wave was followed by two others, which in their retreat carried away a vast wreck of floating objects. in one part of the bay, a ship was pitched high and dry on shore, was carried off, again driven on shore, and again carried off. in another part, two large vessels anchored near together were whirled about, and their cables were thrice wound round each other; though anchored at a depth of feet, they were for some minutes aground. the great wave must have travelled slowly, for the inhabitants of talcahuano had time to run up the hills behind the town; and some sailors pulled out seaward, trusting successfully to their boat riding securely over the swell, if they could reach it before it broke. one old woman with a little boy, four or five years old, ran into a boat, but there was nobody to row it out: the boat was consequently dashed against an anchor and cut in twain; the old woman was drowned, but the child was picked up some hours afterwards clinging to the wreck. pools of salt-water were still standing amidst the ruins of the houses, and children, making boats with old tables and chairs, appeared as happy as their parents were miserable. it was, however, exceedingly interesting to observe, how much more active and cheerful all appeared than could have been expected. it was remarked with much truth, that from the destruction being universal, no one individual was humbled more than another, or could suspect his friends of coldness--that most grievous result of the loss of wealth. mr. rouse, and a large party whom he kindly took under his protection, lived for the first week in a garden beneath some apple-trees. at first they were as merry as if it had been a picnic; but soon afterwards heavy rain caused much discomfort, for they were absolutely without shelter. in captain fitz roy's excellent account of the earthquake, it is said that two explosions, one like a column of smoke and another like the blowing of a great whale, were seen in the bay. the water also appeared everywhere to be boiling; and it "became black, and exhaled a most disagreeable sulphureous smell." these latter circumstances were observed in the bay of valparaiso during the earthquake of ; they may, i think, be accounted for, by the disturbance of the mud at the bottom of the sea containing organic matter in decay. in the bay of callao, during a calm day, i noticed, that as the ship dragged her cable over the bottom, its course was marked by a line of bubbles. the lower orders in talcahuano thought that the earthquake was caused by some old indian women, who two years ago, being offended, stopped the volcano of antuco. this silly belief is curious, because it shows that experience has taught them to observe, that there exists a relation between the suppressed action of the volcanos, and the trembling of the ground. it was necessary to apply the witchcraft to the point where their perception of cause and effect failed; and this was the closing of the volcanic vent. this belief is the more singular in this particular instance, because, according to captain fitz roy, there is reason to believe that antuco was noways affected. the town of concepcion was built in the usual spanish fashion, with all the streets running at right angles to each other; one set ranging s.w. by w., and the other set n.w. by n. the walls in the former direction certainly stood better than those in the latter; the greater number of the masses of brickwork were thrown down towards the n.e. both these circumstances perfectly agree with the general idea, of the undulations having come from the s.w., in which quarter subterranean noises were also heard; for it is evident that the walls running s.w. and n.e. which presented their ends to the point whence the undulations came, would be much less likely to fall than those walls which, running n.w. and s.e., must in their whole lengths have been at the same instant thrown out of the perpendicular; for the undulations, coming from the s.w., must have extended in n.w. and s.e. waves, as they passed under the foundations. this may be illustrated by placing books edgeways on a carpet, and then, after the manner suggested by michell, imitating the undulations of an earthquake: it will be found that they fall with more or less readiness, according as their direction more or less nearly coincides with the line of the waves. the fissures in the ground generally, though not uniformly, extended in a s.e. and n.w. direction, and therefore corresponded to the lines of undulation or of principal flexure. bearing in mind all these circumstances, which so clearly point to the s.w. as the chief focus of disturbance, it is a very interesting fact that the island of s. maria, situated in that quarter, was, during the general uplifting of the land, raised to nearly three times the height of any other part of the coast. the different resistance offered by the walls, according to their direction, was well exemplified in the case of the cathedral. the side which fronted the n.e. presented a grand pile of ruins, in the midst of which door-cases and masses of timber stood up, as if floating in a stream. some of the angular blocks of brickwork were of great dimensions; and they were rolled to a distance on the level plaza, like fragments of rock at the base of some high mountain. the side walls (running s.w. and n.e.), though exceedingly fractured, yet remained standing; but the vast buttresses (at right angles to them, and therefore parallel to the walls that fell) were in many cases cut clean off, as if by a chisel, and hurled to the ground. some square ornaments on the coping of these same walls, were moved by the earthquake into a diagonal position. a similar circumstance was observed after an earthquake at valparaiso, calabria, and other places, including some of the ancient greek temples. [ ] this twisting displacement, at first appears to indicate a vorticose movement beneath each point thus affected; but this is highly improbable. may it not be caused by a tendency in each stone to arrange itself in some particular position, with respect to the lines of vibration,--in a manner somewhat similar to pins on a sheet of paper when shaken? generally speaking, arched doorways or windows stood much better than any other part of the buildings. nevertheless, a poor lame old man, who had been in the habit, during trifling shocks, of crawling to a certain doorway, was this time crushed to pieces. i have not attempted to give any detailed description of the appearance of concepcion, for i feel that it is quite impossible to convey the mingled feelings which i experienced. several of the officers visited it before me, but their strongest language failed to give a just idea of the scene of desolation. it is a bitter and humiliating thing to see works, which have cost man so much time and labour, overthrown in one minute; yet compassion for the inhabitants was almost instantly banished, by the surprise in seeing a state of things produced in a moment of time, which one was accustomed to attribute to a succession of ages. in my opinion, we have scarcely beheld, since leaving england, any sight so deeply interesting. in almost every severe earthquake, the neighbouring waters of the sea are said to have been greatly agitated. the disturbance seems generally, as in the case of concepcion, to have been of two kinds: first, at the instant of the shock, the water swells high up on the beach with a gentle motion, and then as quietly retreats; secondly, some time afterwards, the whole body of the sea retires from the coast, and then returns in waves of overwhelming force. the first movement seems to be an immediate consequence of the earthquake affecting differently a fluid and a solid, so that their respective levels are slightly deranged: but the second case is a far more important phenomenon. during most earthquakes, and especially during those on the west coast of america, it is certain that the first great movement of the waters has been a retirement. some authors have attempted to explain this, by supposing that the water retains its level, whilst the land oscillates upwards; but surely the water close to the land, even on a rather steep coast, would partake of the motion of the bottom: moreover, as urged by mr. lyell, similar movements of the sea have occurred at islands far distant from the chief line of disturbance, as was the case with juan fernandez during this earthquake, and with madeira during the famous lisbon shock. i suspect (but the subject is a very obscure one) that a wave, however produced, first draws the water from the shore, on which it is advancing to break: i have observed that this happens with the little waves from the paddles of a steam-boat. it is remarkable that whilst talcahuano and callao (near lima), both situated at the head of large shallow bays, have suffered during every severe earthquake from great waves, valparaiso, seated close to the edge of profoundly deep water, has never been overwhelmed, though so often shaken by the severest shocks. from the great wave not immediately following the earthquake, but sometimes after the interval of even half an hour, and from distant islands being affected similarly with the coasts near the focus of the disturbance, it appears that the wave first rises in the offing; and as this is of general occurrence, the cause must be general: i suspect we must look to the line, where the less disturbed waters of the deep ocean join the water nearer the coast, which has partaken of the movements of the land, as the place where the great wave is first generated; it would also appear that the wave is larger or smaller, according to the extent of shoal water which has been agitated together with the bottom on which it rested. the most remarkable effect of this earthquake was the permanent elevation of the land, it would probably be far more correct to speak of it as the cause. there can be no doubt that the land round the bay of concepcion was upraised two or three feet; but it deserves notice, that owing to the wave having obliterated the old lines of tidal action on the sloping sandy shores, i could discover no evidence of this fact, except in the united testimony of the inhabitants, that one little rocky shoal, now exposed, was formerly covered with water. at the island of s. maria (about thirty miles distant) the elevation was greater; on one part, captain fitz roy founds beds of putrid mussel-shells _still adhering to the rocks_, ten feet above high-water mark: the inhabitants had formerly dived at lower-water spring-tides for these shells. the elevation of this province is particularly interesting, from its having been the theatre of several other violent earthquakes, and from the vast numbers of sea-shells scattered over the land, up to a height of certainly , and i believe, of feet. at valparaiso, as i have remarked, similar shells are found at the height of feet: it is hardly possible to doubt that this great elevation has been effected by successive small uprisings, such as that which accompanied or caused the earthquake of this year, and likewise by an insensibly slow rise, which is certainly in progress on some parts of this coast. the island of juan fernandez, miles to the n.e., was, at the time of the great shock of the th, violently shaken, so that the trees beat against each other, and a volcano burst forth under water close to the shore: these facts are remarkable because this island, during the earthquake of , was then also affected more violently than other places at an equal distance from concepcion, and this seems to show some subterranean connection between these two points. chiloe, about miles southward of concepcion, appears to have been shaken more strongly than the intermediate district of valdivia, where the volcano of villarica was noways affected, whilst in the cordillera in front of chiloe, two of the volcanos burst-forth at the same instant in violent action. these two volcanos, and some neighbouring ones, continued for a long time in eruption, and ten months afterwards were again influenced by an earthquake at concepcion. some men, cutting wood near the base of one of these volcanos, did not perceive the shock of the th, although the whole surrounding province was then trembling; here we have an eruption relieving and taking the place of an earthquake, as would have happened at concepcion, according to the belief of the lower orders, if the volcano at antuco had not been closed by witchcraft. two years and three-quarters afterwards, valdivia and chiloe were again shaken, more violently than on the th, and an island in the chonos archipelago was permanently elevated more than eight feet. it will give a better idea of the scale of these phenomena, if (as in the case of the glaciers) we suppose them to have taken place at corresponding distances in europe:--then would the land from the north sea to the mediterranean have been violently shaken, and at the same instant of time a large tract of the eastern coast of england would have been permanently elevated, together with some outlying islands,--a train of volcanos on the coast of holland would have burst forth in action, and an eruption taken place at the bottom of the sea, near the northern extremity of ireland--and lastly, the ancient vents of auvergne, cantal, and mont d'or would each have sent up to the sky a dark column of smoke, and have long remained in fierce action. two years and three-quarters afterwards, france, from its centre to the english channel, would have been again desolated by an earthquake and an island permanently upraised in the mediterranean. the space, from under which volcanic matter on the th was actually erupted, is miles in one line, and miles in another line at right angles to the first: hence, in all probability, a subterranean lake of lava is here stretched out, of nearly double the area of the black sea. from the intimate and complicated manner in which the elevatory and eruptive forces were shown to be connected during this train of phenomena, we may confidently come to the conclusion, that the forces which slowly and by little starts uplift continents, and those which at successive periods pour forth volcanic matter from open orifices, are identical. from many reasons, i believe that the frequent quakings of the earth on this line of coast are caused by the rending of the strata, necessarily consequent on the tension of the land when upraised, and their injection by fluidified rock. this rending and injection would, if repeated often enough (and we know that earthquakes repeatedly affect the same areas in the same manner), form a chain of hills;--and the linear island of s. mary, which was upraised thrice the height of the neighbouring country, seems to be undergoing this process. i believe that the solid axis of a mountain, differs in its manner of formation from a volcanic hill, only in the molten stone having been repeatedly injected, instead of having been repeatedly ejected. moreover, i believe that it is impossible to explain the structure of great mountain-chains, such as that of the cordillera, were the strata, capping the injected axis of plutonic rock, have been thrown on their edges along several parallel and neighbouring lines of elevation, except on this view of the rock of the axis having been repeatedly injected, after intervals sufficiently long to allow the upper parts or wedges to cool and become solid;--for if the strata had been thrown into their present highly inclined, vertical, and even inverted positions, by a single blow, the very bowels of the earth would have gushed out; and instead of beholding abrupt mountain-axes of rock solidified under great pressure, deluges of lava would have flowed out at innumerable points on every line of elevation. [ ] [ ] m. arago in l'institut, , p. . see also miers's chile, vol. i. p. ; also lyell's principles of geology, chap. xv., book ii. [ ] for a full account of the volcanic phenomena which accompanied the earthquake of the th, and for the conclusions deducible from them, i must refer to volume v. of the geological transactions. chapter xv passage of the cordillera valparaiso--portillo pass--sagacity of mules--mountain-torrents--mines, how discovered--proofs of the gradual elevation of the cordillera--effect of snow on rocks--geological structure of the two main ranges, their distinct origin and upheaval--great subsidence--red snow--winds--pinnacles of snow--dry and clear atmosphere--electricity--pampas--zoology of the opposite side of the andes--locusts--great bugs--mendoza--uspallata pass--silicified trees buried as they grew--incas bridge--badness of the passes exaggerated--cumbre--casuchas--valparaiso. march th, .--we stayed three days at concepcion, and then sailed for valparaiso. the wind being northerly, we only reached the mouth of the harbour of concepcion before it was dark. being very near the land, and a fog coming on, the anchor was dropped. presently a large american whaler appeared alongside of us; and we heard the yankee swearing at his men to keep quiet, whilst he listened for the breakers. captain fitz roy hailed him, in a loud clear voice, to anchor where he then was. the poor man must have thought the voice came from the shore: such a babel of cries issued at once from the ship--every one hallooing out, "let go the anchor! veer cable! shorten sail!" it was the most laughable thing i ever heard. if the ship's crew had been all captains, and no men, there could not have been a greater uproar of orders. we afterwards found that the mate stuttered: i suppose all hands were assisting him in giving his orders. on the th we anchored at valparaiso, and two days afterwards i set out to cross the cordillera. i proceeded to santiago, where mr. caldcleugh most kindly assisted me in every possible way in making the little preparations which were necessary. in this part of chile there are two passes across the andes to mendoza: the one most commonly used, namely, that of aconcagua or uspallata--is situated some way to the north; the other, called the portillo, is to the south, and nearer, but more lofty and dangerous. march th.--we set out for the portillo pass. leaving santiago we crossed the wide burnt-up plain on which that city stands, and in the afternoon arrived at the maypu, one of the principal rivers in chile. the valley, at the point where it enters the first cordillera, is bounded on each side by lofty barren mountains; and although not broad, it is very fertile. numerous cottages were surrounded by vines, and by orchards of apple, nectarine, and peach-trees--their boughs breaking with the weight of the beautiful ripe fruit. in the evening we passed the custom-house, where our luggage was examined. the frontier of chile is better guarded by the cordillera, than by the waters of the sea. there are very few valleys which lead to the central ranges, and the mountains are quite impassable in other parts by beasts of burden. the custom-house officers were very civil, which was perhaps partly owing to the passport which the president of the republic had given me; but i must express my admiration at the natural politeness of almost every chileno. in this instance, the contrast with the same class of men in most other countries was strongly marked. i may mention an anecdote with which i was at the time much pleased: we met near mendoza a little and very fat negress, riding astride on a mule. she had a _goitre_ so enormous that it was scarcely possible to avoid gazing at her for a moment; but my two companions almost instantly, by way of apology, made the common salute of the country by taking off their hats. where would one of the lower or higher classes in europe, have shown such feeling politeness to a poor and miserable object of a degraded race? at night we slept at a cottage. our manner of travelling was delightfully independent. in the inhabited parts we bought a little firewood, hired pasture for the animals, and bivouacked in the corner of the same field with them. carrying an iron pot, we cooked and ate our supper under a cloudless sky, and knew no trouble. my companions were mariano gonzales, who had formerly accompanied me in chile, and an "arriero," with his ten mules and a "madrina." the madrina (or godmother) is a most important personage: she is an old steady mare, with a little bell round her neck; and wherever she goes, the mules, like good children, follow her. the affection of these animals for their madrinas saves infinite trouble. if several large troops are turned into one field to graze, in the morning the muleteers have only to lead the madrinas a little apart, and tinkle their bells; although there may be two or three hundred together, each mule immediately knows the bell of its own madrina, and comes to her. it is nearly impossible to lose an old mule; for if detained for several hours by force, she will, by the power of smell, like a dog, track out her companions, or rather the madrina, for, according to the muleteer, she is the chief object of affection. the feeling, however, is not of an individual nature; for i believe i am right in saying that any animal with a bell will serve as a madrina. in a troop each animal carries on a level road, a cargo weighing pounds (more than stone), but in a mountainous country pounds less; yet with what delicate slim limbs, without any proportional bulk of muscle, these animals support so great a burden! the mule always appears to me a most surprising animal. that a hybrid should possess more reason, memory, obstinacy, social affection, powers of muscular endurance, and length of life, than either of its parents, seems to indicate that art has here outdone nature. of our ten animals, six were intended for riding, and four for carrying cargoes, each taking turn about. we carried a good deal of food in case we should be snowed up, as the season was rather late for passing the portillo. march th.--we rode during this day to the last, and therefore most elevated, house in the valley. the number of inhabitants became scanty; but wherever water could be brought on the land, it was very fertile. all the main valleys in the cordillera are characterized by having, on both sides, a fringe or terrace of shingle and sand, rudely stratified, and generally of considerable thickness. these fringes evidently once extended across the valleys and were united; and the bottoms of the valleys in northern chile, where there are no streams, are thus smoothly filled up. on these fringes the roads are generally carried, for their surfaces are even, and they rise, with a very gentle slope up the valleys: hence, also, they are easily cultivated by irrigation. they may be traced up to a height of between and feet, where they become hidden by the irregular piles of debris. at the lower end or mouths of the valleys, they are continuously united to those land-locked plains (also formed of shingle) at the foot of the main cordillera, which i have described in a former chapter as characteristic of the scenery of chile, and which were undoubtedly deposited when the sea penetrated chile, as it now does the more southern coasts. no one fact in the geology of south america, interested me more than these terraces of rudely-stratified shingle. they precisely resemble in composition the matter which the torrents in each valley would deposit, if they were checked in their course by any cause, such as entering a lake or arm of the sea; but the torrents, instead of depositing matter, are now steadily at work wearing away both the solid rock and these alluvial deposits, along the whole line of every main valley and side valley. it is impossible here to give the reasons, but i am convinced that the shingle terraces were accumulated, during the gradual elevation of the cordillera, by the torrents delivering, at successive levels, their detritus on the beachheads of long narrow arms of the sea, first high up the valleys, then lower and lower down as the land slowly rose. if this be so, and i cannot doubt it, the grand and broken chain of the cordillera, instead of having been suddenly thrown up, as was till lately the universal, and still is the common opinion of geologists, has been slowly upheaved in mass, in the same gradual manner as the coasts of the atlantic and pacific have risen within the recent period. a multitude of facts in the structure of the cordillera, on this view receive a simple explanation. the rivers which flow in these valleys ought rather to be called mountain-torrents. their inclination is very great, and their water the colour of mud. the roar which the maypu made, as it rushed over the great rounded fragments, was like that of the sea. amidst the din of rushing waters, the noise from the stones, as they rattled one over another, was most distinctly audible even from a distance. this rattling noise, night and day, may be heard along the whole course of the torrent. the sound spoke eloquently to the geologist; the thousands and thousands of stones, which, striking against each other, made the one dull uniform sound, were all hurrying in one direction. it was like thinking on time, where the minute that now glides past is irrevocable. so was it with these stones; the ocean is their eternity, and each note of that wild music told of one more step towards their destiny. it is not possible for the mind to comprehend, except by a slow process, any effect which is produced by a cause repeated so often, that the multiplier itself conveys an idea, not more definite than the savage implies when he points to the hairs of his head. as often as i have seen beds of mud, sand, and shingle, accumulated to the thickness of many thousand feet, i have felt inclined to exclaim that causes, such as the present rivers and the present beaches, could never have ground down and produced such masses. but, on the other hand, when listening to the rattling noise of these torrents, and calling to mind that whole races of animals have passed away from the face of the earth, and that during this whole period, night and day, these stones have gone rattling onwards in their course, i have thought to myself, can any mountains, any continent, withstand such waste? in this part of the valley, the mountains on each side were from to or feet high, with rounded outlines and steep bare flanks. the general colour of the rock was dullish purple, and the stratification very distinct. if the scenery was not beautiful, it was remarkable and grand. we met during the day several herds of cattle, which men were driving down from the higher valleys in the cordillera. this sign of the approaching winter hurried our steps, more than was convenient for geologizing. the house where we slept was situated at the foot of a mountain, on the summit of which are the mines of s. pedro de nolasko. sir f. head marvels how mines have been discovered in such extraordinary situations, as the bleak summit of the mountain of s. pedro de nolasko. in the first place, metallic veins in this country are generally harder than the surrounding strata: hence, during the gradual wear of the hills, they project above the surface of the ground. secondly, almost every labourer, especially in the northern parts of chile, understands something about the appearance of ores. in the great mining provinces of coquimbo and copiapo, firewood is very scarce, and men search for it over every hill and dale; and by this means nearly all the richest mines have there been discovered. chanuncillo, from which silver to the value of many hundred thousand pounds has been raised in the course of a few years, was discovered by a man who threw a stone at his loaded donkey, and thinking that it was very heavy, he picked it up, and found it full of pure silver: the vein occurred at no great distance, standing up like a wedge of metal. the miners, also, taking a crowbar with them, often wander on sundays over the mountains. in this south part of chile, the men who drive cattle into the cordillera, and who frequent every ravine where there is a little pasture, are the usual discoverers. th.--as we ascended the valley, the vegetation, with the exception of a few pretty alpine flowers, became exceedingly scanty, and of quadrupeds, birds, or insects, scarcely one could be seen. the lofty mountains, their summits marked with a few patches of snow, stood well separated from each other, the valleys being filled up with an immense thickness of stratified alluvium. the features in the scenery of the andes which struck me most, as contrasted with the other mountain chains with which i am acquainted, were,--the flat fringes sometimes expanding into narrow plains on each side of the valleys,--the bright colours, chiefly red and purple, of the utterly bare and precipitous hills of porphyry, the grand and continuous wall-like dykes,--the plainly-divided strata which, where nearly vertical, formed the picturesque and wild central pinnacles, but where less inclined, composed the great massive mountains on the outskirts of the range,--and lastly, the smooth conical piles of fine and brightly coloured detritus, which sloped up at a high angle from the base of the mountains, sometimes to a height of more than feet. i frequently observed, both in tierra del fuego and within the andes, that where the rock was covered during the greater part of the year with snow, it was shivered in a very extraordinary manner into small angular fragments. scoresby [ ] has observed the same fact in spitzbergen. the case appears to me rather obscure: for that part of the mountain which is protected by a mantle of snow, must be less subject to repeated and great changes of temperature than any other part. i have sometimes thought, that the earth and fragments of stone on the surface, were perhaps less effectually removed by slowly percolating snow-water [ ] than by rain, and therefore that the appearance of a quicker disintegration of the solid rock under the snow, was deceptive. whatever the cause may be, the quantity of crumbling stone on the cordillera is very great. occasionally in the spring, great masses of this detritus slide down the mountains, and cover the snow-drifts in the valleys, thus forming natural ice-houses. we rode over one, the height of which was far below the limit of perpetual snow. as the evening drew to a close, we reached a singular basin-like plain, called the valle del yeso. it was covered by a little dry pasture, and we had the pleasant sight of a herd of cattle amidst the surrounding rocky deserts. the valley takes its name of yeso from a great bed, i should think at least feet thick, of white, and in some parts quite pure, gypsum. we slept with a party of men, who were employed in loading mules with this substance, which is used in the manufacture of wine. we set out early in the morning ( st), and continued to follow the course of the river, which had become very small, till we arrived at the foot of the ridge, that separates the waters flowing into the pacific and atlantic oceans. the road, which as yet had been good with a steady but very gradual ascent, now changed into a steep zigzag track up the great range, dividing the republics of chile and mendoza. i will here give a very brief sketch of the geology of the several parallel lines forming the cordillera. of these lines, there are two considerably higher than the others; namely, on the chilian side, the peuquenes ridge, which, where the road crosses it, is , feet above the sea; and the portillo ridge, on the mendoza side, which is , feet. the lower beds of the peuquenes ridge, and of the several great lines to the westward of it, are composed of a vast pile, many thousand feet in thickness, of porphyries which have flowed as submarine lavas, alternating with angular and rounded fragments of the same rocks, thrown out of the submarine craters. these alternating masses are covered in the central parts, by a great thickness of red sandstone, conglomerate, and calcareous clay-slate, associated with, and passing into, prodigious beds of gypsum. in these upper beds shells are tolerably frequent; and they belong to about the period of the lower chalk of europe. it is an old story, but not the less wonderful, to hear of shells which were once crawling on the bottom of the sea, now standing nearly , feet above its level. the lower beds in this great pile of strata, have been dislocated, baked, crystallized and almost blended together, through the agency of mountain masses of a peculiar white soda-granitic rock. the other main line, namely, that of the portillo, is of a totally different formation: it consists chiefly of grand bare pinnacles of a red potash-granite, which low down on the western flank are covered by a sandstone, converted by the former heat into a quartz-rock. on the quartz, there rest beds of a conglomerate several thousand feet in thickness, which have been upheaved by the red granite, and dip at an angle of degs. towards the peuquenes line. i was astonished to find that this conglomerate was partly composed of pebbles, derived from the rocks, with their fossil shells, of the peuquenes range; and partly of red potash-granite, like that of the portillo. hence we must conclude, that both the peuquenes and portillo ranges were partially upheaved and exposed to wear and tear, when the conglomerate was forming; but as the beds of the conglomerate have been thrown off at an angle of degs. by the red portillo granite (with the underlying sandstone baked by it), we may feel sure, that the greater part of the injection and upheaval of the already partially formed portillo line, took place after the accumulation of the conglomerate, and long after the elevation of the peuquenes ridge. so that the portillo, the loftiest line in this part of the cordillera, is not so old as the less lofty line of the peuquenes. evidence derived from an inclined stream of lava at the eastern base of the portillo, might be adduced to show, that it owes part of its great height to elevations of a still later date. looking to its earliest origin, the red granite seems to have been injected on an ancient pre-existing line of white granite and mica-slate. in most parts, perhaps in all parts, of the cordillera, it may be concluded that each line has been formed by repeated upheavals and injections; and that the several parallel lines are of different ages. only thus can we gain time, at all sufficient to explain the truly astonishing amount of denudation, which these great, though comparatively with most other ranges recent, mountains have suffered. finally, the shells in the peuquenes or oldest ridge, prove, as before remarked, that it has been upraised , feet since a secondary period, which in europe we are accustomed to consider as far from ancient; but since these shells lived in a moderately deep sea, it can be shown that the area now occupied by the cordillera, must have subsided several thousand feet--in northern chile as much as feet--so as to have allowed that amount of submarine strata to have been heaped on the bed on which the shells lived. the proof is the same with that by which it was shown, that at a much later period, since the tertiary shells of patagonia lived, there must have been there a subsidence of several hundred feet, as well as an ensuing elevation. daily it is forced home on the mind of the geologist, that nothing, not even the wind that blows, is so unstable as the level of the crust of this earth. i will make only one other geological remark: although the portillo chain is here higher than the peuquenes, the waters draining the intermediate valleys, have burst through it. the same fact, on a grander scale, has been remarked in the eastern and loftiest line of the bolivian cordillera, through which the rivers pass: analogous facts have also been observed in other quarters of the world. on the supposition of the subsequent and gradual elevation of the portillo line, this can be understood; for a chain of islets would at first appear, and, as these were lifted up, the tides would be always wearing deeper and broader channels between them. at the present day, even in the most retired sounds on the coast of tierra del fuego, the currents in the transverse breaks which connect the longitudinal channels, are very strong, so that in one transverse channel even a small vessel under sail was whirled round and round. about noon we began the tedious ascent of the peuquenes ridge, and then for the first time experienced some little difficulty in our respiration. the mules would halt every fifty yards, and after resting for a few seconds the poor willing animals started of their own accord again. the short breathing from the rarefied atmosphere is called by the chilenos "puna;" and they have most ridiculous notions concerning its origin. some say "all the waters here have puna;" others that "where there is snow there is puna;"--and this no doubt is true. the only sensation i experienced was a slight tightness across the head and chest, like that felt on leaving a warm room and running quickly in frosty weather. there was some imagination even in this; for upon finding fossil shells on the highest ridge, i entirely forgot the puna in my delight. certainly the exertion of walking was extremely great, and the respiration became deep and laborious: i am told that in potosi (about , feet above the sea) strangers do not become thoroughly accustomed to the atmosphere for an entire year. the inhabitants all recommend onions for the puna; as this vegetable has sometimes been given in europe for pectoral complaints, it may possibly be of real service:--for my part i found nothing so good as the fossil shells! when about half-way up we met a large party with seventy loaded mules. it was interesting to hear the wild cries of the muleteers, and to watch the long descending string of the animals; they appeared so diminutive, there being nothing but the black mountains with which they could be compared. when near the summit, the wind, as generally happens, was impetuous and extremely cold. on each side of the ridge, we had to pass over broad bands of perpetual snow, which were now soon to be covered by a fresh layer. when we reached the crest and looked backwards, a glorious view was presented. the atmosphere resplendently clear; the sky an intense blue; the profound valleys; the wild broken forms: the heaps of ruins, piled up during the lapse of ages; the bright-coloured rocks, contrasted with the quiet mountains of snow, all these together produced a scene no one could have imagined. neither plant nor bird, excepting a few condors wheeling around the higher pinnacles, distracted my attention from the inanimate mass. i felt glad that i was alone: it was like watching a thunderstorm, or hearing in full orchestra a chorus of the messiah. on several patches of the snow i found the protococcus nivalis, or red snow, so well known from the accounts of arctic navigators. my attention was called to it, by observing the footsteps of the mules stained a pale red, as if their hoofs had been slightly bloody. i at first thought that it was owing to dust blown from the surrounding mountains of red porphyry; for from the magnifying power of the crystals of snow, the groups of these microscopical plants appeared like coarse particles. the snow was coloured only where it had thawed very rapidly, or had been accidentally crushed. a little rubbed on paper gave it a faint rose tinge mingled with a little brick-red. i afterwards scraped some off the paper, and found that it consisted of groups of little spheres in colourless cases, each of the thousandth part of an inch in diameter. the wind on the crest of the peuquenes, as just remarked, is generally impetuous and very cold: it is said [ ] to blow steadily from the westward or pacific side. as the observations have been chiefly made in summer, this wind must be an upper and return current. the peak of teneriffe, with a less elevation, and situated in lat. degs., in like manner falls within an upper return stream. at first it appears rather surprising, that the trade-wind along the northern parts of chile and on the coast of peru, should blow in so very southerly a direction as it does; but when we reflect that the cordillera, running in a north and south line, intercepts, like a great wall, the entire depth of the lower atmospheric current, we can easily see that the trade-wind must be drawn northward, following the line of mountains, towards the equatorial regions, and thus lose part of that easterly movement which it otherwise would have gained from the earth's rotation. at mendoza, on the eastern foot of the andes, the climate is said to be subject to long calms, and to frequent though false appearances of gathering rain-storms: we may imagine that the wind, which coming from the eastward is thus banked up by the line of mountains, would become stagnant and irregular in its movements. having crossed the peuquenes, we descended into a mountainous country, intermediate between the two main ranges, and then took up our quarters for the night. we were now in the republic of mendoza. the elevation was probably not under , feet, and the vegetation in consequence exceedingly scanty. the root of a small scrubby plant served as fuel, but it made a miserable fire, and the wind was piercingly cold. being quite tired with my days work, i made up my bed as quickly as i could, and went to sleep. about midnight i observed the sky became suddenly clouded: i awakened the arriero to know if there was any danger of bad weather; but he said that without thunder and lightning there was no risk of a heavy snow-storm. the peril is imminent, and the difficulty of subsequent escape great, to any one overtaken by bad weather between the two ranges. a certain cave offers the only place of refuge: mr. caldcleugh, who crossed on this same day of the month, was detained there for some time by a heavy fall of snow. casuchas, or houses of refuge, have not been built in this pass as in that of uspallata, and, therefore, during the autumn, the portillo is little frequented. i may here remark that within the main cordillera rain never falls, for during the summer the sky is cloudless, and in winter snow-storms alone occur. at the place where we slept water necessarily boiled, from the diminished pressure of the atmosphere, at a lower temperature than it does in a less lofty country; the case being the converse of that of a papin's digester. hence the potatoes, after remaining for some hours in the boiling water, were nearly as hard as ever. the pot was left on the fire all night, and next morning it was boiled again, but yet the potatoes were not cooked. i found out this, by overhearing my two companions discussing the cause, they had come to the simple conclusion, "that the cursed pot [which was a new one] did not choose to boil potatoes." march nd.--after eating our potatoless breakfast, we travelled across the intermediate tract to the foot of the portillo range. in the middle of summer cattle are brought up here to graze; but they had now all been removed: even the greater number of the guanacos had decamped, knowing well that if overtaken here by a snow-storm, they would be caught in a trap. we had a fine view of a mass of mountains called tupungato, the whole clothed with unbroken snow, in the midst of which there was a blue patch, no doubt a glacier;--a circumstance of rare occurrence in these mountains. now commenced a heavy and long climb, similar to that of the peuquenes. bold conical hills of red granite rose on each hand; in the valleys there were several broad fields of perpetual snow. these frozen masses, during the process of thawing, had in some parts been converted into pinnacles or columns, [ ] which, as they were high and close together, made it difficult for the cargo mules to pass. on one of these columns of ice, a frozen horse was sticking as on a pedestal, but with its hind legs straight up in the air. the animal, i suppose, must have fallen with its head downward into a hole, when the snow was continuous, and afterwards the surrounding parts must have been removed by the thaw. when nearly on the crest of the portillo, we were enveloped in a falling cloud of minute frozen spicula. this was very unfortunate, as it continued the whole day, and quite intercepted our view. the pass takes its name of portillo, from a narrow cleft or doorway on the highest ridge, through which the road passes. from this point, on a clear day, those vast plains which uninterruptedly extend to the atlantic ocean can be seen. we descended to the upper limit of vegetation, and found good quarters for the night under the shelter of some large fragments of rock. we met here some passengers, who made anxious inquiries about the state of the road. shortly after it was dark the clouds suddenly cleared away, and the effect was quite magical. the great mountains, bright with the full moon, seemed impending over us on all sides, as over a deep crevice: one morning, very early, i witnessed the same striking effect. as soon as the clouds were dispersed it froze severely; but as there was no wind, we slept very comfortably. the increased brilliancy of the moon and stars at this elevation, owing to the perfect transparency of the atmosphere, was very remarkable. travelers having observed the difficulty of judging heights and distances amidst lofty mountains, have generally attributed it to the absence of objects of comparison. it appears to me, that it is fully as much owing to the transparency of the air confounding objects at different distances, and likewise partly to the novelty of an unusual degree of fatigue arising from a little exertion,--habit being thus opposed to the evidence of the senses. i am sure that this extreme clearness of the air gives a peculiar character to the landscape, all objects appearing to be brought nearly into one plane, as in a drawing or panorama. the transparency is, i presume, owing to the equable and high state of atmospheric dryness. this dryness was shown by the manner in which woodwork shrank (as i soon found by the trouble my geological hammer gave me); by articles of food, such as bread and sugar, becoming extremely hard; and by the preservation of the skin and parts of the flesh of the beasts, which had perished on the road. to the same cause we must attribute the singular facility with which electricity is excited. my flannel waistcoat, when rubbed in the dark, appeared as if it had been washed with phosphorus,--every hair on a dog's back crackled;--even the linen sheets, and leathern straps of the saddle, when handled, emitted sparks. march rd.--the descent on the eastern side of the cordillera is much shorter or steeper than on the pacific side; in other words, the mountains rise more abruptly from the plains than from the alpine country of chile. a level and brilliantly white sea of clouds was stretched out beneath our feet, shutting out the view of the equally level pampas. we soon entered the band of clouds, and did not again emerge from it that day. about noon, finding pasture for the animals and bushes for firewood at los arenales, we stopped for the night. this was near the uppermost limit of bushes, and the elevation, i suppose, was between seven and eight thousand feet. i was much struck with the marked difference between the vegetation of these eastern valleys and those on the chilian side: yet the climate, as well as the kind of soil, is nearly the same, and the difference of longitude very trifling. the same remark holds good with the quadrupeds, and in a lesser degree with the birds and insects. i may instance the mice, of which i obtained thirteen species on the shores of the atlantic, and five on the pacific, and not one of them is identical. we must except all those species, which habitually or occasionally frequent elevated mountains; and certain birds, which range as far south as the strait of magellan. this fact is in perfect accordance with the geological history of the andes; for these mountains have existed as a great barrier since the present races of animals have appeared; and therefore, unless we suppose the same species to have been created in two different places, we ought not to expect any closer similarity between the organic beings on the opposite sides of the andes than on the opposite shores of the ocean. in both cases, we must leave out of the question those kinds which have been able to cross the barrier, whether of solid rock or salt-water. [ ] a great number of the plants and animals were absolutely the same as, or most closely allied to, those of patagonia. we here have the agouti, bizcacha, three species of armadillo, the ostrich, certain kinds of partridges and other birds, none of which are ever seen in chile, but are the characteristic animals of the desert plains of patagonia. we have likewise many of the same (to the eyes of a person who is not a botanist) thorny stunted bushes, withered grass, and dwarf plants. even the black slowly crawling beetles are closely similar, and some, i believe, on rigorous examination, absolutely identical. it had always been to me a subject of regret, that we were unavoidably compelled to give up the ascent of the s. cruz river before reaching the mountains: i always had a latent hope of meeting with some great change in the features of the country; but i now feel sure, that it would only have been following the plains of patagonia up a mountainous ascent. march th.--early in the morning i climbed up a mountain on one side of the valley, and enjoyed a far extended view over the pampas. this was a spectacle to which i had always looked forward with interest, but i was disappointed: at the first glance it much resembled a distant view of the ocean, but in the northern parts many irregularities were soon distinguishable. the most striking feature consisted in the rivers, which, facing the rising sun, glittered like silver threads, till lost in the immensity of the distance. at midday we descended the valley, and reached a hovel, where an officer and three soldiers were posted to examine passports. one of these men was a thoroughbred pampas indian: he was kept much for the same purpose as a bloodhound, to track out any person who might pass by secretly, either on foot or horseback. some years ago, a passenger endeavoured to escape detection, by making a long circuit over a neighbouring mountain; but this indian, having by chance crossed his track, followed it for the whole day over dry and very stony hills, till at last he came on his prey hidden in a gully. we here heard that the silvery clouds, which we had admired from the bright region above, had poured down torrents of rain. the valley from this point gradually opened, and the hills became mere water-worn hillocks compared to the giants behind: it then expanded into a gently sloping plain of shingle, covered with low trees and bushes. this talus, although appearing narrow, must be nearly ten miles wide before it blends into the apparently dead level pampas. we passed the only house in this neighbourhood, the estancia of chaquaio: and at sunset we pulled up in the first snug corner, and there bivouacked. march th.--i was reminded of the pampas of buenos ayres, by seeing the disk of the rising sun, intersected by an horizon level as that of the ocean. during the night a heavy dew fell, a circumstance which we did not experience within the cordillera. the road proceeded for some distance due east across a low swamp; then meeting the dry plain, it turned to the north towards mendoza. the distance is two very long days' journey. our first day's journey was called fourteen leagues to estacado, and the second seventeen to luxan, near mendoza. the whole distance is over a level desert plain, with not more than two or three houses. the sun was exceedingly powerful, and the ride devoid of all interest. there is very little water in this "traversia," and in our second day's journey we found only one little pool. little water flows from the mountains, and it soon becomes absorbed by the dry and porous soil; so that, although we travelled at the distance of only ten or fifteen miles from the outer range of the cordillera, we did not cross a single stream. in many parts the ground was incrusted with a saline efflorescence; hence we had the same salt-loving plants which are common near bahia blanca. the landscape has a uniform character from the strait of magellan, along the whole eastern coast of patagonia, to the rio colorado; and it appears that the same kind of country extends inland from this river, in a sweeping line as far as san luis and perhaps even further north. to the eastward of this curved line lies the basin of the comparatively damp and green plains of buenos ayres. the sterile plains of mendoza and patagonia consist of a bed of shingle, worn smooth and accumulated by the waves of the sea while the pampas, covered by thistles, clover, and grass, have been formed by the ancient estuary mud of the plata. after our two days' tedious journey, it was refreshing to see in the distance the rows of poplars and willows growing round the village and river of luxan. shortly before we arrived at this place, we observed to the south a ragged cloud of dark reddish-brown colour. at first we thought that it was smoke from some great fire on the plains; but we soon found that it was a swarm of locusts. they were flying northward; and with the aid of a light breeze, they overtook us at a rate of ten or fifteen miles an hour. the main body filled the air from a height of twenty feet, to that, as it appeared, of two or three thousand above the ground; "and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle:" or rather, i should say, like a strong breeze passing through the rigging of a ship. the sky, seen through the advanced guard, appeared like a mezzotinto engraving, but the main body was impervious to sight; they were not, however, so thick together, but that they could escape a stick waved backwards and forwards. when they alighted, they were more numerous than the leaves in the field, and the surface became reddish instead of being green: the swarm having once alighted, the individuals flew from side to side in all directions. locusts are not an uncommon pest in this country: already during the season, several smaller swarms had come up from the south, where, as apparently in all other parts of the world, they are bred in the deserts. the poor cottagers in vain attempted by lighting fires, by shouts, and by waving branches to avert the attack. this species of locust closely resembles, and perhaps is identical with, the famous gryllus migratorius of the east. we crossed the luxan, which is a river of considerable size, though its course towards the sea-coast is very imperfectly known: it is even doubtful whether, in passing over the plains, it is not evaporated and lost. we slept in the village of luxan, which is a small place surrounded by gardens, and forms the most southern cultivated district in the province of mendoza; it is five leagues south of the capital. at night i experienced an attack (for it deserves no less a name) of the _benchuca_, a species of reduvius, the great black bug of the pampas. it is most disgusting to feel soft wingless insects, about an inch long, crawling over one's body. before sucking they are quite thin, but afterwards they become round and bloated with blood, and in this state are easily crushed. one which i caught at iquique, (for they are found in chile and peru,) was very empty. when placed on a table, and though surrounded by people, if a finger was presented, the bold insect would immediately protrude its sucker, make a charge, and if allowed, draw blood. no pain was caused by the wound. it was curious to watch its body during the act of sucking, as in less than ten minutes it changed from being as flat as a wafer to a globular form. this one feast, for which the benchuca was indebted to one of the officers, kept it fat during four whole months; but, after the first fortnight, it was quite ready to have another suck. march th.--we rode on to mendoza. the country was beautifully cultivated, and resembled chile. this neighbourhood is celebrated for its fruit; and certainly nothing could appear more flourishing than the vineyards and the orchards of figs, peaches, and olives. we bought water-melons nearly twice as large as a man's head, most deliciously cool and well-flavoured, for a halfpenny apiece; and for the value of threepence, half a wheelbarrowful of peaches. the cultivated and enclosed part of this province is very small; there is little more than that which we passed through between luxan and the capital. the land, as in chile, owes its fertility entirely to artificial irrigation; and it is really wonderful to observe how extraordinarily productive a barren traversia is thus rendered. we stayed the ensuing day in mendoza. the prosperity of the place has much declined of late years. the inhabitants say "it is good to live in, but very bad to grow rich in." the lower orders have the lounging, reckless manners of the gauchos of the pampas; and their dress, riding-gear, and habits of life, are nearly the same. to my mind the town had a stupid, forlorn aspect. neither the boasted alameda, nor the scenery, is at all comparable with that of santiago; but to those who, coming from buenos ayres, have just crossed the unvaried pampas, the gardens and orchards must appear delightful. sir f. head, speaking of the inhabitants, says, "they eat their dinners, and it is so very hot, they go to sleep--and could they do better?" i quite agree with sir f. head: the happy doom of the mendozinos is to eat, sleep and be idle. march th.--we set out on our return to chile, by the uspallata pass situated north of mendoza. we had to cross a long and most sterile traversia of fifteen leagues. the soil in parts was absolutely bare, in others covered by numberless dwarf cacti, armed with formidable spines, and called by the inhabitants "little lions." there were, also, a few low bushes. although the plain is nearly three thousand feet above the sea, the sun was very powerful; and the heat as well as the clouds of impalpable dust, rendered the travelling extremely irksome. our course during the day lay nearly parallel to the cordillera, but gradually approaching them. before sunset we entered one of the wide valleys, or rather bays, which open on the plain: this soon narrowed into a ravine, where a little higher up the house of villa vicencio is situated. as we had ridden all day without a drop of water, both our mules and selves were very thirsty, and we looked out anxiously for the stream which flows down this valley. it was curious to observe how gradually the water made its appearance: on the plain the course was quite dry; by degrees it became a little damper; then puddles of water appeared; these soon became connected; and at villa vicencio there was a nice little rivulet. th.--the solitary hovel which bears the imposing name of villa vicencio, has been mentioned by every traveller who has crossed the andes. i stayed here and at some neighbouring mines during the two succeeding days. the geology of the surrounding country is very curious. the uspallata range is separated from the main cordillera by a long narrow plain or basin, like those so often mentioned in chile, but higher, being six thousand feet above the sea. this range has nearly the same geographical position with respect to the cordillera, which the gigantic portillo line has, but it is of a totally different origin: it consists of various kinds of submarine lava, alternating with volcanic sandstones and other remarkable sedimentary deposits; the whole having a very close resemblance to some of the tertiary beds on the shores of the pacific. from this resemblance i expected to find silicified wood, which is generally characteristic of those formations. i was gratified in a very extraordinary manner. in the central part of the range, at an elevation of about seven thousand feet, i observed on a bare slope some snow-white projecting columns. these were petrified trees, eleven being silicified, and from thirty to forty converted into coarsely-crystallized white calcareous spar. they were abruptly broken off, the upright stumps projecting a few feet above the ground. the trunks measured from three to five feet each in circumference. they stood a little way apart from each other, but the whole formed one group. mr. robert brown has been kind enough to examine the wood: he says it belongs to the fir tribe, partaking of the character of the araucarian family, but with some curious points of affinity with the yew. the volcanic sandstone in which the trees were embedded, and from the lower part of which they must have sprung, had accumulated in successive thin layers around their trunks; and the stone yet retained the impression of the bark. it required little geological practice to interpret the marvellous story which this scene at once unfolded; though i confess i was at first so much astonished that i could scarcely believe the plainest evidence. i saw the spot where a cluster of fine trees once waved their branches on the shores of the atlantic, when that ocean (now driven back miles) came to the foot of the andes. i saw that they had sprung from a volcanic soil which had been raised above the level of the sea, and that subsequently this dry land, with its upright trees, had been let down into the depths of the ocean. in these depths, the formerly dry land was covered by sedimentary beds, and these again by enormous streams of submarine lava--one such mass attaining the thickness of a thousand feet; and these deluges of molten stone and aqueous deposits five times alternately had been spread out. the ocean which received such thick masses, must have been profoundly deep; but again the subterranean forces exerted themselves, and i now beheld the bed of that ocean, forming a chain of mountains more than seven thousand feet in height. nor had those antagonistic forces been dormant, which are always at work wearing down the surface of the land; the great piles of strata had been intersected by many wide valleys, and the trees now changed into silex, were exposed projecting from the volcanic soil, now changed into rock, whence formerly, in a green and budding state, they had raised their lofty heads. now, all is utterly irreclaimable and desert; even the lichen cannot adhere to the stony casts of former trees. vast, and scarcely comprehensible as such changes must ever appear, yet they have all occurred within a period, recent when compared with the history of the cordillera; and the cordillera itself is absolutely modern as compared with many of the fossiliferous strata of europe and america. april st.--we crossed the upsallata range, and at night slept at the custom-house--the only inhabited spot on the plain. shortly before leaving the mountains, there was a very extraordinary view; red, purple, green, and quite white sedimentary rocks, alternating with black lavas, were broken up and thrown into all kinds of disorder by masses of porphyry of every shade of colour, from dark brown to the brightest lilac. it was the first view i ever saw, which really resembled those pretty sections which geologists make of the inside of the earth. the next day we crossed the plain, and followed the course of the same great mountain stream which flows by luxan. here it was a furious torrent, quite impassable, and appeared larger than in the low country, as was the case with the rivulet of villa vicencio. on the evening of the succeeding day, we reached the rio de las vacas, which is considered the worst stream in the cordillera to cross. as all these rivers have a rapid and short course, and are formed by the melting of the snow, the hour of the day makes a considerable difference in their volume. in the evening the stream is muddy and full, but about daybreak it becomes clearer, and much less impetuous. this we found to be the case with the rio vacas, and in the morning we crossed it with little difficulty. the scenery thus far was very uninteresting, compared with that of the portillo pass. little can be seen beyond the bare walls of the one grand flat-bottomed valley, which the road follows up to the highest crest. the valley and the huge rocky mountains are extremely barren: during the two previous nights the poor mules had absolutely nothing to eat, for excepting a few low resinous bushes, scarcely a plant can be seen. in the course of this day we crossed some of the worst passes in the cordillera, but their danger has been much exaggerated. i was told that if i attempted to pass on foot, my head would turn giddy, and that there was no room to dismount; but i did not see a place where any one might not have walked over backwards, or got off his mule on either side. one of the bad passes, called _las animas_ (the souls), i had crossed, and did not find out till a day afterwards, that it was one of the awful dangers. no doubt there are many parts in which, if the mule should stumble, the rider would be hurled down a great precipice; but of this there is little chance. i dare say, in the spring, the "laderas," or roads, which each year are formed anew across the piles of fallen detritus, are very bad; but from what i saw, i suspect the real danger is nothing. with cargo-mules the case is rather different, for the loads project so far, that the animals, occasionally running against each other, or against a point of rock, lose their balance, and are thrown down the precipices. in crossing the rivers i can well believe that the difficulty may be very great: at this season there was little trouble, but in the summer they must be very hazardous. i can quite imagine, as sir f. head describes, the different expressions of those who _have_ passed the gulf, and those who _are_ passing. i never heard of any man being drowned, but with loaded mules it frequently happens. the arriero tells you to show your mule the best line, and then allow her to cross as she likes: the cargo-mule takes a bad line, and is often lost. april th.--from the rio de las vacas to the puente del incas, half a day's journey. as there was pasture for the mules, and geology for me, we bivouacked here for the night. when one hears of a natural bridge, one pictures to one's self some deep and narrow ravine, across which a bold mass of rock has fallen; or a great arch hollowed out like the vault of a cavern. instead of this, the incas bridge consists of a crust of stratified shingle cemented together by the deposits of the neighbouring hot springs. it appears, as if the stream had scooped out a channel on one side, leaving an overhanging ledge, which was met by earth and stones falling down from the opposite cliff. certainly an oblique junction, as would happen in such a case, was very distinct on one side. the bridge of the incas is by no means worthy of the great monarchs whose name it bears. th.--we had a long day's ride across the central ridge, from the incas bridge to the ojos del agua, which are situated near the lowest _casucha_ on the chilian side. these casuchas are round little towers, with steps outside to reach the floor, which is raised some feet above the ground on account of the snow-drifts. they are eight in number, and under the spanish government were kept during the winter well stored with food and charcoal, and each courier had a master-key. now they only answer the purpose of caves, or rather dungeons. seated on some little eminence, they are not, however, ill suited to the surrounding scene of desolation. the zigzag ascent of the cumbre, or the partition of the waters, was very steep and tedious; its height, according to mr. pentland, is , feet. the road did not pass over any perpetual snow, although there were patches of it on both hands. the wind on the summit was exceedingly cold, but it was impossible not to stop for a few minutes to admire, again and again, the colour of the heavens, and the brilliant transparency of the atmosphere. the scenery was grand: to the westward there was a fine chaos of mountains, divided by profound ravines. some snow generally falls before this period of the season, and it has even happened that the cordillera have been finally closed by this time. but we were most fortunate. the sky, by night and by day, was cloudless, excepting a few round little masses of vapour, that floated over the highest pinnacles. i have often seen these islets in the sky, marking the position of the cordillera, when the far-distant mountains have been hidden beneath the horizon. april th.--in the morning we found some thief had stolen one of our mules, and the bell of the madrina. we therefore rode only two or three miles down the valley, and stayed there the ensuing day in hopes of recovering the mule, which the arriero thought had been hidden in some ravine. the scenery in this part had assumed a chilian character: the lower sides of the mountains, dotted over with the pale evergreen quillay tree, and with the great chandelier-like cactus, are certainly more to be admired than the bare eastern valleys; but i cannot quite agree with the admiration expressed by some travellers. the extreme pleasure, i suspect, is chiefly owing to the prospect of a good fire and of a good supper, after escaping from the cold regions above: and i am sure i most heartily participated in these feelings. th.--we left the valley of the aconcagua, by which we had descended, and reached in the evening a cottage near the villa del st. rosa. the fertility of the plain was delightful: the autumn being advanced, the leaves of many of the fruit-trees were falling; and of the labourers,--some were busy in drying figs and peaches on the roofs of their cottages, while others were gathering the grapes from the vineyards. it was a pretty scene; but i missed that pensive stillness which makes the autumn in england indeed the evening of the year. on the th we reached santiago, where i received a very kind and hospitable reception from mr. caldcleugh. my excursion only cost me twenty-four days, and never did i more deeply enjoy an equal space of time. a few days afterwards i returned to mr. corfield's house at valparaiso. [ ] scoresby's arctic regions, vol. i. p. . [ ] i have heard it remarked in shropshire that the water, when the severn is flooded from long-continued rain, is much more turbid than when it proceeds from the snow melting in the welsh mountains. d'orbigny (tom. i. p. ), in explaining the cause of the various colours of the rivers in south america, remarks that those with blue or clear water have there source in the cordillera, where the snow melts. [ ] dr. gillies in journ. of nat. and geograph. science, aug., . this author gives the heights of the passes. [ ] this structure in frozen snow was long since observed by scoresby in the icebergs near spitzbergen, and, lately, with more care, by colonel jackson (journ. of geograph. soc., vol. v. p. ) on the neva. mr. lyell (principles, vol. iv. p. ) has compared the fissures by which the columnar structure seems to be determined, to the joints that traverse nearly all rocks, but which are best seen in the non-stratified masses. i may observe, that in the case of the frozen snow, the columnar structure must be owing to a "metamorphic" action, and not to a process during deposition. [ ] this is merely an illustration of the admirable laws, first laid down by mr. lyell, on the geographical distribution of animals, as influenced by geological changes. the whole reasoning, of course, is founded on the assumption of the immutability of species; otherwise the difference in the species in the two regions might be considered as superinduced during a length of time. chapter xvi northern chile and peru coast-road to coquimbo--great loads carried by the miners--coquimbo--earthquake--step-formed terrace--absence of recent deposits--contemporaneousness of the tertiary formations--excursion up the valley--road to guasco--deserts--valley of copiapo--rain and earthquakes--hydrophobia--the despoblado--indian ruins--probable change of climate--river-bed arched by an earthquake--cold gales of wind--noises from a hill--iquique--salt alluvium--nitrate of soda--lima--unhealthy country--ruins of callao, overthrown by an earthquake--recent subsidence--elevated shells on san lorenzo, their decomposition--plain with embedded shells and fragments of pottery--antiquity of the indian race. april th.--i set out on a journey to coquimbo, and thence through guasco to copiapo, where captain fitz roy kindly offered to pick me up in the beagle. the distance in a straight line along the shore northward is only miles; but my mode of travelling made it a very long journey. i bought four horses and two mules, the latter carrying the luggage on alternate days. the six animals together only cost the value of twenty-five pounds sterling, and at copiapo i sold them again for twenty-three. we travelled in the same independent manner as before, cooking our own meals, and sleeping in the open air. as we rode towards the vino del mar, i took a farewell view of valparaiso, and admired its picturesque appearance. for geological purposes i made a detour from the high road to the foot of the bell of quillota. we passed through an alluvial district rich in gold, to the neighbourhood of limache, where we slept. washing for gold supports the inhabitants of numerous hovels, scattered along the sides of each little rivulet; but, like all those whose gains are uncertain, they are unthrifty in all their habits, and consequently poor. th.--in the afternoon we arrived at a cottage at the foot of the bell mountain. the inhabitants were freeholders, which is not very usual in chile. they supported themselves on the produce of a garden and a little field, but were very poor. capital is here so deficient, that the people are obliged to sell their green corn while standing in the field, in order to buy necessaries for the ensuing year. wheat in consequence was dearer in the very district of its production than at valparaiso, where the contractors live. the next day we joined the main road to coquimbo. at night there was a very light shower of rain: this was the first drop that had fallen since the heavy rain of september th and th, which detained me a prisoner at the baths of cauquenes. the interval was seven and a half months; but the rain this year in chile was rather later than usual. the distant andes were now covered by a thick mass of snow, and were a glorious sight. may nd.--the road continued to follow the coast, at no great distance from the sea. the few trees and bushes which are common in central chile decreased rapidly in numbers, and were replaced by a tall plant, something like a yucca in appearance. the surface of the country, on a small scale, was singularly broken and irregular; abrupt little peaks of rock rising out of small plains or basins. the indented coast and the bottom of the neighbouring sea, studded with breakers, would, if converted into dry land, present similar forms; and such a conversion without doubt has taken place in the part over which we rode. rd.--quilimari to conchalee. the country became more and more barren. in the valleys there was scarcely sufficient water for any irrigation; and the intermediate land was quite bare, not supporting even goats. in the spring, after the winter showers, a thin pasture rapidly springs up, and cattle are then driven down from the cordillera to graze for a short time. it is curious to observe how the seeds of the grass and other plants seem to accommodate themselves, as if by an acquired habit, to the quantity of rain which falls upon different parts of this coast. one shower far northward at copiapo produces as great an effect on the vegetation, as two at guasco, and three or four in this district. at valparaiso a winter so dry as greatly to injure the pasture, would at guasco produce the most unusual abundance. proceeding northward, the quantity of rain does not appear to decrease in strict proportion to the latitude. at conchalee, which is only miles north of valparaiso, rain is not expected till the end of may; whereas at valparaiso some generally falls early in april: the annual quantity is likewise small in proportion to the lateness of the season at which it commences. th.--finding the coast-road devoid of interest of any kind, we turned inland towards the mining district and valley of illapel. this valley, like every other in chile, is level, broad, and very fertile: it is bordered on each side, either by cliffs of stratified shingle, or by bare rocky mountains. above the straight line of the uppermost irrigating ditch, all is brown as on a high road; while all below is of as bright a green as verdigris, from the beds of alfalfa, a kind of clover. we proceeded to los hornos, another mining district, where the principal hill was drilled with holes, like a great ants'-nest. the chilian miners are a peculiar race of men in their habits. living for weeks together in the most desolate spots, when they descend to the villages on feast-days, there is no excess of extravagance into which they do not run. they sometimes gain a considerable sum, and then, like sailors with prize-money, they try how soon they can contrive to squander it. they drink excessively, buy quantities of clothes, and in a few days return penniless to their miserable abodes, there to work harder than beasts of burden. this thoughtlessness, as with sailors, is evidently the result of a similar manner of life. their daily food is found them, and they acquire no habits of carefulness: moreover, temptation and the means of yielding to it are placed in their power at the same time. on the other hand, in cornwall, and some other parts of england, where the system of selling part of the vein is followed, the miners, from being obliged to act and think for themselves, are a singularly intelligent and well-conducted set of men. the dress of the chilian miner is peculiar and rather picturesque he wears a very long shirt of some dark-coloured baize, with a leathern apron; the whole being fastened round his waist by a bright-coloured sash. his trousers are very broad, and his small cap of scarlet cloth is made to fit the head closely. we met a party of these miners in full costume, carrying the body of one of their companions to be buried. they marched at a very quick trot, four men supporting the corpse. one set having run as hard as they could for about two hundred yards, were relieved by four others, who had previously dashed on ahead on horseback. thus they proceeded, encouraging each other by wild cries: altogether the scene formed a most strange funeral. we continued travelling northward, in a zigzag line; sometimes stopping a day to geologize. the country was so thinly inhabited, and the track so obscure, that we often had difficulty in finding our way. on the th i stayed at some mines. the ore in this case was not considered particularly good, but from being abundant it was supposed the mine would sell for about thirty or forty thousand dollars (that is, or pounds sterling); yet it had been bought by one of the english associations for an ounce of gold ( l. s.). the ore is yellow pyrites, which, as i have already remarked, before the arrival of the english, was not supposed to contain a particle of copper. on a scale of profits nearly as great as in the above instance, piles of cinders, abounding with minute globules of metallic copper, were purchased; yet with these advantages, the mining associations, as is well known, contrived to lose immense sums of money. the folly of the greater number of the commissioners and shareholders amounted to infatuation;--a thousand pounds per annum given in some cases to entertain the chilian authorities; libraries of well-bound geological books; miners brought out for particular metals, as tin, which are not found in chile; contracts to supply the miners with milk, in parts where there are no cows; machinery, where it could not possibly be used; and a hundred similar arrangements, bore witness to our absurdity, and to this day afford amusement to the natives. yet there can be no doubt, that the same capital well employed in these mines would have yielded an immense return, a confidential man of business, a practical miner and assayer, would have been all that was required. captain head has described the wonderful load which the "apires," truly beasts of burden, carry up from the deepest mines. i confess i thought the account exaggerated: so that i was glad to take an opportunity of weighing one of the loads, which i picked out by hazard. it required considerable exertion on my part, when standing directly over it, to lift it from the ground. the load was considered under weight when found to be pounds. the apire had carried this up eighty perpendicular yards,--part of the way by a steep passage, but the greater part up notched poles, placed in a zigzag line up the shaft. according to the general regulation, the apire is not allowed to halt for breath, except the mine is six hundred feet deep. the average load is considered as rather more than pounds, and i have been assured that one of pounds (twenty-two stone and a half) by way of a trial has been brought up from the deepest mine! at this time the apires were bringing up the usual load twelve times in the day; that is pounds from eighty yards deep; and they were employed in the intervals in breaking and picking ore. these men, excepting from accidents, are healthy, and appear cheerful. their bodies are not very muscular. they rarely eat meat once a week, and never oftener, and then only the hard dry charqui. although with a knowledge that the labour was voluntary, it was nevertheless quite revolting to see the state in which they reached the mouth of the mine; their bodies bent forward, leaning with their arms on the steps, their legs bowed, their muscles quivering, the perspiration streaming from their faces over their breasts, their nostrils distended, the corners of their mouth forcibly drawn back, and the expulsion of their breath most laborious. each time they draw their breath, they utter an articulate cry of "ay-ay," which ends in a sound rising from deep in the chest, but shrill like the note of a fife. after staggering to the pile of ore, they emptied the "carpacho;" in two or three seconds recovering their breath, they wiped the sweat from their brows, and apparently quite fresh descended the mine again at a quick pace. this appears to me a wonderful instance of the amount of labour which habit, for it can be nothing else, will enable a man to endure. in the evening, talking with the _mayor-domo_ of these mines about the number of foreigners now scattered over the whole country, he told me that, though quite a young man, he remembers when he was a boy at school at coquimbo, a holiday being given to see the captain of an english ship, who was brought to the city to speak to the governor. he believes that nothing would have induced any boy in the school, himself included, to have gone close to the englishman; so deeply had they been impressed with an idea of the heresy, contamination, and evil to be derived from contact with such a person. to this day they relate the atrocious actions of the bucaniers; and especially of one man, who took away the figure of the virgin mary, and returned the year after for that of st. joseph, saying it was a pity the lady should not have a husband. i heard also of an old lady who, at a dinner at coquimbo, remarked how wonderfully strange it was that she should have lived to dine in the same room with an englishman; for she remembered as a girl, that twice, at the mere cry of "los ingleses," every soul, carrying what valuables they could, had taken to the mountains. th.--we reached coquimbo, where we stayed a few days. the town is remarkable for nothing but its extreme quietness. it is said to contain from to inhabitants. on the morning of the th it rained lightly, the first time this year, for about five hours. the farmers, who plant corn near the sea-coast where the atmosphere is most humid, taking advantage of this shower, would break up the ground; after a second they would put the seed in; and if a third shower should fall, they would reap a good harvest in the spring. it was interesting to watch the effect of this trifling amount of moisture. twelve hours afterwards the ground appeared as dry as ever; yet after an interval of ten days, all the hills were faintly tinged with green patches; the grass being sparingly scattered in hair-like fibres a full inch in length. before this shower every part of the surface was bare as on a high road. in the evening, captain fitz roy and myself were dining with mr. edwards, an english resident well known for his hospitality by all who have visited coquimbo, when a sharp earthquake happened. i heard the forecoming rumble, but from the screams of the ladies, the running of the servants, and the rush of several of the gentlemen to the doorway, i could not distinguish the motion. some of the women afterwards were crying with terror, and one gentleman said he should not be able to sleep all night, or if he did, it would only be to dream of falling houses. the father of this person had lately lost all his property at talcahuano, and he himself had only just escaped a falling roof at valparaiso, in . he mentioned a curious coincidence which then happened: he was playing at cards, when a german, one of the party, got up, and said he would never sit in a room in these countries with the door shut, as owing to his having done so, he had nearly lost his life at copiapo. accordingly he opened the door; and no sooner had he done this, than he cried out, "here it comes again!" and the famous shock commenced. the whole party escaped. the danger in an earthquake is not from the time lost in opening the door, but from the chance of its becoming jammed by the movement of the walls. it is impossible to be much surprised at the fear which natives and old residents, though some of them known to be men of great command of mind, so generally experience during earthquakes. i think, however, this excess of panic may be partly attributed to a want of habit in governing their fear, as it is not a feeling they are ashamed of. indeed, the natives do not like to see a person indifferent. i heard of two englishmen who, sleeping in the open air during a smart shock, knowing that there was no danger, did not rise. the natives cried out indignantly, "look at those heretics, they do not even get out of their beds!" i spent some days in examining the step-formed terraces of shingle, first noticed by captain b. hall, and believed by mr. lyell to have been formed by the sea, during the gradual rising of the land. this certainly is the true explanation, for i found numerous shells of existing species on these terraces. five narrow, gently sloping, fringe-like terraces rise one behind the other, and where best developed are formed of shingle: they front the bay, and sweep up both sides of the valley. at guasco, north of coquimbo, the phenomenon is displayed on a much grander scale, so as to strike with surprise even some of the inhabitants. the terraces are there much broader, and may be called plains, in some parts there are six of them, but generally only five; they run up the valley for thirty-seven miles from the coast. these step-formed terraces or fringes closely resemble those in the valley of s. cruz, and, except in being on a smaller scale, those great ones along the whole coast-line of patagonia. they have undoubtedly been formed by the denuding power of the sea, during long periods of rest in the gradual elevation of the continent. shells of many existing species not only lie on the surface of the terraces at coquimbo (to a height of feet), but are embedded in a friable calcareous rock, which in some places is as much as between twenty and thirty feet in thickness, but is of little extent. these modern beds rest on an ancient tertiary formation containing shells, apparently all extinct. although i examined so many hundred miles of coast on the pacific, as well as atlantic side of the continent, i found no regular strata containing sea-shells of recent species, excepting at this place, and at a few points northward on the road to guasco. this fact appears to me highly remarkable; for the explanation generally given by geologists, of the absence in any district of stratified fossiliferous deposits of a given period, namely, that the surface then existed as dry land, is not here applicable; for we know from the shells strewed on the surface and embedded in loose sand or mould that the land for thousands of miles along both coasts has lately been submerged. the explanation, no doubt, must be sought in the fact, that the whole southern part of the continent has been for a long time slowly rising; and therefore that all matter deposited along shore in shallow water, must have been soon brought up and slowly exposed to the wearing action of the sea-beach; and it is only in comparatively shallow water that the greater number of marine organic beings can flourish, and in such water it is obviously impossible that strata of any great thickness can accumulate. to show the vast power of the wearing action of sea-beaches, we need only appeal to the great cliffs along the present coast of patagonia, and to the escarpments or ancient sea-cliffs at different levels, one above another, on that same line of coast. the old underlying tertiary formation at coquimbo, appears to be of about the same age with several deposits on the coast of chile (of which that of navedad is the principal one), and with the great formation of patagonia. both at navedad and in patagonia there is evidence, that since the shells (a list of which has been seen by professor e. forbes) there entombed were living, there has been a subsidence of several hundred feet, as well as an ensuing elevation. it may naturally be asked, how it comes that, although no extensive fossiliferous deposits of the recent period, nor of any period intermediate between it and the ancient tertiary epoch, have been preserved on either side of the continent, yet that at this ancient tertiary epoch, sedimentary matter containing fossil remains, should have been deposited and preserved at different points in north and south lines, over a space of miles on the shores of the pacific, and of at least miles on the shores of the atlantic, and in an east and west line of miles across the widest part of the continent? i believe the explanation is not difficult, and that it is perhaps applicable to nearly analogous facts observed in other quarters of the world. considering the enormous power of denudation which the sea possesses, as shown by numberless facts, it is not probable that a sedimentary deposit, when being upraised, could pass through the ordeal of the beach, so as to be preserved in sufficient masses to last to a distant period, without it were originally of wide extent and of considerable thickness: now it is impossible on a moderately shallow bottom, which alone is favourable to most living creatures, that a thick and widely extended covering of sediment could be spread out, without the bottom sank down to receive the successive layers. this seems to have actually taken place at about the same period in southern patagonia and chile, though these places are a thousand miles apart. hence, if prolonged movements of approximately contemporaneous subsidence are generally widely extensive, as i am strongly inclined to believe from my examination of the coral reefs of the great oceans--or if, confining our view to south america, the subsiding movements have been co-extensive with those of elevation, by which, within the same period of existing shells, the shores of peru, chile, tierra del fuego, patagonia, and la plata have been upraised--then we can see that at the same time, at far distant points, circumstances would have been favourable to the formation of fossiliferous deposits of wide extent and of considerable thickness; and such deposits, consequently, would have a good chance of resisting the wear and tear of successive beach-lines, and of lasting to a future epoch. may st.--i set out in company with don jose edwards to the silver-mine of arqueros, and thence up the valley of coquimbo. passing through a mountainous country, we reached by nightfall the mines belonging to mr. edwards. i enjoyed my night's rest here from a reason which will not be fully appreciated in england, namely, the absence of fleas! the rooms in coquimbo swarm with them; but they will not live here at the height of only three or four thousand feet: it can scarcely be the trifling diminution of temperature, but some other cause which destroys these troublesome insects at this place. the mines are now in a bad state, though they formerly yielded about pounds in weight of silver a year. it has been said that "a person with a copper-mine will gain; with silver he may gain; but with gold he is sure to lose." this is not true: all the large chilian fortunes have been made by mines of the more precious metals. a short time since an english physician returned to england from copiapo, taking with him the profits of one share of a silver-mine, which amounted to about , pounds sterling. no doubt a copper-mine with care is a sure game, whereas the other is gambling, or rather taking a ticket in a lottery. the owners lose great quantities of rich ores; for no precautions can prevent robberies. i heard of a gentleman laying a bet with another, that one of his men should rob him before his face. the ore when brought out of the mine is broken into pieces, and the useless stone thrown on one side. a couple of the miners who were thus employed, pitched, as if by accident, two fragments away at the same moment, and then cried out for a joke "let us see which rolls furthest." the owner, who was standing by, bet a cigar with his friend on the race. the miner by this means watched the very point amongst the rubbish where the stone lay. in the evening he picked it up and carried it to his master, showing him a rich mass of silver-ore, and saying, "this was the stone on which you won a cigar by its rolling so far." may rd.--we descended into the fertile valley of coquimbo, and followed it till we reached an hacienda belonging to a relation of don jose, where we stayed the next day. i then rode one day's journey further, to see what were declared to be some petrified shells and beans, which latter turned out to be small quartz pebbles. we passed through several small villages; and the valley was beautifully cultivated, and the whole scenery very grand. we were here near the main cordillera, and the surrounding hills were lofty. in all parts of northern chile, fruit trees produce much more abundantly at a considerable height near the andes than in the lower country. the figs and grapes of this district are famous for their excellence, and are cultivated to a great extent. this valley is, perhaps, the most productive one north of quillota. i believe it contains, including coquimbo, , inhabitants. the next day i returned to the hacienda, and thence, together with don jose, to coquimbo. june nd.--we set out for the valley of guasco, following the coast-road, which was considered rather less desert than the other. our first day's ride was to a solitary house, called yerba buena, where there was pasture for our horses. the shower mentioned as having fallen, a fortnight ago, only reached about half-way to guasco; we had, therefore, in the first part of our journey a most faint tinge of green, which soon faded quite away. even where brightest, it was scarcely sufficient to remind one of the fresh turf and budding flowers of the spring of other countries. while travelling through these deserts one feels like a prisoner shut up in a gloomy court, who longs to see something green and to smell a moist atmosphere. june rd.--yerba buena to carizal. during the first part of the day we crossed a mountainous rocky desert, and afterwards a long deep sandy plain, strewed with broken sea-shells. there was very little water, and that little saline: the whole country, from the coast to the cordillera, is an uninhabited desert. i saw traces only of one living animal in abundance, namely, the shells of a bulimus, which were collected together in extraordinary numbers on the driest spots. in the spring one humble little plant sends out a few leaves, and on these the snails feed. as they are seen only very early in the morning, when the ground is slightly damp with dew, the guascos believe that they are bred from it. i have observed in other places that extremely dry and sterile districts, where the soil is calcareous, are extraordinarily favourable to land-shells. at carizal there were a few cottages, some brackish water, and a trace of cultivation: but it was with difficulty that we purchased a little corn and straw for our horses. th.--carizal to sauce. we continued to ride over desert plains, tenanted by large herds of guanaco. we crossed also the valley of chaneral; which, although the most fertile one between guasco and coquimbo, is very narrow, and produces so little pasture, that we could not purchase any for our horses. at sauce we found a very civil old gentleman, superintendent of a copper-smelting furnace. as an especial favour, he allowed me to purchase at a high price an armful of dirty straw, which was all the poor horses had for supper after their long day's journey. few smelting-furnaces are now at work in any part of chile; it is found more profitable, on account of the extreme scarcity of firewood, and from the chilian method of reduction being so unskilful, to ship the ore for swansea. the next day we crossed some mountains to freyrina, in the valley of guasco. during each day's ride further northward, the vegetation became more and more scanty; even the great chandelier-like cactus was here replaced by a different and much smaller species. during the winter months, both in northern chile and in peru, a uniform bank of clouds hangs, at no great height, over the pacific. from the mountains we had a very striking view of this white and brilliant aerial-field, which sent arms up the valleys, leaving islands and promontories in the same manner, as the sea does in the chonos archipelago and in tierra del fuego. we stayed two days at freyrina. in the valley of guasco there are four small towns. at the mouth there is the port, a spot entirely desert, and without any water in the immediate neighbourhood. five leagues higher up stands freyrina, a long straggling village, with decent whitewashed houses. again, ten leagues further up ballenar is situated, and above this guasco alto, a horticultural village, famous for its dried fruit. on a clear day the view up the valley is very fine; the straight opening terminates in the far-distant snowy cordillera; on each side an infinity of crossing-lines are blended together in a beautiful haze. the foreground is singular from the number of parallel and step-formed terraces; and the included strip of green valley, with its willow-bushes, is contrasted on both hands with the naked hills. that the surrounding country was most barren will be readily believed, when it is known that a shower of rain had not fallen during the last thirteen months. the inhabitants heard with the greatest envy of the rain at coquimbo; from the appearance of the sky they had hopes of equally good fortune, which, a fortnight afterwards, were realized. i was at copiapo at the time; and there the people, with equal envy, talked of the abundant rain at guasco. after two or three very dry years, perhaps with not more than one shower during the whole time, a rainy year generally follows; and this does more harm than even the drought. the rivers swell, and cover with gravel and sand the narrow strips of ground, which alone are fit for cultivation. the floods also injure the irrigating ditches. great devastation had thus been caused three years ago. june th.--we rode on to ballenar, which takes its name from ballenagh in ireland, the birthplace of the family of o'higgins, who, under the spanish government, were presidents and generals in chile. as the rocky mountains on each hand were concealed by clouds, the terrace-like plains gave to the valley an appearance like that of santa cruz in patagonia. after spending one day at ballenar i set out, on the th, for the upper part of the valley of copiapo. we rode all day over an uninteresting country. i am tired of repeating the epithets barren and sterile. these words, however, as commonly used, are comparative; i have always applied them to the plains of patagonia, which can boast of spiny bushes and some tufts of grass; and this is absolute fertility, as compared with northern chile. here again, there are not many spaces of two hundred yards square, where some little bush, cactus or lichen, may not be discovered by careful examination; and in the soil seeds lie dormant ready to spring up during the first rainy winter. in peru real deserts occur over wide tracts of country. in the evening we arrived at a valley, in which the bed of the streamlet was damp: following it up, we came to tolerably good water. during the night, the stream, from not being evaporated and absorbed so quickly, flows a league lower down than during the day. sticks were plentiful for firewood, so that it was a good place to bivouac for us; but for the poor animals there was not a mouthful to eat. june th.--we rode without stopping for twelve hours till we reached an old smelting-furnace, where there was water and firewood; but our horses again had nothing to eat, being shut up in an old courtyard. the line of road was hilly, and the distant views interesting, from the varied colours of the bare mountains. it was almost a pity to see the sun shining constantly over so useless a country; such splendid weather ought to have brightened fields and pretty gardens. the next day we reached the valley of copiapo. i was heartily glad of it; for the whole journey was a continued source of anxiety; it was most disagreeable to hear, whilst eating our own suppers, our horses gnawing the posts to which they were tied, and to have no means of relieving their hunger. to all appearance, however, the animals were quite fresh; and no one could have told that they had eaten nothing for the last fifty-five hours. i had a letter of introduction to mr. bingley, who received me very kindly at the hacienda of potrero seco. this estate is between twenty and thirty miles long, but very narrow, being generally only two fields wide, one on each side the river. in some parts the estate is of no width, that is to say, the land cannot be irrigated, and therefore is valueless, like the surrounding rocky desert. the small quantity of cultivated land in the whole line of valley, does not so much depend on inequalities of level, and consequent unfitness for irrigation, as on the small supply of water. the river this year was remarkably full: here, high up the valley, it reached to the horse's belly, and was about fifteen yards wide, and rapid; lower down it becomes smaller and smaller, and is generally quite lost, as happened during one period of thirty years, so that not a drop entered the sea. the inhabitants watch a storm over the cordillera with great interest; as one good fall of snow provides them with water for the ensuing year. this is of infinitely more consequence than rain in the lower country. rain, as often as it falls, which is about once in every two or three years, is a great advantage, because the cattle and mules can for some time afterwards find a little pasture in the mountains. but without snow on the andes, desolation extends throughout the valley. it is on record that three times nearly all the inhabitants have been obliged to emigrate to the south. this year there was plenty of water, and every man irrigated his ground as much as he chose; but it has frequently been necessary to post soldiers at the sluices, to see that each estate took only its proper allowance during so many hours in the week. the valley is said to contain , souls, but its produce is sufficient only for three months in the year; the rest of the supply being drawn from valparaiso and the south. before the discovery of the famous silver-mines of chanuncillo, copiapo was in a rapid state of decay; but now it is in a very thriving condition; and the town, which was completely overthrown by an earthquake, has been rebuilt. the valley of copiapo, forming a mere ribbon of green in a desert, runs in a very southerly direction; so that it is of considerable length to its source in the cordillera. the valleys of guasco and copiapo may both be considered as long narrow islands, separated from the rest of chile by deserts of rock instead of by salt water. northward of these, there is one other very miserable valley, called paposo, which contains about two hundred souls; and then there extends the real desert of atacama--a barrier far worse than the most turbulent ocean. after staying a few days at potrero seco, i proceeded up the valley to the house of don benito cruz, to whom i had a letter of introduction. i found him most hospitable; indeed it is impossible to bear too strong testimony to the kindness with which travellers are received in almost every part of south america. the next day i hired some mules to take me by the ravine of jolquera into the central cordillera. on the second night the weather seemed to foretell a storm of snow or rain, and whilst lying in our beds we felt a trifling shock of an earthquake. the connection between earthquakes and the weather has been often disputed: it appears to me to be a point of great interest, which is little understood. humboldt has remarked in one part of the personal narrative, [ ] that it would be difficult for any person who had long resided in new andalusia, or in lower peru, to deny that there exists some connection between these phenomena: in another part, however he seems to think the connection fanciful. at guayaquil it is said that a heavy shower in the dry season is invariably followed by an earthquake. in northern chile, from the extreme infrequency of rain, or even of weather foreboding rain, the probability of accidental coincidences becomes very small; yet the inhabitants are here most firmly convinced of some connection between the state of the atmosphere and of the trembling of the ground: i was much struck by this when mentioning to some people at copiapo that there had been a sharp shock at coquimbo: they immediately cried out, "how fortunate! there will be plenty of pasture there this year." to their minds an earthquake foretold rain as surely as rain foretold abundant pasture. certainly it did so happen that on the very day of the earthquake, that shower of rain fell, which i have described as in ten days' time producing a thin sprinkling of grass. at other times rain has followed earthquakes at a period of the year when it is a far greater prodigy than the earthquake itself: this happened after the shock of november, , and again in , at valparaiso; also after that of september, , at tacna. a person must be somewhat habituated to the climate of these countries to perceive the extreme improbability of rain falling at such seasons, except as a consequence of some law quite unconnected with the ordinary course of the weather. in the cases of great volcanic eruptions, as that of coseguina, where torrents of rain fell at a time of the year most unusual for it, and "almost unprecedented in central america," it is not difficult to understand that the volumes of vapour and clouds of ashes might have disturbed the atmospheric equilibrium. humboldt extends this view to the case of earthquakes unaccompanied by eruptions; but i can hardly conceive it possible, that the small quantity of aeriform fluids which then escape from the fissured ground, can produce such remarkable effects. there appears much probability in the view first proposed by mr. p. scrope, that when the barometer is low, and when rain might naturally be expected to fall, the diminished pressure of the atmosphere over a wide extent of country, might well determine the precise day on which the earth, already stretched to the utmost by the subterranean forces, should yield, crack, and consequently tremble. it is, however, doubtful how far this idea will explain the circumstances of torrents of rain falling in the dry season during several days, after an earthquake unaccompanied by an eruption; such cases seem to bespeak some more intimate connection between the atmospheric and subterranean regions. finding little of interest in this part of the ravine, we retraced our steps to the house of don benito, where i stayed two days collecting fossil shells and wood. great prostrate silicified trunks of trees, embedded in a conglomerate, were extraordinarily numerous. i measured one, which was fifteen feet in circumference: how surprising it is that every atom of the woody matter in this great cylinder should have been removed and replaced by silex so perfectly, that each vessel and pore is preserved! these trees flourished at about the period of our lower chalk; they all belonged to the fir-tribe. it was amusing to hear the inhabitants discussing the nature of the fossil shells which i collected, almost in the same terms as were used a century ago in europe,--namely, whether or not they had been thus "born by nature." my geological examination of the country generally created a good deal of surprise amongst the chilenos: it was long before they could be convinced that i was not hunting for mines. this was sometimes troublesome: i found the most ready way of explaining my employment, was to ask them how it was that they themselves were not curious concerning earthquakes and volcanos?--why some springs were hot and others cold?--why there were mountains in chile, and not a hill in la plata? these bare questions at once satisfied and silenced the greater number; some, however (like a few in england who are a century behindhand), thought that all such inquiries were useless and impious; and that it was quite sufficient that god had thus made the mountains. an order had recently been issued that all stray dogs should be killed, and we saw many lying dead on the road. a great number had lately gone mad, and several men had been bitten and had died in consequence. on several occasions hydrophobia has prevailed in this valley. it is remarkable thus to find so strange and dreadful a disease, appearing time after time in the same isolated spot. it has been remarked that certain villages in england are in like manner much more subject to this visitation than others. dr. unanue states that hydrophobia was first known in south america in : this statement is corroborated by azara and ulloa having never heard of it in their time. dr. unanue says that it broke out in central america, and slowly travelled southward. it reached arequipa in ; and it is said that some men there, who had not been bitten, were affected, as were some negroes, who had eaten a bullock which had died of hydrophobia. at ica forty-two people thus miserably perished. the disease came on between twelve and ninety days after the bite; and in those cases where it did come on, death ensued invariably within five days. after , a long interval ensued without any cases. on inquiry, i did not hear of hydrophobia in van diemen's land, or in australia; and burchell says, that during the five years he was at the cape of good hope, he never heard of an instance of it. webster asserts that at the azores hydrophobia has never occurred; and the same assertion has been made with respect to mauritius and st. helena. [ ] in so strange a disease some information might possibly be gained by considering the circumstances under which it originates in distant climates; for it is improbable that a dog already bitten, should have been brought to these distant countries. at night, a stranger arrived at the house of don benito, and asked permission to sleep there. he said he had been wandering about the mountains for seventeen days, having lost his way. he started from guasco, and being accustomed to travelling in the cordillera, did not expect any difficulty in following the track to copiapo; but he soon became involved in a labyrinth of mountains, whence he could not escape. some of his mules had fallen over precipices, and he had been in great distress. his chief difficulty arose from not knowing where to find water in the lower country, so that he was obliged to keep bordering the central ranges. we returned down the valley, and on the nd reached the town of copiapo. the lower part of the valley is broad, forming a fine plain like that of quillota. the town covers a considerable space of ground, each house possessing a garden: but it is an uncomfortable place, and the dwellings are poorly furnished. every one seems bent on the one object of making money, and then migrating as quickly as possible. all the inhabitants are more or less directly concerned with mines; and mines and ores are the sole subjects of conversation. necessaries of all sorts are extremely dear; as the distance from the town to the port is eighteen leagues, and the land carriage very expensive. a fowl costs five or six shillings; meat is nearly as dear as in england; firewood, or rather sticks, are brought on donkeys from a distance of two and three days' journey within the cordillera; and pasturage for animals is a shilling a day: all this for south america is wonderfully exorbitant. june th.--i hired a guide and eight mules to take me into the cordillera by a different line from my last excursion. as the country was utterly desert, we took a cargo and a half of barley mixed with chopped straw. about two leagues above the town a broad valley called the "despoblado," or uninhabited, branches off from that one by which we had arrived. although a valley of the grandest dimensions, and leading to a pass across the cordillera, yet it is completely dry, excepting perhaps for a few days during some very rainy winter. the sides of the crumbling mountains were furrowed by scarcely any ravines; and the bottom of the main valley, filled with shingle, was smooth and nearly level. no considerable torrent could ever have flowed down this bed of shingle; for if it had, a great cliff-bounded channel, as in all the southern valleys, would assuredly have been formed. i feel little doubt that this valley, as well as those mentioned by travellers in peru, were left in the state we now see them by the waves of the sea, as the land slowly rose. i observed in one place, where the despoblado was joined by a ravine (which in almost any other chain would have been called a grand valley), that its bed, though composed merely of sand and gravel, was higher than that of its tributary. a mere rivulet of water, in the course of an hour, would have cut a channel for itself; but it was evident that ages had passed away, and no such rivulet had drained this great tributary. it was curious to behold the machinery, if such a term may be used, for the drainage, all, with the last trifling exception, perfect, yet without any signs of action. every one must have remarked how mud-banks, left by the retiring tide, imitate in miniature a country with hill and dale; and here we have the original model in rock, formed as the continent rose during the secular retirement of the ocean, instead of during the ebbing and flowing of the tides. if a shower of rain falls on the mud-bank, when left dry, it deepens the already-formed shallow lines of excavation; and so it is with the rain of successive centuries on the bank of rock and soil, which we call a continent. we rode on after it was dark, till we reached a side ravine with a small well, called "agua amarga." the water deserved its name, for besides being saline it was most offensively putrid and bitter; so that we could not force ourselves to drink either tea or mate. i suppose the distance from the river of copiapo to this spot was at least twenty-five or thirty english miles; in the whole space there was not a single drop of water, the country deserving the name of desert in the strictest sense. yet about half way we passed some old indian ruins near punta gorda: i noticed also in front of some of the valleys, which branch off from the despoblado, two piles of stones placed a little way apart, and directed so as to point up the mouths of these small valleys. my companions knew nothing about them, and only answered my queries by their imperturbable "quien sabe?" i observed indian ruins in several parts of the cordillera: the most perfect which i saw, were the ruinas de tambillos, in the uspallata pass. small square rooms were there huddled together in separate groups: some of the doorways were yet standing; they were formed by a cross slab of stone only about three feet high. ulloa has remarked on the lowness of the doors in the ancient peruvian dwellings. these houses, when perfect, must have been capable of containing a considerable number of persons. tradition says, that they were used as halting-places for the incas, when they crossed the mountains. traces of indian habitations have been discovered in many other parts, where it does not appear probable that they were used as mere resting-places, but yet where the land is as utterly unfit for any kind of cultivation, as it is near the tambillos or at the incas bridge, or in the portillo pass, at all which places i saw ruins. in the ravine of jajuel, near aconcagua, where there is no pass, i heard of remains of houses situated at a great height, where it is extremely cold and sterile. at first i imagined that these buildings had been places of refuge, built by the indians on the first arrival of the spaniards; but i have since been inclined to speculate on the probability of a small change of climate. in this northern part of chile, within the cordillera, old indian houses are said to be especially numerous: by digging amongst the ruins, bits of woollen articles, instruments of precious metals, and heads of indian corn, are not unfrequently discovered: an arrow-head made of agate, and of precisely the same form with those now used in tierra del fuego, was given me. i am aware that the peruvian indians now frequently inhabit most lofty and bleak situations; but at copiapo i was assured by men who had spent their lives in travelling through the andes, that there were very many (muchisimas) buildings at heights so great as almost to border upon the perpetual snow, and in parts where there exist no passes, and where the land produces absolutely nothing, and what is still more extraordinary, where there is no water. nevertheless it is the opinion of the people of the country (although they are much puzzled by the circumstance), that, from the appearance of the houses, the indians must have used them as places of residence. in this valley, at punta gorda, the remains consisted of seven or eight square little rooms, which were of a similar form with those at tambillos, but built chiefly of mud, which the present inhabitants cannot, either here or, according to ulloa, in peru, imitate in durability. they were situated in the most conspicuous and defenceless position, at the bottom of the flat broad valley. there was no water nearer than three or four leagues, and that only in very small quantity, and bad: the soil was absolutely sterile; i looked in vain even for a lichen adhering to the rocks. at the present day, with the advantage of beasts of burden, a mine, unless it were very rich, could scarcely be worked here with profit. yet the indians formerly chose it as a place of residence! if at the present time two or three showers of rain were to fall annually, instead of one, as now is the case during as many years, a small rill of water would probably be formed in this great valley; and then, by irrigation (which was formerly so well understood by the indians), the soil would easily be rendered sufficiently productive to support a few families. i have convincing proofs that this part of the continent of south america has been elevated near the coast at least from to , and in some parts from to feet, since the epoch of existing shells; and further inland the rise possibly may have been greater. as the peculiarly arid character of the climate is evidently a consequence of the height of the cordillera, we may feel almost sure that before the later elevations, the atmosphere could not have been so completely drained of its moisture as it now is; and as the rise has been gradual, so would have been the change in climate. on this notion of a change of climate since the buildings were inhabited, the ruins must be of extreme antiquity, but i do not think their preservation under the chilian climate any great difficulty. we must also admit on this notion (and this perhaps is a greater difficulty) that man has inhabited south america for an immensely long period, inasmuch as any change of climate effected by the elevation of the land must have been extremely gradual. at valparaiso, within the last years, the rise has been somewhat less than feet: at lima a sea-beach has certainly been upheaved from to feet, within the indo-human period: but such small elevations could have had little power in deflecting the moisture-bringing atmospheric currents. dr. lund, however, found human skeletons in the caves of brazil, the appearance of which induced him to believe that the indian race has existed during a vast lapse of time in south america. when at lima, i conversed on these subjects [ ] with mr. gill, a civil engineer, who had seen much of the interior country. he told me that a conjecture of a change of climate had sometimes crossed his mind; but that he thought that the greater portion of land, now incapable of cultivation, but covered with indian ruins, had been reduced to this state by the water-conduits, which the indians formerly constructed on so wonderful a scale, having been injured by neglect and by subterranean movements. i may here mention, that the peruvians actually carried their irrigating streams in tunnels through hills of solid rock. mr. gill told me, he had been employed professionally to examine one: he found the passage low, narrow, crooked, and not of uniform breadth, but of very considerable length. is it not most wonderful that men should have attempted such operations, without the use of iron or gunpowder? mr. gill also mentioned to me a most interesting, and, as far as i am aware, quite unparalleled case, of a subterranean disturbance having changed the drainage of a country. travelling from casma to huaraz (not very far distant from lima), he found a plain covered with ruins and marks of ancient cultivation but now quite barren. near it was the dry course of a considerable river, whence the water for irrigation had formerly been conducted. there was nothing in the appearance of the water-course to indicate that the river had not flowed there a few years previously; in some parts, beds of sand and gravel were spread out; in others, the solid rock had been worn into a broad channel, which in one spot was about yards in breadth and feet deep. it is self-evident that a person following up the course of a stream, will always ascend at a greater or less inclination: mr. gill, therefore, was much astonished, when walking up the bed of this ancient river, to find himself suddenly going down hill. he imagined that the downward slope had a fall of about or feet perpendicular. we here have unequivocal evidence that a ridge had been uplifted right across the old bed of a stream. from the moment the river-course was thus arched, the water must necessarily have been thrown back, and a new channel formed. from that moment, also, the neighbouring plain must have lost its fertilizing stream, and become a desert. june th.--we set out early in the morning, and by midday reached the ravine of paypote, where there is a tiny rill of water, with a little vegetation, and even a few algarroba trees, a kind of mimosa. from having firewood, a smelting-furnace had formerly been built here: we found a solitary man in charge of it, whose sole employment was hunting guanacos. at night it froze sharply; but having plenty of wood for our fire, we kept ourselves warm. th.--we continued gradually ascending, and the valley now changed into a ravine. during the day we saw several guanacos, and the track of the closely-allied species, the vicuna: this latter animal is pre-eminently alpine in its habits; it seldom descends much below the limit of perpetual snow, and therefore haunts even a more lofty and sterile situation than the guanaco. the only other animal which we saw in any number was a small fox: i suppose this animal preys on the mice and other small rodents, which, as long as there is the least vegetation, subsist in considerable numbers in very desert places. in patagonia, even on the borders of the salinas, where a drop of fresh water can never be found, excepting dew, these little animals swarm. next to lizards, mice appear to be able to support existence on the smallest and driest portions of the earth--even on islets in the midst of great oceans. the scene on all sides showed desolation, brightened and made palpable by a clear, unclouded sky. for a time such scenery is sublime, but this feeling cannot last, and then it becomes uninteresting. we bivouacked at the foot of the "primera linea," or the first line of the partition of waters. the streams, however, on the east side do not flow to the atlantic, but into an elevated district, in the middle of which there is a large saline, or salt lake; thus forming a little caspian sea at the height, perhaps, of ten thousand feet. where we slept, there were some considerable patches of snow, but they do not remain throughout the year. the winds in these lofty regions obey very regular laws. every day a fresh breeze blows up the valley, and at night, an hour or two after sunset, the air from the cold regions above descends as through a funnel. this night it blew a gale of wind, and the temperature must have been considerably below the freezing-point, for water in a vessel soon became a block of ice. no clothes seemed to pose any obstacle to the air; i suffered very much from the cold, so that i could not sleep, and in the morning rose with my body quite dull and benumbed. in the cordillera further southward, people lose their lives from snow-storms; here, it sometimes happens from another cause. my guide, when a boy of fourteen years old, was passing the cordillera with a party in the month of may; and while in the central parts, a furious gale of wind arose, so that the men could hardly cling on their mules, and stones were flying along the ground. the day was cloudless, and not a speck of snow fell, but the temperature was low. it is probable that the thermometer could not have stood very many degrees below the freezing-point, but the effect on their bodies, ill protected by clothing, must have been in proportion to the rapidity of the current of cold air. the gale lasted for more than a day; the men began to lose their strength, and the mules would not move onwards. my guide's brother tried to return, but he perished, and his body was found two years afterwards. lying by the side of his mule near the road, with the bridle still in his hand. two other men in the party lost their fingers and toes; and out of two hundred mules and thirty cows, only fourteen mules escaped alive. many years ago the whole of a large party are supposed to have perished from a similar cause, but their bodies to this day have never been discovered. the union of a cloudless sky, low temperature, and a furious gale of wind, must be, i should think, in all parts of the world an unusual occurrence. june th--we gladly travelled down the valley to our former night's lodging, and thence to near the agua amarga. on july st we reached the valley of copiapo. the smell of the fresh clover was quite delightful, after the scentless air of the dry, sterile despoblado. whilst staying in the town i heard an account from several of the inhabitants, of a hill in the neighbourhood which they called "el bramador,"--the roarer or bellower. i did not at the time pay sufficient attention to the account; but, as far as i understood, the hill was covered by sand, and the noise was produced only when people, by ascending it, put the sand in motion. the same circumstances are described in detail on the authority of seetzen and ehrenberg, [ ] as the cause of the sounds which have been heard by many travellers on mount sinai near the red sea. one person with whom i conversed had himself heard the noise: he described it as very surprising; and he distinctly stated that, although he could not understand how it was caused, yet it was necessary to set the sand rolling down the acclivity. a horse walking over dry coarse sand, causes a peculiar chirping noise from the friction of the particles; a circumstance which i several times noticed on the coast of brazil. three days afterwards i heard of the beagle's arrival at the port, distant eighteen leagues from the town. there is very little land cultivated down the valley; its wide expanse supports a wretched wiry grass, which even the donkeys can hardly eat. this poorness of the vegetation is owing to the quantity of saline matter with which the soil is impregnated. the port consists of an assemblage of miserable little hovels, situated at the foot of a sterile plain. at present, as the river contains water enough to reach the sea, the inhabitants enjoy the advantage of having fresh water within a mile and a half. on the beach there were large piles of merchandise, and the little place had an air of activity. in the evening i gave my adios, with a hearty good-will, to my companion mariano gonzales, with whom i had ridden so many leagues in chile. the next morning the beagle sailed for iquique. july th.--we anchored in the port of iquique, in lat. degs. ', on the coast of peru. the town contains about a thousand inhabitants, and stands on a little plain of sand at the foot of a great wall of rock, feet in height, here forming the coast. the whole is utterly desert. a light shower of rain falls only once in very many years; and the ravines consequently are filled with detritus, and the mountain-sides covered by piles of fine white sand, even to a height of a thousand feet. during this season of the year a heavy bank of clouds, stretched over the ocean, seldom rises above the wall of rocks on the coast. the aspect of the place was most gloomy; the little port, with its few vessels, and small group of wretched houses, seemed overwhelmed and out of all proportion with the rest of the scene. the inhabitants live like persons on board a ship: every necessary comes from a distance: water is brought in boats from pisagua, about forty miles northward, and is sold at the rate of nine reals ( s. d.) an eighteen-gallon cask: i bought a wine-bottle full for threepence. in like manner firewood, and of course every article of food, is imported. very few animals can be maintained in such a place: on the ensuing morning i hired with difficulty, at the price of four pounds sterling, two mules and a guide to take me to the nitrate of soda works. these are at present the support of iquique. this salt was first exported in : in one year an amount in value of one hundred thousand pounds sterling, was sent to france and england. it is principally used as a manure and in the manufacture of nitric acid: owing to its deliquescent property it will not serve for gunpowder. formerly there were two exceedingly rich silver-mines in this neighbourhood, but their produce is now very small. our arrival in the offing caused some little apprehension. peru was in a state of anarchy; and each party having demanded a contribution, the poor town of iquique was in tribulation, thinking the evil hour was come. the people had also their domestic troubles; a short time before, three french carpenters had broken open, during the same night, the two churches, and stolen all the plate: one of the robbers, however, subsequently confessed, and the plate was recovered. the convicts were sent to arequipa, which though the capital of this province, is two hundred leagues distant, the government there thought it a pity to punish such useful workmen, who could make all sorts of furniture; and accordingly liberated them. things being in this state, the churches were again broken open, but this time the plate was not recovered. the inhabitants became dreadfully enraged, and declaring that none but heretics would thus "eat god almighty," proceeded to torture some englishmen, with the intention of afterwards shooting them. at last the authorities interfered, and peace was established. th.--in the morning i started for the saltpetre-works, a distance of fourteen leagues. having ascended the steep coast-mountains by a zigzag sandy track, we soon came in view of the mines of guantajaya and st. rosa. these two small villages are placed at the very mouths of the mines; and being perched up on hills, they had a still more unnatural and desolate appearance than the town of iquique. we did not reach the saltpetre-works till after sunset, having ridden all day across an undulating country, a complete and utter desert. the road was strewed with the bones and dried skins of many beasts of burden which had perished on it from fatigue. excepting the vultur aura, which preys on the carcasses, i saw neither bird, quadruped, reptile, nor insect. on the coast-mountains, at the height of about feet where during this season the clouds generally hang, a very few cacti were growing in the clefts of rock; and the loose sand was strewed over with a lichen, which lies on the surface quite unattached. this plant belongs to the genus cladonia, and somewhat resembles the reindeer lichen. in some parts it was in sufficient quantity to tinge the sand, as seen from a distance, of a pale yellowish colour. further inland, during the whole ride of fourteen leagues, i saw only one other vegetable production, and that was a most minute yellow lichen, growing on the bones of the dead mules. this was the first true desert which i had seen: the effect on me was not impressive; but i believe this was owing to my having become gradually accustomed to such scenes, as i rode northward from valparaiso, through coquimbo, to copiapo. the appearance of the country was remarkable, from being covered by a thick crust of common salt, and of a stratified saliferous alluvium, which seems to have been deposited as the land slowly rose above the level of the sea. the salt is white, very hard, and compact: it occurs in water worn nodules projecting from the agglutinated sand, and is associated with much gypsum. the appearance of this superficial mass very closely resembled that of a country after snow, before the last dirty patches are thawed. the existence of this crust of a soluble substance over the whole face of the country, shows how extraordinarily dry the climate must have been for a long period. at night i slept at the house of the owner of one of the saltpetre mines. the country is here as unproductive as near the coast; but water, having rather a bitter and brackish taste, can be procured by digging wells. the well at this house was thirty-six yards deep: as scarcely any rain falls, it is evident the water is not thus derived; indeed if it were, it could not fail to be as salt as brine, for the whole surrounding country is incrusted with various saline substances. we must therefore conclude that it percolates under ground from the cordillera, though distant many leagues. in that direction there are a few small villages, where the inhabitants, having more water, are enabled to irrigate a little land, and raise hay, on which the mules and asses, employed in carrying the saltpetre, are fed. the nitrate of soda was now selling at the ship's side at fourteen shillings per hundred pounds: the chief expense is its transport to the sea-coast. the mine consists of a hard stratum, between two and three feet thick, of the nitrate mingled with a little of the sulphate of soda and a good deal of common salt. it lies close beneath the surface, and follows for a length of one hundred and fifty miles the margin of a grand basin or plain; this, from its outline, manifestly must once have been a lake, or more probably an inland arm of the sea, as may be inferred from the presence of iodic salts in the saline stratum. the surface of the plain is feet above the pacific. th.--we anchored in the bay of callao, the seaport of lima, the capital of peru. we stayed here six weeks but from the troubled state of public affairs, i saw very little of the country. during our whole visit the climate was far from being so delightful, as it is generally represented. a dull heavy bank of clouds constantly hung over the land, so that during the first sixteen days i had only one view of the cordillera behind lima. these mountains, seen in stages, one above the other, through openings in the clouds, had a very grand appearance. it is almost become a proverb, that rain never falls in the lower part of peru. yet this can hardly be considered correct; for during almost every day of our visit there was a thick drizzling mist, which was sufficient to make the streets muddy and one's clothes damp: this the people are pleased to call peruvian dew. that much rain does not fall is very certain, for the houses are covered only with flat roofs made of hardened mud; and on the mole shiploads of wheat were piled up, being thus left for weeks together without any shelter. i cannot say i liked the very little i saw of peru: in summer, however, it is said that the climate is much pleasanter. in all seasons, both inhabitants and foreigners suffer from severe attacks of ague. this disease is common on the whole coast of peru, but is unknown in the interior. the attacks of illness which arise from miasma never fail to appear most mysterious. so difficult is it to judge from the aspect of a country, whether or not it is healthy, that if a person had been told to choose within the tropics a situation appearing favourable for health, very probably he would have named this coast. the plain round the outskirts of callao is sparingly covered with a coarse grass, and in some parts there are a few stagnant, though very small, pools of water. the miasma, in all probability, arises from these: for the town of arica was similarly circumstanced, and its healthiness was much improved by the drainage of some little pools. miasma is not always produced by a luxuriant vegetation with an ardent climate; for many parts of brazil, even where there are marshes and a rank vegetation, are much more healthy than this sterile coast of peru. the densest forests in a temperate climate, as in chiloe, do not seem in the slightest degree to affect the healthy condition of the atmosphere. the island of st. jago, at the cape de verds, offers another strongly marked instance of a country, which any one would have expected to find most healthy, being very much the contrary. i have described the bare and open plains as supporting, during a few weeks after the rainy season, a thin vegetation, which directly withers away and dries up: at this period the air appears to become quite poisonous; both natives and foreigners often being affected with violent fevers. on the other hand, the galapagos archipelago, in the pacific, with a similar soil, and periodically subject to the same process of vegetation, is perfectly healthy. humboldt has observed, that, "under the torrid zone, the smallest marshes are the most dangerous, being surrounded, as at vera cruz and carthagena, with an arid and sandy soil, which raises the temperature of the ambient air." [ ] on the coast of peru, however, the temperature is not hot to any excessive degree; and perhaps in consequence, the intermittent fevers are not of the most malignant order. in all unhealthy countries the greatest risk is run by sleeping on shore. is this owing to the state of the body during sleep, or to a greater abundance of miasma at such times? it appears certain that those who stay on board a vessel, though anchored at only a short distance from the coast, generally suffer less than those actually on shore. on the other hand, i have heard of one remarkable case where a fever broke out among the crew of a man-of-war some hundred miles off the coast of africa, and at the same time one of those fearful periods [ ] of death commenced at sierra leone. no state in south america, since the declaration of independence, has suffered more from anarchy than peru. at the time of our visit, there were four chiefs in arms contending for supremacy in the government: if one succeeded in becoming for a time very powerful, the others coalesced against him; but no sooner were they victorious, than they were again hostile to each other. the other day, at the anniversary of the independence, high mass was performed, the president partaking of the sacrament: during the _te deum laudamus_, instead of each regiment displaying the peruvian flag, a black one with death's head was unfurled. imagine a government under which such a scene could be ordered, on such an occasion, to be typical of their determination of fighting to death! this state of affairs happened at a time very unfortunately for me, as i was precluded from taking any excursions much beyond the limits of the town. the barren island of st. lorenzo, which forms the harbour, was nearly the only place where one could walk securely. the upper part, which is upwards of feet in height, during this season of the year (winter), comes within the lower limit of the clouds; and in consequence, an abundant cryptogamic vegetation, and a few flowers cover the summit. on the hills near lima, at a height but little greater, the ground is carpeted with moss, and beds of beautiful yellow lilies, called amancaes. this indicates a very much greater degree of humidity, than at a corresponding height at iquique. proceeding northward of lima, the climate becomes damper, till on the banks of the guayaquil, nearly under the equator, we find the most luxuriant forests. the change, however, from the sterile coast of peru to that fertile land is described as taking place rather abruptly in the latitude of cape blanco, two degrees south of guayaquil. callao is a filthy, ill-built, small seaport. the inhabitants, both here and at lima, present every imaginable shade of mixture, between european, negro, and indian blood. they appear a depraved, drunken set of people. the atmosphere is loaded with foul smells, and that peculiar one, which may be perceived in almost every town within the tropics, was here very strong. the fortress, which withstood lord cochrane's long siege, has an imposing appearance. but the president, during our stay, sold the brass guns, and proceeded to dismantle parts of it. the reason assigned was, that he had not an officer to whom he could trust so important a charge. he himself had good reason for thinking so, as he had obtained the presidentship by rebelling while in charge of this same fortress. after we left south america, he paid the penalty in the usual manner, by being conquered, taken prisoner, and shot. lima stands on a plain in a valley, formed during the gradual retreat of the sea. it is seven miles from callao, and is elevated feet above it; but from the slope being very gradual, the road appears absolutely level; so that when at lima it is difficult to believe one has ascended even one hundred feet: humboldt has remarked on this singularly deceptive case. steep barren hills rise like islands from the plain, which is divided, by straight mud-walls, into large green fields. in these scarcely a tree grows excepting a few willows, and an occasional clump of bananas and of oranges. the city of lima is now in a wretched state of decay: the streets are nearly unpaved; and heaps of filth are piled up in all directions, where the black gallinazos, tame as poultry, pick up bits of carrion. the houses have generally an upper story, built on account of the earthquakes, of plastered woodwork but some of the old ones, which are now used by several families, are immensely large, and would rival in suites of apartments the most magnificent in any place. lima, the city of the kings, must formerly have been a splendid town. the extraordinary number of churches gives it, even at the present day, a peculiar and striking character, especially when viewed from a short distance. one day i went out with some merchants to hunt in the immediate vicinity of the city. our sport was very poor; but i had an opportunity of seeing the ruins of one of the ancient indian villages, with its mound like a natural hill in the centre. the remains of houses, enclosures, irrigating streams, and burial mounds, scattered over this plain, cannot fail to give one a high idea of the condition and number of the ancient population. when their earthenware, woollen clothes, utensils of elegant forms cut out of the hardest rocks, tools of copper, ornaments of precious stones, palaces, and hydraulic works, are considered, it is impossible not to respect the considerable advance made by them in the arts of civilization. the burial mounds, called huacas, are really stupendous; although in some places they appear to be natural hills incased and modelled. there is also another and very different class of ruins, which possesses some interest, namely, those of old callao, overwhelmed by the great earthquake of , and its accompanying wave. the destruction must have been more complete even than at talcahuano. quantities of shingle almost conceal the foundations of the walls, and vast masses of brickwork appear to have been whirled about like pebbles by the retiring waves. it has been stated that the land subsided during this memorable shock: i could not discover any proof of this; yet it seems far from improbable, for the form of the coast must certainly have undergone some change since the foundation of the old town; as no people in their senses would willingly have chosen for their building place, the narrow spit of shingle on which the ruins now stand. since our voyage, m. tschudi has come to the conclusion, by the comparison of old and modern maps, that the coast both north and south of lima has certainly subsided. on the island of san lorenzo, there are very satisfactory proofs of elevation within the recent period; this of course is not opposed to the belief, of a small sinking of the ground having subsequently taken place. the side of this island fronting the bay of callao, is worn into three obscure terraces, the lower one of which is covered by a bed a mile in length, almost wholly composed of shells of eighteen species, now living in the adjoining sea. the height of this bed is eighty-five feet. many of the shells are deeply corroded, and have a much older and more decayed appearance than those at the height of or feet on the coast of chile. these shells are associated with much common salt, a little sulphate of lime (both probably left by the evaporation of the spray, as the land slowly rose), together with sulphate of soda and muriate of lime. they rest on fragments of the underlying sandstone, and are covered by a few inches thick of detritus. the shells, higher up on this terrace could be traced scaling off in flakes, and falling into an impalpable powder; and on an upper terrace, at the height of feet, and likewise at some considerably higher points, i found a layer of saline powder of exactly similar appearance, and lying in the same relative position. i have no doubt that this upper layer originally existed as a bed of shells, like that on the eighty-five-feet ledge; but it does not now contain even a trace of organic structure. the powder has been analyzed for me by mr. t. reeks; it consists of sulphates and muriates both of lime and soda, with very little carbonate of lime. it is known that common salt and carbonate of lime left in a mass for some time together, partly decompose each other; though this does not happen with small quantities in solution. as the half-decomposed shells in the lower parts are associated with much common salt, together with some of the saline substances composing the upper saline layer, and as these shells are corroded and decayed in a remarkable manner, i strongly suspect that this double decomposition has here taken place. the resultant salts, however, ought to be carbonate of soda and muriate of lime, the latter is present, but not the carbonate of soda. hence i am led to imagine that by some unexplained means, the carbonate of soda becomes changed into the sulphate. it is obvious that the saline layer could not have been preserved in any country in which abundant rain occasionally fell: on the other hand, this very circumstance, which at first sight appears so highly favourable to the long preservation of exposed shells, has probably been the indirect means, through the common salt not having been washed away, of their decomposition and early decay. i was much interested by finding on the terrace, at the height of eighty-five feet, _embedded_ amidst the shells and much sea-drifted rubbish, some bits of cotton thread, plaited rush, and the head of a stalk of indian corn: i compared these relics with similar ones taken out of the huacas, or old peruvian tombs, and found them identical in appearance. on the mainland in front of san lorenzo, near bellavista, there is an extensive and level plain about a hundred feet high, of which the lower part is formed of alternating layers of sand and impure clay, together with some gravel, and the surface, to the depth of from three to six feet, of a reddish loam, containing a few scattered sea-shells and numerous small fragments of coarse red earthenware, more abundant at certain spots than at others. at first i was inclined to believe that this superficial bed, from its wide extent and smoothness, must have been deposited beneath the sea; but i afterwards found in one spot, that it lay on an artificial floor of round stones. it seems, therefore, most probable that at a period when the land stood at a lower level there was a plain very similar to that now surrounding callao, which being protected by a shingle beach, is raised but very little above the level of the sea. on this plain, with its underlying red-clay beds, i imagine that the indians manufactured their earthen vessels; and that, during some violent earthquake, the sea broke over the beach, and converted the plain into a temporary lake, as happened round callao in and . the water would then have deposited mud, containing fragments of pottery from the kilns, more abundant at some spots than at others, and shells from the sea. this bed, with fossil earthenware, stands at about the same height with the shells on the lower terrace of san lorenzo, in which the cotton-thread and other relics were embedded. hence we may safely conclude, that within the indo-human period there has been an elevation, as before alluded to, of more than eighty-five feet; for some little elevation must have been lost by the coast having subsided since the old maps were engraved. at valparaiso, although in the years before our visit, the elevation cannot have exceeded nineteen feet, yet subsequently to , there has been a rise, partly insensible and partly by a start during the shock of , of ten or eleven feet. the antiquity of the indo-human race here, judging by the eighty-five feet rise of the land since the relics were embedded, is the more remarkable, as on the coast of patagonia, when the land stood about the same number of feet lower, the macrauchenia was a living beast; but as the patagonian coast is some way distant from the cordillera, the rising there may have been slower than here. at bahia blanca, the elevation has been only a few feet since the numerous gigantic quadrupeds were there entombed; and, according to the generally received opinion, when these extinct animals were living, man did not exist. but the rising of that part of the coast of patagonia, is perhaps no way connected with the cordillera, but rather with a line of old volcanic rocks in banda oriental, so that it may have been infinitely slower than on the shores of peru. all these speculations, however, must be vague; for who will pretend to say that there may not have been several periods of subsidence, intercalated between the movements of elevation; for we know that along the whole coast of patagonia, there have certainly been many and long pauses in the upward action of the elevatory forces. [ ] vol. iv. p. , and vol. ii. p. . for the remarks on guayaquil, see silliman's journ., vol. xxiv. p. . for those on tacna by mr. hamilton, see trans. of british association, . for those on coseguina see mr. caldcleugh in phil. trans., . in the former edition i collected several references on the coincidences between sudden falls in the barometer and earthquakes; and between earthquakes and meteors. [ ] observa. sobre el clima de lima, p. .--azara's travels, vol. i. p. .--ulloa's voyage, vol. ii. p. .--burchell's travels, vol. ii. p. .--webster's description of the azores, p. .--voyage a l'isle de france par un officer du roi, tom. i. p. .--description of st. helena, p. . [ ] temple, in his travels through upper peru, or bolivia, in going from potosi to oruro, says, "i saw many indian villages or dwellings in ruins, up even to the very tops of the mountains, attesting a former population where now all is desolate." he makes similar remarks in another place; but i cannot tell whether this desolation has been caused by a want of population, or by an altered condition of the land. [ ] edinburgh, phil. journ., jan., , p. ; and april, , p. --also daubeny on volcanoes, p. ; and bengal journ., vol. vii. p. . [ ] political essay on the kingdom of new spain, vol. iv. p. . [ ] a similar interesting case is recorded in the madras medical quart. journ., , p. . dr. ferguson, in his admirable paper (see th vol. of edinburgh royal trans.), shows clearly that the poison is generated in the drying process; and hence that dry hot countries are often the most unhealthy. chapter xvii galapagos archipelago the whole group volcanic--numbers of craters--leafless bushes colony at charles island--james island--salt-lake in crater--natural history of the group--ornithology, curious finches--reptiles--great tortoises, habits of--marine lizard, feeds on sea-weed--terrestrial lizard, burrowing habits, herbivorous--importance of reptiles in the archipelago--fish, shells, insects--botany--american type of organization--differences in the species or races on different islands--tameness of the birds--fear of man, an acquired instinct. september th.--this archipelago consists of ten principal islands, of which five exceed the others in size. they are situated under the equator, and between five and six hundred miles westward of the coast of america. they are all formed of volcanic rocks; a few fragments of granite curiously glazed and altered by the heat, can hardly be considered as an exception. some of the craters, surmounting the larger islands, are of immense size, and they rise to a height of between three and four thousand feet. their flanks are studded by innumerable smaller orifices. i scarcely hesitate to affirm, that there must be in the whole archipelago at least two thousand craters. these consist either of lava or scoriae, or of finely-stratified, sandstone-like tuff. most of the latter are beautifully symmetrical; they owe their origin to eruptions of volcanic mud without any lava: it is a remarkable circumstance that every one of the twenty-eight tuff-craters which were examined, had their southern sides either much lower than the other sides, or quite broken down and removed. as all these craters apparently have been formed when standing in the sea, and as the waves from the trade wind and the swell from the open pacific here unite their forces on the southern coasts of all the islands, this singular uniformity in the broken state of the craters, composed of the soft and yielding tuff, is easily explained. considering that these islands are placed directly under the equator, the climate is far from being excessively hot; this seems chiefly caused by the singularly low temperature of the surrounding water, brought here by the great southern [map] polar current. excepting during one short season, very little rain falls, and even then it is irregular; but the clouds generally hang low. hence, whilst the lower parts of the islands are very sterile, the upper parts, at a height of a thousand feet and upwards, possess a damp climate and a tolerably luxuriant vegetation. this is especially the case on the windward sides of the islands, which first receive and condense the moisture from the atmosphere. in the morning ( th) we landed on chatham island, which, like the others, rises with a tame and rounded outline, broken here and there by scattered hillocks, the remains of former craters. nothing could be less inviting than the first appearance. a broken field of black basaltic lava, thrown into the most rugged waves, and crossed by great fissures, is everywhere covered by stunted, sun-burnt brushwood, which shows little signs of life. the dry and parched surface, being heated by the noon-day sun, gave to the air a close and sultry feeling, like that from a stove: we fancied even that the bushes smelt unpleasantly. although i diligently tried to collect as many plants as possible, i succeeded in getting very few; and such wretched-looking little weeds would have better become an arctic than an equatorial flora. the brushwood appears, from a short distance, as leafless as our trees during winter; and it was some time before i discovered that not only almost every plant was now in full leaf, but that the greater number were in flower. the commonest bush is one of the euphorbiaceae: an acacia and a great odd-looking cactus are the only trees which afford any shade. after the season of heavy rains, the islands are said to appear for a short time partially green. the volcanic island of fernando noronha, placed in many respects under nearly similar conditions, is the only other country where i have seen a vegetation at all like this of the galapagos islands. the beagle sailed round chatham island, and anchored in several bays. one night i slept on shore on a part of the island, where black truncated cones were extraordinarily numerous: from one small eminence i counted sixty of them, all surmounted by craters more or less perfect. the greater number consisted merely of a ring of red scoriae or slags, cemented together: and their height above the plain of lava was not more than from fifty to a hundred feet; none had been very lately active. the entire surface of this part of the island seems to have been permeated, like a sieve, by the subterranean vapours: here and there the lava, whilst soft, has been blown into great bubbles; and in other parts, the tops of caverns similarly formed have fallen in, leaving circular pits with steep sides. from the regular form of the many craters, they gave to the country an artificial appearance, which vividly reminded me of those parts of staffordshire, where the great iron-foundries are most numerous. the day was glowing hot, and the scrambling over the rough surface and through the intricate thickets, was very fatiguing; but i was well repaid by the strange cyclopean scene. as i was walking along i met two large tortoises, each of which must have weighed at least two hundred pounds: one was eating a piece of cactus, and as i approached, it stared at me and slowly walked away; the other gave a deep hiss, and drew in its head. these huge reptiles, surrounded by the black lava, the leafless shrubs, and large cacti, seemed to my fancy like some antediluvian animals. the few dull-coloured birds cared no more for me than they did for the great tortoises. rd.--the beagle proceeded to charles island. this archipelago has long been frequented, first by the bucaniers, and latterly by whalers, but it is only within the last six years, that a small colony has been established here. the inhabitants are between two and three hundred in number; they are nearly all people of colour, who have been banished for political crimes from the republic of the equator, of which quito is the capital. the settlement is placed about four and a half miles inland, and at a height probably of a thousand feet. in the first part of the road we passed through leafless thickets, as in chatham island. higher up, the woods gradually became greener; and as soon as we crossed the ridge of the island, we were cooled by a fine southerly breeze, and our sight refreshed by a green and thriving vegetation. in this upper region coarse grasses and ferns abound; but there are no tree-ferns: i saw nowhere any member of the palm family, which is the more singular, as miles northward, cocos island takes its name from the number of cocoa-nuts. the houses are irregularly scattered over a flat space of ground, which is cultivated with sweet potatoes and bananas. it will not easily be imagined how pleasant the sight of black mud was to us, after having been so long, accustomed to the parched soil of peru and northern chile. the inhabitants, although complaining of poverty, obtain, without much trouble, the means of subsistence. in the woods there are many wild pigs and goats; but the staple article of animal food is supplied by the tortoises. their numbers have of course been greatly reduced in this island, but the people yet count on two days' hunting giving them food for the rest of the week. it is said that formerly single vessels have taken away as many as seven hundred, and that the ship's company of a frigate some years since brought down in one day two hundred tortoises to the beach. september th.--we doubled the south-west extremity of albemarle island, and the next day were nearly becalmed between it and narborough island. both are covered with immense deluges of black naked lava, which have flowed either over the rims of the great caldrons, like pitch over the rim of a pot in which it has been boiled, or have burst forth from smaller orifices on the flanks; in their descent they have spread over miles of the sea-coast. on both of these islands, eruptions are known to have taken place; and in albemarle, we saw a small jet of smoke curling from the summit of one of the great craters. in the evening we anchored in bank's cove, in albemarle island. the next morning i went out walking. to the south of the broken tuff-crater, in which the beagle was anchored, there was another beautifully symmetrical one of an elliptic form; its longer axis was a little less than a mile, and its depth about feet. at its bottom there was a shallow lake, in the middle of which a tiny crater formed an islet. the day was overpoweringly hot, and the lake looked clear and blue: i hurried down the cindery slope, and, choked with dust, eagerly tasted the water--but, to my sorrow, i found it salt as brine. the rocks on the coast abounded with great black lizards, between three and four feet long; and on the hills, an ugly yellowish-brown species was equally common. we saw many of this latter kind, some clumsily running out of the way, and others shuffling into their burrows. i shall presently describe in more detail the habits of both these reptiles. the whole of this northern part of albemarle island is miserably sterile. october th.--we arrived at james island: this island, as well as charles island, were long since thus named after our kings of the stuart line. mr. bynoe, myself, and our servants were left here for a week, with provisions and a tent, whilst the beagle went for water. we found here a party of spaniards, who had been sent from charles island to dry fish, and to salt tortoise-meat. about six miles inland, and at the height of nearly feet, a hovel had been built in which two men lived, who were employed in catching tortoises, whilst the others were fishing on the coast. i paid this party two visits, and slept there one night. as in the other islands, the lower region was covered by nearly leafless bushes, but the trees were here of a larger growth than elsewhere, several being two feet and some even two feet nine inches in diameter. the upper region being kept damp by the clouds, supports a green and flourishing vegetation. so damp was the ground, that there were large beds of a coarse cyperus, in which great numbers of a very small water-rail lived and bred. while staying in this upper region, we lived entirely upon tortoise-meat: the breast-plate roasted (as the gauchos do _carne con cuero_), with the flesh on it, is very good; and the young tortoises make excellent soup; but otherwise the meat to my taste is indifferent. one day we accompanied a party of the spaniards in their whale-boat to a salina, or lake from which salt is procured. after landing, we had a very rough walk over a rugged field of recent lava, which has almost surrounded a tuff-crater, at the bottom of which the salt-lake lies. the water is only three or four inches deep, and rests on a layer of beautifully crystallized, white salt. the lake is quite circular, and is fringed with a border of bright green succulent plants; the almost precipitous walls of the crater are clothed with wood, so that the scene was altogether both picturesque and curious. a few years since, the sailors belonging to a sealing-vessel murdered their captain in this quiet spot; and we saw his skull lying among the bushes. during the greater part of our stay of a week, the sky was cloudless, and if the trade-wind failed for an hour, the heat became very oppressive. on two days, the thermometer within the tent stood for some hours at degs.; but in the open air, in the wind and sun, at only degs. the sand was extremely hot; the thermometer placed in some of a brown colour immediately rose to degs., and how much above that it would have risen, i do not know, for it was not graduated any higher. the black sand felt much hotter, so that even in thick boots it was quite disagreeable to walk over it. the natural history of these islands is eminently curious, and well deserves attention. most of the organic productions are aboriginal creations, found nowhere else; there is even a difference between the inhabitants of the different islands; yet all show a marked relationship with those of america, though separated from that continent by an open space of ocean, between and miles in width. the archipelago is a little world within itself, or rather a satellite attached to america, whence it has derived a few stray colonists, and has received the general character of its indigenous productions. considering the small size of the islands, we feel the more astonished at the number of their aboriginal beings, and at their confined range. seeing every height crowned with its crater, and the boundaries of most of the lava-streams still distinct, we are led to believe that within a period geologically recent the unbroken ocean was here spread out. hence, both in space and time, we seem to be brought somewhat near to that great fact--that mystery of mysteries--the first appearance of new beings on this earth. of terrestrial mammals, there is only one which must be considered as indigenous, namely, a mouse (mus galapagoensis), and this is confined, as far as i could ascertain, to chatham island, the most easterly island of the group. it belongs, as i am informed by mr. waterhouse, to a division of the family of mice characteristic of america. at james island, there is a rat sufficiently distinct from the common kind to have been named and described by mr. waterhouse; but as it belongs to the old-world division of the family, and as this island has been frequented by ships for the last hundred and fifty years, i can hardly doubt that this rat is merely a variety produced by the new and peculiar climate, food, and soil, to which it has been subjected. although no one has a right to speculate without distinct facts, yet even with respect to the chatham island mouse, it should be borne in mind, that it may possibly be an american species imported here; for i have seen, in a most unfrequented part of the pampas, a native mouse living in the roof of a newly built hovel, and therefore its transportation in a vessel is not improbable: analogous facts have been observed by dr. richardson in north america. of land-birds i obtained twenty-six kinds, all peculiar to the group and found nowhere else, with the exception of one lark-like finch from north america (dolichonyx oryzivorus), which ranges on that continent as far north as degs., and generally frequents marshes. the other twenty-five birds consist, firstly, of a hawk, curiously intermediate in structure between a buzzard and the american group of carrion-feeding polybori; and with these latter birds it agrees most closely in every habit and even tone of voice. secondly, there are two owls, representing the short-eared and white barn-owls of europe. thirdly, a wren, three tyrant-flycatchers (two of them species of pyrocephalus, one or both of which would be ranked by some ornithologists as only varieties), and a dove--all analogous to, but distinct from, american species. fourthly, a swallow, which though differing from the progne purpurea of both americas, only in being rather duller colored, smaller, and slenderer, is considered by mr. gould as specifically distinct. fifthly, there are three species of mocking thrush--a form highly characteristic of america. the remaining land-birds form a most singular group of finches, related to each other in the structure of their beaks, short tails, form of body and plumage: there are thirteen species, which mr. gould has divided into four sub-groups. all these species are peculiar to this archipelago; and so is the whole group, with the exception of one species of the sub-group cactornis, lately brought from bow island, in the low archipelago. of cactornis, the two species may be often seen climbing about the flowers of the great cactus-trees; but all the other species of this group of finches, mingled together in flocks, feed on the dry and sterile ground of the lower districts. the males of all, or certainly of the greater number, are jet black; and the females (with perhaps one or two exceptions) are brown. the most curious fact is the perfect gradation in the size of the beaks in the different species of geospiza, from one as large as that of a hawfinch to that of a chaffinch, and (if mr. gould is right in including his sub-group, certhidea, in the main group) even to that of a warbler. the largest beak in the genus geospiza is shown in fig. , and the smallest in fig. ; but instead of there being only one intermediate species, with a beak of the size shown in fig. , there are no less than six species with insensibly graduated beaks. the beak of the sub-group certhidea, is shown in fig. . the beak of cactornis is [picture] . geospiza magnirostris. . geospiza fortis. . geospiza parvula. . certhidea olivasea. somewhat like that of a starling, and that of the fourth sub-group, camarhynchus, is slightly parrot-shaped. seeing this gradation and diversity of structure in one small, intimately related group of birds, one might really fancy that from an original paucity of birds in this archipelago, one species had been taken and modified for different ends. in a like manner it might be fancied that a bird originally a buzzard, had been induced here to undertake the office of the carrion-feeding polybori of the american continent. of waders and water-birds i was able to get only eleven kinds, and of these only three (including a rail confined to the damp summits of the islands) are new species. considering the wandering habits of the gulls, i was surprised to find that the species inhabiting these islands is peculiar, but allied to one from the southern parts of south america. the far greater peculiarity of the land-birds, namely, twenty-five out of twenty-six, being new species, or at least new races, compared with the waders and web-footed birds, is in accordance with the greater range which these latter orders have in all parts of the world. we shall hereafter see this law of aquatic forms, whether marine or fresh-water, being less peculiar at any given point of the earth's surface than the terrestrial forms of the same classes, strikingly illustrated in the shells, and in a lesser degree in the insects of this archipelago. two of the waders are rather smaller than the same species brought from other places: the swallow is also smaller, though it is doubtful whether or not it is distinct from its analogue. the two owls, the two tyrant-catchers (pyrocephalus) and the dove, are also smaller than the analogous but distinct species, to which they are most nearly related; on the other hand, the gull is rather larger. the two owls, the swallow, all three species of mocking-thrush, the dove in its separate colours though not in its whole plumage, the totanus, and the gull, are likewise duskier coloured than their analogous species; and in the case of the mocking-thrush and totanus, than any other species of the two genera. with the exception of a wren with a fine yellow breast, and of a tyrant-flycatcher with a scarlet tuft and breast, none of the birds are brilliantly coloured, as might have been expected in an equatorial district. hence it would appear probable, that the same causes which here make the immigrants of some peculiar species smaller, make most of the peculiar galapageian species also smaller, as well as very generally more dusky coloured. all the plants have a wretched, weedy appearance, and i did not see one beautiful flower. the insects, again, are small-sized and dull-coloured, and, as mr. waterhouse informs me, there is nothing in their general appearance which would have led him to imagine that they had come from under the equator. [ ] the birds, plants, and insects have a desert character, and are not more brilliantly coloured than those from southern patagonia; we may, therefore, conclude that the usual gaudy colouring of the intertropical productions, is not related either to the heat or light of those zones, but to some other cause, perhaps to the conditions of existence being generally favourable to life. we will now turn to the order of reptiles, which gives the most striking character to the zoology of these islands. the species are not numerous, but the numbers of individuals of each species are extraordinarily great. there is one small lizard belonging to a south american genus, and two species (and probably more) of the amblyrhynchus--a genus confined to the galapagos islands. there is one snake which is numerous; it is identical, as i am informed by m. bibron, with the psammophis temminckii from chile. [ ] of sea-turtle i believe there are more than one species, and of tortoises there are, as we shall presently show, two or three species or races. of toads and frogs there are none: i was surprised at this, considering how well suited for them the temperate and damp upper woods appeared to be. it recalled to my mind the remark made by bory st. vincent, [ ] namely, that none of this family are found on any of the volcanic islands in the great oceans. as far as i can ascertain from various works, this seems to hold good throughout the pacific, and even in the large islands of the sandwich archipelago. mauritius offers an apparent exception, where i saw the rana mascariensis in abundance: this frog is said now to inhabit the seychelles, madagascar, and bourbon; but on the other hand, du bois, in his voyage in , states that there were no reptiles in bourbon except tortoises; and the officier du roi asserts that before it had been attempted, without success, to introduce frogs into mauritius--i presume for the purpose of eating: hence it may be well doubted whether this frog is an aboriginal of these islands. the absence of the frog family in the oceanic islands is the more remarkable, when contrasted with the case of lizards, which swarm on most of the smallest islands. may this difference not be caused, by the greater facility with which the eggs of lizards, protected by calcareous shells might be transported through salt-water, than could the slimy spawn of frogs? i will first describe the habits of the tortoise (testudo nigra, formerly called indica), which has been so frequently alluded to. these animals are found, i believe, on all the islands of the archipelago; certainly on the greater number. they frequent in preference the high damp parts, but they likewise live in the lower and arid districts. i have already shown, from the numbers which have been caught in a single day, how very numerous they must be. some grow to an immense size: mr. lawson, an englishman, and vice-governor of the colony, told us that he had seen several so large, that it required six or eight men to lift them from the ground; and that some had afforded as much as two hundred pounds of meat. the old males are the largest, the females rarely growing to so great a size: the male can readily be distinguished from the female by the greater length of its tail. the tortoises which live on those islands where there is no water, or in the lower and arid parts of the others, feed chiefly on the succulent cactus. those which frequent the higher and damp regions, eat the leaves of various trees, a kind of berry (called guayavita) which is acid and austere, and likewise a pale green filamentous lichen (usnera plicata), that hangs from the boughs of the trees. the tortoise is very fond of water, drinking large quantities, and wallowing in the mud. the larger islands alone possess springs, and these are always situated towards the central parts, and at a considerable height. the tortoises, therefore, which frequent the lower districts, when thirsty, are obliged to travel from a long distance. hence broad and well-beaten paths branch off in every direction from the wells down to the sea-coast; and the spaniards by following them up, first discovered the watering-places. when i landed at chatham island, i could not imagine what animal travelled so methodically along well-chosen tracks. near the springs it was a curious spectacle to behold many of these huge creatures, one set eagerly travelling onwards with outstretched necks, and another set returning, after having drunk their fill. when the tortoise arrives at the spring, quite regardless of any spectator, he buries his head in the water above his eyes, and greedily swallows great mouthfuls, at the rate of about ten in a minute. the inhabitants say each animal stays three or four days in the neighbourhood of the water, and then returns to the lower country; but they differed respecting the frequency of these visits. the animal probably regulates them according to the nature of the food on which it has lived. it is, however, certain, that tortoises can subsist even on these islands where there is no other water than what falls during a few rainy days in the year. i believe it is well ascertained, that the bladder of the frog acts as a reservoir for the moisture necessary to its existence: such seems to be the case with the tortoise. for some time after a visit to the springs, their urinary bladders are distended with fluid, which is said gradually to decrease in volume, and to become less pure. the inhabitants, when walking in the lower district, and overcome with thirst, often take advantage of this circumstance, and drink the contents of the bladder if full: in one i saw killed, the fluid was quite limpid, and had only a very slightly bitter taste. the inhabitants, however, always first drink the water in the pericardium, which is described as being best. the tortoises, when purposely moving towards any point, travel by night and day, and arrive at their journey's end much sooner than would be expected. the inhabitants, from observing marked individuals, consider that they travel a distance of about eight miles in two or three days. one large tortoise, which i watched, walked at the rate of sixty yards in ten minutes, that is yards in the hour, or four miles a day,--allowing a little time for it to eat on the road. during the breeding season, when the male and female are together, the male utters a hoarse roar or bellowing, which, it is said, can be heard at the distance of more than a hundred yards. the female never uses her voice, and the male only at these times; so that when the people hear this noise, they know that the two are together. they were at this time (october) laying their eggs. the female, where the soil is sandy, deposits them together, and covers them up with sand; but where the ground is rocky she drops them indiscriminately in any hole: mr. bynoe found seven placed in a fissure. the egg is white and spherical; one which i measured was seven inches and three-eighths in circumference, and therefore larger than a hen's egg. the young tortoises, as soon as they are hatched, fall a prey in great numbers to the carrion-feeding buzzard. the old ones seem generally to die from accidents, as from falling down precipices: at least, several of the inhabitants told me, that they never found one dead without some evident cause. the inhabitants believe that these animals are absolutely deaf; certainly they do not overhear a person walking close behind them. i was always amused when overtaking one of these great monsters, as it was quietly pacing along, to see how suddenly, the instant i passed, it would draw in its head and legs, and uttering a deep hiss fall to the ground with a heavy sound, as if struck dead. i frequently got on their backs, and then giving a few raps on the hinder part of their shells, they would rise up and walk away;--but i found it very difficult to keep my balance. the flesh of this animal is largely employed, both fresh and salted; and a beautifully clear oil is prepared from the fat. when a tortoise is caught, the man makes a slit in the skin near its tail, so as to see inside its body, whether the fat under the dorsal plate is thick. if it is not, the animal is liberated and it is said to recover soon from this strange operation. in order to secure the tortoise, it is not sufficient to turn them like turtle, for they are often able to get on their legs again. there can be little doubt that this tortoise is an aboriginal inhabitant of the galapagos; for it is found on all, or nearly all, the islands, even on some of the smaller ones where there is no water; had it been an imported species, this would hardly have been the case in a group which has been so little frequented. moreover, the old bucaniers found this tortoise in greater numbers even than at present: wood and rogers also, in , say that it is the opinion of the spaniards, that it is found nowhere else in this quarter of the world. it is now widely distributed; but it may be questioned whether it is in any other place an aboriginal. the bones of a tortoise at mauritius, associated with those of the extinct dodo, have generally been considered as belonging to this tortoise; if this had been so, undoubtedly it must have been there indigenous; but m. bibron informs me that he believes that it was distinct, as the species now living there certainly is. the amblyrhynchus, a remarkable genus of lizards, is confined to this archipelago; there are two species, resembling [picture] each other in general form, one being terrestrial and the other aquatic. this latter species (a. cristatus) was first characterized by mr. bell, who well foresaw, from its short, broad head, and strong claws of equal length, that its habits of life would turn out very peculiar, and different from those of its nearest ally, the iguana. it is extremely common on all the islands throughout the group, and lives exclusively on the rocky sea-beaches, being never found, at least i never saw one, even ten yards in-shore. it is a hideous-looking creature, of a dirty black colour, stupid, and sluggish in its movements. the usual length of a full-grown one is about a yard, but there are some even four feet long; a large one weighed twenty pounds: on the island of albemarle they seem to grow to a greater size than elsewhere. their tails are flattened sideways, and all four feet partially webbed. they are occasionally seen some hundred yards from the shore, swimming about; and captain collnett, in his voyage says, "they go to sea in herds a-fishing, and sun themselves on the rocks; and may be called alligators in miniature." it must not, however, be supposed that they live on fish. when in the water this lizard swims with perfect ease and quickness, by a serpentine movement of its body and flattened tail--the legs being motionless and closely collapsed on its sides. a seaman on board sank one, with a heavy weight attached to it, thinking thus to kill it directly; but when, an hour afterwards, he drew up the line, it was quite active. their limbs and strong claws are admirably adapted for crawling over the rugged and fissured masses of lava, which everywhere form the coast. in such situations, a group of six or seven of these hideous reptiles may oftentimes be seen on the black rocks, a few feet above the surf, basking in the sun with outstretched legs. i opened the stomachs of several, and found them largely distended with minced sea-weed (ulvae), which grows in thin foliaceous expansions of a bright green or a dull red colour. i do not recollect having observed this sea-weed in any quantity on the tidal rocks; and i have reason to believe it grows at the bottom of the sea, at some little distance from the coast. if such be the case, the object of these animals occasionally going out to sea is explained. the stomach contained nothing but the sea-weed. mr. baynoe, however, found a piece of crab in one; but this might have got in accidentally, in the same manner as i have seen a caterpillar, in the midst of some lichen, in the paunch of a tortoise. the intestines were large, as in other herbivorous animals. the nature of this lizard's food, as well as the structure of its tail and feet, and the fact of its having been seen voluntarily swimming out at sea, absolutely prove its aquatic habits; yet there is in this respect one strange anomaly, namely, that when frightened it will not enter the water. hence it is easy to drive these lizards down to any little point overhanging the sea, where they will sooner allow a person to catch hold of their tails than jump into the water. they do not seem to have any notion of biting; but when much frightened they squirt a drop of fluid from each nostril. i threw one several times as far as i could, into a deep pool left by the retiring tide; but it invariably returned in a direct line to the spot where i stood. it swam near the bottom, with a very graceful and rapid movement, and occasionally aided itself over the uneven ground with its feet. as soon as it arrived near the edge, but still being under water, it tried to conceal itself in the tufts of sea-weed, or it entered some crevice. as soon as it thought the danger was past, it crawled out on the dry rocks, and shuffled away as quickly as it could. i several times caught this same lizard, by driving it down to a point, and though possessed of such perfect powers of diving and swimming, nothing would induce it to enter the water; and as often as i threw it in, it returned in the manner above described. perhaps this singular piece of apparent stupidity may be accounted for by the circumstance, that this reptile has no enemy whatever on shore, whereas at sea it must often fall a prey to the numerous sharks. hence, probably, urged by a fixed and hereditary instinct that the shore is its place of safety, whatever the emergency may be, it there takes refuge. during our visit (in october), i saw extremely few small individuals of this species, and none i should think under a year old. from this circumstance it seems probable that the breeding season had not then commenced. i asked several of the inhabitants if they knew where it laid its eggs: they said that they knew nothing of its propagation, although well acquainted with the eggs of the land kind--a fact, considering how very common this lizard is, not a little extraordinary. we will now turn to the terrestrial species (a. demarlii), with a round tail, and toes without webs. this lizard, instead of being found like the other on all the islands, is confined to the central part of the archipelago, namely to albemarle, james, barrington, and indefatigable islands. to the southward, in charles, hood, and chatham islands, and to the northward, in towers, bindloes, and abingdon, i neither saw nor heard of any. it would appear as if it had been created in the centre of the archipelago, and thence had been dispersed only to a certain distance. some of these lizards inhabit the high and damp parts of the islands, but they are much more numerous in the lower and sterile districts near the coast. i cannot give a more forcible proof of their numbers, than by stating that when we were left at james island, we could not for some time find a spot free from their burrows on which to pitch our single tent. like their brothers the sea-kind, they are ugly animals, of a yellowish orange beneath, and of a brownish red colour above: from their low facial angle they have a singularly stupid appearance. they are, perhaps, of a rather less size than the marine species; but several of them weighed between ten and fifteen pounds. in their movements they are lazy and half torpid. when not frightened, they slowly crawl along with their tails and bellies dragging on the ground. they often stop, and doze for a minute or two, with closed eyes and hind legs spread out on the parched soil. they inhabit burrows, which they sometimes make between fragments of lava, but more generally on level patches of the soft sandstone-like tuff. the holes do not appear to be very deep, and they enter the ground at a small angle; so that when walking over these lizard-warrens, the soil is constantly giving way, much to the annoyance of the tired walker. this animal, when making its burrow, works alternately the opposite sides of its body. one front leg for a short time scratches up the soil, and throws it towards the hind foot, which is well placed so as to heave it beyond the mouth of the hole. that side of the body being tired, the other takes up the task, and so on alternately. i watched one for a long time, till half its body was buried; i then walked up and pulled it by the tail, at this it was greatly astonished, and soon shuffled up to see what was the matter; and then stared me in the face, as much as to say, "what made you pull my tail?" they feed by day, and do not wander far from their burrows; if frightened, they rush to them with a most awkward gait. except when running down hill, they cannot move very fast, apparently from the lateral position of their legs. they are not at all timorous: when attentively watching any one, they curl their tails, and, raising themselves on their front legs, nod their heads vertically, with a quick movement, and try to look very fierce; but in reality they are not at all so: if one just stamps on the ground, down go their tails, and off they shuffle as quickly as they can. i have frequently observed small fly-eating lizards, when watching anything, nod their heads in precisely the same manner; but i do not at all know for what purpose. if this amblyrhynchus is held and plagued with a stick, it will bite it very severely; but i caught many by the tail, and they never tried to bite me. if two are placed on the ground and held together, they will fight, and bite each other till blood is drawn. the individuals, and they are the greater number, which inhabit the lower country, can scarcely taste a drop of water throughout the year; but they consume much of the succulent cactus, the branches of which are occasionally broken off by the wind. i several times threw a piece to two or three of them when together; and it was amusing enough to see them trying to seize and carry it away in their mouths, like so many hungry dogs with a bone. they eat very deliberately, but do not chew their food. the little birds are aware how harmless these creatures are: i have seen one of the thick-billed finches picking at one end of a piece of cactus (which is much relished by all the animals of the lower region), whilst a lizard was eating at the other end; and afterwards the little bird with the utmost indifference hopped on the back of the reptile. i opened the stomachs of several, and found them full of vegetable fibres and leaves of different trees, especially of an acacia. in the upper region they live chiefly on the acid and astringent berries of the guayavita, under which trees i have seen these lizards and the huge tortoises feeding together. to obtain the acacia-leaves they crawl up the low stunted trees; and it is not uncommon to see a pair quietly browsing, whilst seated on a branch several feet above the ground. these lizards, when cooked, yield a white meat, which is liked by those whose stomachs soar above all prejudices. humboldt has remarked that in intertropical south america, all lizards which inhabit dry regions are esteemed delicacies for the table. the inhabitants state that those which inhabit the upper damp parts drink water, but that the others do not, like the tortoises, travel up for it from the lower sterile country. at the time of our visit, the females had within their bodies numerous, large, elongated eggs, which they lay in their burrows: the inhabitants seek them for food. these two species of amblyrhynchus agree, as i have already stated, in their general structure, and in many of their habits. neither have that rapid movement, so characteristic of the genera lacerta and iguana. they are both herbivorous, although the kind of vegetation on which they feed is so very different. mr. bell has given the name to the genus from the shortness of the snout: indeed, the form of the mouth may almost be compared to that of the tortoise: one is led to suppose that this is an adaptation to their herbivorous appetites. it is very interesting thus to find a well-characterized genus, having its marine and terrestrial species, belonging to so confined a portion of the world. the aquatic species is by far the most remarkable, because it is the only existing lizard which lives on marine vegetable productions. as i at first observed, these islands are not so remarkable for the number of the species of reptiles, as for that of the individuals, when we remember the well-beaten paths made by the thousands of huge tortoises--the many turtles--the great warrens of the terrestrial amblyrhynchus--and the groups of the marine species basking on the coast-rocks of every island--we must admit that there is no other quarter of the world where this order replaces the herbivorous mammalia in so extraordinary a manner. the geologist on hearing this will probably refer back in his mind to the secondary epochs, when lizards, some herbivorous, some carnivorous, and of dimensions comparable only with our existing whales, swarmed on the land and in the sea. it is, therefore, worthy of his observation, that this archipelago, instead of possessing a humid climate and rank vegetation, cannot be considered otherwise than extremely arid, and, for an equatorial region, remarkably temperate. to finish with the zoology: the fifteen kinds of sea-fish which i procured here are all new species; they belong to twelve genera, all widely distributed, with the exception of prionotus, of which the four previously known species live on the eastern side of america. of land-shells i collected sixteen kinds (and two marked varieties), of which, with the exception of one helix found at tahiti, all are peculiar to this archipelago: a single fresh-water shell (paludina) is common to tahiti and van diemen's land. mr. cuming, before our voyage procured here ninety species of sea-shells, and this does not include several species not yet specifically examined, of trochus, turbo, monodonta, and nassa. he has been kind enough to give me the following interesting results: of the ninety shells, no less than forty-seven are unknown elsewhere--a wonderful fact, considering how widely distributed sea-shells generally are. of the forty-three shells found in other parts of the world, twenty-five inhabit the western coast of america, and of these eight are distinguishable as varieties; the remaining eighteen (including one variety) were found by mr. cuming in the low archipelago, and some of them also at the philippines. this fact of shells from islands in the central parts of the pacific occurring here, deserves notice, for not one single sea-shell is known to be common to the islands of that ocean and to the west coast of america. the space of open sea running north and south off the west coast, separates two quite distinct conchological provinces; but at the galapagos archipelago we have a halting-place, where many new forms have been created, and whither these two great conchological provinces have each sent up several colonists. the american province has also sent here representative species; for there is a galapageian species of monoceros, a genus only found on the west coast of america; and there are galapageian species of fissurella and cancellaria, genera common on the west coast, but not found (as i am informed by mr. cuming) in the central islands of the pacific. on the other hand, there are galapageian species of oniscia and stylifer, genera common to the west indies and to the chinese and indian seas, but not found either on the west coast of america or in the central pacific. i may here add, that after the comparison by messrs. cuming and hinds of about shells from the eastern and western coasts of america, only one single shell was found in common, namely, the purpura patula, which inhabits the west indies, the coast of panama, and the galapagos. we have, therefore, in this quarter of the world, three great conchological sea-provinces, quite distinct, though surprisingly near each other, being separated by long north and south spaces either of land or of open sea. i took great pains in collecting the insects, but excepting tierra del fuego, i never saw in this respect so poor a country. even in the upper and damp region i procured very few, excepting some minute diptera and hymenoptera, mostly of common mundane forms. as before remarked, the insects, for a tropical region, are of very small size and dull colours. of beetles i collected twenty-five species (excluding a dermestes and corynetes imported, wherever a ship touches); of these, two belong to the harpalidae, two to the hydrophilidae, nine to three families of the heteromera, and the remaining twelve to as many different families. this circumstance of insects (and i may add plants), where few in number, belonging to many different families, is, i believe, very general. mr. waterhouse, who has published [ ] an account of the insects of this archipelago, and to whom i am indebted for the above details, informs me that there are several new genera: and that of the genera not new, one or two are american, and the rest of mundane distribution. with the exception of a wood-feeding apate, and of one or probably two water-beetles from the american continent, all the species appear to be new. the botany of this group is fully as interesting as the zoology. dr. j. hooker will soon publish in the "linnean transactions" a full account of the flora, and i am much indebted to him for the following details. of flowering plants there are, as far as at present is known, species, and cryptogamic species, making altogether ; of this number i was fortunate enough to bring home . of the flowering plants, are new species, and are probably confined to this archipelago. dr. hooker conceives that, of the plants not so confined, at least species found near the cultivated ground at charles island, have been imported. it is, i think, surprising that more american species have not been introduced naturally, considering that the distance is only between and miles from the continent, and that (according to collnet, p. ) drift-wood, bamboos, canes, and the nuts of a palm, are often washed on the south-eastern shores. the proportion of flowering plants out of (or excluding the imported weeds) being new, is sufficient, i conceive, to make the galapagos archipelago a distinct botanical province; but this flora is not nearly so peculiar as that of st. helena, nor, as i am informed by dr. hooker, of juan fernandez. the peculiarity of the galapageian flora is best shown in certain families;--thus there are species of compositae, of which are peculiar to this archipelago; these belong to twelve genera, and of these genera no less than ten are confined to the archipelago! dr. hooker informs me that the flora has an undoubtedly western american character; nor can he detect in it any affinity with that of the pacific. if, therefore, we except the eighteen marine, the one fresh-water, and one land-shell, which have apparently come here as colonists from the central islands of the pacific, and likewise the one distinct pacific species of the galapageian group of finches, we see that this archipelago, though standing in the pacific ocean, is zoologically part of america. if this character were owing merely to immigrants from america, there would be little remarkable in it; but we see that a vast majority of all the land animals, and that more than half of the flowering plants, are aboriginal productions. it was most striking to be surrounded by new birds, new reptiles, new shells, new insects, new plants, and yet by innumerable trifling details of structure, and even by the tones of voice and plumage of the birds, to have the temperate plains of patagonia, or rather the hot dry deserts of northern chile, vividly brought before my eyes. why, on these small points of land, which within a late geological period must have been covered by the ocean, which are formed by basaltic lava, and therefore differ in geological character from the american continent, and which are placed under a peculiar climate,--why were their aboriginal inhabitants, associated, i may add, in different proportions both in kind and number from those on the continent, and therefore acting on each other in a different manner--why were they created on american types of organization? it is probable that the islands of the cape de verd group resemble, in all their physical conditions, far more closely the galapagos islands, than these latter physically resemble the coast of america, yet the aboriginal inhabitants of the two groups are totally unlike; those of the cape de verd islands bearing the impress of africa, as the inhabitants of the galapagos archipelago are stamped with that of america. i have not as yet noticed by far the most remarkable feature in the natural history of this archipelago; it is, that the different islands to a considerable extent are inhabited by a different set of beings. my attention was first called to this fact by the vice-governor, mr. lawson, declaring that the tortoises differed from the different islands, and that he could with certainty tell from which island any one was brought. i did not for some time pay sufficient attention to this statement, and i had already partially mingled together the collections from two of the islands. i never dreamed that islands, about or miles apart, and most of them in sight of each other, formed of precisely the same rocks, placed under a quite similar climate, rising to a nearly equal height, would have been differently tenanted; but we shall soon see that this is the case. it is the fate of most voyagers, no sooner to discover what is most interesting in any locality, than they are hurried from it; but i ought, perhaps, to be thankful that i obtained sufficient materials to establish this most remarkable fact in the distribution of organic beings. the inhabitants, as i have said, state that they can distinguish the tortoises from the different islands; and that they differ not only in size, but in other characters. captain porter has described [ ] those from charles and from the nearest island to it, namely, hood island, as having their shells in front thick and turned up like a spanish saddle, whilst the tortoises from james island are rounder, blacker, and have a better taste when cooked. m. bibron, moreover, informs me that he has seen what he considers two distinct species of tortoise from the galapagos, but he does not know from which islands. the specimens that i brought from three islands were young ones: and probably owing to this cause neither mr. gray nor myself could find in them any specific differences. i have remarked that the marine amblyrhynchus was larger at albemarle island than elsewhere; and m. bibron informs me that he has seen two distinct aquatic species of this genus; so that the different islands probably have their representative species or races of the amblyrhynchus, as well as of the tortoise. my attention was first thoroughly aroused, by comparing together the numerous specimens, shot by myself and several other parties on board, of the mocking-thrushes, when, to my astonishment, i discovered that all those from charles island belonged to one species (mimus trifasciatus) all from albemarle island to m. parvulus; and all from james and chatham islands (between which two other islands are situated, as connecting links) belonged to m. melanotis. these two latter species are closely allied, and would by some ornithologists be considered as only well-marked races or varieties; but the mimus trifasciatus is very distinct. unfortunately most of the specimens of the finch tribe were mingled together; but i have strong reasons to suspect that some of the species of the sub-group geospiza are confined to separate islands. if the different islands have their representatives of geospiza, it may help to explain the singularly large number of the species of this sub-group in this one small archipelago, and as a probable consequence of their numbers, the perfectly graduated series in the size of their beaks. two species of the sub-group cactornis, and two of the camarhynchus, were procured in the archipelago; and of the numerous specimens of these two sub-groups shot by four collectors at james island, all were found to belong to one species of each; whereas the numerous specimens shot either on chatham or charles island (for the two sets were mingled together) all belonged to the two other species: hence we may feel almost sure that these islands possess their respective species of these two sub-groups. in land-shells this law of distribution does not appear to hold good. in my very small collection of insects, mr. waterhouse remarks, that of those which were ticketed with their locality, not one was common to any two of the islands. if we now turn to the flora, we shall find the aboriginal plants of the different islands wonderfully different. i give all the following results on the high authority of my friend dr. j. hooker. i may premise that i indiscriminately collected everything in flower on the different islands, and fortunately kept my collections separate. too much confidence, however, must not be placed in the proportional results, as the small collections brought home by some other naturalists though in some respects confirming the results, plainly show that much remains to be done in the botany of this group: the leguminosae, moreover, has as yet been only approximately worked out:-- ---------------------------------------------------------------- number of species confined to the number of number of galapagos species species number archipelago total found in confined confined but found name number other to the to the on more of of parts of galapagos one than the island species the world archipelago island one island ---------------------------------------------------------------- james albemarle chatham charles (or , if the probably imported plants be subtracted.) ---------------------------------------------------------------- hence we have the truly wonderful fact, that in james island, of the thirty-eight galapageian plants, or those found in no other part of the world, thirty are exclusively confined to this one island; and in albemarle island, of the twenty-six aboriginal galapageian plants, twenty-two are confined to this one island, that is, only four are at present known to grow in the other islands of the archipelago; and so on, as shown in the above table, with the plants from chatham and charles islands. this fact will, perhaps, be rendered even more striking, by giving a few illustrations:--thus, scalesia, a remarkable arborescent genus of the compositae, is confined to the archipelago: it has six species: one from chatham, one from albemarle, one from charles island, two from james island, and the sixth from one of the three latter islands, but it is not known from which: not one of these six species grows on any two islands. again, euphorbia, a mundane or widely distributed genus, has here eight species, of which seven are confined to the archipelago, and not one found on any two islands: acalypha and borreria, both mundane genera, have respectively six and seven species, none of which have the same species on two islands, with the exception of one borreria, which does occur on two islands. the species of the compositae are particularly local; and dr. hooker has furnished me with several other most striking illustrations of the difference of the species on the different islands. he remarks that this law of distribution holds good both with those genera confined to the archipelago, and those distributed in other quarters of the world: in like manner we have seen that the different islands have their proper species of the mundane genus of tortoise, and of the widely distributed american genus of the mocking-thrush, as well as of two of the galapageian sub-groups of finches, and almost certainly of the galapageian genus amblyrhynchus. the distribution of the tenants of this archipelago would not be nearly so wonderful, if, for instance, one island had a mocking-thrush, and a second island some other quite distinct genus,--if one island had its genus of lizard, and a second island another distinct genus, or none whatever;--or if the different islands were inhabited, not by representative species of the same genera of plants, but by totally different genera, as does to a certain extent hold good: for, to give one instance, a large berry-bearing tree at james island has no representative species in charles island. but it is the circumstance, that several of the islands possess their own species of the tortoise, mocking-thrush, finches, and numerous plants, these species having the same general habits, occupying analogous situations, and obviously filling the same place in the natural economy of this archipelago, that strikes me with wonder. it may be suspected that some of these representative species, at least in the case of the tortoise and of some of the birds, may hereafter prove to be only well-marked races; but this would be of equally great interest to the philosophical naturalist. i have said that most of the islands are in sight of each other: i may specify that charles island is fifty miles from the nearest part of chatham island, and thirty-three miles from the nearest part of albemarle island. chatham island is sixty miles from the nearest part of james island, but there are two intermediate islands between them which were not visited by me. james island is only ten miles from the nearest part of albemarle island, but the two points where the collections were made are thirty-two miles apart. i must repeat, that neither the nature of the soil, nor height of the land, nor the climate, nor the general character of the associated beings, and therefore their action one on another, can differ much in the different islands. if there be any sensible difference in their climates, it must be between the windward group (namely, charles and chatham islands), and that to leeward; but there seems to be no corresponding difference in the productions of these two halves of the archipelago. the only light which i can throw on this remarkable difference in the inhabitants of the different islands, is, that very strong currents of the sea running in a westerly and w.n.w. direction must separate, as far as transportal by the sea is concerned, the southern islands from the northern ones; and between these northern islands a strong n.w. current was observed, which must effectually separate james and albemarle islands. as the archipelago is free to a most remarkable degree from gales of wind, neither the birds, insects, nor lighter seeds, would be blown from island to island. and lastly, the profound depth of the ocean between the islands, and their apparently recent (in a geological sense) volcanic origin, render it highly unlikely that they were ever united; and this, probably, is a far more important consideration than any other, with respect to the geographical distribution of their inhabitants. reviewing the facts here given, one is astonished at the amount of creative force, if such an expression may be used, displayed on these small, barren, and rocky islands; and still more so, at its diverse yet analogous action on points so near each other. i have said that the galapagos archipelago might be called a satellite attached to america, but it should rather be called a group of satellites, physically similar, organically distinct, yet intimately related to each other, and all related in a marked, though much lesser degree, to the great american continent. i will conclude my description of the natural history of these islands, by giving an account of the extreme tameness of the birds. this disposition is common to all the terrestrial species; namely, to the mocking-thrushes, the finches, wrens, tyrant-flycatchers, the dove, and carrion-buzzard. all of them are often approached sufficiently near to be killed with a switch, and sometimes, as i myself tried, with a cap or hat. a gun is here almost superfluous; for with the muzzle i pushed a hawk off the branch of a tree. one day, whilst lying down, a mocking-thrush alighted on the edge of a pitcher, made of the shell of a tortoise, which i held in my hand, and began very quietly to sip the water; it allowed me to lift it from the ground whilst seated on the vessel: i often tried, and very nearly succeeded, in catching these birds by their legs. formerly the birds appear to have been even tamer than at present. cowley (in the year ) says that the "turtledoves were so tame, that they would often alight on our hats and arms, so as that we could take them alive, they not fearing man, until such time as some of our company did fire at them, whereby they were rendered more shy." dampier also, in the same year, says that a man in a morning's walk might kill six or seven dozen of these doves. at present, although certainly very tame, they do not alight on people's arms, nor do they suffer themselves to be killed in such large numbers. it is surprising that they have not become wilder; for these islands during the last hundred and fifty years have been frequently visited by bucaniers and whalers; and the sailors, wandering through the wood in search of tortoises, always take cruel delight in knocking down the little birds. these birds, although now still more persecuted, do not readily become wild. in charles island, which had then been colonized about six years, i saw a boy sitting by a well with a switch in his hand, with which he killed the doves and finches as they came to drink. he had already procured a little heap of them for his dinner, and he said that he had constantly been in the habit of waiting by this well for the same purpose. it would appear that the birds of this archipelago, not having as yet learnt that man is a more dangerous animal than the tortoise or the amblyrhynchus, disregard him, in the same manner as in england shy birds, such as magpies, disregard the cows and horses grazing in our fields. the falkland islands offer a second instance of birds with a similar disposition. the extraordinary tameness of the little opetiorhynchus has been remarked by pernety, lesson, and other voyagers. it is not, however, peculiar to that bird: the polyborus, snipe, upland and lowland goose, thrush, bunting, and even some true hawks, are all more or less tame. as the birds are so tame there, where foxes, hawks, and owls occur, we may infer that the absence of all rapacious animals at the galapagos, is not the cause of their tameness here. the upland geese at the falklands show, by the precaution they take in building on the islets, that they are aware of their danger from the foxes; but they are not by this rendered wild towards man. this tameness of the birds, especially of the water-fowl, is strongly contrasted with the habits of the same species in tierra del fuego, where for ages past they have been persecuted by the wild inhabitants. in the falklands, the sportsman may sometimes kill more of the upland geese in one day than he can carry home; whereas in tierra del fuego it is nearly as difficult to kill one, as it is in england to shoot the common wild goose. in the time of pernety ( ), all the birds there appear to have been much tamer than at present; he states that the opetiorhynchus would almost perch on his finger; and that with a wand he killed ten in half an hour. at that period the birds must have been about as tame as they now are at the galapagos. they appear to have learnt caution more slowly at these latter islands than at the falklands, where they have had proportionate means of experience; for besides frequent visits from vessels, those islands have been at intervals colonized during the entire period. even formerly, when all the birds were so tame, it was impossible by pernety's account to kill the black-necked swan--a bird of passage, which probably brought with it the wisdom learnt in foreign countries. i may add that, according to du bois, all the birds at bourbon in - , with the exception of the flamingoes and geese, were so extremely tame, that they could be caught by the hand, or killed in any number with a stick. again, at tristan d'acunha in the atlantic, carmichael [ ] states that the only two land-birds, a thrush and a bunting, were "so tame as to suffer themselves to be caught with a hand-net." from these several facts we may, i think, conclude, first, that the wildness of birds with regard to man, is a particular instinct directed against _him_, and not dependent upon any general degree of caution arising from other sources of danger; secondly, that it is not acquired by individual birds in a short time, even when much persecuted; but that in the course of successive generations it becomes hereditary. with domesticated animals we are accustomed to see new mental habits or instincts acquired or rendered hereditary; but with animals in a state of nature, it must always be most difficult to discover instances of acquired hereditary knowledge. in regard to the wildness of birds towards man, there is no way of accounting for it, except as an inherited habit: comparatively few young birds, in any one year, have been injured by man in england, yet almost all, even nestlings, are afraid of him; many individuals, on the other hand, both at the galapagos and at the falklands, have been pursued and injured by man, yet have not learned a salutary dread of him. we may infer from these facts, what havoc the introduction of any new beast of prey must cause in a country, before the instincts of the indigenous inhabitants have become adapted to the stranger's craft or power. [ ] the progress of research has shown that some of these birds, which were then thought to be confined to the islands, occur on the american continent. the eminent ornithologist, mr. sclater, informs me that this is the case with the strix punctatissima and pyrocephalus nanus; and probably with the otus galapagoensis and zenaida galapagoensis: so that the number of endemic birds is reduced to twenty-three, or probably to twenty-one. mr. sclater thinks that one or two of these endemic forms should be ranked rather as varieties than species, which always seemed to me probable. [ ] this is stated by dr. gunther (zoolog. soc. jan th, ) to be a peculiar species, not known to inhabit any other country. [ ] voyage aux quatre iles d'afrique. with respect to the sandwich islands, see tyerman and bennett's journal, vol. i. p. . for mauritius, see voyage par un officier, etc., part i. p. . there are no frogs in the canary islands (webb et berthelot, hist. nat. des iles canaries). i saw none at st. jago in the cape de verds. there are none at st. helena. [ ] ann. and mag. of nat. hist., vol. xvi. p. . [ ] voyage in the u. s. ship essex, vol. i. p. . [ ] linn. trans., vol. xii. p. . the most anomalous fact on this subject which i have met with is the wildness of the small birds in the arctic parts of north america (as described by richardson, fauna bor., vol. ii. p. ), where they are said never to be persecuted. this case is the more strange, because it is asserted that some of the same species in their winter-quarters in the united states are tame. there is much, as dr. richardson well remarks, utterly inexplicable connected with the different degrees of shyness and care with which birds conceal their nests. how strange it is that the english wood-pigeon, generally so wild a bird, should very frequently rear its young in shrubberies close to houses! chapter xviii tahiti and new zealand pass through the low archipelago--tahiti--aspect--vegetation on the mountains--view of eimeo--excursion into the interior--profound ravines--succession of waterfalls--number of wild useful plants--temperance of the inhabitants--their moral state--parliament convened--new zealand--bay of islands--hippahs--excursion to waimate--missionary establishment--english weeds now run wild--waiomio--funeral of a new zealand woman--sail for australia. october th.--the survey of the galapagos archipelago being concluded, we steered towards tahiti and commenced our long passage of miles. in the course of a few days we sailed out of the gloomy and clouded ocean-district which extends during the winter far from the coast of south america. we then enjoyed bright and clear weather, while running pleasantly along at the rate of or miles a day before the steady trade-wind. the temperature in this more central part of the pacific is higher than near the american shore. the thermometer in the poop cabin, by night and day, ranged between and degs., which feels very pleasant; but with one degree or two higher, the heat becomes oppressive. we passed through the low or dangerous archipelago, and saw several of those most curious rings of coral land, just rising above the water's edge, which have been called lagoon islands. a long and brilliantly white beach is capped by a margin of green vegetation; and the strip, looking either way, rapidly narrows away in the distance, and sinks beneath the horizon from the mast-head a wide expanse of smooth water can be seen within the ring. these low hollow coral islands bear no proportion to the vast ocean out of which they abruptly rise; and it seems wonderful, that such weak invaders are not overwhelmed, by the all-powerful and never-tiring waves of that great sea, miscalled the pacific. november th.--at daylight, tahiti, an island which must for ever remain classical to the voyager in the south sea, was in view. at a distance the appearance was not attractive. the luxuriant vegetation of the lower part could not yet be seen, and as the clouds rolled past, the wildest and most precipitous peaks showed themselves towards the centre of the island. as soon as we anchored in matavai bay, we were surrounded by canoes. this was our sunday, but the monday of tahiti: if the case had been reversed, we should not have received a single visit; for the injunction not to launch a canoe on the sabbath is rigidly obeyed. after dinner we landed to enjoy all the delights produced by the first impressions of a new country, and that country the charming tahiti. a crowd of men, women, and children, was collected on the memorable point venus, ready to receive us with laughing, merry faces. they marshalled us towards the house of mr. wilson, the missionary of the district, who met us on the road, and gave us a very friendly reception. after sitting a very short time in his house, we separated to walk about, but returned there in the evening. the land capable of cultivation, is scarcely in any part more than a fringe of low alluvial soil, accumulated round the base of the mountains, and protected from the waves of the sea by a coral reef, which encircles the entire line of coast. within the reef there is an expanse of smooth water, like that of a lake, where the canoes of the natives can ply with safety and where ships anchor. the low land which comes down to the beach of coral-sand, is covered by the most beautiful productions of the intertropical regions. in the midst of bananas, orange, cocoa-nut, and bread-fruit trees, spots are cleared where yams, sweet potatoes, and sugar-cane, and pine-apples are cultivated. even the brushwood is an imported fruit-tree, namely, the guava, which from its abundance has become as noxious as a weed. in brazil i have often admired the varied beauty of the bananas, palms, and orange-trees contrasted together; and here we also have the bread-fruit, conspicuous from its large, glossy, and deeply digitated leaf. it is admirable to behold groves of a tree, sending forth its branches with the vigour of an english oak, loaded with large and most nutritious fruit. however seldom the usefulness of an object can account for the pleasure of beholding it, in the case of these beautiful woods, the knowledge of their high productiveness no doubt enters largely into the feeling of admiration. the little winding paths, cool from the surrounding shade, led to the scattered houses; the owners of which everywhere gave us a cheerful and most hospitable reception. i was pleased with nothing so much as with the inhabitants. there is a mildness in the expression of their countenances which at once banishes the idea of a savage; and intelligence which shows that they are advancing in civilization. the common people, when working, keep the upper part of their bodies quite naked; and it is then that the tahitians are seen to advantage. they are very tall, broad-shouldered, athletic, and well-proportioned. it has been remarked, that it requires little habit to make a dark skin more pleasing and natural to the eye of an european than his own colour. a white man bathing by the side of a tahitian, was like a plant bleached by the gardener's art compared with a fine dark green one growing vigorously in the open fields. most of the men are tattooed, and the ornaments follow the curvature of the body so gracefully, that they have a very elegant effect. one common pattern, varying in its details, is somewhat like the crown of a palm-tree. it springs from the central line of the back, and gracefully curls round both sides. the simile may be a fanciful one, but i thought the body of a man thus ornamented was like the trunk of a noble tree embraced by a delicate creeper. many of the elder people had their feet covered with small figures, so placed as to resemble a sock. this fashion, however, is partly gone by, and has been succeeded by others. here, although fashion is far from immutable, every one must abide by that prevailing in his youth. an old man has thus his age for ever stamped on his body, and he cannot assume the airs of a young dandy. the women are tattooed in the same manner as the men, and very commonly on their fingers. one unbecoming fashion is now almost universal: namely, shaving the hair from the upper part of the head, in a circular form, so as to leave only an outer ring. the missionaries have tried to persuade the people to change this habit; but it is the fashion, and that is a sufficient answer at tahiti, as well as at paris. i was much disappointed in the personal appearance of the women: they are far inferior in every respect to the men. the custom of wearing a white or scarlet flower in the back of the head, or through a small hole in each ear, is pretty. a crown of woven cocoa-nut leaves is also worn as a shade for the eyes. the women appear to be in greater want of some becoming costume even than the men. nearly all the natives understand a little english--that is, they know the names of common things; and by the aid of this, together with signs, a lame sort of conversation could be carried on. in returning in the evening to the boat, we stopped to witness a very pretty scene. numbers of children were playing on the beach, and had lighted bonfires which illumined the placid sea and surrounding trees; others, in circles, were singing tahitian verses. we seated ourselves on the sand, and joined their party. the songs were impromptu, and i believe related to our arrival: one little girl sang a line, which the rest took up in parts, forming a very pretty chorus. the whole scene made us unequivocally aware that we were seated on the shores of an island in the far-famed south sea. th.--this day is reckoned in the log-book as tuesday the th, instead of monday the th, owing to our, so far, successful chase of the sun. before breakfast the ship was hemmed in by a flotilla of canoes; and when the natives were allowed to come on board, i suppose there could not have been less than two hundred. it was the opinion of every one that it would have been difficult to have picked out an equal number from any other nation, who would have given so little trouble. everybody brought something for sale: shells were the main articles of trade. the tahitians now fully understand the value of money, and prefer it to old clothes or other articles. the various coins, however, of english and spanish denomination puzzle them, and they never seemed to think the small silver quite secure until changed into dollars. some of the chiefs have accumulated considerable sums of money. one chief, not long since, offered dollars (about pounds sterling) for a small vessel; and frequently they purchase whale-boats and horses at the rate of from to dollars. after breakfast i went on shore, and ascended the nearest slope to a height of between two and three thousand feet. the outer mountains are smooth and conical, but steep; and the old volcanic rocks, of which they are formed, have been cut through by many profound ravines, diverging from the central broken parts of the island to the coast. having crossed the narrow low girt of inhabited and fertile land, i followed a smooth steep ridge between two of the deep ravines. the vegetation was singular, consisting almost exclusively of small dwarf ferns, mingled higher up, with coarse grass; it was not very dissimilar from that on some of the welsh hills, and this so close above the orchard of tropical plants on the coast was very surprising. at the highest point, which i reached, trees again appeared. of the three zones of comparative luxuriance, the lower one owes its moisture, and therefore fertility, to its flatness; for, being scarcely raised above the level of the sea, the water from the higher land drains away slowly. the intermediate zone does not, like the upper one, reach into a damp and cloudy atmosphere, and therefore remains sterile. the woods in the upper zone are very pretty, tree-ferns replacing the cocoa-nuts on the coast. it must not, however, be supposed that these woods at all equal in splendour the forests of brazil. the vast numbers of productions, which characterize a continent, cannot be expected to occur in an island. from the highest point which i attained, there was a good view of the distant island of eimeo, dependent on the same sovereign with tahiti. on the lofty and broken pinnacles, white massive clouds were piled up, which formed an island in the blue sky, as eimeo itself did in the blue ocean. the island, with the exception of one small gateway, is completely encircled by a reef. at this distance, a narrow but well-defined brilliantly white line was alone visible, where the waves first encountered the wall of coral. the mountains rose abruptly out of the glassy expanse of the lagoon, included within this narrow white line, outside which the heaving waters of the ocean were dark-coloured. the view was striking: it may aptly be compared to a framed engraving, where the frame represents the breakers, the marginal paper the smooth lagoon, and the drawing the island itself. when in the evening i descended from the mountain, a man, whom i had pleased with a trifling gift, met me, bringing with him hot roasted bananas, a pine-apple, and cocoa-nuts. after walking under a burning sun, i do not know anything more delicious than the milk of a young cocoa-nut. pine-apples are here so abundant that the people eat them in the same wasteful manner as we might turnips. they are of an excellent flavor--perhaps even better than those cultivated in england; and this i believe is the highest compliment which can be paid to any fruit. before going on board, mr. wilson interpreted for me to the tahitian who had paid me so adroit an attention, that i wanted him and another man to accompany me on a short excursion into the mountains. th.--in the morning i came on shore early, bringing with me some provisions in a bag, and two blankets for myself and servant. these were lashed to each end of a long pole, which was alternately carried by my tahitian companions on their shoulders. these men are accustomed thus to carry, for a whole day, as much as fifty pounds at each end of their poles. i told my guides to provide themselves with food and clothing; but they said that there was plenty of food in the mountains, and for clothing, that their skins were sufficient. our line of march was the valley of tiaauru, down which a river flows into the sea by point venus. this is one of the principal streams in the island, and its source lies at the base of the loftiest central pinnacles, which rise to a height of about feet. the whole island is so mountainous that the only way to penetrate into the interior is to follow up the valleys. our road, at first, lay through woods which bordered each side of the river; and the glimpses of the lofty central peaks, seen as through an avenue, with here and there a waving cocoa-nut tree on one side, were extremely picturesque. the valley soon began to narrow, and the sides to grow lofty and more precipitous. after having walked between three and four hours, we found the width of the ravine scarcely exceeded that of the bed of the stream. on each hand the walls were nearly vertical, yet from the soft nature of the volcanic strata, trees and a rank vegetation sprung from every projecting ledge. these precipices must have been some thousand feet high; and the whole formed a mountain gorge far more magnificent than anything which i had ever before beheld. until the midday sun stood vertically over the ravine, the air felt cool and damp, but now it became very sultry. shaded by a ledge of rock, beneath a facade of columnar lava, we ate our dinner. my guides had already procured a dish of small fish and fresh-water prawns. they carried with them a small net stretched on a hoop; and where the water was deep and in eddies, they dived, and like otters, with their eyes open followed the fish into holes and corners, and thus caught them. the tahitians have the dexterity of amphibious animals in the water. an anecdote mentioned by ellis shows how much they feel at home in this element. when a horse was landing for pomarre in , the slings broke, and it fell into the water; immediately the natives jumped overboard, and by their cries and vain efforts at assistance almost drowned it. as soon, however, as it reached the shore, the whole population took to flight, and tried to hide themselves from the man-carrying pig, as they christened the horse. a little higher up, the river divided itself into three little streams. the two northern ones were impracticable, owing to a succession of waterfalls which descended from the jagged summit of the highest mountain; the other to all appearance was equally inaccessible, but we managed to ascend it by a most extraordinary road. the sides of the valley were here nearly precipitous, but, as frequently happens with stratified rocks, small ledges projected, which were thickly covered by wild bananas, lilaceous plants, and other luxuriant productions of the tropics. the tahitians, by climbing amongst these ledges, searching for fruit, had discovered a track by which the whole precipice could be scaled. the first ascent from the valley was very dangerous; for it was necessary to pass a steeply inclined face of naked rock, by the aid of ropes which we brought with us. how any person discovered that this formidable spot was the only point where the side of the mountain was practicable, i cannot imagine. we then cautiously walked along one of the ledges till we came to one of the three streams. this ledge formed a flat spot, above which a beautiful cascade, some hundred feet in height, poured down its waters, and beneath, another high cascade fell into the main stream in the valley below. from this cool and shady recess we made a circuit to avoid the overhanging waterfall. as before, we followed little projecting ledges, the danger being partly concealed by the thickness of the vegetation. in passing from one of the ledges to another, there was a vertical wall of rock. one of the tahitians, a fine active man, placed the trunk of a tree against this, climbed up it, and then by the aid of crevices reached the summit. he fixed the ropes to a projecting point, and lowered them for our dog and luggage, and then we clambered up ourselves. beneath the ledge on which the dead tree was placed, the precipice must have been five or six hundred feet deep; and if the abyss had not been partly concealed by the overhanging ferns and lilies my head would have turned giddy, and nothing should have induced me to have attempted it. we continued to ascend, sometimes along ledges, and sometimes along knife-edged ridges, having on each hand profound ravines. in the cordillera i have seen mountains on a far grander scale, but for abruptness, nothing at all comparable with this. in the evening we reached a flat little spot on the banks of the same stream, which we had continued to follow, and which descends in a chain of waterfalls: here we bivouacked for the night. on each side of the ravine there were great beds of the mountain-banana, covered with ripe fruit. many of these plants were from twenty to twenty-five feet high, and from three to four in circumference. by the aid of strips of bark for rope, the stems of bamboos for rafters, and the large leaf of the banana for a thatch, the tahitians in a few minutes built us an excellent house; and with withered leaves made a soft bed. they then proceeded to make a fire, and cook our evening meal. a light was procured, by rubbing a blunt pointed stick in a groove made in another, as if with intention of deepening it, until by the friction the dust became ignited. a peculiarly white and very light wood (the hibiscus tiliareus) is alone used for this purpose: it is the same which serves for poles to carry any burden, and for the floating out-riggers to their canoes. the fire was produced in a few seconds: but to a person who does not understand the art, it requires, as i found, the greatest exertion; but at last, to my great pride, i succeeded in igniting the dust. the gaucho in the pampas uses a different method: taking an elastic stick about eighteen inches long, he presses one end on his breast, and the other pointed end into a hole in a piece of wood, and then rapidly turns the curved part, like a carpenter's centre-bit. the tahitians having made a small fire of sticks, placed a score of stones, of about the size of cricket-balls, on the burning wood. in about ten minutes the sticks were consumed, and the stones hot. they had previously folded up in small parcels of leaves, pieces of beef, fish, ripe and unripe bananas, and the tops of the wild arum. these green parcels were laid in a layer between two layers of the hot stones, and the whole then covered up with earth, so that no smoke or steam could escape. in about a quarter of an hour, the whole was most deliciously cooked. the choice green parcels were now laid on a cloth of banana leaves, and with a cocoa-nut shell we drank the cool water of the running stream; and thus we enjoyed our rustic meal. i could not look on the surrounding plants without admiration. on every side were forests of banana; the fruit of which, though serving for food in various ways, lay in heaps decaying on the ground. in front of us there was an extensive brake of wild sugar-cane; and the stream was shaded by the dark green knotted stem of the ava,--so famous in former days for its powerful intoxicating effects. i chewed a piece, and found that it had an acrid and unpleasant taste, which would have induced any one at once to have pronounced it poisonous. thanks to the missionaries, this plant now thrives only in these deep ravines, innocuous to every one. close by i saw the wild arum, the roots of which, when well baked, are good to eat, and the young leaves better than spinach. there was the wild yam, and a liliaceous plant called ti, which grows in abundance, and has a soft brown root, in shape and size like a huge log of wood: this served us for dessert, for it is as sweet as treacle, and with a pleasant taste. there were, moreover, several other wild fruits, and useful vegetables. the little stream, besides its cool water, produced eels, and cray-fish. i did indeed admire this scene, when i compared it with an uncultivated one in the temperate zones. i felt the force of the remark, that man, at least savage man, with his reasoning powers only partly developed, is the child of the tropics. as the evening drew to a close, i strolled beneath the gloomy shade of the bananas up the course of the stream. my walk was soon brought to a close, by coming to a waterfall between two and three hundred feet high; and again above this there was another. i mention all these waterfalls in this one brook, to give a general idea of the inclination of the land. in the little recess where the water fell, it did not appear that a breath of wind had ever blown. the thin edges of the great leaves of the banana, damp with spray, were unbroken, instead of being, as is so generally the case, split into a thousand shreds. from our position, almost suspended on the mountain side, there were glimpses into the depths of the neighbouring valleys; and the lofty points of the central mountains, towering up within sixty degrees of the zenith, hid half the evening sky. thus seated, it was a sublime spectacle to watch the shades of night gradually obscuring the last and highest pinnacles. before we laid ourselves down to sleep, the elder tahitian fell on his knees, and with closed eyes repeated a long prayer in his native tongue. he prayed as a christian should do, with fitting reverence, and without the fear of ridicule or any ostentation of piety. at our meals neither of the men would taste food, without saying beforehand a short grace. those travellers who think that a tahitian prays only when the eyes of the missionary are fixed on him, should have slept with us that night on the mountain-side. before morning it rained very heavily; but the good thatch of banana-leaves kept us dry. november th.--at daylight my friends, after their morning prayer, prepared an excellent breakfast in the same manner as in the evening. they themselves certainly partook of it largely; indeed i never saw any men eat near so much. i suppose such enormously capacious stomachs must be the effect of a large part of their diet consisting of fruit and vegetables, which contain, in a given bulk, a comparatively small portion of nutriment. unwittingly, i was the means of my companions breaking, as i afterwards learned, one of their own laws, and resolutions: i took with me a flask of spirits, which they could not refuse to partake of; but as often as they drank a little, they put their fingers before their mouths, and uttered the word "missionary." about two years ago, although the use of the ava was prevented, drunkenness from the introduction of spirits became very prevalent. the missionaries prevailed on a few good men, who saw that their country was rapidly going to ruin, to join with them in a temperance society. from good sense or shame, all the chiefs and the queen were at last persuaded to join. immediately a law was passed, that no spirits should be allowed to be introduced into the island, and that he who sold and he who bought the forbidden article should be punished by a fine. with remarkable justice, a certain period was allowed for stock in hand to be sold, before the law came into effect. but when it did, a general search was made, in which even the houses of the missionaries were not exempted, and all the ava (as the natives call all ardent spirits) was poured on the ground. when one reflects on the effect of intemperance on the aborigines of the two americas, i think it will be acknowledged that every well-wisher of tahiti owes no common debt of gratitude to the missionaries. as long as the little island of st. helena remained under the government of the east india company, spirits, owing to the great injury they had produced, were not allowed to be imported; but wine was supplied from the cape of good hope. it is rather a striking and not very gratifying fact, that in the same year that spirits were allowed to be sold in helena, their use was banished from tahiti by the free will of the people. after breakfast we proceeded on our journey. as my object was merely to see a little of the interior scenery, we returned by another track, which descended into the main valley lower down. for some distance we wound, by a most intricate path, along the side of the mountain which formed the valley. in the less precipitous parts we passed through extensive groves of the wild banana. the tahitians, with their naked, tattooed bodies, their heads ornamented with flowers, and seen in the dark shade of these groves, would have formed a fine picture of man inhabiting some primeval land. in our descent we followed the line of ridges; these were exceedingly narrow, and for considerable lengths steep as a ladder; but all clothed with vegetation. the extreme care necessary in poising each step rendered the walk fatiguing. i did not cease to wonder at these ravines and precipices: when viewing the country from one of the knife-edged ridges, the point of support was so small, that the effect was nearly the same as it must be from a balloon. in this descent we had occasion to use the ropes only once, at the point where we entered the main valley. we slept under the same ledge of rock where we had dined the day before: the night was fine, but from the depth and narrowness of the gorge, profoundly dark. before actually seeing this country, i found it difficult to understand two facts mentioned by ellis; namely, that after the murderous battles of former times, the survivors on the conquered side retired into the mountains, where a handful of men could resist a multitude. certainly half a dozen men, at the spot where the tahitian reared the old tree, could easily have repulsed thousands. secondly, that after the introduction of christianity, there were wild men who lived in the mountains, and whose retreats were unknown to the more civilized inhabitants. november th.--in the morning we started early, and reached matavai at noon. on the road we met a large party of noble athletic men, going for wild bananas. i found that the ship, on account of the difficulty in watering, had moved to the harbour of papawa, to which place i immediately walked. this is a very pretty spot. the cove is surrounded by reefs, and the water as smooth as in a lake. the cultivated ground, with its beautiful productions, interspersed with cottages, comes close down to the water's edge. from the varying accounts which i had read before reaching these islands, i was very anxious to form, from my own observation, a judgment of their moral state,--although such judgment would necessarily be very imperfect. first impressions at all times very much depend on one's previously acquired ideas. my notions were drawn from ellis's "polynesian researches"--an admirable and most interesting work, but naturally looking at everything under a favourable point of view, from beechey's voyage; and from that of kotzebue, which is strongly adverse to the whole missionary system. he who compares these three accounts will, i think, form a tolerably accurate conception of the present state of tahiti. one of my impressions which i took from the two last authorities, was decidedly incorrect; viz., that the tahitians had become a gloomy race, and lived in fear of the missionaries. of the latter feeling i saw no trace, unless, indeed, fear and respect be confounded under one name. instead of discontent being a common feeling, it would be difficult in europe to pick out of a crowd half so many merry and happy faces. the prohibition of the flute and dancing is inveighed against as wrong and foolish;--the more than presbyterian manner of keeping the sabbath is looked at in a similar light. on these points i will not pretend to offer any opinion to men who have resided as many years as i was days on the island. on the whole, it appears to me that the morality and religion of the inhabitants are highly creditable. there are many who attack, even more acrimoniously than kotzebue, both the missionaries, their system, and the effects produced by it. such reasoners never compare the present state with that of the island only twenty years ago; nor even with that of europe at this day; but they compare it with the high standard of gospel perfection. they expect the missionaries to effect that which the apostles themselves failed to do. inasmuch as the condition of the people falls short of this high standard, blame is attached to the missionary, instead of credit for that which he has effected. they forget, or will not remember, that human sacrifices, and the power of an idolatrous priesthood--a system of profligacy unparalleled in any other part of the world--infanticide a consequence of that system--bloody wars, where the conquerors spared neither women nor children--that all these have been abolished; and that dishonesty, intemperance, and licentiousness have been greatly reduced by the introduction of christianity. in a voyager to forget these things is base ingratitude; for should he chance to be at the point of shipwreck on some unknown coast, he will most devoutly pray that the lesson of the missionary may have extended thus far. in point of morality, the virtue of the women, it has been often said, is most open to exception. but before they are blamed too severely, it will be well distinctly to call to mind the scenes described by captain cook and mr. banks, in which the grandmothers and mothers of the present race played a part. those who are most severe, should consider how much of the morality of the women in europe is owing to the system early impressed by mothers on their daughters, and how much in each individual case to the precepts of religion. but it is useless to argue against such reasoners;--i believe that, disappointed in not finding the field of licentiousness quite so open as formerly, they will not give credit to a morality which they do not wish to practise, or to a religion which they undervalue, if not despise. sunday, nd.--the harbour of papiete, where the queen resides, may be considered as the capital of the island: it is also the seat of government, and the chief resort of shipping. captain fitz roy took a party there this day to hear divine service, first in the tahitian language, and afterwards in our own. mr. pritchard, the leading missionary in the island, performed the service. the chapel consisted of a large airy framework of wood; and it was filled to excess by tidy, clean people, of all ages and both sexes. i was rather disappointed in the apparent degree of attention; but i believe my expectations were raised too high. at all events the appearance was quite equal to that in a country church in england. the singing of the hymns was decidedly very pleasing, but the language from the pulpit, although fluently delivered, did not sound well: a constant repetition of words, like "tata ta, mata mai," rendered it monotonous. after english service, a party returned on foot to matavai. it was a pleasant walk, sometimes along the sea-beach and sometimes under the shade of the many beautiful trees. about two years ago, a small vessel under english colours was plundered by some of the inhabitants of the low islands, which were then under the dominion of the queen of tahiti. it was believed that the perpetrators were instigated to this act by some indiscreet laws issued by her majesty. the british government demanded compensation; which was acceded to, and the sum of nearly three thousand dollars was agreed to be paid on the first of last september. the commodore at lima ordered captain fitz roy to inquire concerning this debt, and to demand satisfaction if it were not paid. captain fitz roy accordingly requested an interview with the queen pomarre, since famous from the ill-treatment she had received from the french; and a parliament was held to consider the question, at which all the principal chiefs of the island and the queen were assembled. i will not attempt to describe what took place, after the interesting account given by captain fitz roy. the money, it appeared, had not been paid; perhaps the alleged reasons were rather equivocal; but otherwise i cannot sufficiently express our general surprise at the extreme good sense, the reasoning powers, moderation, candour, and prompt resolution, which were displayed on all sides. i believe we all left the meeting with a very different opinion of the tahitians, from what we entertained when we entered. the chiefs and people resolved to subscribe and complete the sum which was wanting; captain fitz roy urged that it was hard that their private property should be sacrificed for the crimes of distant islanders. they replied, that they were grateful for his consideration, but that pomarre was their queen, and that they were determined to help her in this her difficulty. this resolution and its prompt execution, for a book was opened early the next morning, made a perfect conclusion to this very remarkable scene of loyalty and good feeling. after the main discussion was ended, several of the chiefs took the opportunity of asking captain fitz roy many intelligent questions on international customs and laws, relating to the treatment of ships and foreigners. on some points, as soon as the decision was made, the law was issued verbally on the spot. this tahitian parliament lasted for several hours; and when it was over captain fitz roy invited queen pomarre to pay the beagle a visit. november th.--in the evening four boats were sent for her majesty; the ship was dressed with flags, and the yards manned on her coming on board. she was accompanied by most of the chiefs. the behaviour of all was very proper: they begged for nothing, and seemed much pleased with captain fitz roy's presents. the queen is a large awkward woman, without any beauty, grace or dignity. she has only one royal attribute: a perfect immovability of expression under all circumstances, and that rather a sullen one. the rockets were most admired, and a deep "oh!" could be heard from the shore, all round the dark bay, after each explosion. the sailors' songs were also much admired; and the queen said she thought that one of the most boisterous ones certainly could not be a hymn! the royal party did not return on shore till past midnight. th.--in the evening, with a gentle land-breeze, a course was steered for new zealand; and as the sun set, we had a farewell view of the mountains of tahiti--the island to which every voyager has offered up his tribute of admiration. december th.--in the evening we saw in the distance new zealand. we may now consider that we have nearly crossed the pacific. it is necessary to sail over this great ocean to comprehend its immensity. moving quickly onwards for weeks together, we meet with nothing but the same blue, profoundly deep, ocean. even within the archipelagoes, the islands are mere specks, and far distant one from the other. accustomed to look at maps drawn on a small scale, where dots, shading, and names are crowded together, we do not rightly judge how infinitely small the proportion of dry land is to water of this vast expanse. the meridian of the antipodes has likewise been passed; and now every league, it made us happy to think, was one league nearer to england. these antipodes call to one's mind old recollections of childish doubt and wonder. only the other day i looked forward to this airy barrier as a definite point in our voyage homewards; but now i find it, and all such resting-places for the imagination, are like shadows, which a man moving onwards cannot catch. a gale of wind lasting for some days, has lately given us full leisure to measure the future stages in our homeward voyage, and to wish most earnestly for its termination. december st.--early in the morning we entered the bay of islands, and being becalmed for some hours near the mouth, we did not reach the anchorage till the middle of the day. the country is hilly, with a smooth outline, and is deeply intersected by numerous arms of the sea extending from the bay. the surface appears from a distance as if clothed with coarse pasture, but this in truth is nothing but fern. on the more distant hills, as well as in parts of the valleys, there is a good deal of woodland. the general tint of the landscape is not a bright green; and it resembles the country a short distance to the south of concepcion in chile. in several parts of the bay, little villages of square tidy looking houses are scattered close down to the water's edge. three whaling-ships were lying at anchor, and a canoe every now and then crossed from shore to shore; with these exceptions, an air of extreme quietness reigned over the whole district. only a single canoe came alongside. this, and the aspect of the whole scene, afforded a remarkable, and not very pleasing contrast, with our joyful and boisterous welcome at tahiti. in the afternoon we went on shore to one of the larger groups of houses, which yet hardly deserves the title of a village. its name is pahia: it is the residence of the missionaries; and there are no native residents except servants and labourers. in the vicinity of the bay of islands, the number of englishmen, including their families, amounts to between two and three hundred. all the cottages, many of which are whitewashed and look very neat, are the property of the english. the hovels of the natives are so diminutive and paltry, that they can scarcely be perceived from a distance. at pahia, it was quite pleasing to behold the english flowers in the gardens before the houses; there were roses of several kinds, honeysuckle, jasmine, stocks, and whole hedges of sweetbrier. december nd.--in the morning i went out walking; but i soon found that the country was very impracticable. all the hills are thickly covered with tall fern, together with a low bush which grows like a cypress; and very little ground has been cleared or cultivated. i then tried the sea-beach; but proceeding towards either hand, my walk was soon stopped by salt-water creeks and deep brooks. the communication between the inhabitants of the different parts of the bay, is (as in chiloe) almost entirely kept up by boats. i was surprised to find that almost every hill which i ascended, had been at some former time more or less fortified. the summits were cut into steps or successive terraces, and frequently they had been protected by deep trenches. i afterwards observed that the principal hills inland in like manner showed an artificial outline. these are the pas, so frequently mentioned by captain cook under the name of "hippah;" the difference of sound being owing to the prefixed article. that the pas had formerly been much used, was evident from the piles of shells, and the pits in which, as i was informed, sweet potatoes used to be kept as a reserve. as there was no water on these hills, the defenders could never have anticipated a long siege, but only a hurried attack for plunder, against which the successive terraces would have afforded good protection. the general introduction of fire-arms has changed the whole system of warfare; and an exposed situation on the top of a hill is now worse than useless. the pas in consequence are, at the present day, always built on a level piece of ground. they consist of a double stockade of thick and tall posts, placed in a zigzag line, so that every part can be flanked. within the stockade a mound of earth is thrown up, behind which the defenders can rest in safety, or use their fire-arms over it. on the level of the ground little archways sometimes pass through this breastwork, by which means the defenders can crawl out to the stockade and reconnoitre their enemies. the rev. w. williams, who gave me this account, added, that in one pas he had noticed spurs or buttresses projecting on the inner and protected side of the mound of earth. on asking the chief the use of them, he replied, that if two or three of his men were shot, their neighbours would not see the bodies, and so be discouraged. these pas are considered by the new zealanders as very perfect means of defence: for the attacking force is never so well disciplined as to rush in a body to the stockade, cut it down, and effect their entry. when a tribe goes to war, the chief cannot order one party to go here and another there; but every man fights in the manner which best pleases himself; and to each separate individual to approach a stockade defended by fire-arms must appear certain death. i should think a more warlike race of inhabitants could not be found in any part of the world than the new zealanders. their conduct on first seeing a ship, as described by captain cook, strongly illustrates this: the act of throwing volleys of stones at so great and novel an object, and their defiance of "come on shore and we will kill and eat you all," shows uncommon boldness. this warlike spirit is evident in many of their customs, and even in their smallest actions. if a new zealander is struck, although but in joke, the blow must be returned and of this i saw an instance with one of our officers. at the present day, from the progress of civilization, there is much less warfare, except among some of the southern tribes. i heard a characteristic anecdote of what took place some time ago in the south. a missionary found a chief and his tribe in preparation for war;--their muskets clean and bright, and their ammunition ready. he reasoned long on the inutility of the war, and the little provocation which had been given for it. the chief was much shaken in his resolution, and seemed in doubt: but at length it occurred to him that a barrel of his gunpowder was in a bad state, and that it would not keep much longer. this was brought forward as an unanswerable argument for the necessity of immediately declaring war: the idea of allowing so much good gunpowder to spoil was not to be thought of; and this settled the point. i was told by the missionaries that in the life of shongi, the chief who visited england, the love of war was the one and lasting spring of every action. the tribe in which he was a principal chief had at one time been oppressed by another tribe from the thames river. a solemn oath was taken by the men that when their boys should grow up, and they should be powerful enough, they would never forget or forgive these injuries. to fulfil this oath appears to have been shongi's chief motive for going to england; and when there it was his sole object. presents were valued only as they could be converted into arms; of the arts, those alone interested him which were connected with the manufacture of arms. when at sydney, shongi, by a strange coincidence, met the hostile chief of the thames river at the house of mr. marsden: their conduct was civil to each other; but shongi told him that when again in new zealand he would never cease to carry war into his country. the challenge was accepted; and shongi on his return fulfilled the threat to the utmost letter. the tribe on the thames river was utterly overthrown, and the chief to whom the challenge had been given was himself killed. shongi, although harbouring such deep feelings of hatred and revenge, is described as having been a good-natured person. in the evening i went with captain fitz roy and mr. baker, one of the missionaries, to pay a visit to kororadika: we wandered about the village, and saw and conversed with many of the people, both men, women, and children. looking at the new zealander, one naturally compares him with the tahitian; both belonging to the same family of mankind. the comparison, however, tells heavily against the new zealander. he may, perhaps be superior in energy, but in every other respect his character is of a much lower order. one glance at their respective expressions, brings conviction to the mind that one is a savage, the other a civilized man. it would be vain to seek in the whole of new zealand a person with the face and mien of the old tahitian chief utamme. no doubt the extraordinary manner in which tattooing is here practised, gives a disagreeable expression to their countenances. the complicated but symmetrical figures covering the whole face, puzzle and mislead an unaccustomed eye: it is moreover probable, that the deep incisions, by destroying the play of the superficial muscles, give an air of rigid inflexibility. but, besides this, there is a twinkling in the eye, which cannot indicate anything but cunning and ferocity. their figures are tall and bulky; but not comparable in elegance with those of the working-classes in tahiti. but their persons and houses are filthily dirty and offensive: the idea of washing either their bodies or their clothes never seems to enter their heads. i saw a chief, who was wearing a shirt black and matted with filth, and when asked how it came to be so dirty, he replied, with surprise, "do not you see it is an old one?" some of the men have shirts; but the common dress is one or two large blankets, generally black with dirt, which are thrown over their shoulders in a very inconvenient and awkward fashion. a few of the principal chiefs have decent suits of english clothes; but these are only worn on great occasions. december rd.--at a place called waimate, about fifteen miles from the bay of islands, and midway between the eastern and western coasts, the missionaries have purchased some land for agricultural purposes. i had been introduced to the rev. w. williams, who, upon my expressing a wish, invited me to pay him a visit there. mr. bushby, the british resident, offered to take me in his boat by a creek, where i should see a pretty waterfall, and by which means my walk would be shortened. he likewise procured for me a guide. upon asking a neighbouring chief to recommend a man, the chief himself offered to go; but his ignorance of the value of money was so complete, that at first he asked how many pounds i would give him, but afterwards was well contented with two dollars. when i showed the chief a very small bundle, which i wanted carried, it became absolutely necessary for him to take a slave. these feelings of pride are beginning to wear away; but formerly a leading man would sooner have died, than undergone the indignity of carrying the smallest burden. my companion was a light active man, dressed in a dirty blanket, and with his face completely tattooed. he had formerly been a great warrior. he appeared to be on very cordial terms with mr. bushby; but at various times they had quarrelled violently. mr. bushby remarked that a little quiet irony would frequently silence any one of these natives in their most blustering moments. this chief has come and harangued mr. bushby in a hectoring manner, saying, "great chief, a great man, a friend of mine, has come to pay me a visit--you must give him something good to eat, some fine presents, etc." mr. bushby has allowed him to finish his discourse, and then has quietly replied by some answer such as, "what else shall your slave do for you?" the man would then instantly, with a very comical expression, cease his braggadocio. some time ago, mr. bushby suffered a far more serious attack. a chief and a party of men tried to break into his house in the middle of the night, and not finding this so easy, commenced a brisk firing with their muskets. mr. bushby was slightly wounded, but the party was at length driven away. shortly afterwards it was discovered who was the aggressor; and a general meeting of the chiefs was convened to consider the case. it was considered by the new zealanders as very atrocious, inasmuch as it was a night attack, and that mrs. bushby was lying ill in the house: this latter circumstance, much to their honour, being considered in all cases as a protection. the chiefs agreed to confiscate the land of the aggressor to the king of england. the whole proceeding, however, in thus trying and punishing a chief was entirely without precedent. the aggressor, moreover, lost caste in the estimation of his equals and this was considered by the british as of more consequence than the confiscation of his land. as the boat was shoving off, a second chief stepped into her, who only wanted the amusement of the passage up and down the creek. i never saw a more horrid and ferocious expression than this man had. it immediately struck me i had somewhere seen his likeness: it will be found in retzch's outlines to schiller's ballad of fridolin, where two men are pushing robert into the burning iron furnace. it is the man who has his arm on robert's breast. physiognomy here spoke the truth; this chief had been a notorious murderer, and was an arrant coward to boot. at the point where the boat landed, mr. bushby accompanied me a few hundred yards on the road: i could not help admiring the cool impudence of the hoary old villain, whom we left lying in the boat, when he shouted to mr. bushby, "do not you stay long, i shall be tired of waiting here." we now commenced our walk. the road lay along a well beaten path, bordered on each side by the tall fern, which covers the whole country. after travelling some miles, we came to a little country village, where a few hovels were collected together, and some patches of ground cultivated with potatoes. the introduction of the potato has been the most essential benefit to the island; it is now much more used than any native vegetable. new zealand is favoured by one great natural advantage; namely, that the inhabitants can never perish from famine. the whole country abounds with fern: and the roots of this plant, if not very palatable, yet contain much nutriment. a native can always subsist on these, and on the shell-fish, which are abundant on all parts of the sea-coast. the villages are chiefly conspicuous by the platforms which are raised on four posts ten or twelve feet above the ground, and on which the produce of the fields is kept secure from all accidents. on coming near one of the huts i was much amused by seeing in due form the ceremony of rubbing, or, as it ought to be called, pressing noses. the women, on our first approach, began uttering something in a most dolorous voice; they then squatted themselves down and held up their faces; my companion standing over them, one after another, placed the bridge of his nose at right angles to theirs, and commenced pressing. this lasted rather longer than a cordial shake of the hand with us, and as we vary the force of the grasp of the hand in shaking, so do they in pressing. during the process they uttered comfortable little grunts, very much in the same manner as two pigs do, when rubbing against each other. i noticed that the slave would press noses with any one he met, indifferently either before or after his master the chief. although among the savages, the chief has absolute power of life and death over his slave, yet there is an entire absence of ceremony between them. mr. burchell has remarked the same thing in southern africa, with the rude bachapins. where civilization has arrived at a certain point, complex formalities soon arise between the different grades of society: thus at tahiti all were formerly obliged to uncover themselves as low as the waist in presence of the king. the ceremony of pressing noses having been duly completed with all present, we seated ourselves in a circle in the front of one of the hovels, and rested there half-an-hour. all the hovels have nearly the same form and dimensions, and all agree in being filthily dirty. they resemble a cow-shed with one end open, but having a partition a little way within, with a square hole in it, making a small gloomy chamber. in this the inhabitants keep all their property, and when the weather is cold they sleep there. they eat, however, and pass their time in the open part in front. my guides having finished their pipes, we continued our walk. the path led through the same undulating country, the whole uniformly clothed as before with fern. on our right hand we had a serpentine river, the banks of which were fringed with trees, and here and there on the hill sides there was a clump of wood. the whole scene, in spite of its green colour, had rather a desolate aspect. the sight of so much fern impresses the mind with an idea of sterility: this, however, is not correct; for wherever the fern grows thick and breast-high, the land by tillage becomes productive. some of the residents think that all this extensive open country originally was covered with forests, and that it has been cleared by fire. it is said, that by digging in the barest spots, lumps of the kind of resin which flows from the kauri pine are frequently found. the natives had an evident motive in clearing the country; for the fern, formerly a staple article of food, flourishes only in the open cleared tracks. the almost entire absence of associated grasses, which forms so remarkable a feature in the vegetation of this island, may perhaps be accounted for by the land having been aboriginally covered with forest-trees. the soil is volcanic; in several parts we passed over shaggy lavas, and craters could clearly be distinguished on several of the neighbouring hills. although the scenery is nowhere beautiful, and only occasionally pretty, i enjoyed my walk. i should have enjoyed it more, if my companion, the chief, had not possessed extraordinary conversational powers. i knew only three words: "good," "bad," and "yes:" and with these i answered all his remarks, without of course having understood one word he said. this, however, was quite sufficient: i was a good listener, an agreeable person, and he never ceased talking to me. at length we reached waimate. after having passed over so many miles of an uninhabited useless country, the sudden appearance of an english farm-house, and its well-dressed fields, placed there as if by an enchanter's wand, was exceedingly pleasant. mr. williams not being at home, i received in mr. davies's house a cordial welcome. after drinking tea with his family party, we took a stroll about the farm. at waimate there are three large houses, where the missionary gentlemen, messrs. williams, davies, and clarke, reside; and near them are the huts of the native labourers. on an adjoining slope, fine crops of barley and wheat were standing in full ear; and in another part, fields of potatoes and clover. but i cannot attempt to describe all i saw; there were large gardens, with every fruit and vegetable which england produces; and many belonging to a warmer clime. i may instance asparagus, kidney beans, cucumbers, rhubarb, apples, pears, figs, peaches, apricots, grapes, olives, gooseberries, currants, hops, gorse for fences, and english oaks; also many kinds of flowers. around the farm-yard there were stables, a thrashing-barn with its winnowing machine, a blacksmith's forge, and on the ground ploughshares and other tools: in the middle was that happy mixture of pigs and poultry, lying comfortably together, as in every english farm-yard. at the distance of a few hundred yards, where the water of a little rill had been dammed up into a pool, there was a large and substantial water-mill. all this is very surprising, when it is considered that five years ago nothing but the fern flourished here. moreover, native workmanship, taught by the missionaries, has effected this change;--the lesson of the missionary is the enchanter's wand. the house had been built, the windows framed, the fields ploughed, and even the trees grafted, by a new zealander. at the mill, a new zealander was seen powdered white with flower, like his brother miller in england. when i looked at this whole scene, i thought it admirable. it was not merely that england was brought vividly before my mind; yet, as the evening drew to a close, the domestic sounds, the fields of corn, the distant undulating country with its trees might well have been mistaken for our fatherland: nor was it the triumphant feeling at seeing what englishmen could effect; but rather the high hopes thus inspired for the future progress of this fine island. several young men, redeemed by the missionaries from slavery, were employed on the farm. they were dressed in a shirt, jacket, and trousers, and had a respectable appearance. judging from one trifling anecdote, i should think they must be honest. when walking in the fields, a young labourer came up to mr. davies, and gave him a knife and gimlet, saying that he had found them on the road, and did not know to whom they belonged! these young men and boys appeared very merry and good-humoured. in the evening i saw a party of them at cricket: when i thought of the austerity of which the missionaries have been accused, i was amused by observing one of their own sons taking an active part in the game. a more decided and pleasing change was manifested in the young women, who acted as servants within the houses. their clean, tidy, and healthy appearance, like that of the dairy-maids in england, formed a wonderful contrast with the women of the filthy hovels in kororadika. the wives of the missionaries tried to persuade them not to be tattooed; but a famous operator having arrived from the south, they said, "we really must just have a few lines on our lips; else when we grow old, our lips will shrivel, and we shall be so very ugly." there is not nearly so much tattooing as formerly; but as it is a badge of distinction between the chief and the slave, it will probably long be practised. so soon does any train of ideas become habitual, that the missionaries told me that even in their eyes a plain face looked mean, and not like that of a new zealand gentleman. late in the evening i went to mr. williams's house, where i passed the night. i found there a large party of children, collected together for christmas day, and all sitting round a table at tea. i never saw a nicer or more merry group; and to think that this was in the centre of the land of cannibalism, murder, and all atrocious crimes! the cordiality and happiness so plainly pictured in the faces of the little circle, appeared equally felt by the older persons of the mission. december th.--in the morning, prayers were read in the native tongue to the whole family. after breakfast i rambled about the gardens and farm. this was a market-day, when the natives of the surrounding hamlets bring their potatoes, indian corn, or pigs, to exchange for blankets, tobacco, and sometimes, through the persuasions of the missionaries, for soap. mr. davies's eldest son, who manages a farm of his own, is the man of business in the market. the children of the missionaries, who came while young to the island, understand the language better than their parents, and can get anything more readily done by the natives. a little before noon messrs. williams and davies walked with me to a part of a neighbouring forest, to show me the famous kauri pine. i measured one of the noble trees, and found it thirty-one feet in circumference above the roots. there was another close by, which i did not see, thirty-three feet; and i heard of one no less than forty feet. these trees are remarkable for their smooth cylindrical boles, which run up to a height of sixty, and even ninety feet, with a nearly equal diameter, and without a single branch. the crown of branches at the summit is out of all proportion small to the trunk; and the leaves are likewise small compared with the branches. the forest was here almost composed of the kauri; and the largest trees, from the parallelism of their sides, stood up like gigantic columns of wood. the timber of the kauri is the most valuable production of the island; moreover, a quantity of resin oozes from the bark, which is sold at a penny a pound to the americans, but its use was then unknown. some of the new zealand forest must be impenetrable to an extraordinary degree. mr. matthews informed me that one forest only thirty-four miles in width, and separating two inhabited districts, had only lately, for the first time, been crossed. he and another missionary, each with a party of about fifty men, undertook to open a road, but it cost more than a fortnight's labour! in the woods i saw very few birds. with regard to animals, it is a most remarkable fact, that so large an island, extending over more than miles in latitude, and in many parts ninety broad, with varied stations, a fine climate, and land of all heights, from , feet downwards, with the exception of a small rat, did not possess one indigenous animal. the several species of that gigantic genus of birds, the deinornis seem here to have replaced mammiferous quadrupeds, in the same manner as the reptiles still do at the galapagos archipelago. it is said that the common norway rat, in the short space of two years, annihilated in this northern end of the island, the new zealand species. in many places i noticed several sorts of weeds, which, like the rats, i was forced to own as countrymen. a leek has overrun whole districts, and will prove very troublesome, but it was imported as a favour by a french vessel. the common dock is also widely disseminated, and will, i fear, for ever remain a proof of the rascality of an englishman, who sold the seeds for those of the tobacco plant. on returning from our pleasant walk to the house, i dined with mr. williams; and then, a horse being lent me, i returned to the bay of islands. i took leave of the missionaries with thankfulness for their kind welcome, and with feelings of high respect for their gentlemanlike, useful, and upright characters. i think it would be difficult to find a body of men better adapted for the high office which they fulfil. christmas day.--in a few more days the fourth year of our absence from england will be completed. our first christmas day was spent at plymouth, the second at st. martin's cove, near cape horn; the third at port desire, in patagonia; the fourth at anchor in a wild harbour in the peninsula of tres montes, this fifth here, and the next, i trust in providence, will be in england. we attended divine service in the chapel of pahia; part of the service being read in english, and part in the native language. whilst at new zealand we did not hear of any recent acts of cannibalism; but mr. stokes found burnt human bones strewed round a fire-place on a small island near the anchorage; but these remains of a comfortable banquet might have been lying there for several years. it is probable that the moral state of the people will rapidly improve. mr. bushby mentioned one pleasing anecdote as a proof of the sincerity of some, at least, of those who profess christianity. one of his young men left him, who had been accustomed to read prayers to the rest of the servants. some weeks afterwards, happening to pass late in the evening by an outhouse, he saw and heard one of his men reading the bible with difficulty by the light of the fire, to the others. after this the party knelt and prayed: in their prayers they mentioned mr. bushby and his family, and the missionaries, each separately in his respective district. december th.--mr. bushby offered to take mr. sulivan and myself in his boat some miles up the river to cawa-cawa, and proposed afterwards to walk on to the village of waiomio, where there are some curious rocks. following one of the arms of the bay, we enjoyed a pleasant row, and passed through pretty scenery, until we came to a village, beyond which the boat could not pass. from this place a chief and a party of men volunteered to walk with us to waiomio, a distance of four miles. the chief was at this time rather notorious from having lately hung one of his wives and a slave for adultery. when one of the missionaries remonstrated with him he seemed surprised, and said he thought he was exactly following the english method. old shongi, who happened to be in england during the queen's trial, expressed great disapprobation at the whole proceeding: he said he had five wives, and he would rather cut off all their heads than be so much troubled about one. leaving this village, we crossed over to another, seated on a hill-side at a little distance. the daughter of a chief, who was still a heathen, had died there five days before. the hovel in which she had expired had been burnt to the ground: her body being enclosed between two small canoes, was placed upright on the ground, and protected by an enclosure bearing wooden images of their gods, and the whole was painted bright red, so as to be conspicuous from afar. her gown was fastened to the coffin, and her hair being cut off was cast at its foot. the relatives of the family had torn the flesh of their arms, bodies, and faces, so that they were covered with clotted blood; and the old women looked most filthy, disgusting objects. on the following day some of the officers visited this place, and found the women still howling and cutting themselves. we continued our walk, and soon reached waiomio. here there are some singular masses of limestone, resembling ruined castles. these rocks have long served for burial places, and in consequence are held too sacred to be approached. one of the young men, however, cried out, "let us all be brave," and ran on ahead; but when within a hundred yards, the whole party thought better of it, and stopped short. with perfect indifference, however, they allowed us to examine the whole place. at this village we rested some hours, during which time there was a long discussion with mr. bushby, concerning the right of sale of certain lands. one old man, who appeared a perfect genealogist, illustrated the successive possessors by bits of stick driven into the ground. before leaving the houses a little basketful of roasted sweet potatoes was given to each of our party; and we all, according to the custom, carried them away to eat on the road. i noticed that among the women employed in cooking, there was a man-slave: it must be a humiliating thing for a man in this warlike country to be employed in doing that which is considered as the lowest woman's work. slaves are not allowed to go to war; but this perhaps can hardly be considered as a hardship. i heard of one poor wretch who, during hostilities, ran away to the opposite party; being met by two men, he was immediately seized; but as they could not agree to whom he should belong, each stood over him with a stone hatchet, and seemed determined that the other at least should not take him away alive. the poor man, almost dead with fright, was only saved by the address of a chief's wife. we afterwards enjoyed a pleasant walk back to the boat, but did not reach the ship till late in the evening. december th.--in the afternoon we stood out of the bay of islands, on our course to sydney. i believe we were all glad to leave new zealand. it is not a pleasant place. amongst the natives there is absent that charming simplicity which is found in tahiti; and the greater part of the english are the very refuse of society. neither is the country itself attractive. i look back but to one bright spot, and that is waimate, with its christian inhabitants. chapter xix australia sydney--excursion to bathurst--aspect of the woods--party of natives--gradual extinction of the aborigines--infection generated by associated men in health--blue mountains--view of the grand gulf-like valleys--their origin and formation--bathurst, general civility of the lower orders--state of society--van diemen's land--hobart town--aborigines all banished--mount wellington--king george's sound--cheerless aspect of the country--bald head, calcareous casts of branches of trees--party of natives--leave australia. january th, .--early in the morning a light air carried us towards the entrance of port jackson. instead of beholding a verdant country, interspersed with fine houses, a straight line of yellowish cliff brought to our minds the coast of patagonia. a solitary lighthouse, built of white stone, alone told us that we were near a great and populous city. having entered the harbour, it appears fine and spacious, with cliff-formed shores of horizontally stratified sandstone. the nearly level country is covered with thin scrubby trees, bespeaking the curse of sterility. proceeding further inland, the country improves: beautiful villas and nice cottages are here and there scattered along the beach. in the distance stone houses, two and three stories high, and windmills standing on the edge of a bank, pointed out to us the neighbourhood of the capital of australia. at last we anchored within sydney cove. we found the little basin occupied by many large ships, and surrounded by warehouses. in the evening i walked through the town, and returned full of admiration at the whole scene. it is a most magnificent testimony to the power of the british nation. here, in a less promising country, scores of years have done many more times more than an equal number of centuries have effected in south america. my first feeling was to congratulate myself that i was born an englishman. upon seeing more of the town afterwards, perhaps my admiration fell a little; but yet it is a fine town. the streets are regular, broad, clean, and kept in excellent order; the houses are of a good size, and the shops well furnished. it may be faithfully compared to the large suburbs which stretch out from london and a few other great towns in england; but not even near london or birmingham is there an appearance of such rapid growth. the number of large houses and other buildings just finished was truly surprising; nevertheless, every one complained of the high rents and difficulty in procuring a house. coming from south america, where in the towns every man of property is known, no one thing surprised me more than not being able to ascertain at once to whom this or that carriage belonged. i hired a man and two horses to take me to bathurst, a village about one hundred and twenty miles in the interior, and the centre of a great pastoral district. by this means i hoped to gain a general idea of the appearance of the country. on the morning of the th (january) i set out on my excursion. the first stage took us to paramatta, a small country town, next to sydney in importance. the roads were excellent, and made upon the macadam principle, whinstone having been brought for the purpose from the distance of several miles. in all respects there was a close resemblance to england: perhaps the alehouses here were more numerous. the iron gangs, or parties of convicts who have committed here some offense, appeared the least like england: they were working in chains, under the charge of sentries with loaded arms. the power which the government possesses, by means of forced labour, of at once opening good roads throughout the country, has been, i believe, one main cause of the early prosperity of this colony. i slept at night at a very comfortable inn at emu ferry, thirty-five miles from sydney, and near the ascent of the blue mountains. this line of road is the most frequented, and has been the longest inhabited of any in the colony. the whole land is enclosed with high railings, for the farmers have not succeeded in rearing hedges. there are many substantial houses and good cottages scattered about; but although considerable pieces of land are under cultivation, the greater part yet remains as when first discovered. the extreme uniformity of the vegetation is the most remarkable feature in the landscape of the greater part of new south wales. everywhere we have an open woodland, the ground being partially covered with a very thin pasture, with little appearance of verdure. the trees nearly all belong to one family, and mostly have their leaves placed in a vertical, instead of as in europe, in a nearly horizontal position: the foliage is scanty, and of a peculiar pale green tint, without any gloss. hence the woods appear light and shadowless: this, although a loss of comfort to the traveller under the scorching rays of summer, is of importance to the farmer, as it allows grass to grow where it otherwise would not. the leaves are not shed periodically: this character appears common to the entire southern hemisphere, namely, south america, australia, and the cape of good hope. the inhabitants of this hemisphere, and of the intertropical regions, thus lose perhaps one of the most glorious, though to our eyes common, spectacles in the world--the first bursting into full foliage of the leafless tree. they may, however, say that we pay dearly for this by having the land covered with mere naked skeletons for so many months. this is too true but our senses thus acquire a keen relish for the exquisite green of the spring, which the eyes of those living within the tropics, sated during the long year with the gorgeous productions of those glowing climates, can never experience. the greater number of the trees, with the exception of some of the blue-gums, do not attain a large size; but they grow tall and tolerably straight, and stand well apart. the bark of some of the eucalypti falls annually, or hangs dead in long shreds which swing about with the wind, and give to the woods a desolate and untidy appearance. i cannot imagine a more complete contrast, in every respect, than between the forests of valdivia or chiloe, and the woods of australia. at sunset, a party of a score of the black aborigines passed by, each carrying, in their accustomed manner, a bundle of spears and other weapons. by giving a leading young man a shilling, they were easily detained, and threw their spears for my amusement. they were all partly clothed, and several could speak a little english: their countenances were good-humoured and pleasant, and they appeared far from being such utterly degraded beings as they have usually been represented. in their own arts they are admirable. a cap being fixed at thirty yards distance, they transfixed it with a spear, delivered by the throwing-stick with the rapidity of an arrow from the bow of a practised archer. in tracking animals or men they show most wonderful sagacity; and i heard of several of their remarks which manifested considerable acuteness. they will not, however, cultivate the ground, or build houses and remain stationary, or even take the trouble of tending a flock of sheep when given to them. on the whole they appear to me to stand some few degrees higher in the scale of civilization than the fuegians. it is very curious thus to see in the midst of a civilized people, a set of harmless savages wandering about without knowing where they shall sleep at night, and gaining their livelihood by hunting in the woods. as the white man has travelled onwards, he has spread over the country belonging to several tribes. these, although thus enclosed by one common people, keep up their ancient distinctions, and sometimes go to war with each other. in an engagement which took place lately, the two parties most singularly chose the centre of the village of bathurst for the field of battle. this was of service to the defeated side, for the runaway warriors took refuge in the barracks. the number of aborigines is rapidly decreasing. in my whole ride, with the exception of some boys brought up by englishmen, i saw only one other party. this decrease, no doubt, must be partly owing to the introduction of spirits, to european diseases (even the milder ones of which, such as the measles, [ ] prove very destructive), and to the gradual extinction of the wild animals. it is said that numbers of their children invariably perish in very early infancy from the effects of their wandering life; and as the difficulty of procuring food increases, so must their wandering habits increase; and hence the population, without any apparent deaths from famine, is repressed in a manner extremely sudden compared to what happens in civilized countries, where the father, though in adding to his labour he may injure himself, does not destroy his offspring. besides the several evident causes of destruction, there appears to be some more mysterious agency generally at work. wherever the european has trod, death seems to pursue the aboriginal. we may look to the wide extent of the americas, polynesia, the cape of good hope, and australia, and we find the same result. nor is it the white man alone that thus acts the destroyer; the polynesian of malay extraction has in parts of the east indian archipelago, thus driven before him the dark-coloured native. the varieties of man seem to act on each other in the same way as different species of animals--the stronger always extirpating the weaker. it was melancholy at new zealand to hear the fine energetic natives saying that they knew the land was doomed to pass from their children. every one has heard of the inexplicable reduction of the population in the beautiful and healthy island of tahiti since the date of captain cook's voyages: although in that case we might have expected that it would have been increased; for infanticide, which formerly prevailed to so extraordinary a degree, has ceased; profligacy has greatly diminished, and the murderous wars become less frequent. the rev. j. williams, in his interesting work, [ ] says, that the first intercourse between natives and europeans, "is invariably attended with the introduction of fever, dysentery, or some other disease, which carries off numbers of the people." again he affirms, "it is certainly a fact, which cannot be controverted, that most of the diseases which have raged in the islands during my residence there, have been introduced by ships; [ ] and what renders this fact remarkable is, that there might be no appearance of disease among the crew of the ship which conveyed this destructive importation." this statement is not quite so extraordinary as it at first appears; for several cases are on record of the most malignant fevers having broken out, although the parties themselves, who were the cause, were not affected. in the early part of the reign of george iii., a prisoner who had been confined in a dungeon, was taken in a coach with four constables before a magistrate; and although the man himself was not ill, the four constables died from a short putrid fever; but the contagion extended to no others. from these facts it would almost appear as if the effluvium of one set of men shut up for some time together was poisonous when inhaled by others; and possibly more so, if the men be of different races. mysterious as this circumstance appears to be, it is not more surprising than that the body of one's fellow-creature, directly after death, and before putrefaction has commenced, should often be of so deleterious a quality, that the mere puncture from an instrument used in its dissection, should prove fatal. th.--early in the morning we passed the nepean in a ferry-boat. the river, although at this spot both broad and deep, had a very small body of running water. having crossed a low piece of land on the opposite side, we reached the slope of the blue mountains. the ascent is not steep, the road having been cut with much care on the side of a sandstone cliff. on the summit an almost level plain extends, which, rising imperceptibly to the westward, at last attains a height of more than feet. from so grand a title as blue mountains, and from their absolute altitude, i expected to have seen a bold chain of mountains crossing the country; but instead of this, a sloping plain presents merely an inconsiderable front to the low land near the coast. from this first slope, the view of the extensive woodland to the east was striking, and the surrounding trees grew bold and lofty. but when once on the sandstone platform, the scenery becomes exceedingly monotonous; each side of the road is bordered by scrubby trees of the never-failing eucalyptus family; and with the exception of two or three small inns, there are no houses or cultivated land: the road, moreover, is solitary; the most frequent object being a bullock-waggon, piled up with bales of wool. in the middle of the day we baited our horses at a little inn, called the weatherboard. the country here is elevated feet above the sea. about a mile and a half from this place there is a view exceedingly well worth visiting. following down a little valley and its tiny rill of water, an immense gulf unexpectedly opens through the trees which border the pathway, at the depth of perhaps feet. walking on a few yards, one stands on the brink of a vast precipice, and below one sees a grand bay or gulf, for i know not what other name to give it, thickly covered with forest. the point of view is situated as if at the head of a bay, the line of cliff diverging on each side, and showing headland behind headland, as on a bold sea-coast. these cliffs are composed of horizontal strata of whitish sandstone; and are so absolutely vertical, that in many places a person standing on the edge and throwing down a stone, can see it strike the trees in the abyss below. so unbroken is the line of cliff, that in order to reach the foot of the waterfall, formed by this little stream, it is said to be necessary to go sixteen miles round. about five miles distant in front, another line of cliff extends, which thus appears completely to encircle the valley; and hence the name of bay is justified, as applied to this grand amphitheatrical depression. if we imagine a winding harbour, with its deep water surrounded by bold cliff-like shores, to be laid dry, and a forest to spring up on its sandy bottom, we should then have the appearance and structure here exhibited. this kind of view was to me quite novel, and extremely magnificent. in the evening we reached the blackheath. the sandstone plateau has here attained the height of feet; and is covered, as before, with the same scrubby woods. from the road, there were occasional glimpses into a profound valley, of the same character as the one described; but from the steepness and depth of its sides, the bottom was scarcely ever to be seen. the blackheath is a very comfortable inn, kept by an old soldier; and it reminded me of the small inns in north wales. th.--very early in the morning, i walked about three miles to see govett's leap; a view of a similar character with that near the weatherboard, but perhaps even more stupendous. so early in the day the gulf was filled with a thin blue haze, which, although destroying the general effect of the view added to the apparent depth at which the forest was stretched out beneath our feet. these valleys, which so long presented an insuperable barrier to the attempts of the most enterprising of the colonists to reach the interior, are most remarkable. great arm-like bays, expanding at their upper ends, often branch from the main valleys and penetrate the sandstone platform; on the other hand, the platform often sends promontories into the valleys, and even leaves in them great, almost insulated, masses. to descend into some of these valleys, it is necessary to go round twenty miles; and into others, the surveyors have only lately penetrated, and the colonists have not yet been able to drive in their cattle. but the most remarkable feature in their structure is, that although several miles wide at their heads, they generally contract towards their mouths to such a degree as to become impassable. the surveyor-general, sir t. mitchell, [ ] endeavoured in vain, first walking and then by crawling between the great fallen fragments of sandstone, to ascend through the gorge by which the river grose joins the nepean, yet the valley of the grose in its upper part, as i saw, forms a magnificent level basin some miles in width, and is on all sides surrounded by cliffs, the summits of which are believed to be nowhere less than feet above the level of the sea. when cattle are driven into the valley of the wolgan by a path (which i descended), partly natural and partly made by the owner of the land, they cannot escape; for this valley is in every other part surrounded by perpendicular cliffs, and eight miles lower down, it contracts from an average width of half a mile, to a mere chasm, impassable to man or beast. sir t. mitchell states that the great valley of the cox river with all its branches, contracts, where it unites with the nepean, into a gorge yards in width, and about feet in depth. other similar cases might have been added. the first impression, on seeing the correspondence of the horizontal strata on each side of these valleys and great amphitheatrical depressions, is that they have been hollowed out, like other valleys, by the action of water; but when one reflects on the enormous amount of stone, which on this view must have been removed through mere gorges or chasms, one is led to ask whether these spaces may not have subsided. but considering the form of the irregularly branching valleys, and of the narrow promontories projecting into them from the platforms, we are compelled to abandon this notion. to attribute these hollows to the present alluvial action would be preposterous; nor does the drainage from the summit-level always fall, as i remarked near the weatherboard, into the head of these valleys, but into one side of their bay-like recesses. some of the inhabitants remarked to me that they never viewed one of those bay-like recesses, with the headlands receding on both hands, without being struck with their resemblance to a bold sea-coast. this is certainly the case; moreover, on the present coast of new south wales, the numerous, fine, widely-branching harbours, which are generally connected with the sea by a narrow mouth worn through the sandstone coast-cliffs, varying from one mile in width to a quarter of a mile, present a likeness, though on a miniature scale, to the great valleys of the interior. but then immediately occurs the startling difficulty, why has the sea worn out these great, though circumscribed depressions on a wide platform, and left mere gorges at the openings, through which the whole vast amount of triturated matter must have been carried away? the only light i can throw upon this enigma, is by remarking that banks of the most irregular forms appear to be now forming in some seas, as in parts of the west indies and in the red sea, and that their sides are exceedingly steep. such banks, i have been led to suppose, have been formed by sediment heaped by strong currents on an irregular bottom. that in some cases the sea, instead of spreading out sediment in a uniform sheet, heaps it round submarine rocks and islands, it is hardly possible to doubt, after examining the charts of the west indies; and that the waves have power to form high and precipitous cliffs, even in land-locked harbours, i have noticed in many parts of south america. to apply these ideas to the sandstone platforms of new south wales, i imagine that the strata were heaped by the action of strong currents, and of the undulations of an open sea, on an irregular bottom; and that the valley-like spaces thus left unfilled had their steeply sloping flanks worn into cliffs, during a slow elevation of the land; the worn-down sandstone being removed, either at the time when the narrow gorges were cut by the retreating sea, or subsequently by alluvial action. soon after leaving the blackheath, we descended from the sandstone platform by the pass of mount victoria. to effect this pass, an enormous quantity of stone has been cut through; the design, and its manner of execution, being worthy of any line of road in england. we now entered upon a country less elevated by nearly a thousand feet, and consisting of granite. with the change of rock, the vegetation improved, the trees were both finer and stood farther apart; and the pasture between them was a little greener and more plentiful. at hassan's walls, i left the high road, and made a short detour to a farm called walerawang; to the superintendent of which i had a letter of introduction from the owner in sydney. mr. browne had the kindness to ask me to stay the ensuing day, which i had much pleasure in doing. this place offers an example of one of the large farming, or rather sheep-grazing establishments of the colony. cattle and horses are, however, in this case rather more numerous than usual, owing to some of the valleys being swampy and producing a coarser pasture. two or three flat pieces of ground near the house were cleared and cultivated with corn, which the harvest-men were now reaping: but no more wheat is sown than sufficient for the annual support of the labourers employed on the establishment. the usual number of assigned convict-servants here is about forty, but at the present time there were rather more. although the farm was well stocked with every necessary, there was an apparent absence of comfort; and not one single woman resided here. the sunset of a fine day will generally cast an air of happy contentment on any scene; but here, at this retired farm-house, the brightest tints on the surrounding woods could not make me forget that forty hardened, profligate men were ceasing from their daily labours, like the slaves from africa, yet without their holy claim for compassion. early on the next morning, mr. archer, the joint superintendent, had the kindness to take me out kangaroo-hunting. we continued riding the greater part of the day, but had very bad sport, not seeing a kangaroo, or even a wild dog. the greyhounds pursued a kangaroo rat into a hollow tree, out of which we dragged it: it is an animal as large as a rabbit, but with the figure of a kangaroo. a few years since this country abounded with wild animals; but now the emu is banished to a long distance, and the kangaroo is become scarce; to both the english greyhound has been highly destructive. it may be long before these animals are altogether exterminated, but their doom is fixed. the aborigines are always anxious to borrow the dogs from the farm-houses: the use of them, the offal when an animal is killed, and some milk from the cows, are the peace-offerings of the settlers, who push farther and farther towards the interior. the thoughtless aboriginal, blinded by these trifling advantages, is delighted at the approach of the white man, who seems predestined to inherit the country of his children. although having poor sport, we enjoyed a pleasant ride. the woodland is generally so open that a person on horseback can gallop through it. it is traversed by a few flat-bottomed valleys, which are green and free from trees: in such spots the scenery was pretty like that of a park. in the whole country i scarcely saw a place without the marks of a fire; whether these had been more or less recent--whether the stumps were more or less black, was the greatest change which varied the uniformity, so wearisome to the traveller's eye. in these woods there are not many birds; i saw, however, some large flocks of the white cockatoo feeding in a corn-field, and a few most beautiful parrots; crows, like our jackdaws were not uncommon, and another bird something like the magpie. in the dusk of the evening i took a stroll along a chain of ponds, which in this dry country represented the course of a river, and had the good fortune to see several of the famous ornithorhynchus paradoxus. they were diving and playing about the surface of the water, but showed so little of their bodies, that they might easily have been mistaken for water-rats. mr. browne shot one: certainly it is a most extraordinary animal; a stuffed specimen does not at all give a good idea of the appearance of the head and beak when fresh; the latter becoming hard and contracted. [ ] th.--a long day's ride to bathurst. before joining the highroad we followed a mere path through the forest; and the country, with the exception of a few squatters' huts, was very solitary. we experienced this day the sirocco-like wind of australia, which comes from the parched deserts of the interior. clouds of dust were travelling in every direction; and the wind felt as if it had passed over a fire. i afterwards heard that the thermometer out of doors had stood at degs., and in a closed room at degs. in the afternoon we came in view of the downs of bathurst. these undulating but nearly smooth plains are very remarkable in this country, from being absolutely destitute of trees. they support only a thin brown pasture. we rode some miles over this country, and then reached the township of bathurst, seated in the middle of what may be called either a very broad valley, or narrow plain. i was told at sydney not to form too bad an opinion of australia by judging of the country from the roadside, nor too good a one from bathurst; in this latter respect, i did not feel myself in the least danger of being prejudiced. the season, it must be owned, had been one of great drought, and the country did not wear a favourable aspect; although i understand it was incomparably worse two or three months before. the secret of the rapidly growing prosperity of bathurst is, that the brown pasture which appears to the stranger's eye so wretched, is excellent for sheep-grazing. the town stands, at the height of feet above the sea, on the banks of the macquarie. this is one of the rivers flowing into the vast and scarcely known interior. the line of water-shed, which divides the inland streams from those on the coast, has a height of about feet, and runs in a north and south direction at the distance of from eighty to a hundred miles from the sea-side. the macquarie figures in the map as a respectable river, and it is the largest of those draining this part of the water-shed; yet to my surprise i found it a mere chain of ponds, separated from each other by spaces almost dry. generally a small stream is running; and sometimes there are high and impetuous floods. scanty as the supply of the water is throughout this district, it becomes still scantier further inland. nd.--i commenced my return, and followed a new road called lockyer's line, along which the country is rather more hilly and picturesque. this was a long day's ride; and the house where i wished to sleep was some way off the road, and not easily found. i met on this occasion, and indeed on all others, a very general and ready civility among the lower orders, which, when one considers what they are, and what they have been, would scarcely have been expected. the farm where i passed the night, was owned by two young men who had only lately come out, and were beginning a settler's life. the total want of almost every comfort was not attractive; but future and certain prosperity was before their eyes, and that not far distant. the next day we passed through large tracts of country in flames, volumes of smoke sweeping across the road. before noon we joined our former road, and ascended mount victoria. i slept at the weatherboard, and before dark took another walk to the amphitheatre. on the road to sydney i spent a very pleasant evening with captain king at dunheved; and thus ended my little excursion in the colony of new south wales. before arriving here the three things which interested me most were--the state of society amongst the higher classes, the condition of the convicts, and the degree of attraction sufficient to induce persons to emigrate. of course, after so very short a visit, one's opinion is worth scarcely anything; but it is as difficult not to form some opinion, as it is to form a correct judgment. on the whole, from what i heard, more than from what i saw, i was disappointed in the state of society. the whole community is rancorously divided into parties on almost every subject. among those who, from their station in life, ought to be the best, many live in such open profligacy that respectable people cannot associate with them. there is much jealousy between the children of the rich emancipist and the free settlers, the former being pleased to consider honest men as interlopers. the whole population, poor and rich, are bent on acquiring wealth: amongst the higher orders, wool and sheep-grazing form the constant subject of conversation. there are many serious drawbacks to the comforts of a family, the chief of which, perhaps, is being surrounded by convict servants. how thoroughly odious to every feeling, to be waited on by a man who the day before, perhaps, was flogged, from your representation, for some trifling misdemeanor. the female servants are of course, much worse: hence children learn the vilest expressions, and it is fortunate, if not equally vile ideas. on the other hand, the capital of a person, without any trouble on his part, produces him treble interest to what it will in england; and with care he is sure to grow rich. the luxuries of life are in abundance, and very little dearer than in england, and most articles of food are cheaper. the climate is splendid, and perfectly healthy; but to my mind its charms are lost by the uninviting aspect of the country. settlers possess a great advantage in finding their sons of service when very young. at the age of from sixteen to twenty, they frequently take charge of distant farming stations. this, however, must happen at the expense of their boys associating entirely with convict servants. i am not aware that the tone of society has assumed any peculiar character; but with such habits, and without intellectual pursuits, it can hardly fail to deteriorate. my opinion is such, that nothing but rather sharp necessity should compel me to emigrate. the rapid prosperity and future prospects of this colony are to me, not understanding these subjects, very puzzling. the two main exports are wool and whale-oil, and to both of these productions there is a limit. the country is totally unfit for canals, therefore there is a not very distant point, beyond which the land-carriage of wool will not repay the expense of shearing and tending sheep. pasture everywhere is so thin that settlers have already pushed far into the interior: moreover, the country further inland becomes extremely poor. agriculture, on account of the droughts, can never succeed on an extended scale: therefore, so far as i can see, australia must ultimately depend upon being the centre of commerce for the southern hemisphere, and perhaps on her future manufactories. possessing coal, she always has the moving power at hand. from the habitable country extending along the coast, and from her english extraction, she is sure to be a maritime nation. i formerly imagined that australia would rise to be as grand and powerful a country as north america, but now it appears to me that such future grandeur is rather problematical. with respect to the state of the convicts, i had still fewer opportunities of judging than on other points. the first question is, whether their condition is at all one of punishment: no one will maintain that it is a very severe one. this, however, i suppose, is of little consequence as long as it continues to be an object of dread to criminals at home. the corporeal wants of the convicts are tolerably well supplied: their prospect of future liberty and comfort is not distant, and, after good conduct, certain. a "ticket of leave," which, as long as a man keeps clear of suspicion as well as of crime, makes him free within a certain district, is given upon good conduct, after years proportional to the length of the sentence; yet with all this, and overlooking the previous imprisonment and wretched passage out, i believe the years of assignment are passed away with discontent and unhappiness. as an intelligent man remarked to me, the convicts know no pleasure beyond sensuality, and in this they are not gratified. the enormous bribe which government possesses in offering free pardons, together with the deep horror of the secluded penal settlements, destroys confidence between the convicts, and so prevents crime. as to a sense of shame, such a feeling does not appear to be known, and of this i witnessed some very singular proofs. though it is a curious fact, i was universally told that the character of the convict population is one of arrant cowardice: not unfrequently some become desperate, and quite indifferent as to life, yet a plan requiring cool or continued courage is seldom put into execution. the worst feature in the whole case is, that although there exists what may be called a legal reform, and comparatively little is committed which the law can touch, yet that any moral reform should take place appears to be quite out of the question. i was assured by well-informed people, that a man who should try to improve, could not while living with other assigned servants;--his life would be one of intolerable misery and persecution. nor must the contamination of the convict-ships and prisons, both here and in england, be forgotten. on the whole, as a place of punishment, the object is scarcely gained; as a real system of reform it has failed, as perhaps would every other plan; but as a means of making men outwardly honest,--of converting vagabonds, most useless in one hemisphere, into active citizens of another, and thus giving birth to a new and splendid country--a grand centre of civilization--it has succeeded to a degree perhaps unparalleled in history. th.--the beagle sailed for hobart town in van diemen's land. on the th of february, after a six days' passage, of which the first part was fine, and the latter very cold and squally, we entered the mouth of storm bay: the weather justified this awful name. the bay should rather be called an estuary, for it receives at its head the waters of the derwent. near the mouth, there are some extensive basaltic platforms; but higher up the land becomes mountainous, and is covered by a light wood. the lower parts of the hills which skirt the bay are cleared; and the bright yellow fields of corn, and dark green ones of potatoes, appear very luxuriant. late in the evening we anchored in the snug cove, on the shores of which stands the capital of tasmania. the first aspect of the place was very inferior to that of sydney; the latter might be called a city, this is only a town. it stands at the base of mount wellington, a mountain feet high, but of little picturesque beauty; from this source, however, it receives a good supply of water. round the cove there are some fine warehouses and on one side a small fort. coming from the spanish settlements, where such magnificent care has generally been paid to the fortifications, the means of defence in these colonies appeared very contemptible. comparing the town with sydney, i was chiefly struck with the comparative fewness of the large houses, either built or building. hobart town, from the census of , contained , inhabitants, and the whole of tasmania , . all the aborigines have been removed to an island in bass's straits, so that van diemen's land enjoys the great advantage of being free from a native population. this most cruel step seems to have been quite unavoidable, as the only means of stopping a fearful succession of robberies, burnings, and murders, committed by the blacks; and which sooner or later would have ended in their utter destruction. i fear there is no doubt, that this train of evil and its consequences, originated in the infamous conduct of some of our countrymen. thirty years is a short period, in which to have banished the last aboriginal from his native island,--and that island nearly as large as ireland. the correspondence on this subject, which took place between the government at home and that of van diemen's land, is very interesting. although numbers of natives were shot and taken prisoners in the skirmishing, which was going on at intervals for several years; nothing seems fully to have impressed them with the idea of our overwhelming power, until the whole island, in , was put under martial law, and by proclamation the whole population commanded to assist in one great attempt to secure the entire race. the plan adopted was nearly similar to that of the great hunting-matches in india: a line was formed reaching across the island, with the intention of driving the natives into a _cul-de-sac_ on tasman's peninsula. the attempt failed; the natives, having tied up their dogs, stole during one night through the lines. this is far from surprising, when their practised senses, and usual manner of crawling after wild animals is considered. i have been assured that they can conceal themselves on almost bare ground, in a manner which until witnessed is scarcely credible; their dusky bodies being easily mistaken for the blackened stumps which are scattered all over the country. i was told of a trial between a party of englishmen and a native, who was to stand in full view on the side of a bare hill; if the englishmen closed their eyes for less than a minute, he would squat down, and then they were never able to distinguish him from the surrounding stumps. but to return to the hunting-match; the natives understanding this kind of warfare, were terribly alarmed, for they at once perceived the power and numbers of the whites. shortly afterwards a party of thirteen belonging to two tribes came in; and, conscious of their unprotected condition, delivered themselves up in despair. subsequently by the intrepid exertions of mr. robinson, an active and benevolent man, who fearlessly visited by himself the most hostile of the natives, the whole were induced to act in a similar manner. they were then removed to an island, where food and clothes were provided them. count strzelecki states, [ ] that "at the epoch of their deportation in , the number of natives amounted to . in , that is, after the interval of seven years, they mustered only fifty-four individuals; and, while each family of the interior of new south wales, uncontaminated by contact with the whites, swarms with children, those of flinders' island had during eight years an accession of only fourteen in number!" the beagle stayed here ten days, and in this time i made several pleasant little excursions, chiefly with the object of examining the geological structure of the immediate neighbourhood. the main points of interest consist, first in some highly fossiliferous strata, belonging to the devonian or carboniferous period; secondly, in proofs of a late small rise of the land; and lastly, in a solitary and superficial patch of yellowish limestone or travertin, which contains numerous impressions of leaves of trees, together with land-shells, not now existing. it is not improbable that this one small quarry includes the only remaining record of the vegetation of van diemen's land during one former epoch. the climate here is damper than in new south wales, and hence the land is more fertile. agriculture flourishes; the cultivated fields look well, and the gardens abound with thriving vegetables and fruit-trees. some of the farm-houses, situated in retired spots, had a very attractive appearance. the general aspect of the vegetation is similar to that of australia; perhaps it is a little more green and cheerful; and the pasture between the trees rather more abundant. one day i took a long walk on the side of the bay opposite to the town: i crossed in a steam-boat, two of which are constantly plying backwards and forwards. the machinery of one of these vessels was entirely manufactured in this colony, which, from its very foundation, then numbered only three and thirty years! another day i ascended mount wellington; i took with me a guide, for i failed in a first attempt, from the thickness of the wood. our guide, however, was a stupid fellow, and conducted us to the southern and damp side of the mountain, where the vegetation was very luxuriant; and where the labour of the ascent, from the number of rotten trunks, was almost as great as on a mountain in tierra del fuego or in chiloe. it cost us five and a half hours of hard climbing before we reached the summit. in many parts the eucalypti grew to a great size, and composed a noble forest. in some of the dampest ravines, tree-ferns flourished in an extraordinary manner; i saw one which must have been at least twenty feet high to the base of the fronds, and was in girth exactly six feet. the fronds forming the most elegant parasols, produced a gloomy shade, like that of the first hour of the night. the summit of the mountain is broad and flat, and is composed of huge angular masses of naked greenstone. its elevation is feet above the level of the sea. the day was splendidly clear, and we enjoyed a most extensive view; to the north, the country appeared a mass of wooded mountains, of about the same height with that on which we were standing, and with an equally tame outline: to the south the broken land and water, forming many intricate bays, was mapped with clearness before us. after staying some hours on the summit, we found a better way to descend, but did not reach the beagle till eight o'clock, after a severe day's work. february th.--the beagle sailed from tasmania, and, on the th of the ensuing month, reached king george's sound, situated close to the s. w. corner of australia. we stayed there eight days; and we did not during our voyage pass a more dull and uninteresting time. the country, viewed from an eminence, appears a woody plain, with here and there rounded and partly bare hills of granite protruding. one day i went out with a party, in hopes of seeing a kangaroo hunt, and walked over a good many miles of country. everywhere we found the soil sandy, and very poor; it supported either a coarse vegetation of thin, low brushwood and wiry grass, or a forest of stunted trees. the scenery resembled that of the high sandstone platform of the blue mountains; the casuarina (a tree somewhat resembling a scotch fir) is, however, here in greater number, and the eucalyptus in rather less. in the open parts there were many grass-trees,--a plant which, in appearance, has some affinity with the palm; but, instead of being surmounted by a crown of noble fronds, it can boast merely of a tuft of very coarse grass-like leaves. the general bright green colour of the brushwood and other plants, viewed from a distance, seemed to promise fertility. a single walk, however, was enough to dispel such an illusion; and he who thinks with me will never wish to walk again in so uninviting a country. one day i accompanied captain fitz roy to bald head; the place mentioned by so many navigators, where some imagined that they saw corals, and others that they saw petrified trees, standing in the position in which they had grown. according to our view, the beds have been formed by the wind having heaped up fine sand, composed of minute rounded particles of shells and corals, during which process branches and roots of trees, together with many land-shells, became enclosed. the whole then became consolidated by the percolation of calcareous matter; and the cylindrical cavities left by the decaying of the wood, were thus also filled up with a hard pseudo-stalactical stone. the weather is now wearing away the softer parts, and in consequence the hard casts of the roots and branches of the trees project above the surface, and, in a singularly deceptive manner, resemble the stumps of a dead thicket. a large tribe of natives, called the white cockatoo men happened to pay the settlement a visit while we were there. these men, as well as those of the tribe belonging to king george's sound, being tempted by the offer of some tubs of rice and sugar, were persuaded to hold a "corrobery," or great dancing-party. as soon as it grew dark, small fires were lighted, and the men commenced their toilet, which consisted in painting themselves white in spots and lines. as soon as all was ready, large fires were kept blazing, round which the women and children were collected as spectators; the cockatoo and king george's men formed two distinct parties, and generally danced in answer to each other. the dancing consisted in their running either sideways or in indian file into an open space, and stamping the ground with great force as they marched together. their heavy footsteps were accompanied by a kind of grunt, by beating their clubs and spears together, and by various other gesticulations, such as extending their arms and wriggling their bodies. it was a most rude, barbarous scene, and, to our ideas, without any sort of meaning; but we observed that the black women and children watched it with the greatest pleasure. perhaps these dances originally represented actions, such as wars and victories; there was one called the emu dance, in which each man extended his arm in a bent manner, like the neck of that bird. in another dance, one man imitated the movements of a kangaroo grazing in the woods, whilst a second crawled up, and pretended to spear him. when both tribes mingled in the dance, the ground trembled with the heaviness of their steps, and the air resounded with their wild cries. every one appeared in high spirits, and the group of nearly naked figures, viewed by the light of the blazing fires, all moving in hideous harmony, formed a perfect display of a festival amongst the lowest barbarians. in tierra del fuego, we have beheld many curious scenes in savage life, but never, i think, one where the natives were in such high spirits, and so perfectly at their ease. after the dancing was over, the whole party formed a great circle on the ground, and the boiled rice and sugar was distributed, to the delight of all. after several tedious delays from clouded weather, on the th of march, we gladly stood out of king george's sound on our course to keeling island. farewell, australia! you are a rising child, and doubtless some day will reign a great princess in the south: but you are too great and ambitious for affection, yet not great enough for respect. i leave your shores without sorrow or regret. [ ] it is remarkable how the same disease is modified in different climates. at the little island of st. helena the introduction of scarlet fever is dreaded as a plague. in some countries, foreigners and natives are as differently affected by certain contagious disorders as if they had been different animals; of which fact some instances have occurred in chile; and, according to humboldt, in mexico (polit. essay, new spain, vol. iv.). [ ] narrative of missionary enterprise, p. . [ ] captain beechey (chap. iv., vol. i.) states that the inhabitants of pitcairn island are firmly convinced that after the arrival of every ship they suffer cutaneous and other disorders. captain beechey attributes this to the change of diet during the time of the visit. dr. macculloch (western isles, vol. ii. p. ) says: "it is asserted, that on the arrival of a stranger (at st. kilda) all the inhabitants, in the common phraseology, catch a cold." dr. macculloch considers the whole case, although often previously affirmed, as ludicrous. he adds, however, that "the question was put by us to the inhabitants who unanimously agreed in the story." in vancouver's voyage, there is a somewhat similar statement with respect to otaheite. dr. dieffenbach, in a note to his translation of the journal, states that the same fact is universally believed by the inhabitants of the chatham islands, and in parts of new zealand. it is impossible that such a belief should have become universal in the northern hemisphere, at the antipodes, and in the pacific, without some good foundation. humboldt (polit. essay on king of new spain, vol. iv.) says, that the great epidemics of panama and callao are "marked" by the arrival of ships from chile, because the people from that temperate region, first experience the fatal effects of the torrid zones. i may add, that i have heard it stated in shropshire, that sheep, which have been imported from vessels, although themselves in a healthy condition, if placed in the same fold with others, frequently produce sickness in the flock. [ ] travels in australia, vol. i. p. . i must express my obligation to sir t. mitchell, for several interesting personal communications on the subject of these great valleys of new south wales. [ ] i was interested by finding here the hollow conical pitfall of the lion-ant, or some other insect; first a fly fell down the treacherous slope and immediately disappeared; then came a large but unwary ant; its struggles to escape being very violent, those curious little jets of sand, described by kirby and spence (entomol., vol. i. p. ) as being flirted by the insect's tail, were promptly directed against the expected victim. but the ant enjoyed a better fate than the fly, and escaped the fatal jaws which lay concealed at the base of the conical hollow. this australian pitfall was only about half the size of that made by the european lion-ant. [ ] physical description of new south wales and van diemen's land, p. . chapter xx keeling island:--coral formations keeling island--singular appearance--scanty flora--transport of seeds--birds and insects--ebbing and flowing springs--fields of dead coral--stones transported in the roots of trees--great crab--stinging corals--coral eating fish--coral formations--lagoon islands, or atolls--depth at which reef-building corals can live--vast areas interspersed with low coral islands--subsidence of their foundations--barrier reefs--fringing reefs--conversion of fringing reefs into barrier reefs, and into atolls--evidence of changes in level--breaches in barrier reefs--maldiva atolls, their peculiar structure--dead and submerged reefs--areas of subsidence and elevation--distribution of volcanoes--subsidence slow, and vast in amount. april st.--we arrived in view of the keeling or cocos islands, situated in the indian ocean, and about six hundred miles distant from the coast of sumatra. this is one of the lagoon-islands (or atolls) of coral formation, similar to those in the low archipelago which we passed near. when the ship was in the channel at the entrance, mr. liesk, an english resident, came off in his boat. the history of the inhabitants of this place, in as few words as possible, is as follows. about nine years ago, mr. hare, a worthless character, brought from the east indian archipelago a number of malay slaves, which now including children, amount to more than a hundred. shortly afterwards, captain ross, who had before visited these islands in his merchant-ship, arrived from england, bringing with him his family and goods for settlement: along with him came mr. liesk, who had been a mate in his vessel. the malay slaves soon ran away from the islet on which mr. hare was settled, and joined captain ross's party. mr. hare upon this was ultimately obliged to leave the place. the malays are now nominally in a state of freedom, and certainly are so, as far as regards their personal treatment; but in most other points they are considered as slaves. from their discontented state, from the repeated removals from islet to islet, and perhaps also from a little mismanagement, things are not very prosperous. the island has no domestic quadruped, excepting the pig, and the main vegetable production is the cocoa-nut. the whole prosperity of the place depends on this tree: the only exports being oil from the nut, and the nuts themselves, which are taken to singapore and mauritius, where they are chiefly used, when grated, in making curries. on the cocoa-nut, also, the pigs, which are loaded with fat, almost entirely subsist, as do the ducks and poultry. even a huge land-crab is furnished by nature with the means to open and feed on this most useful production. the ring-formed reef of the lagoon-island is surmounted in the greater part of its length by linear islets. on the northern or leeward side, there is an opening through which vessels can pass to the anchorage within. on entering, the scene was very curious and rather pretty; its beauty, however, entirely depended on the brilliancy of the surrounding colours. the shallow, clear, and still water of the lagoon, resting in its greater part on white sand, is, when illumined by a vertical sun, of the most vivid green. this brilliant expanse, several miles in width, is on all sides divided, either by a line of snow-white breakers from the dark heaving waters of the ocean, or from the blue vault of heaven by the strips of land, crowned by the level tops of the cocoa-nut trees. as a white cloud here and there affords a pleasing contrast with the azure sky, so in the lagoon, bands of living coral darken the emerald green water. the next morning after anchoring, i went on shore on direction island. the strip of dry land is only a few hundred yards in width; on the lagoon side there is a white calcareous beach, the radiation from which under this sultry climate was very oppressive; and on the outer coast, a solid broad flat of coral-rock served to break the violence of the open sea. excepting near the lagoon, where there is some sand, the land is entirely composed of rounded fragments of coral. in such a loose, dry, stony soil, the climate of the intertropical regions alone could produce a vigorous vegetation. on some of the smaller islets, nothing could be more elegant than the manner in which the young and full-grown cocoa-nut trees, without destroying each other's symmetry, were mingled into one wood. a beach of glittering white sand formed a border to these fairy spots. i will now give a sketch of the natural history of these islands, which, from its very paucity, possesses a peculiar interest. the cocoa-nut tree, at first glance, seems to compose the whole wood; there are however, five or six other trees. one of these grows to a very large size, but from the extremes of softness of its wood, is useless; another sort affords excellent timber for ship-building. besides the trees, the number of plants is exceedingly limited, and consists of insignificant weeds. in my collection, which includes, i believe, nearly the perfect flora, there are twenty species, without reckoning a moss, lichen, and fungus. to this number two trees must be added; one of which was not in flower, and the other i only heard of. the latter is a solitary tree of its kind, and grows near the beach, where, without doubt, the one seed was thrown up by the waves. a guilandina also grows on only one of the islets. i do not include in the above list the sugar-cane, banana, some other vegetables, fruit-trees, and imported grasses. as the islands consist entirely of coral, and at one time must have existed as mere water-washed reefs, all their terrestrial productions must have been transported here by the waves of the sea. in accordance with this, the florula has quite the character of a refuge for the destitute: professor henslow informs me that of the twenty species nineteen belong to different genera, and these again to no less than sixteen families! [ ] in holman's [ ] travels an account is given, on the authority of mr. a. s. keating, who resided twelve months on these islands, of the various seeds and other bodies which have been known to have been washed on shore. "seeds and plants from sumatra and java have been driven up by the surf on the windward side of the islands. among them have been found the kimiri, native of sumatra and the peninsula of malacca; the cocoa-nut of balci, known by its shape and size; the dadass, which is planted by the malays with the pepper-vine, the latter intwining round its trunk, and supporting itself by the prickles on its stem; the soap-tree; the castor-oil plant; trunks of the sago palm; and various kinds of seeds unknown to the malays settled on the islands. these are all supposed to have been driven by the n. w. monsoon to the coast of new holland, and thence to these islands by the s. e. trade-wind. large masses of java teak and yellow wood have also been found, besides immense trees of red and white cedar, and the blue gumwood of new holland, in a perfectly sound condition. all the hardy seeds, such as creepers, retain their germinating power, but the softer kinds, among which is the mangostin, are destroyed in the passage. fishing-canoes, apparently from java, have at times been washed on shore." it is interesting thus to discover how numerous the seeds are, which, coming from several countries, are drifted over the wide ocean. professor henslow tells me, he believes that nearly all the plants which i brought from these islands, are common littoral species in the east indian archipelago. from the direction, however, of the winds and currents, it seems scarcely possible that they could have come here in a direct line. if, as suggested with much probability by mr. keating, they were first carried towards the coast of new holland, and thence drifted back together with the productions of that country, the seeds, before germinating, must have travelled between and miles. chamisso, [ ] when describing the radack archipelago, situated in the western part of the pacific, states that "the sea brings to these islands the seeds and fruits of many trees, most of which have yet not grown here. the greater part of these seeds appear to have not yet lost the capability of growing." it is also said that palms and bamboos from somewhere in the torrid zone, and trunks of northern firs, are washed on shore: these firs must have come from an immense distance. these facts are highly interesting. it cannot be doubted that if there were land-birds to pick up the seeds when first cast on shore, and a soil better adapted for their growth than the loose blocks of coral, that the most isolated of the lagoon-islands would in time possess a far more abundant flora than they now have. the list of land animals is even poorer than that of the plants. some of the islets are inhabited by rats, which were brought in a ship from the mauritius, wrecked here. these rats are considered by mr. waterhouse as identical with the english kind, but they are smaller, and more brightly coloured. there are no true land-birds, for a snipe and a rail (rallus phillippensis), though living entirely in the dry herbage, belong to the order of waders. birds of this order are said to occur on several of the small low islands in the pacific. at ascension, where there is no land-bird, a rail (porphyrio simplex) was shot near the summit of the mountain, and it was evidently a solitary straggler. at tristan d'acunha, where, according to carmichael, there are only two land-birds, there is a coot. from these facts i believe that the waders, after the innumerable web-footed species, are generally the first colonists of small isolated islands. i may add, that whenever i noticed birds, not of oceanic species, very far out at sea, they always belonged to this order; and hence they would naturally become the earliest colonists of any remote point of land. of reptiles i saw only one small lizard. of insects i took pains to collect every kind. exclusive of spiders, which were numerous, there were thirteen species. [ ] of these, one only was a beetle. a small ant swarmed by thousands under the loose dry blocks of coral, and was the only true insect which was abundant. although the productions of the land are thus scanty, if we look to the waters of the surrounding sea, the number of organic beings is indeed infinite. chamisso has described [ ] the natural history of a lagoon-island in the radack archipelago; and it is remarkable how closely its inhabitants, in number and kind, resemble those of keeling island. there is one lizard and two waders, namely, a snipe and curlew. of plants there are nineteen species, including a fern; and some of these are the same with those growing here, though on a spot so immensely remote, and in a different ocean. the long strips of land, forming the linear islets, have been raised only to that height to which the surf can throw fragments of coral, and the wind heap up calcareous sand. the solid flat of coral rock on the outside, by its breadth, breaks the first violence of the waves, which otherwise, in a day, would sweep away these islets and all their productions. the ocean and the land seem here struggling for mastery: although terra firma has obtained a footing, the denizens of the water think their claim at least equally good. in every part one meets hermit crabs of more than one species, [ ] carrying on their backs the shells which they have stolen from the neighbouring beach. overhead, numerous gannets, frigate-birds, and terns, rest on the trees; and the wood, from the many nests and from the smell of the atmosphere, might be called a sea-rookery. the gannets, sitting on their rude nests, gaze at one with a stupid yet angry air. the noddies, as their name expresses, are silly little creatures. but there is one charming bird: it is a small, snow-white tern, which smoothly hovers at the distance of a few feet above one's head, its large black eye scanning, with quiet curiosity, your expression. little imagination is required to fancy that so light and delicate a body must be tenanted by some wandering fairy spirit. sunday, april rd.--after service i accompanied captain fitz roy to the settlement, situated at the distance of some miles, on the point of an islet thickly covered with tall cocoa-nut trees. captain ross and mr. liesk live in a large barn-like house open at both ends, and lined with mats made of woven bark. the houses of the malays are arranged along the shore of the lagoon. the whole place had rather a desolate aspect, for there were no gardens to show the signs of care and cultivation. the natives belong to different islands in the east indian archipelago, but all speak the same language: we saw the inhabitants of borneo, celebes, java, and sumatra. in colour they resemble the tahitians, from whom they do not widely differ in features. some of the women, however, show a good deal of the chinese character. i liked both their general expressions and the sound of their voices. they appeared poor, and their houses were destitute of furniture; but it was evident, from the plumpness of the little children, that cocoa-nuts and turtle afford no bad sustenance. on this island the wells are situated, from which ships obtain water. at first sight it appears not a little remarkable that the fresh water should regularly ebb and flow with the tides; and it has even been imagined, that sand has the power of filtering the salt from the sea-water. these ebbing wells are common on some of the low islands in the west indies. the compressed sand, or porous coral rock, is permeated like a sponge with the salt water, but the rain which falls on the surface must sink to the level of the surrounding sea, and must accumulate there, displacing an equal bulk of the salt water. as the water in the lower part of the great sponge-like coral mass rises and falls with the tides, so will the water near the surface; and this will keep fresh, if the mass be sufficiently compact to prevent much mechanical admixture; but where the land consists of great loose blocks of coral with open interstices, if a well be dug, the water, as i have seen, is brackish. after dinner we stayed to see a curious half superstitious scene acted by the malay women. a large wooden spoon dressed in garments, and which had been carried to the grave of a dead man, they pretend becomes inspired at the full of the moon, and will dance and jump about. after the proper preparations, the spoon, held by two women, became convulsed, and danced in good time to the song of the surrounding children and women. it was a most foolish spectacle; but mr. liesk maintained that many of the malays believed in its spiritual movements. the dance did not commence till the moon had risen, and it was well worth remaining to behold her bright orb so quietly shining through the long arms of the cocoa-nut trees as they waved in the evening breeze. these scenes of the tropics are in themselves so delicious, that they almost equal those dearer ones at home, to which we are bound by each best feeling of the mind. the next day i employed myself in examining the very interesting, yet simple structure and origin of these islands. the water being unusually smooth, i waded over the outer flat of dead rock as far as the living mounds of coral, on which the swell of the open sea breaks. in some of the gullies and hollows there were beautiful green and other coloured fishes, and the form and tints of many of the zoophytes were admirable. it is excusable to grow enthusiastic over the infinite numbers of organic beings with which the sea of the tropics, so prodigal of life, teems; yet i must confess i think those naturalists who have described, in well-known words, the submarine grottoes decked with a thousand beauties, have indulged in rather exuberant language. april th.--i accompanied captain fitz roy to an island at the head of the lagoon: the channel was exceedingly intricate, winding through fields of delicately branched corals. we saw several turtle and two boats were then employed in catching them. the water was so clear and shallow, that although at first a turtle quickly dives out of sight, yet in a canoe or boat under sail, the pursuers after no very long chase come up to it. a man standing ready in the bow, at this moment dashes through the water upon the turtle's back; then clinging with both hands by the shell of its neck, he is carried away till the animal becomes exhausted and is secured. it was quite an interesting chase to see the two boats thus doubling about, and the men dashing head foremost into the water trying to seize their prey. captain moresby informs me that in the chagos archipelago in this same ocean, the natives, by a horrible process, take the shell from the back of the living turtle. "it is covered with burning charcoal, which causes the outer shell to curl upwards, it is then forced off with a knife, and before it becomes cold flattened between boards. after this barbarous process the animal is suffered to regain its native element, where, after a certain time, a new shell is formed; it is, however, too thin to be of any service, and the animal always appears languishing and sickly." when we arrived at the head of the lagoon, we crossed a narrow islet, and found a great surf breaking on the windward coast. i can hardly explain the reason, but there is to my mind much grandeur in the view of the outer shores of these lagoon-islands. there is a simplicity in the barrier-like beach, the margin of green bushes and tall cocoa-nuts, the solid flat of dead coral-rock, strewed here and there with great loose fragments, and the line of furious breakers, all rounding away towards either hand. the ocean throwing its waters over the broad reef appears an invincible, all-powerful enemy; yet we see it resisted, and even conquered, by means which at first seem most weak and inefficient. it is not that the ocean spares the rock of coral; the great fragments scattered over the reef, and heaped on the beach, whence the tall cocoa-nut springs, plainly bespeak the unrelenting power of the waves. nor are any periods of repose granted. the long swell caused by the gentle but steady action of the trade-wind, always blowing in one direction over a wide area, causes breakers, almost equalling in force those during a gale of wind in the temperate regions, and which never cease to rage. it is impossible to behold these waves without feeling a conviction that an island, though built of the hardest rock, let it be porphyry, granite, or quartz, would ultimately yield and be demolished by such an irresistible power. yet these low, insignificant coral-islets stand and are victorious: for here another power, as an antagonist, takes part in the contest. the organic forces separate the atoms of carbonate of lime, one by one, from the foaming breakers, and unite them into a symmetrical structure. let the hurricane tear up its thousand huge fragments; yet what will that tell against the accumulated labour of myriads of architects at work night and day, month after month? thus do we see the soft and gelatinous body of a polypus, through the agency of the vital laws, conquering the great mechanical power of the waves of an ocean which neither the art of man nor the inanimate works of nature could successfully resist. we did not return on board till late in the evening, for we stayed a long time in the lagoon, examining the fields of coral and the gigantic shells of the chama, into which, if a man were to put his hand, he would not, as long as the animal lived, be able to withdraw it. near the head of the lagoon i was much surprised to find a wide area, considerably more than a mile square, covered with a forest of delicately branching corals, which, though standing upright, were all dead and rotten. at first i was quite at a loss to understand the cause afterwards it occurred to me that it was owing to the following rather curious combination of circumstances. it should, however, first be stated, that corals are not able to survive even a short exposure in the air to the sun's rays, so that their upward limit of growth is determined by that of lowest water at spring tides. it appears, from some old charts, that the long island to windward was formerly separated by wide channels into several islets; this fact is likewise indicated by the trees being younger on these portions. under the former condition of the reef, a strong breeze, by throwing more water over the barrier, would tend to raise the level of the lagoon. now it acts in a directly contrary manner; for the water within the lagoon not only is not increased by currents from the outside, but is itself blown outwards by the force of the wind. hence it is observed, that the tide near the head of the lagoon does not rise so high during a strong breeze as it does when it is calm. this difference of level, although no doubt very small, has, i believe, caused the death of those coral-groves, which under the former and more open condition of the outer reef has attained the utmost possible limit of upward growth. a few miles north of keeling there is another small atoll, the lagoon of which is nearly filled up with coral-mud. captain ross found embedded in the conglomerate on the outer coast, a well-rounded fragment of greenstone, rather larger than a man's head: he and the men with him were so much surprised at this, that they brought it away and preserved it as a curiosity. the occurrence of this one stone, where every other particle of matter is calcareous, certainly is very puzzling. the island has scarcely ever been visited, nor is it probable that a ship had been wrecked there. from the absence of any better explanation, i came to the conclusion that it must have come entangled in the roots of some large tree: when, however, i considered the great distance from the nearest land, the combination of chances against a stone thus being entangled, the tree washed into the sea, floated so far, then landed safely, and the stone finally so embedded as to allow of its discovery, i was almost afraid of imagining a means of transport apparently so improbable. it was therefore with great interest that i found chamisso, the justly distinguished naturalist who accompanied kotzebue, stating that the inhabitants of the radack archipelago, a group of lagoon-islands in the midst of the pacific, obtained stones for sharpening their instruments by searching the roots of trees which are cast upon the beach. it will be evident that this must have happened several times, since laws have been established that such stones belong to the chief, and a punishment is inflicted on any one who attempts to steal them. when the isolated position of these small islands in the midst of a vast ocean--their great distance from any land excepting that of coral formation, attested by the value which the inhabitants, who are such bold navigators, attach to a stone of any kind, [ ]--and the slowness of the currents of the open sea, are all considered, the occurrence of pebbles thus transported does appear wonderful. stones may often be thus carried; and if the island on which they are stranded is constructed of any other substance besides coral, they would scarcely attract attention, and their origin at least would never be guessed. moreover, this agency may long escape discovery from the probability of trees, especially those loaded with stones, floating beneath the surface. in the channels of tierra del fuego large quantities of drift timber are cast upon the beach, yet it is extremely rare to meet a tree swimming on the water. these facts may possibly throw light on single stones, whether angular or rounded, occasionally found embedded in fine sedimentary masses. during another day i visited west islet, on which the vegetation was perhaps more luxuriant than on any other. the cocoa-nut trees generally grow separate, but here the young ones flourished beneath their tall parents, and formed with their long and curved fronds the most shady arbours. those alone who have tried it, know how delicious it is to be seated in such shade, and drink the cool pleasant fluid of the cocoa-nut. in this island there is a large bay-like space, composed of the finest white sand: it is quite level and is only covered by the tide at high water; from this large bay smaller creeks penetrate the surrounding woods. to see a field of glittering white sand, representing water, with the cocoa-nut trees extending their tall and waving trunks around the margin, formed a singular and very pretty view. i have before alluded to a crab which lives on the cocoa-nuts; it is very common on all parts of the dry land, and grows to a monstrous size: it is closely allied or identical with the birgos latro. the front pair of legs terminate in very strong and heavy pincers, and the last pair are fitted with others weaker and much narrower. it would at first be thought quite impossible for a crab to open a strong cocoa-nut covered with the husk; but mr. liesk assures me that he has repeatedly seen this effected. the crab begins by tearing the husk, fibre by fibre, and always from that end under which the three eye-holes are situated; when this is completed, the crab commences hammering with its heavy claws on one of the eye-holes till an opening is made. then turning round its body, by the aid of its posterior and narrow pair of pincers, it extracts the white albuminous substance. i think this is as curious a case of instinct as ever i heard of, and likewise of adaptation in structure between two objects apparently so remote from each other in the scheme of nature, as a crab and a cocoa-nut tree. the birgos is diurnal in its habits; but every night it is said to pay a visit to the sea, no doubt for the purpose of moistening its branchiae. the young are likewise hatched, and live for some time, on the coast. these crabs inhabit deep burrows, which they hollow out beneath the roots of trees; and where they accumulate surprising quantities of the picked fibres of the cocoa-nut husk, on which they rest as on a bed. the malays sometimes take advantage of this, and collect the fibrous mass to use as junk. these crabs are very good to eat; moreover, under the tail of the larger ones there is a mass of fat, which, when melted, sometimes yields as much as a quart bottle full of limpid oil. it has been stated by some authors that the birgos crawls up the cocoa-nut trees for the purpose of stealing the nuts: i very much doubt the possibility of this; but with the pandanus [ ] the task would be very much easier. i was told by mr. liesk that on these islands the birgos lives only on the nuts which have fallen to the ground. captain moresby informs me that this crab inhabits the chagos and seychelle groups, but not the neighbouring maldiva archipelago. it formerly abounded at mauritius, but only a few small ones are now found there. in the pacific, this species, or one with closely allied habits, is said [ ] to inhabit a single coral island, north of the society group. to show the wonderful strength of the front pair of pincers, i may mention, that captain moresby confined one in a strong tin-box, which had held biscuits, the lid being secured with wire; but the crab turned down the edges and escaped. in turning down the edges, it actually punched many small holes quite through the tin! i was a good deal surprised by finding two species of coral of the genus millepora (m. complanata and alcicornis), possessed of the power of stinging. the stony branches or plates, when taken fresh from the water, have a harsh feel and are not slimy, although possessing a strong and disagreeable smell. the stinging property seems to vary in different specimens: when a piece was pressed or rubbed on the tender skin of the face or arm, a pricking sensation was usually caused, which came on after the interval of a second, and lasted only for a few minutes. one day, however, by merely touching my face with one of the branches, pain was instantaneously caused; it increased as usual after a few seconds, and remaining sharp for some minutes, was perceptible for half an hour afterwards. the sensation was as bad as that from a nettle, but more like that caused by the physalia or portuguese man-of-war. little red spots were produced on the tender skin of the arm, which appeared as if they would have formed watery pustules, but did not. m. quoy mentions this case of the millepora; and i have heard of stinging corals in the west indies. many marine animals seem to have this power of stinging: besides the portuguese man-of-war, many jelly-fish, and the aplysia or sea-slug of the cape de verd islands, it is stated in the voyage of the astrolabe, that an actinia or sea-anemone, as well as a flexible coralline allied to sertularia, both possess this means of offence or defence. in the east indian sea, a stinging sea-weed is said to be found. two species of fish, of the genus scarus, which are common here, exclusively feed on coral: both are coloured of a splendid bluish-green, one living invariably in the lagoon, and the other amongst the outer breakers. mr. liesk assured us, that he had repeatedly seen whole shoals grazing with their strong bony jaws on the tops of the coral branches: i opened the intestines of several, and found them distended with yellowish calcareous sandy mud. the slimy disgusting holuthuriae (allied to our star-fish), which the chinese gourmands are so fond of, also feed largely, as i am informed by dr. allan, on corals; and the bony apparatus within their bodies seems well adapted for this end. these holuthuriae, the fish, the numerous burrowing shells, and nereidous worms, which perforate every block of dead coral, must be very efficient agents in producing the fine white mud which lies at the bottom and on the shores of the lagoon. a portion, however, of this mud, which when wet resembled pounded chalk, was found by professor ehrenberg to be partly composed of siliceous-shielded infusoria. april th.--in the morning we stood out of the lagoon on our passage to the isle of france. i am glad we have visited these islands: such formations surely rank high amongst the wonderful objects of this world. captain fitz roy found no bottom with a line feet in length, at the distance of only yards from the shore; hence this island forms a lofty submarine mountain, with sides steeper even than those of the most abrupt volcanic cone. the saucer-shaped summit is nearly ten miles across; and every single atom, [ ] from the least particle to the largest fragment of rock, in this great pile, which however is small compared with very many other lagoon-islands, bears the stamp of having been subjected to organic arrangement. we feel surprise when travellers tell us of the vast dimensions of the pyramids and other great ruins, but how utterly insignificant are the greatest of these, when compared to these mountains of stone accumulated by the agency of various minute and tender animals! this is a wonder which does not at first strike the eye of the body, but, after reflection, the eye of reason. i will now give a very brief account of the three great classes of coral-reefs; namely, atolls, barrier, and fringing-reefs, and will explain my views [ ] on their formation. almost every voyager who has crossed the pacific has expressed his unbounded astonishment at the lagoon-islands, or as i shall for the future call them by their indian name of atolls, and has attempted some explanation. even as long ago as the year , pyrard de laval well exclaimed, "c'est [picture] une merveille de voir chacun de ces atollons, environne d'un grand banc de pierre tout autour, n'y ayant point d'artifice humain." the accompanying sketch of whitsunday island in the pacific, copied from, capt. beechey's admirable voyage, gives but a faint idea of the singular aspect of an atoll: it is one of the smallest size, and has its narrow islets united together in a ring. the immensity of the ocean, the fury of the breakers, contrasted with the lowness of the land and the smoothness of the bright green water within the lagoon, can hardly be imagined without having been seen. the earlier voyagers fancied that the coral-building animals instinctively built up their great circles to afford themselves protection in the inner parts; but so far is this from the truth, that those massive kinds, to whose growth on the exposed outer shores the very existence of the reef depends, cannot live within the lagoon, where other delicately-branching kinds flourish. moreover, on this view, many species of distinct genera and families are supposed to combine for one end; and of such a combination, not a single instance can be found in the whole of nature. the theory that has been most generally received is, that atolls are based on submarine craters; but when we consider the form and size of some, the number, proximity, and relative positions of others, this idea loses its plausible character: thus suadiva atoll is geographical miles in diameter in one line, by miles in another line; rimsky is by miles across, and it has a strangely sinuous margin; bow atoll is miles long, and on an average only in width; menchicoff atoll consists of three atolls united or tied together. this theory, moreover, is totally inapplicable to the northern maldiva atolls in the indian ocean (one of which is miles in length, and between and in breadth), for they are not bounded like ordinary atolls by narrow reefs, but by a vast number of separate little atolls; other little atolls rising out of the great central lagoon-like spaces. a third and better theory was advanced by chamisso, who thought that from the corals growing more vigorously where exposed to the open sea, as undoubtedly is the case, the outer edges would grow up from the general foundation before any other part, and that this would account for the ring or cup-shaped structure. but we shall immediately see, that in this, as well as in the crater-theory, a most important consideration has been overlooked, namely, on what have the reef-building corals, which cannot live at a great depth, based their massive structures? numerous soundings were carefully taken by captain fitz roy on the steep outside of keeling atoll, and it was found that within ten fathoms, the prepared tallow at the bottom of the lead, invariably came up marked with the impression of living corals, but as perfectly clean as if it had been dropped on a carpet of turf; as the depth increased, the impressions became less numerous, but the adhering particles of sand more and more numerous, until at last it was evident that the bottom consisted of a smooth sandy layer: to carry on the analogy of the turf, the blades of grass grew thinner and thinner, till at last the soil was so sterile, that nothing sprang from it. from these observations, confirmed by many others, it may be safely inferred that the utmost depth at which corals can construct reefs is between and fathoms. now there are enormous areas in the pacific and indian ocean, in which every single island is of coral formation, and is raised only to that height to which the waves can throw up fragments, and the winds pile up sand. thus radack group of atolls is an irregular square, miles long and broad; the low archipelago is elliptic-formed, miles in its longer, and in its shorter axis: there are other small groups and single low islands between these two archipelagoes, making a linear space of ocean actually more than miles in length, in which not one single island rises above the specified height. again, in the indian ocean there is a space of ocean miles in length, including three archipelagoes, in which every island is low and of coral formation. from the fact of the reef-building corals not living at great depths, it is absolutely certain that throughout these vast areas, wherever there is now an atoll, a foundation must have originally existed within a depth of from to fathoms from the surface. it is improbable in the highest degree that broad, lofty, isolated, steep-sided banks of sediment, arranged in groups and lines hundreds of leagues in length, could have been deposited in the central and profoundest parts of the pacific and indian oceans, at an immense distance from any continent, and where the water is perfectly limpid. it is equally improbable that the elevatory forces should have uplifted throughout the above vast areas, innumerable great rocky banks within to fathoms, or to feet, of the surface of the sea, and not one single point above that level; for where on the whole surface of the globe can we find a single chain of mountains, even a few hundred miles in length, with their many summits rising within a few feet of a given level, and not one pinnacle above it? if then the foundations, whence the atoll-building corals sprang, were not formed of sediment, and if they were not lifted up to the required level, they must of necessity have subsided into it; and this at once solves the difficulty. for as mountain after mountain, and island after island, slowly sank beneath the water, fresh bases would be successively afforded for the growth of the corals. it is impossible here to enter into all the necessary details, but i venture to defy [ ] any one to explain in any other manner how it is possible that numerous islands should be distributed throughout vast areas--all the islands being low--all being built of corals, absolutely requiring a foundation within a limited depth from the surface. before explaining how atoll-formed reefs acquire their peculiar structure, we must turn to the second great class, namely, barrier-reefs. these either extend in straight lines in front of the shores of a continent or of a large island, or they encircle smaller islands; in both cases, being separated from the land by a broad and rather deep channel of water, analogous to the lagoon within an atoll. it is remarkable how little attention has been paid to encircling barrier-reefs; yet they are truly wonderful structures. the following sketch represents part of the barrier encircling the island of bolabola in the pacific, as seen from one of the central peaks. in this instance the whole line of reef has been converted into land; but usually a snow-white line of great breakers, with only here and there a single low islet crowned with cocoa-nut trees, divides the dark heaving waters of the ocean from the light-green expanse of the lagoon-channel. and the quiet waters of this channel generally bathe a fringe of low alluvial soil, loaded with the most beautiful productions of the tropics, and lying at the foot of the wild, abrupt, central mountains. encircling barrier-reefs are of all sizes, from three miles to no less than forty-four miles in diameter; and that which fronts one side, and encircles both ends, of new caledonia, is miles long. each reef includes one, two, or several rocky islands of various heights; and in one instance, even as many as twelve separate islands. the reef runs at a greater or less distance from the included land; in the society archipelago generally from one to three or four miles; but at hogoleu the reef is miles on the southern side, and miles on the opposite or northern side, from the included islands. the depth within the lagoon-channel also varies much; from to fathoms may be taken as an average; but at vanikoro there are spaces no less than fathoms or feet deep. internally the reef either slopes gently into the lagoon-channel, or ends in a perpendicular wall sometimes between two and three hundred feet under water in height: externally the reef rises, like an atoll, with extreme abruptness out of the profound depths of the ocean. what can be more singular than these structures? we see [picture] an island, which may be compared to a castle situated on the summit of a lofty submarine mountain, protected by a great wall of coral-rock, always steep externally and sometimes internally, with a broad level summit, here and there breached by a narrow gateway, through which the largest ships can enter the wide and deep encircling moat. as far as the actual reef of coral is concerned, there is not the smallest difference, in general size, outline, grouping, and even in quite trifling details of structure, between a barrier and an atoll. the geographer balbi has well remarked, that an encircled island is an atoll with high land rising out of its lagoon; remove the land from within, and a perfect atoll is left. but what has caused these reefs to spring up at such great distances from the shores of the included islands? it cannot be that the corals will not grow close to the land; for the shores within the lagoon-channel, when not surrounded by alluvial soil, are often fringed by living reefs; and we shall presently see that there is a whole class, which i have called fringing reefs from their close attachment to the shores both of continents and of islands. again, on what have the reef-building corals, which cannot live at great depths, based their encircling structures? this is a great apparent difficulty, analogous to that in the case of atolls, which has generally been overlooked. it will be perceived more clearly by inspecting the following sections which are real ones, taken in north and south lines, through the islands with their barrier-reefs, of vanikoro, gambier, and maurua; and they are laid down, both vertically and horizontally, on the same scale of a quarter of an inch to a mile. it should be observed that the sections might have been taken in any direction through these islands, or through [picture] many other encircled islands, and the general features would have been the same. now, bearing in mind that reef-building coral cannot live at a greater depth than from to fathoms, and that the scale is so small that the plummets on the right hand show a depth of fathoms, on what are these barrier-reefs based? are we to suppose that each island is surrounded by a collar-like submarine ledge of rock, or by a great bank of sediment, ending abruptly where the reef ends? if the sea had formerly eaten deeply into the islands, before they were protected by the reefs, thus having left a shallow ledge round them under water, the present shores would have been invariably bounded by great precipices, but this is most rarely the case. moreover, on this notion, it is not possible to explain why the corals should have sprung up, like a wall, from the extreme outer margin of the ledge, often leaving a broad space of water within, too deep for the growth of corals. the accumulation of a wide bank of sediment all round these islands, and generally widest where the included islands are smallest, is highly improbable, considering their exposed positions in the central and deepest parts of the ocean. in the case of the barrier-reef of new caledonia, which extends for miles beyond the northern point of the islands, in the same straight line with which it fronts the west coast, it is hardly possible to believe that a bank of sediment could thus have been straightly deposited in front of a lofty island, and so far beyond its termination in the open sea. finally, if we look to other oceanic islands of about the same height and of similar geological constitution, but not encircled by coral-reefs, we may in vain search for so trifling a circumambient depth as fathoms, except quite near to their shores; for usually land that rises abruptly out of water, as do most of the encircled and non-encircled oceanic islands, plunges abruptly under it. on what then, i repeat, are these barrier reefs based? why, with their wide and deep moat-like channels, do they stand so far from the included land? we shall soon see how easily these difficulties disappear. we come now to our third class of fringing-reefs, which will require a very short notice. where the land slopes abruptly under water, these reefs are only a few yards in width, forming a mere ribbon or fringe round the shores: where the land slopes gently under the water the reef extends further, sometimes even as much as a mile from the land; but in such cases the soundings outside the reef always show that the submarine prolongation of the land is gently inclined. in fact, the reefs extend only to that distance from the shore, at which a foundation within the requisite depth from to fathoms is found. as far as the actual reef is concerned, there is no essential difference between it and that forming a barrier or an atoll: it is, however, generally of less width, and consequently few islets have been formed on it. from the corals growing more vigorously on the outside, and from the noxious effect of the sediment washed inwards, the outer edge of the reef is the highest part, and between it and the land there is generally a shallow sandy channel a few feet in depth. where banks or sediments have accumulated near to the surface, as in parts of the west indies, they sometimes become fringed with corals, and hence in some degree resemble lagoon-islands or atolls, in the same manner as fringing-reefs, surrounding gently sloping islands, in some degree resemble barrier-reefs. no theory on the formation of coral-reefs can be considered satisfactory which does not include the three great [picture] classes. we have seen that we are driven to believe in the subsidence of those vast areas, interspersed with low islands, of which not one rises above the height to which the wind and waves can throw up matter, and yet are constructed by animals requiring a foundation, and that foundation to lie at no great depth. let us then take an island surrounded by fringing-reefs, which offer no difficulty in their structure; and let this island with its reefs, represented by the unbroken lines in the woodcut, slowly subside. now, as the island sinks down, either a few feet at a time or quite insensibly, we may safely infer, from what is known of the conditions favourable to the growth of coral, that the living masses, bathed by the surf on the margin of the reef, will soon regain the surface. the water, however, will encroach little by little on the shore, the island becoming lower and smaller, and the space between the inner edge of the reef and the beach proportionately broader. a section of the reef and island in this state, after a subsidence of several hundred feet, is given by the dotted lines. coral islets are supposed to have been formed on the reef; and a ship is anchored in the lagoon-channel. this channel will be more or less deep, according to the rate of subsidence, to the amount of sediment accumulated in it, and to the growth of the delicately branched corals which can live there. the section in this state resembles in every respect one drawn through an encircled island: in fact, it is a real section (on the scale of . of an inch to a mile) through bolabola in the pacific. we can now at once see why encircling barrier-reefs stand so far from the shores which they front. we can also perceive, that a line drawn perpendicularly down from the outer edge of the new reef, to the foundation of solid rock beneath the old fringing-reef, will exceed by as many feet as there have been feet of subsidence, that small limit of depth at which the effective corals can live:--the little architects having built up their great wall-like mass, as the whole sank down, upon a basis formed of other corals and their consolidated fragments. thus the difficulty on this head, which appeared so great, disappears. if, instead of an island, we had taken the shore of a continent fringed with reefs, and had imagined it to have subsided, a great straight barrier, like that of australia or new caledonia, separated from the land by a wide and deep channel, would evidently have been the result. let us take our new encircling barrier-reef, of which the section is now represented by unbroken lines, and which, as i have said, is a real section through bolabola, and let it go on subsiding. as the barrier-reef slowly sinks down, the corals will go on vigorously growing upwards; but as the island sinks, the water will gain inch by inch on the shore--the separate mountains first forming separate islands within [picture] one great reef--and finally, the last and highest pinnacle disappearing. the instant this takes place, a perfect atoll is formed: i have said, remove the high land from within an encircling barrier-reef, and an atoll is left, and the land has been removed. we can now perceive how it comes that atolls, having sprung from encircling barrier-reefs, resemble them in general size, form, in the manner in which they are grouped together, and in their arrangement in single or double lines; for they may be called rude outline charts of the sunken islands over which they stand. we can further see how it arises that the atolls in the pacific and indian oceans extend in lines parallel to the generally prevailing strike of the high islands and great coast-lines of those oceans. i venture, therefore, to affirm, that on the theory of the upward growth of the corals during the sinking of the land, [ ] all the leading features in those wonderful structures, the lagoon-islands or atolls, which have so long excited the attention of voyagers, as well as in the no less wonderful barrier-reefs, whether encircling small islands or stretching for hundreds of miles along the shores of a continent, are simply explained. it may be asked, whether i can offer any direct evidence of the subsidence of barrier-reefs or atolls; but it must be borne in mind how difficult it must ever be to detect a movement, the tendency of which is to hide under water the part affected. nevertheless, at keeling atoll i observed on all sides of the lagoon old cocoa-nut trees undermined and falling; and in one place the foundation-posts of a shed, which the inhabitants asserted had stood seven years before just above high-water mark, but now was daily washed by every tide: on inquiry i found that three earthquakes, one of them severe, had been felt here during the last ten years. at vanikoro, the lagoon-channel is remarkably deep, scarcely any alluvial soil has accumulated at the foot of the lofty included mountains, and remarkably few islets have been formed by the heaping of fragments and sand on the wall-like barrier reef; these facts, and some analogous ones, led me to believe that this island must lately have subsided and the reef grown upwards: here again earthquakes are frequent and very severe. in the society archipelago, on the other hand, where the lagoon-channels are almost choked up, where much low alluvial land has accumulated, and where in some cases long islets have been formed on the barrier-reefs--facts all showing that the islands have not very lately subsided--only feeble shocks are most rarely felt. in these coral formations, where the land and water seem struggling for mastery, it must be ever difficult to decide between the effects of a change in the set of the tides and of a slight subsidence: that many of these reefs and atolls are subject to changes of some kind is certain; on some atolls the islets appear to have increased greatly within a late period; on others they have been partially or wholly washed away. the inhabitants of parts of the maldiva archipelago know the date of the first formation of some islets; in other parts, the corals are now flourishing on water-washed reefs, where holes made for graves attest the former existence of inhabited land. it is difficult to believe in frequent changes in the tidal currents of an open ocean; whereas, we have in the earthquakes recorded by the natives on some atolls, and in the great fissures observed on other atolls, plain evidence of changes and disturbances in progress in the subterranean regions. it is evident, on our theory, that coasts merely fringed by reefs cannot have subsided to any perceptible amount; and therefore they must, since the growth of their corals, either have remained stationary or have been upheaved. now, it is remarkable how generally it can be shown, by the presence of upraised organic remains, that the fringed islands have been elevated: and so far, this is indirect evidence in favour of our theory. i was particularly struck with this fact, when i found, to my surprise, that the descriptions given by mm. quoy and gaimard were applicable, not to reefs in general as implied by them, but only to those of the fringing class; my surprise, however, ceased when i afterwards found that, by a strange chance, all the several islands visited by these eminent naturalists, could be shown by their own statements to have been elevated within a recent geological era. not only the grand features in the structure of barrier-reefs and of atolls, and to their likeness to each other in form, size, and other characters, are explained on the theory of subsidence--which theory we are independently forced to admit in the very areas in question, from the necessity of finding bases for the corals within the requisite depth--but many details in structure and exceptional cases can thus also be simply explained. i will give only a few instances. in barrier-reefs it has long been remarked with surprise, that the passages through the reef exactly face valleys in the included land, even in cases where the reef is separated from the land by a lagoon-channel so wide and so much deeper than the actual passage itself, that it seems hardly possible that the very small quantity of water or sediment brought down could injure the corals on the reef. now, every reef of the fringing class is breached by a narrow gateway in front of the smallest rivulet, even if dry during the greater part of the year, for the mud, sand, or gravel, occasionally washed down kills the corals on which it is deposited. consequently, when an island thus fringed subsides, though most of the narrow gateways will probably become closed by the outward and upward growth of the corals, yet any that are not closed (and some must always be kept open by the sediment and impure water flowing out of the lagoon-channel) will still continue to front exactly the upper parts of those valleys, at the mouths of which the original basal fringing-reef was breached. we can easily see how an island fronted only on one side, or on one side with one end or both ends encircled by barrier-reefs, might after long-continued subsidence be converted either into a single wall-like reef, or into an atoll with a great straight spur projecting from it, or into two or three atolls tied together by straight reefs--all of which exceptional cases actually occur. as the reef-building corals require food, are preyed upon by other animals, are killed by sediment, cannot adhere to a loose bottom, and may be easily carried down to a depth whence they cannot spring up again, we need feel no surprise at the reefs both of atolls and barriers becoming in parts imperfect. the great barrier of new caledonia is thus imperfect and broken in many parts; hence, after long subsidence, this great reef would not produce one great atoll miles in length, but a chain or archipelago of atolls, of very nearly the same dimension with those in the maldiva archipelago. moreover, in an atoll once breached on opposite sides, from the likelihood of the oceanic and tidal currents passing straight through the breaches, it is extremely improbable that the corals, especially during continued subsidence, would ever be able again to unite the rim; if they did not, as the whole sank downwards, one atoll would be divided into two or more. in the maldiva archipelago there are distinct atolls so related to each other in position, and separated by channels either unfathomable or very deep (the channel between ross and ari atolls is fathoms, and that between the north and south nillandoo atolls is fathoms in depth), that it is impossible to look at a map of them without believing that they were once more intimately related. and in this same archipelago, mahlos-mahdoo atoll is divided by a bifurcating channel from to fathoms in depth, in such a manner, that it is scarcely possible to say whether it ought strictly to be called three separate atolls, or one great atoll not yet finally divided. i will not enter on many more details; but i must remark that the curious structure of the northern maldiva atolls receives (taking into consideration the free entrance of the sea through their broken margins) a simple explanation in the upward and outward growth of the corals, originally based both on small detached reefs in their lagoons, such as occur in common atolls, and on broken portions of the linear marginal reef, such as bounds every atoll of the ordinary form. i cannot refrain from once again remarking on the singularity of these complex structures--a great sandy and generally concave disk rises abruptly from the unfathomable ocean, with its central expanse studded, and its edge symmetrically bordered with oval basins of coral-rock just lipping the surface of the sea, sometimes clothed with vegetation, and each containing a lake of clear water! one more point in detail: as in the two neighbouring archipelagoes corals flourish in one and not in the other, and as so many conditions before enumerated must affect their existence, it would be an inexplicable fact if, during the changes to which earth, air, and water are subjected, the reef-building corals were to keep alive for perpetuity on any one spot or area. and as by our theory the areas including atolls and barrier-reefs are subsiding, we ought occasionally to find reefs both dead and submerged. in all reefs, owing to the sediment being washed out of the lagoon-channel to leeward, that side is least favourable to the long-continued vigorous growth of the corals; hence dead portions of reef not unfrequently occur on the leeward side; and these, though still retaining their proper wall-like form, are now in several instances sunk several fathoms beneath the surface. the chagos group appears from some cause, possibly from the subsidence having been too rapid, at present to be much less favourably circumstanced for the growth of reefs than formerly: one atoll has a portion of its marginal reef, nine miles in length, dead and submerged; a second has only a few quite small living points which rise to the surface, a third and fourth are entirely dead and submerged; a fifth is a mere wreck, with its structure almost obliterated. it is remarkable that in all these cases, the dead reefs and portions of reef lie at nearly the same depth, namely, from six to eight fathoms beneath the surface, as if they had been carried down by one uniform movement. one of these "half-drowned atolls," so called by capt. moresby (to whom i am indebted for much invaluable information), is of vast size, namely, ninety nautical miles across in one direction, and seventy miles in another line; and is in many respects eminently curious. as by our theory it follows that new atolls will generally be formed in each new area of subsidence, two weighty objections might have been raised, namely, that atolls must be increasing indefinitely in number; and secondly, that in old areas of subsidence each separate atoll must be increasing indefinitely in thickness, if proofs of their occasional destruction could not have been adduced. thus have we traced the history of these great rings of coral-rock, from their first origin through their normal changes, and through the occasional accidents of their existence, to their death and final obliteration. in my volume on "coral formations" i have published a map, in which i have coloured all the atolls dark-blue, the barrier-reefs pale-blue, and the fringing reefs red. these latter reefs have been formed whilst the land has been stationary, or, as appears from the frequent presence of upraised organic remains, whilst it has been slowly rising: atolls and barrier-reefs, on the other hand, have grown up during the directly opposite movement of subsidence, which movement must have been very gradual, and in the case of atolls so vast in amount as to have buried every mountain-summit over wide ocean-spaces. now in this map we see that the reefs tinted pale and dark-blue, which have been produced by the same order of movement, as a general rule manifestly stand near each other. again we see, that the areas with the two blue tints are of wide extent; and that they lie separate from extensive lines of coast coloured red, both of which circumstances might naturally have been inferred, on the theory of the nature of the reefs having been governed by the nature of the earth's movement. it deserves notice that in more than one instance where single red and blue circles approach near each other, i can show that there have been oscillations of level; for in such cases the red or fringed circles consist of atolls, originally by our theory formed during subsidence, but subsequently upheaved; and on the other hand, some of the pale-blue or encircled islands are composed of coral-rock, which must have been uplifted to its present height before that subsidence took place, during which the existing barrier-reefs grew upwards. authors have noticed with surprise, that although atolls are the commonest coral-structures throughout some enormous oceanic tracts, they are entirely absent in other seas, as in the west indies: we can now at once perceive the cause, for where there has not been subsidence, atolls cannot have been formed; and in the case of the west indies and parts of the east indies, these tracts are known to have been rising within the recent period. the larger areas, coloured red and blue, are all elongated; and between the two colours there is a degree of rude alternation, as if the rising of one had balanced the sinking of the other. taking into consideration the proofs of recent elevation both on the fringed coasts and on some others (for instance, in south america) where there are no reefs, we are led to conclude that the great continents are for the most part rising areas: and from the nature of the coral-reefs, that the central parts of the great oceans are sinking areas. the east indian archipelago, the most broken land in the world, is in most parts an area of elevation, but surrounded and penetrated, probably in more lines than one, by narrow areas of subsidence. i have marked with vermilion spots all the many known active volcanos within the limits of this same map. their entire absence from every one of the great subsiding areas, coloured either pale or dark blue, is most striking and not less so is the coincidence of the chief volcanic chains with the parts coloured red, which we are led to conclude have either long remained stationary, or more generally have been recently upraised. although a few of the vermilion spots occur within no great distance of single circles tinted blue, yet not one single active volcano is situated within several hundred miles of an archipelago, or even small group of atolls. it is, therefore, a striking fact that in the friendly archipelago, which consists of a group of atolls upheaved and since partially worn down, two volcanos, and perhaps more, are historically known to have been in action. on the other hand, although most of the islands in the pacific which are encircled by barrier-reefs, are of volcanic origin, often with the remnants of craters still distinguishable, not one of them is known to have ever been in eruption. hence in these cases it would appear, that volcanos burst forth into action and become extinguished on the same spots, accordingly as elevatory or subsiding movements prevail there. numberless facts could be adduced to prove that upraised organic remains are common wherever there are active volcanos; but until it could be shown that in areas of subsidence, volcanos were either absent or inactive, the inference, however probable in itself, that their distribution depended on the rising or falling of the earth's surface, would have been hazardous. but now, i think, we may freely admit this important deduction. taking a final view of the map, and bearing in mind the statements made with respect to the upraised organic remains, we must feel astonished at the vastness of the areas, which have suffered changes in level either downwards or upwards, within a period not geologically remote. it would appear also, that the elevatory and subsiding movements follow nearly the same laws. throughout the spaces interspersed with atolls, where not a single peak of high land has been left above the level of the sea, the sinking must have been immense in amount. the sinking, moreover, whether continuous, or recurrent with intervals sufficiently long for the corals again to bring up their living edifices to the surface, must necessarily have been extremely slow. this conclusion is probably the most important one which can be deduced from the study of coral formations;--and it is one which it is difficult to imagine how otherwise could ever have been arrived at. nor can i quite pass over the probability of the former existence of large archipelagoes of lofty islands, where now only rings of coral-rock scarcely break the open expanse of the sea, throwing some light on the distribution of the inhabitants of the other high islands, now left standing so immensely remote from each other in the midst of the great oceans. the reef-constructing corals have indeed reared and preserved wonderful memorials of the subterranean oscillations of level; we see in each barrier-reef a proof that the land has there subsided, and in each atoll a monument over an island now lost. we may thus, like unto a geologist who had lived his ten thousand years and kept a record of the passing changes, gain some insight into the great system by which the surface of this globe has been broken up, and land and water interchanged. [ ] these plants are described in the annals of nat. hist., vol. i., , p. . [ ] holman's travels, vol. iv. p. . [ ] kotzebue's first voyage, vol. iii. p. . [ ] the thirteen species belong to the following orders:--in the coleoptera, a minute elater; orthoptera, a gryllus and a blatta; hemiptera, one species; homoptera, two; neuroptera a chrysopa; hymenoptera, two ants; lepidoptera nocturna, a diopaea, and a pterophorus (?); diptera, two species. [ ] kotzebue's first voyage, vol. iii. p. . [ ] the large claws or pincers of some of these crabs are most beautifully adapted, when drawn back, to form an operculum to the shell, nearly as perfect as the proper one originally belonging to the molluscous animal. i was assured, and as far as my observations went i found it so, that certain species of the hermit-crab always use certain species of shells. [ ] some natives carried by kotzebue to kamtschatka collected stones to take back to their country. [ ] see proceedings of zoological society, , p. . [ ] tyerman and bennett. voyage, etc. vol. ii. p. . [ ] i exclude, of course, some soil which has been imported here in vessels from malacca and java, and likewise, some small fragments of pumice, drifted here by the waves. the one block of greenstone, moreover, on the northern island must be excepted. [ ] these were first read before the geological society in may, , and have since been developed in a separate volume on the "structure and distribution of coral reefs." [ ] it is remarkable that mr. lyell, even in the first edition of his "principles of geology," inferred that the amount of subsidence in the pacific must have exceeded that of elevation, from the area of land being very small relatively to the agents there tending to form it, namely, the growth of coral and volcanic action. [ ] it has been highly satisfactory to me to find the following passage in a pamphlet by mr. couthouy, one of the naturalists in the great antarctic expedition of the united states:--"having personally examined a large number of coral-islands and resided eight months among the volcanic class having shore and partially encircling reefs. i may be permitted to state that my own observations have impressed a conviction of the correctness of the theory of mr. darwin."--the naturalists, however, of this expedition differ with me on some points respecting coral formations. chapter xxi mauritius to england mauritius, beautiful appearance of--great crateriform ring of mountains--hindoos--st. helena--history of the changes in the vegetation--cause of the extinction of land-shells--ascension--variation in the imported rats--volcanic bombs--beds of infusoria--bahia--brazil--splendour of tropical scenery--pernambuco--singular reef--slavery--return to england--retrospect on our voyage. april th.--in the morning we passed round the northern end of mauritius, or the isle of france. from this point of view the aspect of the island equalled the expectations raised by the many well-known descriptions of its beautiful scenery. the sloping plain of the pamplemousses, interspersed with houses, and coloured by the large fields of sugar-cane of a bright green, composed the foreground. the brilliancy of the green was the more remarkable because it is a colour which generally is conspicuous only from a very short distance. towards the centre of the island groups of wooded mountains rose out of this highly cultivated plain; their summits, as so commonly happens with ancient volcanic rocks, being jagged into the sharpest points. masses of white clouds were collected around these pinnacles, as if for the sake of pleasing the stranger's eye. the whole island, with its sloping border and central mountains, was adorned with an air of perfect elegance: the scenery, if i may use such an expression, appeared to the sight harmonious. i spent the greater part of the next day in walking about the town and visiting different people. the town is of considerable size, and is said to contain , inhabitants; the streets are very clean and regular. although the island has been so many years under the english government, the general character of the place is quite french: englishmen speak to their servants in french, and the shops are all french; indeed, i should think that calais or boulogne was much more anglified. there is a very pretty little theatre, in which operas are excellently performed. we were also surprised at seeing large booksellers' shops, with well-stored shelves;--music and reading bespeak our approach to the old world of civilization; for in truth both australia and america are new worlds. the various races of men walking in the streets afford the most interesting spectacle in port louis. convicts from india are banished here for life; at present there are about , and they are employed in various public works. before seeing these people, i had no idea that the inhabitants of india were such noble-looking figures. their skin is extremely dark, and many of the older men had large mustaches and beards of a snow-white colour; this, together with the fire of their expression, gave them quite an imposing aspect. the greater number had been banished for murder and the worst crimes; others for causes which can scarcely be considered as moral faults, such as for not obeying, from superstitious motives, the english laws. these men are generally quiet and well-conducted; from their outward conduct, their cleanliness, and faithful observance of their strange religious rites, it was impossible to look at them with the same eyes as on our wretched convicts in new south wales. may st.--sunday. i took a quiet walk along the sea-coast to the north of the town. the plain in this part is quite uncultivated; it consists of a field of black lava, smoothed over with coarse grass and bushes, the latter being chiefly mimosas. the scenery may be described as intermediate in character between that of the galapagos and of tahiti; but this will convey a definite idea to very few persons. it is a very pleasant country, but it has not the charms of tahiti, or the grandeur of brazil. the next day i ascended la pouce, a mountain so called from a thumb-like projection, which rises close behind the town to a height of , feet. the centre of the island consists of a great platform, surrounded by old broken basaltic mountains, with their strata dipping seawards. the central platform, formed of comparatively recent streams of lava, is of an oval shape, thirteen geographical miles across, in the line of its shorter axis. the exterior bounding mountains come into that class of structures called craters of elevation, which are supposed to have been formed not like ordinary craters, but by a great and sudden upheaval. there appears to me to be insuperable objections to this view: on the other hand, i can hardly believe, in this and in some other cases, that these marginal crateriform mountains are merely the basal remnants of immense volcanos, of which the summits either have been blown off, or swallowed up in subterranean abysses. from our elevated position we enjoyed an excellent view over the island. the country on this side appears pretty well cultivated, being divided into fields and studded with farm-houses. i was, however, assured that of the whole land, not more than half is yet in a productive state; if such be the case, considering the present large export of sugar, this island, at some future period when thickly peopled, will be of great value. since england has taken possession of it, a period of only twenty-five years, the export of sugar is said to have increased seventy-five fold. one great cause of its prosperity is the excellent state of the roads. in the neighbouring isle of bourbon, which remains under the french government, the roads are still in the same miserable state as they were here only a few years ago. although the french residents must have largely profited by the increased prosperity of their island, yet the english government is far from popular. rd.--in the evening captain lloyd, the surveyor-general, so well known from his examination of the isthmus of panama, invited mr. stokes and myself to his country-house, which is situated on the edge of wilheim plains, and about six miles from the port. we stayed at this delightful place two days; standing nearly feet above the sea, the air was cool and fresh, and on every side there were delightful walks. close by, a grand ravine has been worn to a depth of about feet through the slightly inclined streams of lava, which have flowed from the central platform. th.--captain lloyd took us to the riviere noire, which is several miles to the southward, that i might examine some rocks of elevated coral. we passed through pleasant gardens, and fine fields of sugar-cane growing amidst huge blocks of lava. the roads were bordered by hedges of mimosa, and near many of the houses there were avenues of the mango. some of the views, where the peaked hills and the cultivated farms were seen together, were exceedingly picturesque; and we were constantly tempted to exclaim, "how pleasant it would be to pass one's life in such quiet abodes!" captain lloyd possessed an elephant, and he sent it half way with us, that we might enjoy a ride in true indian fashion. the circumstance which surprised me most was its quite noiseless step. this elephant is the only one at present on the island; but it is said others will be sent for. may th.--we sailed from port louis, and, calling at the cape of good hope, on the th of july, we arrived off st. helena. this island, the forbidding aspect of which has been so often described, rises abruptly like a huge black castle from the ocean. near the town, as if to complete nature's defence, small forts and guns fill up every gap in the rugged rocks. the town runs up a flat and narrow valley; the houses look respectable, and are interspersed with a very few green trees. when approaching the anchorage there was one striking view: an irregular castle perched on the summit of a lofty hill, and surrounded by a few scattered fir-trees, boldly projected against the sky. the next day i obtained lodgings within a stone's throw of napoleon's tomb; [ ] it was a capital central situation, whence i could make excursions in every direction. during the four days i stayed here, i wandered over the island from morning to night, and examined its geological history. my lodgings were situated at a height of about feet; here the weather was cold and boisterous, with constant showers of rain; and every now and then the whole scene was veiled in thick clouds. near the coast the rough lava is quite bare: in the central and higher parts, feldspathic rocks by their decomposition have produced a clayey soil, which, where not covered by vegetation, is stained in broad bands of many bright colours. at this season, the land moistened by constant showers, produces a singularly bright green pasture, which lower and lower down, gradually fades away and at last disappears. in latitude degs., and at the trifling elevation of feet, it is surprising to behold a vegetation possessing a character decidedly british. the hills are crowned with irregular plantations of scotch firs; and the sloping banks are thickly scattered over with thickets of gorse, covered with its bright yellow flowers. weeping-willows are common on the banks of the rivulets, and the hedges are made of the blackberry, producing its well-known fruit. when we consider that the number of plants now found on the island is , and that out of these fifty-two alone are indigenous species, the rest having been imported, and most of them from england, we see the reason of the british character of the vegetation. many of these english plants appear to flourish better than in their native country; some also from the opposite quarter of australia succeed remarkably well. the many imported species must have destroyed some of the native kinds; and it is only on the highest and steepest ridges that the indigenous flora is now predominant. the english, or rather welsh character of the scenery, is kept up by the numerous cottages and small white houses; some buried at the bottom of the deepest valleys, and others mounted on the crests of the lofty hills. some of the views are striking, for instance that from near sir w. doveton's house, where the bold peak called lot is seen over a dark wood of firs, the whole being backed by the red water-worn mountains of the southern coast. on viewing the island from an eminence, the first circumstance which strikes one, is the number of the roads and forts: the labour bestowed on the public works, if one forgets its character as a prison, seems out of all proportion to its extent or value. there is so little level or useful land, that it seems surprising how so many people, about , can subsist here. the lower orders, or the emancipated slaves, are i believe extremely poor: they complain of the want of work. from the reduction in the number of public servants owing to the island having been given up by the east indian company, and the consequent emigration of many of the richer people, the poverty probably will increase. the chief food of the working class is rice with a little salt meat; as neither of these articles are the products of the island, but must be purchased with money, the low wages tell heavily on the poor people. now that the people are blessed with freedom, a right which i believe they value fully, it seems probable that their numbers will quickly increase: if so, what is to become of the little state of st. helena? my guide was an elderly man, who had been a goatherd when a boy, and knew every step amongst the rocks. he was of a race many times crossed, and although with a dusky skin, he had not the disagreeable expression of a mulatto. he was a very civil, quiet old man, and such appears the character of the greater number of the lower classes. it was strange to my ears to hear a man, nearly white and respectably dressed, talking with indifference of the times when he was a slave. with my companion, who carried our dinners and a horn of water, which is quite necessary, as all the water in the lower valleys is saline, i every day took long walks. beneath the upper and central green circle, the wild valleys are quite desolate and untenanted. here, to the geologist, there were scenes of high interest, showing successive changes and complicated disturbances. according to my views, st. helena has existed as an island from a very remote epoch: some obscure proofs, however, of the elevation of the land are still extant. i believe that the central and highest peaks form parts of the rim of a great crater, the southern half of which has been entirely removed by the waves of the sea: there is, moreover, an external wall of black basaltic rocks, like the coast-mountains of mauritius, which are older than the central volcanic streams. on the higher parts of the island, considerable numbers of a shell, long thought to be a marine species occur imbedded in the soil. it proved to be a cochlogena, or land-shell of a very peculiar form; [ ] with it i found six other kinds; and in another spot an eighth species. it is remarkable that none of them are now found living. their extinction has probably been caused by the entire destruction of the woods, and the consequent loss of food and shelter, which occurred during the early part of the last century. the history of the changes, which the elevated plains of longwood and deadwood have undergone, as given in general beatson's account of the island, is extremely curious. both plains, it is said in former times were covered with wood, and were therefore called the great wood. so late as the year there were many trees, but in the old trees had mostly fallen; and as goats and hogs had been suffered to range about, all the young trees had been killed. it appears also from the official records, that the trees were unexpectedly, some years afterwards, succeeded by a wire grass which spread over the whole surface. [ ] general beatson adds that now this plain "is covered with fine sward, and is become the finest piece of pasture on the island." the extent of surface, probably covered by wood at a former period, is estimated at no less than two thousand acres; at the present day scarcely a single tree can be found there. it is also said that in there were quantities of dead trees in sandy bay; this place is now so utterly desert, that nothing but so well attested an account could have made me believe that they could ever have grown there. the fact, that the goats and hogs destroyed all the young trees as they sprang up, and that in the course of time the old ones, which were safe from their attacks, perished from age, seems clearly made out. goats were introduced in the year ; eighty-six years afterwards, in the time of cavendish, it is known that they were exceedingly numerous. more than a century afterwards, in , when the evil was complete and irretrievable, an order was issued that all stray animals should be destroyed. it is very interesting thus to find, that the arrival of animals at st. helena in , did not change the whole aspect of the island, until a period of two hundred and twenty years had elapsed: for the goats were introduced in , and in it is said "the old trees had mostly fallen." there can be little doubt that this great change in the vegetation affected not only the land-shells, causing eight species to become extinct, but likewise a multitude of insects. st. helena, situated so remote from any continent, in the midst of a great ocean, and possessing a unique flora, excites our curiosity. the eight land-shells, though now extinct, and one living succinea, are peculiar species found nowhere else. mr. cuming, however, informs me that an english helix is common here, its eggs no doubt having been imported in some of the many introduced plants. mr. cuming collected on the coast sixteen species of sea-shells, of which seven, as far as he knows, are confined to this island. birds and insects, [ ] as might have been expected, are very few in number; indeed i believe all the birds have been introduced within late years. partridges and pheasants are tolerably abundant; the island is much too english not to be subject to strict game-laws. i was told of a more unjust sacrifice to such ordinances than i ever heard of even in england. the poor people formerly used to burn a plant, which grows on the coast-rocks, and export the soda from its ashes; but a peremptory order came out prohibiting this practice, and giving as a reason that the partridges would have nowhere to build. in my walks i passed more than once over the grassy plain bounded by deep valleys, on which longwood stands. viewed from a short distance, it appears like a respectable gentleman's country-seat. in front there are a few cultivated fields, and beyond them the smooth hill of coloured rocks called the flagstaff, and the rugged square black mass of the barn. on the whole the view was rather bleak and uninteresting. the only inconvenience i suffered during my walks was from the impetuous winds. one day i noticed a curious circumstance; standing on the edge of a plain, terminated by a great cliff of about a thousand feet in depth, i saw at the distance of a few yards right to windward, some tern, struggling against a very strong breeze, whilst, where i stood, the air was quite calm. approaching close to the brink, where the current seemed to be deflected upwards from the face of the cliff, i stretched out my arm, and immediately felt the full force of the wind: an invisible barrier, two yards in width, separated perfectly calm air from a strong blast. i so much enjoyed my rambles among the rocks and mountains of st. helena, that i felt almost sorry on the morning of the th to descend to the town. before noon i was on board, and the beagle made sail. on the th of july we reached ascension. those who have beheld a volcanic island, situated under an arid climate, will at once be able to picture to themselves the appearance of ascension. they will imagine smooth conical hills of a bright red colour, with their summits generally truncated, rising separately out of a level surface of black rugged lava. a principal mound in the centre of the island, seems the father of the lesser cones. it is called green hill: its name being taken from the faintest tinge of that colour, which at this time of the year is barely perceptible from the anchorage. to complete the desolate scene, the black rocks on the coast are lashed by a wild and turbulent sea. the settlement is near the beach; it consists of several houses and barracks placed irregularly, but well built of white freestone. the only inhabitants are marines, and some negroes liberated from slave-ships, who are paid and victualled by government. there is not a private person on the island. many of the marines appeared well contented with their situation; they think it better to serve their one-and-twenty years on shore, let it be what it may, than in a ship; in this choice, if i were a marine, i should most heartily agree. the next morning i ascended green hill, feet high, and thence walked across the island to the windward point. a good cart-road leads from the coast-settlement to the houses, gardens, and fields, placed near the summit of the central mountain. on the roadside there are milestones, and likewise cisterns, where each thirsty passer-by can drink some good water. similar care is displayed in each part of the establishment, and especially in the management of the springs, so that a single drop of water may not be lost: indeed the whole island may be compared to a huge ship kept in first-rate order. i could not help, when admiring the active industry, which had created such effects out of such means, at the same time regretting that it had been wasted on so poor and trifling an end. m. lesson has remarked with justice, that the english nation would have thought of making the island of ascension a productive spot, any other people would have held it as a mere fortress in the ocean. near this coast nothing grows; further inland, an occasional green castor-oil plant, and a few grasshoppers, true friends of the desert, may be met with. some grass is scattered over the surface of the central elevated region, and the whole much resembles the worse parts of the welsh mountains. but scanty as the pasture appears, about six hundred sheep, many goats, a few cows and horses, all thrive well on it. of native animals, land-crabs and rats swarm in numbers. whether the rat is really indigenous, may well be doubted; there are two varieties as described by mr. waterhouse; one is of a black colour, with fine glossy fur, and lives on the grassy summit, the other is brown-coloured and less glossy, with longer hairs, and lives near the settlement on the coast. both these varieties are one-third smaller than the common black rat (m. rattus); and they differ from it both in the colour and character of their fur, but in no other essential respect. i can hardly doubt that these rats (like the common mouse, which has also run wild) have been imported, and, as at the galapagos, have varied from the effect of the new conditions to which they have been exposed: hence the variety on the summit of the island differs from that on the coast. of native birds there are none; but the guinea-fowl, imported from the cape de verd islands, is abundant, and the common fowl has likewise run wild. some cats, which were originally turned out to destroy the rats and mice, have increased, so as to become a great plague. the island is entirely without trees, in which, and in every other respect, it is very far inferior to st. helena. one of my excursions took me towards the s. w. extremity of the island. the day was clear and hot, and i saw the island, not smiling with beauty, but staring with naked hideousness. the lava streams are covered with hummocks, and are rugged to a degree which, geologically speaking, is not of easy explanation. the intervening spaces are concealed with layers of pumice, ashes and volcanic tuff. whilst passing this end of the island at sea, i could not imagine what the white patches were with which the whole plain was mottled; i now found that they were seafowl, sleeping in such full confidence, that even in midday a man could walk up and seize hold of them. these birds were the only living creatures i saw during the whole day. on the beach a great surf, although the breeze was light, came tumbling over the broken lava rocks. the geology of this island is in many respects interesting. in several places i noticed volcanic bombs, that is, masses of lava which have been shot through the air whilst fluid, and have consequently assumed a spherical or pear-shape. not only their external form, but, in several cases, their internal structure shows in a very curious manner that they have revolved in their aerial course. the internal structure of one of these bombs, when broken, is represented very accurately in the woodcut. the central part is coarsely cellular, the cells decreasing in size towards the exterior; where there is a shell-like case about the third of an inch in thickness, of compact stone, which again is overlaid by the outside crust of finely cellular lava. i think there can be little doubt, first that the external crust cooled rapidly in the state in which we now see it; secondly, that the still fluid lava within, was packed by the centrifugal force, generated by [picture] the revolving of the bomb, against the external cooled crust, and so produced the solid shell of stone; and lastly, that the centrifugal force, by relieving the pressure in the more central parts of the bomb, allowed the heated vapours to expand their cells, thus forming the coarse cellular mass of the centre. a hill, formed of the older series of volcanic rocks, and which has been incorrectly considered as the crater of a volcano, is remarkable from its broad, slightly hollowed, and circular summit having been filled up with many successive layers of ashes and fine scoriae. these saucer-shaped layers crop out on the margin, forming perfect rings of many different colours, giving to the summit a most fantastic appearance; one of these rings is white and broad, and resembles a course round which horses have been exercised; hence the hill has been called the devil's riding school. i brought away specimens of one of the tufaceous layers of a pinkish colour and it is a most extraordinary fact, that professor ehrenberg [ ] finds it almost wholly composed of matter which has been organized: he detects in it some siliceous-shielded fresh-water infusoria, and no less than twenty-five different kinds of the siliceous tissue of plants, chiefly of grasses. from the absence of all carbonaceous matter, professor ehrenberg believes that these organic bodies have passed through the volcanic fire, and have been erupted in the state in which we now see them. the appearance of the layers induced me to believe that they had been deposited under water, though from the extreme dryness of the climate i was forced to imagine, that torrents of rain had probably fallen during some great eruption, and that thus a temporary lake had been formed into which the ashes fell. but it may now be suspected that the lake was not a temporary one. anyhow, we may feel sure, that at some former epoch the climate and productions of ascension were very different from what they now are. where on the face of the earth can we find a spot, on which close investigation will not discover signs of that endless cycle of change, to which this earth has been, is, and will be subjected? on leaving ascension, we sailed for bahia, on the coast of brazil, in order to complete the chronometrical measurement of the world. we arrived there on august st, and stayed four days, during which i took several long walks. i was glad to find my enjoyment in tropical scenery had not decreased from the want of novelty, even in the slightest degree. the elements of the scenery are so simple, that they are worth mentioning, as a proof on what trifling circumstances exquisite natural beauty depends. the country may be described as a level plain of about three hundred feet in elevation, which in all parts has been worn into flat-bottomed valleys. this structure is remarkable in a granitic land, but is nearly universal in all those softer formations of which plains are usually composed. the whole surface is covered by various kinds of stately trees, interspersed with patches of cultivated ground, out of which houses, convents, and chapels arise. it must be remembered that within the tropics, the wild luxuriance of nature is not lost even in the vicinity of large cities: for the natural vegetation of the hedges and hill-sides overpowers in picturesque effect the artificial labour of man. hence, there are only a few spots where the bright red soil affords a strong contrast with the universal clothing of green. from the edges of the plain there are distant views either of the ocean, or of the great bay with its low-wooded shores, and on which numerous boats and canoes show their white sails. excepting from these points, the scene is extremely limited; following the level pathways, on each hand, only glimpses into the wooded valleys below can be obtained. the houses i may add, and especially the sacred edifices, are built in a peculiar and rather fantastic style of architecture. they are all whitewashed; so that when illumined by the brilliant sun of midday, and as seen against the pale blue sky of the horizon, they stand out more like shadows than real buildings. such are the elements of the scenery, but it is a hopeless attempt to paint the general effect. learned naturalists describe these scenes of the tropics by naming a multitude of objects, and mentioning some characteristic feature of each. to a learned traveller this possibly may communicate some definite ideas: but who else from seeing a plant in an herbarium can imagine its appearance when growing in its native soil? who from seeing choice plants in a hothouse, can magnify some into the dimensions of forest trees, and crowd others into an entangled jungle? who when examining in the cabinet of the entomologist the gay exotic butterflies, and singular cicadas, will associate with these lifeless objects, the ceaseless harsh music of the latter, and the lazy flight of the former,--the sure accompaniments of the still, glowing noon-day of the tropics? it is when the sun has attained its greatest height, that such scenes should be viewed: then the dense splendid foliage of the mango hides the ground with its darkest shade, whilst the upper branches are rendered from the profusion of light of the most brilliant green. in the temperate zones the case is different--the vegetation there is not so dark or so rich, and hence the rays of the declining sun, tinged of a red, purple, or bright yellow color, add most to the beauties of those climes. when quietly walking along the shady pathways, and admiring each successive view, i wished to find language to express my ideas. epithet after epithet was found too weak to convey to those who have not visited the intertropical regions, the sensation of delight which the mind experiences. i have said that the plants in a hothouse fail to communicate a just idea of the vegetation, yet i must recur to it. the land is one great wild, untidy, luxuriant hothouse, made by nature for herself, but taken possession of by man, who has studded it with gay houses and formal gardens. how great would be the desire in every admirer of nature to behold, if such were possible, the scenery of another planet! yet to every person in europe, it may be truly said, that at the distance of only a few degrees from his native soil, the glories of another world are opened to him. in my last walk i stopped again and again to gaze on these beauties, and endeavoured to fix in my mind for ever, an impression which at the time i knew sooner or later must fail. the form of the orange-tree, the cocoa-nut, the palm, the mango, the tree-fern, the banana, will remain clear and separate; but the thousand beauties which unite these into one perfect scene must fade away: yet they will leave, like a tale heard in childhood, a picture full of indistinct, but most beautiful figures. august th.--in the afternoon we stood out to sea, with the intention of making a direct course to the cape de verd islands. unfavourable winds, however, delayed us, and on the th we ran into pernambuco,--a large city on the coast of brazil, in latitude degs. south. we anchored outside the reef; but in a short time a pilot came on board and took us into the inner harbour, where we lay close to the town. pernambuco is built on some narrow and low sand-banks, which are separated from each other by shoal channels of salt water. the three parts of the town are connected together by two long bridges built on wooden piles. the town is in all parts disgusting, the streets being narrow, ill-paved, and filthy; the houses, tall and gloomy. the season of heavy rains had hardly come to an end, and hence the surrounding country, which is scarcely raised above the level of the sea, was flooded with water; and i failed in all my attempts to take walks. the flat swampy land on which pernambuco stands is surrounded, at the distance of a few miles, by a semicircle of low hills, or rather by the edge of a country elevated perhaps two hundred feet above the sea. the old city of olinda stands on one extremity of this range. one day i took a canoe, and proceeded up one of the channels to visit it; i found the old town from its situation both sweeter and cleaner than that of pernambuco. i must here commemorate what happened for the first time during our nearly five years' wandering, namely, having met with a want of politeness. i was refused in a sullen manner at two different houses, and obtained with difficulty from a third, permission to pass through their gardens to an uncultivated hill, for the purpose of viewing the country. i feel glad that this happened in the land of the brazilians, for i bear them no good will--a land also of slavery, and therefore of moral debasement. a spaniard would have felt ashamed at the very thought of refusing such a request, or of behaving to a stranger with rudeness. the channel by which we went to and returned from olinda, was bordered on each side by mangroves, which sprang like a miniature forest out of the greasy mud-banks. the bright green colour of these bushes always reminded me of the rank grass in a church-yard: both are nourished by putrid exhalations; the one speaks of death past, and the other too often of death to come. the most curious object which i saw in this neighbourhood, was the reef that forms the harbour. i doubt whether in the whole world any other natural structure has so artificial an appearance. [ ] it runs for a length of several miles in an absolutely straight line, parallel to, and not far distant from, the shore. it varies in width from thirty to sixty yards, and its surface is level and smooth; it is composed of obscurely stratified hard sandstone. at high water the waves break over it; at low water its summit is left dry, and it might then be mistaken for a breakwater erected by cyclopean workmen. on this coast the currents of the sea tend to throw up in front of the land, long spits and bars of loose sand, and on one of these, part of the town of pernambuco stands. in former times a long spit of this nature seems to have become consolidated by the percolation of calcareous matter, and afterwards to have been gradually upheaved; the outer and loose parts during this process having been worn away by the action of the sea, and the solid nucleus left as we now see it. although night and day the waves of the open atlantic, turbid with sediment, are driven against the steep outside edges of this wall of stone, yet the oldest pilots know of no tradition of any change in its appearance. this durability is much the most curious fact in its history: it is due to a tough layer, a few inches thick, of calcareous matter, wholly formed by the successive growth and death of the small shells of serpulae, together with some few barnacles and nulliporae. these nulliporae, which are hard, very simply-organized sea-plants, play an analogous and important part in protecting the upper surfaces of coral-reefs, behind and within the breakers, where the true corals, during the outward growth of the mass, become killed by exposure to the sun and air. these insignificant organic beings, especially the serpulae, have done good service to the people of pernambuco; for without their protective aid the bar of sandstone would inevitably have been long ago worn away and without the bar, there would have been no harbour. on the th of august we finally left the shores of brazil. i thank god, i shall never again visit a slave-country. to this day, if i hear a distant scream, it recalls with painful vividness my feelings, when passing a house near pernambuco, i heard the most pitiable moans, and could not but suspect that some poor slave was being tortured, yet knew that i was as powerless as a child even to remonstrate. i suspected that these moans were from a tortured slave, for i was told that this was the case in another instance. near rio de janeiro i lived opposite to an old lady, who kept screws to crush the fingers of her female slaves. i have stayed in a house where a young household mulatto, daily and hourly, was reviled, beaten, and persecuted enough to break the spirit of the lowest animal. i have seen a little boy, six or seven years old, struck thrice with a horse-whip (before i could interfere) on his naked head, for having handed me a glass of water not quite clean; i saw his father tremble at a mere glance from his master's eye. these latter cruelties were witnessed by me in a spanish colony, in which it has always been said, that slaves are better treated than by the portuguese, english, or other european nations. i have seen at rio de janeiro a powerful negro afraid to ward off a blow directed, as he thought, at his face. i was present when a kind-hearted man was on the point of separating forever the men, women, and little children of a large number of families who had long lived together. i will not even allude to the many heart-sickening atrocities which i authentically heard of;--nor would i have mentioned the above revolting details, had i not met with several people, so blinded by the constitutional gaiety of the negro as to speak of slavery as a tolerable evil. such people have generally visited at the houses of the upper classes, where the domestic slaves are usually well treated, and they have not, like myself, lived amongst the lower classes. such inquirers will ask slaves about their condition; they forget that the slave must indeed be dull, who does not calculate on the chance of his answer reaching his master's ears. it is argued that self-interest will prevent excessive cruelty; as if self-interest protected our domestic animals, which are far less likely than degraded slaves, to stir up the rage of their savage masters. it is an argument long since protested against with noble feeling, and strikingly exemplified, by the ever-illustrious humboldt. it is often attempted to palliate slavery by comparing the state of slaves with our poorer countrymen: if the misery of our poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin; but how this bears on slavery, i cannot see; as well might the use of the thumb-screw be defended in one land, by showing that men in another land suffered from some dreadful disease. those who look tenderly at the slave owner, and with a cold heart at the slave, never seem to put themselves into the position of the latter; what a cheerless prospect, with not even a hope of change! picture to yourself the chance, ever hanging over you, of your wife and your little children--those objects which nature urges even the slave to call his own--being torn from you and sold like beasts to the first bidder! and these deeds are done and palliated by men, who profess to love their neighbours as themselves, who believe in god, and pray that his will be done on earth! it makes one's blood boil, yet heart tremble, to think that we englishmen and our american descendants, with their boastful cry of liberty, have been and are so guilty: but it is a consolation to reflect, that we at least have made a greater sacrifice, than ever made by any nation, to expiate our sin. on the last day of august we anchored for the second time at porto praya in the cape de verd archipelago; thence we proceeded to the azores, where we stayed six days. on the nd of october we made the shore, of england; and at falmouth i left the beagle, having lived on board the good little vessel nearly five years. our voyage having come to an end, i will take a short retrospect of the advantages and disadvantages, the pains and pleasures, of our circumnavigation of the world. if a person asked my advice, before undertaking a long voyage, my answer would depend upon his possessing a decided taste for some branch of knowledge, which could by this means be advanced. no doubt it is a high satisfaction to behold various countries and the many races of mankind, but the pleasures gained at the time do not counterbalance the evils. it is necessary to look forward to a harvest, however distant that may be, when some fruit will be reaped, some good effected. many of the losses which must be experienced are obvious; such as that of the society of every old friend, and of the sight of those places with which every dearest remembrance is so intimately connected. these losses, however, are at the time partly relieved by the exhaustless delight of anticipating the long wished-for day of return. if, as poets say, life is a dream, i am sure in a voyage these are the visions which best serve to pass away the long night. other losses, although not at first felt, tell heavily after a period: these are the want of room, of seclusion, of rest; the jading feeling of constant hurry; the privation of small luxuries, the loss of domestic society and even of music and the other pleasures of imagination. when such trifles are mentioned, it is evident that the real grievances, excepting from accidents, of a sea-life are at an end. the short space of sixty years has made an astonishing difference in the facility of distant navigation. even in the time of cook, a man who left his fireside for such expeditions underwent severe privations. a yacht now, with every luxury of life, can circumnavigate the globe. besides the vast improvements in ships and naval resources, the whole western shores of america are thrown open, and australia has become the capital of a rising continent. how different are the circumstances to a man shipwrecked at the present day in the pacific, to what they were in the time of cook! since his voyage a hemisphere has been added to the civilized world. if a person suffer much from sea-sickness, let him weigh it heavily in the balance. i speak from experience: it is no trifling evil, cured in a week. if, on the other hand, he take pleasure in naval tactics, he will assuredly have full scope for his taste. but it must be borne in mind, how large a proportion of the time, during a long voyage, is spent on the water, as compared with the days in harbour. and what are the boasted glories of the illimitable ocean. a tedious waste, a desert of water, as the arabian calls it. no doubt there are some delightful scenes. a moonlight night, with the clear heavens and the dark glittering sea, and the white sails filled by the soft air of a gently blowing trade-wind, a dead calm, with the heaving surface polished like a mirror, and all still except the occasional flapping of the canvas. it is well once to behold a squall with its rising arch and coming fury, or the heavy gale of wind and mountainous waves. i confess, however, my imagination had painted something more grand, more terrific in the full-grown storm. it is an incomparably finer spectacle when beheld on shore, where the waving trees, the wild flight of the birds, the dark shadows and bright lights, the rushing of the torrents all proclaim the strife of the unloosed elements. at sea the albatross and little petrel fly as if the storm were their proper sphere, the water rises and sinks as if fulfilling its usual task, the ship alone and its inhabitants seem the objects of wrath. on a forlorn and weather-beaten coast, the scene is indeed different, but the feelings partake more of horror than of wild delight. let us now look at the brighter side of the past time. the pleasure derived from beholding the scenery and the general aspect of the various countries we have visited, has decidedly been the most constant and highest source of enjoyment. it is probable that the picturesque beauty of many parts of europe exceeds anything which we beheld. but there is a growing pleasure in comparing the character of the scenery in different countries, which to a certain degree is distinct from merely admiring its beauty. it depends chiefly on an acquaintance with the individual parts of each view. i am strongly induced to believe that as in music, the person who understands every note will, if he also possesses a proper taste, more thoroughly enjoy the whole, so he who examines each part of a fine view, may also thoroughly comprehend the full and combined effect. hence, a traveller should be a botanist, for in all views plants form the chief embellishment. group masses of naked rock, even in the wildest forms, and they may for a time afford a sublime spectacle, but they will soon grow monotonous. paint them with bright and varied colours, as in northern chile, they will become fantastic; clothe them with vegetation, they must form a decent, if not a beautiful picture. when i say that the scenery of parts of europe is probably superior to anything which we beheld, i except, as a class by itself, that of the intertropical zones. the two classes cannot be compared together; but i have already often enlarged on the grandeur of those regions. as the force of impressions generally depends on preconceived ideas, i may add, that mine were taken from the vivid descriptions in the personal narrative of humboldt, which far exceed in merit anything else which i have read. yet with these high-wrought ideas, my feelings were far from partaking of a tinge of disappointment on my first and final landing on the shores of brazil. among the scenes which are deeply impressed on my mind, none exceed in sublimity the primeval forests undefaced by the hand of man; whether those of brazil, where the powers of life are predominant, or those of tierra del fuego, where death and decay prevail. both are temples filled with the varied productions of the god of nature:--no one can stand in these solitudes unmoved, and not feel that there is more in man than the mere breath of his body. in calling up images of the past, i find that the plains of patagonia frequently cross before my eyes; yet these plains are pronounced by all wretched and useless. they can be described only by negative characters; without habitations, without water, without trees, without mountains, they support merely a few dwarf plants. why, then, and the case is not peculiar to myself, have these arid wastes taken so firm a hold on my memory? why have not the still more level, the greener and more fertile pampas, which are serviceable to mankind, produced an equal impression? i can scarcely analyze these feelings: but it must be partly owing to the free scope given to the imagination. the plains of patagonia are boundless, for they are scarcely passable, and hence unknown: they bear the stamp of having lasted, as they are now, for ages, and there appears no limit to their duration through future time. if, as the ancients supposed, the flat earth was surrounded by an impassable breadth of water, or by deserts heated to an intolerable excess, who would not look at these last boundaries to man's knowledge with deep but ill-defined sensations? lastly, of natural scenery, the views from lofty mountains, through certainly in one sense not beautiful, are very memorable. when looking down from the highest crest of the cordillera, the mind, undisturbed by minute details, was filled with the stupendous dimensions of the surrounding masses. of individual objects, perhaps nothing is more certain to create astonishment than the first sight in his native haunt of a barbarian--of man in his lowest and most savage state. one's mind hurries back over past centuries, and then asks, could our progenitors have been men like these?--men, whose very signs and expressions are less intelligible to us than those of the domesticated animals; men, who do not possess the instinct of those animals, nor yet appear to boast of human reason, or at least of arts consequent on that reason. i do not believe it is possible to describe or paint the difference between savage and civilized man. it is the difference between a wild and tame animal: and part of the interest in beholding a savage, is the same which would lead every one to desire to see the lion in his desert, the tiger tearing his prey in the jungle, or the rhinoceros wandering over the wild plains of africa. among the other most remarkable spectacles which we have beheld, may be ranked, the southern cross, the cloud of magellan, and the other constellations of the southern hemisphere--the water-spout--the glacier leading its blue stream of ice, overhanging the sea in a bold precipice--a lagoon-island raised by the reef-building corals--an active volcano--and the overwhelming effects of a violent earthquake. these latter phenomena, perhaps, possess for me a peculiar interest, from their intimate connection with the geological structure of the world. the earthquake, however, must be to every one a most impressive event: the earth, considered from our earliest childhood as the type of solidity, has oscillated like a thin crust beneath our feet; and in seeing the laboured works of man in a moment overthrown, we feel the insignificance of his boasted power. it has been said, that the love of the chase is an inherent delight in man--a relic of an instinctive passion. if so, i am sure the pleasure of living in the open air, with the sky for a roof and the ground for a table, is part of the same feeling, it is the savage returning to his wild and native habits. i always look back to our boat cruises, and my land journeys, when through unfrequented countries, with an extreme delight, which no scenes of civilization could have created. i do not doubt that every traveller must remember the glowing sense of happiness which he experienced, when he first breathed in a foreign clime, where the civilized man had seldom or never trod. there are several other sources of enjoyment in a long voyage, which are of a more reasonable nature. the map of the world ceases to be a blank; it becomes a picture full of the most varied and animated figures. each part assumes its proper dimensions: continents are not looked at in the light of islands, or islands considered as mere specks, which are, in truth, larger than many kingdoms of europe. africa, or north and south america, are well-sounding names, and easily pronounced; but it is not until having sailed for weeks along small portions of their shores, that one is thoroughly convinced what vast spaces on our immense world these names imply. from seeing the present state, it is impossible not to look forward with high expectations to the future progress of nearly an entire hemisphere. the march of improvement, consequent on the introduction of christianity throughout the south sea, probably stands by itself in the records of history. it is the more striking when we remember that only sixty years since, cook, whose excellent judgment none will dispute, could foresee no prospect of a change. yet these changes have now been effected by the philanthropic spirit of the british nation. in the same quarter of the globe australia is rising, or indeed may be said to have risen, into a grand centre of civilization, which, at some not very remote period, will rule as empress over the southern hemisphere. it is impossible for an englishman to behold these distant colonies, without a high pride and satisfaction. to hoist the british flag, seems to draw with it as a certain consequence, wealth, prosperity, and civilization. in conclusion, it appears to me that nothing can be more improving to a young naturalist, than a journey in distant countries. it both sharpens, and partly allays that want and craving, which, as sir j. herschel remarks, a man experiences although every corporeal sense be fully satisfied. the excitement from the novelty of objects, and the chance of success, stimulate him to increased activity. moreover, as a number of isolated facts soon become uninteresting, the habit of comparison leads to generalization. on the other hand, as the traveller stays but a short time in each place, his descriptions must generally consist of mere sketches, instead of detailed observations. hence arises, as i have found to my cost, a constant tendency to fill up the wide gaps of knowledge, by inaccurate and superficial hypotheses. but i have too deeply enjoyed the voyage, not to recommend any naturalist, although he must not expect to be so fortunate in his companions as i have been, to take all chances, and to start, on travels by land if possible, if otherwise, on a long voyage. he may feel assured, he will meet with no difficulties or dangers, excepting in rare cases, nearly so bad as he beforehand anticipates. in a moral point of view, the effect ought to be, to teach him good-humoured patience, freedom from selfishness, the habit of acting for himself, and of making the best of every occurrence. in short, he ought to partake of the characteristic qualities of most sailors. travelling ought also to teach him distrust; but at the same time he will discover, how many truly kind-hearted people there are, with whom he never before had, or ever again will have any further communication, who yet are ready to offer him the most disinterested assistance. [ ] after the volumes of eloquence which have poured forth on this subject, it is dangerous even to mention the tomb. a modern traveller, in twelve lines, burdens the poor little island with the following titles,--it is a grave, tomb, pyramid, cemetery, sepulchre, catacomb, sarcophagus, minaret, and mausoleum! [ ] it deserves notice, that all the many specimens of this shell found by me in one spot, differ as a marked variety, from another set of specimens procured from a different spot. [ ] beatson's st. helena. introductory chapter, p. . [ ] among these few insects, i was surprised to find a small aphodius (nov. spec.) and an oryctes, both extremely numerous under dung. when the island was discovered it certainly possessed no quadruped, excepting perhaps a mouse: it becomes, therefore, a difficult point to ascertain, whether these stercovorous insects have since been imported by accident, or if aborigines, on what food they formerly subsisted. on the banks of the plata, where, from the vast number of cattle and horses, the fine plains of turf are richly manured, it is vain to seek the many kinds of dung-feeding beetles, which occur so abundantly in europe. i observed only an oryctes (the insects of this genus in europe generally feed on decayed vegetable matter) and two species of phanaeus, common in such situations. on the opposite side of the cordillera in chiloe, another species of phanaeus is exceedingly abundant, and it buries the dung of the cattle in large earthen balls beneath the ground. there is reason to believe that the genus phanaeus, before the introduction of cattle, acted as scavengers to man. in europe, beetles, which find support in the matter which has already contributed towards the life of other and larger animals, are so numerous that there must be considerably more than one hundred different species. considering this, and observing what a quantity of food of this kind is lost on the plains of la plata, i imagined i saw an instance where man had disturbed that chain, by which so many animals are linked together in their native country. in van diemen's land, however, i found four species of onthophagus, two of aphodius, and one of a third genus, very abundantly under the dung of cows; yet these latter animals had been then introduced only thirty-three years. previous to that time the kangaroo and some other small animals were the only quadrupeds; and their dung is of a very different quality from that of their successors introduced by man. in england the greater number of stercovorous beetles are confined in their appetites; that is, they do not depend indifferently on any quadruped for the means of subsistence. the change, therefore, in habits which must have taken place in van diemen's land is highly remarkable. i am indebted to the rev. f. w. hope, who, i hope, will permit me to call him my master in entomology, for giving me the names of the foregoing insects. [ ] monats. der konig. akad. d. wiss. zu berlin. vom april, . [ ] i have described this bar in detail, in the lond. and edin. phil. mag., vol. xix. ( ), p. . none none none none more letters of charles darwin by charles darwin a record of his work in a series of hitherto unpublished letters edited by francis darwin, fellow of christ's college, and a.c. seward, fellow of emmanuel college, cambridge in two volumes transcriber's notes: all biographical footnotes of both volumes appear at the end of volume ii. all other notes by charles darwin's editors appear in the text, in brackets () with a chapter/note or letter/note number. volume ii. dedicated with affection and respect, to sir joseph hooker in remembrance of his lifelong friendship with charles darwin "you will never know how much i owe to you for your constant kindness and encouragement" charles darwin to sir joseph hooker, september , more letters of charles darwin volume ii chapter .vii.--geographical distribution. - (continued) ( - .) letter . j.d. hooker to charles darwin. kew, january th, . prof. miquel, of utrecht, begs me to ask you for your carte, and offers his in return. i grieve to bother you on such a subject. i am sick and tired of this carte correspondence. i cannot conceive what humboldt's pyrenean violet is: no such is mentioned in webb, and no alpine one at all. i am sorry i forgot to mention the stronger african affinity of the eastern canary islands. thank you for mentioning it. i cannot admit, without further analysis, that most of the peculiar atlantic islands genera were derived from europe, and have since become extinct there. i have rather thought that many are only altered forms of existing european genera; but this is a very difficult point, and would require a careful study of such genera and allies with this object in view. the subject has often presented itself to me as a grand one for analytic botany. no doubt its establishment would account for the community of the peculiar genera on the several groups and islets, but whilst so many species are common we must allow for a good deal of migration of peculiar genera too. by jove! i will write out next mail to the governor of st. helena for boxes of earth, and you shall have them to grow. thanks for telling me of having suggested to me the working out of proportions of plants with irregular flowers in islands. i thought it was a deuced deal too good an idea to have arisen spontaneously in my block, though i did not recollect your having done so. no doubt your suggestion was crystallised in some corner of my sensorium. i should like to work out the point. have you kerguelen land amongst your volcanic islands? i have a curious book of a sealer who was wrecked on the island, and who mentions a volcanic mountain and hot springs at the s.w. end; it is called the "wreck of the favourite." ( / . "narrative of the wreck of the 'favourite' on the island of desolation; detailing the adventures, sufferings and privations of john munn; an historical account of the island and its whale and sea fisheries." edited by w.b. clarke: london, .) letter . to j.d. hooker. down, march th, . it is a long time since i have written, but i cannot boast that i have refrained from charity towards you, but from having lots of work...you ask what i have been doing. nothing but blackening proofs with corrections. i do not believe any man in england naturally writes so vile a style as i do... in your paper on "insular floras" (page ) there is what i must think an error, which i before pointed out to you: viz., you say that the plants which are wholly distinct from those of nearest continent are often very common instead of very rare. ( / . "insular floras," pamphlet reprinted from the "gardeners' chronicle," page : "as a general rule the species of the mother continent are proportionally the most abundant, and cover the greatest surface of the islands. the peculiar species are rarer, the peculiar genera of continental affinity are rarer still; whilst the plants having no affinity with those of the mother continent are often very common." in a letter of march th, , sir joseph explains that in the case of the atlantic islands it is the "peculiar genera of european affinity that are so rare," while clethra, dracaena and the laurels, which have no european affinity, are common.) etty ( / . mr. darwin's daughter, now mrs. litchfield.), who has read your paper with great interest, was confounded by this sentence. by the way, i have stumbled on two old notes: one, that twenty-two species of european birds occasionally arrive as chance wanderers to the azores; and, secondly, that trunks of american trees have been known to be washed on the shores of the canary islands by the gulf-stream, which returns southward from the azores. what poor papers those of a. murray are in "gardeners' chronicle." what conclusions he draws from a single carabus ( / . "dr. hooker on insular floras" ("gardeners' chronicle," , pages , ). the reference to the carabidous beetle (aplothorax) is at page .), and that a widely ranging genus! he seems to me conceited; you and i are fair game geologically, but he refers to lyell, as if his opinion on a geological point was worth no more than his own. i have just bought, but not read a sentence of, murray's big book ( / . "geographical distribution of mammals," .), second-hand, for s., new, so i do not envy the publishers. it is clear to me that the man cannot reason. i have had a very nice letter from scott at calcutta ( / . see letter .): he has been making some good observations on the acclimatisation of seeds from plants of same species, grown in different countries, and likewise on how far european plants will stand the climate of calcutta. he says he is astonished how well some flourish, and he maintains, if the land were unoccupied, several could easily cross, spreading by seed, the tropics from north to south, so he knows how to please me; but i have told him to be cautious, else he will have dragons down on him... as the azores are only about two-and-a-half times more distant from america (in the same latitude) than from europe, on the occasional migration view (especially as oceanic currents come directly from west indies and florida, and heavy gales of wind blow from the same direction), a large percentage of the flora ought to be american; as it is, we have only the sanicula, and at present we have no explanation of this apparent anomaly, or only a feeble indication of an explanation in the birds of the azores being all european. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, march st [ ]. many thanks for your pleasant and very amusing letter. you have been treated shamefully by etty and me, but now that i know the facts, the sentence seems to me quite clear. nevertheless, as we have both blundered, it would be well to modify the sentence something as follows: "whilst, on the other hand, the plants which are related to those of distant continents, but have no affinity with those of the mother continent, are often very common." i forget whether you explain this circumstance, but it seems to me very mysterious ( / . sir joseph hooker wrote (march rd, ): "i see you 'smell a rat' in the matter of insular plants that are related to those of [a] distant continent being common. yes, my beloved friend, let me make a clean breast of it. i only found it out after the lecture was in print!...i have been waiting ever since to 'think it out,' and write to you about it, coherently. i thought it best to squeeze it in, anyhow or anywhere, rather than leave so curious a fact unnoticed.")...do always remember that nothing in the world gives us so much pleasure as seeing you here whenever you can come. i chuckle over what you say of and. murray, but i must grapple with his book some day. letter . to c. lyell. down, october st [ ]. mr. [j.p. mansel] weale sent to me from natal a small packet of dry locust dung, under / oz., with the statement that it is believed that they introduce new plants into a district. ( / . see volume i., letter .) this statement, however, must be very doubtful. from this packet seven plants have germinated, belonging to at least two kinds of grasses. there is no error, for i dissected some of the seeds out of the middle of the pellets. it deserves notice that locusts are sometimes blown far out to sea. i caught one miles from africa, and i have heard of much greater distances. you might like to hear the following case, as it relates to a migratory bird belonging to the most wandering of all orders--viz. the woodcock. ( / . "origin," edition vi., page .) the tarsus was firmly coated with mud, weighing when dry grains, and from this the juncus bufonius, or toad rush, germinated. by the way, the locust case verifies what i said in the "origin," that many possible means of distribution would be hereafter discovered. i quite agree about the extreme difficulty of the distribution of land mollusca. you will have seen in the last edition of "origin" ( / . "origin," edition iv., page . the reference is to mm. marten's ( / . for marten's read martins' [the name is wrongly spelt in the "origin of species."]) experiments on seeds "in a box in the actual sea.") that my observations on the effects of sea-water have been confirmed. i still suspect that the legs of birds which roost on the ground may be an efficient means; but i was interrupted when going to make trials on this subject, and have never resumed it. we shall be in london in the middle of latter part of november, when i shall much enjoy seeing you. emma sends her love, and many thanks for lady lyell's note. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, wednesday [ ]. i daresay there is a great deal of truth in your remarks on the glacial affair, but we are in a muddle, and shall never agree. i am bigoted to the last inch, and will not yield. i cannot think how you can attach so much weight to the physicists, seeing how hopkins, hennessey, haughton, and thomson have enormously disagreed about the rate of cooling of the crust; remembering herschel's speculations about cold space ( / . the reader will find some account of herschel's views in lyell's "principles," , edition xi., volume i., page .), and bearing in mind all the recent speculations on change of axis, i will maintain to the death that your case of fernando po and abyssinia is worth ten times more than the belief of a dozen physicists. ( / . see "origin," edition vi., page : "dr. hooker has also lately shown that several of the plants living on the upper parts of the lofty island of fernando po and on the neighbouring cameroon mountains, in the gulf of guinea, are closely related to those in the mountains of abyssinia, and likewise to those of temperate europe." darwin evidently means that such facts as these are better evidence of the gigantic periods of time occupied by evolutionary changes than the discordant conclusions of the physicists. see "linn. soc. journ." volume vii., page , for hooker's general conclusions; also hooker and ball's "marocco," appendix f, page . for the case of fernando po see hooker ("linn. soc. journ." vi., , page , where he sums up: "hence the result of comparing clarence peak flora [fernando po] with that of the african continent is--( ) the intimate relationship with abyssinia, of whose flora it is a member, and from which it is separated by miles of absolutely unexplored country; ( ) the curious relationship with the east african islands, which are still farther off; ( ) the almost total dissimilarity from the cape flora." for sir j.d. hooker's general conclusions on the cameroon plants see "linn. soc. journ." vii., page . more recently equally striking cases have come to light: for instance, the existence of a mediterranean genus, adenocarpus, in the cameroons and on kilima njaro, and nowhere else in africa; and the probable migration of south african forms along the highlands from the natal district to abysinnia. see hooker, "linn. soc. journ." xiv., , pages - .) your remarks on my regarding temperate plants and disregarding the tropical plants made me at first uncomfortable, but i soon recovered. you say that all botanists would agree that many tropical plants could not withstand a somewhat cooler climate. but i have come not to care at all for general beliefs without the special facts. i have suffered too often from this: thus i found in every book the general statement that a host of flowers were fertilised in the bud, that seeds could not withstand salt water, etc., etc. i would far more trust such graphic accounts as that by you of the mixed vegetation on the himalayas and other such accounts. and with respect to tropical plants withstanding the slowly coming on cool period, i trust to such facts as yours (and others) about seeds of the same species from mountains and plains having acquired a slightly different climatal constitution. i know all that i have said will excite in you savage contempt towards me. do not answer this rigmarole, but attack me to your heart's content, and to that of mine, whenever you can come here, and may it be soon. letter . j.d. hooker to charles darwin. kew, . ( / . the following extract from a letter of sir j.d. hooker shows the tables reversed between the correspondents.) grove is disgusted at your being disquieted about w. thomson. tell george from me not to sit upon you with his mathematics. when i threatened your tropical cooling views with the facts of the physicists, you snubbed me and the facts sweetly, over and over again; and now, because a scarecrow of x+y has been raised on the selfsame facts, you boo-boo. take another dose of huxley's penultimate g. s. address, and send george back to college. ( / . huxley's anniversary address to the geological society, ("collected essays," viii., page ). this is a criticism of lord kelvin's paper "on geological time" ("trans. geolog. soc. glasgow," iii.). at page mr. huxley deals with lord kelvin's "third line of argument, based on the temperature of the interior of the earth." this was no doubt the point most disturbing to mr. darwin, since it led lord kelvin to ask (as quoted by huxley), "are modern geologists prepared to say that all life was killed off the earth , , , , or , years ago?" mr. huxley, after criticising lord kelvin's data and conclusion, gives his conviction that the case against geology has broken down. with regard to evolution, huxley (page ) ingeniously points out a case of circular reasoning. "but it may be said that it is biology, and not geology, which asks for so much time--that the succession of life demands vast intervals; but this appears to me to be reasoning in a circle. biology takes her time from geology. the only reason we have for believing in the slow rate of the change in living forms is the fact that they persist through a series of deposits which, geology informs us, have taken a long while to make. if the geological clock is wrong, all the naturalist will have to do is to modify his notions of the rapidity of change accordingly.") letter . to j.d. hooker. february rd [ ]. i am now reading miquel on "flora of japan" ( / . miquel, "flore du japon": "archives neerlandaises" ii., .), and like it: it is rather a relief to me (though, of course, not new to you) to find so very much in common with asia. i wonder if a. murray's ( / . "geographical distribution of mammals," by andrew murray, . see chapter v., page . see letter .) notion can be correct, that a [profound] arm of the sea penetrated the west coast of n. america, and prevented the asiatico-japan element colonising that side of the continent so much as the eastern side; or will climate suffice? i shall to the day of my death keep up my full interest in geographical distribution, but i doubt whether i shall ever have strength to come in any fuller detail than in the "origin" to this grand subject. in fact, i do not suppose any man could master so comprehensive a subject as it now has become, if all kingdoms of nature are included. i have read murray's book, and am disappointed--though, as you said, here and there clever thoughts occur. how strange it is, that his view not affording the least explanation of the innumerable adaptations everywhere to be seen apparently does not in the least trouble his mind. one of the most curious cases which he adduces seems to me to be the two allied fresh-water, highly peculiar porpoises in the ganges and indus; and the more distantly allied form of the amazons. do you remember his explanation of an arm of the sea becoming cut off, like the caspian, converted into fresh-water, and then divided into two lakes (by upheaval), giving rise to two great rivers. but no light is thus thrown on the affinity of the amazon form. i now find from flower's paper ( / . "zoolog. trans." vi., , page . the toothed whales are divided into the physeteridae, the delphinidae, and the platanistidae, which latter is placed between the two other families, and is divided into the sub-families iniinae and platanistinae.) that these fresh-water porpoises form two sub-families, making an extremely isolated and intermediate, very small family. hence to us they are clearly remnants of a large group; and i cannot doubt we here have a good instance precisely like that of ganoid fishes, of a large ancient marine group, preserved exclusively in fresh-water, where there has been less competition, and consequently little modification. ( / . see volume i., letter .) what a grand fact that is which miquel gives of the beech not extending beyond the caucasus, and then reappearing in japan, like your himalayan pinus, and the cedar of lebanon. ( / . for pinus read deodar. the essential identity of the deodar and the cedar of lebanon was pointed out in hooker's "himalayan journals" in (volume i., page .n). in the "nat. history review," january, , the question is more fully dealt with by him, and the distribution discussed. the nearest point at which cedars occur is the bulgar-dagh chain of taurus-- miles from lebanon. under the name of cedrus atlantica the tree occurs in mass on the borders of tunis, and as deodar it first appears to the east in the cedar forests of afghanistan. sir j.d. hooker supposes that, during a period of greater cold, the cedars on the taurus and on lebanon lived many thousand feet nearer the sea-level, and spread much farther to the east, meeting similar belts of trees descending and spreading westward from afghanistan along the persian mountains.) i know of nothing that gives one such an idea of the recent mutations in the surface of the land as these living "outlyers." in the geological sense we must, i suppose, admit that every yard of land has been successively covered with a beech forest between the caucasus and japan! i have not yet seen (for i have not sent to the station) falconer's works. when you say that you sigh to think how poor your reprinted memoirs would appear, on my soul i should like to shake you till your bones rattled for talking such nonsense. do you sigh over the "insular floras," the introduction to new zealand flora, to australia, your arctic flora, and dear galapagos, etc., etc., etc.? in imagination i am grinding my teeth and choking you till i put sense into you. farewell. i have amused myself by writing an audaciously long letter. by the way, we heard yesterday that george has won the second smith's prize, which i am excessively glad of, as the second wrangler by no means always succeeds. the examination consists exclusively of [the] most difficult subjects, which such men as stokes, cayley, and adams can set. letter . a.r. wallace to charles darwin. march th, . ...while writing a few pages on the northern alpine forms of plants on the java mountains i wanted a few cases to refer to like teneriffe, where there are no northern forms and scarcely any alpine. i expected the volcanoes of hawaii would be a good case, and asked dr. seemann about them. it seems a man has lately published a list of hawaiian plants, and the mountains swarm with european alpine genera and some species! ( / . "this turns out to be inaccurate, or greatly exaggerated. there are no true alpines, and the european genera are comparatively few. see my 'island life,' page ."--a.r.w.) is not this most extraordinary, and a puzzler? they are, i believe, truly oceanic islands, in the absence of mammals and the extreme poverty of birds and insects, and they are within the tropics. will not that be a hard nut for you when you come to treat in detail on geographical distribution? i enclose seemann's note, which please return when you have copied the list, if of any use to you. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, february st [ ]. i read yesterday the notes on round island ( / . in wallace's "island life," page , round island is described as an islet "only about a mile across, and situated about fourteen miles north-east of mauritius." wallace mentions a snake, a python belonging to the peculiar and distinct genus casarea, as found on round island, and nowhere else in the world. the palm latania loddigesii is quoted by wallace as "confined to round island and two other adjacent islets." see baker's "flora of the mauritius and the seychelles." mr. wallace says that, judging from the soundings, round island was connected with mauritius, and that when it was "first separated [it] would have been both much larger and much nearer the main island.") which i owe to you. was there ever such an enigma? if, in the course of a week or two, you can find time to let me hear what you think, i should very much like to hear: or we hope to be at erasmus' on march th for a week. would there be any chance of your coming to luncheon then? what a case it is. palms, screw-pines, four snakes--not one being in main island--lizards, insects, and not one land bird. but, above everything, such a proportion of individual monocotyledons! the conditions do not seem very different from the tuff galapagos island, but, as far as i remember, very few monocotyledons there. then, again, the island seems to have been elevated. i wonder much whether it stands out in the line of any oceanic current, which does not so forcibly strike the main island? but why, oh, why should so many monocotyledons have come there? or why should they have survived there more than on the main island, if once connected? so, again, i cannot conceive that four snakes should have become extinct in mauritius and survived on round island. for a moment i thought that mauritius might be the newer island, but the enormous degradation which the outer ring of rocks has undergone flatly contradicts this, and the marine remains on the summit of round island indicate the island to be comparatively new--unless, indeed, they are fossil and extinct marine remains. do tell me what you think. there never was such an enigma. i rather lean to separate immigration, with, of course, subsequent modification; some forms, of course, also coming from mauritius. speaking of mauritius reminds me that i was so much pleased the day before yesterday by reading a review of a book on the geology of st. helena, by an officer who knew nothing of my hurried observations, but confirms nearly all that i have said on the general structure of the island, and on its marvellous denudation. the geology of that island was like a novel. letter . to a. blytt. down, march th, . ( / . the following refers to blytt's "essay on the immigration of the norwegian flora during alternating rainy and dry periods," christiania, .) i thank you sincerely for your kindness in having sent me your work on the "immigration of the norwegian flora," which has interested me in the highest degree. your view, supported as it is by various facts, appears to me the most important contribution towards understanding the present distribution of plants, which has appeared since forbes' essay on the effects of the glacial period. letter . to aug. forel. down, june th, . i hope you will allow me to suggest an observation, should any opportunity occur, on a point which has interested me for many years--viz., how do the coleoptera which inhabit the nests of ants colonise a new nest? mr. wallace, in reference to the presence of such coleoptera in madeira, suggests that their ova may be attached to the winged female ants, and that these are occasionally blown across the ocean to the island. it would be very interesting to discover whether the ova are adhesive, and whether the female coleoptera are guided by instinct to attach them to the female ants ( / . dr. sharp is good enough to tell us that he is not aware of any such adaptation. broadly speaking, the distribution of the nest-inhabiting beetles is due to co-migration with the ants, though in some cases the ants transport the beetles. sitaris and meloe are beetles which live "at the expense of bees of the genus anthophora." the eggs are laid not in but near the bees' nest; in the early stage the larva is active and has the instinct to seize any hairy object near it, and in this way they are carried by the anthophora to the nest. dr. sharp states that no such preliminary stage is known in the ant's-nest beetles. for an account of sitaris and meloe, see sharp's "insects," ii., page .); or whether the larvae pass through an early stage, as with sitaris or meloe, or cling to the bodies of the females. this note obviously requires no answer. i trust that you continue your most interesting investigations on ants. (plate: mr. a.r. wallace, . from a photograph by maull & fox.) letter . to a.r. wallace. ( / . published in "life and letters," iii., page .) ( / . the following five letters refer to mr. wallace's "geographical distribution of animals," .) [hopedene] ( / . mr. hensleigh wedgwood's house in surrey.), june th, . i must have the pleasure of expressing to you my unbounded admiration of your book ( / . "geographical distribution," .), though i have read only to page --my object having been to do as little as possible while resting. i feel sure that you have laid a broad and safe foundation for all future work on distribution. how interesting it will be to see hereafter plants treated in strict relation to your views; and then all insects, pulmonate molluscs and fresh-water fishes, in greater detail than i suppose you have given to these lower animals. the point which has interested me most, but i do not say the most valuable point, is your protest against sinking imaginary continents in a quite reckless manner, as was stated by forbes, followed, alas, by hooker, and caricatured by wollaston and [andrew] murray! by the way, the main impression that the latter author has left on my mind is his utter want of all scientific judgment. i have lifted up my voice against the above view with no avail, but i have no doubt that you will succeed, owing to your new arguments and the coloured chart. of a special value, as it seems to me, is the conclusion that we must determine the areas, chiefly by the nature of the mammals. when i worked many years ago on this subject, i doubted much whether the now-called palaearctic and nearctic regions ought to be separated; and i determined if i made another region that it should be madagascar. i have, therefore, been able to appreciate your evidence on these points. what progress palaeontology has made during the last twenty years! but if it advances at the same rate in the future, our views on the migration and birthplace of the various groups will, i fear, be greatly altered. i cannot feel quite easy about the glacial period, and the extinction of large mammals, but i must hope that you are right. i think you will have to modify your belief about the difficulty of dispersal of land molluscs; i was interrupted when beginning to experimentise on the just hatched young adhering to the feet of ground-roosting birds. i differ on one other point--viz. in the belief that there must have existed a tertiary antarctic continent, from which various forms radiated to the southern extremities of our present continents. but i could go on scribbling forever. you have written, as i believe, a grand and memorable work, which will last for years as the foundation for all future treatises on geographical distribution. p.s.--you have paid me the highest conceivable compliment, by what you say of your work in relation to my chapters on distribution in the "origin," and i heartily thank you for it. letter . from a.r. wallace to charles darwin. the dell, grays, essex, june th, . many thanks for your very kind letter. so few people will read my book at all regularly, that a criticism from one who does so will be very welcome. if, as i suppose, it is only to page of volume i. that you have read, you cannot yet quite see my conclusions on the points you refer to (land molluscs and antarctic continent). my own conclusion fluctuated during the progress of the book, and i have, i know, occasionally used expressions (the relics of earlier ideas) which are not quite consistent with what i say further on. i am positively against any southern continent as uniting south america with australia or new zealand, as you will see at volume i., pages - , and - . my general conclusions as to distribution of land mollusca are at volume ii., pages - . ( / . "geographical distribution" ii., pages , . mr. wallace points out that "hardly a small island on the globe but has some land-shells peculiar to it"--and he goes so far as to say that probably air-breathing mollusca have been chiefly distributed by air- or water-carriage, rather than by voluntary dispersal on the land.) when you have read these passages, and looked at the general facts which lead to them, i shall be glad to hear if you still differ from me. though, of course, present results as to the origin and migrations of genera of mammals will have to be modified owing to new discoveries, i cannot help thinking that much will remain unaffected, because in all geographical and geological discoveries the great outlines are soon reached, the details alone remain to be modified. i also think much of the geological evidence is now so accordant with, and explanatory of, geographical distribution, that it is prima facie correct in outline. nevertheless, such vast masses of new facts will come out in the next few years that i quite dread the labour of incorporating them in a new edition. i hope your health is improved; and when, quite at your leisure, you have waded through my book, i trust you will again let me have a few lines of friendly criticism and advice. letter . to a.r. wallace. down, june th, . i have now finished the whole of volume i., with the same interest and admiration as before; and i am convinced that my judgment was right and that it is a memorable book, the basis of all future work on the subject. i have nothing particular to say, but perhaps you would like to hear my impressions on two or three points. nothing has struck me more than the admirable and convincing manner in which you treat java. to allude to a very trifling point, it is capital about the unadorned head of the argus-pheasant. ( / . see "descent of man," edition i., pages and , for drawings of the argus pheasant and its markings. the ocelli on the wing feathers were favourite objects of mr. darwin, and sometimes formed the subject of the little lectures which on rare occasions he would give to a visitor interested in natural history. in mr. wallace's book the meaning of the ocelli comes in by the way, in the explanation of plate ix., "a malayan forest with some of its peculiar birds." mr. wallace (volume i., page ) points out that the head of the argus pheasant is, during the display of the wings, concealed from the view of a spectator in front, and this accounts for the absence of bright colour on the head--a most unusual point in a pheasant. the case is described as a "remarkable confirmation of mr. darwin's views, that gaily coloured plumes are developed in the male bird for the purpose of attractive display." for the difference of opinion between the two naturalists on the broad question of coloration see "life and letters," iii., page . see letters - .) how plain a thing is, when it is once pointed out! what a wonderful case is that of celebes: i am glad that you have slightly modified your views with respect to africa. ( / . "i think this must refer to the following passage in 'geog. dist. of animals,' volume i., pages - . 'at this period (miocene) madagascar was no doubt united with africa, and helped to form a great southern continent which must at one time have extended eastward as far as southern india and ceylon; and over the whole of this the lemurine type no doubt prevailed.' at the time this was written i had not paid so much attention to islands, and in my "island life" i have given ample reasons for my belief that the evidence of extinct animals does not require any direct connection between southern india and africa."--note by mr. wallace.) and this leads me to say that i cannot swallow the so-called continent of lemuria--i.e., the direct connection of africa and ceylon. ( / . see "geographical distribution," i., page . the name lemuria was proposed by mr. sclater for an imaginary submerged continent extending from madagascar to ceylon and sumatra. mr. wallace points out that if we confine ourselves to facts lemuria is reduced to madagascar, which he makes a subdivision of the ethiopian region.) the facts do not seem to me many and strong enough to justify so immense a change of level. moreover, mauritius and the other islands appear to me oceanic in character. but do not suppose that i place my judgment on this subject on a level with yours. a wonderfully good paper was published about a year ago on india, in the "geological journal," i think by blanford. ( / . h.f. blanford "on the age and correlations of the plant-bearing series of india and the former existence of an indo-oceanic continent" ("quart. journ. geol. soc." xxxi., , page ). the name gondwana-land was subsequently suggested by professor suess for this indo-oceanic continent. since the publication of blanford's paper, much literature has appeared dealing with the evidence furnished by fossil plants, etc., in favour of the existence of a vast southern continent.) ramsay agreed with me that it was one of the best published for a long time. the author shows that india has been a continent with enormous fresh-water lakes, from the permian period to the present day. if i remember right, he believes in a former connection with s. africa. i am sure that i read, some twenty to thirty years ago in a french journal, an account of teeth of mastodon found in timor; but the statement may have been an error. ( / . in a letter to falconer (letter ), january th, , darwin refers to the supposed occurrence of mastodon as having been "smashed" by falconer.) with respect to what you say about the colonising of new zealand, i somewhere have an account of a frog frozen in the ice of a swiss glacier, and which revived when thawed. i may add that there is an indian toad which can resist salt-water and haunts the seaside. nothing ever astonished me more than the case of the galaxias; but it does not seem known whether it may not be a migratory fish like the salmon. ( / . the only genus of the galaxidae, a family of fresh-water fishes occurring in new zealand, tasmania, and tierra del fuego, ranging north as far as queensland and chile (wallace's "geographical distribution," ii., page ).) letter . to a.r. wallace. down, june th, . i have been able to read rather more quickly of late, and have finished your book. i have not much to say. your careful account of the temperate parts of south america interested me much, and all the more from knowing something of the country. i like also much the general remarks towards the end of the volume on the land molluscs. now for a few criticisms. page . ( / . the pages refer to volume ii. of wallace's "geographical distribution.")--i am surprised at your saying that "during the whole tertiary period north america was zoologically far more strongly contrasted with south america than it is now." but we know hardly anything of the latter except during the pliocene period; and then the mastodon, horse, several great edentata, etc., etc., were common to the north and south. if you are right, i erred greatly in my "journal," where i insisted on the former close connection between the two. page and elsewhere.--i agree thoroughly with the general principle that a great area with many competing forms is necessary for much and high development; but do you not extend this principle too far--i should say much too far, considering how often several species of the same genus have been developed on very small islands? page .--you say that the sittidae extend to madagascar, but there is no number in the tabular heading. [the number ( ) was erroneously omitted.--a.r.w.] page .--rhinochetus is entered in the tabular heading under no. of the neotropical subregions. [an error: should have been the australian.--a.r.w.] reviewers think it necessary to find some fault; and if i were to review you, the sole point which i should blame is your not giving very numerous references. these would save whoever follows you great labour. occasionally i wished myself to know the authority for certain statements, and whether you or somebody else had originated certain subordinate views. take the case of a man who had collected largely on some island, for instance st. helena, and who wished to work out the geographical relations of his collections: he would, i think, feel very blank at not finding in your work precise references to all that had been written on st. helena. i hope you will not think me a confoundedly disagreeable fellow. i may mention a capital essay which i received a few months ago from axel blytt ( / . axel blytt, "essay on the immigration of the norwegian flora." christiania, . see letter .) on the distribution of the plants of scandinavia; showing the high probability of there having been secular periods alternately wet and dry, and of the important part which they have played in distribution. i wrote to forel ( / . see letter .), who is always at work on ants, and told him your views about the dispersal of the blind coleoptera, and asked him to observe. i spoke to hooker about your book, and feel sure that he would like nothing better than to consider the distribution of plants in relation to your views; but he seemed to doubt whether he should ever have time. and now i have done my jottings, and once again congratulate you on having brought out so grand a work. i have been a little disappointed at the review in "nature." ( / . june nd, , pages et seq.) letter . a.r. wallace to charles darwin. rosehill, dorking, july rd, . i should have replied sooner to your last kind and interesting letters, but they reached me in the midst of my packing previous to removal here, and i have only just now got my books and papers in a get-at-able state. and first, many thanks for your close observation in detecting the two absurd mistakes in the tabular headings. as to the former greater distinction of the north and south american faunas, i think i am right. the edentata being proved (as i hold) to have been mere temporary migrants into north america in the post-pliocene epoch, form no part of its tertiary fauna. yet in south america they were so enormously developed in the pliocene epoch that we know, if there is any such thing as evolution, etc., that strange ancestral forms must have preceded them in miocene times. mastodon, on the other hand, represented by one or two species only, appears to have been a late immigrant into south america from the north. the immense development of ungulates (in varied families, genera, and species) in north america during the whole tertiary epoch is, however, the great feature which assimilates it to europe, and contrasts it with south america. true camels, hosts of hog-like animals, true rhinoceroses, and hosts of ancestral horses, all bring the north american [fauna] much nearer to the old world than it is now. even the horse, represented in all south america by equus only, was probably a temporary immigrant from the north. as to extending too far the principle (yours) of the necessity of comparatively large areas for the development of varied faunas, i may have done so, but i think not. there is, i think, every probability that most islands, etc., where a varied fauna now exists, have been once more extensive--eg., new zealand, madagascar: where there is no such evidence (e.g., galapagos), the fauna is very restricted. lastly, as to want of references: i confess the justice of your criticism; but i am dreadfully unsystematic. it is my first large work involving much of the labour of others. i began with the intention of writing a comparatively short sketch, enlarged it, and added to it bit by bit; remodelled the tables, the headings, and almost everything else, more than once, and got my materials in such confusion that it is a wonder it has not turned out far more crooked and confused than it is. i, no doubt, ought to have given references; but in many cases i found the information so small and scattered, and so much had to be combined and condensed from conflicting authorities, that i hardly knew how to refer to them or where to leave off. had i referred to all authors consulted for every fact, i should have greatly increased the bulk of the book, while a large portion of the references would be valueless in a few years, owing to later and better authorities. my experience of referring to references has generally been most unsatisfactory. one finds, nine times out of ten, the fact is stated, and nothing more; or a reference to some third work not at hand! i wish i could get into the habit of giving chapter and verse for every fact and extract; but i am too lazy, and generally in a hurry, having to consult books against time, when in london for a day. however, i will try to do something to mend this matter, should i have to prepare another edition. i return you forel's letter. it does not advance the question much; neither do i think it likely that even the complete observation he thinks necessary would be of much use, because it may well be that the ova, or larvae, or imagos of the beetles are not carried systematically by the ants, but only occasionally, owing to some exceptional circumstances. this might produce a great effect in distribution, yet be so rare as never to come under observation. several of your remarks in previous letters i shall carefully consider. i know that, compared with the extent of the subject, my book is in many parts crude and ill-considered; but i thought, and still think, it better to make some generalisations wherever possible, as i am not at all afraid of having to alter my views in many points of detail. i was so overwhelmed with zoological details, that i never went through the geological society's "journal" as i ought to have done, and as i mean to do before writing more on the subject. letter . to f. buchanan white. ( / . "written in acknowledgment of a copy of a paper (published by me in the "proceedings of the zoological society") on the hemiptera of st. helena, but discussing the origin of the whole fauna and flora of that island."--f.b.w.) down, september rd. [ ]. i have now read your paper, and i hope that you will not think me presumptuous in writing another line to say how excellent it seems to me. i believe that you have largely solved the problem of the affinities of the inhabitants of this most interesting little island, and this is a delightful triumph. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, july nd [ ]. i have just read ball's essay. ( / . the late john ball's lecture "on the origin of the flora of the alps" in the "proceedings of the r. geogr. soc." . ball argues (page ) that "during ancient palaeozoic times, before the deposition of the coal-measures, the atmosphere contained twenty times as much carbonic acid gas and considerably less oxygen than it does at present." he further assumes that in such an atmosphere the percentage of co in the higher mountains would be excessively different from that at the sea-level, and appends the result of calculations which gives the amount of co at the sea-level as per , by weight, at a height of , feet as . per , . darwin understands him to mean that the vascular cryptogams and gymnosperms could stand the sea-level atmosphere, whereas the angiosperms would only be able to exist in the higher regions where the percentage of co was small. it is not clear to us that ball relies so largely on the condition of the atmosphere as regards co . if he does he is clearly in error, for everything we know of assimilation points to the conclusion that per , ( per cent.) is by no means a hurtful amount of co , and that it would lead to an especially vigorous assimilation. mountain plants would be more likely to descend to the plains to share in the rich feast than ascend to higher regions to avoid it. ball draws attention to the imperfection of our plant records as regards the floras of mountain regions. it is, he thinks, conceivable that there existed a vegetation on the carboniferous mountains of which no traces have been preserved in the rocks. see "fossil plants as tests of climate," page , a.c. seward, . since the first part of this note was written, a paper has been read (may th, ) by dr. h.t. brown and mr. f. escombe, before the royal society on "the influence of varying amounts of carbon dioxide in the air on the photosynthetic process of leaves, and on the mode of growth of plants." the author's experiments included the cultivation of several dicotyledonous plants in an atmosphere containing in one case to times the normal amount of co , and in another between three and four times the normal amount. the general results were practically identical in the two sets of experiments. "all the species of flowering plants, which have been the subject of experiment, appear to be accurately 'tuned' to an atmospheric environment of three parts of co per , , and the response which they make to slight increases in this amount are in a direction altogether unfavourable to their growth and reproduction." the assimilation of carbon increases with the increase in the partial pressure of the co . but there seems to be a disturbance in metabolism, and the plants fail to take advantage of the increased supply of co . the authors say:--"all we are justified in concluding is, that if such atmospheric variations have occurred since the advent of flowering plants, they must have taken place so slowly as never to outrun the possible adaptation of the plants to their changing conditions." prof. farmer and mr. s.e. chandler gave an account, at the same meeting of the royal society, of their work "on the influence of an excess of carbon dioxide in the air on the form and internal structure of plants." the results obtained were described as differing in a remarkable way from those previously recorded by teodoresco ("rev. gen. botanique," ii., it is hoped that dr. horace brown and mr. escombe will extend their experiments to vascular cryptogams, and thus obtain evidence bearing more directly upon the question of an increased amount of co in the atmosphere of the coal-period forests.) it is pretty bold. the rapid development as far as we can judge of all the higher plants within recent geological times is an abominable mystery. certainly it would be a great step if we could believe that the higher plants at first could live only at a high level; but until it is experimentally [proved] that cycadeae, ferns, etc., can withstand much more carbonic acid than the higher plants, the hypothesis seems to me far too rash. saporta believes that there was an astonishingly rapid development of the high plants, as soon [as] flower-frequenting insects were developed and favoured intercrossing. i should like to see this whole problem solved. i have fancied that perhaps there was during long ages a small isolated continent in the s. hemisphere which served as the birthplace of the higher plants--but this is a wretchedly poor conjecture. it is odd that ball does not allude to the obvious fact that there must have been alpine plants before the glacial period, many of which would have returned to the mountains after the glacial period, when the climate again became warm. i always accounted to myself in this manner for the gentians, etc. ball ought also to have considered the alpine insects common to the arctic regions. i do not know how it may be with you, but my faith in the glacial migration is not at all shaken. letter . a.r. wallace to charles darwin. ( / . this letter is in reply to mr. darwin's criticisms on mr. wallace's "island life," .) pen-y-bryn, st. peter's road, croydon, november th, . many thanks for your kind remarks and notes on my book. several of the latter will be of use to me if i have to prepare a second edition, which i am not so sure of as you seem to be. . in your remark as to the doubtfulness of paucity of fossils being due to coldness of water, i think you overlook that i am speaking only of water in the latitude of the alps, in miocene and eocene times, when icebergs and glaciers temporarily descended into an otherwise warm sea; my theory being that there was no glacial epoch at that time, but merely a local and temporary descent of the snow-line and glaciers owing to high excentricity and winter in aphelion. . i cannot see the difficulty about the cessation of the glacial period. between the miocene and the pleistocene periods geographical changes occurred which rendered a true glacial period possible with high excentricity. when the high excentricity passed away the glacial epoch also passed away in the temperate zone; but it persists in the arctic zone, where, during the miocene, there were mild climates, and this is due to the persistence of the changed geographical conditions. the present arctic climate is itself a comparatively new and abnormal state of things, due to geographical modification. as to "epoch" and "period," i use them as synonyms to avoid repeating the same word. . rate of deposition and geological time. here no doubt i may have gone to an extreme, but my " million years" may be anything under millions, as i state. there is an enormous difference between mean and maximum denudation and deposition. in the case of the great faults the upheaval along a given line would itself facilitate the denudation (whether sub-aerial or marine) of the upheaved portion at a rate perhaps a hundred times above the average, just as valleys have been denuded perhaps a hundred times faster than plains and plateaux. so local subsidence might itself lead to very rapid deposition. suppose a portion of the gulf of mexico, near the mouths of the mississippi, were to subside for a few thousand years, it might receive the greater portion of the sediment from the whole mississippi valley, and thus form strata at a very rapid rate. . you quote the pampas thistles, etc., against my statement of the importance of preoccupation. but i am referring especially to st. helena, and to plants naturally introduced from the adjacent continents. surely if a certain number of african plants reached the island, and became modified into a complete adaptation to its climatic conditions, they would hardly be expelled by other african plants arriving subsequently. they might be so, conceivably, but it does not seem probable. the cases of the pampas, new zealand, tahiti, etc., are very different, where highly developed aggressive plants have been artificially introduced. under nature it is these very aggressive species that would first reach any island in their vicinity, and, being adapted to the island and colonising it thoroughly, would then hold their own against other plants from the same country, mostly less aggressive in character. i have not explained this so fully as i should have done in the book. your criticism is therefore useful. . my chapter xxiii. is no doubt very speculative, and i cannot wonder at your hesitating at accepting my views. to me, however, your theory of hosts of existing species migrating over the tropical lowlands from the n. temperate to the s. temperate zone appears more speculative and more improbable. for where could the rich lowland equatorial flora have existed during a period of general refrigeration sufficient for this? and what became of the wonderfully rich cape flora, which, if the temperature of tropical africa had been so recently lowered, would certainly have spread northwards, and on the return of the heat could hardly have been driven back into the sharply defined and very restricted area in which it now exists. as to the migration of plants from mountain to mountain not being so probable as to remote islands, i think that is fully counterbalanced by two considerations:-- a. the area and abundance of the mountain stations along such a range as the andes are immensely greater than those of the islands in the n. atlantic, for example. b. the temporary occupation of mountain stations by migrating plants (which i think i have shown to be probable) renders time a much more important element in increasing the number and variety of the plants so dispersed than in the case of islands, where the flora soon acquires a fixed and endemic character, and where the number of species is necessarily limited. no doubt direct evidence of seeds being carried great distances through the air is wanted, but i am afraid can hardly be obtained. yet i feel the greatest confidence that they are so carried. take, for instance, the two peculiar orchids of the azores (habenaria sp.) what other mode of transit is conceivable? the whole subject is one of great difficulty, but i hope my chapter may call attention to a hitherto neglected factor in the distribution of plants. your references to the mauritius literature are very interesting, and will be useful to me; and i again thank you for your valuable remarks. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . the following letters were written to sir j.d. hooker when he was preparing his address as president of the geographical section of the british association at its fiftieth meeting, at york. the second letter (august th) refers to an earlier letter of august th, published in "life and letters," iii., page .) , bryanston street, w., saturday, th [february, ]. i should think that you might make a very interesting address on geographical distribution. could you give a little history of the subject. i, for one, should like to read such history in petto; but i can see one very great difficulty--that you yourself ought to figure most prominently in it; and this you would not do, for you are just the man to treat yourself in a dishonourable manner. i should very much like to see you discuss some of wallace's views, especially his ignoring the all-powerful effects of the glacial period with respect to alpine plants. ( / . "having been kindly permitted by mr. francis darwin to read this letter, i wish to explain that the above statement applies only to my rejection of darwin's view that the presence of arctic and north temperate plants in the southern hemisphere was brought about by the lowering of the temperature of the tropical regions during the glacial period, so that even 'the lowlands of these great continents were everywhere tenanted under the equator by a considerable number of temperate forms ("origin of species," edition vi., page ). my own views are fully explained in chapter xxiii. of my "island life," published in . i quite accept all that darwin, hooker, and asa gray have written about the effect of the glacial epoch in bringing about the present distribution of alpine and arctic plants in the northern hemisphere."--note by mr. wallace.) i do not know what you think, but it appears to me that he exaggerates enormously the influence of debacles or slips and new surface of soil being exposed for the reception of wind-blown seeds. what kinds of seeds have the plants which are common to the distant mountain-summits in africa? wallace lately wrote to me about the mountain plants of madagascar being the same with those on mountains in africa, and seemed to think it proved dispersal by the wind, without apparently having inquired what sorts of seeds the plants bore. ( / . the affinity with the flora of the eastern african islands was long ago pointed out by sir j.d. hooker, "linn. soc. journal," vi., , page . speaking of the plants of clarence peak in fernando po, he says, "the next affinity is with mauritius, bourbon, and madagascar: of the whole species, inhabit these places and more are closely allied to plants from there. three temperate species are peculiar to clarence peak and the east african islands..." the facts to which mr. wallace called darwin's attention are given by mr. j.g. baker in "nature," december th, , page . he mentions the madagascar viola, which occurs elsewhere only at , feet in the cameroons, at , feet in fernando po and in the abyssinian mountains; and the same thing is true of the madagascar geranium. in mr. wallace's letter to darwin, dated january st, , he evidently uses the expression "passing through the air" in contradistinction to the migration of a species by gradual extension of its area on land. "through the air" would moreover include occasional modes of transport other than simple carriage by wind: e.g., the seeds might be carried by birds, either attached to the feathers or to the mud on their feet, or in their crops or intestines.) i suppose it would be travelling too far (though for the geographical section the discussion ought to be far-reaching), but i should like to see the european or northern element in the cape of good hope flora discussed. i cannot swallow wallace's view that european plants travelled down the andes, tenanted the hypothetical antarctic continent (in which i quite believe), and thence spread to south australia and the cape of good hope. moseley told me not long ago that he proposed to search at kerguelen land the coal beds most carefully, and was absolutely forbidden to do so by sir w. thomson, who said that he would undertake the work, and he never once visited them. this puts me in a passion. i hope that you will keep to your intention and make an address on distribution. though i differ so much from wallace, his "island life" seems to me a wonderful book. farewell. i do hope that you may have a most prosperous journey. give my kindest remembrances to asa gray. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, august th, . ...i think that i must have expressed myself badly about humboldt. i should have said that he was more remarkable for his astounding knowledge than for originality. i have always looked at him as, in fact, the founder of the geographical distribution of organisms. i thought that i had read that extinct fossil plants belonging to australian forms had lately been found in australia, and all such cases seem to me very interesting, as bearing on development. i have been so astonished at the apparently sudden coming in of the higher phanerogams, that i have sometimes fancied that development might have slowly gone on for an immense period in some isolated continent or large island, perhaps near the south pole. i poured out my idle thoughts in writing, as if i had been talking with you. no fact has so interested me for a heap of years as your case of the plants on the equatorial mountains of africa; and wallace tells me that some one (baker?) has described analogous cases on the mountains of madagascar ( / . see letter , note.)...i think that you ought to allude to these cases. i most fully agree that no problem is more interesting than that of the temperate forms in the southern hemisphere, common to the north. i remember writing about this after wallace's book appeared, and hoping that you would take it up. the frequency with which the drainage from the land passes through mountain-chains seems to indicate some general law--viz., the successive formation of cracks and lines of elevation between the nearest ocean and the already upraised land; but that is too big a subject for a note. i doubt whether any insects can be shown with any probability to have been flower feeders before the middle of the secondary period. several of the asserted cases have broken down. your long letter has stirred many pleasant memories of long past days, when we had many a discussion and many a good fight. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, august st, . i cannot aid you much, or at all. i should think that no one could have thought on the modification of species without thinking of representative species. but i feel sure that no discussion of any importance had been published on this subject before the "origin," for if i had known of it i should assuredly have alluded to it in the "origin," as i wished to gain support from all quarters. i did not then know of von buch's view (alluded to in my historical introduction in all the later editions). von buch published his "isles canaries" in , and he here briefly argues that plants spread over a continent and vary, and the varieties in time come to be species. he also argues that closely allied species have been thus formed in the separate valleys of the canary islands, but not on the upper and open parts. i could lend you von buch's book, if you like. i have just consulted the passage. i have not baer's papers; but, as far as i remember, the subject is not fully discussed by him. i quite agree about wallace's position on the ocean and continent question. to return to geographical distribution: as far as i know, no one ever discussed the meaning of the relation between representative species before i did, and, as i suppose, wallace did in his paper before the linnean society. von buch's is the nearest approach to such discussion known to me. letter . to w.d. crick. ( / . the following letters are interesting not only for their own sake, but because they tell the history of the last of mr. darwin's publications--his letter to "nature" on the "dispersal of freshwater bivalves," april th, .) down, february st, . your fact is an interesting one, and i am very much obliged to you for communicating it to me. you speak a little doubtfully about the name of the shell, and it would be indispensable to have this ascertained with certainty. do you know any good conchologist in northampton who could name it? if so i should be obliged if you would inform me of the result. also the length and breadth of the shell, and how much of leg (which leg?) of the dytiscus [a large water-beetle] has been caught. if you cannot get the shell named i could take it to the british museum when i next go to london; but this probably will not occur for about six weeks, and you may object to lend the specimen for so long a time. i am inclined to think that the case would be worth communicating to "nature." p.s.--i suppose that the animal in the shell must have been alive when the dytiscus was captured, otherwise the adductor muscle of the shell would have relaxed and the shell dropped off. letter . to w.d. crick. down, february th, . i am much obliged for your clear and distinct answers to my questions. i am sorry to trouble you, but there is one point which i do not fully understand. did the shell remain attached to the beetle's leg from the th to the rd, and was the beetle kept during this time in the air? do i understand rightly that after the shell had dropped off, both being in water, that the beetle's antenna was again temporarily caught by the shell? i presume that i may keep the specimen till i go to london, which will be about the middle of next month. i have placed the shell in fresh-water, to see if the valve will open, and whether it is still alive, for this seems to me a very interesting point. as the wretched beetle was still feebly alive, i have put it in a bottle with chopped laurel leaves, that it may die an easy and quicker death. i hope that i shall meet with your approval in doing so. one of my sons tells me that on the coast of n. wales the bare fishing hooks often bring up young mussels which have seized hold of the points; but i must make further enquiries on this head. letter . to w.d. crick. down, march rd, . i have had a most unfortunate and extraordinary accident with your shell. i sent it by post in a strong box to mr. gwyn jeffreys to be named, and heard two days afterwards that he had started for italy. i then wrote to the servant in charge of his house to open the parcel (within which was a cover stamped and directed to myself) and return it to me. this servant, i suppose, opened the box and dropped the glass tube on a stone floor, and perhaps put his foot on it, for the tube and shell were broken into quite small fragments. these were returned to me with no explanation, the box being quite uninjured. i suppose you would not care for the fragments to be returned or the dytiscus; but if you wish for them they shall be returned. i am very sorry, but it has not been my fault. it seems to me almost useless to send the fragments of the shell to the british museum to be named, more especially as the umbo has been lost. it is many years since i have looked at a fresh-water shell, but i should have said that the shell was cyclas cornea. ( / . it was cyclas cornea.) is sphaenium corneum a synonym of cyclas? perhaps you could tell by looking to mr. g. jeffreys' book. if so, may we venture to call it so, or shall i put an (?) to the name? as soon as i hear from you i will send my letter to "nature." do you take in "nature," or shall i send you a copy? chapter .viii.--man. i. descent of man.--ii. sexual selection.--iii. expression of the emotions. .viii.i. descent of man, - . letter . to c. lyell. down, april th [ ]. i cannot explain why, but to me it would be an infinite satisfaction to believe that mankind will progress to such a pitch that we should [look] back at [ourselves] as mere barbarians. i have received proof-sheets (with a wonderfully nice letter) of very hostile review by andrew murray, read before the royal society of edinburgh. ( / . "on mr. darwin's theory of the origin of species," by andrew murray. "proc. roy. soc., edinb." volume iv., pages - , . the review concludes with the following sentence: "i have come to be of opinion that mr. darwin's theory is unsound, and that i am to be spared any collision between my inclination and my convictions" (referring to the writer's belief in design).) but i am tired with answering it. indeed i have done nothing the whole day but answer letters. letter . to l. horner. ( / . the following letter occurs in the "memoir of leonard horner, edited by his daughter katherine m. lyell," volume ii., page (privately printed, ).) down, march th [ ]. i am very much obliged for your address ( / . mr. horner's anniversary address to the geological society ("proc. geol. soc." xvii., ).) which has interested me much...i thought that i had read up pretty well on the antiquity of man; but you bring all the facts so well together in a condensed focus, that the case seems much clearer to me. how curious about the bible! ( / . at page lxviii. mr. horner points out that the "chronology, given in the margin of our bibles," i.e., the statement that the world was created b.c., is the work of archbishop usher, and is in no way binding on those who believe in the inspiration of scripture. mr. horner goes on (page lxx): "the retention of the marginal note in question is by no means a matter of indifference; it is untrue, and therefore it is mischievous." it is interesting that archbishop sumner and dr. dawes, dean of hereford, wrote with approbation of mr. horner's views on man. the archbishop says: "i have always considered the first verse of genesis as indicating, rather than denying, a preadamite world" ("memoir of leonard horner, ii.", page ).) i declare i had fancied that the date was somehow in the bible. you are coming out in a new light as a biblical critic. i must thank you for some remarks on the "origin of species" ( / . mr. horner (page xxxix) begins by disclaiming the qualifications of a competent critic, and confines himself to general remarks on the philosophic candour and freedom from dogmatism of the "origin": he does, however, give an opinion on the geological chapters ix. and x. as a general criticism he quotes mr. huxley's article in the "westminster review," which may now be read in "collected essays," ii., page .) (though i suppose it is almost as incorrect to do so as to thank a judge for a favourable verdict): what you have said has pleased me extremely. i am the more pleased, as i would rather have been well attacked than have been handled in the namby-pamby, old-woman style of the cautious oxford professor. ( / . this no doubt refers to professor phillips' "life on the earth," , a book founded on the author's "rede lecture," given before the university of cambridge. reference to this work will be found in "life and letters," ii., pages , , .) letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . mr. wallace was, we believe, the first to treat the evolution of man in any detail from the point of view of natural selection, namely, in a paper in the "anthropological review and journal of the anthropological society," may , page clviii. the deep interest with which mr. darwin read his copy is graphically recorded in the continuous series of pencil-marks along the margins of the pages. his views are fully given in letter . the phrase, "in this case it is too far," refers to mr. wallace's habit of speaking of the theory of natural selection as due entirely to darwin.) may nd . i have now read wallace's paper on man, and think it most striking and original and forcible. i wish he had written lyell's chapters on man. ( / . see "life and letters," iii., page et seq. for darwin's disappointment over lyell's treatment of the evolutionary question in his "antiquity of man"; see also page for lyell's almost pathetic words about his own position between the discarded faith of many years and the new one not yet assimilated. see also letters , , .) i quite agree about his high-mindedness, and have long thought so; but in this case it is too far, and i shall tell him so. i am not sure that i fully agree with his views about man, but there is no doubt, in my opinion, on the remarkable genius shown by the paper. i agree, however, to the main new leading idea. letter . to a.r. wallace. ( / . this letter was published in "life and letters," iii., page .) down, [may] th [ ]. i am so much better that i have just finished a paper for the linnean society ( / . on the three forms, etc., of lythrum.); but i am not yet at all strong, i felt much disinclination to write, and therefore you must forgive me for not having sooner thanked you for your paper on man ( / . "anthropological review," may .) received on the th. ( / . mr. wallace wrote, may th, : "i send you now my little contribution to the theory of the origin of man. i hope you will be able to agree with me. if you are able [to write] i shall be glad to have your criticisms. i was led to the subject by the necessity of explaining the vast mental and cranial differences between man and the apes combined with such small structural differences in other parts of the body,--and also by an endeavour to account for the diversity of human races combined with man's almost perfect stability of form during all historical epochs." but first let me say that i have hardly ever in my life been more struck by any paper than that on "variation," etc., etc., in the "reader." ( / . "reader," april th, , an abstract of mr. wallace: "on the phenomena of variation and geographical distribution as illustrated by the papilionidae of the malayan region." "linn. soc. trans." xxv.) i feel sure that such papers will do more for the spreading of our views on the modification of species than any separate treatises on the simple subject itself. it is really admirable; but you ought not in the man paper to speak of the theory as mine; it is just as much yours as mine. one correspondent has already noticed to me your "high-minded" conduct on this head. but now for your man paper, about which i should like to write more than i can. the great leading idea is quite new to me--viz. that during late ages the mind will have been modified more than the body; yet i had got as far as to see with you, that the struggle between the races of man depended entirely on intellectual and moral qualities. the latter part of the paper i can designate only as grand and most eloquently done. i have shown your paper to two or three persons who have been here, and they have been equally struck with it. i am not sure that i go with you on all minor points: when reading sir g. grey's account of the constant battles of australian savages, i remember thinking that natural selection would come in, and likewise with the esquimaux, with whom the art of fishing and managing canoes is said to be hereditary. i rather differ on the rank, under a classificatory point of view, which you assign to man; i do not think any character simply in excess ought ever to be used for the higher divisions. ants would not be separated from other hymenopterous insects, however high the instinct of the one, and however low the instincts of the other. with respect to the differences of race, a conjecture has occurred to me that much may be due to the correlation of complexion (and consequently hair) with constitution. assume that a dusky individual best escaped miasma, and you will readily see what i mean. i persuaded the director-general of the medical department of the army to send printed forms to the surgeons of all regiments in tropical countries to ascertain this point, but i daresay i shall never get any returns. secondly, i suspect that a sort of sexual selection has been the most powerful means of changing the races of man. i can show that the different races have a widely different standard of beauty. among savages the most powerful men will have the pick of the women, and they will generally leave the most descendants. i have collected a few notes on man, but i do not suppose i shall ever use them. do you intend to follow out your views? and if so, would you like at some future time to have my few references and notes? i am sure i hardly know whether they are of any value, and they are at present in a state of chaos. there is much more that i should like to write, but i have not strength. p.s. our aristocracy is handsomer (more hideous according to a chinese or negro) than the middle classes, from [having the] pick of the women; but oh, what a scheme is primogeniture for destroying natural selection! i fear my letter will be barely intelligible to you. letter * a.r. wallace to charles darwin. , westbourne grove terrace, w., may th [ ]. you are always so ready to appreciate what others do, and especially to overestimate my desultory efforts, that i cannot be surprised at your very kind and flattering remarks on my papers. i am glad, however, that you have made a few critical observations (and am only sorry that you were not well enough to make more), as that enables me to say a few words in explanation. my great fault is haste. an idea strikes me, i think over it for a few days, and then write away with such illustrations as occur to me while going on. i therefore look at the subject almost solely from one point of view. thus, in my paper on man ( */ . published in the "anthropological review," .), i aim solely at showing that brutes are modified in a great variety of ways by natural selection, but that in none of these particular ways can man be modified, because of the superiority of his intellect. i therefore no doubt overlook a few smaller points in which natural selection may still act on men and brutes alike. colour is one of them, and i have alluded to this in correlation to constitution, in an abstract i have made at sclater's request for the "natural history review." ( */ . "nat. hist. review," , page .) at the same time, there is so much evidence of migrations and displacements of races of man, and so many cases of peoples of distinct physical characters inhabiting the same or similar regions, and also of races of uniform physical characters inhabiting widely dissimilar regions,--that the external characteristics of the chief races of man must, i think, be older than his present geographical distribution, and the modifications produced by correlation to favourable variations of constitution be only a secondary cause of external modification. i hope you may get the returns from the army. ( */ . measurements taken of more than one million soldiers in the united states showed that "local influences of some kind act directly on structure."--"descent of man," , page .) they would be very interesting, but i do not expect the results would be favourable to your view. with regard to the constant battles of savages leading to selection of physical superiority, i think it would be very imperfect and subject to so many exceptions and irregularities that it would produce no definite result. for instance: the strongest and bravest men would lead, and expose themselves most, and would therefore be most subject to wounds and death. and the physical energy which led to any one tribe delighting in war, might lead to its extermination, by inducing quarrels with all surrounding tribes and leading them to combine against it. again, superior cunning, stealth, and swiftness of foot, or even better weapons, would often lead to victory as well as mere physical strength. moreover, this kind of more or less perpetual war goes on amongst savage peoples. it could lead, therefore, to no differential characters, but merely to the keeping up of a certain average standard of bodily and mental health and vigour. so with selection of variations adapted to special habits of life as fishing, paddling, riding, climbing, etc., etc., in different races, no doubt it must act to some extent, but will it be ever so rigid as to induce a definite physical modification, and can we imagine it to have had any part in producing the distinct races that now exist? the sexual selection you allude to will also, i think, have been equally uncertain in its results. in the very lowest tribes there is rarely much polygamy, and women are more or less a matter of purchase. there is also little difference of social condition, and i think it rarely happens that any healthy and undeformed man remains without wife and children. i very much doubt the often-repeated assertion that our aristocracy are more beautiful than the middle classes. i allow that they present specimens of the highest kind of beauty, but i doubt the average. i have noticed in country places a greater average amount of good looks among the middle classes, and besides we unavoidably combine in our idea of beauty, intellectual expression, and refinement of manner, which often makes the less appear the more beautiful. mere physical beauty--i.e. a healthy and regular development of the body and features approaching to the mean and type of european man, i believe is quite as frequent in one class of society as the other, and much more frequent in rural districts than in cities. with regard to the rank of man in zoological classification, i fear i have not made myself intelligible. i never meant to adopt owen's or any other such views, but only to point out that from one point of view he was right. i hold that a distinct family for man, as huxley allows, is all that can possibly be given him zoologically. but at the same time, if my theory is true, that while the animals which surrounded him have been undergoing modification in all parts of their bodies to a generic or even family degree of difference, he has been changing almost wholly in the brain and head--then in geological antiquity the species man may be as old as many mammalian families, and the origin of the family man may date back to a period when some of the orders first originated. as to the theory of natural selection itself, i shall always maintain it to be actually yours and yours only. you had worked it out in details i had never thought of, years before i had a ray of light on the subject, and my paper would never have convinced anybody or been noticed as more than an ingenious speculation, whereas your book has revolutionised the study of natural history, and carried away captive the best men of the present age. all the merit i claim is the having been the means of inducing you to write and publish at once. i may possibly some day go a little more into this subject (of man), and if i do will accept the kind offer of your notes. i am now, however, beginning to write the "narrative of my travels," which will occupy me a long time, as i hate writing narrative, and after bates' brilliant success rather fear to fail. i shall introduce a few chapters on geographical distribution and other such topics. sir c. lyell, while agreeing with my main argument on man, thinks i am wrong in wanting to put him back into miocene times, and thinks i do not appreciate the immense interval even to the later pliocene. but i still maintain my view, which in fact is a logical result of my theory; for if man originated in later pliocene, when almost all mammalia were of closely allied species to those now living, and many even identical, then man has not been stationary in bodily structure while animals have been varying, and my theory will be proved to be all wrong. in murchison's address to the geographical society, just delivered, he points out africa as being the oldest existing land. he says there is no evidence of its having been ever submerged during the tertiary epoch. here then is evidently the place to find early man. i hope something good may be found in borneo, and that the means may be found to explore the still more promising regions of tropical africa, for we can expect nothing of man very early in europe. it has given me great pleasure to find that there are symptoms of improvement in your health. i hope you will not exert yourself too soon or write more than is quite agreeable to you. i think i made out every word of your letter, though it was not always easy. ( */ . for wallace's later views see letter , note.) letter . to w. turner. ( / . sir william turner is frequently referred to in the "descent of man" as having supplied mr. darwin with information.) down, december th [ ]. your kindness when i met you at the royal society makes me think that you would grant me the favour of a little information, if in your power. i am preparing a book on domestic animals, and as there has been so much discussion on the bearing of such views as i hold on man, i have some thoughts of adding a chapter on this subject. the point on which i want information is in regard to any part which may be fairly called rudimentary in comparison with the same part in the quadrumana or any other mammal. now the os coccyx is rudimentary as a tail, and i am anxious to hear about its muscles. mr. flower found for me in some work that its one muscle (with striae) was supposed only to bring this bone back to its proper position after parturition. this seems to me hardly credible. he said he had never particularly examined this part, and when i mentioned your name, he said you were the most likely man to give me information. are there any traces of other muscles? it seems strange if there are none. do you know how the muscles are in this part in the anthropoid apes? the muscles of the ear in man may, i suppose, in most cases be considered as rudimentary; and so they seem to be in the anthropoids; at least, i am assured in the zoological gardens they do not erect their ears. i gather there are a good many muscles in various parts of the body which are in this same state: could you specify any of the best cases? the mammae in man are rudimentary. are there any other glands or other organs which you can think of? i know i have no right whatever to ask all these questions, and can only say that i should be grateful for any information. if you tell me anything about the os coccyx or other structures, i hope that you will permit me to quote the statement on your authority, as that would add so greatly to its value. pray excuse me for troubling you, and do not hurry yourself in the least in answering me. i do not know whether you would care to possess a copy, but i told my publisher to send you a copy of the new edition of the "origin" last month. letter . to w. turner. down, february st [ ]. i thank you cordially for all your full information, and i regret much that i have given you such great trouble at a period when your time is so much occupied. but the facts were so valuable to me that i cannot pretend that i am sorry that i did trouble you; and i am the less so, as from what you say i hope you may be induced some time to write a full account of all rudimentary structures in man: it would be a very curious and interesting memoir. i shall at present give only a brief abstract of the chief facts which you have so very kindly communicated to me, and will not touch on some of the doubtful points. i have received far more information than i ventured to anticipate. there is one point which has occurred to me, but i suspect there is nothing in it. if, however, there should be, perhaps you will let me have a brief note from you, and if i do not hear i will understand there is nothing in the notion. i have included the down on the human body and the lanugo on the foetus as a rudimentary representation of a hairy coat. ( / . "descent of man" i., page ; ii., page .) i do not know whether there is any direct functional connection between the presence of hair and the panniculus carnosus ( / . professor macalister draws our attention to the fact that mr. darwin uses the term panniculus in the generalised sense of any sheet of muscle acting on the skin.) (to put the question under another point of view, is it the primary or aboriginal function of the panniculus to move the dermal appendages or the skin itself?); but both are superficial, and would perhaps together become rudimentary. i was led to think of this by the places (as far as my ignorance of anatomy has allowed me to judge) of the rudimentary muscular fasciculi which you specify. now, some persons can move the skin of their hairy heads; and is this not effected by the panniculus? how is it with the eyebrows? you specify the axillae and the front region of the chest and lower part of scapulae: now, these are all hairy spots in man. on the other hand, the neck, and as i suppose the covering of the gluteus medius, are not hairy; so, as i said, i presume there is nothing in this notion. if there were, the rudiments of the panniculus ought perhaps to occur more plainly in man than in woman... p.s.--if the skin on the head is moved by the panniculus, i think i ought just to allude to it, as some men alone having power to move the skin shows that the apparatus is generally rudimentary. ( / . in march darwin wrote to mr. wallace: "i shall be intensely curious to read the "quarterly." i hope you have not murdered too completely your own and my child." the reference is to mr. wallace's review, in the april number of the "quarterly," of lyell's "principles of geology" (tenth edition), and of the sixth edition of the "elements of geology." mr. wallace points out that here for the first time sir c. lyell gave up his opposition to evolution; and this leads mr. wallace to give a short account of the views set forth in the "origin of species." in this article mr. wallace makes a definite statement as to his views on the evolution of man, which were opposed to those of mr. darwin. he upholds the view that the brain of man, as well as the organs of speech, the hand and the external form, could not have been evolved by natural selection (the child he is supposed to murder). at page he writes: "in the brain of the lowest savages, and, as far as we know, of the prehistoric races, we have an organ...little inferior in size and complexity to that of the highest types...but the mental requirements of the lowest savages, such as the australians or the andaman islanders, are very little above those of many animals...how, then, was an organ developed so far beyond the needs of its possessor? natural selection could only have endowed the savage with a brain a little superior to that of an ape, whereas he actually possesses one but very little inferior to that of the average members of our learned societies." this passage is marked in mr. darwin's copy with a triply underlined "no," and with a shower of notes of exclamation. it was probably the first occasion on which he realised the extent of this great and striking divergence in opinion between himself and his colleague. he had, however, some indication of it in wallace's paper on man, "anthropological review," . (see letter ). he wrote to lyell, may th, , "i was dreadfully disappointed about man; it seems to me incredibly strange." and to mr. wallace, april th, , "if you had not told me, i should have thought that [your remarks on man] had been added by some one else. as you expected, i differ grievously from you, and i am very sorry for it." letter . to t.h. huxley. down, thursday, february st [ - ?]. i received the jermyn street programme, but have hardly yet considered it, for i was all day on the sofa on tuesday and wednesday. bad though i was, i thought with constant pleasure of your very great kindness in offering to read the proofs of my essay on man. i do not know whether i said anything which might have appeared like a hint, but i assure you that such a thought had never even momentarily passed through my mind. your offer has just made all the difference, that i can now write, whether or no my essay is ever printed, with a feeling of satisfaction instead of vague dread. beg my colleague, mrs. huxley, not to forget the corrugator supercilii: it will not be easy to catch the exact moment when the child is on the point of crying, and is struggling against the wrinkling up [of] its little eyes; for then i should expect the corrugator, from being little under the command of the will, would come into play in checking or stopping the wrinkling. an explosion of tears would tell nothing. letter . to francis galton. down, december rd [ ?]. i have only read about fifty pages of your book (to the judges) ( / . "hereditary genius: an inquiry into its laws and consequences," by francis galton, london, . "the judges of england between and " is the heading of a section of this work (page ). see "descent of man" ( ), page .), but i must exhale myself, else something will go wrong in my inside. i do not think i ever in all my life read anything more interesting and original. and how well and clearly you put every point! george, who has finished the book, and who expressed himself just in the same terms, tells me the earlier chapters are nothing in interest to the later ones! it will take me some time to get to these later chapters, as it is read aloud to me by my wife, who is also much interested. you have made a convert of an opponent in one sense, for i have always maintained that, excepting fools, men did not differ much in intellect, only in zeal and hard work; and i still think [this] is an eminently important difference. i congratulate you on producing what i am convinced will prove a memorable work. i look forward with intense interest to each reading, but it sets me thinking so much that i find it very hard work; but that is wholly the fault of my brain, and not of your beautifully clear style. letter . to w.r. greg. march st [ ?]. many thanks for your note. i am very glad indeed to read remarks made by a man who possesses such varied and odd knowledge as you do, and who is so acute a reasoner. i have no doubt that you will detect blunders of many kinds in my book. ( / . "the descent of man.") your ms. on the proportion of the sexes at birth seems to me extremely curious, and i hope that some day you will publish it. it certainly appears that the males are decreasing in the london districts, and a most strange fact it is. mr. graham, however, i observe in a note enclosed, does not seem inclined to admit your conclusion. i have never much considered the subject of the causes of the proportion. when i reflected on queen bees producing only males when not impregnated, whilst some other parthenogenetic insects produced, as far as known, only females, the subject seemed to me hopelessly obscure. it is, however, pretty clear that you have taken the one path for its solution. i wished only to ascertain how far with various animals the males exceeded the females, and i have given all the facts which i could collect. as far as i know, no other data have been published. the equality of the sexes with race-horses is surprising. my remarks on mankind are quite superficial, and given merely as some sort of standard for comparison with the lower animals. m. thury is the writer who makes the sex depend on the period of impregnation. his pamphlet was sent me from geneva. ( / . "memoire sur la loi de production des sexes," nd edition, (a pamphlet published by cherbuliez, geneva).) i can lend it you if you like. i subsequently read an account of experiments which convinced me that m. thury was in error; but i cannot remember what they were, only the impression that i might safely banish this view from my mind. your remarks on the less ratio of males in illegitimate births strikes me as the most doubtful point in your ms.--requiring two assumptions, viz. that the fathers in such cases are relatively too young, and that the result is the same as when the father is relatively too old. my son, george, who is a mathematician, and who read your ms. with much interest, has suggested, as telling in the right direction, but whether sufficient is another question, that many more illegitimate children are murdered and concealed shortly after birth, than in the case of legitimate children; and as many more males than females die during the first few days of life, the census of illegitimate children practically applies to an older age than with legitimate children, and would thus slightly reduce the excess of males. this might possibly be worth consideration. by a strange coincidence a stranger writes to me this day, making the very same suggestion. i am quite delighted to hear that my book interests you enough to lead you to read it with some care. letter . to francis galton. down, january th, . very many thanks for "fraser" ( / . "hereditary improvement," by francis galton, "fraser's magazine," january , page .): i have been greatly interested by your article. the idea of castes being spontaneously formed and leading to intermarriage ( / . "my object is to build up, by the mere process of extensive enquiry and publication of results, a sentiment of caste among those who are naturally gifted, and to procure for them, before the system has fairly taken root, such moderate social favours and preference, no more no less, as would seem reasonable to those who were justly informed of the precise measure of their importance to the nation" (loc. cit., page ).) is quite new to me, and i should suppose to others. i am not, however, so hopeful as you. your proposed society ( / . mr. galton proposes that "some society should undertake three scientific services: the first, by means of a moderate number of influential local agencies, to institute continuous enquiries into the facts of human heredity; the second to be a centre of information on heredity for breeders of animals and plants; and the third to discuss and classify the facts that were collected" (loc. cit., page ).) would have awfully laborious work, and i doubt whether you could ever get efficient workers. as it is, there is much concealment of insanity and wickedness in families; and there would be more if there was a register. but the greatest difficulty, i think, would be in deciding who deserved to be on the register. how few are above mediocrity in health, strength, morals and intellect; and how difficult to judge on these latter heads. as far as i see, within the same large superior family, only a few of the children would deserve to be on the register; and these would naturally stick to their own families, so that the superior children of distinct families would have no good chance of associating much and forming a caste. though i see so much difficulty, the object seems a grand one; and you have pointed out the sole feasible, yet i fear utopian, plan of procedure in improving the human race. i should be inclined to trust more (and this is part of your plan) to disseminating and insisting on the importance of the all-important principle of inheritance. i will make one or two minor criticisms. is it not possible that the inhabitants of malarious countries owe their degraded and miserable appearance to the bad atmosphere, though this does not kill them, rather than to "economy of structure"? i do not see that an orthognathous face would cost more than a prognathous face; or a good morale than a bad one. that is a fine simile (page ) about the chip of a statue ( / . "...the life of the individual is treated as of absolutely no importance, while the race is as everything; nature being wholly careless of the former except as a contributor to the maintenance and evolution of the latter. myriads of inchoate lives are produced in what, to our best judgment, seems a wasteful and reckless manner, in order that a few selected specimens may survive, and be the parents of the next generation. it is as though individual lives were of no more consideration than are the senseless chips which fall from the chisel of the artist who is elaborating some ideal form from a rude block" (loc. cit., page ).); but surely nature does not more carefully regard races than individuals, as (i believe i have misunderstood what you mean) evidenced by the multitude of races and species which have become extinct. would it not be truer to say that nature cares only for the superior individuals and then makes her new and better races? but we ought both to shudder in using so freely the word "nature" ( / . see letter , volume i.) after what de candolle has said. again let me thank you for the interest received in reading your essay. many thanks about the rabbits; your letter has been sent to balfour: he is a very clever young man, and i believe owes his cleverness to salisbury blood. this letter will not be worth your deciphering. i have almost finished greg's "enigmas." ( / . "the enigmas of life," .) it is grand poetry--but too utopian and too full of faith for me; so that i have been rather disappointed. what do you think about it? he must be a delightful man. i doubt whether you have made clear how the families on the register are to be kept pure or superior, and how they are to be in course of time still further improved. letter . to max muller. down, july rd, . ( / . in june, , professor max muller sent to mr. darwin a copy of the sixth edition of his "lectures on the science of language" ( / . a reference to the first edition occurs in "life and letters," ii., page .), with a letter concluding with these words: "i venture to send you my three lectures, trusting that, though i differ from some of your conclusions, you will believe me to be one of your diligent readers and sincere admirers.") i am much obliged for your kind note and present of your lectures. i am extremely glad to have received them from you, and i had intended ordering them. i feel quite sure from what i have read in your works that you would never say anything of an honest adversary to which he would have any just right to object; and as for myself, you have often spoken highly of me--perhaps more highly than i deserve. as far as language is concerned i am not worthy to be your adversary, as i know extremely little about it, and that little learnt from very few books. i should have been glad to have avoided the whole subject, but was compelled to take it up as well as i could. he who is fully convinced, as i am, that man is descended from some lower animal, is almost forced to believe a priori that articulate language has been developed from inarticulate cries ( / . "descent of man" ( ), page .); and he is therefore hardly a fair judge of the arguments opposed to this belief. ( / . in october, , mr. darwin again wrote cordially to professor max muller on receipt of a pamphlet entitled "in self-defence" ( / . printed in "chips from a german workshop," volume iv., , page .), which is a reply to professor whitney's "darwinism and language" in the "north american review," july . this essay had been brought before the "general reader" in england by an article of mr. g. darwin's in the "contemporary review," november, , page , entitled, "professor whitney on the origin of language." the article was followed by "my reply to mr. darwin," contributed by professor muller to the "contemporary review," january, , page .) letter . g. rolleston to charles darwin. british association, bristol, august th, . ( / . in the first edition of the "descent of man" mr. darwin wrote: "it is a more curious fact that savages did not formerly waste away, as mr. bagehot has remarked, before the classical nations, as they now do before modern civilised nations..."( / . bagehot, "physics and politics," "fortnightly review," april, , page .) in the second edition (page ) the statement remains, but a mass of evidence (pages - ) is added, to which reference occurs in the reply to the following letter.) at pages - of the enclosed address ( / . "british association reports," , page .) you will find that i have controverted mr. bagehot's view as to the extinction of the barbarians in the times of classical antiquity, as also the view of poppig as to there being some occult influence exercised by civilisation to the disadvantage of savagery when the two come into contact. i write to say that i took up this subject without any wish to impugn any views of yours as such, but with the desire of having my say upon certain anti-sanitarian transactions and malfeasance of which i had had a painful experience. on reading however what i said, and had written somewhat hastily, it has struck me that what i have said might bear the former interpretation in the eyes of persons who might not read other papers of mine, and indeed other parts of the same address, in which my adhesion, whatever it is worth, to your views in general is plainly enough implied. i have ventured to write this explanation to you for several reasons. letter . to g. rolleston. bassett, southampton, september nd [ ]. i am much obliged to you for having sent me your address, which has interested me greatly. i quite subscribe to what you say about mr. bagehot's striking remark, and wish i had not quoted it. i can perceive no sort of reflection or blame on anything which i have written, and i know well that i deserve many a good slap on the face. the decrease of savage populations interests me much, and i should like you some time to look at a discussion on this subject which i have introduced in the second edition of the "descent of man," and which you can find (for i have no copy here) in the list of additions. the facts have convinced me that lessened fertility and the poor constitution of the children is one chief cause of such decrease; and that the case is strictly parallel to the sterility of many wild animals when made captive, the civilisation of savages and the captivity of wild animals leading to the same result. letter . to ernst krause. down, june th, . i have been much interested by your able argument against the belief that the sense of colour has been recently acquired by man. ( / . see "kosmos," june , page , a review of dr. hugo magnus' "die geschichtliche entwickelung des farbensinnes," . the first part is chiefly an account of the author's views; dr. krause's argument begins at page . the interest felt by mr. darwin is recorded by the numerous pencil-marks on the margin of his copy.) the following observation bears on this subject. i attended carefully to the mental development of my young children, and with two, or as i believe three of them, soon after they had come to the age when they knew the names of all common objects, i was startled by observing that they seemed quite incapable of affixing the right names to the colours in coloured engravings, although i tried repeatedly to teach them. i distinctly remember declaring that they were colour-blind, but this afterwards proved a groundless fear. on communicating this fact to another person he told me that he had observed a nearly similar case. therefore the difficulty which young children experience either in distinguishing, or more probably in naming colours, seems to deserve further investigation. i will add that it formerly appeared to me that the gustatory sense, at least in the case of my own infants, and very young children, differed from that of grown-up persons. this was shown by their not disliking rhubarb mixed with a little sugar and milk, which is to us abominably nauseous; and in their strong taste for the sourest and most austere fruits, such as unripe gooseberries and crabapples. (plate: g.j. romanes, . elliott & fry, photo. walker and cockerell, ph. sc.) letter . to g.j. romanes. [barlaston], august th, . ( / . part of this letter (here omitted) is published in "life and letters," iii., page , and the whole in the "life and letters of g.j. romanes," page . the lecture referred to was on animal intelligence, and was given at the dublin meeting of the british association.) ...the sole fault which i find with your lecture is that it is too short, and this is a rare fault. it strikes me as admirably clear and interesting. i meant to have remonstrated that you had not discussed sufficiently the necessity of signs for the formation of abstract ideas of any complexity, and then i came on the discussion on deaf mutes. this latter seems to me one of the richest of all the mines, and is worth working carefully for years, and very deeply. i should like to read whole chapters on this one head, and others on the minds of the higher idiots. nothing can be better, as it seems to me, than your several lines or sources of evidence, and the manner in which you have arranged the whole subject. your book will assuredly be worth years of hard labour; and stick to your subject. by the way, i was pleased at your discussing the selection of varying instincts or mental tendencies; for i have often been disappointed by no one having ever noticed this notion. i have just finished "la psychologie, son present et son avenir," , by delboeuf (a mathematician and physicist of belgium) in about a hundred pages. it has interested me a good deal, but why i hardly know; it is rather like herbert spencer. if you do not know it, and would care to see it, send me a postcard. thank heaven, we return home on thursday, and i shall be able to go on with my humdrum work, and that makes me forget my daily discomfort. have you ever thought of keeping a young monkey, so as to observe its mind? at a house where we have been staying there were sir a. and lady hobhouse, not long ago returned from india, and she and he kept [a] young monkey and told me some curious particulars. one was that her monkey was very fond of looking through her eyeglass at objects, and moved the glass nearer and further so as to vary the focus. this struck me, as frank's son, nearly two years old (and we think much of his intellect!!) is very fond of looking through my pocket lens, and i have quite in vain endeavoured to teach him not to put the glass close down on the object, but he always will do so. therefore i conclude that a child under two years is inferior in intellect to a monkey. once again i heartily congratulate you on your well-earned present, and i feel assured, grand future success. ( / . later in the year mr. darwin wrote: "i am delighted to hear that you mean to work the comparative psychology well. i thought your letter to the "times" very good indeed. ( / . romanes wrote to the "times" august th, , expressing his views regarding the distinction between man and the lower animals, in reply to criticisms contained in a leading article in the "times" of august rd on his lecture at the dublin meeting of the british association.) bartlett, at the zoological gardens, i feel sure, would advise you infinitely better about hardiness, intellect, price, etc., of monkey than f. buckland; but with him it must be viva voce. "frank says you ought to keep a idiot, a deaf mute, a monkey, and a baby in your house.") letter . to g.a. gaskell. down, november th, . ( / . this letter has been published in clapperton's "scientific meliorism," , page , together with mr. gaskell's letter of november th (page ). mr. gaskell's laws are given in his letter of november th, . they are:-- i. the organological law: natural selection, or the survival of the fittest. ii. the sociological law: sympathetic selection, or indiscriminate survival. iii. the moral law: social selection, or the birth of the fittest.) your letter seems to me very interesting and clearly expressed, and i hope that you are in the right. your second law appears to be largely acted on in all civilised countries, and i just alluded to it in my remarks to the effect (as far as i remember) that the evil which would follow by checking benevolence and sympathy in not fostering the weak and diseased would be greater than by allowing them to survive and then to procreate. with regard to your third law, i do not know whether you have read an article (i forget when published) by f. galton, in which he proposes certificates of health, etc., for marriage, and that the best should be matched. i have lately been led to reflect a little, (for, now that i am growing old, my work has become [word indecipherable] special) on the artificial checks, but doubt greatly whether such would be advantageous to the world at large at present, however it may be in the distant future. suppose that such checks had been in action during the last two or three centuries, or even for a shorter time in britain, what a difference it would have made in the world, when we consider america, australia, new zealand, and s. africa! no words can exaggerate the importance, in my opinion, of our colonisation for the future history of the world. if it were universally known that the birth of children could be prevented, and this were not thought immoral by married persons, would there not be great danger of extreme profligacy amongst unmarried women, and might we not become like the "arreoi" societies in the pacific? in the course of a century france will tell us the result in many ways, and we can already see that the french nation does not spread or increase much. i am glad that you intend to continue your investigations, and i hope ultimately may publish on the subject. letter . to k. hochberg. down, january th, . i am much obliged for your note and for the essay which you have sent me. i am a poor german scholar, and your german is difficult; but i think that i understand your meaning, and hope at some future time, when more at leisure, to recur to your essay. as far as i can judge, you have made a great advance in many ways in the subject; and i will send your paper to mr. edmund gurney (the late edmund gurney, author of "the power of sound," .), who has written on and is much interested in the origin of the taste for music. in reading your essay, it occurred to me that facility in the utterance of prolonged sounds (i do not think that you allude to this point) may possibly come into play in rendering them musical; for i have heard it stated that those who vary their voices much, and use cadences in long continued speaking, feel less fatigued than those who speak on the same note. letter . to g.j. romanes. down, february th, . ( / . romanes was at work on what ultimately came to be a book on animal intelligence. romanes's reply to this letter is given in his "life," page . the table referred to is published as a frontispiece to his "mental evolution in animals," .) as i feared, i cannot be of the least use to you. i could not venture to say anything about babies without reading my expression book and paper on infants, or about animals without reading the "descent of man" and referring to my notes; and it is a great wrench to my mind to change from one subject to another. i will, however, hazard one or two remarks. firstly, i should have thought that the word "love" (not sexual passion), as shown very low in the scale, to offspring and apparently to comrades, ought to have come in more prominently in your table than appears to be the case. secondly, if you give any instance of the appreciation of different stimulants by plants, there is a much better case than that given by you--namely, that of the glands of drosera, which can be touched roughly two or three times and do not transmit any effect, but do so if pressed by a weight of / grain ("insectivorous plants" ). on the other hand, the filament of dionoea may be quietly loaded with a much greater weight, while a touch by a hair causes the lobes to close instantly. this has always seemed to me a marvellous fact. thirdly, i have been accustomed to look at the coming in of the sense of pleasure and pain as one of the most important steps in the development of mind, and i should think it ought to be prominent in your table. the sort of progress which i have imagined is that a stimulus produced some effect at the point affected, and that the effect radiated at first in all directions, and then that certain definite advantageous lines of transmission were acquired, inducing definite reaction in certain lines. such transmission afterwards became associated in some unknown way with pleasure or pain. these sensations led at first to all sorts of violent action, such as the wriggling of a worm, which was of some use. all the organs of sense would be at the same time excited. afterwards definite lines of action would be found to be the most useful, and so would be practised. but it is of no use my giving you my crude notions. letter . to s. tolver preston. down, may nd, . ( / . mr. preston wrote (may th, ) to the effect that "self-interest as a motive for conduct is a thing to be commended--and it certainly [is] i think...the only conceivable rational motive of conduct: and always is the tacitly recognised motive in all rational actions." mr. preston does not, of course, commend selfishness, which is not true self-interest. there seem to be two ways of looking at the case given by darwin. the man who knows that he is risking his life,--realising that the personal satisfaction that may follow is not worth the risk--is surely admirable from the strength of character that leads him to follow the social instinct against his purely personal inclination. but the man who blindly obeys the social instinct is a more useful member of a social community. he will act with courage where even the strong man will fail.) your letter appears to me an interesting and valuable one; but i have now been working for some years exclusively on the physiology of plants, and all other subjects have gone out of my head, and it fatigues me much to try and bring them back again into my head. i am, moreover, at present very busy, as i leave home for a fortnight's rest at the beginning of next week. my conviction as yet remains unchanged, that a man who (for instance) jumps into a river to save a life without a second's reflection (either from an innate tendency or from one gained by habit) is deservedly more honoured than a man who acts deliberately and is conscious, for however short a time, that the risk and sacrifice give him some inward satisfaction. you are of course familiar with herbert spencer's writings on ethics. ( / . the observations to which the following letters refer were continued by mr. wallis, who gave an account of his work in an interesting paper in the "proceedings of the zoological society," march nd, . the results on the whole confirm the belief that traces of an ancestral pointed ear exist in man.) letter . to h.m. wallis. down, march nd, . i am very much obliged for your courteous and kind note. the fact which you communicate is quite new to me, and as i was laughed at about the tips to human ears, i should like to publish in "nature" some time your fact. but i must first consult eschricht, and see whether he notices this fact in his curious paper on the lanugo on human embryos; and secondly i ought to look to monkeys and other animals which have tufted ears, and observe how the hair grows. this i shall not be able to do for some months, as i shall not be in london until the autumn so as to go to the zoological gardens. but in order that i may not hereafter throw away time, will you be so kind as to inform me whether i may publish your observation if on further search it seems desirable? letter . to h.m. wallis. down, march st, . i am much obliged for your interesting letter. i am glad to hear that you are looking to other ears, and will visit the zoological gardens. under these circumstances it would be incomparably better (as more authentic) if you would publish a notice of your observations in "nature" or some scientific journal. would it not be well to confine your attention to infants, as more likely to retain any primordial character, and offering less difficulty in observing. i think, though, it would be worth while to observe whether there is any relation (though probably none) between much hairiness on the ears of an infant and the presence of the "tip" on the folded margin. could you not get an accurate sketch of the direction of the hair of the tip of an ear? the fact which you communicate about the goat-sucker is very curious. about the difference in the power of flight in dorkings, etc., may it not be due merely to greater weight of body in the adults? i am so old that i am not likely ever again to write on general and difficult points in the theory of evolution. i shall use what little strength is left me for more confined and easy subjects. letter . to mrs. talbot. (mrs. emily talbot was secretary of the education department of the american social science association, boston, mass. a circular and register was issued by the department, and answers to various questions were asked for. see "nature," april th, page , . the above letter was published in "the field naturalist," manchester, , page , edited by mr. w.e. axon, to whom we are indebted for a copy.) down, july th [ ?] in response to your wish, i have much pleasure in expressing the interest which i feel in your proposed investigation on the mental and bodily development of infants. very little is at present accurately known on this subject, and i believe that isolated observations will add but little to our knowledge, whereas tabulated results from a very large number of observations, systematically made, would probably throw much light on the sequence and period of development of the several faculties. this knowledge would probably give a foundation for some improvement in our education of young children, and would show us whether the system ought to be followed in all cases. i will venture to specify a few points of inquiry which, as it seems to me, possess some scientific interest. for instance, does the education of the parents influence the mental powers of their children at any age, either at a very early or somewhat more advanced stage? this could perhaps be learned by schoolmasters and mistresses if a large number of children were first classed according to age and their mental attainments, and afterwards in accordance with the education of their parents, as far as this could be discovered. as observation is one of the earliest faculties developed in young children, and as this power would probably be exercised in an equal degree by the children of educated and uneducated persons, it seems not impossible that any transmitted effect from education could be displayed only at a somewhat advanced age. it would be desirable to test statistically, in a similar manner, the truth of the oft-repeated statement that coloured children at first learn as quickly as white children, but that they afterwards fall off in progress. if it could be proved that education acts not only on the individual, but, by transmission, on the race, this would be a great encouragement to all working on this all-important subject. it is well known that children sometimes exhibit, at a very early age, strong special tastes, for which no cause can be assigned, although occasionally they may be accounted for by reversion to the taste or occupation of some progenitor; and it would be interesting to learn how far such early tastes are persistent and influence the future career of the individual. in some instances such tastes die away without apparently leaving any after effect, but it would be desirable to know how far this is commonly the case, as we should then know whether it were important to direct as far as this is possible the early tastes of our children. it may be more beneficial that a child should follow energetically some pursuit, of however trifling a nature, and thus acquire perseverance, than that he should be turned from it because of no future advantage to him. i will mention one other small point of inquiry in relation to very young children, which may possibly prove important with respect to the origin of language; but it could be investigated only by persons possessing an accurate musical ear. children, even before they can articulate, express some of their feelings and desires by noises uttered in different notes. for instance, they make an interrogative noise, and others of assent and dissent, in different tones; and it would, i think, be worth while to ascertain whether there is any uniformity in different children in the pitch of their voices under various frames of mind. i fear that this letter can be of no use to you, but it will serve to show my sympathy and good wishes in your researches. .viii.ii. sexual selection, - . letter . to james shaw. down, february th [ ]. i am much obliged to you for your kindness in sending me an abstract of your paper on beauty. ( / . a newspaper report of a communication to the "dumfries antiquarian and natural history society.") in my opinion you take quite a correct view of the subject. it is clear that dr. dickson has either never seen my book, or overlooked the discussion on sexual selection. if you have any precise facts on birds' "courtesy towards their own image in mirror or picture," i should very much like to hear them. butterflies offer an excellent instance of beauty being displayed in conspicuous parts; for those kinds which habitually display the underside of the wing have this side gaudily coloured, and this is not so in the reverse case. i daresay you will know that the males of many foreign butterflies are much more brilliantly coloured than the females, as in the case of birds. i can adduce good evidence from two large classes of facts (too large to specify) that flowers have become beautiful to make them conspicuous to insects. ( / . this letter is published in "a country schoolmaster, james shaw." edited by robert wallace, edinburgh, .) ( / . mr. darwin wrote again to mr. shaw in april, :--) i am much obliged for your kind letter and all the great trouble which you have taken in sending to all the various and interesting facts on birds admiring themselves. i am very glad to hear of these facts. i have just finished writing and adding to a new edition of the "origin," and in this i have given, without going into details (so that i shall not be able to use your facts), some remarks on the subject of beauty. letter . to a.d. bartlett. down, february th [ ?] i want to beg two favours of you. i wish to ascertain whether the bower-bird discriminates colours. ( / . mr. bartlett does not seem to have supplied any information on the point in question. the evidence for the bower-bird's taste in colour is in "descent of man," ii., page .) will you have all the coloured worsted removed from the cage and bower, and then put all in a row, at some distance from bower, the enclosed coloured worsted, and mark whether the bird at first makes any selection. each packet contains an equal quantity; the packets had better be separate, and each thread put separate, but close together; perhaps it would be fairest if the several colours were put alternately--one thread of bright scarlet, one thread of brown, etc., etc. there are six colours. will you have the kindness to tell me whether the birds prefer one colour to another? secondly, i very much want several heads of the fancy and long-domesticated rabbits, to measure the capacity of skull. i want only small kinds, such as himalaya, small angora, silver grey, or any small-sized rabbit which has long been domesticated. the silver grey from warrens would be of little use. the animals must be adult, and the smaller the breed the better. now when any one dies would you send me the carcase named; if the skin is of any value it might be skinned, but it would be rather better with skin, and i could make a present to any keeper to whom the skin is a perquisite. this would be of great assistance to me, if you would have the kindness thus to aid me. letter . to w.b. tegetmeier. ( / . we are not aware that the experiment here suggested has ever been carried out.) down, march th [ ]. i write on the bare and very improbable chance of your being able to try, or get some trustworthy person to try, the following little experiment. but i may first state, as showing what i want, that it has been stated that if two long feathers in the tail of the male widow-bird at the cape of good hope are pulled out, no female will pair with him. now, where two or three common cocks are kept, i want to know, if the tail sickle-feathers and saddle-feathers of one which had succeeded in getting wives were cut and mutilated and his beauty spoiled, whether he would continue to be successful in getting wives. this might be tried with drakes or peacocks, but no one would be willing to spoil for a season his peacocks. i have no strength or opportunity of watching my own poultry, otherwise i would try it. i would very gladly repay all expenses of loss of value of the poultry, etc. but, as i said, i have written on the most improbable chance of your interesting any one to make the trial, or having time and inclination yourself to make it. another, and perhaps better, mode of making the trial would be to turn down to some hens two or three cocks, one being injured in its plumage. i am glad to say that i have begun correcting proofs. ( / . "the variation of animals and plants.") i hope that you received safely the skulls which you so kindly lent me. letter . to w.b. tegetmeier. down, march th [ ]. i am much obliged for your note, and shall be truly obliged if you will insert any question on the subject. that is a capital remark of yours about the trimmed game cocks, and shall be quoted by me. ( / . "descent of man," edition i., volume ii., page . "mr. tegetmeier is convinced that a game cock, though disfigured by being dubbed with his hackles trimmed, would be accepted as readily as a male retaining all his natural ornaments.") nevertheless i am still inclined from many facts strongly to believe that the beauty of the male bird determines the choice of the female with wild birds, however it may be under domestication. sir r. heron has described how one pied peacock was extra attentive to the hens. this is a subject which i must take up as soon as my present book is done. i shall be most particularly obliged to you if you will dye with magenta a pigeon or two. ( / . "mr. tegetmeier, at my request, stained some of his birds with magenta, but they were not much noticed by the others."--"descent of man" ( ), page .) would it not be better to dye the tail alone and crown of head, so as not to make too great difference? i shall be very curious to hear how an entirely crimson pigeon will be received by the others as well as his mate. p.s.--perhaps the best experiment, for my purpose, would be to colour a young unpaired male and turn him with other pigeons, and observe whether he was longer or quicker than usual in mating. letter . to a.r. wallace. down, april th [ ]. i have been greatly interested by your letter, but your view is not new to me. ( / . we have not been able to find mr. wallace's letter to which this is a reply. it evidently refers to mr. wallace's belief in the paramount importance of protection in the evolution of colour. this is clear from the p.s. to the present letter and from the passages in the "origin" referred to. the first reference, edition iv., page , is as follows: "we can sometimes plainly see the proximate cause of the transmission of ornaments to the males alone; for a pea-hen with the long tail of the male bird would be badly fitted to sit on her eggs, and a coal-black female capercailzie would be far more conspicuous on her nest, and more exposed to danger, than in her present modest attire." the passages in edition i. (pages , ) do not directly bear on the question of protection.) if you will look at page of the fourth edition of the "origin" you will find it very briefly given with two extreme examples of the peacock and black grouse. a more general statement is given at page , or at page of the first edition, for i have long entertained this view, though i have never had space to develop it. but i had not sufficient knowledge to generalise as far as you do about colouring and nesting. in your paper perhaps you will just allude to my scanty remark in the fourth edition, because in my essay on man i intend to discuss the whole subject of sexual selection, explaining as i believe it does much with respect to man. i have collected all my old notes, and partly written my discussion, and it would be flat work for me to give the leading idea as exclusively from you. but, as i am sure from your greater knowledge of ornithology and entomology that you will write a much better discussion than i could, your paper will be of great use to me. nevertheless i must discuss the subject fully in my essay on man. when we met at the zoological society, and i asked you about the sexual differences in kingfishers, i had this subject in view; as i had when i suggested to bates the difficulty about gaudy caterpillars, which you have so admirably (as i believe it will prove) explained. ( / . see a letter of february th, , to mr. wallace, "life and letters" iii., page .) i have got one capital case (genus forgotten) of a [australian] bird in which the female has long tail-plumes, and which consequently builds a different nest from all her allies. ( / . menura superba: see "descent of man" ( ), page . rhynchoea, mentioned a line or two lower down, is discussed in the "descent," page . the female is more brightly coloured than the male, and has a convoluted trachea, elsewhere a masculine character. there seems some reason to suppose that "the male undertakes the duty of incubation.") with respect to certain female birds being more brightly coloured than the males, and the latter incubating, i have gone a little into the subject, and cannot say that i am fully satisfied. i remember mentioning to you the case of rhynchoea, but its nesting seems unknown. in some other cases the difference in brightness seemed to me hardly sufficiently accounted for by the principle of protection. at the falkland islands there is a carrion hawk in which the female (as i ascertained by dissection) is the brightest coloured, and i doubt whether protection will here apply; but i wrote several months ago to the falklands to make enquiries. the conclusion to which i have been leaning is that in some of these abnormal cases the colour happened to vary in the female alone, and was transmitted to females alone, and that her variations have been selected through the admiration of the male. it is a very interesting subject, but i shall not be able to go on with it for the next five or six months, as i am fully employed in correcting dull proof-sheets. when i return to the work i shall find it much better done by you than i could have succeeded in doing. it is curious how we hit on the same ideas. i have endeavoured to show in my ms. discussion that nearly the same principles account for young birds not being gaily coloured in many cases, but this is too complex a point for a note. on reading over your letter again, and on further reflection, i do not think (as far as i remember my words) that i expressed myself nearly strongly enough on the value and beauty of your generalisation ( / . see letter , volume i.), viz., that all birds in which the female is conspicuously or brightly coloured build in holes or under domes. i thought that this was the explanation in many, perhaps most cases, but do not think i should ever have extended my view to your generalisation. forgive me troubling you with this p.s. letter . to a.r. wallace. down, may th [ ]. the offer of your valuable notes is most generous, but it would vex me to take so much from you, as it is certain that you could work up the subject very much better than i could. therefore i earnestly, and without any reservation, hope that you will proceed with your paper, so that i return your notes. you seem already to have well investigated the subject. i confess on receiving your note that i felt rather flat at my recent work being almost thrown away, but i did not intend to show this feeling. as a proof how little advance i had made on the subject, i may mention that though i had been collecting facts on the colouring, and other sexual differences in mammals, your explanation with respect to the females had not occurred to me. i am surprised at my own stupidity, but i have long recognised how much clearer and deeper your insight into matters is than mine. i do not know how far you have attended to the laws of inheritance, so what follows may be obvious to you. i have begun my discussion on sexual selection by showing that new characters often appear in one sex and are transmitted to that sex alone, and that from some unknown cause such characters apparently appear oftener in the male than in the female. secondly, characters may be developed and be confined to the male, and long afterwards be transferred to the female. thirdly, characters may arise in either sex and be transmitted to both sexes, either in an equal or unequal degree. in this latter case i have supposed that the survival of the fittest has come into play with female birds and kept the female dull-coloured. with respect to the absence of spurs in the female gallinaceous birds, i presume that they would be in the way during incubation; at least i have got the case of a german breed of fowls in which the hens were spurred, and were found to disturb and break their eggs much. with respect to the females of deer not having horns, i presume it is to save the loss of organised matter. in your note you speak of sexual selection and protection as sufficient to account for the colouring of all animals, but it seems to me doubtful how far this will come into play with some of the lower animals, such as sea anemones, some corals, etc., etc. on the other hand hackel ( / . see "descent of man" ( ) page .) has recently well shown that the transparency and absence of colour in the lower oceanic animals, belonging to the most different classes, may be well accounted for on the principle of protection. some time or other i should like much to know where your paper on the nests of birds has appeared, and i shall be extremely anxious to read your paper in the "westminster review." ( / . "westminster review," july, .) your paper on the sexual colouring of birds will, i have no doubt, be very striking. forgive me, if you can, for a touch of illiberality about your paper. letter . to a.r. wallace. march th, . ( / . "the variation of animals and plants" having been published on january th, , mr. darwin notes in his diary that on february th he "began on man and sexual selection." he had already (in and ) corresponded with mr. wallace on these questions--see for instance the "life and letters," iii., page ; but, owing to various interruptions, serious work on the subject did not begin until . the following quotations show the line of work undertaken early in . mr. wallace wrote (march th, ): "i am glad you have got good materials on sexual selection. it is no doubt a difficult subject. one difficulty to me is, that i do not see how the constant minute variations, which are sufficient for natural selection to work with, could be sexually selected. we seem to require a series of bold and abrupt variations. how can we imagine that an inch in the tail of the peacock, or / -inch in that of the bird of paradise, would be noticed and preferred by the female.") in regard to sexual selection. a girl sees a handsome man, and without observing whether his nose or whiskers are the tenth of an inch longer or shorter than in some other man, admires his appearance and says she will marry him. so, i suppose, with the pea-hen; and the tail has been increased in length merely by, on the whole, presenting a more gorgeous appearance. j. jenner weir, however, has given me some facts showing that birds apparently admire details of plumage. letter . to f. muller. march th [ ]. i am particularly obliged to you for your observations on the stridulation of the two sexes of lamellicorns. ( / . we are unable to find any mention of f. muller's observations on this point; but the reference is clearly to darwin's observations on necrophorus and pelobius, in which the stridulating rasp was bigger in the males in the first individuals examined, but not so in succeeding specimens. "descent of man," edition ii., volume i., page .) i begin to fear that i am completely in error owing to that common cause, viz. mistaking at first individual variability for sexual difference. i go on working at sexual selection, and, though never idle, i am able to do so little work each day that i make very slow progress. i knew from azara about the young of the tapir being striped, and about young deer being spotted ( / . fritz muller's views are discussed in the "descent of man," edition ii., volume ii., page .); i have often reflected on this subject, and know not what to conclude about the loss of the stripes and spots. from the geographical distribution of the striped and unstriped species of equus there seems to be something very mysterious about the loss of stripes; and i cannot persuade myself that the common ass has lost its stripes owing to being rendered more conspicuous from having stripes and thus exposed to danger. letter . to j. jenner weir. ( / . mr. john jenner weir, to whom the following letters are addressed, is frequently quoted in the "descent of man" as having supplied mr. darwin with information on a variety of subjects.) down, february th [ ]. i must thank you for your paper on apterous lepidoptera ( / . published by the west kent natural history, microscopical and photographic society, greenwich, . mr. weir's paper seems chiefly to have interested mr. darwin as affording a good case of gradation in the degree of degradation of the wings in various species.), which has interested me exceedingly, and likewise for the very honourable mention which you make of my name. it is almost a pity that your paper was not published in some journal in which it would have had a wider distribution. it contained much that was new to me. i think the part about the relation of the wings and spiracles and tracheae might have been made a little clearer. incidentally, you have done me a good service by reminding me of the rudimentary spurs on the legs of the partridge, for i am now writing on what i have called sexual selection. i believe that i am not mistaken in thinking that you have attended much to birds in confinement, as well as to insects. if you could call to mind any facts bearing on this subject, with birds, insects, or any animals--such as the selection by a female of any particular male--or conversely of a particular female by a male, or on the rivalry between males, or on the allurement of the females by the males, or any such facts, i should be most grateful for the information, if you would have the kindness to communicate it. p.s.--i may give as instance of [this] class of facts, that barrow asserts that a male emberiza (?) at the cape has immensely long tail-feathers during the breeding season ( / . barrow describes the long tail feathers of emberiza longicauda as enduring "but the season of love." "an account of travels into the interior of southern africa": london, , volume i., page .); and that if these are cut off, he has no chance of getting a wife. i have always felt an intense wish to make analogous trials, but have never had an opportunity, and it is not likely that you or any one would be willing to try so troublesome an experiment. colouring or staining the fine red breast of a bullfinch with some innocuous matter into a dingy tint would be an analogous case, and then putting him and ordinary males with a female. a friend promised, but failed, to try a converse experiment with white pigeons--viz., to stain their tails and wings with magenta or other colours, and then observe what effect such a prodigious alteration would have on their courtship. ( / . see letter .) it would be a fairer trial to cut off the eyes of the tail-feathers of male peacocks; but who would sacrifice the beauty of their bird for a whole season to please a mere naturalist? letter . to j. jenner weir. down, february th [ ]. i have hardly ever received a note which has interested me more than your last; and this is no exaggeration. i had a few cases of birds perceiving slight changes in the dress of their owners, but your facts are of tenfold value. i shall certainly make use of them, and need not say how much obliged i should be for any others about which you feel confident. do you know of any birds besides some of the gallinaceae which are polygamous? do you know of any birds besides pigeons, and, as it is said, the raven, which pair for their whole lives? many years ago i visited your brother, who showed me his pigeons and gave me some valuable information. could you persuade him (but i fear he would think it high treason) to stain a male pigeon some brilliant colour, and observe whether it excited in the other pigeons, especially the females, admiration or contempt? for the chance of your liking to have a copy and being able to find some parts which would interest you, i have directed mr. murray to send you my recent book on "variation under domestication." p.s.--i have somewhere safe references to cases of magpies, of which one of a pair has been repeatedly (i think seven times) killed, and yet another mate was always immediately found. ( / . on this subject see "descent of man," edition i., volume ii., page , where mr. weir's observations were made use of. this statement is quoted from jenner ("phil. trans." ) in the "descent of man" ( ), page .) a gamekeeper told me yesterday of analogous case. this perplexes me much. are there many unmarried birds? i can hardly believe it. or will one of a pair, of which the nest has been robbed, or which are barren, always desert his or her mate for a strange mate with the attraction of a nest, and in one instance with young birds in the nest? the gamekeeper said during breeding season he had never observed a single or unpaired partridge. how can the sexes be so equally matched? p.s. nd.--i fear you will find me a great bore, but i will be as reasonable as can be expected in plundering one so rich as you. p.s. rd.--i have just received a letter from dr. wallace ( / . see "descent of man," edition i., volume i., pages - , where dr. wallace's observations are quoted.), of colchester, about the proportional numbers of the two sexes in bombyx; and in this note, apropos to an incidental remark of mine, he stoutly maintains that female lepidoptera never notice the colours or appearance of the male, but always receive the first male which comes; and this appears very probable. he says he has often seen fine females receive old battered and pale-tinted males. i shall have to admit this very great objection to sexual selection in insects. his observations no doubt apply to english lepidoptera, in most of which the sexes are alike. the brimstone or orange-tip would be good to observe in this respect, but it is hopelessly difficult. i think i have often seen several males following one female; and what decides which male shall succeed? how is this about several males; is it not so? letter . to j. jenner weir. , queen anne street, cavendish square, w. [march th, ]. i have come here for a few weeks, for a little change and rest. just as i was leaving home i received your first note, and yesterday a second; and both are most interesting and valuable to me. that is a very curious observation about the goldfinch's beak ( / . "descent of man," edition i., volume i., page . mr. weir is quoted as saying that the birdcatchers can distinguish the males of the goldfinch, carduelis elegans, by their "slightly longer beaks."), but one would hardly like to trust it without measurement or comparison of the beaks of several male and female birds; for i do not understand that you yourself assert that the beak of the male is sensibly longer than that of the female. if you come across any acute birdcatchers (i do not mean to ask you to go after them), i wish you would ask what is their impression on the relative numbers of the sexes of any birds which they habitually catch, and whether some years males are more numerous and some years females. i see that i must trust to analogy (an unsafe support) for sexual selection in regard to colour in butterflies. you speak of the brimstone butterfly and genus edusa ( / . colias edusa.) (i forget what this is, and have no books here, unless it is colias) not opening their wings. in one of my notes to mr. stainton i asked him (but he could or did not answer) whether butterflies such as the fritillaries, with wings bright beneath and above, opened and shut their wings more than vanessae, most of which, i think, are obscure on the under surface. that is a most curious observation about the red underwing moth and the robin ( / . "descent of man," edition i., volume i., page . mr. weir describes the pursuit of a red-underwing, triphoena pronuba, by a robin which was attracted by the bright colour of the moth, and constantly missed the insect by breaking pieces off the wing instead of seizing the body. mr. wallace's facts are given on the same page.), and strongly supports a suggestion (which i thought hardly credible) of a.r. wallace, viz. that the immense wings of some exotic lepidoptera served as a protection from difficulty of birds seizing them. i will probably quote your case. no doubt dr. hooker collected the kerguelen moth, for i remember he told me of the case when i suggested in the "origin," the explanation of the coleoptera of madeira being apterous; but he did not know what had become of the specimens. i am quite delighted to hear that you are observing coloured birds ( / . "descent of man," edition i., volume ii., page .), though the probability, i suppose, will be that no sure result will be gained. i am accustomed with my numerous experiments with plants to be well satisfied if i get any good result in one case out of five. you will not be able to read all my book--too much detail. some of the chapters in the second volume are curious, i think. if any man wants to gain a good opinion of his fellow-men, he ought to do what i am doing, pester them with letters. letter . to j. jenner weir. , chester place, regent's park, n.w., march th [ ]. you make a very great mistake when you speak of "the risk of your notes boring me." they are of the utmost value to me, and i am sure i shall never be tired of receiving them; but i must not be unreasonable. i shall give almost all the facts which you have mentioned in your two last notes, as well as in the previous ones; and my only difficulty will be not to give too much and weary my readers. your last note is especially valuable about birds displaying the beautiful parts of their plumage. audubon ( / . in his "ornithological biography," volumes, edinburgh, - .) gives a good many facts about the antics of birds during courtship, but nothing nearly so much to the purpose as yours. i shall never be able to resist giving the whole substance of your last note. it is quite a new light to me, except with the peacock and bird of paradise. i must now look to turkey's wings; but i do not think that their wings are beautiful when opened during courtship. its tail is finely banded. how about the drake and gallus bankiva? i forget how their wings look when expanded. your facts are all the more valuable as i now clearly see that for butterflies i must trust to analogy altogether in regard to sexual selection. but i think i shall make out a strong case (as far as the rather deceitful guide of analogy will serve) in the sexes of butterflies being alike or differing greatly--in moths which do not display the lower surface of their wings not having them gaudily coloured, etc., etc.--nocturnal moths, etc.--and in some male insects fighting for the females, and attracting them by music. my discussion on sexual selection will be a curious one--a mere dovetailing of information derived from you, bates, wallace, etc., etc., etc. we remain at above address all this month, and then return home. in the summer, could i persuade you to pay us a visit of a day or two, and i would try and get bates and some others to come down? but my health is so precarious, i can ask no one who will not allow me the privilege of a poor old invalid; for talking, i find by long and dear-bought experience, tries my head more than anything, and i am utterly incapable of talking more than half an hour, except on rare occasions. i fear this note is very badly written; but i was very ill all yesterday, and my hand shakes to-day. letter . to j. jenner weir. , chester place, regent's park, n.w., march nd [ ]. i hope that you will not think me ungrateful that i have not sooner answered your note of the th; but in fact i have been overwhelmed both with calls and letters; and, alas! one visit to the british museum of an hour or hour and a half does for me for the whole day. i was particularly glad to hear your and your brother's statement about the "gay" deceiver-pigeons. ( / . some cock pigeons "called by our english fanciers gay birds are so successful in their gallantries that, as mr. h. weir informs me, they must be shut up, on account of the mischief which they cause.") i did not at all know that certain birds could win the affections of the females more than other males, except, indeed, in the case of the peacock. conversely, mr. hewitt, i remember, states that in making hybrids the cock pheasant would prefer certain hen fowls and strongly dislike others. i will write to mr. h. in a few days, and ask him whether he has observed anything of this kind with pure unions of fowls, ducks, etc. i had utterly forgotten the case of the ruff ( / . the ruff, machetes pugnax, was believed by montague to be polygamous. "descent of man," edition i., volume i., page .), but now i remember having heard that it was polygamous; but polygamy with birds, at least, does not seem common enough to have played an important part. so little is known of habits of foreign birds: wallace does not even know whether birds of paradise are polygamous. have you been a large collector of caterpillars? i believe so. i inferred from a letter from dr. wallace, of colchester, that he would account for mr. stainton and others rearing more female than male by their having collected the larger and finer caterpillars. but i misunderstood him, and he maintains that collectors take all caterpillars, large and small, for that they collect the caterpillars alone of the rarer moths or butterflies. what think you? i hear from professor canestrini ( / . see "descent of man" ( ), page .) in italy that females are born in considerable excess with bombyx mori, and in greater excess of late years than formerly! quatrefages writes to me that he believes they are equal in france. so that the farther i go the deeper i sink into the mire. with cordial thanks for your most valuable letters. we remain here till april st, and then hurrah for home and quiet work. letter . to j. jenner weir. , chester place, n.w., march th [ ]. i hardly know which of your three last letters has interested me most. what splendid work i shall have hereafter in selecting and arranging all your facts. your last letter is most curious--all about the bird-catchers--and interested us all. i suppose the male chaffinch in "pegging" approaches the captive singing-bird, from rivalry or jealousy--if i am wrong please tell me; otherwise i will assume so. can you form any theory about all the many cases which you have given me, and others which have been published, of when one [of a] pair is killed, another soon appearing? your fact about the bullfinches in your garden is most curious on this head. ( / . mr. weir stated that at blackheath he never saw or heard a wild bullfinch, yet when one of his caged males died, a wild one in the course of a few days generally came and perched near the widowed female, whose call-note is not loud. "descent of man" ( ), page .) are there everywhere many unpaired birds? what can the explanation be? mr. gould assures me that all the nightingales which first come over are males, and he believes this is so with other migratory birds. but this does not agree with what the bird-catchers say about the common linnet, which i suppose migrates within the limits of england. many thanks for very curious case of pavo nigripennis. ( / . see "animals and plants," edition ii., volume i., page .) i am very glad to get additional evidence. i have sent your fact to be inserted, if not too late, in four foreign editions which are now printing. i am delighted to hear that you approve of my book; i thought every mortal man would find the details very tedious, and have often repented of giving so many. you will find pangenesis stiff reading, and i fear will shake your head in disapproval. wallace sticks up for the great god pan like a man. the fertility of hybrid canaries would be a fine subject for careful investigation. letter . to j. jenner weir. down, april th [ ]. i read over your last ten (!) letters this morning, and made an index of their contents for easy reference; and what a mine of wealth you have bestowed on me. i am glad you will publish yourself on gay-coloured caterpillars and birds ( / . see "descent of man," edition i., volume i., page , where mr. weir's experiments are given; they were made to test mr. wallace's theory that caterpillars, which are protected against birds by an unpleasant taste, have been rendered conspicuous, so that they are easily recognised. they thus escape being pecked or tasted, which to soft-skinned animals would be as fatal as being devoured. see mr. jenner weir's papers, "transact. entomolog. soc." , page ; , page . in regard to one of these papers mr. darwin wrote (may th, ): "your verification of wallace's suggestion seems to me to amount to quite a discovery."); it seems to me much the best plan; therefore, i will not forward your letter to mr. wallace. i was much in the zoological gardens during my month in london, and picked up what scraps of knowledge i could. without my having mentioned your most interesting observations on the display of the fringillidae ( / . "descent of man" ( ), page .), mr. bartlett told me how the gold pheasant erects his collar and turns from side to side, displaying it to the hen. he has offered to give me notes on the display of all gallinaceae with which he is acquainted; but he is so busy a man that i rather doubt whether he will ever do so. i received about a week ago a remarkably kind letter from your brother, and i am sorry to hear that he suffers much in health. he gave me some fine facts about a dun hen carrier which would never pair with a bird of any other colour. he told me, also, of some one at lewes who paints his dog! and will inquire about it. by the way, mr. trimen tells me that as a boy he used to paint butterflies, and that they long haunted the same place, but he made no further observations on them. as far as colour is concerned, i see i shall have to trust to mere inference from the males displaying their plumage, and other analogous facts. i shall get no direct evidence of the preference of the hens. mr. hewitt, of birmingham, tells me that the common hen prefers a salacious cock, but is quite indifferent to colour. will you consider and kindly give me your opinion on the two following points. do very vigorous and well-nourished hens receive the male earlier in the spring than weaker or poorer hens? i suppose that they do. secondly, do you suppose that the birds which pair first in the season have any advantage in rearing numerous and healthy offspring over those which pair later in the season? with respect to the mysterious cases of which you have given me so many, in addition to those previously collected, of when one bird of a pair is shot another immediately supplying its place, i was drawing to the conclusion that there must be in each district several unpaired birds; yet this seems very improbable. you allude, also, to the unknown causes which keep down the numbers of birds; and often and often have i marvelled over this subject with respect to many animals. letter . to a.r. wallace. ( / . the following refers to mr. wallace's article "a theory of birds' nests," in andrew murray's "journal of travel," volume i., page . he here treats in fuller detail the view already published in the "westminster review," july , page . the rule which mr. wallace believes, with very few exceptions, to hold good is, "that when both sexes are of strikingly gay and conspicuous colours, the nest is...such as to conceal the sitting bird; while, whenever there is a striking contrast of colours, the male being gay and conspicuous, the female dull and obscure, the nest is open, and the sitting bird exposed to view." at this time mr. wallace allowed considerably more influence to sexual selection (in combination with the need of protection) than in his later writings. the following extract from a letter from mr. wallace to darwin (july rd, ) fixes the period at which the change in his views occurred: "i am almost afraid to tell you that in going over the subject of the colours of animals, etc., etc., for a small volume of essays, etc., i am preparing, i have come to conclusions directly opposed to voluntary sexual selection, and believe that i can explain (in a general way) all the phenomena of sexual ornaments and colours by laws of development aided by simple 'natural selection.'" he finally rejected mr. darwin's theory that colours "have been developed by the preference of the females, the more ornamented males becoming the parents of each successive generation." "darwinism," , page . see also letters , , , , etc.) down, april th, [ ]. i have been deeply interested by your admirable article on birds' nests. i am delighted to see that we really differ very little,--not more than two men almost always will. you do not lay much or any stress on new characters spontaneously appearing in one sex (generally the male), and being transmitted exclusively, or more commonly only in excess, to that sex. i, on the other hand, formerly paid far too little attention to protection. i had only a glimpse of the truth; but even now i do not go quite as far as you. i cannot avoid thinking rather more than you do about the exceptions in nesting to the rule, especially the partial exceptions, i.e., when there is some little difference between the sexes in species which build concealed nests. i am not quite satisfied about the incubating males; there is so little difference in conspicuousness between the sexes. i wish with all my heart i could go the whole length with you. you seem to think that male birds probably select the most beautiful females; i must feel some doubt on this head, for i can find no evidence of it. though i am writing so carping a note, i admire the article thoroughly. and now i want to ask a question. when female butterflies are more brilliant than their males you believe that they have in most cases, or in all cases, been rendered brilliant so as to mimic some other species, and thus escape danger. but can you account for the males not having been rendered equally brilliant and equally protected? ( / . see wallace in the "westminster review," july, , page , on the protection to the female insect afforded by its resemblance either to an inanimate object or to another insect protected by its unpalatableness. the cases are discussed in relation to the much greater importance (to the species as a whole) of the preservation of the female insect with her load of eggs than the male who may safely be sacrificed after pairing. see letter , note.) although it may be most for the welfare of the species that the female should be protected, yet it would be some advantage, certainly no disadvantage, for the unfortunate male to enjoy an equal immunity from danger. for my part, i should say that the female alone had happened to vary in the right manner, and that the beneficial variations had been transmitted to the same sex alone. believing in this, i can see no improbability (but from analogy of domestic animals a strong probability) that variations leading to beauty must often have occurred in the males alone, and been transmitted to that sex alone. thus i should account in many cases for the greater beauty of the male over the female, without the need of the protective principle. i should be grateful for an answer on the point. letter . to j. jenner weir. down, april th [ ]. you see that i have taken you at your word, and have not (owing to heaps of stupid letters) earlier noticed your three last letters, which as usual are rich in facts. your letters make almost a little volume on my table. i daresay you hardly knew yourself how much curious information was lying in your mind till i began the severe pumping process. the case of the starling married thrice in one day is capital, and beats the case of the magpies of which one was shot seven times consecutively. a gamekeeper here tells me that he has repeatedly shot one of a pair of jays, and it has always been immediately replaced. i begin to think that the pairing of birds must be as delicate and tedious an operation as the pairing of young gentlemen and ladies. if i can convince myself that there are habitually many unpaired birds, it will be a great aid to me in sexual selection, about which i have lately had many troubles, and am therefore rejoiced to hear in your last note that your faith keeps staunch. that is a curious fact about the bullfinches all appearing to listen to the german singer ( / . see letter , note.); and this leads me to ask how much faith may i put in the statement that male birds will sing in rivalry until they injure themselves. yarrell formerly told me that they would sometimes even sing themselves to death. i am sorry to hear that the painted bullfinch turns out to be a female; though she has done us a good turn in exhibiting her jealousy, of which i had no idea. thank you for telling me about the wildness of the hybrid canaries: nothing has hardly ever surprised me more than the many cases of reversion from crossing. do you not think it a very curious subject? i have not heard from mr. bartlett about the gallinaceae, and i daresay i never shall. he told me about the tragopan, and he is positive that the blue wattle becomes gorged with blood, and not air. returning to the first of the last three letters. it is most curious the number of persons of the name of jenner who have had a strong taste for natural history. it is a pity you cannot trace your connection with the great jenner, for a duke might be proud of his blood. i heard lately from professor rolleston of the inherited effects of an injury in the same eye. is the scar on your son's leg on the same side and on exactly the same spot where you were wounded? and did the wound suppurate, or heal by the first intention? i cannot persuade myself of the truth of the common belief of the influence of the mother's imagination on the child. a point just occurs to me (though it does not at present concern me) about birds' nests. have you read wallace's recent articles? ( / . a full discussion of mr. wallace's views is given in "descent of man," edition i., volume ii., chapter xv. briefly, mr. wallace's point is that the dull colour of the female bird is protective by rendering her inconspicuous during incubation. thus the relatively bright colour of the male would not simply depend on sexual selection, but also on the hen being "saved, through natural selection, from acquiring the conspicuous colours of the male" (loc. cit., page ).) i always distrust myself when i differ from him; but i cannot admit that birds learn to make their nests from having seen them whilst young. i must think it as true an instinct as that which leads a caterpillar to suspend its cocoon in a particular manner. have you had any experience of birds hatched under a foster-mother making their nests in the proper manner? i cannot thank you enough for all your kindness. letter . to a.r. wallace. ( / . dr. clifford allbutt's view probably had reference to the fact that the sperm-cell goes, or is carried, to the germ-cell, never vice versa. in this letter darwin gives the reason for the "law" referred to. mr. a.r. wallace has been good enough to give us the following note:--"it was at this time that my paper on 'protective resemblance' first appeared in the 'westminster review,' in which i adduced the greater, or rather, the more continuous, importance of the female (in the lower animals) for the race, and my 'theory of birds' nests' ('journal of travel and natural history,' no. ) in which i applied this to the usually dull colours of female butterflies and birds. it is to these articles as well as to my letters that darwin chiefly refers."--note by mr. wallace, may th, .) down, april th [ ]. your letter, like so many previous ones, has interested me much. dr. allbutt's view occurred to me some time ago, and i have written a short discussion on it. it is, i think, a remarkable law, to which i have found no exception. the foundation lies in the fact that in many cases the eggs or seeds require nourishment and protection by the mother-form for some time after impregnation. hence the spermatozoa and antherozoids travel in the lower aquatic animals and plants to the female, and pollen is borne to the female organ. as organisms rise in the scale it seems natural that the male should carry the spermatozoa to the female in his own body. as the male is the searcher, he has required and gained more eager passions than the female; and, very differently from you, i look at this as one great difficulty in believing that the males select the more attractive females; as far as i can discover, they are always ready to seize on any female, and sometimes on many females. nothing would please me more than to find evidence of males selecting the more attractive females. i have for months been trying to persuade myself of this. there is the case of man in favour of this belief, and i know in hybrid unions of males preferring particular females, but, alas, not guided by colour. perhaps i may get more evidence as i wade through my twenty years' mass of notes. i am not shaken about the female protected butterflies. i will grant (only for argument) that the life of the male is of very little value,--i will grant that the males do not vary, yet why has not the protective beauty of the female been transferred by inheritance to the male? the beauty would be a gain to the male, as far as we can see, as a protection; and i cannot believe that it would be repulsive to the female as she became beautiful. but we shall never convince each other. i sometimes marvel how truth progresses, so difficult is it for one man to convince another, unless his mind is vacant. nevertheless, i myself to a certain extent contradict my own remark, for i believe far more in the importance of protection than i did before reading your articles. i do not think you lay nearly stress enough in your articles on what you admit in your letters: viz., "there seems to be some production of vividness...of colour in the male independent of protection." this i am making a chief point; and have come to your conclusion so far that i believe that intense colouring in the female sex is often checked by being dangerous. that is an excellent remark of yours about no known case of male alone assuming protective colours; but in the cases in which protection has been gained by dull colours, i presume that sexual selection would interfere with the male losing his beauty. if the male alone had acquired beauty as a protection, it would be most readily overlooked, as males are so often more beautiful than their females. moreover, i grant that the life of the male is somewhat less precious, and thus there would be less rigorous selection with the male, so he would be less likely to be made beautiful through natural selection for protection. ( / . this does not apply to sexual selection, for the greater the excess of males, and the less precious their lives, so much the better for sexual selection. [note in original.]) but it seems to me a good argument, and very good if it could be thoroughly established. i do not know whether you will care to read this scrawl. letter . to a.r. wallace. down, may th [ ?]. i am afraid i have caused you a great deal of trouble in writing to me at such length. i am glad to say that i agree almost entirely with your summary, except that i should put sexual selection as an equal, or perhaps as even a more important agent in giving colour than natural selection for protection. as i get on in my work i hope to get clearer and more decided ideas. working up from the bottom of the scale, i have as yet only got to fishes. what i rather object to in your articles is that i do not think any one would infer from them that you place sexual selection even as high as no. in your summary. it was very natural that you should give only a line to sexual selection in the summary to the "westminster review," but the result at first to my mind was that you attributed hardly anything to its power. in your penultimate note you say "in the great mass of cases in which there is great differentiation of colour between the sexes, i believe it is due almost wholly to the need of protection to the female." now, looking to the whole animal kingdom, i can at present by no means admit this view; but pray do not suppose that because i differ to a certain extent, i do not thoroughly admire your several papers and your admirable generalisation on birds' nests. with respect to this latter point, however, although, following you, i suspect that i shall ultimately look at the whole case from a rather different point of view. you ask what i think about the gay-coloured females of pieris. ( / . see "westminster review," july, , page ; also letter .) i believe i quite follow you in believing that the colours are wholly due to mimicry; and i further believe that the male is not brilliant from not having received through inheritance colour from the female, and from not himself having varied; in short, that he has not been influenced by selection. i can make no answer with respect to the elephants. with respect to the female reindeer, i have hitherto looked at the horns simply as the consequence of inheritance not having been limited by sex. your idea about colour being concentrated in the smaller males seems good, and i presume that you will not object to my giving it as your suggestion. letter . to j. jenner weir. down, may th [ ]. i have now to thank you for no less than four letters! you are so kind that i will not apologise for the trouble i cause you; but it has lately occurred to me that you ought to publish a paper or book on the habits of the birds which you have so carefully observed. but should you do this, i do not think that my giving some of the facts for a special object would much injure the novelty of your work. there is such a multitude of points in these last letters that i hardly know what to touch upon. thanks about the instinct of nidification, and for your answers on many points. i am glad to hear reports about the ferocious female bullfinch. i hope you will have another try in colouring males. i have now finished lepidoptera, and have used your facts about caterpillars, and as a caution the case of the yellow-underwings. i have now begun on fishes, and by comparing different classes of facts my views are getting a little more decided. in about a fortnight or three weeks i shall come to birds, and then i dare say that i shall be extra troublesome. i will now enclose a few queries for the mere chance of your being able to answer some of them, and i think it will save you trouble if i write them on a separate slip, and then you can sometimes answer by a mere "no" or "yes." your last letter on male pigeons and linnets has interested me much, for the precise facts which you have given me on display are of the utmost value for my work. i have written to mr. bartlett on gallinaceae, but i dare say i shall not get an answer. i had heard before, but am glad to have confirmation about the ruffs being the most numerous. i am greatly obliged to your brother for sending out circulars. i have not heard from him as yet. i want to ask him whether he has ever observed when several male pigeons are courting one female that the latter decides with which male she will pair. the story about the black mark on the lambs must be a hoax. the inaccuracy of many persons is wonderful. i should like to tell you a story, but it is too long, about beans growing on the wrong side of the pod during certain years. queries: does any female bird regularly sing? do you know any case of both sexes, more especially of the female, [being] more brightly coloured whilst young than when come to maturity and fit to breed? an imaginary instance would be if the female kingfisher (or male) became dull coloured when adult. do you know whether the male and female wild canary bird differ in plumage (though i believe i could find this out for myself), and do any of the domestic breeds differ sexually? do you know any gallinaceous bird in which the female has well developed spurs? it is very odd that my memory should fail me, but i cannot remember whether, in accordance with your views, the wing of gallus bankiva (or game-cock, which is so like the wild) is ornamental when he opens and scrapes it before the female. i fear it is not; but though i have often looked at wing of the wild and tame bird, i cannot call to mind the exact colours. what a number of points you have attended to; i did not know that you were a horticulturist. i have often marvelled at the different growth of the flowering and creeping branches of the ivy; but had no idea that they kept their character when propagated by cuttings. there is a s. american genus (name forgotten just now) which differs in an analogous manner but even greater degree, but it is difficult to cultivate in our hot-house. i have tried and failed. letter . to j. jenner weir. down, may th [ ]. i am glad to hear your opinion on the nest-making instinct, for i am tory enough not to like to give up all old beliefs. wallace's view ( / . see letter , etc.) is also opposed to a great mass of analogical facts. the cases which you mention of suddenly reacquired wildness seem curious. i have also to thank you for a previous valuable letter. with respect to spurs on female gallinaceae, i applied to mr. blyth, who has wonderful systematic knowledge, and he tells me that the female pavo muticus and fire-back pheasants are spurred. from various interruptions i get on very slowly with my bird ms., but have already often and often referred to your volume of letters, and have used various facts, and shall use many more. and now i am ashamed to say that i have more questions to ask; but i forget--you told me not to apologise. . in your letter of april th you mention the case of about twenty birds which seemed to listen with much interest to an excellent piping bullfinch. ( / . quoted in the "descent of man" ( ), page . "a bullfinch which had been taught to pipe a german waltz...when this bird was first introduced into a room where other birds were kept and he began to sing, all the others, consisting of about twenty linnets and canaries, ranged themselves on the nearest side of their cages, and listened with the greatest interest to the new performer.") what kind of birds were these twenty? . is it true, as often stated, that a bird reared by foster-parents, and who has never heard the song of its own species, imitates to a certain extent the song of the species which it may be in the habit of hearing? now for a more troublesome point. i find it very necessary to make out relation of immature plumage to adult plumage, both when the sexes differ and are alike in the adult state. therefore, i want much to learn about the first plumage (answering, for instance, to the speckled state of the robin before it acquires the red breast) of the several varieties of the canary. can you help me? what is the character or colour of the first plumage of bright yellow or mealy canaries which breed true to these tints? so with the mottled-brown canaries, for i believe that there are breeds which always come brown and mottled. lastly, in the "prize-canaries," which have black wing- and tail-feathers during their first (?) plumage, what colours are the wings and tails after the first (?) moult or when adult? i should be particularly glad to learn this. heaven have mercy on you, for it is clear that i have none. i am going to investigate this same point with all the breeds of fowls, as mr. tegetmeier will procure for me young birds, about two months old, of all the breeds. in the course of this next month i hope you will come down here on the saturday and stay over the sunday. some months ago mr. bates said he would pay me a visit during june, and i have thought it would be pleasanter for you to come here when i can get him, so that you would have a companion if i get knocked up, as is sadly too often my bad habit and great misfortune. did you ever hear of the existence of any sub-breed of the canary in which the male differs in plumage from the female? letter . to f. muller. down, june rd [ ]. your letter of april nd has much interested me. i am delighted that you approve of my book, for i value your opinion more than that of almost any one. i have yet hopes that you will think well of pangenesis. i feel sure that our minds are somewhat alike, and i find it a great relief to have some definite, though hypothetical view, when i reflect on the wonderful transformations of animals, the re-growth of parts, and especially the direct action of pollen on the mother form, etc. it often appears to me almost certain that the characters of the parents are "photographed" on the child, only by means of material atoms derived from each cell in both parents, and developed in the child. i am sorry about the mistake in regard to leptotes. ( / . see "animals and plants," edition i., volume ii., page , where it is stated that oncidium is fertile with leptotes, a mistake corrected in the nd edition.) i daresay it was my fault, yet i took pains to avoid such blunders. many thanks for all the curious facts about the unequal number of the sexes in crustacea, but the more i investigate this subject the deeper i sink in doubt and difficulty. thanks, also, for the confirmation of the rivalry of cicadae. ( / . see "descent of man," edition i., volume i., page , for f. muller's observations; and for a reference to landois' paper.) i have often reflected with surprise on the diversity of the means for producing music with insects, and still more with birds. we thus get a high idea of the importance of song in the animal kingdom. please to tell me where i can find any account of the auditory organs in the orthoptera? your facts are quite new to me. scudder has described an annectant insect in devonian strata, furnished with a stridulating apparatus. ( / . the insect is no doubt xenoneura antiquorum, from the devonian rocks of new brunswick. scudder compared a peculiar feature in the wing of this species to the stridulating apparatus of the locustariae, but afterwards stated that he had been led astray in his original description, and that there was no evidence in support of the comparison with a stridulating organ. see the "devonian insects of new brunswick," reprinted in s.h. scudder's "fossil insects of n. america," volume i., page , new york, .) i believe he is to be trusted, and if so the apparatus is of astonishing antiquity. after reading landois' paper i have been working at the stridulating organ in the lamellicorn beetles, in expectation of finding it sexual, but i have only found it as yet in two cases, and in these it was equally developed in both sexes. i wish you would look at any of your common lamellicorns and take hold of both males and females and observe whether they make the squeaking or grating noise equally. if they do not, you could perhaps send me a male and female in a light little box. how curious it is that there should be a special organ for an object apparently so unimportant as squeaking. here is another point: have you any toucans? if so, ask any trustworthy hunter whether the beaks of the males, or of both sexes, are more brightly coloured during the breeding season than at other times of the year? i have also to thank you for a previous letter of april rd, with some interesting facts on the variation of maize, the sterility of bignonia and on conspicuous seeds. heaven knows whether i shall ever live to make use of half the valuable facts which you have communicated to me... letter . to j. jenner weir. down, june th [ ]. many thanks. i am glad that you mentioned the linnet, for i had much difficulty in persuading myself that the crimson breast could be due to change in the old feathers, as the books say. i am glad to hear of the retribution of the wicked old she-bullfinch. you remember telling me how many weirs and jenners have been naturalists; now this morning i have been putting together all my references about one bird of a pair being killed, and a new mate being soon found; you, jenner weir, have given me some most striking cases with starlings; dr. jenner gives the most curious case of all in "philosophical transactions" ( / . "phil. trans." .), and a mr. weir gives the next most striking in macgillivray. ( / . macgillivray's "history of british birds," volume i., page . see "descent of man" ( ), page .) now, is this not odd? pray remember how very glad we shall be to see you here whenever you can come. did some ancient progenitor of the weirs and jenners puzzle his brains about the mating of birds, and has the question become indelibly fixed in all your minds? letter . to a.r. wallace. august th [ ]. i had become, before my nine weeks' horrid interruption of all work, extremely interested in sexual selection, and was making fair progress. in truth it has vexed me much to find that the farther i get on the more i differ from you about the females being dull-coloured for protection. i can now hardly express myself as strongly, even, as in the "origin." this has much decreased the pleasure of my work. in the course of september, if i can get at all stronger, i hope to get mr. j. jenner weir (who has been wonderfully kind in giving me information) to pay me a visit, and i will then write for the chance of your being able to come, and i hope bring with you mrs. wallace. if i could get several of you together it would be less dull for you, for of late i have found it impossible to talk with any human being for more than half an hour, except on extraordinary good days. ( / . on september th darwin wrote to wallace on the same subject:--) you will be pleased to hear that i am undergoing severe distress about protection and sexual selection; this morning i oscillated with joy towards you; this evening i have swung back to the old position, out of which i fear i shall never get. letter . to a.r. wallace. ( / . from "life and letters," volume iii., page .) down, september rd [ ]. i am very much obliged for all your trouble in writing me your long letter, which i will keep by me and ponder over. to answer it would require at least folio pages! if you could see how often i have rewritten some pages you would know how anxious i am to arrive as near as i can to the truth. i lay great stress on what i know takes place under domestication; i think we start with different fundamental notions on inheritance. i find it is most difficult, but not, i think, impossible to see how, for instance, a few red feathers appearing on the head of a male bird, and which are at first transmitted to both sexes, would come to be transmitted to males alone. it is not enough that females should be produced from the males with red feathers, which should be destitute of red feathers; but these females must have a latent tendency to produce such feathers, otherwise they would cause deterioration in the red head-feathers of their male offspring. such latent tendency would be shown by their producing the red feathers when old, or diseased in their ovaria. but i have no difficulty in making the whole head red if the few red feathers in the male from the first tended to be sexually transmitted. i am quite willing to admit that the female may have been modified, either at the same time or subsequently, for protection by the accumulation of variations limited in their transmission to the female sex. i owe to your writings the consideration of this latter point. but i cannot yet persuade myself that females alone have often been modified for protection. should you grudge the trouble briefly to tell me, whether you believe that the plainer head and less bright colours of female chaffinch, the less red on the head and less clean colours of female goldfinch, the much less red on the breast of the female bullfinch, the paler crest of golden-crested wren, etc., have been acquired by them for protection? i cannot think so, any more than i can that the considerable differences between female and male house-sparrow, or much greater brightness of male parus caeruleus (both of which build under cover) than of female parus, are related to protection. i even misdoubt much whether the less blackness of female blackbird is for protection. again, can you give me reasons for believing that the moderate differences between the female pheasant, the female gallus bankiva, the female of black grouse, the pea-hen, the female partridge, have all special references to protection under slightly different conditions? i, of course, admit that they are all protected by dull colours, derived, as i think, from some dull-ground progenitor; and i account partly for their difference by partial transference of colour from the male, and by other means too long to specify; but i earnestly wish to see reason to believe that each is specially adapted for concealment to its environment. i grieve to differ from you, and it actually terrifies me and makes me constantly distrust myself. i fear we shall never quite understand each other. i value the cases of bright-coloured, incubating male fisher, and brilliant female butterflies, solely as showing that one sex may be made brilliant without any necessary transference of beauty to the other sex; for in these cases i cannot suppose that beauty in the other sex was checked by selection. i fear this letter will trouble you to read it. a very short answer about your belief in regard to the female finches and gallinaceae would suffice. letter . a.r. wallace to charles darwin. , st. mark's crescent, n.w., september th, . your view seems to be that variations occurring in one sex are transmitted either to that sex exclusively or to both sexes equally, or more rarely partially transferred. but we have every gradation of sexual colours, from total dissimilarity to perfect identity. if this is explained solely by the laws of inheritance, then the colours of one or other sex will be always (in relation to the environment) a matter of chance. i cannot think this. i think selection more powerful than laws of inheritance, of which it makes use, as shown by cases of two, three or four forms of female butterflies, all of which have, i have little doubt, been specialised for protection. to answer your first question is most difficult, if not impossible, because we have no sufficient evidence in individual cases of slight sexual difference, to determine whether the male alone has acquired his superior brightness by sexual selection, or the female been made duller by need of protection, or whether the two causes have acted. many of the sexual differences of existing species may be inherited differences from parent forms, which existed under different conditions and had greater or less need of protection. i think i admitted before, the general tendency (probably) of males to acquire brighter tints. yet this cannot be universal, for many female birds and quadrupeds have equally bright tints. to your second question i can reply more decidedly. i do think the females of the gallinaceae you mention have been modified or been prevented from acquiring the brighter plumage of the male, by need of protection. i know that the gallus bankiva frequents drier and more open situations than the pea-hen of java, which is found among grassy and leafy vegetation, corresponding with the colours of the two. so the argus pheasant, male and female, are, i feel sure, protected by their tints corresponding to the dead leaves of the lofty forest in which they dwell, and the female of the gorgeous fire-back pheasant lophura viellottii is of a very similar rich brown colour. i do not, however, at all think the question can be settled by individual cases, but by only large masses of facts. the colours of the mass of female birds seem to me strictly analogous to the colours of both sexes of snipes, woodcocks, plovers, etc., which are undoubtedly protective. now, supposing, on your view, that the colours of a male bird become more and more brilliant by sexual selection, and a good deal of that colour is transmitted to the female till it becomes positively injurious to her during incubation, and the race is in danger of extinction; do you not think that all the females who had acquired less of the male's bright colours, or who themselves varied in a protective direction, would be preserved, and that thus a good protective colouring would soon be acquired? if you admit that this could occur, and can show no good reason why it should not often occur, then we no longer differ, for this is the main point of my view. have you ever thought of the red wax-tips of the bombycilla beautifully imitating the red fructification of lichens used in the nest, and therefore the females have it too? yet this is a very sexual-looking character. if sexes have been differentiated entirely by sexual selection the females can have no relation to environment. but in groups when both sexes require protection during feeding or repose, as snipes, woodcock, ptarmigan, desert birds and animals, green forest birds, etc., arctic birds of prey, and animals, then both sexes are modified for protection. why should that power entirely cease to act when sexual differentiation exists and when the female requires protection, and why should the colour of so many female birds seem to be protective, if it has not been made protective by selection. it is contrary to the principles of "origin of species," that colour should have been produced in both sexes by sexual selection and never have been modified to bring the female into harmony with the environment. "sexual selection is less rigorous than natural selection," and will therefore be subordinate to it. i think the case of female pieris pyrrha proves that females alone can be greatly modified for protection. ( / . my latest views on this subject, with many new facts and arguments, will be found in the later editions of my "darwinism," chapter x. (a.r.w.)) letter . a.r. wallace to charles darwin. ( / . on october th, , mr. wallace wrote again on the same subject without adding anything of importance to his arguments of september th. we give his final remarks:--) october th, . i am sorry to find that our difference of opinion on this point is a source of anxiety to you. pray do not let it be so. the truth will come out at last, and our difference may be the means of setting others to work who may set us both right. after all, this question is only an episode (though an important one) in the great question of the "origin of species," and whether you or i are right will not at all affect the main doctrine--that is one comfort. i hope you will publish your treatise on "sexual selection" as a separate book as soon as possible; and then, while you are going on with your other work, there will no doubt be found some one to battle with me over your facts on this hard problem. letter . to a.r. wallace. down, october th [ ]. your letter is very valuable to me, and in every way very kind. i will not inflict a long answer, but only answer your queries. there are breeds (viz. hamburg) in which both sexes differ much from each other and from both sexes of gallus bankiva; and both sexes are kept constant by selection. the comb of the spanish male has been ordered to be upright, and that of spanish female to lop over, and this has been effected. there are sub-breeds of game fowl, with females very distinct and males almost identical; but this, apparently, is the result of spontaneous variation, without special selection. i am very glad to hear of case of female birds of paradise. i have never in the least doubted possibility of modifying female birds alone for protection, and i have long believed it for butterflies. i have wanted only evidence for the female alone of birds having had their colour modified for protection. but then i believe that the variations by which a female bird or butterfly could get or has got protective colouring have probably from the first been variations limited in their transmission to the female sex. and so with the variations of the male: when the male is more beautiful than the female, i believe the variations were sexually limited in their transmission to the males. letter . to b.d. walsh. down, october st, . ( / . a short account of the periodical cicada (c. septendecim) is given by dr. sharp in the cambridge natural history, insects ii., page . we are indebted to dr. sharp for calling our attention to mr. c.l. marlatt's full account of the insect in "bulletin no. [ns.] of the u.s. department of agriculture," . the cicada lives for long periods underground as larva and pupa, so that swarms of the adults of one race (septendecim) appear at intervals of years, while those of the southern form or race (tredecim) appear at intervals of years. this fact was first made out by phares in , but was overlooked or forgotten, and was only re-discovered by walsh and riley in , who published a joint paper in the "american entomologist," volume i., page . walsh appears to have adhered to the view that the - and -year forms are distinct species, though, as we gather from marlatt's paper (page ), he published a letter to mr. darwin in which he speaks of the -year form as an incipient species; see "index to missouri entomolog. reports bull. ," u.s.e.c., page (as given by marlatt). with regard to the cause of the difference in period of the two forms, marlatt (pages , ) refers doubtfully to difference of temperature as the determining factor. experiments have been instituted by moving -year eggs to the south, and vice versa with -year eggs. the results were, however, not known at the time of publication of marlatt's paper.) i am very much obliged for the extracts about the "drumming," which will be of real use to me. i do not at all know what to think of your extraordinary case of the cicadas. professor asa gray and dr. hooker were staying here, and i told them of the facts. they thought that the -year and the -year forms ought not to be ranked as distinct species, unless other differences besides the period of development could be discovered. they thought the mere rarity of variability in such a point was not sufficient, and i think i concur with them. the fact of both the forms presenting the same case of dimorphism is very curious. i have long wished that some one would dissect the forms of the male stag-beetle with smaller mandibles, and see if they were well developed, i.e., whether there was an abundance of spermatozoa; and the same observations ought, i think, to be made on the rarer form of your cicada. could you not get some observer, such as dr. hartman ( / . mr. walsh sent mr. darwin an extract from dr. hartman's "journal of the doings of a cicada septendecim," in which the females are described as flocking round the drumming males. "descent of man" ( ), page .), to note whether the females flocked in equal numbers to the "drumming" of the rarer form as to the common form? you have a very curious and perplexing subject of investigation, and i wish you success in your work. letter . to a.r. wallace. down, june th [ ?]. you must not suppose from my delay that i have not been much interested by your long letter. i write now merely to thank you, and just to say that probably you are right on all the points you touch on, except, as i think, about sexual selection, which i will not give up. my belief in it, however, is contingent on my general belief in sexual selection. it is an awful stretcher to believe that a peacock's tail was thus formed; but, believing it, i believe in the same principle somewhat modified applied to man. letter . to g.h.k. thwaites. down, february th [n.d.] i wrote a little time ago asking you an odd question about elephants, and now i am going to ask you an odder. i hope that you will not think me an intolerable bore. it is most improbable that you could get me an answer, but i ask on mere chance. macacus silenus ( / . macacus silenus l., an indian ape.) has a great mane of hair round neck, and passing into large whiskers and beard. now what i want most especially to know is whether these monkeys, when they fight in confinement (and i have seen it stated that they are sometimes kept in confinement), are protected from bites by this mane and beard. any one who watched them fighting would, i think, be able to judge on this head. my object is to find out with various animals how far the mane is of any use, or a mere ornament. is the male macacus silenus furnished with longer hair than the female about the neck and face? as i said, it is a hundred or a thousand to one against your finding out any one who has kept these monkeys in confinement. letter . to f. muller. down, august th [ ]. i have to thank you very sincerely for two letters: one of april th, containing a very curious account of the structure and morphology of bonatea. i feel that it is quite a sin that your letters should not all be published! but, in truth, i have no spare strength to undertake any extra work, which, though slight, would follow from seeing your letters in english through the press--not but that you write almost as clearly as any englishman. this same letter also contained some seeds for mr. farrer, which he was very glad to receive. your second letter, of july th, was chiefly devoted to mimicry in lepidoptera: many of your remarks seem to me so good, that i have forwarded your letter to mr. bates; but he is out of london having his summer holiday, and i have not yet heard from him. your remark about imitators and imitated being of such different sizes, and the lower surface of the wings not being altered in colour, strike me as the most curious points. i should not be at all surprised if your suggestion about sexual selection were to prove true; but it seems rather too speculative to be introduced in my book, more especially as my book is already far too speculative. the very same difficulty about brightly coloured caterpillars had occurred to me, and you will see in my book what, i believe, is the true explanation from wallace. the same view probably applies in part to gaudy butterflies. my ms. is sent to the printers, and, i suppose, will be published in about three months: of course i will send you a copy. by the way, i settled with murray recently with respect to your book ( / . the translation of "fur darwin," published in .), and had to pay him only pounds shillings pence, which i consider a very small price for the dissemination of your views; he has copies as yet unsold. this most terrible war will stop all science in france and germany for a long time. i have heard from nobody in germany, and know not whether your brother, hackel, gegenbaur, victor carus, or my other friends are serving in the army. dohrn has joined a cavalry regiment. i have not yet met a soul in england who does not rejoice in the splendid triumph of germany over france ( / . see letter , volume i.): it is a most just retribution against that vainglorious, war-liking nation. as the posts are all in confusion, i will not send this letter through france. the editor has sent me duplicate copies of the "revue des cours scientifiques," which contain several articles about my views; so i send you copies for the chance of your liking to see them. letter . a.r. wallace to charles darwin. holly house, barking, e., january th, . many thanks for your first volume ( / . "the descent of man".), which i have just finished reading through with the greatest pleasure and interest; and i have also to thank you for the great tenderness with which you have treated me and my heresies. on the subject of "sexual selection" and "protection," you do not yet convince me that i am wrong; but i expect your heaviest artillery will be brought up in your second volume, and i may have to capitulate. you seem, however, to have somewhat misunderstood my exact meaning, and i do not think the difference between us is quite so great as you seem to think it. there are a number of passages in which you argue against the view that the female has in any large number of cases been "specially modified" for protection, or that colour has generally been obtained by either sex for purposes of protection. but my view is, as i thought i had made it clear, that the female has (in most cases) been simply prevented from acquiring the gay tints of the male (even when there was a tendency for her to inherit it), because it was hurtful; and that, when protection is not needed, gay colours are so generally acquired by both sexes as to show that inheritance by both sexes of colour variations is the most usual, when not prevented from acting by natural selection. the colour itself may be acquired either by sexual selection or by other unknown causes. there are, however, difficulties in the very wide application you give to sexual selection which at present stagger me, though no one was or is more ready than myself to admit the perfect truth of the principle or the immense importance and great variety of its applications. your chapters on "man" are of intense interest--but as touching my special heresy, not as yet altogether convincing, though, of course, i fully agree with every word and every argument which goes to prove the "evolution" or "development" of man out of a lower form. my only difficulties are, as to whether you have accounted for every step of the development by ascertained laws. i feel sure that the book will keep up and increase your high reputation, and be immensely successful, as it deserves to be... letter . to g.b. murdoch. down, march th, . ( / . we are indebted to mr. murdoch for a draft of his letter dated march th, . it is too long to be quoted at length; the following citations give some idea of its contents: "in your 'descent of man,' in treating of the external differences between males and females of the same variety, have you attached sufficient importance to the different amount and kind of energy expended by them in reproduction?" mr. murdoch sums up: "is it wrong, then, to suppose that extra growth, complicated structure, and activity in one sex exist as escape-valves for surplus vigour, rather than to please or fight with, though they may serve these purposes and be modified by them?") i am much obliged for your valuable letter. i am strongly inclined to think that i have made a great and complete oversight with respect to the subject which you discuss. i am the more surprised at this, as i remember reflecting on some points which ought to have led me to your conclusion. by an odd chance i received the day before yesterday a letter from mr. lowne (author of an excellent book on the anatomy of the blow-fly) ( / . "the anatomy and physiology of the blow-fly (musca vomitaria l.)," by b.t. lowne. london, .) with a discussion very nearly to the same effect as yours. his conclusions were drawn from studying male insects with great horns, mandibles, etc. he informs me that his paper on this subject will soon be published in the "transact. entomolog. society." ( / . "observations on immature sexuality and alternate generation in insects." by b.t. lowne. "trans. entomolog. soc." [read march th, ]. "i believe that certain cutaneous appendages, as the gigantic mandibles and thoracic horns of many males, are complemental to the sexual organs; that, in point of fact, they are produced by the excess of nutriment in the male, which in the female would go to form the generative organs and ova" (loc. cit., page ).) i am inclined to look at your and mr. lowne's view as specially valuable from probably throwing light on the greater variability of male than female animals, which manifestly has much bearing on sexual selection. i will keep your remarks in mind whenever a new edition of my book is demanded. letter . to george fraser. ( / . the following letter refers to two letters to mr. darwin, in which mr. fraser pointed out that illustrations of the theory of sexual selection might be found amongst british butterflies and moths. mr. fraser, in explanation of the letters, writes: "as an altogether unknown and far from experienced naturalist, i feared to send my letters for publication without, in the first place, obtaining mr. darwin's approval." the information was published in "nature," volume iii., april th, , page . the article was referred to in the second edition of the "descent of man" ( ), pages , , . mr. fraser adds: "this is only another illustration of mr. darwin's great conscientiousness in acknowledging suggestions received by him from the most humble sources." (letter from mr. fraser to f. darwin, march , .) down, april th [ ]. i am very much obliged for your letter and the interesting facts which it contains, and which are new to me. but i am at present so much engaged with other subjects that i cannot fully consider them; and, even if i had time, i do not suppose that i should have anything to say worth printing in a scientific journal. it would obviously be absurd in me to allow a mere note of thanks from me to be printed. whenever i have to bring out a corrected edition of my book i will well consider your remarks (which i hope that you will send to "nature"), but the difficulty will be that my friends tell me that i have already introduced too many facts, and that i ought to prune rather than to introduce more. letter . to e.s. morse. down, december rd, . i am much obliged to you for having sent me your two interesting papers, and for the kind writing on the cover. i am very glad to have my error corrected about the protective colouring of shells. ( / . "on adaptive coloration of the mollusca," "boston society of natural history proc." volume xiv., april th, . mr. morse quotes from the "descent of man," i., page , a passage to the effect that the colours of the mollusca do not in general appear to be protective. mr. morse goes on to give instances of protective coloration.) it is no excuse for my broad statement, but i had in my mind the species which are brightly or beautifully coloured, and i can as yet hardly think that the colouring in such cases is protective. letter . to aug. weismann. down, february th, . i am rejoiced to hear that your eyesight is somewhat better; but i fear that work with the microscope is still out of your power. i have often thought with sincere sympathy how much you must have suffered from your grand line of embryological research having been stopped. it was very good of you to use your eyes in writing to me. i have just received your essay ( / . "ueber der einfluss der isolirung auf die artbildung": leipzig, .); but as i am now staying in london for the sake of rest, and as german is at all times very difficult to me, i shall not be able to read your essay for some little time. i am, however, very curious to learn what you have to say on isolation and on periods of variation. i thought much about isolation when i wrote in chapter iv. on the circumstances favourable to natural selection. no doubt there remains an immense deal of work to do on "artbildung." i have only opened a path for others to enter, and in the course of time to make a broad and clear high-road. i am especially glad that you are turning your attention to sexual selection. i have in this country hardly found any naturalists who agree with me on this subject, even to a moderate extent. they think it absurd that a female bird should be able to appreciate the splendid plumage of the male; but it would take much to persuade me that the peacock does not spread his gorgeous tail in the presence of the female in order to fascinate or excite her. the case, no doubt, is much more difficult with insects. i fear that you will find it difficult to experiment on diurnal lepidoptera in confinement, for i have never heard of any of these breeding in this state. ( / . we are indebted to mr. bateson for the following note: "this belief does not seem to be well founded, for since darwin's time several species of rhopalocera (e.g. pieris, pararge, caenonympha) have been successfully bred in confinement without any special difficulty; and by the use of large cages members even of strong-flying genera, such as vanessa, have been induced to breed.") i was extremely pleased at hearing from fritz muller that he liked my chapter on lepidoptera in the "descent of man" more than any other part, excepting the chapter on morals. letter . to h. muller. down [may, ]. i have now read with the greatest interest your essay, which contains a vast amount of matter quite new to me. ( / . "anwendung der darwin'schen lehre auf bienen," "verhandl. d. naturhist. vereins fur preuss. rheinld. u. westf." . references to muller's paper occur in the second edition of the "descent of man.") i really have no criticisms or suggestions to offer. the perfection of the gradation in the character of bees, especially in such important parts as the mouth-organs, was altogether unknown to me. you bring out all such facts very clearly by your comparison with the corresponding organs in the allied hymenoptera. how very curious is the case of bees and wasps having acquired, independently of inheritance from a common source, the habit of building hexagonal cells and of producing sterile workers! but i have been most interested by your discussion on secondary sexual differences; i do not suppose so full an account of such differences in any other group of animals has ever been published. it delights me to find that we have independently arrived at almost exactly the same conclusion with respect to the more important points deserving investigation in relation to sexual selection. for instance, the relative number of the two sexes, the earlier emergence of the males, the laws of inheritance, etc. what an admirable illustration you give of the transference of characters acquired by one sex--namely, that of the male of bombus possessing the pollen-collecting apparatus. many of your facts about the differences between male and female bees are surprisingly parallel with those which occur with birds. the reading your essay has given me great confidence in the efficacy of sexual selection, and i wanted some encouragement, as extremely few naturalists in england seem inclined to believe in it. i am, however, glad to find that prof. weismann has some faith in this principle. the males of bombus follow one remarkable habit, which i think it would interest you to investigate this coming summer, and no one could do it better than you. ( / . mr. darwin's observations on this curious subject were sent to hermann muller, and after his death were translated and published in krause's "gesammelte kleinere schriften von charles darwin," , page . the male bees had certain regular lines of flight at down, as from the end of the kitchen garden to the corner of the "sand-walk," and certain regular "buzzing places" where they stopped on the wing for a moment or two. mr. darwin's children remember vividly the pleasure of helping in the investigation of this habit.) i have therefore enclosed a briefly and roughly drawn-up account of this habit. should you succeed in making any observations on this subject, and if you would like to use in any way my ms. you are perfectly welcome. i could, should you hereafter wish to make any use of the facts, give them in rather fuller detail; but i think that i have given enough. i hope that you may long have health, leisure, and inclination to do much more work as excellent as your recent essay. .viii.iii. expression, - . letter . to f. muller. down, january th [ ]. i am very much obliged for your answers, though few in number (october th), about expression. i was especially glad to hear about shrugging the shoulders. you say that an old negro woman, when expressing astonishment, wonderfully resembled a cebus when astonished; but are you sure that the cebus opened its mouth? i ask because the chimpanzee does not open its mouth when astonished, or when listening. ( / . darwin in the "expression of the emotions," adheres to this statement as being true of monkeys in general.) please have the kindness to remember that i am very anxious to know whether any monkey, when screaming violently, partially or wholly closes its eyes. letter . to w. bowman. ( / . the late sir w. bowman, the well-known surgeon, supplied a good deal of information of value to darwin in regard to the expression of the emotions. the gorging of the eyes with blood during screaming is an important factor in the physiology of weeping, and indirectly in the obliquity of the eyebrows--a characteristic expression of suffering. see "expression of the emotions," pages and .) down, march th [ ]. i called at your house about three weeks since, and heard that you were away for the whole month, which i much regretted, as i wished to have had the pleasure of seeing you, of asking you a question, and of thanking you for your kindness to my son george. you did not quite understand the last note which i wrote to you--viz., about bell's precise statement that the conjunctiva of an infant or young child becomes gorged with blood when the eyes are forcibly opened during a screaming fit. ( / . sir c. bell's statement in his "anatomy of expression" ( , page ) is quoted in the "expression of the emotions," page .) i have carefully kept your previous note, in which you spoke doubtfully about bell's statement. i intended in my former note only to express a wish that if, during your professional work, you were led to open the eyelids of a screaming child, you would specially observe this point about the eye showing signs of becoming gorged with blood, which interests me extremely. could you ask any one to observe this for me in an eye-dispensary or hospital? but i now have to beg you kindly to consider one other question at any time when you have half an hour's leisure. when a man coughs violently from choking or retches violently, even when he yawns, and when he laughs violently, tears come into the eyes. now, in all these cases i observe that the orbicularis muscle is more or less spasmodically contracted, as also in the crying of a child. so, again, when the muscles of the abdomen contract violently in a propelling manner, and the breath is, i think, always held, as during the evacuation of a very costive man, and as (i hear) with a woman during severe labour-pains, the orbicularis contracts, and tears come into the eyes. sir j.e. tennant states that tears roll down the cheeks of elephants when screaming and trumpeting at first being captured; accordingly i went to the zoological gardens, and the keeper made two elephants trumpet, and when they did this violently the orbicularis was invariably plainly contracted. hence i am led to conclude that there must be some relation between the contraction of this muscle and the secretion of tears. can you tell me what this relation is? does the orbicularis press against, and so directly stimulate, the lachrymal gland? as a slight blow on the eye causes, by reflex action, a copious effusion of tears, can the slight spasmodic contraction of the orbicularis act like a blow? this seems hardly possible. does the same nerve which runs to the orbicularis send off fibrils to the lachrymal glands; and if so, when the order goes for the muscle to contract, is nervous force sent sympathetically at the same time to the glands? ( / . see "expression of the emotions," page .) i should be extremely much obliged if you [would] have the kindness to give me your opinion on this point. letter . to f.c. donders. ( / . mr. darwin was indebted to sir w. bowman for an introduction to professor donders, whose work on sir charles bell's views is quoted in the "expression of the emotions," pages - .) down, june rd [ ?]. i do not know how to thank you enough for the very great trouble which you have taken in writing at such length, and for your kind expressions towards me. i am particularly obliged for the abstract with respect to sir c. bell's views ( / . see "expression of the emotions," pages et seq.: sir charles bell's view is that adopted by darwin--viz. that the contraction of the muscles round the eyes counteracts the gorging of the parts during screaming, etc. the essay of donders is, no doubt, "on the action of the eyelids in determination of blood from expiratory effort" in beale's "archives of medicine," volume v., , page , which is a translation of the original in dutch.), as i shall now proceed with some confidence; but i am intensely curious to read your essay in full when translated and published, as i hope, in the "dublin journal," as you speak of the weak point in the case--viz., that injuries are not known to follow from the gorging of the eye with blood. i may mention that my son and his friend at a military academy tell me that when they perform certain feats with their heads downwards their faces become purple and veins distended, and that they then feel an uncomfortable sensation in their eyes; but that as it is necessary for them to see, they cannot protect their eyes by closing the eyelids. the companions of one young man, who naturally has very prominent eyes, used to laugh at him when performing such feats, and declare that some day both eyes would start out of his head. your essay on the physiological and anatomical relations between the contraction of the orbicular muscles and the secretion of tears is wonderfully clear, and has interested me greatly. i had not thought about irritating substances getting into the nose during vomiting; but my clear impression is that mere retching causes tears. i will, however, try to get this point ascertained. when i reflect that in vomiting (subject to the above doubt), in violent coughing from choking, in yawning, violent laughter, in the violent downward action of the abdominal muscle...and in your very curious case of the spasms ( / . in some cases a slight touch to the eye causes spasms of the orbicularis muscle, which may continue for so long as an hour, being accompanied by a flow of tears. see "expression of the emotions," page .)--that in all these cases the orbicular muscles are strongly and unconsciously contracted, and that at the same time tears often certainly flow, i must think that there is a connection of some kind between these phenomena; but you have clearly shown me that the nature of the relation is at present quite obscure. letter . to a.d. bartlett. , queen anne street, w., december th [ ?]. i was with mr. wood this morning, and he expressed himself strongly about your and your daughter's kindness in aiding him. he much wants assistance on another point, and if you would aid him, you would greatly oblige me. you know well the appearance of a dog when approaching another dog with hostile intentions, before they come close together. the dog walks very stiffly, with tail rigid and upright, hair on back erected, ears pointed and eyes directed forwards. when the dog attacks the other, down go the ears, and the canines are uncovered. now, could you anyhow arrange so that one of your dogs could see a strange dog from a little distance, so that mr. wood could sketch the former attitude, viz., of the stiff gesture with erected hair and erected ears. ( / . in chapter ii. of the "expression of the emotions" there are sketches of dogs in illustration of the "principle of antithesis," drawn by mr. riviere and by mr. a. may (figures - ). mr. t.w. wood supplied similar drawings of a cat (figures , ), also a sketch of the head of a snarling dog (figure ).) and then he could afterwards sketch the same dog, when fondled by his master and wagging his tail with drooping ears. these two sketches i want much, and it would be a great favour to mr. wood, and myself, if you could aid him. p.s.--when a horse is turned out into a field he trots with high, elastic steps, and carries his tail aloft. even when a cow frisks about she throws up her tail. i have seen a drawing of an elephant, apparently trotting with high steps, and with the tail erect. when the elephants in the garden are turned out and are excited so as to move quickly, do they carry their tails aloft? how is this with the rhinoceros? do not trouble yourself to answer this, but i shall be in london in a couple of months, and then perhaps you will be able to answer this trifling question. or, if you write about wolves and jackals turning round, you can tell me about the tails of elephants, or of any other animals. ( / . in the "expression of the emotions," page , reference is made under the head of "associated habitual movements in the lower animals," to dogs and other animals turning round and round and scratching the ground with their fore-paws when they wish to go to sleep on a carpet, or other similar surface.) letter . to a.d. bartlett. down, january th, [ ?] many thanks about limulus. i am going to ask another favour, but i do not want to trouble you to answer it by letter. when the callithrix sciureus screams violently, does it wrinkle up the skin round the eyes like a baby always does? ( / . "humboldt also asserts that the eyes of the callithrix sciureus 'instantly fill with tears when it is seized with fear'; but when this pretty little monkey in the zoological gardens was teased, so as to cry out loudly, this did not occur. i do not, however, wish to throw the least doubt on the accuracy of humboldt's statement." ("the expression of the emotions in man and animals," , page .) when thus screaming do the eyes become suffused with moisture? will you ask sutton to observe carefully? ( / . one of the keepers who made many observations on monkeys for mr. darwin.) could you make it scream without hurting it much? i should be truly obliged some time for this information, when in spring i come to the gardens. letter . to w. ogle. down, march th [ ]. i wrote to tyndall, but had no clear answer, and have now written to him again about odours. ( / . dr. ogle's work on the sense of smell ("medico-chirurgical trans." liii., page ) is referred to in the "expression of the emotions," page .) i write now to ask you to be so kind (if there is no objection) to tell me the circumstances under which you saw a man arrested for murder. ( / . given in the "expression of the emotions," page .) i say in my notes made from your conversation: utmost horror--extreme pallor--mouth relaxed and open--general prostration--perspiration--muscle of face contracted--hair observed on account of having been dyed, and apparently not erected. secondly, may i quote you that you have often (?) seen persons (young or old? men or women?) who, evincing no great fear, were about to undergo severe operation under chloroform, showing resignation by (alternately?) folding one open hand over the other on the lower part of chest (whilst recumbent?)--i know this expression, and think i ought to notice it. could you look out for an additional instance? i fear you will think me very troublesome, especially when i remind you (not that i am in a hurry) about the eustachian tube. letter . to j. jenner weir. down, june th [ ]. as usual, i am going to beg for information. can you tell me whether any fringillidae or sylviadae erect their feathers when frightened or enraged? ( / . see "expression of the emotions," page .) i want to show that this expression is common to all or most of the families of birds. i know of this only in the fowl, swan, tropic-bird, owl, ruff and reeve, and cuckoo. i fancy that i remember having seen nestling birds erect their feathers greatly when looking into nests, as is said to be the case with young cuckoos. i should much like to know whether nestlings do really thus erect their feathers. i am now at work on expression in animals of all kinds, and birds; and if you have any hints i should be very glad for them, and you have a rich wealth of facts of all kinds. any cases like the following: the sheldrake pats or dances on the tidal sands to make the sea-worms come out; and when mr. st. john's tame sheldrakes came to ask for their dinners they used to pat the ground, and this i should call an expression of hunger and impatience. how about the quagga case? ( / . see letter , volume i.) i am working away as hard as i can on my book; but good heavens, how slow my progress is. letter . to f.c. donders. down, march th, . very many thanks for your kind letter. i have been interested by what you tell me about your views published in , and i wish i could read your essay. it is clear to me that you were as near as possible in preceding me on the subject of natural selection. you will find very little that is new to you in my last book; whatever merit it may possess consists in the grouping of the facts and in deductions from them. i am now at work on my essay on expression. my last book fatigued me much, and i have had much correspondence, otherwise i should have written to you long ago, as i often intended to tell you in how high a degree your essay published in beale's archives interested me. ( / . beale's "archives of medicine," volume v., .) i have heard others express their admiration at the complete manner in which you have treated the subject. your confirmation of sir c. bell's rather loose statement has been of paramount importance for my work. ( / . on the contraction of the muscles surrounding the eye. see "expression of the emotions," page . see letters , .) you told me that i might make further enquiries from you. when a person is lost in meditation his eyes often appear as if fixed on a distant object ( / . the appearance is due to divergence of the lines of vision produced by muscular relaxation. see "expression of the emotions," edition ii., page .), and the lower eyelids may be seen to contract and become wrinkled. i suppose the idea is quite fanciful, but as you say that the eyeball advances in adaptation for vision for close objects, would the eyeball have to be pushed backwards in adaptation for distant objects? ( / . darwin seems to have misunderstood a remark of donders.) if so, can the wrinkling of the lower eyelids, which has often perplexed me, act in pushing back the eyeball? but, as i have said, i daresay this is quite fanciful. gratiolet says that the pupil contracts in rage, and dilates enormously in terror. ( / . see "expression of the emotions," edition ii., page .) i have not found this great anatomist quite trustworthy on such points, and am making enquiries on this subject. but i am inclined to believe him, as the old scotch anatomist munro says, that the iris of parrots contracts and dilates under passions, independently of the amount of light. can you give any explanation of this statement? when the heart beats hard and quick, and the head becomes somewhat congested with blood in any illness, does the pupil contract? does the pupil dilate in incipient faintness, or in utter prostration, as when after a severe race a man is pallid, bathed in perspiration, with all his muscles quivering? or in extreme prostration from any illness? letter . to w. turner. down, march th [ ]. i am much obliged for your kind note, and especially for your offer of sending me some time corrections, for which i shall be truly grateful. i know that there are many blunders to which i am very liable. there is a terrible one confusing the supra-condyloid foramen with another one. ( / . in the first edition of the "descent of man," i., page , in quoting mr. busk "on the caves of gibraltar," mr. darwin confuses together the inter-condyloid foramen in the humerus with the supra-condyloid foramen. his attention was called to the mistake by sir william turner, to whom he had been previously indebted for other information on the anatomy of man. the error is one, as sir william turner points out in a letter, "which might easily arise where the writer is not minutely acquainted with human anatomy." in speaking of his correspondence with darwin, sir william remarks on a characteristic of darwin's method of asking for information, namely, his care in avoiding leading questions.) this, however, i have corrected in all the copies struck off after the first lot of . i daresay there will be a new edition in the course of nine months or a year, and this i will correct as well as i can. as yet the publishers have kept up type, and grumble dreadfully if i make heavy corrections. i am very far from surprised that "you have not committed yourself to full acceptation" of the evolution of man. difficulties and objections there undoubtedly are, enough and to spare, to stagger any cautious man who has much knowledge like yourself. i am now at work at my hobby-horse essay on expression, and i have been reading some old notes of yours. in one you say it is easy to see that the spines of the hedgehog are moved by the voluntary panniculus. now, can you tell me whether each spine has likewise an oblique unstriped or striped muscle, as figured by lister? ( / . "expression of the emotions," page .) do you know whether the tail-coverts of peacock or tail of turkey are erected by unstriped or striped muscles, and whether these are homologous with the panniculus or with the single oblique unstriped muscles going to each separate hair in man and many animals? i wrote some time ago to kolliker to ask this question (and in relation to quills of porcupine), and i received a long and interesting letter, but he could not answer these questions. if i do not receive any answer (for i know how busy you must be), i will understand you cannot aid me. i heard yesterday that paget was very ill; i hope this is not true. what a loss he would be; he is so charming a man. p.s.--as i am writing i will trouble you with one other question. have you seen anything or read of any facts which could induce you to think that the mind being intently and long directed to any portion of the skin (or, indeed, any organ) would influence the action of the capillaries, causing them either to contract or dilate? any information on this head would be of great value to me, as bearing on blushing. if i remember right, paget seems to be a great believer in the influence of the mind in the nutrition of parts, and even in causing disease. it is awfully audacious on my part, but i remember thinking (with respect to the latter assertion on disease) when i read the passage that it seemed rather fanciful, though i should like to believe in it. sir h. holland alludes to this subject of the influence of the mind on local circulation frequently, but gives no clear evidence. ( / . ibid., pages et seq.) letter . to w. turner. down, march th [ ]. forgive me for troubling you with one line. since writing my p.s. i have read the part on the influence of the nervous system on the nutrition of parts in your last edition of paget's "lectures." ( / . "lectures on surgical pathology," edition iii., revised by professor turner, .) i had not read before this part in this edition, and i see how foolish i was. but still, i should be extremely grateful for any hint or evidence of the influence of mental attention on the capillary or local circulation of the skin, or of any part to which the mind may be intently and long directed. for instance, if thinking intently about a local eruption on the skin (not on the face, for shame might possibly intervene) caused it temporarily to redden, or thinking of a tumour caused it to throb, independently of increased heart action. letter . to hubert airy. ( / . dr. airy had written to mr. darwin on april rd:-- "with regard to the loss of voluntary movement of the ears in man and monkey, may i ask if you do not think it might have been caused, as it is certainly compensated, by the facility and quickness in turning the head, possessed by them in virtue of their more erect stature, and the freedom of the atlanto-axial articulation? (in birds the same end is gained by the length and flexibility of the neck.) the importance, in case of danger, of bringing the eyes to help the ears would call for a quick turn of the head whenever a new sound was heard, and so would tend to make superfluous any special means of moving the ears, except in the case of quadrupeds and the like, that have great trouble (comparatively speaking) in making a horizontal turn of the head--can only do it by a slow bend of the whole neck." ( / . we are indebted to dr. airy for furnishing us with a copy of his letter to mr. darwin, the original of which had been mislaid.) down, april th [ ]. i am greatly obliged for your letter. your idea about the easy turning of the head instead of the ears themselves strikes me as very good, and quite new to me, and i will keep it in mind; but i fear that there are some cases opposed to the notion. if i remember right the hedgehog has very human ears, but birds support your view, though lizards are opposed to it. several persons have pointed out my error about the platysma. ( / . the error in question occurs on page of the "descent of man," edition i., where it is stated that the platysma myoides cannot be voluntarily brought into action. in the "expression of the emotions" darwin remarks that this muscle is sometimes said not to be under voluntary control, and he shows that this is not universally true.) nor can i remember how i was misled. i find i can act on this muscle myself, now that i know the corners of the mouth have to be drawn back. i know of the case of a man who can act on this muscle on one side, but not on the other; yet he asserts positively that both contract when he is startled. and this leads me to ask you to be so kind as to observe, if any opportunity should occur, whether the platysma contracts during extreme terror, as before an operation; and secondly, whether it contracts during a shivering fit. several persons are observing for me, but i receive most discordant results. i beg you to present my most respectful and kind compliments to your honoured father [sir g.b. airy]. letter . to francis galton. ( / . mr. galton had written on november th, , offering to send to various parts of africa darwin's printed list of questions intended to guide observers on expression. mr. galton goes on: "you do not, i think, mention in "expression" what i thought was universal among blubbering children (when not trying to see if harm or help was coming out of the corner of one eye) of pressing the knuckles against the eyeballs, thereby reinforcing the orbicularis.") down, november th [ ]. many thanks for your note and offer to send out the queries; but my career is so nearly closed that i do not think it worth while. what little more i can do shall be chiefly new work. i ought to have thought of crying children rubbing their eyes with their knuckles, but i did not think of it, and cannot explain it. as far as my memory serves, they do not do so whilst roaring, in which case compression would be of use. i think it is at the close of the crying fit, as if they wished to stop their eyes crying, or possibly to relieve the irritation from the salt tears. i wish i knew more about the knuckles and crying. what a tremendous stir-up your excellent article on prayer has made in england and america! ( / . the article entitled "statistical inquiries into the efficacy of prayer" appeared in the "fortnightly review," . in mr. francis galton's book on "enquiries into human faculty and its development," london, , a section (pages - ) is devoted to a discussion on the "objective efficacy of prayer.") letter . to f.c. donders. ( / . we have no means of knowing whether the observations suggested in the following letter were made--if not, the suggestion is worthy of record.) down, december st, . you will have received some little time ago my book on expression, in writing which i was so deeply indebted to your kindness. i want now to beg a favour of you, if you have the means to grant it. a clergyman, the head of an institution for the blind in england ( / . the rev. r.h. blair, principal of the worcester college: "expression of the emotions," edition ii., page .), has been observing the expression of those born blind, and he informs me that they never or very rarely frown. he kept a record of several cases, but at last observed a frown on two of the children who he thought never frowned; and then in a foolish manner tore up his notes, and did not write to me until my book was published. he may be a bad observer and altogether mistaken, but i think it would be worth while to ascertain whether those born blind, when young, and whilst screaming violently, contract the muscles round the eyes like ordinary infants. and secondly, whether in after years they rarely or never frown. if it should prove true that infants born blind do not contract their orbicular muscles whilst screaming (though i can hardly believe it) it would be interesting to know whether they shed tears as copiously as other children. the nature of the affection which causes blindness may possibly influence the contraction of the muscles, but on all such points you will judge infinitely better than i can. perhaps you could get some trustworthy superintendent of an asylum for the blind to attend to this subject. i am sure that you will forgive me asking this favour. letter . to d. hack tuke. down, december nd, . i have now finished your book, and have read it with great interest. ( / . "influence of the mind upon the body. designed to elucidate the power of the imagination." .) many of your cases are very striking. as i felt sure would be the case, i have learnt much from it; and i should have modified several passages in my book on expression, if i had had the advantage of reading your work before my publication. i always felt, and said so a year ago to professor donders, that i had not sufficient knowledge of physiology to treat my subject in a proper way. with many thanks for the interest which i have felt in reading your work... letter . to a.r. wallace. down, january th [ ]. i have read your review with much interest, and i thank you sincerely for the very kind spirit in which it is written. i cannot say that i am convinced by your criticisms. ( / . "quarterly journal of science," january, , page : "i can hardly believe that when a cat, lying on a shawl or other soft material, pats or pounds it with its feet, or sometimes sucks a piece of it, it is the persistence of the habit of pressing the mammary glands and sucking during kittenhood." mr. wallace goes on to say that infantine habits are generally completely lost in adult life, and that it seems unlikely that they should persist in a few isolated instances.) if you have ever actually observed a kitten sucking and pounding, with extended toes, its mother, and then seen the same kitten when a little older doing the same thing on a soft shawl, and ultimately an old cat (as i have seen), and do not admit that it is identically the same action, i am astonished. with respect to the decapitated frog, i have always heard of pfluger as a most trustworthy observer. ( / . mr. wallace speaks of "a readiness to accept the most marvellous conclusions or interpretations of physiologists on what seem very insufficient grounds," and he goes on to assert that the frog experiment is either incorrectly recorded or else that it "demonstrates volition, and not reflex action.") if, indeed, any one knows a frog's habits so well as to say that it never rubs off a bit of leaf or other object which may stick to its thigh, in the same manner as it did the acid, your objection would be valid. some of flourens' experiments, in which he removed the cerebral hemispheres from a pigeon, indicate that acts apparently performed consciously can be done without consciousness. i presume through the force of habit, in which case it would appear that intellectual power is not brought into play. several persons have made suggestions and objections as yours about the hands being held up in astonishment; if there was any straining of the muscles, as with protruded arms under fright, i would agree; as it is i must keep to my old opinion, and i dare say you will say that i am an obstinate old blockhead. ( / . the raising of the hands in surprise is explained ("expression of emotions," edition i., page ) on the doctrine of antithesis as being the opposite of listlessness. mr. wallace's view (given in the nd edition of "expression of the emotions," page ) is that the gesture is appropriate to sudden defence or to the giving of aid to another person.) the book has sold wonderfully; , copies have now been printed. letter . to chauncey wright. down, september st, . i have read your long letter with the greatest interest, and it was extremely kind of you to take such great trouble. now that you call my attention to the fact, i well know the appearance of persons moving the head from side to side when critically viewing any object; and i am almost sure that i have seen the same gesture in an affected person when speaking in exaggerated terms of some beautiful object not present. i should think your explanation of this gesture was the true one. but there seems to me a rather wide difference between inclining or moving the head laterally, and moving it in the same plane, as we do in negation, and, as you truly add, in disapprobation. it may, however, be that these two movements of the head have been confounded by travellers when speaking of the turks. perhaps prof. lowell would remember whether the movement was identically the same. your remarks on the effects of viewing a sunset, etc., with the head inverted are very curious. ( / . the letter dated september rd, , is published in mr. thayer's "letters" of chauncey wright, privately printed, cambridge, mass., . wright quotes mr. sophocles, a native of greece, at the time professor of modern and ancient greek at harvard university, to the effect that the turks do not express affirmation by a shake of the head, but by a bow or grave nod, negation being expressed by a backward nod. from the striking effect produced by looking at a landscape with the head inverted, or by looking at its reflection, chauncey wright was led to the lateral movement of the head, which is characteristic of critical inspection--eg. of a picture. he thinks that in this way a gesture of deliberative assent arose which may have been confused with our ordinary sign of negation. he thus attempts to account for the contradictions between lieber's statement that a turk or greek expresses "yes" by a shake of the head, and the opposite opinion of prof. sophocles, and lastly, mr. lowell's assertion that in italy our negative shake of the head is used in affirmation (see "expression of the emotions," edition ii., page ).) we have a looking-glass in the drawing-room opposite the flower-garden, and i have often been struck how extremely pretty and strange the flower garden and surrounding bushes appear when thus viewed. your letter will be very useful to me for a new edition of my expression book; but this will not be for a long time, if ever, as the publisher was misled by the very large sale at first, and printed far too many copies. i daresay you intend to publish your views in some essay, and i think you ought to do so, for you might make an interesting and instructive discussion. i have been half killing myself of late with microscopical work on plants. i begin to think that they are more wonderful than animals. p.s., january th, .--you will see that by a stupid mistake in the address this letter has just been returned to me. it is by no means worth forwarding, but i cannot bear that you should think me so ungracious and ungrateful as not to have thanked you for your long letter. as i forget whether "cambridge" is sufficient address, i will send this through asa gray. (plate: charles lyell. engraved by g.i. (j). stodart from a photograph.) chapter .ix. geology, - . i. vulcanicity and earth-movements.--ii. ice-action.--iii. the parallel roads of glen roy.--iv. coral reefs, fossil and recent.--v. cleavage and foliation.--vi. age of the world.--vii. geological action of earthworms.--viii. miscellaneous. .ix.i. vulcanicity and earth-movements, - . letter . to david milne. , upper gower street, thursday [march] th [ ]. i much regret that i am unable to give you any information of the kind you desire. you must have misunderstood mr. lyell concerning the object of my paper. ( / . "on the connexion of certain volcanic phenomena, and on the formation of mountain-chains and the effects of continental elevations." "trans. geol. soc." volume v., , pages - [march th, ].) it is an account of the shock of february, , in chile, which is particularly interesting, as it ties most closely together volcanic eruptions and continental elevations. in that paper i notice a very remarkable coincidence in volcanic eruptions in s. america at very distant places. i have also drawn up some short tables showing, as it appears to me, that there are periods of unusually great volcanic activity affecting large portions of s. america. i have no record of any coincidences between shocks there and in europe. humboldt, by his table in the "pers. narrative" (volume iv., page , english translation), seems to consider the elevation of sabrina off the azores as connected with s. american subterranean activity: this connection appears to be exceedingly vague. i have during the past year seen it stated that a severe shock in the northern parts of s. america coincided with one in kamstchatka. believing, then, that such coincidences are purely accidental, i neglected to take a note of the reference; but i believe the statement was somewhere in "l'institut" for . ( / . "l'institut, journal general des societes et travaux scientifiques de la france et de l'etranger," tome viii. page , paris, . in a note on some earthquakes in the province maurienne it is stated that they occurred during a change in the weather, and at times when a south wind followed a north wind, etc.) i was myself anxious to see the list of the shocks alluded to by you, but i have not been able to find out that the list has been published. with respect to any coincidences you may discover between shocks in s. america and europe, let me venture to suggest to you that it is probably a quite accurate statement that scarcely one hour in the year elapses in s. america without an accompanying shock in some part of that large continent. there are many regions in which earthquakes take place every three and four days; and after the severer shocks the ground trembles almost half-hourly for months. if, therefore, you had a list of the earthquakes of two or three of these districts, it is almost certain that some of them would coincide with those in scotland, without any other connection than mere chance. my paper will be published immediately in the "geological transactions," and i will do myself the pleasure of sending you a copy in the course of (as i hope) a week or ten days. a large part of it is theoretical, and will be of little interest to you; but the account of the concepcion shock of will, i think, be worth your perusal. i have understood from mr. lyell that you believe in some connection between the state of the weather and earthquakes. under the very peculiar climate of northern chile, the belief of the inhabitants in such connection can hardly, in my opinion, be founded in error. it must possibly be worth your while to turn to pages - in my "journal of researches during the voyage of the 'beagle'," where i have stated this circumstance. ( / . "journal of researches into the natural history and geology of the countries visited during the voyage of h.m.s. 'beagle' round the world." london, , page .) on the hypothesis of the crust of the earth resting on fluid matter, would the influence of the moon (as indexed by the tides) affect the periods of the shocks, when the force which causes them is just balanced by the resistance of the solid crust? the fact you mention of the coincidence between the earthquakes of calabria and scotland appears most curious. your paper will possess a high degree of interest to all geologists. i fancied that such uniformity of action, as seems here indicated, was probably confined to large continents, such as the americas. how interesting a record of volcanic phenomena in iceland would be, now that you are collecting accounts of every slight trembling in scotland. i am astonished at their frequency in that quiet country, as any one would have called it. i wish it had been in my power to have contributed in any way to your researches on this most interesting subject. letter . to l. horner. down, august th [ ]. i am greatly obliged for your kind note, and much pleased with its contents. if one-third of what you say be really true, and not the verdict of a partial judge (as from pleasant experience i much suspect), then should i be thoroughly well contented with my small volume which, small as it is, cost me much time. ( / . "geological observations on the volcanic islands visited during the voyage of h.m.s. 'beagle'": london, . a french translation has been made by professor renard of ghent, and published by reinwald of paris in .) the pleasure of observation amply repays itself: not so that of composition; and it requires the hope of some small degree of utility in the end to make up for the drudgery of altering bad english into sometimes a little better and sometimes worse. with respect to craters of elevation ( / . "geological observations," pages - .), i had no sooner printed off the few pages on that subject than i wished the whole erased. i utterly disbelieve in von buch and de beaumont's views; but on the other hand, in the case of the mauritius and st. jago, i cannot, perhaps unphilosophically, persuade myself that they are merely the basal fragments of ordinary volcanoes; and therefore i thought i would suggest the notion of a slow circumferential elevation, the central part being left unelevated, owing to the force from below being spent and [relieved?] in eruptions. on this view, i do not consider these so-called craters of elevation as formed by the ejection of ashes, lava, etc., etc., but by a peculiar kind of elevation acting round and modified by a volcanic orifice. i wish i had left it all out; i trust that there are in other parts of the volume more facts and less theory. the more i reflect on volcanoes, the more i appreciate the importance of e. de beaumont's measurements ( / . elie de beaumont's views are discussed by sir charles lyell both in the "principles of geology" (edition x., , volume i. pages et seq.) and in the "elements of geology" (edition iii., , pages , ). see also darwin's "geological observations," edition ii., , page .) (even if one does not believe them implicitly) of the natural inclination of lava-streams, and even more the importance of his view of the dikes, or unfilled fissures, in every volcanic mountain, being the proofs and measures of the stretching and consequent elevation which all such mountains must have undergone. i believe he thus unintentionally explains most of his cases of lava-streams being inclined at a greater angle than that at which they could have flowed. but excuse this lengthy note, and once more let me thank you for the pleasure and encouragement you have given me--which, together with lyell's never-failing kindness, will help me on with south america, and, as my books will not sell, i sometimes want such aid. i have been lately reading with care a. d'orbigny's work on south america ( / . "voyage dans l'amerique meridionale--execute pendant les annees - ": six volumes, paris, - .), and i cannot say how forcibly impressed i am with the infinite superiority of the lyellian school of geology over the continental. i always feel as if my books came half out of lyell's brain, and that i never acknowledge this sufficiently; nor do i know how i can without saying so in so many words--for i have always thought that the great merit of the "principles" was that it altered the whole tone of one's mind, and therefore that, when seeing a thing never seen by lyell, one yet saw it partially through his eyes--it would have been in some respects better if i had done this less: but again excuse my long, and perhaps you will think presumptuous, discussion. enclosed is a note from emma to mrs. horner, to beg you, if you can, to give us the great pleasure of seeing you here. we are necessarily dull here, and can offer no amusements; but the weather is delightful, and if you could see how brightly the sun now shines you would be tempted to come. pray remember me most kindly to all your family, and beg of them to accept our proposal, and give us the pleasure of seeing them. letter . to c. lyell. down, [september, ]. i was glad to get your note, and wanted to hear about your work. i have been looking to see it advertised; it has been a long task. i had, before your return from scotland, determined to come up and see you; but as i had nothing else to do in town, my courage has gradually eased off, more especially as i have not been very well lately. we get so many invitations here that we are grown quite dissipated, but my stomach has stood it so ill that we are going to have a month's holidays, and go nowhere. the subject which i was most anxious to talk over with you i have settled, and having written sixty pages of my "s. american geology," i am in pretty good heart, and am determined to have very little theory and only short descriptions. the two first chapters will, i think, be pretty good, on the great gravel terraces and plains of patagonia and chili and peru. i am astonished and grieved over d'orbigny's nonsense of sudden elevations. ( / . d'orbigny's views are referred to by lyell in chapter vii. of the "principles," volume i. page . "this mud [i.e. the pampean mud] contains in it recent species of shells, some of them proper to brackish water, and is believed by mr. darwin to be an estuary or delta deposit. m.a. d'orbigny, however, has advanced an hypothesis...that the agitation and displacement of the waters of the ocean, caused by the elevation of the andes, gave rise to a deluge, of which this pampean mud, which reaches sometimes the height of , feet, is the result and monument.") i must give you one of his cases: he finds an old beach feet above sea. he finds still attached to the rocks at feet six species of truly littoral shells. he finds at to feet above sea an immense accumulation of chiefly littoral shells. he argues the whole feet uplifted at one blow, because the attached shells at feet have not been displaced. therefore when the sea formed a beach at feet the present littoral shells were attached to rocks at feet depth, and these same shells were accumulating by thousands at feet. hear this, oh forbes. is it not monstrous for a professed conchologist? this is a fair specimen of his reasoning. one of his arguments against the pampas being a slow deposit, is that mammifers are very seldom washed by rivers into the sea! because at , feet he finds the same kind of clay with that of the pampas he never doubts that it is contemporaneous with the pampas [debacle?] which accompanied the right royal salute of every volcano in the cordillera. what a pity these frenchmen do not catch hold of a comet, and return to the good old geological dramas of burnett and whiston. i shall keep out of controversy, and just give my own facts. it is enough to disgust one with geology; though i have been much pleased with the frank, decided, though courteous manner with which d'orbigny disputes my conclusions, given, unfortunately, without facts, and sometimes rashly, in my journal. enough of s. america. i wish you would ask mr. horner (for i forgot to do so, and am unwilling to trouble him again) whether he thinks there is too much detail (quite independent of the merits of the book) in my volcanic volume; as to know this would be of some real use to me. you could tell me when we meet after york, when i will come to town. i had intended being at york, but my courage has failed. i should much like to hear your lecture, but still more to read it, as i think reading is always better than hearing. i am very glad you talk of a visit to us in the autumn if you can spare the time. i shall be truly glad to see mrs. lyell and yourself here; but i have scruples in asking any one--you know how dull we are here. young hooker ( / . sir j.d. hooker.) talks of coming; i wish he might meet you,--he appears to me a most engaging young man. i have been delighted with prescott, of which i have read volume i. at your recommendation; i have just been a good deal interested with w. taylor's (of norwich) "life and correspondence." on your return from york i shall expect a great supply of geological gossip. letter . to c. lyell. [october rd, .] i have been much interested with ramsay, but have no particular suggestions to offer ( / . "on the denudation of south wales and the adjacent counties of england." a.c. ramsay, "mem. geol. survey great britain," volume i., london, .); i agree with all your remarks made the other day. my final impression is that the only argument against him is to tell him to read and re-read the "principles," and if not then convinced to send him to pluto. not but what he has well read the "principles!" and largely profited thereby. i know not how carefully you have read this paper, but i think you did not mention to me that he does (page ) ( / . ramsay refers the great outlines of the country to the action of the sea in tertiary times. in speaking of the denudation of the coast, he says: "taking unlimited time into account, we can conceive that any extent of land might be so destroyed...if to this be added an exceedingly slow depression of the land and sea bottom, the wasting process would be materially assisted by this depression" (loc. cit., page ).) believe that the main part of his great denudation was effected during a vast (almost gratuitously assumed) slow tertiary subsidence and subsequent tertiary oscillating slow elevation. so our high cliff argument is inapplicable. he seems to think his great subsidence only favourable for great denudation. i believe from the general nature of the off-shore sea's bottoms that it is almost necessary; do look at two pages--page of my s. american volume--on this subject. ( / . "geological observations on s. america," , page . "when viewing the sea-worn cliffs of patagonia, in some parts between and feet in height, and formed of horizontal tertiary strata, which must once have extended far seaward...a difficulty often occurred to me, namely, how the strata could possibly have been removed by the action of the sea at a considerable depth beneath its surface." the cliffs of st. helena are referred to in illustration of the same problem; speaking of these, darwin adds: "now, if we had any reason to suppose that st. helena had, during a long period, gone on slowly subsiding, every difficulty would be removed...i am much inclined to suspect that we shall hereafter find in all such cases that the land with the adjoining bed of the sea has in truth subsided..." (loc. cit., pages - ).) the foundation of his views, viz., of one great sudden upheaval, strikes me as threefold. first, to account for the great dislocations. this strikes me as the odder, as he admits that a little northwards there were many and some violent dislocations at many periods during the accumulation of the palaeozoic series. if you argue against him, allude to the cool assumption that petty forces are conflicting: look at volcanoes; look at recurrent similar earthquakes at same spots; look at repeatedly injected intrusive masses. in my paper on volcanic phenomena in the "geol. transactions." ( / . "on the connection of certain volcanic phenomena, and on the formation of mountain-chains and the effects of continental elevations." "geol. soc. proc." volume ii., pages - , ; "trans. geol. soc." volume v., pages - , . [read march th, .]) i have argued (and lonsdale thought well of the argument, in favour, as he remarked, of your original doctrine) that if hopkins' views are correct, viz., that mountain chains are subordinate consequences to changes of level in mass, then, as we have evidence of such horizontal movements in mass having been slow, the foundation of mountain chains (differing from volcanoes only in matter being injected instead of ejected) must have been slow. secondly, ramsay has been influenced, i think, by his alpine insects; but he is wrong in thinking that there is any necessary connection of tropics and large insects--videlicet--galapagos arch., under the equator. small insects swarm in all parts of tropics, though accompanied generally with large ones. thirdly, he appears influenced by the absence of newer deposits on the old area, blinded by the supposed necessity of sediment accumulating somewhere near (as no doubt is true) and being preserved--an example, as i think, of the common error which i wrote to you about. the preservation of sedimentary deposits being, as i do not doubt, the exception when they are accumulated during periods of elevation or of stationary level, and therefore the preservation of newer deposits would not be probable, according to your view that ramsay's great palaeozoic masses were denuded, whilst slowly rising. do pray look at end of chapter ii., at what little i have said on this subject in my s. american volume. ( / . the second chapter of the "geological observations" concludes with a summary on the recent elevations of the west coast of south america, (page ).) i do not think you can safely argue that the whole surface was probably denuded at same time to the level of the lateral patches of magnesian conglomerate. the latter part of the paper strikes me as good, but obvious. i shall send him my s. american volume for it is curious on how many similar points we enter, and i modestly hope it may be a half-oz. weight towards his conversion to better views. if he would but reject his great sudden elevations, how sound and good he would be. i doubt whether this letter will be worth the reading. letter . to c. lyell. down [september th, ]. it was very good of you to write me so long a letter, which has interested me much. i should have answered it sooner, but i have not been very well for the few last days. your letter has also flattered me much in many points. i am very glad you have been thinking over the relation of subsidence and the accumulation of deposits; it has to me removed many great difficulties; please to observe that i have carefully abstained from saying that sediment is not deposited during periods of elevation, but only that it is not accumulated to sufficient thickness to withstand subsequent beach action; on both coasts of s. america the amount of sediment deposited, worn away, and redeposited, oftentimes must have been enormous, but still there have been no wide formations produced: just read my discussion (page of my s. american book ( / . see letter , note. the discussion referred to ("geological observations on south america," ) deals with the causes of the absence of recent conchiferous deposits on the coasts of south america.)) again with this in your mind. i never thought of your difficulty (i.e. in relation to this discussion) of where was the land whence the three miles of s. wales strata were derived! ( / . in his classical paper "on the denudation of south wales and the adjacent counties of england" ("mem. geol. survey," volume i., page , ), ramsay estimates the thickness of certain palaeozoic formations in south wales, and calculates the cubic contents of the strata in the area they now occupy together with the amount removed by denudation; and he goes on to say that it is evident that the quantity of matter employed to form these strata was many times greater than the entire amount of solid land they now represent above the waves. "to form, therefore, so great a thickness, a mass of matter of nearly equal cubic contents must have been worn by the waves and the outpourings of rivers from neighbouring lands, of which perhaps no original trace now remains" (page .)) do you not think that it may be explained by a form of elevation which i have always suspected to have been very common (and, indeed, had once intended getting all facts together), viz. thus?-- (figure . a line drawing of ocean bottom subsiding beside mountains and continent rising.) the frequency of a deep ocean close to a rising continent bordered with mountains, seems to indicate these opposite movements of rising and sinking close together; this would easily explain the s. wales and eocene cases. i will only add that i should think there would be a little more sediment produced during subsidence than during elevation, from the resulting outline of coast, after long period of rise. there are many points in my volume which i should like to have discussed with you, but i will not plague you: i should like to hear whether you think there is anything in my conjecture on craters of elevation ( / . in the "geological observations on volcanic islands," , pages - , darwin speaks of st. helena, st. jago and mauritius as being bounded by a ring of basaltic mountains which he regards as "craters of elevation." while unable to accept the theory of elie de beaumont and attribute their formation to a dome-shaped elevation and consequent arching of the strata, he recognises a "very great difficulty in admitting that these basaltic mountains are merely the basal fragments of great volcanoes, of which the summits have been either blown off, or, more probably, swallowed by subsidence." an explanation of the origin and structure of these volcanic islands is suggested which would keep them in the class of "craters of elevation," but which assumes a slow elevation, during which the central hollow or platform having been formed "not by the arching of the surface, but simply by that part having been upraised to a less height."); i cannot possibly believe that saint jago or mauritius are the basal fragments of ordinary volcanoes; i would sooner even admit e. de beaumont's views than that--much as i would sooner in my own mind in all cases follow you. just look at page in my "s. america" for a trifling point, which, however, i remember to this day relieved my mind of a considerable difficulty. ( / . this probably refers to a paragraph (page ) "on the eruptive sources of the porphyritic claystone and greenstone lavas." the opinion is put forward that "the difficulty of tracing the streams of porphyries to their ancient and doubtless numerous eruptive sources, may be partly explained by the very general disturbance which the cordillera in most parts has suffered"; but, darwin adds, "a more specific cause may be that 'the original points of eruption tend to become the points of injection'...on this view of there being a tendency in the old points of eruption to become the points of subsequent injection and disturbance, and consequently of denudation, it ceases to be surprising that the streams of lava in the porphyritic claystone conglomerate formation, and in other analogous cases, should most rarely be traceable to their actual sources." the latter part of this letter is published in "life and letters," i., pages , .) i remember being struck with your discussion on the mississippi beds in relation to pampas, but i should wish to read them over again; i have, however, re-lent your work to mrs. rich, who, like all whom i have met, has been much interested by it. i will stop about my own geology. but i see i must mention that scrope did suggest (and i have alluded to him, page ( / . "geological observations," edition ii., . chapter vi. opens with a discussion "on the separation of the constituent minerals of lava, according to their specific gravities." mr. darwin calls attention to the fact that mr. p. scrope had speculated on the subject of the separation of the trachytic and basaltic series of lavas (page ).), but without distinct reference and i fear not sufficiently, though i utterly forgot what he wrote) the separation of basalt and trachyte; but he does not appear to have thought about the crystals, which i believe to be the keystone of the phenomenon. i cannot but think this separation of the molten elements has played a great part in the metamorphic rocks: how else could the basaltic dykes have come in the great granitic districts such as those of brazil? what a wonderful book for labour is d'archiac!...( / . possibly this refers to d'archiac's "histoire des progres de la geologie," .) letter . to lady lyell. down, wednesday night [ ?]. i am going to beg a very very great favour of you: it is to translate one page (and the title) of either danish or swedish or some such language. i know not to whom else to apply, and i am quite dreadfully interested about the barnacles therein described. does lyell know loven, or his address and title? for i must write to him. if lyell knows him i would use his name as introduction; loven i know by name as a first-rate naturalist. accidentally i forgot to give you the "footsteps," which i now return, having ordered a copy for myself. i sincerely hope the "craters of denudation" prosper; i pin my faith to this view. ( / . "on craters of denudation, with observations on the structure and growth of volcanic cones." "proc. geol. soc." volume vi., , pages - . in a letter to bunbury (january th, ) lyell wrote:..."darwin adopts my views as to mauritius, st. jago, and so-called elevation craters, which he has examined, and was puzzled with."--"life of sir charles lyell," volume ii., page .) please tell sir c. lyell that outside the crater-like mountains at st. jago, even throughout a distance of two or three miles, there has been much denudation of the older volcanic rocks contemporaneous with those of the ring of mountains. ( / . the island of st. jago, one of the cape de verde group, is fully described in the "volcanic islands," chapter .) i hope that you will not find the page troublesome, and that you will forgive me asking you. letter . to c. lyell. [november th, ]. i have been deeply interested in your letter, and so far, at least, worthy of the time it must have cost you to write it. i have not much to say. i look at the whole question as settled. santorin is splendid! it is conclusive! it is perfect! ( / . "the gulf of santorin, in the grecian archipelago, has been for two thousand years a scene of active volcanic operations. the largest of the three outer islands of the groups (to which the general name of santorin is given) is called thera (or sometimes santorin), and forms more than two-thirds of the circuit of the gulf" ("principles of geology," volume ii., edition x., london, , page ). lyell attributed "the moderate slope of the beds in thera...to their having originally descended the inclined flanks of a large volcanic cone..."; he refuted the theory of "elevation craters" by leopold von buch, which explained the slope of the rocks in a volcanic mountain by assuming that the inclined beds had been originally horizontal and subsequently tilted by an explosion.) you have read dufrenoy in a hurry, i think, and added to the difficulty--it is the whole hill or "colline" which is composed of tuff with cross-stratification; the central boss or "monticule" is simply trachyte. now, i have described one tuff crater at galapagos (page ) ( / . the pages refer to darwin's "geological observations on the volcanic islands, etc." .) which has broken through a great solid sheet of basalt: why should not an irregular mass of trachyte have been left in the middle after the explosion and emission of mud which produced the overlying tuff? or, again, i see no difficulty in a mass of trachyte being exposed by subsequent dislocations and bared or cleaned by rain. at ascension (page ), subsequent to the last great aeriform explosion, which has covered the country with fragments, there have been dislocations and a large circular subsidence...do not quote banks' case ( / . this refers to banks' cove: see "volcanic islands," page .) (for there has been some denudation there), but the "elliptic one" (page ), which is , yards (three-quarters of a nautical mile) in internal diameter...and is the very one the inclination of whose mud stream on tuff strata i measured (before i had ever heard the name dufrenoy) and found varying from to deg. albemarle island, instead of being a crater of elevation, as von buch foolishly guessed, is formed of four great subaerial basaltic volcanoes (page ), of one of which you might like to know the external diameter of the summit or crater was above three nautical miles. there are no "craters of denudation" at galapagos. ( / . see lyell "on craters of denudation, with observations on the structure and growth of volcanic cones," "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume vi., , page .) i hope you will allude to mauritius. i think this is the instance on the largest scale of any known, though imperfectly known. if i were you i would give up consistency (or, at most, only allude in note to your old edition) and bring out the craters of denudation as a new view, which it essentially is. you cannot, i think, give it prominence as a novelty and yet keep to consistency and passages in old editions. i should grudge this new view being smothered in your address, and should like to see a separate paper. the one great channel to santorin and palma, etc., etc., is just like the one main channel being kept open in atolls and encircling barrier reefs, and on the same principle of water being driven in through several shallow breaches. i of course utterly reprobate my wild notion of circular elevation; it is a satisfaction to me to think that i perceived there was a screw loose in the old view, and, so far, i think i was of some service to you. depend on it, you have for ever smashed, crushed, and abolished craters of elevation. there must be craters of engulfment, and of explosion (mere modifications of craters of eruption), but craters of denudation are the ones which have given rise to all the discussions. pray give my best thanks to lady lyell for her translation, which was as clear as daylight to me, including "leglessness." letter . to c. lyell. down [november th, ]. i remembered the passage in e. de b. [elie de beaumont] and have now re-read it. i have always and do still entirely disbelieve it; in such a wonderful case he ought to have hammered every inch of rock up to actual junction; he describes no details of junction, and if i were in your place i would absolutely dispute the fact of junction (or articulation as he oddly calls it) on such evidence. i go farther than you; i do not believe in the world there is or has been a junction between a dike and stream of lava of exact shape of either ( ) or ( ) figure ]. (figures , and .) if dike gave immediate origin to volcanic vent we should have craters of [an] elliptic shape [figure ]. i believe that when the molten rock in a dike comes near to the surface, some one two or three points will always certainly chance to afford an easier passage upward to the actual surface than along the whole line, and therefore that the dike will be connected (if the whole were bared and dissected) with the vent by a column or cone (see my elegant drawing) of lava [figure ]. i do not doubt that the dikes are thus indirectly connected with eruptive vents. e. de b. seems to have observed many of his t; now without he supposes the whole line of fissure or dike to have poured out lava (which implies, as above remarked, craters of an elliptic or almost linear shape) on both sides, how extraordinarily improbable it is, that there should have been in a single line of section so many intersections of points eruption; he must, i think, make his orifices of eruption almost linear or, if not so, astonishingly numerous. one must refer to what one has seen oneself: do pray, when you go home, look at the section of a minute cone of eruption at the galapagos, page ( / . "geological observations on volcanic islands." london, , page .), which is the most perfect natural dissection of a crater which i have ever heard of, and the drawing of which you may, i assure you, trust; here the arching over of the streams as they were poured out over the lip of the crater was evident, and are now thus seen united to the central irregular column. again, at st. jago i saw some horizontal sections of the bases of small craters, and the sources or feeders were circular. i really cannot entertain a doubt that e. de b. is grossly wrong, and that you are right in your view; but without most distinct evidence i will never admit that a dike joins on rectangularly to a stream of lava. your argument about the perpendicularity of the dike strikes me as good. the map of etna, which i have been just looking at, looks like a sudden falling in, does it not? i am not much surprised at the linear vent in santorin (this linear tendency ought to be difficult to a circular-crater-of-elevation-believer), i think abich ( / . "geologische beobachtungen uber die vulkanischen erscheinungen und bildungen in unter- und mittel-italien." braunschweig, .) describes having seen the same actual thing forming within the crater of vesuvius. in such cases what outline do you give to the upper surface of the lava in the dike connecting them? surely it would be very irregular and would send up irregular cones or columns as in my above splendid drawing. at the royal on friday, after more doubt and misgiving than i almost ever felt, i voted to recommend forbes for royal medal, and that view was carried, sedgwick taking the lead. i am glad to hear that all your party are pretty well. i know from experience what you must have gone through. from old age with suffering death must be to all a happy release. ( / . this seems to refer to the death of sir charles lyell's father, which occurred on november th, .) i saw dan sharpe the other day, and he told me he had been working at the mica schist (i.e. not gneiss) in scotland, and that he was quite convinced my view was right. you are wrong and a heretic on this point, i know well. letter . to c.h.l. woodd. down, march th [ ]. ( / . the paper was sent in ms., and seems not to have been published. mr. woodd was connected by marriage with mr. darwin's cousin, the late rev. w. darwin fox. it was perhaps in consequence of this that mr. darwin proposed mr. woodd for the geological society.) i have read over your paper with attention; but first let me thank you for your very kind expressions towards myself. i really feel hardly competent to discuss the questions raised by your paper; i feel the want of mathematical mechanics. all such problems strike me as awfully complicated; we do not even know what effect great pressure has on retarding liquefaction by heat, nor, i apprehend, on expansion. the chief objection which strikes me is a doubt whether a mass of strata, when heated, and therefore in some slight degree at least softened, would bow outwards like a bar of metal. consider of how many subordinate layers each great mass would be composed, and the mineralogical changes in any length of any one stratum: i should have thought that the strata would in every case have crumpled up, and we know how commonly in metamorphic strata, which have undergone heat, the subordinate layers are wavy and sinuous, which has always been attributed to their expansion whilst heated. before rocks are dried and quarried, manifold facts show how extremely flexible they are even when not at all heated. without the bowing out and subsequent filling in of the roof of the cavity, if i understand you, there would be no subsidence. of course the crumpling up of the strata would thicken them, and i see with you that this might compress the underlying fluidified rock, which in its turn might escape by a volcano or raise a weaker part of the earth's crust; but i am too ignorant to have any opinion whether force would be easily propagated through a viscid mass like molten rock; or whether such viscid mass would not act in some degree like sand and refuse to transmit pressure, as in the old experiment of trying to burst a piece of paper tied over the end of a tube with a stick, an inch or two of sand being only interposed. i have always myself felt the greatest difficulty in believing in waves of heat coming first to this and then to that quarter of the world: i suspect that heat plays quite a subordinate part in the upward and downward movements of the earth's crust; though of course it must swell the strata where first affected. i can understand sir j. herschel's manner of bringing heat to unheated strata--namely, by covering them up by a mile or so of new strata, and then the heat would travel into the lower ones. but who can tell what effect this mile or two of new sedimentary strata would have from mere gravity on the level of the supporting surface? of course such considerations do not render less true that the expansion of the strata by heat would have some effect on the level of the surface; but they show us how awfully complicated the phenomenon is. all young geologists have a great turn for speculation; i have burned my fingers pretty sharply in that way, and am now perhaps become over-cautious; and feel inclined to cavil at speculation when the direct and immediate effect of a cause in question cannot be shown. how neatly you draw your diagrams; i wish you would turn your attention to real sections of the earth's crust, and then speculate to your heart's content on them; i can have no doubt that speculative men, with a curb on, make far the best observers. i sincerely wish i could have made any remarks of more interest to you, and more directly bearing on your paper; but the subject strikes me as too difficult and complicated. with every good wish that you may go on with your geological studies, speculations, and especially observations... letter . to c. lyell. down, march th [ ]. i have often puzzled over dana's case, in itself and in relation to the trains of s. american volcanoes of different heights in action at the same time (page , volume v. "geological transactions." ( / . "on the connection of certain volcanic phenomena in south america, and on the formation of mountain chains and volcanoes, as the effect of the same power by which continents are elevated" ("trans. geol. soc." volume v., page , ). on page darwin records instances of the simultaneous activity after an earthquake of several volcanoes in the cordillera.)) i can throw no light on the subject. i presume you remember that hopkins ( / . see "report on the geological theories of elevation and earthquakes," by w. hopkins, "brit. assoc. rep." , page .) in some one (i forget which) of his papers discusses such cases, and urgently wishes the height of the fluid lava was known in adjoining volcanoes when in contemporaneous action; he argues vehemently against (as far as i remember) volcanoes in action of different heights being connected with one common source of liquefied rock. if lava was as fluid as water, the case would indeed be hopeless; and i fancy we should be led to look at the deep-seated rock as solid though intensely hot, and becoming fluid as soon as a crack lessened the tension of the super-incumbent strata. but don't you think that viscid lava might be very slow in communicating its pressure equally in all directions? i remember thinking strongly that dana's case within the one crater of kilauea proved too much; it really seems monstrous to suppose that the lava within the same crater is not connected at no very great depth. when one reflects on (and still better sees) the enormous masses of lava apparently shot miles high up, like cannon-balls, the force seems out of all proportion to the mere gravity of the liquefied lava; i should think that a channel a little straightly or more open would determine the line of explosion, like the mouth of a cannon compared to the touch-hole. if a high-pressure boiler was cracked across, no one would think for a moment that the quantity of water and steam expelled at different points depended on the less or greater height of the water within the boiler above these points, but on the size of the crack at these points; and steam and water might be driven out both at top and bottom. may not a volcano be likened to a protruding and cracked portion on a vast natural high-pressure boiler, formed by the surrounding area of country? in fact, i think my simile would be truer if the difference consisted only in the cracked case of the boiler being much thicker in some parts than in others, and therefore having to expel a greater thickness or depth of water in the thicker cracks or parts--a difference of course absolutely as nothing. i have seen an old boiler in action, with steam and drops of water spurting out of some of the rivet-holes. no one would think whether the rivet-holes passed through a greater or less thickness of iron, or were connected with the water higher or lower within the boiler, so small would the gravity be compared with the force of the steam. if the boiler had been not heated, then of course there would be a great difference whether the rivet-holes entered the water high or low, so that there was greater or less pressure of gravity. how to close my volcanic rivet-holes i don't know. i do not know whether you will understand what i am driving at, and it will not signify much whether you do or not. i remember in old days (i may mention the subject as we are on it) often wishing i could get you to look at continental elevations as the phenomenon, and volcanic outbursts and tilting up of mountain chains as connected, but quite secondary, phenomena. i became deeply impressed with the truth of this view in s. america, and i do not think you hold it, or if so make it clear: the same explanation, whatever it may be, which will account for the whole coast of chili rising, will and must apply to the volcanic action of the cordillera, though modified no doubt by the liquefied rock coming to the surface and reaching water, and so [being] rendered explosive. to me it appears that this ought to be borne in mind in your present subject of discussion. i have written at too great length; and have amused myself if i have done you no good--so farewell. letter . to c. lyell. down, july th [ ]. i am very much obliged for your long letter, which has interested me much; but before coming to the volcanic cosmogony i must say that i cannot gather your verdict as judge and jury (and not as advocate) on the continental extensions of late authors ( / . see "life and letters," ii., page ; letter to lyell, june th, : also letters in the sections of the present work devoted to evolution and geographical distribution.), which i must grapple with, and which as yet strikes me as quite unphilosophical, inasmuch as such extensions must be applied to every oceanic island, if to any one, as to madeira; and this i cannot admit, seeing that the skeletons, at least, of our continents are ancient, and seeing the geological nature of the oceanic islands themselves. do aid me with your judgment: if i could honestly admit these great [extensions], they would do me good service. with respect to active volcanic areas being rising areas, which looks so pretty on the coral maps, i have formerly felt "uncomfortable" on exactly the same grounds with you, viz. maritime position of volcanoes; and still more from the immense thicknesses of silurian, etc., volcanic strata, which thicknesses at first impress the mind with the idea of subsidence. if this could be proved, the theory would be smashed; but in deep oceans, though the bottom were rising, great thicknesses of submarine lava might accumulate. but i found, after writing coral book, cases in my notes of submarine vesicular lava-streams in the upper masses of the cordillera, formed, as i believe, during subsidence, which staggered me greatly. with respect to the maritime position of volcanoes, i have long been coming to the conclusion that there must be some law causing areas of elevation (consequently of land) and of subsidence to be parallel (as if balancing each other) and closely approximate; i think this from the form of continents with a deep ocean on one side, from coral map, and especially from conversations with you on immense subsidences of the carboniferous and [other] periods, and yet with continued great supply of sediment. if this be so, such areas, with opposite movements, would probably be separated by sets of parallel cracks, and would be the seat of volcanoes and tilts, and consequently volcanoes and mountains would be apt to be maritime; but why volcanoes should cling to the rising edge of the cracks i cannot conjecture. that areas with extinct volcanic archipelagoes may subside to any extent i do not doubt. your view of the bottom of atlantic long sinking with continued volcanic outbursts and local elevations at madeira, canaries, etc., grates (but of course i do not know how complex the phenomena are which are thus explained) against my judgment; my general ideas strongly lead me to believe in elevatory movements being widely extended. one ought, i think, never to forget that when a volcano is in action we have distinct proof of an action from within outwards. nor should we forget, as i believe follows from hopkins ( / . "researches in physical geology," w. hopkins, "trans. phil. soc. cambridge," volume vi., . see also "report on the geological theories of elevation and earthquakes," w. hopkins, "brit. assoc. rep." page , (oxford meeting).), and as i have insisted in my earthquake paper, that volcanoes and mountain chains are mere accidents resulting from the elevation of an area, and as mountain chains are generally long, so should i view areas of elevation as generally large. ( / . "on the connexion of certain volcanic phenomena in s. america, and on the formation of mountain chains and volcanoes, as the effect of the same power by which continents are elevated," "trans. geol. soc." volume v., page , . "bearing in mind mr. hopkins' demonstration, if there be considerable elevation there must be fissures, and, if fissures, almost certainly unequal upheaval, or subsequent sinking down, the argument may be finally thus put: mountain chains are the effects of continental elevations; continental elevations and the eruptive force of volcanoes are due to one great motive, now in progressive action..." (loc. cit., page ).) your old original view that great oceans must be sinking areas, from there being causes making land and yet there being little land, has always struck me till lately as very good. but in some degree this starts from the assumption that within periods of which we know anything there was either a continent in such areas, or at least a sea-bottom of not extreme depth. letter . to c. lyell. king's head hotel, sandown, isle of wight, july th [ ]. i write merely to thank you for the abstract of the etna paper. ( / . "on the structure of lavas which have consolidated on steep slopes, with remarks on the mode of origin of mount etna and on the theory of 'craters of elevation,'" by c. lyell, "phil. trans. r. soc." volume cxlviii., page , .) it seems to me a very grand contribution to our volcanic knowledge. certainly i never expected to see e. de b.'s [elie de beaumont] theory of slopes so completely upset. he must have picked out favourable cases for measurement. and such an array of facts he gives! you have scotched, and will see die, i now think, the crater of elevation theory. but what vitality there is in a plausible theory! ( / . the rest of this letter is published in "life and letters," ii., page .) letter . to c. lyell. down, november th [ ]. i have endeavoured to think over your discussion, but not with much success. you will have to lay down, i think, very clearly, what foundation you argue from--four parts (which seems to me exceedingly moderate on your part) of europe being now at rest, with one part undergoing movement. how it is, that from this you can argue that the one part which is now moving will have rested since the commencement of the glacial period in the proportion of four to one, i do not pretend to see with any clearness; but does not your argument rest on the assumption that within a given period, say two or three million years, the whole of europe necessarily has to undergo movement? this may be probable or not so, but it seems to me that you must explain the foundation of your argument from space to time, which at first, to me was very far from obvious. i can, of course, see that if you can make out your argument satisfactorily to yourself and others it would be most valuable. i can imagine some one saying that it is not fair to argue that the great plains of europe and the mountainous districts of scotland and wales have been at all subjected to the same laws of movement. looking to the whole world, it has been my opinion, from the very size of the continents and oceans, and especially from the enormous ranges of so many mountain-chains (resulting from cracks which follow from vast areas of elevation, as hopkins argues ( / . see "report on the geological theories of elevation and earthquakes." by william hopkins. "brit. assoc. rep." , pages - ; also the anniversary address to the geological society by w. hopkins in ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume viii.); in this address, pages lxviii et seq.) reference is made to the theory of elevation which rests on the supposition "of the simultaneous action of an upheaving force at every point of the area over which the phenomena of elevation preserve a certain character of continuity...the elevated mass...becomes stretched, and is ultimately torn and fissured in those directions in which the tendency thus to tear is greatest...it is thus that the complex phenomena of elevation become referable to a general and simple mechanical cause...")) and from other reasons, it has been my opinion that, as a general rule, very large portions of the world have been simultaneously affected by elevation or subsidence. i can see that this does not apply so strongly to broken europe, any more than to the malay archipelago. yet, had i been asked, i should have said that probably nearly the whole of europe was subjected during the glacial period to periods of elevation and of subsidence. it does not seem to me so certain that the kinds of partial movement which we now see going on show us the kind of movement which europe has been subjected to since the commencement of the glacial period. these notions are at least possible, and would they not vitiate your argument? do you not rest on the belief that, as scandinavia and some few other parts are now rising, and a few others sinking, and the remainder at rest, so it has been since the commencement of the glacial period? with my notions i should require this to be made pretty probable before i could put much confidence in your calculations. you have probably thought this all over, but i give you the reflections which come across me, supposing for the moment that you took the proportions of space at rest and in movement as plainly applicable to time. i have no doubt that you have sufficient evidence that, at the commencement of the glacial period, the land in scotland, wales, etc., stood as high or higher than at present, but i forget the proofs. having burnt my own fingers so consumedly with the wealden, i am fearful for you, but i well know how infinitely more cautious, prudent, and far-seeing you are than i am; but for heaven's sake take care of your fingers; to burn them severely, as i have done, is very unpleasant. your / feet for a century of elevation seems a very handsome allowance. can d. forbes really show the great elevation of chili? i am astounded at it, and i took some pains on the point. i do not pretend to say that you may not be right to judge of the past movements of europe by those now and recently going on, yet it somehow grates against my judgment,--perhaps only against my prejudices. as a change from elevation to subsidence implies some great subterranean or cosmical change, one may surely calculate on long intervals of rest between. though, if the cause of the change be ever proved to be astronomical, even this might be doubtful. p.s.--i do not know whether i have made clear what i think probable, or at least possible: viz., that the greater part of europe has at times been elevated in some degree equably; at other times it has all subsided equably; and at other times might all have been stationary; and at other times it has been subjected to various unequal movements, up and down, as at present. letter . to c. lyell. down, december th [ ]. it certainly seems to me safer to rely solely on the slowness of ascertained up-and-down movement. but you could argue length of probable time before the movement became reversed, as in your letter. and might you not add that over the whole world it would probably be admitted that a larger area is now at rest than in movement? and this i think would be a tolerably good reason for supposing long intervals of rest. you might even adduce europe, only guarding yourself by saying that possibly (i will not say probably, though my prejudices would lead me to say so) europe may at times have gone up and down all together. i forget whether in a former letter you made a strong point of upward movement being always interrupted by long periods of rest. after writing to you, out of curiosity i glanced at the early chapters in my "geology of south america," and the areas of elevation on the e. and w. coasts are so vast, and proofs of many successive periods of rest so striking, that the evidence becomes to my mind striking. with regard to the astronomical causes of change: in ancient days in the "beagle" when i reflected on the repeated great oscillations of level on the very same area, and when i looked at the symmetry of mountain chains over such vast spaces, i used to conclude that the day would come when the slow change of form in the semi-fluid matter beneath the crust would be found to be the cause of volcanic action, and of all changes of level. and the late discussion in the "athenaeum" ( / . "on the change of climate in different regions of the earth." letters from sir henry james, col. r.e., "athenaeum," august th, , page ; september th, page ; september th, page ; october th, page . also letter from j. beete jukes, local director of the geological survey of ireland, loc. cit., september th, page ; october th, page .), by sir h. james (though his letter seemed to me mighty poor, and what jukes wrote good), reminded me of this notion. in case astronomical agencies should ever be proved or rendered probable, i imagine, as in nutation or precession, that an upward movement or protrusion of fluidified matter below might be immediately followed by movement of an opposite nature. this is all that i meant. i have not read jamieson, or yet got the number. ( / . possibly william jameson, "journey from quito to cayambe," "geog. soc. journ." volume xxxi., page , .) i was very much struck with forbes' explanation of n[itrate] of soda beds and the saliferous crust, which i saw and examined at iquique. ( / . "on the geology of bolivia and southern peru," by d. forbes, "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xvii., page , . mr. forbes attributes the formation of the saline deposits to lagoons of salt water, the communication of which with the sea has been cut off by the rising of the land (loc. cit., page ).) i often speculated on the greater rise inland of the cordilleras, and could never satisfy myself... i have not read stur, and am awfully behindhand in many things...( / . the end of this letter is published as a footnote in "life and letters," ii., page .) (figure . map of part of south america and the galapagos archipelago.) letter . to c. lyell. down, july th [ ]. ( / . the first part of this letter is published in "life and letters," iii., page .) ( / . tahiti (society islands) is coloured blue in the map showing the distribution of the different kinds of reefs in "the structure and distribution of coral reefs," edition iii., , page . the blue colour indicates the existence of barrier reefs and atolls which, on darwin's theory, point to subsidence.) tahiti is, i believe, rightly coloured, for the reefs are so far from the land, and the ocean so deep, that there must have been subsidence, though not very recently. i looked carefully, and there is no evidence of recent elevation. i quite agree with you versus herschel on volcanic islands. ( / . sir john herschel suggested that the accumulation on the sea-floor of sediment, derived from the waste of the island, presses down the bed of the ocean, the continent being on the other hand relieved of pressure; "this brings about a state of strain in the crust which will crack in its weakest spot, the heavy side going down, and the light side rising." in discussing this view lyell writes ("principles," volume ii. edition x., page ), "this hypothesis appears to me of very partial application, for active volcanoes, even such as are on the borders of continents, are rarely situated where great deltas have been forming, whether in pliocene or post-tertiary times. the number, also, of active volcanoes in oceanic islands is very great, not only in the pacific, but equally in the atlantic, where no load of coral matter...can cause a partial weighting and pressing down of a supposed flexible crust.") would not the atlantic and antarctic volcanoes be the best examples for you, as there then can be no coral mud to depress the bottom? in my "volcanic islands," page , i just suggest that volcanoes may occur so frequently in the oceanic areas as the surface would be most likely to crack when first being elevated. i find one remark, page ( / . "volcanic islands," page : "the islands, moreover, of some of the small volcanic groups, which thus border continents, are placed in lines related to those along which the adjoining shores of the continents trend" [see figure ].), which seems to me worth consideration--viz. the parallelism of the lines of eruption in volcanic archipelagoes with the coast lines of the nearest continent, for this seems to indicate a mechanical rather than a chemical connection in both cases, i.e. the lines of disturbance and cracking. in my "south american geology," page ( / . "geological observations on south america," london, , page .), i allude to the remarkable absence at present of active volcanoes on the east side of the cordillera in relation to the absence of the sea on this side. yet i must own i have long felt a little sceptical on the proximity of water being the exciting cause. the one volcano in the interior of asia is said, i think, to be near great lakes; but if lakes are so important, why are there not many other volcanoes within other continents? i have always felt rather inclined to look at the position of volcanoes on the borders of continents, as resulting from coast lines being the lines of separation between areas of elevation and subsidence. but it is useless in me troubling you with my old speculations. letter . to a.r. wallace. march nd [ ]. ( / . the following extract from a letter to mr. wallace refers to his "malay archipelago," .) i have only one criticism of a general nature, and i am not sure that other geologists would agree with me. you repeatedly speak as if the pouring out of lava, etc., from volcanoes actually caused the subsidence of an adjoining area. i quite agree that areas undergoing opposite movements are somehow connected; but volcanic outbursts must, i think, be looked at as mere accidents in the swelling up of a great dome or surface of plutonic rocks, and there seems no more reason to conclude that such swelling or elevation in mass is the cause of the subsidence, than that the subsidence is the cause of the elevation, which latter view is indeed held by some geologists. i have regretted to find so little about the habits of the many animals which you have seen. letter . to c. lyell. down, may th, . i have been much pleased to hear that you have been looking at my s. american book ( / . "geological observations on south america," london, .), which i thought was as completely dead and gone as any pre-cambrian fossil. you are right in supposing that my memory about american geology has grown very hazy. i remember, however, a paper on the cordillera by d. forbes ( / . "geology of bolivia and south peru," by forbes, "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xvii., pages - , . forbes admits that there is "the fullest evidence of elevation of the chile coast since the arrival of the spaniards. north of arica, if we accept the evidence of m. d'orbigny and others, the proof of elevation is much more decided; and consequently it may be possible that here, as is the case about lima, according to darwin, the elevation may have taken place irregularly in places..." (loc. cit., page ).), with splendid sections, which i saw in ms., but whether "referred" to me or lent to me i cannot remember. this would be well worth your looking to, as i think he both supports and criticises my views. in ormerod's index to the journal ( / . "classified index to the transactions, proceedings and quarterly journal of the geological society."), which i do not possess, you would, no doubt, find a reference; but i think the sections would be worth borrowing from forbes. domeyko ( / . reference is made by forbes in his paper on bolivia and peru to the work of ignacio domeyko on the geology of chili. several papers by this author were published in the "annales des mines" between and , also in the "comptes rendus" of , , etc.) has published in the "comptes rendus" papers on chili, but not, as far as i can remember, on the structure of the mountains. forbes, however, would know. what you say about the plications being steepest in the central and generally highest part of the range is conclusive to my mind that there has been the chief axis of disturbance. the lateral thrusting has always appeared to me fearfully perplexing. i remember formerly thinking that all lateral flexures probably occurred deep beneath the surface, and have been brought into view by an enormous superincumbent mass having been denuded. if a large and deep box were filled with layers of damp paper or clay, and a blunt wedge was slowly driven up from beneath, would not the layers above it and on both sides become greatly convoluted, whilst those towards the top would be only slightly arched? when i spoke of the andes being comparatively recent, i suppose that i referred to the absence of the older formations. in looking to my volume, which i have not done for many years, i came upon a passage (page ) which would be worth your looking at, if you have ever felt perplexed, as i often was, about the sources of volcanic rocks in mountain chains. you have stirred up old memories, and at the risk of being a bore i should like to call your attention to another point which formerly perplexed me much--viz. the presence of basaltic dikes in most great granitic areas. i cannot but think the explanation given at page of my "volcanic islands" is the true one. ( / . on page of the "geological observations on the volcanic islands visited during the voyage of h.m.s. 'beagle,'" , darwin quotes several instances of greenstone and basaltic dikes intersecting granitic and allied metamorphic rocks. he suggests that these dikes "have been formed by fissures penetrating into partially cooled rocks of the granitic and metamorphic series, and by their more fluid parts, consisting chiefly of hornblende oozing out, and being sucked into such fissures.") letter . to victor carus. down, march st, . the very kind expressions in your letter have gratified me deeply. i quite forget what i said about my geological works, but the papers referred to in your letter are the right ones. i enclose a list with those which are certainly not worth translating marked with a red line; but whether those which are not thus marked with a red line are worth translation you will have to decide. i think much more highly of my book on "volcanic islands" since mr. judd, by far the best judge on the subject in england, has, as i hear, learnt much from it. i think the short paper on the "formation of mould" is worth translating, though, if i have time and strength, i hope to write another and longer paper on the subject. i can assure you that the idea of any one translating my books better than you never even momentarily crossed my mind. i am glad that you can give a fairly good account of your health, or at least that it is not worse. letter . to t. mellard reade. london, december th, . i am sorry to say that i do not return home till the middle of next week, and as i order no pamphlets to be forwarded to me by post, i cannot return the "geolog. mag." until my return home, nor could my servants pick it out of the multitude which come by the post. ( / . article on "oceanic islands," by t. mellard reade, "geol. mag." volume viii., page , .) as i remarked in a letter to a friend, with whom i was discussing wallace's last book ( / . wallace's "island life," .), the subject to which you refer seems to me a most perplexing one. the fact which i pointed out many years ago, that all oceanic islands are volcanic (except st. paul's, and now this is viewed by some as the nucleus of an ancient volcano), seems to me a strong argument that no continent ever occupied the great oceans. ( / . "during my investigations on coral reefs i had occasion to consult the works of many voyagers, and i was invariably struck with the fact that, with rare exceptions, the innumerable islands scattered through the pacific, indian, and atlantic oceans were composed either of volcanic or of modern coral rocks" ("geological observations on volcanic islands, etc." edition ii., , page ).) then there comes the statement from the "challenger" that all sediment is deposited within one or two hundred miles from the shores, though i should have thought this rather doubtful with respect to great rivers like the amazons. the chalk formerly seemed to me the best case of an ocean having extended where a continent now stands; but it seems that some good judges deny that the chalk is an oceanic deposit. on the whole, i lean to the side that the continents have since cambrian times occupied approximately their present positions. but, as i have said, the question seems a difficult one, and the more it is discussed the better. letter . to a. agassiz. down, january st, . i must write a line or two to thank you much for having written to me so long a letter on coral reefs at a time when you must have been so busy. is it not difficult to avoid believing that the wonderful elevation in the west indies must have been accompanied by much subsidence, notwithstanding the state of florida? ( / . the florida reefs cannot be explained by subsidence. alexander agassiz, who has described these reefs in detail ("three cruises of the u.s. coast and geodetic survey steamer 'blake,'" volumes, london, ), shows that the southern extremity of the peninsula "is of comparatively recent growth, consisting of concentric barrier-reefs, which have been gradually converted into land by the accumulation of intervening mud-flats" (see also appendix ii., page , to darwin's "coral reefs," by t.g. bonney, edition iii., .)) when reflecting in old days on the configuration of our continents, the position of mountain chains, and especially on the long-continued supply of sediment over the same areas, i used to think (as probably have many other persons) that areas of elevation and subsidence must as a general rule be separated by a single great line of fissure, or rather of several closely adjoining lines of fissure. i mention this because, when looking within more recent times at charts with the depths of the sea marked by different tints, there seems to be some connection between the profound depths of the ocean and the trends of the nearest, though distant, continents; and i have often wished that some one like yourself, to whom the subject was familiar, would speculate on it. p.s.--i do hope that you will re-urge your views about the reappearance of old characters ( / . see "life and letters," iii., pages , .), for, as far as i can judge, the most important views are often neglected unless they are urged and re-urged. i am greatly indebted to you for sending me very many most valuable works published at your institution. .ix.ii. ice-action, - . letter . to c. lyell. [ .] your extract has set me puzzling very much, and as i find i am better at present for not going out, you must let me unload my mind on paper. i thought everything so beautifully clear about glaciers, but now your case and agassiz's statement about the cavities in the rock formed by cascades in the glaciers, shows me i don't understand their structure at all. i wish out of pure curiosity i could make it out. ( / . "etudes sur les glaciers," by louis agassiz, , contains a description of cascades (page ), and "des cavites interieures" (page ).) if the glacier travelled on (and it certainly does travel on), and the water kept cutting back over the edge of the ice, there would be a great slit in front of the cascade; if the water did not cut back, the whole hollow and cascade, as you say, must travel on; and do you suppose the next season it falls down some crevice higher up? in any case, how in the name of heaven can it make a hollow in solid rock, which surely must be a work of many years? i must point out another fact which agassiz does not, as it appears to me, leave very clear. he says all the blocks on the surface of the glaciers are angular, and those in the moraines rounded, yet he says the medial moraines whence the surface rocks come and are a part [of], are only two lateral moraines united. can he refer to terminal moraines alone when he says fragments in moraines are rounded? what a capital book agassiz's is. in [reading] all the early part i gave up entirely the jura blocks, and was heartily ashamed of my appendix ( / . "m. agassiz has lately written on the subject of the glaciers and boulders of the alps. he clearly proves, as it appears to me, that the presence of the boulders on the jura cannot be explained by any debacle, or by the power of ancient glaciers driving before them moraines...m. agassiz also denies that they were transported by floating ice." ("voyages of the 'adventure' and 'beagle,'" volume iii., : "journal and remarks: addenda," page .)) (and am so still of the manner in which i presumptuously speak of agassiz), but it seems by his own confession that ordinary glaciers could not have transported the blocks there, and if an hypothesis is to be introduced the sea is much simpler; floating ice seems to me to account for everything as well as, and sometimes better than the solid glaciers. the hollows, however, formed by the ice-cascades appear to me the strongest hostile fact, though certainly, as you said, one sees hollow round cavities on present rock-beaches. i am glad to observe that agassiz does not pretend that direction of scratches is hostile to floating ice. by the way, how do you and buckland account for the "tails" of diluvium in scotland? ( / . mr. darwin speaks of the tails of diluvium in scotland extending from the protected side of a hill, of which the opposite side, facing the direction from which the ice came, is marked by grooves and striae (loc. cit., pages , ).) i thought in my appendix this made out the strongest argument for rocks having been scratched by floating ice. some facts about boulders in chiloe will, i think, in a very small degree elucidate some parts of jura case. what a grand new feature all this ice work is in geology! how old hutton would have stared! ( / . sir charles lyell speaks of the huttonian theory as being characterised by "the exclusion of all causes not supposed to belong to the present order of nature" (lyell's "principles," edition xii., volume i., page , ). sir archibald geikie has recently edited the third volume of hutton's "theory of the earth," printed by the geological society, . see also "the founders of geology," by sir archibald geikie; london, .) i ought to be ashamed of myself for scribbling on so. talking of shame, i have sent a copy of my "journal" ( / . "journal and remarks," - . see note , page .) with very humble note to agassiz, as an apology for the tone i used, though i say, i daresay he has never seen my appendix, or would care at all about it. i did not suppose my note about glen roy could have been of any use to you--i merely scribbled what came uppermost. i made one great oversight, as you would perceive. i forgot the glacier theory: if a glacier most gradually disappeared from mouth of spean valley [this] would account for buttresses of shingle below lowest shelf. the difficulty i put about the ice-barrier of the middle glen roy shelf keeping so long at exactly same level does certainly appear to me insuperable. ( / . for a description of the shelves or parallel roads in glen roy see darwin's "observations on the parallel roads of glen roy, etc." "phil. trans. r. soc." , page ; also letter et seq.) what a wonderful fact this breakdown of old niagara is. how it disturbs the calculations about lengths of time before the river would have reached the lakes. i hope mrs. lyell will read this to you, then i shall trust for forgiveness for having scribbled so much. i should have sent back agassiz sooner, but my servant has been very unwell. emma is going on pretty well. my paper on south american boulders and "till," which latter deposit is perfectly characterised in tierra del fuego, is progressing rapidly. ( / . "on the distribution of the erratic boulders and on the contemporaneous unstratified deposits of south america," "trans. geol. soc." volume vi., page , .) i much like the term post-pliocene, and will use it in my present paper several times. p.s.--i should have thought that the most obvious objection to the marine-beach theory for glen roy would be the limited extension of the shelves. though certainly this is not a valid one, after an intermediate one, only half a mile in length, and nowhere else appearing, even in the valley of glen roy itself, has been shown to exist. letter . to c. lyell. . i had some talk with murchison, who has been on a flying visit into wales, and he can see no traces of glaciers, but only of the trickling of water and of the roots of the heath. it is enough to make an extraneous man think geology from beginning to end a work of imagination, and not founded on observation. lonsdale, i observe, pays buckland and myself the compliment of thinking murchison not seeing as worth nothing; but i confess i am astonished, so glaringly clear after two or three days did the evidence appear to me. have you seen last "new edin. phil. journ.", it is ice and glaciers almost from beginning to end. ( / . "the edinburgh new philosophical journal," volume xxxiii. (april-october), , contains papers by sir g.s. mackenzie, prof. h.g. brown, jean de charpentier, roderick murchison, louis agassiz, all dealing with glaciers or ice; also letters to the editor relating to prof. forbes' account of his recent observations on glaciers, and a paper by charles darwin entitled "notes on the effects produced by the ancient glaciers of carnarvonshire, and on the boulders transported by floating ice.") agassiz says he saw (and has laid down) the two lowest terraces of glen roy in the valley of the spean, opposite mouth of glen roy itself, where no one else has seen them. ( / . "the glacial theory and its recent progress," by louis agassiz, loc. cit., page . agassiz describes the parallel terraces on the flanks of glen roy and glen spean (page ), and expresses himself convinced "that the glacial theory alone satisfies all the exigencies of the phenomenon" of the parallel roads.) i carefully examined that spot, owing to the sheep tracks [being] nearly but not quite parallel to the terrace. so much, again, for difference of observation. i do not pretend to say who is right. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, october th, . i was heartily glad to get your last letter; but on my life your thanks for my very few and very dull letters quite scalded me. i have been very indolent and selfish in not having oftener written to you and kept my ears open for news which would have interested you; but i have not forgotten you. two days after receiving your letter, there was a short leading notice about you in the "gardeners' chronicle" ( / . the "gardeners' chronicle," , page .); in which it is said you have discovered a noble crimson rose and thirty rhododendrons. i must heartily congratulate you on these discoveries, which will interest the public; and i have no doubt that you will have made plenty of most interesting botanical observations. this last letter shall be put with all your others, which are now safe together. i am very glad that you have got minute details about the terraces in the valleys: your description sounds curiously like the terraces in the cordillera of chili; these latter, however, are single in each valley; but you will hereafter see a description of these terraces in my "geology of s. america." ( / . "geological observations," pages et passim.) at the end of your letter you speak about giving up geology, but you must not think of it; i am sure your observations will be very interesting. your account of the great dam in the yangma valley is most curious, and quite full; i find that i did not at all understand its wonderful structure in your former letter. your notion of glaciers pushing detritus into deep fiords (and ice floating fragments on their channels), is in many respects new to me; but i cannot help believing your dam is a lateral moraine: i can hardly persuade myself that the remains of floating ice action, at a period so immensely remote as when the himalaya stood at a low level in the sea, would now be distinguishable. ( / . hooker's "himalayan journals," volume ii., page , . in describing certain deposits in the lachoong valley, hooker writes: "glaciers might have forced immense beds of gravel into positions that would dam up lakes between the ice and the flanks of the valley" (page ). in a footnote he adds: "we are still very ignorant of many details of ice action, and especially of the origin of many enormous deposits which are not true moraines." such deposits are referred to as occurring in the yangma valley.) your not having found scored boulders and solid rocks is an objection both to glaciers and floating ice; for it is certain that both produce such. i believe no rocks escape scoring, polishing and mammillation in the alps, though some lose it easily when exposed. are you familiar with appearance of ice-action? if i understand rightly, you object to the great dam having been produced by a glacier, owing to the dryness of the lateral valley and general infrequency of glaciers in himalaya; but pray observe that we may fairly (from what we see in europe) assume that the climate was formerly colder in india, and when the land stood at a lower height more snow might have fallen. oddly enough, i am now inclined to believe that i saw a gigantic moraine crossing a valley, and formerly causing a lake above it in one of the great valleys (valle del yeso) of the cordillera: it is a mountain of detritus, which has puzzled me. if you have any further opportunities, do look for scores on steep faces of rock; and here and there remove turf or matted parts to have a look. again i beg, do not give up geology:--i wish you had agassiz's work and plates on glaciers. ( / . "etudes sur les glaciers." l. agassiz, neuchatel, .) i am extremely sorry that the rajah, ill luck to him, has prevented your crossing to thibet; but you seem to have seen most interesting country: one is astonished to hear of fuegian climate in india. i heard from the sabines that you were thinking of giving up borneo; i hope that this report may prove true. letter . to c. lyell. down, may th [ ]. the notion you refer to was published in the "geological journal" ( / . "on the transportal of erratic boulders from a lower to a higher level." by c. darwin.), volume iv. ( ), page , with reference to all the cases which i could collect of boulders apparently higher than the parent rock. the argument of probable proportion of rock dropped by sea ice compared to land glaciers is new to me. i have often thought of the idea of the viscosity and enormous momentum of great icebergs, and still think that the notion i pointed out in appendix to ramsay's paper is probable, and can hardly help being applicable in some cases. ( / . the paper by ramsay has no appendix; probably, therefore mr. darwin's notes were published separately as a paper in the "phil. mag.") i wonder whether the "phil. journal [magazine?.]" would publish it, if i could get it from ramsay or the geological society. ( / . "on the power of icebergs to make rectilinear, uniformly-directed grooves across a submarine undulatory surface." by c. darwin, "phil. mag." volume x., page , .) if you chance to meet ramsay will you ask him whether he has it? i think it would perhaps be worth while just to call the n. american geologists' attention to the idea; but it is not worth any trouble. i am tremendously busy with all sorts of experiments. by the way, hopkins at the geological society seemed to admit some truth in the idea of scoring by (viscid) icebergs. if the geological society takes so much [time] to judge of truth of notions, as you were telling me in regard to ramsay's permian glaciers ( / . "on the occurrence of angular, sub-angular, polished, and striated fragments and boulders in the permian breccia of shropshire, worcestershire, etc.; and on the probable existence of glaciers and icebergs in the permian epoch." by a.c. ramsay, "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xi., page , .), it will be as injurious to progress as the french institut. letter . to j.d. hooker. cliff cottage, bournemouth, [september] st [ ]. i am especially obliged to you for sending me haast's communications. ( / . "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xxi., pages , , ; volume xxiii., page , .) they are very interesting and grand about glacial and drift or marine glacial. i see he alludes to the whole southern hemisphere. i wonder whether he has read the "origin." considering your facts on the alpine plants of new zealand and remarks, i am particularly glad to hear of the geological evidence of glacial action. i presume he is sure to collect and send over the mountain rat of which he speaks. i long to know what it is. a frog and rat together would, to my mind, prove former connection of new zealand to some continent; for i can hardly suppose that the polynesians introduced the rat as game, though so esteemed in the friendly islands. ramsay sent me his paper ( / . "on the glacial origin of certain lakes in switzerland, etc." "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xviii., page , .) and asked my opinion on it. i agree with you and think highly of it. i cannot doubt that it is to a large extent true; my only doubt is, that in a much disturbed country, i should have thought that some depressions, and consequently lakes, would almost certainly have been left. i suggested a careful consideration of mountainous tropical countries such as brazil, peninsula of india, etc.; if lakes are there, [they are] very rare. i should fully subscribe to ramsay's views. what presumption, as it seems to me, in the council of geological society that it hesitated to publish the paper. we return home on the th. i have made up [my] mind, if i can keep up my courage, to start on the saturday for cambridge, and stay the last few days of the [british] association there. i do so hope that you may be there then. letter . to j.d. hooker. november rd [ ]. when i wrote to you i had not read ramsay. ( / . "on the erosion of valleys and lakes: a reply to sir roderick murchison's anniversary address to the geographical society." "phil. mag." volume xxviii., page , ) how capitally it is written! it seems that there is nothing for style like a man's dander being put up. i think i agree largely with you about denudation--but the rocky-lake-basin theory is the part which interests me at present. it seems impossible to know how much to attribute to ice, running water, and sea. i did not suppose that ramsay would deny that mountains had been thrown up irregularly, and that the depressions would become valleys. the grandest valleys i ever saw were at tahiti, and here i do not believe ice has done anything; anyhow there were no erratics. i said in my s. american geology ( / . "finally, the conclusion at which i have arrived with respect to the relative powers of rain, and sea-water on the land is, that the latter is by far the most efficient agent, and that its chief tendency is to widen the valleys, whilst torrents and rivers tend to deepen them and to remove the wreck of the sea's destroying action" ("geol. observations," pages , ).) that rivers deepen and the sea widens valleys, and i am inclined largely to stick to this, adding ice to water. i am sorry to hear that tyndall has grown dogmatic. h. wedgwood was saying the other day that t.'s writings and speaking gave him the idea of intense conceit. i hope it is not so, for he is a grand man of science. ...i have had a prospectus and letter from andrew murray ( / . see volume ii., letters , , etc.) asking me for suggestions. i think this almost shows he is not fit for the subject, as he gives me no idea what his book will be, excepting that the printed paper shows that all animals and all plants of all groups are to be treated of. do you know anything of his knowledge? in about a fortnight i shall have finished, except concluding chapter, my book on "variation under domestication"; ( / . published in .) but then i have got to go over the whole again, and this will take me very many months. i am able to work about two hours daily. letter . to j.d. hooker. down [july, ]. i was glad to read your article on glaciers, etc., in yorkshire. you seem to have been struck with what most deeply impressed me at glen roy (wrong as i was on the whole subject)--viz. the marvellous manner in which every detail of surface of land had been preserved for an enormous period. this makes me a little sceptical whether ramsay, jukes, etc., are not a little overdoing sub-aerial denudation. in the same "reader" ( / . sir j.d. hooker wrote to darwin, july th, , from high force inn, middleton, teesdale: "i am studying the moraines all day long with as much enthusiasm as i am capable of after lying in bed till nine, eating heavy breakfasts, and looking forward to dinner as the summum bonum of existence." the result of his work, under the title "moraines of the tees valley," appeared in the "reader" (july th, , page ), of which huxley was one of the managers or committee-men, and norman lockyer was scientific editor ("life and letters of t.h. huxley," i., page ). hooker describes the moraines and other evidence of glacial action in the upper part of the tees valley, and speaks of the effect of glaciers in determining the present physical features of the country.) there was a striking article on english and foreign men of science ( / . "british and foreign science," "the reader," loc. cit., page . the writer of the article asserts the inferiority of english scientific workers.), and i think unjust to england except in pure physiology; in biology owen and r. brown ought to save us, and in geology we are most rich. it is curious how we are reading the same books. we intend to read lecky and certainly to re-read buckle--which latter i admired greatly before. i am heartily glad you like lubbock's book so much. it made me grieve his taking to politics, and though i grieve that he has lost his election, yet i suppose, now that he is once bitten, he will never give up politics, and science is done for. many men can make fair m.p.'s; and how few can work in science like him! i have been reading a pamphlet by verlot on "variation of flowers," which seems to me very good; but i doubt whether it would be worth your reading. it was published originally in the "journal d'hort.," and so perhaps you have seen it. it is a very good plan this republishing separately for sake of foreigners buying, and i wish i had tried to get permission of linn. soc. for my climbing paper, but it is now too late. do not forget that you have my paper on hybridism, by max wichura. ( / . wichura, m.e., "l'hybridisation dans le regne vegetal etudiee sur les saules," "arch. sci. phys. nat." xxiii., page , .) i hope you are returned to your work, refreshed like a giant by your huge breakfasts. how unlucky you are about contagious complaints with your children! i keep very weak, and had much sickness yesterday, but am stronger this morning. can you remember how we ever first met? ( / . see "life and letters," ii., page .) it was in park street; but what brought us together? i have been re-reading a few old letters of yours, and my heart is very warm towards you. letter . to c. lyell. down, march th [ ]. ( / . in a letter from sir joseph hooker to mr. darwin on february st, , the following passage occurs: "i wish i could explain to you my crude notions as to the glacial period and your position towards it. i suppose i hold this doctrine: that there was a glacial period, but that it was not one of universal cold, because i think that the existing distribution of glaciers is sufficiently demonstrative of the proposition that by comparatively slight redispositions of sea and land, and perhaps axis of globe, you may account for all the leading palaeontological phenomena." this letter was sent by mr. darwin to sir charles lyell, and the latter, writing on march st, , expresses his belief that "the whole globe must at times have been superficially cooler. still," he adds, "during extreme excentricity the sun would make great efforts to compensate in perihelion for the chill of a long winter in aphelion in one hemisphere, and a cool summer in the other. i think you will turn out to be right in regard to meridional lines of mountain-chains by which the migrations across the equator took place while there was contemporaneous tropical heat of certain lowlands, where plants requiring heat and moisture were saved from extinction by the heat of the earth's surface, which was stored up in perihelion, being prevented from radiating off freely into space by a blanket of aqueous vapour caused by the melting of ice and snow. but though i am inclined to profit by croll's maximum excentricity for the glacial period, i consider it quite subordinate to geographical causes or the relative position of land and sea and the abnormal excess of land in polar regions." in another letter (march th, ) lyell writes: "in the beginning of hooker's letter to you he speaks hypothetically of a change in the earth's axis as having possibly co-operated with redistribution of land and sea in causing the cold of the glacial period. now, when we consider how extremely modern, zoologically and botanically, the glacial period is proved to be, i am shocked at any one introducing, with what i may call so much levity, so organic a change as a deviation in the axis of the planet...' (see lyell's "principles," , chapter xiii.; also a letter to sir joseph hooker printed in the "life of sir charles lyell," volume ii., page .)) many thanks for your interesting letter. from the serene elevation of my old age i look down with amazement at your youth, vigour, and indomitable energy. with respect to hooker and the axis of the earth, i suspect he is too much overworked to consider now any subject properly. his mind is so acute and critical that i always expect to hear a torrent of objections to anything proposed; but he is so candid that he often comes round in a year or two. i have never thought on the causes of the glacial period, for i feel that the subject is beyond me; but though i hope you will own that i have generally been a good and docile pupil to you, yet i must confess that i cannot believe in change of land and water, being more than a subsidiary agent. ( / . in chapter xi. of the "origin," edition v., , page , darwin discusses croll's theory, and is clearly inclined to trust in croll's conclusion that "whenever the northern hemisphere passes through a cold period the temperature of the southern hemisphere is actually raised..." in edition vi., page , he expresses his faith even more strongly. mr. darwin apparently sent his ms. on the climate question, which was no doubt prepared for a new edition of the "origin," to sir charles. the arrival of the ms. is acknowledged in a letter from lyell on march th, ("life of sir charles lyell," ii., page ), in which the writer says that he is "more than ever convinced that geographical changes...are the principal and not the subsidiary causes.") i have come to this conclusion from reflecting on the geographical distribution of the inhabitants of the sea on the opposite sides of our continents and of the inhabitants of the continents themselves. letter . to c. lyell. down, september th [ ]. many thanks for the pamphlet, which was returned this morning. i was very glad to read it, though chiefly as a psychological curiosity. i quite follow you in thinking agassiz glacier-mad. ( / . agassiz's pamphlet, ("geology of the amazons") is referred to by lyell in a letter written to bunbury in september, ("life of sir charles lyell," ii., page ): "agassiz has written an interesting paper on the 'geology of the amazons,' but, i regret to say, he has gone wild about glaciers, and has actually announced his opinion that the whole of the great valley, down to its mouth in latitude deg., was filled by ice..." agassiz published a paper, "observations geologiques faites dans la vallee de l'amazone," in the "comptes rendus," volume lxiv., page , . see also a letter addressed to m. marcou, published in the "bull. soc. geol. france," volume xxiv., page , .) his evidence reduces itself to supposed moraines, which would be difficult to trace in a forest-clad country; and with respect to boulders, these are not said to be angular, and their source cannot be known in a country so imperfectly explored. when i was at rio, i was continually astonished at the depth (sometimes feet) to which the granitic rocks were decomposed in situ, and this soft matter would easily give rise to great alluvial accumulations; i well remember finding it difficult to draw a line between the alluvial matter and the softened rock in situ. what a splendid imagination agassiz has, and how energetic he is! what capital work he would have done, if he had sucked in your "principles" with his mother's milk. it is wonderful that he should have written such wild nonsense about the valley of the amazon; yet not so wonderful when one remembers that he once maintained before the british association that the chalk was all deposited at once. with respect to the insects of chili, i knew only from bates that the species of carabus showed no special affinity to northern species; from the great difference of climate and vegetation i should not have expected that many insects would have shown such affinity. it is more remarkable that the birds on the broad and lofty cordillera of tropical s. america show no affinity with european species. the little power of diffusion with birds has often struck me as a most singular fact--even more singular than the great power of diffusion with plants. remember that we hope to see you in the autumn. p.s.--there is a capital paper in the september number of "annals and magazine," translated from pictet and humbert, on fossil fish of lebanon, but you will, i daresay, have received the original. ( / . "recent researches on the fossil fishes of mount lebanon," "ann. mag. nat. hist." volume xviii., page , .) it is capital in relation to modification of species; i would not wish for more confirmatory facts, though there is no direct allusion to the modification of species. hooker, by the way, gave an admirable lecture at nottingham; i read it in ms., or rather, heard it. i am glad it will be published, for it was capital. ( / . sir joseph hooker delivered a lecture at the nottingham meeting of the british association ( ) on "insular floras," published in the "gardeners' chronicle," . see letters - , etc.) sunday morning. p.s.--i have just received a letter from asa gray with the following passage, so that, according to this, i am the chief cause of agassiz's absurd views:-- "agassiz is back (i have not seen him), and he went at once down to the national academy of sciences, from which i sedulously keep away, and, i hear, proved to them that the glacial period covered the whole continent of america with unbroken ice, and closed with a significant gesture and the remark: 'so here is the end of the darwin theory.' how do you like that? "i said last winter that agassiz was bent on covering the whole continent with ice, and that the motive of the discovery he was sure to make was to make sure that there should be no coming down of any terrestrial life from tertiary or post-tertiary period to ours. you cannot deny that he has done his work effectually in a truly imperial way." letter . to c. lyell. down, july th, . mr. agassiz's book has been read aloud to me, and i am wonderfully perplexed what to think about his precise statements of the existence of glaciers in the ceara mountains, and about the drift formation near rio. ( / . "sur la geologie de l'amazone," by mm. agassiz and continho, "bull. soc. geol. france," volume xxv., page , . see also "a journey in brazil," by professor and mrs. louis agassiz, boston, .) there is a sad want of details. thus he never mentions whether any of the blocks are angular, nor whether the embedded rounded boulders, which cannot all be disintegrated, are scored. yet how can so experienced an observer as a. be deceived about lateral and terminal moraines? if there really were glaciers in the ceara mountains, it seems to me one of the most important facts in the history of the inorganic and organic world ever observed. whether true or not, it will be widely believed, and until finally decided will greatly interfere with future progress on many points. i have made these remarks in the hope that you will coincide. if so, do you think it would be possible to persuade some known man, such as ramsay, or, what would be far better, some two men, to go out for a summer trip, which would be in many respects delightful, for the sole object of observing these phenomena in the ceara mountains, and if possible also near rio? i would gladly put my name down for pounds in aid of the expense of travelling. do turn this over in your mind. i am so very sorry not to have seen you this summer, but for the last three weeks i have been good for nothing, and have had to stop almost all work. i hope we may meet in the autumn. letter . to james croll. down, november th, . i have read with the greatest interest the last paper which you have kindly sent me. ( / . croll discussed the power of icebergs as grinding and striating agents in the latter part of a paper ("on geological time, and the probable dates of the glacial and the upper miocene period") published in the "philosophical magazine," volume xxxv., page , , volume xxxvi., pages , , . his conclusion was that the advocates of the iceberg theory had formed "too extravagant notions regarding the potency of floating ice as a striating agent.") if we are to admit that all the scored rocks throughout the more level parts of the united states result from true glacier action, it is a most wonderful conclusion, and you certainly make out a very strong case; so i suppose i must give up one more cherished belief. but my object in writing is to trespass on your kindness and ask a question, which i daresay i could answer for myself by reading more carefully, as i hope hereafter to do, all your papers; but i shall feel much more confidence in a brief reply from you. am i right in supposing that you believe that the glacial periods have always occurred alternately in the northern and southern hemispheres, so that the erratic deposits which i have described in the southern parts of america, and the glacial work in new zealand, could not have been simultaneous with our glacial period? from the glacial deposits occurring all round the northern hemisphere, and from such deposits appearing in s. america to be as recent as in the north, and lastly, from there being some evidence of the former lower descent of glaciers all along the cordilleras, i inferred that the whole world was at this period cooler. it did not appear to me justifiable without distinct evidence to suppose that the n. and s. glacial deposits belonged to distinct epochs, though it would have been an immense relief to my mind if i could have assumed that this had been the case. secondly, do you believe that during the glacial period in one hemisphere the opposite hemisphere actually becomes warmer, or does it merely retain the same temperature as before? i do not ask these questions out of mere curiosity; but i have to prepare a new edition of my "origin of species," and am anxious to say a few words on this subject on your authority. i hope that you will excuse my troubling you. letter . to j. croll. down, january st, . to-morrow i will return registered your book, which i have kept so long. i am most sincerely obliged for its loan, and especially for the ms., without which i should have been afraid of making mistakes. if you require it, the ms. shall be returned. your results have been of more use to me than, i think, any other set of papers which i can remember. sir c. lyell, who is staying here, is very unwilling to admit the greater warmth of the s. hemisphere during the glacial period in the n.; but, as i have told him, this conclusion which you have arrived at from physical considerations, explains so well whole classes of facts in distribution, that i must joyfully accept it; indeed, i go so far as to think that your conclusion is strengthened by the facts in distribution. your discussion on the flowing of the great ice-cap southward is most interesting. i suppose that you have read mr. moseley's recent discussion on the force of gravity being quite insufficient to account for the downward movement of glaciers ( / . canon henry moseley, "on the mechanical impossibility of the descent of glaciers by their weight only." "proc. r. soc." volume xvii., page , ; "phil. mag." volume xxxvii., page , .): if he is right, do you not think that the unknown force may make more intelligible the extension of the great northern ice-cap? notwithstanding your excellent remarks on the work which can be effected within the million years ( / . in his paper "on geological time, and the probable date of the glacial and the upper miocene period" ("phil. mag." volume xxxv., page , ), croll endeavours to convey to the mind some idea of what a million years really is: "take a narrow strip of paper, an inch broad or more, and feet inches in length, and stretch it along the wall of a large hall, or round the walls of an apartment somewhat over feet square. recall to memory the days of your boyhood, so as to get some adequate conception of what a period of a hundred years is. then mark off from one of the ends of the strip one-tenth of an inch. the one-tenth of an inch will then represent a hundred years, and the entire length of the strip a million of years" (loc. cit., page ).), i am greatly troubled at the short duration of the world according to sir w. thomson ( / . in a paper communicated to the royal society of edinburgh, lord kelvin (then sir william thomson) stated his belief that the age of our planet must be more than twenty millions of years, but not more than four hundred millions of years ("trans. r. soc. edinb." volume xxiii., page , , "on the secular cooling of the earth."). this subject has been recently dealt with by sir archibald geikie in his address as president of the geological section of the british association, ("brit. assoc. report," dover meeting, , page ).), for i require for my theoretical views a very long period before the cambrian formation. if it would not trouble you, i should like to hear what you think of lyell's remark on the magnetic force which comes from the sun to the earth: might not this penetrate the crust of the earth and then be converted into heat? this would give a somewhat longer time during which the crust might have been solid; and this is the argument on which sir w. thomson seems chiefly to rest. you seem to argue chiefly on the expenditure of energy of all kinds by the sun, and in this respect lyell's remark would have no bearing. my new edition of the "origin" ( / . fifth edition, may, .) will be published, i suppose, in about two months, and for the chance of your liking to have a copy i will send one. p.s.--i wish that you would turn your astronomical knowledge to the consideration whether the form of the globe does not become periodically slightly changed, so as to account for the many repeated ups and downs of the surface in all parts of the world. i have always thought that some cosmical cause would some day be discovered. letter . to c. lyell. down, july th [ ]. i have been glad to see the enclosed and return it. it seems to me very cool in agassiz to doubt the recent upheaval of patagonia, without having visited any part; and he entirely misrepresents me in saying that i infer upheaval from the form of the land, as i trusted entirely to shells embedded and on the surface. it is simply monstrous to suppose that the terraces stretching on a dead level for leagues along the coast, and miles in breadth, and covered with beds of stratified gravel, to feet in thickness, are due to subaerial denudation. as for the pond of salt-water twice or thrice the density of sea-water, and nearly dry, containing sea-shells in the same relative proportions as on the adjoining coast, it almost passes my belief. could there have been a lively midshipman on board, who in the morning stocked the pool from the adjoining coast? as for glaciation, i will not venture to express any opinion, for when in s. america i knew nothing about glaciers, and perhaps attributed much to icebergs which ought to be attributed to glaciers. on the other hand, agassiz seems to me mad about glaciers, and apparently never thinks of drift ice. i did see one clear case of former great extension of a glacier in t. del fuego. letter . to j. geikie. ( / . the following letter was in reply to a request from prof. james geikie for permission to publish mr. darwin's views, communicated in a previous letter (november ), on the vertical position of stones in gravelly drift near southampton. prof. geikie wrote (july th, ): "you may remember that you attributed the peculiar position of those stones to differential movements in the drift itself arising from the slow melting of beds of frozen snow interstratified into the gravels...i have found this explanation of great service even in scotland, and from what i have seen of the drift-gravels in various parts of southern england and northern france, i am inclined to think that it has a wide application.") down, july th, . your letter has pleased me very much, and i truly feel it an honour that anything which i wrote on the drift, etc., should have been of the least use or interest to you. pray make any use of my letter ( / . professor james geikie quotes the letter in "prehistoric europe," london, (page ). practically the whole of it is given in the "life and letters," iii., page .): i forget whether it was written carefully or clearly, so pray touch up any passages that you may think fit to quote. all that i have seen since near southampton and elsewhere has strengthened my notion. here i live on a chalk platform gently sloping down from the edge of the escarptment to the south ( / . id est, sloping down from the escarpment which is to the south.) (which is about feet in height) to beneath the tertiary beds to the north. the ( / . from here to the end of the paragraph is quoted by prof. geikie, loc. cit., page .) beds of the large and broad valleys (and only of these) are covered with an immense mass of closely packed broken and angular flints; in which mass the skull of the musk-ox [musk-sheep] and woolly elephant have been found. this great accumulation of unworn flints must therefore have been made when the climate was cold, and i believe it can be accounted for by the larger valleys having been filled up to a great depth during a large part of the year with drifted frozen snow, over which rubbish from the upper parts of the platforms was washed by the summer rains, sometimes along one line and sometimes along another, or in channels cut through the snow all along the main course of the broad valleys. i suppose that i formerly mentioned to you the frequent upright position of elongated flints in the red clayey residue over the chalk, which residue gradually subsides into the troughs and pipes corroded in the solid chalk. this letter is very untidy, but i am tired. p.s. several palaeolithic celts have recently been found in the great angular gravel-bed near southampton in several places. letter . to d. mackintosh. down, november th, . your discovery is a very interesting one, and i congratulate you on it. ( / . "on the precise mode of accumulation and derivation of the moel-tryfan shelly deposits; on the discovery of similar high-level deposits along the eastern slopes of the welsh mountains; and on the existence of drift-zones, showing probable variations in the rate of submergence." by d. mackintosh, "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xxxvii., pages - , . [read april th, .]) i failed to find shells on moel tryfan, but was interested by finding ("philosoph. mag." rd series, volume xxi., page ) shattered rocks ( / . in reviewing the work by previous writers on the moel-tryfan deposits, mackintosh refers to darwin's "very suggestive description of the moel-tryfan deposits...under the drift he saw that the surface of the slate, to a depth of several feet, had been shattered and contorted in a very peculiar manner." the contortion of the slate, which mackintosh regarded as "the most interesting of the moel-tryfan phenomena," had not previously been regarded as "sufficiently striking to arrest attention" by any geologist except darwin. the pleistocene gravel and sand containing marine shells on moel-tryfan, about five miles south-east of caernarvon, have been the subject of considerable controversy. by some geologists the drift deposits have been regarded as evidence of a great submergence in post-pliocene times, while others have explained their occurrence at a height of feet by assuming that the gravel and sand had been thrust uphill by an advancing ice-sheet. (see h.b. woodward, "geology of england and wales," edition ii., , pages , .) darwin attributed the shattering and contorting of the slates below the drift to "icebergs grating over the surface.") and far-distant rounded boulders, which i attributed to the violent impact of icebergs or coast-ice. i can offer no opinion on whether the more recent changes of level in england were or were not accompanied by earthquakes. it does not seem to me a correct expression (which you use probably from haste in your note) to speak of elevations or depressions as caused by earthquakes: i suppose that every one admits that an earthquake is merely the vibration from the fractured crust when it yields to an upward or downward force. i must confess that of late years i have often begun to suspect (especially when i think of the step-like plains of patagonia, the heights of which were measured by me) that many of the changes of level in the land are due to changes of level in the sea. ( / . this view is an agreement with the theory recently put forward by suess in his "antlitz der erde" (prag and leipzig, ). suess believes that "the local invasions and transgressions of the continental areas by the sea" are due to "secular movements of the hydrosphere itself." (see j. geikie, f.r.s., presidential address before section e at the edinburgh meeting of the british association, "annual report," page .) i suppose that there can be no doubt that when there was much ice piled up in the arctic regions the sea would be attracted to them, and the land on the temperate regions would thus appear to have risen. there would also be some lowering of the sea by evaporation and the fixing of the water as ice near the pole. i shall read your paper with much interest when published. letter . to j. geikie. down, december th, . you must allow me the pleasure of thanking you for the great interest with which i have read your "prehistoric europe." ( / . "prehistoric europe: a geological sketch," london, .) nothing has struck me more than the accumulated evidence of interglacial periods, and assuredly the establishment of such periods is of paramount importance for understanding all the later changes of the earth's surface. reading your book has brought vividly before my mind the state of knowledge, or rather ignorance, half a century ago, when all superficial matter was classed as diluvium, and not considered worthy of the attention of a geologist. if you can spare the time (though i ask out of mere idle curiosity) i should like to hear what you think of mr. mackintosh's paper, illustrated by a little map with lines showing the courses or sources of the erratic boulders over the midland counties of england. ( / . "results of a systematic survey, in , of the directions and limits of dispersion, mode of occurrence, and relation to drift-deposits of the erratic blocks or boulders of the west of england and east of wales, including a revision of many years' previous observations," d. mackintosh, "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xxxv., page , .) it is a little suspicious their ending rather abruptly near wolverhampton, yet i must think that they were transported by floating ice. fifty years ago i knew shropshire well, and cannot remember anything like till, but abundance of gravel and sand beds, with recent marine shells. a great boulder ( / . mackintosh alludes (loc. cit., page ) to felstone boulders around ashley heath, the highest ground between the pennine and welsh hills north of the wrekin; also to a boulder on the summit of the eminence ( feet above sea-level), "probably the same as that noticed many years ago by mr. darwin." in a later paper, "on the correlation of the drift-deposits of the north-west of england with those of the midland and eastern counties" ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xxxvi., page , ) mackintosh mentions a letter received from darwin, "who was the first to elucidate the boulder-transporting agency of floating ice," containing an account of the great ashley heath boulder, which he was the first to discover and expose,...so as to find that the block rested on fragments of new red sandstone, one of which was split into two and deeply scored...the facts mentioned in the letter from mr. darwin would seem to show that the boulder must have fallen through water from floating ice with a force sufficient to split the underlying lump of sandstone, but not sufficient to crush it.") which i had undermined on the summit of ashley heath, (?) feet above the sea, rested on clean blocks of the underlying red sandstone. i was also greatly interested by your long discussion on the loss ( / . for an account of the loss of german geologists--"a fine-grained, more or less homogeneous, consistent, non-plastic loam, consisting of an intimate admixture of clay and carbonate of lime," see j. geikie, loc. cit., page et seq.); but i do not feel satisfied that all has been made out about it. i saw much brick-earth near southampton in some manner connected with the angular gravel, but had not strength enough to make out relations. it might be worth your while to bear in mind the possibility of fine sediment washed over and interstratified with thick beds of frozen snow, and therefore ultimately dropped irrespective of the present contour of the country. i remember as a boy that it was said that the floods of the severn were more muddy when the floods were caused by melting snow than from the heaviest rains; but why this should be i cannot see. another subject has interested me much--viz. the sliding and travelling of angular debris. ever since seeing the "streams of stones" at the falkland islands ( / . "geological observations on south america" ( ), page et seq.), i have felt uneasy in my mind on this subject. i wish mr. kerr's notion could be fully elucidated about frozen snow. some one ought to observe the movements of the fields of snow which supply the glaciers in switzerland. yours is a grand book, and i thank you heartily for the instruction and pleasure which it has given me. for heaven's sake forgive the untidiness of this whole note. letter . to john lubbock [lord avebury]. down, november th, . if i had written your address ( / . address delivered by lord avebury as president of the british association at york in . dr. hicks is mentioned as having classed the pre-cambrian strata in "four great groups of immense thickness and implying a great lapse of time" and giving no evidence of life. hicks' third formation was named by him the arvonian ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xxxvii., , proc., page .) (but this requires a fearful stretch of imagination on my part) i should not alter what i had said about hicks. you have the support of the president [of the] geological society ( / . robert etheridge.), and i think that hicks is more likely to be right than x. the latter seems to me to belong to the class of objectors general. if hicks should be hereafter proved to be wrong about this third formation, it would signify very little to you. i forget whether you go as far as to support ramsay about lakes as large as the italian ones: if so, i would myself modify the passage a little, for these great lakes have always made me tremble for ramsay, yet some of the american geologists support him about the still larger n. american lakes. i have always believed in the main in ramsay's views from the date of publication, and argued the point with lyell, and am convinced that it is a very interesting step in geology, and that you were quite right to allude to it. ( / . "glacial origin of lakes in switzerland, black forest, etc." ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xviii., pages - , ). sir john lubbock (lord avebury) gives a brief statement of ramsay's views concerning the origin of lakes (presidential address, brit. assoc. , page ): "prof. ramsay divides lakes into three classes: ( ) those which are due to irregular accumulations of drift, and which are generally quite shallow; ( ) those which are formed by moraines; and ( ) those which occupy true basins scooped by glaciers out of the solid rocks. to the latter class belong, in his opinion, most of the great swiss and italian lakes...professor ramsay's theory seems, therefore, to account for a large number of interesting facts." sir archibald geikie has given a good summary of ramsay's theory in his "memoir of sir andrew crombie ramsay," page , london, .) letter . to d. mackintosh. down, february th, . i have read professor geikie's essay, and it certainly appears to me that he underrated the importance of floating ice. ( / . "the intercrossing of erratics in glacial deposits," by james geikie, "scottish naturalist," .) memory extending back for half a century is worth a little, but i can remember nothing in shropshire like till or ground moraine, yet i can distinctly remember the appearance of many sand and gravel beds--in some of which i found marine shells. i think it would be well worth your while to insist (but perhaps you have done so) on the absence of till, if absent in the western counties, where you find many erratic boulders. i was pleased to read the last sentence in geikie's essay about the value of your work. ( / . the concluding paragraph reads as follows: "i cannot conclude this paper without expressing my admiration for the long-continued and successful labours of the well-known geologist whose views i have been controverting. although i entered my protest against his iceberg hypothesis, and have freely criticised his theoretical opinions, i most willingly admit that the results of his unwearied devotion to the study of those interesting phenomena with which he is so familiar have laid all his fellow-workers under a debt of gratitude." mr. darwin used to speak with admiration of mackintosh's work, carried on as it was under considerable difficulties.) with respect to the main purport of your note, i hardly know what to say. though no evidence worth anything has as yet, in my opinion, been advanced in favour of a living being, being developed from inorganic matter, yet i cannot avoid believing the possibility of this will be proved some day in accordance with the law of continuity. i remember the time, above fifty years ago, when it was said that no substance found in a living plant or animal could be produced without the aid of vital forces. as far as external form is concerned, eozoon shows how difficult it is to distinguish between organised and inorganised bodies. if it is ever found that life can originate on this world, the vital phenomena will come under some general law of nature. whether the existence of a conscious god can be proved from the existence of the so-called laws of nature (i.e., fixed sequence of events) is a perplexing subject, on which i have often thought, but cannot see my way clearly. if you have not read w. graham's "creed of science," ( / . "the creed of science: religious, moral, and social," london, .), it would, i think, interest you, and he supports the view which you are inclined to uphold. .ix.iii. the parallel roads of glen roy, - . ( / . in the bare hilly country of lochaber, in the scotch highlands, the slopes of the mountains overlooking the vale of glen roy are marked by narrow terraces or parallel roads, which sweep round the shoulders of the hills with "undeviating horizontality." these roads are described by sir archibald geikie as having long been "a subject of wonderment and legendary story among the highlanders, and for so many years a source of sore perplexity among men of science." ( / . "the scenery of scotland," , page .) in glen roy itself there are three distinct shelves or terraces, and the mountain sides of the valley of the spean and other glens bear traces of these horizontal "roads." the first important papers dealing with the origin of this striking physical feature were those of macculloch ( / . "trans. geol. soc." volume iv., page , .) and sir thomas lauder dick ( / . "trans. r. soc. edinb." volume ix., page , .), in which the writers concluded that the roads were the shore-lines of lakes which once filled the lochaber valleys. towards the end of june mr. darwin devoted "eight good days" ( / . "life and letters," i., page .) to the examination of the lochaber district, and in the following year he communicated a paper to the royal society of london, in which he attributed their origin to the action of the sea, and regarded them as old sea beaches which had been raised to their present level by a gradual elevation of the lochaber district. in louis agassiz and buckland ( / . "edinb. new phil. journal," volume xxxiii., page , .) proposed the glacier-ice theory; they described the valleys as having been filled with lakes dammed back by glaciers which formed bars across the valleys of glen roy, glen spean, and the other glens in which the hill-sides bear traces of old lake-margins. agassiz wrote in : "when i visited the parallel roads of glen roy with dr. buckland we were convinced that the glacial theory alone satisfied all the exigencies of the phenomenon." ( / . ibid., page .) mr. david milne (afterwards milne-home) ( / . "trans. r. soc. edinb." volume xvi., page , .) in upheld the view that the ledges represent the shore-lines of lakes which were imprisoned in the valleys by dams of detrital material left in the glens during a submergence of , feet, at the close of the glacial period. chambers, in his "ancient sea margins" ( ), expressed himself in agreement with mr. darwin's marine theory. the agassiz-buckland theory was supported by mr. jamieson ( / . "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xix., page , .), who brought forward additional evidence in favour of the glacial barriers. sir charles lyell at first ( / . "elements of geology," edition ii., .) accepted the explanation given by mr. darwin, but afterwards ( / . "antiquity of man," , pages et seq.) came to the conclusion that the terrace-lines represent the beaches of glacial lakes. in a paper published in ( / . "phil. trans. r. soc." , page .), prof. prestwich stated his acceptance of the lake theory of macculloch and sir t. lauder dick and of the glacial theory of agassiz, but differed from these authors in respect of the age of the lakes and the manner of formation of the roads. the view that has now gained general acceptance is that the parallel roads of glen roy represent the shores of a lake "that came into being with the growth of the glaciers and vanished as these melted away." ( / . sir archibald geikie, loc. cit., page .) mr. darwin became a convert to the glacier theory after the publication of mr. jamieson's paper. he speaks of his own paper as "a great failure"; he argued in favour of sea action as the cause of the terraces "because no other explanation was possible under our then state of knowledge." convinced of his mistake, darwin looked upon his error as "a good lesson never to trust in science to the principle of exclusion." ( / . "life and letters," i., page .) letter . to c. lyell. [march th, .] i have just received your note. it is the greatest pleasure to me to write or talk geology with you... i think i have thought over the whole case without prejudice, and remain firmly convinced they [the parallel roads] are marine beaches. my principal reason for doing so is what i have urged in my paper ( / . "observations on the parallel roads of glen roy, and of other parts of lochaber in scotland, with an attempt to prove that they are of marine origin." "phil. trans. r. soc." , page .), the buttress-like accumulations of stratified shingle on sides of valley, especially those just below the lowest shelf in spean valley. nd. i can hardly conceive the extension of the glaciers in front of the valley of kilfinnin, where i found a new road--where the sides of great glen are not very lofty. rd. the flat watersheds which i describe in places where there are no roads, as well as those connected with "roads." these remain unexplained. i might continue to add many other such reasons, all of which, however, i daresay would appear trifling to any one who had not visited the district. with respect to equable elevation, it cannot be a valid objection to any one who thinks of scandinavia or the pampas. with respect to the glacier theory, the greatest objection appears to me the following, though possibly not a sound one. the water has beyond doubt remained very long at the levels of each shelf--this is unequivocally shown by the depth of the notch or beach formed in many places in the hard mica-slate, and the large accumulations or buttresses of well-rounded pebbles at certain spots on the level of old beaches. (the time must have been immense, if formed by lakes without tides.) during the existence of the lakes their drainage must have been at the head of the valleys, and has given the flat appearance of the watersheds. all this is very clear for four of the shelves (viz., upper and lower in glen roy, the -foot one in glen spean, and the one in kilfinnin), and explains the coincidence of "roads" with the watersheds more simply than my view, and as simply as the common lake theory. but how was the glen roy lake drained when the water stood at level of the middle "road"? it must (for there is no other exit whatever) have been drained over the glacier. now this shelf is full as narrow in a vertical line and as deeply worn horizontally into the mountain side and with a large accumulation of shingle (i can give cases) as the other shelves. we must, therefore, on the glacier theory, suppose that the surface of the ice remained at exactly the same level, not being worn down by the running water, or the glacier moved by its own movement during the very long period absolutely necessary for a quiet lake to form such a beach as this shelf presents in its whole course. i do not know whether i have explained myself clearly. i should like to know what you think of this difficulty. i shall much like to talk over the jura case with you. i am tired, so goodbye. letter . to l. horner. down [ ]. ( / . it was agreed at the british association meeting held at southampton in "that application be made to her majesty's government to direct that during the progress of the ordnance trigonometrical surveys in the north of scotland, the so-called parallel roads of glen roy and the adjoining country be accurately surveyed, with the view of determining whether they are truly parallel and horizontal, the intervening distances, and their elevations above the present sea-level" ("british association report," , page xix). the survey was undertaken by the government ordnance survey office under col. sir henry james, who published the results in ("notes on the parallel roads of glen roy"); the map on which the details are given is sheet (one-inch scale).) in following your suggestion in drawing out something about glen roy for the geological committee, i have been completely puzzled how to do it. i have written down what i should say if i had to meet the head of the survey and wished to persuade him to undertake the task; but as i have written it, it is too long, ill expressed, seems as if it came from nobody and was going to nobody, and therefore i send it to you in despair, and beg you to turn the subject in your mind. i feel a conviction if it goes through the geological part of ordnance survey it will be swamped, and as it is a case for mere accurate measurements it might, i think without offence, go to the head of the real surveyors. if agassiz or buckland are on the committee they will sneer at the whole thing and declare the beaches are those of a glacier-lake, than which i am sure i could convince you that there never was a more futile theory. i look forward to southampton ( / . the british association meeting ( ).) with much interest, and hope to hear to-morrow that the lodgings are secured to us. you cannot think how thoroughly i enjoyed our geological talks, and the pleasure of seeing mrs. horner and yourself here. ( / . this letter is published in the privately printed "memoir of leonard horner," ii., page .) [here follows darwin's memorandum.] the parallel roads of glen roy, in scotland, have been the object of repeated examination, but they have never hitherto been levelled with sufficient accuracy. sir t. lauder dick ( / . "on the parallel roads of lochaber" (with map and plates), by sir thomas lauder dick, "trans. r. soc. edinb." volume ix., page , .) procured the assistance of an engineer for this purpose, but owing to the want of a true ground-plan it was impossible to ascertain their exact curvature, which, as far as could be estimated, appeared equal to that of the surface of the sea. considering how very rarely the sea has left narrow and well-defined marks of its action at any considerable height on the land, and more especially considering the remarkable observations by m. bravais ( / . "on the lines of ancient level of the sea in finmark," by m. a. bravais, translated from "voyages de la commission scientifique du nord, etc."; "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume i., page , .) on the ancient sea-beaches of scandinavia, showing the they are not strictly parallel to each other, and that the movement has been greater nearer the mountains than on the coast, it appears highly desirable that the roads of glen roy should be examined with the utmost care during the execution of the ordnance survey of scotland. the best instruments and the most accurate measurements being necessary for this end almost precludes the hope of its being ever undertaken by private individuals; but by the means at the disposal of the ordnance, measurements would be easily made even more accurate than those of m. bravais. it would be desirable to take two lines of the greatest possible length in the district, and at nearly right angles to each other, and to level from the beach at one extremity to that at the other, so that it might be ascertained whether the curvature does exactly correspond with that of the globe, or, if not, what is the direction of the line of greatest elevation. much attention would be requisite in fixing on either the upper or lower edge of the ancient beaches as the standard of measurement, and in rendering this line conspicuous. the heights of the three roads, one above the other and above the level of the sea, ought to be accurately ascertained. mr. darwin observed one short beach-line north of glen roy, and he has indicated, on the authority of sir david brewster, others in the valley of the spey. if these could be accurately connected, by careful measurements of their absolute heights or by levelling, with those of glen roy, it would make a most valuable addition to our knowledge on this subject. although the observations here specified would probably be laborious, yet, considering how rarely such evidence is afforded in any quarter of the world, it cannot be doubted that one of the most important problems in geology--namely, the exact manner in which the crust of the earth rises in mass--would be much elucidated, and a great service done to geological science. letter . r. chambers to d. milne-home. st. andrews, september th, . i have had a letter to-day from mr. charles darwin, beseeching me to obtain for him a copy of your paper on glen roy. ( / . no doubt mr. milne's paper "on the parallel roads of lochaber," "trans. r. soc. edinb." volume xvi., page , . [read march st and april th, .]) i am sure you will have pleasure in sending him one; his address is "down, farnborough, kent." i have again read over your paper carefully, and feel assured that the careful collection and statement of facts which are found in it must redound to your credit with all candid persons. the suspicions, however, which i obtained some time ago as to land-straits and heights of country being connected with sea-margins and their ordinary memorials still possesses me, and i am looking forward to some means of further testing the glen roy mystery. if my suspicion turn out true, i shall at once be regretful on your account, and shall feel it as a great check and admonition to myself not to be too confident about anything in science till it has been proved over and over again. the ground hereabouts is now getting clear of the crops; perhaps when i am in town a few days hence we may be able to make some appointment for an examination of the beaches of the district, my list of which has been greatly enlarged during the last two months. letter . to r. chambers. september th, . i hope you will read the first part of my paper before you go [to glen roy], and attend to the manner in which the lines end in glen collarig. i wish mr. milne had read it more carefully. he misunderstands me in several respects, but [i] suppose it is my own fault, for my paper is most tediously written. mr. milne fights me very pleasantly, and i plead guilty to his rebuke about "demonstration." ( / . see letter , note.) i do not know what you think; but mr. milne will think me as obstinate as a pig when i say that i think any barriers of detritus at the mouth of glen roy, collarig and glaster more utterly impossible than words can express. i abide by all that i have written on that head. conceive such a mass of detritus having been removed, without great projections being left on each side, in the very close proximity to every little delta preserved on the lines of the shelves, even on the shelf , which now crosses with uniform breadth the spot where the barrier stood, with the shelves dying gradually out, etc. to my mind it is monstrous. oddly enough, mr. milne's description of the mouth of loch treig (i do not believe that valley has been well examined in its upper end) leaves hardly a doubt that a glacier descended from it, and, if the roads were formed by a lake of any kind, i believe it must have been an ice-lake. i have given in detail to lyell my several reasons for not thinking ice-lakes probable ( / . mr. darwin gives some arguments against the glacier theory in the letter ( ) to sir charles lyell; but the letter alluded to is no doubt the one written to lyell on "wednesday, th" (letter ), in which the reasons are fully stated.); but to my mind they are incomparably more probable than detritus of rock-barriers. have you ever attended to glacier action? after having seen n. wales, i can no more doubt the former existence of gigantic glaciers than i can the sun in the heaven. i could distinguish in n. wales to a certain extent icebergs from glacier action (lyell has shown that icebergs at the present day score rocks), and i suspect that in lochaber the two actions are united, and that the scored rock on the watersheds, when tideways, were rubbed and bumped by half-stranded icebergs. you will, no doubt, attend to glen glaster. mr. milne, i think, does not mention whether shelf enters it, which i should like to know, and especially he does not state whether rocks worn on their upper faces are found on the whole [feet] vertical course of this glen down to near l. loggan, or whether only in the upper part; nor does he state whether these rocks are scored, or polished, or moutonnees, or whether there are any "perched" boulders there or elsewhere. i suspect it would be difficult to distinguish between a river-bed and tidal channel. mr. milne's description of the pass of mukkul, expanding to a width of several hundred yards feet deep in the shoalest part, and with a worn islet in the middle, sounds to me much more like a tidal channel than a river-bed. there must have been, on the latter view, plenty of fresh water in those days. with respect to the coincidence of the shelves with the now watersheds, mr. milne only gives half of my explanation. please read page of my paper. ( / . "observations on the parallel roads of glen roy, and of other parts of lochaber in scotland, with an attempt to prove that they are of marine origin." "phil. trans. r. soc." , page . [read february th, .]) i allude only to the head of glen roy and kilfinnin as silted up. i did not know mukkul pass; and glen roy was so much covered up that i did not search it well, as i was not able to walk very well. it has been an old conjectural belief of mine that a rising surface becomes stationary, not suddenly, but by the movement becoming very slow. now, this would greatly aid the tidal currents cutting down the passes between the mountains just before, and to the level of, the stationary periods. the currents in the fiords in t. del fuego in a narrow crooked part are often most violent; in other parts they seem to silt up. shall you do any levelling? i believe all the levelling has been [done] in glen roy, nearly parallel to the great glen of scotland. for inequalities of elevation, the valley of the spean, at right angles to the apparent axes of elevation, would be the one to examine. if you go to the head of glen roy, attend to the apparent shelf above the highest one in glen roy, lying on the south side of loch spey, and therefore beyond the watershed of glen roy. it would be a crucial case. i was too unwell on that day to examine it carefully, and i had no levelling instruments. do these fragments coincide in level with glen gluoy shelf? macculloch talks of one in glen turret above the shelf. i could not see it. these would be important discoveries. but i will write no more, and pray your forgiveness for this long, ill-written outpouring. i am very glad you keep to your subject of the terraces. i have lately observed that you have one great authority (c. prevost), [not] that authority signifies a [farthing?] on your side respecting your heretical and damnable doctrine of the ocean falling. you see i am orthodox to the burning pitch. letter . to d. milne-home. down, [september] th, [ ]. i am much obliged by your note. i returned from london on saturday, and i found then your memoir ( / . "on the parallel roads of lochaber, with remarks on the change of relative levels of sea and land in scotland, and on the detrital deposits in that country," "trans. r. soc. edinb." volume xvi., page , . [read march st and april th, .]), which i had not then received, owing to the porter having been out when i last sent to the geological society. i have read your paper with the greatest interest, and have been much struck with the novelty and importance of many of your facts. i beg to thank you for the courteous manner in which you combat me, and i plead quite guilty to your rebuke about demonstration. ( / . mr. milne quotes a passage from mr. darwin's paper ("phil. trans. r. soc." , page ), in which the latter speaks of the marine origin of the parallel roads of lochaber as appearing to him as having been demonstrated. mr. milne adds: "i regret that mr. darwin should have expressed himself in these very decided and confident terms, especially as his survey was incomplete; for i venture to think that it can be satisfactorily established that the parallel roads of lochaber were formed by fresh-water lakes" (milne, loc. cit., page ).) you have misunderstood my paper on a few points, but i do not doubt that is owing to its being badly and tediously written. you will, i fear, think me very obstinate when i say that i am not in the least convinced about the barriers ( / . mr. milne believed that the lower parts of the valleys were filled with detritus, which constituted barriers and thus dammed up the waters into lakes.): they remain to me as improbable as ever. but the oddest result of your paper on me (and i assure you, as far as i know myself, it is not perversity) is that i am very much staggered in favour of the ice-lake theory of agassiz and buckland ( / . agassiz and buckland believed that the lakes which formed the "roads" were confined by glaciers or moraines. see "the glacial theory and its recent progress," by louis agassiz, "edinb. new phil. journ." volume xxxiii., page , (with map).): until i read your important discovery of the outlet in glen glaster i never thought this theory at all tenable. ( / . mr. milne discovered that the middle shelf of glen roy, which mr. darwin stated was "not on a level with any watershed" (darwin, loc. cit., page ), exactly coincided with a watershed at the head of glen glaster (milne, loc. cit., page ).) now it appears to me that a very good case can be made in its favour. i am not, however, as yet a believer in the ice-lake theory, but i tremble for the result. i have had a good deal of talk with mr. lyell on the subject, and from his advice i am going to send a letter to the "scotsman," in which i give briefly my present impression (though there is not space to argue with you on such points as i think i could argue), and indicate what points strike me as requiring further investigation with respect, chiefly, to the ice-lake theory, so that you will not care about it... p.s.--some facts mentioned in my "geology of s. america," page ( / . the creeks which penetrate the western shores of tierra del fuego are described as "almost invariably much shallower close to the open sea at their mouths than inland...this shoalness of the sea-channels near their entrances probably results from the quantity of sediment formed by the wear and tear of the outer rocks exposed to the full force of the open sea. i have no doubt that many lakes--for instance, in scotland--which are very deep within, and are separated from the sea apparently only by a tract of detritus, were originally sea-channels, with banks of this nature near their mouths, which have since been upheaved" ("geol. obs. s. america," page , footnote.), with regard to the shoaling of the deep fiords of t. del fuego near their mouths, and which i have remarked would tend, with a little elevation, to convert such fiords into lakes with a great mound-like barrier of detritus at their mouths, might, possibly, have been of use to you with regard to the lakes of glen roy. letter . to c. lyell. down, wednesday, th. many thanks for your paper. ( / . "on the ancient glaciers of forfarshire." "proc. geol. soc." volume iii., page , .) i do admire your zeal on a subject on which you are not immediately at work. i will give my opinion as briefly as i can, and i have endeavoured my best to be honest. poor mrs. lyell will have, i foresee, a long letter to read aloud, but i will try to write better than usual. imprimis, it is provoking that mr. milne ( / . "on the parallel roads of lochaber, etc." "trans. r. soc. edinb." volume xvi., page , . [read march st and april th, .]) has read my paper ( / . "observations on the parallel roads of glen roy, etc." "phil. trans. r. soc." , page . [read february th, .].) with little attention, for he makes me say several things which i do not believe--as, that the water sunk suddenly! (page ), that the valley of glen roy, page , and spean was filled up with detritus to level of the lower shelf, against which there is, i conceive, good evidence, etc., but i suppose it is the consequence of my paper being most tediously written. he gives me a just snub for talking of demonstration, and he fights me in a very pleasant manner. now for business. i utterly disbelieve in the barriers ( / . see note, letter .) for his lakes, and think he has left that point exactly where it was in the time of macculloch ( / . "on the parallel roads of glen roy." "geol. trans." volume iv., page , (with several maps and sections).) and dick. ( / . "on the parallel roads of lochaber." "trans. r. soc. edinb." volume ix., page , .) indeed, in showing that there is a passage at glen glaster at the level of the intermediate shelf, he makes the difficulty to my mind greater. ( / . see letter , note.) when i think of the gradual manner in which the two upper terraces die out at glen collarig and at the mouth of glen roy, the smooth rounded form of the hills there, and the lower shelf retaining its usual width where the immense barrier stood, i can deliberately repeat "that more convincing proofs of the non-existence of the imaginary loch roy could scarcely have been invented with full play given to the imagination," etc.: but i do not adhere to this remark with such strength when applied to the glacier-lake theory. oddly, i was never at all staggered by this theory until now, having read mr. milne's argument against it. i now can hardly doubt that a great glacier did emerge from loch treig, and this by the ice itself (not moraine) might have blocked up the three outlets from glen roy. i do not, however, yet believe in the glacier theory, for reasons which i will presently give. there are three chief hostile considerations in mr. milne's paper. first, the glen [shelf?], not coinciding in height with the upper one [outlet?], from observations giving feet, feet, feet, feet: if the latter are correct the terrace must be quite independent, and the case is hostile; but mr. milne shows that there is one in glen roy feet below the upper one, and a second one again (which i observed) beneath this, and then we come to the proper second shelf. hence there is no great improbability in an independent shelf having been found in glen gluoy. this leads me to mr. milne's second class of facts (obvious to every one), namely the non-extension of the three shelves beyond glen roy; but i abide by what i have written on that point, and repeat that if in glen roy, where circumstances have been so favourable for the preservation or formation of the terraces, a terrace could be formed quite plain for three-quarters of a mile with hardly a trace elsewhere, we cannot argue, from the non-existence of shelves, that water did not stand at the same levels in other valleys. feeling absolutely convinced that there was no barrier of detritus at the mouth of glen roy, and pretty well convinced that there was none of ice, the manner in which the terraces die out when entering glen spean, which must have been a tideway, shows on what small circumstances the formation of these shelves depended. with respect to the non-existence of shelves in other parts of scotland, mr. milne shows that many others do exist, and their heights above the sea have not yet been carefully measured, nor have even those of glen roy, which i suspect are all feet too high. moreover, according to bravais ( / . "on the lines of ancient level of the sea in finmark." by a. bravais, member of the scientific commission of the north. "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume i., page , (a translation).), we must not feel sure that either the absolute height or the intermediate heights between the terraces would be at all the same at distant points. in levelling the terraces in lochaber, all, i believe, have been taken in glen roy, nearly n. and s. there should be levels taken at right angles to this line and to the great glen of scotland or chief line of elevation. thirdly, the nature of the outlets from the supposed lakes. this appears to me the best and newest part of the paper. if sir james clark would like to attend to any particular points, direct his attention to this: especially to follow glen glaster from glen roy to l. laggan. mr. milne describes this as an old and great river-course with a fall of feet. he states that the rocks are smooth on upper face and rough on lower, but he does not mention whether this character prevails throughout the whole vertical feet--a most important consideration; nor does he state whether these rocks are polished or scratched, as might have happened even to a considerable depth beneath the water (mem. great icebergs in narrow fiords of t. del fuego ( / . in the "voyage of the 'beagle'" a description is given of the falling of great masses of ice from the icy cliffs of the glaciers with a crash that "reverberates like the broadside of a man-of-war, through the lonely channels" which intersect the coast-line of tierra del fuego. loc. cit., page .)) by the action of icebergs, for that icebergs transported boulders on to terraces, i have no doubt. mr. milne's description of the outlets of his lake sound to me more like tidal channels, nor does he give any arguments how such are to be distinguished from old river-courses. i cannot believe in the body of fresh water which must, on the lake theory, have flowed out of them. at the pass of mukkul he states that the outlet is feet wide and the rocky bottom feet below the level of the shelf, and that the gorge expands to the eastwards into a broad channel of several hundred yards in width, divided in the middle by what has formerly been a rocky islet, against which the waters of this large river had chafed in issuing from the pass. we know the size of the river at the present day which would flow out through this pass, and it seems to me (and in the other given cases) to be as inadequate; the whole seems to me far easier explained by a tideway than by a formerly more humid climate. with respect to the very remarkable coincidence between the shelves and the outlets (rendered more remarkable by mr. milne's discovery of the outlet to the intermediate shelf at glen glaster ( / . see letter , note.)), mr. milne gives only half of my explanation; he alludes to (and disputes) the smoothing and silting-up action, which i still believe in. i state: if we consider what must take place during the gradual rise of a group of islands, we shall have the currents endeavouring to cut down and deepen some shallow parts in the channels as they are successively brought near the surface, but tending from the opposition of tides to choke up others with littoral deposits. during a long interval of rest, from the length of time allowed to the above processes, the tendency would often prove effective, both in forming, by accumulation of matter, isthmuses, and in keeping open channels. hence such isthmuses and channels just kept open would oftener be formed at the level which the waters held at the interval of rest, than at any other (page ). i look at the pass of mukkul ( feet deep, milne) as a channel just kept open, and the head of glen roy (where there is a great bay silted up) and of kilfinnin (at both which places there are level-topped mounds of detritus above the level of the terraces) as instances of channels filled up at the stationary levels. i have long thought it a probable conjecture that when a rising surface becomes stationary it becomes so, not at once, but by the movements first becoming very slow; this would greatly favour the cutting down many gaps in the mountains to the level of the stationary periods. glacier theory. if a glacialist admitted that the sea, before the formation of the terraces, covered the country (which would account for land-straits above level of terraces), and that the land gradually emerged, and if he supposed his lakes were banked by ice alone, he would make out, in my opinion, the best case against the marine origin of the terraces. from the scattered boulders and till, you and i must look at it as certain that the sea did cover the whole country, and i abide quite by my arguments from the buttresses, etc., that water of some kind receded slowly from the valleys of lochaber (i presume mr. milne admits this). now, i do not believe in the ice-lake theory, from the following weak but accumulating reasons: because, st, the receding water must have been that of a lake in glen spean, and of the sea in the other valleys of scotland, where i saw similar buttresses at many levels; nd, because the outlets of the supposed lakes as already stated seem, from mr. milne's statements, too much worn and too large; rd, when the lake stood at the three-quarters of a mile shelf the water from it must have flowed over ice itself for a very long time, and kept at the same exact level: certainly this shelf required a long time for its formation; th, i cannot believe a glacier would have blocked up the short, very wide valley of kilfinnin, the great glen of scotland also being very low there; th, the country at some places where mr. milne has described terraces is not mountainous, and the number of ice-lakes appears to me very improbable; th, i do not believe any lake could scoop the rocks so much as they are at the entrance to loch treig or cut them off at the head of upper glen roy; th, the very gradual dying away of the terraces at the mouth of glen roy does not look like a barrier of any kind; th, i should have expected great terminal moraines across the mouth of glen roy, glen collarig, and glaster, at least at the bottom of the valleys. such, i feel pretty sure, do not exist. i fear i must have wearied you with the length of this letter, which i have not had time to arrange properly. i could argue at great length against mr. milne's theory of barriers of detritus, though i could help him in one way--viz., by the soundings which occur at the entrances of the deepest fiords in t. del fuego. i do not think he gives the smallest satisfaction with respect to the successive and comparatively sudden breakage of his many lakes. well, i enjoyed my trip to glen roy very much, but it was time thrown away. i heartily wish you would go there; it should be some one who knows glacier and iceberg action, and sea action well. i wish the queen would command you. i had intended being in london to-morrow, but one of my principal plagues will, i believe, stop me; if i do i will assuredly call on you. i have not yet read mr. milne on elevation ( / . "on a remarkable oscillation of the sea, observed at various places on the coasts of great britain in the first week of july, ." "trans. r. soc. edinb." volume xv., page , .), so will keep his paper for a day or two. p.s.--as you cannot want this letter, i wish you would return it to me, as it will serve as a memorandum for me. possibly i shall write to mr. chambers, though i do not know whether he will care about what i think on the subject. this letter is too long and ill-written for sir j. clark. letter . to lady lyell. [october th, .] i enclose a letter from chambers, which has pleased me very much (which please return), but i cannot feel quite so sure as he does. if the lochaber and tweed roads really turn out exactly on a level, the sea theory is proved. what a magnificent proof of equality of elevation, which does not surprise me much; but i fear i see cause of doubt, for as far as i remember there are numerous terraces, near galashiels, with small intervals of height, so that the coincidence of height might be cooked. chambers does not seem aware of one very striking coincidence, viz., that i made by careful measurement my kilfinnin terrace feet above sea, and now glen gluoy is feet, according to the recent more careful measurements. even agassiz ( / . "on the glacial theory," by louis agassiz, "edinb. new phil. journ." volume xxxiii., page , . the parallel terraces are dealt with by agassiz, pages et seq.) would be puzzled to block up glen gluoy and kilfinnin by the same glacier, and then, moreover, the lake would have two outlets. with respect to the middle terrace of glen roy--seen by chambers in the spean (figured by agassiz, and seen by myself but not noticed, as i thought it might have been a sheep track)--it might yet have been formed on the ice-lake theory by two independent glaciers going across the spean, but it is very improbable that two such immense ones should not have been united into one. chambers, unfortunately, does not seem to have visited the head of the spey, and i have written to propose joining funds and sending some young surveyor there. if my letter is published in the "scotsman," how buckland ( / . professor buckland may be described as joint author, with agassiz, of the glacier theory.), as i have foreseen, will crow over me: he will tell me he always knew that i was wrong, but now i shall have rather ridiculously to say, "but i am all right again." i have been a good deal interested in miller ( / . hugh miller's "first impressions of england and its people," london, .), but i find it not quick reading, and emma has hardly begun it yet. i rather wish the scenic descriptions were shorter, and that there was a little less geologic eloquence. lyell's picture now hangs over my chimneypiece, and uncommonly glad i am to have it, and thank you for it. letter . to c. lyell. down, september th [ ]. i think the enclosed is worth your reading. i am smashed to atoms about glen roy. my paper was one long gigantic blunder from beginning to end. eheu! eheu! ( / . see "life and letters," i., pages , , also pages , .) letter . to c. lyell. down, september nd [ ]. i have read mr. jamieson's last letter, like the former ones, with very great interest. ( / . mr. jamieson visited glen roy in august and in july . his paper "on the parallel roads of glen roy, and their place in the history of the glacial period," was published in the "quarterly journal of the geological society" in , volume xix., page . his latest contribution to this subject was published in the "quarterly journal," volume xlviii., page , .) what a problem you have in hand! it beats manufacturing new species all to bits. it would be a great personal consolation to me if mr. j. can admit the sloping spean terrace to be marine, and would remove one of my greatest difficulties--viz. the vast contrast of welsh and lochaber valleys. but then, as far as i dare trust my observations, the sloping terraces ran far up the roy valley, so as to reach not far below the lower shelf. if the sloping fringes are marine and the shelves lacustrine, all i can say is that nature has laid a shameful trap to catch an unwary wretch. i suppose that i have underrated the power of lakes in producing pebbles; this, i think, ought to be well looked to. i was much struck in wales on carefully comparing the glacial scratches under a lake (formed by a moraine and which must have existed since the glacial epoch) and above water, and i could perceive no difference. i believe i saw many such beds of good pebbles on level of lower shelf, which at the time i could not believe could have been found on shores of lake. the land-straits and little cliffs above them, to which i referred, were quite above the highest shelf; they may be of much more ancient date than the shelves. some terrace-like fringes at head of the spey strike me as very suspicious. mr. j. refers to absence of pebbles at considerable heights: he must remember that every storm, every deer, every hare which runs tends to roll pebbles down hill, and not one ever goes up again. i may mention that i particularly alluded to this on s. ventanao ( / . "geolog. obs. on south america," page . "on the flanks of the mountains, at a height of or feet above the plain, there were a few small patches of conglomerate and breccia, firmly cemented by ferruginous matter to the abrupt and battered face of the quartz--traces being thus exhibited of ancient sea-action.") in n. patagonia, a great isolated rugged quartz-mountain , feet high, and i could find not one pebble except on one very small spot, where a ferruginous spring had firmly cemented a few to the face of mountain. if the lochaber lakes had been formed by an ice-period posterior to the (marine?) sloping terraces in the spean, would not mr. j. have noticed gigantic moraines across the valley opposite the opening of lake treig? i go so far as not to like making the elevation of the land in wales and scotland considerably different with respect to the ice-period, and still more do i dislike it with respect to e. and w. scotland. but i may be prejudiced by having been so long accustomed to the plains of patagonia. but the equality of level (barring denudation) of even the secondary formations in britain, after so many ups and downs, always impresses my mind, that, except when the crust-cracks and mountains are formed, movements of elevation and subsidence are generally very equable. but it is folly my scribbling thus. you have a grand problem, and heaven help you and mr. jamieson through it. it is out of my line nowadays, and above and beyond me. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, september th [ ]. it is, i believe, true that glen roy shelves (i remember your indian letter) were formed by glacial lakes. i persuaded mr. jamieson, an excellent observer, to go and observe them; and this is his result. there are some great difficulties to be explained, but i presume this will ultimately be proved the truth... letter . to c. lyell. down, october st [ ]. thank you for the most interesting correspondence. what a wonderful case that of bedford. ( / . no doubt this refers to the discovery of flint implements in the valley of the ouse, near bedford, in (see lyell's "antiquity of man," pages et seq., .) i thought the problem sufficiently perplexing before, but now it beats anything i ever heard of. far from being able to give any hypothesis for any part, i cannot get the facts into my mind. what a capital observer and reasoner mr. jamieson is. the only way that i can reconcile my memory of lochaber with the state of the welsh valleys is by imagining a great barrier, formed by a terminal moraine, at the mouth of the spean, which the river had to cut slowly through, as it drained the lowest lake after the glacial period. this would, i can suppose, account for the sloping terraces along the spean. i further presume that sharp transverse moraines would not be formed under the waters of the lake, where the glacier came out of l. treig and abutted against the opposite side of the valley. a nice mess i made of glen roy! i have no spare copy of my welsh paper ( / . "notes on the effects produced by the ancient glaciers of caernarvonshire, and on the boulders transported by floating ice," "edinb. new phil. journ." volume xxxiii., page , .); it would do you no good to lend it. i suppose i thought that there must have been floating ice on moel tryfan. i think it cannot be disputed that the last event in n. wales was land-glaciers. i could not decide where the action of land-glaciers ceased and marine glacial action commenced at the mouths of the valleys. what a wonderful case the bedford case. does not the n. american view of warmer or more equable period, after great glacial period, become much more probable in europe? but i am very poorly to-day, and very stupid, and hate everybody and everything. one lives only to make blunders. i am going to write a little book for murray on orchids ( / . "on the various contrivances by which orchids are fertilised by insects," london, .), and to-day i hate them worse than everything. so farewell, in a sweet frame of mind. letter . to c. lyell. down, october th [ ]. i return jamieson's capital letter. i have no comments, except to say that he has removed all my difficulties, and that now and for evermore i give up and abominate glen roy and all its belongings. it certainly is a splendid case, and wonderful monument of the old ice-period. you ought to give a woodcut. how many have blundered over those horrid shelves! that was a capital paper by jamieson in the last "geol. journal." ( / . "on the drift and rolled gravel of the north of scotland," "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xvi., page , .) i was never before fully convinced of the land glacialisation of scotland before, though chambers tried hard to convince me. i must say i differ rather about ramsay's paper; perhaps he pushes it too far. ( / . "on the glacial origin of certain lakes, etc." "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xviii., page . see letter .) it struck me the more from remembering some years ago marvelling what could be the meaning of such a multitude of lakes in friesland and other northern districts. ramsay wrote to me, and i suggested that he ought to compare mountainous tropical regions with northern regions. i could not remember many lakes in any mountainous tropical country. when tyndall talks of every valley in switzerland being formed by glaciers, he seems to forget there are valleys in the tropics; and it is monstrous, in my opinion, the accounting for the glacial period in the alps by greater height of mountains, and their lessened height, if i understand, by glacial erosion. "ne sutor ultra crepidam," i think, applies in this case to him. i am hard at work on "variation under domestication." ( / . published .) p.s.--i am rather overwhelmed with letters at present, and it has just occurred to me that perhaps you will forward my note to mr. jamieson; as it will show that i entirely yield. i do believe every word in my glen roy paper is false. letter . to c. lyell. down, october th [ ]. notwithstanding the orchids, i have been very glad to see jamieson's letter; no doubt, as he says, certainty will soon be reached. with respect to the minor points of glen roy, i cannot feel easy with a mere barrier of ice; there is so much sloping, stratified detritus in the valleys. i remember that you somewhere have stated that a running stream soon cuts deeply into a glacier. i have been hunting up all old references and pamphlets, etc., on shelves in scotland, and will send them off to mr. j., as they possibly may be of use to him if he continues the subject. the eildon hills ought to be specially examined. amongst ms. i came across a very old letter from me to you, in which i say: "if a glacialist admitted that the sea, before the formation of the shelves, covered the country (which would account for the land-straits above the level of the shelves), and if he admitted that the land gradually emerged, and if he supposed that his lakes were banked up by ice alone, he would make out, in my opinion, the best case against the marine origin of the shelves." ( / . see letter .) this seems very much what you and mr. j. have come to. the whole glacial theory is really a magnificent subject. letter . to c. lyell. down, april st [ ]. i am not quite sure that i understand your difficulty, so i must give what seems to me the explanation of the glacial lake theory at some little length. you know that there is a rocky outlet at the level of all the shelves. please look at my map. ( / . the map accompanying mr. darwin's paper in the "phil. trans. r. soc." .) i suppose whole valley of glen spean filled with ice; then water would escape from an outlet at loch spey, and the highest shelf would be first formed. secondly, ice began to retreat, and water will flow for short time over its surface; but as soon as it retreated from behind the hill marked craig dhu, where the outlet on level of second shelf was discovered by milne ( / . see note, letter .), the water would flow from it and the second shelf would be formed. this supposes that a vast barrier of ice still remains under ben nevis, along all the lower part of the spean. lastly, i suppose the ice disappeared everywhere along l. loggan, l. treig, and glen spean, except close under ben nevis, where it still formed a barrier, the water flowing out at level of lowest shelf by the pass of mukkul at head of l. loggan. this seems to me to account for everything. it presupposes that the shelves were formed towards the close of the glacial period. i come up to london to read on thursday a short paper at the linnean society. shall i call on friday morning at . and sit half an hour with you? pray have no scruple to send a line to queen anne street to say "no" if it will take anything out of you. if i do not hear, i will come. letter . to j. prestwich. down, january rd, . you are perfectly right. ( / . prof. prestwich's paper on glen roy was published in the "phil. trans. r. soc." for , page .) as soon as i read mr. jamieson's article on the parallel roads, i gave up the ghost with more sighs and groans than on almost any other occasion in my life. .ix.iv. coral reefs, fossil and recent, - . letter . to c. lyell. shrewsbury, tuesday, th [july, ]. your letter was forwarded me here. i was the more glad to receive it, as i never dreamed of your being able to find time to write, now that you must be so very busy; and i had nothing to tell you about myself, else i should have written. i am pleased to hear how extensive and successful a trip you appear to have made. you must have worked hard, and got your silurian subject well in your head, to have profited by so short an excursion. how i should have enjoyed to have followed you about the coral-limestone. i once was close to wenlock ( / . the wenlock limestone (silurian) contains an abundance of corals. "the rock seems indeed to have been formed in part by massive sheets and bunches of coral" (geikie, "text-book of geology," , page .), something such as you describe, and made a rough drawing, i remember, of the masses of coral. but the degree in which the whole mass was regularly stratified, and the quantity of mud, made me think that the reefs could never have been like those in the pacific, but that they most resembled those on the east coast of africa, which seem (from charts and descriptions) to confine extensive flats and mangrove swamps with mud, or like some imperfect ones about the west india islands, within the reefs of which there are large swamps. all the reefs i have myself seen could be associated only with nearly pure calcareous rocks. i have received a description of a reef lying some way off the coast near belize (terra firma), where a thick bed of mud seems to have invaded and covered a coral reef, leaving but very few islets yet free from it. but i can give you no precise information without my notes (even if then) on these heads... bermuda differs much from any other island i am acquainted with. at first sight of a chart it resembles an atoll; but it differs from this structure essentially in the gently shelving bottom of the sea all round to some distance; in the absence of the defined circular reefs, and, as a consequence, of the defined central pool or lagoon; and lastly, in the height of the land. bermuda seems to be an irregular, circular, flat bank, encrusted with knolls and reefs of coral, with land formed on one side. this land seems once to have been more extensive, as on some parts of the bank farthest removed from the island there are little pinnacles of rock of the same nature as that of the high larger islands. i cannot pretend to form any precise notion how the foundation of so anomalous an island has been produced, but its whole history must be very different from that of the atolls of the indian and pacific oceans--though, as i have said, at first glance of the charts there is a considerable resemblance. letter . to c. lyell. [ .] considering the probability of subsidence in the middle of the great oceans being very slow; considering in how many spaces, both large ones and small ones (within areas favourable to the growth of corals), reefs are absent, which shows that their presence is determined by peculiar conditions; considering the possible chance of subsidence being more rapid than the upward growth of the reefs; considering that reefs not very rarely perish (as i cannot doubt) on part, or round the whole, of some encircled islands and atolls: considering these things, i admit as very improbable that the polypifers should continue living on and above the same reef during a subsidence of very many thousand feet; and therefore that they should form masses of enormous thickness, say at most above , feet. ( / . "...as we know that some inorganic causes are highly injurious to the growth of coral, it cannot be expected that during the round of change to which earth, air, and water are exposed, the reef-building polypifers should keep alive for perpetuity in any one place; and still less can this be expected during the progressive subsidences...to which by our theory these reefs and islands have been subjected, and are liable" ("the structure and distribution of coral reefs," page : london, ).) this admission, i believe, is in no way fatal to the theory, though it is so to certain few passages in my book. in the areas where the large groups of atolls stand, and where likewise a few scattered atolls stand between such groups, i always imagined that there must have been great tracts of land, and that on such large tracts there must have been mountains of immense altitudes. but not, it appears to me, that one is only justified in supposing that groups of islands stood there. there are (as i believe) many considerable islands and groups of islands (galapagos islands, great britain, falkland islands, marianas, and, i believe, viti groups), and likewise the majority of single scattered islands, all of which a subsidence between , and , feet would entirely submerge or would leave only one or two summits above water, and hence they would produce either groups of nothing but atolls, or of atolls with one or two encircled islands. i am far from wishing to say that the islands of the great oceans have not subsided, or may not continue to subside, any number of feet, but if the average duration (from all causes of destruction) of reefs on the same spot is limited, then after this limit has elapsed the reefs would perish, and if the subsidence continued they would be carried down; and if the group consisted only of atolls, only open ocean would be left; if it consisted partly or wholly of encircled islands, these would be left naked and reefless, but should the area again become favourable for growth of reefs, new barrier-reefs might be formed round them. as an illustration of this notion of a certain average duration of reefs on the same spot, compared with the average rate of subsidence, we may take the case of tahiti, an island of , feet high. now here the present barrier-reefs would never be continued upwards into an atoll, although, should the subsidence continue at a period long after the death of the present reefs, new ones might be formed high up round its sides and ultimately over it. the case resolves itself into: what is the ordinary height of groups of islands, of the size of existing groups of atolls (excepting as many of the highest islands as there now ordinarily occur encircling barrier-reefs in the existing groups of atolls)? and likewise what is the height of the single scattered islands standing between such groups of islands? subsidence sufficient to bury all these islands (with the exception of as many of the highest as there are encircled islands in the present groups of atolls) my theory absolutely requires, but no more. to say what amount of subsidence would be required for this end, one ought to know the height of all existing islands, both single ones and those in groups, on the face of the globe--and, indeed, of half a dozen worlds like ours. the reefs may be of much greater [thickness] than that just sufficient on an average to bury groups of islands; and the probability of the thickness being greater seems to resolve itself into the average rate of subsidence allowing upward growth, and average duration of reefs on the same spot. who will say what this rate and what this duration is? but till both are known, we cannot, i think, tell whether we ought to look for upraised coral formations (putting on one side denudation) above the unknown limit, say between , and , feet, necessary to submerge groups of common islands. how wretchedly involved do these speculations become. letter . to e. von mojsisovics. down, january th, . i thank you cordially for the continuation of your fine work on the tyrolese dolomites ( / . "dolomitriffe sudtirols und venetiens": wien, .), with its striking engravings and the maps, which are quite wonderful from the amount of labour which they exhibit, and its extreme difficulty. i well remember more than forty years ago examining a section of silurian limestone containing many corals, and thinking to myself that it would be for ever impossible to discover whether the ancient corals had formed atolls or barrier reefs; so you may well believe that your work will interest me greatly as soon as i can find time to read it. i am much obliged for your photograph, and from its appearance rejoice to see that much more good work may be expected from you. i enclose my own photograph, in case you should like to possess a copy. letter . to a. agassiz. ( / . part of this letter is published in "life and letters," iii., pages , .) down, may th, . it was very good of you to write to me from tortugas, as i always feel much interested in hearing what you are about, and in reading your many discoveries. it is a surprising fact that the peninsula of florida should have remained at the same level for the immense period requisite for the accumulation of so vast a pile of debris. ( / . alexander agassiz published a paper on "the tortugas and florida reefs" in the "mem. amer. acad. arts and sci." xi., page , . see also his "three cruises of the 'blake,'" volume i., .) you will have seen mr. murray's views on the formation of atolls and barrier reefs. ( / . "on the structure and origin of coral reefs and islands," "proc. r. soc. edin." volume x., page , . prof. bonney has given a summary of sir john murray's views in appendix ii. of the third edition of darwin's "coral reefs," .) before publishing my book, i thought long over the same view, but only as far as ordinary marine organisms are concerned, for at that time little was known of the multitude of minute oceanic organisms. i rejected this view, as from the few dredgings made in the 'beagle' in the s. temperate regions, i concluded that shells, the smaller corals, etc., etc., decayed and were dissolved when not protected by the deposition of sediment; and sediment could not accumulate in the open ocean. certainly shells, etc., were in several cases completely rotten, and crumbled into mud between my fingers; but you will know well whether this is in any degree common. i have expressly said that a bank at the proper depth would give rise to an atoll, which could not be distinguished from one formed during subsidence. i can, however, hardly believe, in the former presence of as many banks (there having been no subsidence) as there are atolls in the great oceans, within a reasonable depth, on which minute oceanic organisms could have accumulated to the thickness of many hundred feet. i think that it has been shown that the oscillations from great waves extend down to a considerable depth, and if so the oscillating water would tend to lift up (according to an old doctrine propounded by playfair) minute particles lying at the bottom, and allow them to be slowly drifted away from the submarine bank by the slightest current. lastly, i cannot understand mr. murray, who admits that small calcareous organisms are dissolved by the carbonic acid in the water at great depths, and that coral reefs, etc., etc., are likewise dissolved near the surface, but that this does not occur at intermediate depths, where he believes that the minute oceanic calcareous organisms accumulate until the bank reaches within the reef-building depth. but i suppose that i must have misunderstood him. pray forgive me for troubling you at such a length, but it has occurred to me that you might be disposed to give, after your wide experience, your judgment. if i am wrong, the sooner i am knocked on the head and annihilated so much the better. it still seems to me a marvellous thing that there should not have been much and long-continued subsidence in the beds of the great oceans. i wish that some doubly rich millionaire would take it into his head to have borings made in some of the pacific and indian atolls, and bring home cores for slicing from a depth of or feet. ( / . in a committee of the british association was formed for the investigation of an atoll by means of boring. the royal society took up the scheme, and an expedition was sent to funafuti, with prof. sollas as leader. another expedition left sydney in under the direction of prof. edgeworth david, and a deeper boring was made. the reports will be published in the "philosophical transactions," and will contain prof. david's notes upon the boring and the island generally, dr. hinde's description of the microscopic structure of the cores and other examinations of them, carried on at the royal college of science, south kensington. the boring reached a depth of feet; the cores were found to consist entirely of reef-forming corals in situ and in fragments, with foraminifera and calcareous algae; at the bottom there were no traces of any other kind of rock. it seems, therefore, to us, that unless it can be proved that reef-building corals began their work at depths of at least fathoms--far below that hitherto assigned--the result gives the strongest support to darwin's theory of subsidence; the test which darwin wished to be applied has been fairly tried, and the verdict is entirely in his favour.) .ix.v. cleavage and foliation, - . letter . to d. sharpe. ( / . the following eight letters were written at a time when the subjects of cleavage and foliation were already occupying the minds of several geologists, including sharpe, sorby, rogers, haughton, phillips, and tyndall. the paper by sharpe referred to was published in ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume iii.), and his ideas were amplified in two later papers (ibid., volume v., , and "phil. trans." ). darwin's own views, based on his observations during the "beagle" expedition, had appeared in chapter xiii. of "south america" ( ) and in the "manual of scientific enquiry" ( ), but are perhaps nowhere so clearly expressed as in this correspondence. his most important contribution to the question was in establishing the fact that foliation is often a part of the same process as cleavage, and is in nowise necessarily connected with planes of stratification. herein he was opposed to lyell and the other geologists of the day, but time has made good his position. the postscript to letter is especially interesting. we are indebted to mr. harker, of st. john's college, for this note.) down, august rd [ ?]. i must just send one line to thank you for your note, and to say how heartily glad i am that you stick to the cleavage and foliation question. nothing will ever convince me that it is not a noble subject of investigation, which will lead some day to great views. i think it quite extraordinary how little the subject seems to interest british geologists. you will, i think live to see the importance of your paper recognised. ( / . probably the paper "on slaty cleavage." "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume iii., page , .) i had always thought that studer was one of the few geologists who had taken a correct and enlarged view on the subject. letter . to d. sharpe. down [november ]. i have been much interested with your letter, and am delighted that you have thought my few remarks worth attention. my observations on foliation are more deserving confidence than those on cleavage; for during my first year in clay-slate countries, i was quite unaware of there being any marked difference between cleavage and stratification; i well remember my astonishment at coming to the conclusion that they were totally different actions, and my delight at subsequently reading sedgwick's views ( / . "remarks on the structure of large mineral masses, and especially on the chemical changes produced in the aggregation of stratified rocks during different periods after their deposition." "trans. geol. soc." volume iii., page , . in the section of this paper dealing with cleavage (page ) prof. sedgwick lays stress on the fact that "the cleavage is in no instance parallel to the true beds."); hence at that time i was only just getting out of a mist with respect to cleavage-laminae dipping inwards on mountain flanks. i have certainly often observed it--so often that i thought myself justified in propounding it as usual. i might perhaps have been in some degree prejudiced by von buch's remarks, for which in those days i had a somewhat greater deference than i now have. the mount at m. video (page of my book ( / . "geol. obs. s. america." page . the mount is described as consisting of hornblendic slate; "the laminae of the slate on the north and south side near the summit dip inwards.")) is certainly an instance of the cleavage-laminae of a hornblendic schist dipping inwards on both sides, for i examined this hill carefully with compass in hand and notebook. i entirely admit, however, that a conclusion drawn from striking a rough balance in one's mind is worth nothing compared with the evidence drawn from one continuous line of section. i read studer's paper carefully, and drew the conclusion stated from it; but i may very likely be in an error. i only state that i have frequently seen cleavage-laminae dipping inwards on mountain sides; that i cannot give up, but i daresay a general extension of the rule (as might justly be inferred from the manner of my statement) would be quite erroneous. von buch's statement is in his "travels in norway" ( / . "travels through norway and lapland during the years - ": london, .); i have unfortunately lost the reference, and it is a high crime, i confess, even to refer to an opinion without a precise reference. if you never read these travels they might be worth skimming, chiefly as an amusement; and if you like and will send me a line by the general post of monday or tuesday, i will either send it up with hopkins on wednesday, or bring it myself to the geological society. i am very glad you are going to read hopkins ( / . "researches in physical geology," by w. hopkins. "phil. trans. r. soc." , page ; ibid, , page , etc.); his views appear to me eminently worth well comprehending; false views and language appear to me to be almost universally held by geologists on the formation of fissures, dikes and mountain chains. if you would have the patience, i should be glad if you would read in my "volcanic islands" from page , or even pages to --viz., on the lamination of volcanic rocks; i may add that i sent the series of specimens there described to professor forbes of edinburgh, and he thought they bore out my views. there is a short extract from prof. rogers ( / . "on cleavage of slate-strata." "edinburgh new phil. journ." volume xli., page , .) in the last "edinburgh new phil. journal," well worth your attention, on the cleavage of the appalachian chain, and which seems far more uniform in the direction of dip than in any case which i have met with; the rogers doctrine of the ridge being thrown up by great waves i believe is monstrous; but the manner in which the ridges have been thrown over (as if by a lateral force acting on one side on a higher level than on the other) is very curious, and he now states that the cleavage is parallel to the axis-planes of these thrown-over ridges. your case of the limestone beds to my mind is the greatest difficulty on any mechanical doctrine; though i did not expect ever to find actual displacement, as seems to be proved by your shell evidence. i am extremely glad you have taken up this most interesting subject in such a philosophical spirit; i have no doubt you will do much in it; sedgwick let a fine opportunity slip away. i hope you will get out another section like that in your letter; these are the real things wanted. letter . to d. sharpe. down, [january ]. i am very much obliged for the ms., which i return. i do not quite understand from your note whether you have struck out all on this point in your paper: i much hope not; if you have, allow me to urge on you to append a note, briefly stating the facts, and that you omitted them in your paper from the observations not being finished. i am strongly tempted to suspect that the cleavage planes will be proved by you to have slided a little over each other, and to have been planes of incipient tearing, to use forbes' expression in ice; it will in that case be beautifully analogical with my laminated lavas, and these in composition are intimately connected with the metamorphic schists. the beds without cleavage between those with cleavage do not weigh quite so heavily on me as on you. you remember, of course, sedgwick's facts of limestone, and mine of sandstone, breaking in the line of cleavage, transversely to the planes of deposition. if you look at cleavage as i do, as the result of chemical action or crystalline forces, super-induced in certain places by their mechanical state of tension, then it is not surprising that some rocks should yield more or less readily to the crystalline forces. i think i shall write to prof. forbes ( / . prof. d. forbes.) of edinburgh, with whom i corresponded on my laminated volcanic rocks, to call his early attention to your paper. letter . to d. sharpe. down, october th [ ]. i am very much obliged to you for telling me the results of your foliaceous tour, and i am glad you are drawing up an account for the royal society. ( / . "on the arrangement of the foliation and cleavage of the rocks of the north of scotland." "phil. trans. r. soc." , page , with plates xxiii. and xxiv.) i hope you will have a good illustration or map of the waving line of junction of the slate and schist with uniformly directed cleavage and foliation. it strikes me as crucial. i remember longing for an opportunity to observe this point. all that i say is that when slate and the metamorphic schists occur in the same neighbourhood, the cleavage and foliation are uniform: of this i have seen many cases, but i have never observed slate overlying mica-slate. i have, however, observed many cases of glossy clay-slate included within mica-schist and gneiss. all your other observations on the order, etc., seem very interesting. from conversations with lyell, etc., i recommend you to describe in a little detail the nature of the metamorphic schists; especially whether there are quasi-substrata of different varieties of mica-slate or gneiss, etc.; and whether you traced such quasi beds into the cleavage slate. i have not the least doubt of such facts occurring, from what i have seen (and described at m. video) of portions of fine chloritic schists being entangled in the midst of a gneiss district. have you had any opportunity of tracing a bed of marble? this, i think, from reasons given at page of my "s. america," would be very interesting. ( / . "i have never had an opportunity of tracing, for any distance, along the line both of strike and dip, the so-called beds in the metamorphic schists, but i strongly suspect that they would not be found to extend, with the same character, very far in the line either of their dip or strike. hence i am led to believe that most of the so-called beds are of the nature of complex folia, and have not been separately deposited. of course, this view cannot be extended to thick masses included in the metamorphic series, which are of totally different composition from the adjoining schists, and which are far-extended, as is sometimes the case with quartz and marble; these must generally be of the nature of true strata" ("geological observations," page ).) a suspicion has sometimes occurred to me (i remember more especially when tracing the clay-slate at the cape of good hope turning into true gneiss) that possibly all the metamorphic schists necessarily once existed as clay-slate, and that the foliation did not arise or take its direction in the metamorphic schists, but resulted simply from the pre-existing cleavage. the so-called beds in the metamorphic schists, so unlike common cleavage laminae, seems the best, or at least one argument against such a suspicion. yet i think it is a point deserving your notice. have you thought at all over rogers' law, as he reiterates it, of cleavage being parallel to his axes-planes of elevation? if you know beforehand, will you tell me when your paper is read, for the chance of my being able to attend? i very seldom leave home, as i find perfect quietude suits my health best. (plate: charles darwin, cir. . maull & fox, photo. walker & cockerell, ph. sc.) letter . to c. lyell. down, january th, . i received your letter yesterday, but was unable to answer it, as i had to go out at once on business of importance. i am very glad that you are reconsidering the subject of foliation; i have just read over what i have written on the subject, and admire it very much, and abide by it all. ( / . "geological observations on south america," chapter vi., .) you will not readily believe how closely i attended to the subject, and in how many and wide areas i verified my remarks. i see i have put pretty strongly the mechanical view of origin; but i might even then, but was afraid, have put my belief stronger. unfortunately i have not d. sharpe's paper here to look over, but i think his chief points [are] ( ) the foliation forming great symmetrical curves, and ( ) the proof from effects of form of shell ( / . this refers to the distortion of shells in cleaved rocks.) of the mechanical action in cleaved rocks. the great curvature would be, i think, a grand discovery of sharpe's, but i confess there is some want of minuteness in the statement of sharpe which makes me wish to see his facts confirmed. that the foliation and cleavage are parts of curves i am quite prepared, from what i have seen, to believe; but the simplicity and grandeur of sharpe's curves rather stagger me. i feel deeply convinced that when (and i and sharpe have seen several most striking and obvious examples) great neighbouring or alternating regions of true metamorphic schists and clay-slate have their foliations and cleavage parallel, there is no way of escaping the conclusion, that the layers of pure quartz, feldspar, mica, chlorite, etc., etc., are due not to original deposition, but to segregation; and this is i consider the point which i have established. this is very odd, but i suspect that great metamorphic areas are generally derived from the metamorphosis of clay-slate, and not from alternating layers of ordinary sedimentary matter. i think you have exactly put the chief difficulty in its strongest light--viz. what would be the result of pure or nearly pure layers of very different mineralogical composition being metamorphosed? i believe even such might be converted into an ordinary varying mass of metamorphic schists. i am certain of the correctness of my account of patches of chlorite schists enclosed in other schist, and of enormous quartzose veins of segregation being absolutely continuous and contemporaneous with the folia of quartz, and such, i think, might be the result of the folia crossing a true stratum of quartz. i think my description of the wonderful and beautiful laminated volcanic rocks at ascension would be worth your looking at. ( / . "geological observations on s. america," pages , ; also "geological observations on the volcanic islands," chapter iii. (ascension), .) letter . to c. lyell. down, january th [ ]. we were yesterday and the day before house-hunting, so i could not answer your letter. i hope we have succeeded in a house, after infinite trouble, but am not sure, in york place, baker street. i do not doubt that i either read or heard from sharpe about the grampians; otherwise from my own old suspicion i should not have inserted the passage in the manual. the laminated rocks at ascension are described at page . ( / . "volcanic islands," page . "singular laminated beds alternating with and passing into obsidian.") as far as my experience has gone, i should speak only of clay-slate being associated with mica-slate, for when near the metamorphic schists i have found stratification so gone that i should not dare to speak of them as overlying them. with respect to the difficulty of beds of quartz and marble, this has for years startled me, and i have longed (since i have felt its force) to have some opportunity of testing this point, for without you are sure that the beds of quartz dip, as well as strike, parallel to the foliation, the case is only just like true strata of sandstone included in clay-slate and striking parallel to the cleavage of the clay-slate, but of course with different dip (excepting in those rare cases when cleavage and stratification are parallel). having this difficulty before my eyes, i was much struck with macculloch's statement (page of my "s. america") about marble in the metamorphic series not forming true strata. (figure .) your expectation of the metamorphic schists sending veins into neighbouring rocks is quite new to me; but i much doubt whether you have any right to assume fluidity from almost any amount of molecular change. i have seen in fine volcanic sandstone clear evidence of all the calcareous matter travelling at least / feet in distance to concretions on either hand (page of "s. america") ( / . "some of these concretions (flattened spherical concretions composed of hard calcareous sandstone, containing a few shells, occurring in a bed of sandstone) were feet in diameter, and in a horizontal line feet apart, showing that the calcareous matter must have been drawn to the centres of attraction from a distance of four feet and a half on both sides" ("geological observations on s. america," page ).) i have not examined carefully, from not soon enough seeing all the difficulties; but i believe, from what i have seen, that the folia in the metamorphic schists (i do not here refer to the so-called beds) are not of great length, but thin out, and are succeeded by others; and the notion i have of the molecular movements is shown in the indistinct sketch herewith sent [figure ]. the quartz of the strata might here move into the position of the folia without much more movement of molecules than in the formation of concretions. i further suspect in such cases as this, when there is a great original abundance of quartz, that great branching contemporaneous veins of segregation (as sometimes called) of quartz would be formed. i can only thus understand the relation which exists between the distorted foliation (not appearing due to injection) and the presence of such great veins. i believe some gneiss, as the gneiss-granite of humboldt, has been as fluid as granite, but i do not believe that this is usually the case, from the frequent alternations of glossy clay and chlorite slates, which we cannot suppose to have been melted. i am far from wishing to doubt that true sedimentary strata have been converted into metamorphic schists: all i can say is, that in the three or four great regions, where i could ascertain the relations of the metamorphic schists to the neighbouring cleaved rocks, it was impossible (as it appeared to me) to admit that the foliation was due to aqueous deposition. now that you intend agitating the subject, it will soon be cleared up. letter . to c. lyell. , york place, baker street [ ]. i have received your letter from down, and i have been studying my s. american book. i ought to have stated [it] more clearly, but undoubtedly in w. tierra del fuego, where clay-slate passes by alternation into a grand district of mica-schist, and in the chonos islands and la plata, where glossy slates occur within the metamorphic schists, the foliation is parallel to the cleavage--i.e. parallel in strike and dip; but here comes, i am sorry and ashamed to say, a great hiatus in my reasoning. i have assumed that the cleavage in these neighbouring or intercalated beds was (as in more distant parts) distinct from stratification. if you choose to say that here the cleavage was or might be parallel to true bedding, i cannot gainsay it, but can only appeal to apparent similarity to the great areas of uniformity of strike and high angle--all certainly unlike, as far as my experience goes, to true stratification. i have long known how easily i overlook flaws in my own reasoning, and this is a flagrant case. i have been amused to find, for i had quite forgotten, how distinctly i give a suspicion (top of page ) to the idea, before sharpe, of cleavage (not foliation) being due to the laminae forming parts of great curves. ( / . "i suspect that the varying and opposite dips (of the cleavage-planes) may possibly be accounted for by the cleavage-laminae...being parts of large abrupt curves, with their summits cut off and worn down" ("geological observations on s. america," page ). i well remember the fine section at the end of a region where the cleavage (certainly cleavage) had been most uniform in strike and most variable in dip. i made with really great care (and in ms. in detail) observations on a case which i believe is new, and bears on your view of metamorphosis (page , at bottom). (ibid., page .) (figure .) in a clay-slate porphyry region, where certain thin sedimentary layers of tuff had by self-attraction shortened themselves into little curling pieces, and then again into crystals of feldspar of large size, and which consequently were all strictly parallel, the series was perfect and beautiful. apparently also the rounded grains of quartz had in other parts aggregated themselves into crystalline nodules of quartz. [figure .] i have not been able to get sorby yet, but shall not probably have anything to write on it. i am delighted you have taken up the subject, even if i am utterly floored. p.s.--i have a presentiment it will turn out that when clay-slate has been metamorphosed the foliation in the resultant schist has been due generally (if not, as i think, always) to the cleavage, and this to a certain degree will "save my bacon" (please look at my saving clause, page ) ( / . "as in some cases it appears that where a fissile rock has been exposed to partial metamorphic action (for instance, from the irruption of granite) the foliation has supervened on the already existing cleavage-planes; so, perhaps in some instances, the foliation of a rock may have been determined by the original planes of deposition or of oblique current laminae. i have, however, myself never seen such a case, and i must maintain that in most extensive metamorphic areas the foliation is the extreme result of that process, of which cleavage is the first effect" (ibid., page ).), but [with] other rocks than that, stratification has been the ruling agent, the strike, but not the dip, being in such cases parallel to any adjoining clay-slate. if this be so, pre-existing planes of division, we must suppose on my view of the cause, determining the lines of crystallisation and segregation, and not planes of division produced for the first time during the act of crystallisation, as in volcanic rocks. if this should ever be proved, i shall not look back with utter shame at my work. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, september th [ ]. i got your letter of the st this morning, and a real good man you have been to write. of all the things i ever heard, mrs. hooker's pedestrian feats beat them. my brother is quite right in his comparison of "as strong as a woman," as a type of strength. your letter, after what you have seen in the himalayas, etc., gives me a wonderful idea of the beauty of the alps. how i wish i was one-half or one-quarter as strong as mrs. hooker: but that is a vain hope. you must have had some very interesting work with glaciers, etc. when will the glacier structure and motion ever be settled! when reading tyndall's paper it seemed to me that movement in the particles must come into play in his own doctrine of pressure; for he expressly states that if there be pressure on all sides, there is no lamination. i suppose i cannot have understood him, for i should have inferred from this that there must have been movement parallel to planes of pressure. ( / . prof. tyndall had published papers "on glaciers," and "on some physical properties of ice" ("proc. r. inst." - ) before the date of this letter. in he wrote a paper entitled "observations on 'the theory of the origin of slaty cleavage,' by h.c. sorby." "phil. mag." xii., , page .) sorby read a paper to the brit. assoc., and he comes to the conclusion that gneiss, etc., may be metamorphosed cleavage or strata; and i think he admits much chemical segregation along the planes of division. ( / . "on the microscopical structure of mica-schist:" "brit. ass. rep." , page . see also letters - .) i quite subscribe to this view, and should have been sorry to have been so utterly wrong, as i should have been if foliation was identical with stratification. i have been nowhere and seen no one, and really have no news of any kind to tell you. i have been working away as usual, floating plants in salt water inter alia, and confound them, they all sink pretty soon, but at very different rates. working hard at pigeons, etc., etc. by the way, i have been astonished at the differences in the skeletons of domestic rabbits. i showed some of the points to waterhouse, and asked him whether he could pretend that they were not as great as between species, and he answered, "they are a great deal more." how very odd that no zoologist should ever have thought it worth while to look to the real structure of varieties... .ix.vi. age of the world, - . letter . to j. croll. down, september th, . i hope that you will allow me to thank you for sending me your papers in the "phil. magazine." ( / . croll published several papers in the "philosophical magazine" between and the date of this letter ( ).) i have never, i think, in my life been so deeply interested by any geological discussion. i now first begin to see what a million means, and i feel quite ashamed of myself at the silly way in which i have spoken of millions of years. i was formerly a great believer in the power of the sea in denudation, and this was perhaps natural, as most of my geological work was done near sea-coasts and on islands. but it is a consolation to me to reflect that as soon as i read mr. whitaker's paper ( / . "on subaerial denudation," and "on cliffs and escarpments of the chalk and lower tertiary beds," "geol. mag." volume iv., page , .) on the escarpments of england, and ramsay ( / . "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xviii., page , . "on the glacial origin of certain lakes in switzerland, the black forest, great britain, sweden, north america, and elsewhere.') and jukes' papers ( / . "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xviii., page , . "on the mode of formation of some river-valleys in the south of ireland."), i gave up in my own mind the case; but i never fully realised the truth until reading your papers just received. how often i have speculated in vain on the origin of the valleys in the chalk platform round this place, but now all is clear. i thank you cordially for having cleared so much mist from before my eyes. letter . to t. mellard reade. down, february th, . i am much obliged for your kind note, and the present of your essay. i have read it with great interest, and the results are certainly most surprising. ( / . presidential address delivered by t. mellard reade before the liverpool geological society ("proc. liverpool geol. soc." volume iii., pt. iii., page , ). see also "examination of a calculation of the age of the earth, based upon the hypothesis of the permanence of oceans and continents." "geol. mag." volume x., page , .) it appears to me almost monstrous that professor tait should say that the duration of the world has not exceeded ten million years. ( / . "lecture on some recent advances in physical science," by p.g. tait, london, .) the argument which seems the most weighty in favour of the belief that no great number of millions of years have elapsed since the world was inhabited by living creatures is the rate at which the temperature of the crust increases, and i wish that i could see this argument answered. letter . to j. croll. down, august th, . i am much obliged for your essay, which i have read with the greatest interest. with respect to the geological part, i have long wished to see the evidence collected on the time required for denudation, and you have done it admirably. ( / . in a paper "on the tidal retardation argument for the age of the earth" ("brit. assoc. report," , page ), croll reverts to the influence of subaerial denudation in altering the form of the earth as an objection to the argument from tidal retardation. he had previously dealt with this subject in "climate and time," chapter xx., london, .) i wish some one would in a like spirit compare the thickness of sedimentary rocks with the quickest estimated rate of deposition by a large river, and other such evidence. your main argument with respect to the sun seems to me very striking. my son george desires me to thank you for his copy, and to say how much he has been interested by it. .ix.vii. geological action of earthworms, - . "my whole soul is absorbed with worms just at present." (from a letter to sir w. thistleton-dyer, november th, .) letter . to t.h. farrer (lord farrer). ( / . the five following letters, written shortly before and after the publication of "the formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms," , deal with questions connected with mr. darwin's work on the habits and geological action of earthworms.) down, october th, . what a man you are to do thoroughly whatever you undertake to do! the supply of specimens has been magnificent, and i have worked at them for a day and a half. i find a very few well-rounded grains of brick in the castings from over the gravel walk, and plenty over the hole in the field, and over the roman floor. ( / . see "the formation of vegetable mould," , pages et seq. the roman remains formed part of a villa discovered at abinger, surrey. excavations were carried out, under lord farrer's direction, in a field adjoining the ground in which the roman villa was first found, and extended observations were made by lord farrer, which led mr. darwin to conclude that a large part of the fine vegetable mould covering the floor of the villa had been brought up from below by worms.) you have done me the greatest possible service by making me more cautious than i should otherwise have been--viz., by sending me the rubbish from the road itself; in this rubbish i find very many particles, rounded (i suppose) by having been crushed, angles knocked off, and somewhat rolled about. but not a few of the particles may have passed through the bodies of worms during the years since the road was laid down. i still think that the fragments are ground in the gizzards of worms, which always contain bits of stone; but i must try and get more evidence. i have to-day started a pot with worms in very fine soil, with sharp fragments of hard tiles laid on the surface, and hope to see in the course of time whether any of those become rounded. i do not think that more specimens from abinger would aid me... letter . to g.j. romanes. down, march th. i was quite mistaken about the "gardeners' chronicle;" in my index there are only the few enclosed and quite insignificant references having any relation to the minds of animals. when i returned to my work, i found that i had nearly completed my statement of facts about worms plugging up their burrows with leaves ( / . chapter ii., of "the formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms," , contains a discussion on the intelligence shown by worms in the manner of plugging up their burrows with leaves (pages et seq.).), etc., etc., so i waited until i had naturally to draw up a few concluding remarks. i hope that it will not bore you to read the few accompanying pages, and in the middle you will find a few sentences with a sort of definition of, or rather discussion on, intelligence. i am altogether dissatisfied with it. i tried to observe what passed in my own mind when i did the work of a worm. if i come across a professed metaphysician, i will ask him to give me a more technical definition, with a few big words about the abstract, the concrete, the absolute, and the infinite; but seriously, i should be grateful for any suggestions, for it will hardly do to assume that every fool knows what "intelligent" means. ( / . "mr. romanes, who has specially studied the minds of animals, believes that we can safely infer intelligence only when we see an individual profiting by its own experience...now, if worms try to drag objects into their burrows, first in one way and then in another, until they at last succeed, they profit, at least in each particular instance, by experience" ("the formation of vegetable mould," , page ).) you will understand that the ms. is only the first rough copy, and will need much correction. please return it, for i have no other copy--only a few memoranda. when i think how it has bothered me to know what i mean by "intelligent," i am sorry for you in your great work on the minds of animals. i daresay that i shall have to alter wholly the ms. letter . to francis galton. down, march th [ ]. very many thanks for your note. i have been observing the [worm] tracks on my walks for several months, and they occur (or can be seen) only after heavy rain. as i know that worms which are going to die (generally from the parasitic larva of a fly) always come out of their burrows, i have looked out during these months, and have usually found in the morning only from one to three or four along the whole length of my walks. on the other hand, i remember having in former years seen scores or hundreds of dead worms after heavy rain. ( / . "after heavy rain succeeding dry weather, an astonishing number of dead worms may sometimes be seen lying on the ground. mr. galton informs me that on one occasion (march, ), the dead worms averaged one for every two-and-a-half paces in length on a walk in hyde park, four paces in width" (loc. cit., page ).) i cannot possibly believe that worms are drowned in the course of even three or four days' immersion; and i am inclined to conclude that the death of sickly (probably with parasites) worms is thus hastened. i will add a few words to what i have said about these tracks. occasionally worms suffer from epidemics (of what nature i know not) and die by the million on the surface of the ground. your ruby paper answers capitally, but i suspect that it is only for dimming the light, and i know not how to illuminate worms by the same intensity of light, and yet of a colour which permits the actinic rays to pass. i have tried drawing triangles of damp paper through a small cylindrical hole, as you suggested, and i can discover no source of error. ( / . triangles of paper were used in experiments to test the intelligence of worms (loc. cit., page ).) nevertheless, i am becoming more doubtful about the intelligence of worms. the worst job is that they will do their work in a slovenly manner when kept in pots ( / . loc. cit., page .), and i am beyond measure perplexed to judge how far such observations are trustworthy. letter . to e. ray lankester. ( / . mr. lankester had written october th, , to thank mr. darwin for the present of the earthworm book. he asks whether darwin knows of "any experiments on the influence of sea-water on earthworms. i have assumed that it is fatal to them. but there is a littoral species (pontodrilus of perrier) found at marseilles." lankester adds, "it is a great pleasure and source of pride to me to see my drawing of the earthworm's alimentary canal figuring in your pages." down, october th [ ]. i have been much pleased and interested by your note. i never actually tried sea-water, but i was very fond of angling when a boy, and as i could not bear to see the worms wriggling on the hook, i dipped them always first in salt water, and this killed them very quickly. i remember, though not very distinctly, seeing several earthworms dead on the beach close to where a little brook entered, and i assumed that they had been brought down by the brook, killed by the sea-water, and cast on shore. with your skill and great knowledge, i have no doubt that you will make out much new about the anatomy of worms, whenever you take up the subject again. letter . to j.h. gilbert. down, january, th, . i have been much interested by your letter, for which i thank you heartily. there was not the least cause for you to apologise for not having written sooner, for i attributed it to the right cause, i.e. your hands being full of work. your statement about the quantity of nitrogen in the collected castings is most curious, and much exceeds what i should have expected. in lately reading one of your and mr. lawes' great papers in the "philosophical transactions" ( / . the first report on "agricultural, botanical, and chemical results of experiments on the mixed herbage of permanent grassland, conducted for many years in succession on the same land," was published in the "philosophical transactions of the royal society" in , the second paper appeared in the "phil. trans." for , and the third in the "phil. trans." of , volume , page .) (the value and importance of which cannot, in my opinion, be exaggerated) i was struck with the similarity of your soil with that near here; and anything observed here would apply to your land. unfortunately i have never made deep sections in this neighbourhood, so as to see how deep the worms burrow, except in one spot, and here there had been left on the surface of the chalk a little very fine ferruginous sand, probably of tertiary age; into this the worms had burrowed to a depth of and inches. i have never seen here red castings on the surface, but it seems possible (from what i have observed with reddish sand) that much of the red colour of the underlying clay would be discharged in passing through the intestinal canal. worms usually work near the surface, but i have noticed that at certain seasons pale-coloured earth is brought up from beneath the outlying blackish mould on my lawn; but from what depth i cannot say. that some must be brought up from a depth of four or five or six feet is certain, as the worms retire to this depth during very dry and very cold weather. as worms devour greedily raw flesh and dead worms, they could devour dead larvae, eggs, etc., etc., in the soil, and thus they might locally add to the amount of nitrogen in the soil, though not of course if the whole country is considered. i saw in your paper something about the difference in the amount of nitrogen at different depths in the superficial mould, and here worms may have played a part. i wish that the problem had been before me when observing, as possibly i might have thrown some little light on it, which would have pleased me greatly. .ix.viii. miscellaneous, - . ( / . the following four letters refer to questions connected with the origin of coal.) letter . to j.d. hooker. down, may [ ]. i am delighted that you are in the field, geologising or palaeontologising. i beg you to read the two rogers' account of the coal-fields of n. america; in my opinion they are eminently instructive and suggestive. ( / . "on the physical structure of the appalachian chain," by w.b. and h.d. rogers. boston, . see also "geology of pennsylvania," by h.d. rogers. volumes. london and philadelphia, .) i can lend you their resume of their own labours, and, indeed, i do not know that their work is yet published in full. l. horner gives a capital balance of difficulties on the coal-theory in his last anniversary address, which, if you have not read, will, i think, interest you. ( / . "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume ii., , page .) in a paper just read an author ( / . "on the remarkable fossil trees lately discovered near st. helen's." by e.w. binney. "phil. mag." volume xxiv., page , . on page the author writes: "the stigmaria or sigillaria, whichever name is to be retained... was a tree that undoubtedly grew in water.") throws out the idea that the sigillaria was an aquatic plant ( / . see "life and letters," i., pages et seq.)--i suppose a cycad-conifer with the habits of the mangrove. from simple geological reasoning i have for some time been led to suspect that the great (and great and difficult it is) problem of the coal would be solved on the theory of the upright plants having been aquatic. but even on such, i presume improbable notion, there are, as it strikes me, immense difficulties, and none greater than the width of the coal-fields. on what kind of coast or land could the plants have lived? it is a grand problem, and i trust you will grapple with it. i shall like much to have some discussion with you. when will you come here again? i am very sorry to infer from your letter that your sister has been ill. letter . to j.d. hooker. [june nd, .] i received your letter the other day, full of curious facts, almost all new to me, on the coal-question. ( / . sir joseph hooker deals with the formation of coal in his classical paper "on the vegetation of the carboniferous period, as compared with that of the present day." "mem. geol. surv. great britain," volume ii., pt. ii., .) i will bring your note to oxford ( / . the british association met at oxford in .), and then we will talk it over. i feel pretty sure that some of your purely geological difficulties are easily solvable, and i can, i think, throw a very little light on the shell difficulty. pray put no stress in your mind about the alternate, neatly divided, strata of sandstone and shale, etc. i feel the same sort of interest in the coal question as a man does watching two good players at play, he knowing little or nothing of the game. i confess your last letter (and this you will think very strange) has almost raised binney's notion (an old, growing hobby-horse of mine) to the dignity of an hypothesis ( / . binney suggested that the coal-plants grew in salt water. (see letters , .) recent investigations have shown that several of the plants of the coal period possessed certain anatomical peculiarities, which indicate xerophytic characteristics, and lend support to the view that some at least of the plants grew in seashore swamps.), though very far yet below the promotion of being properly called a theory. i will bring the remainder of my species-sketch to oxford to go over your remarks. i have lately been getting a good many rich facts. i saw the poor old dean of manchester ( / . dean herbert.) on friday, and he received me very kindly. he looked dreadfully ill, and about an hour afterwards died! i am most sincerely sorry for it. letter . to j.d. hooker. [may th, .] i cannot resist thanking you for your most kind note. pray do not think that i was annoyed by your letter. i perceived that you had been thinking with animation, and accordingly expressed yourself strongly, and so i understood it. forefend me from a man who weighs every expression with scotch prudence. i heartily wish you all success in your noble problem, and i shall be very curious to have some talk with you and hear your ultimatum. ( / . the above paragraph was published in "life and letters," i., page .) i do really think, after binney's pamphlet ( / . "on the origin of coal," "mem. lit. phil. soc." manchester volume viii., page , .), it will be worth your while to array your facts and ideas against an aquatic origin of the coal, though i do not know whether you object to freshwater. i am sure i have read somewhere of the cones of lepidodendron being found round the stump of a tree, or am i confusing something else? how interesting all rooted--better, it seems from what you say, than upright--specimens become. i wish ehrenberg would undertake a microscopical hunt for infusoria in the underclay and shales; it might reveal something. would a comparison of the ashes of terrestrial peat and coal give any clue? ( / . in an article by m. f. rigaud on "la formation de la houille," published in the "revue scientifique," volume ii., page , , the author lays stress on the absence of certain elements in the ash of coals, which ought to be present, on the assumption that the carbon has been derived from plant tissues. if coal consists of altered vegetable debris, we ought to find a certain amount of alkalies and phosphoric acid in its ash. had such substances ever been present, it is difficult to understand how they could all have been removed by the solvent action of water. (rigaud's views are given at greater length in an article on the "structure and formation of coal," "science progress," volume ii., pages and , .)) peat ashes are good manure, and coal ashes, except mechanically, i believe are of little use. does this indicate that the soluble salts have been washed out? i.e., if they are not present. i go up to geological council to-day--so farewell. ( / . in a letter to sir joseph hooker, october th, , mr. darwin, in referring to the origin of coal, wrote: "...i sometimes think it could not have been formed at all. old sir anthony carlisle once said to me gravely that he supposed megatherium and such cattle were just sent down from heaven to see whether the earth would support them, and i suppose the coal was rained down to puzzle mortals. you must work the coal well in india.") letter . to j.d. hooker. down, may nd, . lyell tells me that binney has published in proceedings of manchester society a paper trying to show that coal plants must have grown in very marine marshes. ( / . "on the origin of coal," by e.w. binney, "mem. lit. phil. soc. manchester," volume viii., , page . binney examines the evidence on which dry land has been inferred to exist during the formation of the coal measures, and comes to the conclusion that the land was covered by water, confirming brongniart's opinion that sigillaria was an aquatic plant. he believes the sigillaria "grew in water, on the deposits where it is now discovered, and that it is the plant which in a great measure contributed to the formation of our valuable beds of coal." (loc. cit., page .)) do you remember how savage you were long years ago at my broaching such a conjecture? letter . to l. horner. down [ ?]. i am truly pleased at your approval of my book ( / . "geological observations on south america," london, .): it was very kind of you taking the trouble to tell me so. i long hesitated whether i would publish it or not, and now that i have done so at a good cost of trouble, it is indeed highly satisfactory to think that my labour has not been quite thrown away. i entirely acquiesce in your criticism on my calling the pampean formation "recent" ( / . "we must, therefore, conclude that the pampean formation belongs, in the ordinary geological sense of the word, to the recent period." ("geol. obs." page ).); pleistocene would have been far better. i object, however, altogether on principle (whether i have always followed my principle is another question) to designate any epoch after man. it breaks through all principles of classification to take one mammifer as an epoch. and this is presupposing we know something of the introduction of man: how few years ago all beds earlier than the pleistocene were characterised as being before the monkey epoch. it appears to me that it may often be convenient to speak of an historical or human deposit in the same way as we speak of an elephant bed, but that to apply it to an epoch is unsound. i have expressed myself very ill, and i am not very sure that my notions are very clear on this subject, except that i know that i have often been made wroth (even by lyell) at the confidence with which people speak of the introduction of man, as if they had seen him walk on the stage, and as if, in a geological chronological sense, it was more important than the entry of any other mammifer. you ask me to do a most puzzling thing, to point out what is newest in my volume, and i found myself incapable of doing almost the same for lyell. my mind goes from point to point without deciding: what has interested oneself or given most trouble is, perhaps quite falsely, thought newest. the elevation of the land is perhaps more carefully treated than any other subject, but it cannot, of course, be called new. i have made out a sort of index, which will not take you a couple of minutes to skim over, and then you will perhaps judge what seems newest. the summary at the end of the book would also serve same purpose. i do not know where e. de b. [elie de beaumont] has lately put forth on the recent elevation of the cordillera. he "rapported" favourably on d'orbigny, who in late times fires off a most royal salute; every volcano bursting forth in the andes at the same time with their elevation, the debacle thus caused depositing all the pampean mud and all the patagonian shingle! is not this making geology nice and simple for beginners? we have been very sorry to hear of bunbury's severe illness; i believe the measles are often dangerous to grown-up people. i am very glad that your last account was so much better. i am astonished that you should have had the courage to go right through my book. it is quite obvious that most geologists find it far easier to write than to read a book. chapter i. and ii.--elevation of the land: equability on e. coast as shown by terraces, page ; length on w. coast, page ; height at valparaiso, page ; number of periods of rest at coquimbo, page ; elevation within human period near lima greater than elsewhere observed; the discussion (page ) on non-horizontality of terraces perhaps one of newest features--on formation of terraces rather newish. chapter iii., page .--argument of horizontal elevation of cordillera i believe new. i think the connection (page ) between earthquake [shocks] and insensible rising important. chapter iv.--the strangeness of the (eocene) mammifers, co-existing with recent shells. chapter v.--curious pumiceous infusorial mudstone (page ) of patagonia; climate of old tertiary period, page . the subject which has been most fertile in my mind is the discussion from page to end of chapter on the accumulation of fossiliferous deposits. ( / . the last section of chapter v. treats of "the absence of extensive modern conchiferous deposits in south america; and on the contemporaneousness of the older tertiary deposits at distant points being due to contemporaneous movements of subsidence." darwin expresses the view that "the earth's surface oscillates up and down; and...during the elevatory movements there is but a small chance of durable fossiliferous deposits accumulating" (loc. cit., page ).) chapter vi.--perhaps some facts on metamorphism, but chiefly on the layers in mica-slate, etc., being analogous to cleavage. chapter vii.--the grand up-and-down movements (and vertical silicified trees) in the cordillera: see summary, page and page . origin of the claystone porphyry formation, page . chapter viii., page .--mixture of cretaceous and oolitic forms (page )--great subsidence. i think (page ) there is some novelty in discussion on axes of eruption and injection. (page ) continuous volcanic action in the cordillera. i think the concluding summary (page ) would show what are the most salient features in the book. letter . to c. lyell. shrewsbury [august th, ]. i was delighted to receive your letter, which was forwarded here to me. i am very glad to hear about the new edition of the "principles," ( / . the seventh edition of the "principles of geology" was published in .), and i most heartily hope you may live to bring out half a dozen more editions. there would not have been such books as d'orbigny's s. american geology ( / . "voyage dans l'amerique meridionale execute pendant les annees - ." volumes, paris, - .) published, if there had been seven editions of the "principles" distributed in france. i am rather sorry about the small type; but the first edition, my old true love, which i never deserted for the later editions, was also in small type. i much fear i shall not be able to give any assistance to book iii. ( / . this refers to book iii. of the "principles"--"changes of the organic world now in progress.") i think i formerly gave my few criticisms, but i will read it over again very soon (though i am striving to finish my s. american geology ( / . "geological observations on south america" was published in .)) and see whether i can give you any references. i have been thinking over the subject, and can remember no one book of consequence, as all my materials (which are in an absolute chaos on separate bits of paper) have been picked out of books not directly treating of the subjects you have discussed, and which i hope some day to attempt; thus hooker's "antarctic flora" i have found eminently useful ( / . "botany of the antarctic voyage of h.m.s. 'erebus' and 'terror' in the years - ." i., "flora antarctica." volumes, london, - .), and yet i declare i do not know what precise facts i could refer you to. bronn's "geschichte" ( / . "naturgeschichte der drei reiche." h.e. bronn, stuttgart, - .) which you once borrowed) is the only systematic book i have met with on such subjects; and there are no general views in such parts as i have read, but an immense accumulation of references, very useful to follow up, but not credible in themselves: thus he gives hybrids from ducks and fowls just as readily as between fowls and pheasants! you can have it again if you like. i have no doubt forbes' essay, which is, i suppose, now fairly out, will be very good under geographical head. ( / . "on the connection between the distribution of the existing fauna and flora of the british isles, and the geological changes which have affected their area, especially during the epoch of the northern drift," by e. forbes. "memoirs of geological survey," volume i., page , .) kolreuter's german book is excellent on hybrids, but it will cost you a good deal of time to work out any conclusion from his numerous details. ( / . joseph gottlieb kolreuter's "vorlaufige nachricht von eininigen das geschlecht der pflanzen betreffenden versuchen und beobachtungen." leipzig, .) with respect to variation i have found nothing--but minute details scattered over scores of volumes. but i will look over book iii. again. what a quantity of work you have in hand! i almost wish you could have finished america, and thus have allowed yourself rather more time for the old "principles"; and i am quite surprised that you could possibly have worked your own new matter in within six weeks. your intention of being in southampton will much strengthen mine, and i shall be very glad to hear some of your american geology news. letter . to l. horner. down, sunday [january ]. your most agreeable praise of my book is enough to turn my head; i am really surprised at it, but shall swallow it with very much gusto... ( / . "geological observations in s. america," london, .) e. de beaumont measured the inclination with a sextant and artificial horizon, just as you take the height of the sun for latitude. with respect to my journal, i think the sketches in the second edition ( / . "journal of researches into the natural history and geology of the countries visited during the voyage of h.m.s. 'beagle.'" edition ii. london, .) are pretty accurate; but in the first they are not so, for i foolishly trusted to my memory, and was much annoyed to find how hasty and inaccurate many of my remarks were, when i went over my huge pile of descriptions of each locality. if ever you meet anyone circumstanced as i was, advise him not, on any account, to give any sketches until his materials are fully worked out. what labour you must be undergoing now; i have wondered at your patience in having written to me two such long notes. how glad mrs. horner will be when your address is completed. ( / . anniversary address of the president ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume iii., page xxii, ).) i must say that i am much pleased that you will notice my volume in your address, for former presidents took no notice of my two former volumes. i am exceedingly glad that bunbury is going on well. letter . to c. lyell. down, july rd [ ]. i don't know when i have read a book so interesting ( / . "a second visit to the united states of north america." volumes, london, .); some of your stories are very rich. you ought to be made minister of public education--not but what i should think even that beneath the author of the old "principles." your book must, i should think, do a great deal of good and set people thinking. i quite agree with the "athenaeum" that you have shown how a man of science can bring his powers of observation to social subjects. ( / . "sir charles lyell, besides the feelings of a gentleman, seems to carry with him the best habits of scientific observation into other strata than those of clay, into other 'formations' than those of rock or river-margin." "the athenaeum," june rd, , page .) you have made h. wedgwood, heart and soul, an american; he wishes the states would annex us, and was all day marvelling how anyone who could pay his passage money was so foolish as to remain here. letter . to c. lyell. down, [december, ]. ( / . in this letter darwin criticises dana's statements in his volume on "geology," forming volume x. of the "wilkes exploring expedition," .) ...dana is dreadfully hypothetical in many parts, and often as "d--d cocked sure" as macaulay. he writes however so lucidly that he is very persuasive. i am more struck with his remarks on denudation than you seem to be. i came to exactly the same conclusion in tahiti, that the wonderful valleys there (on the opposite extreme of the scale of wonder [to] the valleys of new south wales) were formed exclusively by fresh water. he underrates the power of sea, no doubt, but read his remarks on valleys in the sandwich group. i came to the conclusion in s. america (page ) that the main effect of fresh water is to deepen valleys, and sea to widen them; i now rather doubt whether in a valley or fiord...the sea would deepen the rock at its head during the elevation of the land. i should like to tour on the w. coast of scotland, and attend to this. i forget how far generally the shores of fiords (not straits) are cliff-formed. it is a most interesting subject. i return once again to coral. i find he does not differ so much in detail with me regarding areas of subsidence; his map is coloured on some quite unintelligible principle, and he deduces subsidence from the vaguest grounds, such as that the n. marianne islands must have subsided because they are small, though long in volcanic action: and that the marquesas subsided because they are penetrated by deep bays, etc., etc. i utterly disbelieve his statements that most of the atolls have been lately raised a foot or two. he does not condescend to notice my explanation for such appearances. he misrepresents me also when he states that i deduce, without restriction, elevation from all fringing reefs, and even from islands without any reefs! if his facts are true, it is very curious that the atolls decrease in size in approaching the vast open ocean s. of the sandwich islands. dana puts me in a passion several times by disputing my conclusions without condescending to allude to my reasons; thus, regarding s. lorenzo elevation, he is pleased to speak of my "characteristic accuracy" ( / . dana's "geology" (wilkes expedition), page .), and then gives difficulties (as if his own) when they are stated by me, and i believe explained by me--whereas he only alludes to a few of the facts. so in australian valleys, he does not allude to my several reasons. but i am forgetting myself and running on about what can only interest myself. he strikes me as a very clever fellow; i wish he was not quite so grand a generaliser. i see little of interest except on volcanic action and denudation, and here and there scattered remarks; some of the later chapters are very bald. letter . to j.d. dana. down, december th, . i have not for some years been so much pleased as i have just been by reading your most able discussion on coral reefs. i thank you most sincerely for the very honourable mention you make of me. ( / . "united states exploring expedition during the years - under the command of charles wilkes, u.s.n." volume x., "geology," by j.d. dana, .) this day i heard that the atlas has arrived, and this completes your munificent present to me. i have not yet come to the chapter on subsidence, and in that i fancy we shall disagree, but in the descriptive part our agreement has been eminently satisfactory to me, and far more than i ever ventured to anticipate. i consider that now the subsidence theory is established. i have read about half through the descriptive part of the "volcanic geology" ( / . part of dana's "geology" is devoted to volcanic action.) (last night i ascended the peaks of tahiti with you, and what i saw in my short excursion was most vividly brought before me by your descriptions), and have been most deeply interested by it. your observations on the sandwich craters strike me as the most important and original of any that i have read for a long time. now that i have read yours, i believe i saw at the galapagos, at a distance, instances of those most curious fissures of eruption. there are many points of resemblance between the galapagos and sandwich islands (even to the shape of the mound-like hills)--viz., in the liquidity of the lavas, absence of scoriae, and tuff-craters. many of your scattered remarks on denudation have particularly interested me; but i see that you attribute less to sea and more to running water than i have been accustomed to do. after your remarks in your last very kind letter i could not help skipping on to the australian valleys ( / . ibid., pages et seq.: "the formation of valleys, etc., in new south wales."), on which your remarks strike me as exceedingly ingenious and novel, but they have not converted me. i cannot conceive how the great lateral bays could have been scooped out, and their sides rendered precipitous by running water. i shall go on and read every word of your excellent volume. if you look over my "geological instructions" you will be amused to see that i urge attention to several points which you have elaborately discussed. ( / . "a manual of scientific enquiry, prepared for the use of her majesty's navy, and adapted for travellers in general." edited by sir john f.w. herschel, bart. london, (section vi., "geology." by charles darwin).) i lately read a paper of yours on chambers' book, and was interested by it. i really believe the facts of the order described by chambers, in s. america, which i have described in my geolog. volume. this leads me to ask you (as i cannot doubt that you will have much geological weight in n. america) to look to a discussion at page in that volume on the importance of subsidence to the formation of deposits, which are to last to a distant age. this view strikes me as of some importance. when i meet a very good-natured man i have that degree of badness of disposition in me that i always endeavour to take advantage of him; therefore i am going to mention some desiderata, which if you can supply i shall be very grateful, but if not no answer will be required. thank you for your "conspectus crust.," but i am sorry to say i am not worthy of it, though i have always thought the crustacea a beautiful subject. ( / . "conspectus crustaceorum in orbis terrarum circumnavigatione, c. wilkes duce, collectorum." cambridge (u.s.a.), .) letter . to c. lyell. [down, march th, .] i am uncommonly much obliged to you for your address, which i had not expected to see so soon, and which i have read with great interest. ( / . anniversary address of the president, "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume vi., page , .) i do not know whether you spent much time over it, but it strikes me as extra well arranged and written--done in the most artistic manner, to use an expression which i particularly hate. though i am necessarily pretty well familiar with your ideas from your conversation and books, yet the whole had an original freshness to me. i am glad that you broke through the routine of the president's addresses, but i should be sorry if others did. your criticisms on murchison were to me, and i think would be to many, particularly acceptable. ( / . in a paper "on the geological structure of the alps, etc." ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume v., page , ) murchison expressed his belief that the apparent inversion of certain tertiary strata along the flanks of the alps afforded "a clear demonstration of a sudden operation or catastrophe." it is this view of paroxysmal energy that lyell criticises in the address.) capital, that metaphor of the clock. ( / . "in a word, the movement of the inorganic world is obvious and palpable, and might be likened to the minute-hand of a clock, the progress of which can be seen and heard, whereas the fluctuations of the living creation are nearly invisible, and resemble the motion of the hour-hand of a timepiece" (loc. cit., page xlvi).) i shall next february be much interested by seeing your hour-hand of the organic world going. many thanks for your kindness in taking the trouble to tell me of the anniversary dinner. what a compliment that was which lord mahon paid me! i never had so great a one. he must be as charming a man as his wife is a woman, though i was formerly blind to his merit. bunsen's speech must have been very interesting and very useful, if any orthodox clergyman were present. your metaphor of the pebbles of pre-existing languages reminds me that i heard sir j. herschel at the cape say how he wished some one would treat language as you had geology, and study the existing causes of change, and apply the deduction to old languages. we are all pretty flourishing here, though i have been retrograding a little, and i think i stand excitement and fatigue hardly better than in old days, and this keeps me from coming to london. my cirripedial task is an eternal one; i make no perceptible progress. i am sure that they belong to the hour-hand, and i groan under my task. letter . c. lyell to charles darwin. april rd, . i have seen a good deal of french geologists and palaeontologists lately, and there are many whom i should like to put on the r.s. foreign list, such as d'archiac, prevost, and others. but the man who has made the greatest sacrifices and produced the greatest results, who has, in fact, added a new period to the calendar, is barrande. the importance of his discoveries as they stand before the public fully justify your choice of him; but what is unpublished, and which i have seen, is, if possible, still more surprising. thirty genera of gasteropods ( species) and species of lamellibranchiate bivalves in the silurian! all obtained by quarries opened solely by him for fossils. a man of very moderate fortune spending nearly all his capital on geology, and with success. e. forbes' polarity doctrines are nearly overturned by the unpublished discoveries of barrande. ( / . see note, letter , volume i.) i have called barrande's new period cambrian (see "manual," th edition), and you will see why. i could not name it protozoic, but had barrande called it bohemian, i must have adopted that name. all the french will rejoice if you confer an honour on barrande. dana is well worthy of being a foreign member. should you succeed in making barrande f.r.s., send me word. letter . to j.d. hooker. june th [ ]. ( / . the following, which bears on the subject of medals, forms part of the long letter printed in the "life and letters," ii., page .) i do not quite agree with your estimate of richardson's merits. do, i beg you (whenever you quietly see), talk with lyell on prestwich: if he agrees with hopkins, i am silenced; but as yet i must look at the correlation of the tertiaries as one of the highest and most frightfully difficult tasks a man could set himself, and excellent work, as i believe, p. has done. ( / . prof. prestwich had published numerous papers dealing with tertiary geology before . the contributions referred to are probably those "on the correlation of the lower tertiaries of england with those of france and belgium," "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume x., , page ; and "on the correlation of the middle eocene tertiaries of england, france, and belgium," ibid., xii., , page .) i confess i do not value hopkins' opinion on such a point. i confess i have never thought, as you show ought to be done, on the future. i quite agree, under all circumstances, with the propriety of lindley. how strange no new geologists are coming forward! are there not lots of good young chemists and astronomers or physicists? fitton is the only old geologist left who has done good work, except sedgwick. have you thought of him? he would be a brilliant companion for lindley. only it would never do to give lyell a copley and sedgwick a royal in the same year. it seems wrong that there should be three natural science medals in the same year. lindley, sedgwick, and bunsen sounds well, and lyell next year for the copley. ( / . in a royal medal was awarded to john lindley; lyell received the copley in , and bunsen in .) you will see that i am speculating as a mere idle amateur. letter . to s.p. woodward. down, may th [ ]. i am very much obliged to you for having taken the trouble to answer my query so fully. i can now be at rest, for from what you say and from what little i remember forbes said, my point is unanswerable. the case of terebratula is to the point as far as it goes, and is negative. i have already attempted to get a solution through geographical distribution by dr. hooker's means, and he finds that the same genera which have very variable species in europe have other very variable species elsewhere. this seems the general rule, but with some few exceptions. i see from the several reasons which you assign, that there is no hope of comparing the same genus at two different periods, and seeing whether the tendency to vary is greater at one period in such genus than at another period. the variability of certain genera or groups of species strikes me as a very odd fact. ( / . the late dr. neumayr has dealt, to some extent, with this subject in "die stamme des thierreichs," volume i., wien, .) i shall have no points, as far as i can remember, to suggest for your reconsideration, but only some on which i shall have to beg for a little further information. however, i feel inclined very much to dispute your doctrine of islands being generally ancient in comparison, i presume, with continents. i imagine you think that islands are generally remnants of old continents, a doctrine which i feel strongly disposed to doubt. i believe them generally rising points; you, it seems, think them sinking points. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, april th [ ]. many thanks for your kind and pleasant letter. i have been much interested by "deep-sea soundings,", and will return it by this post, or as soon as i have copied a few sentences. ( / . specimens of the mud dredged by h.m.s. "cyclops" were sent to huxley for examination, who gave a brief account of them in appendix a of capt. dayman's report, , under the title "deep-sea soundings in the north atlantic.") i think you said that some one was investigating the soundings. i earnestly hope that you will ask the some one to carefully observe whether any considerable number of the calcareous organisms are more or less friable, or corroded, or scaling; so that one might form some crude notion whether the deposition is so rapid that the foraminifera are preserved from decay and thus are forming strata at this profound depth. this is a subject which seems to me to have been much neglected in examining soundings. bronn has sent me two copies of his morphologische studien uber die gestaltungsgesetze." (h.g. bronn, "morphologische studien uber die gestaltungsgesetze der naturkorper uberhaupt und der organischen insbesondere": leipzig, .) it looks elementary. if you will write you shall have the copy; if not i will give it to the linnean library. i quite agree with the letter from lyell that your extinguished theologians lying about the cradle of each new science, etc., etc., is splendid. ( / . "darwiniana, collected essays," volume ii., page .) letter . to t.h. huxley. may th [ or later]. i have been in london, which has prevented my writing sooner. i am very sorry to hear that you have been ill: if influenza, i can believe in any degree of prostration of strength; if from over-work, for god's sake do not be rash and foolish. you ask for criticisms; i have none to give, only impressions. i fully agree with your "skimming-of-pot theory," and very well you have put it. with respect [to] contemporaneity i nearly agree with you, and if you will look to the d--d book, rd edition, page you will find nearly similar remarks. ( / . "when the marine forms are spoken of as having changed simultaneously throughout the world, it must not be supposed that this expression relates to the same year, or to the same century, or even that it has a very strict geological sense; for if all the marine animals now living in europe, and all those that lived in europe during the pleistocene period (a very remote period as measured by years, including the whole glacial epoch), were compared with those now existing in south america or in australia, the most skilful naturalist would hardly be able to say whether the present or the pleistocene inhabitants of europe resembled most closely those of the southern hemisphere." "origin," edition vi., page . the passage in edition iii., page , is substantially the same.) but at page of your address, in my opinion you put your ideas too far. ( / . anniversary address to the geological society of london ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xviii., page xl, ). as an illustration of the misleading use of the term "contemporaneous" as employed by geologists, huxley gives the following illustration: "now suppose that, a million or two of years hence, when britain has made another dip beneath the sea and has come up again, some geologist applies this doctrine [i.e., the doctrine of the contemporaneity of the european and of the north american silurians: proof of contemporaneity is considered to be established by the occurrence of per cent. of species in common], in comparing the strata laid bare by the upheaval of the bottom, say, of st. george's channel with what may then remain of the suffolk crag. reasoning in the same way, he will at once decide the suffolk crag and the st. george's channel beds to be contemporaneous; although we happen to know that a vast period...of time...separates the two" (loc. cit., page xlv). this address is republished in the "collected essays," volume viii.; the above passage is at page .) i cannot think that future geologists would rank the suffolk and st. george's strata as contemporaneous, but as successive sub-stages; they rank n. america and british stages as contemporaneous, notwithstanding a percentage of different species (which they, i presume, would account for by geographical difference) owing to the parallel succession of the forms in both countries. for terrestrial productions i grant that great errors may creep in ( / . darwin supposes that terrestrial productions have probably not changed to the same extent as marine organisms. "if the megatherium, mylodon...had been brought to europe from la plata, without any information in regard to their geological position, no one would have suspected that they had co-existed with sea shells all still living" ("origin," edition vi., page ).); but i should require strong evidence before believing that, in countries at all well-known, so-called silurian, devonian, and carboniferous strata could be contemporaneous. you seem to me on the third point, viz., on non-advancement of organisation, to have made a very strong case. i have not knowledge or presumption enough to criticise what you say. i have said what i could at page of "origin." it seems to me that the whole case may be looked at from several points of view. i can add only one miserable little special case of advancement in cirripedes. the suspicion crosses me that if you endeavoured your best you would say more on the other side. do you know well bronn in his last entwickelung (or some such word) on this subject? it seemed to me very well done. ( / . probably "untersuchungen uber die entwickelungsgesetze der organischen welt wahrend der bildungszeit unserer erdoberflache," stuttgart, . translated by w.s. dallas in the "ann. and mag. nat. hist." volume iv., page .) i hope before you publish again you will read him again, to consider the case as if you were a judge in a court of appeal; it is a very important subject. i can say nothing against your side, but i have an "inner consciousness" (a highly philosophical style of arguing!) that something could be said against you; for i cannot help hoping that you are not quite as right as you seem to be. finally, i cannot tell why, but when i finished your address i felt convinced that many would infer that you were dead against change of species, but i clearly saw that you were not. i am not very well, so good-night, and excuse this horrid letter. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, june th [ ]. i have heard from sulivan (who, poor fellow, gives a very bad account of his own health) about the fossils ( / . in a letter to huxley (june th, ) darwin wrote: "admiral sulivan several years ago discovered an astonishingly rich accumulation of fossil bones not far from the straits [of magellan]...during many years it has seemed to me extremely desirable that these should be collected; and here is an excellent opportunity.")... the place is gallegos, on the s. coast of patagonia. sulivan says that in the course of two or three days all the boats in the ship could be filled twice over; but to get good specimens out of the hardish rock two or three weeks would be requisite. it would be a grand haul for palaeontology. i have been thinking over your lecture. ( / . a lecture on "insular floras" given at the british association meeting at nottingham, august th, , published in the "gard. chron." .) will it not be possible to give enlarged drawings of some leading forms of trees? you will, of course, have a large map, and george tells me that he saw at sir h. james', at southampton, a map of the world on a new principle, as seen from within, so that almost / ths of the globe was shown at once on a large scale. would it not be worth while to borrow one of these from sir h. james as a curiosity to hang up? remember you are to come here before nottingham. i have almost finished the last number of h. spencer, and am astonished at its prodigality of original thought. but the reflection constantly recurred to me that each suggestion, to be of real value to science, would require years of work. it is also very unsatisfactory, the impossibility of conjecturing where direct action of external circumstances begins and ends--as he candidly owns in discussing the production of woody tissue in the trunks of trees on the one hand, and on the other in spines and the shells of nuts. i shall like to hear what you think of this number when we meet. letter . to a. gaudry. down, november th, . on my return home after a short absence i found your note of nov. th, and your magnificent work on the fossil animals of attica. ( / . the "geologie de l'attique," volumes to, - , is the only work of gaudry's of this date in mr. darwin's library.) i assure you that i feel very grateful for your generosity, and for the honour which you have thus conferred on me. i know well, from what i have already read of extracts, that i shall find your work a perfect mine of wealth. one long passage which sir c. lyell quotes from you in the th and last edition of the "principles of geology" is one of the most striking which i have ever read on the affiliation of species. ( / . the quotation in lyell's "principles," edition x., volume ii., page , is from m. gaudry's "animaux fossiles de pikermi," , page :-- "in how different a light does the question of the nature of species now present itself to us from that in which it appeared only twenty years ago, before we had studied the fossil remains of greece and the allied forms of other countries. how clearly do these fossil relics point to the idea that species, genera, families, and orders now so distinct have had common ancestors. the more we advance and fill up the gaps, the more we feel persuaded that the remaining voids exist rather in our knowledge than in nature. a few blows of the pickaxe at the foot of the pyrenees, of the himalaya, of mount pentelicus in greece, a few diggings in the sandpits of eppelsheim, or in the mauvaises terres of nebraska, have revealed to us the closest connecting links between forms which seemed before so widely separated. how much closer will these links be drawn when palaeontology shall have escaped from its cradle!") letter . a. sedgwick to charles darwin. ( / . in may, , darwin "went to the bull hotel, cambridge, to see the boys, and for a little rest and enjoyment." ( / . see "life and letters," iii., .) the following letter was received after his return to down.) trinity college, cambridge, may th, . my dear darwin, your very kind letter surprised me. not that i was surprised at the pleasant and very welcome feeling with which it was written. but i could not make out what i had done to deserve the praise of "extraordinary kindness to yourself and family." i would most willingly have done my best to promote the objects of your visit, but you gave me no opportunity of doing so. i was truly grieved to find that my joy at seeing you again was almost too robust for your state of nerves, and that my society, after a little while, became oppressive to you. but i do trust that your cambridge visit has done you no constitutional harm; nay, rather that it has done you some good. i only speak honest truth when i say that i was overflowing with joy when i saw you, and saw you in the midst of a dear family party, and solaced at every turn by the loving care of a dear wife and daughters. how different from my position--that of a very old man, living in cheerless solitude! may god help and cheer you all with the comfort of hopeful hearts--you and your wife, and your sons and daughters! you were talking about my style of writing,--i send you my last specimen, and it will probably continue to be my last. it is the continuation of a former pamphlet of which i have not one spare copy. i do not ask you to read it. it is addressed to the old people in my native dale of dent, on the outskirts of westmorland. while standing at the door of the old vicarage, i can see down the valley the lake mountains--hill bell at the head of windermere, about twenty miles off. on thursday next (d.v.) i am to start for dent, which i have not visited for full two years. two years ago i could walk three or four miles with comfort. now, alas! i can only hobble about on my stick. i remain your true-hearted old friend a. sedgwick. letter . to c. lyell. down, september rd [ ]. many thanks for your very kind and interesting letter. i was glad to hear at southampton from miss heathcote a good account of your health and strength. with respect to the great subject to which you refer in your p.s., i always try to banish it from my mind as insoluble; but if i were circumstanced as you are, no doubt it would recur in the dead of the night with painful force. many persons seem to make themselves quite easy about immortality ( / . see "life and letters," i., page .) and the existence of a personal god, by intuition; and i suppose that i must differ from such persons, for i do not feel any innate conviction on any such points. we returned home about ten days ago from southampton, and i enjoyed my holiday, which did me much good. but already i am much fatigued by microscope and experimental work with insect-eating plants. when at southampton i was greatly interested by looking at the odd gravel deposits near at hand, and speculating about their formation. you once told me something about them, but i forget what; and i think that prestwich has written on the superficial deposits on the south coasts, and i must find out his paper and read it. ( / . prof. prestwich contributed several papers to the geological society on the superficial deposits of the south of england.) from what i have seen of mr. judd's papers i have thought that he would rank amongst the few leading british geologists. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . the following letter was written before mr. darwin knew that sir charles lyell was to be buried in westminster abbey, a memorial which thoroughly satisfied him. see "life and letters," iii., .) down, february rd, . i have just heard from miss buckley of lyell's death. i have long felt opposed to the present rage for testimonials; but when i think how lyell revolutionised geology, and aided in the progress of so many other branches of science, i wish that something could be done in his honour. on the other hand it seems to me that a poor testimonial would be worse than none; and testimonials seem to succeed only when a man has been known and loved by many persons, as in the case of falconer and forbes. now, i doubt whether of late years any large number of scientific men did feel much attachment towards lyell; but on this head i am very ill fitted to judge. i should like to hear some time what you think, and if anything is proposed i should particularly wish to join in it. we have both lost as good and as true a friend as ever lived. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . this letter shows the difficulty which the inscription for sir charles lyell's memorial gave his friends. the existing inscription is, "charles lyell...author of 'the principles of geology'...throughout a long and laborious life he sought the means of deciphering the fragmentary records of the earth's history in the patient investigation of the present order of nature, enlarging the boundaries of knowledge, and leaving on scientific thought an enduring influence..." down, june st [ ]. i am sorry for you about the inscription, which has almost burst me. we think there are too many plurals in yours, and when read aloud it hisses like a goose. i think the omission of some words makes it much stronger. "world" ( / . the suggested sentence runs: "he gave to the world the results of his labour, etc.") is much stronger and truer than "public." as lyell wrote various other books and memoirs, i have some little doubt about the "principles of geology." people here do not like your "enduring value": it sounds almost an anticlimax. they do not much like my "last (or endure) as long as science lasts." if one reads a sentence often enough, it always becomes odious. god help you. letter . to oswald heer. down, march th [ ]. i thank you for your very kind and deeply interesting letter of march st, received yesterday, and for the present of your work, which no doubt i shall soon receive from dr. hooker. ( / . "flora fossilis arctica," volume iii., , sent by prof. heer through sir joseph hooker.) the sudden appearance of so many dicotyledons in the upper chalk appears to me a most perplexing phenomenon to all who believe in any form of evolution, especially to those who believe in extremely gradual evolution, to which view i know that you are strongly opposed. ( / . the volume referred to contains a paper on the cretaceous flora of the arctic zone (spitzbergen and greenland), in which several dicotyledonous plants are described. in a letter written by heer to darwin the author speaks of a species of poplar which he describes as the oldest dicotyledon so far recorded.) the presence of even one true angiosperm in the lower chalk makes me inclined to conjecture that plants of this great division must have been largely developed in some isolated area, whence owing to geographical changes, they at last succeeded in escaping, and spread quickly over the world. ( / . no satisfactory evidence has so far been brought forward of the occurrence of fossil angiosperms in pre-cretaceous rocks. the origin of the monocotyledons and dicotyledons remains one of the most difficult and attractive problems of palaeobotany.) ( / . see letters , .) but i fully admit that this case is a great difficulty in the views which i hold. many as have been the wonderful discoveries in geology during the last half-century, i think none have exceeded in interest your results with respect to the plants which formerly existed in the arctic regions. how i wish that similar collections could be made in the southern hemisphere, for instance in kerguelen's land. the death of sir c. lyell is a great loss to science, but i do not think to himself, for it was scarcely possible that he could have retained his mental powers, and he would have suffered dreadfully from their loss. the last time i saw him he was speaking with the most lively interest about his last visit to you, and i was grieved to hear from him a very poor account of your health. i have been working for some time on a special subject, namely insectivorous plants. i do not know whether the subject will interest you, but when my book is published i will have the pleasure of sending you a copy. i am very much obliged for your photograph, and enclose one of myself. letter *. to s.b.j. skertchly. march nd, . it is the greatest possible satisfaction to a man nearly at the close of his career to believe that he has aided or stimulated an able and energetic fellow-worker in the noble cause of science. therefore your letter has deeply gratified me. i am writing this away from home, as my health failed, and i was forced to rest; and this will account for the delay in answering your letter. no doubt on my return home i shall find the memoir which you have kindly sent me. i shall read it with much interest, as i have heard something of your work from prof. geikie, and have read his admirable "ice age." ( / . "the great ice age and its relation to the antiquity of man": london, . by james geikie.) i have noticed the criticisms on your work, but such opposition must be expected by every one who draws fine grand conclusions, and such assuredly are yours as abstracted in your letter. ( / . mr. s.b.j. skertchly recorded "the discovery of palaeolithic flint implements, mammalian bones, and fresh-water shells in brick-earths below the boulder-clay of east anglia," in a letter published in the "geol. mag." volume iii., page , . (see also "the fenland, past and present." s.h. miller and s.b.j. skertchly, london, .) the conclusions of mr. skertchly as to the pre-glacial age of the flint implements were not accepted by some authorities. (see correspondence in "nature," volume xv., , pages , .) we are indebted to mr. marr for calling our attention to mr. skertchly's discovery.) what magnificent progress geology has made within my lifetime! i shall have very great pleasure in sending you any of my books with my autograph, but i really do not know which to send. it will cost you only the trouble of a postcard to tell me which you would like, and it shall soon be sent. forgive this untidy note, as it is rather an effort to write. with all good wishes for your continued success in science and for your happiness... chapter .x.--botany, - . .x.i. miscellaneous.-- .x.ii. melastomaceae.-- .x.iii. correspondence with john scott. .x.i. miscellaneous, - . (plate: sir joseph hooker, . from a photograph by w.j. hawker wimborne. walker & cockerell, ph. sc.) letter . to william jackson hooker. down, march th [ ]. ...when you next write to your son, will you please remember me kindly to him and give him my best thanks for his note? i had the pleasure yesterday of reading a letter from him to mr. lyell of kinnordy, full of the most interesting details and descriptions, and written (if i may be permitted to make such a criticism) in a particularly agreeable style. it leads me anxiously to hope, even more than i did before, that he will publish some separate natural history journal, and not allow (if it can be avoided) his materials to be merged in another work. i am very glad to hear you talk of inducing your son to publish an antarctic flora. i have long felt much curiosity for some discussion on the general character of the flora of tierra del fuego, that part of the globe farthest removed in latitude from us. how interesting will be a strict comparison between the plants of these regions and of scotland and shetland. i am sure i may speak on the part of prof. henslow that all my collection (which gives a fair representation of the alpine flora of tierra del fuego and of southern patagonia) will be joyfully laid at his disposal. letter . to john lindley. down, saturday [april th, ]. i take the liberty, at the suggestion of dr. royle, of forwarding to you a few seeds, which have been found under very singular circumstances. they have been sent to me by mr. w. kemp, of galashiels, a (partially educated) man, of whose acuteness and accuracy of observation, from several communications on geological subjects, i have a very high opinion. he found them in a layer under twenty-five feet thickness of white sand, which seems to have been deposited on the margins of an anciently existing lake. these seeds are not known to the provincial botanists of the district. he states that some of them germinated in eight days after being planted, and are now alive. knowing the interest you took in some raspberry seeds, mentioned, i remember, in one of your works, i hope you will not think me troublesome in asking you to have these seeds carefully planted, and in begging you so far to oblige me as to take the trouble to inform me of the result. dr. daubeny has started for spain, otherwise i would have sent him some. mr. kemp is anxious to publish an account of his discovery himself, so perhaps you will be so kind as to communicate the result to me, and not to any periodical. the chance, though appearing so impossible, of recovering a plant lost to any country if not to the world, appears to me so very interesting, that i hope you will think it worth while to have these seeds planted, and not returned to me. letter . to c. lyell. [september, .] an interesting fact has lately, as it were, passed through my hands. a mr. kemp (almost a working man), who has written on "parallel roads," and has corresponded with me ( / . in a letter to henslow, darwin wrote: "if he [mr. kemp] had not shown himself a most careful and ingenious observer, i should have thought nothing of the case."), sent me in the spring some seeds, with an account of the spot where they were found, namely, in a layer at the bottom of a deep sand pit, near melrose, above the level of the river, and which sand pit he thinks must have been accumulated in a lake, when the whole features of the valleys were different, ages ago; since which whole barriers of rock, it appears, must have been worn down. these seeds germinated freely, and i sent some to the horticultural society, and lindley writes to me that they turn out to be a common rumex and a species of atriplex, which neither he nor henslow (as i have since heard) have ever seen, and certainly not a british plant! does this not look like a vivification of a fossil seed? it is not surprising, i think, that seeds should last ten or twenty thousand [years], as they have lasted two or three [thousand years] in the druidical mounds, and have germinated. when not building, i have been working at my volume on the volcanic islands which we visited; it is almost ready for press...i hope you will read my volume, for, if you don't, i cannot think of anyone else who will! we have at last got our house and place tolerably comfortable, and i am well satisfied with our anchorage for life. what an autumn we have had: completely chilian; here we have had not a drop of rain or a cloudy day for a month. i am positively tired of the fine weather, and long for the sight of mud almost as much as i did when in peru. ( / . the vitality of seeds was a subject in which darwin continued to take an interest. in july, ("life and letters," ii., page ), he wrote to hooker: "a man told me the other day of, as i thought, a splendid instance--and splendid it was, for according to his evidence the seed came up alive out of the lower part of the london clay! i disgusted him by telling him that palms ought to have come up." in the "gardeners' chronicle," , page , appeared a notice (half a column in length) by darwin on the "vitality of seeds." the facts related refer to the "sand-walk" at down; the wood was planted in on a piece of pasture land laid down as grass in . in , on the soil being dug in several places, charlock (brassica sinapistrum) sprang up freely. the subject continued to interest him, and we find a note dated july nd, , in which darwin recorded that forty-six plants of charlock sprang up in that year over a space ( x feet) which had been dug to a considerable depth. in the course of the article in the "gardeners' chronicle," darwin remarks: "the power in seeds of retaining their vitality when buried in damp soil may well be an element in preserving the species, and therefore seeds may be specially endowed with this capacity; whereas the power of retaining vitality in a dry artificial condition must be an indirect, and in one sense accidental, quality in seeds of little or no use to the species." the point of view expressed in the letter to lyell above given is of interest in connection with the research of horace brown and f. escombe ( / . "proc. roy. soc." volume lxii., page .) on the remarkable power possessed by dry seeds of resistance to the temperature of liquid air. the point of the experiment is that life continues at a temperature "below that at which ordinary chemical reactions take place." a still more striking demonstration of the fact has been made by thiselton-dyer and dewar who employed liquid hydrogen as a refrigerant. ( / . read before the british association (dover), , and published in the "comptes rendus," , and in the "proc. r. soc." lxv., page , .) the connection between these facts and the dormancy of buried seeds is only indirect; but inasmuch as the experiment proves the possibility of life surviving a period in which no ordinary chemical change occurs, it is clear that they help one to believe in greatly prolonged dormancy in conditions which tend to check metabolism. for a discussion of the bearing of their results on the life-problem, and for the literature of the subject, reference should be made to the paper by brown and escombe. see also c. de candolle "on latent life in seeds," "brit. assoc. report," , page and f. escombe, "science progress," volume i., n.s., page , .) letter . to j.s. henslow. down, saturday [november th, ]. i sent that weariful atriplex to babington, as i said i would, and he tells me that he has reared a facsimile by sowing the seeds of a. angustifolia in rich soil. he says he knows the a. hastata, and that it is very different. until your last note i had not heard that mr. kemp's seeds had produced two polygonums. he informs me he saw each plant bring up the husk of the individual seed which he planted. i believe myself in his accuracy, but i have written to advise him not to publish, for as he collected only two kinds of seeds--and from them two polygomuns, two species or varieties of atriplex and a rumex have come up, any one would say (as you suggested) that more probably all the seeds were in the soil, than that seeds, which must have been buried for tens of thousands of years, should retain their vitality. if the atriplex had turned out new, the evidence would indeed have been good. i regret this result of poor mr. kemp's seeds, especially as i believed, from his statements and the appearance of the seeds, that they did germinate, and i further have no doubt that their antiquity must be immense. i am sorry also for the trouble you have had. i heard the other day through a circuitous course how you are astonishing all the clodhoppers in your whole part of the county: and [what is] far more wonderful, as it was remarked to me, that you had not, in doing this, aroused the envy of all the good surrounding sleeping parsons. what good you must do to the present and all succeeding generations. ( / . for an account of professor henslow's management of his parish of hitcham see "memoir of the rev. john stevens henslow, m.a." by the rev. leonard jenyns: vo, london, .) letter . to j.d. hooker. down, november th [ ]. you well know how credulous i am, and therefore you will not be surprised at my believing the raspberry story ( / . this probably refers to lindley's story of the germination of raspberry seeds taken from a barrow years old.): a very similar case is on record in germany--viz., seeds from a barrow; i have hardly zeal to translate it for the "gardeners' chronicle." ( / . "vitality of seeds," "gardeners' chronicle," november th, , page .) i do not go the whole hog--viz., that sixty and two thousand years are all the same, for i should imagine that some slight chemical change was always going on in a seed. is this not so? the discussions have stirred me up to send my very small case of the charlock; but as it required some space to give all details, perhaps lindley will not insert; and if he does, you, you worse than an unbelieving dog, will not, i know, believe. the reason i do not care to try mr. bentham's plan is that i think it would be very troublesome, and it would not, if i did not find seed, convince me myself that none were in the earth, for i have found in my salting experiments that the earth clings to the seeds, and the seeds are very difficult to find. whether washing would do i know not; a gold-washer would succeed, i daresay. letter . to w.j. hooker. testimonial from charles darwin, esq., m.a., f.r.s. and g.s., late naturalist to captain fitz-roy's voyage. down house, farnborough, august th, . i have heard with much interest that your son, dr. hooker, is a candidate for the botanical chair at edinburgh. from my former attendance at that university, i am aware how important a post it is for the advancement of science, and i am therefore the more anxious for your son's success, from my firm belief that no one will fulfil its duties with greater zeal or ability. since his return from the famous antarctic expedition, i have had, as you are aware, much communication with him, with respect to the collections brought home by myself, and on other scientific subjects; and i cannot express too strongly my admiration at the accuracy of his varied knowledge, and at his powers of generalisation. from dr. hooker's disposition, no one, in my opinion, is more fitted to communicate to beginners a strong taste for those pursuits to which he is himself so ardently devoted. for the sake of the advancement of botany in all its branches, your son has my warmest wishes for his success. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, thursday [june th, ]. many thanks for your kindness about the lodgings--it will be of great use to me. ( / . the british association met at oxford in .) please let me know the address if mr. jacobson succeeds, for i think i shall go on the nd and write previously to my lodgings. i have since had a tempting invitation from daubeny to meet henslow, etc., but upon the whole, i believe, lodgings will answer best, for then i shall have a secure solitary retreat to rest in. i am extremely glad i sent the laburnum ( / . this refers to the celebrated form known as cytisus adami, of which a full account is given in "variation of animals and plants," volume i., edition ii., page . it has been supposed to be a seminal hybrid or graft-hybrid between c. laburnum and c. purpureus. it is remarkable for bearing "on the same tree tufts of dingy red, bright yellow, and purple flowers, borne on branches having widely different leaves and manner of growth." in a paper by camuzet in the "annales de la societe d'horticulture de paris, xiii., , page , the author tries to show that cytisus adami is a seminal hybrid between c. alpinus and c. laburnum. fuchs ("sitz. k. akad. wien," bd. ) and beijerinck ("k. akad. amsterdam," ) have spoken on cytisus adami, but throw no light on the origin of the hybrid. see letters to jenner weir in the present volume.): the raceme grew in centre of tree, and had a most minute tuft of leaves, which presented no unusual appearance: there is now on one raceme a terminal bilateral [i.e., half yellow, half purple] flower, and on other raceme a single terminal pure yellow and one adjoining bilateral flower. if you would like them i will send them; otherwise i would keep them to see whether the bilateral flowers will seed, for herbert ( / . dean herbert.) says the yellow ones will. herbert is wrong in thinking there are no somewhat analogous facts: i can tell you some, when we meet. i know not whether botanists consider each petal and stamen an individual; if so, there seems to me no especial difficulty in the case, but if a flower-bud is a unit, are not their flowers very strange? i have seen dillwyn in the "gardeners' chronicle," and was disgusted at it, for i thought my bilateral flowers would have been a novelty for you. ( / . in a letter to hooker, dated june nd, , darwin makes a bold suggestion as to floral symmetry:--) i send you a tuft of the quasi-hybrid laburnum, with two kinds of flowers on same stalk, and with what strikes [me] as very curious (though i know it has been observed before), namely, a flower bilaterally different: one other, i observe, has half its calyx purple. is this not very curious, and opposed to the morphological idea that a flower is a condensed continuous spire of leaves? does it not look as if flowers were normally bilateral; just in the same way as we now know that the radiating star-fish, etc., are bilateral? the case reminds me of those insects with exactly half having secondary male characters and the other half female. ( / . it is interesting to note his change of view in later years. in an undated letter written to mr. spencer, probably in , he says: "with respect to asymmetry in the flowers themselves, i remain contented, from all that i have seen, with adaptation to visits of insects. there is, however, another factor which it is likely enough may have come into play--viz., the protection of the anthers and pollen from the injurious effects of rain. i think so because several flowers inhabiting rainy countries, as a. kerner has lately shown, bend their heads down in rainy weather.") letter . to j.d. hooker. june [ ]. ( / . this is an early example of darwin's interest in the movements of plants. sleeping plants, as is well-known, may acquire a rhythmic movement differing from their natural period, but the precise experiment here described has not, as far as known, been carried out. see pfeffer, "periodische bewegungen," , page .) i thank you much for hedysarum: i do hope it is not very precious, for, as i told you, it is for probably a most foolish purpose. i read somewhere that no plant closes its leaves so promptly in darkness, and i want to cover it up daily for half an hour, and see if i can teach it to close by itself, or more easily than at first in darkness. i am rather puzzled about its transmission, from not knowing how tender it is... letter . to j.d. hooker. down, july th, . i thank you warmly for the very kind manner with which you have taken my request. it will, in truth, be a most important service to me; for it is absolutely necessary that i should discuss single and double creations, as a very crucial point on the general origin of species, and i must confess, with the aid of all sorts of visionary hypotheses, a very hostile one. i am delighted that you will take up possibility of crossing, no botanist has done so, which i have long regretted, and i am glad to see that it was one of a. de candolle's desiderata. by the way, he is curiously contradictory on subject. i am far from expecting that no cases of apparent impossibility will be found; but certainly i expect that ultimately they will disappear; for instance, campanulaceae seems a strong case, but now it is pretty clear that they must be liable to crossing. sweet-peas ( / . in lathyrus odoratus the absence of the proper insect has been supposed to prevent crossing. see "variation under domestication," edition ii., volume ii., page ; but the explanation there given for pisum may probably apply to lathyrus.), bee-orchis, and perhaps hollyhocks are, at present, my greatest difficulties; and i find i cannot experimentise by castrating sweet-peas, without doing fatal injury. formerly i felt most interest on this point as one chief means of eliminating varieties; but i feel interest now in other ways. one general fact [that] makes me believe in my doctrine ( / . the doctrine which has been epitomised as "nature abhors perpetual self-fertilisation," and is generally known as knight's law or the knight-darwin law, is discussed by francis darwin in "nature," . references are there given to the chief passages in the "origin of species," etc., bearing on the question. see letter , volume i.), is that no terrestrial animal in which semen is liquid is hermaphrodite except with mutual copulation; in terrestrial plants in which the semen is dry there are many hermaphrodites. indeed, i do wish i lived at kew, or at least so that i could see you oftener. to return again to subject of crossing: i have been inclined to speculate so far, as to think (my!?) notion (i say my notion, but i think others have put forward nearly or quite similar ideas) perhaps explains the frequent separation of the sexes in trees, which i think i have heard remarked (and in looking over the mono- and dioecious linnean classes in persoon seems true) are very apt to have sexes separated; for [in] a tree having a vast number of flowers on the same individual, or at least the same stock, each flower, if only hermaphrodite on the common plan, would generally get its own pollen or only pollen from another flower on same stock,--whereas if the sexes were separate there would be a better chance of occasional pollen from another distinct stock. i have thought of testing this in your new zealand flora, but i have no standard of comparison, and i found myself bothered by bushes. i should propound that some unknown causes had favoured development of trees and bushes in new zealand, and consequent on this there had been a development of separation of sexes to prevent too much intermarriage. i do not, of course, suppose the prevention of too much intermarriage the only good of separation of sexes. but such wild notions are not worth troubling you with the reading of. letter . to j.d. hooker. moor park [may nd, ]. the most striking case, which i have stumbled on, on apparent, but false relation of structure of plants to climate, seems to be meyer and doege's remark that there is not one single, even moderately-sized, family at the cape of good hope which has not one or several species with heath-like foliage; and when we consider this together with the number of true heaths, any one would have been justified, had it not been for our own british heaths ( / . it is well known that plants with xerophytic characteristics are not confined to dry climates; it is only necessary to mention halophytes, alpine plants and certain epiphytes. the heaths of northern europe are placed among the xerophytes by warming ("lehrbuch der okologischen pflanzengeographie," page , berlin, ).), in saying that heath-like foliage must stand in direct relation to a dry and moderately warm climate. does this not strike you as a good case of false relation? i am so pleased with this place and the people here, that i am greatly tempted to bring etty here, for she has not, on the whole, derived any benefit from hastings. with thanks for your never failing assistance to me... i remember that you were surprised at number of seeds germinating in pond mud. i tried a fourth pond, and took about as much mud (rather more than in former case) as would fill a very large breakfast cup, and before i had left home plants had come up; how many more will be up on my return i know not. this bears on chance of birds by their muddy feet transporting fresh-water plants. this would not be a bad dodge for a collector in country when plants were not in seed, to collect and dry mud from ponds. letter . to asa gray. down [ ]. i am very glad to hear that you think of discussing the relative ranges of the identical and allied u. states and european species, when you have time. now this leads me to make a very audacious remark in opposition to what i imagine hooker has been writing ( / . see letter , volume i.), and to your own scientific conscience. i presume he has been urging you to finish your great "flora" before you do anything else. now i would say it is your duty to generalise as far as you safely can from your as yet completed work. undoubtedly careful discrimination of species is the foundation of all good work; but i must look at such papers as yours in silliman as the fruit. as careful observation is far harder work than generalisation, and still harder than speculation, do you not think it very possible that it may be overvalued? it ought never to be forgotten that the observer can generalise his own observations incomparably better than any one else. how many astronomers have laboured their whole lives on observations, and have not drawn a single conclusion; i think it is herschel who has remarked how much better it would be if they had paused in their devoted work and seen what they could have deduced from their work. so do pray look at this side of the question, and let us have another paper or two like the last admirable ones. there, am i not an audacious dog! you ask about my doctrine which led me to expect that trees would tend to have separate sexes. i am inclined to believe that no organic being exists which perpetually self-fertilises itself. this will appear very wild, but i can venture to say that if you were to read my observations on this subject you would agree it is not so wild as it will at first appear to you, from flowers said to be always fertilised in bud, etc. it is a long subject, which i have attended to for eighteen years. now, it occurred to me that in a large tree with hermaphrodite flowers, we will say it would be ten to one that it would be fertilised by the pollen of its own flower, and a thousand or ten thousand to one that if crossed it would be crossed only with pollen from another flower of same tree, which would be opposed to my doctrine. therefore, on the great principle of "nature not lying," i fully expected that trees would be apt to be dioecious or monoecious (which, as pollen has to be carried from flower to flower every time, would favour a cross from another individual of the same species), and so it seems to be in britain and new zealand. nor can the fact be explained by certain families having this structure and chancing to be trees, for the rule seems to hold both in genera and families, as well as in species. i give you full permission to laugh your fill at this wild speculation; and i do not pretend but what it may be chance which, in this case, has led me apparently right. but i repeat that i feel sure that my doctrine has more probability than at first it appears to have. if you had not asked, i should not have written at such length, though i cannot give any of my reasons. the leguminosae are my greatest opposers: yet if i were to trust to observations on insects made during many years, i should fully expect crosses to take place in them; but i cannot find that our garden varieties ever cross each other. i do not ask you to take any trouble about it, but if you should by chance come across any intelligent nurseryman, i wish you would enquire whether they take any pains in raising the varieties of papilionaceous plants apart to prevent crossing. (i have seen a statement of naturally formed crossed phaseoli near n. york.) the worst is that nurserymen are apt to attribute all varieties to crossing. finally i incline to believe that every living being requires an occasional cross with a distinct individual; and as trees from the mere multitude of flowers offer an obstacle to this, i suspect this obstacle is counteracted by tendency to have sexes separated. but i have forgotten to say that my maximum difficulty is trees having papilionaceous flowers: some of them, i know, have their keel-petals expanded when ready for fertilisation; but bentham does not believe that this is general: nevertheless, on principle of nature not lying, i suspect that this will turn out so, or that they are eminently sought by bees dusted with pollen. again i do not ask you to take trouble, but if strolling under your robinias when in full flower, just look at stamens and pistils whether protruded and whether bees visit them. i must just mention a fact mentioned to me the other day by sir w. macarthur, a clever australian gardener: viz., how odd it was that his erythrinas in n.s. wales would not set a seed, without he imitated the movements of the petals which bees cause. well, as long as you live, you will never, after this fearfully long note, ask me why i believe this or that. letter . to asa gray. june th [ ]. it has been extremely kind of you telling me about the trees: now with your facts, and those from britain, n. zealand, and tasmania i shall have fair materials for judging. i am writing this away from home, but i think your fraction of / is as large as in other cases, and is at least a striking coincidence. i thank you much for your remarks about my crossing notions, to which, i may add, i was led by exactly the same idea as yours, viz., that crossing must be one means of eliminating variation, and then i wished to make out how far in animals and vegetables this was possible. papilionaceous flowers are almost dead floorers to me, and i cannot experimentise, as castration alone often produces sterility. i am surprised at what you say about compositae and gramineae. from what i have seen of latter they seemed to me (and i have watched wheat, owing to what l. de longchamps has said on their fertilisation in bud) favourable for crossing; and from cassini's observations and kolreuter's on the adhesive pollen, and c.c. sprengel's, i had concluded that the compositae were eminently likely (i am aware of the pistil brushing out pollen) to be crossed. ( / . this is an instance of the curious ignorance of the essential principles of floral mechanism which was to be found even among learned and accomplished botanists such as gray, before the publication of the "fertilisation of orchids." even in we find darwin explaining the meaning of dichogamy in a letter to gray.) if in some months' time you can find time to tell me whether you have made any observations on the early fertilisation of plants in these two orders, i should be very glad to hear, as it would save me from great blunder. in several published remarks on this subject in various genera it has seemed to me that the early fertilisation has been inferred from the early shedding of the pollen, which i think is clearly a false inference. another cause, i should think, of the belief of fertilisation in the bud, is the not-rare, abnormal, early maturity of the pistil as described by gartner. i have hitherto failed in meeting with detailed accounts of regular and normal impregnation in the bud. podostemon and subularia under water (and leguminosae) seem and are strongest cases against me, as far as i as yet know. i am so sorry that you are so overwhelmed with work; it makes your very great kindness to me the more striking. it is really pretty to see how effectual insects are. a short time ago i found a female holly sixty measured yards from any other holly, and i cut off some twigs and took by chance twenty stigmas, cut off their tops, and put them under the microscope: there was pollen on every one, and in profusion on most! weather cloudy and stormy and unfavourable, wind in wrong direction to have brought any. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, january th [ ]. i want to ask a question which will take you only few words to answer. it bears on my former belief (and asa gray strongly expressed opinion) that papilionaceous flowers were fatal to my notion of there being no eternal hermaphrodites. first let me say how evidence goes. you will remember my facts going to show that kidney-beans require visits of bees to be fertilised. this has been positively stated to be the case with lathyrus grandiflorus, and has been very partially verified by me. sir w. macarthur tells me that erythrina will hardly seed in australia without the petals are moved as if by bee. i have just met the statement that, with common bean, when the humble-bees bite holes at the base of the flower, and therefore cease visiting the mouth of the corolla, "hardly a bean will set." but now comes a much more curious statement, that [in] - , "since bees were established at wellington (new zealand), clover seeds all over the settlement, which it did not before." ( / . see letter , volume i.) the writer evidently has no idea what the connection can be. now i cannot help at once connecting this statement (and all the foregoing statements in some degree support each other, as all have been advanced without any sort of theory) with the remarkable absence of papilionaceous plants in n. zealand. i see in your list clianthus, carmichaelia (four species), a new genus, a shrub, and edwardsia (is latter papilionaceous?). now what i want to know is whether any of these have flowers as small as clover; for if they have large flowers they may be visited by humble-bees, which i think i remember do exist in new zealand; and which humble-bees would not visit the smaller clover. even the very minute little yellow clover in england has every flower visited and revisited by hive-bees, as i know by experience. would it not be a curious case of correlation if it could be shown to be probable that herbaceous and small leguminosae do not exist because when [their] seeds [are] washed ashore (!!!) no small bees exist there. though this latter fact must be ascertained. i may not prove anything, but does it not seem odd that so many quite independent facts, or rather statements, should point all in one direction, viz., that bees are necessary to the fertilisation of papilionaceous flowers? letter . to john lubbock (lord avebury). sunday [ ]. do you remember calling my attention to certain flowers in the truss of pelargoniums not being true, or not having the dark shade on the two upper petals? i believe it was lady lubbock's observation. i find, as i expected, it is always the central or sub-central flower; but what is far more curious, the nectary, which is blended with the peduncle of the flowers, gradually lessens and quite disappears ( / . this fact is mentioned in maxwell masters' "vegetable teratology" (ray society's publications), , page .), as the dark shade on the two upper petals disappears. compare the stalk in the two enclosed parcels, in each of which there is a perfect flower. now, if your gardener will not be outrageous, do look over your geraniums and send me a few trusses, if you can find any, having the flowers without the marks, sending me some perfect flowers on same truss. the case seems to me rather a pretty one of correlation of growth; for the calyx also becomes slightly modified in the flowers without marks. letter . to maxwell masters. down, april th [ ]. i hope that you will excuse the liberty which i take in writing to you and begging a favour. i have been very much interested by the abstract (too brief) of your lecture at the royal institution. many of the facts alluded to are full of interest for me. but on one point i should be infinitely obliged if you could procure me any information: namely, with respect to sweet-peas. i am a great believer in the natural crossing of individuals of the same species. but i have been assured by mr. cattell ( / . the nurseryman he generally dealt with.), of westerham, that the several varieties of sweet-pea can be raised close together for a number of years without intercrossing. but on the other hand he stated that they go over the beds, and pull up any false plant, which they very naturally attribute to wrong seeds getting mixed in the lot. after many failures, i succeeded in artificially crossing two varieties, and the offspring out of the same pod, instead of being intermediate, was very nearly like the two pure parents; yet in one, there was a trace of the cross, and these crossed peas in the next generation showed still more plainly their mongrel origin. now, what i want to know is, whether there is much variation in sweet-peas which might be owing to natural crosses. what i should expect would be that they would keep true for many years, but that occasionally, perhaps at long intervals, there would be a considerable amount of crossing of the varieties grown close together. can you give, or obtain from your father, any information on this head, and allow me to quote your authority? it would really be a very great favour and kindness. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . the genera scaevola and leschenaultia, to which the following letter refers, belong to the goodeniaceae (goodenovieae, bentham & hooker), an order allied to the lobeliaceae, although the mechanism of fertilisation resembles rather more nearly that of campanula. the characteristic feature of the flower in this order is the indusium, or, as delpino ( / . delpino's observations on dichogamy, summarised by hildebrand in "bot. zeitung," , page .) calls it, the "collecting cup": this cuplike organ is a development of the style, and serves the same function as the hairs on the style of campanula, namely, that of taking the pollen from the anthers and presenting it to the visiting insect. during this stage the immature stigma is at the bottom of the cup, and though surrounded by pollen is incapable of being pollinated. in most genera of the order the pollen is pushed out of the indusium by the growth of the style or stigma, very much as occurs in lobelia or the compositae. finally the style emerges from the indusium ( / . according to hamilton ("proc. linn. soc. n. s. wales," x., , page ) the stigma rarely grows beyond the indusium in dampiera. in the same journal ( - , page , and ix., , page ) hamilton has given a number of interesting observations on goodenia, scaevola, selliera, brunonia. there seem to be mechanisms for cross- and also for self-fertilisation.), the stigmas open out and are pollinated from younger flowers. the mechanism of fertilisation has been described by f. muller ( / . in a letter to hildebrand published in the "bot. zeitung," , page .), and more completely by delpino (loc. cit.). mr. bentham wrote a paper ( / . "linn. soc. journal," , page .) on the style and stigma in the goodenovieae, where he speaks of mr. darwin's belief that fertilisation takes place outside the indusium. this statement, which we imagine mr. bentham must have had from an unpublished source, was incomprehensible to him as long as he confined his work to such genera as goodenia, scaevola, velleia, coelogyne, in which the mechanism is much as above described; but on examining leschenaultia the meaning became clear. bentham writes of this genus:--"the indusium is usually described as broadly two-lipped, without any distinct stigma. the fact appears to be that the upper less prominent lip is stigmatic all over, inside and out, with a transverse band of short glandular hairs at its base outside, while the lower more prominent lip is smooth and glabrous, or with a tuft of rigid hairs. perhaps this lower lip and the upper band of hairs are all that correspond to the indusium of other genera; and the so-called upper lip, outside of which impregnation may well take place, as observed by mr. darwin, must be regarded as the true stigma." darwin's interest in the goodeniaceae was due to the mechanism being apparently fitted for self-fertilisation. in a writer signing himself f.w.b. made a communication to the "gardeners' chronicle" ( / . , page .), in which he expresses himself as "agreeably surprised" to find leschenaultia adapted for self-fertilisation, or at least for self-pollinisation. this led darwin to publish a short note in the same journal, in which he describes the penetration of pollen-tubes into the viscid surface on the outside of the indusium. ( / . , page . he had previously written in the "journal of horticulture and cottage gardener," may th, , page :--"leschenaultia formosa has apparently the most effective contrivance to prevent the stigma of one flower ever receiving a grain of pollen from another flower; for the pollen is shed in the early bud, and is there shut up round the stigma within a cup or indusium. but some observations led me to suspect that nevertheless insect agency here comes into play; for i found by holding a camel-hair pencil parallel to the pistil, and moving it as if it were a bee going to suck the nectar, the straggling hairs of the brush opened the lip of the indusium, entered it, stirred up the pollen, and brought out some grains. i did this to five flowers, and marked them. these five flowers all set pods; whereas only two other pods set on the whole plant, though covered with innumerable flowers...i wrote to mr. james drummond, at swan river in australia,...and he soon wrote to me that he had seen a bee cleverly opening the indusium and extracting pollen.") he also describes how a brush, pushed into the flower in imitation of an insect, presses "against the slightly projecting lower lip of the indusium, opens it, and some of the hairs enter and become smeared with pollen." the yield of pollen is therefore differently arranged in leschenaultia; for in the more typical genera it depends on the growth of the style inside the indusium. delpino, however (see hildebrand's version, loc. cit.), describes a similar opening of the cup produced by pressure on the hairs in some genera of the order.) down, june th [ ]. best and most beloved of men, i supplicate and entreat you to observe one point for me. remember that the goodeniaceae have weighed like an incubus for years on my soul. it relates to scaevola microcarpa. i find that in bud the indusium collects all the pollen splendidly, but, differently from leschenaultia, cannot be afterwards easily opened. further, i find that at an early stage, when the flower first opens, a boat-shaped stigma lies at the bottom of the indusium, and further that this stigma, after the flower has some time expanded, grows very rapidly, when the plant is kept hot, and pushes out of the indusium a mass of pollen; and at same time two horns project at the corners of the indusium. now the appearance of these horns makes me suppose that these are the stigmatic surfaces. will you look to this? for if they be by the relative position of the parts (with indusium and stigma bent at right angles to style) [i am led to think] that an insect entering a flower could not fail to have [its] whole back (at the period when, as i have seen, a whole mass of pollen is pushed out) covered with pollen, which would almost certainly get rubbed on the two horns. indeed, i doubt whether, without this aid, pollen would get on to the horns. what interests me in the case is the analogy in result with the lobelia, but by very different means. in lobelia the stigma, before it is mature, pushes by its circular brush of hairs the pollen out of the conjoined anthers; here the indusium collects pollen, and then the growth of the stigma pushes it out. in the course of about / hour, i found an indusium with hairs on the outer edge perfectly clogged with pollen, and horns protruded, which before the / hour had not one grain of pollen outside the indusium, and no trace of protruding horns. so you will see how i wish to know whether the horns are the true stigmatic surfaces. i would try the case experimentally by putting pollen on the horns, but my greenhouse is so cold, and my plant so small, and in such a little pot, that i suppose it would not seed... the little length of stigmatic horns at the moment when pollen is forced out of the indusium, compared to what they ultimately attain, makes me fancy that they are not then mature or ready, and if so, as in lobelia, each flower must be fertilised by pollen from another and earlier flower. how curious that the indusium should first so cleverly collect pollen and then afterwards push it out! yet how closely analogous to campanula brushing pollen out of the anther and retaining it on hairs till the stigma is ready. i am going to try whether campanula sets seed without insect agency. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . the following letters are given here rather than in chronological order, as bearing on the leschenaultia problem. the latter part of letter refers to the cleistogamic flowers of viola.) down, may st [ ]. if you can screw out time, do look at the stigma of the blue leschenaultia biloba. i have just examined a large bud with the indusium not yet closed, and it seems to me certain that there is no stigma within. the case would be very important for me, and i do not like to trust solely to myself. i have been impregnating flowers, but it is rather difficult... i have just looked again at viola canina. the case is odder: only stamens which embrace the stigma have pollen; the other stamens have no anther-cells and no pollen. these fertile anthers are of different shape from the sterile others, and the scale representing the lower lip is larger and differently shaped from the other scales representing other petals. in v. odorata (single flower) all five stamens produce pollen. but i daresay all this is known. letter . to j.d. hooker. november rd [ ]. do you remember the scarlet leschenaultia formosa with the sticky margin outside the indusium? well, this is the stigma--at least, i find the pollen-tubes here penetrate and nowhere else. what a joke it would be if the stigma is always exterior, and this by far the greatest difficulty in my crossing notions should turn out a case eminently requiring insect aid, and consequently almost inevitably ensuring crossing. by the way, have you any other goodeniaceae which you could lend me, besides leschenaultia and scaevola, of which i have seen enough? i had a long letter the other day from crocker of chichester; he has the real spirit of an experimentalist, but has not done much this summer. letter . to f. muller. down, april th and th [ ]. i am very much obliged by your letter of february th, abounding with so many highly interesting facts. your account of the rubiaceous plant is one of the most extraordinary that i have ever read, and i am glad you are going to publish it. i have long wished some one to observe the fertilisation of scaevola, and you must permit me to tell you what i have observed. first, for the allied genus of leschenaultia: utterly disbelieving that it fertilises itself, i introduced a camel-hair brush into the flower in the same way as a bee would enter, and i found that the flowers were thus fertilised, which never otherwise happens; i then searched for the stigma, and found it outside the indusium with the pollen-tubes penetrating it; and i convinced dr. hooker that botanists were quite wrong in supposing that the stigma lay inside the indusium. in scaevola microcarpa the structure is very different, for the immature stigma lies at the base within the indusium, and as the stigma grows it pushes the pollen out of the indusium, and it then clings to the hairs which fringe the tips of the indusium; and when an insect enters the flower, the pollen (as i have seen) is swept from these long hairs on to the insect's back. the stigma continues to grow, but is not apparently ready for impregnation until it is developed into two long protruding horns, at which period all the pollen has been pushed out of the indusium. but my observations are here at fault, for i did not observe the penetration of the pollen-tubes. the case is almost parallel with that of lobelia. now, i hope you will get two plants of scaevola, and protect one from insects, leaving the other uncovered, and observe the results, both in the number of capsules produced, and in the average number of seeds in each. it would be well to fertilise half a dozen flowers under the net, to prove that the cover is not injurious to fertility. with respect to your case of aristolochia, i think further observation would convince you that it is not fertilised only by larvae, for in a nearly parallel case of an arum and a aristolochia, i found that insects flew from flower to flower. i would suggest to you to observe any cases of flowers which catch insects by their probosces, as occurs with some of the apocyneae ( / . probably asclepiadeae. see h. muller, "fertilisation of flowers," page .); i have never been able to conceive for what purpose (if any) this is effected; at the same time, if i tempt you to neglect your zoological work for these miscellaneous observations i shall be guilty of a great crime. to return for a moment to the indusium: how curious it is that the pollen should be thus collected in a special receptacle, afterwards to be swept out by insects' agency! i am surprised at what you tell me about the fewness of the flowers of your native orchids which produce seed-capsules. what a contrast with our temperate european species, with the exception of some species of ophrys!--i now know of three or four cases of self-fertilising orchids, but all these are provided with means for an occasional cross. i am sorry to say dr. cruger is dead from a fever. i received yesterday your paper in the "botanische zeitung" on the wood of climbing plants. ( / . fritz muller, "ueber das holz einiger um desterro wachsenden kletterpflanzen." "botanische zeitung," , pages , .) i have read as yet only your very interesting and curious remarks on the subject as bearing on the change of species; you have pleased me by the very high compliments which you pay to my paper. i have been at work since march st on a new english edition ( / . the th edition.) of my "origin," of which when published i will send you a copy. i have much regretted the time it has cost me, as it has stopped my other work. on the other hand, it will be useful for a new third german edition, which is now wanted. i have corrected it largely, and added some discussions, but not nearly so much as i wished to do, for, being able to work only two hours daily, i feared i should never get it finished. i have taken some facts and views from your work "fur darwin"; but not one quarter of what i should like to have quoted. letter . to a.g. more. down, june th, . i hope that you will forgive the liberty which i take in writing to you and requesting a favour. mr. h.c. watson has given me your address, and has told me that he thought that you would be willing to oblige me. will you please to read the enclosed, and then you will understand what i wish observed with respect to the bee-orchis. ( / . ophrys apifera.) what i especially wish, from information which i have received since publishing the enclosed, is that the state of the pollen-masses should be noted in flowers just beginning to wither, in a district where the bee-orchis is extremely common. i have been assured that in parts of isle of wight, viz., freshwater gate, numbers occur almost crowded together: whether anything of this kind occurs in your vicinity i know not; but, if in your power, i should be infinitely obliged for any information. as i am writing, i will venture to mention another wish which i have: namely, to examine fresh flowers and buds of the aceras, spiranthes, marsh epipactis, and any other rare orchis. the point which i wish to examine is really very curious, but it would take too long space to explain. could you oblige me by taking the great trouble to send me in an old tin canister any of these orchids, permitting me, of course, to repay postage? it would be a great kindness, but perhaps i am unreasonable to make such a request. if you will inform me whether you have leisure so far to oblige me, i would tell you my movements, for on account of my own health and that of my daughter, i shall be on the move for the next two or three weeks. i am sure i have much cause to apologise for the liberty which i have taken... letter . to a.g. more. down, august rd, . i thank you most sincerely for sending me the epipactis [palustris]. you can hardly imagine what an interesting morning's work you have given me, as the rostellum exhibited a quite new modification of structure. it has been extremely kind of you to take so very much trouble for me. have you looked at the pollen-masses of the bee-ophrys? i do not know whether the epipactis grows near to your house: if it does, and any object takes you to the place (pray do not for a moment think me so very unreasonable as to ask you to go on purpose), would you be so kind [as] to watch the flowers for a quarter of an hour, and mark whether any insects (and what?) visit these flowers. i should suppose they would crawl in by depressing the terminal portion of the labellum; and that when within the flower this terminal portion would resume its former position; and lastly, that the insect in crawling out would not depress the labellum, but would crawl out at back of flower. ( / . the observations of mr. william darwin on epipactis palustris given in the "fertilisation of orchids," edition ii., , page , bear on this point. the chief fertilisers are hive-bees, which are too big to crawl into the flower. they cling to the labellum, and by depressing it open up the entrance to the flower. owing to the elasticity of the labellum and its consequent tendency to spring up when released, the bees, "as they left the flower, seemed to fly rather upwards." this agrees with darwin's conception of the mechanism of the flower as given in the first edition of the orchid book, , page , although at that time he imagined that the fertilising insect crawled into the flower. the extreme flexibility and elasticity of the labellum was first observed by mr. more (see first edition, page ). the description of the flower given in the above letter to mr. more is not quite clear; the reader is referred to the "fertilisation of orchids," loc. cit.) an insect crawling out of a recently opened flower would, i believe, have parts of the pollen-masses adhering to the back or shoulder. i have seen this in listera. how i should like to watch the epipactis. if you can it any time send me spiranthes or aceras or o. ustulata, you would complete your work of kindness. p.s.--if you should visit the epipactis again, would you gather a few of the lower flowers which have been opened for some time and have begun to wither a little, and observe whether pollen is well cleared out of anther-case. i have been struck with surprise that in nearly all the lower flowers sent by you, though much of the pollen has been removed, yet a good deal of pollen is left wasted within the anthers. i observed something of this kind in cephalanthera grandiflora. but i fear that you will think me an intolerable bore. letter . to a.g. more. down, august th, . i am infinitely obliged for your most clearly stated observations on the bee-orchis. it is now perfectly clear that something removes the pollen-masses far more with you than in this neighbourhood. but i am utterly puzzled about the foot-stalk being so often cut through. i should suspect snails. i yesterday found thirty-nine flowers, and of them only one pollen-mass in three flowers had been removed, and as these were extremely much-withered flowers i am not quite sure of the truth of this. the wind again is a new element of doubt. your observations will aid me extremely in coming to some conclusion. ( / . mr. more's observations on the percentage of flowers in which the pollinia were absent are quoted in "fertilisation of orchids," edition i., page .) i hope in a day or two to receive some day-moths, on the probosces of which i am assured the pollen-masses of the bee-orchis still adhere ( / . he was doomed to disappointment. on july th, , he wrote to mr. more:--"i found the other day a lot of bee-ophrys with the glands of the pollinia all in their pouches. all facts point clearly to eternal self-fertilisation in this species; yet i cannot swallow the bitter pill. have you looked at any this year?")... i wrote yesterday to thank you for the epipactis. for the chance of your liking to look at what i have found: take a recently opened flower, drag gently up the stigmatic surface almost any object (the side of a hooked needle), and you will find the cap of the hemispherical rostellum comes off with a touch, and being viscid on under-surface, clings to needle, and as pollen-masses are already attached to the back of rostellum, the needle drags out much pollen. but to do this, the curiously projecting and fleshy summits of anther-cases must at some time be pushed back slightly. now when an insect's head gets into the flower, when the flap of the labellum has closed by its elasticity, the insect would naturally creep out by the back-side of the flower. and mark when the insect flies to another flower with the pollen-masses adhering to it, if the flap of labellum did not easily open and allow free ingress to the insect, it would surely rub off the pollen on the upper petals, and so not leave it on stigma. it is to know whether i have rightly interpreted the structure of this whole flower that i am so curious to see how insects act. small insects, i daresay, would crawl in and out and do nothing. i hope that i shall not have wearied you with these details. if you would like to see a pretty and curious little sight, look to orchis pyramidalis, and you will see that the sticky glands are congenitally united into a saddle-shaped organ. remove this under microscope by pincers applied to foot-stalk of pollen-mass, and look quickly at the spontaneous movement of the saddle-shaped organs and see how beautifully adapted to seize proboscis of moth. letter . to j.d. hooker december th [ ]. many thanks about apocynum and meyen. the latter i want about some strange movements in cells of drosera, which meyen alone seems to have observed. ( / . no observations of meyen are mentioned in "insectivorous plants.") it is very curious, but trecul disbelieves that drosera really clasps flies! i should very much wish to talk over drosera with you. i did chloroform it, and the leaves which were already expanded did not recover thirty seconds of exposure for three days. i used the expression weight for the bit of hair which caused movement and weighed / of a grain; but i do not believe it is weight, and what it is, i cannot after many experiments conjecture. ( / . the doubt here expressed as to whether the result is due to actual weight is interesting in connection with pfeffer's remarkable discovery that a smooth object in contact with the gland produces no effect if the plant is protected from all vibration; on an ordinary table the slight shaking which reaches the plant is sufficient to make the body resting on the gland tremble, and thus produce a series of varying pressures--under these circumstances the gland is irritated, and the tentacle moves. see pfeffer, "untersuchungen aus d. bot. institut zu tubingen," volume i., , page ; also "insectivorous plants," edition ii., page .) the movement in this case does not depend on the chemical nature of substance. latterly i have tried experiments on single glands, and a microscopical atom of raw meat causes such rapid movement that i could see it move like hand of clock. in this case it is the nature of the object. it is wonderful the rapidity of the absorption: in ten seconds weak solution of carbonate of ammonia changes not the colour, but the state of contents within the glands. in two minutes thirty seconds juice of meat has been absorbed by gland and passed from cell to cell all down the pedicel (or hair) of the gland, and caused the sap to pass from the cells on the upper side of the pedicel to the lower side, and this causes the curvature of the pedicel. i shall work away next summer when drosera opens again, for i am much interested in subject. after the glandular hairs have curved, the oddest changes take place--viz., a segregation of the homogeneous pink fluid and necessary slow movements in the thicker matter. by jove, i sometimes think drosera is a disguised animal! you know that i always so like telling you what i do, that you must forgive me scribbling on my beloved drosera. farewell. i am so very glad that you are going to reform your ways; i am sure that you would have injured your health seriously. there is poor dana has done actually nothing--cannot even write a letter--for a year, and it is hoped that in another year he may quite recover. after this homily, good night, my dear friend. good heavens, i ought not to scold you, but thank you, for writing so long and interesting a letter. letter . to e. cresy. down, december th [ ?]. after writing out the greater part of my paper on drosera, i thought of so many points to try, and i wished to re-test the basis of one large set of experiments, namely, to feel still more sure than i am, that a drop of plain water never produces any effect, that i have resolved to publish nothing this year. for i found in the record of my daily experiments one suspicious case. i must wait till next summer. it will be difficult to try any solid substances containing nitrogen, such as ivory; for two quite distinct causes excite the movement, namely, mechanical irritation and presence of nitrogen. when a solid substance is placed on leaf it becomes clasped, but is released sooner than when a nitrogenous solid is clasped; yet it is difficult (except with raw meat and flies) to be sure of the result, owing to differences in vigour of different plants. the last experiments which i tried before my plants became too languid are very curious, and were tried by putting microscopical atoms on the gland itself of single hairs; and it is perfectly evident that an atom of human hair, / of a grain (as ascertained by weighing a length of hair) in weight, causes conspicuous movement. i do not believe (for atoms of cotton thread acted) it is the chemical nature; and some reasons make me doubt whether it is actual weight; it is not the shadow; and i am at present, after many experiments, confounded to know what the cause is. that these atoms did really act and alter the state of the contents of all the cells in the glandular hair, which moved, was perfectly clear. but i hope next summer to make out a good deal more... letter . to j.d. hooker. down, may th [ ]. i have been putting off writing from day to day, as i did not wish to trouble you, till my wish for a little news will not let me rest... i have no news to tell you, for i have had no interesting letters for some time, and have not seen a soul. i have been going through the "cottage gardener" of last year, on account chiefly of beaton's articles ( / . beaton was a regular contributor to the "cottage gardener," and wrote various articles on cross breeding, etc., in . one of these was in reply to a letter published in the "cottage gardener," may th, , page , in which darwin asked for information as to the compositae and the hollyhock being crossed by insect visitors. in the number for june th, , page , darwin wrote on the variability of the central flower of the carrot and the peloria of the central flower in pelargonium. an extract from a letter by darwin on leschenaultia, "cottage gardener," may th, , page , is given in letter , note.); he strikes me as a clever but d--d cock-sure man (as lord melbourne said), and i have some doubts whether to be much trusted. i suspect he has never recorded his experiment at the time with care. he has made me indignant by the way he speaks of gartner, evidently knowing nothing of his work. i mean to try and pump him in the "cottage gardener," and shall perhaps defend gartner. he alludes to me occasionally, and i cannot tell with what spirit. he speaks of "this mr. darwin" in one place as if i were a very noxious animal. let me have a line about poor henslow pretty soon. ( / . in a letter of may th, , darwin wrote again:--) by the way, thanks about beaton. i have now read more of his writings, and one answer to me in "cottage gardener." i can plainly see that he is not to be trusted. he does not well know his own subject of crossing. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . part of this letter has been published in "life and letters," iii., page .) , hesketh crescent, torquay [ ]. ...the beauty of the adaptation of parts seems to me unparalleled. i should think or guess [that] waxy pollen was most differentiated. in cypripedium, which seems least modified, and a much exterminated group, the grains are single. in all others, as far as i have seen, they are in packets of four; and these packets cohere into many wedge-formed masses in orchis, into eight, four, and finally two. it seems curious that a flower should exist which could, at most, fertilise only two other flowers, seeing how abundant pollen generally is; this fact i look at as explaining the perfection of the contrivance by which the pollen, so important from its fewness, is carried from flower to flower. by the way, cephalanthera has single pollen-grains, but this seems to be a case of degradation, for the rostellum is utterly aborted. oddly, the columns of pollen are here kept in place by very early penetration of pollen-tubes into the edge of the stigma; nevertheless, it receives more pollen by insect agency. epithecia [dichaea] has done me one good little turn. i often speculated how the caudicle of orchis had been formed. ( / . the gradation here suggested is thoroughly worked out in the "fertilisation of orchids," edition i., page , edition ii., page .) i had noticed slight clouds in the substance half way down; i have now dissected them out, and i find they are pollen-grains fairly embedded and useless. if you suppose the pollen-grains to abort in the lower half of the pollinia of epipactis, but the parallel elastic threads to remain and cohere, you have the caudicle of orchis, and can understand the few embedded and functionless pollen-grains. i must not look at any more exotic orchids: hearty thanks for your offer. but if you would make one single observation for me on cypripedium, i should be glad. asa gray writes to me that the outside of the pollen-masses is sticky in this genus; i find that the whole mass consists of pollen-grains immersed in a sticky brownish thick fluid. you could tell by a mere lens and penknife. if it is, as i find it, pollen could not get on the stigma without insect aid. cypripedium confounds me much. i conjecture that drops of nectar are secreted by the surface of the labellum beneath the anthers and in front of the stigma, and that the shield over the anthers and the form of labellum is to compel insects to insert their proboscis all round both organs. ( / . this view was afterwards given up.) it would be troublesome for you to look at this, as it is always bothersome to catch the nectar secreting, and the cup of the labellum gets filled with water by gardener's watering. i have examined listera ovata, cordata, and neottia nidus avis: the pollen is uniform; i suspect you must have seen some observation founded on a mistake from the penetration and hardening of sticky fluid from the rostellum, which does penetrate the pollen a little. it is mere virtue which makes me not wish to examine more orchids; for i like it far better than writing about varieties of cocks and hens and ducks. nevertheless, i have just been looking at lindley's list in the "vegetable kingdom," and i cannot resist one or two of his great division of arethuseae, which includes vanilla. and as i know so well the ophreae, i should like (god forgive me) any one of the satyriadae, disidae and corycidae. i fear my long lucubrations will have wearied you, but it has amused me to write, so forgive me. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . part of the following letter is published in the "life and letters," the remainder, with the omission of part bearing on the glen roy problem, is now given as an example of the varied botanical assistance darwin received from sir joseph hooker. for the part relating to verbascum see the "variation of animals and plants," edition ii., , volume ii., page . the point is that the white and yellow flowered plants which occur in two species of verbascum are undoubted varieties, yet "the sterility which results from the crossing of the differently coloured varieties of the same species is fully as great as that which occurs in many cases when distinct species are crossed." the sterility of the long-styled form (b) of linum grandiflorum, with its own pollen is described in "forms of flowers," edition ii., page : his conclusions on the short-styled form (a) differ from those in the present letter.) september th [ ]. i am going to beg for help, and i will explain why i want it. you offer cypripedium; i should be very glad of a specimen, and of any good-sized vandeae, or indeed any orchids, for this reason: i never thought of publishing separately, and therefore did not keep specimens in spirits, and now i should be very glad of a few woodcuts to illustrate my few remarks on exotic orchids. if you can send me any, send them by post in a tin canister on middle of day of saturday, october th, for sowerby will be here. secondly: have you any white and yellow varieties of verbascum which you could give me, or propagate for me, or lend me for a year? i have resolved to try gartner's wonderful and repeated statement, that pollen of white and yellow varieties, whether used on the varieties or on distinct species, has different potency. i do not think any experiment can be more important on the origin of species; for if he is correct we certainly have what huxley calls new physiological species arising. i should require several species of verbascum besides the white and yellow varieties of the same species. it will be tiresome work, but if i can anyhow get the plants, it shall be tried. thirdly: can you give me seeds of any rubiaceae of the sub-order cinchoneae, as spermacoce, diodia, mitchella, oldenlandia? asa gray says they present two forms like primula. i am sure that this subject is well worth working out. i have just almost proved a very curious case in linum grandiflorum which presents two forms, a and b. pollen of a is perfectly fertile on stigma of a. but pollen of b is absolutely barren on its own stigma; you might as well put so much flour on it. it astounded me to see the stigmas of b purple with its own pollen; and then put a few grains of similar-looking pollen of a on them, and the germen immediately and always swelled; those not thus treated never swelling. fourthly: can you give me any very hairy saxifraga (for their functions) [i.e. the functions of the hairs]? i send you a resume of my requests, to save you trouble. nor would i ask for so much aid if i did not think all these points well worth trying to investigate. my dear old friend, a letter from you always does me a world of good. and, the lord have mercy on me, what a return i make. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, october th [ ]. will you have the kindness to read the enclosed, and look at the diagram. six words will answer my question. it is not an important point, but there is to me an irresistible charm in trying to make out homologies. ( / . in he wrote to mr. bentham: "it was very kind of you to write to me about the orchideae, for it has pleased me to an extreme degree that i could have been of the least use to you about the nature of the parts."--"life and letters," iii., page .) you know the membranous cup or clinandrum, in many orchids, behind the stigma and rostellum: it is formed of a membrane which unites the filament of the normal dorsal anther with the edges of the pistil. the clinandrum is largely developed in malaxis, and is of considerable importance in retaining the pollinia, which as soon as the flower opens are quite loose. the appearance and similarity of the tissues, etc., at once gives suspicion that the lateral membranes of the clinandrum are the two other and rudimentary anthers, which in orchis and cephalanthera, etc., exist as mere papillae, here developed and utilised. now for my question. exactly in the middle of the filament of the normal anther, and exactly in the middle of the lateral membrane of the clinandrum, and running up to the same height, are quite similar bundles of spiral vessels; ending upwards almost suddenly. now is not this structure a good argument that i interpret the homologies of the sides of clinandrum rightly? ( / . though robert brown made use of the spiral vessels of orchids, yet according to eichler, "bluthendiagramme," , volume i., page , darwin was the first to make substantial additions to the conclusions deducible from the course of the vessels in relation to the problem of the morphology of these plants. eichler gives darwin's diagram side by side with that of van tieghem without attempting to decide between the differences in detail by which they are characterised.) i find that the great bauer does not draw very correctly! ( / . f. bauer, whom pritzel calls "der grosste pflanzenmaler." the reference is to his "illustrations of orchidaceous plants, with notes and prefatory remarks by john lindley," london, - , folio. see "fertilisation of orchids," edition ii., page .) and, good heavens, what a jumble he makes on functions. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, october nd. [ ]. acropera is a beast,--stigma does not open, everything seems contrived that it shall not be anyhow fertilised. there is something very odd about it, which could only be made out by incessant watching on several individual plants. i never saw the very curious flower of canna; i should say the pollen was deposited where it is to prevent inevitable self-fertilisation. you have no time to try the smallest experiment, else it would be worth while to put pollen on some stigmas (supposing that it does not seed freely with you). anyhow, insects would probably carry pollen from flower to flower, for kurr states the tube formed by pistil, stamen and "nectarblatt" secretes (i presume internally) much nectar. thanks for sending me the curious flower. now i want much some wisdom; though i must write at considerable length, your answer may be very brief. (figure .--floral diagram of an orchid. the "missing bundle" could not be found in some species.) in r. brown's admirable paper in the "linnean transacts." ( / . volume xvi., page .) he suggests (and lindley cautiously agrees) that the flower of orchids consists of five whorls, the inner whorl of the two whorls of anthers being all rudimentary, and when the labellum presents ridges, two or three of the anthers of both whorls [are] combined with it. in the ovarium there are six bundles of vessels: r. brown judged by transverse sections. it occurred to me, after what you said, to trace the vessels longitudinally, and i have succeeded well. look at my diagram [figure ] (which please return, for i am transported with admiration at it), which shows the vessels which i have traced, one bundle to each of fifteen theoretical organs, and no more. you will see the result is nothing new, but it seems to confirm strongly r. brown, for i have succeeded (perhaps he did, but he does not say so) in tracing the vessels belonging to each organ in front of each other to the same bundle in the ovarium: thus the vessels going to the lower sepal, to the side of the labellum, and to one stigma (when there are two) all distinctly branch from one ovarian bundle. so in other cases, but i have not completely traced (only seen) that going to the rostellum. but here comes my only point of novelty: in all orchids as yet looked at (even one with so simple a labellum as gymnadenia and malaxis) the vessels on the two sides of the labellum are derived from the bundle which goes to the lower sepal, as in the diagram. this leads me to conclude that the labellum is always a compound organ. now i want to know whether it is conceivable that the vessels coming from one main bundle should penetrate an organ (the labellum) which receives its vessels from another main bundle? does it not imply that all that part of the labellum which is supplied by vessels coming from a lateral bundle must be part of a primordially distinct organ, however closely the two may have become united? it is curious in gymnadenia to trace the middle anterior bundle in the ovarium: when it comes to the orifice of the nectary it turns and runs right down it, then comes up the opposite side and runs to the apex of the labellum, whence each side of the nectary is supplied by vessels from the bundles, coming from the lower sepals. hence even the thin nectary is essentially, i infer, tripartite; hence its tendency to bifurcation at its top. this view of the labellum always consisting of three organs (i believe four when thick, as in mormodes, at base) seems to me to explain its great size and tripartite form, compared with the other petals. certainly, if i may trust the vessels, the simple labellum of gymnadenia consists of three organs soldered together. forgive me for writing at such length; a very brief answer will suffice. i am desperately interested in the subject: the destiny of the whole human race is as nothing to the course of vessels of orchids... what plant has the most complex single stigma and pistil? the most complex i, in my ignorance, can think of is in iris. i want to know whether anything beats in modification the rostellum of catasetum. to-morrow i mean to be at catasetum. hurrah! what species is it? it is wonderfully different from that which veitch sent me, which was c. saccatum. according to the vessels, an orchid flower consists of three sepals and two petals free; and of a compound organ (its labellum), consisting of one petal and of two (or three) modified anthers; and of a second compound body consisting of three pistils, one normal anther, and two modified anthers often forming the sides of the clinandrum. letter . to john lindley. ( / . it was in the autumn of that darwin made up his mind to publish his orchid work as a book, rather than as a paper in the linnean society's "journal." ( / . see "life and letters," iii., page .) the following letter shows that the new arrangement served as an incitement to fresh work.) down, october th [ ?] mr. james veitch has been most generous. i did not know that you had spoken to him. if you see him pray say i am truly grateful; i dare not write to a live bishop or a lady, but if i knew the address of "rucker"? and might use your name as introduction, i might write. i am half mad on the subject. hooker has sent me many exotics, but i stopped him, for i thought i should make a fool of myself; but since i have determined to publish i much regret it. (figure .--habenaria chlorantha (longitudinal course of bundles).) ( / . the three upper curved outlines, two of which passing through the words "upper sepal," "upper petal," "lower sepal," were in red in the original; for explanation see text.) letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . the following letter is of interest because it relates to one of the two chief difficulties darwin met with in working out the morphology of the orchid flower. in the orchid book ( / . edition i., page .) he wrote, "this anomaly [in habenaria] is so far of importance, as it throws some doubt on the view which i have taken of the labellum being always an organ compounded of one petal and two petaloid stamens." that is to say, it leaves it open for a critic to assert that the vessels which enter the sides of the labellum are lateral vessels of the petal and do not necessarily represent petaloid stamens. in the sequel he gives a satisfactory answer to the supposed objector.) down, november th, [ ]. for the love of god help me. i believe all my work (about a fortnight) is useless. look at this accursed diagram (figure ) of the butterfly-orchis [habenaria], which i examined after writing to you yesterday, when i thought all my work done. some of the ducts of the upper sepal ( / . these would be described by modern morphologists as lower, not upper, sepals, etc. darwin was aware that he used these terms incorrectly.) and upper petal run to the wrong bundles on the column. i have seen no such case. this case apparently shows that not the least reliance can be placed on the course of ducts. i am sure of my facts. there is great adhesion and extreme displacement of parts where the organs spring from the top of the ovarium. asa gray says ducts are very early developed, and it seems to me wonderful that they should pursue this course. it may be said that the lateral ducts in the labellum running into the antero-lateral ovarian bundle is no argument that the labellum consists of three organs blended together. in desperation (and from the curious way the base of upper petals are soldered at basal edges) i fancied the real form of upper sepal, upper petal and lower sepal might be as represented by red lines, and that there had been an incredible amount of splitting of sepals and petals and subsequent fusion. this seems a monstrous notion, but i have just looked at bauer's drawing of allied bonatea, and there is a degree of lobing of petals and sepals which would account for anything. now could you spare me a dry flower out of your herbarium of bonatea speciosa ( / . see "fertilisation of orchids," edition i., page (note), where the resemblances between the anomalous vessels of bonatea and habenaria are described. on november th, , he wrote to sir joseph: "you are a true friend in need. i can hardly bear to let the bonatea soak long enough."), that i might soak and look for ducts. if i cannot explain the case of habenaria all my work is smashed. i was a fool ever to touch orchids. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, november th [ ]. what two very interesting and useful letters you have sent me. you rather astound me with respect to value of grounds of generalisation in the morphology of plants. it reminds me that years ago i sent you a grass to name, and your answer was, "it is certainly festuca (so-and-so), but it agrees as badly with the description as most plants do." i have often laughed over this answer of a great botanist...lindley, from whom i asked for an orchid with a simple labellum, has most kindly sent me a lot of what he marks "rare" and "rarissima" of peloric orchids, etc., but as they are dried i know not whether they will be of use. he has been most kind, and has suggested my writing to lady d. nevill, who has responded in a wonderfully kind manner, and has sent a lot of treasures. but i must stop; otherwise, by jove, i shall be transformed into a botanist. i wish i had been one; this morphology is surprisingly interesting. looking to your note, i may add that certainly the fifteen alternating bundles of spiral vessels (mingled with odd beadlike vessels in some cases) are present in many orchids. the inner whorl of anther ducts are oftenest aborted. i must keep clear of apostasia, though i have cast many a longing look at it in bauer. ( / . apostasia has two fertile anthers like cypripedium. it is placed by engler and prantl in the apostasieae or apostasiinae, among the orchideae, by others in a distinct but closely allied group.) i hope i may be well enough to read my own paper on thursday, but i have been very seedy lately. ( / . "on the two forms, or dimorphic condition, in the species of the genus primula," "linn. soc. journ." . he did read the paper, but it cost him the next day in bed. "life and letters," iii., page .) i see there is a paper at the royal on the same night, which will more concern you, on fossil plants of bovey ( / . oswald heer, "the fossil flora of bovey tracey," "phil. trans. r. soc." , page .), so that i suppose i shall not have you; but you must read my paper when published, as i shall very much like to hear what you think. it seems to me a large field for experiment. i shall make use of my orchid little volume in illustrating modification of species doctrine, but i keep very, very doubtful whether i am not doing a foolish action in publishing. how i wish you would keep to your old intention and write a book on plants. ( / . possibly a book similar to that described in letter .) letter . to g. bentham. down, november th [ ]. our notes have crossed on the road. i know it is an honour to have a paper in the "transactions," and i am much obliged to you for proposing it, but i should greatly prefer to publish in the "journal." nor does this apply exclusively to myself, for in old days at the geological society i always protested against an abstract appearing when the paper itself might appear. i abominate also the waste of time (and it would take me a day) in making an abstract. if the referee on my paper should recommend it to appear in the "transactions," will you be so kind as to lay my earnest request before the council that it may be permitted to appear in the "journal?" you must be very busy with your change of residence; but when you are settled and have some leisure, perhaps you will be so kind as to give me some cases of dimorphism, like that of primula. should you object to my adding them to those given me by a. gray? by the way, i heard from a. gray this morning, and he gives me two very curious cases in boragineae. letter . to john lindley. ( / . in the following fragment occurs the earliest mention of darwin's work on the three sexual forms of catasetum tridentatum. sir r. schomburgk ( / . "trans. linn. soc." xvii., page .) described catasetum tridentatum, monacanthus viridis and myanthus barbatus occurring on a single plant, but it remained for darwin to make out that they are the male, female and hermaphrodite forms of a single species. ( / . "fertilisation of orchids," edition i., page ; edition ii., page .) with regard to the species of acropera (gongora) ( / . acropera loddigesii = gongora galeata: a. luteola = g. fusca ("index kewensis").) he was wrong in his surmise. the apparent sterility seems to be explicable by hildebrand's discovery ( / . "bot. zeitung," and .) that in some orchids the ovules are not developed until pollinisation has occurred. ( / . "fertilisation of orchids," edition ii., page . see letter .)) down, december th [ ]. i am so nearly ready for press that i will not ask for anything more; unless, indeed, you stumbled on mormodes in flower. as i am writing i will just mention that i am convinced from the rudimentary state of the ovules, and from the state of the stigma, that the whole plant of acropera luteola (and i believe a. loddigesii) is male. have you ever seen any form from the same countries which could be the females? of course no answer is expected unless you have ever observed anything to bear on this. i may add [judging from the] state of the ovules and of the pollen [that]:-- catasetum tridentatum is male (and never seeds, according to schomburgk, whom you have accidentally misquoted in the "vegetable kingdom"). monacanthus viridis is female. myanthus barbatus is the hermaphrodite form of same species. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, december th [ ]. thanks for your note. i have not written for a long time, for i always fancy, busy as you are, that my letters must be a bore; though i like writing, and always enjoy your notes. i can sympathise with you about fear of scarlet fever: to the day of my death i shall never forget all the sickening fear about the other children, after our poor little baby died of it. the "genera plantarum" must be a tremendous work, and no doubt very valuable (such a book, odd as it may appear, would be very useful even to me), but i cannot help being rather sorry at the length of time it must take, because i cannot enter on and understand your work. will you not be puzzled when you come to the orchids? it seems to me orchids alone would be work for a man's lifetime; i cannot somehow feel satisfied with lindley's classification; the malaxeae and epidendreae seem to me very artificially separated. ( / . pfitzer (in the "pflanzenfamilien") places epidendrum in the laeliinae-cattleyeae, malaxis in the liparidinae. he states that bentham united the malaxideae and epidendreae.) not that i have seen enough to form an opinion worth anything. your african plant seems to be a vegetable ornithorhynchus, and indeed much more than that. ( / . see sir j.d. hooker, "on welwitschia, a new genus of gnetaceae." "linn. soc. trans." xxiv., - .) the more i read about plants the more i get to feel that all phanerogams seem comparable with one class, as lepidoptera, rather than with one kingdom, as the whole insecta. ( / . he wrote to hooker (december th, ): "i wrote carelessly about the value of phanerogams; what i was thinking of was that the sub-groups seemed to blend so much more one into another than with most classes of animals. i suspect crustacea would show more difference in the extreme forms than phanerogams, but, as you say, it is wild speculation. yet it is very strange what difficulty botanists seem to find in grouping the families together into masses.") thanks for your comforting sentence about the accursed ducts (accursed though they be, i should like nothing better than to work at them in the allied orders, if i had time). i shall be ready for press in three or four weeks, and have got all my woodcuts drawn. i fear much that publishing separately will prove a foolish job, but i do not care much, and the work has greatly amused me. the catasetum has not flowered yet! in writing to lindley about an orchid which he sent me, i told him a little about acropera, and in answer he suggests that gongora may be its female. he seems dreadfully busy, and i feel that i have more right to kill you than to kill him; so can you send me one or at most two dried flowers of gongora? if you know the habitat of acropera luteola, a gongora from the same country would be the best, but any true gongora would do; if its pollen should prove as rudimentary as that of monacanthus relatively to catasetum, i think i could easily perceive it even in dried specimens when well soaked. i have picked a little out of lecoq, but it is awful tedious hunting. bates is getting on with his natural history travels in one volume. ( / . h.w. bates, the "naturalist on the amazons," . see volume i., letters , , also "life and letters," volume ii., page .) i have read the first chapter in ms., and i think it will be an excellent book and very well written; he argues, in a good and new way to me, that tropical climate has very little direct relation to the gorgeous colouring of insects (though of course he admits the tropics have a far greater number of beautiful insects) by taking all the few genera common to britain and amazonia, and he finds that the species proper to the latter are not at all more beautiful. i wonder how this is in species of the same restricted genera of plants. if you can remember it, thank bentham for getting my primula paper printed so quickly. i do enjoy getting a subject off one's hands completely. i have now got dimorphism in structure in eight natural orders just like primula. asa gray sent me dried flowers of a capital case in amsinkia spectabilis, one of the boragineae. i suppose you do not chance to have the plant alive at kew. letter . to a.g. more. down, june th, . if you are well and have leisure, will you kindly give me one bit of information: does ophrys arachnites occur in the isle of wight? or do the intermediate forms, which are said to connect abroad this species and the bee-orchis, ever there occur? some facts have led me to suspect that it might just be possible, though improbable in the highest degree, that the bee [orchis] might be the self-fertilising form of o. arachnites, which requires insects' aid, something [in the same way] as we have self-fertilising flowers of the violet and others requiring insects. i know the case is widely different, as the bee is borne on a separate plant and is incomparably commoner. this would remove the great anomaly of the bee being a perpetual self-fertiliser. certain malpighiaceae for years produce only one of the two forms. what has set my head going on this is receiving to-day a bee having one alone of the best marked characters of o. arachnites. ( / . ophrys arachnites is probably more nearly allied to o. aranifera than to o. apifera. for a case somewhat analogous to that suggested see the description of o. scolopax in "fertilisation of orchids," edition ii., page .) pray forgive me troubling you. letter . to g. bentham. down, june nd [ ?]. here is a piece of presumption! i must think that you are mistaken in ranking hab[enaria] chlorantha ( / . in hooker's "students' flora," , page , h. chlorantha is given as a subspecies of h. bifolia. sir j.d. hooker adds that they are "according to darwin, distinct, and require different species of moths to fertilise them. they vary in the position and distances of their anther-cells, but intermediates occur." see "fertilisation of orchids," edition ii., page .) as a variety of h. bifolia; the pollen-masses and stigma differ more than in most of the best species of orchis. when i first examined them i remember telling hooker that moths would, i felt sure, fertilise them in a different manner; and i have just had proof of this in a moth sent me with the pollinia (which can be easily recognised) of h. chlorantha attached to its proboscis, instead of to the sides of its face, as an h. bifolia. forgive me scribbling this way; but when a man gets on his hobby-horse he always is run away with. anyhow, nothing here requires any answer. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, [september] th [ ]. your letter is a mine of wealth, but first i must scold you: i cannot abide to hear you abuse yourself, even in joke, and call yourself a stupid dog. you, in fact, thus abuse me, because for long years i have looked up to you as the man whose opinion i have valued more on any scientific subject than any one else in the world. i continually marvel at what you know, and at what you do. i have been looking at the "genera" ( / . "genera plantarum," by bentham and hooker, volume i., part i., .), and of course cannot judge at all of its real value, but i can judge of the amount of condensed facts under each family and genus. i am glad you know my feeling of not being able to judge about one's own work; but i suspect that you have been overworking. i should think you could not give too much time to wellwitchia (i spell it different every time i write it) ( / . "on welwitschia," "linn. soc. trans." [ ], xxiv., .); at least i am sure in the animal kingdom monographs cannot be too long on the osculant groups. hereafter i shall be excessively glad to read a paper about aldrovanda ( / . see "insectivorous plants," page .), and am very much obliged for reference. it is pretty to see how the caught flies support drosera; nothing else can live. thanks about plants with two kinds of anthers. i presume (if an included flower was a cassia) ( / . todd has described a species of cassia with an arrangement of stamens like the melastomads. see chapter .x.ii.) that cassia is like lupines, but with some stamens still more rudimentary. if i hear i will return the three melastomads; i do not want them, and, indeed, have cuttings. i am very low about them, and have wasted enormous labour over them, and cannot yet get a glimpse of the meaning of the parts. i wish i knew any botanical collector to whom i could apply for seeds in their native land of any heterocentron or monochoetum; i have raised plenty of seedlings from your plants, but i find in other cases that from a homomorphic union one generally gets solely the parent form. do you chance to know of any botanical collector in mexico or peru? i must not now indulge myself with looking after vessels and homologies. some future time i will indulge myself. by the way, some time i want to talk over the alternation of organs in flowers with you, for i think i must have quite misunderstood you that it was not explicable. i found out the verbascum case by pure accident, having transplanted one for experiment, and finding it to my astonishment utterly sterile. i formerly thought with you about rarity of natural hybrids, but i am beginning to change: viz., oxlips (not quite proven), verbascum, cistus (not quite proven), aegilops triticoides (beautifully shown by godron), weddell's and your orchids ( / . for verbascum see "animals and plants," edition ii., volume i., page ; for cistus, ibid., edition ii., volume i., page , volume ii., page ; for aegilops, ibid., edition ii., volume i., page , note.), and i daresay many others recorded. your letters are one of my greatest pleasures in life, but i earnestly beg you never to write unless you feel somewhat inclined, for i know how hard you work, as i work only in the morning it is different with me, and is only a pleasant relaxation. you will never know how much i owe to you for your constant kindness and encouragement. letter . to john lubbock (lord avebury). cliff cottage, bournemouth, hants, september nd [ ]. hearty thanks for your note. i am so glad that your tour answered so splendidly. my poor patients ( / . mrs. darwin and one of her sons, both recovering from scarlet fever.) got here yesterday, and are doing well, and we have a second house for the well ones. i write now in great haste to beg you to look (though i know how busy you are, but i cannot think of any other naturalist who would be careful) at any field of common red clover (if such a field is near you) and watch the hive-bees: probably (if not too late) you will see some sucking at the mouth of the little flowers and some few sucking at the base of the flowers, at holes bitten through the corollas. all that you will see is that the bees put their heads deep into the [flower] head and rout about. now, if you see this, do for heaven's sake catch me some of each and put in spirits and keep them separate. i am almost certain that they belong to two castes, with long and short proboscids. this is so curious a point that it seems worth making out. i cannot hear of a clover field near here. letter . to john lubbock (lord avebury). cliff cottage, bournemouth, wednesday, september rd [ ]. i beg a million pardons. abuse me to any degree, but forgive me: it is all an illusion (but almost excusable) about the bees. ( / . h. muller, "fertilisation of flowers," page , describes hive-bees visiting trifolium pratense for the sake of the pollen. darwin may perhaps have supposed that these were the variety of bees whose proboscis was long enough to reach the nectar. in "cross and self fertilisation," page , darwin describes hive-bees apparently searching for a secretion on the calyx. in the same passage in "cross and self fertilisation" he quotes muller as stating that hive-bees obtain nectar from red clover by breaking apart the petals. this seems to us a misinterpretation of the "befruchtung der blumen," page .) i do so hope that you have not wasted any time from my stupid blunder. i hate myself, i hate clover, and i hate bees. (figure .--diagram of cruciferous flower. figure .--dissection of cruciferous flower. laid flat open, showing by dotted lines the course of spiral vessels in all the organs; sepals and petals shown on one side alone, with the stamens on one side above with course of vessels indicated, but not prolonged. near side of pistil with one spiral vessel cut away.) letter . to j.d. hooker. cliff cottage, bournemouth, september th, . you once told me that cruciferous flowers were anomalous in alternation of parts, and had given rise to some theory of dedoublement. having nothing on earth to do here, i have dissected all the spiral vessels in a flower, and instead of burning my diagrams [figures and ], i send them to you, you miserable man. but mind, i do not want you to send me a discussion, but just some time to say whether my notions are rubbish, and then burn the diagrams. it seems to me that all parts alternate beautifully by fours, on the hypothesis that two short stamens of outer whorl are aborted ( / . the view given by darwin is (according to eichler) that previously held by knuth, wydler, chatin, and others. eichler himself believes that the flower is dimerous, the four longer stamens being produced by the doubling or splitting of the upper (i.e. antero-posterior) pair of stamens. if this view is correct, and there are good reasons for it, it throws much suspicion on the evidence afforded by the course of vessels, for there is no trace of the common origin of the longer stamens in the diagram (figure ). again, if eichler is right, the four vessels shown in the section of the ovary are misleading. darwin afterwards gave a doubtful explanation of this, and concluded that the ovary is dimerous. see letter .); and this view is perhaps supported by their being so few, only two sub-bundles in the two lateral main bundles, where i imagine two short stamens have aborted, but i suppose there is some valid objection against this notion. the course of the side vessels in the sepals is curious, just like my difficulty in habenaria. ( / . see letter .) i am surprised at the four vessels in the ovarium. can this indicate four confluent pistils? anyhow, they are in the right alternating position. the nectary within the base of the shorter stamens seems to cause the end sepals apparently, but not really, to arise beneath the lateral sepals. i think you will understand my diagrams in five minutes, so forgive me for bothering you. my writing this to you reminds me of a letter which i received yesterday from claparede, who helped the french translatress of the "origin" ( / . the late mlle. royer.), and he tells me he had difficulty in preventing her (who never looked at a bee's cell) from altering my whole description, because she affirmed that an hexagonal prism must have an hexagonal base! almost everywhere in the "origin," when i express great doubt, she appends a note explaining the difficulty, or saying that there is none whatever!! ( / . see "life and letters," ii., page .) it is really curious to know what conceited people there are in the world (people, for instance, after looking at one cruciferous flower, explain their homologies). this is a nice, but most barren country, and i can find nothing to look at. even the brooks and ponds produce nothing. the country is like patagonia. my wife is almost well, thank god, and leonard is wonderfully improved ...good god, what an illness scarlet fever is! the doctor feared rheumatic fever for my wife, but she does not know her risk. it is now all over. (figure .) letter . to j.d. hooker. cliff cottage, bournemouth, thursday evening [september th, ]. thanks for your pleasant note, which told me much news, and upon the whole good, of yourselves. you will be awfully busy for a time, but i write now to say that if you think it really worth while to send me a few dielytra, or other fumariaceous plant (which i have already tried in vain to find here) in a little tin box, i will try and trace the vessels; but please observe, i do not know that i shall have time, for i have just become wonderfully interested in experimenting on drosera with poisons, etc. if you send any fumariaceous plant, send if you can, also two or three single balsams. after writing to you, i looked at vessels of ovary of a sweet-pea, and from this and other cases i believe that in the ovary the midrib vessel alone gives homologies, and that the vessels on the edge of the carpel leaf often run into the wrong bundle, just like those on the sides of the sepals. hence i [suppose] in crucifers that the ovarium consists of two pistils; aa [figure ] being the midrib vessels, and bb being those formed of the vessels on edges of the two carpels, run together, and going to wrong bundles. i came to this conclusion before receiving your letter. i wonder why asa gray will not believe in the quaternary arrangement; i had fancied that you saw some great difficulty in the case, and that made me think that my notion must be wrong. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, september th [ ]. masdevallia turns out nothing wonderful ( / . this may refer to the homologies of the parts. he was unable to understand the mechanism of the flower.--"fertilisation of orchids," edition ii., page .); i was merely stupid about it; i am not the less obliged for its loan, for if i had lived till years old i should have been uneasy about it. it shall be returned the first day i send to bromley. i have steamed the other plants, and made the sensitive plant very sensitive, and shall soon try some experiments on it. but after all it will only be amusement. nevertheless, if not causing too much trouble, i should be very glad of a few young plants of this and hedysarum in summer ( / . hedysarum or desmodium gyrans, the telegraph-plant.), for this kind of work takes no time and amuses me much. have you seeds of oxalis sensitiva, which i see mentioned in books? by the way, what a fault it is in henslow's "botany" that he gives hardly any references; he alludes to great series of experiments on absorption of poison by roots, but where to find them i cannot guess. possibly the all-knowing oliver may know. i can plainly see that the glands of drosera, from rapid power (almost instantaneous) of absorption and power of movement, give enormous advantage for such experiments. and some day i will enjoy myself with a good set to work; but it will be a great advantage if i can get some preliminary notion on other sensitive plants and on roots. oliver said he would speak about some seeds of lythrum hyssopifolium being preserved for me. by the way, i am rather disgusted to find i cannot publish this year on lythrum salicaria; i must make additional crosses. all that i expected is true, but i have plain indication of much higher complexity. there are three pistils of different structure and functional power, and i strongly suspect altogether five kinds of pollen all different in this one species! ( / . see "forms of flowers," edition ii., page .) by any chance have you at kew any odd varieties of the common potato? i want to grow a few plants of every variety, to compare flowers, leaves, fruit, etc., as i have done with peas, etc. ( / . "animals and plants," edition ii., volume i., page . compare also the similar facts with regard to cabbages, loc. cit., page . some of the original specimens are in the botanical museum at cambridge.) letter . j.d. hooker to charles darwin. ( / . the following is part of letter , volume i. it refers to reviews of "fertilisation of orchids" in the "gardeners' chronicle," , pages , , , and in the "natural history review," october, , page .) november th, . dear old darwin, i assure you it was not my fault! i worried lindley over and over again to notice your orchid book in the "chronicle" by the very broadest hints man could give. ( / . see "life and letters," iii., page .) at last he said, "really i cannot, you must do it for me," and so i did--volontiers. lindley felt that he ought to have done it himself, and my main effort was to write it "a la lindley," and in this alone i have succeeded--that people all think it is exactly lindley's style!!! which diverts me vastly. the fact is, between ourselves, i fear that poor l. is breaking up--he said that he could not fix his mind on your book. he works himself beyond his mental or physical powers. and now, my dear darwin, i may as well make a clean breast of it, and tell you that i wrote the "nat. hist. review" notice too--to me a very difficult task, and one i fancied i failed in, comparatively. of this you are no judge, and can be none; you told me to tell oliver it pleased you, and so i am content and happy. letter . to w.e. darwin. down, th [about - ?] i have been looking at the fertilisation of wheat, and i think possibly you might find something curious. i observed in almost every one of the pollen-grains, which had become empty and adhered to (i suppose the viscid) branching hairs of the stigma, that the pollen-tube was always (?) emitted on opposite side of grain to that in contact with the branch of the stigma. this seems very odd. the branches of the stigma are very thin, formed apparently of three rows of cells of hardly greater diameter than pollen-tube. i am astonished that the tubes should be able to penetrate the walls. the specimens examined (not carefully by me) had pollen only during few hours on stigma; and the mere suspicion has crossed me that the pollen-tubes crawl down these branches to the base and then penetrate the stigmatic tissue. ( / . see strasburger's "neue untersuchungen uber den befruchtungsvorgang bei den phanerogamen," . in alopecurus pratensis he describes the pollen as adhering to the end of a projection from the stigma where it germinates; the tube crawls along or spirally round this projection until it reaches the angle where the stigmatic branch is given off; here it makes an entrance and travels in the middle lamella between two cells.) the paleae open for a short period for stigma to be dusted, and then close again, and such travelling down would take place under protection. high powers and good adjustment are necessary. ears expel anthers when kept in water in room; but the paleae apparently do not open and expose stigma; but the stigma could easily be artificially impregnated. if i were you i would keep memoranda of points worth attending to. .x.ii. melastomaceae, - . ( / . the following series of letters ( - ) refers to the melastomaceae and certain other flowers of analogous form. in darwin attempted to explain the existence of two very different sets of stamens in these plants as a case of dimorphism, somewhat analogous to the state of things in primula. in this view he was probably wrong, but this does not diminish the interest of the crossing experiments described in the letters. the persistence of his interest in this part of the subject is shown in the following passage from his preface to the english translation of h. muller's "befruchtung der blumen"; the passage is dated february, , but was not published until the following year. "there exist also some few plants the flowers of which include two sets of stamens, differing in the shape of the anthers and in the colour of the pollen; and at present no one knows whether this difference has any functional significance, and this is a point which ought to be determined." it is not obvious why he spoke of the problem as if no light had been thrown on it, since in fritz muller had privately (see letter ) offered an explanation which darwin was strongly inclined to accept. ( / . h. muller published ("nature," august th, ) a letter from his brother fritz giving the theory in question for heeria. todd ("american naturalist," april ), described a similar state of things in solanum rostratum and in cassia: and h.o. forbes ("nature," august , page ) has done the same for melastoma. in rhexia virginica mr. w.h. leggett ("bulletin torrey bot. club, new york," viii., , page ) describes the curious structure of the anther, which consists of two inflated portions and a tubular part connecting the two. by pressing with a blunt instrument on one of the ends, the pollen is forced out in a jet through a fine pore in the other inflated end. mr. leggett has seen bees treading on the anthers, but could not get near enough to see the pollen expelled. in the same journal, volume ix., page , mr. bailey describes how in heterocentron roseum, "upon pressing the bellows-like anther with a blunt pencil, the pollen was ejected to a full inch in distance." on lagerstroemia as comparable with the melastomads see letter .) fritz muller's theory with regard to the melastomads and a number of analogous cases in other genera are discussed in h. muller's article in "kosmos" ( / . "kosmos," xiii., , page .), where the literature is given. f. muller's theory is that in heeria the yellow anthers serve merely as a means of attracting pollen-collecting bees, while the longer stamens with purple or crimson anthers supply pollen for fertilising purposes. if muller is right the pollen from the yellow anthers would not normally reach the stigma. the increased vigour observed in the seedlings from the yellow anthers would seem to resemble the good effect of a cross between different individuals of the same species as worked out in "cross and self fertilisation," for it is difficult to believe that the pollen of the purple anthers has become, by adaptation, less effective than that of the yellow anthers. in the letters here given there is some contradiction between the statements as to the position of the two sets of stamens in relation to the sepals. according to eichler ("bluthendiagramme, ii., page ) the longer stamens may be either epipetalous or episepalous in this family. the work on the melastomads is of such intrinsic importance that we have thought it right to give the correspondence in considerable detail; we have done so in spite of the fact that darwin arrived at no definite conclusion, and in spite of an element of confusion and unsatisfactoriness in the series of letters. this applies also to letter , written after darwin had learned fritz muller's theory, which is obscured by some errors or slips of the pen.) letter . to g. bentham. down, february rd [ ?] as you so kindly helped me before on dimorphism, will you forgive me begging for a little further information, if in your power to give it? the case is that of the melastomads with eight stamens, on which i have been experimenting. i am perplexed by opposed statements: lindley says the stamens which face the petals are sterile; wallich says in oxyspora paniculata that the stamens which face the sepals are destitute of pollen; i find plenty of apparently good pollen in both sets of stamens in heterocentron [heeria], monochoetum, and centradenia. can you throw any light on this? but there is another point on which i am more anxious for information. please look at the enclosed miserable diagram. i find that the pollen of the yellow petal-facing stamens produce more than twice as much seed as the pollen of the purple sepal-facing stamens. this is exactly opposed to lindley's statement--viz., that the petal-facing stamens are sterile. but i cannot at present believe that the case has any relation to abortion; it is hardly possible to believe that the longer and very curious stamens, which face the sepals in this heterocentron, are tending to be rudimentary, though their pollen applied to their own flowers produces so much less seed. it is conformable with what we see in primula that the [purple] sepal-facing anthers, which in the plant seen by me stood quite close on each side of the stigma, should have been rendered less fitted to fertilise the stigma than the stamens on the opposite side of the flower. hence the suspicion has crossed me that if many plants of the heterocentron roseum were examined, half would be found with the pistil nearly upright, instead of being rectangularly bent down, as shown in the diagram ( / . according to willis, "flowering plants and ferns," , volume ii., page , the style in monochoetum, "at first bent downwards, moves slowly up till horizontal."); or, if the position of pistil is fixed, that in half the plants the petal-facing stamens would bend down, and in the other half of the plants the sepal-facing stamens would bend down as in the diagram. i suspect the former case, as in centradenia i find the pistil nearly straight. can you tell me? ( / . no reply by mr. bentham to this or the following queries has been found.) can the name heterocentron have any reference to such diversity? would it be asking too great a favour to ask you to look at dried specimens of heterocentron roseum (which would be best), or of monochoetum, or any eight-stamened melastomad, of which you have specimens from several localities (as this would ensure specimens having been taken from distinct plants), and observe whether the pistil bends differently or stamens differently in different plants? you will at once see that, if such were the fact, it would be a new form of dimorphism, and would open up a large field of inquiry with respect to the potency of the pollen in all plants which have two sets of stamens--viz., longer and shorter. can you forgive me for troubling you at such unreasonable length? but it is such waste of time to experiment without some guiding light. i do not know whether you have attended particularly to melastoma; if you have not, perhaps hooker or oliver may have done so. i should be very grateful for any information, as it will guide future experiments. p.s.--do you happen to know, when there are only four stamens, whether it is the petal or sepal-facers which are preserved? and whether in the four-stamened forms the pistil is rectangularly bent or is straight? letter . to asa gray. down, february th [ ?]. i have been trying a few experiments on melastomads; and they seem to indicate that the pollen of the two curious sets of anthers (i.e. the petal-facers and the sepal-facers) have very different powers; and it does not seem that the difference is connected with any tendency to abortion in the one set. now i think i can understand the structure of the flower and means of fertilisation, if there be two forms,--one with the pistil bent rectangularly out of the flower, and the other with it nearly straight. our hot-house and green-house plants have probably all descended by cuttings from a single plant of each species; so i can make out nothing from them. i applied in vain to bentham and hooker; but oliver picked out some sentences from naudin, which seem to indicate differences in the position of the pistil. i see that rhexia grows in massachusetts; and i suppose has two different sets of stamens. now, if in your power, would you observe the position of the pistil in different plants, in lately opened flowers of the same age? (i specify this because in monochaetum i find great changes of position in the pistils and stamens, as flower gets old). supposing that my prophecy should turn out right, please observe whether in both forms the passage into the flower is not [on] the upper side of the pistil, owing to the basal part of the pistil lying close to the ring of filaments on the under side of the flower. also i should like to know the colour of the two sets of anthers. this would take you only a few minutes, and is the only way i see that i can find out whether these plants are dimorphic in this peculiar way--i.e., only in the position of the pistil ( / . in exacum and in saintpaulia the flowers are dimorphic in this sense: the style projects to either the right or the left side of the corolla, from which it follows that a right-handed flower would fertilise a left-handed one, and vice versa. see willis, "flowering plants and ferns," , volume i., page .) and in its relation to the two kinds of pollen. i am anxious about this, because if it should prove so, it will show that all plants with longer and shorter or otherwise different anthers will have to be examined for dimorphism. letter . to asa gray. march th [ ]. ...i wrote some little time ago about rhexia; since then i have been carefully watching and experimenting on another genus, monochaetum; and i find that the pistil is first bent rectangularly (as in the sketch sent), and then in a few days becomes straight: the stamens also move. if there be not two forms of rhexia, will you compare the position of the part in young and old flowers? i have a suspicion (perhaps it will be proved wrong when the seed-capsules are ripe) that one set of anthers are adapted to the pistil in early state, and the other set for it in its later state. if bees visit the rhexia, for heaven's sake watch exactly how the anther and stigma strike them, both in old and young flowers, and give me a sketch. again i say, do not hate me. letter . to j.d. hooker. leith hill place, dorking, thursday, th [may ]. you stated at the linnean society that different sets of seedling cinchona ( / . cinchona is apparently heterostyled: see "forms of flowers," edition ii., page .) grew at very different rate, and from my primula case you attributed it probably to two sorts of pollen. i confess i thought you rash, but i now believe you were quite right. i find the yellow and crimson anthers of the same flower in the melastomatous heterocentron roseum have different powers; the yellow producing on the same plant thrice as many seeds as the crimson anthers. i got my neighbour's most skilful gardener to sow both kinds of seeds, and yesterday he came to me and said it is a most extraordinary thing that though both lots have been treated exactly alike, one lot all remain dwarfs and the other lot are all rising high up. the dwarfs were produced by the pollen of the crimson anthers. in monochaetum ensiferum the facts are more complex and still more strange; as the age and position of the pistils comes into play, in relation to the two kinds of pollen. these facts seem to me so curious that i do not scruple to ask you to see whether you can lend me any melastomad just before flowering, with a not very small flower, and which will endure for a short time a greenhouse or sitting-room; when fertilised and watered i could send it to mr. turnbull's to a cool stove to mature seed. i fully believe the case is worth investigation. p.s.--you will not have time at present to read my orchid book; i never before felt half so doubtful about anything which i published. when you read it, do not fear "punishing" me if i deserve it. adios. i am come here to rest, which i much want. whenever you have occasion to write, pray tell me whether you have rhododendron boothii from bhootan, with a smallish yellow flower, and pistil bent the wrong way; if so, i would ask oliver to look for nectary, for it is an abominable error of nature that must be corrected. i could hardly believe my eyes when i saw the pistil. letter . to asa gray. january th [ ]. i have been at those confounded melastomads again; throwing good money (i.e. time) after bad. do you remember telling me you could see no nectar in your rhexia? well, i can find none in monochaetum, and bates tells me that the flowers are in the most marked manner neglected by bees and lepidoptera in amazonia. now the curious projections or horns to the stamens of monochaetum are full of fluid, and the suspicion occurs to me that diptera or small hymenoptera may puncture these horns like they puncture (proved since my orchid book was published) the dry nectaries of true orchis. i forget whether rhexia is common; but i very much wish you would next summer watch on a warm day a group of flowers, and see whether they are visited by small insects, and what they do. letter . to i.a. henry. down, january th [ ]. ...you must kindly permit me to mention any point on which i want information. if you are so inclined, i am curious to know from systematic experiments whether mr. d. beaton's statement that the pollen of two shortest anthers of scarlet pelargonium produce dwarf plants ( / . see "animals and plants," edition ii., volume ii., page , for a brief account of darwin's experiments on this genus. also loc. cit., page (note), for a suggested experiment.), in comparison with plants produced from the same mother-plant by the pollen of longer stamens from the same flower. it would aid me much in some laborious experiments on melastomads. i confess i feel a little doubtful; at least, i feel pretty nearly sure that i know the meaning of short stamens in most plants. this summer (for another object) i crossed queen of scarlet pelargonium with pollen of long and short stamens of multiflora alba, and it so turns out that plants from short stamens are the tallest; but i believe this to have been mere chance. my few crosses in pelargonium were made to get seed from the central peloric or regular flower (i have got one from peloric flower by pollen of peloric), and this leads me to suggest that it would be very interesting to test fertility of peloric flowers in three ways,--own peloric pollen on peloric stigma, common pollen on peloric stigma, peloric pollen on common stigma of same species. my object is to discover whether with change of structure of flower there is any change in fertility of pollen or of female organs. this might also be tested by trying peloric and common pollen on stigma of a distinct species, and conversely. i believe there is a peloric and common variety of tropaeolum, and a peloric or upright and common variation of some species of gloxinia, and the medial peloric flowers of pelargonium, and probably others unknown to me. letter . to i.a. henry. hartfield, may nd [ ]. in scarlet dwarf pelargonium, you will find occasionally an additional and abnormal stamen on opposite and lower side of flower. now the pollen of this one occasional short stamen, i think, very likely would produce dwarf plants. if you experiment on pelargonium i would suggest your looking out for this single stamen. i observed fluctuations in length of pistil in phloxes, but thought it was mere variability. if you could raise a bed of seedling phloxes of any species except p. drummondii, it would be highly desirable to see if two forms are presented, and i should be very grateful for information and flowers for inspection. i cannot remember, but i know that i had some reason to look after phloxes. ( / . see "forms of flowers," edition ii., page , where the conjecture is hazarded that phlox subulata shows traces of a former heterostyled condition.) i do not know whether you have used microscopes much yet. it adds immensely to interest of all such work as ours, and is indeed indispensable for much work. experience, however, has fully convinced me that the use of the compound without the simple microscope is absolutely injurious to progress of n[atural] history (excepting, of course, with infusoria). i have, as yet, found no exception to the rule, that when a man has told me he works with the compound alone his work is valueless. letter . to asa gray. march th [ ]. i wrote to him [dr. h. cruger, of trinidad] to ask him to observe what the insects did in the flowers of melastomaceae: he says not proper season yet, but that on one species a small bee seemed busy about the horn-like appendages to the anthers. it will be too good luck if my study of the flowers in the greenhouse has led me to right interpretation of these appendages. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, november th [ ]. if you had come here on sunday i should have asked you whether you could give me seed or seedlings of any melastomad which would flower soon to experiment on! i wrote also to j. scott to ask if he could give me seed. several years ago i raised a lot of seedlings of a melastomad greenhouse bush (monochaetus or some such name) ( / . monochaetum.) from stigmas fertilised separately by the two kinds of pollen, and the seedlings differed remarkably in size, and whilst young, in appearance; and i never knew what to think of the case (so you must not use it), and have always wished to try again, but they are troublesome beasts to fertilise. on the other hand i could detect no difference in the product from the two coloured anthers of clarkia. ( / . clarkia has eight stamens divided into two groups which differ in the colour of the anthers.) if you want to know further particulars of my experiments on monochaetum (?) and clarkia, i will hunt for my notes. you ask about difference in pollen in the same species. all dimorphic and trimorphic plants present such difference in function and in size. lythrum and the trimorphic oxalis are the most wonderful cases. the pollen of the closed imperfect cleistogamic flowers differ in the transparency of the integument, and i think in size. the latter point i could ascertain from my notes. the pollen or female organs must differ in almost every individual in some manner; otherwise the pollen of varieties and even distinct individuals of same varieties would not be so prepotent over the individual plant's own pollen. here follows a case of individual differences in function of pollen or ovules or both. some few individuals of reseda odorata and r. lutea cannot be fertilised, or only very rarely, by pollen of the same plant, but can by pollen of any other individual. i chanced to have two plants of r. odorata in this state; so i crossed them and raised five seedlings, all of which were self sterile and all perfectly fertile with pollen of any other individual mignonette. so i made a self sterile race! i do not know whether these are the kinds of facts which you require. think whether you can help me to seed or better seedlings (not cuttings) of any melastomad. letter . to f. muller. down, march th, . i have received the seeds and your most interesting letter of february th. the seeds shall be sown, and i shall like to see the plants sleeping; but i doubt whether i shall make any more detailed observations on this subject, as, now that i feel very old, i require the stimulus of some novelty to make me work. this stimulus you have amply given me in your remarkable view of the meaning of the two-coloured stamens in many flowers. i was so much struck with this fact with lythrum, that i began experimenting on some melastomaceae, which have two sets of extremely differently coloured anthers. after reading your letter i turned to my notes (made years ago!) to see whether they would support or contradict your suggestion. i cannot tell yet, but i have come across one very remarkable result, that seedlings from the crimson anthers were not / ths of the size of seedlings from the yellow anthers of the same flowers. fewer good seeds were produced by the crimson pollen. i concluded that the shorter stamens were aborting, and that the pollen was not good. ( / . "shorter stamens" seems to be a slip of the pen for "longer,"--unless the observations were made on some genus in which the structure is unusual.) the mature pollen is incoherent, and must be [word illegible] against the visiting insect's body. i remembered this, and i find it said in my early notes that bees would never visit the flowers for pollen. this made me afterwards write to the late dr. cruger in the west indies, and he observed for me the flowers, and saw bees pressing the anthers with their mandibles from the base upwards, and this forced a worm-like thread of pollen from the terminal pore, and this pollen the bees collected with their hind legs. so that the melastomads are not opposed to your views. i am now working on the habits of worms, and it tires me much to change my subject; so i will lay on one side your letter and my notes, until i have a week's leisure, and will then see whether my facts bear on your views. i will then send a letter to "nature" or to the linn. soc., with the extract of your letter (and this ought to appear in any case), with my own observations, if they appear worth publishing. the subject had gone out of my mind, but i now remember thinking that the imperfect action of the crimson stamens might throw light on hybridism. if this pollen is developed, according to your view, for the sake of attracting insects, it might act imperfectly, as well as if the stamens were becoming rudimentary. ( / . as far as it is possible to understand the earlier letters it seems that the pollen of the shorter stamens, which are adapted for attracting insects, is the most effective.) i do not know whether i have made myself intelligible. letter . to w. thiselton-dyer. down, march st [ ]. i have had a letter from fritz muller suggesting a novel and very curious explanation of certain plants producing two sets of anthers of different colour. this has set me on fire to renew the laborious experiments which i made on this subject, now years ago. now, will you be so kind as to turn in your much worked and much holding head, whether you can think of any plants, especially annuals, producing such sets of anthers. i believe that this is the case with clarkia elegans, and i have just written to thompson for seeds. the lythraceae must be excluded, as these are heterostyled. i have got seeds from dr. king of some melastomaceae, and will write to veitch to see if i can get the melastomaceous genera monochaetum and heterocentron or some such name, on which i before experimented. now, if you can aid me, i know that you will; but if you cannot, do not write and trouble yourself. .x.iii. correspondence with john scott, - . "if he had leisure he would make a wonderful observer, to my judgment; i have come across no one like him."--letter to j.d. hooker, may th [ ]. ( / . the following group of letters to john scott, of whom some account is given elsewhere (volume i., letters and , and index.) deal chiefly with experimental work in the fertilisation of flowers. in addition to their scientific importance, several of the letters are of special interest as illustrating the encouragement and friendly assistance which darwin gave to his correspondent.) letter . john scott to charles darwin. edinburgh botanic gardens, november th, . i take the liberty of addressing you for the purpose of directing your attention to an error in one of your ingenious explanations of the structural adaptations of the orchidaceae in your late work. this occurs in the genus acropera, two species of which you assume to be unisexual, and so far as known represented by male individuals only. theoretically you have no doubt assigned good grounds for this view; nevertheless, experimental observations that i am now making have already convinced me of its fallacy. and i thus hurriedly, and as you may think prematurely, direct your attention to it, before i have seen the final result of my own experiment, that you might have the longer time for reconsidering the structure of this genus for another edition of your interesting book, if indeed it be not already called for. i am furthermore induced to communicate the results of my yet imperfect experiments in the belief that the actuating principle of your late work is the elicitation of truth, and that you will gladly avail yourself of this even at the sacrifice of much ingenious theoretical argumentation. since i have had an opportunity of perusing your work on orchid fertilisation, my attention has been particularly directed to the curiously constructed floral organs of acropera. i unfortunately have as yet had only a few flowers for experimental enquiry, otherwise my remarks might have been clearer and more satisfactory. such as they are, however, i respectfully lay [them] before you, with a full assurance of their veracity, and i sincerely trust that as such you will receive them. your observations seem to have been chiefly directed to the a. luteola, mine to the a. loddigesii, which, however, as you remark, is in a very similar constructural condition with the former; having the same narrow stigmatic chamber, abnormally developed placenta, etc. in regard to the former point--contraction of stigmatic chamber--i may remark that it does not appear to be absolutely necessary that the pollen-masses penetrate this chamber for effecting fecundation. thus a raceme was produced upon a plant of a. loddigesii in the botanic gardens here lately; upon this i left only six flowers. these i attempted to fertilise, but with two only of the six have i been successful: i succeeded in forcing a single pollen-mass into the stigmatic chamber of one of the latter, but i failed to do this on the other; however, by inserting a portion of a pedicel with a pollinium attached, i caused the latter to adhere, with a gentle press, to the mouth of the stigmatic chamber. both of these, as i have already remarked, are nevertheless fertilised; one of them i have cut off for examination, and its condition i will presently describe; the other is still upon the plant, and promises fair to attain maturity. in regard to the other four flowers, i may remark that though similarly fertilised--part having pollinia inserted, others merely attached--they all withered and dropped off without the least swelling of the ovary. can it be, then, that this is really an [andro-monoecious] species?--part of the flowers male, others truly hermaphrodite. in making longitudinal sections of the fertilised ovary before mentioned, i found the basal portion entirely destitute of ovules, their place being substituted by transparent cellular ramification of the placentae. as i traced the placentae upwards, the ovules appeared, becoming gradually more abundant towards its apex. a transverse section near the apex of the ovary, however, still exhibited a more than ordinary placental development--i.e. [congenitally?] considered--each end giving off two branches, which meet each other in the centre of the ovary, the ovules being irregularly and sparingly disposed upon their surfaces. in regard to the mere question of fertilisation, then, i am perfectly satisfied, but there are other points which require further elucidation. among these i may particularly refer to the contracted stigmatic chamber, and the slight viscidity of its disk. the latter, however, may be a consequence of uncongenial conditions--as you do not mention particularly its examination by any author in its natural habitat. if such be the case, the contracted stigmatic chamber will offer no real difficulty, should the viscous exudations be only sufficient to render the mouth adhesive. for, as i have already shown, the pollen-tubes may be emitted in this condition, and effect fecundation without being in actual contact with the stigmatic surface, as occurs pretty regularly in the fertilisation of the stapelias, for example. but, indeed, your own discovery of the independent germinative capabilities of the pollen-grains of certain orchidaceae is sufficiently illustrative of this. i may also refer to the peculiar abnormal condition that many at least of the ovaries present in a comparative examination of the placentae, and of which i beg to suggest the following explanation, though it is as yet founded on limited observations. in examining certain young ovaries of a. loddigesii, i found some of them filled with the transparent membranous fringes of more or less distinctly cellular matter, which, from your description of the ovaries of luteola, appears to differ simply in the greater development in the former species. again, in others i found small mammillary bodies, which appeared to be true ovules, though i could not perfectly satisfy myself as to the existence of the micropyle or nucleus. i unfortunately neglected to apply any chemical test. the fact, however, that in certain of the examined ovaries few or none of the latter bodies occurred--the placenta alone being developed in an irregular membranous form, taken in conjunction with the results of my experiments--before alluded to--on their fertilisation, leads me to infer that two sexual conditions are presented by the flowers of this plant. in short, that many of the ovaries are now normally abortive, though nature occasionally makes futile efforts for their perfect development, in the production of ovuloid bodies; these then i regard as the male flowers. the others that are still capable of fertilisation, and likewise possessing male organs, are hermaphrodite, and must, i think, from the results of your comparative examinations, present a somewhat different condition; as it can scarcely be supposed that ovules in the condition you describe could ever be fertilised. this is at least the most plausible explanation i can offer for the different results in my experiments on the fertilisation of apparently similar morphologically constructed flowers; others may, however, occur to you. here there is not, as in the catasetum, any external change visible in the respective unisexual and bisexual flowers. and yet it would appear from your researches that the ovules of acropera are in a more highly atrophied condition than occurs in catasetum, though, as you likewise remark, m. neumann has never succeeded in fertilising c. tridentatum. if there be not, then, an arrangement of the reproductive structures, such as i have indicated, how can the different results in m. neumann's experiments and mine be accounted for? however, as you have examined many flowers of both a. luteola and loddigesii, such a difference in the ovulary or placental structures could scarcely have escaped your observation. but, be this as it may, the--to me at least--demonstrated fact still remains, that certain flowers of a. loddigesii are capable of fertilisation, and that, though there are good grounds for supposing that important physiological changes are going on in the sexual phenomena of this species, there is no evidence whatever for supposing that external morphological changes have so masked certain individuals as to prevent their recognition. i would now, sir, in conclusion beg you to excuse me for this infringement upon your valuable time, as i have been induced to write you in the belief that you have had negative results from other experimenters, before you ventured to propose your theoretical explanation, and consequently that you have been unknowingly led into error. i will continue, as opportunities present themselves, to examine the many peculiarities you have pointed out in this as well as others of the orchid family; and at present i am looking forward with anxiety for the maturation of the ovary of a. loddigesii, which will bear testimony to the veracity of the remarks i have ventured to lay before you. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, th [november ]. strange to say, i have only one little bother for you to-day, and that is to let me know about what month flowers appear in acropera loddigesii and luteola; for i want extremely to beg a few more flowers, and if i knew the time i would keep a memorandum to remind you. why i want these flowers is (and i am much alarmed) that mr. j. scott, of bot. garden of edinburgh (do you know anything of him?) has written me a very long and clever letter, in which he confirms most of my observations; but tells me that with much difficulty he managed to get pollen into orifice, or as far as mouth of orifice, of six flowers of a. loddigesii (the ovarium of which i did not examine), and two pods set; one he gathered, and saw a very few ovules, as he thinks, on the large and mostly rudimentary placenta. i shall be most curious to hear whether the other pod produces a good lot of seed. he says he regrets that he did not test the ovules with chemical agents: does he mean tincture of iodine? he suggests that in a state of nature the viscid matter may come to the very surface of stigmatic chamber, and so pollen-masses need not be inserted. this is possible, but i should think improbable. altogether the case is very odd, and i am very uneasy, for i cannot hope that a. loddigesii is hermaphrodite and a. luteola the male of the same species. whenever i can get acropera would be a very good time for me to look at vanda in spirits, which you so kindly preserved for me. letter . to j. scott. ( / . the following is darwin's reply to the above letter from scott. in the first edition of "fertilisation of orchids" (page ) he assumed that the sexes in acropera, as in catasetum, were separate. in the second edition (page ) he writes: "i was, however, soon convinced of my error by mr. scott, who succeeded in artificially fertilising the flowers with their own pollen. a remarkable discovery by hildebrand ( / . "bot. zeitung," and .), namely, that in many orchids the ovules are not developed unless the stigma is penetrated by the pollen-tubes...explains the state of the ovarium in acropera, as observed by me." in regard to this subject see letter .) down, november th, . i thank you most sincerely for your kindness in writing to me, and for [your] very interesting letter. your fact has surprised me greatly, and has alarmed me not a little, for if i am in error about acropera i may be in error about catasetum. yet when i call to mind the state of the placentae in a. luteola, i am astonished that they should produce ovules. you will see in my book that i state that i did not look at the ovarium of a. loddigesii. would you have the kindness to send me word which end of the ovarium is meant by apex (that nearest the flower?), for i must try and get this species from kew and look at its ovarium. i shall be extremely curious to hear whether the fruit, which is now maturing, produces a large number of good and plump seed; perhaps you may have seen the ripe capsules of other vandeae, and may be able to form some conjecture what it ought to produce. in the young, unfertilised ovaria of many vandeae there seemed an infinitude of ovules. in desperation it occurs to me as just possible, as almost everything in nature goes by gradation, that a properly male flower might occasionally produce a few seeds, in the same manner as female plants sometimes produce a little pollen. all your remarks seem to me excellent and very interesting, and i again thank you for your kindness in writing to me. i am pleased to observe that my description of the structure of acropera seems to agree pretty well with what you have observed. does it not strike you as very difficult to understand how insects remove the pollinia and carry them to the stigmas? your suggestion that the mouth of the stigmatic cavity may become charged with viscid matter and thus secure the pollinia, and that the pollen-tubes may then protrude, seems very ingenious and new to me; but it would be very anomalous in orchids, i.e. as far as i have seen. no doubt, however, though i tried my best, i shall be proved wrong in many points. botany is a new subject to me. with respect to the protrusion of pollen-tubes, you might like to hear (if you do not already know the fact) that, as i saw this summer, in the little imperfect flowers of viola and oxalis, which never open, the pollen-tubes always come out of the pollen-grain, whilst still in the anthers, and direct themselves in a beautiful manner to the stigma seated at some little distance. i hope that you will continue your very interesting observations. letter . to j. scott. down, november th [ ]. i am much obliged for your letter, which is full of interesting matter. i shall be very glad to look at the capsule of the acropera when ripe, and pray present my thanks to mr. macnab. ( / . see letter (lindley, december th, ). also "fertilisation of orchids," edition ii., page , for an account of the observations on acropera which were corrected by scott.) i should like to keep it till i could get a capsule of some other member of the vandeae for comparison, but ultimately all the seeds shall be returned, in case you would like to write any notice on the subject. it was, as i said ( / . letter .), only "in desperation" that i suggested that the flower might be a male and occasionally capable of producing a few seeds. i had forgotten gartner's remark; in fact, i know only odds and ends of botany, and you know far more. one point makes the above view more probable in acropera than in other cases, viz. the presence of rudimentary placentae or testae, for i cannot hear that these have been observed in the male plants. they do not occur in male lychnis dioica, but next spring i will look to male holly flowers. i fully admit the difficulty of similarity of stigmatic chamber in the two acroperas. as far as i remember, the blunt end of pollen-mass would not easily even stick in the orifice of the chamber. your view may be correct about abundance of viscid matter, but seems rather improbable. your facts about female flowers occurring where males alone ought to occur is new to me; if i do not hear that you object, i will quote the zea case on your authority in what i am now writing on the varieties of the maize. ( / . see "animals and plants," edition ii., volume i., page : "mr. scott has lately observed the rarer case of female flowers on a true male panicle, and likewise hermaphrodite flowers." scott's paper on the subject is in "trans. bot. soc. edinburgh," volume viii. see letter , volume i.) i am glad to hear that you are now working on the most curious subject of parthenogenesis. i formerly fancied that i observed female lychnis dioica seeded without pollen. i send by this post a paper on primula, which may interest you. ( / . "linn. soc. journal," .) i am working on the subject, and if you should ever observe any analogous case i should be glad to hear. i have added another very clever pamphlet by prof. asa gray. have you a copy of my orchis book? if you have not, and would like one, i should be pleased to send one. i plainly see that you have the true spirit of an experimentalist and good observer. therefore, i ask whether you have ever made any trials on relative fertility of varieties of plants (like those i quote from gartner on the varieties of verbascum). i much want information on this head, and on those marvellous cases (as some lobelias and crinum passiflora) in which a plant can be more easily fertilised by the pollen of another species than by its own good pollen. i am compelled to write in haste. with many thanks for your kindness. letter . to j. scott. down, th [ ?]. what a magnificent capsule, and good heavens, what a number of seeds! i never before opened pods of larger orchids. it did not signify a few seed being lost, as it would be hopeless to estimate number in comparison with other species. if you sow any, had you not better sow a good many? so i enclose small packet. i have looked at the seeds; i never saw in the british orchids nearly so many empty testae; but this goes for nothing, as unnatural conditions would account for it. i suspect, however, from the variable size and transparency, that a good many of the seeds when dry (and i have put the capsule on my chimney-piece) will shrivel up. so i will wait a month or two till i get the capsule of some large vandeae for comparison. it is more likely that i have made some dreadful blunder about acropera than that it should be male yet not a perfect male. may there be some sexual relation between a. loddigesii and luteola; they seem very close? i should very much like to examine the capsule of the unimpregnated flower of a. loddigesii. i have got both species from kew, but whether we shall have skill to flower them i know not. one conjectures that it is imperfect male; i still should incline to think it would produce by seed both sexes. but you are right about primula (and a very acute thought it was): the long-styled p. sinensis, homomorphically fertilised with own-form pollen, has produced during two successive homomorphic generations only long-styled plants. ( / . in "forms of flowers," edition ii., page , a summary of the transmission of forms in the "homomorphic" unions of p. sinensis is given. darwin afterwards used "illegitimate" for homomorphic, and "legitimate" for "heteromorphic" ("forms of flowers," edition i., page ).) the short-styled the same, i.e. produced short-styled for two generations with the exception of a single plant. i cannot say about cowslips yet. i should like to hear your case of the primula: is it certainly propagated by seed? letter . to j. scott. down, december rd, [ ?]. what a capital observer you are! and how well you have worked the primulas. all your facts are new to me. it is likely that i overrate the interest of the subject; but it seems to me that you ought to publish a paper on the subject. it would, however, greatly add to the value if you were to cover up any of the forms having pistil and anther of the same height, and prove that they were fully self-fertile. the occurrence of dimorphic and non-dimorphic species in the same genus is quite the same as i find in linum. ( / . darwin finished his paper on linum in december , and it was published in the "linn. soc. journal" in .) have any of the forms of primula, which are non-dimorphic, been propagated for some little time by seed in garden? i suppose not. i ask because i find in p. sinensis a third rather fluctuating form, apparently due to culture, with stigma and anthers of same height. i have been working successive generations homomorphically of this primula, and think i am getting curious results; i shall probably publish next autumn; and if you do not (but i hope you will) publish yourself previously, i should be glad to quote in abstract some of your facts. but i repeat that i hope you will yourself publish. hottonia is dimorphic, with pollen of very different sizes in the two forms. i think you are mistaken about siphocampylus, but i feel rather doubtful in saying this to so good an observer. in lobelia the closed pistil grows rapidly, and pushes out the pollen and then the stigma expands, and the flower in function is monoecious; from appearance i believe this is the case with your plant. i hope it is so, for this plant can hardly require a cross, being in function monoecious; so that dimorphism in such a case would be a heavy blow to understanding its nature or good in all other cases. i see few periodicals: when have you published on clivia? i suppose that you did not actually count the seeds in the hybrids in comparison with those of the parent-forms; but this is almost necessary after gartner's observations. i very much hope you will make a good series of comparative trials on the same plant of tacsonia. ( / . see scott in "linn. soc. journal," viii.) i have raised - seedlings from cowslips, artificially fertilised with care; and they presented not a hair's-breadth approach to oxlips. i have now seed in pots of cowslip fertilised by pollen of primrose, and i hope they will grow; i have also got fine seedlings from seed of wild oxlips; so i hope to make out the case. you speak of difficulties on natural selection: there are indeed plenty; if ever you have spare time (which is not likely, as i am sure you must be a hard worker) i should be very glad to hear difficulties from one who has observed so much as you have. the majority of criticisms on the "origin" are, in my opinion, not worth the paper they are printed on. sir c. lyell is coming out with what, i expect, will prove really good remarks. ( / . lyell's "antiquity of man" was published in the spring of . in the "life and letters," volume iii., pages , , darwin's correspondence shows his deep disappointment at what he thought lyell's half-heartedness in regard to evolution. see letter , volume i.) pray do not think me intrusive; but if you would like to have any book i have published, such as my "journal of researches" or the "origin," i should esteem it a compliment to be allowed to send it. will you permit me to suggest one experiment, which i should much like to see tried, and which i now wish the more from an extraordinary observation by asa gray on gymnadenia tridentata (in number just out of silliman's n. american journal) ( / . in gymnadenia tridentata, according to asa gray, the anther opens in the bud, and the pollen being somewhat coherent falls on the stigma and on the rostellum which latter is penetrated by the pollen-tubes. "fertilisation of orchids," edition ii., page . asa gray's papers are in "american journal of science," volume xxxiv., , and xxxvi., .); namely, to split the labellum of a cattleya, or of some allied orchis, remove caudicle from pollen-mass (so that no loose grains are about) and put it carefully into the large tongue-like rostellum, and see if pollen-tubes will penetrate, or better, see if capsule will swell. similar pollen-masses ought to be put on true stigmas of two or three other flowers of same plants for comparison. it is to discover whether rostellum yet retains some of its primordial function of being penetrated by pollen-tubes. you will be sorry that you ever entered into correspondence with me. but do not answer till at leisure, and as briefly as you like. my handwriting, i know, is dreadfully bad. excuse this scribbling paper, as i can write faster on it, and i have a rather large correspondence to keep up. letter . to j. scott. down, january st, . i thank you for your very interesting letter; i must answer as briefly as i can, for i have a heap of other letters to answer. i strongly advise you to follow up and publish your observations on the pollen-tubes of orchids; they promise to be very interesting. if you could prove what i only conjectured (from state of utriculi in rostellum and in stigma of catasetum and acropera) that the utriculi somehow induce, or are correlated with, penetration of pollen-tubes you will make an important physiological discovery. i will mention, as worth your attention (and what i have anxiously wished to observe, if time had permitted, and still hope to do)--viz., the state of tissues or cells of stigma in an utterly sterile hybrid, in comparison with the same in fertile parent species; to test these cells, immerse stigmas for hours in spirits of wine. i should expect in hybrids that the cells would not show coagulated contents. it would be an interesting discovery to show difference in female organs of hybrids and pure species. anyhow, it is worth trial, and i recommend you to make it, and publish if you do. the pollen-tubes directing themselves to stigma is also very curious, though not quite so new, but well worth investigation when you get cattleya, etc., in flower. i say not so new, for remember small flowers of viola and oxalis; or better, see bibliography in "natural history review," no. viii., page (october, ) for quotation from m. baillon on pollen-tubes finding way from anthers to stigma in helianthemum. i should doubt gum getting solid from [i.e. because of] continued secretion. why not sprinkle fresh plaster of paris and make impenetrable crust? ( / . the suggestion that the stigma should be covered with a crust of plaster of paris, pierced by a hole to allow the pollen-tubes to enter, bears a resemblance to miyoshi's experiments with germinating pollen and fungal spores. see "pringsheim's jahrbucher," ; "flora," .) you might modify experiment by making little hole in one lower corner, and see if tubes find it out. see in my future paper on linum pollen and stigma recognising each other. if you will tell me that pollen smells the stigma i will try and believe you; but i will not believe the frenchman (i forget who) who says that stigma of vanilla actually attracts mechanically, by some unknown force, the solid pollen-masses to it! read asa gray in nd review of my orchis book on pollen of gymnadenia penetrating rostellum. i can, if you like, lend you these reviews; but they must be returned. r. brown, i remember, says pollen-tubes separate from grains before the lower ends of tubes reach ovules. i saw, and was interested by, abstract of your drosera paper ( / . a short note on the irritability of drosera in the "trans. bot. soc. edin." volume vii.); we have been at very much the same work. letter . to j. scott. down, february th [ ]. absence from home has prevented me from answering you sooner. i should think that the capsule of acropera had better be left till it shows some signs of opening, as our object is to judge whether the seeds are good; but i should prefer trusting to your better judgment. i am interested about the gongora, which i hope hereafter to try myself, as i have just built a small hot-house. asa gray's observations on the rostellum of gymnadenia are very imperfect, yet worth looking at. your case of imatophyllum is most interesting ( / . a sucker of imatophyllum minatum threw up a shoot in which the leaves were "two-ranked instead of four-ranked," and showed other differences from the normal.--"animals and plants," edition ii., volume i., page .); even if the sport does not flower it will be worth my giving. i did not understand, or i had forgotten, that a single frond on a fern will vary; i now see that the case does come under bud-variation, and must be given by me. i had thought of it only as proof [of] inheritance in cryptogams; i am much obliged for your correction, and will consult again your paper and mr. bridgeman's. ( / . the facts are given in "animals and plants," edition ii., volume i., page .) i enclose varieties of maize from asa gray. pray do not thank me for trusting you; the thanks ought to go the other way. i felt a conviction after your first letter that you were a real lover of natural history. if you can advance good evidence showing that bisexual plants are more variable than unisexual, it will be interesting. i shall be very glad to read the discussion which you are preparing. i admit as fully as any one can do that cross-impregnation is the great check to endless variability; but i am not sure that i understand your view. i do not believe that the structure of primula has any necessary relation to a tendency to a dioecious structure, but seeing the difference in the fertility of the two forms, i felt bound unwillingly to admit that they might be a step towards dioeciousness; i allude to this subject in my linum paper. ( / . "linn. soc. journal," .) thanks for your answers to my other queries. i forgot to say that i was at kew the other day, and i find that they can give me capsules of several vandeae. letter . to j. scott. down, march th [ ]. your letter, as every one you have written, has greatly interested me. if you can show that certain individual passifloras, under certain known or unknown conditions of life, have stigmas capable of fertilisation by pollen from another species, or from another individual of its own species, yet not by its own individual pollen (its own individual pollen being proved to be good by its action on some other species), you will add a case of great interest to me; and which in my opinion would be quite worth your publication. ( / . cases nearly similar to those observed by scott were recorded by gartner and kolreuter, but in these instances only certain individuals were self-impotent. in "animals and plants," edition ii., volume ii., page , where the phenomenon is fully discussed, scott's observations ("trans. bot. soc. edin." ) are given as the earliest, except for one case recorded by lecoq ("fecondation," ). interesting work was afterwards done by hildebrand and fritz muller, as illustrated in many of the letters addressed to the latter.) i always imagined that such recorded cases must be due to unnatural conditions of life; and think i said so in the "origin." ( / . see "origin of species," edition i., page , for herbert's observations on self-impotence in hippeastrum. in spite of the uniformness of the results obtained in many successive years, darwin inferred that the plants must have been in an "unnatural state.") i am not sure that i understand your result, [nor] whether it means what i have above obscurely expressed. if you can prove the above, do publish; but if you will not publish i earnestly beg you to let me have the facts in detail; but you ought to publish, for i may not use the facts for years. i have been much interested by what you say on the rostellum exciting pollen to protrude tubes; but are you sure that the rostellum does excite them? would not tubes protrude if placed on parts of column or base of petals, etc., near to the stigma? please look at the "cottage gardener" (or "journal of horticulture") ( / . "journal of horticulture" and "cottage gardener," march st, . a short note describing cruger's discovery of self-fertilisation in cattleya, epidendrum, etc., and referring to the work of "an excellent observer, mr. j. scott." darwin adds that he is convinced that he has underrated the power of tropical orchids occasionally to produce seeds without the aid of insects.) to be published to-morrow week for letter of mine, in which i venture to quote you, and in which you will see a curious fact about unopened orchid flowers setting seed in west indies. dr. cruger attributes protrusion of tubes to ants carrying stigmatic secretion to pollen ( / . in cruger's paper ("linn. soc. journ." viii., ; read march rd ) he speaks of the pollen-masses in situ being acted on by the stigmatic secretion, but no mention is made of the agency of ants. he describes the pollen-tubes descending "from the [pollen] masses still in situ down into the ovarian canal."); but this is mere hypothesis. remember, pollen-tubes protrude within anther in neottia nidus-avis. i did think it possible or probable that perfect fertilisation might have been effected through rostellum. what a curious case your gongora must be: could you spare me one of the largest capsules? i want to estimate the number of seed, and try my hand if i can make them grow. this, however, is a foolish attempt, for dr. hooker, who was here a day or two ago, says they cannot at calcutta, and yet imported species have seeded and have naturally spread on to the adjoining trees! dr. cruger thinks i am wrong about catasetum: but i cannot understand his letter. he admits there are three forms in two species; and he speaks as if the sexes were separate in some and that others were hermaphrodites ( / . cruger ("linn. soc. journal," viii., page ) says that the apparently hermaphrodite form is always sterile in trinidad. darwin modified his account in the second edition of the orchid book.); but i cannot understand what he means. he has seen lots of great humble-bees buzzing about the flowers with the pollinia sticking to their backs! happy man!! i have the promise, but not yet surety, of some curious results with my homomorphic seedling cowslips: these have not followed the rule of chinese primula; homomorphic seedlings from short-styled parent have presented both forms, which disgusts me. you will see that i am better; but still i greatly fear that i must have a compulsory holiday. with sincere thanks and hearty admiration at your powers of observation... my poor p. scotica looks very sick which you so kindly sent me. ( / . sent by scott, january th, .) letter . to j. scott. april th [ ]. i really hardly know how to thank you enough for your very interesting letter. i shall certainly use all the facts which you have given me (in a condensed form) on the sterility of orchids in the work which i am now slowly preparing for publication. but why do you not publish these facts in a separate little paper? ( / . see letter , note, for reference to scott's paper.) they seem to me well worth it, and you really ought to get your name known. i could equally well use them in my book. i earnestly hope that you will experiment on passiflora, and let me give your results. dr. a. gray's observations were made loosely; he said in a letter he would attend this summer further to the case, which clearly surprised him much. i will say nothing about the rostellum, stigmatic utriculi, fertility of acropera and catasetum, for i am completely bewildered: it will rest with you to settle these points by your excellent observations and experiments. i must own i never could help doubting dr. hooker's case of the poppy. you may like to hear what i have seen this morning: i found ( / . see letter .) a primrose plant with flowers having three pistils, which when pulled asunder, without any tearing, allowed pollen to be placed on ovules. this i did with three flowers--pollen-tubes did not protrude after several days. but this day, the sixteenth (n.b.--primulas seem naturally slowly fertilised), i found many tubes protruded, and, what is very odd, they certainly seemed to have penetrated the coats of the ovules, but in no one instance the foramen of the ovule!! i mention this because it directly bears on your explanation of dr. cruger's case. ( / . cruger's case here referred to is doubtless the cleistogamic fertilisation of epidendrum, etc. scott discusses the question of self-fertilisation at great length in a letter to darwin dated april, and obviously written in . in epidendrum he observed a viscid matter extending from the stigmatic chamber to the anther: pollen-tubes had protruded from the anther not only where it was in contact with the viscid matter, but also from the central part, and these spread "over the anterior surface of the rostellum downward into the stigma." cruger believed the viscid matter reaching the anther was a necessary condition for the germination of the pollen-grains. scott points out that the viscid matter is produced in large quantity only after the pollen-grains have penetrated the stigma, and that it is, in fact, a consequence, not a preliminary to fertilisation. he finally explains cruger's case thus: "the greater humidity and equability of temperature consequent on such conditions [i.e. on the flowers being closed] is, i believe, the probable cause of these abnormally conditioned flowers so frequently fertilising themselves." scott also calls attention to the danger of being deceived by fungal hyphae in observations on germination of pollen.) i believe that your explanation is right; i should never have thought of it; yet this was stupid of me, for i remember thinking that the almost closed imperfect flowers of viola and oxalis were related to the protrusion of the pollen-tubes. my case of the aceras with the aborted labellum squeezed against stigma supports your view. ( / . see "fertilisation of orchids," edition ii., page : the pollen germinated within the anther of a monstrous flower.) dr. cruger's notion about the ants was a simple conjecture. about cryptogamic filaments, remember dr. c. says that the unopened flowers habitually set fruit. i think that you will change your views on the imperfect flowers of viola and oxalis... letter . (?) letter . to j. scott. may nd [ ]. i have left home for a fortnight to see if i can, with little hope, improve my health. the parcel of orchid pods, which you have so kindly sent me, has followed me. i am sure you will forgive the liberty which i take in returning you the postage stamps. i never heard of such a scheme as that you were compelled to practise to fertilise the gongora! ( / . see "fertilisation of orchids," edition, ii., page . "mr. scott tried repeatedly, but in vain, to force the pollen-masses into the stigma of gongora atro-purpurea and truncata; but he readily fertilised them by cutting off the clinandrum and placing pollen-masses on the now exposed stigma.") it is a most curious problem what plan nature follows in this genus and acropera. ( / . in the "fertilisation of orchids," edition ii., page , darwin speculates as to the possible fertilisation of acropera by an insect with pollen-masses adhering to the extremity of its abdomen. it would appear that this guess (which does not occur in the first edition) was made before he heard of cruger's observation on the allied genus gongora, which is visited by a bee with a long tongue, which projects, when not in use, beyond and above the tip of the abdomen. cruger believes that this tongue is the pollinating agent. cruger's account is in the "journal of the linn. soc." viii., , page .) some day i will try and estimate how many seeds there are in gongora. i suppose and hope you have kept notes on all your observations on orchids, for, with my broken health and many other subjects, i do not know whether i shall ever have time to publish again; though i have a large collection of notes and facts ready. i think you show your wisdom in not wishing to publish too soon; a young author who publishes every trifle gets, sometimes unjustly, to be disregarded. i do not pretend to be much of a judge; but i can conscientiously say that i have never written one word to you on the merit of your letters that i do not fully believe in. please remember that i should very much wish for a copy of your paper on sterility of individual orchids ( / . "on the individual sterility and cross-impregnation of certain species of oncidium." [read june nd, .] "linn. soc. journal," viii., . this paper gives a full account of the self-sterility of oncidium in cases where the pollen was efficient in fertilising other individuals of the same species and of distinct species. some of the facts were given in scott's paper, "experiments on the fertilisation of orchids in the royal botanic garden of edinburgh," published in the "proc. bot. soc. edinb." . it is probably to the latter paper that darwin refers.) and on drosera. ( / . "trans. bot. soc. edinburgh," volume vii.) thanks for [note] about campanula perfoliata. i have asked asa gray for seeds, to whom i have mentioned your observations on rostellum, and asked him to look closer to the case of gymnadenia. ( / . see "fertilisation of orchids," edition ii., page .) let me hear about the sporting imatophyllum if it flowers. perhaps i have blundered about primula; but certainly not about mere protrusion of pollen-tubes. i have been idly watching bees of several genera and diptera fertilising o. morio at this place, and it is a very pretty sight. i have confirmed in several ways the entire truth of my statement that there is no vestige of nectar in the spur; but the insects perforate the inner coat. this seems to me a curious little fact, which none of my reviewers have noticed. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, may rd [ ]. you can confer a real service on a good man, john scott, the writer of the enclosed letter, by reading it and giving me your opinion. i assure [you] john scott is a truly remarkable man. the part struck out is merely that he is not comfortable under mr. mcnab, and this part must be considered as private. now the question is, what think you of the offer? is expense of living high at darjeeling? may i say it is healthy? will he find the opportunity for experimental observations, which are a passion with him? it seems to me rather low pay. will you advise me for him? i shall say that as far as experiments in hand at the botanical garden in edinburgh are concerned, it would be a pity to hesitate to accept the offer. j. scott is head of the propagating department. i know you will not grudge aiding by your advice a good man. i shall tell him that i have not the slightest power to aid him in any way for the appointment. i should think voyage out and home ought to be paid for? letter . to john scott. down, may th, . now for a few words on science. i do not think i could be mistaken about the stigma of bolbophyllum ( / . bolbophyllum is remarkable for the closure of the stigmatic cavity which comes on after the flower has been open a little while, instead of after fertilisation, as in other genera. darwin connects the fact with the "exposed condition of the whole flower."--"fertilisation of orchids," edition ii., page .); i had the plant alive from kew, and watched many flowers. that is a most remarkable observation on foreign pollen emitting tubes, but not causing orifice to close ( / . see scott, "bot. soc. edin." , page , note. he applied pollinia from cypripedium and asclepias to flowers of tricopilia tortilis; and though the pollen germinated, the stigmatic chamber remained open, yet it invariably closes eighteen hours after the application of its own pollen.); it would have been interesting to have observed how close an alliance of form would have acted on the orifice of the stigma. it will probably be so many years, if ever, [before] i work up my observations on drosera, that i will not trouble you to send your paper, for i could not now find time to read it. if you have spare copy of your orchid paper, please send it, but do not get a copy of the journal, for i can get one, and you must often want to buy books. let me know when it is published. i have been glad to hear about mercurialis, but i will not accept your offer of seed on account of time, time, time, and weak health. for the same reason i must give up primula mollis. what a wonderful, indefatigable worker you are! you seem to have made a famous lot of interesting experiments. d. beaton once wrote that no man could cross any species of primula. you have apparently proved the contrary with a vengeance. your numerous experiments seem very well selected, and you will exhaust the subject. now when you have completed your work you should draw up a paper, well worth publishing, and give a list of all the dimorphic and non-dimorphic forms. i can give you, on the authority of prof. treviranus in "bot. zeitung," case of p. longiflora non-dimorphic. i am surprised at your cowslips in this state. is it a common yellow cowslip? i have seen oxlips (which from some experiments i now look at as certainly natural hybrids) in same state. if you think the botanical society of edinburgh would not do justice and publish your paper, send it to me to be communicated to the linnean society. i will delay my paper on successive dimorphic generations in primula ( / . published in the "journ. linn. soc." x., [ ].) till yours appears, so as in no way to interfere with your paper. possibly my results may be hardly worth publishing, but i think they will; the seedlings from two successive homomorphic generations seem excessively sterile. i will keep this letter till i hear from dr. hooker. i shall be very glad if you try passiflora. your experiments on primula seem so well chosen that whatever the result is they will be of value. but always remember that not one naturalist out of a dozen cares for really philosophical experiments. letter . to j. scott. down, may st [ ]. i am unwell, and must write briefly. i am very much obliged for the "courant." ( / . the edinburgh "evening courant" used to publish notices of the papers read at the botanical society of edinburgh. the paper referred to here was scott's on oncidium.) the facts will be of highest use to me. i feel convinced that your paper will have permanent value. your case seems excellently and carefully worked out. i agree that the alteration of title was unfortunate, but, after all, title does not signify very much. so few have attended to such points that i do not expect any criticism; but if so, i should think you had much better reply, but i could if you wished it much. i quite understand about the cases being individual sterility; so gartner states it was with him. would it be worth while to send a corrected copy of the "courant" to the "gardeners' chronicle?" ( / . an account of scott's work appeared in the "gardeners' chronicle," june th, , which is, at least partly, a reprint of the "courant," since it contains the awkward sentence criticised by darwin and referred to below. the title is "on the fertilisation of orchids," which was no doubt considered unfortunate as not suggesting the subject of the paper, and as being the same as that of darwin's book.) i did not know that you had tried lobelia fulgens: can you give me any particulars on the number of plants and kinds used, etc., that i may quote, as in a few days i shall be writing on this whole subject? no one will ever convince me that it is not a very important subject to philosophical naturalists. the hibiscus seems a very curious case, and i agree with your remarks. you say that you are glad of criticisms (by the way avoid "former and latter," the reader is always forced to go back to look). i think you would have made the case more striking if you had first showed that the pollen of oncidium sphacelatum was good; secondly, that the ovule was capable of fertilisation; and lastly, shown that the plant was impotent with its own pollen. "impotence of organs capable of elimination"--capable here strictly refers to organs; you mean to impotence. to eliminate impotence is a curious expression; it is removing a non-existent quality. but style is a trifle compared with facts, and you are capable of writing well. i find it a good rule to imagine that i want to explain the case in as few and simple words as possible to one who knows nothing of the subject. ( / . see letter , volume i.) i am tired. in my opinion you are an excellent observer. letter . to j. scott. down, june th, . i fear that you think that i have done more than i have with respect to dr. hooker. i did not feel that i had any right to ask him to remember you for a colonial appointment: all that i have done is to speak most highly of your scientific merits. of course this may hereafter fructify. i really think you cannot go on better, for educational purposes, than you are now doing,--observing, thinking, and some reading beat, in my opinion, all systematic education. do not despair about your style; your letters are excellently written, your scientific style is a little too ambitious. i never study style; all that i do is to try to get the subject as clear as i can in my own head, and express it in the commonest language which occurs to me. but i generally have to think a good deal before the simplest arrangement and words occur to me. even with most of our best english writers, writing is slow work; it is a great evil, but there is no help for it. i am sure you have no cause to despair. i hope and suppose your sending a paper to the linnean society will not offend your edinburgh friends; you might truly say that you sent the paper to me, and that (if it turns out so) i thought it worth communicating to the linnean society. i shall feel great interest in studying all your facts on primula, when they are worked out and the seed counted. size of capsules is often very deceptive. i am astonished how you can find time to make so many experiments. if you like to send me your paper tolerably well written, i would look it over and suggest any criticisms; but then this would cause you extra copying. remember, however, that lord brougham habitually wrote everything important three times over. the cases of the primulae which lose by variation their dimorphic characters seem to me very interesting. i find that the mid-styled (by variation) p. sinensis is more fertile with own pollen, even, than a heteromorphic union! if you have time it will be very good to experiment on linum lewisii. i wrote formerly to asa gray begging for seed. if you have time, i think experiments on any peloric flowers would be useful. i shall be sorry (and i am certain it is a mistake on the part of the society) if your orchid paper is not printed in extenso. i am now at work compiling all such cases, and shall give a very full abstract of all your observations. i hope to add in autumn some from you on passiflora. i would suggest to you the advantage, at present, of being very sparing in introducing theory in your papers (i formerly erred much in geology in that way): let theory guide your observations, but till your reputation is well established be sparing in publishing theory. it makes persons doubt your observations. how rarely r. brown ever indulged in theory: too seldom perhaps! do not work too hard, and do not be discouraged because your work is not appreciated by the majority. letter . to j. scott. july nd [ ?] many thanks for capsules. i would give table of the auricula ( / . in scott's paper ("linn. soc. journ." viii.) many experiments on the auricula are recorded.), especially owing to enclosed extract, which you can quote. your facts about varying fertility of the primulas will be appreciated by but very few botanists; but i feel sure that the day will come when they will be valued. by no means modify even in the slightest degree any result. accuracy is the soul of natural history. it is hard to become accurate; he who modifies a hair's breadth will never be accurate. it is a golden rule, which i try to follow, to put every fact which is opposed to one's preconceived opinion in the strongest light. absolute accuracy is the hardest merit to attain, and the highest merit. any deviation is ruin. sincere thanks for all your laborious trials on passiflora. i am very busy, and have got two of my sons ill--i very much fear with scarlet fever; if so, no more work for me for some days or weeks. i feel greatly interested about your primula cases. i think it much better to count seed than to weigh. i wish i had never weighed; counting is more accurate, though so troublesome. letter . to j. scott. down, th [ ?] from what you say i looked again at "bot. zeitung." ( / . "ueber dichogamie," "bot. zeit." january .) treviranus speaks of p. longiflora as short-styled, but this is evidently a slip of the pen, for further on, i see, he says the stigma always projects beyond anthers. your experiments on coloured primroses will be most valuable if proved true. ( / . the reference seems to be to scott's observation that the variety rubra of the primrose was sterile when crossed with pollen from the common primrose. darwin's caution to scott was in some measure justified, for in his experiments on seedlings raised by self-fertilisation of the edinburgh plants, he failed to confirm scott's result. see "forms of flowers," edition ii., page . scott's facts are in the "journal linn. soc." viii., page (read february th, ).) i will advise to best of my power when i see ms. if evidence is not good i would recommend you, for your reputation's sake, to try them again. it is not likely that you will be anticipated, and it is a great thing to fully establish what in future time will be considered an important discovery (or rediscovery, for no one has noticed gartner's facts). i will procure coloured primroses for next spring, but you may rely i will not publish before you. do not work too hard to injure your health. i made some crosses between primrose and cowslip, and i send the results, which you may use if you like. but remember that i am not quite certain that i well castrated the short-styled primrose; i believe any castration would be superfluous, as i find all [these] plants sterile when insects are excluded. be sure and save seed of the crossed differently coloured primroses or cowslips which produced least seed, to test the fertility of the quasi-hybrid seedlings. gartner found the common primrose and cowslip very difficult to cross, but he knew nothing on dimorphism. i am sorry about delay [of] your orchid paper; i should be glad of abstract of your new observations of self-sterility in orchids, as i should probably use the new facts. there will be an important paper in september in "annals and magazine of natural history," on ovules of orchids being formed after application of pollen, by dr. f. hildebrand of bonn. ( / . "ann. mag. nat. hist." xii., , page . the paper was afterwards published in the "bot. zeitung," .) letter . to j. scott. down, november th [ ]. every day that i could do anything, i have read a few pages of your paper, and have now finished it, and return it registered. ( / . this refers to the ms. of scott's paper on the primulaceae, "linn. soc. journ." viii. [february th, ] .) it has interested me deeply, and is, i am sure, an excellent memoir. it is well arranged, and in most parts well written. in the proof sheets you can correct a little with advantage. i have suggested a few alterations in pencil for your consideration, and have put in here and there a slip of paper. there will be no occasion to rewrite the paper--only, if you agree with me, to alter a few pages. when finished, return it to me, and i will with the highest satisfaction communicate it to the linnean society. i should be proud to be the author of the paper. i shall not have caused much delay, as the first meeting of the society was on november th. when your primula paper is finished, if you are so inclined, i should like to hear briefly about your verbascum and passiflora experiments. i tried verbascum, and have got the pods, but do not know when i shall be able to see to the results. this subject might make another paper for you. i may add that acropera luteola was fertilised by me, and had produced two fine pods. i congratulate you on your excellent paper. p.s.--in the summary to primula paper can you conjecture what is the typical or parental form, i.e. equal, long or short styled? letter . to j.d. hooker. down, [january th, ]. ( / . darwin's interest in scott's primula work is shown by the following extracts from a letter to hooker of january th, , written, therefore, before the paper was read, and also by the subsequent correspondence with hooker and asa gray. the first part of this letter illustrates darwin's condition during a period of especially bad health.) as i do nothing all day i often get fidgety, and i now fancy that charlie or some of your family [are] ill. when you have time let me have a short note to say how you all are. i have had some fearful sickness; but what a strange mechanism one's body is; yesterday, suddenly, i had a slight attack of rheumatism in my back, and i instantly became almost well, and so wonderfully strong that i walked to the hot-houses, which must be more than a hundred yards. i have sent scott's paper to the linnean society; i feel sure it is really valuable, but i fear few will care about it. remember my urgent wish to be able to send the poor fellow a word of praise from any one. i have had work to get him to allow me to send the paper to the linnean society, even after it was written out. letter . to j. scott. down, february th, . ( / . scott's paper on primulaceae was read at the linnean society on february th, .) the president, mr. bentham, i presume, was so much struck by your paper that he sent me a message to know whether you would like to be elected an associate. as only one is elected annually, this is a decided honour. the enclosed list shows what respectable men are associates. i enclose the rules of admission. i feel sure that the rule that if no communication is received within three years the associate is considered to have voluntarily withdrawn, is by no means rigorously adhered to. therefore, i advise you to accept; but of course the choice is quite free. you will see there is no payment. you had better write to me on this subject, as dr. hooker or i will propose you. letter . to j.d. hooker. september th, . i have been greatly interested by scott's paper. i probably overrate it from caring for the subject, but it certainly seems to me one of the very most remarkable memoirs on such subjects which i have ever read. from the subject being complex, and the style in parts obscure, i suppose very few will read it. i think it ought to be noticed in the "natural history review," otherwise the more remarkable facts will never be known. try and persuade oliver to do it; with the summary it would not be troublesome. i would offer, but i have sworn to myself i will do nothing till my volume on "variation under domestication" is complete. i know you will not have time to read scott, and therefore i will just point out the new and, as they seem to me, important points. firstly, the red cowslip, losing its dimorphic structure and changing so extraordinarily in its great production of seed with its own pollen, especially being nearly sterile when fertilised by, or fertilising, the common cowslip. the analogous facts with red and white primrose. secondly, the utter dissimilarity of action of the pollen of long- and short-styled form of one species in crossing with a distinct species. and many other points. will you suggest to oliver to review this paper? if he does so, and if it would be of any service to him, i would (as i have attended so much to these subjects) just indicate, with pages, leading and new points. i could send him, if he wishes, a separate and spare copy marked with pencil. letter . to asa gray. september th [ ]. ( / . in september, , darwin wrote to asa gray describing scott's work on the primulaceae as:--) a paper which has interested me greatly by a gardener, john scott; it seems to me a most remarkable production, though written rather obscurely in parts, but worth the labour of studying. i have just bethought me that for the chance of your noticing it in the "journal," i will point out the new and very remarkable facts. i have paid the poor fellow's passage out to india, where i hope he will succeed, as he is a most laborious and able man, with the manners almost of a gentleman. ( / . the following is an abstract of the paper which was enclosed in the letter to asa gray.) pages - . red cowslip by variation has become non-dimorphic, and with this change of structure has become much more productive of seed than even the heteromorphic union of the common cowslip. pages - , similar case with auricula; on the other hand a non-dimorphic variety of p. farinosa (page ) is less fertile. these changes, or variations, in the generative system seem to me very remarkable. but far more remarkable is the fact that the red cowslip (pages - ) is very sterile when fertilising, or fertilised by the common cowslip. here we have a new "physiological species." analogous facts given (page ) on the crossing of red and white primroses with common primroses. it is very curious that the two forms of the same species (pages , , , and ) hybridise with extremely different degrees of facility with distinct species. he shows (page ) that sometimes a cross with a quite distinct species yields more seed than a homomorphic union with own pollen. he shows (page ) that of the two homomorphic unions possible with each dimorphic species the short-styled (as i stated) is the most sterile, and that my explanation is probably true. there is a good summary to the paper. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . the following letters to hooker, april st, april th and may nd, refer to darwin's scheme of employing scott as an assistant at down, and to scott's appointment to the botanic garden at calcutta.) down, april st, . i shall not at present allude to your very interesting letter (which as yet has been read to me only twice!), for i am full of a project which i much want you to consider. you will have seen scott's note. he tells me he has no plans for the future. thinking over all his letters, i believe he is a truly remarkable man. he is willing to follow suggestions, but has much originality in varying his experiments. i believe years may pass before another man appears fitted to investigate certain difficult and tedious points--viz. relative fertility of varieties of plants, including peloric and other monsters (already scott has done excellent work on this head); and, secondly, whether a plant's own pollen is less effective than that of another individual. now, if scott is moderate in his wishes, i would pay him for a year or two to work and publish on these or other such subjects which might arise. but i dare not have him here, for it would quite overwork me. there would not be plants sufficient for his work, and it would probably be an injury to himself, as it would put him out of the way of getting a good situation. now, i believe you have gardeners at kew who work and learn there without pay. what do you think of having scott there for a year or two to work and experiment? i can see enormous difficulties. in the first place you will not perhaps think the points indicated so highly important as i do. secondly, he would require ground in some out-of-the-way place where the plants could be covered by a net, which would be unsightly. on the other hand, i presume you would like a series of memoirs published on work done at kew, which i am fully convinced would have permanent value. it would, of course i conceive, be absolutely necessary that scott should be under the regular orders of the superintendent. the only way i can fancy that it could be done would be to explain to the superintendent that i temporarily supported scott solely for the sake of science, and appeal to his kindness to assist him. if you approved of having him (which i can see is improbable), and you simply ordered the superintendent to assist him, i believe everything would go to loggerheads. as for scott himself, it would be of course an advantage to him to study the cultivation at kew. you would get to know him, and if he really is a good man you could perhaps be able to recommend him to some situation at home or abroad. pray turn this [over] in your mind. i have no idea whether scott would like the place, but i can see that he has a burning zeal for science. he told me that his parents were in better circumstances, and that he chose a gardener's life solely as the best way of following science. i may just add that in his last letter he gives me the results of many experiments on different individuals of the same species of orchid, showing the most remarkable diversity in their sexual condition. it seems to me a grievous loss that such a man should have all his work cut short. please remember that i know nothing of him excepting from his letters: these show remarkable talent, astonishing perseverance, much modesty, and what i admire, determined difference from me on many points. what will sir william say? letter . to j.d. hooker. down, april th [ ]. i see my scheme for scott has invincible difficulties, and i am very much obliged to you for explaining them at such length. if ever i get decently well, and scott is free and willing, i will have him here for a couple of years to work out several problems, which otherwise would never be done. i cannot see what will become of the poor fellow. i enclose a little pamphlet from him, which i suppose is not of much scientific value, but is surprising as the work of a gardener. if you have time do just glance over it. i never heard anything so extraordinary as what you say about poisoning plants, etc. ...the post has just come in. your interest about scott is extraordinarily kind, and i thank you cordially. it seems absurd to say so, but i suspect that x is prejudiced against scott because he partially supports my views. ( / . in a letter to scott (dated june th) darwin warns him to keep his views "pretty quiet," and quotes hooker's opinion that "if it is known that you agree at all with my views on species it is enough to make you unpopular in edinburgh.") you must not trust my former letter about clematis. i worked on too old a plant, and blundered. i have now gone over the work again. it is really curious that the stiff peduncles are acted upon by a bit of thread weighing . of a grain. clematis glandulosa was a valuable present to me. my gardener showed it to me and said, "this is what they call a clematis," evidently disbelieving it. so i put a little twig to the peduncle, and the next day my gardener said, "you see it is a clematis, for it feels." that's the way we make out plants at down. my dear old friend, god bless you! letter . to j.d. hooker. [may nd, ]. what a good kind heart you have got. you cannot tell how your letter has pleased me. i will write to scott and ask him if he chooses to go out and risk engagement. if he will not he must want all energy. he says himself he wants stoicism, and is too sensitive. i hope he may not want courage. i feel sure he is a remarkable man, with much good in him, but no doubt many errors and blemishes. i can vouch for his high intellect (in my judgment he is the best observer i ever came across); for his modesty, at least in correspondence; and there is something high-minded in his determination not to receive money from me. i shall ask him whether he can get a good character for probity and sobriety, and whether he can get aid from his relations for his voyage out. i will help, and, if necessary, pay the whole voyage, and give him enough to support him for some weeks at calcutta. i will write when i hear from him. god bless you; you, who are so overworked, are most generous to take so much trouble about a man you have had nothing to do with. ( / . scott had left the botanic gardens at edinburgh in march , chagrined at what, justly or unjustly, he considered discouragement and slight. the indian offer was most gladly and gratefully accepted.) letter . to j. scott. down, november st, . dr. hooker has forwarded to me your letter as the best and simplest plan of explaining affairs. i am sincerely grieved to hear of the pecuniary problem which you have undergone, but now fortunately passed. i assure you that i have never entertained any feelings in regard to you which you suppose. please to remember that i distinctly stated that i did not consider the sum which i advanced as a loan, but as a gift; and surely there is nothing discreditable to you, under the circumstances, in receiving a gift from a rich man, as i am. therefore i earnestly beg you to banish the whole subject from your mind, and begin laying up something for yourself in the future. i really cannot break my word and accept payment. pray do not rob me of my small share in the credit of aiding to put the right man in the right place. you have done good work, and i am sure will do more; so let us never mention the subject again. i am, after many interruptions, at work again on my essay on expression, which was written out once many months ago. i have found your remarks the best of all which have been sent me, and so i state. chapter .xi.--botany, - . .xi.i. miscellaneous, - .-- .xi.ii. correspondence with fritz muller, - .-- .xi.iii. miscellaneous, - . .xi.i. miscellaneous, - . letter . to d. oliver. down [april, ]. ( / . the following letter illustrates the truth of sir w. thiselton-dyer's remark that darwin was never "afraid of his facts." ( / . "charles darwin" (nature series), , page .) the entrance of pollen-tubes into the nucellus by the chalaza, instead of through the micropyle, was first fully demonstrated by treub in his paper "sur les casuarinees et leur place dans le systeme naturel," published in the "ann. jard. bot. buitenzorg," x., . two years later miss benson gave an account of a similar phenomenon in certain amentiferae ("trans. linn. soc." - , page ). this chalazogamic method of fertilisation has since been recognised in other flowering plants, but not, so far as we are aware, in the genus primula.) it is a shame to trouble [you], but will you tell me whether the ovule of primula is "anatropal," nearly as figured by gray, page , "lessons in botany," or rather more tending to "amphitropal"? i never looked at such a point before. why i am curious to know is because i put pollen into the ovarium of monstrous primroses, and now, after sixteen days, and not before (the length of time agrees with slowness of natural impregnation), i find abundance of pollen-tubes emitted, which cling firmly to the ovules, and, i think i may confidently state, penetrate the ovule. but here is an odd thing: they never once enter at (what i suppose to be) the "orifice," but generally at the chalaza...do you know how pollen-tubes go naturally in primula? do they run down walls of ovarium, and then turn up the placenta, and so debouch near the "orifices" of the ovules? if you thought it worth while to examine ovules, i would see if there are more monstrous flowers, and put pollen into the ovarium, and send you the flowers in fourteen or fifteen days afterwards. but it is rather troublesome. i would not do it unless you cared to examine the ovules. like a foolish and idle man, i have wasted a whole morning over them... in two ovules there was an odd appearance, as if the outer coat of ovule at the chalaza end (if i understand the ovule) had naturally opened or withered where most of the pollen-tubes seemed to penetrate, which made me at first think this was a widely open foramen. i wonder whether the ovules could be thus fertilised? letter . to d. oliver. down [april, ]. many thanks about the primula. i see that i was pretty right about the ovules. i have been thinking that the apparent opening at the chalaza end must have been withering or perhaps gnawing by some very minute insects, as the ovarium is open at the upper end. if i have time i will have another look at pollen-tubes, as, from what you say, they ought to find their way to the micropyle. but ovules to me are far more troublesome to dissect than animal tissue; they are so soft, and muddy the water. letter . to maxwell masters. down, april th [ ]. i have been very glad to read your paper on peloria. ( / . "on the existence of two forms of peloria." "natural history review," april, , page .) for the mere chance of the following case being new i send it. a plant which i purchased as corydalis tuberosa has, as you know, one nectary--short, white, and without nectar; the pistil is bowed towards the true nectary; and the hood formed by the inner petals slips off towards the opposite side (all adaptations to insect agency, like many other pretty ones in this family). now on my plants there are several flowers (the fertility of which i will observe) with both nectaries equal and purple and secreting nectar; the pistil is straight, and the hood slips off either way. in short, these flowers have the exact structure of dielytra and adlumia. seeing this, i must look at the case as one of reversion; though it is one of the spreading of irregularity to two sides. as columbine [aquilegia] has all petals, etc., irregular, and as monkshood [aconitum] has two petals irregular, may not the case given by seringe, and referred to [by] you ( / . "seringe describes and figures a flower [of aconitum] wherein all the sepals were helmet-shaped," and the petals similarly affected. maxwell masters, op. cit., page .), by you be looked at as reversion to the columbine state? would it be too bold to suppose that some ancient linaria, or allied form, and some ancient viola, had all petals spur-shaped, and that all cases of "irregular peloria" in these genera are reversions to such imaginary ancient form? ( / . "'regular or congenital peloria' would include those flowers which, contrary to their usual habit, retain throughout the whole of their growth their primordial regularity of form and equality of proportion. 'irregular or acquired peloria,' on the other hand, would include those flowers in which the irregularity of growth that ordinarily characterises some portions of the corolla is manifested in all of them." maxwell masters, loc. cit.) it seems to me, in my ignorance, that it would be advantageous to consider the two forms of peloria when occurring in the very same species as probably due to the same general law--viz., one as reversion to very early state, and the other as reversion to a later state when all the petals were irregularly formed. this seems at least to me a priori a more probable view than to look at one form of peloria as due to reversion and the other as something distinct. ( / . see maxwell masters, "vegetable teratology," , page ; "variation of animals and plants," edition ii., volume ii., page .) what do you think of this notion? letter . to p.h. gosse. ( / . the following was written in reply to mr. gosse's letter of may th asking for a solution of his difficulties in fertilising stanhopea. it is reprinted by the kind permission of mr. edmund gosse from his delightful book, the "life of philip henry gosse," london, , page .) down, june nd, . it would give me real pleasure to resolve your doubts, but i cannot. i can give only suspicions and my grounds for them. i should think the non-viscidity of the stigmatic hollow was due to the plant not living under its natural conditions. please see what i have said on acropera. an excellent observer, mr. j. scott, of the botanical gardens, edinburgh, finds all that i say accurate, but, nothing daunted, he with the knife enlarged the orifice and forced in pollen-masses; or he simply stuck them into the contracted orifice without coming into contact with the stigmatic surface, which is hardly at all viscid, when, lo and behold, pollen-tubes were emitted and fine seed capsules obtained. this was effected with acropera loddigesii; but i have no doubt that i have blundered badly about a. luteola. i mention all this because, as mr. scott remarks, as the plant is in our hot-houses, it is quite incredible it ever could be fertilised in its native land. the whole case is an utter enigma to me. probably you are aware that there are cases (and it is one of the oddest facts in physiology) of plants which, under culture, have their sexual functions in so strange a condition, that though their pollen and ovules are in a sound state and can fertilise and be fertilised by distinct but allied species, they cannot fertilise themselves. now, mr. scott has found this the case with certain orchids, which again shows sexual disturbance. he had read a paper at the botanical society of edinburgh, and i daresay an abstract which i have seen will appear in the "gardeners' chronicle"; but blunders have crept in in copying, and parts are barely intelligible. how insects act with your stanhopea i will not pretend to conjecture. in many cases i believe the acutest man could not conjecture without seeing the insect at work. i could name common english plants in this predicament. but the musk-orchis [herminium monorchis] is a case in point. since publishing, my son and myself have watched the plant and seen the pollinia removed, and where do you think they invariably adhere in dozens of specimens?--always to the joint of the femur with the trochanter of the first pair of legs, and nowhere else. when one sees such adaptation as this, it would be hopeless to conjecture on the stanhopea till we know what insect visits it. i have fully proved that my strong suspicion was correct that with many of our english orchids no nectar is excreted, but that insects penetrate the tissues for it. so i expect it must be with many foreign species. i forgot to say that if you find that you cannot fertilise any of your exotics, take pollen from some allied form, and it is quite probable that will succeed. will you have the kindness to look occasionally at your bee-ophrys near torquay, and see whether pollinia are ever removed? it is my greatest puzzle. please read what i have said on it, and on o. arachnites. i have since proved that the account of the latter is correct. i wish i could have given you better information. p.s.--if the flowers of the stanhopea are not too old, remove pollen-masses from their pedicels, and stick them with a little liquid pure gum to the stigmatic cavity. after the case of the acropera, no one can dare positively say that they would not act. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, saturday, th [december ]. i am very glad that this will reach you at kew. you will then get rest, and i do hope some lull in anxiety and fear. nothing is so dreadful in this life as fear; it still sickens me when i cannot help remembering some of the many illnesses our children have endured. my father, who was a sceptical man, was convinced that he had distinctly traced several cases of scarlet fever to handling letters from convalescents. the vases ( / . probably wedgwood ware.) did come from my sister susan. she is recovering, and was much pleased to hear that you liked them; i have now sent one of your notes to her, in which you speak of them as "enchanting," etc. i have had a bad spell--vomiting, every day for eleven days, and some days many times after every meal. it is astonishing the degree to which i keep up some strength. dr. brinton was here two days ago, and says he sees no reason [why] i may not recover my former degree of health. i should like to live to do a little more work, and often i feel sure i shall, and then again i feel that my tether is run out. your hastings note, my dear old fellow, was a copley medal to me and more than a copley medal: not but what i know well that you overrate what i have been able to do. ( / . the proposal to give the medal to darwin failed in , but his friends were successful in : see "life and letters," iii., page .) now that i am disabled, i feel more than ever what a pleasure observing and making out little difficulties is. by the way, here is a very little fact which may interest you. a partridge foot is described in "proc. zoolog. soc." with a huge ball of earth attached to it as hard as rock. ( / . "proc. zool. soc." , page , by prof. newton, who sent the foot to darwin: see "origin," edition vi., page .) bird killed in . leg has been sent me, and i find it diseased, and no doubt the exudation caused earth to accumulate; now already thirty-two plants have come up from this ball of earth. by jove! i must write no more. good-bye, my best of friends. there is an italian edition of the "origin" preparing. this makes the fifth foreign edition--i.e. in five foreign countries. owen will not be right in telling longmans that the book would be utterly forgotten in ten years. hurrah! letter . to d. oliver. down, february th [ ]. many thanks for the epacrids, which i have kept, as they will interest me when able to look through the microscope. dr. cruger has sent me the enclosed paper, with power to do what i think fit with it. he would evidently prefer it to appear in the "nat. hist. review." please read it, and let me have your decision pretty soon. some germanisms must be corrected; whether woodcuts are necessary i have not been able to pay attention enough to decide. if you refuse, please send it to the linnean society as communicated by me. ( / . h. cruger's "a few notes on the fecundation of orchids, etc." [read march, .] "linn. soc. journ." viii., - , page .) the paper has interested me extremely, and i shall have no peace till i have a good boast. the sexes are separate in catasetum, which is a wonderful relief to me, as i have had two or three letters saying that the male c. tridentatum seeds. ( / . see footnote letter on the sexual relation between the three forms known as catasetum tridentatum, monacanthus viridis, and myanthus barbatus. for further details see darwin, "linn. soc. journ." vi., , page , and "fertilisation of orchids," edition ii., page .) it is pretty clear to me that two or three forms are confounded under this name. observe how curiously nearly perfect the pollen of the female is, according to cruger,--certainly more perfect than the pollen from the guyana species described by me. i was right in the manner in which the pollen adheres to the hairy back of the humble-bee, and hence the force of the ejection of the pollina. ( / . this view was given in "fertilisation of orchids," edition i., , page .) i am still more pleased that i was right about insects gnawing the fleshy labellum. this is important, as it explains all the astounding projections on the labellum of oncidium, phalaenopsis, etc. excuse all my boasting. it is the best medicine for my stomach. tell me whether you mean to take up orchids, as hooker said you were thinking of doing. do you know coryanthes, with its wonderful basket of water? see what cruger says about it. it beats everything in orchids. ( / . for coryanthes see "fertilisation of orchids," edition ii., page .) letter . to j.d. hooker. down [september th, ]. thanks for your note of the th. you think much and greatly too much of me and my doings; but this is pleasant, for you have represented for many years the whole great public to me. i have read with interest bentham's address on hybridism. i am glad that he is cautious about naudin's view, for i cannot think that it will hold. ( / . c. naudin's "nouvelles recherches sur l'hydridite dans les vegetaux." the complete paper, with coloured plates, was presented to the academy in , and published in full in the "nouvelles archives de museum d'hist. nat." volume i., , page . the second part only appeared in the "ann. sci. nat." xix., . mr. bentham's address dealing with hybridism is in "proc. linn. soc." viii., , page ix. a review of naudin is given in the "natural history review," , page . naudin's paper is of much interest, as containing a mechanical theory of reproduction of the same general character as that of pangenesis. in the "variation of animals and plants," edition ii., volume ii., page , darwin states that in his treatment of hybridism in terms of gemmules he is practically following naudin's treatment of the same theme in terms of "essences." naudin, however, does not clearly distinguish between hybrid and pure gemmules, and makes the assumption that the hybrid or mixed essences tend constantly to dissociate into pure parental essences, and thus lead to reversion. it is to this view that darwin refers when he says that naudin's view throws no light on the reversion to long-lost characters. his own attempt at explaining this fact occurs in "variation under domestication," ii., edition ii., page . mr. bateson ("mendel's principle of heredity," cambridge, , page ) says: "naudin clearly enuntiated what we shall henceforth know as the mendelian conception of the dissociation of characters of cross-breds in the formation of the germ-cells, though apparently he never developed this conception." it is remarkable that, as far as we know, darwin never in any way came across mendel's work. one of darwin's correspondents, however, the late mr. t. laxton, of stamford, was close on the trail of mendelian principle. mr. bateson writes (op. cit., page ): "had he [laxton] with his other gifts combined this penetration which detects a great principle hidden in the thin mist of 'exceptions,' we should have been able to claim for him that honour which must ever be mendel's in the history of discovery.") the tendency of hybrids to revert to either parent is part of a wider law (which i am fully convinced that i can show experimentally), namely, that crossing races as well as species tends to bring back characters which existed in progenitors hundreds and thousands of generations ago. why this should be so, god knows. but naudin's view throws no light, that i can see, on this reversion of long-lost characters. i wish the ray society would translate gartner's "bastarderzeugung"; it contains more valuable matter than all other writers put together, and would do great service if better known. ( / . "versuche uber die bastarderzeugung im pflanzenreich": stuttgart, .) letter . to t.h. huxley. ( / . mr. huxley had doubted the accuracy of observations on catasetum published in the "fertilisation of orchids." in what formed the postscript to the following letter, darwin wrote: "i have had more catasetums,--all right, you audacious 'caviller.'") down, october st [ ]. in a little book, just published, called the "three barriers" (a theological hash of old abuse of me), owen gives to the author a new resume of his brain doctrine; and i thought you would like to hear of this. he ends with a delightful sentence. "no science affords more scope or easier ground for the caviller and controversialist; and these do good by preventing scholars from giving more force to generalisations than the master propounding them does, or meant his readers or hearers to give." you will blush with pleasure to hear that you are of some use to the master. letter . to j.d. hooker. [february, ?] i shall write again. i write now merely to ask, if you have naravelia ( / . ranunculaceae.) (the clematis-like plant told me by oliver), to try and propagate me a plant at once. have you clematis cirrhosa? it will amuse me to tell you why clematis interests me, and why i should so very much like to have naravelia. the leaves of clematis have no spontaneous movement, nor have the internodes; but when by growth the peduncles of leaves are brought into contact with any object, they bend and catch hold. the slightest stimulus suffices, even a bit of cotton thread a few inches long; but the stimulus must be applied during six or twelve hours, and when the peduncles once bend, though the touching object be removed, they never get straight again. now mark the difference in another leaf-climber--viz., tropaeolum: here the young internodes revolve day and night, and the peduncles of the leaves are thus brought into contact with an object, and the slightest momentary touch causes them to bend in any direction and catch the object, but as the axis revolves they must be often dragged away without catching, and then the peduncles straighten themselves again, and are again ready to catch. so that the nervous system of clematis feels only a prolonged touch--that of tropaeolum a momentary touch: the peduncles of the latter recover their original position, but clematis, as it comes into contact by growth with fixed objects, has no occasion to recover its position, and cannot do so. you did send me flagellaria, but most unfortunately young plants do not have tendrils, and i fear my plant will not get them for another year, and this i much regret, as these leaf-tendrils seem very curious, and in gloriosa i could not make out the action, but i have now a young plant of gloriosa growing up (as yet with simple leaves) which i hope to make out. thank oliver for decisive answer about tendrils of vines. it is very strange that tendrils formed of modified leaves and branches should agree in all their four highly remarkable properties. i can show a beautiful gradation by which leaves produce tendrils, but how the axis passes into a tendril utterly puzzles me. i would give a guinea if vine-tednrils could be found to be leaves. ( / . it is an interesting fact that darwin's work on climbing plants was well advanced before he discovered the existence of the works of palm, mohl, and dutrochet on this subject. on march nd, , he wrote to hooker:--"you quite overrate my tendril work, and there is no occasion to plague myself about priority." in june he speaks of having read "two german books, and all, i believe, that has been written on climbers, and it has stirred me up to find that i have a good deal of new matter.") letter . to j.d. hooker. down, june nd [ ]. you once offered me a combretum. ( / . the two forms of shoot in c. argenteum are described in "climbing plants," page .) i having c. purpureum, out of modesty like an ass refused. can you now send me a plant? i have a sudden access of furor about climbers. do you grow adlumia cirrhosa? your seed did not germinate with me. could you have a seedling dug up and potted? i want it fearfully, for it is a leaf-climber, and therefore sacred. i have some hopes of getting adlumia, for i used to grow the plant, and seedlings have often come up, and we are now potting all minute reddish-coloured weeds. ( / . we believe that the adlumia which came up year by year in flower boxes in the down verandah grew from seed supplied by asa gray.) i have just got a plant with sensitive axis, quite a new case; and tell oliver i now do not care at all how many tendrils he makes axial, which at one time was a cruel torture to me. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, november rd [ ]. many thanks for your splendid long letter. but first for business. please look carefully at the enclosed specimen of dicentra thalictriformis, and throw away. ( / . dicentra thalictrifolia, a himalayan species of fumariaceae, with leaf-tendrils.) when the plant was young i concluded certainly that the tendrils were axial, or modified branches, which mohl says is the case with some fumariaceae. ( / . "ueber den bau und das winden der ranken und schlingpflanzen. eine gekronte preisschrift," to, tubingen, . at page mohl describes the tips of the branches of fumaria [corydalis] clavicualta as being developed into tendrils, as well as the leaves. for this reason darwin placed the plant among the tendril-bearers rather than among the true leaf-climbers: see "climbing plants," edition ii., , page .) you looked at them here and agreed. but now the plant is old, what i thought was a branch with two leaves and ending in a tendril looks like a gigantic leaf with two compound leaflets, and the terminal part converted into a tendril. for i see buds in the fork between supposed branch and main stem. pray look carefully--you know i am profoundly ignorant--and save me from a horrid mistake. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . the following is interesting, as containing a foreshadowing of the chemotaxis of antherozoids which was shown to exist by pfeffer in : see "untersuchungen aus dem botanischen institut zu tubingen," volume i., page . there are several papers by h.j. carter on the reproduction of the lower organisms in the "annals and magazine of natural history" between and .) down, sunday, nd, and saturday, th [october, ]. i have been wading through the "annals and mag. of n. history." for last ten years, and have been interested by several papers, chiefly, however, translations; but none have interested me more than carter's on lower vegetables, infusoria, and protozoa. is he as good a workman as he appears? for if so he would deserve a royal medal. i know it is not new; but how wonderful his account of the spermatozoa of some dioecious alga or conferva, swimming and finding the minute micropyle in a distinct plant, and forcing its way in! why, these zoospores must possess some sort of organ of sense to guide their locomotive powers to the small micropyle; and does not this necessarily imply something like a nervous system, in the same way as complemental male cirripedes have organs of sense and locomotion, and nothing else but a sack of spermatozoa? letter . to f. hildebrand. may th, . since writing to you before, i have read your admirable memoir on salvia ( / . "pringsheim's jahrbucher," volume iv., .), and it has interested me almost as much as when i first investigated the structure of orchids. your paper illustrates several points in my "origin of species," especially the transition of organs. knowing only two or three species in the genus, i had often marvelled how one cell of the anther could have been transformed into the moveable plate or spoon; and how well you show the gradations. but i am surprised that you did not more strongly insist on this point. i shall be still more surprised if you do not ultimately come to the same belief with me, as shown by so many beautiful contrivances,--that all plants require, from some unknown cause, to be occasionally fertilised by pollen from a distinct individual. (plate: fritz muller.) .xi.ii. correspondence with fritz muller, - . ( / . the letters from darwin to muller are given as a separate group, instead of in chronological sequence with the other botanical letters, as better illustrating the uninterrupted friendship and scientific comradeship of the two naturalists.) letter . to f. muller. down, october th [ ]. i received about a fortnight ago your second letter on climbing plants, dated august st. it has greatly interested me, and it corrects and fills up a great hiatus in my paper. as i thought you could not object, i am having your letter copied, and will send the paper to the linnean society. ( / . "notes on some of the climbing plants near desterro" [ ], "linn. soc. journ." ix., .) i have slightly modified the arrangement of some parts and altered only a few words, as you write as good english as an englishman. i do not quite understand your account of the arrangement of the leaves of strychnos, and i think you use the word "bracteae" differently to what english authors do; therefore i will get dr. hooker to look over your paper. i cannot, of course, say whether the linnean society will publish your paper; but i am sure it ought to do so. as the society is rather poor, i fear that it will give only a few woodcuts from your truly admirable sketches. letter . to f. muller. ( / . in darwin's book on climbing plants, ( / . first given as a paper before the linnean society, and published in the "linn. soc. journ." volume ix.,), he wrote (page ): "the conclusion is forced on our minds that the capacity of revolving, on which most climbing plants depend, is inherent, though undeveloped, in almost every plant in the vegetable kingdom"--a conclusion which was verified in the "power of movement in plants." the present letter is interesting in referring to fritz muller's observations on the "revolving nutation," or circumnutation of alisma macrophylla and linum usitatissimum, the latter fact having been discovered by f. muller's daughter rosa. this was probably the earliest observation on the circumnutation of a non-climbing plant, and muller, in a paper dated , and published in volume v. of the "jenaische zeitschrift," page , calls attention to its importance in relation to the evolution of the habit of climbing. the present letter was probably written in , since it refers to muller's paper read before the linnean soc. on december th, . if so, the facts on circumnutation must have been communicated to darwin some years before their publication in the "jenaische zeitschrift.") down, december th [ ]. i have received your interesting letter of october th, with its new facts on branch-tendrils. if the linnean society publishes your paper ( / . ibid., , page .), as i am sure it ought to do, i will append a note with some of these new facts. i forwarded immediately your ms. to professor max schultze, but i did not read it, for german handwriting utterly puzzles me, and i am so weak, i am capable of no exertion. i took the liberty, however, of asking him to send me a copy, if separate ones are printed, and i reminded him about the sponge paper. you will have received before this my book on orchids, and i wish i had known that you would have preferred the english edition. should the german edition fail to reach you, i will send an english one. that is a curious observation of your daughter about the movement of the apex of the stem of linum, and would, i think, be worth following out. ( / . f. muller, "jenaische zeitschrift," bd. v., page . here, also, are described the movements of alisma.) i suspect many plants move a little, following the sun; but all do not, for i have watched some pretty carefully. i can give you no zoological news, for i live the life of the most secluded hermit. i occasionally hear from ernest hackel, who seems as determined as you are to work out the subject of the change of species. you will have seen his curious paper on certain medusae reproducing themselves by seminal generation at two periods of growth. ( / . on april rd, , darwin wrote to f. muller: "your diagram of the movements of the flower-peduncle of the alisma is extremely curious. i suppose the movement is of no service to the plant, but shows how easily the species might be converted into a climber. does it bend through irritability when rubbed?" letter . to f. muller. down, september th [ ]. i have just received your letter of august nd, and am, as usual, astonished at the number of interesting points which you observe. it is quite curious how, by coincidence, you have been observing the same subjects that have lately interested me. your case of the notylia is quite new to me ( / . see f. muller, "bot. zeitung," , page ; "fertilisation of orchids," edition ii., page .); but it seems analogous with that of acropera, about the sexes of which i blundered greatly in my book. i have got an acropera now in flower, and have no doubt that some insect, with a tuft of hairs on its tail, removes by the tuft, the pollinia, and inserts the little viscid cap and the long pedicel into the narrow stigmatic cavity, and leaves it there with the pollen-masses in close contact with, but not inserted into, the stigmatic cavity. i find i can thus fertilise the flowers, and so i can with stanhopea, and i suspect that this is the case with your notylia. but i have lately had an orchis in flower--viz. acineta, which i could not anyhow fertilise. dr. hildebrand lately wrote a paper ( / . "bot. zeitung," , .) showing that with some orchids the ovules are not mature and are not fertilised until months after the pollen-tubes have penetrated the column, and you have independently observed the same fact, which i never suspected in the case of acropera. the column of such orchids must act almost like the spermatheca of insects. your orchis with two leaf-like stigmas is new to me; but i feel guilty at your wasting your valuable time in making such beautiful drawings for my amusement. your observations on those plants being sterile which grow separately, or flower earlier than others, are very interesting to me: they would be worth experimenting on with other individuals. i shall give in my next book several cases of individual plants being sterile with their own pollen. i have actually got on my list eschscholtzia ( / . see "animals and plants," ii., edition ii., page .) for fertilising with its own pollen, though i did not suspect it would prove sterile, and i will try next summer. my object is to compare the rate of growth of plants raised from seed fertilised by pollen from the same flower and by pollen from a distinct plant, and i think from what i have seen i shall arrive at interesting results. dr. hildebrand has lately described a curious case of corydalis cava which is quite sterile with its own pollen, but fertile with pollen of any other individual plant of the species. ( / . "international horticultural congress," london, , quoted in "variation of animals and plants," edition ii., volume ii., page .) what i meant in my paper on linum about plants being dimorphic in function alone, was that they should be divided into two equal bodies functionally but not structurally different. i have been much interested by what you say on seeds which adhere to the valves being rendered conspicuous. you will see in the new edition of the "origin" ( / . "origin of species," edition iv., , page . a discussion on the origin of beauty, including the bright colours of flowers and fruits.) why i have alluded to the beauty and bright colours of fruit; after writing this it troubled me that i remembered to have seen brilliantly coloured seed, and your view occurred to me. there is a species of peony in which the inside of the pod is crimson and the seeds dark purple. i had asked a friend to send me some of these seeds, to see if they were covered with anything which could prove attractive to birds. i received some seeds the day after receiving your letter, and i must own that the fleshy covering is so thin that i can hardly believe it would lead birds to devour them; and so it was in an analogous case with passiflora gracilis. how is this in the cases mentioned by you? the whole case seems to me rather a striking one. i wish i had heard of mikania being a leaf-climber before your paper was printed ( / . see "climbing plants ( rd thousand, ), page . mikania and mutisia both belong to the compositae. mikania scandens is a twining plant: it is another species which, by its leaf-climbing habit, supplies a transition to the tendril-climber mutisia. f. muller's paper is in "linn. soc. journ." ix., page .), for we thus get a good gradation from m. scandens to mutisia, with its little modified, leaf-like tendrils. i am glad to hear that you can confirm (but render still more wonderful) hackel's most interesting case of linope. huxley told me that he thought the case would somehow be explained away. letter . to f. muller. down [received january th, ]. i have so much to thank you for that i hardly know how to begin. i have received the bulbils of oxalis, and your most interesting letter of october st. i planted half the bulbs, and will plant the other half in the spring. the case seems to me very curious, and until trying some experiments in crossing i can form no conjecture what the abortion of the stamens in so irregular a manner can signify. but i fear from what you say the plant will prove sterile, like so many others which increase largely by buds of various kinds. since i asked you about oxalis, dr. hildebrand has published a paper showing that a great number of species are trimorphic, like lythrum, but he has tried hardly any experiments. ( / . hildebrand's work, published in the "monatsb. d. akad. d. wiss. berlin," , was chiefly on herbarium specimens. his experimental work was published in the "bot. zeitung," .) i am particularly obliged for the information and specimens of cordia ( / . cordiaceae: probably dimorphic.), and shall be most grateful for seed. i have not heard of any dimorphic species in this family. hardly anything in your letter interested me so much as your account and drawing of the valves of the pod of one of the mimoseae with the really beautiful seeds. i will send some of these seeds to kew to be planted. but these seeds seem to me to offer a very great difficulty. they do not seem hard enough to resist the triturating power of the gizzard of a gallinaceous bird, though they must resist that of some other birds; for the skin is as hard as ivory. i presume that these seeds cannot be covered with any attractive pulp? i soaked one of the seeds for ten hours in warm water, which became only very slightly mucilaginous. i think i will try whether they will pass through a fowl uninjured. ( / . the seeds proved to be those of adenanthera pavonina. the solution of the difficulty is given in the following extract from a letter to muller, march nd, : "i wrote to india on the subject, and i hear from mr. j. scott that parrots are eager for the seeds, and, wonderful as the fact is, can split them open with their beaks; they first collect a large number in their beaks, and then settle themselves to split them, and in doing so drop many; thus i have no doubt they are disseminated, on the same principle that the acorns of our oaks are most widely disseminated." possibly a similar explanation may hold good for the brightly coloured seeds of abrus precatorius.) i hope you will observe whether any bird devours them; and could you get any young man to shoot some and observe whether the seeds are found low down in the intestines? it would be well worth while to plant such seeds with undigested seeds for comparison. an opponent of ours might make a capital case against us by saying that here beautiful pods and seeds have been formed not for the good of the plant, but for the good of birds alone. these seeds would make a beautiful bracelet for one of my daughters, if i had enough. i may just mention that euonymus europoeus is a case in point: the seeds are coated by a thin orange layer, which i find is sufficient to cause them to be devoured by birds. i have received your paper on martha [posoqueria ( / . "bot. zeitung," .)]; it is as wonderful as the most wonderful orchis; ernst hackel brought me the paper and stayed a day with me. i have seldom seen a more pleasant, cordial, and frank man. he is now in madeira, where he is going to work chiefly on the medusae. his great work is now published, and i have a copy; but the german is so difficult i can make out but little of it, and i fear it is too large a work to be translated. your fact about the number of seeds in the capsule of the maxillaria ( / . see "animals and plants," edition ii., volume ii., page .) came just at the right time, as i wished to give one or two such facts. does this orchid produce many capsules? i cannot answer your question about the aerial roots of catasetum. i hope you have received the new edition of the "origin." your paper on climbing plants ( / . "linn. soc. journal," ix., , page .) is printed, and i expect in a day or two to receive the spare copies, and i will send off three copies as before stated, and will retain some in case you should wish me to send them to any one in europe, and will transmit the remainder to yourself. letter . to f. muller. down [received february th, ]. your letter of november nd contained an extraordinary amount of interesting matter. what a number of dimorphic plants south brazil produces: you observed in one day as many or more dimorphic genera than all the botanists in europe have ever observed. when my present book is finished i shall write a final paper upon these plants, so that i am extremely glad to hear of your observations and to see the dried flowers; nevertheless, i should regret much if i prevented you from publishing on the subject. plumbago ( / . plumbago has not been shown to be dimorphic.) is quite new to me, though i had suspected it. it is curious how dimorphism prevails by groups throughout the world, showing, as i suppose, that it is an ancient character; thus hedyotis is dimorphic in india ( / . hedyotis was sent to darwin by f. muller; it seems possible, therefore, that hedyotis was written by mistake for some other rubiaceous plant, perhaps oldenlandia, which john scott sent him from india.); the two other genera in the same sub-family with villarsia are dimorphic in europe and ceylon; a sub-genus of erythroxylon ( / . no doubt sethia.) is dimorphic in ceylon, and oxalis with you and at the cape of good hope. if you can find a dimorphic oxalis it will be a new point, for all known species are trimorphic or monomorphic. the case of convolvulus will be new, if proved. i am doubtful about gesneria ( / . neither convolvulus nor gesneria have been shown to be dimorphic.), and have been often myself deceived by varying length of pistil. a difference in the size of the pollen-grains would be conclusive evidence; but in some cases experiments by fertilisation can alone decide the point. as yet i know of no case of dimorphism in flowers which are very irregular; such flowers being apparently always sufficiently visited and crossed by insects. letter . to f. muller. down, april nd [ ]. i am very sorry your papers on climbing plants never reached you. they must be lost, but i put the stamps on myself and i am sure they were right. i despatched on the th all the remaining copies, except one for myself. your letter of march th contained much interesting matter, but i have to say this of all your letters. i am particularly glad to hear that oncidium flexuosum ( / . see "animals and plants," edition ii., volume ii., page . observations on oncidium were made by john scott, and in brazil by f. muller, who "fertilised above one hundred flowers of the above-mentioned oncidium flexuosum, which is there endemic, with its own pollen, and with that taken from distinct plants: all the former were sterile, whilst those fertilised by pollen from any other plant of the same species were fertile.') is endemic, for i always thought that the cases of self-sterility with orchids in hot-houses might have been caused by their unnatural conditions. i am glad, also, to hear of the other analogous cases, all of which i will give briefly in my book that is now printing. the lessened number of good seeds in the self-fertilising epidendrums is to a certain extent a new case. you suggest the comparison of the growth of plants produced from self-fertilised and crossed seeds. i began this work last autumn, and the result, in some cases, has been very striking; but only, as far as i can yet judge, with exotic plants which do not get freely crossed by insects in this country. in some of these cases it is really a wonderful physiological fact to see the difference of growth in the plants produced from self-fertilised and crossed seeds, both produced by the same parent-plant; the pollen which has been used for the cross having been taken from a distinct plant that grew in the same flower-pot. many thanks for the dimorphic rubiaceous plant. three of your plumbagos have germinated, but not as yet any of the lobelias. have you ever thought of publishing a work which might contain miscellaneous observations on all branches of natural history, with a short description of the country and of any excursions which you might take? i feel certain that you might make a very valuable and interesting book, for every one of your letters is so full of good observations. such books, for instance bates' "travels on the amazons," are very popular in england. i will give your obliging offer about brazilian plants to dr. hooker, who was to have come here to-day, but has failed. he is an excellent good fellow, as well as naturalist. he has lately published a pamphlet, which i think you would like to read; and i will try and get a copy and send you. ( / . sir j.d. hooker's lecture on insular floras, given before the british association in august, , is doubtless referred to. it appeared in the "gardeners' chronicle," and was published as a pamphlet in january, . this fact helps to fix the date of the present letter.) letter . to f. muller. ( / . the following refers to the curious case of eschscholtzia described in "cross and self-fertilisation," pages - . the offspring of english plants after growing for two generations in brazil became self-sterile, while the offspring of brazilian plants became partly self-fertile in england.) january th [ ]. ...the flowers of eschscholtzia when crossed with pollen from a distinct plant produced per cent. of capsules; when self-fertilised the flowers produced only per cent. of capsules. an equal number of crossed and self-fertilised capsules contained seed by weight in the proportion of to . nevertheless, the self-fertilised flowers produced an abundance of seed. i enclose a few crossed seeds in hopes that you will raise a plant, cover it with a net, and observe whether it is self-fertile; at the same time allowing several uncovered plants to produce capsules, for the sterility formerly observed by you seems to me very curious. letter . to f. muller. down, november th [ ]. you end your letter of september th by saying that it is a very dull one; indeed, you make a very great mistake, for it abounds with interesting facts and thoughts. your account of the tameness of the birds which apparently have wandered from the interior, is very curious. but i must begin on another subject: there has been a great and very vexatious, but unavoidable delay in the publication of your book. ( / . "facts and arguments for darwin," , a translation by the late mr. dallas of f. muller's "fur darwin," : see volume i., letter .) prof. huxley agrees with me that mr. dallas is by far the best translator, but he is much overworked and had not quite finished the translation about a fortnight ago. he has charge of the museum at york, and is now trying to get the situation of assistant secretary at the geological society; and all the canvassing, etc., and his removal, if he gets the place, will, i fear, cause more than a month's delay in the completion of the translation; and this i very much regret. i am particularly glad to hear that you intend to repeat my experiments on illegitimate offspring, for no one's observations can be trusted until repeated. you will find the work very troublesome, owing to the death of plants and accidents of all kinds. some dimorphic plant will probably prove too sterile for you to raise offspring; and others too fertile for much sterility to be expected in their offspring. primula is bad on account of the difficulty of deciding which seeds may be considered as good. i have earnestly wished that some one would repeat these experiments, but i feared that years would elapse before any one would take the trouble. i received your paper on bignonia in "bot. zeit." and it interested me much. ( / . see "variation of animals and plants," edition ii., volume ii., page . fritz muller's paper, "befruchtungsversuche an cipo alho (bignonia)," "botanische zeitung," september th, , page , contains an interesting foreshadowing of the generalisation arrived at in "cross and self-fertilisation." muller wrote: "are the three which grow near each other seedlings from the same mother-plant or perhaps from seeds of the same capsule? or have they, from growing in the same place and under the same conditions, become so like each other that the pollen of one has hardly any more effect on the others than their own pollen? or, on the contrary, were the plants originally one--i.e., are they suckers from a single stock, which have gained a slight degree of mutual fertility in the course of an independent life? or, lastly, is the result 'ein neckische zufall,'" (the above is a free translation of muller's words.)) i am convinced that if you can prove that a plant growing in a distant place under different conditions is more effective in fertilisation than one growing close by, you will make a great step in the essence of sexual reproduction. prof. asa gray and dr. hooker have been staying here, and, oddly enough, they knew nothing of your paper on martha ( / . f. muller has described ("bot. zeitung," , page ) the explosive mechanism by which the pollen is distributed in martha (posoqueria) fragrans. he also gives an account of the remarkable arrangement for ensuring cross-fertilisation. see "forms of flowers," edition ii., page .), though the former was aware of the curious movements of the stamens, but so little understood the structure of the plant that he thought it was probably a dimorphic species. accordingly, i showed them your drawings and gave them a little lecture, and they were perfectly charmed with your account. hildebrand ( / . see letter , volume i.) has repeated his experiments on potatoes, and so have i, but this summer with no result. letter . to f. muller. down, march th [ ]. i received some time ago a very interesting letter from you with many facts about oxalis, and about the non-seeding and spreading of one species. i may mention that our common o. acetosella varies much in length of pistils and stamens, so that i at first thought it was certainly dimorphic, but proved it by experiment not to be so. boiseria ( / . this perhaps refers to boissiera (ladizabala).) has after all seeded well with me when crossed by opposite form, but very sparingly when self-fertilised. your case of faramea astonishes me. ( / . see "forms of flowers," edition ii., page . faramea is placed among the dimorphic species.) are you sure there is no mistake? the difference in size of flower and wonderful difference in size and structure of pollen-grains naturally make me rather sceptical. i never fail to admire and to be surprised at the number of points to which you attend. i go on slowly at my next book, and though i never am idle, i make but slow progress; for i am often interrupted by being unwell, and my subject of sexual selection has grown into a very large one. i have also had to correct a new edition of my "origin," ( / . the th edition.), and this has taken me six weeks, for science progresses at railroad speed. i cannot tell you how rejoiced i am that your book is at last out; for whether it sells largely or not, i am certain it will produce a great effect on all capable judges, though these are few in number. p.s.--i have just received your letter of january th. i am greatly interested by what you say on eschscholtzia; i wish your plants had succeeded better. it seems pretty clear that the species is much more self-sterile under the climate of brazil than here, and this seems to me an important result. ( / . see letter .) i have no spare seeds at present, but will send for some from the nurseryman, which, though not so good for our purpose, will be worth trying. i can send some of my own in the autumn. you could simply cover up separately two or three single plants, and see if they will seed without aid,--mine did abundantly. very many thanks for seeds of oxalis: how i wish i had more strength and time to carry on these experiments, but when i write in the morning, i have hardly heart to do anything in the afternoon. your grass is most wonderful. you ought to send account to the "bot. zeitung." could you not ascertain whether the barbs are sensitive, and how soon they become spiral in the bud? your bird is, i have no doubt, the molothrus mentioned in my "journal of travels," page , as representing a north american species, both with cuckoo-like habits. i know that seeds from same spike transmitted to a certain extent their proper qualities; but as far as i know, no one has hitherto shown how far this holds good, and the fact is very interesting. the experiment would be well worth trying with flowers bearing different numbers of petals. your explanation agrees beautifully with the hypothesis of pangenesis, and delights me. if you try other cases, do draw up a paper on the subject of inheritance of separate flowers for the "bot. zeitung" or some journal. most men, as far as my experience goes, are too ready to publish, but you seem to enjoy making most interesting observations and discoveries, and are sadly too slow in publishing. letter . to f. muller. barmouth, july th, . i received your last letter shortly before leaving home for this place. owing to this cause and to having been more unwell than usual i have been very dilatory in writing to you. when i last heard, about six or eight weeks ago, from mr. murray, one hundred copies of your book had been sold, and i daresay five hundred may now be sold. ( / . "facts and arguments for darwin," : see volume i., letter .) this will quite repay me, if not all the money; for i am sure that your book will have got into the hands of a good many men capable of understanding it: indeed, i know that it has. but it is too deep for the general public. i sent you two or three reviews--one of which, in the "athenaeum," was unfavourable; but this journal has abused me, and all who think with me, for many years. ( / . "athenaeum," , page .) i enclose two more notices, not that they are worth sending: some other brief notices have appeared. the case of the abitulon sterile with some individuals is remarkable ( / . "bestaubungsversuche an abutilon-arten." "jenaische zeitschr." vii., , page .): i believe that i had one plant of reseda odorata which was fertile with own pollen, but all that i have tried since were sterile except with pollen from some other individual. i planted the seeds of the abitulon, but i fear that they were crushed in the letter. your eschscholtzia plants were growing well when i left home, to which place we shall return by the end of this month, and i will observe whether they are self-sterile. i sent your curious account of the monstrous begonia to the linnean society, and i suppose it will be published in the "journal." ( / . "on the modification of the stamens in a species of begonia." "journ. linn. soc." xi., , page .) i sent the extract about grafted orange trees to the "gardeners' chronicle," where it appeared. i have lately drawn up some notes for a french translation of my orchis book: i took out your letters to make an abstract of your numerous discussions, but i found i had not strength or time to do so, and this caused me great regret. i have [in the french edition] alluded to your work, which will also be published in english, as you will see in my paper, and which i will send you. ( / . "notes on the fertilisation of orchids." "ann. mag. nat. hist." , volume iv., page . the paper gives an english version of the notes prepared for the french edition of the orchid book.) p.s.--by an odd chance, since i wrote the beginning of this letter, i have received one from dr. hooker, who has been reading "fur darwin": he finds that he has not knowledge enough for the first part; but says that chapters x. and xi. "strike me as remarkably good." he is also particularly struck with one of your highly suggestive remarks in the note to page . assuredly all who read your book will greatly profit by it, and i rejoice that it has appeared in english. letter . to f. muller. down, december st [ ]. i am much obliged for your letter of october th, with the curious account of abutilon, and for the seeds. a friend of mine, mr. farrer, has lately been studying the fertilisation of passiflora ( / . see letters and .), and concluded from the curiously crooked passage into the nectary that it could not be fertilised by humming-birds; but that tacsonia was thus fertilised. therefore i sent him the passage from your letter, and i enclose a copy of his answer. if you are inclined to gratify him by making a few observations on this subject i shall be much obliged, and will send them on to him. i enclose a copy of my rough notes on your eschscholtzia, as you might like to see them. somebody has sent me from germany two papers by you, one with a most curious account of alisma ( / . see letter .), and the other on crustaceans. your observations on the branchiae and heart have interested me extremely. alex. agassiz has just paid me a visit with his wife. he has been in england two or three months, and is now going to tour over the continent to see all the zoologists. we liked him very much. he is a great admirer of yours, and he tells me that your correspondence and book first made him believe in evolution. this must have been a great blow to his father, who, as he tells me, is very well, and so vigorous that he can work twice as long as he (the son) can. dr. meyer has sent me his translation of wallace's "malay archipelago," which is a valuable work; and as i have no use for the translation, i will this day forward it to you by post, but, to save postage, via england. letter . to f. muller. down, may th [ ]. i thank you for your two letters of december th and march th, both abounding with curious facts. i have been particularly glad to hear in your last about the eschscholtzia ( / . see letter .); for i am now rearing crossed and self-fertilised plants, in antagonism to each other, from your semi-sterile plants so that i may compare this comparative growth with that of the offspring of english fertile plants. i have forwarded your postscript about passiflora, with the seeds, to mr. farrer, who i am sure will be greatly obliged to you; the turning up of the pendant flower plainly indicates some adaptation. when i next go to london i will take up the specimens of butterflies, and show them to mr. butler, of the british museum, who is a learned lepidopterist and interested on the subject. this reminds me to ask you whether you received my letter [asking] about the ticking butterfly, described at page of my "journal of researches"; viz., whether the sound is in anyway sexual? perhaps the species does not inhabit your island. ( / . papilio feronia, a brazilian species capable of making "a clicking noise, similar to that produced by a toothed wheel passing under a spring catch."--"journal," , page .) the case described in your last letter of the trimorphic monocotyledon pontederia is grand. ( / . this case interested darwin as the only instance of heterostylism in monocotyledons. see "forms of flowers," edition ii., page . f. muller's paper is in the "jenaische zeitschrift," .) i wonder whether i shall ever have time to recur to this subject; i hope i may, for i have a good deal of unpublished material. thank you for telling me about the first-formed flower having additional petals, stamens, carpels, etc., for it is a possible means of transition of form; it seems also connected with the fact on which i have insisted of peloric flowers being so often terminal. as pelorism is strongly inherited (and [i] have just got a curious case of this in a leguminous plant from india), would it not be worth while to fertilise some of your early flowers having additional organs with pollen from a similar flower, and see whether you could not make a race thus characterised? ( / . see letters , . also "variation under domestication," edition ii., volume i., pages - .) some of your abutilons have germinated, but i have been very unfortunate with most of your seed. you will remember having given me in a former letter an account of a very curious popular belief in regard to the subsequent progeny of asses, which have borne mules; and now i have another case almost exactly like that of lord morton's mare, in which it is said the shape of the hoofs in the subsequent progeny are affected. (pangenesis will turn out true some day!) ( / . see "animals and plants," edition ii., volume i., page . for recent work on telegony see ewart's "experimental investigations on telegony," "phil. trans. r. soc." . a good account of the subject is given in the "quarterly review," , page . see also letter , volume i.) a few months ago i received an interesting letter and paper from your brother, who has taken up a new and good line of investigation, viz., the adaptation in insects for the fertilisation of flowers. the only scientific man i have seen for several months is kolliker, who came here with gunther, and whom i liked extremely. i am working away very hard at my book on man and on sexual selection, but i do not suppose i shall go to press till late in the autumn. letter . to f. muller. down, january st, . no doubt i owe to your kindness two pamphlets received a few days ago, which have interested me in an extraordinary degree. ( / . this refers to f. muller's "bestaubungsversuche an abutilon-arten" in the "jenaische zeitschr." volume vii., which are thus referred to by darwin ("cross and self fert." pages - ): "fritz muller has shown by his valuable experiments on hybrid abutilons, that the union of brothers and sisters, parents and children, and of other near relations is highly injurious to the fertility of the offspring." the termite paper is in the same volume (viz., vii.) of the "jenaische zeitschr.") it is quite new to me what you show about the effects of relationship in hybrids--that is to say, as far as direct proof is concerned. i felt hardly any doubt on the subject, from the fact of hybrids becoming more fertile when grown in number in nursery gardens, exactly the reverse of what occurred with gartner. ( / . when many hybrids are grown together the pollination by near relatives is minimised.) the paper on termites is even still more interesting, and the analogy with cleistogene flowers is wonderful. ( / . on the back of his copy of muller's paper darwin wrote: "there exist imperfectly developed male and female termites, with wings much shorter than those of queen and king, which serve to continue the species if a fully developed king and queen do not after swarming (which no doubt is for an occasional cross) enter [the] nest. curiously like cleistogamic flowers.") the manner in which you refer to to my chapter on crossing is one of the most elegant compliments which i have ever received. i have directed to be sent to you belt's "nicaragua," which seems to me the best natural history book of travels ever published. pray look to what he says about the leaf-carrying ant storing the leaves up in a minced state to generate mycelium, on which he supposes that the larvae feed. now, could you open the stomachs of these ants and examine the contents, so as to prove or disprove this remarkable hypothesis? ( / . the hypothesis has been completely confirmed by the researches of moller, a nephew of f. muller's: see his "brasilische pilzblumen" ("botan. mittheilgn. aus den tropen," hrsg. von a.f.w. schimper, heft ).) letter . to f. muller. down, may th, . i have been particularly glad to receive your letter of march th on pontederia, for i am now printing a small book on heterostyled plants, and on some allied subjects. i feel sure you will not object to my giving a short account of the flowers of the new species which you have sent me. i am the more anxious to do so as a writer in the united states has described a species, and seems to doubt whether it is heterostyled, for he thinks the difference in the length of the pistil depends merely on its growth! in my new book i shall use all the information and specimens which you have sent me with respect to the heterostyled plants, and your published notices. one chapter will be devoted to cleistogamic species, and i will just notice your new grass case. my son francis desires me to thank you much for your kindness with respect to the plants which bury their seeds. i never fail to feel astonished, when i receive one of your letters, at the number of new facts you are continually observing. with respect to the great supposed subterranean animal, may not the belief have arisen from the natives having seen large skeletons embedded in cliffs? i remember finding on the banks of the parana a skeleton of a mastodon, and the gauchos concluded that it was a borrowing animal like the bizcacha. ( / . on the supposed existence in patagonia of a gigantic land-sloth, see "natural science," xiii., , page , where ameghino's discovery of the skin of neomylodon listai was practically first made known, since his privately published pamphlet was not generally seen. the animal was afterwards identified with a glossotherium, closely allied to owen's g. darwini, which has been named glossotherium listai or grypotherium domesticum. for a good account of the discoveries see smith woodward in "natural science," xv., , page , where the literature is given.) letter . to f. muller. down, may th [ ]. i wrote to you a few days ago to thank you about pontederia, and now i am going to ask you to add one more to the many kindnesses which you have done for me. i have made many observations on the waxy secretion on leaves which throw off water (e.g., cabbage, tropoeolum), and i am now going to continue my observations. does any sensitive species of mimosa grow in your neighbourhood? if so, will you observe whether the leaflets keep shut during long-continued warm rain. i find that the leaflets open if they are continuously syringed with water at a temperature of about deg c., but if the water is at a temperature of - deg c., they keep shut for more than two hours, and probably longer. if the plant is continuously shaken so as to imitate wind the leaflets soon open. how is this with the native plants during a windy day? i find that some other plants--for instance, desmodium and cassia--when syringed with water, place their leaves so that the drops fall quickly off; the position assumed differing somewhat from that in the so-called sleep. would you be so kind as to observe whether any [other] plants place their leaves during rain so as to shoot off the water; and if there are any such i should be very glad of a leaf or two to ascertain whether they are coated with a waxy secretion. ( / . see letters - .) there is another and very different subject, about which i intend to write, and should be very glad of a little information. are earthworms (lumbricus) common in s. brazil ( / . f. muller's reply is given in "vegetable mould," page .), and do they throw up on the surface of the ground numerous castings or vermicular masses such as we so commonly see in europe? are such castings found in the forests beneath the dead withered leaves? i am sure i can trust to your kindness to forgive me for asking you so many questions. letter . to f. muller. down, july th, . many thanks for the five kinds of seeds; all have germinated, and the cassia seedlings have interested me much, and i daresay that i shall find something curious in the other plants. nor have i alone profited, for sir j. hooker, who was here on sunday, was very glad of some of the seeds for kew. i am particularly obliged for the information about the earthworms. i suppose the soil in your forests is very loose, for in ground which has lately been dug in england the worms do not come to the surface, but deposit their castings in the midst of the loose soil. i have some grand plants (and i formerly sent seeds to kew) of the cleistogamic grass, but they show no signs of producing flowers of any kind as yet. your case of the panicle with open flowers being sterile is parallel to that of leersia oryzoides. i have always fancied that cross-fertilisation would perhaps make such panicles fertile. ( / . the meaning of this sentence is somewhat obscure. darwin apparently implies that the perfect flowers, borne on the panicles which occasionally emerge from the sheath, might be fertile if pollinated from another individual. see "forms of flowers," page .) i am working away as hard as i can at all the multifarious kinds of movements of plants, and am trying to reduce them to some simple rules, but whether i shall succeed i do not know. i have sent the curious lepidopteron case to mr. meldola. letter . f. muller to charles darwin. ( / . in november, , on receipt of an account of a flood in brazil from which fritz muller had barely escaped with his life ("life and letters," iii., ); darwin immediately wrote to hermann muller begging to be allowed to help in making good any loss in books or scientific instruments that his brother had sustained. it is this offer of help that is referred to in the first paragraph of the following letter: darwin repeats the offer in letter .) blumenau, sa catharina, brazil, january th, . i do not know how to express [to] you my deep heartfelt gratitude for the generous offer which you made to my brother on hearing of the late dreadful flood of the itajahy. from you, dear sir, i should have accepted assistance without hesitation if i had been in need of it; but fortunately, though we had to leave our house for more than a week, and on returning found it badly damaged, my losses have not been very great. i must thank you also for your wonderful book on the movements of plants, which arrived here on new year's day. i think nobody else will have been delighted more than i was with the results which you have arrived at by so many admirably conducted experiments and observations; since i observed the spontaneous revolving movement of alisma i had seen similar movements in so many and so different plants that i felt much inclined to consider spontaneous revolving movement or circumnutation as common to all plants and the movements of climbing plants as a special modification of that general phenomenon. and this you have now convincingly, nay, superabundantly, proved to be the case. i was much struck with the fact that with you maranta did not sleep for two nights after having its leaves violently shaken by wind, for here we have very cold nights only after storms from the west or south-west, and it would be very strange if the leaves of our numerous species of marantaceae should be prevented by these storms to assume their usual nocturnal position, just when nocturnal radiation was most to be feared. it is rather strange, also, that phaseolus vulgaris should not sleep during the early part of the summer, when the leaves are most likely to be injured during cold nights. on the contrary, it would not do any harm to many sub-tropical plants, that their leaves must be well illuminated during the day in order that they may assume at night a vertical position; for, in our climate at least, cold nights are always preceded by sunny days. of nearly allied plants sleeping very differently i can give you some more instances. in the genus olyra (at least, in the one species observed by me) the leaves bend down vertically at night; now, in endlicher's "genera plantarum" this genus immediately precedes strephium, the leaves of which you saw rising vertically. in one of two species of phyllanthus, growing as weeds near my house, the leaves of the erect branches bend upwards at night, while in the second species, with horizontal branches, they sleep like those of phyllanthus niruri or of cassia. in this second species the tips of the branches also are curled downwards at night, by which movement the youngest leaves are yet better protected. from their vertical nyctitropic position the leaves of this phyllanthus might return to horizontality, traversing deg, in two ways, either to their own or to the opposite side of the branch; on the latter way no rotation would be required, while on the former each leaf must rotate on its own axis in order that its upper surface may be turned upwards. thus the way to the wrong side appears to be even less troublesome. and indeed, in some rare cases i have seen three, four or even almost all the leaves of one side of a branch horizontally expanded on the opposite side, with their upper surfaces closely appressed to the lower surfaces of the leaves of that side. this phyllanthus agrees with cassia not only in its manner of sleeping, but also by its leaves being paraheliotropic. ( / . paraheliotropism is the movement by which some leaves temporarily direct their edges to the source of light. see "movements of plants," page .) like those of some cassiae its leaves take an almost perfectly vertical position, when at noon, on a summer day, the sun is nearly in the zenith; but i doubt whether this paraheliotropism will be observable in england. to-day, though continuing to be fully exposed to the sun, at p.m. the leaves had already returned to a nearly horizontal position. as soon as there are ripe seeds i will send you some; of our other species of phyllanthus i enclose a few seeds in this letter. in several species of hedychium the lateral halves of the leaves when exposed to bright sunshine, bend downwards so that the lateral margins meet. it is curious that a hybrid hedychium in my garden shows scarcely any trace of this paraheliotropism, while both the parent species are very paraheliotropic. might not the inequality of the cotyledons of citrus and of pachira be attributed to the pressure, which the several embryos enclosed in the same seed exert upon each other? i do not know pachira aquatica, but [in] a species, of which i have a tree in my garden, all the seeds are polyembryonic, and so were almost all the seeds of citrus which i examined. with coffea arabica also seeds including two embryos are not very rare; but i have not yet observed whether in this case the cotyledons be inequal. i repeated to-day duval-jouve's measurements on bryophyllum calycinum ( / . "power of movement in plants," page . f. muller's measurements show, however, that there is a tendency in the leaves to be more highly inclined at night than in the middle of the day, and so far they agree with duval-jouve's results.); but mine did not agree with his; they are as follows:-- distances in mm. between the tips of the upper pair of leaves. january th, a.m. p.m. p.m. st plant nd plant rd plant th plant th plant _______________________________________________ letter . to f. muller. down, february rd, . your letter has interested me greatly, as have so many during many past years. i thought that you would not object to my publishing in "nature" ( / . "nature," march rd, , page .) some of the more striking facts about the movements of plants, with a few remarks added to show the bearing of the facts. the case of the phyllanthus ( / . see letter .), which turns up its leaves on the wrong side, is most extraordinary and ought to be further investigated. do the leaflets sleep on the following night in the usual manner? do the same leaflets on successive nights move in the same strange manner? i was particularly glad to hear of the strongly marked cases of paraheliotropism. i shall look out with much interest for the publication about the figs. ( / . f. muller published on caprification in "kosmos," .) the creatures which you sketch are marvellous, and i should not have guessed that they were hymenoptera. thirty or forty years ago i read all that i could find about caprification, and was utterly puzzled. i suggested to dr. cruger in trinidad to investigate the wild figs, in relation to their cross-fertilisation, and just before he died he wrote that he had arrived at some very curious results, but he never published, as i believe, on the subject. i am extremely glad that the inundation did not so greatly injure your scientific property, though it would have been a real pleasure to me to have been allowed to have replaced your scientific apparatus. ( / . see letter .) i do not believe that there is any one in the world who admires your zeal in science and wonderful powers of observation more than i do. i venture to say this, as i feel myself a very old man, who probably will not last much longer. p.s.--with respect to phyllanthus, i think that it would be a good experiment to cut off most of the leaflets on one side of the petiole, as soon as they are asleep and vertically dependent; when the pressure is thus removed, the opposite leaflets will perhaps bend beyond their vertically dependent position; if not, the main petiole might be a little twisted so that the upper surfaces of the dependent and now unprotected leaflets should face obliquely the sky when the morning comes. in this case diaheliotropism would perhaps conquer the ordinary movements of the leaves when they awake, and [assume] their diurnal horizontal position. as the leaflets are alternate, and as the upper surface will be somewhat exposed to the dawning light, it is perhaps diaheliotropism which explains your extraordinary case. letter . to f. muller. down, april th, . i have delayed answering your last letter of february th, as i was just sending to the printers the ms. of a very little book on the habits of earthworms, of which i will of course send you a copy when published. i have been very much interested by your new facts on paraheliotropism, as i think that they justify my giving a name to this kind of movement, about which i long doubted. i have this morning drawn up an account of your observations, which i will send in a few days to "nature." ( / . "nature," , page . curious facts are given on the movements of cassia, phyllanthus, sp., desmodium sp. cassia takes up a sunlight position unlike its own characteristic night-position, but resembling rather that of haematoxylon (see "power of movement," figure , page ). one species of phyllanthus takes up in sunshine the nyctitropic attitude of another species. and the same sort of relation occurs in the genus bauhinia.) i have thought that you would not object to my giving precedence to paraheliotropism, which has been so little noticed. i will send you a copy of "nature" when published. i am glad that i was not in too great a hurry in publishing about lagerstroemia. ( / . lagerstraemia was doubtfully placed among the heterostyled plants ("forms of flowers," page ). f. muller's observations showed that a totally different interpretation of the two sizes of stamen is possible. namely, that one set serves merely to attract pollen-collecting bees, who in the act of visiting the flowers transfer the pollen of the longer stamens to other flowers. a case of this sort in heeria, a melastomad, was described by muller ("nature," august th, , page ), and the view was applied to the cases of lagerstroemia and heteranthera at a later date ("nature," , page ). see letters - .) i have procured some plants of melastomaceae, but i fear that they will not flower for two years, and i may be in my grave before i can repeat my trials. as far as i can imperfectly judge from my observations, the difference in colour of the anthers in this family depends on one set of anthers being partially aborted. i wrote to kew to get plants with differently coloured anthers, but i learnt very little, as describers of dried plants do not attend to such points. i have, however, sowed seeds of two kinds, suggested to me as probable. i have, therefore, been extremely glad to receive the seeds of heteranthera reniformis. as far as i can make out it is an aquatic plant; and whether i shall succeed in getting it to flower is doubtful. will you be so kind as to send me a postcard telling me in what kind of station it grows. in the course of next autumn or winter, i think that i shall put together my notes (if they seem worth publishing) on the use or meaning of "bloom" ( / . see letters - .), or the waxy secretion which makes some leaves glaucous. i think that i told you that my experiments had led me to suspect that the movement of the leaves of mimosa, desmodium and cassia, when shaken and syringed, was to shoot off the drops of water. if you are caught in heavy rain, i should be very much obliged if you would keep this notion in your mind, and look to the position of such leaves. you have such wonderful powers of observation that your opinion would be more valued by me than that of any other man. i have among my notes one letter from you on the subject, but i forget its purport. i hope, also, that you may be led to follow up your very ingenious and novel view on the two-coloured anthers or pollen, and observe which kind is most gathered by bees. letter . to f. muller. [patterdale], june st, . i should be much obliged if you could without much trouble send me seeds of any heterostyled herbaceous plants (i.e. a species which would flower soon), as it would be easy work for me to raise some illegitimate seedlings to test their degree of infertility. the plant ought not to have very small flowers. i hope that you received the copies of "nature," with extracts from your interesting letters ( / . "nature," march rd, , volume xxiii., page , contains a letter from c. darwin on "movements of plants," with extracts from fritz muller's letter. another letter, "on the movements of leaves," was published in "nature," april th, , page , with notes on leaf-movements sent to darwin by muller.), and i was glad to see a notice in "kosmos" on phyllanthus. ( / . "verirrte blatter," by fritz muller ("kosmos," volume v., page , ). in this article an account is given of a species of phyllanthus, a weed in muller's garden. see letter .) i am writing this note away from my home, but before i left i had the satisfaction of seeing phyllanthus sleeping. some of the seeds which you so kindly sent me would not germinate, or had not then germinated. i received a letter yesterday from dr. breitenbach, and he tells me that you lost many of your books in the desolating flood from which you suffered. forgive me, but why should you not order, through your brother hermann, books, etc., to the amount of pounds, and i would send a cheque to him as soon as i heard the exact amount? this would be no inconvenience to me; on the contrary, it would be an honour and lasting pleasure to me to have aided you in your invaluable scientific work to this small and trifling extent. ( / . see letter , also "life and letters," iii., page .) letter . to f. muller. ( / . the following extract from a letter to f. muller shows what was the nature of darwin's interest in the effect of carbonate of ammonia on roots, etc. he was, we think, wrong in adhering to the belief that the movements of aggregated masses are of an amoeboid nature. the masses change shape, just as clouds do under the moulding action of the wind. in the plant cell the moulding agent is the flowing protoplasm, but the masses themselves are passive.) september th, . perhaps you may remember that i described in "insectivorous plants" a really curious phenomenon, which i called the aggregation of the protoplasm in the cells of the tentacles. none of the great german botanists will admit that the moving masses are composed of protoplasm, though it is astonishing to me that any one could watch the movement and doubt its nature. but these doubts have led me to observe analogous facts, and i hope to succeed in proving my case. letter . to f. muller. down, november th, . i received a few days ago a small box (registered) containing dried flower-heads with brown seeds somewhat sculptured on the sides. there was no name, and i should be much obliged if some time you would tell me what these seeds are. i have planted them. i sent you some time ago my little book on earthworms, which, though of no importance, has been largely read in england. i have little or nothing to tell you about myself. i have for a couple of months been observing the effects of carbonate of ammonia on chlorophyll and on the roots of certain plants ( / . published under the title "the action of carbonate of ammonia on the roots of certain plants and on chlorophyll bodies," "linn. soc. journ." xix., , pages - , - .), but the subject is too difficult for me, and i cannot understand the meaning of some strange facts which i have observed. the mere recording new facts is but dull work. professor wiesner has published a book ( / . see letter .), giving a different explanation to almost every fact which i have given in my "power of movement in plants." i am glad to say that he admits that almost all my statements are true. i am convinced that many of his interpretations of the facts are wrong, and i am glad to hear that professor pfeffer is of the same opinion; but i believe that he is right and i wrong on some points. i have not the courage to retry all my experiments, but i hope to get my son francis to try some fresh ones to test wiesner's explanations. but i do not know why i have troubled you with all this. letter . to f. muller. [ , bryanston street], december th, . i hope that you may find time to go on with your experiments on such plants as lagerstroemia, mentioned in your letter of october th, for i believe you will arrive at new and curious results, more especially if you can raise two sets of seedlings from the two kinds of pollen. many thanks for the facts about the effect of rain and mud in relation to the waxy secretion. i have observed many instances of the lower side being protected better than the upper side, in the case, as i believe, of bushes and trees, so that the advantage in low-growing plants is probably only an incidental one. ( / . the meaning is here obscure: it appears to us that the significance of bloom on the lower surface of the leaves of both trees and herbs depends on the frequency with which all or a majority of the stomata are on the lower surface--where they are better protected from wet (even without the help of bloom) than on the exposed upper surface. on the correlation between bloom and stomata, see francis darwin "linn. soc. journ." xxii., page .) as i am writing away from my home, i have been unwilling to try more than one leaf of the passiflora, and this came out of the water quite dry on the lower surface and quite wet on the upper. i have not yet begun to put my notes together on this subject, and do not at all know whether i shall be able to make much of it. the oddest little fact which i have observed is that with trifolium resupinatum, one half of the leaf (i think the right-hand side, when the leaf is viewed from the apex) is protected by waxy secretion, and not the other half ( / . in the above passage "leaf" should be "leaflet": for a figure of trifolium resupinatum see letter .); so that when the leaf is dipped into water, exactly half the leaf comes out dry and half wet. what the meaning of this can be i cannot even conjecture. i read last night your very interesting article in "kosmos" on crotalaria, and so was very glad to see the dried leaves sent by you: it seems to me a very curious case. i rather doubt whether it will apply to lupinus, for, unless my memory deceives me, all the leaves of the same plant sometimes behaved in the same manner; but i will try and get some of the same seeds of the lupinus, and sow them in the spring. old age, however, is telling on me, and it troubles me to have more than one subject at a time on hand. ( / . in a letter to f. muller (september , ) occurs a sentence which may appropriately close this series: "i often feel rather ashamed of myself for asking for so many things from you, and for taking up so much of your valuable time, but i can assure you that i feel grateful.") .xi.iii. miscellaneous, - . letter . to g. bentham. down, april nd, . i have been extremely much pleased by your letter, and i take it as a very great compliment that you should have written to me at such length...i am not at all surprised that you cannot digest pangenesis: it is enough to give any one an indigestion; but to my mind the idea has been an immense relief, as i could not endure to keep so many large classes of facts all floating loose in my mind without some thread of connection to tie them together in a tangible method. with respect to the men who have recently written on the crossing of plants, i can at present remember only hildebrand, fritz muller, delpino, and g. henslow; but i think there are others. i feel sure that hildebrand is a very good observer, for i have read all his papers, and during the last twenty years i have made unpublished observations on many of the plants which he describes. [most of the criticisms which i sometimes meet with in french works against the frequency of crossing i am certain are the result of mere ignorance. i have never hitherto found the rule to fail that when an author describes the structure of a flower as specially adapted for self-fertilisation, it is really adapted for crossing. the fumariaceae offer a good instance of this, and treviranus threw this order in my teeth; but in corydalis hildebrand shows how utterly false the idea of self-fertilisation is. this author's paper on salvia ( / . hildebrand, "pringsheim's jahrbucher," iv.) is really worth reading, and i have observed some species, and know that he is accurate]. ( / . the passage within [] was published in the "life and letters," iii., page .) judging from a long review in the "bot. zeitung", and from what i know of some the plants, i believe delpino's article especially on the apocynaea, is excellent; but i cannot read italian. ( / . hildebrand's paper in the "bot. zeitung," , refers to delpino's work on the asclepiads, apocyneae and other orders.) perhaps you would like just to glance at such pamphlets as i can lay my hands on, and therefore i will send them, as if you do not care to see them you can return them at once; and this will cause you less trouble than writing to say you do not care to see them. with respect to primula, and one point about which i feel positive is that the bardfield and common oxlips are fundamentally distinct plants, and that the common oxlip is a sterile hybrid. ( / . for a general account of the bardfield oxlip (primula elatior) see miller christy, "linn. soc. journ." volume xxxiii., page , .) i have never heard of the common oxlip being found in great abundance anywhere, and some amount of difference in number might depend on so small a circumstance as the presence of some moth which habitually sucked the primrose and cowslip. to return to the subject of crossing: i am experimenting on a very large scale on the difference in power and growth between plants raised from self-fertilised and crossed seeds, and it is no exaggeration to say that the difference in growth and vigour is sometimes truly wonderful. lyell, huxley, and hooker have seen some of my plants, and been astonished; and i should much like to show them to you. i always supposed until lately that no evil effects would be visible until after several generations of self-fertilisation, but now i see that one generation sometimes suffices, and the existence of dimorphic plants and all the wonderful contrivances of orchids are quite intelligible to me. letter . to t.h. farrer (lord farrer). down, june th, . i must write a line to cry peccavi. i have seen the action in ophrys exactly as you describe, and am thoroughly ashamed of my inaccuracy. ( / . see "fertilisation of orchids," edition ii., page , where lord farrer's observations on the movement of the pollinia in ophrys muscifera are given.) i find that the pollinia do not move if kept in a very damp atmosphere under a glass; so that it is just possible, though very improbable, that i may have observed them during a very damp day. i am not much surprised that i overlooked the movement in habenaria, as it takes so long. ( / . this refers to peristylus viridis, sometimes known as habenaria viridis. lord farrer's observations are given in "fertilisation of orchids," edition ii., page .) i am glad you have seen listera; it requires to be seen to believe in the co-ordination in the position of the parts, the irritability, and the chemical nature of the viscid fluid. this reminds me that i carefully described to huxley the shooting out of the pollinia in catasetum, and received for an answer, "do you really think that i can believe all that!" ( / . see letter .) letter . to j.d. hooker. down, december nd, . it is a splendid scheme, and if you make only a beginning on a "flora," which shall serve as an index to all papers on curious points in the life-history of plants, you will do an inestimable good service. quite recently i was asked by a man how he could find out what was known on various biological points in our plants, and i answered that i knew of no such book, and that he might ask half a dozen botanists before one would chance to remember what had been published on this or that point. not long ago another man, who had been experimenting on the quasi-bulbs on the leaves of cardamine, wrote to me to complain that he could not find out what was known on the subject. it is almost certain that some early or even advanced students, if they found in their "flora" a line or two on various curious points, with references for further investigation, would be led to make further observations. for instance, a reference to the viscid threads emitted by the seeds of compositae, to the apparatus (if it has been described) by which oxalis spurts out its seeds, to the sensitiveness of the young leaves of oxalis acetosella with reference to o. sensitiva. under lathyrus nissolia it would [be] better to refer to my hypothetical explanation of the grass-like leaves than to nothing. ( / . no doubt the view given in "climbing plants," page , that l. nissolia has been evolved from a form like l. aphaca.) under a twining plant you might say that the upper part of the shoot steadily revolves with or against the sun, and so, when it strikes against any object it turns to the right or left, as the case may be. if, again, references were given to the parasitism of euphrasia, etc., how likely it would be that some young man would go on with the investigation; and so with endless other facts. i am quite enthusiastic about your idea; it is a grand idea to make a "flora" a guide for knowledge already acquired and to be acquired. i have amused myself by speculating what an enormous number of subjects ought to be introduced into a eutopian ( / . a mis-spelling of utopian.) flora, on the quickness of the germination of the seeds, on their means of dispersal; on the fertilisation of the flower, and on a score of other points, about almost all of which we are profoundly ignorant. i am glad to read what you say about bentham, for my inner consciousness tells me that he has run too many forms together. should you care to see an elaborate german pamphlet by hermann muller on the gradation and distinction of the forms of epipactis and of platanthera? ( / . "verhand. d. nat. ver. f. pr. rh. u. wesfal." jahrg. xxv.: see "fertilisation of orchids," edition ii., pages , .) it may be absurd in me to suggest, but i think you would find curious facts and references in lecoq's enormous book ( / . "geographie botanique," volumes, - .), in vaucher's four volumes ( / . "plantes d'europe," volumes, .), in hildebrand's "geschlechter vertheilung" ( / "geschlechter vertheilung bei den pflanzen," volume, leipzig, .), and perhaps in fournier's "de la fecondation." ( / . "de la fecondation dans les phanerogames," par eugene fournier: thesis published in paris in . the facts noted in darwin's copy are the explosive stamens of parietaria, the submerged flowers of alisma containing air, the manner of fertilisation of lopezia, etc.) i wish you all success in your gigantic undertaking; but what a pity you did not think of it ten years ago, so as to have accumulated references on all sorts of subjects. depend upon it, you will have started a new era in the floras of various countries. i can well believe that mrs. hooker will be of the greatest possible use to you in lightening your labours and arranging your materials. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, december th, . ...now i want to beg for assistance for the new edition of "origin." nageli himself urges that plants offer many morphological differences, which from being of no service cannot have been selected, and which he accounts for by an innate principle of progressive development. ( / . nageli's "enstehung und begriff der naturhistorischen art." an address delivered at the public session of the royal academy of sciences of munich, march th, ; published by the academy. darwin's copy is the nd edition; it bears signs, in the pencilled notes on the margins, of having been read with interest. much of it was translated for him by a german lady, whose version lies with the original among his pamphlets. at page nageli writes: "it is remarkable that the useful adaptations which darwin brings forward in the case of animals, and which may be discovered in numbers among plants, are exclusively of a physiological kind, that they always show the formation or transformation of an organ to a special function. i do not know among plants a morphological modification which can be explained on utilitarian principles." opposite this passage darwin has written "a very good objection": but nageli's sentence seems to us to be of the nature of a truism, for it is clear that any structure whose evolution can be believed to have come about by natural selection must have a function, and the case falls into the physiological category. the various meanings given to the term morphological makes another difficulty. nageli cannot use it in the sense of "structural"--in which sense it is often applied, since that would mean that no plant structures have a utilitarian origin. the essence of morphology (in the better and more precise sense) is descent; thus we say that a pollen-grain is morphologically a microspore. and this very example serves to show the falseness of nageli's view, since a pollen-grain is an adaptation to aerial as opposed to aquatic fertilisation. in the th edition of the "origin," , page , darwin discusses nageli's essay, confining himself to the simpler statement that there are many structural characters in plants to which we cannot assign uses. see volume i., letter .) i find old notes about this difficulty; but i have hitherto slurred it over. nageli gives as instances the alternate and spiral arrangement of leaves, and the arrangement of the cells in the tissues. would you not consider as a morphological difference the trimerous, tetramerous, etc., divisions of flowers, the ovules being erect or suspended, their attachment being parietal or placental, and even the shape of the seed when of no service to the plant. now, i have thought, and want to show, that such differences follow in some unexplained manner from the growth or development of plants which have passed through a long series of adaptive changes. anyhow, i want to show that these differences do not support the idea of progressive development. cassini states that the ovaria on the circumference and centre of compos. flowers differ in essential characters, and so do the seeds in sculpture. the seeds of umbelliferae in the same relative positions are coelospermous and orthospermous. there is a case given by augt. st. hilaire of an erect and suspended ovule in the same ovarium, but perhaps this hardly bears on the point. the summit flower, in adoxa and rue differ from the lower flowers. what is the difference in flowers of the rue? how is the ovarium, especially in the rue? as augt. st. hilaire insists on the locularity of the ovarium varying on the same plant in some of the rutaceae, such differences do not speak, as it seems to me, in favour of progressive development. will you turn the subject in your mind, and tell me any more facts. difference in structure in flowers in different parts of the same plant seems best to show that they are the result of growth or position or amount of nutriment. i have got your photograph ( / . a photograph by mrs. cameron.) over my chimneypiece, and like it much; but you look down so sharp on me that i shall never be bold enough to wriggle myself out of any contradiction. owen pitches into me and lyell in grand style in the last chapter of volume of "anat. of vertebrates." he is a cool hand. he puts words from me in inverted commas and alters them. ( / . the passage referred to seems to be in owen's "anatomy of vertebrata," iii., pages , , note. "i deeply regretted, therefore, to see in a 'historical sketch' of the progress of enquiry into the origin of species, prefixed to the fourth edition of that work ( ), that mr. darwin, after affirming inaccurately and without evidence, that i admitted natural selection to have done something toward that end, to wit, the 'origin of species,' proceeds to remark: 'it is surprising that this admission should not have been made earlier, as prof. owen now believes that he promulgated the theory of natural selection in a passage read before the zoological society in february, , ("trans." volume iv., page ).'" the first of the two passages quoted by owen from the fourth edition of the "origin" runs: "yet he [prof. owen] at the same time admits that natural selection may [our italics] have done something towards this end." in the sixth edition of the "origin," page xviii., darwin, after referring to a correspondence in the "london review" between the editor of that journal and owen, goes on: "it appeared manifest to the editor, as well as to myself, that prof. owen claimed to have promulgated the theory of natural selection before i had done so;...but as far as it is possible to understand certain recently published passages (ibid. ["anat. of vert."], volume iii., page ), i have either partly or wholly again fallen into error. it is consolatory to me that others find prof. owen's controversial writings as difficult to understand and to reconcile with each other, as i do. as far as the mere enunciation of the principle of natural selection is concerned, it is quite immaterial whether or no prof. owen preceded me, for both of us, as shown in this historical sketch, were long ago preceded by dr. wells and mr. matthews.") letter . to j.d. hooker. down, december th, . your letter is quite invaluable, for nageli's essay ( / . see preceding letter.) is so clever that it will, and indeed i know it has produced a great effect; so that i shall devote three or four pages to an answer. i have been particularly struck by your statements about erect and suspended ovules. you have given me heart, and i will fight my battle better than i should otherwise have done. i think i cannot resist throwing the contrivances in orchids into his teeth. you say nothing about the flowers of the rue. ( / . for ruta see "origin," edition v., page .) ask your colleagues whether they know anything about the structure of the flower and ovarium in the uppermost flower. but don't answer on purpose. i have gone through my long index of "gardeners' chronicle," which was made solely for my own use, and am greatly disappointed to find, as i fear, hardly anything which will be of use to you. ( / . for hooker's projected biological book, see letter .) i send such as i have for the chance of their being of use. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, january th [ ]. your two notes and remarks are of the utmost value, and i am greatly obliged to you for your criticism on the term. "morphological" seems quite just, but i do not see how i can avoid using it. i found, after writing to you, in vaucher about the rue ( / . "plantes d'europe," volume i., page , .), but from what you say i will speak more cautiously. it is the spanish chesnut that varies in divergence. seeds named viola nana were sent me from calcutta by scott. i must refer to the plants as an "indian species," for though they have produced hundreds of closed flowers, they have not borne one perfect flower. ( / . the cleistogamic flowers of viola are used in the discussion on nageli's views. see "origin," edition v., page .) you ask whether i want illustrations "of ovules differing in position in different flowers on the same plant." if you know of such cases, i should certainly much like to hear them. again you speak of the angle of leaf-divergence varying and the variations being transmitted. was the latter point put in in a hurry to round the sentence, or do you really know of cases? whilst looking for notes on the variability of the divisions of the ovarium, position of the ovules, aestivation, etc., i found remarks written fifteen or twenty years ago, showing that i then supposed that characters which were nearly uniform throughout whole groups must be of high vital importance to the plants themselves; consequently i was greatly puzzled how, with organisms having very different habits of life, this uniformity could have been acquired through natural selection. now, i am much inclined to believe, in accordance with the view given towards the close of my ms., that the near approach to uniformity in such structures depends on their not being of vital importance, and therefore not being acted on by natural selection. ( / . this view is given in the "origin," edition vi., page .) if you have reflected on this point, what do you think of it? i hope that you approved of the argument deduced from the modifications in the small closed flowers. it is only about two years since last edition of "origin," and i am fairly disgusted to find how much i have to modify, and how much i ought to add; but i have determined not to add much. fleeming jenkin has given me much trouble, but has been of more real use to me than any other essay or review. ( / . on fleeming jenkin's review, "n. british review," june, , see "life and letters," iii., page .) letter . to j.d. hooker. down [january nd, ]. your letter is quite splenditious. i am greatly tempted, but shall, i hope, refrain from using some of your remarks in my chapter on classification. it is very true what you say about unimportant characters being so important systematically; yet it is hardly paradoxical bearing in mind that the natural system is genetic, and that we have to discover the genealogies anyhow. hence such parts as organs of generation are so useful for classification though not concerned with the manner of life. hence use for same purpose of rudimentary organs, etc. you cannot think what a relief it is that you do not object to this view, for it removes partly a heavy burden from my shoulders. if i lived twenty more years and was able to work, how i should have to modify the "origin," and how much the views on all points will have to be modified! well, it is a beginning, and that is something... letter . to t.h. farrer (lord farrer). down, august th, . your view seems most ingenious and probable; but ascertain in a good many cases that the nectar is actually within the staminal tube. ( / . it seems that darwin did not know that the staminal tube in the diadelphous leguminosae serves as a nectar-holder, and this is surprising, as sprengel was aware of the fact.) one can see that if there is to be a split in the tube, the law of symmetry would lead it to be double, and so free one stamen. your view, if confirmed, would be extremely well worth publication before the linnean society. it is to me delightful to see what appears a mere morphological character found to be of use. it pleases me the more as carl nageli has lately been pitching into me on this head. hooker, with whom i discussed the subject, maintained that uses would be found for lots more structures, and cheered me by throwing my own orchids into my teeth. ( / . see letters - .) all that you say about changed position of the peduncle in bud, in flower, and in seed, is quite new to me, and reminds me of analogous cases with tendrils. ( / . see vochting, "bewegung der bluthen und fruchte," ; also kerner, "pflanzenleben," volume i., page , volume ii., page .) this is well worth working out, and i dare say the brush of the stigma. with respect to the hairs or filaments (about which i once spoke) within different parts of flowers, i have a splendid tacsonia with perfectly pendent flowers, and there is only a microscopical vestige of the corona of coloured filaments; whilst in most common passion-flowers the flowers stand upright, and there is the splendid corona which apparently would catch pollen. ( / . sprengel ("entdeckte geheimniss," page ) imagined that the crown of the passion-flower served as a nectar-guide and as a platform for insects, while other rings of filaments served to keep rain from the nectar. f. muller, quoted in h. muller ("fertilisation," page ), looks at the crowns of hairs, ridges in some species, etc., as gratings serving to imprison flies which attract the fertilising humming-birds. there is, we believe, no evidence that the corona catches pollen. see letter , note.) on the lower side of corolla of foxglove there are some fine hairs, but these seem of not the least use ( / . it has been suggested that the hairs serve as a ladder for humble bees; also that they serve to keep out "unbidden guests.")--a mere purposeless exaggeration of down on outside--as i conclude after watching the bees at work, and afterwards covering up some plants; for the protected flowers rarely set any seed, so that the hairy lower part of corolla does not come into contact with stigma, as some frenchman says occurs with some other plants, as viola odorata and i think iris. i heartily wish i could accept your kind invitation, for i am not by nature a savage, but it is impossible. forgive my dreadful handwriting, none of my womenkind are about to act as amanuensis. letter . to william c. tait. ( / . mr. tait, to whom the following letter is addressed, was resident in portugal. his kindness in sending plants of drosophyllum lusitanicum is acknowledged in "insectivorous plants.") down, march th, . i have received your two letters of march nd and th, and i really do not know how to thank you enough for your extraordinary kindness and energy. i am glad to hear that the inhabitants notice the power of the drosophyllum to catch flies, for this is the subject of my studies. ( / . the natives are said to hang up plants of drosophyllum in their cottages to act as fly-papers ("insectivorous plants," page ).) i have observed during several years the manner in which this is effected, and the results produced in several species of drosera, and in the wonderful american dionoea, the leaves of which catch insects just like a steel rat-trap. hence i was most anxious to learn how the drosophyllum would act, so that the director of the royal gardens at kew wrote some years ago to portugal to obtain specimens for me, but quite failed. so you see what a favour you have conferred on me. with drosera it is nothing less than marvellous how minute a fraction of a grain of any nitrogenised matter the plant can detect; and how differently it behaves when matter, not containing nitrogen, of the same consistence, whether fluid or solid, is applied to the glands. it is also exquisitely sensitive to a weight of even the / of a grain. from what i can see of the glands on drosophyllum i suspect that i shall find only the commencement, or nascent state of the wonderful capacities of the drosera, and this will be eminently interesting to me. my ms. on this subject has been nearly ready for publication during some years, but when i shall have strength and time to publish i know not. and now to turn to other points in your letter. i am quite ignorant of ferns, and cannot name your specimen. the variability of ferns passes all bounds. with respect to your laugher pigeons, if the same with the two sub-breeds which i kept, i feel sure from the structure of the skeleton, etc., that it is a descendant of c. livia. in regard to beauty, i do not feel the difficulty which you and some others experience. in the last edition of my "origin" i have discussed the question, but necessarily very briefly. ( / . fourth edition, page .) a new and i hope amended edition of the "origin" is now passing through the press, and will be published in a month or two, and it will give me great pleasure to send you a copy. is there any place in london where parcels are received for you, or shall i send it by post? with reference to dogs' tails, no doubt you are aware that a rudimentary stump is regularly inherited by certain breeds of sheep-dogs, and by manx cats. you speak of a change in the position of the axis of the earth: this is a subject quite beyond me, but i believe the astronomers reject the idea. nevertheless, i have long suspected that some periodical astronomical or cosmical cause must be the agent of the incessant oscillations of level in the earth's crust. about a month ago i suggested this to a man well capable of judging, but he could not conceive any such agency; he promised, however, to keep it in mind. i wish i had time and strength to write to you more fully. i had intended to send this letter off at once, but on reflection will keep it till i receive the plants. letter . to h. muller. down, march th, . i think you have set yourself a new, very interesting, and difficult line of research. as far as i know, no one has carefully observed the structure of insects in relation to flowers, although so many have now attended to the converse relation. ( / . see letter , also h. muller, "fertilisation of flowers," english translation, page , on "the insects which visit flowers." in muller's book references are given to several of his papers on this subject.) as i imagine few or no insects are adapted to suck the nectar or gather the pollen of any single family of plants, such striking adaptations can hardly, i presume, be expected in insects as in flowers. letter . to t.h. farrer (lord farrer). down, may th, . i suppose i must have known that the stamens recovered their former position in berberis ( / . see farrer, "nature," ii., , page . lord farrer was before h. muller in making out the mechanism of the barberry.), for i formerly tried experiments with anaesthetics, but i had forgotten the facts, and i quite agree with you that it is a sound argument that the movement is not for self-fertilisation. the n. american barberries (mahonia) offer a good proof to what an extent natural crossing goes on in this genus; for it is now almost impossible in this country to procure a true specimen of the two or three forms originally introduced. i hope the seeds of passiflora will germinate, for the turning up of the pendent flower must be full of meaning. ( / . darwin had (may th, ) sent to farrer an extract from a letter from f. muller, containing a description of a passiflora visited by humming-birds, in which the long flower-stalk curls up so that "the flower itself is upright." another species visited by bees is described as having "dependent flowers." in a letter, june th, , mr. farrer had suggested that p. princeps, which he described as having sub-erect flowers, is fitted for humming-birds' visits. in another letter, october th, , he says that tacsonia, which has pendent flowers and no corona, is not fertilised by insects in english glass-houses, and may be adapted for humming-birds. see "life and letters," iii., page , for farrer's remarks on tacsonia and passiflora; also h. muller's "fertilisation of flowers," page , for what little is known on the subject; also letter in the present volume.) i am so glad that you are able to occupy yourself a little with flowers: i am sure it is most wise in you, for your own sake and children's sakes. some little time ago delpino wrote to me praising the swedish book on the fertilisation of plants; as my son george can read a little swedish, i should like to have it back for a time, just to hear a little what it is about, if you would be so kind as to return it by book-post. ( / . severin axell, "om anordningarna for de fanerogama vaxternas befruktning," stockholm, .) i am going steadily on with my experiments on the comparative growth of crossed and self-fertilised plants, and am now coming to some very curious anomalies and some interesting results. i forget whether i showed you any of them when you were here for a few hours. you ought to see them, as they explain at a glance why nature has taken such extraordinary pains to ensure frequent crosses between distinct individuals. if in the course of the summer you should feel any inclination to come here for a day or two, i hope that you will propose to do so, for we should be delighted to see you... letter . to asa gray. down, december th, . i have been very glad to receive your letter this morning. i have for some time been wishing to write to you, but have been half worked to death in correcting my uncouth english for my new book. ( / . "descent of man.") i have been glad to hear of your cases appearing like incipient dimorphism. i believe that they are due to mere variability, and have no significance. i found a good instance in nolana prostrata, and experimented on it, but the forms did not differ in fertility. so it was with amsinckia, of which you told me. i have long thought that such variations afforded the basis for the development of dimorphism. i was not aware of such cases in phlox, but have often admired the arrangement of the anthers, causing them to be all raked by an inserted proboscis. i am glad also to hear of your curious case of variability in ovules, etc. i said that i had been wishing to write to you, and this was about your drosera, which after many fluctuations between life and death, at last made a shoot which i could observe. the case is rather interesting; but i must first remind you that the filament of dionoea is not sensitive to very light prolonged pressure, or to nitrogenous matter, but is exquisitely sensitive to the slightest touch. ( / . in another connection the following reference to dionoea is of some interest: "i am sure i never heard of curtis's observations on dionoea, nor have i met with anything more than general statements about this plant or about nepenthes catching insects." (from a letter to sir j.d. hooker, july th, .)) in our drosera the filaments are not sensitive to a slight touch, but are sensitive to prolonged pressure from the smallest object of any nature; they are also sensitive to solid or fluid nitrogenous matter. now in your drosera the filaments are not sensitive to a rough touch or to any pressure from non-nitrogenous matter, but are sensitive to solid or fluid nitrogenous matter. ( / . drosera filiformis: see "insectivorous plants," page . the above account does not entirely agree with darwin's published statement. the filaments moved when bits of cork or cinder were placed on them; they did not, however, respond to repeated touches with a needle, thus behaving differently from d. rotundifolia. it should be remembered that the last-named species is somewhat variable in reacting to repeated touches.) is it not curious that there should be such diversified sensitiveness in allied plants? i received a very obliging letter from mr. morgan, but did not see him, as i think he said he was going to start at once for the continent. i am sorry to hear rather a poor account of mrs. gray, to whom my wife and i both beg to be very kindly remembered. letter . to c.v. riley. ( / . in riley's opinion his most important work was the series entitled "annual report on the noxious, beneficial, and other insects of the state of missouri" (jefferson city), beginning in . these reports were greatly admired by mr. darwin, and his copies of them, especially of nos. and , show signs of careful reading.) down, june st [ ]. i received some little time ago your report on noxious insects, and have now read the whole with the greatest interest. ( / . "third annual report on the noxious, beneficial, and other insects of the state of missouri" (jefferson city, mo.). the mimetic case occurs at page ; the pupae of pterophorus periscelidactylus, the "grapevine plume," have pupae either green or reddish brown, the former variety being found on the leaves, the latter on the brown stems of the vine.) there are a vast number of facts and generalisations of value to me, and i am struck with admiration at your powers of observation. the discussion on mimetic insects seems to me particularly good and original. pray accept my cordial thanks for the instruction and interest which i have received. what a loss to natural science our poor mutual friend walsh has been; it is a loss ever to be deplored... your country is far ahead of ours in some respects; our parliament would think any man mad who should propose to appoint a state entomologist. letter a. to c.v. riley. ( a/ . we have found it convenient to place the two letters to riley together, rather than separate them chronologically.) down, september th, . i must write half a dozen lines to say how much interested i have been by your "further notes" on pronuba which you were so kind as to send me. ( a/ . "proc. amer. assoc. adv. sci." .) i had read the various criticisms, and though i did not know what answer could be made, yet i felt full confidence in your result, and now i see that i was right...if you make any further observation on pronuba it would, i think, be well worth while for you to observe whether the moth can or does occasionally bring pollen from one plant to the stigma of a distinct one ( a/ . riley discovered the remarkable fact that the yucca moth (pronuba yuccasella) lays its eggs in the ovary of yucca flowers, which it has previously pollinated, thus making sure of a supply of ovules for the larvae.), for i have shown that the cross-fertilisation of the flowers on the same plant does very little good; and, if i am not mistaken, you believe that pronuba gathers pollen from the same flower which she fertilises. what interesting and beautiful observations you have made on the metamorphoses of the grasshopper-destroying insects. letter . to f. hildebrand. down, february th [ ]. owing to other occupations i was able to read only yesterday your paper on the dispersal of the seeds of compositae. ( / . "ueber die verbreitungsmittel der compositenfruchte." "bot. zeitung," , page .) some of the facts which you mention are extremely interesting. i write now to suggest as worthy of your examination the curious adhesive filaments of mucus emitted by the achenia of many compositae, of which no doubt you are aware. my attention was first called to the subject by the achenia of an australian pumilio (p. argyrolepis), which i briefly described in the "gardeners' chronicle," , page . as the threads of mucus dry and contract they draw the seeds up into a vertical position on the ground. it subsequently occurred to me that if these seeds were to fall on the wet hairs of any quadruped they would adhere firmly, and might be carried to any distance. i was informed that decaisne has written a paper on these adhesive threads. what is the meaning of the mucus so copiously emitted from the moistened seeds of iberis, and of at least some species of linum? does the mucus serve as a protection against their being devoured, or as a means of attachment. ( / . various theories have been suggested, e.g., that the slime by anchoring the seed to the soil facilitates the entrance of the radicle into the soil: the slime has also been supposed to act as a temporary water-store. see klebs in pfeffer's "untersuchungen aus dem bot. inst. zu tubingen," i., page .) i have been prevented reading your paper sooner by attempting to read dr. askenasy's pamphlet, but the german is too difficult for me to make it all out. ( / . e. askenasy, "beitrage zur kritik der darwin'schen lehre." leipzig, .) he seems to follow nageli completely. i cannot but think that both much underrate the utility of various parts of plants; and that they greatly underrate the unknown laws of correlated growth, which leads to all sorts of modifications, when some one structure or the whole plant is modified for some particular object. letter . to t.h. farrer. (lord farrer). ( / . the following letter refers to a series of excellent observations on the fertilisation of leguminosae, made by lord farrer in the autumn of , in ignorance of delpino's work on the subject. the result was published in "nature," october th and th, , and is full of interesting suggestions. the discovery of the mechanism in coronilla mentioned in a note was one of the cases in which lord farrer was forestalled.) down [ ]. i declare i am almost as sorry as if i had been myself forestalled--indeed, more so, for i am used to it. it is, however, a paramount, though bothersome duty in every naturalist to try and make out all that has been done by others on the subject. by all means publish next summer your confirmation and a summary of delpino's observations, with any new ones of your own. especially attend about the nectary exterior to the staminal tube. ( / . this refers to a species of coronilla in which lord farrer made the remarkable discovery that the nectar is secreted on the outside of the calyx. see "nature," july nd, , page ; also letter .) this will in every way be far better than writing to delpino. it would not be at all presumptuous in you to criticise delpino. i am glad you think him so clever; for so it struck me. look at hind legs yourself of some humble and hive-bees; in former take a very big individual (if any can be found) for these are the females, the males being smaller, and they have no pollen-collecting apparatus. i do not remember where it is figured--probably in kirby & spence--but actual inspection better... please do not return any of my books until all are finished, and do not hurry. i feel certain you will make fine discoveries. letter . to t.h. farrer. (lord farrer). sevenoaks, october th, . i must send you a line to say how extremely good your article appears to me to be. it is even better than i thought, and i remember thinking it very good. i am particularly glad of the excellent summary of evidence about the common pea, as it will do for me hereafter to quote; nocturnal insects will not do. i suspect that the aboriginal parent had bluish flowers. i have seen several times bees visiting common and sweet peas, and yet varieties, purposely grown close together, hardly ever intercross. this is a point which for years has half driven me mad, and i have discussed it in my "var. of animals and plants under dom." ( / . in the second edition ( ) of the "variation of animals and plants," volume i., page , darwin added, with respect to the rarity of spontaneous crosses in pisum: "i have reason to believe that this is due to their stignas being prematurely fertilised in this country by pollen from the same flower." this explanation is, we think, almost certainly applicable to lathyrus odoratus, though in darwin's latest publication on the subject he gives reasons to the contrary. see "cross and self-fertilisation," page , where the problem is left unsolved. compare letter to delpino. in "life and letters," iii., page , the absence of cross-fertilisation is explained as due to want of perfect adaptation between the pea and our native insects. this is hermann muller's view: see his "fertilisation of flowers," page . see letter , note.) i now suspect (and i wish i had strength to experimentise next spring) that from changed climate both species are prematurely fertilised, and therefore hardly ever cross. when artificially crossed by removal of own pollen in bud, the offspring are very vigorous. farewell.--i wish i could compel you to go on working at fertilisation instead of so insignificant a subject as the commerce of the country! you pay me a very pretty compliment at the beginning of your paper. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . the following letters to sir j.d. hooker and the late mr. moggridge refer to moggridge's observation that seeds stored in the nest of the ant atta at mentone do not germinate, though they are certainly not dead. moggridge's observations are given in his book, "harvesting ants and trap-door spiders," , which is full of interesting details. the book is moreover remarkable in having resuscitated our knowledge of the existence of the seed-storing habit. mr. moggridge points out that the ancients were familiar with the facts, and quotes the well-known fable of the ant and the grasshopper, which la fontaine borrowed from aesop. mr. moggridge (page ) goes on: "so long as europe was taught natural history by southern writers the belief prevailed; but no sooner did the tide begin to turn, and the current of information to flood from north to south, than the story became discredited." in moggridge's "supplement" on the same subject, published in , the author gives an account of his experiments made at darwin's suggestion, and concludes (page ) that "the vapour of formic acid is incapable of rendering the seeds dormant after the manner of the ants," and that indeed "its influence is always injurious to the seeds, even when present only in excessively minute quantities." though unable to explain the method employed, he was convinced "that the non-germination of the seeds is due to some direct influence voluntarily exercised by the ants, and not merely to the conditions found in the nest" (page ). see volume i., letter .) down, february st [ ]. you have given me exactly the information which i wanted. geniuses jump. i have just procured formic acid to try whether its vapour or minute drops will delay germination of fresh seeds; trying others at same time for comparison. but i shall not be able to try them till middle of april, as my despotic wife insists on taking a house in london for a month from the middle of march. i am glad to hear of the primer ( / . "botany" (macmillan's science primers).); it is not at all, i think, a folly. do you know asa gray's child book on the functions of plants, or some such title? it is very good in giving an interest to the subject. by the way, can you lend me the january number of the "london journal of botany" for an article on insect-agency in fertilisation? letter . to j. traherne moggridge. down, august th, . i thank you for your very interesting letter, and i honour you for your laborious and careful experiments. no one knows till he tries how many unexpected obstacles arise in subjecting plants to experiments. i can think of no suggestions to make; but i may just mention that i had intended to try the effects of touching the dampened seeds with the minutest drop of formic acid at the end of a sharp glass rod, so as to imitate the possible action of the sting of the ant. i heartily hope that you may be rewarded by coming to some definite result; but i fail five times out of six in my own experiments. i have lately been trying some with poor success, and suppose that i have done too much, for i have been completely knocked up for some days. letter . to j. traherne moggridge. down, march th, . i am very sorry to hear that the vapour experiments have failed; but nothing could be better, as it seems to me, than your plan of enclosing a number of the ants with the seeds. the incidental results on the power of different vapours in killing seeds and stopping germination appear very curious, and as far as i know are quite new. p.s.--i never before heard of seeds not germinating except during a certain season; it will be a very strange fact if you can prove this. ( / . certain seeds pass through a resting period before germination. see pfeffer's "pflanzenphysiologie," edition i., volume ii., page iii.) letter . to h. muller. down, may th, . i am much obliged for your letter received this morning. i write now chiefly to give myself the pleasure of telling you how cordially i admire the last part of your book, which i have finished. ( / . "die befruchtung der blumen durch insekten": leipzig, . an english translation was published in by prof. d'arcy thompson. the "prefatory notice" to this work (february th, ) is almost the last of mr. darwin's writings. see "life and letters," page .) the whole discussion seems to me quite excellent, and it has pleased me not a little to find that in the rough ms. of my last chapter i have arrived on many points at nearly the same conclusions that you have done, though we have reached them by different routes. ( / . "the effects of cross and self-fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom": london, .) letter . to f. delpino. down, june th [ ]. i thank you sincerely for your letter. i am very glad to hear about lathyrus odoratus, for here in england the vars. never cross, and yet are sometimes visited by bees. ( / . in "cross and self-fertilisation," page , darwin quotes the information received from delpino and referred to in the present letter--namely, that it is the fixed opinion of the italian gardeners that the varieties do intercross. see letter .) pisum sativum i have also many times seen visited by bombus. i believe the cause of the many vars. not crossing is that under our climate the flowers are self-fertilised at an early period, before the corolla is fully expanded. i shall examine this point with l. odoratus. i have read h. muller's book, and it seems to me very good. your criticism had not occurred to me, but is, i think just--viz. that it is much more important to know what insects habitually visit any flower than the various kinds which occasionally visit it. have you seen a. kerner's book "schutzmittel des pollens," , innsbruck. ( / . afterwards translated by dr. ogle as "flowers and their unbidden guests," with a prefatory letter by charles darwin, .) it is very interesting, but he does not seem to know anything about the work of other authors. i have bentham's paper in my house, but have not yet had time to read a word of it. he is a man with very sound judgment, and fully admits the principle of evolution. i have lately had occasion to look over again your discussion on anemophilous plants, and i have again felt much admiration at your work. ( / . "atti della soc. italiana di scienze nat." volume xiii.) ( / . in the beginning of august, , darwin paid the first of several visits to lord farrer's house at abinger. when sending copies of darwin's letters for the "life and letters," lord farrer was good enough to add explanatory notes and recollections, from which we quote the following sketch.) "above my house are some low hills, standing up in the valley, below the chalk range on the one hand and the more distant range of leith hill on the other, with pretty views of the valley towards dorking in one direction and guildford in the other. they are composed of the less fertile greensand strata, and are covered with fern, broom, gorse, and heath. here it was a particular pleasure of his to wander, and his tall figure, with his broad-brimmed panama hat and long stick like an alpenstock, sauntering solitary and slow over our favourite walks, is one of the pleasantest of the many pleasant associations i have with the place." letter . to t.h. farrer (lord farrer). ( / . the following note by lord farrer explains the main point of the letter, which, however, refers to the "bloom" problem as well as to coronilla:-- "i thought i had found out what puzzled us in coronilla varia: in most of the papilionaceae, when the tenth stamen is free, there is nectar in the staminal tube, and the opening caused by the free stamen enables the bee to reach the nectar, and in so doing the bee fertilises the plant. in coronilla varia, and in several other species of coronilla, there is no nectar in the staminal tube or in the tube of the corolla. but there are peculiar glands with nectar on the outside of the calyx, and peculiar openings in the tube of the corolla through which the proboscis of the bee, whilst entering the flower in the usual way and dusting itself with pollen, can reach these glands, thus fertilising the plant in getting the nectar. on writing this to mr. darwin, i received the following characteristic note. the first postscript relates to the rough ground behind my house, over which he was fond of strolling. it had been ploughed up and then allowed to go back, and the interest was to watch how the numerous species of weeds of cultivation which followed the plough gradually gave way in the struggle for existence to the well-known and much less varied flora of an english common.") bassett, southampton, august th, . you are the man to conquer a coronilla. ( / . in a former letter to lord farrer, darwin wrote: "here is a maxim for you, 'it is disgraceful to be beaten by a coronilla.'") i have been looking at the half-dried flowers, and am prepared to swear that you have solved the mystery. the difference in the size of the cells on the calyx under the vexillum right down to the common peduncle is conspicuous. the flour still adhered to this side; i see little bracteae or stipules apparently with glandular ends at the base of the calyces. do these secrete? it seems to me a beautiful case. when i saw the odd shape of the base of the vexillum, i concluded that it must have some meaning, but little dreamt what that was. now there remains only the one serious point--viz.the separation of the one stamen. i daresay that you are right in that nectar was originally secreted within the staminal tube; but why has not the one stamen long since cohered? the great difference in structure for fertilisation within the same genus makes one believe that all such points are vary variable. ( / . coronilla emerus is of the ordinary papilionaceous type.) with respect to the non-coherence of the one stamen, do examine some flower-buds at a very early age; for parts which are largely developed are often developed to an unusual degree at a very early age, and it seems to me quite possible that the base of the vexillum (to which the single stamen adhered) might thus be developed, and thus keep it separate for a time from the other stamens. the cohering stamens to the right and left of the single one seem to me to be pushed out a little laterally. when you have finished your observations, you really ought to send an account with a diagram to "nature," recalling your generalisation about the diadelphous structure, and now explaining the exception of coronilla. ( / . the observations were published in "nature," volume x., , page .) do add a remark how almost every detail of structure has a meaning where a flower is well examined. your observations pleased me so much that i could not sit still for half an hour. please to thank mr. payne ( / . lord farrer's gardener.) for his remarks, which are of value to me, with reference to mimosa. i am very much in doubt whether opening the sashes can act by favouring the evaporation of the drops; may not the movement of the leaves shake off the drops, or change their places? if mr. payne remembers any plant which is easily injured by drops, i wish he would put a drop or two on a leaf on a bright day, and cover the plant with a clean bell-glass, and do the same for another plant, but without a bell-glass over it, and observe the effects. thank you much for wishing to see us again at abinger, and it is very doubtful whether it will be coronilla, mr. payne, the new garden, the children, e. [lady farrer], or yourself which will give me the most pleasure to see again. p.s. .--it will be curious to note in how many years the rough ground becomes quite uniform in its flora. p.s. .--one may feel sure that periodically nectar was secreted within the flower and then secreted by the calyx, as in some species of iris and orchids. this latter being taken advantage of in coronilla would allow of the secretion within the flower ceasing, and as this change was going on in the two secretions, all the parts of the flower would become modified and correlated. letter . to j. burdon sanderson. down, tuesday, september th [ ]. ( / . sir j. burdon sanderson showed that in dionoea movement is accompanied by electric disturbances closely analogous to those occurring in muscle (see "nature," , pages , ; "proc. r. soc." xxi., and "phil. trans." volume clxxiii., , where the results are finally discussed).) i will send up early to-morrow two plants [of dionoea] with five goodish leaves, which you will know by their being tied to sticks. please remember that the slightest touch, even by a hair, of the three filaments on each lobe makes the leaf close, and it will not open for twenty-four hours. you had better put / in. of water into the saucers of the pots. the plants have been kept too cool in order to retard them. you had better keep them rather warm (i.e. temperature of warm greenhouse) for a day, and in a good light. i am extremely glad you have undertaken this subject. if you get a positive result, i should think you ought to publish it separately, and i could quote it; or i should be most glad to introduce any note by you into my account. i have no idea whether it is troublesome to try with the thermo-electric pile any change of temperature when the leaf closes. i could detect none with a common thermometer. but if there is any change of temperature i should expect it would occur some eight to twelve or twenty-four hours after the leaf has been given a big smashed fly, and when it is copiously secreting its acid digestive fluid. i forgot to say that, as far as i can make out, the inferior surface of the leaf is always in a state of tension, and that the contraction is confined to the upper surface; so that when this contraction ceases or suddenly fails (as by immersion in boiling water) the leaf opens again, or more widely than is natural to it. whenever you have quite finished, i will send for the plants in their basket. my son frank is staying at , queen anne street, and comes home on saturday afternoon, but you will not have finished by that time. p.s. i have repeated my experiment on digestion in drosera with complete success. by giving leaves a very little weak hydrochloric acid, i can make them digest albumen--i.e. white of egg--quicker than they can do naturally. i most heartily thank you for all your kindness. i have been pretty bad lately, and must work very little. letter . to j. burdon sanderson. september th [ ]. how very kind it was of you to telegraph to me. i am quite delighted that you have got a decided result. is it not a very remarkable fact? it seems so to me, in my ignorance. i wish i could remember more distinctly what i formerly read of du bois raymond's results. my poor memory never serves me for more than a vague guide. i really think you ought to try drosera. in a weak solution of phosphate of ammonia (viz. gr. to oz. of water) it will contract in about five minutes, and even more quickly in pure warm water; but then water, i suppose, would prevent your trial. i forget, but i think it contracts pretty quickly (i.e. in an hour or two) with a large drop of a rather stronger solution of the phosphate, or with an atom of raw meat on the disc of the leaf. letter . to j.d. hooker. october st, . now i want to tell you, for my own pleasure, about the movements of desmodium. . when the plant goes to sleep, the terminal leaflets hang vertically down, but the petioles move up towards the axis, so that the dependent leaves are all crowded round it. the little leaflets never go to sleep, and this seems to me very odd; they are at their games of play as late as o'clock at night and probably later. ( / . stahl ("botanische zeitung," , page ) has suggested that the movements of the dwarf leaflets in desmodium serve to shake the large terminal leaflets, and thus increase transpiration. according to stahl's view their movement would be more useful at night than by day, because stagnation of the transpiration-current is more likely to occur at night.) . if the plant is shaken or syringed with tepid water, the terminal leaflets move down through about an angle of deg, and the petioles likewise move about deg downwards; so that they move in an opposite direction to what they do when they go to sleep. cold water or air produces the same effect as does shaking. the little leaflets are not in the least affected by the plant being shaken or syringed. i have no doubt, from various facts, that the downward movement of the terminal leaflets and petioles from shaking and syringing is to save them from injury from warm rain. . the axis, the main petiole, and the terminal leaflets are all, when the temperature is high, in constant movement, just like that of climbing plants. this movement seems to be of no service, any more than the incessant movement of amoeboid bodies. the movement of the terminal leaflets, though insensible to the eye, is exactly the same as that of the little lateral leaflets--viz. from side to side, up and down, and half round their own axes. the only difference is that the little leaflets move to a much greater extent, and perhaps more rapidly; and they are excited into movement by warm water, which is not the case with the terminal leaflet. why the little leaflets, which are rudimentary in size and have lost their sleep-movements and their movements from being shaken, should not only have retained, but have their spontaneous movements exaggerated, i cannot conceive. it is hardly credible that it is a case of compensation. all this makes me very anxious to examine some plant (if possible one of the leguminosae) with either the terminal or lateral leaflets greatly reduced in size, in comparison with the other leaflets on the same leaf. can you or any of your colleagues think of any such plant? it is indirectly on this account that i so much want the seeds of lathyrus nissolia. i hear from frank that you think that the absence of both lateral leaflets, or of one alone, is due to their having dropped off; i thought so at first, and examined extremely young leaves from the tips of the shoots, and some of them presented the same characters. some appearances make me think that they abort by becoming confluent with the main petiole. i hear also that you doubt about the little leaflets ever standing not opposite to each other: pray look at the enclosed old leaf which has been for a time in spirits, and can you call the little leaflets opposite? i have seen many such cases on both my plants, though few so well marked. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, october rd [ ]. how good you have been about the plants; but indeed i did not intend you to write about drosophyllum, though i shall be very glad to have a specimen. experiments on other plants lead to fresh experiments. neptunia is evidently a hopeless case. i shall be very glad of the other plants whenever they are ready. i constantly fear that i shall become to you a giant of bores. i am delighted to hear that you are at work on nepenthes, and i hope that you will have good luck. it is good news that the fluid is acid; you ought to collect a good lot and have the acid analysed. i hope that the work will give you as much pleasure as analogous work has me. ( / . hooker's work on nepenthes is referred to in "insectivorous plants," page : see also his address at the belfast meeting of the british association, .) i do not think any discovery gave me more pleasure than proving a true act of digestion in drosera. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, november th, . i have been greatly interested by mimosa albida, on which i have been working hard. whilst your memory is pretty fresh, i want to ask a question. when this plant was most sensitive, and you irritated it, did the opposite leaflets shut up quite close, as occurs during sleep, when even a lancet could not be inserted between the leaflets? i can never cause the leaflets to come into contact, and some reasons make me doubt whether they ever do so except during sleep; and this makes me wish much to hear from you. i grieve to say that the plant looks more unhealthy, even, than it was at kew. i have nursed it like the tenderest infant; but i was forced to cut off one leaf to try the bloom, and one was broken by the manner of packing. i have never syringed (with tepid water) more than one leaf per day; but if it dies, i shall feel like a murderer. i am pretty well convinced that i shall make out my case of movements as a protection against rain lodging on the leaves. as far as i have as yet made out, m. albida is a splendid case. i have had no time to examine more than one species of eucalyptus. the seedlings of lathyrus nissolia are very interesting to me; and there is something wonderful about them, unless seeds of two distinct leguminous species have got somehow mingled together. letter . to w. thiselton-dyer. down, december th, . as hooker is so busy, i should be very much obliged if you could give me the name of the enclosed poor specimen of cassia. i want much to know its name, as its power of movement, when it goes to sleep, is very remarkable. linnaeus, i find, was aware of this. it twists each separate leaflet almost completely round ( / . see "power of movement in plants," figure , page .), so that the lower surface faces the sky, at the same time depressing them all. the terminal leaflets are pointed towards the base of the leaf. the whole leaf is also raised up about deg. when i saw that it possessed such complex powers of movement, i thought it would utilise its power to protect the leaflets from rain. accordingly i syringed the plant for two minutes, and it was really beautiful to see how each leaflet on the younger leaves twisted its short sub-petiole, so that the blade was immediately directed at an angle between and deg to the horizon. i could not resist the pleasure of just telling you why i want to know the name of the cassia. i should add that it is a greenhouse plant. i suppose that there will not be any better flowers till next summer or autumn. letter . to t. belt. ( / . belt's account, discussed in this letter, is probably that published in his "naturalist in nicaragua" ( ), where he describes "the relation between the presence of honey-secreting glands on plants, and the protection to the latter secured by the attendance of ants attracted by the honey." (op. cit., pages et seq.)) thursday [ ?]. your account of the ants and their relations seems to me to possess extraordinary interest. i do not doubt that the excretion of sweet fluid by the glands is in your cases of great advantage to the plants by means of the ants, but i cannot avoid believing that primordially it is a simple excretion, as occasionally occurs from the surface of the leaves of lime trees. it is quite possible that the primordial excretion may have been beneficially increased to serve the plant. in the common laurel [prunus laurocerasus] of our gardens the hive-bees visit incessantly the glands of the young leaves, on their under sides; and i should altogether doubt whether their visits or the occasional visits of ants was of any service to the laurel. the stipules of the common vetch secrete largely during sunshine, and hive-bees collect the sweet fluid. so i think it is with the common bean. i am writing this away from home, and i have come away to get some rest, having been a good deal overworked. i shall read your book with great interest when published, but will not trouble you to send the ms., as i really have no spare strength or time. i believe that your book, judging by the chapter sent, will be extremely valuable. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . the following letter refers to darwin's prediction as to the manner in which hedychium (zinziberaceae) is fertilised. sir j.d. hooker seems to have made inquiries in india in consequence of which darwin received specimens of the moth which there visits the flower, unfortunately so much broken as to be useless (see "life and letters," iii., page ).) down, march th [ ]. i am glad to hear about the hedychium, and how soon you have got an answer! i hope that the wings of the sphinx will hereafter prove to be bedaubed with pollen, for the case will then prove a fine bit of prophecy from the structure of a flower to special and new means of fertilisation. by the way, i suppose you have noticed what a grand appearance the plant makes when the green capsules open, and display the orange and crimson seeds and interior, so as to attract birds, like the pale buff flowers to attract dusk-flying lepidoptera. i presume you do not want seeds of this plant, as i have plenty from artificial fertilisation. ( / . in "nature," june nd, , page , hermann muller communicated f. muller's observation on the fertilisation of a bright-red-flowered species of hedychium, which is visited by callidryas, chiefly the males of c. philea. the pollen is carried by the tips of the butterfly's wing, to which it is temporarily fixed by the slimy layer produced by the degeneration of the anther-wall. letter . to w. thiselton-dyer. down, june th [ ]. i am greatly obliged to you about the opuntia, and shall be glad if you can remember catalpa. i wish some facts on the action of water, because i have been so surprised at a stream not acting on dionoea and drosera. ( / . see pfeffer, "untersuchungen bot. inst. zu tubingen," bd. i., , page . pfeffer shows that in some cases--drosera, for instance--water produces movement only when it contains fine particles in suspension. according to pfeffer the stamens of berberis, and the stigma of mimulus, are both stimulated by gelatine, the action of which is, generally speaking, equivalent to that of water.) water does not act on the stamens of berberis, but it does on the stigma of mimulus. it causes the flowers of the bedding-out mesembryanthemum and drosera to close, but it has not this effect on gazania and the daisy, so i can make out no rule. i hope you are going on with nepenthes; and if so, you will perhaps like to hear that i have just found out that pinguicula can digest albumen, gelatine, etc. if a bit of glass or wood is placed on a leaf, the secretion is not increased; but if an insect or animal-matter is thus placed, the secretion is greatly increased and becomes feebly acid, which was not the case before. i have been astonished and much disturbed by finding that cabbage seeds excite a copious secretion, and am now endeavouring to discover what this means. ( / . clearly it had not occurred to darwin that seeds may supply nitrogenous food as well as insects: see "insectivorous plants," page .) probably in a few days' time i shall have to beg a little information from you, so i will write no more now. p.s. i heard from asa gray a week ago, and he tells me a beautiful fact: not only does the lid of sarracenia secrete a sweet fluid, but there is a line or trail of sweet exudation down to the ground so as to tempt insects up. ( / . a dried specimen of sarracenia, stuffed with cotton wool, was sometimes brought from his study by mr. darwin, and made the subject of a little lecture to visitors of natural history tastes.) letter . to w. thiselton-dyer. down, june rd, . i wrote to you about a week ago, thanking you for information on cabbage seeds, asking you the name of luzula or carex, and on some other points; and i hope before very long to receive an answer. you must now, if you can, forgive me for being very troublesome, for i am in that state in which i would sacrifice friend or foe. i have ascertained that bits of certain leaves, for instance spinach, excite much secretion in pinguicula, and that the glands absorb matter from the leaves. now this morning i have received a lot of leaves from my future daughter-in-law in north wales, having a surprising number of captured insects on them, a good many leaves, and two seed-capsules. she informs me that the little leaves had excited secretion; and my son and i have ascertained this morning that the protoplasm in the glands beneath the little leaves has undoubtedly undergone aggregation. therefore, absurd as it may sound, i am prepared to affirm that pinguicula is not only insectivorous, but graminivorous, and granivorous! now i want to beg you to look under the simple microscope at the enclosed leaves and seeds, and, if you possibly can, tell me their genera. the little narrow leaves are remarkable ( / . those of erica tetralix.); they are fleshy, with the edges much curled from the axis of the plant, and bear a few long glandular hairs; these grow in little tufts. these are the commonest in pinguicula, and seem to afford most nutritious matter. a second leaf is like a miniature sycamore. with respect to the seeds, i suppose that one is a carex; the other looks like that of rumex, but is enclosed in a globular capsule. the pinguicula grew on marshy, low, mountainous land. i hope you will think this subject sufficiently interesting to make you willing to aid me as far as you can. anyhow, forgive me for being so very troublesome. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, august th [ ]. i am particularly obliged for your address. ( / . presidential address (biological section) at the belfast meeting of the british association, .) it strikes me as quite excellent, and has interested me in the highest degree. nor is this due to my having worked at the subject, for i feel sure that i should have been just as much struck, perhaps more so, if i had known nothing about it. you could not, in my opinion, have put the case better. there are several lights (besides the facts) in your essay new to me, and you have greatly honoured me. i heartily congratulate you on so splendid a piece of work. there is a misprint at page , mitschke for nitschke. there is a partial error at page , where you say that drosera is nearly indifferent to organic substances. this is much too strong, though they do act less efficiently than organic with soluble nitrogenous matter; but the chief difference is in the widely different period of subsequent re-expansion. thirdly, i did not suggest to sanderson his electrical experiments, though, no doubt, my remarks led to his thinking of them. now for your letter: you are very generous about dionoea, but some of my experiments will require cutting off leaves, and therefore injuring plants. i could not write to lady dorothy [nevill]. rollisson says that they expect soon a lot from america. if dionoea is not despatched, have marked on address, "to be forwarded by foot-messenger." mrs. barber's paper is very curious, and ought to be published ( / . mrs. barber's paper on the pupa of papilio nireus assuming different tints corresponding to the objects to which it was attached, was communicated by mr. darwin to the "trans. entomolog. soc." .); but when you come here (and remember you offered to come) we will consult where to send it. let me hear when you recommence on cephalotus or sarracenia, as i think i am now on right track about utricularia, after wasting several weeks in fruitless trials and observations. the negative work takes five times more time than the positive. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, september th [ ]. i have had a splendid day's work, and must tell you about it. lady dorothy sent me a young plant of u[tricularia] montana ( / . see "life and letters," iii., page , and "insectivorous plants," page .), which i fancy is the species you told me of. the roots or rhizomes (for i know not which they are; i can see no scales or internodes or absorbent hairs) bear scores of bladders from / to / of an inch in diameter; and i traced these roots to the depth of / in. in the peat and sand. the bladders are like glass, and have the same essential structure as those of our species, with the exception that many exterior parts are aborted. internally the structure is perfect, as is the minute valvular opening into the bladder, which is filled with water. i then felt sure that they captured subterranean insects, and after a time i found two with decayed remnants, with clear proof that something had been absorbed, which had generated protoplasm. when you are here i shall be very curious to know whether they are roots or rhizomes. besides the bladders there are great tuber-like swellings on the rhizomes; one was an inch in length and half in breadth. i suppose these must have been described. i strongly suspect that they serve as reservoirs for water. ( / . the existence of water-stores is quite in accordance with the epiphytic habit of the plant.) but i shall experimentise on this head. a thin slice is a beautiful object, and looks like coarsely reticulated glass. if you have an old plant which could be turned out of its pot (and can spare the time), it would be a great gain to me if you would tear off a bit of the roots near the bottom, and shake them well in water, and see whether they bear these minute glass-like bladders. i should also much like to know whether old plants bear the solid bladder-like bodies near the upper surface of the pot. these bodies are evidently enlargements of the roots or rhizomes. you must forgive this long letter, and make allowance for my delight at finding this new sub-group of insect-catchers. sir e. tennent speaks of an aquatic species of utricularia in ceylon, which has bladders on its roots, and rises annually to the surface, as he says, by this means. ( / . utricularia stellaris. emerson tennent's "ceylon," volume i., page , .) we shall be delighted to see you here on the th; if you will let us know your train we will send to meet you. you will have to work like a slave while you are here. letter . to j. jenner weir. ( / . in mr. jenner weir wrote to darwin: "my brother has but two kinds of laburnum, viz., cytisus purpureus, very erect, and cytisus alpinus, very pendulous. he has several stocks of the latter grafted with the purple one; and this year, the grafts being two years old, i saw in one, fairly above the stock, about four inches, a raceme of purely yellow flowers with the usual dark markings, and above them a bunch of purely purple flowers; the branches of the graft in no way showed an intermediate character, but had the usual rigid growth of purpureus." early in july , when darwin was correcting a new edition of "variation under domestication," he again corresponded with mr. weir on the subject.) down, july th [ ]. i thank you cordially. the case interests me in a higher degree than anything which i have heard for a very long time. is it your brother harrison w., whom i know? i should like to hear where the garden is. there is one other very important point which i am most anxious to hear--viz., the nature of the leaves at the base of the yellow racemes, for leaves are always there produced with the yellow laburnums, and i suppose so in the case of c. purpureus. as the tree has produced yellow racemes several times, do you think you could ask your brother to cut off and send me by post in a box a small branch of the purple stock with the pods or leaves of the yellow sport? ( / . "the purple stock" here means the supposed c. purpureus, on which a yellow-flowered branch was borne.) this would be an immense favour, for then i would cut the point of junction longitudinally and examine slice under the microscope, to be able to state no trace of bud of yellow kind having been inserted. i do not suspect anything of the kind, but it is sure to be said that your brother's gardener, either by accident or fraud, inserted a bud. under this point of view it would be very good to gather from your brother how many times the yellow sport has appeared. the case appears to me so very important as to be worth any trouble. very many thanks for all assistance so kindly given. i will of course send a copy of new edition of "variation under domestication" when published in the autumn. letter . to j. jenner weir. ( / . on july th mr. weir wrote to say that a branch of the cytisus had been despatched to down. the present letter was doubtless written after darwin had examined the specimen. in "variation under domestication," edition ii., volume i., page , note, he gives for a case recorded in the "gardeners' chronicle" in the explanation here offered (viz. that the graft was not c. purpureus but c. adami), and adds, "i have ascertained that this occurred in another instance." this second instance is doubtless mr. weir's.) down, july th, . i do not know how to thank you enough; pray give also my thanks and kind remembrances to your brother. i am sure you will forgive my expressing my doubts freely, as i well know that you desire the truth more than anything else. i cannot avoid the belief that some nurseryman has sold c[ytisus] adami to your brother in place of the true c. purpureus. the latter is a little bush only feet high (loudon), and when i read your account, it seemed to me a physical impossibility that a sporting branch of c. alpinus could grow to any size and be supported on the extremely delicate branches of c. purpureus. if i understand rightly your letter, you consider the tuft of small shoots on one side of the sporting c. alpinus from weirleigh as c. purpureus; but these shoots are certainly those of c. adami. i earnestly beg you to look at the specimens enclosed. the branch of the true c. purpureus is the largest which i could find. if c. adami was sold to your brother as c. purpureus, everything is explained; for then the gardener has grafted c. adami on c. alpinus, and the former has sported in the usual manner; but has not sported into c. purpureus, only into c. alpinus. c. adami does not sport less frequently into c. purpureus than into c. alpinus. are the purple flowers borne on moderately long racemes? if so, the plant is certainly c. adami, for the true c. purpureus bears flowers close to the branches. i am very sorry to be so troublesome, but i am very anxious to hear again from you. c. purpureus bears "flowers axillary, solitary, stalked." p.s.--i think you said that the purple [tree] at weirleigh does not seed, whereas the c. purpureus seeds freely, as you may see in enclosed. c. adami never produces seeds or pods. letter . to e. hackel. ( / . the following extract refers to darwin's book on "cross and self-fertilisation.") november th, . i am now busy in drawing up an account of ten years' experiments in the growth and fertility of plants raised from crossed and self-fertilised flowers. it is really wonderful what an effect pollen from a distinct seedling plant, which has been exposed to different conditions of life, has on the offspring in comparison with pollen from the same flower or from a distinct individual, but which has been long subjected to the same conditions. the subject bears on the very principle of life, which seems almost to require changes in the conditions. letter . to g.j. romanes. ( / . the following extract from a letter to romanes refers to francis darwin's paper, "experiments on the nutrition of drosera rotundifolia." "linn. soc. journ." [ ], published , page .) august th [ ]. the second point which delights me, seeing that half a score of botanists throughout europe have published that the digestion of meat by plants is of no use to them (a mere pathological phenomenon, as one man says!), is that frank has been feeding under exactly similar conditions a large number of plants of drosera, and the effect is wonderful. on the fed side the leaves are much larger, differently coloured, and more numerous; flower-stalks taller and more numerous, and i believe far more seed capsules,--but these not yet counted. it is particularly interesting that the leaves fed on meat contain very many more starch granules (no doubt owing to more protoplasm being first formed); so that sections stained with iodine, of fed and unfed leaves, are to the naked eye of very different colours. there, i have boasted to my heart's content, and do you do the same, and tell me what you have been doing. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, october th [ ]. if you can put the following request into any one's hands pray do so; but if not, ignore my request, as i know how busy you are. i want any and all plants of hoya examined to see if any imperfect flowers like the one enclosed can be found, and if so to send them to me, per post, damp. but i especially want them as young as possible. they are very curious. i have examined some sent me from abinger ( / . lord farrer's house.), but they were a month or two too old, and every trace of pollen and anthers had disappeared or had never been developed. yet a very fine pod with apparently good seed had been formed by one such flower. ( / . the seeds did not germinate; see the account of hoya carnosa in "forms of flowers," page .) letter . to g.j. romanes. ( / . published in the "life of romanes," page .) down, august th [ ]. when i went yesterday i had not received to-day's "nature," and i thought that your lecture was finished. ( / . abstract of a lecture on "evolution of nerves and nervo-systems," delivered at the royal institution, may th, . "nature," july th, august nd, august th, .) this final part is one of the grandest essays which i ever read. it was very foolish of me to demur to your lines of conveyance like the threads in muslin ( / . "nature," august nd, page .), knowing how you have considered the subject: but still i must confess i cannot feel quite easy. everyone, i suppose, thinks on what he has himself seen, and with drosera, a bit of meat put on any one gland on its disc causes all the surrounding tentacles to bend to this point, and here there can hardly be differentiated lines of conveyance. it seems to me that the tentacles probably bend to that point wherever a molecular wave strikes them, which passes through the cellular tissue with equal ease in all directions in this particular case. ( / . speaking generally, the transmission takes place more readily in the longitudinal direction than across the leaf: see "insectivorous plants," page .) but what a fine case that of the aurelia is! ( / . aurelia aurita, one of the medusae. "nature," pages - .) letter . to w. thiselton-dyer. , queen anne street [december ]. tell hooker i feel greatly aggrieved by him: i went to the royal society to see him for once in the chair of the royal, to admire his dignity and enjoy it, and lo and behold, he was not there. my outing gave me much satisfaction, and i was particularly glad to see mr. bentham, and to see him looking so wonderfully well and young. i saw lots of people, and it has not done me a penny's worth of harm, though i could not get to sleep till nearly four o'clock. letter . to d. oliver. down, october, th [ ?]. you must be a clair-voyant or something of that kind to have sent me such useful plants. twenty-five years ago i described in my father's garden two forms of linum flavum (thinking it a case of mere variation); from that day to this i have several times looked, but never saw the second form till it arrived from kew. virtue is never its own reward: i took paper this summer to write to you to ask you to send me flowers, [so] that i might beg plants of this linum, if you had the other form, and refrained, from not wishing to trouble you. but i am now sorry i did, for i have hardly any doubt that l. flavum never seeds in any garden that i have seen, because one form alone is cultivated by slips. ( / . id est, because, the plant being grown from slips, one form alone usually occurs in any one garden. it is also arguable that it is grown by slips because only one form is common, and therefore seedlings cannot be raised.) ( / . the following five letters refer to darwin's work on "bloom"--a subject on which he did not live to complete his researches:-- one of his earliest letters on this subject was addressed in august, , to sir joseph hooker ( / . published in "life and letters," iii., page .): "i want a little information from you, and if you do not yourself know, please to enquire of some of the wise men of kew. "why are the leaves and fruit of so many plants protected by a thin layer of waxy matter (like the common cabbage), or with fine hair, so that when such leaves or fruit are immersed in water they appear as if encased in thin glass? it is really a pretty sight to put a pod of the common pea, or a raspberry, into water. i find several leaves are thus protected on the under surface and not on the upper. "how can water injure the leaves, if indeed this is at all the case?" on this latter point darwin wrote to the late lord farrer: "i am now become mad about drops of water injuring leaves. please ask mr. payne ( / . lord farrer's gardener.) whether he believes, from his own experience, that drops of water injure leaves or fruit in his conservatories. it is said that the drops act as burning-glasses; if this is true, they would not be at all injurious on cloudy days. as he is so acute a man, i should very much like to hear his opinion. i remember when i grew hothouse orchids i was cautioned not to wet their leaves; but i never then thought on the subject." the next letter, though of later date than some which follow it, is printed here because it briefly sums his results and serves as guide to the letters dealing with the subject.) letter . to w. thiselton-dyer. ( / . published in "life and letters," iii., page .) down, september th [ ]. one word to thank you. i declare, had it not been for your kindness, we should have broken down. as it is we have made out clearly that with some plants (chiefly succulent) the bloom checks evaporation--with some certainly prevents attacks of insects; with some sea-shore plants prevents injury from salt water, and, i believe, with a few prevents injury from pure water resting on the leaves. this latter is as yet the most doubtful and the most interesting point in relation to the movements of plants. ( / . modern research, especially that of stahl on transpiration ("bot. zeitung," , page ) has shown that the question is more complex than it appeared in . stahl's point of view is that moisture remaining on a leaf checks the transpiration-current; and by thus diminishing the flow of mineral nutriment interferes with the process of assimilation. stahl's idea is doubtless applicable to the whole problem of bloom on leaves. for other references to bloom see letters , and .) letter . to j.d. hooker. down, august th, . the next time you walk round the garden ask mr. smith ( / . probably john smith ( - ), for some years curator, royal gardens, kew.), or any of your best men, what they think about injury from watering during sunshine. one of your men--viz., mr. payne, at abinger, who seems very acute--declares that you may water safely any plant out of doors in sunshine, and that you may do the same for plants under glass if the sashes are opened. this seems to me very odd, but he seems positive on the point, and acts on it in raising splendid grapes. another good gardener maintains that it is only cold water dripping often on the same point of a leaf that ever injures it. i am utterly perplexed, but interested on the point. give me what you learn when you come to down. i should like to hear what plants are believed to be most injured by being watered in sunshine, so that i might get such. i expect that i shall be utterly beaten, as on so many other points; but i intend to make a few experiments and observations. i have already convinced myself that drops of water do not act as burning lenses. letter . to j.d. hooker. december th [ ]. i find that it is no use going on with my experiments on the evil effects of water on bloom-divested leaves. either i erred in the early autumn or summer in some incomprehensible manner, or, as i suspect to be the case, water is only injurious to leaves when there is a good supply of actinic rays. i cannot believe that i am all in the wrong about the movements of the leaves to shoot off water. the upshot of all this is that i want to keep all the plants from kew until the spring or early summer, as it is mere waste of time going on at present. letter . to w. thiselton-dyer. down, july nd [ ]. many thanks for seeds of the malva and information about averrhoa, which i perceived was sensitive, as a. carambola is said to be; and about mimosa sensitiva. the log-wood [haematoxylon] has interested me much. the wax is very easily removed, especially from the older leaves, and i found after squirting on the leaves with water at deg, all the older leaves became coated, after forty-eight hours, in an astonishing manner with a black uredo, so that they looked as if sprinkled with soot and water. but not one of the younger leaves was affected. this has set me to work to see whether the "bloom" is not a protection against parasites. as soon as i have ascertained a little more about the case (and generally i am quite wrong at first) i will ask whether i could have a very small plant, which should never be syringed with water above deg, and then i suspect the leaves would not be spotted, as were the older ones on the plant, when it arrived from kew, but nothing like what they were after my squirting. in an old note of yours (which i have just found) you say that you have a sensitive schrankia: could this be lent me? i have had lent me a young coral-tree (erythrina), which is very sickly, yet shows odd sleep movements. i suppose i could buy one, but hooker told me first to ask you for anything. lastly, have you any seaside plants with bloom? i find that drops of sea-water corrode sea-kale if bloom is removed; also the var. littorum of triticum repens. (by the way, my plants of the latter, grown in pots here, are now throwing up long flexible green blades, and it is very odd to see, on the same culm, the rigid grey bloom-covered blades and the green flexible ones.) cabbages, ill-luck to them, do not seem to be hurt by salt water. hooker formerly told me that salsola kali, a var. of salicornia, one species of suaeda, euphorbia peplis, lathyrus maritimus, eryngium maritimum, were all glaucous and seaside plants. it is very improbable that you have any of these or of foreigners with the same attributes. god forgive me: i hope that i have not bored you greatly. by all the rules of right the leaves of the logwood ought to move (as if partially going to sleep) when syringed with tepid water. the leaves of my little plant do not move at all, and it occurs to me as possible, though very improbable, that it would be different with a larger plant with perhaps larger leaves. would you some day get a gardener to syringe violently, with water kept in a hothouse, a branch on one of your largest logwood plants and observe [whether?] leaves move together towards the apex of leaf? by the way, what astonishing nonsense mr. andrew murray has been writing about leaves and carbonic acid! i like to see a man behaving consistently... what a lot i have scribbled to you! (figure . leaf of trifolium resupinatum (from a drawing by miss pertz).) letter . to w. thiselton-dyer. [august, .] there is no end to my requests. can you spare me a good plant (or even two) of oxalis sensitiva? the one which i have (formerly from kew) has been so maltreated that i dare not trust my results any longer. please give the enclosed to mr. lynch. ( / . mr. lynch, now curator of the cambridge botanic garden, was at this time in the r. bot. garden, kew. mr. lynch described the movements of averrhoa bilimbi in the "linn. soc. journ," volume xvi., page . see also "the power of movement in plants," page .) the spontaneous movements of the averrhoa are very curious. you sent me seeds of trifolium resupinatum, and i have raised plants, and some former observations which i did not dare to trust have proved accurate. it is a very little fact, but curious. the half of the lateral leaflets (marked by a cross) on the lower side have no bloom and are wetted, whereas the other half has bloom and is not wetted, so that the two sides look different to the naked eye. the cells of the eipdermis appear of a different shape and size on the two sides of the leaf [figure ]. when we have drawings and measurements of cells made, and are sure of our facts, i shall ask you whether you know of any case of the same leaf differing histologically on the two sides, for hooker always says you are a wonderful man for knowing what has been made out. ( / . the biological meaning of the curious structure of the leaves of trifolium resupinatum remains a riddle. the stomata and (speaking from memory) the trichomes differ on the two halves of the lateral leaflets.) letter . to l. errera. ( / . professor l. errera, of brussels wrote, as a student, to darwin, asking permission to send the ms. of an essay by his friend s. gevaert and himself on cross and self-fertilisation, and which was afterwards published in the "bull. soc. bot. belg." xvii., . the terms xenogamy, geitonogamy, and autogamy were first suggested by kerner in ; their definition will be found at page of ogle's translation of kerner's "flowers and their unbidden guests," . in xenogamy the pollen comes from another plant; in geitonogamy from another flower on the same plant; in autogamy from the androecium of the fertilised flower. allogamy embraces xenogamy and geitonogamy.) down, october th, . i have now read your ms. the whole has interested me greatly, and is very clearly written. i wish that i had used some such terms as autogamy, xenogamy, etc...i entirely agree with you on the a priori probability of geitonogamy being more advantageous than autogamy; and i cannot remember having ever expressed a belief that autogamy, as a general rule, was better than geitonogamy; but the cases recorded by me seem too strong not to make me suspect that there was some unknown advantage in autogamy. in one place i insert the caution "if this be really the case," which you quote. ( / . see "cross and self-fertilisation," pages , . the phrase referred to occurs in both passages; that on page is as follows: "we have also seen reason to suspect that self-fertilisation is in some peculiar manner beneficial to certain plants; but if this be really the case, the benefit thus derived is far more than counterbalanced by a cross with a fresh stock or with a slightly different variety." errera and gevaert conclude (pages - ) that the balance of the available evidence is in favour of the belief that geitonogamy is intermediate, in effectiveness, between autogamy and xenogamy.) i shall be very glad to be proved to be altogether in error on this point. accept my thanks for pointing out the bad erratum at page . i hope that you will experimentise on inconspicuous flowers ( / . see miss bateson, "annals of botany," , page , "on the cross-fertilisation of inconspicuous flowers:" miss bateson showed that senecio vulgaris clearly profits by cross-fertilisation; stellaria media and capsella bursa-pastoris less certainly.); if i were not too old and too much occupied i would do so myself. finally let me thank you for the kind manner in which you refer to my work, and with cordial good wishes for your success... letter . to w. thiselton-dyer. down, october th, . one line to thank you much about mertensia. the former plant has begun to make new leaves, to my great surprise, so that i shall be now well supplied. we have worked so well with the averrhoa that unless the second species arrives in a very good state it would be superfluous to send it. i am heartily glad that you and mrs. dyer are going to have a holiday. i will look at you as a dead man for the next month, and nothing shall tempt me to trouble you. but before you enter your grave aid me if you can. i want seeds of three or four plants (not leguminosae or cruciferae) which produce large cotyledons. i know not in the least what plants have large cotyledons. why i want to know is as follows: the cotyledons of cassia go to sleep, and are sensitive to a touch; but what has surprised me much is that they are in constant movement up and down. so it is with the cotyledons of the cabbage, and therefore i am very curious to ascertain how far this is general. letter . to w. thiselton-dyer. down, october th [ ]. the fine lot of seeds arrived yesterday, and are all sown, and will be most useful. if you remember, pray thank mr. lynch for his aid. i had not thought of beech or sycamore, but they are now sown. perhaps you may like to see a rough copy of the tracing of movements of one of the cotyledons of red cabbage, and you can throw it into the fire. a line joining the two cotyledons stood facing a north-east window, and the day was uniformly cloudy. a bristle was gummed to one cotyledon, and beyond it a triangular bit of card was fixed, and in front a vertical glass. a dot was made in the glass every quarter or half hour at the point where the end of the bristle and the apex of card coincided, and the dots were joined by straight lines. the observations were from a.m. to . p.m. during this time the enclosed figure was described; but between p.m. and . p.m. the cotyledon moved so that the prolonged line was beyond the limits of the glass, and the course is here shown by an imaginary dotted line. the cotyledon of primula sinensis moved in closely analogous manner, as do those of a cassia. hence i expect to find such movements very general with cotyledons, and i am inclined to look at them as the foundation for all the other adaptive movements of leaves. they certainly are of the so-called sleep of plants. i hope i have not bothered you. do not answer. i am all on fire at the work. i have had a short and very prosperous note from asa gray, who says hooker is very prosperous, and both are tremendously hard at work. ( / . "hooker is coming over, and we are going in summer to the rocky mountains together, according to an old promise of mine." asa gray to g.f. wright, may th, ("letters of asa gray," ii., page ).) letter . to h. muller. down, january st [ ?]. i must write two or three lines to thank you cordially for your very handsome and very interesting review of my last book in "kosmos," which i have this minute finished. ( / . "forms of flowers," . h. muller's article is in "kosmos," ii., page .) it is wonderful how you have picked out everything important in it. i am especially glad that you have called attention to the parallelism between illegitimate offspring of heterostyled plants and hybrids. your previous article in "kosmos" seemed to me very important, but for some unknown reason the german was very difficult, and i was sadly overworked at the time, so that i could not understand a good deal of it. ( / . "kosmos," ii., pages , . see "forms of flowers," edition ii., page .) but i have put it on one side, and when i have to prepare a new edition of my book i must make it out. it seems that you attribute such cases as that of the dioecious rhamnus and your own of valeriana to the existence of two forms with larger and smaller flowers. i cannot follow the steps by which such plants have been rendered dioecious, but when i read your article with more care i hope i shall understand. ( / . see "forms of flowers," edition ii., pages and . h. muller's view is briefly that conspicuous and less conspicuous varieties occurred, and that the former were habitually visited first by insects; thus the less conspicuous form would play the part of females and their pollen would tend to become superfluous. see h. muller in "kosmos," ii.) if you have succeeded in explaining this class of cases i shall heartily rejoice, for they utterly perplexed me, and i could not conjecture what their meaning was. it is a grievous evil to have no faculty for new languages. with the most sincere respect and hearty good wishes to you and all your family for the new year... p.s.--what interesting papers your wonderful brother has lately been writing! letter . to w. thiselton-dyer. ( / . this letter refers to the purchase of instruments for the jodrell laboratory in the royal gardens, kew. "the royal commission on scientific instruction and the advancement of science, commonly spoken of as the devonshire commission, in its fourth report ( ), page , expressed the opinion that 'it is highly desirable that opportunities for the pursuit of investigations in physiological botany should be afforded at kew to those persons who may be inclined to follow that branch of science.' effect was given to this recommendation by the liberality of the late t.j. phillips-jodrell, m.a., who built and equipped the small laboratory, which has since borne his name, at his own expense. it was completed and immediately brought into use in ." the above is taken from the "bulletin of miscellaneous information," r. botanic gardens, kew, , page , which also gives a list of work carried out in the laboratory between and .) down, march th, . i have a very strong opinion that it would be the greatest possible pity if the phys[iological] lab., now that it has been built, were not supplied with as many good instruments as your funds can possibly afford. it is quite possible that some of them may become antiquated before they are much or even at all used. but this does not seem to me any argument at all against getting them, for the laboratory cannot be used until well provided; and the mere fact of the instruments being ready may suggest to some one to use them. you at kew, as guardians and promoters of botanical science, will then have done all in your power, and if your lab. is not used the disgrace will lie at the feet of the public. but until bitter experience proves the contrary i will never believe that we are so backward. i should think the german laboratories would be very good guides as to what to get; but timiriazeff of moscow, who travelled over europe to see all bot. labs., and who seemed so good a fellow, would, i should think, give the best list of the most indispensable instruments. lately i thought of getting frank or horace to go to cambridge for the use of the heliostat there; but our observations turned out of less importance than i thought, yet if there had been one at kew we should probably have used it, and might have found out something curious. it is impossible for me to predict whether or not we should ever want this or that instrument, for we are guided in our work by what turns up. thus i am now observing something about geotropism, and i had no idea a few weeks ago that this would have been necessary. in a short time we might earnestly wish for a centrifugal apparatus or a heliostat. in all such cases it would make a great difference if a man knew that he could use a particular instrument without great loss of time. i have now given my opinion, which is very decided, whether right or wrong, and frank quite agrees with me. you can, of course, show this letter to hooker. letter . to f. ludwig. down, may th, . i thank you sincerely for the trouble which you have taken in sending me so long and interesting a letter, together with the specimens. gradations are always very valuable, and you have been remarkably successful in discovering the stages by which the plantago has become gyno-dioecious. ( / . see f. ludwig, "zeitsch. f. d. geo. naturwiss." bd. lii., . professor ludwig's observations are quoted in the preface to "forms of flowers," edition ii., page ix.) your view of its origin, from being proterogynous, seems to me very probable, especially as the females are generally the later-flowering plants. if you can prove the reverse case with thymus your view will manifestly be rendered still more probable. i have never felt satisfied with h. muller's view, though he is so careful and admirable an observer. ( / . see "forms of flowers," edition ii., page . also letter .) it is more than seventeen years since i attended to plantago, and when nothing had been published on the subject, and in consequence i omitted to attend to several points; and now, after so long an interval, i cannot pretend to say to which of your forms the english one belongs; i well remember that the anther of the females contained a good deal [of] pollen, though not one sound grain. p.s.--delpino is professor of botany in genoa, italy ( / . now at naples.); i have always found him a most obliging correspondent. letter . to w. thiselton-dyer. down, august th [ ]. many thanks for seeds of trifolium resupinatum, which are invaluable to us. i enclose seeds of a cassia, from fritz muller, and they are well worth your cultivation; for he says they come from a unique, large and beautiful tree in the interior, and though looking out for years, he has never seen another specimen. one of the most splendid, largest and rarest butterflies in s. brazil, he has never seen except near this one tree, and he has just discovered that its caterpillars feed on its leaves. i have just been looking at fine young pods beneath the ground of arachis. ( / . arachis hypogoea, cultivated for its "ground nuts.") i suppose that the pods are not withdrawn when ripe from the ground; but should this be the case kindly inform me; if i do not hear i shall understand that [the] pods ripen and are left permanently beneath the ground. if you ever come across heliotropic or apheliotropic aerial roots on a plant not valuable (but which should be returned), i should like to observe them. bignonia capreolata, with its strongly apheliotropic tendrils (which i had from kew), is now interesting me greatly. veitch tells me it is not on sale in any london nursery, as i applied to him for some additional plants. so much for business. i have received from the geographical soc. your lecture, and read it with great interest. ( / . "on plant-distribution as a field for geographical research." "geog. soc. proc." xxii., , page .) but it ought not merely to be read; it requires study. the sole criticism which i have to make is that parts are too much condensed: but, good lord, how rare a fault is this! you do not quote saporta, i think; and some of his work on the tertiary plants would have been useful to you. in a former note you spoke contemptuously of your lecture: all i can say is that i never heard any one speak more unjustly and shamefully of another than you have done of yourself! letter . to h. muller. down, september th, . i am working away on some points in vegetable physiology, but though they interest me and my son, yet they have none of the fascination which the fertilisation of flowers possesses. nothing in my life has ever interested me more than the fertilisation of such plants as primula and lythrum, or again anacamptis ( / . orchis pyramidalis.) or listera. letter . to h. muller. down, february th [ ]. i have just heard that some misfortune has befallen you, and that you have been treated shamefully. ( / . hermann muller was accused by the ultramontane party of introducing into his school-teaching crude hypotheses ("unreife hypothesen"), which were assumed to have a harmful influence upon the religious sentiments of his pupils. attempts were made to bring about muller's dismissal, but the active hostility of his opponents, which he met in a dignified spirit, proved futile. ("prof. dr. hermann muller von lippstadt. ein gedenkblatt," von ernst krause. "kosmos," vii., page , .)) i grieve deeply to hear this, and as soon as you can find a few minutes to spare, i earnestly beg you to let me hear what has happened. letter . to a. stephen wilson. ( / . the following letters refer to two forms of wheat cultivated in russia under the names kubanka and saxonka, which had been sent to mr. darwin by dr. asher from samara, and were placed in the hands of mr. wilson that he might test the belief prevalent in russia that kubanka "grown repeatedly on inferior soil," assumes "the form of saxonka." mr. wilson's paper of gives the results of his inquiry. he concludes (basing his views partly on analogous cases and partly on his study of the russian wheats) that the supposed transformation is explicable in chief part by the greater fertility of the saxonka wheat leading to extermination of the other form. according to mr. wilson, therefore, the saxonka survivors are incorrectly assumed to be the result of the conversion of one form into the other.) down, april th, . i send you herewith some specimens which may perhaps interest you, as you have so carefully studied the varieties of wheat. anyhow, they are of no use to me, as i have neither knowledge nor time sufficient. they were sent me by the governor of the province of samara, in russia, at the request of dr. asher (son of the great berlin publisher) who farmed for some years in the province. the specimen marked kubanka is a very valuable kind, but which keeps true only when cultivated in fresh steppe-land in samara, and in saratoff. after two years it degenerates into the variety saxonica, or its synonym ghirca. the latter alone is imported into this country. dr. asher says that it is universally known, and he has himself witnessed the fact, that if grain of the kubanka is sown in the same steppe-land for more than two years it changes into saxonica. he has seen a field with parts still kubanka and the remainder saxonica. on this account the government, in letting steppe-land, contracts that after two years wheat must not be sown until an interval of eight years. the ears of the two kinds appear different, as you will see, but the chief difference is in the quality of the grains. dr. asher has witnessed sales of equal weights of kubanka and saxonica grain, and the price of the former was to that of the latter as to . the peasants say that the change commences in the terminal grain of the ear. the most remarkable point, as dr. asher positively asserts, is that there are no intermediate varieties; but that a grain produces a plant yielding either true kubanka or true saxonica. he thinks that it would be interesting to sow here both kinds in good and bad wheat soil and observe the result. should you think it worth while to make any such trial, and should you require further information, dr. asher, whose address i enclose, will be happy to give any in his power. letter . to a. stephen wilson. basset, southampton, april th [ ]. your kind note and specimens have been forwarded to me here, where i am staying at my son's house for a fortnight's complete rest, which i required from rather too hard work. for this reason i will not now examine the seeds, but will wait till returning home, when, with my son francis' aid, i will look to them. i always felt, though without any good reason, rather sceptical about prof. buckman's experiment, and i afterwards heard that a most wicked and cruel trick had been played on him by some of the agricultural students at cirencester, who had sown seeds unknown to him in his experimental beds. whether he ever knew this i did not hear. i am exceedingly glad that you are willing to look into the russian wheat case. it may turn out a mare's nest, but i have often incidentally observed curious facts when making what i call "a fool's experiment." letter . to a. stephen wilson. down, march th, . i have just returned home after an absence of a week, and your letter was not forwarded to me; i mention this to account for my apparent discourtesy in not having sooner thanked you. you have worked out the subject with admirable care and clearness, and your drawings are beautiful. i suspected that there was some error in the russian belief, but i did not think of the explanation which you have almost proved to be the true one. it is an extremely interesting instance of a more fertile variety beating out a less fertile one, and, in this case, one much more valuable to man. with respect to publication, i am at a loss to advise you, for i live a secluded life and do not see many periodicals, or hear what is done at the various societies. it seems to me that your paper should be published in some agricultural journal; for it is not simply scientific, and would therefore not be published by the linnean or royal societies. would the royal agricultural society be a fitting place? unfortunately i am not a member, and could not myself present it. unless you think of some better journal, there is the "agricultural gazette": i have occasionally suggested articles for publication to the editor (though personally unknown to me) which he has always accepted. permit me again to thank you for the thorough manner in which you have worked out this case; to kill an error is as good a service as, and sometimes even better than, the establishing a new truth or fact. letter . to a. stephen wilson. down, february th, . it was very kind of you to send me two numbers of the "gardeners' chronicle" with your two articles, which i have read with much interest. ( / . "gardeners' chronicle," , page ; , pages , .) you have quite convinced me, whatever mr. asher may say to the contrary. i want to ask you a question, on the bare chance of your being able to answer it, but if you cannot, please do not take the trouble to write. the lateral branches of the silver fir often grow out into knobs through the action of a fungus, aecidium; and from these knobs shoots grow vertically ( / . the well-known "witches-brooms," or "hexen-besen," produced by the fungus aecidium elatinum.) instead of horizontally, like all the other twigs on the same branch. now the roots of cruciferae and probably other plants are said to become knobbed through the action of a fungus: now, do these knobs give rise to rootlets? and, if so, do they grow in a new or abnormal direction? ( / . the parasite is probably plasmodiophora: in this case no abnormal rootlets have been observed, as far as we know.) letter . to w. thiselton-dyer. down, june th, . the plants arrived last night in first-rate order, and it was very very good of you to take so much trouble as to hunt them up yourself. they seem exactly what i wanted, and if i fail it will not be for want of perfect materials. but a confounded painter (i beg his pardon) comes here to-night, and for the next two days i shall be half dead with sitting to him; but after then i will begin to work at the plants and see what i can do, and very curious i am about the results. i have to thank you for two very interesting letters. i am delighted to hear, and with surprise, that you care about old erasmus d. god only knows what i shall make of his life--it is such new kind of work to me. ( / . "erasmus darwin." by ernst krause. translated from the german by w.s. dallas: with a preliminary notice by charles darwin. london, . see "life and letters," iii., pages - .) thanks for case of sleeping crotalaria--new to me. i quite agree to every word you say about ball's lecture ( / . "on the origin of the flora of the european alps," "geogr. soc. proc." volume i., , page . see letter , volume ii.)--it is, as you say, like sir w. thomson's meteorite. ( / . in lord kelvin (presidential address brit. assoc.) suggested that meteorites, "the moss-grown fragments from the ruins of another world," might have introduced life to our planet.) it is really a pity; it is enough to make geographical distribution ridiculous in the eyes of the world. frank will be interested about the auriculas; i never attended to this plant, for the powder did [not] seem to me like true "bloom." ( / . see francis darwin, on the relation between "bloom" on leaves and the distribution of the stomata. "linn. soc. journ." volume xxii., page .) this subject, however, for the present only, has gone to the dogs with me. i am sorry to hear of such a struggle for existence at kew; but i have often wondered how it is that you are all not killed outright. i can most fully sympathise with you in your admiration of your little girl. there is nothing so charming in this world, and we all in this house humbly adore our grandchild, and think his little pimple of a nose quite beautiful. letter . to g. bentham. down, february th, . i have had real pleasure in signing dyer's certificate. ( / . as a candidate for the royal society.) it was very kind in you to write to me about the orchideae, for it has pleased me to an extreme degree that i could have been of the least use to you about the nature of the parts. they are wonderful creatures, these orchids, and i sometimes think with a glow of pleasure, when i remember making out some little point in their method of fertilisation. ( / . published in "life and letters," iii., page .) with respect to terms, no doubt you will be able to improve them greatly, for i knew nothing about the terms as used in other groups of plants. could you not invent some quite new term for gland, implying viscidity? or append some word to gland. i used for cirripedes "cement gland." your present work must be frightfully difficult. i looked at a few dried flowers, and could make neither heads nor tails of them; and i well remember wondering what you would do with them when you came to the group in the "genera plantarum." i heartily wish you safe through your work,... letter . to f.m. balfour. down, september th, . i hope that you will not think me a great bore, but i have this minute finished reading your address at the british association; and it has interested me so much that i cannot resist thanking you heartily for the pleasure derived from it, not to mention the honour which you have done me. ( / . presidential address delivered by prof. f.m. balfour before the biological section at the british association meeting at swansea ( ).) the recent progress of embryology is indeed splendid. i have been very stupid not to have hitherto read your book, but i have had of late no spare time; i have now ordered it, and your address will make it the more interesting to read, though i fear that my want of knowledge will make parts unintelligible to me. ( / . "a treatise on comparative embryology," volumes. london, .) in my recent work on plants i have been astonished to find to how many very different stimuli the same small part--viz., the tip of the radicle--is sensitive, and has the power of transmitting some influence to the adjoining part of the radicle, exciting it to bend to or from the source of irritation according to the needs of the plant ( / . see letter .); and all this takes place without any nervous system! i think that such facts should be kept in mind when speculating on the genesis of the nervous system. i always feel a malicious pleasure when a priori conclusions are knocked on the head: and therefore i felt somewhat like a devil when i read your remarks on herbert spencer ( / . prof. balfour discussed mr. herbert spencer's views on the genesis of the nervous system, and expressed the opinion that his hypothesis was not borne out by recent discoveries. "the discovery that nerves have been developed from processes of epithelial cells gives a very different conception of their genesis to that of herbert spencer, which makes them originate from the passage of nervous impulses through a track of mingled colloids..." (loc. cit., page .))...our recent visit to cambridge was a brilliant success to us all, and will ever be remembered by me with much pleasure. letter . to james paget. ( / . during the closing years of his life, darwin began to experimentise on the possibility of producing galls artificially. a letter to sir j.d. hooker (november rd, ) shows the interest which he felt in the question:-- "i was delighted with paget's essay ( / . an address on "elemental pathology," delivered before the british medical association, august , and published in the journal of the association.); i hear that he has occasionally attended to this subject from his youth...i am very glad he has called attention to galls: this has always seemed to me a profoundly interesting subject; and if i had been younger would take it up." his interest in this subject was connected with his ever-present wish to learn something of the causes of variation. he imagined to himself wonderful galls caused to appear on the ovaries of plants, and by these means he thought it possible that the seed might be influenced, and thus new varieties arise. ( / . there would have been great difficulties about this line of research, for when the sexual organs of plants are deformed by parasites (in the way he hoped to effect by poisons) sterility almost always results. see molliard's "les cecidies florales," "ann. sci. nat." , volume i., page .) he made a considerable number of experiments by injecting various reagents into the tissues of leaves, and with some slight indications of success. ( / . the above passage is reprinted, with alterations, from "life and letters," iii., page .) the following letter to the late sir james paget refers to the same subject.) down, november th, . i am very much obliged for your essay, which has interested me greatly. what indomitable activity you have! it is a surprising thought that the diseases of plants should illustrate human pathology. i have the german "encyclopaedia," and a few weeks ago told my son francis that the article on the diseases of plants would be well worth his study; but i did not know it was written by dr. frank, for whom i entertain a high respect as a first-rate observer and experimentiser, though for some unknown reason he has been a good deal snubbed in germany. i can give you one good case of regrowth in plants, recently often observed by me, though only externally, as i do not know enough of histology to follow out details. it is the tip of the radicle of a germinating common bean. the case is remarkable in some respects, for the tip is sensitive to various stimuli, and transmits an order, causing the upper part of the radicle to bend. when the tip (for a length of about mm.) is cut transversely off, the radicle is not acted on by gravitation or other irritants, such as contact, etc., etc., but a new tip is regenerated in from two to four days, and then the radicle is again acted on by gravitation, and will bend to the centre of the earth. the tip of the radicle is a kind of brain to the whole growing part of the radicle! ( / . we are indebted to mr. archer-hind for the translation of the following passage from plato ("timaeus," a): "the reason is every man's guardian genius (daimon), and has its habitation in our brain; it is this that raises man (who is a plant, not of earth but of heaven) to an erect posture, suspending the head and root of us from the heavens, which are the birthplace of our soul, and keeping all the body upright." on the perceptions of plants, see "nature," november th, --a lecture delivered at the glasgow meeting of the british association by francis darwin. see also bonitz, "index aristotelicus," s.v. phuton.) my observation will be published in about a week's time, and i would have sent you the book, but i do not suppose that there is anything else in the book which would interest you. i am delighted that you have drawn attention to galls. they have always seemed to me profoundly interesting. many years ago i began (but failed for want of time, strength, and health, as on infinitely many other occasions) to experimentise on plants, by injecting into their tissues some alkaloids and the poison of wasps, to see if i could make anything like galls. if i remember rightly, in a few cases the tissues were thickened and hardened. i began these experiments because if by different poisons i could have affected slightly and differently the tissues of the same plant, i thought there would be no insuperable difficulty in the fittest poisons being developed by insects so as to produce galls adapted for them. every character, as far as i can see, is apt to vary. judging from one of your sentences you will smile at this. to any one believing in my pangenesis (if such a man exists) there does not seem to me any extreme difficulty in understanding why plants have such little power of regeneration; for there is reason to think that my imaginary gemmules have small power of passing from cell to cell. ( / . on regeneration after injury, see massart, "la cicatrisation chez les vegetaux," in volume ( ) of the "memoires couronnes," published by the royal academy of belgium. an account of the literature is given by the author.) forgive me for scribbling at such unreasonable length; but you are to blame for having interested me so much. p.s.--perhaps you may remember that some two years ago you asked me to lunch with you, and proposed that i should offer myself again. whenever i next come to london, i will do so, and thus have the pleasure of seeing you. letter . to w. thiselton-dyer. ( / . "the power of movement in plants" was published early in november, . sir w. thiselton-dyer, in writing to thank darwin for a copy of the book, had (november th) compared a structure in the seedling welwitschia with the "peg" of cucurbita (see "power of movement," page ). dyer wrote: "one peculiar feature in the germinating embryo is a lateral hypocotyledonary process, which eventually serves as an absorbent organ, by which the nutriment of the endosperm is conveyed to the seedling. such a structure was quite new to me, and bower and i were disposed to see in it a representative of the foot in selaginella, when i saw the account of flahault's 'peg.'" flahault, it should be explained, was the discoverer of the curious peg in cucurbita. prof. bower wrote a paper ("on the germination and histology of the seedling of welwitschia mirabilis" in the "quart. journ. microscop. sci." xxi., , page .) down, november th [ ]. very many thanks for your most kind note, but you think too highly of our work--not but what this is very pleasant. i am deeply interested about welwitschia. when at work on the pegs or projections i could not imagine how they were first developed, before they could have been of mere mechanical use. now it seems possible that a circle between radicle and hypocotyl may be permeable to fluids, and thus have given rise to projections so as to expose larger surface. could you test welwitschia with permanganate of potassium: if, like my pegs, the lower surface would be coloured brown like radicle, and upper surface left white like hypocotyl. if such an idea as yours, of an absorbing organ, had ever crossed my mind, i would have tried many hypocotyls in weak citrate of ammonia, to see if it penetrated on line of junction more easily than elsewhere. i daresay the projection in abronia and mirabilis may be an absorbent organ. it was very good fun bothering the seeds of cucurbita by planting them edgeways, as would never naturally occur, and then the peg could not act properly. many of the germans are very contemptuous about making out use of organs; but they may sneer the souls out of their bodies, and i for one shall think it the most interesting part of natural history. indeed, you are greatly mistaken if you doubt for one moment on the very great value of your constant and most kind assistance to us. i have not seen the pamphlet, and shall be very glad to keep it. frank, when he comes home, will be much interested and pleased with your letter. pray give my kindest remembrance to mrs. dyer. this is a very untidy note, but i am very tired with dissecting worms all day. read the last chapter of our book, and then you will know the whole contents. letter . to h. vochting. down, december th, . absence from home has prevented me from sooner thanking you for your kind present of your several publications. i procured some time ago your "organbilding" ( / . "organbildung im pflanzenreich," .) etc., but it was too late for me to profit by it for my book, as i was correcting the press. i read only parts, but my son francis read the whole with care and told me much about it, which greatly interested me. i also read your article in the "bot. zeitung." my son began at once experimenting, to test your views, and this very night will read a paper before the linnean society on the roots of rubus ( / . francis darwin, "the theory of the growth of cuttings" ("linn. soc. journ." xviii.). [i take this opportunity of expressing my regret that at page , owing to neglect of part of vochting's facts, i made a criticism of his argument which cannot be upheld.--f.d.].), and i think that you will be pleased to find how well his conclusions agree with yours. he will of course send you a copy of his paper when it is printed. i have sent him your letter, which will please him if he agrees with me; for your letter has given me real pleasure, and i did not at all know what the many great physiologists of germany, switzerland, and holland would think of it ["the power of movement," etc.]. i was quite sorry to read sachs' views about root-forming matter, etc., for i have an unbounded admiration for sachs. in this country we are dreadfully behind in physiological botany. letter . to a. de candolle. down, january th, . it was extremely kind of you to write me so long and valuable a letter, the whole of which deserves careful consideration. i have been particularly pleased at what you say about the new terms used, because i have often been annoyed at the multitude of new terms lately invented in all branches of biology in germany; and i doubted much whether i was not quite as great a sinner as those whom i have blamed. when i read your remarks on the word "purpose" in your "phytographie," i vowed that i would not use it again; but it is not easy to cure oneself of a vicious habit. it is also difficult for any one who tries to make out the use of a structure to avoid the word purpose. i see that i have probably gone beyond my depth in discussing plurifoliate and unifoliate leaves; but in such a case as that of mimosa albida, where rudiments of additional leaflets are present, we must believe that they were well developed in the progenitor of the plant. so again, when the first true leaf differs widely in shape from the older leaves, and resembles the older leaves in allied species, is it not the most simple explanation that such leaves have retained their ancient character, as in the case of the embryos of so many animals? your suggestion of examining the movements of vertical leaves with an equal number of stomata on both sides, with reference to the light, seems to me an excellent one, and i hope that my son francis may follow it up. but i will not trouble you with any more remarks about our book. my son will write to you about the diagram. let me add that i shall ever remember with pleasure your visit here last autumn. letter . to j. lubbock (lord avebury). down, april th [ ]. will you be so kind as to send and lend me the desmodium gyrans by the bearer who brings this note. shortly after you left i found my notice of the seeds in the "gardeners' chronicle," which please return hereafter, as i have no other copy. ( / . "note on the achenia of pumilio argyrolepis." "gardeners' chronicle," , page .) i do not think that i made enough about the great power of absorption of water by the corolla-like calyx or pappus. it seems to me not unlikely that the pappus of other compositae may be serviceable to the seeds, whilst lying on the ground, by absorbing the dew which would be especially apt to condense on the fine points and filaments of the pappus. anyhow, this is a point which might be easily investigated. seeds of tussilago, or groundsel ( / . it is not clear whether tussilago or groundsel (senecio vulgaris) is meant; or whether he was not sure which of the two plants becomes slimy when wetted.), emit worm-like masses of mucus, and it would be curious to ascertain whether wetting the pappus alone would suffice to cause such secretion. ( / . see letter .) letter . to g.j. romanes. down, april th, . i am extremely glad of your success with the flashing light. ( / . romanes' paper on the effect of intermittent light on heliotropism was the "proc. royal soc." volume liv., page .) if plants are acted on by light, like some of the lower animals, there is an additional point of interest, as it seems to me, in your results. most botanists believe that light causes a plant to bend to it in as direct a manner as light affects nitrate of silver. i believe that it merely tells the plant to which side to bend, and i see indications of this belief prevailing even with sachs. now it might be expected that light would act on a plant in something the same manner as on the lower animals. as you are at work on this subject, i will call your attention to another point. wiesner, of vienna (who has lately published a great book on heliotropism) finds that an intermittent light, say of minutes, produces the same effect as a continuous light of, say m. ( / . wiesner's papers on heliotropism are in the "denkschriften" of the vienna academy, volumes and .) so that van tieghem, in the first part of his book which has just appeared, remarks, the light during m. out of the m. produced no effect. i observed an analogous case described in my book. ( / . "power of movement," page .) wiesner and van tieghem seem to think that this is explained by calling the whole process "induction," borrowing a term used by some physico-chemists (of whom i believe roscoe is one) and implying an agency which does not produce any effect for some time, and continues its effect for some time after the cause has ceased. i believe that photographic paper is an instance. i must ask leonard ( / . mr. darwin's son.) whether an interrupted light acts on it in the same manner as on a plant. at present i must still believe in my explanation that it is the contrast between light and darkness which excites a plant. i have forgotten my main object in writing--viz., to say that i believe (and have so stated) that seedlings vary much in their sensitiveness to light; but i did not prove this, for there are many difficulties, whether the time of incipient curvature or the amount of curvature is taken as the criterion. moreover they vary according to age, and perhaps from vigour of growth, and there seems inherent variability, as strasburger (whom i quote) found with spores. if the curious anomaly observed by you is due to varying sensitiveness, ought not all the seedlings to bend if the flashes were at longer intervals of time? according to my notion of contrast between light and darkness being the stimulus, i should expect that if flashes were made sufficiently slow it would be a powerful stimulus, and that you would suddenly arrive at a period when the result would suddenly become great. on the other hand, as far as my experience goes, what one expects rarely happens. letter . to julius wiesner. down, october th, . i thank you sincerely for your very kind letter, and for the present of your new work. ( / . "das bewegungsvermogen der pflanze," . one of us has given some account of wiesner's book in the presidential address to section d of the british association, . wiesner's divergence from darwin's views is far-reaching, and includes the main thesis of the "power of movement." see "life and letters," iii., page , for an interesting letter to wiesner.) my son francis, if he had been at home, would have likewise sent his thanks. i will immediately begin to read your book, and when i have finished it will write again. but i read german so very slowly that your book will take me a considerable time, for i cannot read for more than half an hour each day. i have, also, been working too hard lately, and with very little success, so that i am going to leave home for a time and try to forget science. i quite expect that you will find some gross errors in my work, for you are a very much more skilful and profound experimentalist than i am. although i always am endeavouring to be cautious and to mistrust myself, yet i know well how apt i am to make blunders. physiology, both animal and vegetable, is so difficult a subject, that it seems to me to progress chiefly by the elimination or correction of ever-recurring mistakes. i hope that you will not have upset my fundamental notion that various classes of movement result from the modification of a universally present movement of circumnutation. i am very glad that you will again discuss the view of the turgescence of the cells being the cause of the movement of parts. i adopted de vries' views as seeming to me the most probable, but of late i have felt more doubts on this head. ( / . see "power of movement," page . de vries' work is published in the "bot. zeitung," , page .) letter . to j.d. hooker. glenrhydding house, patterdale, penrith, june th, . it was real pleasure to me to see once again your well-known handwriting on the outside of your note. i do not know how long you have returned from italy, but i am very sorry that you are so bothered already with work and visits. i cannot but think that you are too kind and civil to visitors, and too conscientious about your official work. but a man cannot cure his virtues, any more than his vices, after early youth; so you must bear your burthen. it is, however, a great misfortune for science that you have so very little spare time for the "genera." i can well believe what an awful job the palms must be. even their size must be very inconvenient. you and bentham must hate the monocotyledons, for what work the orchideae must have been, and gramineae and cyperaceae will be. i am rather despondent about myself, and my troubles are of an exactly opposite nature to yours, for idleness is downright misery to me, as i find here, as i cannot forget my discomfort for an hour. i have not the heart or strength at my age to begin any investigation lasting years, which is the only thing which i enjoy; and i have no little jobs which i can do. so i must look forward to down graveyard as the sweetest place on earth. this place is magnificently beautiful, and i enjoy the scenery, though weary of it; and the weather has been very cold and almost always hazy. i am so glad that your tour has answered for lady hooker. we return home on the first week of july, and should be truly glad to aid lady hooker in any possible manner which she will suggest. i have written to my gardener to send you plants of oxalis corniculata (and seeds if possible). i should think so common a weed was never asked for before,--and what a poor return for the hundreds of plants which i have received from kew! i hope that i have not bothered you by writing so long a note, and i did not intend to do so. if asa gray has returned with you, please give him my kindest remembrances. letter . to j.d. hooker. october nd, . i am investigating the action of carbonate of ammonia on chlorophyll, which makes me want the plants in my list. ( / . "the action of carbonate of ammonia on chlorophyll bodies." "linn. soc. journ." xix., page , .) i have incidentally observed one point in euphorbia, which has astonished me--viz. that in the fine fibrous roots of euphorbia, the alternate rows of cells in their roots must differ physiologically, though not in external appearance, as their contents after the action of carbonate of ammonia differ most conspicuously... wiesner of vienna has just published a book vivisecting me in the most courteous, but awful manner, about the "power of movement in plants." ( / . see letter , note.) thank heaven, he admits almost all my facts, after re-trying all my experiments; but gives widely different interpretation of the facts. i think he proves me wrong in several cases, but i am convinced that he is utterly erroneous and fanciful in other explanations. no man was ever vivisected in so sweet a manner before, as i am in this book. chapter .xii. vivisection and miscellaneous subjects, - . .xii.i. vivisection, - . letter . to lord playfair. ( / . a bill was introduced to the house of commons by messrs. lyon playfair, walpole and ashley, in the spring of , but was withdrawn on the appointment of a royal commission to inquire into the whole question. some account of the anti-vivisection agitation, the introduction of bills, and the appointment of a royal commission is given in the "life and letters," iii., page , where the more interesting of darwin's letters on the question are published.) down, may th, . i hope that you will excuse my troubling you once again. i received some days ago a letter from prof. huxley, in edinburgh, who says with respect to your bill: "the professors here are all in arms about it, and as the papers have associated my name with the bill, i shall have to repudiate it publicly, unless something can be done. but what in the world is to be done?" ( / . the letter is published in full in mr. l. huxley's interesting chapter on the vivisection question in his father's "life," i., page .) dr. burdon sanderson is in nearly the same frame of mind about it. the newspapers take different views of the purport of the bill, but it seems generally supposed that it would prevent demonstrations on animals rendered insensible, and this seems to me a monstrous provision. it would, moreover, probably defeat the end desired; for dr. b. sanderson, who demonstrates to his class on animals rendered insensible, told me that some of his students had declared to him that unless he had shown them what he had, they would have experimented on live animals for themselves. certainly i do not believe that any one could thoroughly understand the action of the heart without having seen it in action. i do not doubt that you wish to aid the progress of physiology, and at the same time save animals from all useless suffering; and in this case i believe that you could not do a greater service than to warn the home secretary with respect to the appointment of royal commissioners, that ordinary doctors know little or nothing about physiology as a science, and are incompetent to judge of its high importance and of the probability of its hereafter conferring great benefits on mankind. letter . to lord playfair. down, may th. i must write one line to thank you for your very kind letter, and to say that, after despatching my last note, it suddenly occurred to me that i had been rude in calling one of the provisions of your bill "monstrous" or "absurd"--i forget which. but when i wrote the expression it was addressed to the bigots who, i believed, had forced you to a compromise. i cannot understand what dr. b. sanderson could have been about not to have objected with respect to the clause of not demonstrating on animals rendered insensible. i am extremely sorry that you have had trouble and vexation on the subject. it is a most disagreeable and difficult one. i am not personally concerned, as i never tried an experiment on a living animal, nor am i a physiologist; but i know enough to see how ruinous it would be to stop all progress in so grand a science as physiology. i commenced the agitation amongst the physiologists for this reason, and because i have long felt very keenly on the question of useless vivisection, and believed, though without any good evidence, that there was not always, even in this country, care enough taken. pray forgive me this note, so much about myself... letter . to g.j. romanes. ( / . published in "life of romanes," page , under - .) down, june th [ ]. your letter has made me as proud and conceited as ten peacocks. ( / . this may perhaps refer to darwin being elected the only honorary member of the physiological society, a fact that was announced in a letter from romanes june st, , published in the "life" of romanes, page . dr. sharpey was subsequently elected a second honorary member.) i am inclined to think that writing against the bigots about vivisection is as hopeless as stemming a torrent with a reed. frank, who has just come here, and who sputters with indignation on the subject, takes an opposite line, and perhaps he is right; anyhow, he had the best of an argument with me on the subject...it seems to me the physiologists are now in the position of a persecuted religious sect, and they must grin and bear the persecution, however cruel and unjust, as well as they can. letter . to t. lauder brunton. ( / . in november, , an absolutely groundless charge was brought by the victoria street society for the protection of animals from vivisection against dr. ferrier for an infringement of the vivisection act. the experiment complained of was the removal of the brain of a monkey and the subsequent testing of the animal's powers of reacting to certain treatment. the fact that the operation had been performed six months before the case came into court would alone have been fatal to the prosecution. moreover, it was not performed by dr. ferrier, but by another observer, who was licensed under the act to keep the monkey alive after the operation, which was performed under anaesthetics. thus the prosecution completely broke down, and the case was dismissed. ( / . from the "british medical journal," november th, . see also "times," november th, .) the sympathy with dr. ferrier in the purely scientific and medical world was very strong, and the british medical association undertook the defence. the prosecution did good in one respect, inasmuch as it led to the formation of the science defence association, to which reference is made in some of mr. darwin's letters to sir lauder brunton. the association still exists, and continues to do good work. part of the following letter was published in the "british medical journal," december rd, .) down, november th, . i saw in some paper that there would probably be a subscription to pay dr. ferrier's legal expenses in the late absurd and wicked prosecution. as i live so retired i might not hear of the subscription, and i should regret beyond measure not to have the pleasure and honour of showing my sympathy [with] and admiration of dr. ferrier's researches. i know that you are his friend, as i once met him at your house; so i earnestly beg you to let me hear if there is any means of subscribing, as i should much like to be an early subscriber. i am sure that you will forgive me for troubling you under these circumstances. p.s.--i finished reading a few days ago the several physiological and medical papers which you were so kind as to send me. ( / . some of lauder brunton's publications.) i was much interested by several of them, especially by that on night-sweating, and almost more by others on digestion. i have seldom been made to realise more vividly the wondrous complexity of our whole system. how any one of us keeps alive for a day is a marvel! letter . t. lauder brunton to charles darwin. , welbeck street, london, november st, . i thank you most sincerely for your kind letter and your offer of assistance to dr. ferrier. there is at present no subscription list, as the british medical association have taken up the case, and ought to pay the expenses. should these make such a call upon the funds of the association as to interfere with its other objects, the whole or part of the expenses will be paid by those who have subscribed to a guarantee fund. to this fund there are already a number of subscribers, whose names are taken by professor gerald yeo, one of the secretaries of the physiological society. they have not subscribed a definite sum, but have simply fixed a maximum which they will subscribe, if necessary, on the understanding that only so much as is required shall be asked from each subscriber in proportion to his subscription. it is proposed to send by-and-by a list of the most prominent members of this guarantee fund to the "times" and other papers, and not only every scientific man, but every member of the medical profession, will rejoice to see your name in the list. dr. ferrier has been quite worn out by the worry of this prosecution, or, as it might well be called, persecution, and has gone down to shanklin for a couple of days. he returns this afternoon, and i have sent on your letter to await his arrival, knowing as i do that it will be to him like cold water to a thirsty soul. letter . to t. lauder brunton. down, november nd, . many thanks for your very kind and interesting letter... i write now to beg a favour. i do not in the least know what others have guaranteed in relation to dr. ferrier. ( / . in a letter dated november th, , sir lauder brunton wrote in reply to mr. darwin's inquiry as to the amount of the subscriptions: "when i ascertain what they intend to give under the new conditions--viz., that the subscriptions are not to be applied to ferrier's defence, but to the defence of others who may be attacked and to a diffusion of knowledge regarding the nature and purposes of vivisection, i will let you know...") would twenty guineas be sufficient? if not, will you kindly take the trouble to have my name put down for thirty or forty guineas, as you may think best. if, on the other hand, no one else has guaranteed for as much as twenty guineas, will you put me down for ten or fifteen guineas, though i should like to give twenty best. you can understand that i do not wish to be conspicuous either by too little or too much; so i beg you to be so very kind as to act for me. i have a multitude of letters which i must answer, so excuse haste. letter . to t. lauder brunton. ( / . the following letter was written in reply to sir t. lauder brunton's suggestion that mr. darwin should be proposed as president of the science defence association.) , bryanston street, portman square, december th, . i have been thinking a good deal about the suggestion which you made to me the other day, on the supposition that you could not get some man like the president of the college of physicians to accept the office. my wife is strongly opposed to my accepting the office, as she feels sure that the anxiety thus caused would tell heavily on my health. but there is a much stronger objection suggested to me by one of my relations--namely, no man ought to allow himself to be placed at the head (though only nominally so) of an associated movement, unless he has the means of judging of the acts performed by the association, after hearing each point discussed. this occurred to me when you spoke to me, and i think that i said something to this effect. anyhow, i have in several analogous cases acted on this principle. take, for instance, any preliminary statement which the association may publish. i might feel grave doubts about the wisdom or justice of some points, and this solely from my not having heard them discussed. i am therefore inclined to think that it would not be right in me to accept the nominal presidency of your association, and thus have to act blindly. as far as i can at present see, i fear that i must confine my assistance to subscribing as large a sum to the association as any member gives. i am sorry to trouble you, but i have thought it best to tell you at once of the doubts which have arisen in my mind. letter . to lauder brunton. ( / . sir t. lauder brunton had written (february th) to mr. darwin explaining that two opinions were held as to the constitution of the proposed science defence association: one that it should consist of a small number of representative men; the other that it should, if possible, embrace every medical practitioner in the country. sir lauder brunton adds: "i should be very greatly obliged if you would kindly say what you think of the two schemes.") down, february th, . i am very much obliged for your information in regard to the association, about which i feel a great interest. it seems to me highly desirable that the association should include as many medical and scientific men as possible throughout the whole country, who could illumine those capable of illumination on the necessity of physiological research; but that the association should be governed by a council of powerful men, not too many in number. such a council, as representing a large body of medical men, would have more power in the eyes of vote-hunting politicians than a small body representing only themselves. from what i see of country practitioners, i think that their annual subscription ought to be very small. but would it not be possible to add to the rules some such statement as the following one: "that by a donation of... pounds, or of any larger sum, from those who feel a deep interest in the progress of medical science, the donor shall become a life member." i, for one, would gladly subscribe or pounds. if such a plan were approved by the leading medical men of london, two or three thousand pounds might at once be collected; and if any such sum could be announced as already subscribed, when the program of the association is put forth, it would have, as i believe, a considerable influence on the country, and would attract the attention of country practitioners. the anti-corn law league owed much of its enormous power to several wealthy men laying down , pounds; for the subscription of a good sum of money is the best proof of earnest conviction. you asked for my opinion on the above points, and i have given it freely, though well aware that from living so retired a life my judgment cannot be worth much. have you read mr. gurney's articles in the "fortnightly" and "cornhill?" ( / . "fortnightly review," xxx., page ; "cornhill magazine," xlv., page . the articles are by the late edmund gurney, author of "the power of sound," .) they seem to me very clever, though obscurely written; and i agree with almost everything he says, except with some passages which appear to imply that no experiments should be tried unless some immediate good can be predicted, and this is a gigantic mistake contradicted by the whole history of science. p.s.--that is a curious fact about babies. i remember hearing on good authority that very young babies when moved are apt to clutch hold of anything, and i thought of your explanation; but your case during sleep is a much more interesting one. very many thanks for the book, which i much wanted to see; it shall be sent back to-day, as from you, to the society. .xii.ii. miscellaneous subjects, - . letter . to canon farrar. ( / . the lecture which forms the subject of this letter was one delivered by canon farrar at the royal institution, "on some defects in public school education.") down, march th, . i am very much obliged for your kind present of your lecture. we have read it aloud with the greatest interest, and i agree to every word. i admire your candour and wonderful freedom from prejudice; for i feel an inward conviction that if i had been a great classical scholar i should never have been able to have judged fairly on the subject. as it is, i am one of the root and branch men, and would leave classics to be learnt by those alone who have sufficient zeal and the high taste requisite for their appreciation. you have indeed done a great public service in speaking out so boldly. scientific men might rail forever, and it would only be said that they railed at what they did not understand. i was at school at shrewsbury under a great scholar, dr. butler; i learnt absolutely nothing, except by amusing myself by reading and experimenting in chemistry. dr. butler somehow found this out, and publicly sneered at me before the whole school for such gross waste of time; i remember he called me a pococurante ( / . told in "life and letters," i., page .), which, not understanding, i thought was a dreadful name. i wish you had shown in your lecture how science could practically be taught in a great school; i have often heard it objected that this could not be done, and i never knew what to say in answer. i heartily hope that you may live to see your zeal and labour produce good fruit. letter . to herbert spencer. down, december th [ ]. i thank you very sincerely for your kind present of your "first principles." ( / . "this must have been the second edition." (note by mr. spencer.)) i earnestly hope that before long i may have strength to study the work as it ought to be studied, for i am certain to find or re-find much that is deeply interesting. in many parts of your "principles of biology" i was fairly astonished at the prodigality of your original views. ( / . see "life and letters," iii., pages , .) most of the chapters furnished suggestions for whole volumes of future researches. as i have heard that you have changed your residence, i am forced to address this to messrs. williams & norgate; and for the same reason i gave some time ago the same address to mr. murray for a copy of my book on variation, etc., which is now finished, but delayed by the index-maker. letter . to t.h. huxley. ( / . this letter refers to a movement set on foot at a meeting held at the freemasons' tavern, on november th, , of which an account is given in the "times" of november rd, , at which mark pattison, mr. henry sidgwick, sir benjamin brodie, professors rolleston, seeley, huxley, etc., were present. the "times" says that the meeting was held "by members of the universities and others interested in the promotion of mature study and scientific research in england." one of the headings of the "program of discussion" was "the abolition of prize fellowships.") sevenoaks, october nd [ ]. i have been glad to sign and forward the paper, for i have very long thought it a sin that the immense funds of the universities should be wasted in fellowships, except a few for paying for education. but when i was at cambridge it would have been an unjustifiable sneer to have spoken of the place as one for education, always excepting the men who went in for honours. you speak of another resolution "in the interest of the anti-letter-writing association"--but alas, this never arrived! i should like a society formed so that every one might receive pleasant letters and never answer them. we return home on saturday, after three weeks of the most astounding dullness, doing nothing and thinking of nothing. i hope my brain likes it--as for myself, it is dreadful doing nothing. ( / . darwin returned to down from sevenoaks on saturday, october th, , which fixes the date of the letter.) letter . to lady derby. down, saturday [ ?]. if you had called here after i had read the article you would have found a much perplexed man. ( / . probably sir w. crookes' "researches in the phenomena of spiritualism" (reprinted from the "quarterly journal of science"), london, . other papers by crookes are in the "proceedings of the society for psychical research.") i cannot disbelieve mr. crooke's statement, nor can i believe in his result. it has removed some of my difficulty that the supposed power is not an anomaly, but is common in a lesser degree to various persons. it is also a consolation to reflect that gravity acts at any distance, in some wholly unknown manner, and so may nerve-force. nothing is so difficult to decide as where to draw a just line between scepticism and credulity. it was a very long time before scientific men would believe in the fall of aerolites; and this was chiefly owing to so much bad evidence, as in the present case, being mixed up with the good. all sorts of objects were said to have been seen falling from the sky. i very much hope that a number of men, such as professor stokes, will be induced to witness mr. crooke's experiments. ( / . the two following extracts may be given in further illustration of darwin's guiding principle in weighing evidence. he wrote to robert chambers, april th, : "thanks also for extract out of newspaper about rooks and crows; i wish i dared trust it. i see in cutting the pages [of chambers' book, "ice and water"]...that you fulminate against the scepticism of scientific men. you would not fulminate quite so much if you had had so many wild-goose chases after facts stated by men not trained to scientific accuracy. i often vow to myself that i will utterly disregard every statement made by any one who has not shown the world he can observe accurately." in a letter to dr. dohrn, of naples, january th, , darwin wrote: "forgive me for suggesting one caution; as demosthenes said, 'action, action, action,' was the soul of eloquence, so is caution almost the soul of science.") letter . to j. burdon sanderson. down, july th, . some little time ago mr. simon ( / . now sir john simon) sent me the last report, and your statements about contagion deeply interested me. by the way, if you see mr. simon, and can remember it, will you thank him for me; i was so busy at the time that i did not write. having been in correspondence with paget lately on another subject, i mentioned to him an analogy which has struck me much, now that we know that sheep-pox is fungoid; and this analogy pleased him. it is that of fairy rings, which are believed to spread from a centre, and when they intersect the intersecting portion dies out, as the mycelium cannot grow where it has grown during previous years. so, again, i have never seen a ring within a ring; this seems to me a parallel case to a man commonly having the smallpox only once. i imagine that in both cases the mycelium must consume all the matter on which it can subsist. letter . to a. gapitche. ( / . the following letter was written to the author (under the pseudonym of gapitche) of a pamphlet entitled "quelques mots sur l'eternite du corps humaine" (nice, ). mr. gapitche's idea was that man might, by perfect adaptation to his surroundings, indefinitely prolong the duration of life. we owe mr. darwin's letter to the kindness of herr vetter, editor of the well-known journal "kosmos.") down, february th, . i suppose that no one can prove that death is inevitable, but the evidence in favour of this belief is overwhelmingly strong from the evidence of all other living creatures. i do not believe that it is by any means invariably true that the higher organisms always live longer than the lower ones. elephants, parrots, ravens, tortoises, and some fish live longer than man. as evolution depends on a long succession of generations, which implies death, it seems to me in the highest degree improbable that man should cease to follow the general law of evolution, and this would follow if he were to be immortal. this is all that i can say. letter . to j. popper. ( / . mr. popper had written about a proposed flying machine in which birds were to take a part.) down, february th, . i am sorry to say that i cannot give you the least aid, as i have never attended to any mechanical subjects. i should doubt whether it would be possible to train birds to fly in a certain direction in a body, though i am aware that they have been taught some tricks. their mental powers are probably much below those of mammals. it is said, and i suppose truly, that an eagle will carry a lamb. this shows that a bird may have great power for a short distance. i cannot remember your essay with sufficient distinctness to make any remarks on it. when a man is old and works hard, one subject drives another out of his head. letter . to t.h. huxley. worthing, september th, . ( / . mr. anthony rich left his house at worthing as a legacy to mr. huxley. see huxley's "life and letters," ii., pages , .) we have been paying mr. rich a little visit, and he has often spoken of you, and i think he enjoyed much your and mrs. huxley's visit here. but my object in writing now is to tell you something, which i am very doubtful whether it is worth while for you to hear, because it is uncertain. my brother erasmus has left me half his fortune, which is very considerable. therefore, i thought myself bound to tell mr. rich of this, stating the large amount, as far as the executors as yet know it roughly. i then added that my wife and self thought that, under these new circumstances, he was most fully justified in altering his will and leaving his property in some other way. i begged him to take a week to consider what i had told him, and then by letter to inform me of the result. but he would not, however, hardly allow me to finish what i had to say, and expressed a firm determination not to alter his will, adding that i had five sons to provide for. after a short pause he implied (but unfortunately he here became very confused and forgot a word, which on subsequent reflection i think was probably "reversionary")--he implied that there was a chance, whether good or bad i know not, of his becoming possessed of some other property, and he finished by saying distinctly, "i will bequeath this to huxley." what the amount may be (i fear not large), and what the chance may be, god only knows; and one cannot cross-examine a man about his will. he did not bind me to secrecy, so i think i am justified in telling you what passed, but whether it is wise on my part to send so vague a story, i am not at all sure; but as a general rule it is best to tell everything. as i know that you hate writing letters, do not trouble yourself to answer this. p.s.--on further reflection i should like to hear that you receive this note safely. i have used up all my black-edged paper. letter . to anthony rich. down, february th, . it is always a pleasure to me to receive a letter from you. i am very sorry to hear that you have been more troubled than usual with your old complaint. any one who looked at you would think that you had passed through life with few evils, and yet you have had an unusual amount of suffering. as a turnkey remarked in one of dickens' novels, "life is a rum thing." ( / . this we take to be an incorrect version of mr. roker's remark (in reference to tom martin, the butcher), "what a rum thing time is, ain't it, neddy?" ("pickwick," chapter xlii.). a careful student finds that women are also apostrophised as "rum": see the remarks of the dirty-faced man ("pickwick," chapter xiv.).) as for myself, i have been better than usual until about a fortnight ago, when i had a cough, and this pulled me down and made me miserable to a strange degree; but my dear old wife insisted on my taking quinine, and, though i have very little faith in medicine, this, i think, has done me much good. well, we are both so old that we must expect some troubles: i shall be seventy-three on feb. th. i have been glad to hear about the pine-leaves, and you are the first man who has confirmed my account that they are drawn in by the base, with a very few exceptions. ( / . "the formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms," , page .) with respect to your wandsworth case, i think that if i had heard of it before publishing, i would have said nothing about the ledges ( / . "ledges of earth on steep hill-sides" (ibid., page ).); for the grisedale case ( / . "the steep, grass-covered sides of a mountainous valley in westmorland, called grisedale, were marked in many places with innumerable, almost horizontal, little ledges...their formation was in no way connected with the action of worms (and their absence is an inexplicable fact)...(ibid., page .), mentioned in my book and observed whilst i was correcting the proof-sheets, made me feel rather doubtful. yet the corniche case ( / . ibid., page .) shows that worms at least aid in making the ledges. nevertheless, i wish i had said nothing about the confounded ledges. the success of this worm book has been almost laughable. i have, however, been plagued with an endless stream of letters on the subject; most of them very foolish and enthusiastic, but some containing good facts, which i have used in correcting yesterday the "sixth thousand." your friend george's work about the viscous state of the earth and tides and the moon has lately been attracting much attention ( / . published in the "philosophical transactions of the royal society," , , .), and all the great judges think highly of the work. he intends to try for the plumian professorship of mathematics and natural philosophy at cambridge, which is a good and honourable post of about pounds a year. i think that he will get it ( / . he was elected plumian professor of astronomy and experimental philosophy in .) when challis is dead, and he is very near his end. he has all the great men--sir w. thomson, adams, stokes, etc.--on his side. he has lately been chief examiner for the mathematical tripos, which was tremendous work; and the day before yesterday he started for southampton for a five-weeks' tour to jamaica for complete rest, to see the blue mountains, and escape the rigour of the early spring. i believe that george will some day be a great scientific swell. the war office has just offered leonard a post in the government survey at southampton, and very civilly told him to go down and inspect the place, and accept or not as he liked. so he went down, but has decided that it would not be worth his while to accept, as it would entail his giving up his expedition (on which he had been ordered) to queensland, in australia, to observe the transit of venus. ( / . major leonard darwin, late r.e., served in several scientific expeditions, including the transits of venus of and .) dear old william at southampton has not been very well, but is now better. he has had too much work--a willing horse is always overworked--and all the arrangements for receiving the british association there this summer have been thrown on his shoulders. but, good heavens! what a deal i have written about my sons. i have had some hard work this autumn with the microscope; but this is over, and i have only to write out the papers for the linnean society. ( / . i. "the action of carbonate of ammonia on the roots of certain plants." [read march th, .] "journ. linn. soc." volume xix., , page . ii. "the action of carbonate of ammonia on chlorophyll-bodies." [read march th, .] ibid., page .) we have had a good many visitors; but none who would have interested you, except perhaps mrs. ritchie, the daughter of thackeray, who is a most amusing and pleasant person. i have not seen huxley for some time, but my wife heard this morning from mrs. huxley, who wrote from her bed, with a bad account of herself and several of her children; but none, i hope, are at all dangerously ill. farewell, my kind, good friend. many thanks about the picture, which if i survive you, and this i do not expect, shall be hung in my study as a perpetual memento of you. ( / . the concluding chapter of the "life and letters" gives some account of the gradual failure in health which was perceptible in the last year of mr. darwin's life. he died on april th, , in his th year.) the end. index. index. [the german a-, o-, u-diaeresis are treated as a, o, u, not as ae, oe, ue.] aberrant genera, darwin's work on. abich, on vesuvius. abinger, excavations of roman villa at. -plants from. abinger hall, darwin visits. -lord farrer's recollections of darwin at. abiogenesis, huxley's address on biogenesis and. abortion, romanes on. abrolhos, plants from the. abromia. abrus precatorius, dispersal of seeds. abstract, darwin's dislike of writing papers in. abstract, the name applied by darwin to the "origin." abutilon, f. muller's experiments on. abyssinia, flora of. "academy," darwin's opinion of the. acanthaceae. acceleration of development, cope and hyatt on retardation and. -reference in the "origin" to. accumulation, of deposits in relation to earth-movements. -of specific differences. -of sterility. -of varieties. accuracy, difficult to attain. -the soul of natural history. aceras, fertilisation of. -monstrous flower. acineta, darwin unable to fertilise. aconitum, peloria and reversion. acropera, atrophy of ovules. -darwin's mistake over. -fertilisation of. -relation to gongora. -j. scott's work on. acropera loddigesii, abnormal structure of ovary. -darwin's account of flower. -artificial fertilisation. -relation to a. luteola. -j. scott's observations. -two sexual conditions of. -a. luteola, darwin's observations on. -fertilisation of. -flowers of. -structure of ovary. adaptation, darwin's difficulty in understanding. -hybrids and. -not the governing law in geographical distribution. -more clearly seen in animals than plants. -natural selection and. -in orchids. -resemblances due to. -in woodpecker. adenanthera pavonina, seed-dispersal by parrots. adenocarpus, a mediterranean genus in the cameroons. adlumia. adoxa, difference in flowers of same plant. aecidium elatinum, witches'-broom fungus. aegialitis sanctae-helenae. aegilops triticoides, hybrids. affaiblissement, a. st. hilaire on. africa, connection with ceylon. -connection with india. -continent of lemuria and. -considered by murchison oldest continent. -plants of equatorial mountains of. africa (east,) coral reefs on coast. africa (south), plants of. -relation of floras of western europe to. africa (west), botanical relation to java. agassiz, alex., "three cruises of the 'blake.'" -his belief in evolution the result of f. muller's writings. -account of florida coral-reefs. -letters to. -visits down. agassiz, louis jean rodolphe ( - ): entered a college at bienne at the age of ten, and from to he was a student at the academy of lausanne. agassiz afterwards spent some years as a student in the universities of zurich, heidelberg, and munich, where he gained a reputation as a skilled fencer. it was at heidelberg that his studies took a definite turn towards natural history. he took a ph.d. degree at erlangen in . agassiz published his first paper in "isis" in , and for many years devoted himself chiefly to ichthyology. during a visit to paris he became acquainted with cuvier and alexander von humboldt; in , through the liberality of the latter, he began the publication of his "recherches sur les poissons fossiles," and in he completed his "etudes sur les glaciers." in agassiz went to boston, where he lectured in the lowell institute, and in the following year became professor of geology and zoology at cambridge. during the last twenty-seven years of his life agassiz lived in america, and exerted a great influence on the study of natural history in the united states. in he received the wollaston medal of the geological society of london, and in he was selected for the copley medal of the royal society. in agassiz dictated an article to mrs. agassiz on "evolution and permanence of type," in which he repeated his strong conviction against the views embodied in the "origin of species." see "life, letters, and works of louis agassiz," by jules marcou, volumes, new york, ; "louis agassiz: his life and correspondence," edited by elizabeth cary agassiz, volumes, london, ; "smithsonian report," , page . -attack on "origin." -darwin's criticism of book on brazil. -darwin's opinion of. -views on creation of species. -on geographical distribution. -"methods of study" by. -misstatement of darwin's views. -walsh on. -"etudes sur les glaciers." -darwin on glacier work of. -on glaciers in ceara mts. -glacier-ice-lake theory of parallel roads of glen roy. -on glacier moraines. -on rock-cavities formed by glacier-cascades. -on darwin's theory. -on geology of the amazons. -doubts recent upheaval of patagonia. -mentioned. age of the world. aggressive plants, introduction of. agricultural society, experiments on potatoes. airy, h. letter to. albemarle island, darwin's collection of plants from. -volcanoes of. aldrovanda. alerse ("alerce"), occurrence in chiloe. algae, movement of male-cells to female organ. alisma, f. muller's observations on. -submerged flowers of. alisma macrophylla, circumnutation of. allbutt, prof. clifford, on sperm-cells. allen, grant, review by romanes of his "physiological aesthetics." allen, j.a., on colours of birds. -on mammals and birds of florida. allogamy, use of term. almond, seedling peaches resembling. alopecurus pratensis, fertilisation of. alpine floras, arctic and. -of azores, canaries and madeira. -absence of, in southern islands. -ball on origin of flora. -darwin's work on. -of united states. -existence prior to glacial period. -ice-action in new zealand, and. -ball on origin of. alpine insects. alpine plants. -change due to transplanting. -slight change in isolated forms. -as evidence of continental land at close of glacial period. alps, australian. -murchison on structure of. -submergence. -tyndall's book on. alternate generations, in hydrozoa. amazonia, insects of. amazons, l. agassiz on glacial phenomena in valley of. -l. agassiz on geology of. -bates on lepidoptera of. -sedimentation off mouth of. amber, extinct plants preserved in. amblyopsis, a blind cave-fish, effect of conditions on. ameghino, prof., discovery of neomylodon listai. america (north), are european birds blown to? -falconer on elephants. -fauna and flora of japan and. -flora of. -mammalian fauna. -introduction of european weeds. -subsidence during glacial period. -western european plants and flora of. -contrast during tertiary period between south and. -former greater distinction between fauna of south and. -glaciation of south and. -rogers on coal-fields. america (south), bollaert's "antiquities" of. -araucarian fossil wood from. -carabi of. -elevation of coast. -fauna of. -floras of australia and. -geology of. -darwin's "geological observations" on. -deposition of sediment on coast. -european plants in. -frequency of earthquakes. -d. forbes on geology of. -w. jameson on geology of. -d'orbigny on. -volcanic eruptions. -wallace opposed to continent uniting new zealand, australia and. american war. ammonia, darwin's work on effect on roots of carbonate of. ammonites, degeneration of. -reversion. -of s. america. amsinckia. amsinckia spectabilis, dimorphism of. anacamptis (=orchis pyramidalis), fertilisation of. anacharis (=elodea canadensis), spread of. analogy, difference between homology and. anamorphism, huxley on. anatifera, illustrating difficulty in nomenclature. anatomy of vertebrata, owen's attack on darwin and lyell in. "ancient sea margins," by r. chambers. anderson-henry, isaac ( ?- ): of edinburgh, was educated as a lawyer, but devoted himself to horticulture, more particularly to experimental work on grafting and hybridisation. as president of the botanical society of edinburgh he delivered two addresses on "hybridisation or crossing of plants," of which a full abstract was published in the "gardeners' chronicle," april th, , page , and december st, , page . see obit. notice in "gardeners' chronicle," september th, , page . -letter to. andes, darwin on geology of. -high-road for european plants. -comparatively recent origin. anemophilous plants, delpino's work on. angiosperms, origin of. angraecum sesquipedale, duke of argyll on. animal intelligence, romanes on. animals, difference between plants and. -resemblance to plants. annuals, adapted to short seasons. -hildebrand on percentages of. anoplotherium, occurrence in eocene of s. america. ansted, david thomas, f.r.s. ( - ): fellow of jesus college, cambridge, professor of geology at king's college, london, author of several papers and books on geological subjects (see "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xxxvii., page .) -letter to. antarctic continent, darwin on existence of tertiary. -hypothetical. "antarctic flora," sir j.d. hooker's. antarctic floras. -darwin at work on. antarctic islands, plants of. antarctic land. "anti-jacobin," quiz on erasmus darwin in. "antiquity of man," sir charles lyell's. -cautious views on species. -darwin's criticism of. -extract on natural selection from. -falconer on. -owen's criticism on. antirrhinum, peloric flowers. ants, account in "origin" of slave-. -forel's work on. -moggridge on harvesting-. -f. muller's observations on neuter. -storing leaves for plant-culture. apathus, living in nests of bombus. apes, comparison as regards advance in intellect between man and. -ears of anthropoid. aphides, absence of wings in viviparous. aphis, huxley on. apostasia, morphology of flowers. appalachian chain, rogers on cleavage of. apteryx, owen on. -wings of. aquilegia, hooker and thomson on. -variation in. -peloria and reversion. arachis hypogaea, darwin on. arachnidae. araucaria, abundant in secondary period. araucarian wood, fossil in s. america. arca, morse on. archaeopteryx. archer-hind, r.d., translation of passage from plato by. archetype, owen's book on. -owen's term. d'archiac's "histoire des progres de la geologie." -candidate for royal society foreign list. arctic animals, protective colours. arctic climate, cause of present. arctic expeditions, darwin on. arctic floras. -relation between alpine and. -relation between antarctic and. -hooker's essay on. -darwin's admiration of hooker's essay. -migration of. arctic regions, few plants common to europe and n. america not ranging to. -range of plants. -northern limit of vegetation formerly lower. -ice piled up in. -previous existence of plants in. arenaria verna, range. argus pheasant, colour. -unadorned head. argyll, duke of, attack on romanes in "nature." -rejoinder by romanes in "nature." -hooker on. -letter to. -"reign of law" by. aristolochia, fertilisation of. aristotle, reference to. ark, fitz-roy on extinction of mastodon owing to construction of. armadillo. army, measurement of soldiers of u.s.a. artemia, schmankewitsch's experiments on. ascension island, plants of. -earth-movements. -volcanic rocks. ascidians, budding of. asclepiadeae, fertilisation of. ash, comparison of peat and coal. asher, dr., sends russian wheat to darwin. ashley. ashley heath, mackintosh on boulders of. askenasy, e., on darwinism. aspicarpa. ass, hybrids between mare and. asterias. astragalus hypoglottis, range of. astronomical causes, crust-movements due to. asturian plants in ireland. atavism, use of term by duchesne. -kollmann on. athenaeum club, huxley's election. "athenaeum," correspondence on darwin's statements on rate of increase of elephants. -darwin's opinion of. -abuse of darwin. atlantic islands, peculiar genera and their origin. atlantis, america and. -canary i. and. -darwin's disbelief in. -heer's map. -wollaston's. atolls, darwin's wish for investigation by boring of coral. -darwin on murray's theory. -darwin's work on. atomogenesis, term suggested as substitute for pangenesis. atriplex, buried seeds found in sandpit near melrose. attica, gaudry on fossil animals. auckland island, flora. audubon, j.j., on antics of birds during courtship. -"ornithological biography." aurelia, romanes on. auricula, dimorphism of. -experiments on. austen, godwin, on changes of level on english coast. australia, caves of. -character of fauna. -flora of. -hooker on flora. -relation of flora to s. america. -relation of flora to s. africa. -european plants in. -local plants in s.w. -naturalised plants. -plants on mountains. -fossil plants. -dichogamy of trees in. -as illustrating rate and progress of evolution. -mastodon from. -products of, compared with those of asia. -submergence. australian savages and natural selection. australian species, occurrence in malay archipelago and philippines. autobiographical recollections, charles darwin's. autobiography, extract from darwin's. autogamy, kerner's term. automatism, huxley's essay. avebury, lord. -address at british association meeting at york ( ). -on the finns and kjokken moddings. -letters to. -on the "origin." -"prehistoric times." -on the progress of science. -on seedlings. -story of darwin told by. -darwin regrets his entrance into politics. -on ramsay's lake-theory. averrhoa, darwin's work on. axell, severin, book on fertilisation of plants. axon, w.e., letter from darwin to mrs. e. talbot published by. aye aye, owen on the. azara. azores, organic relation with america. -birds. -european birds as chance wanderers to. -erratic blocks. -flora. -european plants in. -miocene beds in. -relation to madeira and canaries. -watson on the. -orchids from. -mentioned. babies, habit of clutching objects. babington, prof. charles c., at the british association (manchester, ). -"british flora." -darwin sends seeds of atriplex to. baden-powell, prof. baer. bagehot, w., article in "fortnightly review" on physics and politics. bahia blanca, collection of plants from. bailey, on heterocentron roseum. baillon, on pollen-tubes of helianthemum. baker's flora of the mauritius and seychelles. balancement, g. st. hilaire's law of. balanidae, darwin's work on. balanus, questions of nomenclature. balfour, f.m. ( - ): professor of animal morphology at cambridge. he was born , and was killed, with his guide, on the aiguille blanche, near courmayeur, in july . (see "life and letters," iii., page .) -letter to. -mentioned. ball, j., on origin of alpine flora. ball, p., "the effects of use and disuse." balsaminaceae, genera of. banks' cove, volcano of. barber, c., on graft-hybrids of sugar-cane. barber, mrs., on papilio nireus. barberry, abundance in n. america. -dispersal of seeds by birds. -lord farrer and h. muller on floral mechanism. -movement of stamens. barbs, see pigeons. bardfield oxlip (primula elatior). barnacles, darwin's work on. -metamorphosis in. -f. muller on. -nomenclature. -of secondary period. -advance in. -complemental males compared with plants. barneoud, on irregular flowers. "baronne prevost," rivers on the rose. barrande, joachim (died ): devoted himself to the investigation of the palaeozoic fossils of bohemia, his adopted country. his greatest work was the "systeme silurien de la boheme," of which twenty-two volumes were published before his death. he was awarded the wollaston medal of the geological society in . barrande propounded the doctrine of "colonies." he found that in the silurian strata of bohemia, containing a normal succession of fossils, exceptional bands occurred which yielded fossils characteristic of a higher zone. he named these bands "colonies," and explained their occurrence by supposing that the later fauna represented in these "precursory bands" had already appeared in a neighbouring region, and that by some means communication was opened at intervals between this region and that in which the normal silurian series was being deposited. this apparent intercalation of younger among older zones has now been accounted for by infoldings and faulting of the strata. see j.e. marr, "on the pre- devonian rocks of bohemia," "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xxxvi., page ( ); also "defense des colonies," by j. barrande (prag, ), and geikie's "text-book of geology" ( ), page . -candidature for royal medal. -candidate for royal society foreign list. -work on colonies. -lyell on work of. barriers to plant distribution in america. barrow, on emberiza longicauda. -"travels in s. africa." barrow, sir j., connection with naval expeditions. barrow, germination of seeds from a. bartlett, abraham dee ( - ): was resident superintendent of the zoological society's gardens in regent's park from to . he communicated several papers to the zoological society. his knowledge was always at the service of mr. darwin, who had a sincere respect for him. -letters to. barton, on trees of n. america. basalt, association with granite. -separation of trachyte and. basques, h. christy on the. -hooker on finns and. bastian, "the beginnings of life." bat, natural selection and increase in size of wings. bates, henry walter ( - ): was born at leicester, and after an apprenticeship in a hosiery business he became a clerk in allsopp's brewery. he did not remain long in this uncongenial position, for in he embarked for para with mr. wallace, whose acquaintance he had made at leicester some years previously. mr. wallace left brazil after four years' sojourn, and bates remained for seven more years. he suffered much ill- health and privation, but in spite of adverse circumstances he worked unceasingly: witness the fact that his collection of insects numbered , specimens. he became assistant secretary to the royal geographical society in , a post which he filled up to the time of his death in . in mr. clodd's interesting memoir prefixed to his edition of the "naturalist on the amazons," , the editor pays a warm and well-weighed tribute to mr. bates's honourable and lovable personal character. see also "life and letters," ii., page . -"a naturalist on the amazons." -darwin's opinion of his work. -on insect fauna of amazon valley. -on lepidoptera of amazons. -letter from hooker to. -letters to. -letter to hooker from. -darwin reviews paper by. -on flower of monochaetum. -on insects of chili. -supplies darwin with facts for sexual selection. bateson, miss a., on cross fertilisation in inconspicuous flowers. bateson, w., on breeding lepidoptera in confinement. -mendel's "principles of heredity." batrachians, kollmann on rudimentary digits. bauer, f., drawings by. bauhinia, sleep-movements of leaves. beaches, s. american raised. "beagle" (h.m.s.), circumstance of darwin joining. -darwin's views on species when on. -fitzroy and voyage of. -return of. -voyage. beans, holes bitten by bees in flowers. -extra-floral nectaries of. bear, comparison with whale. -modification of. beaton, donald ( - ): biographical notices in the "journal of horticulture" and the "cottage gardener," xiii., page , and "journ. hort." , pages and , are referred to in britten & boulger's "biographical index of botanists," . dr. masters tells us that beaton had a "first-rate reputation as a practical gardener, and was esteemed for his shrewdness and humour." -darwin on work of. -on pelargonium. beatson, on land birds in s. helena. beaufort. beaufort, captain, asks darwin for information as to collecting. beaumont, elie de ( - ): was a pupil in the ecole polytechnique and afterwards in the ecole des mines. in he accompanied m. brochant de villiers to england in order to study the principles of geological mapping, and to report on the english mines and metallurgical establishments. for several years m. de beaumont was actively engaged in the preparation of the geological map of france, which was begun in , and in he succeeded m. b. de villiers in the chair of geology at the ecole des mines. in he was elected perpetual secretary of the french academy, and in he became vice-president of the conseil general des mines and a grand officer of the legion of honour. elie de beaumont is best known among geologists as the author of the "systemes des montagnes" and other publications, in which he put forward his theories on the origin of mountain ranges and on kindred subjects. ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xxxi.; "proc." page xliii, .) -on lines of elevation. -on elevation in cordilleras. -elevation-crater theory. -darwin's disbelief in views and work of. -on lava and dykes. -lyell's refutation of his theory. -measurement of natural inclination of lava-streams. beauty, criticism by j. morley of darwin's phraseology in regard to. -discussion on. -lepidoptera and display of. -wallace on. -darwin's discussion on origin. -in female animals. -in plumage of male and female birds. -of seeds and fruits. -shaw on. -standards of. bedford, flint implements found near. beech, in chonos i. -in t. del fuego and chili. -miquel on distribution. bee-ophrys (ophrys apifera), see bee-orchis. bee-orchis, darwin's experiments on crossing. -fertilisation. -self-fertilisation. -intermediate forms between ophrys arachnites and. bees, combs. -haughton on cells of. -and instinct. -referred to in "descent of man." -new zealand clover and. -acquisition of power of building cells. -darwin's observations on. -agents in fertilisation of papilionaceous flowers. -as pollen collectors. -difference between sexes. -h. muller on. -and parthenogenesis. -regular lines of flight at down. beet, graft-hybrids. beete-jukes, alluded to in de la beche's presidential address. beetles, bivalves distributed by. -forel's work on. -nest-inhabiting. -stag-. -stridulating organs. "befruchtung der blumen," h. muller's, the outcome of darwin's "fertilisation of orchids." begonia, monstrous flowers. -b. frigida, hooker on. begoniaceae, genera of. behring straits, spreading of plants from. belize, coral reefs near. bell, on owen's "edinburgh review" article. bell, sir c., "anatomy of expression." belt, t., on conspicuously coloured animals distasteful to birds. -letter to. -"the naturalist in nicaragua." ben nevis, ice-barrier under. benson, miss, on chalazogamy in amentiferae. bentham, george ( - ): son of sir samuel bentham, and nephew of jeremy, the celebrated authority on jurisprudence. sir samuel bentham was at first in the russian service, and afterwards in that of his own country, where he attained the rank of inspector-general of naval works. george bentham was attracted to botany during a "caravan tour" through france in , when he set himself to work out the names of flowers with de candolle's "flore francaise." during this period he entered as a student of the faculte de theologie at tours. about he was turned to the study of philosophy, probably through an acquaintance with john stuart mill. he next became the manager of his father's estates near montpellier, and it was here that he wrote his first serious work, an "essai sur la classification des arts et sciences." in the benthams returned to england, where he made many friends, among whom was dr. arnott; and it was in his company that bentham, in , paid a long visit to the pyrenees, the fruits of which was his first botanical work, "catalogue des plantes indigenes des pyrenees, etc." . about this time bentham entered lincoln's inn with a view to being called to the bar, but the greater part of his energies was given to helping his uncle jeremy, and to independent work in logic and jurisprudence. he published his "outlines of a new system of logic" ( ), but the merit of his work was not recognised until . in bentham finally gave up the bar and took up his life's work as a botanist. in he presented his collections and books (valued at , pounds) to the royal gardens, kew, and for the rest of his life resided in london, and worked daily at the herbarium. his work there began with the "flora of hong kong," which was followed by that of australia published in in seven volumes octavo. at the same time the "genera plantarum" was being planned; it was begun, with dr. hooker as a collaborator, in , and concluded in . with this monumental work his labours ended; "his strength...suddenly gave way...his visits to kew ended, and lingering on under increasing debility, he died of old age on september th last" ( .) the amount of work that he accomplished was gigantic and of the most masterly character. in speaking of his descriptive work the writer (sir j.d. hooker) of the obituary notice in "nature" (october nd, ), from which many of the above facts are taken, says that he had "no superior since the days of linnaeus and robert brown, and he has left no equal except asa gray" ("athenaeum," december st, ; "contemporary review," may, ; "george bentham, f.r.s." by sir j.d. hooker, "annals bot." volume xii., ). -mentioned. -address to linnean society. -darwin's criticism on address. -letters to. -extract from letter to. -views on species and on "origin." -on fertilisation mechanism in goodeniaceae. -on hybridism. -runs too many forms together. -on scott's primula paper. berberis, pfeffer on stamens. berkeley, miles joseph ( - ): was educated at rugby and christ's college, cambridge; he took orders in . berkeley is described by sir william thiselton-dyer as "the virtual founder of british mycology" and as the first to treat the subject of the pathology of plants in a systematic manner. in he published his "introduction to cryptogamic botany." ("annals of botany," volume xi., , page ix; see also an obituary notice by sir joseph hooker in the "proc. royal society," volume xlvii., page ix, .) -address by. -experiments on saltwater and seed-dispersal. -letter to. -mentioned. -notice of darwin's work by. bermudas, american plants in. -coral-reefs. berzelius, on flints. bhootan, rhododendron boothii from. bible, chronology of. biffen, r., potato grafts. bignonia, f. muller's paper on. -b. capreolata, tendrils of. binney, edward william f.r.s. ( - ): contributed numerous papers to the royal, palaeontographical, geological, and other societies, on upper carboniferous and permian rocks; his most important work deals with the internal structure of coal-measure plants. in a paper "on the origin of coal," published in the "memoirs of the manchester literary and philosophical society," volume viii., page , in , binney expressed the view that the sediments of the coal period were marine rather than estuarine, and were deposited on the floor of an ocean, which was characterised by a "uniformity and shallowness unknown" in any oceanic area of the present day. -on marshes of coal period. -on coal and coal plants. biogenesis, huxley's address on abiogenesis and. biology, huxley's "course of practical instruction" in. biology of plants, hooker's scheme for a flora, with notes on. birds, as agents of dispersal of plants. -blown to madeira. -climate and effect on american. -coloration of. -comparison with mammals. -as isolated groups. -of madeira. -modification in. -andrew murray on wallace's theory of nests. -wallace's theory of nests. -agents in dispersal of land-molluscs. -antics during courtship. -courtesy towards own image. -expression of fear by erection of feathers. -means of producing music. -spurs on female. -pairing. -polygamy. -proportion of sexes. -sexual selection and colour. -attracted by singing of bullfinch. -tameness in brazilian species. -occurrence of unpaired. -weir's observations on. bird of paradise, and polygamy. birmingham, british association meeting ( ). bivalves, means of dispersal of freshwater. bizcacha, burrowing animal of patagonia. blackbird, variation in tufted. blair, rev. r.h., observations on the blind. blake, paper on elephants in "geologist." blanford, h.f., on an indo-oceanic continent. blanford, w.t., obituary notice of neumayr by. blind, expression of those born. blomefield, l., see jenyns, l. bloom, darwin's work on. -f. darwin on connection between stomata and (see also darwin, f.) -effect of rain on. -on leaf of trifolium resupinatum. -protection against parasites. -on seashore plants. blow-fly, lowne on the. blyth, edward ( - ): distinguished for his knowledge of indian birds and mammals. he was for twenty years curator of the museum of the asiatic society of bengal, a collection which was practically created by his exertions. gould spoke of him as "the founder of the study" of zoology in india. his published writings are voluminous, and include, in addition to those bearing his name, numerous articles in the "field, land and water," etc., under the signature "zoophilus" or "z." he also communicated his knowledge to others with unsparing generosity, yet-- doubtless the chief part of his "extraordinary fund of information" died with him. darwin had much correspondence with him, and always spoke of him with admiration for his powers of observation and for his judgment. the letters to blyth have unfortunately not come into our hands. the indebtedness of darwin to blyth may be roughly gauged by the fact that the references under his name in the index to "animals and plants" occupy nearly a column. for further information about blyth see grote's introduction to the "catalogue of mammals and birds of burma, by the late e. blyth" in the "journal of the asiatic society of bengal," part ii., extra number, august ; also an obituary notice published at the time of his death in the "field." mr. grote's memoir contains a list of blyth's writings which occupies nearly seven pages of the "journal." we are indebted to professor newton for calling our attention to the sources of this note. -reference to letter from. -visits down. -on gallinaceae. blytt, axel gudbrand ( - ): the son of the well-known systematist m.n. blytt. he was attached to the christiania herbarium in , and in became professor of botany in the university. his best-known work is the essay referred to above, but he was also known for purely systematic work in botany as well as for meteorological and geological contributions to science. the above facts are taken from c. holtermann's obituary notice in the "berichte der deutschen bot. gesell." volume xvii., . -essay on immigration of norwegian flora during alternating rainy and dry periods. -letter to. bog-mammoth. boiler, comparison with volcano. boissier, on plants of s. spain. boissiera, crossing experiments on. bolbophyllum, darwin's account of. bolivia, geology of. bollaert's "antiquities of s. america." bombus, diversity in generative organs. -psithyrus in nests of. -pollen-collecting apparatus of male. bombycilla, protective colours. bombyx, sexes in. bonaparte, l., on basque and finnish language. bonatea speciosa, f. muller on. -structure of flower. bonney's edition of darwin's "coral reefs." -"charles lyell and modern geology." bonnier, g., on alpine plants. boragineae, dimorphism in. borneo, new zealand and australian plants in. -temperate plants in lowlands. -possible region for remains of early man. bory's flora of bourbon. bosquet, cirripede monograph sent by darwin to. -gives darwin note on fossil chthamalus. botanical collections (national) consolidation at kew. botanist, darwin as. botany, philosophical spirit in study of. boulders, transport of erratic (see also erratic blocks). -darwin on ashley heath. -in glen roy. -on moel tryfan. bourbon, bory's flora of. bournemouth, darwin's visit to. bovey tracey, heer on fossil plants of. bower, prof. f.o., on welwitschia. bower-bird, bartlett's experiments on. -colours discriminated by. bowman, w., letters to. -supplies darwin with facts on expression. brachiopods, morse on. -silurian. brackish-water plants. bradshaw, h., translation of hebrew letter by. brain, owen on. -evolution in man. -wallace on natural selection and evolution of. branchipus, schmankewitsch's experiments on. branta, mentioned in reference to nomenclature of barnacles. brassica sinapistrum, germination at down of old seeds. braun, a., convert to darwin's views. bravais, on lines of old sea-level in finmark. brazil, l. agassiz's book on. -agassiz on glacial phenomena in. -f. muller's residence in. -plants on mountains of. -basalt in association with granite. -darwin on origin of lakes in. -dimorphism of plants in s. bree, dr., on celts. -misrepresents darwin. breeders, views on selection held by. breeding, chapter in "origin" on. brehm, on birds. breitenbach, dr. brewster, sir d., on glen roy. bridgeman. brinton, dr., attends darwin. british association, meetings: belfast ( ), birmingham ( ), cambridge ( ), ipswich ( ), leeds ( ), liverpool ( ), manchester ( ), norwich ( ), nottingham ( ), oxford ( ), oxford ( ), southampton ( ), swansea ( ), york ( ). addresses: berkeley, fawcett, hooker, hooker on insular floras, (see also hooker, sir j.d.), huxley on abiogenesis, lord kelvin, wallace on birds' nests. british association, committee for investigation of coral atoll by boring. british medical association, undertakes defence of dr. ferrier. british museum, disposal of botanical collections. brodie, sir benjamin. brongniart, ad., on sigillaria. bronn, h.g., letter to. -on german translation of "origin." -reference in his translation of "origin" to tails of mice as difficulty opposed to natural selection. -on natural selection. -"entwickelung." -"morphologische studien." -"naturgeschische der drei reiche." brougham, lord, on structure of bees' cells. -habit of writing everything important three times. brown, h.t., and f. escombe, on vitality of seeds. -on influence of varying amounts of co on plants. brown, r., accompanies flinders on australian voyage. -meets darwin. -dilatoriness over king's collection. -illness. -on course of vessels in orchid flowers. -mentioned. -on pollen-tubes. -seldom indulged in theory. brulle, gaspard-auguste ( - ): held a post in the natural history museum, paris, from to ; on leaving paris he occupied the chair of zoology and comparative anatomy at dijon. ("note sur la vie et les travaux entomologiques d'auguste brulle" by e. desmarest. "ann. soc. entom." volume ii., page .) -reference to work by. -his pupils' eagerness to hear darwin's views. brunonia, hamilton on fertilisation mechanism. brunton, sir t. lauder, letters to. -letter to darwin from. brydges and anderson, collection of s. american plants. bryophyllum calycinum, duval-jouve and f. muller on movements of leaves. bryozoa, specimens found during voyage of "beagle." buch, von, on craters of albermarle i. -darwin's disbelief in his views. -mentioned. -"travels in norway." buckland, william ( - ): became a scholar of corpus christi college, oxford, in ; in he was elected fellow and ordained priest. buckland travelled on horseback over a large part of the south-west of england, guided by the geological maps of william smith. in he was appointed to the chair of mineralogy at oxford, and soon afterwards to a newly created readership in geology. in the "reliquiae diluvianae" was published, a work which aimed at supporting the records of revelation by scientific investigations. in buckland was president of the geological society, and in the following year he left oxford for the living of stoke charity, near whitchurch, hampshire. "the bridgewater treatise" appeared in . in buckland was appointed dean of westminster; he was again elected president of the geological society in , and in he received the wollaston medal. an entertaining account of buckland is given in mr. tuckwell's "reminiscences of oxford," london, , page , with a reproduction of the portrait from gordon's "life of buckland." -on glen roy. -mentioned. buckle, darwin reads book by. buckley, miss. buckman, on n. american plants. buckman, prof., experiments at cirencester. bud, propagation by. -hooker's use of term. -fertilisation in. bud-variation. buenos-ayres, fossils sent by darwin from. bull-dog, as example of design. bullfinch, experiment on colouring. -attracted by german singing-bird. -weir on pairing. bunbury, sir charles james fox, bart. ( - ): was born at messina in , and in entered trinity college, cambridge. at the end of he went with sir george napier to the cape of good hope, and during a residence there of twelve months bunbury devoted himself to botanical field-work, and afterwards ( ) published his "journal of a residence at the cape of good hope." in bunbury married the second daughter of mr. leonard horner, lady lyell's sister. in addition to several papers dealing with systematic and geographical botany bunbury published numerous contributions on palaeobotanical subjects, a science with which his name will always be associated as one of those who materially assisted in raising the study of fossil plants to a higher scientific level. his papers on fossil plants were published in the "journal of the geological society" between and , and shortly before his death a collection of botanical observations made in south africa and south america was issued in book form in a volume entitled "botanical fragments" (london, ). bunbury was elected into the royal society in , and from to he acted as foreign secretary to the geological society. "life, letters, and journals of sir charles j.f. bunbury, bart." edited by his wife frances joanna bunbury, and privately printed. (undated.) -darwin's opinion of. -views on evolution. -on agassiz's statements on glaciation of brazil. -on plants of madeira. -illness. -mentioned. bunsen, copley medal awarded to. -mentioned. burbidge, f.w., on malaxis. burleigh, lord. burnett. busk, g., visit to the continent with falconer. -on caves of gibraltar. butler, a.g., identification of butterflies. butler, dr., darwin at shrewsbury school under. -mentioned. butterflies, attracted by colours. -and mimicry. -tameness of. -colour and sexual selection. -description by darwin of ticking. butterfly-orchis, (see also habenaria.) cabbage, darwin's work on. -effect of salt water on. -pinguicula and seeds of. -sleep-movements of cotyledons. -waxy secretion on leaves. caddis-flies, f. muller on abortion of hairs on legs of. caenonympha, breeding in confinement. caird, on torbitt's potato experiments. calcutta, j. scott's position in botanic garden. callidryas philea, and hedychium. callithrix sciureus, wrinkling of eyes during screaming. calluna vulgaris, in azores. cambrian, piles of unconformable strata below. cambridge, darwin and henslow. -honorary ll.d. given to darwin. -mentioned. -darwin's recollections of. -owen's address. -philosophical society meeting. -darwin visits. -specimens of darwin's plants in botanical museum. camel, cuvier's statement on teeth. -in n. america. cameroons, commingling of temperate and tropical plants. -hooker on plants of. -plants of. campanula, fertilisation mechanism. -c. perfoliata, note by scott on. campanulaceae, crossing in. campbell island, flora. campodea, lord avebury on. canada, sir william dawson's work. canaries, fertility of hybrids. -plumage. -wildness of hybrids. canary islands, flora. -humboldt on. -insects of. -madeira formerly connected with. -relation to azores and madeira. -d'urville on. -african affinity of eastern. -elevation of. -von buch on. -trunks of american trees washed on shores of. candolle, alphonse louis pierre pyramus de ( - ): was the son of augustin pyramus, and succeeded his father as professor of botany at geneva in . he resigned his chair in , and devoted himself to research for the rest of his life. at the time of his father's death, in , seven volumes of the "prodromus" had appeared: alphonse completed the seventeenth volume in . in appeared his "geographie botanique raisonnee," "which was the most important work of his life," and if not a precursor, "yet one of the inevitable foundation-stones" of modern evolutionary principles. he also wrote "histoire des savants," , and "phytographie," . he was lavish of assistance to workers in botany, and was distinguished by a dignified and charming personality. (see sir w. thiselton-dyer's obituary in "nature," july th, , page .) -on influence of climate. -on cupuliferae. -on extinction of plants in cultivated land. -"geographie botanique." -letters to. -on introduced plants. -on naturalised plants and variation. -review by asa gray of. -on relation of size of families to range of species. -on social plants. -mentioned. candolle, c. de, on latent life in seeds. canestrini, on proportion of sexes in bombyx. canna, fertilisation of. cape of good hope (see also africa). -australian flora compared with that of. -flora. -variable heaths of. -darwin's geological observations on metamorphism at. -european element in flora. -meyer and doege on plants of. cape tres montes, the "beagle's" southern limit. caprification, f. muller in "kosmos" on. capsella bursa-pastoris, cross-fertilisation of. carabus, origin of. -in chili. -a. murray on. carbon dioxide, percentage in atmosphere. carboniferous period, glacial action. -subsidence during. cardamine, quasi-bulbs on leaves. carduelis elegans, length of beak. carex. carices, of greenland. carlisle, sir a., on megatherium. carlyle, mrs., remark on owen. carmichael, on tristan d'acunha. carmichaelia. carnarvonshire, darwin on glaciers of. caroline islands, want of knowledge on flora. carpenter, dr., on influence of blood in crossing. carrier-pigeon (see pigeon), preference for certain colours in pairing. carrot, flowers of. carruthers, w., on potato experiments. carter, h.j., on reproduction of lower animals and foreshadowing of chemotaxis. carus, professor victor: translated several of mr. darwin's books into german (see "life and letters, iii., page ). -letters to. casarea, a snake peculiar to round island. case, g., darwin at school of. cassia, darwin's experiments on. -sleep-movements of leaves. -two kinds of stamens. -todd on flowers of. cassini, observations on pollen. -on ovaries of compositae. cassiope hypnoides. castes, galton on. catalpa. catasetum, fertilisation of. -huxley's scepticism as to mechanism of. -morphology of flower. -aerial roots. -sexual forms of. -c. saccatum, flower of. -c. tridentatum, three sexual forms. caterpillars, colour and protection. -experiments by weir. cats, belgian society to encourage homing of. -habits of. cattell, on crossing sweet peas. cattleya, darwin suggests experiments on. -self-fertilisation. caucasus, wingless insects of. cauquenes, baths of. cave-fish, reference in the "origin" to blind. cave-rat. caves, animals in australian. cavia, specimens collected by darwin. ceara mountains, l. agassiz on glaciers of. cebus, expression when astonished. cecidomyia, ancestor of. cedars, hooker on. celebes, geographical distribution in. cellaria. celosia, experiment on. celts, bree on. centipedes, luminosity of. centradenia, two sets of stamens in. -position of pistil. cephalanthera, flower. -single pollen-grains. -c. grandiflora, fertilisation mechanism. cephalopods, hyatt on embryology of. -hyatt on fossil. cephalotus. cervus campestris, of la plata. cetacea, lyell on. ceylon, malayan types in. -plants. -former connection with africa. -dimorphic plants of. chaffinch, courtship of. chalazal fertilisation, miss benson on. -foreshadowed by darwin. -treub on. chalk, occurrence of angiosperms in. -as oceanic deposit. "challenger" (h.m.s.), reports reviewed by huxley. -account of sedimentation in. challis, prof. chambers, robert ( - ): began as a bookseller in edinburgh in , and from very modest beginnings he gradually increased his business till it became the flourishing publishing firm of w. & r. chambers. after writing several books on biographical, historical and other subjects, chambers published anonymously the "vestiges of the natural history of creation" in ; in his work on "ancient sea margins" appeared; and this was followed by the "book of days" and other volumes. ("dict. nat. biog." ; see also darwin's "life and letters," i., pages , , , .) -announced as author of "vestiges of creation." -on derivation of marine from land and fresh-water organisms. -darwin visits. -on glen roy. -on land-glaciation of scotland. -letters to. -letter to milne-home from. -on scepticism of scientific men. -mentioned. chance, use of term. chandler, s.e. (see farmer, j.b.) changed conditions, schmankewitsch's experiments on effect of. charles island, darwin's plants from. charlock, germination of old seeds. chatham island, darwin's collection of plants from. -travers on. checks, use of artificial. chemotaxis, foreshadowed by carter. chiasognathus grantii. childhood, charles darwin's. children, darwin on. -experiment on emotions of. -colour-sense. -coloured compared with white. -comparison between those of educated and uneducated parents. -expression. -development of mind. -intelligence of monkeys and. chili, elevation of coast. -geology of. -plants common to new zealand and. -carabus of. -darwin on earthquakes and terraces in. chillingham cattle, darwin and hindmarsh on. chiloe, description of. -forests. -geology. -plants on mountains. -boulders. china, expedition to. chinese, explanation of affinities with mexicans. "chips from a german workshop," max muller's. chloeon dimidiatum, lord avebury on. chlorite, segregation of. chlorophyll, darwin's work on action of carbonate of ammonia on. chonos islands, darwin's collections of plants from. -darwin's account of. -geology of. -potato. christy, h. christy, miller, on oxlip. chrysosplenium oppositifolium. chthamalus, in the chalk. cicada, experiments on eggs. -muller on rivalry of. -walsh on. -c. septendecim, sharp's account of. cinchona, hooker on different rates of growth in seedlings. circumnutation, f. muller's observations on. cirripedes, see barnacles. cistus, hybridism of. citrus, unequal cotyledons. -polyembryonic seeds. civilisation, effect on savages. claparede, convert to darwin's views. -and mdlle. royer. clapperton's "scientific meliorism," letter of gaskell in. clark, on classification of sponges. clark, sir james ( - ): was for some years a medical officer in the navy; he afterwards practised in rome till he moved to london in . on the accession of queen victoria he was made physician in ordinary and received a baronetcy; he was elected into the royal society in . ("dict. nat. biog." ; article by dr. norman moore.) -on glen roy. clarke, w.b., "wreck of the 'favourite.'" clarkia, two kinds of stamens. -c. elegans. classification, bentham on. -cuvier on. -dana on mammalian. -darwin on. -darwin and huxley on. -genealogy and. -value of reproductive organs in. clay-slate, metamorphism of. cleavage and foliation. -darwin on his work on. -history of work on. -parallelism of foliation and. -relation to stratification. -relation to rock-curves. -rogers on. -sedgwick on. -uniformity of foliation and. -result of chemical action. -metamorphic schists. -lines of incipient tearing form planes of. -tyndall on sorby's observations. cleistogamic flowers, fertilisation. -of grass. -of oxalis and viola. -pollen of. -comparison with termites. clematis, darwin's error in work on. -darwin's experiments on. -irritability. clematis glandulosa, identified at down by power of feeling. cleodora, specific differences in. clethra, absence in azores. -remnant of tertiary flora. clianthus. clift, william ( - ): conservator of the museum of the royal college of surgeons. -on fossil bones from australia. -owen assistant to. climate, changes in. -effect on species. -effect on species of birds. -migration of organisms and change in. -relation to distribution and structure of plants. -extinct mammals as evidence of change in. -and sexual differentiation. -variation and. -lyell on former. -mild miocene. climbing plants, darwin's work on. -circumnutation of. -f. muller's work on. clivia, scott's work on. clodd's memoir of bates. close species, absence of intermediate forms between. -definition of. -asa gray on. -in warm temperate lands of n. and s. hemispheres. -relation to flora of n. america. clover, relation between bees and. club, dinner at linnean. -philosophical. coal, darwin on origin of. -lesquereux on the flora of. -marine marshes and plants of. -ash of. coal period, higher percentage of co during. coast-lines, parallelism with lines of volcanoes. cobbe, miss, article in "theological review" on "descent of man." cockburn island, boulders from. cochin hen, experiments on. coelogyne, fertilisation mechanism. coffea arabica, seeds with two embryos. cohn, f., notice in "cornhill" of his botanical work. coldstream, dr. colenso, on maori races of new zealand. coleoptera, apterous form of madeira. -colonisation of ants' nests by. colias edusa, wings of. collecting, darwin's early taste for. collier, hon. john: royal academician, son-in-law to professor huxley. -art primer by. -letter to. -portrait of darwin by. collingwood, dr., on mimetic forms. colonies, barrande's. colonisation, conditions of. coloration, walsh on unity of. colour, butterflies attracted by. -mimicry in butterflies by means of. -of dioecious flowers. -and fertilisation of flowers. -in grouse, and natural selection. -in birds. -in male birds, not simply due to natural selection. -darwin's work on. -darwin differs from wallace in views on. -evolution of. -experiments on birds. -hackel on lower animals and. -krause on. -magnus on. -protection and. -relation to sex. -in seeds and fruits. -and sexual selection. -sense of, in children. -wallace on. columba aenas, habits of. -c. livia, descent of pigeons from. combretum. combs, bees', (see also bees). comparative anatomy, huxley's book on. compensation, belief of botanists in. compiler, darwin's opinion of a. compositae, harvey on. -masters' reference to. -monstrosities in. -morphological characters. -schleiden on. -darwin on crossing. -fertilisation mechanism. -hildebrand on dispersal of seeds. -viscid threads of seeds. comte, huxley on. concepcion island, geology of. -darwin's account of earthquake. conchoderma, in reference to nomenclature. concretions, origin of. conditions of life, effect on animals and plants. -effect on elephants. -effect on reproductive system. -hybrids and. -importance in maintaining number of species. -species and changes in. -and sterility. -variability depends more on nature of organisms than on. confervae and sexuality. coniferae, abundant in humid temperate regions. connecting links. -gaudry on. conscience, morley on darwin's treatment of. conspectus crustaceorum, dana's. constancy, in abnormally developed organs. contemporaneity, darwin on. continental elevation, volcanic eruptions and. continental extension, darwin on. -evidence in favour of. -hooker on. -lyell on. -and means of distribution. -new zealand and. continental forms, versus insular. continents, inhabitants of islands and. -movements of. -wallace on sinking imaginary. controversy, darwin's hatred and avoidance of. convallaria majalis, in virginia. convolvulus, supposed dimorphism of. cooling of crust, disagreement among physicists as to rate. cope, edward drinker ( - ): was for a short time professor at haverford college; he was a member of certain united states geological survey expeditions, and at the time of his death he held a professorship in the university of pennsylvania. he wrote several important memoirs on "vertebrate paleontology," and in published "the origin of the fittest." -style of. -and hyatt, theories of. copley medal, darwin and the. -falconer, and darwin's. -lindley considered for the. -awarded to lyell. -awarded to bunsen. -darwin describes letter from hooker as a. coquimbo, darwin visits. -upraised shells. coral islands, and subsidence. -plants of. coral reefs, darwin's work on. -bonney's edition of darwin's book on. -a. agassiz on. -dana on. -fossil. -murray on. -conditions of life of polyps. -solution by co of. -subsidence of. coral tree, (see erythrina). corallines, nature of. cordiaceae, dimorphism in. cordilleras, glaciers of. -high-road for plants. -plants of. -birds of. -comparison between glen roy and terraces of. -darwin on earth-movements of. -forbes on. -submarine lava-streams. -volcanic activity and elevation. coronilla, lord farrer on. -c. emerus. -c. varia. coryanthes, "beats everything in orchids." corydalis, hildebrand shows falsity of idea of self-fertilisation of. -c. cava, hildebrand on self-sterility of. -c. claviculata, tendrils of. -c. tuberosa, possible case of reversion in floral structure. "cottage gardener," darwin offers reward for hyacinth grafts. cotyledons, darwin's experiments on. counterbalance, watson on divergent variation and. cowslips, primroses and. -darwin's experiments on artificial fertilisation. -homomorphic seedlings. -loss of dimorphism. craig dhu, shelves of. craters, in galapagos island. -of denudation, lyell on. -of elevation. -darwin on. crawford, john ( - ): orientalist, ethnologist, etc. mr. crawford wrote a review on the "origin," which, though hostile, was free from bigotry (see "life and letters," ii., page ).) creation, acts of. -doctrine of. -of species as eggs. -owen on. -romanes on individual. creation-by-variation, doctrine of. "creed of science," graham's. cresy, e., letters to. cretaceous flora, heer on arctic. crick, w.d., letter to. crinum, crossing experiments on. -c. passiflora, fertility of. crocker, w., work on hollyhocks. croll, james ( - ): was born at little whitefield, in perthshire. after a short time passed in the village school, he was apprenticed as a wheelwright, but lack of strength compelled him to seek less arduous employment, and he became agent to an insurance company. in he was appointed keeper in the andersonian university and museum, glasgow. his first contribution to science was published in the "philosophical magazine" for , and this was followed in by the essay "on the physical cause of the change of climate during the glacial period." from to he held an appointment in the department of the geological survey in edinburgh. in croll was elected a fellow of the royal society. his last work, "the philosophical basis of evolution," was published in the year of his death. ("nature," volume xliii., page , .) -darwin on his theory. -on icebergs as grinding agents. -letters to. -lyell on his theory. -on sub-aerial denudation. -on time. crookes, sir w., on spiritualism. "cross and self-fertilisation," darwin's book on. cross-fertilisation, darwin's experiments on self- and. -check to endless variability. -darwin states that as a rule flowers described as adapted to self- fertilisation are really adapted to. -of inconspicuous flowers. -all plants require occasional. -small advantages when confined to same plant. crosses, fertility and sterility of. crossing, agreement between darwin's and breeders' views. -counterbalance of. -darwin's views on. -effects of. -experiments on. -hooker's views. -in animals and plants. -influence of blood in. -intermediate character of results. -natural selection and disinclination towards. -offspring of. -of primroses and cowslips. -and sterility. -westphalian pig and english boar. -botanists' work on. -importance of. -pains taken by nature to ensure. -in pisum. -in primula. -in individuals of same species. -f. muller compliments darwin on his chapter on. -and separate sexes in trees. crotalaria. crotalus. cruciferae, action of fungus on roots. cruciferous flower, morphology. cruger, dr., on cleistogamic fertilisation of epidendrum. -death of. -on fertilisation of figs. -on pollinia of acropera. -on melastomaceae. -on fertilisation of orchids. crustacea, comparison of classification of mammals and. -darwin on. -f. muller on. -sex in. crying, action of children in. -physiology of. -wrinkling of eyes in. crystal palace, darwin's visit to. crystals, separation in lava-magmas. cucurbita, seeds and seedlings of. cucurbitaceae, dr. wight on. cudham wood. cultivated plants, darwin's work on. cultivation and self-sterility. cuming, on galapagos islands. cupuliferae, a. de candolle on. curculionidae, schoenherr's catalogue. currents, as means of dispersal. cuvier, on camels' teeth. -on classification. -mentioned. cybele, h.c. watson's. cycadaceae, supposed power to withstand excess of co . cyclas cornea. cyclops (h.m.s.) dredging by. cynips, dimorphism in. -walsh on. cypripedium, fertilisation mechanism. -c. hirsutissimum. cyrena, range and variability. cytisus adami, darwin on. -note on. -c. alpinus. -c. laburnum, graft-hybrids between c. purpureus and. -j.j. weir on. cyttarogenesis, suggested substitute for pangenesis. dallas, w.s., translator of f. muller's "fur darwin." dampiera, hamilton on fertilisation mechanism. dana, james dwight ( - ): published numerous works on geology, mineralogy, and zoology. he was awarded the copley medal by the royal society in , and elected a foreign member in . -darwin's opinion of. -health. -letters to. -mentioned. -on classification of mammalia. -darwin's criticism of. -on kilauea. -lyell on his claims for royal society foreign list. -volume on geology in wilkes' reports. dareste, c., letter to. darwin, annie: charles darwin's daughter. darwin, bernard: charles darwin's grandson, observations on, as a child. darwin, caroline ( - ): charles darwin's sister. -charles darwin's early recollections of. -letter to. darwin, catherine ( - ): charles darwin's sister. -death. -letter to. darwin, charles, boyhood. -went to mr. case's school. -went to shrewsbury school. -abused as an atheist. -collier's picture of. -complains of little time for reading. -contribution to henslow's biography. -copley medal awarded to. -engagement to miss emma wedgwood. -falconer's list of scientific labours of. -first meeting with hooker. -friendship with huxley. -on gray's work on distribution. -growth of his evolutionary views. -health. -honorary degree at cambridge. -intimacy with hooker. -judd's recollections of. -lamarck and. -letters to "nature." -marriage. -friendship with f. muller. -prefatory note to meldola's translation of weismann. -recollections of cambridge. -relation between j. scott and. -review on bates. -attends meeting of royal society. -slowness in giving up old beliefs. -tendency to restrict interest to natural history. -and the "vestiges." -visits london. -wallace and. -and weismann. -working hours. -book on s. american geology. -pleasure in angling. -on making blunders. -slight knowledge of botany. -visits cambridge. -love of children. -on cleavage and foliation. -on origin of coal. -his theory of coral reefs supported by funafuti boring. -large correspondence. -on danger of trusting in science to principle of exclusion. -death of his child from scarlet fever. -on difficulty of writing good english. -feels need of stimulus in work. -subscribes to dr. ferrier's defence. -on flaws in his reasoning. -follows golden rule of putting adverse facts in strongest light. -"geological instructions." -geological work on lochaber. -visit to glen roy. -bad handwriting. -idleness a misery. -on immortality and death. -on lavas. -letter to "scotsman" on glen roy. -indebtedness to lyell. -on lyell as a geologist. -on lyell's "second visit to the u.s.a." -work on man and sexual selection. -on mountain-chains. -offer of help to f. muller. -never afraid of his facts. -an honorary member of the physiological society. -pleasure in discussing geology with lyell. -reads paper before linnean society. -a. rich leaves his fortune to. -on satisfaction of aiding fellow-workers in science. -reminiscences of school-days. -visits sedgwick. -sits to an artist. -on speculation. -style in writing. -gives testimonial in support of hooker's candidature for botanical chair in edinburgh. -theological abuse in the "three barriers." -visits to abinger. -visit to patterdale. -on vitality of seeds. -on volcanic phenomena. -on welsh glaciers. -work on action of carbonate of ammonia on plants. darwin, mrs. charles, impressions of down. -letter to. -passage from darwin's autobiography on. -mentioned. -illness. darwin, emma, see mrs. charles darwin. darwin, erasmus alvey ( - ): elder brother of charles darwin. -death of. -letters to. -mentioned. -visit to. darwin, dr. erasmus: charles darwin's grandfather. -charles darwin's preliminary notice to krause's memoir of. -charles darwin and evolutionary views of. darwin, francis: charles darwin's son. -on bloom and stomata. -on dipsacus. -on huxley's speech at cambridge. -on the knight-darwin law. -on lobing of leaves. -experiments on nutrition. -experiments on plant-movements. -lecture at glasgow (british association, ) on perceptions of plants. -suggestion for romanes' experiments on intelligence. -on vivisection. -on vochting's work. -on wiesner's work. darwin, george: charles darwin's son. -success at cambridge. -criticism of wallace. -elected plumian professor at cambridge. -suggested experiments with magnetic needles and insects. -on galton's work on heredity. -article in "contemporary review" on origin of language. darwin, henrietta (mrs. litchfield): charles darwin's daughter. -criticism of huxley. darwin, horace: charles darwin's son. -remark as a boy on natural selection. -mentioned. darwin, leonard: charles darwin's son. darwin, robert w.: charles darwin's father. -letter to. darwin, susan: charles darwin's sister. -alluded to in early recollections of charles darwin. -illness. -sends wedgwood ware to hooker. darwin, william erasmus: charles darwin's eldest son. -on fertilisation of epipactis palustris. -letter to. "darwin and after darwin," romanes'. "darwiniana," asa gray's. -extract from huxley's. "darwinsche theorie," wagner's book. "darwinism," wallace's. darwinismus, at the british association meeting at norwich ( ). daubeny, prof. charles giles bridle, f.r.s. ( - ): fellow of magdalen college, oxford; elected professor of chemistry in the university ; in he became professor of botany, and in professor of rural economy. -invites darwin to attend british association at oxford. -mentioned. david, prof. edgeworth, and the funafuti boring. dawn of life, oldest fossils do not mark the. dawson, sir j. william, c.m.g., f.r.s. ( - ), was born at pictou, nova scotia, and studied at edinburgh university in - . he was appointed principal of the mcgill university, montreal, in ,--a post which he held thirty-eight years. see "fifty years of work in canada, scientific and educational," by sir william dawson, . -antagonism to darwinism. -criticism of "origin" by. -criticism of hooker's arctic paper. -hooker on. dayman, captain, on soundings. de la beche, sir henry thomas ( - ): was appointed director of the ordnance geological survey in ; his private undertaking to make a geological survey of the mining districts of devon and cornwall led the government to found the national survey. he was also instrumental in forming the museum of practical geology in jermyn street. death, darwin on immortality and. decaisne. decapods, zoea stage of. dedication of hackel's "generelle morphologie" to darwin. dedoublement, theory of. deep-sea soundings, huxley's work on. degeneration, in ammonites. -of culinary plants. -and parasitism. degradation. deification of natural selection. deinosaurus, and free-will. delboeuf's "la psychologie," etc. delpino, f., on asclepiadeae and apocyneae. -on crossing. -on dichogamy. -on fertilisation mechanism. -letter to. -praises axell's book. -mentioned. demosthenes, quoted by darwin. denudation, dana on. -darwin on marine. -comparison of subaerial and marine. -ramsay and jukes overestimate subaerial. deodar, hooker on the. deposition and denudation as measure of time. derby, lady, letter to. descent, falconer on intermediate forms. -from single pair. -owen's belief in doctrine of. -resemblance due to. descent of man. "descent of man," reference in, to effect of climate on species. -reviewed by john morley. -transmission of characters dealt with in. -darwin's work on. -sir w. turner supplies facts for. -wallace on. descent with modification, wallace on. desert animals, and protective colouring. design, darwin on. -examples of. -lord kelvin on. deslongchamps, l., on fertilisation of closed flowers. desmodium gyrans, darwin's experiments on. -leaf movements. development, acceleration and retardation in. -floral. -importance of, in classification. -rate of. -sudden changes during. devonshire commission, report on physiological investigation at kew. devonshire, flora of. dewar, prof., and sir wm. thiselton-dyer, on vitality of seeds in liquid hydrogen. diaheliotropism, f. muller's observations. dialogue, title of paper by asa gray. diatomaceae, beauty of. -conjugation in. dicentra thalictriformis, morphology of tendrils. dichaea, fertilisation mechanism. dichogamy, delpino on. -ignorance of botanists of, prior to publication of "fertilisation of orchids." dick, sir t. lauder, survey of glen roy by. dickens, quotation from. dickson, dr. dickson, w.k. dicotyledons, heer on oldest known. -sudden appearance. didelphys. digestion, beneficial effect on plants. dillwyn, paper in "gardeners' chronicle." diluvium, tails of. dimorphism, in cynips. -darwin on. -difficult to explain. -and mimicry. -in parasitic plants. -wallace on. -walsh on. -weismann on sexual. -in cicadas. -flowers illustrating. -darwin knows no case in very irregular flowers. -in melastomaceae. -in linum. -in eight natural orders. -in primula. -apparent cases due to mere variability. -explanation of. dingo. diodia. dioeciousness, origin of. dionoea, experiments on. response to stimuli. curtis' observations on. dipsacus, f. darwin on. dipterocarpus, survival during glacial period. direct action, arguments against. -darwin led to believe more in. -darwin's desire not to underestimate. -darwin's underestimates. -facts proving. -falconer on. -and hybridity. -importance of. -of pollen. -variation and. direction, sense of, in animals. disease, dobell on "germs and vestiges" of. dispersal, (see also distribution), of seeds. -of shells. distribution, forbes on. -hooker on arctic plants. -of land and sea in former times. -of plants. -factors governing. -of shells. -thiselton-dyer on plant-. -wallace on. -blytt's work on. disuse, darwin on. -effect of. -owen on. divergence, hooker on. -principle of. diversification, darwin's doctrine of the good of. dobell, h., letter to. dogs, descent of. -experiment in painting. -expression. -habits. -rudimentary tail inherited in certain sheep-. dohrn, dr., visits darwin. -serves in franco-prussian war. -extract from letter to. "dolomit riffe," darwin on mojsisovics'. domestic animals, crossing in. -darwin's work on. -settegast on. -variability of. -treatment in "variation of animals and plants." domestication, effects of. -and loss of sterility. domeyko, on chili. dominant forms. don, d., on variation. -mentioned. donders, f.c., on action of eyelids. -letters to. dorkings, power of flight. down, description of house and country. -darwin's satisfaction with his house. -instances of vitality of seeds recorded from. -method of determining plants at. -darwin on geology of. -observations on regular lines of flight of bees at. down (lanugo), on human body. dropmore. drosera, f. darwin's experiments. -"a disguised animal." -darwin's observations on. -darwin's pleasure on proving digestion in. -effect of inorganic substance on. -experiments on absorption of poison. -pfeffer on. -j. scott's paper on. -response to stimuli. -d. filiformis, experiments on. -d. rotundifolia, experiments on. drosophyllum, vernation of. -darwin's work on. -drosophyllum lusitanicum, sent by tait to darwin. -used in portugal to hang up as fly-paper. druidical mounds, seeds from. drummond, j., on fertilisation in leschenaultia formosa. duchesne, on atavism. ducks, period of hatching. -skeletons. -hybrids between fowls and. dufrenoy, pierre armand: published "memoires pour servir a une description geologique de la france," as well as numerous papers in the "annales des mines, comptes rendus, bulletin soc. geol. france," and elsewhere on mineralogical and geological subjects. -geological work of. duncan, rev. j., encourages j. scott's love for plants. dung, plants germinated from locust-. dutrochet, on climbing plants. duval-jouve, on leaf-movement in bryophyllum. dyer, see thiselton-dyer. dytiscus, as means of dispersal of bivalves. ears, loss of voluntary movement. -in man and monkeys. -rudimentary muscles. -wallis's work on. earth, age of the. earth-movements, cause of. -in england. -relation to sedimentation. -subordinate part played by heat in. earthquakes, coincidence of shocks in s. america and elsewhere. -connection with elevation. -connection with state of weather. -darwin on. -in england. -frequency of. -hopkins on. -in scotland. earthworms, darwin's book on. -geological action of. -influence of sea-water on. -f. muller gives darwin facts on. -typhlops and true. echidna, anomalous character of. edentata, migration into n. america. edgeworth, mentioned. edinburgh, darwin's student-days in. -hooker's candidature for chair of botany. "edinburgh review," article on lyell's "antiquity of man." -reference to huxley's royal institution lectures. -owen's article. education, effect of. -influence on children of parents'. edwardsia, seeds possibly floated from chili to new zealand. -in sandwich is. and india. egerton, sir philip de malpas grey- ( - ): devoted himself to the study of fossil fishes, and published several memoirs on his collection, which was acquired by the british museum. eggs, creation of species as. -means of dispersal of molluscan. ehrenberg, ascension i. plants sent to. -on rock-building by infusoria. -darwin's wish that he should examine underclays. eichler, a.w., on morphology of cruciferous flower. -on course of vessels as guide to floral morphology. -reference to his bluthendiagramme. eildon hills, need of examination of. elateridae, luminous thorax of. elective affinity. electric organs of fishes, the result of external conditions. electricity, and plant-movements. "elements of geology," wallace's review of lyell's. elephants, falconer's work on. -rate of increase of. -and variation. -found in gravel at down. -manner of carrying tail. -shedding tears. elephas columbi, falconer on. -owen's conduct in regard to falconer's work on. -e. primigenius, as index of climate. -woolly covering of. -e. texianus, owen and nomenclature of. elevation, in chili. -lines of. -new zealand and. -continental extension, subsidence and. -connection with earthquakes. -equable nature of movements of subsidence and. -evidence in scandinavia and pampas of equable. -hopkins on. -large areas simultaneously affected by. -d'orbigny on sudden. -rate of. -rogers on parallelism of cleavage and axes of. -sedimentary deposits exceptionally preserved during. -subsidence and. -vulcanicity and. elodea canadensis, successful american immigrant. emberiza longicauda, long tail-feathers and sexual selection. embryology, argument for. -succession of changes in animal-. -darwin's explanation of. -of flowers. -of peneus. -balfour's work on comparative. embryonic stages, obliteration of. endlicher's "genera plantarum." engelmann, on variability of introduced plants in n. america. england, former union with continent. -men of science of continent and. entada scandens, dispersal of seeds. entomologists, evolutionary views of. "entstehung und begriff der naturhistorischen art," nageli's essay. -darwin on. environment, and colour protection. eocene, anoplotherium in s. america. -monkeys. -mammals. -co-existence with recent shells. eozoon, illustrating difficulty of distinguishing organic and inorganic bodies. ephemera dimidiatum, lord avebury on. epidendreae, closely related to malaxeae. epidendrum, cruger on fertilisation of. -self-fertilisation of. epiontology, de candolle's term. epipactis, fertilisation mechanism. -f. muller on. -pollinia of. -e. palustris, fertilisation mechanism. epithecia, fertilisation mechanism. equatorial refrigeration. equus, marsh's work on. -geographical distribution. -in n. and s. america. erica tetralix, darwin on. erigeron canadense, successful immigrant from america. erodium cicutarium, introduced from spain to america. -range in u.s.a. erratic blocks, in azores. -in s. america. -darwin on transport. -of jura. -mackintosh on. -on moel tryfan. errera, prof. l., letter to. -and s. gevaert, on cross and self-fertilisation. eruptions, parallelism of lines of, with coast-lines. eryngium maritimum, bloom on. erythrina, macarthur on. -of new s. wales. -sleep movements of. erythroxylon, dimorphism of sub-genus of. eschscholtzia, crossing and self-fertility. -darwin's experiments on self-sterility. -f. muller's experiments in crossing. eschricht, on lanugo on human embryo. escombe, f., on vitality of seeds. -see brown, h.t. esquimaux, natural selection and. "essays and reviews," attitude of laymen towards. eternity, gapitche on. etheridge, robert, f.r.s.: president of geological society in - . etna, sir charles lyell's work on. -map of. eucalyptus, species setting seed. -mentioned. euonymus europaeus, dispersal of seeds. euphorbia, darwin on roots of. -e. peplis, bloom on. euphrasia, parasitism of. europe, movement of. eurybia argophylla, musk-tree of tasmania, an arborescent composite. evergreen vegetation, connection with humid and equable climate. evolution, darwin's early views. -fossil cephalopods used by hyatt as test of. -huxley's lectures on. -of mental traits. -f. muller's contributions to. -nageli's essay, "entstehung und begriff der naturhistorischen art." -palaeontology as illustrating. -romanes' lecture on. -saporta's belief in. -unknown law of. -of angiosperms. -of colour. -and death. -heer opposed to. -of language. -lyell's views (see also lyell). -turner on man and. -wallace on. ewart, prof. c., on telegony. exacum, dimorphism of. experiments, botanical. -tegetmeier's on pigeons. -time expended on. expression, queries on. -bell on anatomy of. -darwin at work on. "expression of the emotions," wallace's review. external conditions, natural selection and. -see also direct action. extinction, behaviour of species verging towards. -contingencies concerned in. -hooker on. -races of man and. -proboscidea verging towards. -st. helena and examples of. eyebrows, use of. eyes, behaviour during meditation. -contraction in blind people of muscles of. -children's habit of rubbing with knuckles. -gorged with blood during screaming. -contraction of iris. -wrinkling of children's. fabre, j.h.: is best known for his "souvenirs entomologiques," in no. vi. of which he gives a wonderfully vivid account of his hardy and primitive life as a boy, and of his early struggles after a life of culture. -letters to. "facts and arguments for darwin," translation of f. muller's "fur darwin." -delay in publication. -sale. -unfavourable review in "athenaeum." fairy rings, darwin compares with fungoid diseases in man and animals. falconer, hugh ( - ): was a student at the universities of aberdeen and edinburgh, and went out to india in as assistant-surgeon on the bengal establishment. in he succeeded dr. royle as the superintendent of the botanic gardens at saharunpur; and in , after spending some years in england, he was appointed superintendent of the calcutta botanical garden and professor of botany in the medical college. although falconer held an important botanical post for many years, he is chiefly known as a palaeozoologist. he seems, however, to have had a share in introducing cinchona into india. his discovery, in company with colonel sir proby t. cautley, of miocene mammalia in the siwalik hills, was at the time perhaps the greatest "find" which had been made. the fossils of the siwalik hills formed the subject of falconer's most important book, "fauna antiqua sivalensis," which, however, remained unfinished at the time of his death. falconer also devoted himself to the investigation of the cave-fauna of england, and contributed important papers on fossils found in sicily, malta, and elsewhere. dr. falconer was a vice-president of the royal society and foreign secretary of the geological society. "falconer did enough during his lifetime to render his name as a palaeontologist immortal in science; but the work which he published was only a fraction of what he accomplished...he was cautious to a fault; he always feared to commit himself to an opinion until he was sure he was right, and he died in the prime of his life and in the fulness of his power." (biographical sketch contributed by charles murchison to his edition of hugh falconer's "palaeontological memoirs and notes," london, ; "proc. r. soc." volume xv., page xiv., : "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xxi., page xlv, .) hugh falconer was among those who did not fully accept the views expressed in the "origin of species," but he could differ from darwin without any bitterness. two years before the book was published, darwin wrote to asa gray: "the last time i saw my dear old friend falconer he attacked me most vigorously, but quite kindly, and told me, 'you will do more harm than any ten naturalists will do good. i can see that you have already corrupted and half spoiled hooker.'" ("life and letters," ii., page .) the affectionate regard which darwin felt for falconer was shared by their common friend hooker. the following extract of a letter from hooker to darwin (february rd, ) shows clearly the strong friendships which falconer inspired: "poor old falconer! how my mind runs back to those happiest of all our days that i used to spend at down twenty years ago--when i left your home with my heart in my mouth like a schoolboy. we last heard he was ill on wednesday or thursday, and sent daily to enquire, but the report was so good on saturday that we sent no more, and on monday night he died...what a mountainous mass of admirable and accurate information dies with our dear old friend! i shall miss him greatly, not only personally, but as a scientific man of unflinching and uncompromising integrity--and of great weight in murchisonian and other counsels where ballast is sadly needed." -article in "natural history review." -darwin's copley medal and. -darwin's criticism of his elephant work. -darwin's regard for. -forbes attacked by. -his opinion of forbes. -goes to india. -hooker's regard for. -letter to darwin. -letter to sharpey. -letters to. -letter to "athenaeum." -lyell and. -on mastodon andium. -on mastodon of australia. -on elephants. -owen and. -on phyllotaxis. -on plagiaulax. -speech at cambridge. -"memoirs." falkland islands, darwin visits. -polyborus sp. in. -brightly coloured female hawk. -effect of subsidence. -streams of stones. fanciers, use made of selection by. fantails, see pigeons. faraday, memorial to. faramea, dimorphism. farmer, prof. j.b., and s.e. chandler, on influence of excess of co on anatomy of plants. faroe islands, polygala vulgaris of. farrer, canon, lecture on defects in public school education. -letter to. farrer, lady. farrer, thomas henry, lord ( - ): was educated at eton and balliol college, oxford. he was called to the bar, but gave up practice for the public service, where he became permanent secretary of the board of trade. according to the "times," october th, , "for nearly forty years he was synonymous with the board in the opinion of all who were brought into close relation with it." he was made a baronet in ; he retired from his post a few years later, and was raised to the peerage in . his friendship with mr. darwin was of many years' standing, and opportunities of meeting were more frequent in the last ten years of mr. darwin's life, owing to lord farrer's marriage with miss wedgwood, a niece of mrs. darwin's, and the subsequent marriage of his son horace with miss farrer. his keen love of science is attested by the letters given in the present volume. he published several excellent papers on the fertilisation of flowers in the "ann. and mag. of natural history," and in "nature," between and . in politics he was a radical--a strong supporter of free trade: on this last subject, as well as on bimetallism, he was frequently engaged in public controversy. he loyally carried out many changes in the legislature which, as an individualist, he would in his private capacity have strenuously opposed. in the "speaker," october st, , lord welby heads his article on lord farrer with a few words of personal appreciation:-- "in lord farrer has passed away a most interesting personality. a great civil servant; in his later years a public man of courage and lofty ideal; in private life a staunch friend, abounding as a companion in humour and ripe knowledge. age had not dimmed the geniality of his disposition, or an intellect lively and eager as that of a boy--lovable above all in the transparent simplicity of his character." -interest in torbitt's potato experiment. -letters to. -on earthworms. -observations on fertilisation of passiflora. -recollections of darwin. -seeds sent to. fawcett, henry ( - ): professor of political economy at cambridge, , postmaster-general - . see leslie stephen's well-known "life." -defends darwin's arguments. -letter to. -letter to darwin. fear, expression of. felis, range. fellowships, discussion on abolition of prize-. felspar, segregation of. females, modification for protection. "fenland, past and present," by miller and skertchley. fergusson on darwinism. fernando po, plants of. ferns, scott on spores. -darwin's ignorance of. -variability "passes all bounds." ferrier, dr., groundless charge brought against, for infringement of vivisection act. fertilisation, articles in "gardeners' chronicle." -of flowers. -h. muller's work on. -and sterility. -darwin fascinated by study of. -different mechanisms in same genus. -travelling of reproductive cells in. fertilisation of orchids, darwin's work on. -paper by darwin in "gardeners' chronicle" on. "fertilisation of orchids," asa gray's review. -hooker's review. -description of acropera and catasetum in. -h. muller's "befruchtung der blumen," the outcome of darwin's. fertility, natural selection and. -and sterility. -primula. -scott on varieties and relative. festuca. figs, f. muller on fertilisation of. finmark, bravais on sea-beaches of. fir (silver), witches' brooms of. "first principles," spencer's. fish, pictet and humbert on fossil. fiske, j., letter to. fissure-eruptions. fitton, reference to his work. fitzroy (fitz-roy), captain, and the "beagle" voyage. -writes preface to account of the voyage. -darwin nearly rejected by. -letter to "times." flagellaria, as a climber. flahault, on the peg in cucurbita. fleeming jenkin, review of "origin" by, see jenkin. flinders, m., voyage to terra australis by. flint implements found near bedford. flints, abundance and derivation of, at down. -darwin on their upright position in gravel. floating ice, darwin on agency of. -j. geikie underestimates its importance. -transporting power of. flora, darwin's idea of an utopian. -hooker's scheme for a. -hooker's work on tasmanian. "flora antarctica," hooker's. "flora fossilis arctica," heer's. floras: n. american. arctic. british. colonial. european. french. greenland. holland. india. japan. new zealand. -distribution of. -of islands. -local. -tabulation of. florida, a. agassiz on coral reefs. -coral reefs. flourens, experiments on pigeons. flower, sir william h., letter to. -on muscles of the os coccyx. flowering plants, possible origin on a southern continent. -sudden appearance of. flowers, at down. -darwin's work on forms of. -monstrous. -morphological characters. -regular and irregular. -cross-fertilisation in inconspicuous. -ignorance of botanists on mechanism of. "flowers and their unbidden guests," dr. ogle's translation of kerner's "schutzmittel des pollens." flying machine, darwin on popper's proposed. folding of strata. foliation and cleavage, reference by a. harker to work on. foliation, aqueous deposition and. -darwin considers his observations on cleavage less deserving of confidence than those on. -darwin on. -parallelism with cleavage. -relation to rock-curvature. food, as determining number of species. foraminifera. forbes, d., on the cordilleras. -on elevation in chili. -on nitrate of soda beds in s. america. forbes, edward, f.r.s. ( - ): filled the office of palaeontologist to the ordnance geological survey, and afterwards became president of the geological society; in --the last year of his life--he was appointed to the chair of natural history in the university of edinburgh. forbes published many papers on geological, zoological, and botanical subjects, one of his most remarkable contributions being the well-known essay "on the connexion between the distribution of the existing fauna and flora of the british isles and the geological changes which have affected their area" ("mem. geol. surv." volume i., page , ). (see "proc. roy. soc." volume vii., page , ; "quart. journl. geol. soc." volume xi., page xxvii, , and "ann. mag. nat. hist." volume xv., . -on flora of azores. -on chambers as author of the "vestiges." -on continental extension. -darwin opposed to his views on continental extension. -darwin's opinion of. -article on distribution. -on continuity of land. -on plant-distribution. -introductory lecture as professor in edinburgh. -on former lower extension of glaciers in cordillera. -lecture by. -letter to darwin from. -on madagascar insects. -on post-miocene land. -polarity theory. -on british shells. -too speculative. -on subsidence. -visits down. -mentioned. -royal medal awarded to. -essay on connection between distribution of existing fauna and flora of the british isles and geological changes. forbes, h.o., on melastoma. force and matter, huxley on. forel, auguste: the distinguished author of "les fourmis de la suisse," zurich, , and of a long series of well-known papers. -on ants and beetles. -author of "les fourmis de la suisse." -letter to. forfarshire, lyell on glaciers of. "forms of flowers," de candolle's criticism of darwin's. homomorphic and heteromorphic unions described in. forsyth-major, zoological expedition to madagascar. "fortnightly review," huxley's article on positivism. romanes on evolution. fossil cephalopods, hyatt on. fossil corals. fossil plants, small proportion of. of australia. sudden appearance of angiosperms indicated by. fossil seeds, supposed vivification of. fossils as evidence of variability. fournier, e., de la fecundation dans les phanerogames. fowls, difference in sexes. -purred female. fox, tails of, used by esquimaux as respirators. fox, rev. w. darwin. foxglove, use of hairs in flower. france, edition of "origin" in. -opinion favourable to darwin's views in. -birth-rate. franco-prussian war, opinion in england. -science retarded by. frank, albert bernhard ( - ): began his botanical career as curator of the university herbarium, leipzig, where he afterwards became privatdocent and finally "ausserordentlicher professor." in frank was appointed professor of plant-physiology in the landwirthschaftliche hochschule, berlin. in he was appointed to the imperial gesundheits-amt in berlin, and raised to the rank of regierungsrath. frank is chiefly known for his work on "the assimilation of free nitrogen, etc.," and for his work on "the diseases of plants" ("die krankheiten der pflanzen," ). it was his brilliant researches on growth-curvature ("beitrage zur pflanzen-physiologie," , and "die naturlichen wagerechte richtung von pflanzen-theilen," ) which excited darwin's admiration. -darwin's admiration for his work. franklin, sir j., search expedition. fraser, g., letter to. "fraser's magazine," article by hopkins. -article by galton on twins. -huxley on review in. freemasons' tavern, meeting held at. freewill, a preordained necessity. freke, dr., paper by. freshwater, bee-orchis at. freshwater fauna, ocean faunas compared with. -poverty of. -preservation of. friendly islands, rats regarded as game. fringillidae, colour and sexual selection. frogs, article on spawn of. -f. muller on. -salt water and spawn of. -frozen in glaciers. fruits, bright colours of. fucus, variation in. fuegia, plants of, (see also tierra del fuego). fumaria (corydalis) claviculata, mohl on tendrils. fumariaceae, cross- and self-fertilisation. -morphology of tendrils. funafuti, darwin's theory supported by results of boring in coral island of. fungoid diseases, darwin on. fungus, effect on roots and shoots. "fur darwin," f. muller's (see "facts and arguments for darwin). -darwin quotes. -hooker's opinion of. -publication of. furze, seeds and seedlings. galapagos islands, visited during the "beagle" voyage. -birds of. -character of species of, the beginning of darwin's evolutionary views. -distribution of animals. -distribution of plants. -flora of. -hooker on plants of. -insects. -craters. -fissure eruptions in. -restricted fauna. -sandwich islands and. -subsidence in the. galashiels, terraces near. galaxias, distribution of. gallinaceae, blyth on. -colour of. galls, artificial production of. -cynips and. -hybrids and. -walsh on willow-. gallus bankiva, colour of wings. -colour and environment. -wings of. galton, f., experiments on transfusion of blood. -letters to. -letter to darwin from. -on twins. -on variation. -on heredity. -on human faculty and its development. -on prayer. -proposal to issue health certificates for marriage. game-cock and sexual selection. gamlingay, lilies-of-the-valley at. ganoid fishes, preservation in fresh water. gapitche, a., letter to. "gardeners' chronicle," darwin's article on fertilisation. -darwin's opinion of. -darwin's experiment on immersion of seeds in salt water. -article on orchids. -harvey on darwin. -rivers' articles. -wallace on nests. -darwin's index. gardner, g., "travels in the interior of brazil." gartner, on aquilegia. -experiments on crossing and variation. -on primula. -on verbascum. -darwin's high opinion of his "bastarderzeugung." -beaton's criticism of. -on self-fertilisation in flowers. -mentioned. gaskell, g.a., letter to. gatke, on "heligoland as an ornithological observatory." gaudry, albert: professor of palaeontology in the natural history museum, paris, foreign member of the royal society of london, author of "animaux foss. et geol. de l'attique." -letter to. -on pikermi fossils. gay, on lizards. gazania. gegenbauer, karl: professor of anatomy at heidelberg. -as convert to darwinism. -views on regeneration. geikie, sir a., on age of the earth. -edition of "hutton's theory of the earth." -memoir of sir a.c. ramsay. geikie, prof. j., "ice age." -on intercrossing of erratics. -letters to. -"prehistoric europe." -presidential address, edinburgh british association meeting. geitonogamy, kerner suggests term. gemmation and dimorphism. gemmules, in reproductive organs. -and bud-variation. genealogy and classification. genera, aberrant. -range of large and small. -variation of. -wallace on origin of. "genera plantarum," work on the. generalisations, evil of. -easier than careful observation. -importance. "generelle morphologie," darwin on hackel's. "genesis of species," mivart's geographical distribution, l. agassiz on. -darwin on. -darwin's high opinion of value of. -darwin's interest in. -e. forbes on. -huxley on birds and. -proposed work by hooker on. -relation of genera an important element in. -humboldt the founder of. "geographical distribution of animals," darwin's criticism of wallace's. "geographical distribution of mammals," a. murray's. geographical regions, darwin on. geological committee on the parallel roads of glen roy. "geological gossip," ansted's. "geological instructions," darwin's manual of. "geological observations in s. america," darwin's. -darwin on his. geological record, imperfection of the. -morse on the. geological society, award of medal to darwin. -darwin signs hooker's certificate. -museum of. -darwin attends council meeting. geological survey, foundation of. -investigation of the parallel roads of glen roy. geological time, article in "n. british review." geologist, darwin as. geologists, evolutionary views of. geology, arguments in favour of evolution from. -chapter in "origin" on. -practical teaching of. -english work in. -hooker talks of giving up. -lyellian school. -progress of. geotropism, darwin on. german, darwin's slight knowledge of. germany, converts to evolution in. -opinion on the "origin" in. -englishmen rejoice over victory of. germination of seeds, darwin's experiments on effect of salt water. "germs and vestiges of disease," dobell's. gesneria, darwin on dimorphism of. gestation of hounds. gibraltar, elevation and subsidence of. gilbert, sir j.h.: of rothamsted. -letter to. -on nitrogen in worms' casting. -and sir j. lawes, rothamsted experiments. glacial period, absence of phanerogams near polar regions in n. america during. -bates on. -climatic changes since. -conditions during. -continental changes since. -darwin's views on geographical changes as cause of. -destruction of organisms during. -destruction of spanish plants in ireland. -distribution of organisms affected by. -duration of. -effect on animals and plants. -and elephants. -s.e. england dry land during. -greenland depopulated during. -introduction of old world forms into new world subsequent to. -migration during. -mundane character of. -subsidence of alps during. -croll on. -existence of alpine plants before. -hooker on. -glen roy and. -lyell on. -extinction of mammals during. -wallace on. -movement of europe since and during. glaciers, agassiz on. -lyell on. -tyndall's book on. -as agents in the formation of lakes. -darwin on structure of. -hooker on yorkshire. -moseley on motion of. -physics of. -parallel roads of glen roy formed by. -rock-cavities formed by cascades in. -in s. america. -in wales. gladstone, herbert spencer on criticisms by. glass, dr., on grafting sugar-canes. glen collarig, absence of terminal moraines. -terraces in. glen glaster, absence of terminal moraines. -barriers of detritus. -milne on. -shelves of. glen gluoy, shelves of. glen roy, parallel roads of. -l. agassiz on. -darwin on. -darwin's mistake over. -darwin on ice-lake theory of agassiz and buckland. -glacier theory of. -history of work on. -hooker on. -marine theory of. -milne-home's paper on. -investigated by geological survey. -coincidence of shelves with watersheds. -measurement of terraces. glen spean. glen turret, macculloch on. gloriosa, darwin's experiments on leaf-tendrils. glossotherium listai. gloxinia, peloric forms of. gnaphalium. gneiss, darwin on. god, darwin on existence of personal. godron, on aegilops. godron's "flora of france." goethe, darwin's reference to. -owen on. goldfinch, difference in beaks of male and female. gongora, and acropera. -darwin on. -g. fusca (see acropera luteola). -g. galeata (see a. loddigesii). gondwana land. goodenia, hamilton on fertilisation of. goodeniaceae. gordon, general, huxley on darwin and. gosse, e., "life of p.h. gosse" by. gosse, philip henry ( - ): was an example of that almost extinct type-- a naturalist with a wide knowledge gained at first hand from nature as a whole. this width of culture was combined with a severe and narrow religious creed, and though, as edmund gosse points out, there was in his father's case no reconcilement of science and religion, since his "impressions of nature" had to give way absolutely to his "convictions of religion," yet he was not debarred by his views from a friendly intercourse with darwin. he did much to spread a love of natural history, more especially by his seaside books, and by his introduction of the aquarium-- the popularity of which (as mr. edmund gosse shows) is reflected in the pages of "punch," especially in john leech's illustrations. kingsley said of him (quoted by edmund gosse, page ) "since white's "history of selborne" few or no writers on natural history, save mr. gosse and poor mr. edward forbes, have had the power of bringing out the human side of science, and giving to seemingly dry disquisitions...that living and personal interest, to bestow which is generally the special function of the poet." among his books are the "naturalist's sojourn in jamaica," ; "a naturalist's rambles on the devonshire coast," ; "omphalos," ; "a year at the shore," . he was also author of a long series of papers in scientific journals. -letter to. gould, on sex in nightingales. gower street, darwin's house in. gradation in plants. graft-hybrids, experiments on. -of cytisus. -hildebrand on. -of potatoes. -of sugar-canes. grafting, darwin on. -difficulty of. -in hyacinth bulbs. graham's "creed of science." gramineae, darwin on crossing. granite, explanation of association with basalt. grasses, range of genera. -cleistogamous. -fertilisation of. -f. muller on brazilian. gratiolet, on behaviour of eyes in rage. gravity, comparison between variation and laws of. gray, asa ( - ): was born in the township of paris, oneida co., new york. he became interested in science when a student at the fairfield academy; he took his doctor's degree in , but instead of pursuing medical work he accepted the post of instructor in chemistry, mineralogy, and botany in the high school of utica. gray afterwards became assistant to professor torrey in the new york medical school, and in he was appointed curator and librarian of the new york lyceum of natural history. from to he occupied the chair of natural history in harvard college, and the post of director of the cambridge botanical gardens; from till the time of his death he was relieved of the duties of teaching and of the active direction of the gardens, but retained the herbarium. professor gray was a foreign member of the linnean and of the royal societies. the "flora of north america" (of which the first parts appeared in ), "manual of the botany of the northern united states, the botany of commodore wilkes' south pacific exploring expedition" are among the most important of gray's systematic memoirs; in addition to these he wrote several botanical text-books and a great number of papers of first-class importance. in an obituary notice written by sir joseph hooker, asa gray is described as "one of the first to accept and defend the doctrine of natural selection..., so that darwin, whilst fully recognising the different standpoints from which he and gray took their departures, and their divergence of opinion on important points, nevertheless regarded him as the naturalist who had most thoroughly gauged the "origin of species," and as a tower of strength to himself and his cause" ("proc. r. soc." volume xlvi., page xv, : "letters of asa gray," edited by jane loring gray, volumes, boston, u.s., ). -articles by. -as advocate of darwin's views. -darwin's opinion of. -on hooker's antarctic paper. -on large genera varying. -letters to darwin from. -letters to. -on darwin's views. -plants of the northern states. -on variation. -book for children by. -on crossing. -visits down. -on dimorphism. -on agassiz. -extract from letter to g.f. wright from. -on fertilisation of cypripedium. -on gymnadenia tridentata. -on habenaria. -on passiflora. -on relative ranges of u. states and european species. -on sarracenia. -mentioned. gray, mrs. gray, dr. john edward, f.r.s. ( - ): became an assistant to the natural history department of the british museum in , and was appointed keeper in . dr. gray published a great mass of zoological work, and devoted himself "with unflagging energy to the development of the collections under his charge." ("ann. mag. nat. hist." volume xv., page , .) -and british museum. greatest happiness principle. grebes, as seed-eaters. greenland, absence of arctic leguminosae. -connection with norway. -flora of. -introduction of plants by currents. -as line of communication of alpine plants. -migration of european birds to. greg, w.r.: author of "the enigmas of life," . -darwin on his "enigmas of life." -letter to. grey, sir g., on australian savages. grinnell expedition, reference to the second. grisebach, a. grisebach, a.w. grossulariaceae. grouse, natural selection and colours of. -owen describes as distinct creation. grypotherium darwini. -g. domesticum. guiana, bates on. gulf-weed, darwin on. gully dr. gunther, dr., visit to down. gurney, e., articles in "fortnightly" and "cornhill." -"power of sound." gymnadenia, course of vessels in flower of. -asa gray on. -penetration by pollen of rostellum. gynodioecism in plantago. haast, sir julius von, ( - ): published several papers on the geology of new zealand, with special reference to glacial phenomena. ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xxi., pages , , ; volume xxiii., page , .) -on glacial deposits. habenaria, azorean species (see also peristylus viridis). -course of vessels in flower. -lord farrer on. -morphology of flower. -h. bifolia, flowers. -a subspecies of h. chlorantha. -h. chlorantha, considered by bentham a var. of h. bifolia. -structure of ovary. hackel, e., convert to darwin's views. -"generelle morphologie." -die kalkschwamme. -"freedom in science and teaching." -letters to. -on pangenesis. -proposed translation of his book. -on reviews of "origin" in germany. -on sponges. -substitutes a molecular hypothesis for pangenesis. -visits down. -on absence of colour-protection in lower animals. -on change of species. -on linope. -on medusae. haematoxylon, bloom-experiments on. -sleep-movements. halictus, fabre's paper on. halimeda, darwin's description of. halleria, woody nature of. hallett, on varieties of wheat. hamilton, on fertilisation of dampiera. hamilton, sir w., on law of parsimony. hancock, albany ( - ): author of many zoological and palaeontological papers. his best-known work, written in conjunction with joshua alder, and published by the ray society is on the british nudibranchiate mollusca. the royal medal was awarded to him in . -on british shells. -and royal medal. hanley, dr., darwin's visit to. harker, a., note on darwin's work on cleavage and foliation. hartman, dr., on cicada septendecim. "harvesting ants and trap-door spiders," moggridge's. harvey, william henry ( - ): was the author of several botanical works, principally on algae; he held the botanical professorship at trinity college, dublin, and in succeeded professor allman in the chair of botany in dublin university. (see "life and letters," ii., pages - .) -criticism of "origin." -darwin's opinion of his book. -letter to. -mentioned. -on variation in fucus. haughton, samuel ( - ): author of "animal mechanics, a manual of geology," and numerous papers on physics, mathematics, geology, etc. in november darwin wrote to sir j.d. hooker: "do you know whether there are two rev. prof. haughtons at dublin? one of this name has made a splendid medical discovery of nicotine counteracting strychnine and tetanus? can it be my dear friend? if so, he is at full liberty for the future to sneer [at] and abuse me to his heart's content." unfortunately, prof. haughtons' discovery has not proved of more permanent value than his criticism on the "origin of species." -on bees' cells. -on depth of ocean. -review by. -mentioned. hawaiian islands, hillebrand's flora. -plants. hawks and owls as agents in seed-dispersal. -bright colours in female. head, expression in movement of. hearne, on black bear. heat, action on rocks. heathcote, miss. heaths, as examples of boreal plants in azores. -and climate. heberden, dr., mentioned. hector. hedgehog, movements of spines. hedychium, darwin's prediction as to fertilisation of. -paraheliotropism. hedyotis, dimorphism of. hedysarum, darwin's experiments on (see desmodium gyrans). heer, oswald ( - ): was born at niederutzwyl, in the canton of st. gall, switzerland, and for many years ( - ) occupied the chair of botany in the university of zurich. while eminent as an entomologist heer is chiefly known as a writer on fossil plants. he began to write on palaeobotanical subjects in ; among his most important publications, apart from the numerous papers contributed to scientific societies, the following may be mentioned: "flora tertiaria helvetiae," - ; the "flora fossilis arctica," volumes, - ; "die urwelt der schweiz," ; "flora fossilis helvetiae," - . he was awarded the wollaston medal of the geological society in , and in he received a royal medal. (oswald heer, "bibliographie et tables iconographiques," par g. malloizel, precede d'une notice biographique" par r. zeiller; stockholm.) -on continental extension. -on plants of madeira. -on origin of species from monstrosities. -darwin sends photograph to. -"flora fossilis arctica." -letter to. heeria (see also heterocentron). -f. muller on. heifers, and sterility. helianthemum, baillon's observations on pollen. heligoland, birds alight on sea near. heliotropism, experiments on. -of roots. hemsley, w.b., mentioned. hennessey. henry, i.a. (see anderson-henry) -letter to. henslow, prof. j.s., life of. -darwin's affection for. -darwin's cambridge recollections of. -death of. -letters to. -mentioned. -on mus messorius. -visits down. -darwin on his parish work. -work on crossing. henslow, miss, mentioned. herbaceous orders, in relation to trees. herbert, dean, on heaths of s. africa. -on polygala. -on cytisus adami. -on self-fertility of hippeastrum. -mentioned. "hereditary genius," francis galton's. hereditary improvement, francis galton on. heredity, darwin's criticism of galton's theory. hermaphroditism, in trees. -weir on lepidoptera and. -and nature of generative organs. herminium monorchis. heron, sir r., on peacocks and colour. herons, as fruit-feeders. herschel, sir j.f.w., edits "manual of scientific enquiry." -on natural selection. -on the "origin." -"physical geography." -on providential laws. -on heating of rocks. -on importance of generalising. -on study of languages. -versus lyell on volcanic islands. -mentioned. heteranthera, two kinds of stamens. -h. reniformis. heterocentron, experiments on. -seeds of. -two kinds of stamens. -h. roseum, fertilisation mechanism of. heterogeny, owen on. heteromorphic, use of term. heterosmilax, de candolle on. heterostylism, darwin's experiments on. -example in monocotyledons of. hewitt, on pheasant-hybrids. -mentioned. hibiscus. hicks, h., on pre-cambrian rocks. hieracium, american species. -nageli on. -variability of. highness, lowness and. hilaire, a. st., see st. hilaire. hildebrand, f., article in "botanische zeitung." -experiments on direct action of pollen. -"die lebensdauer der pflanzen." -letter to. -crossing work by. -on delpino's work. -on dispersal of seeds. -self-sterility in corydalis cava. -"geschlechter-vertheilung bei den pflanzen." -on orchids. -on ovules formed after pollination. -experiment on potatoes. -on salvia. -mentioned. hilgendorf, controversy with sandberger. hillebrand's flora of the hawaiian islands. "himalayan journals," dedicated by hooker to darwin. "himalayan plants, illustrations of." himalayas, british plants in. -commingling of temperate and tropical plants. -tortoise of. -ice-action in. -mixed character of the vegetation. hinde, dr., examination of funafuti coral-reef cores by. hindmarsh, l., letter to. hippeastrum, herbert on self-sterility of. hippopotamus, fossil in madagascar. historic spirit, j. morley's criticism of darwin's lack of. hitcham, collection of azorean plants made near. hobhouse, sir a., darwin meets. hochberg, k., letter to. hofmann, a.w., receives royal medal. holland, evolutionary opinions in. -flora of. holland, sir h., on pangenesis. -mentioned. -on influence of mind on circulation. holly, effective work of insects in fertilisation of. hollyhock, darwin's crossing experiments. holmsdale. home, see milne-home. homing experiments. homo, pithecus compared with. homology, analogy and. -course of vessels in flowers as guide to. homomorphic, use of term. honeysuckle, oak-leaved variety. hooker, mrs., assists sir j.d. hooker. hooker, sir j.d., addresses at british association meetings. -on arctic plants. -australian flora by. -botanical appointment. -c.b. conferred upon. -on coal plants and conditions of growth. -criticism on lyell's work. -on darwin's ms. on geographical distribution. -darwin's admiration for letters of. -darwin assisted in his work by. -darwin on good gained by "squabbles" with. -darwin on success of. -enjoyment of correspondence with darwin. -expedition to syria. -extract from letter to. -falconer and. -first meeting with darwin. -on insular floras. -introductory essay to flora of tasmania. -lecture at royal institution. -letters to. -letters to darwin from. -on new colonial flora. -on new zealand flora. -on natural selection. -on naturalised plants. -on the "origin." -and owen. -on pangenesis. -on plants of fernando po and abyssinia. -on preservation of tropical plants during cool period. -and reviews. -royal medal awarded to. -and j. scott. -on species. -on torbitt's potato experiments. -on use of terms centripetal and centrifugal. -on variation in large and small genera. -on welwitschia. -on cameroon plants. -darwin on his address at belfast. -darwin writes testimonial for. -darwin values scientific opinion of. -darwin receives encouragement from. -darwin's pleasure at visits from. -on glacial period. -on glacial deposits in india. -on glaciers in yorkshire. -notice in "gardeners' chronicle" on. -photograph by mrs. cameron. -primer of botany by. -review of darwin's "fertilisation of orchids." -scheme for flora. -represents "whole great public" to darwin. -use of structure in plants. -visits down. -opinion of "fur darwin." -mentioned. hooker, sir william jackson ( - ): was called to the chair of botany at glasgow in , where by his success as a teacher he raised the annual fees from pounds to pounds. in he became director of the royal botanic gardens at kew, which under his administration increased enormously in activity and importance. his private herbarium, said to be "by far the richest ever accumulated in one man's lifetime," formed the nucleus of the present collection. he produced, as author or editor, about a hundred volumes devoted to botany ("dict. of nat. biog."). -herbarium at kew belonging to. -letters to. -mentioned. hopkins, william, f.r.s. ( - ) entered peterhouse, cambridge, at the age of thirty, and in took his degree as seventh wrangler. for some years hopkins was very successful as a mathematical tutor; about he began to take a keen interest in geological subjects, and especially concerned himself with the effects of elevating forces acting from below on the earth's crust. he was president of the geological society in and ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xxiii., page xxix, ). -article in "fraser's magazine." -on elevation and earthquakes. -on mountain-building. -researches in physical geology. -mentioned. horner, leonard, f.r.s. ( - ): was born in edinburgh, at the age of twenty-one he settled in london, and devoted himself more particularly to geology and mineralogy, returning a few years later to edinburgh, where he took a prominent part in founding the school of art and other educational institutions. in mr. horner was invited to occupy the post of warden in the london university,a position which he resigned in ; he also held for some years an inspectorship of factories. as a fellow of the royal society, mr. horner "took an active part in bringing about certain changes in the management of the society, which resulted in limiting to fifteen the number of new members to be annually elected..." in horner was elected president of the geological society; and in he again presided over the society, to the interests of which he had long devoted himself. his contributions to the society include papers on stratigraphical geology, mineralogy, and other subjects.--"memoirs of leonard horner," edited by his daughter, katherine m. lyell (privately printed, ). -letters to. -memoirs of. -address to geological society. -on coal. -on darwin's "geological observations." -visits down. -mentioned. horner, mrs. l. horse, ancestry. -arab-turk and english race-. -hybrids between quagga and. -in n. and s. america. -equality of sexes in race-. horsfall, w., letter to. hottonia, dimorphism of. hounds, gestation of. howard, l.o. hoya carnosa, darwin's work on. humble-bees, as agents of fertilisation of orchids. humboldt, bates' description of tropical forests compared with that by. -conversation with. -on heath regions. -on migration and double creation. -"personal narrative." -on violet of teneriffe. -darwin's opinion of. -on elevation and volcanic activity. -mentioned. humboldt and webb, on zones on teneriffe. hume, darwin on huxley's "life" of. humming-birds, agents of fertilisation. hunger, expression by sheldrakes of. husbands, resemblance between wives and. hutton, frederick wollaston, f.r.s., formerly curator of the canterbury museum, christchurch, new zealand, author of "darwinism and lamarckism, old and new," london, . -letter to. -review of "origin." hutton, james, ( - ): author of "theory of the earth." huxley, l., reference to his "life of t.h. huxley." -information given by. huxley, prof. t.h., biographical note, volume i. -article in "annals and magazine" in reply to falconer. -on aphis. -on automatism. -catalogue of collections in museum of practical geology. -comparative anatomy by. -on comte. -on cuvier's classification. -darwin's value of his opinion. -election to the athenaeum. -friendship with darwin. -on growth of darwin's views. -lectures at the royal institution. -lectures on evolution by. -lectures to working men. -legacy and gift to. -letters to. -"life of hume." -"man's place in nature." -marriage. -misrepresented by owen. -founds "natural history review." -obituary notice of darwin. -on the "origin of species." -on owen's archetype book. -president of the british association meeting at liverpool ( ). -on priestley. -quoted by lord kelvin as an unbeliever in spontaneous generation. -reviews by. -review of "vestiges of creation" by. -on sabine's address. -on saltus. -prefatory note to hackel's "freedom in science and teaching." -address to geological society ( ). -on classification of man. -on contemporaneity. -on catasetum. -on deep-sea soundings. -legacy from a. rich. -on lyell's "principles." -on use of term physiological species. -on vivisection. -and h.n. martin, "elementary biology" by. -mentioned. huxley, mrs. t.h., queries on expression sent by darwin to. -observations on child crying. -mentioned. hyacinth, experiment on bulbs. hyatt, alpheus ( - ): was a student under louis agassiz, to whose laboratory he returned after serving in the civil war, and under whom he began the researches on fossil cephalopods for which he is so widely known. in he became one of the curators of the essex institute of salem, mass. in he was made custodian, and in curator of the boston society of natural history. he held professorial chairs in boston university and in the massachusetts institute of technology, and "was at one time or another officially connected with the museum of comparative zoology and the united states geological survey." see mr. s. henshaw ("science," xv., page , february ), where a sketch of mr. hyatt's estimable personal character is given. see also prof. dall in the "popular science monthly," february . -and hilgendorf. -letters to. -letters to darwin from. -on tetrabranchiata. hyatt and cope, theories of. hybridism, chapter in "origin" on. -bentham's address on. -treatment by darwin in "variation of animals and plants." hybrids, and adaptation. -darwin's views on. -evidence in favour of pangenesis from. -experiments on. -fertility of. -intermediate character of. -primrose and cowslip. -article in "quarterly review" on. -sterility of. -max wichura on. -bronn on. -f. muller's work on. -and heterostyled plants. -rarity of natural. -j. scott's work on. -tendency to reversion. hydra, sexuality of. hydropathy, darwin and. hydrozoa, alternation of generations in. hymenoptera, affinities of. -h. muller on. hypericum perforatum, a social plant in u.s.a. hyracotherium cuniculus, owen on. iberis, mucus in seeds of. ice, as agent in dispersal of boulders. -agent in dispersal of plants. -forbes on transport by. -agent in lake-formation. -cleavage in. -work of, a new factor in geology. ice-action, on land and sea. icebergs, as factor in explaining european plants in azores. -croll on action of. -darwin on. -evidence in s. america of. -hopkins on action of. ice-cap, of arctic regions. iceland, importance of records of volcanic phenomena in. ignorance, darwin on immensity of man's. ilkley, darwin's visit to. illegitimate offspring, need for repetition of darwin's experiments on plants'. imatophyllum. immortality, darwin on. immutability of species. -falconer disbelieves in. -darwin on. imperfection of the geological record, see geological record. impotence in plants. -see also self-sterility. india, british rule in. -flora of. -hooker in. -varieties of domestic animals in. -h.f. blanford on. -darwin on origin of lakes in. -evidence of colder climate in. -j. scott accepts post in. infants, mrs. e talbot on development of mind in. -observations on ears of. infusoria, possible occurrence in underclays of coal. inglis, sir r., darwin at breakfast party. inheritance, atavism and. -conservative tendency of long. -hackel on. -hypothesis on. -jager on. -and natural selection. -power of. -j.c. prichard on. -and variability. -darwin on. -galton on. insanity, concealment of. "insect life," howard's. insectivorous plants, darwin's work on. insects, alpine. -lord avebury on. -bates on. -fossil. -luminous. -of madeira. -f. muller on metamorphosis of. -sharp's book on. -study of habits more valuable than description of new species. -wingless. -wollaston on. -antiquity of stridulating organs in. -colour and sexual selection. -h. muller's work on adaptation to fertilisation of flowers. -metamorphosis of. -music as attraction to. -observation on fertilisation of flowers by. -ramsay on. -riley's work on. -tropical climate and colours of. instinct, darwin and. -in nest-making. -selection of varying. insular floras. -hooker's lecture on. insular forms, in galapagos, canaries and madeira. -beaten by continental forms. intelligence, meaning of. -romanes on animal. -in worms. intercrossing, in pigeons. -darwin on effects of. -and sterility. interglacial periods, darwin on evidence for. intermediate forms. -bates' paper on. -s. american types as. -crossing and frequent absence of. -extinction of. -falconer on existence of. -as fossils. -asa gray on. -plagiaulax as evidence of. -wollaston on rarity in insects. introduced plants, sonchus in new zealand as example of. -in n. america and australia. -variability of. -darwin on. introductory essay to tasmanian "flora," hooker's. ipswich, british association meeting ( ). iquique, nitrate of soda beds at. ireland, spanish plants in. iris, flowers of. -nectar secretion of. islands, comparison between species of rising and sinking. -fauna of. -introduction of plants. -products of. -plants with irregular flowers on. -subsidence of coral. -survival of ancient forms in. -volcanic. -comparison of age of continents and. -former greater extension of. "island life," darwin's criticism of wallace's. isle of wight, occurrence of bee-orchis in. isnardia palustris, range of. isolation, bentham underestimates importance of. -darwin's opinion of. -importance of. -wagner exaggerates importance of. -weismann on effects of. itajahy, f. muller's narrow escape from flood of. italy, flora of. ivy, difference in growth of flowering and creeping branches. jaeger, g., letter to. -on pangenesis and inheritance. james', sir h., discussion in "athenaeum" on change of climate. -map of the world. james island, darwin's plants from. jameson. jamieson, w., on s. america. -darwin converted to glacial theory of glen roy after publication of paper by. janet, on natural selection. japan, american types in. -flora of. -gray's work on plants of. -progress of. java, botanical relation to africa. -alpine plants of. -wallace on. jays, crows and. -repeated pairing of. jeffreys, gwyn, shells sent by darwin to. jenkin, fleeming, review by. jenners, taste for natural history in the. jenyns (blomefield), rev. leonard: the following sketch of the life of rev. leonard blomefield is taken from his "chapters in my life; reprint with additions" (privately printed), bath, . he was born, as he states with characteristic accuracy, at p.m., may th, ; and died at bath, september st, . his father--a second cousin of soame jenyns, from whom he inherited bottisham hall, in cambridgeshire--was a parson-squire of the old type, a keen sportsman, and a good man of business. leonard jenyns' mother was a daughter of the celebrated dr. heberden, in whose house in pall mall he was born. leonard was educated at eton and cambridge, and became curate of swaffham bulbeck, a village close to his father's property; he was afterwards presented to the vicarage of the parish, and held the living for nearly thirty years. the remainder of his life he spent at bath. he was an excellent field-naturalist and a minute and careful observer. among his writings may be mentioned the fishes in "zoology of the voyage of the 'beagle,'" , a "manual of british vertebrate animals," , a "memoir" of professor henslow, , to which darwin contributed recollections of his old master, "observations in natural history," and "observations in meteorology," , besides numerous papers in scientific journals. in his "chapters" he describes himself as showing as a boy the silent and retiring nature, and also the love of "order, method, and precision," which characterised him through life; and he adds, "even to old age i have been often called a very particular gentleman." in a hitherto unpublished passage in his autobiographical sketch, darwin wrote, "at first i disliked him from his somewhat grim and sarcastic expression; and it is not often that a first impression is lost; but i was completely mistaken, and found him very kind- hearted, pleasant, and with a good stock of humour." mr. jenyns records that as a boy he was by a stranger taken for a son of his uncle, dr. heberden (the younger), whom he closely resembled. -letters to. -mentioned. jodrell laboratory, darwin's interest in. -note on. jordanhill, smith of, on gibraltar. "journal of researches," darwin's. judd, prof. j.w., letter to. -recollections of darwin. -on darwin's "volcanic islands." -darwin in praise of work of. jukes, on imperfection of the geological record. -on changes of climate. -on formation of river-valleys. -over estimates sub-aerieal denudation. jumps, variation by. juncus, range of. -j. bufonius. -variation of. -germination of seed from mud carried by woodcock. jura, darwin on erratic blocks of. jussieu, a. de. kane's, e.k., "arctic explorations," use of foxtails by esquimaux referred to in. kelvin, lord, address at the british association meeting at edinburgh ( ). -on geological time. -on age of the earth. -on origin of plant-life from meteorites. kemp, w., sends seeds to darwin. -on vitality of seeds. kensington, proposed removal of british museum (bloomsbury) collections to. kerguelen cabbage, chambers versus hooker on the. kerguelen island, coal-beds of. -relation of flora to that of fuegia. -similarity between plants of s. america and of. -importance of collecting fossil plants on. -moth from. -sea-shells of. -volcanic mountain on. kerner, a. von marilaun, on tubocytisus. -"pflanzenleben." -"schutzmittel des pollens." -on xenogamy and autogamy. -mentioned. kerr, on frozen snow. kerr, prof. graham. kew, proposed consolidation of botanical collections at. -rarity of insects and shells in royal garden. -darwin visits garden. -darwin obtains plants from. -darwin sends seeds to. -jodrell, laboratory at. -struggle for existence at. -suggestion that j. scott should work in garden. kilauea, lava in crater of. kilfinnin, shelves in valley of. kilima njaro, plants of. king, captain, collection of plants by. -"voyages of the 'adventure' and 'beagle.'" king, sir george, reminiscences of j. scott. -darwin receives seeds from. king, dr. richard ( ?- ): he was surgeon and naturalist to sir george back's expedition ( - ) to the mouth of the great fish river in search of captain ross, of which he published an account. in he accompanied captain horatio austin's search expedition in the "resolute." -arctic expedition. kingfisher, sexual difference in. kingsley, c., quoted in the "origin." -story of a heathen khan. -reference to e. forbes and p.h. gosse. kini balu, vegetation of. kirby and spence. klebs, on use of mucus in seeds. knight, a., on crossing. -hybrid experiments. -on sports. knight's law. knight-darwin law, f. darwin on. knuth, on morphology of cruciferous flower. koch's "flora germanica." kolliker, visits down. kollmann, dr., on atavism. kolreuter, on aquilegia. -on hybrids. -observations on pollen. -on self-fertilisation. -on varieties of tobacco. "kosmos," f. muller's article on crotolaria. -f. muller's paper on phyllanthus in. krause, e., letter to. -memoir of erasmus darwin. -memoir of h. muller. kroyer. kubanka, form of russian wheat. kurr, on flowers of canna. la plata, h.m.s. "beagle's" visit to. -cervus of. -mylodon of. -plants of. -extinct animals from. -slates and schists of. labellum, nature of. labiatae, large genera of. laboratory, darwin on the instruments for botanical. -founding of jodrell. laburnum, peloric flowers of. -darwin on hybrid (see also cytisus). ladizabala, crossing experiments on. lagerstraemia (lagerstroemia), f. muller on. lakes, darwin on ramsay's theory of. -as agents in forming parallel roads of glen roy. -of friesland. -geological action of. -ramsay on. lamarck, darwin on views of. -difference between views of darwin and. -"hist. zoolog." of. -hopkins on darwin and. -packard's book on. -quotation from. lamellicorns, f. muller on sexes in. -stridulating organs of. lamont, james, f.g.s., f.r.g.s.: author of "seasons with the sea-horses; etc.; yachting in the arctic seas, or notes of five voyages of sport and discovery in the neighbourhood of spitzbergen and novaya zemlya," london, ; and geological papers on spitzbergen. -letters to. lampyridae, luminous organs of. land, fauna of sea compared with that of. -changes in level of sea the cause of those on. land-birds, resting on the sea. land-shells, dispersal of. -of glacial period. -modification of. land-surfaces, preservation for long periods. landois, reference to paper by. language, observations bearing on origin of. -sir j. herschel on study of. lankester, e. ray, letter to. -drawing of earthworm used in darwin's book. lankester, e. (senior), speech at manchester british association meeting ( ), on darwin's theory. lantana, in ceylon. lanugo, on human foetus. lapland, richness of flora. latania lodigesii, peculiar to round island. latent characters, tendency to appear temporarily in youth. lathyrus aphaca. -l. grandiflorus, fertilisation of. -l. nissolia, evolution of. -explanation of grass-like leaves. -darwin on. -l. maritimus, bloom on. -l. odoratus, fertilisation of. -intercrossing of varieties. lauder-dick, sir thomas, on parallel roads of glen roy. laurel, extra-floral nectaries of. lava, darwin and scrope on separation of constituent minerals of. -elie de beaumont's measurements of inclination of. -fluidity of. -junction between dykes and. -and metamorphic schists. -scrope on basaltic and trachytic. -subsidence due to outpouring of. law, of balancement. -of growth. -of higgledy-piggledy. -of perfectibility by nageli. -of sterility. -of succession. -of variation. lawes, sir j.b., and sir j.h. gilbert, rothamsted experiments. laxton, t., close on the trail of mendelian principle. "lay sermons," huxley's. leaves, movements of. -used by worms in plugging burrows. lebanon, glacial action on. -plants of. -hooker on cedars of. lecky, rt. hon. w.e.h., darwin's interest in book by. -quoted in "descent of man." lecoq, "geographie botanique." -on self-sterility. -mentioned. lectures, darwin on edinburgh university, (see also hooker and huxley). -max muller's, on science of language. ledebour, allusion to book by. leeds, address by owen at. leersia oryzoides, cleistogamic flowers of. leggett, w.h., on rhexia virginica. legitimate unions, heteromorphic or. leguminosae, absence in greenland. -absent in new zealand. -anomalous genera in. -crossing in. -scarcity in humid temporate regions. -seeds of. -example of inherited pelorism in. -lord farrer's observations on fertilisation of. -nectar-holders in flowers. -reason for absence of. leibnitz, rejection of theory of gravity by. lemuria, continent of. lepadidae, darwin's work on, (see also barnacles). -fossil. lepas, nomenclature of. lepidodendron. lepidoptera, sexual selection in. -breeding in confinement. -f. muller on mimicry in. -protection afforded by wings. -want of colour-perception. -weir on apterous. lepidosiren, reason for preservation of. leptotes. leschenaultia, fertilisation mechanism. -self-fertilisation of. -l. biloba, fertilisation mechanism of. -l. formosa, fertilisation mechanism of. lesquereux, leo ( - ): was born in switzerland, but his most important works were published after he settled in the united states in . beginning with researches on mosses and peat, he afterwards devoted himself to the study of fossil plants. his best known contributions to palaeobotany are a series of monographs on cretaceous and tertiary floras ( - ), and on the coal-flora of pennsylvania and the united states generally, published by the second geological survey of pennsylvania between and (see l.f. ward, sketch of palaeobotany, "u.s. geol. surv., th ann. rep." - ; also "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xlvi., "proc." page , . -convert to evolution. -on coal floras. leuckart, rudolf ( - ): professor of zoology at leipzig. -convert to darwin's views. lewes, g.h., ( - ): author of a "history of philosophy," etc. -letter to. lewy, naphtali, letter to darwin from. lias, cephalopods from the. life, bastian's book on the beginnings of. -mystery of, -origin of. -principle of. -bearing of vitality of seeds on problem of. light, action on plants of flashing. lima, darwin visits. limulus. linaria, peloria as reversions. lindley, john ( - ): was born at catton, near norwich. his first appointment was that of assistant librarian to sir joseph banks. he was afterwards assistant secretary to the horticultural society, and during his tenure of that office he organised the first fruit and flower shows held in this country. in he was chosen to be the first professor of botany at university college, london, and a few years later he became lecturer to the apothecaries' company. he is the author of a large number of botanical books, of which the best known is the "vegetable kingdom," . he was one of the founders of the "gardeners' chronicle," and was its principal editor up to the time of his death. he was endowed with great powers of work and remarkable energy. he is said as a young man to have translated richard's "analyse du fruit" in a single sitting of three nights and two days. (from the article on lindley in the "dictionary of national biography," which is founded on the "gardeners' chronicle," , pages , .) -hooker's eloge of. -and royal medal. -"vegetable kingdom" by. -on acropera and gongora. -darwin on his classification of orchids. -letters to. -on melastomaceae. -on orchids. -hooker reviews darwin's orchid book in style of. -mentioned. lingula, persistence of. -silurian species. link, on alpine and arctic plants. linnaeus. linnean society, bentham's address. -collier's picture of darwin in rooms of. -darwin's paper on linum. -darwin advises bates to give his views on species before. -wallace's paper on the malayan papilionidae. linnet, a migratory bird. linope, e. hackel on. linum, darwin's work on. -dimorphism of. -interaction of pollen and stigma. -mucus in seeds of. linum flavum. -l. grandiflorum, two forms of. -l. lewisii, experiments on. -l. trigynum. -l. usitatissimum, circumnutation of. lister, lord, on spines of hedgehog. listera, fertilisation of. -l. cordata, fertilisation of. -l. ovata, fertilisation of. litchfield, mrs. (see darwin, henrietta). -criticism of huxley. littoral shells, glacial period and. liverpool, british association meeting at ( ). livingstone, d., on the distribution of thorny plants. lobelia, darwin's experiments on. -fertilisation mechanism of. -fertility of. -l. fulgens, scott's experiments on. lochaber, parallel roads of (see also glen roy). -evidence of ice-action. lochs, laggan (loggan), ice-action in. -roy, darwin disbelieves in existence of. -spey, shelves of. -treig, ice-action in. -milne's account of. locust grass, germination of. locusts, blown out to sea. -plants from dung of. logwood, leaf-movement of. -see haematoxylon. loiseleuria procumbens. london clay, supposed germination of seeds from. "london review," darwin's opinion of. -correspondence between owen and editor in reference to "origin." longchamps, l. de, on crossing in gramineae. longevity, darwin on animals' and man's. lonsdale, william ( - ): obtained a commission in the th regiment at the age of sixteen, and served at salamanca and waterloo. from to he held the office of assistant-secretary and curator of the geological society. mr. lonsdale contributed important papers on the devonian system, the oolitic rocks, and on palaeontological subjects. ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xxviii., page xxxv., .) -mentioned. lopezia, fertilisation of. lophura viellottii, colour of. loss, nature of. love, evidence of existence low in scale. loven, s.l.: published numerous papers on cirripedes and other zoological subjects in the stockholm "ofversigt" and elsewhere between and . -translation of paper on cirripedes. -mentioned. lowe, r.t., on madeira. lowell, prof., on custom in italy of shaking head in affirmation. lowland plants, ascending mountains. lowne, b.t., on anatomy of blowfly. lowness and highness. lubbock, lady. lubbock, sir j., see lord avebury. lucas, dr. p., on tendency to vary independent of conditions. ludwig, f., letter to. lumbricus (see also earthworms). luminosity in animals. -result of external conditions. lupinus, darwin's experiments on. luzula. lychnis dioica, structure of flower. -sets seed without pollen. lycopodium, variation in. lyell, sir charles, bart., f.r.s. ( - ): was born at kinnordy, the family home in central forfarshire. at the age of seventeen he entered at exeter college, oxford, and afterwards obtained a second class in the final honours school in classics. as an undergraduate lyell attended prof. buckland's lectures on geology. on leaving oxford lyell was entered at lincoln's inn; a weakness of the eyes soon compelled him to give up reading, and he travelled abroad, finding many opportunities for field work. he was called to the bar in , and in the same year published some papers on geological subjects. from - lyell filled the post of secretary to the geological society, and in was elected into the royal society. in the first volume of the "principles of geology" was published; the second volume appeared two years later. speaking of this greatest of lyell's services to geology, huxley writes: "i have recently read afresh the first edition of the "principles of geology," and when i consider that this remarkable book had been nearly thirty years in everybody's hands [in ], and that it brings home to any reader of ordinary intelligence a great principle and a great fact-- the principle that the past must be explained by the present, unless good cause be shown to the contrary; and the fact that, so far as our knowledge of the past history of life on our globe goes, no such cause can be shown--i cannot but believe that lyell, for others, as for myself, was the chief agent in smoothing the road for darwin" (huxley's "life and letters," volume ii., page ). as professor of geology in king's college, london, lyell delivered two courses of lectures in - ; in the latter year he received a royal medal, and in he was the recipient of the copley medal of the royal society. the "elements of geology" was published in ; this work is still used as a text-book, a new edition having been lately ( ) brought out by prof. judd; in and in appeared the "travels in north america" and "a second visit to the united states of north america." the "antiquity of man" was published in . lyell was knighted in , and in was raised to the rank of a baronet. he was buried in westminster abbey. darwin wrote in his autobiography: "the science of geology is enormously indebted to lyell, more so, as i believe, than to any other man who ever lived" ("life and letters," volume i., page ). in a letter to lyell-- november rd, --darwin wrote: "i rejoice profoundly that you intend admitting the doctrine of modification in your new edition [a new edition of the "manual" published in ]; nothing, i am convinced, could be more important for its success. i honour you most sincerely. to have maintained, in the position of a master, one side of a question for thirty years, and then deliberately give it up, is a fact to which i much doubt whether the records of science offer a parallel" ("life and letters," volume ii., pages - ). see "life, letters, and journals of sir charles lyell, bart." edited by his sister-in-law, mrs. lyell, volumes, london, . "charles lyell and modern geology," prof. t.g. bonney, london, .) -"antiquity of man." -on barrande. -cautious attitude towards "origin of species." -cautious judgment of. -on cetacea. -copley medal awarded to. -on continental extension. -controversy with owen. -darwin's pleasure in reading his "geology." -on distribution. -falconer and. -german opinion of. -on immutability. -interest in celts. -letters to. -letters to darwin from. -map of tertiary geography by. -on mutability. -on pangenesis. -"principles of geology." -on ramsay's theory of lakes. -urges darwin to publish his views with those of wallace. -visits down. -work in france. -address to geological society. -attacked by owen in his "anatomy of vertebrata." -criticism of murchison. -on craters of denudation. -darwin's indebtedness to. -death of. -death of his father. -gives up opposition to evolution. -on glaciers of forfarshire. -on glacial period in s. hemisphere. -versus herschel on volcanic islands. -on iceberg action. -memorial in westminster abbey. -on parallel roads of glen roy. -as founder of school of geology. -second visit to the united states. -trip to wales. -mentioned. lyell, lady, letter to. -translation of paper for darwin. -visits down. -mentioned. lynch, r.i. lythraceae, dimorphism in. lythrum, cross-fertilisation of. -darwin's work on. -trimorphism of. -l. hyssopifolium, range of. -l. salicaria, dimorphism of. -darwin's work on. macacas, owen on. -m. silenus, mane as a protection. macalister, prof. a. macarthur, sir w., on erythrina. macaw, beauty of plumage. mcclennan, on primitive man. macculloch, on glen turret. -on metamorphic rocks. -on parallel roads of glen roy. m'donnell, darwin on work of. macgillivray, reference to his "history of british birds." machetes pugnax, polygamy of. mackintosh, daniel ( - ): was well-known in the south of england as a lecturer on scientific subjects. he contributed several papers to the geological society on surface sculpture, denudation, drift deposits, etc. in he published a work "on the scenery of england and wales" (see "geol. mag." , page . -on boulders of ashley heath. -letters to. -on moel tryfan. -on sources of erratic blocks in england. mcnab, prof., j. scott and. -mentioned. macrauchenia, skull of. madagascar, existence of insects capable of fertilising angraecum in. -fossil hippopotamus of. -owen on fauna of. -plants of. -former extension of. -as a geographical region. -viola of. madeira, birds of. -british plants compared with those of. -canary islands formerly connected with. -flora of. -insects of. -land-extension, of. -land-shells of. -lowe on. -tertiary plants of. -elevation of. maer, the home of the wedgwoods. magellan straits, h.m.s. "beagle" in. magnus, review by krause of his work on colour. magpies, pairing of. mahon, lord, compliment to darwin. mahonia, natural crossing of. maillet, evolutionary views of. maize, hybrids of, see also zea. malaxeae, and epidendreae. malaxis, course of vessels in flower. -fertilisation of. malaxis paludosa, epiphytic on sphagnum. malay archipelago, darwin on wallace's book on. -translation by meyer of wallace's book. malay region, glacial epoch and the. -wallace on butterflies and pigeons of. malpighiaceae, degraded flowers of. -erythroxylon included in. malta, forbes on geology of. malthus, darwin derives help from reading. -haughton sneers at. -misunderstood. malva. mammae, as rudimentary organs in man. mammals, alteration in skulls of. -australian cave-. -birds compared with. -dana's classification. -distribution. -as indices of climatic changes. -as proof of union between england and continent since glacial period. -waterhouse's "natural history" of. -glacial period and extinction of. -origin and migration. mammoth (bog). mammoth, darwin's eagerness to collect bones of. -falconer on the. man, antiquity of (see "antiquity of man," and lyell, sir c.). -and apes. -brain of. -criticism of lyell's chapter on. -huxley's book on. -mcclennan on primitive. -and natural selection. -origin of. -races of. -selection by nature contrasted with selection by. -slow progress of. -darwin on wallace's paper on. -descent of. -ears of. -geological age of. -and geological classification. -hairyness of. -introduction of. -rank in classification. -turner on evolution of. -wallace on evolution of. mankind, descent from single pair. -early history of. -progress of. mantell, owen's attack on. "manual of scientific inquiry," darwin's. manx cats. maranta, sleep-movements of. marble, macculloch on metamorphism of. marianne islands, subsidence of. -want of knowledge of flora. marion, "l'evolution du regne vegetal," by saporta and. marlatt, c.l., on cicada. marquesas islands, subsidence of. marr, j.e., on the rocks of bohemia. -mentioned. marriage, darwin on. -galton's proposal to issue health-certificates for. marshall, w., on elodea. marsupialia, compared with placentata. -darwin on nature of. -evidence of antiquity. -abundance in secondary period. martens, see martins. martha (=posoqueria), f. muller's paper on. martin, h.n., darwin's opinion of "elementary biology" by huxley and. martins, experiments on immersion of seeds in sea by. maruta cotula of n. america. masdevallia, darwin's work on. massart, on regeneration after injury. masters, m., letters to. -lecture at royal institution. -"vegetable teratology." mastodon, australian. -extinction of. -falconer on. -in timor. -migration into s. america. -skeleton found by darwin. -m. andium, falconer on intermediate character of. "materialism of the present day," janet's. matteucci on electric fishes. matthew, p., on forest trees in scotland. -quoted by darwin as having enunciated principle of natural selection before "origin." maurienne, note on earthquake in province of. mauritius, craters of. -elevation of. -extinction of snakes of. -oceanic character of. maury's map, as illustrating continental extension. maxillaria. maypu river, darwin visits. mays, j.a., publishes lectures by huxley. medals: -(copley), darwin, lyell. -(royal). -(wollaston), darwin. medical department of army, statistics from director-general of. meditation, expression of eyes in. mediterranean islands, flora of. medusae, romanes' work on. meehan, t., letter to. megalonyx. megatherium, darwin collects bones of. -sir a. carlisle on. melastoma, darwin on. melastomaceae, darwin on. -crossing in. -two kinds of stamens in. meldola, prof. raphael f.r.s.: professor of chemistry in finsbury technical college (city and guilds of london institute), and a well- known entomologist; translated and edited weismann's "studies in the theory of descent," - . -address to entomological society. -letters to. -translation of weismann's "studies in descent" by. -on weismann and darwin. -mentioned. melipona. meloe, lord avebury on. melrose, seeds from sandpit near. memorial to the chancellor of the exchequer. mendel, g., w. bateson on his "principles of heredity." -darwin ignorant of work of. -laxton and. mendoza, darwin visits. "mental evolution in animals," romanes'. mentha, of n. america. -m. borealis, variety in n. america. menura superba, colour and nests of. menzies and cumming, visit galapagos islands. mercurialis. mertensia, darwin's experiments on. mesembryanthemum. mesotherium, falconer on. metamorphic schists. metamorphism, darwin on. -heat and. -sorby on. metamorphosis, lord avebury on insects and. -f. muller on. -quatrefages on. meteorites, lord kelvin suggests their agency in introduction of plants. "methods of study," agassiz' book on. mexicans, explanation of natural affinities of chinese and. meyen, on insectivorous plants. meyer, dr., translator of wallace's "malay archipelago." meyer and doege, on plants of cape of good hope. mica, in foliated rocks. mica-slate, clay-slate and. mice, ears of. -experiments by tait on. microscope, darwin on convenient form of. -indispensable in work on flowers. -use of compound without simple, injurious to progress of natural history. migration of animals and plants. -darwin on plant-. -of elephants. -glacial period and. -of plants. -in tropics. -of birds. mikania, a leaf-climber. -m. scandens, gradation between mutisia and. mill, j.s., on darwin's reasoning. -on greatest happiness principle. miller, hugh, "first impressions of england and its people." miller, s.h., "fenland past and present" by skertchley and. miller, prof. william hallowes, f.r.s. ( - ), held the chair of mineralogy at cambridge from to (see "obituary notices of fellows," "proc. r. soc." volume xxxi., ). he is referred to in the "origin of species" (edition vi., page ) as having verified darwin's statement as to the structure of the comb made by melipona domestica, a mexican species of bee. the cells of melipona occupy an intermediate position between the perfect cells of the hive-bee and the much simpler ones of the humble-bee; the comb consists "of cylindrical cells in which the young are hatched, and, in addition, some large cells of wax for holding honey. these latter cells are nearly spherical and of nearly equal sizes, and are aggregated into an irregular mass. but the important point to notice is that these cells are always made at that degree of nearness to each other that they would have intersected or broken into each other if the spheres had been completed; but this is never permitted, the bees building perfectly flat walls of wax between the spheres which thus tend to intersect." it occurred to darwin that certain changes in the architecture of the melipona comb would produce a structure "as perfect as the comb of the hive-bee." he made a calculation, therefore, to show how this structural improvement might be effected, and submitted the statement to professor miller. by a slight modification of the instincts possessed by melipona domestica, this bee would be able to build with as much mathematical accuracy as the hive-bee; and by such modifications of instincts darwin believed that "the hive-bee has acquired, through natural selection, her inimitable architectural powers" (loc. cit., page ). -letters to. million years, darwin on meaning of a. milne-edwards, darwin's cirripede work and. -darwin's opinion of. -on retrograde development. milne-home, david ( - ): was a country gentleman in berwickshire who became interested in geology at an early age. he wrote on the midlothian coal-field, the geology of roxburghshire, the parallel roads of glen roy, and compiled the reports presented by a committee appointed by the royal society of edinburgh to investigate the observation and registration of boulders in scotland ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xlvii., ; "proc." page ). -believes in connection between state of weather and earthquakes. -on glen roy. -letters to. -letter from r. chambers to. -on oscillation of sea. milton, quotation from. mimicry, bates on. -and dimorphism. -volucella as an example of. -wallace on. -and colour. -f. muller on lepidoptera and. mimosa, darwin's experiments on. -m. albida, darwin on. -m. sensitiva. mimoseae, f. muller's account of seeds of. mimulus, pfeffer on movement of stigma. mind, development of. -evolution of. -influence on nutrition. miocene land. miquel, f.a.w., on flora of holland. -on distribution of the beech. -on flora of japan. -mentioned. mirabilis. mirbel, g.f.b. de. miscellaneous letters, botanical. -geological. miscellaneous subjects, letters on. mississippi, lyell on pampas and deposits of the. mitchella. mivart, st. george f.r.s. ( - ): was educated at harrow, king's college, london, and st. mary's college, oscott. he was called to the bar in ; in he was appointed lecturer in the medical school of st. mary's hospital. in the "genesis of species," published in , mivart expressed his belief in the guiding action of divine power as a factor in evolution. -false reasoning of. -"genesis of species." modification, darwin's disbelief in sudden. -explanation of. -of insects. -of jays and crows. -of land and freshwater faunas. -selection and. -of species. -walsh on specific. moel tryfan, darwin on shells on. -mackintosh on shells on. moggridge, j. traherne ( - ): is described by a writer in "nature" volume xi., , page , as "one of our most promising young naturalists." he published a work on "harvesting ants and trap-door spiders," london, , and wrote on the flora of mentone and on other subjects. (see "the descent of man" volume i., edition ii., page , .) -letters to. -note on. -experiments on ants and seeds. mohl, von, on climbing plants. mojsisovics, e. von: vice-director of the imperial geological institute, vienna. -letters to. -work on palaeontology and evolution. molecular movement in foliated rocks. moller, "brasilische pilzblumen." molliard, on les cecidies florales. mollusca, distribution by birds. -huxley on. -means of dispersal of. -morse on protective colours of. -wallace on distribution of. molothrus, occurrence in brazil. monacanthus viridis, female form of catasetum tridentatum. monkeys, distribution of birds affected by. -range of. -ears of. -mane as protection. -wrinkling of eyes during screaming. monochaetum (monochoetum), absence of nectar in. -experiments on. -flowers of. -neglected by bees. -seeds of. -m. ensiferum, two kinds of stamens. monocotyledons, range of. -heterostylism in. monotremes, birds compared with. -as remnant of ancient fauna. monotropa uniflora, in new granada. -in himalayas. -in separate areas in u.s.a. monotypic genera, variation of. monstrosities, harvey on. -masters' work on. -no sharp distinction between slight variations and. -origin of species from. -variations and. monte video, darwin visits. -darwin on cleavage at. moon, effect on earthquakes. moraines, glacial. moral sense, j. morley on darwin's treatment of. morality, foundation of. more, alexander goodman ( - ): botanist and zoologist, distinguished chiefly by his researches on the distribution of irish plants and animals. he was born in london, and was educated at rugby and trinity college, cambridge. he became assistant in the natural history museum at dublin in , and curator in . he was forced by ill-health to resign his post in , and died in . he is best known for the cybele hibernica and for various papers published in the "ibis." he was also the author of "outlines of the natural history of the isle of wight," of a "supplement to the flora vectensis," and innumerable shorter papers. his "life and letters" has been edited by mr. c.b. moffat, with a preface by miss frances more ( ). there is a good obituary notice by mr. r. barrington in the "irish naturalist," may, . -letters to. morgan. morley, j., letters to. mormodes, labellum of. -m. ignea, flower of. morphological, hooker's criticism of term. -sense in which used by nageli. morphology, darwin's explanation of. -kollmann on batrachian. -of plants. morse, prof. e.s.: of salem, mass. -letters to. -on shell-mounds of omori. morton, lord, his mare. moscow, opinion on darwin's work from. moseley, canon h., on glacier-motion. moseley, prof. henry nottidge f.r.s. ( - ): was an undergraduate of exeter college, oxford, and afterwards studied medicine at university college, london. in he was appointed one of the naturalists on the scientific staff of the "challenger," and in succeeded his friend and teacher, professor rolleston, as linacre professor of human and comparative anatomy at oxford. moseley's "notes by a naturalist on the challenger," london, , was held in high estimation by darwin, to whom it was dedicated. (see "life and letters," iii., pages - .) -letter to. -proposal to examine kerguelen coal beds. moss-rose, sudden variation in. mostyn, lord, horse and quagga belonging to. moths, hermaphroditism in hybrid. -survival of distinct races. -colours of. -and sexual selection. mould, darwin's opinion of his paper on. mountain-building, rogers on. mountain-chains, darwin on. -and earthquakes. -and elevation. -false views of geologists on. -hopkins on. -volcanic rocks in. movement, of land-areas. -of plants, darwin on. -f. muller on. -wiesner on darwin's book on. mucus of seeds, significance of. mukkul, pass of. mules, meaning of stripes of. -j.j. weir's observations on. muller, ferd., on advance of european plants in australia. muller, (fritz) dr. johann friedrich theodor ( - ): was born in thuringia, and left his native country at the age of thirty to take up his residence at blumenau, sta catharina, south brazil, where he was appointed teacher of mathematics at the gymnasium of desterro. he afterwards held a natural history post, from which he was dismissed by the brazilian government in on the ground of his refusal to take up his residence at rio de janeiro ("nature," december th, , page ). muller published a large number of papers on zoological and botanical subjects, and rendered admirable service to the cause of evolution by his unrivalled powers of observation and by the publication of a work entitled "fur darwin" ( ), which was translated by dallas under the title "facts and arguments for darwin" (london, ). the long series of letters between darwin and muller bear testimony to the friendship and esteem which darwin felt for his co-worker in brazil. in a letter to dr. hermann muller (march th, ), mr. darwin wrote: "i sent you a few days ago a paper on climbing plants by your brother, and i then knew for the first time that fritz muller was your brother. i feel the greatest respect for him as one of the most able naturalists living, and he has aided me in many ways with extraordinary kindness." see "life and letters," iii., page ; "nature," october th, , volume lvi., page . -book by. -convert to darwin's views. -darwin's opinion of his book. -friendship with darwin. -hooker on. -letters to. -on lord morton's mare. -on mutual specialisation of insects and plants. -on prawns. -reference to letter from. -on sponges. -on cassia and caterpillars in s. brazil. -on climbing plants. -on crossing plants. -darwin offers to make good loss by flood. -darwin's admiration of. -on darwin's work on lepidoptera. -darwin urges him to write natural history book. -explanation of two kinds of stamens in flowers. -on fertilisation mechanisms. -letter to darwin from. -narrow escape from flood. -article in "kosmos" on phyllanthus. -on melastomaceae. -on orchids. -on stripes and spots in animals. -on termites. -disinclined to publish. -mentioned. muller, hermann ( - ): began his education in the village school of muhlberg, and afterwards studied in halle and berlin. from an early age he was a keen naturalist, and began his scientific work as a collector in the field. in he became science teacher at lippstadt, where he continued to work during the last twenty-eight years of his life. muller's greatest contribution to botany "die befruchtung der blumen durch insekten," was the outcome to charles darwin's book on the "fertilisation of orchids." he was a frequent contributor to "kosmos" on subjects bearing on the origin of species, the laws of variation, and kindred problems; like his brother, fritz, hermann muller was a zealous supporter of evolutionary views, and contributed in no small degree to the spread of the new teaching. ("prof. dr. hermann muller von lippstadt: ein gedenkblatt," by ernst krause, "kosmos," volume vii., page , .) -extract from letter to. -darwin's admiration for his book. -on fertilisation of flowers. -on clover and bees. -on epipactis and platanthera. -extract from darwin's preface to his "befruchtung der blumen." -letters to. -on melastoma. -persecuted by ultramontane party. -review in "kosmos" of "forms of flowers." -mentioned. muller, prof. max, "lectures on the science of language." -letter to. muller, rosa, observations on circumnutation. mummy wheat. mundane cold period, darwin on supposed. mundane genera, distribution of. munro, col., on bermuda. munro, on eyes of parrots. murchison, sir r.i., apotheosis of. -darwin's conversations with. -letter to. -address to geological society. -on structure of alps. -lyell's criticism of. murder, expression of man arrested for. murdoch, g.b., letter to. murray, a., address to botanical society of edinburgh. -criticism of wallace's theory of nests. -darwin criticised by. -darwin's criticism of work of. -on geological distribution of mammals. -on leaves and co . -review of "origin" by. -mentioned. murray, sir j., darwin on his theory of coral reefs. murray, j., darwin's agreement with. -"journal of researches" published by. -ms. of "origin" sent to. -sale of "origin." -publication of "fur darwin." mus, range of. musca vomitoria, lowne on. muscles, contraction in evacuation and in labour pains. -in man and apes. museum (british), enquiry as to disposal of natural history collections by trustees of. music, birds and production of. -insects, and. -origin of taste for. musk-duck, hatching of eggs. musk-orchids, pollinia of. musk ox, as index of climate. -found in gravel at down. mussels, seize hold of fishing hooks. mutability of species, lyell on. mutation, use of term. mutisia, a tendril-climber, compared with mikania. myanthus barbatus, hermaphrodite form of catasetum tridentatum. mylodon. myosotis, in n. america. myosurus, range of. mytilus, as fossil in the andes. nageli, carl wilhelm von ( - ): was born at kilchberg, near zurich. he graduated at zurich with a dissertation on the swiss species of cirsium. at jena he came under the influence of schleiden, who taught him microscopic work. he married in , and on his wedding journey in england, collected seaweeds for "die neueren algen-systeme." he was called as professor to freiburg im breisgau in ; and to munich in , where he remained until his death on may th, . in the "zeitschrift fur wiss. botanik," - , edited by nageli and schleiden, and of which only a single volume appeared, nageli insists on the only sound basis for classification being "development as a whole." the "entstehung und begriff" ( ) was his first real evolutionary paper. he believed in a tendency of organisms to vary towards perfection. his idea was that the causes of variability are internal to the organism: see his work, "ueber den einfluss ausserer verhaltnisse auf die varietatenbildung. among his other writings are the "theorie der bastardbildung," , and "die mechanisch-physiologische theorie der abstammungslehre," . the chief idea of the latter book is the existence of idioplasm, a part of protoplasm serving for hereditary transmission. (from dr. d.h. scott's article in "nature," october th, , page .) -darwin on his work. -essay on natural selection. -on hieracium. -"ueber entstehung und begriff der naturhistoriscehn art." -weismann on work of. -on arrangement of leaves. -criticism of darwin. -on innate principle of development. -on physiological nature of useful adaptations in plants. napier, rt. hon. j.r., speech at british association ( ) on darwin's work. naravelia. narborough, sir j., description of w. coast of s. america by. nascent organs, rudimentary and. -wing of apteryx as. natural classification. "natural conditions of existence," semper's. natural history, darwin's taste for. -darwin's contributions to. -accuracy the soul of. -darwin urges f. muller to write book on. natural history collections, enquiry as to disposal by british museum trustees of. "natural history review," lord avebury on walsh's paper on dimorphism. -bentham in the. -darwin's opinion of. -darwin reviews bates in. -falconer in the. -founding of. -huxley and. "natural inheritance," galton's. natural preservation, as substitute for natural selection. "natural science," a.s. woodward on neomylodon in. natural selection, accumulation of varieties by. -and adaptation in orchids. -allen on slowness of action. -angraecum in relation to. -ansted on. -applied to politics. -and artificial. -bates' belief in. -bronn on. -comparison with architecture. -with force and matter. -with laws of gravity. -conservative influence of. -cope's and hyatt's views on. -darwin accused of making too much of a deus of. -darwin's anxiety not to overestimate effect of. -darwin lays stress on importance of. -darwin on use of term. -deification of. -and direct action. -eocene or secondary organisms would be beaten in competition with recent on theory of. -and external conditions. -falconer on. -and fertility. -asa gray on. -harvey misunderstands darwin's meaning. -haughton partially admits. -hooker thinks darwin probably rides too hard his hobby of. -hooker on supposed falling off in belief in. -hooker and bates believe in. -huxley's belief in. -huxley gives in a lecture inadequate idea of. -hyatt and cope on. -importance of. -lamont on. -lyell on. -and monstrosities. -nageli's essay on. -no limit to perfection of co-adaptations produced by. -non-acceptance of. -objections to. -"plants are splendid for making one believe in." -possibility of race of bears being rendered aquatic through. -with the principle of divergence the keystone of "origin." -production of thorns through. -tends to progression of organisation. -providential arrangement and superfluity of. -struggle between reversion, variability and. -scott on. -slowness of action. -and sterility. -success of. -tails of mice a difficulty as regards. -sir w. thomson's misconception of. -uses of. -value of. -and variation. -variation of species sufficient for selection and accumulation of new specific characters by. -and useful characters. -wallace on. -watson on. -applied to man and brutes. -australian savages and. -beauty and. -darwin on action of. -darwin's historical sketch in "origin" of. -difficulties of. -donders nearly preceded darwin in views on. -evolution of man from point of view of. -owen's attitude towards. -primogeniture destructive of. -sexual selection less powerful than. -wallace attributes theory entirely to darwin. -wallace on brain and. naturalisation, of european plants. -of plants in india. -of plants in islands. naturalised plants, bentham on. -comparison of variability of indigenous and. -de candolle on. -variability of. -fewness of american species of, in britain. "naturalist in nicaragua," belt's. -belt's account of honey-glands of plants in. "naturalist on the amazons," bates'. -darwin's opinion of. naturalists, views on species held by. -few care for philosophical experiments nature, wallace on personification of. -use of term. "nature not lying," principle of. "nature," darwin's opinion of. -letters or notes from darwin in. -galton in. -f. muller in. -thiselton-dyer in. naudin, c., on hybridism. -on melastomaceae. nauplius stages. nautilus, of silurian age. necrophorus, darwin's observations on. nectar, in leguminous flowers. -lord farrer on secretion of, in coronilla. nectaries, belt on extra-floral. nectarines and peaches. -rivers on production from seed. -variation in. negative geological evidence, darwin and lyell on. negro, resemblance between expression of cebus and. nelumbium, as example of transport. neottia nidus-avis, fertilisation mechanism. -pollen-tubes of. nepenthes, hooker's work on. -thiselton-dyer on. neptunia. nervous system, genesis of. -influence on nutrition. nests, wallace's theory, of. -colour in relation to. -instinct in making. neumann, on catasetum. neumayr, melchior ( - ): passed his early life at stuttgart, and entered the university of munich in with the object of studying law, but he soon gave up legal studies for geology and palaeontology. in he was recalled from heidelberg, where he held a post as privatdocent, to occupy the newly created chair of palaeontology in vienna. dr. neumayr was a successful and popular writer, as well as "one of the best and most scientific palaeontologists"; he was an enthusiastic supporter of darwin's views, and he devoted himself "to tracing through the life of former times the same law of evolution as darwin inferred from that of the existing world." (see obit. notice, by dr. w.t. blanford, "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xlvi., page , .) -essay on descent theory. -services to geology. -"die stamme des thierreichs." nevill, lady dorothy. new zealand, absence of leguminosae opposed to continental extension of. -british plants in. -clover never seeded before introduction of bees. -comparison between flora of tasmania and. -elevation of mountains in. -flora of. -flora of australia and. -flora of raoul island and. -hooker on flora of. -darwin's opinion of hooker's "flora." -former connection of islands. -former extension of. -naturalised plants. -peopling of mountains by plants. -proportion of annuals. -species of plants common to america, chili and. -stocked from antarctic land. -colonising of. -glacial action in. -mountain-rat of. -trees of. newton, prof. a., note on strickland by. -description of partridge as agent in dispersal of seeds. newton's law of gravity. niagara, darwin on lyell's work on. nightingale, gould on the. noises, observations on children's. nolana prostrata, darwin's experiments on. nomenclature, discussion on. "north british review," fleeming jenkin's review in. -tait in. norton, professor charles elliot: of harvard, the son of the late dr. andrews norton, professor of theology in the harvard divinity school. -visits down. norway, von buch's travels in. -blytt on flora of. norwich, berkeley's address at british association ( ) meeting at. -hooker's address. nottingham, british association meeting ( ) at. -hooker's lecture on insular floras at. notylia, f. muller on. nucula, a persistent type. nuneham, darwin's recollection of trip to. nutrition, influence of mind on. nyctitropic movements, see sleep-movements. observation, spirit of astronomers in. -harder work than generalisation. -pleasure of. observations, not to be trusted without repetition. observer, a good theoriser makes a good. oceanic islands, difference in floras and means of stocking. -connection between continents and. -former extension of. -reade on. -volcanic nature of. oceans, age and depth of. -permanence of. -as sinking areas. ogle, w., on the sense of smell. -letter to. -translation of book by kerner. ogleby, reference to his nomenclature scheme. oken, on lepas. -owen on. old characters, reappearance of. oldenburgia. oldenlandia. olfers. oliver, d., darwin indebted to for information. -letters to. -mentioned. olyra, sleep-movements of. omori, morse on shell-mounds of. oncidium, j. scott's work on. -structure of labellum. -o. flexuosum, observations by muller and scott on. -self-sterility of. -o. sphacelatum, scott on fertilisation of. ophrys. -o. apifera, fertilisation-mechanism. -self-fertilisation of. -o. arachnites, fertilisation of. -habitat. -o. aranifera. -o. morio, fertilisation of. -o. muscifera, lord farrer's observations on. -o. scolopax. opossums. oppel, service to geology. -mentioned. opuntia, henslow describes new species from galapagos. orang-utang, rolleston on brain of. -wallace on. orange trees, grafting of. d'orbigny, on geology of s. america. -theory of formation of pampas mud. -"voyage dans l'amerique meridionale. -mentioned. orchids, adaptation in. -darwin's work on. -darwin's view that seedlings are parasitic on cryptogams. -falconer's estimate of darwin's work on. -few species in humid temperate regions. -flourish in cool temperate regions. -illustrate diversity of means to same end. -monstrous. -quoted as argument against species arising from monstrosities. -utility and. -fertilisation mechanisms of. -brazilian. -darwin decides to publish his work in book-form. -darwin sends copy of his book to f. muller. -darwin underrates power of producing seeds without insects. -french translation of darwin's book. -germinative power of pollen. -hildebrand's paper on. -nectar not excreted in some english. -and nectar secretion. -formation of ovule after pollination. -scott points out error in darwin's work. -scott on pollen-tubes of. -scott on self-sterility. -self-fertilisation in. -setting of seed in unopened flower. -sterility of. -course of vessels in flowers. -wonderful contrivances intelligible. orchis, flowers of. -nectaries of. -pollinia of. orchis (bee) (see also ophrys apifera), darwin's experiments on. -o. pyramidalis, fertilisation mechanism. -o. ustulata. order of nature. ordination. organ mountains, darwin on plants of. -glacial action on. organisms, simultaneous change in. -amount of change in fresh water and marine. organs, transition of -use of. "origin of the fittest," cope's. "origin of genera," cope's work on. origin of life. "origin of species," acceptance of doctrine of evolution due to the. -darwin's belief in the permanence of the framework of the. -darwin's opinion of his book. -dawson's review of. -direct action underestimated in the. -editions of the. -errors in. -falconer's estimate of. -huxley's cambridge speech, and reference to the. -huxley's lecture on coming of age of. -huxley's review of. -lesquereux's articles in "silliman" against the. -publication of the abstract of. -publication by murray of. -sale of the. -seemann on the. -translation of. -wallace's criticism of. -walsh on the. -darwin on necessity for modifications in the. -review by fleeming jenkin. -review by a. murray. -owen's criticism of darwin's historical sketch in th edition of. -owen's review of. -study of natural history revolutionised by the. -valueless criticism on. origin of species, darwin's early views on. -darwin's views on. -falconer antagonistic to darwin's views on. -oxford discussion (british association, ) on the. -spread of darwin's views in america. origin of species and genera, wallace in the "nineteenth century" on. original work, time taken up by, at expense of reading. ormerod's index to the geological society's journal. ornithorhynchus, aberrant nature of. -preservation of. orthoptera, auditory organs of. oscillariae, abundance in the ocean. oscillataria. oscillation of land, darwin's views on. os coccyx, as rudimentary organ. ostrea. ostrich, modification of wings. outliers, plants as. "outlines of cosmic philosophy," fiske's. ovary, abnormal structure in orchid. owen, sir richard ( - ): was born at lancaster, and educated at the local grammar school, where one of his schoolfellows was william whewell, afterwards master of trinity. he was subsequently apprenticed to a surgeon and apothecary, and became deeply interested in the study of anatomy. he continued his medical training in edinburgh and at st. bartholomew's hospital in london. in owen became assistant to william clift (whose daughter owen married in ), conservator to the hunterian museum of the royal college of surgeons. it was here that he became acquainted with cuvier, at whose invitation he visited paris, and attended his lectures and those of geoffroy st. hilaire. the publication, in , of the "memoir on the pearly nautilus" placed the author "in the front rank of anatomical monographers." on clift's retirement, owen became sole conservator to the hunterian museum, and was made first hunterian professor of comparative anatomy and physiology at the royal college of surgeons. in he accepted the post of superintendent of the natural history department of the british museum, and shortly after his appointment he strongly urged the establishment of a national museum of natural history, a project which was eventually carried into effect in . in he was gazetted k.c.b. owen was a strong opponent of darwin's views, and contributed a bitter and anonymous article on the "origin of species" to the "edinburgh review" of . the position of owen in the history of anatomical science has been dealt with by huxley in an essay incorporated in the "life of richard owen," by his grandson, the rev. richard owen ( volumes, london, ). huxley pays a high tribute to owen's industry and ability: "during more than half a century owen's industry remained unabated; and whether we consider the quality or the quantity of the work done, or the wide range of his labours, i doubt if, in the long annals of anatomy, more is to be placed to the credit of any single worker." the record of his work is "enough, and more than enough, to justify the high place in the scientific world which owen so long occupied. if i mistake not, the historian of comparative anatomy and palaeontology will always assign to owen a place next to, and hardly lower than, that of cuvier, who was practically the creator of those sciences in their modern shape, and whose works must always remain models of excellence in their kind." on the other hand, owen's contributions to philosophical anatomy are on a much lower plane; hardly any of his speculations in this field have stood the test of investigation: "...i am not sure that any one but the historian of anatomical science is ever likely to recur to them, and considering owen's great capacity, extensive learning, and tireless industry, that seems a singular result of years of strenuous labour." -address at leeds (british association, ) by. -admission of descent of species. -articles by. -on a badger of pliocene age. -on the brain. -mrs. carlyle's impression of. -and hooker. -conduct towards huxley. -darwin abused by. -on darwin and maillet. -and darwinism. -on ephemeral influence of the "origin." -falconer and. -huxley on. -on huxley's election to the athenaeum. -ignores darwin's work. -influence of. -isolation among scientific men. -lecture on birds by. -letters to. -letter to the "athenaeum." -"life of." -on lowness of animals. -on macacus. -on mammals of old world. -on morphology of vertebrata. -review in the "quarterly" of the "origin." -"palaeontology" by. -on parthenogenesis. -review in the "edinburgh review" by. -on simple and multiple organs. -on use and disuse. -and bishop wilberforce's review. -visits down. -attack on darwin in his "anatomy of vertebrata." -attitude towards natural selection. -mentioned. owls and hawks, as agents in seed-dispersal. oxalis, bulbils of. -cleistogamic flowers of. -dimorphism of. -pollen-tubes of. -seeds of. -trimorphism of. -o. acetosella, sensitive leaves of. -variation in length of pistil and stamens. -o. sensitiva, darwin's work on. -o. corniculata, variation of. oxford, meeting of the british association at ( ). -tuckwell's reminiscences of. oxlips, darwin's experiment on cowslips, primroses, and. -darwin on hybrid character of. -scarcity of. oxyspora paniculata, wallich on. pachira, inequality of cotyledons. -p. aquatica. pacific ocean, darwin wishes hooker to investigate floras of. -islands of the. -coral reefs of. packard's "lamarck the founder of evolution." paget, sir j., on regeneration. -address on elemental pathology. -illness of. -on influence of mind on nutrition. -"lectures on surgical pathology." -letters to. -mentioned. pairing, in birds. -vigour of birds and effect on time of. palaeolithic flints, in gravels near southampton. palaeontology, rapid progress of. palaeozoic period. paley, idea of interference of creator in construction of each species due to. "pall mall," article on "dr. hooker on religion and science" in. -letter to editor of. pallas, darwin's conviction of truth of doctrine of. -doctrine of. -on hybrids and fertility. palm, malayan climbing. palm, l.h., work on climbing plants by. palma, crater of. pampas, geology of the. -formation of. -lyell on mississippi beds and. -d'orbigny's theory of formation of. -thistle of the. pangenesis, adverse opinion on. -bentham on. -berkeley on. -bud-propagation and. -darwin on. -darwin's suggestion as to term. -difference between galton's theory of heredity and. -evidence from hybridisation in favour of. -hooker on. -huxley's views on. -jager on. -lyell on. -and molecular hypothesis of hackel. -ranyard on. -romanes on. -self-fertilisation and. -wallace on. -the idea a relief to darwin as connecting facts. -f. muller and. -bearing on regeneration. -"will turn out true some day." -mentioned. panmixia. panniculus carnosus in man. papilio memnon, wallace on. -p. nireus, mrs. barber on. -p. pammon, wallace on. papilionaceaous flowers, absence in new zealand. -and hermaphroditism. papilionidae, wallace on malayan. paraheliotropism, muller's observations on. -in phyllanthus. parallel roads of glen roy (see glen roy). parana, darwin finds mastodon at. pararge, breeding in confinement. parasites, and degeneration. -extermination of game by. -bloom as protection against. -and galls. parietaria, explosive stamens of. parrots, as agents in seed-dispersal. parsimony, hamilton's law of. parthenogenesis, darwin on. -owen's hunterian lecture on. -in primula. -j. scott's work on. partridges, as agents of seed-dispersal. -rudimentary spurs on legs of. parus caeruleus, protective colouring of. passiflora, bloom experiments on. -lord farrer's work on. -position of flowers of. -muller assists lord farrer in work on. -scott's work on. -self-sterility of. -sprengel on. -visited by humming-birds. -p. gracilis, dispersal of seeds. -p. princeps, adapted to humming birds. patagonia, l. agassiz on elevation of. -darwin on geology of. -gigantic land-sloth of. -admiral sulivan on. pathology, paget's lectures on. pattison, mark. pavo nigripennis. payne, on effect of rain on plants. -observations by. peaches, bud-variation in. -raised from seed. peacock, evolution and sexual selection of. -experiments on cutting tail of male. -muscles of tail of. pearson, h.h.w., on the botany of ceylon patanas. peas, course of vessels in ovary of sweet-. -crossing in. -fertilisation of. -waxy secretion in. pecten, p. latissimus. pelargonium, peloric. -beaton on. -darwin's experiments on. -flowers of. -p. multiflora alba, darwin's experiments on crossing. pelobius, darwin on. peloria, effect of pollen on regular flowers. -darwin suggests experiments on. -masters on. -in pelargonium. -inheritance of. peneus, f. muller on. pentateuch, n. lewy on. periodicals, darwin's opinion of scientific. -foreign compared with english. peripatus, moseley's work on. peristylus viridis, lord farrer's observations on. permanence of ocean basins. permian period, glacial action during. -freshwater beds in india. "personal narrative," humboldt's. peru, anarchy in. -darwin on terraces in. -d. forbes on geology of. peuquenes pass, darwin visits. pfeffer, prof., on chemotaxis. -considers wiesner wrong in some of his interpretations. -on drosera. -"periodische bewegungen." pfitzer, on classification of orchids. pfluger. phalaenopsis. phanerogams, comparison with one class of animals rather than with one kingdom. phaseoli, crossing in. phaseolus vulgaris, sleep-movements of. pheasants, display of colour by golden. -hewitt on hybrids of. -hybrids between fowls and. -protective colouring. phillips, j., defines species. -evolutionary views. -"life on the earth." -mentioned. phillips-jodrell, t.t., founder of jodrell laboratory at kew. philosophical club. philosophical experiments, few naturalists care for. philosophising, means and laws of. phlox, darwin's observations on flowers of. -heterostylism of. -p. drummondii. -p. subulata. phyllanthus, f. muller's paper in "kosmos" on. -sleep-movements of. -p. niruri, sleep-movements of. phryma, de candolle on. -occurrence in n. america. phyllotaxis, darwin and falconer on. physical conditions, effect of. "physical geography," herschel's. physicists, disagree as to rate of cooling of earth's crust. "physiological aesthetics," grant allen's. physiological germs. physiological selection, romanes'. physiological species, huxley's term. physiological units, herbert spencer's. physiological variations. "physiology," huxley's "elementary lessons in." -darwin on difficulty of. -darwin's want of knowledge of. -darwin's work on plant-. -england behind in vegetable. -small knowledge of ordinary doctors of. -and vivisection. phytophagic varieties, walsh on. phytophthora, potatoes and. "pickwick," quotation from. pictet, on the succession of forms. -mentioned. pictet and humbert, on fossil fishes of lebanon. pieris, breeding in confinement. -colour the result of mimicry. -protective colouring. -p. napi. -weismann on. pigeons, breeding of. -drawings of. -experiments on crossing. -experiments bearing on direct action. -production of varieties. -reduction of wings. -and sterility. -tegetmeier's work on. -wallace on malayan. -darwin's work on. -experiments in painting. -flourens' experiments on. -gay deceiver. -pairing for whole life. (barbs.) (carriers.) (fantails.) (laugher.) (pouters.) (rock.) (runts.) (tumblers.) pigs, crossing of. "pikermi," gaudry's "animaux fossiles de." pinguicula, darwin's observations on. pistyll rhiadr. pisum, cross-fertilisation of. -p. sativum, visited by bombus. pithecoid man, huxley's term. pithecus, owen on homo and. placentata. plagiaulax, falconer on. planaria. planorbis, hyatt on genesis of species of. -p. multiformis, graduated forms of. plantago, ludwig's observations on. -darwin on. plants, change in animals compared with change in. -comparison between high and low as regards resistance to injurious conditions. -contractility of. -difference between animals and. -distribution of. -fossil. -of madeira. -morphological characters. -resemblance to animals. -saporta's work on fossil. -small proportion preserved as fossils. -splendid for helping belief in natural selection. -thorns in. -wide range as compared with animals. -darwin's interest in movements of. -darwin on physiology of. -disease in. -effect of stimuli on. plas edwards. plasmodiophora, action on cruciferous roots. platanthera, h. muller on. plato, comparison between plants and man in his "timaeus." platysma myoides, contraction during terror. -darwin's error concerning. playfair, lord. pleistocene antarctic land, plants derived from. pliocene, falconer on mammal from the. plovers, protective colouring of. plumage, immature and adult. plumbago, darwin's experiments on. -said to be dimorphic. podostemaceae, fertilisation of. poisons, natives of australia injured by vegetable. -absorption by roots of. -effect of injection into plants. polar bear, modification of. polar ice-cap, darwin on the. polarity, e. forbes' theory of. pollen, direct action of. -experiments on. -time of maturity in eucalyptus and mimosa. -mechanism for distribution in martha. -miyoshi's experiments on tubes of. polyanthus, crossing in. polyborus novae zelandiae, in falkland islands. polydactylism, and inheritance. polyembryony, in coffea and pachira. polygala. -p. vulgaris, variation of. polygamy, in birds. -in machetes. polygonum, germination of seeds found in sandpit. polymorphism, darwin and hooker on. -wallace on. polytypic genera, variation of. pontederia, heterostylism of. pontodrilus, lankester on. poplar, heer on fossil species. popper, j., letter to. poppig, on civilisation and savagery. poppy (corn-), indigenous in sicily. porpoises, flower on. -freshwater. -murray on. portillo pass. porto-santo, land-snails of. -plants of. positivism, huxley's article in "fortnightly review" on. posoqueria, f. muller's paper on. potatoes, crossing experiments. -cultivated and wild. -disease of. -experiments suggested. -graft-hybrids. -sterility and variability in. -torbitt's experiments on. -traill's experiments. -varieties of. -darwin's work on varieties of. -hildebrand's experiments on. poulton, prof., on prichard as an evolutionist. -"charles darwin and the theory of natural selection." poultry, skulls of. -tegetmeier's book on. -experiments on colour and sexual selection. powell, prof. baden. "power of movement in plants," darwin's account of capacity of revolving in plants, in his book. -continental opinion of. -wiesner's criticism of. prawns, f. muller on metamorphosis of. prayer, galton's article on. pre-cambrian rocks, hicks on. predominant forms. "prehistoric europe," j. geikie's. "prehistoric times," lord avebury's. preordination, speculation as to. prepotency of pollen. prescott, reference to work by. preservation, suggested as an alternative term for natural selection. pressure, effect on liquefaction by heat. preston, s. tolver, letter to. prestwich, prof. j., letter to. -on parallel roads of glen roy. -on superficial deposits of s. england. -work on tertiaries. -mentioned. prevost, c., as candidate for royal society foreign list. -mentioned. price, j., extract from letter from darwin to. prichard, james cowles ( - ): he came on both sides from quaker families, but, according to the "encyclopaedia britannica," he ultimately joined the church of england. he was a m.d. of edinburgh, and by diploma of oxford. he was for a year at trinity college, cambridge, and afterwards at st. john's and new college, oxford, but did not graduate at either university. he practised medicine, and was physician to the infirmary at bristol. three years before his death he was made a commissioner in lunacy. he not only wrote much on ethnology, but also made sound contributions to the science of language and on medical subjects. his treatise on insanity was remarkable for his advanced views on "moral insanity." -on immutability. -quotations from his "physical history of mankind." priestley, "green matter" of. -huxley's essay on. primogeniture, antagonistic to natural selection. primrose (see also primula), darwin's experiments on cowslip and. -dimorphism of. -j. scott on. primula, darwin's work on. -difficulty of experimenting with. -dimorphism of. -dimorphism lost by variation. -entrance of pollen-tubes at chalaza. -varying fertility of. -fertilisation of. -homomorphic unions and. -ovules of. -j. scott's work on. -stamens of. -p. elatior. -p. longiflora, non-dimorphism of. -treviranus on. -p. mollis. -p. scotica. -p. sinensis. -fertility of. -legitimate and illegitimate unions. -movement of cotyledons. principle of divergence. "principles of biology," spencer's. "principles of geology," lyell's. -darwin on. -wallace's review of. pringlea antiscorbutica (kerguelen cabbage). priority, falconer and owen on. proboscidean group, extinction of. progress, in forms of life and organisation. progression, tendency in organisms towards. progressive development. pronuba, the yucca moth, riley on. proteaceae, former extension of. protean genera, list of n. american. protection, colour in butterflies and. -thorns as. -wallace on. -colour and. -colour of birds and. -colour of caterpillars and. -colour of shells and. -darwin's views on sexual selection and. -evolution of colour and. -mimicry and. -monkeys' manes as. -wallace on colour and. -wallace on wings of lepidoptera and. protective resemblance, wallace on. proterogyny, in plantago. prothero, g.w. protococcus. protozoa. providential arrangement. prunus laurocerasus, extra-floral nectaries visited by ants. psithyrus. psychology, delboeuf on. -romanes' work on comparative. ptarmigan, protective colouring of. pterophorus periscelidactylus. publishing, over-readiness of most men in. pumilio argyrolepis, darwin on seeds of. purbeck, plagiaulax from the. purpose, darwin on use of term. pyrola, fertilisation mechanism in. quagga, hybrid between horse and. quails, seed-dispersal by migratory. "quarterly journal of science," article on darwin and his teaching in. -review by wallace of the duke of argyll's "reign of law." "quarterly review," mivart's article. -bishop wilberforce's review of "origin" in. -article on zebras, horses, and hybrids. quartz, segregation in foliated rocks. quatrefages, jean louis armand de, de breau ( - ): was a scion of an ancient family originally settled at breau, in the cevennes. his work was largely anthropological, and in his writings and lectures he always combated evolutionary ideas. nevertheless he had a strong personal respect for darwin, and was active in obtaining his election at the institut. for details of his life and work see "a la memoire de j.l.a. de quatrefages de breau," o, paris (privately printed); also "l'anthropologie," iii., , page . -letters to. -translation of paper by. -on proportion of sexes in bombyx. quenstedt, work on the lias by. queries on expression. rabbits, angora, skeletons of. -darwin's work on. race, nature's regard for. racehorse, selection by man. -wallace on fleetness of. -equality of sexes in. races of man. -causes of difference in. -wallace on. rafflesia, parasites allied to. rain, effect on leaves. -movements of leaves as means of shooting off. ramsay, sir a.c., on origin of lakes. -geological society hesitates to publish his paper on lakes. -on ice-action. -on insects in tropics. -memoir by geikie of. -on denudation and earth-movements. -overestimates subaerial denudation. -on parallel roads of glen roy. -on permian glaciers. -proposal that he should investigate glacial deposits in s. america. -mentioned. range, de candolle on large families and their. -coleoptera and restricted. -of genera. -of shells. -size of genera in relation to species and their. -of species. ranunculaceae, evidence of highness in. ranunculus auricomus. ranyard, a.c., letter to "nature" on pangenesis. raoul island, hooker on. raphael's madonna, referred to by darwin. raspberry, germination of seeds from a barrow. -waxy secretion of. rattlesnake, wright on uses of rattle of. raven, said to pair for whole life. ray society, work of. raymond, du bois, work on plants. reade, t.m., letters to. -on age of the world. "reader," sold to the anthropological society. reading, darwin complains of lack of time for. -little time given by scientific workers to. reciprocal crosses, half-sterility of. rede lecture, by phillips ( ). reduction, cessation of selection as cause of. -organs of flight and. -wings of ostrich and. references, darwin on importance of giving. -wallace on. regeneration, power of. -reference in "variation of animals and plants" to. "reign of law," the duke of argyll's. -reviewed by wallace. reindeer, of spitzbergen. -horns of. religion and science. representative species. -in floras of japan and n. america. -in galapagos islands. reproduction, difference in amount of energy expended by male and female in. reproductive organs, st.-hilaire's view of affaiblissement and development of. -in relation to theoretical questions. research, huxley and. -justification of. reseda lutea, sterile with own pollen. -r. odorata, experiment on cross-and self-fertilisation. resemblance, mimetic. resignation, expression in. restiaceae, former extension of. restricted distribution. retardation, cope on. retrogression. reversion, in ammonites. -darwin on. -and degeneration of characters. -factors causing. -hybridism and. -lord morton's mare and. -stripes of mules due to. -struggle between natural selection and. -and crossing. -peloria and. review of the "descent of man," by j. morley. reviews, darwin on an author writing his own. -on the "origin of species," by asa gray. -haughton. -hopkins. -hutton. -huxley. -f. jenkin. -owen. -wilberforce. rhamnus. rhexia, flowers of. -r. virginica, w.h. leggett on anthers. rhinoceros. rhinochetus. rhizocephala, retrograde development in. rhododendron boothii. rhopalocera, breeding in confinement. rhynchoea, colour of. rich, anthony ( ?- ): educated at caius college, cambridge, of which he was afterwards an honorary fellow. author of "illustrated companion to the latin dictionary and greek lexicon," , said to be a useful book on classical antiquities. mr. darwin made his acquaintance in a curious way--namely, by mr. rich writing to inform him that he intended to leave him his fortune, in token of his admiration for his work. mr. rich was the survivor, but left his property to mr. darwin's children, with the exception of his house at worthing, bequeathed to mr. huxley. -legacy to huxley. -letter to. -leaves his fortune to darwin. rich, mrs., mentioned. richardson, r., on tablet to commemorate darwin's lodgings at , lothian street, edinburgh. richardson, darwin on merits of. rigaud, on formation of coal. riley, charles valentine ( - ): was born in england: at the age of seventeen he ran away from home and settled in illinois, where at first he supported himself as a labourer; but he soon took to science, and his first contributions to entomology appeared in . he became entomological editor of the "prairie farmer" (chicago), and came under the influence of b.d. walsh. in riley became state entomologist of missouri, and in entomologist to the u.s. department of agriculture, a post he resigned in owing to ill-health; his death was the result of a bicycle accident. (taken principally from the "proceedings of the entomological society of washington," volume iii., - , page .) -letters to. -mentioned. rio janeiro, absence of erratic boulders near. -agassiz on drift-formation near. rio negro. rio plata. ritchie, mrs., visit to down. rivers, the late mr. thomas: of sawbridgeworth, was an eminent horticulturist and writer on horticulture. -letters to. robin, attracted by colour of triphaena (triphoea). robinia, insect visitors of. rocks, bending when heated. -condition in interior of earth. -fluidity of. -metamorphism of (see also metamorphism). rocky mountains, wingless insects of the. rogers, w.b. and h.d., on cleavage. -on coalfields of n. america. -on parallelism of axis-planes of elevation and cleavage. rolleston, george ( - ): obtained a first-class in classics at oxford in ; he was elected fellow of pembroke college in , and in the same year he entered st. bartholomew's hospital. towards the close of the crimean war, rolleston was appointed one of the physicians to the british civil hospital at smyrna. in he was elected the first linacre professor of anatomy and physiology, a post which he held until his death. "he was perhaps the last of a school of english natural historians or biologists in the widest sense of the term." in he gave the results of his work on the classification of brains in a lecture delivered at the royal institution, and in published his best known book, "forms of animal life (dict. nat. biography). -address in "nature" by. -on the orang-utang. -adhesion to darwin's views. -letter to. -letter to darwin from. -mentioned. rollisson. roman villa at abinger. romanes, g.j. ( - ): was one of mr. darwin's most devoted disciples. the letters published in mrs. romanes' interesting "life and letters" of her husband ( ) make clear the warm feelings of regard and respect which darwin entertained for his correspondent. -darwin on controversy between duke of argyll and. -on graft-hybrids. -letters to. -letter to darwin from. -letter to "nature" in reply to the duke of argyll. -on physiological selection. -review of roux's book. -on heliotropism. -lecture on animal intelligence by. -lecture on evolution of nerves. -letter to "times" from. -"life and letters" of. -on minds of animals. roots, heliotropism of. -sensitive tip of. roses, n. american species. -bud-variation. -raising from seed. -resemblance of seedling moss-rose to scotch. -varieties of. ross, sir j. rosse, lord. round island, fauna and flora of. roux's "struggle of parts in the organism." royal commission on vivisection. royal institution, lectures at. royal medals. royal society, council meeting of. royer, mdlle., translatress of the "origin." royle, john forbes ( - ): was originally a surgeon in the h.e.i.c. medical service, and was for some years curator at saharunpur. from - he was professor of materia medica at king's college, london. he wrote principally on economic and indian botany. one of his chief works was "illustrations of the botany and other branches of the natural history of the himalayan mountains and of the flora of cashmere." (london, .) -letters to. -mentioned. rubiaceae, dimorphism in. -fertilisation in. rubus, n. american species. -variation in. -f. darwin on roots of. rubus and hieracium, comparison of variability of n. american and european species. rucker. rudimentary organs. -in frogs. -nascent and. -variation of. -in man. -use in classification. rudinger, dr., on regeneration. rue, flowers of. ruffs, polygamy of. rumex, germination of old seeds. russia, forms of wheat cultivated in. rutaceae, a. st.-hilaire on difference in ovary of same plants of. sabine, general sir e. sabine ( - ): president of the royal society - . (see "life and letters," iii., page .) -address to royal society. -award of copley medal to darwin during presidency of. -recognition by government. -mentioned. sabrina, elevation of. sagitta. st. dabeoc's heath, in azores. st. helena, darwin suggests possibility of finding lost plants in earth from. -extinction in. -hooker on flora of. -land-birds of. -plants of. -trees of. -darwin on craters of. -geology of. -subsidence in. -white on hemiptera of. st.-hilaire, a.f.c.p. de, on affaiblissement. -erect and suspended ovules in same ovary. -"lecons de botanique." -life of. st.-hilaire, j.g., on monstrosities. -author of "life of a.f.c.p. de st.-hilaire." st. jago, darwin on craters of. -elevation of. st. paul's rocks, plants of. -geological structure. saintpaulia, dimorphic flowers. st. ventanao, conglomerates of. salicaceae. salicornia, bloom on. salix, varieties of. salsola kali, bloom on. salt water, effect on plants. salter, on vitality of seeds after immersion in the sea. saltus, darwin's views on. salvages, flora of the. salvia, hildebrand's paper on. samara, russian wheat sent to darwin from. samoyedes, power of finding their way in fog. sandberger, controversy with hilgendorf. sanderson, sir j.b., electrical experiments on plants. -letters to. -on vivisection. sandwich islands, absence of alpine floras. -flora of. -geranium of. -dana on valleys and craters. -galapagos and. sanicula, occurrence of species in azores. -range of. santa cruz. santorin, crater of. -linear vent in. -lyell's account of. saporta, marquis de, ( - ): devoted himself to the study of fossil plants, and by his untiring energy and broad scientific treatment of the subject he will always rank as one of the pioneers of vegetable palaeontology. in addition to many important monographs on tertiary and jurassic floras, he published several books and papers in which darwin's views are applied to the investigation of the records of plant-life furnished by rocks of all ages. ("le marquis g. de saporta, sa vie et ses travaux," by r. zeiller. "bull. soc. geol. france," volume xxiv., page , .) -letters to. -on rapid development of higher plants. sargassum, forbes on. sarracenia. savages, civilisation of. -comparison between animals and. -decrease of. -selection among. saxifrages, destruction in ireland of spanish. -formation of hairs in. saxonika, form of russian wheat. scaevola, fertilisation mechanism of. -s. microcarpa, fertilisation mechanism of. scalesia. scandinavia, hooker on potency of flora. -blytt on distribution of plants of. -elevation of. scarlet fever, darwin's dread of. "scenery of scotland," sir a. geikie's. scepticism, darwin on. schimper, review by hooker of "paleontologie vegetale" by. schlagintweit. schleiden, convert to darwin's views. schmankewitsch, experiments on artemia by. schobl, j., on ears of mice. schoenherr, c.j. schomburgk, sir r., on catasetum, monacanthus, and myanthus. school, darwin at mr. case's. -of mines. schrankia, a sensitive species of. schultze, max. science, and superstition. -progresses at railroad speed. science defence association, darwin asked to be president of. scientific men, attributes of. -domestic ties and work of. -article in "reader" on. scientific periodicals, darwin's opinion of. scotland, forest trees of. -comparison between flora of t. del fuego and that of. -elevation of. -frequency of earthquakes in. -land-glaciation of. -tails of diluvium in. "scotsman," forbes' lecture published in. -darwin's letter on the parallel roads of glen roy in the. scott, d.h., obituary notice of nageli by. scott, john ( - ): short obituary notices of scott appeared in the "journal of botany," , page , and in the "transactions of the bot. soc. of edinburgh" volume xiv., november th, , page ; but the materials for a biographical sketch are unfortunately scanty. he was the son of a farmer, and was born at denholm (the birthplace the poet leiden, to whom a monument has been erected in the public square of the village), in roxburghshire. at four years of age he was left an orphan, and was brought up in his aunt's household. he early showed a love of plants, and this was encouraged by his cousin, the rev. james duncan. scott told darwin that he chose a gardening life as the best way of following science; and this is the more remarkable inasmuch as he was apprenticed at fourteen years of age. he afterwards (apparently in ) entered the royal botanic garden at edinburgh, and became head of the propagating department under mr. mcnab. his earliest publication, as far as we are aware, is a paper on fern-spores, read before the bot. soc., edinburgh, on june th, . in the same year he was at work on orchids, and this led to his connection with darwin, to whom he wrote in november . in he got an appointment at the calcutta botanic garden, a position he owed to sir j.d. hooker, who was doubtless influenced by darwin's high opinion of scott. it was on his way to india that scott had, we believe, his only personal interview with darwin. we are indebted to sir george king for the interesting notes given below, which enable us to form an estimate of scott's personality. he was evidently of a proud and sensitive nature, and that his manner was pleasing and dignified appears from darwin's brief mention of the interview. he must have been almost morbidly modest, for darwin wrote to hooker (january th, ): "remember my urgent wish to be able to send the poor fellow a word of praise from any one. i have had hard work to get him to allow me to send the [primula] paper to the linn. soc., even after it was written out!" and this was after the obviously genuine appreciation of the paper given in darwin's letters. sir george king writes:-- "he had taught himself a little latin and a good deal of french, and he had read a good deal of english literature. he was certainly one of the most remarkable self-taught men i ever met, and i often regret that i did not see more of him...scott's manner was shy and modest almost to being apologetic; and the condition of nervous tension in which he seemed to live was indicated by frequent nervous gestures with his hands and by the restless twisting of his long beard in which he continuously indulged. he was grave and reserved; but when he became interested in any matter he talked freely, although always deliberately, and he was always ready to deafen his opinions with much spirit. he had, moreover, a considerable sense of humour. what struck me most about scott was the great acuteness of his powers of observing natural phenomena, and especially of such as had any bearing on variation, natural selection or hybridity. while most attentive to the ordinary duties of the chief of a large garden, scott always continued to find leisure for private study, and especially for the conduct of experiments in hybridization. for the latter his position in the calcutta garden afforded him many facilities. after obtaining a post in the calcutta botanic gardens, scott continued to work and to correspond with darwin, but his work was hardly on a level with the promise of his earlier years. according to the "journal of botany," he was attacked by an affection of the spleen at darjeeling, where he had been sent to report on the coffee disease. he returned to edinburgh in the spring of , and died in the june of that year. at the time of his death many experiments were in hand, but his records of these were too imperfect to admit of their being taken up and continued after his death. in temper scott was most gentle and loveable, and to his friends he was loyal almost to a fault. he was quite without ambition to 'get on' in the world; he had no low or mean motives; and than john scott, natural science probably had no more earnest and single-minded devotee." -correspondence with. -criticism on the "origin" by. -letters to. -on natural selection. -on a red cowslip. -confirms darwin's work, also points out error. -darwin assists financially. -darwin's opinion of. -darwin offers to present books to. -darwin writes to hooker about indian appointment for. -darwin's proposal that he should work at down as his assistant. -darwin suggests that he should work at kew. -on dispersal of seed of adenanthera by parrots. -on fertilisation of acropera. -a good observer and experimentalist. -a lover of natural history. -observations on acclimatisation of seeds. -on oncidium flexuosum. -letter to darwin from. -offered associateship of linnean society. -on imatophyllum. -on self-sterility in passiflora. -on primula. -on sexes in zea. -mentioned. scrope, p., on volcanic rocks. scrophularineae. scudder, on fossil insects. sea, dana underestimates power of. -changes in level of land due to those of. -marks left on land by action of. seakale, bloom on. seashore plants, use of bloom on. sea-sickness, darwin suffers from. "seasons with the sea horses," lamont's. secondary period, abundance of araucarias and marsupials during. -equality of elevation in british rocks of. -insects prior to. sections of earth's crust, need for accurate. sedgwick, prof. a., extract from letter to owen from. -letter to darwin from. -on the "vestiges of creation." -and the philosophical society's meeting at cambridge. -and the "spectator." -darwin's visit to. -feelings towards darwin. -on the structure of large mineral masses. -proposes forbes for royal medal. -quotation from letter to darwin from. -suggested as candidate for royal medal. -mentioned. sedgwick, a., address at the british association ( ). sedimentary strata, conversion into schists. sedimentation, connection with elevation and subsidence. -near coast-lines. seedlings, sensitiveness to light. seeds, collected by girls in prof. henslow's parish. -dispersal of. -effect of immersion on. -of furze. -asa gray on darwin's salt-water experiments. -germination after / hours in owl's stomach. -moss-roses raised from. -peaches from. -variation in. -bright colours of fruits and. -difficulty of finding in samples of earth. -dormant state of. -germination from pond mud. -hildebrand on dispersal of. -mucus emitted by. -stored by ants. -supposed vivification of fossil. -vitality of. seeley, prof. seemann, on commingling of temperate and tropical plants in mountains of panama. -on the "origin" in germany. -mentioned. segregation of minerals in foliated rocks. selaginella, foot of, compared with organ in welwitschia seedling. selection, a misleading term. -artificial. -as means of improving breeds. -importance of. -influence of speedy. -utilised by pigeon-fanciers. -sexual (see sexual selection). -sterility and. -unconscious. -and variation. -voluntary. -and inheritance. self-fertilisation, abundance of seeds from. -darwin's experiments on cross- and. -evil results of. -comparison between seeds from cross- and. -in goodeniaceae. -in orchids. self-interest, preston on. self-sterility, in eschscholtzia. -in plants. -connection with unnatural conditions. selliera, hamilton on fertilisation-mechanism. semper, karl ( - ): professor of zoology at wurzburg. he is known for his book of travels in the philippine and pelew islands, for his work in comparative embryology, and for the work mentioned in the above letter. see an obituary notice in "nature," july th, , page . -letter to. senecio. -s. vulgaris, profits by cross-fertilisation. sensitive plants, darwin's work on. sensitiveness, diversified kinds in allied plants. separate creations, darwin on. sequoia. seringe, on aconitum flowers. sertularia. sethia, dimorphism of. settegast, h., letter to. severn, darwin on floods of. seward, a.c., "fossil plants as tests of climate." sexes, colour, and difference in. -proportion at birth. -proportion in animals. sexual likeness, secondary. sexual organs, as collectors of generative elements. -appendages in insects complemental to. sexual reproduction, galton on. -bearing of f. muller's work on essence of. sexual selection, bates on. -darwin on. -article in "kosmos" on. -colour and. -man and. -in moths and butterflies. -subordinate to natural selection. -wallace on colour and. -wallace on difficulties of. sexuality, bentham on. -in lower forms. -origin of. shanghai, tooth of mastodon from. sharp, david, on bombus. -on volucella. -"insects." sharpe, daniel ( - ): left school at the age of sixteen, and became a clerk in the service of a portuguese merchant. at the age of twenty-four he went for a year to portugal, and afterwards spent a considerable amount of time in that country. the results of his geological work, carried out in the intervals of business, were published in the journal of the geological society of london ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume v., page ; volume vi., page ). although actively engaged in business all his life, sharpe communicated several papers to the geological society, his researches into the origin of slaty cleavage being among the ablest and most important of his contributions to geology ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume iii., page ; volume v., page ). a full account of sharpe's work is given in an abituary notice published in the "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xiii., page xlv. -on elevation. -darwin meets. -letters to. -on cleavage and foliation. sharpey, w., letter from falconer to. -honorary member of physiological society. shaw, j., letter to. sheep, varieties of. sheldrake, dancing on sand to make sea-worms come out. shells, forbes and hancock on british. -distorted by cleavage. -means of dispersal. -protective colour of. sherborn, c.d., "catalogue of mammalia" by a.s. woodward and. shetland, comparison between flora of t. del fuego and that of. shrewsbury, school. siberia, rhinoceros and steppes of central. sicily, elephants of. -flora of. sidgwick, prof. h. siebold, von. sigillaria, an aquatic plant. silene, gartner's crossing-experiments on. silurian, comparison between recent organisms and. -life of. -lingula from the. -corals. -volcanic strata. simon, sir john: he was for many years medical officer of the privy council, and in that capacity issued a well-known series of reports. -reports by. simple forms, existence of. -survival of. simpson, sir j., on regeneration in womb. siphocampylus. sitaris, lord avebury on meloe and. siwalik hills. skertchley, s.b.j., on palaeolithic flints in boulder-clay of e. anglia. -letter to. skin, influence of mind on eruptions of. slate, cleavage of schists and. slave-ants, account in the "origin" of. sleep, plants' so-called. sleep-movements, in plants. -of cotyledons. slime of seeds. sloths. smell, ogle's work on sense of. smerinthus populi-ocellatus, weir on hybrid. smilaceae, reference to genera of. smilax, de candolle on flower of. smith, goldwin. smith, j., note on. snails of porto santo. snipe, protective colour of. snow, red. -geological action of frozen. snowdon, elevation in recent times. social instincts, actions as result of. social plants, de candolle on. -in the u.s.a. "sociology," h. spencer's. soda, nitrate beds. soil, in relation to plant distribution. solanaceae. solanum rostratum, todd on stamens of. solenhofen, bird-creature from. sollas, prof., director of the funafuti boring expedition. -account of the boring operations by. sonchus, introduced into new zealand. song, importance in animal kingdom. sophocles, prof., on expression of affirmation by turks. sorby, on metamorphism. sound, and music. southampton, british association meeting ( ). -darwin on gravel deposits at. -darwin's visits to. spanish chesnut, variation in leaf divergence. spanish plants in ireland. -in la plata. spawn, dispersal of frogs'. spean, terraces in valley of. special ordination. specialisation. species, antiquity of plant-. -belief in evolution of. -changing into one another. -creation of. -darwin recognises difficulties in and objections to his views on. -definition of. -descriptive work influenced by darwin's views on. -facts from hooker bearing on. -food as important factor in keeping up number of. -frequency of. -asa gray on. -hooker on. -intermediate forms absent in close. -little tendency during migration to form new. -modification of. -and monstrosities. -mutability of. -nageli's views on. -origin of (see origin of species). -permanence of. -prichard on meaning of term. -range of. -representative. -separate creation of. -spreading of. -sterility between allied. -and sterility. -time necessary to change. -time of creation of new. -variation of. -wallace on origin of. -walsh on modification of. -weismann on. -gaudry on affiliation of. -hackel on change of. -isolation of. -value of careful discrimination of. "species not transmutable," bree's book on. specific character, falconer on persistence of. speculation, darwin on. spencer, h., darwin on the advantage of his expression "survival of the fittest." -letter to. -on electric organs. -on genesis of nervous system. -on survival of the fittest. -romanes on his theory of nerve-genesis. -wallace's admiration for. -darwin on his work. -extract from letter to. -mentioned. spermacoce. spey, terraces of. sphagnum, parasitism of orchids on. spiders, mental powers of. -moggridge on. spiranthes, fertilisation of. spiritualism, darwin on. sptizbergen, lamont's book on. -reindeer of. sponges, clark on classification of. -hackel's work on. -f. muller on. spontaneous generation. -darwin's disbelief in. -huxley's disbelief in. sports. sprengel, (c.c.) christian konrad ( - ): was for a time rector of spandau, near berlin; but his enthusiasm for botany led to neglect of parochial duties, and to dismissal from his living. his well-known work, "das entdeckte geheimniss der natur," was published in . an account of sprengel was published in "flora," , by one of his old pupils. see also "life and letters," i., page , and an article in "natural science," volume ii., , by j.c. willis. -on passion-flowers. stag-beetle, forms of. stahl, prof., on desmodium. -on transpiration. stainton. stanhope, lord. stanhopea, fertilisation of. stapelia, fertilisation of. starling, paired three times in one day. state-entomologist, appointment of in america, not likely to occur in england. statistics, of births and deaths. -asa gray's n. american plant-. steinheim, lias rocks of. stellaria media, cross-fertilisation of. stephens, miss catherine: was born in , and died, as the countess of essex, in . sterile, use of term. sterility, accumulation through natural selection. -arguments relating to. -artificial production of. -between allied species aided by natural selection. -connection with sexual differentiation. -and crossing. -domestication and loss of. -experiments on. -of hybrids. -in human beings. -huxley on. -increase of races and. -laws governing. -natural selection and. -in pigeons. -in plants (see also self-sterility). -reciprocal crosses and unequal. -selection and. -variations in amount of. -varieties and. stirling, and huxley. stokes, sir g. strasburger, on fertilisation of grasses. stratification, and cleavage. strephium, vertical position of leaves. strezlecki. strickland, h., letters to. -on zoological nomenclature. stripes, loss and significance of. structural dissimilarity, and sterility. structure, external conditions in relation to. struggle for existence. -and crossing. -factors concerned in. -and hybrids. -j. scott on. strychnos, f. muller on. student, darwin as an edinburgh. studer, bernhard: several of studer's papers were translated and published in the "edinburgh new phil. journ." see volume xlii., ; volume xliv., , etc. -on cleavage and foliation. "studien zur descendenz-theorie," weismann's. "studies in the theory of descent," meldola's translation of weismann's book. "study of sociology," h. spencer's. stur, dionys ( - ): director of the austrian geological survey from to ; author of many important memoirs on palaeobotanical subjects. style, darwin on. -darwin on huxley's. -effect of controversy on. suaeda, bloom on. submergence. subsidence, evidence of. -coral reefs and. -and elevation. -equable nature of. -large areas simultaneously affected by. -in oceans. -and sedimentation. -volcanic action. subterranean animal, existence in patagonia of supposed. subularia, fertilisation of. succession of types. sudden appearance of organisms, due to absence of fossils in pre- cambrian rocks. sudden jumps, modification by. -darwin's disbelief in. suess, "antlitz der erde." suffolk crag, comparison with recent strata. sugar-cane, barber on hybrids of. -new varieties of. sulivan, admiral, on patagonia. superficial deposits, geological nature of. supernumerary members. -amputation followed by regeneration of. "survival of the fittest," darwin on use of the expression. -wallace on the expression. -sharpness of thorns the result of. -colour of birds and. swainson, on wide range of genera. switzerland, tyndall on valleys of. sydney. symonds, william samuel ( - ): a member of an old west-country family, was an undergraduate of christ's college, cambridge, and in became rector of pendock, worcestershire. he published in a book entitled "stones of the valley;" in "old bones, or notes for young naturalists;" and in his best-known work, "records of the rocks." mr. symonds passed the later years of his life at sunningdale, the house of his son-in-law, sir joseph hooker. (see "quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xliv., page xliii.) -on imperfection of geological record. tacsonia, darwin on flowers of. -fertilisation by humming-birds. -scott's work on. tahiti, coral reefs of. -darwin on. tails of diluvium, in scotland. tait, prof. p.g., article in "north british review." -on age of world. tait, l., letters to. tait, w.c., letter to. -on rudimentary tails in dogs and manx cats. -sends drosophyllum to darwin. talbot, mrs. e., letter to. tandon, moquin, "elements de teratologie vegetale." tankerville, lord. tasmania, comparison between floras of new zealand and. -hooker's flora of. -trees of. taylor, w., "life and correspondence" of. tears, and muscular contraction. tees, hooker on glacial moraines in valley of. tegetmeier, w.b., assistance rendered to darwin by. -letters to. telegraph-plant (see also desmodium). "telliamed" (de maillet), evolutionary views of. tendrils, morphology of. teneriffe, flora of. -violet of peak of. -webb and humboldt on zones of. tennent, sir j.e., on elephants' tears. -on utricularia. tentacles, aggregation of protoplasm in cells of plant-. teodoresco, on effect of excess of co on vegetation. teratology, masters on vegetable. -moquin tandon on. terebratula. termites compared with cleistogamic flowers. -f. muller's paper on. terraces, darwin on patagonian. tertiary, antarctic continent, darwin on existence of. -mastodon from shanghai. -flora in madeira. tertiary period, action of sea and earth-movement. -island floras of the. -saporta's work on plants. -succession of types during the. -prestwich's work on. testimonials, darwin on. tetrabranchiata, hyatt on the. thayer's "letters of chauncey wright." theologians, huxley on. theological articles, by asa gray. theology, darwin's opinion on. theorising, observing and. theory, darwin's advice to scott to be sparing in use of. thibet, hooker prohibited crossing into. thierzucht, settegast's. thiselton-dyer, lady. thiselton-dyer, sir w., assists darwin in bloom-experiments. -darwin signs his certificate for royal society. -lecture on plant distribution as field for geographical research. -letter to "nature" from. -notes on letter from darwin to bentham. -on partial submergence of australia. -letters to. -extract from letter to. -on darwin. thiselton-dyer, sir w., and prof. dewar, on immersion of seeds in liquid hydrogen. thlaspi alpestre, range of. thompson, prof. d'arcy, prefatory note by darwin to his translation of h. muller's book. thompson, w., natural-historian of ireland. thomson, sir w., see kelvin, lord. thomson, sir wyville, on natural selection. -mentioned. thomson, review of jordan's "diagnoses d'especes" by. thorns, forms of. "three barriers," theological hash of old abuse of darwin. thury on sex. thwaites, dr. g.h.k. ( - ): held for some years the post of director of the botanic gardens at peradenyia, ceylon; and in published an important work on the flora of the island, entitled "enumeratio plantarum zeylaniae." -on ceylon plants. -letters to. -on the "origin." thymus. tieghem, prof. van, on course of vessels in orchid flowers. -on effect of flashing light on plants. tierra del fuego, flora of. -comparison with glen roy. -evidence of glaciers in. -micaschists of. time, and evolutionary changes. -geological. -meaning of millions of years. -niagara as measure of geological. -rate of deposition as measure of. -wallace on geological. "times," article by huxley in. -letter by fitz-roy in. timiriazeff, prof. timor, mastodon from. toad, power of indian species to resist sea-water. tobacco, kolreuter on varieties of. todd, on solanum rostratum. "toledoth adam," title of book on evolution by n. lewy. torbitt, j., experiments on potatoes, and letter to. torquay, darwin's visit to. tortoises, conversion of turtles into land-. tortugas, a. agassiz on reefs of. toryism, defence of. toucans, colour of beaks in breeding season. trachyte, separation of basalt and. tragopan. traill, experiments on grafting. transfusion experiments, by galton. translations of darwin's books. transplanting, effect on alpine plants. transport, occasional means of. travels, bates' book of. -humboldt's. -wallace's. travers, h.h., on chatham islands. trecul, on drosera. trees, herbaceous orders and. -occurrence in islands. -older forms more likely to develop into. -asa gray on. -conditions in new zealand favourable to development of. -crossing in. -separate sexes in. treub, m., on chalazogamy. treviranus, prof., on primula longiflora. trifolium resupinatum, darwin's observations on bloom on leaflets. trigonecephalus. trilobites, change of genera and species of. trimen, on painting butterflies. trimorphism, in plants. trinidad, catasetum of. -cruger on caprification in. triphaena (triphoea) pronuba, robin attracted by colour of. tristan d'acunha, carmichael on. -vegetation of. triticum repens var. littorum, bloom-experiments on. trollope, a., quotation by darwin from. tropaeolum, darwin's experiments on. -peloric variety of. -waxy secretion on leaves. tropical climate, in relation to colouring of insects. tropical plants, possible existence during cooler period. -retreat of. tropics, climatic changes in. -description of forests in. -similarity of orders in. tubocytisus, kerner on. tuckwell, on the oxford british association meeting ( ). tucotuco. tuke, d.h., on influence of mind on body. -letter to. tulips. turkey, colour of wings, and courtship. -muscles of tail of. turner, sir w., darwin receives assistance from. -on darwin's methods of correspondence. -letters to. turratella. turtles, conversion into land-tortoises. tussilago, darwin on seeds of groundsel and. twins, galton's article on. tylor, article in "journal of the royal institution" by. -on "early history of mankind." tyndall, lack of caution. -lecture by. -on the alps. -review in the "athenaeum" of. -on valleys due to glaciers. -work of. -dogmatism of. -on glaciers. -on sorby's work on cleavage. -mentioned. typhlops. typical forms, difficult to select. -vagueness of phrase. typotherium, falconer on. tyrol, mojsisovics on the dolomites of the. umbelliferae, morphological characters of. -difference in seeds from the same flower. undulation of light, comparison between darwin's views and the theory of. ungulates, development in n. america during tertiary period. united states, flora of. -spread of darwin's views in. unity of coloration, walsh on. uredo, on haematoxylon. ursus arctos, lamont on. -u. maritimus, lamont on. urticaceae. uruguay. d'urville, on canary islands. use and disuse. -in plants. uses, natural selection and. uspallata. utilitarianism, darwin on. utility and inheritance. utopian "flora," darwin's idea of. utricularia, darwin's work on. -u. stellaris, sir e. tennent on. vaginulus, darwin finds new species of. valeriana, two forms of. valleys, action of ice in formation of. -dana on australian. -darwin on origin of. valparaiso. van diemen's land, flora of, in relation to new zealand. vanda. vandeae, structure of ovary. vanessa, two sexual forms of. -breeding in confinement. -colour of. vanilla. variability, backward tendency of. -bentham on. -causes of. -de candolle on. -dependent more on nature of organism than on environment. -huxley and scott on. -importance of subject of cause of. -natural selection and. -in oaks. -greater in bisexual than in unisexual plants. -of ferns "passes all bounds." -greater in male than female. -in ovaries of flowers. -tendency of genera at different periods towards. variation. -an innate principle. -bates on. -in blackbirds. -causes of. -centrifugal nature of. -checked by natural selection. -climate and. -darwin attaches importance to useless. -darwin on favourable. -divergence of. -and external conditions. -in elephants. -in fucus. -of large genera. -laws of. -of monotypic and polytypic genera. -and monstrosities. -and natural selection. -ordination and. -in peaches. -in plants. -produced by crossing. -rate of action of. -of small genera. -sterility advantageous to. -weismann on. -galls as cause of. -and loss of dimorphism in primula and auricula. -sexual selection and minute. -transmission to sexes. -verlot on. -wallace on. "variation of animals and plants under domestication," completion of. -delay in publication. -lyell on. -translation of. -wallace's opinion of. -darwin at work on. varieties, accumulation of. -distinction between species and. -fertility of. -in insects. -in large genera. -of molluscs. -production of. -species the product of long series of. -use of. -wallace on. -elimination by crossing. -zoologists neglect study of. vaucher, "plantes d'europe." "vegetable teratology," masters'. vegetative reproduction, darwin on. veitch, j. velleia, fertilisation mechanism of. verbascum, crossing and varieties in. -scott's work on. verbenaceae. verlot, on variation in flowers. veronica, antarctic species of. vessels, course of, as guide to morphology of flowers. "vestiges of creation," huxley's review of. -the "origin of species" and. -vetch, extra-floral nectaries of. vetter, editor of "kosmos." viburnum lantanoides, in japan and east u.s.a. victoria street society for protection of animals against vivisection, charge brought against dr. ferrier by. villa franca, baron de, on varieties of sugar-cane. villarsia. vine, graft-hybrids of. -varieties of. -morphology of tendrils. viola, ancestral form of. -cleistogamic flowers of. -pollen-tubes of. -madagascan. -pyrenean. -on peak of teneriffe. -v. canina, fertilisation of. -v. nana. -v. odorata, floral biology of. virchow, huxley's criticism of. -publication by hackel of darwin's criticism of. viscum. vitality of seeds, in salt-water experiments. viti group of islands, effect of subsidence. vivisection. vochting, h., "bewegung der bluthen und fruchte." -letter to. -"organbildung im pflanzenreich." "volcanic geology," dana's. volcanic islands, polymorphic species in. -darwin's geological observations on. -darwin's opinion of his book on. -lyell and herschel on. -relation to continents. volcanic phenomena, cause of. -darwin on. -and elevation. -as mere accidents in swelling up of dome of plutonic rocks. -and subsidence. volcanic rocks. volcano, in interior of asia. volcanoes, in s. america. -compared with boilers. -maritime position of. -of st. jago, mauritius, and st. helena. -simultaneous activity of. -and subsidence. volucella, as example of mimicry. vries, h. de, on plant-movements. vulcanicity. wagner, m., attacks darwin. -essay by. -mentioned. "wahl der lebens-weise." wahlenberg, on variation of species in u.s.a. wales, darwin's visit to. -comparison of valleys of lochaber and. -darwin on glaciers of. -elevation of land in scotland and. -murchison sees no trace of glaciers in. -ramsay on denudation of s. wallace, a.r., on beauty. -criticises the expression, "natural selection." -darwin on cleverness of. -letters to. -letters to darwin from. -on mastodon from timor. -notes by. -on pangenesis. -review of bastian's "beginnings of life." -on sterility. -on success of natural selection. -attributes natural selection to darwin. -on colour and birds' nests. -darwin's criticism of his "geographical distribution of animals." -differs from darwin. -on evolution of man. -"island life." -on wings of lepidoptera. -review of darwin's book on expression. -review of lyell's "principles of geology." -on round island. -same ideas hit on by darwin and. -supplies information to darwin on sexual selection. -on variation. -at work on narrative of travels. wallace, dr., on sexes in bombyx. -on caterpillars. wallich, on oxyspora paniculata. wallis, h.m., on ears. -letters to. walpole. walsh, benjamin dann: was born at frome, in england, in , and died in america in , from the result of a railway accident. he entered at trinity college, cambridge, and obtained a fellowship there after being fifth classic in . he was therefore a contemporary of darwin's at the university, though not a "schoolmate," as the "american entomologist" puts it. he was the author of "a historical account of the university of cambridge and its colleges," london, nd edition, ; also of a translation of part of "aristophanes," : from the dedication of this book it seems that he was at st. paul's school, london. he settled in america in , but only began serious entomology about . he never returned to england. in a letter to mr. darwin, november th, , he gives a curious account of the solitary laborious life he led for many years. "when i left england in ," he writes, "i was possessed with an absurd notion that i would live a perfectly natural life, independent of the whole world--in me ipso totus teres atque rotundus. so i bought several hundred acres of wild land in the wilderness, twenty miles from any settlement that you would call even a village, and with only a single neighbor. there i gradually opened a farm, working myself like a horse, raising great quantities of hogs and bullocks...i did all kinds of jobs for myself, from mending a pair of boots to hooping a barrel." after nearly dying of malaria, he sold his land at a great loss, and found that after twelve years' work he was just dollars poorer than when he began. he then went into the lumber business at rock island, illinois. after seven years he invested most of his savings in building "ten two-storey brick houses for rent." he states that the repairs of the houses occupied about one-fourth of his time, and the remainder he was able to devote to entomology. he afterwards edited the "practical entomologist." in regard to this work he wrote (february th, ):--"editing the 'practical entomologist' does undoubtedly take up a good deal of my time, but i also pick up a good deal of information of real scientific value from its correspondents. besides, this great american nation has hitherto had a supreme contempt for natural history, because they have hitherto believed that it has nothing to do with the dollars and cents. after hammering away at them for a year or two, i have at last succeeded in touching the 'pocket nerve' in uncle sam's body, and he is gradually being galvanised into the conviction that science has the power to make him richer." it is difficult to realise that even forty years ago the position of science in illinois was what mr. walsh describes it to be: "you cannot have the remotest conception of the ideas of even our best- educated americans as to the pursuit of science. i never yet met with a single one who could be brought to understand how or why a man should pursue science for its own pure and holy sake." mr. l.o. howard ("insect life," volume vii., , page ) says that harris received from the state of massachusetts only dollars for his classical report on injurious insects which appeared in and was reprinted in and . it would seem that in these times massachusetts was in much the same state of darkness as illinois. in the winter of - walsh was, however, appointed state entomologist of illinois. he made but one report before his death. he was a man of liberal ideas, hating oppression and wrong in all its forms. on one occasion his life was threatened for an attempt to purify the town council. as an instance of "hereditary genius" it may be mentioned that his brother was a well-known writer on natural history and sporting subjects, under the pseudonym "stonehenge." the facts here given are chiefly taken from the "american entomologist" (st. louis, mo.), volume ii., page . -as entomologist. -letters to. -letter to darwin from. -death of. -and c.v. riley. warming, e., "lehrbuch der okologischen pflanzengeographie." washingtonia. wasps, power of building cells. water, effect on leaves (see also rain). water-weed, marshall on. waterhouse, george robert ( - ): held the post of keeper of the department of geology in the british museum from to . -review by darwin of his book on mammalia. -on skeletons of rabbits. -on wide range of genera. -mentioned. waterloo, darwin's recollections of. waterton. watson, h.c., alluded to. -on the azores. -on british agrarian plants. -on northward range of plants common to britain and america. -objection to darwin's views. -on natural selection. -mentioned. waves, depth of action of. wax, secretion on leaves (see also bloom). wealden period. weale, j.p.m., sends locust dung from natal to darwin. webb, on flora of teneriffe. wedgwood, elizabeth. wedgwood, emma (mrs. darwin), letter to. wedgwood, hensleigh: brother-in-law to charles darwin. -darwin visits. -influenced by lyell's book on america. -on tyndall. wedgwood, josiah, letter to. weeds, adaptation to cultivated ground. -english versus american. -asa gray on pertinacity of. weeping, physiology of. weir, h.w., on cytisus. weir, mr. john jenner ( - ): came of a family of scotch descent; in he entered the service of the custom house, and during the final eleven years of his service, i.e. from to , held the position of accountant and controller-general. he was a born naturalist, and his "aptitude for exact observation was of the highest order" (mr. m'lachlan in the "entomologist's monthly magazine," may ). he is chiefly known as an entomologist, but he had also extensive knowledge of ornithology, horticulture, and of the breeds of various domestic animals and cage-birds. his personal qualities made him many friends, and he was especially kind to beginners in the numerous subjects on which he was an authority ("science gossip," may ). -experiments on caterpillars. -letters to. -extract from letter to darwin from. -on birds. -invited to down. -value of his letters to darwin. -mentioned. weismann, a., darwin asked to point out how far his work follows same lines as that of. -on dimorphism. -"einfluss der isolirung." -letters to. -meldola's translation of "studies in descent." -"studies in theory of descent." -faith in sexual selection. wellingtonia. wells, dr., essay on dew. -quoted by darwin as having enunciated principle of natural selection before publication of "origin." welwitschia, hooker's work on. -darwin on. -a "vegetable ornithorhynchus." welwitschia mirabilis, seedlings of. wenlock, coral limestone of. west indies, plants of. -coral reefs. -elevation and subsidence of. -orchids of. westminster abbey, memorial to lyell. "westminster review," huxley's review of the "origin" in. -wallace's article. westwood, j.o. ( - ): professor of entomology at oxford. the royal medal was awarded to him in . he was educated at a friends' school at sheffield, and subsequently articled to a solicitor in london; he was for a short time a partner in the firm, but he never really practised, and devoted himself to science. he is the author of between and papers, chiefly on entomological and archaeological subjects, besides some twenty books. to naturalists he is known by his writings on insects, but he was also "one of the greatest living authorities on anglo-saxon and mediaeval manuscripts" ("dictionary of national biography"). -on range of genera. -and royal medal. -mentioned. whales, flower on. wheat, mummy. -fertilisation of. -forms of russian. whewell, w. whiston. whitaker, w., on escarpments. white, f.b., letter to. -on hemiptera of st. helena. white, gilbert, darwin writes an account of down in the manner of. white, on regeneration. whiteman, r.g., letter to. whitney, on origin of language. wichura, max, on hybrid willows. -on hybridisation. widow-bird, experiments on. wiegmann. wiesner, prof. j., disagrees with darwin's views on plant movement. "das bewegungsvermogen der pflanzen." -on heliotropism. -letter to. wigand, a., "der darwinismus..." -jager's work contra. wight, dr., on cucurbitaceae. wilberforce, bishop, review in the "quarterly." wildness of game. wilkes' exploring expedition, dana's volume in reports of. williamson, prof. w.c. willis, j.c., reference to his "flowering plants and ferns." willows, walsh on galls of. -wichura on hybrid. wilson, a.s., letters to. -on russian wheat. wind-fertilised trees and plants, abundant in humid and temperate regions. wingless birds, transport of. wings of ostrich. wire-bird, of st. helena. witches' brooms. wives, resemblance to husbands. wollaston, thomas vernon ( - ): wollaston was an under-graduate at jesus college, cambridge, and in late life published several books on the coleopterous insects of madeira, the canaries, the cape verde islands, and other regions. he is referred to in the "origin of species" (edition vi page ) as having discovered "the remarkable fact that beetles, out of the species (but more are now known) inhabiting madeira, are so far deficient in wings that they cannot fly; and that, of the twenty-nine endemic genera, no less than twenty-three have all their species in this condition!" see obituary notice in "nature," volume xvii., page , , and "trans. entom. soc." , page xxxviii.) "catalogue" (probably the "catalogue of the coleopterous insects of the canaries in the british museum," .) -catalogue of insects of canary islands. -darwin and royal medal. -in agreement with falconer in opposition to darwin's views on species. -"insecta maderensia." -on rarity of intermediate varieties in insects. -review on the "origin" by. -on varieties. -mentioned. wolverhampton, abrupt termination of boulders near. wood, fossil. wood, t.w., drawings by. woodcock, germination of seeds carried by. -protective colouring of. woodd, c.h.l., letter to. woodpecker, adaptation in. -and direct action. -form of tail of. woodward, a.s., on neomylodon. -and c.d. sherborn, "catalogue of british fossil vertebrata." woodward, samuel pickworth ( - ): held an appointment in the british museum library for a short time, and then became sub-curator to the geological society ( ). in he was appointed professor of geology and natural history in the recently founded royal agricultural college, cirencester; he afterwards obtained a post as first-class assistant in the department of geology and mineralogy in the british museum. woodward's chief work, "the manual of mollusca," was published in - . ("a memoir of dr. s.p. woodward," "trans. norfolk and norwich naturalists' society," volume iii., page , . by h.b. woodward.) -letters to. world, age of the. worms, darwin's work on. -destruction by rain of. -intelligence of. wrangel's "travels in siberia." "wreck of the 'favourite'," clarke's. wright, c., on bees' cells. -letters to. -review by. wright, g.f., extract from letter from asa gray, to. wydler, on morphology of cruciferous flower. wyman, jeffries ( - ): graduated at harvard in , and afterwards entered the medical college at boston, receiving the m.d. degree in . in wyman was appointed hervey professor of anatomy at harvard, which position he held up to the time of his death. his contributions to zoological science numbered over a hundred papers. (see "proc. amer. acad. arts and sciences," volume ii., - , pages - .) -letter from. -on spontaneous generation. -mentioned. xenogamy, term suggested by kerner. xenoneura antiquorum, devonian insect. xerophytic characters, not confined to dry-climate plants. yangma valley, hooker's account of dam in. yeo, prof. gerald. yew, origin of irish. york, british association meeting ( ), ( ). -dallas in charge of museum. yorkshire, hooker on glaciers in. yucca, fertilisation by moths. zacharias, otto, letter to. zante, colour of polygala flowers in. zea, gartner's work on. -hermaphrodite and female flowers on a male panicle. -varieties received from asa gray. zeiller, r., "le marquis g. de saporta, sa vie..." zinziberaceae. zittel, karl a. von, "handbuch der palaeontologie." zoea stage, in life-history of decapods. zoological gardens, dangerous to suggest subsidising. zoological nomenclature. zoologist, darwin as. "zoonomia," erasmus darwin's. zygaena (burnet-moth), mentioned by darwin in his early recollections. none [page i] insectivorous plants. [page ii.] by the same author. --- on the origin of species by means of natural selection; or, the preservation of favored races in the struggle for life. new and revised edition. mo. cloth. pages. price, $ . . the descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. with illustrations. new edition, revised and augmented. mo. cloth. pages. price, $ . . a naturalist's voyage round the world; or, a journal of researches into the natural history and geology of the countries visited during the voyage of h.m.s. beagle, under the command of captain fitz-roy, r.n. mo. cloth. pages. price, $ . . the expression of the emotions in man and animals. with photographic and other illustrations. mo. cloth. price, $ . . ---- the theory of descent, and darwinism. by prof. oscar schmidt, university of strasburg. mo. cloth. price, $ . . [page iii.] insectivorous plants by charles darwin, m.a., f.r.s. etc. with illustrations. [page iv.] [page v.] contents. chapter i. drosera rotundifolia, or the common sun-dew. number of insects captured--description of the leaves and their appendages or tentacles-- preliminary sketch of the action of the various parts, and of the manner in which insects are captured--duration of the inflection of the tentacles--nature of the secretion--manner in which insects are carried to the centre of the leaf--evidence that the glands have the power of absorption--small size of the roots...pages - chapter ii. the movements of the tentacles from the contact of solid bodies. inflection of the exterior tentacles owing to the glands of the disc being excited by repeated touches, or by objects left in contact with them--difference in the action of bodies yielding and not yielding soluble nitrogenous matter--inflection of the exterior tentacles directly caused by objects left in contact with their glands--periods of commencing inflection and of subsequent re-expansion--extreme minuteness of the particles causing inflection--action under water--inflection of the exterior tentacles when their glands are excited by repeated touches--falling drops of water do not cause inflection... - [page vi.] chapter iii. aggregation of the protoplasm within the cells of the tentacles. nature of the contents of the cells before aggregation--various causes which excite aggregation--the process commences within the glands and travels down the tentacles-- description of the aggregated masses and of their spontaneous movements--currents of protoplasm along the walls of the cells--action of carbonate of ammonia--the granules in the protoplasm which flows along the walls coalesce with the central masses--minuteness of the quantity of carbonate of ammonia causing aggregation--action of other salts of ammonia--of other substances, organic fluids, &c.--of water--of heat--redissolution of the aggregated masses--proximate causes of the aggregation of the protoplasm--summary and concluding remarks--supplementary observations on aggregation in the roots of plants...pages - chapter iv. the effects of heat on the leaves. nature of the experiments--effects of boiling water--warm water causes rapid inflection-- water at a higher temperature does not cause immediate inflection, but does not kill the leaves, as shown by their subsequent re-expansion and by the aggregation of the protoplasm-- a still higher temperature kills the leaves and coagulates the albuminous contents of the glands... - chapter v. the effects of non-nitrogenous and nitrogenous organic fluids on the leaves. non-nitrogenous fluids--solutions of gum arabic--sugar--starch--diluted alcohol--olive oil-- infusion and decoction of tea--nitrogenous fluids--milk--urine--liquid albumen--infusion of raw meat--impure mucus--saliva--solution of isinglass--difference in the action of these two sets of fluids--decoction of green peas--decoction and infusion of cabbage--decoction of grass leaves... - [page vii.] chapter vi. the digestive power of the secretion of drosera. the secretion rendered acid by the direct and indirect excitement of the glands--nature of the acid--digestible substances--albumen, its digestion arrested by alkalies, recommences by the addition of an acid--meat--fibrin--syntonin--areolar tissue--cartilage--fibro-cartilage-- bone--enamel and dentine--phosphate of lime--fibrous basis of bone--gelatine--chondrin-- milk, casein and cheese--gluten--legumin--pollen--globulin--haematin--indigestible substances--epidermic productions--fibro-elastic tissue--mucin--pepsin--urea--chitine-- cellulose--gun-cotton--chlorophyll--fat and oil--starch--action of the secretion on living seeds--summary and concluding remarks...pages - chapter vii. the effects of salts of ammonia. manner of performing the experiments--action of distilled water in comparison with the solutions--carbonate of ammonia, absorbed by the roots--the vapour absorbed by the glands- -drops on the disc--minute drops applied to separate glands--leaves immersed in weak solutions--minuteness of the doses which induce aggregation of the protoplasm--nitrate of ammonia, analogous experiments with--phosphate of ammonia, analogous experiments with- -other salts of ammonia--summary and concluding remarks on the action of salts of ammonia... - chapter viii. the effects of various other salts, and acids, on the leaves. salts of sodium, potassium, and other alkaline, earthy, and metallic salts--summary on the action of these salts--various acids--summary on their action... - [page viii.] chapter ix. the effects of certain alkaloid poisons, other substances and vapours. strychnine, salts of--quinine, sulphate of, does not soon arrest the movement of the protoplasm--other salts of quinine--digitaline--nicotine--atropine--veratrine--colchicine-- theine--curare--morphia--hyoscyamus--poison of the cobra, apparently accelerates the movements of the protoplasm--camphor, a powerful stimulant, its vapour narcotic--certain essential oils excite movement--glycerine--water and certain solutions retard or prevent the subsequent action of phosphate of ammonia--alcohol innocuous, its vapour narcotic and poisonous--chloroform, sulphuric and nitric ether, their stimulant, poisonous, and narcotic power--carbonic acid narcotic, not quickly poisonous--concluding remarks...pages - chapter x. on the sensitiveness of the leaves, and on the lines of transmission of the motor impulse. glands and summits of the tentacles alone sensitive--transmission of the motor impulse down the pedicels of the tentacles, and across the blade of the leaf--aggregation of the protoplasm, a reflex action--first discharge of the motor impulse sudden--direction of the movements of the tentacles--motor impulse transmitted through the cellular tissue-- mechanism of the movements--nature of the motor impulse--re-expansion of the tentacles... - chapter xi. recapitulation of the chief observations on drosera rotundifolia. - [page ix.] chapter xii. on the structure and movements of some other species of drosera. drosera anglica--drosera intermedia--drosera capensis--drosera spathulata--drosera filiformis--drosera binata--concluding remarks...pages - chapter xiii. dionaea muscipula. structure of the leaves--sensitiveness of the filaments--rapid movement of the lobes caused by irritation of the filaments--glands, their power of secretion--slow movement caused by the absorption of animal matter--evidence of absorption from the aggregated condition of the glands--digestive power of the secretion--action of chloroform, ether, and hydrocyanic acid- -the manner in which insects are captured--use of the marginal spikes--kinds of insects captured--the transmission of the motor impulse and mechanism of the movements-- re-expansion of the lobes... - chapter xiv. aldrovanda vesiculosa. captures crustaceans--structure of the leaves in comparison with those of dionaea-- absorption by the glands, by the quadrifid processes, and points on the infolded margins-- aldrovanda vesiculosa, var. australis--captures prey--absorption of animal matter-- aldrovanda vesiculosa, var. verticillata--concluding remarks... - chapter xv. drosophyllum--roridula--byblis--glandular hairs of other plants-- concluding remarks on the droseraceae. drosophyllum--structure of leaves--nature of the secretion--manner of catching insects-- power of absorption--digestion of animal substances--summary on drosophyllum--roridula- -byblis--glandular hairs of other plants, their power of absorption--saxifraga--primula-- pelargonium--erica--mirabilis--nicotiana--summary on glandular hairs--concluding remarks on the droseraceae... - [page x.] chapter xvi. pinguicula. pinguicula vulgaris--structure of leaves--number of insects and other objects caught-- movement of the margins of the leaves--uses of this movement--secretion, digestion, and absorption--action of the secretion on various animal and vegetable substances--the effects of substances not containing soluble nitrogenous matter on the glands--pinguicula grandiflora--pinguicula lusitanica, catches insects--movement of the leaves, secretion and digestion...pages - chapter xvii. utricularia. utricularia neglecta--structure of the bladder--the uses of the several parts--number of imprisoned animals--manner of capture--the bladders cannot digest animal matter, but absorb the products of its decay--experiments on the absorption of certain fluids by the quadrifid processes--absorption by the glands--summary of the observation on absorption-- development of the bladders--utricularia vulgaris--utricularia minor--utricularia clandestina... - chapter xviii. utricularia (continued). utricularia montana--description of the bladders on the subterranean rhizomes--prey captured by the bladders of plants under culture and in a state of nature--absorption by the quadrifid processes and glands--tubers serving as reservoirs for water--various other species of utricularia--polypompholyx--genlisea, different nature of the trap for capturing prey-- diversified methods by which plants are nourished... - ----- index... - [page ] insectivorous plants. ----- chapter i. drosera rotundifolia, or the common sun-dew. number of insects captured--description of the leaves and their appendages or tentacles-- preliminary sketch of the action of the various parts, and of the manner in which insects are captured--duration of the inflection of the tentacles--nature of the secretion--manner in which insects are carried to the centre of the leaf--evidence that the glands have the power of absorption--small size of the roots. during the summer of , i was surprised by finding how large a number of insects were caught by the leaves of the common sun-dew (drosera rotundifolia) on a heath in sussex. i had heard that insects were thus caught, but knew nothing further on the subject.* i * as dr. nitschke has given ('bot. zeitung,' , p. ) the bibliography of drosera, i need not here go into details. most of the notices published before are brief and unimportant. the oldest paper seems to have been one of the most valuable, namely, by dr. roth, in . there is also an interesting though short account of the habits of drosera by dr. milde, in the 'bot. zeitung,' , p. . in , in the 'annales des sc. nat. bot.' tom. iii. pp. and , mm. groenland and trcul each published papers, with figures, on the structure of the leaves; but m. trcul went so far as to doubt whether they possessed any power of movement. dr. nitschke's papers in the 'bot. zeitung' for and are by far the most important ones which have been published, both on the habits and structure of this plant; and i shall frequently have occasion to quote from them. his discussions on several points, for instance on the transmission of an excitement from one part of the leaf to another, are excellent. on december , , mr. j. scott read a paper before the botanical society of edinburgh, [[page ]] which was published in the 'gardeners' chronicle,' , p. . mr. scott shows that gentle irritation of the hairs, as well as insects placed on the disc of the leaf, cause the hairs to bend inwards. mr. a.w. bennett also gave another interesting account of the movements of the leaves before the british association for . in this same year dr. warming published an essay, in which he describes the structure of the so-called hairs, entitled, "sur la diffrence entre les trichomes," &c., extracted from the proceedings of the soc. d'hist. nat. de copenhague. i shall also have occasion hereafter to refer to a paper by mrs. treat, of new jersey, on some american species of drosera. dr. burdon sanderson delivered a lecture on dionaea, before the royal institution published in 'nature,' june , , in which a short account of my observations on the power of true digestion possessed by drosera and dionaea first appeared. prof. asa gray has done good service by calling attention to drosera, and to other plants having similar habits, in 'the nation' ( , pp. and ), and in other publications. dr. hooker, also, in his important address on carnivorous plants (brit. assoc., belfast, ), has given a history of the subject. [page ] gathered by chance a dozen plants, bearing fifty-six fully expanded leaves, and on thirty-one of these dead insects or remnants of them adhered; and, no doubt, many more would have been caught afterwards by these same leaves, and still more by those as yet not expanded. on one plant all six leaves had caught their prey; and on several plants very many leaves had caught more than a single insect. on one large leaf i found the remains of thirteen distinct insects. flies (diptera) are captured much oftener than other insects. the largest kind which i have seen caught was a small butterfly (caenonympha pamphilus); but the rev. h.m. wilkinson informs me that he found a large living dragon-fly with its body firmly held by two leaves. as this plant is extremely common in some districts, the number of insects thus annually slaughtered must be prodigious. many plants cause the death of insects, for instance the sticky buds of the horse-chestnut (aesculus hippocastanum), without thereby receiving, as far as we can perceive, any advantage; but it was soon evident that drosera was [page ] excellently adapted for the special purpose of catching insects, so that the subject seemed well worthy of investigation. the results have proved highly remarkable; the more important ones being--firstly, the extraordinary fig. .* (drosera rotundifolia.) leaf viewed from above; enlarged four times. sensitiveness of the glands to slight pressure and to minute doses of certain nitrogenous fluids, as shown by the movements of the so-called hairs or tentacles; * the drawings of drosera and dionaea, given in this work, were made for me by my son george darwin; those of aldrovanda, and of the several species of utricularia, by my son francis. they have been excellently reproduced on wood by mr. cooper, strand. [page ] secondly, the power possessed by the leaves of rendering soluble or digesting nitrogenous substances, and of afterwards absorbing them; thirdly, the changes which take place within the cells of the tentacles, when the glands are excited in various ways. it is necessary, in the first place, to describe briefly the plant. it bears from two or three to five or six leaves, generally extended more or less horizontally, but sometimes standing vertically upwards. the shape and general appearance of a leaf is shown, as seen from above, in fig. , and as seen laterally, in fig. . the leaves are commonly a little broader than long, fig. . (drosera rotundifolia.) old leaf viewed laterally; enlarged about five times. but this was not the case in the one here figured. the whole upper surface is covered with gland-bearing filaments, or tentacles, as i shall call them, from their manner of acting. the glands were counted on thirty-one leaves, but many of these were of unusually large size, and the average number was ; the greatest number being , and the least . the glands are each surrounded by large drops of extremely viscid secretion, which, glittering in the sun, have given rise to the plant's poetical name of the sun-dew. [the tentacles on the central part of the leaf or disc are short and stand upright, and their pedicels are green. towards the margin they become longer and longer and more inclined [page ] outwards, with their pedicels of a purple colour. those on the extreme margin project in the same plane with the leaf, or more commonly (see fig. ) are considerably reflexed. a few tentacles spring from the base of the footstalk or petiole, and these are the longest of all, being sometimes nearly / of an inch in length. on a leaf bearing altogether tentacles, the short ones on the disc, having green pedicels, were in number to the longer submarginal and marginal tentacles, having purple pedicels, as nine to sixteen. a tentacle consists of a thin, straight, hair-like pedicel, carrying a gland on the summit. the pedicel is somewhat flattened, and is formed of several rows of elongated cells, filled with purple fluid or granular matter.* there is, however, a narrow zone close beneath the glands of the longer tentacles, and a broader zone near their bases, of a green tint. spiral vessels, accompanied by simple vascular tissue, branch off from the vascular bundles in the blade of the leaf, and run up all the tentacles into the glands. several eminent physiologists have discussed the homological nature of these appendages or tentacles, that is, whether they ought to be considered as hairs (trichomes) or prolongations of the leaf. nitschke has shown that they include all the elements proper to the blade of a leaf; and the fact of their including vascular tissue was formerly thought to prove that they were prolongations of the leaf, but it is now known that vessels sometimes enter true hairs. the power of movement which they possess is a strong argument against their being viewed as hairs. the conclusion which seems to me the most probable will be given in chap. xv., namely that they existed primordially as glandular hairs, or mere epidermic formations, and that their upper part should still be so considered; but that their lower * according to nitschke ('bot. zeitung,' , p. ) the purple fluid results from the metamorphosis of chlorophyll. mr. sorby examined the colouring matter with the spectroscope, and informs me that it consists of the commonest species of erythrophyll, "which is often met with in leaves with low vitality, and in parts, like the petioles, which carry on leaf-functions in a very imperfect manner. all that can be said, therefore, is that the hairs (or tentacles) are coloured like parts of a leaf which do not fulfil their proper office." dr. nitschke has discussed this subject in 'bot. zeitung,' , p. &c. see also dr. warming ('sur la diffrence entre les trichomes' &c., ), who gives references to various publications. see also groenland and trcul 'annal. des sc. nat. bot.' ( th series), tom. iii. , pp. and . [page ] part, which alone is capable of movement, consists of a prolongation of the leaf; the spiral vessels being extended from this to the uppermost part. we shall hereafter see that the terminal tentacles of the divided leaves of roridula are still in an intermediate condition. the glands, with the exception of those borne by the extreme fig. . (drosera rotundifolia.) longitudinal section of a gland; greatly magnified. from dr. warming. marginal tentacles, are oval, and of nearly uniform size, viz. about / of an inch in length. their structure is remarkable, and their functions complex, for they secrete, absorb, and are acted on by various stimulants. they consist of an outer layer of small polygonal cells, containing purple granular matter or fluid, and with the walls thicker than those of the pedicels. [page ] within this layer of cells there is an inner one of differently shaped ones, likewise filled with purple fluid, but of a slightly different tint, and differently affected by chloride of gold. these two layers are sometimes well seen when a gland has been crushed or boiled in caustic potash. according to dr. warming, there is still another layer of much more elongated cells, as shown in the accompanying section (fig. ) copied from his work; but these cells were not seen by nitschke, nor by me. in the centre there is a group of elongated, cylindrical cells of unequal lengths, bluntly pointed at their upper ends, truncated or rounded at their lower ends, closely pressed together, and remarkable from being surrounded by a spiral line, which can be separated as a distinct fibre. these latter cells are filled with limpid fluid, which after long immersion in alcohol deposits much brown matter. i presume that they are actually connected with the spiral vessels which run up the tentacles, for on several occasions the latter were seen to divide into two or three excessively thin branches, which could be traced close up to the spiriferous cells. their development has been described by dr. warming. cells of the same kind have been observed in other plants, as i hear from dr. hooker, and were seen by me in the margins of the leaves of pinguicula. whatever their function may be, they are not necessary for the secretion of a digestive fluid, or for absorption, or for the communication of a motor impulse to other parts of the leaf, as we may infer from the structure of the glands in some other genera of the droseraceae. the extreme marginal tentacles differ slightly from the others. their bases are broader, and besides their own vessels, they receive a fine branch from those which enter the tentacles on each side. their glands are much elongated, and lie embedded on the upper surface of the pedicel, instead of standing at the apex. in other respects they do not differ essentially from the oval ones, and in one specimen i found every possible transition between the two states. in another specimen there were no long-headed glands. these marginal tentacles lose their irritability earlier than the others; and when a stimulus is applied to the centre of the leaf, they are excited into action after the others. when cut-off leaves are immersed in water, they alone often become inflected. the purple fluid or granular matter which fills the cells of the glands differs to a certain extent from that within the cells of the pedicels. for when a leaf is placed in hot water or in certain acids, the glands become quite white and opaque, whereas [page ] the cells of the pedicels are rendered of a bright red, with the exception of those close beneath the glands. these latter cells lose their pale red tint; and the green matter which they, as well as the basal cells, contain, becomes of a brighter green. the petioles bear many multicellular hairs, some of which near the blade are surmounted, according to nitschke, by a few rounded cells, which appear to be rudimentary glands. both surfaces of the leaf, the pedicels of the tentacles, especially the lower sides of the outer ones, and the petioles, are studded with minute papillae (hairs or trichomes), having a conical basis, and bearing on their summits two, and occasionally three or even four, rounded cells, containing much protoplasm. these papillae are generally colourless, but sometimes include a little purple fluid. they vary in development, and graduate, as nitschke* states, and as i repeatedly observed, into the long multicellular hairs. the latter, as well as the papillae, are probably rudiments of formerly existing tentacles. i may here add, in order not to recur to the papillae, that they do not secrete, but are easily permeated by various fluids: thus when living or dead leaves are immersed in a solution of one part of chloride of gold, or of nitrate of silver, to of water, they are quickly blackened, and the discoloration soon spreads to the surrounding tissue. the long multicellular hairs are not so quickly affected. after a leaf had been left in a weak infusion of raw meat for hours, the cells of the papillae had evidently absorbed animal matter, for instead of limpid fluid they now contained small aggregated masses of protoplasm, which slowly and incessantly changed their forms. a similar result followed from an immersion of only minutes in a solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water, and the adjoining cells of the tentacles, on which the papillae were seated, now likewise contained aggregated masses of protoplasm. we may therefore conclude that when a leaf has closely clasped a captured insect in the manner immediately to be described, the papillae, which project from the upper surface of the leaf and of the tentacles, probably absorb some of the animal matter dissolved in the secretion; but this cannot be the case with the papillae on the backs of the leaves or on the petioles.] * nitschke has elaborately described and figured these papillae, 'bot. zeitung,' , pp. , , . [page ] preliminary sketch of the action of the several parts, and of the manner in which insects are captured. if a small organic or inorganic object be placed on the glands in the centre of a leaf, these transmit a motor impulse to the marginal tentacles. the nearer ones are first affected and slowly bend towards the centre, and then those farther off, until at last all become closely inflected over the object. this takes place in from one hour to four or five or more hours. the difference in the time required depends on many circumstances; namely on the size of the object and on its nature, that is, whether it contains soluble matter of the proper kind; on the vigour and age of the leaf; whether it has lately been in action; and, according to nitschke,* on the temperature of the day, as likewise seemed to me to be the case. a living insect is a more efficient object than a dead one, as in struggling it presses against the glands of many tentacles. an insect, such as a fly, with thin integuments, through which animal matter in solution can readily pass into the surrounding dense secretion, is more efficient in causing prolonged inflection than an insect with a thick coat, such as a beetle. the inflection of the tentacles takes place indifferently in the light and darkness; and the plant is not subject to any nocturnal movement of so-called sleep. if the glands on the disc are repeatedly touched or brushed, although no object is left on them, the marginal tentacles curve inwards. so again, if drops of various fluids, for instance of saliva or of a solution of any salt of ammonia, are placed on the central glands, the same result quickly follows, sometimes in under half an hour. * 'bot. zeitung,' , p. . [page ] the tentacles in the act of inflection sweep through a wide space; thus a marginal tentacle, extended in the same plane with the blade, moves through an angle of o; and i have seen the much reflected tentacles of a leaf which stood upright move through an angle of not less than o. the bending part is almost confined to a short space near the base; but a rather larger portion of the elongated exterior tentacles fig. . (drosera rotundifolia.) leaf (enlarged) with all the tentacles closely inflected, from immersion in a solution of phosphate of ammonia (one part to , of water.) fig. . (drosera rotundifolia.) leaf (enlarged) with the tentacles on one side inflected over a bit of meat placed on the disc. becomes slightly incurved; the distal half in all cases remaining straight. the short tentacles in the centre of the disc when directly excited, do not become inflected; but they are capable of inflection if excited by a motor impulse received from other glands at a distance. thus, if a leaf is immersed in an infusion of raw meat, or in a weak solution of ammonia (if the [page ] solution is at all strong, the leaf is paralysed), all the exterior tentacles bend inwards (see fig. ), excepting those near the centre, which remain upright; but these bend towards any exciting object placed on one side of the disc, as shown in fig. . the glands in fig. may be seen to form a dark ring round the centre; and this follows from the exterior tentacles increasing in length in due proportion, as they stand nearer to the circumference. the kind of inflection which the tentacles undergo is best shown when the gland of one of the long exterior fig. . (drosera rotundifolia.) diagram showing one of the exterior tentacles closely inflected; the two adjoining ones in their ordinary position.) tentacles is in any way excited; for the surrounding ones remain unaffected. in the accompanying outline (fig. ) we see one tentacle, on which a particle of meat had been placed, thus bent towards the centre of the leaf, with two others retaining their original position. a gland may be excited by being simply touched three or four times, or by prolonged contact with organic or inorganic objects, and various fluids. i have distinctly seen, through a lens, a tentacle beginning to bend in ten seconds, after an object had been [page ] placed on its gland; and i have often seen strongly pronounced inflection in under one minute. it is surprising how minute a particle of any substance, such as a bit of thread or hair or splinter of glass, if placed in actual contact with the surface of a gland, suffices to cause the tentacle to bend. if the object, which has been carried by this movement to the centre, be not very small, or if it contains soluble nitrogenous matter, it acts on the central glands; and these transmit a motor impulse to the exterior tentacles, causing them to bend inwards. not only the tentacles, but the blade of the leaf often, but by no means always, becomes much incurved, when any strongly exciting substance or fluid is placed on the disc. drops of milk and of a solution of nitrate of ammonia or soda are particularly apt to produce this effect. the blade is thus converted into a little cup. the manner in which it bends varies greatly. sometimes the apex alone, sometimes one side, and sometimes both sides, become incurved. for instance, i placed bits of hard-boiled egg on three leaves; one had the apex bent towards the base; the second had both distal margins much incurved, so that it became almost triangular in outline, and this perhaps is the commonest case; whilst the third blade was not at all affected, though the tentacles were as closely inflected as in the two previous cases. the whole blade also generally rises or bends upwards, and thus forms a smaller angle with the footstalk than it did before. this appears at first sight a distinct kind of movement, but it results from the incurvation of that part of the margin which is attached to the footstalk, causing the blade, as a whole, to curve or move upwards. the length of time during which the tentacles as [page ] well as the blade remain inflected over an object placed on the disc, depends on various circumstances; namely on the vigour and age of the leaf, and, according to dr. nitschke, on the temperature, for during cold weather when the leaves are inactive, they re-expand at an earlier period than when the weather is warm. but the nature of the object is by far the most important circumstance; i have repeatedly found that the tentacles remain clasped for a much longer average time over objects which yield soluble nitrogenous matter than over those, whether organic or inorganic, which yield no such matter. after a period varying from one to seven days, the tentacles and blade re-expand, and are then ready to act again. i have seen the same leaf inflected three successive times over insects placed on the disc; and it would probably have acted a greater number of times. the secretion from the glands is extremely viscid, so that it can be drawn out into long threads. it appears colourless, but stains little balls of paper pale pink. an object of any kind placed on a gland always causes it, as i believe, to secrete more freely; but the mere presence of the object renders this difficult to ascertain. in some cases, however, the effect was strongly marked, as when particles of sugar were added; but the result in this case is probably due merely to exosmose. particles of carbonate and phosphate of ammonia and of some other salts, for instance sulphate of zinc, likewise increase the secretion. immersion in a solution of one part of chloride of gold, or of some other salts, to of water, excites the glands to largely increased secretion; on the other hand, tartrate of antimony produces no such effect. immersion in many acids (of the strength of one part to of water) likewise causes a wonderful amount of [page ] secretion, so that when the leaves are lifted out, long ropes of extremely viscid fluid hang from them. some acids, on the other hand, do not act in this manner. increased secretion is not necessarily dependent on the inflection of the tentacle, for particles of sugar and of sulphate of zinc cause no movement. it is a much more remarkable fact that when an object, such as a bit of meat or an insect, is placed on the disc of a leaf, as soon as the surrounding tentacles become considerably inflected, their glands pour forth an increased amount of secretion. i ascertained this by selecting leaves with equal-sized drops on the two sides, and by placing bits of meat on one side of the disc; and as soon as the tentacles on this side became much inflected, but before the glands touched the meat, the drops of secretion became larger. this was repeatedly observed, but a record was kept of only thirteen cases, in nine of which increased secretion was plainly observed; the four failures being due either to the leaves being rather torpid, or to the bits of meat being too small to cause much inflection. we must therefore conclude that the central glands, when strongly excited, transmit some influence to the glands of the circumferential tentacles, causing them to secrete more copiously. it is a still more important fact (as we shall see more fully when we treat of the digestive power of the secretion) that when the tentacles become inflected, owing to the central glands having been stimulated mechanically, or by contact with animal matter, the secretion not only increases in quantity, but changes its nature and becomes acid; and this occurs before the glands have touched the object on the centre of the leaf. this acid is of a different nature from that contained in the tissue of the leaves. as long as the [page ] tentacles remain closely inflected, the glands continue to secrete, and the secretion is acid; so that, if neutralised by carbonate of soda, it again becomes acid after a few hours. i have observed the same leaf with the tentacles closely inflected over rather indigestible substances, such as chemically prepared casein, pouring forth acid secretion for eight successive days, and over bits of bone for ten successive days. the secretion seems to possess, like the gastric juice of the higher animals, some antiseptic power. during very warm weather i placed close together two equal-sized bits of raw meat, one on a leaf of the drosera, and the other surrounded by wet moss. they were thus left for hrs., and then examined. the bit on the moss swarmed with infusoria, and was so much decayed that the transverse striae on the muscular fibres could no longer be clearly distinguished; whilst the bit on the leaf, which was bathed by the secretion, was free from infusoria, and its striae were perfectly distinct in the central and undissolved portion. in like manner small cubes of albumen and cheese placed on wet moss became threaded with filaments of mould, and had their surfaces slightly discoloured and disintegrated; whilst those on the leaves of drosera remained clean, the albumen being changed into transparent fluid. as soon as tentacles, which have remained closely inflected during several days over an object, begin to re-expand, their glands secrete less freely, or cease to secrete, and are left dry. in this state they are covered with a film of whitish, semi-fibrous matter, which was held in solution by the secretion. the drying of the glands during the act of re-expansion is of some little service to the plant; for i have often observed that objects adhering to the leaves [page ] could then be blown away by a breath of air; the leaves being thus left unencumbered and free for future action. nevertheless, it often happens that all the glands do not become completely dry; and in this case delicate objects, such as fragile insects, are sometimes torn by the re-expansion of the tentacles into fragments, which remain scattered all over the leaf. after the re-expansion is complete, the glands quickly begin to re-secrete, and as soon as full-sized drops are formed, the tentacles are ready to clasp a new object. when an insect alights on the central disc, it is instantly entangled by the viscid secretion, and the surrounding tentacles after a time begin to bend, and ultimately clasp it on all sides. insects are generally killed, according to dr. nitschke, in about a quarter of an hour, owing to their tracheae being closed by the secretion. if an insect adheres to only a few of the glands of the exterior tentacles, these soon become inflected and carry their prey to the tentacles next succeeding them inwards; these then bend inwards, and so onwards; until the insect is ultimately carried by a curious sort of rolling movement to the centre of the leaf. then, after an interval, the tentacles on all sides become inflected and bathe their prey with their secretion, in the same manner as if the insect had first alighted on the central disc. it is surprising how minute an insect suffices to cause this action: for instance, i have seen one of the smallest species of gnats (culex), which had just settled with its excessively delicate feet on the glands of the outermost tentacles, and these were already beginning to curve inwards, though not a single gland had as yet touched the body of the insect. had i not interfered, this minute gnat would [page ] assuredly have been carried to the centre of the leaf and been securely clasped on all sides. we shall hereafter see what excessively small doses of certain organic fluids and saline solutions cause strongly marked inflection. whether insects alight on the leaves by mere chance, as a resting place, or are attracted by the odour of the secretion, i know not. i suspect from the number of insects caught by the english species of drosera, and from what i have observed with some exotic species kept in my greenhouse, that the odour is attractive. in this latter case the leaves may be compared with a baited trap; in the former case with a trap laid in a run frequented by game, but without any bait. that the glands possess the power of absorption, is shown by their almost instantaneously becoming dark-coloured when given a minute quantity of carbonate of ammonia; the change of colour being chiefly or exclusively due to the rapid aggregation of their contents. when certain other fluids are added, they become pale-coloured. their power of absorption is, however, best shown by the widely different results which follow, from placing drops of various nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous fluids of the same density on the glands of the disc, or on a single marginal gland; and likewise by the very different lengths of time during which the tentacles remain inflected over objects, which yield or do not yield soluble nitrogenous matter. this same conclusion might indeed have been inferred from the structure and movements of the leaves, which are so admirably adapted for capturing insects. the absorption of animal matter from captured insects explains how drosera can flourish in extremely poor peaty soil,--in some cases where nothing but [page ] sphagnum moss grows, and mosses depend altogether on the atmosphere for their nourishment. although the leaves at a hasty glance do not appear green, owing to the purple colour of the tentacles, yet the upper and lower surfaces of the blade, the pedicels of the central tentacles, and the petioles contain chlorophyll, so that, no doubt, the plant obtains and assimilates carbonic acid from the air. nevertheless, considering the nature of the soil where it grows, the supply of nitrogen would be extremely limited, or quite deficient, unless the plant had the power of obtaining this important element from captured insects. we can thus understand how it is that the roots are so poorly developed. these usually consist of only two or three slightly divided branches, from half to one inch in length, furnished with absorbent hairs. it appears, therefore, that the roots serve only to imbibe water; though, no doubt, they would absorb nutritious matter if present in the soil; for as we shall hereafter see, they absorb a weak solution of carbonate of ammonia. a plant of drosera, with the edges of its leaves curled inwards, so as to form a temporary stomach, with the glands of the closely inflected tentacles pouring forth their acid secretion, which dissolves animal matter, afterwards to be absorbed, may be said to feed like an animal. but, differently from an animal, it drinks by means of its roots; and it must drink largely, so as to retain many drops of viscid fluid round the glands, sometimes as many as , exposed during the whole day to a glaring sun. [page ] chapter ii. the movements of the tentacles from the contact of solid bodies. inflection of the exterior tentacles owing to the glands of the disc being excited by repeated touches, or by objects left in contact with them--difference in the action of bodies yielding and not yielding soluble nitrogenous matter--inflection of the exterior tentacles directly caused by objects left in contact with their glands--periods of commencing inflection and of subsequent re-expansion--extreme minuteness of the particles causing inflection--action under water--inflection of the exterior tentacles when their glands are excited by repeated touches--falling drops of water do not cause inflection. i will give in this and the following chapters some of the many experiments made, which best illustrate the manner and rate of movement of the tentacles, when excited in various ways. the glands alone in all ordinary cases are susceptible to excitement. when excited, they do not themselves move or change form, but transmit a motor impulse to the bending part of their own and adjoining tentacles, and are thus carried towards the centre of the leaf. strictly speaking, the glands ought to be called irritable, as the term sensitive generally implies consciousness; but no one supposes that the sensitive-plant is conscious, and as i have found the term convenient, i shall use it without scruple. i will commence with the movements of the exterior tentacles, when indirectly excited by stimulants applied to the glands of the short tentacles on the disc. the exterior tentacles may be said in this case to be indirectly excited, because their own glands are not directly acted on. the stimulus proceeding from the glands of the disc acts on the bending part of the [page ] exterior tentacles, near their bases, and does not (as will hereafter be proved) first travel up the pedicels to the glands, to be then reflected back to the bending place. nevertheless, some influence does travel up to the glands, causing them to secrete more copiously, and the secretion to become acid. this latter fact is, i believe, quite new in the physiology of plants; it has indeed only recently been established that in the animal kingdom an influence can be transmitted along the nerves to glands, modifying their power of secretion, independently of the state of the blood-vessels. the inflection of the exterior tentacles from the glands of the disc being excited by repeated touches, or by objects left in contact with them. the central glands of a leaf were irritated with a small stiff camel-hair brush, and in m. (minutes) several of the outer tentacles were inflected; in hrs. (hours) all the sub-marginal tentacles were inflected; next morning after an interval of about hrs. they were fully re-expanded. in all the following cases the period is reckoned from the time of first irritation. another leaf treated in the same manner had a few tentacles inflected in m.; in hrs. all the submarginal and some of the extreme marginal tentacles, as well as the edge of the leaf itself, were inflected; in hrs. they had recovered their proper, expanded position. i then put a dead fly in the centre of the last-mentioned leaf, and next morning it was closely clasped; five days afterwards the leaf re-expanded, and the tentacles, with their glands surrounded by secretion, were ready to act again. particles of meat, dead flies, bits of paper, wood, dried moss, sponge, cinders, glass, &c., were repeatedly [page ] placed on leaves, and these objects were well embraced in various periods from one hr. to as long as hrs., and set free again, with the leaf fully re-expanded, in from one or two, to seven or even ten days, according to the nature of the object. on a leaf which had naturally caught two flies, and therefore had already closed and reopened either once or more probably twice, i put a fresh fly: in hrs. it was moderately, and in hrs. thoroughly well, clasped, with the edges of the leaf inflected. in two days and a half the leaf had nearly re-expanded; as the exciting object was an insect, this unusually short period of inflection was, no doubt, due to the leaf having recently been in action. allowing this same leaf to rest for only a single day, i put on another fly, and it again closed, but now very slowly; nevertheless, in less than two days it succeeded in thoroughly clasping the fly. when a small object is placed on the glands of the disc, on one side of a leaf, as near as possible to its circumference, the tentacles on this side are first affected, those on the opposite side much later, or, as often occurred, not at all. this was repeatedly proved by trials with bits of meat; but i will here give only the case of a minute fly, naturally caught and still alive, which i found adhering by its delicate feet to the glands on the extreme left side of the central disc. the marginal tentacles on this side closed inwards and killed the fly, and after a time the edge of the leaf on this side also became inflected, and thus remained for several days, whilst neither the tentacles nor the edge on the opposite side were in the least affected. if young and active leaves are selected, inorganic particles not larger than the head of a small pin, placed on the central glands, sometimes cause the [page ] outer tentacles to bend inwards. but this follows much more surely and quickly, if the object contains nitrogenous matter which can be dissolved by the secretion. on one occasion i observed the following unusual circumstance. small bits of raw meat (which acts more energetically than any other substance), of paper, dried moss, and of the quill of a pen were placed on several leaves, and they were all embraced equally well in about hrs. on other occasions the above-named substances, or more commonly particles of glass, coal-cinder (taken from the fire), stone, gold-leaf, dried grass, cork, blotting-paper, cotton-wool, and hair rolled up into little balls, were used, and these substances, though they were sometimes well embraced, often caused no movement whatever in the outer tentacles, or an extremely slight and slow movement. yet these same leaves were proved to be in an active condition, as they were excited to move by substances yielding soluble nitrogenous matter, such as bits of raw or roast meat, the yolk or white of boiled eggs, fragments of insects of all orders, spiders, &c. i will give only two instances. minute flies were placed on the discs of several leaves, and on others balls of paper, bits of moss and quill of about the same size as the flies, and the latter were well embraced in a few hours; whereas after hrs. only a very few tentacles were inflected over the other objects. the bits of paper, moss, and quill were then removed from these leaves, and bits of raw meat placed on them; and now all the tentacles were soon energetically inflected. again, particles of coal-cinder (weighing rather more than the flies used in the last experiment) were placed on the centres of three leaves: after an interval of hrs. one of the particles was tolerably well embraced; [page ] a second by a very few tentacles; and a third by none. i then removed the particles from the two latter leaves, and put on them recently killed flies. these were fairly well embraced in / hrs. and thoroughly after / hrs.; the tentacles remaining inflected for many subsequent days. on the other hand, the one leaf which had in the course of hrs. embraced the bit of cinder moderately well, and to which no fly was given, after an additional hrs. (i.e. in hrs. from the time when the cinder was put on) was completely re-expanded and ready to act again. from these and numerous other experiments not worth giving, it is certain that inorganic substances, or such organic substances as are not attacked by the secretion, act much less quickly and efficiently than organic substances yielding soluble matter which is absorbed. moreover, i have met with very few exceptions to the rule, and these exceptions apparently depended on the leaf having been too recently in action, that the tentacles remain clasped for a much longer time over organic bodies of the nature just specified than over those which are not acted on by the secretion, or over inorganic objects.* * owing to the extraordinary belief held by m. ziegler ('comptes rendus,' may , p. ), that albuminous substances, if held for a moment between the fingers, acquire the property of making the tentacles of drosera contract, whereas, if not thus held, they have no such power, i tried some experiments with great care, but the results did not confirm this belief. red-hot cinders were taken out of the fire, and bits of glass, cotton-thread, blotting paper and thin slices of cork were immersed in boiling water; and particles were then placed (every instrument with which they were touched having been previously immersed in boiling water) on the glands of several leaves, and they acted in exactly the same manner as other particles, which had been purposely handled for some time. bits of a boiled egg, cut with a knife which had been washed in boiling water, also acted like any other animal substance. i breathed on some leaves for above a minute, and repeated the act two or three times, with my mouth close to [[page ]] them, but this produced no effect. i may here add, as showing that the leaves are not acted on by the odour of nitrogenous substances, that pieces of raw meat stuck on needles were fixed as close as possible, without actual contact, to several leaves, but produced no effect whatever. on the other hand, as we shall hereafter see, the vapours of certain volatile substances and fluids, such as of carbonate of ammonia, chloroform, certain essential oils, &c., cause inflection. m. ziegler makes still more extraordinary statements with respect to the power of animal substances, which have been left close to, but not in contact with, sulphate of quinine. the action of salts of quinine will be described in a future chapter. since the appearance of the paper above referred to, m. ziegler has published a book on the same subject, entitled 'atonicit et zoicit,' .) [page ] the inflection of the exterior tentacles as directly caused by objects left in contact with their glands. i made a vast number of trials by placing, by means of a fine needle moistened with distilled water, and with the aid of a lens, particles of various substances on the viscid secretion surrounding the glands of the outer tentacles. i experimented on both the oval and long-headed glands. when a particle is thus placed on a single gland, the movement of the tentacle is particularly well seen in contrast with the stationary condition of the surrounding tentacles. (see previous fig. .) in four cases small particles of raw meat caused the tentacles to be greatly inflected in between and m. another tentacle similarly treated, and observed with special care, distinctly, though slightly, changed its position in s. (seconds); and this is the quickest movement seen by me. in m. s. it had moved through an angle of about o. the movement as seen through a lens resembled that of the hand of a large clock. in m. it had moved through o, and when i looked again after m., the particle had reached the centre of the leaf; so that the whole movement was completed in less [page ] than m. s. in the course of some hours this minute bit of meat, from having been brought into contact with some of the glands of the central disc, acted centrifugally on the outer tentacles, which all became closely inflected. fragments of flies were placed on the glands of four of the outer tentacles, extended in the same plane with that of the blade, and three of these fragments were carried in m. through an angle of o to the centre. the fragment on the fourth tentacle was very minute, and it was not carried to the centre until hrs. had elapsed. in three other cases minute flies or portions of larger ones were carried to the centre in hr. s. in these seven cases, the fragments or small flies, which had been carried by a single tentacle to the central glands, were well embraced by the other tentacles after an interval of from to hrs. i also placed in the manner just described six small balls of writing-paper (rolled up by the aid of pincers, so that they were not touched by my fingers) on the glands of six exterior tentacles on distinct leaves; three of these were carried to the centre in about hr., and the other three in rather more than hrs.; but after hrs. only two of the six balls were well embraced by the other tentacles. it is possible that the secretion may have dissolved a trace of glue or animalised matter from the balls of paper. four particles of coal-cinder were then placed on the glands of four exterior tentacles; one of these reached the centre in hrs. m.; the second in hrs.; the third within hrs., but had moved only part of the way in hrs.; whilst the fourth moved only a very short distance in hrs., and never moved any farther. of the above three bits of cinder which were ultimately carried to the centre, one alone was well embraced by [page ] many of the other tentacles. we here see clearly that such bodies as particles of cinder or little balls of paper, after being carried by the tentacles to the central glands, act very differently from fragments of flies, in causing the movement of the surrounding tentacles. i made, without carefully recording the times of movement, many similar trials with other substances, such as splinters of white and blue glass, particles of cork, minute bits of gold-leaf, &c.; and the proportional number of cases varied much in which the tentacles reached the centre, or moved only slightly, or not at all. one evening, particles of glass and cork, rather larger than those usually employed, were placed on about a dozen glands, and next morning, after hrs., every single tentacle had carried its little load to the centre; but the unusually large size of the particles will account for this result. in another case / of the particles of cinder, glass, and thread, placed on separate glands, were carried towards, or actually to, the centre; in another case / , in another / , and in the last case only / were thus carried inwards, the small proportion being here due, at least in part, to the leaves being rather old and inactive. occasionally a gland, with its light load, could be seen through a strong lens to move an extremely short distance and then stop; this was especially apt to occur when excessively minute particles, much less than those of which the measurements will be immediately given, were placed on glands; so that we here have nearly the limit of any action. i was so much surprised at the smallness of the particles which caused the tentacles to become greatly inflected that it seemed worth while carefully to ascertain how minute a particle would plainly act. [page ] accordingly measured lengths of a narrow strip of blotting paper, of fine cotton-thread, and of a woman's hair, were carefully weighed for me by mr. trenham reeks, in an excellent balance, in the laboratory in jermyn street. short bits of the paper, thread, and hair were then cut off and measured by a micrometer, so that their weights could be easily calculated. the bits were placed on the viscid secretion surrounding the glands of the exterior tentacles, with the precautions already stated, and i am certain that the gland itself was never touched; nor indeed would a single touch have produced any effect. a bit of the blotting-paper, weighing / of a grain, was placed so as to rest on three glands together, and all three tentacles slowly curved inwards; each gland, therefore, supposing the weight to be distributed equally, could have been pressed on by only / of a grain, or . of a milligramme. five nearly equal bits of cotton-thread were tried, and all acted. the shortest of these was / of an inch in length, and weighed / of a grain. the tentacle in this case was considerably inflected in hr. m., and the bit of thread was carried to the centre of the leaf in hr. m. again, two particles of the thinner end of a woman's hair, one of these being / of an inch in length, and weighing / of a grain, the other / of an inch in length, and weighing of course a little more, were placed on two glands on opposite sides of the same leaf, and these two tentacles were inflected halfway towards the centre in hr. m.; all the many other tentacles round the same leaf remaining motionless. the appearance of this one leaf showed in an unequivocal manner that these minute particles sufficed to cause the tentacles to bend. altogether, ten such particles of hair were placed on ten glands on several leaves, and seven of them caused [page ] the tentacles to move in a conspicuous manner. the smallest particle which was tried, and which acted plainly, was only / of an inch (. millimetre) in length, and weighed the / of a grain, or . milligramme. in these several cases, not only was the inflection of the tentacles conspicuous, but the purple fluid within their cells became aggregated into little masses of protoplasm, in the manner to be described in the next chapter; and the aggregation was so plain that i could, by this clue alone, have readily picked out under the microscope all the tentacles which had carried their light loads towards the centre, from the hundreds of other tentacles on the same leaves which had not thus acted. my surprise was greatly excited, not only by the minuteness of the particles which caused movement, but how they could possibly act on the glands; for it must be remembered that they were laid with the greatest care on the convex surface of the secretion. at first i thought--but, as i now know, erroneously--that particles of such low specific gravity as those of cork, thread, and paper, would never come into contact with the surfaces of the glands. the particles cannot act simply by their weight being added to that of the secretion, for small drops of water, many times heavier than the particles, were repeatedly added, and never produced any effect. nor does the disturbance of the secretion produce any effect, for long threads were drawn out by a needle, and affixed to some adjoining object, and thus left for hours; but the tentacles remained motionless. i also carefully removed the secretion from four glands with a sharply pointed piece of blotting-paper, so that they were exposed for a time naked to the air, but this caused no movement; yet these glands were [page ] in an efficient state, for after hrs. had elapsed, they were tried with bits of meat, and all became quickly inflected. it then occurred to me that particles floating on the secretion would cast shadows on the glands, which might be sensitive to the interception of the light. although this seemed highly improbable, as minute and thin splinters of colourless glass acted powerfully, nevertheless, after it was dark, i put on, by the aid of a single tallow candle, as quickly as possible, particles of cork and glass on the glands of a dozen tentacles, as well as some of meat on other glands, and covered them up so that not a ray of light could enter; but by the next morning, after an interval of hrs., all the particles were carried to the centres of the leaves. these negative results led me to try many more experiments, by placing particles on the surface of the drops of secretion, observing, as carefully as i could, whether they penetrated it and touched the surface of the glands. the secretion, from its weight, generally forms a thicker layer on the under than on the upper sides of the glands, whatever may be the position of the tentacles. minute bits of dry cork, thread, blotting paper, and coal cinders were tried, such as those previously employed; and i now observed that they absorbed much more of the secretion, in the course of a few minutes, than i should have thought possible; and as they had been laid on the upper surface of the secretion, where it is thinnest, they were often drawn down, after a time, into contact with at least some one point of the gland. with respect to the minute splinters of glass and particles of hair, i observed that the secretion slowly spread itself a little over their surfaces, by which means they were likewise drawn downwards or sideways, and thus one end, or some minute [page ] prominence, often came to touch, sooner or later, the gland. in the foregoing and following cases, it is probable that the vibrations, to which the furniture in every room is continually liable, aids in bringing the particles into contact with the glands. but as it was sometimes difficult, owing to the refraction of the secretion, to feel sure whether the particles were in contact, i tried the following experiment. unusually minute particles of glass, hair, and cork, were gently placed on the drops round several glands, and very few of the tentacles moved. those which were not affected were left for about half an hour, and the particles were then disturbed or tilted up several times with a fine needle under the microscope, the glands not being touched. and now in the course of a few minutes almost all the hitherto motionless tentacles began to move; and this, no doubt, was caused by one end or some prominence of the particles having come into contact with the surface of the glands. but as the particles were unusually minute, the movement was small. lastly, some dark blue glass pounded into fine splinters was used, in order that the points of the particles might be better distinguished when immersed in the secretion; and thirteen such particles were placed in contact with the depending and therefore thicker part of the drops round so many glands. five of the tentacles began moving after an interval of a few minutes, and in these cases i clearly saw that the particles touched the lower surface of the gland. a sixth tentacle moved after hr. m., and the particle was now in contact with the gland, which was not the case at first. so it was with the seventh tentacle, but its movement did not begin until hrs. m. had [page ] elapsed. the remaining six tentacles never moved as long as they were observed; and the particles apparently never came into contact with the surfaces of the glands. from these experiments we learn that particles not containing soluble matter, when placed on glands, often cause the tentacles to begin bending in the course of from one to five minutes; and that in such cases the particles have been from the first in contact with the surfaces of the glands. when the tentacles do not begin moving for a much longer time, namely, from half an hour to three or four hours, the particles have been slowly brought into contact with the glands, either by the secretion being absorbed by the particles or by its gradual spreading over them, together with its consequent quicker evaporation. when the tentacles do not move at all, the particles have never come into contact with the glands, or in some cases the tentacles may not have been in an active condition. in order to excite movement, it is indispensable that the particles should actually rest on the glands; for a touch once, twice, or even thrice repeated by any hard body is not sufficient to excite movement. another experiment, showing that extremely minute particles act on the glands when immersed in water, may here be given. a grain of sulphate of quinine was added to an ounce of water, which was not afterwards filtered; and on placing three leaves in ninety minims of this fluid, i was much surprised to find that all three leaves were greatly inflected in m.; for i knew from previous trials that the solution does not act so quickly as this. it immediately occurred to me that the particles of the undissolved salt, which were so light as to float about, might have come [page ] into contact with the glands, and caused this rapid movement. accordingly i added to some distilled water a pinch of a quite innocent substance, namely, precipitated carbonate of lime, which consists of an impalpable powder; i shook the mixture, and thus got a fluid like thin milk. two leaves were immersed in it, and in m. almost every tentacle was much inflected. i placed one of these leaves under the microscope, and saw innumerable atoms of lime adhering to the external surface of the secretion. some, however, had penetrated it, and were lying on the surfaces of the glands; and no doubt it was these particles which caused the tentacles to bend. when a leaf is immersed in water, the secretion instantly swells much; and i presume that it is ruptured here and there, so that little eddies of water rush in. if so, we can understand how the atoms of chalk, which rested on the surfaces of the glands, had penetrated the secretion. anyone who has rubbed precipitated chalk between his fingers will have perceived how excessively fine the powder is. no doubt there must be a limit, beyond which a particle would be too small to act on a gland; but what this limit is, i know not. i have often seen fibres and dust, which had fallen from the air, on the glands of plants kept in my room, and these never induced any movement; but then such particles lay on the surface of the secretion and never reached the gland itself. finally, it is an extraordinary fact that a little bit of soft thread, / of an inch in length and weighing / of a grain, or of a human hair, / of an inch in length and weighing only / of a grain (. milligramme), or particles of precipitated chalk, after resting for a short time on a gland, should induce some change in its cells, exciting them [page ] to transmit a motor impulse throughout the whole length of the pedicel, consisting of about twenty cells, to near its base, causing this part to bend, and the tentacle to sweep through an angle of above o. that the contents of the cells of the glands, and afterwards those of the pedicels, are affected in a plainly visible manner by the pressure of minute particles, we shall have abundant evidence when we treat of the aggregation of protoplasm. but the case is much more remarkable than as yet stated; for the particles are supported by the viscid and dense secretion; nevertheless, even smaller ones than those of which the measurements have been given, when brought by an insensibly slow movement, through the means above specified, into contact with the surface of a gland, act on it, and the tentacle bends. the pressure exerted by the particle of hair, weighing only / of a grain and supported by a dense fluid, must have been inconceivably slight. we may conjecture that it could hardly have equalled the millionth of a grain; and we shall hereafter see that far less than the millionth of a grain of phosphate of ammonia in solution, when absorbed by a gland, acts on it and induces movement. a bit of hair, / of an inch in length, and therefore much larger than those used in the above experiments, was not perceived when placed on my tongue; and it is extremely doubtful whether any nerve in the human body, even if in an inflamed condition, would be in any way affected by such a particle supported in a dense fluid, and slowly brought into contact with the nerve. yet the cells of the glands of drosera are thus excited to transmit a motor impulse to a distant point, inducing movement. it appears to me that hardly any more remarkable fact than this has been observed in the vegetable kingdom. [page ] the inflection of the exterior tentacles, when their glands are excited by repeated touches. we have already seen that, if the central glands are excited by being gently brushed, they transmit a motor impulse to the exterior tentacles, causing them to bend; and we have now to consider the effects which follow from the glands of the exterior tentacles being themselves touched. on several occasions, a large number of glands were touched only once with a needle or fine brush, hard enough to bend the whole flexible tentacle; and though this must have caused a thousand-fold greater pressure than the weight of the above described particles, not a tentacle moved. on another occasion forty-five glands on eleven leaves were touched once, twice, or even thrice, with a needle or stiff bristle. this was done as quickly as possible, but with force sufficient to bend the tentacles; yet only six of them became inflected,--three plainly, and three in a slight degree. in order to ascertain whether these tentacles which were not affected were in an efficient state, bits of meat were placed on ten of them, and they all soon became greatly incurved. on the other hand, when a large number of glands were struck four, five, or six times with the same force as before, a needle or sharp splinter of glass being used, a much larger proportion of tentacles became inflected; but the result was so uncertain as to seem capricious. for instance, i struck in the above manner three glands, which happened to be extremely sensitive, and all three were inflected almost as quickly, as if bits of meat had been placed on them. on another occasion i gave a single for- [page ] cible touch to a considerable number of glands, and not one moved; but these same glands, after an interval of some hours, being touched four or five times with a needle, several of the tentacles soon became inflected. the fact of a single touch or even of two or three touches not causing inflection must be of some service to the plant; as during stormy weather, the glands cannot fail to be occasionally touched by the tall blades of grass, or by other plants growing near; and it would be a great evil if the tentacles were thus brought into action, for the act of re-expansion takes a considerable time, and until the tentacles are re-expanded they cannot catch prey. on the other hand, extreme sensitiveness to slight pressure is of the highest service to the plant; for, as we have seen, if the delicate feet of a minute struggling insect press ever so lightly on the surfaces of two or three glands, the tentacles bearing these glands soon curl inwards and carry the insect with them to the centre, causing, after a time, all the circumferential tentacles to embrace it. nevertheless, the movements of the plant are not perfectly adapted to its requirements; for if a bit of dry moss, peat, or other rubbish, is blown on to the disc, as often happens, the tentacles clasp it in a useless manner. they soon, however, discover their mistake and release such innutritious objects. it is also a remarkable fact, that drops of water falling from a height, whether under the form of natural or artificial rain, do not cause the tentacles to move; yet the drops must strike the glands with considerable force, more especially after the secretion has been all washed away by heavy rain; and this often occurs, [page ] though the secretion is so viscid that it can be removed with difficulty merely by waving the leaves in water. if the falling drops of water are small, they adhere to the secretion, the weight of which must be increased in a much greater degree, as before remarked, than by the addition of minute particles of solid matter; yet the drops never cause the tentacles to become inflected. it would obviously have been a great evil to the plant (as in the case of occasional touches) if the tentacles were excited to bend by every shower of rain; but this evil has been avoided by the glands either having become through habit insensible to the blows and prolonged pressure of drops of water, or to their having been originally rendered sensitive solely to the contact of solid bodies. we shall hereafter see that the filaments on the leaves of dionaea are likewise insensible to the impact of fluids, though exquisitely sensitive to momentary touches from any solid body. when the pedicel of a tentacle is cut off by a sharp pair of scissors quite close beneath the gland, the tentacle generally becomes inflected. i tried this experiment repeatedly, as i was much surprised at the fact, for all other parts of the pedicels are insensible to any stimulus. these headless tentacles after a time re-expand; but i shall return to this subject. on the other hand, i occasionally succeeded in crushing a gland between a pair of pincers, but this caused no inflection. in this latter case the tentacles seem paralysed, as likewise follows from the action of too strong solutions of certain salts, and by too great heat, whilst weaker solutions of the same salts and a more gentle heat cause movement. we shall also see in future chapters that various other fluids, some [page ] vapours, and oxygen (after the plant has been for some time excluded from its action), all induce inflection, and this likewise results from an induced galvanic current.* * my son francis, guided by the observations of dr. burdon sanderson on dionaea, finds that if two needles are inserted into the blade of a leaf of drosera, the tentacles do not move; but that if similar needles in connection with the secondary coil of a du bois inductive apparatus are inserted, the tentacles curve inwards in the course of a few minutes. my son hopes soon to publish an account of his observations. [page ] chapter iii. aggregation of the protoplasm within the cells of the tentacles. nature of the contents of the cells before aggregation--various causes which excite aggregation--the process commences within the glands and travels down the tentacles-- description of the aggregated masses and of their spontaneous movements--currents of protoplasm along the walls of the cells--action of carbonate of ammonia--the granules in the protoplasm which flows along the walls coalesce with the central masses--minuteness of the quantity of carbonate of ammonia causing aggregation--action of other salts of ammonia--of other substances, organic fluids, &c.--of water--of heat--redissolution of the aggregated masses--proximate causes of the aggregation of the protoplasm--summary and concluding remarks--supplementary observations on aggregation in the roots of plants. i will here interrupt my account of the movements of the leaves, and describe the phenomenon of aggregation, to which subject i have already alluded. if the tentacles of a young, yet fully matured leaf, that has never been excited or become inflected, be examined, the cells forming the pedicels are seen to be filled with homogeneous, purple fluid. the walls are lined by a layer of colourless, circulating protoplasm; but this can be seen with much greater distinctness after the process of aggregation has been partly effected than before. the purple fluid which exudes from a crushed tentacle is somewhat coherent, and does not mingle with the surrounding water; it contains much flocculent or granular matter. but this matter may have been generated by the cells having been crushed; some degree of aggregation having been thus almost instantly caused. [page ] if a tentacle is examined some hours after the gland has been excited by repeated touches, or by an inorganic or organic particle placed on it, or by the absorption of certain fluids, it presents a wholly changed appearance. the cells, instead of being filled with homogeneous purple fluid, now contain variously shaped masses of purple matter, suspended in a colourless or almost colourless fluid. the change is so conspicuous that it is visible through a weak lens, and even sometimes by the naked eye; the tentacles now have a mottled appearance, so that one thus affected can be picked out with ease from all the others. the same result follows if the glands on the disc are irritated in any manner, so that the exterior tentacles become inflected; for their contents will then be found in an aggregated condition, although their glands have not as yet touched any object. but aggregation may occur independently of inflection, as we shall presently see. by whatever cause the process may have been excited, it commences within the glands, and then travels down the tentacles. it can be observed much more distinctly in the upper cells of the pedicels than within the glands, as these are somewhat opaque. shortly after the tentacles have re-expanded, the little masses of protoplasm are all redissolved, and the purple fluid within the cells becomes as homogeneous and transparent as it was at first. the process of redissolution travels upwards from the bases of the tentacles to the glands, and therefore in a reversed direction to that of aggregation. tentacles in an aggregated condition were shown to prof. huxley, dr. hooker, and dr. burdon sanderson, who observed the changes under the microscope, and were much struck with the whole phenomenon. [page ] the little masses of aggregated matter are of the most diversified shapes, often spherical or oval, sometimes much elongated, or quite irregular with thread- or necklace-like or club-formed projections. they consist of thick, apparently viscid matter, which in the exterior tentacles is of a purplish, and in the short distal tentacles of a greenish, colour. these little masses incessantly change their forms and positions, being never at rest. a single mass will often separate into two, which afterwards reunite. their movements are rather slow, and resemble those of amoebae or of the white corpuscles of the blood. we fig. . (drosera rotundifolia.) diagram of the same cell of a tentacle, showing the various forms successively assumed by the aggregated masses of protoplasm. may, therefore, conclude that they consist of protoplasm. if their shapes are sketched at intervals of a few minutes, they are invariably seen to have undergone great changes of form; and the same cell has been observed for several hours. eight rude, though accurate sketches of the same cell, made at intervals of between m. or m., are here given (fig. ), and illustrate some of the simpler and commonest changes. the cell a, when first sketched, included two oval masses of purple protoplasm touching each other. these became separate, as shown at b, and then reunited, as at c. after the next interval a very common appearance was presented-- [page ] d, namely, the formation of an extremely minute sphere at one end of an elongated mass. this rapidly increased in size, as shown in e, and was then re-absorbed, as at f, by which time another sphere had been formed at the opposite end. the cell above figured was from a tentacle of a dark red leaf, which had caught a small moth, and was examined under water. as i at first thought that the movements of the masses might be due to the absorption of water, i placed a fly on a leaf, and when after hrs. all the tentacles were well inflected, these were examined without being immersed in water. the cell fig. . (drosera rotundifolia.) diagram of the same cell of a tentacle, showing the various forms successively assumed by the aggregated masses of protoplasm. here represented (fig. ) was from this leaf, being sketched eight times in the course of m. these sketches exhibit some of the more remarkable changes which the protoplasm undergoes. at first, there was at the base of the cell , a little mass on a short footstalk, and a larger mass near the upper end, and these seemed quite separate. nevertheless, they may have been connected by a fine and invisible thread of protoplasm, for on two other occasions, whilst one mass was rapidly increasing, and another in the same cell rapidly decreasing, i was able by varying the light and using a high power, to detect a connecting thread of extreme tenuity, which evidently served as [page ] the channel of communication between the two. on the other hand, such connecting threads are sometimes seen to break, and their extremities then quickly become club-headed. the other sketches in fig. show the forms successively assumed. shortly after the purple fluid within the cells has become aggregated, the little masses float about in a colourless or almost colourless fluid; and the layer of white granular protoplasm which flows along the walls can now be seen much more distinctly. the stream flows at an irregular rate, up one wall and down the opposite one, generally at a slower rate across the narrow ends of the elongated cells, and so round and round. but the current sometimes ceases. the movement is often in waves, and their crests sometimes stretch almost across the whole width of the cell, and then sink down again. small spheres of protoplasm, apparently quite free, are often driven by the current round the cells; and filaments attached to the central masses are swayed to and fro, as if struggling to escape. altogether, one of these cells with the ever changing central masses, and with the layer of protoplasm flowing round the walls, presents a wonderful scene of vital activity. [many observations were made on the contents of the cells whilst undergoing the process of aggregation, but i shall detail only a few cases under different heads. a small portion of a leaf was cut off, placed under a high power, and the glands very gently pressed under a compressor. in m. i distinctly saw extremely minute spheres of protoplasm aggregating themselves in the purple fluid; these rapidly increased in size, both within the cells of the glands and of the upper ends of the pedicels. particles of glass, cork, and cinders were also placed on the glands of many tentacles; in hr. several of them were inflected, but after hr. m. there was no aggregation. other tentacles with these particles were examined after hrs., and [page ] now all their cells had undergone aggregation; so had the cells of the exterior tentacles which had become inflected through the irritation transmitted from the glands of the disc, on which the transported particles rested. this was likewise the case with the short tentacles round the margins of the disc, which had not as yet become inflected. this latter fact shows that the process of aggregation is independent of the inflection of the tentacles, of which indeed we have other and abundant evidence. again, the exterior tentacles on three leaves were carefully examined, and found to contain only homogeneous purple fluid; little bits of thread were then placed on the glands of three of them, and after hrs. the purple fluid in their cells almost down to their bases was aggregated into innumerable, spherical, elongated, or filamentous masses of protoplasm. the bits of thread had been carried some time previously to the central disc, and this had caused all the other tentacles to become somewhat inflected; and their cells had likewise undergone aggregation, which however, it should be observed, had not as yet extended down to their bases, but was confined to the cells close beneath the glands. not only do repeated touches on the glands* and the contact of minute particles cause aggregation, but if glands, without being themselves injured, are cut off from the summits of the pedicels, this induces a moderate amount of aggregation in the headless tentacles, after they have become inflected. on the other hand, if glands are suddenly crushed between pincers, as was tried in six cases, the tentacles seem paralysed by so great a shock, for they neither become inflected nor exhibit any signs of aggregation. carbonate of ammonia.--of all the causes inducing aggregation, that which, as far as i have seen, acts the quickest, and is the most powerful, is a solution of carbonate of ammonia. whatever its strength may be, the glands are always affected first, and soon become quite opaque, so as to appear black. for instance, i placed a leaf in a few drops of a strong solution, namely, of one part to of water (or grs. to oz.), and observed it under a high power. all the glands began to * judging from an account of m. heckel's observations, which i have only just seen quoted in the 'gardeners' chronicle' (oct. , ), he appears to have observed a similar phenomenon in the stamens of berberis, after they have been excited by a touch and have moved; for he says, "the contents of each individual cell are collected together in the centre of the cavity." [page ] darken in s. (seconds); and in s. were conspicuously darker. in m. extremely small spherical masses of protoplasm could be seen arising in the cells of the pedicels close beneath the glands, as well as in the cushions on which the long-headed marginal glands rest. in several cases the process travelled down the pedicels for a length twice or thrice as great as that of the glands, in about m. it was interesting to observe the process momentarily arrested at each transverse partition between two cells, and then to see the transparent contents of the cell next below almost flashing into a cloudy mass. in the lower part of the pedicels, the action proceeded slower, so that it took about m. before the cells halfway down the long marginal and submarginal tentacles became aggregated. we may infer that the carbonate of ammonia is absorbed by the glands, not only from its action being so rapid, but from its effect being somewhat different from that of other salts. as the glands, when excited, secrete an acid belonging to the acetic series, the carbonate is probably at once converted into a salt of this series; and we shall presently see that the acetate of ammonia causes aggregation almost or quite as energetically as does the carbonate. if a few drops of a solution of one part of the carbonate to of water (or gr. to oz.) be added to the purple fluid which exudes from crushed tentacles, or to paper stained by being rubbed with them, the fluid and the paper are changed into a pale dirty green. nevertheless, some purple colour could still be detected after hr. m. within the glands of a leaf left in a solution of twice the above strength (viz. grs. to oz.); and after hrs. the cells of the pedicels close beneath the glands still contained spheres of protoplasm of a fine purple tint. these facts show that the ammonia had not entered as a carbonate, for otherwise the colour would have been discharged. i have, however, sometimes observed, especially with the long-headed tentacles on the margins of very pale leaves immersed in a solution, that the glands as well as the upper cells of the pedicels were discoloured; and in these cases i presume that the unchanged carbonate had been absorbed. the appearance above described, of the aggregating process being arrested for a short time at each transverse partition, impresses the mind with the idea of matter passing downwards from cell to cell. but as the cells one beneath the other undergo aggregation when inorganic and insoluble particles are placed on the glands, the process must be, at least in these cases, one of molecular change, transmitted from the glands, [page ] independently of the absorption of any matter. so it may possibly be in the case of the carbonate of ammonia. as, however, the aggregation caused by this salt travels down the tentacles at a quicker rate than when insoluble particles are placed on the glands, it is probable that ammonia in some form is absorbed not only by the glands, but passes down the tentacles. having examined a leaf in water, and found the contents of the cells homogeneous, i placed it in a few drops of a solution of one part of the carbonate to of water, and attended to the cells immediately beneath the glands, but did not use a very high power. no aggregation was visible in m.; but after m. small spheres of protoplasm were formed, more especially beneath the long-headed marginal glands; the process, however, in this case took place with unusual slowness. in m. conspicuous spherical masses were present in the cells of the pedicels for a length about equal to that of the glands; and in hrs. to that of a third or half of the whole tentacle. if tentacles with cells containing only very pale pink fluid, and apparently but little protoplasm, are placed in a few drops of a weak solution of one part of the carbonate to of water ( gr. to oz.), and the highly transparent cells beneath the glands are carefully observed under a high power, these may be seen first to become slightly cloudy from the formation of numberless, only just perceptible, granules, which rapidly grow larger either from coalescence or from attracting more protoplasm from the surrounding fluid. on one occasion i chose a singularly pale leaf, and gave it, whilst under the microscope, a single drop of a stronger solution of one part to of water; in this case the contents of the cells did not become cloudy, but after m. minute irregular granules of protoplasm could be detected, which soon increased into irregular masses and globules of a greenish or very pale purple tint; but these never formed perfect spheres, though incessantly changing their shapes and positions. with moderately red leaves the first effect of a solution of the carbonate generally is the formation of two or three, or of several, extremely minute purple spheres which rapidly increase in size. to give an idea of the rate at which such spheres increase in size, i may mention that a rather pale purple leaf placed under a slip of glass was given a drop of a solution of one part to of water, and in m. a few minute spheres of protoplasm were formed; one of these, after hrs. m., was about two-thirds of the diameter of the cell. after hrs. m. [page ] it nearly equalled the cell in diameter; and a second sphere about half as large as the first, together with a few other minute ones, were formed. after hrs. the fluid in which these spheres floated was almost colourless. after hrs. m. (always reckoning from the time when the solution was first added) four new minute spheres had appeared. next morning, after hrs., there were, besides the two large spheres, seven smaller ones, floating in absolutely colourless fluid, in which some flocculent greenish matter was suspended. at the commencement of the process of aggregation, more especially in dark red leaves, the contents of the cells often present a different appearance, as if the layer of protoplasm (primordial utricle) which lines the cells had separated itself and shrunk from the walls; an irregularly shaped purple bag being thus formed. other fluids, besides a solution of the carbonate, for instance an infusion of raw meat, produce this same effect. but the appearance of the primordial utricle shrinking from the walls is certainly false;* for before giving the solution, i saw on several occasions that the walls were lined with colourless flowing protoplasm, and after the bag-like masses were formed, the protoplasm was still flowing along the walls in a conspicuous manner, even more so than before. it appeared indeed as if the stream of protoplasm was strengthened by the action of the carbonate, but it was impossible to ascertain whether this was really the case. the bag-like masses, when once formed, soon begin to glide slowly round the cells, sometimes sending out projections which separate into little spheres; other spheres appear in the fluid surrounding the bags, and these travel much more quickly. that the small spheres are separate is often shown by sometimes one and then another travelling in advance, and sometimes they revolve round each other. i have occasionally seen spheres of this kind proceeding up and down the same side of a cell, instead of round it. the bag-like masses after a time generally divide into two rounded or oval masses, and these undergo the changes shown in figs. and . at other times spheres appear within the bags; and these coalesce and separate in an endless cycle of change. after leaves have been left for several hours in a solution of the carbonate, and complete aggregation has been effected, the * with other plants i have often seen what appears to be a true shrinking of the primordial utricle from the walls of the cells, caused by a solution of carbonate of ammonia, as likewise follows from mechanical injuries. [page ] stream of protoplasm on the walls of the cells ceases to be visible; i observed this fact repeatedly, but will give only one instance. a pale purple leaf was placed in a few drops of a solution of one part to of water, and in hrs. some fine purple spheres were formed in the upper cells of the pedicels, the stream of protoplasm round their walls being still quite distinct; but after an additional hrs., during which time many more spheres were formed, the stream was no longer distinguishable on the most careful examination; and this no doubt was due to the contained granules having become united with the spheres, so that nothing was left by which the movement of the limpid protoplasm could be perceived. but minute free spheres still travelled up and down the cells, showing that there was still a current. so it was next morning, after hrs., by which time some new minute spheres had been formed; these oscillated from side to side and changed their positions, proving that the current had not ceased, though no stream of protoplasm was visible. on another occasion, however, a stream was seen flowing round the cell-walls of a vigorous, dark-coloured leaf, after it had been left for hrs. in a rather stronger solution, namely, of one part of the carbonate to of water. this leaf, therefore, was not much or at all injured by an immersion for this length of time in the above solution of two grains to the ounce; and on being afterwards left for hrs. in water, the aggregated masses in many of the cells were re-dissolved, in the same manner as occurs with leaves in a state of nature when they re-expand after having caught insects. in a leaf which had been left for hrs. in a solution of one part of the carbonate to of water, some spheres of protoplasm (formed by the self-division of a bag-like mass) were gently pressed beneath a covering glass, and then examined under a high power. they were now distinctly divided by well-defined radiating fissures, or were broken up into separate fragments with sharp edges; and they were solid to the centre. in the larger broken spheres the central part was more opaque, darker-coloured, and less brittle than the exterior; the latter alone being in some cases penetrated by the fissures. in many of the spheres the line of separation between the outer and inner parts was tolerably well defined. the outer parts were of exactly the same very pale purple tint, as that of the last formed smaller spheres; and these latter did not include any darker central core. from these several facts we may conclude that when vigorous dark-coloured leaves are subjected to the action of carbonate of [page ] ammonia, the fluid within the cells of the tentacles often aggregates exteriorly into coherent viscid matter, forming a kind of bag. small spheres sometimes appear within this bag, and the whole generally soon divides into two or more spheres, which repeatedly coalesce and redivide. after a longer or shorter time the granules in the colourless layer of protoplasm, which flows round the walls, are drawn to and unite with the larger spheres, or form small independent spheres; these latter being of a much paler colour, and more brittle than the first aggregated masses. after the granules of protoplasm have been thus attracted, the layer of flowing protoplasm can no longer be distinguished, though a current of limpid fluid still flows round the walls. if a leaf is immersed in a very strong, almost concentrated, solution of carbonate of ammonia, the glands are instantly blackened, and they secrete copiously; but no movement of the tentacles ensues. two leaves thus treated became after hr. flaccid, and seemed killed; all the cells in their tentacles contained spheres of protoplasm, but these were small and discoloured. two other leaves were placed in a solution not quite so strong, and there was well-marked aggregation in m. after hrs. the spherical or more commonly oblong masses of protoplasm became opaque and granular, instead of being as usual translucent; and in the lower cells there were only innumerable minute spherical granules. it was evident that the strength of the solution had interfered with the completion of the process, as we shall see likewise follows from too great heat. all the foregoing observations relate to the exterior tentacles, which are of a purple colour; but the green pedicels of the short central tentacles are acted on by the carbonate, and by an infusion of raw meat, in exactly the same manner, with the sole difference that the aggregated masses are of a greenish colour; so that the process is in no way dependent on the colour of the fluid within the cells. finally, the most remarkable fact with respect to this salt is the extraordinary small amount which suffices to cause aggregation. full details will be given in the seventh chapter, and here it will be enough to say that with a sensitive leaf the absorption by a gland of / of a grain (. mgr.) is enough to cause in the course of one hour well-marked aggregation in the cells immediately beneath the gland. the effects of certain other salts and fluids.--two leaves were placed in a solution of one part of acetate of ammonia to about [page ] of water, and were acted on quite as energetically, but perhaps not quite so quickly, as by the carbonate. after m. the glands were black, and in the cells beneath them there were traces of aggregation, which after m. was well marked, extending down the tentacles for a length equal to that of the glands. after hrs. the contents of almost all the cells in all the tentacles were broken up into masses of protoplasm. a leaf was immersed in a solution of one part of oxalate of ammonia to of water; and after m. some, but not a conspicuous, change could be seen within the cells beneath the glands. after m. plenty of spherical masses of protoplasm were formed, and these extended down the tentacles for about the length of the glands. this salt, therefore, does not act so quickly as the carbonate. with respect to the citrate of ammonia, a leaf was placed in a little solution of the above strength, and there was not even a trace of aggregation in the cells beneath the glands, until m. had elapsed; but it was well marked after hrs. m. on another occasion a leaf was placed in a stronger solution, of one part of the citrate to of water ( grs. to oz.), and at the same time another leaf in a solution of the carbonate of the same strength. the glands of the latter were blackened in less than m., and after hr. m. the aggregated masses, which were spherical and very dark-coloured, extended down all the tentacles, for between half and two-thirds of their lengths; whereas in the leaf immersed in the citrate the glands, after m., were of a dark red, and the aggregated masses in the cells beneath them pink and elongated. after hr. m. these masses extended down for only about one-fifth or one-fourth of the length of the tentacles. two leaves were placed, each in ten minims of a solution of one part of nitrate of ammonia to of water ( gr. to oz.), so that each leaf received / of a grain (. mgr.). this quantity caused all the tentacles to be inflected, but after hrs. there was only a trace of aggregation. one of these same leaves was then placed in a weak solution of the carbonate, and after hr. m. the tentacles for half their lengths showed an astonishing degree of aggregation. two other leaves were then placed in a much stronger solution of one part of the nitrate to of water ( grs. to oz.); in one of these there was no marked change after hrs.; but in the other there was a trace of aggregation after m., and this was plainly marked after hr. m., but even after hrs. m. there was certainly not more aggregation than would have fol- [page ] lowed from an immersion of from m. to m. in an equally strong solution of the carbonate. lastly, a leaf was placed in thirty minims of a solution of one part of phosphate of ammonia to , of water ( gr. to oz.), so that it received / of a grain (. mgr.); this soon caused the tentacles to be strongly inflected; and after hrs. the contents of the cells were aggregated into oval and irregularly globular masses, with a conspicuous current of protoplasm flowing round the walls. but after so long an interval aggregation would have ensued, whatever had caused inflection. only a few other salts, besides those of ammonia, were tried in relation to the process of aggregation. a leaf was placed in a solution of one part of chloride of sodium to of water, and after hr. the contents of the cells were aggregated into small, irregularly globular, brownish masses; these after hrs. were almost disintegrated and pulpy. it was evident that the protoplasm had been injuriously affected; and soon afterwards some of the cells appeared quite empty. these effects differ altogether from those produced by the several salts of ammonia, as well as by various organic fluids, and by inorganic particles placed on the glands. a solution of the same strength of carbonate of soda and carbonate of potash acted in nearly the same manner as the chloride; and here again, after hrs. m., the outer cells of some of the glands had emptied themselves of their brown pulpy contents. we shall see in the eighth chapter that solutions of several salts of soda of half the above strength cause inflection, but do not injure the leaves. weak solutions of sulphate of quinine, of nicotine, camphor, poison of the cobra, &c., soon induce well-marked aggregation; whereas certain other substances (for instance, a solution of curare) have no such tendency. many acids, though much diluted, are poisonous; and though, as will be shown in the eighth chapter, they cause the tentacles to bend, they do not excite true aggregation. thus leaves were placed in a solution of one part of benzoic acid to of water; and in m. the purple fluid within the cells had shrunk a little from the walls, yet when carefully examined after hr. m., there was no true aggregation; and after hrs. the leaf was evidently dead. other leaves in iodic acid, diluted to the same degree, showed after hrs. m. the same shrunken appearance of the purple fluid within the cells; and these, after hrs. m., were seen under a high power to be filled with excessively minute spheres of dull reddish protoplasm, [page ] which by the next morning, after hrs., had almost disappeared, the leaf being evidently dead. nor was there any true aggregation in leaves immersed in propionic acid of the same strength; but in this case the protoplasm was collected in irregular masses towards the bases of the lower cells of the tentacles. a filtered infusion of raw meat induces strong aggregation, but not very quickly. in one leaf thus immersed there was a little aggregation after hr. m., and in another after hr. m. with other leaves a considerably longer time was required: for instance, one immersed for hrs. showed no aggregation, but was plainly acted on in m.; when placed in a few drops of a solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water. some leaves were left in the infusion for hrs., and these became aggregated to a wonderful degree, so that the inflected tentacles presented to the naked eye a plainly mottled appearance. the little masses of purple protoplasm were generally oval or beaded, and not nearly so often spherical as in the case of leaves subjected to carbonate of ammonia. they underwent incessant changes of form; and the current of colourless protoplasm round the walls was conspicuously plain after an immersion of hrs. raw meat is too powerful a stimulant, and even small bits generally injure, and sometimes kill, the leaves to which they are given: the aggregated masses of protoplasm become dingy or almost colourless, and present an unusual granular appearance, as is likewise the case with leaves which have been immersed in a very strong solution of carbonate of ammonia. a leaf placed in milk had the contents of its cells somewhat aggregated in hr. two other leaves, one immersed in human saliva for hrs. m., and another in unboiled white of egg for hr. m., were not action on in this manner; though they undoubtedly would have been so, had more time been allowed. these same two leaves, on being afterwards placed in a solution of carbonate of ammonia ( grs. to oz.), had their cells aggregated, the one in m. and the other in m. several leaves were left for hrs. m. in a solution of one part of white sugar to of water, and no aggregation ensued; on being placed in a solution of this same strength of carbonate of ammonia, they were acted on in m.; as was likewise a leaf which had been left for hr. m. in a moderately thick solution of gum arabic. several other leaves were immersed for some hours in denser solutions of sugar, gum, and starch, and they had the contents of their cells greatly aggregated. this [page ] effect may be attributed to exosmose; for the leaves in the syrup became quite flaccid, and those in the gum and starch somewhat flaccid, with their tentacles twisted about in the most irregular manner, the longer ones like corkscrews. we shall hereafter see that solutions of these substances, when placed on the discs of leaves, do not incite inflection. particles of soft sugar were added to the secretion round several glands and were soon dissolved, causing a great increase of the secretion, no doubt by exosmose; and after hrs. the cells showed a certain amount of aggregation, though the tentacles were not inflected. glycerine causes in a few minutes well-pronounced aggregation, commencing as usual within the glands and then travelling down the tentacles; and this i presume may be attributed to the strong attraction of this substance for water. immersion for several hours in water causes some degree of aggregation. twenty leaves were first carefully examined, and re-examined after having been left immersed in distilled water for various periods, with the following results. it is rare to find even a trace of aggregation until or and generally not until several more hours have elapsed. when however a leaf becomes quickly inflected in water, as sometimes happens, especially during very warm weather, aggregation may occur in little over hr. in all cases leaves left in water for more than hrs. have their glands blackened, which shows that their contents are aggregated; and in the specimens which were carefully examined, there was fairly well-marked aggregation in the upper cells of the pedicels. these trials were made with cut off-leaves, and it occurred to me that this circumstance might influence the result, as the footstalks would not perhaps absorb water quickly enough to supply the glands as they continued to secrete. but this view was proved erroneous, for a plant with uninjured roots, bearing four leaves, was submerged in distilled water for hrs., and the glands were blackened, though the tentacles were very little inflected. in one of these leaves there was only a slight degree of aggregation in the tentacles; in the second rather more, the purple contents of the cells being a little separated from the walls; in the third and fourth, which were pale leaves, the aggregation in the upper parts of the pedicels was well marked. in these leaves the little masses of protoplasm, many of which were oval, slowly changed their forms and positions; so that a submergence for hrs. had not killed the protoplasm. in a previous trial with a submerged plant, the tentacles were not in the least inflected. [page ] heat induces aggregation. a leaf, with the cells of the tentacles containing only homogeneous fluid, was waved about for m. in water at o fahr. ( o. cent.) and was then examined under the microscope as quickly as possible, that is in m. or m.; and by this time the contents of the cells had undergone some degree of aggregation. a second leaf was waved for m. in water at o ( o. cent.) and quickly examined as before; the tentacles were well inflected; the purple fluid in all the cells had shrunk a little from the walls, and contained many oval and elongated masses of protoplasm, with a few minute spheres. a third leaf was left in water at o, until it cooled, and when examined after hr. m., the inflected tentacles showed some aggregation, which became after hrs. more strongly marked, but did not subsequently increase. lastly, a leaf was waved for m. in water at o ( o. cent.) and then left for hr. m. in cold water; the tentacles were but little inflected, and there was only here and there a trace of aggregation. in all these and other trials with warm water the protoplasm showed much less tendency to aggregate into spherical masses than when excited by carbonate of ammonia. redissolution of the aggregated masses of protoplasm.--as soon as tentacles which have clasped an insect or any inorganic object, or have been in any way excited, have fully re-expanded, the aggregated masses of protoplasm are redissolved and disappear; the cells being now refilled with homogeneous purple fluid as they were before the tentacles were inflected. the process of redissolution in all cases commences at the bases of the tentacles, and proceeds up them towards the glands. in old leaves, however, especially in those which have been several times in action, the protoplasm in the uppermost cells of the pedicels remains in a permanently more or less aggregated condition. in order to observe the process of redissolution, the following observations were made: a leaf was left for hrs. in a little solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water, and the protoplasm was as usual aggregated into numberless purple spheres, which were incessantly changing their forms. the leaf was then washed and placed in distilled water, and after hrs. m. some few of the spheres began to show by their less clearly defined edges signs of redissolution. after hrs. many of them had become elongated, and the surrounding fluid in the cells was slightly more coloured, showing plainly that redissolution had commenced. after hrs., though many cells still contained spheres, here and there one [page ] could be seen filled with purple fluid, without a vestige of aggregated protoplasm; the whole having been redissolved. a leaf with aggregated masses, caused by its having been waved for m. in water at the temperature of o fahr., was left in cold water, and after hrs. the protoplasm showed traces of incipient redissolution. when again examined three days after its immersion in the warm water, there was a conspicuous difference, though the protoplasm was still somewhat aggregated. another leaf, with the contents of all the cells strongly aggregated from the action of a weak solution of phosphate of ammonia, was left for between three and four days in a mixture (known to be innocuous) of one drachm of alcohol to eight drachms of water, and when re-examined every trace of aggregation had disappeared, the cells being now filled with homogeneous fluid. we have seen that leaves immersed for some hours in dense solutions of sugar, gum, and starch, have the contents of their cells greatly aggregated, and are rendered more or less flaccid, with the tentacles irregularly contorted. these leaves, after being left for four days in distilled water, became less flaccid, with their tentacles partially re-expanded, and the aggregated masses of protoplasm were partially redissolved. a leaf with its tentacles closely clasped over a fly, and with the contents of the cells strongly aggregated, was placed in a little sherry wine; after hrs. several of the tentacles had re-expanded, and the others could by a mere touch be pushed back into their properly expanded positions, and now all traces of aggregation had disappeared, the cells being filled with perfectly homogeneous pink fluid. the redissolution in these cases may, i presume, be attributed to endosmose.] on the proximate causes of the process of aggregation. as most of the stimulants which cause the inflection of the tentacles likewise induce aggregation in the contents of their cells, this latter process might be thought to be the direct result of inflection; but this is not the case. if leaves are placed in rather strong solutions of carbonate of ammonia, for instance of three or four, and even sometimes of only two grains to the ounce of water (i.e. one part to , or , or [page ] , of water), the tentacles are paralysed, and do not become inflected, yet they soon exhibit strongly marked aggregation. moreover, the short central tentacles of a leaf which has been immersed in a weak solution of any salt of ammonia, or in any nitrogenous organic fluid, do not become in the least inflected; nevertheless they exhibit all the phenomena of aggregation. on the other hand, several acids cause strongly pronounced inflection, but no aggregation. it is an important fact that when an organic or inorganic object is placed on the glands of the disc, and the exterior tentacles are thus caused to bend inwards, not only is the secretion from the glands of the latter increased in quantity and rendered acid, but the contents of the cells of their pedicels become aggregated. the process always commences in the glands, although these have not as yet touched any object. some force or influence must, therefore, be transmitted from the central glands to the exterior tentacles, first to near their bases causing this part to bend, and next to the glands causing them to secrete more copiously. after a short time the glands, thus indirectly excited, transmit or reflect some influence down their own pedicels, inducing aggregation in cell beneath cell to their bases. it seems at first sight a probable view that aggregation is due to the glands being excited to secrete more copiously, so that sufficient fluid is not left in their cells, and in the cells of the pedicels, to hold the protoplasm in solution. in favour of this view is the fact that aggregation follows the inflection of the tentacles, and during the movement the glands generally, or, as i believe, always, secrete more copiously than they did before. again, during the re-expansion [page ] of the tentacles, the glands secrete less freely, or quite cease to secrete, and the aggregated masses of protoplasm are then redissolved. moreover, when leaves are immersed in dense vegetable solutions, or in glycerine, the fluid within the gland-cells passes outwards, and there is aggregation; and when the leaves are afterwards immersed in water, or in an innocuous fluid of less specific gravity than water, the protoplasm is redissolved, and this, no doubt, is due to endosmose. opposed to this view, that aggregation is caused by the outward passage of fluid from the cells, are the following facts. there seems no close relation between the degree of increased secretion and that of aggregation. thus a particle of sugar added to the secretion round a gland causes a much greater increase of secretion, and much less aggregation, than does a particle of carbonate of ammonia given in the same manner. it does not appear probable that pure water would cause much exosmose, and yet aggregation often follows from an immersion in water of between hrs. and hrs., and always after from hrs. to hrs. still less probable is it that water at a temperature of from o to o fahr. ( o. to o. cent.) should cause fluid to pass, not only from the glands, but from all the cells of the tentacles down to their bases, so quickly that aggregation is induced within m. or m. another strong argument against this view is, that, after complete aggregation, the spheres and oval masses of protoplasm float about in an abundant supply of thin colourless fluid; so that at least the latter stages of the process cannot be due to the want of fluid to hold the protoplasm in solution. there is still stronger evidence that aggregation is independent of secretion; for the papillae, described in the first chapter, with which the [page ] leaves are studded are not glandular, and do not secrete, yet they rapidly absorb carbonate of ammonia or an infusion of raw meat, and their contents then quickly undergo aggregation, which afterwards spreads into the cells of the surrounding tissues. we shall hereafter see that the purple fluid within the sensitive filaments of dionaea, which do not secrete, likewise undergoes aggregation from the action of a weak solution of carbonate of ammonia. the process of aggregation is a vital one; by which i mean that the contents of the cells must be alive and uninjured to be thus affected, and they must be in an oxygenated condition for the transmission of the process at the proper rate. some tentacles in a drop of water were strongly pressed beneath a slip of glass; many of the cells were ruptured, and pulpy matter of a purple colour, with granules of all sizes and shapes, exuded, but hardly any of the cells were completely emptied. i then added a minute drop of a solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water, and after hr. examined the specimens. here and there a few cells, both in the glands and in the pedicels, had escaped being ruptured, and their contents were well aggregated into spheres which were constantly changing their forms and positions, and a current could still be seen flowing along the walls; so that the protoplasm was alive. on the other hand, the exuded matter, which was now almost colourless instead of being purple, did not exhibit a trace of aggregation. nor was there a trace in the many cells which were ruptured, but which had not been completely emptied of their contents. though i looked carefully, no signs of a current could be seen within these ruptured cells. they had evidently been killed by the pressure; and the matter which they [page ] still contained did not undergo aggregation any more than that which had exuded. in these specimens, as i may add, the individuality of the life of each cell was well illustrated. a full account will be given in the next chapter of the effects of heat on the leaves, and i need here only state that leaves immersed for a short time in water at a temperature of ofahr. ( o. cent.), which, as we have seen, does not immediately induce aggregation, were then placed in a few drops of a strong solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water, and became finely aggregated. on the other hand, leaves, after an immersion in water at o ( o. cent.), on being placed in the same strong solution, did not undergo aggregation, the cells becoming filled with brownish, pulpy, or muddy matter. with leaves subjected to temperatures between these two extremes of o and o fahr. ( o. and o. cent.), there were gradations in the completeness of the process; the former temperature not preventing aggregation from the subsequent action of carbonate of ammonia, the latter quite stopping it. thus, leaves immersed in water, heated to o ( o. cent.), and then in the solution, formed perfectly defined spheres, but these were decidedly smaller than in ordinary cases. with other leaves heated to o ( o cent.), the spheres were extremely small, yet well defined, but many of the cells contained, in addition, some brownish pulpy matter. in two cases of leaves heated to o ( o. cent.), a few tentacles could be found with some of their cells containing a few minute spheres; whilst the other cells and other whole tentacles included only the brownish, disintegrated or pulpy matter. the fluid within the cells of the tentacles must be in an oxygenated condition, in order that the force or [page ] influence which induces aggregation should be transmitted at the proper rate from cell to cell. a plant, with its roots in water, was left for m. in a vessel containing oz. of carbonic acid. a leaf from this plant, and, for comparison, one from a fresh plant, were both immersed for hr. in a rather strong solution of carbonate of ammonia. they were then compared, and certainly there was much less aggregation in the leaf which had been subjected to the carbonic acid than in the other. another plant was exposed in the same vessel for hrs. to carbonic acid, and one of its leaves was then placed in a solution of one part of the carbonate to of water; the glands were instantly blackened, showing that they had absorbed, and that their contents were aggregated; but in the cells close beneath the glands there was no aggregation even after an interval of hrs. after hrs. m. a few minute spheres of protoplasm were formed in these cells, but even after hrs. m. the aggregation did not extend down the pedicels for a length equal to that of the glands. after numberless trials with fresh leaves immersed in a solution of this strength, i have never seen the aggregating action transmitted at nearly so slow a rate. another plant was left for hrs. in carbonic acid, but was then exposed for m. to the open air, during which time the leaves, being of a red colour, would have absorbed some oxygen. one of them, as well as a fresh leaf for comparison, were now immersed in the same solution as before. the former were looked at repeatedly, and after an interval of m. a few spheres of protoplasm were first observed in the cells close beneath the glands, but only in two or three of the longer tentacles. after hrs. the aggregation had travelled down the pedicels of a few of the tentacles [page ] for a length equal to that of the glands. on the other hand, in the fresh leaf similarly treated, aggregation was plain in many of the tentacles after m.; after m. it had extended down the pedicels for four, five, or more times the lengths of the glands; and after hrs. the cells of all the tentacles were affected for one-third or one-half of their entire lengths. hence there can be no doubt that the exposure of leaves to carbonic acid either stops for a time the process of aggregation, or checks the transmission of the proper influence when the glands are subsequently excited by carbonate of ammonia; and this substance acts more promptly and energetically than any other. it is known that the protoplasm of plants exhibits its spontaneous movements only as long as it is in an oxygenated condition; and so it is with the white corpuscles of the blood, only as long as they receive oxygen from the red corpuscles;* but the cases above given are somewhat different, as they relate to the delay in the generation or aggregation of the masses of protoplasm by the exclusion of oxygen. summary and concluding remarks.--the process of aggregation is independent of the inflection of the tentacles and of increased secretion from the glands. it commences within the glands, whether these have been directly excited, or indirectly by a stimulus received from other glands. in both cases the process is transmitted from cell to cell down the whole length of the tentacles, being arrested for a short time at each transverse partition. with pale-coloured leaves the first change which is perceptible, but only * with respect to plants, sachs, 'trait de bot.' rd edit., , p. . on blood corpuscles, see 'quarterly journal of microscopical science,' april , p. .' [page ] under a high power, is the appearance of the finest granules in the fluid within the cells, making it slightly cloudy. these granules soon aggregate into small globular masses. i have seen a cloud of this kind appear in s. after a drop of a solution of carbonate of ammonia had been given to a gland. with dark red leaves the first visible change often is the conversion of the outer layer of the fluid within the cells into bag-like masses. the aggregated masses, however they may have been developed, incessantly change their forms and positions. they are not filled with fluid, but are solid to their centres. ultimately the colourless granules in the protoplasm which flows round the walls coalesce with the central spheres or masses; but there is still a current of limpid fluid flowing within the cells. as soon as the tentacles fully re-expand, the aggregated masses are redissolved, and the cells become filled with homogeneous purple fluid, as they were at first. the process of redissolution commences at the bases of the tentacles, thence proceeding upwards to the glands; and, therefore, in a reversed direction to that of aggregation. aggregation is excited by the most diversified causes,--by the glands being several times touched,--by the pressure of particles of any kind, and as these are supported by the dense secretion, they can hardly press on the glands with the weight of a millionth of a grain,*--by the tentacles being cut off close beneath * according to hofmeister (as quoted by sachs, 'trait de bot.' , p. ), very slight pressure on the cell-membrane arrests immediately the movements of the protoplasm, and even determines its separation from the walls. but the process of aggregation is a different phenomenon, as it relates to the contents of the cells, and only secondarily to the layer of protoplasm which flows along the walls; though no doubt the effects of pressure or of a touch on the outside must be transmitted through this layer. [page ] the glands,--by the glands absorbing various fluids or matter dissolved out of certain bodies,--by exosmose,--and by a certain degree of heat. on the other hand, a temperature of about o fahr. ( o. cent.) does not excite aggregation; nor does the sudden crushing of a gland. if a cell is ruptured, neither the exuded matter nor that which still remains within the cell undergoes aggregation when carbonate of ammonia is added. a very strong solution of this salt and rather large bits of raw meat prevent the aggregated masses being well developed. from these facts we may conclude that the protoplasmic fluid within a cell does not become aggregated unless it be in a living state, and only imperfectly if the cell has been injured. we have also seen that the fluid must be in an oxygenated state, in order that the process of aggregation should travel from cell to cell at the proper rate. various nitrogenous organic fluids and salts of ammonia induce aggregation, but in different degrees and at very different rates. carbonate of ammonia is the most powerful of all known substances; the absorption of / of a grain (. mg.) by a gland suffices to cause all the cells of the same tentacle to become aggregated. the first effect of the carbonate and of certain other salts of ammonia, as well as of some other fluids, is the darkening or blackening of the glands. this follows even from long immersion in cold distilled water. it apparently depends in chief part on the strong aggregation of their cell-contents, which thus become opaque, and do not reflect light. some other fluids render the glands of a brighter red; whilst certain acids, though much diluted, the poison of the cobra-snake, &c., make the glands perfectly white and opaque; and this seems to depend on the coagulation of their contents without [page ] any aggregation. nevertheless, before being thus affected, they are able, at least in some cases, to excite aggregation in their own tentacles. that the central glands, if irritated, send centrifugally some influence to the exterior glands, causing them to send back a centripetal influence inducing aggregation, is perhaps the most interesting fact given in this chapter. but the whole process of aggregation is in itself a striking phenomenon. whenever the peripheral extremity of a nerve is touched or pressed, and a sensation is felt, it is believed that an invisible molecular change is sent from one end of the nerve to the other; but when a gland of drosera is repeatedly touched or gently pressed, we can actually see a molecular change proceeding from the gland down the tentacle; though this change is probably of a very different nature from that in a nerve. finally, as so many and such widely different causes excite aggregation, it would appear that the living matter within the gland-cells is in so unstable a condition that almost any disturbance suffices to change its molecular nature, as in the case of certain chemical compounds. and this change in the glands, whether excited directly, or indirectly by a stimulus received from other glands, is transmitted from cell to cell, causing granules of protoplasm either to be actually generated in the previously limpid fluid or to coalesce and thus to become visible. supplementary observations on the process of aggregation in the roots of plants. it will hereafter be seen that a weak solution of the carbonate of ammonia induces aggregation in the cells of the roots of drosera; and this led me to make a few trials on the roots of other plants. i dug up in the latter part of october the first weed which i met with, viz. euphorbia peplus, being care- [page ] ful not to injure the roots; these were washed and placed in a little solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water. in less than one minute i saw a cloud travelling from cell to cell up the roots, with wonderful rapidity. after from m. to m. the fine granules, which caused this cloudy appearance, became aggregated towards the extremities of the roots into quadrangular masses of brown matter; and some of these soon changed their forms and became spherical. some of the cells, however, remained unaffected. i repeated the experiment with another plant of the same species, but before i could get the specimen into focus under the microscope, clouds of granules and quadrangular masses of reddish and brown matter were formed, and had run far up all the roots. a fresh root was now left for hrs. in a drachm of a solution of one part of the carbonate to of water, so that it received / of a grain, or . mg. when examined, the cells of all the roots throughout their whole length contained aggregated masses of reddish and brown matter. before making these experiments, several roots were closely examined, and not a trace of the cloudy appearance or of the granular masses could be seen in any of them. roots were also immersed for m. in a solution of one part of carbonate of potash to of water; but this salt produced no effect. i may here add that thin slices of the stem of the euphorbia were placed in the same solution, and the cells which were green instantly became cloudy, whilst others which were before colourless were clouded with brown, owing to the formation of numerous granules of this tint. i have also seen with various kinds of leaves, left for some time in a solution of carbonate of ammonia, that the grains of chlorophyll ran together and partially coalesced; and this seems to be a form of aggregation. plants of duck-weed (lemna) were left for between m. and m. in a solution of one part of this same salt to of water, and three of their roots were then examined. in two of them, all the cells which had previously contained only limpid fluid now included little green spheres. after from / hr. to hrs. similar spheres appeared in the cells on the borders of the leaves; but whether the ammonia had travelled up the roots or had been directly absorbed by the leaves, i cannot say. as one species, lemna arrhiza, produces no roots, the latter alternative is perhaps the most probable. after about / hrs. some of the little green spheres in the roots were broken up into small granules which exhibited brownian movements. some duck-weed was also left for hr. m. in a solution of one part of [page ] carbonate of potash to of water, and no decided change could be perceived in the cells of the roots; but when these same roots were placed for m. in a solution of carbonate of ammonia of the same strength, little green spheres were formed. a green marine alga was left for some time in this same solution, but was very doubtfully affected. on the other hand, a red marine alga, with finely pinnated fronds, was strongly affected. the contents of the cells aggregated themselves into broken rings, still of a red colour, which very slowly and slightly changed their shapes, and the central spaces within these rings became cloudy with red granular matter. the facts here given (whether they are new, i know not) indicate that interesting results would perhaps be gained by observing the action of various saline solutions and other fluids on the roots of plants. [page ] chapter iv. the effects of heat on the leaves. nature of the experiments--effects of boiling water--warm water causes rapid inflection-- water at a higher temperature does not cause immediate inflection, but does not kill the leaves, as shown by their subsequent re-expansion and by the aggregation of the protoplasm-- a still higher temperature kills the leaves and coagulates the albuminous contents of the glands. in my observations on drosera rotundifolia, the leaves seemed to be more quickly inflected over animal substances, and to remain inflected for a longer period during very warm than during cold weather. i wished, therefore, to ascertain whether heat alone would induce inflection, and what temperature was the most efficient. another interesting point presented itself, namely, at what degree life was extinguished; for drosera offers unusual facilities in this respect, not in the loss of the power of inflection, but in that of subsequent re-expansion, and more especially in the failure of the protoplasm to become aggregated, when the leaves after being heated are immersed in a solution of carbonate of ammonia.* * when my experiments on the effects of heat were made, i was not aware that the subject had been carefully investigated by several observers. for instance, sachs is convinced ('trait de botanique,' , pp. , ) that the most different kinds of plants all perish if kept for m. in water at o to o cent., or o to o fahr.; and he concludes that the protoplasm within their cells always coagulates, if in a damp condition, at a temperature of between oand o cent., or o to o fahr. max schultze and khne (as quoted by dr. bastian in 'contemp. review,' , p. ) "found that the protoplasm of plant-cells, with which they experimented, was always killed and [[page ]] altered by a very brief exposure to a temperature of / o fahr. as a maximum." as my results are deduced from special phenomena, namely, the subsequent aggregation of the protoplasm and the re-expansion of the tentacles, they seem to me worth giving. we shall find that drosera resists heat somewhat better than most other plants. that there should be considerable differences in this respect is not surprising, considering that some low vegetable organisms grow in hot springs--cases of which have been collected by prof. wyman ('american journal of science,' vol. xliv. ). thus, dr. hooker found confervae in water at o fahr.; humboldt, at o fahr.; and descloizeaux, at o fahr.) [page ] [my experiments were tried in the following manner. leaves were cut off, and this does not in the least interfere with their powers; for instance, three cut off leaves, with bits of meat placed on them, were kept in a damp atmosphere, and after hrs. closely embraced the meat both with their tentacles and blades; and the protoplasm within their cells was well aggregated. three ounces of doubly distilled water was heated in a porcelain vessel, with a delicate thermometer having a long bulb obliquely suspended in it. the water was gradually raised to the required temperature by a spirit-lamp moved about under the vessel; and in all cases the leaves were continually waved for some minutes close to the bulb. they were then placed in cold water, or in a solution of carbonate of ammonia. in other cases they were left in the water, which had been raised to a certain temperature, until it cooled. again in other cases the leaves were suddenly plunged into water of a certain temperature, and kept there for a specified time. considering that the tentacles are extremely delicate, and that their coats are very thin, it seems scarcely possible that the fluid contents of their cells should not have been heated to within a degree or two of the temperature of the surrounding water. any further precautions would, i think, have been superfluous, as the leaves from age or constitutional causes differ slightly in their sensitiveness to heat. it will be convenient first briefly to describe the effects of immersion for thirty seconds in boiling water. the leaves are rendered flaccid, with their tentacles bowed backwards, which, as we shall see in a future chapter, is probably due to their outer surfaces retaining their elasticity for a longer period than their inner surfaces retain the power of contraction. the purple fluid within the cells of the pedicels is rendered finely granular, but there is no true aggregation; nor does this follow [page ] when the leaves are subsequently placed in a solution of carbonate of ammonia. but the most remarkable change is that the glands become opaque and uniformly white; and this may be attributed to the coagulation of their albuminous contents. my first and preliminary experiment consisted in putting seven leaves in the same vessel of water, and warming it slowly up to the temperature of o fahr. ( o. cent.); a leaf being taken out as soon as the temperature rose to o ( o. cent.), another at o, another at o, and so on. each leaf, when taken out, was placed in water at the temperature of my room, and the tentacles of all soon became slightly, though irregularly, inflected. they were now removed from the cold water and kept in damp air, with bits of meat placed on their discs. the leaf which had been exposed to the temperature of o became in m. greatly inflected; and in hrs. every single tentacle closely embraced the meat. so it was, but after rather longer intervals, with the six other leaves. it appears, therefore, that the warm bath had increased their sensitiveness when excited by meat. i next observed the degree of inflection which leaves underwent within stated periods, whilst still immersed in warm water, kept as nearly as possible at the same temperature; but i will here and elsewhere give only a few of the many trials made. a leaf was left for m. in water at o ( o. cent.), but no inflection occurred. a second leaf, however, treated in the same manner, had a few of its exterior tentacles very slightly inflected in m., and several irregularly but not closely inflected in m. a third leaf, kept in water at o to o ( o. to o. cent.), was very moderately inflected in m. a fourth leaf, in water at o ( o. cent.), was somewhat inflected in m., and considerably so in from to m. three leaves were placed in water which was heated rather quickly, and by the time the temperature rose to o- o ( o. to o. cent.), all three were inflected. i then removed the lamp, and in a few minutes every single tentacle was closely inflected. the protoplasm within the cells was not killed, for it was seen to be in distinct movement; and the leaves, having been left in cold water for hrs., re-expanded. another leaf was immersed in water at o ( . o cent.), which was raised to o ( o. cent.); and all the tentacles, except the extreme marginal ones, soon became closely inflected. the leaf was now placed in cold water, and in hrs. m. it had partly, and in hrs. fully, re-expanded. on the following morning it was immersed in a weak solution of carbonate of [page ] ammonia, and the glands quickly became black, with strongly marked aggregation in the tentacles, showing that the protoplasm was alive, and that the glands had not lost their power of absorption. another leaf was placed in water at o ( o. cent.) which was raised to o ( o. cent.); and every tentacle, excepting one, was quickly and closely inflected. this leaf was now immersed in a few drops of a strong solution of carbonate of ammonia (one part to of water); in m. all the glands became intensely black, and in hrs. the protoplasm in the cells of the pedicels was well aggregated. another leaf was suddenly plunged, and as usual waved about, in water at o, and the tentacles became inflected in from m. to m., but only so as to stand at right angles to the disc. the leaf was now placed in the same solution (viz. one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water, or grs. to oz., which i will for the future designate as the strong solution), and when i looked at it again after the interval of an hour, the glands were blackened, and there was well-marked aggregation. after an additional interval of hrs. the tentacles had become much more inflected. it deserves notice that a solution as strong as this never causes inflection in ordinary cases. lastly a leaf was suddenly placed in water at o ( o. cent.), and was left in it until the water cooled; the tentacles were rendered of a bright red and soon became inflected. the contents of the cells underwent some degree of aggregation, which in the course of three hours increased; but the masses of protoplasm did not become spherical, as almost always occurs with leaves immersed in a solution of carbonate of ammonia.] we learn from these cases that a temperature of from o to o ( o. to o. cent.) excites the tentacles into quick movement, but does not kill the leaves, as shown either by their subsequent re-expansion or by the aggregation of the protoplasm. we shall now see that a temperature of o ( o. cent.) is too high to cause immediate inflection, yet does not kill the leaves. [experiment .--a leaf was plunged, and as in all cases waved about for a few minutes, in water at o ( o. cent.), but there was no trace of inflection; it was then placed in cold water, and after an interval of m. very slow movement was [page ] distinctly seen in a small mass of protoplasm in one of the cells of a tentacle.* after a few hours all the tentacles and the blade became inflected. experiment .--another leaf was plunged into water at o to o, and as before there was no inflection. after being kept in cold water for an hour, it was placed in the strong solution of ammonia, and in the course of m. the tentacles were considerably inflected. the glands, which before had been rendered of a brighter red, were now blackened. the protoplasm in the cells of the tentacles was distinctly aggregated; but the spheres were much smaller than those generated in unheated leaves when subjected to carbonate of ammonia. after an additional hrs. all the tentacles, excepting six or seven, were closely inflected. experiment .--a similar experiment to the last, with exactly the same results. experiment .--a fine leaf was placed in water at o ( o. cent.), which was then raised to o ( o. cent.). soon after immersion, there was, as might have been expected, strong inflection. the leaf was now removed and left in cold water; but from having been exposed to so high a temperature, it never re-expanded. experiment .--leaf immersed at o ( o. cent.), and the water raised to o ( o. cent.), there was no immediate inflection; it was then placed in cold water, and after hr. m. some of the tentacles on one side became inflected. this leaf was now placed in the strong solution, and in m. all the submarginal tentacles were well inflected, and the glands blackened. after an additional interval of hrs. m. all the tentacles, except eight or ten, were closely inflected, with their cells exhibiting a slight degree of aggregation; but the spheres of protoplasm were very small, and the cells of the exterior tentacles contained some pulpy or disintegrated brownish matter. experiments and .--two leaves were plunged in water at o ( o. cent.) which was raised to o ( o. cent.); neither became inflected. one of these, however, after having been left for m. in cold water, exhibited some slight inflection, which increased after an additional interval of hr. m., until * sachs states ('trait de botanique,' , p. ) that the movements of the protoplasm in the hairs of a cucurbita ceased after they were exposed for m. in water to a temperature of o to o cent., or o to o fahr. [page ] all the tentacles, except sixteen or seventeen, were more or less inflected; but the leaf was so much injured that it never re-expanded. the other leaf, after having been left for half an hour in cold water, was put into the strong solution, but no inflection ensued; the glands, however, were blackened, and in some cells there was a little aggregation, the spheres of protoplasm being extremely small; in other cells, especially in the exterior tentacles, there was much greenish-brown pulpy matter. experiment .--a leaf was plunged and waved about for a few minutes in water at o ( ocent.), and was then left for half an hour in cold water, but there was no inflection. it was now placed in the strong solution, and after hrs. m. the inner submarginal tentacles were well inflected, with their glands blackened, and some imperfect aggregation in the cells of the pedicels. three or four of the glands were spotted with the white porcelain-like structure, like that produced by boiling water. i have seen this result in no other instance after an immersion of only a few minutes in water at so low a temperature as o, and in only one leaf out of four, after a similar immersion at a temperature of o fahr. on the other hand, with two leaves, one placed in water at o ( o. cent.), and the other in water at o ( ocent.), both being left therein until the water cooled, the glands of both became white and porcelain-like. so that the duration of the immersion is an important element in the result. experiment .--a leaf was placed in water at o ( o cent.), which was raised to o( o. cent.); there was no inflection; on the contrary, the outer tentacles were somewhat bowed backwards. the glands became like porcelain, but some of them were a little mottled with purple. the bases of the glands were often more affected than their summits. this leaf having been left in the strong solution did not undergo any inflection or aggregation. experiment .--a leaf was plunged in water at o to / o ( o. cent.); it became somewhat flaccid, with the outer tentacles slightly reflexed, and the inner ones a little bent inwards, but only towards their tips; and this latter fact shows that the movement was not one of true inflection, as the basal part alone normally bends. the tentacles were as usual rendered of a very bright red, with the glands almost white like porcelain, yet tinged with pink. the leaf having been placed in the strong solution, the cell-contents of the tentacles became of a muddy-brown, with no trace of aggregation. [page ] experiment .--a leaf was immersed in water at o ( o. cent.), which was raised to o ( o. cent.). the tentacles became bright red and somewhat reflexed, with almost all the glands like porcelain; those on the disc being still pinkish, those near the margin quite white. the leaf being placed as usual first in cold water and then in the strong solution, the cells in the tentacles became of a muddy greenish brown, with the protoplasm not aggregated. nevertheless, four of the glands escaped being rendered like porcelain, and the pedicels of these glands were spirally curled, like a french horn, towards their upper ends; but this can by no means be considered as a case of true inflection. the protoplasm within the cells of the twisted portions was aggregated into distinct though excessively minute purple spheres. this case shows clearly that the protoplasm, after having been exposed to a high temperature for a few minutes, is capable of aggregation when afterwards subjected to the action of carbonate of ammonia, unless the heat has been sufficient to cause coagulation.] concluding remarks.--as the hair-like tentacles are extremely thin and have delicate walls, and as the leaves were waved about for some minutes close to the bulb of the thermometer, it seems scarcely possible that they should not have been raised very nearly to the temperature which the instrument indicated. from the eleven last observations we see that a temperature of o ( o. cent.) never causes the immediate inflection of the tentacles, though a temperature from o to o ( o. to o. cent.) quickly produces this effect. but the leaves are paralysed only for a time by a temperature of o, as afterwards, whether left in simple water or in a solution of carbonate of ammonia, they become inflected and their protoplasm undergoes aggregation. this great difference in the effects of a higher and lower temperature may be compared with that from immersion in strong and weak solutions of the salts of ammonia; for the former do not excite movement, whereas the latter act energetically. a temporary suspension of the [page ] power of movement due to heat is called by sachs* heat-rigidity; and this in the case of the sensitive-plant (mimosa) is induced by its exposure for a few minutes to humid air, raised to o- o fahr., or o to o cent. it deserves notice that the leaves of drosera, after being immersed in water at o fahr., are excited into movement by a solution of the carbonate so strong that it would paralyse ordinary leaves and cause no inflection. the exposure of the leaves for a few minutes even to a temperature of o fahr. ( o. cent.) does not always kill them; as when afterwards left in cold water, or in a strong solution of carbonate of ammonia, they generally, though not always, become inflected; and the protoplasm within their cells undergoes aggregation, though the spheres thus formed are extremely small, with many of the cells partly filled with brownish muddy matter. in two instances, when leaves were immersed in water, at a lower temperature than o ( o. cent.), which was then raised to o ( o. cent.), they became during the earlier period of immersion inflected, but on being afterwards left in cold water were incapable of re-expansion. exposure for a few minutes to a temperature of o sometimes causes some few of the more sensitive glands to be speckled with the porcelain-like appearance; and on one occasion this occurred at a temperature of o ( o cent.). on another occasion, when a leaf was placed in water at this temperature of only o, and left therein till the water cooled, every gland became like porcelain. exposure for a few minutes to a temperature of o ( o. cent.) generally produces this effect, yet many glands retain a * 'trait de bot.' , p. . [page ] pinkish colour, and many present a speckled appearance. this high temperature never causes true inflection; on the contrary, the tentacles commonly become reflexed, though to a less degree than when immersed in boiling water; and this apparently is due to their passive power of elasticity. after exposure to a temperature of o fahr., the protoplasm, if subsequently subjected to carbonate of ammonia, instead of undergoing aggregation, is converted into disintegrated or pulpy discoloured matter. in short, the leaves are generally killed by this degree of heat; but owing to differences of age or constitution, they vary somewhat in this respect. in one anomalous case, four out of the many glands on a leaf, which had been immersed in water raised to o ( o. cent.), escaped being rendered porcellanous;* and the protoplasm in the cells close beneath these glands underwent some slight, though imperfect, degree of aggregation. finally, it is a remarkable fact that the leaves of drosera rotundifolia, which flourishes on bleak upland moors throughout great britain, and exists (hooker) within the arctic circle, should be able to withstand for even a short time immersion in water heated to a temperature of o. it may be worth adding that immersion in cold * as the opacity and porcelain-like appearance of the glands is probably due to the coagulation of the albumen, i may add, on the authority of dr. burdon sanderson, that albumen coagulates at about o, but, in presence of acids, the temperature of coagulation is lower. the leaves of drosera contain an acid, and perhaps a difference in the amount contained may account for the slight differences in the results above recorded. it appears that cold-blooded animals are, as might have been expected, far more sensitive to an increase of temperature than is drosera. thus, as i hear from dr. burdon sanderson, a frog begins to be distressed in water at a temperature of only o fahr. at o the muscles become rigid, and the animal dies in a stiffened condition. [page ] water does not cause any inflection: i suddenly placed four leaves, taken from plants which had been kept for several days at a high temperature, generally about o fahr. ( o. cent.), in water at o ( o. cent.), but they were hardly at all affected; not so much as some other leaves from the same plants, which were at the same time immersed in water at o; for these became in a slight degree inflected. [page ] chapter v. the effects of non-nitrogenous and nitrogenous organic fluids on the leaves. non-nitrogenous fluids--solutions of gum arabic--sugar--starch--diluted alcohol--olive oil-- infusion and decoction of tea--nitrogenous fluids--milk--urine--liquid albumen--infusion of raw meat--impure mucus--saliva--solution of isinglass--difference in the action of these two sets of fluids--decoction of green peas--decoction and infusion of cabbage--decoction of grass leaves. when, in , i first observed drosera, and was led to believe that the leaves absorbed nutritious matter from the insects which they captured, it seemed to me a good plan to make some preliminary trials with a few common fluids, containing and not containing nitrogenous matter; and the results are worth giving. in all the following cases a drop was allowed to fall from the same pointed instrument on the centre of the leaf; and by repeated trials one of these drops was ascertained to be on an average very nearly half a minim, or / of a fluid ounce, or . ml. but these measurements obviously do not pretend to any strict accuracy; moreover, the drops of the viscid fluids were plainly larger than those of water. only one leaf on the same plant was tried, and the plants were collected from two distant localities. the experiments were made during august and september. in judging of the effects, one caution is necessary: if a drop of any adhesive fluid is placed on an old or feeble leaf, the glands of which have ceased to secrete copiously, the drop sometimes dries up, especially if the plant [page ] is kept in a room, and some of the central and submarginal tentacles are thus drawn together, giving to them the false appearance of having become inflected. this sometimes occurs with water, as it is rendered adhesive by mingling with the viscid secretion. hence the only safe criterion, and to this alone i have trusted, is the bending inwards of the exterior tentacles, which have not been touched by the fluid, or at most only at their bases. in this case the movement is wholly due to the central glands having been stimulated by the fluid, and transmitting a motor impulse to the exterior tentacles. the blade of the leaf likewise often curves inwards, in the same manner as when an insect or bit of meat is placed on the disc. this latter movement is never caused, as far as i have seen, by the mere drying up of an adhesive fluid and the consequent drawing together of the tentacles. first for the non-nitrogenous fluids. as a preliminary trial, drops of distilled water were placed on between thirty and forty leaves, and no effect whatever was produced; nevertheless, in some other and rare cases, a few tentacles became for a short time inflected; but this may have been caused by the glands having been accidentally touched in getting the leaves into a proper position. that water should produce no effect might have been anticipated, as otherwise the leaves would have been excited into movement by every shower of rain. [gum arabic.--solutions of four degrees of strength were made; one of six grains to the ounce of water (one part to ); a second rather stronger, yet very thin; a third moderately thick, and a fourth so thick that it would only just drop from a pointed instrument. these were tried on fourteen leaves; the drops being left on the discs from hrs. to hrs.; generally about [page ] hrs. inflection was never thus caused. it is necessary to try pure gum arabic, for a friend tried a solution bought ready prepared, and this caused the tentacles to bend; but he afterwards ascertained that it contained much animal matter, probably glue. sugar.--drops of a solution of white sugar of three strengths (the weakest containing one part of sugar to of water) were left on fourteen leaves from hrs. to hrs.; but no effect was produced. starch.--a mixture about as thick as cream was dropped on six leaves and left on them for hrs., no effect being produced. i am surprised at this fact, as i believe that the starch of commerce generally contains a trace of gluten, and this nitrogenous substance causes inflection, as we shall see in the next chapter. alcohol, diluted.--one part of alcohol was added to seven of water, and the usual drops were placed on the discs of three leaves. no inflection ensued in the course of hrs. to ascertain whether these leaves had been at all injured, bits of meat were placed on them, and after hrs. they were closely inflected. i also put drops of sherry-wine on three other leaves; no inflection was caused, though two of them seemed somewhat injured. we shall hereafter see that cut off leaves immersed in diluted alcohol of the above strength do not become inflected. olive oil.--drops were placed on the discs of eleven leaves, and no effect was produced in from hrs. to hrs. four of these leaves were then tested by bits of meat on their discs, and three of them were found after hrs. with all their tentacles and blades closely inflected, whilst the fourth had only a few tentacles inflected. it will, however, be shown in a future place, that cut off leaves immersed in olive oil are powerfully affected. infusion and decoction of tea.--drops of a strong infusion and decoction, as well as of a rather weak decoction, of tea were placed on ten leaves, none of which became inflected. i afterwards tested three of them by adding bits of meat to the drops which still remained on their discs, and when i examined them after hrs. they were closely inflected. the chemical principle of tea, namely theine, was subsequently tried and produced no effect. the albuminous matter which the leaves must originally have contained, no doubt, had been rendered insoluble by their having been completely dried.] we thus see that, excluding the experiments with water, sixty-one leaves were tried with drops of the [page ] above-named non-nitrogenous fluids; and the tentacles were not in a single case inflected. [with respect to nitrogenous fluids, the first which came to hand were tried. the experiments were made at the same time and in exactly the same manner as the foregoing. as it was immediately evident that these fluids produced a great effect, i neglected in most cases to record how soon the tentacles became inflected. but this always occurred in less than hrs.; whilst the drops of non-nitrogenous fluids which produced no effect were observed in every case during a considerably longer period. milk.--drops were placed on sixteen leaves, and the tentacles of all, as well as the blades of several, soon became greatly inflected. the periods were recorded in only three cases, namely, with leaves on which unusually small drops had been placed. their tentacles were somewhat inflected in m.; and after hrs. m. the blades of two were so much curved inwards that they formed little cups enclosing the drops. these leaves re-expanded on the third day. on another occasion the blade of a leaf was much inflected in hrs. after a drop of milk had been placed on it. human urine.--drops were placed on twelve leaves, and the tentacles of all, with a single exception, became greatly inflected. owing, i presume, to differences in the chemical nature of the urine on different occasions, the time required for the movements of the tentacles varied much, but was always effected in under hrs. in two instances i recorded that all the exterior tentacles were completely inflected in hrs., but not the blade of the leaf. in another case the edges of a leaf, after hrs. m., became so strongly inflected that it was converted into a cup. the power of urine does not lie in the urea, which, as we shall hereafter see, is inoperative. albumen (fresh from a hen's egg), placed on seven leaves, caused the tentacles of six of them to be well inflected. in one case the edge of the leaf itself became much curled in after hrs. the one leaf which was unaffected remained so for hrs., and was then treated with a drop of milk, and this caused the tentacles to bend inwards in hrs. cold filtered infusion of raw meat.--this was tried only on a single leaf, which had most of its outer tentacles and the blade inflected in hrs. during subsequent years, i repeatedly used this infusion to test leaves which had been experimented [page ] on with other substances, and it was found to act most energetically, but as no exact account of these trials was kept, they are not here introduced. mucus.--thick and thin mucus from the bronchial tubes, placed on three leaves, caused inflection. a leaf with thin mucus had its marginal tentacles and blade somewhat curved inward in hrs. m., and greatly so in hrs. the action of this fluid no doubt is due either to the saliva or to some albuminous matter* mingled with it, and not, as we shall see in the next chapter, to mucin or the chemical principle of mucus. saliva.--human saliva, when evaporated, yields from . to . per cent. of residue; and this yields . per cent. of ashes, so that the proportion of nitrogenous matter which saliva contains must be small. nevertheless, drops placed on the discs of eight leaves acted on them all. in one case all the exterior tentacles, excepting nine, were inflected in hrs. m.; in another case a few became so in hrs., and after hrs. m. all those situated near where the drop lay, as well as the blade, were acted on. since making these trials, i have many scores of times just touched glands with the handle of my scalpel wetted with saliva, to ascertain whether a leaf was in an active condition; for this was shown in the course of a few minutes by the bending inwards of the tentacles. the edible nest of the chinese swallow is formed of matter secreted by the salivary glands; two grains were added to one ounce of distilled water (one part to ), which was boiled for several minutes, but did not dissolve the whole. the usual-sized drops were placed on three leaves, and these in hr. m. were well, and in hrs. m. closely, inflected. isinglass.--drops of a solution about as thick as milk, and of a still thicker solution, were placed on eight leaves, and the tentacles of all became inflected. in one case the exterior tentacles were well curved in after hrs. m., and the blade of the leaf to a partial extent after hrs. as saliva acted so efficiently, and yet contains so small a proportion of nitrogenous matter, i tried how small a quantity of isinglass would act. one part was dissolved in parts of distilled water, and drops were placed on four leaves. after hrs. two of these were considerably and two moderately inflected; after hrs. the former were greatly and the latter much more inflected. in the course of hrs. * mucus from the air-passages is said in marshall, 'outlines of physiology,' vol. ii. , p. , to contain some albumen. mller's 'elements of physiology,' eng. trans. vol. i., p. . [page ] from the time when the drops were placed on the leaves, all four had almost re-expanded. they were then given little bits of meat, and these acted more powerfully than the solution. one part of isinglass was next dissolved in of water; the fluid thus formed was so thin that it could not be distinguished from pure water. the usual-sized drops were placed on seven leaves, each of which thus received / of a grain (. mg.). three of them were observed for hrs., but were in no way affected; the fourth and fifth had two or three of their exterior tentacles inflected after hrs.; the sixth had a few more; and the seventh had in addition the edge of the leaf just perceptibly curved inwards. the tentacles of the four latter leaves began to re-expand after an additional interval of only hrs. hence the / of a grain of isinglass is sufficient to affect very slightly the more sensitive or active leaves. on one of the leaves, which had not been acted on by the weak solution, and on another, which had only two of its tentacles inflected, drops of the solution as thick as milk were placed; and next morning, after an interval of hrs., both were found with all their tentacles strongly inflected.] altogether i experimented on sixty-four leaves with the above nitrogenous fluids, the five leaves tried only with the extremely weak solution of isinglass not being included, nor the numerous trials subsequently made, of which no exact account was kept. of these sixty-four leaves, sixty-three had their tentacles and often their blades well inflected. the one which failed was probably too old and torpid. but to obtain so large a proportion of successful cases, care must be taken to select young and active leaves. leaves in this condition were chosen with equal care for the sixty-one trials with non-nitrogenous fluids (water not included); and we have seen that not one of these was in the least affected. we may therefore safely conclude that in the sixty-four experiments with nitrogenous fluids the inflection of the exterior tentacles was due to the absorption of [page ] nitrogenous matter by the glands of the tentacles on the disc. some of the leaves which were not affected by the non-nitrogenous fluids were, as above stated, immediately afterwards tested with bits of meat, and were thus proved to be in an active condition. but in addition to these trials, twenty-three of the leaves, with drops of gum, syrup, or starch, still lying on their discs, which had produced no effect in the course of between hrs. and hrs., were then tested with drops of milk, urine, or albumen. of the twenty-three leaves thus treated, seventeen had their tentacles, and in some cases their blades, well inflected; but their powers were somewhat impaired, for the rate of movement was decidedly slower than when fresh leaves were treated with these same nitrogenous fluids. this impairment, as well as the insensibility of six of the leaves, may be attributed to injury from exosmose, caused by the density of the fluids placed on their discs. [the results of a few other experiments with nitrogenous fluids may be here conveniently given. decoctions of some vegetables, known to be rich in nitrogen, were made, and these acted like animal fluids. thus, a few green peas were boiled for some time in distilled water, and the moderately thick decoction thus made was allowed to settle. drops of the superincumbent fluid were placed on four leaves, and when these were looked at after hrs., the tentacles and blades of all were found strongly inflected. i infer from a remark by gerhardt* that legumin is present in peas "in combination with an alkali, forming an incoagulable solution," and this would mingle with boiling water. i may mention, in relation to the above and following experiments, that according to schiff certain forms of albumen * watts' 'dictionary of chemistry,' vol. iii., p. . 'leons sur la phys. de la digestion,' tom. i, p. ; tom. ii. pp. , , on legumin. [page ] exist which are not coagulated by boiling water, but are converted into soluble peptones. on three occasions chopped cabbage-leaves* were boiled in distilled water for hr. or for / hr.; and by decanting the decoction after it had been allowed to rest, a pale dirty green fluid was obtained. the usual-sized drops were placed on thirteen leaves. their tentacles and blades were inflected after hrs. to a quite extraordinary degree. next day the protoplasm within the cells of the tentacles was found aggregated in the most strongly marked manner. i also touched the viscid secretion round the glands of several tentacles with minute drops of the decoction on the head of a small pin, and they became well inflected in a few minutes. the fluid proving so powerful, one part was diluted with three of water, and drops were placed on the discs of five leaves; and these next morning were so much acted on that their blades were completely doubled over. we thus see that a decoction of cabbage-leaves is nearly or quite as potent as an infusion of raw meat. about the same quantity of chopped cabbage-leaves and of distilled water, as in the last experiment, were kept in a vessel for hrs. in a hot closet, but not heated to near the boiling-point. drops of this infusion were placed on four leaves. one of these, after hrs., was much inflected; a second slightly; a third had only the submarginal tentacles inflected; and the fourth was not at all affected. the power of this infusion is therefore very much less than that of the decoction; and it is clear that the immersion of cabbage-leaves for an hour in water at the boiling temperature is much more efficient in extracting matter which excites drosera than immersion during many hours in warm water. perhaps the contents of the cells are protected (as schiff remarks with respect to legumin) by the walls being formed of cellulose, and that until these are ruptured by boiling-water, but little of the contained albuminous matter is dissolved. we know from the strong odour of cooked cabbage-leaves that boiling water produces some chemical change in them, and that they are thus rendered far more digestible and nutritious to man. it is therefore an interesting * the leaves of young plants, before the heart is formed, such as were used by me, contain . per cent. of albuminous matter, and the outer leaves of mature plants . per cent. watts' 'dictionary of chemistry,' vol. i. p. . [page ] fact that water at this temperature extracts matter from them which excites drosera to an extraordinary degree. grasses contain far less nitrogenous matter than do peas or cabbages. the leaves and stalks of three common kinds were chopped and boiled for some time in distilled water. drops of this decoction (after having stood for hrs.) were placed on six leaves, and acted in a rather peculiar manner, of which other instances will be given in the seventh chapter on the salts of ammonia. after hrs. m. four of the leaves had their blades greatly inflected, but not their exterior tentacles; and so it was with all six leaves after hrs. two days afterwards the blades, as well as the few submarginal tentacles which had been inflected, all re-expanded; and much of the fluid on their discs was by this time absorbed. it appears that the decoction strongly excites the glands on the disc, causing the blade to be quickly and greatly inflected; but that the stimulus, differently from what occurs in ordinary cases, does not spread, or only in a feeble degree, to the exterior tentacles. i may here add that one part of the extract of belladonna (procured from a druggist) was dissolved in of water, and drops were placed on six leaves. next day all six were somewhat inflected, and after hrs. were completely re-expanded. it was not the included atropine which produced this effect, for i subsequently ascertained that it is quite powerless. i also procured some extract of hyoscyamus from three shops, and made infusions of the same strength as before. of these three infusions, only one acted on some of the leaves, which were tried. though druggists believe that all the albumen is precipitated in the preparation of these drugs, i cannot doubt that some is occasionally retained; and a trace would be sufficient to excite the more sensitive leaves of drosera. [page ] chapter vi. the digestive power of the secretion of drosera. the secretion rendered acid by the direct and indirect excitement of the glands--nature of the acid--digestible substances--albumen, its digestion arrested by alkalies, recommences by the addition of an acid--meat--fibrin--syntonin--areolar tissue--cartilage--fibro-cartilage-- bone--enamel and dentine--phosphate of lime--fibrous basis of bone--gelatine--chondrin-- milk, casein and cheese--gluten--legumin--pollen--globulin--haematin--indigestible substances--epidermic productions--fibro-elastic tissue--mucin--pepsin--urea--chitine-- cellulose--gun-cotton--chlorophyll--fat and oil--starch--action of the secretion on living seeds--summary and concluding remarks. as we have seen that nitrogenous fluids act very differently on the leaves of drosera from non-nitrogenous fluids, and as the leaves remain clasped for a much longer time over various organic bodies than over inorganic bodies, such as bits of glass, cinder, wood, &c., it becomes an interesting inquiry, whether they can only absorb matter already in solution, or render it soluble,--that is, have the power of digestion. we shall immediately see that they certainly have this power, and that they act on albuminous compounds in exactly the same manner as does the gastric juice of mammals; the digested matter being afterwards absorbed. this fact, which will be clearly proved, is a wonderful one in the physiology of plants. i must here state that i have been aided throughout all my later experiments by many valuable suggestions and assistance given me with the greatest kindness by dr. burdon sanderson. [page ] it may be well to premise for the sake of any reader who knows nothing about the digestion of albuminous compounds by animals that this is effected by means of a ferment, pepsin, together with weak hydrochloric acid, though almost any acid will serve. yet neither pepsin nor an acid by itself has any such power.* we have seen that when the glands of the disc are excited by the contact of any object, especially of one containing nitrogenous matter, the outer tentacles and often the blade become inflected; the leaf being thus converted into a temporary cup or stomach. at the same time the discal glands secrete more copiously, and the secretion becomes acid. moreover, they transmit some influence to the glands of the exterior tentacles, causing them to pour forth a more copious secretion, which also becomes acid or more acid than it was before. as this result is an important one, i will give the evidence. the secretion of many glands on thirty leaves, which had not been in any way excited, was tested with litmus paper; and the secretion of twenty-two of these leaves did not in the least affect the colour, whereas that of eight caused an exceedingly feeble and sometimes doubtful tinge of red. two other old leaves, however, which appeared to have been inflected several times, acted much more decidedly on the paper. particles of clean glass were then placed on five of the leaves, cubes of albumen on six, and bits of raw meat on three, on none of which was the secretion at this time in the least acid. after an interval of hrs., when almost all the tentacles on * it appears, however, according to schiff, and contrary to the opinion of some physiologists, that weak hydrochloric dissolves, though slowly, a very minute quantity of coagulated albumen. schiff, 'phys. de la digestion,' tom. ii. , p. . [page ] these fourteen leaves had become more or less inflected, i again tested the secretion, selecting glands which had not as yet reached the centre or touched any object, and it was now plainly acid. the degree of acidity of the secretion varied somewhat on the glands of the same leaf. on some leaves, a few tentacles did not, from some unknown cause, become inflected, as often happens; and in five instances their secretion was found not to be in the least acid; whilst the secretion of the adjoining and inflected tentacles on the same leaf was decidedly acid. with leaves excited by particles of glass placed on the central glands, the secretion which collects on the disc beneath them was much more strongly acid than that poured forth from the exterior tentacles, which were as yet only moderately inflected. when bits of albumen (and this is naturally alkaline), or bits of meat were placed on the disc, the secretion collected beneath them was likewise strongly acid. as raw meat moistened with water is slightly acid, i compared its action on litmus paper before it was placed on the leaves, and afterwards when bathed in the secretion; and there could not be the least doubt that the latter was very much more acid. i have indeed tried hundreds of times the state of the secretion on the discs of leaves which were inflected over various objects, and never failed to find it acid. we may, therefore, conclude that the secretion from unexcited leaves, though extremely viscid, is not acid or only slightly so, but that it becomes acid, or much more strongly so, after the tentacles have begun to bend over any inorganic or organic object; and still more strongly acid after the tentacles have remained for some time closely clasped over any object. i may here remind the reader that the secretion [page ] appears to be to a certain extent antiseptic, as it checks the appearance of mould and infusoria, thus preventing for a time the discoloration and decay of such substances as the white of an egg, cheese, &c. it therefore acts like the gastric juice of the higher animals, which is known to arrest putrefaction by destroying the microzymes. [as i was anxious to learn what acid the secretion contained, leaves were washed in distilled water, given me by prof. frankland; but the secretion is so viscid that it is scarcely possible to scrape or wash off the whole. the conditions were also unfavourable, as it was late in the year and the leaves were small. prof. frankland with great kindness undertook to test the fluid thus collected. the leaves were excited by clean particles of glass placed on them hrs. previously. no doubt much more acid would have been secreted had the leaves been excited by animal matter, but this would have rendered the analysis more difficult. prof. frankland informs me that the fluid contained no trace of hydrochloric, sulphuric, tartaric, oxalic, or formic acids. this having been ascertained, the remainder of the fluid was evaporated nearly to dryness, and acidified with sulphuric acid; it then evolved volatile acid vapour, which was condensed and digested with carbonate of silver. "the weight of the silver salt thus produced was only . gr., much too small a quantity for the accurate determination of the molecular weight of the acid. the number obtained, however, corresponded nearly with that of propionic acid; and i believe that this, or a mixture of acetic and butyric acids, were present in the liquid. the acid doubtless belongs to the acetic or fatty series." prof. frankland, as well as his assistant, observed (and this is an important fact) that the fluid, "when acidified with sulphuric acid, emitted a powerful odour like that of pepsin." the leaves from which the secretion had been washed were also sent to prof. frankland; they were macerated for some hours, then acidified with sulphuric acid and distilled, but no acid passed over. therefore the acid which fresh leaves contain, as shown by their discolouring litmus paper when crushed, must be of a different nature from that present in the secretion. nor was any odour of pepsin emitted by them. [page ] although it has long been known that pepsin with acetic acid has the power of digesting albuminous compounds, it appeared advisable to ascertain whether acetic acid could be replaced, without the loss of digestive power, by the allied acids which are believed to occur in the secretion of drosera, namely, propionic, butyric, or valerianic. dr. burdon sanderson was so kind as to make for me the following experiments, the results of which are valuable, independently of the present inquiry. prof. frankland supplied the acids. " . the purpose of the following experiments was to determine the digestive activity of liquids containing pepsin, when acidulated with certain volatile acids belonging to the acetic series, in comparison with liquids acidulated with hydrochloric acid, in proportion similar to that in which it exists in gastric juice. " . it has been determined empirically that the best results are obtained in artificial digestion when a liquid containing two per thousand of hydrochloric acid gas by weight is used. this corresponds to about . cubic centimetres per litre of ordinary strong hydrochloric acid. the quantities of propionic, butyric, and valerianic acids respectively which are required to neutralise as much base as . cubic centimetres of hcl, are in grammes . of propionic acid, . of butyric acid, and . of valerianic acid. it was therefore judged expedient, in comparing the digestive powers of these acids with that of hydrochloric acid, to use them in these proportions. " . five hundred cub. cent. of a liquid containing about cub. cent. of a glycerine extract of the mucous membrane of the stomach of a dog killed during digestion having been prepared, cub. cent. of it were evaporated and dried at o. this quantity yielded . of residue. " . of this liquid four quantities were taken which were severally acidulated with hydrochloric, propionic, butyric, and valerianic acids, in the proportions above indicated. each liquid was then placed in a tube, which was allowed to float in a water bath, containing a thermometer which indicated a temperature of o to o cent. into each, a quantity of unboiled fibrin was introduced, and the whole allowed to stand for four hours, the temperature being maintained during the whole time, and care being taken that each contained throughout an excess of fibrin. at the end of the period each liquid was filtered. of the filtrate, which of course contained as much of the fibrin as had been digested during the four hours, [page ] cub. cent. were measured out and evaporated, and dried at o as before. the residues were respectively-- "in the liquid containing hydrochloric acid . " " propionic acid . " " butyric acid . " " valerianic acid . "hence, deducting from each of these the above-mentioned residue, left when the digestive liquid itself was evaporated, viz. . , we have, "for propionic acid . " butyric acid . " valerianic acid . as compared with . for hydrochloric acid; these several numbers expressing the quantities of fibrin by weight digested in presence of equivalent quantities of the respective acids under identical conditions. "the results of the experiment may be stated thus:--if represent the digestive power of a liquid containing pepsin with the usual proportion of hydrochloric acid, . , . , and . , will represent respectively the digestive powers of the three acids under investigation. " . in a second experiment in which the procedure was in every respect the same, excepting that all the tubes were plunged into the same water-bath, and the residues dried at o c., the results were as follows:-- "quantity of fibrin dissolved in four hours by cub. cent. of the liquid:-- "propionic acid . butyric acid . valerianic acid . "the quantity digested by a similar liquid containing hydrochloric acid was . . hence, taking this as , the following numbers represent the relative quantities digested by the other acids:-- "propionic acid . butyric acid . valerianic acid . " . a third experiment of the same kind gave: [page ] "quantity of fibrin digested in four hours by cub. cent. of the liquid:-- "hydrochloric acid . propionic acid . butyric acid . valerianic acid . "comparing, as before, the three last numbers with the first taken as , the digestive power of propionic acid is represented by . ; that of butyric acid by . ; and that of valerianic by . . "the mean of these three sets of observations (hydrochloric acid being taken as ) gives for "propionic acid . butyric acid . valerianic acid . " . a further experiment was made to ascertain whether the digestive activity of butyric acid (which was selected as being apparently the most efficacious) was relatively greater at ordinary temperatures than at the temperature of the body. it was found that whereas cub. cent. of a liquid containing the ordinary proportion of hydrochloric acid digested . gramme, a similar liquid prepared with butyric acid digested . gramme of fibrin. "hence, taking the quantities digested with hydrochloric acid at the temperature of the body as , we have the digestive power of hydrochloric acid at the temperature of o to ocent. represented by . ; that of butyric acid at the same temperature being . ." we here see that at the lower of these two temperatures, hydrochloric acid with pepsin digests, within the same time, rather less than half the quantity of fibrin compared with what it digests at the higher temperature; and the power of butyric acid is reduced in the same proportion under similar conditions and temperatures. we have also seen that butyric acid, which is much more efficacious than propionic or valerianic acids, digests with pepsin at the higher temperature less than a third of the fibrin which is digested at the same temperature by hydrochloric acid.] [page ] i will now give in detail my experiments on the digestive power of the secretion of drosera, dividing the substances tried into two series, namely those which are digested more or less completely, and those which are not digested. we shall presently see that all these substances are acted on by the gastric juice of the higher animals in the same manner. i beg leave to call attention to the experiments under the head albumen, showing that the secretion loses its power when neutralised by an alkali, and recovers it when an acid is added. substances which are completely or partially digested by the secretion of drosera. albumen.--after having tried various substances, dr. burdon sanderson suggested to me the use of cubes of coagulated albumen or hard-boiled egg. i may premise that five cubes of the same size as those used in the following experiments were placed for the sake of comparison at the same time on wet moss close to the plants of drosera. the weather was hot, and after four days some of the cubes were discoloured and mouldy, with their angles a little rounded; but they were not surrounded by a zone of transparent fluid as in the case of those undergoing digestion. other cubes retained their angles and white colour. after eight days all were somewhat reduced in size, discoloured, with their angles much rounded. nevertheless in four out of the five specimens, the central parts were still white and opaque. so that their state differed widely, as we shall see, from that of the cubes subjected to the action of the secretion. [experiment . rather large cubes of albumen were first tried; the tentacles were well inflected in hrs.; after an [page ] additional day the angles of the cubes were dissolved and rounded;* but the cubes were too large, so that the leaves were injured, and after seven days one died and the others were dying. albumen which has been kept for four or five days, and which, it may be presumed, has begun to decay slightly, seems to act more quickly than freshly boiled eggs. as the latter were generally used, i often moistened them with a little saliva, to make the tentacles close more quickly. experiment .--a cube of / of an inch (i.e. with each side / of an inch, or . mm. in length) was placed on a leaf, and after hrs. it was converted into a sphere about / of an inch ( . mm.) in diameter, surrounded by perfectly transparent fluid. after ten days the leaf re-expanded, but there was still left on the disc a minute bit of albumen now rendered transparent. more albumen had been given to this leaf than could be dissolved or digested. experiment .--two cubes of albumen of / of an inch ( . mm.) were placed on two leaves. after hrs. every atom of one was dissolved, and most of the liquefied matter was absorbed, the fluid which remained being in this, as in all other cases, very acid and viscid. the other cube was acted on at a rather slower rate. experiment .--two cubes of albumen of the same size as the last were placed on two leaves, and were converted in hrs. into two large drops of transparent fluid; but when these were removed from beneath the inflected tentacles, and viewed by reflected light under the microscope, fine streaks of white opaque matter could be seen in the one, and traces of similar streaks in the other. the drops were replaced on the leaves, which re-expanded after days; and now nothing was left except a very little transparent acid fluid. experiment .--this experiment was slightly varied, so that the albumen might be more quickly exposed to the action of the secretion. two cubes, each of about / of an inch (. mm.), were placed on the same leaf, and two similar cubes on another * in all my numerous experiments on the digestion of cubes of albumen, the angles and edges were invariably first rounded. now, schiff states ('leons phys. de la digestion,' vol. ii. , page ) that this is characteristic of the digestion of albumen by the gastric juice of animals. on the other hand, he remarks "les dissolutions, en chimie, ont lieu sur toute la surface des corps en contact avec l'agent dissolvant." [page ] leaf. these were examined after hrs. m., and all four were found rounded. after hrs. the two cubes on the one leaf were completely liquefied, the fluid being perfectly transparent; on the other leaf some opaque white streaks could still be seen in the midst of the fluid. after hrs. these streaks disappeared, but there was still a little viscid fluid left on the disc; whereas it was almost all absorbed on the first leaf. both leaves were now beginning to re-expand.] the best and almost sole test of the presence of some ferment analogous to pepsin in the secretion appeared to be to neutralise the acid of the secretion with an alkali, and to observe whether the process of digestion ceased; and then to add a little acid and observe whether the process recommenced. this was done, and, as we shall see, with success, but it was necessary first to try two control experiments; namely, whether the addition of minute drops of water of the same size as those of the dissolved alkalies to be used would stop the process of digestion; and, secondly, whether minute drops of weak hydrochloric acid, of the same strength and size as those to be used, would injure the leaves. the two following experiments were therefore tried:-- experiment .--small cubes of albumen were put on three leaves, and minute drops of distilled water on the head of a pin were added two or three times daily. these did not in the least delay the process; for, after hrs., the cubes were completely dissolved on all three leaves. on the third day the leaves began to re-expand, and on the fourth day all the fluid was absorbed. experiment .--small cubes of albumen were put on two leaves, and minute drops of hydrochloric acid, of the strength of one part to of water, were added two or three times. this did not in the least delay, but seemed rather to hasten, the process of digestion; for every trace of the albumen disappeared in hrs. m. after three days the leaves partially re-expanded, and by this time almost all the viscid fluid on their discs was absorbed. it is almost superfluous to state that [page ] cubes of albumen of the same size as those above used, left for seven days in a little hydrochloric acid of the above strength, retained all their angles as perfect as ever. experiment .--cubes of albumen (of / of an inch, or . mm.) were placed on five leaves, and minute drops of a solution of one part of carbonate of soda to of water were added at intervals to three of them, and drops of carbonate of potash of the same strength to the other two. the drops were given on the head of a rather large pin, and i ascertained that each was equal to about / of a minim (. ml.), so that each contained only / of a grain (. mg.) of the alkali. this was not sufficient, for after hrs. all five cubes were dissolved. experiment .--the last experiment was repeated on four leaves, with this difference, that drops of the same solution of carbonate of soda were added rather oftener, as often as the secretion became acid, so that it was much more effectually neutralised. and now after hrs. the angles of three of the cubes were not in the least rounded, those of the fourth being so in a very slight degree. drops of extremely weak hydrochloric acid (viz. one part to of water) were then added, just enough to neutralise the alkali which was still present; and now digestion immediately recommenced, so that after hrs. m. three of the cubes were completely dissolved, whilst the fourth was converted into a minute sphere, surrounded by transparent fluid; and this sphere next day disappeared. experiment .--stronger solutions of carbonate of soda and of potash were next used, viz. one part to of water; and as the same-sized drops were given as before, each drop contained / of a grain (. mg.) of either salt. two cubes of albumen (each about / of an inch, or . mm.) were placed on the same leaf, and two on another. each leaf received, as soon as the secretion became slightly acid (and this occurred four times within hrs.), drops either of the soda or potash, and the acid was thus effectually neutralised. the experiment now succeeded perfectly, for after hrs. the angles of the cubes were as sharp as they were at first, and we know from experiment that such small cubes would have been completely rounded within this time by the secretion in its natural state. some of the fluid was now removed with blotting-paper from the discs of the leaves, and minute drops of hydrochloric acid of the strength of the one part to of water was added. acid of this greater strength was used as the solutions of the alkalies were stronger. the [page ] process of digestion now commenced, so that within hrs. from the time when the acid was given the four cubes were not only completely dissolved, but much of the liquefied albumen was absorbed. experiment .--two cubes of albumen ( / of an inch, or . mm.) were placed on two leaves, and were treated with alkalies as in the last experiment, and with the same result; for after hrs. they had their angles perfectly sharp, showing that the digestive process had been completely arrested. i then wished to ascertain what would be the effect of using stronger hydrochloric acid; so i added minute drops of the strength of per cent. this proved rather too strong, for after hrs. from the time when the acid was added one cube was still almost perfect, and the other only very slightly rounded, and both were stained slightly pink. this latter fact shows that the leaves were injured,* for during the normal process of digestion the albumen is not thus coloured, and we can thus understand why the cubes were not dissolved.] from these experiments we clearly see that the secretion has the power of dissolving albumen, and we further see that if an alkali is added, the process of digestion is stopped, but immediately recommences as soon as the alkali is neutralised by weak hydrochloric acid. even if i had tried no other experiments than these, they would have almost sufficed to prove that the glands of drosera secrete some ferment analogous to pepsin, which in presence of an acid gives to the secretion its power of dissolving albuminous compounds. splinters of clean glass were scattered on a large number of leaves, and these became moderately inflected. they were cut off and divided into three lots; two of them, after being left for some time in a little distilled water, were strained, and some dis- * sachs remarks ('trait de bot.' , p. ), that cells which are killed by freezing, by too great heat, or by chemical agents, allow all their colouring matter to escape into the surrounding water. [page ] coloured, viscid, slightly acid fluid was thus obtained. the third lot was well soaked in a few drops of glycerine, which is well known to dissolve pepsin. cubes of albumen ( / of an inch) were now placed in the three fluids in watch-glasses, some of which were kept for several days at about o fahr. ( o. cent.), and others at the temperature of my room; but none of the cubes were dissolved, the angles remaining as sharp as ever. this fact probably indicates that the ferment is not secreted until the glands are excited by the absorption of a minute quantity of already soluble animal matter,--a conclusion which is supported by what we shall hereafter see with respect to dionaea. dr. hooker likewise found that, although the fluid within the pitchers of nepenthes possesses extraordinary power of digestion, yet when removed from the pitchers before they have been excited and placed in a vessel, it has no such power, although it is already acid; and we can account for this fact only on the supposition that the proper ferment is not secreted until some exciting matter is absorbed. on three other occasions eight leaves were strongly excited with albumen moistened with saliva; they were then cut off, and allowed to soak for several hours or for a whole day in a few drops of glycerine. some of this extract was added to a little hydrochloric acid of various strengths (generally one to of water), and minute cubes of albumen were placed in the mixture.* in two of these trials the cubes were not in the least acted on; but in the third * as a control experiment bits of albumen were placed in the same glycerine with hydrochloric acid of the same strength; and the albumen, as might have been expected, was not in the least affected after two days. [page ] the experiment was successful. for in a vessel containing two cubes, both were reduced in size in hrs.; and after hrs. mere streaks of undissolved albumen were left. in a second vessel, containing two minute ragged bits of albumen, both were likewise reduced in size in hrs., and after hrs. completely disappeared. i then added a little weak hydrochloric acid to both vessels, and placed fresh cubes of albumen in them; but these were not acted on. this latter fact is intelligible according to the high authority of schiff,* who has demonstrated, as he believes, in opposition to the view held by some physiologists, that a certain small amount of pepsin is destroyed during the act of digestion. so that if my solution contained, as is probable, an extremely small amount of the ferment, this would have been consumed by the dissolution of the cubes of albumen first given; none being left when the hydrochloric acid was added. the destruction of the ferment during the process of digestion, or its absorption after the albumen had been converted into a peptone, will also account for only one out of the three latter sets of experiments having been successful. digestion of roast meat.--cubes of about / of an inch ( . mm.) of moderately roasted meat were placed on five leaves which became in hrs. closely inflected. after hrs. i gently opened one leaf, and the meat now consisted of a minute central sphere, partially digested and surrounded by a thick envelope of transparent viscid fluid. the whole, without being much disturbed, was removed and placed under the microscope. in the central part the transverse striae on the muscular fibres were quite distinct; and it was * 'leons phys. de la digestion,' , tom. ii. pp. - . [page ] interesting to observe how gradually they disappeared, when the same fibre was traced into the surrounding fluid. they disappeared by the striae being replaced by transverse lines formed of excessively minute dark points, which towards the exterior could be seen only under a very high power; and ultimately these points were lost. when i made these observations, i had not read schiff's account* of the digestion of meat by gastric juice, and i did not understand the meaning of the dark points. but this is explained in the following statement, and we further see how closely similar is the process of digestion by gastric juice and by the secretion of drosera. ["on a dit le suc gastrique faisait perdre la fibre musculaire ses stries transversales. ainsi nonce, cette proposition pourrait donner lieu une quivoque, car ce qui se perd, ce n'est que l'aspect extrieur de la striature et non les lments anatomiques qui la composent. on sait que les stries qui donnent un aspect si caractristique la fibre musculaire, sont le rsultat de la juxtaposition et du paralllisme des corpuscules lmentaires, placs, distances gales, dans l'intrieur des fibrilles contigus. or, ds que le tissu connectif qui relie entre elles les fibrilles lmentaires vient se gonfler et se dissoudre, et que les fibrilles elles-mmes se dissocient, ce paralllisme est dtruit et avec lui l'aspect, le phnomne optique des stries. si, aprs la dsagrgation des fibres, on examine au microscope les fibrilles lmentaires, on distingue encore trs-nettement leur intrieur les corpuscules, et on continue les voir, de plus en plus ples, jusqu'au moment o les fibrilles elles-mmes se liqufient et disparaissent dans le suc gastrique. ce qui constitue la striature, proprement parler, n'est donc pas dtruit, avant la liqufaction de la fibre charnue elle-mme."] in the viscid fluid surrounding the central sphere of undigested meat there were globules of fat and little bits of fibro-elastic tissue; neither of which were in * 'leons phys. de la digestion,' tom. ii. p. . [page ] the least digested. there were also little free parallelograms of yellowish, highly translucent matter. schiff, in speaking of the digestion of meat by gastric juice, alludes to such parallelograms, and says:-- ["le gonflement par lequel commence la digestion de la viande, rsulte de l'action du suc gastrique acide sur le tissu connectif qui se dissout d'abord, et qui, par sa liqufaction, dsagrge les fibrilles. celles-ci se dissolvent ensuite en grande partie, mais, avant de passer l'tat liquide, elles tendent se briser en petits fragments transversaux. les 'sarcous elements' de bowman, qui ne sont autre chose que les produits de cette division transversale des fibrilles lmentaires, peuvent tre prpars et isols l'aide du suc gastrique, pourvu qu'on n'attend pas jusqu' la liqufaction complte du muscle."] after an interval of hrs., from the time when the five cubes were placed on the leaves, i opened the four remaining ones. on two nothing could be seen but little masses of transparent viscid fluid; but when these were examined under a high power, fat-globules, bits of fibro-elastic tissue, and some few parallelograms of sarcous matter, could be distinguished, but not a vestige of transverse striae. on the other two leaves there were minute spheres of only partially digested meat in the centre of much transparent fluid. fibrin.--bits of fibrin were left in water during four days, whilst the following experiments were tried, but they were not in the least acted on. the fibrin which i first used was not pure, and included dark particles: it had either not been well prepared or had subsequently undergone some change. thin portions, about / of an inch square, were placed on several leaves, and though the fibrin was soon liquefied, the whole was never dissolved. smaller particles were then placed on four leaves, and minute [page ] drops of hydrochloric acid (one part to of water) were added; this seemed to hasten the process of digestion, for on one leaf all was liquified and absorbed after hrs.; but on the three other leaves some undissolved residue was left after hrs. it is remarkable that in all the above and following experiments, as well as when much larger bits of fibrin were used, the leaves were very little excited; and it was sometimes necessary to add a little saliva to induce complete inflection. the leaves, moreover, began to re-expand after only hrs., whereas they would have remained inflected for a much longer time had insects, meat, cartilage, albumen, &c., been placed on them. i then tried some pure white fibrin, sent me by dr. burdon sanderson. [experiment .--two particles, barely / of an inch ( . mm.) square, were placed on opposite sides of the same leaf. one of these did not excite the surrounding tentacles, and the gland on which it rested soon dried. the other particle caused a few of the short adjoining tentacles to be inflected, the more distant ones not being affected. after hrs. both were almost, and after hrs. completely, dissolved. experiment .--the same experiment with the same result, only one of the two bits of fibrin exciting the short surrounding tentacles. this bit was so slowly acted on that after a day i pushed it on to some fresh glands. in three days from the time when it was first placed on the leaf it was completely dissolved. experiment .--bits of fibrin of about the same size as before were placed on the discs of two leaves; these caused very little inflection in hrs., but after hrs. both were well clasped by the surrounding short tentacles, and after an additional hrs. were completely dissolved. on the disc of one of these leaves much clear acid fluid was left. experiment .--similar bits of fibrin were placed on the discs of two leaves; as after hrs. the glands seemed rather dry, they were freely moistened with saliva; this soon caused strong inflection both of the tentacles and blades, with copious [page ] secretion from the glands. in hrs. the fibrin was completely liquefied, but undigested atoms still floated in the liquid; these, however, disappeared in under two additional days.] from these experiments it is clear that the secretion completely dissolves pure fibrin. the rate of dissolution is rather slow; but this depends merely on this substance not exciting the leaves sufficiently, so that only the immediately adjoining tentacles are inflected, and the supply of secretion is small. syntonin.--this substance, extracted from muscle, was kindly prepared for me by dr. moore. very differently from fibrin, it acts quickly and energetically. small portions placed on the discs of three leaves caused their tentacles and blades to be strongly inflected within hrs.; but no further observations were made. it is probably due to the presence of this substance that raw meat is too powerful a stimulant, often injuring or even killing the leaves. areolar tissue.--small portions of this tissue from a sheep were placed on the discs of three leaves; these became moderately well inflected in hrs., but began to re-expand after hrs., and were fully re-expanded in hrs., always reckoning from the time when the bits were first given. this substance, therefore, like fibrin, excites the leaves for only a short time. the residue left on the leaves, after they were fully re-expanded, was examined under a high power and found much altered, but, owing to the presence of a quantity of elastic tissue, which is never acted on, could hardly be said to be in a liquefied condition. some areolar tissue free from elastic tissue was next procured from the visceral cavity of a toad, and moderately sized, as well as very small, bits were placed on five leaves. after hrs. two of the bits [page ] were completely liquefied; two others were rendered transparent, but not quite liquefied; whilst the fifth was but little affected. several glands on the three latter leaves were now moistened with a little saliva, which soon caused much inflection and secretion, with the result that in the course of additional hrs. one leaf alone showed a remnant of undigested tissue. on the discs of the four other leaves (to one of which a rather large bit had been given) nothing was left except some transparent viscid fluid. i may add that some of this tissue included points of black pigment, and these were not at all affected. as a control experiment, small portions of this tissue were left in water and on wet moss for the same length of time, and remained white and opaque. from these facts it is clear that areolar tissue is easily and quickly digested by the secretion; but that it does not greatly excite the leaves. cartilage.--three cubes ( / of an inch or . mm.) of white, translucent, extremely tough cartilage were cut from the end of a slightly roasted leg-bone of a sheep. these were placed on three leaves, borne by poor, small plants in my greenhouse during november; and it seemed in the highest degree improbable that so hard a substance would be digested under such unfavourable circumstances. nevertheless, after hrs., the cubes were largely dissolved and converted into minute spheres, surrounded by transparent, very acid fluid. two of these spheres were completely softened to their centres; whilst the third still contained a very small irregularly shaped core of solid cartilage. their surfaces were seen under the microscope to be curiously marked by prominent ridges, showing that the cartilage had been unequally corroded by the secretion. i need hardly [page ] say that cubes of the same cartilage, kept in water for the same length of time, were not in the least affected. during a more favourable season, moderately sized bits of the skinned ear of a cat, which includes cartilage, areolar and elastic tissue, were placed on three leaves. some of the glands were touched with saliva, which caused prompt inflection. two of the leaves began to re-expand after three days, and the third on the fifth day. the fluid residue left on their discs was now examined, and consisted in one case of perfectly transparent, viscid matter; in the other two cases, it contained some elastic tissue and apparently remnants of half digested areolar tissue. fibro-cartilage (from between the vertebrae of the tail of a sheep). moderately sized and small bits (the latter about / of an inch) were placed on nine leaves. some of these were well and some very little inflected. in the latter case the bits were dragged over the discs, so that they were well bedaubed with the secretion, and many glands thus irritated. all the leaves re-expanded after only two days; so that they were but little excited by this substance. the bits were not liquefied, but were certainly in an altered condition, being swollen, much more transparent, and so tender as to disintegrate very easily. my son francis prepared some artificial gastric juice, which was proved efficient by quickly dissolving fibrin, and suspended portions of the fibro-cartilage in it. these swelled and became hyaline, exactly like those exposed to the secretion of drosera, but were not dissolved. this result surprised me much, as two physiologists were of opinion that fibro-cartilage would be easily digested by gastric juice. i therefore asked dr. klein to examine the specimens; and [page ] he reports that the two which had been subjected to artificial gastric juice were "in that state of digestion in which we find connective tissue when treated with an acid, viz. swollen, more or less hyaline, the fibrillar bundles having become homogeneous and lost their fibrillar structure." in the specimens which had been left on the leaves of drosera, until they re-expanded, "parts were altered, though only slightly so, in the same manner as those subjected to the gastric juice as they had become more transparent, almost hyaline, with the fibrillation of the bundles indistinct." fibro-cartilage is therefore acted on in nearly the same manner by gastric juice and by the secretion of drosera. bone.--small smooth bits of the dried hyoidal bone of a fowl moistened with saliva were placed on two leaves, and a similarly moistened splinter of an extremely hard, broiled mutton-chop bone on a third leaf. these leaves soon became strongly inflected, and remained so for an unusual length of time; namely, one leaf for ten and the other two for nine days. the bits of bone were surrounded all the time by acid secretion. when examined under a weak power, they were found quite softened, so that they were readily penetrated by a blunt needle, torn into fibres, or compressed. dr. klein was so kind as to make sections of both bones and examine them. he informs me that both presented the normal appearance of decalcified bone, with traces of the earthy salts occasionally left. the corpuscles with their processes were very distinct in most parts; but in some parts, especially near the periphery of the hyoidal bone, none could be seen. other parts again appeared amorphous, with even the longitudinal striation of bone not distinguishable. this amorphous structure, [page ] as dr. klein thinks, may be the result either of the incipient digestion of the fibrous basis or of all the animal matter having been removed, the corpuscles being thus rendered invisible. a hard, brittle, yellowish substance occupied the position of the medulla in the fragments of the hyoidal bone. as the angles and little projections of the fibrous basis were not in the least rounded or corroded, two of the bits were placed on fresh leaves. these by the next morning were closely inflected, and remained so,--the one for six and the other for seven days,--therefore for not so long a time as on the first occasion, but for a much longer time than ever occurs with leaves inflected over inorganic or even over many organic bodies. the secretion during the whole time coloured litmus paper of a bright red; but this may have been due to the presence of the acid super-phosphate of lime. when the leaves re-expanded, the angles and projections of the fibrous basis were as sharp as ever. i therefore concluded, falsely as we shall presently see, that the secretion cannot touch the fibrous basis of bone. the more probable explanation is that the acid was all consumed in decomposing the phosphate of lime which still remained; so that none was left in a free state to act in conjunction with the ferment on the fibrous basis. enamel and dentine.--as the secretion decalcified ordinary bone, i determined to try whether it would act on enamel and dentine, but did not expect that it would succeed with so hard a substance as enamel. dr. klein gave me some thin transverse slices of the canine tooth of a dog; small angular fragments of which were placed on four leaves; and these were examined each succeeding day at the same hour. the results are, i think, worth giving in detail.] [page ] [experiment .--may st, fragment placed on leaf; rd, tentacles but little inflected, so a little saliva was added; th, as the tentacles were not strongly inflected, the fragment was transferred to another leaf, which acted at first slowly, but by the th closely embraced it. on the th this second leaf began to re-expand; the fragment was manifestly softened, and dr. klein reports, "a great deal of enamel and the greater part of the dentine decalcified." experiment .--may st, fragment placed on leaf; nd, tentacles fairly well inflected, with much secretion on the disc, and remained so until the th, when the leaf re-expanded. the fragment was now transferred to a fresh leaf, which next day ( th) was inflected in the strongest manner, and thus remained until the th, when it re-expanded. dr. klein reports, "a great deal of enamel and the greater part of the dentine decalcified." experiment .--may st, fragment moistened with saliva and placed on a leaf, which remained well inflected until th, when it re-expanded. the enamel was not at all, and the dentine only slightly, softened. the fragment was now transferred to a fresh leaf, which next morning ( th) was strongly inflected, and remained so until the th. the enamel and dentine both now somewhat softened; and dr. klein reports, "less than half the enamel, but the greater part of the dentine decalcified." experiment .--may st, a minute and thin bit of dentine, moistened with saliva, was placed on a leaf, which was soon inflected, and re-expanded on the th. the dentine had become as flexible as thin paper. it was then transferred to a fresh leaf, which next morning ( th) was strongly inflected, and reopened on the th. the decalcified dentine was now so tender that it was torn into shreds merely by the force of the re-expanding tentacles.] from these experiments it appears that enamel is attacked by the secretion with more difficulty than dentine, as might have been expected from its extreme hardness; and both with more difficulty than ordinary bone. after the process of dissolution has once commenced, it is carried on with greater ease; this may be inferred from the leaves, to which the fragments were transferred, becoming in all four cases strongly inflected in the course of a single day; whereas the first set of leaves acted much less quickly and [page ] energetically. the angles or projections of the fibrous basis of the enamel and dentine (except, perhaps, in no. , which could not be well observed) were not in the least rounded; and dr. klein remarks that their microscopical structure was not altered. but this could not have been expected, as the decalcification was not complete in the three specimens which were carefully examined. fibrous basis of bone.--i at first concluded, as already stated, that the secretion could not digest this substance. i therefore asked dr. burdon sanderson to try bone, enamel, and dentine, in artificial gastric juice, and he found that they were after a considerable time completely dissolved. dr. klein examined some of the small lamellae, into which part of the skull of a cat became broken up after about a week's immersion in the fluid, and he found that towards the edges the "matrix appeared rarefied, thus producing the appearance as if the canaliculi of the bone-corpuscles had become larger. otherwise the corpuscles and their canaliculi were very distinct." so that with bone subjected to artificial gastric juice complete decalcification precedes the dissolution of the fibrous basis. dr. burdon sanderson suggested to me that the failure of drosera to digest the fibrous basis of bone, enamel, and dentine, might be due to the acid being consumed in the decomposition of the earthy salts, so that there was none left for the work of digestion. accordingly, my son thoroughly decalcified the bone of a sheep with weak hydrochloric acid; and seven minute fragments of the fibrous basis were placed on so many leaves, four of the fragments being first damped with saliva to aid prompt inflection. all seven leaves became inflected, but only very moderately, in the course of a day. [page ] they quickly began to re-expand; five of them on the second day, and the other two on the third day. on all seven leaves the fibrous tissue was converted into perfectly transparent, viscid, more or less liquefied little masses. in the middle, however, of one, my son saw under a high power a few corpuscles, with traces of fibrillation in the surrounding transparent matter. from these facts it is clear that the leaves are very little excited by the fibrous basis of bone, but that the secretion easily and quickly liquefies it, if thoroughly decalcified. the glands which had remained in contact for two or three days with the viscid masses were not discoloured, and apparently had absorbed little of the liquefied tissue, or had been little affected by it. phosphate of lime.--as we have seen that the tentacles of the first set of leaves remained clasped for nine or ten days over minute fragments of bone, and the tentacles of the second set for six or seven days over the same fragments, i was led to suppose that it was the phosphate of lime, and not any included animal matter, which caused such long continued inflection. it is at least certain from what has just been shown that this cannot have been due to the presence of the fibrous basis. with enamel and dentine (the former of which contains only per cent. of organic matter) the tentacles of two successive sets of leaves remained inflected altogether for eleven days. in order to test my belief in the potency of phosphate of lime, i procured some from prof. frankland absolutely free of animal matter and of any acid. a small quantity moistened with water was placed on the discs of two leaves. one of these was only slightly affected; the other remained closely inflected for ten days, when a few of the tentacles began to [page ] re-expand, the rest being much injured or killed. i repeated the experiment, but moistened the phosphate with saliva to insure prompt inflection; one leaf remained inflected for six days (the little saliva used would not have acted for nearly so long a time) and then died; the other leaf tried to re-expand on the sixth day, but after nine days failed to do so, and likewise died. although the quantity of phosphate given to the above four leaves was extremely small, much was left in every case undissolved. a larger quantity wetted with water was next placed on the discs of three leaves; and these became most strongly inflected in the course of hrs. they never re-expanded; on the fourth day they looked sickly, and on the sixth were almost dead. large drops of not very viscid fluid hung from their edges during the six days. this fluid was tested each day with litmus paper, but never coloured it; and this circumstance i do not understand, as the superphosphate of lime is acid. i suppose that some superphosphate must have been formed by the acid of the secretion acting on the phosphate, but that it was all absorbed and injured the leaves; the large drops which hung from their edges being an abnormal and dropsical secretion. anyhow, it is manifest that the phosphate of lime is a most powerful stimulant. even small doses are more or less poisonous, probably on the same principle that raw meat and other nutritious substances, given in excess, kill the leaves. hence the conclusion, that the long continued inflection of the tentacles over fragments of bone, enamel, and dentine, is caused by the presence of phosphate of lime, and not of any included animal matter, is no doubt correct. gelatine.--i used pure gelatine in thin sheets given [page ] me by prof. hoffmann. for comparison, squares of the same size as those placed on the leaves were left close by on wet moss. these soon swelled, but retained their angles for three days; after five days they formed rounded, softened masses, but even on the eighth day a trace of gelatine could still be detected. other squares were immersed in water, and these, though much swollen, retained their angles for six days. squares of / of an inch ( . mm.), just moistened with water, were placed on two leaves; and after two or three days nothing was left on them but some acid viscid fluid, which in this and other cases never showed any tendency to regelatinise; so that the secretion must act on the gelatine differently to what water does, and apparently in the same manner as gastric juice.* four squares of the same size as before were then soaked for three days in water, and placed on large leaves; the gelatine was liquefied and rendered acid in two days, but did not excite much inflection. the leaves began to re-expand after four or five days, much viscid fluid being left on their discs, as if but little had been absorbed. one of these leaves, as soon as it re-expanded, caught a small fly, and after hrs. was closely inflected, showing how much more potent than gelatine is the animal matter absorbed from an insect. some larger pieces of gelatine, soaked for five days in water, were next placed on three leaves, but these did not become much inflected until the third day; nor was the gelatine completely liquefied until the fourth day. on this day one leaf began to re-expand; the second on the fifth; and third on the sixth. these several facts * dr. lauder brunton, 'handbook for the phys. laboratory,' , pp. , ; schiff, 'leons phys. de la digestion,' , p. . [page ] prove that gelatine is far from acting energetically on drosera. in the last chapter it was shown that a solution of isinglass of commerce, as thick as milk or cream, induces strong inflection. i therefore wished to compare its action with that of pure gelatine. solutions of one part of both substances to of water were made; and half-minim drops (. ml.) were placed on the discs of eight leaves, so that each received / of a grain, or . mg. the four with the isinglass were much more strongly inflected than the other four. i conclude therefore that isinglass contains some, though perhaps very little, soluble albuminous matter. as soon as these eight leaves re-expanded, they were given bits of roast meat, and in some hours all became greatly inflected; again showing how much more meat excites drosera than does gelatine or isinglass. this is an interesting fact, as it is well known that gelatine by itself has little power of nourishing animals.* chondrin.--this was sent me by dr. moore in a gelatinous state. some was slowly dried, and a small chip was placed on a leaf, and a much larger chip on a second leaf. the first was liquefied in a day; the larger piece was much swollen and softened, but was not completely liquefied until the third day. the undried jelly was next tried, and as a control experiment small cubes were left in water for four days and retained their angles. cubes of the same size were placed on two leaves, and larger cubes on two other leaves. the tentacles and laminae of the latter were closely inflected after hrs., but those of the * dr. lauder brunton gives in the 'medical record,' january , p. , an account of voit's view of the indirect part which gelatine plays in nutrition. [page ] two leaves with the smaller cubes only to a moderate degree. the jelly on all four was by this time liquefied, and rendered very acid. the glands were blackened from the aggregation of their protoplasmic contents. in hrs. from the time when the jelly was given, the leaves had almost re-expanded, and completely so after hrs.; and now only a little slightly adhesive fluid was left unabsorbed on their discs. one part of chondrin jelly was dissolved in parts of boiling water, and half-minim drops were given to four leaves; so that each received about / of a grain (. mg.) of the jelly; and, of course, much less of dry chondrin. this acted most powerfully, for after only hrs. m. all four leaves were strongly inflected. three of them began to re-expand after hrs., and in hrs. were completely open; but the fourth had only partially re-expanded. all the liquefied chondrin was by this time absorbed. hence a solution of chondrin seems to act far more quickly and energetically than pure gelatine or isinglass; but i am assured by good authorities that it is most difficult, or impossible, to know whether chondrin is pure, and if it contained any albuminous compound, this would have produced the above effects. nevertheless, i have thought these facts worth giving, as there is so much doubt on the nutritious value of gelatine; and dr. lauder brunton does not know of any experiments with respect to animals on the relative value of gelatine and chondrin. milk.--we have seen in the last chapter that milk acts most powerfully on the leaves; but whether this is due to the contained casein or albumen, i know not. rather large drops of milk excite so much secretion (which is very acid) that it sometimes trickles down [page ] from the leaves, and this is likewise characteristic of chemically prepared casein. minute drops of milk, placed on leaves, were coagulated in about ten minutes. schiff denies* that the coagulation of milk by gastric juice is exclusively due to the acid which is present, but attributes it in part to the pepsin; and it seems doubtful whether with drosera the coagulation can be wholly due to the acid, as the secretion does not commonly colour litmus paper until the tentacles have become well inflected; whereas the coagulation commences, as we have seen, in about ten minutes. minute drops of skimmed milk were placed on the discs of five leaves; and a large proportion of the coagulated matter or curd was dissolved in hrs. and still more completely in hrs. these leaves re-expanded after two days, and the viscid fluid left on their discs was then carefully scraped off and examined. it seemed at first sight as if all the casein had not been dissolved, for a little matter was left which appeared of a whitish colour by reflected light. but this matter, when examined under a high power, and when compared with a minute drop of skimmed milk coagulated by acetic acid, was seen to consist exclusively of oil-globules, more or less aggregated together, with no trace of casein. as i was not familiar with the microscopical appearance of milk, i asked dr. lauder brunton to examine the slides, and he tested the globules with ether, and found that they were dissolved. we may, therefore, conclude that the secretion quickly dissolves casein, in the state in which it exists in milk. chemically prepared casein.--this substance, which * 'leons,' &c. tom. ii. page . [page ] is insoluble in water, is supposed by many chemists to differ from the casein of fresh milk. i procured some, consisting of hard globules, from messrs. hopkins and williams, and tried many experiments with it. small particles and the powder, both in a dry state and moistened with water, caused the leaves on which they were placed to be inflected very slowly, generally not until two days had elapsed. other particles, wetted with weak hydrochloric acid (one part to of water) acted in a single day, as did some casein freshly prepared for me by dr. moore. the tentacles commonly remained inflected for from seven to nine days; and during the whole of this time the secretion was strongly acid. even on the eleventh day some secretion left on the disc of a fully re-expanded leaf was strongly acid. the acid seems to be secreted quickly, for in one case the secretion from the discal glands, on which a little powdered casein had been strewed, coloured litmus paper, before any of the exterior tentacles were inflected. small cubes of hard casein, moistened with water, were placed on two leaves; after three days one cube had its angles a little rounded, and after seven days both consisted of rounded softened masses, in the midst of much viscid and acid secretion; but it must not be inferred from this fact that the angles were dissolved, for cubes immersed in water were similarly acted on. after nine days these leaves began to re-expand, but in this and other cases the casein did not appear, as far as could be judged by the eye, much, if at all, reduced in bulk. according to hoppe-seyler and lubavin* casein consists of an albuminous, with * dr. lauder brunton, 'handbook for phys. lab.' p. . [page ] a non-albuminous, substance; and the absorption of a very small quantity of the former would excite the leaves, and yet not decrease the casein to a perceptible degree. schiff asserts*--and this is an important fact for us--that "la casine purifie des chemistes est un corps presque compltement inattaquable par le suc gastrique." so that here we have another point of accordance between the secretion of drosera and gastric juice, as both act so differently on the fresh casein of milk, and on that prepared by chemists. a few trials were made with cheese; cubes of / of an inch ( . mm.) were placed on four leaves, and these after one or two days became well inflected, their glands pouring forth much acid secretion. after five days they began to re-expand, but one died, and some of the glands on the other leaves were injured. judging by the eye, the softened and subsided masses of cheese, left on the discs, were very little or not at all reduced in bulk. we may, however, infer from the time during which the tentacles remained inflected,--from the changed colour of some of the glands,--and from the injury done to others, that matter had been absorbed from the cheese. legumin.--i did not procure this substance in a separate state; but there can hardly be a doubt that it would be easily digested, judging from the powerful effect produced by drops of a decoction of green peas, as described in the last chapter. thin slices of a dried pea, after being soaked in water, were placed on two leaves; these became somewhat inflected in the course of a single hour, and most strongly so in hrs. they re-expanded after three or four days. * 'leons' &c. tom. ii. page . [page ] the slices were not liquefied, for the walls of the cells, composed of cellulose, are not in the least acted on by the secretion. pollen.--a little fresh pollen from the common pea was placed on the discs of five leaves, which soon became closely inflected, and remained so for two or three days. the grains being then removed, and examined under the microscope, were found discoloured, with the oil-globules remarkably aggregated. many had their contents much shrunk, and some were almost empty. in only a few cases were the pollen-tubes emitted. there could be no doubt that the secretion had penetrated the outer coats of the grains, and had partially digested their contents. so it must be with the gastric juice of the insects which feed on pollen, without masticating it.* drosera in a state of nature cannot fail to profit to a certain extent by this power of digesting pollen, as innumerable grains from the carices, grasses, rumices, fir-trees, and other wind-fertilised plants, which commonly grow in the same neighbourhood, will be inevitably caught by the viscid secretion surrounding the many glands. gluten.--this substance is composed of two albuminoids, one soluble, the other insoluble in alcohol. some was prepared by merely washing wheaten flour in water. a provisional trial was made with rather large pieces placed on two leaves; these, after hrs., were closely inflected, and remained so for four days, when one was killed and the other had its glands extremely blackened, but was not afterwards observed. * mr. a.w. bennett found the undigested coats of the grains in the intestinal canal of pollen-eating diptera; see 'journal of hort. soc. of london,' vol. iv. , p. . watts' 'dict. of chemistry,' vol. ii. , p. . [page ] smaller bits were placed on two leaves; these were only slightly inflected in two days, but afterwards became much more so. their secretion was not so strongly acid as that of leaves excited by casein. the bits of gluten, after lying for three days on the leaves, were more transparent than other bits left for the same time in water. after seven days both leaves re-expanded, but the gluten seemed hardly at all reduced in bulk. the glands which had been in contact with it were extremely black. still smaller bits of half putrid gluten were now tried on two leaves; these were well inflected in hrs., and thoroughly in four days, the glands in contact being much blackened. after five days one leaf began to re-expand, and after eight days both were fully re-expanded, some gluten being still left on their discs. four little chips of dried gluten, just dipped in water, were next tried, and these acted rather differently from fresh gluten. one leaf was almost fully re-expanded in three days, and the other three leaves in four days. the chips were greatly softened, almost liquefied, but not nearly all dissolved. the glands which had been in contact with them, instead of being much blackened, were of a very pale colour, and many of them were evidently killed. in not one of these ten cases was the whole of the gluten dissolved, even when very small bits were given. i therefore asked dr. burdon sanderson to try gluten in artificial digestive fluid of pepsin with hydrochloric acid; and this dissolved the whole. the gluten, however, was acted on much more slowly than fibrin; the proportion dissolved within four hours being as . of gluten to of fibrin. gluten was also tried in two other digestive fluids, in which hydrochloric acid was replaced by propionic [page ] and butyric acids, and it was completely dissolved by these fluids at the ordinary temperature of a room. here, then, at last, we have a case in which it appears that there exists an essential difference in digestive power between the secretion of drosera and gastric juice; the difference being confined to the ferment, for, as we have just seen, pepsin in combination with acids of the acetic series acts perfectly on gluten. i believe that the explanation lies simply in the fact that gluten is too powerful a stimulant (like raw meat, or phosphate of lime, or even too large a piece of albumen), and that it injures or kills the glands before they have had time to pour forth a sufficient supply of the proper secretion. that some matter is absorbed from the gluten, we have clear evidence in the length of time during which the tentacles remain inflected, and in the greatly changed colour of the glands. at the suggestion of dr. sanderson, some gluten was left for hrs. in weak hydrochloric acid (. per cent.), in order to remove the starch. it became colourless, more transparent, and swollen. small portions were washed and placed on five leaves, which were soon closely inflected, but to my surprise re-expanded completely in hrs. a mere vestige of gluten was left on two of the leaves, and not a vestige on the other three. the viscid and acid secretion, which remained on the discs of the three latter leaves, was scraped off and examined by my son under a high power; but nothing could be seen except a little dirt, and a good many starch grains which had not been dissolved by the hydrochloric acid. some of the glands were rather pale. we thus learn that gluten, treated with weak hydrochloric acid, is not so powerful or so enduring a [page ] stimulant as fresh gluten, and does not much injure the glands; and we further learn that it can be digested quickly and completely by the secretion. [globulin or crystallin.--this substance was kindly prepared for me from the lens of the eye by dr. moore, and consisted of hard, colourless, transparent fragments. it is said* that globulin ought to "swell up in water and dissolve, for the most part forming a gummy liquid;" but this did not occur with the above fragments, though kept in water for four days. particles, some moistened with water, others with weak hydrochloric acid, others soaked in water for one or two days, were placed on nineteen leaves. most of these leaves, especially those with the long soaked particles, became strongly inflected in a few hours. the greater number re-expanded after three or four days; but three of the leaves remained inflected during one, two, or three additional days. hence some exciting matter must have been absorbed; but the fragments, though perhaps softened in a greater degree than those kept for the same time in water, retained all their angles as sharp as ever. as globulin is an albuminous substance, i was astonished at this result; and my object being to compare the action of the secretion with that of gastric juice, i asked dr. burdon sanderson to try some of the globulin used by me. he reports that "it was subjected to a liquid containing . per cent. of hydrochloric acid, and about per cent. of glycerine extract of the stomach of a dog. it was then ascertained that this liquid was capable of digesting . of its weight of unboiled fibrin in hr.; whereas, during the hour, only . of the above globulin was dissolved. in both cases an excess of the substance to be digested was subjected to the liquid." we thus see that within the same time less than one-ninth by weight of globulin than of fibrin was dissolved; and bearing in mind that pepsin with acids of the acetic series has only about one-third of the digestive power of pepsin with hydrochloric acid, it is not surprising that the fragments of * watts' 'dictionary of chemistry,' vol. ii. page . i may add that dr. sanderson prepared some fresh globulin by schmidt's method, and of this . was dissolved within the same time, namely, one hour; so that it was far more soluble than that which i used, though less soluble than fibrin, of which, as we have seen, . was dissolved. i wish that i had tried on drosera globulin prepared by this method. [page ] globulin were not corroded or rounded by the secretion of drosera, though some soluble matter was certainly extracted from them and absorbed by the glands. haematin.--some dark red granules, prepared from bullock's blood, were given me; these were found by dr. sanderson to be insoluble in water, acids, and alcohol, so that they were probably haematin, together with other bodies derived from the blood. particles with little drops of water were placed on four leaves, three of which were pretty closely inflected in two days; the fourth only moderately so. on the third day the glands in contact with the haematin were blackened, and some of the tentacles seemed injured. after five days two leaves died, and the third was dying; the fourth was beginning to re-expand, but many of its glands were blackened and injured. it is therefore clear that matter had been absorbed which was either actually poisonous or of too stimulating a nature. the particles were much more softened than those kept for the same time in water, but, judging by the eye, very little reduced in bulk. dr. sanderson tried this substance with artificial digestive fluid, in the manner described under globulin, and found that whilst . of fibrin, only . of the haematin was dissolved in an hour; but the dissolution by the secretion of even a less amount would account for its action on drosera. the residue left by the artificial digestive fluid at first yielded nothing more to it during several succeeding days.] substances which are not digested by the secretion. all the substances hitherto mentioned cause prolonged inflection of the tentacles, and are either completely or at least partially dissolved by the secretion. but there are many other substances, some of them containing nitrogen, which are not in the least acted on by the secretion, and do not induce inflection for a longer time than do inorganic and insoluble objects. these unexciting and indigestible substances are, as far as i have observed, epidermic productions (such as bits of human nails, balls of hair, the quills of feathers), fibro-elastic tissue, mucin, pepsin, urea, chitine, chlorophyll, cellulose, gun-cotton, fat, oil, and starch. [page ] to these may be added dissolved sugar and gum, diluted alcohol, and vegetable infusions not containing albumen, for none of these, as shown in the last chapter, excite inflection. now, it is a remarkable fact, which affords additional and important evidence, that the ferment of drosera is closely similar to or identical with pepsin, that none of these same substances are, as far as it is known, digested by the gastric juice of animals, though some of them are acted on by the other secretions of the alimentary canal. nothing more need be said about some of the above enumerated substances, excepting that they were repeatedly tried on the leaves of drosera, and were not in the least affected by the secretion. about the others it will be advisable to give my experiments. [fibro-elastic tissue.--we have already seen that when little cubes of meat, &c., were placed on leaves, the muscles, areolar tissue, and cartilage were completely dissolved, but the fibro-elastic tissue, even the most delicate threads, were left without the least signs of having been attacked. and it is well known that this tissue cannot be digested by the gastric juice of animals.* mucin.--as this substance contains about per cent. of nitrogen, i expected that it would have excited the leaves greatly and been digested by the secretion, but in this i was mistaken. from what is stated in chemical works, it appears extremely doubtful whether mucin can be prepared as a pure principle. that which i used (prepared by dr. moore) was dry and hard. particles moistened with water were placed on four leaves, but after two days there was only a trace of inflection in the immediately adjoining tentacles. these leaves were then tried with bits of meat, and all four soon became strongly inflected. some of the dried mucin was then soaked in water for two days, and little cubes of the proper size were placed on three leaves. after four days the tentacles * see, for instance, schiff, 'phys. de la digestion,' , tom. ii., p. . [page ] round the margins of the discs were a little inflected, and the secretion collected on the disc was acid, but the exterior tentacles were not affected. one leaf began to re-expand on the fourth day, and all were fully re-expanded on the sixth. the glands which had been in contact with the mucin were a little darkened. we may therefore conclude that a small amount of some impurity of a moderately exciting nature had been absorbed. that the mucin employed by me did contain some soluble matter was proved by dr. sanderson, who on subjecting it to artificial gastric juice found that in hr. some was dissolved, but only in the proportion of to of fibrin during the same time. the cubes, though perhaps rather softer than those left in water for the same time, retained their angles as sharp as ever. we may therefore infer that the mucin itself was not dissolved or digested. nor is it digested by the gastric juice of living animals, and according to schiff* it is a layer of this substance which protects the coats of the stomach from being corroded during digestion. pepsin.--my experiments are hardly worth giving, as it is scarcely possible to prepare pepsin free from other albuminoids; but i was curious to ascertain, as far as that was possible, whether the ferment of the secretion of drosera would act on the ferment of the gastric juice of animals. i first used the common pepsin sold for medicinal purposes, and afterwards some which was much purer, prepared for me by dr. moore. five leaves to which a considerable quantity of the former was given remained inflected for five days; four of them then died, apparently from too great stimulation. i then tried dr. moore's pepsin, making it into a paste with water, and placing such small particles on the discs of five leaves that all would have been quickly dissolved had it been meat or albumen. the leaves were soon inflected; two of them began to re-expand after only hrs., and the other three were almost completely re-expanded after hrs. some of the glands which had been in contact with the particles of pepsin, or with the acid secretion surrounding them, were singularly pale, whereas others were singularly dark-coloured. some of the secretion was scraped off and examined under a high power; and it abounded with granules undistinguishable from those of pepsin left in water for the same length of time. we may therefore infer, as highly probable (remembering what small quantities were given), that the ferment of drosera does not act on or digest * 'leons phys. de la digestion,' , tom. ii., p. . [page ] pepsin, but absorbs from it some albuminous impurity which induces inflection, and which in large quantity is highly injurious. dr. lauder brunton at my request endeavoured to ascertain whether pepsin with hydrochloric acid would digest pepsin, and as far as he could judge, it had no such power. gastric juice, therefore, apparently agrees in this respect with the secretion of drosera. urea.--it seemed to me an interesting inquiry whether this refuse of the living body, which contains much nitrogen, would, like so many other animal fluids and substances, be absorbed by the glands of drosera and cause inflection. half-minim drops of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of four leaves, each drop containing the quantity usually employed by me, namely / of a grain, or . mg.; but the leaves were hardly at all affected. they were then tested with bits of meat, and soon became closely inflected. i repeated the same experiment on four leaves with some fresh urea prepared by dr. moore; after two days there was no inflection; i then gave them another dose, but still there was no inflection. these leaves were afterwards tested with similarly sized drops of an infusion of raw meat, and in hrs. there was considerable inflection, which became excessive in hrs. but the urea apparently was not quite pure, for when four leaves were immersed in dr. ( . ml.) of the solution, so that all the glands, instead of merely those on the disc, were enabled to absorb any small amount of impurity in solution, there was considerable inflection after hrs., certainly more than would have followed from a similar immersion in pure water. that the urea, which was not perfectly white, should have contained a sufficient quantity of albuminous matter, or of some salt of ammonia, to have caused the above effect, is far from surprising, for, as we shall see in the next chapter, astonishingly small doses of ammonia are highly efficient. we may therefore conclude that urea itself is not exciting or nutritious to drosera; nor is it modified by the secretion, so as to be rendered nutritious, for, had this been the case, all the leaves with drops on their discs assuredly would have been well inflected. dr. lauder brunton informs me that from experiments made at my request at st. bartholomew's hospital it appears that urea is not acted on by artificial gastric juice, that is by pepsin with hydrochloric acid. chitine.--the chitinous coats of insects naturally captured by the leaves do not appear in the least corroded. small square pieces of the delicate wing and of the elytron of a staphylinus [page ] were placed on some leaves, and after these had re-expanded, the pieces were carefully examined. their angles were as sharp as ever, and they did not differ in appearance from the other wing and elytron of the same insect which had been left in water. the elytron, however, had evidently yielded some nutritious matter, for the leaf remained clasped over it for four days; whereas the leaves with bits of the true wing re-expanded on the second day. any one who will examine the excrement of insect-eating animals will see how powerless their gastric juice is on chitine. cellulose.--i did not obtain this substance in a separate state, but tried angular bits of dry wood, cork, sphagnum moss, linen, and cotton thread. none of these bodies were in the least attacked by the secretion, and they caused only that moderate amount of inflection which is common to all inorganic objects. gun-cotton, which consists of cellulose, with the hydrogen replaced by nitrogen, was tried with the same result. we have seen that a decoction of cabbage-leaves excites the most powerful inflection. i therefore placed two little square bits of the blade of a cabbage-leaf, and four little cubes cut from the midrib, on six leaves of drosera. these became well inflected in hrs., and remained so for between two and four days; the bits of cabbage being bathed all the time by acid secretion. this shows that some exciting matter, to which i shall presently refer, had been absorbed; but the angles of the squares and cubes remained as sharp as ever, proving that the framework of cellulose had not been attacked. small square bits of spinach-leaves were tried with the same result; the glands pouring forth a moderate supply of acid secretion, and the tentacles remaining inflected for three days. we have also seen that the delicate coats of pollen grains are not dissolved by the secretion. it is well known that the gastric juice of animals does not attack cellulose. chlorophyll.--this substance was tried, as it contains nitrogen. dr. moore sent me some preserved in alcohol; it was dried, but soon deliquesced. particles were placed on four leaves; after hrs. the secretion was acid; after hrs. there was a good deal of inflection, which in hrs. became fairly well marked. after four days two of the leaves began to open, and the other two were then almost fully re-expanded. it is therefore clear that this chlorophyll contained matter which excited the leaves to a moderate degree; but judging by the eye, little or none was dissolved; so that in a pure state it would not probably have been attacked by the secretion. dr. sanderson tried that which i [page ] used, as well as some freshly prepared, with artificial digestive liquid, and found that it was not digested. dr. lauder brunton likewise tried some prepared by the process given in the british pharmacopoeia, and exposed it for five days at the temperature of o cent. to digestive liquid, but it was not diminished in bulk, though the fluid acquired a slightly brown colour. it was also tried with the glycerine extract of pancreas with a negative result. nor does chlorophyll seem affected by the intestinal secretions of various animals, judging by the colour of their excrement. it must not be supposed from these facts that the grains of chlorophyll, as they exist in living plants, cannot be attacked by the secretion; for these grains consist of protoplasm merely coloured by chlorophyll. my son francis placed a thin slice of spinach leaf, moistened with saliva, on a leaf of drosera, and other slices on damp cotton-wool, all exposed to the same temperature. after hrs. the slice on the leaf of drosera was bathed in much secretion from the inflected tentacles, and was now examined under the microscope. no perfect grains of chlorophyll could be distinguished; some were shrunken, of a yellowish-green colour, and collected in the middle of the cells; others were disintegrated and formed a yellowish mass, likewise in the middle of the cells. on the other hand, in the slices surrounded by damp cotton-wool, the grains of chlorophyll were green and as perfect as ever. my son also placed some slices in artificial gastric juice, and these were acted on in nearly the same manner as by the secretion. we have seen that bits of fresh cabbage and spinach leaves cause the tentacles to be inflected and the glands to pour forth much acid secretion; and there can be little doubt that it is the protoplasm forming the grains of chlorophyll, as well as that lining the walls of the cells, which excites the leaves. fat and oil.--cubes of almost pure uncooked fat, placed on several leaves, did not have their angles in the least rounded. we have also seen that the oil-globules in milk are not digested. nor does olive oil dropped on the discs of leaves cause any inflection; but when they are immersed in olive oil, they become strongly inflected; but to this subject i shall have to recur. oily substances are not digested by the gastric juice of animals. starch.--rather large bits of dry starch caused well-marked inflection, and the leaves did not re-expand until the fourth day; but i have no doubt that this was due to the prolonged irritation of the glands, as the starch continued to absorb the secretion. the particles were not in the least reduced in size; [page ] and we know that leaves immersed in an emulsion of starch are not at all affected. i need hardly say that starch is not digested by the gastric juice of animals. action of the secretion on living seeds. the results of some experiments on living seeds, selected by hazard, may here be given, though they bear only indirectly on our present subject of digestion. seven cabbage seeds of the previous year were placed on the same number of leaves. some of these leaves were moderately, but the greater number only slightly inflected, and most of them re-expanded on the third day. one, however, remained clasped till the fourth, and another till the fifth day. these leaves therefore were excited somewhat more by the seeds than by inorganic objects of the same size. after they re-expanded, the seeds were placed under favourable conditions on damp sand; other seeds of the same lot being tried at the same time in the same manner, and found to germinate well. of the seven seeds which had been exposed to the secretion, only three germinated; and one of the three seedlings soon perished, the tip of its radicle being from the first decayed, and the edges of its cotyledons of a dark brown colour; so that altogether five out of the seven seeds ultimately perished. radish seeds (raphanus sativus) of the previous year were placed on three leaves, which became moderately inflected, and re-expanded on the third or fourth day. two of these seeds were transferred to damp sand; only one germinated, and that very slowly. this seedling had an extremely short, crooked, diseased, radicle, with no absorbent hairs; and the cotyledons were oddly mottled with purple, with the edges blackened and partly withered. cress seeds (lepidum sativum) of the previous year were placed on four leaves; two of these next morning were moderately and two strongly inflected, and remained so for four, five, and even six days. soon after these seeds were placed on the leaves and had become damp, they secreted in the usual manner a layer of tenacious mucus; and to ascertain whether it was the absorption of this substance by the glands which caused so much inflection, two seeds were put into water, and as much of the mucus as possible scraped off. they were then placed on leaves, which became very strongly inflected in the course of hrs., and were still closely inflected on the third day; so that it evidently was not the mucus which excited so [page ] much inflection; on the contrary, this served to a certain extent as a protection to the seeds. two of the six seeds germinated whilst still lying on the leaves, but the seedlings, when transferred to damp sand, soon died; of the other four seeds, only one germinated. two seeds of mustard (sinapis nigra), two of celery (apium graveolens)--both of the previous year, two seeds well soaked of caraway (carum carui), and two of wheat, did not excite the leaves more than inorganic objects often do. five seeds, hardly ripe, of a buttercup (ranunculus), and two fresh seeds of anemone nemorosa, induced only a little more effect. on the other hand, four seeds, perhaps not quite ripe, of carex sylvatica caused the leaves on which they were placed to be very strongly inflected; and these only began to re-expand on the third day, one remaining inflected for seven days. it follows from these few facts that different kinds of seeds excite the leaves in very different degrees; whether this is solely due to the nature of their coats is not clear. in the case of the cress seeds, the partial removal of the layer of mucus hastened the inflection of the tentacles. whenever the leaves remain inflected during several days over seeds, it is clear that they absorb some matter from them. that the secretion penetrates their coats is also evident from the large proportion of cabbage, raddish, and cress seeds which were killed, and from several of the seedlings being greatly injured. this injury to the seeds and seedlings may, however, be due solely to the acid of the secretion, and not to any process of digestion; for mr. traherne moggridge has shown that very weak acids of the acetic series are highly injurious to seeds. it never occurred to me to observe whether seeds are often blown on to the viscid leaves of plants growing in a state of nature; but this can hardly fail sometimes to occur, as we shall hereafter see in the case of pinguicula. if so, drosera will profit to a slight degree by absorbing matter from such seeds.] summary and concluding remarks on the digestive power of drosera. when the glands on the disc are excited either by the absorption of nitrogenous matter or by mechanical irritation, their secretion increases in quantity and becomes acid. they likewise transmit [page ] some influence to the glands of the exterior tentacles, causing them to secrete more copiously; and their secretion likewise becomes acid. with animals, according to schiff,* mechanical irritation excites the glands of the stomach to secrete an acid, but not pepsin. now, i have every reason to believe (though the fact is not fully established), that although the glands of drosera are continually secreting viscid fluid to replace that lost by evaporation, yet they do not secrete the ferment proper for digestion when mechanically irritated, but only after absorbing certain matter, probably of a nitrogenous nature. i infer that this is the case, as the secretion from a large number of leaves which had been irritated by particles of glass placed on their discs did not digest albumen; and more especially from the analogy of dionaea and nepenthes. in like manner, the glands of the stomach of animals secrete pepsin, as schiff asserts, only after they have absorbed certain soluble substances, which he designates as peptogenes. there is, therefore, a remarkable parallelism between the glands of drosera and those of the stomach in the secretion of their proper acid and ferment. the secretion, as we have seen, completely dissolves albumen, muscle, fibrin, areolar tissue, cartilage, the fibrous basis of bone, gelatine, chondrin, casein in the state in which it exists in milk, and gluten which has been subjected to weak hydrochloric acid. syntonin and legumin excite the leaves so powerfully and quickly that there can hardly be a doubt that both would be dissolved by the secretion. the secretion * 'phys. de la digestion,' , tom. ii. pp. , . [page ] failed to digest fresh gluten, apparently from its injuring the glands, though some was absorbed. raw meat, unless in very small bits, and large pieces of albumen, &c., likewise injure the leaves, which seem to suffer, like animals, from a surfeit. i know not whether the analogy is a real one, but it is worth notice that a decoction of cabbage leaves is far more exciting and probably nutritious to drosera than an infusion made with tepid water; and boiled cabbages are far more nutritious, at least to man, than the uncooked leaves. the most striking of all the cases, though not really more remarkable than many others, is the digestion of so hard and tough a substance as cartilage. the dissolution of pure phosphate of lime, of bone, dentine, and especially enamel, seems wonderful; but it depends merely on the long-continued secretion of an acid; and this is secreted for a longer time under these circumstances than under any others. it was interesting to observe that as long as the acid was consumed in dissolving the phosphate of lime, no true digestion occurred; but that as soon as the bone was completely decalcified, the fibrous basis was attacked and liquefied with the greatest ease. the twelve substances above enumerated, which are completely dissolved by the secretion, are likewise dissolved by the gastric juice of the higher animals; and they are acted on in the same manner, as shown by the rounding of the angles of albumen, and more especially by the manner in which the transverse striae of the fibres of muscle disappear. the secretion of drosera and gastric juice were both able to dissolve some element or impurity out of the globulin and haematin employed by me. the secretion also dissolved something out of chemically [page ] prepared casein, which is said to consist of two substances; and although schiff asserts that casein in this state is not attacked by gastric juice, he might easily have overlooked a minute quantity of some albuminous matter, which drosera would detect and absorb. again, fibro-cartilage, though not properly dissolved, is acted on in the same manner, both by the secretion of drosera and gastric juice. but this substance, as well as the so-called haematin used by me, ought perhaps to have been classed with indigestible substances. that gastric juice acts by means of its ferment, pepsin, solely in the presence of an acid, is well established; and we have excellent evidence that a ferment is present in the secretion of drosera, which likewise acts only in the presence of an acid; for we have seen that when the secretion is neutralised by minute drops of the solution of an alkali, the digestion of albumen is completely stopped, and that on the addition of a minute dose of hydrochloric acid it immediately recommences. the nine following substances, or classes of substances, namely, epidermic productions, fibro-elastic tissue, mucin, pepsin, urea, chitine, cellulose, gun-cotton, chlorophyll, starch, fat and oil, are not acted on by the secretion of drosera; nor are they, as far as is known, by the gastric juice of animals. some soluble matter, however, was extracted from the mucin, pepsin, and chlorophyll, used by me, both by the secretion and by artificial gastric juice. the several substances, which are completely dissolved by the secretion, and which are afterwards absorbed by the glands, affect the leaves rather differently. they induce inflection at very different [page ] rates and in very different degrees; and the tentacles remain inflected for very different periods of time. quick inflection depends partly on the quantity of the substance given, so that many glands are simultaneously affected, partly on the facility with which it is penetrated and liquefied by the secretion, partly on its nature, but chiefly on the presence of exciting matter already in solution. thus saliva, or a weak solution of raw meat, acts much more quickly than even a strong solution of gelatine. so again leaves which have re-expanded, after absorbing drops of a solution of pure gelatine or isinglass (the latter being the more powerful of the two), if given bits of meat, are inflected much more energetically and quickly than they were before, notwithstanding that some rest is generally requisite between two acts of inflection. we probably see the influence of texture in gelatine and globulin when softened by having been soaked in water acting more quickly than when merely wetted. it may be partly due to changed texture, and partly to changed chemical nature, that albumen, which had been kept for some time, and gluten which had been subjected to weak hydrochloric acid, act more quickly than these substances in their fresh state. the length of time during which the tentacles remain inflected largely depends on the quantity of the substance given, partly on the facility with which it is penetrated or acted on by the secretion, and partly on its essential nature. the tentacles always remain inflected much longer over large bits or large drops than over small bits or drops. texture probably plays a part in determining the extraordinary length of time during which the tentacles remain inflected [page ] over the hard grains of chemically prepared casein. but the tentacles remain inflected for an equally long time over finely powdered, precipitated phosphate of lime; phosphorus in this latter case evidently being the attraction, and animal matter in the case of casein. the leaves remain long inflected over insects, but it is doubtful how far this is due to the protection afforded by their chitinous integuments; for animal matter is soon extracted from insects (probably by exosmose from their bodies into the dense surrounding secretion), as shown by the prompt inflection of the leaves. we see the influence of the nature of different substances in bits of meat, albumen, and fresh gluten acting very differently from equal-sized bits of gelatine, areolar tissue, and the fibrous basis of bone. the former cause not only far more prompt and energetic, but more prolonged, inflection than do the latter. hence we are, i think, justified in believing that gelatine, areolar tissue, and the fibrous basis of bone, would be far less nutritious to drosera than such substances as insects, meat, albumen, &c. this is an interesting conclusion, as it is known that gelatine affords but little nutriment to animals; and so, probably, would areolar tissue and the fibrous basis of bone. the chondrin which i used acted more powerfully than gelatine, but then i do not know that it was pure. it is a more remarkable fact that fibrin, which belongs to the great class of proteids,* including albumen in one of its sub-groups, does not excite the tentacles in a greater degree, or keep them inflected for a longer time, than does gelatine, or * see the classification adopted by dr. michael foster in watts' 'dictionary of chemistry,' supplement , page . [page ] areolar tissue, or the fibrous basis of bone. it is not known how long an animal would survive if fed on fibrin alone, but dr. sanderson has no doubt longer than on gelatine, and it would be hardly rash to predict, judging from the effects on drosera, that albumen would be found more nutritious than fibrin. globulin likewise belongs to the proteids, forming another sub-group, and this substance, though containing some matter which excited drosera rather strongly, was hardly attacked by the secretion, and was very little or very slowly attacked by gastric juice. how far globulin would be nutritious to animals is not known. we thus see how differently the above specified several digestible substances act on drosera; and we may infer, as highly probable, that they would in like manner be nutritious in very different degrees both to drosera and to animals. the glands of drosera absorb matter from living seeds, which are injured or killed by the secretion. they likewise absorb matter from pollen, and from fresh leaves; and this is notoriously the case with the stomachs of vegetable-feeding animals. drosera is properly an insectivorous plant; but as pollen cannot fail to be often blown on to the glands, as will occasionally the seeds and leaves of surrounding plants, drosera is, to a certain extent, a vegetable-feeder. finally, the experiments recorded in this chapter show us that there is a remarkable accordance in the power of digestion between the gastric juice of animals with its pepsin and hydrochloric acid and the secretion of drosera with its ferment and acid belonging to the acetic series. we can, therefore, hardly doubt that the ferment in both cases is closely similar, [page ] if not identically the same. that a plant and an animal should pour forth the same, or nearly the same, complex secretion, adapted for the same purpose of digestion, is a new and wonderful fact in physiology. but i shall have to recur to this subject in the fifteenth chapter, in my concluding remarks on the droseraceae. [page ] chapter vii. the effects of salts of ammonia. manner of performing the experiments--action of distilled water in comparison with the solutions--carbonate of ammonia, absorbed by the roots--the vapour absorbed by the glands- -drops on the disc--minute drops applied to separate glands--leaves immersed in weak solutions--minuteness of the doses which induce aggregation of the protoplasm--nitrate of ammonia, analogous experiments with--phosphate of ammonia, analogous experiments with- -other salts of ammonia--summary and concluding remarks on the action of salts of ammonia. the chief object in this chapter is to show how powerfully the salts of ammonia act on the leaves of drosera, and more especially to show what an extraordinarily small quantity suffices to excite inflection. i shall, therefore, be compelled to enter into full details. doubly distilled water was always used; and for the more delicate experiments, water which had been prepared with the utmost possible care was given me by professor frankland. the graduated measures were tested, and found as accurate as such measures can be. the salts were carefully weighed, and in all the more delicate experiments, by borda's double method. but extreme accuracy would have been superfluous, as the leaves differ greatly in irritability, according to age, condition, and constitution. even the tentacles on the same leaf differ in irritability to a marked degree. my experiments were tried in the following several ways. [firstly.--drops which were ascertained by repeated trials to be on an average about half a minim, or the / of a fluid ounce (. ml.), were placed by the same pointed instrument on the [page ] discs of the leaves, and the inflection of the exterior rows of tentacles observed at successive intervals of time. it was first ascertained, from between thirty and forty trials, that distilled water dropped in this manner produces no effect, except that sometimes, though rarely, two or three tentacles become inflected. in fact all the many trials with solutions which were so weak as to produce no effect lead to the same result that water is inefficient. secondly.--the head of a small pin, fixed into a handle, was dipped into the solution under trial. the small drop which adhered to it, and which was much too small to fall off, was cautiously placed, by the aid of a lens, in contact with the secretion surrounding the glands of one, two, three, or four of the exterior tentacles of the same leaf. great care was taken that the glands themselves should not be touched. i had supposed that the drops were of nearly the same size; but on trial this proved a great mistake. i first measured some water, and removed drops, touching the pin's head each time on blotting-paper; and on again measuring the water, a drop was found to equal on an average about the / of a minim. some water in a small vessel was weighed (and this is a more accurate method), and drops removed as before; and on again weighing the water, a drop was found to equal on an average only the / of a minim. i repeated the operation, but endeavoured this time, by taking the pin's head out of the water obliquely and rather quickly, to remove as large drops as possible; and the result showed that i had succeeded, for each drop on an average equalled / . of a minim. i repeated the operation in exactly the same manner, and now the drops averaged / . of a minim. bearing in mind that on these two latter occasions special pains were taken to remove as large drops as possible, we may safely conclude that the drops used in my experiments were at least equal to the / of a minim, or . ml. one of these drops could be applied to three or even four glands, and if the tentacles became inflected, some of the solution must have been absorbed by all; for drops of pure water, applied in the same manner, never produced any effect. i was able to hold the drop in steady contact with the secretion only for ten to fifteen seconds; and this was not time enough for the diffusion of all the salt in solution, as was evident, from three or four tentacles treated successively with the same drop, often becoming inflected. all the matter in solution was even then probably not exhausted. thirdly.--leaves cut off and immersed in a measured [page ] quantity of the solution under trial; the same number of leaves being immersed at the same time, in the same quantity of the distilled water which had been used in making the solution. the leaves in the two lots were compared at short intervals of time, up to hrs., and sometimes to hrs. they were immersed by being laid as gently as possible in numbered watch-glasses, and thirty minims ( . ml.) of the solution or of water was poured over each. some solutions, for instance that of carbonate of ammonia, quickly discolour the glands; and as all on the same leaf were discoloured simultaneously, they must all have absorbed some of the salt within the same short period of time. this was likewise shown by the simultaneous inflection of the several exterior rows of tentacles. if we had no such evidence as this, it might have been supposed that only the glands of the exterior and inflected tentacles had absorbed the salt; or that only those on the disc had absorbed it, and had then transmitted a motor impulse to the exterior tentacles; but in this latter case the exterior tentacles would not have become inflected until some time had elapsed, instead of within half an hour, or even within a few minutes, as usually occurred. all the glands on the same leaf are of nearly the same size, as may best be seen by cutting off a narrow transverse strip, and laying it on its side; hence their absorbing surfaces are nearly equal. the long-headed glands on the extreme margin must be excepted, as they are much longer than the others; but only the upper surface is capable of absorption. besides the glands, both surfaces of the leaves and the pedicels of the tentacles bear numerous minute papillae, which absorb carbonate of ammonia, an infusion of raw meat, metallic salts, and probably many other substances, but the absorption of matter by these papillae never induces inflection. we must remember that the movement of each separate tentacle depends on its gland being excited, except when a motor impulse is transmitted from the glands of the disc, and then the movement, as just stated, does not take place until some little time has elapsed. i have made these remarks because they show us that when a leaf is immersed in a solution, and the tentacles are inflected, we can judge with some accuracy how much of the salt each gland has absorbed. for instance, if a leaf bearing glands be immersed in a measured quantity of a solution, containing / of a grain of a salt, and all the exterior tentacles, except twelve, are inflected, we may feel sure that each of the glands can on an average have absorbed at most / of a grain of the salt. i say at [page ] most, for the papillae will have absorbed some small amount, and so will perhaps the glands of the twelve excluded tentacles which did not become inflected. the application of this principle leads to remarkable conclusions with respect to the minuteness of the doses causing inflection. on the action of distilled water in causing inflection. although in all the more important experiments the difference between the leaves simultaneously immersed in water and in the several solutions will be described, nevertheless it may be well here to give a summary of the effects of water. the fact, moreover, of pure water acting on the glands deserves in itself some notice. leaves to the number of were immersed in water at the same time with those in the solutions, and their state recorded at short intervals of time. thirty-two other leaves were separately observed in water, making altogether experiments. many scores of leaves were also immersed in water at other times, but no exact record of the effects produced was kept; yet these cursory observations support the conclusions arrived at in this chapter. a few of the long-headed tentacles, namely from one to about six, were commonly inflected within half an hour after immersion; as were occasionally a few, and rarely a considerable number of the exterior round-headed tentacles. after an immersion of from to hrs. the short tentacles surrounding the outer parts of the disc generally become inflected, so that their glands form a small dark ring on the disc; the exterior tentacles not partaking of this movement. hence, excepting in a few cases hereafter to be specified, we can judge whether a solution produces any effect only by observing the exterior tentacles within the first or hrs. after immersion. now for a summary of the state of the leaves after an immersion of or hrs. in pure water. one leaf had almost all its tentacles inflected; three leaves had most of them sub-inflected; and thirteen had on an average . tentacles inflected. thus seventeen leaves out of the were acted on in a marked manner. eighteen leaves had from seven to nineteen tentacles inflected, the average being . tentacles for each leaf. forty-four leaves had from one to six tentacles inflected, generally the long-headed ones. so that altogether of the leaves carefully observed, seventy-nine were affected by the water in some degree, though commonly to a very slight degree; and ninety-four were not affected in the least degree. this [page ] amount of inflection is utterly insignificant, as we shall hereafter see, compared with that caused by very weak solutions of several salts of ammonia. plants which have lived for some time in a rather high temperature are far more sensitive to the action of water than those grown out of doors, or recently brought into a warm greenhouse. thus in the above seventeen cases, in which the immersed leaves had a considerable number of tentacles inflected, the plants had been kept during the winter in a very warm greenhouse; and they bore in the early spring remarkably fine leaves, of a light red colour. had i then known that the sensitiveness of plants was thus increased, perhaps i should not have used the leaves for my experiments with the very weak solutions of phosphate of ammonia; but my experiments are not thus vitiated, as i invariably used leaves from the same plants for simultaneous immersion in water. it often happened that some leaves on the same plant, and some tentacles on the same leaf, were more sensitive than others; but why this should be so, i do not know. fig. . (drosera rotundifolia.) leaf (enlarged) with all the tentacles closely inflected, from immersion in a solution of phosphate of ammonia (one part to , of water.) besides the differences just indicated between the leaves immersed in water and in weak solutions of ammonia, the tentacles of the latter are in most cases much more closely inflected. the appearance of a leaf after immersion in a few drops of a solution of grain of phosphate of ammonia to oz. of water (i.e. one part to , ) is here reproduced: such energetic inflection is never caused by water alone. with leaves in the weak solutions, the blade or lamina often becomes inflected; and this is so rare a circumstance with leaves in water that i have seen only two instances; and in both of these the inflection was very feeble. again, with leaves in the weak solutions, the inflection of the tentacles and blade often goes on steadily, though slowly, increasing during many hours; and [page ] this again is so rare a circumstance with leaves in water that i have seen only three instances of any such increase after the first to hrs.; and in these three instances the two outer rows of tentacles were not at all affected. hence there is sometimes a much greater difference between the leaves in water and in the weak solutions, after from hrs. to hrs., than there was within the first hrs.; though as a general rule it is best to trust to the difference observed within the shorter time. with respect to the period of the re-expansion of the leaves, when left immersed either in water or in the weak solutions, nothing could be more variable. in both cases the exterior tentacles not rarely begin to re-expand, after an interval of only from to hrs.; that is just about the time when the short tentacles round the borders of the disc become inflected. on the other hand, the tentacles sometimes remain inflected for a whole day, or even two days; but as a general rule they remain inflected for a longer period in very weak solutions than in water. in solutions which are not extremely weak, they never re-expand within nearly so short a period as six or eight hours. from these statements it might be thought difficult to distinguish between the effects of water and the weaker solutions; but in truth there is not the slightest difficulty until excessively weak solutions are tried; and then the distinction, as might be expected, becomes very doubtful, and at last disappears. but as in all, except the simplest, cases the state of the leaves simultaneously immersed for an equal length of time in water and in the solutions will be described, the reader can judge for himself.] carbonate of ammonia. this salt, when absorbed by the roots, does not cause the tentacles to be inflected. a plant was so placed in a solution of one part of the carbonate to of water that the young uninjured roots could be observed. the terminal cells, which were of a pink colour, instantly became colourless, and their limpid contents cloudy, like a mezzo-tinto engraving, so that some degree of aggregation was almost instantly caused; but no further change ensued, and the absorbent hairs were not visibly affected. the tentacles [page ] did not bend. two other plants were placed with their roots surrounded by damp moss, in half an ounce ( . ml.) of a solution of one part of the carbonate to of water, and were observed for hrs.; but not a single tentacle was inflected. in order to produce this effect, the carbonate must be absorbed by the glands. the vapour produces a powerful effect on the glands, and induces inflection. three plants with their roots in bottles, so that the surrounding air could not have become very humid, were placed under a bell-glass (holding fluid ounces), together with grains of carbonate of ammonia in a watch-glass. after an interval of hrs. m. the leaves appeared unaffected; but next morning, after hrs., the blackened glands were secreting copiously, and most of the tentacles were strongly inflected. these plants soon died. two other plants were placed under the same bell-glass, together with half a grain of the carbonate, the air being rendered as damp as possible; and in hrs. most of the leaves were affected, many of the glands being blackened and the tentacles inflected. but it is a curious fact that some of the closely adjoining tentacles on the same leaf, both on the disc and round the margins, were much, and some, apparently, not in the least affected. the plants were kept under the bell-glass for hrs., but no further change ensued. one healthy leaf was hardly at all affected, though other leaves on the same plant were much affected. on some leaves all the tentacles on one side, but not those on the opposite side, were inflected. i doubt whether this extremely unequal action can be explained by supposing that the more active glands absorb all the vapour as quickly as it is generated, so that none is left for the others, for we shall meet with [page ] analogous cases with air thoroughly permeated with the vapours of chloroform and ether. minute particles of the carbonate were added to the secretion surrounding several glands. these instantly became black and secreted copiously; but, except in two instances, when extremely minute particles were given, there was no inflection. this result is analogous to that which follows from the immersion of leaves in a strong solution of one part of the carbonate to , or , or even of water, for the leaves are then paralysed and no inflection ensues, though the glands are blackened, and the protoplasm in the cells of the tentacles undergoes strong aggregation. [we will now turn to the effects of solutions of the carbonate. half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of twelve leaves; so that each received / of a grain or . mg. ten of these had their tentacles well inflected; the blades of some being also much curved inwards. in two cases several of the exterior tentacles were inflected in m.; but the movement was generally slower. these ten leaves re-expanded in periods varying between hrs. and hrs., but in one case not until hrs. had elapsed; so that they re-expanded much more quickly than leaves which have caught insects. the same-sized drops of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of eleven leaves; six remained quite unaffected, whilst five had from three to six or eight of their exterior tentacles inflected; but this degree of movement can hardly be considered as trustworthy. each of these leaves received / of a grain (. mg.), distributed between the glands of the disc, but this was too small an amount to produce any decided effect on the exterior tentacles, the glands of which had not themselves received any of the salt. minute drops on the head of a small pin, of a solution of one part of the carbonate to of water, were next tried in the manner above described. a drop of this kind equals on an average / of a minim, and therefore contains / of a grain (. mg.) of the carbonate. i touched with it the viscid secretion round three glands, so that each gland received only [page ] / of a grain (. mg.). nevertheless, in two trials all the glands were plainly blackened; in one case all three tentacles were well inflected after an interval of hrs. m.; and in another case two of the three tentacles were inflected. i then tried drops of a weaker solution of one part to of water on twenty-four glands, always touching the viscid secretion round three glands with the same little drop. each gland thus received only the / of a grain (. mg.), yet some of them were a little darkened; but in no one instance were any of the tentacles inflected, though they were watched for hrs. when a still weaker solution (viz. one part to of water) was tried on six glands, no effect whatever was perceptible. we thus learn that the / of a grain (. mg.) of carbonate of ammonia, if absorbed by a gland, suffices to induce inflection in the basal part of the same tentacle; but as already stated, i was able to hold with a steady hand the minute drops in contact with the secretion only for a few seconds; and if more time had been allowed for diffusion and absorption, a much weaker solution would certainly have acted. some experiments were made by immersing cut-off leaves in solutions of different strengths. thus four leaves were left for about hrs. each in a drachm ( . ml.) of a solution of one part of the carbonate to of water; two of these had almost every tentacle inflected, the third had about half the tentacles and the fourth about one-third inflected; and all the glands were blackened. another leaf was placed in the same quantity of a solution of one part to of water, and in hr. m. every single tentacle was well inflected, and all the glands blackened. six leaves were immersed, each in thirty minims ( . ml.) of a solution of one part to of water, and the glands were all blackened in m. all six leaves exhibited some slight inflection, and one was strongly inflected. four leaves were then immersed in thirty minims of a solution of one part to of water, so that each leaf received the / of a grain (. mg.). only one became strongly inflected; but all the glands on all the leaves were of so dark a red after one hour as almost to deserve to be called black, whereas this did not occur with the leaves which were at the same time immersed in water; nor did water produce this effect on any other occasion in nearly so short a time as an hour. these cases of the simultaneous darkening or blackening of the glands from the action of weak solutions are important, as they show that all the glands absorbed the carbonate within the same time, which fact indeed there was not the least reason to doubt. so again, whenever all the [page ] tentacles become inflected within the same time, we have evidence, as before remarked, of simultaneous absorption. i did not count the number of glands on these four leaves; but as they were fine ones, and as we know that the average number of glands on thirty-one leaves was , we may safely assume that each bore on an average at least ; and if so, each blackened gland could have absorbed only / of a grain (. mg.) of the carbonate. a large number of trials had been previously made with solutions of one part of the nitrate and phosphate of ammonia to of water (i.e. one grain to ounces), and these were found highly efficient. fourteen leaves were therefore placed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part of the carbonate to the above quantity of water; so that each leaf received / of a grain (. mg.). the glands were not much darkened. ten of the leaves were not affected, or only very slightly so. four, however, were strongly affected; the first having all the tentacles, except forty, inflected in m.; in hrs. m. all except eight; and after hrs. the blade itself. the second leaf after m. had all its tentacles except nine inflected; after hrs. m. these nine were sub-inflected; the blade having become much inflected in hrs. the third leaf after hr. m. had all but forty tentacles inflected. the fourth, after hrs. m., had about half its tentacles and after hrs. all but forty-five inflected. leaves which were immersed in water at the same time were not at all affected, with the exception of one; and this not until hrs. had elapsed. hence there can be no doubt that a highly sensitive leaf, if immersed in a solution, so that all the glands are enabled to absorb, is acted on by / of a grain of the carbonate. assuming that the leaf, which was a large one, and which had all its tentacles excepting eight inflected, bore glands, each gland could have absorbed only / of a grain (. mg.); yet this sufficed to act on each of the tentacles which were inflected. but as only four out of the above fourteen leaves were plainly affected, this is nearly the minimum dose which is efficient. aggregation of the protoplasm from the action of carbonate of ammonia.--i have fully described in the third chapter the remarkable effects of moderately strong doses of this salt in causing the aggregation of the protoplasm within the cells of the glands and tentacles; and here my object is merely to show what small doses suffice. a leaf was immersed in twenty minims ( . ml.) of a solution of one part to of water, [page ] and another leaf in the same quantity of a solution of one part to ; in the former case aggregation occurred in m., in the latter in m. a leaf was then immersed in twenty minims of a solution of one part to of water, so that it received / of a grain (. mg.); in m. there was a slight change of colour in the glands, and in m. small spheres of protoplasm were formed in the cells beneath the glands of all the tentacles. in these cases there could not be a shadow of a doubt about the action of the solution. a solution was then made of one part to of water, and i experimented on fourteen leaves, but will give only a few of the cases. eight young leaves were selected and examined with care, and they showed no trace of aggregation. four of these were placed in a drachm ( . ml.) of distilled water; and four in a similar vessel, with a drachm of the solution. after a time the leaves were examined under a high power, being taken alternately from the solution and the water. the first leaf was taken out of the solution after an immersion of hrs. m., and the last leaf out of the water after hrs. m.; the examination lasting for hr. m. in the four leaves out of the water there was no trace of aggregation except in one specimen, in which a very few, extremely minute spheres of protoplasm were present beneath some of the round glands. all the glands were translucent and red. the four leaves which had been immersed in the solution, besides being inflected, presented a widely different appearance; for the contents of the cells of every single tentacle on all four leaves were conspicuously aggregated; the spheres and elongated masses of protoplasm in many cases extending halfway down the tentacles. all the glands, both those of the central and exterior tentacles, were opaque and blackened; and this shows that all had absorbed some of the carbonate. these four leaves were of very nearly the same size, and the glands were counted on one and found to be . this being the case, and the four leaves having been immersed in a drachm of the solution, each gland could have received on an average only / of a grain (. mg.) of the salt; and this quantity sufficed to induce within a short time conspicuous aggregation in the cells beneath all the glands. a vigorous but rather small red leaf was placed in six minims of the same solution (viz. one part to of water), so that it received / of a grain (. mg.). in m. the glands appeared rather darker; and in hr. from four to six spheres of protoplasm were formed in the cells beneath the glands of all the tentacles. i did not count the tentacles, but we may [page ] safely assume that there were at least ; and if so, each gland could have received only the / of a grain, or . mg. a weaker solution was then made of one part to of water, and four leaves were immersed in it; but i will give only one case. a leaf was placed in ten minims of this solution; after hr. m. the glands became somewhat darker, and the cells beneath all of them now contained many spheres of aggregated protoplasm. this leaf received / of a grain, and bore glands. each gland could, therefore, have received only / of a grain (. mg.) of the carbonate. two other experiments are worth giving. a leaf was immersed for hrs. m. in distilled water, and there was no aggregation; it was then placed for hr. m. in a little solution of one part to of water; and this excited well-marked aggregation and inflection. another leaf, after having been immersed for hrs. m. in distilled water, had its glands blackened, but there was no aggregation in the cells beneath them; it was then left in six minims of the same solution, and in hr. there was much aggregation in many of the tentacles; in hrs. all the tentacles ( in number) were affected--the aggregation extending down for a length equal to half or the whole of the glands. it is extremely improbable that these two leaves would have undergone aggregation if they had been left for a little longer in the water, namely for hr. and hr. m., during which time they were immersed in the solution; for the process of aggregation seems invariably to supervene slowly and very gradually in water.] summary of the results with carbonate of ammonia.--the roots absorb the solution, as shown by their changed colour, and by the aggregation of the contents of their cells. the vapour is absorbed by the glands; these are blackened, and the tentacles are inflected. the glands of the disc, when excited by a half-minim drop (. ml.), containing / of a grain (. mg.), transmit a motor impulse to the exterior tentacles, causing them to bend inwards. a minute drop, containing / of a grain (. mg.), if held for a few seconds in contact with a gland, soon causes the tentacle bearing it to be inflected. if a leaf is left [page ] immersed for a few hours in a solution, and a gland absorbs the / of a grain (. mg.), its colour becomes darker, though not actually black; and the contents of the cells beneath the gland are plainly aggregated. lastly, under the same circumstances, the absorption by a gland of the / of a grain (. mg.) suffices to excite the tentacle bearing this gland into movement. [nitrate of ammonia. with the salt i attended only to the inflection of the leaves, for it is far less efficient than the carbonate in causing aggregation, although considerably more potent in causing inflection. i experimented with half-minims (. ml.) on the discs of fifty-two leaves, but will give only a few cases. a solution of one part to of water was too strong, causing little inflection, and after hrs. killing, or nearly killing, four out of six leaves which were thus tried; each of which received the / of a grain (or . mg.). a solution of one part to of water acted most energetically, causing not only the tentacles of all the leaves, but the blades of some, to be strongly inflected. fourteen leaves were tried with drops of a solution of one part to of water, so that the disc of each received the / of a grain (. mg.). of these leaves, seven were very strongly acted on, the edges being generally inflected; two were moderately acted on; and five not at all. i subsequently tried three of these latter five leaves with urine, saliva, and mucus, but they were only slightly affected; and this proves that they were not in an active condition. i mention this fact to show how necessary it is to experiment on several leaves. two of the leaves, which were well inflected, re-expanded after hrs. in the following experiment i happened to select very sensitive leaves. half-minims of a solution of one part to of water (i.e. gr. to / oz.) were placed on the discs of nine leaves, so that each received the / of a grain (. mg.). three of them had their tentacles strongly inflected and their blades curled inwards; five were slightly and somewhat doubtfully affected, having from three to eight of their exterior tentacles inflected: one leaf was not at all affected, yet was afterwards acted on by saliva. in six of these cases, a trace of action was perceptible in [page ] hrs., but the full effect was not produced until from hrs. to hrs. had elapsed. two of the leaves, which were only slightly inflected, re-expanded after an additional interval of hrs. half-minims of a rather weaker solution, viz. of one part to of water ( gr. to oz.) were tried on fourteen leaves; so that each received / of a grain (. mg.), instead of, as in the last experiment, / of a grain. the blade of one was plainly inflected, as were six of the exterior tentacles; the blade of a second was slightly, and two of the exterior tentacles well, inflected, all the other tentacles being curled in at right angles to the disc; three other leaves had from five to eight tentacles inflected; five others only two or three, and occasionally, though very rarely, drops of pure water cause this much action; the four remaining leaves were in no way affected, yet three of them, when subsequently tried with urine, became greatly inflected. in most of these cases a slight effect was perceptible in from hrs. to hrs., but the full effect was not produced until from hrs. to hrs. had elapsed. it is obvious that we have here reached very nearly the minimum amount, which, distributed between the glands of the disc, acts on the exterior tentacles; these having themselves not received any of the solution. in the next place, the viscid secretion round three of the exterior glands was touched with the same little drop ( / of a minim) of a solution of one part to of water; and after an interval of hrs. m. all three tentacles were well inflected. each of these glands could have received only the / of a grain, or . mg. a little drop of the same size and strength was also applied to four other glands, and in hr. two became inflected, whilst the other two never moved. we here see, as in the case of the half-minims placed on the discs, that the nitrate of ammonia is more potent in causing inflection than the carbonate; for minute drops of the latter salt of this strength produced no effect. i tried minute drops of a still weaker solution of the nitrate, viz. one part to of water, on twenty-one glands, but no effect whatever was produced, except perhaps in one instance. sixty-three leaves were immersed in solutions of various strengths; other leaves being immersed at the same time in the same pure water used in making the solutions. the results are so remarkable, though less so than with phosphate of ammonia, that i must describe the experiments in detail, but i will give only a few. in speaking of the successive periods when inflection occurred, i always reckon from the time of first immersion. [page ] having made some preliminary trials as a guide, five leaves were placed in the same little vessel in thirty minims of a solution of one part of the nitrate to of water ( gr. to oz.); and this amount of fluid just sufficed to cover them. after hrs. m. three of the leaves were considerably inflected, and the other two moderately. the glands of all became of so dark a red as almost to deserve to be called black. after hrs. four of the leaves had all their tentacles more or less inflected; whilst the fifth, which i then perceived to be an old leaf, had only thirty tentacles inflected. next morning, after hrs. m., all the leaves were in the same state, excepting that the old leaf had a few more tentacles inflected. five leaves which had been placed at the same time in water were observed at the same intervals of time; after hrs. m. two of them had four, one had seven, one had ten, of the long-headed marginal tentacles, and the fifth had four round-headed tentacles, inflected. after hrs. there was no change in these leaves, and after hrs. all the marginal tentacles had re-expanded; but in one leaf, a dozen, and in a second leaf, half a dozen, submarginal tentacles had become inflected. as the glands of the five leaves in the solution were simultaneously darkened, no doubt they had all absorbed a nearly equal amount of the salt: and as / of a grain was given to the five leaves together, each got / of a grain (. mg.). i did not count the tentacles on these leaves, which were moderately fine ones, but as the average number on thirty-one leaves was , it would be safe to assume that each bore on an average at least . if so, each of the darkened glands could have received only / of a grain of the nitrate; and this caused the inflection of a great majority of the tentacles. this plan of immersing several leaves in the same vessel is a bad one, as it is impossible to feel sure that the more vigorous leaves do not rob the weaker ones of their share of the salt. the glands, moreover, must often touch one another or the sides of the vessel, and movement may have been thus excited; but the corresponding leaves in water, which were little inflected, though rather more so than commonly occurs, were exposed in an almost equal degree to these same sources of error. i will, therefore, give only one other experiment made in this manner, though many were tried and all confirmed the foregoing and following results. four leaves were placed in forty minims of a solution of one part to , of water; and assuming that they absorbed equally, each leaf received / of a grain (. mg.). after hr. m. many of the tentacles on all four leaves were somewhat inflected. after [page ] hrs. m. two leaves had all their tentacles inflected; a third leaf all except the extreme marginals, which seemed old and torpid; and the fourth a large number. after hrs. every single tentacle, on all four leaves, was closely inflected. of the four leaves placed at the same time in water, one had, after hrs. m., five marginal tentacles inflected; a second, ten; a third, nine marginals and submarginals; and the fourth, twelve, chiefly submarginals, inflected. after hrs. all these marginal tentacles re-expanded, but a few of the submarginals on two of the leaves remained slightly curved inwards. the contrast was wonderfully great between these four leaves in water and those in the solution, the latter having every one of their tentacles closely inflected. making the moderate assumption that each of these leaves bore tentacles, each gland could have absorbed only / of a grain (. mg.). this experiment was repeated on three leaves with the same relative amount of the solution; and after hrs. m. all the tentacles except nine, on all three leaves taken together, were closely inflected. in this case the tentacles on each leaf were counted, and gave an average of per leaf. the following experiments were tried during the summer of , by placing the leaves, each in a separate watch-glass and pouring over it thirty minims ( . ml.) of the solution; other leaves being treated in exactly the same manner with the doubly distilled water used in making the solutions. the trials above given were made several years before, and when i read over my notes, i could not believe in the results; so i resolved to begin again with moderately strong solutions. six leaves were first immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part of the nitrate to of water ( gr. to oz.), so that each received / of a grain (. mg.). before m. had elapsed, four of these leaves were immensely, and two of them moderately, inflected. the glands were rendered of a dark red. the four corresponding leaves in water were not at all affected until hrs. had elapsed, and then only the short tentacles on the borders of the disc; and their inflection, as previously explained, is never of any significance. four leaves were immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part to , of water ( gr. to oz.), so that each received / of a grain (. mg.); and in less than m. three of them had all their tentacles, except from four to ten, inflected; the blade of one being inflected after hrs., and the blade of a second after hrs. the fourth leaf was not at all affected. the glands of none were darkened. of the corresponding leaves [page ] in water, only one had any of its exterior tentacles, namely five, inflected; after hrs. in one case, and after hrs. in two other cases, the short tentacles on the borders of the disc formed a ring, in the usual manner. four leaves were immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part to , of water ( gr. to oz.), so that each leaf got / of a grain (. mg.). of these, one was much inflected in m., and after hrs. m. had all the tentacles, except thirteen, inflected. the second leaf, after m., had all except three inflected. the third and fourth were hardly at all affected, scarcely more than the corresponding leaves in water. of the latter, only one was affected, this having two tentacles inflected, with those on the outer parts of the disc forming a ring in the usual manner. in the leaf which had all its tentacles except three inflected in m., each gland (assuming that the leaf bore tentacles) could have absorbed only / of a grain, or . mg. four leaves were separately immersed as before in a solution of one part to , of water ( gr. to oz.), so that each received / of a grain, or . mg. after m. one leaf had all its tentacles except sixteen, and after hrs. m. all but fourteen, inflected. the second leaf, after m., had all but twenty inflected; and after hrs. m. began to re-expand. the third, in hrs. had about half its tentacles inflected, which began to re-expand after hrs. m. the fourth leaf, after hrs. m., had only twenty-nine tentacles more or less inflected. thus three out of the four leaves were strongly acted on. it is clear that very sensitive leaves had been accidentally selected. the day moreover was hot. the four corresponding leaves in water were likewise acted on rather more than is usual; for after hrs. one had nine tentacles, another four, and another two, and the fourth none, inflected. with respect to the leaf of which all the tentacles, except sixteen, were inflected after m., each gland (assuming that the leaf bore tentacles) could have absorbed only / of a grain (. mg.), and this appears to be about the least quantity of the nitrate which suffices to induce the inflection of a single tentacle. as negative results are important in confirming the foregoing positive ones, eight leaves were immersed as before, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part to , of water ( gr. to oz.), so that each received only / of a grain (. mg.). this minute quantity produced a slight effect on only four of the eight leaves. one had fifty-six tentacles inflected after hrs. m.; a second, twenty-six inflected, or sub-inflected, after [page ] m.; a third, eighteen inflected, after hr.; and a fourth, ten inflected, after m. the four other leaves were not in the least affected. of the eight corresponding leaves in water, one had, after hrs. m., nine tentacles, and four others from one to four long-headed tentacles, inflected; the remaining three being unaffected. hence, the / of a grain given to a sensitive leaf during warm weather perhaps produces a slight effect; but we must bear in mind that occasionally water causes as great an amount of inflection as occurred in this last experiment.] summary of the results with nitrate of ammonia.--the glands of the disc, when excited by a half-minim drop (. ml.), containing / of a grain of the nitrate (. mg.), transmit a motor impulse to the exterior tentacles, causing them to bend inwards. a minute drop, containing / of a grain (. mg.), if held for a few seconds in contact with a gland, causes the tentacle bearing this gland to be inflected. if a leaf is left immersed for a few hours, and sometimes for only a few minutes, in a solution of such strength that each gland can absorb only the ( / of a grain (. mg.), this small amount is enough to excite each tentacle into movement, and it becomes closely inflected. phosphate of ammonia. this salt is more powerful than the nitrate, even in a greater degree than the nitrate is more powerful than the carbonate. this is shown by weaker solutions of the phosphate acting when dropped on the discs, or applied to the glands of the exterior tentacles, or when leaves are immersed. the difference in the power of these three salts, as tried in three different ways, supports the results presently to be [page ] given, which are so surprising that their credibility requires every kind of support. in i experimented on twelve immersed leaves, giving each only ten minims of a solution; but this was a bad method, for so small a quantity hardly covered them. none of these experiments will, therefore, be given, though they indicate that excessively minute doses are efficient. when i read over my notes, in , i entirely disbelieved them, and determined to make another set of experiments with scrupulous care, on the same plan as those made with the nitrate; namely by placing leaves in watch-glasses, and pouring over each thirty minims of the solution under trial, treating at the same time and in the same manner other leaves with the distilled water used in making the solutions. during , seventy-one leaves were thus tried in solutions of various strengths, and the same number in water. notwithstanding the care taken and the number of the trials made, when in the following year i looked merely at the results, without reading over my observations, i again thought that there must have been some error, and thirty-five fresh trials were made with the weakest solution; but the results were as plainly marked as before. altogether, carefully selected leaves were tried, both in water and in solutions of the phosphate. hence, after the most anxious consideration, i can entertain no doubt of the substantial accuracy of my results. [before giving my experiments, it may be well to premise that crystallised phosphate of ammonia, such as i used, contains . per cent. of water of crystallisation; so that in all the following trials the efficient elements formed only . per cent. of the salt used. extremely minute particles of the dry phosphate were placed [page ] with the point of a needle on the secretion surrounding several glands. these poured forth much secretion, were blackened, and ultimately died; but the tentacles moved only slightly. the dose, small as it was, evidently was too great, and the result was the same as with particles of the carbonate of ammonia. half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of three leaves and acted most energetically, causing the tentacles of one to be inflected in m., and the blades of all three to be much curved inwards in hrs. m. similar drops of a solution of one part to of water, ( gr. to oz.) were then placed on the discs of five leaves, so that each received the / of a grain (. mg.). after hrs. the tentacles of four of them were considerably inflected, and after hrs. the blades of three. after hrs. all five were almost fully re-expanded. i may mention with respect to one of these leaves, that a drop of water had been left during the previous hrs. on its disc, but produced no effect; and that this was hardly dry when the solution was added. similar drops of a solution of one part to of water ( gr. to oz.) were next placed on the discs of six leaves; so that each received / of a grain (. mg.); after hrs. three of them had many tentacles and their blades inflected; two others had only a few tentacles slightly inflected, and the sixth was not at all affected. after hrs. most of the leaves had a few more tentacles inflected, but one had begun to re-expand. we thus see that with the more sensitive leaves the / of a grain, absorbed by the central glands, is enough to make many of the exterior tentacles and the blades bend, whereas the / of a grain of the carbonate similarly given produced no effect; and / of a grain of the nitrate was only just sufficient to produce a well-marked effect. a minute drop, about equal to / of a minim, of a solution of one part of the phosphate to of water, was applied to the secretion on three glands, each of which thus received only / of a grain (. mg.), and all three tentacles became inflected. similar drops of a solution of one part to of water ( gr. to oz.) were now tried on three leaves; a drop being applied to four glands on the same leaf. on the first leaf, three of the tentacles became slightly inflected in m., and re-expanded after hrs. m. on the second, two tentacles became sub-inflected in m. and on the third all four tentacles were decidedly inflected in m.; they remained so for hrs. m., but by the next morning were fully re-expanded. [page ] in this latter case each gland could have received only the / (or . mg.) of a grain. lastly, similar drops of a solution of one part to of water ( gr. to oz.) were tried on five leaves; a drop being applied to four glands on the same leaf. the tentacles on three of these leaves were not in the least affected; on the fourth leaf, two became inflected; whilst on the fifth, which happened to be a very sensitive one, all four tentacles were plainly inflected in hrs. m.; but only one remained inflected after hrs. i should, however, state that in this case an unusually large drop adhered to the head of the pin. each of these glands could have received very little more than / of a grain (or . ); but this small quantity sufficed to cause inflection. we must bear in mind that these drops were applied to the viscid secretion for only from to seconds, and we have good reason to believe that all the phosphate in the solution would not be diffused and absorbed in this time. we have seen under the same circumstances that the absorption by a gland of / of a grain of the carbonate, and of / of a grain of the nitrate, did not cause the tentacle bearing the gland in question to be inflected; so that here again the phosphate is much more powerful than the other two salts. we will now turn to the experiments with immersed leaves. having ascertained by repeated trials that moderately strong solutions were highly efficient, i commenced with sixteen leaves, each placed in thirty minims of a solution of one part to , of water ( gr. to oz.); so that each received / of a grain, or . mg. of these leaves, eleven had nearly all or a great number of their tentacles inflected in hr., and the twelfth leaf in hrs. one of the eleven had every single tentacle closely inflected in m. two leaves out of the sixteen were only moderately affected, yet more so than any of those simultaneously immersed in water; and the remaining two, which were pale leaves, were hardly at all affected. of the sixteen corresponding leaves in water, one had nine tentacles, another six, and two others two tentacles inflected, in the course of hrs. so that the contrast in appearance between the two lots was extremely great. eighteen leaves were immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part to , of water ( gr. to oz.), so that each received / of a grain (. mg.). fourteen of these were strongly inflected within hrs., and some of them within m.; three out of the eighteen were only slightly affected, having twenty-one, nineteen, and twelve tentacles in- [page ] flected; and one was not at all acted on. by an accident only fifteen, instead of eighteen, leaves were immersed at the same time in water; these were observed for hrs.; one had six, another four, and a third two, of their outer tentacles inflected; the remainder being quite unaffected. the next experiment was tried under very favourable circumstances, for the day (july ) was very warm, and i happened to have unusually fine leaves. five were immersed as before in a solution of one part to , of water ( gr. to oz.), so that each received / of a grain, or . mg. after an immersion of m. all five leaves were much inflected. after hr. m. one leaf had all but eight tentacles inflected; the second, all but three; the third, all but five; the fourth; all but twenty-three; the fifth, on the other hand, never had more than twenty-four inflected. of the corresponding five leaves in water, one had seven, a second two, a third ten, a fourth one, and a fifth none inflected. let it be observed what a contrast is presented between these latter leaves and those in the solution. i counted the glands on the second leaf in the solution, and the number was ; assuming that the three tentacles which did not become inflected absorbed nothing, we find that each of the remaining glands could have absorbed only /l of a grain, or . mg. the third leaf bore glands, and subtracting the five which did not become inflected, each of the remaining glands could have absorbed only / of a grain (or . mg.), and this amount sufficed to cause the tentacles to bend. twelve leaves were tried as before in a solution of one part to , of water ( gr. to oz.), so that each leaf received / of a grain (. mg.). my plants were not at the time in a good state, and many of the leaves were young and pale. nevertheless, two of them had all their tentacles, except three or four, closely inflected in under hr. seven were considerably affected, some within hr., and others not until hrs., hrs. m., and hrs. had elapsed; and this slow action may be attributed to the leaves being young and pale. of these nine leaves, four had their blades well inflected, and a fifth slightly so. the three remaining leaves were not affected. with respect to the twelve corresponding leaves in water, not one had its blade inflected; after from to hrs. one had thirteen of its outer tentacles inflected; a second six, and four others either one or two inflected. after hrs. the outer tentacles did not become more inflected; whereas this occurred with the leaves in the solution. i record in my notes that [page ] after the hrs. it was impossible to compare the two lots, and doubt for an instant the power of the solution. two of the above leaves in the solution had all their tentacles, except three and four, inflected within an hour. i counted their glands, and, on the same principle as before, each gland on one leaf could have absorbed only / , and on the other leaf only / , of a grain of the phosphate. twenty leaves were immersed in the usual manner, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part to , of water ( gr. to oz.). so many leaves were tried because i was then under the false impression that it was incredible that any weaker solution could produce an effect. each leaf received / of a grain, or . mg. the first eight leaves which i tried both in the solution and in water were either young and pale or too old; and the weather was not hot. they were hardly at all affected; nevertheless, it would be unfair to exclude them. i then waited until i got eight pairs of fine leaves, and the weather was favourable; the temperature of the room where the leaves were immersed varying from o to o ( o. to o. cent.) in another trial with four pairs (included in the above twenty pairs), the temperature in my room was rather low, about o ( o. cent.); but the plants had been kept for several days in a very warm greenhouse and thus rendered extremely sensitive. special precautions were taken for this set of experiments; a chemist weighed for me a grain in an excellent balance; and fresh water, given me by prof. frankland, was carefully measured. the leaves were selected from a large number of plants in the following manner: the four finest were immersed in water, and the next four finest in the solution, and so on till the twenty pairs were complete. the water specimens were thus a little favoured, but they did not undergo more inflection than in the previous cases, comparatively with those in the solution. of the twenty leaves in the solution, eleven became inflected within m.; eight of them plainly and three rather doubtfully; but the latter had at least twenty of their outer tentacles inflected. owing to the weakness of the solution, inflection occurred, except in no. , much more slowly than in the previous trials. the condition of the eleven leaves which were considerably inflected will now be given at stated intervals, always reckoning from the time of immersion:-- ( ) after only m. a large number of tentacles inflected, and after m. all but fifteen; after hrs. all but eight in- [page ] flected, or plainly sub-inflected. after hrs. the tentacles began to re-expand, and such prompt re-expansion is unusual; after hrs. m. they were almost fully re-expanded. ( ) after m. a large number of tentacles inflected; after hrs. m. all but twenty-five inflected; after hrs. m. all but sixteen inflected. the leaf remained in this state for many hours. ( ) after m. a considerable amount of inflection; after hrs. all the tentacles inflected except those of the two outer rows, and the leaf remained in this state for some time; after hrs. began to re-expand. ( ) after m. much inflection; after hrs. m. fully half the tentacles inflected; after hrs. still slightly inflected. ( ) after m. much inflection; after hrs. m. fully half the tentacles inflected; after hrs. still slightly inflected. ( ) after m. some inflection; after hrs. m. about twenty-eight outer tentacles inflected; after hrs. m. about a third of the tentacles inflected; after hrs. much re-expanded. ( ) after m. some inflection; after hrs. a considerable number of tentacles inflected; after hrs. m. began to re-expand. ( ) after m. twenty-eight tentacles inflected; after hrs. m. thirty-three inflected, with most of the submarginal tentacles sub-inflected; continued so for two days, and then partially re-expanded. ( ) after m. forty-two tentacles inflected; after hrs. m. sixty-six inflected or sub-inflected; after hrs. m. all but twenty-four inflected or sub-inflected; after hrs. m. all but seventeen inflected; after hrs. all but four inflected or sub-inflected, only a few being closely inflected; after hrs. m. the blade inflected. the leaf remained in this state for two days, and then began to re-expand. ( ) after m. twenty-one tentacles inflected; after hrs. m. forty-six tentacles inflected or sub-inflected; after hrs. m. all but seventeen inflected, though none closely; after hrs. every tentacle slightly curved inwards; after hrs. m. blade strongly inflected, and so continued for two days, and then the tentacles and blade very slowly re-expanded. ( ) this fine dark red and rather old leaf, though not very large, bore an extraordinary number of tentacles (viz. ), and behaved in an anomalous manner. after hrs. m. only the short tentacles round the outer part of the disc were inflected, forming a ring, as so often occurs in from to hrs. with leaves both in water and the weaker solutions. but after hrs. [page ] m. all the outer tentacles except twenty-five were inflected; as was the blade in a strongly marked manner. after hrs. every tentacle except one was closely inflected, and the blade was completely doubled over. thus the leaf remained for two days, when it began to re-expand. i may add that the three latter leaves (nos. , , and ) were still somewhat inflected after three days. the tentacles in but few of these eleven leaves became closelyinflected within so short a time as in the previous experiments with stronger solutions. we will now turn to the twenty corresponding leaves in water. nine had none of their outer tentacles inflected; nine others had from one to three inflected; and these re-expanded after hrs. the remaining two leaves were moderately affected; one having six tentacles inflected in m.; the other twenty-three inflected in hrs. m.; and both thus remained for hrs. none of these leaves had their blades inflected. so that the contrast between the twenty leaves in water and the twenty in the solution was very great, both within the first hour and after from to hrs. had elapsed. of the leaves in the solution, the glands on leaf no. , which in hrs. had all its tentacles except eight inflected, were counted and found to be . subtracting the eight, each gland could have received only the / grain (. mg.) of the phosphate. leaf no. had tentacles, all of which, with the exception of four, were inflected after hrs., but none of them closely; the blade was also inflected; each gland could have received only the / of a grain, or . mg. lastly, leaf no. , which had after hrs. all its tentacles, except one, closely inflected, as well as the blade, bore the unusually large number of tentacles; and on the same principle as before, each gland could have absorbed only the / of a grain, or . mg. with respect to the following experiments, i must premise that the leaves, both those placed in the solutions and in water, were taken from plants which had been kept in a very warm greenhouse during the winter. they were thus rendered extremely sensitive, as was shown by water exciting them much more than in the previous experiments. before giving my observations, it may be well to remind the reader that, judging from thirty-one fine leaves, the average number of tentacles is , and that the outer or exterior ones, the movements of which are alone significant, are to the short ones on the disc in the proportion of about sixteen to nine. [page ] four leaves were immersed as before, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part to , of water ( gr. to oz.). each leaf thus received / of a grain (. mg.) of the salt; and all four were greatly inflected. ( ) after hr. all the outer tentacles but one inflected, and the blade greatly so; after hrs. began to re-expand. ( ) after hr. all the outer tentacles but eight inflected; after hrs. all re-expanded. ( ) after hr. much inflection; after hrs. m. all the tentacles but thirty-six inflected; after hrs. all but twenty-two inflected; after hrs. partly re-expanded. ( ) after hr. all the tentacles but thirty-two inflected; after hrs. m. all but twenty-one inflected; after hrs. almost re-expanded. of the four corresponding leaves in water:-- ( ) after hr. forty-five tentacles inflected; but after hrs. so many had re-expanded that only ten remained much inflected. ( ) after hr. seven tentacles inflected; these were almost re-expanded in hrs. ( ) and ( ) not affected, except that, as usual, after hrs. the short tentacles on the borders of the disc formed a ring. there can, therefore, be no doubt about the efficiency of the above solution; and it follows as before that each gland of no. could have absorbed only / of a grain (. mg.) and of no. only / of a grain (. mg.) of the phosphate. seven leaves were immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part to , of water ( gr. to oz.). each leaf thus received / of a grain (. mg.). the day was warm, and the leaves were very fine, so that all circumstances were favourable. ( ) after m. all the outer tentacles except five inflected, and most of them closely; after hr. blade slightly inflected; after hrs. m. began to re-expand. ( ) after m. all the outer tentacles but twenty-five inflected, and blade slightly so; after hr. m. blade strongly inflected and remained so for hrs.; but some of the tentacles had then re-expanded. ( ) after hr. all but twelve tentacles inflected; after hrs. m. all but nine inflected; and of the inflected tentacles all excepting four closely; blade slightly inflected. after hrs. blade quite doubled up, and now all the tentacles excepting [page ] eight closely inflected. the leaf remained in this state for two days. ( ) after hrs. m. only fifty-nine tentacles inflected; but after hrs. all the tentacles closely inflected excepting two which were not affected, and eleven which were only sub-inflected; after hrs. blade considerably inflected; after hrs. much re-expansion. ( ) after hrs. all the tentacles but fourteen inflected; after hrs. m. beginning to re-expand. ( ) after hr. thirty-six tentacles inflected; after hrs. all but fifty-four inflected; after hrs. considerable re-expansion. ( ) after hrs. m. only thirty-five tentacles inflected or sub-inflected, and this small amount of inflection never increased. now for the seven corresponding leaves in water:-- ( ) after hrs. thirty-eight tentacles inflected; but after hrs. these, with the exception of six, re-expanded. ( ) after hrs. m. twenty inflected; these after hrs. partially re-expanded. ( ) after hrs. five inflected, which began to re-expand after hrs. ( ) after hrs. one inflected. ( ), ( ) and ( ) not at all affected, though observed for hrs., excepting the short tentacles on the borders of the disc, which as usual formed a ring. a comparison of the leaves in the solution, especially of the first five or even six on the list, with those in the water, after hr. or after hrs., and in a still more marked degree after hrs. or hrs., could not leave the least doubt that the solution had produced a great effect. this was shown not only by the vastly greater number of inflected tentacles, but by the degree or closeness of their inflection, and by that of their blades. yet each gland on leaf no. (which bore glands, all of which, excepting five, were inflected in m.) could not have received more than one-four-millionth of a grain (. mg.) of the salt. again, each gland on leaf no. (which bore glands, all of which, except nine, were inflected in hrs. m.) could have received at most only the / of a grain, or . mg. four leaves were immersed as before in a solution of one part to , of water ( gr. to oz.); but on this occasion i happened to select leaves which were very little sensitive, as on other occasions i chanced to select unusually sensitive leaves. the leaves were not more affected after hrs. than [page ] the four corresponding ones in water; but after hrs. they were slightly more inflected. such evidence, however, is not at all trustworthy. twelve leaves were immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part to , , of water ( gr. to oz.); so that each leaf received / of a grain (. mg.). the leaves were not in very good condition; four of them were too old and of a dark red colour; four were too pale, yet one of these latter acted well; the four others, as far as could be told by the eye, seemed in excellent condition. the result was as follows:-- ( ) this was a pale leaf; after m. about thirty-eight tentacles inflected; after hrs. m. the blade and many of the outer tentacles inflected; after hrs. m. all the tentacles but seventeen inflected, and the blade quite doubled up; after hrs. all the tentacles but ten more or less inflected. most of them were closely inflected, but twenty-five were only sub-inflected. ( ) after hr. m. twenty-five tentacles inflected; after hrs. all but twenty-one inflected; after hrs. all but sixteen more or less inflected; after hrs. re-expanded. ( ) after hr. m. thirty-five inflected; after hrs. "a large number" (to quote my own memorandum) inflected, but from want of time they were not counted; after hrs. re-expanded. ( ) after hr. m. about thirty inflected; after hrs. "a large number all round the leaf" inflected, but they were not counted; after hrs. began to re-expand. ( ) to ( ) these were not more inflected than leaves often are in water, having respectively , , , , , , , and tentacles inflected. two of these leaves, however, were remarkable from having their blades slightly inflected after hrs. with respect to the twelve corresponding leaves in water, ( ) had, after hr. m., fifty tentacles inflected, but after hrs. only twenty-two remained so, and these formed a group, with the blade at this point slightly inflected. it appeared as if this leaf had been in some manner accidentally excited, for instance by a particle of animal matter which was dissolved by the water. ( ) after hr. m. thirty-two tentacles inflected, but after hrs. m. only twenty-five inflected, and these after hrs. all re-expanded; ( ) after hr. twenty-five inflected, which after hrs. m. were all re-expanded; ( ) and ( ) after hr. m. six and seven tentacles inflected, which re-expanded after hrs.; ( ), ( ) and ( ) from one to three inflected, which [page ] soon re-expanded; ( ), ( ), ( ) and ( ) none inflected, though observed for twenty-four hours. comparing the states of the twelve leaves in water with those in the solution, there could be no doubt that in the latter a larger number of tentacles were inflected, and these to a greater degree; but the evidence was by no means so clear as in the former experiments with stronger solutions. it deserves attention that the inflection of four of the leaves in the solution went on increasing during the first hrs., and with some of them for a longer time; whereas in the water the inflection of the three leaves which were the most affected, as well as of all the others, began to decrease during this same interval. it is also remarkable that the blades of three of the leaves in the solution were slightly inflected, and this is a most rare event with leaves in water, though it occurred to a slight extent in one (no. ), which seemed to have been in some manner accidentally excited. all this shows that the solution produced some effect, though less and at a much slower rate than in the previous cases. the small effect produced may, however, be accounted for in large part by the majority of the leaves having been in a poor condition. of the leaves in the solution, no. bore glands and received / of a grain of the salt. subtracting the seventeen tentacles which were not inflected, each gland could have absorbed only the / of a grain (. mg.). this amount caused the tentacle bearing each gland to be greatly inflected. the blade was also inflected. lastly, eight leaves were immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part of the phosphate to , , of water ( gr. to oz.). each leaf thus received / of a grain of the salt, or . mg. i took especial pains in selecting the finest leaves from the hot-house for immersion, both in the solution and the water, and almost all proved extremely sensitive. beginning as before with those in the solution:-- ( ) after hrs. m. all the tentacles but twenty-two inflected, but some only sub-inflected; the blade much inflected; after hrs. m. all but thirteen inflected, with the blade immensely inflected; and remained so for hrs. ( ) no change for the first hrs., but after hrs. all the tentacles inflected, excepting those of the outermost row, of which only eleven were inflected. the inflection continued to increase, and after hrs. all the tentacles except three were inflected, [page ] and most of them rather closely, four or five being only sub-inflected. ( ) no change for the first hrs.; but after hrs. all the tentacles excepting those of the outermost row were sub-inflected, with the blade inflected. after hrs. blade strongly inflected, with all the tentacles, except three, inflected or sub-inflected. after hrs. in the same state. ( ) to ( ) these leaves, after hrs. m., had respectively , , , , and tentacles inflected, most of which, after a few hours, re-expanded, with the exception of no. , which retained its thirty-two tentacles inflected for hrs. now for the eight corresponding leaves in water:-- ( ) after hrs. m. this had twenty of its outer tentacles inflected, five of which re-expanded after hrs. m. after hrs. m. a most unusual circumstance occurred, namely, the whole blade became slightly bowed towards the footstalk, and so remained for hrs. the exterior tentacles, excepting those of the three or four outermost rows, were now also inflected to an unusual degree. ( ) to ( ) these leaves, after hrs. m., had respectively , , , , , , and tentacles inflected, which all re-expanded within hrs., and most of them within a much shorter time. when the two lots of eight leaves in the solution and in the water were compared after the lapse of hrs., they undoubtedly differed much in appearance. the few tentacles on the leaves in water which were inflected had after this interval re-expanded, with the exception of one leaf; and this presented the very unusual case of the blade being somewhat inflected, though in a degree hardly approaching that of the two leaves in the solution. of these latter leaves, no. had almost all its tentacles, together with its blade, inflected after an immersion of hrs. m. leaves no. and were affected at a much slower rate; but after from hrs. to hrs. almost all their tentacles were closely inflected, and the blade of one quite doubled up. we must therefore admit, incredible as the fact may at first appear, that this extremely weak solution acted on the more sensitive leaves; each of which received only the / of a grain (. mg.) of the phosphate. now, leaf no. bore tentacles, and subtracting the three which were not inflected, each gland could have absorbed only the / of a grain, or . mg. leaf no. , which was strongly acted on within hrs. m., and had all its outer tentacles, except thirteen, inflected within hrs. m., bore tentacles; and on the same principle as before, each gland could have [page ] absorbed only / of a grain, or . mg.; and this excessively minute amount sufficed to cause all the tentacles bearing these glands to be greatly inflected. the blade was also inflected.] summary of the results with phosphate of ammonia.--the glands of the disc, when excited by a half-minim drop (. ml.), containing / of a grain (. mg.) of this salt, transmit a motor impulse to the exterior tentacles, causing them to bend inwards. a minute drop, containing / of a grain (. mg.), if held for a few seconds in contact with a gland, causes the tentacle bearing this gland to be inflected. if a leaf is left immersed for a few hours, and sometimes for a shorter time, in a solution so weak that each gland can absorb only the / of a grain (. mg.), this is enough to excite the tentacle into movement, so that it becomes closely inflected, as does sometimes the blade. in the general summary to this chapter a few remarks will be added, showing that the efficiency of such extremely minute doses is not so incredible as it must at first appear. [sulphate of ammonia.--the few trials made with this and the following five salts of ammonia were undertaken merely to ascertain whether they induced inflection. half-minims of a solution of one part of the sulphate of ammonia to of water were placed on the discs of seven leaves, so that each received / of a grain, or . mg. after hr. the tentacles of five of them, as well as the blade of one, were strongly inflected. the leaves were not afterwards observed. citrate of ammonia.--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of six leaves. in hr. the short outer tentacles round the discs were a little inflected, with the glands on the discs blackened. after hrs. m. one leaf had its blade inflected, but none of the exterior tentacles. all six leaves remained in nearly the same state during the day, the submarginal tentacles, however, [page ] becoming more inflected. after hrs. three of the leaves had their blades somewhat inflected; and the submarginal tentacles of all considerably inflected, but in none were the two, three, or four outer rows affected. i have rarely seen cases like this, except from the action of a decoction of grass. the glands on the discs of the above leaves, instead of being almost black, as after the first hour, were now after hrs. very pale. i next tried on four leaves half-minims of a weaker solution, of one part to of water ( gr. to oz.); so that each received / of a grain (. mg.). after hrs. m. the glands on the disc were very dark-coloured; after hrs. two of the leaves were slightly affected; the other two not at all. acetate of ammonia.--half-minims of a solution of about one part to of water were placed on the discs of two leaves, both of which were acted on in hrs. m., and after hrs. had every single tentacle closely inflected. oxalate of ammonia.--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on two leaves, which, after hrs., became moderately, and after hrs. strongly, inflected. two other leaves were tried with a weaker solution of one part to of water; one was strongly inflected in hrs.; the other not until hrs. had elapsed. tartrate of ammonia.--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of five leaves. in m. there was a trace of inflection in the exterior tentacles of some of the leaves, and this became more decided after hr. with all the leaves; but the tentacles were never closely inflected. after hrs. m. they began to re-expand. next morning, after hrs., all were fully re-expanded, excepting one which was still slightly inflected. the shortness of the period of inflection in this and the following case is remarkable. chloride of ammonium.--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of six leaves. a decided degree of inflection in the outer and submarginal tentacles was perceptible in m.; and this increased during the next three or four hours, but never became strongly marked. after only hrs. m. the tentacles began to re-expand, and by the next morning, after hrs., were fully re-expanded on four of the leaves, but still slightly inflected on two.] general summary and concluding remarks on the salts of ammonia.--we have now seen that the nine [page ] salts of ammonia which were tried, all cause the inflection of the tentacles, and often of the blade of the leaf. as far as can be ascertained from the superficial trials with the last six salts, the citrate is the least powerful, and the phosphate certainly by far the most. the tartrate and chloride are remarkable from the short duration of their action. the relative efficiency of the carbonate, nitrate, and phosphate, is shown in the following table by the smallest amount which suffices to cause the inflection of the tentacles. column : solutions, how applied. column : carbonate of ammonia. column : nitrate of ammonia. column : phosphate of ammonia. placed on the glands of the disc, so as to act indirectly on the outer tentacles : / of a grain, or mg. : / of a grain, or . mg. : / of a grain, or . mg. applied for a few seconds directly to the gland of an outer tentacle : / of a grain, or . mg. : / of a grain, or . mg. grain, / of a grain, or . mg. leaf immersed, with time allowed for each gland to absorb all that it can : / of a grain, or . mg. : / of a grain, or . mg. : / of a grain, or . mg. amount absorbed by a gland which suffices to cause the aggregation of the protoplasm in the adjoining cells of the tentacles. / of a grain, or . mg. from the experiments tried in these three different ways, we see that the carbonate, which contains . per cent. of nitrogen, is less efficient than the nitrate, which contains per cent. the phosphate contains less nitrogen than either of these salts, namely, only . per cent., and yet is far more [page ] efficient; its power no doubt depending quite as much on the phosphorus as on the nitrogen which it contains. we may infer that this is the case, from the energetic manner in which bits of bone and phosphate of lime affect the leaves. the inflection excited by the other salts of ammonia is probably due solely to their nitrogen,--on the same principle that nitrogenous organic fluids act powerfully, whilst non-nitrogenous organic fluids are powerless. as such minute doses of the salts of ammonia affect the leaves, we may feel almost sure that drosera absorbs and profits by the amount, though small, which is present in rain-water, in the same manner as other plants absorb these same salts by their roots. the smallness of the doses of the nitrate, and more especially of the phosphate of ammonia, which cause the tentacles of immersed leaves to be inflected, is perhaps the most remarkable fact recorded in this volume. when we see that much less than the millionth* of a grain of the phosphate, absorbed by a gland of one of the exterior tentacles, causes it to bend, it may be thought that the effects of the solution on the glands of the disc have been overlooked; namely, the transmission of a motor impulse from them to the exterior tentacles. no doubt the movements of the latter are thus aided; but the aid thus rendered must be insignificant; for we know that a drop containing as much as the / of a grain placed on the disc is only just able to cause the outer tentacles of a highly sensitive leaf to bend. it is cer- * it is scarcely possible to realise what a million means. the best illustration which i have met with is that given by mr. croll, who says, "take a narrow strip of paper ft. in. in length, and stretch it along the wall of a large hall; then mark off at one end the tenth of an inch. this tenth will represent a hundred, and the entire strip a million. [page ] tainly a most surprising fact that the / of a grain, or in round numbers the one-twenty-millionth of a grain (. mg.), of the phosphate should affect any plant, or indeed any animal; and as this salt contains . per cent. of water of crystallisation, the efficient elements are reduced to / of a grain, or in round numbers to one-thirty-millionth of a grain (. mg.). the solution, moreover, in these experiments was diluted in the proportion of one part of the salt to , , of water, or one grain to oz. the reader will perhaps best realise this degree of dilution by remembering that oz. would more than fill a -gallon cask; and that to this large body of water one grain of the salt was added; only half a drachm, or thirty minims, of the solution being poured over a leaf. yet this amount sufficed to cause the inflection of almost every tentacle, and often of the blade of the leaf. i am well aware that this statement will at first appear incredible to almost everyone. drosera is far from rivalling the power of the spectroscope, but it can detect, as shown by the movements of its leaves, a very much smaller quantity of the phosphate of ammonia than the most skilful chemist can of any substance.* my results were for a long time incredible * when my first observations were made on the nitrate of ammonia, fourteen years ago, the powers of the spectroscope had not been discovered; and i felt all the greater interest in the then unrivalled powers of drosera. now the spectroscope has altogether beaten drosera; for according to bunsen and kirchhoff probably less than one / of a grain of sodium can be thus detected (see balfour stewart, 'treatise on heat,' nd edit. , p. ). with respect to ordinary chemical tests, i gather from dr. alfred taylor's work on 'poisons' that about / of a grain of arsenic, / of a grain of prussic acid, / of iodine, and / of tartarised antimony, can be detected; but the power of detection depends much on the solutions under trial not being extremely weak. [page ] even to myself, and i anxiously sought for every source of error. the salt was in some cases weighed for me by a chemist in an excellent balance; and fresh water was measured many times with care. the observations were repeated during several years. two of my sons, who were as incredulous as myself, compared several lots of leaves simultaneously immersed in the weaker solutions and in water, and declared that there could be no doubt about the difference in their appearance. i hope that some one may hereafter be induced to repeat my experiments; in this case he should select young and vigorous leaves, with the glands surrounded by abundant secretion. the leaves should be carefully cut off and laid gently in watch-glasses, and a measured quantity of the solution and of water poured over each. the water used must be as absolutely pure as it can be made. it is to be especially observed that the experiments with the weaker solutions ought to be tried after several days of very warm weather. those with the weakest solutions should be made on plants which have been kept for a considerable time in a warm greenhouse, or cool hothouse; but this is by no means necessary for trials with solutions of moderate strength. i beg the reader to observe that the sensitiveness or irritability of the tentacles was ascertained by three different methods--indirectly by drops placed on the disc, directly by drops applied to the glands of the outer tentacles, and by the immersion of whole leaves; and it was found by these three methods that the nitrate was more powerful than the carbonate, and the phosphate much more powerful than the nitrate; this result being intelligible from the difference in the amount of nitrogen in the first two salts, and from the presence of phosphorus in the third. it may aid the [page ] reader's faith to turn to the experiments with a solution of one grain of the phosphate to oz. of water, and he will there find decisive evidence that the one-four-millionth of a grain is sufficient to cause the inflection of a single tentacle. there is, therefore, nothing very improbable in the fifth of this weight, or the one-twenty-millionth of a grain, acting on the tentacle of a highly sensitive leaf. again, two of the leaves in the solution of one grain to oz., and three of the leaves in the solution of one grain to oz., were affected, not only far more than the leaves tried at the same time in water, but incomparably more than any five leaves which can be picked out of the observed by me at different times in water. there is nothing remarkable in the mere fact of the one-twenty-millionth of a grain of the phosphate, dissolved in above two-million times its weight of water, being absorbed by a gland. all physiologists admit that the roots of plants absorb the salts of ammonia brought to them by the rain; and fourteen gallons of rain-water contain* a grain of ammonia, therefore only a little more than twice as much as in the weakest solution employed by me. the fact which appears truly wonderful is, that the one-twenty-millionth of a grain of the phosphate of ammonia (including less than the one-thirty-millionth of efficient matter), when absorbed by a gland, should induce some change in it, which leads to a motor impulse being transmitted down the whole length of the tentacle, causing the basal part to bend, often through an angle of above degrees. astonishing as is this result, there is no sound reason * miller's 'elements of chemistry,' part ii. p. , rd edit. . [page ] why we should reject it as incredible. prof. donders, of utrecht, informs me that from experiments formerly made by him and dr. de ruyter, he inferred that less than the one-millionth of a grain of sulphate of atropine, in an extremely diluted state, if applied directly to the iris of a dog, paralyses the muscles of this organ. but, in fact, every time that we perceive an odour, we have evidence that infinitely smaller particles act on our nerves. when a dog stands a quarter of a mile to leeward of a deer or other animal, and perceives its presence, the odorous particles produce some change in the olfactory nerves; yet these particles must be infinitely smaller* than those of the phosphate of ammonia weighing the one-twenty-millionth of a grain. these nerves then transmit some influence to the brain of the dog, which leads to action on its part. with drosera, the really marvellous fact is, that a plant without any specialised nervous system should be affected by such minute particles; but we have no grounds for assuming that other tissues could not be rendered as exquisitely susceptible to impressions from without if this were beneficial to the organism, as is the nervous system of the higher animals. * my son, george darwin, has calculated for me the diameter of a sphere of phosphate of ammonia (specific gravity . ), weighing the one-twenty-millionth of a grain, and finds it to be / of an inch. now, dr. klein informs me that the smallest micrococci, which are distinctly discernible under a power of diameters, are estimated to be from . to . of a millimetre--that is, from / to / of an inch--in diameter. therefore, an object between / and / of the size of a sphere of the phosphate of ammonia of the above weight can be seen under a high power; and no one supposes that odorous particles, such as those emitted from the deer in the above illustration, could be seen under any power of the microscope.) [page ] chapter viii. the effects of various other salts and acids on the leaves. salts of sodium, potassium, and other alkaline, earthy, and metallic salts--summary on the action of these salts--various acids--summary on their action. having found that the salts of ammonia were so powerful, i was led to investigate the action of some other salts. it will be convenient, first, to give a list of the substances tried (including forty-nine salts and two metallic acids), divided into two columns, showing those which cause inflection, and those which do not do so, or only doubtfully. my experiments were made by placing half-minim drops on the discs of leaves, or, more commonly, by immersing them in the solutions; and sometimes by both methods. a summary of the results, with some concluding remarks, will then be given. the action of various acids will afterwards be described. column : salts causing inflection. column : salts not causing inflection. (arranged in groups according to the chemical classification in watts' 'dictionary of chemistry.') sodium carbonate, rapid inflection. : potassium carbonate: slowly poisonous. sodium nitrate, rapid inflection. : potassium nitrate: somewhat poisonous. sodium sulphate, moderately rapid inflection. : potassium sulphate. sodium phosphate, very rapid inflection. : potassium phosphate. sodium citrate, rapid inflection. : potassium citrate. sodium oxalate; rapid inflection. sodium chloride, moderately rapid inflection. : potassium chloride. [page ] column : salts causing inflection. column : salts not causing inflection. (arranged in groups according to the chemical classification in watts' 'dictionary of chemistry.') sodium iodide, rather slow inflection. : potassium iodide, a slight and doubtful amount of inflection. sodium bromide, moderately rapid inflection. : potassium bromide. potassium oxalate, slow and doubtful inflection. : lithium nitrate, moderately rapid inflection. : lithium acetate. caesium chloride, rather slow inflection. : rubidium chloride. silver nitrate, rapid inflection: quick poison. : cadmium chloride, slow inflection. : calcium acetate. mercury perchloride, rapid inflection: quick poison. : calcium nitrate. : magnesium acetate. : magnesium nitrate. : magnesium chloride. : magnesium sulphate. : barium acetate. : barium nitrate. : strontium acetate. : strontium nitrate. : zinc chloride. aluminium chloride, slow and doubtful inflection. : aluminium nitrate, a trace of inflection. gold chloride, rapid inflection: quick poison. : aluminium and potassium sulphate. tin chloride, slow inflection: poisonous. : lead chloride. antimony tartrate, slow inflection: probably poisonous. arsenious acid, quick inflection: poisonous. iron chloride, slow inflection: probably poisonous. : manganese chloride. chromic acid, quick inflection: highly poisonous. copper chloride, rather slow in flection: poisonous. : cobalt chloride. nickel chloride, rapid inflection: probably poisonous. platinum chloride, rapid inflection: poisonous. [page ] sodium, carbonate of (pure, given me by prof. hoffmann).--half-minims (. ml.) of a solution of one part to of water ( grs. to oz.) were placed on the discs of twelve leaves. seven of these became well inflected; three had only two or three of their outer tentacles inflected, and the remaining two were quite unaffected. but the dose, though only the / of a grain (. mg.), was evidently too strong, for three of the seven well-inflected leaves were killed. on the other hand, one of the seven, which had only a few tentacles inflected, re-expanded and seemed quite healthy after hrs. by employing a weaker solution (viz. one part to of water, or gr. to oz.), doses of / of a grain (. mg.) were given to six leaves. some of these were affected in m.; and in hrs. the outer tentacles of all, as well as the blades of two, were considerably inflected. after hrs. m. the tentacles had almost re-expanded, but the blades of the two were still just perceptibly curved inwards. after hrs. all six leaves were fully re-expanded, and appeared perfectly healthy. three leaves were immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part to of water ( gr. to oz.), so that each received / of a grain ( . mg.); after m. the three were much affected, and after hrs. m. the tentacles of all and the blade of one closely inflected. sodium, nitrate of (pure).--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water, containing / of a grain (. mg.), were placed on the discs of five leaves. after hr. m. the tentacles of nearly all, and the blade of one, were somewhat inflected. the inflection continued to increase, and in hrs. m. the tentacles and the blades of four of them were greatly affected, and the blade of the fifth to a slight extent. after an additional hrs. the four leaves still remained closely inflected, whilst the fifth was beginning to expand. four days after the solution had been applied, two of the leaves had quite, and one had partially, re-expanded; whilst the remaining two remained closely inflected and appeared injured. three leaves were immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part to of water; in hr. there was great inflection, and after hrs. m. every tentacle and the blades of all three were most strongly inflected. sodium, sulphate of.--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of six leaves. after hrs. m. the tentacles of three of them, (with the blade of one) were considerably; and those of the other three slightly, inflected. after hrs. the inflection had a little decreased, [page ] and in hrs. the leaves were fully expanded, appearing quite healthy. three leaves were immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part of the sulphate to of water; after hr. m. there was some inflection, which increased so much that in hrs. m. all the tentacles and the blades of all three leaves were closely inflected. sodium, phosphate of.--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of six leaves. the solution acted with extraordinary rapidity, for in m. the outer tentacles on several of the leaves were much incurved. after hrs. the tentacles of all six leaves, and the blades of two, were closely inflected. this state of things continued for hrs., excepting that the blade of a third leaf became incurved. after hrs. all the leaves re-expanded. it is clear that / of a grain of phosphate of soda has great power in causing inflection. sodium, citrate of.--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of six leaves, but these were not observed until hrs. had elapsed. the sub-marginal tentacles of five of them, and the blades of four, were then found inflected; but the outer rows of tentacles were not affected. one leaf, which appeared older than the others, was very little affected in any way. after hrs. four of the leaves were almost re-expanded, including their blades. three leaves were also immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part of the citrate to of water; they were much acted on in m.; and after hrs. m. almost all the tentacles, including those of the outer rows, were inflected, but not the blades. sodium, oxalate of.--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of seven leaves; after hrs. m. the tentacles of all, and the blades of most of them, were much affected. in hrs., besides the inflection of the tentacles, the blades of all seven leaves were so much doubled over that their tips and bases almost touched. on no other occasion have i seen the blades so strongly affected. three leaves were also immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part to of water; after m. there was much inflection, and after hrs. m. the blades of two and the tentacles of all were closely inflected. sodium, chloride of (best culinary salt).--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs [page ] of four leaves. two, apparently, were not at all affected in hrs.; the third had its tentacles slightly inflected; whilst the fourth had almost all its tentacles inflected in hrs., and these did not begin to re-expand until the fourth day, and were not perfectly expanded on the seventh day. i presume that this leaf was injured by the salt. half-minims of a weaker solution, of one part to of water, were then dropped on the discs of six leaves, so that each received / of a grain. in hr. m. there was slight inflection; and after hrs. m. the tentacles of all six leaves were considerably, but not closely, inflected. after hrs. m. all had completely re-expanded, and did not appear in the least injured. three leaves were immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part to of water, so that each received / of a grain, or . mg. after hr. there was much inflection; after hrs. m. all the tentacles and the blades of all three were closely inflected. four other leaves were also immersed in the solution, each receiving the same amount of salt as before, viz. / of a grain. they all soon became inflected; after hrs. they began to re-expand, and appeared quite uninjured, though the solution was sufficiently strong to taste saline. sodium, iodide of.--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of six leaves. after hrs. four of them had their blades and many tentacles inflected. the other two had only their submarginal tentacles inflected; the outer ones in most of the leaves being but little affected. after hrs. the leaves had nearly re-expanded. three leaves were also immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part to of water. after hrs. m. almost all the tentacles, and the blade of one leaf, were closely inflected. sodium, bromide of.--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on six leaves. after hrs. there was some inflection; after hrs. three of the leaves had their blades and most of their tentacles inflected; the fourth leaf was very slightly, and the fifth and sixth hardly at all, affected. three leaves were also immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part to of water; after m. there was some inflection; after hrs. the tentacles of all three leaves and the blades of two were inflected. these leaves were then placed in water, and after hrs. m. two of them were almost completely, and the third partially, re-expanded; so that apparently they were not injured. [page ] potassium, carbonate of (pure).--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on six leaves. no effect was produced in hrs.; but after hrs. some of the leaves had their tentacles, and one the blade, considerably inflected. this, however, seemed the result of their being injured; for on the third day after the solution was given, three of the leaves were dead, and one was very unhealthy; the other two were recovering, but with several of their tentacles apparently injured, and these remained permanently inflected. it is evident that the / of a grain of this salt acts as a poison. three leaves were also immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part to of water, though only for hrs.; and, very differently from what occurs with the salts of soda, no inflection ensued. potassium, nitrate of.--half-minims of a strong solution, of one part to of water ( grs. to oz.), were placed on the discs of four leaves; two were much injured, but no inflection ensued. eight leaves were treated in the same manner, with drops of a weaker solution, of one part to of water. after hrs. there was no inflection, but two of the leaves seemed injured. five of these leaves were subsequently tested with drops of milk and a solution of gelatine on their discs, and only one became inflected; so that the solution of the nitrate of the above strength, acting for hrs., apparently had injured or paralysed the leaves. six leaves were then treated in the same manner with a still weaker solution, of one part to of water, and these, after hrs., were in no way affected, with the exception of perhaps a single leaf. three leaves were next immersed for hrs., each in thirty minims of a solution of one part to of water, and this produced no apparent effect. they were then put into a solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water; the glands were immediately blackened, and after hr. there was some inflection, and the protoplasmic contents of the cells became plainly aggregated. this shows that the leaves had not been much injured by their immersion for hrs. in the nitrate. potassium, sulphate of.--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of six leaves. after hrs. m. no effect was produced; after an additional hrs. three remained quite unaffected; two seemed injured, and the sixth seemed almost dead with its tentacles inflected. nevertheless, after two additional days, all six leaves recovered. the immersion of three leaves for hrs., each in thirty minims of [page ] a solution of one part to of water, produced no apparent effect. they were then treated with the same solution of carbonate of ammonia, with the same result as in the case of the nitrate of potash. potassium, phosphate of.--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of six leaves, which were observed during three days; but no effect was produced. the partial drying up of the fluid on the disc slightly drew together the tentacles on it, as often occurs in experiments of this kind. the leaves on the third day appeared quite healthy. potassium, citrate of.--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water, left on the discs of six leaves for three days, and the immersion of three leaves for hrs., each in minims of a solution of one part to of water, did not produce the least effect. potassium, oxalate of.--half-minims were placed on different occasions on the discs of seventeen leaves; and the results perplexed me much, as they still do. inflection supervened very slowly. after hrs. four leaves out of the seventeen were well inflected, together with the blades of two; six were slightly affected, and seven not at all. three leaves of one lot were observed for five days, and all died; but in another lot of six, all excepting one looked healthy after four days. three leaves were immersed during hrs., each in minims of a solution of one part to of water, and were not in the least affected; but they ought to have been observed for a longer time. potassium, chloride of. neither half-minims of a solution of one part to of water; left on the discs of six leaves for three days, nor the immersion of three leaves during hrs., in minims of a solution of one part to of water, produced the least effect. the immersed leaves were then treated with carbonate of ammonia, as described under nitrate of potash, and with the same result. potassium, iodide of.--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of seven leaves. in m. one leaf had the blade inflected; after some hours three leaves had most of their submarginal tentacles moderately inflected; the remaining three being very slightly affected. hardly any of these leaves had their outer tentacles inflected. after hrs. all re-expanded, excepting two which still had a few submarginal tentacles inflected. three leaves were next [page ] immersed for hrs. m., each in minims of a solution of one part to of water, and were not in the least affected. i do not know what to conclude from this conflicting evidence; but it is clear that the iodide of potassium does not generally produce any marked effect. potassium, bromide of.--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of six leaves; after hrs. one had its blade and many tentacles inflected, but i suspect that an insect might have alighted on it and then escaped; the five other leaves were in no way affected. i tested three of these leaves with bits of meat, and after hrs. they became splendidly inflected. three leaves were also immersed for hrs. in minims of a solution of one part to of water; but they were not at all affected, excepting that the glands looked rather pale. lithium, acetate of.--four leaves were immersed together in a vessel containing minims of a solution of one part to of water; so that each received, if the leaves absorbed equally, / of a grain. after hrs. there was no inflection. i then added, for the sake of testing the leaves, some strong solution (viz. gr. to oz., or one part to of water) of phosphate of ammonia, and all four became in m. closely inflected. lithium, nitrate of.--four leaves were immersed, as in the last case, in minims of a solution of one part to of water; after h. m. all four were a little, and after hrs. greatly, inflected. i then diluted the solution with some water, but they still remained somewhat inflected on the third day. caesium, chloride of.--four leaves were immersed, as above, in minims of a solution of one part to of water. after hr. m. the glands were darkened; after hrs. m. there was a trace of inflection; after hrs. m. two leaves were greatly, but not closely, and the other two considerably inflected. after hrs. the inflection was extremely great, and two had their blades inflected. i then transferred the leaves into water, and in hrs. from their first immersion they were almost re-expanded. rubidium, chloride of.--four leaves which were immersed, as above, in minims of a solution of one part to of water, were not acted on in hrs. i then added some of the strong solution ( gr. to oz.) of phosphate of ammonia, and in m. all were immensely inflected. silver, nitrate of.--three leaves were immersed in ninety [page ] minims of a solution of one part to of water; so that each received, as before, / of a grain. after m. slight inflection, and after m. very strong inflection, the glands becoming excessively black; after m. all the tentacles were closely inflected. after hrs. the leaves were taken out of the solution, washed, and placed in water; but next morning they were evidently dead. calcium, acetate of.--four leaves were immersed in minims of a solution of one part to of water; after hrs. none of the tentacles were inflected, excepting a few where the blade joined the petiole; and this may have been caused by the absorption of the salt by the cut-off end of the petiole. i then added some of the solution ( gr. to oz.) of phosphate of ammonia, but this to my surprise excited only slight inflection, even after hrs. hence it would appear that the acetate had rendered the leaves torpid. calcium, nitrate of.--four leaves were immersed in minims of a solution of one part to of water, but were not affected in hrs. i then added some of the solution of phosphate of ammonia ( gr. to oz.), but this caused only very slight inflection after hrs. a fresh leaf was next put into a mixed solution of the above strengths of the nitrate of calcium and phosphate of ammonia, and it became closely inflected in between m. and m. half-minims of a solution of one part of the nitrate of calcium to of water were dropped on the discs of three leaves, but produced no effect. magnesium, acetate, nitrate, and chloride of.--four leaves were immersed in minims of solutions, of one part to of water, of each of these three salts; after hrs. there was no inflection; but after hrs. one of the leaves in the acetate was rather more inflected than generally occurs from an immersion for this length of time in water. some of the solution ( gr. to oz.) of phosphate of ammonia was then added to the three solutions. the leaves in the acetate mixed with the phosphate underwent some inflection; and this was well pronounced after hrs. those in the mixed nitrate were decidedly inflected in hrs. m., but the degree of inflection did not afterwards much increase; whereas the four leaves in the mixed chloride were greatly inflected in a few minutes, and after hrs. had almost every tentacle closely inflected. we thus see that the acetate and nitrate of magnesium injure the leaves, or at least prevent the subsequent action of phosphate of ammonia; whereas the chloride has no such tendency. [page ] magnesium, sulphate of.--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of ten leaves, and produced no effect. barium, acetate of.--four leaves were immersed in minims of a solution of one part to of water, and after hrs. there was no inflection, but the glands were blackened. the leaves were then placed in a solution ( gr. to oz.) of phosphate of ammonia, which caused after hrs. only a little inflection in two of the leaves. barium, nitrate of.--four leaves were immersed in minims of a solution of one part to of water; and after hrs. there was no more than that slight degree of inflection, which often follows from an immersion of this length in pure water. i then added some of the same solution of phosphate of ammonia, and after m. one leaf was greatly inflected, two others moderately, and the fourth not at all. the leaves remained in this state for hrs. strontium, acetate of.--four leaves, immersed in minims of a solution of one part to of water, were not affected in hrs. they were then placed in some of the same solution of phosphate of ammonia, and in m. two of them were greatly inflected; after hrs. the third leaf was considerably inflected, and the fourth exhibited a trace of inflection. they were in the same state next morning. strontium, nitrate of.--five leaves were immersed in minims of a solution of one part to of water; after hrs. there was some slight inflection, but not more than sometimes occurs with leaves in water. they were then placed in the same solution of phosphate of ammonia; after hrs. three of them were moderately inflected, as were all five after hrs.; but not one was closely inflected. it appears that the nitrate of strontium renders the leaves half torpid. cadmium, chloride of.--three leaves were immersed in ninety minims of a solution of one part to of water; after hrs. m. slight inflection occurred, which increased during the next three hours. after hrs. all three leaves had their tentacles well inflected, and remained so for an additional hrs.; glands not discoloured. mercury, perchloride of.--three leaves were immersed in ninety minims of a solution of one part to of water; after m. there was some slight inflection, which in m. became well pronounced; the glands were now blackened. after hrs. m. all the tentacles closely inflected; after hrs. still [page ] inflected and discoloured. the leaves were then removed and left for two days in water; but they never re-expanded, being evidently dead. zinc, chloride of.--three leaves immersed in ninety minims of a solution of one part to of water were not affected in hrs. m. aluminium, chloride of.--four leaves were immersed in minims of a solution of one part to of water; after hrs. m. no inflection; after hrs. one leaf rather closely, the second moderately, the third and fourth hardly at all, inflected. the evidence is doubtful, but i think some power in slowly causing inflection must be attributed to this salt. these leaves were then placed in the solution ( gr. to oz.) of phosphate of ammonia, and after hrs. m. the three, which had been but little affected by the chloride, became rather closely inflected. aluminium, nitrate of.--four leaves were immersed in minims of a solution of one part to of water; after hrs. m. there was only a trace of inflection; after hrs. one leaf was moderately inflected. the evidence is here again doubtful, as in the case of the chloride of aluminium. the leaves were then transferred to the same solution, as before, of phosphate of ammonia; this produced hardly any effect in hrs. m.; but after hrs. one leaf was pretty closely inflected, the three others very slightly, perhaps not more so than from water. aluminium and potassium, sulphate of (common alum).--half-minims of a solution of the usual strength were placed on the discs of nine leaves, but produced no effect. gold, chloride of.--seven leaves were immersed in so much of a solution of one part to of water that each received minims, containing / of a grain, or . mg., of the chloride. there was some inflection in m., which became extreme in m. in hrs. the surrounding fluid was coloured purple, and the glands were blackened. after hrs. the leaves were transferred to water; next morning they were found discoloured and evidently killed. the secretion decomposes the chloride very readily; the glands themselves becoming coated with the thinnest layer of metallic gold, and particles float about on the surface of the surrounding fluid. lead, chloride of.--three leaves were immersed in ninety minims of a solution of one part to of water. after hrs. there was not a trace of inflection; the glands were not blackened, and the leaves did not appear injured. they were then trans- [page ] ferred to the solution ( gr. to oz.) of phosphate of ammonia, and after hrs. two of them were somewhat, the third very little, inflected; and they thus remained for another hrs. tin, chloride of.--four leaves were immersed in minims of a solution of about one part (all not being dissolved) to of water. after hrs. no effect; after hrs. m. all four leaves had their submarginal tentacles inflected; after hrs. every single tentacle and the blades were closely inflected. the surrounding fluid was now coloured pink. the leaves were washed and transferred to water, but next morning were evidently dead. this chloride is a deadly poison, but acts slowly. antimony, tartrate of.--three leaves were immersed in ninety minims of a solution of one part to of water. after hrs. m. there was slight inflection; after hrs. two of the leaves were closely, and the third moderately, inflected; glands not much darkened. the leaves were washed and placed in water, but they remained in the same state for additional hours. this salt is probably poisonous, but acts slowly. arsenious acid.--a solution of one part to of water; three leaves were immersed in ninety minims; in m. considerable inflection; in h. great inflection; glands not discoloured. after hrs. the leaves were transferred to water; next morning they looked fresh, but after four days were pale-coloured, had not re-expanded, and were evidently dead. iron, chloride of.--three leaves were immersed in ninety minims of a solution of one part to of water; in hrs. no inflection; but after hrs. considerable inflection; glands blackened; fluid coloured yellow, with floating flocculent particles of oxide of iron. the leaves were then placed in water; after hrs. they had re-expanded a very little, but i think were killed; glands excessively black. chromic acid.--one part to of water; three leaves were immersed in ninety minims; in m. some, and in hr. considerable, inflection; after hrs. all the tentacles closely inflected, with the glands discoloured. placed in water, next day leaves quite discoloured and evidently killed. manganese, chloride of.--three leaves immersed in ninety minims of a solution of one part to of water; after hrs. no more inflection than often occurs in water; glands not blackened. the leaves were then placed in the usual solution of phosphate of ammonia, but no inflection was caused even after hrs. copper, chloride of.--three leaves immersed in ninety minims [page ] of a solution of one part to of water; after hrs. some inflection; after hrs. m. tentacles closely inflected, with the glands blackened. after hrs. still closely inflected, and the leaves flaccid. placed in pure water, next day evidently dead. a rapid poison. nickel, chloride of.--three leaves immersed in ninety minims of a solution of one part to of water; in m. considerable inflection, and in hrs. all the tentacles closely inflected. after hrs. still closely inflected; most of the glands, but not all, blackened. the leaves were then placed in water; after hrs. remained inflected; were somewhat discoloured, with the glands and tentacles dingy red. probably killed. cobalt, chloride of.--three leaves immersed in ninety minims of a solution of one part to of water; after hrs. there was not a trace of inflection, and the glands were not more blackened than often occurs after an equally long immersion in water. platinum, chloride of.--three leaves immersed in ninety minims of a solution of one part to of water; in m. some inflection, which became immense after m. after hrs. the glands were rather pale. after hrs. all the tentacles still closely inflected; glands colourless; remained in same state for four days; leaves evidently killed.] concluding remarks on the action of the foregoing salts.--of the fifty-one salts and metallic acids which were tried, twenty-five caused the tentacles to be inflected, and twenty-six had no such effect, two rather doubtful cases occurring in each series. in the table at the head of this discussion, the salts are arranged according to their chemical affinities; but their action on drosera does not seem to be thus governed. the nature of the base is far more important, as far as can be judged from the few experiments here given, than that of the acid; and this is the conclusion at which physiologists have arrived with respect to animals. we see this fact illustrated in all the nine salts of soda causing inflection, and in not being poisonous except when given in large doses; whereas seven of [page ] the corresponding salts of potash do not cause inflection, and some of them are poisonous. two of them, however, viz. the oxalate and iodide of potash, slowly induced a slight and rather doubtful amount of inflection. this difference between the two series is interesting, as dr. burdon sanderson informs me that sodium salts may be introduced in large doses into the circulation of mammals without any injurious effects; whilst small doses of potassium salts cause death by suddenly arresting the movements of the heart. an excellent instance of the different action of the two series is presented by the phosphate of soda quickly causing vigorous inflection, whilst phosphate of potash is quite inefficient. the great power of the former is probably due to the presence of phosphorus, as in the cases of phosphate of lime and of ammonia. hence we may infer that drosera cannot obtain phosphorus from the phosphate of potash. this is remarkable, as i hear from dr. burdon sanderson that phosphate of potash is certainly decomposed within the bodies of animals. most of the salts of soda act very rapidly; the iodide acting slowest. the oxalate, nitrate, and citrate seem to have a special tendency to cause the blade of the leaf to be inflected. the glands of the disc, after absorbing the citrate, transmit hardly any motor impulse to the outer tentacles; and in this character the citrate of soda resembles the citrate of ammonia, or a decoction of grass-leaves; these three fluids all acting chiefly on the blade. it seems opposed to the rule of the preponderant influence of the base that the nitrate of lithium causes moderately rapid inflection, whereas the acetate causes none; but this metal is closely allied to sodium [page ] and potassium,* which act so differently; therefore we might expect that its action would be intermediate. we see, also, that caesium causes inflection, and rubidium does not; and these two metals are allied to sodium and potassium. most of the earthy salts are inoperative. two salts of calcium, four of magnesium, two of barium, and two of strontium, did not cause any inflection, and thus follow the rule of the preponderant power of the base. of three salts of aluminium, one did not act, a second showed a trace of action, and the third acted slowly and doubtfully, so that their effects are nearly alike. of the salts and acids of ordinary metals, seventeen were tried, and only four, namely those of zinc, lead, manganese, and cobalt, failed to cause inflection. the salts of cadmium, tin, antimony, and iron, act slowly; and the three latter seem more or less poisonous. the salts of silver, mercury, gold, copper, nickel, and platinum, chromic and arsenious acids, cause great inflection with extreme quickness, and are deadly poisons. it is surprising, judging from animals, that lead and barium should not be poisonous. most of the poisonous salts make the glands black, but chloride of platinum made them very pale. i shall have occasion, in the next chapter, to add a few remarks on the different effects of phosphate of ammonia on leaves previously immersed in various solutions. acids. i will first give, as in the case of the salts, a list of the twenty-four acids which were tried, divided into two series, according as they cause or do not cause * miller's 'elements of chemistry,' rd edit. pp. , . [page ] inflection. after describing the experiments, a few concluding remarks will be added. acids, much diluted, which cause inflection. . nitric, strong inflection; poisonous. . hydrochloric, moderate and slow inflection; not poisonous. . hydriodic, strong inflection; poisonous. . iodic, strong inflection; poisonous. . sulphuric, strong inflection; somewhat poisonous. . phosphoric, strong inflection; poisonous. . boracic; moderate and rather slow inflection; not poisonous. . formic, very slight inflection; not poisonous. . acetic, strong and rapid inflection; poisonous. . propionic, strong but not very rapid inflection; poisonous. . oleic, quick inflection; very poisonous. . carbolic, very slow inflection; poisonous. . lactic, slow and moderate inflection; poisonous. . oxalic, moderately quick inflection; very poisonous. . malic, very slow but considerable inflection; not poisonous. . benzoic, rapid inflection; very poisonous. . succinic, moderately quick inflection: moderately poisonous. . hippuric, rather slow inflection; poisonous. . hydrocyanic, rather rapid inflection; very poisonous. acids, diluted to the same degree, which do not cause inflection. . gallic; not poisonous. . tannic; not poisonous. . tartaric; not poisonous. . citric; not poisonous. . uric; (?) not poisonous. nitric acid.--four leaves were placed, each in thirty minims of one part by weight of the acid to of water, so that each received / of a grain, or . mg. this strength was chosen for this and most of the following experiments, as it is the same [page ] as that of most of the foregoing saline solutions. in hrs. m. some of the leaves were considerably, and in hrs. m. all were immensely, inflected, as were their blades. the surrounding fluid was slightly coloured pink, which always shows that the leaves have been injured. they were then left in water for three days; but they remained inflected and were evidently killed. most of the glands had become colourless. two leaves were then immersed, each in thirty minims of one part to of water; in a few hours there was some inflection; and after hrs. both leaves had almost all their tentacles and blades inflected; they were left in water for three days, and one partially re-expanded and recovered. two leaves were next immersed, each in thirty minims of one part to of water; this produced very little effect, except that most of the tentacles close to the summit of the petiole were inflected, as if the acid had been absorbed by the cut-off end. hydrochloric acid.--one part to of water; four leaves were immersed as before, each in thirty minims. after hrs. only one leaf was considerably inflected. after hrs. m. one had its tentacles and blade well inflected; the other three were moderately inflected, and the blade of one slightly. the surrounding fluid was not coloured at all pink. after hrs. three of these four leaves began to re-expand, but their glands were of a pink instead of a red colour; after two more days they fully re-expanded; but the fourth leaf remained inflected, and seemed much injured or killed, with its glands white. four leaves were then treated, each with thirty minims of one part to of water; after hrs. they were moderately inflected; and on being transferred to water, fully re-expanded in two days, and seemed quite healthy. hydriodic acid.--one to of water; three leaves were immersed as before, each in thirty minims. after m. the glands were discoloured, and the surrounding fluid became pinkish, but there was no inflection. after hrs. all the tentacles were closely inflected; and an immense amount of mucus was secreted, so that the fluid could be drawn out into long ropes. the leaves were then placed in water, but never re-expanded, and were evidently killed. four leaves were next immersed in one part to of water; the action was now slower, but after hrs. all four leaves were closely inflected, and were affected in other respects as above described. these leaves did not re-expand, though left for four days in water. this acid acts far more powerfully than hydrochloric, and is poisonous. iodic acid.--one to of water; three leaves were immersed, [page ] each in thirty minims; after hrs. strong inflection; after hrs. glands dark brown; after hrs. m. close inflection, and the leaves had become flaccid; surrounding fluid not coloured pink. these leaves were then placed in water, and next day were evidently dead. sulphuric acid.--one to of water; four leaves were immersed, each in thirty minims; after hrs. great inflection; after hrs. surrounding fluid just tinged pink; they were then placed in water, and after hrs. two of them were still closely inflected, two beginning to re-expand; many of the glands colourless. this acid is not so poisonous as hydriodic or iodic acids. phosphoric acid.--one to of water; three leaves were immersed together in ninety minims; after hrs. m. some inflection, and some glands colourless; after hrs. all the tentacles closely inflected, and many glands colourless; surrounding fluid pink. left in water for two days and a half, remained in the same state and appeared dead. boracic acid.--one to of water; four leaves were immersed together in minims; after hrs. very slight inflection; after hrs. m. two were considerably inflected, the other two slightly. after hrs. one leaf was rather closely inflected, the second less closely, the third and fourth moderately. the leaves were washed and put into water; after hrs. they were almost fully re-expanded and looked healthy. this acid agrees closely with hydrochloric acid of the same strength in its power of causing inflection, and in not being poisonous. formic acid.--four leaves were immersed together in minims of one part to of water; after m. slight, and after hrs. m. very moderate inflection; after hrs. only a little more inflection than often occurs in water. two of the leaves were then washed and placed in a solution ( gr. to oz.) of phosphate of ammonia; after hrs. they were considerably inflected, with the contents of their cells aggregated, showing that the phosphate had acted, though not to the full and ordinary degree. acetic acid.--four leaves were immersed together in minims of one part to of water. in hr. m. the tentacles of all four and the blades of two were greatly inflected. after hrs. the leaves had become flaccid, but still remained closely inflected, the surrounding fluid being coloured pink. they were then washed and placed in water; next morning they were still inflected and of a very dark red colour, but with their glands colourless. after another day they were dingy-coloured, and [page ] evidently dead. this acid is far more powerful than formic, and is highly poisonous. half-minim drops of a stronger mixture (viz. one part by measure to of water) were placed on the discs of five leaves; none of the exterior tentacles, only those on the borders of the disc which actually absorbed the acid, became inflected. probably the dose was too strong and paralysed the leaves, for drops of a weaker mixture caused much inflection; nevertheless the leaves all died after two days. propionic acid.--three leaves were immersed in ninety minims of a mixture of one part to of water; in hr. m. there was no inflection; but after hrs. m. one leaf was greatly inflected, and the other two slightly. the inflection continued to increase, so that in hrs. all three leaves were closely inflected. next morning, after hrs., most of the glands were very pale, but some few were almost black. no mucus had been secreted, and the surrounding fluid was only just perceptibly tinted of a pale pink. after hrs. the leaves became slightly flaccid and were evidently killed, as was afterwards proved to be the case by keeping them in water. the protoplasm in the closely inflected tentacles was not in the least aggregated, but towards their bases it was collected in little brownish masses at the bottoms of the cells. this protoplasm was dead, for on leaving the leaf in a solution of carbonate of ammonia, no aggregation ensued. propionic acid is highly poisonous to drosera, like its ally acetic acid, but induces inflection at a much slower rate. oleic acid (given me by prof. frankland).--three leaves were immersed in this acid; some inflection was almost immediately caused, which increased slightly, but then ceased, and the leaves seemed killed. next morning they were rather shrivelled, and many of the glands had fallen off the tentacles. drops of this acid were placed on the discs of four leaves; in m. all the tentacles were greatly inflected, excepting the extreme marginal ones; and many of these after hrs. became inflected. i was led to try this acid from supposing that it was present (which does not seem to be the case)* in olive oil, the action of which is anomalous. thus drops of this oil placed on the disc do not cause the outer tentacles to be inflected; yet when minute drops were added to the secretion surrounding the glands of the outer tentacles, these were occasionally, but by no means always, inflected. two leaves were also immersed in this oil, and there * see articles on glycerine and oleic acid in watts' 'dict. of chemistry.' [page ] was no inflection for about hrs.; but after hrs. almost all the tentacles were inflected. three leaves were likewise immersed in unboiled linseed oil, and soon became somewhat, and in hrs. greatly, inflected. after hr. the secretion round the glands was coloured pink. i infer from this latter fact that the power of linseed oil to cause inflection cannot be attributed to the albumin which it is said to contain. carbolic acid.--two leaves were immersed in sixty minims of a solution of gr. to of water; in hrs. one was slightly, and in hrs. both were closely, inflected, with a surprising amount of mucus secreted. these leaves were washed and left for two days in water; they remained inflected; most of their glands became pale, and they seemed dead. this acid is poisonous, but does not act nearly so rapidly or powerfully as might have been expected from its known destructive power on the lowest organisms. half-minims of the same solution were placed on the discs of three leaves; after hrs. no inflection of the outer tentacles ensued, and when bits of meat were given them, they became fairly well inflected. again half-minims of a stronger solution, of one part to of water, were placed on the discs of three leaves; no inflection of the outer tentacles ensued; bits of meat were then given as before; one leaf alone became well inflected, the discal glands of the other two appearing much injured and dry. we thus see that the glands of the discs, after absorbing this acid, rarely transmit any motor impulse to the outer tentacles; though these, when their own glands absorb the acid, are strongly acted on. lactic acid.--three leaves were immersed in ninety minims of one part to of water. after m. there was no inflection, but the surrounding fluid was coloured pink; after hrs. m. one leaf alone was a little inflected, and almost all the glands on all three leaves were of a very pale colour. the leaves were then washed and placed in a solution ( gr. to oz.) of phosphate of ammonia; after about hrs. there was only a trace of inflection. they were left in the phosphate for hrs., and remained in the same state, with almost all their glands discoloured. the protoplasm within the cells was not aggregated, except in a very few tentacles, the glands of which were not much discoloured. i believe, therefore, that almost all the glands and tentacles had been killed by the acid so suddenly that hardly any inflection was caused. four leaves were next immersed in minims of a weaker solution, of one part to of water; after hrs. m. the surrounding fluid was quite pink; the glands were pale, but [page ] there was no inflection; after hrs. m. two of the leaves showed some inflection, and the glands were almost white; after hrs. two of the leaves were considerably inflected, and a third slightly; most of the glands were white, the others dark red. after hrs. one leaf had almost every tentacle inflected; a second a large number; the third and fourth very few; almost all the glands were white, excepting those on the discs of two of the leaves, and many of these were very dark red. the leaves appeared dead. hence lactic acid acts in a very peculiar manner, causing inflection at an extraordinarily slow rate, and being highly poisonous. immersion in even weaker solutions, viz. of one part to and of water, apparently killed the leaves (the tentacles after a time being bowed backwards), and rendered the glands white, but caused no inflection. gallic, tannic, tartaric, and citric acids.--one part to of water. three or four leaves were immersed, each in thirty minims of these four solutions, so that each leaf received / of a grain, or . mg. no inflection was caused in hrs., and the leaves did not appear at all injured. those which had been in the tannic and tartaric acids were placed in a solution ( gr. to oz.) of phosphate of ammonia, but no inflection ensued in hrs. on the other hand, the four leaves which had been in the citric acid, when treated with the phosphate, became decidedly inflected in m. and strongly inflected after hrs., and so remained for the next hrs. malic acid.--three leaves were immersed in ninety minims of a solution of one part to of water; no inflection was caused in hrs. m., but after hrs. two of them were considerably, and the third slightly, inflected--more so than could be accounted for by the action of water. no great amount of mucus was secreted. they were then placed in water, and after two days partially re-expanded. hence this acid is not poisonous. oxalic acid.--three leaves were immersed in ninety minims of a solution of gr. to of water; after hrs. m. there was much inflection; glands pale; the surrounding fluid of a dark pink colour; after hrs. excessive inflection. the leaves were then placed in water; after about hrs. the tentacles were of a very dark red colour, like those of the leaves in acetic acid. after additional hours, the three leaves were dead and their glands colourless. benzoic acid.--five leaves were immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of gr. to of water. this solution was so weak that it only just tasted acid, yet, as we shall see, was highly poisonous to drosera. after m. the submarginal [page ] tentacles were somewhat inflected, and all the glands very pale-coloured; the surrounding fluid was coloured pink. on one occasion the fluid became pink in the course of only m., and the glands as white as if the leaf had been dipped in boiling water. after hrs. much inflection; but none of the tentacles were closely inflected, owing, as i believe, to their having been paralysed before they had time to complete their movement. an extraordinary quantity of mucus was secreted. some of the leaves were left in the solution; others, after an immersion of hrs. m., were placed in water. next morning both lots were quite dead; the leaves in the solution being flaccid, those in the water (now coloured yellow) of a pale brown tint, and their glands white. succinic acid.--three leaves were immersed in ninety minims of a solution of gr. to of water; after hrs. m. considerable and after hrs. great inflection; many of the glands pale; fluid coloured pink. the leaves were then washed and placed in water; after two days there was some re-expansion, but many of the glands were still white. this acid is not nearly so poisonous as oxalic or benzoic. uric acid.--three leaves were immersed in minims of a solution of gr. to of warm water, but all the acid was not dissolved; so that each received nearly / of a grain. after m. there was some slight inflection, but this never increased; after hrs. the glands were not discoloured, nor was the solution coloured pink; nevertheless much mucus was secreted. the leaves were then placed in water, and by next morning fully re-expanded. i doubt whether this acid really causes inflection, for the slight movement which at first occurred may have been due to the presence of a trace of albuminous matter. but it produces some effect, as shown by the secretion of so much mucus. hippuric acid.--four leaves were immersed in minims of a solution of gr. to of water. after hrs. the fluid was coloured pink; glands pale, but no inflection. after hrs. some inflection; after hrs. all four leaves greatly inflected; much mucus secreted; all the glands very pale. the leaves were then left in water for two days; they remained closely inflected, with their glands colourless, and i do not doubt were killed. hydrocyanic acid.--four leaves were immersed, each in thirty minims of one part to of water; in hrs. m. all the tentacles were considerably inflected, with many of the glands pale; after hrs. m. all strongly inflected, and the surrounding fluid coloured pink; after hrs. all closely inflected. after [page ] an immersion of hrs. m. the leaves were washed and placed in water; next morning, after about hrs., they were still inflected and discoloured; on the succeeding day they were evidently dead. two leaves were immersed in a stronger mixture, of one part to fifty of water; in hr. m. the glands became as white as porcelain, as if they had been dipped in boiling water; very few of the tentacles were inflected; but after hrs. almost all were inflected. these leaves were then placed in water, and next morning were evidently dead. half-minim drops of the same strength (viz. one part to fifty of water) were next placed on the discs of five leaves; after hrs. all the outer tentacles were inflected, and the leaves appeared much injured. i likewise touched the secretion round a large number of glands with minute drops (about / of a minim, or . ml.) of scheele's mixture ( per cent.); the glands first became bright red, and after hrs. m. about two-thirds of the tentacles bearing these glands were inflected, and remained so for the two succeeding days, when they appeared dead.] concluding remarks on the action of acids.--it is evident that acids have a strong tendency to cause the inflection of the tentacles;* for out of the twenty-four acids tried, nineteen thus acted, either rapidly and energetically, or slowly and slightly. this fact is remarkable, as the juices of many plants contain more acid, judging by the taste, than the solutions employed in my experiments. from the powerful effects of so many acids on drosera, we are led to infer that those naturally contained in the tissues of this plant, as well as of others, must play some important part in their economy. of the five cases in which acids did not cause the tentacles to be inflected, one is doubtful; for uric acid did act slightly, and caused a copious secretion of mucus. mere sourness to the taste is no * according to m. fournier ('de la fcondation dans les phanrogames.' , p. ) drops of acetic, hydrocyanic, and sulphuric acid cause the stamens of berberis instantly to close; though drops of water have no such power, which latter statement i can confirm; [page ] criterion of the power of an acid on drosera, as citric and tartaric acids are very sour, yet do not excite inflection. it is remarkable how acids differ in their power. thus, hydrochloric acid acts far less powerfully than hydriodic and many other acids of the same strength, and is not poisonous. this is an interesting fact, as hydrochloric acid plays so important a part in the digestive process of animals. formic acid induces very slight inflection, and is not poisonous; whereas its ally, acetic acid, acts rapidly and powerfully, and is poisonous. malic acid acts slightly, whereas citric and tartaric acids produce no effect. lactic acid is poisonous, and is remarkable from inducing inflection only after a considerable interval of time. nothing surprised me more than that a solution of benzoic acid, so weak as to be hardly acidulous to the taste, should act with great rapidity and be highly poisonous; for i am informed that it produces no marked effect on the animal economy. it may be seen, by looking down the list at the head of this discussion, that most of the acids are poisonous, often highly so. diluted acids are known to induce negative osmose,* and the poisonous action of so many acids on drosera is, perhaps, connected with this power, for we have seen that the fluids in which they were immersed often became pink, and the glands pale-coloured or white. many of the poisonous acids, such as hydriodic, benzoic, hippuric, and carbolic (but i neglected to record all the cases), caused the secretion of an extraordinary amount of mucus, so that long ropes of this matter hung from the leaves when they were lifted out of the solutions. other acids, such as hydrochloric and malic, have no such ten- * miller's 'elements of chemistry,' part i. , p. . [page ] dency; in these two latter cases the surrounding fluid was not coloured pink, and the leaves were not poisoned. on the other hand, propionic acid, which is poisonous, does not cause much mucus to be secreted, yet the surrounding fluid became slightly pink. lastly, as in the case of saline solutions, leaves, after being immersed in certain acids, were soon acted on by phosphate of ammonia; on the other hand, they were not thus affected after immersion in certain other acids. to this subject, however, i shall have to recur. [page ] chapter ix. the effects of certain alkaloid poisons, other substances and vapours. strychnine, salts of--quinine, sulphate of, does not soon arrest the movement of the protoplasm--other salts of quinine--digitaline--nicotine--atropine--veratrine--colchicine-- theine--curare--morphia--hyoscyamus--poison of the cobra, apparently accelerates the movements of the protoplasm--camphor, a powerful stimulant, its vapour narcotic--certain essential oils excite movement--glycerine--water and certain solutions retard or prevent the subsequent action of phosphate of ammonia--alcohol innocuous, its vapour narcotic and poisonous--chloroform, sulphuric and nitric ether, their stimulant, poisonous, and narcotic power--carbonic acid narcotic, not quickly poisonous--concluding remarks. as in the last chapter, i will first give my experiments, and then a brief summary of the results with some concluding remarks. [acetate of strychnine.--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of six leaves; so that each received / of a grain, or . mg. in hrs. m. the outer tentacles on some of them were inflected, but in an irregular manner, sometimes only on one side of the leaf. the next morning, after hrs. m. the inflection had not increased. the glands on the central disc were blackened, and had ceased secreting. after an additional hrs. all the central glands seemed dead, but the inflected tentacles had re-expanded and appeared quite healthy. hence the poisonous action of strychnine seems confined to the glands which have absorbed it; nevertheless, these glands transmit a motor impulse to the exterior tentacles. minute drops (about / of a minim) of the same solution applied to the glands of the outer tentacles occasionally caused them to bend. the poison does not seem to act quickly, for having applied to several glands similar drops of a rather stronger solution, of one part to of water, this did not prevent the tentacles bending, when their glands [page ] were excited, after an interval of a quarter to three quarters of an hour, by being rubbed or given bits of meat. similar drops of a solution of one part to of water ( grs. to oz.) quickly blackened the glands; some few tentacles thus treated moved, whilst others did not. the latter, however, on being subsequently moistened with saliva or given bits of meat, became incurved, though with extreme slowness; and this shows that they had been injured. stronger solutions (but the strength was not ascertained) sometimes arrested all power of movement very quickly; thus bits of meat were placed on the glands of several exterior tentacles, and as soon as they began to move, minute drops of the strong solution were added. they continued for a short time to go on bending, and then suddenly stood still; other tentacles on the same leaves, with meat on their glands, but not wetted with the strychnine, continued to bend and soon reached the centre of the leaf. citrate of strychnine.--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of six leaves; after hrs. the outer tentacles showed only a trace of inflection. bits of meat were then placed on three of these leaves, but in hrs. only slight and irregular inflection occurred, proving that the leaves had been greatly injured. two of the leaves to which meat had not been given had their discal glands dry and much injured. minute drops of a strong solution of one part to of water ( grs. to oz.) were added to the secretion round several glands, but did not produce nearly so plain an effect as the drops of a much weaker solution of the acetate. particles of the dry citrate were placed on six glands; two of these moved some way towards the centre, and then stood still, being no doubt killed; three others curved much farther inwards, and were then fixed; one alone reached the centre. five leaves were immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part to of water; so that each received / of a grain; after about hr. some of the outer tentacles became inflected, and the glands were oddly mottled with black and white. these glands, in from hrs. to hrs., became whitish and opaque, and the protoplasm in the cells of the tentacles was well aggregated. by this time two of the leaves were greatly inflected, but the three others not much more inflected than they were before. nevertheless two fresh leaves, after an immersion respectively for hrs. and hrs. in the solution, were not killed; for on being left for hr. m. in a solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water, their tentacles became more inflected, and there was much aggregation. the glands [page ] of two other leaves, after an immersion for hrs. in a stronger solution, of one part of the citrate to of water, became of an opaque, pale pink colour, which before long disappeared, leaving them white. one of these two leaves had its blade and tentacles greatly inflected; the other hardly at all; but the protoplasm in the cells of both was aggregated down to the bases of the tentacles, with the spherical masses in the cells close beneath the glands blackened. after hrs. one of these leaves was colourless, and evidently dead. sulphate of quinine.--some of this salt was added to water, which is said to dissolve / part of its weight. five leaves were immersed, each in thirty minims of this solution, which tasted bitter. in less than hr. some of them had a few tentacles inflected. in hrs. most of the glands became whitish, others dark-coloured, and many oddly mottled. after hrs. two of the leaves had a good many tentacles inflected, but this very moderate degree of inflection never increased. one of the leaves was taken out of the solution after hrs., and placed in water; by the next morning some few of the inflected tentacles had re-expanded, showing that they were not dead; but the glands were still much discoloured. another leaf not included in the above lot, after an immersion of hrs. m., was carefully examined; the protoplasm in the cells of the outer tentacles, and of the short green ones on the disc, had become strongly aggregated down to their bases; and i distinctly saw that the little masses changed their positions and shapes rather rapidly; some coalescing and again separating. i was surprised at this fact, because quinine is said to arrest all movement in the white corpuscles of the blood; but as, according to binz,* this is due to their being no longer supplied with oxygen by the red corpuscles, any such arrestment of movement could not be expected in drosera. that the glands had absorbed some of the salt was evident from their change of colour; but i at first thought that the solution might not have travelled down the cells of the tentacles, where the protoplasm was seen in active movement. this view, however, i have no doubt, is erroneous, for a leaf which had been immersed for hrs. in the quinine solution was then placed in a little solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water; and in m. the glands and the upper cells of the tentacles became intensely black, with the protoplasm presenting a very unusual appearance; for it * 'quarterly journal of microscopical science,' april , p. . [page ] had become aggregated into reticulated dingy-coloured masses, having rounded and angular interspaces. as i have never seen this effect produced by the carbonate of ammonia alone, it must be attributed to the previous action of the quinine. these reticulated masses were watched for some time, but did not change their forms; so that the protoplasm no doubt had been killed by the combined action of the two salts, though exposed to them for only a short time. another leaf, after an immersion for hrs. in the quinine solution, became somewhat flaccid, and the protoplasm in all the cells was aggregated. many of the aggregated masses were discoloured, and presented a granular appearance; they were spherical, or elongated, or still more commonly consisted of little curved chains of small globules. none of these masses exhibited the least movement, and no doubt were all dead. half-minims of the solution were placed on the discs of six leaves; after hrs. one had all its tentacles, two had a few, and the others none inflected; so that the discal glands, when irritated by this salt, do not transmit any strong motor impulse to the outer tentacles. after hrs. the glands on the discs of all six leaves were evidently much injured or quite killed. it is clear that this salt is highly poisonous.* acetate of quinine.--four leaves were immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part to of water. the solution was tested with litmus paper, and was not acid. after only m. all four leaves were greatly, and after hrs. immensely, inflected. they were then left in water for hrs., but never re-expanded; the glands were white, and the leaves evidently dead. this salt is far more efficient than the sulphate in causing inflection, and, like that salt, is highly poisonous. nitrate of quinine.--four leaves were immersed, each in thirty minims of a solution of one part to of water. after hrs. there was hardly a trace of inflection; after hrs. three of the leaves were moderately, and the fourth slightly inflected; so that this salt induces, though rather slowly, well-marked inflection. these leaves, on being left in water for hrs., almost *binz found several years ago (as stated in 'the journal of anatomy and phys.' november , p. ) that quinia is an energetic poison to low vegetable and animal organisms. even one part added to parts of blood arrests the movements of the white corpuscles, which become "rounded and granular." in the tentacles of drosera the aggregated masses of protoplasm, which appeared killed by the quinine, likewise presented a granular appearance. a similar appearance is caused by very hot water. [page ] completely re-expanded, but the glands were much discoloured. hence this salt is not poisonous in any high degree. the different action of the three foregoing salts of quinine is singular. digitaline.--half-minims of a solution of one part to of water were placed on the discs of five leaves. in hrs. m. some of them had their tentacles, and one had its blade, moderately inflected. after hrs. three of them were well inflected; the fourth had only a few tentacles inflected, and the fifth (an old leaf) was not at all affected. they remained in nearly the same state for two days, but the glands on their discs became pale. on the third day the leaves appeared much injured. nevertheless, when bits of meat were placed on two of them, the outer tentacles became inflected. a minute drop (about / of a minim) of the solution was applied to three glands, and after hrs. all three tentacles were inflected, but next day had nearly re-expanded; so that this very small dose of / of a grain (. mg.) acts on a tentacle, but is not poisonous. it appears from these several facts that digitaline causes inflection, and poisons the glands which absorb a moderately large amount. nicotine.--the secretion round several glands was touched with a minute drop of the pure fluid, and the glands were instantly blackened; the tentacles becoming inflected in a few minutes. two leaves were immersed in a weak solution of two drops to oz., or grains, of water. when examined after hrs. m., only twenty-one tentacles on one leaf were closely inflected, and six on the other slightly so; but all the glands were blackened, or very dark-coloured, with the protoplasm in all the cells of all the tentacles much aggregated and dark-coloured. the leaves were not quite killed, for on being placed in a little solution of carbonate of ammonia ( grs. to oz.) a few more tentacles became inflected, the remainder not being acted on during the next hrs. half-minims of a stronger solution (two drops to / oz. of water) were placed on the discs of six leaves, and in m. all those tentacles became inflected; the glands of which had actually touched the solution, as shown by their blackness; but hardly any motor influence was transmitted to the outer tentacles. after hrs. most of the glands on the discs appeared dead; but this could not have been the case, as when bits of meat were placed on three of them, some few of the outer tentacles were inflected in hrs. hence nicotine has a great tendency to blacken the glands and to induce aggregation [page ] of the protoplasm, but, except when pure, has very moderate power of inducing inflection, and still less power of causing a motor influence to be transmitted from the discal glands to the outer tentacles. it is moderately poisonous. atropine.--a grain was added to grains of water, but was not all dissolved; another grain was added to grains of a mixture of one part of alcohol to seven parts of water; and a third solution was made by adding one part of valerianate of atropine to of water. half-minims of these three solutions were placed, in each case, on the discs of six leaves; but no effect whatever was produced, excepting that the glands on the discs to which the valerianate was given were slightly discoloured. the six leaves on which drops of the solution of atropine in diluted alcohol had been left for hrs. were given bits of meat, and all became in hrs. fairly well inflected; so that atropine does not excite movement, and is not poisonous. i also tried in the same manner the alkaloid sold as daturine, which is believed not to differ from atropine, and it produced no effect. three of the leaves on which drops of this latter solution had been left for hrs. were likewise given bits of meat, and they had in the course of hrs. a good many of their submarginal tentacles inflected. veratrine, colchicine, theine.--solutions were made of these three alkaloids by adding one part to of water. half-minims were placed, in each case; on the discs of at least six leaves, but no inflection was caused, except perhaps a very slight amount by the theine. half-minims of a strong infusion of tea likewise produced, as formerly stated, no effect. i also tried similar drops of an infusion of one part of the extract of colchicum, sold by druggists, to of water; and the leaves were observed for hrs., without any effect being produced. the seven leaves on which drops of veratrine had been left for hrs. were given bits of meat, and after hrs. were well inflected. these three alkaloids are therefore quite innocuous. curare.--one part of this famous poison was added to of water, and three leaves were immersed in ninety minims of the filtered solution. in hrs. m. some of the tentacles were a little inflected; as was the blade of one; after hrs. after hrs. the glands were wonderfully blackened, showing that matter of some kind had been absorbed. in hrs. two of the leaves had most of their tentacles sub-inflected, but the inflection did not increase in the course of hrs. one of these leaves, after being immersed for hrs. in the solution, was placed in water, and by next morning had largely re-expanded; [page ] the other two, after their immersion for hrs., were likewise placed in water, and in hrs. were considerably re-expanded, though their glands were as black as ever. half-minims were placed on the discs of six leaves, and no inflection ensued; but after three days the glands on the discs appeared rather dry, yet to my surprise were not blackened. on another occasion drops were placed on the discs of six leaves, and a considerable amount of inflection was soon caused; but as i had not filtered the solution, floating particles may have acted on the glands. after hrs. bits of meat were placed on the discs of three of these leaves, and next day they became strongly inflected. as i at first thought that the poison might not have been dissolved in pure water, one grain was added to grains of a mixture of one part of alcohol to seven of water, and half-minims were placed on the discs of six leaves. these were not at all affected, and when after a day bits of meat were given them, they were slightly inflected in hrs., and closely after hrs. it follows from these several facts that a solution of curare induces a very moderate degree of inflection, and this may perhaps be due to the presence of a minute quantity of albumen. it certainly is not poisonous. the protoplasm in one of the leaves, which had been immersed for hrs., and which had become slightly inflected, had undergone a very slight amount of aggregation--not more than often ensues from an immersion of this length of time in water. acetate of morphia.--i tried a great number of experiments with this substance, but with no certain result. a considerable number of leaves were immersed from between hrs. and hrs. in a solution of one part to of water, and did not become inflected. nor were they poisoned; for when they were washed and placed in weak solutions of phosphate and carbonate of ammonia, they soon became strongly inflected, with the protoplasm in the cells well aggregated. if, however, whilst the leaves were immersed in the morphia, phosphate of ammonia was added, inflection did not rapidly ensue. minute drops of the solution were applied in the usual manner to the secretion round between thirty and forty glands; and when, after an interval of m:, bits of meat, a little saliva, or particles of glass, were placed on them, the movement of the tentacles was greatly retarded. but on other occasions no such retardation occurred. drops of water similarly applied never have any retarding power. minute drops of a solution of sugar of the same strength (one part to of water) sometimes retarded the subsequent action of meat and of particles of glass, and [page ] sometimes did not do so. at one time i felt convinced that morphia acted as a narcotic on drosera, but after having found in what a singular manner immersion in certain non-poisonous salts and acids prevents the subsequent action of phosphate of ammonia, whereas other solutions have no such power, my first conviction seems very doubtful. extract of hyoscyamus.--several leaves were placed, each in thirty minims of an infusion of grs. of the extract sold by druggists to oz. of water. one of them, after being immersed for hrs. m., was not inflected, and was then put into a solution ( gr. to oz.) of carbonate of ammonia; after hrs. m. it was found considerably inflected, and the glands much blackened. four of the leaves, after being immersed for hrs. m., were placed in minims of a solution ( gr. to oz.) of phosphate of ammonia; they had already become slightly inflected from the hyoscyamus, probably owing to the presence of some albuminous matter, as formerly explained, but the inflection immediately increased, and after hr. was strongly pronounced; so that hyoscyamus does not act as a narcotic or poison. poison from the fang of a living adder.--minute drops were placed on the glands of many tentacles; these were quickly inflected, just as if saliva had been given them, next morning, after hrs. m., all were beginning to re-expand, and they appeared uninjured. poison from the cobra.--dr. fayrer, well known from his investigations on the poison of this deadly snake, was so kind as to give me some in a dried state. it is an albuminous substance, and is believed to replace the ptyaline of saliva.* a minute drop (about / of a minim) of a solution of one part to of water was applied to the secretion round four glands; so that each received only about / of a grain (. mg.). the operation was repeated on four other glands; and in m. several of the eight tentacles became well inflected, and all of them in hrs. next morning, after hrs., they were still inflected, and the glands of a very pale pink colour. after an additional hrs. they were nearly re-expanded, and completely so on the succeeding day; but most of the glands remained almost white. half-minims of the same solution were placed on the discs of three leaves, so that each received / of a grain (. mg.); in *dr. fayrer, 'the thanatophidia of india,' , p. . [page ] hrs. m. the outer tentacles were much inflected; and after hrs. m. those on two of the leaves were closely inflected and the blade of one; the third leaf was only moderately affected. the leaves remained in the same state during the next day, but after hrs. re-expanded. three leaves were now immersed, each in thirty minims of the solution, so that each received / of a grain, or . mg. in m. there was some inflection, which steadily increased, so that after hrs. m. all three leaves were closely inflected; the glands were at first somewhat darkened, then rendered pale; and the protoplasm within the cells of the tentacles was partially aggregated. the little masses of protoplasm were examined after hrs., and again after hrs., and on no other occasion have i seen them undergoing such rapid changes of form. after hrs. m. the glands had become quite white; they had not secreted any great quantity of mucus. the leaves were now placed in water, and after hrs. re-expanded, showing that they were not much or at all injured. during their immersion in water the protoplasm within the cells of the tentacles was occasionally examined, and always found in strong movement. two leaves were next immersed, each in thirty minims of a much stronger solution, of one part to of water; so that each received / of a grain, or . mg; after hr. m. the sub-marginal tentacles were strongly inflected, with the glands somewhat pale; after hrs. m. both leaves had all their tentacles closely inflected and the glands white. hence the weaker solution, as in so many other cases, induced more rapid inflection than the stronger one; but the glands were sooner rendered white by the latter. after an immersion of hrs. some of the tentacles were examined, and the protoplasm, still of a fine purple colour, was found aggregated into chains of small globular masses. these changed their shapes with remarkable quickness. after an immersion of hrs. they were again examined, and their movements were so plain that they could easily be seen under a weak power. the leaves were now placed in water, and after hrs. (i.e. hrs. from their first immersion) the little masses of protoplasm, which had become of a dingy purple, were still in strong movement, changing their shapes, coalescing, and again separating. in hrs. after these two leaves had been placed in water (i.e. in hrs. after their immersion in the solution) they began to re-expand, and by the next morning were more expanded. after an additional day (i.e. on the fourth day after their immersion in the solution) they were largely, but not quite fully [page ] expanded. the tentacles were now examined, and the aggregated masses were almost wholly redissolved; the cells being filled with homogeneous purple fluid, with the exception here and there of a single globular mass. we thus see how completely the protoplasm had escaped all injury from the poison. as the glands were soon rendered quite white, it occurred to me that their texture might have been modified in such a manner as to prevent the poison passing into the cells beneath, and consequently that the protoplasm within these cells had not been at all affected. accordingly i placed another leaf, which had been immersed for hrs. in the poison and afterwards for hrs. in water, in a little solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water; in m. the protoplasm in the cells beneath the glands became darker, and in the course of hrs. the tentacles were filled down to their bases with dark-coloured spherical masses. hence the glands had not lost their power of absorption, as far as the carbonate of ammonia is concerned. from these facts it is manifest that the poison of the cobra, though so deadly to animals, is not at all poisonous to drosera; yet it causes strong and rapid inflection of the tentacles, and soon discharges all colour from the glands. it seems even to act as a stimulant to the protoplasm, for after considerable experience in observing the movements of this substance in drosera, i have never seen it on any other occasion in so active a state. i was therefore anxious to learn how this poison affected animal protoplasm; and dr. fayrer was so kind as to make some observations for me, which he has since published.* ciliated epithelium from the mouth of a frog was placed in a solution of . gramme to . cubic cm. of water; others being placed at the same time in pure water for comparison. the movements of the cilia in the solution seemed at first increased, but soon languished, and after between and minutes ceased; whilst those in the water were still acting vigorously. the white corpuscles of the blood of a frog, and the cilia on two infusorial animals, a paramaecium and volvox, were similarly affected by the poison. dr. fayrer also found that the muscle of a frog lost its irritability after an immersion of m. in the solution, not then responding to a strong electrical current. on the other hand, the movements of the cilia on the mantle of an unio were not always arrested, even when left for a consider- * 'proceedings of royal society,' feb. , . [page ] able time in a very strong solution. on the whole, it seems that the poison of the cobra acts far more injuriously on the protoplasm of the higher animals than on that of drosera. there is one other point which may be noticed. i have occasionally observed that the drops of secretion round the glands were rendered somewhat turbid by certain solutions, and more especially by some acids, a film being formed on the surfaces of the drops; but i never saw this effect produced in so conspicuous a manner as by the cobra poison. when the stronger solution was employed, the drops appeared in m. like little white rounded clouds. after hrs. the secretion was changed into threads and sheets of a membranous substance, including minute granules of various sizes. camphor.--some scraped camphor was left for a day in a bottle with distilled water, and then filtered. a solution thus made is said to contain / of its weight of camphor; it smelt and tasted of this substance. ten leaves were immersed in this solution; after m. five of them were well inflected, two showing a first trace of movement in m. and m.; the sixth leaf did not begin to move until m. had elapsed, but was fairly well inflected in m. and quite closed in m.; the seventh began to move in m., and was completely shut in m. the eighth, ninth, and tenth leaves were old and of a very dark red colour, and these were not inflected after an immersion of hrs.; so that in making experiments with camphor it is necessary to avoid such leaves. some of these leaves, on being left in the solution for hrs., became of a rather dingy pink colour, and secreted much mucus; although their tentacles were closely inflected, the protoplasm within the cells was not at all aggregated. on another occasion, however, after a longer immersion of hrs., there was well marked aggregation. a solution made by adding two drops of camphorated spirits to an ounce of water did not act on one leaf; whereas thirty minims added to an ounce of water acted on two leaves immersed together. m. vogel has shown* that the flowers of various plants do not wither so soon when their stems are placed in a solution of camphor as when in water; and that if already slightly withered, they recover more quickly. the germination of certain seeds is also accelerated by the solution. so that camphor acts as a stimulant, and it is the only known stimulant for plants. i * 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . nearly similar observations were made in by b. s. barton. [page ] wished, therefore, to ascertain whether camphor would render the leaves of drosera more sensitive to mechanical irritation than they naturally are. six leaves were left in distilled water for m. or m., and then gently brushed twice or thrice, whilst still under water, with a soft camel-hair brush; but no movement ensued. nine leaves, which had been immersed in the above solution of camphor for the times stated in the following table, were next brushed only once with the same brush and in the same manner as before; the results are given in the table. my first trials were made by brushing the leaves whilst still immersed in the solution; but it occurred to me that the viscid secretion round the glands would thus be removed, and the camphor might act more effectually on them. in all the following trials, therefore, each leaf was taken out of the solution, waved for about s. in water, then placed in fresh water and brushed, so that the brushing would not allow the freer access of the camphor; but this treatment made no difference in the results. column : number of leaves. column : length of immersion in the solution of camphor. column : length of time between the act of brushing and the inflection of the tentacles. column : length of time between the immersion of the leaves in the solution and the first sign of the inflection of the tentacles. : m. : m. considerable inflection; m. all the tentacles except or inflected. : m. : m. : m. first sign of inflection. : m. : m. : m. s. slight inflection; m. s. plain inflection. : m. s. : m. s. : m. s. a trace of inflection; m. plain; m. strongly marked. : m. : m. : m. s. a trace of inflection; m. plain inflection. : m. s. : m. : m. s. decided inflection; m. s. strongly marked. : m. s. : m. : m. s. slight inflection; m. plain; m. well marked. : m. s. : m. : m. trace of inflection; m. considerable, m. strong inflection. : m. : m. : m. trace of inflection; m. considerable, m. strong inflection. : m. other leaves were left in the solution without being brushed; one of these first showed a trace of inflection after m.; a second after m.; five were not inflected until m. had [page ] elapsed, and two not until a few minutes later. on the other hand, it will be seen in the right-hand column of the table that most of the leaves subjected to the solution, and which were brushed, became inflected in a much shorter time. the movement of the tentacles of some of these leaves was so rapid that it could be plainly seen through a very weak lens. two or three other experiments are worth giving. a large old leaf, after being immersed for m. in the solution, did not appear likely to be soon inflected; so i brushed it, and in m. it began to move, and in m. was completely shut. another leaf, after an immersion of m., showed no signs of inflection, so was brushed, and in m. was grandly inflected. a third leaf, after an immersion of m., likewise showed no signs of inflection; it was then brushed, but did not move for hr.; so that here was a failure. it was again brushed, and now in m. a few tentacles became inflected; the failure therefore was not complete. we may conclude that a small dose of camphor in solution is a powerful stimulant to drosera. it not only soon excites the tentacles to bend, but apparently renders the glands sensitive to a touch, which by itself does not cause any movement. or it may be that a slight mechanical irritation not enough to cause any inflection yet gives some tendency to movement, and thus reinforces the action of the camphor. this latter view would have appeared to me the more probable one, had it not been shown by m. vogel that camphor is a stimulant in other ways to various plants and seeds. two plants bearing four or five leaves, and with their roots in a little cup of water, were exposed to the vapour of some bits of camphor (about as large as a filbert-nut), under a vessel holding ten fluid oz. after hrs. no inflection ensued; but the glands appeared to be secreting more copiously. the leaves were in a narcotised condition, for on bits of meat being placed on two of them, there was no inflection in hrs. m., and even after hrs. m. only a few of the outer tentacles were slightly inflected; but this degree of movement shows that the leaves had not been killed by an exposure during hrs. to the vapour of camphor. oil of caraway.--water is said to dissolve about a thousandth part of its weight of this oil. a drop was added to an ounce of water and the bottle occasionally shaken during a day; but many minute globules remained undissolved. five leaves were immersed in this mixture; in from m. to m. there was some inflection, which became moderately pronounced in two or [page ] three additional minutes. after m. all five leaves were well, and some of them closely, inflected. after hrs. the glands were white, and much mucus had been secreted. the leaves were now flaccid, of a peculiar dull-red colour, and evidently dead. one of the leaves, after an immersion of m., was brushed, like the leaves in the camphor, but this produced no effect. a plant with its roots in water was exposed under a -oz. vessel to the vapour of this oil, and in hr. m. one leaf showed a trace of inflection. after hrs. m. the cover was taken off and the leaves examined; one had all its tentacles closely inflected, the second about half in the same state; and the third all sub-inflected. the plant was left in the open air for hrs., but not a single tentacle expanded; all the glands appeared dead, except here and there one, which was still secreting. it is evident that this oil is highly exciting and poisonous to drosera. oil of cloves.--a mixture was made in the same manner as in the last case, and three leaves were immersed in it. after m. there was only a trace of inflection which never increased. after hr. m. the glands were pale, and after hrs. white. no doubt the leaves were much injured or killed. turpentine.--small drops placed on the discs of some leaves killed them, as did likewise drops of creosote. a plant was left for m. under a -oz. vessel, with its inner surface wetted with twelve drops of turpentine; but no movement of the tentacles ensued. after hrs. the plant was dead. glycerine.--half-minims were placed on the discs of three leaves: in hrs. some of the outer tentacles were irregularly inflected; and in hrs. the leaves were flaccid and apparently dead; the glands which had touched the glycerine were colourless. minute drops (about / of a minim) were applied to the glands of several tentacles, and in a few minutes these moved and soon reached the centre. similar drops of a mixture of four dropped drops to oz. of water were likewise applied to several glands; but only a few of the tentacles moved, and these very slowly and slightly. half-minims of this same mixture placed on the discs of some leaves caused, to my surprise, no inflection in the course of hrs. bits of meat were then given them, and next day they were well inflected; notwithstanding that some of the discal glands had been rendered almost colourless. two leaves were immersed in the same mixture, but only for hrs.; they were not inflected, and on being afterwards left for hrs. m. in a solution ( gr. to oz.) of carbonate of ammonia, their glands were blackened, their tentacles inflected, and the protoplasm within their cells aggregated. it appears [page ] from these facts that a mixture of four drops of glycerine to an ounce of water is not poisonous, and excites very little inflection; but that pure glycerine is poisonous, and if applied in very minute quantities to the glands of the outer tentacles causes their inflection. the effects of immersion in water and in various solutions on the subsequent action of phosphate and carbonate of ammonia.--we have seen in the third and seventh chapters that immersion in distilled water causes after a time some degree of aggregation of the protoplasm, and a moderate amount of inflection, especially in the case of plants which have been kept at a rather high temperature. water does not excite a copious secretion of mucus. we have here to consider the effects of immersion in various fluids on the subsequent action of salts of ammonia and other stimulants. four leaves which had been left for hrs. in water were given bits of meat, but did not clasp them. ten leaves, after a similar immersion, were left for hrs. in a powerful solution ( gr. to oz.) of phosphate of ammonia, and only one showed even a trace of inflection. three of these leaves, on being left for an additional day in the solution, still remained quite unaffected. when, however, some of these leaves, which had been first immersed in water for hrs., and then in the phosphate for hrs. were placed in a solution of carbonate of ammonia (one part to of water), the protoplasm in the cells of the tentacles became in a few hours strongly aggregated, showing that this salt had been absorbed and taken effect. a short immersion in water for m. did not retard the subsequent action of the phosphate, or of splinters of glass placed on the glands; but in two instances an immersion for m. prevented any effect from a solution of camphor. several leaves which had been left for m. in a solution of one part of white sugar to of water were placed in the phosphate solution, the action of which was delayed; whereas a mixed solution of sugar and the phosphate did not in the least interfere with the effects of the latter. three leaves, after being immersed for m. in the sugar solution, were placed in a solution of carbonate of ammonia (one part to of water); in m. or m. the glands were blackened, and after m. the tentacles were considerably inflected, so that the solution of sugar, though it delayed the action of the phosphate, did not delay that of the carbonate. immersion in a similar solution of gum arabic for m. had no retarding action on the phosphate. three leaves were left for m. in a mixture of one part of alcohol to seven parts of water, [page ] and then placed in the phosphate solution: in hrs. m. there was a trace of inflection in one leaf, and in hrs. m. a second was slightly affected; the inflection subsequently increased, though slowly. hence diluted alcohol, which, as we shall see, is hardly at all poisonous, plainly retards the subsequent action of the phosphate. it was shown in the last chapter that leaves which did not become inflected by nearly a day's immersion in solutions of various salts and acids behaved very differently from one another when subsequently placed in the phosphate solution. i here give a table summing up the results. column : name of the salts and acids in solution. column : period of immersion of the leaves in solutions of one part to of water. column : effects produced on the leaves by their subsequent immersion for stated periods in a solution of one part of phosphate of ammonia to of water, or gr. to oz. rubidium chloride. : hrs. : after m. strong inflection of the tentacles. potassium carbonate : m. : scarcely any inflection until hrs. had elapsed. calcium acetate. : hrs. : after hrs. very slight inflection. calcium nitrate. : hrs. : do. do. magnesium acetate. : hrs. : some slight inflection, which became well pronounced in hrs. magnesium nitrate. : hrs. : after hrs. m. a fair amount of inflection, which never increased. magnesium chloride : hrs. : after a few minutes great inflection; after hrs. all four leaves with almost every tentacle closely inflected. barium acetate. : hrs. : after hrs. two leaves out of four slightly inflected. barium nitrate. : hrs. : after m. one leaf greatly, and two others moderately, inflected; they remained thus for hrs. strontium acetate. : hrs. : after m. two leaves greatly inflected; after hrs. a third leaf moderately, and the fourth very slightly, inflected. all four thus remained for hrs. strontium nitrate. : hrs. : after hrs. three leaves out of five moderately inflected; after hrs. all five in this state; but not one closely inflected. aluminium chloride : hrs. : three leaves which had either been slightly or not at all affected by the chloride became after hrs. m. rather closely inflected. [page ] column : name of the salts and acids in solution. column : period of immersion of the leaves in solutions of one part to of water. column : effects produced on the leaves by their subsequent immersion for stated periods in a solution of one part of phosphate of ammonia to of water, or gr. to oz. aluminium nitrate. : hrs. : after hrs. slight and doubtful effect. lead chloride. : hrs. : after hrs. two leaves somewhat inflected, the third very little; and thus remained. manganese chloride : hrs. : after hrs. not the least inflection. lactic acid. : hrs. : after hrs. a trace of inflection in a few tentacles, the glands of which had not been killed by the acid. tannic acid. : hrs. : after hrs. no inflection. tartaric acid. : hrs. : do. do. citric acid. : hrs. : after m. tentacles decidedly inflected, and after hrs. strongly inflected; so remained for the next hrs. formic acid. : hrs. : not observed until hrs. had elapsed; tentacles considerably inflected, and protoplasm aggregated. in a large majority of these twenty cases, a varying degree of inflection was slowly caused by the phosphate. in four cases, however, the inflection was rapid, occurring in less than half an hour or at most in m. in three cases the phosphate did not produce the least effect. now what are we to infer from these facts? we know from ten trials that immersion in distilled water for hrs. prevents the subsequent action of the phosphate solution. it would, therefore, appear as if the solutions of chloride of manganese, tannic and tartaric acids, which are not poisonous, acted exactly like water, for the phosphate produced no effect on the leaves which had been previously immersed in these three solutions. the majority of the other solutions behaved to a certain extent like water, for the phosphate produced, after a considerable interval of time, only a slight effect. on the other hand, the leaves which had been immersed in the solutions of the chloride of rubidium and magnesium, of acetate of strontium, nitrate of barium, and citric acid, were quickly acted on by the phosphate. now was water absorbed from these five weak solutions, and yet, owing to the presence of the salts, did not prevent the subsequent action of the phosphate? or [page ] may we not suppose* that the interstices of the walls of the glands were blocked up with the molecules of these five substances, so that they were rendered impermeable to water; for had water entered, we know from the ten trials that the phosphate would not afterwards have produced any effect? it further appears that the molecules of the carbonate of ammonia can quickly pass into glands which, from having been immersed for m. in a weak solution of sugar, either absorb the phosphate very slowly or are acted on by it very slowly. on the other hand, glands, however they may have been treated, seem easily to permit the subsequent entrance of the molecules of carbonate of ammonia. thus leaves which had been immersed in a solution (of one part to of water) of nitrate of potassium for hrs.--of sulphate of potassium for hrs.--and of the chloride of potassium for hrs.--on being placed in a solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water, had their glands immediately blackened, and after hr. their tentacles somewhat inflected, and the protoplasm aggregated. but it would be an endless task to endeavour to ascertain the wonderfully diversified effects of various solutions on drosera. alcohol (one part to seven of water).--it has already been shown that half-minims of this strength placed on the discs of leaves do not cause any inflection; and that when two days afterwards the leaves were given bits of meat, they became strongly inflected. four leaves were immersed in this mixture, and two of them after m. were brushed with a camel-hair brush, like the leaves in the solution of camphor, but this produced no effect. * see dr. m. traube's curious experiments on the production of artificial cells, and on their permeability to various salts, described in his papers: "experimente zur theorie der zellenbildung und endosmose," breslau, ; and "experimente zur physicalischen erklrung der bildung der zellhaut, ihres wachsthums durch intussusception," breslau, . these researches perhaps explain my results. dr. traube commonly employed as a membrane the precipitate formed when tannic acid comes into contact with a solution of gelatine. by allowing a precipitation of sulphate of barium to take place at the same time, the membrane becomes "infiltrated" with this salt; and in consequence of the intercalation of molecules of sulphate of barium among those of the gelatine precipitate, the molecular interstices in the membrane are made smaller. in this altered condition, the membrane no longer allows the passage through it of either sulphate of ammonia or nitrate of barium, though it retains its permeability for water and chloride of ammonia. [page ] nor did these four leaves, on being left for hrs. in the diluted alcohol, undergo any inflection. they were then removed; one being placed in an infusion of raw meat, and bits of meat on the discs of the other three, with their stalks in water. next day one seemed a little injured, whilst two others showed merely a trace of inflection. we must, however, bear in mind that immersion for hrs. in water prevents leaves from clasping meat. hence alcohol of the above strength is not poisonous, nor does it stimulate the leaves like camphor does. the vapour of alcohol acts differently. a plant having three good leaves was left for m. under a receiver holding oz. with sixty minims of alcohol in a watch-glass. no movement ensued, but some few of the glands were blackened and shrivelled, whilst many became quite pale. these were scattered over all the leaves in the most irregular manner, reminding me of the manner in which the glands were affected by the vapour of carbonate of ammonia. immediately on the removal of the receiver particles of raw meat were placed on many of the glands, those which retained their proper colour being chiefly selected. but not a single tentacle was inflected during the next hrs. after the first hrs. the glands on all the tentacles began to dry; and next morning, after hrs., all three leaves appeared almost dead, with their glands dry; the tentacles on one leaf alone being partially inflected. a second plant was left for only m. with some alcohol in a watch-glass, under a -oz. receiver, and particles of meat were then placed on the glands of several tentacles. after m. some of them began to curve inwards, and after m. nearly all were considerably inflected; but a few did not move. some anaesthetic effect is here probable, but by no means certain. a third plant was also left for m. under the same small vessel, with its whole inner surface wetted with about a dozen drops of alcohol. particles of meat were now placed on the glands of several tentacles, some of which first began to move in m.; after m. most of them were somewhat inflected, and after hr. m. almost all were considerably inflected. from their slow rate of movement there can be no doubt that the glands of these tentacles had been rendered insensible for a time by exposure during m. to the vapour of alcohol. vapour of chloroform.--the action of this vapour on drosera is very variable, depending, i suppose, on the constitution or age of the plant, or on some unknown condition. it sometimes causes the tentacles to move with extraordinary rapidity, and sometimes produces no such effect. the glands are sometimes [page ] rendered for a time insensible to the action of raw meat, but sometimes are not thus affected, or in a very slight degree. a plant recovers from a small dose, but is easily killed by a larger one. a plant was left for m. under a bell-glass holding fluid oz. ( . ml.) with eight drops of chloroform, and before the cover was removed, most of the tentacles became much inflected, though they did not reach the centre. after the cover was removed, bits of meat were placed on the glands of several of the somewhat incurved tentacles; these glands were found much blackened after hrs. m., but no further movement ensued. after hrs. the leaves appeared almost dead. a smaller bell-glass, holding fluid oz. ( . ml.), was now employed, and a plant was left for s. under it, with only two drops of chloroform. immediately on the removal of the glass all the tentacles curved inwards so as to stand perpendicularly up; and some of them could actually be seen moving with extraordinary quickness by little starts, and therefore in an unnatural manner; but they never reached the centre. after hrs. they fully re-expanded, and on meat being placed on their glands, or when roughly touched by a needle, they promptly became inflected; so that these leaves had not been in the least injured. another plant was placed under the same small bell-glass with three drops of chloroform, and before two minutes had elapsed, the tentacles began to curl inwards with rapid little jerks. the glass was then removed, and in the course of two or three additional minutes almost every tentacle reached the centre. on several other occasions the vapour did not excite any movement of this kind. there seems also to be great variability in the degree and manner in which chloroform renders the glands insensible to the subsequent action of meat. in the plant last referred to, which had been exposed for m. to three drops of chloroform, some few tentacles curved up only to a perpendicular position, and particles of meat were placed on their glands; this caused them in m. to begin moving, but they moved so slowly that they did not reach the centre until hr. m. had elapsed. another plant was similarly exposed, that is, for m. to three drops of chloroform, and on particles of meat being placed on the glands of several tentacles, which had curved up into a perpendicular position, one of these began to bend in m., but afterwards moved very slowly; whilst none of the other tentacles [page ] moved for the next m. nevertheless, in hr. m. from the time when the bits of meat had been given, all the tentacles reached the centre. in this case some slight anaesthetic effect apparently had been produced. on the following day the plant had perfectly recovered. another plant bearing two leaves was exposed for m. under the -oz. vessel to two drops of chloroform; it was then taken out and examined; again exposed for m. to two drops; taken out, and re-exposed for m. to three drops; so that altogether it was exposed alternately to the air and during m. to the vapour of seven drops of chloroform. bits of meat were now placed on thirteen glands on the two leaves. on one of these leaves, a single tentacle first began moving in m., and two others in m. on the second leaf some tentacles first moved in hr. m. after hrs. many tentacles on both leaves were inflected; but none had reached the centre within this time. in this case there could not be the least doubt that the chloroform had exerted an anaesthetic influence on the leaves. on the other hand, another plant was exposed under the same vessel for a much longer time, viz. m., to twice as much chloroform. bits of meat were then placed on the glands of many tentacles, and all of them, with a single exception, reached the centre in from m. to m. in this case, little or no anaesthetic effect had been produced; and how to reconcile these discordant results, i know not. vapour of sulphuric ether.--a plant was exposed for m. to thirty minims of this ether in a vessel holding oz.; and bits of raw meat were afterwards placed on many glands which had become pale-coloured; but none of the tentacles moved. after hrs. m. the leaves appeared sickly, and the discal glands were almost dry. by the next morning many of the tentacles were dead, as were all those on which meat had been placed; showing that matter had been absorbed from the meat which had increased the evil effects of the vapour. after four days the plant itself died. another plant was exposed in the same vessel for m. to forty minims. one young, small, and tender leaf had all its tentacles inflected, and seemed much injured. bits of raw meat were placed on several glands on two other and older leaves. these glands became dry after hrs.; and seemed injured; the tentacles never moved, excepting one which was ultimately a little inflected. the glands of the other tentacles continued to secrete, and appeared uninjured, but the whole plant after three days became very sickly. [page ] in the two foregoing experiments the doses were evidently too large and poisonous. with weaker doses, the anaesthetic effect was variable, as in the case of chloroform. a plant was exposed for m. to ten drops under a -oz. vessel, and bits of meat were then placed on many glands. none of the tentacles thus treated began to move in a decided manner until m. had elapsed; but then some of them moved very quickly, so that two reached the centre after an additional interval of only m. in hrs. m. from the time when the meat was given, all the tentacles reached the centre. another plant, with two leaves, was exposed in the same vessel for m. to a rather larger dose of ether, and bits of meat were placed on several glands. in this case one tentacle on each leaf began to bend in m.; and after m. two tentacles on one leaf, and one on the second leaf, reached the centre. in m. after the meat had been given, all the tentacles, both those with and without meat, were closely inflected; so that the ether apparently had stimulated these leaves, causing all the tentacles to bend. vapour of nitric ether.--this vapour seems more injurious than that of sulphuric ether. a plant was exposed for m. in a -oz. vessel to eight drops in a watch-glass, and i distinctly saw a few tentacles curling inwards before the glass was removed. immediately afterwards bits of meat were placed on three glands, but no movement ensued in the course of m. the same plant was placed again under the same vessel for m. with ten drops of the ether. none of the tentacles moved, and next morning those with the meat were still in the same position. after hrs. one leaf seemed healthy, but the others were much injured. another plant, having two good leaves, was exposed for m. under a -oz. vessel to the vapour from ten minims of the ether, and bits of meat were then placed on the glands of many tentacles on both leaves. after m. several of them on one leaf became inflected, and after hr. almost all the tentacles, those with and without meat, nearly reached the centre. on the other leaf the glands began to dry in hr. m., and after several hours not a single tentacle was inflected; but by the next morning, after hrs., many were inflected, though they seemed much injured. in this and the previous experiment, it is doubtful, owing to the injury which the leaves had suffered, whether any anaesthetic effect had been produced. a third plant, having two good leaves, was exposed for only m. in the -oz. vessel to the vapour from six drops. bits of meat were then placed on the glands of seven tentacles on the [page ] same leaf. a single tentacle moved after hr. m.; after hrs. m. several were inflected; and after hrs. m. all the seven tentacles with meat were well inflected. from the slowness of these movements it is clear that this leaf had been rendered insensible for a time to the action of the meat. a second leaf was rather differently affected; bits of meat were placed on the glands of five tentacles, three of which were slightly inflected in m.; after hr. m. one reached the centre, but the other two were still only slightly inflected; after hrs. they were much more inflected; but even after hrs. m. all five had not reached the centre. although some of the tentacles began to move moderately soon, they afterwards moved with extreme slowness. by next morning, after hrs., most of the tentacles on both leaves were closely inflected, but not quite regularly. after hrs. neither leaf appeared injured, though the tentacles were still inflected; after hrs. one was almost dead, whilst the other was re-expanding and recovering. carbonic acid.--a plant was placed under a -oz. bell-glass filled with this gas and standing over water; but i did not make sufficient allowance for the absorption of the gas by the water, so that towards the latter part of the experiment some air was drawn in. after an exposure of hrs. the plant was removed, and bits of raw meat placed on the glands of three leaves. one of these leaves hung a little down, and was at first partly and soon afterwards completely covered by the water, which rose within the vessel as the gas was absorbed. on this latter leaf the tentacles, to which meat had been given, became well inflected in m. s., that is, at about the normal rate; so that until i remembered that the leaf had been protected from the gas, and might perhaps have absorbed oxygen from the water which was continually drawn inwards, i falsely concluded that the carbonic acid had produced no effect. on the other two leaves, the tentacles with meat behaved very differently from those on the first leaf; two of them first began to move slightly in hr. m., always reckoning from the time when the meat was placed on the glands--were plainly inflected in hrs. m.--and in hrs m. reached the centre. three other tentacles did not begin to move until hrs. m. had elapsed, but reached the centre at about the same time with the others, viz. in hrs. m. this experiment was repeated several times with nearly the same results, excepting that the interval before the tentacles began to move varied a little. i will give only one other case. [page ] a plant was exposed in the same vessel to the gas for m., and bits of meat were then placed on four glands. but the tentacles did not move for hr. m.; after hrs. m. all four were well inflected, and after hrs. reached the centre. the following singular phenomenon sometimes, but by no means always, occurred. a plant was immersed for hrs., and bits of meat were then placed on several glands. in the course of m. all the submarginal tentacles on one leaf became considerably inflected; those with the meat not in the least degree more than the others. on a second leaf, which was rather old, the tentacles with meat, as well as a few others, were moderately inflected. on a third leaf all the tentacles were closely inflected, though meat had not been placed on any of the glands. this movement, i presume, may be attributed to excitement from the absorption of oxygen. the last-mentioned leaf, to which no meat had been given, was fully re-expanded after hrs.; whereas the two other leaves had all their tentacles closely inflected over the bits of meat which by this time had been carried to their centres. thus these three leaves had perfectly recovered from the effects of the gas in the course of hrs. on another occasion some fine plants, after having been left for hrs. in the gas, were immediately given bits of meat in the usual manner, and on their exposure to the air most of their tentacles became in m. curved into a vertical or sub-vertical position, but in an extremely irregular manner; some only on one side of the leaf and some on the other. they remained in this position for some time; the tentacles with the bits of meat not having at first moved more quickly or farther inwards than the others without meat. but after hrs. m. the former began to move, and steadily went on bending until they reached the centre. next morning, after hrs., all the tentacles on these leaves were closely clasped over the meat which had been carried to their centres; whilst the vertical and sub-vertical tentacles on the other leaves to which no meat had been given had fully re-expanded. judging, however, from the subsequent action of a weak solution of carbonate of ammonia on one of these latter leaves, it had not perfectly recovered its excitability and power of movement in hrs.; but another leaf, after an additional hrs., had completely recovered, judging from the manner in which it clasped a fly placed on its disc. i will give only one other experiment. after the exposure of a plant for hrs. to the gas, one of its leaves was immersed in a rather strong solution of carbonate of ammonia, together with [page ] a fresh leaf from another plant. the latter had most of its tentacles strongly inflected within m.; whereas the leaf which had been exposed to the carbonic acid remained for hrs. in the solution without undergoing any inflection, with the exception of two tentacles. this leaf had been almost completely paralysed, and was not able to recover its sensibility whilst still in the solution, which from having been made with distilled water probably contained little oxygen.] concluding remarks on the effects of the foregoing agents.--as the glands, when excited, transmit some influence to the surrounding tentacles, causing them to bend and their glands to pour forth an increased amount of modified secretion, i was anxious to ascertain whether the leaves included any element having the nature of nerve-tissue, which, though not continuous, served as the channel of transmission. this led me to try the several alkaloids and other substances which are known to exert a powerful influence on the nervous system of animals; i was at first encouraged in my trials by finding that strychnine, digitaline, and nicotine, which all act on the nervous system, were poisonous to drosera, and caused a certain amount of inflection. hydrocyanic acid, again, which is so deadly a poison to animals, caused rapid movement of the tentacles. but as several innocuous acids, though much diluted, such as benzoic, acetic, &c., as well as some essential oils, are extremely poisonous to drosera, and quickly cause strong inflection, it seems probable that strychnine, nicotine, digitaline, and hydrocyanic acid, excite inflection by acting on elements in no way analogous to the nerve-cells of animals. if elements of this latter nature had been present in the leaves, it might have been expected that morphia, hyoscyamus, atropine, veratrine, colchicine, curare, and diluted alcohol would have produced some marked effect; whereas [page ] these substances are not poisonous and have no power, or only a very slight one, of inducing inflection. it should, however, be observed that curare, colchicine, and veratrine are muscle-poisons--that is, act on nerves having some special relation with the muscles, and, therefore, could not be expected to act on drosera. the poison of the cobra is most deadly to animals, by paralysing their nerve-centres,* yet is not in the least so to drosera, though quickly causing strong inflection. notwithstanding the foregoing facts, which show how widely different is the effect of certain substances on the health or life of animals and of drosera, yet there exists a certain degree of parallelism in the action of certain other substances. we have seen that this holds good in a striking manner with the salts of sodium and potassium. again, various metallic salts and acids, namely those of silver, mercury, gold, tin, arsenic, chromium, copper, and platina, most or all of which are highly poisonous to animals, are equally so to drosera. but it is a singular fact that the chloride of lead and two salts of barium were not poisonous to this plant. it is an equally strange fact, that, though acetic and propionic acids are highly poisonous, their ally, formic acid, is not so; and that, whilst certain vegetable acids, namely oxalic, benzoic, &c., are poisonous in a high degree, gallic, tannic, tartaric, and malic (all diluted to an equal degree) are not so. malic acid induces inflection, whilst the three other just named vegetable acids have no such power. but a pharmacopoeia would be requisite to describe the diversified effects of various substances on drosera. * dr. fayrer, 'the thanatophidia of india,' , p. . seeing that acetic, hydrocyanic, and chromic acids, acetate of strychnine, and vapour of ether, are poisonous to drosera, [[page ]] it is remarkable that dr. ransom (' philosoph. transact.' , p. ), who used much stronger solutions of these substances than i did, states "that the rhythmic contractility of the yolk (of the ova of the pike) is not materially influenced by any of the poisons used, which did not act chemically, with the exception of chloroform and carbonic acid." i find it stated by several writers that curare has no influence on sarcode or protoplasm, and we have seen that, though curare excites some degree of inflection, it causes very little aggregation of the protoplasm.) [page ] of the alkaloids and their salts which were tried, several had not the least power of inducing inflection; others, which were certainly absorbed, as shown by the changed colour of the glands, had but a very moderate power of this kind; others, again, such as the acetate of quinine and digitaline, caused strong inflection. the several substances mentioned in this chapter affect the colour of the glands very differently. these often become dark at first, and then very pale or white, as was conspicuously the case with glands subjected to the poison of the cobra and citrate of strychnine. in other cases they are from the first rendered white, as with leaves placed in hot water and several acids; and this, i presume, is the result of the coagulation of the albumen. on the same leaf some glands become white and others dark-coloured, as occurred with leaves in a solution of the sulphate of quinine, and in the vapour of alcohol. prolonged immersion in nicotine, curare, and even water, blackens the glands; and this, i believe, is due to the aggregation of the protoplasm within their cells. yet curare caused very little aggregation in the cells of the tentacles, whereas nicotine and sulphate of quinine induced strongly marked aggregation down their bases. the aggregated masses in leaves which had been immersed for hrs. m. in a saturated solution of sulphate of quinine exhibited incessant [page ] changes of form, but after hrs. were motionless; the leaf being flaccid and apparently dead. on the other hand, with leaves subjected for hrs. to a strong solution of the poison of the cobra, the protoplasmic masses were unusually active, whilst with the higher animals the vibratile cilia and white corpuscles of the blood seem to be quickly paralysed by this substance. with the salts of alkalies and earths, the nature of the base, and not that of the acid, determines their physiological action on drosera, as is likewise the case with animals; but this rule hardly applies to the salts of quinine and strychnine, for the acetate of quinine causes much more inflection than the sulphate, and both are poisonous, whereas the nitrate of quinine is not poisonous, and induces inflection at a much slower rate than the acetate. the action of the citrate of strychnine is also somewhat different from that of the sulphate. leaves which have been immersed for hrs. in water, and for only m. in diluted alcohol, or in a weak solution of sugar, are afterwards acted on very slowly, or not at all, by the phosphate of ammonia, though they are quickly acted on by the carbonate. immersion for m. in a solution of gum arabic has no such inhibitory power. the solutions of certain salts and acids affect the leaves, with respect to the subsequent action of the phosphate, exactly like water, whilst others allow the phosphate afterwards to act quickly and energetically. in this latter case, the interstices of the cell-walls may have been blocked up by the molecules of the salts first given in solution, so that water could not afterwards enter, though the molecules of the phosphate could do so, and those of the carbonate still more easily. [page ] the action of camphor dissolved in water is remarkable, for it not only soon induces inflection, but apparently renders the glands extremely sensitive to mechanical irritation; for if they are brushed with a soft brush, after being immersed in the solution for a short time, the tentacles begin to bend in about m. it may, however, be that the brushing, though not a sufficient stimulus by itself, tends to excite movement merely by reinforcing the direct action of the camphor. the vapour of camphor, on the other hand, serves as a narcotic. some essential oils, both in solution and in vapour, cause rapid inflection, others have no such power; those which i tried were all poisonous. diluted alcohol (one part to seven of water) is not poisonous, does not induce inflection, nor increase the sensitiveness of the glands to mechanical irritation. the vapour acts as a narcotic or anaesthetic, and long exposure to it kills the leaves. the vapours of chloroform, sulphuric and nitric ether, act in a singularly variable manner on different leaves, and on the several tentacles of the same leaf. this, i suppose, is owing to differences in the age or constitution of the leaves, and to whether certain tentacles have lately been in action. that these vapours are absorbed by the glands is shown by their changed colour; but as other plants not furnished with glands are affected by these vapours, it is probable that they are likewise absorbed by the stomata of drosera. they sometimes excite extraordinarily rapid inflection, but this is not an invariable result. if allowed to act for even a moderately long time, they kill the leaves; whilst a small dose acting for only a short time serves as a narcotic or anaesthetic. in this case the tentacles, whether or not they have [page ] become inflected, are not excited to further movement by bits of meat placed on the glands, until some considerable time has elapsed. it is generally believed that with animals and plants these vapours act by arresting oxidation. exposure to carbonic acid for hrs., and in one case for only m., likewise rendered the glands insensible for a time to the powerful stimulus of raw meat. the leaves, however, recovered their full powers, and did not seem in the least injured, on being left in the air for or hrs. we have seen in the third chapter that the process of aggregation in leaves subjected for two hours to this gas and then immersed in a solution of the carbonate of ammonia is much retarded, so that a considerable time elapses before the protoplasm in the lower cells of the tentacles becomes aggregated. in some cases, soon after the leaves were removed from the gas and brought into the air, the tentacles moved spontaneously; this being due, i presume, to the excitement from the access of oxygen. these inflected tentacles, however, could not be excited for some time afterwards to any further movement by their glands being stimulated. with other irritable plants it is known* that the exclusion of oxygen prevents their moving, and arrests the movements of the protoplasm within their cells, but this arrest is a different phenomenon from the retardation of the process of aggregation just alluded to. whether this latter fact ought to be attributed to the direct action of the carbonic acid, or to the exclusion of oxygen, i know not. * sachs, 'trait de bot.' , pp. , . [page ] chapter x. on the sensitiveness of the leaves, and on the lines of transmission of the motor impulse. glands and summits of the tentacles alone sensitive--transmission of the motor impulse down the pedicels of the tentacles, and across the blade of the leaf--aggregation of the protoplasm, a reflex action--first discharge of the motor impulse sudden--direction of the movements of the tentacles--motor impulse transmitted through the cellular tissue-- mechanism of the movements--nature of the motor impulse--re-expansion of the tentacles. we have seen in the previous chapters that many widely different stimulants, mechanical and chemical, excite the movement of the tentacles, as well as of the blade of the leaf; and we must now consider, firstly, what are the points which are irritable or sensitive, and secondly how the motor impulse is transmitted from one point to another. the glands are almost exclusively the seat of irritability, yet this irritability must extend for a very short distance below them; for when they were cut off with a sharp pair of scissors without being themselves touched, the tentacles often became inflected. these headless tentacles frequently re-expanded; and when afterwards drops of the two most powerful known stimulants were placed on the cut-off ends, no effect was produced. nevertheless these headless tentacles are capable of subsequent inflection if excited by an impulse sent from the disc. i succeeded on several occasions in crushing glands between fine pincers, but this did not excite any movement; nor did raw meat and salts of ammonia, when placed on such crushed glands. [page ] it is probable that they were killed so instantly that they were not able to transmit any motor impulse; for in six observed cases (in two of which however the gland was quite pinched off) the protoplasm within the cells of the tentacles did not become aggregated; whereas in some adjoining tentacles, which were inflected from having been roughly touched by the pincers, it was well aggregated. in like manner the protoplasm does not become aggregated when a leaf is instantly killed by being dipped into boiling water. on the other hand, in several cases in which tentacles became inflected after their glands had been cut off with sharp scissors, a distinct though moderate degree of aggregation supervened. the pedicels of the tentacles were roughly and repeatedly rubbed; raw meat or other exciting substances were placed on them, both on the upper surface near the base and elsewhere, but no distinct movement ensued. some bits of meat, after being left for a considerable time on the pedicels, were pushed upwards, so as just to touch the glands, and in a minute the tentacles began to bend. i believe that the blade of the leaf is not sensitive to any stimulant. i drove the point of a lancet through the blades of several leaves, and a needle three or four times through nineteen leaves: in the former case no movement ensued; but about a dozen of the leaves which were repeatedly pricked had a few tentacles irregularly inflected. as, however, their backs had to be supported during the operation, some of the outer glands, as well as those on the disc, may have been touched; and this perhaps sufficed to cause the slight degree of movement observed. nitschke*says * 'bot. zeitung,' , p. . [page ] that cutting and pricking the leaf does not excite movement. the petiole of the leaf is quite insensible. the backs of the leaves bear numerous minute papillae, which do not secrete, but have the power of absorption. these papillae are, i believe, rudiments of formerly existing tentacles together with their glands. many experiments were made to ascertain whether the backs of the leaves could be irritated in any way, thirty-seven leaves being thus tried. some were rubbed for a long time with a blunt needle, and drops of milk and other exciting fluids, raw meat, crushed flies, and various substances, placed on others. these substances were apt soon to become dry, showing that no secretion had been excited. hence i moistened them with saliva, solutions of ammonia, weak hydrochloric acid, and frequently with the secretion from the glands of other leaves. i also kept some leaves, on the backs of which exciting objects had been placed, under a damp bell-glass; but with all my care i never saw any true movement. i was led to make so many trials because, contrary to my previous experience, nitschke states* that, after affixing objects to the backs of leaves by the aid of the viscid secretion, he repeatedly saw the tentacles (and in one instance the blade) become reflexed. this movement, if a true one, would be most anomalous; for it implies that the tentacles receive a motor impulse from an unnatural source, and have the power of bending in a direction exactly the reverse of that which is habitual to them; this power not being of the least use to the plant, as insects cannot adhere to the smooth backs of the leaves. i have said that no effect was produced in the above * 'bot. zeitung.' , p. . [page ] cases; but this is not strictly true, for in three instances a little syrup was added to the bits of raw meat on the backs of leaves, in order to keep them damp for a time; and after hrs. there was a trace of reflexion in the tentacles of one leaf, and certainly in the blade of another. after twelve additional hours, the glands began to dry, and all three leaves seemed much injured. four leaves were then placed under a bell-glass, with their footstalks in water, with drops of syrup on their backs, but without any meat. two of these leaves, after a day, had a few tentacles reflexed. the drops had now increased considerably in size, from having imbibed moisture, so as to trickle down the backs of the tentacles and footstalks. on the second day, one leaf had its blade much reflexed; on the third day the tentacles of two were much reflexed, as well as the blades of all four to a greater or less degree. the upper side of one leaf, instead of being, as at first, slightly concave, now presented a strong convexity upwards. even on the fifth day the leaves did not appear dead. now, as sugar does not in the least excite drosera, we may safely attribute the reflexion of the blades and tentacles of the above leaves to exosmose from the cells which were in contact with the syrup, and their consequent contraction. when drops of syrup are placed on the leaves of plants with their roots still in damp earth, no inflection ensues, for the roots, no doubt, pump up water as quickly as it is lost by exosmose. but if cut-off leaves are immersed in syrup, or in any dense fluid, the tentacles are greatly, though irregularly, inflected, some of them assuming the shape of corkscrews; and the leaves soon become flaccid. if they are now immersed in a fluid of low specific gravity, the tentacles re-expand. from these [page ] facts we may conclude that drops of syrup placed on the backs of leaves do not act by exciting a motor impulse which is transmitted to the tentacles; but that they cause reflexion by inducing exosmose. dr. nitschke used the secretion for sticking insects to the backs of the leaves; and i suppose that he used a large quantity, which from being dense probably caused exosmose. perhaps he experimented on cut-off leaves, or on plants with their roots not supplied with enough water. as far, therefore, as our present knowledge serves, we may conclude that the glands, together with the immediately underlying cells of the tentacles, are the exclusive seats of that irritability or sensitiveness with which the leaves are endowed. the degree to which a gland is excited can be measured only by the number of the surrounding tentacles which are inflected, and by the amount and rate of their movement. equally vigorous leaves, exposed to the same temperature (and this is an important condition), are excited in different degrees under the following circumstances. a minute quantity of a weak solution produces no effect; add more, or give a rather stronger solution, and the tentacles bend. touch a gland once or twice, and no movement follows; touch it three or four times, and the tentacle becomes inflected. but the nature of the substance which is given is a very important element: if equal-sized particles of glass (which acts only mechanically), of gelatine, and raw meat, are placed on the discs of several leaves, the meat causes far more rapid, energetic, and widely extended movement than the two former substances. the number of glands which are excited also makes a great difference in the result: place a bit of meat on one or two of the discal [page ] glands, and only a few of the immediately surrounding short tentacles are inflected; place it on several glands, and many more are acted on; place it on thirty or forty, and all the tentacles, including the extreme marginal ones, become closely inflected. we thus see that the impulses proceeding from a number of glands strengthen one another, spread farther, and act on a larger number of tentacles, than the impulse from any single gland. transmission of the motor impulse.--in every case the impulse from a gland has to travel for at least a short distance to the basal part of the tentacle, the upper part and the gland itself being merely carried by the inflection of the lower part. the impulse is thus always transmitted down nearly the whole length of the pedicel. when the central glands are stimulated, and the extreme marginal tentacles become inflected, the impulse is transmitted across half the diameter of the disc; and when the glands on one side of the disc are stimulated, the impulse is transmitted across nearly the whole width of the disc. a gland transmits its motor impulse far more easily and quickly down its own tentacle to the bending place than across the disc to neighbouring tentacles. thus a minute dose of a very weak solution of ammonia, if given to one of the glands of the exterior tentacles, causes it to bend and reach the centre; whereas a large drop of the same solution, given to a score of glands on the disc, will not cause through their combined influence the least inflection of the exterior tentacles. again, when a bit of meat is placed on the gland of an exterior tentacle, i have seen movement in ten seconds, and repeatedly within a minute; but a much larger bit placed on several glands on the disc does not cause [page ] the exterior tentacles to bend until half an hour or even several hours have elapsed. the motor impulse spreads gradually on all sides from one or more excited glands, so that the tentacles which stand nearest are always first affected. hence, when the glands in the centre of the disc are excited, the extreme marginal tentacles are the last inflected. but the glands on different parts of the leaf transmit their motor power in a somewhat different manner. if a bit of meat be placed on the long-headed gland of a marginal tentacle, it quickly transmits an impulse to its own bending portion; but never, as far as i have observed, to the adjoining tentacles; for these are not affected until the meat has been carried to the central glands, which then radiate forth their conjoint impulse on all sides. on four occasions leaves were prepared by removing some days previously all the glands from the centre, so that these could not be excited by the bits of meat brought to them by the inflection of the marginal tentacles; and now these marginal tentacles re-expanded after a time without any other tentacle being affected. other leaves were similarly prepared, and bits of meat were placed on the glands of two tentacles in the third row from the outside, and on the glands of two tentacles in the fifth row. in these four cases the impulse was sent in the first place laterally, that is, in the same concentric row of tentacles, and then towards the centre; but not centrifugally, or towards the exterior tentacles. in one of these cases only a single tentacle on each side of the one with meat was affected. in the three other cases, from half a dozen to a dozen tentacles, both laterally and towards the centre, were well inflected or sub-inflected. lastly, in [page ] ten other experiments, minute bits of meat were placed on a single gland or on two glands in the centre of the disc. in order that no other glands should touch the meat, through the inflection of the closely adjoining short tentacles, about half a dozen glands had been previously removed round the selected ones. on eight of these leaves from sixteen to twenty-five of the short surrounding tentacles were inflected in the course of one or two days; so that the motor impulse radiating from one or two of the discal glands is able to produce this much effect. the tentacles which had been removed are included in the above numbers; for, from standing so close, they would certainly have been affected. on the two remaining leaves, almost all the short tentacles on the disc were inflected. with a more powerful stimulus than meat, namely a little phosphate of lime moistened with saliva, i have seen the inflection spread still farther from a single gland thus treated; but even in this case the three or four outer rows of tentacles were not affected. from these experiments it appears that the impulse from a single gland on the disc acts on a greater number of tentacles than that from a gland of one of the exterior elongated tentacles; and this probably follows, at least in part, from the impulse having to travel a very short distance down the pedicels of the central tentacles, so that it is able to spread to a considerable distance all round. whilst examining these leaves, i was struck with the fact that in six, perhaps seven, of them the tentacles were much more inflected at the distal and proximal ends of the leaf (i.e. towards the apex and base) than on either side; and yet the tentacles on the sides stood as near to the gland where the bit of meat lay as did those at the two ends. it thus appeared as [page ] if the motor impulse was transmitted from the centre across the disc more readily in a longitudinal than in a transverse direction; and as this appeared a new and interesting fact in the physiology of plants, thirty-five fresh experiments were made to test its truth. minute bits of meat were placed on a single gland or on a few glands, on the right or left side of the discs of eighteen leaves; other bits of the same size being placed on the distal or proximal ends of seventeen other leaves. now if the motor impulse were transmitted with equal force or at an equal rate through the blade in all directions, a bit of meat placed at one side or at one end of the disc ought to affect equally all the tentacles situated at an equal distance from it; but this certainly is not the case. before giving the general results, it may be well to describe three or four rather unusual cases. [( ) a minute fragment of a fly was placed on one side of the disc, and after m. seven of the outer tentacles near the fragment were inflected; after hrs. several more became so, and after hrs. a still greater number; and now the blade of the leaf on this side was bent inwards so as to stand up at right angles to the other side. neither the blade of the leaf nor a single tentacle on the opposite side was affected; the line of separation between the two halves extending from the footstalk to the apex. the leaf remained in this state for three days, and on the fourth day began to re-expand; not a single tentacle having been inflected on the opposite side. ( ) i will here give a case not included in the above thirty-five experiments. a small fly was found adhering by its feet to the left side of the disc. the tentacles on this side soon closed in and killed the fly; and owing probably to its struggle whilst alive, the leaf was so much excited that in about hrs. all the tentacles on the opposite side became inflected; but as they found no prey, for their glands did not reach the fly, they re-expanded in the course of hrs.; the tentacles on the left side remaining clasped for several days. ( ) a bit of meat, rather larger than those commonly used, [page ] was placed in a medial line at the basal end of the disc, near the footstalk; after hrs. m. some neighbouring tentacles were inflected; after hrs. the tentacles on both sides of the footstalk, and some way up both sides, were moderately inflected; after hrs. the tentacles at the further or distal end were more inflected than those on either side; after hrs. the meat was well clasped by all the tentacles, excepting by the exterior ones on the two sides. ( ) another bit of meat was placed at the opposite or distal end of another leaf, with exactly the same relative results. ( ) a minute bit of meat was placed on one side of the disc; next day the neighbouring short tentacles were inflected, as well as in a slight degree three or four on the opposite side near the footstalk. on the second day these latter tentacles showed signs of re-expanding, so i added a fresh bit of meat at nearly the same spot, and after two days some of the short tentacles on the opposite side of the disc were inflected. as soon as these began to re-expand, i added another bit of meat, and next day all the tentacles on the opposite side of the disc were inflected towards the meat; whereas we have seen that those on the same side were affected by the first bit of meat which was given.] now for the general results. of the eighteen leaves on which bits of meat were placed on the right or left sides of the disc, eight had a vast number of tentacles inflected on the same side, and in four of them the blade itself on this side was likewise inflected; whereas not a single tentacle nor the blade was affected on the opposite side. these leaves presented a very curious appearance, as if only the inflected side was active, and the other paralysed. in the remaining ten cases, a few tentacles became inflected beyond the medial line, on the side opposite to that where the meat lay; but, in some of these cases, only at the proximal or distal ends of the leaves. the inflection on the opposite side always occurred considerably after that on the same side, and in one instance not until the fourth day. we have also seen [page ] with no. that bits of meat had to be added thrice before all the short tentacles on the opposite side of the disc were inflected. the result was widely different when bits of meat were placed in a medial line at the distal or proximal ends of the disc. in three of the seventeen experiments thus made, owing either to the state of the leaf or to the smallness of the bit of meat, only the immediately adjoining tentacles were affected; but in the other fourteen cases the tentacles at the opposite end of the leaf were inflected, though these were as distant from where the meat lay as were those on one side of the disc from the meat on the opposite side. in some of the present cases the tentacles on the sides were not at all affected, or in a less degree, or after a longer interval of time, than those at the opposite end. one set of experiments is worth giving in fuller detail. cubes of meat, not quite so small as those usually employed, were placed on one side of the discs of four leaves, and cubes of the same size at the proximal or distal end of four other leaves. now, when these two sets of leaves were compared after an interval of hrs., they presented a striking difference. those having the cubes on one side were very slightly affected on the opposite side; whereas those with the cubes at either end had almost every tentacle at the opposite end, even the marginal ones, closely inflected. after hrs. the contrast in the state of the two sets was still great; yet those with the meat on one side now had their discal and submarginal tentacles on the opposite side somewhat inflected, this being due to the large size of the cubes. finally we may conclude from these thirty-five experiments, not to mention the six or seven previous ones, that the motor impulse is transmitted from any single gland [page ] or small group of glands through the blade to the other tentacles more readily and effectually in a longitudinal than in a transverse direction. as long as the glands remain excited, and this may last for many days, even for eleven, as when in contact with phosphate of lime, they continue to transmit a motor impulse to the basal and bending parts of their own pedicels, for otherwise they would re-expand. the great difference in the length of time during which tentacles remain inflected over inorganic objects, and over objects of the same size containing soluble nitrogenous matter, proves the same fact. but the intensity of the impulse transmitted from an excited gland, which has begun to pour forth its acid secretion and is at the same time absorbing, seems to be very small compared with that which it transmits when first excited. thus, when moderately large bits of meat were placed on one side of the disc, and the discal and sub-marginal tentacles on the opposite side became inflected, so that their glands at last touched the meat and absorbed matter from it, they did not transmit any motor influence to the exterior rows of tentacles on the same side, for these never became inflected. if, however, meat had been placed on the glands of these same tentacles before they had begun to secrete copiously and to absorb, they undoubtedly would have affected the exterior rows. nevertheless, when i gave some phosphate of lime, which is a most powerful stimulant, to several submarginal tentacles already considerably inflected, but not yet in contact with some phosphate previously placed on two glands in the centre of the disc, the exterior tentacles on the same side were acted on. when a gland is first excited, the motor impulse is discharged within a few seconds, as we know from the [page ] bending of the tentacle; and it appears to be discharged at first with much greater force than afterwards. thus, in the case above given of a small fly naturally caught by a few glands on one side of a leaf, an impulse was slowly transmitted from them across the whole breadth of the leaf, causing the opposite tentacles to be temporarily inflected, but the glands which remained in contact with the insect, though they continued for several days to send an impulse down their own pedicels to the bending place, did not prevent the tentacles on the opposite side from quickly re-expanding; so that the motor discharge must at first have been more powerful than afterwards. when an object of any kind is placed on the disc, and the surrounding tentacles are inflected, their glands secrete more copiously and the secretion becomes acid, so that some influence is sent to them from the discal glands. this change in the nature and amount of the secretion cannot depend on the bending of the tentacles, as the glands of the short central tentacles secrete acid when an object is placed on them, though they do not themselves bend. therefore i inferred that the glands of the disc sent some influence up the surrounding tentacles to their glands, and that these reflected back a motor impulse to their basal parts; but this view was soon proved erroneous. it was found by many trials that tentacles with their glands closely cut off by sharp scissors often become inflected and again re-expand, still appearing healthy. one which was observed continued healthy for ten days after the operation. i therefore cut the glands off twenty-five tentacles, at different times and on different leaves, and seventeen of these soon became inflected, and afterwards re-expanded. the re-expansion commenced in about [page ] hrs. or hrs., and was completed in from hrs. to hrs. from the time of inflection. after an interval of a day or two, raw meat with saliva was placed on the discs of these seventeen leaves, and when observed next day, seven of the headless tentacles were inflected over the meat as closely as the uninjured ones on the same leaves; and an eighth headless tentacle became inflected after three additional days. the meat was removed from one of these leaves, and the surface washed with a little stream of water, and after three days the headless tentacle re-expanded for the second time. these tentacles without glands were, however, in a different state from those provided with glands and which had absorbed matter from the meat, for the protoplasm within the cells of the former had undergone far less aggregation. from these experiments with headless tentacles it is certain that the glands do not, as far as the motor impulse is concerned, act in a reflex manner like the nerve-ganglia of animals. but there is another action, namely that of aggregation, which in certain cases may be called reflex, and it is the only known instance in the vegetable kingdom. we should bear in mind that the process does not depend on the previous bending of the tentacles, as we clearly see when leaves are immersed in certain strong solutions. nor does it depend on increased secretion from the glands, and this is shown by several facts, more especially by the papillae, which do not secrete, yet undergoing aggregation, if given carbonate of ammonia or an infusion of raw meat. when a gland is directly stimulated in any way, as by the pressure of a minute particle of glass, the protoplasm within the cells of the gland first becomes aggregated, then that in the cells immediately beneath the gland, and so lower and lower down the tentacles to their bases;-- [page ] that is, if the stimulus has been sufficient and not injurious. now, when the glands of the disc are excited, the exterior tentacles are affected in exactly the same manner: the aggregation always commences in their glands, though these have not been directly excited, but have only received some influence from the disc, as shown by their increased acid secretion. the protoplasm within the cells immediately beneath the glands are next affected, and so downwards from cell to cell to the bases of the tentacles. this process apparently deserves to be called a reflex action, in the same manner as when a sensory nerve is irritated, and carries an impression to a ganglion which sends back some influence to a muscle or gland, causing movement or increased secretion; but the action in the two cases is probably of a widely different nature. after the protoplasm in a tentacle has been aggregated, its redissolution always begins in the lower part, and slowly travels up the pedicel to the gland, so that the protoplasm last aggregated is first redissolved. this probably depends merely on the protoplasm being less and less aggregated, lower and lower down in the tentacles, as can be seen plainly when the excitement has been slight. as soon, therefore, as the aggregating action altogether ceases, redissolution naturally commences in the less strongly aggregated matter in the lowest part of the tentacle, and is there first completed. direction of the inflected tentacles.--when a particle of any kind is placed on the gland of one of the outer tentacles, this invariably moves towards the centre of the leaf; and so it is with all the tentacles of a leaf immersed in any exciting fluid. the glands of the exterior tentacles then form a ring round the middle part of the disc, as shown in a previous figure (fig. , [page ] p. ). the short tentacles within this ring still retain their vertical position, as they likewise do when a large object is placed on their glands, or when an insect is caught by them. in this latter case we can see that the inflection of the short central tentacles would be useless, as their glands are already in contact with their prey. fig. . (drosera rotundifolia.) leaf (enlarged) with the tentacles inflected over a bit of meat placed on one side of the disc. the result is very different when a single gland on one side of the disc is excited, or a few in a group. these send an impulse to the surrounding tentacles, which do not now bend towards the centre of the leaf, but to the point of excitement. we owe this capital observation to nitschke,* and since reading his paper a few years ago, i have repeatedly verified it. if a minute bit of meat be placed by the aid of a needle on a single gland, or on three or four together, halfway between the centre and the circumference of the disc, the directed movement of the surrounding tentacles is well exhibited. an accurate drawing of a leaf with meat in this position is here reproduced (fig. ), and we see the tentacles, including some of the exterior ones, accurately directed to the point where the meat lay. but a much better * 'bot. zeitung,' , p. . [page ] plan is to place a particle of the phosphate of lime moistened with saliva on a single gland on one side of the disc of a large leaf, and another particle on a single gland on the opposite side. in four such trials the excitement was not sufficient to affect the outer tentacles, but all those near the two points were directed to them, so that two wheels were formed on the disc of the same leaf; the pedicels of the tentacles forming the spokes, and the glands united in a mass over the phosphate representing the axles. the precision with which each tentacle pointed to the particle was wonderful; so that in some cases i could detect no deviation from perfect accuracy. thus, although the short tentacles in the middle of the disc do not bend when their glands are excited in a direct manner, yet if they receive a motor impulse from a point on one side, they direct themselves to the point equally well with the tentacles on the borders of the disc. in these experiments, some of the short tentacles on the disc, which would have been directed to the centre, had the leaf been immersed in an exciting fluid, were now inflected in an exactly opposite direction, viz. towards the circumference. these tentacles, therefore, had deviated as much as o from the direction which they would have assumed if their own glands had been stimulated, and which may be considered as the normal one. between this, the greatest possible and no deviation from the normal direction, every degree could be observed in the tentacles on these several leaves. notwithstanding the precision with which the tentacles generally were directed, those near the circumference of one leaf were not accurately directed towards some phosphate of lime at a rather distant point on the opposite side of the disc. it appeared as if the motor [page ] impulse in passing transversely across nearly the whole width of the disc had departed somewhat from a true course. this accords with what we have already seen of the impulse travelling less readily in a transverse than in a longitudinal direction. in some other cases, the exterior tentacles did not seem capable of such accurate movement as the shorter and more central ones. nothing could be more striking than the appearance of the above four leaves, each with their tentacles pointing truly to the two little masses of the phosphate on their discs. we might imagine that we were looking at a lowly organised animal seizing prey with its arms. in the case of drosera the explanation of this accurate power of movement, no doubt, lies in the motor impulse radiating in all directions, and whichever side of a tentacle it first strikes, that side contracts, and the tentacle consequently bends towards the point of excitement. the pedicels of the tentacles are flattened, or elliptic in section. near the bases of the short central tentacles, the flattened or broad face is formed of about five longitudinal rows of cells; in the outer tentacles of the disc it consists of about six or seven rows; and in the extreme marginal tentacles of above a dozen rows. as the flattened bases are thus formed of only a few rows of cells, the precision of the movements of the tentacles is the more remarkable; for when the motor impulse strikes the base of a tentacle in a very oblique direction relatively to its broad face, scarcely more than one or two cells towards one end can be affected at first, and the contraction of these cells must draw the whole tentacle into the proper direction. it is, perhaps, owing to the exterior pedicels being much flattened that they do not bend quite so accurately to the point of excitement as the [page ] more central ones. the properly directed movement of the tentacles is not an unique case in the vegetable kingdom, for the tendrils of many plants curve towards the side which is touched; but the case of drosera is far more interesting, as here the tentacles are not directly excited, but receive an impulse from a distant point; nevertheless, they bend accurately towards this point. fig. . (drosera rotundifolia.) diagram showing the distribution of the vascular tissue in a small leaf. on the nature of the tissues through which the motor impulse is transmitted.--it will be necessary first to describe briefly the course of the main fibro-vascular bundles. these are shown in the accompanying sketch (fig. ) of a small leaf. little vessels from the neighbouring bundles enter all the many tentacles with which the surface is studded; but these are not here represented. the central trunk, which runs up the footstalk, bifurcates near the centre of the leaf, each branch bifurcating again and again according to the size of the leaf. this central trunk sends off, low down on each side, a delicate branch, which may be called the sublateral branch. there is also, on each side, a main lateral branch or bundle, which bifurcates in the same manner as the others. bifurcation does not imply that any single vessel divides, but that a bundle [page ] divides into two. by looking to either side of the leaf, it will be seen that a branch from the great central bifurcation inosculates with a branch from the lateral bundle, and that there is a smaller inosculation between the two chief branches of the lateral bundle. the course of the vessels is very complex at the larger inosculation; and here vessels, retaining the same diameter, are often formed by the union of the bluntly pointed ends of two vessels, but whether these points open into each other by their attached surfaces, i do not know. by means of the two inosculations all the vessels on the same side of the leaf are brought into some sort of connection. near the circumference of the larger leaves the bifurcating branches also come into close union, and then separate again, forming a continuous zigzag line of vessels round the whole circumference. but the union of the vessels in this zigzag line seems to be much less intimate than at the main inosculation. it should be added that the course of the vessels differs somewhat in different leaves, and even on opposite sides of the same leaf, but the main inosculation is always present. now in my first experiments with bits of meat placed on one side of the disc, it so happened that not a single tentacle was inflected on the opposite side; and when i saw that the vessels on the same side were all connected together by the two inosculations, whilst not a vessel passed over to the opposite side, it seemed probable that the motor impulse was conducted exclusively along them. in order to test this view, i divided transversely with the point of a lancet the central trunks of four leaves, just beneath the main bifurcation; and two days afterwards placed rather large bits of raw meat [page ] (a most powerful stimulant) near the centre of the disc above the incision--that is, a little towards the apex--with the following results:-- [( ) this leaf proved rather torpid: after hrs. m. (in all cases reckoning from the time when the meat was given) the tentacles at the distal end were a little inflected, but nowhere else; they remained so for three days, and re-expanded on the fourth day. the leaf was then dissected, and the trunk, as well as the two sublateral branches, were found divided. ( ) after hrs. m. many of the tentacles at the distal end were well inflected. next day the blade and all the tentacles at this end were strongly inflected, and were separated by a distinct transverse line from the basal half of the leaf, which was not in the least affected. on the third day, however, some of the short tentacles on the disc near the base were very slightly inflected. the incision was found on dissection to extend across the leaf as in the last case. ( ) after hrs. m. strong inflection of the tentacles at the distal end, which during the next two days never extended in the least to the basal end. the incision as before. ( ) this leaf was not observed until hrs. had elapsed, and then all the tentacles, except the extreme marginal ones, were found equally well inflected all round the leaf. on careful examination the spiral vessels of the central trunk were certainly divided; but the incision on one side had not passed through the fibrous tissue surrounding these vessels, though it had passed through the tissue on the other side.*] the appearance presented by the leaves ( ) and ( ) was very curious, and might be aptly compared with that of a man with his backbone broken and lower extremities paralysed. excepting that the line between the two halves was here transverse instead of longitudinal, these leaves were in the same state as some of those in the former experiments, with bits of meat placed on one side of the disc. the case of leaf ( ) * m. ziegler made similar experiments by cutting the spiral vessels of drosera intermedia('comptes rendus,' , p. ), but arrived at conclusions widely different from mine. [page ] proves that the spiral vessels of the central trunk may be divided, and yet the motor impulse be transmitted from the distal to the basal end; and this led me at first to suppose that the motor force was sent through the closely surrounding fibrous tissue; and that if one half of this tissue was left undivided, it sufficed for complete transmission. but opposed to this conclusion is the fact that no vessels pass directly from one side of the leaf to the other, and yet, as we have seen, if a rather large bit of meat is placed on one side, the motor impulse is sent, though slowly and imperfectly, in a transverse direction across the whole breadth of the leaf. nor can this latter fact be accounted for by supposing that the transmission is effected through the two inosculations, or through the circumferential zigzag line of union, for had this been the case, the exterior tentacles on the opposite side of the disc would have been affected before the more central ones, which never occurred. we have also seen that the extreme marginal tentacles appear to have no power to transmit an impulse to the adjoining tentacles; yet the little bundle of vessels which enters each marginal tentacle sends off a minute branch to those on both sides, and this i have not observed in any other tentacles; so that the marginal ones are more closely connected together by spiral vessels than are the others, and yet have much less power of communicating a motor impulse to one another. but besides these several facts and arguments we have conclusive evidence that the motor impulse is not sent, at least exclusively, through the spiral vessels, or through the tissue immediately surrounding them. we know that if a bit of meat is placed on a gland (the immediately adjoining ones having been removed) on any part of the disc, all the short sur- [page ] rounding tentacles bend almost simultaneously with great precision towards it. now there are tentacles on the disc, for instance near the extremities of the sublateral bundles (fig. ), which are supplied with vessels that do not come into contact with the branches that enter the surrounding tentacles, except by a very long and extremely circuitous course. nevertheless, if a bit of meat is placed on the gland of a tentacle of this kind, all the surrounding ones are inflected towards it with great precision. it is, of course, possible that an impulse might be sent through a long and circuitous course, but it is obviously impossible that the direction of the movement could be thus communicated, so that all the surrounding tentacles should bend precisely to the point of excitement. the impulse no doubt is transmitted in straight radiating lines from the excited gland to the surrounding tentacles; it cannot, therefore, be sent along the fibro-vascular bundles. the effect of cutting the central vessels, in the above cases, in preventing the transmission of the motor impulse from the distal to the basal end of a leaf, may be attributed to a considerable space of the cellular tissue having been divided. we shall hereafter see, when we treat of dionaea, that this same conclusion, namely that the motor impulse is not transmitted by the fibro-vascular bundles, is plainly confirmed; and prof. cohn has come to the same conclusion with respect to aldrovanda--both members of the droseraceae. as the motor impulse is not transmitted along the vessels, there remains for its passage only the cellular tissue; and the structure of this tissue explains to a certain extent how it travels so quickly down the long exterior tentacles, and much more slowly across the blade of the leaf. we shall also see why it crosses [page ] the blade more quickly in a longitudinal than in a transverse direction; though with time it can pass in any direction. we know that the same stimulus causes movement of the tentacles and aggregation of the protoplasm, and that both influences originate in and proceed from the glands within the same brief space of time. it seems therefore probable that the motor impulse consists of the first commencement of a molecular change in the protoplasm, which, when well developed, is plainly visible, and has been designated aggregation; but to this subject i shall return. we further know that in the transmission of the aggregating process the chief delay is caused by the passage of the transverse cell-walls; for as the aggregation travels down the tentacles, the contents of each successive cell seem almost to flash into a cloudy mass. we may therefore infer that the motor impulse is in like manner delayed chiefly by passing through the cell-walls. the greater celerity with which the impulse is transmitted down the long exterior tentacles than across the disc may be largely attributed to its being closely confined within the narrow pedicel, instead of radiating forth on all sides as on the disc. but besides this confinement, the exterior cells of the tentacles are fully twice as long as those of the disc; so that only half the number of transverse partitions have to be traversed in a given length of a tentacle, compared with an equal space on the disc; and there would be in the same proportion less retardation of the impulse. moreover, in sections of the exterior tentacles given by dr. warming,* the parenchymatous * 'videnskabelige meddelelser de la soc. d'hist. nat. de copenhague,' nos. - , , woodcuts iv. and v. [page ] cells are shown to be still more elongated; and these would form the most direct line of communication from the gland to the bending place of the tentacle. if the impulse travels down the exterior cells, it would have to cross from between twenty to thirty transverse partitions; but rather fewer if down the inner parenchymatous tissue. in either case it is remarkable that the impulse is able to pass through so many partitions down nearly the whole length of the pedicel, and to act on the bending place, in ten seconds. why the impulse, after having passed so quickly down one of the extreme marginal tentacles (about / of an inch in length), should never, as far as i have seen, affect the adjoining tentacles, i do not understand. it may be in part accounted for by much energy being expended in the rapidity of the transmission. most of the cells of the disc, both the superficial ones and the larger cells which form the five or six underlying layers, are about four times as long as broad. they are arranged almost longitudinally, radiating from the footstalk. the motor impulse, therefore, when transmitted across the disc, has to cross nearly four times as many cell-walls as when transmitted in a longitudinal direction, and would consequently be much delayed in the former case. the cells of the disc converge towards the bases of the tentacles, and are thus fitted to convey the motor impulse to them from all sides. on the whole, the arrangement and shape of the cells, both those of the disc and tentacles, throw much light on the rate and manner of diffusion of the motor impulse. but why the impulse proceeding from the glands of the exterior rows of tentacles tends to travel laterally and towards the centre of the leaf, but not centrifugally, is by no means clear. [page ] mechanism of the movements, and nature of the motor impulse.--whatever may be the means of movement, the exterior tentacles, considering their delicacy, are inflected with much force. a bristle, held so that a length of inch projected from a handle, yielded when i tried to lift with it an inflected tentacle, which was somewhat thinner than the bristle. the amount or extent, also, of the movement is great. fully expanded tentacles in becoming inflected sweep through an angle of o; and if they are beforehand reflexed, as often occurs, the angle is considerably greater. it is probably the superficial cells at the bending place which chiefly or exclusively contract; for the interior cells have very delicate walls, and are so few in number that they could hardly cause a tentacle to bend with precision to a definite point. though i carefully looked, i could never detect any wrinkling of the surface at the bending place, even in the case of a tentacle abnormally curved into a complete circle, under circumstances hereafter to be mentioned. all the cells are not acted on, though the motor impulse passes through them. when the gland of one of the long exterior tentacles is excited, the upper cells are not in the least affected; about halfway down there is a slight bending, but the chief movement is confined to a short space near the base; and no part of the inner tentacles bends except the basal portion. with respect to the blade of the leaf, the motor impulse may be transmitted through many cells, from the centre to the circumference, without their being in the least affected, or they may be strongly acted on and the blade greatly inflected. in the latter case the movement seems to depend partly on the strength of the stimulus, and partly on [page ] its nature, as when leaves are immersed in certain fluids. the power of movement which various plants possess, when irritated, has been attributed by high authorities to the rapid passage of fluid out of certain cells, which, from their previous state of tension, immediately contract.* whether or not this is the primary cause of such movements, fluid must pass out of closed cells when they contract or are pressed together in one direction, unless they at the same time expand in some other direction. for instance, fluid can be seen to ooze from the surface of any young and vigorous shoot if slowly bent into a semi-circle. in the case of drosera there is certainly much movement of the fluid throughout the tentacles whilst they are undergoing inflection. many leaves can be found in which the purple fluid within the cells is of an equally dark tint on the upper and lower sides of the tentacles, extending also downwards on both sides to equally near their bases. if the tentacles of such a leaf are excited into movement, it will generally be found after some hours that the cells on the concave side are much paler than they were before, or are quite colourless, those on the convex side having become much darker. in two instances, after particles of hair had been placed on glands, and when in the course of hr. m. the tentacles were incurved halfway towards the centre of the leaf, this change of colour in the two sides was conspicuously plain. in another case, after a bit of meat had been placed on a gland, the purple colour was observed at intervals to be slowly travelling from the upper to the lower part, down the convex side of * sachs, 'trait de bot.' rd edit. , p. . this view was, i believe, first suggested by lamarck. sachs, ibid. p. . [page ] the bending tentacle. but it does not follow from these observations that the cells on the convex side become filled with more fluid during the act of inflection than they contained before; for fluid may all the time be passing into the disc or into the glands which then secrete freely. the bending of the tentacles, when leaves are immersed in a dense fluid, and their subsequent re-expansion in a less dense fluid, show that the passage of fluid from or into the cells can cause movements like the natural ones. but the inflection thus caused is often irregular; the exterior tentacles being sometimes spirally curved. other unnatural movements are likewise caused by the application of dense fluids, as in the case of drops of syrup placed on the backs of leaves and tentacles. such movements may be compared with the contortions which many vegetable tissues undergo when subjected to exosmose. it is therefore doubtful whether they throw any light on the natural movements. if we admit that the outward passage of fluid is the cause of the bending of the tentacles, we must suppose that the cells, before the act of inflection, are in a high state of tension, and that they are elastic to an extraordinary degree; for otherwise their contraction could not cause the tentacles often to sweep through an angle of above o. prof. cohn, in his interesting paper* on the movements of the stamens of certain compositae, states that these organs, when dead, are as elastic as threads of india-rubber, and are then only half as long as they were when alive. he believes that the living protoplasm * 'abhand. der schles. gesell. fr vaterl. cultur,' , heft i. an excellent abstract of this paper is given in the 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.' rd series, , vol. xi. pp. - . [page ] within their cells is ordinarily in a state of expansion, but is paralysed by irritation, or may be said to suffer temporary death; the elasticity of the cell-walls then coming into play, and causing the contraction of the stamens. now the cells on the upper or concave side of the bending part of the tentacles of drosera do not appear to be in a state of tension, nor to be highly elastic; for when a leaf is suddenly killed, or dies slowly, it is not the upper but the lower sides of the tentacles which contract from elasticity. we may, therefore, conclude that their movements cannot be accounted for by the inherent elasticity of certain cells, opposed as long as they are alive and not irritated by the expanded state of their contents. a somewhat different view has been advanced by other physiologists--namely that the protoplasm, when irritated, contracts like the soft sarcode of the muscles of animals. in drosera the fluid within the cells of the tentacles at the bending place appears under the microscope thin and homogeneous, and after aggregation consists of small, soft masses of matter, undergoing incessant changes of form and floating in almost colourless fluid. these masses are completely redissolved when the tentacles re-expand. now it seems scarcely possible that such matter should have any direct mechanical power; but if through some molecular change it were to occupy less space than it did before, no doubt the cell-walls would close up and contract. but in this case it might be expected that the walls would exhibit wrinkles, and none could ever be seen. moreover, the contents of all the cells seem to be of exactly the same nature, both before and after aggregation; and yet only a few of the basal cells contract, the rest of the tentacle remaining straight. a third view maintained by some physiologists, [page ] though rejected by most others, is that the whole cell, including the walls, actively contracts. if the walls are composed solely of non-nitrogenous cellulose, this view is highly improbable; but it can hardly be doubted that they must be permeated by proteid matter, at least whilst they are growing. nor does there seem any inherent improbability in the cell-walls of drosera contracting, considering their high state of organisation; as shown in the case of the glands by their power of absorption and secretion, and by being exquisitely sensitive so as to be affected by the pressure of the most minute particles. the cell-walls of the pedicels also allow various impulses to pass through them, inducing movement, increased secretion and aggregation. on the whole the belief that the walls of certain cells contract, some of their contained fluid being at the same time forced outwards, perhaps accords best with the observed facts. if this view is rejected, the next most probable one is that the fluid contents of the cells shrink, owing to a change in their molecular state, with the consequent closing in of the walls. anyhow, the movement can hardly be attributed to the elasticity of the walls, together with a previous state of tension. with respect to the nature of the motor impulse which is transmitted from the glands down the pedicels and across the disc, it seems not improbable that it is closely allied to that influence which causes the protoplasm within the cells of the glands and tentacles to aggregate. we have seen that both forces originate in and proceed from the glands within a few seconds of the same time, and are excited by the same causes. the aggregation of the protoplasm lasts almost as long as the tentacles remain inflected, even though this be for more than a week; but the [page ] protoplasm is redissolved at the bending place shortly before the tentacles re-expand, showing that the exciting cause of the aggregating process has then quite ceased. exposure to carbonic acid causes both the latter process and the motor impulse to travel very slowly down the tentacles. we know that the aggregating process is delayed in passing through the cell- walls, and we have good reason to believe that this holds good with the motor impulse; for we can thus understand the different rates of its transmission in a longitudinal and transverse line across the disc. under a high power the first sign of aggregation is the appearance of a cloud, and soon afterwards of extremely fine granules, in the homogeneous purple fluid within the cells; and this apparently is due to the union of molecules of protoplasm. now it does not seem an improbable view that the same tendency--namely for the molecules to approach each other--should be communicated to the inner surfaces of the cell-walls which are in contact with the protoplasm; and if so, their molecules would approach each other, and the cell-wall would contract. to this view it may with truth be objected that when leaves are immersed in various strong solutions, or are subjected to a heat of above o fahr. ( o. cent.), aggregation ensues, but there is no movement. again, various acids and some other fluids cause rapid movement, but no aggregation, or only of an abnormal nature, or only after a long interval of time; but as most of these fluids are more or less injurious, they may check or prevent the aggregating process by injuring or killing the protoplasm. there is another and more important difference in the two processes: when the glands on the disc are excited, they transmit some influence up the surrounding [page ] tentacles, which acts on the cells at the bending place, but does not induce aggregation until it has reached the glands; these then send back some other influence, causing the protoplasm to aggregate, first in the upper and then in the lower cells. the re-expansion of the tentacles.--this movement is always slow and gradual. when the centre of the leaf is excited, or a leaf is immersed in a proper solution, all the tentacles bend directly towards the centre, and afterwards directly back from it. but when the point of excitement is on one side of the disc, the surrounding tentacles bend towards it, and therefore obliquely with respect to their normal direction; when they afterwards re-expand, they bend obliquely back, so as to recover their original positions. the tentacles farthest from an excited point, wherever that may be, are the last and the least affected, and probably in consequence of this they are the first to re-expand. the bent portion of a closely inflected tentacle is in a state of active contraction, as shown by the following experiment. meat was placed on a leaf, and after the tentacles were closely inflected and had quite ceased to move, narrow strips of the disc, with a few of the outer tentacles attached to it, were cut off and laid on one side under the microscope. after several failures, i succeeded in cutting off the convex surface of the bent portion of a tentacle. movement immediately recommenced, and the already greatly bent portion went on bending until it formed a perfect circle; the straight distal portion of the tentacle passing on one side of the strip. the convex surface must therefore have previously been in a state of tension, sufficient to counter-balance that of the concave surface, which, when free, curled into a complete ring. the tentacles of an expanded and unexcited leaf [page ] are moderately rigid and elastic; if bent by a needle, the upper end yields more easily than the basal and thicker part, which alone is capable of becoming inflected. the rigidity of this basal part seems due to the tension of the outer surface balancing a state of active and persistent contraction of the cells of the inner surface. i believe that this is the case, because, when a leaf is dipped into boiling water, the tentacles suddenly become reflexed, and this apparently indicates that the tension of the outer surface is mechanical, whilst that of the inner surface is vital, and is instantly destroyed by the boiling water. we can thus also understand why the tentacles as they grow old and feeble slowly become much reflexed. if a leaf with its tentacles closely inflected is dipped into boiling water, these rise up a little, but by no means fully re-expand. this may be owing to the heat quickly destroying the tension and elasticity of the cells of the convex surface; but i can hardly believe that their tension, at any one time, would suffice to carry back the tentacles to their original position, often through an angle of above o. it is more probable that fluid, which we know travels along the tentacles during the act of inflection, is slowly re-attracted into the cells of the convex surface, their tension being thus gradually and continually increased. a recapitulation of the chief facts and discussions in this chapter will be given at the close of the next chapter. [page ] chapter xi. recapitulation of the chief observations on drosera rotundifolia. as summaries have been given to most of the chapters, it will be sufficient here to recapitulate, as briefly as i can, the chief points. in the first chapter a preliminary sketch was given of the structure of the leaves, and of the manner in which they capture insects. this is effected by drops of extremely viscid fluid surrounding the glands and by the inward movement of the tentacles. as the plants gain most of their nutriment by this means, their roots are very poorly developed; and they often grow in places where hardly any other plant except mosses can exist. the glands have the power of absorption, besides that of secretion. they are extremely sensitive to various stimulants, namely repeated touches, the pressure of minute particles, the absorption of animal matter and of various fluids, heat, and galvanic action. a tentacle with a bit of raw meat on the gland has been seen to begin bending in s., to be strongly incurved in m., and to reach the centre of the leaf in half an hour. the blade of the leaf often becomes so much inflected that it forms a cup, enclosing any object placed on it. a gland, when excited, not only sends some influence down its own tentacle, causing it to bend, but likewise to the surrounding tentacles, which become incurved; so that the bending place can be acted on by an impulse received from opposite directions, [page ] namely from the gland on the summit of the same tentacle, and from one or more glands of the neighbouring tentacles. tentacles, when inflected, re-expand after a time, and during this process the glands secrete less copiously, or become dry. as soon as they begin to secrete again, the tentacles are ready to re-act; and this may be repeated at least three, probably many more times. it was shown in the second chapter that animal substances placed on the discs cause much more prompt and energetic inflection than do inorganic bodies of the same size, or mere mechanical irritation; but there is a still more marked difference in the greater length of time during which the tentacles remain inflected over bodies yielding soluble and nutritious matter, than over those which do not yield such matter. extremely minute particles of glass, cinders, hair, thread, precipitated chalk, &c., when placed on the glands of the outer tentacles, cause them to bend. a particle, unless it sinks through the secretion and actually touches the surface of the gland with some one point, does not produce any effect. a little bit of thin human hair / of an inch (. mm.) in length, and weighing only / of a grain (. mg.), though largely supported by the dense secretion, suffices to induce movement. it is not probable that the pressure in this case could have amounted to that from the millionth of a grain. even smaller particles cause a slight movement, as could be seen through a lens. larger particles than those of which the measurements have been given cause no sensation when placed on the tongue, one of the most sensitive parts of the human body. movement ensues if a gland is momentarily touched three or four times; but if touched only once or twice, [page ] though with considerable force and with a hard object, the tentacle does not bend. the plant is thus saved from much useless movement, as during a high wind the glands can hardly escape being occasionally brushed by the leaves of surrounding plants. though insensible to a single touch, they are exquisitely sensitive, as just stated, to the slightest pressure if prolonged for a few seconds; and this capacity is manifestly of service to the plant in capturing small insects. even gnats, if they rest on the glands with their delicate feet, are quickly and securely embraced. the glands are insensible to the weight and repeated blows of drops of heavy rain, and the plants are thus likewise saved from much useless movement. the description of the movements of the tentacles was interrupted in the third chapter for the sake of describing the process of aggregation. this process always commences in the cells of the glands, the contents of which first become cloudy; and this has been observed within s. after a gland has been excited. granules just resolvable under a very high power soon appear, sometimes within a minute, in the cells beneath the glands; and these then aggregate into minute spheres. the process afterwards travels down the tentacles, being arrested for a short time at each transverse partition. the small spheres coalesce into larger spheres, or into oval, club-headed, thread- or necklace-like, or otherwise shaped masses of protoplasm, which, suspended in almost colourless fluid, exhibit incessant spontaneous changes of form. these frequently coalesce and again separate. if a gland has been powerfully excited, all the cells down to the base of the tentacle are affected. in cells, especially if filled with dark red fluid, the first step in the [page ] process often is the formation of a dark red, bag-like mass of protoplasm, which afterwards divides and undergoes the usual repeated changes of form. before any aggregation has been excited, a sheet of colourless protoplasm, including granules (the primordial utricle of mohl), flows round the walls of the cells; and this becomes more distinct after the contents have been partially aggregated into spheres or bag-like masses. but after a time the granules are drawn towards the central masses and unite with them; and then the circulating sheet can no longer be distinguished, but there is still a current of transparent fluid within the cells. aggregation is excited by almost all the stimulants which induce movement; such as the glands being touched two or three times, the pressure of minute inorganic particles, the absorption of various fluids, even long immersion in distilled water, exosmose, and heat. of the many stimulants tried, carbonate of ammonia is the most energetic and acts the quickest: a dose of / of a grain (. mg.) given to a single gland suffices to cause in one hour well-marked aggregation in the upper cells of the tentacle. the process goes on only as long as the protoplasm is in a living, vigorous, and oxygenated condition. the result is in all respects exactly the same, whether a gland has been excited directly, or has received an influence from other and distant glands. but there is one important difference: when the central glands are irritated, they transmit centrifugally an influence up the pedicels of the exterior tentacles to their glands; but the actual process of aggregation travels centripetally, from the glands of the exterior tentacles down their pedicels. the exciting influence, therefore, which is transmitted from [page ] one part of the leaf to another must be different from that which actually induces aggregation. the process does not depend on the glands secreting more copiously than they did before; and is independent of the inflection of the tentacles. it continues as long as the tentacles remain inflected, and as soon as these are fully re-expanded, the little masses of protoplasm are all redissolved; the cells becoming filled with homogeneous purple fluid, as they were before the leaf was excited. as the process of aggregation can be excited by a few touches, or by the pressure of insoluble particles, it is evidently independent of the absorption of any matter, and must be of a molecular nature. even when caused by the absorption of the carbonate or other salt of ammonia, or an infusion of meat, the process seems to be of exactly the same nature. the protoplasmic fluid must, therefore, be in a singularly unstable condition, to be acted on by such slight and varied causes. physiologists believe that when a nerve is touched, and it transmits an influence to other parts of the nervous system, a molecular change is induced in it, though not visible to us. therefore it is a very interesting spectacle to watch the effects on the cells of a gland, of the pressure of a bit of hair, weighing only / of a grain and largely supported by the dense secretion, for this excessively slight pressure soon causes a visible change in the protoplasm, which change is transmitted down the whole length of the tentacle, giving it at last a mottled appearance, distinguishable even by the naked eye. in the fourth chapter it was shown that leaves placed for a short time in water at a temperature of o fahr. ( o. cent.) become somewhat inflected; they are thus also rendered more sensitive to the action [page ] of meat than they were before. if exposed to a temperature of between o and o( o. - o. cent.), they are quickly inflected, and their protoplasm undergoes aggregation; when afterwards placed in cold water, they re-expand. exposed to o ( o. cent.), no inflection immediately occurs, but the leaves are only temporarily paralysed, for on being left in cold water, they often become inflected and afterwards re-expand. in one leaf thus treated, i distinctly saw the protoplasm in movement. in other leaves, treated in the same manner, and then immersed in a solution of carbonate of ammonia, strong aggregation ensued. leaves placed in cold water, after an exposure to so high a temperature as o ( o. cent.), sometimes become slightly, though slowly, inflected; and afterwards have the contents of their cells strongly aggregated by carbonate of ammonia. but the duration of the immersion is an important element, for if left in water at o ( o. cent.), or only at o ( o cent.), until it becomes cool, they are killed, and the contents of the glands are rendered white and opaque. this latter result seems to be due to the coagulation of the albumen, and was almost always caused by even a short exposure to o ( o. cent.); but different leaves, and even the separate cells in the same tentacle, differ considerably in their power of resisting heat. unless the heat has been sufficient to coagulate the albumen, carbonate of ammonia subsequently induces aggregation. in the fifth chapter, the results of placing drops of various nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous organic fluids on the discs of leaves were given, and it was shown that they detect with almost unerring certainty the presence of nitrogen. a decoction of green peas or of fresh cabbage-leaves acts almost as powerfully as an infusion of raw meat; whereas an infusion of cabbage- [page ] leaves made by keeping them for a long time in merely warm water is far less efficient. a decoction of grass-leaves is less powerful than one of green peas or cabbage-leaves. these results led me to inquire whether drosera possessed the power of dissolving solid animal matter. the experiments proving that the leaves are capable of true digestion, and that the glands absorb the digested matter, are given in detail in the sixth chapter. these are, perhaps, the most interesting of all my observations on drosera, as no such power was before distinctly known to exist in the vegetable kingdom. it is likewise an interesting fact that the glands of the disc, when irritated, should transmit some influence to the glands of the exterior tentacles, causing them to secrete more copiously and the secretion to become acid, as if they had been directly excited by an object placed on them. the gastric juice of animals contains, as is well known, an acid and a ferment, both of which are indispensable for digestion, and so it is with the secretion of drosera. when the stomach of an animal is mechanically irritated, it secretes an acid, and when particles of glass or other such objects were placed on the glands of drosera, the secretion, and that of the surrounding and untouched glands, was increased in quantity and became acid. but, according to schiff, the stomach of an animal does not secrete its proper ferment, pepsin, until certain substances, which he calls peptogenes, are absorbed; and it appears from my experiments that some matter must be absorbed by the glands of drosera before they secrete their proper ferment. that the secretion does contain a ferment which acts only in the presence of an acid on solid animal matter, was clearly proved by adding minute doses of [page ] an alkali, which entirely arrested the process of digestion, this immediately recommencing as soon as the alkali was neutralised by a little weak hydrochloric acid. from trials made with a large number of substances, it was found that those which the secretion of drosera dissolves completely, or partially, or not at all, are acted on in exactly the same manner by gastric juice. we may, therefore, conclude that the ferment of drosera is closely analogous to, or identical with, the pepsin of animals. the substances which are digested by drosera act on the leaves very differently. some cause much more energetic and rapid inflection of the tentacles, and keep them inflected for a much longer time, than do others. we are thus led to believe that the former are more nutritious than the latter, as is known to be the case with some of these same substances when given to animals; for instance, meat in comparison with gelatine. as cartilage is so tough a substance and is so little acted on by water, its prompt dissolution by the secretion of drosera, and subsequent absorption is, perhaps, one of the most striking cases. but it is not really more remarkable than the digestion of meat, which is dissolved by this secretion in the same manner and by the same stages as by gastric juice. the secretion dissolves bone, and even the enamel of teeth, but this is simply due to the large quantity of acid secreted, owing, apparently, to the desire of the plant for phosphorus. in the case of bone, the ferment does not come into play until all the phosphate of lime has been decomposed and free acid is present, and then the fibrous basis is quickly dissolved. lastly, the secretion attacks and dissolves matter out of living seeds, which it sometimes kills, or injures, as shown by the diseased state [page ] of the seedlings. it also absorbs matter from pollen, and from fragments of leaves. the seventh chapter was devoted to the action of the salts of ammonia. these all cause the tentacles, and often the blade of the leaf, to be inflected, and the protoplasm to be aggregated. they act with very different power; the citrate being the least powerful, and the phosphate, owing, no doubt, to the presence of phosphorus and nitrogen, by far the most powerful. but the relative efficiency of only three salts of ammonia was carefully determined, namely the carbonate, nitrate, and phosphate. the experiments were made by placing half-minims (. ml.) of solutions of different strengths on the discs of the leaves,--by applying a minute drop (about the / of a minim, or . ml.) for a few seconds to three or four glands,--and by the immersion of whole leaves in a measured quantity. in relation to these experiments it was necessary first to ascertain the effects of distilled water, and it was found, as described in detail, that the more sensitive leaves are affected by it, but only in a slight degree. a solution of the carbonate is absorbed by the roots and induces aggregation in their cells, but does not affect the leaves. the vapour is absorbed by the glands, and causes inflection as well as aggregation. a drop of a solution containing / of a grain (. mg.) is the least quantity which, when placed on the glands of the disc, excites the exterior tentacles to bend inwards. but a minute drop, containing / of a grain (. mg.), if applied for a few seconds to the secretion surrounding a gland, causes the inflection of the same tentacle. when a highly sensitive leaf is immersed in a solution, and there is ample time for absorption, the / of a grain [page ] (. mg.) is sufficient to excite a single tentacle into movement. the nitrate of ammonia induces aggregation of the protoplasm much less quickly than the carbonate, but is more potent in causing inflection. a drop containing / of a grain (. mg.) placed on the disc acts powerfully on all the exterior tentacles, which have not themselves received any of the solution; whereas a drop with / of a grain caused only a few of these tentacles to bend, but affected rather more plainly the blade. a minute drop applied as before, and containing / of a grain (. mg.), caused the tentacle bearing this gland to bend. by the immersion of whole leaves, it was proved that the absorption by a single gland of / of a grain (. mg.) was sufficient to set the same tentacle into movement. the phosphate of ammonia is much more powerful than the nitrate. a drop containing / of a grain (. mg.) placed on the disc of a sensitive leaf causes most of the exterior tentacles to be inflected, as well as the blade of the leaf. a minute drop containing / of a grain (. mg.), applied for a few seconds to a gland, acts, as shown by the movement of the tentacle. when a leaf is immersed in thirty minims ( . ml.) of a solution of one part by weight of the salt to , , of water, the absorption by a gland of only the / of a grain (. mg.), that is, about the one-twenty-millionth of a grain, is sufficient to cause the tentacle bearing this gland to bend to the centre of the leaf. in this experiment, owing to the presence of the water of crystallisation, less than the one-thirty-millionth of a grain of the efficient elements could have been absorbed. there is nothing remarkable in such minute quantities being absorbed by the glands, [page ] for all physiologists admit that the salts of ammonia, which must be brought in still smaller quantity by a single shower of rain to the roots, are absorbed by them. nor is it surprising that drosera should be enabled to profit by the absorption of these salts, for yeast and other low fungoid forms flourish in solutions of ammonia, if the other necessary elements are present. but it is an astonishing fact, on which i will not here again enlarge, that so inconceivably minute a quantity as the one-twenty-millionth of a grain of phosphate of ammonia should induce some change in a gland of drosera, sufficient to cause a motor impulse to be sent down the whole length of the tentacle; this impulse exciting movement often through an angle of above o. i know not whether to be most astonished at this fact, or that the pressure of a minute bit of hair, supported by the dense secretion, should quickly cause conspicuous movement. moreover, this extreme sensitiveness, exceeding that of the most delicate part of the human body, as well as the power of transmitting various impulses from one part of the leaf to another, have been acquired without the intervention of any nervous system. as few plants are at present known to possess glands specially adapted for absorption, it seemed worth while to try the effects on drosera of various other salts, besides those of ammonia, and of various acids. their action, as described in the eighth chapter, does not correspond at all strictly with their chemical affinities, as inferred from the classification commonly followed. the nature of the base is far more influential than that of the acid; and this is known to hold good with animals. for instance, nine salts of sodium all caused well-marked inflection, and none of them were poisonous in small doses; whereas seven of the nine corre- [page ] sponding salts of potassium produced no effect, two causing slight inflection. small doses, moreover, of some of the latter salts were poisonous. the salts of sodium and potassium, when injected into the veins of animals, likewise differ widely in their action. the so-called earthy salts produce hardly any effect on drosera. on the other hand, most of the metallic salts cause rapid and strong inflection, and are highly poisonous; but there are some odd exceptions to this rule; thus chloride of lead and zinc, as well as two salts of barium, did not cause inflection, and were not poisonous. most of the acids which were tried, though much diluted (one part to of water), and given in small doses, acted powerfully on drosera; nineteen, out of the twenty-four, causing the tentacles to be more or less inflected. most of them, even the organic acids, are poisonous, often highly so; and this is remarkable, as the juices of so many plants contain acids. benzoic acid, which is innocuous to animals, seems to be as poisonous to drosera as hydrocyanic. on the other hand, hydrochloric acid is not poisonous either to animals or to drosera, and induces only a moderate amount of inflection. many acids excite the glands to secrete an extraordinary quantity of mucus; and the protoplasm within their cells seems to be often killed, as may be inferred from the surrounding fluid soon becoming pink. it is strange that allied acids act very differently: formic acid induces very slight inflection, and is not poisonous; whereas acetic acid of the same strength acts most powerfully and is poisonous. lactic acid is also poisonous, but causes inflection only after a considerable lapse of time. malic acid acts slightly, whereas citric and tartaric acids produce no effect. [page ] in the ninth chapter the effects of the absorption of various alkaloids and certain other substances were described. although some of these are poisonous, yet as several, which act powerfully on the nervous system of animals, produce no effect on drosera, we may infer that the extreme sensibility of the glands, and their power of transmitting an influence to other parts of the leaf, causing movement, or modified secretion, or aggregation, does not depend on the presence of a diffused element, allied to nerve-tissue. one of the most remarkable facts is that long immersion in the poison of the cobra-snake does not in the least check, but rather stimulates, the spontaneous movements of the protoplasm in the cells of the tentacles. solutions of various salts and acids behave very differently in delaying or in quite arresting the subsequent action of a solution of phosphate of ammonia. camphor dissolved in water acts as a stimulant, as do small doses of certain essential oils, for they cause rapid and strong inflection. alcohol is not a stimulant. the vapours of camphor, alcohol, chloroform, sulphuric and nitric ether, are poisonous in moderately large doses, but in small doses serve as narcotics or, anaesthetics, greatly delaying the subsequent action of meat. but some of these vapours also act as stimulants, exciting rapid, almost spasmodic movements in the tentacles. carbonic acid is likewise a narcotic, and retards the aggregation of the protoplasm when carbonate of ammonia is subsequently given. the first access of air to plants which have been immersed in this gas sometimes acts as a stimulant and induces movement. but, as before remarked, a special pharmacopoeia would be necessary to describe the diversified effects of various substances on the leaves of drosera. in the tenth chapter it was shown that the sensitive- [page ] ness of the leaves appears to be wholly confined to the glands and to the immediately underlying cells. it was further shown that the motor impulse and other forces or influences, proceeding from the glands when excited, pass through the cellular tissue, and not along the fibro-vascular bundles. a gland sends its motor impulse with great rapidity down the pedicel of the same tentacle to the basal part which alone bends. the impulse, then passing onwards, spreads on all sides to the surrounding tentacles, first affecting those which stand nearest and then those farther off. but by being thus spread out, and from the cells of the disc not being so much elongated as those of the tentacles, it loses force, and here travels much more slowly than down the pedicels. owing also to the direction and form of the cells, it passes with greater ease and celerity in a longitudinal than in a transverse line across the disc. the impulse proceeding from the glands of the extreme marginal tentacles does not seem to have force enough to affect the adjoining tentacles; and this may be in part due to their length. the impulse from the glands of the next few inner rows spreads chiefly to the tentacles on each side and towards the centre of the leaf; but that proceeding from the glands of the shorter tentacles on the disc radiates almost equally on all sides. when a gland is strongly excited by the quantity or quality of the substance placed on it, the motor impulse travels farther than from one slightly excited; and if several glands are simultaneously excited, the impulses from all unite and spread still farther. as soon as a gland is excited, it discharges an impulse which extends to a considerable distance; but afterwards, whilst the gland is secreting and absorbing, the impulse suffices only to keep the same tentacle [page ] inflected; though the inflection may last for many days. if the bending place of a tentacle receives an impulse from its own gland, the movement is always towards the centre of the leaf; and so it is with all the tentacles, when their glands are excited by immersion in a proper fluid. the short ones in the middle part of the disc must be excepted, as these do not bend at all when thus excited. on the other hand, when the motor impulse comes from one side of the disc, the surrounding tentacles, including the short ones in the middle of the disc, all bend with precision towards the point of excitement, wherever this may be seated. this is in every way a remarkable phenomenon; for the leaf falsely appears as if endowed with the senses of an animal. it is all the more remarkable, as when the motor impulse strikes the base of a tentacle obliquely with respect to its flattened surface, the contraction of the cells must be confined to one, two, or a very few rows at one end. and different sides of the surrounding tentacles must be acted on, in order that all should bend with precision to the point of excitement. the motor impulse, as it spreads from one or more glands across the disc, enters the bases of the surrounding tentacles, and immediately acts on the bending place. it does not in the first place proceed up the tentacles to the glands, exciting them to reflect back an impulse to their bases. nevertheless, some influence is sent up to the glands, as their secretion is soon increased and rendered acid; and then the glands, being thus excited, send back some other influence (not dependent on increased secretion, nor on the inflection of the tentacles), causing the protoplasm to aggregate in cell beneath cell. this may [page ] be called a reflex action, though probably very different from that proceeding from the nerve-ganglion of an animal; and it is the only known case of reflex action in the vegetable kingdom. about the mechanism of the movements and the nature of the motor impulse we know very little. during the act of inflection fluid certainly travels from one part to another of the tentacles. but the hypothesis which agrees best with the observed facts is that the motor impulse is allied in nature to the aggregating process; and that this causes the molecules of the cell-walls to approach each other, in the same manner as do the molecules of the protoplasm within the cells; so that the cell-walls contract. but some strong objections may be urged against this view. the re-expansion of the tentacles is largely due to the elasticity of their outer cells, which comes into play as soon as those on the inner side cease contracting with prepotent force; but we have reason to suspect that fluid is continually and slowly attracted into the outer cells during the act of re-expansion, thus increasing their tension. i have now given a brief recapitulation of the chief points observed by me, with respect to the structure, movements, constitution, and habits of drosera rotundifolia; and we see how little has been made out in comparison with what remains unexplained and unknown. [page ] chapter xii. on the structure and movements of some other species of drosera. drosera anglica--drosera intermedia--drosera capensis--drosera spathulata--drosera filiformis--drosera binata--concluding remarks. i examined six other species of drosera, some of them inhabitants of distant countries, chiefly for the sake of ascertaining whether they caught insects. this seemed the more necessary as the leaves of some of the species differ to an extraordinary degree in shape from the rounded ones of drosera rotundifolia. in functional powers, however, they differ very little. [drosera anglica (hudson).*--the leaves of this species, which was sent to me from ireland, are much elongated, and gradually widen from the footstalk to the bluntly pointed apex. they stand almost erect, and their blades sometimes exceed inch in length, whilst their breadth is only the / of an inch. the glands of all the tentacles have the same structure, so that the extreme marginal ones do not differ from the others, as in the case of drosera rotundifolia. when they are irritated by being roughly touched, or by the pressure of minute inorganic particles, or by contact with animal matter, or by the absorption of carbonate of ammonia, the tentacles become inflected; the basal portion being the chief seat of movement. cutting or pricking the blade of the leaf did not excite any movement. they frequently capture insects, and the glands of the inflected tentacles pour forth much acid secretion. bits of roast meat were placed on some glands, and the tentacles began to move in m. or * mrs. treat has given an excellent account in 'the american naturalist,' december , p. , of drosera longifolia (which is a synonym in part of drosera anglica), of drosera rotundifolia and filiformis. [page ] m. s.; and in hr. m. reached the centre. two bits of boiled cork, one of boiled thread, and two of coal-cinders taken from the fire, were placed, by the aid of an instrument which had been immersed in boiling water, on five glands; these superfluous precautions having been taken on account of m. ziegler's statements. one of the particles of cinder caused some inflection in hrs. m., as did after hrs. the other particle of cinder, the bit of thread, and both bits of cork. three glands were touched half a dozen times with a needle; one of the tentacles became well inflected in m., and re-expanded after hrs.; the two others never moved. the homogeneous fluid within the cells of the tentacles undergoes aggregation after these have become inflected; especially if given a solution of carbonate of ammonia; and i observed the usual movements in the masses of protoplasm. in one case, aggregation ensued in hr. m. after a tentacle had carried a bit of meat to the centre. from these facts it is clear that the tentacles of drosera anglica behave like those of drosera rotundifolia. if an insect is placed on the central glands, or has been naturally caught there, the apex of the leaf curls inwards. for instance, dead flies were placed on three leaves near their bases, and after hrs. the previously straight apices were curled completely over, so as to embrace and conceal the flies; they had therefore moved through an angle of o. after three days the apex of one leaf, together with the tentacles, began to re-expand. but as far as i have seen-- and i made many trials--the sides of the leaf are never inflected, and this is the one functional difference between this species and drosera rotundifolia. drosera intermedia (hayne).--this species is quite as common in some parts of england as drosera rotundifolia. it differs from drosera anglica, as far as the leaves are concerned, only in their smaller size, and in their tips being generally a little reflexed. they capture a large number of insects. the tentacles are excited into movement by all the causes above specified; and aggregation ensues, with movement of the protoplasmic masses. i have seen, through a lens, a tentacle beginning to bend in less than a minute after a particle of raw meat had been placed on the gland. the apex of the leaf curls over an exciting object as in the case of drosera anglica. acid secretion is copiously poured over captured insects. a leaf which had embraced a fly with all its tentacles re-expanded after nearly three days. drosera capensis.--this species, a native of the cape of good hope, was sent to me by dr. hooker. the leaves are elongated, slightly concave along the middle and taper towards the apex, [page ] which is bluntly pointed and reflexed. they rise from an almost woody axis, and their greatest peculiarity consists in their foliaceous green footstalks, which are almost as broad and even longer than the gland-bearing blade. this species, therefore, probably draws more nourishment from the air, and less from captured insects, than the other species of the genus. nevertheless, the tentacles are crowded together on the disc, and are extremely numerous; those on the margins being much longer than the central ones. all the glands have the same form; their secretion is extremely viscid and acid. the specimen which i examined had only just recovered from a weak state of health. this may account for the tentacles moving very slowly when particles of meat were placed on the glands, and perhaps for my never succeeding in causing any movement by repeatedly touching them with a needle. but with all the species of the genus this latter stimulus is the least effective of any. particles of glass, cork, and coal-cinders, were placed on the glands of six tentacles; and one alone moved after an interval of hrs. m. nevertheless, two glands were extremely sensitive to very small doses of the nitrate of ammonia, namely to about / of a minim of a solution (one part to of water), containing only / of a grain (. mg.) of the salt. fragments of flies were placed on two leaves near their tips, which became incurved in hrs. a fly was also placed in the middle of the leaf; in a few hours the tentacles on each side embraced it, and in hrs. the whole leaf directly beneath the fly was a little bent transversely. by the next morning, after hrs., the leaf was curled so completely over that the apex rested on the upper end of the footstalk. in no case did the sides of the leaves become inflected. a crushed fly was placed on the foliaceous footstalk, but produced no effect. drosera spathulata (sent to me by dr. hooker).--i made only a few observations on this australian species, which has long, narrow leaves, gradually widening towards their tips. the glands of the extreme marginal tentacles are elongated and differ from the others, as in the case of drosera rotundifolia. a fly was placed on a leaf, and in hrs. it was embraced by the adjoining tentacles. gum-water dropped on several leaves produced no effect. a fragment of a leaf was immersed in a few drops of a solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water; all the glands were instantly blackened; the process of aggregation could be seen travelling rapidly down the cells of the tentacles; and the granules of protoplasm soon united into spheres and variously shaped masses, which displayed the usual move- [page ] ments. half a minim of a solution of one part of nitrate of ammonia to of water was next placed on the centre of a leaf; after hrs. some marginal tentacles on both sides were inflected, and after hrs. they met in the centre. the lateral edges of the leaf also became incurved, so that it formed a half-cylinder; but the apex of the leaf in none of my few trials was inflected. the above dose of the nitrate (viz. / of a grain, or . mg.) was too powerful, for in the course of hrs. the leaf died. drosera filiformis.--this north american species grows in such abundance in parts of new jersey as almost to cover the ground. it catches, according to mrs. treat,* an extraordinary number of small and large insects, even great flies of the genus asilus, moths, and butterflies. the specimen which i examined, sent me by dr. hooker, had thread-like leaves, from to inches in length, with the upper surface convex and the lower flat and slightly channelled. the whole convex surface, down to the roots--for there is no distinct footstalk--is covered with short gland-bearing tentacles, those on the margins being the longest and reflexed. bits of meat placed on the glands of some tentacles caused them to be slightly inflected in m.; but the plant was not in a vigorous state. after hrs. they moved through an angle of o, and in hrs. reached the centre. the surrounding tentacles by this time began to curve inwards. ultimately a large drop of extremely viscid, slightly acid secretion was poured over the meat from the united glands. several other glands were touched with a little saliva, and the tentacles became incurved in under hr., and re-expanded after hrs. particles of glass, cork, cinders, thread, and gold-leaf, were placed on numerous glands on two leaves; in about hr. four tentacles became curved, and four others after an additional interval of hrs. m. i never once succeeded in causing any movement by repeatedly touching the glands with a needle; and mrs. treat made similar trials for me with no success. small flies were placed on several leaves near their tips, but the thread-like blade became only on one occasion very slightly bent, directly beneath the insect. perhaps this indicates that the blades of vigorous plants would bend over captured insects, and dr. canby informs me that this is the case; but the movement cannot be strongly pronounced, as it was not observed by mrs. treat. drosera binata (or dichotoma).--i am much indebted to lady * 'american naturalist,' december , page . [page ] dorothy nevill for a fine plant of this almost gigantic australian species, which differs in some interesting points from those previously described. in this specimen the rush-like footstalks of the leaves were inches in length. the blade bifurcates at its junction with the footstalk, and twice or thrice afterwards, curling about in an irregular manner. it is narrow, being only / of an inch in breadth. one blade was / inches long, so that the entire leaf, including the footstalk, was above inches in length. both surfaces are slightly hollowed out. the upper surface is covered with tentacles arranged in alternate rows; those in the middle being short and crowded together, those towards the margins longer, even twice or thrice as long as the blade is broad. the glands of the exterior tentacles are of a much darker red than those of the central ones. the pedicels of all are green. the apex of the blade is attenuated, and bears very long tentacles. mr. copland informs me that the leaves of a plant which he kept for some years were generally covered with captured insects before they withered. the leaves do not differ in essential points of structure or of function from those of the previously described species. bits of meat or a little saliva placed on the glands of the exterior tentacles caused well-marked movement in m., and particles of glass acted in m. the tentacles with the latter particles re-expanded after hrs. a piece of leaf immersed in a few drops of a solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water had all the glands blackened and all the tentacles inflected in m. a bit of raw meat, placed on several glands in the medial furrow, was well clasped in hrs. m. by the marginal tentacles on both sides. bits of roast meat and small flies did not act quite so quickly; and albumen and fibrin still less quickly. one of the bits of meat excited so much secretion (which is always acid) that it flowed some way down the medial furrow, causing the inflection of the tentacles on both sides as far as it extended. particles of glass placed on the glands in the medial furrow did not stimulate them sufficiently for any motor impulse to be sent to the outer tentacles. in no case was the blade of the leaf, even the attenuated apex, at all inflected. on both the upper and lower surface of the blade there are numerous minute, almost sessile glands, consisting of four, eight, or twelve cells. on the lower surface they are pale purple, on the upper greenish. nearly similar organs occur on the foot-stalks, but they are smaller and often in a shrivelled condition. the minute glands on the blade can absorb rapidly: thus, a piece of leaf was immersed in a solution of one part of carbonate [page ] of ammonia to of water ( gr. to oz.), and in m. they were all so much darkened as to be almost black, with their contents aggregated. they do not, as far as i could observe, secrete spontaneously; but in between and hrs. after a leaf had been rubbed with a bit of raw meat moistened with saliva, they seemed to be secreting freely; and this conclusion was afterwards supported by other appearances. they are, therefore, homologous with the sessile glands hereafter to be described on the leaves of dionaea and drosophyllum. in this latter genus they are associated, as in the present case, with glands which secrete spontaneously, that is, without being excited. drosera binata presents another and more remarkable peculiarity, namely, the presence of a few tentacles on the backs of the leaves, near their margins. these are perfect in structure; spiral vessels run up their pedicels; their glands are surrounded by drops of viscid secretion, and they have the power of absorbing. this latter fact was shown by the glands immediately becoming black, and the protoplasm aggregated, when a leaf was placed in a little solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water. these dorsal tentacles are short, not being nearly so long as the marginal ones on the upper surface; some of them are so short as almost to graduate into the minute sessile glands. their presence, number, and size, vary on different leaves, and they are arranged rather irregularly. on the back of one leaf i counted as many as twenty-one along one side. these dorsal tentacles differ in one important respect from those on the upper surface, namely, in not possessing any power of movement, in whatever manner they may be stimulated. thus, portions of four leaves were placed at different times in solutions of carbonate of ammonia (one part to or of water), and all the tentacles on the upper surface soon became closely inflected; but the dorsal ones did not move, though the leaves were left in the solution for many hours, and though their glands from their blackened colour had obviously absorbed some of the salt. rather young leaves should be selected for such trials, for the dorsal tentacles, as they grow old and begin to wither, often spontaneously incline towards the middle of the leaf. if these tentacles had possessed the power of movement, they would not have been thus rendered more serviceable to the plant; for they are not long enough to bend round the margin of the leaf so as to reach an insect caught on the upper surface, nor would it have been of any use if these tentacles could have [page ] moved towards the middle of the lower surface, for there are no viscid glands there by which insects can be caught. although they have no power of movement, they are probably of some use by absorbing animal matter from any minute insect which may be caught by them, and by absorbing ammonia from the rain-water. but their varying presence and size, and their irregular position, indicate that they are not of much service, and that they are tending towards abortion. in a future chapter we shall see that drosophyllum, with its elongated leaves, probably represents the condition of an early progenitor of the genus drosera; and none of the tentacles of drosophyllum, neither those on the upper nor lower surface of the leaves, are capable of movement when excited, though they capture numerous insects, which serve as nutriment. therefore it seems that drosera binata has retained remnants of certain ancestral characters--namely a few motionless tentacles on the backs of the leaves, and fairly well developed sessile glands--which have been lost by most or all of the other species of the genus.] concluding remarks.--from what we have now seen, there can be little doubt that most or probably all the species of drosera are adapted for catching insects by nearly the same means. besides the two australian species above described, it is said* that two other species from this country, namely drosera pallida and drosera sulphurea, "close their leaves upon insects with "great rapidity: and the same phenomenon is mani-"fested by an indian species, d. lunata, and by several "of those of the cape of good hope, especially by "d. trinervis." another australian species, drosera heterophylla (made by lindley into a distinct genus, sondera) is remarkable from its peculiarly shaped leaves, but i know nothing of its power of catching insects, for i have seen only dried specimens. the leaves form minute flattened cups, with the footstalks attached not to one margin, but to the bottom. the * 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [page ] inner surface and the edges of the cups are studded with tentacles, which include fibro-vascular bundles, rather different from those seen by me in any other species; for some of the vessels are barred and punctured, instead of being spiral. the glands secrete copiously, judging from the quantity of dried secretion adhering to them. [page ] chapter xiii. dionaea muscipula. structure of the leaves--sensitiveness of the filaments--rapid movement of the lobes caused by irritation of the filaments--glands, their power of secretion--slow movement caused by the absorption of animal matter--evidence of absorption from the aggregated condition of the glands--digestive power of the secretion--action of chloroform, ether, and hydrocyanic acid- -the manner in which insects are captured--use of the marginal spikes--kinds of insects captured--the transmission of the motor impulse and mechanism of the movements-- re-expansion of the lobes. this plant, commonly called venus' fly-trap, from the rapidity and force of its movements, is one of the most wonderful in the world.* it is a member of the small family of the droseraceae, and is found only in the eastern part of north carolina, growing in damp situations. the roots are small; those of a moderately fine plant which i examined consisted of two branches about inch in length, springing from a bulbous enlargement. they probably serve, as in the case of drosera, solely for the absorption of water; for a gardener, who has been very successful in the cultivation of this plant, grows it, like an epiphytic orchid, in well-drained damp moss without any soil. the form of the bilobed leaf, with its foliaceous footstalk, is shown in the accompanying drawing (fig. ). * dr. hooker, in his address to the british association at belfast, , has given so full an historical account of the observations which have been published on the habits of this plant, that it would be superfluous on my part to repeat them. 'gardener's chronicle,' , p. . [page ] the two lobes stand at rather less than a right angle to each other. three minute pointed processes or filaments, placed triangularly, project from the upper surfaces of both; but i have seen two leaves with four filaments on each side, and another with only two. these filaments are remarkable from their extreme sensitiveness to a touch, as shown not by their own movement, but by that of the lobes. the margins of the leaf are prolonged into sharp rigid projections which i will call spikes, into each of which a bundle fig. . (dionaea muscipula.) leaf viewed laterally in its expanded state. of spiral vessels enters. the spikes stand in such a position that, when the lobes close, they inter-lock like the teeth of a rat-trap. the midrib of the leaf, on the lower side, is strongly developed and prominent. the upper surface of the leaf is thickly covered, excepting towards the margins, with minute glands of a reddish or purplish colour, the rest of the leaf being green. there are no glands on the spikes, or on the foliaceous footstalk, the glands are formed of from [page ] twenty to thirty polygonal cells, filled with purple fluid. their upper surface is convex. they stand on very short pedicels, into which spiral vessels do not enter, in which respect they differ from the tentacles of drosera. they secrete, but only when excited by the absorption of certain matters; and they have the power of absorption. minute projections, formed of eight divergent arms of a reddish-brown or orange colour, and appearing under the microscope like elegant little flowers, are scattered in considerable numbers over the foot-stalk, the backs of the leaves, and the spikes, with a few on the upper surface of the lobes. these octofid projections are no doubt homologous with the papillae on the leaves of drosera rotundifolia. there are also a few very minute, simple, pointed hairs, about / (. mm.) of an inch in length on the backs of the leaves. the sensitive filaments are formed of several rows of elongated cells, filled with purplish fluid. they are a little above the / of an inch in length; are thin and delicate, and taper to a point. i examined the bases of several, making sections of them, but no trace of the entrance of any vessel could be seen. the apex is sometimes bifid or even trifid, owing to a slight separation between the terminal pointed cells. towards the base there is constriction, formed of broader cells, beneath which there is an articulation, supported on an enlarged base, consisting of differently shaped polygonal cells. as the filaments project at right angles to the surface of the leaf, they would have been liable to be broken whenever the lobes closed together, had it not been for the articulation which allows them to bend flat down. these filaments, from their tips to their bases, are exquisitely sensitive to a momentary touch. it is scarcely [page ] possible to touch them ever so lightly or quickly with any hard object without causing the lobes to close. a piece of very delicate human hair, / inches in length, held dangling over a filament, and swayed to and fro so as to touch it, did not excite any movement. but when a rather thick cotton thread of the same length was similarly swayed, the lobes closed. pinches of fine wheaten flour, dropped from a height, produced no effect. the above-mentioned hair was then fixed into a handle, and cut off so that inch projected; this length being sufficiently rigid to support itself in a nearly horizontal line. the extremity was then brought by a slow movement laterally into contact with the tip of a filament, and the leaf instantly closed. on another occasion two or three touches of the same kind were necessary before any movement ensued. when we consider how flexible a fine hair is, we may form some idea how slight must be the touch given by the extremity of a piece, inch in length, moved slowly. although these filaments are so sensitive to a momentary and delicate touch, they are far less sensitive than the glands of drosera to prolonged pressure. several times i succeeded in placing on the tip of a filament, by the aid of a needle moved with extreme slowness, bits of rather thick human hair, and these did not excite movement, although they were more than ten times as long as those which caused the tentacles of drosera to bend; and although in this latter case they were largely supported by the dense secretion. on the other hand, the glands of drosera may be struck with a needle or any hard object, once, twice, or even thrice, with considerable force, and no movement ensues. this singular difference in the nature of the sensitiveness of the filaments of dionaea and of [page ] the glands of drosera evidently stands in relation to the habits of the two plants. if a minute insect alights with its delicate feet on the glands of drosera, it is caught by the viscid secretion, and the slight, though prolonged pressure, gives notice of the presence of prey, which is secured by the slow bending of the tentacles. on the other hand, the sensitive filaments of dionaea are not viscid, and the capture of insects can be assured only by their sensitiveness to a momentary touch, followed by the rapid closure of the lobes. as just stated, the filaments are not glandular, and do not secrete. nor have they the power of absorption, as may be inferred from drops of a solution of carbonate of ammonia (one part to of water), placed on two filaments, not producing any effect on the contents of their cells, nor causing the lobes to close, when, however, a small portion of a leaf with an attached filament was cut off and immersed in the same solution, the fluid within the basal cells became almost instantly aggregated into purplish or colourless, irregularly shaped masses of matter. the process of aggregation gradually travelled up the filaments from cell to cell to their extremities, that is in a reverse course to what occurs in the tentacles of drosera when their glands have been excited. several other filaments were cut off close to their bases, and left for hr. m. in a weaker solution of one part of the carbonate to of water, and this caused aggregation in all the cells, commencing as before at the bases of the filaments. long immersion of the filaments in distilled water likewise causes aggregation. nor is it rare to find the contents of a few of the terminal cells in a spontaneously aggregated condition. the aggregated [page ] masses undergo incessant slow changes of form, uniting and again separating; and some of them apparently revolve round their own axes. a current of colourless granular protoplasm could also be seen travelling round the walls of the cells. this current ceases to be visible as soon as the contents are well aggregated; but it probably still continues, though no longer visible, owing to all the granules in the flowing layer having become united with the central masses. in all these respects the filaments of dionaea behave exactly like the tentacles of drosera. notwithstanding this similarity there is one remarkable difference. the tentacles of drosera, after their glands have been repeatedly touched, or a particle of any kind has been placed on them, become inflected and strongly aggregated. no such effect is produced by touching the filaments of dionaea; i compared, after an hour or two, some which had been touched and some which had not, and others after twenty-five hours, and there was no difference in the contents of the cells. the leaves were kept open all the time by clips; so that the filaments were not pressed against the opposite lobe. drops of water, or a thin broken stream, falling from a height on the filaments, did not cause the blades to close; though these filaments were afterwards proved to be highly sensitive. no doubt, as in the case of drosera, the plant is indifferent to the heaviest shower of rain. drops of a solution of a half an ounce of sugar to a fluid ounce of water were repeatedly allowed to fall from a height on the filaments, but produced no effect, unless they adhered to them. again, i blew many times through a fine pointed tube with my utmost force against the filaments without any effect; such blowing being received [page ] with as much indifference as no doubt is a heavy gale of wind. we thus see that the sensitiveness of the filaments is of a specialised nature, being related to a momentary touch rather than to prolonged pressure; and the touch must not be from fluids, such as air or water, but from some solid object. although drops of water and of a moderately strong solution of sugar, falling on the filaments, does not excite them, yet the immersion of a leaf in pure water sometimes caused the lobes to close. one leaf was left immersed for hr. m., and three other leaves for some minutes, in water at temperatures varying between o and o ( o to o. cent.) without any effect. one, however, of these four leaves, on being gently withdrawn from the water, closed rather quickly. the three other leaves were proved to be in good condition, as they closed when their filaments were touched. nevertheless two fresh leaves on being dipped into water at o and / o ( o. and o. cent.) instantly closed. these were then placed with their footstalks in water, and after hrs. partially re-expanded; on touching their filaments one of them closed. this latter leaf after an additional hrs. again re-expanded, and now, on the filaments of both leaves being touched, both closed. we thus see that a short immersion in water does not at all injure the leaves, but sometimes excites the lobes to close. the movement in the above cases was evidently not caused by the temperature of the water. it has been shown that long immersion causes the purple fluid within the cells of the sensitive filaments to become aggregated; and the tentacles of drosera are acted on in the same manner by long immersion, often being somewhat inflected. in both cases the result is probably due to a slight degree of exosmose. [page ] i am confirmed in this belief by the effects of immersing a leaf of dionaea in a moderately strong solution of sugar; the leaf having been previously left for hr. m. in water without any effect; for now the lobes closed rather quickly, the tips of the marginal spikes crossing in m. s., and the leaf being completely shut in m. three leaves were then immersed in a solution of half an ounce of sugar to a fluid ounce of water, and all three leaves closed quickly. as i was doubtful whether this was due to the cells on the upper surface of the lobes, or to the sensitive filaments, being acted on by exosmose, one leaf was first tried by pouring a little of the same solution in the furrow between the lobes over the midrib, which is the chief seat of movement. it was left there for some time, but no movement ensued. the whole upper surface of leaf was then painted (except close round the bases of the sensitive filaments, which i could not do without risk of touching them) with the same solution, but no effect was produced. so that the cells on the upper surface are not thus affected. but when, after many trials, i succeeded in getting a drop of the solution to cling to one of the filaments, the leaf quickly closed. hence we may, i think, conclude that the solution causes fluid to pass out of the delicate cells of the filaments by exosmose; and that this sets up some molecular change in their contents, analogous to that which must be produced by a touch. the immersion of leaves in a solution of sugar affects them for a much longer time than does an immersion in water, or a touch on the filaments; for in these latter cases the lobes begin to re-expand in less than a day. on the other hand, of the three leaves which were immersed for a short time in the solution, and were then washed by means of a syringe inserted [page ] between the lobes, one re-expanded after two days; a second after seven days; and the third after nine days. the leaf which closed, owing to a drop of the solution having adhered to one of the filaments, opened after two days. i was surprised to find on two occasions that the heat from the rays of the sun, concentrated by a lens on the bases of several filaments, so that they were scorched and discoloured, did not cause any movement; though the leaves were active, as they closed, though rather slowly, when a filament on the opposite side was touched. on a third trial, a fresh leaf closed after a time, though very slowly; the rate not being increased by one of the filaments, which had not been injured, being touched. after a day these three leaves opened, and were fairly sensitive when the uninjured filaments were touched. the sudden immersion of a leaf into boiling water does not cause it to close. judging from the analogy of drosera, the heat in these several cases was too great and too suddenly applied. the surface of the blade is very slightly sensitive; it may be freely and roughly handled, without any movement being caused. a leaf was scratched rather hard with a needle, but did not close; but when the triangular space between the three filaments on another leaf was similarly scratched, the lobes closed. they always closed when the blade or midrib was deeply pricked or cut. inorganic bodies, even of large size, such as bits of stone, glass, &c.--or organic bodies not containing soluble nitrogenous matter, such as bits of wood, cork, moss,--or bodies containing soluble nitrogenous matter, if perfectly dry, such as bits of meat, albumen, gelatine, &c., may be long left (and many were tried) on the lobes, and no movement is excited. the result, however, is widely different, as we [page ] shall presently see, if nitrogenous organic bodies which are at all damp, are left on the lobes; for these then close by a slow and gradual movement, very different from that caused by touching one of the sensitive filaments. the footstalk is not in the least sensitive; a pin may be driven through it, or it may be cut off, and no movement follows. the upper surface of the lobes, as already stated, is thickly covered with small purplish, almost sessile glands. these have the power both of secretion and absorption; but unlike those of drosera, they do not secrete until excited by the absorption of nitrogenous matter. no other excitement, as far as i have seen, produces this effect. objects, such as bits of wood, cork, moss, paper, stone, or glass, may be left for a length of time on the surface of a leaf, and it remains quite dry. nor does it make any difference if the lobes close over such objects. for instance, some little balls of blotting paper were placed on a leaf, and a filament was touched; and when after hrs. the lobes began to re-open, the balls were removed by the aid of thin pincers, and were found perfectly dry. on the other hand, if a bit of damp meat or a crushed fly is placed on the surface of an expanded leaf, the glands after a time secrete freely. in one such case there was a little secretion directly beneath the meat in hrs.; and after an additional hrs. there was a considerable quantity both under and close round it. in another case, after hrs. m., the bit of meat was quite wet. but none of the glands secreted, excepting those which actually touched the meat or the secretion containing dissolved animal matter. if, however, the lobes are made to close over a bit of meat or an insect, the result is different, for the glands over the whole surface of the leaf now secrete copiously. [page ] as in this case the glands on both sides are pressed against the meat or insect, the secretion from the first is twice as great as when a bit of meat is laid on the surface of one lobe; and as the two lobes come into almost close contact, the secretion, containing dissolved animal matter, spreads by capillary attraction, causing fresh glands on both sides to begin secreting in a continually widening circle. the secretion is almost colourless, slightly mucilaginous, and, judging by the manner in which it coloured litmus paper, more strongly acid than that of drosera. it is so copious that on one occasion, when a leaf was cut open, on which a small cube of albumen had been placed hrs. before, drops rolled off the leaf. on another occasion, in which a leaf with an enclosed bit of roast meat spontaneously opened after eight days, there was so much secretion in the furrow over the midrib that it trickled down. a large crushed fly (tipula) was placed on a leaf from which a small portion at the base of one lobe had previously been cut away, so that an opening was left; and through this, the secretion continued to run down the footstalk during nine days,--that is, for as long a time as it was observed. by forcing up one of the lobes, i was able to see some distance between them, and all the glands within sight were secreting freely. we have seen that inorganic and non-nitrogenous objects placed on the leaves do not excite any movement; but nitrogenous bodies, if in the least degree damp, cause after several hours the lobes to close slowly. thus bits of quite dry meat and gelatine were placed at opposite ends of the same leaf, and in the course of hrs. excited neither secretion nor movement. they were then dipped in water, their surfaces dried on blotting paper, and replaced on the same [page ] leaf, the plant being now covered with a bell-glass. after hrs. the damp meat had excited some acid secretion, and the lobes at this end of the leaf were almost shut. at the other end, where the damp gelatine lay, the leaf was still quite open, nor had any secretion been excited; so that, as with drosera, gelatine is not nearly so exciting a substance as meat. the secretion beneath the meat was tested by pushing a strip of litmus paper under it (the filaments not being touched), and this slight stimulus caused the leaf to shut. on the eleventh day it reopened; but the end where the gelatine lay, expanded several hours before the opposite end with the meat. a second bit of roast meat, which appeared dry, though it had not been purposely dried, was left for hrs. on a leaf, caused neither movement nor secretion. the plant in its pot was now covered with a bell-glass, and the meat absorbed some moisture from the air; this sufficed to excite acid secretion, and by the next morning the leaf was closely shut. a third bit of meat, dried so as to be quite brittle, was placed on a leaf under a bell-glass, and this also became in hrs. slightly damp, and excited some acid secretion, but no movement. a rather large piece of perfectly dry albumen was left at one end of a leaf for hrs. without any effect. it was then soaked for a few minutes in water, rolled about on blotting paper, and replaced on the leaf; in hrs. some slightly acid secretion was excited, and in hrs. this end of the leaf was partially closed. the bit of albumen, which was now surrounded by much secretion, was gently removed, and although no filament was touched, the lobes closed. in this and the previous case, it appears that the absorption of animal matter by the glands renders [page ] the surface of the leaf much more sensitive to a touch than it is in its ordinary state; and this is a curious fact. two days afterwards the end of the leaf where nothing had been placed began to open, and on the third day was much more open than the opposite end where the albumen had lain. lastly, large drops of a solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water were placed on some leaves, but no immediate movement ensued. i did not then know of the slow movement caused by animal matter, otherwise i should have observed the leaves for a longer time, and they would probably have been found closed, though the solution (judging from drosera) was, perhaps, too strong. from the foregoing cases it is certain that bits of meat and albumen, if at all damp, excite not only the glands to secrete, but the lobes to close. this movement is widely different from the rapid closure caused by one of the filaments being touched. we shall see its importance when we treat of the manner in which insects are captured. there is a great contrast between drosera and dionaea in the effects produced by mechanical irritation on the one hand, and the absorption of animal matter on the other. particles of glass placed on the glands of the exterior tentacles of drosera excite movement within nearly the same time, as do particles of meat, the latter being rather the most efficient; but when the glands of the disc have bits of meat given them, they transmit a motor impulse to the exterior tentacles much more quickly than do these glands when bearing inorganic particles, or when irritated by repeated touches. on the other hand, with dionaea, touching the filaments excites incomparably quicker movement than the absorption of animal matter by the glands. nevertheless, in [page ] certain cases, this latter stimulus is the more powerful of the two. on three occasions leaves were found which from some cause were torpid, so that their lobes closed only slightly, however much their filaments were irritated; but on inserting crushed insects between the lobes, they became in a day closely shut. the facts just given plainly show that the glands have the power of absorption, for otherwise it is impossible that the leaves should be so differently affected by non-nitrogenous and nitrogenous bodies, and between these latter in a dry and damp condition. it is surprising how slightly damp a bit of meat or albumen need be in order to excite secretion and afterwards slow movement, and equally surprising how minute a quantity of animal matter, when absorbed, suffices to produce these two effects. it seems hardly credible, and yet it is certainly a fact, that a bit of hard-boiled white of egg, first thoroughly dried, then soaked for some minutes in water and rolled on blotting paper, should yield in a few hours enough animal matter to the glands to cause them to secrete, and afterwards the lobes to close. that the glands have the power of absorption is likewise shown by the very different lengths of time (as we shall presently see) during which the lobes remain closed over insects and other bodies yielding soluble nitrogenous matter, and over such as do not yield any. but there is direct evidence of absorption in the condition of the glands which have remained for some time in contact with animal matter. thus bits of meat and crushed insects were several times placed on glands, and these were compared after some hours with other glands from distant parts of the same leaf. the latter showed not a trace of aggregation, whereas those which had been in contact with the animal matter were [page ] well aggregated. aggregation may be seen to occur very quickly if a piece of a leaf is immersed in a weak solution of carbonate of ammonia. again, small cubes of albumen and gelatine were left for eight days on a leaf, which was then cut open. the whole surface was bathed with acid secretion, and every cell in the many glands which were examined had its contents aggregated in a beautiful manner into dark or pale purple, or colourless globular masses of protoplasm. these underwent incessant slow changes of forms; sometimes separating from one another and then reuniting, exactly as in the cells of drosera. boiling water makes the contents of the gland-cells white and opaque, but not so purely white and porcelain-like as in the case of drosera. how living insects, when naturally caught, excite the glands to secrete so quickly as they do, i know not; but i suppose that the great pressure to which they are subjected forces a little excretion from either extremity of their bodies, and we have seen that an extremely small amount of nitrogenous matter is sufficient to excite the glands. before passing on to the subject of digestion, i may state that i endeavoured to discover, with no success, the functions of the minute octofid processes with which the leaves are studded. from facts hereafter to be given in the chapters on aldrovanda and utricularia, it seemed probable that they served to absorb decayed matter left by the captured insects; but their position on the backs of the leaves and on the footstalks rendered this almost impossible. nevertheless, leaves were immersed in a solution of one part of urea to of water, and after hrs. the orange layer of protoplasm within the arms of these processes did not appear more aggregated than in other speci- [page ] mens kept in water, i then tried suspending a leaf in a bottle over an excessively putrid infusion of raw meat, to see whether they absorbed the vapour, but their contents were not affected. digestive power of the secretion.*--when a leaf closes over any object, it may be said to form itself into a temporary stomach; and if the object yields ever so little animal matter, this serves, to use schiff's expression, as a peptogene, and the glands on the surface pour forth their acid secretion, which acts like the gastric juice of animals. as so many experiments were tried on the digestive power of drosera, only a few were made with dionaea, but they were amply sufficient to prove that it digests, this plant, moreover, is not so well fitted as drosera for observation, as the process goes on within the closed lobes. insects, even beetles, after being subjected to the secretion for several days, are surprisingly softened, though their chitinous coats are not corroded, [experiment .--a cube of albumen of / of an inch ( . mm.) was placed at one end of a leaf, and at the other end an oblong piece of gelatine, / of an inch ( . mm.) long, and * dr. w.m. canby, of wilmington, to whom i am much indebted for information regarding dionaea in its native home, has published in the 'gardener's monthly,' philadelphia, august , some interesting observations. he ascertained that the secretion digests animal matter, such as the contents of insects, bits of meat, &c.; and that the secretion is reabsorbed. he was also well aware that the lobes remain closed for a much longer time when in contact with animal matter than when made to shut by a mere touch, or over objects not yielding soluble nutriment; and that in these latter cases the glands do not secrete. the rev. dr. curtis first observed ('boston journal nat. hist.' vol. i., p. ) the secretion from the glands. i may here add that a gardener, mr. knight, is said (kirby and spencer's 'introduction to entomology,' , vol. i., p. ) to have found that a plant of the dionaea, on the leaves of which "he laid fine filaments of raw beef, was much more luxuriant in its growth than others not so treated." [page ] / broad; the leaf was then made to close. it was cut open after hrs. the albumen was hard and compressed, with its angles only a little rounded; the gelatine was corroded into an oval form; and both were bathed in so much acid secretion that it dropped off the leaf. the digestive process apparently is rather slower than in drosera, and this agrees with the length of time during which the leaves remain closed over digestible objects. experiment .--a bit of albumen / of an inch square, but only / in thickness, and a piece of gelatine of the same size as before, were placed on a leaf, which eight days afterwards was cut open. the surface was bathed with slightly adhesive, very acid secretion, and the glands were all in an aggregated condition. not a vestige of the albumen or gelatine was left. similarly sized pieces were placed at the same time on wet moss on the same pot, so that they were subjected to nearly similar conditions; after eight days these were brown, decayed, and matted with fibres of mould, but had not disappeared. experiment .--a piece of albumen / of an inch ( . mm.) long, and / broad and thick, and a piece of gelatine of the same size as before, were placed on another leaf, which was cut open after seven days; not a vestige of either substance was left, and only a moderate amount of secretion on the surface. experiment .--pieces of albumen and gelatine, of the same size as in the last experiment, were placed on a leaf, which spontaneously opened after twelve days, and here again not a vestige of either was left, and only a little secretion at one end of the midrib. experiment .--pieces of albumen and gelatine of the same size were placed on another leaf, which after twelve days was still firmly closed, but had begun to wither; it was cut open, and contained nothing except a vestige of brown matter where the albumen had lain. experiment .--a cube of albumen of / of an inch and a piece of gelatine of the same size as before were placed on a leaf, which opened spontaneously after thirteen days, the albumen, which was twice as thick as in the latter experiments, was too large; for the glands in contact with it were injured and were dropping off; a film also of albumen of a brown colour, matted with mould, was left. all the gelatine was absorbed, and there was only a little acid secretion left on the midrib. experiment .--a bit of half roasted meat (not measured) and a bit of gelatine were placed on the two ends of a leaf, which [page ] opened spontaneously after eleven days; a vestige of the meat was left, and the surface of the leaf was here blackened; the gelatine had all disappeared. experiment .--a bit of half roasted meat (not measured) was placed on a leaf which was forcibly kept open by a clip, so that it was moistened with the secretion (very acid) only on its lower surface. nevertheless, after only / hrs. it was surprisingly softened, when compared with another bit of the same meat which had been kept damp. experiment .--a cube of / of an inch of very compact roasted beef was placed on a leaf, which opened spontaneously after twelve days; so much feebly acid secretion was left on the leaf that it trickled off. the meat was completely disintegrated, but not all dissolved; there was no mould. the little mass was placed under the microscope; some of the fibrillae in the middle still exhibited transverse striae; others showed not a vestige of striae; and every gradation could be traced between these two states. globules, apparently of fat, and some undigested fibro-elastic tissue remained. the meat was thus in the same state as that formerly described, which was half digested by drosera. here, again, as in the case of albumen, the digestive process seems slower than in drosera. at the opposite end of the same leaf, a firmly compressed pellet of bread had been placed; this was completely disintegrated, i suppose, owing to the digestion of the gluten, but seemed very little reduced in bulk. experiment .--a cube of / of an inch of cheese and another of albumen were placed at opposite ends of the same leaf. after nine days the lobes opened spontaneously a little at the end enclosing the cheese, but hardly any or none was dissolved, though it was softened and surrounded by secretion. two days subsequently the end with the albumen also opened spontaneously (i.e. eleven days after it was put on), a mere trace in a blackened and dry condition being left. experiment .--the same experiment with cheese and albumen repeated on another and rather torpid leaf. the lobes at the end with the cheese, after an interval of six days, opened spontaneously a little; the cube of cheese was much softened, but not dissolved, and but little, if at all, reduced in size. twelve hours afterwards the end with the albumen opened, which now consisted of a large drop of transparent, not acid, viscid fluid. experiment .--same experiment as the two last, and here again the leaf at the end enclosing the cheese opened before the [page ] opposite end with the albumen; but no further observations were made. experiment .--a globule of chemically prepared casein, about / of an inch in diameter, was placed on a leaf, which spontaneously opened after eight days. the casein now consisted of a soft sticky mass, very little, if at all, reduced in size, but bathed in acid secretion.] these experiments are sufficient to show that the secretion from the glands of dionaea dissolves albumen, gelatine, and meat, if too large pieces are not given. globules of fat and fibro-elastic tissue are not digested. the secretion, with its dissolved matter, if not in excess, is subsequently absorbed. on the other hand, although chemically prepared casein and cheese (as in the case of drosera) excite much acid secretion, owing, i presume, to the absorption of some included albuminous matter, these substances are not digested, and are not appreciably, if at all, reduced in bulk. [effects of the vapours of chloroform, sulphuric ether, and hydrocyanic acid.--a plant bearing one leaf was introduced into a large bottle with a drachm ( . ml.) of chloroform, the mouth being imperfectly closed with cotton-wool. the vapour caused in m. the lobes to begin moving at an imperceptibly slow rate; but in m. the spikes crossed, and the leaf was soon completely shut. the dose, however, was much too large, for in between and hrs. the leaf appeared as if burnt, and soon died. two leaves were exposed for m. in a -oz: vessel to the vapour of minims ( . ml.) of sulphuric ether. one leaf closed after a time, as did the other whilst being removed from the vessel without being touched. both leaves were greatly injured. another leaf, exposed for m. to minims of ether, closed its lobes to a certain extent, and the sensitive filaments were now quite insensible. after hrs. this leaf recovered its sensibility, but was still rather torpid. a leaf exposed in a large bottle for only m. to ten drops was rendered insensible. after m. it recovered its sensibility, and when one of the filaments was touched, the lobes closed. it began [page ] to reopen after hrs. lastly another leaf was exposed for m. to only four drops of the ether; it was rendered insensible, and did not close when its filaments were repeatedly touched, but closed when the end of the open leaf was cut off. this shows either that the internal parts had not been rendered insensible, or that an incision is a more powerful stimulus than repeated touches on the filaments. whether the larger doses of chloroform and ether, which caused the leaves to close slowly, acted on the sensitive filaments or on the leaf itself, i do not know. cyanide of potassium, when left in a bottle, generates prussic or hydrocyanic acid. a leaf was exposed for hr. m. to the vapour thus formed; and the glands became within this time so colourless and shrunken as to be scarcely visible, and i at first thought that they had all dropped off. the leaf was not rendered insensible; for as soon as one of the filaments was touched it closed. it had, however, suffered, for it did not reopen until nearly two days had passed, and was not even then in the least sensitive. after an additional day it recovered its powers, and closed on being touched and subsequently reopened. another leaf behaved in nearly the same manner after a shorter exposure to this vapour.] on the manner in which insects are caught.--we will now consider the action of the leaves when insects happen to touch one of the sensitive filaments. this often occurred in my greenhouse, but i do not know whether insects are attracted in any special way by the leaves. they are caught in large numbers by the plant in its native country. as soon as a filament is touched, both lobes close with astonishing quickness; and as they stand at less than a right angle to each other, they have a good chance of catching any intruder. the angle between the blade and footstalk does not change when the lobes close. the chief seat of movement is near the midrib, but is not confined to this part; for, as the lobes come together, each curves inwards across its whole breadth; the marginal spikes however, not becoming curved. this move- [page ] ment of the whole lobe was well seen in a leaf to which a large fly had been given, and from which a large portion had been cut off the end of one lobe; so that the opposite lobe, meeting with no resistance in this part, went on curving inwards much beyond the medial line. the whole of the lobe, from which a portion had been cut, was afterwards removed, and the opposite lobe now curled completely over, passing through an angle of from o to o, so as to occupy a position almost at right angles to that which it would have held had the opposite lobe been present. from the curving inwards of the two lobes, as they move towards each other, the straight marginal spikes intercross by their tips at first, and ultimately by their bases. the leaf is then completely shut and encloses a shallow cavity. if it has been made to shut merely by one of the sensitive filaments having been touched, or if it includes an object not yielding soluble nitrogenous matter, the two lobes retain their inwardly concave form until they re-expand. the re-expansion under these circumstances--that is when no organic matter is enclosed--was observed in ten cases. in all of these, the leaves re-expanded to about two-thirds of the full extent in hrs. from the time of closure. even the leaf from which a portion of one lobe had been cut off opened to a slight degree within this same time. in one case a leaf re-expanded to about two-thirds of the full extent in hrs., and completely in hrs.; but one of its filaments had been touched merely with a hair just enough to cause the leaf to close. of these ten leaves only a few re-expanded completely in less than two days, and two or three required even a little longer time. before, however, they fully re-expand, they are ready to close [page ] instantly if their sensitive filaments are touched. how many times a leaf is capable of shutting and opening if no animal matter is left enclosed, i do not know; but one leaf was made to close four times, reopening afterwards, within six days, on the last occasion it caught a fly, and then remained closed for many days. this power of reopening quickly after the filaments have been accidentally touched by blades of grass, or by objects blown on the leaf by the wind, as occasionally happens in its native place,* must be of some importance to the plant; for as long as a leaf remains closed, it cannot of course capture an insect. when the filaments are irritated and a leaf is made to shut over an insect, a bit of meat, albumen, gelatine, casein, and, no doubt, any other substance containing soluble nitrogenous matter, the lobes, instead of remaining concave, thus including a concavity, slowly press closely together throughout their whole breadth. as this takes place, the margins gradually become a little everted, so that the spikes, which at first intercrossed, at last project in two parallel rows. the lobes press against each other with such force that i have seen a cube of albumen much flattened, with distinct impressions of the little prominent glands; but this latter circumstance may have been partly caused by the corroding action of the secretion. so firmly do they become pressed together that, if any large insect or other object has been caught, a corresponding projection on the outside of the leaf is distinctly visible. when the two lobes are thus completely shut, they * according to dr. curtis, in 'boston journal of nat. hist,' vol. i , p. . [page ] resist being opened, as by a thin wedge driven between them, with astonishing force, and are generally ruptured rather than yield. if not ruptured, they close again, as dr. canby informs me in a letter, "with quite a loud flap." but if the end of a leaf is held firmly between the thumb and finger, or by a clip, so that the lobes cannot begin to close, they exert, whilst in this position, very little force. i thought at first that the gradual pressing together of the lobes was caused exclusively by captured insects crawling over and repeatedly irritating the sensitive filaments; and this view seemed the more probable when i learnt from dr. burdon sanderson that whenever the filaments of a closed leaf are irritated, the normal electric current is disturbed. nevertheless, such irritation is by no means necessary, for a dead insect, or a bit of meat, or of albumen, all act equally well; proving that in these cases it is the absorption of animal matter which excites the lobes slowly to press close together. we have seen that the absorption of an extremely small quantity of such matter also causes a fully expanded leaf to close slowly; and this movement is clearly analogous to the slow pressing together of the concave lobes. this latter action is of high functional importance to the plant, for the glands on both sides are thus brought into contact with a captured insect, and consequently secrete. the secretion with animal matter in solution is then drawn by capillary attraction over the whole surface of the leaf, causing all the glands to secrete and allowing them to absorb the diffused animal matter. the movement, excited by the absorption of such matter, though slow, suffices for its final purpose, whilst the movement excited by one of the sensitive filaments being touched is rapid, and this is indis- [page ] pensable for the capturing of insects. these two movements, excited by two such widely different means, are thus both well adapted, like all the other functions of the plant, for the purposes which they subserve. there is another wide difference in the action of leaves which enclose objects, such as bits of wood, cork, balls of paper, or which have had their filaments merely touched, and those which enclose organic bodies yielding soluble nitrogenous matter. in the former case the leaves, as we have seen, open in under hrs. and are then ready, even before being fully-expanded, to shut again. but if they have closed over nitrogen-yielding bodies, they remain closely shut for many days; and after re-expanding are torpid, and never act again, or only after a considerable interval of time. in four instances, leaves after catching insects never reopened, but began to wither, remaining closed--in one case for fifteen days over a fly; in a second, for twenty-four days, though the fly was small; in a third for twenty-four days over a woodlouse; and in a fourth, for thirty-five days over a large tipula. in two other cases leaves remained closed for at least nine days over flies, and for how many more i do not know. it should, however, be added that in two instances in which very small insects had been naturally caught the leaf opened as quickly as if nothing had been caught; and i suppose that this was due to such small insects not having been crushed or not having excreted any animal matter, so that the glands were not excited. small angular bits of albumen and gelatine were placed at both ends of three leaves, two of which remained closed for thirteen and the other for twelve days. two other leaves remained closed over bits of [page ] meat for eleven days, a third leaf for eight days, and a fourth (but this had been cracked and injured) for only six days. bits of cheese, or casein, were placed at one end and albumen at the other end of three leaves; and the ends with the former opened after six, eight, and nine days, whilst the opposite ends opened a little later. none of the above bits of meat, albumen, &c., exceeded a cube of / of an inch ( . mm.) in size, and were sometimes smaller; yet these small portions sufficed to keep the leaves closed for many days. dr. canby informs me that leaves remain shut for a longer time over insects than over meat; and from what i have seen, i can well believe that this is the case, especially if the insects are large. in all the above cases, and in many others in which leaves remained closed for a long but unknown period over insects naturally caught, they were more or less torpid when they reopened. generally they were so torpid during many succeeding days that no excitement of the filaments caused the least movement. in one instance, however, on the day after a leaf opened which had clasped a fly, it closed with extreme slowness when one of its filaments was touched; and although no object was left enclosed, it was so torpid that it did not re-open for the second time until hrs. had elapsed. in a second case, a leaf which had expanded after remaining closed for at least nine days over a fly, when greatly irritated, moved one alone of its two lobes, and retained this unusual position for the next two days. a third case offers the strongest exception which i have observed; a leaf, after remaining clasped for an unknown time over a fly, opened, and when one of its filaments was touched, closed, though rather slowly. dr. canby, [page ] who observed in the united states a large number of plants which, although not in their native site, were probably more vigorous than my plants, informs me that he has "several times known vigorous leaves to devour their prey several times; but ordinarily twice, or, quite often, once was enough to render them unserviceable." mrs. treat, who cultivated many plants in new jersey, also informs me that "several leaves caught successively three insects each, but most of them were not able to digest the third fly, but died in the attempt. five leaves, however, digested each three flies, and closed over the fourth, but died soon after the fourth capture. many leaves did not digest even one large insect." it thus appears that the power of digestion is somewhat limited, and it is certain that leaves always remain clasped for many days over an insect, and do not recover their power of closing again for many subsequent days. in this respect dionaea differs from drosera, which catches and digests many insects after shorter intervals of time. we are now prepared to understand the use of the marginal spikes, which form so conspicuous a feature in the appearance of the plant (fig. , p. ), and which at first seemed to me in my ignorance useless appendages. from the inward curvature of the lobes as they approach each other, the tips of the marginal spikes first intercross, and ultimately their bases. until the edges of the lobes come into contact, elongated spaces between the spikes, varying from the / to the / of an inch ( . to . mm.) in breadth, according to the size of the leaf, are left open. thus an insect, if its body is not thicker than these measurements, can easily escape between the crossed spikes, when disturbed by the closing lobes and in- [page ] creasing darkness; and one of my sons actually saw a small insect thus escaping. a moderately large insect, on the other hand, if it tries to escape between the bars will surely be pushed back again into its horrid prison with closing walls, for the spikes continue to cross more and more until the edges of the lobes come into contact. a very strong insect, however, would be able to free itself, and mrs. treat saw this effected by a rose-chafer (macrodactylus subspinosus) in the united states. now it would manifestly be a great disadvantage to the plant to waste many days in remaining clasped over a minute insect, and several additional days or weeks in afterwards recovering its sensibility; inasmuch as a minute insect would afford but little nutriment. it would be far better for the plant to wait for a time until a moderately large insect was captured, and to allow all the little ones to escape; and this advantage is secured by the slowly intercrossing marginal spikes, which act like the large meshes of a fishing-net, allowing the small and useless fry to escape. as i was anxious to know whether this view was correct--and as it seems a good illustration of how cautious we ought to be in assuming, as i had done with respect to the marginal spikes, that any fully developed structure is useless--i applied to dr. canby. he visited the native site of the plant, early in the season, before the leaves had grown to their full size, and sent me fourteen leaves, containing naturally captured insects. four of these had caught rather small insects, viz. three of them ants, and the fourth a rather small fly, but the other ten had all caught large insects, namely, five elaters, two chrysomelas, a curculio, a thick and broad spider, and a scolopendra. out of these ten insects, no less than eight [page ] were beetles,* and out of the whole fourteen there was only one, viz. a dipterous insect, which could readily take flight. drosera, on the other hand, lives chiefly on insects which are good flyers, especially diptera, caught by the aid of its viscid secretion. but what most concerns us is the size of the ten larger insects. their average length from head to tail was . of an inch, the lobes of the leaves being on an average . of an inch in length, so that the insects were very nearly half as long as the leaves within which they were enclosed. only a few of these leaves, therefore, had wasted their powers by capturing small prey, though it is probable that many small insects had crawled over them and been caught, but had then escaped through the bars. the transmission of the motor impulse, and means of movement.--it is sufficient to touch any one of the six filaments to cause both lobes to close, these becoming at the same time incurved throughout their whole breadth. the stimulus must therefore radiate in all directions from any one filament. it must also be transmitted with much rapidity across the leaf, for in all ordinary cases both lobes close simultaneously, as far as the eye can judge. most physiologists believe that in irritable plants the excitement is transmitted along, or in close connection with, the fibro-vascular bundles. in dionaea, the course of these vessels (composed of spiral and ordinary vascular * dr. canby remarks ('gardener's monthly,' august ), "as a general thing beetles and insects of that kind, though always killed, seem to be too hard-shelled to serve as food, and after a short time are rejected." i am surprised at this statement, at least with respect to such beetles as elaters, for the five which i examined were in an extremely fragile and empty condition, as if all their internal parts had been partially digested. mrs. treat informs me that the plants which she cultivated in new jersey chiefly caught diptera. [page ] tissue) seems at first sight to favour this belief; for they run up the midrib in a great bundle, sending off small bundles almost at right angles on each side. these bifurcate occasionally as they extend towards the margin, and close to the margin small branches from adjoining vessels unite and enter the marginal spikes. at some of these points of union the vessels form curious loops, like those described under drosera. a continuous zigzag line of vessels thus runs round the whole circumference of the leaf, and in the midrib all the vessels are in close contact; so that all parts of the leaf seem to be brought into some degree of communication. nevertheless, the presence of vessels is not necessary for the transmission of the motor impulse, for it is transmitted from the tips of the sensitive filaments (these being about the / of an inch in length), into which no vessels enter; and these could not have been overlooked, as i made thin vertical sections of the leaf at the bases of the filaments. on several occasions, slits about the / of an inch in length were made with a lancet, close to the bases of the filaments, parallel to the midrib, and, therefore, directly across the course of the vessels. these were made sometimes on the inner and sometimes on the outer sides of the filaments; and after several days, when the leaves had reopened, these filaments were touched roughly (for they were always rendered in some degree torpid by the operation), and the lobes then closed in the ordinary manner, though slowly, and sometimes not until after a considerable interval of time. these cases show that the motor impulse is not transmitted along the vessels, and they further show that there is no necessity for a direct line of communication from the filament which is [page ] touched towards the midrib and opposite lobe, or towards the outer parts of the same lobe. two slits near each other, both parallel to the midrib, were next made in the same manner as before, one on each side of the base of a filament, on five distinct leaves, so that a little slip bearing a filament was connected with the rest of the leaf only at its two ends. these slips were nearly of the same size; one was carefully measured; it was . of an inch ( . mm.) in length, and . of an inch ( . mm.) in breadth; and in the middle stood the filament. only one of these slips withered and perished. after the leaf had recovered from the operation, though the slits were still open, the filaments thus circumstanced were roughly touched, and both lobes, or one alone, slowly closed. in two instances touching the filament produced no effect; but when the point of a needle was driven into the slip at the base of the filament, the lobes slowly closed. now in these cases the impulse must have proceeded along the slip in a line parallel to the midrib, and then have radiated forth, either from both ends or from one end alone of the slip, over the whole surface of the two lobes. again, two parallel slits, like the former ones, were made, one on each side of the base of a filament, at right angles to the midrib. after the leaves (two in number) had recovered, the filaments were roughly touched, and the lobes slowly closed; and here the impulse must have travelled for a short distance in a line at right angles to the midrib, and then have radiated forth on all sides over both lobes. these several cases prove that the motor impulse travels in all directions through the cellular tissue, independently of the course of the vessels. with drosera we have seen that the motor impulse [page ] is transmitted in like manner in all directions through the cellular tissue; but that its rate is largely governed by the length of the cells and the direction of their longer axes. thin sections of a leaf of dionaea were made by my son, and the cells, both those of the central and of the more superficial layers, were found much elongated, with their longer axes directed towards the midrib; and it is in this direction that the motor impulse must be sent with great rapidity from one lobe to the other, as both close simultaneously. the central parenchymatous cells are larger, more loosely attached together, and have more delicate walls than the more superficial cells. a thick mass of cellular tissue forms the upper surface of the midrib over the great central bundle of vessels. when the filaments were roughly touched, at the bases of which slits had been made, either on both sides or on one side, parallel to the midrib or at right angles to it, the two lobes, or only one, moved. in one of these cases, the lobe on the side which bore the filament that was touched moved, but in three other cases the opposite lobe alone moved; so that an injury which was sufficient to prevent a lobe moving did not prevent the transmission from it of a stimulus which excited the opposite lobe to move. we thus also learn that, although normally both lobes move together, each has the power of independent movement. a case, indeed, has already been given of a torpid leaf that had lately re-opened after catching an insect, of which one lobe alone moved when irritated. moreover, one end of the same lobe can close and re- expand, independently of the other end, as was seen in some of the foregoing experiments. when the lobes, which are rather thick, close, no trace of wrinkling can be seen on any part of their upper [page ] surfaces, it appears therefore that the cells must contract. the chief seat of the movement is evidently in the thick mass of cells which overlies the central bundle of vessels in the midrib. to ascertain whether this part contracts, a leaf was fastened on the stage of the microscope in such a manner that the two lobes could not become quite shut, and having made two minute black dots on the midrib, in a transverse line and a little towards one side, they were found by the micrometer to be / of an inch apart. one of the filaments was then touched and the lobes closed; but as they were prevented from meeting, i could still see the two dots, which now were / of an inch apart, so that a small portion of the upper surface of the midrib had contracted in a transverse line / of an inch (. mm.). we know that the lobes, whilst closing, become slightly incurved throughout their whole breadth. this movement appears to be due to the contraction of the superficial layers of cells over the whole upper surface. in order to observe their contraction, a narrow strip was cut out of one lobe at right angles to the midrib, so that the surface of the opposite lobe could be seen in this part when the leaf was shut. after the leaf had recovered from the operation and had re-expanded, three minute black dots were made on the surface opposite to the slit or window, in a line at right angles to the midrib. the distance between the dots was found to be / of an inch, so that the two extreme dots were / of an inch apart. one of the filaments was now touched and the leaf closed. on again measuring the distances between the dots, the two next to the midrib were nearer together by to / of an inch, and the two further dots by to / of an inch, than they were before; so that the two extreme [page ] dots now stood about / of an inch (. mm.) nearer together than before. if we suppose the whole upper surface of the lobe, which was / of an inch in breadth, to have contracted in the same proportion, the total contraction will have amounted to about / or / of an inch (. mm.); but whether this is sufficient to account for the slight inward curvature of the whole lobe, i am unable to say. finally, with respect to the movement of the leaves, the wonderful discovery made by dr. burdon sanderson* is now universally known; namely that there exists a normal electrical current in the blade and footstalk; and that when the leaves are irritated, the current is disturbed in the same manner as takes place during the contraction of the muscle of an animal. the re-expansion of the leaves.--this is effected at an insensibly slow rate, whether or not any object is enclosed. one lobe can re-expand by itself, as occurred with the torpid leaf of which one lobe alone had closed. we have also seen in the experiments with cheese and albumen that the two ends of the same lobe can re-expand to a certain extent independently of each other. but in all ordinary cases both lobes open at the same time. the re-expansion is not determined by the sensitive filaments; all three filaments on one lobe were cut off close to their bases; and the three * proc. royal soc.' vol. xxi. p. ; and lecture at the royal institution, june , , given in 'nature,' , pp. and . nuttall, in his 'gen. american plants,' p. (note), says that, whilst collecting this plant in its native home, "i had occasion to observe that a detached leaf would make repeated efforts towards disclosing itself to the influence of the sun; these attempts consisted in an undulatory motion of the marginal ciliae, accompanied by a partial opening and succeeding collapse of the lamina, which at length terminated in a complete expansion and in the destruction of sensibility." i am indebted to prof. oliver for this reference; but i do not understand what took place. [page ] leaves thus treated re-expanded,--one to a partial extent in hrs.,--a second to the same extent in hrs., and the third, which had been previously injured, not until the sixth day. these leaves after their re-expansion closed quickly when the filaments on the other lobe were irritated. these were then cut off one of the leaves, so that none were left. this mutilated leaf, notwithstanding the loss of all its filaments, re-expanded in two days in the usual manner. when the filaments have been excited by immersion in a solution of sugar, the lobes do not expand so soon as when the filaments have been merely touched; and this, i presume, is due to their having been strongly affected through exosmose, so that they continue for some time to transmit a motor impulse to the upper surface of the leaf. the following facts make me believe that the several layers of cells forming the lower surface of the leaf are always in a state of tension; and that it is owing to this mechanical state, aided probably by fresh fluid being attracted into the cells, that the lobes begin to separate or expand as soon as the contraction of the upper surface diminishes. a leaf was cut off and suddenly plunged perpendicularly into boiling water: i expected that the lobes would have closed, but instead of doing so, they diverged a little. i then took another fine leaf, with the lobes standing at an angle of nearly o to each other; and on immersing it as before, the angle suddenly increased to o. a third leaf was torpid from having recently re-expanded after having caught a fly, so that repeated touches of the filaments caused not the least movement; nevertheless, when similarly immersed, the lobes separated a little. as these leaves were inserted perpendicularly into the boiling water, both surfaces and the filaments [page ] must have been equally affected; and i can understand the divergence of the lobes only by supposing that the cells on the lower side, owing to their state of tension, acted mechanically and thus suddenly drew the lobes a little apart, as soon as the cells on the upper surface were killed and lost their contractile power. we have seen that boiling water in like manner causes the tentacles of drosera to curve backwards; and this is an analogous movement to the divergence of the lobes of dionaea. in some concluding remarks in the fifteenth chapter on the droseraceae, the different kinds of irritability possessed by the several genera, and the different manner in which they capture insects, will be compared. [page ] chapter xiv. aldrovanda vesiculosa. captures crustaceans--structure of the leaves in comparison with those of dionaea-- absorption by the glands, by the quadrifid processes, and points on the infolded margins-- aldrovanda vesiculosa, var. australis--captures prey--absorption of animal matter-- aldrovanda vesiculosa, var. verticillata--concluding remarks. this plant may be called a miniature aquatic dionaea. stein discovered in that the bilobed leaves, which are generally found closed in europe, open under a sufficiently high temperature, and, when touched, suddenly close.* they re-expand in from to hours, but only, as it appears, when inorganic objects are enclosed. the leaves sometimes contain bubbles of air, and were formerly supposed to be bladders; hence the specific name of vesiculosa. stein observed that water-insects were sometimes caught, and prof. cohn has recently found within the leaves of naturally growing plants many kinds of crustaceans and larvae. plants which had been kept in filtered water were placed by him in a vessel con- * since his original publication, stein has found out that the irritability of the leaves was observed by de sassus, as recorded in 'bull. bot. soc. de france,' in . delpino states in a paper published in ('nuovo giornale bot. ital.' vol. iii. p. ) that "una quantit di chioccioline e di altri animalcoli acquatici" are caught and suffocated by the leaves. i presume that chioccioline are fresh-water molluscs. it would be interesting to know whether their shells are at all corroded by the acid of the digestive secretion. i am greatly indebted to this distinguished naturalist for having sent me a copy of his memoir on aldrovanda, before its publication in his 'beitrge zur biologie der pflanzen,' drittes heft, , page . [page ] taining numerous crustaceans of the genus cypris, and next morning many were found imprisoned and alive, still swimming about within the closed leaves, but doomed to certain death. directly after reading prof. cohn's memoir, i received through the kindness of dr. hooker living plants from germany. as i can add nothing to prof. cohn's excellent description, i will give only two illustrations, one of a whorl of leaves copied from his work, and the other of a leaf pressed flat open, drawn by my son francis. i will, however, append a few remarks on the differences between this plant and dionaea. aldrovanda is destitute of roots and floats freely in the water. the leaves are arranged in whorls round the stem. their broad petioles terminate in from four to six rigid projections,* each tipped with a stiff, short bristle. the bilobed leaf, with the midrib likewise tipped with a bristle, stands in the midst of these projections, and is evidently defended by them. the lobes are formed of very delicate tissue, so as to be translucent; they open, according to cohn, about as much as the two valves of a living mussel-shell, therefore even less than the lobes of dionaea; and this must make the capture of aquatic animals more easy. the outside of the leaves and the petioles are covered with minute two-armed papillae, evidently answering to the eight-rayed papillae of dionaea. each lobe rather exceeds a semi-circle in convexity, and consists of two very different concentric portions; the inner and lesser portion, or that next to the midrib, *there has been much discussion by botanists on the homological nature of these projections. dr. nitschke ('bot. zeitung,' , p. ) believes that they correspond with the fimbriated scale-like bodies found at the bases of the petioles of drosera. [page ] is slightly concave, and is formed, according to cohn, of three layers of cells. its upper surface is studded with colourless glands like, but more simple than, those of dionaea; they are supported on distinct footstalks, consisting of two rows of cells. the outer fig. . (aldrovanda vesiculosa.) upper figure, whorl of leaves (from prof. cohn). lower figure, leaf pressed flat open and greatly enlarged. and broader portion of the lobe is flat and very thin, being formed of only two layers of cells. its upper surface does not bear any glands, but, in their place, small quadrifid processes, each consisting of four tapering projections, which rise from a common [page ] prominence. these processes are formed of very delicate membrane lined with a layer of protoplasm; and they sometimes contain aggregated globules of hyaline matter. two of the slightly diverging arms are directed towards the circumference, and two towards the midrib, forming together a sort of greek cross. occasionally two of the arms are replaced by one, and then the projection is trifid. we shall see in a future chapter that these projections curiously resemble those found within the bladders of utricularia, more especially of utricularia montana, although this genus is not related to aldrovanda. a narrow rim of the broad flat exterior part of each lobe is turned inwards, so that, when the lobes are closed, the exterior surfaces of the infolded portions come into contact. the edge itself bears a row of conical, flattened, transparent points with broad bases, like the prickles on the stem of a bramble or rubus. as the rim is infolded, these points are directed towards the midrib, and they appear at first as if they were adapted to prevent the escape of prey; but this can hardly be their chief function, for they are composed of very delicate and highly flexible membrane, which can be easily bent or quite doubled back without being cracked. nevertheless, the infolded rims, together with the points, must somewhat interfere with the retrograde movement of any small creature, as soon as the lobes begin to close. the circumferential part of the leaf of aldrovanda thus differs greatly from that of dionaea; nor can the points on the rim be considered as homologous with the spikes round the leaves of dionaea, as these latter are prolongations of the blade, and not mere epidermic productions. they appear also to serve for a widely different purpose. [page ] on the concave gland-bearing portion of the lobes, and especially on the midrib, there are numerous, long, finely pointed hairs, which, as prof. cohn remarks, there can be little doubt are sensitive to a touch, and, when touched, cause the leaf to close. they are formed of two rows of cells, or, according to cohn, sometimes of four, and do not include any vascular tissue. they differ also from the six sensitive filaments of dionaea in being colourless, and in having a medial as well as a basal articulation. no doubt it is owing to these two articulations that, notwithstanding their length, they escape being broken when the lobes close. the plants which i received during the early part of october from kew never opened their leaves, though subjected to a high temperature. after examining the structure of some of them, i experimented on only two, as i hoped that the plants would grow; and i now regret that i did not sacrifice a greater number. a leaf was cut open along the midrib, and the glands examined under a high power. it was then placed in a few drops of an infusion of raw meat. after hrs. m. there was no change, but when next examined after hrs. m., the outer cells of the glands contained, instead of limpid fluid, spherical masses of a granular substance, showing that matter had been absorbed from the infusion. that these glands secrete a fluid which dissolves or digests animal matter out of the bodies of the creatures which the leaves capture, is also highly probable from the analogy of dionaea. if we may trust to the same analogy, the concave and inner portions of the two lobes probably close together by a slow movement, as soon as the glands have absorbed a slight amount of [page ] already soluble animal matter. the included water would thus be pressed out, and the secretion consequently not be too much diluted to act. with respect to the quadrifid processes on the outer parts of the lobes, i was not able to decide whether they had been acted on by the infusion; for the lining of protoplasm was somewhat shrunk before they were immersed. many of the points on the infolded rims also had their lining of protoplasm similarly shrunk, and contained spherical granules of hyaline matter. a solution of urea was next employed. this substance was chosen partly because it is absorbed by the quadrifid processes and more especially by the glands of utricularia--a plant which, as we shall hereafter see, feeds on decayed animal matter. as urea is one of the last products of the chemical changes going on in the living body, it seems fitted to represent the early stages of the decay of the dead body. i was also led to try urea from a curious little fact mentioned by prof. cohn, namely that when rather large crustaceans are caught between the closing lobes, they are pressed so hard whilst making their escape that they often void their sausage-shaped masses of excrement, which were found within most of the leaves. these masses, no doubt, contain urea. they would be left either on the broad outer surfaces of the lobes where the quadrifids are situated, or within the closed concavity. in the latter case, water charged with excrementitious and decaying matter would be slowly forced outwards, and would bathe the quadrifids, if i am right in believing that the concave lobes contract after a time like those of dionaea. foul water would also be apt to ooze out at all times, especially when bubbles of air were generated within the concavity. a leaf was cut open and examined, and the outer [page ] cells of the glands were found to contain only limpid fluid. some of the quadrifids included a few spherical granules, but several were transparent and empty, and their positions were marked. this leaf was now immersed in a little solution of one part of urea to of water, or three grains to the ounce. after hrs. m. there was no change either in the glands or quadrifids; nor was there any certain change in the glands after hrs.; so that, as far as one trial goes, urea does not act on them in the same manner as an infusion of raw meat. it was different with the quadrifids; for the lining of protoplasm, instead of presenting a uniform texture, was now slightly shrunk, and exhibited in many places minute, thickened, irregular, yellowish specks and ridges, exactly like those which appear within the quadrifids of utricularia when treated with this same solution. moreover, several of the quadrifids, which were before empty, now contained moderately sized or very small, more or less aggregated, globules of yellowish matter, as likewise occurs under the same circumstances with utricularia. some of the points on the infolded margins of the lobes were similarly affected; for their lining of protoplasm was a little shrunk and included yellowish specks; and those which were before empty now contained small spheres and irregular masses of hyaline matter, more or less aggregated; so that both the points on the margins and the quadrifids had absorbed matter from the solution in the course of hrs.; but to this subject i shall recur. in another rather old leaf, to which nothing had been given, but which had been kept in foul water, some of the quadrifids contained aggregated translucent globules. these were not acted on by a solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water; and this negative result [page ] agrees with what i have observed under similar circumstances with utricularia. aldrovanda vesiculosa, var. australis.--dried leaves of this plant from queensland in australia were sent me by prof. oliver from the herbarium at kew. whether it ought to be considered as a distinct species or a variety, cannot be told until the flowers are examined by a botanist. the projections at the upper end of the petiole (from four to six in number) are considerably longer relatively to the blade, and much more attenuated than those of the european form. they are thickly covered for a considerable space near their extremities with the upcurved prickles, which are quite absent in the latter form; and they generally bear on their tips two or three straight prickles instead of one. the bilobed leaf appears also to be rather larger and somewhat broader, with the pedicel by which it is attached to the upper end of the petiole a little longer. the points on the infolded margins likewise differ; they have narrower bases, and are more pointed; long and short points also alternate with much more regularity than in the european form. the glands and sensitive hairs are similar in the two forms. no quadrifid processes could be seen on several of the leaves, but i do not doubt that they were present, though indistinguishable from their delicacy and from having shrivelled; for they were quite distinct on one leaf under circumstances presently to be mentioned. some of the closed leaves contained no prey, but in one there was a rather large beetle, which from its flattened tibiae i suppose was an aquatic species, but was not allied to colymbetes. all the softer tissues of this beetle were completely dissolved, and its chitinous integuments were as clean as if they had been [page ] boiled in caustic potash; so that it must have been enclosed for a considerable time. the glands were browner and more opaque than those on other leaves which had caught nothing; and the quadrifid processes, from being partly filled with brown granular matter, could be plainly distinguished, which was not the case, as already stated, on the other leaves. some of the points on the infolded margins likewise contained brownish granular matter. we thus gain additional evidence that the glands, the quadrifid processes, and the marginal points, all have the power of absorbing matter, though probably of a different nature. within another leaf disintegrated remnants of a rather small animal, not a crustacean, which had simple, strong, opaque mandibles, and a large unarticulated chitinous coat, were present. lumps of black organic matter, possibly of a vegetable nature, were enclosed in two other leaves; but in one of these there was also a small worm much decayed. but the nature of partially digested and decayed bodies, which have been pressed flat, long dried, and then soaked in water, cannot be recognised easily. all the leaves contained unicellular and other algae, still of a greenish colour, which had evidently lived as intruders, in the same manner as occurs, according to cohn, within the leaves of this plant in germany. aldrovanda vesiculosa, var. verticillata.--dr. king, superintendent of the botanic gardens, kindly sent me dried specimens collected near calcutta. this form was, i believe, considered by wallich as a distinct species, under the name of verticillata. it resembles the australian form much more nearly than the european; namely in the projections at the upper end of the petiole being much attenuated and covered with [page ] upcurved prickles; they terminate also in two straight little prickles. the bilobed leaves are, i believe, larger and certainly broader even than those of the australian form; so that the greater convexity of their margins was conspicuous. the length of an open leaf being taken at , the breadth of the bengal form is nearly , of the australian form , and of the german . the points on the infolded margins are like those in the australian form. of the few leaves which were examined, three contained entomostracan crustaceans. concluding remarks.--the leaves of the three foregoing closely allied species or varieties are manifestly adapted for catching living creatures. with respect to the functions of the several parts, there can be little doubt that the long jointed hairs are sensitive, like those of dionaea, and that, when touched, they cause the lobes to close. that the glands secrete a true digestive fluid and afterwards absorb the digested matter, is highly probable from the analogy of dionaea,--from the limpid fluid within their cells being aggregated into spherical masses, after they had absorbed an infusion of raw meat,--from their opaque and granular condition in the leaf, which had enclosed a beetle for a long time,--and from the clean condition of the integuments of this insect, as well as of crustaceans (as described by cohn), which have been long captured. again, from the effect produced on the quadrifid processes by an immersion for hrs. in a solution of urea,--from the presence of brown granular matter within the quadrifids of the leaf in which the beetle had been caught,--and from the analogy of utricularia,--it is probable that these processes absorb excrementitious and decaying animal matter. it is a more curious fact that the points on [page ] the infolded margins apparently serve to absorb decayed animal matter in the same manner as the quadrifids. we can thus understand the meaning of the infolded margins of the lobes furnished with delicate points directed inwards, and of the broad, flat, outer portions, bearing quadrifid processes; for these surfaces must be liable to be irrigated by foul water flowing from the concavity of the leaf when it contains dead animals. this would follow from various causes,--from the gradual contraction of the concavity,--from fluid in excess being secreted,- -and from the generation of bubbles of air. more observations are requisite on this head; but if this view is correct, we have the remarkable case of different parts of the same leaf serving for very different purposes--one part for true digestion, and another for the absorption of decayed animal matter. we can thus also understand how, by the gradual loss of either power, a plant might be gradually adapted for the one function to the exclusion of the other; and it will hereafter be shown that two genera, namely pinguicula and utricularia, belonging to the same family, have been adapted for these two different functions. [page ] chapter xv. drosophyllum--roridula--byblis--glandular hairs of other plants-- concluding remarks on the droseraceae. drosophyllum--structure of leaves--nature of the secretion--manner of catching insects-- power of absorption--digestion of animal substances--summary on drosophyllum--roridula- -byblis--glandular hairs of other plants, their power of absorption--saxifraga--primula-- pelargonium--erica--mirabilis--nicotiana--summary on glandular hairs--concluding remarks on the droseraceae. drosophyllum lusitanicum.--this rare plant has been found only in portugal, and, as i hear from dr. hooker, in morocco. i obtained living specimens through the great kindness of mr. w.c. tait, and afterwards from mr. g. maw and dr. moore. mr. tait informs me that it grows plentifully on the sides of dry hills near oporto, and that vast numbers of flies adhere to the leaves. this latter fact is well-known to the villagers, who call the plant the "fly-catcher, " and hang it up in their cottages for this purpose. a plant in my hot-house caught so many insects during the early part of april, although the weather was cold and insects scarce, that it must have been in some manner strongly attractive to them. on four leaves of a young and small plant, , , , and minute insects, chiefly diptera, were found in the autumn adhering to them. i neglected to examine the roots, but i hear from dr. hooker that they are very small, as in the case of the previously mentioned members of the same family of the droseraceae. the leaves arise from an almost woody axis; they [page ] are linear, much attenuated towards their tips, and several inches in length. the upper surface is concave, the lower convex, with a narrow channel down the middle. both surfaces, with the exception of the channel, are covered with glands, supported on pedicels and arranged in irregular longitudinal rows. these organs i shall call tentacles, from their close resemblance to those of drosera, though they have no power of movement. those on the same leaf differ much in length. the glands also differ in size, and are of a bright pink or of a purple colour; their upper surfaces are convex, and the lower flat or even concave, so that they resemble miniature mushrooms in appearance. they are formed of two (as i believe) layers of delicate angular cells, enclosing eight or ten larger cells with thicker, zigzag walls. within these larger cells there are others marked by spiral lines, and apparently connected with the spiral vessels which run up the green multi-cellular pedicels. the glands secrete large drops of viscid secretion. other glands, having the same general appearance, are found on the flower-peduncles and calyx. fig. . (drosophyllum lusitanicum.) part of leaf, enlarged seven times, showing lower surface. besides the glands which are borne on longer or shorter pedicels, there are numerous ones, both on the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves, so small as to be scarcely visible to the naked eye. they are colourless and almost sessile, either circular or oval in outline; the latter occurring chiefly on the backs of the leaves (fig. ). internally they have exactly the same structure as the larger glands which are supported on pedicels; [page ] and indeed the two sets almost graduate into one another. but the sessile glands differ in one important respect, for they never secrete spontaneously, as far as i have seen, though i have examined them under a high power on a hot day, whilst the glands on pedicels were secreting copiously. nevertheless, if little bits of damp albumen or fibrin are placed on these sessile glands, they begin after a time to secrete, in the same manner as do the glands of dionaea when similarly treated. when they were merely rubbed with a bit of raw meat, i believe that they likewise secreted. both the sessile glands and the taller ones on pedicels have the power of rapidly absorbing nitrogenous matter. the secretion from the taller glands differs in a remarkable manner from that of drosera, in being acid before the glands have been in any way excited; and judging from the changed colour of litmus paper, more strongly acid than that of drosera. this fact was observed repeatedly; on one occasion i chose a young leaf, which was not secreting freely, and had never caught an insect, yet the secretion on all the glands coloured litmus paper of a bright red. from the quickness with which the glands are able to obtain animal matter from such substances as well-washed fibrin and cartilage, i suspect that a small quantity of the proper ferment must be present in the secretion before the glands are excited, so that a little animal matter is quickly dissolved. owing to the nature of the secretion or to the shape of the glands, the drops are removed from them with singular facility. it is even somewhat difficult, by the aid of a finely pointed polished needle, slightly damped with water, to place a minute particle of any kind on one of the drops; for on withdrawing the [page ] needle, the drop is generally withdrawn; whereas with drosera there is no such difficulty, though the drops are occasionally withdrawn. from this peculiarity, when a small insect alights on a leaf of drosophyllum, the drops adhere to its wings, feet, or body, and are drawn from the gland; the insect then crawls onward and other drops adhere to it; so that at last, bathed by the viscid secretion, it sinks down and dies, resting on the small sessile glands with which the surface of the leaf is thickly covered. in the case of drosera, an insect sticking to one or more of the exterior glands is carried by their movement to the centre of the leaf; with drosophyllum, this is effected by the crawling of the insect, as from its wings being clogged by the secretion it cannot fly away. there is another difference in function between the glands of these two plants: we know that the glands of drosera secrete more copiously when properly excited. but when minute particles of carbonate of ammonia, drops of a solution of this salt or of the nitrate of ammonia, saliva, small insects, bits of raw or roast meat, albumen, fibrin or cartilage, as well as inorganic particles, were placed on the glands of drosophyllum, the amount of secretion never appeared to be in the least increased. as insects do not commonly adhere to the taller glands, but withdraw the secretion, we can see that there would be little use in their having acquired the habit of secreting copiously when stimulated; whereas with drosera this is of use, and the habit has been acquired. nevertheless, the glands of drosophyllum, without being stimulated, continually secrete, so as to replace the loss by evaporation. thus when a plant was placed under a small bell-glass with its inner surface and support thoroughly wetted, there was no loss by evaporation, and so much [page ] secretion was accumulated in the course of a day that it ran down the tentacles and covered large spaces of the leaves. the glands to which the above named nitrogenous substances and liquids were given did not, as just stated, secrete more copiously; on the contrary, they absorbed their own drops of secretion with surprising quickness. bits of damp fibrin were placed on five glands, and when they were looked at after an interval of hr. m., the fibrin was almost dry, the secretion having been all absorbed. so it was with three cubes of albumen after hr. m., and with four other cubes, though these latter were not looked at until hrs. m. had elapsed. the same result followed in between hr. m. and hr. m. when particles both of cartilage and meat were placed on several glands. lastly, a minute drop (about / of a minim) of a solution of one part of nitrate of ammonia to of water was distributed between the secretion surrounding three glands, so that the amount of fluid surrounding each was slightly increased; yet when looked at after hrs., all three were dry. on the other hand, seven particles of glass and three of coal-cinders, of nearly the same size as those of the above named organic substances, were placed on ten glands; some of them being observed for hrs., and others for two or three days; but there was not the least sign of the secretion being absorbed. hence, in the former cases, the absorption of the secretion must have been due to the presence of some nitrogenous matter, which was either already soluble or was rendered so by the secretion. as the fibrin was pure, and had been well washed in distilled water after being kept in glycerine, and as the cartilage had been soaked in water, i suspect that these substances must [page ] have been slightly acted on and rendered soluble within the above stated short periods. the glands have not only the power of rapid absorption, but likewise of secreting again quickly; and this latter habit has perhaps been gained, inasmuch as insects, if they touch the glands, generally withdraw the drops of secretion, which have to be restored. the exact period of re-secretion was recorded in only a few cases. the glands on which bits of meat were placed, and which were nearly dry after about hr. m., when looked at after additional hours, were found secreting; so it was after hrs. with one gland on which a bit of albumen had been placed. the three glands to which a minute drop of a solution of nitrate of ammonia was distributed, and which became dry after hrs., were beginning to re-secrete after only additional hours. tentacles incapable of movement.--many of the tall tentacles, with insects adhering to them, were carefully observed; and fragments of insects, bits of raw meat, albumen, &c., drops of a solution of two salts of ammonia and of saliva, were placed on the glands of many tentacles; but not a trace of movement could ever be detected. i also repeatedly irritated the glands with a needle, and scratched and pricked the blades, but neither the blade nor the tentacles became at all inflected. we may therefore conclude that they are incapable of movement. on the power of absorption possessed by the glands.--it has already been indirectly shown that the glands on pedicels absorb animal matter; and this is further shown by their changed colour, and by the aggregation of their contents, after they have been left in contact with nitrogenous substances or liquids. the following observations apply both to the glands supported on [page ] pedicels and to the minute sessile ones. before a gland has been in any way stimulated, the exterior cells commonly contain only limpid purple fluid; the more central ones including mulberry-like masses of purple granular matter. a leaf was placed in a little solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water ( grs. to oz.), and the glands were instantly darkened and very soon became black; this change being due to the strongly marked aggregation of their contents, more especially of the inner cells. another leaf was placed in a solution of the same strength of nitrate of ammonia, and the glands were slightly darkened in m., more so in m., and after hr. m. were of so dark a red as to appear almost black. other leaves were placed in a weak infusion of raw meat and in human saliva, and the glands were much darkened in m., and after m. were so dark as almost to deserve to be called black. even immersion for a whole day in distilled water occasionally induces some aggregation within the glands, so that they become of a darker tint. in all these cases the glands are affected in exactly the same manner as those of drosera. milk, however, which acts so energetically on drosera, seems rather less effective on drosophyllum, for the glands were only slightly darkened by an immersion of hr. m., but became decidedly darker after hrs. leaves which had been left for hrs. in an infusion of raw meat or in saliva were placed in the solution of carbonate of ammonia, and the glands now became greenish; whereas, if they had been first placed in the carbonate, they would have become black. in this latter case, the ammonia probably combines with the acid of the secretion, and therefore does not act on the colouring matter; but when the glands are first subjected to an organic [page ] fluid, either the acid is consumed in the work of digestion or the cell-walls are rendered more permeable, so that the undecomposed carbonate enters and acts on the colouring matter. if a particle of the dry carbonate is placed on a gland, the purple colour is quickly discharged, owing probably to an excess of the salt. the gland, moreover, is killed. turning now to the action of organic substances, the glands on which bits of raw meat were placed became dark-coloured; and in hrs. their contents were conspicuously aggregated. several glands with bits of albumen and fibrin were darkened in between hrs. and hrs.; but in one case the purple colour was completely discharged. some glands which had caught flies were compared with others close by; and though they did not differ much in colour, there was a marked difference in their state of aggregation. in some few instances, however, there was no such difference, and this appeared to be due to the insects having been caught long ago, so that the glands had recovered their pristine state. in one case, a group of the sessile colourless glands, to which a small fly adhered, presented a peculiar appearance; for they had become purple, owing to purple granular matter coating the cell-walls. i may here mention as a caution that, soon after some of my plants arrived in the spring from portugal, the glands were not plainly acted on by bits of meat, or insects, or a solution of ammonia--a circumstance for which i cannot account. digestion of solid animal matter.--whilst i was trying to place on two of the taller glands little cubes of albumen, these slipped down, and, besmeared with secretion, were left resting on some of the small sessile glands. after hrs. one of these cubes was found [page ] completely liquefied, but with a few white streaks still visible; the other was much rounded, but not quite dissolved. two other cubes were left on tall glands for hrs. m., by which time all the secretion was absorbed; but they were not perceptibly acted on, though no doubt some slight amount of animal matter had been absorbed from them. they were then placed on the small sessile glands, which being thus stimulated secreted copiously in the course of hrs. one of these cubes was much liquefied within this short time; and both were completely liquefied after hrs. m.; the little liquid masses, however, still showing some white streaks. these streaks disappeared after an additional period of hrs. m.; and by next morning (i.e. hrs. from the time when the cubes were first placed on the glands) the liquefied matter was wholly absorbed. a cube of albumen was left on another tall gland, which first absorbed the secretion and after hrs. poured forth a fresh supply. this cube, now surrounded by secretion, was left on the gland for an additional hrs., but was very little, if at all, acted on. we may, therefore, conclude, either that the secretion from the tall glands has little power of digestion, though strongly acid, or that the amount poured forth from a single gland is insufficient to dissolve a particle of albumen which within the same time would have been dissolved by the secretion from several of the small sessile glands. owing to the death of my last plant, i was unable to ascertain which of these alternatives is the true one. four minute shreds of pure fibrin were placed, each resting on one, two, or three of the taller glands. in the course of hrs. m. the secretion was all absorbed, and the shreds were left almost dry. they [page ] were then pushed on to the sessile glands. one shred, after hrs. m., seemed quite dissolved, but this may have been a mistake. a second, when examined after hrs. m., was liquefied, but the liquid as seen under the microscope still contained floating granules of fibrin. the other two shreds were completely liquefied after hrs. m.; but in one of the drops a very few granules could still be detected. these, however, were dissolved after an additional interval of hrs. m.; and the surface of the leaf for some distance all round was covered with limpid fluid. it thus appears that drosophyllum digests albumen and fibrin rather more quickly than drosera can; and this may perhaps be attributed to the acid, together probably with some small amount of the ferment, being present in the secretion, before the glands have been stimulated; so that digestion begins at once. concluding remarks.--the linear leaves of drosophyllum differ but slightly from those of certain species of drosera; the chief differences being, firstly, the presence of minute, almost sessile, glands, which, like those of dionaea, do not secrete until they are excited by the absorption of nitrogenous matter. but glands of this kind are present on the leaves of drosera binata, and appear to be represented by the papillae on the leaves of drosera rotundifolia. secondly, the presence of tentacles on the backs of the leaves; but we have seen that a few tentacles, irregularly placed and tending towards abortion, are retained on the backs of the leaves of drosera binata. there are greater differences in function between the two genera. the most important one is that the tentacles of drosophyllum have no power of movement; this loss being partially replaced by the drops of viscid [page ] secretion being readily withdrawn from the glands; so that, when an insect comes into contact with a drop, it is able to crawl away, but soon touches other drops, and then, smothered by the secretion, sinks down on the sessile glands and dies. another difference is, that the secretion from the tall glands, before they have been in any way excited, is strongly acid, and perhaps contains a small quantity of the proper ferment. again, these glands do not secrete more copiously from being excited by the absorption of nitrogenous matter; on the contrary, they then absorb their own secretion with extraordinary quickness. in a short time they begin to secrete again. all these circumstances are probably connected with the fact that insects do not commonly adhere to the glands with which they first come into contact, though this does sometimes occur; and that it is chiefly the secretion from the sessile glands which dissolves animal matter out of their bodies. roridula. roridula dentata.--this plant, a native of the western parts of the cape of good hope, was sent to me in a dried state from kew. it has an almost woody stem and branches, and apparently grows to a height of some feet. the leaves are linear, with their summits much attenuated. their upper and lower surfaces are concave, with a ridge in the middle, and both are covered with tentacles, which differ greatly in length; some being very long, especially those on the tips of the leaves, and some very short. the glands also differ much in size and are somewhat elongated. they are supported on multicellular pedicels. this plant, therefore, agrees in several respects with [page ] drosophyllum, but differs in the following points. i could detect no sessile glands; nor would these have been of any use, as the upper surface of the leaves is thickly clothed with pointed, unicellular hairs directed upwards. the pedicels of the tentacles do not include spiral vessels; nor are there any spiral cells within the glands. the leaves often arise in tufts and are pinnatifid, the divisions projecting at right angles to the main linear blade. these lateral divisions are often very short and bear only a single terminal tentacle, with one or two short ones on the sides. no distinct line of demarcation can be drawn between the pedicels of the long terminal tentacles and the much attenuated summits of the leaves. we may, indeed, arbitrarily fix on the point to which the spiral vessels proceeding from the blade extend; but there is no other distinction. it was evident from the many particles of dirt sticking to the glands that they secrete much viscid matter. a large number of insects of many kinds also adhered to the leaves. i could nowhere discover any signs of the tentacles having been inflected over the captured insects; and this probably would have been seen even in the dried specimens, had they possessed the power of movement. hence, in this negative character, roridula resembles its northern representative, drosophyllum. byblis. byblis gigantea (western australia).--a dried specimen, about inches in height, with a strong stem, was sent me from kew. the leaves are some inches in length, linear, slightly flattened, with a small projecting rib on the lower surface. they are covered on all sides by glands of two kinds [page ] --sessile ones arranged in rows, and others supported on moderately long pedicels. towards the narrow summits of the leaves the pedicels are longer than elsewhere, and here equal the diameter of the leaf. the glands are purplish, much flattened, and formed of a single layer of radiating cells, which in the larger glands are from forty to fifty in number. the pedicels consist of single elongated cells, with colourless, extremely delicate walls, marked with the finest intersecting spiral lines. whether these lines are the result of contraction from the drying of the walls, i do not know, but the whole pedicel was often spirally rolled up. these glandular hairs are far more simple in structure than the so-called tentacles of the preceding genera, and they do not differ essentially from those borne by innumerable other plants. the flower-peduncles bear similar glands. the most singular character about the leaves is that the apex is enlarged into a little knob, covered with glands, and about a third broader than the adjoining part of the attenuated leaf. in two places dead flies adhered to the glands. as no instance is known of unicellular structures having any power of movement,* byblis, no doubt, catches insects solely by the aid of its viscid secretion. these probably sink down besmeared with the secretion and rest on the small sessile glands, which, if we may judge by the analogy of drosophyllum, then pour forth their secretion and afterwards absorb the digested matter. supplementary observations on the power of absorption by the glandular hairs of other plants.--a few observations on this subject may be here conveniently introduced. as the glands of many, probably of all, * sachs, 'trait de bot.,' rd edit. , p. . [page ] the species of droseraceae absorb fluids or at least allow them readily to enter,* it seemed desirable to ascertain how far the glands of other plants which are not specially adapted for capturing insects, had the same power. plants were chosen for trial at hazard, with the exception of two species of saxifrage, which were selected from belonging to a family allied to the droseraceae. most of the experiments were made by immersing the glands either in an infusion of raw meat or more commonly in a solution of carbonate of ammonia, as this latter substance acts so powerfully and rapidly on protoplasm. it seemed also particularly desirable to ascertain whether ammonia was absorbed, as a small amount is contained in rain-water. with the droseraceae the secretion of a viscid fluid by the glands does not prevent their absorbing; so that the glands of other plants might excrete superfluous matter, or secrete an odoriferous fluid as a protection against the attacks of insects, or for any other purpose, and yet have the power of absorbing. i regret that in the following cases i did not try whether the secretion could digest or render soluble animal substances, but such experiments would have been difficult on account of the small size of the glands and the small amount of secretion. we shall see in the next chapter that the secretion from the glandular hairs of pinguicula certainly dissolves animal matter. [saxifraga umbrosa.--the flower-peduncles and petioles of the leaves are clothed with short hairs, bearing pink-coloured glands, formed of several polygonal cells, with their pedicels divided by partitions into distinct cells, which are generally colourless, but sometimes pink. the glands secrete a yellowish viscid fluid, by *the distinction between true absorption and mere permeation, or imbibition, is by no means clearly understood: see mller's 'physiology,' eng. translat. , vol. i. p. . [page ] which minute diptera are sometimes, though not often, caught.* the cells of the glands contain bright pink fluid, charged with granules or with globular masses of pinkish pulpy matter. this matter must be protoplasm, for it is seen to undergo slow but incessant changes of form if a gland be placed in a drop of water and examined. similar movements were observed after glands had been immersed in water for , , , , and hrs. even after this latter period the glands retained their bright pink colour; and the protoplasm within their cells did not appear to have become more aggregated. the continually changing forms of the little masses of protoplasm are not due to the absorption of water, as they were seen in glands kept dry. a flower-stem, still attached to a plant, was bent (may ) so as to remain immersed for hrs. m. in a strong infusion of raw meat. the colour of the contents of the glands was slightly changed, being now of a duller and more purple tint than before. the contents also appeared more aggregated, for the spaces between the little masses of protoplasm were wider; but this latter result did not follow in some other and similar experiments. the masses seemed to change their forms more rapidly than did those in water; so that the cells had a different appearance every four or five minutes. elongated masses became in the course of one or two minutes spherical; and spherical ones drew themselves out and united with others. minute masses rapidly increased in size, and three distinct ones were seen to unite. the movements were, in short, exactly like those described in the case of drosera. the cells of the pedicels were not affected by the infusion; nor were they in the following experiment. another flower-stem was placed in the same manner and for the same length of time in a solution of one part of nitrate of ammonia to of water (or grs. to oz.), and the glands were discoloured in exactly the same manner as by the infusion of raw meat. another flower-stem was immersed, as before, in a solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water. the glands, after hr. m., were not discoloured, but after hrs. m. most of them had become dull purple, some of them blackish- *in the case of saxifraga tridactylites, mr. druce says ('pharmaceutical journal, ' may ) that he examined some dozens of plants, and in almost every instance remnants of insects adhered to the leaves. so it is, as i hear from a friend, with this plant in ireland. [page ] green, a few being still unaffected. the little masses of protoplasm within the cells were seen in movement. the cells of the pedicels were unaltered. the experiment was repeated, and a fresh flower-stem was left for hrs. in the solution, and now a great effect was produced; all the glands were much blackened, and the previously transparent fluid in the cells of the pedicels, even down to their bases, contained spherical masses of granular matter. by comparing many different hairs, it was evident that the glands first absorb the carbonate, and that the effect thus produced travels down the hairs from cell to cell. the first change which could be observed is a cloudy appearance in the fluid, due to the formation of very fine granules, which afterwards aggregate into larger masses. altogether, in the darkening of the glands, and in the process of aggregation travelling down the cells of the pedicels, there is the closest resemblance to what takes place when a tentacle of drosera is immersed in a weak solution of the same salt. the glands, however, absorb very much more slowly than those of drosera. besides the glandular hairs, there are star-shaped organs which do not appear to secrete, and which were not in the least affected by the above solutions. although in the case of uninjured flower-stems and leaves the carbonate seems to be absorbed only by the glands, yet it enters a cut surface much more quickly than a gland. strips of the rind of a flower-stem were torn off, and the cells of the pedicels were seen to contain only colourless transparent fluid; those of the glands including as usual some granular matter. these strips were then immersed in the same solution as before (one part of the carbonate to of water), and in a few minutes granular matter appeared in the lowercells of all the pedicels. the action invariably commenced (for i tried the experiment repeatedly) in the lowest cells, and therefore close to the torn surface, and then gradually travelled up the hairs until it reached the glands, in a reversed direction to what occurs in uninjured specimens. the glands then became discoloured, and the previously contained granular matter was aggregated into larger masses. two short bits of a flower-stem were also left for hrs. m. in a weaker solution of one part of the carbonate to of water; and in both specimens the pedicels of the hairs near the cut ends now contained much granular matter; and the glands were completely discoloured. lastly, bits of meat were placed on some glands; these were examined after hrs., as were others, which had apparently not long before caught minute flies; but they did not present any [page ] difference from the glands of other hairs. perhaps there may not have been time enough for absorption. i think so as some glands, on which dead flies had evidently long lain, were of a pale dirty purple colour or even almost colourless, and the granular matter within them presented an unusual and somewhat peculiar appearance. that these glands had absorbed animal matter from the flies, probably by exosmose into the viscid secretion, we may infer, not only from their changed colour, but because, when placed in a solution of carbonate of ammonia, some of the cells in their pedicels become filled with granular matter; whereas the cells of other hairs, which had not caught flies, after being treated with the same solution for the same length of time, contained only a small quantity of granular matter. but more evidence is necessary before we fully admit that the glands of this saxifrage can absorb, even with ample time allowed, animal matter from the minute insects which they occasionally and accidentally capture. saxifraga rotundifolia (?).--the hairs on the flower-stems of this species are longer than those just described, and bear pale brown glands. many were examined, and the cells of the pedicels were quite transparent. a bent stem was immersed for m. in a solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water, and two or three of the uppermost cells in the pedicels now contained granular or aggregated matter; the glands having become of a bright yellowish-green. the glands of this species therefore absorb the carbonate much more quickly than do those of saxifraga umbrosa, and the upper cells of the pedicels are likewise affected much more quickly. pieces of the stem were cut off and immersed in the same solution; and now the process of aggregation travelled up the hairs in a reversed direction; the cells close to the cut surfaces being first affected. primula sinensis.--the flower-stems, the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves and their footstalks, are all clothed with a multitude of longer and shorter hairs. the pedicels of the longer hairs are divided by transverse partitions into eight or nine cells. the enlarged terminal cell is globular, forming a gland which secretes a variable amount of thick, slightly viscid, not acid, brownish-yellow matter. a piece of a young flower-stem was first immersed in distilled water for hrs. m., and the glandular hairs were not at all affected. another piece, bearing twenty-five short and nine long hairs, was carefully examined. the glands of the latter contained no solid or semi-solid matter; and those of only two [page ] of the twenty-five short hairs contained some globules. this piece was then immersed for hrs. in a solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water, and now the glands of the twenty-five shorter hairs, with two or three exceptions, contained either one large or from two to five smaller spherical masses of semi-solid matter. three of the glands of the nine long hairs likewise included similar masses. in a few hairs there were also globules in the cells immediately beneath the glands. looking to all thirty-four hairs, there could be no doubt that the glands had absorbed some of the carbonate. another piece was left for only hr. in the same solution, and aggregated matter appeared in all the glands. my son francis examined some glands of the longer hairs, which contained little masses of matter, before they were immersed in any solution; and these masses slowly changed their forms, so that no doubt they consisted of protoplasm. he then irrigated these hairs for hr. m., whilst under the microscope, with a solution of one part of the carbonate to of water; the glands were not perceptibly affected, nor could this have been expected, as their contents were already aggregated. but in the cells of the pedicels numerous, almost colourless, spheres of matter appeared, which changed their forms and slowly coalesced; the appearance of the cells being thus totally changed at successive intervals of time. the glands on a young flower-stem, after having been left for hrs. m. in a strong solution of one part of the carbonate to of water, contained an abundance of aggregated masses, but whether generated by the action of the salt, i do not know. this piece was again placed in the solution, so that it was immersed altogether for hrs. m., and now there was a great change; for almost all the spherical masses within the gland-cells had disappeared, being replaced by granular matter of a darker brown. the experiment was thrice repeated with nearly the same result. on one occasion the piece was left immersed for hrs. m., and though almost all the spherical masses were changed into the brown granular matter, a few still remained. if the spherical masses of aggregated matter had been originally produced merely by some chemical or physical action, it seems strange that a somewhat longer immersion in the same solution should so completely alter their character. but as the masses which slowly and spontaneously changed their forms must have consisted of living protoplasm, there is nothing surprising in its being injured or killed, and its appearance wholly changed by long immersion in so strong a solution of the carbonate as that [page ] employed. a solution of this strength paralyses all movement in drosera, but does not kill the protoplasm; a still stronger solution prevents the protoplasm from aggregating into the ordinary full-sized globular masses, and these, though they do not disintegrate, become granular and opaque. in nearly the same manner, too hot water and certain solutions (for instance, of the salts of soda and potash) cause at first an imperfect kind of aggregation in the cells of drosera; the little masses afterwards breaking up into granular or pulpy brown matter. all the foregoing experiments were made on flower-stems, but a piece of a leaf was immersed for m. in a strong solution of the carbonate (one part to of water), and little globular masses of matter appeared in all the glands, which before contained only limpid fluid. i made also several experiments on the action of the vapour of the carbonate on the glands; but will give only a few cases. the cut end of the footstalk of a young leaf was protected with sealing-wax, and was then placed under a small bell-glass, with a large pinch of the carbonate. after m. the glands showed a considerable degree of aggregation, and the protoplasm lining the cells of the pedicels was a little separated from the walls. another leaf was left for m. with the same result, excepting that the hairs became throughout their whole length of a brownish colour. in a third leaf, which was exposed for hr. m., there was much aggregated matter in the glands; and some of the masses showed signs of breaking up into brown granular matter. this leaf was again placed in the vapour, so that it was exposed altogether for hrs. m.; and now, though i examined a large number of glands, aggregated masses were found in only two or three; in all the others, the masses, which before had been globular, were converted into brown, opaque, granular matter. we thus see that exposure to the vapour for a considerable time produces the same effects as long immersion in a strong solution. in both cases there could hardly be a doubt that the salt had been absorbed chiefly or exclusively by the glands. on another occasion bits of damp fibrin, drops of a weak infusion of raw meat and of water, were left for hrs. on some leaves; the hairs were then examined, but to my surprise differed in no respect from others which had not been touched by these fluids. most of the cells, however, included hyaline, motionless little spheres, which did not seem to consist of protoplasm, but, i suppose, of some balsam or essential oil. pelargonium zonale (var. edged with white).--the leaves [page ] are clothed with numerous multicellular hairs; some simply pointed; others bearing glandular heads, and differing much in length. the glands on a piece of leaf were examined and found to contain only limpid fluid; most of the water was removed from beneath the covering glass, and a minute drop of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water was added; so that an extremely small dose was given. after an interval of only m. there were signs of aggregation within the glands of the shorter hairs; and after m. many small globules of a pale brown tint appeared in all of them; similar globules, but larger, being found in the large glands of the longer hairs. after the specimen had been left for hr. in the solution, many of the smaller globules had changed their positions; and two or three vacuoles or small spheres (for i know not which they were) of a rather darker tint appeared within some of the larger globules. little globules could now be seen in some of the uppermost cells of the pedicels, and the protoplasmic lining was slightly separated from the walls of the lower cells. after hrs. m. from the time of first immersion, the large globules within the glands of the longer hairs were converted into masses of darker brown granular matter. hence from what we have seen with primula sinensis, there can be little doubt that these masses originally consisted of living protoplasm. a drop of a weak infusion of raw meat was placed on a leaf, and after hrs. m. many spheres could be seen within the glands. these spheres, when looked at again after m., had slightly changed their positions and forms, and one had separated into two; but the changes were not quite like those which the protoplasm of drosera undergoes. these hairs, moreover, had not been examined before immersion, and there were similar spheres in some glands which had not been touched by the infusion. erica tetralix.--a few long glandular hairs project from the margins of the upper surfaces of the leaves. the pedicels are formed of several rows of cells, and support rather large globular heads, secreting viscid matter, by which minute insects are occasionally, though rarely, caught. some leaves were left for hrs. in a weak infusion of raw meat and in water, and the hairs were then compared, but they differed very little or not at all. in both cases the contents of the cells seemed rather more granular than they were before; but the granules did not exhibit any movement. other leaves were left for hrs. in a solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water, and here again the granular matter appeared to have increased [page ] in amount; but one such mass retained exactly the same form as before after an interval of hrs., so that it could hardly have consisted of living protoplasm. these glands seem to have very little or no power of absorption, certainly much less than those of the foregoing plants. mirabilis longiflora.--the stems and both surfaces of the leaves bear viscid hairs. young plants, from to inches in height in my greenhouse, caught so many minute diptera, coleoptera, and larvae, that they were quite dusted with them. the hairs are short, of unequal lengths, formed of a single row of cells, surmounted by an enlarged cell which secretes viscid matter. these terminal cells or glands contain granules and often globules of granular matter. within a gland which had caught a small insect, one such mass was observed to undergo incessant changes of form, with the occasional appearance of vacuoles. but i do not believe that this protoplasm had been generated by matter absorbed from the dead insect; for, on comparing several glands which had and had not caught insects, not a shade of difference could be perceived between them, and they all contained fine granular matter. a piece of leaf was immersed for hrs. in a solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water, but the hairs seemed very little affected by it, excepting that perhaps the glands were rendered rather more opaque. in the leaf itself, however, the grains of chlorophyll near the cut surfaces had run together, or become aggregated. nor were the glands on another leaf, after an immersion for hrs. in an infusion of raw meat, in the least affected; but the protoplasm lining the cells of the pedicels had shrunk greatly from the walls. this latter effect may have been due to exosmose, as the infusion was strong. we may, therefore, conclude that the glands of this plant either have no power of absorption or that the protoplasm which they contain is not acted on by a solution of carbonate of ammonia (and this seems scarcely credible) or by an infusion of meat. nicotiana tabacum.--this plant is covered with innumerable hairs of unequal lengths, which catch many minute insects. the pedicels of the hairs are divided by transverse partitions, and the secreting glands are formed of many cells, containing greenish matter with little globules of some substance. leaves were left in an infusion of raw meat and in water for hrs., but presented no difference. some of these same leaves were then left for above hrs. in a solution of carbonate of ammonia, but no effect was produced. i regret that other experiments were not tried with more care, as m. schloesing [page ] has shown* that tobacco plants supplied with the vapour of carbonate of ammonia yield on analysis a greater amount of nitrogen than other plants not thus treated; and, from what we have seen, it is probable that some of the vapour may be absorbed by the glandular hairs.] summary of the observations on glandular hairs.--from the foregoing observations, few as they are, we see that the glands of two species of saxifraga, of a primula and pelargonium, have the power of rapid absorption; whereas the glands of an erica, mirabilis, and nicotiana, either have no such power, or the contents of the cells are not affected by the fluids employed, namely a solution of carbonate of ammonia and an infusion of raw meat. as the glands of the mirabilis contain protoplasm, which did not become aggregated from exposure to the fluids just named, though the contents of the cells in the blade of the leaf were greatly affected by carbonate of ammonia, we may infer that they cannot absorb. we may further infer that the innumerable insects caught by this plant are of no more service to it than are those which adhere to the deciduous and sticky scales of the leaf-buds of the horse-chestnut. the most interesting case for us is that of the two species of saxifraga, as this genus is distantly allied to drosera. their glands absorb matter from an infusion of raw meat, from solutions of the nitrate and carbonate of ammonia, and apparently from decayed insects. this was shown by the changed dull purple colour of the protoplasm within the cells of the glands, by its state of aggregation, and apparently by its more rapid spontaneous movements. * 'comptes rendus,' june , . a good abstract of this paper is given in the 'gardener's chronicle,' july , . [page ] the aggregating process spreads from the glands down the pedicels of the hairs; and we may assume that any matter which is absorbed ultimately reaches the tissues of the plant. on the other hand, the process travels up the hairs whenever a surface is cut and exposed to a solution of the carbonate of ammonia. the glands on the flower-stalks and leaves of primula sinensis quickly absorb a solution of the carbonate of ammonia, and the protoplasm which they contain becomes aggregated. the process was seen in some cases to travel from the glands into the upper cells of the pedicels. exposure for m. to the vapour of this salt likewise induced aggregation. when leaves were left from hrs. to hrs. in a strong solution, or were long exposed to the vapour, the little masses of protoplasm became disintegrated, brown, and granular, and were apparently killed. an infusion of raw meat produced no effect on the glands. the limpid contents of the glands of pelargonium zonale became cloudy and granular in from m. to m. when they were immersed in a weak solution of the carbonate of ammonia; and in the course of hr. granules appeared in the upper cells of the pedicels. as the aggregated masses slowly changed their forms, and as they suffered disintegration when left for a considerable time in a strong solution, there can be little doubt that they consisted of protoplasm. it is doubtful whether an infusion of raw meat produced any effect. the glandular hairs of ordinary plants have generally been considered by physiologists to serve only as secreting or excreting organs, but we now know that they have the power, at least in some cases, of absorbing both a solution and the vapour of ammonia. as rain-water contains a small percentage of ammonia, and the atmosphere a minute quantity of the carbonate, this [page ] power can hardly fail to be beneficial. nor can the benefit be quite so insignificant as it might at first be thought, for a moderately fine plant of primula sinensis bears the astonishing number of above two millions and a half of glandular hairs,* all of which are able to absorb ammonia brought to them by the rain. it is moreover probable that the glands of some of the above named plants obtain animal matter from the insects which are occasionally entangled by the viscid secretion. concluding remarks on the droseraceae. the six known genera composing this family have now been described in relation to our present subject, as far as my means have permitted. they all capture insects. this is effected by drosophyllum, roridula, and byblis, solely by the viscid fluid secreted from their glands; by drosera, through the same means, together with the movements of the tentacles; by dionaea and aldrovanda, through the closing of the blades of the leaf. in these two last genera rapid * my son francis counted the hairs on a space measured by means of a micrometer, and found that there were , on a square inch of the upper surface of a leaf, and , on the lower surface; that is, in about the proportion of on the upper to on the lower surface. on a square inch of both surfaces there were , hairs. a moderately fine plant bearing twelve leaves (the larger ones being a little more than inches in diameter) was now selected, and the area of all the leaves, together with their foot-stalks (the flower-stems not being included), was found by a planimeter to be . square inches; so that the area of both surfaces was . square inches. thus the plant (excluding the flower-stems) must have borne the astonishing number of , , glandular hairs. the hairs were counted late in the autumn, and by the following spring (may) the leaves of some other plants of the same lot were found to be from one-third to one-fourth broader and longer than they were before; so that no doubt the glandular hairs had increased in number, and probably now much exceeded three millions. [page ] movement makes up for the loss of viscid secretion. in every case it is some part of the leaf which moves. in aldrovanda it appears to be the basal parts alone which contract and carry with them the broad, thin margins of the lobes. in dionaea the whole lobe, with the exception of the marginal prolongations or spikes, curves inwards, though the chief seat of movement is near the midrib. in drosera the chief seat is in the lower part of the tentacles, which, homologically, may be considered as prolongations of the leaf; but the whole blade often curls inwards, converting the leaf into a temporary stomach. there can hardly be a doubt that all the plants belonging to these six genera have the power of dissolving animal matter by the aid of their secretion, which contains an acid, together with a ferment almost identical in nature with pepsin; and that they afterwards absorb the matter thus digested. this is certainly the case with drosera, drosophyllum, and dionaea; almost certainly with aldrovanda; and, from analogy, very probable with roridula and byblis. we can thus understand how it is that the three first-named genera are provided with such small roots, and that aldrovanda is quite rootless; about the roots of the two other genera nothing is known. it is, no doubt, a surprising fact that a whole group of plants (and, as we shall presently see, some other plants not allied to the droseraceae) should subsist partly by digesting animal matter, and partly by decomposing carbonic acid, instead of exclusively by this latter means, together with the absorption of matter from the soil by the aid of roots. we have, however, an equally anomalous case in the animal kingdom; the rhizocephalous crustaceans do not feed like other animals by their mouths, for they are destitute of an [page ] alimentary canal; but they live by absorbing through root-like processes the juices of the animals on which they are parasitic.* of the six genera, drosera has been incomparably the most successful in the battle for life; and a large part of its success may be attributed to its manner of catching insects. it is a dominant form, for it is believed to include about species, which range in the old world from the arctic regions to southern india, to the cape of good hope, madagascar, and australia; and in the new world from canada to tierra del fuego. in this respect it presents a marked contrast with the five other genera, which appear to be failing groups. dionaea includes only a single species, which is confined to one district in carolina. the three varieties or closely allied species of aldrovanda, like so many water-plants, have a wide range from central europe to bengal and australia. drosophyllum includes only one species, limited to portugal and morocco. roridula and byblis each have (as i * fritz mller, 'facts for darwin, ' eng. trans. , p. . the rhizocephalous crustaceans are allied to the cirripedes. it is hardly possible to imagine a greater difference than that between an animal with prehensile limbs, a well-constructed mouth and alimentary canal, and one destitute of all these organs and feeding by absorption through branching root-like processes. if one rare cirripede, the anelasma squalicola, had become extinct, it would have been very difficult to conjecture how so enormous a change could have been gradually effected. but, as fritz mller remarks, we have in anelasma an animal in an almost exactly intermediate condition, for it has root-like processes embedded in the skin of the shark on which it is parasitic, and its prehensile cirri and mouth (as described in my monograph on the lepadidae, 'ray soc.' , p. ) are in a most feeble and almost rudimentary condition. dr. r. kossmann has given a very interesting discussion on this subject in his 'suctoria and lepadidae,' . see also, dr. dohrn, 'der ursprung der wirbelthiere,' , p. . bentham and hooker, 'genera plantarum.' australia is the metropolis of the genus, forty-one species having been described from this country, as prof. oliver informs me. [page ] hear from prof. oliver) two species; the former confined to the western parts of the cape of good hope, and the latter to australia. it is a strange fact that dionaea, which is one of the most beautifully adapted plants in the vegetable kingdom, should apparently be on the high-road to extinction. this is all the more strange as the organs of dionaea are more highly differentiated than those of drosera; its filaments serve exclusively as organs of touch, the lobes for capturing insects, and the glands, when excited, for secretion as well as for absorption; whereas with drosera the glands serve all these purposes, and secrete without being excited. by comparing the structure of the leaves, their degree of complication, and their rudimentary parts in the six genera, we are led to infer that their common parent form partook of the characters of drosophyllum, roridula, and byblis. the leaves of this ancient form were almost certainly linear, perhaps divided, and bore on their upper and lower surfaces glands which had the power of secreting and absorbing. some of these glands were mounted on pedicels, and others were almost sessile; the latter secreting only when stimulated by the absorption of nitrogenous matter. in byblis the glands consist of a single layer of cells, supported on a unicellular pedicel; in roridula they have a more complex structure, and are supported on pedicels formed of several rows of cells; in drosophyllum they further include spiral cells, and the pedicels include a bundle of spiral vessels. but in these three genera these organs do not possess any power of movement, and there is no reason to doubt that they are of the nature of hairs or trichomes. although in innumerable instances foliar organs move when excited, no case is known of a trichome having such [page ] power.* we are thus led to inquire how the so-called tentacles of drosera, which are manifestly of the same general nature as the glandular hairs of the above three genera, could have acquired the power of moving. many botanists maintain that these tentacles consist of prolongations of the leaf, because they include vascular tissue, but this can no longer be considered as a trustworthy distinction. the possession of the power of movement on excitement would have been safer evidence. but when we consider the vast number of the tentacles on both surfaces of the leaves of drosophyllum, and on the upper surface of the leaves of drosera, it seems scarcely possible that each tentacle could have aboriginally existed as a prolongation of the leaf. roridula, perhaps, shows us how we may reconcile these difficulties with respect to the homological nature of the tentacles. the lateral divisions of the leaves of this plant terminate in long tentacles; and these include spiral vessels which extend for only a short distance up them, with no line of demarcation between what is plainly the prolongation of the leaf and the pedicel of a glandular hair. therefore there would be nothing anomalous or unusual in the basal parts of these tentacles, which correspond with the marginal ones of drosera, acquiring the power of movement; and we know that in drosera it is only the lower part which becomes inflected. but in order to understand how in this latter genus not only the marginal but all the inner tentacles have become capable of movement, we must further assume, either that through the principle of correlated development this * sachs, 'trait de botanique' rd edit. , p. . dr. warming 'sur la diffrence entres les trichomes,' copenhague, , p. . 'extrait des videnskabelige meddelelser de la soc. d'hist. nat. de copenhague,' nos. - , . [page ] power was transferred to the basal parts of the hairs, or that the surface of the leaf has been prolonged upwards at numerous points, so as to unite with the hairs, thus forming the bases of the inner tentacles. the above named three genera, namely drosophyllum, roridula, and byblis, which appear to have retained a primordial condition, still bear glandular hairs on both surfaces of their leaves; but those on the lower surface have since disappeared in the more highly developed genera, with the partial exception of one species, drosera binata. the small sessile glands have also disappeared in some of the genera, being replaced in roridula by hairs, and in most species of drosera by absorbent papillae. drosera binata, with its linear and bifurcating leaves, is in an intermediate condition. it still bears some sessile glands on both surfaces of the leaves, and on the lower surface a few irregularly placed tentacles, which are incapable of movement. a further slight change would convert the linear leaves of this latter species into the oblong leaves of drosera anglica, and these might easily pass into orbicular ones with footstalks, like those of drosera rotundifolia. the footstalks of this latter species bear multicellular hairs, which we have good reason to believe represent aborted tentacles. the parent form of dionaea and aldrovanda seems to have been closely allied to drosera, and to have had rounded leaves, supported on distinct footstalks, and furnished with tentacles all round the circumference, with other tentacles and sessile glands on the upper surface. i think so because the marginal spikes of dionaea apparently represent the extreme marginal tentacles of drosera, the six (sometimes eight) sensitive filaments on the upper surface, as well as the more numerous ones in aldrovanda, representing the central [page ] tentacles of drosera, with their glands aborted, but their sensitiveness retained. under this point of view we should bear in mind that the summits of the tentacles of drosera, close beneath the glands, are sensitive. the three most remarkable characters possessed by the several members of the droseraceae consist in the leaves of some having the power of movement when excited, in their glands secreting a fluid which digests animal matter, and in their absorption of the digested matter. can any light be thrown on the steps by which these remarkable powers were gradually acquired? as the walls of the cells are necessarily permeable to fluids, in order to allow the glands to secrete, it is not surprising that they should readily allow fluids to pass inwards; and this inward passage would deserve to be called an act of absorption, if the fluids combined with the contents of the glands. judging from the evidence above given, the secreting glands of many other plants can absorb salts of ammonia, of which they must receive small quantities from the rain. this is the case with two species of saxifraga, and the glands of one of them apparently absorb matter from captured insects, and certainly from an infusion of raw meat. there is, therefore, nothing anomalous in the droseraceae having acquired the power of absorption in a much more highly developed degree. it is a far more remarkable problem how the members of this family, and pinguicula, and, as dr. hooker has recently shown, nepenthes, could all have acquired the power of secreting a fluid which dissolves or digests animal matter. the six genera of the droseraceae very probably inherited this power from a common progenitor, but this cannot apply to [page ] pinguicula or nepenthes, for these plants are not at all closely related to the droceraceae. but the difficulty is not nearly so great as it at first appears. firstly, the juices of many plants contain an acid, and, apparently, any acid serves for digestion. secondly, as dr. hooker has remarked in relation to the present subject in his address at belfast ( ), and as sachs repeatedly insists,* the embryos of some plants secrete a fluid which dissolves albuminous substances out of the endosperm; although the endosperm is not actually united with, only in contact with, the embryo. all plants, moreover, have the power of dissolving albuminous or proteid substances, such as protoplasm, chlorophyll, gluten, aleurone, and of carrying them from one part to other parts of their tissues. this must be effected by a solvent, probably consisting of a ferment together with an acid. now, in the case of plants which are able to absorb already soluble matter from captured insects, though not capable of true digestion, the solvent just referred to, which must be occasionally present in the glands, would be apt to exude from the glands together with the viscid secretion, inasmuch as endosmose is accompanied by exosmose. if such exudation did ever occur, the solvent would act on the animal matter contained within the captured insects, and this would be an act of true digestion. as it cannot be doubted that this process would be of high service to plants * 'trait de botanique' rd edit. , p. . see also for following facts pp. , , , . since this sentence was written, i have received a paper by gorup-besanez ('berichte der deutschen chem. gesellschaft,' berlin, , p. ), who, with the aid of dr. h. will, has actually made the discovery that the seeds of the vetch contain a ferment, which, when extracted by glycerine, dissolves albuminous substances, such as fibrin, and converts them into true peptones. [page ] growing in very poor soil, it would tend to be perfected through natural selection. therefore, any ordinary plant having viscid glands, which occasionally caught insects, might thus be converted under favourable circumstances into a species capable of true digestion. it ceases, therefore, to be any great mystery how several genera of plants, in no way closely related together, have independently acquired this same power. as there exist several plants the glands of which cannot, as far as is known, digest animal matter, yet can absorb salts of ammonia and animal fluids, it is probable that this latter power forms the first stage towards that of digestion. it might, however, happen, under certain conditions, that a plant, after having acquired the power of digestion, should degenerate into one capable only of absorbing animal matter in solution, or in a state of decay, or the final products of decay, namely the salts of ammonia. it would appear that this has actually occurred to a partial extent with the leaves of aldrovanda; the outer parts of which possess absorbent organs, but no glands fitted for the secretion of any digestive fluid, these being confined to the inner parts. little light can be thrown on the gradual acquirement of the third remarkable character possessed by the more highly developed genera of the droseraceae, namely the power of movement when excited. it should, however, be borne in mind that leaves and their homologues, as well as flower-peduncles, have gained this power, in innumerable instances, independently of inheritance from any common parent form; for instance, in tendril-bearers and leaf-climbers (i.e. plants with their leaves, petioles and flower-peduncles, &c., modified for prehension) belonging to a large [page ] number of the most widely distinct orders,--in the leaves of the many plants which go to sleep at night, or move when shaken,--and in the irritable stamens and pistils of not a few species. we may therefore infer that the power of movement can be by some means readily acquired. such movements imply irritability or sensitiveness, but, as cohn has remarked,* the tissues of the plants thus endowed do not differ in any uniform manner from those of ordinary plants; it is therefore probable that all leaves are to a slight degree irritable. even if an insect alights on a leaf, a slight molecular change is probably transmitted to some distance across its tissue, with the sole difference that no perceptible effect is produced. we have some evidence in favour of this belief, for we know that a single touch on the glands of drosera does not excite inflection; yet it must produce some effect, for if the glands have been immersed in a solution of camphor, inflection follows within a shorter time than would have followed from the effects of camphor alone. so again with dionaea, the blades in their ordinary state may be roughly touched without their closing; yet some effect must be thus caused and transmitted across the whole leaf, for if the glands have recently absorbed animal matter, even a delicate touch causes them to close instantly. on the whole we may conclude that the acquirement of a high degree of sensitiveness and of the power of movement by certain genera of the droseraceae presents no greater difficulty than that presented by the similar but feebler powers of a multitude of other plants. * see the abstract of his memoir on the contractile tissues of plants, in the 'annals and mag. of nat. hist.' rd series, vol. xi. p. .) [page ] the specialised nature of the sensitiveness possessed by drosera and dionaea, and by certain other plants, well deserves attention. a gland of drosera may be forcibly hit once, twice, or even thrice, without any effect being produced, whilst the continued pressure of an extremely minute particle excites movement. on the other hand, a particle many times heavier may be gently laid on one of the filaments of dionaea with no effect; but if touched only once by the slow movement of a delicate hair, the lobes close; and this difference in the nature of the sensitiveness of these two plants stands in manifest adaptation to their manner of capturing insects. so does the fact, that when the central glands of drosera absorb nitrogenous matter, they transmit a motor impulse to the exterior tentacles much more quickly than when they are mechanically irritated; whilst with dionaea the absorption of nitrogenous matter causes the lobes to press together with extreme slowness, whilst a touch excites rapid movement. somewhat analogous cases may be observed, as i have shown in another work, with the tendrils of various plants; some being most excited by contact with fine fibres, others by contact with bristles, others with a flat or a creviced surface. the sensitive organs of drosera and dionaea are also specialised, so as not to be uselessly affected by the weight or impact of drops of rain, or by blasts of air. this may be accounted for by supposing that these plants and their progenitors have grown accustomed to the repeated action of rain and wind, so that no molecular change is thus induced; whilst they have been rendered more sensitive by means of natural selection to the rarer impact or pressure of solid bodies. although the absorption by the glands of drosera of various fluids excites move- [page ] ment, there is a great difference in the action of allied fluids; for instance, between certain vegetable acids, and between citrate and phosphate of ammonia. the specialised nature and perfection of the sensitiveness in these two plants is all the more astonishing as no one supposes that they possess nerves; and by testing drosera with several substances which act powerfully on the nervous system of animals, it does not appear that they include any diffused matter analogous to nerve-tissue. although the cells of drosera and dionaea are quite as sensitive to certain stimulants as are the tissues which surround the terminations of the nerves in the higher animals, yet these plants are inferior even to animals low down in the scale, in not being affected except by stimulants in contact with their sensitive parts. they would, however, probably be affected by radiant heat; for warm water excites energetic movement. when a gland of drosera, or one of the filaments of dionaea, is excited, the motor impulse radiates in all directions, and is not, as in the case of animals, directed towards special points or organs. this holds good even in the case of drosera when some exciting substance has been placed at two points on the disc, and when the tentacles all round are inflected with marvellous precision towards the two points. the rate at which the motor impulse is transmitted, though rapid in dionaea, is much slower than in most or all animals. this fact, as well as that of the motor impulse not being specially directed to certain points, are both no doubt due to the absence of nerves. nevertheless we perhaps see the prefigurement of the formation of nerves in animals in the transmission of the motor impulse being so much more rapid down the confined space within the tentacles of drosera than [page ] elsewhere, and somewhat more rapid in a longitudinal than in a transverse direction across the disc. these plants exhibit still more plainly their inferiority to animals in the absence of any reflex action, except in so far as the glands of drosera, when excited from a distance, send back some influence which causes the contents of the cells to become aggregated down to the bases of the tentacles. but the greatest inferiority of all is the absence of a central organ, able to receive impressions from all points, to transmit their effects in any definite direction, to store them up and reproduce them. [page ] chapter xvi. pinguicula. pinguicula vulgaris--structure of leaves--number of insects and other objects caught-- movement of the margins of the leaves--uses of this movement--secretion, digestion, and absorption--action of the secretion on various animal and vegetable substances--the effects of substances not containing soluble nitrogenous matter on the glands--pinguicula grandiflora--pinguicula lusitanica, catches insects--movement of the leaves, secretion and digestion. pinguicula vulgaris.--this plant grows in moist places, generally on mountains. it bears on an average eight, rather thick, oblong, light green leaves, having scarcely any footstalk. a full-sized leaf is about / inch in length and / inch in breadth. the young central leaves are deeply concave, and project upwards; the older ones towards the outside are flat or convex, and lie close to the ground, forming a rosette from to inches in diameter. the margins of the leaves are incurved. their upper surfaces are thickly covered with two sets of glandular hairs, differing in the size of the glands and in the length of their pedicels. the larger glands have a circular outline as seen from above, and are of moderate thickness; they are divided by radiating partitions into sixteen cells, containing light-green, homogeneous fluid. they are supported on elongated, unicellular pedicels (containing a nucleus with a nucleolus) which rest on slight prominences. the small glands differ only in being formed of about half the number of cells, containing much paler fluid, and supported on much shorter pedicels. near the midrib, towards the base of the leaf, the [page ] pedicels are multicellular, are longer than elsewhere, and bear smaller glands. all the glands secrete a colourless fluid, which is so viscid that i have seen a fine thread drawn out to a length of inches; but the fluid in this case was secreted by a gland which had been excited. the edge of the leaf is translucent, and does not bear any glands; and here the spiral vessels, proceeding from the midrib, terminate in cells marked by a spiral line, somewhat like those within the glands of drosera. the roots are short. three plants were dug up in north wales on june , and carefully washed; each bore five or six unbranched roots, the longest of which was only . of an inch. two rather young plants were examined on september ; these had a greater number of roots, namely eight and eighteen, all under inch in length, and very little branched. i was led to investigate the habits of this plant by being told by mr. w. marshall that on the mountains of cumberland many insects adhere to the leaves. [a friend sent me on june thirty-nine leaves from north wales, which were selected owing to objects of some kind adhering to them. of these leaves, thirty-two had caught insects, or on an average . per leaf, minute fragments of insects not being included. besides the insects, small leaves belonging to four different kinds of plants, those of erica tetralix being much the commonest, and three minute seedling plants, blown by the wind, adhered to nineteen of the leaves. one had caught as many as ten leaves of the erica. seeds or fruits, commonly of carex and one of juncus, besides bits of moss and other rubbish, likewise adhered to six of the thirty-nine leaves. the same friend, on june , collected nine plants bearing seventy-four leaves, and all of these, with the exception of three young leaves, had caught insects; thirty insects were counted on one leaf, eighteen on a second, and sixteen on a third. another friend examined on august some plants in donegal, ireland, and found insects on out of leaves; fifteen of [page ] these leaves were sent me, each having caught on an average . insects. to nine of them, leaves (mostly of erica tetralix) adhered; but they had been specially selected on this latter account. i may add that early in august my son found leaves of this same erica and the fruits of a carex on the leaves of a pinguicula in switzerland, probably pinguicula alpina; some insects, but no great number, also adhered to the leaves of this plant, which had much better developed roots than those of pinguicula vulgaris. in cumberland, mr. marshall, on september , carefully examined for me ten plants bearing eighty leaves; and on sixty-three of these (i.e. on per cent.) he found insects, in number; so that each leaf had on an average . insects. a few days later he sent me some plants with sixteen seeds or fruits adhering to fourteen leaves. there was a seed on three leaves on the same plant. the sixteen seeds belonged to nine different kinds, which could not be recognised, excepting one of ranunculus, and several belonging to three or four distinct species of carex. it appears that fewer insects are caught late in the year than earlier; thus in cumberland from twenty to twenty-four insects were observed in the middle of july on several leaves, whereas in the beginning of september the average number was only . . most of the insects, in all the foregoing cases, were diptera, but with many minute hymenoptera, including some ants, a few small coleoptera, larvae, spiders, and even small moths.] we thus see that numerous insects and other objects are caught by the viscid leaves; but we have no right to infer from this fact that the habit is beneficial to the plant, any more than in the before given case of the mirabilis, or of the horse-chestnut. but it will presently be seen that dead insects and other nitrogenous bodies excite the glands to increased secretion; and that the secretion then becomes acid and has the power of digesting animal substances, such as albumen, fibrin, &c. moreover, the dissolved nitrogenous matter is absorbed by the glands, as shown by their limpid contents being aggregated into slowly moving granular masses of protoplasm. the same results follow when insects are naturally captured, and as the plant lives in poor soil and has small roots, there can be no [page ] doubt that it profits by its power of digesting and absorbing matter from the prey which it habitually captures in such large numbers. it will, however, be convenient first to describe the movements of the leaves. movements of the leaves.--that such thick, large leaves as those of pinguicula vulgarisshould have the power of curving inwards when excited has never even been suspected. it is necessary to select for experiment leaves with their glands secreting freely, and which have been prevented from capturing many insects; as old leaves, at least those growing in a state of nature, have their margins already curled so much inwards that they exhibit little power of movement, or move very slowly. i will first give in detail the more important experiments which were tried, and then make some concluding remarks. [experiment .--a young and almost upright leaf was selected, with its two lateral edges equally and very slightly incurved. a row of small flies was placed along one margin. when looked at next day, after hrs., this margin, but not the other, was found folded inwards, like the helix of the human ear, to the breadth of / of an inch, so as to lie partly over the row of flies (fig. ). the glands on which the flies rested, as well as those on the over-lapping margin which had been brought into contact with the flies, were all secreting copiously. fig. . (pinguicula vulgaris.) outline of leaf with left margin inflected over a row of small flies. experiment .--a row of flies was placed on one margin of a rather old leaf, which lay flat on the ground; and in this case the margin, after the same interval as before, namely hrs., had only just begun to curl inwards; but so much secretion had been poured forth that the spoon-shaped tip of the leaf was filled with it. experiment .--fragments of a large fly were placed close to the apex of a vigorous leaf, as well as along half one margin. [page ] after hrs. m. there was decided incurvation, which increased a little during the afternoon, but was in the same state on the following morning. near the apex both margins were inwardly curved. i have never seen a case of the apex itself being in the least curved towards the base of the leaf. after hrs. (always reckoning from the time when the flies were placed on the leaf) the margin had everywhere begun to unfold. experiment .--a large fragment of a fly was placed on a leaf, in a medial line, a little beneath the apex. both lateral margins were perceptibly incurved in hrs., and after hrs. m. to such a degree that the fragment was clasped by both margins. after hrs. the two infolded edges near the apex (for the lower part of the leaf was not at all affected) were measured and found to be . of an inch ( . mm.) apart. the fly was now removed, and a stream of water poured over the leaf so as to wash the surface; and after hrs. the margins were . of an inch ( . mm.) apart, so that they were largely unfolded. after an additional hrs. they were completely unfolded. another fly was now put on the same spot to see whether this leaf, on which the first fly had been left hrs., would move again; after hrs. there was a trace of incurvation, but this did not increase during the next hrs. a bit of meat was also placed on the margin of a leaf, which four days previously had become strongly incurved over a fragment of a fly and had afterwards re-expanded; but the meat did not cause even a trace of incurvation. on the contrary, the margin became somewhat reflexed, as if injured, and so remained for the three following days, as long as it was observed. experiment .--a large fragment of a fly was placed halfway between the apex and base of a leaf and halfway between the midrib and one margin. a short space of this margin, opposite the fly, showed a trace of incurvation after hrs., and this became strongly pronounced in hrs. after hrs. the infolded edge was only . of an inch ( . mm.) from the midrib. the margin now began to unfold, though the fly was left on the leaf; so that by the next morning (i.e. hrs. from the time when the fly was first put on) the infolded edge had almost completely recovered its original position, being now . of an inch ( . mm.), instead of . of an inch, from the midrib. a trace of flexure was, however, still visible. experiment .--a young and concave leaf was selected with its margins slightly and naturally incurved. two rather large, oblong, rectangular pieces of roast meat were placed with their ends touching the infolded edge, and . of an inch ( . mm.) [page ] apart from one another. after hrs. the margin was greatly and equally incurved (see fig. ) throughout this space, and for a length of . or . of an inch ( . or . mm.) above and below each bit; so that the margin had been affected over a greater length between the two bits, owing to their conjoint action, than beyond them. the bits of meat were too large to be clasped by the margin, but they were tilted up, one of them so as to stand almost vertically. after hrs. the margin was almost unfolded, and the bits had sunk down. when again examined after two days, the margin was quite unfolded, with the exception of the naturally inflected edge; and one of the bits of meat, the end of which had at first touched the edge, was now . of an inch ( . mm.) distant from it; so that this bit had been pushed thus far across the blade of the leaf. fig. . (pinguicula vulgaris.) outline of leaf, with right margin inflected against two square bits of meat. experiment .--a bit of meat was placed close to the incurved edge of a rather young leaf, and after it had re-expanded, the bit was left lying . of an inch ( . mm.) from the edge. the distance from the edge to the midrib of the fully expanded leaf was . of an inch ( . mm.); so that the bit had been pushed inwards and across nearly one-third of its semi-diameter. experiment .--cubes of sponge, soaked in a strong infusion of raw meat, were placed in close contact with the incurved edges of two leaves,--an older and younger one. the distance from the edges to the midribs was carefully measured. after hr. m. there appeared to be a trace of incurvation. after hrs. m. both leaves were plainly inflected; the distance between the edges and midribs being now only half what it was at first. the incurvation increased slightly during the next / hrs., but remained nearly the same for the next hrs. m. in hrs. from the time when the sponges were placed on the leaves, the margins were a little unfolded--to a greater degree in the younger than in the older leaf. the latter was not quite unfolded until the third day, and now both bits of sponge were left at the distance of . of an inch ( . mm.) from the edges; or about a quarter of the distance between the edge and midrib. a third bit of sponge adhered to the edge, and, as the margin unfolded, was dragged backwards, into its original position. [page ] experiment .--a chain of fibres of roast meat, as thin as bristles and moistened with saliva, were placed down one whole side, close to the narrow, naturally incurved edge of a leaf. in hrs. this side was greatly incurved along its whole length, and after hrs. formed a cylinder, about / of an inch ( . mm) in diameter, quite concealing the meat. this cylinder remained closed for hrs., but after hrs. was half unfolded, and in hrs. was as open as the opposite margin where no meat had been placed. as the thin fibres of meat were completely overlapped by the margin, they were not pushed at all inwards, across the blade. experiment .--six cabbage seeds, soaked for a night in water, were placed in a row close to the narrow incurved edge of a leaf. we shall hereafter see that these seeds yield soluble matter to the glands. in hrs. m. the margin was decidedly inflected; in hrs. it extended over the seeds for about half their breadth, and in hrs. over three-fourths of their breadth, forming a cylinder not quite closed along the inner side, and about . of an inch ( . mm.) in diameter. after hrs. the inflection had not increased, perhaps had decreased. the glands which had been brought into contact with the upper surfaces of the seeds were now secreting freely. in hrs. from the time when the seeds were put on the leaf the margin had greatly, and after hrs. had completely, re-expanded. as the seeds were no longer held by the inflected margin, and as the secretion was beginning to fail, they rolled some way down the marginal channel. experiment .--fragments of glass were placed on the margins of two fine young leaves. after hrs. m. the margin of one certainly became slightly incurved; but the inflection never increased, and disappeared in hrs. m. from the time when the fragments were first applied. with the second leaf there was a trace of incurvation in hrs. m., which became decided in hrs. m., and still more strongly pronounced in hrs., but after hrs. m. had plainly decreased. the fragments excited at most a slight and doubtful increase of the secretion; and in two other trials, no increase could be perceived. bits of coal-cinders, placed on a leaf, produced no effect, either owing to their lightness or to the leaf being torpid. experiment .--we now turn to fluids. a row of drops of a strong infusion of raw meat were placed along the margins of two leaves; squares of sponge soaked in the same infusion being placed on the opposite margins. my object was to ascer- [page ] tain whether a fluid would act as energetically as a substance yielding the same soluble matter to the glands. no distinct difference was perceptible; certainly none in the degree of incurvation; but the incurvation round the bits of sponge lasted rather longer, as might perhaps have been expected from the sponge remaining damp and supplying nitrogenous matter for a longer time. the margins, with the drops, became plainly incurved in hrs. m. the incurvation subsequently increased somewhat, but after hrs. had greatly decreased. experiment .--drops of the same strong infusion of raw meat were placed along the midrib of a young and rather deeply concave leaf. the distance across the broadest part of the leaf, between the naturally incurved edges, was . of an inch ( . mm.). in hrs. m. this distance was a trace less; in hrs. m. it was exactly . of an inch ( . mm.), and had therefore decreased by . of an inch ( . mm.). after only hrs. m. the margin began to re-expand, for the distance from edge to edge was now a trace wider, and after hrs. m. was as great, within a hair's breadth, as when the drops were first placed on the leaf. from this experiment we learn that the motor impulse can be transmitted to a distance of . of an inch ( . mm.) in a transverse direction from the midrib to both margins; but it would be safer to say . of an inch ( . mm.) as the drops spread a little beyond the midrib. the incurvation thus caused lasted for an unusually short time. experiment .--three drops of a solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water ( grs. to oz.) were placed on the margin of a leaf. these excited so much secretion that in h. m. all three drops ran together; but although the leaf was observed for hrs., there was no trace of inflection. we know that a rather strong solution of this salt, though it does not injure the leaves of drosera, paralyses their power of movement, and i have no doubt, from the following case, that this holds good with pinguicula. experiment .--a row of drops of a solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water ( gr. to oz.) was placed on the margin of a leaf. in hr. there was apparently some slight incurvation, and this was well-marked in hrs. m. after hrs. the margin was almost completely re-expanded. experiment .--a row of large drops of a solution of one part of phosphate of ammonia to of water ( gr. to oz.) was placed along the margin of a leaf. no effect was produced, and after hrs. fresh drops were added along the same margin without the least effect. we know that a solution of this [page ] strength acts powerfully on drosera, and it is just possible that the solution was too strong. i regret that i did not try a weaker solution. experiment .--as the pressure from bits of glass causes incurvation, i scratched the margins of two leaves for some minutes with a blunt needle, but no effect was produced. the surface of a leaf beneath a drop of a strong infusion of raw meat was also rubbed for . m. with the end of a bristle, so as to imitate the struggles of a captured insect; but this part of the margin did not bend sooner than the other parts with undisturbed drops of the infusion.] we learn from the foregoing experiments that the margins of the leaves curl inwards when excited by the mere pressure of objects not yielding any soluble matter, by objects yielding such matter, and by some fluids--namely an infusion of raw meat and a week solution of carbonate of ammonia. a stronger solution of two grains of this salt to an ounce of water, though exciting copious secretion, paralyses the leaf. drops of water and of a solution of sugar or gum did not cause any movement. scratching the surface of the leaf for some minutes produced no effect. therefore, as far as we at present know, only two causes--namely slight continued pressure and the absorption of nitrogenous matter--excite movement. it is only the margins of the leaf which bend, for the apex never curves towards the base. the pedicels of the glandular hairs have no power of movement. i observed on several occasions that the surface of the leaf became slightly concave where bits of meat or large flies had long lain, but this may have been due to injury from over-stimulation. the shortest time in which plainly marked movement was observed was hrs. m., and this occurred when either nitrogenous substances or fluids were placed on the leaves; but i believe that in some cases [page ] there was a trace of movement in hr. or hr. m. the pressure from fragments of glass excites movement almost as quickly as the absorption of nitrogenous matter, but the degree of incurvation thus caused is much less. after a leaf has become well incurved and has again expanded, it will not soon answer to a fresh stimulus. the margin was affected longitudinally, upwards or downwards, for a distance of . of an inch ( . mm.) from an excited point, but for a distance of . of an inch between two excited points, and transversely for a distance of . of an inch ( . mm.). the motor impulse is not accompanied, as in the case of drosera, by any influence causing increased secretion; for when a single gland was strongly stimulated and secreted copiously, the surrounding glands were not in the least affected. the incurvation of the margin is independent of increased secretion, for fragments of glass cause little or no secretion, and yet excite movement; whereas a strong solution of carbonate of ammonia quickly excites copious secretion, but no movement. one of the most curious facts with respect to the movement of the leaves is the short time during which they remain incurved, although the exciting object is left on them. in the majority of cases there was well-marked re-expansion within hrs. from the time when even large pieces of meat, &c., were placed on the leaves, and in all cases within hrs. in one instance the margin of a leaf remained for hrs. closely inflected round thin fibres of meat; in another instance, when a bit of sponge, soaked in a strong infusion of raw meat, had been applied to a leaf, the margin began to unfold in hrs. fragments of glass keep the margin incurved for a shorter time than do nitrogenous bodies; for in the former case there was [page ] complete re-expansion in hrs. m. nitrogenous fluids act for a shorter time than nitrogenous substances; thus, when drops of an infusion of raw meat were placed on the midrib of a leaf, the incurved margins began to unfold in only hrs. m., and this was the quickest act of re-expansion observed by me; but it may have been partly due to the distance of the margins from the midrib where the drops lay. we are naturally led to inquire what is the use of this movement which lasts for so short a time? if very small objects, such as fibres of meat, or moderately small objects, such as little flies or cabbage-seeds, are placed close to the margin, they are either completely or partially embraced by it. the glands of the overlapping margin are thus brought into contact with such objects and pour forth their secretion, afterwards absorbing the digested matter. but as the incurvation lasts for so short a time, any such benefit can be of only slight importance, yet perhaps greater than at first appears. the plant lives in humid districts, and the insects which adhere to all parts of the leaf are washed by every heavy shower of rain into the narrow channel formed by the naturally incurved edges. for instance, my friend in north wales placed several insects on some leaves, and two days afterwards (there having been heavy rain in the interval) found some of them quite washed away, and many others safely tucked under the now closely inflected margins, the glands of which all round the insects were no doubt secreting. we can thus, also, understand how it is that so many insects, and fragments of insects, are generally found lying within the incurved margins of the leaves. the incurvation of the margin, due to the presence of an exciting object, must be serviceable in another [page ] and probably more important way. we have seen that when large bits of meat, or of sponge soaked in the juice of meat, were placed on a leaf, the margin was not able to embrace them, but, as it became incurved, pushed them very slowly towards the middle of the leaf, to a distance from the outside of fully . of an inch ( . mm.), that is, across between one-third and one-fourth of the space between the edge and midrib. any object, such as a moderately sized insect, would thus be brought slowly into contact with a far larger number of glands, inducing much more secretion and absorption, than would otherwise have been the case. that this would be highly serviceable to the plant, we may infer from the fact that drosera has acquired highly developed powers of movement, merely for the sake of bringing all its glands into contact with captured insects. so again, after a leaf of dionaea has caught an insect, the slow pressing together of the two lobes serves merely to bring the glands on both sides into contact with it, causing also the secretion charged with animal matter to spread by capillary attraction over the whole surface. in the case of pinguicula, as soon as an insect has been pushed for some little distance towards the midrib, immediate re-expansion would be beneficial, as the margins could not capture fresh prey until they were unfolded. the service rendered by this pushing action, as well as that from the marginal glands being brought into contact for a short time with the upper surfaces of minute captured insects, may perhaps account for the peculiar movements of the leaves; otherwise, we must look at these movements as a remnant of a more highly developed power formerly possessed by the progenitors of the genus. in the four british species, and, as i hear from [page ] prof. dyer, in most or all the species of the genus, the edges of the leaves are in some degree naturally and permanently incurved. this incurvation serves, as already shown, to prevent insects from being washed away by the rain; but it likewise serves for another end. when a number of glands have been powerfully excited by bits of meat, insects, or any other stimulus, the secretion often trickles down the leaf, and is caught by the incurved edges, instead of rolling off and being lost. as it runs down the channel, fresh glands are able to absorb the animal matter held in solution. moreover, the secretion often collects in little pools within the channel, or in the spoon-like tips of the leaves; and i ascertained that bits of albumen, fibrin, and gluten, are here dissolved more quickly and completely than on the surface of the leaf, where the secretion cannot accumulate; and so it would be with naturally caught insects. the secretion was repeatedly seen thus to collect on the leaves of plants protected from the rain; and with exposed plants there would be still greater need of some provision to prevent, as far as possible, the secretion, with its dissolved animal matter, being wholly lost. it has already been remarked that plants growing in a state of nature have the margins of their leaves much more strongly incurved than those grown in pots and prevented from catching many insects. we have seen that insects washed down by the rain from all parts of the leaf often lodge within the margins, which are thus excited to curl farther inwards; and we may suspect that this action, many times repeated during the life of the plant, leads to their permanent and well-marked incurvation. i regret that this view did not occur to me in time to test its truth. it may here be added, though not immediately [page ] bearing on our subject, that when a plant is pulled up, the leaves immediately curl downwards so as almost to conceal the roots,--a fact which has been noticed by many persons. i suppose that this is due to the same tendency which causes the outer and older leaves to lie flat on the ground. it further appears that the flower-stalks are to a certain extent irritable, for dr. johnson states that they "bend backwards if rudely handled."* secretion, absorption, and digestion.--i will first give my observations and experiments, and then a summary of the results. [the effects of objects containing soluble nitrogenous matter. ( ) flies were placed on many leaves, and excited the glands to secrete copiously; the secretion always becoming acid, though not so before. after a time these insects were rendered so tender that their limbs and bodies could be separated by a mere touch, owing no doubt to the digestion and disintegration of their muscles. the glands in contact with a small fly continued to secrete for four days, and then became almost dry. a narrow strip of this leaf was cut off, and the glands of the longer and shorter hairs, which had lain in contact for the four days with the fly, and those which had not touched it, were compared under the microscope and presented a wonderful contrast. those which had been in contact were filled with brownish granular matter, the others with homogeneous fluid. there could therefore be no doubt that the former had absorbed matter from the fly. ( ) small bits of roast meat, placed on a leaf, always caused much acid secretion in the course of a few hours--in one case within m. when thin fibres of meat were laid along the margin of a leaf which stood almost upright, the secretion ran down to the ground. angular bits of meat, placed in little pools of the secretion near the margin, were in the course of * 'english botany,' by sir j.e. smith; with coloured figures by j. sowerby; edit. of , tab. , , . [page ] two or three days much reduced in size, rounded, rendered more or less colourless and transparent, and so much softened that they fell to pieces on the slightest touch. in only one instance was a very minute particle completely dissolved, and this occurred within hrs. when only a small amount of secretion was excited, this was generally absorbed in from hrs. to hrs.; the glands being left dry. but when the supply of secretion was copious, round either a single rather large bit of meat, or round several small bits, the glands did not become dry until six or seven days had elapsed. the most rapid case of absorption observed by me was when a small drop of an infusion of raw meat was placed on a leaf, for the glands here became almost dry in hrs. m. glands excited by small particles of meat, and which have quickly absorbed their own secretion, begin to secrete again in the course of seven or eight days from the time when the meat was given them. ( ) three minute cubes of tough cartilage from the leg-bone of a sheep were laid on a leaf. after hrs. m. some acid secretion was excited, but the cartilage appeared little or not at all affected. after hrs. the cubes were rounded and much reduced in size; after hrs. they were softened to the centre, and one was quite liquefied; after hrs. mere traces of solid cartilage were left; and after hrs. a trace could still be seen through a lens in only one of the three. after hrs. not only were all three cubes completely liquefied, but all the secretion was absorbed and the glands left dry. ( ) small cubes of albumen were placed on a leaf; in hrs. feebly acid secretion extended to a distance of nearly / of an inch round them, and the angles of one cube were rounded. after hrs. the angles of all the cubes were rounded, and they were rendered throughout very tender; after hrs. the secretion began to decrease, and after hrs. the glands were left dry; but very minute bits of albumen were still left undissolved. ( ) smaller cubes of albumen (about / or / of an inch, . or . mm.) were placed on four glands; after hrs. one cube was completely dissolved, the others being much reduced in size, softened, and transparent. after hrs. two of the cubes were completely dissolved, and already the secretion on these glands was almost wholly absorbed. after hrs. the two other cubes were completely dissolved. these four glands began to secrete again after eight or nine days. ( ) two large cubes of albumen (fully / of an inch, . mm.) were placed, one near the midrib and the other near the margin [page ] of a leaf; in hrs. there was much secretion, which after hrs. accumulated in a little pool round the cube near the margin. this cube was much more dissolved than that on the blade of the leaf; so that after three days it was greatly reduced in size, with all the angles rounded, but it was too large to be wholly dissolved. the secretion was partially absorbed after four days. the cube on the blade was much less reduced, and the glands on which it rested began to dry after only two days. ( ) fibrin excites less secretion than does meat or albumen. several trials were made, but i will give only three of them. two minute shreds were placed on some glands, and in hrs. m. their secretion was plainly increased. the smaller shred of the two was completely liquefied in hrs. m., and the other in hrs.; but even after hrs. a few granules of fibrin could still be seen through a lens floating in both drops of secretion. after hrs. m. these granules were completely dissolved. a third shred was placed in a little pool of secretion, within the margin of a leaf where a seed had been lying, and this was completely dissolved in the course of hrs. m. ( ) five very small bits of gluten were placed on a leaf, and they excited so much secretion that one of the bits glided down into the marginal furrow. after a day all five bits seemed much reduced in size, but none were wholly dissolved. on the third day i pushed two of them, which had begun to dry, on to fresh glands. on the fourth day undissolved traces of three out of the five bits could still be detected, the other two having quite disappeared; but i am doubtful whether they had really been completely dissolved. two fresh bits were now placed, one near the middle and the other near the margin of another leaf; both excited an extraordinary amount of secretion; that near the margin had a little pool formed round it, and was much more reduced in size than that on the blade, but after four days was not completely dissolved. gluten, therefore, excites the glands greatly, but is dissolved with much difficulty, exactly as in the case of drosera. i regret that i did not try this substance after having been immersed in weak hydrochloric acid, as it would then probably have been quickly dissolved. ( ) a small square thin piece of pure gelatine, moistened with water, was placed on a leaf, and excited very little secretion in hrs. m., but later in the day a greater amount. after hrs. the whole square was completely liquefied; and this would not have occurred had it been left in water. the liquid was acid. ( ) small particles of chemically prepared casein excited [page ] acid secretion, but were not quite dissolved after two days; and the glands then began to dry. nor could their complete dissolution have been expected from what we have seen with drosera. ( ) minute drops of skimmed milk were placed on a leaf, and these caused the glands to secrete freely. after hrs. the milk was found curdled, and after hrs. the curds were dissolved. on placing the now clear drops under the microscope, nothing could be detected except some oil-globules. the secretion, therefore, dissolves fresh casein. ( ) two fragments of a leaf were immersed for hrs., each in a drachm of a solution of carbonate of ammonia, of two strengths, namely of one part to and of water. the glands of the longer and shorter hairs were then examined, and their contents found aggregated into granular matter of a brownish-green colour. these granular masses were seen by my son slowly to change their forms, and no doubt consisted of protoplasm. the aggregation was more strongly pronounced, and the movements of the protoplasm more rapid, within the glands subjected to the stronger solution than in the others. the experiment was repeated with the same result; and on this occasion i observed that the protoplasm had shrunk a little from the walls of the single elongated cells forming the pedicels. in order to observe the process of aggregation, a narrow strip of leaf was laid edgeways under the microscope, and the glands were seen to be quite transparent; a little of the stronger solution (viz. one part to of water) was now added under the covering glass; after an hour or two the glands contained very fine granular matter, which slowly became coarsely granular and slightly opaque; but even after hrs. not as yet of a brownish tint. by this time a few rather large, transparent, globular masses appeared within the upper ends of the pedicels, and the protoplasm lining their walls had shrunk a little. it is thus evident that the glands of pinguicula absorb carbonate of ammonia; but they do not absorb it, or are not acted on by it, nearly so quickly as those of drosera. ( ) little masses of the orange-coloured pollen of the common pea, placed on several leaves, excited the glands to secrete freely. even a very few grains which accidentally fell on a single gland caused the drop surrounding it to increase so much in size, in hrs., as to be manifestly larger than the drops on the adjoining glands. grains subjected to the secretion for hrs. did not emit their tubes; they were quite discoloured, and seemed to contain less matter than before; that [page ] which was left being of a dirty colour, including globules of oil. they thus differed in appearance from other grains kept in water for the same length of time. the glands in contact with the pollen-grains had evidently absorbed matter from them; for they had lost their natural pale-green tint, and contained aggregated globular masses of protoplasm. ( ) square bits of the leaves of spinach, cabbage, and a saxifrage, and the entire leaves of erica tetralix, all excited the glands to increased secretion. the spinach was the most effective, for it caused the secretion evidently to increase in hr. m., and ultimately to run some way down the leaf; but the glands soon began to dry, viz. after hrs. the leaves of erica tetralix began to act in hrs. m., but never caused much secretion; nor did the bits of leaf of the saxifrage, though in this case the glands continued to secrete for seven days. some leaves of pinguicula were sent me from north wales, to which leaves of erica tetralixand of an unknown plant adhered; and the glands in contact with them had their contents plainly aggregated, as if they had been in contact with insects; whilst the other glands on the same leaves contained only clear homogeneous fluid. ( ) seeds.--a considerable number of seeds or fruits selected by hazard, some fresh and some a year old, some soaked for a short time in water and some not soaked, were tried. the ten following kinds, namely cabbage, radish, anemone nemorosa, rumex acetosa, carex sylvatica, mustard, turnip, cress, ranunculus acris, and avena pubescens, all excited much secretion, which was in several cases tested and found always acid. the five first-named seeds excited the glands more than the others. the secretion was seldom copious until about hrs. had elapsed, no doubt owing to the coats of the seeds not being easily permeable. nevertheless, cabbage seeds excited some secretion in hrs. m.; and this increased so much in hrs. as to run down the leaves. the seeds or properly the fruits of carex are much oftener found adhering to leaves in a state of nature than those of any other genus; and the fruits of carex sylvatica excited so much secretion that in hrs. it ran into the incurved edges; but the glands ceased to secrete after hrs. on the other hand, the glands on which the seeds of the rumex and avena rested continued to secrete for nine days. the nine following kinds of seeds excited only a slight amount of secretion, namely, celery, parsnip, caraway, linum grandiflorum, cassia, trifolium pannonicum, plantago, onion, [page ] and bromus. most of these seeds did not excite any secretion until hrs. had elapsed, and in the case of the trifolium only one seed acted, and this not until the third day. although the seeds of the plantago excited very little secretion, the glands continued to secrete for six days. lastly, the five following kinds excited no secretion, though left on the leaves for two or three days, namely lettuce, erica tetralix, atriplex hortensis, phalaris canariensis, and wheat. nevertheless, when the seeds of the lettuce, wheat, and atriplex were split open and applied to leaves, secretion was excited in considerable quantity in hrs., and i believe that some was excited in six hours. in the case of the atriplex the secretion ran down to the margin, and after hrs. i speak of it in my notes "as immense in quantity and acid." the split seeds also of the trifolium and celery acted powerfully and quickly, though the whole seeds caused, as we have seen, very little secretion, and only after a long interval of time. a slice of the common pea, which however was not tried whole, caused secretion in hrs. from these facts we may conclude that the great difference in the degree and rate at which various kinds of seeds excite secretion, is chiefly or wholly due to the different permeability of their coats. some thin slices of the common pea, which had been previously soaked for hr. in water, were placed on a leaf, and quickly excited much acid secretion. after hrs. these slices were compared under a high power with others left in water for the same time; the latter contained so many fine granules of legumin that the slide was rendered muddy; whereas the slices which had been subjected to the secretion were much cleaner and more transparent, the granules of legumin apparently having been dissolved. a cabbage seed which had lain for two days on a leaf and had excited much acid secretion, was cut into slices, and these were compared with those of a seed which had been left for the same time in water. those subjected to the secretion were of a paler colour; their coats presenting the greatest differences, for they were of a pale dirty tint instead of chestnut-brown. the glands on which the cabbage seeds had rested, as well as those bathed by the surrounding secretion, differed greatly in appearance from the other glands on the same leaf, for they all contained brownish granular matter, proving that they had absorbed matter from the seeds. that the secretion acts on the seeds was also shown by some of them being killed, or by the seedlings being injured. fourteen cabbage seeds were left for three days on leaves and excited [page ] much secretion; they were then placed on damp sand under conditions known to be favourable for germination. three never germinated, and this was a far larger proportion of deaths than occurred with seeds of the same lot, which had not been subjected to the secretion, but were otherwise treated in the same manner. of the eleven seedlings raised, three had the edges of their cotyledons slightly browned, as if scorched; and the cotyledons of one grew into a curious indented shape. two mustard seeds germinated; but their cotyledons were marked with brown patches and their radicles deformed. of two radish seeds, neither germinated; whereas of many seeds of the same lot not subjected to the secretion, all, excepting one, germinated. of the two rumex seeds, one died and the other germinated; but its radicle was brown and soon withered. both seeds of the avena germinated, one grew well, the other had its radicle brown and withered. of six seeds of the erica none germinated, and when cut open after having been left for five months on damp sand, one alone seemed alive. twenty-two seeds of various kinds were found adhering to the leaves of plants growing in a state of nature; and of these, though kept for five months on damp sand, none germinated, some being then evidently dead. the effects of objects not containing soluble nitrogenous matter. ( ) it has already been shown that bits of glass, placed on leaves, excite little or no secretion. the small amount which lay beneath the fragments was tested and found not acid. a bit of wood excited no secretion; nor did the several kinds of seeds of which the coats are not permeable to the secretion, and which, therefore, acted like inorganic bodies. cubes of fat, left for two days on a leaf, produced no effect. ( ) a particle of white sugar, placed on a leaf, formed in hr. m. a large drop of fluid, which in the course of additional hours ran down into the naturally inflected margin. this fluid was not in the least acid, and began to dry up, or more probably was absorbed, in hrs. m. the experiment was repeated; particles being placed on a leaf, and others of the same size on a slip of glass in a moistened state; both being covered by a bell-glass. this was done to see whether the increased amount of fluid on the leaves could be due to mere deliquescence; but this was proved not to be the case. the particle on the leaf caused so much secretion that in the course of hrs. it ran down across two-thirds of the leaf. after hrs. the leaf, which was concave, was actually filled with very viscid [page ] fluid; and it particularly deserves notice that this, as on the former occasion, was not in the least acid. this great amount of secretion may be attributed to exosmose. the glands which had been covered for hrs. by this fluid did not differ, when examined under the microscope, from others on the same leaf, which had not come into contact with it. this is an interesting fact in contrast with the invariably aggregated condition of glands which have been bathed by the secretion, when holding animal matter in solution. ( ) two particles of gum arabic were placed on a leaf, and they certainly caused in hr. m. a slight increase of secretion. this continued to increase for the next hrs., that is for as long a time as the leaf was observed. ( ) six small particles of dry starch of commerce were placed on a leaf, and one of these caused some secretion in hr. m., and the others in from hrs. to hrs. the glands which had thus been excited to secrete soon became dry, and did not begin to secrete again until the sixth day. a larger bit of starch was then placed on a leaf, and no secretion was excited in hrs. m.; but after hrs. there was a considerable supply, which increased so much in hrs. as to run down the leaf to the distance of / of an inch. this secretion, though so abundant, was not in the least acid. as it was so copiously excited, and as seeds not rarely adhere to the leaves of naturally growing plants, it occurred to me that the glands might perhaps have the power of secreting a ferment, like ptyaline, capable of dissolving starch; so i carefully observed the above six small particles during several days, but they did not seem in the least reduced in bulk. a particle was also left for two days in a little pool of secretion, which had run down from a piece of spinach leaf; but although the particle was so minute no diminution was perceptible. we may therefore conclude that the secretion cannot dissolve starch. the increase caused by this substance may, i presume, be attributed to exosmose. but i am surprised that starch acted so quickly and powerfully as it did, though in a less degree than sugar. colloids are known to possess some slight power of dialysis; and on placing the leaves of a primula in water, and others in syrup and diffused starch, those in the starch became flaccid, but to a less degree and at a much slower rate than the leaves in the syrup; those in water remaining all the time crisp.] from the foregoing experiments and observations we [page ] see that objects not containing soluble matter have little or no power of exciting the glands to secrete. non-nitrogenous fluids, if dense, cause the glands to pour forth a large supply of viscid fluid, but this is not in the least acid. on the other hand, the secretion from glands excited by contact with nitrogenous solids or liquids is invariably acid, and is so copious that it often runs down the leaves and collects within the naturally incurved margins. the secretion in this state has the power of quickly dissolving, that is of digesting, the muscles of insects, meat, cartilage, albumen, fibrin, gelatine, and casein as it exists in the curds of milk. the glands are strongly excited by chemically prepared casein and gluten; but these substances (the latter not having been soaked in weak hydrochloric acid) are only partially dissolved, as was likewise the case with drosera. the secretion, when containing animal matter in solution, whether derived from solids or from liquids, such as an infusion of raw meat, milk, or a weak solution of carbonate of ammonia, is quickly absorbed; and the glands, which were before limpid and of a greenish colour, become brownish and contain masses of aggregated granular matter. this matter, from its spontaneous movements, no doubt consists of protoplasm. no such effect is produced by the action of non-nitrogenous fluids. after the glands have been excited to secrete freely, they cease for a time to secrete, but begin again in the course of a few days. glands in contact with pollen, the leaves of other plants, and various kinds of seeds, pour forth much acid secretion, and afterwards absorb matter probably of an albuminous nature from them. nor can the benefit thus derived be insignificant, for a considerable [page ] amount of pollen must be blown from the many wind-fertilised carices, grasses, &c., growing where pinguicula lives, on to the leaves thickly covered with viscid glands and forming large rosettes. even a few grains of pollen on a single gland causes it to secrete copiously. we have also seen how frequently the small leaves of erica tetralix and of other plants, as well as various kinds of seeds and fruits, especially of carex, adhere to the leaves. one leaf of the pinguicula had caught ten of the little leaves of the erica; and three leaves on the same plant had each caught a seed. seeds subjected to the action of the secretion are sometimes killed, or the seedlings injured. we may, therefore, conclude that pinguicula vulgaris, with its small roots, is not only supported to a large extent by the extraordinary number of insects which it habitually captures, but likewise draws some nourishment from the pollen, leaves, and seeds of other plants which often adhere to its leaves. it is therefore partly a vegetable as well as an animal feeder. pinguicula grandiflora. this species is so closely allied to the last that it is ranked by dr. hooker as a sub-species. it differs chiefly in the larger size of its leaves, and in the glandular hairs near the basal part of the midrib being longer. but it likewise differs in constitution; i hear from mr. ralfs, who was so kind as to send me plants from cornwall, that it grows in rather different sites; and dr. moore, of the glasnevin botanic gardens, informs me that it is much more manageable under culture, growing freely and flowering annually; whilst pinguicula vulgaris has to be renewed every year. mr. ralfs found numerous [page ] insects and fragments of insects adhering to almost all the leaves. these consisted chiefly of diptera, with some hymenoptera, homoptera, coleoptera, and a moth. on one leaf there were nine dead insects, besides a few still alive. he also observed a few fruits of carex pulicaris, as well as the seeds of this same pinguicula, adhering to the leaves. i tried only two experiments with this species; firstly, a fly was placed near the margin of a leaf, and after hrs. this was found well inflected. secondly, several small flies were placed in a row along one margin of another leaf, and by the next morning this whole margin was curled inwards, exactly as in the case of pinguicula vulgaris. pinguicula lusitanica. this species, of which living specimens were sent me by mr. ralfs from cornwall, is very distinct from the two foregoing ones. the leaves are rather smaller, much more transparent, and are marked with purple branching veins. the margins of the leaves are much more involuted; those of the older ones extending over a third of the space between the midrib and the outside. as in the two other species, the glandular hairs consist of longer and shorter ones, and have the same structure; but the glands differ in being purple, and in often containing granular matter before they have been excited. in the lower part of the leaf, almost half the space on each side between the midrib and margin is destitute of glands; these being replaced by long, rather stiff, multicellular hairs, which intercross over the midrib. these hairs perhaps serve to prevent insects from settling on this part of the leaf, where there are no viscid glands by which they could be caught; but it is hardly probable that they were developed for this purpose. the spiral vessels pro- [page ] ceeding from the midrib terminate at the extreme margin of the leaf in spiral cells; but these are not so well developed as in the two preceding species. the flower-peduncles, sepals, and petals, are studded with glandular hairs, like those on the leaves. the leaves catch many small insects, which are found chiefly beneath the involuted margins, probably washed there by the rain. the colour of the glands on which insects have long lain is changed, being either brownish or pale purple, with their contents coarsely granular; so that they evidently absorb matter from their prey. leaves of the erica tetralix, flowers of a galium, scales of grasses, &c. likewise adhered to some of the leaves. several of the experiments which were tried on pinguicula vulgaris were repeated on pinguicula lusitanica, and these will now be given. [( ) a moderately sized and angular bit of albumen was placed on one side of a leaf, halfway between the midrib and the naturally involuted margin. in hrs. m. the glands poured forth much secretion, and this side became more infolded than the opposite one. the inflection increased, and in hrs. m. extended up almost to the apex. after hrs. the margin was rolled into a cylinder, the outer surface of which touched the blade of the leaf and reached to within the / of an inch of the midrib. after hrs. it began to unfold, and in hrs. was completely unfolded. the cube was rounded and greatly reduced in size; the remainder being in a semi-liquefied state. ( ) a moderately sized bit of albumen was placed near the apex of a leaf, under the naturally incurved margin. in hrs. m. much secretion was excited, and next morning the margin on this side was more incurved than the opposite one, but not to so great a degree as in the last case. the margin unfolded at the same rate as before. a large proportion of the albumen was dissolved, a remnant being still left. ( ) large bits of albumen were laid in a row on the midribs of two leaves, but produced in the course of hrs. no effect; [page ] nor could this have been expected, for even had glands existed here, the long bristles would have prevented the albumen from coming in contact with them. on both leaves the bits were now pushed close to one margin, and in hrs. m. this became so greatly inflected that the outer surface touched the blade; the opposite margin not being in the least affected. after three days the margins of both leaves with the albumen were still as much inflected as ever, and the glands were still secreting copiously. with pinguicula vulgaris i have never seen inflection lasting so long. ( ) two cabbage seeds, after being soaked for an hour in water, were placed near the margin of a leaf, and caused in hrs. m. increased secretion and incurvation. after hrs. the leaf was partially unfolded, but the glands were still secreting freely. these began to dry in hrs., and after hrs. were almost dry. the two seeds were then placed on damp sand under favourable conditions for growth; but they never germinated, and after a time were found rotten. they had no doubt been killed by the secretion. ( ) small bits of a spinach leaf caused in hr. m. increased secretion; and after hrs. m. plain incurvation of the margin. the margin was well inflected after hrs. m., but after hrs. was almost fully re-expanded. the glands in contact with the spinach became dry in hrs. bits of albumen had been placed the day before on the opposite margin of this same leaf, as well as on that of a leaf with cabbage seeds, and these margins remained closely inflected for hrs., showing how much more enduring is the effect of albumen than of spinach leaves or cabbage seeds . ( ) a row of small fragments of glass was laid along one margin of a leaf; no effect was produced in hrs. m., but after hrs. m. there seemed to be a trace of inflection, and this was distinct, though not strongly marked, after hrs. the glands in contact with the fragments now secreted more freely than before; so that they appear to be more easily excited by the pressure of inorganic objects than are the glands of pinguicula vulgaris. the above slight inflection of the margin had not increased after hrs., and the glands were now beginning to dry. the surface of a leaf, near the midrib and towards the base, was rubbed and scratched for some time, but no movement ensued. the long hairs which are situated here were treated in the same manner, with no effect. this latter trial was made because i thought that the hairs might perhaps be sensitive to a touch, like the filaments of dionaea. [page ] ( ) the flower-peduncles, sepals and petals, bear glands in general appearance like those on the leaves. a piece of a flower-peduncle was therefore left for hr. in a solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water, and this caused the glands to change from bright pink to a dull purple colour; but their contents exhibited no distinct aggregation. after hrs. m. they became colourless. two minute cubes of albumen were placed on the glands of a flower-peduncle, and another cube on the glands of a sepal; but they were not excited to increased secretion, and the albumen after two days was not in the least softened. hence these glands apparently differ greatly in function from those on the leaves.] from the foregoing observations on pinguicula lusitanica we see that the naturally much incurved margins of the leaves are excited to curve still farther inwards by contact with organic and inorganic bodies; that albumen, cabbage seeds, bits of spinach leaves, and fragments of glass, cause the glands to secrete more freely;--that albumen is dissolved by the secretion, and cabbage seeds killed by it;--and lastly that matter is absorbed by the glands from the insects which are caught in large numbers by the viscid secretion. the glands on the flower-peduncles seem to have no such power. this species differs from pinguicula vulgarisand grandiflora in the margins of the leaves, when excited by organic bodies, being inflected to a greater degree, and in the inflection lasting for a longer time. the glands, also, seem to be more easily excited to increased secretion by bodies not yielding soluble nitrogenous matter. in other respects, as far as my observations serve, all three species agree in their functional powers. [page ] chapter xvii. utricularia. utricularia neglecta--structure of the bladder--the uses of the several parts--number of imprisoned animals--manner of capture--the bladders cannot digest animal matter, but absorb the products of its decay--experiments on the absorption of certain fluids by the quadrifid processes--absorption by the glands--summary of the observation on absorption-- development of the bladders--utricularia vulgaris--utricularia minor--utricularia clandestina. i was led to investigate the habits and structure of the species of this genus partly from their belonging to the same natural family as pinguicula, but more especially by mr. holland's statement, that "water insects are often found imprisoned in the bladders," which he suspects "are destined for the plant to feed on."* the plants which i first received as utricularia vulgaris from the new forest in hampshire and from cornwall, and which i have chiefly worked on, have been determined by dr. hooker to be a very rare british species, the utricularia neglecta of lehm. i subsequently received the true utricularia vulgaris from yorkshire. since drawing up the following description from my own observations and those of my son, francis darwin, an important memoir by prof. cohn *the 'quart. mag. of the high wycombe nat. hist. soc.' july , p. . delpino ('ult. osservaz. sulla dicogamia,' &c. - , p. ) also quotes crouan as having found ( ) crustaceans within the bladders of utricularia vulgaris. i am much indebted to the rev. h.m. wilkinson, of bistern, for having sent me several fine lots of this species from the new forest. mr. ralfs was also so kind as to send me living plants of the same species from near penzance in cornwall. [page ] on utricularia vulgaris has appeared;* and it has been no small satisfaction to me to find that my account agrees almost completely with that of this distinguished observer. i will publish my description as it stood before reading that by prof. cohn, adding occasionally some statements on his authority. fig. . (utricularia neglecta.) branch with the divided leaves bearing bladders; about twice enlarged. utricularia neglecta.--the general appearance of a branch (about twice enlarged), with the pinnatifid leaves bearing bladders, is represented in the above sketch (fig. ). the leaves continually bifurcate, so that a full-grown one terminates in from twenty to thirty * 'beitrage zur biologie der plflanzen' drittes heft, . [page ] points. each point is tipped by a short, straight bristle; and slight notches on the sides of the leaves bear similar bristles. on both surfaces there are many small papillae, crowned with two hemispherical cells in close contact. the plants float near the surface of the water, and are quite destitute of roots, even during the earliest period of growth.* they commonly inhabit, as more than one observer has remarked to me, remarkably foul ditches. the bladders offer the chief point of interest. there are often two or three on the same divided leaf, generally near the base; though i have seen a single one growing from the stem. they are supported on short footstalks. when fully grown, they are nearly / of an inch ( . mm.) in length. they are translucent, of a green colour, and the walls are formed of two layers of cells. the exterior cells are polygonal and rather large; but at many of the points where the angles meet, there are smaller rounded cells. these latter support short conical projections, surmounted by two hemispherical cells in such close apposition that they appear united; but they often separate a little when immersed in certain fluids. the papillae thus formed are exactly like those on the surfaces of the leaves. those on the same bladder vary much in size; and there are a few, especially on very young bladders, which have an elliptical instead of a circular outline. the two terminal cells are transparent, but must hold much matter in solution, judging from the quantity coagulated by prolonged immersion in alcohol or ether. * i infer that this is the case from a drawing of a seedling given by dr. warming in his paper, "bidrag til kundskaben om lentibulariaceae," from the 'videnskabelige meddelelser,' copenhagen, , nos. - , pp. - .) [page ] the bladders are filled with water. they generally, but by no means always, contain bubbles of air. according to the quantity of the contained water and air, they vary much in thickness, but are always somewhat compressed. at an early stage of growth, the flat or ventral surface faces the axis or stem; but the footstalks must have some power of movement; for in plants kept in my greenhouse the ventral surface was generally turned either straight or obliquely downwards. the rev. h.m. wilkinson examined fig. . (utricularia neglecta.) bladder; much enlarged. c, collar indistinctly seen through the walls. plants for me in a state of nature, and found this commonly to be the case, but the younger bladders often had their valves turned upwards. the general appearance of a bladder viewed laterally, with the appendages on the near side alone represented, is shown in the accompanying figure (fig. ). the lower side, where the footstalk arises, is nearly straight, and i have called it the ventral surface. the other or dorsal surface is convex, and terminates in two long prolongations, formed of several rows of cells, containing chlorophyll, and bearing, chiefly on [page ] the outside, six or seven long, pointed, multicellular bristles. these prolongations of the bladder may be conveniently called the antennae, for the whole bladder (see fig. ) curiously resembles an entomostracan crustacean, the short footstalk representing the tail. in fig. , the near antenna alone is shown. beneath the two antennae the end of the bladder is slightly truncated, and here is situated the most important part of the whole structure, namely the entrance and valve. on each side of the entrance from three to rarely seven long, multicellular bristles project out- fig. . (utricularia neglecta.) valve of bladder; greatly enlarged. wards; but only those (four in number) on the near side are shown in the drawing. these bristles, together with those borne by the antennae, form a sort of hollow cone surrounding the entrance. the valve slopes into the cavity of the bladder, or upwards in fig. . it is attached on all sides to the bladder, excepting by its posterior margin, or the lower one in fig. , which is free, and forms one side of the slit-like orifice leading into the bladder. this margin is sharp, thin, and smooth, and rests on the edge of a rim or collar, which dips deeply into the [page ] bladder, as shown in the longitudinal section (fig. ) of the collar and valve; it is also shown at c, in fig. . the edge of the valve can thus open only inwards. as both the valve and collar dip into the bladder, a hollow or depression is here formed, at the base of which lies the slit-like orifice. the valve is colourless, highly transparent, flexible and elastic. it is convex in a transverse direction, but has been drawn (fig. ) in a flattened state, by which its apparent breadth is increased. it is formed, fig. . (utricularia neglecta.) longitudinal vertical section through the ventral portion of a bladder; showing valve and collar. v, valve; the whole projection above c forms the collar; b, bifid processes; s, ventral surface of bladder. according to cohn, of two layers of small cells, which are continuous with the two layers of larger cells forming the walls of the bladder, of which it is evidently a prolongation. two pairs of transparent pointed bristles, about as long as the valve itself, arise from near the free posterior margin (fig. ), and point obliquely outwards in the direction of the antennae. there are also on the surface of the valve numerous glands, as i will call them; for they have the power of absorption, though i doubt whether they ever secrete. they consist of three kinds, which [page ] to a certain extent graduate into one another. those situated round the anterior margin of the valve (upper margin in fig. ) are very numerous and crowded together; they consist of an oblong head on a long pedicel. the pedicel itself is formed of an elongated cell, surmounted by a short one. the glands towards the free posterior margin are much larger, few in number, and almost spherical, having short footstalks; the head is formed by the confluence of two cells, the lower one answering to the short upper cell of the pedicel of the oblong glands. the glands of the third kind have transversely elongated heads, and are seated on very short footstalks; so that they stand parallel and close to the surface of the valve; they may be called the two-armed glands. the cells forming all these glands contain a nucleus, and are lined by a thin layer of more or less granular protoplasm, the primordial utricle of mohl. they are filled with fluid, which must hold much matter in solution, judging from the quantity coagulated after they have been long immersed in alcohol or ether. the depression in which the valve lies is also lined with innumerable glands; those at the sides having oblong heads and elongated pedicels, exactly like the glands on the adjoining parts of the valve. the collar (called the peristome by cohn) is evidently formed, like the valve, by an inward projection of the walls of the bladder. the cells composing the outer surface, or that facing the valve, have rather thick walls, are of a brownish colour, minute, very numerous, and elongated; the lower ones being divided into two by vertical partitions. the whole presents a complex and elegant appearance. the cells forming the inner surface are continuous with those over the whole inner surface of the bladder. the space be- [page ] tween the inner and outer surface consists of coarse cellular tissue (fig. ). the inner side is thickly covered with delicate bifid processes, hereafter to be described. the collar is thus made thick; and it is rigid, so that it retains the same outline whether the bladder contains little or much air and water. this is of great importance, as otherwise the thin and flexible valve would be liable to be distorted, and in this case would not act properly. altogether the entrance into the bladder, formed by the transparent valve, with its four obliquely projecting bristles, its numerous diversely shaped glands, surrounded by the collar, bearing glands on the inside and bristles on the outside, together with the bristles borne by the antennae, presents an extraordinarily complex appearance when viewed under the microscope. we will now consider the internal structure of the bladder. the whole inner surface, with the exception of the valve, is seen under a moderately high power to be covered with a serried mass of processes (fig. ). each of these consists of four divergent arms; whence their name of quadrifid processes. they arise from small angular cells, at the junctions of the angles of the larger cells which form the interior of the bladder. the middle part of the upper surface of these small cells projects a little, and then contracts into a very short and narrow footstalk which bears the four arms (fig. .). of these, two are long, but often of not quite equal length, and project obliquely inwards and towards the posterior end of the bladder. the two others are much shorter, and project at a smaller angle, that is, are more nearly horizontal, and are directed towards the anterior end of the bladder. these arms are only moderately sharp; they are composed of ex- [page ] tremely thin transparent membrane, so that they can be bent or doubled in any direction without being broken. they are lined with a delicate layer of protoplasm, as is likewise the short conical projection from which they arise. each arm generally (but not invariably) contains a minute, faintly brown particle, either rounded or more commonly elongated, which exhibits incessant brownian movements. these par- fig. . (utricularia neglecta.) small portion of inside of bladder, much enlarged, showing quadrifid processes. fig. . (utricularia neglecta.) one of the quadrifid processes greatly enlarged. ticles slowly change their positions, and travel from one end to the other of the arms, but are commonly found near their bases. they are present in the quadrifids of young bladders, when only about a third of their full size. they do not resemble ordinary nuclei, but i believe that they are nuclei in a modified condition, for when absent, i could occasionally just distinguish in their places a delicate halo of matter, including a darker spot. moreover, the quadrifids of utricularia montana contain rather larger and much [page ] more regularly spherical, but otherwise similar, particles, which closely resemble the nuclei in the cells forming the walls of the bladders. in the present case there were sometimes two, three, or even more, nearly similar particles within a single arm; but, as we shall hereafter see, the presence of more than one seemed always to be connected with the absorption of decayed matter. the inner side of the collar (see the previous fig. ) is covered with several crowded rows of processes, differing in no important respect from the quadrifids, except in bearing only two arms instead of four; they are, however, rather narrower and more delicate. i shall call them the bifids. they project into the bladder, and are directed towards its posterior end. the quadrifid and bifid processes no doubt are homologous with the papillae on the outside of the bladder and of the leaves; and we shall see that they are developed from closely similar papillae. the uses of the several parts.--after the above long but necessary description of the parts, we will turn to their uses. the bladders have been supposed by some authors to serve as floats; but branches which bore no bladders, and others from which they had been removed, floated perfectly, owing to the air in the intercellular spaces. bladders containing dead and captured animals usually include bubbles of air, but these cannot have been generated solely by the process of decay, as i have often seen air in young, clean, and empty bladders; and some old bladders with much decaying matter had no bubbles. the real use of the bladders is to capture small aquatic animals, and this they do on a large scale. in the first lot of plants, which i received from the new forest early in july, a large proportion of the fully [page ] grown bladders contained prey; in a second lot, received in the beginning of august, most of the bladders were empty, but plants had been selected which had grown in unusually pure water. in the first lot, my son examined seventeen bladders, including prey of some kind, and eight of these contained entomostracan crustaceans, three larvae of insects, one being still alive, and six remnants of animals so much decayed that their nature could not be distinguished. i picked out five bladders which seemed very full, and found in them four, five, eight, and ten crustaceans, and in the fifth a single much elongated larva. in five other bladders, selected from containing remains, but not appearing very full, there were one, two, four, two, and five crustaceans. a plant of utricularia vulgaris, which had been kept in almost pure water, was placed by cohn one evening into water swarming with crustaceans, and by the next morning most of the bladders contained these animals entrapped and swimming round and round their prisons. they remained alive for several days; but at last perished, asphyxiated, as i suppose, by the oxygen in the water having been all consumed. freshwater worms were also found by cohn in some bladders. in all cases the bladders with decayed remains swarmed with living algae of many kinds, infusoria, and other low organisms, which evidently lived as intruders. animals enter the bladders by bending inwards the posterior free edge of the valve, which from being highly elastic shuts again instantly. as the edge is extremely thin, and fits closely against the edge of the collar, both projecting into the bladder (see section, fig. ), it would evidently be very difficult for any animal to get out when once imprisoned, and apparently they never do escape. to show how closely the edge [page ] fits, i may mention that my son found a daphnia which had inserted one of its antennae into the slit, and it was thus held fast during a whole day. on three or four occasions i have seen long narrow larvae, both dead and alive, wedged between the corner of the valve and collar, with half their bodies within the bladder and half out. as i felt much difficulty in understanding how such minute and weak animals, as are often captured, could force their way into the bladders, i tried many experiments to ascertain how this was effected. the free margin of the valve bends so easily that no resistance is felt when a needle or thin bristle is inserted. a thin human hair, fixed to a handle, and cut off so as to project barely / of an inch, entered with some difficulty; a longer piece yielded instead of entering. on three occasions minute particles of blue glass (so as to be easily distinguished) were placed on valves whilst under water; and on trying gently to move them with a needle, they disappeared so suddenly that, not seeing what had happened, i thought that i had flirted them off; but on examining the bladders, they were found safely enclosed. the same thing occurred to my son, who placed little cubes of green box-wood (about / of an inch, . mm.) on some valves; and thrice in the act of placing them on, or whilst gently moving them to another spot, the valve suddenly opened and they were engulfed. he then placed similar bits of wood on other valves, and moved them about for some time, but they did not enter. again, particles of blue glass were placed by me on three valves, and extremely minute shavings of lead on two other valves; after or hrs. none had entered, but in from to hrs. all five were enclosed. one of the particles of glass was a [page ] long splinter, of which one end rested obliquely on the valve, and after a few hours it was found fixed, half within the bladder and half projecting out, with the edge of the valve fitting closely all round, except at one angle, where a small open space was left. it was so firmly fixed, like the above-mentioned larvae, that the bladder was torn from the branch and shaken, and yet the splinter did not fall out. my son also placed little cubes (about / of an inch, . mm.) of green box-wood, which were just heavy enough to sink in water, on three valves. these were examined after hrs. m., and were still lying on the valves; but after hrs. m. one was found enclosed. i may here mention that i found in a bladder on a naturally growing plant a grain of sand, and in another bladder three grains; these must have fallen by some accident on the valves, and then entered like the particles of glass. the slow bending of the valve from the weight of particles of glass and even of box-wood, though largely supported by the water, is, i suppose, analogous to the slow bending of colloid substances. for instance, particles of glass were placed on various points of narrow strips of moistened gelatine, and these yielded and became bent with extreme slowness. it is much more difficult to understand how gently moving a particle from one part of a valve to another causes it suddenly to open. to ascertain whether the valves were endowed with irritability, the surfaces of several were scratched with a needle or brushed with a fine camel-hair brush, so as to imitate the crawling movement of small crustaceans, but the valve did not open. some bladders, before being brushed, were left for a time in water at temperatures between o and o f. ( o. - o. cent.), as, judging from a wide- [page ] spread analogy, this would have rendered them more sensitive to irritation, or would by itself have excited movement; but no effect was produced. we may, therefore, conclude that animals enter merely by forcing their way through the slit-like orifice; their heads serving as a wedge. but i am surprised that such small and weak creatures as are often captured (for instance, the nauplius of a crustacean, and a tardigrade) should be strong enough to act in this manner, seeing that it was difficult to push in one end of a bit of a hair / of an inch in length. nevertheless, it is certain that weak and small creatures do enter, and mrs. treat, of new jersey, has been more successful than any other observer, and has often witnessed in the case of utricularia clandestina the whole process.* she saw a tardigrade slowly walking round a bladder, as if reconnoitring; at last it crawled into the depression where the valve lies, and then easily entered. she also witnessed the entrapment of various minute crustaceans. cypris "was "quite wary, but nevertheless was often caught. "coming to the entrance of a bladder, it would some-"times pause a moment, and then dash away; at "other times it would come close up, and even ven-"ture part of the way into the entrance and back out "as if afraid. another, more heedless, would open "the door and walk in; but it was no sooner in than "it manifested alarm, drew in its feet and antennae, and closed its shell." larvae, apparently of gnats, when "feeding near the entrance, are pretty certain "to run their heads into the net, whence there is no "retreat. a large larva is sometimes three or four "hours in being swallowed, the process bringing to * 'new york tribune,' reprinted in the 'gard. chron.' , p. . [page ] "mind what i have witnessed when a small snake "makes a large frog its victim." but as the valve does not appear to be in the least irritable, the slow swallowing process must be the effect of the onward movement of the larva. it is difficult to conjecture what can attract so many creatures, animal- and vegetable-feeding crustaceans, worms, tardigrades, and various larvae, to enter the bladders. mrs. treat says that the larvae just referred to are vegetable-feeders, and seem to have a special liking for the long bristles round the valve, but this taste will not account for the entrance of animal-feeding crustaceans. perhaps small aquatic animals habitually try to enter every small crevice, like that between the valve and collar, in search of food or protection. it is not probable that the remarkable transparency of the valve is an accidental circumstance, and the spot of light thus formed may serve as a guide. the long bristles round the entrance apparently serve for the same purpose. i believe that this is the case, because the bladders of some epiphytic and marsh species of utricularia which live embedded either in entangled vegetation or in mud, have no bristles round the entrance, and these under such conditions would be of no service as a guide. nevertheless, with these epiphytic and marsh species, two pairs of bristles project from the surface of the valve, as in the aquatic species; and their use probably is to prevent too large animals from trying to force an entrance into the bladder, thus rupturing orifice. as under favourable circumstances most of the bladders succeed in securing prey, in one case as many as ten crustaceans;--as the valve is so well fitted to [page ] allow animals to enter and to prevent their escape;--and as the inside of the bladder presents so singular a structure, clothed with innumerable quadrifid and bifid processes, it is impossible to doubt that the plant has been specially adapted for securing prey. from the analogy of pinguicula, belonging to the same family, i naturally expected that the bladders would have digested their prey; but this is not the case, and there are no glands fitted for secreting the proper fluid. nevertheless, in order to test their power of digestion, minute fragments of roast meat, three small cubes of albumen, and three of cartilage, were pushed through the orifice into the bladders of vigorous plants. they were left from one day to three days and a half within, and the bladders were then cut open; but none of the above substances exhibited the least signs of digestion or dissolution; the angles of the cubes being as sharp as ever. these observations were made subsequently to those on drosera, dionaea, drosophyllum, and pinguicula; so that i was familiar with the appearance of these substances when undergoing the early and final stages of digestion. we may therefore conclude that utricularia cannot digest the animals which it habitually captures. in most of the bladders the captured animals are so much decayed that they form a pale brown, pulpy mass, with their chitinous coats so tender that they fall to pieces with the greatest ease. the black pigment of the eye-spots is preserved better than anything else. limbs, jaws, &c. are often found quite detached; and this i suppose is the result of the vain struggles of the later captured animals. i have sometimes felt surprised at the small proportion of imprisoned animals in a fresh state compared with those utterly decayed. mrs. treat states with respect [page ] to the larvae above referred to, that "usually in less "than two days after a large one was captured the fluid "contents of the bladders began to assume a cloudy "or muddy appearance, and often became so dense "that the outline of the animal was lost to view." this statement raises the suspicion that the bladders secrete some ferment hastening the process of decay. there is no inherent improbability in this supposition, considering that meat soaked for ten minutes in water mingled with the milky juice of the papaw becomes quite tender and soon passes, as browne remarks in his 'natural history of jamaica,' into a state of putridity. whether or not the decay of the imprisoned animals is an any way hastened, it is certain that matter is absorbed from them by the quadrifid and bifid processes. the extremely delicate nature of the membrane of which these processes are formed, and the large surface which they expose, owing to their number crowded over the whole interior of the bladder, are circumstances all favouring the process of absorption. many perfectly clean bladders which had never caught any prey were opened, and nothing could be distinguished with a no. object-glass of hartnack within the delicate, structureless protoplasmic lining of the arms, excepting in each a single yellowish particle or modified nucleus. sometimes two or even three such particles were present; but in this case traces of decaying matter could generally be detected. on the other hand, in bladders containing either one large or several small decayed animals, the processes presented a widely different appearance. six such bladders were carefully examined; one contained an elongated, coiled-up larva; another a single large entomostracan crustacean, and the others from two to five smaller ones, all [page ] in a decayed state. in these six bladders, a large number of the quadrifid processes contained transparent, often yellowish, more or less confluent, spherical or irregularly shaped, masses of matter. some of the processes, however, contained only fine granular matter, the particles of which were so small that they could not be defined clearly with no. of hartnack. the delicate layer of protoplasm lining their walls was in some cases a little shrunk. on three occasions the above small masses of matter were observed and sketched at short intervals of time; and they certainly changed their positions relatively to each other and to the walls of the arms. separate masses sometimes became confluent, and then again divided. a single little mass would send out a projection, which after a time separated itself. hence there could be no doubt that these masses consisted of protoplasm. bearing in mind that many clean bladders were examined with equal care, and that these presented no such appearance, we may confidently believe that the protoplasm in the above cases had been generated by the absorption of nitrogenous matter from the decaying animals. in two or three other bladders, which at first appeared quite clean, on careful search a few processes were found, with their outsides clogged with a little brown matter, showing that some minute animal had been captured and had decayed, and the arms here included a very few more or less spherical and aggregated masses; the processes in other parts of the bladders being empty and transparent. on the other hand, it must be stated that in three bladders containing dead crustaceans, the processes were likewise empty. this fact may be accounted for by the animals not having been sufficiently decayed, or by time enough not having been allowed for the generation of proto- [page ] plasm, or by its subsequent absorption and transference to other parts of the plant. it will hereafter be seen that in three or four other species of utricularia the quadrifid processes in contact with decaying animals likewise contained aggregated masses of protoplasm. on the absorption of certain fluids by the quadrifid and bifid processes.--these experiments were tried to ascertain whether certain fluids, which seemed adapted for the purpose, would produce the same effects on the processes as the absorption of decayed animal matter. such experiments are, however, troublesome; for it is not sufficient merely to place a branch in the fluid, as the valve shuts so closely that the fluid apparently does not enter soon, if at all. even when bristles were pushed into the orifices, they were in several cases wrapped so closely round by the thin flexible edge of the valve that the fluid was apparently excluded; so that the experiments tried in this manner are doubtful and not worth giving. the best plan would have been to puncture the bladders, but i did not think of this till too late, excepting in a few cases. in all such trials, however, it cannot be ascertained positively that the bladder, though translucent, does not contain some minute animal in the last stage of decay. therefore most of my experiments were made by cutting bladders longitudinally into two; the quadrifids were examined with no. of hartnack, then irrigated, whilst under the covering glass, with a few drops of the fluid under trial, kept in a damp chamber, and re-examined after stated intervals of time with the same power as before. [four bladders were first tried as a control experiment, in the manner just described, in a solution of one part of gum arabic to of water, and two bladders in a solution of one part of sugar to of water; and in neither case was any [page ] change perceptible in the quadrifids or bifids after hrs. four bladders were then treated in the same manner with a solution of one part of nitrate of ammonia to of water, and re-examined after hrs. in two of these the quadrifids now appeared full of very finely granular matter, and their protoplasmic lining or primordial utricle was a little shrunk. in the third bladder, the quadrifids included distinctly visible granules, and the primordial utricle was a little shrunk after only hrs. in the fourth bladder the primordial utricle in most of the processes was here and there thickened into little, irregular, yellowish specks; and from the gradations which could be traced in this and other cases, these specks appear to give rise to the larger free granules contained within some of the processes. other bladders, which, as far as could be judged, had never caught any prey, were punctured and left in the same solution for hrs.; and their quadrifids now contained very fine granular matter. a bladder was bisected, examined, and irrigated with a solution of one part of carbonate of ammonia to of water. after hrs. m. the quadrifids contained a good many granules, and the primordial utricle was somewhat shrunk; after hrs. the quadrifids and bifids contained many spheres of hyaline matter, and in one arm twenty-four such spheres of moderate size were counted. two bisected bladders, which had been previously left for hrs. in the solution of gum (one part to of water) without being affected, were irrigated with the solution of carbonate of ammonia; and both had their quadrifids modified in nearly the same manner as just described,--one after only hrs., and the other after hrs. two bladders which appeared never to have caught any prey were punctured and placed in the solution; the quadrifids of one were examined after hrs., and found slightly opaque; the quadrifids of the other, examined after hrs., had their primordial utricles more or less shrunk with thickened yellowish specks, like those due to the action of nitrate of ammonia. several uninjured bladders were left in the same solution, as well as a weaker solution of one part to of water, or gr. to oz.; and after two days the quadrifids were more or less opaque, with their contents finely granular; but whether the solution had entered by the orifice, or had been absorbed from the outside, i know not. two bisected bladders were irrigated with a solution of one part of urea to of water; but when this solution was employed, i forgot that it had been kept for some days in a warm room, and had therefore probably generated ammonia; anyhow [page ] the quadrifids were affected after hrs. as if a solution of carbonate of ammonia had been used; for the primordial utricle was thickened in specks, which seemed to graduate into separate granules. three bisected bladders were also irrigated with a fresh solution of urea of the same strength; their quadrifids after hrs. were much less affected than in the former case; nevertheless, the primordial utricle in some of the arms was a little shrunk, and in others was divided into two almost symmetrical sacks. three bisected bladders, after being examined, were irrigated with a putrid and very offensive infusion of raw meat. after hrs. the quadrifids and bifids in all three specimens abounded with minute, hyaline, spherical masses; and some of their primordial utricles were a little shrunk. three bisected bladders were also irrigated with a fresh infusion of raw meat; and to my surprise the quadrifids in one of them appeared, after hrs., finely granular, with their primordial utricles somewhat shrunk and marked with thickened yellowish specks; so that they had been acted on in the same manner as by the putrid infusion or by the salts of ammonia. in the second bladder some of the quadrifids were similarly acted on, though to a very slight degree; whilst the third bladder was not at all affected.] from these experiments it is clear that the quadrifid and bifid processes have the power of absorbing carbonate and nitrate of ammonia, and matter of some kind from a putrid infusion of meat. salts of ammonia were selected for trial, as they are known to be rapidly generated by the decay of animal matter in the presence of air and water, and would therefore be generated within the bladders containing captured prey. the effect produced on the processes by these salts and by a putrid infusion of raw meat differs from that produced by the decay of the naturally captured animals only in the aggregated masses of protoplasm being in the latter case of larger size; but it is probable that the fine granules and small hyaline spheres produced by the solutions would coalesce into larger masses, with time enough allowed. [page ] we have seen with drosera that the first effect of a weak solution of carbonate of ammonia on the cell-contents is the production of the finest granules, which afterwards aggregate into larger, more or less rounded, masses; and that the granules in the layer of protoplasm which flows round the walls ultimately coalesce with these masses. changes of this nature are, however, far more rapid in drosera than in utricularia. since the bladders have no power of digesting albumen, cartilage, or roast meat, i was surprised that matter was absorbed, at least in one case, from a fresh infusion of raw meat. i was also surprised, from what we shall presently see with respect to the glands round the orifice, that a fresh solution of urea produced only a moderate effect on the quadrifids. as the quadrifids are developed from papillae which at first closely resemble those on the outside of the bladders and on the surfaces of the leaves, i may here state that the two hemispherical cells with which these latter papillae are crowned, and which in their natural state are perfectly transparent, likewise absorb carbonate and nitrate of ammonia; for, after an immersion of hrs. in solutions of one part of both these salts to of water, their primordial utricles were a little shrunk and of a pale brown tint, and sometimes finely granular. the same result followed from the immersion of a whole branch for nearly three days in a solution of one part of the carbonate to of water. the grains of chlorophyll, also, in the cells of the leaves on this branch became in many places aggregated into little green masses, which were often connected together by the finest threads. on the absorption of certain fluids by the glands on the valve and collar.--the glands round the orifices of bladders which are still young, or which have been [page ] long kept in moderately pure water, are colourless; and their primordial utricles are only slightly or hardly at all granular. but in the greater number of plants in a state of nature--and we must remember that they generally grow in very foul water--and with plants kept in an aquarium in foul water, most of the glands were of a pale brownish tint; their primordial utricles were more or less shrunk, sometimes ruptured, with their contents often coarsely granular or aggregated into little masses. that this state of the glands is due to their having absorbed matter from the surrounding water, i cannot doubt; for, as we shall immediately see, nearly the same results follow from their immersion for a few hours in various solutions. nor is it probable that this absorption is useless, seeing that it is almost universal with plants growing in a state of nature, excepting when the water is remarkably pure. the pedicels of the glands which are situated close to the slit-like orifice, both those on the valve and on the collar, are short; whereas the pedicels of the more distant glands are much elongated and project inwards. the glands are thus well placed so to be washed by any fluid coming out of the bladder through the orifice. the valve fits so closely, judging from the result of immersing uninjured bladders in various solutions, that it is doubtful whether any putrid fluid habitually passes outwards. but we must remember that a bladder generally captures several animals; and that each time a fresh animal enters, a puff of foul water must pass out and bathe the glands. moreover, i have repeatedly found that, by gently pressing bladders which contained air, minute bubbles were driven out through the orifice; and if a bladder is laid on blotting paper and gently pressed, water oozes out. [page ] in this latter case, as soon as the pressure is relaxed, air is drawn in, and the bladder recovers its proper form. if it is now placed under water and again gently pressed, minute bubbles issue from the orifice and nowhere else, showing that the walls of the bladder have not been ruptured. i mention this because cohn quotes a statement by treviranus, that air cannot be forced out of a bladder without rupturing it. we may therefore conclude that whenever air is secreted within a bladder already full of water, some water will be slowly driven out through the orifice. hence i can hardly doubt that the numerous glands crowded round the orifice are adapted to absorb matter from the putrid water, which will occasionally escape from bladders including decayed animals. [in order to test this conclusion, i experimented with various solutions on the glands. as in the case of the quadrifids, salts of ammonia were tried, since these are generated by the final decay of animal matter under water. unfortunately the glands cannot be carefully examined whilst attached to the bladders in their entire state. their summits, therefore, including the valve, collar, and antennae, were sliced off, and the condition of the glands observed; they were then irrigated, whilst beneath a covering glass, with the solutions, and after a time re-examined with the same power as before, namely no. of hartnack. the following experiments were thus made. as a control experiment solutions of one part of white sugar and of one part of gum to of water were first used, to see whether these produced any change in the glands. it was also necessary to observe whether the glands were affected by the summits of the bladders having been cut off. the summits of four were thus tried; one being examined after hrs. m., and the other three after hrs.; but there was no marked change in the glands of any of them. two summits bearing quite colourless glands were irrigated with a solution of carbonate of ammonia of the same strength (viz. one part to of water) , and in m. the primordial utricles of most of the glands were somewhat contracted; they were also thickened in specks or patches, and had assumed a pale [page ] brown tint. when looked at again after hr. m., most of them presented a somewhat different appearance. a third specimen was treated with a weaker solution of one part of the carbonate to of water, and after hr. the glands were pale brown and contained numerous granules. four summits were irrigated with a solution of one part of nitrate of ammonia to of water. one was examined after m., and the glands seemed affected; after hr. m. there was a greater change, and the primordial utricles in most of them were somewhat shrunk, and included many granules. in the second specimen, the primordial utricles were considerably shrunk and brownish after hrs. similar effects were observed in the two other specimens, but these were not examined until hrs. had elapsed. the nuclei of many of the glands apparently had increased in size. five bladders on a branch, which had been kept for a long time in moderately pure water, were cut off and examined, and their glands found very little modified. the remainder of this branch was placed in the solution of the nitrate, and after hrs. two bladders were examined, and all their glands were brownish, with their primordial utricles somewhat shrunk and finely granular. the summit of another bladder, the glands of which were in a beautifully clear condition, was irrigated with a few drops of a mixed solution of nitrate and phosphate of ammonia, each of one part to of water. after hrs. some few of the glands were brownish. after hrs. almost all the oblong glands were brown and much more opaque than they were before; their primordial utricles were somewhat shrunk and contained a little aggregated granular matter. the spherical glands were still white, but their utricles were broken up into three or four small hyaline spheres, with an irregularly contracted mass in the middle of the basal part. these smaller spheres changed their forms in the course of a few hours and some of them disappeared. by the next morning, after hrs. m., they had all disappeared, and the glands were brown; their utricles now formed a globular shrunken mass in the middle. the utricles of the oblong glands had shrunk very little, but their contents were somewhat aggregated. lastly, the summit of a bladder which had been previously irrigated for hrs. with a solution of one part of sugar to of water without being affected, was treated with the above mixed solution; and after hrs. m. all the glands became brown, with their primordial utricles slightly shrunk. four summits were irrigated with a putrid infusion of raw [page ] meat. no change in the glands was observable for some hours, but after hrs. most of them had become brownish, and more opaque and granular than they were before. in these specimens, as in those irrigated with the salts of ammonia, the nuclei seemed to have increased both in size and solidity, but they were not measured. five summits were also irrigated with a fresh infusion of raw meat; three of these were not at all affected in hrs., but the glands of the other two had perhaps become more granular. one of the specimens which was not affected was then irrigated with the mixed solution of the nitrate and phosphate of ammonia, and after only m. the glands contained from four or five to a dozen granules. after six additional hours their primordial utricles were greatly shrunk. the summit of a bladder was examined, and all the glands found colourless, with their primordial utricles not at all shrunk; yet many of the oblong glands contained granules just resolvable with no. of hartnack. it was then irrigated with a few drops of a solution of one part of urea to of water. after hrs. m. the spherical glands were still colourless; whilst the oblong and two-armed ones were of a brownish tint, and their primordial utricles much shrunk, some containing distinctly visible granules. after hrs. some of the spherical glands were brownish, and the oblong glands were still more changed, but they contained fewer separate granules; their nuclei, on the other hand, appeared larger, as if they had absorbed the granules. after hrs. all the glands were brown, their primordial utricles greatly shrunk, and in many cases ruptured. a bladder was now experimented on, which was already somewhat affected by the surrounding water; for the spherical glands, though colourless, had their primordial utricles slightly shrunk; and the oblong glands were brownish, with their utricles much, but irregularly, shrunk. the summit was treated with the solution of urea, but was little affected by it in hrs.; nevertheless, after hrs. the spherical glands were brown, with their utricles more shrunk; several of the other glands were still browner, with their utricles contracted into irregular little masses. two other summits, with their glands colourless and their utricles not shrunk, were treated with the same solution of urea. after hrs. many of the glands presented a shade of brown, with their utricles slightly shrunk. after hrs. m. some few of them were quite brown, and contained [page ] irregularly aggregated masses; others were still colourless, though their utricles were shrunk; but the greater number were not much affected. this was a good instance of how unequally the glands on the same bladder are sometimes affected, as likewise often occurs with plants growing in foul water. two other summits were treated with a solution which had been kept during several days in a warm room, and their glands were not at all affected when examined after hrs. a weaker solution of one part of urea to of water was next tried on six summits, all carefully examined before being irrigated. the first was re-examined after hrs. m., and the glands, including the spherical ones, were brown; many of the oblong glands having their primordial utricles much shrunk and including granules. the second summit, before being irrigated, had been somewhat affected by the surrounding water, for the spherical glands were not quite uniform in appearance; and a few of the oblong ones were brown, with their utricles shrunk. of the oblong glands, those which were before colourless, became brown in hrs. m. after irrigation, with their utricles slightly shrunk. the spherical glands did not become brown, but their contents seemed changed in appearance, and after hrs. still more changed and granular. most of the oblong glands were now dark brown, but their utricles were not greatly shrunk. the four other specimens were examined after hrs. m., after hrs., and hrs.; a brief account of their condition will be sufficient. the spherical glands were not brown, but some of them were finely granular. many of the oblong glands were brown, and these, as well as others which still remained colourless, had their utricles more or less shrunk, some of them including small aggregated masses of matter.] summary of the observations on absorption.--from the facts now given there can be no doubt that the variously shaped glands on the valve and round the collar have the power of absorbing matter from weak solutions of certain salts of ammonia and urea, and from a putrid infusion of raw meat. prof. cohn believes that they secrete slimy matter; but i was not able to perceive any trace of such action, excepting that, after immersion in alcohol, extremely fine lines could sometimes be seen radiating from their [page ] surfaces. the glands are variously affected by absorption; they often become of a brown colour; sometimes they contain very fine granules, or moderately sized grains, or irregularly aggregated little masses; sometimes the nuclei appear to have increased in size; the primordial utricles are generally more or less shrunk and sometimes ruptured. exactly the same changes may be observed in the glands of plants growing and flourishing in foul water. the spherical glands are generally affected rather differently from the oblong and two-armed ones. the former do not so commonly become brown, and are acted on more slowly. we may therefore infer that they differ somewhat in their natural functions. it is remarkable how unequally the glands on the bladders on the same branch, and even the glands of the same kind on the same bladder, are affected by the foul water in which the plants have grown, and by the solutions which were employed. in the former case i presume that this is due either to little currents bringing matter to some glands and not to others, or to unknown differences in their constitution. when the glands on the same bladder are differently affected by a solution, we may suspect that some of them had previously absorbed a small amount of matter from the water. however this may be, we have seen that the glands on the same leaf of drosera are sometimes very unequally affected, more especially when exposed to certain vapours. if glands which have already become brown, with their primordial utricles shrunk, are irrigated with one of the effective solutions, they are not acted on, or only slightly and slowly. if, however, a gland contains merely a few coarse granules, this does not prevent a solution from acting. i have never seen [page ] any appearance making it probable that glands which have been strongly affected by absorbing matter of any kind are capable of recovering their pristine, colourless, and homogeneous condition, and of regaining the power of absorbing. from the nature of the solutions which were tried, i presume that nitrogen is absorbed by the glands; but the modified, brownish, more or less shrunk, and aggregated contents of the oblong glands were never seen by me or by my son to undergo those spontaneous changes of form characteristic of protoplasm. on the other hand, the contents of the larger spherical glands often separated into small hyaline globules or irregularly shaped masses, which changed their forms very slowly and ultimately coalesced, forming a central shrunken mass. whatever may be the nature of the contents of the several kinds of glands, after they have been acted on by foul water or by one of the nitrogenous solutions, it is probable that the matter thus generated is of service to the plant, and is ultimately transferred to other parts. the glands apparently absorb more quickly than do the quadrifid and bifid processes; and on the view above maintained, namely that they absorb matter from putrid water occasionally emitted from the bladders, they ought to act more quickly than the processes; as these latter remain in permanent contact with captured and decaying animals. finally, the conclusion to which we are led by the foregoing experiments and observations is that the bladders have no power of digesting animal matter, though it appears that the quadrifids are somewhat affected by a fresh infusion of raw meat. it is certain that the processes within the bladders, and the glands outside, absorb matter from salts of [page ] ammonia, from a putrid infusion of raw meat, and from urea. the glands apparently are acted on more strongly by a solution of urea, and less strongly by an infusion of raw meat, than are the processes. the case of urea is particularly interesting, because we have seen that it produces no effect on drosera, the leaves of which are adapted to digest fresh animal matter. but the most important fact of all is, that in the present and following species the quadrifid and bifid processes of bladders containing decayed animals generally include little masses of spontaneously moving protoplasm; whilst such masses are never seen in perfectly clean bladders. development of the bladders.--my son and i spent much time over this subject with small success. our observations apply to the present species and to utricularia vulgaris, but were made chiefly on the latter, as the bladders are twice as large as those of utricularia neglecta. in the early part of autumn the stems terminate in large buds, which fall off and lie dormant during the winter at the bottom. the young leaves forming these buds bear bladders in various stages of early development. when the bladders of utricularia vulgaris are about / inch (. mm.) in diameter (or / in the case of utricularia neglecta), they are circular in outline, with a narrow, almost closed, transverse orifice, leading into a hollow filled with water; but the bladders are hollow when much under / of an inch in diameter. the orifices face inwards or towards the axis of the plant. at this early age the bladders are flattened in the plane in which the orifice lies, and therefore at right angles to that of the mature bladders. they are covered exteriorly with papillae of different sizes, many of which have an elliptical outline. a bundle of vessels, formed of [page ] simple elongated cells, runs up the short footstalk, and divides at the base of the bladder. one branch extends up the middle of the dorsal surface, and the other up the middle of the ventral surface. in full-grown bladders the ventral bundle divides close beneath the collar, and the two branches run on each side to near where the corners of the valve unite with the collar; but these branches could not be seen in very young bladders. fig. . (utricularia vulgaris.) longitudinal section through a young bladder, / of an inch in length, with the orifice too widely open. the accompanying figure (fig. ) shows a section, which happened to be strictly medial, through the footstalk and between the nascent antennae of a bladder of utricularia vulgaris, / inch in diameter. the specimen was soft, and the young valve became separated from the collar to a greater degree than is natural, and is thus represented. we here clearly see that the valve and collar are infolded prolongations of the walls of the bladder. even at this early age, glands could be detected on the valve. the state of the quadrifid processes will presently be described. the antennae at this period consist of minute cellular projections (not shown in the above figure, as they do not lie in the medial plane), which soon bear incipient bristles. in five instances the young antennae were not of quite equal length; and this fact is intelligible if i am right in believing that they represent two divisions of the leaf, rising from the end of the bladder; for, with the true leaves, whilst very young, the divisions are never, as far as i have seen, strictly opposite; they [page ] must therefore be developed one after the other, and so it would be with the two antennae. at a much earlier age, when the half formed bladders are only / inch (. mm.) in diameter or a little more, they present a totally different appearance. one is represented on the left side of the accompanying drawing (fig. ). the young leaves fig. . (utricularia vulgaris.) young leaf from a winter bud, showing on the left side a bladder in its earliest stage of development. at this age have broad flattened segments, with their future divisions represented by prominences, one of which is shown on the right side. now, in a large number of specimens examined by my son, the young bladders appeared as if formed by the oblique folding over of the apex and of one margin with a prominence, against the opposite margin. the circular hollow between the infolded apex and infolded prominence apparently contracts into the narrow orifice, wherein the valve and collar will be developed; the bladder itself being formed by the confluence of the opposed [page ] margins of the rest of the leaf. but strong objections may be urged against this view, for we must in this case suppose that the valve and collar are developed asymmetrically from the sides of the apex and prominence. moreover, the bundles of vascular tissue have to be formed in lines quite irrespective of the original form of the leaf. until gradations can be shown to exist between this the earliest state and a young yet perfect bladder, the case must be left doubtful. as the quadrifid and bifid processes offer one of the greatest peculiarities in the genus, i carefully observed their development in utricularia neglecta. in bladders about / of an inch in diameter, the inner surface is studded with papillae, rising from small cells at the junctions of the larger ones. these papillae consist of a delicate conical protuberance, which narrows into a very short footstalk, surmounted by two minute cells. they thus occupy the same relative position, and closely resemble, except in being smaller and rather more prominent, the papillae on the outside of the bladders, and on the surfaces of the leaves. the two terminal cells of the papillae first become much elongated in a line parallel to the inner surface of the bladder. next, each is divided by a longitudinal partition. soon the two half-cells thus formed separate from one another; and we now have four cells or an incipient quadrifid process. as there is not space for the two new cells to increase in breadth in their original plane, the one slides partly under the other. their manner of growth now changes, and their outer sides, instead of their apices, continue to grow. the two lower cells, which have slid partly beneath the two upper ones, form the longer and more upright pair of processes; whilst the two upper cells form the shorter [page ] and more horizontal pair; the four together forming a perfect quadrifid. a trace of the primary division between the two cells on the summits of the papillae can still be seen between the bases of the longer processes. the development of the quadrifids is very liable to be arrested. i have seen a bladder / of an inch in length including only primordial papillae; and another bladder, about half its full size, with the quadrifids in an early stage of development. as far as i could make out, the bifid processes are developed in the same manner as the quadrifids, excepting that the two primary terminal cells never become divided, and only increase in length. the glands on the valve and collar appear at so early an age that i could not trace their development; but we may reasonably suspect that they are developed from papillae like those on the outside of the bladder, but with their terminal cells not divided into two. the two segments forming the pedicels of the glands probably answer to the conical protuberance and short footstalk of the quadrifid and bifid processes. i am strengthened in the belief that the glands are developed from papillae like those on the outside of the bladders, from the fact that in utricularia amethystina the glands extend along the whole ventral surface of the bladder close to the footstalk. [utricularia vulgaris. living plants from yorkshire were sent me by dr. hooker. this species differs from the last in the stems and leaves being thicker or coarser; their divisions form a more acute angle with one another; the notches on the leaves bear three or four short bristles instead of one; and the bladders are twice as large, or about / of an inch ( . mm.) in diameter. in all essential respects the bladders resemble those of utricularia neglecta, but the sides of the peristome are perhaps a little more [page ] prominent, and always bear, as far as i have seen, seven or eight long multicellular bristles. there are eleven long bristles on each antenna, the terminal pair being included. five bladders, containing prey of some kind, were examined. the first included five cypris; a large copepod and a diaptomus; the second, four cypris; the third, a single rather large crustacean; the fourth, six crustaceans; and the fifth, ten. my son examined the quadrifid processes in a bladder containing the remains of two crustaceans, and found some of them full of spherical or irregularly shaped masses of matter, which were observed to move and to coalesce. these masses therefore consisted of protoplasm. utricularia minor. fig. . (utricularia minor.) quadrifid process, greatly enlarged. this rare species was sent me in a living state from cheshire, through the kindness of mr. john price. the leaves and bladders are much smaller than those of utricularia neglecta. the leaves bear fewer and shorter bristles, and the bladders are more globular. the antennae, instead of projecting in front of the bladders, are curled under the valve, and are armed with twelve or fourteen extremely long multicellular bristles, generally arranged in pairs. these, with seven or eight long bristles on both sides of the peristome, form a sort of net over the valve, which would tend to prevent all animals, excepting very small ones, entering the bladder. the valve and collar have the same essential structure as in the two previous species; but the glands are not quite so numerous; the oblong ones are rather more elongated, whilst the two-armed ones are rather less elongated. the four bristles which project obliquely from the lower edge of the valve are short. their shortness, compared with those on the valves of the foregoing species, is intelligible if my view is correct that they serve to prevent too large animals forcing an entrance through the valve, thus injuring it; for the valve is already protected to a certain extent by the incurved antennae, together with the lateral bristles. the bifid processes are like those in the previous species; but the quadrifids differ in the four arms (fig. ) [page ] being directed to the same side; the two longer ones being central, and the two shorter ones on the outside. the plants were collected in the middle of july; and the contents of five bladders, which from their opacity seemed full of prey, were examined. the first contained no less than twenty-four minute fresh-water crustaceans, most of them consisting of empty shells, or including only a few drops of red oily matter; the second contained twenty; the third, fifteen; the fourth, ten, some of them being rather larger than usual; and the fifth, which seemed stuffed quite full, contained only seven, but five of these were of unusually large size. the prey, therefore, judging from these five bladders, consists exclusively of fresh-water crustaceans, most of which appeared to be distinct species from those found in the bladders of the two former species. in one bladder the quadrifids in contact with a decaying mass contained numerous spheres of granular matter, which slowly changed their forms and positions. utricularia clandestina. this north american species, which is aquatic like the three foregoing ones, has been described by mrs. treat, of new jersey, whose excellent observations have already been largely quoted. i have not as yet seen any full description by her of the structure of the bladder, but it appears to be lined with quadrifid processes. a vast number of captured animals were found within the bladders; some being crustaceans, but the greater number delicate, elongated larvae, i suppose of culicidae. on some stems, "fully nine out of every ten bladders contained these larvae or their remains." the larvae "showed signs of life from twenty-four to thirty-six hours after being imprisoned," and then perished. [page ] chapter xviii. utricularia (continued). utricularia montana--description of the bladders on the subterranean rhizomes--prey captured by the bladders of plants under culture and in a state of nature--absorption by the quadrifid processes and glands--tubers serving as reservoirs for water--various other species of utricularia--polypompholyx--genlisea, different nature of the trap for capturing prey-- diversified methods by which plants are nourished. fig. . (utricularia montana.) rhizome swollen into a tuber; the branches bearing minute bladders; of natural size. utricularia montana.--this species inhabits the tropical parts of south america, and is said to be epiphytic; but, judging from the state of the roots (rhizomes) of some dried specimens from the herbarium at kew, it likewise lives in earth, probably in crevices of rocks. in english hothouses it is grown in peaty soil. lady dorothy nevill was so kind as to give me a fine plant, and i received another from dr. hooker. the leaves are entire, instead of being much divided, as in the foregoing aquatic species. they are elongated, about / inch in breadth, and furnished with a distinct footstalk. the plant produces numerous colourless rhizomes, as thin as threads, which bear minute bladders, and occasionally swell into tubers, as will [page ] hereafter be described. these rhizomes appear exactly like roots, but occasionally throw up green shoots. they penetrate the earth sometimes to the depth of more than inches; but when the plant grows as an epiphyte, they must creep amidst the mosses, roots, decayed bark, &c., with which the trees of these countries are thickly covered. as the bladders are attached to the rhizomes, they are necessarily subterranean. they are produced in extraordinary numbers. one of my plants, though young, must have borne several hundreds; for a single branch out of an entangled mass had thirty-two, and another branch, about inches in length (but with its end and one side branch broken off), had seventy- three bladders.* the bladders are compressed and rounded, with the ventral surface, or that between the summit of the long delicate footstalk and valve, extremely short (fig. ). they are colourless and almost as transparent as glass, so that they appear smaller than they really are, the largest being under the / of an inch ( . mm.) in its longer diameter. they are formed of rather large angular cells, at the junctions of which oblong papillae project, corresponding with those on the surfaces of the bladders of the previous species. similar papillae abound on the rhizomes, and even on the entire leaves, but they are rather broader on the latter. vessels, marked with parallel bars instead of by a spiral line, run up the footstalks, and * prof. oliver has figured a plant of utricularia jamesoniana ('proc. linn. soc.' vol. iv. p. ) having entire leaves and rhizomes, like those of our present species; but the margins of the terminal halves of some of the leaves are converted into bladders. this fact clearly indicates that the bladders on the rhizomes of the present and following species are modified segments of the leaf; and they are thus brought into accordance with the bladders attached to the divided and floating leaves of the aquatic species. [page ] just enter the bases of the bladders; but they do not bifurcate and extend up the dorsal and ventral surfaces, as in the previous species. the antennae are of moderate length, and taper to a fine point; they differ conspicuously from those before described, in not being armed with bristles. their bases are so abruptly curved that their tips generally rest one on each side of the middle of the bladder, but fig. . (utricularia montana.) bladder; about times enlarged. sometimes near the margin. their curved bases thus form a roof over the cavity in which the valve lies; but there is always left on each side a little circular passage into the cavity, as may be seen in the drawing, as well as a narrow passage between the bases of the two antennae. as the bladders are subterranean, had it not been for the roof, the cavity in which the valve lies would have been liable to be blocked up with earth [page ] and rubbish; so that the curvature of the antennae is a serviceable character. there are no bristles on the outside of the collar or peristome, as in the foregoing species. the valve is small and steeply inclined, with its free posterior edge abutting against a semicircular, deeply depending collar. it is moderately transparent, and bears two pairs of short stiff bristles, in the same position as in the other species. the presence of these four bristles, in contrast with the absence of those on the antennae and collar, indicates that they are of functional importance, namely, as i believe, to prevent too large animals forcing an entrance through the valve. the many glands of diverse shapes attached to the valve and round the collar in the previous species are here absent, with the exception of about a dozen of the two-armed or transversely elongated kind, which are seated near the borders of the valve, and are mounted on very short footstalks. these glands are only the / of an inch (. mm.) in length; though so small, they act as absorbents. the collar is thick, stiff, and almost semi-circular; it is formed of the same peculiar brownish tissue as in the former species. the bladders are filled with water, and sometimes include bubbles of air. they bear internally rather short, thick, quadrifid processes arranged in approximately concentric rows. the two pairs of arms of which they are formed differ only a little in length, and stand in a peculiar position (fig. ); the two longer ones forming one line, and the two shorter ones another parallel line. each arm includes a small spherical mass of brownish matter, which, when crushed, breaks into angular pieces. i have no doubt that these spheres are nuclei, for closely similar ones [page ] are present in the cells forming the walls of the bladders. bifid processes, having rather short oval arms, arise in the usual position on the inner side of the collar. these bladders, therefore, resemble in all essential respects the larger ones of the foregoing species. they differ chiefly in the absence of the numerous glands on the valve and round the collar, a few minute ones of one kind alone being present on the valve. they differ more conspicuously in the absence of the long bristles on the antennae and on the outside of the collar. the presence of these bristles in the previously mentioned species probably relates to the capture of aquatic animals. fig. . (utricularia montana.) one of the quadrifid processes; much enlarged. it seemed to me an interesting question whether the minute bladders of utricularia montanaserved, as in the previous species, to capture animals living in the earth, or in the dense vegetation covering the trees on which this species is epiphytic; for in this case we should have a new sub-class of carnivorous plants, namely, subterranean feeders. many bladders, therefore, were examined, with the following results:-- [( ) a small bladder, less than / of an inch (. mm.) in diameter, contained a minute mass of brown, much decayed matter; and in this, a tarsus with four or five joints, terminating in a double hook, was clearly distinguished under the microscope. i suspect that it was a remnant of one of the thysanoura. the quadrifids in contact with this decayed remnant contained either small masses of translucent, yellowish matter, generally more [page ] or less globular, or fine granules. in distant parts of the same bladder, the processes were transparent and quite empty, with the exception of their solid nuclei. my son made at short intervals of time sketches of one of the above aggregated masses, and found that they continually and completely changed their forms; sometimes separating from one another and again coalescing. evidently protoplasm had been generated by the absorption of some element from the decaying animal matter. ( ) another bladder included a still smaller speck of decayed brown matter, and the adjoining quadrifids contained aggregated matter, exactly as in the last case. ( ) a third bladder included a larger organism, which was so much decayed that i could only make out that it was spinose or hairy. the quadrifids in this case were not much affected, excepting that the nuclei in the several arms differed much in size; some of them containing two masses having a similar appearance. ( ) a fourth bladder contained an articulate organism, for i distinctly saw the remnant of a limb, terminating in a hook. the quadrifids were not examined. ( ) a fifth included much decayed matter apparently of some animal, but with no recognisable features. the quadrifids in contact contained numerous spheres of protoplasm. ( ) some few bladders on the plant which i received from kew were examined; and in one, there was a worm-shaped animal very little decayed, with a distinct remnant of a similar one greatly decayed. several of the arms of the processes in contact with these remains contained two spherical masses, like the single solid nucleus which is properly found in each arm. in another bladder there was a minute grain of quartz, reminding me of two similar cases with utricularia neglecta. as it appeared probable that this plant would capture a greater number of animals in its native country than under culture, i obtained permission to remove small portions of the rhizomes from dried specimens in the herbarium at kew. i did not at first find out that it was advisable to soak the rhizomes for two or three days, and that it was necessary to open the bladders and spread out their contents on glass; as from their state of decay and from having been dried and pressed, their nature could not otherwise be well distinguished. several bladders on a plant which had grown in black earth in new granada were first examined; and four of these included remnants of animals. the first contained a hairy acarus, so much decayed that nothing was left except its transparent coat; [page ] also a yellow chitinous head of some animal with an internal fork, to which the oesophagus was suspended, but i could see no mandibles; also the double hook of the tarsus of some animal; also an elongated greatly decayed animal; and lastly, a curious flask-shaped organism, having the walls formed of rounded cells. professor claus has looked at this latter organism, and thinks that it is the shell of a rhizopod, probably one of the arcellidae. in this bladder, as well as in several others, there were some unicellular algae, and one multicellular alga, which no doubt had lived as intruders. a second bladder contained an acarus much less decayed than the former one, with its eight legs preserved; as well as remnants of several other articulate animals. a third bladder contained the end of the abdomen with the two hinder limbs of an acarus, as i believe. a fourth contained remnants of a distinctly articulated bristly animal, and of several other organisms, as well as much dark brown organic matter, the nature of which could not be made out. some bladders from a plant, which had lived as an epiphyte in trinidad, in the west indies, were next examined, but not so carefully as the others; nor had they been soaked long enough. four of them contained much brown, translucent, granular matter, apparently organic, but with no distinguishable parts. the quadrifids in two were brownish, with their contents granular; and it was evident that they had absorbed matter. in a fifth bladder there was a flask-shaped organism, like that above mentioned. a sixth contained a very long, much decayed, worm-shaped animal. lastly, a seventh bladder contained an organism, but of what nature could not be distinguished.] only one experiment was tried on the quadrifid processes and glands with reference to their power of absorption. a bladder was punctured and left for hrs. in a solution of one part of urea to of water, and the quadrifid and bifid processes were found much affected. in some arms there was only a single symmetrical globular mass, larger than the proper nucleus, and consisting of yellowish matter, generally translucent but sometimes granular; in others there were two masses of different sizes, one large and the [page ] other small; and in others there were irregularly shaped globules; so that it appeared as if the limpid contents of the processes, owing to the absorption of matter from the solution, had become aggregated sometimes round the nucleus, and sometimes into separate masses; and that these then tended to coalesce. the primordial utricle or protoplasm lining the processes was also thickened here and there into irregular and variously shaped specks of yellowish translucent matter, as occurred in the case of utricularia neglecta under similar treatment. these specks apparently did not change their forms. the minute two-armed glands on the valve were also affected by the solution; for they now contained several, sometimes as many as six or eight, almost spherical masses of translucent matter, tinged with yellow, which slowly changed their forms and positions. such masses were never observed in these glands in their ordinary state. we may therefore infer that they serve for absorption. whenever a little water is expelled from a bladder containing animal remains (by the means formerly specified, more especially by the generation of bubbles of air), it will fill the cavity in which the valve lies; and thus the glands will be able to utilise decayed matter which otherwise would have been wasted. finally, as numerous minute animals are captured by this plant in its native country and when cultivated, there can be no doubt that the bladders, though so small, are far from being in a rudimentary condition; on the contrary, they are highly efficient traps. nor can there be any doubt that matter is absorbed from the decayed prey by the quadrifid and bifid processes, and that protoplasm is thus generated. what tempts animals of such diverse kinds to enter [page ] the cavity beneath the bowed antennae, and then force their way through the little slit-like orifice between the valve and collar into the bladders filled with water, i cannot conjecture. tubers.--these organs, one of which is represented in a previous figure (fig. ) of the natural size, deserve a few remarks. twenty were found on the rhizomes of a single plant, but they cannot be strictly counted; for, besides the twenty, there were all possible gradations between a short length of a rhizome just perceptibly swollen and one so much swollen that it might be doubtfully called a tuber. when well developed, they are oval and symmetrical, more so than appears in the figure. the largest which i saw was inch ( . mm.) in length and . inch ( . mm.) in breadth. they commonly lie near the surface, but some are buried at the depth of inches. the buried ones are dirty white, but those partly exposed to the light become greenish from the development, of chlorophyll in their superficial cells. they terminate in a rhizome, but this sometimes decays and drops off . they do not contain any air, and they sink in water; their surfaces are covered with the usual papillae. the bundle of vessels which runs up each rhizome, as soon as it enters the tuber, separates into three distinct bundles, which reunite at the opposite end. a rather thick slice of a tuber is almost as translucent as glass, and is seen to consist of large angular cells, full of water and not containing starch or any other solid matter. some slices were left in alcohol for several days, but only a few extremely minute granules of matter were precipitated on the walls of the cells; and these were much smaller and fewer than those precipitated on the cell-walls of the rhizomes and bladders. we may therefore con- [page ] clude that the tuber do not serve as reservoirs for food, but for water during the dry season to which the plant is probably exposed. the many little bladders filled with water would aid towards the same end. to test the correctness of this view, a small plant, growing in light peaty earth in a pot (only / by / inches outside measure) was copiously watered, and then kept without a drop of water in the hothouse. two of the upper tubers were beforehand uncovered and measured, and then loosely covered up again. in a fortnight's time the earth in the pot appeared extremely dry; but not until the thirty-fifth day were the leaves in the least affected; they then became slightly reflexed, though still soft and green. this plant, which bore only ten tubers, would no doubt have resisted the drought for even a longer time, had i not previously removed three of the tubers and cut off several long rhizomes. when, on the thirty-fifth day, the earth in the pot was turned out, it appeared as dry as the dust on a road. all the tubers had their surfaces much wrinkled, instead of being smooth and tense. they had all shrunk, but i cannot say accurately how much; for as they were at first symmetrically oval, i measured only their length and thickness; but they contracted in a transverse line much more in one direction than in another, so as to become greatly flattened. one of the two tubers which had been measured was now three-fourths of its original length, and two-thirds of its original thickness in the direction in which it had been measured, but in another direction only one- third of its former thickness. the other tuber was one-fourth shorter, one-eighth less thick in the direction in which it had been measured, and only half as thick in another direction. a slice was cut from one of these shrivelled tubers [page ] and examined. the cells still contained much water and no air, but they were more rounded or less angular than before, and their walls not nearly so straight; it was therefore clear that the cells had contracted. the tubers, as long as they remain alive, have a strong attraction for water; the shrivelled one, from which a slice had been cut, was left in water for hrs. m., and its surface became as smooth and tense as it originally was. on the other hand, a shrivelled tuber, which by some accident had been separated from its rhizome, and which appeared dead, did not swell in the least, though left for several days in water. with many kinds of plants, tubers, bulbs, &c. no doubt serve in part as reservoirs for water, but i know of no case, besides the present one, of such organs having been developed solely for this purpose. prof. oliver informs me that two or three species of utricularia are provided with these appendages; and the group containing them has in consequence received the name of orchidioides. all the other species of utricularia, as well as of certain closely related genera, are either aquatic or marsh plants; therefore, on the principle of nearly allied plants generally having a similar constitution, a never failing supply of water would probably be of great importance to our present species. we can thus understand the meaning of the development of its tubers, and of their number on the same plant, amounting in one instance to at least twenty. utricularia nelumbifolia, amethystina, griffithii, caerulea, orbiculata, multicaulis. as i wished to ascertain whether the bladders on the rhizomes of other species of utricularia, and of the [page ] species of certain closely allied genera, had the same essential structure as those of utricularia montana, and whether they captured prey, i asked prof. oliver to send me fragments from the herbarium at kew. he kindly selected some of the most distinct forms, having entire leaves, and believed to inhabit marshy ground or water. my son francis darwin, examined them, and has given me the following observations; but it should be borne in mind that it is extremely difficult to make out the structure of such minute and delicate objects after they have been dried and pressed.* utricularia nelumbifolia (organ mountains, brazil).--the habitat of this species is remarkable. according to its discoverer, mr. gardner, it is aquatic, but "is only to be found growing in the water which collects in the bottom of the leaves of a large tillandsia, that inhabits abundantly an arid rocky part of the mountain, at an elevation of about feet above the level of the sea. besides the ordinary method by seed, it propagates itself by runners, which it throws out from the base of the flower-stem; this runner is always found directing itself towards the nearest tillandsia, when it inserts its point into the water and gives origin to a new plant, which in its turn sends out another shoot. in this manner i have seen not less than six plants united." the bladders resemble those of utricularia montana in all essential respects, even to the presence of a few minute two-armed glands on the valve. within one bladder there was the remnant of the abdomen of some larva or crustacean of large size, * prof. oliver has given ('proc. linn. soc.' vol. iv. p. ) figures of the bladders of two south american species, namely utricularia jamesoniana and peltata; but he does not appear to have paid particular attention to these organs. 'travels in the interior of brazil, - ,' p. . [page ] having a brush of long sharp bristles at the apex. other bladders included fragments of articulate animals, and many of them contained broken pieces of a curious organism, the nature of which was not recognised by anyone to whom it was shown. utricularia amethystina (guiana).--this species has small entire leaves, and is apparently a marsh plant; but it must grow in places where crustaceans exist, for there were two small species within one of the bladders. the bladders are nearly of the same shape as those of utricularia montana, and are covered outside with the usual papillae; but they differ remarkably in the antennae being reduced to two short points, united by a membrane hollowed out in the middle. this membrane is covered with innumerable oblong glands supported on long footstalks; most of which are arranged in two rows converging towards the valve. some, however, are seated on the margins of the membrane; and the short ventral surface of the bladder, between the petiole and valve, is thickly covered with glands. most of the heads had fallen off, and the footstalks alone remained; so that the ventral surface and the orifice, when viewed under a weak power, appeared as if clothed with fine bristles. the valve is narrow, and bears a few almost sessile glands. the collar against which the edge shuts is yellowish, and presents the usual structure. from the large number of glands on the ventral surface and round the orifice, it is probable that this species lives in very foul water, from which it absorbs matter, as well as from its captured and decaying prey. utricularia griffithii (malay and borneo).--the bladders are transparent and minute; one which was measured being only / of an inch (. mm.) in diameter. the antennae are of moderate length, and [page ] project straight forward; they are united for a short space at their bases by a membrane; and they bear a moderate number of bristles or hairs, not simple as heretofore, but surmounted by glands. the bladders also differ remarkably from those of the previous species, as within there are no quadrifid, only bifid, processes. in one bladder there was a minute aquatic larva; in another the remains of some articulate animal; and in most of them grains of sand. utricularia caerulea (india).--the bladders resemble those of the last species, both in the general character of the antennae and in the processes within being exclusively bifid. they contained remnants of entomostracan crustaceans. utricularia orbiculata (india).--the orbicular leaves and the stems bearing the bladders apparently float in water. the bladders do not differ much from those of the two last species. the antennae, which are united for a short distance at their bases, bear on their outer surfaces and summits numerous, long, multicellular hairs, surmounted by glands. the processes within the bladders are quadrifid, with the four diverging arms of equal length. the prey which they had captured consisted of entomostracan crustaceans. utricularia multicaulis (sikkim, india, to , feet).--the bladders, attached to rhizomes, are remarkable from the structure of the antennae. these are broad, flattened, and of large size; they bear on their margins multicellular hairs, surmounted by glands. their bases are united into a single, rather narrow pedicel, and they thus appear like a great digitate expansion at one end of the bladder. internally the quadrifid processes have divergent arms of equal length. the bladders contained remnants of articulate animals. [page ] polypompholyx. this genus, which is confined to western australia, is characterised by having a "quadripartite calyx." in other respects, as prof. oliver remarks,* "it is quite a utricularia." polypompholyx multifida.--the bladders are attached in whorls round the summits of stiff stalks. the two antennae are represented by a minute membranous fork, the basal part of which forms a sort of hood over the orifice. this hood expands into two wings on each side of the bladder. a third wing or crest appears to be formed by the extension of the dorsal surface of the petiole; but the structure of these three wings could not be clearly made out, owing to the state of the specimens. the inner surface of the hood is lined with long simple hairs, containing aggregated matter, like that within the quadrifid processes of the previously described species when in contact with decayed animals. these hairs appear therefore to serve as absorbents. a valve was seen, but its structure could not be determined. on the collar round the valve there are in the place of glands numerous one-celled papillae, having very short footstalks. the quadrifid processes have divergent arms of equal length. remains of entomostracan crustaceans were found within the bladders. polypompholyx tenella.--the bladders are smaller than those of the last species, but have the same general structure. they were full of dbris, apparently organic, but no remains of articulate animals could be distinguished. * 'proc. linn. soc.' vol. iv. p. . [page ] genlisea. this remarkable genus is technically distinguished from utricularia, as i hear from prof. oliver, by having a five-partite calyx. species are found in several parts of the world, and are said to be "herbae annuae paludosae." genlisea ornata (brazil).--this species has been described and figured by dr. warming,* who states that it bears two kinds of leaves, called by him spathulate and utriculiferous. the latter include cavities; and as these differ much from the bladders of the foregoing species, it will be convenient to speak of them as utricles. the accompanying figure (fig. ) of one of the utriculiferous leaves, about thrice enlarged, will illustrate the following description by my son, which agrees in all essential points with that given by dr. warming. the utricle (b) is formed by a slight enlargement of the narrow blade of the leaf. a hollow neck (n), no less than fifteen times as long as the utricle itself, forms a passage from the transverse slit-like orifice (o) into the cavity of the utricle. a utricle which measured / of an inch (. mm.,) in its longer diameter had a neck / ( . mm.) in length, and / of an inch (. mm.) in breadth. on each side of the orifice there is a long spiral arm or tube (a); the structure of which will be best understood by the following illustration. take a narrow ribbon and wind it spirally round a thin cylinder, so that the edges come into contact along its whole length; then pinch up the two edges so as to form a little crest, which will of course wind spirally * "bidrag til kundskaben om lentibulariaceae," copenhagen . [page ] round the cylinder like a thread round a screw. if the cylinder is now removed, we shall have a tube like one of the spiral arms. the two projecting edges are not actually united, and a needle can be pushed in easily between them. they are indeed in many places a little separated, forming narrow entrances into the tube; but this may be the result of the drying of the specimens. the lamina of which the tube is formed seems to be a lateral prolongation of the lip of the orifice; and the spiral line between the two projecting edges is continuous with the corner of the orifice. if a fine bristle is pushed down one of the arms, it passes into the top of the hollow neck. whether the arms are open or closed at their extremities could not be determined, as all the specimens were broken; nor does it appear that dr. warming ascertained this point. fig. . (genlisea ornata.) utriculiferous leaf; enlarged about three times. l upper part of lamina of leaf. b utricle or bladder. n neck of utricle. o orifice. a spirally wound arms, with their ends broken off. so much for the external structure. internally the lower part of the utricle is covered with spherical papillae, formed of four cells (sometimes eight according to dr. warming), which evidently answer to the quadrifid processes within the bladders of utricularia. [page ] these papillae extend a little way up the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the utricle; and a few, according to warming, may be found in the upper part. this upper region is covered by many transverse rows, one above the other, of short, closely approximate hairs, pointing downwards. these hairs have broad bases, and their tips are formed by a separate cell. they are absent in the lower part of the utricle where the papillae abound. fig. . (genlisea ornata.) portion of inside of neck leading into the utricle, greatly enlarged, showing the downward pointed bristles, and small quadrifid cells or processes. the neck is likewise lined throughout its whole length with transverse rows of long, thin, transparent hairs, having broad bulbous (fig. ) bases, with similarly constructed sharp points. they arise from little projecting ridges, formed of rectangular epidermic cells. the hairs vary a little in length, but their points generally extend down to the row next below; so that if the neck is split open and laid flat, the inner surface resembles a paper of pins,--the hairs representing the pins, and the little transverse ridges representing the folds of paper through which the pins are thrust. these rows of hairs are indicated in the previous figure ( ) by numerous transverse lines crossing the neck. the inside of the neck is [page ] also studded with papillae; those in the lower part are spherical and formed of four cells, as in the lower part of the utricle; those in the upper part are formed of two cells, which are much elongated downwards beneath their points of attachment. these two-celled papillae apparently correspond with the bifid process in the upper part of the bladders of utricularia. the narrow transverse orifice (o, fig. ) is situated between the bases of the two spiral arms. no valve could be detected here, nor was any such structure seen by dr. warming. the lips of the orifice are armed with many short, thick, sharply pointed, somewhat incurved hairs or teeth. the two projecting edges of the spirally wound lamina, forming the arms, are provided with short incurved hairs or teeth, exactly like those on the lips. these project inwards at right angles to the spiral line of junction between the two edges. the inner surface of the lamina supports two-celled, elongated papillae, resembling those in the upper part of the neck, but differing slightly from them, according to warming, in their footstalks being formed by prolongations of large epidermic cells; whereas the papillae within the neck rest on small cells sunk amidst the larger ones. these spiral arms form a conspicuous difference between the present genus and utricularia. lastly, there is a bundle of spiral vessels which, running up the lower part of the linear leaf, divides close beneath the utricle. one branch extends up the dorsal and the other up the ventral side of both the utricle and neck. of these two branches, one enters one spiral arm, and the other branch the other arm. the utricles contained much dbris or dirty matter, which seemed organic, though no distinct organisms [page ] could be recognised. it is, indeed, scarcely possible that any object could enter the small orifice and pass down the long narrow neck, except a living creature. within the necks, however, of some specimens, a worm with retracted horny jaws, the abdomen of some articulate animal, and specks of dirt, probably the remnants of other minute creatures, were found. many of the papillae within both the utricles and necks were discoloured, as if they had absorbed matter. from this description it is sufficiently obvious how genlisea secures its prey. small animals entering the narrow orifice--but what induces them to enter is not known any more than in the case of utricularia--would find their egress rendered difficult by the sharp incurved hairs on the lips, and as soon as they passed some way down the neck, it would be scarcely possible for them to return, owing to the many transverse rows of long, straight, downward pointing hairs, together with the ridges from which these project. such creatures would, therefore, perish either within the neck or utricle; and the quadrifid and bifid papillae would absorb matter from their decayed remains. the transverse rows of hairs are so numerous that they seem superfluous merely for the sake of preventing the escape of prey, and as they are thin and delicate, they probably serve as additional absorbents, in the same manner as the flexible bristles on the infolded margins of the leaves of aldrovanda. the spiral arms no doubt act as accessory traps. until fresh leaves are examined, it cannot be told whether the line of junction of the spirally wound lamina is a little open along its whole course, or only in parts, but a small creature which forced its way into the tube at any point, would be prevented from escaping by the incurved hairs, and would find an open path down [page ] the tube into the neck, and so into the utricle. if the creature perished within the spiral arms, its decaying remains would be absorbed and utilised by the bifid papillae. we thus see that animals are captured by genlisea, not by means of an elastic valve, as with the foregoing species, but by a contrivance resembling an eel-trap, though more complex. genlisea africana (south africa).--fragments of the utriculiferous leaves of this species exhibited the same structure as those of genlisea ornata. a nearly perfect acarus was found within the utricle or neck of one leaf, but in which of the two was not recorded. genlisea aurea (brazil).--a fragment of the neck of a utricle was lined with transverse rows of hairs, and was furnished with elongated papillae, exactly like those within the neck of genlisea ornata. it is probable, therefore, that the whole utricle is similarly constructed. genlisea filiformis (bahia, brazil).--many leaves were examined and none were found provided with utricles, whereas such leaves were found without difficulty in the three previous species. on the other hand, the rhizomes bear bladders resembling in essential character those on the rhizomes of utricularia. these bladders are transparent, and very small, viz. only / of an inch (. mm.) in length. the antennae are not united at their bases, and apparently bear some long hairs. on the outside of the bladders there are only a few papillae, and internally very few quadrifid processes. these latter, however, are of unusually large size, relatively to the bladder, with the four divergent arms of equal length. no prey could be seen within these minute bladders. as the rhizomes of this species were furnished with bladders, those of genlisea africana, ornata, and aurea were carefully [page ] examined, but none could be found. what are we to infer from these facts? did the three species just named, like their close allies, the several species of utricularia, aboriginally possess bladders on their rhizomes, which they afterwards lost, acquiring in their place utriculiferous leaves? in support of this view it may be urged that the bladders of genlisea filiformis appear from their small size and from the fewness of their quadrifid processes to be tending towards abortion; but why has not this species acquired utriculiferous leaves, like its congeners? conclusion.--it has now been shown that many species of utricularia and of two closely allied genera, inhabiting the most distant parts of the world--europe, africa, india, the malay archipelago, australia, north and south america--are admirably adapted for capturing by two methods small aquatic or terrestrial animals, and that they absorb the products of their decay. ordinary plants of the higher classes procure the requisite inorganic elements from the soil by means of their roots, and absorb carbonic acid from the atmosphere by means of their leaves and stems. but we have seen in a previous part of this work that there is a class of plants which digest and afterwards absorb animal matter, namely, all the droseraceae, pinguicula, and, as discovered by dr. hooker, nepenthes, and to this class other species will almost certainly soon be added. these plants can dissolve matter out of certain vegetable substances, such as pollen, seeds, and bits of leaves. no doubt their glands likewise absorb the salts of ammonia brought to them by the rain. it has also been shown that some other plants can absorb ammonia by [page ] their glandular hairs; and these will profit by that brought to them by the rain. there is a second class of plants which, as we have just seen, cannot digest, but absorb the products of the decay of the animals which they capture, namely, utricularia and its close allies; and from the excellent observations of dr. mellichamp and dr. canby, there can scarcely be a doubt that sarracenia and darlingtonia may be added to this class, though the fact can hardly be considered as yet fully proved. there is a third class of plants which feed, as is now generally admitted, on the products of the decay of vegetable matter, such as the bird's-nest orchis (neottia), &c. lastly, there is the well-known fourth class of parasites (such as the mistletoe), which are nourished by the juices of living plants. most, however, of the plants belonging to these four classes obtain part of their carbon, like ordinary species, from the atmosphere. such are the diversified means, as far as at present known, by which higher plants gain their subsistence. [page ] [page ] index. absorption--ammonia. a. absorption by dionaea, -- by drosera, -- by drosophyllum, -- by pinguicula, -- by glandular hairs, -- by glands of utricularia, , -- by quadrifids of utricularia, , -- by utricularia montana, acid, nature of, in digestive secretion of drosera, -- present in digestive fluid of various species of drosera, dionaea, drosophyllum, and pinguicula, , , , acids, various, action of, on drosera, -- of the acetic series replacing hydrochloric in digestion, --, arsenious and chromic, action on drosera, --, diluted, inducing negative osmose, adder's poison, action on drosera, aggregation of protoplasm in drosera, -- in drosera induced by salts of ammonia, -- -- caused by small doses of carbonate of ammonia, -- of protoplasm in drosera, a reflex action, -- -- in various species of drosera, -- -- in dionaea, , aggregation of protoplasm in drosophyllum, , -- -- in pinguicula, , -- -- in utricularia, , , , , albumen, digested by drosera, --, liquid, action on drosera, alcohol, diluted, action of, on drosera, , aldrovanda vesiculosa, --, absorption and digestion by, --, varieties of, algae, aggregation in fronds of, alkalies, arrest digestive process in drosera, aluminium, salts of, action on drosera, ammonia, amount of, in rain water, --, carbonate, action on heated leaves of drosera, --, --, smallness of doses causing aggregation in drosera, --, --, its action on drosera, --, --, vapour of, absorbed by glands of drosera, --, --, smallness of doses causing inflection in drosera, , --, phosphate, smallness of doses causing inflection in drosera, , --, --, size of particles affecting drosera, --, nitrate, smallness of doses causing inflection in drosera, , --, salts of, action on drosera, [page ] ammonia--curtis. ammonia, salts of, their action affected by previous immersion in water and various solutions, --, --, induce aggregation in drosera, --, various salts of, causing inflection in drosera, antimony, tartrate, action on drosera, areolar tissue, its digestion by drosera, arsenious acid, action on drosera, atropine, action on drosera, b. barium, salts of, action on drosera, bases of salts, preponderant action of, on drosera, basis, fibrous, of bone, its digestion by drosera, belladonna, extract of, action on drosera, bennett, mr. a.w., on drosera, --, coats of pollen-grains not digested by insects, binz, on action of quinine on white blood-corpuscles, --, on poisonous action of quinine on low organisms, bone, its digestion by drosera, brunton, lauder, on digestion of gelatine, --, on the composition of casein, --, on the digestion of urea, --, -- of chlorophyll, --, -- of pepsin, byblis, c. cabbage, decoction of, action on drosera, cadmium chloride, action on drosera, caesium, chloride of, action on drosera, calcium, salts of, action on drosera, camphor, action on drosera, canby, dr., on dionaea, , , --, on drosera filiformis, caraway, oil of, action on drosera, carbonic acid, action on drosera, --, delays aggregation in drosera, cartilage, its digestion by drosera, casein, its digestion by drosera, cellulose, not digested by drosera, chalk, precipitated, causing inflection of drosera, cheese, its digestion by drosera, chitine, not digested by drosera, chloroform, effects of, on drosera, --, --, on dionaea, chlorophyll, grains of, in living plants, digested by drosera, --, pure, not digested by drosera, chondrin, its digestion by drosera, chromic acid, action on drosera, cloves, oil of, action on drosera, cobalt chloride, action on drosera, cobra poison, action on drosera, cohn, prof., on aldrovanda, --, on contractile tissues in plants, --, on movements of stamens of compositae, --, on utricularia, colchicine, action on drosera, copper chloride, action on drosera, crystallin, its digestion by drosera, curare, action on drosera, curtis, dr., on dionaea, [page ] darwin--fibrous. d. darwin, francis, on the effect of an induced galvanic current on drosera, --, on the digestion of grains of chlorophyll, --, on utricularia, delpino, on aldrovanda, --, on utricularia, dentine, its digestion by drosera, digestion of various substances by dionaea, -- -- by drosera, -- -- by drosophyllum, -- -- by pinguicula, --, origin of power of, digitaline, action on drosera, dionaea muscipula, small size of roots, --, structure of leaves, --, sensitiveness of filaments, --, absorption by, --, secretion by, --, digestion by, --, effects on, of chloroform, --, manner of capturing insects, --, transmission of motor impulse, --, re-expansion of lobes, direction of inflected tentacles of drosera, dohrn, dr., on rhizocephalous crustaceans, donders, prof., small amount of atropine affecting the iris of the dog, dragonfly caught by drosera, drosera anglica, -- binata, vel dichotoma, -- capensis, -- filiformis, -- heterophylla, -- intermedia, drosera rotundifolia, structure of leaves, --, effects on, of nitrogenous fluids, drosera rotundifolia, effects of heat on, --, its power of digestion, --, backs of leaves not sensitive, --, transmission of motor impulse, --, general summary, -- spathulata, droseraceae, concluding remarks on, --, their sensitiveness compared with that of animals, drosophyllum, structure of leaves, --, secretion by, --, absorption by, --, digestion by, e. enamel, its digestion by drosera, erica tetralix, glandular hairs of, ether, effects of, on drosera, --, --, on dionaea, euphorbia, process of aggregation in roots of, exosmose from backs of leaves of drosera, f. fat not digested by drosera, fayrer, dr., on the nature of cobra poison, --, on the action of cobra poison on animal protoplasm, --, on cobra poison paralysing nerve centres, ferment, nature of, in secretion of drosera, , fibrin, its digestion by drosera, fibro-cartilage, its digestion by drosera, fibro-elastic tissue, not digested by drosera, fibrous basis of bone, its digestion by drosera, [page ] fluids--leaves. fluids, nitrogenous, effects of, on drosera, fournier, on acids causing movements in stamens of berberis, frankland, prof., on nature of acid in secretion of drosera, g. galvanism, current of, causing inflection of drosera, --, effects of, on dionaea, gardner, mr., on utricularia nelumbifolia, gelatin, impure, action on drosera, --, pure, its digestion by drosera, genlisea africana, -- filiformis, genlisea ornata, structure of, --, manner of capturing prey, glandular hairs, absorption by, --, summary on, globulin, its digestion by drosera, gluten, its digestion by drosera, glycerine, inducing aggregation in drosera, --, action on drosera, gold chloride, action on drosera, gorup-besanez on the presence of a solvent in seeds of the vetch, grass, decoction of, action on drosera, gray, asa, on the droseraceae, groenland, on drosera, , gum, action of, on drosera, gun-cotton, not digested by drosera, h. haematin, its digestion by drosera, hairs, glandular, absorption by, --, --, summary on, heat, inducing aggregation in drosera, --, effect of, on drosera, --, --, on dionaea, , heckel, on state of stamens of berberis after excitement, hofmeister, on pressure arresting movements of protoplasm, holland, mr., on utricularia, hooker, dr., on carnivorous plants, --, on power of digestion by nepenthes, --, history of observations on dionaea, hydrocyanic acid, effects of, on dionaea, hyoscyamus, action on drosera, , i. iron chloride, action on drosera, isinglass, solution of, action on drosera, j. johnson, dr., on movement of flower-stems of pinguicula, k. klein, dr., on microscopic character of half digested bone, --, on state of half digested fibro-cartilage, --, on size of micrococci, knight, mr., on feeding dionaea, kossmann, dr., on rhizocephalous crustaceans, l. lead chloride, action on drosera, leaves of drosera, backs of, not sensitive, [page ] legumin--pinguicula. legumin, its digestion by drosera, lemna, aggregation in leaves of, lime, carbonate of, precipitated, causing inflection of drosera, --, phosphate of, its action on drosera, lithium, salts of, action on drosera, m. magnesium, salts of, action on drosera, manganese chloride, action on drosera, marshall, mr. w., on pinguicula, means of movement in dionaea, -- in drosera, meat, infusion of, causing aggregation in drosera, --, --, action on drosera, --, its digestion by drosera, mercury perchloride, action on drosera, milk, inducing aggregation in drosera, --, action on drosera, --, its digestion by drosera, mirabilis longiflora, glandular hairs of, moggridge, traherne, on acids injuring seeds, moore, dr., on pinguicula, morphia acetate, action on drosera, motor impulse in drosera, , -- in dionaea, movement, origin of power of, movements of leaves of pinguicula, -- of tentacles of drosera, means of, -- of dionaea, means of, mucin, not digested by drosera, mucus, action on drosera, mller, fritz, on rhizocephalous crustaceans, n. nepenthes, its power of digestion, nickel chloride, action on drosera, nicotiana tabacum, glandular hairs of, nicotine, action on drosera, nitric ether, action on drosera, nitschke, dr., references to his papers on drosera, --, on sensitiveness of backs of leaves of drosera, --, on direction of inflected tentacles in drosera, --, on aldrovanda, nourishment, various means of, by plants, nuttall, dr., on re-expansion of dionaea, o. odour of pepsin, emitted from leaves of drosera, oil, olive, action of, on drosera, , oliver, prof., on utricularia, , - p. papaw, juice of, hastening putrefaction, particles, minute size of, causing inflection in drosera, , peas, decoction of, action on drosera, pelargonium zonale, glandular hairs of, pepsin, odour of, emitted from drosera leaves, --, not digested by drosera, --, its secretion by animals excited only after absorption, peptogenes, pinguicula grandiflora, -- lusitanica, [page ] pinguicula--saxifraga. pinguicula vulgaris, structure of leaves and roots, --, number of insects caught by, --, power of movement, --, secretion and absorption by, --, digestion by, --, effects of secretion on living seeds, platinum chloride, action on drosera, poison of cobra and adder, their action on drosera, pollen, its digestion by drosera, polypompholyx, structure of, potassium, salts of, inducing aggregation in drosera, --, --, action on drosera, -- phosphate, not decomposed by drosera, , price, mr. john, on utricularia, primula sinensis, glandular hairs of, --, number of glandular hairs of, protoplasm, aggregation of, in drosera, --, --, in drosera, caused by small doses of carbonate of ammonia, --, --, in drosera, a reflex action, -- aggregated, re-dissolution of, --, aggregation of, in various species of drosera, --, --, in dionaea, , --, --, in drosophyllum, , --, --, in pinguicula, , --, --, in utricularia, , , , , q. quinine, salts of, action on drosera, r. rain-water, amount of ammonia in, ralfs, mr., on pinguicula, ransom, dr., action of poisons on the yolk of eggs, re-expansion of headless tentacles of drosera, -- of tentacles of drosera, -- of dionaea, roots of drosera, -- of drosera, process of aggregation in, -- of drosera, absorb carbonate of ammonia, -- of dionaea, -- of drosophyllum, -- of pinguicula, roridula, rubidium chloride, action on drosera, s. sachs, prof., effects of heat on protoplasm, , --, on the dissolution of proteid compounds in the tissues of plants, saliva, action on drosera, salts and acids, various, effects of, on subsequent action of ammonia, sanderson, burdon, on coagulation of albumen from heat, --, on acids replacing hydrochloric in digestion, --, on the digestion of fibrous basis of bone, --, -- of gluten, --, -- of globulin, --, -- of chlorophyll, --, on different effect of sodium and potassium on animals, --, on electric currents in dionaea, saxifraga umbrosa, glandular hairs of, [page ] schiff--turpentine. schiff, on hydrochloric acid dissolving coagulated albumen, --, on manner of digestion of albumen, --, on changes in meat during digestion, --, on the coagulation of milk, --, on the digestion of casein, --, -- of mucus, --, on peptogenes, schloesing, on absorption of nitrogen by nicotiana, scott, mr., on drosera, secretion of drosera, general account of, -- --, its antiseptic power, -- --, becomes acid from excitement, -- --, nature of its ferment, , -- by dionaea, -- by drosophyllum, -- by pinguicula, seeds, living, acted on by drosera, --, --, acted on by pinguicula, , sensitiveness, localisation of, in drosera, -- of dionaea, -- of pinguicula, silver nitrate, action on drosera, sodium, salts of, action on drosera, --, --, inducing aggregation in drosera, sondera heterophylla, sorby, mr., on colouring matter of drosera, spectroscope, its power compared with that of drosera, starch, action of, on drosera, , stein, on aldrovanda, strontium, salts of, action on drosera, strychnine, salts of, action on drosera, sugar, solution of, action of, on drosera, --, --, inducing aggregation in drosera, sulphuric ether, action on drosera, --, -- on dionaea, syntonin, its action on drosera, t. tait, mr., on drosophyllum, taylor, alfred, on the detection of minute doses of poisons, tea, infusion of, action on drosera, tentacles of drosera, move when glands cut of, , --, inflection, direction of, --, means of movement, --, re-expansion of, theine, action on drosera, tin chloride, action on drosera, tissue, areolar, its digestion by drosera, --, fibro-elastic, not digested by drosera, tissues through which impulse is transmitted in drosera, -- -- in dionaea, touches repeated, causing inflection in drosera, transmission of motor impulse in drosera, -- -- in dionaea, traube, dr., on artificial cells, treat, mrs., on drosera filiformis, --, on dionaea, --, on utricularia, , trcul, on drosera, , tubers of utricularia montana, turpentine, action on drosera, [page ] urea--zinc. u. urea, not digested by drosera, urine, action on drosera, utricularia clandestina, -- minor, utricularia montana, structure of bladders, --, animals caught by, --, absorption by, --, tubers of, serving as reservoirs, utricularia neglecta, structure of bladders, --, animals caught by, --, absorption by, --, summary on absorption, --, development of bladders, utricularia, various species of, utricularia vulgaris, v. veratrine, action on drosera, vessels in leaves of drosera, -- of dionaea, vogel, on effects of camphor on plants, w. warming, dr., on drosera, , --, on roots of utricularia, --, on trichomes, --, on genlisea, --, on parenchymatous cells in tentacles of drosera, water, drops of, not causing inflection in drosera, --, its power in causing aggregation in drosera, --, its power in causing inflection in drosera, -- and various solutions, effects of, on subsequent action of ammonia, wilkinson, rev., on utricularia, z. ziegler, his statements with respect to drosera, --, experiments by cutting vessels of drosera, zinc chloride, action on drosera, more letters of charles darwin by charles darwin a record of his work in a series of hitherto unpublished letters edited by francis darwin, fellow of christ's college, and a.c. seward, fellow of emmanuel college, cambridge in two volumes transcriber's notes: all biographical footnotes appear at the end of volume ii. all other notes by charles darwin's editors appear in the text, in brackets () with a chapter/note or letter/note number. volume i. dedicated with affection and respect, to sir joseph hooker in remembrance of his lifelong friendship with charles darwin "you will never know how much i owe to you for your constant kindness and encouragement" charles darwin to sir joseph hooker, september , preface the "life and letters of charles darwin" was published in . since that date, through the kindness of various correspondents, additional letters have been received; among them may be mentioned those written by mr. darwin to mr. belt, lady derby, hugh falconer, mr. francis galton, huxley, lyell, mr. john morley, max muller, owen, lord playfair, john scott, thwaites, sir william turner, john jenner weir. but the material for our work consisted in chief part of a mass of letters which, for want of space or for other reasons, were not printed in the "life and letters." we would draw particular attention to the correspondence with sir joseph hooker. to him mr. darwin wrote with complete freedom, and this has given something of a personal charm to the most technical of his letters. there is also much correspondence, hardly inferior in biographical interest, with sir charles lyell, fritz muller, mr. huxley, and mr. wallace. from this unused material we have been able to compile an almost complete record of mr. darwin's work in a series of letters now published for the first time. we have, however, in a few instances, repeated paragraphs, or in one or two cases whole letters, from the "life and letters," where such repetition seemed necessary for the sake of clearness or continuity. our two volumes contain practically all the matter that it now seems desirable to publish. but at some future time others may find interesting data in what remains unprinted; this is certainly true of a short series of letters dealing with the cirripedes, which are omitted solely for want of space. (preface/ . those addressed to the late albany hancock have already appeared in the "transactions of the tyneside nat. field club," viii., page .) we are fortunate in being permitted, by sir joseph hooker and by mr. wallace, to publish certain letters from them to mr. darwin. we have also been able to give a few letters from sir charles lyell, hugh falconer, edward forbes, dr. asa gray, professor hyatt, fritz muller, mr. francis galton, and sir t. lauder brunton. to the two last named, also to mrs. lyell (the biographer of sir charles), mrs. asa gray and mrs. hyatt, we desire to express our grateful acknowledgments. the present volumes have been prepared, so as to give as full an idea as possible of the course of mr. darwin's work. the volumes therefore necessarily contain many letters of a highly technical character, but none, we hope, which are not essentially interesting. with a view to saving space, we have confined ourselves to elucidating the letters by full annotations, and have for the same reason--though with some regret--omitted in most cases the beginnings and endings of the letters. for the main facts of mr. darwin's life, we refer our readers to the abstract of his private diary, given in the present volume. mr. darwin generally wrote his letters when he was tired or hurried, and this often led to the omission of words. we have usually inserted the articles, and this without any indication of their absence in the originals. where there seemed any possibility of producing an alteration of meaning (and in many cases where there is no such possibility) we have placed the introduced words in square brackets. we may say once for all that throughout the book square brackets indicate words not found in the originals. (preface/ . except in a few places where brackets are used to indicate passages previously published. in all such cases the meaning of the symbol is explained.) dots indicate omissions, but many omissions are made without being so indicated. the selection and arrangement of the letters have not been easy. our plan has been to classify the letters according to subject--into such as deal with evolution, geographical distribution, botany, etc., and in each group to place the letters chronologically. but in several of the chapters we have adopted sectional headings, which we believe will be a help to the reader. the great difficulty lay in deciding in which of the chief groups a given letter should be placed. if the ms. had been cut up into paragraphs, there would have been no such difficulty; but we feel strongly that a letter should as far as possible be treated as a whole. we have in fact allowed this principle to interfere with an accurate classification, so that the reader will find, for instance, in the chapters on evolution, questions considered which might equally well have come under geographical distribution or geology, or questions in the chapter on man which might have been placed under the heading evolution. in the same way, to avoid mutilation, we have allowed references to one branch of science to remain in letters mainly concerned with another subject. for these irregularities we must ask the reader's patience, and beg him to believe that some pains have been devoted to arrangement. mr. darwin, who was careful in other things, generally omitted the date in familiar correspondence, and it is often only by treating a letter as a detective studies a crime that we can make sure of its date. fortunately, however, sir joseph hooker and others of darwin's correspondents were accustomed to add the date on which the letters were received. this sometimes leads to an inaccuracy which needs a word of explanation. thus a letter which mr. darwin dated "wednesday" might be headed by us "wednesday [january rd, ]," the latter half being the date on which the letter was received; if it had been dated by the writer it would have been "wednesday, january nd, ." in thanking those friends--especially sir joseph hooker and mr. wallace--who have looked through some of our proof-sheets, we wish to make it clear that they are not in the smallest degree responsible for our errors or omissions; the weight of our shortcomings rests on us alone. we desire to express our gratitude to those who have so readily supplied us with information, especially to sir joseph hooker, professor judd, professor newton, dr. sharp, mr. herbert spencer, and mr. wallace. and we have pleasure in mentioning mr. h.w. rutherford, of the university library, to whose conscientious work as a copyist we are much indebted. finally, it is a pleasure to express our obligation to those who have helped us in the matter of illustrations. the portraits of dr. asa gray, mr. huxley, sir charles lyell, mr. romanes, are from their respective biographies, and for permission to make use of them we have to thank mrs. gray, mr. l. huxley, mrs. lyell, and mrs. romanes, as well as the publishers of the books in question. for the reproduction of the early portrait of mr. darwin we are indebted to miss wedgwood; for the interesting portraits of hugh falconer and edward forbes we have to thank mr. irvine smith, who obtained for us the negatives; these being of paper, and nearly sixty years old, rendered their reproduction a work of some difficulty. we also thank messrs. elliott & fry for very kindly placing at our disposal a negative of the fine portrait, which forms the frontispiece to volume ii. for the opportunity of making facsimiles of diagrams in certain of the letters, we are once more indebted to sir joseph hooker, who has most generously given the original letters to mr. darwin's family. cambridge, october, . table of contents. contents of volume i. outline of charles darwin's life, etc. chapter .i.--an autobiographical fragment, and early letters, - . chapter .ii.--evolution, - . chapter .iii.--evolution, - . chapter .iv.--evolution, - . chapter .v.--evolution, - . chapter .vi.--geographical distribution, - . illustrations in volume i. charles and catherine darwin, . from a coloured chalk drawing by sharples, in possession of miss wedgwood, of leith hill place. mrs. darwin, . from a photograph by barraud. edward forbes, (?). from a photograph by hill & adamson. thomas henry huxley, . from a photograph by maull & fox. (huxley's "life," volume i.) professor henslow. from a photograph. hugh falconer, . from a photograph by hill & adamson. joseph dalton hooker, (?). from a photograph by wallich. asa gray, . from a photograph. ("letters of asa gray," volume i.) volume ii chapter .vii.--geographical distribution, - . chapter .viii.--man, - . .viii.i. descent of man, - . .viii.ii. sexual selection, - . .viii.iii. expression, - . chapter .ix.--geology, - . .ix.i. vulcanicity and earth-movements, - . .ix.ii. ice-action, - . .ix.iii. the parallel roads of glen roy, - . .ix.iv. coral reefs, fossil and recent, - . .ix.v. cleavage and foliation, - . .ix.vi. age of the world, - . .ix.vii. geological action of earth-worms, - . .ix.viii. miscellaneous, - . chapter .x.--botany, - . .x.i. miscellaneous, - . .x.ii. melastomaceae, - . .x.iii. correspondence with john scott, - . chapter .xi.--botany, - . .xi.i. miscellaneous, - . .xi.ii. correspondence with fritz muller, - . .xi.iii. miscellaneous, - . chapter .xii.--vivisection and miscellaneous subjects, - . .xii.i. vivisection, - . .xii.ii. miscellaneous subjects, - . illustrations in volume ii. charles darwin, . from a photograph by elliott & fry. alfred russel wallace, . from a photograph by maull & fox. george j. romanes, . from a photograph by elliott & fry. (romanes' "life.") charles lyell. from a photograph by maull & fox. (lyell's "life," volume ii.) charles darwin, (?). from a photograph by maull & fox. fritz muller. from a photograph. facsimiles of sketches in the letters. figure . hypothetical section illustrating continental elevation. figure . diagram of junction between dike and lava. figure . outline of an elliptic crater. figure . hypothetical section showing the relation of dikes to volcanic vents. figure . map illustrating the linear arrangement of volcanic islands in relation to continental coast-lines. figure . sketch showing the form and distribution of quartz in a foliated rock. figure . sketch showing the arrangement of felspar and quartz in a metamorphic series. figure . floral diagram of an orchid. figure . dissected flower of habenaria chlorantha. figure . diagram of a cruciferous flower. figure . longitudinal section of a cruciferous flower. figure . transverse section of the ovary of a crucifer. figure . (contents/ . not a facsimile.) leaf of trifolium resupinatum. (drawn by miss pertz.) more letters of charles darwin. volume i. outline of charles darwin's life. based on his diary, dated august . references to the journals in which mr. darwin's papers were published will be found in his "life and letters" iii., appendix ii. we are greatly indebted to mr. c.f. cox, of new york, for calling our attention to mistakes in the appendix, and we take this opportunity of correcting them. appendix ii., list ii.--mr. romanes spoke on mr. darwin's essay on instinct at a meeting of the linnean society, december th, , and some account of it is given in "nature" of the same date. but it was not published by the linnean society. appendix ii., list iii.--"origin of saliferous deposits. salt lakes of patagonia and la plata" ( ). this is the heading of an extract from darwin's volume on south america reprinted in the "quarterly journal of the geological society," volume ii., part ii., "miscellanea," pages - , . the paper on "analogy of the structure of some volcanic rocks, etc." was published in , not in . a paper "on the fertilisation of british orchids by insect agency," in the "entomologist's weekly intelligencer" viii., and "gardeners' chronicle," june th, , should be inserted in the bibliography. . february th: born at shrewsbury. . death of his mother. . went to shrewsbury school. . left shrewsbury school. . october: went to edinburgh university. read two papers before the plinian society of edinburgh "at the close of or early in ." . entered at christ's college, cambridge. . began residence at cambridge. . january: passed his examination for b.a., and kept the two following terms. august: geological tour with sedgwick. september th: went to plymouth to see the "beagle." october nd: "took leave of my home." december th: "sailed from england on our circumnavigation." . january th: "first landed on a tropical shore" (santiago). . december th: "sailed for last time from rio plata." . june th: "sailed for last time from tierra del fuego." . september th: "sailed from west shores of south america." november th: letters to professor henslow, read at a meeting of the cambridge philosophical society. november th: paper read before the geological society on notes made during a survey of the east and west coasts of south america in years - . . may st: anchored at the cape of good hope. october nd: anchored at falmouth. october th: reached shrewsbury after an absence of five years and two days. december th: went to live at cambridge. . january th: paper on recent elevation in chili read. march th: settled at , great marlborough street. march th: paper on "rhea" read. may: read papers on coral formation, and on the pampas, to the geological society. july: opened first note-book on transmutation of species. march th to november: occupied with his journal. october and november: preparing the scheme for the zoology of the voyage of the "beagle." working at geology of south america. november st: read the paper on earthworms before the geological society. . worked at the geology of south america and zoology of voyage. "some little species theory." march th: read paper on the connexion of certain volcanic phenomena and on the formation of mountain chains, to the geological society. may: health began to break down. june rd: started for glen roy. the paper on glen roy was written in august and september. october th: began coral paper. november th: engaged to be married to his cousin, emma wedgwood. december st: "entered upper gower street." . january th: married at maer. february and march: some work on corals and on species theory. march (part) and april: working at coral paper. papers on a rock seen on an iceberg, and on the parallel roads of glen roy. published "journal and remarks," being volume iii. of the "narrative of the surveying voyages of h.m.s. 'adventure' and 'beagle,' etc." for the rest of the year, corals and zoology of the voyage. publication of the "zoology of the voyage of h.m.s. 'beagle,'" part ii. (mammalia). . worked at corals and the zoology of the voyage. contributed geological introduction to part i. of the "zoology of the voyage" (fossil mammalia by owen). . publication of part iii. of the "zoology of the voyage" (birds). read paper on boulders and glacial deposits of south america, to geological society. published paper on a remarkable bar of sandstone off pernambuco, on the coast of brazil. publication of part iv. of "zoology of the voyage" (fish). . may th: last proof of the coral book corrected. june: examined glacier action in wales. "wrote pencil sketch of my species theory." july: wrote paper on glaciers of caernarvonshire. october: began his book on volcanic islands. . working at "volcanic islands" and "some species work." . february th: finished "volcanic islands." july to september: wrote an enlarged version of species theory. papers on sagitta, and on planaria. july th: began his book on the geology of south america. . paper on the analogy of the structure of volcanic rocks with that of glaciers. "proc. r. soc. edin." april th to august th: working at second edition of "naturalist's voyage." . october st: finished last proof of "geological observations on south america." papers on atlantic dust, and on geology of falkland islands, communicated to the geological society. paper on arthrobalanus. . working at cirripedes. review of waterhouse's "natural history of the mammalia." . march th: finished scientific instructions in geology for the admiralty manual. working at cirripedes. paper on erratic boulders. . health especially bad. working at cirripedes. march-june: water-cure at malvern. . working at cirripedes. published monographs of recent and fossil lepadidae. . working at cirripedes. . november th: "royal medal given to me." . published monographs on recent and on fossil balanidae and verrucidae. september th: finished packing up all my cirripedes. "began sorting notes for species theory." . march-april: experiments on the effect of salt water on seeds. papers on icebergs and on vitality of seeds. . may th: "began, by lyell's advice, writing species sketch" (described in "life and letters" as the "unfinished book"). december th: finished chapter iii. paper read to linnean society, on sea-water and the germination of seeds. . september th: finished chapters vii. and viii. september th to december th: working on hybridism. paper on the agency of bees in the fertilisation of papilionaceous flowers. . march th: "finished instinct chapter." june th: received mr. wallace's sketch of his evolutionary theory. july st: joint paper of darwin and wallace read at the linnean society. july th to july th: "began abstract of species book," i.e., the "origin of species," at sandown, i.w. paper on bees and fertilisation of flowers. . may th: began proof-sheets of the "origin of species." november th: publication of the "origin": copies printed. october nd to december th: at the water-cure establishment, ilkley, yorkshire. . january th: publication of edition ii. of "origin" ( copies). january th: "looking over ms. on variation." paper on the fertilisation of british orchids. july and again in september: made observations on drosera. paper on moths and flowers. publication of "a naturalist's voyage." . up to july at work on "variation under domestication." april th: publication of edition iii. of "origin" ( copies). july to the end of year: at work on orchids. november: primula paper read at linnean society. papers on pumilio and on fertilisation of vinca. . may th: orchid book published. working at variation. paper on catasetum (linnean society). contribution to chapter iii. of jenyns' memoir of henslow. . working at "variation under domestication." papers on yellow rain, the pampas, and on cirripedes. a review of bates' paper on mimetic butterflies. severe illness to the end of year. . illness continued until april. paper on linum published by the linnean society. may th: paper on lythrum finished. september th: paper on climbing plants finished. work on "variation under domestication." november th: copley medal awarded to him. . january st: continued at work on variation until april nd. the work was interrupted by illness until late in the autumn. february: read paper on climbing plants. december th: began again on variation. . continued work at "variation under domestication." march st to may th: at work on edition iv. of the "origin." published june ( copies). read paper on cytisus scoparius to the linnean society. december nd: began the last chapter of "variation under domestication." . november th: finished revises of "variation under domestication." december: began papers on illegitimate unions of dimorphic and trimorphic plants, and on primula. . january th: publication of "variation under domestication." february th: began work on man. february th: new edition of "variation under domestication." read papers on illegitimate unions of dimorphic and trimorphic plants, and on verbascum. . february th: "finished fifth edition of 'origin'; has taken me forty-six days." edition v. published in may. working at the "descent of man." papers on the fertilisation of orchids, and on the fertilisation of winter-flowering plants. . working at the "descent of man." paper on the pampas woodpecker. . january th: began the "expression of the emotions." february th: "descent of man" published ( copies). april th: finished the rough copy of "expression." june th: began edition vi. of "origin." paper on the fertilisation of leschenaultia. . january th: finished proofs of edition vi. of the "origin," and "again rewriting 'expression.'" august nd: finished last proofs of "expression." august rd: began working at drosera. november: "expression" published ( copies, and more printed at the end of the year.) november th: "at murray's sale copies sold to london booksellers." . january: correcting the climbing plants paper for publication as a book. february rd: at work on "cross-fertilisation." february to september: contributions to "nature." june th: "began drosera again." november th: began "descent of man," edition ii. . "descent of man," edition ii, in one volume, published (preface dated september). "coral reefs," edition ii., published. april st: began "insectivorous plants." february to may: contributed notes to "nature." . july nd: "insectivorous plants" published ( copies); copies sold immediately. july th: "correcting nd edition of 'variation under domestication.'" it was published in the autumn. september st (approximately): began on "cross and self-fertilisation." november: vivisection commission. . may th: "finished ms., first time over, of 'cross and self-fertilisation.'" may to june: correction of "fertilisation of orchids," edition ii. wrote his autobiographical sketch. may and november: contributions to "nature." august th: first proofs of "cross and self-fertilisation." november th: "cross and self-fertilisation" published ( copies). . "all the early part of summer at work on 'different forms of flowers.'" july: publication of "different forms of flowers" ( copies). during the rest of the year at work on the bloom on leaves, movements of plants, "and a little on worms." november: ll.d. at cambridge. second edition of "fertilisation of orchids" published. contributions to "nature," "gardeners' chronicle," and "mind." . the whole year at work on movements of plants, and on the bloom on leaves. may: contribution to "nature." second edition of "different forms of flowers." wrote prefatory letter to kerner's "flowers and their unbidden guests." . the whole year at work on movements of plants, except for "about six weeks" in the spring and early summer given to the "life of erasmus darwin," which was published in the autumn. contributions to "nature." . "all spring finishing ms. of 'power of movement in plants' and proof sheets." "began in autumn on worms." prefatory notice written for meldola's translation of weismann's book. november th: copies of "power of movement" sold at murray's sale. contributions to "nature." . during all the early part of the year at work on the "worm book." several contributions to "nature." october th: the book on "earthworms" published: copies sold at once. november: at work on the action of carbonate of ammonia on plants. . no entries in the diary. february: at work correcting the sixth thousand of the "earthworms." march th and march th: papers on the action of carbonate of ammonia on roots, etc., read at the linnean society. april th: note to "nature" on dispersal of bivalves. april th: van dyck's paper on syrian dogs, with a preliminary notice by charles darwin, read before the zoological society. april th: charles darwin died at down. ... charles darwin chapter .i.--an autobiographical fragment, and early letters. - . (chapter i./ . in the process of removing the remainder of mr. darwin's books and papers from down, the following autobiographical notes, written in , came to light. they seem to us worth publishing--both as giving some new facts, and also as illustrating the interest which he clearly felt in his own development. many words are omitted in the manuscript, and some names incorrectly spelled; the corrections which have been made are not always indicated.) my earliest recollection, the date of which i can approximately tell, and which must have been before i was four years old, was when sitting on caroline's (caroline darwin) knee in the drawing room, whilst she was cutting an orange for me, a cow ran by the window which made me jump, so that i received a bad cut, of which i bear the scar to this day. of this scene i recollect the place where i sat and the cause of the fright, but not the cut itself, and i think my memory is real, and not as often happens in similar cases, [derived] from hearing the thing often repeated, [when] one obtains so vivid an image, that it cannot be separated from memory: because i clearly remember which way the cow ran, which would not probably have been told me. my memory here is an obscure picture, in which from not recollecting any pain i am scarcely conscious of its reference to myself. . when i was four years and a half old i went to the sea, and stayed there some weeks. i remember many things, but with the exception of the maidservants (and these are not individualised) i recollect none of my family who were there. i remember either myself or catherine being naughty, and being shut up in a room and trying to break the windows. i have an obscure picture of a house before my eyes, and of a neighbouring small shop, where the owner gave me one fig, but which to my great joy turned out to be two: this fig was given me that the man might kiss the maidservant. i remember a common walk to a kind of well, on the road to which was a cottage shaded with damascene (chapter i./ . damson is derived from damascene; the fruit was formerly known as a "damask prune.") trees, inhabited by an old man, called a hermit, with white hair, who used to give us damascenes. i know not whether the damascenes, or the reverence and indistinct fear for this old man produced the greatest effect on my memory. i remember when going there crossing in the carriage a broad ford, and fear and astonishment of white foaming water has made a vivid impression. i think memory of events commences abruptly; that is, i remember these earliest things quite as clearly as others very much later in life, which were equally impressed on me. some very early recollections are connected with fear at parkfield and with poor betty harvey. i remember with horror her story of people being pushed into the canal by the towing rope, by going the wrong side of the horse. i had the greatest horror of this story--keen instinct against death. some other recollections are those of vanity--namely, thinking that people were admiring me, in one instance for perseverance and another for boldness in climbing a low tree, and what is odder, a consciousness, as if instinctive, that i was vain, and contempt of myself. my supposed admirer was old peter haile the bricklayer, and the tree the mountain ash on the lawn. all my recollections seem to be connected most closely with myself; now catherine (catherine darwin) seems to recollect scenes where others were the chief actors. when my mother died i was / years old, and [catherine] one year less, yet she remembers all particulars and events of each day whilst i scarcely recollect anything (and so with very many other cases) except being sent for, the memory of going into her room, my father meeting me--crying afterwards. i recollect my mother's gown and scarcely anything of her appearance, except one or two walks with her. i have no distinct remembrance of any conversation, and those only of a very trivial nature. i remember her saying "if she did ask me to do something," which i said she had, "it was solely for my good." catherine remembers my mother crying, when she heard of my grandmother's death. also when at parkfield how aunt sarah and aunt kitty used to receive her. susan, like me, only remembers affairs personal. it is sufficiently odd this [difference] in subjects remembered. catherine says she does not remember the impression made upon her by external things, as scenery, but for things which she reads she has an excellent memory, i.e., for ideas. now her sympathy being ideal, it is part of her character, and shows how easily her kind of memory was stamped, a vivid thought is repeated, a vivid impression forgotten. i remember obscurely the illumination after the battle of waterloo, and the militia exercising about that period, in the field opposite our house. . at / years old i went to mr. case's school. (chapter i/ . a day-school at shrewsbury kept by rev. g. case, minister of the unitarian chapel ("life and letters," volume i., page et seq.)) i remember how very much i was afraid of meeting the dogs in barker street, and how at school i could not get up my courage to fight. i was very timid by nature. i remember i took great delight at school in fishing for newts in the quarry pool. i had thus young formed a strong taste for collecting, chiefly seals, franks, etc., but also pebbles and minerals--one which was given me by some boy decided this taste. i believe shortly after this, or before, i had smattered in botany, and certainly when at mr. case's school i was very fond of gardening, and invented some great falsehoods about being able to colour crocuses as i liked. (chapter i./ . the story is given in the "life and letters," i., page , the details being slightly different.) at this time i felt very strong friendship for some boys. it was soon after i began collecting stones, i.e., when or , that i distinctly recollect the desire i had of being able to know something about every pebble in front of the hall door--it was my earliest and only geological aspiration at that time. i was in those days a very great story-teller--for the pure pleasure of exciting attention and surprise. i stole fruit and hid it for these same motives, and injured trees by barking them for similar ends. i scarcely ever went out walking without saying i had seen a pheasant or some strange bird (natural history taste); these lies, when not detected, i presume, excited my attention, as i recollect them vividly, not connected with shame, though some i do, but as something which by having produced a great effect on my mind, gave pleasure like a tragedy. i recollect when i was at mr. case's inventing a whole fabric to show how fond i was of speaking the truth! my invention is still so vivid in my mind, that i could almost fancy it was true, did not memory of former shame tell me it was false. i have no particularly happy or unhappy recollections of this time or earlier periods of my life. i remember well a walk i took with a boy named ford across some fields to a farmhouse on the church stretton road. i do not remember any mental pursuits excepting those of collecting stones, etc., gardening, and about this time often going with my father in his carriage, telling him of my lessons, and seeing game and other wild birds, which was a great delight to me. i was born a naturalist. when i was / years old (july ) i went with erasmus to see liverpool: it has left no impressions on my mind, except most trifling ones--fear of the coach upsetting, a good dinner, and an extremely vague memory of ships. in midsummer of this year i went to dr. butler's school. (chapter i./ . darwin entered dr. butler's school in shrewsbury in the summer of , and remained there till ("life and letters," i., page ).) i well recollect the first going there, which oddly enough i cannot of going to mr. case's, the first school of all. i remember the year well, not from having first gone to a public school, but from writing those figures in my school book, accompanied with obscure thoughts, now fulfilled, whether i should recollect in future life that year. in september ( ) i was ill with the scarlet fever. i well remember the wretched feeling of being delirious. , july ( / years old). went to the sea at plas edwards and stayed there three weeks, which now appears to me like three months. (chapter i./ . plas edwards, at towyn, on the welsh coast.) i remember a certain shady green road (where i saw a snake) and a waterfall, with a degree of pleasure, which must be connected with the pleasure from scenery, though not directly recognised as such. the sandy plain before the house has left a strong impression, which is obscurely connected with an indistinct remembrance of curious insects, probably a cimex mottled with red, and zygaena, the burnet-moth. i was at that time very passionate (when i swore like a trooper) and quarrelsome. the former passion has i think nearly wholly but slowly died away. when journeying there by stage coach i remember a recruiting officer (i think i should know his face to this day) at tea time, asking the maid-servant for toasted bread and butter. i was convulsed with laughter and thought it the quaintest and wittiest speech that ever passed from the mouth of man. such is wit at / years old. the memory now flashes across me of the pleasure i had in the evening on a blowy day walking along the beach by myself and seeing the gulls and cormorants wending their way home in a wild and irregular course. such poetic pleasures, felt so keenly in after years, i should not have expected so early in life. , july. went a riding tour (on old dobbin) with erasmus to pistyll rhiadr (chapter i./ . pistyll rhiadr proceeds from llyn pen rhiadr down the llyfnant to the dovey.); of this i recollect little, an indistinct picture of the fall, but i well remember my astonishment on hearing that fishes could jump up it. (chapter i./ . the autobiographical fragment here comes to an end. the next letters give some account of darwin as an edinburgh student. he has described ("life and letters," i., pages - ) his failure to be interested in the official teaching of the university, his horror at the operating theatre, and his gradually increasing dislike of medical study, which finally determined his leaving edinburgh, and entering cambridge with a view to taking orders.) letter . to r.w. darwin. sunday morning [edinburgh, october, ]. my dear father as i suppose erasmus (erasmus darwin) has given all the particulars of the journey, i will say no more about it, except that altogether it has cost me pounds. we got into our lodgings yesterday evening, which are very comfortable and near the college. our landlady, by name mrs. mackay, is a nice clean old body--exceedingly civil and attentive. she lives in " , lothian street, edinburgh" ( / . in a letter printed in the "edinburgh evening despatch" of may nd, , the writer suggested that a tablet should be placed on the house, , lothian street. this suggestion was carried out in by mr. ralph richardson (clerk of the commissary court, edinburgh), who obtained permission from the proprietors to affix a tablet to the house, setting forth that charles darwin resided there as an edinburgh university student. we are indebted to mr. w.k. dickson for obtaining for us this information, and to mr. ralph richardson for kindly supplying us with particulars. see mr. richardson's inaugural address, "trans. edinb. geol. soc." - ; also "memorable edinburgh houses," by wilmot harrison, .), and only four flights of steps from the ground-floor, which is very moderate to some other lodgings that we were nearly taking. the terms are pound shillings for two very nice and light bedrooms and a sitting-room; by the way, light bedrooms are very scarce articles in edinburgh, since most of them are little holes in which there is neither air nor light. we called on dr. hanley the first morning, whom i think we never should have found, had it not been for a good-natured dr. of divinity who took us into his library and showed us a map, and gave us directions how to find him. indeed, all the scotchmen are so civil and attentive, that it is enough to make an englishman ashamed of himself. i should think dr. butler or any other fat english divine would take two utter strangers into his library and show them the way! when at last we found the doctor, and having made all the proper speeches on both sides, we all three set out and walked all about the town, which we admire excessively; indeed bridge street is the most extraordinary thing i ever saw, and when we first looked over the sides, we could hardly believe our eyes, when instead of a fine river, we saw a stream of people. we spend all our mornings in promenading about the town, which we know pretty well, and in the evenings we go to the play to hear miss stephens (probably catherine stephens), which is quite delightful; she is very popular here, being encored to such a degree, that she can hardly get on with the play. on monday we are going to der f (i do not know how to spell the rest of the word). ( / . "der f" is doubtless "der freischutz," which appeared in , and of which a selection was given in london, under weber's direction, in . the last of weber's compositions, "from chindara's warbling fount," was written for miss stephens, who sang it to his accompaniment "the last time his fingers touched the key-board." (see "dict. of music," "stephens" and "weber.")) before we got into our lodgings, we were staying at the star hotel in princes st., where to my surprise i met with an old schoolfellow, whom i like very much; he is just come back from a walking tour in switzerland and is now going to study for his [degree?] the introductory lectures begin next wednesday, and we were matriculated for them on saturday; we pay s., and write our names in a book, and the ceremony is finished; but the library is not free to us till we get a ticket from a professor. we just have been to church and heard a sermon of only minutes. i expected, from sir walter scott's account, a soul-cutting discourse of hours and a half. i remain your affectionate son, c. darwin. letter . to caroline darwin. january th, . edinburgh. many thanks for your very entertaining letter, which was a great relief after hearing a long stupid lecture from duncan on materia medica, but as you know nothing either of the lectures or lecturers, i will give you a short account of them. dr. duncan is so very learned that his wisdom has left no room for his sense, and he lectures, as i have already said, on the materia medica, which cannot be translated into any word expressive enough of its stupidity. these few last mornings, however, he has shown signs of improvement, and i hope he will "go on as well as can be expected." his lectures begin at eight in the morning. dr. hope begins at ten o'clock, and i like both him and his lectures very much (after which erasmus goes to "mr. sizars on anatomy," who is a charming lecturer). at the hospital, after which i attend monro on anatomy. i dislike him and his lectures so much, that i cannot speak with decency about them. thrice a week we have what is called clinical lectures, which means lectures on the sick people in the hospital--these i like very much. i said this account should be short, but i am afraid it has been too long, like the lectures themselves. i will be a good boy and tell something about johnson again (not but what i am very much surprised that papa should so forget himself as call me, a collegian in the university of edinburgh, a boy). he has changed his lodgings for the third time; he has got very cheap ones, but i am afraid it will not answer, for they must make up by cheating. i hope you like erasmus' official news, he means to begin every letter so. you mentioned in your letter that emma was staying with you: if she is not gone, ask her to tell jos that i have not succeeded in getting any titanium, but that i will try again...i want to know how old i shall be next birthday--i believe , and if so, i shall be forced to go abroad for one year, since it is necessary that i shall have completed my st year before i take my degree. now you have no business to be frowning and puzzling over this letter, for i did not promise to write a good hand to you. letter . to j.s. henslow. ( / . extracts from darwin's letters to henslow were read before the cambridge philosophical society on november th, . some of the letters were subsequently printed, in an vo pamphlet of pages, dated december st, , for private distribution among the members of the society. a german translation by w. preyer appeared in the "deutsche rundschau," june .) [ th august, . monte video.] we are now beating up the rio plata, and i take the opportunity of beginning a letter to you. i did not send off the specimens from rio janeiro, as i grudged the time it would take to pack them up. they are now ready to be sent off and most probably go by this packet. if so they go to falmouth (where fitz-roy has made arrangements) and so will not trouble your brother's agent in london. when i left england i was not fully aware how essential a kindness you offered me when you undertook to receive my boxes. i do not know what i should do without such head-quarters. and now for an apologetical prose about my collection: i am afraid you will say it is very small, but i have not been idle, and you must recollect what a very small show hundreds of species make. the box contains a good many geological specimens; i am well aware that the greater number are too small. but i maintain that no person has a right to accuse me, till he has tried carrying rocks under a tropical sun. i have endeavoured to get specimens of every variety of rock, and have written notes upon all. if you think it worth your while to examine any of them i shall be very glad of some mineralogical information, especially on any numbers between and which include santiago rocks. by my catalogue i shall know which you may refer to. as for my plants, "pudet pigetque mihi." all i can say is that when objects are present which i can observe and particularise about, i cannot summon resolution to collect when i know nothing. it is positively distressing to walk in the glorious forest amidst such treasures and feel they are all thrown away upon one. my collection from the abrolhos is interesting, as i suspect it nearly contains the whole flowering vegetation--and indeed from extreme sterility the same may almost be said of santiago. i have sent home four bottles with animals in spirits, i have three more, but would not send them till i had a fourth. i shall be anxious to hear how they fare. i made an enormous collection of arachnidae at rio, also a good many small beetles in pill boxes, but it is not the best time of year for the latter. amongst the lower animals nothing has so much interested me as finding two species of elegantly coloured true planaria inhabiting the dewy forest! the false relation they bear to snails is the most extraordinary thing of the kind i have ever seen. in the same genus (or more truly family) some of the marine species possess an organisation so marvellous that i can scarcely credit my eyesight. every one has heard of the discoloured streaks of water in the equatorial regions. one i examined was owing to the presence of such minute oscillariae that in each square inch of surface there must have been at least one hundred thousand present. after this i had better be silent, for you will think me a baron munchausen amongst naturalists. most assuredly i might collect a far greater number of specimens of invertebrate animals if i took less time over each; but i have come to the conclusion that two animals with their original colour and shape noted down will be more valuable to naturalists than six with only dates and place. i hope you will send me your criticisms about my collection; and it will be my endeavour that nothing you say shall be lost on me. i would send home my writings with my specimens, only i find i have so repeatedly occasion to refer back that it would be a serious loss to me. i cannot conclude about my collection without adding that i implicitly trust in your keeping an exact account against all the expense of boxes, etc., etc. at this present minute we are at anchor in the mouth of the river, and such a strange scene as it is. everything is in flames--the sky with lightning, the water with luminous particles, and even the very masts are pointed with a blue flame. i expect great interest in scouring over the plains of monte video, yet i look back with regret to the tropics, that magic lure to all naturalists. the delight of sitting on a decaying trunk amidst the quiet gloom of the forest is unspeakable and never to be forgotten. how often have i then wished for you. when i see a banana i well recollect admiring them with you in cambridge--little did i then think how soon i should eat their fruit. august th. in a few days the box will go by the "emulous" packet (capt. cooke) to falmouth and will be forwarded to you. this letter goes the same way, so that if in course of due time you do not receive the box, will you be kind enough to write to falmouth? we have been here (monte video) for some time; but owing to bad weather and continual fighting on shore, we have scarcely ever been able to walk in the country. i have collected during the last month nothing, but to-day i have been out and returned like noah's ark with animals of all sorts. i have to-day to my astonishment found two planariae living under dry stones: ask l. jenyns if he has ever heard of this fact. i also found a most curious snail, and spiders, beetles, snakes, scorpions ad libitum, and to conclude shot a cavia weighing a cwt.--on friday we sail for the rio negro, and then will commence our real wild work. i look forward with dread to the wet stormy regions of the south, but after so much pleasure i must put up with some sea-sickness and misery. letter . to j.s. henslow. monte video, th november . we arrived here on the th of october, after our first cruise on the coast of patagonia. north of the rio negro we fell in with some little schooners employed in sealing: to save the loss of time in surveying the intricate mass of banks, capt. fitz-roy has hired two of them and has put officers on them. it took us nearly a month fitting them out; as soon as this was finished we came back here, and are now preparing for a long cruise to the south. i expect to find the wild mountainous country of terra del fuego very interesting, and after the coast of patagonia i shall thoroughly enjoy it.--i had hoped for the credit of dame nature, no such country as this last existed; in sad reality we coasted along miles of sand hillocks; i never knew before, what a horrid ugly object a sand hillock is. the famed country of the rio plata in my opinion is not much better: an enormous brackish river, bounded by an interminable green plain is enough to make any naturalist groan. so hurrah for cape horn and the land of storms. now that i have had my growl out, which is a privilege sailors take on all occasions, i will turn the tables and give an account of my doing in nat. history. i must have one more growl: by ill luck the french government has sent one of its collectors to the rio negro, where he has been working for the last six months, and is now gone round the horn. so that i am very selfishly afraid he will get the cream of all the good things before me. as i have nobody to talk to about my luck and ill luck in collecting, i am determined to vent it all upon you. i have been very lucky with fossil bones; i have fragments of at least distinct animals: as many of them are teeth, i trust, shattered and rolled as they have been, they will be recognised. i have paid all the attention i am capable of to their geological site; but of course it is too long a story for here. st, i have the tarsi and metatarsi very perfect of a cavia; nd, the upper jaw and head of some very large animal with four square hollow molars and the head greatly protruded in front. i at first thought it belonged either to the megalonyx or megatherium ( / ). the animal may probably have been grypotherium darwini, ow. the osseous plates mentioned below must have belonged to one of the glyptodontidae, and not to megatherium. we are indebted to mr. kerr for calling our attention to a passage in buckland's "bridgewater treatise" (volume ii., page , note), where bony armour is ascribed to megatherium.); in confirmation of this in the same formation i found a large surface of the osseous polygonal plates, which "late observations" (what are they?) show belong to the megatherium. immediately i saw this i thought they must belong to an enormous armadillo, living species of which genus are so abundant here. rd, the lower jaw of some large animal which, from the molar teeth, i should think belonged to the edentata; th, some large molar teeth which in some respects would seem to belong to an enormous rodent; th, also some smaller teeth belonging to the same order. if it interests you sufficiently to unpack them, i shall be very curious to hear something about them. care must be taken in this case not to confuse the tallies. they are mingled with marine shells which appear to me identical with what now exist. but since they were deposited in their beds several geological changes have taken place in the country. so much for the dead, and now for the living: there is a poor specimen of a bird which to my unornithological eyes appears to be a happy mixture of a lark, pigeon and snipe (no. ). mr. macleay himself never imagined such an inosculating creature: i suppose it will turn out to be some well-known bird, although it has quite baffled me. i have taken some interesting amphibia; a new trigonocephalus beautifully connecting in its habits crotalus and the viperidae, and plenty of new (as far as my knowledge goes) saurians. as for one little toad, i hope it may be new, that it may be christened "diabolicus." milton must allude to this very individual when he talks of "squat like a toad" ( / . "...him [satan] there they [ithuriel and zephon] found, squat like a toad, close at the ear of eve" ("paradise lost," book iv., line ). "formerly milton's "paradise lost" had been my chief favourite, and in my excursions during the voyage of the 'beagle,' when i could take only a single volume, i always chose milton" ("autobiography," page ).); its colours are by werner ( / . werner's "nomenclature of colours," edinburgh, .) ink black, vermilion red and buff orange. it has been a splendid cruise for me in nat. history. amongst the pelagic crustacea, some new and curious genera. in the zoophytes some interesting animals. as for one flustra, if i had not the specimen to back me up nobody would believe in its most anomalous structure. but as for novelty all this is nothing to a family of pelagic animals which at first sight appear like medusae but are really highly organised. i have examined them repeatedly, and certainly from their structure it would be impossible to place them in any existing order. perhaps salpa is the nearest animal, although the transparency of the body is nearly the only character they have in common. i think the dried plants nearly contain all which were then (bahia blanca) flowering. all the specimens will be packed in casks. i think there will be three (before sending this letter i will specify dates, etc., etc.). i am afraid you will groan or rather the floor of the lecture room will when the casks arrive. without you i should be utterly undone. the small cask contains fish: will you open it to see how the spirit has stood the evaporation of the tropics. on board the ship everything goes on as well as possible; the only drawback is the fearful length of time between this and the day of our return. i do not see any limits to it. one year is nearly completed and the second will be so, before we even leave the east coast of s. america. and then our voyage may be said really to have commenced. i know not how i shall be able to endure it. the frequency with which i think of all the happy hours i have spent at shrewsbury and cambridge is rather ominous--i trust everything to time and fate and will feel my way as i go on. november th.--we have been at buenos ayres for a week; it is a fine large city, but such a country, everything is mud, you can go nowhere, you can do nothing for mud. in the city i obtained much information about the banks of the uruguay--i hear of limestone with shells, and beds of shells in every direction. i hope when we winter in the plata to have a most interesting geological excursion into that country: i purchased fragments (nos. - ) of some enormous bones, which i was assured belonged to the former giants!! i also procured some seeds--i do not know whether they are worth your accepting; if you think so i will get some more. they are in the box. i have sent to you by the "duke of york" packet, commanded by lieut. snell, to falmouth two large casks containing fossil bones, a small cask with fish and a box containing skins, spirit bottle, etc., and pill-boxes with beetles. would you be kind enough to open these latter as they are apt to become mouldy. with the exception of the bones the rest of my collection looks very scanty. recollect how great a proportion of time is spent at sea. i am always anxious to hear in what state the things come and any criticisms about quantity or kind of specimens. in the smaller cask is part of a large head, the anterior portions of which are in the other large one. the packet has arrived and i am in a great bustle. you will not hear from me for some months. letter . to j.s. henslow. valparaiso, july th . a box has just arrived in which were two of your most kind and affectionate letters. you do not know how happy they have made me. one is dated december th, , the other january th of the same year! by what fatality it did not arrive sooner i cannot conjecture; i regret it much, for it contains the information i most wanted, about manner of packing, etc., etc.: roots with specimens of plants, etc., etc. this i suppose was written after the reception of my first cargo of specimens. not having heard from you until march of this year i really began to think that my collections were so poor, that you were puzzled what to say; the case is now quite on the opposite tack; for you are guilty of exciting all my vain feelings to a most comfortable pitch; if hard work will atone for these thoughts, i vow it shall not be spared. it is rather late, but i will allude to some remarks in the january letter; you advise me to send home duplicates of my notes; i have been aware of the advantage of doing so; but then at sea to this day, i am invariably sick, excepting on the finest days, at which times with pelagic animals around me, i could never bring myself to the task--on shore the most prudent person could hardly expect such a sacrifice of time. my notes are becoming bulky. i have about small quarto pages full; about half of this is geology--the other imperfect descriptions of animals; with the latter i make it a rule only to describe those parts or facts, which cannot be seen in specimens in spirits. i keep my private journal distinct from the above. (n.b. this letter is a most untidy one, but my mind is untidy with joy; it is your fault, so you must take the consequences.) with respect to the land planariae, unquestionably they are not molluscous animals. i read your letters last night, this morning i took a little walk; by a curious coincidence, i found a new white species of planaria, and a new to me vaginulus (third species which i have found in s. america) of cuvier. amongst the marine mollusques i have seen a good many genera, and at rio found one quite new one. with respect to the december letter, i am very glad to hear the four casks arrived safe; since which time you have received another cargo, with the bird skins about which you did not understand me. have any of the b. ayrean seeds produced plants? from the falklands i acknowledged a box and letter from you; with the letter were a few seeds from patagonia. at present i have specimens enough to make a heavy cargo, but shall wait as much longer as possible, because opportunities are not now so good as before. i have just got scent of some fossil bones of a mammoth; what they may be i do not know, but if gold or galloping will get them they shall be mine. you tell me you like hearing how i am going on and what doing, and you well may imagine how much i enjoy speaking to any one upon subjects which i am always thinking about, but never have any one to talk to [about]. after leaving the falklands we proceeded to the rio s. cruz, following up the river till within twenty miles of the cordilleras. unfortunately want of provisions compelled us to return. this expedition was most important to me as it was a transverse section of the great patagonian formation. i conjecture (an accurate examination of fossils may possibly determine the point) that the main bed is somewhere about the miocene period (using mr. lyell's expression); i judge from what i have seen of the present shells of patagonia. this bed contains an enormous field of lava. this is of some interest, as being a rude approximation to the age of the volcanic part of the great range of the andes. long before this it existed as a slate and porphyritic line of hills. i have collected a tolerable quantity of information respecting the period and forms of elevations of these plains. i think these will be interesting to mr. lyell; i had deferred reading his third volume till my return: you may guess how much pleasure it gave me; some of his woodcuts came so exactly into play that i have only to refer to them instead of redrawing similar ones. i had my barometer with me, i only wish i had used it more in these plains. the valley of s. cruz appears to me a very curious one; at first it quite baffled me. i believe i can show good reasons for supposing it to have been once a northern straits like to that of magellan. when i return to england you will have some hard work in winnowing my geology; what little i know i have learnt in such a curious fashion that i often feel very doubtful about the number of grains [of value?]. whatever number they may turn out, i have enjoyed extreme pleasure in collecting them. in t. del fuego i collected and examined some corallines; i have observed one fact which quite startled me: it is that in the genus sertularia (taken in its most restricted form as [used] by lamoureux) and in two species which, excluding comparative expressions, i should find much difficulty in describing as different, the polypi quite and essentially differed in all their most important and evident parts of structure. i have already seen enough to be convinced that the present families of corallines as arranged by lamarck, cuvier, etc., are highly artificial. it appears that they are in the same state [in] which shells were when linnaeus left them for cuvier to rearrange. i do so wish i was a better hand at dissecting, i find i can do very little in the minute parts of structure; i am forced to take a very rough examination as a type for different classes of structure. it is most extraordinary i can nowhere see in my books one single description of the polypus of any one coralline excepting alcyonium lobularia of savigny. i found a curious little stony cellaria ( / . cellaria, a genus of bryozoa, placed in the section flustrina of the suborder chilostomata.) (a new genus) each cell provided with long toothed bristle, these are capable of various and rapid motions. this motion is often simultaneous, and can be produced by irritation. this fact, as far as i can see, is quite isolated in the history of zoophytes (excepting the flustra with an organ like a vulture's head); it points out a much more intimate relation between the polypi than lamarck is willing to allow. i forgot whether i mentioned having seen something of the manner of propagation in that most ambiguous family, the corallines; i feel pretty well convinced if they are not plants they are not zoophytes. the "gemmule" of a halimeda contained several articulations united, ready to burst their envelope, and become attached to some basis. i believe in zoophytes universally the gemmule produces a single polypus, which afterwards or at the same time grows with its cell or single articulation. the "beagle" left the sts. of magellan in the middle of winter; she found her road out by a wild unfrequented channel; well might sir j. narborough call the west coast south desolation, "because it is so desolate a land to behold." we were driven into chiloe by some very bad weather. an englishman gave me three specimens of that very fine lucanoidal insect which is described in the "camb. phil. trans." ( / . "description of chiasognathus grantii, a new lucanideous insect, etc." by j.f. stephens ("trans. camb. phil. soc." volume iv., page , .)), two males and one female. i find chiloe is composed of lava and recent deposits. the lavas are curious from abounding in, or rather being in parts composed of pitchstone. if we go to chiloe in the summer, i shall reap an entomological harvest. i suppose the botany both there and in chili is well-known. i forgot to state that in the four cargoes of specimens there have been sent three square boxes, each containing four glass bottles. i mention this in case they should be stowed beneath geological specimens and thus escape your notice, perhaps some spirit may be wanted in them. if a box arrives from b. ayres with a megatherium head the other unnumbered specimens, be kind enough to tell me, as i have strong fears for its safety. we arrived here the day before yesterday; the views of the distant mountains are most sublime and the climate delightful; after our long cruise in the damp gloomy climates of the south, to breathe a clear dry air and feel honest warm sunshine, and eat good fresh roast beef must be the summum bonum of human life. i do not like the look of the rocks half so much as the beef, there is too much of those rather insipid ingredients, mica, quartz and feldspar. our plans are at present undecided; there is a good deal of work to the south of valparaiso and to the north an indefinite quantity. i look forward to every part with interest. i have sent you in this letter a sad dose of egotism, but recollect i look up to you as my father in natural history, and a son may talk about himself to his father. in your paternal capacity as proproctor what a great deal of trouble you appear to have had. how turbulent cambridge is become. before this time it will have regained its tranquillity. i have a most schoolboy-like wish to be there, enjoying my holidays. it is a most comfortable reflection to me, that a ship being made of wood and iron, cannot last for ever, and therefore this voyage must have an end. october th. this letter has been lying in my portfolio ever since july; i did not send it away because i did not think it worth the postage; it shall now go with a box of specimens. shortly after arriving here i set out on a geological excursion, and had a very pleasant ramble about the base of the andes. the whole country appears composed of breccias (and i imagine slates) which universally have been modified and oftentimes completely altered by the action of fire. the varieties of porphyry thus produced are endless, but nowhere have i yet met with rocks which have flowed in a stream; dykes of greenstone are very numerous. modern volcanic action is entirely shut up in the very central parts (which cannot now be reached on account of the snow) of the cordilleras. in the south of the r. maypu i examined the tertiary plains, already partially described by m. gay. ( / . "rapport fait a l'academie royale des sciences, sur les travaux geologiques de m. gay," by alex. brongniart ("ann. sci. nat." volume xxviii., page , .) the fossil shells appear to me to be far more different from the recent ones than in the great patagonian formation; it will be curious if an eocene and miocene (recent there is abundance of) could be proved to exist in s. america as well as in europe. i have been much interested by finding abundance of recent shells at an elevation of , feet; the country in many places is scattered over with shells but these are all littoral ones. so that i suppose the , feet elevation must be owing to a succession of small elevations such as in . with these certain proofs of the recent residence of the ocean over all the lower parts of chili, the outline of every view and the form of each valley possesses a high interest. has the action of running water or the sea formed this deep ravine? was a question which often arose in my mind and generally was answered by finding a bed of recent shells at the bottom. i have not sufficient arguments, but i do not believe that more than a small fraction of the height of the andes has been formed within the tertiary period. the conclusion of my excursion was very unfortunate, i became unwell and could hardly reach this place. i have been in bed for the last month, but am now rapidly getting well. i had hoped during this time to have made a good collection of insects but it has been impossible: i regret the less because chiloe fairly swarms with collectors; there are more naturalists in the country, than carpenters or shoemakers or any other honest trade. in my letter from the falkland islands i said i had fears about a box with a megatherium. i have since heard from b. ayres that it went to liverpool by the brig "basingwaithe." if you have not received it, it is i think worth taking some trouble about. in october two casks and a jar were sent by h.m.s. "samarang" via portsmouth. i have no doubt you have received them. with this letter i send a good many bird skins; in the same box with them, there is a paper parcel containing pill boxes with insects. the other pill boxes require no particular care. you will see in two of these boxes some dried planariae (terrestrial), the only method i have found of preserving them (they are exceedingly brittle). by examining the white species i understand some little of the internal structure. there are two small parcels of seeds. there are some plants which i hope may interest you, or at least those from patagonia where i collected every one in flower. there is a bottle clumsily but i think securely corked containing water and gas from the hot baths of cauquenes seated at foot of andes and long celebrated for medicinal properties. i took pains in filling and securing both water and gas. if you can find any one who likes to analyze them, i should think it would be worth the trouble. i have not time at present to copy my few observations about the locality, etc., etc., [of] these springs. will you tell me how the arachnidae which i have sent home, for instance those from rio, appear to be preserved. i have doubts whether it is worth while collecting them. we sail the day after to-morrow: our plans are at last limited and definite; i am delighted to say we have bid an eternal adieu to t. del fuego. the "beagle" will not proceed further south than c. tres montes; from which point we survey to the north. the chonos archipelago is delightfully unknown: fine deep inlets running into the cordilleras--where we can steer by the light of a volcano. i do not know which part of the voyage now offers the most attractions. this is a shamefully untidy letter, but you must forgive me. letter . to j.s. henslow. april th, . valparaiso. i have just returned from mendoza, having crossed the cordilleras by two passes. this trip has added much to my knowledge of the geology of the country. some of the facts, of the truth of which i in my own mind feel fully convinced, will appear to you quite absurd and incredible. i will give a very short sketch of the structure of these huge mountains. in the portillo pass (the more southern one) travellers have described the cordilleras to consist of a double chain of nearly equal altitude separated by a considerable interval. this is the case; and the same structure extends to the northward to uspallata; the little elevation of the eastern line (here not more than , - , feet.) has caused it almost to be overlooked. to begin with the western and principal chain, we have, where the sections are best seen, an enormous mass of a porphyritic conglomerate resting on granite. this latter rock seems to form the nucleus of the whole mass, and is seen in the deep lateral valleys, injected amongst, upheaving, overturning in the most extraordinary manner, the overlying strata. the stratification in all the mountains is beautifully distinct and from a variety in the colour can be seen at great distances. i cannot imagine any part of the world presenting a more extraordinary scene of the breaking up of the crust of the globe than the very central parts of the andes. the upheaval has taken place by a great number of (nearly) n. and s. lines; which in most cases have formed as many anticlinal and synclinal ravines; the strata in the highest pinnacles are almost universally inclined at an angle from deg to deg. i cannot tell you how i enjoyed some of these views--it is worth coming from england, once to feel such intense delight; at an elevation from to , feet there is a transparency in the air, and a confusion of distances and a sort of stillness which gives the sensation of being in another world, and when to this is joined the picture so plainly drawn of the great epochs of violence, it causes in the mind a most strange assemblage of ideas. the formation i call porphyritic conglomerates is the most important and most developed one in chili: from a great number of sections i find it a true coarse conglomerate or breccia, which by every step in a slow gradation passes into a fine claystone-porphyry; the pebbles and cement becoming porphyritic till at last all is blended in one compact rock. the porphyries are excessively abundant in this chain. i feel sure at least / ths of them have been thus produced from sedimentary beds in situ. there are porphyries which have been injected from below amongst strata, and others ejected, which have flowed in streams; it is remarkable, and i could show specimens of this rock produced in these three methods, which cannot be distinguished. it is a great mistake considering the cordilleras here as composed of rocks which have flowed in streams. in this range i nowhere saw a fragment, which i believe to have thus originated, although the road passes at no great distance from the active volcanoes. the porphyries, conglomerate, sandstone and quartzose sandstone and limestones alternate and pass into each other many times, overlying (where not broken through by the granite) clay-slate. in the upper parts, the sandstone begins to alternate with gypsum, till at last we have this substance of a stupendous thickness. i really think the formation is in some places (it varies much) nearly , feet thick, it occurs often with a green (epidote?) siliceous sandstone and snow-white marble; it resembles that found in the alps in containing large concretions of a crystalline marble of a blackish grey colour. the upper beds which form some of the higher pinnacles consist of layers of snow-white gypsum and red compact sandstone, from the thickness of paper to a few feet, alternating in an endless round. the rock has a most curiously painted appearance. at the pass of the peuquenes in this formation, where however a black rock like clay-slate, without many laminae, occurring with a pale limestone, has replaced the red sandstone, i found abundant impressions of shells. the elevation must be between and , feet. a shell which i believe is the gryphaea is the most abundant--an ostrea, turratella, ammonites, small bivalves, terebratulae (?). perhaps some good conchologist ( / . some of these genera are mentioned by darwin ("geol. obs." page ) as having been named for him by m. d'orbigny.) will be able to give a guess, to what grand division of the formations of europe these organic remains bear most resemblance. they are exceedingly imperfect and few. it was late in the season and the situation particularly dangerous for snow-storms. i did not dare to delay, otherwise a grand harvest might have been reaped. so much for the western line; in the portillo pass, proceeding eastward, we meet an immense mass of conglomerate, dipping to the west deg, which rest on micaceous sandstone, etc., etc., upheaved and converted into quartz-rock penetrated by dykes from the very grand mass of protogine (large crystals of quartz, red feldspar, and occasional little chlorite). now this conglomerate which reposes on and dips from the protogene deg consists of the peculiar rocks of the first described chain, pebbles of the black rock with shells, green sandstone, etc., etc. it is hence manifest that the upheaval (and deposition at least of part) of the grand eastern chain is entirely posterior to the western. to the north in the uspallata pass, we have also a fact of the same class. bear this in mind: it will help to make you believe what follows. i have said the uspallata range is geologically, although only , - , feet, a continuation of the grand eastern chain. it has its nucleus of granite, consists of grand beds of various crystalline rocks, which i can feel no doubt are subaqueous lavas alternating with sandstone, conglomerates and white aluminous beds (like decomposed feldspar) with many other curious varieties of sedimentary deposits. these lavas and sandstones alterate very many times, and are quite conformable one to the other. during two days of careful examination i said to myself at least fifty times, how exactly like (only rather harder) these beds are to those of the upper tertiary strata of patagonia, chiloe and concepcion, without the possible identity ever having occurred to me. at last there was no resisting the conclusion. i could not expect shells, for they never occur in this formation; but lignite or carbonaceous shale ought to be found. i had previously been exceedingly puzzled by meeting in the sandstone, thin layers (few inches to feet thick) of a brecciated pitchstone. i strongly suspect the underlying granite has altered such beds into this pitchstone. the silicified wood (particularly characteristic) was yet absent. the conviction that i was on the tertiary strata was so strong by this time in my mind, that on the third day in the midst of lavas and [? masses] of granite i began my apparently forlorn hunt. how do you think i succeeded? in an escarpement of compact greenish sandstone, i found a small wood of petrified trees in a vertical position, or rather the strata were inclined about - deg to one point and the trees deg to the opposite one. that is, they were before the tilt truly vertical. the sandstone consists of many layers, and is marked by the concentric lines of the bark (i have specimens); are perfectly silicified and resemble the dicotyledonous wood which i have found at chiloe and concepcion ( / . "geol. obs." page . specimens of the silicified wood were examined by robert brown, and determined by him as coniferous, "partaking of the characters of the araucarian tribe, with some curious points of affinity with the yew."); the others ( - ) i only know to be trees from the analogy of form and position; they consist of snow-white columns (like lot's wife) of coarsely crystalline carb. of lime. the largest shaft is feet. they are all close together, within yards, and about the same level: nowhere else could i find any. it cannot be doubted that the layers of fine sandstone have quietly been deposited between a clump of trees which were fixed by their roots. the sandstone rests on lava, is covered by a great bed apparently about , feet thick of black augitic lava, and over this there are at least grand alternations of such rocks and aqueous sedimentary deposits, amounting in thickness to several thousand feet. i am quite afraid of the only conclusion which i can draw from this fact, namely that there must have been a depression in the surface of the land to that amount. but neglecting this consideration, it was a most satisfactory support of my presumption of the tertiary (i mean by tertiary, that the shells of the period were closely allied, or some identical, to those which now live, as in the lower beds of patagonia) age of this eastern chain. a great part of the proof must remain upon my ipse dixit of a mineralogical resemblance with those beds whose age is known, and the character of which resemblance is to be subject to infinite variation, passing from one variety to another by a concretionary structure. i hardly expect you to believe me, when it is a consequence of this view that granite, which forms peaks of a height probably of , feet, has been fluid in the tertiary period; that strata of that period are altered by its heat, and are traversed by dykes from the mass. that these strata have also probably undergone an immense depression, that they are now inclined at high angles and form regular or complicated anticlinal lines. to complete the climax and seal your disbelief, these same sedimentary strata and lavas are traversed by very numerous, true metallic veins of iron, copper, arsenic, silver and gold, and these can be traced to the underlying granite. a gold mine has been worked close to the clump of silicified trees. if when you see my specimens, sections and account, you should think that there is pretty strong presumptive evidence of the above facts, it appears very important; for the structure, and size of this chain will bear comparison with any in the world, and that this all should have been produced in so very recent a period is indeed wonderful. in my own mind i am quite convinced of the reality of this. i can anyhow most conscientiously say that no previously formed conjecture warped my judgment. as i have described so did i actually observe the facts. but i will have some mercy and end this most lengthy account of my geological trip. on some of the large patches of perpetual snow, i found the famous red snow of the arctic countries; i send with this letter my observations and a piece of paper on which i tried to dry some specimens. if the fact is new and you think it worth while, either yourself examine them or send them to whoever has described the specimens from the north and publish a notice in any of the periodicals. i also send a small bottle with two lizards, one of them is viviparous as you will see by the accompanying notice. a m. gay--a french naturalist--has already published in one of the newspapers of this country a similar statement and probably has forwarded to paris some account; as the fact appears singular would it not be worth while to hand over the specimens to some good lizardologist and comparative anatomist to publish an account of their internal structure? do what you think fit. this letter will go with a cargo of specimens from coquimbo. i shall write to let you know when they are sent off. in the box there are two bags of seeds, one [from the] valleys of the cordilleras , - , feet high, the soil and climate exceedingly dry, soil very light and stony, extremes in temperature; the other chiefly from the dry sandy traversia of mendoza , feet more or less. if some of the bushes should grow but not be healthy, try a slight sprinkling of salt and saltpetre. the plain is saliferous. all the flowers in the cordilleras appear to be autumnal flowerers--they were all in blow and seed, many of them very pretty. i gathered them as i rode along on the hill sides. if they will but choose to come up, i have no doubt many would be great rarities. in the mendoza bag there are the seeds or berries of what appears to be a small potato plant with a whitish flower. they grow many leagues from where any habitation could ever have existed owing to absence of water. amongst the chonos dried plants, you will see a fine specimen of the wild potato, growing under a most opposite climate, and unquestionably a true wild potato. it must be a distinct species from that of the lower cordilleras one. perhaps as with the banana, distinct species are now not to be distinguished in their varieties produced by cultivation. i cannot copy out the few remarks about the chonos potato. with the specimens there is a bundle of old papers and notebooks. will you take care of them; in case i should lose my notes, these might be useful. i do not send home any insects because they must be troublesome to you, and now so little more of the voyage remains unfinished i can well take charge of them. in two or three days i set out for coquimbo by land; the "beagle" calls for me in the beginning of june. so that i have six weeks more to enjoy geologising over these curious mountains of chili. there is at present a bloody revolution in peru. the commodore has gone there, and in the hurry has carried our letters with him; perhaps amongst them there will be one from you. i wish i had the old commodore here, i would shake some consideration for others into his old body. from coquimbo you will again hear from me. letter . to j.s. henslow. lima, july th, . this is the last letter which i shall ever write to you from the shores of america, and for this reason i send it. in a few days time the "beagle" will sail for the galapagos islands. i look forward with joy and interest to this, both as being somewhat nearer to england and for the sake of having a good look at an active volcano. although we have seen lava in abundance, i have never yet beheld the crater. i sent by h.m.s. "conway" two large boxes of specimens. the "conway" sailed the latter end of june. with them were letters for you, since that time i have travelled by land from valparaiso to copiapo and seen something more of the cordilleras. some of my geological views have been, subsequently to the last letter, altered. i believe the upper mass of strata is not so very modern as i supposed. this last journey has explained to me much of the ancient history of the cordilleras. i feel sure they formerly consisted of a chain of volcanoes from which enormous streams of lava were poured forth at the bottom of the sea. these alternate with sedimentary beds to a vast thickness; at a subsequent period these volcanoes must have formed islands, from which have been produced strata of several thousand feet thick of coarse conglomerate. ( / . see "geological observations on south america" (london, ), chapter vii.: "central chile; structure of the cordillera.") these islands were covered with fine trees; in the conglomerate, i found one feet in circumference perfectly silicified to the very centre. the alternations of compact crystalline rocks (i cannot doubt subaqueous lavas), and sedimentary beds, now upheaved fractured and indurated, form the main range of the andes. the formation was produced at the time when ammonites, gryphites, oysters, pecten, mytilus, etc., etc., lived. in the central parts of chili the structure of the lower beds is rendered very obscure by the metamorphic action which has rendered even the coarsest conglomerates porphyritic. the cordilleras of the andes so worthy of admiration from the grandeur of their dimensions, rise in dignity when it is considered that since the period of ammonites, they have formed a marked feature in the geography of the globe. the geology of these mountains pleased me in one respect; when reading lyell, it had always struck me that if the crust of the world goes on changing in a circle, there ought to be somewhere found formations which, having the age of the great european secondary beds, should possess the structure of tertiary rocks or those formed amidst islands and in limited basins. now the alternations of lava and coarse sediment which form the upper parts of the andes, correspond exactly to what would accumulate under such circumstances. in consequence of this, i can only very roughly separate into three divisions the varying strata (perhaps , feet thick) which compose these mountains. i am afraid you will tell me to learn my abc to know quartz from feldspar before i indulge in such speculations. i lately got hold of a report on m. dessalines d'orbigny's labours in s. america ( / . "voyage dans l'amerique meridionale, etc." (a. dessalines d'orbigny).); i experienced rather a debasing degree of vexation to find he has described the geology of the pampas, and that i have had some hard riding for nothing, it was however gratifying that my conclusions are the same, as far as i can collect, with his results. it is also capital that the whole of bolivia will be described. i hope to be able to connect his geology of that country with mine of chili. after leaving copiapo, we touched at iquique. i visited but do not quite understand the position of the nitrate of soda beds. here in peru, from the state of anarchy, i can make no expedition. i hear from home, that my brother is going to send me a box with books, and a letter from you. it is very unfortunate that i cannot receive this before we reach sydney, even if it ever gets safely so far. i shall not have another opportunity for many months of again writing to you. will you have the charity to send me one more letter (as soon as this reaches you) directed to the c. of good hope. your letters besides affording me the greatest delight always give me a fresh stimulus for exertion. excuse this geological prosy letter, and farewell till you hear from me at sydney, and see me in the autumn of . letter . to josiah wedgwood. [shrewsbury, october th, .] my dear uncle the "beagle" arrived at falmouth on sunday evening, and i reached home late last night. my head is quite confused with so much delight, but i cannot allow my sisters to tell you first how happy i am to see all my dear friends again. i am obliged to return in three or four days to london, where the "beagle" will be paid off, and then i shall pay shrewsbury a longer visit. i am most anxious once again to see maer, and all its inhabitants, so that in the course of two or three weeks, i hope in person to thank you, as being my first lord of the admiralty. ( / .) readers of the "life and letters" will remember that it was to josiah wedgwood that darwin owed the great opportunity of his life ("life and letters," volume i., page ), and it was fitting that he should report himself to his "first lord of the admiralty." the present letter clears up a small obscurity to which mr. poulton has called attention ("charles darwin and the theory of natural selection," "century" series, , page ). writing to fitz-roy from shrewsbury on october th, darwin says, "i arrived here yesterday morning at breakfast time." this refers to his arrival at his father's house, after having slept at the inn. the date of his arrival in shrewsbury was, therefore, october th, as given in the "life and letters," i., page .) the entries in his diary are:--october , . took leave of my home. october , . reached shrewsbury after absence of years and days.) i am so very happy i hardly know what i am writing. believe me your most affectionate nephew, chas. darwin. letter . to c. lyell. shrewsbury, monday [november th, ]. my dear lyell i suppose you will be in hart st. ( / . sir charles lyell lived at , hart street, bloomsbury.) to-morrow [or] the th. i write because i cannot avoid wishing to be the first person to tell mrs. lyell and yourself, that i have the very good, and shortly since [i.e. until lately] very unexpected fortune of going to be married! the lady is my cousin miss emma wedgwood, the sister of hensleigh wedgwood, and of the elder brother who married my sister, so we are connected by manifold ties, besides on my part, by the most sincere love and hearty gratitude to her for accepting such a one as myself. i determined when last at maer to try my chance, but i hardly expected such good fortune would turn up for me. i shall be in town in the middle or latter end of the ensuing week. ( / . mr. darwin was married on january th, (see "life and letters," i., page ). the present letter was written the day after he had become engaged.) i fear you will say i might very well have left my story untold till we met. but i deeply feel your kindness and friendship towards me, which in truth i may say, has been one chief source of happiness to me, ever since my return to england: so you must excuse me. i am well sure that mrs. lyell, who has sympathy for every one near her, will give me her hearty congratulations. believe me my dear lyell yours most truly obliged chas. darwin. (plate: mrs. darwin. walker and cockerell, ph. sc.) letter . to emma wedgwood. sunday night. athenaeum. [january th, .] ...i cannot tell you how much i enjoyed my maer visit,--i felt in anticipation my future tranquil life: how i do hope you may be as happy as i know i shall be: but it frightens me, as often as i think of what a family you have been one of. i was thinking this morning how it came, that i, who am fond of talking and am scarcely ever out of spirits, should so entirely rest my notions of happiness on quietness, and a good deal of solitude: but i believe the explanation is very simple and i mention it because it will give you hopes, that i shall gradually grow less of a brute, it is that during the five years of my voyage (and indeed i may add these two last) which from the active manner in which they have been passed, may be said to be the commencement of my real life, the whole of my pleasure was derived from what passed in my mind, while admiring views by myself, travelling across the wild deserts or glorious forests or pacing the deck of the poor little "beagle" at night. excuse this much egotism,--i give it you because i think you will humanize me, and soon teach me there is greater happiness than building theories and accumulating facts in silence and solitude. my own dearest emma, i earnestly pray, you may never regret the great, and i will add very good, deed, you are to perform on the tuesday: my own dear future wife, god bless you...the lyells called on me to-day after church; as lyell was so full of geology he was obliged to disgorge,--and i dine there on tuesday for an especial confidence. i was quite ashamed of myself to-day, for we talked for half an hour, unsophisticated geology, with poor mrs. lyell sitting by, a monument of patience. i want practice in ill-treatment the female sex,--i did not observe lyell had any compunction; i hope to harden my conscience in time: few husbands seem to find it difficult to effect this. since my return i have taken several looks, as you will readily believe, into the drawing-room; i suppose my taste [for] harmonious colours is already deteriorated, for i declare the room begins to look less ugly. i take so much pleasure in the house ( / . no. , upper gower street, is now no. , gower street, and forms part of a block inhabited by messrs. shoolbred's employes. we are indebted, for this information, to mr. wheatley, of the society of arts.), i declare i am just like a great overgrown child with a new toy; but then, not like a real child, i long to have a co-partner and possessor. ( / . the following passage is taken from the ms. copy of the "autobiography;" it was not published in the "life and letters" which appeared in mrs. darwin's lifetime:--) you all know your mother, and what a good mother she has ever been to all of you. she has been my greatest blessing, and i can declare that in my whole life i have never heard her utter one word i would rather have been unsaid. she has never failed in kindest sympathy towards me, and has borne with the utmost patience my frequent complaints of ill-health and discomfort. i do not believe she has ever missed an opportunity of doing a kind action to any one near her. i marvel at my good fortune that she, so infinitely my superior in every single moral quality, consented to be my wife. she has been my wise adviser and cheerful comforter throughout life, which without her would have been during a very long period a miserable one from ill-health. she has earned the love of every soul near her. letter . c. lyell to c. darwin. [july?, ?]. ( / . lyell started on his first visit to the united states in july, , and was absent thirteen months. darwin returned to london july rd, , after a prolonged absence; he may, therefore, have missed seeing lyell. assuming the date to be correct, it would seem that the plan of living in the country was formed a year before it was actually carried out.) i have no doubt that your father did rightly in persuading you to stay [at shrewsbury], but we were much disappointed in not seeing you before our start for a year's absence. i cannot tell you how often since your long illness i have missed the friendly intercourse which we had so frequently before, and on which i built more than ever after your marriage. it will not happen easily that twice in one's life, even in the large world of london, a congenial soul so occupied with precisely the same pursuits and with an independence enabling him to pursue them will fall so nearly in my way, and to have had it snatched from me with the prospect of your residence somewhat far off is a privation i feel as a very great one. i hope you will not, like herschell, get far off from a railway. letter . to catherine darwin. ( / . the following letter was written to his sister catherine about two months before charles darwin settled at down:--) sunday [july ]. you must have been surprised at not having heard sooner about the house. emma and i only returned yesterday afternoon from sleeping there. i will give you in detail, as my father would like, my opinion on it--emma's slightly differs. position:--about / of a mile from the small village of down in kent-- miles from st. paul's-- / miles from station (with many trains) which station is only from london. this is bad, as the drive from [i.e. on account of] the hills is long. i calculate we are two hours going from london bridge. village about forty houses with old walnut trees in the middle where stands an old flint church and the lanes meet. inhabitants very respectable--infant school--grown up people great musicians--all touch their hats as in wales and sit at their open doors in the evening; no high road leads through the village. the little pot-house where we slept is a grocer's shop, and the landlord is the carpenter--so you may guess the style of the village. there are butcher and baker and post-office. a carrier goes weekly to london and calls anywhere for anything in london and takes anything anywhere. on the road [from london] to the village, on a fine day the scenery is absolutely beautiful: from close to our house the view is very distant and rather beautiful, but the house being situated on a rather high tableland has somewhat of a desolate air. there is a most beautiful old farm-house, with great thatched barns and old stumps of oak trees, like that of skelton, one field off. the charm of the place to me is that almost every field is intersected (as alas is ours) by one or more foot-paths. i never saw so many walks in any other county. the country is extraordinarily rural and quiet with narrow lanes and high hedges and hardly any ruts. it is really surprising to think london is only miles off. the house stands very badly, close to a tiny lane and near another man's field. our field is acres and flat, looking into flat-bottomed valleys on both sides, but no view from the drawing-room, which faces due south, except on our flat field and bits of rather ugly distant horizon. close in front there are some old (very productive) cherry trees, walnut trees, yew, spanish chestnut, pear, old larch, scotch fir and silver fir and old mulberry trees, [which] make rather a pretty group. they give the ground an old look, but from not flourishing much they also give it rather a desolate look. there are quinces and medlars and plums with plenty of fruit, and morello cherries; but few apples. the purple magnolia flowers against the house. there is a really fine beech in view in our hedge. the kitchen garden is a detestable slip and the soil looks wretched from the quantity of chalk flints, but i really believe it is productive. the hedges grow well all round our field, and it is a noted piece of hayland. this year the crop was bad, but was bought, as it stood, for pounds per acre--that is pounds--the purchaser getting it in. last year it was sold for pounds--no manure was put on in the interval. does not this sound well? ask my father. does the mulberry and magnolia show it is not very cold in winter, which i fear is the case? tell susan it is miles from knole park and from westerham, at which places i hear the scenery is beautiful. there are many very odd views round our house--deepish flat-bottomed valley and nice farm-house, but big, white, ugly, fallow fields;--much wheat grown here. house ugly, looks neither old nor new--walls two feet thick--windows rather small--lower story rather low. capital study x . dining-room x . drawing-room can easily be added to: is x . three stories, plenty of bedrooms. we could hold the hensleighs and you and susan and erasmus all together. house in good repair. mr. cresy a few years ago laid out for the owner , pounds and made a new roof. water-pipes over house--two bath-rooms--pretty good offices and good stable-yard, etc., and a cottage. i believe the price is about , pounds, and i have no doubt i shall get it for one year on lease first to try, so that i shall do nothing to the house at first (last owner kept three cows, one horse, and one donkey, and sold some hay annually from one field). i have no doubt if we complete the purchase i shall at least save , pounds over westcroft, or any other house we have seen. emma was at first a good deal disappointed, and at the country round the house; the day was gloomy and cold with n.e. wind. she likes the actual field and house better than i; the house is just situated as she likes for retirement, not too near or too far from other houses, but she thinks the country looks desolate. i think all chalk countries do, but i am used to cambridgeshire, which is ten times worse. emma is rapidly coming round. she was dreadfully bad with toothache and headache in the evening and friday, but in coming back yesterday she was so delighted with the scenery for the first few miles from down, that it has worked a great change in her. we go there again the first fine day emma is able, and we then finally settle what to do. ( / . the following fragmentary "account of down" was found among mr. darwin's papers after the publication of the "life and letters." it gives the impression that he intended to write a natural history diary after the manner of gilbert white, but there is no evidence that this was actually the case.) . may th.--the first peculiarity which strikes a stranger unaccustomed to a hilly chalk country is the valleys, with their steep rounded bottoms--not furrowed with the smallest rivulet. on the road to down from keston a mound has been thrown across a considerable valley, but even against this mound there is no appearance of even a small pool of water having collected after the heaviest rains. the water all percolates straight downwards. ascertain average depth of wells, inclination of strata, and springs. does the water from this country crop out in springs in holmsdale or in the valley of the thames? examine the fine springs in holmsdale. the valleys on this platform sloping northward, but exceedingly even, generally run north and south; their sides near the summits generally become suddenly more abrupt, and are fringed with narrow strips, or, as they are here called, "shaws" of wood, sometimes merely by hedgerows run wild. the sudden steepness may generally be perceived, as just before ascending to cudham wood, and at green hill, where one of the lanes crosses these valleys. these valleys are in all probability ancient sea-bays, and i have sometimes speculated whether this sudden steepening of the sides does not mark the edges of vertical cliffs formed when these valleys were filled with sea-water, as would naturally happen in strata such as the chalk. in most countries the roads and footpaths ascend along the bottoms of valleys, but here this is scarcely ever the case. all the villages and most of the ancient houses are on the platforms or narrow strips of flat land between the parallel valleys. is this owing to the summits having existed from the most ancient times as open downs and the valleys having been filled up with brushwood? i have no evidence of this, but it is certain that most of the farmhouses on the flat land are very ancient. there is one peculiarity which would help to determine the footpaths to run along the summits instead of the bottom of the valleys, in that these latter in the middle are generally covered, even far more thickly than the general surface, with broken flints. this bed of flints, which gradually thins away on each side, can be seen from a long distance in a newly ploughed or fallow field as a whitish band. every stone which ever rolls after heavy rain or from the kick of an animal, ever so little, all tend to the bottom of the valleys; but whether this is sufficient to account for their number i have sometimes doubted, and have been inclined to apply to the case lyell's theory of solution by rain-water, etc., etc. the flat summit-land is covered with a bed of stiff red clay, from a few feet in thickness to as much, i believe, as twenty feet: this [bed], though lying immediately on the chalk, and abounding with great, irregularly shaped, unrolled flints, often with the colour and appearance of huge bones, which were originally embedded in the chalk, contains not a particle of carbonate of lime. this bed of red clay lies on a very irregular surface, and often descends into deep round wells, the origin of which has been explained by lyell. in these cavities are patches of sand like sea-sand, and like the sand which alternates with the great beds of small pebbles derived from the wear-and-tear of chalk-flints, which form keston, hayes and addington commons. near down a rounded chalk-flint is a rarity, though some few do occur; and i have not yet seen a stone of distant origin, which makes a difference--at least to geological eyes--in the very aspect of the country, compared with all the northern counties. the chalk-flints decay externally, which, according to berzelius ("edin. new phil. journal," late number), is owing to the flints containing a small proportion of alkali; but, besides this external decay, the whole body is affected by exposure of a few years, so that they will not break with clean faces for building. this bed of red clay, which renders the country very slippery in the winter months from october to april, does not cover the sides of the valleys; these, when ploughed, show the white chalk, which tint shades away lower in the valley, as insensibly as a colour laid on by a painter's brush. nearly all the land is ploughed, and is often left fallow, which gives the country a naked red look, or not unfrequently white, from a covering of chalk laid on by the farmers. nobody seems at all aware on what principle fresh chalk laid on land abounding with lime does it any good. this, however, is said to have been the practice of the country ever since the period of the romans, and at present the many white pits on the hill sides, which so frequently afford a picturesque contrast with the overhanging yew trees, are all quarried for this purpose. the number of different kinds of bushes in the hedgerows, entwined by traveller's joy and the bryonies, is conspicuous compared with the hedges of the northern counties. march th [ ?].--the first period of vegetation, and the banks are clothed with pale-blue violets to an extent i have never seen equalled, and with primroses. a few days later some of the copses were beautifully enlivened by ranunculus auricomus, wood anemones, and a white stellaria. again, subsequently, large areas were brilliantly blue with bluebells. the flowers are here very beautiful, and the number of flowers; [and] the darkness of the blue of the common little polygala almost equals it to an alpine gentian. there are large tracts of woodland, [cut down] about once every ten years; some of these enclosures seem to be very ancient. on the south side of cudham wood a beech hedge has grown to brobdignagian size, with several of the huge branches crossing each other and firmly grafted together. larks abound here, and their songs sound most agreeably on all sides; nightingales are common. judging from an odd cooing note, something like the purring of a cat, doves are very common in the woods. june th.--the sainfoin fields are now of the most beautiful pink, and from the number of hive-bees frequenting them the humming noise is quite extraordinary. this humming is rather deeper than the humming overhead, which has been continuous and loud during all these last hot days over almost every field. the labourers here say it is made by "air-bees," and one man, seeing a wild bee in a flower different from the hive kind, remarked: "that, no doubt, is an air-bee." this noise is considered as a sign of settled fair weather. chapter .ii.--evolution, - . (chapter ii./ . since the publication of the "life and letters," mr. huxley's obituary notice of charles darwin has appeared. (chapter ii./ . "proc. r. soc." volume , , and "collected essays (darwiniana)," page , .) this masterly paper is, in our opinion, the finest of the great series of darwinian essays which we owe to mr. huxley. we would venture to recommend it to our readers as the best possible introduction to these pages. there is, however, one small point in which we differ from mr. huxley. in discussing the growth of mr. darwin's evolutionary views, mr. huxley quotes from the autobiography (chapter ii./ . "life and letters," i., page . some account of the origin of his evolutionary views is given in a letter to jenyns (blomefield), "life and letters," ii. page .) a passage in which the writer describes the deep impression made on his mind by certain groups of facts observed in south america. mr. huxley goes on: "the facts to which reference is here made were, without doubt, eminently fitted to attract the attention of a philosophical thinker; but, until the relations of the existing with the extinct species, and of the species of the different geographical areas with one another, were determined with some exactness, they afforded but an unsafe foundation for speculation. it was not possible that this determination should have been effected before the return of the "beagle" to england; and thus the date (chapter ii./ . the date in question is july , when he "opened first note-book on transmutation of species.') which darwin (writing in ) assigns to the dawn of the new light which was rising in his mind, becomes intelligible." this seems to us inconsistent with darwin's own statement that it was especially the character of the "species on galapagos archipelago" which had impressed him. (chapter ii./ . see "life and letters," i., page .) this must refer to the zoological specimens: no doubt he was thinking of the birds, but these he had himself collected in (chapter ii./ . he wrote in his "journal," page , "my attention was first thoroughly aroused, by comparing together the numerous specimens shot by myself and several other parties on board," etc.), and no accurate determination of the forms was necessary to impress on him the remarkable characteristic species of the different islands. we agree with mr. huxley that is the date of the "new light which was rising in his mind." that the dawn did not come sooner seems to us to be accounted for by the need of time to produce so great a revolution in his conceptions. we do not see that mr. huxley's supposition as to the effect of the determination of species, etc., has much weight. mr. huxley quotes a letter from darwin to zacharias, "but i did not become convinced that species were mutable until, i think, two or three years [after ] had elapsed" (see letter ). this passage, which it must be remembered was written in , is all but irreconcilable with the direct evidence of the note-book. a series of passages are quoted from it in the "life and letters," volume ii., pages et seq., and these it is impossible to read without feeling that he was convinced of immutability. he had not yet attained to a clear idea of natural selection, and therefore his views may not have had, even to himself, the irresistible convincing power they afterwards gained; but that he was, in the ordinary sense of the word, convinced of the truth of the doctrine of evolution we cannot doubt. he thought it "almost useless" to try to prove the truth of evolution until the cause of change was discovered. and it is natural that in later life he should have felt that conviction was wanting till that cause was made out. (chapter ii./ . see "charles darwin, his life told, etc." , page .) for the purposes of the present chapter the point is not very material. we know that in he wrote the first sketch of his theory, and that it was greatly amplified in . so that, at the date of the first letters of this chapter, we know that he had a working hypothesis of evolution which did not differ in essentials from that given in the "origin of species." to realise the amount of work that was in progress during the period covered by chapter ii., it should be remembered that during part of the time--namely, from to --he was largely occupied by his work on the cirripedes. (chapter ii./ . "life and letters," i. page .) this research would have fully occupied a less methodical workman, and even to those who saw him at work it seemed his whole occupation. thus (to quote a story of lord avebury's) one of mr. darwin's children is said to have asked, in regard to a neighbour, "then where does he do his barnacles?" as though not merely his father, but all other men, must be occupied on that group. sir joseph hooker, to whom the first letter in this chapter is addressed, was good enough to supply a note on the origin of his intimacy with mr. darwin, and this is published in the "life and letters." (chapter ii./ . ibid., ii., page . see also "nature," , june nd, page , where some reminiscences are published, which formed part of sir joseph's speech at the unveiling of darwin's statue in the oxford museum.) the close intercourse that sprang up between them was largely carried on by correspondence, and mr. darwin's letters to sir joseph have supplied most valuable biographical material. but it should not be forgotten that, quite apart from this, science owes much to this memorable friendship, since without hooker's aid darwin's great work would hardly have been carried out on the botanical side. and sir joseph did far more than supply knowledge and guidance in technical matters: darwin owed to him a sympathetic and inspiriting comradeship which cheered and refreshed him to the end of his life. a sentence from a letter to hooker written in shows, quite as well as more serious utterances, how quickly the acquaintance grew into friendship. "farewell! what a good thing is community of tastes! i feel as if i had known you for fifty years. adios." and in illustration of the permanence of the sympathetic bond between them, we quote a letter of written forty-two years after the first meeting with sir joseph in trafalgar square (see "life and letters," ii., page ). mr. darwin wrote: "your letter has cheered me, and the world does not look a quarter so black this morning as it did when i wrote before. your friendly words are worth their weight in gold.") letter . to j.d. hooker. down, thursday [january th, ]. my dear sir i must write to thank you for your last letter, and to tell you how much all your views and facts interest me. i must be allowed to put my own interpretation on what you say of "not being a good arranger of extended views"--which is, that you do not indulge in the loose speculations so easily started by every smatterer and wandering collector. i look at a strong tendency to generalise as an entire evil. what you say of mr. brown is humiliating; i had suspected it, but would not allow myself to believe in such heresy. fitz-roy gave him a rap in his preface ( / . in the preface to the "surveying voyages of the 'adventure' and the 'beagle,' - , forming volume i of the work, which includes the later voyage of the "beagle," captain fitz-roy wrote (march, ): "captain king took great pains in forming and preserving a botanical collection, aided by a person embarked solely for that purpose. he placed this collection in the british museum, and was led to expect that a first-rate botanist would have examined and described it; but he has been disappointed." a reference to robert brown's dilatoriness over king's collection occurs in the "life and letters," i., page , note.), and made him very indignant, but it seems a much harder one would not have been wasted. my cryptogamic collection was sent to berkeley; it was not large. i do not believe he has yet published an account, but he wrote to me some year ago that he had described [the specimens] and mislaid all his descriptions. would it not be well for you to put yourself in communication with him, as otherwise something will perhaps be twice laboured over? my best (though poor) collection of the cryptogams was from the chonos islands. would you kindly observe one little fact for me, whether any species of plant, peculiar to any island, as galapagos, st. helena, or new zealand, where there are no large quadrupeds, have hooked seeds--such hooks as, if observed here, would be thought with justness to be adapted to catch into wool of animals. would you further oblige me some time by informing me (though i forget this will certainly appear in your "antarctic flora") whether in islands like st. helena, galapagos, and new zealand, the number of families and genera are large compared with the number of species, as happens in coral islands, and as, i believe, in the extreme arctic land. certainly this is the case with marine shells in extreme arctic seas. do you suppose the fewness of species in proportion to number of large groups in coral islets is owing to the chance of seeds from all orders getting drifted to such new spots, as i have supposed. did you collect sea-shells in kerguelen-land? i should like to know their character. your interesting letters tempt me to be very unreasonable in asking you questions; but you must not give yourself any trouble about them, for i know how fully and worthily you are employed. ( / . the rest of the letter has been previously published in "life and letters," ii., page .) besides a general interest about the southern lands, i have been now ever since my return engaged in a very presumptuous work, and i know no one individual who would not say a very foolish one. i was so struck with the distribution of the galapagos organisms, etc., and with the character of the american fossil mammifers, etc., that i determined to collect blindly every sort of fact which could bear any way on what are species. i have read heaps of agricultural and horticultural books, and have never ceased collecting facts. at last gleams of light have come, and i am almost convinced (quite contrary to the opinion i started with) that species are not (it is like confessing a murder) immutable. heaven forfend me from lamarck nonsense of a "tendency to progression," "adaptations from the slow willing of animals," etc.! but the conclusions i am led to are not widely different from his; though the means of change are wholly so. i think i have found out (here's presumption!) the simple way by which species become exquisitely adapted to various ends. you will now groan, and think to yourself, "on what a man have i been wasting my time and writing to." i should, five years ago, have thought so...( / . on the questions here dealt with see the interesting letter to jenyns in the "life and letters," ii., page .) letter . to j.d. hooker. [november] . ...what a curious, wonderful case is that of the lycopodium! ( / . sir j.d. hooker wrote, november , : "i am firmly convinced (but not enough to print it) that l. selago varies in van diemen's land into l. varium. two more different species (as they have hitherto been thought), per se cannot be conceived, but nowhere else do they vary into one another, nor does selago vary at all in england.")...i suppose you would hardly have expected them to be more varying than a phanerogamic plant. i trust you will work the case out, and, even if unsupported, publish it, for you can surely do this with due caution. i have heard of some analogous facts, though on the smallest scale, in certain insects being more variable in one district than in another, and i think the same holds with some land-shells. by a strange chance i had noted to ask you in this letter an analogous question, with respect to genera, in lieu of individual species,--that is, whether you know of any case of a genus with most of its species being variable (say rubus) in one continent, having another set of species in another continent non-variable, or not in so marked a manner. mr. herbert ( / . no doubt dean herbert, the horticulturist. see "life and letters," i., page .) incidentally mentioned in a letter to me that the heaths at the cape of good hope were very variable, whilst in europe they are (?) not so; but then the species here are few in comparison, so that the case, even if true, is not a good one. in some genera of insects the variability appears to be common in distant parts of the world. in shells, i hope hereafter to get much light on this question through fossils. if you can help me, i should be very much obliged: indeed, all your letters are most useful to me. monday:--now for your first long letter, and to me quite as interesting as long. several things are quite new to me in it--viz., for one, your belief that there are more extra-tropical than intra-tropical species. i see that my argument from the arctic regions is false, and i should not have tried to argue against you, had i not fancied that you thought that equability of climate was the direct cause of the creation of a greater or lesser number of species. i see you call our climate equable; i should have thought it was the contrary. anyhow, the term is vague, and in england will depend upon whether a person compares it with the united states or tierra del fuego. in my journal (page ) i see i state that in south chiloe, at a height of about , feet, the forests had a fuegian aspect: i distinctly recollect that at the sea-level in the middle of chiloe the forest had almost a tropical aspect. i should like much to hear, if you make out, whether the n. or s. boundaries of a plant are the most restricted; i should have expected that the s. would be, in the temperate regions, from the number of antagonist species being greater. n.b. humboldt, when in london, told me of some river ( / . the obi (see "flora antarctica," page , note). hooker writes: "some of the most conspicuous trees attain either of its banks, but do not cross them.") in n.e. europe, on the opposite banks of which the flora was, on the same soil and under same climate, widely different! i forget ( / . the last paragraph is published in "life and letters," ii., page .) my last letter, but it must have been a very silly one, as it seems i gave my notion of the number of species being in great degree governed by the degree to which the area had been often isolated and divided. i must have been cracked to have written it, for i have no evidence, without a person be willing to admit all my views, and then it does follow. ( / . the remainder of the foregoing letter is published in the "life and letters," ii., page . it is interesting as giving his views on the mutability of species. thus he wrote: "with respect to books on this subject, i do not know any systematical ones, except lamarck's, which is veritable rubbish; but there are plenty, as lyell, pritchard, etc., on the view of the immutability." by "pritchard" is no doubt intended james cowles "prichard," author of the "physical history of mankind." prof. poulton has given in his paper, "a remarkable anticipation of modern views on evolution" ( / . "science progress," volume i., april , page .), an interesting study of prichard's work. he shows that prichard was in advance of his day in his views on the non-transmission of acquired characters. prof. poulton also tries to show that prichard was an evolutionist. he allows that prichard wrote with hesitation, and that in the later editions of his book his views became weaker. but, even with these qualifications, we think that poulton has unintentionally exaggerated the degree to which prichard believed in evolution. one of prichard's strongest sentences is quoted by poulton (loc. cit., page ); it occurs in the "physical history of mankind," ed. , volume ii., page :-- "is it not probable that the varieties which spring up within the limits of particular species are further adaptations of structure to the circumstances under which the tribe is destined to exist? varieties branch out from the common form of a species, just as the forms of species deviate from the common type of a genus. why should the one class of phenomena be without end or utility, a mere effect of contingency or chance, more than the other?" if this passage, and others similar to it, stood alone, we might agree with prof. poulton; but this is impossible when we find in volume i. of the same edition, page , the following uncompromising statement of immutability:-- "the meaning attached to the term species, in natural history, is very simple and obvious. it includes only one circumstance--namely, an original distinctness and constant transmission of any character. a race of animals, or plants, marked by any peculiarities of structure which have always been constant and undeviating, constitutes a species." on page , in speaking of the idea that the species which make up a genus may have descended from a common form, he says:-- "there must, indeed, be some principle on which the phenomena of resemblance, as well as those of diversity, may be explained; and the reference of several forms to a common type seems calculated to suggest the idea of some original affinity; but, as this is merely a conjecture, it must be kept out of sight when our inquiries respect matters of fact only." this view is again given in volume ii., page , where he asks whether we should believe that "at the first production of a genus, when it first grew into existence, some slight modification in the productive causes stamped it originally with all these specific diversities? or is it most probable that the modification was subsequent to its origin, and that the genus at its first creation was one and uniform, and afterwards became diversified by the influence of external agents?" he concludes that "the former of these suppositions is the conclusion to which we are led by all that can be ascertained respecting the limits of species, and the extent of variation under the influence of causes at present existing and operating." in spite of the fact that prichard did not carry his ideas to their logical conclusion, it may perhaps excite surprise that mr. darwin should have spoken of him as absolutely on the side of immutability. we believe it to be partly accounted for (as poulton suggests) by the fact that mr. darwin possessed only the third edition ( and ) and the fourth edition ( - ). ( / . the edition of - consists of reprints of the third edition and three additional volumes of various dates. volumes i. and ii. are described in the title-page as the fourth edition; volumes iii. and iv. as the third edition, and volume v. has no edition marked in the title.) in neither of these is the evolutionary point of view so strong as in the second edition. we have gone through all the passages marked by mr. darwin for future reference in the third and fourth editions, and have been only able to find the following, which occurs in the third edition (volume i., , page ) ( / . there is also (ed. , volume ii., page ) a vague reference to natural selection, of which the last sentence is enclosed in pencil in inverted commas, as though mr. darwin had intended to quote it: "in other parts of africa the xanthous variety [of man] often appears, but does not multiply. individuals thus characterised are like seeds which perish in an uncongenial soil.") "the variety in form, prevalent among all organised productions of nature, is found to subsist between individual beings of whatever species, even when they are offspring of the same parents. another circumstance equally remarkable is the tendency which exists in almost every tribe, whether of animals or of plants, to transmit to their offspring and to perpetuate in their race all individual peculiarities which may thus have taken their rise. these two general facts in the economy of organised beings lay a foundation for the existence of diversified races, originating from the same primitive stock and within the limits of identical species." on the following page (page ) a passage (not marked by mr. darwin) emphasises the limitation which prichard ascribed to the results of variation and inheritance:-- "even those physiologists who contend for what is termed the indefinite nature of species admit that they have limits at present and under ordinary circumstances. whatever diversities take place happen without breaking in upon the characteristic type of the species. this is transmitted from generation to generation: goats produce goats, and sheep, sheep." the passage on page occurs in the reprint of the - edition which forms part of the - edition, but is not there marked by mr. darwin. he notes at the end of volume i. of the - edition: "march, . i have not looked through all these [i.e. marked passages], but i have gone through the later edition"; and a similar entry is in volume ii. of the third edition. it is therefore easy to understand how he came to overlook the passage on page when he began the fuller statement of his species theory which is referred to in the "life and letters" as the "unfinished book." in the historical sketch prefixed to the "origin of species" writers are named as precursors whose claims are less strong than prichard's, and it is certain that mr. darwin would have given an account of him if he had thought of him as an evolutionist. the two following passages will show that mr. darwin was, from his knowledge of prichard's books, justified in classing him among those who did not believe in the mutability of species: "the various tribes of organised beings were originally placed by the creator in certain regions, for which they are by their nature peculiarly adapted. each species had only one beginning in a single stock: probably a single pair, as linnaeus supposed, was first called into being in some particular spot, and the progeny left to disperse themselves to as great a distance from the original centre of their existence as the locomotive powers bestowed on them, or their capability of bearing changes of climate and other physical agencies, may have enabled them to wander." ( / . prichard, third edition, - , volume i., page .) the second passage is annotated by mr. darwin with a shower of exclamation marks: "the meaning attached to the term species in natural history is very definite and intelligible. it includes only the following conditions--namely, separate origin and distinctness of race, evinced by the constant transmission of some characteristic peculiarity of organisation. a race of animals or of plants marked by any peculiar character which has always been constant and undeviating constitutes a species; and two races are considered as specifically different, if they are distinguished from each other by some characteristic which one cannot be supposed to have acquired, or the other to have lost through any known operation of physical causes; for we are hence led to conclude that the tribes thus distinguished have not descended from the same original stock." ( / . prichard, ed. - , volume i., page . this passage is almost identical with that quoted from the second edition, volume i., page . the latter part, from "and two races...," occurs in the second edition, though not quoted above.) as was his custom, mr. darwin pinned at the end of the first volume of the - edition a piece of paper containing a list of the pages where marked passages occur. this paper bears, written in pencil, "how like my book all this will be!" the words appear to refer to prichard's discussion on the dispersal of animals and plants; they certainly do not refer to the evolutionary views to be found in the book.) letter . to j.d. hooker. down [ ]. thank you exceedingly for your long letter, and i am in truth ashamed of the time and trouble you have taken for me; but i must some day write again to you on the subject of your letter. i will only now observe that you have extended my remark on the range of species of shells into the range of genera or groups. analogy from shells would only go so far, that if two or three species...were found to range from america to india, they would be found to extend through an unusual thickness of strata--say from the upper cretaceous to its lowest bed, or the neocomian. or you may reverse it and say those species which range throughout the whole cretaceous, will have wide ranges: viz., from america through europe to india (this is one actual case with shells in the cretaceous period). letter . to j.d. hooker. down [ ]. i ought to have written sooner to say that i am very willing to subscribe pound shilling to the african man (though it be murder on a small scale), and will send you a post-office-order payable to kew, if you will be so good as to take charge of it. thanks for your information about the antarctic zoology; i got my numbers when in town on thursday: would it be asking your publisher to take too much trouble to send your botany ["flora antarctica," by j.d. hooker, ] to the athenaeum club? he might send two or three numbers together. i am really ashamed to think of your having given me such a valuable work; all i can say is that i appreciate your present in two ways--as your gift, and for its great use to my species-work. i am very glad to hear that you mean to attack this subject some day. i wonder whether we shall ever be public combatants; anyhow, i congratulate myself in a most unfair advantage of you, viz., in having extracted more facts and views from you than from any one other person. i daresay your explanation of polymorphism on volcanic islands may be the right one; the reason i am curious about it is, the fact of the birds on the galapagos being in several instances very fine-run species--that is, in comparing them, not so much one with another, as with their analogues from the continent. i have somehow felt, like you, that an alpine form of a plant is not a true variety; and yet i cannot admit that the simple fact of the cause being assignable ought to prevent its being called a variety; every variation must have some cause, so that the difference would rest on our knowledge in being able or not to assign the cause. do you consider that a true variety should be produced by causes acting through the parent? but even taking this definition, are you sure that alpine forms are not inherited from one, two, or three generations? now, would not this be a curious and valuable experiment ( / . for an account of work of this character, see papers by g. bonnier in the "revue generale," volume ii., ; "ann. sc. nat." volume xx.; "revue generale," volume vii.), viz., to get seeds of some alpine plant, a little more hairy, etc., etc., than its lowland fellow, and raise seedlings at kew: if this has not been done, could you not get it done? have you anybody in scotland from whom you could get the seeds? i have been interested by your remarks on senecia and gnaphalium: would it not be worth while (i should be very curious to hear the result) to make a short list of the generally considered variable or polymorphous genera, as rosa, salix, rubus, etc., etc., and reflect whether such genera are generally mundane, and more especially whether they have distinct or identical (or closely allied) species in their different and distant habitats. don't forget me, if you ever stumble on cases of the same species being more or less variable in different countries. with respect to the word "sterile" as used for male or polleniferous flowers, it has always offended my ears dreadfully; on the same principle that it would to hear a potent stallion, ram or bull called sterile, because they did not bear, as well as beget, young. with respect to your geological-map suggestion, i wish with all my heart i could follow it; but just reflect on the number of measurements requisite; why, at present it could not be done even in england, even with the assumption of the land having simply risen any exact number of feet. but subsidence in most cases has hopelessly complexed the problem: see what jordanhill-smith ( / . james smith, of jordan hill, author of a paper "on the geology of gibraltar" ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume ii., page , ).) says of the dance up and down, many times, which gibraltar has had all within the recent period. such maps as lyell ( / . "principles of geology," , volume i., plate i, page .) has published of sea and land at the beginning of the tertiary period must be excessively inaccurate: it assumes that every part on which tertiary beds have not been deposited, must have then been dry land,--a most doubtful assumption. i have been amused by chambers v. hooker on the k. cabbage. i see in the "explanations" (the spirit of which, though not the facts, ought to shame sedgwick) that "vestiges" considers all land-animals and plants to have passed from marine forms; so chambers is quite in accordance. did you hear forbes, when here, giving the rather curious evidence (from a similarity in error) that chambers must be the author of the "vestiges": your case strikes me as some confirmation. i have written an unreasonably long and dull letter, so farewell. ( / . "explanations: a sequel to the vestiges of the natural history of creation" was published in , after the appearance of the fourth edition of the "vestiges," by way of reply to the criticisms on the original book. the "k. cabbage" referred to at the beginning of the paragraph is pringlea antiscorbutica," the "kerguelen cabbage" described by sir j.d. hooker in his "flora antarctica." what chambers wrote on this subject we have not discovered. the mention of sedgwick is a reference to his severe review of the "vestiges" in the "edinburgh review," , volume , page . darwin described it as savouring "of the dogmatism of the pulpit" ("life and letters," i., page ). mr. ireland's edition of the "vestiges" ( ), in which robert chambers was first authentically announced as the author, contains (page xxix) an extract from a letter written by chambers in , in which the following passage occurs, "the april number of the 'edinburgh review"' ( ) makes all but a direct amende for the abuse it poured upon my work a number of years ago." this is the well-known review by owen, to which references occur in the "life and letters," ii., page . the amende to the "vestiges" is not so full as the author felt it to be; but it was clearly in place in a paper intended to belittle the "origin"; it also gave the reviewer (page ) an opportunity for a hit at sedgwick and his review.) letter . to l. blomefield [jenyns]. down. february th [ ]. i have taken my leisure in thanking you for your last letter and discussion, to me very interesting, on the increase of species. since your letter, i have met with a very similar view in richardson, who states that the young are driven away by the old into unfavourable districts, and there mostly perish. when one meets with such unexpected statistical returns on the increase and decrease and proportion of deaths and births amongst mankind, and in this well-known country of ours, one ought not to be in the least surprised at one's ignorance, when, where, and how the endless increase of our robins and sparrows is checked. thanks for your hints about terms of "mutation," etc.; i had some suspicions that it was not quite correct, and yet i do not see my way to arrive at any better terms. it will be years before i publish, so that i shall have plenty of time to think of better words. development would perhaps do, only it is applied to the changes of an individual during its growth. i am, however, very glad of your remark, and will ponder over it. we are all well, wife and children three, and as flourishing as this horrid, house-confining, tempestuous weather permits. letter . to j.d. hooker. down [ ]. i hope you are getting on well with your lectures, and that you have enjoyed some pleasant walks during the late delightful weather. i write to tell you (as perhaps you might have had fears on the subject) that your books have arrived safely. i am exceedingly obliged to you for them, and will take great care of them; they will take me some time to read carefully. i send to-day the corrected ms. of the first number of my "journal" ( / . in he had written to his sister: "talking of money, i reaped the other day all the profit which i shall ever get from my "journal" ["journal of researches, etc."] which consisted in paying mr. colburn pounds shillings for the copies which i presented to different people; , copies have been sold. this is a comfortable arrangement, is it not?" he was proved wrong in his gloomy prophecy, as the second edition was published by mr. murray in .) in the colonial library, so that if you chance to know of any gross mistake in the first pages (if you have my "journal"), i should be obliged to you to tell me. do not answer this for form's sake; for you must be very busy. we have just had the lyells here, and you ought to have a wife to stop your working too much, as mrs. lyell peremptorily stops lyell. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . sir j.d. hooker's letters to mr. darwin seem to fix the date as , while the reference to forbes' paper indicates .) down [ - ]. i am particularly obliged for your facts about solitary islands having several species of peculiar genera; it knocks on the head some analogies of mine; the point stupidly never occurred to me to ask about. i am amused at your anathemas against variation and co.; whatever you may be pleased to say, you will never be content with simple species, "as they are." i defy you to steel your mind to technicalities, like so many of our brother naturalists. i am much pleased that i thought of sending you forbes' article. ( / . e. forbes' celebrated paper "memoirs of the geological survey of great britain," volume i., page , . in lyell's "principles," th edition, , page , he makes a temperate claim of priority, as he had already done in a private letter of october th, , to forbes ("life of sir charles lyell," , volume ii., page ) both as regards the sicilian flora and the barrier effect of mountain-chains. see letter for a note on forbes.) i confess i cannot make out the evidence of his time-notions in distribution, and i cannot help suspecting that they are rather vague. lyell preceded forbes in one class of speculation of this kind: for instance, in his explaining the identity of the sicily flora with that of south italy, by its having been wholly upraised within the recent period; and, so i believe, with mountain-chains separating floras. i do not remember humboldt's fact about the heath regions. very curious the case of the broom; i can tell you something analogous on a small scale. my father, when he built his house, sowed many broom-seeds on a wild bank, which did not come up, owing, as it was thought, to much earth having been thrown over them. about thirty-five years afterwards, in cutting a terrace, all this earth was thrown up, and now the bank is one mass of broom. i see we were in some degree talking to cross-purposes; when i said i did [not] much believe in hybridising to any extent, i did not mean at all to exclude crossing. it has long been a hobby of mine to see in how many flowers such crossing is probable; it was, i believe, knight's view, originally, that every plant must be occasionally crossed. ( / . see an article on "the knight-darwin law" by francis darwin in "nature," october th, , page .) i find, however, plenty of difficulty in showing even a vague probability of this; especially in the leguminosae, though their [structure?] is inimitably adapted to favour crossing, i have never yet met with but one instance of a natural mongrel (nor mule?) in this family. i shall be particularly curious to hear some account of the appearance and origin of the ayrshire irish yew. and now for the main object of my letter: it is to ask whether you would just run your eye over the proof of my galapagos chapter ( / . in the second edition of the "naturalist's voyage."), where i mention the plants, to see that i have made no blunders, or spelt any of the scientific names wrongly. as i daresay you will so far oblige me, will you let me know a few days before, when you leave edinburgh and how long you stay at kinnordy, so that my letter might catch you. i am not surprised at my collection from james island differing from others, as the damp upland district (where i slept two nights) is six miles from the coast, and no naturalist except myself probably ever ascended to it. cuming had never even heard of it. cuming tells me that he was on charles, james, and albemarle islands, and that he cannot remember from my description the scalesia, but thinks he could if he saw a specimen. i have no idea of the origin of the distribution of the galapagos shells, about which you ask. i presume (after forbes' excellent remarks on the facilities by which embryo-shells are transported) that the pacific shells have been borne thither by currents; but the currents all run the other way. (plate: edward forbes ? from a photograph by hill & adamson.) letter . edward forbes to c. darwin. ( / . edward forbes was at work on his celebrated paper in the "geological survey memoirs" for . we have not seen the letter of darwin's to which this is a reply, nor, indeed, any of his letters to forbes. the date of the letter is fixed by forbes's lecture given at the royal institution on february th, (according to l. horner's privately printed "memoirs," ii., page .)) wednesday. , southwark street, hyde park. [ ]. dear darwin to answer your very welcome letter, so far from being a waste of time, is a gain, for it obliges me to make myself clear and understood on matters which i have evidently put forward imperfectly and with obscurity. i have devoted the whole of this week to working and writing out the flora question, for i now feel strong enough to give my promised evening lecture on it at the royal institution on friday, and, moreover, wish to get it in printable form for the reports of our survey. therefore at no time can i receive or answer objections with more benefit than now. from the hurry and pressure which unfortunately attend all my movements and doings i rarely have time to spare, in preparing for publication, to do more than give brief and unsatisfactory abstracts, which i fear are often extremely obscure. now for your objections--which have sprung out of my own obscurities. i do not argue in a circle about the irish case, but treat the botanical evidence of connection and the geological as distinct. the former only i urged at cambridge; the latter i have not yet publicly maintained. my cambridge argument ( / . "on the distribution of endemic plants," by e. forbes, "brit. assoc. rep." (cambridge), page .) was this: that no known currents, whether of water or air, or ordinary means of transport ( / . darwin's note on transportation (found with forbes' letter): "forbes' arguments, from several spanish plants in ireland not being transported, not sound, because sea-currents and air ditto and migration of birds in same lines. i have thought not-transportation the greatest difficulty. now we see how many seeds every plant and tree requires to be regularly propagated in its own country, for we cannot think the great number of seeds superfluous, and therefore how small is the chance of here and there a solitary seedling being preserved in a well-stocked country."), would account for the little group of asturian plants--few as to species, but playing a conspicuous part in the vegetation--giving a peculiar botanical character to the south of ireland; that, as i had produced evidence of the other floras of our islands, i.e. the germanic, the cretaceous, and the devonian (these terms used topographically, not geologically) having been acquired by migration over continuous land (the glacial or alpine flora i except for the present--as ice-carriage might have played a great part in its introduction)--i considered it most probable, and maintained, that the introduction of that irish flora was also effected by the same means. i held also that the character of this flora was more southern and more ancient than that of any of the others, and that its fragmentary and limited state was probably due to the plants composing it having (from their comparative hardiness--heaths, saxifrages, etc.) survived the destroying influence of the glacial epoch. my geological argument now is as follows: half the mediterranean islands, or more, are partly--in some cases (as malta) wholly--composed of the upheaved bed of the miocene sea; so is a great part of the south of france from bordeaux to montpellier; so is the west of portugal; and we find the corresponding beds with the same fossils (pecten latissimus, etc.) in the azores. so general an upheaval seems to me to indicate the former existence of a great post-miocene land [in] the region of what is usually called the mediterranean flora. (everywhere these miocene islands, etc., bear a flora of true type.) if this land existed, it did not extend to america, for the fossils of the miocene of america are representative and not identical. where, then, was the edge or coast-line of it, atlantic-wards? look at the form and constancy of the great fucus-bank, and consider that it is a sargassum bank, and that the sargassum there is in an abnormal condition, and that the species of this genus of fuci are essentially ground-growers, and then see the probability of this bank having originated on a line of ancient coast. now, having thus argued independently, first on my flora and second on the geological evidences of land in the quarter required, i put the two together to bear up my irish case. i cannot admit the sargassum case to be parallel with that of confervae or oscillatoria. i think i have evidence from the fossils of the boulder formations in ireland that if such miocene land existed it must have been broken up or partially broken up at the epoch of the glacial or boulder period. all objections thankfully received. ever most sincerely, edward forbes. letter . to l. jenyns (blomefield). down. [ ]. i am much obliged for your note and kind intended present of your volume. ( / . no doubt the late mr. blomefield's "observations in natural history." see "life and letters," ii., page .) i feel sure i shall like it, for all discussions and observations on what the world would call trifling points in natural history always appear to me very interesting. in such foreign periodicals as i have seen, there are no such papers as white, or waterton, or some few other naturalists in loudon's and charlesworth's journal, would have written; and a great loss it has always appeared to me. i should have much liked to have met you in london, but i cannot leave home, as my wife is recovering from a rather sharp fever attack, and i am myself slaving to finish my s. american geology ( / . "geological observations in south america" (london), .), of which, thanks to all plutonic powers, two-thirds are through the press, and then i shall feel a comparatively free man. have you any thoughts of southampton? ( / . the british association met at southampton in .) i have some vague idea of going there, and should much enjoy meeting you. letter . to j.d. hooker. shrewsbury [end of february ]. i came here on account of my father's health, which has been sadly failing of late, but to my great joy he has got surprisingly better...i had not heard of your botanical appointment ( / . sir joseph was appointed botanist to the geological survey in .), and am very glad of it, more especially as it will make you travel and give you change of work and relaxation. will you some time have to examine the chalk and its junction with london clay and greensand? if so our house would be a good central place, and my horse would be at your disposal. could you not spin a long week out of this examination? it would in truth delight us, and you could bring your papers (like lyell) and work at odd times. forbes has been writing to me about his subsidence doctrines; i wish i had heard his full details, but i have expressed to him in my ignorance my objections, which rest merely on its too great hypothetical basis; i shall be curious, when i meet him, to hear what he says. he is also speculating on the gulf-weed. i confess i cannot appreciate his reasoning about his miocene continent, but i daresay it is from want of knowledge. you allude to the sicily flora not being peculiar, and this being caused by its recent elevation (well established) in the main part: you will find lyell has put forward this very clearly and well. the apennines (which i was somewhere lately reading about) seems a very curious case. i think forbes ought to allude a little to lyell's ( / . see letter .) work on nearly the same subject as his speculations; not that i mean that forbes wishes to take the smallest credit from him or any man alive; no man, as far as i see, likes so much to give credit to others, or more soars above the petty craving for self-celebrity. if you come to any more conclusions about polymorphism, i should be very glad to hear the result: it is delightful to have many points fermenting in one's brain, and your letters and conclusions always give one plenty of this same fermentation. i wish i could even make any return for all your facts, views, and suggestions. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . the following extract gives the germ of what developed into an interesting discussion in the "origin" (edition i., page ). darwin wrote, "i suspect also that some cases of compensation which have been advanced and likewise some other facts, may be merged under a more general principle: namely, that natural selection is continually trying to economise in every part of the organism." he speaks of the general belief of botanists in compensation, but does not quote any instances.) [september ]. have you ever thought of g. st. hilaire's "loi de balancement" ( / . according to darwin ("variation of animals and plants," nd edition, ii., page ) the law of balancement was propounded by goethe and geoffroy saint-hilaire ( - ) nearly at the same time, but he gives no reference to the works of these authors. it appears, however, from his son isidore's "vie, travaux etc., d'etienne geoffroy saint-hilaire," paris , page , that the law was given in his "philosophie anatomique," of which the first part was published in . darwin (ibid.) gives some instances of the law holding good in plants.), as applied to plants? i am well aware that some zoologists quite reject it, but it certainly appears to me that it often holds good with animals. you are no doubt aware of the kind of facts i refer to, such as great development of canines in the carnivora apparently causing a diminution--a compensation or balancement--in the small size of premolars, etc. i have incidentally noticed some analogous remarks on plants, but have never seen it discussed by botanists. can you think of cases in any one species in genus, or genus in family, with certain parts extra developed, and some adjoining parts reduced? in varieties of the same species double flowers and large fruits seem something of this--want of pollen and of seeds balancing with the increased number of petals and development of fruit. i hope we shall see you here this autumn. ( / . in this year ( ) darwin wrote a short review of waterhouse's "natural history of the mammalia," of which the first volume had appeared. it was published in "the annals and magazine of natural history," volume xix., page . the following sentence is the only one which shows even a trace of evolution: "whether we view classification as a mere contrivance to convey much information in a single word, or as something more than a memoria technica, and as connected with the laws of creation, we cannot doubt that where such important differences in the generative and cerebral systems, as distinguish the marsupiata from the placentata, run through two series of animals, they ought to be arranged under heads of equal value." a characteristic remark occurs in reference to geographical distribution, "that noble subject of which we as yet but dimly see the full bearing." the following letter seems to be of sufficient interest to be published in spite of the obscurities caused by the want of date. it seems to have been written after , in which year a dispute involving dr. king and several "arctic gentlemen" was carried on in the "athenaeum." mr. darwin speaks of "natural history instructions for the present expedition." this may possibly refer to the "admiralty manual of scientific enquiry" ( ), for it is clear, from the prefatory memorandum of the lords of the admiralty, that they believed the manual would be of use in the forthcoming expeditions in search of sir john franklin.) letter . to e. cresy. ( / . mr. cresy was, we believe, an architect: his friendship with mr. darwin dates from the settlement at down.) down [after ]. although i have never particularly attended to the points in dispute between dr. (richard) king and the other arctic gentlemen, yet i have carefully read all the articles in the "athenaeum," and took from them much the same impression as you convey in your letter, for which i thank you. i believe that old sinner, sir j. barrow ( / . sir john barrow, ( - ): secretary to the admiralty. has been at the bottom of all the money wasted over the naval expeditions. so strongly have i felt on this subject, that, when i was appointed on a committee for nat. hist. instructions for the present expedition, had i been able to attend i had resolved to express my opinion on the little advantage, comparatively to the expense, gained by them. there have been, i believe, from the beginning eighteen expeditions; this strikes me as monstrous, considering how little is known, for instance, on the interior of australia. the country has paid dear for sir john's hobbyhorse. i have very little doubt that dr. king is quite right in the advantage of land expeditions as far as geography is concerned; and that is now the chief object. ( / . this sentence would imply that darwin thought it hopeless to rescue sir j. franklin's expedition. if so, the letter must be, at least, as late as . if the eighteen expeditions mentioned above are "search expeditions," it would also bring the date of the letter to .) letter . to richard owen. down [march th, ]. my dear owen i do not know whether your ms. instructions are sent in; but even if they are not sent in, i daresay what i am going to write will be absolutely superfluous ( / . the results of mr. darwin's experience given in the above letter were embodied by prof. owen in the section "on the use of the microscope on board ship," forming part of the article "zoology" in the "manual of scientific enquiry, prepared for the use of her majesty's navy" (london, ).), but i have derived such infinitely great advantage from my new simple microscope, in comparison with the one which i used on board the "beagle," and which was recommended to me by r. brown ("life and letters," i., page .), that i cannot forego the mere chance of advantage of urging this on you. the leading point of difference consists simply in having the stage for saucers very large and fixed. mine will hold a saucer three inches in inside diameter. i have never seen such a microscope as mine, though chevalier's (from whose plan many points of mine are taken), of paris, approaches it pretty closely. i fully appreciate the utter absurdity of my giving you advice about means of dissecting; but i have appreciated myself the enormous disadvantage of having worked with a bad instrument, though thought a few years since the best. please to observe that without you call especial attention to this point, those ignorant of natural history will be sure to get one of the fiddling instruments sold in shops. if you thought fit, i would point out the differences, which, from my experience, make a useful microscope for the kind of dissection of the invertebrates which a person would be likely to attempt on board a vessel. but pray again believe that i feel the absurdity of this letter, and i write merely from the chance of yourself, possessing great skill and having worked with good instruments, [not being] possibly fully aware what an astonishing difference the kind of microscope makes for those who have not been trained in skill for dissection under water. when next i come to town (i was prevented last time by illness) i must call on you, and report, for my own satisfaction, a really (i think) curious point i have made out in my beloved barnacles. you cannot tell how much i enjoyed my talk with you here. ever, my dear owen, yours sincerely, c. darwin. p.s.--if i do not hear, i shall understand that my letter is superfluous. smith and beck were so pleased with the simple microscope they made for me, that they have made another as a model. if you are consulted by any young naturalists, do recommend them to look at this. i really feel quite a personal gratitude to this form of microscope, and quite a hatred to my old one. letter . to j.s. henslow. down [april st, .] thank you for your note and giving me a chance of seeing you in town; but it was out of my power to take advantage of it, for i had previously arranged to go up to london on monday. i should have much enjoyed seeing you. thanks also for your address ( / . an introductory lecture delivered in march at the first meeting of a society "for giving instructions to the working classes in ipswich in various branches of science, and more especially in natural history" ("memoir of the rev. j.s. henslow," by leonard jenyns, page .), which i like very much. the anecdote about whewell and the tides i had utterly forgotten; i believe it is near enough to the truth. i rather demur to one sentence of yours--viz., "however delightful any scientific pursuit may be, yet, if it should be wholly unapplied, it is of no more use than building castles in the air." would not your hearers infer from this that the practical use of each scientific discovery ought to be immediate and obvious to make it worthy of admiration? what a beautiful instance chloroform is of a discovery made from purely scientific researches, afterwards coming almost by chance into practical use! for myself i would, however, take higher ground, for i believe there exists, and i feel within me, an instinct for truth, or knowledge or discovery, of something of the same nature as the instinct of virtue, and that our having such an instinct is reason enough for scientific researches without any practical results ever ensuing from them. you will wonder what makes me run on so, but i have been working very hard for the last eighteen months on the anatomy, etc., of the cirripedia (on which i shall publish a monograph), and some of my friends laugh at me, and i fear the study of the cirripedia will ever remain "wholly unapplied," and yet i feel that such study is better than castle-building. letter . to j.d. hooker, at dr. falconer's, botanic garden, calcutta. down, may th, . i was indeed delighted to see your handwriting; but i felt almost sorry when i beheld how long a letter you had written. i know that you are indomitable in work, but remember how precious your time is, and do not waste it on your friends, however much pleasure you may give them. such a letter would have cost me half-a-day's work. how capitally you seem going on! i do envy you the sight of all the glorious vegetation. i am much pleased and surprised that you have been able to observe so much in the animal world. no doubt you keep a journal, and an excellent one it will be, i am sure, when published. all these animal facts will tell capitally in it. i can quite comprehend the difficulty you mention about not knowing what is known zoologically in india; but facts observed, as you will observe them, are none the worse for reiterating. did you see mr. blyth in calcutta? he would be a capital man to tell you what is known about indian zoology, at least in the vertebrata. he is a very clever, odd, wild fellow, who will never do what he could do, from not sticking to any one subject. by the way, if you should see him at any time, try not to forget to remember me very kindly to him; i liked all i saw of him. your letter was the very one to charm me, with all its facts for my species-book, and truly obliged i am for so kind a remembrance of me. do not forget to make enquiries about the origin, even if only traditionally known, of any varieties of domestic quadrupeds, birds, silkworms, etc. are there domestic bees? if so hives ought to be brought home. of all the facts you mention, that of the wild [illegible], when breeding with the domestic, producing offspring somewhat sterile, is the most surprising: surely they must be different species. most zoologists would absolutely disbelieve such a statement, and consider the result as a proof that they were distinct species. i do not go so far as that, but the case seems highly improbable. blyth has studied the indian ruminantia. i have been much struck about what you say of lowland plants ascending mountains, but the alpine not descending. how i do hope you will get up some mountains in borneo; how curious the result will be! by the way, i never heard from you what affinity the maldive flora has, which is cruel, as you tempted me by making me guess. i sometimes groan over your indian journey, when i think over all your locked up riches. when shall i see a memoir on insular floras, and on the pacific? what a grand subject alpine floras of the world ( / . mr. william botting hemsley, f.r.s., of the royal gardens, kew, is now engaged on a monograph of the high-level alpine plants of the world.) would be, as far as known; and then you have never given a coup d'oeil on the similarity and dissimilarity of arctic and antarctic floras. well, thank heavens, when you do come back you will be nolens volens a fixture. i am particularly glad you have been at the coal; i have often since you went gone on maundering on the subject, and i shall never rest easy in down churchyard without the problem be solved by some one before i die. talking of dying makes me tell you that my confounded stomach is much the same; indeed, of late has been rather worse, but for the last year, i think, i have been able to do more work. i have done nothing besides the barnacles, except, indeed, a little theoretical paper on erratic boulders ( / . "on the transportal of erratic boulders from a lower to a higher level" ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume iv., pages - . ). in this paper darwin favours the view that the transport of boulders was effected by coast-ice. an earlier paper entitled "notes on the effects produced by the ancient glaciers of caernarvonshire, and on the boulders transported by floating ice" ("phil. mag." , page ) is spoken of by sir archibald geikie as standing "almost at the top of the long list of english contributions to the history of the ice age" ("charles darwin," "nature" series, page ).), and scientific geological instructions for the admiralty volume ( / . "a manual of scientific enquiry, prepared for the use of her majesty's navy, and adapted for travellers in general." edited by sir john f.w. herschel, bart. section vi.--geology--by charles darwin. london, . see "life and letters," pages - .), which cost me some trouble. this work, which is edited by sir j. herschel, is a very good job, inasmuch as the captains of men-of-war will now see that the admiralty cares for science, and so will favour naturalists on board. as for a man who is not scientific by nature, i do not believe instructions will do him any good; and if he be scientific and good for anything the instructions will be superfluous. i do not know who does the botany; owen does the zoology, and i have sent him an account of my new simple microscope, which i consider perfect, even better than yours by chevalier. n.b. i have got a / inch object-glass, and it is grand. i have been getting on well with my beloved cirripedia, and get more skilful in dissection. i have worked out the nervous system pretty well in several genera, and made out their ears and nostrils ( / . for the olfactory sacs see darwin's "monograph of the cirripedia," , page .), which were quite unknown. i have lately got a bisexual cirripede, the male being microscopically small and parasitic within the sack of the female. i tell you this to boast of my species theory, for the nearest closely allied genus to it is, as usual, hermaphrodite, but i had observed some minute parasites adhering to it, and these parasites i now can show are supplemental males, the male organs in the hermaphrodite being unusually small, though perfect and containing zoosperms: so we have almost a polygamous animal, simple females alone being wanting. i never should have made this out, had not my species theory convinced me, that an hermaphrodite species must pass into a bisexual species by insensibly small stages; and here we have it, for the male organs in the hermaphrodite are beginning to fail, and independent males ready formed. but i can hardly explain what i mean, and you will perhaps wish my barnacles and species theory al diavolo together. but i don't care what you say, my species theory is all gospel. we have had only one party here: viz., of the lyells, forbes, owen, and ramsay, and we both missed you and falconer very much...i know more of your history than you will suppose, for miss henslow most good-naturedly sent me a packet of your letters, and she wrote me so nice a little note that it made me quite proud. i have not heard of anything in the scientific line which would interest you. sir h. de la beche ( / . the presidential address delivered by de la beche before the geological society in ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume iv., "proceedings," page xxi, ).) gave a very long and rather dull address; the most interesting part was from sir j. ross. mr. beete jukes figured in it very prominently: it really is a very nice quality in sir henry, the manner in which he pushes forward his subordinates. jukes has since read what was considered a very valuable paper. the man, not content with moustaches, now sports an entire beard, and i am sure thinks himself like jupiter tonans. there was a short time since a not very creditable discussion at a meeting of the royal society, where owen fell foul of mantell with fury and contempt about belemnites. what wretched doings come from the order of fame; the love of truth alone would never make one man attack another bitterly. my paper is full, so i must wish you with all my heart farewell. heaven grant that your health may keep good. letter . to j.s. henslow. the lodge, malvern, may th, . your kind note has been forwarded to me here. you will be surprised to hear that we all--children, servants, and all--have been here for nearly two months. all last autumn and winter my health grew worse and worse: incessant sickness, tremulous hands, and swimming head. i thought i was going the way of all flesh. having heard of much success in some cases from the cold-water cure, i determined to give up all attempts to do anything and come here and put myself under dr. gully. it has answered to a considerable extent: my sickness much checked and considerable strength gained. dr. g., moreover (and i hear he rarely speaks confidently), tells me he has little doubt but that he can cure me in the course of time--time, however, it will take. i have experienced enough to feel sure that the cold-water cure is a great and powerful agent and upsetter of all constitutional habits. talking of habits, the cruel wretch has made me leave off snuff--that chief solace of life. we thank you most sincerely for your prompt and early invitation to hitcham for the british association for ( / . the invitation was probably not for , but for , when the association met at ipswich.): if i am made well and strong, most gladly will i accept it; but as i have been hitherto, a drive every day of half a dozen miles would be more than i could stand with attending any of the sections. i intend going to birmingham ( / . the association met at birmingham in .) if able; indeed, i am bound to attempt it, for i am honoured beyond all measure in being one of the vice-presidents. i am uncommonly glad you will be there; i fear, however, we shall not have any such charming trips as nuneham and dropmore. ( / . in a letter to hooker (october th, ) darwin speaks of "that heavenly day at dropmore." ("life and letters," i., page .)) we shall stay here till at least june st, perhaps till july st; and i shall have to go on with the aqueous treatment at home for several more months. one most singular effect of the treatment is that it induces in most people, and eminently in my case, the most complete stagnation of mind. i have ceased to think even of barnacles! i heard some time since from hooker...how capitally he seems to have succeeded in all his enterprises! you must be very busy now. i happened to be thinking the other day over the gamlingay trip to the lilies of the valley ( / . the lily of the valley (convallaria majalis) is recorded from gamlingay by professor babington in his "flora of cambridgeshire," page . (london, .)): ah, those were delightful days when one had no such organ as a stomach, only a mouth and the masticating appurtenances. i am very much surprised at what you say, that men are beginning to work in earnest [at] botany. what a loss it will be for natural history that you have ceased to reside all the year in cambridge! letter . to j.f. royle. down, september st [ -?]. i return you with very many thanks your valuable work. i am sure i have not lost any slip or disarranged the loose numbers. i have been interested by looking through the volumes, though i have not found quite so much as i had thought possible about the varieties of the indian domestic animals and plants, and the attempts at introduction have been too recent for the effects (if any) of climate to have been developed. i have, however, been astonished and delighted at the evidence of the energetic attempts to do good by such numbers of people, and most of them evidently not personally interested in the result. long may our rule flourish in india. i declare all the labour shown in these transactions is enough by itself to make one proud of one's countrymen... letter . to hugh strickland. ( / . the first paragraph of this letter is published in the "life and letters," i., page , as part of a series of letters to strickland, beginning at page , where a biographical note by professor newton is also given. professor newton wrote: "in he brought the subject of natural history nomenclature before the british association, and prepared the code of rules for zoological nomenclature, now known by his name--the principles of which are very generally accepted." mr. darwin's reasons against appending the describer's name to that of the species are given in "life and letters," page . the present letter is of interest as giving additional details in regard to darwin's difficulties.) down, february th [ ]. i have again to thank you cordially for your letter. your remarks shall fructify to some extent, and i will try to be more faithful to rigid virtue and priority; but as for calling balanus "lepas" (which i did not think of) i cannot do it, my pen won't write it--it is impossible. i have great hopes some of my difficulties will disappear, owing to wrong dates in agassiz and to my having to run several genera into one; for i have as yet gone, in but few cases, to original sources. with respect to adopting my own notions in my cirripedia book, i should not like to do so without i found others approved, and in some public way; nor indeed is it well adapted, as i can never recognise a species without i have the original specimen, which fortunately i have in many cases in the british museum. thus far i mean to adopt my notion, in never putting mihi or darwin after my own species, and in the anatomical text giving no authors' names at all, as the systematic part will serve for those who want to know the history of the species as far as i can imperfectly work it out. i have had a note from w. thompson ( / . mr. thompson is described in the preface to the lepadidae as "the distinguished natural historian of ireland.") this morning, and he tells me ogleby has some scheme identical almost with mine. i feel pretty sure there is a growing general aversion to the appendage of author's name, except in cases where necessary. now at this moment i have seen specimens ticketed with a specific name and no reference--such are hopelessly inconvenient; but i declare i would rather (as saving time) have a reference to some second systematic work than to the original author, for i have cases of this which hardly help me at all, for i know not where to look amongst endless periodical foreign papers. on the other hand, one can get hold of most systematic works and so follow up the scent, and a species does not long lie buried exclusively in a paper. i thank you sincerely for your very kind offer of occasionally assisting me with your opinion, and i will not trespass much. i have a case, but [it is one] about which i am almost sure; and so to save you writing, if i conclude rightly, pray do not answer, and i shall understand silence as assent. olfers in made lepas aurita linn. into the genus conchoderma; [oken] in gave the name branta to lepas aurita and vittata, and by so doing he alters essentially olfers' generic definition. oken was right (as it turns out), and lepas aurita and vittata must form together one genus. ( / . in the "monograph on the cirripedia" (lepadidae) the names used are conchoderma aurita and virgata.) (i leave out of question a multitude of subsequent synonyms.) now i suppose i must retain conchoderma of olfers. i cannot make out a precise rule in the "british association report" for this. when a genus is cut into two i see that the old name is retained for part and altered to it; so i suppose the definition may be enlarged to receive another species--though the cases are somewhat different. i should have had no doubt if lepas aurita and vittata had been made into two genera, for then when run together the oldest of the two would have been retained. certainly to put conchoderma olfers is not quite correct when applied to the two species, for such was not olfers' definition and opinion. if i do not hear, i shall retain conchoderma for the two species... p.s.--will you by silence give consent to the following? linnaeus gives no type to his genus lepas, though l. balanus comes first. several oldish authors have used lepas exclusively for the pedunculate division, and the name has been given to the family and compounded in sub-generic names. now, this shows that old authors attached the name lepas more particularly to the pedunculate division. now, if i were to use lepas for anatifera ( / . anatifera and anatifa were used as generic names for what linnaeus and darwin called lepas anatifera.) i should get rid of the difficulty of the second edition of hill and of the difficulty of anatifera vel anatifa. linnaeus's generic description is equally applicable to anatifera and balanus, though the latter stands first. must the mere precedence rigorously outweigh the apparent opinion of many old naturalists? as for using lepas in place of balanus, i cannot. every one will understand what is meant by lepas anatifera, so that convenience would be wonderfully thus suited. if i do not hear, i shall understand i have your consent. letter . j.d. hooker to charles darwin. ( / . in the "life and letters," i., page , is a letter to sir j.d. hooker from mr. darwin, to whom the former had dedicated his "himalayan journals." mr. darwin there wrote: "your letter, received this morning, has interested me extremely, and i thank you sincerely for telling me your old thoughts and aspirations." the following is the letter referred to, which at our request sir joseph has allowed us to publish.) kew, march st, . now that my book ( / . "himalayan journals," volumes. london, .) has been publicly acknowledged to be of some value, i feel bold to write to you; for, to tell you the truth, i have never been without a misgiving that the dedication might prove a very bad compliment, however kindly i knew you would receive it. the idea of the dedication has been present to me from a very early date: it was formed during the antarctic voyage, out of love for your own "journal," and has never deserted me since; nor would it, i think, had i never known more of you than by report and as the author of the said "naturalist's journal." short of the gratification i felt in getting the book out, i know no greater than your kind, hearty acceptation of the dedication; and, had the reviewers gibbeted me, the dedication would alone have given me real pain. i have no wish to assume a stoical indifference to public opinion, for i am well alive to it, and the critics might have irritated me sorely, but they could never have caused me the regret that the association of your name with a bad book of mine would have. you will laugh when i tell you that, my book out, i feel past the meridian of life! but you do not know how from my earliest childhood i nourished and cherished the desire to make a creditable journey in a new country, and write such a respectable account of its natural features as should give me a niche amongst the scientific explorers of the globe i inhabit, and hand my name down as a useful contributor of original matter. a combination of most rare advantages has enabled me to gain as much of my object as contents me, for i never wished to be greatest amongst you, nor did rivalry ever enter my thoughts. no ulterior object has ever been present to me in this pursuit. my ambition is fully gratified by the satisfactory completion of my task, and i am now happy to go on jog-trot at botany till the end of my days--downhill, in one sense, all the way. i shall never have such another object to work for, nor shall i feel the want of it...as it is, the craving of thirty years is satisfied, and i now look back on life in a way i never could previously. there never was a past hitherto to me. the phantom was always in view; mayhap it is only a "ridiculus mus" after all, but it is big enough for me... (plate: t.h. huxley, . maull & polyblank photo., walker & cockerell ph. sc.) ( / . the story of huxley's life has been fully given in the interesting biography edited by mr. leonard huxley. ( / . "life and letters of thomas henry huxley." london .) readers of this book and of the "life and letters of charles darwin" gain an insight into the relationship between this pair of friends to which any words of ours can add but little. darwin realised to the full the essential strength of mr. huxley's nature; he knew, as all the world now knows, the delicate sense of honour of his friend, and he was ever inclined to lean on his guidance in practical matters, as on an elder brother. of mr. huxley's dialectical and literary skill he was an enthusiastic admirer, and he never forgot what his theories owed to the fighting powers of his "general agent." ( / . ibid., i., page .) huxley's estimate of darwin is very interesting: he valued him most highly for what was so strikingly characteristic of himself--the love of truth. he spoke of finding in him "something bigger than ordinary humanity--an unequalled simplicity and directness of purpose--a sublime unselfishness." ( / . ibid., ii., page . huxley is speaking of gordon's death, and goes on: "of all the people whom i have met with in my life, he and darwin are the two in whom i have found," etc.) the same point of view comes out in huxley's estimate of darwin's mental power. ( / . ibid., ii., page .) "he had a clear, rapid intelligence, a great memory, a vivid imagination, and what made his greatness was the strict subordination of all these to his love of truth." this, as an analysis of darwin's mental equipment, seems to us incomplete, though we do not pretend to mend it. we do not think it is possible to dissect and label the complex qualities which go to make up that which we all recognise as genius. but, if we may venture to criticise, we would say that mr. huxley's words do not seem to cover that supreme power of seeing and thinking what the rest of the world had overlooked, which was one of darwin's most striking characteristics. as throwing light on the quality of their friendship, we give below a letter which has already appeared in the "life and letters of t.h. huxley," i., page . mr. l. huxley gives an account of the breakdown in health which convinced huxley's friends that rest and relief from anxiety must be found for him. mr. l. huxley aptly remarks of the letter, "it is difficult to say whether it does more honour to him who sent it or to him who received it." ( / . huxley's "life," i., page . mr. darwin left to mr. huxley a legacy of , pounds, "as a slight memorial of my lifelong affection and respect for him.")) letter . to t.h. huxley. down, april rd, . my dear huxley i have been asked by some of your friends (eighteen in number) to inform you that they have placed, through robarts, lubbock & co., the sum of , pounds to your account at your bankers. we have done this to enable you to get such complete rest as you may require for the re-establishment of your health; and in doing this we are convinced that we act for the public interest, as well as in accordance with our most earnest desires. let me assure you that we are all your warm personal friends, and that there is not a stranger or mere acquaintance amongst us. if you could have heard what was said, or could have read what was, as i believe, our inmost thoughts, you would know that we all feel towards you, as we should to an honoured and much loved brother. i am sure that you will return this feeling, and will therefore be glad to give us the opportunity of aiding you in some degree, as this will be a happiness to us to the last day of our lives. let me add that our plan occurred to several of your friends at nearly the same time and quite independently of one another. my dear huxley, your affectionate friend, charles darwin. letter . to t.h. huxley. ( / . the following letter is one of the earliest of the long series addressed to mr. huxley.) down, april rd [ ]. my dear sir i have got out all the specimens, which i have thought could by any possibility be of any use to you; but i have not looked at them, and know not what state they are in, but should be much pleased if they are of the smallest use to you. i enclose a catalogue of habitats: i thought my notes would have turned out of more use. i have copied out such few points as perhaps would not be apparent in preserved specimens. the bottle shall go to mr. gray on thursday next by our weekly carrier. i am very much obliged for your paper on the mollusca ( / . the paper of huxley's is "on the morphology of the cephalous mollusca, etc." ("phil. trans. r. soc." volume , part i., , page .)); i have read it all with much interest: but it would be ridiculous in me to make any remarks on a subject on which i am so utterly ignorant; but i can see its high importance. the discovery of the type or "idea" ( / . huxley defines his use of the word "archetype" at page : "all that i mean is the conception of a form embodying the most general propositions that can be affirmed respecting the cephalous mollusca, standing in the same relation to them as the diagram to a geometrical theorem, and like it, at once, imaginary and true.") (in your sense, for i detest the word as used by owen, agassiz & co.) of each great class, i cannot doubt, is one of the very highest ends of natural history; and certainly most interesting to the worker-out. several of your remarks have interested me: i am, however, surprised at what you say versus "anamorphism" ( / . the passage referred to is at page : "if, however, all cephalous mollusks...be only modifications by excess or defect of the parts of a definite archetype, then, i think, it follows as a necessary consequence, that no anamorphism takes place in this group. there is no progression from a lower to a higher type, but merely a more or less complete evolution of one type." huxley seems to use the term anamorphism in a sense differing from that of some writers. thus in jourdan's "dictionnaire des termes usites dans les sciences naturelles," , it is defined as the production of an atypical form either by arrest or excess of development.), i should have thought that the archetype in imagination was always in some degree embryonic, and therefore capable [of] and generally undergoing further development. is it not an extraordinary fact, the great difference in position of the heart in different species of cleodora? ( / . a genus of pteropods.) i am a believer that when any part, usually constant, differs considerably in different allied species that it will be found in some degree variable within the limits of the same species. thus, i should expect that if great numbers of specimens of some of the species of cleodora had been examined with this object in view, the position of the heart in some of the species would have been found variable. can you aid me with any analogous facts? i am very much pleased to hear that you have not given up the idea of noticing my cirripedial volume. all that i have seen since confirms everything of any importance stated in that volume--more especially i have been able rigorously to confirm in an anomalous species, by the clearest evidence, that the actual cellular contents of the ovarian tubes, by the gland-like action of a modified portion of the continuous tube, passes into the cementing stuff: in fact cirripedes make glue out of their own unformed eggs! ( / . on darwin's mistake in this point see "life and letters," iii., page .) pray believe me, yours sincerely, c. darwin. i told the above case to milne edwards, and i saw he did not place the smallest belief in it. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, september nd, [ ]. my second volume on the everlasting barnacles is at last published ( / . "a monograph of the sub-class cirripedia. ii. the balanidae, the verrucidae." ray society, .), and i will do myself the pleasure of sending you a copy to jermyn street next thursday, as i have to send another book then to mr. baily. and now i want to ask you a favour--namely, to answer me two questions. as you are so perfectly familiar with the doings, etc., of all continental naturalists, i want you to tell me a few names of those whom you think would care for my volume. i do not mean in the light of puffing my book, but i want not to send copies to those who from other studies, age, etc., would view it as waste paper. from assistance rendered me, i consider myself bound to send copies to: ( ) bosquet of maestricht, ( ) milne edwards, ( ) dana, ( ) agassiz, ( ) muller, ( ) w. dunker of hesse cassel. now i have five or six other copies to distribute, and will you be so very kind as to help me? i had thought of von siebold, loven, d'orbigny, kolliker, sars, kroyer, etc., but i know hardly anything about any of them. my second question, it is merely a chance whether you can answer,--it is whether i can send these books or any of them (in some cases accompanied by specimens), through the royal society: i have some vague idea of having heard that the royal society did sometimes thus assist members. i have just been reading your review of the "vestiges" ( / . in his chapter on the "reception of the origin of species" ("life and letters," ii., pages - ), mr. huxley wrote: "and the only review i ever have qualms of conscience about, on the ground of needless savagery, is one i wrote on the 'vestiges.'" the article is in the "british and foreign medico-chirurgical review," xiii., , page . the "great man" referred to below is owen: see huxley's review, page , and huxley's "life." i., page .), and the way you handle a great professor is really exquisite and inimitable. i have been extremely interested in other parts, and to my mind it is incomparably the best review i have read on the "vestiges"; but i cannot think but that you are rather hard on the poor author. i must think that such a book, if it does no other good, spreads the taste for natural science. but i am perhaps no fair judge, for i am almost as unorthodox about species as the "vestiges" itself, though i hope not quite so unphilosophical. how capitally you analyse his notion about law. i do not know when i have read a review which interested me so much. by heavens, how the blood must have gushed into the capillaries when a certain great man (whom with all his faults i cannot help liking) read it! i am rather sorry you do not think more of agassiz's embryological stages ( / . see "origin," edition vi., page : also letter , note.), for though i saw how exceedingly weak the evidence was, i was led to hope in its truth. letter . to j.d. hooker. down [ ]. with respect to "highness" and "lowness," my ideas are only eclectic and not very clear. it appears to me that an unavoidable wish to compare all animals with men, as supreme, causes some confusion; and i think that nothing besides some such vague comparison is intended, or perhaps is even possible, when the question is whether two kingdoms such as the articulata or mollusca are the highest. within the same kingdom i am inclined to think that "highest" usually means that form which has undergone most "morphological differentiation" from the common embryo or archetype of the class; but then every now and then one is bothered (as milne edwards has remarked) by "retrograde development," i.e., the mature animal having fewer and less important organs than its own embryo. the specialisation of parts to different functions, or "the division of physiological labour" ( / . a slip of the pen for "physiological division of labour.") of milne edwards exactly agrees (and to my mind is the best definition, when it can be applied) with what you state is your idea in regard to plants. i do not think zoologists agree in any definite ideas on this subject; and my ideas are not clearer than those of my brethren. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, july nd [ ]. i have had the house full of visitors, and when i talk i can do absolutely nothing else; and since then i have been poorly enough, otherwise i should have answered your letter long before this, for i enjoy extremely discussing such points as those in your last note. but what a villain you are to heap gratuitous insults on my elastic theory: you might as well call the virtue of a lady elastic, as the virtue of a theory accommodating in its favours. whatever you may say, i feel that my theory does give me some advantages in discussing these points. but to business: i keep my notes in such a way, viz., in bulk, that i cannot possibly lay my hand on any reference; nor as far as the vegetable kingdom is concerned do i distinctly remember having read any discussion on general highness or lowness, excepting schleiden (i fancy) on compositae being highest. ad. de jussieu ( / . "monographie de la famille des malpighiacees," by adrien de jussieu, "arch. du museum." volume iii., page , .), in "arch. du museum," tome , discusses the value of characters of degraded flowers in the malpighiaceae, but i doubt whether this at all concerns you. mirbel somewhere has discussed some such question. plants lie under an enormous disadvantage in respect to such discussions in not passing through larval stages. i do not know whether you can distinguish a plant low from non-development from one low from degradation, which theoretically, at least, are very distinct. i must agree with forbes that a mollusc may be higher than one articulate animal and lower than another; if one was asked which was highest as a whole, the molluscan or articulate kingdom, i should look to and compare the highest in each, and not compare their archetypes (supposing them to be known, which they are not.) but there are, in my opinion, more difficult cases than any we have alluded to, viz., that of fish--but my ideas are not clear enough, and i do not suppose you would care to hear what i obscurely think on this subject. as far as my elastic theory goes, all i care about is that very ancient organisms (when different from existing) should tend to resemble the larval or embryological stages of the existing. i am glad to hear what you say about parallelism: i am an utter disbeliever of any parallelism more than mere accident. it is very strange, but i think forbes is often rather fanciful; his "polarity" ( / . see letter , note.) makes me sick--it is like "magnetism" turning a table. if i can think of any one likely to take your "illustrations" ( / . "illustrations of himalayan plants from drawings made by j.f. cathcart." folio, .), i will send the advertisement. if you want to make up some definite number so as to go to press, i will put my name down with pleasure (and i hope and believe that you will trust me in saying so), though i should not in the course of nature subscribe to any horticultural work:--act for me. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, [may] th, . i am really truly sorry to hear about your [health]. i entreat you to write down your own case,--symptoms, and habits of life,--and then consider your case as that of a stranger; and i put it to you, whether common sense would not order you to take more regular exercise and work your brain less. (n.b. take a cold bath and walk before breakfast.) i am certain in the long run you would not lose time. till you have a thoroughly bad stomach, you will not know the really great evil of it, morally, physically, and every way. do reflect and act resolutely. remember your troubled heart-action formerly plainly told how your constitution was tried. but i will say no more--excepting that a man is mad to risk health, on which everything, including his children's inherited health, depends. do not hate me for this lecture. really i am not surprised at your having some headache after thursday evening, for it must have been no small exertion making an abstract of all that was said after dinner. your being so engaged was a bore, for there were several things that i should have liked to have talked over with you. it was certainly a first-rate dinner, and i enjoyed it extremely, far more than i expected. very far from disagreeing with me, my london visits have just lately taken to suit my stomach admirably; i begin to think that dissipation, high-living, with lots of claret, is what i want, and what i had during the last visit. we are going to act on this same principle, and in a very profligate manner have just taken a pair of season-tickets to see the queen open the crystal palace. ( / . queen victoria opened the crystal palace at sydenham on june th, .) how i wish there was any chance of your being there! the last grand thing we were at together answered, i am sure, very well, and that was the duke's funeral. have you seen forbes' introductory lecture ( / . edward forbes was appointed to a professorship at edinburgh in may, .) in the "scotsman" (lent me by horner)? it is really admirably done, though without anything, perhaps, very original, which could hardly be expected: it has given me even a higher opinion than i before had, of the variety and polish of his intellect. it is, indeed, an irreparable loss to london natural history society. i wish, however, he would not praise so much that old brown dry stick jameson. altogether, to my taste, it is much the best introductory lecture i have ever read. i hear his anniversary address is very good. adios, my dear hooker; do be wise and good, and be careful of your stomach, within which, as i know full well, lie intellect, conscience, temper, and the affections. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, december nd [ ]. you are a pretty fellow to talk of funking the returning thanks at the dinner for the medal. ( / . the royal medal was given to sir joseph in .) i heard that it was decidedly the best speech of the evening, given "with perfect fluency, distinctness, and command of language," and that you showed great self-possession: was the latter the proverbially desperate courage of a coward? but you are a pretty fellow to be so desperately afraid and then to make the crack speech. many such an ordeal may you have to go through! i do not know whether sir william [hooker] would be contented with lord rosse's ( / . president of the royal society - .) speech on giving you the medal; but i am very much pleased with it, and really the roll of what you have done was, i think, splendid. what a great pity he half spoiled it by not having taken the trouble just to read it over first. poor hofmann ( / . august wilhelm hofmann, the other medallist of .) came off in this respect even worse. it is really almost arrogant insolence against every one not an astronomer. the next morning i was at a very pleasant breakfast party at sir r. inglis's. ( / . sir robert inglis, president of the british association in . apparently darwin was present at the afternoon meeting, but not at the dinner.) i have received, with very many thanks, the aberrant genera; but i have not had time to consider them, nor your remarks on australian botanical geography. letter . to t.h. huxley. ( / . the following letter shows darwin's interest in the adjudication of the royal medals. the year was the last during which he served on the council of the society. he had previously served in - .) down, march st, . i have thought and enquired much about westwood, and i really think he amply deserves the gold medal. but should you think of some one with higher claim i am quite ready to give up. indeed, i suppose without i get some one to second it, i cannot propose him. will you be so kind as to read the enclosed, and return it to me? should i send it to bell? that is, without you demur or convince me. i had thought of hancock, a higher class of labourer; but, as far as i can weigh, he has not, as yet, done so much as westwood. i may state that i read the whole "classification" ( / . possibly westwood's "introduction to the modern classification of insects" ( ).) before i was on the council, and ever thought on the subject of medals. i fear my remarks are rather lengthy, but to do him justice i could not well shorten them. pray tell me frankly whether the enclosed is the right sort of thing, for though i was once on the council of the royal, i never attended any meetings, owing to bad health. with respect to the copley medal ( / . the copley medal was given to lyell in .), i have a strong feeling that lyell has a high claim, but as he has had the royal medal i presume that it would be thought objectionable to propose him; and as i intend (you not objecting and converting me) to propose w. for the royal, it would, of course, appear intolerably presumptuous to propose for the copley also. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, june th, . shall you attend the council of the royal society on thursday next? i have not been very well of late, and i doubt whether i can attend; and if i could do anything (pray conceal the scandalous fact), i want to go to the crystal palace to meet the horners, lyells, and a party. so i want to know whether you will speak for me most strongly for barrande. you know better than i do his admirable labours on the development of trilobites, and his most important work on his lower or primordial zone. i enclose an old note of lyell's to show what he thinks. with respect to dana, whom i also proposed, you know well his merits. i can speak most highly of his classificatory work on crustacea and his geographical distribution. his volcanic geology is admirable, and he has done much good work on coral reefs. if you attend, do not answer this; but if you cannot be at the council, please inform me, and i suppose i must, if i can, attend. thank you for your abstract of your lecture at the royal institution, which interested me much, and rather grieved me, for i had hoped things had been in a slight degree otherwise. ( / . "on certain zoological arguments commonly adduced in favour of the hypothesis of the progressive development of animal life," discourse, friday, april , : "proceedings r.i." ( ). published also in "huxley's scientific memoirs." the lecturer dwelt chiefly on the argument of agassiz, which he summarises as follows: "homocercal fishes have in their embryonic state heterocercal tails; therefore heterocercality is, so far, a mark of an embryonic state as compared with homocercality, and the earlier heterocercal fish are embryonic as compared with the later homocercal." he shows that facts do not support this view, and concludes generally "that there is no real parallel between the successive forms assumed in the development of the life of the individual at present and those which have appeared at different epochs in the past.") i heard some time ago that before long i might congratulate you on becoming a married man. ( / . mr. huxley was married july st, .) from my own experience of some fifteen years, i am very sure that there is nothing in this wide world which more deserves congratulation, and most sincerely and heartily do i congratulate you, and wish you many years of as much happiness as this world can afford. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . the following letter illustrates darwin's work on aberrant genera. in the "origin," edition i., page , he wrote: "the more aberrant any form is, the greater must be the number of connecting forms which, on my theory, have been exterminated and utterly lost. and we have some evidence of aberrant forms having suffered severely from extinction, for they are generally represented by extremely few species; and such species as do occur are generally very distinct from each other, which again implies extinction.") down, november th [ ?]. in schoenherr's catalogue of curculionidae ( / . "genera et species curculionidum." (c.j. schoenherr: paris, - .)), the , species are on an average . to a genus. waterhouse (who knows the group well, and who has published on fewness of species in aberrant genera) has given me a list of aberrant genera, and these have on an average . species; and if one single genus be removed (and which i cannot yet believe ought to be considered aberrant), then the aberrant genera would have only . species on an average. i tested these results in another way. i found in schoenherr families, including only genera, and these genera ( of which were in waterhouse's list) i found included only . species on an average. this last result led me to lindley's "vegetable kingdom," in which i found (excluding thallogens and acrogens) that the genera include each . species (how near by chance to the curculionidae), and i find orders including single genera, and these genera have on average . species; but if lindley is right that erythroxylon (with its species) ought to be amongst the malpighiads, then the average would be only . per genus. but here comes, as it appears to me, an odd thing (i hope i shall not quite weary you out). there are other orders, each with genera, and these genera have on an average . species: this great number being owing to the genera in the smilaceae, salicaceae (with species), begoniaceae, balsaminaceae, grossulariaceae, without which the remaining genera have on an average only . species. this case of the orders with only genera, the genera notwithstanding having . species each, seems to me very perplexing and upsets, almost, the conclusion deducible from the orders with single genera. i have gone higher, and tested the alliances with , , and orders; and in these cases i find both the genera few in each alliance, and the species, less than the average of the whole kingdom, in each genus. all this has amused me, but i daresay you will have a good sneer at me, and tell me to stick to my barnacles. by the way, you agree with me that sometimes one gets despondent--for instance, when theory and facts will not harmonise; but what appears to me even worse, and makes me despair, is, when i see from the same great class of facts, men like barrande deduce conclusions, such as his "colonies" ( / . lyell briefly refers to barrande's bohemian work in a letter (august st, ) to fleming ("life of sir charles lyell," ii., page ): "he explained to me on the spot his remarkable discovery of a 'colony' of upper silurian fossils, , feet deep, in the midst of the lower silurian group. this has made a great noise, but i think i can explain away the supposed anomaly by, etc." (see letter , note.) and his agreement with e. de beaumont's lines of elevation, or such men as forbes with his polarity ( / . edward forbes "on the manifestation of polarity in the distribution of organised beings in time" ("edinburgh new phil. journal," volume lvii., , page ). the author points out that "the maximum development of generic types during the palaeozoic period was during its earlier epochs; that during the neozoic period towards its later periods." thus the two periods of activity are conceived to be at the two opposite poles of a sphere which in some way represents for him the system of nature.); i have not a doubt that before many months are over i shall be longing for the most dishonest species as being more honest than the honestest theories. one remark more. if you feel any interest, or can get any one else to feel any interest on the aberrant genera question, i should think the most interesting way would be to take aberrant genera in any great natural family, and test the average number of species to the genera in that family. how i wish we lived near each other! i should so like a talk with you on geographical distribution, taken in its greatest features. i have been trying from land productions to take a very general view of the world, and i should so like to see how far it agrees with plants. letter . to mrs. lyell. ( / . mrs. lyell is a daughter of the late mr. leonard horner, and widow of lieut.-col. lyell, a brother of sir charles.) down, january th [ ]. i shall be very glad to be of any sort of use to you in regard to the beetles. but first let me thank you for your kind note and offer of specimens to my children. my boys are all butterfly hunters; and all young and ardent lepidopterists despise, from the bottom of their souls, coleopterists. the simplest plan for your end and for the good of entomology, i should think, would be to offer the collection to dr. j.e. gray for the british museum on condition that a perfect set was made out for you. if the collection was at all valuable, i should think he would be very glad to have this done. whether any third set would be worth making out would depend on the value of the collection. i do not suppose that you expect the insects to be named, for that would be a most serious labour. if you do not approve of this scheme, i should think it very likely that mr. waterhouse would think it worth his while to set a series for you, retaining duplicates for himself; but i say this only on a venture. you might trust mr. waterhouse implicitly, which i fear, as [illegible] goes, is more than can be said for all entomologists. i presume, if you thought of either scheme, sir charles lyell could easily see the gentlemen and arrange it; but, if not, i could do so when next i come to town, which, however, will not be for three or four weeks. with respect to giving your children a taste for natural history, i will venture one remark--viz., that giving them specimens in my opinion would tend to destroy such taste. youngsters must be themselves collectors to acquire a taste; and if i had a collection of english lepidoptera, i would be systematically most miserly, and not give my boys half a dozen butterflies in the year. your eldest has the brow of an observer, if there be the least truth in phrenology. we are all better, but we have been of late a poor household. letter . to j.d. hooker. down [ ]. i should have less scruple in troubling you if i had any confidence what my work would turn out. sometimes i think it will be good, at other times i really feel as much ashamed of myself as the author of the "vestiges" ought to be of himself. i know well that your kindness and friendship would make you do a great deal for me, but that is no reason that i should be unreasonable. i cannot and ought not to forget that all your time is employed in work certain to be valuable. it is superfluous in me to say that i enjoy exceedingly writing to you, and that your answers are of the greatest possible service to me. i return with many thanks the proof on aquilegia ( / . this seems to refer to the discussion on the genus aquilegia in hooker and thomson's "flora indica," , volume i., systematic part, page . the authors' conclusion is that "all the european and many of the siberian forms generally recognised belong to one very variable species." with regard to cirripedes, mr. darwin spoke of "certain just perceptible differences which blend together and constitute varieties and not species" ("life and letters," i., page ).): it has interested me much. it is exactly like my barnacles; but for my particular purpose, most unfortunately, both kolreuter and gartner have worked chiefly on a. vulgaris and canadensis and atro-purpurea, and these are just the species that you seem not to have studied. n.b. why do you not let me buy the indian flora? you are too magnificent. now for a short ride on my chief (at present) hobbyhorse, viz. aberrant genera. what you say under your remarks on lepidodendron seems just the case that i want, to give some sort of evidence of what we both believe in, viz. how groups came to be anomalous or aberrant; and i think some sort of proof is required, for i do not believe very many naturalists would at all admit our view. thank you for the caution on large anomalous genera first catching attention. i do not quite agree with your "grave objection to the whole process," which is "that if you multiply the anomalous species by , and divide the normal by the same, you will then reverse the names..." for, to take an example, ornithorhynchus and echidna would not be less aberrant if each had a dozen (i do not say , because we have no such cases in the animal kingdom) species instead of one. what would really make these two genera less anomalous would be the creation of many genera and sub-families round and radiating from them on all sides. thus if australia were destroyed, didelphys in s. america would be wonderfully anomalous (this is your case with proteaceae), whereas now there are so many genera and little sub-families of marsupiata that the group cannot be called aberrant or anomalous. sagitta (and the earwig) is one of the most anomalous animals in the world, and not a bit the less because there are a dozen species. now, my point (which, i think is a slightly new point of view) is, if it is extinction which has made the genus anomalous, as a general rule the same causes of extinction would allow the existence of only a few species in such genera. whenever we meet (which will be on the rd [at the] club) i shall much like to hear whether this strikes you as sound. i feel all the time on the borders of a circle of truism. of course i could not think of such a request, but you might possibly:--if bentham does not think the whole subject rubbish, ask him some time to pick out the dozen most anomalous genera in the leguminosae, or any great order of which there is a monograph by which i could calculate the ordinary percentage of species to genera. i am the more anxious, as the more i enquire, the fewer are the cases in which it can be done. it cannot be done in birds, or, i fear, in mammifers. i doubt much whether in any other class of insects [other than curculionidae]. i saw your nice notice of poor forbes in the "gardeners' chronicle," and i see in the "athenaeum" a notice of meeting on last saturday of his friends. of course i shall wish to subscribe as soon as possible to any memorial... i have just been testing practically what disuse does in reducing parts. i have made [skeletons] of wild and tame duck (oh the smell of well-boiled, high duck!), and i find the tame duck ought, according to scale of wild prototype, to have its two wings grains in weight; but it has only , or grains too little, or / of [its] own two wings too little in weight. this seems rather interesting to me. ( / . on the conclusions drawn from these researches, see mr. platt ball, "the effects of use and disuse" (nature series), , page . with regard to his pigeons, darwin wrote, in november : "i love them to that extent that i cannot bear to kill and skeletonise them.") p.s.--i do not know whether you will think this worth reading over. i have worked it out since writing my letter, and tabulate the whole. orders with genus, having . species (or . ?). orders with genera, having . species on an average. orders each with genera, and these genera include on an average . species. orders each with genera, and these genera include on an average . species. orders each with above genera (altogether genera), and these genera on an average have . species. from this i conclude, whether there be many or few genera in an order, the number of species in a genus is not much affected; but perhaps when [there is] only one genus in an order it will be affected, and this will depend whether the [genus] erythroxylon be made a family of. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, april th [ ]. i have been particularly glad to get your splendid eloge of lindley. his name had been lately passing through my head, and i had hoped that miers would have proposed him for the royal medal. i most entirely agree that the copley ( / . the late professor lindley never attained the honour of the copley medal. the royal medal was awarded to him in .) is more appropriate, and i daresay he would not have valued the royal. from skimming through many botanical books, and from often consulting the "vegetable kingdom," i had (ignorant as i am) formed the highest opinion of his claims as a botanist. if sharpey will stick up strong for him, we should have some chance; but the natural sciences are but feebly represented in the council. sir p. egerton, i daresay, would be strong for him. you know bell is out. now, my only doubt is, and i hope that you will consider this, that the natural sciences being weak on the council, and (i fancy) the most powerful man in the council, col. s[abine], being strong against lindley, whether we should have any chance of succeeding. it would be so easy to name some eminent man whose name would be well-known to all the physicists. would lindley hear of and dislike being proposed for the copley and not succeeding? would it not be better on this view to propose him for the royal? do think of this. moreover, if lindley is not proposed for the royal, i fear both royal medals would go [to] physicists; for i, for one, should not like to propose another zoologist, though hancock would be a very good man, and i fancy there would be a feeling against medals to two botanists. but for whatever lindley is proposed, i will do my best. we will talk this over here. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, may th [ ]. ...with respect to huxley, i was on the point of speaking to crawford and strezlecki (who will be on committee of the athenaeum) when i bethought me of how owen would look and what he would say. cannot you fancy him, with slow and gentle voice, asking "will mr. crawford tell me what mr. huxley has done, deserving this honour; i only know that he differs from, and disputes the authority of cuvier, ehrenberg, and agassiz as of no weight at all." and when i began to tell mr. crawford what to say, i was puzzled, and could refer him only to some excellent papers in the "phil. trans." for which the medal had been awarded. but i doubt, with an opposing faction, whether this would be considered enough, for i believe real scientific merit is not thought enough, without the person is generally well known. now i want to hear what you deliberately think on this head: it would be bad to get him proposed and then rejected; and owen is very powerful. letter . to j.d. hooker. down [ ]. i have got the lectures, and have read them. ( / . the reference is presumably to the royal institution lectures given in - . those which we have seen--namely, those reprinted in the "scientific memoirs," volume i.--"on the common plan of animal form," page ; "on certain zoological arguments, etc." page ; "on natural history as knowledge, discipline, and power," page , do not seem to us to contain anything likely to offend; but falconer's attack in the "ann. and mag. of nat. hist." june , on the last-named lecture, shows strong feeling. a reply by mr. huxley appeared in the july number of the same journal. the most heretical discussion from a modern standpoint is at page , where he asks how it is conceivable that the bright colours of butterflies and shells or the elegant forms of foraminifera can possibly be of service to their possessors; and it is this which especially struck darwin, judging by the pencil notes on his copy of the lecture.) though i believe, as far as my knowledge goes, that huxley is right, yet i think his tone very much too vehement, and i have ventured to say so in a note to huxley. i had not thought of these lectures in relation to the athenaeum ( / . mr. huxley was in elected to the athenaeum club under rule , which provides for the annual election of "a certain number of persons of distinguished eminence in science, literature, or the arts, or for public services."), but i am inclined quite to agree with you, and that we had better pause before anything is said...(n.b. i found falconer very indignant at the manner in which huxley treated cuvier in his royal institution lectures; and i have gently told huxley so.) i think we had better do nothing: to try in earnest to get a great naturalist into the athenaeum and fail, is far worse than doing nothing. how strange, funny, and disgraceful that nearly all (faraday and sir j. herschel at least exceptions) our great men are in quarrels in couplets; it never struck me before... letter . c. lyell to charles darwin. ( / . in the "life and letters," ii., page , is given a letter (june th, ) to lyell, in which darwin exhales his indignation over the "extensionists" who created continents ad libitum to suit the convenience of their theories. on page a fuller statement of his views is given in a letter dated june th. we have not seen lyell's reply to this, but his reply to darwin's letter of june th is extant, and is here printed for the first time.) , harley street, london, june th, . i wonder you did not also mention d. sharpe's paper ( / . "on the last elevation of the alps, etc." ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xii., , page .), just published, by which the alps were submerged as far as , feet of their present elevation above the sea in the glacial period and then since uplifted again. without admitting this, you would probably convey the alpine boulders to the jura by marine currents, and if so, make the alps and jura islands in the glacial sea. and would not the glacial theory, as now very generally understood, immerse as much of europe as i did in my original map of europe, when i simply expressed all the area which at some time or other had been under water since the commencement of the eocene period? i almost suspect the glacial submergence would exceed it. but would not this be a measure of the movement in every other area, northern (arctic), antarctic, or tropical, during an equal period--oceanic or continental? for the conversion of sea into land would always equal the turning of much land into sea. but all this would be done in a fraction of the pliocene period; the glacial shells are barely per cent. extinct species. multiply this by the older pliocene and miocene epochs. you also forget an author who, by means of atolls, contrived to submerge archipelagoes (or continents?), the mountains of which must originally have differed from each other in height , (or , ?) feet, so that they all just rose to the surface at one level, or their sites are marked by buoys of coral. i could never feel sure whether he meant this tremendous catastrophe, all brought about by what sedgwick called "lyell's niggling operations," to have been effected during the era of existing species of corals. perhaps you can tell me, for i am really curious to know...( / . the author referred to is of course darwin.) now, although there is nothing in my works to warrant the building up of continents in the atlantic and pacific even since the eocene period, yet, as some of the rocks in the central alps are in part eocene, i begin to think that all continents and oceans may be chiefly, if not all, post-eocene, and dana's "atlantic ocean" of the lower silurian is childish (see the anniversary address, ). ( / . probably dana's anniversary address to the "american association for the advancement of science," published in the "proceedings" .) but how far you are at liberty to call up continents from "the vasty deep" as often as you want to convey a helix from the united states to europe in miocene or pliocene periods is a question; for the ocean is getting deeper of late, and haughton says the mean depth is eleven miles! by his late paper on tides. ( / . "on the depth of the sea deducible from tidal observations" ("proc. irish acad." volume vi., page , - ).) i shall be surprised if this turns out true by soundings. i thought your mind was expanding so much in regard to time that you would have been going ahead in regard to the possibility of mountain-chains being created in a fraction of the period required to convert a swan into a goose, or vice versa. nine feet did the rimutaka chain of new zealand gain in height in january, , and a great earthquake has occurred in new zealand every seven years for half a century nearly. the "washingtonia" (californian conifer) ( / . washingtonia, or wellingtonia, better known as sequoia. asa gray, writing in , states his belief that "no sequoia now alive can sensibly antedate the christian era" ("scientific papers," ii., page ).) lately exhibited was four thousand years old, so that one individual might see a chain of hills rise, and rise with it, much [more] a species--and those islands which j. hooker describes as covered with new zealand plants three hundred (?) miles to the n.e. (?) of new zealand may have been separated from the mainland two or three or four generations of washingtonia ago. if the identity of the land-shells of all the hundreds of british isles be owing to their having been united since the glacial period, and the discordance, almost total, of the shells of porto santo and madeira be owing to their having been separated [during] all the newer and possibly older pliocene periods, then it gives us a conception of time which will aid you much in your conversion of species, if immensity of time will do all you require; for the glacial period is thus shown, as we might have anticipated, to be contemptible in duration or in distance from us, as compared to the older pliocene, let alone the miocene, when our contemporary species were, though in a minority, already beginning to flourish. the littoral shells, according to macandrew, imply that madeira and the canaries were once joined to the mainland of europe or africa, but that those isles were disjoined so long ago that most of the species came in since. in short, the marine shells tell the same story as the land shells. why do the plants of porto santo and madeira agree so nearly? and why do the shells which are the same as european or african species remain quite unaltered, like the crag species, which returned unchanged to the british seas after being expelled from them by glacial cold, when two millions (?) of years had elapsed, and after such migration to milder seas? be so good as to explain all this in your next letter. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, july th [ ]. i write this morning in great tribulation about tristan d'acunha. ( / . see "flora antarctica," page . though tristan d'acunha is "only , miles distant from the cape of good hope, and , from the strait of magalhaens, the botany of this island is far more intimately allied to that of fuegia than africa.") the more i reflect on your antarctic flora the more i am astounded. you give all the facts so clearly and fully, that it is impossible to help speculating on the subject; but it drives me to despair, for i cannot gulp down your continent; and not being able to do so gives, in my eyes, the multiple creationists an awful triumph. it is a wondrous case, and how strange that a. de candolle should have ignored it; which he certainly has, as it seems to me. i wrote lyell a long geological letter ( / . "life and letters," ii., page .) about continents, and i have had a very long and interesting answer; but i cannot in the least gather his opinion about all your continental extensionists; and i have written again beseeching a verdict. ( / . in the tenth edition of the "principles," , lyell added a chapter (chapter xli., page ) on insular floras and faunas in relation to the origin of species; he here (page ) gives his reasons against forbes as an extensionist.) i asked him to send to you my letter, for as it was well copied it would not be troublesome to read; but whether worth reading i really do not know; i have given in it the reasons which make me strongly opposed to continental extensions. i was very glad to get your note some days ago: i wish you would think it worth while, as you intend to have the laburnum case translated, to write to "wien" (that unknown place) ( / . there is a tradition that darwin once asked hooker where "this place wien is, where they publish so many books."), and find out how the laburnum has been behaving: it really ought to be known. the entada is a beast. ( / . the large seeds of entada scandens are occasionally floated across the atlantic and cast on the shores of europe.); i have never differed from you about the growth of a plant in a new island being a far harder trial than transportal, though certainly that seems hard enough. indeed i suspect i go even further than you in this respect; but it is too long a story. thank you for the aristolochia and viscum cases: what species were they? i ask, because oddly these two very genera i have seen advanced as instances (i forget at present by whom, but by good men) in which the agency of insects was absolutely necessary for impregnation. in our british dioecious viscum i suppose it must be necessary. was there anything to show that the stigma was ready for pollen in these two cases? for it seems that there are many cases in which pollen is shed long before the stigma is ready. as in our viscum, insects carry, sufficiently regularly for impregnation, pollen from flower to flower, i should think that there must be occasional crosses even in an hermaphrodite viscum. i have never heard of bees and butterflies, only moths, producing fertile eggs without copulation. with respect to the ray society, i profited so enormously by its publishing my cirrepedia, that i cannot quite agree with you on confining it to translations; i know not how else i could possibly have published. i have just sent in my name for pounds to the linnaean society, but i must confess i have done it with heavy groans, whereas i daresay you gave your pounds like a light-hearted gentleman... p.s. wollaston speaks strongly about the intermediate grade between two varieties in insects and mollusca being often rarer than the two varieties themselves. this is obviously very important for me, and not easy to explain. i believe i have had cases from you. but, if you believe in this, i wish you would give me a sentence to quote from you on this head. there must, i think, be a good deal of truth in it; otherwise there could hardly be nearly distinct varieties under any species, for we should have instead a blending series, as in brambles and willows. letter . to j.d. hooker. july th, . what a book a devil's chaplain might write on the clumsy, wasteful, blundering, low, and horribly cruel works of nature! with respect to crossing, from one sentence in your letter i think you misunderstand me. i am very far from believing in hybrids: only in crossing of the same species or of close varieties. these two or three last days i have been observing wheat, and have convinced myself that l. deslongchamps is in error about impregnation taking place in closed flowers; i.e., of course, i can judge only from external appearances. by the way, r. brown once told me that the use of the brush on stigma of grasses was unknown. do you know its use?... you say most truly about multiple creations and my notions. if any one case could be proved, i should be smashed; but as i am writing my book, i try to take as much pains as possible to give the strongest cases opposed to me, and often such conjectures as occur to me. i have been working your books as the richest (and vilest) mine against me; and what hard work i have had to get up your new zealand flora! as i have to quote you so often, i should like to refer to muller's case of the australian alps. where is it published? is it a book? a correct reference would be enough for me, though it is wrong even to quote without looking oneself. i should like to see very much forbes's sheets, which you refer to; but i must confess (i hardly know why) i have got rather to mistrust poor dear forbes. there is wonderful ill logic in his famous and admirable memoir on distribution, as it appears to me, now that i have got it up so as to give the heads in a page. depend on it, my saying is a true one--viz. that a compiler is a great man, and an original man a commonplace man. any fool can generalise and speculate; but oh, my heavens, to get up at second hand a new zealand flora, that is work... and now i am going to beg almost as great a favour as a man can beg of another: and i ask some five or six weeks before i want the favour done, that it may appear less horrid. it is to read, but well copied out, my pages (about forty!!) on alpine floras and faunas, arctic and antarctic floras and faunas, and the supposed cold mundane period. it would be really an enormous advantage to me, as i am sure otherwise to make botanical blunders. i would specify the few points on which i most want your advice. but it is quite likely that you may object on the ground that you might be publishing before me (i hope to publish in a year at furthest), so that it would hamper and bother you; and secondly you may object to the loss of time, for i daresay it would take an hour and a half to read. it certainly would be of immense advantage to me; but of course you must not think of doing it if it would interfere with your own work. i do not consider this request in futuro as breaking my promise to give no more trouble for some time. from lyell's letters, he is coming round at a railway pace on the mutability of species, and authorises me to put some sentences on this head in my preface. i shall meet lyell on wednesday at lord stanhope's, and will ask him to forward my letter to you; though, as my arguments have not struck him, they cannot have force, and my head must be crotchety on the subject; but the crotchets keep firmly there. i have given your opinion on continuous land, i see, too strongly. letter . to s.p. woodward. down, july th [ ]. very many thanks for your kindness in writing to me at such length, and i am glad to say for your sake that i do not see that i shall have to beg any further favours. what a range and what a variability in the cyrena! ( / . a genus of lamellibranchs ranging from the lias to the present day.) your list of the ranges of the land and fresh-water shells certainly is most striking and curious, and especially as the antiquity of four of them is so clearly shown. i have got harvey's seaside book, and liked it; i was not particularly struck with it, but i will re-read the first and last chapters. i am growing as bad as the worst about species, and hardly have a vestige of belief in the permanence of species left in me; and this confession will make you think very lightly of me, but i cannot help it. such has become my honest conviction, though the difficulties and arguments against such heresy are certainly most weighty. letter . to c. lyell. november th [ ]. i know you like all cases of negative geological evidence being upset. i fancied that i was a most unwilling believer in negative evidence; but yet such negative evidence did seem to me so strong that in my "fossil lepadidae" i have stated, giving reasons, that i did not believe there could have existed any sessile cirripedes during the secondary ages. now, the other day bosquet of maestricht sends me a perfect drawing of a perfect chthamalus (a recent genus) from the chalk! ( / . chthamalus, a genus of cirripedia. ("a monograph on the sub-class cirripedia," by charles darwin, page . london, .) a fossil species of this genus of upper cretaceous age was named by bosquet chthamalus darwini. see "origin," edition vi., page ; also zittel, "traite de paleontologie," traduit par dr. c. barrois, volume ii., page , figure . paris, .) indeed, it is stretching a point to make it specifically distinct from our living british species. it is a genus not hitherto found in any tertiary bed. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, july th, . i am extremely much obliged to you for having so fully entered on my point. i knew i was on unsafe ground, but it proves far unsafer than i had thought. i had thought that brulle ( / . this no doubt refers to a. brulle's paper in the "comptes rendus" , of which a translation is given in the "annals and mag. of natural history," , page . in speaking of the development of the articulata, the author says "that the appendages are manifested at an earlier period of the existence of an articulate animal the more complex its degree of organisation, and vice versa that they make their appearance the later, the fewer the number of transformations which it has to undergo.") had a wider basis for his generalisation, for i made the extract several years ago, and i presume (i state it as some excuse for myself) that i doubted it, for, differently from my general habit, i have not extracted his grounds. it was meeting with barneoud's paper which made me think there might be truth in the doctrine. ( / . apparently barneoud "on the organogeny of irregular corollas," from the "comptes rendus," , as given in "annals and mag. of natural history," , page . the paper chiefly deals with the fact that in their earliest condition irregular flowers are regular. the view attributed to barneoud does not seem so definitely given in this paper as in a previous one ("ann. sc. nat." bot., tom. vi., page .) your instance of heart and brain of fish seems to me very good. it was a very stupid blunder on my part not thinking of the posterior part of the time of development. i shall, of course, not allude to this subject, which i rather grieve about, as i wished it to be true; but, alas! a scientific man ought to have no wishes, no affections--a mere heart of stone. there is only one point in your letter which at present i cannot quite follow you in: supposing that barneoud's (i do not say brulle's) remarks were true and universal--i.e., that the petals which have to undergo the greatest amount of development and modification begin to change the soonest from the simple and common embryonic form of the petal--if this were a true law, then i cannot but think that it would throw light on milne edwards' proposition that the wider apart the classes of animals are, the sooner do they diverge from the common embryonic plan--which common embryonic [plan] may be compared with the similar petals in the early bud, the several petals in one flower being compared to the distinct but similar embryos of the different classes. i much wish that you would so far keep this in mind, that whenever we meet i might hear how far you differ or concur in this. i have always looked at barneoud's and brulle's proposition as only in some degree analogous. p.s. i see in my abstract of milne edwards' paper, he speaks of "the most perfect and important organs" as being first developed, and i should have thought that this was usually synonymous with the most developed or modified. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . the following letter is chiefly of interest as showing the amount and kind of work required for darwin's conclusions on "large genera varying," which occupy no more than two or three pages in the "origin" (edition i., page ). some correspondence on the subject is given in the "life and letters," ii., pages - .) down, august nd [ ]. your handwriting always rejoices the cockles of my heart; though you have no reason to be "overwhelmed with shame," as i did not expect to hear. i write now chiefly to know whether you can tell me how to write to hermann schlagenheit (is this spelt right?) ( / . schlagintweit.), for i believe he is returned to england, and he has poultry skins for me from w. elliot of madras. i am very glad to hear that you have been tabulating some floras about varieties. will you just tell me roughly the result? do you not find it takes much time? i am employing a laboriously careful schoolmaster, who does the tabulating and dividing into two great cohorts, more carefully than i can. this being so, i should be very glad some time to have koch, webb's canaries, and ledebour, and grisebach, but i do not know even where rumelia is. i shall work the british flora with three separate floras; and i intend dividing the varieties into two classes, as asa gray and henslow give the materials, and, further, a. gray and h.c. watson have marked for me the forms, which they consider real species, but yet are very close to others; and it will be curious to compare results. if it will all hold good it is very important for me; for it explains, as i think, all classification, i.e. the quasi-branching and sub-branching of forms, as if from one root, big genera increasing and splitting up, etc., as you will perceive. but then comes in, also, what i call a principle of divergence, which i think i can explain, but which is too long, and perhaps you would not care to hear. as you have been on this subject, you might like to hear what very little is complete (for my schoolmaster has had three weeks' holidays)--only three cases as yet, i see. babington--british flora. species in genera of and (odd chance equal) in upwards have in a thousand genera of and downwards have species presenting vars. in a thousand presenting vars. / .* / . (* / . this sentence may be interpreted as follows: the number of species which present varieties are per thousand in genera of species and upwards. the result is obtained from tabulation of species.) hooker--new zealand. genera with species and with species and downwards upwards, / . / . godron--central france. with species and upwards with species and downwards / . / . i do not enter into details on omitting introduced plants and very varying genera, as rubus, salix, rosa, etc., which would make the result more in favour. i enjoyed seeing henslow extremely, though i was a good way from well at the time. farewell, my dear hooker: do not forget your visit here some time. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, november th [ ]. on tuesday i will send off from london, whither i go on that day, ledebour's three remaining volumes, grisebach and cybele, i.e., all that i have, and most truly am i obliged to you for them. i find the rule, as yet, of the species varying most in the large genera universal, except in miquel's very brief and therefore imperfect list of the holland flora, which makes me very anxious to tabulate a fuller flora of holland. i shall remain in london till friday morning, and if quite convenient to send me two volumes of d.c. prodromus, i could take them home and tabulate them. i should think a volume with a large best known natural family, and a volume with several small broken families would be best, always supposing that the varieties are conspicuously marked in both. have you the volume published by lowe on madeira? if so and if any varieties are marked i should much like to see it, to see if i can make out anything about habitats of vars. in so small an area--a point on which i have become very curious. i fear there is no chance of your possessing forbes and hancock "british shells," a grand work, which i much wish to tabulate. very many thanks for seed of adlumia cirrhosa, which i will carefully observe. my notice in the g. ch. on kidney beans ( . "on the agency of bees in the fertilisation of papilionaceous flowers" ("gardeners' chronicle," , page ).) has brought me a curious letter from an intelligent gardener, with a most remarkable lot of beans, crossed in a marvellous manner in the first generation, like the peas sent to you by berkeley and like those experimentalised on by gartner and by wiegmann. it is a very odd case; i shall sow these seeds and see what comes up. how very odd that pollen of one form should affect the outer coats and size of the bean produced by pure species!... letter . to j.d. hooker. down [ ?]. you know how i work subjects: namely, if i stumble on any general remark, and if i find it confirmed in any other very distinct class, then i try to find out whether it is true,--if it has any bearing on my work. the following, perhaps, may be important to me. dr. wight remarks that cucurbitaceae ( / . wight, "remarks on the fruit of the natural order cucurbitaceae" ("ann. mag. nat. hist." viii., page ). r. wight, f.r.s. ( - ) was superintendent of the madras botanic garden.) is a very isolated family, and has very diverging affinities. i find, strongly put and illustrated, the very same remark in the genera of hymenoptera. now, it is not to me at first apparent why a very distinct and isolated group should be apt to have more divergent affinities than a less isolated group. i am aware that most genera have more affinities than in two ways, which latter, perhaps, is the commonest case. i see how infinitely vague all this is; but i should very much like to know what you and mr. bentham (if he will read this), who have attended so much to the principles of classification, think of this. perhaps the best way would be to think of half a dozen most isolated groups of plants, and then consider whether the affinities point in an unusual number of directions. very likely you may think the whole question too vague to be worth consideration. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, april th [ ]. i now want to ask your opinion, and for facts on a point; and as i shall often want to do this during the next year or two, so let me say, once for all, that you must not take trouble out of mere good nature (of which towards me you have a most abundant stock), but you must consider, in regard to the trouble any question may take, whether you think it worth while--as all loss of time so far lessens your original work--to give me facts to be quoted on your authority in my work. do not think i shall be disappointed if you cannot spare time; for already i have profited enormously from your judgment and knowledge. i earnestly beg you to act as i suggest, and not take trouble solely out of good-nature. my point is as follows: harvey gives the case of fucus varying remarkably, and yet in same way under most different conditions. d. don makes same remark in regard to juncus bufonius in england and india. polygala vulgaris has white, red, and blue flowers in faroe, england, and i think herbert says in zante. now such cases seem to me very striking, as showing how little relation some variations have to climatal conditions. do you think there are many such cases? does oxalis corniculata present exactly the same varieties under very different climates? how is it with any other british plants in new zealand, or at the foot of the himalaya? will you think over this and let me hear the result? one other question: do you remember whether the introduced sonchus in new zealand was less, equally, or more common than the aboriginal stock of the same species, where both occurred together? i forget whether there is any other case parallel with this curious one of the sonchus... i have been making good, though slow, progress with my book, for facts have been falling nicely into groups, enlightening each other. letter . to t.h. huxley. moor park, farnham, surrey [ ?]. your letter has been forwarded to me here, where i am profiting by a few weeks' rest and hydropathy. your letter has interested and amused me much. i am extremely glad you have taken up the aphis ( / . professor huxley's paper on the organic reproduction of aphis is in the "trans. linn. soc." xxii. ( ), page . prof. owen had treated the subject in his introductory hunterian lecture "on parthenogenesis" ( ). his theory cannot be fully given here. briefly, he holds that parthenogenesis is due to the inheritance of a "remnant of spermatic virtue": when the "spermatic force" or "virtue" is exhausted fresh impregnation occurs. huxley severely criticises both owen's facts and his theory.) question, but, for heaven's sake, do not come the mild hindoo (whatever he may be) to owen; your father confessor trembles for you. i fancy owen thinks much of this doctrine of his; i never from the first believed it, and i cannot but think that the same power is concerned in producing aphides without fertilisation, and producing, for instance, nails on the amputated stump of a man's fingers, or the new tail of a lizard. by the way, i saw somewhere during the last week or so a statement of a man rearing from the same set of eggs winged and wingless aphides, which seemed new to me. does not some yankee say that the american viviparous aphides are winged? i am particularly glad that you are ruminating on the act of fertilisation: it has long seemed to me the most wonderful and curious of physiological problems. i have often and often speculated for amusement on the subject, but quite fruitlessly. do you not think that the conjugation of the diatomaceae will ultimately throw light on the subject? but the other day i came to the conclusion that some day we shall have cases of young being produced from spermatozoa or pollen without an ovule. approaching the subject from the side which attracts me most, viz., inheritance, i have lately been inclined to speculate, very crudely and indistinctly, that propagation by true fertilisation will turn out to be a sort of mixture, and not true fusion, of two distinct individuals, or rather of innumerable individuals, as each parent has its parents and ancestors. i can understand on no other view the way in which crossed forms go back to so large an extent to ancestral forms. but all this, of course, is infinitely crude. i hope to be in london in the course of this month, and there are two or three points which, for my own sake, i want to discuss briefly with you. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, september th [ ]. thanks for your very pleasant note. it amuses me to see what a bug-bear i have made myself to you; when having written some very pungent and good sentence it must be very disagreeable to have my face rise up like an ugly ghost. ( / . this probably refers to darwin's wish to moderate a certain pugnacity in huxley.) i have always suspected agassiz of superficiality and wretched reasoning powers; but i think such men do immense good in their way. see how he stirred up all europe about glaciers. by the way, lyell has been at the glaciers, or rather their effects, and seems to have done good work in testing and judging what others have done... in regard to classification and all the endless disputes about the "natural system," which no two authors define in the same way, i believe it ought, in accordance to my heterodox notions, to be simply genealogical. but as we have no written pedigrees you will, perhaps, say this will not help much; but i think it ultimately will, whenever heterodoxy becomes orthodoxy, for it will clear away an immense amount of rubbish about the value of characters, and will make the difference between analogy and homology clear. the time will come, i believe, though i shall not live to see it, when we shall have very fairly true genealogical trees of each great kingdom of nature. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, december th [ ]. in my opinion your catalogue ( / . it appears from a letter to sir j.d. hooker (december th, ) that the reference is to the proofs of huxley's "explanatory preface to the catalogue of the palaeontological collection in the museum of practical geology," by t.h. huxley and r. etheridge, . mr. huxley appends a note at page xlix: "it should be noted that these pages were written before the appearance of mr. darwin's book on 'the origin of species'--a work which has effected a revolution in biological speculation.") is simply the very best resume, by far, on the whole science of natural history, which i have ever seen. i really have no criticisms: i agree with every word. your metaphors and explanations strike me as admirable. in many parts it is curious how what you have written agrees with what i have been writing, only with the melancholy difference for me that you put everything in twice as striking a manner as i do. i append, more for the sake of showing that i have attended to the whole than for any other object, a few most trivial criticisms. i was amused to meet with some of the arguments, which you advanced in talk with me, on classification; and it pleases me, [that] my long proses were so far not thrown away, as they led you to bring out here some good sentences. but on classification ( / . this probably refers to mr. huxley's discussion on "natural classification," a subject hardly susceptible of fruitful treatment except from an evolutionary standpoint.) i am not quite sure that i yet wholly go with you, though i agree with every word you have here said. the whole, i repeat, in my opinion is admirable and excellent. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, february th [ ]. hearty thanks for de candolle received. i have put the big genera in hand. also many thanks for your valuable remarks on the affinities of the species in great genera, which will be of much use to me in my chapter on classification. your opinion is what i had expected from what little i knew, but i much wanted it confirmed, and many of your remarks were more or less new to me and all of value. you give a poor picture of the philosophy of botany. from my ignorance, i suppose, i can hardly persuade myself that things are quite as bad as you make them,--you might have been writing remarks on ornithology! i shall meditate much on your remarks, which will also come in very useful when i write and consider my tables of big and small genera. i grieve for myself to say that watson agrees with your view, but with much doubt. i gave him no guide what your opinion was. i have written to a. gray and to x., who--i.e. the latter--on this point may be looked at as s. smith's foolometer. i am now working several of the large local floras, with leaving out altogether all the smallest genera. when i have done this, and seen what the sections of the largest genera say, and seen what the results are of range and commonness of varying species, i must come to some definite conclusion whether or not entirely to give up the ghost. i shall then show how my theory points, how the facts stand, then state the nature of your grievous assault and yield entirely or defend the case as far as i can honestly. again i thank you for your invaluable assistance. i have not felt the blow [hooker's criticisms] so much of late, as i have been beyond measure interested on the constructive instinct of the hive-bee. adios, you terrible worrier of poor theorists! letter . to j.d. hooker. down [ ?] many thanks for ledebour and still more for your letter, with its admirable resume of all your objections. it is really most kind of you to take so very much trouble about what seems to you, and probably is, mere vagaries. i will earnestly try and be cautious. i will write out my tables and conclusion, and (when well copied out) i hope you will be so kind as to read it. i will then put it by and after some months look at it with fresh eyes. i will briefly work in all your objections and watson's. i labour under a great difficulty from feeling sure that, with what very little systematic work i have done, small genera were more interesting and therefore more attracted my attention. one of your remarks i do not see the bearing of under your point of view--namely, that in monotypic genera "the variation and variability" are "much more frequently noticed" than in polytypic genera. i hardly like to ask, but this is the only one of your arguments of which i do not see the bearing; and i certainly should be very glad to know. i believe i am the slowest (perhaps the worst) thinker in england; and i now consequently fully admit the full hostility of urticaceae, which i will give in my tables. i will make no remarks on your objections, as i do hope you will read my ms., which will not cost you much trouble when fairly copied out. from my own experience, i hardly believe that the most sagacious observers, without counting, could have predicted whether there were more or fewer recorded varieties in large or small genera; for i found, when actually making the list, that i could never strike a balance in my mind,--a good many varieties occurring together, in small or in large genera, always threw me off the balance... p.s.--i have just thought that your remark about the much variation of monotypic genera was to show me that even in these, the smallest genera, there was much variability. if this be so, then do not answer; and i will so understand it. letter . to j.d. hooker. february rd [ ]. will you think of some of the largest genera with which you are well acquainted, and then suppose / of the species utterly destroyed and unknown in the sections (as it were) as much as possible in the centre of such great genera. then would the remaining / of the species, forming a few sections, be, according to the general practice of average good botanists, ranked as distinct genera? of course they would in that case be closely related genera. the question, in fact, is, are all the species in a gigantic genus kept together in that genus, because they are really so very closely similar as to be inseparable? or is it because no chasms or boundaries can be drawn separating the many species? the question might have been put for orders. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, february th [ ]. i should be very much obliged for your opinion on the enclosed. you may remember in the three first volumes tabulated, all orders went right except labiatae. by the way, if by any extraordinary chance you have not thrown away the scrap of paper with former results, i wish you would return it, for i have lost my copy, and i shall have all the division to do again; but do not hunt for it, for in any case i should have gone over the calculation again. now i have done the three other volumes. you will see that all species in the six volumes together go right, and likewise all orders in the three last volumes, except verbenaceae. is not verbenaceae very closely allied to labiatae? if so, one would think that it was not mere chance, this coincidence. the species in labiatae and verbenaceae together are between / and / of all the species ( , ), which i have now tabulated. now, bearing in mind the many local floras which i have tabulated (belting the whole northern hemisphere), and considering that they (and authors of d.c. prodromus) would probably take different degrees of care in recording varieties, and the genera would be divided on different principles by different men, etc., i am much surprised at the uniformity of the result, and i am satisfied that there must be truth in the rule that the small genera vary less than the large. what do you think? hypothetically i can conjecture how the labiatae might fail--namely, if some small divisions of the order were now coming into importance in the world and varying much and making species. this makes me want to know whether you could divide the labiatae into a few great natural divisions, and then i would tabulate them separately as sub-orders. i see lindley makes so many divisions that there would not be enough in each for an average. i send the table of the labiatae for the chance of your being able to do this for me. you might draw oblique lines including and separating both large and small genera. i have also divided all the species into two equal masses, and my rule holds good for all the species in a mass in the six volumes; but it fails in several (four) large orders--viz. labiatae, scrophulariaceae, acanthaceae, and proteaceae. but, then, when the species are divided into two almost exactly equal divisions, the divisions with large genera are so very few: for instance, in solanaceae, solanum balances all others. in labiatae seven gigantic genera balance all others (viz. ), and in proteaceae five genera balance all others. now, according to my hypothetical notions, i am far from supposing that all genera go on increasing forever, and therefore i am not surprised at this result, when the division is so made that only a very few genera are on one side. but, according to my notions, the sections or sub-genera of the gigantic genera ought to obey my rule (i.e., supposing a gigantic genus had come to its maximum, whatever increase was still going on ought to be going on in the larger sub-genera). do you think that the sections of the gigantic genera in d.c. prodromus are generally natural: i.e. not founded on mere artificial characters? if you think that they are generally made as natural as they can be, then i should like very much to tabulate the sub-genera, considering them for the time as good genera. in this case, and if you do not think me unreasonable to ask it, i should be very glad of the loan of volumes x., xi., xii., and xiv., which include acanthaceae, scrophulariaceae, labiatae, and proteaceae,--that is, the orders which, when divided quite equally, do not accord with my rule, and in which a very few genera balance all the others. i have written you a tremendous long prose. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, june th [ ]. i am confined to the sofa with boils, so you must let me write in pencil. you would laugh if you could know how much your note pleased me. i had the firmest conviction that you would say all my ms. was bosh, and thank god, you are one of the few men who dare speak the truth. though i should not have much cared about throwing away what you have seen, yet i have been forced to confess to myself that all was much alike, and if you condemned that you would condemn all my life's work, and that i confess made me a little low; but i could have borne it, for i have the conviction that i have honestly done my best. the discussion comes in at the end of the long chapter on variation in a state of nature, so that i have discussed, as far as i am able, what to call varieties. i will try to leave out all allusion to genera coming in and out in this part, till when i discuss the "principle of divergence," which, with "natural selection," is the keystone of my book; and i have very great confidence it is sound. i would have this discussion copied out, if i could really think it would not bore you to read,--for, believe me, i value to the full every word of criticism from you, and the advantage which i have derived from you cannot be told... i am glad to hear that poor old brown is dying so easily... you will think it paltry, but as i was asked to pay for printing the diploma [from a society of which he had been made an honorary member], i did not like to refuse, so i send pound. but i think it a shabby proceeding. if a gentleman did me some service, though unasked to do it, and then demanded payment, i should pay him, and think him a shabby dog; and on this principle i send my pound. ( / . the following four letters refer to an inquiry instituted in by the trustees of the british museum as to the disposal of the natural history collections. the inquiry was one of the first steps towards the establishment of the cromwell road museum, which was effected in .) letter . to r.i. murchison. down, june th [ ]. i have just received your note. unfortunately i cannot attend at the british museum on monday. i do not suppose my opinion on the subject of your note can be of any value, as i have not much considered the subject, or had the advantage of discussing it with other naturalists. but my impression is, that there is much weight in what you say about not breaking up the natural history collection of the british museum. i think a national collection ought to be in london. i can, however, see that some weighty arguments might be advanced in favour of kew, owing to the immense value of sir w. hooker's collection and library; but these are private property, and i am not aware that there is any certainty of their always remaining at kew. had this been the case, i should have thought that the botanical collection might have been removed there without endangering the other branches of the collections. but i think it would be the greatest evil which could possibly happen to natural science in this country if the other collections were ever to be removed from the british museum and library. letter . to t.h. huxley. ( / . the memorial referred to in the following letter was addressed on november th to the chancellor of the exchequer. it was signed by huxley, bentham, w.h. harvey, henfrey, henslow, lindley, busk, carpenter, and darwin. the memorial, which is accessible, as published in the "gardeners' chronicle," november th, , page , recommended, speaking generally, the consolidation of the national botanical collections at kew. in february, , a committee was appointed by the lords commissioners of the treasury "to consider the present arrangements under which botanical work is done and collections maintained by the trustees of the british museum, and under the first commissioner of works at kew, respectively; and to report what changes (if any) in those arrangements are necessary or desirable in order to avoid duplication of work and collections at the two institutions." the committee published their report in march, , recommending an arrangement similar to that proposed in .) down, october rd [ ]. the names which you give as supporting your memorial make me quite distrust my own judgment; but, as i must say yea or nay, i am forced to say that i doubt the wisdom of the movement, and am not willing at present to sign. my reasons, perhaps of very little value, are as follows. the governing classes are thoroughly unscientific, and the men of art and of archaeology have much greater weight with government than we have. if we make a move to separate from the british museum, i cannot but fear that we may go to the dogs. i think we owe our position in large part to the hundreds of thousands of people who visit the british museum, attracted by the heterogeneous mixture of objects. if we lost this support, as i think we should--for a mere collection of animals does not seem very attractive to the masses (judging from the museum of the zoological society, formerly in leicester square)--then i do not think we should get nearly so much aid from government. therefore i should be inclined to stick to the mummies and assyrian gods as long as we could. if we knew that government was going to turn us out, then, and not till then, i should be inclined to make an energetic move. if we were to separate, i do not believe that we should have funds granted for the many books required for occasional reference: each man must speak from his own experience. i have so repeatedly required to see old transactions and old travels, etc., that i should regret extremely, when at work at the british museum, to be separated from the entire library. the facilities for working at certain great classes--as birds, large fossils, etc.--are no doubt as bad as possible, or rather impossible, on the open days; but i have found the working rooms of the assistants very convenient for all other classes on all days. in regard to the botanical collections, i am too ignorant to express any opinion. the point seems to be how far botanists would object to travel to kew; but there are evidently many great advantages in the transportation. if i had my own way, i would make the british museum collection only a typical one for display, which would be quite as amusing and far more instructive to the populace (and i think to naturalists) than the present enormous display of birds and mammals. i would save expense of stuffing, and would keep all skins, except a few "typicals," in drawers. thus much room would be saved, and a little more space could be given to real workers, who could work all day. rooms fitted up with thousands of drawers would cost very little. with this i should be contented. until i had pretty sure information that we were going to be turned out, i would not stir in the matter. with such opponents as you name, i daresay i am quite wrong; but this is my best, though doubtful, present judgment... it seems to me dangerous even to hint at a new scientific museum--a popular museum, and to subsidise the zoological gardens; it would, i think, frighten any government. letter . to j.d. hooker. moor park, farnham, surrey [october] th [ ]. as you say that you have good private information that government does intend to remove the collection from the british museum, the case to me individually is wholly changed; and as the memorial now stands, with such expression at its head, i have no objection whatever to sign. i must express a very strong opinion that it would be an immense evil to remove to kensington, not on account of the men of science so much as for the masses in the whole eastern and central part of london. i further think it would be a great evil to separate a typical collection (which i can by no means look at as only popular) from the collection in full. might not some expression be added, even stronger than those now used, on the display (which is a sort of vanity in the curators) of such a vast number of birds and mammals, with such a loss of room. i am low at the conviction that government will never give money enough for a really good library. i do not want to be crotchety, but i should hate signing without some expression about the site being easily accessible to the populace of the whole of london. i repeat, as things now stand, i shall be proud to sign. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, november rd [ ]. i most entirely subscribe to all you say in your note. i have had some correspondence with hooker on the subject. as it seems certain that a movement in the british museum is generally anticipated, my main objection is quite removed; and, as i have told hooker, i have no objection whatever to sign a memorial of the nature of the one he sent me or that now returned. both seem to me very good. i cannot help being fearful whether government will ever grant money enough for books. i can see many advantages in not being under the unmotherly wing of art and archaeology, and my only fear was that we were not strong enough to live without some protection, so profound, i think, is the contempt for and ignorance of natural science amongst the gentry of england. hooker tells me that i should be converted into favour of kensington gore if i heard all that could be said in its favour; but i cannot yet help thinking so western a locality a great misfortune. has lyell been consulted? his would be a powerful name, and such names go for much with our ignorant governors. you seem to have taken much trouble in the business, and i honour you for it. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, november th [ ]. i am quite delighted to hear about the copley and lyell. ( / . the copley medal of the royal society was awarded to lyell in .) i have grown hot with indignation many times thinking of the way the proposal was met last year, according to your account of it. i am also very glad to hear of hancock (albany hancock received a royal medal in .); it will show the provincials are not neglected. altogether the medals are capital. i shall be proud and bound to help in any way about the eloge, which is rather a heavy tax on proposers of medals, as i found about richardson and westwood; but lyell's case will be twenty times as difficult. i will begin this very evening dotting down a few remarks on lyell; though, no doubt, most will be superfluous, and several would require deliberate consideration. anyhow, such notes may be a preliminary aid to you; i will send them in a few days' time, and will do anything else you may wish... p.s.--i have had a letter from henslow this morning. he comes here on [thursday] th, and i shall be delighted to see him; but it stops my coming to the club, as i had arranged to do, and now i suppose i shall not be in london till december th, if odds and ends do not compel me to come sooner. of course i have not said a word to henslow of my change of plans. i had looked forward with pleasure to a chat with you and others. p.s. .--i worked all yesterday evening in thinking, and have written the paper sent by this post this morning. not one sentence would do, but it is the sort of rough sketch which i should have drawn out if i had had to do it. god knows whether it will at all aid you. it is miserably written, with horridly bad metaphors, probably horrid bad grammar. it is my deliberate impression, such as i should have written to any friend who had asked me what i thought of lyell's merits. i will do anything else which you may wish, or that i can. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, december th [ ]. i have had this copied to save you trouble, as it was vilely written, and is now vilely expressed. your letter has interested me greatly; but how inextricable are the subjects which we are discussing! i do not think i said that i thought the productions of asia were higher ( / . on the use of the terms "higher" and "lower" see letters and .) than those of australia. i intend carefully to avoid this expression ( / . in a paper of pencilled notes pinned into darwin's copy of the "vestiges" occur the words: "never use the word (sic) higher and lower."), for i do not think that any one has a definite idea what is meant by higher, except in classes which can loosely be compared with man. on our theory of natural selection, if the organisms of any area belonging to the eocene or secondary periods were put into competition with those now existing in the same area (or probably in any part of the world) they (i.e. the old ones) would be beaten hollow and be exterminated; if the theory be true, this must be so. in the same manner, i believe, a greater number of the productions of asia, the largest territory in the world, would beat those of australia, than conversely. so it seems to be between europe and north america, for i can hardly believe in the difference of the stream of commerce causing so great a difference in the proportions of immigrants. but this sort of highness (i wish i could invent some expression, and must try to do so) is different from highness in the common acceptation of the word. it might be connected with degradation of organisation: thus the blind degraded worm-like snake (typhlops) might supplant the true earthworm. here then would be degradation in the class, but certainly increase in the scale of organisation in the general inhabitants of the country. on the other hand, it would be quite as easy to believe that true earthworms might beat out the typhlops. i do not see how this "competitive highness" can be tested in any way by us. and this is a comfort to me when mentally comparing the silurian and recent organisms. not that i doubt a long course of "competitive highness" will ultimately make the organisation higher in every sense of the word; but it seems most difficult to test it. look at the erigeron canadensis on the one hand and anacharis ( / . anacharis (elodea canadensis) and erigeron canadensis are both successful immigrants from america.) on the other; these plants must have some advantage over european productions, to spread as they have. yet who could discover it? monkeys can co-exist with sloths and opossums, orders at the bottom of the scale; and the opossums might well be beaten by placental insectivores, coming from a country where there were no monkeys, etc. i should be sorry to give up the view that an old and very large continuous territory would generally produce organisms higher in the competitive sense than a smaller territory. i may, of course, be quite wrong about the plants of australia (and your facts are, of course, quite new to me on their highness), but when i read the accounts of the immense spreading of european plants in australia, and think of the wool and corn brought thence to europe, and not one plant naturalised, i can hardly avoid the suspicion that europe beats australia in its productions. if many (i.e. more than one or two) australian plants are truly naturalised in india (n.b. naturalisation on indian mountains hardly quite fair, as mountains are small islands in the land) i must strike my colours. i should be glad to hear whether what i have written very obscurely on this point produces any effect on you; for i want to clear my mind, as perhaps i should put a sentence or two in my abstract on this subject. ( / . abstract was darwin's name for the "origin" during parts of and .) i have always been willing to strike my colours on former immense tracts of land in oceans, if any case required it in an eminent degree. perhaps yours may be a case, but at present i greatly prefer land in the antarctic regions, where now there is only ice and snow, but which before the glacial period might well have been clothed by vegetation. you have thus to invent far less land, and that more central; and aid is got by floating ice for transporting seed. i hope i shall not weary you by scribbling my notions at this length. after writing last to you i began to think that the malay land might have existed through part of the glacial epoch. why i at first doubted was from the difference of existing mammals in different islands; but many are very close, and some identical in the islands, and i am constantly deceiving myself from thinking of the little change which the shells and plants, whilst all co-existing in their own northern hemisphere, have undergone since the glacial epoch; but i am convinced that this is most false reasoning, for the relations of organism to new organisms, when thrown together, are by far the most important. when you speak of plants having undergone more change since old geological periods than animals, are you not rather comparing plants with higher animals? think how little some, indeed many, mollusca have changed. remember silurian nautilus, lingula and other brachiopods, and nucula, and amongst echinoderms, the silurian asterias, etc. what you say about lowness of brackish-water plants interests me. i remember that they are apt to be social (i.e. many individuals in comparison to specific forms), and i should be tempted to look at this as a case of a very small area, and consequently of very few individuals in comparison with those on the land or in pure fresh-water; and hence less development (odious word!) than on land or fresh-water. but here comes in your two-edged sword! i should like much to see any paper on plants of brackish water or on the edge of the sea; but i suppose such has never been published. thanks about nelumbium, for i think this was the very plant which from the size of seed astonished me, and which a. de candolle adduced as a marvellous case of almost impossible transport. i now find to my surprise that herons do feed sometimes on [illegible] fruit; and grebes on seeds of compositae. many thanks for offer of help about a grant for the abstract; but i should hope it would sell enough to pay expenses. i am reading your letter and scribbling as i go on. your oak and chestnut case seems very curious; is it not the more so as beeches have gone to, or come from the south? but i vehemently protest against you or any one making such cases especial marvels, without you are prepared to say why each species in any flora is twice or thrice, etc., rarer than each other species which grows in the same soil. the more i think, the more evident is it to me how utterly ignorant we are of the thousand contingencies on which range, frequency, and extinction of each species depend. i have sometimes thought, from edentata ( / . no doubt a slip of the pen for monotremata.) and marsupialia, that australia retains a remnant of the former and ancient state of the fauna of the world, and i suppose that you are coming to some such conclusion for plants; but is not the relation between the cape and australia too special for such views? i infer from your writings that the relation is too special between fuegia and australia to allow us to look at the resemblances in certain plants as the relics of mundane resemblances. on the other hand, [have] not the sandwich islands in the northern hemisphere some odd relations to australia? when we are dead and gone what a noble subject will be geographical distribution! you may say what you like, but you will never convince me that i do not owe you ten times as much as you can owe me. farewell, my dear hooker. i am sorry to hear that you are both unwell with influenza. do not bother yourself in answering anything in this, except your general impression on the battle between n. and s. chapter .iii.--evolution, - . letter . to a.r. wallace. down, april th, . i this morning received your pleasant and friendly note of november th. the first part of my ms. is in murray's hands to see if he likes to publish it. there is no preface, but a short introduction, which must be read by every one who reads my book. the second paragraph in the introduction ( / . "origin of species," edition i., , pages and .) i have had copied verbatim from my foul copy, and you will, i hope, think that i have fairly noticed your paper in the "linn. journal." ( / . "on the tendency of species to form varieties, and on the perpetuation of varieties and species by natural means of selection." by charles darwin and alfred russell wallace. communicated by sir charles lyell and j.d. hooker. "journ. linn. soc." volume iii., page , . (read july st, .)) you must remember that i am now publishing only an abstract, and i give no references. i shall, of course, allude to your paper on distribution ( / . "on the law which has regulated the introduction of new species" (a.r. wallace). "ann. mag. nat. hist." volume xvi., page , . the law alluded to is thus stated by wallace: "every species has come into existence coincident both in space and time with a pre-existing closely allied species" (loc. cit., page ).); and i have added that i know from correspondence that your explanation of your law is the same as that which i offer. you are right, that i came to the conclusion that selection was the principle of change from the study of domesticated productions; and then, reading malthus, i saw at once how to apply this principle. geographical distribution and geological relations of extinct to recent inhabitants of south america first led me to the subject: especially the case of the galapagos islands. i hope to go to press in the early part of next month. it will be a small volume of about five hundred pages or so. i will of course send you a copy. i forget whether i told you that hooker, who is our best british botanist and perhaps the best in the world, is a full convert, and is now going immediately to publish his confession of faith; and i expect daily to see proof-sheets. ( / . "the flora of australia, etc., an introductory essay to the flora of tasmania." london .) huxley is changed, and believes in mutation of species: whether a convert to us, i do not quite know. we shall live to see all the younger men converts. my neighbour and an excellent naturalist, j. lubbock, is an enthusiastic convert. i see that you are doing great work in the archipelago; and most heartily do i sympathise with you. for god's sake take care of your health. there have been few such noble labourers in the cause of natural science as you are. p.s. you cannot tell how i admire your spirit, in the manner in which you have taken all that was done about publishing all our papers. i had actually written a letter to you, stating that i would not publish anything before you had published. i had not sent that letter to the post when i received one from lyell and hooker, urging me to send some ms. to them, and allow them to act as they thought fair and honestly to both of us; and i did so. ( / . the following is the passage from the introduction to the "origin of species," referred to in the first paragraph of the above letter.) "my work is now nearly finished; but as it will take me two or three years more to complete it, and as my health is far from strong, i have been urged to publish this abstract. i have more especially been induced to do this, as mr. wallace, who is now studying the natural history of the malay archipelago, has arrived at almost exactly the same general conclusions that i have on the origin of species. last year he sent to me a memoir on this subject, with a request that i would forward it to sir charles lyell, who sent it to the linnean society, and it is published in the third volume of the journal of that society. sir c. lyell and dr. hooker, who both knew of my work--the latter having read my sketch of --honoured me by thinking it advisable to publish, with mr. wallace's excellent memoir, some brief extracts from my manuscripts." letter . to j.d. hooker. down, may rd, . with respect to reversion, i have been raking up vague recollections of vague facts; and the impression on my mind is rather more in favour of reversion than it was when you were here. in my abstract ( / . "the origin of species.") i give only a paragraph on the general case of reversion, though i enter in detail on some cases of reversion of a special character. i have not as yet put all my facts on this subject in mass, so can come to no definite conclusion. but as single characters may revert, i must say that i see no improbability in several reverting. as i do not believe any well-founded experiments or facts are known, each must form his opinion from vague generalities. i think you confound two rather distinct considerations; a variation arises from any cause, and reversion is not opposed to this, but solely to its inheritance. not but what i believe what we must call perhaps a dozen distinct laws are all struggling against each other in every variation which ever arises. to give my impression, if i were forced to bet whether or not, after a hundred generations of growth in a poor sandy soil, a cauliflower and red cabbage would or would not revert to the same form, i must say i would rather stake my money that they would. but in such a case the conditions of life are changed (and here comes the question of direct influence of condition), and there is to be no selection, the comparatively sudden effect of man's selection are left to the free play of reversion. in short, i dare not come to any conclusion without comparing all facts which i have collected, and i do not think there are many. please do not say to any one that i thought my book on species would be fairly popular and have a fairly remunerative sale (which was the height of my ambition), for if it prove a dead failure it would make me the more ridiculous. letter . to w.h. miller. down, june th [ ]. i thank you much for your letter. had i seen the interest of my remark i would have made many more measurements, though i did make several. i stated the facts merely to give the general reader an idea of the thickness of the walls. ( / . the walls of bees' cells: see letter .) especially if i had seen that the fact had any general bearing, i should have stated that as far as i could measure, the walls are by no means perfectly of the same thickness. also i should have stated that the chief difference is when the thickness of walls of the upper part of the hexagon and of the pyramidal basal plates are contrasted. will you oblige me by looking with a strong lens at the bit of comb, brushing off with a knife the upper thickened edges, and then compare, by eye alone, the thickness of the walls there with the thickness of the basal plates, as seen in any cross section. i should very much like to hear whether, even in this way, the difference is not perceptible. it is generally thus perceptible by comparing the thickness of the walls of the hexagon (if not taken very close to the angle) near to the basal plates, where the comparison by eye is of course easier. your letter actually turned me sick with panic; from not seeing any great importance [in the] fact, till i looked at my notes, i did not remember that i made several measurements. i have now repeated the same measurements, roughly with the same general results, but the difference, i think, is hardly double. i should not have mentioned the thickness of the basal plates at all, had i not thought it would give an unfair notion of the thickness of the walls to state the lesser measurements alone. letter . to w.h. miller. [ ] i had no thought that you would measure the thickness of the walls of the cells; but if you will, and allow me to give your measurements, it will be an immense advantage. as it is no trouble, i send more specimens. if you measure, please observe that i measured the thickness of the walls of the hexagonal prisms not very near the base; but from your very interesting remarks the lower part of the walls ought to be measured. thank you for the suggestion about how bees judge of angles and distances. i will keep it in mind. it is a complete perplexity to me, and yet certainly insects can rudely somehow judge of distance. there are special difficulties on account of the gradation in size between the worker-scells and the larger drone-cells. i am trying to test the case practically by getting combs of different species, and of our own bee from different climates. i have lately had some from the w. indies of our common bee, but the cells seem certainly to be larger; but they have not yet been carefully measured. i will keep your suggestion in mind whenever i return to experiments on living bees; but that will not be soon. as you have been considering my little discussion in relation to lord brougham ( / . lord brougham's paper on "the mathematical structure of bees' cells," read before the national institute of france in may, .), and as i have been more vituperated for this part than for almost any other, i should like just to tell you how i think the case stands. the discussion viewed by itself is worth little more than the paper on which it is printed, except in so far as it contains three or four certainly new facts. but to those who are inclined to believe the general truth of the conclusion that species and their instincts are slowly modified by what i call natural selection, i think my discussion nearly removes a very great difficulty. i believe in its truth chiefly from the existence of the melipona, which makes a comb so intermediate in structure between that of the humble and hive-bee, and especially from the new and curious fact of the bees making smooth cups or saucers when they excavated in a thick piece of wax, which saucers stood so close that hexagons were built on their intersecting edges. and, lastly, because when they excavated on a thin slip of wax, the excavation on both sides of similar smooth basins was stopped, and flat planes left between the nearly opposed basins. if my view were wholly false these cases would, i think, never have occurred. sedgwick and co. may abuse me to their hearts' content, but i shall as yet continue to think that mine is a rational explanation (as far as it goes) of their method of work. letter . to w.h. miller. down, december st [ ]. some months ago you were so kind as to say you would measure the thickness of the walls of the basal and side plates of the cell of the bee. could you find time to do so soon? why i want it soon, is that i have lately heard from murray that he sold at his sale far more copies than he has of the "origin of species," and that i must immediately prepare a new edition, which i am now correcting. by the way, i hear from murray that all the attacks heaped on my book do not seem to have at all injured the sale, which will make poor dear old sedgwick groan. if the basal plates and walls do differ considerably in thickness, as they certainly did in the one or two cells which i measured without particular care (as i never thought the point of any importance), will you tell me the bearing of the fact as simply as you can, for the chance of one so stupid as i am in geometry being able to understand? would the greater thickness of the basal plates and of the rim of the hexagons be a good adaptation to carry the vertical weight of the cells filled with honey and supporting clusters of living bees? will you endeavour to screw out time and grant me this favour? p.s. if the result of your measurement of the thickness of the walls turns out at all what i have asserted, would it not be worth while to write a little bit of a paper on the subject of your former note; and "pluck" the bees if they deserve this degradation? many mathematicians seem to have thought the subject worthy of attention. when the cells are full of honey and hang vertically they have to support a great weight. can the thicker basal plates be a contrivance to give strength to the whole comb, with less consumption of wax, than if all the sides of the hexagons were thickened? this crude notion formerly crossed my mind; but of course it is beyond me even to conjecture how the case would be. a mathematician, mr. wright, has been writing on the geometry of bee-cells in the united states in consequence of my book; but i can hardly understand his paper. ( / . chauncey wright, "remarks on the architecture of bees" ("amer. acad. proc." iv., - , page .) letter . to t.h. huxley. ( / . the date of this letter is unfortunately doubtful, otherwise it would prove that at an early date he was acquainted with erasmus darwin's views on evolution, a fact which has not always been recognised. we can hardly doubt that it was written in , for at this time mr. huxley was collecting facts about breeding for his lecture given at the royal institution on february th, , on "species and races and their origin." see "life and letters," ii., page .) down [june?] [ ?]. if on the th you have half an hour to spare, you might like to see a very good show of pigeons, and the enclosed card will admit you. the history of error is quite unimportant, but it is curious to observe how exactly and accurately my grandfather (in "zoonomia," volume i., page , ) gives lamarck's theory. i will quote one sentence. speaking of birds' beaks, he says: "all which seem to have been gradually produced during many generations by the perpetual endeavour of the creatures to supply the want of food, and to have been delivered to their posterity with constant improvement of them for the purposes required." lamarck published "hist. zoolog." in . the "zoonomia" was translated into many languages. letter . to c. lyell. down, [june ]. it is not worth while troubling you, but my conscience is uneasy at having forgotten to thank you for your "etna" ( / . "on the structure of lavas which have been consolidated on steep slopes, with remarks on the mode of origin of mount etna, and on the theory of 'craters of elevation'" ("phil. trans. r. soc." volume cxlviii., , page ).), which seems to me a magnificent contribution to volcanic geology, and i should think you might now rest on your oars in this department. as soon as ever i can get a copy of my book ( / . "the origin of species," london, .) ready, in some six weeks' or two months' time, it shall be sent you; and if you approve of it, even to a moderate extent, it will be the highest satisfaction which i shall ever receive for an amount of labour which no one will ever appreciate. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . the reference in the following letter is to the proofs of hooker's "australian flora.") down, [july ]. the returned sheet is chiefly that which i received in ms. parts seem to me (though perhaps it may be forgetfulness) much improved, and i retain my former impression that the whole discussion on the australian flora is admirably good and original. i know you will understand and not object to my thus expressing my opinion (for one must form one) so presumptuously. i have no criticisms, except perhaps i should like you somewhere to say, when you refer to me, that you refer only to the notice in the "linnean journal;" not that, on my deliberate word of honour, i expect that you will think more favourably of the whole than of the suggestion in the "journal." i am far more than satisfied at what you say of my work; yet it would be as well to avoid the appearance of your remarks being a criticism on my fuller work. i am very sorry to hear you are so hard-worked. i also get on very slowly, and have hardly as yet finished half my volume...i returned on last tuesday from a week's hydropathy. take warning by me, and do not work too hard. for god's sake, think of this. it is dreadfully uphill work with me getting my confounded volume finished. i wish you well through all your labours. adios. letter . to asa gray. down, november th [ ]. this shall be such an extraordinary note as you have never received from me, for it shall not contain one single question or request. i thank you for your impression on my views. every criticism from a good man is of value to me. what you hint at generally is very, very true: that my work will be grievously hypothetical, and large parts by no means worthy of being called induction, my commonest error being probably induction from too few facts. i had not thought of your objection of my using the term "natural selection" as an agent. i use it much as a geologist does the word denudation--for an agent, expressing the result of several combined actions. i will take care to explain, not merely by inference, what i mean by the term; for i must use it, otherwise i should incessantly have to expand it into some such (here miserably expressed) formula as the following: "the tendency to the preservation (owing to the severe struggle for life to which all organic beings at some time or generation are exposed) of any, the slightest, variation in any part, which is of the slightest use or favourable to the life of the individual which has thus varied; together with the tendency to its inheritance." any variation, which was of no use whatever to the individual, would not be preserved by this process of "natural selection." but i will not weary you by going on, as i do not suppose i could make my meaning clearer without large expansion. i will only add one other sentence: several varieties of sheep have been turned out together on the cumberland mountains, and one particular breed is found to succeed so much better than all the others that it fairly starves the others to death. i should here say that natural selection picks out this breed, and would tend to improve it, or aboriginally to have formed it... you speak of species not having any material base to rest on, but is this any greater hardship than deciding what deserves to be called a variety, and be designated by a greek letter? when i was at systematic work, i know i longed to have no other difficulty (great enough) than deciding whether the form was distinct enough to deserve a name, and not to be haunted with undefined and unanswerable questions whether it was a true species. what a jump it is from a well-marked variety, produced by natural cause, to a species produced by the separate act of the hand of god! but i am running on foolishly. by the way, i met the other day phillips, the palaeontologist, and he asked me, "how do you define a species?" i answered, "i cannot." whereupon he said, "at last i have found out the only true definition,--any form which has ever had a specific name!"... letter . to c. lyell. ilkley, october st [ ]. that you may not misunderstand how far i go with pallas and his many disciples i should like to add that, though i believe that our domestic dogs have descended from several wild forms, and though i must think that the sterility, which they would probably have evinced, if crossed before being domesticated, has been eliminated, yet i go but a very little way with pallas & co. in their belief in the importance of the crossing and blending of the aboriginal stocks. ( / . "with our domesticated animals, the various races when crossed together are quite fertile; yet in many cases they are descended from two or more wild species. from this fact we must conclude either that the aboriginal parent-species at first produced perfectly fertile hybrids, or that the hybrids subsequently reared under domestication became quite fertile. this latter alternative, which was first propounded by pallas, seems by far the most probable, and can, indeed, hardly be doubted" ("origin of species," edition vi., page ).) you will see this briefly put in the first chapter. generally, with respect to crossing, the effects may be diametrically opposite. if you cross two very distinct races, you may make (not that i believe such has often been made) a third and new intermediate race; but if you cross two exceedingly close races, or two slightly different individuals of the same race, then in fact you annul and obliterate the difference. in this latter way i believe crossing is all-important, and now for twenty years i have been working at flowers and insects under this point of view. i do not like hooker's terms, centripetal and centrifugal ( / . hooker's "introductory essay to the flora of tasmania," pages viii. and ix.): they remind me of forbes' bad term of polarity. ( / . forbes, "on the manifestation of polarity in the distribution of organised beings in time."--"r. institution proc." i., - .) i daresay selection by man would generally work quicker than natural selection; but the important distinction between them is, that man can scarcely select except external and visible characters, and secondly, he selects for his own good; whereas under nature, characters of all kinds are selected exclusively for each creature's own good, and are well exercised; but you will find all this in chapter iv. although the hound, greyhound, and bull-dog may possibly have descended from three distinct stocks, i am convinced that their present great amount of difference is mainly due to the same causes which have made the breeds of pigeons so different from each other, though these breeds of pigeons have all descended from one wild stock; so that the pallasian doctrine i look at as but of quite secondary importance. in my bigger book i have explained my meaning fully; whether i have in the abstract i cannot remember. letter . to c. lyell. [december th, .] i forget whether you take in the "times;" for the chance of your not doing so, i send the enclosed rich letter. ( / . see the "times," december st and december th, : two letters signed "senex," dealing with "works of art in the drift.") it is, i am sure, by fitz-roy...it is a pity he did not add his theory of the extinction of mastodon, etc., from the door of the ark being made too small. ( / . a postscript to this letter, here omitted, is published in the "life and letters," ii., page .) letter . francis galton to charles darwin. , rutland gate, london, s.w., december th, . pray let me add a word of congratulation on the completion of your wonderful volume, to those which i am sure you will have received from every side. i have laid it down in the full enjoyment of a feeling that one rarely experiences after boyish days, of having been initiated into an entirely new province of knowledge, which, nevertheless, connects itself with other things in a thousand ways. i hear you are engaged on a second edition. there is a trivial error in page , about rhinoceroses ( / . down (loc. cit.) says that neither the elephant nor the rhinoceros is destroyed by beasts of prey. mr. galton wrote that the wild dogs hunt the young rhinoceros and "exhaust them to death; they pursue them all day long, tearing at their ears, the only part their teeth can fasten on." the reference to the rhinoceros is omitted in later editions of the "origin."), which i thought i might as well point out, and have taken advantage of the same opportunity to scrawl down half a dozen other notes, which may, or may not, be worthless to you. ( / . the three next letters refer to huxley's lecture on evolution, given at the royal institution on february th, , of which the peroration is given in "life and letters," ii., page , together with some letters on the subject.) letter . to t.h. huxley. november th [ ]. i rejoice beyond measure at the lecture. i shall be at home in a fortnight, when i could send you splendid folio coloured drawings of pigeons. would this be in time? if not, i think i could write to my servants and have them sent to you. if i do not hear i shall understand that about fifteen or sixteen days will be in time. i have had a kind yet slashing letter against me from poor dear old sedgwick, "who has laughed till his sides ached at my book." phillips is cautious, but decidedly, i fear, hostile. hurrah for the lecture--it is grand! letter . to t.h. huxley. down, december th [ ]. i have got fine large drawings ( / . for mr. huxley's r.i. lecture.) of the pouter, carrier, and tumbler; i have only drawings in books of fantails, barbs, and scanderoon runts. if you had them, you would have a grand display of extremes of diversity. will they pay at the royal institution for copying on a large size drawings of these birds? i could lend skulls of a carrier and a tumbler (to show the great difference) for the same purpose, but it would not probably be worth while. i have been looking at my ms. what you want i believe is about hybridism and breeding. the chapter on hybridism is in a pretty good state--about folio pages with notes and references on the back. my first chapter on breeding is in too bad and imperfect a state to send; but my discussion on pigeons (in about folio pages) is in a pretty good state. i am perfectly convinced that you would never have patience to read such volumes of ms. i speak now in the palace of truth, and pray do you: if you think you would read them i will send them willingly up by my servant, or bring them myself next week. but i have no copy, and i never could possibly replace them; and without you really thought that you would use them, i had rather not risk them. but i repeat i will willingly bring them, if you think you would have the vast patience to use them. please let me hear on this subject, and whether i shall send the book with small drawings of three other breeds or skulls. i have heard a rumour that busk is on our side in regard to species. is this so? it would be very good. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, december th [ ]. i thank you for your very pleasant and amusing note and invitation to dinner, which i am sorry to say i cannot accept. i shall come up (stomach willing) on thursday for phil. club dinner, and return on saturday, and i am engaged to my brother for friday. but i should very much like to call at the museum on friday or saturday morning and see you. would you let me have one line either here or at , queen anne street, to say at what hour you generally come to the museum, and whether you will be probably there on friday or saturday? even if you are at the club, it will be a mere chance if we sit near each other. i will bring up the articles on thursday afternoon, and leave them under charge of the porter at the museum. they will consist of large drawings of a pouter, a carrier, and rather smaller drawings of some sub-varieties (which breed nearly true) of short-faced tumblers. also a small drawing of scanderoon, a kind of runt, and a very remarkable breed. also a book with very moderately good drawings of fantail and barb, but i very much doubt whether worth the trouble of enlarging. also a box (for heaven's sake, take care!) with a skull of carrier and short-faced tumbler; also lower jaws (largest size) of runt, middle size of rock-pigeon, and the broad one of barb. the form of ramus of jaw differs curiously in these jaws. also ms. of hybridism and pigeons, which will just weary you to death. i will call myself for or send a servant for the ms. and bones whenever you have done with them; but do not hurry. you have hit on the exact plan, which, on the advice of lyell, murray, etc., i mean to follow--viz., bring out separate volumes in detail--and i shall begin with domestic productions; but i am determined to try and [work] very slowly, so that, if possible, i may keep in a somewhat better state of health. i had not thought of illustrations; that is capital advice. farewell, my good and admirable agent for the promulgation of damnable heresies! letter . to l. horner. down, december rd [ ]. i must have the pleasure of thanking you for your extremely kind letter. i am very much pleased that you approve of my book, and that you are going to pay me the extraordinary compliment of reading it twice. i fear that it is tough reading, but it is beyond my powers to make the subject clearer. lyell would have done it admirably. you must enjoy being a gentlemen at your ease, and i hear that you have returned with ardour to work at the geological society. we hope in the course of the winter to persuade mrs. horner and yourself and daughters to pay us a visit. ilkley did me extraordinary good during the latter part of my stay and during my first week at home; but i have gone back latterly to my bad ways, and fear i shall never be decently well and strong. p.s.--when any of your party write to mildenhall i should be much obliged if you would say to bunbury that i hope he will not forget, whenever he reads my book, his promise to let me know what he thinks about it; for his knowledge is so great and accurate that every one must value his opinions highly. i shall be quite contented if his belief in the immutability of species is at all staggered. letter . to c. lyell. ( / . in the "origin of species" a section of chapter x. is devoted to "the succession of the same types within the same areas, during the late tertiary period" (edition i., page ). mr. darwin wrote as follows: "mr. clift many years ago showed that the fossil mammals from the australian caves were closely allied to the living marsupials of that continent." after citing other instances illustrating the same agreement between fossil and recent types, mr. darwin continues: "i was so much impressed with these facts that i strongly insisted, in and , on this 'law of the succession of types,' on 'this wonderful relationship in the same continent between the dead and the living.' professor owen has subsequently extended the same generalisation to the mammals of the old world.") down, [december] th [ ]. owen wrote to me to ask for the reference to clift. as my own notes for the late chapters are all in chaos, i bethought me who was the most trustworthy man of all others to look for references, and i answered myself, "of course lyell." in the ["principles of geology"], edition of , volume iii., chapter xi., page , you will find the reference to clift in the "edinburgh new phil journal," no. xx., page . ( / . the correct reference to clift's "report" on fossil bones from new holland is "edinburgh new phil. journal," , page .) you will also find that you were greatly struck with the fact itself ( / . this refers to the discovery of recent and fossil species of animals in an australian cave-breccia. mr. clift is quoted as having identified one of the bones, which was much larger than the rest, as that of a hippopotamus.), which i had quite forgotten. i copied the passage, and sent it to owen. why i gave in some detail references to my own work is that owen (not the first occasion with respect to myself and others) quietly ignores my having ever generalised on the subject, and makes a great fuss on more than one occasion at having discovered the law of succession. in fact, this law, with the galapagos distribution, first turned my mind on the origin of species. my own references are [to the "naturalist's voyage"]: large vo, murray, edition edition page page on succession. page pages - on splitting up of old geographical provinces. long before owen published i had in ms. worked out the succession of types in the old world (as i remember telling sedgwick, who of course disbelieved it). since receiving your last letter on hooker, i have read his introduction as far as page xxiv ( / . "on the flora of australia, etc.; being an introductory essay to the flora of tasmania": london, .), where the australian flora begins, and this latter part i liked most in the proofs. it is a magnificent essay. i doubt slightly about some assertions, or rather should have liked more facts--as, for instance, in regard to species varying most on the confines of their range. naturally i doubt a little his remarks about divergence ( / . "variation is effected by graduated changes; and the tendency of varieties, both in nature and under cultivation, when further varying, is rather to depart more and more widely from the original type than to revert to it." on the margin darwin wrote: "without selection doubtful" (loc. cit., page viii).), and about domestic races being produced under nature without selection. it would take much to persuade me that a pouter pigeon, or a carrier, etc., could have been produced by the mere laws of variation without long continued selection, though each little enlargement of crop and beak are due to variation. i demur greatly to his comparison of the products of sinking and rising islands ( / . "i venture to anticipate that a study of the vegetation of the islands with reference to the peculiarities of the generic types on the one hand, and of the geological conditions (whether as rising or sinking) on the other, may, in the present state of our knowledge, advance other subjects of distribution and variation considerably" (loc. cit., page xv).); in the indian ocean he compares exclusively many rising volcanic and sinking coral islands. the latter have a most peculiar soil, and are excessively small in area, and are tenanted by very few species; moreover, such low coral islands have probably been often, during their subsidence, utterly submerged, and restocked by plants from other islands. in the pacific ocean the floras of all the best cases are unknown. the comparison ought to have been exclusively between rising and fringed volcanic islands, and sinking and encircled volcanic islands. i have read naudin ( / . naudin, "revue horticole," ?.), and hooker agrees that he does not even touch on my views. letter . j.d. hooker to charles darwin. [ or .] i have had another talk with bentham, who is greatly agitated by your book: evidently the stern, keen intellect is aroused, and he finds that it is too late to halt between two opinions. how it will go we shall see. i am intensely interested in what we shall come to, and never broach the subject to him. i finished the geological evidence chapters yesterday; they are very fine and very striking, but i cannot see they are such forcible objections as you still hold them to be. i would say that you still in your secret soul underrate the imperfection of the geological record, though no language can be stronger or arguments fairer and sounder against it. of course i am influenced by botany, and the conviction that we have not in a fossilised condition a fraction of the plants that have existed, and that not a fraction of those we have are recognisable specifically. i never saw so clearly put the fact that it is not intermediates between existing species we want, but between these and the unknown tertium quid. you certainly make a hobby of natural selection, and probably ride it too hard; that is a necessity of your case. if the improvement of the creation-by-variation doctrine is conceivable, it will be by unburthening your theory of natural selection, which at first sight seems overstrained--i.e., to account for too much. i think, too, that some of your difficulties which you override by natural selection may give way before other explanations. but, oh lord! how little we do know and have known to be so advanced in knowledge by one theory. if we thought ourselves knowing dogs before you revealed natural selection, what d--d ignorant ones we must surely be now we do know that law. i hear you may be at the club on thursday. i hope so. huxley will not be there, so do not come on that ground. letter . to t.h. huxley. january st [ ]. i write one line merely to thank you for your pleasant note, and to say that i will keep your secret. i will shake my head as mysteriously as lord burleigh. several persons have asked me who wrote that "most remarkable article" in the "times." ( / . the "times," december th, , page . the opening paragraphs were by one of the staff of the "times." see "life and letters," ii., page , for mr. huxley's interesting account of his share in the matter.) as a cat may look at a king, so i have said that i strongly suspected you. x was so sharp that the first sentence revealed the authorship. the z's (god save the mark) thought it was owen's! you may rely on it that it has made a deep impression, and i am heartily glad that the subject and i owe you this further obligation. but for god's sake, take care of your health; remember that the brain takes years to rest, whilst the muscles take only hours. there is poor dana, to whom i used to preach by letter, writes to me that my prophecies are come true: he is in florence quite done up, can read nothing and write nothing, and cannot talk for half an hour. i noticed the "naughty sentence" ( / . mr. huxley, after speaking of the rudimental teeth of the whale, of rudimental jaws in insects which never bite, and rudimental eyes in blind animals, goes on: "and we would remind those who, ignorant of the facts, must be moved by authority, that no one has asserted the incompetence of the doctrine of final causes, in its application to physiology and anatomy, more strongly than our own eminent anatomist, professor owen, who, speaking of such cases, says ("on the nature of limbs," pages , ), 'i think it will be obvious that the principle of final adaptations fails to satisfy all the conditions of the problem.'"--"the times," december th, .) about owen, though my wife saw its bearing first. farewell you best and worst of men! that sentence about the bird and the fish dinners charmed us. lyell wrote to me--style like yours. have you seen the slashing article of december th in the "daily news," against my stealing from my "master," the author of the "vestiges?" letter . to j.l.a. de quatrefages. [undated] how i should like to know whether milne edwards has read the copy which i sent him, and whether he thinks i have made a pretty good case on our side of the question. there is no naturalist in the world for whose opinion i have so profound a respect. of course i am not so silly as to expect to change his opinion. letter . to c. lyell. ( / . the date of this letter is doubtful; but as it evidently refers to the nd edition of the "origin," which appeared on january th, , we believe that december th, , is right. the letter of sedgwick's is doubtless that given in the "life and letters," ii., page ; it is there dated december th, , but from other evidence it was probably written on november th) [december?] th [ ]. i send sedgwick's letter; it is terribly muddled, and really the first page seems almost childish. i am sadly over-worked, so will not write to you. i have worked in a number of your invaluable corrections--indeed, all as far as time permits. i infer from a letter from huxley that ramsay ( / . see a letter to huxley, november th, , "life and letters," ii., page .) is a convert, and i am extremely glad to get pure geologists, as they will be very few. many thanks for your very pleasant note. what pleasure you have given me. i believe i should have been miserable had it not been for you and a few others, for i hear threatening of attacks which i daresay will be severe enough. but i am sure that i can now bear them. letter . to t.h. huxley. ( / . the point here discussed is one to which mr. huxley attached great, in our opinion too great, importance.) down, january th [ ?]. i fully agree that the difficulty is great, and might be made much of by a mere advocate. will you oblige me by reading again slowly from pages to . ( / . the reference is to the "origin," edition i.: the section on "the fertility of varieties when crossed, and of their mongrel offspring" occupies pages - .) i may add to what is there said, that it seems to me quite hopeless to attempt to explain why varieties are not sterile, until we know the precise cause of sterility in species. reflect for a moment on how small and on what very peculiar causes the unequal reciprocity of fertility in the same two species must depend. reflect on the curious case of species more fertile with foreign pollen than their own. reflect on many cases which could be given, and shall be given in my larger book (independently of hybridity) of very slight changes of conditions causing one species to be quite sterile and not affecting a closely allied species. how profoundly ignorant we are on the intimate relation between conditions of life and impaired fertility in pure species! the only point which i might add to my short discussion on this subject, is that i think it probable that the want of adaptation to uniform conditions of life in our domestic varieties has played an important part in preventing their acquiring sterility when crossed. for the want of uniformity, and changes in the conditions of life, seem the only cause of the elimination of sterility (when crossed) under domestication. ( / . the meaning which we attach to this obscure sentence is as follows: species in a state of nature are closely adapted to definite conditions of life, so that the sexual constitution of species a is attuned, as it were, to a condition different from that to which b is attuned, and this leads to sterility. but domestic varieties are not strictly adapted by natural selection to definite conditions, and thus have less specialised sexual constitutions.) this elimination, though admitted by many authors, rests on very slight evidence, yet i think is very probably true, as may be inferred from the case of dogs. under nature it seems improbable that the differences in the reproductive constitution, on which the sterility of any two species when crossed depends, can be acquired directly by natural selection; for it is of no advantage to the species. such differences in reproductive constitution must stand in correlation with some other differences; but how impossible to conjecture what these are! reflect on the case of the variations of verbascum, which differ in no other respect whatever besides the fluctuating element of the colour of the flower, and yet it is impossible to resist gartner's evidence, that this difference in the colour does affect the mutual fertility of the varieties. the whole case seems to me far too mysterious to rest ( / . the word "rest" seems to be used in place of "to serve as a foundation for.") a valid attack on the theory of modification of species, though, as you say, it offers excellent ground for a mere advocate. i am surprised, considering how ignorant we are on very many points, [that] more weak parts in my book have not as yet been pointed out to me. no doubt many will be. h.c. watson founds his objection in ms. on there being no limit to infinite diversification of species: i have answered this, i think, satisfactorily, and have sent attack and answer to lyell and hooker. if this seems to you a good objection, i would send papers to you. andrew murray "disposes of" the whole theory by an ingenious difficulty from the distribution of blind cave insects ( / . see "life and letters, volume ii., page . the reference here is to murray's address before the botanical society, edinburgh. mr. darwin seems to have read murray's views only in a separate copy reprinted from the "proc. r. soc. edin." there is some confusion about the date of the paper; the separate copy is dated january th, while in the volume of the "proc. r. soc." it is february th. in the "life and letters," ii., page it is erroneously stated that these are two different papers.); but it can, i think, be fairly answered. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, [february] nd [ ]. i have had this morning a letter from old bronn ( / . see "life and letters, ii., page .) (who, to my astonishment, seems slightly staggered by natural selection), and he says a publisher in stuttgart is willing to publish a translation, and that he, bronn, will to a certain extent superintend. have you written to kolliker? if not, perhaps i had better close with this proposal--what do you think? if you have written, i must wait, and in this case will you kindly let me hear as soon as you hear from kolliker? my poor dear friend, you will curse the day when you took up the "general agency" line; but really after this i will not give you any more trouble. do not forget the three tickets for us for your lecture, and the ticket for baily, the poulterer. old bronn has published in the "year-book for mineralogy" a notice of the "origin" ( / . "neues jahrb. fur min." , page .); and says he has himself published elsewhere a foreboding of the theory! letter . to j.d. hooker. down, february th [ ]. i succeeded in persuading myself for twenty-four hours that huxley's lecture was a success. ( / . at the royal institution. see "life and letters," ii., page .) parts were eloquent and good, and all very bold; and i heard strangers say, "what a good lecture!" i told huxley so; but i demurred much to the time wasted in introductory remarks, especially to his making it appear that sterility was a clear and manifest distinction of species, and to his not having even alluded to the more important parts of the subject. he said that he had much more written out, but time failed. after conversation with others and more reflection, i must confess that as an exposition of the doctrine the lecture seems to me an entire failure. i thank god i did not think so when i saw huxley; for he spoke so kindly and magnificently of me, that i could hardly have endured to say what i now think. he gave no just idea of natural selection. i have always looked at the doctrine of natural selection as an hypothesis, which, if it explained several large classes of facts, would deserve to be ranked as a theory deserving acceptance; and this, of course, is my own opinion. but, as huxley has never alluded to my explanation of classification, morphology, embryology, etc., i thought he was thoroughly dissatisfied with all this part of my book. but to my joy i find it is not so, and that he agrees with my manner of looking at the subject; only that he rates higher than i do the necessity of natural selection being shown to be a vera causa always in action. he tells me he is writing a long review in the "westminster." it was really provoking how he wasted time over the idea of a species as exemplified in the horse, and over sir j. hall's old experiment on marble. murchison was very civil to me over my book after the lecture, in which he was disappointed. i have quite made up my mind to a savage onslaught; but with lyell, you, and huxley, i feel confident we are right, and in the long run shall prevail. i do not think asa gray has quite done you justice in the beginning of the review of me. ( / . "review of darwin's theory on the origin of species by means of natural selection," by "a.g." ("amer. jour. sci." volume xxix., page , ). in a letter to asa gray on february th, , darwin writes: "your review seems to me admirable; by far the best which i have read." ("life and letters," ii., , page .) the review seemed to me very good, but i read it very hastily. letter . to c. lyell. down, [february] th [ ]. i send by this post asa gray, which seems to me very good, with the stamp of originality on it. also bronn's "jahrbuch fur mineralogie." ( / . see letter .) the united intellect of my family has vainly tried to make it out. i never tried such confoundedly hard german; nor does it seem worth the labour. he sticks to priestley's green matter, and seems to think that till it can be shown how life arises it is no good showing how the forms of life arise. this seems to me about as logical (comparing very great things with little) as to say it was no use in newton showing the laws of attraction of gravity and the consequent movement of the planets, because he could not show what the attraction of gravity is. the expression "wahl der lebens-weise" ( / . "die fruchtbarste und allgemeinste ursache der varietaten-bildung ist jedoch die wahl der lebens-weise" (loc. cit., page ).) makes me doubt whether b. understands what i mean by natural selection, as i have told him. he says (if i understand him) that you ought to be on the same side with me. p.s. sunday afternoon.--i have kept back this to thank you for your letter, with much news, received this morning. my conscience is uneasy at the time you waste in amusing and interesting me. i was very curious to hear about phillips. the review in the "annals" is, as i was convinced, by wollaston, for i have had a very cordial letter from him this morning. ( / . a bibliographical notice "on the origin of species by means of natural selection; or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life." ("annals and mag." volume v., pages - , ). the notice is not signed. referring to the article, in a letter to lyell, february th, , darwin writes: "i am perfectly convinced...that the review in the "annals" is by wollaston; no one else in the world would have used so many parentheses" ("life and letters," ii., page ).) i send by this post an attack in the "gardeners' chronicle" by harvey (a first-rate botanist, as you probably know). ( / . in the "gardeners' chronicle" of february th, , w.h. harvey described a case of monstrosity in begonia frigida, which he argued was hostile to the theory of natural selection. the passage about harvey's attack was published in the "life and letters," ii., page .) it seems to me rather strange; he assumes the permanence of monsters, whereas monsters are generally sterile, and not often inheritable. but grant his case, it comes [to this], that i have been too cautious in not admitting great and sudden variations. here again comes in the mischief of my abstract. in fuller ms. i have discussed the parallel case of a normal fish like a monstrous gold-fish. i end my discussion by doubting, because all cases of monstrosities which resemble normal structures which i could find were not in allied groups. trees like aspicarpa ( / . aspicarpa, an american genus of malpighiaceae, is quoted in the "origin" (edition vi., page ) as an illustration of linnaeus' aphorism that the characters do not give the genus, but the genus gives the characters. during several years' cultivation in france aspicarpa produced only degraded flowers, which differed in many of the most important points of structure from the proper type of the order; but it was recognised by m. richard that the genus should be retained among the malpighiaceae. "this case," adds darwin, "well illustrates the spirit of our classification."), with flowers of two kinds (in the "origin"), led me also to speculate on the same subject; but i could find only one doubtfully analogous case of species having flowers like the degraded or monstrous flowers. harvey does not see that if only a few (as he supposes) of the seedlings inherited being monstrosities, natural selection would be necessary to select and preserve them. you had better return the "gardeners' chronicle," etc., to my brother's. the case of begonia ( / . harvey's criticism was answered by sir j.d. hooker in the following number of the "gardeners' chronicle" (february th, , page ).) in itself is very curious; i am tempted to answer the notice, but i will refrain, for there would be no end to answers. with respect to your objection of a multitude of still living simple forms, i have not discussed it anywhere in the "origin," though i have often thought it over. what you say about progress being only occasional and retrogression not uncommon, i agree to; only that in the animal kingdom i greatly doubt about retrogression being common. i have always put it to myself--what advantage can we see in an infusory animal, or an intestinal worm, or coral polypus, or earthworm being highly developed? if no advantage, they would not become highly developed: not but what all these animals have very complex structures (except infusoria), and they may well be higher than the animals which occupied similar places in the economy of nature before the silurian epoch. there is a blind snake with the appearances and, in some respects, habits of earthworms; but this blind snake does not tend, as far as we can see, to replace and drive out worms. i think i must in a future edition discuss a few more such points, and will introduce this and h.c. watson's objection about the infinite number of species and the general rise in organisation. but there is a directly opposite objection to yours which is very difficult to answer--viz. how at the first start of life, when there were only the simplest organisms, how did any complication of organisation profit them? i can only answer that we have not facts enough to guide any speculation on the subject. with respect to lepidosiren, ganoid fishes, perhaps ornithorhynchus, i suspect, as stated in the "origin," ( / . "origin of species" (edition vi.), page .), that they have been preserved, from inhabiting fresh-water and isolated parts of the world, in which there has been less competition and less rapid progress in natural selection, owing to the fewness of individuals which can inhabit small areas; and where there are few individuals variation at most must be slower. there are several allusions to this notion in the "origin," as under amblyopsis, the blind cave-fish ( / . "origin," page .), and under heer ( / . "origin," page .) about madeira plants resembling the fossil and extinct plants of europe. letter . to james lamont. down, march th [ ?]. i am much obliged for your long and interesting letter. you have indeed good right to speak confidently about the habits of wild birds and animals; for i should think no one beside yourself has ever sported in spitzbergen and southern africa. it is very curious and interesting that you should have arrived at the conclusion that so-called "natural selection" had been efficient in giving their peculiar colours to our grouse. i shall probably use your authority on the similar habits of our grouse and the norwegian species. i am particularly obliged for your very curious fact of the effect produced by the introduction of the lowland grouse on the wildness of the grouse in your neighbourhood. it is a very striking instance of what crossing will do in affecting the character of a breed. have you ever seen it stated in any sporting work that game has become wilder in this country? i wish i could get any sort of proof of the fact, for your explanation seems to me equally ingenious and probable. i have myself witnessed in south america a nearly parallel [case] with that which you mention in regard to the reindeer in spitzbergen, with the cervus campestris of la plata. it feared neither man nor the sound of shot of a rifle, but was terrified at the sight of a man on horseback; every one in that country always riding. as you are so great a sportsman, perhaps you will kindly look to one very trifling point for me, as my neighbours here think it too absurd to notice--namely, whether the feet of birds are dirty, whether a few grains of dirt do not adhere occasionally to their feet. i especially want to know how this is in the case of birds like herons and waders, which stalk in the mud. you will guess that this relates to dispersal of seeds, which is one of my greatest difficulties. my health is very indifferent, and i am seldom able to attend the scientific meetings, but i sincerely hope that i may some time have the pleasure of meeting you. pray accept my cordial thanks for your very kind letter. letter . to g.h.k. thwaites. down, march st [ ]. i thank you very sincerely for your letter, and am much pleased that you go a little way with me. you will think it presumptuous, but i am well convinced from my own mental experience that if you keep the subject at all before your mind you will ultimately go further. the present volume is a mere abstract, and there are great omissions. one main one, which i have rectified in the foreign editions, is an explanation (which has satisfied lyell, who made the same objection with you) why many forms do not progress or advance (and i quite agree about some retrograding). i have also a ms. discussion on beauty; but do you really suppose that for instance diatomaceae were created beautiful that man, after millions of generations, should admire them through the microscope? ( / . thwaites ( - ) published several papers on the diatomaceae ("on conjugation in the diatomaceae," "ann. and mag. nat. hist." volume xx., , pages - , - ; "further observations on the diatomaceae," loc. cit., , page ). see "life and letters" ii., page .) i should attribute most of such structures to quite unknown laws of growth; and mere repetition of parts is to our eyes one main element of beauty. when any structure is of use (and i can show what curiously minute particulars are often of highest use), i can see with my prejudiced eyes no limit to the perfection of the coadaptations which could be effected by natural selection. i rather doubt whether you see how far, as it seems to me, the argument for homology and embryology may be carried. i do not look at this as mere analogy. i would as soon believe that fossil shells were mere mockeries of real shells as that the same bones in the foot of a dog and wing of a bat, or the similar embryo of mammal and bird, had not a direct signification, and that the signification can be unity of descent or nothing. but i venture to repeat how much pleased i am that you go some little way with me. i find a number of naturalists do the same, and as their halting-places are various, and i must think arbitrary, i believe they will all go further. as for changing at once one's opinion, i would not value the opinion of a man who could do so; it must be a slow process. ( / . darwin wrote to woodward in regard to the "origin": "it may be a vain and silly thing to say, but i believe my book must be read twice carefully to be fully understood. you will perhaps think it by no means worth the labour.") thank you for telling me about the lantana ( / . an exotic species of lantana (verbenaceae) grows vigorously in ceylon, and is described as frequently making its appearance after the firing of the low-country forests (see h.h.w. pearson, "the botany of the ceylon patanas," "journal linn. soc." volume xxxiv., page , ). no doubt thwaites' letter to darwin referred to the spreading of the introduced lantana, comparable to that of the cardoon in la plata and of other plants mentioned by darwin in the "origin of species" (edition vi., page ).), and i should at any time be most grateful for any information which you think would be of use to me. i hope that you will publish a list of all naturalised plants in ceylon, as far as known, carefully distinguishing those confined to cultivated soils alone. i feel sure that this most important subject has been greatly undervalued. letter . to t.h. huxley. ( / . the reference here is to the review on the "origin of species" generally believed to be by the late sir r. owen, and published in the april number of the "edinburgh review," . owen's biographer is silent on the subject, and prints, without comment, the following passage in an undated letter from sedgwick to owen: "do you know who was the author of the article in the "edinburgh" on the subject of darwin's theory? on the whole, i think it very good. i once suspected that you must have had a hand in it, and i then abandoned that thought. i have not read it with any care" (owen's "life," volume ii., page ). april th [ ]. i never saw such an amount of misrepresentation. at page ( / . "lasting and fruitful conclusions have, indeed, hitherto been based only on the possession of knowledge; now we are called upon to accept an hypothesis on the plea of want of knowledge. the geological record, it is averred, is so imperfect!"--"edinburgh review," cxi., , page .) he says we are called on to accept the hypothesis on the plea of ignorance, whereas i think i could not have made it clearer that i admit the imperfection of the geological record as a great difficulty. the quotation ( / . "we are appealed to, or at least 'the young and rising naturalists with plastic minds,* [on the nature of the limbs, page ] are adjured." it will be seen that the inverted comma after "naturalists" is omitted; the asterisk referring, in a footnote (here placed in square brackets), to page of the "origin," seems to have been incorrectly assumed by mr. darwin to show the close of the quotation.--ibid., page .) on page of the "review" about "young and rising naturalists with plastic minds," attributed to "nature of limbs," is a false quotation, as i do not use the words "plastic minds." at page ( / . the passage ("origin," edition i., page ) begins, "but do they really believe...," and shows clearly that the author considers such a belief all but impossible.) the quotation is garbled, for i only ask whether naturalists believe about elemental atoms flashing, etc., and he changes it into that i state that they do believe. at page ( / . "all who have brought the transmutation speculation to the test of observed facts and ascertained powers in organic life, and have published the results, usually adverse to such speculations, are set down by mr. darwin as 'curiously illustrating the blindness of preconceived opinion.'" the passage in the "origin," page , begins by expressing surprise at the point of view of some naturalists: "they admit that a multitude of forms, which till lately they themselves thought were special creations,...have been produced by variation, but they refuse to extend the same view to other and very slightly different forms...they admit variation as a vera causa in one case, they arbitrarily reject it in another, without assigning any distinction in the two cases. the day will come when this will be given as a curious illustration of the blindness of preconceived opinion.") it is very false to say that i imply by "blindness of preconceived opinion" the simple belief of creation. and so on in other cases. but i beg pardon for troubling you. i am heartily sorry that in your unselfish endeavours to spread what you believe to be truth, you should have incurred so brutal an attack. ( / . the "edinburgh" reviewer, referring to huxley's royal institution lecture given february th, , "on species and races and their origin," says (page ), "we gazed with amazement at the audacity of the dispenser of the hour's intellectual amusement, who, availing himself of the technical ignorance of the majority of his auditors, sought to blind them as to the frail foundations of 'natural selection' by such illustrations as the subjoined": and then follows a critique of the lecturer's comparison of the supposed descent of the horse from the palaeothere with that of various kinds of domestic pigeons from the rock-pigeon.) and now i will not think any more of this false and malignant attack. letter . to maxwell masters. down, april th [ ]. i thank you very sincerely for your two kind notes. the next time you write to your father i beg you to give him from me my best thanks, but i am sorry that he should have had the trouble of writing when ill. i have been much interested by the facts given by him. if you think he would in the least care to hear the result of an artificial cross of two sweet peas, you can send the enclosed; if it will only trouble him, tear it up. there seems to be so much parallelism in the kind of variation from my experiment, which was certainly a cross, and what mr. masters has observed, that i cannot help suspecting that his peas were crossed by bees, which i have seen well dusted with the pollen of the sweet pea; but then i wish this, and how hard it is to prevent one's wish biassing one's judgment! i was struck with your remark about the compositae, etc. i do not see that it bears much against me, and whether it does or not is of course of not the slightest importance. although i fully agree that no definition can be drawn between monstrosities and slight variations (such as my theory requires), yet i suspect there is some distinction. some facts lead me to think that monstrosities supervene generally at an early age; and after attending to the subject i have great doubts whether species in a state of nature ever become modified by such sudden jumps as would result from the natural selection of monstrosities. you cannot do me a greater service than by pointing out errors. i sincerely hope that your work on monstrosities ( / . "vegetable teratology," london, (ray soc.).) will soon appear, for i am sure it will be highly instructive. now for your notes, for which let me again thank you. . your conclusion about parts developed ( / . see "origin of species," edition i., page , on the variability of parts "developed in an extraordinary manner in any one species, compared with the other species of the same genus." see "life and letters," ii., pages , , also letter .) not being extra variable agrees with hooker's. you will see that i have stated that the rule apparently does not hold with plants, though it ought, if true, to hold good with them. . i cannot now remember in what work i saw the statement about peloria affecting the axis, but i know it was one which i thought might be trusted. i consulted also dr. falconer, and i think that he agreed to the truth of it; but i cannot now tell where to look for my notes. i had been much struck with finding a laburnum tree with the terminal flowers alone in each raceme peloric, though not perfectly regular. the pelargonium case in the "origin" seems to point in the same direction. ( / . "origin of species," edition i., page .) . thanks for the correction about furze: i found the seedlings just sprouting, and was so much surprised and their appearance that i sent them to hooker; but i never plainly asked myself whether they were cotyledons or first leaves. ( / . the trifoliate leaves of furze seedlings are not cotyledons, but early leaves: see lubbock's "seedlings," i., page .) . that is a curious fact about the seeds of the furze, the more curious as i found with leguminosae that immersion in plain cold water for a very few days killed some kinds. if at any time anything should occur to you illustrating or opposing my notions, and you have leisure to inform me, i should be truly grateful, for i can plainly see that you have wealth of knowledge. with respect to advancement or retrogression in organisation in monstrosities of the compositae, etc., do you not find it very difficult to define which is which? anyhow, most botanists seem to differ as widely as possible on this head. letter . to j.s. henslow. down, may th [ ]. very many thanks about the elodea, which case interests me much. i wrote to mr. marshall ( / . w. marshall was the author of "anacharis alsinastrum, a new water-weed": four letters to the "cambridge independent press," reprinted as a pamphlet, .) at ely, and in due time he says he will send me whatever information he can procure. owen is indeed very spiteful. ( / . owen was believed to be the author of the article in the "edinburgh review," april, . see letter .) he misrepresents and alters what i say very unfairly. but i think his conduct towards hooker most ungenerous: viz., to allude to his essay (australian flora), and not to notice the magnificent results on geographical distribution. the londoners say he is mad with envy because my book has been talked about; what a strange man to be envious of a naturalist like myself, immeasurably his inferior! from one conversation with him i really suspect he goes at the bottom of his hidden soul as far as i do. i wonder whether sedgwick noticed in the "edinburgh review" about the "sacerdotal revilers,"--so the revilers are tearing each other to pieces. i suppose sedgwick will be very fierce against me at the philosophical society. ( / . the meeting of the "cambridge phil. soc." was held on may th, , and fully reported in the "cambridge chronicle," may th. sedgwick is reported to have said that "darwin's theory is not inductive--is not based on a series of acknowledged facts, leading to a general conclusion evolved, logically out of the facts...the only facts he pretends to adduce, as true elements of proof, are the varieties produced by domestication and the artifices of crossbreeding." sedgwick went on to speak of the vexatious multiplication of supposed species, and adds, "in this respect darwin's theory may help to simplify our classifications, and thereby do good service to modern science. but he has not undermined any grand truth in the constancy of natural laws, and the continuity of true species.") judging from his notice in the "spectator," ( / . march th, ; see "life and letters," ii., page .) he will misrepresent me, but it will certainly be unintentionally done. in a letter to me, and in the above notice, he talks much about my departing from the spirit of inductive philosophy. i wish, if you ever talk on the subject to him, you would ask him whether it was not allowable (and a great step) to invent the undulatory theory of light, i.e. hypothetical undulations, in a hypothetical substance, the ether. and if this be so, why may i not invent the hypothesis of natural selection (which from the analogy of domestic productions, and from what we know of the struggle for existence and of the variability of organic beings, is, in some very slight degree, in itself probable) and try whether this hypothesis of natural selection does not explain (as i think it does) a large number of facts in geographical distribution--geological succession, classification, morphology, embryology, etc. i should really much like to know why such an hypothesis as the undulation of the ether may be invented, and why i may not invent (not that i did invent it, for i was led to it by studying domestic varieties) any hypothesis, such as natural selection. pray forgive me and my pen for running away with me, and scribbling on at such length. i can perfectly understand sedgwick ( / . see "life and letters," ii., page ; the letter is there dated december th, but must, we think, have been written in november at latest.) or any one saying that natural selection does not explain large classes of facts; but that is very different from saying that i depart from right principles of scientific investigation. letter . to j.s. henslow. down, may th [ ]. i have been greatly interested by your letter to hooker, and i must thank you from my heart for so generously defending me, as far as you could, against my powerful attackers. nothing which persons say hurts me for long, for i have an entire conviction that i have not been influenced by bad feelings in the conclusions at which i have arrived. nor have i published my conclusions without long deliberation, and they were arrived at after far more study than the public will ever know of, or believe in. i am certain to have erred in many points, but i do not believe so much as sedgwick and co. think. is there any abstract or proceedings of the cambridge philosophical society published? ( / . henslow's remarks are not given in the above-mentioned report in the "cambridge chronicle.") if so, and you could get me a copy, i should like to have one. believe me, my dear henslow, i feel grateful to you on this occasion, and for the multitude of kindnesses you have done me from my earliest days at cambridge. letter . to c. lyell. down, may nd [ ]. hooker has sent me a letter of thwaites ( / . see letter .), of ceylon, who makes exactly the same objections which you did at first about the necessity of all forms advancing, and therefore the difficulty of simple forms still existing. there was no worse omission than this in my book, and i had the discussion all ready. i am extremely glad to hear that you intend adding new arguments about the imperfection of the geological record. i always feel this acutely, and am surprised that such men as ramsay and jukes do not feel it more. i quite agree on insufficient evidence about mummy wheat. ( / . see notes appended to a letter to lyell, september (botany). when you can spare it, i should like (but out of mere curiosity) to see binney on coal marine marshes. i once made hooker very savage by saying that i believed the coal plants grew in the sea, like mangroves. ( / . see "life and letters," i., page .) letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . this letter is of interest as containing a strong expression upon the overwhelming importance of selection.) down [ ]. many thanks for harvey's letter ( / . w.h. harvey had been corresponding with sir j.d. hooker on the "origin of species."), which i will keep a little longer and then return. i will write to him and try to make clear from analogy of domestic productions the part which i believe selection has played. i have been reworking my pigeons and other domestic animals, and i am sure that any one is right in saying that selection is the efficient cause, though, as you truly say, variation is the base of all. why i do not believe so much as you do in physical agencies is that i see in almost every organism (though far more clearly in animals than in plants) adaptation, and this except in rare instances, must, i should think, be due to selection. do not forget the pyrola when in flower. ( / . in a letter to hooker, may nd, , darwin wrote: "have you pyrola at kew? if so, for heaven's sake observe the curvature of the pistil towards the gangway to the nectary." the fact of the stigma in insect-visited flowers being so placed that the visitor must touch it on its way to the nectar, was a point which early attracted darwin's attention and strongly impressed him.) my blessed little scaevola has come into flower, and i will try artificial fertilisation on it. i have looked over harvey's letter, and have assumed (i hope rightly) that he could not object to knowing that you had forwarded it to me. letter . to asa gray. down, june th [ ]. i have to thank you for two notes, one through hooker, and one with some letters to be posted, which was done. i anticipated your request by making a few remarks on owen's review. ( / . "the edinburgh review," april, .) hooker is so weary of reviews that i do not think you will get any hints from him. i have lately had many more "kicks than halfpence." a review in the last dublin "nat. hist. review" is the most unfair thing which has appeared,--one mass of misrepresentation. it is evidently by haughton, the geologist, chemist and mathematician. it shows immeasurable conceit and contempt of all who are not mathematicians. he discusses bees' cells, and puts a series which i have never alluded to, and wholly ignores the intermediate comb of melipona, which alone led me to my notions. the article is a curiosity of unfairness and arrogance; but, as he sneers at malthus, i am content, for it is clear he cannot reason. he is a friend of harvey, with whom i have had some correspondence. your article has clearly, as he admits, influenced him. he admits to a certain extent natural selection, yet i am sure does not understand me. it is strange that very few do, and i am become quite convinced that i must be an extremely bad explainer. to recur for a moment to owen: he grossly misrepresents and is very unfair to huxley. you say that you think the article must be by a pupil of owen; but no one fact tells so strongly against owen, considering his former position at the college of surgeons, as that he has never reared one pupil or follower. in the number just out of "fraser's magazine" ( / . see "life and letters," ii., page .) there is an article or review on lamarck and me by w. hopkins, the mathematician, who, like haughton, despises the reasoning power of all naturalists. personally he is extremely kind towards me; but he evidently in the following number means to blow me into atoms. he does not in the least appreciate the difference in my views and lamarck's, as explaining adaptation, the principle of divergence, the increase of dominant groups, and the almost necessary extinction of the less dominant and smaller groups, etc. letter . to c. lyell. down, june th [ ]. one word more upon the deification ( / . "if we confound 'variation' or 'natural selection' with such creational laws, we deify secondary causes or immeasurably exaggerate their influence" (lyell, "the geological evidences of the antiquity of man, with remarks on theories on the origin of species by variation," page , london, ). see letter .) of natural selection: attributing so much weight to it does not exclude still more general laws, i.e. the ordering of the whole universe. i have said that natural selection is to the structure of organised beings what the human architect is to a building. the very existence of the human architect shows the existence of more general laws; but no one, in giving credit for a building to the human architect, thinks it necessary to refer to the laws by which man has appeared. no astronomer, in showing how the movements of planets are due to gravity, thinks it necessary to say that the law of gravity was designed that the planets should pursue the courses which they pursue. i cannot believe that there is a bit more interference by the creator in the construction of each species than in the course of the planets. it is only owing to paley and co., i believe, that this more special interference is thought necessary with living bodies. but we shall never agree, so do not trouble yourself to answer. i should think your remarks were very just about mathematicians not being better enabled to judge of probabilities than other men of common-sense. i have just got more returns about the gestation of hounds. the period differs at least from sixty-one to seventy-four days, just as i expected. i was thinking of sending the "gardeners' chronicle" to you, on account of a paper by me on the fertilisation of orchids by insects ( / . "fertilisation of british orchids by insect agency." this article in the "gardeners' chronicle" of june th, , page , begins with a request that observations should be made on the manner of fertilisation in the bee-and in the fly-orchis.), as it involves a curious point, and as you cared about my paper on kidney beans; but as you are so busy, i will not. letter . to c. lyell. down [june?] th [ ]. i send blyth ( / . see letter .); it is a dreadful handwriting; the passage is on page . in a former note he told me he feared there was hardly a chance of getting money for the chinese expedition, and spoke of your kindness. many thanks for your long and interesting letter. i wonder at, admire, and thank you for your patience in writing so much. i rather demur to deinosaurus not having "free will," as surely we have. i demur also to your putting huxley's "force and matter" in the same category with natural selection. the latter may, of course, be quite a false view; but surely it is not getting beyond our depth to first causes. it is truly very remarkable that the gestation of hounds ( / . in a letter written to lyell on june th, , the following paragraph occurs: "you need not believe one word of what i said about gestation of dogs. since writing to you i have had more correspondence with the master of hounds, and i see his [record?] is worth nothing. it may, of course, be correct, but cannot be trusted. i find also different statements about the wolf: in fact, i am all abroad.") should vary so much, while that of man does not. it may be from multiple origin. the eggs from the musk and the common duck take an intermediate period in hatching; but i should rather look at it as one of the ten thousand cases which we cannot explain--namely, when one part or function varies in one species and not in another. hooker has told me nothing about his explanation of few arctic forms; i knew the fact before. i had speculated on what i presume, from what you say, is his explanation ( / . "outlines of the distribution of arctic plants," j.d. hooker, "trans. linn. soc." volume xxiii., page , . [read june st, .] in this paper hooker draws attention to the exceptional character of the greenland flora; but as regards the paucity of its species and in its much greater resemblance to the floras of arctic europe than to those of arctic america, he considers it difficult to account for these facts, "unless we admit mr. darwin's hypotheses" (see "origin," edition vi., , chapter xii., page ) of a southern migration due to the cold of the glacial period and the subsequent return of the northern types during the succeeding warmer period. many of the greenland species, being confined to the peninsula, "would, as it were, be driven into the sea--that is exterminated" (hooker, op. cit., pages - ).); but there must have been at all times an arctic region. i found the speculation got too complex, as it seemed to me, to be worth following out. i have been doing some more interesting work with orchids. talk of adaptation in woodpeckers ( / . "can a more striking instance of adaptation be given than that of a woodpecker for climbing trees and seizing insects in the chinks of the bark?" (origin of species," edition have i., page ).), some of the orchids beat it. i showed the case to elizabeth wedgwood, and her remark was, "now you have upset your own book, for you won't persuade me that this could be effected by natural selection." letter . to t.h. huxley. july th [ ]. many thanks for your pleasant letter. i agree to every word you say about "fraser" and the "quarterly." ( / . bishop wilberforce's review of the "origin" in the "quarterly review," july, , was republished in his "collected essays," . see "life and letters, ii., page , and ii., page , where some quotations from the review are given. for hopkins' review in "fraser's magazine," june, , see "life and letters," ii., .) i have had some really admirable letters from hopkins. i do not suppose he has ever troubled his head about geographical distribution, classification, morphologies, etc., and it is only those who have that will feel any relief in having some sort of rational explanation of such facts. is it not grand the way in which the bishop asserts that all such facts are explained by ideas in god's mind? the "quarterly" is uncommonly clever; and i chuckled much at the way my grandfather and self are quizzed. i could here and there see owen's hand. by the way, how comes it that you were not attacked? does owen begin to find it more prudent to leave you alone? i would give five shillings to know what tremendous blunder the bishop made; for i see that a page has been cancelled and a new page gummed in. i am indeed most thoroughly contented with the progress of opinion. from all that i hear from several quarters, it seems that oxford did the subject great good. ( / . an account of the meeting of the british association at oxford in is given in the "life and letters," ii., page , and a fuller account in the one-volume "life of charles darwin," , page . see also the "life and letters of t.h. huxley," volume i., page , and the amusing account of the meeting in mr. tuckwell's "reminiscences of oxford," london, , page .) it is of enormous importance the showing the world that a few first-rate men are not afraid of expressing their opinion. i see daily more and more plainly that my unaided book would have done absolutely nothing. asa gray is fighting admirably in the united states. he is thorough master of the subject, which cannot be said by any means of such men as even hopkins. i have been thinking over what you allude to about a natural history review. ( / . in the "life and letters of t.h. huxley," volume i., page , some account of the founding of the "natural history review" is given in a letter to sir j.d. hooker of july th, . on august nd mr. huxley added: "darwin wrote me a very kind expostulation about it, telling me i ought not to waste myself on other than original work. in reply, however, i assured him that i must waste myself willy-nilly, and that the 'review' was only a save-all.") i suppose you mean really a review and not journal for original communications in natural history. of the latter there is now superabundance. with respect to a good review, there can be no doubt of its value and utility; nevertheless, if not too late, i hope you will consider deliberately before you decide. remember what a deal of work you have on your shoulders, and though you can do much, yet there is a limit to even the hardest worker's power of working. i should deeply regret to see you sacrificing much time which could be given to original research. i fear, to one who can review as well as you do, there would be the same temptation to waste time, as there notoriously is for those who can speak well. a review is only temporary; your work should be perennial. i know well that you may say that unless good men will review there will be no good reviews. and this is true. would you not do more good by an occasional review in some well-established review, than by giving up much time to the editing, or largely aiding, if not editing, a review which from being confined to one subject would not have a very large circulation? but i must return to the chief idea which strikes me--viz., that it would lessen the amount of original and perennial work which you could do. reflect how few men there are in england who can do original work in the several lines in which you are excellently fitted. lyell, i remember, on analogous grounds many years ago resolved he would write no more reviews. i am an old slowcoach, and your scheme makes me tremble. god knows in one sense i am about the last man in england who ought to throw cold water on any review in which you would be concerned, as i have so immensely profited by your labours in this line. with respect to reviewing myself, i never tried: any work of that kind stops me doing anything else, as i cannot possibly work at odds and ends of time. i have, moreover, an insane hatred of stopping my regular current of work. i have now materials for a little paper or two, but i know i shall never work them up. so i will not promise to help; though not to help, if i could, would make me feel very ungrateful to you. you have no idea during how short a time daily i am able to work. if i had any regular duties, like you and hooker, i should do absolutely nothing in science. i am heartily glad to hear that you are better; but how such labour as volunteer-soldiering (all honour to you) does not kill you, i cannot understand. for god's sake remember that your field of labour is original research in the highest and most difficult branches of natural history. not that i wish to underrate the importance of clever and solid reviews. letter . to t.h. huxley. sudbrook park, richmond, thursday [july, ]. i must send you a line to say what a good fellow you are to send me so long an account of the oxford doings. i have read it twice, and sent it to my wife, and when i get home shall read it again: it has so much interested me. but how durst you attack a live bishop in that fashion? i am quite ashamed of you! have you no reverence for fine lawn sleeves? by jove, you seem to have done it well. if any one were to ridicule any belief of the bishop's, would he not blandly shrug his shoulders and be inexpressibly shocked? i am very, very sorry to hear that you are not well; but am not surprised after all your self-imposed labour. i hope you will soon have an outing, and that will do you real good. i am glad to hear about j. lubbock, whom i hope to see soon, and shall tell him what you have said. have you read hopkins in the last "fraser?"--well put, in good spirit, except soul discussion bad, as i have told him; nothing actually new, takes the weak points alone, and leaves out all other considerations. i heard from asa gray yesterday; he goes on fighting like a trojan. god bless you!--get well, be idle, and always reverence a bishop. letter . to j.d. dana. down, july th [ ]. i received several weeks ago your note telling me that you could not visit england, which i sincerely regretted, as i should most heartily have liked to have made your personal acquaintance. you gave me an improved, but not very good, account of your health. i should at some time be grateful for a line to tell me how you are. we have had a miserable summer, owing to a terribly long and severe illness of my eldest girl, who improves slightly but is still in a precarious condition. i have been able to do nothing in science of late. my kind friend asa gray often writes to me and tells me of the warm discussions on the "origin of species" in the united states. whenever you are strong enough to read it, i know you will be dead against me, but i know equally well that your opposition will be liberal and philosophical. and this is a good deal more than i can say of all my opponents in this country. i have not yet seen agassiz's attack ( / . "silliman's journal," july, . a passage from agassiz's review is given by mr. huxley in darwin's "life and letters," ii., page .), but i hope to find it at home when i return in a few days, for i have been for several weeks away from home on my daughter's account. prof. silliman sent me an extremely kind message by asa gray that your journal would be open to a reply by me. i cannot decide till i see it, but on principle i have resolved to avoid answering anything, as it consumes much time, often temper, and i have said my say in the "origin." no one person understands my views and has defended them so well as a. gray, though he does not by any means go all the way with me. there was much discussion on the subject at the british association at oxford, and i had many defenders, and my side seems (for i was not there) almost to have got the best of the battle. your correspondent and my neighbour, j. lubbock, goes on working at such spare time as he has. this is an egotistical note, but i have not seen a naturalist for months. most sincerely and deeply do i hope that this note may find you almost recovered. letter . to w.h. harvey. ( / . see letter , note. this letter was written in reply to a long one from w.h. harvey, dated august th, . harvey had already published a serio-comic squib and a review, to which references are given in the "life and letters," ii., pages and ; but apparently he had not before this time completed the reading of the "origin.") [august, .] i have read your long letter with much interest, and i thank you for your great liberality in sending it me. but, on reflection, i do not wish to attempt answering any part, except to you privately. anything said by myself in defence would have no weight; it is best to be defended by others, or not at all. parts of your letter seem to me, if i may be permitted to say so, very acute and original, and i feel it a great compliment your giving up so much time to my book. but, on the whole, i am disappointed; not from your not concurring with me, for i never expected that, and, indeed, in your remarks on chapters xii. and xiii., you go much further with me (though a little way) than i ever anticipated, and am much pleased at the result. but on the whole i am disappointed, because it seems to me that you do not understand what i mean by natural selection, as shown at page ( / . harvey speaks of the perpetuation or selection of the useful, pre-supposing "a vigilant and intelligent agent," which is very much like saying that an intelligent agent is needed to see that the small stones pass through the meshes of a sieve and the big ones remain behind.) of your letter and by several of your remarks. as my book has failed to explain my meaning, it would be hopeless to attempt it in a letter. you speak in the early part of your letter, and at page , as if i had said that natural selection was the sole agency of modification, whereas i have over and over again, ad nauseam, directly said, and by order of precedence implied (what seems to me obvious) that selection can do nothing without previous variability (see pages , , , , , etc.), "nothing can be effected unless favourable variations occur." i consider natural selection as of such high importance, because it accumulates successive variations in any profitable direction, and thus adapts each new being to its complex conditions of life. the term "selection," i see, deceives many persons, though i see no more reason why it should than elective affinity, as used by the old chemists. if i had to rewrite my book, i would use "natural preservation" or "naturally preserved." i should think you would as soon take an emetic as re-read any part of my book; but if you did, and were to erase selection and selected, and insert preservation and preserved, possibly the subject would be clearer. as you are not singular in misunderstanding my book, i should long before this have concluded that my brains were in a haze had i not found by published reviews, and especially by correspondence, that lyell, hooker, asa gray, h.c. watson, huxley, and carpenter, and many others, perfectly comprehend what i mean. the upshot of your remarks at page is that my explanation, etc., and the whole doctrine of natural selection, are mere empty words, signifying the "order of nature." as the above-named clear-headed men, who do comprehend my views, all go a certain length with me, and certainly do not think it all moonshine, i should venture to suggest a little further reflection on your part. i do not mean by this to imply that the opinion of these men is worth much as showing that i am right, but merely as some evidence that i have clearer ideas than you think, otherwise these same men must be even more muddle-headed than i am; for they have no temptation to deceive themselves. in the forthcoming september ( / . "american journal of science and arts," september , "design versus necessity," reprinted in asa gray's "darwiniana," , page .) number of the "american journal of science" there is an interesting and short theological article (by asa gray), which gives incidentally with admirable clearness the theory of natural selection, and therefore might be worth your reading. i think that the theological part would interest you. you object to all my illustrations. they are all necessarily conjectural, and may be all false; but they were the best i could give. the bear case ( / . "origin of species," edition i., page . see letter .) has been well laughed at, and disingenuously distorted by some into my saying that a bear could be converted into a whale. as it offended persons, i struck it out in the second edition; but i still maintain that there is no especial difficulty in a bear's mouth being enlarged to any degree useful to its changing habits,--no more difficulty than man has found in increasing the crop of the pigeon, by continued selection, until it is literally as big as the whole rest of the body. if this had not been known, how absurd it would have appeared to say that the crop of a bird might be increased till it became like a balloon! with respect to the ostrich, i believe that the wings have been reduced, and are not in course of development, because the whole structure of a bird is essentially formed for flight; and the ostrich is essentially a bird. you will see at page of the "origin" a somewhat analogous discussion. at page of the second edition i have pointed out the essential distinction between a nascent and rudimentary organ. if you prefer the more complex view that the progenitor of the ostrich lost its wings, and that the present ostrich is regaining them, i have nothing to say in opposition. with respect to trees on islands, i collected some cases, but took the main facts from alph. de candolle, and thought they might be trusted. my explanation may be grossly wrong; but i am not convinced it is so, and i do not see the full force of your argument of certain herbaceous orders having been developed into trees in certain rare cases on continents. the case seems to me to turn altogether on the question whether generally herbaceous orders more frequently afford trees and bushes on islands than on continents, relatively to their areas. ( / . in the "origin," edition i., page , the author points out that in the presence of competing trees an herbaceous plant would have little chance of becoming arborescent; but on an island, with only other herbaceous plants as competitors, it might gain an advantage by overtopping its fellows, and become tree-like. harvey writes: "what you say (page ) of insular trees belonging to orders which elsewhere include only herbaceous species seems to me to be unsupported by sufficient evidence. you cite no particular trees, and i may therefore be wrong in guessing that the orders you allude to are scrophularineae and compositae; and the insular trees the antarctic veronicas and the arborescent compositae of st. helena, tasmania, etc. but in south africa halleria (scrophularineae) is often as large and woody as an apple tree; and there are several south african arborescent compositae (senecio and oldenburgia). besides, in tasmania at least, the arborescent composites are not found competing with herbaceous plants alone, and growing taller and taller by overtopping them...; for the most arborescent of them all (eurybia argophylla, the musk tree) grows...in eucalyptus forests. and so of the south african halleria, which is a tree among trees. what the conditions of the arborescent gerania of the sandwich islands may be i am unable to say...i cannot remember any other instances, nor can i accept your explanation in any other of the cases i have cited.") in page of your letter you say you give up many book-species as separate creations: i give up all, and you infer that our difference is only in degree and not in kind. i dissent from this; for i give a distinct reason how far i go in giving up species. i look at all forms, which resemble each other homologically or embryologically, as certainly descended from the same species. you hit me hard and fairly ( / . harvey writes: "you ask--were all the infinitely numerous kinds of animals and plants created as eggs or seed, or as full grown? to this it is sufficient to reply, was your primordial organism, or were your four or five progenitors created as egg, seed, or full grown? neither theory attempts to solve this riddle, nor yet the riddle of the omphalos." the latter point, which mr. darwin refuses to give up, is at page of the "origin," "and, in the case of mammals, were they created bearing the false marks of nourishment from the mother's womb?" in the third edition of the "origin," , page , the author adds, after the last-cited passage: "undoubtedly these same questions cannot be answered by those who, under the present state of science, believe in the creation of a few aboriginal forms, or of some one form of life. in the sixth edition, probably with a view to the umbilicus, he writes (page ): "undoubtedly some of these same questions," etc., etc. from notes in mr. darwin's copy of the second edition it is clear that the change in the third edition was chiefly due to harvey's letter. see letter .) about my question (page , "origin") about creation of eggs or young, etc., (but not about mammals with the mark of the umbilical cord), yet i still have an illogical sort of feeling that there is less difficulty in imagining the creation of an asexual cell, increasing by simple division. page of your letter: i agree to every word about the antiquity of the world, and never saw the case put by any one more strongly or more ably. it makes, however, no more impression on me as an objection than does the astronomer when he puts on a few hundred million miles to the distance of the fixed stars. to compare very small things with great, lingula, etc., remaining nearly unaltered from the silurian epoch to the present day, is like the dovecote pigeons still being identical with wild rock-pigeons, whereas its "fancy" offspring have been immensely modified, and are still being modified, by means of artificial selection. you put the difficulty of the first modification of the first protozoon admirably. i assure you that immediately after the first edition was published this occurred to me, and i thought of inserting it in the second edition. i did not, because we know not in the least what the first germ of life was, nor have we any fact at all to guide us in our speculations on the kind of change which its offspring underwent. i dissent quite from what you say of the myriads of years it would take to people the world with such imagined protozoon. in how very short a time ehrenberg calculated that a single infusorium might make a cube of rock! a single cube on geometrical progression would make the solid globe in (i suppose) under a century. from what little i know, i cannot help thinking that you underrate the effects of the physical conditions of life on these low organisms. but i fully admit that i can give no sort of answer to your objections; yet i must add that it would be marvellous if any man ever could, assuming for the moment that my theory is true. you beg the question, i think, in saying that protococcus would be doomed to eternal similarity. nor can you know that the first germ resembled a protococcus or any other now living form. page of your letter: there is nothing in my theory necessitating in each case progression of organisation, though natural selection tends in this line, and has generally thus acted. an animal, if it become fitted by selection to live the life, for instance, of a parasite, will generally become degraded. i have much regretted that i did not make this part of the subject clearer. i left out this and many other subjects, which i now see ought to have been introduced. i have inserted a discussion on this subject in the foreign editions. ( / . in the third edition a discussion on this point is added in chapter iv.) in no case will any organic being tend to retrograde, unless such retrogradation be an advantage to its varying offspring; and it is difficult to see how going back to the structure of the unknown supposed original protozoon could ever be an advantage. page of your letter: i have been more glad to read your discussion on "dominant" forms than any part of your letter. ( / . harvey writes: "viewing organic nature in its widest aspect, i think it is unquestionable that the truly dominant races are not those of high, but those of low organisation"; and goes on to quote the potato disease, etc. in the third edition of the "origin," page , a discussion is introduced defining the author's use of the term "dominant.") i can now see that i have not been cautious enough in confining my definition and meaning. i cannot say that you have altered my views. if botrytis [phytophthora] had exterminated the wild potato, a low form would have conquered a high; but i cannot remember that i have ever said (i am sure i never thought) that a low form would never conquer a high. i have expressly alluded to parasites half exterminating game-animals, and to the struggle for life being sometimes between forms as different as possible: for instance, between grasshoppers and herbivorous quadrupeds. under the many conditions of life which this world affords, any group which is numerous in individuals and species and is widely distributed, may properly be called dominant. i never dreamed of considering that any one group, under all conditions and throughout the world, would be predominant. how could vertebrata be predominant under the conditions of life in which parasitic worms live? what good would their perfected senses and their intellect serve under such conditions? when i have spoken of dominant forms, it has been in relation to the multiplication of new specific forms, and the dominance of any one species has been relative generally to other members of the same group, or at least to beings exposed to similar conditions and coming into competition. but i daresay that i have not in the "origin" made myself clear, and space has rendered it impossible. but i thank you most sincerely for your valuable remarks, though i do not agree with them. about sudden jumps: i have no objection to them--they would aid me in some cases. all i can say is, that i went into the subject, and found no evidence to make me believe in jumps; and a good deal pointing in the other direction. you will find it difficult (page of your letter) to make a marked line of separation between fertile and infertile crosses. i do not see how the apparently sudden change (for the suddenness of change in a chrysalis is of course largely only apparent) in larvae during their development throws any light on the subject. i wish i could have made this letter better worth sending to you. i have had it copied to save you at least the intolerable trouble of reading my bad handwriting. again i thank you for your great liberality and kindness in sending me your criticisms, and i heartily wish we were a little nearer in accord; but we must remain content to be as wide asunder as the poles, but without, thank god, any malice or other ill-feeling. letter . to t.h. huxley. ( / . dr. asa gray's articles in the "atlantic monthly," july, august, and october, , were published in england as a pamphlet, and form chapter iii. in his "darwiniana" ( ). see "life and letters," ii., page . the article referred to in the present letter is that in the august number.) down, september th [ ]. i send by this post a review by asa gray, so good that i should like you to see it; i must beg for its return. i want to ask, also, your opinion about getting it reprinted in england. i thought of sending it to the editor of the "annals and mag. of nat. hist." in which two hostile reviews have appeared (although i suppose the "annals" have a very poor circulation), and asking them in the spirit of fair play to print this, with asa gray's name, which i will take the responsibility of adding. also, as it is long, i would offer to pay expenses. it is very good, in addition, as bringing in pictet so largely. ( / . pictet ( - ) wrote a "perfectly fair" review opposed to the "origin." see "life and letters," ii., page .) tell me briefly what you think. what an astonishing expedition this is of hooker's to syria! god knows whether it is wise. how are you and all yours? i hope you are not working too hard. for heaven's sake, think that you may become such a beast as i am. how goes on the "nat. hist. review?" talking of reviews, i damned with a good grace the review in the "athenaeum" ( / . review of "the glaciers of the alps" ("athenaeum," september , , page ).) on tyndall with a mean, scurvy allusion to you. it is disgraceful about tyndall,--in fact, doubting his veracity. i am very tired, and hate nearly the whole world. so good-night, and take care of your digestion, which means brain. letter . to c. lyell. , marine parade, eastbourne, th [september ]. it has just occurred to me that i took no notice of your questions on extinction in st. helena. i am nearly sure that hooker has information on the extinction of plants ( / . "principles of geology," volume ii. (edition x., ), page . facts are quoted from hooker illustrating the extermination of plants in st. helena.), but i cannot remember where i have seen it. one may confidently assume that many insects were exterminated. by the way, i heard lately from wollaston, who told me that he had just received eminently madeira and canary island insect forms from the cape of good hope, to which trifling distance, if he is logical, he will have to extend his atlantis! i have just received your letter, and am very much pleased that you approve. but i am utterly disgusted and ashamed about the dingo. i cannot think how i could have misunderstood the paper so grossly. i hope i have not blundered likewise in its co-existence with extinct species: what horrid blundering! i am grieved to hear that you think i must work in the notes in the text; but you are so much better a judge that i will obey. i am sorry that you had the trouble of returning the dog ms., which i suppose i shall receive to-morrow. i mean to give good woodcuts of all the chief races of pigeons. ( / . "the variation of animals and plants under domestication," .) except the c. oenas ( / . the columba oenas of europe roosts on trees and builds its nest in holes, either in trees or the ground ("var. of animals," volume i., page ).) (which is partly, indeed almost entirely, a wood pigeon), there is no other rock pigeon with which our domestic pigeon would cross--that is, if several exceedingly close geographical races of c. livia, which hardly any ornithologist looks at as true species, be all grouped under c. livia. ( / . columba livia, the rock-pigeon. "we may conclude with confidence that all the domestic races, notwithstanding their great amount of difference, are descended from the columba livia, including under this name certain wild races" (op. cit., volume i., page ).) i am writing higgledy-piggledy, as i re-read your letter. i thought that my letter had been much wilder than yours. i quite feel the comfort of writing when one may "alter one's speculations the day after." it is beyond my knowledge to weigh ranks of birds and monotremes; in the respiratory and circulatory system and muscular energy i believe birds are ahead of all mammals. i knew that you must have known about new guinea; but in writing to you i never make myself civil! after treating some half-dozen or dozen domestic animals in the same manner as i treat dogs, i intended to have a chapter of conclusions. but heaven knows when i shall finish: i get on very slowly. you would be surprised how long it took me to pick out what seemed useful about dogs out of multitudes of details. i see the force of your remark about more isolated races of man in old times, and therefore more in number. it seems to me difficult to weigh probabilities. perhaps so, if you refer to very slight differences in the races: to make great differences much time would be required, and then, even at the earliest period i should have expected one race to have spread, conquered, and exterminated the others. with respect to falconer's series of elephants ( / . in dr. falconer and sir proby cautley collected a large number of fossil remains from the siwalik hills. falconer and cautley, "fauna antiqua sivalensis," - .), i think the case could be answered better than i have done in the "origin," page . ( / . "origin of species," edition i., page . "it is no real objection to the truth of the statement that the fauna of each period as a whole is nearly intermediate in character between the preceding and succeeding faunas, that certain genera offer exceptions to the rule. for instance, mastodons and elephants, when arranged by dr. falconer in two series, first according to their mutual affinities and then according to their periods of existence, do not accord in arrangement. the species extreme in character are not the oldest, or the most recent; nor are those which are intermediate in character intermediate in age. but supposing for an instant, in this and other such cases, that the record of the first appearance and disappearance of the species was perfect, we have no reason to believe that forms successively produced necessarily endure for corresponding lengths of time. a very ancient form might occasionally last much longer than a form elsewhere subsequently produced, especially in the case of terrestrial productions inhabiting separated districts" (pages - ). the same words occur in the later edition of the "origin" (edition vi., page .) all these new discoveries show how imperfect the discovered series is, which falconer thought years ago was nearly perfect. i will send to-day or to-morrow two articles by asa gray. the longer one (now not finally corrected) will come out in the october "atlantic monthly," and they can be got at trubner's. hearty thanks for all your kindness. do not hurry over asa gray. he strikes me as one of the best reasoners and writers i ever read. he knows my book as well as i do myself. letter . to c. lyell. , marine parade, eastbourne, october rd [ ]. your last letter has interested me much in many ways. i enclose a letter of wyman's which touches on brains. wyman is mistaken in supposing that i did not know that the cave-rat was an american form; i made special enquiries. he does not know that the eye of the tucotuco was carefully dissected. with respect to reviews by a. gray. i thought of sending the dialogue to the "saturday review" in a week's time or so, as they have lately discussed design. ( / . "discussion between two readers of darwin's treatise on the origin of species, upon its natural theology" ("amer. journ. sci." volume xxx, page , ). reprinted in "darwiniana," , page . the article begins with the following question: "first reader--is darwin's theory atheistic or pantheistic? or does it tend to atheism or pantheism?" the discussion is closed by the second reader, who thus sums up his views: "wherefore we may insist that, for all that yet appears, the argument for design, as presented by the natural theologians, is just as good now, if we accept darwin's theory, as it was before the theory was promulgated; and that the sceptical juryman, who was about to join the other eleven in an unanimous verdict in favour of design, finds no good excuse for keeping the court longer waiting.") i have sent the second, or august, "atlantic" article to the "annals and mag. of nat. history." ( / . "annals and mag. nat. hist." volume vi., pages - , . (from the "atlantic monthly," august, .)) the copy which you have i want to send to pictet, as i told a. gray i would, thinking from what he said he would like this to be done. i doubt whether it would be possible to get the october number reprinted in this country; so that i am in no hurry at all for this. i had a letter a few weeks ago from symonds on the imperfection of the geological record, less clear and forcible than i expected. i answered him at length and very civilly, though i could hardly make out what he was driving at. he spoke about you in a way which it did me good to read. i am extremely glad that you like a. gray's reviews. how generous and unselfish he has been in all his labour! are you not struck by his metaphors and similes? i have told him he is a poet and not a lawyer. i should altogether doubt on turtles being converted into land tortoises on any one island. remember how closely similar tortoises are on all continents, as well as islands; they must have all descended from one ancient progenitor, including the gigantic tortoise of the himalaya. i think you must be cautious in not running the convenient doctrine that only one species out of very many ever varies. reflect on such cases as the fauna and flora of europe, north america, and japan, which are so similar, and yet which have a great majority of their species either specifically distinct, or forming well-marked races. we must in such cases incline to the belief that a multitude of species were once identically the same in all the three countries when under a warmer climate and more in connection; and have varied in all the three countries. i am inclined to believe that almost every species (as we see with nearly all our domestic productions) varies sufficiently for natural selection to pick out and accumulate new specific differences, under new organic and inorganic conditions of life, whenever a place is open in the polity of nature. but looking to a long lapse of time and to the whole world, or to large parts of the world, i believe only one or a few species of each large genus ultimately becomes victorious, and leaves modified descendants. to give an imaginary instance: the jay has become modified in the three countries into (i believe) three or four species; but the jay genus is not, apparently, so dominant a group as the crows; and in the long run probably all the jays will be exterminated and be replaced perhaps by some modified crows. i merely give this illustration to show what seems to me probable. but oh! what work there is before we shall understand the genealogy of organic beings! with respect to the apteryx, i know not enough of anatomy; but ask dr. f. whether the clavicle, etc., do not give attachment to some of the muscles of respiration. if my views are at all correct, the wing of the apteryx ( / . "origin of species," edition vi., page .) cannot be (page of the "origin") a nascent organ, as these wings are useless. i dare not trust to memory, but i know i found the whole sternum always reduced in size in all the fancy and confined pigeons relatively to the same bones in the wild rock-pigeon: the keel was generally still further reduced relatively to the reduced length of the sternum; but in some breeds it was in a most anomalous manner more prominent. i have got a lot of facts on the reduction of the organs of flight in the pigeon, which took me weeks to work out, and which huxley thought curious. i am utterly ashamed, and groan over my handwriting. it was "natural preservation." natural persecution is what the author ought to suffer. it rejoices me that you do not object to the term. hooker made the same remark that it ought to have been "variation and natural selection." yet with domestic productions, when selection is spoken of, variation is always implied. but i entirely agree with your and hooker's remark. have you begun regularly to write your book on the antiquity of man? ( / . published in .) i do not agree with your remark that i make natural selection do too much work. you will perhaps reply that every man rides his hobby-horse to death; and that i am in the galloping state. letter . to c. lyell. , marine parade, eastbourne, friday th [october, ]. i have two notes to thank you for, and i return wollaston. it has always seemed to me rather strange that forbes, wollaston and co. should argue, from the presence of allied, and not identical species in islands, for the former continuity of land. they argue, i suppose, from the species being allied in different regions of the same continent, though specifically distinct. but i think one might on the creative doctrine argue with equal force in a directly reverse manner, and say that, as species are so often markedly distinct, yet allied, on islands, all our continents existed as islands first, and their inhabitants were first created on these islands, and since became mingled together, so as not to be so distinct as they now generally are on islands. letter . to h.g. bronn. down, october th [ ]. i ought to apologise for troubling you, but i have at last carefully read your excellent criticisms on my book. ( / . bronn added critical remarks to his german translation of the "origin": see "life and letters," ii., page .) i agree with much of them, and wholly with your final sentence. the objections and difficulties which may be urged against my view are indeed heavy enough almost to break my back, but it is not yet broken! you put very well and very fairly that i can in no one instance explain the course of modification in any particular instance. i could make some sort of answer to your case of the two rats; and might i not turn round and ask him who believes in the separate creation of each species, why one rat has a longer tail or shorter ears than another? i presume that most people would say that these characters were of some use, or stood in some connection with other parts; and if so, natural selection would act on them. but as you put the case, it tells well against me. you argue most justly against my question, whether the many species were created as eggs ( / . see letter .) or as mature, etc. i certainly had no right to ask that question. i fully agree that there might have been as well a hundred thousand creations as eight or ten, or only one. but then, on the view of eight or ten creations (i.e. as many as there are distinct types of structure) we can on my view understand the homological and embryological resemblance of all the organisms of each type, and on this ground almost alone i disbelieve in the innumerable acts of creation. there are only two points on which i think you have misunderstood me. i refer only to one glacial period as affecting the distribution of organic beings; i did not wish even to allude to the doubtful evidence of glacial action in the permian and carboniferous periods. secondly, i do not believe that the process of development has always been carried on at the same rate in all different parts of the world. australia is opposed to such belief. the nearly contemporaneous equal development in past periods i attribute to the slow migration of the higher and more dominant forms over the whole world, and not to independent acts of development in different parts. lastly, permit me to add that i cannot see the force of your objection, that nothing is effected until the origin of life is explained: surely it is worth while to attempt to follow out the action of electricity, though we know not what electricity is. if you should at any time do me the favour of writing to me, i should be very much obliged if you would inform me whether you have yourself examined brehm's subspecies of birds; for i have looked through some of his writings, but have never met an ornithologist who believed in his [illegible]. are these subspecies really characteristic of certain different regions of germany? should you write, i should much like to know how the german edition sells. letter . to j.s. henslow. october th [ ]. many thanks for your note and for all the trouble about the seeds, which will be most useful to me next spring. on my return home i will send the shillings. ( / . shillings for the little girls in henslow's parish who collected seeds for darwin.) i concluded that dr. bree had blundered about the celts. i care not for his dull, unvarying abuse of me, and singular misrepresentation. but at page he in fact doubts my deliberate word, and that is the act of a man who has not the soul of a gentleman in him. kingsley is "the celebrated author and divine" ( / . "species not transmutable," by c.r. bree. after quoting from the "origin," edition ii., page , the words in which a celebrated author and divine confesses that "he has gradually learnt to see that it is just as noble a conception of the deity to believe that he created a few original forms, etc.," dr. bree goes on: "i think we ought to have had the name of this divine given with this remarkable statement. i confess that i have not yet fully made up my mind that any divine could have ever penned lines so fatal to the truths he is called upon to teach.") whose striking sentence i give in the second edition with his permission. i did not choose to ask him to let me use his name, and as he did not volunteer, i had of course no choice. ( / . we are indebted to mr. g.w. prothero for calling our attention to the following striking passage from the works of a divine of this period:--"just a similar scepticism has been evinced by nearly all the first physiologists of the day, who have joined in rejecting the development theories of lamarck and the 'vestiges'...yet it is now acknowledged under the high sanction of the name of owen that 'creation' is only another name for our ignorance of the mode of production...while a work has now appeared by a naturalist of the most acknowledged authority, mr. darwin's masterly volume on the 'origin of species,' by the law of 'natural selection,' which now substantiates on undeniable grounds the very principle so long denounced by the first naturalists--the origination of new species by natural causes: a work which must soon bring about an entire revolution of opinion in favour of the grand principle of the self-evolving powers of nature."--prof. baden powell's "study of the evidences of christianity," "essays and reviews," th edition, (pages , ).) dr. freke has sent me his paper, which is far beyond my scope--something like the capital quiz in the "anti-jacobin" on my grandfather, which was quoted in the "quarterly review." letter . to d.t. ansted. ( / . the following letter was published in professor meldola's presidential address to the entomological society, , and to him we are indebted for a copy.) , marine parade, eastbourne, october th [ ]. as i am away from home on account of my daughter's health, i do not know your address, and fly this at random, and it is of very little consequence if it never reaches you. i have just been reading the greater part of your "geological gossip," and have found part very interesting; but i want to express my admiration at the clear and correct manner in which you have given a sketch of natural selection. you will think this very slight praise; but i declare that the majority of readers seem utterly incapable of comprehending my long argument. some of the reviewers, who have servilely stuck to my illustrations and almost to my words, have been correct, but extraordinarily few others have succeeded. i can see plainly, by your new illustrations and manner and order of putting the case, that you thoroughly comprehend the subject. i assure you this is most gratifying to me, and it is the sole way in which the public can be indoctrinated. i am often in despair in making the generality of naturalists even comprehend me. intelligent men who are not naturalists and have not a bigoted idea of the term species, show more clearness of mind. i think that you have done the subject a real service, and i sincerely thank you. no doubt there will be much error found in my book, but i have great confidence that the main view will be, in time, found correct; for i find, without exception, that those naturalists who went at first one inch with me now go a foot or yard with me. this note obviously requires no answer. letter . to h.w. bates. down, november nd [ ]. i thank you sincerely for writing to me and for your very interesting letter. your name has for very long been familiar to me, and i have heard of your zealous exertions in the cause of natural history. but i did not know that you had worked with high philosophical questions before your mind. i have an old belief that a good observer really means a good theorist ( / . for an opposite opinion, see letter .), and i fully expect to find your observations most valuable. i am very sorry to hear that your health is shattered; but i trust under a healthy climate it may be restored. i can sympathise with you fully on this score, for i have had bad health for many years, and fear i shall ever remain a confirmed invalid. i am delighted to hear that you, with all your large practical knowledge of natural history, anticipated me in many respects and concur with me. as you say, i have been thoroughly well attacked and reviled (especially by entomologists--westwood, wollaston, and a. murray have all reviewed and sneered at me to their hearts' content), but i care nothing about their attacks; several really good judges go a long way with me, and i observe that all those who go some little way tend to go somewhat further. what a fine philosophical mind your friend mr. wallace has, and he has acted, in relation to me, like a true man with a noble spirit. i see by your letter that you have grappled with several of the most difficult problems, as it seems to me, in natural history--such as the distinctions between the different kinds of varieties, representative species, etc. perhaps i shall find some facts in your paper on intermediate varieties in intermediate regions, on which subject i have found remarkably little information. i cannot tell you how glad i am to hear that you have attended to the curious point of equatorial refrigeration. i quite agree that it must have been small; yet the more i go into that question the more convinced i feel that there was during the glacial period some migration from north to south. the sketch in the "origin" gives a very meagre account of my fuller ms. essay on this subject. i shall be particularly obliged for a copy of your paper when published ( / . probably a paper by bates entitled "contributions to an insect fauna of the amazon valley" ("trans. entomol. soc." volume v., page , - ).); and if any suggestions occur to me (not that you require any) or questions, i will write and ask. i have at once to prepare a new edition of the "origin," ( / . third edition, march, .), and i will do myself the pleasure of sending you a copy; but it will be only very slightly altered. cases of neuter ants, divided into castes, with intermediate gradations (which i imagine are rare) interest me much. see "origin" on the driver-ant, page (please look at the passage.) letter . to t.h. huxley. ( / . this refers to the first number of the new series of the "natural history review," , a periodical which huxley was largely instrumental in founding, and of which he was an editor (see letter ). the first series was published in dublin, and ran to seven volumes between and . the new series came to an end in .) down, january, rd [ ]. i have just finished no. of the "natural history review," and must congratulate you, as chiefly concerned, on its excellence. the whole seems to me admirable,--so admirable that it is impossible that other numbers should be so good, but it would be foolish to expect it. i am rather a croaker, and i do rather fear that the merit of the articles will be above the run of common readers and subscribers. i have been much interested by your brain article. ( / . the "brain article" of huxley bore the title "on the zoological relations of man with the lower animals," and appeared in no. , january , page . it was mr. huxley's vindication of the unqualified contradiction given by him at the oxford meeting of the british association to professor owen's assertions as to the difference between the brains of man and the higher apes. the sentence omitted by owen in his lecture before the university of cambridge was a footnote on the close structural resemblance between homo and pithecus, which occurs in his paper on the characters of the class mammalia in the "linn. soc. journal," volume ii., , page . according to huxley the lecture, or "essay on the classification of the mammalia," was, with this omission, a reprint of the linnean paper. in "man's place in nature," page , note, huxley remarks: "surely it is a little singular that the 'anatomist,' who finds it 'difficult' to 'determine the difference' between homo and pithecus, should yet range them, on anatomical grounds, in distinct sub-classes.") what a complete and awful smasher (and done like a "buttered angel") it is for owen! what a humbug he is to have left out the sentence in the lecture before the orthodox cambridge dons! i like lubbock's paper very much: how well he writes. ( / . sir john lubbock's paper was a review of leydig on the daphniidae. m'donnell's was "on the homologies of the electric organ of the torpedo," afterwards used in the "origin" (see edition vi., page ).) m'donnell, of course, pleases me greatly. but i am very curious to know who wrote the protozoa article: i shall hear, if it be not a secret, from lubbock. it strikes me as very good, and, by jove, how owen is shown up--"this great and sound reasoner"! by the way, this reminds me of a passage which i have just observed in owen's address at leeds, which a clever reviewer might turn into good fun. he defines (page xc) and further on amplifies his definition that creation means "a process he knows not what." and in a previous sentence he says facts shake his confidence that the apteryx in new zealand and red grouse in england are "distinct creations." so that he has no confidence that these birds were produced by "processes he knows not what!" to what miserable inconsistencies and rubbish this truckling to opposite opinions leads the great generaliser! ( / . in the "historical sketch," which forms part of the later editions of the "origin," mr. darwin made use of owen's leeds address in the manner sketched above. see "origin," edition vi., page xvii.) farewell: i heartily rejoice in the clear merit of this number. i hope mrs. huxley goes on well. etty keeps much the same, but has not got up to the same pitch as when you were here. farewell. letter . to james lamont. down, february th [ ]. i am extremely much obliged for your very kind present of your beautiful work, "seasons with the sea-horses;" and i have no doubt that i shall find much interesting from so careful and acute an observer as yourself. ( / . "seasons with the sea-horses; or, sporting adventures in the northern seas." london, . mr. lamont (loc. cit., page ) writes: "the polar bear seems to me to be nothing more than a variety of the bears inhabiting northern europe, asia, and america; and it surely requires no very great stretch of the imagination to suppose that this variety was originally created, not as we see him now, but by individuals of ursus arctos in siberia, who, finding their means of subsistence running short, and pressed by hunger, ventured on the ice and caught some seals. these individuals would find that they could make a subsistence in this way, and would take up their residence on the shore and gradually take to a life on the ice...then it stands to reason that those individuals who might happen to be palest in colour would have the best chance of succeeding in surprising seals...the process of natural selection would do the rest, and ursus arctos would in the course of a few thousands, or a few millions of years, be transformed into the variety at present known as ursus maritimus." the author adds the following footnote (op. cit., page ): "it will be obvious to any one that i follow mr. darwin in these remarks; and, although the substance of this chapter was written in spitzbergen, before "the origin of species" was published, i do not claim any originality for my views; and i also cheerfully acknowledge that, but for the publication of that work in connection with the name of so distinguished a naturalist, i never would have ventured to give to the world my own humble opinions on the subject.") p.s. i have just been cutting the leaves of your book, and have been very much pleased and surprised at your note about what you wrote in spitzbergen. as you thought it out independently, it is no wonder that you so clearly understand natural selection, which so few of my reviewers do or pretend not to do. i never expected to see any one so heroically bold as to defend my bear illustration. ( / . "in north america the black bear was seen by hearne swimming for hours with widely open mouth, thus catching, almost like a whale, insects in the water."--"origin," edition vi., page . see letter .) but a man who has done all that you have done must be bold! it is laughable how often i have been attacked and misrepresented about this bear. i am much pleased with your remarks, and thank you cordially for coming to the rescue. letter . to w.b. tegetmeier. ( / . mr. darwin's letters to mr. tegetmeier, taken as a whole, give a striking picture of the amount of assistance which darwin received from him during many years. some citations from these letters given in "life and letters," ii., pages , , show how freely and generously mr. tegetmeier gave his help, and how much his co-operation was valued. the following letter is given as an example of the questions on which darwin sought mr. tegetmeier's opinion and guidance.) down, march [ ]. i ought to have answered your last note sooner; but i have been very busy. how wonderfully successful you have been in breeding pouters! you have a good right to be proud of your accuracy of eye and judgment. i am in the thick of poultry, having just commenced, and shall be truly grateful for the skulls, if you can send them by any conveyance to the nag's head next thursday. you ask about vermilion wax: positively it was not in the state of comb, but in solid bits and cakes, which were thrown with other rubbish not far from my hives. you can make any use of the fact you like. combs could be concentrically and variously coloured and dates recorded by giving for a few days wax darkly coloured with vermilion and indigo, and i daresay other substances. you ask about my crossed fowls, and this leads me to make a proposition to you, which i hope cannot be offensive to you. i trust you know me too well to think that i would propose anything objectionable to the best of my judgment. the case is this: for my object of treating poultry i must give a sketch of several breeds, with remarks on various points. i do not feel strong on the subject. now, when my ms. is fairly copied in an excellent handwriting, would you read it over, which would take you at most an hour or two, and make comments in pencil on it; and accept, like a barrister, a fee, we will say, of a couple of guineas. this would be a great assistance to me, specially if you would allow me to put a note, stating that you, a distinguished judge and fancier, had read it over. i would state that you doubted or concurred, as each case might be, of course striking out what you were sure was incorrect. there would be little new in my ms. to you; but if by chance you used any of my facts or conclusions before i published, i should wish you to state that they were on my authority; otherwise i shall be accused of stealing from you. there will be little new, except that perhaps i have consulted some out-of-the-way books, and have corresponded with some good authorities. tell me frankly what you think of this; but unless you will oblige me by accepting remuneration, i cannot and will not give you such trouble. i have little doubt that several points will arise which will require investigation, as i care for many points disregarded by fanciers; and according to any time thus spent, you will, i trust, allow me to make remuneration. i hope that you will grant me this favour. there is one assistance which i will now venture to beg of you--viz., to get me, if you can, another specimen of an old white angora rabbit. i want it dead for the skeleton; and not knocked on the head. secondly, i see in the "cottage gardener" (march th, page ) there are impure half-lops with one ear quite upright and shorter than the other lopped ear. i much want a dead one. baker cannot get one. baily is looking out; but i want two specimens. can you assist me, if you meet any rabbit-fancier? i have had rabbits with one ear more lopped than the other; but i want one with one ear quite upright and shorter, and the other quite long and lopped. letter . to h.w. bates. down, march th [ ]. i have read your papers with extreme interest, and i have carefully read every word of them. ( / . "contributions to an insect fauna of the amazon valley." (read march th and november th, ). "entomological soc. trans." v., pages and ).) they seem to me to be far richer in facts of variation, and especially on the distribution of varieties and subspecies, than anything which i have read. hereafter i shall re-read them, and hope in my future work to profit by them and make use of them. the amount of variation has much surprised me. the analogous variation of distinct species in the same regions strikes me as particularly curious. the greater variability of the female sex is new to me. your guiana case seems in some degree analogous, as far as plants are concerned, with the modern plains of la plata, which seem to have been colonised from the north, but the species have been hardly modified. ( / . mr. bates (page ) gives reason to believe that the guiana region should be considered "a perfectly independent province," and that it has formed a centre "whence radiated the species which now people the low lands on its borders.") would you kindly answer me two or three questions if in your power? when species a becomes modified in another region into a well-marked form c, but is connected with it by one (or more) gradational forms b inhabiting an intermediate region; does this form b generally exist in equal numbers with a and c, or inhabit an equally large area? the probability is that you cannot answer this question, though one of your cases seems to bear on it... you will, i think, be glad to hear that i now often hear of naturalists accepting my views more or less fully; but some are curiously cautious in running the risk of any small odium in expressing their belief. letter . to h.w. bates. down, april th [ ]. i have been unwell, so have delayed thanking you for your admirable letter. i hope you will not think me presumptuous in saying how much i have been struck with your varied knowledge, and with the decisive manner in which you bring it to bear on each point,--a rare and most high quality, as far as my experience goes. i earnestly hope you will find time to publish largely: before the linnean society you might bring boldly out your views on species. have you ever thought of publishing your travels, and working in them the less abstruse parts of your natural history? i believe it would sell, and be a very valuable contribution to natural history. you must also have seen a good deal of the natives. i know well it would be quite unreasonable to ask for any further information from you; but i will just mention that i am now, and shall be for a long time, writing on domestic varieties of all animals. any facts would be useful, especially any showing that savages take any care in breeding their animals, or in rejecting the bad and preserving the good; or any fancies which they may have that one coloured or marked dog, etc., is better than another. i have already collected much on this head, but am greedy for facts. you will at once see their bearing on variation under domestication. hardly anything in your letter has pleased me more than about sexual selection. in my larger ms. (and indeed in the "origin" with respect to the tuft of hairs on the breast of the cock-turkey) i have guarded myself against going too far; but i did not at all know that male and female butterflies haunted rather different sites. if i had to cut up myself in a review i would have [worried?] and quizzed sexual selection; therefore, though i am fully convinced that it is largely true, you may imagine how pleased i am at what you say on your belief. this part of your letter to me is a quintessence of richness. the fact about butterflies attracted by coloured sepals is another good fact, worth its weight in gold. it would have delighted the heart of old christian c. sprengel--now many years in his grave. i am glad to hear that you have specially attended to "mimetic" analogies--a most curious subject; i hope you publish on it. i have for a long time wished to know whether what dr. collingwood asserts is true--that the most striking cases generally occur between insects inhabiting the same country. letter . to f.w. hutton. down, april th [ ]. i hope that you will permit me to thank you for sending me a copy of your paper in "the geologist" ( / . in a letter to hooker (april rd?, ) darwin refers to hutton's review as "very original," and adds that hutton is "one of the very few who see that the change of species cannot be directly proved..." ("life and letters," ii., page ). the review appeared in "the geologist" (afterwards known as "the geological magazine") for , pages - and - . a letter on "difficulties of darwinism" is published in the same volume of "the geologist," page .), and at the same time to express my opinion that you have done the subject a real service by the highly original, striking, and condensed manner with which you have put the case. i am actually weary of telling people that i do not pretend to adduce direct evidence of one species changing into another, but that i believe that this view in the main is correct, because so many phenomena can be thus grouped together and explained. but it is generally of no use; i cannot make persons see this. i generally throw in their teeth the universally admitted theory of the undulation of light,--neither the undulation nor the very existence of ether being proved, yet admitted because the view explains so much. you are one of the very few who have seen this, and have now put it most forcibly and clearly. i am much pleased to see how carefully you have read my book, and, what is far more important, reflected on so many points with an independent spirit. as i am deeply interested in the subject (and i hope not exclusively under a personal point of view) i could not resist venturing to thank you for the right good service which you have done. i need hardly say that this note requires no answer. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . parts of this letter are published in "life and letters," ii., page .) down, [april] rd, [ ]. i have been much interested by bentham's paper in the "natural history review," but it would not, of course, from familiarity, strike you as it did me. ( / . this refers to bentham's paper "on the species and genera of plants, etc." "nat. hist. review," april, , page , which is founded on, or extracted from, a paper read before the linn. soc., november th, . it had been originally set down to be read on july st, , but gave way to the papers of darwin and wallace. mr. bentham has described ("life and letters," ii., page ) how he reluctantly cancelled the parts urging "original fixity" of specific type, and the remainder seems not to have been published except in the above-quoted paper in the "nat. hist. review.") i liked the whole--all the facts on the nature of close and varying species. good heavens! to think of the british botanists turning up their noses and saying that he knows nothing of british plants! i was also pleased at his remarks on classification, because it showed me that i wrote truly on this subject in the "origin." i saw bentham at the linnean society, and had some talk with him and lubbock and edgeworth, wallich, and several others. i asked bentham to give us his ideas of species; whether partially with us or dead against us, he would write excellent matter. he made no answer, but his manner made me think he might do so if urged--so do you attack him. every one was speaking with affection and anxiety of henslow. i dined with bell at the linnean club, and liked my dinner...dining-out is such a novelty to me that i enjoyed it. bell has a real good heart. i liked rolleston's paper, but i never read anything so obscure and not self-evident as his "canons." ( / . see "nat. hist. review," , page . the paper is "on the brain of the orang utang," and forms part of the bitter controversy of this period to which reference occurs in letters to huxley and elsewhere in these volumes. rolleston's work is quoted by huxley ("man's place in nature," page ) as part of the crushing refutation of owen's position. mr. huxley's letter referred to above is no doubt that in the "athenaeum," april th, , page ; it is certainly severe, but to those who know mr. huxley's "succinct history of the controversy," etc. ("man's place in nature," page ), it will not seem too severe.) i had a dim perception of the truth of your profound remark--that he wrote in fear and trembling "of god, man, and monkeys," but i would alter it into "god, man, owen, and monkeys." huxley's letter was truculent, and i see that every one thinks it too truculent; but in simple truth i am become quite demoniacal about owen--worse than huxley; and i told huxley that i should put myself under his care to be rendered milder. but i mean to try and get more angelic in my feelings; yet i never shall forget his cordial shake of the hand, when he was writing as spitefully as he possibly could against me. but i have always thought that you have more cause than i to be demoniacally inclined towards him. bell told me that owen says that the editor mutilated his article in the "edinburgh review" ( / . this is the only instance, with which we are acquainted, of owen's acknowledging the authorship of the "edinburgh review" article.), and bell seemed to think it was rendered more spiteful by the editor; perhaps the opposite view is as probable. oh, dear! this does not look like becoming more angelic in my temper! i had a splendid long talk with lyell (you may guess how splendid, for he was many times on his knees, with elbows on the sofa) ( / . mr. darwin often spoke of sir charles lyell's tendency to take curious attitudes when excited.) on his work in france: he seems to have done capital work in making out the age of the celt-bearing beds, but the case gets more and more complicated. all, however, tends to greater and greater antiquity of man. the shingle beds seem to be estuary deposits. i called on r. chambers at his very nice house in st. john's wood, and had a very pleasant half-hour's talk--he is really a capital fellow. he made one good remark and chuckled over it: that the laymen universally had treated the controversy on the "essays and reviews" as a merely professional subject, and had not joined in it but had left it to the clergy. i shall be anxious for your next letter about henslow. farewell, with sincere sympathy, my old friend. p.s.--we are very much obliged for "london review." we like reading much of it, and the science is incomparably better than in the "athenaeum." you shall not go on very long sending it, as you will be ruined by pennies and trouble; but i am under a horrid spell to the "athenaeum" and "gardeners' chronicle," both of which are intolerably dull, but i have taken them in for so many years that i cannot give them up. the "cottage gardener," for my purpose, is now far better than the "gardeners' chronicle." letter . to j.l.a. de quatrefages. down, april [ ]. i received this morning your "unite de l'espece humaine" [published in ], and most sincerely do i thank you for this your very kind present. i had heard of and been recommended to read your articles, but, not knowing that they were separately published, did not know how to get them. so your present is most acceptable, and i am very anxious to see your views on the whole subject of species and variation; and i am certain to derive much benefit from your work. in cutting the pages i observe that you have most kindly mentioned my work several times. my views spread slowly in england and america; and i am much surprised to find them most commonly accepted by geologists, next by botanists, and least by zoologists. i am much pleased that the younger and middle-aged geologists are coming round, for the arguments from geology have always seemed strongest against me. not one of the older geologists (except lyell) has been even shaken in his views of the eternal immutability of species. but so many of the younger men are turning round with zeal that i look to the future with some confidence. i am now at work on "variation under domestication," but make slow progress--it is such tedious work comparing skeletons. with very sincere thanks for the kind sympathy which you have always shown me, and with much respect,... p.s.--i have lately read m. naudin's paper ( / . naudin's paper ("revue horticole," ) is mentioned in the "historical sketch" prefixed to the later editions of the "origin" (edition vi., page xix). naudin insisted that species are formed in a manner analogous to the production of varieties by cultivators, i.e., by selection, "but he does not show how selection acts under nature." in the "life and letters," ii., page , darwin, speaking of naudin's work, says: "decaisne seems to think he gives my whole theory."), but it does not seem to me to anticipate me, as he does not show how selection could be applied under nature; but an obscure writer ( / . the obscure writer is patrick matthew (see the "historical sketch" in the "origin.") on forest trees, in , in scotland, most expressly and clearly anticipated my views--though he put the case so briefly that no single person ever noticed the scattered passages in his book. letter . to l. hindmarsh. ( / . the following letter was in reply to one from mr. hindmarsh, to whom mr. darwin had written asking for information on the average number of animals killed each year in the chillingham herd. the object of the request was to obtain information which might throw light on the rate of increase of the cattle relatively to those on the pampas of south america. mr. hindmarsh had contributed a paper "on the wild cattle of chillingham park" to the "annals and mag. nat. hist." volume ii., page , .) down, may th [ ]. i thank you sincerely for your prompt and great kindness, and return the letter, which i have been very glad to see and have had copied. the increase is more rapid than i anticipated, but it seems rather conjectural; i had hoped that in so interesting a case some exact record had been kept. the number of births, or of calves reared till they followed their mothers, would perhaps have been the best datum. from mr. hardy's letter i infer that ten must be annually born to make up the deaths from various causes. in paraguay, azara states that in a herd of , , from , to , are reared; but then, though they do not kill calves, but castrate the young bulls, no doubt the oxen would be killed earlier than the cows, so that the herd would contain probably more of the female sex than the herd at chillingham. there is not apparently any record whether more young bulls are killed than cows. i am surprised that lord tankerville does not have an exact record kept of deaths and sexes and births: after a dozen years it would be an interesting statistical record to the naturalist and agriculturist. (plate: professor henslow.) letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . the death of professor henslow (who was sir j.d. hooker's father-in-law) occurred on may th, .) down, may th [ ]. thanks for your two notes. i am glad that the burial is over, and sincerely sympathise and can most fully understand your feelings at your loss. i grieve to think how little i saw of henslow for many years. with respect to a biography of henslow, i cannot help feeling rather doubtful, on the principle that a biography could not do him justice. his letters were generally written in a hurry, and i fear he did not keep any journal or diary. if there were any vivid materials to describe his life as parish priest, and manner of managing the poor, it would be very good. i am never very sanguine on literary projects. i cannot help fearing his life might turn out flat. there can hardly be marked incidents to describe. i sincerely hope that i take a wrong and gloomy view, but i cannot help fearing--i would rather see no life than one that would interest very few. it will be a pleasure and duty in me to consider what i can recollect; but at present i can think of scarcely anything. the equability and perfection of henslow's whole character, i should think, would make it very difficult for any one to pourtray him. i have been thinking about henslow all day a good deal, but the more i think the less i can think of to write down. it is quite a new style for me to set about, but i will continue to think what i could say to give any, however imperfect, notion of him in the old cambridge days. pray give my kindest remembrances to l. jenyns ( / . the rev. leonard jenyns (afterwards blomefield) undertook the "life" of henslow, to which darwin contributed a characteristic and delightful sketch. see letter .), who is often associated with my recollection of those old happy days. letter . henry fawcett to charles darwin. ( / . it was in reply to the following letter that darwin wrote to fawcett: "you could not possibly have told me anything which would have given me more satisfaction than what you say about mr. mill's opinion. until your review appeared i began to think that perhaps i did not understand at all how to reason scientifically." ("life of henry fawcett," by leslie stephen, , page .) bodenham, salisbury, july th [ ]. i feel that i ought not to have so long delayed writing to thank you for your very kind letter to me about my article on your book in "macmillan's magazine." i was particularly anxious to point out that the method of investigation pursued was in every respect philosophically correct. i was spending an evening last week with my friend mr. john stuart mill, and i am sure you will be pleased to hear from such an authority that he considers that your reasoning throughout is in the most exact accordance with the strict principles of logic. he also says the method of investigation you have followed is the only one proper to such a subject. it is easy for an antagonistic reviewer, when he finds it difficult to answer your arguments, to attempt to dispose of the whole matter by uttering some such commonplace as "this is not a baconian induction." i expect shortly to be spending a few days in your neighbourhood, and if i should not be intruding upon you, i should esteem it a great favour if you will allow me to call on you, and have half an hour's conversation with you. as far as i am personally concerned, i am sure i ought to be grateful to you, for since my accident nothing has given me so much pleasure as the perusal of your book. such studies are now a great resource to me. letter . to c. lyell. , hesketh terrace, torquay [august nd, ]. i declare that you read the reviews on the "origin" more carefully than i do. i agree with all your remarks. the point of correlation struck me as well put, and on varieties growing together; but i have already begun to put things in train for information on this latter head, on which bronn also enlarges. with respect to sexuality, i have often speculated on it, and have always concluded that we are too ignorant to speculate: no physiologist can conjecture why the two elements go to form a new being, and, more than that, why nature strives at uniting the two elements from two individuals. what i am now working at in my orchids is an admirable illustration of the law. i should certainly conclude that all sexuality had descended from one prototype. do you not underrate the degree of lowness of organisation in which sexuality occurs--viz., in hydra, and still lower in some of the one-celled free confervae which "conjugate," which good judges (thwaites) believe is the simplest form of true sexual generation? ( / . see letter .) but the whole case is a mystery. there is another point on which i have occasionally wished to say a few words. i believe you think with asa gray that i have not allowed enough for the stream of variation having been guided by a higher power. i have had lately a good deal of correspondence on this head. herschel, in his "physical geography" ( / . "physical geography of the globe," by sir john f.w. herschel, edinburgh, . on page herschel writes of the revelations of geology pointing to successive submersions and reconstructions of the continents and fresh races of animals and plants. he refers to a "great law of change" which has not operated either by a gradually progressing variation of species, nor by a sudden and total abolition of one race...the following footnote on page of the "physical geography" was added in january, : "this was written previous to the publication of mr. darwin's work on the "origin of species," a work which, whatever its merit or ingenuity, we cannot, however, consider as having disproved the view taken in the text. we can no more accept the principle of arbitrary and casual variation and natural selection as a sufficient account, per se, of the past and present organic world, than we can receive the laputan method of composing books (pushed a outrance) as a sufficient one of shakespeare and the "principia." equally in either case an intelligence, guided by a purpose, must be continually in action to bias the directions of the steps of change--to regulate their amount, to limit their divergence, and to continue them in a definite course. we do not believe that mr. darwin means to deny the necessity of such intelligent direction. but it does not, so far as we can see, enter into the formula of this law, and without it we are unable to conceive how far the law can have led to the results. on the other hand, we do not mean to deny that such intelligence may act according to a law (that is to say, on a preconceived and definite plan). such law, stated in words, would be no other than the actual observed law of organic succession; a one more general, taking that form when applied to our own planet, and including all the links of the chain which have disappeared. but the one law is a necessary supplement to the other, and ought, in all logical propriety, to form a part of its enunciation. granting this, and with some demur as to the genesis of man, we are far from disposed to repudiate the view taken of this mysterious subject in mr. darwin's book." the sentence in italics is no doubt the one referred to in the letter to lyell. see letter .), has a sentence with respect to the "origin," something to the effect that the higher law of providential arrangement should always be stated. but astronomers do not state that god directs the course of each comet and planet. the view that each variation has been providentially arranged seems to me to make natural selection entirely superfluous, and indeed takes the whole case of the appearance of new species out of the range of science. but what makes me most object to asa gray's view is the study of the extreme variability of domestic animals. he who does not suppose that each variation in the pigeon was providentially caused, by accumulating which variations, man made a fantail, cannot, i think, logically argue that the tail of the woodpecker was formed by variations providentially ordained. it seems to me that variations in the domestic and wild conditions are due to unknown causes, and are without purpose, and in so far accidental; and that they become purposeful only when they are selected by man for his pleasure, or by what we call natural selection in the struggle for life, and under changing conditions. i do not wish to say that god did not foresee everything which would ensue; but here comes very nearly the same sort of wretched imbroglio as between freewill and preordained necessity. i doubt whether i have made what i think clear; but certainly a. gray's notion of the courses of variation having been led like a stream of water by gravity, seems to me to smash the whole affair. it reminds me of a spaniard whom i told i was trying to make out how the cordillera was formed; and he answered me that it was useless, for "god made them." it may be said that god foresaw how they would be made. i wonder whether herschel would say that you ought always to give the higher providential law, and declare that god had ordered all certain changes of level, that certain mountains should arise. i must think that such views of asa gray and herschel merely show that the subject in their minds is in comte's theological stage of science... of course i do not want any answer to my quasi-theological discussion, but only for you to think of my notions, if you understand them. i hope to heaven your long and great labours on your new edition are drawing to a close. letter . to c. lyell. torquay, [august th, ]. very many thanks for the orchids, which have proved extremely useful to me in two ways i did not anticipate, but were too monstrous (yet of some use) for my special purpose. when you come to "deification" ( / . see letter , note.), ask yourself honestly whether what you are thinking applies to the endless variations of domestic productions, which man accumulates for his mere fancy or use. no doubt these are all caused by some unknown law, but i cannot believe they were ordained for any purpose, and if not so ordained under domesticity, i can see no reason to believe that they were ordained in a state of nature. of course it may be said, when you kick a stone, or a leaf falls from a tree, that it was ordained, before the foundations of the world were laid, exactly where that stone or leaf should lie. in this sense the subject has no interest for me. once again, many thanks for the orchids; you must let me repay you what you paid the collector. letter . to c. lyell. ( / . the first paragraph probably refers to the proof-sheets of lyell's "antiquity of man," but the passage referred to seems not to occur in the book.) torquay, august st [ ]. ...i have really no criticism, except a trifling one in pencil near the end, which i have inserted on account of dominant and important species generally varying most. you speak of "their views" rather as if you were a thousand miles away from such wretches, but your concluding paragraph shows that you are one of the wretches. i am pleased that you approve of hutton's review. ( / . "some remarks on mr. darwin's theory," by f.w. hutton. "geologist," volume iv., page ( ). see letter .) it seemed to me to take a more philosophical view of the manner of judging the question than any other review. the sentence you quote from it seems very true, but i do not agree with the theological conclusion. i think he quotes from asa gray, certainly not from me; but i have neither a. gray nor "origin" with me. indeed, i have over and over again said in the "origin" that natural selection does nothing without variability; i have given a whole chapter on laws, and used the strongest language how ignorant we are on these laws. but i agree that i have somehow (hooker says it is owing to my title) not made the great and manifest importance of previous variability plain enough. breeders constantly speak of selection as the one great means of improvement; but of course they imply individual differences, and this i should have thought would have been obvious to all in natural selection; but it has not been so. i have just said that i cannot agree with "which variations are the effects of an unknown law, ordained and guided without doubt by an intelligent cause on a preconceived and definite plan." will you honestly tell me (and i should be really much obliged) whether you believe that the shape of my nose (eheu!) was ordained and "guided by an intelligent cause?" ( / . it should be remembered that the shape of his nose nearly determined fitz-roy to reject darwin as naturalist to h.m.s. "beagle" ("life and letters," i., page ).) by the selection of analogous and less differences fanciers make almost generic differences in their pigeons; and can you see any good reason why the natural selection of analogous individual differences should not make new species? if you say that god ordained that at some time and place a dozen slight variations should arise, and that one of them alone should be preserved in the struggle for life and the other eleven should perish in the first or few first generations, then the saying seems to me mere verbiage. it comes to merely saying that everything that is, is ordained. let me add another sentence. why should you or i speak of variation as having been ordained and guided, more than does an astronomer, in discussing the fall of a meteoric stone? he would simply say that it was drawn to our earth by the attraction of gravity, having been displaced in its course by the action of some quite unknown laws. would you have him say that its fall at some particular place and time was "ordained and guided without doubt by an intelligent cause on a preconceived and definite plan"? would you not call this theological pedantry or display? i believe it is not pedantry in the case of species, simply because their formation has hitherto been viewed as beyond law; in fact, this branch of science is still with most people under its theological phase of development. the conclusion which i always come to after thinking of such questions is that they are beyond the human intellect; and the less one thinks on them the better. you may say, then why trouble me? but i should very much like to know clearly what you think. letter . to henry fawcett. ( / . the following letter was published in the "life" of mr. fawcett ( ); we are indebted to mrs. fawcett and messrs. smith & elder for permission to reprint it. see letter .) september th [ ]. i wondered who had so kindly sent me the newspaper ( / . the newspaper sent was the "manchester examiner" for september th, , containing a report of mr. fawcett's address given before section d of the british association, "on the method of mr. darwin in his treatise on the origin of species," in which the speaker showed that the "method of investigation pursued by mr. darwin in his treatise on the origin of species is in strict accordance with the principles of logic." the "a" of the letter (as published in fawcett's life) is the late professor williamson, who is reported to have said that "while he would not say that mr. darwin's book had caused him a loss of reputation, he was sure that it had not caused a gain." the reference to "b" is explained by the report of the late dr. lankester's speech in which he said, "the facts brought forward in support of the hypothesis had a very different value indeed from that of the hypothesis...a great naturalist, who was still a friend of mr. darwin, once said to him (dr. lankester), 'the mistake is, that darwin has dealt with origin. why did he not put his facts before us, and let them rest?'" another speaker, the rt. hon. j.r. napier, remarked: "i am going to speak closely to the question. if the hypothesis is put forward to contradict facts, and the averments are contrary to the word of god, i say that it is not a logical argument." at this point the chairman, professor babington, wisely interfered, on the ground that the meeting was a scientific one.), which i was very glad to see; and now i have to thank you sincerely for allowing me to see your ms. it seems to me very good and sound; though i am certainly not an impartial judge. you will have done good service in calling the attention of scientific men to means and laws of philosophising. as far as i could judge by the papers, your opponents were unworthy of you. how miserably a. talked of my reputation, as if that had anything to do with it!...how profoundly ignorant b must be of the very soul of observation! about thirty years ago there was much talk that geologists ought only to observe and not theorise; and i well remember some one saying that at this rate a man might as well go into a gravel-pit and count the pebbles and describe the colours. how odd it is that anyone should not see that all observation must be for or against some view if it is to be of any service! i have returned only lately from a two months' visit to torquay, which did my health at the time good; but i am one of those miserable creatures who are never comfortable for twenty-four hours; and it is clear to me that i ought to be exterminated. i have been rather idle of late, or, speaking more strictly, working at some miscellaneous papers, which, however, have some direct bearing on the subject of species; yet i feel guilty at having neglected my larger book. but, to me, observing is much better sport than writing. i fear that i shall have wearied you with this long note. pray believe that i feel sincerely grateful that you have taken up the cudgels in defence of the line of argument in the "origin;" you will have benefited the subject. many are so fearful of speaking out. a german naturalist came here the other day; and he tells me that there are many in germany on our side, but that all seem fearful of speaking out, and waiting for some one to speak, and then many will follow. the naturalists seem as timid as young ladies should be, about their scientific reputation. there is much discussion on the subject on the continent, even in quiet holland; and i had a pamphlet from moscow the other day by a man who sticks up famously for the imperfection of the "geological record," but complains that i have sadly understated the variability of the old fossilised animals! but i must not run on. letter . to h.w. bates. down, september th [ ]. now for a few words on science. many thanks for facts on neuters. you cannot tell how i rejoice that you do not think what i have said on the subject absurd. only two persons have even noticed it to me--viz., the bitter sneer of owen in the "edinburgh review" ( / . "edinburgh review," april, , page .), and my good friend and supporter, sir c. lyell, who could only screw up courage to say, "well, you have manfully faced the difficulty." what a wonderful case of volucella of which i had never heard. ( / . volucella is a fly--one of the syrphidae--supposed to supply a case of mimicry; this was doubtless the point of interest with bates. dr. sharp says ["insects," part ii. (in the camb. nat. hist. series), , page ]: "it was formerly assumed that the volucella larvae lived on the larvae of the bees, and that the parent flies were providentially endowed with a bee-like appearance that they might obtain entrance into the bees' nests without being detected." dr. sharp goes on to say that what little is known on the subject supports the belief that the "presence of the volucella in the nests is advantageous to both fly and bee.") i had no idea such a case occurred in nature; i must get and see specimens in british museum. i hope and suppose you will give a good deal of natural history in your travels; every one cares about ants--more notice has been taken about slave-ants in the "origin" than of any other passage. i fully expect to delight in your travels. keep to simple style, as in your excellent letters,--but i beg pardon, i am again advising. what a capital paper yours will be on mimetic resemblances! you will make quite a new subject of it. i had thought of such cases as a difficulty; and once, when corresponding with dr. collingwood, i thought of your explanation; but i drove it from my mind, for i felt that i had not knowledge to judge one way or the other. dr c., i think, states that the mimetic forms inhabit the same country, but i did not know whether to believe him. what wonderful cases yours seem to be! could you not give a few woodcuts in your travels to illustrate this? i am tired with a hard day's work, so no more, except to give my sincere thanks and hearty wishes for the success of your travels. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, march th [ ]. your letter discusses lots of interesting subjects, and i am very glad you have sent for your letter to bates. ( / . published in mr. clodd's memoir of bates in the "naturalist on the amazons," , page l.) what do you mean by "individual plants"? ( / . in a letter to mr. darwin dated march th, , sir j.d. hooker had discussed a supposed difference between animals and plants, "inasmuch as the individual animal is certainly changed materially by external conditions, the latter (i think) never, except in such a coarse way as stunting or enlarging--e.g. no increase of cold on the spot, or change of individual plant from hot to cold, will induce said individual plant to get more woolly covering; but i suppose a series of cold seasons would bring about such a change in an individual quadruped, just as rowing will harden hands, etc.") i fancied a bud lived only a year, and you could hardly expect any change in that time; but if you call a tree or plant an individual, you have sporting buds. perhaps you mean that the whole tree does not change. tulips, in "breaking," change. fruit seems certainly affected by the stock. i think i have ( / . see note, letter .) got cases of slight change in alpine plants transplanted. all these subjects have rather gone out of my head owing to orchids, but i shall soon have to enter on them in earnest when i come again to my volume on variation under domestication. ...in the lifetime of an animal you would, i think, find it very difficult to show effects of external condition on animals more than shade and light, good and bad soil, produce on a plant. you speak of "an inherent tendency to vary wholly independent of physical conditions"! this is a very simple way of putting the case (as dr. prosper lucas also puts it) ( / . prosper lucas, the author of "traite philosophique et physiologique de l'heredite naturelle dans les etats de sante et de maladie du systeme nerveux": volumes, paris, - .): but two great classes of facts make me think that all variability is due to change in the conditions of life: firstly, that there is more variability and more monstrosities (and these graduate into each other) under unnatural domestic conditions than under nature; and, secondly, that changed conditions affect in an especial manner the reproductive organs--those organs which are to produce a new being. but why one seedling out of thousands presents some new character transcends the wildest powers of conjecture. it was in this sense that i spoke of "climate," etc., possibly producing without selection a hooked seed, or any not great variation. ( / . this statement probably occurs in a letter, and not in darwin's published works.) i have for years and years been fighting with myself not to attribute too much to natural selection--to attribute something to direct action of conditions; and perhaps i have too much conquered my tendency to lay hardly any stress on conditions of life. i am not shaken about "saltus" ( / . sir joseph had written, march th, : "huxley is rather disposed to think you have overlooked saltus, but i am not sure that he is right--saltus quoad individuals is not saltus quoad species--as i pointed out in the begonia case, though perhaps that was rather special pleading in the present state of science." for the begonia case, see "life and letters," ii., page , also letter , page .), i did not write without going pretty carefully into all the cases of normal structure in animals resembling monstrosities which appear per saltus. letter . to j.d. hooker. th [march, ]. thanks also for your own ( / . see note in letter .) and bates' letter now returned. they are both excellent; you have, i think, said all that can be said against direct effects of conditions, and capitally put. but i still stick to my own and bates' side. nevertheless i am pleased to attribute little to conditions, and i wish i had done what you suggest--started on the fundamental principle of variation being an innate principle, and afterwards made a few remarks showing that hereafter, perhaps, this principle would be explicable. whenever my book on poultry, pigeons, ducks, and rabbits is published, with all the measurements and weighings of bones, i think you will see that "use and disuse" at least have some effect. i do not believe in perfect reversion. i rather demur to your doctrine of "centrifugal variation." ( / . the "doctrine of centrifugal variation" is given in sir j.d. hooker's "introductory essay to the flora of tasmania" (part iii. of the botany of the antarctic expedition), , page viii. in paragraph the author writes: "the tendency of varieties, both in nature and under cultivation...is rather to depart more and more widely from the original type than to revert to it." in sir joseph's letter to bates (loc. cit., page lii) he wrote: "darwin also believes in some reversion to type which is opposed to my view of variation." it may be noted in this connection that mr. galton has shown reason to believe in a centripetal tendency in variation (to use hooker's phraseology) which is not identical with the reversion of cultivated plants to their ancestors, the case to which hooker apparently refers. see "natural inheritance," by f. galton, .) i suppose you do not agree with or do not remember my doctrine of the good of diversification ( / . darwin usually used the word "divergence" in this connection.); this seems to me amply to account for variation being centrifugal--if you forget it, look at this discussion (page of rd edition), it was the best point which, according to my notions, i made out, and it has always pleased me. it is really curiously satisfactory to me to see so able a man as bates (and yourself) believing more fully in natural selection than i think i even do myself. ( / . this refers to a very interesting passage in hooker's letter to bates (loc. cit., page liii): "i am sure that with you, as with me, the more you think the less occasion you will see for anything but time and natural selection to effect change; and that this view is the simplest and clearest in the present state of science is one advantage, at any rate. indeed, i think that it is, in the present state of the inquiry, the legitimate position to take up; it is time enough to bother our heads with the secondary cause when there is some evidence of it or some demand for it--at present i do not see one or the other, and so feel inclined to renounce any other for the present.") by the way, i always boast to you, and so i think owen will be wrong that my book will be forgotten in ten years, for a french edition is now going through the press and a second german edition wanted. your long letter to bates has set my head working, and makes me repent of the nine months spent on orchids; though i know not why i should not have amused myself on them as well as slaving on bones of ducks and pigeons, etc. the orchids have been splendid sport, though at present i am fearfully sick of them. i enclose a waste copy of woodcut of mormodes ignea; i wish you had a plant at kew, for i am sure its wonderful mechanism and structure would amuse you. is it not curious the way the labellum sits on the top of the column?--here insects alight and are beautifully shot, when they touch a certain sensitive point, by the pollinia. how kindly you have helped me in my work! farewell, my dear old fellow. letter . to h.w. bates. down, may th [ ]. hearty thanks for your most interesting letter and three very valuable extracts. i am very glad that you have been looking at the south temperate insects. i wish that the materials in the british museum had been richer; but i should think the case of the south american carabi, supported by some other case, would be worth a paper. to us who theorise i am sure the case is very important. do the south american carabi differ more from the other species than do, for instance, the siberian and european and north american and himalayan (if the genus exists there)? if they do, i entirely agree with you that the difference would be too great to account for by the recent glacial period. i agree, also, with you in utterly rejecting an independent origin for these carabi. there is a difficulty, as far as i know, in our ignorance whether insects change quickly in time; you could judge of this by knowing how far closely allied coleoptera generally have much restricted ranges, for this almost implies rapid change. what a curious case is offered by land-shells, which become modified in every sub-district, and have yet retained the same general structure from very remote geological periods! when working at the glacial period, i remember feeling much surprised how few birds, no mammals, and very few sea-mollusca seemed to have crossed, or deeply entered, the inter-tropical regions during the cold period. insects, from all you say, seem to come under the same category. plants seem to migrate more readily than animals. do not underrate the length of glacial period: forbes used to argue that it was equivalent to the whole of the pleistocene period in the warmer latitudes. i believe, with you, that we shall be driven to an older glacial period. i am very sorry to hear about the british museum; it would be hopeless to contend against any one supported by owen. perhaps another chance might occur before very long. how would it be to speak to owen as soon as your own mind is made up? from what i have heard, since talking to you, i fear the strongest personal interest with a minister is requisite for a pension. farewell, and may success attend the acerrimo pro-pugnatori. p.s. i deeply wish you could find some situation in which you could give your time to science; it would be a great thing for science and for yourself. letter . to j.l.a. de quatrefages. down, july th [ ]. i thank you cordially for so kindly and promptly answering my questions. i will quote some of your remarks. the case seems to me of some importance with reference to my heretical notions, for it shows how larvae might be modified. i shall not publish, i daresay, for a year, for much time is expended in experiments. if within this time you should acquire any fresh information on the similarity of the moths of distinct races, and would allow me to quote any facts on your authority, i should feel very grateful. i thank you for your great kindness with respect to the translation of the "origin;" it is very liberal in you, as we differ to a considerable degree. i have been atrociously abused by my religious countrymen; but as i live an independent life in the country, it does not in the least hurt me in any way, except indeed when the abuse comes from an old friend like professor owen, who abuses me and then advances the doctrine that all birds are probably descended from one parent. i wish the translator ( / . mdlle. royer, who translated the first french edition of the "origin.') had known more of natural history; she must be a clever but singular lady, but i never heard of her till she proposed to translate my book. letter . to asa gray. down, july rd [ ]. i received several days ago two large packets, but have as yet read only your letter; for we have been in fearful distress, and i could attend to nothing. our poor boy had the rare case of second rash and sore throat...; and, as if this was not enough, a most serious attack of erysipelas, with typhoid symptoms. i despaired of his life; but this evening he has eaten one mouthful, and i think has passed the crisis. he has lived on port wine every three-quarters of an hour, day and night. this evening, to our astonishment, he asked whether his stamps were safe, and i told him of one sent by you, and that he should see it to-morrow. he answered, "i should awfully like to see it now"; so with difficulty he opened his eyelids and glanced at it, and, with a sigh of satisfaction, said, "all right." children are one's greatest happiness, but often and often a still greater misery. a man of science ought to have none--perhaps not a wife; for then there would be nothing in this wide world worth caring for, and a man might (whether he could is another question) work away like a trojan. i hope in a few days to get my brains in order, and then i will pick out all your orchid letters, and return them in hopes of your making use of them... of all the carpenters for knocking the right nail on the head, you are the very best; no one else has perceived that my chief interest in my orchid book has been that it was a "flank movement" on the enemy. i live in such solitude that i hear nothing, and have no idea to what you allude about bentham and the orchids and species. but i must enquire. by the way, one of my chief enemies (the sole one who has annoyed me), namely owen, i hear has been lecturing on birds; and admits that all have descended from one, and advances as his own idea that the oceanic wingless birds have lost their wings by gradual disuse. he never alludes to me, or only with bitter sneers, and coupled with buffon and the "vestiges." well, it has been an amusement to me this first evening, scribbling as egotistically as usual about myself and my doings; so you must forgive me, as i know well your kind heart will do. i have managed to skim the newspaper, but had not heart to read all the bloody details. good god! what will the end be? perhaps we are too despondent here; but i must think you are too hopeful on your side of the water. i never believed the "canards" of the army of the potomac having capitulated. my good dear wife and self are come to wish for peace at any price. good night, my good friend. i will scribble on no more. one more word. i should like to hear what you think about what i say in the last chapter of the orchid book on the meaning and cause of the endless diversity of means for the same general purpose. it bears on design, that endless question. good night, good night! letter . to c. lyell. , carlton terrace, southampton, august nd [ ]. you say that the bishop and owen will be down on you ( / . this refers to the "antiquity of man," which was published in .): the latter hardly can, for i was assured that owen, in his lectures this spring, advanced as a new idea that wingless birds had lost their wings by disuse. ( / . the first paragraph of this letter was published in "life and letters," ii., pages , .) also that magpies stole spoons, etc., from a remnant of some instinct like that of the bower-bird, which ornaments its playing passage with pretty feathers. indeed, i am told that he hinted plainly that all birds are descended from one. what an unblushing man he must be to lecture thus after abusing me so, and never to have openly retracted, or alluded to my book! letter . to john lubbock (lord avebury). cliff cottage, bournemouth, september th [ ]. many thanks for your pleasant note in return for all my stupid trouble. i did not fully appreciate your insect-diving case ( / . "on two aquatic hymenoptera, one of which uses its wings in swimming." by john lubbock. "trans. linn. soc." volume xxiv., , pages - .) [read may th, .] in this paper lubbock describes a new species of polynema--p. natans--which swims by means of its wings, and is capable of living under water for several hours; the other species, referred to a new genus prestwichia, lives under water, holds its wings motionless and uses its legs as oars.) before your last note, nor had i any idea that the fact was new, though new to me. it is really very interesting. of course you will publish an account of it. you will then say whether the insect can fly well through the air. ( / . in describing the habits of polynema, lubbock writes, "i was unfortunately unable to ascertain whether they could fly" (loc. cit., page ).) my wife asked, "how did he find that it stayed four hours under water without breathing?" i answered at once: "mrs. lubbock sat four hours watching." i wonder whether i am right. i long to be at home and at steady work, and i hope we may be in another month. i fear it is hopeless my coming to you, for i am squashier than ever, but hope two shower-baths a day will give me a little strength, so that you will, i hope, come to us. it is an age since i have seen you or any scientific friend. i heard from lyell the other day in the isle of wight, and from hooker in scotland. about huxley i know nothing, but i hope his book progresses, for i shall be very curious to see it. ( / . "man's place in nature." london, .) i do nothing here except occasionally look at a few flowers, and there are very few here, for the country is wonderfully barren. see what it is to be well trained. horace said to me yesterday, "if every one would kill adders they would come to sting less." i answered: "of course they would, for there would be fewer." he replied indignantly: "i did not mean that; but the timid adders which run away would be saved, and in time would never sting at all." natural selection of cowards! letter . h. falconer to charles darwin. ( / . this refers to the ms. of falconer's paper "on the american fossil elephant of the regions bordering the gulf of mexico (e. columbi, falc.)," published in the "natural history review," january, , page . the section dealing with the bearing of his facts on darwin's views is at page . he insists strongly (page ) on the "persistence and uniformity of the characters of the molar teeth in the earliest known mammoth, and his most modern successor." nevertheless, he adds that the "inferences i draw from these facts are not opposed to one of the leading propositions of darwin's theory." these admissions were the more satisfactory since, as falconer points out (page ), "i have been included by him in the category of those who have vehemently maintained the persistence of specific characters.") , park crescent, portland place, n.w., september th [ ]. do not be frightened at the enclosure. i wish to set myself right by you before i go to press. i am bringing out a heavy memoir on elephants--an omnium gatherum affair, with observations on the fossil and recent species. one section is devoted to the persistence in time of the specific characters of the mammoth. i trace him from before the glacial period, through it and after it, unchangeable and unchanged as far as the organs of digestion (teeth) and locomotion are concerned. now, the glacial period was no joke: it would have made ducks and drakes of your dear pigeons and doves. with all my shortcomings, i have such a sincere and affectionate regard for you and such admiration of your work, that i should be pained to find that i had expressed my honest convictions in a way that would be open to any objection by you. the reasoning may be very stupid, but i believe that the observation is sound. will you, therefore, look over the few pages which i have sent, and tell me whether you find any flaw, or whether you think i should change the form of expression? you have been so unhandsomely and uncandidly dealt with by a friend of yours and mine that i should be sorry to find myself in the position of an opponent to you, and more particularly with the chance of making a fool of myself. i met your brother yesterday, who tells me you are coming to town. i hope you will give me a hail. i long for a jaw with you, and have much to speak to you about. you will have seen the eclaircissement about the eocene monkeys of england. by a touch of the conjuring wand they have been metamorphosed--a la darwin--into hyracotherian pigs. ( / . "on the hyracotherian character of the lower molars of the supposed macacus from the eocene sand of kyson, suffolk." "ann. mag. nat. hist." volume x., , page . in this note owen stated that the teeth which he had named macacus ("ann. mag." , page ) most probably belonged to hyracotherium cuniculus. see "a catalogue of british fossil vertebrata," a.s. woodward and c.d. sherborn, , under hyracotherium, page ; also zittel's "handbuch der palaeontologie" abth. i., bd. iv., leipzig, - , page .) would you believe it? this even is a gross blunder. they are not pigs. letter . to hugh falconer. down, october st [ ]. on my return home yesterday i found your letter and ms., which i have read with extreme interest. your note and every word in your paper are expressed with the same kind feeling which i have experienced from you ever since i have had the happiness of knowing you. i value scientific praise, but i value incomparably higher such kind feeling as yours. there is not a single word in your paper to which i could possibly object: i should be mad to do so; its only fault is perhaps its too great kindness. your case seems the most striking one which i have met with of the persistence of specific characters. it is very much the more striking as it relates to the molar teeth, which differ so much in the species of the genus, and in which consequently i should have expected variation. as i read on i felt not a little dumbfounded, and thought to myself that whenever i came to this subject i should have to be savage against myself; and i wondered how savage you would be. i trembled a little. my only hope was that something could be made out of the bog n. american forms, which you rank as a geographical race; and possibly hereafter out of the sicilian species. guess, then, my satisfaction when i found that you yourself made a loophole ( / . this perhaps refers to a passage ("n.h. review," , page ) in which falconer allows the existence of intermediate forms along certain possible lines of descent. falconer's reference to the sicilian elephants is in a note on page ; the bog-elephant is mentioned on page .), which i never, of course, could have guessed at; and imagine my still greater satisfaction at your expressing yourself as an unbeliever in the eternal immutability of species. your final remarks on my work are too generous, but have given me not a little pleasure. as for criticisms, i have only small ones. when you speak of "moderate range of variation" i cannot but think that you ought to remind your readers (though i daresay previously done) what the amount is, including the case of the american bog-mammoth. you speak of these animals as having been exposed to a vast range of climatal changes from before to after the glacial period. i should have thought, from analogy of sea-shells, that by migration (or local extinction when migration not possible) these animals might and would have kept under nearly the same climate. a rather more important consideration, as it seems to me, is that the whole proboscidean group may, i presume, be looked at as verging towards extinction: anyhow, the extinction has been complete as far as europe and america are concerned. numerous considerations and facts have led me in the "origin" to conclude that it is the flourishing or dominant members of each order which generally give rise to new races, sub-species, and species; and under this point of view i am not at all surprised at the constancy of your species. this leads me to remark that the sentence at the bottom of page [ ] is not applicable to my views ( / . see falconer at the bottom of page : it is the old difficulty--how can variability co-exist with persistence of type? in our copy of the letter the passage is given as occurring on page , a slip of the pen for page .), though quite applicable to those who attribute modification to the direct action of the conditions of life. an elephant might be more individually variable than any known quadruped (from the effects of the conditions of life or other innate unknown causes), but if these variations did not aid the animal in better resisting all hostile influences, and therefore making it increase in numbers, there would be no tendency to the preservation and accumulation of such variations--i.e. to the formation of a new race. as the proboscidean group seems to be from utterly unknown causes a failing group in many parts of the world, i should not have anticipated the formation of new races. you make important remarks versus natural selection, and you will perhaps be surprised that i do to a large extent agree with you. i could show you many passages, written as strongly as i could in the "origin," declaring that natural selection can do nothing without previous variability; and i have tried to put equally strongly that variability is governed by many laws, mostly quite unknown. my title deceives people, and i wish i had made it rather different. your phyllotaxis ( / . falconer, page : "the law of phyllotaxis...is nearly as constant in its manifestation as any of the physical laws connected with the material world.") will serve as example, for i quite agree that the spiral arrangement of a certain number of whorls of leaves (however that may have primordially arisen, and whether quite as invariable as you state), governs the limits of variability, and therefore governs what natural selection can do. let me explain how it arose that i laid so much stress on natural selection, and i still think justly. i came to think from geographical distribution, etc., etc., that species probably change; but for years i was stopped dead by my utter incapability of seeing how every part of each creature (a woodpecker or swallow, for instance) had become adapted to its conditions of life. this seemed to me, and does still seem, the problem to solve; and i think natural selection solves it, as artificial selection solves the adaptation of domestic races for man's use. but i suspect that you mean something further,--that there is some unknown law of evolution by which species necessarily change; and if this be so, i cannot agree. this, however, is too large a question even for so unreasonably long a letter as this. nevertheless, just to explain by mere valueless conjectures how i imagine the teeth of your elephants change, i should look at the change as indirectly resulting from changes in the form of the jaws, or from the development of tusks, or in the case of the primigenius even from correlation with the woolly covering; in all cases natural selection checking the variation. if, indeed, an elephant would succeed better by feeding on some new kinds of food, then any variation of any kind in the teeth which favoured their grinding power would be preserved. now, i can fancy you holding up your hands and crying out what bosh! to return to your concluding sentence: far from being surprised, i look at it as absolutely certain that very much in the "origin" will be proved rubbish; but i expect and hope that the framework will stand. ( / . falconer, page : "he [darwin] has laid the foundations of a great edifice: but he need not be surprised if, in the progress of erection, the superstructure is altered by his successors...") i had hoped to have called on you on monday evening, but was quite knocked up. i saw lyell yesterday morning. he was very curious about your views, and as i had to write to him this morning i could not help telling him a few words on your views. i suppose you are tired of the "origin," and will never read it again; otherwise i should like you to have the third edition, and would gladly send it rather than you should look at the first or second edition. with cordial thanks for your generous kindness. letter . j.d. hooker to charles darwin. royal gardens, kew, november th, . i am greatly relieved by your letter this morning about my arctic essay, for i had been conjuring up some egregious blunder (like the granitic plains of patagonia).. certes, after what you have told me of dawson, he will not like the letter i wrote to him days ago, in which i told him that it was impossible to entertain a strong opinion against the darwinian hypothesis without its giving rise to a mental twist when viewing matters in which that hypothesis was or might be involved. i told him i felt that this was so with me when i opposed you, and that all minds are subject to such obliquities!--the lord help me, and this to an ll.d. and principal of a college! i proceeded to discuss his geology with the effrontery of a novice; and, thank god, i urged the very argument of your letter about evidence of subsidence--viz., not all submerged at once, and glacial action being subaerial and not oceanic. your letter hence was a relief, for i felt i was hardly strong enough to have launched out as i did to a professed geologist. ( / . [on the subject of the above letter, see one of earlier date by sir j.d. hooker (november nd, ) given in the present work (letter ) with darwin's reply (letter ).]) letter . to hugh falconer. down, november th [ ]. i have read your paper ( / . "on the disputed affinity of the mammalian genus plagiaulax, from the purbeck beds."--"quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xviii., page , .) with extreme interest, and i thank you for sending it, though i should certainly have carefully read it, or anything with your name, in the journal. it seems to me a masterpiece of close reasoning: although, of course, not a judge of such subjects, i cannot feel any doubt that it is conclusive. will owen answer you? i expect that from his arrogant view of his own position he will not answer. your paper is dreadfully severe on him, but perfectly courteous, and polished as the finest dagger. how kind you are towards me: your first sentence ( / . "one of the most accurate observers and original thinkers of our time has discoursed with emphatic eloquence on the imperfection of the geological record.") has pleased me more than perhaps it ought to do, if i had any modesty in my composition. by the way, after reading the first whole paragraph, i re-read it, not for matter, but for style; and then it suddenly occurred to me that a certain man once said to me, when i urged him to publish some of his miscellaneous wealth of knowledge, "oh, he could not write,--he hated it," etc. you false man, never say that to me again. your incidental remark on the remarkable specialisation of plagiaulax ( / . "if plagiaulax be regarded through the medium of the view advocated with such power by darwin, through what a number of intermediate forms must not the genus have passed before it attained the specialised condition in which the fossils come before us!") (which has stuck in my gizzard ever since i read your first paper) as bearing on the number of preceding forms, is quite new to me, and, of course, is in accordance to my notions a most impressive argument. i was also glad to be reminded of teeth of camel and tarsal bones. ( / . op. cit. page . a reference to cuvier's instance "of the secret relation between the upper canine-shaped incisors of the camel and the bones of the tarsus.") descent from an intermediate form, ahem! well, all i can say is that i have not been for a long time more interested with a paper than with yours. it gives me a demoniacal chuckle to think of owen's pleasant countenance when he reads it. i have not been in london since the end of september; when i do come i will beat up your quarters if i possibly can; but i do not know what has come over me. i am worse than ever in bearing any excitement. even talking of an evening for less than two hours has twice recently brought on such violent vomiting and trembling that i dread coming up to london. i hear that you came out strong at cambridge ( / . prof. owen, in a communication to the british association at cambridge ( ) "on a tooth of mastodon from the tertiary marls, near shanghai," brought forward the case of the australian mastodon as a proof of the remarkable geographical distribution of the proboscidia. in a subsequent discussion he frankly abandoned it, in consequence of the doubts then urged regarding its authenticity. (see footnote, page , in falconer's paper "on the american fossil elephant," "nat. hist. review," .)), and am heartily glad you attacked the australian mastodon. i never did or could believe in him. i wish you would read my little primula paper in the "linnean journal," volume vi. botany (no. ), page (i have no copy which i can spare), as i think there is a good chance that you may have observed similar cases. this is my real hobby-horse at present. i have re-tested this summer the functional difference of the two forms in primula, and find all strictly accurate. if you should know of any cases analogous, pray inform me. farewell, my good and kind friend. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . the following letter is interesting in connection with a letter addressed to sir j.d. hooker, march th, , no. , where the value of natural selection is stated more strongly by sir joseph than by darwin. it is unfortunate that sir joseph's letter, to which this is a reply, has not been found.) down, november th [ ]. your last letter has interested me to an extraordinary degree, and your truly parsonic advice, "some other wise and discreet person," etc., etc., amused us not a little. i will put a concrete case to show what i think a. gray believes about crossing and what i believe. if , pigeons were bred together in a cage for , years their number not being allowed to increase by chance killing, then from mutual intercrossing no varieties would arise; but, if each pigeon were a self-fertilising hermaphrodite, a multitude of varieties would arise. this, i believe, is the common effect of crossing, viz., the obliteration of incipient varieties. i do not deny that when two marked varieties have been produced, their crossing will produce a third or more intermediate varieties. possibly, or probably, with domestic varieties, with a strong tendency to vary, the act of crossing tends to give rise to new characters; and thus a third or more races, not strictly intermediate, may be produced. but there is heavy evidence against new characters arising from crossing wild forms; only intermediate races are then produced. now, do you agree thus far? if not, it is no use arguing; we must come to swearing, and i am convinced i can swear harder than you, therefore i am right. q.e.d. if the number of , pigeons were prevented increasing not by chance killing, but by, say, all the shorter-beaked birds being killed, then the whole body would come to have longer beaks. do you agree? thirdly, if , pigeons were kept in a hot country, and another , in a cold country, and fed on different food, and confined in different-size aviary, and kept constant in number by chance killing, then i should expect as rather probable that after , years the two bodies would differ slightly in size, colour, and perhaps other trifling characters; this i should call the direct action of physical conditions. by this action i wish to imply that the innate vital forces are somehow led to act rather differently in the two cases, just as heat will allow or cause two elements to combine, which otherwise would not have combined. i should be especially obliged if you would tell me what you think on this head. but the part of your letter which fairly pitched me head over heels with astonishment, is that where you state that every single difference which we see might have occurred without any selection. i do and have always fully agreed; but you have got right round the subject, and viewed it from an entirely opposite and new side, and when you took me there i was astounded. when i say i agree, i must make the proviso, that under your view, as now, each form long remains adapted to certain fixed conditions, and that the conditions of life are in the long run changeable; and second, which is more important, that each individual form is a self-fertilising hermaphrodite, so that each hair-breadth variation is not lost by intercrossing. your manner of putting the case would be even more striking than it is if the mind could grapple with such numbers--it is grappling with eternity--think of each of a thousand seeds bringing forth its plant, and then each a thousand. a globe stretching to the furthest fixed star would very soon be covered. i cannot even grapple with the idea, even with races of dogs, cattle, pigeons, or fowls; and here all admit and see the accurate strictness of your illustration. such men as you and lyell thinking that i make too much of a deus of natural selection is a conclusive argument against me. yet i hardly know how i could have put in, in all parts of my book, stronger sentences. the title, as you once pointed out, might have been better. no one ever objects to agriculturalists using the strongest language about their selection, yet every breeder knows that he does not produce the modification which he selects. my enormous difficulty for years was to understand adaptation, and this made me, i cannot but think, rightly, insist so much on natural selection. god forgive me for writing at such length; but you cannot tell how much your letter has interested me, and how important it is for me with my present book in hand to try and get clear ideas. do think a bit about what is meant by direct action of physical conditions. i do not mean whether they act; my facts will throw some light on this. i am collecting all cases of bud-variations, in contradistinction to seed-variations (do you like this term, for what some gardeners call "sports"?); these eliminate all effects of crossing. pray remember how much i value your opinion as the clearest and most original i ever get. i see plainly that welwitschia ( / . sir joseph's great paper on welwitschia mirabilis was published in the "linn. soc. trans." .) will be a case of barnacles. i have another plant to beg, but i write on separate paper as more convenient for you to keep. i meant to have said before, as an excuse for asking for so much from kew, that i have now lost two seasons, by accursed nurserymen not having right plants, and sending me the wrong instead of saying that they did not possess. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, th [november, ]. i have just received enclosed for you, and i have thought that you would like to read the latter half of a. gray's letter to me, as it is political and nearly as mad as ever in our english eyes. you will see how the loss of the power of bullying is in fact the sore loss to the men of the north from disunion. i return with thanks bates' letter, which i was glad to see. it was very good of you writing to him, for he is evidently a man who wants encouragement. i have now finished his paper (but have read nothing else in the volume); it seems to me admirable. to my mind the act of segregation of varieties into species was never so plainly brought forward, and there are heaps of capital miscellaneous observations. i hardly know why i am a little sorry, but my present work is leading me to believe rather more in the direct action of physical conditions. i presume i regret it, because it lessens the glory of natural selection, and is so confoundedly doubtful. perhaps i shall change again when i get all my facts under one point of view, and a pretty hard job this will be. ( / . this paragraph was published in "life and letters," ii., page . it is not clear why a belief in "direct action" should diminish the glory of natural selection, since the changes so produced must, like any other variations, pass through the ordeal of the survival of the fittest. on the whole question of direct action see mr. adam sedgwick's "presidential address to the zoological section of the british association," .) letter . to h.w. bates. down, november th [ ?]. i should think it was not necessary to get a written agreement. ( / . mr. bates' book, "a naturalist on the amazons," was published in .) i have never had one from murray. i suppose you have a letter with terms; if not, i should think you had better ask for one to prevent misunderstandings. i think sir c. lyell told me he had not any formal agreements. i am heartily glad to hear that your book is progressing. could you find me some place, even a footnote (though these are in nine cases out of ten objectionable), where you could state, as fully as your materials permit, all the facts about similar varieties pairing,--at a guess how many you caught, and how many now in your collection? i look at this fact as very important; if not in your book, put it somewhere else, or let me have cases. i entirely agree with you on the enormous advantage of thoroughly studying one group. i really have no criticism to make. ( / . mr. bates' paper on mimetic butterflies was read before the linnean society, november st, , and published in the "linn. soc. trans." xxiii., , page , under the title of "contributions to an insect fauna of the amazon valley.") style seems to me very good and clear; but i much regret that in the title or opening passage you did not blow a loud trumpet about what you were going to show. perhaps the paper would have been better more divided into sections with headings. perhaps you might have given somewhere rather more of a summary on the progress of segregation of varieties, and not referred your readers to the descriptive part, excepting such readers as wanted minute detail. but these are trifles: i consider your paper as a most admirable production in every way. whenever i come to variation under natural conditions (my head for months has been exclusively occupied with domestic varieties), i shall have to study and re-study your paper, and no doubt shall then have to plague you with questions. i am heartily glad to hear that you are well. i have been compelled to write in a hurry; so excuse me. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, december th [ ]. i was on the point of adding to an order to williams & norgate for your lectures ( / . "a course of six lectures to working men," published in six pamphlets by hardwicke, and later as a book. see letter .) when they arrived, and much obliged i am. i have read them with interest, and they seem to me very good for this purpose and capitally written, as is everything which you write. i suppose every book nowadays requires some pushing, so that if you do not wish these lectures to be extensively circulated, i suppose they will not; otherwise i should think they would do good and spread a taste for the natural sciences. anyhow, i have liked them; but i get more and more, i am sorry to say, to care for nothing but natural history; and chiefly, as you once said, for the mere species question. i think i liked no. iii. the best of all. i have often said and thought that the process of scientific discovery was identical with everyday thought, only with more care; but i never succeeded in putting the case to myself with one-tenth of the clearness with which you have done. i think your second geological section will puzzle your non-scientific readers; anyhow, it has puzzled me, and with the strong middle line, which must represent either a line of stratification or some great mineralogical change, i cannot conceive how your statement can hold good. i am very glad to hear of your "three-year-old" vigour [?]; but i fear, with all your multifarious work, that your book on man will necessarily be delayed. you bad man; you say not a word about mrs. huxley, of whom my wife and self are always truly anxious to hear. p.s. i see in the "cornhill magazine" a notice of a work by cohn, which apparently is important, on the contractile tissue of plants. ( / . "ueber contractile gewebe im pflanzenreiche." "abhand. der schlesischen gesellschaft fur vaterlandische cultur," heft i., .) you ought to have it reviewed. i have ordered it, and must try and make out, if i can, some of the accursed german, for i am much interested in the subject, and experimented a little on it this summer, and came to the conclusion that plants must contain some substance most closely analogous to the supposed diffused nervous matter in the lower animals; or as, i presume, it would be more accurate to say with cohn, that they have contractile tissue. lecture vi., page , line from top--wetting feet or bodies? (miss henrietta darwin's criticism.) ( / . lecture vi., page : lamarck "said, for example, that the short-legged birds, which live on fish, had been converted into the long-legged waders by desiring to get the fish without wetting their feet." their criticisms on lectures iv. and vi. are on a separate piece of undated paper, and must belong to a letter of later date; only three lectures were published by december th, .) lecture iv., page --atavism. you here and there use atavism = inheritance. duchesne, who, i believe, invented the word, in his strawberry book confined it, as every one has since done, to resemblance to grandfather or more remote ancestor, in contradistinction to resemblance to parents. letter . to john scott. ( / . the following is the first of a series of letters addressed to the late john scott, of which the major part is given in our botanical chapters. we have been tempted to give this correspondence fully not only because of its intrinsic scientific interest, but also because they are almost the only letters which show darwin in personal relation with a younger man engaged in research under his supervision.) [ ?] to the best of my judgment, no subject is so important in relation to theoretical natural science, in several respects, and likewise in itself deserving investigation, as the effects of changed or unnatural conditions, or of changed structure on the reproductive system. under this point of view the relation of well-marked but undoubted varieties in fertilising each other requires far more experiments than have been tried. see in the "origin" the brief abstract of gartner on verbascum and zea. mr. w. crocker, lately foreman at kew and a very good observer, is going at my suggestion to work varieties of hollyhock. ( / . altheae species. these experiments seem not to have been carried out.) the climate would be too cold, i suppose, for varieties of tobacco. i began on cabbages, but immediately stopped from early shedding of their pollen causing too much trouble. your knowledge would suggest some [plants]. on the same principle it would be well to test peloric flowers with their own pollen, and with pollen of regular flowers, and try pollen of peloric on regular flowers--seeds being counted in each case. i have now got one seedling from many crosses of a peloric pelargonium by peloric pollen; i have two or three seedlings from a peloric flower by pollen of regular flower. i have ordered a peloric antirrhinum ( / . see "variation of animals and plants," edition i., volume ii., page .) and the peloric gloxinia, but i much fear i shall never have time to try them. the passiflora cases are truly wonderful, like the crinum cases (see "origin"). ( / . "origin," edition vi., page .) i have read in a german paper that some varieties of potatoes (name not given) cannot be fertilised by [their] own pollen, but can by pollen of other varieties: well worth trying. again, fertility of any monster flower, which is pretty regularly produced; i have got the wonderful begonia frigida ( / . the species on which sir j.d. hooker wrote in the "gardeners' chronicle," february th, . see "life and letters," ii., page .) from kew, but doubt whether i have heat to set its seeds. if an unmodified celosia could be got, it would be well to test with the modified cockscomb. there is a variation of columbine [aquilegia] with simple petals without nectaries, etc., etc. i never could think what to try; but if one could get hold of a long-cultivated plant which crossed with a distinct species and yielded a very small number of seeds, then it would be highly good to test comparatively the wild parent-form and its varying offspring with this third species: for instance, if a polyanthus would cross with some species of primula, then to try a wild cowslip with it. i believe hardly any primulas have ever been crossed. if we knew and could get the parent of the carnation ( / . dianthus caryophyllus, garden variety.), it would be very good for this end. any member of the lythraceae raised from seed ought to be well looked after for dimorphism. i have wonderful facts, the result of experiment, on lythrum salicaria. letter . to john scott. down, december th [ ]. i have read your paper with much interest. ( / . "on the nature and peculiarities of the fern-spore." "bot. soc. edin." read june th, .) you ask for remarks on the matter, which is alone really important. shall you think me impertinent (i am sure i do not mean to be so) if i hazard a remark on the style, which is of more importance than some think? in my opinion (whether or no worth much) your paper would have been much better if written more simply and less elaborated--more like your letters. it is a golden rule always to use, if possible, a short old saxon word. such a sentence as "so purely dependent is the incipient plant on the specific morphological tendency" does not sound to my ears like good mother-english--it wants translating. here and there you might, i think, have condensed some sentences. i go on the plan of thinking every single word which can be omitted without actual loss of sense as a decided gain. now perhaps you will think me a meddling intruder: anyhow, it is the advice of an old hackneyed writer who sincerely wishes you well. your remark on the two sexes counteracting variability in product of the one is new to me. ( / . scott (op. cit., page ): "the reproductive organs of phoenogams, as is well-known, are always products of two morphologically distinct organs, the stamens producing the pollen, the carpels producing the ovules...the embryo being in this case the modified resultant of two originally distinct organs, there will necessarily be a greater tendency to efface any individual peculiarities of these than would have been the case had the embryo been the product of a single organ." a different idea seems to have occurred to mr. darwin, for in an undated letter to scott he wrote: "i hardly know what to say on your view of male and female organs and variability. i must think more over it. but i was amused by finding the other day in my portfolio devoted to bud-variation a slip of paper dated june, , with some such words as these, 'may not permanence of grafted buds be due to the two sexual elements derived from different parts not having come into play?' i had utterly forgotten, when i read your paper that any analogous notion had ever passed through my mind--nor can i now remember, but the slip shows me that it had." it is interesting that huxley also came to a conclusion differing from scott's; and, curiously enough, darwin confused the two views, for he wrote to scott (december th): "by an odd chance, reading last night some short lectures just published by prof. huxley, i find your observation, independently arrived at by him, on the confluence of the two sexes causing variability." professor huxley's remarks are in his "lectures to working men on our knowledge, etc." no. , page : "and, indeed, i think that a certain amount of variation from the primitive stock is the necessary result of the method of sexual propagation itself; for inasmuch as the thing propagated proceeds from two organisms of different sexes and different makes and temperaments, and, as the offspring is to be either of one sex or the other, it is quite clear that it cannot be an exact diagonal of the two, or it would be of no sex at all; it cannot be an exact intermediate form between that of each of its parents--it must deviate to one side or the other.") but i cannot avoid thinking that there is something unknown and deeper in seminal generation. reflect on the long succession of embryological changes in every animal. does a bud ever produce cotyledons or embryonic leaves? i have been much interested by your remark on inheritance at corresponding ages; i hope you will, as you say, continue to attend to this. is it true that female primula plants always produce females by parthenogenesis? ( / . it seems probable that darwin here means vegetative reproduction.) if you can answer this i should be glad; it bears on my primula work. i thought on the subject, but gave up investigating what had been observed, because the female bee by parthenogenesis produces males alone. your paper has told me much that in my ignorance was quite new to me. thanks about p. scotica. if any important criticisms are made on the primula to the botanical society, i should be glad to hear them. if you think fit, you may state that i repeated the crossing experiments on p. sinensis and cowslip with the same result this spring as last year--indeed, with rather more marked difference in fertility of the two crosses. in fact, had i then proved the linum case, i would not have wasted time in repetition. i am determined i will at once publish on linum... i was right to be cautious in supposing you in error about siphocampylus (no flowers were enclosed). i hope that you will make out whether the pistil presents two definite lengths; i shall be astounded if it does. i do not fully understand your objections to natural selection; if i do, i presume they would apply with full force to, for instance, birds. reflect on modification of arab-turk horse into our english racehorse. i have had the satisfaction to tell my publisher to send my "journal" and "origin" to your address. i suspect, with your fertile mind, you will find it far better to experiment on your own choice; but if, on reflection, you would like to try some which interest me, i should be truly delighted, and in this case would write in some detail. if you have the means to repeat gartner's experiments on variations of verbascum or on maize (see the "origin"), such experiments would be pre-eminently important. i could never get variations of verbascum. i could suggest an experiment on potatoes analogous with the case of passiflora; even the case of passiflora, often as it has been repeated, might be with advantage repeated. i have worked like a slave (having counted about nine thousand seeds) on melastoma, on the meaning of the two sets of very different stamens, and as yet have been shamefully beaten, and i now cry for aid. i could suggest what i believe a very good scheme (at least, dr. hooker thought so) for systematic degeneration of culinary plants, and so find out their origin; but this would be laborious and the work of years. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, th [december, ]. my good old friend-- how kind you have been to give me so much of your time! your letter is of real use, and has been and shall be well considered. i am much pleased to find that we do not differ as much as i feared. i begin my book with saying that my chief object is to show the inordinate scale of variation; i have especially studied all sorts of variations of the individual. on crossing i cannot change; the more i think, the more reason i have to believe that my conclusion would be agreed to by all practised breeders. i also greatly doubt about variability and domestication being at all necessarily correlative, but i have touched on this in "origin." plants being identical under very different conditions has always seemed to me a very heavy argument against what i call direct action. i think perhaps i will take the case of , pigeons ( / . see letter .) to sum up my volume; i will not discuss other points, but, as i have said, i shall recur to your letter. but i must just say that if sterility be allowed to come into play, if long-beaked be in the least degree sterile with short-beaked, my whole case is altered. by the way, my notions on hybridity are becoming considerably altered by my dimorphic work. i am now strongly inclined to believe that sterility is at first a selected quality to keep incipient species distinct. if you have looked at lythrum you will see how pollen can be modified merely to favour crossing; with equal readiness it could be modified to prevent crossing. it is this which makes me so much interested with dimorphism, etc. ( / . this gives a narrow impression of darwin's interest in dimorphism. the importance of his work was (briefly put) the proof that sterility has no necessary connection with specific difference, but depends on sexual differentiation independent of racial differences. see "life and letters," iii., page . his point of view that sterility is a selected quality is again given in a letter to huxley ("life and letters," ii., page ), but was not upheld in his later writings (see "origin of species," edition vi., page ). the idea of sterility being a selected quality is interesting in connection with romanes' theory of physiological selection. (see letters - .)) one word more. when you pitched me head over heels by your new way of looking at the back side of variation, i received assurance and strength by considering monsters--due to law: horribly strange as they are, the monsters were alive till at least when born. they differ at least as much from the parent as any one mammal from another. i have just finished a long, weary chapter on simple facts of variation of cultivated plants, and am now refreshing myself with a paper on linum for the linnean society. letter . to w.b. tegetmeier. ( / . the following letter also bears on the question of the artificial production of sterility.) down, th [december, ]. the present plan is to try whether any existing breeds happen to have acquired accidentally any degree of sterility; but to this point hereafter. the enclosed ms. will show what i have done and know on the subject. please at some future time carefully return the ms. to me. if i were going to try again, i would prefer turbit with carrier or dragon. i will suggest an analogous experiment, which i have had for two years in my experimental book with "be sure and try," but which, as my health gets yearly weaker and weaker and my other work increases, i suppose i shall never try. permit me to add that if pounds would cover the expenses of the experiment, i should be delighted to give it, and you could publish the result if there be any result. i crossed the spanish cock (your bird) and white silk hen and got plenty of eggs and chickens; but two of them seemed to be quite sterile. i was then sadly overdone with work, but have ever since much reproached myself that i did not preserve and carefully test the procreative power of these hens. now, if you are inclined to get a spanish cock and a couple of white silk hens, i shall be most grateful to hear whether the offspring breed well: they will prove, i think, not hardy; if they should prove sterile, which i can hardly believe, they will anyhow do for the pot. if you do try this, how would it do to put a silk cock to your curious silky cochin hen, so as to get a big silk breed; it would be curious if you could get silky fowl with bright colours. i believe a silk hen crossed by any other breed never gives silky feathers. a cross from silk cock and cochin silk hen ought to give silky feathers and probably bright colours. i have been led lately from experiments (not published) on dimorphism to reflect much on sterility from hybridism, and partially to change the opinion given in "origin." i have now letters out enquiring on the following point, implied in the experiment, which seems to me well worth trying, but too laborious ever to be attempted. i would ask every pigeon and fowl fancier whether they have ever observed, in the same breed, a cock a paired to a hen b which did not produce young. then i would get cock a and match it to a hen of its nearest blood; and hen b to its nearest blood. i would then match the offspring of a (viz., a, b, c, d, e) to the offspring of b (viz., f, g, h, i, j), and all those children which were fertile together should be destroyed until i found one--say a, which was not quite fertile with--say, i. then a and i should be preserved and paired with their parents a and b, so as to try and get two families which would not unite together; but the members within each family being fertile together. this would probably be quite hopeless; but he who could effect this would, i believe, solve the problem of sterility from hybridism. if you should ever hear of individual fowls or pigeons which are sterile together, i should be very grateful to hear of the case. it is a parallel case to those recorded of a man not impotent long living with a woman who remained childless; the husband died, and the woman married again and had plenty of children. apparently (by no means certainly) this first man and woman were dissimilar in their sexual organisation. i conceive it possible that their offspring (if both had married again and both had children) would be sexually dissimilar, like their parents, or sterile together. pray forgive my dreadful writing; i have been very unwell all day, and have no strength to re-write this scrawl. i am working slowly on, and i suppose in three or four months shall be ready. i am sure i do not know whether any human being could understand or read this shameful scrawl. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, december, th [ ]. i return enclosed: if you write, thank mr. kingsley for thinking of letting me see the sound sense of an eastern potentate. ( / . kingsley's letter to huxley, dated december th, , contains a story or parable of a heathen khan in tartary who was visited by a pair of proselytising moollahs. the first moollah said: "oh! khan, worship my god. he is so wise that he made all things." but moollah no. won the day by pointing out that his god is "so wise that he makes all things make themselves.") all that i said about the little book ( / . the six "lectures to working men," published in six pamphlets and in book-form in . mr. huxley considered that mr. darwin's argument required the production by man's selection of breeds which should be mutually infertile, and thus resemble distinct species physiologically as well as morphologically.) is strictly my opinion; it is in every way excellent, and cannot fail to do good the wider it is circulated. whether it is worth your while to give up time to it is another question for you alone to decide; that it will do good for the subject is beyond all question. i do not think a dunce exists who could not understand it, and that is a bold saying after the extent to which i have been misunderstood. i did not understand what you required about sterility: assuredly the facts given do not go nearly so far. we differ so much that it is no use arguing. to get the degree of sterility you expect in recently formed varieties seems to me simply hopeless. it seems to me almost like those naturalists who declare they will never believe that one species turns into another till they see every stage in process. i have heard from tegetmeier, and have given him the result of my crosses of the birds which he proposes to try, and have told him how alone i think the experiment could be tried with the faintest hope of success--namely, to get, if possible, a case of two birds which when paired were unproductive, yet neither impotent. for instance, i had this morning a letter with a case of a hereford heifer, which seemed to be, after repeated trials, sterile with one particular and far from impotent bull, but not with another bull. but it is too long a story--it is to attempt to make two strains, both fertile, and yet sterile when one of one strain is crossed with one of the other strain. but the difficulty...would be beyond calculation. as far as i see, tegetmeier's plan would simply test whether two existing breeds are now in any slight degree sterile; which has already been largely tested: not that i dispute the good of re-testing. letter . to hugh falconer. ( / . the original letter is dated "december th," but this must, we think, be a slip of the pen for january th. it contains a reference to no. vi. of the "lectures to working men" which, as mr. leonard huxley is good enough to inform us, was not delivered until december th, and therefore could not have been seen by mr. darwin on december th. the change of date makes comprehensible the reference to falconer's paper "on the american fossil elephant of the regions bordering the gulf of mexico (e. columbi, falc.)," which appeared in the january number of the "natural history review." it is true that he had seen advanced sheets of falconer's paper ("life and letters," ii., page ), but the reference here is to the complete paper. in the present volume we have thought it right to give some expression to the attitude of darwin towards owen. professor owen's biographer has clearly felt the difficulty of making a statement on owen's attitude towards darwinism, and has ("life of sir richard owen," volume ii., page ) been driven to adopt the severe indictment contained in the "origin of species," edition vi., page xviii. darwin was by no means alone in his distrust of owen; and to omit altogether a reference to the conduct which led up to the isolation of owen among his former friends and colleagues would be to omit a part of the history of science of the day. and since we cannot omit to notice darwin's point of view, it seems right to give the facts of a typical case illustrating the feeling with which he regarded owen. this is all the more necessary since the recently published biography of sir r. owen gives no hint, as far as we are aware, of even a difference of opinion with other scientific men. the account which falconer gives in the above-mentioned paper in the "nat. hist. review" (january, ) would be amusing if the matter were less serious. in falconer described ("quart. journ. geol. soc." xiii.) a new species of fossil elephant from america, to which he gave the name elephas columbi, a designation which was recognised and adopted by continental writers. in (brit. assoc. leeds) owen made use of the name "elephas texianus," blake" for the species which falconer had previously named e. columbi, but without referring to falconer's determination; he gave no authority, "thus by the established usage in zoology producing it as his own." in owen in his palaeontology, nd edition, , describes the elephant as e. texianus, blake. to mr. blake's name is appended an asterisk which refers to a footnote to bollaert's "antiquities of s. america," nd edition. according to falconer (page ) no second edition of bollaert had appeared at the time of writing (august, ), and in the first edition ( ) he was "unable to detect the occurrence of the name even, of e. texianus, anywhere throughout the volume"; though bollaert mentions the fact that he had deposited, in the british museum, the tooth of a fossil elephant from texas. in november, , blake wrote a paper in the "geologist" in which the new elephant no longer bears his own name as authority, but is described as "elephas texianus, owen, e. columbi, falconer." finally, in another paper the name of owen is dropped and the elephant is once more his own. as falconer remarks, "the usage of science does not countenance such accommodating arrangements, when the result is to prejudice a prior right." it may be said, no doubt, that the question who first described a given species is a petty one; but this view has a double edge, and applies most strongly to those who neglect the just claims of their predecessors. down, january th [ ]. i finished your elephant paper last night, and you must let me express my admiration at it. ( / . "on the american fossil elephant of the regions bordering the gulf of mexico (e. columbi, falc.), etc." "nat. hist. rev." , page . (cf. letter to lyell. "life and letters," ii., page ; also "origin," edition vi., page .) see letter .) all the points strike me as admirably worked out, and very many most interesting. i was particularly struck with your remarks on the character of the ancient mammalian fauna of n. america ( / . falconer, page . this passage is marked in darwin's copy.); it agrees with all i fancied was the case, namely a temporary irruption of s. american forms into n. america, and conversely, i chuckled a little over the specimen of m. andium "hesitating" between the two groups. ( / . in speaking of the characters of mastodon andium, falconer refers to a former paper by himself ("quart. journ. geol. soc." volume xiii. , page ), in which he called attention "to the exceptional character of certain specimens of m. andium, as if hesitating between [the groups] tetralophodon and trilophodon" (ibid., page ).) i have been assured by mr. wallace that abundant mastodon remains have been found at timor, and that is rather close to australia. i rejoice that you have smashed that case. ( / . in the paper in the "nat. hist. review" (loc. cit.) falconer writes: "it seems more probable that some unintentional error has got mixed up with the history of this remarkable fossil; and until further confirmatory evidence is adduced, of an unimpeachable character, faith cannot be reposed in the reality of the asserted australian mastodon" (page ).) it is indeed a grand paper. i will say nothing more about your allusions to me, except that they have pleased me quite as much in print as in ms. you must have worked very hard; the labour must have been extreme, but i do hope that you will have health and strength to go on. you would laugh if you could see how indignant all owen's mean conduct about e. columbi made me. ( / . see letter .) i did not get to sleep till past o'clock. how well you lash him, firmly and severely, with unruffled temper, as if you were performing a simple duty. the case is come to such a pass, that i think every man of science is bound to show his feelings by some overt act, and i shall watch for a fitting opportunity. p.s.--i have kept back for a day the enclosed owing to the arrival of your most interesting letter. i knew it was a mere chance whether you could inform me on the points required; but no one other person has so often responded to my miscellaneous queries. i believe i have now in my greenhouse l. trigynum ( / . linum trigynum.), which came up from seed purchased as l. flavum, from which it is wholly different in foliage. i have just sent in a paper on dimorphism of linum to the linnean society ( / . "on the existence of the forms, and on their reciprocal sexual relation, in several species of the genus linum.--"journ. linn. soc." volume vii., page , .), and so i do not doubt your memory is right about l. trigynum: the functional difference in the two forms of linum is really wonderful. i assure you i quite long to see you and a few others in london; it is not so much the eczema which has taken the epidermis a dozen times clean off; but i have been knocked up of late with extraordinary facility, and when i shall be able to come up i know not. i particularly wish to hear about the wondrous bird: the case has delighted me, because no group is so isolated as birds. i much wish to hear when we meet which digits are developed; when examining birds two or three years ago, i distinctly remember writing to lyell that some day a fossil bird would be found with the end of wing cloven, i.e. the bastard-wing and other part, both well developed. thanks for von martius, returned by this post, which i was glad to see. poor old wagner (probably johann andreas wagner, author of "zur feststellung des artbegriffes, mit besonderer bezugnahme auf die ansichten von nathusius, darwin, is. geoffroy and agassiz," "munchen sitzungsb." ( ), page , and of numerous papers on zoological and palaeozoological subjects.) always attacked me in a proper spirit, and sent me two or three little brochures, and i thanked him cordially. the germans seem much stirred up on the subject. i received by the same post almost a little volume on the "origin." i cannot work above a couple of hours daily, and this plays the deuce with me. p.s. nd.--i have worked like a slave and been baffled like a slave in trying to make out the meaning of two very different sets of stamens in some melastomaceae. ( / . several letters on the melastomaceae occur in our botanical section.) i must tell you one fact. i counted , seeds, one by one, from my artificially fertilised pods. there is something very odd, but i am as yet beaten. plants from two pollens grow at different rates! now, what i want to know is, whether in individuals of the same species, growing together, you have ever noticed any difference in the position of the pistil or in the size and colour of the stamens? letter . to t.h. huxley. down, december th [ ]. i have read nos. iv, and v. ( / . "on our knowledge of the causes of the phenomena of organic nature," being six lectures to working men delivered at the museum of practical geology by prof. huxley, . these lectures, which were given once a week from november th, , onwards, were printed from the notes of mr. j.a. mays, a shorthand writer, who asked permission to publish them on his own account; mr. huxley stating in a prefatory "notice" that he had no leisure to revise the lectures.) they are simply perfect. they ought to be largely advertised; but it is very good in me to say so, for i threw down no. iv. with this reflection, "what is the good of writing a thundering big book, when everything is in this green little book, so despicable for its size?" in the name of all that is good and bad, i may as well shut up shop altogether. you put capitally and most simply and clearly the relation of animals and plants to each other at page . be careful about fantails: their tail-feathers are fixed in a radiating position, but they can depress and elevate them. i remember in a pigeon-book seeing withering contempt expressed at some naturalist for not knowing this important point! page ( / . the reference is to the original little green paper books in which the lectures first appeared; the paging in the bound volume dated is slightly different. the passage here is, "...if you couple a male and female hybrid...the result is that in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred you will get no offspring at all." darwin maintains elsewhere that huxley, from not knowing the botanical evidence, made too much of this point. see "life and letters," ii., page .) seems a little too strong--viz., ninety-nine out of a hundred, unless you except plants. page : you say the answer to varieties when crossed being at all sterile is "absolutely a negative." ( / . huxley, page : "can we find any approximation to this [sterility of hybrids] in the different races known to be produced by selective breeding from a common stock? up to the present time the answer to that question is absolutely a negative one.") do you mean to say that gartner lied, after experiments by the hundred (and he a hostile witness), when he showed that this was the case with verbascum and with maize (and here you have selected races): does kolreuter lie when he speaks about the varieties of tobacco? my god, is not the case difficult enough, without its being, as i must think, falsely made more difficult? i believe it is my own fault--my d--d candour: i ought to have made ten times more fuss about these most careful experiments. i did put it stronger in the third edition of the "origin." if you have a new edition, do consider your second geological section: i do not dispute the truth of your statement; but i maintain that in almost every case the gravel would graduate into the mud; that there would not be a hard, straight line between the mass of gravel and mud; that the gravel, in crawling inland, would be separated from the underlying beds by oblique lines of stratification. a nice idea of the difficulty of geology your section would give to a working man! do show your section to ramsay, and tell him what i say; and if he thinks it a fair section for a beginner i am shut up, and "will for ever hold my tongue." good-night. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, [january] th [ ]. you will be weary of notes from me about the little book of yours. it is lucky for me that i expressed, before reading no. vi. ( / . "lectures to working men," no. vi., is a critical examination of the position of the "origin of species" in relation to the complete theory of the "causes of the phenomena of organic nature."), my opinion of its absolute excellence, and of its being well worth wide distribution and worth correction (not that i see where you could improve), if you thought it worth your valuable time. had i read no. vi., even a rudiment of modesty would, or ought to, have stopped me saying so much. though i have been well abused, yet i have had so much praise, that i have become a gourmand, both as to capacity and taste; and i really did not think that mortal man could have tickled my palate in the exquisite manner with which you have done the job. so i am an old ass, and nothing more need be said about this. i agree entirely with all your reservations about accepting the doctrine, and you might have gone further with further safety and truth. of course i do not wholly agree about sterility. i hate beyond all things finding myself in disagreement with any capable judge, when the premises are the same; and yet this will occasionally happen. thinking over my former letter to you, i fancied (but i now doubt) that i had partly found out the cause of our disagreement, and i attributed it to your naturally thinking most about animals, with which the sterility of the hybrids is much more conspicuous than the lessened fertility of the first cross. indeed, this could hardly be ascertained with mammals, except by comparing the products of [their] whole life; and, as far as i know, this has only been ascertained in the case of the horse and ass, which do produce fewer offspring in [their] lifetime than in pure breeding. in plants the test of first cross seems as fair as test of sterility of hybrids. and this latter test applies, i will maintain to the death, to the crossing of varieties of verbascum, and varieties, selected varieties, of zea. ( / . see letter .) you will say go to the devil and hold your tongue. no, i will not hold my tongue; for i must add that after going, for my present book, all through domestic animals, i have come to the conclusion that there are almost certainly several cases of two or three or more species blended together and now perfectly fertile together. hence i conclude that there must be something in domestication,--perhaps the less stable conditions, the very cause which induces so much variability,--which eliminates the natural sterility of species when crossed. if so, we can see how unlikely that sterility should arise between domestic races. now i will hold my tongue. page : ought not "sanscrit" to be "aryan"? what a capital number the last "natural history review" is! that is a grand paper by falconer. i cannot say how indignant owen's conduct about e. columbi has made me. i believe i hate him more than you do, even perhaps more than good old falconer does. but i have bubbled over to one or two correspondents on this head, and will say no more. i have sent lubbock a little review of bates' paper in "linn. transact." ( / . the unsigned review of mr. bates' work on mimetic butterflies appeared in the "nat. hist. review" ( ), page .) which l. seems to think will do for your "review." do inaugurate a great improvement, and have pages cut, like the yankees do; i will heap blessings on your head. do not waste your time in answering this. letter . to john lubbock [lord avebury]. down, january rd [ ]. i have no criticism, except one sentence not perfectly smooth. i think your introductory remarks very striking, interesting, and novel. ( / . "on the development of chloeon (ephemera) dimidiatum, part i. by john lubbock. "trans. linn. soc." volume xxiv., pages - , [read january th, ].) they interested me the more, because the vaguest thoughts of the same kind had passed through my head; but i had no idea that they could be so well developed, nor did i know of exceptions. sitaris and meloe ( / . sitaris and meloe, two genera of coleopterous insects, are referred to by lubbock (op. cit., pages - ) as "perhaps...the most remarkable cases...among the coleoptera" of curious and complicated metamorphoses.) seem very good. you have put the whole case of metamorphosis in a new light; i dare say what you remark about poverty of fresh-water is very true. ( / . "we cannot but be struck by the poverty of the fresh-water fauna when compared with that of the ocean" (op. cit., page ).) i think you might write a memoir on fresh-water productions. i suggest that the key-note is that land-productions are higher and have advantage in general over marine; and consequently land-productions have generally been modified into fresh-water productions, instead of marine productions being directly changed into fresh-water productions, as at first seems more probable, as the chance of immigration is always open from sea to rivers and ponds. my talk with you did me a deal of good, and i enjoyed it much. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, january th [ ]. i send a very imperfect answer to [your] question, which i have written on foreign paper to save you copying, and you can send when you write to thomson in calcutta. hereafter i shall be able to answer better your question about qualities induced in individuals being inherited; gout in man--loss of wool in sheep (which begins in the first generation and takes two or three to complete); probably obesity (for it is rare with poor); probably obesity and early maturity in short-horn cattle, etc., etc. letter . to a. de candolle. down, january th [ ]. i thank you most sincerely for sending me your memoir. ( / . etude sur l'espece a l'occasion d'une revision de la famille des cupuliferes. "biblioth. univ. (arch. des sc. phys. et nat.)," novembre .) i have read it with the liveliest interest, as is natural for me; but you have the art of making subjects, which might be dry, run easily. i have been fairly astonished at the amount of individual variability in the oaks. i never saw before the subject in any department of nature worked out so carefully. what labour it must have cost you! you spoke in one letter of advancing years; but i am very sure that no one would have suspected that you felt this. i have been interested with every part; though i am so unfortunate as to differ from most of my contemporaries in thinking that the vast continental extensions ( / . see letters , .) of forbes, heer, and others are not only advanced without sufficient evidence, but are opposed to much weighty evidence. you refer to my work in the kindest and most generous spirit. i am fully satisfied at the length in belief to which you go, and not at all surprised at the prudent reservations which you make. i remember well how many years it cost me to go round from old beliefs. it is encouraging to me to observe that everyone who has gone an inch with me, after a period goes a few more inches or even feet. but the great point, as it seems to me, is to give up the immutability of specific forms; as long as they are thought immutable, there can be no real progress in "epiontology." ( / . see de candolle, loc. cit., page : he defines "epiontologie" as the study of the distribution and succession of organised beings from their origin up to the present time. at present epiontology is divided into geography and palaeontology, "mais cette division trop inegale et a limites bien vagues disparaitra probablement.") it matters very little to any one except myself, whether i am a little more or less wrong on this or that point; in fact, i am sure to be proved wrong in many points. but the subject will have, i am convinced, a grand future. considering that birds are the most isolated group in the animal kingdom, what a splendid case is this solenhofen bird-creature with its long tail and fingers to its wings! i have lately been daily and hourly using and quoting your "geographical botany" in my book on "variation under domestication." letter . to horace dobell. down, february th [ ]. absence from home and consequent idleness are the causes that i have not sooner thanked you for your very kind present of your lectures. ( / . "on the germs and vestiges of disease," (london) .) your reasoning seems quite satisfactory (though the subject is rather beyond my limit of thought and knowledge) on the v.m.f. not being "a given quantity." ( / . "it has been too common to consider the force exhibited in the operations of life (the v.m.f.) as a given quantity, to which no accessions can be made, but which is apportioned to each living being in quantity sufficient for its necessities, according to some hidden law" (op. cit., page .) and i can see that the conditions of life must play a most important part in allowing this quantity to increase, as in the budding of a tree, etc. how far these conditions act on "the forms of organic life" (page ) i do not see clearly. in fact, no part of my subject has so completely puzzled me as to determine what effect to attribute to (what i vaguely call) the direct action of the conditions of life. i shall before long come to this subject, and must endeavour to come to some conclusion when i have got the mass of collected facts in some sort of order in my mind. my present impression is that i have underrated this action in the "origin." i have no doubt when i go through your volume i shall find other points of interest and value to me. i have already stumbled on one case (about which i want to consult mr. paget)--namely, on the re-growth of supernumerary digits. ( / . see letters , .) you refer to "white on regeneration, etc., ." i have been to the libraries of the royal and the linnean societies, and to the british museum, where the librarians got out your volume and made a special hunt, and could discover no trace of such a book. will you grant me the favour of giving me any clue, where i could see the book? have you it? if so, and the case is given briefly, would you have the great kindness to copy it? i much want to know all particulars. one case has been given me, but with hardly minute enough details, of a supernumerary little finger which has already been twice cut off, and now the operation will soon have to be done for the third time. i am extremely much obliged for the genealogical table; the fact of the two cousins not, as far as yet appears, transmitting the peculiarity is extraordinary, and must be given by me. letter . to c. lyell. [february th, .] the same post that brought the enclosed brought dana's pamphlet on the same subject. ( / . the pamphlet referred to was published in "silliman's journal," volume xxv., , pages and , also in the "annals and magazine of natural history," volume xi., pages - , : "on the higher subdivisions in the classification of mammals." in this paper dana maintains the view that "man's title to a position by himself, separate from the other mammals in classification, appears to be fixed on structural as well as physical grounds" (page ). his description is as follows:-- i. archontia (vel dipoda) man (alone). ii. megasthena. iii. microsthena. quadrumana. cheiroptera. carnivora. insectivora. herbivora. rodentia. mutilata. bruta (edentata). iv. ooticoidea. marsupialia. monotremata.) the whole seems to me utterly wild. if there had not been the foregone wish to separate men, i can never believe that dana or any one would have relied on so small a distinction as grown man not using fore-limbs for locomotion, seeing that monkeys use their limbs in all other respects for the same purpose as man. to carry on analogous principles (for they are not identical, in crustacea the cephalic limbs are brought close to mouth) from crustacea to the classification of mammals seems to me madness. who would dream of making a fundamental distinction in birds, from fore-limbs not being used at all in [some] birds, or used as fins in the penguin, and for flight in other birds? i get on slowly with your grand work, for i am overwhelmed with odds and ends and letters. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . the following extract refers to owen's paper in the "linn. soc. journal," june, , in which the classification of the mammalia by cerebral characters was proposed. in spite of the fact that men and apes are placed in distinct sub-classes, owen speaks (in the foot-note of which huxley made such telling effect) of the determination of the difference between homo and pithecus as the anatomist's difficulty. (see letter .)) july th, . what a capital number of the "linnean journal!" owen's is a grand paper; but i cannot swallow man making a division as distinct from a chimpanzee as an ornithorhynchus from a horse; i wonder what a chimpanzee would say to this? ( / . according to owen the sub-class archencephala contains only the genus homo: the gyrencephala contains both chimpanzee and horse, the lyencephala contains ornithorhynchus.) letter . to t.h. huxley. down [february?] th, . i have just finished with very great interest "man's place." ( / . "evidence as to man's place in nature," (preface dated january ).) i never fail to admire the clearness and condensed vigour of your style, as one calls it, but really of your thought. i have no criticisms; nor is it likely that i could have. but i think you could have added some interesting matter on the character or disposition of the young ourangs which have been kept in france and england. i should have thought you might have enlarged a little on the later embryological changes in man and on his rudimentary structure, tail as compared with tail of higher monkeys, intermaxillary bone, false ribs, and i daresay other points, such as muscles of ears, etc., etc. i was very much struck with admiration at the opening pages of part ii. (and oh! what a delicious sneer, as good as a dessert, at page ) ( / . huxley, op. cit., page . after saying that "there is but one hypothesis regarding the origin of species of animals in general which has any scientific existence--that propounded by mr. darwin," and after a few words on lamarck, he goes on: "and though i have heard of the announcement of a formula touching 'the ordained continuous becoming of organic forms,' it is obvious that it is the first duty of a hypothesis to be intelligible, and that a qua-qua-versal proposition of this kind, which may be read backwards or forwards, or sideways, with exactly the same amount of significance, does not really exist, though it may seem to do so." the "formula" in question is owen's.): but my admiration is unbounded at pages to . i declare i never in my life read anything grander. bacon himself could not have charged a few paragraphs with more condensed and cutting sense than you have done. it is truly grand. i regret extremely that you could not, or did not, end your book (not that i mean to say a word against the geological history) with these pages. with a book, as with a fine day, one likes it to end with a glorious sunset. i congratulate you on its publication; but do not be disappointed if it does not sell largely: parts are highly scientific, and i have often remarked that the best books frequently do not get soon appreciated: certainly large sale is no proof of the highest merit. but i hope it may be widely distributed; and i am rejoiced to see in your note to miss rhadamanthus ( / . this refers to mr. darwin's daughter (now mrs. litchfield), whom mr. huxley used to laugh at for the severity of her criticisms.) that a second thousand is called for of the little book. what a letter that is of owen's in the "athenaeum" ( / . a letter by owen in the "athenaeum," february st, , replying to strictures on his treatment of the brain question, which had appeared in lyell's "antiquity of man."); how cleverly he will utterly muddle and confound the public. indeed he quite muddled me, till i read again your "concise statement" ( / . this refers to a section (pages - ) in "man's place in nature," headed "a succinct history of the controversy respecting the cerebral structure of man and the apes." huxley follows the question from owen's attempt to classify the mammalia by cerebral characters, published by the "linn. soc." in , up to his revival of the subject at the cambridge meeting of the british association in . it is a tremendous indictment of owen, and seems to us to conclude not unfittingly with a citation from huxley's article in the "medical times," october th, . huxley here points out that special investigations have been made into the question at issue "during the last two years" by allen thomson, rolleston, marshall, flower, schroeder van der kolk and vrolik, and that "all these able and conscientious observers" have testified to the accuracy of his statements, "while not a single anatomist, great or small, has supported professor owen." he sums up the case once more, and concludes: "the question has thus become one of personal veracity. for myself i will accept no other issue than this, grave as it is, to the present controversy.") (which is capitally clear), and then i saw that my suspicion was true that he has entirely changed his ground to size of brain. how candid he shows himself to have taken the slipped brain! ( / . owen in the "athenaeum," february st, , admits that in the brain which he used in illustration of his statements "the cerebral hemispheres had glided forward and apart behind so as to expose a portion of the cerebellum.") i am intensely curious to see whether lyell will answer. ( / . lyell's answer was in the "athenaeum" march th, .) lyell has been, i fear, rather rash to enter on a subject on which he of course knows nothing by himself. by heavens, owen will shake himself, when he sees what an antagonist he has made for himself in you. with hearty admiration, farewell. i am fearfully disappointed at lyell's excessive caution ( / . in the "antiquity of man": see "life and letters," iii., page .) in expressing any judgment on species or [on the] origin of man. letter . to john scott. down, march th, . i thank you for your criticisms on the "origin," and which i have not time to discuss; but i cannot help doubting, from your expression of an "innate...selective principle," whether you fully comprehend what is meant by natural selection. certainly when you speak of weaker (i.e. less well adapted) forms crossing with the stronger, you take a widely different view from what i do on the struggle for existence; for such weaker forms could not exist except by the rarest chance. with respect to utility, reflect that / ths part of the structure of each being is due to inheritance of formerly useful structures. pray read what i have said on "correlation." orchids ought to show us how ignorant we are of what is useful. no doubt hundreds of cases could be advanced of which no explanation could be offered; but i must stop. your letter has interested me much. i am very far from strong, and have great fear that i must stop all work for a couple of months for entire rest, and leave home. it will be ruin to all my work. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, april rd [ ]. the more i think of falconer's letter ( / . published in the "athenaeum" april th, , page . the writer asserts that lyell did not make it clear that certain material made use of in the "antiquity of man" was supplied by the original work of mr. prestwich and himself. (see "life and letters," iii., page .)) the more grieved i am; he and prestwich (the latter at least must owe much to the "principles") assume an absurdly unwarrantable position with respect to lyell. it is too bad to treat an old hero in science thus. i can see from a note from falconer (about a wonderful fossil brazilian mammal, well called meso- or typo-therium) that he expects no sympathy from me. he will end, i hope, by being sorry. lyell lays himself open to a slap by saying that he would come to show his original observations, and then not distinctly doing so; he had better only have laid claim, on this one point of man, to verification and compilation. altogether, i much like lyell's letter. but all this squabbling will greatly sink scientific men. i have seen a sneer already in the "times." letter . to h.w. bates. at rev. c. langton, hartfield, tunbridge wells, april th [ ]. you will have received before this the note which i addressed to leicester, after finishing volume i., and you will have received copies of my little review ( / . "nat. hist. review," , page . a review of bates' paper on mimetic butterflies.) of your paper...i have now finished volume ii., and my opinion remains the same--that you have written a truly admirable work ( / . "the naturalist on the amazons," .), with capital original remarks, first-rate descriptions, and the whole in a style which could not be improved. my family are now reading the book, and admire it extremely; and, as my wife remarks, it has so strong an air of truthfulness. i had a letter from a person the other day, unknown to you, full of praise of the book. i do hope it may get extensively heard of and circulated; but to a certain extent this, i think, always depends on chance. i suppose the clicking noise of surprise made by the indian is that which the end of the tongue, applied to the palate of the mouth and suddenly withdrawn, makes? i have not written since receiving your note of april th, in which you confided in me and told me your prospects. i heartily wish they were better, and especially more certain; but with your abilities and powers of writing it will be strange if you cannot add what little you require for your income. i am glad that you have got a retired and semi-rural situation. what a grand ending you give to your book, contrasting civilisation and wild life! i quite regret that i have finished it: every evening it was a real treat to me to have my half-hour in the grand amazonian forest, and picture to myself your vivid descriptions. there are heaps of facts of value to me in a natural history point of view. it was a great misfortune that you were prevented giving the discussion on species. but you will, i hope, be able to give your views and facts somewhere else. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, may th [ ]. your letter received this morning interested me more than even most of your letters, and that is saying a good deal. i must scribble a little on several points. about lyell and species--you put the whole case, i do believe, when you say that he is "half-hearted and whole-headed." ( / . darwin's disappointment with the cautious point of view taken up by lyell in the "antiquity of man" is illustrated in the "life and letters," iii., pages , . see also letter , page .) i wrote to a. gray that, when i saw such men as lyell and he refuse to judge, it put me in despair, and that i sometimes thought i should prefer that lyell had judged against modification of species rather than profess inability to decide; and i left him to apply this to himself. i am heartily rejoiced to hear that you intend to try to bring l. and f. ( / . falconer claimed that lyell had not "done justice to the part he took in resuscitating the cave question." see "life and letters," iii., page .) together again; but had you not better wait till they are a little cooled? you will do science a real good service. falconer never forgave lyell for taking the purbeck bones from him and handing them over to owen. with respect to island floras, if i understand rightly, we differ almost solely how plants first got there. i suppose that at long intervals, from as far back as later tertiary periods to the present time, plants occasionally arrived (in some cases, perhaps, aided by different currents from existing currents and by former islands), and that these old arrivals have survived little modified on the islands, but have become greatly modified or become extinct on the continent. if i understand, you believe that all islands were formerly united to continents, and then received all their plants and none since; and that on the islands they have undergone less extinction and modification than on the continent. the number of animal forms on islands, very closely allied to those on continents, with a few extremely distinct and anomalous, does not seem to me well to harmonise with your supposed view of all having formerly arrived or rather having been left together on the island. letter . to asa gray. down, may st [ ?]. i was very glad to receive your review ( / . the review on de candolle's work on the oaks (a. gray's "scientific papers," i., page ).) of de candolle a week ago. it seems to me excellent, and you speak out, i think, more plainly in favour of derivation of species than hitherto, though doubtfully about natural selection. grant the first, i am easy about the second. do you not consider such cases as all the orchids next thing to a demonstration against heer's view of species arising suddenly by monstrosities?--it is impossible to imagine so many co-adaptations being formed all by a chance blow. of course creationists would cut the enigma. letter . to t.h. huxley. june th [ ?] what are you doing now? i have never yet got hold of the "edinburgh review," in which i hear you are well abused. by the way, i heard lately from asa gray that wyman was delighted at "man's place." ( / . "evidence as to man's place in nature," by t.h. huxley, .) i wonder who it is who pitches weakly, but virulently into you, in the "anthropological review." how quiet owen seems! i do at last begin to believe that he will ultimately fall in public estimation. what nonsense he wrote in the "athenaeum" ( / . "athenaeum," march th, . see "life and letters," iii., page .) on heterogeny! i saw in his aye-aye ( / . see owen in the "trans. zool. soc." volume v. the sentence referred to seems to be the following (page ): "we know of no changes in progress in the island of madagascar, necessitating a special quest of wood-boring larvae by small quadrupeds of the lemurine or sciurine types of organisation.') paper (i think) that he sneers at the manner in which he supposes that we should account for the structure of its limbs; and asks how we know that certain insects had increased in the madagascar forests. would it not be a good rebuff to ask him how he knows there were trees at all on the leafless plains of la plata for his mylodons to tear down? but i must stop, for if i once begin about [him] there will be no end. i was disappointed in the part about species in lyell. ( / . lyell's "antiquity of man." see "life and letters," iii., page .) you and hooker are the only two bold men. i have had a bad spring and summer, almost constantly very unwell; but i am crawling on in my book on "variation under domestication.") letter . to c. lyell. down, august th [ ]. have you seen bentham's remarks on species in his address to the linnean society? ( / . presidential address before the linnean society by g. bentham ("journ. proc. linn. soc." volume vii., page xi., ).) they have pleased me more than anything i have read for some time. i have no news, for i have not seen a soul for months, and have had a bad spring and summer, but have managed to do a good deal of work. emma is threatening me to take me to malvern, and perhaps i shall be compelled, but it is a horrid waste of time; you must have enjoyed north wales, i should think, it is to me a most glorious country... if you have not read bates' book ( / . henry walter bates, "the naturalist on the river amazons," volumes, london, . in a letter to bates, april th, , darwin writes, "it is the best work of natural history travels ever published in england" ("life and letters," ii., page .), i think it would interest you. he is second only to humboldt in describing a tropical forest. ( / . quoted in "life and letters," ii., page .). talking of reading, i have never got the "edinburgh" ( / . the "geological evidence of the antiquity of man," by sir charles lyell, and works by other authors reviewed in the "edinburgh review." volume cxviii., july . the writer sums up his criticism as follows: "glancing at the work of sir charles lyell as a whole, it leaves the impression on our minds that we have been reading an ingenious academical thesis, rather than a work of demonstration by an original writer...there is no argument in it, and only a few facts which have not been stated elsewhere by sir c. lyell himself or by others" (loc. cit., page ).), in which, i suppose, you are cut up. letter . to h. falconer. december th [ ]. thank you for telling me about the pliocene mammal, which is very remarkable; but has not owen stated that the pliocene badger is identical with the recent? such a case does indeed well show the stupendous duration of the same form. i have not heard of suess' pamphlet ( / . probably suess's paper "ueber die verschiedenheit und die aufeinanderfolge der tertiaren land-faunen in der niederung von wien." "sitz.-ber. wien akad." xlvii., page , .), and should much like to learn the title, if it can be procured; but i am on different subjects just at present. i should rather like to see it rendered highly probable that the process of formation of a new species was short compared to its duration--that is, if the process was allowed to be slow and long; the idea is new to me. heer's view that new species are suddenly formed like monsters, i feel a conviction from many reasons is false. chapter .iv.--evolution, - . letter . to a.r. wallace. down, january st, . i am still unable to write otherwise than by dictation. in a letter received two or three weeks ago from asa gray he writes: "i read lately with gusto wallace's expose of the dublin man on bees' cells, etc." ( / . "remarks on the rev. s. haughton's paper on the bee's cell and on the origin of species" ("ann. and mag. nat. hist." xii., , page ). prof. haughton's paper was read before the natural history society of dublin, november st, , and reprinted in the "ann. and mag. nat. hist." xi., , page . see letters , , .) now, though i cannot read at present, i much want to know where this is published, that i may procure a copy. further on, asa gray says (after speaking of agassiz's paper on glaciers in the "atlantic magazine" and his recent book entitled "method of study"): "pray set wallace upon these articles." so asa gray seems to think much of your powers of reviewing, and i mention this as it assuredly is laudari a laudato. i hope you are hard at work, and if you are inclined to tell me, i should much like to know what you are doing. it will be many months, i fear, before i shall do anything. letter . to j.l.a. de quatrefages. down, march th [ ?]. i had heard that your work was to be translated, and i heard it with pleasure; but i can take no share of credit, for i am not an active, only an honorary member of the society. since writing i have finished with extreme interest to the end your admirable work on metamorphosis. ( / . probably "metamorphoses of man and the lower animals." translated by h. lawson, .) how well you are acquainted with the works of english naturalists, and how generously you bestow honour on them! mr. lubbock is my neighbour, and i have known him since he was a little boy; he is in every way a thoroughly good man; as is my friend huxley. it gave me real pleasure to see you notice their works as you have done. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, april th [ ]. i am very much obliged for your present of your "comp. anatomy." ( / . "lectures on the elements of comparative anatomy," .) when strong enough i am sure i shall read it with greatest interest. i could not resist the last chapter, of which i have read a part, and have been much interested about the "inspired idiot." ( / . in reference to oken (op. cit., page ) huxley says: "i must confess i never read his works without thinking of the epithet of 'inspired idiot' applied to our own goldsmith.") if owen wrote the article "oken" ( / . the article on oken in the eighth edition of the "encyclopaedia britannica" is signed "r.o.": huxley wrote to darwin (april th, ), "there is not the smallest question that owen wrote both the article 'oken' and the 'archetype' book" (huxley's "life," i., page ). mr. huxley's statements amount to this: ( ) prof. owen accuses goethe of having in appropriated oken's theory of the skull, and of having given an apocryphal account of how the idea occurred to himself in . ( ) in the same article, page , owen stated it to be questionable whether the discoverer of the true theory of the segmental constitution of the skull (i.e. himself) was excited to his labours, or "in any way influenced by the a priori guesses of oken." on this huxley writes, page : "but if he himself had not been in any way influenced by oken, and if the 'programm' [of oken] is a mere mass of 'a priori guesses,' how comes it that only three years before mr. owen could write thus? 'oken, ce genie profond et penetrant, fut le premier qui entrevit la verite, guide par l'heureuse idee de l'arrangement des os craniens en segments, comme ceux du rachis, appeles vertebres...'" later on owen wrote: "cela servira pour exemple d'une examen scrupuleux des faits, d'une appreciation philosophique de leurs relations et analogies, etc." (from "principes d'osteologie comparee, ou recherches sur l'archetype," etc., pages , ). ( ) finally huxley says, page , plainly: "the fact is that, so far from not having been 'in any way influenced' by oken, prof. owen's own contributions to this question are the merest okenism, remanie.") and the french work on the archetype (points you do not put quite clearly), he never did a baser act...you are so good a christian that you will hardly understand how i chuckle over this bit of baseness. i hope you keep well and hearty; i honour your wisdom at giving up at present society for science. but, on the other hand, i feel it in myself possible to get to care too much for natural science and too little for other things. i am getting better, i almost dare to hope permanently; for my sickness is decidedly less--for twenty-seven days consecutively i was sick many times daily, and lately i was five days free. i long to do a little work again. the magnificent (by far the most magnificent, and too magnificent) compliment which you paid me at the end of your "origin of species" ( / . a title applied to the "lectures to working men," that "green little book" referred to in letter . speaking of mr. darwin's work he says (page ): "i believe that if you strip it of its theoretical part, it still remains one of the greatest encyclopaedias of biological doctrine that any one man ever brought forth; and i believe that, if you take it as the embodiment of an hypothesis, it is destined to be the guide of biological and psychological speculation for the next three or four generations.') i have met with reprinted from you two or three times lately. letter a. to erasmus darwin. down, june th, . ( a. . the preceding letter contains a reference to the prolonged period of ill-health which darwin suffered in and , and in this connection the present letter is of interest. the copley medal was given to him in .) i had not heard a word about the copley medal. please give falconer my cordial thanks for his interest about me. i enclose the list of everything published by me except a few unimportant papers. ask falconer not to mention that i sent the list, as some one might say i had been canvassing, which is an odious imputation. the origin of the voyage in the "beagle" was that fitz-roy generously offered to give up half his cabin to any one who would volunteer to go as naturalist. beaufort wrote to cambridge, and i volunteered. fitz-roy never persuaded me to give up the voyage on account of sickness, nor did i ever think of doing so, though i suffered considerably; but i do not believe it was the cause of my subsequent ill-health, which has lost me so many years, and therefore i should not think the sea-sickness was worth notice. it would save you trouble to forward this with my kindest remembrances to falconer. ( / . the following letter was the beginning of a correspondence with mr. b.d. walsh, whom c.v. riley describes as "one of the ablest and most thorough entomologists of our time.") letter . b.d. walsh to charles darwin. rock island, illinois, u.s., april th, . ( / . the words in square brackets are restorations of parts torn off the original letter.) more than thirty years ago i was introduced to you at your rooms in christ's college by a.w. grisebach, and had the pleasure of seeing your noble collection of british coleoptera. some years afterwards i became a fellow of trinity, and finally gave up my fellowship rather than go into orders, and came to this country. for the last five or six years i have been paying considerable attention to the insect fauna of the u.s., some of the fruits of which you will see in the enclosed pamphlets. allow me to take this opportunity of thanking you for the publication of your "origin of species," which i read three years ago by the advice of a botanical friend, though i had a strong prejudice against what i supposed then to be your views. the first perusal staggered me, the second convinced me, and the oftener i read it the more convinced i am of the general soundness of your theory. as you have called upon naturalists that believe in your views to give public testimony of their convictions, i have directed your attention on the outside of one or two of my pamphlets to the particular passages in which [i] have done so. you will please accept these papers from me in token of my respect and admiration. as you may see from the latest of these papers, i [have] recently made the remarkable discover that there [are the] so-called "three sexes" not only in social insects but [also in the] strictly solitary genus cynips. when is your great work to make its appearance? [i should be] much pleased to receive a few lines from you. letter . to b.d. walsh. down, october st [ ]. ill-health has prevented me from sooner thanking you for your very kind letter and several memoirs. i have been very much pleased to see how boldly and clearly you speak out on the modification of species. i thank you for giving me the pages of reference; but they were superfluous, for i found so many original and profound remarks that i have carefully looked through all the papers. i hope that your discovery about the cynips ( / . "on dimorphism in the hymenopterous genus cynips," "proc. entom. soc. philadelphia," march, . mr. walsh's view is that cynips quercus aciculata is a dimorphous form of cynips q. spongifica, and occurs only as a female. cynips q. spongifica also produces spongifica females and males from other galls at a different time of year.) will hold good, for it is a remarkable one, and i for one have often marvelled what could be the meaning of the case. i will lend your paper to my neighbour mr. lubbock, who i know is much interested in the subject. incidentally i shall profit by your remarks on galls. if you have time i think a rather hopeless experiment would be worth trying; anyhow, i should have tried it had my health permitted. it is to insert a minute grain of some organic substance, together with the poison from bees, sand-wasps, ichneumons, adders, and even alkaloid poisons into the tissues of fitting plants for the chance of monstrous growths being produced. ( / . see "life and letters," iii., page , for an account of experiments attempted in this direction by mr. darwin in . on the effects of injuring plant-tissues, see massart, "la cicatrisation, etc." in tome lvii. of the "memoires couronnes" of the brussels academy.) my health has long been poor, and i have lately suffered from a long illness which has interrupted all work, but i am now recommencing a volume in connection with the "origin." p.s.--if you write again i should very much like to hear what your life in your new country is. what can be the meaning or use of the great diversity of the external generative organs in your cases, in bombus, and the phytophagous coleoptera? what can there be in the act of copulation necessitating such complex and diversified apparatus? letter . to w.h. flower. down, july th, . i am truly obliged for all the trouble which you have taken for me, and for your very interesting note. i had only vaguely heard it said that frogs had a rudiment of a sixth toe; had i known that such great men had looked to the point i should not have dreamed of looking myself. the rudiment sent to you was from a full-grown frog; so that if these bones are the two cuneiforms they must, i should think, be considered to be in a rudimentary condition. this afternoon my gardener brought in some tadpoles with the hind-legs alone developed, and i looked at the rudiment. at this age it certainly looks extremely like a digit, for the extremity is enlarged like that of the adjoining real toe, and the transverse articulation seems similar. i am sorry that the case is doubtful, for if these batrachians had six toes, i certainly think it would have thrown light on the truly extraordinary strength of inheritance in polydactylism in so many animals, and especially on the power of regeneration in amputated supernumerary digits. ( / . in the first edition of "variation under domestication" the view here given is upheld, but in the second edition (volume i., page ) darwin withdrew his belief that the development of supernumerary digits in man is "a case of reversion to a lowly-organised progenitor provided with more than five digits." see letters , .) letter . to j.d. hooker. down [october nd, ]. the lyells have been here, and were extremely pleasant, but i saw them only occasionally for ten minutes, and when they went i had an awful day [of illness]; but i am now slowly getting up to my former standard. i shall soon be confined to a living grave, and a fearful evil it is. i suppose you have read tyndall. ( / . probably tyndall "on the conformation of the alps" ("phil. mag." , page ).) i have now come round again to ramsay's view, ( / . "phil. mag." , page .) for the third or fourth time; but lyell says when i read his discussion in the "elements," i shall recant for the fifth time. ( / . this refers to a discussion on the "connection of the predominance of lakes with glacial action" ("elements," edition vi., pages - ). lyell adheres to the views expressed in the "antiquity of man" ( ) against ramsay's theory of the origin of lake basins by ice action.) what a capital writer tyndall is! in your last note you ask what the bardfield oxlip is. it is p. elatior of jacq., which certainly looks, when growing, to common eyes different from the common oxlip. i will fight you to the death that as primrose and cowslip are different in appearance (not to mention odour, habitat and range), and as i can now show that, when they cross, the intermediate offspring are sterile like ordinary hybrids, they must be called as good species as a man and a gorilla. i agree that if scott's red cowslip grew wild or spread itself and did not vary [into] common cowslip (and we have absolutely no proof of primrose or cowslip varying into each other), and as it will not cross with the cowslip, it would be a perfectly good species. the power of remaining for a good long period constant i look at as the essence of a species, combined with an appreciable amount of difference; and no one can say there is not this amount of difference between primrose and oxlip. (plate: hugh falconer, . from a photograph by hill & adamson.) letter . hugh falconer to w. sharpey. ( / . falconer had proposed darwin for the copley medal of the royal society (which was awarded to him in ), but being detained abroad, he gave his reasons for supporting darwin for this honour in a letter to sharpey, the secretary of the royal society. a copy of the letter here printed seems to have been given to erasmus darwin, and by him shown to his brother charles.) montauban, october th, . busk and myself have made every effort to be back in london by the th inst., but we have been persecuted by mishaps--through the breakdown of trains, diligences, etc., so that we have been sadly put out in our reckoning--and have lost some of the main objects that brought us round by this part of france--none of which were idle or unimportant. busk started yesterday for paris from bruniquel, to make sure of being present at the meeting of the royal council on thursday. he will tell you that there were strong reasons for me remaining behind him. but as i seconded the proposal of mr. darwin for the copley medal, in default of my presence at the first meeting, i beg that you will express my great regrets to the president and council at not being there, and that i am very reluctantly detained. i shall certainly be in london (d.v.) by the second meeting on the rd proximo. meanwhile i solicit the favour of being heard, through you, respecting the grounds upon which i seconded mr. darwin's nomination for the copley medal. referring to the classified list which i drew up of mr. darwin's scientific labours, ranging through the wide field of ( ) geology, ( ) physical geography, ( ) zoology, ( ) physiological botany, ( ) genetic biology, and to the power with which he has investigated whatever subject he has taken up,--nullum quod tetigit non ornavit,--i am of opinion that mr. darwin is not only one of the most eminent naturalists of his day, but that hereafter he will be regarded as one of the great naturalists of all countries and of all time. his early work on the structure and distribution of coral reefs constitutes an era in the investigation of the subject. as a monographic labour, it may be compared with dr. wells' "essay upon dew," as original, exhaustive, and complete--containing the closest observation with large and important generalisations. among the zoologists his monographs upon the balanidae and lepadidae, fossil and recent, in the palaeontographical and ray societies' publications, are held to be models of their kind. in physiological botany, his recent researches upon the dimorphism of the genital organs in certain plants, embodied in his papers in the "linnean journal," on primula, linum, and lythrum, are of the highest order of importance. they open a new mine of observation upon a field which had been barely struck upon before. the same remark applies to his researches on the structure and various adaptations of the orchideous flower to a definite object connected with impregnation of the plants through the agency of insects with foreign pollen. there has not yet been time for their due influence being felt in the advancement of the science. but in either subject they constitute an advance per saltum. i need not dwell upon the value of his geological researches, which won for him one of the earlier awards of the wollaston medal from the geological society, the best of judges on the point. and lastly, mr. darwin's great essay on the "origin of species" by natural selection. this solemn and mysterious subject had been either so lightly or so grotesquely treated before, that it was hardly regarded as being within the bounds of legitimate philosophical investigation. mr. darwin, after twenty years of the closest study and research, published his views, and it is sufficient to say that they instantly fixed the attention of mankind throughout the civilised world. that the efforts of a single mind should have arrived at success on a subject of such vast scope, and encompassed with such difficulties, was more than could have been reasonably expected, and i am far from thinking that charles darwin has made out all his case. but he has treated it with such power and in such a philosophical and truth-seeking spirit, and illustrated it with such an amount of original and collated observation as fairly to have brought the subject within the bounds of rational scientific research. i consider this great essay on genetic biology to constitute a strong additional claim on behalf of mr. darwin for the copley medal. ( / . the following letter (december rd, ), from mr. huxley to sir j.d. hooker, is reprinted, by the kind permission of mr. l. huxley, from his father's "life," i., page . sabine's address (from the "reader") is given in the "life and letters," iii., page . in the "proceedings of the royal society" the offending sentence is slightly modified. it is said, in huxley's "life" (loc. cit., note), that the sentence which follows it was introduced to mitigate the effect:-- "i wish you had been at the anniversary meeting and dinner, because the latter was very pleasant, and the former, to me, very disagreeable. my distrust of sabine is, as you know, chronic; and i went determined to keep careful watch on his address, lest some crafty phrase injurious to darwin should be introduced. my suspicions were justified, the only part of the address [relating] to darwin written by sabine himself containing the following passage: "'speaking generally and collectively, we have expressly omitted it [darwin's theory] from the grounds of our award.' "of course this would be interpreted by everybody as meaning that after due discussion, the council had formally resolved not only to exclude darwin's theory from the grounds of the award, but to give public notice through the president that they had done so, and, furthermore, that darwin's friends had been base enough to accept an honour for him on the understanding that in receiving it he should be publicly insulted! "i felt that this would never do, and therefore, when the resolution for printing the address was moved, i made a speech, which i took care to keep perfectly cool and temperate, disavowing all intention of interfering with the liberty of the president to say what he pleased, but exercising my constitutional right of requiring the minutes of council making the award to be read, in order that the society might be informed whether the conditions implied by sabine had been imposed or not. "the resolution was read, and of course nothing of the kind appeared. sabine didn't exactly like it, i believe. both busk and falconer remonstrated against the passage to him, and i hope it will be withdrawn when the address is printed. if not, there will be an awful row, and i for one will show no mercy.") in forming an estimate of the value and extent of mr. darwin's researches, due regard ought to be had to the circumstances under which they have been carried out--a pressure of unremitting disease, which has latterly left him not more than one or two hours of the day which he could call his own. letter . to hugh falconer. down, november th [ ]. what a good kind friend you are! i know well that this medal must have cost you a deal of trouble. it is a very great honour to me, but i declare the knowledge that you and a few other friends have interested themselves on the subject is the real cream of the enjoyment to me; indeed, it is to me worth far more than many medals. so accept my true and cordial thanks. i hope that i may yet have strength to do a little more work in natural science, shaky and old though i be. i have chuckled and triumphed over your postscript about poor m. brulle and his young pupils ( / . the following is the postscript in a letter from falconer to darwin november rd [ ]: "i returned last night from spain via france. on monday i was at dijon, where, while in the museum, m. brulle, professor of zoology, asked me what was my frank opinion of charles darwin's doctrine? he told me in despair that he could not get his pupils to listen to anything from him except a la darwin! he, poor man, could not comprehend it, and was still unconvinced, but that all young frenchmen would hear or believe nothing else.") about a week ago i had a nearly similar account from germany, and at the same time i heard of some splendid converts in such men as leuckart, gegenbauer, etc. you may say what you like about yourself, but i look at a man who treats natural history in the same spirit with which you do, exactly as good, for what i believe to be the truth, as a convert. letter . to hugh falconer. down, november th [ ]. your remark on the relation of the award of the medal and the present outburst of bigotry had not occurred to me. it seems very true, and makes me the more gratified to receive it. general sabine ( / . see "life and letters," iii., page .) wrote to me and asked me to attend at the anniversary, but i told him it was really impossible. i have never been able to conjecture the cause; but i find that on my good days, when i can write for a couple of hours, that anything which stirs me up like talking for half or even a quarter of an hour, generally quite prostrates me, sometimes even for a long time afterwards. i believe attending the anniversary would possibly make me seriously ill. i should enjoy attending and shaking you and a few of my other friends by the hand, but it would be folly even if i did not break down at the time. i told sabine that i did not know who had proposed and seconded me for the medal, but that i presumed it was you, or hooker or busk, and that i felt sure, if you attended, you would receive the medal for me; and that if none of you attended, that lyell or huxley would receive it for me. will you receive it, and it could be left at my brother's? again accept my cordial and enduring thanks for all your kindness and sympathy. letter . to b.d. walsh. down, december th [ ]. i have been greatly interested by your account of your american life. what an extraordinary and self-contained life you have led! and what vigour of mind you must possess to follow science with so much ardour after all that you have undergone! i am very much obliged to you for your pamphlet on geographical distribution, on agassiz, etc. ( / . mr. walsh's paper "on certain entomological speculations of the new england school of entomologists" was published in the "proc. entomolog. soc. of philadelphia," september , page .) i am delighted at the manner in which you have bearded this lion in his den. i agree most entirely with all that you have written. what i meant when i wrote to agassiz to thank him for a bundle of his publications, was exactly what you suppose. ( / . namely, that mr. darwin, having been abused as an atheist, etc., by other writers, probably felt grateful to a writer who was willing to allow him "a spirit as reverential as his own." ("methods of study," preface, page iv.) i confess, however, i did not fully perceive how he had misstated my views; but i only skimmed through his "methods of study," and thought it a very poor book. i am so much accustomed to be utterly misrepresented that it hardly excites my attention. but you really have hit the nail on the head capitally. all the younger good naturalists whom i know think of agassiz as you do; but he did grand service about glaciers and fish. about the succession of forms, pictet has given up his whole views, and no geologist now agrees with agassiz. i am glad that you have attacked dana's wild notions; [though] i have a great respect for dana...if you have an opportunity, read in "trans. linn. soc." bates on "mimetic lepidoptera of amazons." i was delighted with his paper. i have got a notice of your views about the female cynips inserted in the "natural history review" ( / . "nat. hist. review," january , page . a notice by "j.l." (probably lord avebury) on walsh's paper "on dimorphism in the hymenopterous genus cynips," in the "proc. entomolog. soc. of philadelphia," march, .): whether the notice will be favourable, i do not know, but anyhow it will call attention to your views... as you allude in your paper to the believers in change of species, you will be glad to hear that very many of the very best men are coming round in germany. i have lately heard of hackel, gegenbauer, f. muller, leuckart, claparede, alex. braun, schleiden, etc. so it is, i hear, with the younger frenchmen. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, january th [ ]. it is working hours, but i am trying to take a day's holiday, for i finished and despatched yesterday my climbing paper. for the last ten days i have done nothing but correct refractory sentences, and i loathe the whole subject like tartar emetic. by the way, i am convinced that you want a holiday, and i think so because you took the devil's name in vain so often in your last note. can you come here for sunday? you know how i should like it, and you will be quiet and dull enough here to get plenty of rest. i have been thinking with regret about what you said in one of your later notes, about having neglected to make notes on the gradation of character in your genera; but would it be too late? surely if you looked over names in series the facts would come back, and you might surely write a fine paper "on the gradation of important characters in the genera of plants." as for unimportant characters, i have made their perfect gradation a very prominent point with respect to the means of climbing, in my paper. i begin to think that one of the commonest means of transition is the same individual plant having the same part in different states: thus corydalis claviculata, if you look to one leaf, may be called a tendril-bearer; if you look to another leaf it may be called a leaf-climber. now i am sure i remember some cases with plants in which important parts such as the position of the ovule differ: differences in the spire of leaves on lateral and terminal branches, etc. there was not much in last "natural history review" which interested me except colonial floras ( / . "nat. hist. review," , page . a review of grisebach's "flora of the british west indian islands" and thwaites' "enumeratio plantarum zeylaniae." the point referred to is given at page : "more than half the flowering plants belong to eleven orders in the case of the west indies, and to ten in that of ceylon, whilst with but one exception the ceylon orders are the same as the west indian." the reviewer speculates on the meaning of the fact "in relation to the hypothesis of an intertropical cold epoch, such as mr. darwin demands for the migration of the northern flora to the southern hemisphere.") and the report on the sexuality of cryptogams. i suppose the former was by oliver; how extremely curious is the fact of similarity of orders in the tropics! i feel a conviction that it is somehow connected with glacial destruction, but i cannot "wriggle" comfortably at all on the subject. i am nearly sure that dana makes out that the greatest number of crustacean forms inhabit warmer temperate regions. i have had an enormous letter from leo lesquereux (after doubts, i did not think it worth sending you) on coal flora: he wrote some excellent articles in "silliman" again [my] "origin" views; but he says now after repeated reading of the book he is a convert! but how funny men's minds are! he says he is chiefly converted because my books make the birth of christ, redemption by grace, etc., plain to him! letter . to j.d. hooker. down, february th [ ]. i quite agree how humiliating the slow progress of man is, but every one has his own pet horror, and this slow progress or even personal annihilation sinks in my mind into insignificance compared with the idea or rather i presume certainty of the sun some day cooling and we all freezing. to think of the progress of millions of years, with every continent swarming with good and enlightened men, all ending in this, and with probably no fresh start until this our planetary system has been again converted into red-hot gas. sic transit gloria mundi, with a vengeance... letter . to b.d. walsh. down, march th [ ]. i have been much interested by your letter. i received your former paper on phytophagic variety ( / . for "phytophagic varieties and phytophagic species" see "proc. entomolog. soc. philadelphia," november , page , also december . the part on gradation is summarised at pages , . walsh shows that a complete gradation exists between species which are absolutely unaffected by change of food and cases where "difference of food is accompanied by marked and constant differences, either colorational, or structural, or both, in the larva, pupa and imago states."), most of which was new to me. i have since received your paper on willow-galls; this has been very opportune, as i wanted to learn a little about galls. there was much in this paper which has interested me extremely, on gradations, etc., and on your "unity of coloration." ( / . "unity of coloration": this expression does not seem to occur in the paper of november , but is discussed at length in that of december , page .) this latter subject is nearly new to me, though i collected many years ago some such cases with birds; but what struck me most was when a bird genus inhabits two continents, the two sections sometimes display a somewhat different type of colouring. i should like to hear whether this does not occur with widely ranging insect-genera? you may like to hear that wichura ( / . max wichura's "die bastarde befruchtung im pflanzenreich, etc:" breslau . a translation appeared in the "bibliotheque universelle," xxiii., page : geneva .) has lately published a book which has quite convinced me that in europe there is a multitude of spontaneous hybrid willows. would it not be very interesting to know how the gall-makers behaved with respect to these hybrids? do you think it likely that the ancestor of cecidomyia acquired its poison like gnats (which suck men) for no especial purpose (at least not for gall-making)? such notions make me wish that some one would try the experiments suggested in my former letter. is it not probable that guest-flies were aboriginally gall-makers, and bear the same relation to them which apathus probably does to bombus? ( / . apathus (= psithyrus) lives in the nests of bombus. these insects are said to be so like humble bees that "they were not distinguished from them by the early entomologists:" dr. sharp in "cambridge nat. hist. (insects," part ii.), page .) with respect to dimorphism, you may like to hear that dr. hooker tells me that a dioecious parasitic plant allied to rafflesia has its two sexes parasitic on two distinct species of the same genus of plants; so look out for some such case in the two forms of cynips. i have posted to you copies of my papers on dimorphism. leersia ( / . leersia oryzoides was for a long time thought to produce only cleistogamic and therefore autogamous flowers. see "variation of animals and plants," edition ii., volume ii., page .) does behave in a state of nature in the provoking manner described by me. with respect to wagner's curious discovery my opinion is worth nothing; no doubt it is a great anomaly, but it does not appear to me nearly so incredible as to you. remember how allied forms in the hydrozoa differ in their so-called alternate generations; i follow those naturalists who look at all such cases as forms of gemmation; and a multitude of organisms have this power or traces of this power at all ages from the germ to maturity. with respect to agassiz's views, there were many, and there are still not a few, who believe that the same species is created on many spots. i wrote to bates, and he will send you his mimetic paper; and i dare say others: he is a first-rate man. your case of the wingless insects near the rocky mountains is extremely curious. i am sure i have heard of some such case in the old world: i think on the caucasus. would not my argument about wingless insular insects perhaps apply to truly alpine insects? for would it not be destruction to them to be blown from their proper home? i should like to write on many points at greater length to you, but i have no strength to spare. letter . to a.r. wallace. down, september nd [ ]. i am much obliged for your extract ( / . mr. wallace had sent darwin a note about a tufted cock-blackbird, which transmitted the character to some of its offspring.); i never heard of such a case, though such a variation is perhaps the most likely of any to occur in a state of nature, and to be inherited, inasmuch as all domesticated birds present races with a tuft or with reversed feathers on their heads. i have sometimes thought that the progenitor of the whole class must have been a crested animal. do you make any progress with your journal of travels? i am the more anxious that you should do so as i have lately read with much interest some papers by you on the ourang-outan, etc., in the "annals," of which i have lately been reading the later volumes. i have always thought that journals of this nature do considerable good by advancing the taste for natural history: i know in my own case that nothing ever stimulated my zeal so much as reading humboldt's "personal narrative." i have not yet received the last part of the "linnean transactions," but your paper ( / . probably on the variability and distribution of the butterflies of the malayan region: "linn. soc. trans." xxv., .) at present will be rather beyond my strength, for though somewhat better, i can as yet do hardly anything but lie on the sofa and be read aloud to. by the way, have you read tylor and lecky? ( / . tylor, "early history of mankind;" lecky's "rationalism.") both these books have interested me much. i suppose you have read lubbock. ( / . lubbock, "prehistoric times," page : "...the theory of natural selection, which with characteristic unselfishness he ascribes unreservedly to mr. darwin.") in the last chapter there is a note about you in which i most cordially concur. i see you were at the british association but i have heard nothing of it except what i have picked up in the "reader." i have heard a rumour that the "reader" is sold to the anthropological society. if you do not begrudge the trouble of another note (for my sole channel of news through hooker is closed by his illness) i should much like to hear whether the "reader" is thus sold. i should be very sorry for it, as the paper would thus become sectional in its tendency. if you write, tell me what you are doing yourself. the only news which i have about the "origin" is that fritz muller published a few months ago a remarkable book ( / . "fur darwin.") in its favour, and secondly that a second french edition is just coming out. letter . to f. muller. down, january th [ ]. i received your interesting letter of november th some little time ago, and despatched immediately a copy of my "journal of researches." i fear you will think me troublesome in my offer; but have you the second german edition of the "origin?" which is a translation, with additions, of the third english edition, and is, i think, considerably improved compared with the first edition. i have some spare copies which are of no use to me, and it would be a pleasure to me to send you one, if it would be of any use to you. you would never require to re-read the book, but you might wish to refer to some passage. i am particularly obliged for your photograph, for one likes to have a picture in one's mind of any one about whom one is interested. i have received and read with interest your paper on the sponge with horny spicula. ( / . "ueber darwinella aurea, einen schwamm mit sternformigen hornnadeln."--"archiv. mikrosk. anat." i., page , .) owing to ill-health, and being busy when formerly well, i have for some years neglected periodical scientific literature, and have lately been reading up, and have thus read translations of several of your papers; amongst which i have been particularly glad to read and see the drawings of the metamorphoses of peneus. ( / . "on the metamorphoses of the prawns," by dr. fritz muller.--"ann. mag. nat. hist." volume xiv., page (with plate), . translated by w.s. dallas from "wiegmann's archiv," (see also "facts and arguments for darwin," passim, translated by w.s. dallas: london, ).) this seems to me the most interesting discovery in embryology which has been made for years. i am much obliged to you for telling me a little of your plans for the future; what a strange, but to my taste interesting life you will lead when you retire to your estate on the itajahy! you refer in your letter to the facts which agassiz is collecting, against our views, on the amazons. though he has done so much for science, he seems to me so wild and paradoxical in all his views that i cannot regard his opinions as of any value. letter . to a.r. wallace. down, january nd, . i thank you for your paper on pigeons ( / . "on the pigeons of the malay archipelago" (the "ibis," october, ). mr. wallace points out (page ) that "the most striking superabundance of pigeons, as well as of parrots, is confined to the australo-malayan sub-region in which...the forest-haunting and fruit-eating mammals, such as monkeys and squirrels, are totally absent." he points out also that monkeys are "exceedingly destructive to eggs and young birds."), which interested me, as everything that you write does. who would ever have dreamed that monkeys influenced the distribution of pigeons and parrots! but i have had a still higher satisfaction, for i finished your paper yesterday in the "linnean transactions." ( / . "linn. soc. trans." xxv.: a paper on the geographical distribution and variability of the malayan papilionidae.) it is admirably done. i cannot conceive that the most firm believer in species could read it without being staggered. such papers will make many more converts among naturalists than long-winded books such as i shall write if i have strength. i have been particularly struck with your remarks on dimorphism; but i cannot quite understand one point (page ), ( / . the passage referred to in this letter as needing further explanation is the following: "the last six cases of mimicry are especially instructive, because they seem to indicate one of the processes by which dimorphic forms have been produced. when, as in these cases, one sex differs much from the other, and varies greatly itself, it may happen that individual variations will occasionally occur, having a distant resemblance to groups which are the objects of mimicry, and which it is therefore advantageous to resemble. such a variety will have a better chance of preservation; the individuals possessing it will be multiplied; and their accidental likeness to the favoured group will be rendered permanent by hereditary transmission, and each successive variation which increases the resemblance being preserved, and all variations departing from the favoured type having less chance of preservation, there will in time result those singular cases of two or more isolated and fixed forms bound together by that intimate relationship which constitutes them the sexes of a single species. the reason why the females are more subject to this kind of modification than the males is, probably, that their slower flight, when laden with eggs, and their exposure to attack while in the act of depositing their eggs upon leaves, render it especially advantageous for them to have some additional protection. this they at once obtain by acquiring a resemblance to other species which, from whatever cause, enjoy a comparative immunity from persecution." mr. wallace has been good enough to give us the following note on the above passage: "the above quotation deals solely with the question of how certain females of the polymorphic species (papilio memnon, p. pammon, and others) have been so modified as to mimic species of a quite distinct section of the genus; but it does not attempt to explain why or how the other very variable types of female arose, and this was darwin's difficulty. as the letter i wrote in reply is lost, and as it is rather difficult to explain the matter clearly without reference to the coloured figures, i must go into some little detail, and give now what was probably the explanation i gave at the time. the male of papilio memnon is a large black butterfly with the nervures towards the margins of the wings bordered with bluish gray dots. it is a forest insect, and the very dark colour renders it conspicuous; but it is a strong flier, and thus survives. to the female, however, this conspicuous mass of colour would be dangerous, owing to her slower flight, and the necessity for continually resting while depositing her eggs on the leaves of the food-plant of the larva. she has accordingly acquired lighter and more varied tints. the marginal gray-dotted stripes of the male have become of a brownish ash and much wider on the fore wings, while the margin of the hind wings is yellowish, with a more defined spot near the anal angle. this is the form most nearly like the male, but it is comparatively rare, the more common being much lighter in colour, the bluish gray of the hind wings being often entirely replaced by a broad band of yellowish white. the anal angle is orange-yellow, and there is a bright red spot at the base of the fore wings. between these two extremes there is every possible variation. now, it is quite certain that this varying mixture of brown, black, white, yellow, and red is far less conspicuous amid the ever-changing hues of the forest with their glints of sunshine everywhere penetrating so as to form strong contrasts and patches of light and shade. hence all the females--one at one time and one at another--get some protection, and that is sufficient to enable them to live long enough to lay their eggs, when their work is finished. still, under bad conditions they only just managed to survive, and as the colouring of some of these varying females very much resembled that of the protected butterflies of the p. coon group (perhaps at a time when the tails of the latter were not fully developed) any rudiments of a prolongation of the wing into a tail added to the protective resemblance, and was therefore preserved. the woodcuts of some of these forms in my "malay archipelago" (i., page ) will enable those who have this book at hand better to understand the foregoing explanation."), and should be grateful for an explanation, for i want fully to understand you. how can one female form be selected and the intermediate forms die out, without also the other extreme form also dying out from not having the advantages of the first selected form? for, as i understand, both female forms occur on the same island. i quite agree with your distinction between dimorphic forms and varieties; but i doubt whether your criterion of dimorphic forms not producing intermediate offspring will suffice, for i know of a good many varieties which must be so called that will not blend or intermix, but produce offspring quite like either parent. i have been particularly struck with your remarks on geographical distribution in celebes. it is impossible that anything could be better put, and would give a cold shudder to the immutable naturalists. and now i am going to ask a question which you will not like. how does your journal get on? it will be a shame if you do not popularise your researches. letter . a.r. wallace to charles darwin. hurstpierpoint, sussex, july nd, . i have been so repeatedly struck by the utter inability of numbers of intelligent persons to see clearly, or at all, the self-acting and necessary effects of natural selection, that i am led to conclude that the term itself, and your mode of illustrating it, however clear and beautiful to many of us, are yet not the best adapted to impress it on the general naturalist public. the two last cases of the misunderstanding are: ( ) the article on "darwin and his teachings" in the last "quarterly journal of science," which, though very well written and on the whole appreciative, yet concludes with a charge of something like blindness, in your not seeing that natural selection requires the constant watching of an intelligent "chooser," like man's selection to which you so often compare it; and ( ) in janet's recent work on the "materialism of the present day," reviewed in last saturday's "reader," by an extract from which i see that he considers your weak point to be that you do not see that "thought and direction are essential to the action of natural selection." the same objection has been made a score of times by your chief opponents, and i have heard it as often stated myself in conversation. now, i think this arises almost entirely from your choice of the term "natural selection" and so constantly comparing it in its effects to man's selection, and also your so frequently personifying nature as "selecting," as "preferring," as "seeking only the good of the species," etc., etc. to the few this is as clear as daylight, and beautifully suggestive, but to many it is evidently a stumbling-block. i wish, therefore, to suggest to you the possibility of entirely avoiding this source of misconception in your great work (if not now too late), and also in any future editions of the "origin," and i think it may be done without difficulty and very effectually by adopting spencer's term (which he generally uses in preference to natural selection)--viz., "survival of the fittest." this term is the plain expression of the fact; natural selection is a metaphorical expression of it, and to a certain degree indirect and incorrect, since, even personifying nature, she does not so much select special variations as exterminate the most unfavourable ones. combined with the enormous multiplying powers of all organisms, and the "struggle for existence" leading to the constant destruction of by far the largest proportion--facts which no one of your opponents, as far as i am aware, has denied or misunderstood--"the survival of the fittest" rather than of those who were less fit could not possibly be denied or misunderstood. neither would it be possible to say that to ensure the "survival of the fittest" any intelligent chooser was necessary; whereas when you say natural selection acts so as to choose those that are fittest, it is misunderstood, and apparently always will be. referring to your book, i find such expressions as "man selects only for his own good; nature only for that of the being which she tends." this, it seems, will always be misunderstood; but if you had said "man selects only for his own good; nature, by the inevitable 'survival of the fittest,' only for that of the being she tends," it would have been less liable to be so. i find you use the term "natural selection" in two senses: ( ) for the simple preservation of favourable and rejection of unfavourable variations, in which case it is equivalent to "survival of the fittest"; and ( ) for the effect or change produced by this preservation, as when you say, "to sum up the circumstances favourable or unfavourable to natural selection," and again, "isolation, also, is an important element in the process of natural selection." here it is not merely "survival of the fittest," but change produced by survival of the fittest, that is meant. on looking over your fourth chapter, i find that these alterations of terms can be in most cases easily made, while in some cases the addition of "or survival of the fittest" after "natural selection" would be best; and in others, less likely to be misunderstood, the original term may stand alone. i could not venture to propose to any other person so great an alteration of terms, but you, i am sure, will give it an impartial consideration, and if you really think the change will produce a better understanding of your work, will not hesitate to adopt it. it is evidently also necessary not to personify "nature" too much--though i am very apt to do it myself--since people will not understand that all such phrases are metaphors. natural selection is, when understood, so necessary and self-evident a principle, that it is a pity it should be in any way obscured; and it therefore seems to me that the free use of "survival of the fittest," which is a compact and accurate definition of it, would tend much to its being more widely accepted, and prevent it being so much misrepresented and misunderstood. there is another objection made by janet which is also a very common one. it is that the chances are almost infinite against the particular kind of variation required being coincident with each change of external conditions, to enable an animal to become modified by natural selection in harmony with such changed conditions; especially when we consider that, to have produced the almost infinite modifications of organic beings, this coincidence must have taken place an almost infinite number of times. now, it seems to me that you have yourself led to this objection being made, by so often stating the case too strongly against yourself. for example, at the commencement of chapter iv. you ask if it is "improbable that useful variations should sometimes occur in the course of thousands of generations"; and a little further on you say, "unless profitable variations do occur, natural selection can do nothing." now, such expressions have given your opponents the advantage of assuming that favourable variations are rare accidents, or may even for long periods never occur at all, and thus janet's argument would appear to many to have great force. i think it would be better to do away with all such qualifying expressions, and constantly maintain (what i certainly believe to be the fact) that variations of every kind are always occurring in every part of every species, and therefore that favourable variations are always ready when wanted. you have, i am sure, abundant materials to prove this; and it is, i believe, the grand fact that renders modification and adaptation to conditions almost always possible. i would put the burthen of proof on my opponents to show that any one organ, structure, or faculty does not vary, even during one generation, among all the individuals of a species; and also to show any mode or way in which any such organ, etc., does not vary. i would ask them to give any reason for supposing that any organ, etc., is ever absolutely identical at any one time in all the individuals of a species, and if not then it is always varying, and there are always materials which, from the simple fact that "the fittest survive," will tend to the modification of the race into harmony with changed conditions. i hope these remarks may be intelligible to you, and that you will be so kind as to let me know what you think of them. i have not heard for some time how you are getting on. i hope you are still improving in health, and that you will now be able to get on with your great work, for which so many thousands are looking with interest. letter . to a.r. wallace. ( / . from "life and letters," iii., page .) down, july th [ ]. i have been much interested by your letter, which is as clear as daylight. i fully agree with all that you say on the advantages of h. spencer's excellent expression of "the survival of the fittest." this, however, had not occurred to me till reading your letter. it is, however, a great objection to this term that it cannot be used as a substantive governing a verb; and that this is a real objection i infer from h. spencer continually using the words natural selection. i formerly thought, probably in an exaggerated degree, that it was a great advantage to bring into connection natural and artificial selection; this indeed led me to use a term in common, and i still think it some advantage. i wish i had received your letter two months ago, for i would have worked in "the survival," etc., often in the new edition of the "origin," which is now almost printed off, and of which i will of course send you a copy. i will use the term in my next book on domestic animals, etc., from which, by the way, i plainly see that you expect much too much. the term natural selection has now been so largely used abroad and at home that i doubt whether it could be given up, and with all its faults i should be sorry to see the attempt made. whether it will be rejected must now depend "on the survival of the fittest." as in time the term must grow intelligible the objections to its use will grow weaker and weaker. i doubt whether the use of any term would have made the subject intelligible to some minds, clear as it is to others; for do we not see even to the present day malthus on population absurdly misunderstood? this reflection about malthus has often comforted me when i have been vexed at this misstatement of my views. as for m. janet, he is a metaphysician, and such gentlemen are so acute that i think they often misunderstand common folk. your criticism on the double sense in which i have used natural selection is new to me and unanswerable; but my blunder has done no harm, for i do not believe that any one, excepting you, has ever observed it. again, i agree that i have said too much about "favourable variations," but i am inclined to think that you put the opposite side too strongly: if every part of every being varied, i do not think we should see the same end or object gained by such wonderfully diversified means. i hope you are enjoying the country, and are in good health, and are working hard at your "malay archipelago" book, for i will always put this wish in every note i write to you, as some good people always put in a text. my health keeps much the same, or rather improves, and i am able to work some hours daily. letter . to c. lyell. down, october th [ ]. one line to say that i have received your note and the proofs safely, and will read them with the greatest pleasure; but i am certain i shall not be able to send any criticism on the astronomical chapter ( / . "principles of geology," by sir charles lyell; edition x., london, . chapter xiii. deals with "vicissitudes in climate how far influenced by astronomical causes."), as i am as ignorant as a pig on this head. i shall require some days to read what has been sent. i have just read chapter ix. ( / . chapter ix., "theory of the progressive development of organic life at successive geological periods."), and like it extremely; it all seems to me very clear, cautious, and sagacious. you do not allude to one very striking point enough, or at all--viz., the classes having been formerly less differentiated than they now are; and this specialisation of classes must, we may conclude, fit them for different general habits of life as well as the specialisation of particular organs. page ( / . on page lyell refers to the absence of cetacea in secondary rocks, and expresses the opinion that their absence "is a negative fact of great significance, which seems more than any other to render it highly improbable that we shall ever find air-breathers of the highest class in any of the primary strata, or in any of the older members of the secondary series.") i rather demur to your argument from cetacea: as they are such greatly modified mammals, they ought to have come in rather later in the series. you will think me rather impudent, but the discussion at the end of chapter ix. on man ( / . loc. cit., pages - , "introduction of man, to what extent a change of the system."), who thinks so much of his fine self, seems to me too long, or rather superfluous, and too orthodox, except for the beneficed clergy. letter . to v. carus. ( / . the following letter refers to the th edition of the "origin," , which was translated by professor carus, and formed the rd german edition. carus continued to translate darwin's books, and a strong bond of friendship grew up between author and translator (see "life and letters," iii., page ). nageli's pamphlet was first noticed in the th english edition.) down, november st, . ...with respect to a note on nageli ( / . "entstehung und begriff der naturhistorischen art," an address given before the royal academy of sciences at munich, march th, . see "life and letters," iii., page , for mr. darwin's letter to the late prof. nageli.) i find on consideration it would be too long; for so good a pamphlet ought to be discussed at full length or not at all. he makes a mistake in supposing that i say that useful characters are always constant. his view about distinct species converging and acquiring the same identical structure is by implication answered in the discussion which i have given on the endless diversity of means for gaining the same end. the most important point, as it seems to me, in the pamphlet is that on the morphological characters of plants, and i find i could not answer this without going into much detail. the answer would be, as it seems to me, that important morphological characters, such as the position of the ovules and the relative position of the stamens to the ovarium (hypogynous, perigynous, etc.) are sometimes variable in the same species, as i incidentally mention when treating of the ray-florets in the compositae and umbelliferae; and i do not see how nageli could maintain that differences in such characters prove an inherent tendency towards perfection. i see that i have forgotten to say that you have my fullest consent to append any discussion which you may think fit to the new edition. as for myself i cannot believe in spontaneous generation, and though i expect that at some future time the principle of life will be rendered intelligible, at present it seems to me beyond the confines of science. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, december nd [ ?]. i suppose that you have received hackel's book ( / . "generelle morphologie," .) some time ago, as i have done. whenever you have had time to read through some of it, enough to judge by, i shall be very curious to hear your judgment. i have been able to read a page or two here and there, and have been interested and instructed by parts. but my vague impression is that too much space is given to methodical details, and i can find hardly any facts or detailed new views. the number of new words, to a man like myself, weak in his greek, is something dreadful. he seems to have a passion for defining, i daresay very well, and for coining new words. from my very vague notions on the book, and from its immense size, i should fear a translation was out of the question. i see he often quotes both of us with praise. i am sure i should like the book much, if i could read it straight off instead of groaning and swearing at each sentence. i have not yet had time to read your physiology ( / . "lessons in elementary physiology," .) book, except one chapter; but i have just re-read your book on "man's place, etc.," and i think i admire it more this second time even than the first. i doubt whether you will ever have time, but if ever you have, do read the chapter on hybridism in the new edition of the "origin" ( / . fourth edition ( ).), for i am very anxious to make you think less seriously on that difficulty. i have improved the chapter a good deal, i think, and have come to more definite views. asa gray and fritz muller (the latter especially) think that the new facts on illegitimate offspring of dimorphic plants, throw much indirect light on the subject. now that i have worked up domestic animals, i am convinced of the truth of the pallasian ( / . see letter .) view of loss of sterility under domestication, and this seems to me to explain much. but i had no intention, when i began this note, of running on at such length on hybridism; but you have been objector-general on this head. letter . to t. rivers. ( / . for another letter of mr. darwin's to him see "life and letters," iii., page .) down, december rd [ ?]. i do not know whether you will forgive a stranger addressing you. my name may possibly be known to you. i am now writing a book on the variation of animals and plants under domestication; and there is one little piece of information which it is more likely that you could give me than any man in the world, if you can spare half an hour from your professional labours, and are inclined to be so kind. i am collecting all accounts of what some call "sports," that is, of what i shall call "bud-variations," i.e. a moss-rose suddenly appearing on a provence rose--a nectarine on a peach, etc. now, what i want to know, and which is not likely to be recorded in print, is whether very slight differences, too slight to be worth propagating, thus appear suddenly by buds. as every one knows, in raising seedlings you may have every gradation from individuals identical with the parent, to slight varieties, to strongly marked varieties. now, does this occur with buds or do only rather strongly marked varieties thus appear at rare intervals of time by buds? ( / . mr. rivers could not give a decided answer, but he did not remember to have seen slight bud-variations. the question is discussed in "variation under domestication," edition ii., volume i., page .) i should be most grateful for information. i may add that if you have observed in your enormous experience any remarkable "bud-variations," and could spare time to inform me, and allow me to quote them on your authority, it would be the greatest favour. i feel sure that these "bud-variations" are most interesting to any one endeavouring to make out what little can be made out on the obscure subject of variation. letter . to t. rivers. down, january th [ ?]. i thank you much for your letter and the parcel of shoots. the case of the yellow plum is a treasure, and is now safely recorded on your authority in its proper place, in contrast with a. knight's case of the yellow magnum bonum sporting into red. ( / . see "variation under domestication," edition ii., volume i., page .) i could see no difference in the shoots, except that those of the yellow were thicker, and i presume that this is merely accidental: as you do not mention it, i further presume that there are no further differences in leaves or flowers of the two plums. i am very glad to hear about the yellow ash, and that you yourself have seen the jessamine case. i must confess that i hardly fully believed in it; but now i do, and very surprising it is. in an old french book, published in amsterdam in (i think), there is an account, apparently authentic and attested by the writer as an eye-witness, of hyacinth bulbs of two colours being cut in two and grafted, and they sent up single stalks with differently coloured flowers on the two sides, and some flowers parti-coloured. i once thought of offering pounds reward in the "cottage gardener" for such a plant; but perhaps it would seem too foolish. no instructions are given when to perform the operation; i have tried two or three times, and utterly failed. i find that i have a grand list of "bud-variations," and to-morrow shall work up such cases as i have about rose-sports, which seem very numerous, and which i see you state to occur comparatively frequently. when a person is very good-natured he gets much pestered--a discovery which i daresay you have made, or anyhow will soon make; for i do want very much to know whether you have sown seed of any moss-roses, and whether the seedlings were moss-roses. ( / . moss-roses can be raised from seed ("variation under domestication," edition ii., volume i., page .) has a common rose produced by seed a moss-rose? if any light comes to you about very slight changes in the buds, pray have the kindness to illuminate me. i have cases of seven or eight varieties of the peach which have produced by "bud-variation" nectarines, and yet only one single case (in france) of a peach producing another closely similar peach (but later in ripening). how strange it is that a great change in the peach should occur not rarely and slighter changes apparently very rarely! how strange that no case seems recorded of new apples or pears or apricots by "bud-variation"! how ignorant we are! but with the many good observers now living our children's children will be less ignorant, and that is a comfort. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, january th [ ]. very many thanks for your letter, which has told me exactly what i wanted to know. i shall give up all thoughts of trying to get the book ( / . hackel's "generelle morphologie," . see "life and letters," iii., pages , .) translated, for i am well convinced that it would be hopeless without too great an outlay. i much regret this, as i should think the work would be useful, and i am sure it would be to me, as i shall never be able to wade through more than here and there a page of the original. to all people i cannot but think that the number of new terms would be a great evil. i must write to him. i suppose you know his address, but in case you do not, it is "to care of signor nicolaus krohn, madeira." i have sent the ms. of my big book ( / . "the variation of animals and plants under domestication," .), and horridly, disgustingly big it will be, to the printers, but i do not suppose it will be published, owing to murray's idea on seasons, till next november. i am thinking of a chapter on man, as there has lately been so much said on natural selection in relation to man. i have not seen the duke's (or dukelet's? how can you speak so of a living real duke?) book, but must get it from mudie, as you say he attacks us. ( / . "the reign of law" ( ), by the late duke of argyll. see "life and letters," iii., page .) p.s.--nature never made species mutually sterile by selection, nor will men. letter . to e. hackel. down, january th [ ]. i received some weeks ago your great work ( / . "generelle morphologie," .); i have read several parts, but i am too poor a german scholar and the book is too large for me to read it all. i cannot tell you how much i regret this, for i am sure that nearly the whole would interest me greatly, and i have already found several parts very useful, such as the discussion on cells and on the different forms of reproduction. i feel sure, after considering the subject deliberately and after consulting with huxley, that it would be hopeless to endeavour to get a publisher to print an english translation; the work is too profound and too long for our english countrymen. the number of new terms would also, i am sure, tell much against its sale; and, indeed, i wish for my own sake that you had printed a glossary of all the new terms which you use. i fully expect that your book will be highly successful in germany, and the manner in which you often refer to me in your text, and your dedication and the title, i shall always look at as one of the greatest honours conferred on me during my life. ( / . as regards the dedication and title this seems a strong expression. the title is "generelle morphologie der organismen. allgemeine grundzuge der organischen formen-wissenschaft mechanisch begrundet durch die von charles darwin reformirte descendenz-theorie." the dedication of the second volume is "den begrundern der descendenz-theorie, den denkenden naturforschern, charles darwin, wolfgang goethe, jean lamarck widmet diese grundzuge der allgemeinen entwickelungsgeschichte in vorzuglicher verehrung, der verfasser.") i sincerely hope that you have had a prosperous expedition, and have met with many new and interesting animals. if you have spare time i should much like to hear what you have been doing and observing. as for myself, i have sent the ms. of my book on domestic animals, etc., to the printers. it turns out to be much too large; it will not be published, i suppose, until next november. i find that we have discussed several of the same subjects, and i think we agree on most points fairly well. i have lately heard several times from fritz muller, but he seems now chiefly to be working on plants. i often think of your visit to this house, which i enjoyed extremely, and it will ever be to me a real pleasure to remember our acquaintance. from what i heard in london i think you made many friends there. shall you return through england? if so, and you can spare the time, we shall all be delighted to see you here again. letter . to t. rivers. down, january th [ ?]. how rich and valuable a letter you have most kindly sent me! the case of baronne prevost ( / . see "variation under domestication," edition ii., volume i., page . mr. rivers had a new french rose with a delicate smooth stem, pale glaucous leaves and striped flesh-coloured flowers; on branches thus characterised there appeared "the famous old rose called 'baronne prevost,'" with its stout thorny stem and uniform rich-coloured double flowers.), with its different shoots, foliage, spines, and flowers, will be grand to quote. i am extremely glad to hear about the seedling moss-roses. that case of a seedling like a scotch rose, unless you are sure that no scotch rose grew near (and it is unlikely that you can remember), must, one would think, have been a cross. i have little compunction for being so troublesome--not more than a grand inquisitor has in torturing a heretic--for am i not doing a real good public service in screwing crumbs of knowledge out of your wealth of information? p.s. since the above was written i have read your paper in the "gardeners' chronicle": it is admirable, and will, i know, be a treasure to me. i did not at all know how strictly the character of so many flowers is inherited. on my honour, when i began this note i had no thought of troubling you with a question; but you mention one point so interesting, and which i have had occasion to notice, that i must supplicate for a few more facts to quote on your authority. you say that you have one or two seedling peaches ( / . "on raising peaches, nectarines, and other fruits from seed." by thomas rivers, sawbridgeworth.--"gard. chron." , page .) approaching very nearly to thick-fleshed almonds (i know about a. knight and the italian hybrid cases). now, did any almond grow near your mother peach? but especially i want to know whether you remember what shape the stone was, whether flattened like that of an almond; this, botanically, seems the most important distinction. i earnestly wish to quote this. was the flesh at all sweet? forgive if you can. have you kept these seedling peaches? if you would give me next summer a fruit, i want to have it engraved. letter . to i. anderson-henry. may nd [ ]. you are so kind as to offer to lend me maillet's ( / . for de maillet see mr. huxley's review on "the origin of species" in the "westminster review," , reprinted in "lay sermons," , page . de maillet's evolutionary views were published after his death in under the name of telliamed (de maillet spelt backwards).) work, which i have often heard of, but never seen. i should like to have a look at it, and would return it to you in a short time. i am bound to read it, as my former friend and present bitter enemy owen generally ranks me and maillet as a pair of equal fools. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, april th [ ]. you have done me a very great service in sending me the pages of the "farmer." i do not know whether you wish it returned; but i will keep it unless i hear that you want it. old i. anderson-henry passes a magnificent but rather absurd eulogium on me; but the point of such extreme value in my eyes is mr. traill's ( / . mr. traill's results are given at page of "animals and plants," edition ii., volume i. in the "life and letters of g.j. romanes," , an interesting correspondence is published with mr. darwin on this subject. the plan of the experiments suggested to romanes was to raise seedlings from graft-hybrids: if the seminal offspring of plants hybridised by grafting should show the hybrid character, it would be striking evidence in favour of pangenesis. the experiment, however, did not succeed.) statement that he made a mottled mongrel by cutting eyes through and joining two kinds of potatoes. ( / . for an account of similar experiments now in progress, see a "note on some grafting experiments" by r. biffen in the "annals of botany," volume xvi., page , .) i have written to him for full information, and then i will set to work on a similar trial. it would prove, i think, to demonstration that propagation by buds and by the sexual elements are essentially the same process, as pangenesis in the most solemn manner declares to be the case. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, june th [ ?]. we come up on saturday, the th, for a week. i want much to see you for a short time to talk about my youngest boy and the school of mines. i know it is rather unreasonable, but you must let me come a little after o'clock on sunday morning, the th. if in any way inconvenient, send me a line to " , queen anne street w.,"; but if i do not hear, i will (stomacho volente) call, but i will not stay very long and spoil your whole morning as a holiday. will you turn two or three times in your mind this question: what i called "pangenesis" means that each cell throws off an atom of its contents or a gemmule, and that these aggregated form the true ovule or bud, etc.? now i want to know whether i could not invent a better word. "cyttarogenesis" ( / . from kuttaros, a bee's-cell: cytogenesis would be a natural form of the word from kutos.)--i.e. cell-genesis--is more true and expressive, but long. "atomogenesis" sounds rather better, i think, but an "atom" is an object which cannot be divided; and the term might refer to the origin of atoms of inorganic matter. i believe i like "pangenesis" best, though so indefinite; and though my wife says it sounds wicked, like pantheism; but i am so familiar now with this word, that i cannot judge. i supplicate you to help me. letter . to a.r. wallace. down, october, th and th [ ]. i ordered the journal ( / . "quarterly journal of science," october, , page . a review of the duke of argyll's "reign of law.") a long time ago, but by some oversight received it only yesterday, and read it. you will think my praise not worth having, from being so indiscriminate; but if i am to speak the truth, i must say i admire every word. you have just touched on the points which i particularly wished to see noticed. i am glad you had the courage to take up angraecum ( / . angraecum sesquipedale, a madagascan orchid, with a whiplike nectary, to inches in length, which, according to darwin ("fertilisation of orchids," edition ii., page ), is adapted to the visits of a moth with a proboscis of corresponding length. he points out that there is no difficulty in believing in the existence of such a moth as f. muller has described ("nature," , page )--a brazilian sphinx-moth with a trunk of to inches in length. moreover, forbes has given evidence to show that such an insect does exist in madagascar ("nature," viii., , page ). the case of angraecum was put forward by the duke of argyll as being necessarily due to the personal contrivance of the deity. mr. wallace (page ) shows that both proboscis and nectary might be increased in length by means of natural selection. it may be added that hermann muller has shown good grounds for believing that mutual specialisation of this kind is beneficial both to insect and plant.) after the duke's attack; for i believe the principle in this case may be widely applied. i like the figure, but i wish the artist had drawn a better sphinx. with respect to beauty, your remarks on hideous objects and on flowers not being made beautiful except when of practical use to them, strike me as very good. on this one point of beauty i can hardly think that the duke was quite candid. i have used in the concluding paragraph of my present book precisely the same argument as you have, even bringing in the bull-dog ( / . "variation of animals and plants," edition i., volume ii., page : "did he cause the frame and mental qualities of the dog to vary in order that a breed might be formed of indomitable ferocity, with jaws fitted to pin down the bull for man's brutal sport?"), with respect to variations not having been specially ordained. your metaphor of the river ( / . see wallace, op. cit., pages - . he imagines an observer examining a great river-system, and finding everywhere adaptations which reveal the design of the creator. "he would see special adaptation to the wants of man in broad, quiet, navigable rivers, through fertile alluvial plains that would support a large population, while the rocky streams and mountain torrents were confined to those sterile regions suitable only for a small population of shepherds and herdsmen.') is new to me, and admirable; but your other metaphor, in which you compare classification and complex machines, does not seem to me quite appropriate, though i cannot point out what seems deficient. the point which seems to me strong is that all naturalists admit that there is a natural classification, and it is this which descent explains. i wish you had insisted a little more against the "north british" ( / . at page mr. wallace deals with fleeming jenkin's review in the "north british review," . the review strives to show that there are strict limits to variation, since the most rigorous and long-continued selection does not indefinitely increase such a quality as the fleetness of a racehorse. on this mr. wallace remarks that "this argument fails to meet the real question," which is, not whether indefinite change is possible, "but whether such differences as do occur in nature could have been produced by the accumulation of variations by selection.") on the reviewer assuming that each variation which appears is a strongly marked one; though by implication you have made this very plain. nothing in your whole article has struck me more than your view with respect to the limit of fleetness in the racehorse and other such cases: i shall try and quote you on this head in the proof of my concluding chapter. i quite missed this explanation, though in the case of wheat i hit upon something analogous. i am glad you praise the duke's book, for i was much struck with it. the part about flight seemed to me at first very good; but as the wing is articulated by a ball-and-socket joint, i suspect the duke would find it very difficult to give any reason against the belief that the wing strikes the air more or less obliquely. i have been very glad to see your article and the drawing of the butterfly in "science gossip." by the way, i cannot but think that you push protection too far in some cases, as with the stripes on the tiger. i have also this morning read an excellent abstract in the "gardeners' chronicle" of your paper on nests. ( / . an abstract of a paper on "birds' nests and plumage," read before the british association: see "gard. chron." , page .) i was not by any means fully converted by your letter, but i think now i am so; and i hope it will be published somewhere in extenso. it strikes me as a capital generalisation, and appears to me even more original than it did at first... i have finished volume i. of my book ["variation of animals and plants"], and i hope the whole will be out by the end of november. if you have the patience to read it through, which is very doubtful, you will find, i think, a large accumulation of facts which will be of service to you in future papers; and they could not be put to better use, for you certainly are a master in the noble art of reasoning. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, october rd [no date]. i know you have no time for speculative correspondence; and i did not in the least expect an answer to my last. but i am very glad to have had it, for in my eclectic work the opinions of the few good men are of great value to me. i knew, of course, of the cuvierian view of classification ( / . cuvier proved that "animals cannot be arranged in a single series, but that there are several distinct plans of organisation to be observed among them, no one of which, in its highest and most complicated modification, leads to any of the others" (huxley's "darwiniana," page ).); but i think that most naturalists look for something further, and search for "the natural system,"--"for the plan on which the creator has worked," etc., etc. it is this further element which i believe to be simply genealogical. but i should be very glad to have your answer (either when we meet or by note) to the following case, taken by itself, and not allowing yourself to look any further than to the point in question. grant all races of man descended from one race--grant that all the structure of each race of man were perfectly known--grant that a perfect table of the descent of each race was perfectly known--grant all this, and then do you not think that most would prefer as the best classification, a genealogical one, even if it did occasionally put one race not quite so near to another, as it would have stood, if collocated by structure alone? generally, we may safely presume, that the resemblance of races and their pedigrees would go together. i should like to hear what you would say on this purely theoretical case. it might be asked why is development so all-potent in classification, as i fully admit it is? i believe it is because it depends on, and best betrays, genealogical descent; but this is too large a point to enter on. letter . to c. lyell. down, december th [ ]. i send by this post the article in the victorian institute with respect to frogs' spawn. if you remember in your boyhood having ever tried to take a small portion out of the water, you will remember that it is most difficult. i believe all the birds in the world might alight every day on the spawn of batrachians, and never transport a single ovum. with respect to the young of molluscs, undoubtedly if the bird to which they were attached alighted on the sea, they would be instantly killed; but a land-bird would, i should think, never alight except under dire necessity from fatigue. this, however, has been observed near heligoland ( / . instances are recorded by gatke in his "heligoland as an ornithological observatory" (translated by rudolph rosenstock, edinburgh, ) of land-birds, such as thrushes, buntings, finches, etc., resting for a short time on the surface of the water. the author describes observations made by himself about two miles west of heligoland (page ).); and land-birds, after resting for a time on the tranquil sea, have been seen to rise and continue their flight. i cannot give you the reference about heligoland without much searching. this alighting on the sea may aid you in your unexpected difficulty of the too-easy diffusion of land-molluscs by the agency of birds. i much enjoyed my morning's talk with you. letter . to f. hildebrand. down, january th [ ]. i thank you for your letter, which has quite delighted me. i sincerely congratulate you on your success in making a graft-hybrid ( / . prof. hildebrand's paper is in the "bot. zeitung," : the substance is given in "variation of animals and plants," edition ii., volume i., page .), for i believe it to be a most important observation. i trust that you will publish full details on this subject and on the direct action of pollen ( / . see prof. hildebrand, "bot. zeitung," , and "variation of animals and plants," edition ii., volume i., page . a yellow-grained maize was fertilised with pollen from a brown-grained one; the result was that ears were produced bearing both yellow and dark-coloured grains.): i hope that you will be so kind as to send me a copy of your paper. if i had succeeded in making a graft-hybrid of the potato, i had intended to raise seedlings from the graft-hybrid and from the two parent-forms (excluding insects) and carefully compare the offspring. this, however, would be difficult on account of the sterility and variability of the potato. when in the course of a few months you receive my second volume ( / . this sentence may be paraphrased--"when you receive my book and read the second volume."), you will see why i think these two subjects so important. they have led me to form a hypothesis on the various forms of reproduction, development, inheritance, etc., which hypothesis, i believe, will ultimately be accepted, though how it will be now received i am very doubtful. once again i congratulate you on your success. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, january th [ ]. many thanks about names of plants, synonyms, and male flowers--all that i wanted. i have been glad to see watson's letter, and am sorry he is a renegade about natural selection. it is, as you say, characteristic, with the final fling at you. his difficulty about the difference between the two genera of st. helena umbellifers is exactly the same as what nageli has urged in an able pamphlet ( / . "ueber entstehung und begriff der naturhist. art." "sitz. der k. bayer. akad. der wiss. zu munchen," . some of nageli's points are discussed in the "origin," edition v., page .), and who in consequence maintains that there is some unknown innate tendency to progression in all organisms. i said in a letter to him that of course i could not in the least explain such cases; but that they did not seem to me of overwhelming force, as long as we are quite ignorant of the meaning of such structures, whether they are of any service to the plants, or inevitable consequences of modifications in other parts. i cannot understand what watson means by the "counter-balance in nature" to divergent variation. there is the counterbalance of crossing, of which my present work daily leads me to see more and more the efficiency; but i suppose he means something very different. further, i believe variation to be divergent solely because diversified forms can best subsist. but you will think me a bore. i enclose half a letter from f. muller (which please return) for the chance of your liking to see it; though i have doubted much about sending it, as you are so overworked. i imagine the solanum-like flower is curious. i heard yesterday to my joy that dr. hildebrand has been experimenting on the direct action of pollen on the mother-plant with success. he has also succeeded in making a true graft-hybrid between two varieties of potatoes, in which i failed. i look at this as splendid for pangenesis, as being strong evidence that bud-reproduction and seminal reproduction do not essentially differ. my book is horribly delayed, owing to the accursed index-maker. ( / . darwin thoroughly appreciated the good work put into the index of "the variation of animals and plants.") i have almost forgotten it! letter . to t.h. huxley. down, january th [ ]. most sincere thanks for your kind congratulations. i never received a note from you in my life without pleasure; but whether this will be so after you have read pangenesis ( / . in volume ii. of "animals and plants, .), i am very doubtful. oh lord, what a blowing up i may receive! i write now partly to say that you must not think of looking at my book till the summer, when i hope you will read pangenesis, for i care for your opinion on such a subject more than for that of any other man in europe. you are so terribly sharp-sighted and so confoundedly honest! but to the day of my death i will always maintain that you have been too sharp-sighted on hybridism; and the chapter on the subject in my book i should like you to read: not that, as i fear, it will produce any good effect, and be hanged to you. i rejoice that your children are all pretty well. give mrs. huxley the enclosed ( / . queries on expression.), and ask her to look out when one of her children is struggling and just going to burst out crying. a dear young lady near here plagued a very young child for my sake, till it cried, and saw the eyebrows for a second or two beautifully oblique, just before the torrent of tears began. the sympathy of all our friends about george's success (it is the young herald) ( / . his son george was second wrangler in ; as a boy he was an enthusiast in heraldry.) has been a wonderful pleasure to us. george has not slaved himself, which makes his success the more satisfactory. farewell, my dear huxley, and do not kill yourself with work. ( / . the following group of letters deals with the problem of the causes of the sterility of hybrids. mr. darwin's final view is given in the "origin," sixth edition (page , edition ). he acknowledges that it would be advantageous to two incipient species, if by physiological isolation due to mutual sterility, they could be kept from blending: but he continues, "after mature reflection it seems to me that this could not have been effected through natural selection." and finally he concludes (page ):-- "but it would be superfluous to discuss this question in detail; for with plants we have conclusive evidence that the sterility of crossed species must be due to some principle quite independent of natural selection. both gartner and kolreuter have proved that in genera including numerous species, a series can be formed from species which when crossed yield fewer and fewer seeds, to species which never produce a single seed, but yet are affected by the pollen of certain other species, for the germen swells. it is here manifestly impossible to select the more sterile individuals, which have already ceased to yield seeds; so that this acme of sterility, when the germen alone is affected, cannot have been gained through selection; and from the laws governing the various grades of sterility being so uniform throughout the animal and vegetable kingdoms, we may infer that the cause, whatever it may be, is the same or nearly the same in all cases." mr. wallace, on the other hand, still adheres to his view: see his "darwinism," , page , and for a more recent statement see page , note , letter , and page . the discussion of began with a letter from mr. wallace, written towards the end of february, giving his opinion on the "variation of animals and plants;" the discussion on the sterility of hybrids is at page , volume ii., of the first edition.) letter . a.r. wallace to charles darwin. february . the only parts i have yet met with where i somewhat differ from your views, are in the chapter on the causes of variability, in which i think several of your arguments are unsound: but this is too long a subject to go into now. also, i do not see your objection to sterility between allied species having been aided by natural selection. it appears to me that, given a differentiation of a species into two forms, each of which was adapted to a special sphere of existence, every slight degree of sterility would be a positive advantage, not to the individuals who were sterile, but to each form. if you work it out, and suppose the two incipient species a...b to be divided into two groups, one of which contains those which are fertile when the two are crossed, the other being slightly sterile, you will find that the latter will certainly supplant the former in the struggle for existence; remembering that you have shown that in such a cross the offspring would be more vigorous than the pure breed, and therefore would certainly soon supplant them, and as these would not be so well adapted to any special sphere of existence as the pure species a and b, they would certainly in their turn give way to a and b. letter . to a.r. wallace. february th [ ]. i shall be very glad to hear, at some future day, your criticisms on the "causes of variability." indeed, i feel sure that i am right about sterility and natural selection. two of my grown-up children who are acute reasoners have two or three times at intervals tried to prove me wrong; and when your letter came they had another try, but ended by coming back to my side. i do not quite understand your case, and we think that a word or two is misplaced. i wish some time you would consider the case under the following point of view. if sterility is caused or accumulated through natural selection, then, as every degree exists up to absolute barrenness, natural selection must have the power of increasing it. now take two species a and b, and assume that they are (by any means) half-sterile, i.e., produce half the full number of offspring. now try and make (by natural selection) a and b absolutely sterile when crossed, and you will find how difficult it is. i grant, indeed it is certain, that the degree of the sterility of the individuals of a and b will vary; but any such extra-sterile individuals of, we will say a, if they should hereafter breed with other individuals of a, will bequeath no advantage to their progeny, by which these families will tend to increase in number over other families of a, which are not more sterile when crossed with b. but i do not know that i have made this any clearer than in the chapter in my book. it is a most difficult bit of reasoning, which i have gone over and over again on paper with diagrams. ( / . this letter appeared in "life and letters," iii., page .) letter . a.r. wallace to charles darwin. march st, . i beg to enclose what appears to me a demonstration on your own principles, that natural selection could produce sterility of hybrids. if it does not convince you, i shall be glad if you will point out where the fallacy lies. i have taken the two cases of a slight sterility overcoming perfect fertility, and of a perfect sterility overcoming a partial fertility,--the beginning and end of the process. you admit that variations in fertility and sterility occur, and i think you will also admit that if i demonstrate that a considerable amount of sterility would be advantageous to a variety, that is sufficient proof that the slightest variation in that direction would be useful also, and would go on accumulating. . let there be a species which has varied into two forms, each adapted to existing conditions ( / . "existing conditions," means of course new conditions which have now come into existence. and the "two" being both better adapted than the parent form, means that they are better adapted each to a special environment in the same area--as one to damp, another to dry places; one to woods, another to open grounds, etc., etc., as darwin had already explained. a.r.w. ( ).) better than the parent form, which they supplant. . if these two forms, which are supposed to co-exist in the same district, do not intercross, natural selection will accumulate favourable variations, till they become sufficiently well adapted to their conditions of life and form two allied species. . but if these two forms freely intercross with each other and produce hybrids which are also quite fertile inter se, then the formation of the two distinct races or species will be retarded or perhaps entirely prevented; for the offspring of the crossed unions will be more vigorous owing to the cross, although less adapted to their conditions of life than either of the pure breeds. ( / . after "pure breeds," add "because less specialised." a.r.w. ( ).) . now let a partial sterility of some individuals of these two forms arise when they intercross; and as this would probably be due to some special conditions of life, we may fairly suppose it to arise in some definite portion of the area occupied by the two forms. . the result is that in this area hybrids will not increase so rapidly as before; and as by the terms of the problem the two pure forms are better suited to the conditions of life than the hybrids, they will tend to supplant the latter altogether whenever the struggle for existence becomes severe. . we may fairly suppose, also, that as soon as any sterility appears under natural conditions, it will be accompanied by some disinclination to cross-unions; and this will further diminish the production of hybrids. . in the other part of the area, however, where hybridism occurs unchecked, hybrids of various degrees will soon far outnumber the parent or pure form. . the first result, then, of a partial sterility of crosses appearing in one part of the area occupied by the two forms, will be, that the great majority of the individuals will there consist of the pure forms only, while in the rest of the area these will be in a minority,--which is the same as saying, that the new sterile or physiological variety of the two forms will be better suited to the conditions of existence than the remaining portion which has not varied physiologically. . but when the struggle for existence becomes severe, that variety which is best adapted to the conditions of existence always supplants that which is imperfectly adapted; therefore by natural selection the sterile varieties of the two forms will become established as the only ones. . now let a fresh series of variations in the amount of sterility and in the disinclination to crossed unions occur,--also in certain parts of the area: exactly the same result must recur, and the progeny of this new physiological variety again in time occupy the whole area. . there is yet another consideration that supports this view. it seems probable that the variations in amount of sterility would to some extent concur with and perhaps depend upon the structural variations; so that just in proportion as the two forms diverged and became better adapted to the conditions of existence, their sterility would increase. if this were the case, then natural selection would act with double strength, and those varieties which were better adapted to survive both structurally and physiologically, would certainly do so. ( / . the preceding eleven paragraphs are substantially but not verbally identical with the statement of the argument in mr. wallace's "darwinism," . pages , , note .) . let us now consider the more difficult case of two allied species a, b, in the same area, half the individuals of each (as, bs) being absolutely sterile, the other half (af, bf) being partially fertile: will as, bs ultimately exterminate af, bf? . to avoid complication, it must be granted, that between as and bs no cross-unions take place, while between af and bf cross-unions are as frequent as direct unions, though much less fertile. we must also leave out of consideration crosses between as and af, bs and bf, with their various approaches to sterility, as i believe they will not affect the final result, although they will greatly complicate the problem. . in the first generation there will result: st, the pure progeny of as and bs; nd, the pure progeny of af and of bf; and rd, the hybrid progeny of af, bf. . supposing that, in ordinary years, the increased constitutional vigour of the hybrids exactly counterbalances their imperfect adaptations to conditions, there will be in the second generation, besides these three classes, hybrids of the second degree between the first hybrids and af and bf respectively. in succeeding generations there will be hybrids of all degrees, varying between the first hybrids and the almost pure types of af and bf. . now, if at first the number of individuals of as, bs, af and bf were equal, and year after year the total number continues stationary, i think it can be proved that, while half will be the pure progeny of as and bs, the other half will become more and more hybridised, until the whole will be hybrids of various degrees. . now, this hybrid and somewhat intermediate race cannot be so well adapted to the conditions of life as the two pure species, which have been formed by the minute adaptation to conditions through natural selection; therefore, in a severe struggle for existence, the hybrids must succumb, especially as, by hypothesis, their fertility would not be so great as that of the two pure species. . if we were to take into consideration the unions of as with af and bs with bf, the results would become very complicated, but it must still lead to there being a number of pure forms entirely derived from as and bs, and of hybrid forms mainly derived from af and bf; and the result of the struggle of these two sets of individuals cannot be doubtful. . if these arguments are sound, it follows that sterility may be accumulated and increased, and finally made complete by natural selection, whether the sterile varieties originate together in a definite portion of the area occupied by the two species, or occur scattered over the whole area. ( / . the first part of this discussion should be considered alone, as it is both more simple and more important. i now believe that the utility, and therefore the cause of sterility between species, is during the process of differentiation. when species are fully formed, the occasional occurrence of hybrids is of comparatively small importance, and can never be a danger to the existence of the species. a.r.w. ( ).) p.s.--in answer to the objection as to the unequal sterility of reciprocal crosses ("variation, etc." volume ii., page ) i reply that, as far as it went, the sterility of one cross would be advantageous even if the other cross was fertile: and just as characters now co-ordinated may have been separately accumulated by natural selection, so the reciprocal crosses may have become sterile one at a time. letter . to a.r. wallace. , chester place, march th, . ( / . mr. darwin had already written a short note to mr. wallace expressing a general dissent from his view.) i do not feel that i shall grapple with the sterility argument till my return home; i have tried once or twice, and it has made my stomach feel as if it had been placed in a vice. your paper has driven three of my children half mad--one sat up till o'clock over it. my second son, the mathematician, thinks that you have omitted one almost inevitable deduction which apparently would modify the result. he has written out what he thinks, but i have not tried fully to understand him. i suppose that you do not care enough about the subject to like to see what he has written. letter a. a.r. wallace to charles darwin. hurstpierpoint, march, th [ ]. i return your son's notes with my notes on them. without going into any details, is not this a strong general argument? . a species varies occasionally in two directions, but owing to their free intercrossing the varieties never increase. . a change of conditions occurs which threatens the existence of the species; but the two varieties are adapted to the changing conditions, and if accumulated will form two new species adapted to the new conditions. . free crossing, however, renders this impossible, and so the species is in danger of extinction. . if sterility would be induced, then the pure races would increase more rapidly, and replace the old species. . it is admitted that partial sterility between varieties does occasionally occur. it is admitted [that] the degree of this sterility varies; is it not probable that natural selection can accumulate these variations, and thus save the species? if natural selection can not do this, how do species ever arise, except when a variety is isolated? closely allied species in distinct countries being sterile is no difficulty; for either they diverged from a common ancestor in contact, and natural selection increased the sterility, or they were isolated, and have varied since: in which case they have been for ages influenced by distinct conditions which may well produce sterility. if the difficulty of grafting was as great as the difficulty of crossing, and as regular, i admit it would be a most serious objection. but it is not. i believe many distinct species can be grafted, while others less distinct cannot. the regularity with which natural species are sterile together, even when very much alike, i think is an argument in favour of the sterility having been generally produced by natural selection for the good of the species. the other difficulty, of unequal sterility of reciprocal crosses, seems none to me; for it is a step to more complete sterility, and as such would be increased by selection. letter . to a.r. wallace. down, april th [ ]. i have been considering the terrible problem. let me first say that no man could have more earnestly wished for the success of natural selection in regard to sterility than i did; and when i considered a general statement (as in your last note) i always felt sure it could be worked out, but always failed in detail. the cause being, as i believe, that natural selection cannot effect what is not good for the individual, including in this term a social community. it would take a volume to discuss all the points, and nothing is so humiliating to me as to agree with a man like you (or hooker) on the premises and disagree about the result. i agree with my son's argument and not with the rejoinder. the cause of our difference, i think, is that i look at the number of offspring as an important element (all circumstances remaining the same) in keeping up the average number of individuals within any area. i do not believe that the amount of food by any means is the sole determining cause of number. lessened fertility is equivalent to a new source of destruction. i believe if in one district a species produced from any cause fewer young, the deficiency would be supplied from surrounding districts. this applies to your paragraph . ( / . see letter .) if the species produced fewer young from any cause in every district, it would become extinct unless its fertility were augmented through natural selection (see h. spencer). i demur to probability and almost to possibility of paragraph ., as you start with two forms within the same area, which are not mutually sterile, and which yet have supplanted the parent-form. (paragraph .) i know of no ghost of a fact supporting belief that disinclination to cross accompanies sterility. it cannot hold with plants, or the lower fixed aquatic animals. i saw clearly what an immense aid this would be, but gave it up. disinclination to cross seems to have been independently acquired, probably by natural selection; and i do not see why it would not have sufficed to have prevented incipient species from blending to have simply increased sexual disinclination to cross. (paragraph .) i demur to a certain extent to amount of sterility and structural dissimilarity necessarily going together, except indirectly and by no means strictly. look at vars. of pigeons, fowls, and cabbages. i overlooked the advantage of the half-sterility of reciprocal crosses; yet, perhaps from novelty, i do not feel inclined to admit probability of natural selection having done its work so queerly. i will not discuss the second case of utter sterility, but your assumptions in paragraph seem to me much too complicated. i cannot believe so universal an attribute as utter sterility between remote species was acquired in so complex a manner. i do not agree with your rejoinder on grafting: i fully admit that it is not so closely restricted as crossing, but this does not seem to me to weaken the case as one of analogy. the incapacity of grafting is likewise an invariable attribute of plants sufficiently remote from each other, and sometimes of plants pretty closely allied. the difficulty of increasing the sterility through natural selection of two already sterile species seems to me best brought home by considering an actual case. the cowslip and primrose are moderately sterile, yet occasionally produce hybrids. now these hybrids, two or three or a dozen in a whole parish, occupy ground which might have been occupied by either pure species, and no doubt the latter suffer to this small extent. but can you conceive that any individual plants of the primrose and cowslip which happened to be mutually rather more sterile (i.e. which, when crossed, yielded a few less seed) than usual, would profit to such a degree as to increase in number to the ultimate exclusion of the present primrose and cowslip? i cannot. my son, i am sorry to say, cannot see the full force of your rejoinder in regard to second head of continually augmented sterility. you speak in this rejoinder, and in paragraph , of all the individuals becoming in some slight degree sterile in certain districts: if you were to admit that by continued exposure to these same conditions the sterility would inevitably increase, there would be no need of natural selection. but i suspect that the sterility is not caused so much by any particular conditions as by long habituation to conditions of any kind. to speak according to pangenesis, the gemmules of hybrids are not injured, for hybrids propagate freely by buds; but their reproductive organs are somehow affected, so that they cannot accumulate the proper gemmules, in nearly the same manner as the reproductive organs of a pure species become affected when exposed to unnatural conditions. this is a very ill-expressed and ill-written letter. do not answer it, unless the spirit urges you. life is too short for so long a discussion. we shall, i greatly fear, never agree. letter . a.r. wallace to charles darwin. hurstpierpoint, [april?] th, . i am sorry you should have given yourself the trouble to answer my ideas on sterility. if you are not convinced, i have little doubt but that i am wrong; and, in fact, i was only half convinced by my own arguments, and i now think there is about an even chance that natural selection may or may not be able to accumulate sterility. if my first proposition is modified to the existence of a species and a variety in the same area, it will do just as well for my argument. such certainly do exist. they are fertile together, and yet each maintains itself tolerably distinct. how can this be, if there is no disinclination to crossing? my belief certainly is that number of offspring is not so important an element in keeping up population of a species as supply of food and other favourable conditions; because the numbers of a species constantly vary greatly in different parts of its own area, whereas the average number of offspring is not a very variable element. however, i will say no more, but leave the problem as insoluble, only fearing that it will become a formidable weapon in the hands of the enemies of natural selection. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . the following extract from a letter to sir joseph hooker (dated april rd, ) refers to his presidential address for the approaching meeting of the british association at norwich. some account of sir joseph's success is given in the "life and letters," iii., page , also in huxley's "life," volume i., page , where huxley writes to darwin:-- "we had a capital meeting at norwich, and dear old hooker came out in great force, as he always does in emergencies. the only fault was the terrible 'darwinismus' which spread over the section and crept out when you least expected it, even in fergusson's lecture on 'buddhist temples.' you will have the rare happiness to see your ideas triumphant during your lifetime. "p.s.--i am going into opposition; i can't stand it.") down, april rd [ ]. i have been thinking over your presidential address; i declare i made myself quite uncomfortable by fancying i had to do it, and feeling myself utterly dumbfounded. but i do not believe that you will find it so difficult. when you come to down i shall be very curious to hear what your ideas are on the subject. could you make anything out of a history of the great steps in the progress of botany, as representing the whole of natural history? heaven protect you! i suppose there are men to whom such a job would not be so awful as it appears to me...if you had time, you ought to read an article by w. bagehot in the april number of the "fortnightly" ( / . "physic and politics," "fortnightly review," volume iii., page , .), applying natural selection to early or prehistoric politics, and, indeed, to late politics,--this you know is your view. letter . a.r. wallace to charles darwin. , st. mark's crescent, n.w., august th [ ]. i ought to have written before to thank you for the copies of your papers on primula and on "cross-unions of dimorphic plants, etc." the latter is particularly interesting and the conclusion most important; but i think it makes the difficulty of how these forms, with their varying degrees of sterility, originated, greater than ever. if "natural selection" could not accumulate varying degrees of sterility for the plant's benefit, then how did sterility ever come to be associated with one cross of a trimorphic plant rather than another? the difficulty seems to be increased by the consideration that the advantage of a cross with a distinct individual is gained just as well by illegitimate as by legitimate unions. by what means, then, did illegitimate unions ever become sterile? it would seem a far simpler way for each plant's pollen to have acquired a prepotency on another individual's stigma over that of the same individual, without the extraordinary complication of three differences of structure and eighteen different unions with varying degrees of sterility! however, the fact remains an excellent answer to the statement that sterility of hybrids proves the absolute distinctness of the parents. i have been reading with great pleasure mr. bentham's last admirable address ( / . "proc. linn. soc." - , page lvii.), in which he so well replies to the gross misstatements of the "athenaeum;" and also says award in favour of pangenesis. i think we may now congratulate you on having made a valuable convert, whose opinions on the subject, coming so late and being evidently so well considered, will have much weight. i am going to norwich on tuesday to hear dr. hooker, who i hope will boldly promulgate "darwinism" in his address. ( / . sir joseph hooker's presidential address at the british association meeting.) shall we have the pleasure of seeing you there? i am engaged in negociations about my book. hoping you are well and getting on with your next volumes. ( / . we are permitted by mr. wallace to append the following note as to his more recent views on the question of natural selection and sterility:-- "when writing my "darwinism," and coming again to the consideration of this problem of the effect of natural selection in accumulating variations in the amount of sterility between varieties or incipient species twenty years later, i became more convinced, than i was when discussing with darwin, of the substantial accuracy of my argument. recently a correspondent who is both a naturalist and a mathematician has pointed out to me a slight error in my calculation at page (which does not, however, materially affect the result), disproving the 'physiological selection' of the late dr. romanes, but he can see no fallacy in my argument as to the power of natural selection to increase sterility between incipient species, nor, so far as i am aware, has any one shown such fallacy to exist. "on the other points on which i differed from mr. darwin in the foregoing discussion--the effect of high fertility on population of a species, etc.--i still hold the views i then expressed, but it would be out of place to attempt to justify them here." a.r.w. ( ).) letter . to c. lyell. down, october th [ ]. with respect to the points in your note, i may sometimes have expressed myself with ambiguity. at the end of chapter xxiii., where i say that marked races are not often (you omit "often") produced by changed conditions ( / . "hence, although it must be admitted that new conditions of life do sometimes definitely affect organic beings, it may be doubted whether well-marked races have often been produced by the direct action of changed conditions without the aid of selection either by man or nature." ("animals and plants," volume ii., page , .)), i intended to refer to the direct action of such conditions in causing variation, and not as leading to the preservation or destruction of certain forms. there is as wide a difference in these two respects as between voluntary selection by man and the causes which induce variability. i have somewhere in my book referred to the close connection between natural selection and the action of external conditions in the sense which you specify in your note. and in this sense all natural selection may be said to depend on changed conditions. in the "origin" i think i have underrated (and from the cause which you mention) the effects of the direct action of external conditions in producing varieties; but i hope in chapter xxiii. i have struck as fair a balance as our knowledge permits. it is wonderful to me that you have patience to read my slips, and i cannot but regret, as they are so imperfect; they must, i think, give you a wrong impression, and had i sternly refused, you would perhaps have thought better of my book. every single slip is greatly altered, and i hope improved. with respect to the human ovule, i cannot find dimensions given, though i have often seen the statement. my impression is that it would be just or barely visible if placed on a clear piece of glass. huxley could answer your question at once. i have not been well of late, and have made slow progress, but i think my book will be finished by the middle of november. letter . a.r. wallace to charles darwin. [end of february, ] i am in the second volume of your book, and i have been astonished at the immense number of interesting facts you have brought together. i read the chapter on pangenesis first, for i could not wait. i can hardly tell you how much i admire it. it is a positive comfort to me to have any feasible explanation of a difficulty that has always been haunting me, and i shall never be able to give it up till a better one supplies its place,--and that i think hardly possible. you have now fairly beaten spencer on his own ground, for he really offered no solution of the difficulties of the problem. the incomprehensible minuteness and vast numbers of the physiological germs or atoms (which themselves must be compounded of numbers of spencer's physiological units) is the only difficulty; but that is only on a par with the difficulties in all conceptions of matter, space, motion, force, etc. as i understood spencer, his physiological units were identical throughout each species, but slightly different in each different species; but no attempt was made to show how the identical form of the parent or ancestors came to be built up of such units. letter . to a.r. wallace. down, february th [ ]. you cannot well imagine how much i have been pleased by what you say about pangenesis. none of my friends will speak out, except to a certain extent sir h. holland, who found it very tough reading, but admits that some view "closely akin to it" will have to be admitted. hooker, as far as i understand him, which i hardly do at present, seems to think that the hypothesis is little more than saying that organisms have such and such potentialities. what you say exactly and fully expresses my feelings--viz., that it is a relief to have some feasible explanation of the various facts, which can be given up as soon as any better hypothesis is found. it has certainly been an immense relief to my mind; for i have been stumbling over the subject for years, dimly seeing that some relation existed between the various classes of facts. i now hear from h. spencer that his views quoted in my footnote refer to something quite distinct, as you seem to have perceived. ( / . this letter is published in "life and letters," iii., page .) letter . a.r. wallace to charles darwin. hurstpierpoint, march st, . ...sir c. lyell spoke to me as if he has greatly admired pangenesis. i am very glad h. spencer at once acknowledges that his view was something quite distinct from yours. although, as you know, i am a great admirer of his, i feel how completely his view failed to go to the root of the matter, as yours does. his explained nothing, though he was evidently struggling hard to find an explanation. yours, as far as i can see, explains everything in growth and reproduction--though, of course, the mystery of life and consciousness remains as great as ever. parts of the chapter on pangenesis i found hard reading, and have not quite mastered yet, and there are also throughout the discussions in volume ii. many bits of hard reading, on minute points which we, who have not worked experimentally at cultivation and crossing, as you have done, can hardly see the importance of, or their bearing on the general question. if i am asked, i may perhaps write an article on the book for some periodical, and, if so, shall do what i can to make "pangenesis" appreciated... ( / . in "nature," may th, , page , appeared a letter on pangenesis from mr. a.c. ranyard, dealing with the difficulty that the "sexual elements produced upon the scion" have not been shown to be affected by the stock. mr. darwin, in an annotated copy of this letter, disputes the accuracy of the statement, but adds: "the best objection yet raised." he seems not to have used mr. ranyard's remarks in the nd edition of the "variation of animals and plants," .) letter . to j.d. hooker. down, may st [ ]. i know that you have been overworking yourself, and that makes you think that you are doing nothing in science. if this is the case (which i do not believe), your intellect has all run to letter-writing, for i never in all my life received a pleasanter one than your last. it greatly amused us all. how dreadfully severe you are on the duke ( / . the late duke of argyll, whose "reign of law" sir j.d. hooker had been reading.): i really think too severe, but then i am no fair judge, for a duke, in my eyes, is no common mortal, and not to be judged by common rules! i pity you from the bottom of my soul about the address ( / . sir joseph was president of the british association at norwich in : see "life and letters," iii., page . the reference to "insular floras" is to sir joseph's lecture at the nottingham meeting of the british association in : see "life and letters," iii., page .): it makes my flesh creep; but when i pitied you to huxley, he would not join at all, and would only say that you did and delivered your insular flora lecture so admirably in every way that he would not bestow any pity on you. he felt certain that you would keep your head high up. nevertheless, i wish to god it was all over for your sake. i think, from several long talks, that huxley will give an excellent and original lecture on geograph. distrib. of birds. i have been working very hard--too hard of late--on sexual selection, which turns out a gigantic subject; and almost every day new subjects turn up requiring investigation and leading to endless letters and searches through books. i am bothered, also, with heaps of foolish letters on all sorts of subjects, but i am much interested in my subject, and sometimes see gleams of light. all my other letters have prevented me indulging myself in writing to you; but i suddenly found the locust grass ( / . no doubt the plants raised from seeds taken from locust dung sent by mr. weale from south africa. the case is mentioned in the fifth edition of the "origin," published in , page .) yesterday in flower, and had to despatch it at once. i suppose some of your assistants will be able to make the genus out without great trouble. i have done little in experiment of late, but i find that mignonette is absolutely sterile with pollen from the same plant. any one who saw stamen after stamen bending upwards and shedding pollen over the stigmas of the same flower would declare that the structure was an admirable contrivance for self-fertilisation. how utterly mysterious it is that there should be some difference in ovules and contents of pollen-grains (for the tubes penetrate own stigma) causing fertilisation when these are taken from any two distinct plants, and invariably leading to impotence when taken from the same plant! by jove, even pan. ( / . pangenesis.) won't explain this. it is a comfort to me to think that you will be surely haunted on your death-bed for not honouring the great god pan. i am quite delighted at what you say about my book, and about bentham; when writing it, i was much interested in some parts, but latterly i thought quite as poorly of it as even the "athenaeum." it ought to be read abroad for the sake of the booksellers, for five editions have come or are coming out abroad! i am ashamed to say that i have read only the organic part of lyell, and i admire all that i have read as much as you. it is a comfort to know that possibly when one is seventy years old one's brain may be good for work. it drives me mad, and i know it does you too, that one has no time for reading anything beyond what must be read: my room is encumbered with unread books. i agree about wallace's wonderful cleverness, but he is not cautious enough in my opinion. i find i must (and i always distrust myself when i differ from him) separate rather widely from him all about birds' nests and protection; he is riding that hobby to death. i never read anything so miserable as andrew murray's criticism on wallace in the last number of his journal. ( / . see "journal of travel and natural history," volume i., no. , page , london, , for andrew murray's "reply to mr. wallace's theory of birds' nests," which appeared in the same volume, page . the "journal" came to an end after the publication of one volume for - .) i believe this journal will die, and i shall not cry: what a contrast with the old "natural history review." letter . to j.d. hooker. freshwater, isle of wight, july th [ ]. i am glad to hear that you are going ( / . in his presidential address at norwich.) to touch on the statement that the belief in natural selection is passing away. i do not suppose that even the "athenaeum" would pretend that the belief in the common descent of species is passing away, and this is the more important point. this now almost universal belief in the evolution (somehow) of species, i think may be fairly attributed in large part to the "origin." it would be well for you to look at the short introduction of owen's "anat. of invertebrates," and see how fully he admits the descent of species. of the "origin," four english editions, one or two american, two french, two german, one dutch, one italian, and several (as i was told) russian editions. the translations of my book on "variation under domestication" are the results of the "origin;" and of these two english, one american, one german, one french, one italian, and one russian have appeared, or will soon appear. ernst hackel wrote to me a week or two ago, that new discussions and reviews of the "origin" are continually still coming out in germany, where the interest on the subject certainly does not diminish. i have seen some of these discussions, and they are good ones. i apprehend that the interest on the subject has not died out in north america, from observing in professor and mrs. agassiz's book on brazil how exceedingly anxious he is to destroy me. in regard to this country, every one can judge for himself, but you would not say interest was dying out if you were to look at the last number of the "anthropological review," in which i am incessantly sneered at. i think lyell's "principles" will produce a considerable effect. i hope i have given you the sort of information which you want. my head is rather unsteady, which makes my handwriting worse than usual. if you argue about the non-acceptance of natural selection, it seems to me a very striking fact that the newtonian theory of gravitation, which seems to every one now so certain and plain, was rejected by a man so extraordinarily able as leibnitz. the truth will not penetrate a preoccupied mind. wallace ( / . wallace, "westminster review," july, . the article begins: "there is no more convincing proof of the truth of a comprehensive theory, than its power of absorbing and finding a place for new facts, and its capability of interpreting phenomena, which had been previously looked upon as unaccountable anomalies..." mr. wallace illustrates his statement that "a false theory will never stand this test," by edward forbes' "polarity" speculations (see page of the present volume) and macleay's "circular" and "quinarian system" published in his "horae entomologicae," , and developed by swainson in the natural history volumes of "lardner's cabinet cyclopaedia." mr. wallace says that a "considerable number of well-known naturalists either spoke approvingly of it, or advocated similar principles, and for a good many years it was decidedly in the ascendant...yet it quite died out in a few short years, its very existence is now a matter of history, and so rapid was its fall that...swainson, perhaps, lived to be the last man who believed in it. such is the course of a false theory. that of a true one is very different, as may be well seen by the progress of opinion on the subject of natural selection." here, (page ) follows a passage on the overwhelming importance of natural selection, underlined with apparent approval in mr. darwin's copy of the review.), in the "westminster review," in an article on protection has a good passage, contrasting the success of natural selection and its growth with the comprehension of new classes of facts ( / . this rather obscure phrase may be rendered: "its power of growth by the absorption of new facts."), with false theories, such as the quinarian theory, and that of polarity, by poor forbes, both of which were promulgated with high advantages and the first temporarily accepted. letter . to g.h. lewes. ( / . the following is printed from a draft letter inscribed by mr. darwin "against organs having been formed by direct action of medium in distinct organisms. chiefly luminous and electric organs and thorns." the draft is carelessly written, and all but illegible.) august th, . if you mean that in distinct animals, parts or organs, such for instance as the luminous organs of insects or the electric organs of fishes, are wholly the result of the external and internal conditions to which the organs have been subjected, in so direct and inevitable a manner that they could be developed whether of use or not to their possessor, i cannot admit [your view]. i could almost as soon admit that the whole structure of, for instance, a woodpecker, had thus originated; and that there should be so close a relation between structure and external circumstances which cannot directly affect the structure seems to me to [be] inadmissible. such organs as those above specified seem to me much too complex and generally too well co-ordinated with the whole organisation, for the admission that they result from conditions independently of natural selection. the impression which i have taken, studying nature, is strong, that in all cases, if we could collect all the forms which have ever lived, we should have a close gradation from some most simple beginning. if similar conditions sufficed, without the aid of natural selection, to give similar parts or organs, independently of blood relationship, i doubt much whether we should have that striking harmony between the affinities, embryological development, geographical distribution, and geological succession of all allied organisms. we should be much more puzzled than we now are how to class, in a natural method, many forms. it is puzzling enough to distinguish between resemblance due to descent and to adaptation; but (fortunately for naturalists), owing to the strong power of inheritance, and to excessively complex causes and laws of variability, when the same end or object has been gained, somewhat different parts have generally been modified, and modified in a different manner, so that the resemblances due to descent and adaptation can commonly be distinguished. i should just like to add, that we may understand each other, how i suppose the luminous organs of insects, for instance, to have been developed; but i depend on conjectures, for so few luminous insects exist that we have no means of judging, by the preservation to the present day of slightly modified forms, of the probable gradations through which the organs have passed. moreover, we do not know of what use these organs are. we see that the tissues of many animals, [as] certain centipedes in england, are liable, under unknown conditions of food, temperature, etc., to become occasionally luminous; just like the [illegible]: such luminosity having been advantageous to certain insects, the tissues, i suppose, become specialised for this purpose in an intensified degree; in certain insects in one part, in other insects in other parts of the body. hence i believe that if all extinct insect-forms could be collected, we should have gradations from the elateridae, with their highly and constantly luminous thoraxes, and from the lampyridae, with their highly luminous abdomens, to some ancient insects occasionally luminous like the centipede. i do not know, but suppose that the microscopical structure of the luminous organs in the most different insects is nearly the same; and i should attribute to inheritance from a common progenitor, the similarity of the tissues, which under similar conditions, allowed them to vary in the same manner, and thus, through natural selection for the same general purpose, to arrive at the same result. mutatis mutandis, i should apply the same doctrine to the electric organs of fishes; but here i have to make, in my own mind, the violent assumption that some ancient fish was slightly electrical without having any special organs for the purpose. it has been stated on evidence, not trustworthy, that certain reptiles are electrical. it is, moreover, possible that the so-called electric organs, whilst in a condition not highly developed, may have subserved some distinct function: at least, i think, matteucci could detect no pure electricity in certain fishes provided with the proper organs. in one of your letters you alluded to nails, claws, hoofs, etc. from their perfect coadaptation with the whole rest of the organisation, i cannot admit that they would have been formed by the direct action of the conditions of life. h. spencer's view that they were first developed from indurated skin, the result of pressure on the extremities, seems to me probable. in regard to thorns and spines i suppose that stunted and [illegible] hardened processes were primarily left by the abortion of various appendages, but i must believe that their extreme sharpness and hardness is the result of fluctuating variability and "the survival of the fittest." the precise form, curvature and colour of the thorns i freely admit to be the result of the laws of growth of each particular plant, or of their conditions, internal and external. it would be an astounding fact if any varying plant suddenly produced, without the aid of reversion or selection, perfect thorns. that natural selection would tend to produce the most formidable thorns will be admitted by every one who has observed the distribution in south america and africa (vide livingstone) of thorn-bearing plants, for they always appear where the bushes grow isolated and are exposed to the attacks of mammals. even in england it has been noticed that all spine-bearing and sting-bearing plants are palatable to quadrupeds, when the thorns are crushed. with respect to the malayan climbing palm, what i meant to express is that the admirable hooks were perhaps not first developed for climbing; but having been developed for protection were subsequently used, and perhaps further modified for climbing. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, september th [ ]. about the "pall mall." ( / . "pall mall gazette," august nd, . in an article headed "dr. hooker on religion and science," and referring to the british association address, the writer objects to any supposed opposition between religion and science. "religion," he says, "is your opinion upon one set of subjects, science your opinion upon another set of subjects." but he forgets that on one side we have opinions assumed to be revealed truths; and this is a condition which either results in the further opinion that those who bring forward irreconcilable facts are more or less wicked, or in a change of front on the religious side, by which theological opinion "shifts its ground to meet the requirements of every new fact that science establishes, and every old error that science exposes" (dr. hooker as quoted by the "pall mall"). if theologians had been in the habit of recognising that, in the words of the "pall mall" writer, "science is a general name for human knowledge in its most definite and general shape, whatever may be the object of that knowledge," probably sir joseph hooker's remarks would never have been made.) i do not agree that the article was at all right; it struck me as monstrous (and answered on the spot by the "morning advertiser") that religion did not attack science. when, however, i say not at all right, i am not sure whether it would not be wisest for scientific men quite to ignore the whole subject of religion. goldwin smith, who has been lunching here, coming with the nortons (son of professor norton and friend of asa gray), who have taken for four months keston rectory, was strongly of opinion it was a mistake. several persons have spoken strongly to me as very much admiring your address. for chance of you caring to see yourself in a french dress, i send a journal; also with a weak article by agassiz on geographical distribution. berkeley has sent me his address ( / . the rev. m.j. berkeley was president of section d at norwich in .), so i have had a fair excuse for writing to him. i differ from you: i could hardly bear to shake hands with the "sugar of lead" ( / . "you know mrs. carlyle said that owen's sweetness reminded her of sugar of lead." (huxley to tyndall, may th, : huxley's "life," ii., page .), which i never heard before: it is capital. i am so very glad you will come here with asa gray, as if i am bad he will not be dull. we shall ask the nortons to come to dinner. on saturday, wallace (and probably mrs. w.), j. jenner weir (a very good man), and blyth, and i fear not bates, are coming to stay the sunday. the thought makes me rather nervous; but i shall enjoy it immensely if it does not kill me. how i wish it was possible for you to be here! letter . to m.j. berkeley. down, september th, . i am very much obliged to you for having sent me your address ( / . address to section d of the british association. ("brit. assoc. report," norwich meeting, , page .))...for i thus gain a fair excuse for troubling you with this note to thank you for your most kind and extremely honourable notice of my works. when i tell you that ever since i was an undergraduate at cambridge i have felt towards you the most unfeigned respect, from all that i continually heard from poor dear henslow and others of your great knowledge and original researches, you will believe me when i say that i have rarely in my life been more gratified than by reading your address; though i feel that you speak much too strongly of what i have done. your notice of pangenesis ( / . "it would be unpardonable to finish these somewhat desultory remarks without adverting to one of the most interesting subjects of the day,--the darwinian doctrine of pangenesis...like everything which comes from the pen of a writer whom i have no hesitation, so far as my judgment goes, in considering as by far the greatest observer of our age, whatever may be thought of his theories when carried out to their extreme results, the subject demands a careful and impartial consideration." (berkeley, page .)) has particularly pleased me, for it has been generally neglected or disliked by my friends; yet i fully expect that it will some day be more successful. i believe i quite agree with you in the manner in which the cast-off atoms or so-called gemmules probably act ( / . "assuming the general truth of the theory that molecules endowed with certain attributes are cast off by the component cells of such infinitesimal minuteness as to be capable of circulating with the fluids, and in the end to be present in the unimpregnated embryo-cell and spermatozoid...it seems to me far more probable that they should be capable under favourable circumstances of exercising an influence analogous to that which is exercised by the contents of the pollen-tube or spermatozoid on the embryo-sac or ovum, than that these particles should be themselves developed into cells" (berkeley, page ).): i have never supposed that they were developed into free cells, but that they penetrated other nascent cells and modified their subsequent development. this process i have actually compared with ordinary fertilisation. the cells thus modified, i suppose cast off in their turn modified gemmules, which again combine with other nascent cells, and so on. but i must not trouble you any further. letter . to august weismann. down, october nd, . i am very much obliged for your kind letter, and i have waited for a week before answering it in hopes of receiving the "kleine schrift" ( / . the "kleine schrift" is "ueber die berechtigung der darwin'schen theorie," leipzig, . the "anhang" is "ueber den einfluss der wanderung und raumlichen isolirung auf die artbilding.") to which you allude; but i fear it is lost, which i am much surprised at, as i have seldom failed to receive anything sent by the post. as i do not know the title, and cannot order a copy, i should be very much obliged if you can spare another. i am delighted that you, with whose name i am familiar, should approve of my work. i entirely agree with what you say about each species varying according to its own peculiar laws; but at the same time it must, i think, be admitted that the variations of most species have in the lapse of ages been extremely diversified, for i do not see how it can be otherwise explained that so many forms have acquired analogous structures for the same general object, independently of descent. i am very glad to hear that you have been arguing against nageli's law of perfectibility, which seems to me superfluous. others hold similar views, but none of them define what this "perfection" is which cannot be gradually attained through natural selection. i thought m. wagner's first pamphlet ( / . wagner's first essay, "die darwin'sche theorie und das migrationsgesetz," , is a separately published pamphlet of pages. in the preface the author states that it is a fuller version of a paper read before the royal academy of science at munich in march . we are not able to say which of wagner's writings is referred to as the second pamphlet; his second well-known essay, "ueber den einfluss der geogr. isolirung," etc., is of later date, viz., .) (for i have not yet had time to read the second) very good and interesting; but i think that he greatly overrates the necessity for emigration and isolation. i doubt whether he has reflected on what must occur when his forms colonise a new country, unless they vary during the very first generation; nor does he attach, i think, sufficient weight to the cases of what i have called unconscious selection by man: in these cases races are modified by the preservation of the best and the destruction of the worst, without any isolation. i sympathise with you most sincerely on the state of your eyesight: it is indeed the most fearful evil which can happen to any one who, like yourself, is earnestly attached to the pursuit of natural knowledge. letter . to f. muller. down, march th [ ]. since i wrote a few days ago and sent off three copies of your book, i have read the english translation ( / . "facts and arguments for darwin." see "life and letters," iii., page .), and cannot deny myself the pleasure of once again expressing to you my warm admiration. i might, but will not, repeat my thanks for the very honourable manner in which you often mention my name; but i can truly say that i look at the publication of your essay as one of the greatest honours ever conferred on me. nothing can be more profound and striking than your observations on development and classification. i am very glad that you have added your justification in regard to the metamorphoses of insects; for your conclusion now seems in the highest degree probable. ( / . see "facts and arguments for darwin," page (note), where f. muller gives his reasons for the belief that the "complete metamorphosis" of insects was not a character of the form from which insects have sprung: his argument largely depends on considerations drawn from the study of the neuroptera.) i have re-read many parts, especially that on cirripedes, with the liveliest interest. i had almost forgotten your discussion on the retrograde development of the rhizocephala. what an admirable illustration it affords of my whole doctrine! a man must indeed be a bigot in favour of separate acts of creation if he is not staggered after reading your essay; but i fear that it is too deep for english readers, except for a select few. letter . to a.r. wallace. march th [ ]. i have lately (i.e., in new edition of the "origin") ( / . fifth edition, , pages - .) been moderating my zeal, and attributing much more to mere useless variability. i did think i would send you the sheet, but i daresay you would not care to see it, in which i discuss nageli's essay on natural selection not affecting characters of no functional importance, and which yet are of high classificatory importance. hooker is pretty well satisfied with what i have said on this head. letter . to j.d. hooker. caerdeon, barmouth, north wales, july th [ ]. we shall be at home this day week, taking two days on the journey, and right glad i shall be. the whole has been a failure to me, but much enjoyment to the young...my wife has ailed a good deal nearly all the time; so that i loathe the place, with all its beauty. i was glad to hear what you thought of f. muller, and i agree wholly with you. your letter came at the nick of time, for i was writing on the very day to muller, and i passed on your approbation of chaps. x. and xi. some time i should like to borrow the "transactions of the new zealand institute," so as to read colenso's article. ( / . colenso, "on the maori races of new zealand." "n.z. inst. trans." , pt. .) you must read huxley v. comte ( / . "the scientific aspects of positivism." "fortnightly review," , page , and "lay sermons," , page . this was a reply to mr. congreve's article, "mr. huxley on m. comte," published in the april number of the "fortnightly," page , which had been written in criticism of huxley's article in the february number of the "fortnightly," page , "on the physical basis of life."); he never wrote anything so clever before, and has smashed everybody right and left in grand style. i had a vague wish to read comte, and so had george, but he has entirely cured us of any such vain wish. there is another article ( / . "north british review," volume , : "geological time," page . the papers reviewed are sir william thomson, "trans. r. soc. edin." ; "phil. mag." ; thomson and tait, "natural philosophy," volume i., app. d; sir w. thomson, "proc. r. soc. edin." ; "trans. geol. soc. glasgow," and ; "macmillan's mag." ; prof. huxley, presidential address, "geol. soc. london," february, ; dr. hooker, presidential address, "brit. assoc." norwich, . also the review on the "origin" in the "north british review," , by fleeming jenkin, and an article in the "pall mall gazette," may rd, . the author treats the last-named with contempt as the work of an anonymous journalist, apparently unconscious of his own similar position.) just come out in last "north british," by some great mathematician, which is admirably done; he has a severe fling at you ( / . the author of the "north british" article appears to us, at page , to misunderstand or misinterpret sir j.d. hooker's parable on "underpinning." see "life and letters," iii., page (note). sir joseph is attacked with quite unnecessary vehemence on another point at page .), but the article is directed against huxley and for thomson. this review shows me--not that i required being shown--how devilish a clever fellow huxley is, for the reviewer cannot help admiring his abilities. there are some good specimens of mathematical arrogance in the review, and incidentally he shows how often astronomers have arrived at conclusions which are now seen to be mistaken; so that geologists might truly answer that we must be slow in admitting your conclusions. nevertheless, all uniformitarians had better at once cry "peccavi,"--not but what i feel a conviction that the world will be found rather older than thomson makes it, and far older than the reviewer makes it. i am glad i have faced and admitted the difficulty in the last edition of the "origin," of which i suppose you received, according to order, a copy. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, august th [ ]. there never was such a good man as you for telling me things which i like to hear. i am not at all surprised that hallett has found some varieties of wheat could not be improved in certain desirable qualities as quickly as at first. all experience shows this with animals; but it would, i think, be rash to assume, judging from actual experience, that a little more improvement could not be got in the course of a century, and theoretically very improbable that after a few thousands [of years] rest there would not be a start in the same line of variation. what astonishes me as against experience, and what i cannot believe, is that varieties already improved or modified do not vary in other respects. i think he must have generalised from two or three spontaneously fixed varieties. even in seedlings from the same capsule some vary much more than others; so it is with sub-varieties and varieties. ( / . in a letter of august th, , sir j.d. hooker wrote correcting mr. darwin's impression: "i did not mean to imply that hallett affirmed that all variation stopped--far from it: he maintained the contrary, but if i understand him aright, he soon arrives at a point beyond which any further accumulation in the direction sought is so small and so slow that practically a fixity of type (not absolute fixity, however) is the result.") it is a grand fact about anoplotherium ( / . this perhaps refers to the existence of anoplotherium in the s. american eocene formation: it is one of the points in which the fauna of s. america resembles europe rather than n. america. (see wallace "geographical distribution," i., page .)), and shows how even terrestrial quadrupeds had time formerly to spread to very distinct regions. at each epoch the world tends to get peopled pretty uniformly, which is a blessing for geology. the article in "n. british review" ( / . see letter .) is well worth reading scientifically; george d. and erasmus were delighted with it. how the author does hit! it was a euphuism to speak of a fling at you: it was a kick. he is very unfair to huxley, and accuses him of "quibbling," etc.; yet the author cannot help admiring him extremely. i know i felt very small when i finished the article. you will be amused to observe that geologists have all been misled by playfair, who was misled by two of the greatest mathematicians! and there are other such cases; so we could turn round and show your reviewer how cautious geologists ought to be in trusting mathematicians. there is another excellent original article, i feel sure by mcclennan, on primeval man, well worth reading. i do not quite agree about sabine: he is unlike every other soldier or sailor i ever heard of if he would not put his second leg into the tomb with more satisfaction as k.c.b. than as a simple man. i quite agree that the government ought to have made him long ago, but what does the government know or care for science? so much for your splenditious letter. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, august th [ ?] i write one line to tell you that you are a real good man to propose coming here for a sunday after exeter. do keep to this good intention...i am sure exeter and your other visit will do you good. i often wonder how you stand all your multifarious work. i quite agree about the folly of the endless subscriptions for dead men; but faraday is an exception, and if you will pay three guineas for me, it will save me some trouble; but it will be best to enclose a cheque, which, as you will see, must be endorsed. if you read the "north british review," you will like to know that george has convinced me, from correspondence in style, and spirit, that the article is by tait, the co-worker with thomson. i was much surprised at the leaves of drosophyllum being always rolled backwards at their tips, but did not know that it was a unique character. (plate: sir j.d. hooker, ? from a photograph by wallich.) letter . to j.d. hooker. down, november th [ ]. i heard yesterday from a relation who had seen in a newspaper that you were c.b. i must write one line to say "hurrah," though i wish it had been k.c.b., as it assuredly ought to have been; but i suppose they look at k.c.b. before c.b. as a dukedom before an earldom. we had a very successful week in london, and i was unusually well and saw a good many persons, which, when well, is a great pleasure to me. i had a jolly talk with huxley, amongst others. and now i am at the same work as before, and shall be for another two months--namely, putting ugly sentences rather straighter; and i am sick of the work, and, as the subject is all on sexual selection, i am weary of everlasting males and females, cocks and hens. it is a shame to bother you, but i should like some time to hear about the c.b. affair. i have read one or two interesting brochures lately--viz., stirling the hegelian versus huxley and protoplasm; tylor in "journal of royal institute" on the survivals of old thought in modern civilisation. farewell. i am as dull as a duck, both male and female. to dr. hooker, c.b., f.r.s. dr. hooker, k.c.b. (this looks better). p.s. i hear a good account of bentham's last address ( / . presidential address, chiefly on geographical distribution, delivered before the "linn. soc." may th, .), which i am now going to read. i find that i have blundered about bentham's address. lyell was speaking about one that i read some months ago; but i read half of it again last night, and shall finish it. some passages are either new or were not studied enough by me before. it strikes me as admirable, as it did on the first reading, though i differ in some few points. such an address is worth its weight in gold, i should think, in making converts to our views. lyell tells me that bunbury has been wonderfully impressed with it, and he never before thought anything of our views on evolution. p.s. ( ). i have just read, and like very much, your review of schimper. ( / . a review of schimper's "traite de paleontologie vegetale," the first portion of which was published in . "nature," november th, , page .) letter . to j.d. hooker. down, november th [ ]. thank you much for telling me all about the c.b., for i much wished to hear. it pleases me extremely that the government have done this much; and as the k.c.b.'s are limited in number (which i did not know), i excuse it. i will not mention what you have told me to any one, as it would be murchisonian. but what a shame it is to use this expression, for i fully believe that murchison would take any trouble to get any token of honour for any man of science. i like all scientific periodicals, including poor "scientific opinion," and i think higher than you do of "nature." lord, what a rhapsody that was of goethe, but how well translated; it seemed to me, as i told huxley, as if written by the maddest english scholar. it is poetry, and can i say anything more severe? the last number of the "academy" was splendid, and i hope it will soon come out fortnightly. i wish "nature" would search more carefully all foreign journals and transactions. i am now reading a german thick pamphlet ( / . "die abhangigheit der pflanzengestalt von klima und boden. ein beitrag zur lehre von der enstehung und verbreitung der arten, etc." festschrift zur versammlung deutscher naturforscher und aertze in innsbruck (innsbruck, ).) by kerner on tubocytisus; if you come across it, look at the map of the distribution of the eighteen quasi-species, and at the genealogical tree. if the latter, as the author says, was constructed solely from the affinities of the forms, then the distribution is wonderfully interesting; we may see the very steps of the formation of a species. if you study the genealogical tree and map, you will almost understand the book. the two old parent connecting links just keep alive in two or three areas; then we have four widely extended species, their descendants; and from them little groups of newer descendants inhabiting rather small areas... letter . to camille dareste. down, november th, . dear sir, i am glad that you are a candidate for the chair of physiology in paris. as you are aware from my published works, i have always considered your investigations on the production of monstrosities as full of interest. no subject is at the present time more important, as far as my judgment goes, than the ascertaining by experiment how far structure can be modified by the direct action of changed conditions; and you have thrown much light on this subject. i observe that several naturalists in various parts of europe have lately maintained that it is now of the highest interest for science to endeavour to lessen, as far as possible, our profound ignorance on the cause of each individual variation; and, as is. geoffroy st. hilaire long ago remarked, monstrosities cannot be separated by any distinct line from slighter variations. with my best wishes for your success in obtaining the professorship, and with sincere respect. i have the honour to remain, dear sir, yours faithfully, charles darwin. chapter .v.--evolution, - . letter . to j. jenner weir. down, march th [ ]. it is my decided opinion that you ought to send an account to some scientific society, and i think to the royal society. ( / . mr. jenner weir's case is given in "animals and plants," edition ii., volume i., page , and does not appear to have been published elsewhere. the facts are briefly that a horse, the offspring of a mare of lord mostyn's, which had previously borne a foal by a quagga, showed a number of quagga-like characters, such as stripes, low-growing mane, and elongated hoofs. the passage in "animals and plants," to which he directs mr. weir's attention in reference to carpenter's objection, is in edition i., volume i., page : "it is a most improbable hypothesis that the mere blood of one individual should affect the reproductive organs of another individual in such a manner as to modify the subsequent offspring. the analogy from the direct action of foreign pollen on the ovarium and seed-coats of the mother plant strongly supports the belief that the male element acts directly on the reproductive organs of the female, wonderful as is this action, and not through the intervention of the crossed embryo." for references to mr. galton's experiments on transfusion of blood, see letter .) i would communicate it if you so decide. you might give as a preliminary reason the publication in the "transactions" of the celebrated morton case and the pig case by mr. giles. you might also allude to the evident physiological importance of such facts as bearing on the theory of generation. whether it would be prudent to allude to despised pangenesis i cannot say, but i fully believe pangenesis will have its successful day. pray ascertain carefully the colour of the dam and sire. see about duns in my book ["animals and plants"], volume i., page . the extension of the mane and form of hoofs are grand new facts. is the hair of your horse at all curly? for [an] observed case [is] given by me (volume ii., page ) from azara of correlation of forms of hoof with curly hairs. see also in my book (volume i., page ; volume ii., page ) how exceedingly rare stripes are on the faces of horses in england. give the age of your horse. you are aware that dr. carpenter and others have tried to account for the effects of a first impregnation from the influence of the blood of the crossed embryo; but with physiologists who believe that the reproductive elements are actually formed by the reproductive glands, this view is inconsistent. pray look at what i have said in "domestic animals" (volume i., pages - ) against this doctrine. it seems to me more probable that the gemmules affect the ovaria alone. i remember formerly speculating, like you, on the assertion that wives grow like their husbands; but how impossible to eliminate effects of imitation and same habits of life, etc. your letter has interested me profoundly. p.s.--since publishing i have heard of additional cases--a very good one in regard to westphalian pigs crossed by english boar, and all subsequent offspring affected, given in "illust. landwirth-zeitung," , page . i have shown that mules are often striped, though neither parent may be striped,--due to ancient reversion. now, fritz muller writes to me from s. brazil: "i have been assured, by persons who certainly never had heard of lord morton's mare, that mares which have borne hybrids to an ass are particularly liable to produce afterwards striped ass-colts." so a previous fertilisation apparently gives to the subsequent offspring a tendency to certain characters, as well as characters actually possessed by the first male. in the reprint (not called a second edition) of my "domestic animals" i give a good additional case of subsequent progeny of hairless dog being hairy from effects of first impregnation. p.s. nd. the suggestion, no doubt, is superfluous, but you ought, i think, to measure extension of mane beyond a line joining front or back of ears, and compare with horse. also the measure (and give comparison with horse), length, breadth, and depth of hoofs. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, july th [ ]. your conclusion that all speculation about preordination is idle waste of time is the only wise one; but how difficult it is not to speculate! my theology is a simple muddle; i cannot look at the universe as the result of blind chance, yet i can see no evidence of beneficent design or indeed of design of any kind, in the details. as for each variation that has ever occurred having been preordained for a special end, i can no more believe in it than that the spot on which each drop of rain falls has been specially ordained. spontaneous generation seems almost as great a puzzle as preordination. i cannot persuade myself that such a multiplicity of organisms can have been produced, like crystals, in bastian's ( / . on september nd, , mr. darwin wrote to mr. wallace, in reference to the latter's review of "the beginnings of life," by h.c. bastian ( ), in "nature," , pages - : "at present i should prefer any mad hypothesis, such as that every disintegrated molecule of the lowest forms can reproduce the parent-form; and that these molecules are universally distributed, and that they do not lose their vital power until heated to such a temperature that they decompose like dead organic particles.") solutions of the same kind. i am astonished that, as yet, i have met with no allusion to wyman's positive statement ( / . "observations and experiments on living organisms in heated water," by jeffries wyman, prof. of anatomy, harvard coll. ("amer. journ. sci." xliv., , page .) solutions of organic matter in hermetically sealed flasks were immersed in boiling water for various periods. "no infusoria of any kind appeared if the boiling was prolonged beyond a period of five hours.") that if the solutions are boiled for five hours no organisms appear; yet, if my memory serves me, the solutions when opened to air immediately became stocked. against all evidence, i cannot avoid suspecting that organic particles (my "gemmules" from the separate cells of the lower creatures!) will keep alive and afterwards multiply under proper conditions. what an interesting problem it is. letter . to w.b. tegetmeier. down, july th [ ]. it is very long since i have heard from you, and i am much obliged for your letter. it is good news that you are going to bring out a new edition of your poultry book ( / . "the poultry book," .), and you are quite at liberty to use all my materials. thanks for the curious case of the wild duck variation: i have heard of other instances of a tendency to vary in one out of a large litter or family. i have too many things in hand at present to profit by your offer of the loan of the american poultry book. pray keep firm to your idea of working out the subject of analogous variations ( / . "by this term i mean that similar characters occasionally make their appearance in the several varieties or races descended from the same species, and more rarely in the offspring of widely distinct species" ("animals and plants," ii., edition ii., page ).) with pigeons; i really think you might thus make a novel and valuable contribution to science. i can, however, quite understand how much your time must be occupied with the never-ending, always-beginning editorial cares. i keep much as usual, and crawl on with my work. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, september th [ ]. yours was a splendid letter, and i was very curious to hear something about the liverpool meeting ( / . mr. huxley was president of the british association at liverpool in . his presidential address on "biogenesis and abiogenesis" is reprinted in his collected essays, viii., page . some account of the meeting is given in huxley's "life and letters," volume i., pages , .), which i much wished to be successful for huxley's sake. i am surprised that you think his address would not have been clear to the public; it seemed to me as clear as water. the general line of his argument might have been answered by the case of spontaneous combustion: tens of thousands of cases of things having been seen to be set on fire would be no true argument against any one who maintained that flames sometimes spontaneously burst forth. i am delighted at the apotheosis of sir roderick; i can fancy what neat and appropriate speeches he would make to each nobleman as he entered the gates of heaven. you ask what i think about tyndall's lecture ( / . tyndall's lecture was "on the scientific uses of the imagination."): it seemed to me grand and very interesting, though i could not from ignorance quite follow some parts, and i longed to tell him how immensely it would have been improved if all the first part had been made very much less egotistical. george independently arrived at the same conclusion, and liked all the latter part extremely. he thought the first part not only egotistical, but rather clap-trap. how well tyndall puts the "as if" manner of philosophising, and shows that it is justifiable. some of those confounded frenchmen have lately been pitching into me for using this form of proof or argument. i have just read rolleston's address in "nature" ( / . presidential address to the biological section, british association, . "nature," september nd, , page . rolleston referred to the vitality of seeds in soil, a subject on which darwin made occasional observations. see "life and letters," ii., page .): his style is quite unparalleled! i see he quotes you about seed, so yesterday i went and observed more carefully the case given in the enclosed paper, which perhaps you might like to read and burn. how true and good what you say about lyell. he is always the same; dohrn was here yesterday, and was remarking that no one stood higher in the public estimation of germany than lyell. i am truly and profoundly glad that you are thinking of some general work on geographical distribution, or so forth; i hope to god that your incessant occupations may not interrupt this intention. as for my book, i shall not have done the accursed proofs till the end of november ( / . the proofs of the "descent of man" were finished on january th, .): good lord, what a muddled head i have got on my wretched old shoulders. letter . to h. settegast. down, september th, . i am very much obliged for your kind letter and present of your beautiful volume. ( / . "die thierzucht," .) your work is not new to me, for i heard it so highly spoken of that i procured a copy of the first edition. it was a great gratification to me to find a man who had long studied with a philosophical spirit our domesticated animals, and who was highly competent to judge, agreeing to a large extent with my views. i regretted much that i had not known your work when i published my last volumes. i am surprised and pleased to hear that science is not quite forgotten under the present exciting state of affairs. every one whom i know in england is an enthusiastic wisher for the full and complete success of germany. p.s. i will give one of my two copies of your work to some public scientific library in london. letter . to the editor of the "pall mall gazette." down, march th [ ]. mr. darwin presents his compliments to the editor, and would be greatly obliged if he would address and post the enclosed letter to the author of the two admirable reviews of the "descent of man." ( / . the notices of the "descent of man," published in the "pall mall gazette" of march th and st, , were by mr. john morley. we are indebted to the editor of the "pall mall gazette" for kindly allowing us to consult his file of the journal.) letter . to john morley. down, march th, . from the spirit of your review in the "pall mall gazette" of my last book, which has given me great pleasure, i have thought that you would perhaps inform me on one point, withholding, if you please, your name. you say that my phraseology on beauty is "loose scientifically, and philosophically most misleading." ( / . "mr. darwin's work is one of those rare and capital achievements of intellect which effect a grave modification throughout all the highest departments of the realm of opinion...there is throughout the description and examination of sexual selection a way of speaking of beauty, which seems to us to be highly unphilosophical, because it assumes a certain theory of beauty, which the most competent modern thinkers are too far from accepting, to allow its assumption to be quite judicious...why should we only find the aesthetic quality in birds wonderful, when it happens to coincide with our own? in other words, why attribute to them conscious aesthetic qualities at all? there is no more positive reason for attributing aesthetic consciousness to the argus pheasant than there is for attributing to bees geometric consciousness of the hexagonal prisms and rhombic plates of the hive which they so marvellously construct. hence the phraseology which mr. darwin employs in this part of the subject, though not affecting the degree of probability which may belong to this theory, seems to us to be very loose scientifically, and philosophically most misleading."--"pall mall gazette.") this is not at all improbable, as it is almost a lifetime since i attended to the philosophy of aesthetics, and did not then think that i should ever make use of my conclusions. can you refer me to any one or two books (for my power of reading is not great) which would illumine me? or can you explain in one or two sentences how i err? perhaps it would be best for me to explain what i mean by the sense of beauty in its lowest stage of development, and which can only apply to animals. when an intense colour, or two tints in harmony, or a recurrent and symmetrical figure please the eye, or a single sweet note pleases the ear, i call this a sense of beauty; and with this meaning i have spoken (though i now see in not a sufficiently guarded manner) of a taste for the beautiful being the same in mankind (for all savages admire bits of bright cloth, beads, plumes, etc.) and in the lower animals. if the blue and yellow plumage of a macaw ( / . "what man deems the horrible contrasts of yellow and blue attract the macaw, while ball-and-socket-plumage attracts the argus pheasant"--"pall mall gazette," march st, , page .) pleases the eye of this bird, i should say that it had a sense of beauty, although its taste was bad according to our standard. now, will you have the kindness to tell me how i can learn to see the error of my ways? of course i recognise, as indeed i have remarked in my book, that the sense of beauty in the case of scenery, pictures, etc., is something infinitely complex, depending on varied associations and culture of the mind. from a very interesting review in the "spectator," and from your and wallace's review, i perceive that i have made a great oversight in not having said what little i could on the acquisition of the sense for the beautiful by man and the lower animals. it would indeed be an immense advantage to an author if he could read such criticisms as yours before publishing. at page of your review you accidentally misquote my words placed by you within inverted commas, from my volume ii., page : i say that "man cannot endure any great change," and the omitted words "any great" make all the difference in the discussion. ( / . "mr. darwin tells us, and gives us excellent reasons for thinking, that 'the men of each race prefer what they are accustomed to behold; they cannot endure change.' yet is there not an inconsistency between this fact and the other that one race differs from another exactly because novelties presented themselves, and were eagerly seized and propagated?") permit me to add a few other remarks. i believe your criticism is quite just about my deficient historic spirit, for i am aware of my ignorance in this line. ( / . "in the historic spirit, however, mr. darwin must fairly be pronounced deficient. when, for instance, he speaks of the 'great sin of slavery' having been general among primitive nations, he forgets that, though to hold a slave would be a sinful degradation to a european to-day, the practice of turning prisoners of war into slaves, instead of butchering them, was not a sin at all, but marked a decided improvement in human manners.") on the other hand, if you should ever be led to read again chapter iii., and especially chapter v., i think you will find that i am not amenable to all your strictures; though i felt that i was walking on a path unknown to me and full of pitfalls; but i had the advantage of previous discussions by able men. i tried to say most emphatically that a great philosopher, law-giver, etc., did far more for the progress of mankind by his writings or his example than by leaving a numerous offspring. i have endeavoured to show how the struggle for existence between tribe and tribe depends on an advance in the moral and intellectual qualities of the members, and not merely on their capacity of obtaining food. when i speak of the necessity of a struggle for existence in order that mankind should advance still higher in the scale, i do not refer to the most, but "to the more highly gifted men" being successful in the battle for life; i referred to my supposition of the men in any country being divided into two equal bodies--viz., the more and the less highly gifted, and to the former on an average succeeding best. but i have much cause to apologise for the length of this ill-expressed letter. my sole excuse is the extraordinary interest which i have felt in your review, and the pleasure which i have experienced in observing the points which have attracted your attention. i must say one word more. having kept the subject of sexual selection in my mind for very many years, and having become more and more satisfied with it, i feel great confidence that as soon as the notion is rendered familiar to others, it will be accepted, at least to a much greater extent than at present. with sincere respect and thanks... letter . to john morley. down, april th [ ]. as this note requires no answer, i do not scruple to write a few lines to say how faithful and full a resume you have given of my notions on the moral sense in the "pall mall," and to make a few extenuating or explanatory remarks. ( / . "what is called the question of the moral sense is really two: how the moral faculty is acquired, and how it is regulated. why do we obey conscience or feel pain in disobeying it? and why does conscience prescribe one kind of action and condemn another kind? to put it more technically, there is the question of the subjective existence of conscience, and there is the question of its objective prescriptions. first, why do i think it obligatory to do my duty? second, why do i think it my duty to do this and not do that? although, however, the second question ought to be treated independently, for reasons which we shall presently suggest, the historical answer to it, or the various grounds on which men have identified certain sorts of conduct with duty, rather than conduct of the opposite sorts, throws light on the other question of the conditions of growth of the idea of duty as a sovereign and imperial director. mr. darwin seems to us not to have perfectly recognised the logical separation between the two sides of the moral sense question. for example, he says (i. ) that 'philosophers of the derivative school of morals formerly assumed that the foundation of morality lay in a form of selfishness; but more recently in the greatest happiness principle.' but mr. mill, to whom mr. darwin refers, has expressly shown that the greatest happiness principle is a standard, and not a foundation, and that its validity as a standard of right and wrong action is just as tenable by one who believes the moral sense to be innate, as by one who holds that it is acquired. he says distinctly that the social feelings of mankind form 'the natural basis of sentiment for utilitarian morality.' so far from holding the greatest happiness principle to be the foundation of morality, he would describe it as the forming principle of the superstructure of which the social feelings of mankind are the foundation. between mr. darwin and utilitarians, as utilitarians, there is no such quarrel as he would appear to suppose. the narrowest utilitarian could say little more than mr. darwin says (ii. ): 'as all men desire their own happiness, praise or blame is bestowed on actions and motives according as they tend to this end; and, as happiness is an essential part of the general good, the greatest happiness principle indirectly serves as a nearly safe standard of right and wrong.' it is perhaps not impertinent to suspect that the faltering adverbs which we have printed in italics indicate no more than the reluctance of a half-conscious convert to pure utilitarianism. in another place (i. ) he admits that 'as all wish for happiness, the greatest happiness principle will have become a most important secondary guide and object, the social instincts, including sympathy, always serving as the primary impulse and guide.' this is just what mr. mill says, only instead of calling the principle a secondary guide, he would call it a standard, to distinguish it from the social impulse, in which, as much as mr. darwin, he recognises the base and foundation."--"pall mall gazette," april th, .) how the mistake which i have made in speaking of greatest happiness as the foundation of morals arose, is utterly unintelligible to me: any time during the last several years i should have laughed such an idea to scorn. mr. lecky never made a greater blunder, and your kindness has made you let me off too easily. ( / . in the first edition of the "descent of man," i., page , mr. lecky is quoted as one of those who assumed that the "foundation of morality lay in a form of selfishness; but more recently in the 'greatest happiness' principle." mr. lecky's name is omitted in this connection in the second edition, page . in this edition mr. darwin makes it clearer that he attaches most importance to the social instinct as the "primary impulse and guide.") with respect to mr. mill, nothing would have pleased me more than to have relied on his great authority with respect to the social instincts, but the sentence which i quote at [volume i.] page ("if, as is my own belief, the moral feelings are not innate, but acquired, they are not for that reason less natural") seems to me somewhat contradictory with the other words which i quote, so that i did not know what to think; more especially as he says so very little about the social instincts. when i speak of intellectual activity as the secondary basis of conscience, i meant in my own mind secondary in period of development; but no one could be expected to understand so great an ellipse. with reference to your last sentence, do you not think that man might have retrograded in his parental, marriage, and other instincts without having retrograded in his social instincts? and i do not think that there is any evidence that man ever existed as a non-social animal. i must add that i have been very glad to read your remarks on the supposed case of the hive-bee: it affords an amusing contrast with what miss cobbe has written in the "theological review." ( / . mr. darwin says ("descent of man" edition i., volume i., page ; edition ii., page ), "that if men lived like bees our unmarried females would think it a sacred duty to kill their brothers." miss cobbe remarks on this "that the principles of social duty would be reversed" ("theological review," april ). mr. morley, on the other hand, says of darwin's assertion, that it is "as reassuring as the most absolute of moralists could desire. for it is tantamount to saying that the foundations of morality, the distinctions of right and wrong, are deeply laid in the very conditions of social existence; that there is in face of these conditions a positive and definite difference between the moral and the immoral, the virtuous and the vicious, the right and the wrong, in the actions of individuals partaking of that social existence.") undoubtedly the great principle of acting for the good of all the members of the same community, and therefore the good of the species, would still have held sovereign sway. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . sir joseph hooker wrote (august th, ) to darwin about lord kelvin's presidential address at the edinburgh meeting of the british association: "it seems to me to be very able indeed; and what a good notion it gives of the gigantic achievement of mathematicians and physicists!--it really made one giddy to read of them. i do not think huxley will thank him for his reference to him as a positive unbeliever in spontaneous generation--these mathematicians do not seem to me to distinguish between un-belief and a-belief. i know no other name for the state of mind that is produced under the term scepticism. i had no idea before that pure mathematics had achieved such wonders in practical science. the total absence of any allusion to tyndall's labours, even when comets are his theme, seems strange to me.") haredene, albury, guildford, august th [ ]. i have read with greatest interest thomson's address; but you say so exactly and fully all that i think, that you have taken all the words from my mouth; even about tyndall. it is a gain that so wonderful a man, though no naturalist, should become a convert to evolution; huxley, it seems, remarked in his speech to this effect. i should like to know what he means about design,--i cannot in the least understand, for i presume he does not believe in special interpositions. ( / . see "british association report," page cv. lord kelvin speaks very doubtfully of evolution. after quoting the concluding passage of the "origin," he goes on, "i have omitted two sentences...describing briefly the hypothesis of 'the origin of species by natural selection,' because i have always felt that this hypothesis does not contain the true theory of evolution, if evolution there has been in biology" (the italics are not in the original). lord kelvin then describes as a "most valuable and instructive criticism," sir john herschel's remark that the doctrine of natural selection is "too like the laputan method of making books, and that it did not sufficiently take into account a continually guiding and controlling intelligence." but it should be remembered that it was in this address of lord kelvin's that he suggested the possibility of "seed-bearing meteoric stones moving about through space" inoculating the earth with living organisms; and if he assumes that the whole population of the globe is to be traced back to these "moss-grown fragments from the ruins of another world," it is obvious that he believes in a form of evolution, and one in which a controlling intelligence is not very obvious, at all events not in the initial and all-important stage.) herschel's was a good sneer. it made me put in the simile about raphael's madonna, when describing in the "descent of man" the manner of formation of the wondrous ball-and-socket ornaments, and i will swear to the truth of this case. ( / . see "descent of man," ii., page . darwin says that no one will attribute the shading of the "eyes" on the wings of the argus pheasant to the "fortuitous concourse of atoms of colouring-matter." he goes on to say that the development of the ball-and-socket effect by means of natural selection seems at first as incredible as that "one of raphael's madonnas should have been formed by the selection of chance daubs of paint." the remark of herschel's, quoted in "life and letters," ii., page , that the "origin" illustrates the "law of higgledy-piggledy," is probably a conversational variant of the laputan comparison which gave rise to the passage in the "descent of man" (see letter ).) you know the oak-leaved variety of the common honeysuckle; i could not persuade a lady that this was not the result of the honeysuckle climbing up a young oak tree! is this not like the viola case? letter . to john lubbock (lord avebury). haredene, albury, guildford, august th [ ]. i hope the proof-sheets having been sent here will not inconvenience you. i have read them with infinite satisfaction, and the whole discussion strikes me as admirable. i have no books here, and wish much i could see a plate of campodea. ( / . "on the origin of insects." by sir john lubbock, bart. "journ. linn. soc. (zoology)," volume xi., , pages - . (read november nd, .) in the concluding paragraph the author writes, "if these views are correct the genus campodea [a beetle] must be regarded as a form of remarkable interest, since it is the living representative of a primaeval type from which not only the collembola and thysanura, but the other great orders of insects, have all derived their origin." (see also "brit. assoc. report," , page --address by sir john lubbock; and for a figure of campodea see "nature," volume vii., , page .) i never reflected much on the difficulty which you indicate, and on which you throw so much light. ( / . the difficulty alluded to is explained by the first sentence of lord avebury's paper. "the metamorphoses of this group (insects) have always seemed to me one of the greatest difficulties of the darwinian theory...i feel great difficulty in conceiving by what natural process an insect with a suctorial mouth, like that of a gnat or butterfly, could be developed from a powerfully mandibulate type like the orthoptera, or even from the neuroptera...a clue to the difficulty may, i think, be found in the distinction between the developmental and adaptive changes to which i called the attention of the society in a previous memoir." the distinction between developmental and adaptive changes is mentioned, but not discussed, in the paper "on the origin of insects" (loc. cit., page ); in a former paper, "on the development of chloeon (ephemera) dimidiatum ("trans. linn. soc." xxv. page , ), this question is dealt with at length.) i have only a few trifling remarks to make. at page i wish you had enlarged a little on what you have said of the distinction between developmental and adaptive changes; for i cannot quite remember the point, and others will perhaps be in the same predicament. i think i always saw that the larva and the adult might be separately modified to any extent. bearing in mind what strange changes of function parts undergo, with the intermediate state of use ( / . this slightly obscure phrase may be paraphrased, "the gradational stages being of service to the organism."), it seems to me that you speak rather too boldly on the impossibility of a mandibulate insect being converted into a sucking insect ( / . "there are, however, peculiar difficulties in those cases in which, as among the lepidoptera, the same species is mandibulate as a larva and suctorial as an embryo" (lubbock, "origin of insects," page ).); not that i in the least doubt the value of your explanation. cirripedes passing through what i have called a pupal state ( / . "hence, the larva in this, its last stage, cannot eat; it may be called a "locomotive pupa;" its whole organisation is apparently adapted for the one great end of finding a proper site for its attachment and final metamorphosis." ("a monograph on the sub-class cirripedia." by charles darwin. london, ray soc., .)) so far as their mouths are concerned, rather supports what you say at page . at page your remarks on the argus pheasant ( / . there is no mention of the argus pheasant in the published paper.) (though i have not the least objection to them) do not seem to me very appropriate as being related to the mental faculties. if you can spare me these proof-sheets when done with, i shall be obliged, as i shall be correcting a new edition of the "origin" when i return home, though this subject is too large for me to enter on. i thank you sincerely for the great interest which your discussion has given me. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . the following letter refers to mivart's "genesis of species.") down, september th [ ]. i am preparing a new and cheap edition of the "origin," and shall introduce a new chapter on gradation, and on the uses of initial commencements of useful structures; for this, i observe, has produced the greatest effect on most persons. every one of his [mivart's] cases, as it seems to me, can be answered in a fairly satisfactory manner. he is very unfair, and never says what he must have known could be said on my side. he ignores the effect of use, and what i have said in all my later books and editions on the direct effects of the conditions of life and so-called spontaneous variation. i send you by this post a very clever, but ill-written review from n. america by a friend of asa gray, which i have republished. ( / . chauncey wright in the "north american review," volume cxiii., reprinted by darwin and published as a pamphlet (see "life and letters," iii., page ).) i am glad to hear about huxley. you never read such strong letters mivart wrote to me about respect towards me, begging that i would call on him, etc., etc.; yet in the "q. review" ( / . see "quarterly review," july ; also "life and letters," iii., page .) he shows the greatest scorn and animosity towards me, and with uncommon cleverness says all that is most disagreeable. he makes me the most arrogant, odious beast that ever lived. i cannot understand him; i suppose that accursed religious bigotry is at the root of it. of course he is quite at liberty to scorn and hate me, but why take such trouble to express something more than friendship? it has mortified me a good deal. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, october th [ ]. i am quite delighted that you think so highly of huxley's article. ( / . a review of wallace's "natural selection," of mivart's "genesis of species," and of the "quarterly review" article on the "descent of man" (july, ), published in the "contemporary review" ( ), and in huxley's "collected essays," ii., page .) i was afraid of saying all i thought about it, as nothing is so likely as to make anything appear flat. i thought of, and quite agreed with, your former saying that huxley makes one feel quite infantile in intellect. he always thus acts on me. i exactly agree with what you say on the several points in the article, and i piled climax on climax of admiration in my letter to him. i am not so good a christian as you think me, for i did enjoy my revenge on mivart. he (i.e. mivart) has just written to me as cool as a cucumber, hoping my health is better, etc. my head, by the way, plagues me terribly, and i have it light and rocking half the day. farewell, dear old friend--my best of friends. letter . to john fiske. ( / . mr. fiske, who is perhaps best known in england as the author of "outlines of cosmic philosophy," had sent to mr. darwin some reports of the lectures given at harvard university. the point referred to in the postscript in mr. darwin's letter is explained by the following extract from mr. fiske's work: "i have endeavoured to show that the transition from animality (or bestiality, stripping the word of its bad connotations) to humanity must have been mainly determined by the prolongation of infancy or immaturity which is consequent upon a high development of intelligence, and which must have necessitated the gradual grouping together of pithecoid men into more or less definite families." (see "descent," i., page , on the prolonged infancy of the anthropoid apes.)) down, november th, . i am greatly obliged to you for having sent me, through my son, your lectures, and for the very honourable manner in which you allude to my works. the lectures seem to me to be written with much force, clearness, and originality. you show also a truly extraordinary amount of knowledge of all that has been published on the subject. the type in many parts is so small that, except to young eyes, it is very difficult to read. therefore i wish that you would reflect on their separate publication, though so much has been published on the subject that the public may possibly have had enough. i hope that this may be your intention, for i do not think i have ever seen the general argument more forcibly put so as to convert unbelievers. it has surprised and pleased me to see that you and others have detected the falseness of much of mr. mivart's reasoning. i wish i had read your lectures a month or two ago, as i have been preparing a new edition of the "origin," in which i answer some special points, and i believe i should have found your lectures useful; but my ms. is now in the printer's hands, and i have not strength or time to make any more additions. p.s.--by an odd coincidence, since the above was written i have received your very obliging letter of october rd. i did notice the point to which you refer, and will hereafter reflect more over it. i was indeed on the point of putting in a sentence to somewhat of the same effect in the new edition of the "origin," in relation to the query--why have not apes advanced in intellect as much as man? but i omitted it on account of the asserted prolonged infancy of the orang. i am also a little doubtful about the distinction between gregariousness and sociability. ...when you come to england i shall have much pleasure in making your acquaintance; but my health is habitually so weak that i have very small power of conversing with my friends as much as i wish. let me again thank you for your letter. to believe that i have at all influenced the minds of able men is the greatest satisfaction i am capable of receiving. letter . to e. hackel. down, december th, . i thank you for your very interesting letter, which it has given me much pleasure to receive. i never heard of anything so odd as the prior in the holy catholic church believing in our ape-like progenitors. i much hope that the jesuits will not dislodge him. what a wonderfully active man you are! and i rejoice that you have been so successful in your work on sponges. ( / . "die kalkschwamme: eine monographie; volumes: berlin, . h.j. clark published a paper "on the spongiae ciliatae as infusoria flagellata" in the "mem. boston nat. hist. soc." volume i., part iii., . see hackel, op. cit., volume i., page .) your book with sixty plates will be magnificent. i shall be glad to learn what you think of clark's view of sponges being flagellate infusorians; some observers in this country believe in him. i am glad you are going fully to consider inheritance, which is an all-important subject for us. i do not know whether you have ever read my chapter on pangenesis. my ideas have been almost universally despised, and i suppose that i was foolish to publish them; yet i must still think that there is some truth in them. anyhow, they have aided me much in making me clearly understand the facts of inheritance. i have had bad health this last summer, and during two months was able to do nothing; but i have now almost finished a next edition of the "origin," which victor carus is translating. ( / . see "life and letters," iii., page .) there is not much new in it, except one chapter in which i have answered, i hope satisfactorily, mr. mivart's supposed difficulty on the incipient development of useful structures. i have also given my reasons for quite disbelieving in great and sudden modifications. i am preparing an essay on expression in man and the lower animals. it has little importance, but has interested me. i doubt whether my strength will last for much more serious work. i hope, however, to publish next summer the results of my long-continued experiments on the wonderful advantages derived from crossing. i shall continue to work as long as i can, but it does not much signify when i stop, as there are so many good men fully as capable, perhaps more capable, than myself of carrying on our work; and of these you rank as the first. with cordial good wishes for your success in all your work and for your happiness. letter . to e. ray lankester. down, april th [ ]. very many thanks for your kind consideration. the correspondence was in the "athenaeum." i got some mathematician to make the calculation, and he blundered and caused me much shame. i send scrap of proofs from last edition of the "origin," with the calculation corrected. what grand work you did at naples! i can clearly see that you will some day become our first star in natural history. ( / . here follows the extract from the "origin," sixth edition, page : "the elephant is reckoned the slowest breeder of all known animals, and i have taken some pains to estimate its probable minimum rate of natural increase. it will be safest to assume that it begins breeding when thirty years old, and goes on breeding till ninety years old, bringing forth six young in the interval, and surviving till one hundred years old; if this be so, after a period of from to years, there would be nearly nineteen million elephants alive, descended from the first pair." in the fifth edition, page , the passage runs: "if this be so, at the end of the fifth century, there would be alive fifteen million elephants, descended from the first pair" (see "athenaeum," june , july , , , ).) letter . to c. lyell. down, may th [ ]. i received yesterday morning your present of that work to which i, for one, as well as so many others, owe a debt of gratitude never to be forgotten. i have read with the greatest interest all the special additions; and i wish with all my heart that i had the strength and time to read again every word of the whole book. ( / . "principles of geology," edition xii., .) i do not agree with all your criticisms on natural selection, nor do i suppose that you would expect me to do so. we must be content to differ on several points. i differ must about your difficulty (page ) ( / . in chapter xliii. lyell treats of "man considered with reference to his origin and geographical distribution." he criticizes the view that natural selection is capable of bringing about any amount of change provided a series of minute transitional steps can be pointed out. "but in reality," he writes, "it cannot be said that we obtain any insight into the nature of the forces by which a higher grade of organisation or instinct is evolved out of a lower one by becoming acquainted with a series of gradational forms or states, each having a very close affinity with the other."..."it is when there is a change from an inferior being to one of superior grade, from a humbler organism to one endowed with new and more exalted attributes, that we are made to feel that, to explain the difficulty, we must obtain some knowledge of those laws of variation of which mr. darwin grants that we are at present profoundly ignorant" (op. cit., pages - ).) on a higher grade of organisation being evolved out of lower ones. is not a very clever man a grade above a very dull one? and would not the accumulation of a large number of slight differences of this kind lead to a great difference in the grade of organisation? and i suppose that you will admit that the difference in the brain of a clever and dull man is not much more wonderful than the difference in the length of the nose of any two men. of course, there remains the impossibility of explaining at present why one man has a longer nose than another. but it is foolish of me to trouble you with these remarks, which have probably often passed through your mind. the end of this chapter (xliii.) strikes me as admirably and grandly written. i wish you joy at having completed your gigantic undertaking, and remain, my dear lyell, your ever faithful and now very old pupil, charles darwin. letter . to j. traherne moggridge. sevenoaks, october th [ ]. i have just received your note, forwarded to me from my home. i thank you very truly for your intended present, and i am sure that your book will interest me greatly. i am delighted that you have taken up the very difficult and most interesting subject of the habits of insects, on which englishmen have done so little. how incomparably more valuable are such researches than the mere description of a thousand species! i daresay you have thought of experimenting on the mental powers of the spiders by fixing their trap-doors open in different ways and at different angles, and observing what they will do. we have been here some days, and intend staying some weeks; for i was quite worn out with work, and cannot be idle at home. i sincerely hope that your health is not worse. letter . to a. hyatt. ( / . the correspondence with professor hyatt, of boston, u.s., originated in the reference to his and professor cope's theories of acceleration and retardation, inserted in the sixth edition of the "origin," page . mr. darwin, on receiving from mr. hyatt a copy of his "fossil cephalopods of the museum of comparative zoology. embryology," from the "bull. mus. comp. zool." harvard, volume iii., , wrote as follows ( / . part of this letter was published in "life and letters," iii., page .):--) october th, . i am very much obliged to you for your kindness in having sent me your valuable memoir on the embryology of the extinct cephalopods. the work must have been one of immense labour, and the results are extremely interesting. permit me to take this opportunity to express my sincere regret at having committed two grave errors in the last edition of my "origin of species," in my allusion to yours and professor cope's views on acceleration and retardation of development. i had thought that professor cope had preceded you; but i now well remember having formerly read with lively interest, and marked, a paper by you somewhere in my library, on fossil cephalopods, with remarks on the subject. ( / . the paper seems to be "on the parallelism between the different stages of life in the individual and those in the entire group of the molluscous order tetrabranchiata," from the "boston. soc. nat. hist. mem." i., - , page . on the back of the paper is written, "i cannot avoid thinking this paper fanciful.") it seems also that i have quite misrepresented your joint view; this has vexed me much. i confess that i have never been able to grasp fully what you wish to show, and i presume that this must be owing to some dulness on my part...as the case stands, the law of acceleration and retardation seems to me to be a simple [?] statement of facts; but the statement, if fully established, would no doubt be an important step in our knowledge. but i had better say nothing more on the subject, otherwise i shall perhaps blunder again. i assure you that i regret much that i have fallen into two such grave errors. letter . a. hyatt to charles darwin. ( / . mr. hyatt replied in a long letter, of which only a small part is here given. cannstadt bei stuttgart, november . the letter with which you have honoured me, bearing the date of october th, has just reached here after a voyage to america and back. i have long had it in mind to write you upon the subject of which you speak, but have been prevented by a very natural feeling of distrust in the worthiness and truth of the views which i had to present. there is certainly no occasion to apologise for not having quoted my paper. the law of acceleration and retardation of development was therein used to explain the appearance of other phenomena, and might, as it did in nearly all cases, easily escape notice. my relations with prof. cope are of the most friendly character; and although fortunate in publishing a few months ahead, i consider that this gives me no right to claim anything beyond such an amount of participation in the discovery, if it may be so called, as the thoroughness and worth of my work entitles me to... the collections which i have studied, it will be remembered, are fossils collected without special reference to the very minute subdivisions, such as the subdivisions of the lower or middle lias as made by the german authors, especially quenstedt and oppel, but pretty well defined for the larger divisions in which the species are also well defined. the condition of the collections as regards names, etc., was chaotic, localities alone, with some few exceptions, accurate. to put this in order they were first arranged according to their adult characteristics. this proving unsatisfactory, i determined to test thoroughly the theory of evolution by following out the developmental history of each species and placing them within their formations, middle or upper lias, oolite or so, according to the extent to which they represented each other's characteristics. thus an adult of simple structure being taken as the starting-point which we will call a, another species which was a in its young stage and became b in the adult was placed above it in the zoological series. by this process i presently found that a, then a b and a b c, c representing the adult stage, were very often found; but that practically after passing these two or three stages it did not often happen that a species was found which was a b c in the young and then became d in the adult. but on the other hand i very frequently found one which, while it was a in the young, skipped the stages b and c and became d while still quite young. then sometimes, though more rarely, a species would be found belonging to the same series, which would be a in the young and with a very faint and fleeting resemblance to d at a later stage, pass immediately while still quite young to the more advanced characteristics represented by e, and hold these as its specific characteristics until old age destroyed them. this skipping is the highest exemplification, or rather manifestation, of acceleration in development. in alluding to the history of diseases and inheritance of characteristics, you in your "origin of species" allude to the ordinary manifestation of acceleration, when you speak of the tendency of diseases or characteristics to appear at younger periods in the life of the child than of its parents. this, according to my observations, is a law, or rather mode, of development, which is applicable to all characteristics, and in this way it is possible to explain why the young of later-occurring animals are like the adult stages of those which preceded them in time. if i am not mistaken you have intimated something of this sort also in your first edition, but i have not been able to find it lately. of course this is a very normal condition of affairs when a series can be followed in this way, beginning with species a, then going through species a b to a b c, then a b d or a c d, and then a d e or simply a e, as it sometimes comes. very often the acceleration takes place in two closely connected series, thus: a--ab--abd--ae---ad in which one series goes on very regularly, while another lateral offshoot of a becomes d in the adult. this is an actual case which can be plainly shown with the specimens in hand, and has been verified in the collections here. retardation is entirely prof. cope's idea, but i think also easily traceable. it is the opponent of acceleration, so to speak, or the opposite or negative of that mode of development. thus series may occur in which, either in size or characteristics, they return to former characteristics; but a better discussion of this point you will find in the little treatise which i send by the same mail as this letter, "on reversions among the ammonites." letter . to a. hyatt. down, december th, . i thank you sincerely for your most interesting letter. you refer much too modestly to your own knowledge and judgment, as you are much better fitted to throw light on your own difficult problems than i am. it has quite annoyed me that i do not clearly understand yours and prof. cope's views ( / . prof. cope's views may be gathered from his "origin of the fittest" ; in this book (page ) is reprinted his "origin of genera" from the "proc. philadelph. acad. nat. soc." , which was published separately by the author in , and which we believe to be his first publication on the subject. in the preface to the "origin of the fittest," page vi, he sums up the chief points in the "origin of genera" under seven heads, of which the following are the most important:--"first, that development of new characters has been accomplished by an acceleration or retardation in the growth of the parts changed...second, that of exact parallelism between the adult of one individual or set of individuals, and a transitional stage of one or more other individuals. this doctrine is distinct from that of an exact parallelism, which had already been stated by von baer." the last point is less definitely stated by hyatt in his letter of december th, . "i am thus perpetually led to look upon a series very much as upon an individual, and think that i have found that in many instances these afford parallel changes." see also "lamarck the founder of evolution, by a.s. packard: new york, .) and the fault lies in some slight degree, i think, with prof. cope, who does not write very clearly. i think i now understand the terms "acceleration" and "retardation"; but will you grudge the trouble of telling me, by the aid of the following illustration, whether i do understand rightly? when a fresh-water decapod crustacean is born with an almost mature structure, and therefore does not pass, like other decapods, through the zoea stage, is this not a case of acceleration? again, if an imaginary decapod retained, when adult, many zoea characters, would this not be a case of retardation? if these illustrations are correct, i can perceive why i have been so dull in understanding your views. i looked for something else, being familiar with such cases, and classing them in my own mind as simply due to the obliteration of certain larval or embryonic stages. this obliteration i imagined resulted sometimes entirely from that law of inheritance to which you allude; but that it in many cases was aided by natural selection, as i inferred from such cases occurring so frequently in terrestrial and fresh-water members of groups, which retain their several embryonic stages in the sea, as long as fitting conditions are present. another cause of my misunderstanding was the assumption that in your series a--ab--abd--ae,--------ad the differences between the successive species, expressed by the terminal letter, was due to acceleration: now, if i understand rightly, this is not the case; and such characters must have been independently acquired by some means. the two newest and most interesting points in your letter (and in, as far as i think, your former paper) seem to me to be about senile characteristics in one species appearing in succeeding species during maturity; and secondly about certain degraded characters appearing in the last species of a series. you ask for my opinion: i can only send the conjectured impressions which have occurred to me and which are not worth writing. (it ought to be known whether the senile character appears before or after the period of active reproduction.) i should be inclined to attribute the character in both your cases to the laws of growth and descent, secondarily to natural selection. it has been an error on my part, and a misfortune to me, that i did not largely discuss what i mean by laws of growth at an early period in some of my books. i have said something on this head in two new chapters in the last edition of the "origin." i should be happy to send you a copy of this edition, if you do not possess it and care to have it. a man in extreme old age differs much from a young man, and i presume every one would account for this by failing powers of growth. on the other hand the skulls of some mammals go on altering during maturity into advancing years; as do the horns of the stag, the tail-feathers of some birds, the size of fishes etc.; and all such differences i should attribute simply to the laws of growth, as long as full vigour was retained. endless other changes of structure in successive species may, i believe, be accounted for by various complex laws of growth. now, any change of character thus induced with advancing years in the individual might easily be inherited at an earlier age than that at which it first supervened, and thus become characteristic of the mature species; or again, such changes would be apt to follow from variation, independently of inheritance, under proper conditions. therefore i should expect that characters of this kind would often appear in later-formed species without the aid of natural selection, or with its aid if the characters were of any advantage. the longer i live, the more i become convinced how ignorant we are of the extent to which all sorts of structures are serviceable to each species. but that characters supervening during maturity in one species should appear so regularly, as you state to be the case, in succeeding species, seems to me very surprising and inexplicable. with respect to degradation in species towards the close of a series, i have nothing to say, except that before i arrived at the end of your letter, it occurred to me that the earlier and simpler ammonites must have been well adapted to their conditions, and that when the species were verging towards extinction (owing probably to the presence of some more successful competitors) they would naturally become re-adapted to simpler conditions. before i had read your final remarks i thought also that unfavourable conditions might cause, through the law of growth, aided perhaps by reversion, degradation of character. no doubt many new laws remain to be discovered. permit me to add that i have never been so foolish as to imagine that i have succeeded in doing more than to lay down some of the broad outlines of the origin of species. after long reflection i cannot avoid the conviction that no innate tendency to progressive development exists, as is now held by so many able naturalists, and perhaps by yourself. it is curious how seldom writers define what they mean by progressive development; but this is a point which i have briefly discussed in the "origin." i earnestly hope that you may visit hilgendorf's famous deposit. have you seen weismann's pamphlet "einfluss der isolirung," leipzig, ? he makes splendid use of hilgendorf's admirable observations. ( / . hilgendorf, "monatsb. k. akad." berlin, . for a semi-popular account of hilgendorf's and hyatt's work on this subject, see romanes' "darwin and after darwin," i., page .) i have no strength to spare, being much out of health; otherwise i would have endeavoured to have made this letter better worth sending. i most sincerely wish you success in your valuable and difficult researches. i have received, and thank you, for your three pamphlets. as far as i can judge, your views seem very probable; but what a fearfully intricate subject is this of the succession of ammonites. ( / . see various papers in the publications of the "boston soc. nat. hist." and in the "bulletin of the harvard museum of comp. zoology.") letter . a. hyatt to charles darwin. cannstadt bei stuttgart, december th, . the quickness and earnestness of your reply to my letter gives me the greatest encouragement, and i am much delighted at the unexpected interest which your questions and comments display. what you say about prof. cope's style has been often before said to me, and i have remarked in his writings an unsatisfactory treatment of our common theory. this, i think, perhaps is largely due to the complete absorption of his mind in the contemplation of his subject: this seems to lead him to be careless about the methods in which it may be best explained. he has, however, a more extended knowledge than i have, and has in many ways a more powerful grasp of the subject, and for that very reason, perhaps, is liable to run into extremes. you ask about the skipping of the zoea stage in fresh-water decapods: is this an illustration of acceleration? it most assuredly is, if acceleration means anything at all. again, another and more general illustration would be, if, among the marine decapods, a series could be formed in which the zoea stage became less and less important in the development, and was relegated to younger and younger stages of the development, and finally disappeared in those to which you refer. this is the usual way in which the accelerated mode of development manifests itself; though near the lowest or earliest occurring species it is also to be looked for. perhaps this to which you allude is an illustration somewhat similar to the one which i have spoken of in my series, a--ab--abc--ae--------ad, which like "a d" comes from the earliest of a series, though i should think from the entire skipping of the zoea stage that it must be, like "a e," the result of a long line of ancestors. in fact, the essential point of our theory is, that characteristics are ever inherited by the young at earlier periods than they are assumed in due course of growth by the parents, and that this must eventually lead to the extinction or skipping of these characteristics altogether... such considerations as these and the fact that near the heads of series or near the latest members of series, and not at the beginning, were usually found the accelerated types, which skipped lower characteristics and developed very suddenly to a higher and more complex standpoint in structure, led both cope and [myself] into what may be a great error. i see that it has led you at least into the difficulty of which you very rightly complain, and which, i am sorry to see, has cost you some of your valuable time. we presumed that because characteristics were perpetually inherited at earlier stages, that this very concentration of the developed characteristics made room for the production of differences in the adult descendants of any given pair. further, that in the room thus made other different characteristics must be produced, and that these would necessarily appear earlier in proportion as the species was more or less accelerated, and be greater or less in the same proportion. finally, that in the most accelerated, such as "a c" or "a d," the difference would be so great as to constitute distinct genera. cope and i have differed very much, while he acknowledged the action of the accumulated mode of development only when generic characteristics or greater differences were produced, i saw the same mode of development to be applicable in all cases and to all characteristics, even to diseases. so far the facts bore us out, but when we assumed that the adult differences were the result of the accelerated mode of development, we were perhaps upon rather insecure ground. it is evidently this assumption which has led you to misunderstand the theory. cope founded his belief, that the adult characteristics were also the result of acceleration, if i rightly remember it, mainly upon the class of facts spoken of above in man where a sudden change into two organs may produce entirely new and unexpected differences in the whole organisation, and upon the changes which acceleration appeared to produce in the development of each succeeding species. your difficulty in understanding the theory and the observations you have made show me at once what my own difficulties have been, but of these i will not speak at present, as my letter is spinning itself out to a fearful length. ( / . after speaking of cope's comparison of acceleration and retardation in evolution to the force of gravity in physical matters mr. hyatt goes on:--) now it [acceleration] seems to me to explain less and less the origin of adult progressive characteristics or simply differences, and perhaps now i shall get on faster with my work. letter . to a. hyatt. down, december th [ ]. ( / . in reply to the above letter ( ) from mr. hyatt.) notwithstanding the kind consideration shown in your last sentence, i must thank you for your interesting and clearly expressed letter. i have directed my publisher to send you a copy of the last edition of the "origin," and you can, if you like, paste in the "from the author" on next page. in relation to yours and professor cope's view on "acceleration" causing a development of new characters, it would, i think, be well if you were to compare the decapods which pass and do not pass through the zoea stage, and the one group which does (according to fritz muller) pass through to the still earlier nauplius stages, and see if they present any marked differences. you will, i believe, find that this is not the case. i wish it were, for i have often been perplexed at the omission of embryonic stages as well as the acquirement of peculiar stages appearing to produce no special result in the mature form. ( / . the remainder of this letter is missing, and the whole of the last sentence is somewhat uncertainly deciphered. (note by mr. hyatt.)) letter . to a. hyatt. down, february th, . i thank you for your very kind, long, and interesting letter. the case is so wonderful and difficult that i dare not express any opinion on it. of course, i regret that hilgendorf has been proved to be so greatly in error ( / . this refers to a controversy with sandberger, who had attacked hilgendorf in the "verh. der phys.-med. ges. zu wurzburg," bd. v., and in the "jahrb. der malakol. ges." bd. i., to which hilgendorf replied in the "zeitschr. d. deutschen geolog. ges." jahrb. . hyatt's name occurs in hilgendorf's pages, but we find no reference to any paper of this date; his well-known paper is in the "boston. soc. nat. hist." . in a letter to darwin (may rd, ) hyatt regrets that he had no opportunity of a third visit to steinheim, and goes on: "i should then have done greater justice to hilgendorf, for whom i have such a high respect."), but it is some selfish comfort to me that i always felt so much misgiving that i never quoted his paper. ( / . in the fifth edition of the "origin" (page ), however, darwin speaks of the graduated forms of planorbis multiformis, described by hilgendorf from certain beds in switzerland, by which we presume he meant the steinheim beds in wurtemberg.) the variability of these shells is quite astonishing, and seems to exceed that of rubus or hieracium amongst plants. the result which surprises me most is that the same form should be developed from various and different progenitors. this seems to show how potent are the conditions of life, irrespectively of the variations being in any way beneficial. the production of a species out of a chaos of varying forms reminds me of nageli's conclusion, as deduced from the study of hieracium, that this is the common mode in which species arise. but i still continue to doubt much on this head, and cling to the belief expressed in the first edition of the "origin," that protean or polymorphic species are those which are now varying in such a manner that the variations are neither advantageous nor disadvantageous. i am glad to hear of the brunswick deposit, as i feel sure that the careful study of such cases is highly important. i hope that the smithsonian institution will publish your memoir. letter . to a. de candolle. down, january th [ ]. it was very good of you to give up so much of your time to write to me your last interesting letter. the evidence seems good about the tameness of the alpine butterflies, and the fact seems to me very surprising, for each butterfly can hardly have acquired its experience during its own short life. will you be so good as to thank m. humbert for his note, which i have been glad to read. i formerly received from a man, not a naturalist, staying at cannes a similar account, but doubted about believing it. the case, however, does not answer my query--viz., whether butterflies are attracted by bright colours, independently of the supposed presence of nectar? i must own that i have great difficulty in believing that any temporary condition of the parents can affect the offspring. if it last long enough to affect the health or structure of the parents, i can quite believe the offspring would be modified. but how mysterious a subject is that of generation! although my hypothesis of pangenesis has been reviled on all sides, yet i must still look at generation under this point of view; and it makes me very averse to believe in an emotion having any effect on the offspring. allow me to add one word about blushing and shyness: i intended only to say the habit was primordially acquired by attention to the face, and not that each shy man now attended to his personal appearance. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, june th, . i write a line to wish you good-bye, as i hear you are off on wednesday, and to thank you for the dionoea, but i cannot make the little creature grow well. i have this day read bentham's last address, and must express my admiration of it. ( / . presidential address to the linnean society, read may th, .) perhaps i ought not to do so, as he fairly crushes me with honour. i am delighted to see how exactly i agree with him on affinities, and especially on extinct forms as illustrated by his flat-topped tree. ( / . see page of separate copy: "we should then have the present races represented by the countless branchlets forming the flat-topped summit" of a genealogical tree, in which "all we can do is to map out the summit as it were from a bird's-eye view, and under each cluster, or cluster of clusters, to place as the common trunk an imaginary type of a genus, order, or class according to the depth to which we would go.") my recent work leads me to differ from him on one point--viz., on the separation of the sexes. ( / . on the question of sexuality, see page of bentham's address. on the back of mr. darwin's copy he has written: "as long as lowest organisms free--sexes separated: as soon as they become attached, to prevent sterility sexes united--reseparated as means of fertilisation, adapted [?] for distant [?] organisms,--in the case of animals by their senses and voluntary movements,--with plants the aid of insects and wind, the latter always existed, and long retained." the two words marked [?] are doubtful. the introduction of freedom or attachedness, as a factor in the problem also occurs in "cross and self-fertilisation," page . i strongly suspect that sexes were primordially in distinct individuals; then became commonly united in the same individual, and then in a host of animals and some few plants became again separated. do ask bentham to send a copy of his address to "dr. h. muller, lippstadt, prussia," as i am sure it will please him greatly. ...when in france write me a line and tell me how you get on, and how huxley is; but do not do so if you feel idle, and writing bothers you. letter . to r. meldola. ( / . this letter, with others from darwin to meldola, is published in "charles darwin and the theory of natural selection," by e.b. poulton, pages et seq., london, .) southampton, august th, . i am much obliged for your present, which no doubt i shall find at down on my return home. i am sorry to say that i cannot answer your question; nor do i believe that you could find it anywhere even approximately answered. it is very difficult or impossible to define what is meant by a large variation. such graduate into monstrosities or generally injurious variations. i do not myself believe that these are often or ever taken advantage of under nature. it is a common occurrence that abrupt and considerable variations are transmitted in an unaltered state, or not at all transmitted, to the offspring, or to some of them. so it is with tailless or hornless animals, and with sudden and great changes of colour in flowers. i wish i could have given you any answer. letter . to e.s. morse. [undated.] i must have the pleasure of thanking you for your kindness in sending me your essay on the brachiopoda. ( / . "the brachiopoda, a division of annelida," "amer. assoc. proc." volume xix., page , , and "annals and mag. nat. hist." volume vi., page , .) i have just read it with the greatest interest, and you seem to me (though i am not a competent judge) to make out with remarkable clearness an extremely strong case. what a wonderful change it is to an old naturalist to have to look at these "shells" as "worms"; but, as you truly say, as far as external appearance is concerned, the case is not more wonderful than that of cirripedes. i have also been particularly interested by your remarks on the geological record, and on the lower and older forms in each great class not having been probably protected by calcareous valves or a shell. p.s.--your woodcut of lingula is most skilfully introduced to compel one to see its likeness to an annelid. letter . to h. spencer. ( / . mr. spencer's book "the study of sociology," , was published in the "contemporary review" in instalments between may and october .) october st [ ]. i am glad to receive to-day an advertisement of your book. i have been wonderfully interested by the articles in the "contemporary." those were splendid hits about the prince of wales and gladstone. ( / . see "the study of sociology," page . mr. gladstone, in protest against some words of mr. spencer, had said that the appearance of great men "in great crises of human history" were events so striking "that men would be liable to term them providential in a pre-scientific age." on this mr. spencer remarks that "in common with the ancient greek mr. gladstone regards as irreligious any explanation of nature which dispenses with immediate divine superintendence." and as an instance of the partnership "between the ideas of natural causation and of providential interference," he instances a case where a prince "gained popularity by outliving certain abnormal changes in his blood," and where "on the occasion of his recovery providential aid and natural causation were unitedly recognised by a thanksgiving to god and a baronetcy to the doctor." the passage on toryism is on page , where mr. spencer, with his accustomed tolerance, writes: "the desirable thing is that a growth of ideas and feelings tending to produce modification shall be joined with a continuance of ideas and feelings tending to preserve stability." and from this point of view he concludes it to be very desirable that "one in mr. gladstone's position should think as he does." the matter is further discussed in the notes to chapter xvi., page .) i never before read a good defence of toryism. in one place (but i cannot for the life of me recollect where or what it exactly was) i thought that you would have profited by my principle (i.e. if you do not reject it) given in my "descent of man," that new characters which appear late in life are those which are transmitted to the same sex alone. i have advanced some pretty strong evidence, and the principle is of great importance in relation to secondary sexual likenesses. ( / . this refers to mr. spencer's discussion of the evolution of the mental traits characteristic of women. at page he points out the importance of the limitation of heredity by sex in this relation. a striking generalisation on this question is given in the "descent of man," edition i., volume ii., page : that when the adult male differs from the adult female, he differs in the same way from the young of both sexes. can this law be applied in the case in which the adult female possesses characters not possessed by the male: for instance, the high degree of intuitive power of reading the mental states of others and of concealing her own--characters which mr. spencer shows to be accounted for by the relations between the husband and wife in a state of savagery. if so, the man should resemble "the young of both sexes" in the absence of these special qualities. this seems to be the case with some masculine characteristics, and childishness of man is not without recognition among women: for instance, by dolly winthrop in "silas marner," who is content with bread for herself, but bakes cake for children and men, whose "stomichs are made so comical, they want a change--they do, i know, god help 'em.") i have applied it to man and woman, and possibly it was here that i thought that you would have profited by the doctrine. i fear that this note will be almost illegible, but i am very tired. letter . g.j. romanes to charles darwin. ( / . this is, we believe, the first letter addressed by the late mr. romanes to mr. darwin. it was put away with another on the same subject, and inscribed "romanes on abortion, with my answer (very important)." mr. darwin's answer given below is printed from his rough draft, which is in places barely decipherable. on the subject of these letters consult romanes, "darwin and after darwin," volume ii., page , .) dunskaith, parkhill, ross-shire, july th, . knowing that you do not dissuade the more attentive of your readers from communicating directly to yourself any ideas they may have upon subjects connected with your writings, i take the liberty of sending the enclosed copy of a letter, which i have recently addressed to mr. herbert spencer. you will perceive that the subject dealt with is the same as that to which a letter of mine in last week's "nature" [july nd, page ] refers--viz., "disuse as a reducing cause in species." in submitting this more detailed exposition of my views to your consideration, i should like to state again what i stated in "nature" some weeks ago, viz., that in propounding the cessation of selection as a reducing cause, i do not suppose that i am suggesting anything which has not occurred to you already. not only is this principle embodied in the theory set forth in the article on rudimentary organs ("nature," volume ix.); but it is more than once hinted at in the "origin," in the passages where rudimentary organs are said to be more variable than others, because no longer under the restraining influence of natural selection. and still more distinctly is this principle recognised in page . thus, in sending you the enclosed letter, i do not imagine that i am bringing any novel suggestions under your notice. as i see that you have already applied the principle in question to the case of artificially-bred structures, i cannot but infer that you have pondered it in connection with naturally-bred structures. what objection, however, you can have seen to this principle in this latter connection, i am unable to divine; and so i think the best course for me to pursue is the one i adopt--viz., to send you my considerations in full. in the absence of express information, the most natural inference is that the reason you refuse to entertain the principle in question, is because you show the backward tendency of indiscriminate variability [to be] inadequate to contend with the conservative tendency of long inheritance. the converse of this is expressed in the words "that the struggle between natural selection on the one hand, and the tendency to reversion and variability on the other hand, will in the course of time cease; and that the most abnormally developed organs may be made constant, i see no reason to doubt" ("origin," page ). certainly not, if, as i doubt not, the word "constant" is intended to bear a relative signification; but to say that constancy can ever become absolute--i.e., that any term of inheritance could secure to an organ a total immunity from the smallest amount of spontaneous variability--to say this would be unwarrantable. suppose, for instance, that for some reason or other a further increase in the size of a bat's wing should now suddenly become highly beneficial to that animal: we can scarcely suppose that variations would not be forthcoming for natural selection to seize upon (unless the limit of possible size has now been reached, which is an altogether distinct matter). and if we suppose that minute variations on the side of increase are thus even now occasionally taking place, much more is it probable that similar variations on the side of decrease are now taking place--i.e., that if the conservative influence of natural selection were removed for a long period of time, more variations would ensue below the present size of bat's wings, than above it. to this it may be added, that when the influence of "speedy selection" is removed, it seems in itself highly probable that the structure would, for this reason, become more variable, for the only reason why it ever ceased to be variable (i.e., after attaining its maximum size), was because of the influence of selection constantly destroying those individuals in which a tendency to vary occurred. when, therefore, this force antagonistic to variability was removed, it seems highly probable that the latter principle would again begin to assert itself, and this in a cumulative manner. those individuals in which a tendency to vary occurred being no longer cut off, they would have as good a chance of leaving progeny to inherit their fluctuating disposition as would their more inflexible companions. letter . to g.j. romanes. july th, . i am much obliged for your kind and long communication, which i have read with great interest, as well as your articles in "nature." the subject seems to me as important and interesting as it is difficult. i am much out of health, and working very hard on a very different subject, so thus i cannot give your remarks the attention which they deserve. i will, however, keep your letter for some later time, when i may again take up the subject. your letter makes it clearer to me than it ever was before, how a part or organ which has already begun from any cause to decrease, will go on decreasing through so-called spontaneous variability, with intercrossing; for under such circumstances it is very unlikely that there should be variation in the direction of increase beyond the average size, and no reason why there should not be variations of decrease. i think this expresses your view. i had intended this summer subjecting plants to [illegible] conditions, and observing the effects on variation; but the work would be very laborious, yet i am inclined to think it will be hereafter worth the labour. letter . to t. meehan. down, october th, . i am glad that you are attending to the colours of dioecious flowers; but it is well to remember that their colours may be as unimportant to them as those of a gall, or, indeed, as the colour of an amethyst or ruby is to these gems. some thirty years ago i began to investigate the little purple flowers in the centre of the umbels of the carrot. i suppose my memory is wrong, but it tells me that these flowers are female, and i think that i once got a seed from one of them; but my memory may be quite wrong. i hope that you will continue your interesting researches. letter . to g. jager. down, february rd, . i received this morning a copy of your work "contra wigand," either from yourself or from your publisher, and i am greatly obliged for it. ( / . jager's "in sachen darwins insbesondere contra wigand" (stuttgart, ) is directed against a. wigand's "der darwinismus und die naturforschung newtons und cuviers" (brunswick, ).) i had, however, before bought a copy, and have sent the new one to our best library, that of the royal society. as i am a very poor german scholar, i have as yet read only about forty pages; but these have interested me in the highest degree. your remarks on fixed and variable species deserve the greatest attention; but i am not at present quite convinced that there are such independent of the conditions to which they are subjected. i think you have done great service to the principle of evolution, which we both support, by publishing this work. i am the more glad to read it as i had not time to read wigand's great and tedious volume. letter . to chauncey wright. down, march th, . i write to-day so that there shall be no delay this time in thanking you for your interesting and long letter received this morning. i am sure that you will excuse brevity when i tell you that i am half-killing myself in trying to get a book ready for the press. ( / . the ms. of "insectivorous plants" was got ready for press in march, . darwin seems to have been more than usually oppressed by the work.) i quite agree with what you say about advantages of various degrees of importance being co-selected ( / . mr. chauncey wright wrote (february th, ): "the inquiry as to which of several real uses is the one through which natural selection has acted...has for several years seemed to me a somewhat less important question than it seemed formerly, and still appears to most thinkers on the subject...the uses of the rattling of the rattlesnake as a protection by warning its enemies and as a sexual call are not rival uses; neither are the high-reaching and the far-seeing uses of the giraffe's neck 'rivals.'"), and aided by the effects of use, etc. the subject seems to me well worth further development. i do not think i have anywhere noticed the use of the eyebrows, but have long known that they protected the eyes from sweat. during the voyage of the "beagle" one of the men ascended a lofty hill during a very hot day. he had small eyebrows, and his eyes became fearfully inflamed from the sweat running into them. the portuguese inhabitants were familiar with this evil. i think you allude to the transverse furrows on the forehead as a protection against sweat; but remember that these incessantly appear on the foreheads of baboons. p.s.--i have been greatly pleased by the notices in the "nation." letter . to a. weismann. down, may st, . i did not receive your essay for some days after your very kind letter, and i read german so slowly that i have only just finished it. ( / . "studien zur descendenz-theorie" i. "ueber den saison-dimorphismus," . the fact was previously known that two forms of the genus vanessa which had been considered to be distinct species are only seasonal forms of the same species--one appearing in spring, the other in summer. this remarkable relationship forms the subject of the essay.) your work has interested me greatly, and your conclusions seem well established. i have long felt much curiosity about season-dimorphism, but never could form any theory on the subject. undoubtedly your view is very important, as bearing on the general question of variability. when i wrote the "origin" i could not find any facts which proved the direct action of climate and other external conditions. i long ago thought that the time would soon come when the causes of variation would be fully discussed, and no one has done so much as you in this important subject. the recent evidence of the difference between birds of the same species in the n. and s. united states well shows the power of climate. the two sexes of some few birds are there differently modified by climate, and i have introduced this fact in the last edition of my "descent of man." ( / . "descent of man," edition ii. (in one volume), page . allen showed that many species of birds are more strongly coloured in the south of the united states, and that sometimes one sex is more affected than the other. it is this last point that bears on weismann's remarks (loc. cit., pages , ) on pieris napi. the males of the alpine-boreal form bryoniae hardly differ from those of the german form (var. vernalis), while the females are strikingly different. thus the character of secondary sexual differences is determined by climate.) i am, therefore, fully prepared to admit the justness of your criticism on sexual selection of lepidoptera; but considering the display of their beauty, i am not yet inclined to think that i am altogether in error. what you say about reversion ( / . for instance, the fact that reversion to the primary winter-form may be produced by the disturbing effect of high temperature (page ).) being excited by various causes, agrees with what i concluded with respect to the remarkable effects of crossing two breeds: namely, that anything which disturbs the constitution leads to reversion, or, as i put the case under my hypothesis of pangenesis, gives a good chance of latent gemmules developing. your essay, in my opinion, is an admirable one, and i thank you for the interest which it has afforded me. p.s. i find that there are several points, which i have forgotten. mr. jenner weir has not published anything more about caterpillars, but i have written to him, asking him whether he has tried any more experiments, and will keep back this letter till i receive his answer. mr. riley of the united states supports mr. weir, and you will find reference to him and other papers at page of the new and much-corrected edition of my "descent of man." as i have a duplicate copy of volume i. (i believe volume ii. is not yet published in german) i send it to you by this post. mr. belt, in his travels in nicaragua, gives several striking cases of conspicuously coloured animals (but not caterpillars) which are distasteful to birds of prey: he is an excellent observer, and his book, "the naturalist in nicaragua," very interesting. i am very much obliged for your photograph, which i am particularly glad to possess, and i send mine in return. i see you allude to hilgendorf's statements, which i was sorry to see disputed by some good german observer. mr. hyatt, an excellent palaeontologist of the united states, visited the place, and likewise assured me that hilgendorf was quite mistaken. ( / . see letters - .) i am grieved to hear that your eyesight still continues bad, but anyhow it has forced your excellent work in your last essay. may th. here is what mr. weir says:-- "in reply to your inquiry of saturday, i regret that i have little to add to my two communications to the 'entomological society transactions.' "i repeated the experiments with gaudy caterpillars for years, and always with the same results: not on a single occasion did i find richly coloured, conspicuous larvae eaten by birds. it was more remarkable to observe that the birds paid not the slightest attention to gaudy caterpillars, not even when in motion,--the experiments so thoroughly satisfied my mind that i have now given up making them." letter . to lawson tait. ( / . the late mr. lawson tait wrote to mr. darwin (june nd, ): "i am watching a lot of my mice from whom i removed the tails at birth, and i am coming to the conclusion that the essential use of the tail there is as a recording organ--that is, they record in their memories the corners they turn and the height of the holes they pass through by touching them with their tails." mr. darwin was interested in the idea because "some german sneered at natural selection and instanced the tails of mice.") june th, . it has just occurred to me to look at the "origin of species" (edition vi., page ), and it is certain that bronn, in the appended chapter to his translation of my book into german, did advance ears and tail of various species of mice as a difficulty opposed to natural selection. i answered with respect to ears by alluding to schobl's curious paper (i forget when published) ( / . j. schobl, "das aussere ohr der mause als wichtiges tastorgan." "archiv. mik. anat." vii., , page .) on the hairs of the ears being sensitive and provided with nerves. i presume he made fine sections: if you are accustomed to such histological work, would it not be worth while to examine hairs of tail of mice? at page i quote henslow (confirmed by gunther) on mus messorius (and other species?) using tail as prehensile organ. dr. kane in his account of the second grinnell expedition says that the esquimaux in severe weather carry a fox-tail tied to the neck, which they use as a respirator by holding the tip of the tail between their teeth. ( / . the fact is stated in volume ii., page , of e.k. kane's "arctic explorations: the second grinnell expedition in search of sir john franklin." philadelphia, .) he says also that he found a frozen fox curled up with his nose buried in his tail. n.b. it is just possible that the latter fact is stated by m'clintock, not by dr. kane. ( / . the final passage is a postscript by mr. w.e. darwin bearing on mr. lawson tait's idea of the respirator function of the fox's tail.) letter . to g.j. romanes. down, july th, . i am correcting a second edition of "variation under domestication," and find that i must do it pretty fully. therefore i give a short abstract of potato graft-hybrids, and i want to know whether i did not send you a reference about beet. did you look to this, and can you tell me anything about it? i hope with all my heart that you are getting on pretty well with your experiments. i have been led to think a good deal on the subject, and am convinced of its high importance, though it will take years of hammering before physiologists will admit that the sexual organs only collect the generative elements. the edition will be published in november, and then you will see all that i have collected, but i believe that you gave all the more important cases. the case of vine in "gardeners' chronicle," which i sent you, i think may only be a bud-variation not due to grafting. i have heard indirectly of your splendid success with nerves of medusae. we have been at abinger hall for a month for rest, which i much required, and i saw there the cut-leaved vine which seems splendid for graft hybridism. letter . to francis galton. down, november th, . i have read your essay with much curiosity and interest, but you probably have no idea how excessively difficult it is to understand. ( / . "a theory of heredity" ("journal of the anthropological institute," ). in this paper mr. galton admits that the hypothesis of organic units "must lie at the foundation of the science of heredity," and proceeds to show in what respect his conception differs from the hypothesis of pangenesis. the copy of mr. galton's paper, which darwin numbered in correspondence with the criticisms in his letter, is not available, and we are therefore only able to guess at some of the points referred to.) i cannot fully grasp, only here and there conjecture, what are the points on which we differ. i daresay this is chiefly due to muddy-headedness on my part, but i do not think wholly so. your many terms, not defined, "developed germs," "fertile," and "sterile germs" (the word "germ" itself from association misleading to me) "stirp," "sept," "residue," etc., etc., quite confounded me. if i ask myself how you derive, and where you place the innumerable gemmules contained within the spermatozoa formed by a male animal during its whole life, i cannot answer myself. unless you can make several parts clearer i believe (though i hope i am altogether wrong) that only a few will endeavour or succeed in fathoming your meaning. i have marked a few passages with numbers, and here make a few remarks and express my opinion, as you desire it, not that i suppose it will be of any use to you. . if this implies that many parts are not modified by use and disuse during the life of the individual, i differ widely from you, as every year i come to attribute more and more to such agency. ( / . this seems to refer to page of mr. galton's paper. the passage must have been hastily read, and has been quite misunderstood. mr. galton has never expressed the view attributed to him.) . this seems rather bold, as sexuality has not been detected in some of the lowest forms, though i daresay it may hereafter be. ( / . mr. galton, op. cit., pages - : "there are not of a necessity two sexes, because swarms of creatures of the simplest organisations mainly multiply by some process of self-division.") . if gemmules (to use my own term) were often deficient in buds, i cannot but think that bud-variations would be commoner than they are in a state of nature; nor does it seem that bud-variations often exhibit deficiencies which might be accounted for by the absence of the proper gemmules. i take a very different view of the meaning or cause of sexuality. ( / . mr. galton's idea is that in a bud or other asexually produced part, the germs (i.e. gemmules) may not be completely representative of the whole organism, and if reproduction is continued asexually "at each successive stage there is always a chance of some one or more of the various species of germs... dying out" (page ). mr. galton supposes, in sexual reproduction, where two parents contribute germs to the embryo the chance of deficiency of any of the necessary germs is greatly diminished. darwin's "very different view of the meaning or cause of sexuality" is no doubt that given in "cross and self fertilisation"--i.e., that sexuality is equivalent to changed conditions, that the parents are not representative of different sexes, but of different conditions of life.) . i have ordered "fraser's magazine" ( / . "the history of twins," by f. galton, "fraser's magazine," november, , republished with additions in the "journal of the anthropological institute," . mr. galton explains the striking dissimilarity of twins which is sometimes met with by supposing that the offspring in this case divide the available gemmules between them in such a way that each is the complement of the other. thus, to put the case in an exaggerated way, similar twins would each have half the gemmules a, b, c,...z., etc, whereas, in the case of dissimilar twins, one would have all the gemmules a, b, c, d,...m, and the other would have n...z.), and am curious to learn how twins from a single ovum are distinguished from twins from two ova. nothing seems to me more curious than the similarity and dissimilarity of twins. . awfully difficult to understand. . i have given almost the same notion. . i hope that all this will be altered. i have received new and additional cases, so that i have now not a shadow of doubt. . such cases can hardly be spoken of as very rare, as you would say if you had received half the number of cases i have. ( / . we are unable to determine to what paragraphs , , , refer.) i am very sorry to differ so much from you, but i have thought that you would desire my open opinion. frank is away, otherwise he should have copied my scrawl. i have got a good stock of pods of sweet peas, but the autumn has been frightfully bad; perhaps we may still get a few more to ripen. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, november th [ ]. many thanks for your "biology," which i have read. ( / . "a course of practical instruction in elementary biology," by t.h. huxley and h.n. martin, . for an account of the book see "life and letters of t.h. huxley," volume i., page .) it was a real stroke of genius to think of such a plan. lord, how i wish i had gone through such a course! letter . to francis galton. december th [ ]. george has been explaining our differences. i have admitted in the new edition ( / . in the second edition ( ) of the "variation of animals and plants," volume ii., page , reference is made to mr. galton's transfusion experiments, "proc. r. soc." xix., page ; also to mr. galton's letter to "nature," april th, , page . this is a curious mistake; the letter in "nature," april th, , is by darwin himself, and refers chiefly to the question whether gemmules may be supposed to be in the blood. mr. galton's letter is in "nature," may th, , volume iv., page . see letter .) (before seeing your essay) that perhaps the gemmules are largely multiplied in the reproductive organs; but this does not make me doubt that each unit of the whole system also sends forth its gemmules. you will no doubt have thought of the following objection to your views, and i should like to hear what your answer is. if two plants are crossed, it often, or rather generally, happens that every part of stem, leaf, even to the hairs, and flowers of the hybrid are intermediate in character; and this hybrid will produce by buds millions on millions of other buds all exactly reproducing the intermediate character. i cannot doubt that every unit of the hybrid is hybridised and sends forth hybridised gemmules. here we have nothing to do with the reproductive organs. there can hardly be a doubt from what we know that the same thing would occur with all those animals which are capable of budding, and some of these (as the compound ascidians) are sufficiently complex and highly organised. letter . to lawson tait. march th, . ( / . the reference is to the theory put forward in the first edition of "variation of animals and plants," ii., page , that the asserted tendency to regeneration after the amputation of supernumerary digits in man is a return to the recuperative powers characteristic of a "lowly organised progenitor provided with more than five digits." darwin's recantation is at volume i., page of the second edition.) since reading your first article ( / . lawson tait wrote two notices on "the variation of animals and plants under domestication" in the "spectator" of march th, , page , and march th, page .), dr. rudinger has written to me and sent me an essay, in which he gives the results of the most extensive inquiries from all eminent surgeons in germany, and all are unanimous about non-growth of extra digits after amputation. they explain some apparent cases, as paget did to me. by the way, i struck out of my second edition a quotation from sir j. simpson about re-growth in the womb, as paget demurred, and as i could not say how a rudiment of a limb due to any cause could be distinguished from an imperfect re-growth. two or three days ago i had another letter from germany from a good naturalist, dr. kollmann ( / . dr. kollmann was secretary of the anthropologische gesellschaft of munich, in which society took place the discussion referred to in "variation of animals and plants," i., , as originating darwin's doubts on the whole question. the fresh evidence adduced by kollmann as to the normal occurrence of a rudimentary sixth digit in batrachians is borus' paper, "die sechste zehe der anuren" in "morpholog. jahrbuch," bd. i., page . on this subject see letter .), saying he was sorry that i had given up atavism and extra digits, and telling me of new and good evidence of rudiments of a rudimentary sixth digit in batrachians (which i had myself seen, but given up owing to gegenbaur's views); but, with re-growth failing me, i could not uphold my old notion. letter . to g.j. romanes. ( / . mr. romanes' reply to this letter is printed in his "life and letters," page , where by an oversight it is dated - .) h. wedgwood, esq., hopedene, dorking, may th [ ]. as you are interested in pangenesis, and will some day, i hope, convert an "airy nothing" into a substantial theory, i send by this post an essay by hackel ( / . "die perigenesis der plastidule oder die wellenzeugung der lebenstheilchen," pages. berlin, .) attacking pan. and substituting a molecular hypothesis. if i understand his views rightly, he would say that with a bird which strengthened its wings by use, the formative protoplasm of the strengthened parts became changed, and its molecular vibrations consequently changed, and that these vibrations are transmitted throughout the whole frame of the bird, and affect the sexual elements in such a manner that the wings of the offspring are developed in a like strengthened manner. i imagine he would say, in cases like those of lord morton's mare ( / . a nearly pure-bred arabian chestnut mare bore a hybrid to a quagga, and subsequently produced two striped colts by a black arabian horse: see "animals and plants," i., page . the case was originally described in the "philosophical transactions," , page . for an account of recent work bearing on this question, see article on "zebras, horses, and hybrids," in the "quarterly review," october . see letter .), that the vibrations from the protoplasm, or "plasson," of the seminal fluid of the zebra set plasson vibrating in the mare; and that these vibrations continued until the hair of the second colt was formed, and which consequently became barred like that of a zebra. how he explains reversion to a remote ancestor, i know not. perhaps i have misunderstood him, though i have skimmed the whole with some care. he lays much stress on inheritance being a form of unconscious memory, but how far this is part of his molecular vibration, i do not understand. his views make nothing clearer to me; but this may be my fault. no one, i presume, would doubt about molecular movements of some kind. his essay is clever and striking. if you read it (but you must not on my account), i should much like to hear your judgment, and you can return it at any time. the blue lines are hackel's to call my attention. we have come here for rest for me, which i have much needed; and shall remain here for about ten days more, and then home to work, which is my sole pleasure in life. i hope your splendid medusa work and your experiments on pangenesis are going on well. i heard from my son frank yesterday that he was feverish with a cold, and could not dine with the physiologists, which i am very sorry for, as i should have heard what they think about the new bill. i see that you are one of the secretaries to this young society. letter . to h.n. moseley. down, november nd [ ]. it is very kind of you to send me the japanese books, which are extremely curious and amusing. my son frank is away, but i am sure he will be much obliged for the two papers which you have sent him. thanks, also, for your interesting note. it is a pity that peripatus ( / . moseley "on the structure and development of peripatus capensis" ("phil. trans. r. soc." volume , page , ). "when suddenly handled or irritated, they (i.e. peripatus) shoot out fine threads of a remarkably viscid and tenacious milky fluid... projected from the tips of the oral papillae" (page ).) is so stupid as to spit out the viscid matter at the wrong end of its body; it would have been beautiful thus to have explained the origin of the spider's web. letter . naphtali lewy to charles darwin. ( / . the following letter refers to a book, "toledoth adam," written by a learned jew with the object of convincing his co-religionists of the truth of the theory of evolution. the translation we owe to the late henry bradshaw, university librarian at cambridge. the book is unfortunately no longer to be found in mr. darwin's library.) [ ]. to the lord, the prince, who "stands for an ensign of the people" (isa. xi. ), the investigator of the generation, the "bright son of the morning" (isa. xiv. ), charles darwin, may he live long! "from the rising of the sun and from the west" (isa. xlv. ) all the nations know concerning the torah (theory) ( / . lit., instruction. the torah is the pentateuch, strictly speaking, the source of all knowledge.) which has "proceeded from thee for a light of the people" (isa. li. ), and the nations "hear and say, it is truth" (isa. xliii. ). but with "the portion of my people" (jer. x. ), jacob, "the lot of my inheritance" (deut. xxxii. ), it is not so. this nation, "the ancient people" (isa. xliv. ), which "remembers the former things and considers the things of old (isa. xliii. ), "knows not, neither doth it understand" (psalm lxxxii. ), that by thy torah (instruction or theory) thou hast thrown light upon their torah (the law), and that the eyes of the hebrews ( / . one letter in this word changed would make the word "blind," which is what isaiah uses in the passage alluded to.) "can now see out of obscurity and out of darkness" (isa. xxix. ). therefore "i arose" (judges v. ) and wrote this book, "toledoth adam" ("the generations of man," gen. v. ), to teach the children of my people, the seed of jacob, the torah (instruction) which thou hast given for an inheritance to all the nations of the earth. and i have "proceeded to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder" (isa. xxix. ), enabling them now to read in the torah of moses our teacher, "plainly and giving the sense" (neh. viii. ), that which thou hast given in thy torahs (works of instruction). and when my people perceive that thy view has by no means "gone astray" (num. v. , , etc.) from the torah of god, they will hold thy name in the highest reverence, and "will at the same time glorify the god of israel" (isa. xxix. ). "the vision of all this" (isa. xxix. ) thou shalt see, o prince of wisdom, in this book, "which goeth before me" (gen. xxxii. ); and whatever thy large understanding finds to criticise in it, come, "write it in a table and note it in a book" (isa. xxx. ); and allow me to name my work with thy name, which is glorified and greatly revered by thy servant, naphtali hallevi [i.e. the levite]. dated here in the city of radom, in the province of poland, in the month of nisan in the year , according to the lesser computation (i.e. a.m. [ ] = a.d. ). letter . to otto zacharias. . when i was on board the "beagle" i believed in the permanence of species, but, as far as i can remember, vague doubts occasionally flitted across my mind. on my return home in the autumn of i immediately began to prepare my journal for publication, and then saw how many facts indicated the common descent of species ( / . "the facts to which reference is here made were, without doubt, eminently fitted to attract the attention of a philosophical thinker; but until the relations of the existing with the extinct species and of the species of the different geographical areas, with one another were determined with some exactness, they afforded but an unsafe foundation for speculation. it was not possible that this determination should have been effected before the return of the "beagle" to england; and thus the date which darwin (writing in ) assigns to the dawn of the new light which was rising in his mind becomes intelligible."--from "darwiniana," essays by thomas h. huxley, london, ; pages - .), so that in july, , i opened a notebook to record any facts which might bear on the question; but i did not become convinced that species were mutable until, i think, two or three years had elapsed. ( / . on this last point see page .) letter . to g.j. romanes. ( / . the following letter refers to ms. notes by romanes, which we have not seen. darwin's remarks on it are, however, sufficiently clear.) my address will be "bassett, southampton," june th [ ]. i have received the crossing paper which you were so kind as to send me. it is very clear, and i quite agree with it; but the point in question has not been a difficulty to me, as i have never believed in a new form originating from a single variation. what i have called unconscious selection by man illustrates, as it seems to me, the same principle as yours, within the same area. man purchases the individual animals or plants which seem to him the best in any respect--some more so, and some less so--and, without any matching or pairing, the breed in the course of time is surely altered. the absence in numerous instances of intermediate or blending forms, in the border country between two closely allied geographical races or close species, seemed to me a greater difficulty when i discussed the subject in the "origin." with respect to your illustration, it formerly drove me half mad to attempt to account for the increase or diminution of the productiveness of an organism; but i cannot call to mind where my difficulty lay. ( / . see letters - .) natural selection always applies, as i think, to each individual and its offspring, such as its seeds, eggs, which are formed by the mother, and which are protected in various ways. ( / . it was in regard to this point that romanes had sent the ms. to darwin. in a letter of june th he writes: "it was with reference to the possibility of natural selection acting on organic types as distinguished from individuals,--a possibility which you once told me did not seem at all clear.") there does not seem any difficulty in understanding how the productiveness of an organism might be increased; but it was, as far as i can remember, in reducing productiveness that i was most puzzled. but why i scribble about this i know not. i have read your review of mr. allen's book ( / . see "nature" (june th, , page ), a review of grant allen's "physiological aesthetics."), and it makes me more doubtful, even, than i was before whether he has really thrown much light on the subject. i am glad to hear that some physiologists take the same view as i did about your giving too much credit to h. spencer--though, heaven knows, this is a rare fault. ( / . the reference is to romanes' lecture on medusa, given at the royal institution, may th. (see "nature," xvi., pages , , .) it appears from a letter of romanes (june th) that it was the abstract in the "times" that gave the impression referred to. references to mr. spencer's theories of nerve-genesis occur in "nature," pages , , .) the more i think of your medusa-nerve-work the more splendid it seems to me. letter . to a. de candolle. down, august rd, . i must have the pleasure of thanking you for your long and interesting letter. the cause and means of the transition from an hermaphrodite to a unisexual condition seems to me a very perplexing problem, and i shall be extremely glad to read your remarks on smilax, whenever i receive the essay which you kindly say that you will send me. ( / . "monographiae phanerogamarum," volume i. in his treatment of the smilaceae, de candolle distinguishes:--heterosmilax which has dioecious flowers without a trace of aborted stamens or pistils, smilax with sterile stamens in the female flowers, and rhipogonum with hermaphrodite flowers.) there is much justice in your criticisms ( / . the passage criticised by de candolle is in "forms of flowers" (page ): "it is a natural inference that their corollas have been increased in size for this special purpose." de candolle goes on to give an account of the "recherche linguistique," which, with characteristic fairness, he undertook to ascertain whether the word "purpose" differs in meaning from the corresponding french word "but.") on my use of the terms object, end, purpose; but those who believe that organs have been gradually modified for natural selection for a special purpose may, i think, use the above terms correctly, though no conscious being has intervened. i have found much difficulty in my occasional attempts to avoid these terms, but i might perhaps have always spoken of a beneficial or serviceable effect. my son francis will be interested by hearing about smilax. he has dispatched to you a copy of his paper on the glands of dipsacus ( / . "quart. journ. mic. sci." .), and i hope that you will find time to read it, for the case seems to me a new and highly remarkable one. we are now hard at work on an attempt to make out the function or use of the bloom or waxy secretion on the leaves and fruit of many plants; but i doubt greatly whether our experiments will tell us much. ( / . "as it is we have made out clearly that with some plants (chiefly succulent) the bloom checks evaporation--with some certainly prevents attacks of insects; with some sea-shore plants prevents injury from salt-water, and i believe, with a few prevents injury from pure water resting on the leaves." (see letter to sir w. thiselton-dyer, "life and letters," iii., page . a paper on the same subject by francis darwin was published in the "journ. linn. soc." xxii.)) if you have any decided opinion whether plants with conspicuously glaucous leaves are more frequent in hot than in temperate or cold, in dry than in damp countries, i should be grateful if you would add to your many kindnesses by informing me. pray give my kind remembrances to your son, and tell him that my son has been trying on a large scale the effects of feeding drosera with meat, and the results are most striking and far more favourable than i anticipated. letter . to g.j. romanes. ( / . published in the "life and letters" of romanes, page .) down, saturday night [ ]. i have just finished your lecture ( / . "the scientific evidence of organic evolution: a discourse" (delivered before the philosophical society of ross-shire), inverness, . it was reprinted in the "fortnightly review," and was afterwards worked up into a book under the above title.); it is an admirable scientific argument, and most powerful. i wish that it could be sown broadcast throughout the land. your courage is marvellous, and i wonder that you were not stoned on the spot--and in scotland! do please tell me how it was received in the lecture hall. about man being made like a monkey (page ( / . "and if you reject the natural explanation of hereditary descent, you can only suppose that the deity, in creating man, took the most scrupulous pains to make him in the image of the ape" ("discourse," page ).)) is quite new to me, and the argument in an earlier place (page ( / . at page of the "discourse" the speaker referred to the law "which sir william hamilton called the law of parsimony--or the law which forbids us to assume the operation of higher causes when lower ones are found sufficient to explain the desired effects," as constituting the "only logical barrier between science and superstition.")) on the law of parsimony admirably put. yes, page ( / . "discourse," page . if we accept the doctrines of individual creations and ideal types, we must believe that the deity acted "with no other apparent motive than to suggest to us, by every one of the observable facts, that the ideal types are nothing other than the bonds of a lineal descent.") is new to me. all strike me as very clear, and, considering small space, you have chosen your lines of reasoning excellently. the few last pages are awfully powerful, in my opinion. sunday morning.--the above was written last night in the enthusiasm of the moment, and now--this dark, dismal sunday morning--i fully agree with what i said. i am very sorry to hear about the failures in the graft experiments, and not from your own fault or ill-luck. trollope in one of his novels gives as a maxim of constant use by a brickmaker--"it is dogged as does it" ( / . "tell 'ee what, master crawley;--and yer reverence mustn't think as i means to be preaching; there ain't nowt a man can't bear if he'll only be dogged. you go whome, master crawley, and think o' that, and may be it'll do ye a good yet. it's dogged as does it. it ain't thinking about it." (giles hoggett, the old brickmaker, in "the last chronicle of barset," volume ii., , page .))--and i have often and often thought that this is the motto for every scientific worker. i am sure it is yours--if you do not give up pangenesis with wicked imprecations. by the way, g. jager has brought out in "kosmos" a chemical sort of pangenesis bearing chiefly on inheritance. ( / . several papers by jager on "inheritance" were published in the first volume of "kosmos," .) i cannot conceive why i have not offered my garden for your experiments. i would attend to the plants, as far as mere care goes, with pleasure; but down is an awkward place to reach. would it be worth while to try if the "fortnightly" would republish it [i.e. the lecture]? letter . to t.h. huxley. ( / . in the honorary degree of ll.d. was conferred on mr. darwin by the university of cambridge. at the dinner given on the occasion by the philosophical society, mr. huxley responded to the toast of the evening with the speech of which an authorised version is given by mr. l. huxley in the "life and letters" of his father (volume i., page ). mr. huxley said, "but whether the that doctrine [of evolution] be true or whether it be false, i wish to express the deliberate opinion, that from aristotle's great summary of the biological knowledge of his time down to the present day, there is nothing comparable to the "origin of species," as a connected survey of the phenomena of life permeated and vivified by a central idea." in the first part of the speech there was a brilliant sentence which he described as a touch of the whip "tied round with ribbons," and this was perhaps a little hard on the supporters of evolution in the university. mr. huxley said "instead of offering her honours when they ran a chance of being crushed beneath the accumulated marks of approbation of the whole civilised world, the university has waited until the trophy was finished, and has crowned the edifice with the delicate wreath of academic appreciation.") down, monday night, november th [ ]. i cannot rest easy without telling you more gravely than i did when we met for five minutes near the museum, how deeply i have felt the many generous things (as far as frank could remember them) which you said about me at the dinner. frank came early next morning boiling over with enthusiasm about your speech. you have indeed always been to me a most generous friend, but i know, alas, too well how greatly you overestimate me. forgive me for bothering you with these few lines. ( / . the following extract from a letter (february th, ) to his old schoolfellow, mr. j. price, gives a characteristic remark about the honorary degree.) "i am very much obliged for your kind congratulations about the ll.d. why the senate conferred it on me i know not in the least. i was astonished to hear that the r. prof. of divinity and several other great dons attended, and several such men have subscribed, as i am informed, for the picture for the university to commemorate the honour conferred on me." letter . to w. bowman. ( / . we have not discovered to what prize the following letter to the late sir w. bowman (the well known surgeon) refers.) down, february nd, . i received your letter this morning, and it was quite impossible that you should receive an answer by p.m. to-day. but this does not signify in the least, for your proposal seems to me a very good one, and i most entirely agree with you that it is far better to suggest some special question rather than to have a general discussion compiled from books. the rule that the essay must be "illustrative of the wisdom and beneficence of the almighty" would confine the subjects to be proposed. with respect to the vegetable kingdom, i could suggest two or three subjects about which, as it seems to me, information is much required; but these subjects would require a long course of experiment, and unfortunately there is hardly any one in this country who seems inclined to devote himself to experiments. letter . to j. torbitt. ( / . mr. torbitt was engaged in trying to produce by methodical selection and cross-fertilisation a fungus-proof race of the potato. the plan is fully described in the "life and letters," iii., page . the following letter is given in additional illustration of the keen interest mr. darwin took in the project.) down, monday, march th, . i have nothing good to report. mr. caird called upon me yesterday; both he and mr. farrer ( / . the late lord farrer.) have been most energetic and obliging. there is no use in thinking about the agricultural society. mr. caird has seen several persons on the subject, especially mr. carruthers, botanist to the society. he (mr. carruthers) thinks the attempt hopeless, but advances in a long memorandum sent to mr. caird, reasons which i am convinced are not sound. he specifies two points, however, which are well worthy of your consideration--namely, that a variety should be tested three years before its soundness can be trusted; and especially it should be grown under a damp climate. mr. carruthers' opinion on this head is valuable because he was employed by the society in judging the varieties sent in for the prize offered a year or two ago. if i had strength to get up a memorial to government, i believe that i could succeed; for sir j. hooker writes that he believes you are on the right path; but i do not know to whom else to apply whose judgment would have weight with government, and i really have not strength to discuss the matter and convert persons. at mr. farrer's request, when we hoped the agricultural society might undertake it, i wrote to him a long letter giving him my opinion on the subject; and this letter mr. caird took with him yesterday, and will consider with mr. farrer whether any application can be made to government. i am, however, far from sanguine. i shall see mr. farrer this evening, and will do what i can. when i receive back my letter i will send it to you for your perusal. after much reflection it seems to me that your best plan will be, if we fail to get government aid, to go on during the present year, on a reduced scale, in raising new cross-fertilised varieties, and next year, if you are able, testing the power of endurance of only the most promising kind. if it were possible it would be very advisable for you to get some grown on the wet western side of ireland. if you succeed in procuring a fungus-proof variety you may rely on it that its merits would soon become known locally and it would afterwards spread rapidly far and wide. mr. caird gave me a striking instance of such a case in scotland. i return home to-morrow morning. i have the pleasure to enclose a cheque for pounds. if you receive a government grant, i ought to be repaid. p.s. if i were in your place i would not expend any labour or money in publishing what you have already done, or in sending seeds or tubers to any one. i would work quietly on till some sure results were obtained. and these would be so valuable that your work in this case would soon be known. i would also endeavour to pass as severe a judgment as possible on the state of the tubers and plants. letter . to e. von mojsisovics. down, june st, . i have at last found time to read [the] first chapter of your "dolomit riffe" ( / . "dolomitriffe sudtirols und venetiens." wien, .), and have been exceedingly interested by it. what a wonderful change in the future of geological chronology you indicate, by assuming the descent-theory to be established, and then taking the graduated changes of the same group of organisms as the true standard! i never hoped to live to see such a step even proposed by any one. ( / . published in "life and letters," iii., pages , .) nevertheless, i saw dimly that each bed in a formation could contain only the organisms proper to a certain depth, and to other there existing conditions, and that all the intermediate forms between one marine species and another could rarely be preserved in the same place and bed. oppel, neumayr, and yourself will confer a lasting and admirable service on the noble science of geology, if you can spread your views so as to be generally known and accepted. with respect to the continental and oceanic periods common to the whole northern hemisphere, to which you refer, i have sometimes speculated that the present distribution of the land and sea over the world may have formerly been very different to what it now is; and that new genera and families may have been developed on the shores of isolated tracts in the south, and afterwards spread to the north. letter . to j.w. judd. down, june th, . i am heartily glad to hear of your intended marriage. a good wife is the supreme blessing in this life, and i hope and believe from what you say that you will be as happy as i have been in this respect. may your future geological work be as valuable as that which you have already done; and more than this need not be wished for any man. the practical teaching of geology seems an excellent idea. many thanks for neumayr, ( / . probably a paper on "die congerien und paludinenschichten slavoniens und deren fauna. ein beitrag zur descendenz-theorie," "wien. geol. abhandl." vii. (heft ), - .), but i have already received and read a copy of the same, or at least of a very similar essay, and admirably good it seemed to me. this essay, and one by mojsisovics ( / . see note to letter .), which i have lately read, show what palaeontology in the future will do for the classification and sequence of formations. it delighted me to see so inverted an order of proceeding--viz., the assuming the descent of species as certain, and then taking the changes of closely allied forms as the standard of geological time. my health is better than it was a few years ago, but i never pass a day without much discomfort and the sense of extreme fatigue. ( / . we owe to professor judd the following interesting recollections of mr. darwin, written about :-- "on this last occasion, when i congratulated him on his seeming better condition of health, he told me of the cause for anxiety which he had in the state of his heart. indeed, i cannot help feeling that he had a kind of presentiment that his end was approaching. when i left him, he insisted on conducting me to the door, and there was that in his tone and manner which seemed to convey to me the sad intelligence that it was not merely a temporary farewell, though he himself was perfectly cheerful and happy. "it is impossible for me adequately to express the impression made upon my mind by my various conversations with mr. darwin. his extreme modesty led him to form the lowest estimate of his own labours, and a correspondingly extravagant idea of the value of the work done by others. his deference to the arguments and suggestions of men greatly his juniors, and his unaffected sympathy in their pursuits, was most marked and characteristic; indeed, he, the great master of science, used to speak, and i am sure felt, as though he were appealing to superior authority for information in all his conversations. it was only when a question was fully discussed with him that one became conscious of the fund of information he could bring to its elucidation, and the breadth of thought with which he had grasped it. of his gentle, loving nature, of which i had so many proofs, i need not write; no one could be with him, even for a few minutes, without being deeply impressed by his grateful kindliness and goodness.") letter . to count saporta. down, august th, . i thank you very sincerely for your kind and interesting letter. it would be false in me to pretend that i care very much about my election to the institute, but the sympathy of some few of my friends has gratified me deeply. i am extremely glad to hear that you are going to publish a work on the more ancient fossil plants; and i thank you beforehand for the volume which you kindly say that you will send me. i earnestly hope that you will give, at least incidentally, the results at which you have arrived with respect to the more recent tertiary plants; for the close gradation of such forms seems to me a fact of paramount importance for the principle of evolution. your cases are like those on the gradation in the genus equus, recently discovered by marsh in north america. letter . to the duke of argyll. ( / . the following letter was published in "nature," march th, , volume xliii., page , together with a note from the late duke of argyll, in which he stated that the letter had been written to him by mr. darwin in reply to the question, "why it was that he did assume the unity of mankind as descended from a single pair." the duke added that in the reply mr. darwin "does not repudiate this interpretation of his theory, but simply proceeds to explain and to defend the doctrine." on a former occasion the duke of argyll had "alluded as a fact to the circumstance that charles darwin assumed mankind to have arisen at one place, and therefore in a single pair." the letter from darwin was published in answer to some scientific friends, who doubted the fact and asked for the reference on which the statement was based.) down, september rd, . the problem which you state so clearly is a very interesting one, on which i have often speculated. as far as i can judge, the improbability is extreme that the same well-characterised species should be produced in two distinct countries, or at two distinct times. it is certain that the same variation may arise in two distinct places, as with albinism or with the nectarine on peach-trees. but the evidence seems to me overwhelming that a well-marked species is the product, not of a single or of a few variations, but of a long series of modifications, each modification resulting chiefly from adaptation to infinitely complex conditions (including the inhabitants of the same country), with more or less inheritance of all the preceding modifications. moreover, as variability depends more on the nature of the organism than on that of the environment, the variations will tend to differ at each successive stage of descent. now it seems to me improbable in the highest degree that a species should ever have been exposed in two places to infinitely complex relations of exactly the same nature during a long series of modifications. an illustration will perhaps make what i have said clearer, though it applies only to the less important factors of inheritance and variability, and not to adaptation--viz., the improbability of two men being born in two countries identical in body and mind. if, however, it be assumed that a species at each successive stage of its modification was surrounded in two distinct countries or times, by exactly the same assemblage of plants and animals, and by the same physical conditions, then i can see no theoretical difficulty [in] such a species giving birth to the new form in the two countries. if you will look to the sixth edition of my "origin," at page , you will find a somewhat analogous discussion, perhaps more intelligible than this letter. letter . w.t. thiselton-dyer to the editor of "nature." ( / . the following letter ("nature," volume xliii., page ) criticises the interpretation given by the duke to mr. darwin's letter.) royal gardens, kew, march th [ ]. in "nature" of march th (page ), the duke of argyll has printed a very interesting letter of mr. darwin's, from which he drew the inference that the writer "assumed mankind to have arisen...in a single pair." i do not think myself that the letter bears this interpretation. but the point in its most general aspect is a very important one, and is often found to present some difficulty to students of mr. darwin's writings. quite recently i have found by accident, amongst the papers of the late mr. bentham at kew, a letter of friendly criticism from mr. darwin upon the presidential address which mr. bentham delivered to the linnean society on may th, . this letter, i think, has been overlooked and not published previously. in it mr. darwin expresses himself with regard to the multiple origin of races and some other points in very explicit language. prof. meldola, to whom i mentioned in conversation the existence of the letter, urged me strongly to print it. this, therefore, i now do, with the addition of a few explanatory notes. letter . to g. bentham. down, november th, . ( / . the notes to this letter are by sir w. thiselton-dyer, and appeared in "nature," loc. cit.) i was greatly interested by your address, which i have now read thrice, and which i believe will have much influence on all who read it. but you are mistaken in thinking that i ever said you were wrong on any point. all that i meant was that on certain points, and these very doubtful points, i was inclined to differ from you. and now, on further considering the point on which some two or three months ago i felt most inclined to differ--viz., on isolation--i find i differ very little. what i have to say is really not worth saying, but as i should be very sorry not to do whatever you asked, i will scribble down the slightly dissentient thoughts which have occurred to me. it would be an endless job to specify the points in which you have interested me; but i may just mention the relation of the extreme western flora of europe (some such very vague thoughts have crossed my mind, relating to the glacial period) with south africa, and your remarks on the contrast of passive and active distribution. page lxx.--i think the contingency of a rising island, not as yet fully stocked with plants, ought always to be kept in mind when speaking of colonisation. page lxxiv.--i have met with nothing which makes me in the least doubt that large genera present a greater number of varieties relatively to their size than do small genera. ( / . bentham thought "degree of variability... like other constitutional characters, in the first place an individual one, which...may become more or less hereditary, and therefore specific; and thence, but in a very faint degree, generic." he seems to mean to argue against the conclusion which sir joseph hooker had quoted from mr. darwin that "species of large genera are more variable than those of small." [on large genera varying, see letter .]) hooker was convinced by my data, never as yet published in full, only abstracted in the "origin." page lxxviii.--i dispute whether a new race or species is necessarily, or even generally, descended from a single or pair of parents. the whole body of individuals, i believe, become altered together--like our race-horses, and like all domestic breeds which are changed through "unconscious selection" by man. ( / . bentham had said: "we must also admit that every race has probably been the offspring of one parent or pair of parents, and consequently originated in one spot." the duke of argyll inverts the proposition.) when such great lengths of time are considered as are necessary to change a specific form, i greatly doubt whether more or less rapid powers of multiplication have more than the most insignificant weight. these powers, i think, are related to greater or less destruction in early life. page lxxix.--i still think you rather underrate the importance of isolation. i have come to think it very important from various grounds; the anomalous and quasi-extinct forms on islands, etc., etc., etc. with respect to areas with numerous "individually durable" forms, can it be said that they generally present a "broken" surface with "impassable barriers"? this, no doubt, is true in certain cases, as teneriffe. but does this hold with south-west australia or the cape? i much doubt. i have been accustomed to look at the cause of so many forms as being partly an arid or dry climate (as de candolle insists) which indirectly leads to diversified [?] conditions; and, secondly, to isolation from the rest of the world during a very long period, so that other more dominant forms have not entered, and there has been ample time for much specification and adaptation of character. page lxxx.--i suppose you think that the restiaceae, proteaceae ( / . it is doubtful whether bentham did think so. in his address he says: "i cannot resist the opinion that all presumptive evidence is against european proteaceae, and that all direct evidence in their favour has broken down upon cross-examination."), etc., etc., once extended over the world, leaving fragments in the south. you in several places speak of distribution of plants as if exclusively governed by soil and climate. i know that you do not mean this, but i regret whenever a chance is omitted of pointing out that the struggle with other plants (and hostile animals) is far more important. i told you that i had nothing worth saying, but i have given you my thoughts. how detestable are the roman numerals! why should not the president's addresses, which are often, and i am sure in this case, worth more than all the rest of the number, be paged with christian figures? letter . to r. meldola. ( / . "this letter was in reply to a suggestion that in his preface mr. darwin should point out by references to "the origin of species" and his other writings how far he had already traced out the path which weismann went over. the suggestion was made because in a great many of the continental writings upon the theory of descent, many of the points which had been clearly foreshadowed, and in some cases even explicitly stated by darwin, had been rediscovered and published as though original. in the notes to my edition of weismann i have endeavoured to do darwin full justice.--r.m." see letter .) , bryanston street, november th, . i am very sorry to say that i cannot agree to your suggestion. an author is never a fit judge of his own work, and i should dislike extremely pointing out when and how weismann's conclusions and work agreed with my own. i feel sure that i ought not to do this, and it would be to me an intolerable task. nor does it seem to me the proper office of the preface, which is to show what the book contains, and that the contents appear to me valuable. but i can see no objection for you, if you think fit, to write an introduction with remarks or criticisms of any kind. of course, i would be glad to advise you on any point as far as lay in my power, but as a whole i could have nothing to do with it, on the grounds above specified, that an author cannot and ought not to attempt to judge his own works, or compare them with others. i am sorry to refuse to do anything which you wish. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, january th, . i have just finished your present of the life of hume ( / . "hume" in mr. morley's "english men of letters" series. of the biographical part of this book mr. huxley wrote, in a letter to mr. skelton, january ("life of t.h. huxley," ii., page ): "it is the nearest approach to a work of fiction of which i have yet been guilty."), and must thank you for the great pleasure which it has given me. your discussions are, as it seems to me, clear to a quite marvellous degree, and many of the little interspersed flashes of wit are delightful. i particularly enjoyed the pithy judgment in about five words on comte. ( / . possibly the passage referred to is on page .) notwithstanding the clearness of every sentence, the subjects are in part so difficult that i found them stiff reading. i fear, therefore, that it will be too stiff for the general public; but i heartily hope that this will prove to be a mistake, and in this case the intelligence of the public will be greatly exalted in my eyes. the writing of this book must have been awfully hard work, i should think. letter . to f. muller. down, march th [ ]. i thank you cordially for your letter. your facts and discussion on the loss of the hairs on the legs of the caddis-flies seem to me the most important and interesting thing which i have read for a very long time. i hope that you will not disapprove, but i have sent your letter to "nature" ( / . fritz muller, "on a frog having eggs on its back--on the abortion of the hairs on the legs of certain caddis-flies, etc.": muller's letter and one from charles darwin were published in "nature," volume xix., page , .), with a few prefatory remarks, pointing out to the general reader the importance of your view, and stating that i have been puzzled for many years on this very point. if, as i am inclined to believe, your view can be widely extended, it will be a capital gain to the doctrine of evolution. i see by your various papers that you are working away energetically, and, wherever you look, you seem to discover something quite new and extremely interesting. your brother also continues to do fine work on the fertilisation of flowers and allied subjects. i have little or nothing to tell you about myself. i go slowly crawling on with my present subject--the various and complicated movements of plants. i have not been very well of late, and am tired to-day, so will write no more. with the most cordial sympathy in all your work, etc. letter . to t.h. huxley. down, april th, . many thanks for the book. ( / . ernst hackel's "freedom in science and teaching," with a prefatory note by t.h. huxley, . professor hackel has recently published (without permission) a letter in which mr. darwin comments severely on virchow. it is difficult to say which would have pained mr. darwin more--the affront to a colleague, or the breach of confidence in a friend.) i have read only the preface...it is capital, and i enjoyed the tremendous rap on the knuckles which you gave virchow at the close. what a pleasure it must be to write as you can do! letter . to e.s. morse. down, october st, . although you are so kind as to tell me not to write, i must just thank you for the proofs of your paper, which has interested me greatly. ( / . see "the shell mounds of omori" in the "memoirs of the science department of the univ. of tokio," volume i., part i., . the ridges on arca are mentioned at page . in "nature," april th, , mr. darwin published a letter by mr. morse relating to the review of the above paper, which appeared in "nature," xxi., page . mr. darwin introduces mr. morse's letter with some prefatory remarks. the correspondence is republished in the "american naturalist," september, .) the increase in the number of ridges in the three species of arca seems to be a very noteworthy fact, as does the increase of size in so many, yet not all, the species. what a constant state of fluctuation the whole organic world seems to be in! it is interesting to hear that everywhere the first change apparently is in the proportional numbers of the species. i was much struck with the fact in the upraised shells of coquimbo, in chili, as mentioned in my "geological observations on south america." of all the wonders in the world, the progress of japan, in which you have been aiding, seems to me about the most wonderful. letter . to a.r. wallace. down, january th . as this note requires no sort of answer, you must allow me to express my lively admiration of your paper in the "nineteenth century." ( / . "nineteenth century," january , page , "on the origin of species and genera.") you certainly are a master in the difficult art of clear exposition. it is impossible to urge too often that the selection from a single varying individual or of a single varying organ will not suffice. you have worked in capitally allen's admirable researches. ( / . j.a. allen, "on the mammals and winter birds of east florida, etc." ("bull. mus. comp. zoolog. harvard," volume ii.) as usual, you delight to honour me more than i deserve. when i have written about the extreme slowness of natural selection ( / . mr. wallace makes a calculation based on allen's results as to the very short period in which the formation of a race of birds differing to per cent. from the average in length of wing and strength of beak might conceivably be effected. he thinks that the slowness of the action of natural selection really depends on the slowness of the changes naturally occurring in the physical conditions, etc.) (in which i hope i may be wrong), i have chiefly had in my mind the effects of intercrossing. i subscribe to almost everything you say excepting the last short sentence. ( / . the passage in question is as follows: "i have also attempted to show that the causes which have produced the separate species of one genus, of one family, or perhaps of one order, from a common ancestor, are not necessarily the same as those which have produced the separate orders, classes, and sub-kingdoms from more remote common ancestors. that all have been alike produced by 'descent with modification' from a few primitive types, the whole body of evidence clearly indicates; but while individual variation with natural selection is proved to be adequate for the production of the former, we have no proof and hardly any evidence that it is adequate to initiate those important divergences of type which characterise the latter." in this passage stress should be laid (as mr. wallace points out to us) on the word proof. he by no means asserts that the causes which have produced the species of a genus are inadequate to produce greater differences. his object is rather to urge the difference between proof and probability.) letter . to j.h. fabre. ( / . a letter to m. fabre is given in "life and letters," iii., page , in which the suggestion is made of rotating the insect before a "homing" experiment occurs.) down, february th, . i thank you for your kind letter, and am delighted that you will try the experiment of rotation. it is very curious that such a belief should be held about cats in your country ( / . m. fabre had written from serignan, vaucluse: "parmi la population des paysans de mon village, l'habitude est de faire tourner dans un sac le chat que l'on se propose de porter ailleurs, et dont on veut empecher le retour. j'ignore si cette pratique obtient du succes."), i never heard of anything of the kind in england. i was led, as i believe, to think of the experiment from having read in wrangel's "travels in siberia" ( / . admiral ferdinand petrovich von wrangell, "le nord de la siberie, voyage parmi les peuplades de la russie asiatique, etc." paris, .) of the wonderful power which the samoyedes possess of keeping their direction in a fog whilst travelling in a tortuous line through broken ice. with respect to cats, i have seen an account that in belgium there is a society which gives prizes to the cat which can soonest find its way home, and for this purpose they are carried to distant parts of the city. here would be a capital opportunity for trying rotation. i am extremely glad to hear that your book will probably be translated into english. p.s.--i shall be much pleased to hear the result of your experiments. letter . to j.h. fabre. down, january st, . i am much obliged for your very interesting letter. your results appear to me highly important, as they eliminate one means by which animals might perhaps recognise direction; and this, from what has been said about savages, and from our own consciousness, seemed the most probable means. if you think it worth while, you can of course mention my name in relation to this subject. should you succeed in eliminating a sense of the magnetic currents of the earth, you would leave the field of investigation quite open. i suppose that even those who still believe that each species was separately created would admit that certain animals possess some sense by which they perceive direction, and which they use instinctively. on mentioning the subject to my son george, who is a mathematician and knows something about magnetism, he suggested making a very thin needle into a magnet; then breaking it into very short pieces, which would still be magnetic, and fastening one of these pieces with some cement on the thorax of the insect to be experimented on. he believes that such a little magnet, from its close proximity to the nervous system of the insect, would affect it more than would the terrestrial currents. i have received your essay on halictus ( / . "sur les moeurs et la parthenogese des halictes" ("ann. sc. nat." ix., - ).), which i am sure that i shall read with much interest. letter . to t.h. huxley. ( / . on april th, , mr. huxley lectured at the royal institution on "the coming of age of the origin of species." the lecture was published in "nature" and in huxley's "collected essays," volume ii., page . darwin's letter to huxley on the subject is given in "life and letters," iii., page ; in huxley's reply of may th ("life and letters of t.h. huxley," ii., page ) he writes: "i hope you do not imagine because i had nothing to say about 'natural selection' that i am at all weak of faith on that article...but the first thing seems to me to be to drive the fact of evolution into people's heads; when that is once safe, the rest will come easy.") down, may th, . i had no intention to make you write to me, or expectation of your doing so; but your note has been so far "cheerier" ( / . "you are the cheeriest letter-writer i know": huxley to darwin. see huxley's "life," ii., page .) to me than mine could have been to you, that i must and will write again. i saw your motive for not alluding to natural selection, and quite agreed in my mind in its wisdom. but at the same time it occurred to me that you might be giving it up, and that anyhow you could not safely allude to it without various "provisos" too long to give in a lecture. if i think continuously on some half-dozen structures of which we can at present see no use, i can persuade myself that natural selection is of quite subordinate importance. on the other hand, when i reflect on the innumerable structures, especially in plants, which twenty years ago would have been called simply "morphological" and useless, and which are now known to be highly important, i can persuade myself that every structure may have been developed through natural selection. it is really curious how many out of a list of structures which bronn enumerated, as not possibly due to natural selection because of no functional importance, can now be shown to be highly important. lobed leaves was, i believe, one case, and only two or three days ago frank showed me how they act in a manner quite sufficiently important to account for the lobing of any large leaf. i am particularly delighted at what you say about domestic dogs, jackals, and wolves, because from mere indirect evidence i arrived in "varieties of domestic animals" at exactly the same conclusion ( / . mr. darwin's view was that domestic dogs descend from more than one wild species.) with respect to the domestic dogs of europe and north america. see how important in another way this conclusion is; for no one can doubt that large and small dogs are perfectly fertile together, and produce fertile mongrels; and how well this supports the pallasian doctrine ( / . see letter .) that domestication eliminates the sterility almost universal between forms slowly developed in a state of nature. i humbly beg your pardon for bothering you with so long a note; but it is your own fault. plants are splendid for making one believe in natural selection, as will and consciousness are excluded. i have lately been experimenting on such a curious structure for bursting open the seed-coats: i declare one might as well say that a pair of scissors or nutcrackers had been developed through external conditions as the structure in question. ( / . the peg or heel in cucurbita: see "power of movement in plants" page .) letter . to t.h. huxley. down, november th, . on reading over your excellent review ( / . see "nature," november th, , page , a review of volume i. of the publications of the "challenger," to which sir wyville thomson contributed a general introduction.) with the sentence quoted from sir wyville thomson, it seemed to me advisable, considering the nature of the publication, to notice "extreme variation" and another point. now, will you read the enclosed, and if you approve, post it soon. if you disapprove, throw it in the fire, and thus add one more to the thousand kindnesses which you have done me. do not write: i shall see result in next week's "nature." please observe that in the foul copy i had added a final sentence which i do not at first copy, as it seemed to me inferentially too contemptuous; but i have now pinned it to the back, and you can send it or not, as you think best,--that is, if you think any part worth sending. my request will not cost you much trouble--i.e. to read two pages, for i know that you can decide at once. i heartily enjoyed my talk with you on sunday morning. p.s.--if my manuscript appears too flat, too contemptuous, too spiteful, or too anything, i earnestly beseech you to throw it into the fire. letter . charles darwin to the editor of "nature." ( / . "nature," november th, , page .) down, november th, . sir wyville thomson and natural selection. i am sorry to find that sir wyville thomson does not understand the principle of natural selection, as explained by mr. wallace and myself. if he had done so, he could not have written the following sentence in the introduction to the voyage of the "challenger": "the character of the abyssal fauna refuses to give the least support to the theory which refers the evolution of species to extreme variation guided only by natural selection." this is a standard of criticism not uncommonly reached by theologians and metaphysicians, when they write on scientific subjects, but is something new as coming from a naturalist. professor huxley demurs to it in the last number of "nature"; but he does not touch on the expression of extreme variation, nor on that of evolution being guided only by natural selection. can sir wyville thomson name any one who has said that the evolution of species depends only on natural selection? as far as concerns myself, i believe that no one has brought forward so many observations on the effects of the use and disuse of parts, as i have done in my "variation of animals and plants under domestication"; and these observations were made for this special object. i have likewise there adduced a considerable body of facts, showing the direct action of external conditions on organisms; though no doubt since my books were published much has been learnt on this head. if sir wyville thomson were to visit the yard of a breeder, and saw all his cattle or sheep almost absolutely true--that is, closely similar, he would exclaim: "sir, i see here no extreme variation; nor can i find any support to the belief that you have followed the principle of selection in the breeding of your animals." from what i formerly saw of breeders, i have no doubt that the man thus rebuked would have smiled and said not a word. if he had afterwards told the story to other breeders, i greatly fear that they would have used emphatic but irreverent language about naturalists. ( / . the following is the passage omitted by the advice of huxley: see his "life and letters," ii., page :-- "perhaps it would have been wiser on my part to have remained quite silent, like the breeder; for, as prof. sedgwick remarked many years ago, in reference to the poor old dean of york, who was never weary of inveighing against geologists, a man who talks about what he does not in the least understand, is invulnerable.") letter . to g.j. romanes. ( / . part of this letter has been published in mr. c. barber's note on "graft-hybrids of the sugar-cane," in "the sugar-cane," november .) down, january st, . i send the ms., but as far as i can judge by just skimming it, it will be of no use to you. it seems to bear on transitional forms. i feel sure that i have other and better cases, but i cannot remember where to look. i should have written to you in a few days on the following case. the baron de villa franca wrote to me from brazil about two years ago, describing new varieties of sugar-cane which he had raised by planting two old varieties in apposition. i believe (but my memory is very faulty) that i wrote that i could not believe in such a result, and attributed the new varieties to the soil, etc. i believe that i did not understand what he meant by apposition. yesterday a packet of ms. arrived from the brazilian legation, with a letter in french from dr. glass, director of the botanic gardens, describing fully how he first attempted grafting varieties of sugar-cane in various ways, and always failed, and then split stems of two varieties, bound them together and planted them, and then raised some new and very valuable varieties, which, like crossed plants, seem to grow with extra vigour, are constant, and apparently partake of the character of the two varieties. the baron also sends me an attested copy from a number of brazilian cultivators of the success of the plan of raising new varieties. i am not sure whether the brazilian legation wishes me to return the document, but if i do not hear in three or four days that they must be returned, they shall be sent to you, for they seem to me well deserving your consideration. perhaps if i had been contented with my hyacinth bulbs being merely bound together without any true adhesion or rather growth together, i should have succeeded like the old dutchman. there is a deal of superfluous verbiage in the documents, but i have marked with pencil where the important part begins. the attestations are in duplicate. now, after reading them will you give me your opinion whether the main parts are worthy of publication in "nature": i am inclined to think so, and it is good to encourage science in out-of-the-way parts of the world. keep this note till you receive the documents or hear from me. i wonder whether two varieties of wheat could be similarly treated? no, i suppose not--from the want of lateral buds. i was extremely interested by your abstract on suicide. letter . to k. semper. down, february th, . owing to all sorts of work, i have only just now finished reading your "natural conditions of existence." ( / . semper's "natural conditions of existence as they affect animal life" (international science series), .) although a book of small size, it contains an astonishing amount of matter, and i have been particularly struck with the originality with which you treat so many subjects, and at your scrupulous accuracy. in far the greater number of points i quite follow you in your conclusions, but i differ on some, and i suppose that no two men in the world would fully agree on so many different subjects. i have been interested on so many points, i can hardly say on which most. perhaps as much on geographical distribution as on any other, especially in relation to m. wagner. (no! no! about parasites interested me even more.) how strange that wagner should have thought that i meant by struggle for existence, struggle for food. it is curious that he should not have thought of the endless adaptations for the dispersal of seeds and the fertilisation of flowers. again i was much interested about branchipus and artemia. ( / . the reference is to schmankewitsch's experiments, page : he kept artemia salina in salt-water, gradually diluted with fresh-water until it became practically free from salt; the crustaceans gradually changed in the course of generations, until they acquired the characters of the genus branchipus.) when i read imperfectly some years ago the original paper i could not avoid thinking that some special explanation would hereafter be found for so curious a case. i speculated whether a species very liable to repeated and great changes of conditions, might not acquire a fluctuating condition ready to be adapted to either conditions. with respect to arctic animals being white (page of your book) it might perhaps be worth your looking at what i say from pallas' and my own observations in the "descent of man" (later editions) chapter viii., page , and chapter xviii., page . i quite agree with what i gather to be your judgment, viz., that the direct action of the conditions of life on organisms, or the cause of their variability, is the most important of all subjects for the future. for some few years i have been thinking of commencing a set of experiments on plants, for they almost invariably vary when cultivated. i fancy that i see my way with the aid of continued self-fertilisation. but i am too old, and have not strength enough. nevertheless the hope occasionally revives. finally let me thank you for the very kind manner in which you often refer to my works, and for the even still kinder manner in which you disagree with me. with cordial thanks for the pleasure and instruction which i have derived from your book, etc. letter . to count saporta. down, february th, . i received a week or two ago the work which you and prof. marion have been so kind as to send me. ( / . probably "l'evolution du regne vegetal," i. "cryptogames," saporta & marion, paris, .) when it arrived i was much engaged, and this must be my excuse for not having sooner thanked you for it, and it will likewise account for my having as yet read only the preface. but i now look forward with great pleasure to reading the whole immediately. if i then have any remarks worth sending, which is not very probable, i will write again. i am greatly pleased to see how boldly you express your belief in evolution, in the preface. i have sometimes thought that some of your countrymen have been a little timid in publishing their belief on this head, and have thus failed in aiding a good cause. letter . to r.g. whiteman. down, may th, . in the first edition of the "origin," after the sentence ending with the words "...insects in the water," i added the following sentence:-- "even in so extreme a case as this, if the supply of insects were constant, and if better adapted competitors did not already exist in the country, i can see no difficulty in a race of bears being rendered by natural selection more and more aquatic in their structures and habits, with larger and larger mouths, till a creature was produced as monstrous as a whale." ( / . see letters and .) this sentence was omitted in the subsequent editions, owing to the advice of prof. owen, as it was liable to be misinterpreted; but i have always regretted that i followed this advice, for i still think the view quite reasonable. letter . to a. hyatt. down, may th, . i am much obliged for your kind gift of "the genesis, etc." ( / . "the genesis of the tertiary species of planorbis," in the "boston soc. nat. hist. anniversary mem." .), which i shall be glad to read, as the case has always seemed to me a very curious one. it is all the kinder in you to send me this book, as i am aware that you think that i have done nothing to advance the good cause of the descent-theory. ( / . the above caused me to write a letter expressing a feeling of regret and humiliation, which i hope is still preserved, for certainly such a feeling, caused undoubtedly by my writings, which dealt too exclusively with disagreements upon special points, needed a strong denial. i have used the darwinian theory in many cases, especially in explaining the preservation of differences; and have denied its application only in the preservation of fixed and hereditary characteristics, which have become essentially homologous similarities. (note by prof. hyatt.)) ( / . we have ventured to quote the passage from prof. hyatt's reply, dated may rd, :-- "you would think i was insincere, if i wrote you what i really felt with regard to what you have done for the theory of descent. perhaps this essay will lead you to a more correct view than you now have of my estimate, if i can be said to have any claim to make an estimate of your work in this direction. you will not take offence, however, if i tell you that your strongest supporters can hardly give you greater esteem and honour. i have striven to get a just idea of your theory, but no doubt have failed to convey this in my publications as it ought to be done." we find other equally strong and genuine expressions of respect in prof. hyatt's letters.) letter . to lord farrer. ( / . mr. graham's book, the "creed of science," is referred to in "life and letters," i., page , where an interesting letter to the author is printed. with regard to chance, darwin wrote: "you have expressed my inward conviction, though far more clearly and vividly than i could have done, that the universe is not the result of chance.") down, august th, . i have been much interested by your letter, and am glad that you like mr. graham's book...( / . in lord farrer's letter of august th he refers to the old difficulty, in relation to design, of the existence of evil.) everything which i read now soon goes out of my head, and i had forgotten that he implies that my views explain the universe; but it is a most monstrous exaggeration. the more one thinks the more one feels the hopeless immensity of man's ignorance. though it does make one proud to see what science has achieved during the last half-century. this has been brought vividly before my mind by having just read most of the proofs of lubbock's address for york ( / . lord avebury was president of the british association in .), in which he will attempt to review the progress of all branches of science for the last fifty years. i entirely agree with what you say about "chance," except in relation to the variations of organic beings having been designed; and i imagine that mr. graham must have used "chance" in relation only to purpose in the origination of species. this is the only way i have used the word chance, as i have attempted to explain in the last two pages of my "variation under domestication." on the other hand, if we consider the whole universe, the mind refuses to look at it as the outcome of chance--that is, without design or purpose. the whole question seems to me insoluble, for i cannot put much or any faith in the so-called intuitions of the human mind, which have been developed, as i cannot doubt, from such a mind as animals possess; and what would their convictions or intuitions be worth? there are a good many points on which i cannot quite follow mr. graham. with respect to your last discussion, i dare say it contains very much truth; but i cannot see, as far as happiness is concerned, that it can apply to the infinite sufferings of animals--not only those of the body, but those of the mind--as when a mother loses her offspring or a male his female. if the view does not apply to animals, will it suffice for man? but you may well complain of this long and badly-expressed note in my dreadfully bad handwriting. the death of my brother erasmus is a very heavy loss to all of us in this family. he was so kind-hearted and affectionate. nor have i ever known any one more pleasant. it was always a very great pleasure to talk with him on any subject whatever, and this i shall never do again. the clearness of his mind always seemed to me admirable. he was not, i think, a happy man, and for many years did not value life, though never complaining. i am so glad that he escaped very severe suffering during his last few days. i shall never see such a man again. forgive me for scribbling this way, my dear farrer. letter . to g.j. romanes. ( / . romanes had reviewed roux's "struggle of parts in the organism" in "nature," september th, , page . this led to an attack by the duke of argyll (october th, page ), followed by a reply by romanes (october th, page ), a rejoinder by the duke (november rd, page ), and finally by the letter of romanes (november th, page ) to which darwin refers. the duke's "flourish" is at page : "i wish mr. darwin's disciples would imitate a little of the dignified reticence of their master. he walks with a patient and a stately step along the paths of conscientious observation, etc., etc.") down, november th, . i must write to say how very much i admire your letter in the last "nature." i subscribe to every word that you say, and it could not be expressed more clearly or vigorously. after the duke's last letter and flourish about me i thought it paltry not to say that i agreed with what you had said. but after writing two folio pages i find i could not say what i wished to say without taking up too much space; and what i had written did not please me at all, so i tore it up, and now by all the gods i rejoice that i did so, for you have put the case incomparably better than i had done or could do. moreover, i hate controversy, and it wastes much time, at least with a man who, like myself, can work for only a short time in a day. how in the world you get through all your work astonishes me. now do not make me feel guilty by answering this letter, and losing some of your time. you ought not to swear at roux's book, which has led you into this controversy, for i am sure that your last letter was well worth writing--not that it will produce any effect on the duke. letter . to j. jenner weir. ( / . on december th, , mr. jenner weir wrote to mr. darwin: "after some hesitation in lieu of a christmas card, i venture to give you the return of some observations on mules made in spain during the last two years...it is a fact that the sire has the prepotency in the offspring, as has been observed by most writers on that subject, including yourself. the mule is more ass-like, and the hinny more horse-like, both in the respective lengths of the ears and the shape of the tail; but one point i have observed which i do not remember to have met with, and that is that the coat of the mule resembles that of its dam the mare, and that of the hinny its dam the ass, so that in this respect the prepotency of the sexes is reversed." the hermaphroditism in lepidoptera, referred to below, is said by mr. weir to occur notably in the case of the hybrids of smerinthus populi-ocellatus.) down, december th, . i thank you for your "christmas card," and heartily return your good wishes. what you say about the coats of mules is new to me, as is the statement about hermaphroditism in hybrid moths. this latter fact seems to me particularly curious; and to make a very wild hypothesis, i should be inclined to account for it by reversion to the primordial condition of the two sexes being united, for i think it certain that hybridism does lead to reversion. i keep fairly well, but have not much strength, and feel very old. letter . to r. meldola. down, february nd, . i am very sorry that i can add nothing to my very brief notice, without reading again weismann's work and getting up the whole subject by reading my own and other books, and for so much labour i have not strength. i have now been working at other subjects for some years, and when a man grows as old as i am, it is a great wrench to his brain to go back to old and half-forgotten subjects. you would not readily believe how often i am asked questions of all kinds, and quite lately i have had to give up much time to do a work, not at all concerning myself, but which i did not like to refuse. i must, however, somewhere draw the line, or my life will be a misery to me. i have read your preface, and it seems to me excellent. ( / . "studies in the theory of descent." by a. weismann. translated and edited by raphael meldola; with a prefatory notice by c. darwin and a translator's preface. see letter .) i am sorry in many ways, including the honour of england as a scientific country, that your translation has as yet sold badly. does the publisher or do you lose by it? if the publisher, though i shall be sorry for him, yet it is in the way of business; but if you yourself lose by it, i earnestly beg you to allow me to subscribe a trifle, viz., ten guineas, towards the expense of this work, which you have undertaken on public grounds. letter . to w. horsfall. down, february th, . in the succession of the older formations the species and genera of trilobites do change, and then they all die out. to any one who believes that geologists know the dawn of life (i.e., formations contemporaneous with the first appearance of living creatures on the earth) no doubt the sudden appearance of perfect trilobites and other organisms in the oldest known life-bearing strata would be fatal to evolution. but i for one, and many others, utterly reject any such belief. already three or four piles of unconformable strata are known beneath the cambrian; and these are generally in a crystalline condition, and may once have been charged with organic remains. with regard to animals and plants, the locomotive spores of some algae, furnished with cilia, would have been ranked with animals if it had not been known that they developed into algae. letter . to john collier. down, february th, . i must thank you for the gift of your art primer, which i have read with much pleasure. parts were too technical for me who could never draw a line, but i was greatly interested by the whole of the first part. i wish that you could explain why certain curved lines and symmetrical figures give pleasure. but will not your brother artists scorn you for showing yourself so good an evolutionist? perhaps they will say that allowance must be made for him, as he has allied himself to so dreadful a man as huxley. this reminds me that i have just been reading the last volume of essays. by good luck i had not read that on priestley ( / . "science and culture, and other essays": london, . the fifth essay is on joseph priestley (page ).), and it strikes me as the most splendid essay which i ever read. that on automatism ( / . essay ix. (page ) is entitled "on the hypothesis that animals are automata, and its history.") is wonderfully interesting: more is the pity, say i, for if i were as well armed as huxley i would challenge him to a duel on this subject. but i am a deal too wise to do anything of the kind, for he would run me through the body half a dozen times with his sharp and polished rapier before i knew where i was. i did not intend to have scribbled all this nonsense, but only to have thanked you for your present. everybody whom i have seen and who has seen your picture of me is delighted with it. i shall be proud some day to see myself suspended at the linnean society. ( / . the portrait painted by mr. collier hangs in the meeting-room of the linnean society.) chapter .vi.--geographical distribution, - . letter . to j.d. hooker. down, tuesday [december th, ]. i am very much obliged to you for your interesting letter. i have long been very anxious, even for as short a sketch as you have kindly sent me of the botanical geography of the southern hemisphere. i shall be most curious to see your results in detail. from my entire ignorance of botany, i am sorry to say that i cannot answer any of the questions which you ask me. i think i mention in my "journal" that i found my old friend the southern beech (i cannot say positively which species), on the mountain-top, in southern parts of chiloe and at level of sea in lat. deg, in chonos archipelago. would not the southern end of chiloe make a good division for you? i presume, from the collection of brydges and anderson, chiloe is pretty well-known, and southward begins a terra incognita. i collected a few plants amongst the chonos islands. the beech being found here and peat being found here, and general appearance of landscape, connects the chonos islands and t. del fuego. i saw the alerce ( / . "alerse" is the local name of a south american timber, described in capt. king's "voyages of the 'adventure' and 'beagle,'" page , and rather doubtfully identified with thuja tetragona, hook. ("flora antarctica," page .)) on mountains of chiloe (on the mainland it grows to an enormous size, and i always believed alerce and araucaria imbricata to be identical), but i am ashamed to say i absolutely forget all about its appearance. i saw some juniper-like bush in t. del fuego, but can tell you no more about it, as i presume that you have seen capt. king's collection in mr. brown's possession, provisionally for the british museum. i fear you will be much disappointed in my few plants: an ignorant person cannot collect; and i, moreover, lost one, the first, and best set of the alpine plants. on the other hand, i hope the galapagos plants ( / . see "life and letters," ii., pages , , for sir j.d. hooker's notes on the beginning of his friendship with mr. darwin, and for the latter's letter on the galapagos plants being placed in hooker's hands.) (judging from henslow's remarks) will turn out more interesting than you expect. pray be careful to observe, if i ever mark the individual islands of the galapagos islands, for the reasons you will see in my "journal." menzies and cumming were there, and there are some plants (i think mr. bentham told me) at the horticultural society and at the british museum. i believe i collected no plants at ascension, thinking it well-known. is not the similarity of plants of kerguelen land and southern s. america very curious? is there any instance in the northern hemisphere of plants being similar at such great distances? with thanks for your letter and for your having undertaken my small collection of plants, believe me, my dear sir, yours very truly, c. darwin. do remember my prayer, and write as well for botanical ignoramuses as for great botanists. there is a paper of carmichael ( / . "some account of the island of tristan da cunha and of its natural productions."--"linn. soc. trans." xii., , page .) on tristan d'acunha, which from the want of general remarks and comparison, i found [torn out] to me a dead letter.--i presume you will include this island in your views of the southern hemisphere. p.s.--i have been looking at my poor miserable attempt at botanical-landscape-remarks, and i see that i state that the species of beech which is least common in t. del fuego is common in the forest of central chiloe. but i will enclose for you this one page of my rough journal. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, march st ( ). i have been a shameful time in returning your documents, but i have been very busy scientifically, and unscientifically in planting. i have been exceedingly interested in the details about the galapagos islands. i need not say that i collected blindly, and did not attempt to make complete series, but just took everything in flower blindly. the flora of the summits and bases of the islands appear wholly different; it may aid you in observing whether the different islands have representative species filling the same places in the economy of nature, to know that i collected plants from the lower and dry region in all the islands, i.e., in the chatham, charles, james, and albemarle (the least on the latter); and that i was able to ascend into the high and damp region only in james and charles islands; and in the former i think i got every plant then in flower. please bear this in mind in comparing the representative species. (you know that henslow has described a new opuntia from the galapagos.) your observations on the distribution of large mundane genera have interested me much; but that was not the precise point which i was curious to ascertain; it has no necessary relation to size of genus (though perhaps your statements will show that it has). it was merely this: suppose a genus with ten or more species, inhabiting the ten main botanical regions, should you expect that all or most of these ten species would have wide ranges (i.e. were found in most parts) in their respective countries? ( / . this point is discussed in a letter in "life and letters," volume ii., page , but not, we think in the "origin"; for letters on large genera containing many varieties see "life and letters," volume ii., pages - , also in the "origin," edition i., page , edition vi., page . in a letter of april th, , sir j.d. hooker gave his opinion: "on the whole i believe that many individual representative species of large genera have wide ranges, but i do not consider the fact as one of great value, because the proportion of such species having a wide range is not large compared with other representative species of the same genus whose limits are confined." it may be noted that in large genera the species often have small ranges ("origin," edition vi., page ), and large genera are more commonly wide-ranging than the reverse.) to give an example, the genus felis is found in every country except australia, and the individual species generally range over thousands of miles in their respective countries; on the other hand, no genus of monkey ranges over so large a part of the world, and the individual species in their respective countries seldom range over wide spaces. i suspect (but am not sure) that in the genus mus (the most mundane genus of all mammifers) the individual species have not wide ranges, which is opposed to my query. i fancy, from a paper by don, that some genera of grasses (i.e. juncus or juncaceae) are widely diffused over the world, and certainly many of their species have very wide ranges--in short, it seems that my question is whether there is any relation between the ranges of genera and of individual species, without any relation to the size of the genera. it is evident a genus might be widely diffused in two ways: st, by many different species, each with restricted ranges; and nd, by many or few species with wide ranges. any light which you could throw on this i should be very much obliged for. thank you most kindly, also, for your offer in a former letter to consider any other points; and at some future day i shall be most grateful for a little assistance, but i will not be unmerciful. swainson has remarked (and westwood contradicted) that typical genera have wide ranges: waterhouse (without knowing these previous remarkers) made to me the same observation: i feel a laudable doubt and disinclination to believe any statement of swainson; but now waterhouse remarks it, i am curious on the point. there is, however, so much vague in the meaning of "typical forms," and no little ambiguity in the mere assertion of "wide ranges" (for zoologists seldom go into strict and disagreeable arithmetic, like you botanists so wisely do) that i feel very doubtful, though some considerations tempt me to believe in this remark. here again, if you can throw any light, i shall be much obliged. after your kind remarks i will not apologise for boring you with my vague queries and remarks. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, december th [ ]. happy christmas to you. ( / . the following letter refers to notes by sir j.d. hooker which we have not seen. though we are therefore unable to make clear many points referred to, the letter seems to us on the whole so interesting that it is printed with the omission of only one unimportant sentence. the subjects dealt with in the letter are those which were occupying hooker's attention in relation to his "flora antarctica" ( ).) i must thank you once again for all your documents, which have interested me very greatly and surprised me. i found it very difficult to charge my head with all your tabulated results, but this i perfectly well know is in main part due to that head not being a botanical one, aided by the tables being in ms.; i think, however, to an ignoramus, they might be made clearer; but pray mind, that this is very different from saying that i think botanists ought to arrange their highest results for non-botanists to understand easily. i will tell you how, for my individual self, i should like to see the results worked out, and then you can judge, whether this be advisable for the botanical world. looking at the globe, the auckland and campbell i., new zealand, and van diemen's land so evidently are geographically related, that i should wish, before any comparison was made with far more distant countries, to understand their floras, in relation to each other; and the southern ones to the northern temperate hemisphere, which i presume is to every one an almost involuntary standard of comparison. to understand the relation of the floras of these islands, i should like to see the group divided into a northern and southern half, and to know how many species exist in the latter-- . belonging to genera confined to australia, van diemen's land and north new zealand. . belonging to genera found only on the mountains of australia, van diemen's land, and north new zealand. . belonging to genera of distribution in many parts of the world (i.e., which tell no particular story). . belonging to genera found in the northern hemisphere and not in the tropics; or only on mountains in the tropics. i daresay all this (as far as present materials serve) could be extracted from your tables, as they stand; but to any one not familiar with the names of plants, this would be difficult. i felt particularly the want of not knowing which of the genera are found in the lowland tropics, in understanding the relation of the antarctic with the arctic floras. if the fuegian flora was treated in the analogous way (and this would incidentally show how far the cordillera are a high-road of genera), i should then be prepared far more easily and satisfactorily to understand the relations of fuegia with the auckland islands, and consequently with the mountains of van diemen's land. moreover, the marvellous facts of their intimate botanical relation (between fuegia and the auckland islands, etc.) would stand out more prominently, after the auckland islands had been first treated of under the purely geographical relation of position. a triple division such as yours would lead me to suppose that the three places were somewhat equally distant, and not so greatly different in size: the relation of van diemen's land seems so comparatively small, and that relation being in its alpine plants, makes me feel that it ought only to be treated of as a subdivision of the large group, including auckland, campbell, new zealand... i think a list of the genera, common to fuegia on the one hand and on the other to campbell, etc., and to the mountains of van diemen's land or new zealand (but not found in the lowland temperate, and southern tropical parts of south america and australia, or new zealand), would prominently bring out, at the same time, the relation between these antarctic points one with another, and with the northern or arctic regions. in article iii. is it meant to be expressed, or might it not be understood by this article, that the similarity of the distant points in the antarctic regions was as close as between distant points in the arctic regions? i gather this is not so. you speak of the southern points of america and australia, etc., being "materially approximated," and this closer proximity being correlative with a greater similarity of their plants: i find on the globe, that van diemen's land and fuegia are only about one-fifth nearer than the whole distance between port jackson and concepcion in chile; and again, that campbell island and fuegia are only one-fifth nearer than the east point of north new zealand and concepcion. now do you think in such immense distances, both over open oceans, that one-fifth less distance, say , miles instead of , , can explain or throw much light on a material difference in the degree of similarity in the floras of the two regions? i trust you will work out the new zealand flora, as you have commenced at end of letter: is it not quite an original plan? and is it not very surprising that new zealand, so much nearer to australia than south america, should have an intermediate flora? i had fancied that nearly all the species there were peculiar to it. i cannot but think you make one gratuitous difficulty in ascertaining whether new zealand ought to be classed by itself, or with australia or south america--namely, when you seem (bottom of page of your letter) to say that genera in common indicate only that the external circumstances for their life are suitable and similar. ( / . on december th, , sir j.d. hooker replied, "nothing was further from my intention than to have written anything which would lead one to suppose that genera common to two places indicate a similarity in the external circumstances under which they are developed, though i see i have given you excellent grounds for supposing that such were my opinions.") surely, cannot an overwhelming mass of facts be brought against such a proposition? distant parts of australia possess quite distinct species of marsupials, but surely this fact of their having the same marsupial genera is the strongest tie and plainest mark of an original (so-called) creative affinity over the whole of australia; no one, now, will (or ought) to say that the different parts of australia have something in their external conditions in common, causing them to be pre-eminently suitable to marsupials; and so on in a thousand instances. though each species, and consequently genus, must be adapted to its country, surely adaptation is manifestly not the governing law in geographical distribution. is this not so? and if i understand you rightly, you lessen your own means of comparison--attributing the presence of the same genera to similarity of conditions. you will groan over my very full compliance with your request to write all i could on your tables, and i have done it with a vengeance: i can hardly say how valuable i must think your results will be, when worked out, as far as the present knowledge and collections serve. now for some miscellaneous remarks on your letter: thanks for the offer to let me see specimens of boulders from cockburn island; but i care only for boulders, as an indication of former climate: perhaps ross will give some information... watson's paper on the azores ( / . h.c. watson, "london journal of botany," - .) has surprised me much; do you not think it odd, the fewness of peculiar species, and their rarity on the alpine heights? i wish he had tabulated his results; could you not suggest to him to draw up a paper of such results, comparing these islands with madeira? surely does not madeira abound with peculiar forms? a discussion on the relations of the floras, especially the alpine ones, of azores, madeira, and canary islands, would be, i should think, of general interest. how curious, the several doubtful species, which are referred to by watson, at the end of his paper; just as happens with birds at the galapagos...any time that you can put me in the way of reading about alpine floras, i shall feel it as the greatest kindness. i grieve there is no better authority for bourbon, than that stupid bory: i presume his remark that plants, on isolated volcanic islands are polymorphous (i.e., i suppose, variable?) is quite gratuitous. farewell, my dear hooker. this letter is infamously unclear, and i fear can be of no use, except giving you the impression of a botanical ignoramus. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, march th [ ]. ...i was very glad to hear humboldt's views on migrations and double creations. it is very presumptuous, but i feel sure that though one cannot prove extensive migration, the leading considerations, proper to the subject, are omitted, and i will venture to say even by humboldt. i should like some time to put the case, like a lawyer, for your consideration, in the point of view under which, i think, it ought to be viewed. the conclusion which i come to is, that we cannot pretend, with our present knowledge, to put any limit to the possible, and even probable, migration of plants. if you can show that many of the fuegian plants, common to europe, are found in intermediate points, it will be a grand argument in favour of the actuality of migration; but not finding them will not, in my eyes, much diminish the probability of their having thus migrated. my pen always runs away, in writing to you; and a most unsteady, vilely bad pace it goes. what would i not give to write simple english, without having to rewrite and rewrite every sentence. letter . to j.d. hooker. friday [june th, ]. i have been an ungrateful dog for not having answered your letter sooner, but i have been so hard at work correcting proofs ( / . the second edition of the "journal."), together with some unwellness, that i have not had one quarter of an hour to spare. i finally corrected the first third of the old volume, which will appear on july st. i hope and think i have somewhat improved it. very many thanks for your remarks; some of them came too late to make me put some of my remarks more cautiously. i feel, however, still inclined to abide by my evaporation notion to account for the clouds of steam, which rise from the wooded valleys after rain. again, i am so obstinate that i should require very good evidence to make me believe that there are two species of polyborus ( / . polyborus novae zelandiae, a carrion hawk mentioned as very common in the falklands.) in the falkland islands. do the gauchos there admit it? much as i talked to them, they never alluded to such a fact. in the zoology i have discussed the sexual and immature plumage, which differ much. i return the enclosed agreeable letter with many thanks. i am extremely glad of the plants collected at st. paul's, and shall be particularly curious whenever they arrive to hear what they are. i dined the other day at sir j. lubbock's, and met r. brown, and we had much laudatory talk about you. he spoke very nicely about your motives in now going to edinburgh. he did not seem to know, and was much surprised at what i stated (i believe correctly) on the close relation between the kerguelen and t. del fuego floras. forbes is doing apparently very good work about the introduction and distribution of plants. he has forestalled me in what i had hoped would have been an interesting discussion--viz., on the relation between the present alpine and arctic floras, with connection to the last change of climate from arctic to temperate, when the then arctic lowland plants must have been driven up the mountains. ( / . forbes' essay "on the connection between the distribution of the existing fauna and flora of the british isles and the geological changes which have affected their area," was published in . see note, letter .) i am much pleased to hear of the pleasant reception you received at edinburgh. ( / . sir j.d. hooker was a candidate for the chair of botany at edinburgh. see "life and letters," i., pages , .) i hope your impressions will continue agreeable; my associations with auld reekie are very friendly. do you ever see dr. coldstream? if you do, would you give him my kind remembrances? you ask about amber. i believe all the species are extinct (i.e. without the amber has been doctored), and certainly the greater number are. ( / . for an account of plants in amber see goeppert and berendt, "der bernstein und die in ihm befindlichen pflanzenreste der vorwelt," berlin, ; goeppert, "coniferen des bernstein," danzig, ; conwentz, "monographie der baltischen bernsteinbaume," danzig, .) if you have any other corrections ready, will you send them soon, for i shall go to press with second part in less than a week. i have been so busy that i have not yet begun d'urville, and have read only first chapter of canary islands! i am most particularly obliged to you for having lent me the latter, for i know not where else i could have ever borrowed it. there is the "kosmos" to read, and lyell's "travels in north america." it is awful to think of how much there is to read. what makes h. watson a renegade? i had a talk with captain beaufort the other day, and he charged me to keep a book and enter anything which occurred to me, which deserved examination or collection in any part of the world, and he would sooner or later get it in the instructions to some ship. if anything occurs to you let me hear, for in the course of a month or two i must write out something. i mean to urge collections of all kinds on any isolated islands. i suspect that there are several in the northern half of the pacific, which have never been visited by a collector. this is a dull, untidy letter. farewell. as you care so much for insular floras, are you aware that i collected all in flower on the abrolhos islands? but they are very near the coast of brazil. nevertheless, i think they ought to be just looked at, under a geographical point of view. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, november [ ]. i have just got as far as lycopodium in your flora, and, in truth, cannot say enough how much i have been interested in all your scattered remarks. i am delighted to have in print many of the statements which you made in your letters to me, when we were discussing some of the geographical points. i can never cease marvelling at the similarity of the antarctic floras: it is wonderful. i hope you will tabulate all your results, and put prominently what you allude to (and what is pre-eminently wanted by non-botanists like myself), which of the genera are, and which not, found in the lowland or in the highland tropics, as far as known. out of the very many new observations to me, nothing has surprised me more than the absence of alpine floras in the s[outh] islands. ( / . see "flora antarctica," i., page , where the author says that "in the south...on ascending the mountains, few or no new forms occur." with regard to the sandwich islands, sir joseph wrote (page ) that "though the volcanic islands of the sandwich group attain a greater elevation than this [ , feet], there is no such development of new species at the upper level." more recent statements to the same effect occur in grisebach, "vegetation der erde," volume ii., page . see also wallace, "island life," page .) it strikes me as most inexplicable. do you feel sure about the similar absence in the sandwich group? is it not opposed quite to the case of teneriffe and madeira, and mediterranean islands? i had fancied that t. del fuego had possessed a large alpine flora! i should much like to know whether the climate of north new zealand is much more insular than tasmania. i should doubt it from general appearance of places, and yet i presume the flora of the former is far more scanty than of tasmania. do tell me what you think on this point. i have also been particularly interested by all your remarks on variation, affinities, etc.: in short, your book has been to me a most valuable one, and i must have purchased it had you not most kindly given it, and so rendered it even far more valuable to me. when you compare a species to another, you sometimes do not mention the station of the latter (it being, i presume, well-known), but to non-botanists such words of explanation would add greatly to the interest--not that non-botanists have any claim at all for such explanations in professedly botanical works. there is one expression which you botanists often use (though, i think, not you individually often), which puts me in a passion--viz., calling polleniferous flowers "sterile," as non-seed-bearing. ( / . see letter .) are the plates from your own drawings? they strike me as excellent. so now you have had my presumptuous commendations on your great work. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, friday [ - ]. it is quite curious how our opinions agree about forbes' views. ( / . see letter .) i was very glad to have your last letter, which was even more valuable to me than most of yours are, and that is saying, i assure you, a great deal. i had written to forbes to object about the azores ( / . edward forbes supposed that the azores, the madeiras, and canaries "are the last remaining fragments" of a continent which once connected them with western europe and northern spain. lyell's "principles," edition xi., volume ii., page . see forbes, op. cit.) on the same grounds as you had, and he made some answer, which partially satisfied me, but really i am so stupid i cannot remember it. he insisted strongly on the fewness of the species absolutely peculiar to the azores--most of the non-european species being common to madeira. i had thought that a good sprinkling were absolutely peculiar. till i saw him last wednesday i thought he had not a leg to stand on in his geology about his post-miocene land; and his reasons, upon reflection, seem rather weak: the main one is that there are no deposits (more recent than the miocene age) on the miocene strata of malta, etc., but i feel pretty sure that this cannot be trusted as evidence that malta must have been above water during all the post-miocene period. he had one other reason, to my mind still less trustworthy. i had also written to forbes, before your letter, objecting to the sargassum ( / . edward forbes supposed that the sargassum or gulf-weed represents the littoral sea-weeds of a now submerged continent. "mem. geol. survey great britain," volume i., , page . see lyell's "principles," ii., page , edition xi.), but apparently on wrong grounds, for i could see no reason, on the common view of absolute creations, why one fucus should not have been created for the ocean, as well as several confervae for the same end. it is really a pity that forbes is quite so speculative: he will injure his reputation, anyhow, on the continent; and thus will do less good. i find this is the opinion of falconer, who was with us on sunday, and was extremely agreeable. it is wonderful how much heterogeneous information he has about all sorts of things. i the more regret forbes cannot more satisfactorily prove his views, as i heartily wish they were established, and to a limited extent i fully believe they are true; but his boldness is astounding. do i understand your letter right, that west africa ( / . this is of course a misunderstanding.) and java belong to the same botanical region--i.e., that they have many non-littoral species in common? if so, it is a sickening fact: think of the distance with the indian ocean interposed! do some time answer me this. with respect to polymorphism, which you have been so very kind as to give me so much information on, i am quite convinced it must be given up in the sense you have discussed it in; but from such cases as the galapagos birds and from hypothetical notions on variation, i should be very glad to know whether it must be given up in a slightly different point of view; that is, whether the peculiar insular species are generally well and strongly distinguishable from the species on the nearest continent (when there is a continent near); the galapagos, canary islands, and madeira ought to answer this. i should have hypothetically expected that a good many species would have been fine ones, like some of the galapagos birds, and still more so on the different islands of such groups. i am going to ask you some questions, but i should really sometimes almost be glad if you did not answer me for a long time, or not at all, for in honest truth i am often ashamed at, and marvel at, your kindness in writing such long letters to me. so i beg you to mind, never to write to me when it bores you. do you know "elements de teratologie (on monsters, i believe) vegetale," par a. moquin tandon"? ( / . paris, .) is it a good book, and will it treat on hereditary malconformations or varieties? i have almost finished the tremendous task of pages of a. st. hilaire's lectures ( / . "lecons de botanique," .), which you set me, and very glad i am that you told me to read it, for i have been much interested with parts. certain expressions which run through the whole work put me in a passion: thus i take, at hazard, "la plante n'etait pas tout a fait assez affaiblie pour produire de veritables carpelles." every organ or part concerned in reproduction--that highest end of all lower organisms--is, according to this man, produced by a lesser or greater degree of "affaiblissement"; and if that is not an affaiblissement of language, i don't know what is. i have used an expression here, which leads me to ask another question: on what sort of grounds do botanists make one family of plants higher than another? i can see that the simplest cryptogamic are lowest, and i suppose, from their relations, the monocotyledonous come next; but how in the different families of the dicotyledons? the point seems to me equally obscure in many races of animals, and i know not how to tell whether a bee or cicindela is highest. ( / . on use of terms "high" and "low" see letters and .) i see aug. hilaire uses a multiplicity of parts--several circles of stamens, etc.--as evidence of the highness of the ranunculaceae; now owen has truly, as i believe, used the same argument to show the lowness of some animals, and has established the proposition, that the fewer the number of any organ, as legs or wings or teeth, by which the same end is gained, the higher the animal. one other question. hilaire says (page ) that "chez une foule de plantes c'est dans le bouton," that impregnation takes place. he instances only goodenia ( / . for letters on this point, see index s.v. goodenia.), and falconer cannot recollect any cases. do you know any of this "foule" of plants? from reasons, little better than hypothetical, i greatly misdoubt the accuracy of this, presumptuous as it is; that plants shed their pollen in the bud is, of course, quite a different story. can you illuminate me? henslow will send the galapagos scraps to you. i direct this to kew, as i suppose, after your sister's marriage (on which i beg to send you my congratulations), you will return home. there are great fears that falconer will have to go out to india--this will be a grievous loss to palaeontology. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, april th [ ]. i was much pleased to see and sign your certificate for the geolog[ical society]; we shall thus occasionally, i hope, meet. ( / . sir joseph was elected a fellow of the geological society in .) i have been an ungrateful dog not to have thanked you before this for the cake and books. the children and their betters pronounced the former excellent, and annie wanted to know whether it was the gentleman "what played with us so." i wish we were at a more reasonable distance, that emma and myself could have called on lady hooker with our congratulations on this occasion. it was very good of you to put in both numbers of the "hort. journal." i think dean herbert's article well worth reading. i have been so extravagant as to order m[oquin] tandon ( / . probably "elements de teratologie vegetale": paris, .), for though i have not found, as yet, anything particularly novel or striking, yet i found that i wished to score a good many passages so as to re-read them at some future time, and hence have ordered the book. consequently i hope soon to send back your books. i have sent off the ascension plants through bunsen to ehrenberg. there was much in your last long letter which interested me much; and i am particularly glad that you are going to attend to polymorphism in our last and incorrect sense in your works; i see that it must be most difficult to take any sort of constant limit for the amount of possible variation. how heartily i do wish that all your works were out and complete; so that i could quietly think over them. i fear the pacific islands must be far distant in futurity. i fear, indeed, that forbes is going rather too quickly ahead; but we shall soon see all his grounds, as i hear he is now correcting the press on this subject; he has plenty of people who attack him; i see falconer never loses a chance, and it is wonderful how well forbes stands it. what a very striking fact is the botanical relation between africa and java; as you now state it, i am pleased rather than disgusted, for it accords capitally with the distribution of the mammifers ( / . see wallace, "geogr. distribution," volume i., page , on the "special oriental or even malayan element" in the west african mammals and birds.): only that i judge from your letters that the cape differs even more markedly than i had thought, from the rest of africa, and much more than the mammifers do. i am surprised to find how well mammifers and plants seem to accord in their general distribution. with respect to my strong objection to aug. st. hilaire's language on affaiblissement ( / . this refers to his "lecons de botanique (morphologie vegetale)," . saint-hilaire often explains morphological differences as due to differences in vigour. see letter .), it is perhaps hardly rational, and yet he confesses that some of the most vigorous plants in nature have some of their organs struck with this weakness--he does not pretend, of course, that they were ever otherwise in former generations--or that a more vigorously growing plant produces organs less weakened, and thus fails in producing its typical structure. in a plant in a state of nature, does cutting off the sap tend to produce flower-buds? i know it does in trees in orchards. owen has been doing some grand work in the morphology of the vertebrata: your arm and hand are parts of your head, or rather the processes (i.e. modified ribs) of the occipital vertebra! he gave me a grand lecture on a cod's head. by the way, would it not strike you as monstrous, if in speaking of the minute and lessening jaws, palpi, etc., of an insect or crustacean, any one were to say they were produced by the affaiblissement of the less important but larger organs of locomotion. i see from your letter (though i do not suppose it is worth referring to the subject) that i could not have expressed what i meant when i allowed you to infer that owen's rule of single organs being of a higher order than multiple organs applied only to locomotive, etc.; it applies to every the most important organ. i do not doubt that he would say the placentata having single wombs, whilst the marsupiata have double ones, is an instance of this law. i believe, however, in most instances where one organ, as a nervous centre or heart, takes the places of several, it rises in complexity; but it strikes me as really odd, seeing in this instance eminent botanists and zoologists starting from reverse grounds. pray kindly bear in mind about impregnation in bud: i have never (for some years having been on the look-out) heard of an instance: i have long wished to know how it was in subularia, or some such name, which grows on the bottom of scotch lakes, and likewise in a grassy plant, which lives in brackish water, i quite forget name, near thames; elder botanists doubted whether it was a phanerogam. when we meet i will tell you why i doubt this bud-impregnation. we are at present in a state of utmost confusion, as we have pulled all our offices down and are going to rebuild and alter them. i am personally in a state of utmost confusion also, for my cruel wife has persuaded me to leave off snuff for a month; and i am most lethargic, stupid, and melancholy in consequence. farewell, my dear hooker. ever yours. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, april th [ ]. thank you for your list of r.s. candidates, which will be very useful to me. i have thought a good deal about my salting experiments ( / . for an account of darwin's experiments on the effect of salt water on the germination of seeds, see "life and letters," ii., page . in april he wrote to the "gardeners' chronicle" asking for information, and his results were published in the same journal, may th and november th, ; also in the "linn. soc. journal," .), and really think they are worth pursuing to a certain extent; but i hardly see the use (at least, the use equivalent to the enormous labour) of trying the experiment on the immense scale suggested by you. i should think a few seeds of the leading orders, or a few seeds of each of the classes mentioned by you, with albumen of different kinds would suffice to show the possibility of considerable sea-transportal. to tell whether any particular insular flora had thus been transported would require that each species should be examined. will you look through these printed lists, and if you can, mark with red cross such as you would suggest? in truth, i fear i impose far more on your great kindness, my dear hooker, than i have any claim; but you offered this, for i never thought of asking you for more than a suggestion. i do not think i could manage more than forty or fifty kinds at a time, for the water, i find, must be renewed every other day, as it gets to smell horribly: and i do not think your plan good of little packets of cambric, as this entangles so much air. i shall keep the great receptacle with salt water with the forty or fifty little bottles, partly open, immersed in it, in the cellar for uniform temperature. i must plant out of doors, as i have no greenhouse. i told you i had inserted notice in the "gardeners' chronicle," and to-day i have heard from berkeley that he has already sent an assortment of seeds to margate for some friend to put in salt water; so i suppose he thinks the experiment worth trying, as he has thus so very promptly taken it into his own hands. ( / . rev. m.j. berkeley published on the subject in the "gardeners' chronicle," september st, .) reading this over, it sounds as if i were offended!!! which i need not say is not so. ( / . added afterwards between the lines.) i may just mention that the seeds mentioned in my former note have all germinated after fourteen days' immersion, except the cabbages all dead, and the radishes have had their germination delayed and several i think dead; cress still all most vigorous. french spinach, oats, barley, canary-seed, borage, beet have germinated after seven days' immersion. it is quite surprising that the radishes should have grown, for the salt water was putrid to an extent which i could not have thought credible had i not smelt it myself, as was the water with the cabbage-seed. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, june th [ ]. if being thoroughly interested with your letters makes me worthy of them, i am very worthy. i have raised some seedling sensitive plants, but if you can readily spare me a moderately sized plant, i shall be glad of it. you encourage me so, that i will slowly go on salting seeds. i have not, i see, explained myself, to let you suppose that i objected to such cases as the former union of england and the continent; i look at this case as proved by animals, etc., etc.; and, indeed, it would be an astounding fact if the land had kept so steady as that they had not been united, with snowdon elevated , feet in recent times, etc., etc. it is only against the former union with the oceanic volcanic islands that i am vehement. ( / . see "life and letters," volume ii., pages , , , .) what a perplexing case new zealand does seem: is not the absence of leguminosae, etc., etc., fully as much opposed to continental connexion as to any other theory? what a curious fact you state about distribution and lowness going together. the presence of a frog in new zealand seems to me a strongish fact for continental connexion, for i assume that sea water would kill spawn, but i shall try. the spawn, i find, will live about ten days out of water, but i do not think it could possibly stick to a bird. what you say about no one realising creation strikes me as very true; but i think and hope that there is nearly as much difference between trying to find out whether species of a genus have had a common ancestor and concerning oneself with the first origin of life, as between making out the laws of chemical attraction and the first origin of matter. i thought that gray's letter had come open to you, and that you had read it: you will see what i asked--viz., for habitats of the alpine plants, but i presume there will be nothing new to you. please return both. how pleasantly gray takes my request, and i think i shall have done a good turn if i make him write a paper on geographical distribution of plants of united states. i have written him a very long letter, telling him some of the points about which i should feel curious. but on my life it is sublimely ridiculous, my making suggestions to such a man. i cannot help thinking that what you say about low plants being widely distributed and standing injurious conditions better than higher ones (but is not this most difficult to show?) is equally favourable to sea-transport, to continental connexions, and all other means. pray do not suppose that i fancy that if i could show that nearly all seeds could stand an almost indefinite period of immersion in sea-water, that i have done more than one extremely small step in solving the problem of distribution, for i can quite appreciate the importance of the fact you point out; and then the directions of currents in past and present times have to be considered!! i shall be very curious to hear berkeley's results in the salting line. with respect to geological changes, i ought to be one of the last men to undervalue them after my map of coral islands, and after what i have seen of elevation on coast of america. farewell. i hope my letters do not bother you. again, and for the last time, i say that i should be extremely vexed if ever you write to me against the grain or when tired. letter . to j.s henslow. down, july nd [ ]. very many thanks for all you have done, and so very kindly promise to do for me. will you make a present to each of the little girls (if not too big and grandiose) of six pence (for which i send stamps), who are going to collect seeds for me: viz., lychnis, white, red, and flesh-colour (if such occur). ...will you be so kind as to look at them before sent, just to see positively that they are correct, for remember how ignorant botanically i am. do you see the "gardeners' chronicle," and did you notice some little experiments of mine on salting seeds? celery and onion seed have come up after eighty-five days' immersion in the salt water, which seems to me surprising, and i think throws some light on the wide dispersion of certain plants. now, it has occurred to me that it would be an interesting way of testing the probability of sea-transportal of seeds, to make a list of all the european plants found in the azores--a very oceanic archipelago--collect the seeds, and try if they would stand a pretty long immersion. do you think the most able of your little girls would like to collect for me a packet of seeds of such azorean plants as grow near hitcham, i paying, say pence for each packet: it would put a few shillings into their pockets, and would be an enormous advantage to me, for i grudge the time to collect the seeds, more especially as i have to learn the plants! the experiment seems to me worth trying: what do you think? should you object offering for me this reward or payment to your little girls? you would have to select the most conscientious ones, that i might not get wrong seeds. i have just been comparing the lists, and i suspect you would not have very many of the azorean plants. you have, however, ranunculus repens, ranunculus parviflorus, papaver rhoeas,? papaver dubium,? chelidonium majus,? fumaria officinalis.? all these are azorean plants. with respect to cultivating plants, i mean to begin on very few, for i may find it too troublesome. i have already had for some months primroses and cowslips, strongly manured with guano, and with flowers picked off, and one cowslip made to grow in shade; and next spring i shall collect seed. i think you have quite misunderstood me in regard to my object in getting you to mark in accompanying list with (x) all the "close species" ( / . see letter .) i.e., such as you do not think to be varieties, but which nevertheless are very closely allied; it has nothing whatever to do with their cultivation, but i cannot tell you [my] object, as it might unconsciously influence you in marking them. will you draw your pencil right through all the names of those (few) species, of which you may know nothing. afterwards, when done, i will tell you my object--not that it is worth telling, though i myself am very curious on the subject. i know and can perceive that the definition of "close species" is very vague, and therefore i should not care for the list being marked by any one, except by such as yourself. forgive this long letter. i thank you heartily for all your assistance. my dear old master, yours affectionately, c. darwin. perhaps pence would be hardly enough, and if the number of kinds does not turn out very great it shall be pence per packet. letter . asa gray to charles darwin. ( / . in reply to darwin's letter, june th, , given in "life and letters," ii., page .) harvard university, cambridge, u.s., june th, . your long letter of the th inst. is full of interest to me, and i shall follow out your hints as far as i can. i rejoice in furnishing facts to others to work up in their bearing on general questions, and feel it the more my duty to do so inasmuch as from preoccupation of mind and time and want of experience i am unable to contribute direct original investigations of the sort to the advancement of science. your request at the close of your letter, which you have such needless hesitation in making, is just the sort of one which it is easy for me to reply to, as it lies directly in my way. it would probably pass out of my mind, however, at the time you propose, so i will attend to it at once, to fill up the intervals of time left me while attending to one or two pupils. so i take some unbound sheets of a copy of the "manual," and mark off the "close species" by connecting them with a bracket. those thus connected, some of them, i should in revision unite under one, many more dr. hooker would unite, and for the rest it would not be extraordinary if, in any case, the discovery of intermediate forms compelled their union. as i have noted on the blank page of the sheets i send you (through sir william hooker), i suppose that if we extended the area, say to that of our flora of north america, we should find that the proportion of "close species" to the whole flora increased considerably. but here i speak at a venture. some day i will test it for a few families. if you take for comparison with what i send you, the "british flora," or koch's "flora germanica," or godron's "flora of france," and mark the "close species" on the same principle, you will doubtless find a much greater number. of course you will not infer from this that the two floras differ in this respect; since the difference is probably owing to the facts that ( ) there have not been so many observers here bent upon detecting differences; and ( ) our species, thanks mostly to dr. torrey and myself, have been more thoroughly castigated. what stands for one species in the "manual" would figure in almost any european flora as two, three, or more, in a very considerable number of cases. in boldly reducing nominal species j. hooker is doing a good work; but his vocation--like that of any other reformer--exposes him to temptations and dangers. because you have shown that a and b are so connected by intermediate forms that we cannot do otherwise than regard them as variations of one species, we may not conclude that c and d, differing much in the same way and to the same degree, are of one species, before an equal amount of evidence is actually obtained. that is, when two sets of individuals exhibit any grave differences, the burden of proof of their common origin lies with the person who takes that view; and each case must be decided on its own evidence, and not on analogy, if our conclusions in this way are to be of real value. of course we must often jump at conclusions from imperfect evidence. i should like to write an essay on species some day; but before i should have time to do it, in my plodding way, i hope you or hooker will do it, and much better far. i am most glad to be in conference with hooker and yourself on these matters, and i think we may, or rather you may, in a few years settle the question as to whether agassiz's or hooker's views are correct; they are certainly widely different. apropos to this, many thanks for the paper containing your experiments on seeds exposed to sea water. why has nobody thought of trying the experiment before, instead of taking it for granted that salt water kills seeds? i shall have it nearly all reprinted in "silliman's journal" as a nut for agassiz to crack. letter . to asa gray. down, may nd [ ?] i have received your very kind note of april th. in truth it is preposterous in me to give you hints; but it will give me real pleasure to write to you just as i talk to hooker, who says my questions are sometimes suggestive owing to my comparing the ranges, etc., in different kingdoms of nature. i will make no further apologies about my presumption; but will just tell you (though i am certain there will be very little new in what i suggest and ask) the points on which i am very anxious to hear about. i forget whether you include arctic america, but if so, for comparison with other parts of world, i would exclude the arctic and alpine-arctic, as belonging to a quite distinct category. when excluding the naturalised, i think de candolle must be right in advising the exclusion (giving list) of plants exclusively found in cultivated land, even when it is not known that they have been introduced by man. i would give list of temperate plants (if any) found in eastern asia, china, and japan, and not elsewhere. nothing would give me a better idea of the flora of united states than the proportion of its genera to all the genera which are confined to america; and the proportion of genera confined to america and eastern asia with japan; the remaining genera would be common to america and europe and the rest of world; i presume it would be impossible to show any especial affinity in genera, if ever so few, between america and western europe. america might be related to eastern asia (always excluding arctic forms) by a genus having the same species confined to these two regions; or it might be related by the genus having different species, the genus itself not being found elsewhere. the relation of the genera (excluding identical species) seems to me a most important element in geographical distribution often ignored, and i presume of more difficult application in plants than in animals, owing to the wider ranges of plants; but i find in new zealand (from hooker) that the consideration of genera with representative species tells the story of relationship even plainer than the identity of the species with the different parts of the world. i should like to see the genera of the united states, say (excluding arctic and alpine) divided into three classes, with the proportions given thus:-- / american genera; / old world genera, but not having any identical species in common; / old world genera, but having some identical species in common; supposing that these genera included u.s. plants, then the would be the denominator to the fraction of the species common to the old world. but i am running on at a foolish length. there is an interesting discussion in de candolle (about pages - ) on the relation of the size of families to the average range of the individual species; i cannot but think, from some facts which i collected long before de candolle appeared, that he is on wrong scent in having taken families (owing to their including too great a diversity in the constitution of the species), but that if he had taken genera, he would have found that the individual species in large genera range over a greater area than do the species in small genera: i think if you have materials that this would be well worth working out, for it is a very singular relation. with respect to naturalised plants: are any social with you, which are not so in their parent country? i am surprised that the importance of this has not more struck de candolle. of these naturalised plants are any or many more variable in your opinion than the average of your united states plants? i am aware how very vague this must be; but de candolle has stated that the naturalised plants do not present varieties; but being very variable and presenting distinct varieties seems to me rather a different case: if you would kindly take the trouble to answer this question i should be very much obliged, whether or no you will enter on such points in your essay. with respect to such plants, which have their southern limits within your area, are the individuals ever or often stunted in their growth or unhealthy? i have in vain endeavoured to find any botanist who has observed this point; but i have seen some remarks by barton on the trees in united states. trees seem in this respect to behave rather differently from other plants. it would be a very curious point, but i fear you would think it out of your essay, to compare the list of european plants in tierra del fuego (in hooker) with those in north america; for, without multiple creation, i think we must admit that all now in t. del fuego must have travelled through north america, and so far they do concern you. the discussion on social plants (vague as the terms and facts are) in de candolle strikes me as the best which i have ever seen: two points strike me as eminently remarkable in them; that they should ever be social close to their extreme limits; and secondly, that species having an extremely confined range, yet should be social where they do occur: i should be infinitely obliged for any cases either by letter or publicly on these heads, more especially in regard to a species remaining or ceasing to be social on the confines of its range. there is one other point on which i individually should be extremely much obliged, if you could spare the time to think a little bit and inform me: viz., whether there are any cases of the same species being more variable in united states than in other countries in which it is found, or in different parts of the united states? wahlenberg says generally that the same species in going south become more variable than in extreme north. even still more am i anxious to know whether any of the genera, which have most of their species horribly variable (as rubus or hieracium are) in europe, or other parts of the world, are less variable in the united states; or, the reverse case, whether you have any odious genera with you which are less odious in other countries? any information on this head would be a real kindness to me. i suppose your flora is too great; but a simple list in close columns in small type of all the species, genera, and families, each consecutively numbered, has always struck me as most useful; and hooker regrets that he did not give such list in introduction to new zealand and other flora. i am sure i have given you a larger dose of questions than you bargained for, and i have kept my word and treated you just as i do hooker. nevertheless, if anything occurs to me during the next two months, i will write freely, believing that you will forgive me and not think me very presumptuous. how well de candolle shows the necessity of comparing nearly equal areas for proportion of families! i have re-read this letter, and it is really not worth sending, except for my own sake. i see i forgot, in beginning, to state that it appeared to me that the six heads of your essay included almost every point which could be desired, and therefore that i had little to say. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . on july th, , darwin wrote to sir j.d. hooker:-- "i am going mad and am in despair over your confounded antarctic island flora. will you read over the tristan list, and see if my remarks on it are at all accurate. i cannot make out why you consider the vegetation so fuegian.") down, th [july, ]. i do hope that this note may arrive in time to save you trouble in one respect. i am perfectly ashamed of myself, for i find in introduction to flora of fuegia ( / . "flora antarctica," page . "though only , miles distant from the cape of good hope, and , from the strait of magalhaens, the botany of this island [tristan d'acunha] is far more intimately allied to that of fuegia than africa." hooker goes on to say that only phylica and pelargonium are cape forms, while seven species, or one-quarter of the flora, "are either natives of fuegia or typical of south american botany, and the ferns and lycopodia exhibit a still stronger affinity.") a short discussion on tristan plants, which though scored [i.e. marked in pencil] i had quite forgotten at the time, and had thought only of looking into introduction to new zealand flora. it was very stupid of me. in my sketch i am forced to pick out the most striking cases of species which favour the multiple creation doctrine, without indeed great continental extensions are admitted. of the many wonderful cases in your books, the one which strikes me most is that list of species, which you made for me, common to new zealand and america, and confined to southern hemisphere; and in this list those common to chile and new zealand seem to me the most wondrous. i have copied these out and enclosed them. now i will promise to ask no more questions, if you will tell me a little about these. what i want to know is, whether any or many of them are mountain plants of chile, so as to bring them in some degree (like the chonos plants) under the same category with the fuegian plants? i see that all the genera (edwardsia even having sandwich island and indian species) are wide-ranging genera, except myosurus, which seems extra wonderful. do any of these genera cling to seaside? are the other species of these genera wide rangers? do be a good christian and not hate me. i began last night to re-read your galapagos paper, and to my taste it is quite admirable: i see in it some of the points which i thought best in a. de candolle! such is my memory. lyell will not express any opinion on continental extensions. ( / . see letters , .) letter . to c. lyell. down, july th [ ]. very many thanks for your two notes, and especially for maury's map: also for books which you are going to lend me. i am sorry you cannot give any verdict on continental extensions; and i infer that you think my argument of not much weight against such extensions; i know i wish i could believe. ( / . this paragraph is published in the "life and letters," ii., page ; it refers to a letter (june th, , "life and letters," ii., page ) giving darwin's arguments against the doctrine of "continental extension." see letters , .) i have been having a look at maury (which i once before looked at), and in respect to madeira & co. i must say, that the chart seems to me against land-extension explaining the introduction of organic beings. madeira, the canaries and azores are so tied together, that i should have thought they ought to have been connected by some bank, if changes of level had been connected with their organic relation. the azores ought, too, to have shown more connection with america. i had sometimes speculated whether icebergs could account for the greater number of european plants and their more northern character on the azores, compared with madeira; but it seems dangerous until boulders are found there. ( / . see "life and letters," ii., page , for a letter (april th, ) in which darwin exults over the discovery of boulders on the azores and the fulfilment of the prophecy, which he was characteristically half inclined to ascribe to lyell.) one of the more curious points in maury is, as it strikes me, in the little change which about , feet of sudden elevation would make in the continent visible, and what a prodigious change , feet subsidence would make! is the difference due to denudation during elevation? certainly , feet elevation would make a prodigious change. i have just been quoting you in my essay on ice carrying seeds in the southern hemisphere, but this will not do in all the cases. i have had a week of such hard labour in getting up the relations of all the antarctic flora from hooker's admirable works. oddly enough, i have just finished in great detail, giving evidence of coolness in tropical regions during the glacial epoch, and the consequent migration of organisms through the tropics. there are a good many difficulties, but upon the whole it explains much. this has been a favourite notion with me, almost since i wrote on erratic boulders of the south. it harmonises with the modification of species; and without admitting this awful postulate, the glacial epoch in the south and tropics does not work in well. about atlantis, i doubt whether the canary islands are as much more related to the continent as they ought to be, if formerly connected by continuous land. hooker, with whom i have formerly discussed the notion of the world or great belts of it having been cooler, though he at first saw great difficulties (and difficulties there are great enough), i think is much inclined to adopt the idea. with modification of specific forms it explains some wondrous odd facts in distribution. but i shall never stop if i get on this subject, on which i have been at work, sometimes in triumph, sometimes in despair, for the last month. letter . asa gray to charles darwin. received august th, . i enclose you a proof of the last page, that you may see what our flora amounts to. the genera of the cryptogams (ferns down to hepaticae) are illustrated in fourteen crowded plates. so that the volume has become rather formidable as a class-book, which it is intended for. i have revised the last proofs to-day. the publishers will bring it out some time in august. meanwhile, i am going to have a little holiday, which i have earned, little as i can spare the time for it. and my wife and i start on friday to visit my mother and friends in west new york, and on our way back i will look in upon the scientific meeting at albany on the th inst., or later, just to meet some old friends there. why could not you come over, on the urgent invitation given to european savans--and free passage provided back and forth in the steamers? yet i believe nobody is coming. will you not come next year, if a special invitation is sent you on the same terms? boott lately sent me your photograph, which (though not a very perfect one) i am well pleased to have... but there is another question in your last letter--one about which a person can only give an impression--and my impression is that, speaking of plants of a well-known flora, what we call intermediate varieties are generally less numerous in individuals than the two states which they connect. that this would be the case in a flora where things are put as they naturally should be, i do not much doubt; and the wider are your views about species (say, for instance, with dr. hooker's very latitudinarian notions) the more plainly would this appear. but practically two things stand hugely in the way of any application of the fact or principle, if such it be. . our choice of what to take as the typical forms very often is not free. we take, e.g., for one of them the particular form of which linnaeus, say, happened to have a specimen sent him, and on which [he] established the species; and i know more than one case in which that is a rare form of a common species; the other variety will perhaps be the opposite extreme--whether the most common or not, or will be what l. or [illegible] described as a nd species. here various intermediate forms may be the most abundant. . it is just the same thing now, in respect to specimens coming in from our new western country. the form which first comes, and is described and named, determines the specific character, and this long sticks as the type, though in fact it may be far from the most common form. yet of plants very well known in all their aspects, i can think of several of which we recognise two leading forms, and rarely see anything really intermediate, such as our mentha borealis, its hairy and its smooth varieties. your former query about the variability of naturalised plants as compared with others of same genera, i had not forgotten, but have taken no steps to answer. i was going hereafter to take up our list of naturalised plants and consider them--it did not fall into my plan to do it yet. off-hand i can only say that it does not strike me that our introduced plants generally are more variable, nor as variable, perhaps, as the indigenous. but this is a mere guess. when you get my sheets of first part of article in "silliman's journal," remember that i shall be most glad of free critical comments; and the earlier i get them the greater use they will be to me... one more favour. do not, i pray you, speak of your letters troubling me. i should be sorry indeed to have you stop, or write more rarely, even though mortified to find that i can so seldom give you the information you might reasonably expect. letter . to asa gray. down, august th [ ]. i am much obliged for your letter, which has been very interesting to me. your "indefinite" answers are perhaps not the least valuable part; for botany has been followed in so much more a philosophical spirit than zoology, that i scarcely ever like to trust any general remark in zoology without i find that botanists concur. thus, with respect to intermediate varieties being rare, i found it put, as i suspected, much too strongly (without the limitations and doubts which you point out) by a very good naturalist, mr. wollaston, in regard to insects; and if it could be established as true it would, i think, be a curious point. your answer in regard to the introduced plants not being particularly variable, agrees with an answer which mr. h.c. watson has sent me in regard to british agrarian plants, or such (whether or no naturalised) [as] are now found only in cultivated land. it seems to me very odd, without any theoretical notions of any kind, that such plants should not be variable; but the evidence seems against it. very sincere thanks for your kind invitation to the united states: in truth there is nothing which i should enjoy more; but my health is not, and will, i suppose, never be strong enough, except for the quietest routine life in the country. i shall be particularly glad of the sheets of your paper on geographical distribution; but it really is unlikely in the highest degree that i could make any suggestions. with respect to my remark that i supposed that there were but few plants common to europe and the united states, not ranging to the arctic regions; it was founded on vague grounds, and partly on range of animals. but i took h.c. watson's remarks ( ) and in the table at the end i found that out of plants believed to be common to the old and new world, only did not range on either side of the atlantic up to the arctic region. and on writing to mr. watson to ask whether he knew of any plants not ranging northward of britain (say deg) which were in common, he writes to me that he imagines there are very few; with mr. syme's assistance he found some to species thus circumstanced, but many of them, from one cause or other, he considered doubtful. as examples, he specifies to me, with doubt, chrysosplenium oppositifolium; isnardia palustris; astragalus hypoglottis; thlaspi alpestre; arenaria verna; lythrum hyssopifolium. i hope that you will be inclined to work out for your next paper, what number, of your in common, do not range to arctic regions. such plants seem exposed to such much greater difficulties in diffusion. very many thanks for all your kindness and answers to my questions. p.s.--if anything should occur to you on variability of naturalised or agrarian plants, i hope that you will be so kind as to let me hear, as it is a point which interests me greatly. letter . asa gray to charles darwin. cambridge, mass., september rd, . dr. engelmann, of st. louis, missouri, who knew european botany well before he came here, and has been an acute observer generally for twenty years or more in this country, in reply to your question i put to him, promptly said introduced plants are not particularly variable--are not so variable as the indigenous plants generally, perhaps. the difficulty of answering your questions, as to whether there are any plants social here which are not so in the old world, is that i know so little about european plants in nature. the following is all i have to contribute. lately, i took engelmann and agassiz on a botanical excursion over half a dozen miles of one of our seaboard counties; when they both remarked that they never saw in europe altogether half so much barberry as in that trip. through all this district b. vulgaris may be said to have become a truly social plant in neglected fields and copses, and even penetrating into rather close old woods. i always supposed that birds diffused the seeds. but i am not clear that many of them touch the berries. at least, these hang on the bushes over winter in the greatest abundance. perhaps the barberry belongs to a warmer country than north of europe, and finds itself more at home in our sunny summers. yet out of new england it seems not to spread at all. maruta cotula, fide engelmann, is a scattered and rather scarce plant in germany. here, from boston to st. louis, it covers the roadsides, and is one of our most social plants. but this plant is doubtless a native of a hotter country than north germany. st. john's-wort (hypericum perforatum) is an intrusive weed in all hilly pastures, etc., and may fairly be called a social plant. in germany it is not so found, fide engelmann. verbascum thapsus is diffused over all the country, is vastly more common here than in germany, fide engelmann. i suppose erodium cicutarium was brought to america with cattle from spain: it seems to be widely spread over south america out of the tropics. in atlantic u.s. it is very scarce and local. but it fills california and the interior of oregon quite back to the west slope of the rocky mountains. fremont mentions it as the first spring food for his cattle when he reached the western side of the rocky mountains. and hardly anybody will believe me when i declare it an introduced plant. i daresay it is equally abundant in spain. i doubt if it is more so. engelmann and i have been noting the species truly indigenous here which, becoming ruderal or campestral, are increasing in the number of individuals instead of diminishing as the country becomes more settled and forests removed. the list of our wild plants which have become true weeds is larger than i had supposed, and these have probably all of them increased their geographical range--at least, have multiplied in numbers in the northern states since settlements. some time ago i sent a copy of the first part of my little essay on the statistics ( / . "statistics of the flora of the northern u.s." ("silliman's journal," xxii. and xxiii.)) of our northern states plants to trubner & co., , paternoster row, to be thence posted to you. it may have been delayed or failed, so i post another from here. this is only a beginning. range of species in latitude must next be tabulated--disjoined species catalogued (i.e. those occurring in remote and entirely separated areas--e.g. phryma, monotropa uniflora, etc.)--then some of the curious questions you have suggested--the degree of consanguinity between the related species of our country and other countries, and the comparative range of species in large and small genera, etc., etc. now, is it worth while to go on at this length of detail? there is no knowing how much space it may cover. yet, after all, facts in all their fullness is what is wanted, and those not gathered to support (or even to test) any foregone conclusions. it will be prosy, but it may be useful. then i have no time properly to revise mss. and correct oversights. to my vexation, in my short list of our alpine species i have left out, in some unaccountable manner, two of the most characteristic--viz., cassiope hypnoides and loiseleuria procumbens. please add them on page . there is much to be said about our introduced plants. but now, and for some time to come, i must be thinking of quite different matters. i mean to continue this essay in the january number--for which my mss. must be ready about the st of november. i have not yet attempted to count them up; but of course i am prepared to believe that fully three-fourths of our species common to europe will [be] found to range northward to the arctic regions. i merely meant that i had in mind a number that do not; i think the number will not be very small; and i thought you were under the impression that very few absolutely did not so extend northwards. the most striking case i know is that of convallaria majalis, in the mountains [of] virginia and north carolina, and not northward. i believe i mentioned this to you before. letter . to asa gray. down, october th [ ]. i received yesterday your most kind letter of the rd and your "statistics," and two days previously another copy. i thank you cordially for them. botanists write, of course, for botanists; but, as far as the opinion of an "outsider" goes, i think your paper admirable. i have read carefully a good many papers and works on geographical distribution, and i know of only one essay (viz. hooker's "new zealand") that makes any approach to the clearness with which your paper makes a non-botanist appreciate the character of the flora of a country. it is wonderfully condensed (what labour it must have required!). you ask whether such details are worth giving: in my opinion, there is literally not one word too much. i thank you sincerely for the information about "social" and "varying plants," and likewise for giving me some idea about the proportion (i.e. / th) of european plants which you think do not range to the extreme north. this proportion is very much greater than i had anticipated, from what i picked up in conversation, etc. to return to your "statistics." i daresay you will give how many genera (and orders) your introduced plants belong to. i see they include genera non-indigenous. as you have probably a list of the introduced plants, would it be asking too great a favour to send me, per hooker or otherwise, just the total number of genera and orders to which the introduced plants belong. i am much interested in this, and have found de candolle's remarks on this subject very instructive. nothing has surprised me more than the greater generic and specific affinity with east asia than with west america. can you tell me (and i will promise to inflict no other question) whether climate explains this greater affinity? or is it one of the many utterly inexplicable problems in botanical geography? is east asia nearly as well known as west america? so that does the state of knowledge allow a pretty fair comparison? i presume it would be impossible, but i think it would make in one point your tables of generic ranges more clear (admirably clear as they seem to me) if you could show, even roughly, what proportion of the genera in common to europe (i.e. nearly half) are very general or mundane rangers. as your results now stand, at the first glance the affinity seems so very strong to europe, owing, as i presume, to nearly half of the genera including very many genera common to the world or large portions of it. europe is thus unfairly exalted. is this not so? if we had the number of genera strictly, or nearly strictly european, one could compare better with asia and southern america, etc. but i dare say this is a utopian wish, owing to difficulty of saying what genera to call mundane; nor have i my ideas at all clear on the subject, and i have expressed them even less clearly than i have them. i am so very glad that you intend to work out the north range of the european species; for it seems to me the by far most important element in their distribution. and i am equally glad that you intend to work out range of species in regard to size of genera--i.e. number of species in genus. i have been attempting to do this in a very few cases, but it is folly for any one but a botanist to attempt it. i must think that de candolle has fallen into error in attempting to do this for orders instead of for genera--for reasons with which i will not trouble you. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . the "verdict" referred to in the following letter was sir j.d. hooker's opinion on darwin's ms. on geographical distribution. the first paragraph has been already published in "life and letters," ii., page .) down, november th [ ]. i thank you more cordially than you will think probable for your note. your verdict has been a great relief. on my honour i had no idea whether or not you would say it was (and i knew you would say it very kindly) so bad, that you would have begged me to have burnt the whole. to my own mind my ms. relieved me of some few difficulties, and the difficulties seemed to me pretty fairly stated; but i had become so bewildered with conflicting facts--evidence, reasoning and opinions--that i felt to myself that i had lost all judgment. your general verdict is incomparably more favourable than i had anticipated. very many thanks for your invitation. i had made up my mind, on my poor wife's account, not to come up to next phil. club; but i am so much tempted by your invitation, and my poor dear wife is so good-natured about it, that i think i shall not resist--i.e., if she does not get worse. i would come to dinner at about same time as before, if that would suit you, and i do not hear to the contrary; and would go away by the early train--i.e., about o'clock. i find my present work tries me a good deal, and sets my heart palpitating, so i must be careful. but i should so much like to see henslow, and likewise meet lindley if the fates will permit. you will see whether there will be time for any criticism in detail on my ms. before dinner: not that i am in the least hurry, for it will be months before i come again to geographical distribution; only i am afraid of your forgetting any remarks. i do not know whether my very trifling observations on means of distribution are worth your reading, but it amuses me to tell them. the seeds which the eagle had in [its] stomach for eighteen hours looked so fresh that i would have bet five to one that they would all have grown; but some kinds were all killed, and two oats, one canary-seed, one clover, and one beet alone came up! now i should have not cared swearing that the beet would not have been killed, and i should have fully expected that the clover would have been. these seeds, however, were kept for three days in moist pellets, damp with gastric juice, after being ejected, which would have helped to have injured them. lately i have been looking, during a few walks, at excrement of small birds. i have found six kinds of seeds, which is more than i expected. lastly, i have had a partridge with twenty-two grains of dry earth on one foot, and to my surprise a pebble as big as a tare seed; and i now understand how this is possible, for the bird scratches itself, [and the] little plumous feathers make a sort of very tenacious plaister. think of the millions of migratory quails ( / . see "origin," edition i., page , where the millions of migrating quails occur again.), and it would be strange if some plants have not been transported across good arms of the sea. talking of this, i have just read your curious raoul island paper. ( / . "linn. soc. journal." i., .) this looks more like a case of continuous land, or perhaps of several intervening, now lost, islands than any (according to my heterodox notions) i have yet seen. the concordance of the vegetation seems so complete with new zealand, and with that land alone. i have read salter's paper and can hardly stomach it. i wonder whether the lighters were ever used to carry grain and hay to ships. ( / . salter, "linn. soc. journal," i., , page , "on the vitality of seeds after prolonged immersion in the sea." it appears that in the mud was scraped from the bottom of the channels in poole harbour, and carried to shore in barges. on this mud a vegetation differing from that of the surrounding shore sprang up.) adios, my dear hooker. i thank you most honestly for your assistance--assistance, by the way, now spread over some dozen years. p.s.--wednesday. i see from my wife's expression that she does not really much like my going, and therefore i must give up, of course, this pleasure. if you should have anything to discuss about my ms., i see that i could get to you by about , and then could return by the . o'clock train, and be home by . o'clock, and thus i should get two hours' talk. but it would be a considerable exertion for me, and i would not undertake it for mere pleasure's sake, but would very gladly for my book's sake. letter . j.d. hooker to charles darwin. november th, . i have finished the reading of your ms., and have been very much delighted and instructed. your case is a most strong one, and gives me a much higher idea of change than i had previously entertained; and though, as you know, never very stubborn about unalterability of specific type, i never felt so shaky about species before. the first half you will be able to put more clearly when you polish up. i have in several cases made pencil alterations in details as to words, etc., to enable myself to follow better,--some of it is rather stiff reading. i have a page or two of notes for discussion, many of which were answered, as i got further on with the ms., more or less fully. your doctrine of the cooling of the tropics is a startling one, when carried to the length of supporting plants of cold temperate regions; and i must confess that, much as i should like it, i can hardly stomach keeping the tropical genera alive in so very cool a greenhouse [pencil note by c.d., "not so very cool, but northern ones could range further south if not opposed"]. still i must confess that all your arguments pro may be much stronger put than you have. i am more reconciled to iceberg transport than i was, the more especially as i will give you any length of time to keep vitality in ice, and more than that, will let you transport roots that way also. ( / . the above letter was pinned to the following note by mr. darwin.) in answer to this show from similarity of american, and european and alpine-arctic plants, that they have travelled enormously without any change. as sub-arctic, temperate and tropical are all slowly marching toward the equator, the tropical will be first checked and distressed, similarly ( / . almost illegible.) the temperate will invade...; after the temperate can [not] advance or do not wish to advance further the arctics will be checked and will invade. the temperates will have been far longer in tropics than sub-arctics. the sub-arctics will first have to cross temperate [zone] and then tropics. they would penetrate among strangers, just like the many naturalised plants brought by man, from some unknown advantage. but more, for nearly all have chance of doing so. ( / . the point of view is more clearly given in the following letters.) letter . to j.d. hooker. down, november th [ ]. i shall not consider all your notes on my ms. for some weeks, till i have done with crossing; but i have not been able to stop myself meditating on your powerful objection to the mundane cold period ( / . see letter .), viz. that many-fold more of the warm-temperate species ought to have crossed the tropics than of the sub-arctic forms. i really think that to those who deny the modification of species this would absolutely disprove my theory. but according to the notions which i am testing--viz. that species do become changed, and that time is a most important element (which i think i shall be able to show very clearly in this case)--in such change, i think, the result would be as follows. some of the warm-temperate forms would penetrate the tropics long before the sub-arctic, and some might get across the equator long before the sub-arctic forms could do so (i.e. always supposing that the cold came on slowly), and therefore these must have been exposed to new associates and new conditions much longer than the sub-arctic. hence i should infer that we ought to have in the warm-temperate s. hemisphere more representative or modified forms, and fewer identical species than in comparing the colder regions of the n. and s. i have expressed this very obscurely, but you will understand, i think, what i mean. it is a parallel case (but with a greater difference) to the species of the mountains of s. europe compared with the arctic plants, the s. european alpine species having been isolated for a longer period than on the arctic islands. whether there are many tolerably close species in the warm-temperate lands of the s. and n. i know not; as in la plata, cape of good hope, and s. australia compared to the north, i know not. i presume it would be very difficult to test this, but perhaps you will keep it a little before your mind, for your argument strikes me as by far the most serious difficulty which has occurred to me. all your criticisms and approvals are in simple truth invaluable to me. i fancy i am right in speaking in this note of the species in common to n. and s. as being rather sub-arctic than arctic. this letter does not require any answer. i have written it to ease myself, and to get you just to bear your argument, under the modification point of view, in mind. i have had this morning a most cruel stab in the side on my notion of the distribution of mammals in relation to soundings. letter . j.d. hooker to charles darwin. kew, sunday [november ]. i write only to say that i entirely appreciate your answer to my objection on the score of the comparative rareness of northern warm-temperate forms in the southern hemisphere. you certainly have wriggled out of it by getting them more time to change, but as you must admit that the distance traversed is not so great as the arctics have to travel, and the extremes of modifying cause not so great as the arctics undergo, the result should be considerably modified thereby. thus: the sub-arctics have ( ) to travel twice as far, ( ) taking twice the time, ( ) undergoing many more disturbing influences. all this you have to meet by giving the north temperate forms simply more time. i think this will hardly hold water. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, november th [ ]. many thanks for your note received this morning; and now for another "wriggle." according to my notions, the sub-arctic species would advance in a body, advancing so as to keep climate nearly the same; and as long as they did this i do not believe there would be any tendency to change, but only when the few got amongst foreign associates. when the tropical species retreated as far as they could to the equator they would halt, and then the confusion would spread back in the line of march from the far north, and the strongest would struggle forward, etc., etc. (but i am getting quite poetical in my wriggles). in short, i think the warm-temperates would be exposed very much longer to those causes which i believe are alone efficient in producing change than the sub-arctic; but i must think more over this, and have a good wriggle. i cannot quite agree with your proposition that because the sub-arctic have to travel twice as far they would be more liable to change. look at the two journeys which the arctics have had from n. to s. and s. to n., with no change, as may be inferred, if my doctrine is correct, from similarity of arctic species in america and europe and in the alps. but i will not weary you; but i really and truly think your last objection is not so strong as it looks at first. you never make an objection without doing me much good. hurrah! a seed has just germinated after / hours in owl's stomach. this, according to ornithologists' calculation, would carry it god knows how many miles; but i think an owl really might go in storm in this time or miles. adios. owls and hawks have often been seen in mid-atlantic. ( / . an interesting letter, dated november rd, , occurs in the "life and letters," ii., page , which forms part of this discussion. on page the following passage occurs: "i shall have to discuss and think more about your difficulty of the temperate and sub-arctic forms in the s. hemisphere than i have yet done. but i am inclined to think that i am right (if my general principles are right), that there would be little tendency to the formation of a new species during the period of migration, whether shorter or longer, though considerable variability may have supervened.) letter . to j.d. hooker. down, december th [ ]. it is a most tiresome drawback to my satisfaction in writing that, though i leave out a good deal and try to condense, every chapter runs to such an inordinate length. my present chapter on the causes of fertility and sterility and on natural crossing has actually run out to pages ms., and yet i do not think i have put in anything superfluous... i have for the last fifteen months been tormented and haunted by land-mollusca, which occur on every oceanic island; and i thought that the double creationists or continental extensionists had here a complete victory. the few eggs which i have tried both sink and are killed. no one doubts that salt water would be eminently destructive to them; and i was really in despair, when i thought i would try them when torpid; and this day i have taken a lot out of the sea-water, after exactly seven days' immersion. ( / . this method of dispersal is not given in the "origin"; it seems, therefore, probable that further experiments upset the conclusion drawn in . this would account for the satisfaction expressed in the following year at the discovery of another method, on which darwin wrote to sir j.d. hooker: "the distribution of fresh-water molluscs has been a horrid incubus to me, but i think i know my way now. when first hatched they are very active, and i have had thirty or forty crawl on a dead duck's foot; and they cannot be jerked off, and will live fifteen or even twenty-four hours out of water" ("life and letters," ii., page ). the published account of these experiments is in the "origin," edition i., page .) some sink and some swim; and in both cases i have had (as yet) one come to life again, which has quite astonished and delighted me. i feel as if a thousand-pound weight was taken off my back. adios, my dear, kind friend. i must tell you another of my profound experiments! [frank] said to me: "why should not a bird be killed (by hawk, lightning, apoplexy, hail, etc.) with seed in its crop, and it would swim?" no sooner said than done: a pigeon has floated for thirty days in salt water with seeds in its crop, and they have grown splendidly; and to my great surprise even tares (leguminosae, so generally killed by sea-water), which the bird had naturally eaten, have grown well. you will say gulls and dog-fish, etc., would eat up the carcase, and so they would times out of a thousand, but one might escape: i have seen dead land-birds in sea-drift. letter . asa gray to charles darwin. ( / . in reply to darwin's letter given in "life and letters," ii., page .) cambridge, mass., february th, . i meant to have replied to your interesting letter of january st long before this time, and also that of november th, which i doubt if i have ever acknowledged. but after getting my school-book, lessons in botany, off my hands--it taking up time far beyond what its size would seem to warrant--i had to fall hard at work upon a collection of small size from japan--mostly n. japan, which i am only just done with. as i expected, the number of species common to n. america is considerably increased in this collection, as also the number of closely representative species in the two, and a pretty considerable number of european species too. i have packed off my mss. (though i hardly know what will become of it), or i would refer you to some illustrations. the greater part of the identical species (of japan and n. america) are of those extending to or belonging to n.w. coast of america, but there are several peculiar to japan and e. u. states: e.g. our viburnum lantanoides is one of thunberg's species. de candolle's remarkable case of phryma, which he so dwells upon, turns out, as dr. hooker said it would, to be only one out of a great many cases of the same sort. (hooker brought monotropa uniflora, you know, from the himalayas; and now, by the way, i have it from almost as far south, i.e., from st. fee, new granada)... well, i never meant to draw any conclusions at all, and am very sorry that the only one i was beguiled into should "rile" ( / . "one of your conclusions makes me groan, viz., that the line of connection of the strictly alpine plants is through greenland. i should extremely like to see your reasons published in detail, for it 'riles' me (this is a proper expression, is it not?) dreadfully" (darwin to gray, january st, , "life and letters," ii., page ).) you, as you say it does,--that on page of my second article: for if it troubles you it is not likely to be sound. of course i had no idea of laying any great stress upon the fact (at first view so unexpected to me) that one-third of our alpine species common to europe do not reach the arctic circle; but the remark which i put down was an off-hand inference from what you geologists seem to have settled--viz., that the northern regions must have been a deal cooler than they are now--the northern limit of vegetation therefore much lower than now--about the epoch when it would seem probable that the existing species of our plants were created. at any rate, during the glacial period there could have been no phaenogamous plants on our continent anywhere near the polar regions; and it seems a good rule to look in the first place for the cause or reason of what now is, in that which immediately preceded. i don't see that greenland could help us much, but if there was any interchange of species between n. america and n. europe in those times, was not the communication more likely to be in lower latitudes than over the pole? if, however, you say--as you may have very good reasons for saying--that the existing species got their present diffusion before the glacial epoch, i should have no answer. i suppose you must needs assume very great antiquity for species of plants in order to account for their present dispersion, so long as we cling--as one cannot but do--to the idea of the single birthplace of species. i am curious to see whether, as you suggest, there would be found a harmony or close similarity between the geographical range in this country of the species common to europe and those strictly representative or strictly congeneric with european species. if i get a little time i will look up the facts: though, as dr. hooker rightly tells me, i have no business to be running after side game of any sort, while there is so much i have to do--much more than i shall ever do probably--to finish undertakings i have long ago begun. ...as to your p.s. if you have time to send me a longer list of your protean genera, i will say if they seem to be protean here. of those you mention:-- salix, i really know nothing about. rubus, the n. american species, with one exception, are very clearly marked indeed. mentha, we have only one wild species; that has two pretty well-marked forms, which have been taken for species; one smooth, the other hairy. saxifraga, gives no trouble here. myosotis, only one or two species here, and those very well marked. hieracium, few species, but pretty well marked. rosa, putting down a set of nominal species, leaves us four; two of them polymorphous, but easy to distinguish... letter . to j.d. hooker. down, [ ?] one must judge by one's own light, however imperfect, and as i have found no other book ( / . a. de candolle's "geographie botanique," .) so useful to me, i am bound to feel grateful: no doubt it is in main part owing to the concentrated light of the noble art of compilation. ( / . see letter .) i was aware that he was not the first who had insisted on range of monocots. (was not r. brown [with] flinders?) ( / . m. flinders' "voyage to terra australis in - , in h.m.s. 'investigator'"; with "botanical appendix," by robert brown, london, .), and i fancy i only used expression "strongly insisted on,"--but it is quite unimportant. if you and i had time to waste, i should like to go over his [de candolle's] book and point out the several subjects in which i fancy he is original. his remarks on the relations of naturalised plants will be very useful to me; on the ranges of large families seemed to me good, though i believe he has made a great blunder in taking families instead of smaller groups, as i have been delighted to find in a. gray's last paper. but it is no use going on. i do so wish i could understand clearly why you do not at all believe in accidental means of dispersion of plants. the strongest argument which i can remember at this instant is a. de c., that very widely ranging plants are found as commonly on islands as over continents. it is really provoking to me that the immense contrast in proportion of plants in new zealand and australia seems to me a strong argument for non-continuous land; and this does not seem to weigh in the least with you. i wish i could put myself in your frame of mind. in madeira i find in wollaston's books a parallel case with your new zealand case--viz., the striking absence of whole genera and orders now common in europe, and (as i have just been hunting out) common in europe in miocene periods. of course i can offer no explanation why this or that group is absent; but if the means of introduction have been accidental, then one might expect odd proportions and absences. when we meet, do try and make me see more clearly than i do, your reasons. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, november th [ ]. i am heartily glad to hear that my lyellian notes have been of the slightest use to you. ( / . the copley medal was given to sir charles lyell in . mr. darwin supplied sir j.d. hooker, who was on the council of the royal society, with notes for the reasons for the award. see letter .) i do not think the view is exaggerated... your letter and lists have most deeply interested me. first for less important point, about hermaphrodite trees. ( / . see "life and letters," ii., page . in the "origin," edition i., page , the author quotes dr. hooker to the effect that "the rule does not hold in australia," i.e., that trees are not more generally unisexual than other plants. in the th edition, page , darwin adds, "but if most of the australian trees are dichogamous, the same result would follow as if they bore flowers with separated sexes.") it is enough to knock me down, yet i can hardly think that british n. america and new zealand should all have been theoretically right by chance. have you at kew any eucalyptus or australian mimosa which sets its seeds? if so, would it be very troublesome to observe when pollen is mature, and whether pollen-tubes enter stigma readily immediately that pollen is mature or some little time afterwards? though if pollen is not mature for some little time after flower opens, the stigma might be ready first, though according to c.c. sprengel this is a rarer case. i wrote to muller for chance of his being able and willing to observe this. your fact of greater number of european plants (n.b.--but do you mean greater percentage?) in australia than in s. america is astounding and very unpleasant to me; for from n.w. america (where nearly the same flora exists as in canada?) to t. del fuego, there is far more continuous high land than from europe to tasmania. there must have, i should think, existed some curious barrier on american high-road: dryness of peru, excessive damp of panama, or some other confounded cause, which either prevented immigration or has since destroyed them. you say i may ask questions, and so i have on enclosed paper; but it will of course be a very different thing whether you will think them worth labour of answering. may i keep the lists now returned? otherwise i will have them copied. you said that you would give me a few cases of australian forms and identical species going north by malay archipelago mountains to philippines and japan; but if these are given in your "introduction" this will suffice for me. ( / . see hooker's "introductory essay," page l.) your lists seem to me wonderfully interesting. according to my theoretical notions, i am not satisfied with what you say about local plants in s.w. corner of australia ( / . sir joseph replied in an undated letter: "thanks for your hint. i shall be very cautious how i mention any connection between the varied flora and poor soil of s.w. australia...it is not by the way only that the species are so numerous, but that these and the genera are so confoundedly well marked. you have, in short, an incredible number of very local, well marked genera and species crowded into that corner of australia." see "introductory essay to the flora of tasmania," , page li.), and the seeds not readily germinating: do be cautious on this; consider lapse of time. it does not suit my stomach at all. it is like wollaston's confined land-snails in porto santo, and confined to same spots since a tertiary period, being due to their slow crawling powers; and yet we know that other shell-snails have stocked a whole country within a very few years with the same breeding powers, and same crawling powers, when the conditions have been favourable to the life of the introduced species. hypothetically i should rather look at the case as owing to--but as my notions are not very simple or clear, and only hypothetical, they are not worth inflicting on you. i had vowed not to mention my everlasting abstract ( / . the "origin of species" was abbreviated from the ms. of an unpublished book.) to you again, for i am sure i have bothered you far more than enough about it; but as you allude to its previous publication i may say that i have chapters on instinct and hybridism to abstract, which may take a fortnight each; and my materials for palaeontology, geographical distribution and affinities being less worked up, i daresay each of these will take me three weeks, so that i shall not have done at soonest till april, and then my abstract will in bulk make a small volume. i never give more than one or two instances, and i pass over briefly all difficulties, and yet i cannot make my abstract shorter, to be satisfactory, than i am now doing, and yet it will expand to small volume. letter . to j.d. hooker. down [november?] th [ ]. what you say about the cape flora's direct relation to australia is a great trouble to me. does not abyssinia highland, ( / . in a letter to darwin, december st (?), , sir j.d. hooker wrote: "highlands of abyssinia will not help you to connect the cape and australian temperate floras: they want all the types common to both, and, worse than that, india notably wants them. proteaceae, thymeleae, haemodoraceae, acacia, rutaceae, of closely allied genera (and in some cases species), are jammed up in s.w. australia, and c.b.s. [cape of good hope]: add to this the epacrideae (which are mere (paragraph symbol) of ericaceae) and the absence or rarity of rasaceae, etc., etc., and you have an amount [of] similarity in the floras and dissimilarity to that of abyssinia and india in the same features that does demand an explanation in any theoretical history of southern vegetation."), and the mountains on w. coast in some degree connect the extra-tropical floras of cape and australia? to my mind the enormous importance of the glacial period rises daily stronger and stronger. i am very glad to hear about s.e. and s.w. australia: i suspected after my letter was gone that the case must be as it is. you know of course that nearly the same rule holds with birds and mammals. several years ago i reviewed in the "annals of natural history," ( / . "annals and mag. of nat. hist." volume xix., , pages - , an unsigned review of "a natural history of the mammalia," by g.r. waterhouse, volume i. the passage referred to is at page : "the fact of south australia possessing only few peculiar species, it having been apparently colonised from the eastern and western coasts, is very interesting; for we believe that mr. robert brown has shown that nearly the same remark is applicable to the plants; and mr. gould finds that most of the birds from these opposite shores, though closely allied, are distinct. considering these facts, together with the presence in south australia of upraised modern tertiary deposits and of extinct volcanoes, it seems probable that the eastern and western shores once formed two islands, separated from each other by a shallow sea, with their inhabitants generically, though not specifically, related, exactly as are those of new guinea and northern australia, and that within a geologically recent period a series of upheavals converted the intermediate sea into those desert plains which are now known to stretch from the southern coast far northward, and which then became colonised from the regions to the east and west." on this point see hooker's "introductory essay to the flora of tasmania," page ci, where jukes' views are discussed. for an interesting account of the bearings of the submergence of parts of australia, see thiselton-dyer, "r. geogr. soc. jour." xxii., no. .) waterhouse's "mammalia," and speculated that these two corners, now separated by gulf and low land, must have existed as two large islands; but it is odd that productions have not become more mingled; but it accords with, i think, a very general rule in the spreading of organic beings. i agree with what you say about lyell; he learns more by word of mouth than by reading. henslow has just gone, and has left me in a fit of enthusiastic admiration of his character. he is a really noble and good man. letter . to g. bentham. down, december st [ ?]. i thank you for so kindly taking the trouble of writing to me, on naturalised plants. i did not know of, or had forgotten, the clover case. how i wish i knew what plants the clover took the place of; but that would require more accurate knowledge of any one piece of ground than i suppose any one has. in the case of trees being so long-lived, i should think it would be extremely difficult to distinguish between true and new spreading of a species, and a rotation of crop. with respect to your idea of plants travelling west, i was much struck by a remark of yours in the penultimate "linnean journal" on the spreading of plants from america near behring straits. do you not consider so many more seeds and plants being taken from europe to america, than in a reverse direction, would go some way to account for comparative fewness of naturalised american plants here? though i think one might wildly speculate on european weeds having become well fitted for cultivated land, during thousands of years of culture, whereas cultivated land would be a new home for native american weeds, and they would not consequently be able to beat their european rivals when put in contest with them on cultivated land. here is a bit of wild theory! ( / . see asa gray, "scientific papers," , volume ii., page , on "the pertinacity and predominance of weeds," where the view here given is adopted. in a letter to asa gray (november th, ), published in the "life and letters," ii., page , darwin wrote: "does it not hurt your yankee pride that we thrash you so confoundedly? i am sure mrs. gray will stick up for your own weeds. ask her whether they are not more honest downright good sort of weeds.") but i did not sit down intending to scribble thus; but to beg a favour of you. i gave hooker a list of species of silene, on which gartner has experimentised in crossing: now i want extremely to be permitted to say that such and such are believed by mr. bentham to be true species, and such and such to be only varieties. unfortunately and stupidly, gartner does not append author's name to the species. thank you heartily for what you say about my book; but you will be greatly disappointed; it will be grievously too hypothetical. it will very likely be of no other service than collocating some facts; though i myself think i see my way approximately on the origin of species. but, alas, how frequent, how almost universal it is in an author to persuade himself of the truth of his own dogmas. my only hope is that i certainly see very many difficulties of gigantic stature. if you can remember any cases of one introduced species beating out or prevailing over another, i should be most thankful to hear it. i believe the common corn-poppy has been seen indigenous in sicily. i should like to know whether you suppose that seedlings of this wild plant would stand a contest with our own poppy; i should almost expect that our poppies were in some degree acclimatised and accustomed to our cornfields. if this could be shown to be so in this and other cases, i think we could understand why many not-trained american plants would not succeed in our agrarian habitats. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . mr. darwin used the knowledge of the spread of introduced plants in north america and australia to throw light on the cosmic migration of plants. sir j.d. hooker apparently objected that it was not fair to argue from agrarian to other plants; he also took a view differing slightly from that of darwin as to climatal and other natural conditions favouring introduced plants in australia.) down, january th, . thanks about glaciers. it is a pleasure and profit to me to write to you, and as in your last you have touched on naturalised plants of australia, i suppose you would not dislike to hear what i can say in answer. at least i know you would not wish me to defer to your authority, as long as not convinced. i quite agree to what you say about our agrarian plants being accustomed to cultivated land, and so no fair test. buckman has, i think, published this notion with respect to north america. with respect to roadside plants, i cannot feel so sure that these ought to be excluded, as animals make roads in many wild countries. ( / . in the account of naturalised plants in australia in sir j.d. hooker's "introductory essay to the flora of tasmania," , page cvi, many of the plants are marked "britain--waste places," "europe--cornfields," etc. in the same list the species which have also invaded north america--a large number--are given. on the margin of darwin's copy is scribbled in pencil: "very good, showing how many of the same species are naturalised in australia and united states, with very different climates; opposed to your conclusion." sir joseph supposed that one chief cause of the intrusion of english plants in australia, and not vice versa, was the great importation of european seed to australia and the scanty return of australian seed.) i have now looked and found passage in f. muller's ( / . ferdinand muller.) letter to me, in which he says: "in the wildernesses of australia some european perennials are "advancing in sure progress," "not to be arrested," etc. he gives as instances (so i suppose there are other cases) eleven species, viz., . rumex, poterium sanguisorba, potentilla anserina, medicago sativa, taraxacum officinale, marrubium vulgare, plantago lanceolata, p. major, lolium perenne. all these are seeding freely. now i remember, years and years ago, your discussing with me how curiously easily plants get naturalised on uninhabited islands, if ships even touch there. i remember we discussed packages being opened with old hay or straw, etc. now think of hides and wool (and wool exported largely over europe), and plants introduced, and samples of corn; and i must think that if australia had been the old country, and europe had been the botany bay, very few, very much fewer, australian plants would have run wild in europe than have now in australia. the case seems to me much stronger between la plata and spain. nevertheless, i will put in my one sentence on this head, illustrating the greater migration during glacial period from north to south than reversely, very humbly and cautiously. ( / . "origin of species," edition i., page . darwin refers to the facts given by hooker and de candolle showing a stronger migratory flow from north to south than in the opposite direction. darwin accounts for this by the northern plants having been long subject to severe competition in their northern homes, and having acquired a greater "dominating power" than the southern forms. "just in the same manner as we see at the present day that very many european productions cover the ground in la plata, and in a lesser degree in australia, and have to a certain extent beaten the natives; whereas extremely few southern forms have become naturalised in any part of europe, though hides, wool, and other objects likely to carry seeds have been largely imported during the last two or three centuries from la plata, and during the last thirty or forty years from australia.') i am very glad to hear you are making good progress with your australian introduction. i am, thank god, more than half through my chapter on geographical distribution, and have done the abstract of the glacial part... letter . to j.d. hooker. down, march th, . many thanks for your agreeable note. please keep the geographical ms. till you hear from me, for i may have to beg you to send it to murray; as through lyell's intervention i hope he will publish, but he requires first to see ms. ( / . "the origin of species"; see a letter to lyell in "life and letters," ii., page .) i demur to what you say that we change climate of the world to account for "migration of bugs, flies, etc." we do nothing of the sort; for we rest on scored rocks, old moraines, arctic shells, and mammifers. i have no theory whatever about cause of cold, no more than i have for cause of elevation and subsidence; and i can see no reason why i should not use cold, or elevation, or subsidence to explain any other phenomena, such as distribution. i think if i had space and time i could make a pretty good case against any great continental changes since the glacial epoch, and this has mainly led me to give up the lyellian doctrine as insufficient to explain all mutations of climate. i was amused at the british museum evidence. ( / . this refers to the letter to murchison (letter ), published with the evidence of the enquiry by the trustees of the british museum.) i am made to give my opinion so authoritatively on botanical matters!... as for our belief in the origin of species making any difference in descriptive work, i am sure it is incorrect, for i did all my barnacle work under this point of view. only i often groaned that i was not allowed simply to decide whether a difference was sufficient to deserve a name. i am glad to hear about huxley--a wonderful man. letter . to j.d. hooker. wells terrace, ilkley, otley, yorkshire, thursday [before december th, ]. i have read your discussion ( / . see "introductory essay," page c. darwin did not receive this work until december rd, so that the reference is to proof-sheets.), as usual, with great interest. the points are awfully intricate, almost at present beyond the confines of knowledge. the view which i should have looked at as perhaps most probable (though it hardly differs from yours) is that the whole world during the secondary ages was inhabited by marsupials, araucarias (mem.--fossil wood so common of this nature in south america ( / . see letter , note.)), banksia, etc.; and that these were supplanted and exterminated in the greater area of the north, but were left alive in the south. whence these very ancient forms originally proceeded seems a hopeless enquiry. your remarks on the passage of the northern forms southward, and of the southern forms of no kinds passing northward, seem to me grand. admirable, also, are your remarks on the struggle of vegetation: i find that i have rather misunderstood you, for i feared i differed from you, which i see is hardly the case at all. i cannot help suspecting that you put rather too much weight to climate in the case of australia. la plata seems to present such analogous facts, though i suppose the naturalisation of european plants has there taken place on a still larger scale than in australia... you will get four copies of my book--one for self, and three for the foreign botanists--in about ten days, or sooner; i.e., as soon as the sheets can be bound in cloth. i hope this will not be too late for your parcels. when you read my volume, use your pencil and score, so that some time i may have a talk with you on any criticisms. letter . to hugh falconer. down, december th, [ ]. whilst i think of it, let me tell you that years ago i remember seeing in the museum of the geological society a tooth of hippopotamus from madagascar: this, on geographical and all other grounds, ought to be looked to. pray make a note of this fact. ( / . at a meeting of the geological society, may st, , a letter was read from mr. telfair to sir alex. johnstone, accompanying a specimen of recent conglomerate rock, from the island of madagascar, containing fragments of a tusk, and part of a molar tooth of a hippopotamus ("proc. geol. soc." , page ). there is a reference to these remains of hippopotamus in a paper by mr. r.b. newton in the "geol. mag." volume x., ; and in dr. forsyth major's memoir on megaladapis madagascariensis ("phil. trans. r. soc." volume , page , ). since this letter was written, several bones belonging to two or possibly three species of hippopotamus have been found in madagascar. see forsyth major, "on the general results of a zoological expedition to madagascar in - " ("proc. zool. soc." , page .)) we have returned a week ago from ilkley, and it has done me some decided good. in london i saw lyell (the poor man who has "rushed into the bosom of two heresies"--by the way, i saw his celts, and how intensely interesting), and he told me that you were very antagonistic to my views on species. i well knew this would be the case. i must freely confess, the difficulties and objections are terrific; but i cannot believe that a false theory would explain, as it seems to me it does explain, so many classes of facts. do you ever see wollaston? he and you would agree nicely about my book ( / . "origin of species," .)--ill luck to both of you. if you have anything at all pleasant for me to hear, do write; and if all that you can say is very unpleasant, it will do you good to expectorate. and it is well known that you are very fond of writing letters. farewell, my good old friend and enemy. do make a note about the hippopotamus. if you are such a gentleman as to write, pray tell me how torquay agrees with your health. (plate: dr. asa gray, .) letter . to asa gray. down, december th [ ]. i have been for ten weeks at water-cure, and on my return a fortnight ago through london i found a copy of your memoir, and heartily do i thank you for it. ( / . "diagnostic characters of new species of phaenogamous plants collected in japan by charles wright...with observations upon the relations of the japanese flora to that of north america and of other parts of the northern temperate zone" ("mem. american acad. arts and sci." volume vi., page , ).) i have not read it, and shall not be able very soon, for i am much overworked, and my stomach has got nearly as bad as ever. with respect to the discussion on climate, i beg you to believe that i never put myself for a moment in competition with dana; but when one has thought on a subject, one cannot avoid forming some opinion. what i wrote to hooker i forget, after reading only a few sheets of your memoir, which i saw would be full of interest to me. hooker asked me to write to you, but, as i told him, i would not presume to express an opinion to you without careful deliberation. what he wrote i know not: i had previously several years ago seen (by whom i forget) some speculation on warmer period in the u. states subsequent to glacial period; and i had consulted lyell, who seemed much to doubt, and lyell's judgment is really admirably cautious. the arguments advanced in your paper and in your letter seem to me hardly sufficient; not that i should be at all sorry to admit this subsequent and intercalated warmer period--the more changes the merrier, i think. on the other hand, i do not believe that introduction of the old world forms into new world subsequent to the glacial period will do for the modified or representative forms in the two worlds. there has been too much change in comparison with the little change of isolated alpine forms; but you will see this in my book. ( / . "origin of species" ( ), chapter xi., pages et seq.) i may just make a few remarks why at first sight i do not attach much weight to the argument in your letter about the warmer climate. firstly, about the level of the land having been lower subsequently to glacial period, as evidenced by the whole, etc., i doubt whether meteorological knowledge is sufficient for this deduction: turning to the s. hemisphere, it might be argued that a greater extent of water made the temperature lower; and when much of the northern land was lower, it would have been covered by the sea and intermigration between old and new worlds would have been checked. secondly, i doubt whether any inference on nature of climate can be deduced from extinct species of mammals. if the musk-ox and deer of great size of your barren-grounds had been known only by fossil bones, who would have ventured to surmise the excessively cold climate they lived under? with respect to food of large animals, if you care about the subject will you turn to my discussion on this subject partly in respect to the elephas primigenius in my "journal of researches" (murray's home and colonial library), chapter v., page . ( / . "the firm conviction of the necessity of a vegetation possessing a character of tropical luxuriance to support such large animals, and the impossibility of reconciling this with the proximity of perpetual congelation, was one chief cause of the several theories of sudden revolutions of climate...i am far from supposing that the climate has not changed since the period when these animals lived, which now lie buried in the ice. at present i only wish to show that as far as quantity of food alone is concerned, the ancient rhinoceroses might have roamed over the steppes of central siberia even in their present condition, as well as the living rhinoceroses and elephants over the karoos of southern africa" ("journal of researches," page , ).) in this country we infer from remains of elephas primigenius that the climate at the period of its embedment was very severe, as seems countenanced by its woolly covering, by the nature of the deposits with angular fragments, the nature of the co-embedded shells, and co-existence of the musk-ox. i had formerly gathered from lyell that the relative position of the megatherium and mylodon with respect to the glacial deposits, had not been well made out; but perhaps it has been so recently. such are my reasons for not as yet admitting the warmer period subsequent to glacial epoch; but i daresay i may be quite wrong, and shall not be at all sorry to be proved so. i shall assuredly read your essay with care, for i have seen as yet only a fragment, and very likely some parts, which i could not formerly clearly understand, will be clear enough. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, [december] th, [ ]. i have just read with intense interest as far as page xxvi ( / . for darwin's impression of the "introductory essay to the tasmanian flora" as a whole, see "life and letters," ii., page .), i.e. to where you treat of the australian flora itself; and the latter part i remember thinking most of in the proof-sheets. either you have altered a good deal, or i did not see all or was purblind, for i have been much more interested with all the first part than i was before,--not that i did not like it at first. all seems to me very clearly written, and i have been baulked at only one sentence. i think, on the whole, i like the geological, or rather palaeontological, discussion best: it seems to me excellent, and admirably cautious. i agree with all that you say as far as my want of special knowledge allows me to judge. i have no criticisms of any importance, but i should have liked more facts in one or two places, which i shall not ask about. i rather demur to the fairness of your comparison of rising and sinking areas ( / . hooker, op. cit., page xv, paragraph . hooker's view was that sinking islands "contain comparatively fewer species and fewer peculiar generic types than those which are rising." in darwin's copy of the essay is written on the margin of page xvi: "i doubt whole case."), as in the indian ocean you compare volcanic land with exclusively coral islands, and these latter are very small in area and have very peculiar soil, and during their formation are likely to have been utterly submerged, perhaps many times, and restocked with existing plants. in the pacific, ignorance of marianne and caroline and other chief islands almost prevent comparison ( / . gambier island would be an interesting case. [note in original.]); and is it right to include american islands like juan fernandez and galapagos? in such lofty and probably ancient islands as sandwich and tahiti it cannot make much difference in the flora whether they have sunk or risen a few thousand feet of late ages. i wish you could work in your notion of certain parts of the tropics having kept hot, whilst other parts were cooled; i tried this scheme in my mind, and it seemed to fail. on the whole, i like very much all that i have read of your introduction, and i cannot doubt that it will have great weight in converting other botanists from the doctrine of immutable creation. what a lot of matter there is in one of your pages! there are many points i wish much to discuss with you. how i wish you could work out the pacific floras: i remember ages ago reading some of your ms. in paris there must be, i should think, materials from french voyages. but of all places in the world i should like to see a good flora of the sandwich islands. ( / . see hillebrand, "flora of the hawaiian islands," .) i would subscribe pounds to any collector to go there and work at the islands. would it not pay for a collector to go there, especially if aided by any subscription? it would be a fair occasion to ask for aid from the government grant of the royal society. i think it is the most isolated group in the world, and the islands themselves well isolated from each other. letter . to asa gray. down, january th [ ]. i have just finished your japan memoir ( / . "diagnostic characters of new species of phaenogamous plants collected in japan by charles wright. with observations upon the relations of the japanese flora to that of north america, etc.: - ."--"memoirs of amer. acad." vi.), and i must thank you for the extreme interest with which i have read it. it seems to me a most curious case of distribution; and how very well you argue, and put the case from analogy on the high probability of single centres of creation. that great man agassiz, when he comes to reason, seems to me as great in taking a wrong view as he is great in observing and classifying. one of the points which has struck me as most remarkable and inexplicable in your memoir is the number of monotypic (or nearly so) genera amongst the representative forms of japan and n. america. and how very singular the preponderance of identical and representative species in eastern, compared with western, america. i have no good map showing how wide the moderately low country is on the west side of the rocky mountains; nor, of course, do i know whether the whole of the low western territory has been botanised; but it has occurred to me, looking at such maps as i have, that the eastern area must be larger than the western, which would account to a certain small extent for preponderance on eastern side of the representative species. is there any truth in this suspicion? your memoir sets me marvelling and reflecting. i confess i am not able quite to understand your geology at pages , ; but you would probably not care to hear my difficulties, and therefore i will not trouble you with them. i was so grieved to get a letter from dana at florence, giving me a very poor (though improved) account of his health. letter . to t.h. huxley. , marine parade, eastbourne, november st [ ]. your note has been wonderfully interesting. your term, "pithecoid man," is a whole paper and theory in itself. how i hope the skull of the new macrauchenia has come. it is grand. i return hooker's letter, with very many thanks. the glacial action on lebanon is particularly interesting, considering its position between europe and himalaya. i get more and more convinced that my doctrine of mundane glacial period is correct ( / . in the st edition of the "origin," page , darwin argues in favour of a glacial period practically simultaneous over the globe. in the th edition, , page , he adopted mr. croll's views on the alternation of cold periods in the northern and southern hemispheres. an interesting modification of the mundane glacial period theory is given in belt's "the naturalist in nicaragua," , page . mr. belt's views are discussed in wallace's "geogr. distribution," , volume i., page .), and that it is the most important of all late phenomena with respect to distribution of plants and animals. i hope your review ( / . the history of the foundation of the "natural history review" is given in huxley's "life and letters," volume i., page . see letter .) progresses favourably. i am exhausted and not well, so write briefly; for we have had nine days of as much misery as man can endure. my poor daughter has suffered pitiably, and night and day required three persons to support her. the crisis of extreme danger is over, and she is rallying surprisingly, but the doctors are yet doubtful of ultimate issue. but the suffering was so pitiable i almost got to wish to see her die. she is easy now. when she will be fit to travel home i know not. i most sincerely hope that mrs. huxley keeps up pretty well. the work which most men have to do is a blessing to them in such cases as yours. god bless you. sir h. holland came here to see her, and was wonderfully kind. letter . to c. lyell. down, november th [ ]. i quite agree in admiration of forbes' essay ( / . "memoir of the geolog. survey of the united kingdom," volume i., .), yet, on my life, i think it has done, in some respects, as much mischief as good. those who believe in vast continental extensions will never investigate means of distribution. good heavens, look at heer's map of atlantis! i thought his division and lines of travel of the british plants very wild, and with hardly any foundation. i quite agree with what you say of almost certainty of glacial epoch having destroyed the spanish saxifrages, etc., in ireland. ( / . see letter .) i remember well discussing this with hooker; and i suggested that a slightly different or more equable and humid climate might have allowed (with perhaps some extension of land) the plants in question to have grown along the entire western shores between spain and ireland, and that subsequently they became extinct, except at the present points under an oceanic climate. the point of devonshire now has a touch of the same character. i demur in this particular case to forbes' transportal by ice. the subject has rather gone out of my mind, and it is not worth looking to my ms. discussion on migration during the glacial period; but i remember that the distribution of mammalia, and the very regular relation of the alpine plants to points due north (alluded to in "origin"), seemed to indicate continuous land at close of glacial period. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, march th [ ]. i have been recalling my thoughts on the question whether the glacial period affected the whole world contemporaneously, or only one longitudinal belt after another. to my sorrow my old reasons for rejecting the latter alternative seem to me sufficient, and i should very much like to know what you think. let us suppose that the cold affected the two americas either before or after the old world. let it advance first either from north or south till the tropics became slightly cooled, and a few temperate forms reached the silla of caracas and the mountains of brazil. you would say, i suppose, that nearly all the tropical productions would be killed; and that subsequently, after the cold had moderated, tropical plants immigrated from the other non-chilled parts of the world. but this is impossible unless you bridge over the tropical parts of the atlantic--a doctrine which you know i cannot admit, though in some respects wishing i could. oswald heer would make nothing of such a bridge. when the glacial period affected the old world, would it not be rather rash to suppose that the meridian of india, the malay archipelago, and australia were refrigerated, and africa not refrigerated? but let us grant that this was so; let us bridge over the red sea (though rather opposed to the former almost certain communication between the red sea and the mediterranean); let us grant that arabia and persia were damp and fit for the passage of tropical plants: nevertheless, just look at the globe and fancy the cold slowly coming on, and the plants under the tropics travelling towards the equator, and it seems to me highly improbable that they could escape from india to the still hot regions of africa, for they would have to go westward with a little northing round the northern shores of the indian ocean. so if africa were refrigerated first, there would be considerable difficulty in the tropical productions of africa escaping into the still hot regions of india. here again you would have to bridge over the indian ocean within so very recent a period, and not in the line of the laccadive archipelago. if you suppose the cold to travel from the southern pole northwards, it will not help us, unless we suppose that the countries immediately north of the northern tropic were at the same time warmer, so as to allow free passage from india to africa, which seems to me too complex and unsupported an hypothesis to admit. therefore i cannot see that the supposition of different longitudinal belts of the world being cooled at different periods helps us much. the supposition of the whole world being cooled contemporaneously (but perhaps not quite equally, south america being less cooled than the old world) seems to me the simplest hypothesis, and does not add to the great difficulty of all the tropical productions not having been exterminated. i still think that a few species of each still existing tropical genus must have survived in the hottest or most favourable spots, either dry or damp. the tropical productions, though much distressed by the fall of temperature, would still be under the same conditions of the length of the day, etc., and would be still exposed to nearly the same enemies, as insects and other animals; whereas the invading temperate productions, though finding a favouring temperature, would have some of their conditions of life new, and would be exposed to many new enemies. but i fully admit the difficulty to be very great. i cannot see the full force of your difficulty of no known cause of a mundane change of temperature. we know no cause of continental elevations and depressions, yet we admit them. can you believe, looking to europe alone, that the intense cold, which must have prevailed when such gigantic glaciers extended on the plains of n. italy, was due merely to changed positions of land within so recent a period? i cannot. it would be far too long a story, but it could, i think, be clearly shown that all our continents existed approximately in their present positions long before the glacial period; which seems opposed to such gigantic geographical changes necessary to cause such a vast fall of temperature. the glacial period endured in europe and north america whilst the level of the land oscillated in height fully , feet, and this does not look as if changed level was the cause of the glacial period. but i have written an unreasonably long discussion. do not answer me at length, but send me a few words some time on the subject. i have had this copied, that it might not bore you too much to read it. a few words more. when equatorial productions were dreadfully distressed by fall of temperature, and probably by changed humidity, and changed proportional numbers of other plants and enemies (though they might favour some of the species), i must admit that they all would be exterminated if productions exactly fitted, not only for the climate, but for all the conditions of the equatorial regions during the glacial period existed and could everywhere have immigrated. but the productions of the temperate regions would have probably found, under the equator, in their new homes and soils, considerably different conditions of humidity and periodicity, and they would have encountered a new set of enemies (a most important consideration); for there seems good reason to believe that animals were not able to migrate nearly to the extent to which plants did during the glacial period. hence i can persuade myself that the temperate productions would not entirely replace and exterminate the productions of the cooled tropics, but would become partially mingled with them. i am far from satisfied with what i have scribbled. i conclude that there must have been a mundane glacial period, and that the difficulties are much the same whether we suppose it contemporaneous over the world, or that longitudinal belts were affected one after the other. for heaven's sake forgive me! letter . to h.w. bates. march th [ ]. i have been particularly struck by your remarks on the glacial period. ( / . in his "contributions to the insect fauna of the amazon valley," "trans. entom. soc." volume v., page (read november th, ), mr. bates discusses the migration of species from the equatorial regions after the glacial period. he arrives at a result which, he points out, "is highly interesting as bearing upon the question of how far extinction is likely to have occurred in equatorial regions during the time of the glacial epoch."..."the result is plain, that there has always (at least throughout immense geological epochs) been an equatorial fauna rich in endemic species, and that extinction cannot have prevailed to any extent within a period of time so comparatively modern as the glacial epoch in geology." this conclusion does not support the view expressed in the "origin of species" (edition i., chapter xi., page ) that the refrigeration of the earth extended to the equatorial regions. (bates, loc. cit., pages , .)) you seem to me to have put the case with admirable clearness and with crushing force. i am quite staggered with the blow, and do not know what to think. of late several facts have turned up leading me to believe more firmly that the glacial period did affect the equatorial regions; but i can make no answer to your argument, and am completely in a cleft stick. by an odd chance i have only a few days ago been discussing this subject, in relation to plants, with dr. hooker, who believes to a certain extent, but strongly urged the little apparent extinction in the equatorial regions. i stated in a letter some days ago to him that the tropics of s. america seem to have suffered less than the old world. there are many perplexing points; temperate plants seem to have migrated far more than animals. possibly species may have been formed more rapidly within tropics than one would have expected. i freely confess that you have confounded me; but i cannot yet give up my belief that the glacial period did to certain extent affect the tropics. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, february th [ ]. i have almost finished your arctic paper, and i must tell you how i admire it. ( / . "outlines of the distribution of arctic plants" [read june st, ], "linn. soc. trans." xxiii., , page . the author's remarks on mr. darwin's theories of geographical distribution are given at page : they are written in a characteristically generous spirit.) the subject, treated as you have treated it, is really magnificent. good heaven, what labour it must have cost you! and what a grand prospect there is for the future. i need not say how much pleased i am at your notice of my work; for you know that i regard your opinion more than that of all others. such papers are the real engine to compel people to reflect on modification of species; any one with an enquiring mind could hardly fail to wish to consider the whole subject after reading your paper. by jove! you will be driven, nolens volens, to a cooled globe. think of your own case of abyssinia and fernando po, and south africa, and of your lebanon case ( / . see "origin," edition vi., page .); grant that there are highlands to favour migration, but surely the lowlands must have been somewhat cooled. what a splendid new and original evidence and case is that of greenland: i cannot see how, even by granting bridges of continuous land, one can understand the existing flora. i should think from the state of scotland and america, and from isothermals, that during the coldest part of glacial period, greenland must have been quite depopulated. like a dog to his vomit, i cannot help going back and leaning to accidental means of transport by ice and currents. how curious also is the case of iceland. what a splendid paper you have made of the subject. when we meet i must ask you how much you attribute richness of flora of lapland to mere climate; it seems to me very marvellous that this point should have been a sort of focus of radiation; if, however, it is unnaturally rich, i.e. contains more species than it ought to do for its latitude, in comparison with the other arctic regions, would it not thus falsely seem a focus of radiation? but i shall hereafter have to go over and over again your paper; at present i am quite muddy on the subject. how very odd, on any view, the relation of greenland to the mountains of e. n. america; this looks as if there had been wholesale extinction in e. n. america. but i must not run on. by the way, i find link in speculated on relation of alpine and arctic plants being due to former colder climate, which he attributed to higher mountains cutting off the warm southern winds. letter . j.d. hooker to charles darwin. kew, november nd, . did i tell you how deeply pleased i was with gray's notice of my arctic essay? ( / . "american journal of science and arts," xxxiv., and in gray's "scientific papers," volume i., page .) it was awfully good of him, for i am sure he must have seen several blunders. he tells me that dr. dawson ( / . a letter (no. ) by sir j.d. hooker, dated november th, , on this subject occurs in the evolutionary section.) is down on me, and i have a very nice lecture on arctic and alpine plants from dr. d., with a critique on the arctic essay--which he did not see till afterwards. he has found some mares' nests in my essay, and one very venial blunder in the tables--he seems to hate darwinism--he accuses me of overlooking the geological facts, and dwells much on my overlooking subsidence of temperate america during glacial period--and my asserting a subsidence of arctic america, which never entered into my head. i wish, however, if it would not make your head ache too much, you would just look over my first three pages, and tell me if i have outraged any geological fact or made any oversights. i expounded the whole thing twice to lyell before i printed it, with map and tables, intending to get (and i thought i had) his imprimatur for all i did and said; but when here three nights ago, i found he was as ignorant of my having written an arctic essay as could be! and so i suppose he either did not take it in, or thought it of little consequence. hector approved of it in toto. i need hardly say that i set out on biological grounds, and hold myself as independent of theories of subsidence as you do of the opinions of physicists on heat of globe! i have written a long [letter] to dawson. by the way, did you see the "athenaeum" notice of l. bonaparte's basque and finnish language?--is it not possible that the basques are finns left behind after the glacial period, like the arctic plants? i have often thought this theory would explain the mexican and chinese national affinities. i am plodding away at welwitschia by night and genera plantarum by day. we had a very jolly dinner at the club on thursday. we are all well. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, november th [ ]. i have read the pages ( / . the paper on arctic plants in volume xxiii. of the linnean society's "transactions," - .) attentively (with even very much more admiration than the first time) and cannot imagine what makes dr. d. accuse you of asserting a subsidence of arctic america. ( / . the late sir j.w. dawson wrote a review (signed j.w.d) of hooker's arctic paper which appeared in the "canadian naturalist," , volume vii., page . the chief part of the article is made up of quotations from asa gray's article referred to below. the remainder is a summary of geological arguments against hooker's views. we do not find the accusation referred to above, which seems to have appeared in a lecture.) no doubt there was a subsidence of n. america during the glacial period, and over a large part, but to maintain that the subsidence extended over nearly the whole breadth of the continent, or lasted during the whole glacial period, i do not believe he can support. i suspect much of the evidence of subsidence during the glacial period there will prove false, as it largely rests on ice-action, which is becoming, as you know, to be viewed as more and more subaerial. if dawson has published criticisms i should like to see them. i have heard he is rabid against me, and no doubt partly in consequence, against anything you write in my favour (and never was anything published more favourable than the arctic paper). lyell had difficulty in preventing dawson reviewing the "origin" ( / . dawson reviewed the "origin" in the "canadian naturalist," .) on hearsay, without having looked at it. no spirit of fairness can be expected from so biassed a judge. all i can say is that your few first pages have impressed me far more this reading than the first time. can the scandinavian portion of the flora be so potent ( / . dr. hooker wrote: "regarded as a whole the arctic flora is decidedly scandinavian; for arctic scandinavia, or lapland, though a very small tract of land, contains by far the richest arctic flora, amounting to three-fourths of the whole"; he pointed out "that the scandinavian flora is present in every latitude of the globe, and is the only one that is so" (quoted by gray, loc. cit. infra).) from having been preserved in that corner, warmed by the gulf stream, and from now alone representing the entire circumpolar flora, during the warmer pre-glacial period? from the first i have not been able to resist the impression (shared by asa gray, whose review ( / . asa gray's "scientific papers," volume i., page .) on you pleased me much) that during the glacial period there must have been almost entire extinction in greenland; for depth of sea does not favour former southerly extension of land there. ( / . in the driving southward of the vegetation by the glacial epoch the greenland flora would be "driven into the sea, that is, exterminated." (hooker quoted by gray, loc. cit. page .) i must suspect that plants have been largely introduced by sea currents, which bring so much wood from n. europe. but here we shall split as wide as the poles asunder. all the world could not persuade me, if it tried, that yours is not a grand essay. i do not quite understand whether it is this essay that dawson has been "down on." what a curious notion about glacial climate, and basques and finns! are the basques mountaineers--i hope so. i am sorry i have not seen the "athenaeum," but i now take in the "parthenon." by the way, i have just read with much interest max muller ( / . probably his "lectures on the science of language," - .); the last part, about first origin of language, seems the least satisfactory part. pray thank oliver heartily for his heap of references on poisons. ( / . doubtless in connection with darwin's work on drosera: he was working at this subject during his stay at bournemouth in the autumn of .) how the devil does he find them out? i must not indulge [myself] with cypripedium. asa gray has made out pretty clearly that, at least in some cases, the act of fertilisation is effected by small insects being forced to crawl in and out of the flower in a particular direction; and perhaps i am quite wrong that it is ever effected by the proboscis. i retract so far that if you have the rare c. hirsutissimum, i should very much like to examine a cut single flower; for i saw one at a flower show, and as far as i could see, it seemed widely different from other forms. p.s.--answer this, if by chance you can. i remember distinctly having read in some book of travels, i am nearly sure in australia, an account of the natives, during famines, trying and cooking in all sorts of ways various vegetable productions, and sometimes being injured by them. can you remember any such account? i want to find it. i thought it was in sir g. grey, but it is not. could it have been in eyre's book? letter . j.d. hooker to charles darwin. [november ]. ...i have speculated on the probability of there having been a post-glacial arctic-norwego-greenland in connection, which would account for the strong fact, that temperate greenland is as arctic as arctic greenland is--a fact, to me, of astounding force. i do confess, that a northern migration would thus fill greenland as it is filled, in so far as the whole flora (temperate and arctic) would be arctic,--but then the same plants should have gone to the other polar islands, and above all, so many scandinavian arctic plants should not be absent in greenland, still less should whole natural orders be absent, and above all the arctic leguminosae. it is difficult (as i have told dawson) to conceive of the force with which arguments drawn from the absence of certain familiar ubiquitous plants strike the botanists. i would not throw over altogether ice-transport and water-transport, but i cannot realise their giving rise to such anomalies, in the distribution, as greenland presents. so, too, i have always felt the force of your objection, that greenland should have been depopulated in the glacial period, but then reflected that vegetation now ascends i forget how high (about , feet) in disco, in deg, and that even in a glacial ocean there may always have been lurking-places for the few hundred plants greenland now possesses. supposing greenland were repeopled from scandinavia over ocean way, why should carices be the chief things brought? why should there have been no leguminosae brought, no plants but high arctic?--why no caltha palustris, which gilds the marshes of norway and paints the housetops of iceland? in short, to my eyes, the trans-oceanic migration would no more make such an assemblage than special creations would account for representative species--and no "ingenious wriggling" ever satisfied me that it would. there, then! i dined with henry christy last night, who was just returned from celt hunting with lartet, amongst the basques,--they are pyreneans. lubbock was there, and told me that my precious speculation was one of von baer's, and that the finns are supposed to have made the kjokken moddings. i read max muller a year ago--and quite agree, first part is excellent; last, on origin of language, fatuous and feeble as a scientific argument. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, november th [ ]. i return by this post dawson's lecture, which seems to me interesting, but with nothing new. i think he must be rather conceited, with his "if dr. hooker had known this and that, he would have said so and so." it seems to me absurd in dawson assuming that north america was under sea during the whole glacial period. certainly greenland is a most curious and difficult problem. but as for the leguminosae, the case, my dear fellow, is as plain as a pike-staff, as the seeds are so very quickly killed by the sea-water. seriously, it would be a curious experiment to try vitality in salt water of the plants which ought to be in greenland. i forget, however, that it would be impossible, i suppose, to get hardly any except the caltha, and if ever i stumble on that plant in seed i will try it. i wish to heaven some one would examine the rocks near sea-level at the south point of greenland, and see if they are well scored; that would tell something. but then subsidence might have brought down higher rocks to present sea-level. i am much more willing to admit your norwego-greenland connecting land than most other cases, from the nature of the rocks in spitzbergen and bear island. you have broached and thrown a lot of light on a splendid problem, which some day will be solved. it rejoices me to think that, when a boy, i was shown an erratic boulder in shrewsbury, and was told by a clever old gentleman that till the world's end no one would ever guess how it came there. it makes me laugh to think of dr. dawson's indignation at your sentence about "obliquity of vision." ( / . see letter .) by jove, he will try and pitch into you some day. good night for the present. to return for a moment to the glacial period. you might have asked dawson whether ibex, marmot, etc., etc., were carried from mountain to mountain in europe on floating ice; and whether musk ox got to england on icebergs? yet england has subsided, if we trust to the good evidence of shells alone, more during glacial period than america is known to have done. for heaven's sake instil a word of caution into tyndall's ears. i saw an extract that valleys of switzerland were wholly due to glaciers. he cannot have reflected on valleys in tropical countries. the grandest valleys i ever saw were in tahiti. again, if i understand, he supposes that glaciers wear down whole mountain ranges; thus lower their height, decrease the temperature, and decrease the glaciers themselves. does he suppose the whole of scotland thus worn down? surely he must forget oscillation of level would be more potent one way or another during such enormous lapses of time. it would be hard to believe any mountain range has been so long stationary. i suppose lyell's book will soon be out. ( / . "the antiquity of man," .) i was very glad to see in a newspaper that murray sold , . what a sale! i am now working on cultivated plants, and rather like my work; but i am horribly afraid i make the rashest remarks on value of differences. i trust to a sort of instinct, and, god knows, can seldom give any reason for my remarks. lord, in what a medley the origin of cultivated plants is. i have been reading on strawberries, and i can find hardly two botanists agree what are the wild forms; but i pick out of horticultural books here and there queer cases of variation, inheritance, etc., etc. what a long letter i have scribbled; but you must forgive me, for it is a great pleasure thus talking to you. did you ever hear of "condy's ozonised water"? i have been trying it with, i think, extraordinary advantage--to comfort, at least. a teaspoon, in water, three or four times a day. if you meet any poor dyspeptic devil like me, suggest it. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, th [march ]. i hope and think you are too severe on lyell's early chapters. though so condensed, and not well arranged, they seemed to me to convey with uncommon force the antiquity of man, and that was his object. ( / . "the geological evidences of the antiquity of man": london, .) it did not occur to me, but i fear there is some truth in your criticism, that nothing is to be trusted until he [lyell] had observed it. i am glad to see you stirred up about tropical plants during glacial period. remember that i have many times sworn to you that they coexisted; so, my dear fellow, you must make them coexist. i do not think that greater coolness in a disturbed condition of things would be required than the zone of the himalaya, in which you describe some tropical and temperate forms commingling ( / . "during this [the glacial period], the coldest point, the lowlands under the equator, must have been clothed with a mingled tropical and temperate vegetation, like that described by hooker as growing luxuriantly at the height of from four to five thousand feet on the lower slopes of the himalaya, but with perhaps a still greater preponderance of temperate forms" ("origin of species," edition vi., page ).); and as in the lower part of the cameroons, and as seemann describes, in low mountains of panama. it is, as you say, absurd to suppose that such a genus as dipterocarpus ( / . dipterocarpus, a genus of the dipterocarpaceae, a family of dicotyledonous plants restricted to the tropics of the old world.) could have been developed since the glacial era; but do you feel so sure, as to oppose ( / . the meaning seems to be: "do you feel so sure that you can bring in opposition a large body of considerations to show, etc.") a large body of considerations on the other side, that this genus could not have been slowly accustomed to a cooler climate? i see lindley says it has not been brought to england, and so could not have been tried in the greenhouse. have you materials to show to what little height it ever ascends the mountains of java or sumatra? it makes a mighty difference, the whole area being cooled; and the area perhaps not being in all respects, such as dampness, etc., etc., fitted for such temperate plants as could get in. but, anyhow, i am ready to swear again that dipterocarpus and any other genus you like to name did survive during a cooler period. about reversion you express just what i mean. i somehow blundered, and mentally took literally that the child inherited from his grandfather. this view of latency collates a lot of facts--secondary sexual characters in each individual; tendency of latent character to appear temporarily in youth; effect of crossing in educing talent, character, etc. when one thinks of a latent character being handed down, hidden for a thousand or ten thousand generations, and then suddenly appearing, one is quite bewildered at the host of characters written in invisible ink on the germ. i have no evidence of the reversion of all characters in a variety. i quite agree to what you say about genius. i told lyell that passage made me groan. what a pity about falconer! ( / . this refers to falconer's claim of priority against lyell. see "life and letters," iii., page ; also letters and .) how singular and how lamentable! remember orchid pods. i have a passion to grow the seeds (and other motives). i have not a fact to go on, but have a notion (no, i have a firm conviction!) that they are parasitic in early youth on cryptogams! ( / . in an article on british epiphytal orchids ("gard. chron." , page ) malaxis paludosa is described by f.w. burbidge as being a true epiphyte on the stems of sphagnum. stahl states that the difficulty of cultivating orchids largely depends on their dependence on a mycorhizal fungus,--though he does not apply his view to germination. see pringsheim's "jahrbucher," xxxiv., page . we are indebted to sir joseph hooker for the reference to burbidge's paper.) here is a fool's notion. i have some planted on sphagnum. do any tropical lichens or mosses, or european, withstand heat, or grow on any trees in hothouse at kew? if so, for love of heaven, favour my madness, and have some scraped off and sent me. i am like a gambler, and love a wild experiment. it gives me great pleasure to fancy that i see radicles of orchid seed penetrating the sphagnum. i know i shall not, and therefore shall not be disappointed. letter . to j.d. hooker. down [september th ]. ...about new zealand, at last i am coming round, and admit it must have been connected with some terra firma, but i will die rather than admit australia. how i wish mountains of new caledonia were well worked!... letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . in the earlier part of this letter mr. darwin refers to a review on planchon in the "nat. history review," april . there can be no doubt, therefore, that "thomson's article" must be the review of jordan's "diagnoses d'especes nouvelles ou meconnues," etc., in the same number, page . it deals with "lumpers" and "splitters," and a possible trinomial nomenclature.) april th [ ]. i have been very much struck by thomson's article; it seems to me quite remarkable for its judgment, force, and clearness. it has interested me greatly. i have sometimes loosely speculated on what nomenclature would come to, and concluded that it would be trinomial. what a name a plant will formally bear with the author's name after genus (as some recommend), and after species and subspecies! it really seems one of the greatest questions which can be discussed for systematic natural history. how impartially thomson adjusts the claims of "hair-splitters" and "lumpers"! i sincerely hope he will pretty often write reviews or essays. it is an old subject of grief to me, formerly in geology and of late in zoology and botany, that the very best men (excepting those who have to write principles and elements, etc.) read so little, and give up nearly their whole time to original work. i have often thought that science would progress more if there was more reading. how few read any long and laborious papers! the only use of publishing such seems to be as a proof that the author has given time and labour to his work. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, october nd and th, . as for the anthropologists being a bete noire to scientific men, i am not surprised, for i have just skimmed through the last "anthrop. journal," and it shows, especially the long attack on the british association, a curious spirit of insolence, conceit, dullness, and vulgarity. i have read with uncommon interest travers' short paper on the chatham islands. ( / . see travers, h.h., "notes on the chatham islands," "linn. soc. journ." ix., october . mr. travers says he picked up a seed of edwardsia, evidently washed ashore. the stranded logs indicated a current from new zealand.) i remember your pitching into me with terrible ferocity because i said i thought the seed of edwardsia might have been floated from chili to new zealand: now what do you say, my young man, to the three young trees of the same size on one spot alone of the island, and with the cast-up pod on the shore? if it were not for those unlucky wingless birds i could believe that the group had been colonised by accidental means; but, as it is, it appears by far to me the best evidence of continental extension ever observed. the distance, i see, is miles. i wish i knew whether the sea was deeper than between new zealand and australia. i fear you will not admit such a small accident as the wingless birds having been transported on icebergs. do suggest, if you have a chance, to any one visiting the islands again, to look out for erratic boulders there. how curious his statement is about the fruit-trees and bees! ( / . "since the importation of bees, european fruit-trees and bushes have produced freely." travers, "linn. soc. journal," ix., page .) i wish i knew whether the clover had spread before the bees were introduced... i saw in the "gardeners' chronicle" the sentence about the "origin" dying in germany, but did not know it was by seemann. letter . to c. lyell. down, february th [ ]. i am very much obliged for your note and the extract, which have interested me extremely. i cannot disbelieve for a moment agassiz on glacial action after all his experience, as you say, and after that capital book with plates which he early published ( / . "etudes sur les glaciers"; neuchatel, .); as for his inferences and reasoning on the valley of the amazon that is quite another question, nor can he have seen all the regions to which mrs. a. alludes. ( / . a letter from mrs. agassiz to lady lyell, which had been forwarded to mr. darwin. the same letter was sent also to sir charles bunbury, who, in writing to lyell on february rd, , criticises some of the statements. he speaks of agassiz's observations on glacial phenomena in brazil as "very astonishing indeed; so astonishing that i have very great difficulty in believing them. they shake my faith in the glacial system altogether; or perhaps they ought rather to shake the faith in agassiz...if brazil was ever covered with glaciers, i can see no reason why the whole earth should not have been so. perhaps the whole terrestrial globe was once 'one entire and perfect icicle.'" (from the privately printed "life" of sir charles bunbury, edited by lady bunbury, volume ii., page ).) her letter is not very clear to me, and i do not understand what she means by "to a height of more than three thousand feet." there are no erratic boulders (to which i particularly attended ) in the low country round rio. it is possible or even probable that this area may have subsided, for i could detect no evidence of elevation, or any tertiary formations or volcanic action. the organ mountains are from six to seven thousand feet in height; and i am only a little surprised at their bearing the marks of glacial action. for some temperate genera of plants, viz., vaccinium, andromeda, gaultheria, hypericum, drosera, habenaria, inhabit these mountains, and i look at this almost as good evidence of a cold period, as glacial action. that there are not more temperate plants can be accounted for by the isolated position of these mountains. there are no erratic boulders on the pacific coast north of chiloe, and but few glaciers in the cordillera, but it by no means follows, i think, that there may not have been formerly gigantic glaciers on the eastern and more humid side. in the third edition of "origin," page ( / . "origin," edition vi., page , . "mr. d. forbes informs me that he found in various parts of the cordillera, from lat. deg w. to deg s., at about the height of twelve thousand feet, deeply furrowed rocks...and likewise great masses of detritus, including grooved pebbles. along this whole space of the cordillera true glaciers do not now exist, even at much more considerable height. "), you will find a brief allusion, on authority of mr. d. forbes, on the former much lower extension of glaciers in the equatorial cordillera. pray also look at page at what i say on the nature of tropical vegetation (which i could now much improve) during the glacial period. ( / . "during this, the coldest period, the lowlands under the equator must have been clothed with a mingled tropical and temperate vegetation..." ("origin," edition vi., , page ).) i feel a strong conviction that soon every one will believe that the whole world was cooler during the glacial period. remember hooker's wonderful case recently discovered of the identity of so many temperate plants on the summit of fernando po, and on the mountains of abyssinia. ( / . "dr. hooker has also lately shown that several of the plants living in the upper parts of the lofty island of fernando po, and in the neighbouring cameroon mountains, in the gulf of guinea, are closely related to those on the mountains of abyssinia, and likewise to those of temperate europe" (loc. cit., page ).) i look at [it] as certain that these plants crossed the whole of africa from east to west during the same period. i wish i had published a long chapter written in full, and almost ready for the press, on this subject, which i wrote ten years ago. it was impossible in the "origin" to give a fair abstract. my health is considerably improved, so that i am able to work nearly two hours a day, and so make some little progress with my everlasting book on domestic varieties. you will have heard of my sister catherine's easy death last friday morning. ( / . catherine darwin died in february .) she suffered much, and we all look at her death as a blessing, for there was much fear of prolonged and greater suffering. we are uneasy about susan, but she has hitherto borne it better than we could have hoped. ( / . susan darwin died in october .) remember glacial action of lebanon when you speak of no glacial action in s. on himalaya, and in s.e. australia. p.s.--i have been very glad to see sir c. bunbury's letter. ( / . the letter from bunbury to lyell, already quoted on this subject. bunbury writes: "there is nothing in the least northern, nothing that is not characteristically brazilian, in the flora of the organ mountains.") if the genera which i name from gardner ( / . "travels in the interior of brazil," by g. gardner: london, .) are not considered by him as usually temperate forms, i am, of course, silenced; but hooker looked over the ms. chapter some ten years ago and did not score out my remarks on them, and he is generally ready enough to pitch into my ignorance and snub me, as i often deserve. my wonder was how any, ever so few, temperate forms reached the mountains of brazil; and i supposed they travelled by the rather high land and ranges (name forgotten) which stretch from the cordillera towards brazil. cordillera genera of plants have also, somehow, reached the silla of caracas. when i think of the vegetation of new zealand and west coast of south america, where glaciers now descend to or very near to the sea, i feel it rash to conclude that all tropical forms would be destroyed by a considerably cooler period under the equator. letter . to c. lyell. down, thursday, february th [ ]. many thanks for hooker's letter; it is a real pleasure to me to read his letters; they are always written with such spirit. i quite agree that agassiz could never mistake weathered blocks and glacial action; though the mistake has, i know, been made in two or three quarters of the world. i have often fought with hooker about the physicists putting their veto on the world having been cooler; it seems to me as irrational as if, when geologists first brought forward some evidence of elevation and subsidence, a former hooker had declared that this could not possibly be admitted until geologists could explain what made the earth rise and fall. it seems that i erred greatly about some of the plants on the organ mountains. ( / . "on the organ mountains of brazil some few temperate european, some antarctic, and some andean genera were found by gardner, which did not exist in the low intervening hot countries" ("origin," edition vi., page ).) but i am very glad to hear about fuchsia, etc. i cannot make out what hooker does believe; he seems to admit the former cooler climate, and almost in the same breath to spurn the idea. to retort hooker's words, "it is inexplicable to me" how he can compare the transport of seeds from the andes to the organ mountains with that from a continent to an island. not to mention the much greater distance, there are no currents of water from one to the other; and what on earth should make a bird fly that distance without resting many times? i do not at all suppose that nearly all tropical forms were exterminated during the cool period; but in somewhat depopulated areas, into which there could be no migration, probably many closely allied species will have been formed since this period. hooker's paper in the "natural history review" ( / . possibly an unsigned article, entitled "new colonial floras" (a review of grisebach's "flora of the british west indian islands" and thwaites' "enumeratio plantarum zeylaniae").--"nat. hist. review," january , page . see letter .) is well worth studying; but i cannot remember that he gives good grounds for his conviction that certain orders of plants could not withstand a rather cooler climate, even if it came on most gradually. we have only just learnt under how cool a temperature several tropical orchids can flourish. i clearly saw hooker's difficulty about the preservation of tropical forms during the cool period, and tried my best to retain one spot after another as a hothouse for their preservation; but it would not hold good, and it was a mere piece of truckling on my part when i suggested that longitudinal belts of the world were cooled one after the other. i shall very much like to see agassiz's letter, whenever you receive one. i have written a long letter; but a squabble with or about hooker always does me a world of good, and we have been at it many a long year. i cannot understand whether he attacks me as a wriggler or a hammerer, but i am very sure that a deal of wriggling has to be done. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, july th [ ]. many thanks about the lupin. your letter has interested me extremely, and reminds me of old times. i suppose, by your writing, you would like to hear my notions. i cannot admit the atlantis connecting madeira and canary islands without the strongest evidence, and all on that side ( / . sir j.d. hooker lectured on "insular floras" at the nottingham meeting of the british association on august th, . his lecture is given in the "gardeners' chronicle," , page . no doubt he was at this time preparing his remarks on continental extension, which take the form of a judicial statement, giving the arguments and difficulties on both sides. he sums up against continental extension, which, he says, accounts for everything and explains nothing; "whilst the hypothesis of trans-oceanic migration, though it leaves a multitude of facts unexplained, offers a rational solution of many of the most puzzling phenomena." in his lecture, sir joseph wrote that in ascending the mountains in madeira there is but little replacement of lowland species by those of a higher northern latitude. "plants become fewer and fewer as we ascend, and their places are not taken by boreal ones, or by but very few."): the depth is so great; there is nothing geologically in the islands favouring the belief; there are no endemic mammals or batrachians. did not bunbury show that some orders of plants were singularly deficient? but i rely chiefly on the large amount of specific distinction in the insects and land-shells of p. santo and madeira: surely canary and madeira could not have been connected, if madeira and p. santo had long been distinct. if you admit atlantis, i think you are bound to admit or explain the difficulties. with respect to cold temperate plants in madeira, i, of course, know not enough to form an opinion; but, admitting atlantis, i can see their rarity is a great difficulty; otherwise, seeing that the latitude is only a little north of the persian gulf, and seeing the long sea-transport for seeds, the rarity of northern plants does not seem to me difficult. the immigration may have been from a southerly direction, and it seems that some few african as well as coldish plants are common to the mountains to the south. believing in occasional transport, i cannot feel so much surprise at there being a good deal in common to madeira and canary, these being the nearest points of land to each other. it is quite new and very interesting to me what you say about the endemic plants being in so large a proportion rare species. from the greater size of the workshop (i.e., greater competition and greater number of individuals, etc.) i should expect that continental forms, as they are occasionally introduced, would always tend to beat the insular forms; and, as in every area, there will always be many forms more or less rare tending towards extinction, i should certainly have expected that in islands a large proportion of the rarer forms would have been insular in their origin. the longer the time any form has existed in an island into which continental forms are occasionally introduced, by so much the chances will be in favour of its being peculiar or abnormal in nature, and at the same time scanty in numbers. the duration of its existence will also have formerly given it the best chance, when it was not so rare, of being widely distributed to adjoining archipelagoes. here is a wriggle: the older a form is, the better the chance will be of its having become developed into a tree! an island from being surrounded by the sea will prevent free immigration and competition, hence a greater number of ancient forms will survive on an island than on the nearest continent whence the island was stocked; and i have always looked at clethra ( / . clethra is an american shrubby genus of ericaceae, found nowhere nearer to madeira than north america. of this plant and of persea, sir charles lyell ("principles," , volume ii., page ) says: "regarded as relics of a miocene flora, they are just such forms as we should naturally expect to have come from the adjoining miocene continent." see also "origin of species," edition vi., page , where a similar view is quoted from heer.) and the other extra-european forms as remnants of the tertiary flora which formerly inhabited europe. this preservation of ancient forms in islands appears to me like the preservation of ganoid fishes in our present freshwaters. you speak of no northern plants on mountains south of the pyrenees: does my memory quite deceive me that boissier published a long list from the mountains in southern spain? i have not seen wollaston's, "catalogue," ( / . probably the "catalogue of the coleopterous insects of the canaries in the british museum," .) but must buy it, if it gives the facts about rare plants which you mention. and now i have given more than enough of my notions, which i well know will be in flat contradiction with all yours. wollaston, in his "insecta maderensia" ( / . "insecta maderensia," london, .), to, page , and in his "variation of species," pages - , gives the case of apterous insects, but i remember i worked out some additional details. i think he gives in these same works the proportion of european insects. letter . to j.d. hooker. ( / . sir joseph had asked (july st, ): "is there an evidence that the south of england and of ireland were not submerged during the glacial epoch, when the w. and n. of england were islands in a glacial sea? and supposing they were above water, could the present atlantic and n.w. of france floras we now find there have been there during the glacial epoch?--yet this is what forbes demands, page . at page he sees this objection, and wriggles out of his difficulty by putting the date of the channel 'towards the close of the glacial epoch.' what does austen make the date of the channel?--ante or post glacial?" the changes in level and other questions are dealt with in a paper by r.a.c. austen (afterwards godwin-austen), "on the superficial accumulations of the coasts of the english channel and the changes they indicate." "quart. journ. geol. soc." vii., , page . obit. notice by prof. bonney in the "proc. geol. soc." xli., page , .) down, august rd [ ]. i will take your letter seriatim. there is good evidence that s.e. england was dry land during the glacial period. i forget what austen says, but mammals prove, i think, that england has been united to the continent since the glacial period. i don't see your difficulty about what i say on the breaking of an isthmus: if panama was broken through would not the fauna of the pacific flow into the w. indies, or vice versa, and destroy a multitude of creatures? of course i'm no judge, but i thought de candolle had made out his case about small areas of trees. you will find at page , rd edition "origin," a too concise allusion to the madeira flora being a remnant of the tertiary european flora. i shall feel deeply interested by reading your botanical difficulties against occasional immigration. the facts you give about certain plants, such as the heaths, are certainly very curious. ( / . in hooker's lecture he gives st. dabeoc's heath and calluna vulgaris as the most striking of the few boreal plants in the azores. darwin seems to have been impressed by the boreal character of the azores, thus taking the opposite view to that of sir joseph. see letter , note.) i thought the azores flora was more boreal, but what can you mean by saying that the azores are nearer to britain and newfoundland than to madeira?--on the globe they are nearly twice as far off. ( / . see letter .) with respect to sea currents, i formerly made enquiries at madeira, but cannot now give you the results; but i remember that the facts were different from what is generally stated: i think that a ship wrecked on the canary islands was thrown up on the coast of madeira. you speak as if only land-shells differed in madeira and porto santo: does my memory deceive me that there is a host of representative insects? when you exorcise at nottingham occasional means of transport, be honest, and admit how little is known on the subject. remember how recently you and others thought that salt water would soon kill seeds. reflect that there is not a coral islet in the ocean which is not pretty well clothed with plants, and the fewness of the species can hardly with justice be attributed to the arrival of few seeds, for coral islets close to other land support only the same limited vegetation. remember that no one knew that seeds would remain for many hours in the crops of birds and retain their vitality; that fish eat seeds, and that when the fish are devoured by birds the seeds can germinate, etc. remember that every year many birds are blown to madeira and to the bermudas. remember that dust is blown , miles over the atlantic. now, bearing all this in mind, would it not be a prodigy if an unstocked island did not in the course of ages receive colonists from coasts whence the currents flow, trees are drifted and birds are driven by gales. the objections to islands being thus stocked are, as far as i understand, that certain species and genera have been more freely introduced, and others less freely than might have been expected. but then the sea kills some sorts of seeds, others are killed by the digestion of birds, and some would be more liable than others to adhere to birds' feet. but we know so very little on these points that it seems to me that we cannot at all tell what forms would probably be introduced and what would not. i do not for a moment pretend that these means of introduction can be proved to have acted; but they seem to me sufficient, with no valid or heavy objections, whilst there are, as it seems to me, the heaviest objections on geological and on geographical distribution grounds (pages , , "origin" ( / . edition iii., or edition vi., page .) to forbes' enormous continental extensions. but i fear that i shall and have bored you. letter . j.d. hooker to charles darwin. ( / . in a letter of july st, sir j.d. hooker wrote, "you must not suppose me to be a champion of continental connection, because i am not agreeable to trans-oceanic migration...either hypothesis appears to me well to cover the facts of oceanic floras, but there are grave objections to both, botanical to yours, geological to forbes'.") the following interesting letters give some of sir joseph's difficulties.) kew, august th, . you mention ("journal") no land-birds, except introduced, upon st. helena. beatson (introduction xvii) mentions one ( / . aegialitis sanctae-helenae, a small plover "very closely allied to a species found in south africa, but presenting certain differences which entitle it to the rank of a peculiar species" (wallace, "island life," page ). in the earlier editions of the "origin" (e.g. edition iii., page ) darwin wrote that "madeira does not possess one peculiar bird." in edition iv., , page , the mistake was put right.) "in considerable numbers," resembles sand-lark--is called "wire bird," has long greenish legs like wires, runs fast, eyes large, bill moderately long, is rather shy, does not possess much powers of flight. what was it? i have written to ask sclater, also about birds of madeira and azores. it is a very curious thing that the azores do not contain the (non-european) american genus clethra, that is found in madeira and canaries, and that the azores contain no trace of american element (beyond what is common to madeira), except a species of sanicula, a genus with hooked bristles to the small seed-vessels. the european sanicula roams from norway to madeira, canaries, cape verde, cameroons, cape of good hope, and from britain to japan, and also is, i think, in n. america; but does not occur in the azores, where it is replaced by one that is of a decidedly american type. this tells heavily against the doctrine that joins atlantis to america, and is much against your trans-oceanic migration--for considering how near the azores are to america, and in the influence of the gulf-stream and prevalent winds, it certainly appears marvellous. not only are the azores in a current that sweeps the coast of u. states, but they are in the s.w. winds, and in the eye of the s.w. hurricanes! i suppose you will answer that the european forms are prepotent, but this is riding prepotency to death. r.t. lowe has written me a capital letter on the madeiran, canarian, and cape verde floras. i misled you if i gave you to understand that wollaston's catalogue said anything about rare plants. i am worked and worried to death with this lecture: and curse myself as a soft headed and hearted imbecile to have accepted it. letter . j.d. hooker to charles darwin. kew, monday [august th, ]. again thanks for your letter. you need not fear my not doing justice to your objections to the continental hypothesis! referring to page again ( / . "origin of species," edition iii., pages - : "in some cases, however, as by the breaking of an isthmus and the consequent irruption of a multitude of new inhabitants, or by the final subsidence of an island, the extinction may have been comparatively rapid."), it never occurred to me that you alluded to extinction of marine life: an isthmus is a piece of land, and you go on in the same sentence about "an island," which quite threw me out, for the destruction of an isthmus makes an island! i surely did not say azores nearer to britain and newfoundland "than to madeira," but "than madeira is to said places." with regard to the madeiran coleoptera i rely very little on local distribution of insects--they are so local themselves. a butterfly is a great rarity in kew, even a white, though we are surrounded by market gardens. all insects are most rare with us, even the kinds that abound on the opposite side of thames. so with shells, we have literally none--not a helix even, though they abound in the lanes yards off the gardens. of the dezertas insects [only?] are peculiar. of the porto santan are madeiran and dezertan. never mind bothering murray about the new edition of the "origin" for me. you will tell me anything bearing on my subject. letter . j.d. hooker to charles darwin. kew, august th, . dear old darwin, you must not let me worry you. i am an obstinate pig, but you must not be miserable at my looking at the same thing in a different light from you. i must get to the bottom of this question, and that is all i can do. some cleverer fellow one day will knock the bottom out of it, and see his way to explain what to a botanist without a theory to support must be very great difficulties. true enough, all may be explained, as you reason it will be--i quite grant this; but meanwhile all is not so explained, and i cannot accept a hypothesis that leaves so many facts unaccounted for. you say the temperate parts of n. america [are] nearly two and a half times as distant from the azores as europe is. according to a rough calculation on col. james' chart i make e. azores to portugal , west do. to newfoundland , but i am writing to a friend at admiralty to have the distance calculated (which looks like cracking nuts with nasmyth's hammer!) are european birds blown to america? are the azorean erratics an established fact? i want them very badly, though they are not of much consequence, as a slight sinking would hide all evidence of that sort. i do want to sum up impartially, leaving the verdict to jury. i cannot do this without putting all difficulties most clearly. how do you know how you would fare with me if you were a continentalist! then too we must recollect that i have to meet a host who are all on the continental side--in fact, pretty nearly all the thinkers, forbes, hartung, heer, unger, wollaston, lowe (wallace, i suppose), and now andrew murray. i do not regard all these, and snap my fingers at all but you; in my inmost soul i conscientiously say i incline to your theory, but i cannot accept it as an established truth or unexceptionable hypothesis. the "wire bird" being a grallator is a curious fact favourable to you...how i do yearn to go out again to st. helena. of course i accept the ornithological evidence as tremendously strong, though why they should get blown westerly, and not change specifically, as insects, shells, and plants have done, is a mystery. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, august th [ ]. it would be a very great pleasure to me if i could think that my letters were of the least use to you. i must have expressed myself badly for you to suppose that i look at islands being stocked by occasional transport as a well-established hypothesis. we both give up creation, and therefore have to account for the inhabitants of islands either by continental extensions or by occasional transport. now, all that i maintain is that of these two alternatives, one of which must be admitted, notwithstanding very many difficulties, occasional transport is by far the most probable. i go thus far further--that i maintain, knowing what we do, that it would be inexplicable if unstocked islands were not stocked to a certain extent at least by these occasional means. european birds are occasionally driven to america, but far more rarely than in the reverse direction: they arrive via greenland (baird); yet a european lark has been caught in bermuda. by the way, you might like to hear that european birds regularly migrate via the northern islands to greenland. about the erratics in the azores see "origin," page . ( / . "origin," edition vi., page . the importance of erratic blocks on the azores is in showing the probability of ice-borne seeds having stocked the islands, and thus accounting for the number of european species and their unexpectedly northern character. darwin's delight in the verification of his theory is described in a letter to sir joseph of april th, , in the "life and letters," ii., page .) hartung could hardly be mistaken about granite blocks on a volcanic island. i do not think it a mystery that birds have not been modified in madeira. ( / . "origin," edition vi., page . madeira has only one endemic bird. darwin accounts for the fact from the island having been stocked with birds which had struggled together and become mutually co-adapted on the neighbouring continents. "hence, when settled in their new homes, each kind will have been kept by the others in its proper place and habits, and will consequently have been but little liable to modification." crossing with frequently arriving immigrants will also tend to keep down modification.) pray look at page of "origin" [edition iii.]. you would not think it a mystery if you had seen the long lists which i have (somewhere) of the birds annually blown, even in flocks, to madeira. the crossed stock would be the more vigorous. remember if you do not come here before nottingham, if you do not come afterwards i shall think myself diabolically ill-used. letter . j.d. hooker to charles darwin. kew, august th, . if my letters did not gene you it is impossible that you should suppose that yours were of no use to me! i would throw up the whole thing were it not for correspondence with you, which is the only bit of silver in the affair. i do feel it disgusting to have to make a point of a speciality in which i cannot see my way a bit further than i could before i began. to be sure, i have a very much clearer notion of the pros and cons on both sides (though these were rather forgotten facts than rediscoveries). i see the sides of the well further down more distinctly, but the bottom is as obscure as ever. i think i know the "origin" by heart in relation to the subject, and it was reading it that suggested the queries about azores boulders and madeira birds. the former you and i have talked over, and i thought i remembered that you wanted it confirmed. the latter strikes me thus: why should plants and insects have been so extensively changed and birds not at all? i perfectly understand and feel the force of your argument in reference to birds per se, but why do these not apply to insects and plants? can you not see that this suggests the conclusion that the plants are derived one way and the birds another? i certainly did take it for granted that you supposed the stocking [by] occasional transport to be something even more than a "well-established hypothesis," but disputants seldom stop to measure the strength of their antagonist's opinion. i shall be with you on saturday week, i hope. i should have come before, but have made so little progress that i could not. i am now at st. helena, and shall then go to, and finish with, kerguelen's land. ( / . after giving the distances of the azores, etc., from america, sir joseph continues:--) but to my mind [it] does not mend the matter--for i do not ask why azores have even proportionally (to distance) a smaller number of american plants, but why they have none, seeing the winds and currents set that way. the bermudas are all american in flora, but from what col. munro informs me i should say they have nothing but common american weeds and the juniper (cedar). no changed forms, yet they are as far from america as azores from europe. i suppose they are modern and out of the pale. ...there is this, to me, astounding difference between certain oceanic islands which were stocked by continental extension and those stocked by immigration (following in both definitions your opinion), that the former [continental] do contain many types of the more distant continent, the latter do not any! take madagascar, with its many asiatic genera unknown in africa; ceylon, with many malayan types not peninsular; japan, with many non-asiatic american types. baird's fact of greenland migration i was aware of since i wrote my arctic paper. i wish i was as satisfied either of continental [extensions] or of transport means as i am of my greenland hypothesis! oh, dear me, what a comfort it is to have a belief (sneer away). letter . j.d. hooker to charles darwin. kew, december th, . i have just finished the new zealand "manual" ( / . "handbook of the new zealand flora."), and am thinking about a discussion on the geographical distribution, etc., of the plants. there is scarcely a single indigenous annual plant in the group. i wish that i knew more of the past condition of the islands, and whether they have been rising or sinking. there is much that suggests the idea that the islands were once connected during a warmer epoch, were afterwards separated and much reduced in area to what they now are, and lastly have assumed their present size. the remarkable general uniformity of the flora, even of the arboreous flora, throughout so many degrees of latitude, is a very remarkable feature, as is the representation of a good many of the southern half of certain species of the north, by very closely allied varieties or species; and, lastly, there is the immense preponderance of certain genera whose species all run into one another and vary horribly, and which suggest a rising area. i hear that a whale has been found some miles inland. letter . j.d. hooker to charles darwin. kew, december th, . i do not see how the mountains of new zealand, s. australia, and tasmania could have been peopled, and [with] so large an extent of antarctic ( / . "introductory essay to flora of new zealand," page xx. "the plants of the antarctic islands, which are equally natives of new zealand, tasmania, and australia, are almost invariably found only on the lofty mountains of these countries.") forms common to fuegia, without some intercommunication. and i have always supposed this was before the immigration of asiatic plants into australia, and of which plants the temperate and tropical plants of that country may be considered as altered forms. the presence of so many of these temperate and cold australian and new zealand genera on the top of kini balu in borneo (under the equator) is an awful staggerer, and demands a very extended northern distribution of australian temperate forms. it is a frightful assumption that the plains of borneo were covered with a temperate cold vegetation that was driven up kini balu by the returning cold. then there is the very distant distribution of a few australian types northward to the philippines, china, and japan: that is a fearful and wonderful fact, though, as these plants are new zealand too for the most part, the migration northward may have been east of australia. letter . to j.d. hooker. december th [ ]. ...one word more about the flora derived from supposed pleistocene antarctic land requiring land intercommunication. this will depend much, as it seems to me, upon how far you finally settle whether azores, cape de verdes, tristan d'acunha, galapagos, juan fernandez, etc., etc., etc., have all had land intercommunication. if you do not think this necessary, might not new zealand, etc., have been stocked during commencing glacial period by occasional means from antarctic land? as for lowlands of borneo being tenanted by a moderate number of temperate forms during the glacial period, so far [is it] from appearing a "frightful assumption" that i am arrived at that pitch of bigotry that i look at it as proved! letter . j.d. hooker to charles darwin. kew, december th, . i was about to write to-day, when your jolly letter came this morning, to tell you that after carefully going over the n.z. flora, i find that there are only about thirty reputed indigenous dicot. annuals, of which almost half, not being found by banks and solander, are probably non-indigenous. this is just / th of the dicots., or, excluding the doubtful, about / th, whereas the british proportion of annuals is / . amongst dicots.!!! of the naturalised new zealand plants one-half are annual! i suppose there can be no doubt but that a deciduous-leaved vegetation affords more conditions for vegetable life than an evergreen one, and that it is hence that we find countries characterised by uniform climates to be poor in species, and those to be evergreens. i can now work this point out for new zealand and britain. japan may be an exception: it is an extraordinary evergreen country, and has many species apparently, but it has so much novelty that it may not be so rich in species really as it hence looks, and i do believe it is very poor. it has very few annuals. then, again, i think that the number of plants with irregular flowers, and especially such as require insect agency, diminishes much with evergreenity. hence in all humid temperate regions we have, as a rule, few species, many evergreens, few annuals, few leguminosae and orchids, few lepidoptera and other flying insects, many coniferae, amentaceae, gramineae, cyperaceae, and other wind-fertilised trees and plants, etc. orchids and leguminosae are scarce in islets, because the necessary fertilising insects have not migrated with the plants. perhaps you have published this. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, january th [ ]. i like the first part of your paper in the "gard. chronicle" ( / . the lecture on insular floras ("gard. chron." january ).) to an extraordinary degree: you never, in my opinion, wrote anything better. you ask for all, even minute criticisms. in the first column you speak of no alpine plants and no replacement by zones, which will strike every one with astonishment who has read humboldt and webb on zones on teneriffe. do you not mean boreal or arctic plants? ( / . the passage which seems to be referred to does mention the absence of boreal plants.) in the third column you speak as if savages ( / . "such plants on oceanic islands are, like the savages which in some islands have been so long the sole witnesses of their existence, the last representatives of their several races.") had generally viewed the endemic plants of the atlantic islands. now, as you well know, the canaries alone of all the archipelagoes were inhabited. in the third column have you really materials to speak of confirming the proportion of winged and wingless insects on islands? your comparison of plants of madeira with islets of great britain is admirable. ( / . "what should we say, for instance, if a plant so totally unlike anything british as the monizia edulis...were found on one rocky islet of the scillies, or another umbelliferous plant, melanoselinum...on one mountain in wales; or if the isle of wight and scilly islands had varieties, species, and genera too, differing from anything in britain, and found nowhere else in the world!") i must allude to one of your last notes with very curious case of proportion of annuals in new zealand. ( / . on this subject see hildebrand's interesting paper "die lebensdauer der pflanzen" (engler's "botanische jahrbucher," volume ii., , page ). he shows that annuals are rare in very dry desert-lands, in northern and alpine regions. the following table gives the percentages of annuals, etc., in various situations in freiburg (baden):-- annuals. biennials. perennials. trees and shrubs. sandy, dry, and stony places: dry fields: damp fields: woods and copses: water: cultivated land: are annuals adapted for short seasons, as in arctic regions, or tropical countries with dry season, or for periodically disturbed and cultivated ground? you speak of evergreen vegetation as leading to few or confined conditions; but is not evergreen vegetation connected with humid and equable climate? does not a very humid climate almost imply (tyndall) an equable one? i have never printed a word that i can remember about orchids and papilionaceous plants being few in islands on account of rarity of insects; and i remember you screamed at me when i suggested this a propos of papilionaceae in new zealand, and of the statement about clover not seeding there till the hive-bee was introduced, as i stated in my paper in "gard. chronicle." ( / . "in an old number of the "gardeners' chronicle" an extract is given from a new zealand newspaper in which much surprise is expressed that the introduced clover never seeded freely until the hive-bee was introduced." "on the agency of bees in the fertilisation of papilionaceous flowers..." ("gard. chron." , page ). see letter , note.) i have been these last few days vexed and annoyed to a foolish degree by hearing that my ms. on domestic animals, etc., will make two volumes, both bigger than the "origin." the volumes will have to be full-sized octavo, so i have written to murray to suggest details to be printed in small type. but i feel that the size is quite ludicrous in relation to the subject. i am ready to swear at myself and at every fool who writes a book. letter . to j.d. hooker. down, january th [ ]. thanks for your jolly letter. i have read your second article ( / . the lecture on insular floras was published in instalments in the "gardeners' chronicle," january th, th, th, th, .), and like it even more than the first, and more than this i cannot say. by mere chance i stumbled yesterday on a passage in humboldt that a violet grows on the peak of teneriffe in common with the pyrenees. if humboldt is right that the canary is. which lie nearest to the continent have a much stronger african character than the others, ought you not just to allude to this? i do not know whether you admit, and if so allude to, the view which seems to me probable, that most of the genera confined to the atlantic islands (i do not say the species) originally existed in, and were derived from, europe, [and have] become extinct on this continent. i should thus account for the community of peculiar genera in the several atlantic islands. about the salvages is capital. ( / . the salvages are rocky islets about midway between madeira and the canaries; and they have an atlantic flora, instead of, as might have been expected, one composed of african immigrants. ("insular floras," page of separate copy.)) i am glad you speak of linking, though this sounds a little too close, instead of being continuous. all about st. helena is grand. you have no faith, but if i knew any one who lived in st. helena i would supplicate him to send me home a cask or two of earth from a few inches beneath the surface from the upper part of the island, and from any dried-up pond, and thus, as sure as i'm a wriggler, i should receive a multitude of lost plants. i did suggest to you to work out proportion of plants with irregular flowers on islands; i did this after giving a very short discussion on irregular flowers in my lythrum paper. ( / . "linn. soc. journ." viii., , page .) but what on earth has a mere suggestion like this to do with meum and tuum? you have comforted me much about the bigness of my book, which yet turns me sick when i think of it. note: project gutenberg also has an html version of this file which includes the original illustrations. see -h.htm or -h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/ / -h/ -h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/ / -h.zip) charles darwin: his life told in an autobiographical chapter, and in a selected series of his published letters. edited by his son, francis darwin, f.r.s. with a portrait. london: john murray, albemarle street. . [illustration: _elliot & fry, photo._ _walker & cockerell, ph. sc._ ch. darwin] printed by william clowes and sons, limited, london and beccles. to dr. holland, st. moritz. _ th july, ._ dear holland, this book is associated in my mind with st. moritz (where i worked at it), and therefore with you. i inscribe your name on it, not only in token of my remembrance of your many acts of friendship, but also as a sign of my respect for one who lives a difficult life well. yours gratefully, francis darwin. "for myself i found that i was fitted for nothing so well as for the study of truth; ... as being gifted by nature with desire to seek, patience to doubt, fondness to meditate, slowness to assert, readiness to reconsider, carefulness to dispose and set in order; and as being a man that neither affects what is new nor admires what is old, and that hates every kind of imposture. so i thought my nature had a kind of familiarity and relationship with truth."--bacon. (proem to the _interpretatio naturæ_.) preface to the first edition ( ). in preparing this volume, which is practically an abbreviation of the _life and letters_ ( ), my aim has been to retain as far as possible the personal parts of those volumes. to render this feasible, large numbers of the more purely scientific letters are omitted, or represented by the citation of a few sentences.[ ] in certain periods of my father's life the scientific and the personal elements run a parallel course, rising and falling together in their degree of interest. thus the writing of the _origin of species_, and its publication, appeal equally to the reader who follows my father's career from interest in the man, and to the naturalist who desires to know something of this turning point in the history of biology. this part of the story has therefore been told with nearly the full amount of available detail. in arranging my material i have followed a roughly chronological sequence, but the character and variety of my father's researches make a strictly chronological order an impossibility. it was his habit to work more or less simultaneously at several subjects. experimental work was often carried on as a refreshment or variety, while books entailing reasoning and the marshalling of large bodies of facts were being written. moreover many of his researches were dropped only to be resumed after years had elapsed. thus a chronological record of his work would be a patchwork, from which it would be difficult to disentangle the history of any given subject. the table of contents will show how i have tried to avoid this result. it will be seen, for instance, that after chapter viii. a break occurs; the story turns back from to in order that the evolutionary chapters which follow may tell a continuous story. in the same way the botanical work which occupied so much of my father's time during the latter part of his life is treated separately in chapters xvi. and xvii. with regard to chapter iv., in which i have attempted to give an account of my father's manner of working, i may be allowed to say that i acted as his assistant during the last eight years of his life, and had therefore an opportunity of knowing something of his habits and methods. my acknowledgments are gladly made to the publishers of the _century magazine_, who have courteously given me the use of one of their illustrations for the heading of chapter iv. francis darwin. wychfield, cambridge, _august, _. footnote: [ ] i have not thought it necessary to indicate all the omissions in the abbreviated letters. note to the second edition. it is pleasure to me to acknowledge the kindness of messrs. elliott & fry in allowing me to reproduce the fine photograph which appears as the frontispiece to the present issue. francis darwin. wychfield, cambridge, _april, _. table of contents. chap. page i.--the darwins ii.--autobiography iii.--religion iv.--reminiscences v.--cambridge life--the appointment to the _beagle_: - vi.--the voyage: - vii.--london and cambridge: - viii.--life at down: - ix.--the foundations of the _origin of species_: - x.--the growth of the _origin of species_: - xi.--the writing of the _origin of species_, june , to november xii.--the publication of the _origin of species_, october to december xiii.--the _origin of species_--reviews and criticisms--adhesions and attacks: xiv.--the spread of evolution: - xv.--miscellanea--revival of geological work--the vivisection question--honours xvi.--the fertilisation of flowers xvii.--climbing plants--power of movement in plants--insectivorous plants--kew index of plant names xviii.--conclusion appendices. appendix i.--the funeral in westminster abbey ii.--portraits index [illustration: --led to comprehend two affinities. [illeg] my theory would give zest to recent & fossil comparative anatomy, it would lead to study of instincts, heredity & mind heredity, whole metaphysics - it would lead to closest examination of hybridity & generation, causes of change in order to know what we have come from & to what we tend - to what circumstances favour crossing & what prevents it; this & direct examination of direct passages of [species (crossed out)] structures in species, might lead to laws of change, which would then be main object of study, to guide our [past (crossed out)] speculations] charles darwin. chapter i. the darwins. charles robert darwin was the second son of dr. robert waring darwin, of shrewsbury, where he was born on february , . dr. darwin was a son of erasmus darwin, sometimes described as a poet, but more deservedly known as physician and naturalist. charles darwin's mother was susannah, daughter of josiah wedgwood, the well-known potter of etruria, in staffordshire. if such speculations are permissible, we may hazard the guess that charles darwin inherited his sweetness of disposition from the wedgwood side, while the character of his genius came rather from the darwin grandfather.[ ] robert waring darwin was a man of well-marked character. he had no pretensions to being a man of science, no tendency to generalise his knowledge, and though a successful physician he was guided more by intuition and everyday observation than by a deep knowledge of his subject. his chief mental characteristics were his keen powers of observation, and his knowledge of men, qualities which led him to "read the characters and even the thoughts of those whom he saw even for a short time." it is not therefore surprising that his help should have been sought, not merely in illness, but in cases of family trouble and sorrow. this was largely the case, and his wise sympathy, no less than his medical skill, obtained for him a strong influence over the lives of a large number of people. he was a man of a quick, vivid temperament, with a lively interest in even the smaller details in the lives of those with whom he came in contact. he was fond of society, and entertained a good deal, and with his large practice and many friends, the life at shrewsbury must have been a stirring and varied one--very different in this respect to the later home of his son at down.[ ] we have a miniature of his wife, susannah, with a remarkably sweet and happy face, bearing some resemblance to the portrait of her father painted by sir joshua reynolds; a countenance expressive of the gentle and sympathetic nature which miss meteyard ascribes to her.[ ] she died july , , thirty-two years before her husband, whose death occurred on november , . dr. darwin lived before his marriage for two or three years on st. john's hill, afterwards at the crescent, where his eldest daughter marianne was born, lastly at the "mount," in the part of shrewsbury known as frankwell, where the other children were born. this house was built by dr. darwin about , it is now in the possession of mr. spencer phillips, and has undergone but little alteration. it is a large, plain, square, red-brick house, of which the most attractive feature is the pretty green-house, opening out of the morning-room. the house is charmingly placed, on the top of a steep bank leading down to the severn. the terraced bank is traversed by a long walk, leading from end to end, still called "the doctor's walk." at one point in this walk grows a spanish chestnut, the branches of which bend back parallel to themselves in a curious manner, and this was charles darwin's favourite tree as a boy, where he and his sister catharine had each their special seat. the doctor took great pleasure in his garden, planting it with ornamental trees and shrubs, and being especially successful with fruit trees; and this love of plants was, i think, the only taste kindred to natural history which he possessed. charles darwin had the strongest feeling of love and respect for his father's memory. his recollection of everything that was connected with him was peculiarly distinct, and he spoke of him frequently, generally prefacing an anecdote with some such phrase as, "my father, who was the wisest man i ever knew," &c. it was astonishing how clearly he remembered his father's opinions, so that he was able to quote some maxim or hint of his in many cases of illness. as a rule he put small faith in doctors, and thus his unlimited belief in dr. darwin's medical instinct and methods of treatment was all the more striking. his reverence for him was boundless, and most touching. he would have wished to judge everything else in the world dispassionately, but anything his father had said was received with almost implicit faith. his daughter, mrs. litchfield, remembers him saying that he hoped none of his sons would ever believe anything because he said it, unless they were themselves convinced of its truth--a feeling in striking contrast with his own manner of faith. a visit which charles darwin made to shrewsbury in left on the mind of the daughter who accompanied him a strong impression of his love for his old home. the tenant of the mount at the time, showed them over the house, and with mistaken hospitality remained with the party during the whole visit. as they were leaving, charles darwin said, with a pathetic look of regret, "if i could have been left alone in that green-house for five minutes, i know i should have been able to see my father in his wheel-chair as vividly as if he had been there before me." perhaps this incident shows what i think is the truth, that the memory of his father he loved the best, was that of him as an old man. mrs. litchfield has noted down a few words which illustrate well his feeling towards his father. she describes him as saying with the most tender respect, "i think my father was a little unjust to me when i was young; but afterwards, i am thankful to think i became a prime favourite with him." she has a vivid recollection of the expression of happy reverie that accompanied these words, as if he were reviewing the whole relation, and the remembrance left a deep sense of peace and gratitude. dr. darwin had six children, of whom none are now living: marianne, married dr. henry parker; caroline, married josiah wedgwood; erasmus alvey; susan, died unmarried; charles robert; catharine, married rev. charles langton. the elder son, erasmus, was born in , and died unmarried at the age of seventy-seven. his name, not known to the general public, may be remembered from a few words of description occurring in carlyle's _reminiscences_ (vol. ii. p. ). a truer and more sympathetic sketch of his character, by his cousin, miss julia wedgwood, was published in the _spectator_, september , . there was something pathetic in charles darwin's affection for his brother erasmus, as if he always recollected his solitary life, and the touching patience and sweetness of his nature. he often spoke of him as "poor old ras," or "poor dear old philos." i imagine philos (philosopher) was a relic of the days when they worked at chemistry in the tool-house at shrewsbury--a time of which he always preserved a pleasant memory. erasmus was rather more than four years older than charles darwin, so that they were not long together at cambridge, but previously at edinburgh they shared the same lodgings, and after the voyage they lived for a time together in erasmus' house in great marlborough street. in later years erasmus darwin came to down occasionally, or joined his brother's family in a summer holiday. but gradually it came about that he could not, through ill health, make up his mind to leave london, and thus they only saw each other when charles darwin went for a week at a time to his brother's house in queen anne street. this brief sketch of the family to which charles darwin belonged may perhaps suffice to introduce the reader to the autobiographical chapter which follows. footnotes: [ ] see charles darwin's biographical sketch of his grandfather, prefixed to ernst krause's _erasmus darwin_. (translated from the german by w. s. dallas, .) also miss meteyard's _life of josiah wedgwood_. [ ] the above passage is, by permission of messrs. smith & elder, taken from my article _charles darwin_, in the _dictionary of national biography_. [ ] _a group of englishmen_, by miss meteyard, . chapter ii. autobiography. [my father's autobiographical recollections, given in the present chapter, were written for his children,--and written without any thought that they would ever be published. to many this may seem an impossibility; but those who knew my father will understand how it was not only possible, but natural. the autobiography bears the heading, _recollections of the development of my mind and character_, and ends with the following note:--"aug. , . this sketch of my life was begun about may th at hopedene,[ ] and since then i have written for nearly an hour on most afternoons." it will easily be understood that, in a narrative of a personal and intimate kind written for his wife and children, passages should occur which must here be omitted; and i have not thought it necessary to indicate where such omissions are made. it has been found necessary to make a few corrections of obvious verbal slips, but the number of such alterations has been kept down to the minimum.--f. d] a german editor having written to me for an account of the development of my mind and character with some sketch of my autobiography, i have thought that the attempt would amuse me, and might possibly interest my children or their children. i know that it would have interested me greatly to have read even so short and dull a sketch of the mind of my grandfather, written by himself, and what he thought and did, and how he worked. i have attempted to write the following account of myself, as if i were a dead man in another world looking back at my own life. nor have i found this difficult, for life is nearly over with me. i have taken no pains about my style of writing. i was born at shrewsbury on february th, , and my earliest recollection goes back only to when i was a few months over four years old, when we went to near abergele for sea-bathing, and i recollect some events and places there with some little distinctness. my mother died in july , when i was a little over eight years old, and it is odd that i can remember hardly anything about her except her deathbed, her black velvet gown, and her curiously constructed work-table. in the spring of this same year i was sent to a day-school in shrewsbury, where i stayed a year. i have been told that i was much slower in learning than my younger sister catherine, and i believe that i was in many ways a naughty boy. by the time i went to this day-school[ ] my taste for natural history, and more especially for collecting, was well developed. i tried to make out the names of plants, and collected all sorts of things, shells, seals, franks, coins, and minerals. the passion for collecting which leads a man to be a systematic naturalist, a virtuoso, or a miser, was very strong in me, and was clearly innate, as none of my sisters or brother ever had this taste. one little event during this year has fixed itself very firmly in my mind, and i hope that it has done so from my conscience having been afterwards sorely troubled by it; it is curious as showing that apparently i was interested at this early age in the variability of plants! i told another little boy (i believe it was leighton,[ ] who afterwards became a well-known lichenologist and botanist), that i could produce variously coloured polyanthuses and primroses by watering them with certain coloured fluids, which was of course a monstrous fable, and had never been tried by me. i may here also confess that as a little boy i was much given to inventing deliberate falsehoods, and this was always done for the sake of causing excitement. for instance, i once gathered much valuable fruit from my father's trees and hid it in the shrubbery, and then ran in breathless haste to spread the news that i had discovered a hoard of stolen fruit.[ ] i must have been a very simple little fellow when i first went to the school. a boy of the name of garnett took me into a cake shop one day, and bought some cakes for which he did not pay, as the shopman trusted him. when we came out i asked him why he did not pay for them, and he instantly answered, "why, do you not know that my uncle left a great sum of money to the town on condition that every tradesman should give whatever was wanted without payment to any one who wore his old hat and moved [it] in a particular manner?" and he then showed me how it was moved. he then went into another shop where he was trusted, and asked for some small article, moving his hat in the proper manner, and of course obtained it without payment. when we came out he said, "now if you like to go by yourself into that cake-shop (how well i remember its exact position), i will lend you my hat, and you can get whatever you like if you move the hat on your head properly." i gladly accepted the generous offer, and went in and asked for some cakes, moved the old hat, and was walking out of the shop, when the shopman made a rush at me, so i dropped the cakes and ran for dear life, and was astonished by being greeted with shouts of laughter by my false friend garnett. i can say in my own favour that i was as a boy humane, but i owed this entirely to the instruction and example of my sisters. i doubt indeed whether humanity is a natural or innate quality. i was very fond of collecting eggs, but i never took more than a single egg out of a bird's nest, except on one single occasion, when i took all, not for their value, but from a sort of bravado. i had a strong taste for angling, and would sit for any number of hours on the bank of a river or pond watching the float; when at maer[ ] i was told that i could kill the worms with salt and water, and from that day i never spitted a living worm, though at the expense probably of some loss of success. once as a very little boy whilst at the day school, or before that time, i acted cruelly, for i beat a puppy, i believe, simply from enjoying the sense of power; but the beating could not have been severe, for the puppy did not howl, of which i feel sure as the spot was near the house. this act lay heavily on my conscience, as is shown by my remembering the exact spot where the crime was committed. it probably lay all the heavier from my love of dogs being then, and for a long time afterwards, a passion. dogs seemed to know this, for i was an adept in robbing their love from their masters. i remember clearly only one other incident during this year whilst at mr. case's daily school,--namely, the burial of a dragoon soldier; and it is surprising how clearly i can still see the horse with the man's empty boots and carbine suspended to the saddle, and the firing over the grave. this scene deeply stirred whatever poetic fancy there was in me.[ ] in the summer of i went to dr. butler's great school in shrewsbury, and remained there for seven years till midsummer , when i was sixteen years old. i boarded at this school, so that i had the great advantage of living the life of a true schoolboy; but as the distance was hardly more than a mile to my home, i very often ran there in the longer intervals between the callings over and before locking up at night. this, i think, was in many ways advantageous to me by keeping up home affections and interests. i remember in the early part of my school life that i often had to run very quickly to be in time, and from being a fleet runner was generally successful; but when in doubt i prayed earnestly to god to help me, and i well remember that i attributed my success to the prayers and not to my quick running, and marvelled how generally i was aided. i have heard my father and elder sister say that i had, as a very young boy, a strong taste for long solitary walks; but what i thought about i know not. i often became quite absorbed, and once, whilst returning to school on the summit of the old fortifications round shrewsbury, which had been converted into a public foot-path with no parapet on one side, i walked off and fell to the ground, but the height was only seven or eight feet. nevertheless, the number of thoughts which passed through my mind during this very short, but sudden and wholly unexpected fall, was astonishing, and seem hardly compatible with what physiologists have, i believe, proved about each thought requiring quite an appreciable amount of time. nothing could have been worse for the development of my mind than dr. butler's school, as it was strictly classical, nothing else being taught, except a little ancient geography and history. the school as a means of education to me was simply a blank. during my whole life i have been singularly incapable of mastering any language. especial attention was paid to verse-making, and this i could never do well. i had many friends, and got together a good collection of old verses, which by patching together, sometimes aided by other boys, i could work into any subject. much attention was paid to learning by heart the lessons of the previous day; this i could effect with great facility, learning forty or fifty lines of virgil or homer, whilst i was in morning chapel; but this exercise was utterly useless, for every verse was forgotten in forty-eight hours. i was not idle, and with the exception of versification, generally worked conscientiously at my classics, not using cribs. the sole pleasure i ever received from such studies, was from some of the odes of horace, which i admired greatly. when i left the school i was for my age neither high nor low in it; and i believe that i was considered by all my masters and by my father as a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard in intellect. to my deep mortification my father once said to me, "you care for nothing but shooting, dogs, and rat-catching, and you will be a disgrace to yourself and all your family." but my father, who was the kindest man i ever knew, and whose memory i love with all my heart, must have been angry and somewhat unjust when he used such words. looking back as well as i can at my character during my school life, the only qualities which at this period promised well for the future, were, that i had strong and diversified tastes, much zeal for whatever interested me, and a keen pleasure in understanding any complex subject or thing. i was taught euclid by a private tutor, and i distinctly remember the intense satisfaction which the clear geometrical proofs gave me. i remember with equal distinctness the delight which my uncle (the father of francis galton) gave me by explaining the principle of the vernier of a barometer. with respect to diversified tastes, independently of science, i was fond of reading various books, and i used to sit for hours reading the historical plays of shakespeare, generally in an old window in the thick walls of the school. i read also other poetry, such as thomson's _seasons_, and the recently published poems of byron and scott. i mention this because later in life i wholly lost, to my great regret, all pleasure from poetry of any kind, including shakespeare. in connection with pleasure from poetry, i may add that in a vivid delight in scenery was first awakened in my mind, during a riding tour on the borders of wales, and this has lasted longer than any other æsthetic pleasure. early in my school-days a boy had a copy of the _wonders of the world_, which i often read, and disputed with other boys about the veracity of some of the statements; and i believe that this book first gave me a wish to travel in remote countries, which was ultimately fulfilled by the voyage of the _beagle_. in the latter part of my school life i became passionately fond of shooting; i do not believe that any one could have shown more zeal for the most holy cause than i did for shooting birds. how well i remember killing my first snipe, and my excitement was so great that i had much difficulty in reloading my gun from the trembling of my hands. this taste long continued, and i became a very good shot. when at cambridge i used to practice throwing up my gun to my shoulder before a looking glass to see that i threw it up straight. another and better plan was to get a friend to wave about a lighted candle, and then to fire at it with a cap on the nipple, and if the aim was accurate the little puff of air would blow out the candle. the explosion of the cap caused a sharp crack, and i was told that the tutor of the college remarked, "what an extraordinary thing it is, mr. darwin seems to spend hours in cracking a horse-whip in his room, for i often hear the crack when i pass under his windows." i had many friends amongst the schoolboys, whom i loved dearly, and i think that my disposition was then very affectionate. with respect to science, i continued collecting minerals with much zeal, but quite unscientifically--all that i cared about was a new-named mineral, and i hardly attempted to classify them. i must have observed insects with some little care, for when ten years old ( ) i went for three weeks to plas edwards on the sea-coast in wales, i was very much interested and surprised at seeing a large black and scarlet hemipterous insect, many moths (zygoena), and a cicindela, which are not found in shropshire. i almost made up my mind to begin collecting all the insects which i could find dead, for on consulting my sister, i concluded that it was not right to kill insects for the sake of making a collection. from reading white's _selborne_, i took much pleasure in watching the habits of birds, and even made notes on the subject. in my simplicity, i remember wondering why every gentleman did not become an ornithologist. towards the close of my school life, my brother worked hard at chemistry, and made a fair laboratory with proper apparatus in the tool-house in the garden, and i was allowed to aid him as a servant in most of his experiments. he made all the gases and many compounds, and i read with care several books on chemistry, such as henry and parkes' _chemical catechism_. the subject interested me greatly, and we often used to go on working till rather late at night. this was the best part of my education at school, for it showed me practically the meaning of experimental science. the fact that we worked at chemistry somehow got known at school, and as it was an unprecedented fact, i was nicknamed "gas." i was also once publicly rebuked by the head-master, dr. butler, for thus wasting my time on such useless subjects; and he called me very unjustly a "poco curante," and as i did not understand what he meant, it seemed to me a fearful reproach. as i was doing no good at school, my father wisely took me away at a rather earlier age than usual, and sent me (october ) to edinburgh[ ] university with my brother, where i stayed for two years or sessions. my brother was completing his medical studies, though i do not believe he ever really intended to practise, and i was sent there to commence them. but soon after this period i became convinced from various small circumstances that my father would leave me property enough to subsist on with some comfort, though i never imagined that i should be so rich a man as i am; but my belief was sufficient to check any strenuous effort to learn medicine. the instruction at edinburgh was altogether by lectures, and these were intolerably dull, with the exception of those on chemistry by hope; but to my mind there are no advantages and many disadvantages in lectures compared with reading. dr. duncan's lectures on materia medica at o'clock on a winter's morning are something fearful to remember. dr. munro made his lectures on human anatomy as dull as he was himself, and the subject disgusted me. it has proved one of the greatest evils in my life that i was not urged to practise dissection, for i should soon have got over my disgust, and the practice would have been invaluable for all my future work. this has been an irremediable evil, as well as my incapacity to draw. i also attended regularly the clinical wards in the hospital. some of the cases distressed me a good deal, and i still have vivid pictures before me of some of them; but i was not so foolish as to allow this to lessen my attendance. i cannot understand why this part of my medical course did not interest me in a greater degree; for during the summer before coming to edinburgh, i began attending some of the poor people, chiefly children and women in shrewsbury: i wrote down as full an account as i could of the case with all the symptoms, and read them aloud to my father, who suggested further inquiries and advised me what medicines to give, which i made up myself. at one time i had at least a dozen patients, and i felt a keen interest in the work.[ ] my father, who was by far the best judge of character whom i ever knew, declared that i should make a successful physician,--meaning by this, one who would get many patients. he maintained that the chief element of success was exciting confidence; but what he saw in me which convinced him that i should create confidence i know not. i also attended on two occasions the operating theatre in the hospital at edinburgh, and saw two very bad operations, one on a child, but i rushed away before they were completed. nor did i ever attend again, for hardly any inducement would have been strong enough to make me do so; this being long before the blessed days of chloroform. the two cases fairly haunted me for many a long year. my brother stayed only one year at the university, so that during the second year i was left to my own resources; and this was an advantage, for i became well acquainted with several young men fond of natural science. one of these was ainsworth, who afterwards published his travels in assyria; he was a wernerian geologist, and knew a little about many subjects. dr. coldstream[ ] was a very different young man, prim, formal, highly religious, and most kind-hearted; he afterwards published some good zoological articles. a third young man was hardie, who would, i think, have made a good botanist, but died early in india. lastly, dr. grant, my senior by several years, but how i became acquainted with him i cannot remember; he published some first-rate zoological papers, but after coming to london as professor in university college, he did nothing more in science, a fact which has always been inexplicable to me. i knew him well; he was dry and formal in manner, with much enthusiasm beneath this outer crust. he one day, when we were walking together, burst forth in high admiration of lamarck and his views on evolution. i listened in silent astonishment, and as far as i can judge, without any effect on my mind. i had previously read the _zoonomia_ of my grandfather, in which similar views are maintained, but without producing any effect on me. nevertheless it is probable that the hearing rather early in life such views maintained and praised may have favoured my upholding them under a different form in my _origin of species_. at this time i admired greatly the _zoonomia_; but on reading it a second time after an interval of ten or fifteen years, i was much disappointed; the proportion of speculation being so large to the facts given. drs. grant and coldstream attended much to marine zoology, and i often accompanied the former to collect animals in the tidal pools, which i dissected as well as i could. i also became friends with some of the newhaven fishermen, and sometimes accompanied them when they trawled for oysters, and thus got many specimens. but from not having had any regular practice in dissection, and from possessing only a wretched microscope, my attempts were very poor. nevertheless i made one interesting little discovery, and read, about the beginning of the year , a short paper on the subject before the plinian society. this was that the so-called ova of flustra had the power of independent movement by means of cilia, and were in fact larvæ. in another short paper, i showed that the little globular bodies which had been supposed to be the young state of _fucus loreus_ were the egg-cases of the worm-like _pontobdella muricata_. the plinian society[ ] was encouraged and, i believe, founded by professor jameson: it consisted of students, and met in an underground room in the university for the sake of reading papers on natural science and discussing them. i used regularly to attend, and the meetings had a good effect on me in stimulating my zeal and giving me new congenial acquaintances. one evening a poor young man got up, and after stammering for a prodigious length of time, blushing crimson, he at last slowly got out the words, "mr. president, i have forgotten what i was going to say." the poor fellow looked quite overwhelmed, and all the members were so surprised that no one could think of a word to say to cover his confusion. the papers which were read to our little society were not printed, so that i had not the satisfaction of seeing my paper in print; but i believe dr. grant noticed my small discovery in his excellent memoir on flustra. i was also a member of the royal medical society, and attended pretty regularly; but as the subjects were exclusively medical, i did not much care about them. much rubbish was talked there, but there were some good speakers, of whom the best was the [late] sir j. kay-shuttleworth. dr. grant took me occasionally to the meetings of the wernerian society, where various papers on natural history were read, discussed, and afterwards published in the transactions. i heard audubon deliver there some interesting discourses on the habits of n. american birds, sneering somewhat unjustly at waterton. by the way, a negro lived in edinburgh, who had travelled with waterton, and gained his livelihood by stuffing birds, which he did excellently: he gave me lessons for payment, and i used often to sit with him, for he was a very pleasant and intelligent man. mr. leonard horner also took me once to a meeting of the royal society of edinburgh, where i saw sir walter scott in the chair as president, and he apologised to the meeting as not feeling fitted for such a position. i looked at him and at the whole scene with some awe and reverence, and i think it was owing to this visit during my youth, and to my having attended the royal medical society, that i felt the honour of being elected a few years ago an honorary member of both these societies, more than any other similar honour. if i had been told at that time that i should one day have been thus honoured, i declare that i should have thought it as ridiculous and improbable, as if i had been told that i should be elected king of england. during my second year at edinburgh i attended jameson's lectures on geology and zoology, but they were incredibly dull. the sole effect they produced on me was the determination never as long as i lived to read a book on geology, or in any way to study the science. yet i feel sure that i was prepared for a philosophical treatment of the subject; for an old mr. cotton, in shropshire, who knew a good deal about rocks, had pointed out to me two or three years previously a well-known large erratic boulder in the town of shrewsbury, called the "bell-stone;" he told me that there was no rock of the same kind nearer than cumberland or scotland, and he solemnly assured me that the world would come to an end before any one would be able to explain how this stone came where it now lay. this produced a deep impression on me, and i meditated over this wonderful stone. so that i felt the keenest delight when i first read of the action of icebergs in transporting boulders, and i gloried in the progress of geology. equally striking is the fact that i, though now only sixty-seven years old, heard the professor, in a field lecture at salisbury craigs, discoursing on a trap-dyke, with amygdaloidal margins and the strata indurated on each side, with volcanic rocks all around us, say that it was a fissure filled with sediment from above, adding with a sneer that there were men who maintained that it had been injected from beneath in a molten condition. when i think of this lecture, i do not wonder that i determined never to attend to geology. from attending jameson's lectures, i became acquainted with the curator of the museum, mr. macgillivray, who afterwards published a large and excellent book on the birds of scotland. i had much interesting natural-history talk with him, and he was very kind to me. he gave me some rare shells, for i at that time collected marine mollusca, but with no great zeal. my summer vacations during these two years were wholly given up to amusements, though i always had some book in hand, which i read with interest. during the summer of , i took a long walking tour with two friends with knapsacks on our backs through north wales. we walked thirty miles most days, including one day the ascent of snowdon. i also went with my sister a riding tour in north wales, a servant with saddle-bags carrying our clothes. the autumns were devoted to shooting, chiefly at mr. owen's, at woodhouse, and at my uncle jos's,[ ] at maer. my zeal was so great that i used to place my shooting-boots open by my bed-side when i went to bed, so as not to lose half a minute in putting them on in the morning; and on one occasion i reached a distant part of the maer estate, on the th of august for black-game shooting, before i could see: i then toiled on with the gamekeeper the whole day through thick heath and young scotch firs. i kept an exact record of every bird which i shot throughout the whole season. one day when shooting at woodhouse with captain owen, the eldest son, and major hill, his cousin, afterwards lord berwick, both of whom i liked very much, i thought myself shamefully used, for every time after i had fired and thought that i had killed a bird, one of the two acted as if loading his gun, and cried out, "you must not count that bird, for i fired at the same time," and the gamekeeper, perceiving the joke, backed them up. after some hours they told me the joke, but it was no joke to me, for i had shot a large number of birds, but did not know how many, and could not add them to my list, which i used to do by making a knot in a piece of string tied to a button-hole. this my wicked friends had perceived. how i did enjoy shooting! but i think that i must have been half-consciously ashamed of my zeal, for i tried to persuade myself that shooting was almost an intellectual employment; it required so much skill to judge where to find most game and to hunt the dogs well. one of my autumnal visits to maer in was memorable from meeting there sir j. mackintosh, who was the best converser i ever listened to. i heard afterwards with a glow of pride that he had said, "there is something in that young man that interests me." this must have been chiefly due to his perceiving that i listened with much interest to everything which he said, for i was as ignorant as a pig about his subjects of history, politics, and moral philosophy. to hear of praise from an eminent person, though no doubt apt or certain to excite vanity, is, i think, good for a young man, as it helps to keep him in the right course. my visits to maer during these two or three succeeding years were quite delightful, independently of the autumnal shooting. life there was perfectly free; the country was very pleasant for walking or riding; and in the evening there was much very agreeable conversation, not so personal as it generally is in large family parties, together with music. in the summer the whole family used often to sit on the steps of the old portico with the flower-garden in front, and with the steep wooded bank opposite the house reflected in the lake, with here and there a fish rising or a water-bird paddling about. nothing has left a more vivid picture on my mind than these evenings at maer. i was also attached to and greatly revered my uncle jos; he was silent and reserved, so as to be a rather awful man; but he sometimes talked openly with me. he was the very type of an upright man, with the clearest judgment. i do not believe that any power on earth could have made him swerve an inch from what he considered the right course. i used to apply to him in my mind the well-known ode of horace, now forgotten by me, in which the words "nec vultus tyranni, &c.,"[ ] come in. _cambridge_, - .--after having spent two sessions in edinburgh, my father perceived, or he heard from my sisters, that i did not like the thought of being a physician, so he proposed that i should become a clergyman. he was very properly vehement against my turning into an idle sporting man, which then seemed my probable destination. i asked for some time to consider, as from what little i had heard or thought on the subject i had scruples about declaring my belief in all the dogmas of the church of england; though otherwise i liked the thought of being a country clergyman. accordingly i read with great care _pearson on the creed_, and a few other books on divinity; and as i did not then in the least doubt the strict and literal truth of every word in the bible, i soon persuaded myself that our creed must be fully accepted. considering how fiercely i have been attacked by the orthodox, it seems ludicrous that i once intended to be a clergyman. nor was this intention and my father's wish ever formally given up, but died a natural death when, on leaving cambridge, i joined the _beagle_ as naturalist. if the phrenologists are to be trusted, i was well fitted in one respect to be a clergyman. a few years ago the secretaries of a german psychological society asked me earnestly by letter for a photograph of myself; and some time afterwards i received the proceedings of one of the meetings, in which it seemed that the shape of my head had been the subject of a public discussion, and one of the speakers declared that i had the bump of reverence developed enough for ten priests. as it was decided that i should be a clergyman, it was necessary that i should go to one of the english universities and take a degree; but as i had never opened a classical book since leaving school, i found to my dismay, that in the two intervening years, i had actually forgotten, incredible as it may appear, almost everything which i had learnt, even to some few of the greek letters. i did not therefore proceed to cambridge at the usual time in october, but worked with a private tutor in shrewsbury, and went to cambridge after the christmas vacation, early in . i soon recovered my school standard of knowledge, and could translate easy greek books, such as homer and the greek testament, with moderate facility. during the three years which i spent at cambridge my time was wasted, as far as the academical studies were concerned, as completely as at edinburgh and at school. i attempted mathematics, and even went during the summer of with a private tutor to barmouth, but i got on very slowly. the work was repugnant to me, chiefly from my not being able to see any meaning in the early steps in algebra. this impatience was very foolish, and in after years i have deeply regretted that i did not proceed far enough at least to understand something of the great leading principles of mathematics, for men thus endowed seem to have an extra sense. but i do not believe that i should ever have succeeded beyond a very low grade. with respect to classics i did nothing except attend a few compulsory college lectures, and the attendance was almost nominal. in my second year i had to work for a month or two to pass the little-go, which i did easily. again, in my last year i worked with some earnestness for my final degree of b.a., and brushed up my classics, together with a little algebra and euclid, which latter gave me much pleasure, as it did at school. in order to pass the b.a. examination, it was also necessary to get up paley's _evidences of christianity_, and his _moral philosophy_. this was done in a thorough manner, and i am convinced that i could have written out the whole of the _evidences_ with perfect correctness, but not of course in the clear language of paley. the logic of this book and, as i may add, of his _natural theology_, gave me as much delight as did euclid. the careful study of these works, without attempting to learn any part by rote, was the only part of the academical course which, as i then felt, and as i still believe, was of the least use to me in the education of my mind. i did not at that time trouble myself about paley's premises; and taking these on trust, i was charmed and convinced by the long line of argumentation. by answering well the examination questions in paley, by doing euclid well, and by not failing miserably in classics, i gained a good place among the [greek: oi polloi] or crowd of men who do not go in for honours. oddly enough, i cannot remember how high i stood, and my memory fluctuates between the fifth, tenth, or twelfth, name on the list.[ ] public lectures on several branches were given in the university, attendance being quite voluntary; but i was so sickened with lectures at edinburgh that i did not even attend sedgwick's eloquent and interesting lectures. had i done so i should probably have become a geologist earlier than i did. i attended, however, henslow's lectures on botany, and liked them much for their extreme clearness, and the admirable illustrations; but i did not study botany. henslow used to take his pupils, including several of the older members of the university, field, excursions, on foot or in coaches, to distant places, or in a barge down the river, and lectured on the rarer plants and animals which were observed. these excursions were delightful. although, as we shall presently see, there were some redeeming features in my life at cambridge, my time was sadly wasted there, and worse than wasted. from my passion for shooting and for hunting, and, when this failed, for riding across country, i got into a sporting set, including some dissipated low-minded young men. we used often to dine together in the evening, though these dinners often included men of a higher stamp, and we sometimes drank too much, with jolly singing and playing at cards afterwards. i know that i ought to feel ashamed of days and evenings thus spent, but as some of my friends were very pleasant, and we were all in the highest spirits, i cannot help looking back to these times with much pleasure.[ ] but i am glad to think that i had many other friends of a widely different nature. i was very intimate with whitley,[ ] who was afterwards senior wrangler, and we used continually to take long walks together. he inoculated me with a taste for pictures and good engravings, of which i bought some. i frequently went to the fitzwilliam gallery, and my taste must have been fairly good, for i certainly admired the best pictures, which i discussed with the old curator. i read also with much interest sir joshua reynolds' book. this taste, though not natural to me, lasted for several years, and many of the pictures in the national gallery in london gave me much pleasure; that of sebastian del piombo exciting in me a sense of sublimity. i also got into a musical set, i believe by means of my warm-hearted friend, herbert,[ ] who took a high wrangler's degree. from associating with these men, and hearing them play, i acquired a strong taste for music, and used very often to time my walks so as to hear on week days the anthem in king's college chapel. this gave me intense pleasure, so that my backbone would sometimes shiver. i am sure that there was no affectation or mere imitation in this taste, for i used generally to go by myself to king's college, and i sometimes hired the chorister boys to sing in my rooms. nevertheless i am so utterly destitute of an ear, that i cannot perceive a discord, or keep time and hum a tune correctly; and it is a mystery how i could possibly have derived pleasure from music. my musical friends soon perceived my state, and sometimes amused themselves by making me pass an examination, which consisted in ascertaining how many tunes i could recognise, when they were played rather more quickly or slowly than usual. 'god save the king,' when thus played, was a sore puzzle. there was another man with almost as bad an ear as i had, and strange to say he played a little on the flute. once i had the triumph of beating him in one of our musical examinations. but no pursuit at cambridge was followed with nearly so much eagerness or gave me so much pleasure as collecting beetles. it was the mere passion for collecting, for i did not dissect them, and rarely compared their external characters with published descriptions, but got them named anyhow. i will give a proof of my zeal: one day, on tearing off some old bark, i saw two rare beetles, and seized one in each hand; then i saw a third and new kind, which i could not bear to lose, so that i popped the one which i held in my right hand into my mouth. alas! it ejected some intensely acrid fluid, which burnt my tongue so that i was forced to spit the beetle out, which was lost, as was the third one. i was very successful in collecting, and invented two new methods; i employed a labourer to scrape, during the winter, moss off old trees and place it in a large bag, and likewise to collect the rubbish at the bottom of the barges in which reeds are brought from the fens, and thus i got some very rare species. no poet ever felt more delighted at seeing his first poem published than i did at seeing, in stephens' _illustrations of british insects_, the magic words, "captured by c. darwin, esq." i was introduced to entomology by my second cousin, w. darwin fox, a clever and most pleasant man, who was then at christ's college, and with whom i became extremely intimate. afterwards i became well acquainted, and went out collecting, with albert way of trinity, who in after years became a well-known archaeologist; also with h. thompson,[ ] of the same college, afterwards a leading agriculturist, chairman of a great railway, and member of parliament. it seems, therefore, that a taste for collecting beetles is some indication of future success in life! i am surprised what an indelible impression many of the beetles which i caught at cambridge have left on my mind. i can remember the exact appearance of certain posts, old trees and banks where i made a good capture. the pretty _panagæus crux-major_ was a treasure in those days, and here at down i saw a beetle running across a walk, and on picking it up instantly perceived that it differed slightly from _p. crux-major_, and it turned out to be _p. quadripunctatus_, which is only a variety or closely allied species, differing from it very slightly in outline. i had never seen in those old days licinus alive, which to an uneducated eye hardly differs from many of the black carabidous beetles; but my sons found here a specimen, and i instantly recognised that it was new to me; yet i had not looked at a british beetle for the last twenty years. i have not yet mentioned a circumstance which influenced my whole career more than any other. this was my friendship with professor henslow. before coming up to cambridge, i had heard of him from my brother as a man who knew every branch of science, and i was accordingly prepared to reverence him. he kept open house once every week[ ] when all under-graduates and some older members of the university, who were attached to science, used to meet in the evening. i soon got, through fox, an invitation, and went there regularly. before long i became well acquainted with henslow, and during the latter half of my time at cambridge took long walks with him on most days; so that i was called by some of the dons "the man who walks with henslow;" and in the evening i was very often asked to join his family dinner. his knowledge was great in botany, entomology, chemistry, mineralogy, and geology. his strongest taste was to draw conclusions from long-continued minute observations. his judgment was excellent, and his whole mind well-balanced; but i do not suppose that any one would say that he possessed much original genius. he was deeply religious, and so orthodox, that he told me one day he should be grieved if a single word of the thirty-nine articles were altered. his moral qualities were in every way admirable. he was free from every tinge of vanity or other petty feeling; and i never saw a man who thought so little about himself or his own concerns. his temper was imperturbably good, with the most winning and courteous manners; yet, as i have seen, he could be roused by any bad action to the warmest indignation and prompt action. i once saw in his company in the streets of cambridge almost as horrid a scene as could have been witnessed during the french revolution. two body-snatchers had been arrested, and whilst being taken to prison had been torn from the constable by a crowd of the roughest men, who dragged them by their legs along the muddy and stony road. they were covered from head to foot with mud, and their faces were bleeding either from having been kicked or from the stones; they looked like corpses, but the crowd was so dense that i got only a few momentary glimpses of the wretched creatures. never in my life have i seen such wrath painted on a man's face as was shown by henslow at this horrid scene. he tried repeatedly to penetrate the mob; but it was simply impossible. he then rushed away to the mayor, telling me not to follow him, but to get more policemen. i forget the issue, except that the two men were got into the prison without being killed. henslow's benevolence was unbounded, as he proved by his many excellent schemes for his poor parishioners, when in after years he held the living of hitcham. my intimacy with such a man ought to have been, and i hope was, an inestimable benefit. i cannot resist mentioning a trifling incident, which showed his kind consideration. whilst examining some pollen-grains on a damp surface, i saw the tubes exserted, and instantly rushed off to communicate my surprising discovery to him. now i do not suppose any other professor of botany could have helped laughing at my coming in such a hurry to make such a communication. but he agreed how interesting the phenomenon was, and explained its meaning, but made me clearly understand how well it was known; so i left him not in the least mortified, but well pleased at having discovered for myself so remarkable a fact, but determined not to be in such a hurry again to communicate my discoveries. dr. whewell was one of the older and distinguished men who sometimes visited henslow, and on several occasions i walked home with him at night. next to sir j. mackintosh he was the best converser on grave subjects to whom i ever listened. leonard jenyns,[ ] who afterwards published some good essays in natural history, often stayed with henslow, who was his brother-in-law. i visited him at his parsonage on the borders of the fens [swaffham bulbeck], and had many a good walk and talk with him about natural history. i became also acquainted with several other men older than me, who did not care much about science, but were friends of henslow. one was a scotchman, brother of sir alexander ramsay, and tutor of jesus college; he was a delightful man, but did not live for many years. another was mr. dawes, afterwards dean of hereford, and famous for his success in the education of the poor. these men and others of the same standing, together with henslow, used sometimes to take distant excursions into the country, which i was allowed to join, and they were most agreeable. looking back, i infer that there must have been something in me a little superior to the common run of youths, otherwise the above-mentioned men, so much older than me and higher in academical position, would never have allowed me to associate with them. certainly i was not aware of any such superiority, and i remember one of my sporting friends, turner, who saw me at work with my beetles, saying that i should some day be a fellow of the royal society, and the notion seemed to me preposterous. during my last year at cambridge, i read with care and profound interest humboldt's _personal narrative_. this work, and sir j. herschel's _introduction to the study of natural philosophy_, stirred up in me a burning zeal to add even the most humble contribution to the noble structure of natural science. no one or a dozen other books influenced me nearly so much as these two. i copied out from humboldt long passages about teneriffe, and read them aloud on one of the above-mentioned excursions, to (i think) henslow, ramsay, and dawes, for on a previous occasion i had talked about the glories of teneriffe, and some of the party declared they would endeavour to go there; but i think they were only half in earnest. i was, however, quite in earnest, and got an introduction to a merchant in london to enquire about ships; but the scheme was, of course, knocked on the head by the voyage of the _beagle_. my summer vacations were given up to collecting beetles, to some reading, and short tours. in the autumn my whole time was devoted to shooting, chiefly at woodhouse and maer, and sometimes with young eyton of eyton. upon the whole the three years which i spent at cambridge were the most joyful in my happy life; for i was then in excellent health, and almost always in high spirits. as i had at first come up to cambridge at christmas, i was forced to keep two terms after passing my final examination, at the commencement of ; and henslow then persuaded me to begin the study of geology. therefore on my return to shropshire i examined sections, and coloured a map of parts round shrewsbury. professor sedgwick intended to visit north wales in the beginning of august to pursue his famous geological investigations amongst the older rocks, and henslow asked him to allow me to accompany him.[ ] accordingly he came and slept at my father's house. a short conversation with him during this evening produced a strong impression on my mind. whilst examining an old gravel-pit near shrewsbury, a labourer told me that he had found in it a large worn tropical volute shell, such as may be seen on chimney-pieces of cottages; and as he would not sell the shell, i was convinced that he had really found it in the pit. i told sedgwick of the fact, and he at once said (no doubt truly) that it must have been thrown away by some one into the pit; but then added, if really embedded there it would be the greatest misfortune to geology, as it would overthrow all that we know about the superficial deposits of the midland counties. these gravel-beds belong in fact to the glacial period, and in after years i found in them broken arctic shells. but i was then utterly astonished at sedgwick not being delighted at so wonderful a fact as a tropical shell being found near the surface in the middle of england. nothing before had ever made me thoroughly realise, though i had read various scientific books, that science consists in grouping facts so that general laws or conclusions may be drawn from them. next morning we started for llangollen, conway, bangor, and capel curig. this tour was of decided use in teaching me a little how to make out the geology of a country. sedgwick often sent me on a line parallel to his, telling me to bring back specimens of the rocks and to mark the stratification on a map. i have little doubt that he did this for my good, as i was too ignorant to have aided him. on this tour i had a striking instance how easy it is to overlook phenomena, however conspicuous, before they have been observed by any one. we spent many hours in cwm idwal, examining all the rocks with extreme care, as sedgwick was anxious to find fossils in them; but neither of us saw a trace of the wonderful glacial phenomena all around us; we did not notice the plainly scored rocks, the perched boulders, the lateral and terminal moraines. yet these phenomena are so conspicuous that, as i declared in a paper published many years afterwards in the _philosophical magazine_,[ ] a house burnt down by fire did not tell its story more plainly than did this valley. if it had still been filled by a glacier, the phenomena would have been less distinct than they now are. at capel curig i left sedgwick and went in a straight line by compass and map across the mountains to barmouth, never following any track unless it coincided with my course. i thus came on some strange wild places, and enjoyed much this manner of travelling. i visited barmouth to see some cambridge friends who were reading there, and thence returned to shrewsbury and to maer for shooting; for at that time i should have thought myself mad to give up the first days of partridge-shooting for geology or any other science. _voyage of the 'beagle': from december , , to october , ._ on returning home from my short geological tour in north wales, i found a letter from henslow, informing me that captain fitz-roy was willing to give up part of his own cabin to any young man who would volunteer to go with him without pay as naturalist to the voyage of the _beagle_. i have given, as i believe, in my ms. journal an account of all the circumstances which then occurred; i will here only say that i was instantly eager to accept the offer, but my father strongly objected, adding the words, fortunate for me, "if you can find any man of common-sense who advises you to go i will give my consent." so i wrote that evening and refused the offer. on the next morning i went to maer to be ready for september st, and whilst out shooting, my uncle[ ] sent for me, offering to drive me over to shrewsbury and talk with my father, as my uncle thought it would be wise in me to accept the offer. my father always maintained that [my uncle] was one of the most sensible men in the world, and he at once consented in the kindest manner. i had been rather extravagant at cambridge, and to console my father, said, "that i should be deuced clever to spend more than my allowance whilst on board the _beagle_;" but he answered with a smile, "but they tell me you are very clever." next day i started for cambridge to see henslow, and thence to london to see fitz-roy, and all was soon arranged. afterwards, on becoming very intimate with fitz-roy, i heard that i had run a very narrow risk of being rejected on account of the shape of my nose! he was an ardent disciple of lavater, and was convinced that he could judge of a man's character by the outline of his features; and he doubted whether any one with my nose could possess sufficient energy and determination for the voyage. but i think he was afterwards well satisfied that my nose had spoken falsely. fitz-roy's character was a singular one, with very many noble features: he was devoted to his duty, generous to a fault, bold, determined, and indomitably energetic, and an ardent friend to all under his sway. he would undertake any sort of trouble to assist those whom he thought deserved assistance. he was a handsome man, strikingly like a gentleman, with highly-courteous manners, which resembled those of his maternal uncle, the famous lord castlereagh, as i was told by the minister at rio. nevertheless he must have inherited much in his appearance from charles ii., for dr. wallich gave me a collection of photographs which he had made, and i was struck with the resemblance of one to fitz-roy; and on looking at the name, i found it ch. e. sobieski stuart, count d'albanie,[ ] a descendant of the same monarch. fitz-roy's temper was a most unfortunate one. it was usually worst in the early morning, and with his eagle eye he could generally detect something amiss about the ship, and was then unsparing in his blame. he was very kind to me, but was a man very difficult to live with on the intimate terms which necessarily followed from our messing by ourselves in the same cabin. we had several quarrels; for instance, early in the voyage at bahia, in brazil, he defended and praised slavery, which i abominated, and told me that he had just visited a great slave-owner, who had called up many of his slaves and asked them whether they were happy, and whether they wished to be free, and all answered "no." i then asked him, perhaps with a sneer, whether he thought that the answer of slaves in the presence of their master was worth anything? this made him excessively angry, and he said that as i doubted his word we could not live any longer together. i thought that i should have been compelled to leave the ship; but as soon as the news spread, which it did quickly, as the captain sent for the first lieutenant to assuage his anger by abusing me, i was deeply gratified by receiving an invitation from all the gun-room officers to mess with them. but after a few hours fitz-roy showed his usual magnanimity by sending an officer to me with an apology and a request that i would continue to live with him. his character was in several respects one of the most noble which i have ever known. the voyage of the _beagle_ has been by far the most important event in my life, and has determined my whole career; yet it depended on so small a circumstance as my uncle offering to drive me thirty miles to shrewsbury, which few uncles would have done, and on such a trifle as the shape of my nose. i have always felt that i owe to the voyage the first real training or education of my mind; i was led to attend closely to several branches of natural history, and thus my powers of observation were improved, though they were always fairly developed. the investigation of the geology of all the places visited was far more important, as reasoning here comes into play. on first examining a new district, nothing can appear more hopeless than the chaos of rocks; but by recording the stratification and nature of the rocks and fossils at many points, always reasoning and predicting what will be found elsewhere, light soon begins to dawn on the district, and the structure of the whole becomes more or less intelligible. i had brought with me the first volume of lyell's _principles of geology_, which i studied attentively; and the book was of the highest service to me in many ways. the very first place which i examined, namely, st. jago, in the cape de verde islands, showed me clearly the wonderful superiority of lyell's manner of treating geology, compared with that of any other author whose works i had with me or ever afterwards read. another of my occupations was collecting animals of all classes, briefly describing and roughly dissecting many of the marine ones; but from not being able to draw, and from not having sufficient anatomical knowledge, a great pile of ms. which i made during the voyage has proved almost useless. i thus lost much time, with the exception of that spent in acquiring some knowledge of the crustaceans, as this was of service when in after years i undertook a monograph of the cirripedia. during some part of the day i wrote my journal, and took much pains in describing carefully and vividly all that i had seen; and this was good practice. my journal served also, in part, as letters to my home, and portions were sent to england whenever there was an opportunity. the above various special studies were, however, of no importance compared with the habit of energetic industry and of concentrated attention to whatever i was engaged in, which i then acquired. everything about which i thought or read was made to bear directly on what i had seen or was likely to see; and this habit of mind was continued during the five years of the voyage. i feel sure that it was this training which has enabled me to do whatever i have done in science. looking backwards, i can now perceive how my love for science gradually preponderated over every other taste. during the first two years my old passion for shooting survived in nearly full force, and i shot myself all the birds and animals for my collection; but gradually i gave up my gun more and more, and finally altogether, to my servant, as shooting interfered with my work, more especially with making out the geological structure of a country. i discovered, though unconsciously and insensibly, that the pleasure of observing and reasoning was a much higher one than that of skill and sport. that my mind became developed through my pursuits during the voyage is rendered probable by a remark made by my father, who was the most acute observer whom i ever saw, of a sceptical disposition, and far from being a believer in phrenology; for on first seeing me after the voyage, he turned round to my sisters, and exclaimed, "why, the shape of his head is quite altered." to return to the voyage. on september th ( ), i paid a flying visit with fitz-roy to the _beagle_ at plymouth. thence to shrewsbury to wish my father and sisters a long farewell. on october th i took up my residence at plymouth, and remained there until december th, when the _beagle_ finally left the shores of england for her circumnavigation of the world. we made two earlier attempts to sail, but were driven back each time by heavy gales. these two months at plymouth were the most miserable which i ever spent, though i exerted myself in various ways. i was out of spirits at the thought of leaving all my family and friends for so long a time, and the weather seemed to me inexpressibly gloomy. i was also troubled with palpitation and pain about the heart, and like many a young ignorant man, especially one with a smattering of medical knowledge, was convinced that i had heart disease. i did not consult any doctor, as i fully expected to hear the verdict that i was not fit for the voyage, and i was resolved to go at all hazards. i need not here refer to the events of the voyage--where we went and what we did--as i have given a sufficiently full account in my published journal. the glories of the vegetation of the tropics rise before my mind at the present time more vividly than anything else; though the sense of sublimity, which the great deserts of patagonia and the forest-clad mountains of tierra del fuego excited in me, has left an indelible impression on my mind. the sight of a naked savage in his native land is an event which can never be forgotten. many of my excursions on horseback through wild countries, or in the boats, some of which lasted several weeks, were deeply interesting; their discomfort and some degree of danger were at that time hardly a drawback, and none at all afterwards. i also reflect with high satisfaction on some of my scientific work, such as solving the problem of coral islands, and making out the geological structure of certain islands, for instance, st. helena. nor must i pass over the discovery of the singular relations of the animals and plants inhabiting the several islands of the galapagos archipelago, and of all of them to the inhabitants of south america. as far as i can judge of myself, i worked to the utmost during the voyage from the mere pleasure of investigation, and from my strong desire to add a few facts to the great mass of facts in natural science. but i was also ambitious to take a fair place among scientific men,--whether more ambitious or less so than most of my fellow-workers, i can form no opinion. the geology of st. jago is very striking, yet simple: a stream of lava formerly flowed over the bed of the sea, formed of triturated recent shells and corals, which it has baked into a hard white rock. since then the whole island has been upheaved. but the line of white rock revealed to me a new and important fact, namely, that there had been afterwards subsidence round the craters, which had since been in action, and had poured forth lava. it then first dawned on me that i might perhaps write a book on the geology of the various countries visited, and this made me thrill with delight. that was a memorable hour to me, and how distinctly i can call to mind the low cliff of lava beneath which i rested, with the sun glaring hot, a few strange desert plants growing near, and with living corals in the tidal pools at my feet. later in the voyage, fitz-roy asked me to read some of my journal, and declared it would be worth publishing; so here was a second book in prospect! towards the close of our voyage i received a letter whilst at ascension, in which my sisters told me that sedgwick had called on my father, and said that i should take a place among the leading scientific men. i could not at the time understand how he could have learnt anything of my proceedings, but i heard (i believe afterwards) that henslow had read some of the letters which i wrote to him before the philosophical society of cambridge,[ ] and had printed them for private distribution. my collection of fossil bones, which had been sent to henslow, also excited considerable attention amongst palæontologists. after reading this letter, i clambered over the mountains of ascension with a bounding step and made the volcanic rocks resound under my geological hammer. all this shows how ambitious i was; but i think that i can say with truth that in after years, though i cared in the highest degree for the approbation of such men as lyell and hooker, who were my friends, i did not care much about the general public. i do not mean to say that a favourable review or a large sale of my books did not please me greatly, but the pleasure was a fleeting one, and i am sure that i have never turned one inch out of my course to gain fame. _from my return to england (october , ) to my marriage (january , )._ these two years and three months wore the most active ones which i ever spent, though i was occasionally unwell, and so lost some time. after going backwards and forwards several times between shrewsbury, maer, cambridge, and london, i settled in lodgings at cambridge[ ] on december th, where all my collections were under the care of henslow. i stayed here three months, and got my minerals and rocks examined by the aid of professor miller. i began preparing my _journal of travels_, which was not hard work, as my ms. journal had been written with care, and my chief labour was making an abstract of my more interesting scientific results. i sent also, at the request of lyell, a short account of my observations on the elevation of the coast of chili to the geological society.[ ] on march th, , i took lodgings in great marlborough street in london, and remained there for nearly two years, until i was married. during these two years i finished my journal, read several papers before the geological society, began preparing the ms. for my _geological observations_, and arranged for the publication of the _zoology of the voyage of the beagle_. in july i opened my first note-book for facts in relation to the _origin of species_, about which i had long reflected, and never ceased working for the next twenty years. during these two years i also went a little into society, and acted as one of the honorary secretaries of the geological society. i saw a great deal of lyell. one of his chief characteristics was his sympathy with the work of others, and i was as much astonished as delighted at the interest which he showed when, on my return to england, i explained to him my views on coral reefs. this encouraged me greatly, and his advice and example had much influence on me. during this time i saw also a good deal of robert brown; i used often to call and sit with him during his breakfast on sunday mornings, and he poured forth a rich treasure of curious observations and acute remarks, but they almost always related to minute points, and he never with me discussed large or general questions in science. during these two years i took several short excursions as a relaxation, and one longer one to the parallel roads of glen roy, an account of which was published in the _philosophical transactions_.[ ] this paper was a great failure, and i am ashamed of it. having been deeply impressed with what i had seen of the elevation of the land in south america, i attributed the parallel lines to the action of the sea; but i had to give up this view when agassiz propounded his glacier-lake theory. because no other explanation was possible under our then state of knowledge, i argued in favour of sea-action; and my error has been a good lesson to me never to trust in science to the principle of exclusion. as i was not able to work all day at science, i read a good deal during these two years on various subjects, including some metaphysical books; but i was not well fitted for such studies. about this time i took much delight in wordsworth's and coleridge's poetry; and can boast that i read the _excursion_ twice through. formerly milton's _paradise lost_ had been my chief favourite, and in my excursions during the voyage of the _beagle_, when i could take only a single volume, i always chose milton. _from my marriage, january , , and residence in upper gower street, to our leaving london and settling at down, september , ._ [after speaking of his happy married life, and of his children, he continues:] during the three years and eight months whilst we resided in london, i did less scientific work, though i worked as hard as i possibly could, than during any other equal length of time in my life. this was owing to frequently recurring unwellness, and to one long and serious illness. the greater part of my time, when i could do anything, was devoted to my work on _coral reefs_, which i had begun before my marriage, and of which the last proof-sheet was corrected on may th, . this book, though a small one, cost me twenty months of hard work, as i had to read every work on the islands of the pacific and to consult many charts. it was thought highly of by scientific men, and the theory therein given is, i think, now well established. no other work of mine was begun in so deductive a spirit as this, for the whole theory was thought out on the west coast of south america, before i had seen a true coral reef. i had therefore only to verify and extend my views by a careful examination of living reefs. but it should be observed that i had during the two previous years been incessantly attending to the effects on the shores of south america of the intermittent elevation of the land, together with denudation and the deposition of sediment. this necessarily led me to reflect much on the effects of subsidence, and it was easy to replace in imagination the continued deposition of sediment by the upward growth of corals. to do this was to form my theory of the formation of barrier-reefs and atolls. besides my work on coral-reefs, during my residence in london, i read before the geological society papers on the erratic boulders of south america,[ ] on earthquakes,[ ] and on the formation by the agency of earth-worms of mould.[ ] i also continued to superintend the publication of the _zoology of the voyage of the beagle_. nor did i ever intermit collecting facts bearing on the origin of species; and i could sometimes do this when i could do nothing else from illness. in the summer of i was stronger than i had been for some time, and took a little tour by myself in north wales, for the sake of observing the effects of the old glaciers which formerly filled all the larger valleys. i published a short account of what i saw in the _philosophical magazine_.[ ] this excursion interested me greatly, and it was the last time i was ever strong enough to climb mountains or to take long walks such as are necessary for geological work. during the early part of our life in london, i was strong enough to go into general society, and saw a good deal of several scientific men and other more or less distinguished men. i will give my impressions with respect to some of them, though i have little to say worth saying. i saw more of lyell than of any other man, both before and after my marriage. his mind was characterised, as it appeared to me, by clearness, caution, sound judgment, and a good deal of originality. when i made any remark to him on geology, he never rested until he saw the whole case clearly, and often made me see it more clearly than i had done before. he would advance all possible objections to my suggestion, and even after these were exhausted would long remain dubious. a second characteristic was his hearty sympathy with the work of other scientific men.[ ] on my return from the voyage of the _beagle_, i explained to him my views on coral-reefs, which differed from his, and i was greatly surprised and encouraged by the vivid interest which he showed. his delight in science was ardent, and he felt the keenest interest in the future progress of mankind. he was very kind-hearted, and thoroughly liberal in his religious beliefs, or rather disbeliefs; but he was a strong theist. his candour was highly remarkable. he exhibited this by becoming a convert to the descent theory, though he had gained much fame by opposing lamarck's views, and this after he had grown old. he reminded me that i had many years before said to him, when discussing the opposition of the old school of geologists to his new views, "what a good thing it would be if every scientific man was to die when sixty years old, as afterwards he would be sure to oppose all new doctrines." but he hoped that now he might be allowed to live. the science of geology is enormously indebted to lyell--more so, as i believe, than to any other man who ever lived. when [i was] starting on the voyage of the _beagle_, the sagacious henslow, who, like all other geologists, believed at that time in successive cataclysms, advised me to get and study the first volume of the _principles_, which had then just been published, but on no account to accept the views therein advocated. how differently would any one now speak of the _principles_! i am proud to remember that the first place, namely, st. jago, in the cape de verde archipelago, in which i geologised, convinced me of the infinite superiority of lyell's views over those advocated in any other work known to me. the powerful effects of lyell's works could formerly be plainly seen in the different progress of the science in france and england. the present total oblivion of elie de beaumont's wild hypotheses, such as his _craters of elevation_ and _lines of elevation_ (which latter hypothesis i heard sedgwick at the geological society lauding to the skies), may be largely attributed to lyell. i saw a good deal of robert brown, "facile princeps botanicorum," as he was called by humboldt. he seemed to me to be chiefly remarkable for the minuteness of his observations and their perfect accuracy. his knowledge was extraordinarily great, and much died with him, owing to his excessive fear of ever making a mistake. he poured out his knowledge to me in the most unreserved manner, yet was strangely jealous on some points. i called on him two or three times before the voyage of the _beagle_, and on one occasion he asked me to look through a microscope and describe what i saw. this i did, and believe now that it was the marvellous currents of protoplasm in some vegetable cell. i then asked him what i had seen; but he answered me, "that is my little secret." he was capable of the most generous actions. when old, much out of health, and quite unfit for any exertion, he daily visited (as hooker told me) an old man-servant, who lived at a distance (and whom he supported), and read aloud to him. this is enough to make up for any degree of scientific penuriousness or jealousy. i may here mention a few other eminent men whom i have occasionally seen, but i have little to say about them worth saying. i felt a high reverence for sir j. herschel, and was delighted to dine with him at his charming house at the cape of good hope and afterwards at his london house. i saw him, also, on a few other occasions. he never talked much, but every word which he uttered was worth listening to. i once met at breakfast, at sir r. murchison's house, the illustrious humboldt, who honoured me by expressing a wish to see me. i was a little disappointed with the great man, but my anticipations probably were too high. i can remember nothing distinctly about our interview, except that humboldt was very cheerful and talked much. x.[ ] reminds me of buckle, whom i once met at hensleigh wedgwood's. i was very glad to learn from [buckle] his system of collecting facts. he told me that he bought all the books which he read, and made a full index to each, of the facts which he thought might prove serviceable to him, and that he could always remember in what book he had read anything, for his memory was wonderful. i asked him how at first he could judge what facts would be serviceable, and he answered that he did not know, but that a sort of instinct guided him. from this habit of making indices, he was enabled to give the astonishing number of references on all sorts of subjects which may be found in his _history of civilisation_. this book i thought most interesting, and read it twice, but i doubt whether his generalisations are worth anything. buckle was a great talker; and i listened to him, saying hardly a word, nor indeed could i have done so, for he left no gaps. when mrs. farrer began to sing, i jumped up and said that i must listen to her. after i had moved away, he turned round to a friend, and said (as was overheard by my brother), "well, mr. darwin's books are much better than his conversation." of other great literary men, i once met sydney smith at dean milman's house. there was something inexplicably amusing in every word which he uttered. perhaps this was partly due to the expectation of being amused. he was talking about lady cork, who was then extremely old. this was the lady who, as he said, was once so much affected by one of his charity sermons, that she _borrowed_ a guinea from a friend to put in the plate. he now said, "it is generally believed that my dear old friend lady cork has been overlooked"; and he said this in such a manner that no one could for a moment doubt that he meant that his dear old friend had been overlooked by the devil. how he managed to express this i know not. i likewise once met macaulay at lord stanhope's (the historian's) house, and as there was only one other man at dinner, i had a grand opportunity of hearing him converse, and he was very agreeable. he did not talk at all too much, nor indeed could such a man talk too much, as long as he allowed others to turn the stream of his conversation, and this he did allow. lord stanhope once gave me a curious little proof of the accuracy and fulness of macaulay's memory. many historians used often to meet at lord stanhope's house; and, in discussing various subjects, they would sometimes differ from macaulay, and formerly they often referred to some book to see who was right; but latterly, as lord stanhope noticed, no historian ever took this trouble, and whatever macaulay said was final. on another occasion i met at lord stanhope's house one of his parties of historians and other literary men, and amongst them were motley and grote. after luncheon i walked about chevening park for nearly an hour with grote, and was much interested by his conversation and pleased by the simplicity and absence of all pretension in his manners. long ago i dined occasionally with the old earl, the father of the historian. he was a strange man, but what little i knew of him i liked much. he was frank, genial, and pleasant. he had strongly-marked features, with a brown complexion, and his clothes, when i saw him, were all brown. he seemed to believe in everything which was to others utterly incredible. he said one day to me, "why don't you give up your fiddle-faddle of geology and zoology, and turn to the occult sciences?" the historian, then lord mahon, seemed shocked at such a speech to me, and his charming wife much amused. the last man whom i will mention is carlyle, seen by me several times at my brother's house and two or three times at my own house. his talk was very racy and interesting, just like his writings, but he sometimes went on too long on the same subject. i remember a funny dinner at my brother's, where, amongst a few others, were babbage and lyell, both of whom liked to talk. carlyle, however, silenced every one by haranguing during the whole dinner on the advantages of silence. after dinner, babbage, in his grimmest manner, thanked carlyle for his very interesting lecture on silence. carlyle sneered at almost every one: one day in my house he called grote's _history_ "a fetid quagmire, with nothing spiritual about it." i always thought, until his _reminiscences_ appeared, that his sneers were partly jokes, but this now seems rather doubtful. his expression was that of a depressed, almost despondent, yet benevolent man, and it is notorious how heartily he laughed. i believe that his benevolence was real, though stained by not a little jealousy. no one can doubt about his extraordinary power of drawing pictures of things and men--far more vivid, as it appears to me, than any drawn by macaulay. whether his pictures of men were true ones is another question. he has been all-powerful in impressing some grand moral truths on the minds of men. on the other hand, his views about slavery were revolting. in his eyes might was right. his mind seemed to me a very narrow one; even if all branches of science, which he despised, are excluded. it is astonishing to me that kingsley should have spoken of him as a man well fitted to advance science. he laughed to scorn the idea that a mathematician, such as whewell, could judge, as i maintained he could, of goethe's views on light. he thought it a most ridiculous thing that any one should care whether a glacier moved a little quicker or a little slower, or moved at all. as far as i could judge, i never met a man with a mind so ill adapted for scientific research. whilst living in london, i attended as regularly as i could the meetings of several scientific societies, and acted as secretary to the geological society. but such attendance, and ordinary society, suited my health so badly that we resolved to live in the country, which we both preferred and have never repented of. _residence at down, from september , , to the present time, ._ after several fruitless searches in surrey and elsewhere, we found this house and purchased it. i was pleased with the diversified appearance of the vegetation proper to a chalk district, and so unlike what i had been accustomed to in the midland counties; and still more pleased with the extreme quietness and rusticity of the place. it is not, however, quite so retired a place as a writer in a german periodical makes it, who says that my house can be approached only by a mule-track! our fixing ourselves here has answered admirably in one way which we did not anticipate, namely, by being very convenient for frequent visits from our children. few persons can have lived a more retired life than we have done. besides short visits to the houses of relations, and occasionally to the seaside or elsewhere, we have gone nowhere. during the first part of our residence we went a little into society, and received a few friends here; but my health almost always suffered from the excitement, violent shivering and vomiting attacks being thus brought on. i have therefore been compelled for many years to give up all dinner-parties; and this has been somewhat of a deprivation to me, as such parties always put me into high spirits. from the same cause i have been able to invite here very few scientific acquaintances. my chief enjoyment and sole employment throughout life has been scientific work, and the excitement from such work makes me for the time forget, or drives quite away, my daily discomfort. i have therefore nothing to record during the rest of my life, except the publication of my several books. perhaps a few details how they arose may be worth giving. _my several publications._--in the early part of , my observations on the volcanic islands visited during the voyage of the _beagle_ were published. in , i took much pains in correcting a new edition of my _journal of researches_, which was originally published in as part of fitz-roy's work. the success of this my first literary child always tickles my vanity more than that of any of my other books. even to this day it sells steadily in england and the united states, and has been translated for the second time into german, and into french and other languages. this success of a book of travels, especially of a scientific one, so many years after its first publication, is surprising. ten thousand copies have been sold in england of the second edition. in my _geological observations on south america_ were published. i record in a little diary, which i have always kept, that my three geological books (_coral reefs_ included) consumed four and a half years' steady work; "and now it is ten years since my return to england. how much time have i lost by illness?" i have nothing to say about these three books except that to my surprise new editions have lately been called for.[ ] in october, , i began to work on 'cirripedia' (barnacles). when on the coast of chile, i found a most curious form, which burrowed into shells of concholepas, and which differed so much from all other cirripedes that i had to form a new sub-order for its sole reception. lately an allied burrowing genus has been found on the shores of portugal. to understand the structure of my new cirripede i had to examine and dissect many of the common forms: and this gradually led me on to take up the whole group. i worked steadily on the subject for the next eight years, and ultimately published two thick volumes,[ ] describing all the known living species, and two thin quartos on the extinct species. i do not doubt that sir e. lytton bulwer had me in his mind when he introduced in one of his novels a professor long, who had written two huge volumes on limpets. although i was employed during eight years on this work, yet i record in my diary that about two years out of this time was lost by illness. on this account i went in for some months to malvern for hydropathic treatment, which did me much good, so that on my return home i was able to resume work. so much was i out of health that when my dear father died on november th, , i was unable to attend his funeral or to act as one of his executors. my work on the cirripedia possesses, i think, considerable value, as besides describing several new and remarkable forms, i made out the homologies of the various parts--i discovered the cementing apparatus, though i blundered dreadfully about the cement glands--and lastly i proved the existence in certain genera of minute males complemental to and parasitic on the hermaphrodites. this latter discovery has at last been fully confirmed; though at one time a german writer was pleased to attribute the whole account to my fertile imagination. the cirripedes form a highly varying and difficult group of species to class; and my work was of considerable use to me, when i had to discuss in the _origin of species_ the principles of a natural classification. nevertheless, i doubt whether the work was worth the consumption of so much time. from september i devoted my whole time to arranging my huge pile of notes, to observing, and to experimenting in relation to the transmutation of species. during the voyage of the _beagle_ i had been deeply impressed by discovering in the pampean formation great fossil animals covered with armour like that on the existing armadillos; secondly, by the manner in which closely allied animals replace one another in proceeding southwards over the continent; and thirdly, by the south american character of most of the productions of the galapagos archipelago, and more especially by the manner in which they differ slightly on each island of the group; none of the islands appearing to be very ancient in a geological sense. it was evident that such facts as these, as well as many others, could only be explained on the supposition that species gradually become modified; and the subject haunted me. but it was equally evident that neither the action of the surrounding conditions, nor the will of the organisms (especially in the case of plants) could account for the innumerable cases in which organisms of every kind are beautifully adapted to their habits of life--for instance, a woodpecker or a tree-frog to climb trees, or a seed for dispersal by hooks or plumes. i had always been much struck by such adaptations, and until these could be explained it seemed to me almost useless to endeavour to prove by indirect evidence that species have been modified. after my return to england it appeared to me that by following the example of lyell in geology, and by collecting all facts which bore in any way on the variation of animals and plants under domestication and nature, some light might perhaps be thrown on the whole subject. my first note-book was opened in july . i worked on true baconian principles, and without any theory collected facts on a wholesale scale, more especially with respect to domesticated productions, by printed enquiries, by conversation with skilful breeders and gardeners, and by extensive reading. when i see the list of books of all kinds which i read and abstracted, including whole series of journals and transactions, i am surprised at my industry. i soon perceived that selection was the keystone of man's success in making useful races of animals and plants. but how selection could be applied to organisms living in a state of nature remained for some time a mystery to me. in october , that is, fifteen months after i had begun my systematic enquiry, i happened to read for amusement malthus on _population_, and being well prepared to appreciate the struggle for existence which everywhere goes on from long-continued observation of the habits of animals and plants, it at once struck me that under these circumstances favourable variations would tend to be preserved, and unfavourable ones to be destroyed. the result of this would be the formation of new species. here, then, i had at last got a theory by which to work; but i was so anxious to avoid prejudice, that i determined not for some time to write even the briefest sketch of it. in june i first allowed myself the satisfaction of writing a very brief abstract of my theory in pencil in pages; and this was enlarged during the summer of into one of pages, which i had fairly copied out and still possess. but at that time i overlooked one problem of great importance; and it is astonishing to me, except on the principle of columbus and his egg, how i could have overlooked it and its solution. this problem is the tendency in organic beings descended from the same stock to diverge in character as they become modified. that they have diverged greatly is obvious from the manner in which species of all kinds can be classed under genera, genera under families, families under sub-orders, and so forth; and i can remember the very spot in the road, whilst in my carriage, when to my joy the solution occurred to me; and this was long after i had come to down. the solution, as i believe, is that the modified offspring of all dominant and increasing forms tend to become adapted to many and highly diversified places in the economy of nature. early in lyell advised me to write out my views pretty fully, and i began at once to do so on a scale three or four times as extensive as that which was afterwards followed in my _origin of species_; yet it was only an abstract of the materials which i had collected, and i got through about half the work on this scale. but my plans were overthrown, for early in the summer of mr. wallace, who was then in the malay archipelago, sent me an essay _on the tendency of varieties to depart indefinitely from the original type_; and this essay contained exactly the same theory as mine. mr. wallace expressed the wish that if i thought well of his essay, i should send it to lyell for perusal. the circumstances under which i consented at the request of lyell and hooker to allow of an abstract from my ms., together with a letter to asa gray, dated september , , to be published at the same time with wallace's essay, are given in the _journal of the proceedings of the linnean society_, , p. . i was at first very unwilling to consent, as i thought mr. wallace might consider my doing so unjustifiable, for i did not then know how generous and noble was his disposition. the extract from my ms. and the letter to asa gray had neither been intended for publication, and were badly written. mr. wallace's essay, on the other hand, was admirably expressed and quite clear. nevertheless, our joint productions excited very little attention, and the only published notice of them which i can remember was by professor haughton of dublin, whose verdict was that all that was new in them was false, and what was true was old. this shows how necessary it is that any new view should be explained at considerable length in order to arouse public attention. in september i set to work by the strong advice of lyell and hooker to prepare a volume on the transmutation of species, but was often interrupted by ill-health, and short visits to dr. lane's delightful hydropathic establishment at moor park. i abstracted the ms. begun on a much larger scale in , and completed the volume on the same reduced scale. it cost me thirteen months and ten days' hard labour. it was published under the title of the _origin of species_, in november . though considerably added to and corrected in the later editions, it has remained substantially the same book. it is no doubt the chief work of my life. it was from the first highly successful. the first small edition of copies was sold on the day of publication, and a second edition of copies soon afterwards. sixteen thousand copies have now ( ) been sold in england; and considering how stiff a book it is, this is a large sale. it has been translated into almost every european tongue, even into such languages as spanish, bohemian, polish, and russian. it has also, according to miss bird, been translated into japanese,[ ] and is there much studied. even an essay in hebrew has appeared on it, showing that the theory is contained in the old testament! the reviews were very numerous; for some time i collected all that appeared on the _origin_ and on my related books, and these amount (excluding newspaper reviews) to ; but after a time i gave up the attempt in despair. many separate essays and books on the subject have appeared; and in germany a catalogue or bibliography on "darwinismus" has appeared every year or two. the success of the _origin_ may, i think, be attributed in large part to my having long before written two condensed sketches, and to my having finally abstracted a much larger manuscript, which was itself an abstract. by this means i was enabled to select the more striking facts and conclusions. i had, also, during many years, followed a golden rule, namely, that whenever a published fact, a new observation or thought came across me, which was opposed to my general results, to make a memorandum of it without fail and at once; for i had found by experience that such facts and thoughts were far more apt to escape from the memory than favourable ones. owing to this habit, very few objections were raised against my views which i had not at least noticed and attempted to answer. it has sometimes been said that the success of the _origin_ proved "that the subject was in the air," or "that men's minds were prepared for it." i do not think that this is strictly true, for i occasionally sounded not a few naturalists, and never happened to come across a single one who seemed to doubt about the permanence of species. even lyell and hooker, though they would listen with interest to me, never seemed to agree. i tried once or twice to explain to able men what i meant by natural selection, but signally failed. what i believe was strictly true is that innumerable well-observed facts were stored in the minds of naturalists ready to take their proper places as soon as any theory which would receive them was sufficiently explained. another element in the success of the book was its moderate size; and this i owe to the appearance of mr. wallace's essay; had i published on the scale in which i began to write in , the book would have been four or five times as large as the _origin_, and very few would have had the patience to read it. i gained much by my delay in publishing from about , when the theory was clearly conceived, to ; and i lost nothing by it, for i cared very little whether men attributed most originality to me or wallace; and his essay no doubt aided in the reception of the theory. i was forestalled in only one important point, which my vanity has always made me regret, namely, the explanation by means of the glacial period of the presence of the same species of plants and of some few animals on distant mountain summits and in the arctic regions. this view pleased me so much that i wrote it out _in extenso_, and i believe that it was read by hooker some years before e. forbes published his celebrated memoir[ ] on the subject. in the very few points in which we differed, i still think that i was in the right. i have never, of course, alluded in print to my having independently worked out this view. hardly any point gave me so much satisfaction when i was at work on the _origin_, as the explanation of the wide difference in many classes between the embryo and the adult animal, and of the close resemblance of the embryos within the same class. no notice of this point was taken, as far as i remember, in the early reviews of the _origin_, and i recollect expressing my surprise on this head in a letter to asa gray. within late years several reviewers have given the whole credit to fritz müller and häckel, who undoubtedly have worked it out much more fully, and in some respects more correctly than i did. i had materials for a whole chapter on the subject, and i ought to have made the discussion longer; for it is clear that i failed to impress my readers; and he who succeeds in doing so deserves, in my opinion, all the credit. this leads me to remark that i have almost always been treated honestly by my reviewers, passing over those without scientific knowledge as not worthy of notice. my views have often been grossly misrepresented, bitterly opposed and ridiculed, but this has been generally done, as i believe, in good faith. on the whole i do not doubt that my works have been over and over again greatly overpraised. i rejoice that i have avoided controversies, and this i owe to lyell, who many years ago, in reference to my geological works, strongly advised me never to get entangled in a controversy, as it rarely did any good and caused a miserable loss of time and temper. whenever i have found out that i have blundered, or that my work has been imperfect, and when i have been contemptuously criticised, and even when i have been overpraised, so that i have felt mortified, it has been my greatest comfort to say hundreds of times to myself that "i have worked as hard and as well as i could, and no man can do more than this." i remember when in good success bay, in tierra del fuego, thinking (and, i believe, that i wrote home to the effect) that i could not employ my life better than in adding a little to natural science. this i have done to the best of my abilities, and critics may say what they like, but they cannot destroy this conviction. during the two last months of i was fully occupied in preparing a second edition of the _origin_, and by an enormous correspondence. on january st, , i began arranging my notes for my work on the _variation of animals and plants under domestication_; but it was not published until the beginning of ; the delay having been caused partly by frequent illnesses, one of which lasted seven months, and partly by being tempted to publish on other subjects which at the time interested me more. on may th, , my little book on the _fertilisation of orchids_, which cost me ten months' work, was published: most of the facts had been slowly accumulated during several previous years. during the summer of , and, i believe, during the previous summer, i was led to attend to the cross-fertilisation of flowers by the aid of insects, from having come to the conclusion in my speculations on the origin of species, that crossing played an important part in keeping specific forms constant. i attended to the subject more or less during every subsequent summer; and my interest in it was greatly enhanced by having procured and read in november , through the advice of robert brown, a copy of c. k. sprengel's wonderful book, _das entdeckte geheimniss der natur_. for some years before i had specially attended to the fertilisation of our british orchids; and it seemed to me the best plan to prepare as complete a treatise on this group of plants as well as i could, rather than to utilise the great mass of matter which i had slowly collected with respect to other plants. my resolve proved a wise one; for since the appearance of my book, a surprising number of papers and separate works on the fertilisation of all kinds of flowers have appeared; and these are far better done than i could possibly have effected. the merits of poor old sprengel, so long overlooked, are now fully recognised many years after his death. during the same year i published in the _journal of the linnean society_, a paper _on the two forms, or dimorphic condition of primula_, and during the next five years, five other papers on dimorphic and trimorphic plants. i do not think anything in my scientific life has given me so much satisfaction as making out the meaning of the structure of these plants. i had noticed in or the dimorphism of _linum flavum_, and had at first thought that it was merely a case of unmeaning variability. but on examining the common species of primula, i found that the two forms were much too regular and constant to be thus viewed. i therefore became almost convinced that the common cowslip and primrose were on the high-road to become dioecious;--that the short pistil in the one form, and the short stamens in the other form were tending towards abortion. the plants were therefore subjected under this point of view to trial; but as soon as the flowers with short pistils fertilised with pollen from the short stamens, were found to yield more seeds than any other of the four possible unions, the abortion-theory was knocked on the head. after some additional experiment, it became evident that the two forms, though both were perfect hermaphrodites, bore almost the same relation to one another as do the two sexes of an ordinary animal. with lythrum we have the still more wonderful case of three forms standing in a similar relation to one another. i afterwards found that the offspring from the union of two plants belonging to the same forms presented a close and curious analogy with hybrids from the union of two distinct species. in the autumn of i finished a long paper on _climbing plants_, and sent it to the linnean society. the writing of this paper cost me four months: but i was so unwell when i received the proof-sheets that i was forced to leave them very badly and often obscurely expressed. the paper was little noticed, but when in it was corrected and published as a separate book it sold well. i was led to take up this subject by reading a short paper by asa gray, published in . he sent me seeds, and on raising some plants i was so much fascinated and perplexed by the revolving movements of the tendrils and stems, which movements are really very simple, though appearing at first sight very complex, that i procured various other kinds of climbing plants, and studied the whole subject. i was all the more attracted to it, from not being at all satisfied with the explanation which henslow gave us in his lectures, about twining plants, namely, that they had a natural tendency to grow up in a spire. this explanation proved quite erroneous. some of the adaptations displayed by climbing plants are as beautiful as those of orchids for ensuring cross-fertilisation. my _variation of animals and plants under domestication_ was begun, as already stated, in the beginning of , but was not published until the beginning of . it was a big book, and cost me four years and two months' hard labour. it gives all my observations and an immense number of facts collected from various sources, about our domestic productions. in the second volume the causes and laws of variation, inheritance, &c., are discussed, as far as our present state of knowledge permits. towards the end of the work i give my well-abused hypothesis of pangenesis. an unverified hypothesis is of little or no value; but if any one should hereafter be led to make observations by which some such hypothesis could be established, i shall have done good service, as an astonishing number of isolated facts can be thus connected together and rendered intelligible. in a second and largely corrected edition, which cost me a good deal of labour, was brought out. my _descent of man_ was published in february . as soon as i had become, in the year or , convinced that species were mutable productions, i could not avoid the belief that man must come under the same law. accordingly i collected notes on the subject for my own satisfaction, and not for a long time with any intention of publishing. although in the _origin of species_ the derivation of any particular species is never discussed, yet i thought it best, in order that no honourable man should accuse me of concealing my views, to add that by the work "light would be thrown on the origin of man and his history." it would have been useless, and injurious to the success of the book to have paraded, without giving any evidence, my conviction with respect to his origin. but when i found that many naturalists fully accepted the doctrine of the evolution of species, it seemed to me advisable to work up such notes as i possessed, and to publish a special treatise on the origin of man. i was the more glad to do so, as it gave me an opportunity of fully discussing sexual selection--a subject which had always greatly interested me. this subject, and that of the variation of our domestic productions, together with the causes and laws of variation, inheritance, and the intercrossing of plants, are the sole subjects which i have been able to write about in full, so as to use all the materials which i have collected. the _descent of man_ took me three years to write, but then as usual some of this time was lost by ill-health, and some was consumed by preparing new editions and other minor works. a second and largely corrected edition of the _descent_ appeared in . my book on the _expression of the emotions in men and animals_ was published in the autumn of . i had intended to give only a chapter on the subject in the _descent of man_, but as soon as i began to put my notes together, i saw that it would require a separate treatise. my first child was born on december th, , and i at once commenced to make notes on the first dawn of the various expressions which he exhibited, for i felt convinced, even at this early period, that the most complex and fine shades of expression must all have had a gradual and natural origin. during the summer of the following year, , i read sir c. bell's admirable work on expression, and this greatly increased the interest which i felt in the subject, though i could not at all agree with his belief that various muscles had been specially created for the sake of expression. from this time forward i occasionally attended to the subject, both with respect to man and our domesticated animals. my book sold largely; copies having been disposed of on the day of publication. in the summer of i was idling and resting near hartfield, where two species of [sundew] abound; and i noticed that numerous insects had been entrapped by the leaves. i carried home some plants, and on giving them insects saw the movements of the tentacles, and this made me think it probable that the insects were caught for some special purpose. fortunately a crucial test occurred to me, that of placing a large number of leaves in various nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous fluids of equal density; and as soon as i found that the former alone excited energetic movements, it was obvious that here was a fine new field for investigation. during subsequent years, whenever i had leisure, i pursued my experiments, and my book on _insectivorous plants_ was published in july --that is sixteen years after my first observations. the delay in this case, as with all my other books, has been a great advantage to me; for a man after a long interval can criticise his own work, almost as well as if it were that of another person. the fact that a plant should secrete, when properly excited, a fluid containing an acid and ferment, closely analogous to the digestive fluid of an animal, was certainly a remarkable discovery. during this autumn of i shall publish on the _effects of cross-and self-fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom_. this book will form a complement to that on the _fertilisation of orchids_, in which i showed how perfect were the means for cross-fertilisation, and here i shall show how important are the results. i was led to make, during eleven years, the numerous experiments recorded in this volume, by a mere accidental observation; and indeed it required the accident to be repeated before my attention was thoroughly aroused to the remarkable fact that seedlings of self-fertilised parentage are inferior, even in the first generation, in height and vigour to seedlings of cross-fertilised parentage. i hope also to republish a revised edition of my book on orchids, and hereafter my papers on dimorphic and trimorphic plants, together with some additional observations on allied points which i never have had time to arrange. my strength will then probably be exhausted, and i shall be ready to exclaim "nunc dimittis." _written may st, ._--_the effects of cross- and self-fertilisation_ was published in the autumn of ; and the results there arrived at explain, as i believe, the endless and wonderful contrivances for the transportal of pollen from one plant to another of the same species. i now believe, however, chiefly from the observations of hermann müller, that i ought to have insisted more strongly than i did on the many adaptations for self-fertilisation; though i was well aware of many such adaptations. a much enlarged edition of my _fertilisation of orchids_ was published in . in this same year _the different forms of flowers, &c._, appeared, and in a second edition. this book consists chiefly of the several papers on hetero-styled flowers originally published by the linnean society, corrected, with much new matter added, together with observations on some other cases in which the same plant bears two kinds of flowers. as before remarked, no little discovery of mine ever gave me so much pleasure as the making out the meaning of heterostyled flowers. the results of crossing such flowers in an illegitimate manner, i believe to be very important, as bearing on the sterility of hybrids; although these results have been noticed by only a few persons. in , i had a translation of dr. ernst krause's _life of erasmus darwin_ published, and i added a sketch of his character and habits from material in my possession. many persons have been much interested by this little life, and i am surprised that only or copies were sold. in i published, with [my son] frank's assistance our _power of movement in plants_. this was a tough piece of work. the book bears somewhat the same relation to my little book on _climbing plants_, which _cross-fertilisation_ did to the _fertilisation of orchids_; for in accordance with the principle of evolution it was impossible to account for climbing plants having been developed in so many widely different groups unless all kinds of plants possess some slight power of movement of an analogous kind. this i proved to be the case; and i was further led to a rather wide generalisation, viz., that the great and important classes of movements, excited by light, the attraction of gravity, &c., are all modified forms of the fundamental movement of circumnutation. it has always pleased me to exalt plants in the scale of organised beings; and i therefore felt an especial pleasure in showing how many and what admirably well adapted movements the tip of a root possesses. i have now (may , ) sent to the printers the ms. of a little book on _the formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms_. this is a subject of but small importance; and i know not whether it will interest any readers,[ ] but it has interested me. it is the completion of a short paper read before the geological society more than forty years ago, and has revived old geological thoughts. i have now mentioned all the books which i have published, and these have been the milestones in my life, so that little remains to be said. i am not conscious of any change in my mind during the last thirty years, excepting in one point presently to be mentioned; nor, indeed, could any change have been expected unless one of general deterioration. but my father lived to his eighty-third year with his mind as lively as ever it was, and all his faculties undimmed; and i hope that i may die before my mind fails to a sensible extent. i think that i have become a little more skilful in guessing right explanations and in devising experimental tests; but this may probably be the result of mere practice, and of a larger store of knowledge. i have as much difficulty as ever in expressing myself clearly and concisely; and this difficulty has caused me a very great loss of time; but it has had the compensating advantage of forcing me to think long and intently about every sentence, and thus i have been led to see errors in reasoning and in my own observations or those of others. there seems to be a sort of fatality in my mind leading me to put at first my statement or proposition in a wrong or awkward form. formerly i used to think about my sentences before writing them down; but for several years i have found that it saves time to scribble in a vile hand, whole pages as quickly as i possibly can, contracting half the words; and then correct deliberately. sentences thus scribbled down are often better ones than i could have written deliberately. having said thus much about my manner of writing, i will add that with my large books i spend a good deal of time over the general arrangement of the matter. i first make the rudest outline in two or three pages, and then a larger one in several pages, a few words or one word standing for a whole discussion or series of facts. each one of these headings is again enlarged and often transferred before i begin to write _in extenso_. as in several of my books facts observed by others have been very extensively used, and as i have always had several quite distinct subjects in hand at the same time, i may mention that i keep from thirty to forty large portfolios, in cabinets with labelled shelves, into which i can at once put a detached reference or memorandum. i have bought many books, and at their ends i make an index of all the facts that concern my work; or, if the book is not my own, write out a separate abstract, and of such abstracts i have a large drawer full. before beginning on any subject i look to all the short indexes and make a general and classified index, and by taking the one or more proper portfolios i have all the information collected during my life ready for use. i have said that in one respect my mind has changed during the last twenty or thirty years. up to the age of thirty, or beyond it, poetry of many kinds, such as the works of milton, gray, byron, wordsworth, coleridge, and shelley, gave me great pleasure, and even as a schoolboy i took intense delight in shakespeare, especially in the historical plays. i have also said that formerly pictures gave me considerable, and music very great delight. but now for many years i cannot endure to read a line of poetry: i have tried lately to read shakespeare, and found it so intolerably dull that it nauseated me. i have also almost lost my taste for pictures or music. music generally sets me thinking too energetically on what i have been at work on, instead of giving me pleasure. i retain some taste for fine scenery, but it does not cause me the exquisite delight which it formerly did. on the other hand, novels, which are works of the imagination, though not of a very high order, have been for years a wonderful relief and pleasure to me, and i often bless all novelists. a surprising number have been read aloud to me, and i like all if moderately good, and if they do not end unhappily--against which a law ought to be passed. a novel, according to my taste, does not come into the first class unless it contains some person whom one can thoroughly love, and if a pretty woman all the better. this curious and lamentable loss of the higher æsthetic tastes is all the odder, as books on history, biographies, and travels (independently of any scientific facts which they may contain), and essays on all sorts of subjects interest me as much as ever they did. my mind seems to have become a kind of machine for grinding general laws out of large collections of facts, but why this should have caused the atrophy of that part of the brain alone, on which the higher tastes depend, i cannot conceive. a man with a mind more highly organised or better constituted than mine, would not, i suppose, have thus suffered; and if i had to live my life again, i would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week; for perhaps the parts of my brain now atrophied would thus have been kept active through use. the loss of these tastes is a loss of happiness, and may possibly be injurious to the intellect, and more probably to the moral character, by enfeebling the emotional part of our nature. my books have sold largely in england, have been translated into many languages, and passed through several editions in foreign countries. i have heard it said that the success of a work abroad is the best test of its enduring value. i doubt whether this is at all trustworthy; but judged by this standard my name ought to last for a few years. therefore it may be worth while to try to analyse the mental qualities and the conditions on which my success has depended; though i am aware that no man can do this correctly. i have no great quickness of apprehension or wit which is so remarkable in some clever men, for instance, huxley. i am therefore a poor critic: a paper or book, when first read, generally excites my admiration, and it is only after considerable reflection that i perceive the weak points. my power to follow a long and purely abstract train of thought is very limited; and therefore i could never have succeeded with metaphysics or mathematics. my memory is extensive, yet hazy: it suffices to make me cautious by vaguely telling me that i have observed or read something opposed to the conclusion which i am drawing, or on the other hand in favour of it; and after a time i can generally recollect where to search for my authority. so poor in one sense is my memory, that i have never been able to remember for more than a few days a single date or a line of poetry. some of my critics have said, "oh, he is a good observer, but he has no power of reasoning!" i do not think that this can be true, for the _origin of species_ is one long argument from the beginning to the end, and it has convinced not a few able men. no one could have written it without having some power of reasoning. i have a fair share of invention, and of common sense or judgment, such as every fairly successful lawyer or doctor must have, but not, i believe, in any higher degree. on the favourable side of the balance, i think that i am superior to the common run of men in noticing things which easily escape attention, and in observing them carefully. my industry has been nearly as great as it could have been in the observation and collection of facts. what is far more important, my love of natural science has been steady and ardent. this pure love has, however, been much aided by the ambition to be esteemed by my fellow naturalists. from my early youth i have had the strongest desire to understand or explain whatever i observed,--that is, to group all facts under some general laws. these causes combined have given me the patience to reflect or ponder for any number of years over any unexplained problem. as far as i can judge, i am not apt to follow blindly the lead of other men. i have steadily endeavoured to keep my mind free so as to give up any hypothesis, however much beloved (and i cannot resist forming one on every subject), as soon as facts are shown to be opposed to it. indeed, i have had no choice but to act in this manner, for with the exception of the coral reefs, i cannot remember a single first-formed hypothesis which had not after a time to be given up or greatly modified. this has naturally led me to distrust greatly, deductive reasoning in the mixed sciences. on the other hand, i am not very sceptical,--a frame of mind which i believe to be injurious to the progress of science. a good deal of scepticism in a scientific man is advisable to avoid much loss of time, [but] i have met with not a few men, who, i feel sure, have often thus been deterred from experiment or observations, which would have proved directly or indirectly serviceable. in illustration, i will give the oddest case which i have known. a gentleman (who, as i afterwards heard, is a good local botanist) wrote to me from the eastern counties that the seeds or beans of the common field-bean had this year everywhere grown on the wrong side of the pod. i wrote back, asking for further information, as i did not understand what was meant; but i did not receive any answer for a very long time. i then saw in two newspapers, one published in kent and the other in yorkshire, paragraphs stating that it was a most remarkable fact that "the beans this year had all grown on the wrong side." so i thought there must be some foundation for so general a statement. accordingly, i went to my gardener, an old kentish man, and asked him whether he had heard anything about it, and he answered, "oh, no, sir, it must be a mistake, for the beans grow on the wrong side only on leap-year." i then asked him how they grew in common years and how on leap-years, but soon found that he knew absolutely nothing of how they grew at any time, but he stuck to his belief. after a time i heard from my first informant, who, with many apologies, said that he should not have written to me had he not heard the statement from several intelligent farmers; but that he had since spoken again to every one of them, and not one knew in the least what he had himself meant. so that here a belief--if indeed a statement with no definite idea attached to it can be called a belief--had spread over almost the whole of england without any vestige of evidence. i have known in the course of my life only three intentionally falsified statements, and one of these may have been a hoax (and there have been several scientific hoaxes) which, however, took in an american agricultural journal. it related to the formation in holland of a new breed of oxen by the crossing of distinct species of bos (some of which i happen to know are sterile together), and the author had the impudence to state that he had corresponded with me, and that i had been deeply impressed with the importance of his result. the article was sent to me by the editor of an english agricultural journal, asking for my opinion before republishing it. a second case was an account of several varieties, raised by the author from several species of primula, which had spontaneously yielded a full complement of seed, although the parent plants had been carefully protected from the access of insects. this account was published before i had discovered the meaning of heterostylism, and the whole statement must have been fraudulent, or there was neglect in excluding insects so gross as to be scarcely credible. the third case was more curious: mr. huth published in his book on 'consanguineous marriage' some long extracts from a belgian author, who stated that he had interbred rabbits in the closest manner for very many generations, without the least injurious effects. the account was published in a most respectable journal, that of the royal society of belgium; but i could not avoid feeling doubts--i hardly know why, except that there were no accidents of any kind, and my experience in breeding animals made me think this improbable. so with much hesitation i wrote to professor van beneden, asking him whether the author was a trustworthy man. i soon heard in answer that the society had been greatly shocked by discovering that the whole account was a fraud.[ ] the writer had been publicly challenged in the journal to say where he had resided and kept his large stock of rabbits while carrying on his experiments, which must have consumed several years, and no answer could be extracted from him. my habits are methodical, and this has been of not a little use for my particular line of work. lastly, i have had ample leisure from not having to earn my own bread. even ill-health, though it has annihilated several years of my life, has saved me from the distractions of society and amusement. therefore, my success as a man of science, whatever this may have amounted to, has been determined, as far as i can judge, by complex and diversified mental qualities and conditions. of these, the most important have been--the love of science--unbounded patience in long reflecting over any subject--industry in observing and collecting facts--and a fair share of invention as well as of common-sense. with such moderate abilities as i possess, it is truly surprising that i should have influenced to a considerable extent the belief of scientific men on some important points. footnotes: [ ] the late mr. hensleigh wedgwood's house in surrey. [ ] kept by rev. g. case, minister of the unitarian chapel in the high street. mrs. darwin was a unitarian and attended mr. case's chapel, and my father as a little boy went there with his elder sisters. but both he and his brother were christened and intended to belong to the church of england; and after his early boyhood he seems usually to have gone to church and not to mr. case's. it appears (_st. james's gazette_, december , ) that a mural tablet has been erected to his memory in the chapel, which is now known as the "free christian church."--f. d. [ ] rev. w. a. leighton remembers his bringing a flower to school and saying that his mother had taught him how by looking at the inside of the blossom the name of the plant could be discovered. mr. leighton goes on, "this greatly roused my attention and curiosity, and i inquired of him repeatedly how this could be done?"--but his lesson was naturally enough not transmissible.--f. d. [ ] his father wisely treated this tendency not by making crimes of the fibs, but by making light of the discoveries.--f. d. [ ] the house of his uncle, josiah wedgwood, the younger. [ ] it is curious that another shrewsbury boy should have been impressed by this military funeral; mr. gretton, in his _memory's harkback_, says that the scene is so strongly impressed on his mind that he could "walk straight to the spot in st. chad's churchyard where the poor fellow was buried." the soldier was an inniskilling dragoon, and the officer in command had been recently wounded at waterloo, where his corps did good service against the french cuirassiers. [ ] he lodged at mrs. mackay's, , lothian street. what little the records of edinburgh university can reveal has been published in the _edinburgh weekly dispatch_, may , ; and in the _st. james's gazette_, february , . from the latter journal it appears that he and his brother erasmus made more use of the library than was usual among the students of their time. [ ] i have heard him call to mind the pride he felt at the results of the successful treatment of a whole family with tartar emetic.--f. d. [ ] dr. coldstream died september , ; see crown mo. book tract. no. of the religious tract society (no date). [ ] the society was founded in , and expired about (_edinburgh weekly dispatch_, may , ). [ ] josiah wedgwood, the son of the founder of the etruria works. [ ] justum et tenacem propositi virum non civium ardor prava jubentium, non vultus instantis tyranni mente quatit solida. [ ] tenth in the list of january . [ ] i gather from some of my father's contemporaries that he has exaggerated the bacchanalian nature of those parties.--f. d. [ ] rev. c. whitley, hon. canon of durham, formerly reader in natural philosophy in durham university. [ ] the late john maurice herbert, county court judge of cardiff and the monmouth circuit. [ ] afterwards sir h. thompson, first baronet. [ ] the _cambridge ray club_, which in attained its fiftieth anniversary, is the direct descendant of these meetings, having been founded to fill the blank caused by the discontinuance, in , of henslow's friday evenings. see professor babington's pamphlet, _the cambridge ray club_, . [ ] mr. jenyns (now blomefield) described the fish for the _zoology of the voyage of h.m.s. beagle_; and is author of a long series of papers, chiefly zoological. in he printed, for private circulation, an autobiographical sketch, _chapters in my life_, and subsequently some (undated) addenda. the well-known soame jenyns was cousin to mr. jenyns' father. [ ] in connection with this tour my father used to tell a story about sedgwick: they had started from their inn one morning, and had walked a mile or two, when sedgwick suddenly stopped, and vowed that he would return, being certain "that damned scoundrel" (the waiter) had not given the chambermaid the sixpence intrusted to him for the purpose. he was ultimately persuaded to give up the project, seeing that there was no reason for suspecting the waiter of perfidy.--f. d. [ ] _philosophical magazine_, . [ ] josiah wedgwood. [ ] the count d'albanie's claim to royal descent has been shown to be baaed on a myth. see the _quarterly review_, , vol. lxxxi. p. ; also hayward's _biographical and critical essays_, , vol. ii. p. . [ ] read at the meeting held november , , and printed in a pamphlet of pp. for distribution among the members of the society. [ ] in fitzwilliam street. [ ] _geolog. soc. proc._ ii. , pp. - . [ ] , pp. - . [ ] _geolog. soc. proc._ iii. . [ ] _geolog. trans._ v. . [ ] _geolog. soc. proc._ ii. . [ ] _philosophical magazine_, . [ ] the slight repetition here observable is accounted for by the notes on lyell, &c., having been added in april, , a few years after the rest of the _recollections_ were written.--f. d. [ ] a passage referring to x. is here omitted.--f. d. [ ] _geological observations_, nd edit. . _coral reefs_, nd edit. [ ] published by the ray society. [ ] miss bird is mistaken, as i learn from professor mitsukuri.--f. d. [ ] _geolog. survey mem._, . [ ] between november and february , copies were sold.--f. d. [ ] the falseness of the published statements on which mr. huth relied were pointed out in a slip inserted in all the unsold copies of his book, _the marriage of near kin_.--f. d. chapter iii. religion. my father in his published works was reticent on the matter of religion, and what he has left on the subject was not written with a view to publication.[ ] i believe that his reticence arose from several causes. he felt strongly that a man's religion is an essentially private matter, and one concerning himself alone. this is indicated by the following extract from a letter of :--[ ] "what my own views may be is a question of no consequence to any one but myself. but, as you ask, i may state that my judgment often fluctuates.... in my most extreme fluctuations i have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a god. i think that generally (and more and more as i grow older), but not always, that an agnostic would be the more correct description of my state of mind." he naturally shrank from wounding the sensibilities of others in religious matters, and he was also influenced by the consciousness that a man ought not to publish on a subject to which he has not given special and continuous thought. that he felt this caution to apply to himself in the matter of religion is shown in a letter to dr. f. e. abbott, of cambridge, u.s. (september , ). after explaining that the weakness arising from bad health prevented him from feeling "equal to deep reflection, on the deepest subject which can fill a man's mind," he goes on to say: "with respect to my former notes to you, i quite forget their contents. i have to write many letters, and can reflect but little on what i write; but i fully believe and hope that i have never written a word, which at the time i did not think; but i think you will agree with me, that anything which is to be given to the public ought to be maturely weighed and cautiously put. it never occurred to me that you would wish to print any extract from my notes: if it had, i would have kept a copy. i put 'private' from habit, only as yet partially acquired, from some hasty notes of mine having been printed, which were not in the least degree worth printing, though otherwise unobjectionable. it is simply ridiculous to suppose that my former note to you would be worth sending to me, with any part marked which you desire to print; but if you like to do so, i will at once say whether i should have any objection. i feel in some degree unwilling to express myself publicly on religious subjects, as i do not feel that i have thought deeply enough to justify any publicity." what follows is from another letter to dr. abbott (november , ), in which my father gives more fully his reasons for not feeling competent to write on religious and moral subjects:-- "i can say with entire truth that i feel honoured by your request that i should become a contributor to the _index_, and am much obliged for the draft. i fully, also, subscribe to the proposition that it is the duty of every one to spread what he believes to be the truth; and i honour you for doing so, with so much devotion and zeal. but i cannot comply with your request for the following reasons; and excuse me for giving them in some detail, as i should be very sorry to appear in your eyes ungracious. my health is very weak: i _never_ pass hours without many hours of discomfort, when i can do nothing whatever. i have thus, also, lost two whole consecutive months this season. owing to this weakness, and my head being often giddy, i am unable to master new subjects requiring much thought, and can deal only with old materials. at no time am i a quick thinker or writer: whatever i have done in science has solely been by long pondering, patience and industry. "now i have never systematically thought much on religion in relation to science, or on morals in relation to society; and without steadily keeping my mind on such subjects for a long period, i am really incapable of writing anything worth sending to the _index_." he was more than once asked to give his views on religion, and he had, as a rule, no objection to doing so in a private letter. thus, in answer to a dutch student, he wrote (april , ):-- "i am sure you will excuse my writing at length, when i tell you that i have long been much out of health, and am now staying away from my home for rest. "it is impossible to answer your question briefly; and i am not sure that i could do so, even if i wrote at some length. but i may say that the impossibility of conceiving that this grand and wondrous universe, with our conscious selves, arose through chance, seems to me the chief argument for the existence of god; but whether this is an argument of real value, i have never been able to decide. i am aware that if we admit a first cause, the mind still craves to know whence it came, and how it arose. nor can i overlook the difficulty from the immense amount of suffering through the world. i am, also, induced to defer to a certain extent to the judgment of the many able men who have fully believed in god; but here again i see how poor an argument this is. the safest conclusion seems to me that the whole subject is beyond the scope of man's intellect; but man can do his duty." again in he was applied to by a german student, in a similar manner. the letter was answered by a member of my father's family, who wrote:-- "mr. darwin begs me to say that he receives so many letters, that he cannot answer them all. "he considers that the theory of evolution is quite compatible with the belief in a god; but that you must remember that different persons have different definitions of what they mean by god." this, however, did not satisfy the german youth, who again wrote to my father, and received from him the following reply:-- "i am much engaged, an old man, and out of health, and i cannot spare time to answer your questions fully,--nor indeed can they be answered. science has nothing to do with christ, except in so far as the habit of scientific research makes a man cautious in admitting evidence. for myself, i do not believe that there ever has been any revelation. as for a future life, every man must judge for himself between conflicting vague probabilities." the passages which here follow are extracts, somewhat abbreviated, from a part of the autobiography, written in , in which my father gives the history of his religious views:-- "during these two years[ ] i was led to think much about religion. whilst on board the _beagle_ i was quite orthodox, and i remember being heartily laughed at by several of the officers (though themselves orthodox) for quoting the bible as an unanswerable authority on some point of morality. i suppose it was the novelty of the argument that amused them. but i had gradually come by this time, _i.e._ to , to see that the old testament was no more to be trusted than the sacred books of the hindoos. the question then continually rose before my mind and would not be banished,--is it credible that if god were now to make a revelation to the hindoos, he would permit it to be connected with the belief in vishnu, siva, &c., as christianity is connected with the old testament? this appeared to me utterly incredible. "by further reflecting that the clearest evidence would be requisite to make any sane man believe in the miracles by which christianity is supported,--and that the more we know of the fixed laws of nature the more incredible do miracles become,--that the men at that time were ignorant and credulous to a degree almost incomprehensible by us,--that the gospels cannot be proved to have been written simultaneously with the events,--that they differ in many important details, far too important, as it seemed to me, to be admitted as the usual inaccuracies of eye-witnesses;--by such reflections as these, which i give not as having the least novelty or value, but as they influenced me, i gradually came to disbelieve in christianity as a divine revelation. the fact that many false religions have spread over large portions of the earth like wildfire had some weight with me. "but i was very unwilling to give up my belief; i feel sure of this, for i can well remember often and often inventing day-dreams of old letters between distinguished romans, and manuscripts being discovered at pompeii or elsewhere, which confirmed in the most striking manner all that was written in the gospels. but i found it more and more difficult, with free scope given to my imagination, to invent evidence which would suffice to convince me. thus disbelief crept over me at a very slow rate, but was at last complete. the rate was so slow that i felt no distress. "although i did not think much about the existence of a personal god until a considerably later period of my life, i will here give the vague conclusions to which i have been driven. the old argument from design in nature, as given by paley, which formerly seemed to me so conclusive, fails, now that the law of natural selection has been discovered. we can no longer argue that, for instance, the beautiful hinge of a bivalve shell must have been made by an intelligent being, like the hinge of a door by man. there seems to be no more design in the variability of organic beings, and in the action of natural selection, than in the course which the wind blows. but i have discussed this subject at the end of my book on the _variation of domesticated animals and plants_,[ ] and the argument there given has never, as far as i can see, been answered. "but passing over the endless beautiful adaptations which we everywhere meet with, it may be asked how can the generally beneficent arrangement of the world be accounted for? some writers indeed are so much impressed with the amount of suffering in the world, that they doubt, if we look to all sentient beings, whether there is more of misery or of happiness; whether the world as a whole is a good or a bad one. according to my judgment happiness decidedly prevails, though this would be very difficult to prove. if the truth of this conclusion be granted, it harmonizes well with the effects which we might expect from natural selection. if all the individuals of any species were habitually to suffer to an extreme degree, they would neglect to propagate their kind; but we have no reason to believe that this has ever, or at least often occurred. some other considerations, moreover, lead to the belief that all sentient beings have been formed so as to enjoy, as a general rule, happiness. "every one who believes, as i do, that all the corporeal and mental organs (excepting those which are neither advantageous nor disadvantageous to the possessor) of all beings have been developed through natural selection, or the survival of the fittest, together with use or habit, will admit that these organs have been formed so that their possessors may compete successfully with other beings, and thus increase in number. now an animal may be led to pursue that course of action which is most beneficial to the species by suffering, such as pain, hunger, thirst, and fear; or by pleasure, as in eating and drinking, and in the propagation of the species, &c.; or by both means combined, as in the search for food. but pain or suffering of any kind, if long continued, causes depression and lessens the power of action, yet is well adapted to make a creature guard itself against any great or sudden evil. pleasurable sensations, on the other hand, may be long continued without any depressing effect; on the contrary, they stimulate the whole system to increased action. hence it has come to pass that most or all sentient beings have been developed in such a manner, through natural selection, that pleasurable sensations serve as their habitual guides. we see this in the pleasure from exertion, even occasionally from great exertion of the body or mind,--in the pleasure of our daily meals, and especially in the pleasure derived from sociability, and from loving our families. the sum of such pleasures as these, which are habitual or frequently recurrent, give, as i can hardly doubt, to most sentient beings an excess of happiness over misery, although many occasionally suffer much. such suffering is quite compatible with the belief in natural selection, which is not perfect in its action, but tends only to render each species as successful as possible in the battle for life with other species, in wonderfully complex and changing circumstances. "that there is much suffering in the world no one disputes. some have attempted to explain this with reference to man by imagining that it serves for his moral improvement. but the number of men in the world is as nothing compared with that of all other sentient beings, and they often suffer greatly without any moral improvement. this very old argument from the existence of suffering against the existence of an intelligent first cause seems to me a strong one; whereas, as just remarked, the presence of much suffering agrees well with the view that all organic beings have been developed through variation and natural selection. "at the present day the most usual argument for the existence of an intelligent god is drawn from the deep inward conviction and feelings which are experienced by most persons. "formerly i was led by feelings such as those just referred to (although i do not think that the religious sentiment was ever strongly developed in me), to the firm conviction of the existence of god and of the immortality of the soul. in my journal i wrote that whilst standing in the midst of the grandeur of a brazilian forest, 'it is not possible to give an adequate idea of the higher feelings of wonder, admiration, and devotion which fill and elevate the mind.' i well remember my conviction that there is more in man than the mere breath of his body; but now the grandest scenes would not cause any such convictions and feelings to rise in my mind. it may be truly said that i am like a man who has become colour-blind, and the universal belief by men of the existence of redness makes my present loss of perception of not the least value as evidence. this argument would be a valid one if all men of all races had the same inward conviction of the existence of one god; but we know that this is very far from being the case. therefore i cannot see that such inward convictions and feelings are of any weight as evidence of what really exists. the state of mind which grand scenes formerly excited in me, and which was intimately connected with a belief in god, did not essentially differ from that which is often called the sense of sublimity; and however difficult it may be to explain the genesis of this sense, it can hardly be advanced as an argument for the existence of god, any more than the powerful though vague and similar feelings excited by music. "with respect to immortality, nothing, shows me [so clearly] how strong and almost instinctive a belief it is as the consideration of the view now held by most physicists, namely, that the sun with all the planets will in time grow too cold for life, unless indeed some great body dashes into the sun and thus gives it fresh life. believing as i do that man in the distant future will be a far more perfect creature than he now is, it is an intolerable thought that he and all other sentient beings are doomed to complete annihilation after such long-continued slow progress. to those who fully admit the immortality of the human soul, the destruction of our world will not appear so dreadful. "another source of conviction in the existence of god, connected with the reason and not with the feelings, impresses me as having much more weight. this follows from the extreme difficulty or rather impossibility of conceiving this immense and wonderful universe, including man with his capacity of looking far backwards and far into futurity, as the result of blind chance or necessity. when thus reflecting, i feel compelled to look to a first cause having an intelligent mind in some degree analogous to that of man; and i deserve to be called a theist. this conclusion was strong in my mind about the time, as far as i can remember, when i wrote the _origin of species_, and it is since that time that it has very gradually, with many fluctuations, become weaker. but then arises the doubt--can the mind of man, which has, as i fully believe, been developed from a mind as low as that possessed by the lowest animals, be trusted when it draws such grand conclusions? "i cannot pretend to throw the least light on such abstruse problems. the mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble by us, and i for one must be content to remain an agnostic." the following letters repeat to some extent what is given above from the _autobiography_. the first one refers to _the boundaries of science: a dialogue_, published in _macmillan's magazine_, for july . _c. d. to miss julia wedgwood_, july [ ]. some one has sent us _macmillan_, and i must tell you how much i admire your article, though at the same time i must confess that i could not clearly follow you in some parts, which probably is in main part due to my not being at all accustomed to metaphysical trains of thought. i think that you understand my book[ ] perfectly, and that i find a very rare event with my critics. the ideas in the last page have several times vaguely crossed my mind. owing to several correspondents, i have been led lately to think, or rather to try to think, over some of the chief points discussed by you. but the result has been with me a maze--something like thinking on the origin of evil, to which you allude. the mind refuses to look at this universe, being what it is, without having been designed; yet, where one would most expect design, viz. in the structure of a sentient being, the more i think on the subject, the less i can see proof of design. asa gray and some others look at each variation, or at least at each beneficial variation (which a. gray would compare with the raindrops[ ] which do not fall on the sea, but on to the land to fertilise it) as having been providentially designed. yet when i ask him whether he looks at each variation in the rock-pigeon, by which man has made by accumulation a pouter or fantail pigeon, as providentially designed for man's amusement, he does not know what to answer; and if he, or any one, admits [that] these variations are accidental, as far as purpose is concerned (of course not accidental as to their cause or origin), then i can see no reason why he should rank the accumulated variations by which the beautifully-adapted woodpecker has been formed as providentially designed. for it would be easy to imagine the enlarged crop of the pouter, or tail of the fantail, as of some use to birds, in a state of nature, having peculiar habits of life. these are the considerations which perplex me about design; but whether you will care to hear them, i know not. on the subject of design, he wrote (july ) to dr. gray: "one word more on 'designed laws' and 'undesigned results.' i see a bird which i want for food, take my gun and kill it, i do this _designedly_. an innocent and good man stands under a tree and is killed by a flash of lightning. do you believe (and i really should like to hear) that god _designedly_ killed this man? many or most persons do believe this; i can't and don't. if you believe so, do you believe that when a swallow snaps up a gnat that god designed that that particular swallow should snap up that particular gnat at that particular instant? i believe that the man and the gnat are in the same predicament. if the death of neither man nor gnat is designed, i see no good reason to believe that their _first_ birth or production should be necessarily designed." _c. d. to w. graham._ down, july rd, . dear sir,--i hope that you will not think it intrusive on my part to thank you heartily for the pleasure which i have derived from reading your admirably-written _creed of science_, though i have not yet quite finished it, as now that i am old i read very slowly. it is a very long time since any other book has interested me so much. the work must have cost you several years and much hard labour with full leisure for work. you would not probably expect any one fully to agree with you on so many abstruse subjects; and there are some points in your book which i cannot digest. the chief one is that the existence of so-called natural laws implies purpose. i cannot see this. not to mention that many expect that the several great laws will some day be found to follow inevitably from some one single law, yet taking the laws as we now know them, and look at the moon, where the law of gravitation--and no doubt of the conservation of energy--of the atomic theory, &c., &c., hold good, and i cannot see that there is then necessarily any purpose. would there be purpose if the lowest organisms alone, destitute of consciousness, existed in the moon? but i have had no practice in abstract reasoning, and i may be all astray. nevertheless you have expressed my inward conviction, though far more vividly and clearly than i could have done, that the universe is not the result of chance.[ ] but then with me the horrid doubt always arises whether the convictions of man's mind, which has been developed from the mind of the lower animals, are of any value or at all trustworthy. would any one trust in the convictions of a monkey's mind, if there are any convictions in such a mind? secondly, i think that i could make somewhat of a case against the enormous importance which you attribute to our greatest men; i have been accustomed to think second, third, and fourth-rate men of very high importance, at least in the case of science. lastly, i could show fight on natural selection having done and doing more for the progress of civilisation than you seem inclined to admit. remember what risk the nations of europe ran, not so many centuries ago, of being overwhelmed by the turks, and how ridiculous such an idea now is! the more civilised so-called caucasian races have beaten the turkish hollow in the struggle for existence. looking to the world at no very distant date, what an endless number of the lower races will have been eliminated by the higher civilised races throughout the world. but i will write no more, and not even mention the many points in your work which have much interested me. i have indeed cause to apologise for troubling you with my impressions, and my sole excuse is the excitement in my mind which your book has aroused. i beg leave to remain, dear sir, yours faithfully and obliged. darwin spoke little on these subjects, and i can contribute nothing from my own recollection of his conversation which can add to the impression here given of his attitude towards religion.[ ] some further idea of his views may, however, be gathered from occasional remarks in his letters. footnotes: [ ] as an exception, may be mentioned, a few words of concurrence with dr. abbott's _truths for the times_, which my father allowed to be published in the _index_. [ ] addressed to mr. j. fordyce, and published by him in his _aspects of scepticism_, . [ ] october to january . [ ] my father asks whether we are to believe that the forms are preordained of the broken fragments of rock which are fitted together by man to build his houses. if not, why should we believe that the variations of domestic animals or plants are preordained for the sake of the breeder? "but if we give up the principle in one case, ... no shadow of reason can be assigned for the belief that variations alike in nature and the result of the same general laws, which have been the groundwork through natural selection of the formation of the most perfectly adapted animals in the world, man included, were intentionally and specially guided."--_variation of animals and plants_, st edit. vol. ii. p. .--f. d. [ ] the _origin of species_. [ ] dr. gray's rain-drop metaphor occurs in the essay, _darwin and his reviewers_ (_darwiniana_, p. ): "the whole animate life of a country depends absolutely upon the vegetation, the vegetation upon the rain. the moisture is furnished by the ocean, is raised by the sun's heat from the ocean's surface, and is wafted inland by the winds. but what multitudes of rain-drops fall back into the ocean--are as much without a final cause as the incipient varieties which come to nothing! does it therefore follow that the rains which are bestowed upon the soil with such rule and average regularity were not designed to support vegetable and animal life?" [ ] the duke of argyll (_good words_, april , p. ) has recorded a few words on this subject, spoken by my father in the last year of his life. " ... in the course of that conversation i said to mr. darwin, with reference to some of his own remarkable works on the _fertilisation of orchids_, and upon _the earthworms_, and various other observations he made of the wonderful contrivances for certain purposes in nature--i said it was impossible to look at these without seeing that they were the effect and the expression of mind. i shall never forget mr. darwin's answer. he looked at me very hard and said, 'well, that often comes over me with overwhelming force; but at other times,' and he shook his head vaguely, adding, 'it seems to go away.'" [ ] dr. aveling has published an account of a conversation with my father. i think that the readers of this pamphlet (_the religious views of charles darwin_, free thought publishing company, ) may be misled into seeing more resemblance than really existed between the positions of my father and dr. aveling: and i say this in spite of my conviction that dr. aveling gives quite fairly his impressions of my father's views. dr. aveling tried to show that the terms "agnostic" and "atheist" are practically equivalent--that an atheist is one who, without denying the existence of god, is without god, inasmuch as he is unconvinced of the existence of a deity. my father's replies implied his preference for the unaggressive attitude of an agnostic. dr. aveling seems (p. ) to regard the absence of aggressiveness in my father's views as distinguishing them in an unessential manner from his own. but, in my judgment, it is precisely differences of this kind which distinguish him so completely from the class of thinkers to which dr. aveling belongs. [illustration: the study at down.[ ]] chapter iv. reminiscences of my father's everyday life. it is my wish in the present chapter to give some idea of my father's everyday life. it has seemed to me that i might carry out this object in the form of a rough sketch of a day's life at down, interspersed with such recollections as are called up by the record. many of these recollections, which have a meaning for those who knew my father, will seem colourless or trifling to strangers. nevertheless, i give them in the hope that they may help to preserve that impression of his personality which remains on the minds of those who knew and loved him--an impression at once so vivid and so untranslatable into words. of his personal appearance (in these days of multiplied photographs) it is hardly necessary to say much. he was about six feet in height, but scarcely looked so tall, as he stooped a good deal; in later days he yielded to the stoop; but i can remember seeing him long ago swinging back his arms to open out his chest, and holding himself upright with a jerk. he gave one the idea that he had been active rather than strong; his shoulders were not broad for his height, though certainly not narrow. as a young man he must have had much endurance, for on one of the shore excursions from the _beagle_, when all were suffering from want of water, he was one of the two who were better able than the rest to struggle on in search of it. as a boy he was active, and could jump a bar placed at the height of the "adam's apple" in his neck. he walked with a swinging action, using a stick heavily shod with iron, which he struck loudly against the ground, producing as he went round the "sand-walk" at down, a rhythmical click which is with all of us a very distinct remembrance. as he returned from the midday walk, often carrying the waterproof or cloak which had proved too hot, one could see that the swinging step was kept up by something of an effort. indoors his step was often slow and laboured, and as he went upstairs in the afternoon he might be heard mounting the stairs with a heavy footfall, as if each step were an effort. when interested in his work he moved about quickly and easily enough, and often in the midst of dictating he went eagerly into the hall to get a pinch of snuff, leaving the study door open, and calling out the last words of his sentence as he left the room. in spite of his activity, he had, i think, no natural grace or neatness of movement. he was awkward with his hands, and was unable to draw at all well.[ ] this he always regretted, and he frequently urged the paramount necessity to a young naturalist of making himself a good draughtsman. he could dissect well under the simple microscope, but i think it was by dint of his great patience and carefulness. it was characteristic of him that he thought any little bit of skilful dissection something almost superhuman. he used to speak with admiration of the skill with which he saw newport dissect a humble bee, getting out the nervous system with a few cuts of a pair of fine scissors. he used to consider cutting microscopic sections a great feat, and in the last year of his life, with wonderful energy, took the pains to learn to cut sections of roots and leaves. his hand was not steady enough to hold the object to be cut, and he employed a common microtome, in which the pith for holding the object was clamped, and the razor slid on a glass surface. he used to laugh at himself, and at his own skill in section-cutting, at which he would say he was "speechless with admiration." on the other hand, he must have had accuracy of eye and power of co-ordinating his movements, since he was a good shot with a gun as a young man, and as a boy was skilful in throwing. he once killed a hare sitting in the flower-garden at shrewsbury by throwing a marble at it, and, as a man, he killed a cross-beak with a stone. he was so unhappy at having uselessly killed the cross-beak that he did not mention it for years, and then explained that he should never have thrown at it if he had not felt sure that his old skill had gone from him. his beard was full and almost untrimmed, the hair being grey and white, fine rather than coarse, and wavy or frizzled. his moustache was somewhat disfigured by being cut short and square across. he became very bald, having only a fringe of dark hair behind. his face was ruddy in colour, and this perhaps made people think him less of an invalid than he was. he wrote to sir joseph hooker (june , ), "every one tells me that i look quite blooming and beautiful; and most think i am shamming, but you have never been one of those." and it must be remembered that at this time he was miserably ill, far worse than in later years. his eyes were bluish grey under deep overhanging brows, with thick, bushy projecting eye-brows. his high forehead was deeply wrinkled, but otherwise his face was not much marked or lined. his expression showed no signs of the continual discomfort he suffered. when he was excited with pleasant talk his whole manner was wonderfully bright and animated, and his face shared to the full in the general animation. his laugh was a free and sounding peal, like that of a man who gives himself sympathetically and with enjoyment to the person and the thing which have amused him. he often used some sort of gesture with his laugh, lifting up his hands or bringing one down with a slap. i think, generally speaking, he was given to gesture, and often used his hands in explaining anything (_e.g._ the fertilisation of a flower) in a way that seemed rather an aid to himself than to the listener. he did this on occasions when most people would illustrate their explanations by means of a rough pencil sketch. he wore dark clothes, of a loose and easy fit. of late years he gave up the tall hat even in london, and wore a soft black one in winter, and a big straw hat in summer. his usual out-of-doors dress was the short cloak in which elliot and fry's photograph[ ] represents him, leaning against the pillar of the verandah. two peculiarities of his indoor dress were that he almost always wore a shawl over his shoulders, and that he had great loose cloth boots lined with fur which he could slip on over his indoor shoes. he rose early, and took a short turn before breakfast, a habit which began when he went for the first time to a water-cure establishment, and was preserved till almost the end of his life. i used, as a little boy, to like going out with him, and i have a vague sense of the red of the winter sunrise, and a recollection of the pleasant companionship, and a certain honour and glory in it. he used to delight me as a boy by telling me how, in still earlier walks, on dark winter mornings, he had once or twice met foxes trotting home at the dawning. after breakfasting alone about . , he went to work at once, considering the ½ hour between and . one of his best working times. at . he came in to the drawing-room for his letters--rejoicing if the post was a light one and being sometimes much worried if it was not. he would then hear any family letters read aloud as he lay on the sofa. the reading aloud, which also included part of a novel, lasted till about half-past ten, when he went back to work till twelve or a quarter past. by this time he considered his day's work over, and would often say, in a satisfied voice, "_i've_ done a good day's work." he then went out of doors whether it was wet or fine; polly, his white terrier, went with him in fair weather, but in rain she refused or might be seen hesitating in the verandah, with a mixed expression of disgust and shame at her own want of courage; generally, however, her conscience carried the day, and as soon as he was evidently gone she could not bear to stay behind. my father was always fond of dogs, and as a young man had the power of stealing away the affections of his sister's pets; at cambridge, he won the love of his cousin w. d. fox's dog, and this may perhaps have been the little beast which used to creep down inside his bed and sleep at the foot every night. my father had a surly dog, who was devoted to him, but unfriendly to every one else, and when he came back from the _beagle_ voyage, the dog remembered him, but in a curious way, which my father was fond of telling. he went into the yard and shouted in his old manner; the dog rushed out and set off with him on his walk, showing no more emotion or excitement than if the same thing had happened the day before, instead of five years ago. this story is made use of in the _descent of man_, nd edit. p. . in my memory there were only two dogs which had much connection with my father. one was a large black and white half-bred retriever, called bob, to which we, as children, were much devoted. he was the dog of whom the story of the "hot-house face" is told in the _expression of the emotions_. but the dog most closely associated with my father was the above-mentioned polly, a rough, white fox-terrier. she was a sharp-witted, affectionate dog; when her master was going away on a journey, she always discovered the fact by the signs of packing going on in the study, and became low-spirited accordingly. she began, too, to be excited by seeing the study prepared for his return home. she was a cunning little creature, and used to tremble or put on an air of misery when my father passed, while she was waiting for dinner, just as if she knew that he would say (as he did often say) that "she was famishing." my father used to make her catch biscuits off her nose, and had an affectionate and mock-solemn way of explaining to her before-hand that she must "be a very good girl." she had a mark on her back where she had been burnt, and where the hair had re-grown red instead of white, and my father used to commend her for this tuft of hair as being in accordance with his theory of pangenesis; her father had been a red bull-terrier, thus the red hair appearing after the burn showed the presence of latent red gemmules. he was delightfully tender to polly, and never showed any impatience at the attentions she required, such as to be let in at the door, or out at the verandah window, to bark at "naughty people," a self-imposed duty she much enjoyed. she died, or rather had to be killed, a few days after his death.[ ] my father's mid-day walk generally began by a call at the greenhouse, where he looked at any germinating seeds or experimental plants which required a casual examination, but he hardly ever did any serious observing at this time. then he went on for his constitutional--either round the "sand-walk," or outside his own grounds in the immediate neighbourhood of the house. the "sand-walk" was a narrow strip of land ½ acre in extent, with a gravel-walk round it. on one side of it was a broad old shaw with fair-sized oaks in it, which made a sheltered shady walk; the other side was separated from a neighbouring grass field by a low quickset hedge, over which you could look at what view there was, a quiet little valley losing itself in the upland country towards the edge of the westerham hill, with hazel coppice and larch plantation, the remnants of what was once a large wood, stretching away to the westerham high road. i have heard my father say that the charm of this simple little valley was a decided factor in his choice of a home. the sand-walk was planted by my father with a variety of trees, such as hazel, alder, lime, hornbeam, birch, privet, and dogwood, and with a long line of hollies all down the exposed side. in earlier times he took a certain number of turns every day, and used to count them by means of a heap of flints, one of which he kicked out on the path each time he passed. of late years i think he did not keep to any fixed number of turns, but took as many as he felt strength for. the sand-walk was our play-ground as children, and here we continually saw my father as he walked round. he liked to see what we were doing, and was ever ready to sympathize in any fun that was going on. it is curious to think how, with regard to the sand-walk in connection with my father, my earliest recollections coincide with my latest; it shows the unvarying character of his habits. sometimes when alone he stood still or walked stealthily to observe birds or beasts. it was on one of these occasions that some young squirrels ran up his back and legs, while their mother barked at them in an agony from the tree. he always found birds' nests even up to the last years of his life, and we, as children, considered that he had a special genius in this direction. in his quiet prowls he came across the less common birds, but i fancy he used to conceal it from me as a little boy, because he observed the agony of mind which i endured at not having seen the siskin or goldfinch, or some other of the less common birds. he used to tell us how, when he was creeping noiselessly along in the "big-woods," he came upon a fox asleep in the daytime, which was so much astonished that it took a good stare at him before it ran off. a spitz dog which accompanied him showed no sign of excitement at the fox, and he used to end the story by wondering how the dog could have been so faint-hearted. another favourite place was "orchis bank," above the quiet cudham valley, where fly- and musk-orchis grew among the junipers, and cephalanthera and neottia under the beech boughs; the little wood "hangrove," just above this, he was also fond of, and here i remember his collecting grasses, when he took a fancy to make out the names of all the common kinds. he was fond of quoting the saying of one of his little boys, who, having found a grass that his father had not seen before, had it laid by his own plate during dinner, remarking, "i are an extraordinary grass-finder!" my father much enjoyed wandering idly in the garden with my mother or some of his children, or making one of a party, sitting on a bench on the lawn; he generally sat, however, on the grass, and i remember him often lying under one of the big lime-trees, with his head on the green mound at its foot. in dry summer weather, when we often sat out, the fly-wheel of the well was commonly heard spinning round, and so the sound became associated with those pleasant days. he used to like to watch us playing at lawn-tennis, and often knocked up a stray ball for us with the curved handle of his stick. though he took no personal share in the management of the garden, he had great delight in the beauty of flowers--for instance, in the mass of azaleas which generally stood in the drawing-room. i think he sometimes fused together his admiration of the structure of a flower and of its intrinsic beauty; for instance, in the case of the big pendulous pink and white flowers of diclytra. in the same way he had an affection, half-artistic, half-botanical, for the little blue lobelia. in admiring flowers, he would often laugh at the dingy high-art colours, and contrast them with the bright tints of nature. i used to like to hear him admire the beauty of a flower; it was a kind of gratitude to the flower itself, and a personal love for its delicate form and colour. i seem to remember him gently touching a flower he delighted in; it was the same simple admiration that a child might have. he could not help personifying natural things. this feeling came out in abuse as well as in praise--_e.g._ of some seedlings--"the little beggars are doing just what i don't want them to." he would speak in a half-provoked, half-admiring way of the ingenuity of the leaf of a sensitive plant in screwing itself out of a basin of water in which he had tried to fix it. one might see the same spirit in his way of speaking of sundew, earthworms, &c.[ ] within my memory, his only outdoor recreation, besides walking, was riding; this was taken up at the recommendation of dr. bence jones, and we had the luck to find for him the easiest and quietest cob in the world, named "tommy." he enjoyed these rides extremely, and devised a series of short rounds which brought him home in time for lunch. our country is good for this purpose, owing to the number of small valleys which give a variety to what in a flat country would be a dull loop of road. i think he felt surprised at himself, when he remembered how bold a rider he had been, and how utterly old age and bad health had taken away his nerve. he would say that riding prevented him thinking much more effectually than walking--that having to attend to the horse gave him occupation sufficient to prevent any really hard thinking. and the change of scene which it gave him was good for spirits and health. if i go beyond my own experience, and recall what i have heard him say of his love for sport, &c., i can think of a good deal, but much of it would be a repetition of what is contained in his _recollections_. he was fond of his gun as quite a boy, and became a good shot; he used to tell how in south america he killed twenty-three snipe in twenty-four shots. in telling the story he was careful to add that he thought they were not quite so wild as english snipe. luncheon at down came after his mid-day walk; and here i may say a word or two about his meals generally. he had a boy-like love of sweets, unluckily for himself, since he was constantly forbidden to take them. he was not particularly successful in keeping the "vows," as he called them, which he made against eating sweets, and never considered them binding unless he made them aloud. he drank very little wine, but enjoyed and was revived by the little he did drink. he had a horror of drinking, and constantly warned his boys that any one might be led into drinking too much. i remember, in my innocence as a small boy, asking him if he had been ever tipsy; and he answered very gravely that he was ashamed to say he had once drunk too much at cambridge. i was much impressed, so that i know now the place where the question was asked. after his lunch he read the newspaper, lying on the sofa in the drawing-room. i think the paper was the only non-scientific matter which he read to himself. everything else, novels, travels, history, was read aloud to him. he took so wide an interest in life, that there was much to occupy him in newspapers, though he laughed at the wordiness of the debates, reading them, i think, only in abstract. his interest in politics was considerable, but his opinion on these matters was formed rather by the way than with any serious amount of thought. after he had read his paper, came his time for writing letters. these, as well as the ms. of his books, were written by him as he sat in a huge horse-hair chair by the fire, his paper supported on a board resting on the arms of the chair. when he had many or long letters to write, he would dictate them from a rough copy; these rough copies were written on the backs of manuscript or of proof-sheets, and were almost illegible, sometimes even to himself. he made a rule of keeping all letters that he received; this was a habit which he learnt from his father, and which he said had been of great use to him. many letters were addressed to him by foolish, unscrupulous people, and all of these received replies. he used to say that if he did not answer them, he had it on his conscience afterwards, and no doubt it was in great measure the courtesy with which he answered every one which produced the widespread sense of his kindness of nature which was so evident on his death. he was considerate to his correspondents in other and lesser things--for instance, when dictating a letter to a foreigner, he hardly ever failed to say to me, "you'd better try and write well, as it's to a foreigner." his letters were generally written on the assumption that they would be carelessly read; thus, when he was dictating, he was careful to tell me to make an important clause begin with an obvious paragraph, "to catch his eye," as he often said. how much he thought of the trouble he gave others by asking questions, will be well enough shown by his letters. he had a printed form to be used in replying to troublesome correspondents, but he hardly ever used it; i suppose he never found an occasion that seemed exactly suitable. i remember an occasion on which it might have been used with advantage. he received a letter from a stranger stating that the writer had undertaken to uphold evolution at a debating society, and that being a busy young man, without time for reading, he wished to have a sketch of my father's views. even this wonderful young man got a civil answer, though i think he did not get much material for his speech. his rule was to thank the donors of books, but not of pamphlets. he sometimes expressed surprise that so few thanked him for his books which he gave away liberally; the letters that he did receive gave him much pleasure, because he habitually formed so humble an estimate of the value of all his works, that he was genuinely surprised at the interest which they excited. in money and business matters he was remarkably careful and exact. he kept accounts with great care, classifying them, and balancing at the end of the year like a merchant. i remember the quick way in which he would reach out for his account-book to enter each cheque paid, as though he were in a hurry to get it entered before he had forgotten it. his father must have allowed him to believe that he would be poorer than he really was, for some of the difficulty experienced over finding a house in the country must have arisen from the modest sum he felt prepared to give. yet he knew, of course, that he would be in easy circumstances, for in his _recollections_ he mentions this as one of the reasons for his not having worked at medicine with so much zeal as he would have done if he had been obliged to gain his living. he had a pet economy in paper, but it was rather a hobby than a real economy. all the blank sheets of letters received were kept in a portfolio to be used in making notes; it was his respect for paper that made him write so much on the backs of his old ms., and in this way, unfortunately, he destroyed large parts of the original ms. of his books. his feeling about paper extended to waste paper, and he objected, half in fun, to the habit of throwing a spill into the fire after it had been used for lighting a candle. he had a great respect for pure business capacity, and often spoke with admiration of a relative who had doubled his fortune. and of himself would often say in fun that what he really _was_ proud of was the money he had saved. he also felt satisfaction in the money he made by his books. his anxiety to save came in great measure from his fears that his children would not have health enough to earn their own livings, a foreboding which fairly haunted him for many years. and i have a dim recollection of his saying, "thank god, you'll have bread and cheese," when i was so young that i was inclined to take it literally. when letters were finished, about three in the afternoon, he rested in his bedroom, lying on the sofa, smoking a cigarette, and listening to a novel or other book not scientific. he only smoked when resting, whereas snuff was a stimulant, and was taken during working hours. he took snuff for many years of his life, having learnt the habit at edinburgh as a student. he had a nice silver snuff-box given him by mrs. wedgwood, of maer, which he valued much--but he rarely carried it, because it tempted him to take too many pinches. in one of his early letters he speaks of having given up snuff for a month, and describes himself as feeling "most lethargic, stupid, and melancholy." our former neighbour and clergyman, mr. brodie innes, tells me that at one time my father made a resolve not to take snuff, except away from home, "a most satisfactory arrangement for me," he adds, "as i kept a box in my study, to which there was access from the garden without summoning servants, and i had more frequently, than might have been otherwise the case, the privilege of a few minutes' conversation with my dear friend." he generally took snuff from a jar on the hall-table, because having to go this distance for a pinch was a slight check; the clink of the lid of the snuff-jar was a very familiar sound. sometimes when he was in the drawing-room, it would occur to him that the study fire must be burning low, and when one of us offered to see after it, it would turn out that he also wished to get a pinch of snuff. smoking he only took to permanently of late years, though on his pampas rides he learned to smoke with the gauchos, and i have heard him speak of the great comfort of a cup of _maté_ and a cigarette when he halted after a long ride and was unable to get food for some time. he came down at four o'clock to dress for his walk, and he was so regular that one might be quite certain it was within a few minutes of four when his descending steps were heard. from about half-past four to half-past five he worked; then he came to the drawing-room, and was idle till it was time (about six) to go up for another rest with novel-reading and a cigarette. latterly he gave up late dinner, and had a simple tea at half-past seven (while we had dinner), with an egg or a small piece of meat. after dinner he never stayed in the room, and used to apologise by saying he was an old woman who must be allowed to leave with the ladies. this was one of the many signs and results of his constant weakness and ill-health. half an hour more or less conversation would make to him the difference of a sleepless night and of the loss perhaps of half the next day's work. after dinner he played backgammon with my mother, two games being played every night. for many years a score of the games which each won was kept, and in this score he took the greatest interest. he became extremely animated over these games, bitterly lamenting his bad luck and exploding with exaggerated mock-anger at my mother's good fortune. after playing backgammon he read some scientific book to himself, either in the drawing-room, or, if much talking was going on, in the study. in the evening--that is, after he had read as much as his strength would allow, and before the reading aloud began--he would often lie on the sofa and listen to my mother playing the piano. he had not a good ear, yet in spite of this he had a true love of fine music. he used to lament that his enjoyment of music had become dulled with age, yet within my recollection his love of a good tune was strong. i never heard him hum more than one tune, the welsh song "ar hyd y nos," which he went through correctly; he used also, i believe, to hum a little otaheitan song. from his want of ear he was unable to recognise a tune when he heard it again, but he remained constant to what he liked, and would often say, when an old favourite was played, "that's a fine thing; what is it?" he liked especially parts of beethoven's symphonies and bits of handel. he was sensitive to differences in style, and enjoyed the late mrs. vernon lushington's playing intensely, and in june , when hans richter paid a visit at down, he was roused to strong enthusiasm by his magnificent performance on the piano. he enjoyed good singing, and was moved almost to tears by grand or pathetic songs. his niece lady farrer's singing of sullivan's "will he come" was a never-failing enjoyment to him. he was humble in the extreme about his own taste, and correspondingly pleased when he found that others agreed with him. he became much tired in the evenings, especially of late years, and left the drawing-room about ten, going to bed at half-past ten. his nights were generally bad, and he often lay awake or sat up in bed for hours, suffering much discomfort. he was troubled at night by the activity of his thoughts, and would become exhausted by his mind working at some problem which he would willingly have dismissed. at night, too, anything which had vexed or troubled him in the day would haunt him, and i think it was then that he suffered if he had not answered some troublesome correspondent. the regular readings, which i have mentioned, continued for so many years, enabled him to get through a great deal of the lighter kinds of literature. he was extremely fond of novels, and i remember well the way in which he would anticipate the pleasure of having a novel read to him as he lay down or lighted his cigarette. he took a vivid interest both in plot and characters, and would on no account know beforehand how a story finished; he considered looking at the end of a novel as a feminine vice. he could not enjoy any story with a tragical end; for this reason he did not keenly appreciate george eliot, though he often spoke, warmly in praise of _silas marner_. walter scott, miss austen, and mrs. gaskell were read and re-read till they could be read no more. he had two or three books in hand at the same time--a novel and perhaps a biography and a book of travels. he did not often read out-of-the-way or old standard books, but generally kept to the books of the day obtained from a circulating library. his literary tastes and opinions were not on a level with the rest of his mind. he himself, though he was clear as to what he thought good, considered that in matters of literary tastes he was quite outside the pale, and often spoke of what those within it liked or disliked, as if they formed a class to which he had no claim to belong. in all matters of art he was inclined to laugh at professed critics and say that their opinions were formed by fashion. thus in painting, he would say how in his day every one admired masters who are now neglected. his love of pictures as a young man is almost a proof that he must have had an appreciation of a portrait as a work of art, not as a likeness. yet he often talked laughingly of the small worth of portraits, and said that a photograph was worth any number of pictures, as if he were blind to the artistic quality in a painted portrait. but this was generally said in his attempts to persuade us to give up the idea of having his portrait painted, an operation very irksome to him. this way of looking at himself as an ignoramus in all matters of art, was strengthened by the absence of pretence, which was part of his character. with regard to questions of taste, as well as to more serious things he had the courage of his opinions. i remember, however, an instance that sounds like a contradiction to this: when he was looking at the turners in mr. ruskin's bedroom, he did not confess, as he did afterwards, that he could make out absolutely nothing of what mr. ruskin saw in them. but this little pretence was not for his own sake, but for the sake of courtesy to his host. he was pleased and amused when subsequently mr. ruskin brought him some photographs of pictures (i think vandyke portraits), and courteously seemed to value my father's opinion about them. much of his scientific reading was in german, and this was a serious labour to him; in reading a book after him, i was often struck at seeing, from the pencil-marks made each day where he left off, how little he could read at a time. he used to call german the "verdammte," pronounced as if in english. he was especially indignant with germans, because he was convinced that they could write simply if they chose, and often praised professor hildebrand of freiburg for writing german which was as clear as french. he sometimes gave a german sentence to a friend, a patriotic german lady, and used to laugh at her if she did not translate it fluently. he himself learnt german simply by hammering away with a dictionary; he would say that his only way was to read a sentence a great many times over, and at last the meaning occurred to him. when he began german long ago, he boasted of the fact (as he used to tell) to sir j. hooker, who replied, "ah, my dear fellow, that's nothing; i've begun it many times." in spite of his want of grammar, he managed to get on wonderfully with german, and the sentences that he failed to make out were generally difficult ones. he never attempted to speak german correctly, but pronounced the words as though they were english; and this made it not a little difficult to help him, when he read out a german sentence and asked for a translation. he certainly had a bad ear for vocal sounds, so that he found it impossible to perceive small differences in pronunciation. his wide interest in branches of science that were not specially his own was remarkable. in the biological sciences his doctrines make themselves felt so widely that there was something interesting to him in most departments. he read a good deal of many quite special works, and large parts of text books, such as huxley's _invertebrate anatomy_, or such a book as balfour's _embryology_, where the detail, at any rate, was not specially in his own line. and in the case of elaborate books of the monograph type, though he did not make a study of them, yet he felt the strongest admiration for them. in the non-biological sciences he felt keen sympathy with work of which he could not really judge. for instance, he used to read nearly the whole of _nature_, though so much of it deals with mathematics and physics. i have often heard him say that he got a kind of satisfaction in reading articles which (according to himself) he could not understand. i wish i could reproduce the manner in which he would laugh at himself for it. it was remarkable, too, how he kept up his interest in subjects at which he had formerly worked. this was strikingly the case with geology. in one of his letters to mr. judd he begs him to pay him a visit, saying that since lyell's death he hardly ever gets a geological talk. his observations, made only a few years before his death, on the upright pebbles in the drift at southampton, and discussed in a letter to sir a. geikie, afford another instance. again, in his letters to dr. dohrn, he shows how his interest in barnacles remained alive. i think it was all due to the vitality and persistence of his mind--a quality i have heard him speak of as if he felt that he was strongly gifted in that respect. not that he used any such phrases as these about himself, but he would say that he had the power of keeping a subject or question more or less before him for a great many years. the extent to which he possessed this power appears when we consider the number of different problems which he solved, and the early period at which some of them began to occupy him. it was a sure sign that he was not well when he was idle at any times other than his regular resting hours; for, as long as he remained moderately well, there was no break in the regularity of his life. week-days and sundays passed by alike, each with their stated intervals of work and rest. it is almost impossible, except for those who watched his daily life, to realise how essential to his well-being was the regular routine that i have sketched: and with what pain and difficulty anything beyond it was attempted. any public appearance, even of the most modest kind, was an effort to him. in he went to the little village church for the wedding of his elder daughter, but he could hardly bear the fatigue of being present through the short service. the same may be said of the few other occasions on which he was present at similar ceremonies. i remember him many years ago at a christening; a memory which has remained with me, because to us children his being at church was an extraordinary occurrence. i remember his look most distinctly at his brother erasmus's funeral, as he stood in the scattering of snow, wrapped in a long black funeral cloak, with a grave look of sad reverie. when, after an absence of many years, he attended a meeting of the linnean society, it was felt to be, and was in fact, a serious undertaking; one not to be determined on without much sinking of heart, and hardly to be carried into effect without paying a penalty of subsequent suffering. in the same way a breakfast-party at sir james paget's, with some of the distinguished visitors to the medical congress ( ), was to him a severe exertion. the early morning was the only time at which he could make any effort of the kind, with comparative impunity. thus it came about that the visits he paid to his scientific friends in london were by preference made as early as ten in the morning. for the same reason he started on his journeys by the earliest possible train, and used to arrive at the houses of relatives in london when they were beginning their day. he kept an accurate journal of the days on which he worked and those on which his ill health prevented him from working, so that it would be possible to tell how many were idle days in any given year. in this journal--a little yellow letts's diary, which lay open on his mantel-piece, piled on the diaries of previous years--he also entered the day on which he started for a holiday and that of his return. the most frequent holidays were visits of a week to london, either to his brother's house ( queen anne street), or to his daughter's ( bryanston street). he was generally persuaded by my mother to take these short holidays, when it became clear from the frequency of "bad days," or from the swimming of his head, that he was being overworked. he went unwillingly, and tried to drive hard bargains, stipulating, for instance, that he should come home in five days instead of six. the discomfort of a journey to him was, at least latterly, chiefly in the anticipation, and in the miserable sinking feeling from which he suffered immediately before the start; even a fairly long journey, such as that to coniston, tired him wonderfully little, considering how much an invalid he was; and he certainly enjoyed it in an almost boyish way, and to a curious degree. although, as he has said, some of his æsthetic tastes had suffered a gradual decay, his love of scenery remained fresh and strong. every walk at coniston was a fresh delight, and he was never tired of praising the beauty of the broken hilly country at the head of the lake. besides these longer holidays, there were shorter visits to various relatives--to his brother-in-law's house, close to leith hill, and to his son near southampton. he always particularly enjoyed rambling over rough open country, such as the commons near leith hill and southampton, the heath-covered wastes of ashdown forest, or the delightful "rough" near the house of his friend sir thomas farrer. he never was quite idle even on these holidays, and found things to observe. at hartfield he watched drosera catching insects, &c.; at torquay he observed the fertilisation of an orchid (_spiranthes_), and also made out the relations of the sexes in thyme. he rejoiced at his return home after his holidays, and greatly enjoyed the welcome he got from his dog polly, who would get wild with excitement, panting, squeaking, rushing round the room, and jumping on and off the chairs; and he used to stoop down, pressing her face to his, letting her lick him, and speaking to her with a peculiarly tender, caressing voice. my father had the power of giving to these summer holidays a charm which was strongly felt by all his family. the pressure of his work at home kept him at the utmost stretch of his powers of endurance, and when released from it, he entered on a holiday with a youthfulness of enjoyment that made his companionship delightful; we felt that we saw more of him in a week's holiday than in a month at home. besides the holidays which i have mentioned, there were his visits to water-cure establishments. in , when very ill, suffering from constant sickness, he was urged by a friend to try the water-cure, and at last agreed to go to dr. gully's establishment at malvern. his letters to mr. fox show how much good the treatment did him; he seems to have thought that he had found a cure for his troubles, but, like all other remedies, it had only a transient effect on him. however, he found it, at first, so good for him, that when he came home he built himself a douche-bath, and the butler learnt to be his bathman. he was too, a frequent patient at dr. lane's water-cure establishment, moor park, near aldershot, visits to which he always looked back with pleasure. some idea of his relation to his family and his friends may be gathered from what has gone before; it would be impossible to attempt a complete account of these relationships, but a slightly fuller outline may not be out of place. of his married life i cannot speak, save in the briefest manner. in his relationship towards my mother, his tender and sympathetic nature was shown in its most beautiful aspect. in her presence he found his happiness, and through her, his life--which might have been overshadowed by gloom--became one of content and quiet gladness. the _expression of the emotions_ shows how closely he watched his children; it was characteristic of him that (as i have heard him tell), although he was so anxious to observe accurately the expression of a crying child, his sympathy with the grief spoiled his observation. his note-book, in which are recorded sayings of his young children, shows his pleasure in them. he seemed to retain a sort of regretful memory of the childhoods which had faded away, and thus he wrote in his _recollections_:--"when you were very young it was my delight to play with you all, and i think with a sigh that such days can never return." i quote, as showing the tenderness of his nature, some sentences from an account of his little daughter annie, written a few days after her death:-- "our poor child, annie, was born in gower street, on march , , and expired at malvern at mid-day on the rd of april, . "i write these few pages, as i think in after years, if we live, the impressions now put down will recall more vividly her chief characteristics. from whatever point i look back at her, the main feature in her disposition which at once rises before me, is her buoyant joyousness, tempered by two other characteristics, namely, her sensitiveness, which might easily have been overlooked by a stranger, and her strong affection. her joyousness and animal spirits radiated from her whole countenance, and rendered every movement elastic and full of life and vigour. it was delightful and cheerful to behold her. her dear face now rises before me, as she used sometimes to come running downstairs with a stolen pinch of snuff for me, her whole form radiant with the pleasure of giving pleasure. even when playing with her cousins, when her joyousness almost passed into boisterousness, a single glance of my eye, not of displeasure (for i thank god i hardly ever cast one on her), but of want of sympathy, would for some minutes alter her whole countenance. "the other point in her character, which made her joyousness and spirits so delightful, was her strong affection, which was of a most clinging, fondling nature. when quite a baby, this showed itself in never being easy without touching her mother, when in bed with her; and quite lately she would, when poorly, fondle for any length of time one of her mother's arms. when very unwell, her mother lying down beside her, seemed to soothe her in a manner quite different from what it would have done to any of our other children. so, again, she would at almost any time spend half-an-hour in arranging my hair, 'making it,' as she called it, 'beautiful,' or in smoothing, the poor dear darling, my collar or cuffs--in short, in fondling me. "besides her joyousness thus tempered, she was in her manners remarkably cordial, frank, open, straightforward, natural, and without any shade of reserve. her whole mind was pure and transparent. one felt one knew her thoroughly and could trust her. i always thought, that come what might, we should have had, in our old age, at least one loving soul, which nothing could have changed. all her movements were vigorous, active, and usually graceful. when going round the sand-walk with me, although i walked fast, yet she often used to go before, pirouetting in the most elegant way, her dear face bright all the time with the sweetest smiles. occasionally she had a pretty coquettish manner towards me, the memory of which is charming. she often used exaggerated language, and when i quizzed her by exaggerating what she had said, how clearly can i now see the little toss of the head, and exclamation of 'oh, papa, what a shame of you!' in the last short illness, her conduct in simple truth was angelic. she never once complained; never became fretful; was ever considerate of others, and was thankful in the most gentle, pathetic manner for everything done for her. when so exhausted that she could hardly speak, she praised everything that was given her, and said some tea 'was beautifully good.' when i gave her some water, she said, 'i quite thank you;' and these, i believe, were the last precious words ever addressed by her dear lips to me. "we have lost the joy of the household, and the solace of our old age. she must have known how we loved her. oh, that she could now know how deeply, how tenderly, we do still and shall ever love her dear joyous face! blessings on her![ ] "april , ." we, his children, all took especial pleasure in the games he played at with us, and in his stories, which, partly on account of their rarity, were considered specially delightful. the way he brought us up is shown by a little story about my brother leonard, which my father was fond of telling. he came into the drawing-room and found leonard dancing about on the sofa, to the peril of the springs, and said, "oh, lenny, lenny, that's against all rules," and received for answer, "then i think you'd better go out of the room." i do not believe he ever spoke an angry word to any of his children in his life; but i am certain that it never entered our heads to disobey him. i well remember one occasion when my father reproved me for a piece of carelessness; and i can still recall the feeling of depression which came over me, and the care which he took to disperse it by speaking to me soon afterwards with especial kindness. he kept up his delightful, affectionate manner towards us all his life. i sometimes wonder that he could do so, with such an undemonstrative race as we are; but i hope he knew how much we delighted in his loving words and manner. he allowed his grown-up children to laugh with and at him, and was generally speaking on terms of perfect equality with us. he was always full of interest about each one's plans or successes. we used to laugh at him, and say he would not believe in his sons, because, for instance, he would be a little doubtful about their taking some bit of work for which he did not feel sure that they had knowledge enough. on the other hand, he was only too much inclined to take a favourable view of our work. when i thought he had set too high a value on anything that i had done, he used to be indignant and inclined to explode in mock anger. his doubts were part of his humility concerning what was in any way connected with himself; his too favourable view of our work was due to his sympathetic nature, which made him lenient to every one. he kept up towards his children his delightful manner of expressing his thanks; and i never wrote a letter, or read a page aloud to him, without receiving a few kind words of recognition. his love and goodness towards his little grandson bernard were great; and he often spoke of the pleasure it was to him to see "his little face opposite to him" at luncheon. he and bernard used to compare their tastes; _e.g._, in liking brown sugar better than white, &c.; the result being, "we always agree, don't we?" my sister writes:-- "my first remembrances of my father are of the delights of his playing with us. he was passionately attached to his own children, although he was not an indiscriminate child-lover. to all of us he was the most delightful play-fellow, and the most perfect sympathiser. indeed it is impossible adequately to describe how delightful a relation his was to his family, whether as children or in their later life. "it is a proof of the terms on which we were, and also of how much he was valued as a play-fellow, that one of his sons when about four years old tried to bribe him with sixpence to come and play in working hours. "he must have been the most patient and delightful of nurses. i remember the haven of peace and comfort it seemed to me when i was unwell, to be tucked up on the study sofa, idly considering the old geological map hung on the wall. this must have been in his working hours, for i always picture him sitting in the horse hair arm chair by the corner of the fire. "another mark of his unbounded patience was the way in which we were suffered to make raids into the study when we had an absolute need of sticking plaster, string, pins, scissors, stamps, foot rule, or hammer. these and other such necessaries were always to be found in the study, and it was the only place where this was a certainty. we used to feel it wrong to go in during work time; still, when the necessity was great, we did so. i remember his patient look when he said once, 'don't you think you could not come in again, i have been interrupted very often.' we used to dread going in for sticking plaster, because he disliked to see that we had cut ourselves, both for our sakes and on account of his acute sensitiveness to the sight of blood. i well remember lurking about the passage till he was safe away, and then stealing in for the plaster. "life seems to me, as i look back upon it, to have been very regular in those early days, and except relations (and a few intimate friends), i do not think any one came to the house. after lessons, we were always free to go where we would, and that was chiefly in the drawing-room and about the garden, so that we were very much with both my father and mother. we used to think it most delightful when he told us any stories about the _beagle_, or about early shrewsbury days--little bits about school life and his boyish tastes. "he cared for all our pursuits and interests, and lived our lives with us in a way that very few fathers do. but i am certain that none of us felt that this intimacy interfered the least with our respect and obedience. whatever he said was absolute truth and law to us. he always put his whole mind into answering any of our questions. one trifling instance makes me feel how he cared for what we cared for. he had no special taste for cats, but yet he knew and remembered the individualities of my many cats, and would talk about the habits and characters of the more remarkable ones years after they had died. "another characteristic of his treatment of his children was his respect for their liberty, and for their personality. even as quite a little girl, i remember rejoicing in this sense of freedom. our father and mother would not even wish to know what we were doing or thinking unless we wished to tell. he always made us feel that we were each of us creatures whose opinions and thoughts were valuable to him, so that whatever there was best in us came out in the sunshine of his presence. "i do not think his exaggerated sense of our good qualities, intellectual or moral, made us conceited, as might perhaps have been expected, but rather more humble and grateful to him. the reason being no doubt that the influence of his character, of his sincerity and greatness of nature, had a much deeper and more lasting effect than any small exaltation which his praises or admiration may have caused to our vanity."[ ] as head of a household he was much loved and respected; he always spoke to servants with politeness, using the expression, "would you be so good," in asking for anything. he was hardly ever angry with his servants; it shows how seldom this occurred, that when, as a small boy, i overheard a servant being scolded, and my father speaking angrily, it impressed me as an appalling circumstance, and i remember running up stairs out of a general sense of awe. he did not trouble himself about the management of the garden, cows, &c. he considered the horses so little his concern, that he used to ask doubtfully whether he might have a horse and cart to send to keston for sundew, or to the westerham nurseries for plants, or the like. as a host my father had a peculiar charm: the presence of visitors excited him, and made him appear to his best advantage. at shrewsbury, he used to say, it was his father's wish that the guests should be attended to constantly, and in one of the letters to fox he speaks of the impossibility of writing a letter while the house was full of company. i think he always felt uneasy at not doing more for the entertainment of his guests, but the result was successful; and, to make up for any loss, there was the gain that the guests felt perfectly free to do as they liked. the most usual visitors were those who stayed from saturday till monday; those who remained longer were generally relatives, and were considered to be rather more my mother's affair than his. besides these visitors, there were foreigners and other strangers, who came down for luncheon and went away in the afternoon. he used conscientiously to represent to them the enormous distance of down from london, and the labour it would be to come there, unconsciously taking for granted that they would find the journey as toilsome as he did himself. if, however, they were not deterred, he used to arrange their journeys for them, telling them when to come, and practically when to go. it was pleasant to see the way in which he shook hands with a guest who was being welcomed for the first time; his hand used to shoot out in a way that gave one the feeling that it was hastening to meet the guest's hands. with old friends his hand came down with a hearty swing into the other hand in a way i always had satisfaction in seeing. his good-bye was chiefly characterised by the pleasant way in which he thanked his guests, as he stood at the hall-door, for having come to see him. these luncheons were successful entertainments, there was no drag or flagging about them, my father was bright and excited throughout the whole visit. professor de candolle has described a visit to down, in his admirable and sympathetic sketch of my father.[ ] he speaks of his manner as resembling that of a "savant" of oxford or cambridge. this does not strike me as quite a good comparison; in his ease and naturalness there was more of the manner of some soldiers; a manner arising from total absence of pretence or affectation. it was this absence of pose, and the natural and simple way in which he began talking to his guests, so as to get them on their own lines, which made him so charming a host to a stranger. his happy choice of matter for talk seemed to flow out of his sympathetic nature, and humble, vivid interest in other people's work. to some, i think, he caused actual pain by his modesty; i have seen the late francis balfour quite discomposed by having knowledge ascribed to himself on a point about which my father claimed to be utterly ignorant. it is difficult to seize on the characteristics of my father's conversation. he had more dread than have most people of repeating his stories, and continually said, "you must have heard me tell," or "i daresay i've told you." one peculiarity he had, which gave a curious effect to his conversation. the first few words of a sentence would often remind him of some exception to, or some reason against, what he was going to say; and this again brought up some other point, so that the sentence would become a system of parenthesis within parenthesis, and it was often impossible to understand the drift of what he was saying until he came to the end of his sentence. he used to say of himself that he was not quick enough to hold an argument with any one, and i think this was true. unless it was a subject on which he was just then at work, he could not get the train of argument into working order quickly enough. this is shown even in his letters; thus, in the case of two letters to professor semper about the effect of isolation, he did not recall the series of facts he wanted until some days after the first letter had been sent off. when puzzled in talking, he had a peculiar stammer on the first word of a sentence. i only recall this occurring with words beginning with w; possibly he had a special difficulty with this letter, for i have heard him say that as a boy he could not pronounce w, and that sixpence was offered him if he could say "white wine," which he pronounced "rite rine." possibly he may have inherited this tendency from erasmus darwin who stammered.[ ] he sometimes combined his metaphors in a curious way, using such a phrase as "holding on like life,"--a mixture of "holding on for his life," and "holding on like grim death." it came from his eager way of putting emphasis into what he was saying. this sometimes gave an air of exaggeration where it was not intended; but it gave, too, a noble air of strong and generous conviction; as, for instance, when he gave his evidence before the royal commission on vivisection, and came out with his words about cruelty, "it deserves detestation and abhorrence." when he felt strongly about any similar question, he could hardly trust himself to speak, as he then easily became angry, a thing which he disliked excessively. he was conscious that his anger had a tendency to multiply itself in the utterance, and for this reason dreaded (for example) having to reprove a servant. it was a proof of the modesty of his manner of talking, that when, for instance, a number of visitors came over from sir john lubbock's for a sunday afternoon call, he never seemed to be preaching or lecturing, although he had so much of the talk to himself. he was particularly charming when "chaffing" any one, and in high spirits over it. his manner at such times was light-hearted and boyish, and his refinement of nature came out most strongly. so, when he was talking to a lady who pleased and amused him, the combination of raillery and deference in his manner was delightful to see. there was a personal dignity about him, which the most familiar intercourse did not diminish. one felt that he was the last person with whom anyone would wish to take a liberty, nor do i remember an instance of such a thing occurring to him. when my father had several guests he managed them well, getting a talk with each, or bringing two or three together round his chair. in these conversations there was always a good deal of fun, and, speaking generally, there was either a humorous turn in his talk, or a sunny geniality which served instead. perhaps my recollection of a pervading element of humour is the more vivid, because the best talks were with mr. huxley, in whom there is the aptness which is akin to humour, even when humour itself is not there. my father enjoyed mr. huxley's humour exceedingly, and would often say, "what splendid fun huxley is!" i think he probably had more scientific argument (of the nature of a fight) with lyell and sir joseph hooker. he used to say that it grieved him to find that for the friends of his later life he had not the warm affection of his youth. certainly in his early letters from cambridge he gives proofs of strong friendship for herbert and fox; but no one except himself would have said that his affection for his friends was not, throughout life, of the warmest possible kind. in serving a friend he would not spare himself, and precious time and strength were willingly given. he undoubtedly had, to an unusual degree, the power of attaching his friends to him. he had many warm friendships, but to sir joseph hooker he was bound by ties of affection stronger than we often see among men. he wrote in his _recollections_, "i have known hardly any man more lovable than hooker." his relationship to the village people was a pleasant one; he treated them, one and all, with courtesy, when he came in contact with them, and took an interest in all relating to their welfare. some time after he came to live at down he helped to found a friendly club, and served as treasurer for thirty years. he took much trouble about the club, keeping its accounts with minute and scrupulous exactness, and taking pleasure in its prosperous condition. every whit-monday the club marched round with band and banner and paraded on the lawn in front of the house. there he met them, and explained to them their financial position in a little speech seasoned with a few well-worn jokes. he was often unwell enough to make even this little ceremony an exertion, but i think he never failed to meet them. he was also treasurer of the coal club, which gave him a certain amount of work, and he acted for some years as a county magistrate. with regard to my father's interest in the affairs of the village, mr. brodie innes has been so good as to give me his recollections:-- "on my becoming vicar of down in , we became friends, and so continued till his death. his conduct towards me and my family was one of unvarying kindness, and we repaid it by warm affection. "in all parish matters he was an active assistant; in matters connected with the schools, charities, and other business, his liberal contribution was ever ready, and in the differences which at times occurred in that, as in other parishes, i was always sure of his support. he held that where there was really no important objection, his assistance should be given to the clergyman, who ought to know the circumstances best, and was chiefly responsible." his intercourse with strangers was marked with scrupulous and rather formal politeness, but in fact he had few opportunities of meeting strangers, and the quiet life he led at down made him feel confused in a large gathering; for instance, at the royal society's _soirées_ he felt oppressed by the numbers. the feeling that he ought to know people, and the difficulty he had in remembering faces in his latter years, also added to his discomfort on such occasions. he did not realise that he would be recognised from his photographs, and i remember his being uneasy at being obviously recognised by a stranger at the crystal palace aquarium. i must say something of his manner of working: a striking characteristic was his respect for time; he never forgot how precious it was. this was shown, for instance, in the way in which he tried to curtail his holidays; also, and more clearly, with respect to shorter periods. he would often say, that saving the minutes was the way to get work done; he showed this love of saving the minutes in the difference he felt between a quarter of an hour and ten minutes' work; he never wasted a few spare minutes from thinking that it was not worth while to set to work. i was often struck by his way of working up to the very limit of his strength, so that he suddenly stopped in dictating, with the words, "i believe i mustn't do any more." the same eager desire not to lose time was seen in his quick movements when at work. i particularly remember noticing this when he was making an experiment on the roots of beans, which required some care in manipulation; fastening the little bits of card upon the roots was done carefully and necessarily slowly, but the intermediate movements were all quick; taking a fresh bean, seeing that the root was healthy, impaling it on a pin, fixing it on a cork, and seeing that it was vertical, &c.; all these processes were performed with a kind of restrained eagerness. he gave one the impression of working with pleasure, and not with any drag. i have an image, too, of him as he recorded the result of some experiment, looking eagerly at each root, &c., and then writing with equal eagerness. i remember the quick movement of his head up and down as he looked from the object to the notes. he saved a great deal of time through not having to do things twice. although he would patiently go on repeating experiments where there was any good to be gained, he could not endure having to repeat an experiment which ought, if complete care had been taken, to have told its story at first--and this gave him a continual anxiety that the experiment should not be wasted; he felt the experiment to be sacred, however slight a one it was. he wished to learn as much as possible from an experiment, so that he did not confine himself to observing the single point to which the experiment was directed, and his power of seeing a number of other things was wonderful. i do not think he cared for preliminary or rough observations intended to serve as guides and to be repeated. any experiment done was to be of some use, and in this connection i remember how strongly he urged the necessity of keeping the notes of experiments which failed, and to this rule he always adhered. in the literary part of his work he had the same horror of losing time, and the same zeal in what he was doing at the moment, and this made him careful not to be obliged unnecessarily to read anything a second time. his natural tendency was to use simple methods and few instruments. the use of the compound microscope has much increased since his youth, and this at the expense of the simple one. it strikes us nowadays as extraordinary that he should have had no compound microscope when he went his _beagle_ voyage; but in this he followed the advice of robert brown, who was an authority in such matters. he always had a great liking for the simple microscope, and maintained that nowadays it was too much neglected, and that one ought always to see as much as possible with the simple before taking to the compound microscope. in one of his letters he speaks on this point, and remarks that he suspects the work of a man who never uses the simple microscope. his dissecting table was a thick board, let into a window of the study; it was lower than an ordinary table, so that he could not have worked at it standing; but this, from wishing to save his strength, he would not have done in any case. he sat at his dissecting-table on a curious low stool which had belonged to his father, with a seat revolving on a vertical spindle, and mounted on large castors, so that he could turn easily from side to side. his ordinary tools, &c., were lying about on the table, but besides these a number of odds and ends were kept in a round table full of radiating drawers, and turning on a vertical axis, which stood close by his left side, as he sat at his microscope-table. the drawers were labelled, "best tools," "rough tools," "specimens," "preparations for specimens," &c. the most marked peculiarity of the contents of these drawers was the care with which little scraps and almost useless things were preserved; he held the well-known belief, that if you threw a thing away you were sure to want it directly--and so things accumulated. if any one had looked at his tools, &c., lying on the table, he would have been struck by an air of simpleness, make-shift, and oddity. at his right hand were shelves, with a number of other odds and ends, glasses, saucers, tin biscuit boxes for germinating seeds, zinc labels, saucers full of sand, &c., &c. considering how tidy and methodical he was in essential things, it is curious that he bore with so many make-shifts: for instance, instead of having a box made of a desired shape, and stained black inside, he would hunt up something like what he wanted and get it darkened inside with shoe-blacking; he did not care to have glass covers made for tumblers in which he germinated seeds, but used broken bits of irregular shape, with perhaps a narrow angle sticking uselessly out on one side. but so much of his experimenting was of a simple kind, that he had no need for any elaboration, and i think his habit in this respect was in great measure due to his desire to husband his strength, and not waste it on inessential things. his way of marking objects may here be mentioned. if he had a number of things to distinguish, such as leaves, flowers, &c., he tied threads of different colours round them. in particular he used this method when he had only two classes of objects to distinguish; thus in the case of crossed and self-fertilised flowers, one set would be marked with black and one with white thread, tied round the stalk of the flower. i remember well the look of two sets of capsules, gathered and waiting to be weighed, counted, &c., with pieces of black and of white thread to distinguish the trays in which they lay. when he had to compare two sets of seedlings, sowed in the same pot, he separated them by a partition of zinc-plate; and the zinc-label, which gave the necessary details about the experiment, was always placed on a certain side, so that it became instinctive with him to know without reading the label which were the "crossed" and which the "self-fertilised." his love of each particular experiment, and his eager zeal not to lose the fruit of it, came out markedly in these crossing experiments--in the elaborate care he took not to make any confusion in putting capsules into wrong trays, &c. &c. i can recall his appearance as he counted seeds under the simple microscope with an alertness not usually characterising such mechanical work as counting. i think he personified each seed as a small demon trying to elude him by getting into the wrong heap, or jumping away altogether; and this gave to the work the excitement of a game. he had great faith in instruments, and i do not think it naturally occurred to him to doubt the accuracy of a scale, a measuring glass, &c. he was astonished when we found that one of his micrometers differed from the other. he did not require any great accuracy in most of his measurements, and had not good scales; he had an old three-foot rule, which was the common property of the household, and was constantly being borrowed, because it was the only one which was certain to be in its place--unless, indeed, the last borrower had forgotten to put it back. for measuring the height of plants, he had a seven-foot deal rod, graduated by the village carpenter. latterly he took to using paper scales graduated to millimeters. i do not mean by this account of his instruments that any of his experiments suffered from want of accuracy in measurement, i give them as examples of his simple methods and faith in others--faith at least in instrument-makers, whose whole trade was a mystery to him. a few of his mental characteristics, bearing especially on his mode of working, occur to me. there was one quality of mind which seemed to be of special and extreme advantage in leading him to make discoveries. it was the power of never letting exceptions pass unnoticed. everybody notices a fact as an exception when it is striking or frequent, but he had a special instinct for arresting an exception. a point apparently slight and unconnected with his present work is passed over by many a man almost unconsciously with some half-considered explanation, which is in fact no explanation. it was just these things that he seized on to make a start from. in a certain sense there is nothing special in this procedure, many discoveries being made by means of it. i only mention it because, as i watched him at work, the value of this power to an experimenter was so strongly impressed upon me. another quality which was shown in his experimental work, was his power of sticking to a subject; he used almost to apologise for his patience, saying that he could not bear to be beaten, as if this were rather a sign of weakness on his part. he often quoted the saying, "it's dogged as does it;" and i think doggedness expresses his frame of mind almost better than perseverance. perseverance seems hardly to express his almost fierce desire to force the truth to reveal itself. he often said that it was important that a man should know the right point at which to give up an inquiry. and i think it was his tendency to pass this point that inclined him to apologise for his perseverance, and gave the air of doggedness to his work. he often said that no one could be a good observer unless he was an active theoriser. this brings me back to what i said about his instinct for arresting exceptions: it was as though he were charged with theorising power ready to flow into any channel on the slightest disturbance, so that no fact, however small, could avoid releasing a stream of theory, and thus the fact became magnified into importance. in this way it naturally happened that many untenable theories occurred to him; but fortunately his richness of imagination was equalled by his power of judging and condemning the thoughts that occurred to him. he was just to his theories, and did not condemn them unheard; and so it happened that he was willing to test what would seem to most people not at all worth testing. these rather wild trials he called "fool's experiments," and enjoyed extremely. as an example i may mention that finding the seed-leaves of a kind of sensitive plant, to be highly sensitive to vibrations of the table, he fancied that they might perceive the vibrations of sound, and therefore made me play my bassoon close to a plant.[ ] the love of experiment was very strong in him, and i can remember the way he would say, "i shan't be easy till i have tried it," as if an outside force were driving him. he enjoyed experimenting much more than work which only entailed reasoning, and when he was engaged on one of his books which required argument and the marshalling of facts, he felt experimental work to be a rest or holiday. thus, while working upon the _variations of animals and plants_ in - , he made out the fertilisation of orchids, and thought himself idle for giving so much time to them. it is interesting to think that so important a piece of research should have been undertaken and largely worked out as a pastime in place of more serious work. the letters to hooker of this period contain expressions such as, "god forgive me for being so idle; i am quite sillily interested in the work." the intense pleasure he took in understanding the adaptations for fertilisation is strongly shown in these letters. he speaks in one of his letters of his intention of working at sundew as a rest from the _descent of man_. he has described in his _recollections_ the strong satisfaction he felt in solving the problem of heterostylism.[ ] and i have heard him mention that the geology of south america gave him almost more pleasure than anything else. it was perhaps this delight in work requiring keen observation that made him value praise given to his observing powers almost more than appreciation of his other qualities. for books he had no respect, but merely considered them as tools to be worked with. thus he did not bind them, and even when a paper book fell to pieces from use, as happened to müller's _befruchtung_, he preserved it from complete dissolution by putting a metal clip over its back. in the same way he would cut a heavy book in half, to make it more convenient to hold. he used to boast that he had made lyell publish the second edition of one of his books in two volumes, instead of in one, by telling him how he had been obliged to cut it in half. pamphlets were often treated even more severely than books, for he would tear out, for the sake of saving room, all the pages except the one that interested him. the consequence of all this was, that his library was not ornamental, but was striking from being so evidently a working collection of books. he was methodical in his manner of reading books and pamphlets bearing on his own work. he had one shelf on which were piled up the books he had not yet read, and another to which they were transferred after having been read, and before being catalogued. he would often groan over his unread books, because there were so many which he knew he should never read. many a book was at once transferred to the other heap, marked with a cypher at the end, to show that it contained no passages for reference, or inscribed, perhaps, "not read," or "only skimmed." the books accumulated in the "read" heap until the shelves overflowed, and then, with much lamenting, a day was given up to the cataloguing. he disliked this work, and as the necessity of undertaking the work became imperative, would often say, in a voice of despair, "we really must do these books soon." in each book, as he read it, he marked passages bearing on his work. in reading a book or pamphlet, &c., he made pencil-lines at the side of the page, often adding short remarks, and at the end made a list of the pages marked. when it was to be catalogued and put away, the marked pages were looked at, and so a rough abstract of the book was made. this abstract would perhaps be written under three or four headings on different sheets, the facts being sorted out and added to the previously collected facts in the different subjects. he had other sets of abstracts arranged, not according to subject, but according to the periodicals from which they were taken. when collecting facts on a large scale, in earlier years, he used to read through, and make abstracts, in this way, of whole series of journals. in some of his early letters he speaks of filling several note-books with facts for his book on species; but it was certainly early that he adopted his plan of using portfolios, as described in the _recollections_.[ ] my father and m. de candolle were mutually pleased to discover that they had adopted the same plan of classifying facts. de candolle describes the method in his _phytologie_, and in his sketch of my father mentions the satisfaction he felt in seeing it in action at down. besides these portfolios, of which there are some dozens full of notes, there are large bundles of ms. marked "used" and put away. he felt the value of his notes, and had a horror of their destruction by fire. i remember, when some alarm of fire had happened, his begging me to be especially careful, adding very earnestly, that the rest of his life would be miserable if his notes and books were destroyed. he shows the same feeling in writing about the loss of a manuscript, the purport of his words being, "i have a copy, or the loss would have killed me." in writing a book he would spend much time and labour in making a skeleton or plan of the whole, and in enlarging and sub-classing each heading, as described in his _recollections_. i think this careful arrangement of the plan was not at all essential to the building up of his argument, but for its presentment, and for the arrangement of his facts. in his _life of erasmus darwin_, as it was first printed in slips, the growth of the book from a skeleton was plainly visible. the arrangement was altered afterwards, because it was too formal and categorical, and seemed to give the character of his grandfather rather by means of a list of qualities than as a complete picture. it was only within the last few years that he adopted a plan of writing which he was convinced suited him best, and which is described in the _recollections_; namely, writing a rough copy straight off without the slightest attention to style. it was characteristic of him that he felt unable to write with sufficient want of care if he used his best paper, and thus it was that he wrote on the backs of old proofs or manuscript. the rough copy was then reconsidered, and a fair copy was made. for this purpose he had foolscap paper ruled at wide intervals, the lines being needed to prevent him writing so closely that correction became difficult. the fair copy was then corrected, and was recopied before being sent to the printers. the copying was done by mr. e. norman, who began this work many years ago when village schoolmaster at down. my father became so used to mr. norman's handwriting, that he could not correct manuscript, even when clearly written out by one of his children, until it had been recopied by mr. norman. the ms., on returning from mr. norman, was once more corrected, and then sent off to the printers. then came the work of revising and correcting the proofs, which my father found especially wearisome. when the book was passing through the "slip" stage he was glad to have corrections and suggestions from others. thus my mother looked over the proofs of the _origin_. in some of the later works my sister, mrs. litchfield, did much of the correction. after my sister's marriage perhaps most of the work fell to my share. my sister, mrs. litchfield, writes:-- "this work was very interesting in itself, and it was inexpressibly exhilarating to work for him. he was so ready to be convinced that any suggested alteration was an improvement, and so full of gratitude for the trouble taken. i do not think that he ever forgot to tell me what improvement he thought i had made, and he used almost to excuse himself if he did not agree with any correction. i think i felt the singular modesty and graciousness of his nature through thus working for him in a way i never should otherwise have done." perhaps the commonest corrections needed were of obscurities due to the omission of a necessary link in the reasoning, evidently omitted through familiarity with the subject. not that there was any fault in the sequence of the thoughts, but that from familiarity with his argument he did not notice when the words failed to reproduce his thought. he also frequently put too much matter into one sentence, so that it had to be cut up into two. on the whole, i think the pains which my father took over the literary part of the work was very remarkable. he often laughed or grumbled at himself for the difficulty which he found in writing english, saying, for instance, that if a bad arrangement of a sentence was possible, he should be sure to adopt it. he once got much amusement and satisfaction out of the difficulty which one of the family found in writing a short circular. he had the pleasure of correcting and laughing at obscurities, involved sentences, and other defects, and thus took his revenge for all the criticism he had himself to bear with. he would quote with astonishment miss martineau's advice to young authors, to write straight off and send the ms. to the printer without correction. but in some cases he acted in a somewhat similar manner. when a sentence became hopelessly involved, he would ask himself, "now what _do_ you want to say?" and his answer written down, would often disentangle the confusion. his style has been much praised; on the other hand, at least one good judge has remarked to me that it is not a good style. it is, above all things, direct and clear; and it is characteristic of himself in its simplicity bordering on naïveté, and in its absence of pretence. he had the strongest disbelief in the common idea that a classical scholar must write good english; indeed, he thought that the contrary was the case. in writing, he sometimes showed the same tendency to strong expressions that he did in conversation. thus in the _origin_, p. , there is a description of a larval cirripede, "with six pairs of beautifully constructed natatory legs, a pair of magnificent compound eyes, and extremely complex antennæ." we used to laugh at him for this sentence, which we compared to an advertisement. this tendency to give himself up to the enthusiastic turn of his thought, without fear of being ludicrous appears elsewhere in his writings. his courteous and conciliatory tone towards his reader is remarkable, and it must be partly this quality which revealed his personal sweetness of character to so many who had never seen him. i have always felt it to be a curious fact, that he who has altered the face of biological science, and is in this respect the chief of the moderns, should have written and worked in so essentially a non-modern spirit and manner. in reading his books one is reminded of the older naturalists rather than of any modern school of writers. he was a naturalist in the old sense of the word, that is, a man who works at many branches of science, not merely a specialist in one. thus it is, that, though he founded whole new divisions of special subjects--such as the fertilisation of flowers, insectivorous plants, &c.--yet even in treating these very subjects he does not strike the reader as a specialist. the reader feels like a friend who is being talked to by a courteous gentleman, not like a pupil being lectured by a professor. the tone of such a book as the _origin_ is charming, and almost pathetic; it is the tone of a man who, convinced of the truth of his own views, hardly expects to convince others; it is just the reverse of the style of a fanatic, who tries to force belief on his readers. the reader is never scorned for any amount of doubt which he may be imagined to feel, and his scepticism is treated with patient respect. a sceptical reader, or perhaps even an unreasonable reader, seems to have been generally present to his thoughts. it was in consequence of this feeling, perhaps, that he took much trouble over points which he imagined would strike the reader, or save him trouble, and so tempt him to read. for the same reason he took much interest in the illustrations of his books, and i think rated rather too highly their value. the illustrations for his earlier books were drawn by professional artists. this was the case in _animals and plants_, the _descent of man_, and the _expression of the emotions_. on the other hand, _climbing plants_, _insectivorous plants_, the _movements of plants_, and _forms of flowers_, were, to a large extent, illustrated by some of his children--my brother george having drawn by far the most. it was delightful to draw for him, as he was enthusiastic in his praise of very moderate performances. i remember well his charming manner of receiving the drawings of one of his daughters-in-law, and how he would finish his words of praise by saying, "tell a----, michael angelo is nothing to it." though he praised so generously, he always looked closely at the drawing, and easily detected mistakes or carelessness. he had a horror of being lengthy, and seems to have been really much annoyed and distressed when he found how the _variations of animals and plants_ was growing under his hands. i remember his cordially agreeing with 'tristram shandy's' words, "let no man say, 'come, i'll write a duodecimo.'" his consideration for other authors was as marked a characteristic as his tone towards his reader. he speaks of all other authors as persons deserving of respect. in cases where, as in the case of ----'s experiments on drosera, he thought lightly of the author, he speaks of him in such a way that no one would suspect it. in other cases he treats the confused writings of ignorant persons as though the fault lay with himself for not appreciating or understanding them. besides this general tone of respect, he had a pleasant way of expressing his opinion on the value of a quoted work, or his obligation for a piece of private information. his respectful feeling was not only admirable, but was i think of practical use in making him ready to consider the ideas and observations of all manner of people. he used almost to apologise for this, and would say that he was at first inclined to rate everything too highly. it was a great merit in his mind that, in spite of having so strong a respectful feeling towards what he read, he had the keenest of instincts as to whether a man was trustworthy or not. he seemed to form a very definite opinion as to the accuracy of the men whose books he read; and employed this judgment in his choice of facts for use in argument or as illustrations. i gained the impression that he felt this power of judging of a man's trustworthiness to be of much value. he had a keen feeling of the sense of honour that ought to reign among authors, and had a horror of any kind of laxness in quoting. he had a contempt for the love of honour and glory, and in his letters often blames himself for the pleasure he took in the success of his books, as though he were departing from his ideal--a love of truth and carelessness about fame. often, when writing to sir j. hooker what he calls a boasting letter, he laughs at himself for his conceit and want of modesty. a wonderfully interesting letter is given in chapter x. bequeathing to my mother, in case of his death, the care of publishing the manuscript of his first essay on evolution. this letter seems to me full of an intense desire that his theory should succeed as a contribution to knowledge, and apart from any desire for personal fame. he certainly had the healthy desire for success which a man of strong feelings ought to have. but at the time of the publication of the _origin_ it is evident that he was overwhelmingly satisfied with the adherence of such men as lyell, hooker, huxley, and asa gray, and did not dream of or desire any such general fame as that to which he attained. connected with his contempt for the undue love of fame, was an equally strong dislike of all questions of priority. the letters to lyell, at the time of the _origin_, show the anger he felt with himself for not being able to repress a feeling of disappointment at what he thought was mr. wallace's forestalling of all his years of work. his sense of literary honour comes out strongly in these letters; and his feeling about priority is again shown in the admiration expressed in his _recollections_ of mr. wallace's self-annihilation. his feeling about reclamations, including answers to attacks and all kinds of discussions, was strong. it is simply expressed in a letter to falconer ( ): "if i ever felt angry towards you, for whom i have a sincere friendship, i should begin to suspect that i was a little mad. i was very sorry about your reclamation, as i think it is in every case a mistake and should be left to others. whether i should so act myself under provocation is a different question." it was a feeling partly dictated by instinctive delicacy, and partly by a strong sense of the waste of time, energy, and temper thus caused. he said that he owed his determination not to get into discussions[ ] to the advice of lyell,--advice which he transmitted to those among his friends who were given to paper warfare. if the character of my father's working life is to be understood, the conditions of ill-health, under which he worked, must be constantly borne in mind. he bore his illness with such uncomplaining patience, that even his children can hardly, i believe, realise the extent of his habitual suffering. in their case the difficulty is heightened by the fact that, from the days of their earliest recollections, they saw him in constant ill-health,--and saw him, in spite of it, full of pleasure in what pleased them. thus, in later life, their perception of what he endured had to be disentangled from the impression produced in childhood by constant genial kindness under conditions of unrecognised difficulty. no one indeed, except my mother, knows the full amount of suffering he endured, or the full amount of his wonderful patience. for all the latter years of his life she never left him for a night; and her days were so planned that all his resting hours might be shared with her. she shielded him from every avoidable annoyance, and omitted nothing that might save him trouble, or prevent him becoming overtired, or that might alleviate the many discomforts of his ill-health. i hesitate to speak thus freely of a thing so sacred as the life-long devotion which prompted all this constant and tender care. but it is, i repeat, a principal feature of his life, that for nearly forty years he never knew one day of the health of ordinary men, and that thus his life was one long struggle against the weariness and strain of sickness. and this cannot be told without speaking of the one condition which enabled him to bear the strain and fight out the struggle to the end. footnotes: [ ] from the _century magazine_, january . [ ] the figure in _insectivorous plants_ representing the aggregated cell-contents was drawn by him. [ ] _life and letters_, vol. iii. frontispiece. [ ] the basket in which she usually lay curled up near the fire in his study is faithfully represented in mr. parson's drawing given at the head of the chapter. [ ] cf. leslie stephen's _swift_, , p. , where swift's inspection of the manners and customs of servants are compared to my father's observations on worms, "the difference is," says mr. stephen, "that darwin had none but kindly feelings for worms." [ ] the words, "a good and dear child," form the descriptive part of the inscription on her gravestone. see the _athenæum_, nov. , . [ ] some pleasant recollections of my father's life at down, written by our friend and former neighbour, mrs. wallis nash, have been published in the _overland monthly_ (san francisco), october . [ ] _darwin considéré au point de vue des causes de son succès_ (geneva, ). [ ] my father related a johnsonian answer of erasmus darwin's: "don't you find it very inconvenient stammering, dr. darwin?" "no, sir, because i have time to think before i speak, and don't ask impertinent questions." [ ] this is not so much an example of superabundant theorising from a small cause as of his wish to test the most improbable ideas. [ ] that is to say, the sexual relations in such plants as the cowslip. [ ] the racks in which the portfolios were placed are shown in the illustration at the head of the chapter, in the recess at the right-hand side of the fire-place. [ ] he departed from his rule in his "note on the habits of the pampas woodpecker, _colaptes campestris_," _proc. zool. soc._, , p. : also in a letter published in the _athenæum_ ( , p. ), in which case he afterwards regretted that he had not remained silent. his replies to criticisms, in the latter editions of the _origin_, can hardly be classed as infractions of his rule. chapter v. cambridge life.--the appointment to the 'beagle.' my father's cambridge life comprises the time between the lent term, , when he came up to christ's college as a freshman, and the end of the may term, , when he took his degree[ ] and left the university. he "kept" for a term or two in lodgings, over bacon[ ] the tobacconist's; not, however, over the shop in the market place, so well known to cambridge men, but in sydney street. for the rest of his time he had pleasant rooms on the south side of the first court of christ's.[ ] what determined the choice of this college for his brother erasmus and himself i have no means of knowing. erasmus the elder, their grandfather, had been at st. john's, and this college might have been reasonably selected for them, being connected with shrewsbury school. but the life of an undergraduate at st. john's seems, in those days, to have been a troubled one, if i may judge from the fact that a relative of mine migrated thence to christ's to escape the harassing discipline of the place. darwin seems to have found no difficulty in living at peace with all men in and out of office at lady margaret's elder foundation. the impression of a contemporary of my father's is that christ's in their day was a pleasant, fairly quiet college, with some tendency towards "horsiness"; many of the men made a custom of going to newmarket during the races, though betting was not a regular practice. in this they were by no means discouraged by the senior tutor, mr. shaw, who was himself generally to be seen on the heath on these occasions. nor were the ecclesiastical authorities of the college over strict. i have heard my father tell how at evening chapel the dean used to read alternate verses of the psalms, without making even a pretence of waiting for the congregation to take their share. and when the lesson was a lengthy one, he would rise and go on with the canticles after the scholar had read fifteen or twenty verses. it is curious that my father often spoke of his cambridge life as if it had been so much time wasted,[ ] forgetting that, although the set studies of the place were barren enough for him, he yet gained in the highest degree the best advantages of a university life--the contact with men and an opportunity for mental growth. it is true that he valued at its highest the advantages which he gained from associating with professor henslow and some others, but he seemed to consider this as a chance outcome of his life at cambridge, not an advantage for which _alma mater_ could claim any credit. one of my father's cambridge friends was the late mr. j. m. herbert, county court judge for south wales, from whom i was fortunate enough to obtain some notes which help us to gain an idea of how my father impressed his contemporaries. mr. herbert writes:-- "it would be idle for me to speak of his vast intellectual powers ... but i cannot end this cursory and rambling sketch without testifying, and i doubt not all his surviving college friends would concur with me, that he was the most genial, warm-hearted, generous, and affectionate of friends; that his sympathies were with all that was good and true; and that he had a cordial hatred for everything false, or vile, or cruel, or mean, or dishonourable. he was not only great, but pre-eminently good, and just, and lovable." two anecdotes told by mr. herbert show that my father's feeling for suffering, whether of man or beast, was as strong in him as a young man as it was in later years: "before he left cambridge he told me that he had made up his mind not to shoot any more; that he had had two days' shooting at his friend's, mr. owen of woodhouse; and that on the second day, when going over some of the ground they had beaten on the day before, he picked up a bird not quite dead, but lingering from a shot it had received on the previous day; and that it had made and left such a painful impression on his mind, that he could not reconcile it to his conscience to continue to derive pleasure from a sport which inflicted such cruel suffering." to realise the strength of the feeling that led to this resolve, we must remember how passionate was his love of sport. we must recall the boy shooting his first snipe,[ ] and trembling with excitement so that he could hardly reload his gun. or think of such a sentence as, "upon my soul, it is only about a fortnight to the 'first,' then if there is a bliss on earth that is it."[ ] his old college friends agree in speaking with affectionate warmth of his pleasant, genial temper as a young man. from what they have been able to tell me, i gain the impression of a young man overflowing with animal spirits--leading a varied healthy life--not over-industrious in the set studies of the place, but full of other pursuits, which were followed with a rejoicing enthusiasm. entomology, riding, shooting in the fens, suppers and card-playing, music at king's chapel, engravings at the fitzwilliam museum, walks with professor henslow--all combined to fill up a happy life. he seems to have infected others with his enthusiasm. mr. herbert relates how, while on a reading-party at barmouth, he was pressed into the service of "the science"--as my father called collecting beetles:-- "he armed me with a bottle of alcohol, in which i had to drop any beetle which struck me as not of a common kind. i performed this duty with some diligence in my constitutional walks; but, alas! my powers of discrimination seldom enabled mo to secure a prize--the usual result, on his examining the contents of my bottle, being an exclamation, 'well, old cherbury'[ ] (the nickname he gave me, and by which he usually addressed me), 'none of these will do.'" again, the rev. t. butler, who was one of the barmouth reading-party in , says: "he inoculated me with a taste for botany which has stuck by me all my life." archdeacon watkins, another old college friend of my father's, remembered him unearthing beetles in the willows between cambridge and grantchester, and speaks of a certain beetle the remembrance of whose name is "crux major."[ ] how enthusiastically must my father have exulted over this beetle to have impressed its name on a companion so that he remembers it after half a century! he became intimate with henslow, the professor of botany, and through him with some other older members of the university. "but," mr. herbert writes, "he always kept up the closest connection with the friends of his own standing; and at our frequent social gatherings--at breakfast, wine or supper parties--he was ever one of the most cheerful, the most popular, and the most welcome." my father formed one of a club for dining once a week, called the glutton club, the members, besides himself and mr. herbert (from whom i quote), being whitley of st. john's, now honorary canon of durham;[ ] heaviside of sydney, now canon of norwich; lovett cameron of trinity, sometime vicar of shoreham; r. blane of trinity,[ ] who held a high post during the crimean war, h. lowe[ ] (afterwards sherbrooke) of trinity hall; and f. watkins of emmanuel, afterwards archdeacon of york. the origin of the club's name seems already to have become involved in obscurity; it certainly implied no unusual luxury in the weekly gatherings. at any rate, the meetings seemed to have been successful, and to have ended with "a game of mild vingt-et-un." mr. herbert speaks strongly of my father's love of music, and adds, "what gave him the greatest delight was some grand symphony or overture of mozart's or beethoven's, with their full harmonies." on one occasion herbert remembers "accompanying him to the afternoon service at king's, when we heard a very beautiful anthem. at the end of one of the parts, which was exceedingly impressive, he turned round to me and said, with a deep sigh, 'how's your backbone?'" he often spoke in later years of a feeling of coldness or shivering in his back on hearing beautiful music. besides a love of music, he had certainly at this time a love of fine literature; and mr. cameron tells me that my father took much pleasure in shakespeare readings carried on in his rooms at christ's. he also speaks of darwin's "great liking for first-class line engravings, especially those of raphael morghen and müller; and he spent hours in the fitzwilliam museum in looking over the prints in that collection." my father's letters to fox show how sorely oppressed he felt by the reading for an examination. his despair over mathematics must have been profound, when he expresses a hope that fox's silence is due to "your being ten fathoms deep in the mathematics; and if you are, god help you, for so am i, only with this difference, i stick fast in the mud at the bottom, and there i shall remain." mr. herbert says: "he had, i imagine, no natural turn for mathematics, and he gave up his mathematical reading before he had mastered the first part of algebra, having had a special quarrel with surds and the binomial theorem." we get some evidence from my father's letters to fox of his intention of going into the church. "i am glad," he writes,[ ] "to hear that you are reading divinity. i should like to know what books you are reading, and your opinions about them; you need not be afraid of preaching to me prematurely." mr. herbert's sketch shows how doubts arose in my father's mind as to the possibility of his taking orders. he writes, "we had an earnest conversation about going into holy orders; and i remember his asking me, with reference to the question put by the bishop in the ordination service, 'do you trust that you are inwardly moved by the holy spirit, &c.,' whether i could answer in the affirmative, and on my saying i could not, he said, 'neither can i, and therefore i cannot take orders.'" this conversation appears to have taken place in , and if so, the doubts here expressed must have been quieted, for in may , he speaks of having some thoughts of reading divinity with henslow. the greater number of his cambridge letters are addressed by my father to his cousin, william darwin fox. my father's letters show clearly enough how genuine the friendship was. in after years, distance, large families, and ill-health on both sides, checked the intercourse; but a warm feeling of friendship remained. the correspondence was never quite dropped and continued till mr. fox's death in . mr. fox took orders, and worked as a country clergyman until forced by ill-health to leave his living in delamere forest. his love of natural history was strong, and he became a skilled fancier of many kinds of birds, &c. the index to _animals and plants_, and my father's later correspondence, show how much help he received from his old college friend. _c. d. to j. m. herbert._ september , .[ ] my dear old cherbury,--i am about to fulfil my promise of writing to you, but i am sorry to add there is a very selfish motive at the bottom. i am going to ask you a great favour, and you cannot imagine how much you will oblige me by procuring some more specimens of some insects which i dare say i can describe. in the first place, i must inform you that i have taken some of the rarest of the british insects, and their being found near barmouth, is quite unknown to the entomological world: i think i shall write and inform some of the crack entomologists. but now for business. _several_ more specimens, if you can procure them without much trouble, of the following insects:--the violet-black coloured beetle, found on craig storm,[ ] under stones, also a large smooth black one very like it; a bluish metallic-coloured dung-beetle, which is _very_ common on the hill-sides; also, if you _would_ be so very kind as to cross the ferry, and you will find a great number under the stones on the waste land of a long, smooth, jet-black beetle (a great many of these); also, in the same situation, a very small pinkish insect, with black spots, with a curved thorax projecting beyond the head; also, upon the marshy land over the ferry, near the sea, under old sea weed, stones, &c., you will find a small yellowish transparent beetle, with two or four blackish marks on the back. under these stones there are two sorts, one much darker than the other; the lighter coloured is that which i want. these last two insects are _excessively rare_, and you will really _extremely_ oblige me by taking all this trouble pretty soon. remember me most kindly to butler,[ ] tell him of my success, and i dare say both of you will easily recognise these insects. i hope his caterpillars go on well. i think many of the chrysalises are well worth keeping. i really am quite ashamed [of] so long a letter all about my own concerns; but do return good for evil, and send me a long account of all your proceedings. in the first week i killed seventy-five head of game--a very contemptible number--but there are very few birds. i killed, however, a brace of black game. since then i have been staying at the fox's, near derby; it is a very pleasant house, and the music meeting went off very well. i want to hear how yates likes his gun, and what use he has made of it. if the bottle is not large you can buy another for me, and when you pass through shrewsbury you can leave these treasures, and i hope, if you possibly can, you will stay a day or two with me, as i hope i need not say how glad i shall be to see you again. fox remarked what deuced good natured fellows your friends at barmouth must be; and if i did not know that you and butler were so, i would not think of giving you so much trouble. in the following january we find him looking forward with pleasure to the beginning of another year of his cambridge life: he writes to fox, who had passed his examination:-- "i do so wish i were now in cambridge (a very selfish wish, however, as i was not with you in all your troubles and misery), to join in all the glory and happiness, which dangers gone by can give. how we would talk, walk, and entomologise! sappho should be the best of bitches, and dash, of dogs; then should be 'peace on earth, good will to men,'--which, by the way, i always think the most perfect description of happiness that words can give." later on in the lent term he writes to fox:-- "i am leading a quiet everyday sort of a life; a little of gibbon's history in the morning, and a good deal of _van john_ in the evening; this, with an occasional ride with simcox and constitutional with whitley, makes up the regular routine of my days. i see a good deal both of herbert and whitley, and the more i see of them increases every day the respect i have for their excellent understandings and dispositions. they have been giving some very gay parties, nearly sixty men there both evenings." _c. d. to w. d. fox._ christ's college, april [ ]. my dear fox--in your letter to holden you are pleased to observe "that of all the blackguards you ever met with i am the greatest." upon this observation i shall make no remarks, excepting that i must give you all due credit for acting on it most rigidly. and now i should like to know in what one particular are you less of a blackguard than i am? you idle old wretch, why have you not answered my last letter, which i am sure i forwarded to clifton nearly three weeks ago? if i was not really very anxious to hear what you are doing, i should have allowed you to remain till you thought it worth while to treat me like a gentleman. and now having vented my spleen in scolding you, and having told you, what you must know, how very much and how anxiously i want to hear how you and your family are getting on at clifton, the purport of this letter is finished. if you did but know how often i think of you, and how often i regret your absence, i am sure i should have heard from you long enough ago. i find cambridge rather stupid, and as i know scarcely any one that walks, and this joined with my lips not being quite so well, has reduced me to a sort of hybernation.... i have caught mr. harbour[ ] letting ---- have the first pick of the beetles; accordingly we have made our final adieus, my part in the affecting scene consisted in telling him he was a d----d rascal, and signifying i should kick him down the stairs if ever he appeared in my rooms again. it seemed altogether mightily to surprise the young gentleman. i have no news to tell you; indeed, when a correspondence has been broken off like ours has been, it is difficult to make the first start again. last night there was a terrible fire at linton, eleven miles from cambridge. seeing the reflection so plainly in the sky, hall, woodyeare, turner, and myself thought we would ride and see it. we set out at half-past nine, and rode like incarnate devils there, and did not return till two in the morning. altogether it was a most awful sight. i cannot conclude without telling you, that of all the blackguards i ever met with, you are the greatest and the best. in july he had written to fox:-- "i must read for my little-go. graham smiled and bowed so very civilly, when he told me that he was one of the six appointed to make the examination stricter, and that they were determined this would make it a very different thing from any previous examination, that from all this i am sure it will be the very devil to pay amongst all idle men and entomologists." but things were not so bad as he feared, and in march , he could write to the same correspondent:-- "i am through my little-go!!! i am too much exalted to humble myself by apologising for not having written before. but i assure you before i went in, and when my nerves were in a shattered and weak condition, your injured person often rose before my eyes and taunted me with my idleness. but i am through, through, through. i could write the whole sheet full with this delightful word. i went in yesterday, and have just heard the joyful news. i shall not know for a week which class i am in. the whole examination is carried on in a different system. it has one grand advantage--being over in one day. they are rather strict, and ask a wonderful number of questions. and now i want to know something about your plans; of course you intend coming up here: what fun we will have together; what beetles we will catch; it will do my heart good to go once more together to some of our old haunts. i have two very promising pupils in entomology, and we will make regular campaigns into the fens. heaven protect the beetles and mr. jenyns, for we won't leave him a pair in the whole country. my new cabinet is come down, and a gay little affair it is." in august he was diligently amusing himself in north wales, finding no time to write to fox, because:-- "this is literally the first idle day i have had to myself; for on the rainy days i go fishing, on the good ones entomologising." november found him preparing for his degree, of which process he writes dolefully:-- "i have so little time at present, and am so disgusted by reading, that i have not the heart to write to anybody. i have only written once home since i came up. this must excuse me for not having answered your three letters, for which i am really very much obliged.... "i have not stuck an insect this term, and scarcely opened a case. if i had time i would have sent you the insects which i have so long promised; but really i have not spirits or time to do anything. reading makes me quite desperate; the plague of getting up all my subjects is next thing to intolerable, henslow is my tutor, and a most _admirable_ one he makes; the hour with him is the pleasantest in the whole day. i think he is quite the most perfect man i ever met with. i have been to some very pleasant parties there this term. his good-nature is unbounded." the new year brought relief, and on january , , he wrote to tell fox that he was through his examination. "i do not know why the degree should make one so miserable, both before and afterwards. i recollect you were sufficiently wretched before, and i can assure [you], i am now; and what makes it the more ridiculous is, i know not what about. i believe it is a beautiful provision of nature to make one regret the less leaving so pleasant a place as cambridge; and amongst all its pleasures--i say it for once and for all--none so great as my friendship with you. i sent you a newspaper yesterday, in which you will see what a good place--tenth--i have got in the poll. as for christ's, did you ever see such a college for producing captains and apostles?[ ] there are no men either at emmanuel or christ's plucked. cameron is gulfed,[ ] together with other three trinity scholars! my plans are not at all settled. i think i shall keep this term, and then go and economise at shrewsbury, return and take my degree. "a man may be excused for writing so much about himself when he has just passed the examination; so you must excuse [me]. and on the same principle do you write a letter brimful of yourself and plans." the appointment to the 'beagle.' in a letter addressed to captain fitz-roy, before the _beagle_ sailed, my father wrote, "what a glorious day the th of november[ ] will be to me--my second life will then commence, and it shall be as a birthday for the rest of my life." foremost in the chain of circumstances which led to his appointment to the _beagle_, was his friendship with professor henslow, of which the autobiography gives a sufficient account.[ ] an extract from a pocket-book, in which darwin briefly recorded the chief events of his life, gives the history of his introduction to that science which was so soon to be his chief occupation--geology. " . _christmas._--passed my examination for b.a. degree and kept the two following terms. during these months lived much with professor henslow, often dining with him and walking with him; became slightly acquainted with several of the learned men in cambridge, which much quickened the zeal which dinner parties and hunting had not destroyed. in the spring henslow persuaded me to think of geology, and introduced me to sedgwick. during midsummer geologized a little in shropshire." this geological work was doubtless of importance as giving him some practical experience, and perhaps of more importance in helping to give him some confidence in himself. in july of the same year, , he was "working like a tiger" at geology, and trying to make a map of shropshire, but not finding it "as easy as i expected." in writing to henslow about the same time, he gives some account of his work:-- "i have been working at so many things that i have not got on much with geology. i suspect the first expedition i take, clinometer and hammer in hand, will send me back very little wiser and a good deal more puzzled than when i started. as yet i have only indulged in hypotheses, but they are such powerful ones that i suppose, if they were put into action but for one day, the world would come to an end." he was evidently most keen to get to work with sedgwick, who had promised to take him on a geological tour in north wales, for he wrote to henslow: "i have not heard from professor sedgwick, so i am afraid he will not pay the severn formations a visit. i hope and trust you did your best to urge him." my father has given in his _recollections_ some account of this tour; there too we read of the projected excursion to the canaries. in april , he writes to fox: "at present i talk, think, and dream of a scheme i have almost hatched of going to the canary islands. i have long had a wish of seeing tropical scenery and vegetation, and, according to humboldt, teneriffe is a very pretty specimen." and again in may: "as for my canary scheme, it is rash of you to ask questions; my other friends most sincerely wish me there, i plague them so with talking about tropical scenery, &c. eyton will go next summer, and i am learning spanish." later on in the summer the scheme took more definite form, and the date seems to have been fixed for june . he got information in london about passage-money, and in july was working at spanish and calling fox "un grandìsimo lebron," in proof of his knowledge of the language. but even then he seems to have had some doubts about his companions' zeal, for he writes to henslow (july , ): "i hope you continue to fan your canary ardour. i read and re-read humboldt;[ ] do you do the same. i am sure nothing will prevent us seeing the great dragon tree." geological work and teneriffe dreams carried him through the summer, till on returning from barmouth for the sacred st of september, he received the offer of appointment as naturalist to the _beagle_. the following extract from the pocket-book will be a help in reading the letters:-- "returned to shrewsbury at end of august. refused offer of voyage. "_september._--went to maer, returned with uncle jos. to shrewsbury, thence to cambridge. london. "_ th._--went with captain fitz-roy in steamer to plymouth to see the _beagle_. "_ nd._--returned to shrewsbury, passing through cambridge. "_october nd._--took leave of my home. stayed in london. "_ th._--reached plymouth. "_october and november._--these months very miserable. "_december th._--sailed, but were obliged to put back. "_ st._--put to sea again, and were driven back. "_ th._--sailed from england on our circumnavigation." _george peacock[ ] to j. s. henslow_ [ ]. my dear henslow--captain fitz-roy is going out to survey the southern coast of tierra del fuego, and afterwards to visit many of the south sea islands, and to return by the indian archipelago. the vessel is fitted out expressly for scientific purposes, combined with the survey; it will furnish, therefore, a rare opportunity for a naturalist, and it would be a great misfortune that it should be lost. an offer has been made to me to recommend a proper person to go out as a naturalist with this expedition; he will be treated with every consideration. the captain is a young man of very pleasing manners (a nephew of the duke of grafton), of great zeal in his profession, and who is very highly spoken of; if leonard jenyns could go, what treasures he might bring home with him, as the ship would be placed at his disposal whenever his inquiries made it necessary or desirable. in the absence of so accomplished a naturalist, is there any person whom you could strongly recommend? he must be such a person as would do credit to our recommendation. do think of this subject; it would be a serious loss to the cause of natural science if this fine opportunity was lost. the contents of the foregoing letter were communicated to darwin by henslow (august th, ):-- "i have been asked by peacock, who will read and forward this to you from london, to recommend him a naturalist as companion to captain fitz-roy, employed by government to survey the southern extremity of america. i have stated that i consider you to be the best qualified person i know of who is likely to undertake such a situation. i state this not in the supposition of your being a _finished_ naturalist, but as amply qualified for collecting, observing, and noting anything worthy to be noted in natural history. peacock has the appointment at his disposal, and if he cannot find a man willing to take the office, the opportunity will probably be lost. captain fitz-roy wants a man (i understand) more as a companion than a mere collector, and would not take any one, however good a naturalist, who was not recommended to him likewise as a _gentleman_. particulars of salary, &c., i know nothing. the voyage is to last two years, and if you take plenty of books with you, anything you please may be done. you will have ample opportunities at command. in short, i suppose there never was a finer chance for a man of zeal and spirit; captain fitz-roy is a young man. what i wish you to do is instantly to come and consult with peacock (at no. suffolk street, pall mall east, or else at the university club), and learn further particulars. don't put on any modest doubts or fears about your disqualifications, for i assure you i think you are the very man they are in search of; so conceive yourself to be tapped on the shoulder by your bum-bailiff and affectionate friend, j. s. henslow." on the strength of henslow's recommendation, peacock offered the post to darwin, who wrote from shrewsbury to henslow (august , ): "mr. peacock's letter arrived on saturday, and i received it late yesterday evening. as far as my own mind is concerned, i should, i think _certainly_, most gladly have accepted the opportunity which you so kindly have offered me. but my father, although he does not decidedly refuse me, gives such strong advice against going, that i should not be comfortable if i did not follow it. "my father's objections are these: the unfitting me to settle down as a clergyman, my little habit of seafaring, _the shortness of the time_, and the chance of my not suiting captain fitz-roy. it is certainly a very serious objection, the very short time for all my preparations, as not only body but mind wants making up for such an undertaking. but if it had not been for my father i would have taken all risks. what was the reason that a naturalist was not long ago fixed upon? i am very much obliged for the trouble you have had about it; there certainly could not have been a better opportunity.... "even if i was to go, my father disliking would take away all energy, and i should want a good stock of that. again i must thank you, it adds a little to the heavy but pleasant load of gratitude which i owe to you." the following letter was written by darwin from maer, the house of his uncle josiah wedgwood the younger. it is plain that at first he intended to await a written reply from dr. darwin, and that the expedition to shrewsbury, mentioned in the _autobiography_, was an afterthought. [maer] august [ ]. my dear father--i am afraid i am going to make you again very uncomfortable. but, upon consideration, i think you will excuse me once again stating my opinions on the offer of the voyage. my excuse and reason is the different way all the wedgwoods view the subject from what you and my sisters do. i have given uncle jos[ ] what i fervently trust is an accurate and full list of your objections, and he is kind enough to give his opinions on all. the list and his answers will be enclosed. but may i beg of you one favour, it will be doing me the greatest kindness, if you will send me a decided answer, yes or no? if the latter, i should be most ungrateful if i did not implicitly yield to your better judgment, and to the kindest indulgence you have shown me all through my life; and you may rely upon it i will never mention the subject again. if your answer should be yes; i will go directly to henslow and consult deliberately with him, and then come to shrewsbury. the danger appears to me and all the wedgwoods not great. the expense can not be serious, and the time i do not think, anyhow, would be more thrown away than if i stayed at home. but pray do not consider that i am so bent on going that i would for one _single moment_ hesitate, if you thought that after a short period you should continue uncomfortable. i must again state i cannot think it would unfit me hereafter for a steady life. i do hope this letter will not give you much uneasiness. i send it by the car to-morrow morning; if you make up your mind directly will you send me an answer on the following day by the same means? if this letter should not find you at home, i hope you will answer as soon as you conveniently can. i do not know what to say about uncle jos' kindness; i never can forget how he interests himself about me. believe me, my dear father, your affectionate son, charles darwin. here follow the objections above referred to:-- "( .) disreputable to my character as a clergyman hereafter. "( .) a wild scheme. "( .) that they must have offered to many others before me the place of naturalist. "( .) and from its not being accepted there must be some serious objection to the vessel or expedition. "( .) that i should never settle down to a steady life hereafter. "( .) that my accommodations would be most uncomfortable. "( .) that you [_i.e._ dr. darwin] should consider it as again changing my profession. "( .) that it would be a useless undertaking." josiah wedgwood having demolished this curious array of argument, and the doctor having been converted, darwin left home for cambridge. on his arrival at the red lion he sent a messenger to henslow with the following note (september nd):-- "i am just arrived; you will guess the reason. my father has changed his mind. i trust the place is not given away. i am very much fatigued, and am going to bed. i dare say you have not yet got my second letter. how soon shall i come to you in the morning? send a verbal answer." _c. d. to miss susan darwin._ cambridge [september , ]. ... the whole of yesterday i spent with henslow, thinking of what is to be done, and that i find is a great deal. by great good luck i know a man of the name of wood, nephew of lord londonderry. he is a great friend of captain fitz-roy, and has written to him about me. i heard a part of captain fitz-roy's letter, dated some time ago, in which he says: 'i have a right good set of officers, and most of my men have been there before.' it seems he has been there for the last few years; he was then second in command with the same vessel that he has now chosen. he is only twenty-three years old, but [has] seen a deal of service, and won the gold medal at portsmouth. the admiralty say his maps are most perfect. he had choice of two vessels, and he chose the smallest. henslow will give me letters to all travellers in town whom he thinks may assist me. ... i write as if it was settled, but henslow tells me _by no means_ to make up my mind till i have had long conversations with captains beaufort and fitz-roy. good-bye. you will hear from me constantly. direct spring gardens. _tell nobody_ in shropshire yet. be sure not. i was so tired that evening i was in shrewsbury that i thanked none of you for your kindness half so much as i felt. love to my father. the reason i don't want people told in shropshire: in case i should not go, it will make it more flat. at this stage of the transaction, a hitch occurred. captain fitz-roy, it seems, wished to take a friend (mr. chester) as companion on the voyage, and accordingly wrote to cambridge in such a discouraging strain, that darwin gave up hope and hardly thought it worth his while to go to london (september ). fortunately, however, he did go, and found that mr. chester could not leave england. when the physiognomical, or nose-difficulty (autobiography, p. .) occurred, i have no means of knowing: for at this interview fitz-roy was evidently well-disposed towards him. my father wrote:-- "he offers me to go shares in everything in his cabin if i like to come, and every sort of accommodation i can have, but they will not be numerous. he says nothing would be so miserable for him as having me with him if i was uncomfortable, as in a small vessel we must be thrown together, and thought it his duty to state everything in the worst point of view. i think i shall go on sunday to plymouth to see the vessel. "there is something most extremely attractive in his manners and way of coming straight to the point. if i live with him, he says i must live poorly--no wine, and the plainest dinners. the scheme is not certainly so good as peacock describes. captain fitz-roy advises me not [to] make up my mind quite yet, but that, seriously, he thinks it will have much more pleasure than pain for me.... "the want of room is decidedly the most serious objection; but captain fitz-roy (probably owing to wood's letter) seems determined to make me [as] comfortable as he possibly can. i like his manner of proceeding. he asked me at once, 'shall you bear being told that i want the cabin to myself--when i want to be alone? if we treat each other this way, i hope we shall suit; if not, probably we should wish each other at the devil.'" _c. d. to miss susan darwin._ london [september , ]. my dear susan--again i am going to trouble you. i suspect, if i keep on at this rate, you will sincerely wish me at tierra del fuego, or any other terra, but england. first, i will give my commissions. tell nancy to make me some twelve instead of eight shirts. tell edward to send me up in my carpet-bag (he can slip the key in the bag tied to some string), my slippers, a pair of lightish walking-shoes, my spanish books, my new microscope (about six inches long and three or four deep), which must have cotton stuffed inside; my geological compass; my father knows that; a little book, if i have got it in my bed room--_taxidermy_. ask my father if he thinks there would be any objection to my taking arsenic for a little time, as my hands are not quite well, and i have always observed that if i once get them well, and change my manner of living about the same time, they will generally remain well. what is the dose? tell edward my gun is dirty. what is erasmus's direction? tell me if you think there is time to write and to receive an answer before i start, as i should like particularly to know what he thinks about it. i suppose you do not know sir j. mackintosh's direction? i write all this as if it was settled, but it is not more than it was, excepting that from captain fitz-roy wishing me so much to go, and, from his kindness, i feel a predestination i shall start. i spent a very pleasant evening with him yesterday. he must be more than twenty-three years old; he is of a slight figure, and a dark but handsome edition of mr. kynaston, and, according to my notions, pre-eminently good manners. he is all for economy, excepting on one point--viz., fire-arms. he recommends me strongly to get a case of pistols like his, which cost £ !! and never to go on shore anywhere without loaded ones, and he is doubting about a rifle; he says i cannot appreciate the luxury of fresh meat here. of course i shall buy nothing till everything is settled; but i work all day long at my lists, putting in and striking out articles. this is the first really cheerful day i have spent since i received the letter, and it all is owing to the sort of involuntary confidence i place in my _beau ideal_ of a captain. we stop at teneriffe. his object is to stop at as many places as possible. he takes out twenty chronometers, and it will be a "sin" not to settle the longitude. he tells me to get it down in writing at the admiralty that i have the free choice to leave as soon and whenever i like. i daresay you expect i shall turn back at the madeira; if i have a morsel of stomach left, i won't give up. excuse my so often troubling and writing: the one is of great utility, the other a great amusement to me. most likely i shall write to-morrow. answer by return of post. love to my father, dearest susan. _c. d. to j. s. henslow._ devonport [november , ]. my dear henslow--the orders are come down from the admiralty, and everything is finally settled. we positively sail the last day of this month, and i think before that time the vessel will be ready. she looks most beautiful, even a landsman must admire her. _we_ all think her the most perfect vessel ever turned out of the dockyard. one thing is certain, no vessel has been fitted out so expensively, and with so much care. everything that can be made so is of mahogany, and nothing can exceed the neatness and beauty of all the accommodations. the instructions are very general, and leave a great deal to the captain's discretion and judgment, paying a substantial as well as a verbal compliment to him.... no vessel ever left england with such a set of chronometers, viz. twenty-four, all very good ones. in short, everything is well, and i have only now to pray for the sickness to moderate its fierceness, and i shall do very well. yet i should not call it one of the very best opportunities for natural history that has ever occurred. the absolute want of room is an evil that nothing can surmount. i think l. jenyns did very wisely in not coming, that is judging from my own feelings, for i am sure if i had left college some few years, or been those years older i _never_ could have endured it. the officers (excepting the captain) are like the freshest freshmen, that is in their manners, in everything else widely different. remember me most kindly to him, and tell him if ever he dreams in the night of palm-trees, he may in the morning comfort himself with the assurance that the voyage would not have suited him. i am much obliged for your advice, _de mathematicis_. i suspect when i am struggling with a triangle, i shall often wish myself in your room, and as for those wicked sulky surds, i do not know what i shall do without you to conjure them. my time passes away very pleasantly. i know one or two pleasant people, foremost of whom is mr. thunder-and-lightning harris,[ ] whom i dare say you have heard of. my chief employment is to go on board the _beagle_, and try to look as much like a sailor as i can. i have no evidence of having taken in man, woman or child. i am going to ask you to do one more commission, and i trust it will be the last. when i was in cambridge, i wrote to mr. ash, asking him to send my college account to my father, after having subtracted about £ for my furniture. this he has forgotten to do, and my father has paid the bill, and i want to have the furniture-money transmitted to my father. perhaps you would be kind enough to speak to mr. ash. i have cost my father so much money, i am quite ashamed of myself. i will write once again before sailing, and perhaps you will write to me before then. believe me, yours affectionately, _c. d. to j. s. henslow._ devonport [december , ]. my dear henslow--it is now late in the evening, and to-night i am going to sleep on board. on monday we most certainly sail, so you may guess in what a desperate state of confusion we are all in. if you were to hear the various exclamations of the officers, you would suppose we had scarcely had a week's notice. i am just in the same way taken all _aback_, and in such a bustle i hardly know what to do. the number of things to be done is infinite. i look forward even to sea-sickness with something like satisfaction, anything must be better than this state of anxiety. i am very much obliged for your last kind and affectionate letter. i always like advice from you, and no one whom i have the luck to know is more capable of giving it than yourself. recollect, when you write, that i am a sort of _protégé_ of yours, and that it is your bounden duty to lecture me. i will now give you my direction: it is at first, rio; but if you will send me a letter on the first tuesday (when the packet sails) in february, directed to monte video, it will give me very great pleasure: i shall so much enjoy hearing a little cambridge news. poor dear old _alma mater_! i am a very worthy son in as far as affection goes. i have little more to write about.... i cannot end this without telling you how cordially i feel grateful for the kindness you have shown me during my cambridge life. much of the pleasure and utility which i may have derived from it is owing to you. i long for the time when we shall again meet, and till then believe me, my dear henslow, your affectionate and obliged friend, ch. darwin. footnotes: [ ] "on tuesday last charles darwin, of christ's college, was admitted b.a."--_cambridge chronicle_, friday, april th, . [ ] readers of calverley (another christ's man) will remember his tobacco poem ending "hero's to thee, bacon." [ ] the rooms are on the first floor, on the west side of the middle staircase. a medallion (given by my brother) has recently been let into the wall of the sitting-room. [ ] for instance in a letter to hooker ( ):--"many thanks for your welcome note from cambridge, and i am glad you like my _alma mater_, which i despise heartily as a place of education, but love from many most pleasant recollections." [ ] autobiography p. . [ ] from a letter to w. d. fox. [ ] no doubt in allusion to the title of lord herbert of cherbury. [ ] _panagæus crux-major._ [ ] formerly reader in natural philosophy at durham university. [ ] blane was afterwards, i believe, in the life guards; he was in the crimean war, and afterwards military attaché at st. petersburg. i am indebted to mr. hamilton for information about some of my father's contemporaries. [ ] brother of lord sherbrooke. [ ] march , . [ ] the postmark being derby seems to show that the letter was written from his cousin, w. d. fox's house, osmaston, near derby. [ ] the top of the hill immediately behind barmouth was called craig-storm, a hybrid cambro-english word. [ ] rev. t. butler, a son of the former head master of shrewsbury school. [ ] no doubt a paid collector. [ ] the "captain" is at the head of the "poll": the "apostles" are the last twelve in the mathematical tripos. [ ] for an explanation of the word "gulfed" or "gulphed," see mr. w. w. rouse balls' interesting _history of the study of mathematics at cambridge_ ( ), p. . [ ] the _beagle_ should have started on nov. , but was delayed until dec. . [ ] see, too, a sketch by my father of his old master, in the rev. l. blomefield's _memoir of professor henslow_. [ ] the copy of humboldt given by henslow to my father, which is in my possession, is a double memento of the two men--the author and the donor, who so greatly influenced his life. [ ] formerly dean of ely, and lowndean professor of astronomy at cambridge. [ ] josiah wedgwood. [ ] william snow harris, the electrician. [illustration: the 'beagle' laid ashore, river santa cruz.] chapter vi. the voyage. "there is a natural good-humoured energy in his letters just like himself."--from a letter of dr. r. w. darwin's to professor henslow. the object of the _beagle_ voyage is briefly described in my father's _journal of researches_, p. , as being "to complete the survey of patagonia and tierra del fuego, commenced under captain king in to ; to survey the shores of chile, peru, and some islands in the pacific; and to carry a chain of chronometrical measurements round the world." the _beagle_ is described[ ] as a well-built little vessel, of tons, rigged as a barque, and carrying six guns. she belonged to the old class of ten-gun brigs, which were nicknamed "coffins," from their liability to go down in severe weather. they were very "deep-waisted," that is, their bulwarks were high in proportion to their size, so that a heavy sea breaking over them might be highly dangerous. nevertheless, she had already lived through five years' work, in the most stormy regions in the world, under commanders stokes and fitz-roy without a serious accident. when re-commissioned in for her second voyage, she was found (as i learned from the late admiral sir james sulivan) to be so rotten that she had practically to be rebuilt, and it was this that caused the long delay in refitting. she was fitted out for the expedition with all possible care: to quote my father's description, written from devonport, november , : "everybody, who can judge, says it is one of the grandest voyages that has almost ever been sent out. everything is on a grand scale.... in short, everything is as prosperous as human means can make it." the twenty-four chronometers and the mahogany fittings seem to have been especially admired, and are more than once alluded to. owing to the smallness of the vessel, every one on board was cramped for room, and my father's accommodation seems to have been narrow enough. yet of this confined space he wrote enthusiastically, september , :--"when i wrote last, i was in great alarm about my cabin. the cabins were not then marked out, but when i left they were, and mine is a capital one, certainly next best to the captain's and remarkably light. my companion most luckily, i think, will turn out to be the officer whom i shall like best. captain fitz-roy says he will take care that one corner is so fitted up that i shall be comfortable in it and shall consider it my home, but that also i shall have the run of his. my cabin is the drawing one; and in the middle is a large table, on which we two sleep in hammocks. but for the first two months there will be no drawing to be done, so that it will be quite a luxurious room, and a good deal larger than the captain's cabin." my father used to say that it was the absolute necessity of tidiness in the cramped space on the _beagle_ that helped "to give him his methodical habits of working." on the _beagle_, too, he would say, that he learned what he considered the golden rule for saving time; _i.e._, taking care of the minutes. in a letter to his sister (july ), he writes contentedly of his manner of life at sea:--"i do not think i have ever given you an account of how the day passes. we breakfast at eight o'clock. the invariable maxim is to throw away all politeness--that is, never to wait for each other, and bolt off the minute one has done eating, &c. at sea, when the weather is calm, i work at marine animals, with which the whole ocean abounds. if there is any sea up i am either sick or contrive to read some voyage or travels. at one we dine. you shore-going people are lamentably mistaken about the manner of living on board. we have never yet (nor shall we) dined off salt meat. rice and peas and _calavanses_ are excellent vegetables, and, with good bread, who could want more? judge alderson could not be more temperate, as nothing but water comes on the table. at five we have tea." the crew of the _beagle_ consisted of captain fitz-roy, "commander and surveyor," two lieutenants, one of whom (the first lieutenant) was the late captain wickham, governor of queensland; the late admiral sir james sulivan, k.c.b., was the second lieutenant. besides the master and two mates, there was an assistant-surveyor, the late admiral lort stokes. there were also a surgeon, assistant-surgeon, two midshipmen, master's mate, a volunteer ( st class), purser, carpenter, clerk, boatswain, eight marines, thirty-four seamen, and six boys. there are not now ( ) many survivors of my father's old ship-mates. admiral mellersh, and mr. philip king, of the legislative council of sydney, are among the number. admiral johnson died almost at the same time as my father. my father retained to the last a most pleasant recollection of the voyage of the _beagle_, and of the friends he made on board her. to his children their names were familiar, from his many stories of the voyage, and we caught his feeling of friendship for many who were to us nothing more than names. it is pleasant to know how affectionately his old companions remember him. sir james sulivan remained, throughout my father's lifetime, one of his best and truest friends. he writes:--"i can confidently express my belief that during the five years in the _beagle_, he was never known to be out of temper, or to say one unkind or hasty word _of_ or _to_ any one. you will therefore readily understand how this, combined with the admiration of his energy and ability, led to our giving him the name of 'the dear old philosopher.'"[ ] admiral mellersh writes to me:--"your father is as vividly in my mind's eye as if it was only a week ago that i was in the _beagle_ with him; his genial smile and conversation can never be forgotten by any who saw them and heard them. i was sent on two or three occasions away in a boat with him on some of his scientific excursions, and always looked forward to these trips with great pleasure, an anticipation that, unlike many others, was always realised. i think he was the only man i ever knew against whom i never heard a word said; and as people when shut up in a ship for five years are apt to get cross with each other, that is saying a good deal." admiral stokes, mr. king, mr. usborne, and mr. hamond, all speak of their friendship with him in the same warm-hearted way. captain fitz-roy was a strict officer, and made himself thoroughly respected both by officers and men. the occasional severity of his manner was borne with because every one on board knew that his first thought was his duty, and that he would sacrifice anything to the real welfare of the ship. my father writes, july : "we all jog on very well together, there is no quarrelling on board, which is something to say. the captain keeps all smooth by rowing every one in turn." my father speaks of the officers as a fine determined set of men, and especially of wickham, the first lieutenant, as a "glorious fellow." the latter being responsible for the smartness and appearance of the ship strongly objected to darwin littering the decks, and spoke of specimens as "d----d beastly devilment," and used to add, "if i were skipper, i would soon have you and all your d----d mess out of the place." a sort of halo of sanctity was given to my father by the fact of his dining in the captain's cabin, so that the midshipmen used at first to call him "sir," a formality, however, which did not prevent his becoming fast friends with the younger officers. he wrote about the year or to mr. p. g. king, m.l.c., sydney, who, as before stated, was a midshipman on board the _beagle_:--"the remembrance of old days, when we used to sit and talk on the booms of the _beagle_, will always, to the day of my death, make me glad to hear of your happiness and prosperity." mr. king describes the pleasure my father seemed to take "in pointing out to me as a youngster the delights of the tropical nights, with their balmy breezes eddying out of the sails above us, and the sea lighted up by the passage of the ship through the never-ending streams of phosphorescent animalculæ." it has been assumed that his ill-health in later years was due to his having suffered so much from sea-sickness. this he did not himself believe, but rather ascribed his bad health to the hereditary fault which took shape as gout in some of the past generations. i am not quite clear as to how much he actually suffered from sea-sickness; my impression is distinct that, according to his own memory, he was not actually ill after the first three weeks, but constantly uncomfortable when the vessel pitched at all heavily. but, judging from his letters, and from the evidence of some of the officers, it would seem that in later years he forgot the extent of the discomfort. writing june , , from the cape of good hope, he says: "it is a lucky thing for me that the voyage is drawing to its close, for i positively suffer more from sea-sickness now than three years ago." _c. d. to r. w. darwin._ bahia, or san salvador, brazil. [february , .] i find after the first page i have been writing to my sisters. my dear father--i am writing this on the th of february, one day's sail past st. jago (cape de verd), and intend taking the chance of meeting with a homeward-bound vessel somewhere about the equator. the date, however, will tell this whenever the opportunity occurs. i will now begin from the day of leaving england, and give a short account of our progress. we sailed, as you know, on the th of december, and have been fortunate enough to have had from that time to the present a fair and moderate breeze. it afterwards proved that we had escaped a heavy gale in the channel, another at madeira, and another on [the] coast of africa. but in escaping the gale, we felt its consequence--a heavy sea. in the bay of biscay there was a long and continuous swell, and the misery i endured from sea-sickness is far beyond what i ever guessed at. i believe you are curious about it. i will give you all my dear-bought experience. nobody who has only been to sea for twenty-four hours has a right to say that sea-sickness is even uncomfortable. the real misery only begins when you are so exhausted that a little exertion makes a feeling of faintness come on. i found nothing but lying in my hammock did me any good. i must especially except your receipt of raisins, which is the only food that the stomach will bear. on the th of january we were not many miles from madeira, but as there was a heavy sea running, and the island lay to windward, it was not thought worth while to beat up to it. it afterwards has turned out it was lucky we saved ourselves the trouble. i was much too sick even to get up to see the distant outline. on the th, in the evening, we sailed into the harbour of santa cruz. i now first felt even moderately well, and i was picturing to myself all the delights of fresh fruit growing in beautiful valleys, and reading humboldt's description of the island's glorious views, when perhaps you may nearly guess at our disappointment, when a small pale man informed us we must perform a strict quarantine of twelve days. there was a death-like stillness in the ship till the captain cried "up jib," and we left this long wished-for place. we were becalmed for a day between teneriffe and the grand canary, and here i first experienced any enjoyment. the view was glorious. the peak of teneriffe was seen amongst the clouds like another world. our only drawback was the extreme wish of visiting this glorious island. from teneriffe to st. jago the voyage was extremely pleasant. i had a net astern the vessel which caught great numbers of curious animals, and fully occupied my time in my cabin, and on deck the weather was so delightful and clear, that the sky and water together made a picture. on the th we arrived at port praya, the capital of the cape de verds, and there we remained twenty-three days, viz. till yesterday, the th of february. the time has flown away most delightfully, indeed nothing can be pleasanter; exceedingly busy, and that business both a duty and a great delight. i do not believe i have spent one half-hour idly since leaving teneriffe. st. jago has afforded me an exceedingly rich harvest in several branches of natural history. i find the descriptions scarcely worth anything of many of the commoner animals that inhabit the tropics. i allude, of course, to those of the lower classes. geologising in a volcanic country is most delightful; besides the interest attached to itself, it leads you into most beautiful and retired spots. nobody but a person fond of natural history can imagine the pleasure of strolling under cocoa-nuts in a thicket of bananas and coffee-plants, and an endless number of wild flowers. and this island, that has given me so much instruction and delight, is reckoned the most uninteresting place that we perhaps shall touch at during our voyage. it certainly is generally very barren, but the valleys are more exquisitely beautiful, from the very contrast. it is utterly useless to say anything about the scenery; it would be as profitable to explain to a blind man colours, as to a person who has not been out of europe, the total dissimilarity of a tropical view. whenever i enjoy anything, i always either look forward to writing it down, either in my log-book (which increases in bulk), or in a letter; so you must excuse raptures, and those raptures badly expressed. i find my collections are increasing wonderfully, and from rio i think i shall be obliged to send a cargo home. all the endless delays which we experienced at plymouth have been most fortunate, as i verily believe no person ever went out better provided for collecting and observing in the different branches of natural history. in a multitude of counsellors i certainly found good. i find to my great surprise that a ship is singularly comfortable for all sorts of work. everything is so close at hand, and being cramped makes one so methodical, that in the end i have been a gainer. i already have got to look at going to sea as a regular quiet place, like going back to home after staying away from it. in short, i find a ship a very comfortable house, with everything you want, and if it was not for sea-sickness the whole world would be sailors. i do not think there is much danger of erasmus setting the example, but in case there should be, he may rely upon it he does not know one-tenth of the sufferings of sea-sickness. i like the officers much more than i did at first, especially wickham, and young king and stokes, and indeed all of them. the captain continues steadily very kind, and does everything in his power to assist me. we see very little of each other when in harbour, our pursuits lead us in such different tracks. i never in my life met with a man who could endure nearly so great a share of fatigue. he works incessantly, and when apparently not employed, he is thinking. if he does not kill himself, he will during this voyage do a wonderful quantity of work.... _february th._--about miles from bahia. we have been singularly unlucky in not meeting with any homeward-bound vessels, but i suppose [at] bahia we certainly shall be able to write to england. since writing the first part of [this] letter nothing has occurred except crossing the equator, and being shaved. this most disagreeable operation, consists in having your face rubbed with paint and tar, which forms a lather for a saw which represents the razor, and then being half drowned in a sail filled with salt water. about miles north of the line we touched at the rocks of st. paul; this little speck (about ¼ of a mile across) in the atlantic has seldom been visited. it is totally barren, but is covered by hosts of birds; they were so unused to men that we found we could kill plenty with stones and sticks. after remaining some hours on the island, we returned on board with the boat loaded with our prey.[ ] from this we went to fernando noronha, a small island where the [brazilians] send their exiles. the landing there was attended with so much difficulty owing [to] a heavy surf that the captain determined to sail the next day after arriving. my one day on shore was exceedingly interesting, the whole island is one single wood so matted together by creepers that it is very difficult to move out of the beaten path. i find the natural history of all these unfrequented spots most exceedingly interesting, especially the geology. i have written this much in order to save time at bahia. decidedly the most striking thing in the tropics is the novelty of the vegetable forms. cocoa-nuts could well be imagined from drawings, if you add to them a graceful lightness which no european tree partakes of. bananas and plantains are exactly the same as those in hothouses, the acacias or tamarinds are striking from the blueness of their foliage; but of the glorious orange trees, no description, no drawings, will give any just idea; instead of the sickly green of our oranges, the native ones exceed the portugal laurel in the darkness of their tint, and infinitely exceed it in beauty of form. cocoa-nuts, papaws, the light-green bananas, and oranges, loaded with fruit, generally surround the more luxuriant villages. whilst viewing such scenes, one feels the impossibility that any description should come near the mark, much less be over-drawn. _march st._--bahia, or san salvador. i arrived at this place on the th of february, and am now writing this letter after having in real earnest strolled in the forests of the new world. no person could imagine anything so beautiful as the ancient town of bahia, it is fairly embosomed in a luxuriant wood of beautiful trees, and situated on a steep bank, and overlooks the calm waters of the great bay of all saints. the houses are white and lofty, and, from the windows being narrow and long, have a very light and elegant appearance. convents, porticos, and public buildings, vary the uniformity of the houses; the bay is scattered over with large ships; in short, and what can be said more, it is one of the finest views in the brazils. but the exquisite glorious pleasure of walking amongst such flowers, and such trees, cannot be comprehended but by those who have experienced it.[ ] although in so low a latitude the locality is not disagreeably hot, but at present it is very damp, for it is the rainy season. i find the climate as yet agrees admirably with me; it makes me long to live quietly for some time in such a country. if you really want to have [an idea] of tropical countries, study humboldt. skip the scientific parts, and commence after leaving teneriffe. my feelings amount to admiration the more i read him.... this letter will go on the th, and i am afraid will be some time before it reaches you; it must be a warning how in other parts of the world you may be a long time without hearing. a year might by accident thus pass. about the th we start for rio, but we remain some time on the way in sounding the albrolhos shoals.... we have beat all the ships in manoeuvring, so much so that the commanding officer says we need not follow his example; because we do everything better than his great ship. i begin to take great interest in naval points, more especially now, as i find they all say we are the no. in south america. i suppose the captain is a most excellent officer. it was quite glorious to-day how we beat the _samarang_ in furling sails. it is quite a new thing for a "sounding ship" to beat a regular man-of-war; and yet the _beagle_ is not at all a particular ship. erasmus will clearly perceive it when he hears that in the night i have actually sat down in the sacred precincts of the quarter deck. you must excuse these queer letters, and recollect they are generally written in the evening after my day's work. i take more pains over my log-book, so that eventually you will have a good account of all the places i visit. hitherto the voyage has answered _admirably_ to me, and yet i am now more fully aware of your wisdom in throwing cold water on the whole scheme; the chances are so numerous of [its] turning out quite the reverse; to such an extent do i feel this, that if my advice was asked by any person on a similar occasion, i should be very cautious in encouraging him. i have not time to write to anybody else, so send to maer to let them know, that in the midst of the glorious tropical scenery, i do not forget how instrumental they were in placing me there. i will not rapturise again, but i give myself great credit in not being crazy out of pure delight. give my love to every soul at home, and to the owens. i think one's affections, like other good things, flourish and increase in these tropical regions. the conviction that i am walking in the new world is even yet marvellous in my own eyes, and i daresay it is little less so to you, the receiving a letter from a son of yours in such a quarter. believe me, my dear father, your most affectionate son. the _beagle_ letters give ample proof of his strong love of home, and all connected with it, from his father down to nancy, his old nurse, to whom he sometimes sends his love. his delight in home-letters is shown in such passages as:--"but if you knew the glowing, unspeakable delight, which i felt at being certain that my father and all of you were well, only four months ago, you would not grudge the labour lost in keeping up the regular series of letters." "you would be surprised to know how entirely the pleasure in arriving at a new place depends on letters." "i saw the other day a vessel sail for england; it was quite dangerous to know how easily i might turn deserter. as for an english lady, i have almost forgotten what she is--something very angelic and good." "i have just received a bundle more letters. i do not know how to thank you all sufficiently. one from catherine, february th, another from susan, march rd, together with notes from caroline and from my father; give my best love to my father. i almost cried for pleasure at receiving it; it was very kind thinking of writing to me. my letters are both few, short, and stupid in return for all yours; but i always ease my conscience, by considering the journal as a long letter." or again--his longing to return in words like these:--"it is too delightful to think that i shall see the leaves fall and hear the robin sing next autumn at shrewsbury. my feelings are those of a school-boy to the smallest point; i doubt whether ever boy longed for his holidays as much as i do to see you all again. i am at present, although nearly half the world is between me and home, beginning to arrange what i shall do, where i shall go during the first week." "no schoolboys ever sung the half-sentimental and half-jovial strain of 'dulce domum' with more fervour than we all feel inclined to do. but the whole subject of 'dulce domum,' and the delight of seeing one's friends, is most dangerous, it must infallibly make one very prosy or very boisterous. oh, the degree to which i long to be once again living quietly with not one single novel object near me! no one can imagine it till he has been whirled round the world during five long years in a ten-gun brig." the following extracts may serve to give an idea of the impressions now crowding on him, as well as of the vigorous delight with which he plunged into scientific work. may , , to henslow:-- "here [rio], i first saw a tropical forest in all its sublime grandeur--nothing but the reality can give any idea how wonderful, how magnificent the scene is. if i was to specify any one thing i should give the pre-eminence to the host of parasitical plants. your engraving is exactly true, but under-rates rather than exaggerates the luxuriance. i never experienced such intense delight. i formerly admired humboldt, i now almost adore him; he alone gives any notion of the feelings which are raised in the mind on first entering the tropics. i am now collecting fresh-water and land animals; if what was told me in london is true, viz., that there are no small insects in the collections from the tropics, i tell entomologists to look out and have their pens ready for describing. i have taken as minute (if not more so) as in england, hydropori, hygroti, hydrobii, pselaphi, staphylini, curculio, &c. &c. it is exceedingly interesting observing the difference of genera and species from those which i know; it is however much less than i had expected. i am at present red-hot with spiders; they are very interesting, and if i am not mistaken i have already taken some new genera. i shall have a large box to send very soon to cambridge, and with that i will mention some more natural history particulars." "one great source of perplexity to me is an utter ignorance whether i note the right facts, and whether they are of sufficient importance to interest others. in the one thing collecting i cannot go wrong." "geology carries the day: it is like the pleasure of gambling. speculating, on first arriving, what the rocks may be, i often mentally cry out to tertiary against primitive; but the latter have hitherto won all the bets. so much for the grand end of my voyage: in other respects things are equally flourishing. my life, when at sea, is so quiet, that to a person who can employ himself, nothing can be pleasanter; the beauty of the sky and brilliancy of the ocean together make a picture. but when on shore, and wandering in the sublime forests, surrounded by views more gorgeous than even claude ever imagined, i enjoy a delight which none but those who have experienced it can understand. at our ancient snug breakfasts, at cambridge, i little thought that the wide atlantic would ever separate us; but it is a rare privilege that with the body, the feelings and memory are not divided. on the contrary, the pleasantest scenes in my life, many of which have been in cambridge, rise from the contrast of the present, the more vividly in my imagination. do you think any diamond beetle will ever give me so much pleasure as our old friend _crux-major_?... it is one of my most constant amusements to draw pictures of the past; and in them i often see you and poor little fan. oh, lord, and then old dash poor thing! do you recollect how you all tormented me about his beautiful tail?"--[from a letter to fox.] to his sister, june :-- "i am quite delighted to find the hide of the megatherium has given you all some little interest in my employments. these fragments are not, however, by any means the most valuable of the geological relics. i trust and believe that the time spent in this voyage, if thrown away for all other respects, will produce its full worth in natural history; and it appears to me the doing what _little_ we can to increase the general stock of knowledge is as respectable an object of life as one can in any likelihood pursue. it is more the result of such reflections (as i have already said) than much immediate pleasure which now makes me continue the voyage, together with the glorious prospect of the future, when passing the straits of magellan, we have in truth the world before us." to fox, july :-- "i am glad to hear you have some thoughts of beginning geology. i hope you will; there is so much larger a field for thought than in the other branches of natural history. i am become a zealous disciple of mr. lyell's views, as known in his admirable book. geologising in south america, i am tempted to carry parts to a greater extent even than he does. geology is a capital science to begin, as it requires nothing but a little reading, thinking, and hammering. i have a considerable body of notes together; but it is a constant subject of perplexity to me, whether they are of sufficient value for all the time i have spent about them, or whether animals would not have been of more certain value." in the following letter to his sister susan he gives an account,--adapted to the non-geological mind,--of his south american work:-- valparaiso, april , . my dear susan--i received, a few days since, your letter of november; the three letters which i before mentioned are yet missing, but i do not doubt they will come to life. i returned a week ago from my excursion across the andes to mendoza. since leaving england i have never made so successful a journey; it has, however, been very expensive. i am sure my father would not regret it, if he could know how deeply i have enjoyed it: it was something more than enjoyment; i cannot express the delight which i felt at such a famous winding-up of all my geology in south america. i literally could hardly sleep at nights for thinking over my day's work. the scenery was so new, and so majestic; everything at an elevation of , feet bears so different an aspect from that in a lower country. i have seen many views more beautiful, but none with so strongly marked a character. to a geologist, also, there are such manifest proofs of excessive violence; the strata of the highest pinnacles are tossed about like the crust of a broken pie. i do not suppose any of you can be much interested in geological details, but i will just mention my principal results:--besides understanding to a certain extent the description and manner of the force which has elevated this great line of mountains, i can clearly demonstrate that one part of the double line is of an age long posterior to the other. in the more ancient line, which is the true chain of the andes, i can describe the sort and order of the rocks which compose it. these are chiefly remarkable by containing a bed of gypsum nearly feet thick--a quantity of this substance i should think unparalleled in the world. what is of much greater consequence, i have procured fossil shells (from an elevation of , feet). i think an examination of these will give an approximate age to these mountains, as compared to the strata of europe. in the other line of the cordilleras there is a strong presumption (in my own mind, conviction) that the enormous mass of mountains, the peaks of which rise to , and , feet, are so very modern as to be contemporaneous with the plains of patagonia (or about with the _upper_ strata of the isle of wight). if this result shall be considered as proved,[ ] it is a very important fact in the theory of the formation of the world; because, if such wonderful changes have taken place so recently in the crust of the globe, there can be no reason for supposing former epochs of excessive violence.... another feature in his letters is the surprise and delight with which he hears of his collections and observations being of some use. it seems only to have gradually occurred to him that he would ever be more than a collector of specimens and facts, of which the great men were to make use. and even as to the value of his collections he seems to have had much doubt, for he wrote to henslow in : "i really began to think that my collections were so poor that you were puzzled what to say; the case is now quite on the opposite tack, for you are guilty of exciting all my vain feelings to a most comfortable pitch; if hard work will atone for these thoughts, i vow it shall not be spared." again, to his sister susan in august, :-- "both your letters were full of good news; especially the expressions which you tell me professor sedgwick[ ] used about my collections. i confess they are deeply gratifying--i trust one part at least will turn out true, and that i shall act as i now think--as a man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life. professor sedgwick mentioning my name at all gives me hopes that he will assist me with his advice, of which, in my geological questions, i stand much in need." occasional allusions to slavery show us that his feeling on this subject was at this time as strong as in later life[ ]:-- "the captain does everything in his power to assist me, and we get on very well, but i thank my better fortune he has not made me a renegade to whig principles. i would not be a tory, if it was merely on account of their cold hearts about that scandal to christian nations--slavery." "i have watched how steadily the general feeling, as shown at elections, has been rising against slavery. what a proud thing for england if she is the first european nation which utterly abolishes it! i was told before leaving england that after living in slave countries all my opinions would be altered; the only alteration i am aware of is forming a much higher estimate of the negro character. it is impossible to see a negro and not feel kindly towards him; such cheerful, open, honest expressions and such fine muscular bodies. i never saw any of the diminutive portuguese, with their murderous countenances, without almost wishing for brazil to follow the example of hayti; and, considering the enormous healthy-looking black population, it will be wonderful if, at some future day, it does not take place. there is at rio a man (i know not his title) who has a large salary to prevent (i believe) the landing of slaves; he lives at botofogo, and yet that was the bay where, during my residence, the greater number of smuggled slaves were landed. some of the anti-slavery people ought to question about his office; it was the subject of conversation at rio amongst the lower english...." _c. d. to j. s. henslow._ sydney [january, ]. my dear henslow--this is the last opportunity of communicating with you before that joyful day when i shall reach cambridge. i have very little to say: but i must write if it is only to express my joy that the last year is concluded, and that the present one, in which the _beagle_ will return, is gliding onward. we have all been disappointed here in not finding even a single letter; we are, indeed, rather before our expected time, otherwise i dare say, i should have seen your handwriting. i must feed upon the future, and it is beyond bounds delightful to feel the certainty that within eight months i shall be residing once again most quietly in cambridge. certainly, i never was intended for a traveller; my thoughts are always rambling over past or future scenes; i cannot enjoy the present happiness for anticipating the future, which is about as foolish as the dog who dropped the real bone for its shadow.... i must return to my old resource and think of the future, but that i may not become more prosy, i will say farewell till the day arrives, when i shall see my master in natural history, and can tell him how grateful i feel for his kindness and friendship. believe me, dear henslow, ever yours most faithfully. _c. d. to j. s. henslow._ shrewsbury [october, ]. my dear henslow--i am sure you will congratulate me on the delight of once again being home. the _beagle_ arrived at falmouth on sunday evening, and i reached shrewsbury yesterday morning. i am exceedingly anxious to see you, and as it will be necessary in four or five days to return to london to get my goods and chattels out of the _beagle_, it appears to me my best plan to pass through cambridge. i want your advice on many points; indeed i am in the clouds, and neither know what to do or where to go. my chief puzzle is about the geological specimens--who will have the charity to help me in describing their mineralogical nature? will you be kind enough to write to me one line by _return of post_, saying whether you are now at cambridge? i am doubtful till i hear from captain fitz-roy whether i shall not be obliged to start before the answer can arrive, but pray try the chance. my dear henslow, i do long to see you; you have been the kindest friend to me that ever man possessed. i can write no more, for i am giddy with joy and confusion. farewell for the present, yours most truly obliged. after his return and settlement in london, he began to realise the value of what he had done, and wrote to captain fitz-roy--"however others may look back to the _beagle's_ voyage, now that the small disagreeable parts are well-nigh forgotten, i think it far the _most fortunate circumstance in my life_ that the chance afforded by your offer of taking a naturalist fell on me. i often have the most vivid and delightful pictures of what i saw on board the _beagle_[ ] pass before my eyes. these recollections, and what i learnt on natural history, i would not exchange for twice ten thousand a year." footnotes: [ ] _voyages of the adventure and beagle_, vol. i. introduction xii. the illustration at the head of the chapter is from vol. ii. of the same work. [ ] his other nickname was "the flycatcher." i have heard my father tell how he overheard the boatswain of the _beagle_ showing another boatswain over the ship, and pointing out the officers: "that's our first lieutenant; that's our doctor; that's our flycatcher." [ ] "there was such a scene here. wickham ( st lieutenant) and i were the only two who landed with guns and geological hammers, &c. the birds by myriads were too close to shoot; we then tried stones, but at last, _proh pudor!_ my geological hammer was the instrument of death. we soon loaded the boat with birds and eggs. whilst we were so engaged, the men in the boat were fairly fighting with the sharks for such magnificent fish as you could not see in the london market. our boat would have made a fine subject for snyders, such a medley of game it contained."--from a letter to herbert. [ ] "my mind has been, since leaving england, in a perfect hurricane of delight and astonishment."--_c. d. to fox_, may , from botofogo bay. [ ] the importance of these results has been fully recognized by geologists. [ ] sedgwick wrote (november , ) to dr. butler, the head master of shrewsbury school:--"he is doing admirable work in south america, and has already sent home a collection above all price. it was the best thing in the world for him that he went out on the voyage of discovery. there was some risk of his turning out an idle man, but his character will now be fixed, and if god spares his life he will have a great name among the naturalists of europe...."--i am indebted to my friend mr. j. w. clark, the biographer of sedgwick, for the above extract. [ ] compare the following passage from a letter (aug. , ) addressed to lyell, who had touched on slavery in his _travels in north america._ "i was delighted with your letter in which you touch on slavery; i wish the same feelings had been apparent in your published discussion. but i will not write on this subject, i should perhaps annoy you, and most certainly myself. i have exhaled myself with a paragraph or two in my journal on the sin of brazilian slavery; you perhaps will think that it is in answer to you; but such is not the case. i have remarked on nothing which i did not hear on the coast of south america. my few sentences, however, are merely an explosion of feeling. how could you relate so placidly that atrocious sentiment about separating children from their parents; and in the next page speak of being distressed at the whites not having prospered; i assure you the contrast made me exclaim out. but i have broken my intention, and so no more on this odious deadly subject." it is fair to add that the "atrocious sentiments" were not lyell's but those of a planter. [ ] according to the _japan weekly mail_, as quoted in _nature_, march , , the _beagle_ is in use as a training ship at yokosuka, in japan. part of the old ship is, i am glad to think, in my possession, in the form of a box (which i owe to the kindness of admiral mellersh) made out of her main cross-tree. chapter vii. london and cambridge. - . the period illustrated in the present chapter includes the years between darwin's return from the voyage of the _beagle_ and his settling at down. it is marked by the gradual appearance of that weakness of health which ultimately forced him to leave london and take up his abode for the rest of his life in a quiet country house. there is no evidence of any intention of entering a profession after his return from the voyage, and early in he wrote to fitz-roy: "i have nothing to wish for, excepting stronger health to go on with the subjects to which i have joyfully determined to devote my life." these two conditions--permanent ill-health and a passionate love of scientific work for its own sake--determined thus early in his career, the character of his whole future life. they impelled him to lead a retired life of constant labour, carried on to the utmost limits of his physical power, a life which signally falsified his melancholy prophecy:--"it has been a bitter mortification for me to digest the conclusion that the 'race is for the strong,' and that i shall probably do little more, but be content to admire the strides others make in science." the end of the last chapter saw my father safely arrived at shrewsbury on october , , "after an absence of five years and two days." he wrote to fox: "you cannot imagine how gloriously delightful my first visit was at home; it was worth the banishment." but it was a pleasure that he could not long enjoy, for in the last days of october he was at greenwich unpacking specimens from the _beagle_. as to the destination of the collections he writes, somewhat despondingly, to henslow:-- "i have not made much progress with the great men. i find, as you told me, that they are all overwhelmed with their own business. mr. lyell has entered, in the _most_ good-natured manner, and almost without being asked, into all my plans. he tells me, however, the same story, that i must do all myself. mr. owen seems anxious to dissect some of the animals in spirits, and, besides these two, i have scarcely met any one who seems to wish to possess any of my specimens. i must except dr. grant, who is willing to examine some of the corallines. i see it is quite unreasonable to hope for a minute that any man will undertake the examination of a whole order. it is clear the collectors so much outnumber the real naturalists that the latter have no time to spare. "i do not even find that the collections care for receiving the unnamed specimens. the zoological museum[ ] is nearly full, and upwards of a thousand specimens remain unmounted. i dare say the british museum would receive them, but i cannot feel, from all i hear, any great respect even for the present state of that establishment. your plan will be not only the best, but the only one, namely, to come down to cambridge, arrange and group together the different families, and then wait till people, who are already working in different branches, may want specimens.... "i have forgotten to mention mr. lonsdale,[ ] who gave me a most cordial reception, and with whom i had much most interesting conversation. if i was not much more inclined for geology than the other branches of natural history, i am sure mr. lyell's and lonsdale's kindness ought to fix me. you cannot conceive anything more thoroughly good-natured than the heart-and-soul manner in which he put himself in my place and thought what would be best to do." a few days later he writes more cheerfully: "i became acquainted with mr. bell,[ ] who, to my surprise, expressed a good deal of interest about my crustacea and reptiles, and seems willing to work at them. i also heard that mr. broderip would be glad to look over the south american shells, so that things flourish well with me." again, on november :-- "all my affairs, indeed, are most prosperous; i find there are plenty who will undertake the description of whole tribes of animals, of which i know nothing." as to his geological collection he was soon able to write: "i [have] disposed of the most important part [of] my collections, by giving all the fossil bones to the college of surgeons, casts of them will be distributed, and descriptions published. they are very curious and valuable; one head belonged to some gnawing animal, but of the size of a hippopotamus! another to an ant-eater of the size of a horse!" my father's specimens included (besides the above-mentioned toxodon and scelidotherium) the remains of mylodon, glossotherium, another gigantic animal allied to the ant-eater, and macrauchenia. his discovery of these remains is a matter of interest in itself, but it has a special importance as a point in his own life, his speculation on the extinction of these extraordinary creatures[ ] and on their relationship to living forms having formed one of the chief starting-points of his views on the origin of species. this is shown in the following extract from his pocket book for this year ( ): "in july opened first note-book on transmutation of species. had been greatly struck from about the month of previous march on character of south american fossils, and species on galapagos archipelago. these facts (especially latter), origin of all my views." his affairs being thus so far prosperously managed he was able to put into execution his plan of living at cambridge, where he settled on december th, . "cambridge," he writes, "yet continues a very pleasant, but not half so merry a place as before. to walk through the courts of christ's college, and not know an inhabitant of a single room, gave one a feeling half melancholy. the only evil i found in cambridge was its being too pleasant: there was some agreeable party or another every evening, and one cannot say one is engaged with so much impunity there as in this great city."[ ] early in the spring of he left cambridge for london, and a week later he was settled in lodgings at great marlborough street; and except for a "short visit to shrewsbury" in june, he worked on till september, being almost entirely employed on his _journal_, of which he wrote (march):-- "in your last letter you urge me to get ready _the_ book. i am now hard at work and give up everything else for it. our plan is as follows: capt. fitz-roy writes two volumes out of the materials collected during the last voyage under capt. king to tierra del fuego, and during our circumnavigation. i am to have the third volume, in which i intend giving a kind of journal of a naturalist, not following, however, always the order of time, but rather the order of position." a letter to fox (july) gives an account of the progress of his work:-- "i gave myself a holiday and a visit to shrewsbury [in june], as i had finished my journal. i shall now be very busy in filling up gaps and getting it quite ready for the press by the first of august. i shall always feel respect for every one who has written a book, let it be what it may, for i had no idea of the trouble which trying to write common english could cost one. and, alas, there yet remains the worst part of all, correcting the press. as soon as ever that is done i must put my shoulder to the wheel and commence at the geology. i have read some short papers to the geological society, and they were favourably received by the great guns, and this gives me much confidence, and i hope not a very great deal of vanity, though i confess i feel too often like a peacock admiring his tail. i never expected that my geology would ever have been worth the consideration of such men as lyell, who has been to me, since my return, a most active friend. my life is a very busy one at present, and i hope may ever remain so; though heaven knows there are many serious drawbacks to such a life, and chief amongst them is the little time it allows one for seeing one's natural friends. for the last three years, i have been longing and longing to be living at shrewsbury, and after all now in the course of several months, i see my good dear people at shrewsbury for a week. susan and catherine have, however, been staying with my brother here for some weeks, but they had returned home before my visit." in august he writes to henslow to announce the success of the scheme for the publication of the _zoology of the voyage of the beagle_, through the promise of a grant of £ from the treasury: "i had an interview with the chancellor of the exchequer.[ ] he appointed to see me this morning, and i had a long conversation with him, mr. peacock being present. nothing could be more thoroughly obliging and kind than his whole manner. he made no sort of restriction, but only told me to make the most of the money, which of course i am right willing to do. "i expected rather an awful interview, but i never found anything less so in my life. it will be my fault if i do not make a good work; but i sometimes take an awful fright that i have not materials enough. it will be excessively satisfactory at the end of some two years to find all materials made the most they were capable of." later in the autumn he wrote to henslow: "i have not been very well of late, with an uncomfortable palpitation of the heart, and my doctors urge me _strongly_ to knock off all work, and go and live in the country for a few weeks." he accordingly took a holiday of about a month at shrewsbury and maer, and paid fox a visit in the isle of wight. it was, i believe, during this visit, at mr. wedgwood's house at maer, that he made his first observations on the work done by earthworms, and late in the autumn he read a paper on the subject at the geological society. here he was already beginning to make his mark. lyell wrote to sedgwick (april , ):-- "darwin is a glorious addition to any society of geologists, and is working hard and making way both in his book and in our discussions. i really never saw that bore dr. mitchell so successfully silenced, or such a bucket of cold water so dexterously poured down his back, as when darwin answered some impertinent and irrelevant questions about south america. we escaped fifteen minutes of dr. m.'s vulgar harangue in consequence...." early in the following year ( ), he was, much against his will, elected secretary of the geological society, an office he held for three years. a chief motive for his hesitation in accepting the post was the condition of his health, the doctors having urged "me to give up entirely all writing and even correcting press for some weeks. of late anything which flurries me completely knocks me up afterwards, and brings on a violent palpitation of the heart." in the summer of he started on his expedition to glen roy, where he spent "eight good days" over the parallel roads. his essay on this subject was written out during the same summer, and published by the royal society.[ ] he wrote in his pocket book: "september ( ). finished the paper on 'glen roy,' one of the most difficult and instructive tasks i was ever engaged on." it will be remembered that in his _autobiography_ he speaks of this paper as a failure, of which he was ashamed.[ ] _c. d. to lyell._ [august th, .] great marlborough street. my dear lyell--i did not write to you at norwich, for i thought i should have more to say, if i waited a few more days. very many thanks for the present of your _elements_, which i received (and i believe the _very first_ copy distributed) together with your note. i have read it through every word, and am full of admiration of it, and, as i now see no geologist, i must talk to you about it. there is no pleasure in reading a book if one cannot have a good talk over it; i repeat, i am full of admiration of it, it is as clear as daylight, in fact i felt in many parts some mortification at thinking how geologists have laboured and struggled at proving what seems, as you have put it, so evidently probable. i read with much interest your sketch of the secondary deposits; you have contrived to make it quite "juicy," as we used to say as children of a good story. there was also much new to me, and i have to copy out some fifty notes and references. it must do good, the heretics against common-sense must yield.... by the way, do you recollect my telling you how much i disliked the manner x. referred to his other works, as much as to say, "you must, ought, and shall buy everything i have written." to my mind, you have somehow quite avoided this; your references only seem to say, "i can't tell you all in this work, else i would, so you must go to the _principles_; and many a one, i trust, you will send there, and make them, like me, adorers of the good science of rock-breaking."[ ] you will see i am in a fit of enthusiasm, and good cause i have to be, when i find you have made such infinitely more use of my journal than i could have anticipated. i will say no more about the book, for it is all praise. i must, however, admire the elaborate honesty with which you quote the words of all living and dead geologists. my scotch expedition answered brilliantly; my trip in the steam-packet was absolutely pleasant, and i enjoyed the spectacle, wretch that i am, of two ladies, and some small children quite sea-sick, i being well. moreover, on my return from glasgow to liverpool, i triumphed in a similar manner over some full-grown men. i stayed one whole day in edinburgh, or more truly on salisbury craigs; i want to hear some day what you think about that classical ground,--the structure was to me new and rather curious,--that is, if i understand it right. i crossed from edinburgh in gigs and carts (and carts without springs, as i never shall forget) to loch leven. i was disappointed in the scenery, and reached glen roy on saturday evening, one week after leaving marlborough street. here i enjoyed five [?] days of the most beautiful weather with gorgeous sunsets, and all nature looking as happy as i felt. i wandered over the mountains in all directions, and examined that most extraordinary district. i think, without any exceptions, not even the first volcanic island, the first elevated beach, or the passage of the cordillera, was so interesting to me as this week. it is far the most remarkable area i ever examined. i have fully convinced myself (after some doubting at first) that the shelves are sea-beaches, although i could not find a trace of a shell; and i think i can explain away most, if not all, the difficulties. i found a piece of a road in another valley, not hitherto observed, which is important; and i have some curious facts about erratic blocks, one of which was perched up on a peak feet above the sea. i am now employed in writing a paper on the subject, which i find very amusing work, excepting that i cannot anyhow condense it into reasonable limits. at some future day i hope to talk over some of the conclusions with you, which the examination of glen roy has led me to. now i have had my talk out, i am much easier, for i can assure you glen roy has astonished me. i am living very quietly, and therefore pleasantly, and am crawling on slowly but steadily with my work. i have come to one conclusion, which you will think proves me to be a very sensible man, namely, that whatever you say proves right; and as a proof of this, i am coming into your way of only working about two hours at a spell; i then go out and do my business in the streets, return and set to work again, and thus make two separate days out of one. the new plan answers capitally; after the second half day is finished i go and dine at the athenæum like a gentleman, or rather like a lord, for i am sure the first evening i sat in that great drawing-room, all on a sofa by myself, i felt just like a duke. i am full of admiration at the athenæum, one meets so many people there that one likes to see.... i have heard from more than one quarter that quarrelling is expected at newcastle[ ]; i am sorry to hear it. i met old ---- this evening at the athenæum, and he muttered something about writing to you or some one on the subject; i am however all in the dark. i suppose, however, i shall be illuminated, for i am going to dine with him in a few days, as my inventive powers failed in making any excuse. a friend of mine dined with him the other day, a party of four, and they finished ten bottles of wine--a pleasant prospect for me; but i am determined not even to taste his wine, partly for the fun of seeing his infinite disgust and surprise.... i pity you the infliction of this most unmerciful letter. pray remember me most kindly to mrs. lyell when you arrive at kinnordy. tell mrs. lyell to read the second series of 'mr. slick of slickville's sayings.'... he almost beats 'samivel,' that prince of heroes. good night, my dear lyell; you will think i have been drinking some strong drink to write so much nonsense, but i did not even taste minerva's small beer to-day.... a record of what he wrote during the year would not give a true index of the most important work that was in progress--the laying of the foundation-stones of what was to be the achievement of his life. this is shown in the following passages from a letter to lyell (september), and from a letter to fox, written in june:-- "i wish with all my heart that my geological book was out. i have every motive to work hard, and will, following your steps, work just that degree of hardness to keep well. i should like my volume to be out before your new edition of the _principles_ appears. besides the coral theory, the volcanic chapters will, i think, contain some new facts. i have lately been sadly tempted to be idle--that is, as far as pure geology is concerned--by the delightful number of new views which have been coming in thickly and steadily--on the classification and affinities and instincts of animals--bearing on the question of species. note-book after note-book has been filled with facts which begin to group themselves _clearly_ under sub-laws." "i am delighted to hear you are such a good man as not to have forgotten my questions about the crossing of animals. it is my prime hobby, and i really think some day i shall be able to do something in that most intricate subject, species and varieties." in the winter of (jan. ) my father was married to his cousin, emma wedgwood.[ ] the house in which they lived for the first few years of their married life, no. upper gower street, was a small common-place london house, with a drawing-room in front, and a small room behind, in which they lived for the sake of quietness. in later years my father used to laugh over the surpassing ugliness of the furniture, carpets, &c., of the gower street house. the only redeeming feature was a better garden than most london houses have, a strip as wide as the house, and thirty yards long. even this small space of dingy grass made their london house more tolerable to its two country-bred inhabitants. of his life in london he writes to fox (october ): "we are living a life of extreme quietness; delamere itself, which you describe as so secluded a spot, is, i will answer for it, quite dissipated compared with gower street. we have given up all parties, for they agree with neither of us; and if one is quiet in london, there is nothing like its quietness--there is a grandeur about its smoky fogs, and the dull distant sounds of cabs and coaches; in fact you may perceive i am becoming a thorough-paced cockney, and i glory in the thought that i shall be here for the next six months." the entries of ill health in the diary increase in number during these years, and as a consequence the holidays become longer and more frequent. the entry under august is: "read a little, was much unwell and scandalously idle. i have derived this much good, that _nothing_ is so intolerable as idleness." at the end of his first child was born, and it was then that he began his observations ultimately published in the _expression of the emotions_. his book on this subject, and the short paper published in _mind_,[ ] show how closely he observed his child. he seems to have been surprised at his own feeling for a young baby, for he wrote to fox (july ): "he [_i.e._ the baby] is so charming that i cannot pretend to any modesty. i defy anybody to flatter us on our baby, for i defy anyone to say anything in its praise of which we are not fully conscious.... i had not the smallest conception there was so much in a five-month baby. you will perceive by this that i have a fine degree of paternal fervour." in some improvement in his health became apparent; he wrote in september:-- "i have steadily been gaining ground, and really believe now i shall some day be quite strong. i write daily for a couple of hours on my coral volume, and take a little walk or ride every day. i grow very tired in the evenings, and am not able to go out at that time, or hardly to receive my nearest relations; but my life ceases to be burdensome now that i can do something." the manuscript of _coral reefs_ was at last sent to the printers in january , and the last proof corrected in may. he thus writes of the work in his diary:-- "i commenced this work three years and seven months ago. out of this period about twenty months (besides work during _beagle's_ voyage) has been spent on it, and besides it, i have only compiled the bird part of zoology; appendix to journal, paper on boulders, and corrected papers on glen roy and earthquakes, reading on species, and rest all lost by illness." the latter part of this year belongs to the period including the settlement at down, and is therefore dealt with in another chapter. footnotes: [ ] the museum of the zoological society, then at bruton street. the collection was some years later broken up and dispersed. [ ] william lonsdale, b. , d. , was originally in the army, and served at the battles of salamanca and waterloo. after the war he left the service and gave himself up to science. he acted as assistant-secretary to the geological society from - , when he resigned, owing to ill-health. [ ] t. bell, f.r.s., formerly professor of zoology in king's college, london, and sometime secretary to the royal society. he afterwards described the reptiles for the _zoology of the voyage of the beagle_. [ ] i have often heard him speak of the despair with which he had to break off the projecting extremity of a huge, partly excavated bone, when the boat waiting for him would wait no longer. [ ] a trifling record of my father's presence in cambridge occurs in the book kept in christ's college combination-room, in which fines and bets are recorded, the earlier entries giving a curious impression of the after-dinner frame of mind of the fellows. the bets are not allowed to be made in money, but are, like the fines, paid in wine. the bet which my father made and lost is thus recorded:-- "_feb. , ._--mr. darwin _v._ mr. baines, that the combination-room measures from the ceiling to the floor more than _x_ feet. " bottle paid same day." the bets are usually recorded in such a way as not to preclude future speculation on a subject which has proved itself capable of supplying a discussion (and a bottle) to the room, hence the _x_ in the above quotation. [ ] spring rice. [ ] _phil. trans._, , pp. - . [ ] sir archibald geikie has been so good as to allow me to quote a passage from a letter addressed to me (nov. , ):--"had the idea of transient barriers of glacier-ice occurred to him, he would have found the difficulties vanish from the lake-theory which he opposed, and he would not have been unconsciously led to minimise the altogether overwhelming objections to the supposition that the terraces are of marine origin." it may be added that the idea of the barriers being formed by glaciers could hardly have occurred to him, considering the state of knowledge at the time, and bearing in mind his want of opportunities of observing glacial action on a large scale. [ ] in a letter of sept. he wrote:--"it will be a curious point to geologists hereafter to note how long a man's name will support a theory so completely exposed as that of de beaumont has been by you; you say you 'begin to hope that the great principles there insisted on will stand the test of time.' _begin to hope_: why, the _possibility_ of a doubt has never crossed my mind for many a day. this may be very unphilosophical, but my geological salvation is staked on it." [ ] at the meeting of the british association. [ ] daughter of josiah wedgwood of maer, and grand-daughter of the founder of the etruria pottery works. [ ] july . chapter viii. life at down. - . "my life goes on like clockwork, and i am fixed on the spot where i shall end it." letter to captain fitz-roy, october, . certain letters which, chronologically considered, belong to the period - have been utilised in a later chapter where the growth of the _origin of species_ is described. in the present chapter we only get occasional hints of the growth of my father's views, and we may suppose ourselves to be seeing his life, as it might have appeared to those who had no knowledge of the quiet development of his theory of evolution during this period. on sept. , , my father left london with his family and settled at down.[ ] in the autobiographical chapter, his motives for moving into the country are briefly given. he speaks of the attendance at scientific societies and ordinary social duties as suiting his health so "badly that we resolved to live in the country, which we both preferred and have never repented of." his intention of keeping up with scientific life in london is expressed in a letter to fox (dec., ):-- "i hope by going up to town for a night every fortnight or three weeks, to keep up my communication with scientific men and my own zeal, and so not to turn into a complete kentish hog." visits to london of this kind were kept up for some years at the cost of much exertion on his part. i have often heard him speak of the wearisome drives of ten miles to or from croydon or sydenham--the nearest stations--with an old gardener acting as coachman, who drove with great caution and slowness up and down the many hills. in later years, regular scientific intercourse with london became, as before mentioned, an impossibility. the choice of down was rather the result of despair than of actual preference: my father and mother were weary of house-hunting, and the attractive points about the place thus seemed to them to counterbalance its somewhat more obvious faults. it had at least one desideratum, namely, quietness. indeed it would have been difficult to find a more retired place so near to london. in a coach drive of some twenty miles was the usual means of access to down; and even now that railways have crept closer to it, it is singularly out of the world, with nothing to suggest the neighbourhood of london, unless it be the dull haze of smoke that sometimes clouds the sky. the village stands in an angle between two of the larger high-roads of the country, one leading to tunbridge and the other to westerham and edenbridge. it is cut off from the weald by a line of steep chalk hills on the south, and an abrupt hill, now smoothed down by a cutting and embankment, must formerly have been something of a barrier against encroachments from the side of london. in such a situation, a village, communicating with the main lines of traffic, only by stony tortuous lanes, may well have preserved its retired character. nor is it hard to believe in the smugglers and their strings of pack-horses making their way up from the lawless old villages of the weald, of which the memory still existed when my father settled in down. the village stands on solitary upland country, to feet above the sea--a country with little natural beauty, but possessing a certain charm in the shaws, or straggling strips of wood, capping the chalky banks and looking down upon the quiet ploughed lands of the valleys. the village, of three or four hundred inhabitants, consists of three small streets of cottages meeting in front of the little flint-built church. it is a place where new-comers are seldom seen, and the names occurring far back in the old church registers are still known in the village. the smock-frock is not yet quite extinct, though chiefly used as a ceremonial dress by the "bearers" at funerals; but as a boy i remember the purple or green smocks of the men at church. the house stands a quarter of a mile from the village, and is built, like so many houses of the last century, as near as possible to the road--a narrow lane winding away to the westerham high-road. in , it was dull and unattractive enough: a square brick building of three storeys, covered with shabby whitewash, and hanging tiles. the garden had none of the shrubberies or walls that now give shelter; it was overlooked from the lane, and was open, bleak, and desolate. one of my father's first undertakings was to lower the lane by about two feet, and to build a flint wall along that part of it which bordered the garden. the earth thus excavated was used in making banks and mounds round the lawn: these were planted with evergreens, which now give to the garden its retired and sheltered character. the house was made to look neater by being covered with stucco, but the chief improvement effected was the building of a large bow extending up through three storeys. this bow became covered with a tangle of creepers, and pleasantly varied the south side of the house. the drawing-room, with its verandah opening into the garden, as well as the study in which my father worked during the later years of his life, were added at subsequent dates. eighteen acres of land were sold with the house, of which twelve acres on the south side of the house form a pleasant field, scattered with fair-sized oaks and ashes. from this field a strip was cut off and converted into a kitchen garden, in which the experimental plot of ground was situated, and where the greenhouses were ultimately put up. during the whole of he was occupied with geological work, the result of which was published in the spring of the following year. it was entitled _geological observations on the volcanic islands, visited during the voyage of h.m.s. beagle, together with some brief notices on the geology of australia and the cape of good hope_; it formed the second part of the _geology of the voyage of the beagle_, published "with the approval of the lords commissioners of her majesty's treasury." the volume on _coral reefs_ forms part i. of the series, and was published, as we have seen, in . for the sake of the non-geological reader, i may here quote sir a. geikie's words[ ] on these two volumes--which were up to this time my father's chief geological works. speaking of the _coral reefs_, he says (p. ): "this well-known treatise, the most original of all its author's geological memoirs, has become one of the classics of geological literature. the origin of those remarkable rings of coral-rock in mid-ocean has given rise to much speculation, but no satisfactory solution of the problem had been proposed. after visiting many of them, and examining also coral reefs that fringe islands and continents, he offered a theory which for simplicity and grandeur, strikes every reader with astonishment. it is pleasant, after the lapse of many years, to recall the delight with which one first read the _coral reefs_, how one watched the facts being marshalled into their places, nothing being ignored or passed lightly over; and how, step by step, one was led to the grand conclusion of wide oceanic subsidence. no more admirable example of scientific method was ever given to the world, and even if he had written nothing else, the treatise alone would have placed darwin in the very front of investigators of nature." it is interesting to see in the following extract from one of lyell's letters[ ] how warmly and readily he embraced the theory. the extract also gives incidentally some idea of the theory itself. "i am very full of darwin's new theory of coral islands, and have urged whewell to make him read it at our next meeting. i must give up my volcanic crater theory for ever, though it cost me a pang at first, for it accounted for so much, the annular form, the central lagoon, the sudden rising of an isolated mountain in a deep sea; all went so well with the notion of submerged, crateriform, and conical volcanoes, ... and then the fact that in the south pacific we had scarcely any rocks in the regions of coral islands, save two kinds, coral limestone and volcanic! yet in spite of all this, the whole theory is knocked on the head, and the annular shape and central lagoon have nothing to do with volcanoes, nor even with a crateriform bottom. perhaps darwin told you when at the cape what he considers the true cause? let any mountain be submerged gradually, and coral grow in the sea in which it is sinking, and there will be a ring of coral, and finally only a lagoon in the centre.... coral islands are the last efforts of drowning continents to lift their heads above water. regions of elevation and subsidence in the ocean may be traced by the state of the coral reefs." the second part of the _geology of the voyage of the beagle_, _i.e._ the volume on volcanic islands, which specially concerns us now, cannot be better described than by again quoting from sir a. geikie (p. ):-- "full of detailed observations, this work still remains the best authority on the general geological structure of most of the regions it describes. at the time it was written the 'crater of elevation theory,' though opposed by constant prévost, scrope, and lyell, was generally accepted, at least on the continent. darwin, however, could not receive it as a valid explanation of the facts; and though he did not share the view of its chief opponents, but ventured to propose a hypothesis of his own, the observations impartially made and described by him in this volume must be regarded as having contributed towards the final solution of the difficulty." geikie continues (p. ): "he is one of the earliest writers to recognize the magnitude of the denudation to which even recent geological accumulations have been subjected. one of the most impressive lessons to be learnt from his account of 'volcanic islands' is the prodigious extent to which they have been denuded.... he was disposed to attribute more of this work to the sea than most geologists would now admit; but he lived himself to modify his original views, and on this subject his latest utterances are quite abreast of the time." an extract from a letter of my father's to lyell shows his estimate of his own work. "you have pleased me much by saying that you intend looking through my _volcanic islands_: it cost me eighteen months!!! and i have heard of very few who have read it.[ ] now i shall feel, whatever little (and little it is) there is confirmatory of old work, or new, will work its effect and not be lost." the second edition of the _journal of researches_[ ] was completed in . it was published by mr. murray in the _colonial and home library_, and in this more accessible form soon had a large sale. _c. d. to lyell._ down [july, ]. my dear lyell--i send you the first part[ ] of the new edition, which i so entirely owe to you. you will see that i have ventured to dedicate it to you, and i trust that this cannot be disagreeable. i have long wished, not so much for your sake, as for my own feelings of honesty, to acknowledge more plainly than by mere reference, how much i geologically owe you. those authors, however, who, like you, educate people's minds as well as teach them special facts, can never, i should think, have full justice done them except by posterity, for the mind thus insensibly improved can hardly perceive its own upward ascent. i had intended putting in the present acknowledgment in the third part of my geology, but its sale is so exceedingly small that i should not have had the satisfaction of thinking that as far as lay in my power i had owned, though imperfectly, my debt. pray do not think that i am so silly, as to suppose that my dedication can any ways gratify you, except so far as i trust you will receive it, as a most sincere mark of my gratitude and friendship. i think i have improved this edition, especially the second part, which i have just finished. i have added a good deal about the fuegians, and cut down into half the mercilessly long discussion on climate and glaciers, &c. i do not recollect anything added to the first part, long enough to call your attention to; there is a page of description of a very curious breed of oxen in banda oriental. i should like you to read the few last pages; there is a little discussion on extinction, which will not perhaps strike you as new, though it has so struck me, and has placed in my mind all the difficulties with respect to the causes of extinction, in the same class with other difficulties which are generally quite overlooked and undervalued by naturalists; i ought, however, to have made my discussion longer and shown by facts, as i easily could, how steadily every species must be checked in its numbers. a pleasant notice of the _journal_ occurs in a letter from humboldt to mrs. austin, dated june , [ ]:-- "alas! you have got some one in england whom you do not read--young darwin, who went with the expedition to the straits of magellan. he has succeeded far better than myself with the subject i took up. there are admirable descriptions of tropical nature in his journal, which you do not read because the author is a zoologist, which you imagine to be synonymous with bore. mr. darwin has another merit, a very rare one in your country--he has praised me." _october to october ._ the time between october , and october , was practically given up to working at the cirripedia (barnacles); the results were published in two volumes by the ray society in and . his volumes on the fossil cirripedes were published by the palæontographical society in and . writing to sir j. d. hooker in , my father says: "i hope this next summer to finish my south american geology,[ ] then to get out a little zoology, and hurrah for my species work...." this passage serves to show that he had at this time no intention of making an exhaustive study of the cirripedes. indeed it would seem that his original intention was, as i learn from sir j. d. hooker, merely to work out one special problem. this is quite in keeping with the following passage in the _autobiography_: "when on the coast of chile, i found a most curious form, which burrowed into the shells of concholepas, and which differed so much from all other cirripedes that i had to form a new sub-order for its sole reception.... to understand the structure of my new cirripede i had to examine and dissect many of the common forms; and this gradually led me on to take up the whole group." in later years he seems to have felt some doubt as to the value of these eight years of work--for instance when he wrote in his _autobiography_--"my work was of considerable use to me, when i had to discuss in the _origin of species_ the principles of a natural classification. nevertheless i doubt whether the work was worth the consumption of so much time." yet i learn from sir j. d. hooker that he certainly recognised at the time its value to himself as systematic training. sir joseph writes to me: "your father recognised three stages in his career as a biologist: the mere collector at cambridge; the collector and observer in the _beagle_, and for some years afterwards; and the trained naturalist after, and only after the cirripede work. that he was a thinker all along is true enough, and there is a vast deal in his writings previous to the cirripedes that a trained naturalist could but emulate.... he often alluded to it as a valued discipline, and added that even the 'hateful' work of digging out synonyms, and of describing, not only improved his methods but opened his eyes to the difficulties and merits of the works of the dullest of cataloguers. one result was that he would never allow a depreciatory remark to pass unchallenged on the poorest class of scientific workers, provided that their work was honest, and good of its kind. i have always regarded it as one of the finest traits of his character,--this generous appreciation of the hod-men of science, and of their labours ... and it was monographing the barnacles that brought it about." mr. huxley allows me to quote his opinion as to the value of the eight years given to the cirripedes:-- "in my opinion your sagacious father never did a wiser thing than when he devoted himself to the years of patient toil which the cirripede-book cost him. "like the rest of us, he had no proper training in biological science, and it has always struck me as a remarkable instance of his scientific insight, that he saw the necessity of giving himself such training, and of his courage, that he did not shirk the labour of obtaining it. "the great danger which besets all men of large speculative faculty, is the temptation to deal with the accepted statements of fact in natural science, as if they were not only correct, but exhaustive; as if they might be dealt with deductively, in the same way as propositions in euclid may be dealt with. in reality, every such statement, however true it may be, is true only relatively to the means of observation and the point of view of those who have enunciated it. so far it may be depended upon. but whether it will bear every speculative conclusion that may be logically deduced from it, is quite another question. "your father was building a vast superstructure upon the foundations furnished by the recognised facts of geological and biological science. in physical geography, in geology proper, in geographical distribution, and in palæontology, he had acquired an extensive practical training during the voyage of the _beagle_. he knew of his own knowledge the way in which the raw materials of these branches of science are acquired, and was therefore a most competent judge of the speculative strain they would bear. that which he needed, after his return to england, was a corresponding acquaintance with anatomy and development, and their relation to taxonomy--and he acquired this by his cirripede work." though he became excessively weary of the work before the end of the eight years, he had much keen enjoyment in the course of it. thus he wrote to sir j. d. hooker ( ?):--"as you say, there is an extraordinary pleasure in pure observation; not but what i suspect the pleasure in this case is rather derived from comparisons forming in one's mind with allied structures. after having been so long employed in writing my old geological observations, it is delightful to use one's eyes and fingers again." it was, in fact, a return to the work which occupied so much of his time when at sea during his voyage. most of his work was done with the simple dissecting microscope--and it was the need which he found for higher powers that induced him, in , to buy a compound microscope. he wrote to hooker:--"when i was drawing with l., i was so delighted with the appearance of the objects, especially with their perspective, as seen through the weak powers of a good compound microscope, that i am going to order one; indeed, i often have structures in which the / is not power enough." during part of the time covered by the present chapter, my father suffered perhaps more from ill-health than at any other period of his life. he felt severely the depressing influence of these long years of illness; thus as early as he wrote to fox: "i am grown a dull, old, spiritless dog to what i used to be. one gets stupider as one grows older i think." it is not wonderful that he should so have written, it is rather to be wondered at that his spirit withstood so great and constant a strain. he wrote to sir joseph hooker in : "you are very kind in your inquiries about my health; i have nothing to say about it, being always much the same, some days better and some worse. i believe i have not had one whole day, or rather night, without my stomach having been greatly disordered, during the last three years, and most days great prostration of strength: thank you for your kindness; many of my friends, i believe, think me a hypochondriac." during the whole of the period now under consideration, he was in constant correspondence with sir joseph hooker. the following characteristic letter on sigillaria (a gigantic fossil plant found in the coal measures) was afterwards characterised by himself as not being "reasoning, or even speculation, but simply as mental rioting." [down, ?] " ... i am delighted to hear that brongniart thought sigillaria aquatic, and that binney considers coal a sort of submarine peat. i would bet to that in twenty years this will be generally admitted;[ ] and i do not care for whatever the botanical difficulties or impossibilities may be. if i could but persuade myself that sigillaria and co. had a good range of depth, _i.e._ could live from to fathoms under water, all difficulties of nearly all kinds would be removed (for the simple fact of muddy ordinary shallow sea implies proximity of land). [n.b.--i am chuckling to think how you are sneering all this time.] it is not much of a difficulty, there not being shells with the coal, considering how unfavourable deep mud is for most mollusca, and that shells would probably decay from the humic acid, as seems to take place in peat and in the _black_ moulds (as lyell tells me) of the mississippi. so coal question settled--q. e. d. sneer away!" the two following extracts give the continuation and conclusion of the coal battle. "by the way, as submarine coal made you so wrath, i thought i would experimentise on falconer and bunbury[ ] together, and it made [them] even more savage; 'such infernal nonsense ought to be thrashed out of me.' bunbury was more polite and contemptuous. so i now know how to stir up and show off any botanist. i wonder whether zoologists and geologists have got their tender points; i wish i could find out." "i cannot resist thanking you for your most kind note. pray do not think that i was annoyed by your letter: i perceived that you had been thinking with animation, and accordingly expressed yourself strongly, and so i understood it. forfend me from a man who weighs every expression with scotch prudence. i heartily wish you all success in your noble problem, and i shall be very curious to have some talk with you and hear your ultimatum." he also corresponded with the late hugh strickland,--a well-known ornithologist, on the need of reform in the principle of nomenclature. the following extract ( ) gives an idea of my father's view:-- "i feel sure as long as species-mongers have their vanity tickled by seeing their own names appended to a species, because they miserably described it in two or three lines, we shall have the same _vast_ amount of bad work as at present, and which is enough to dishearten any man who is willing to work out any branch with care and time. i find every genus of cirripedia has half-a-dozen names, and not one careful description of any one species in any one genus. i do not believe that this would have been the case if each man knew that the memory of his own name depended on his doing his work well, and not upon merely appending a name with a few wretched lines indicating only a few prominent external characters." in dr. r. w. darwin died, and charles darwin wrote to hooker, from malvern:-- "on the th of november, my poor dear father died, and no one who did not know him would believe that a man above eighty-three years old could have retained so tender and affectionate a disposition, with all his sagacity unclouded to the last. i was at the time so unwell, that i was unable to travel, which added to my misery. "all this winter i have been bad enough ... and my nervous system began to be affected, so that my hands trembled, and head was often swimming. i was not able to do anything one day out of three, and was altogether too dispirited to write to you, or to do anything but what i was compelled. i thought i was rapidly going the way of all flesh. having heard, accidentally, of two persons who had received much benefit from the water-cure, i got dr. gully's book, and made further inquiries, and at last started here, with wife, children, and all our servants. we have taken a house for two months, and have been here a fortnight. i am already a little stronger.... dr. gully feels pretty sure he can do me good, which most certainly the regular doctors could not.... i feel certain that the water-cure is no quackery. "how i shall enjoy getting back to down with renovated health, if such is to be my good fortune, and resuming the beloved barnacles. now i hope that you will forgive me for my negligence in not having sooner answered your letter. i was uncommonly interested by the sketch you give of your intended grand expedition, from which i suppose you will soon be returning. how earnestly i hope that it may prove in every way successful...." _c. d. to w. d. fox_. [march , .] our long silence occurred to me a few weeks since, and i had then thought of writing, but was idle. i congratulate and condole with you on your _tenth_ child; but please to observe when i have a tenth, send only condolences to me. we have now seven children, all well, thank god, as well as their mother; of these seven, five are boys; and my father used to say that it was certain that a boy gave as much trouble as three girls; so that _bonâ fide_ we have seventeen children. it makes me sick whenever i think of professions; all seem hopelessly bad, and as yet i cannot see a ray of light. i should very much like to talk over this (by the way, my three bugbears are californian and australian gold, beggaring me by making my money on mortgage worth nothing; the french coming by the westerham and sevenoaks roads, and therefore enclosing down; and thirdly, professions for my boys), and i should like to talk about education, on which you ask me what we are doing. no one can more truly despise the old stereotyped stupid classical education than i do; but yet i have not had courage to break through the trammels. after many doubts we have just sent our eldest boy to rugby, where for his age he has been very well placed.... i honour, admire, and envy you for educating your boys at home. what on earth shall you do with your boys? very many thanks for your most kind and large invitation to delamere, but i fear we can hardly compass it. i dread going anywhere, on account of my stomach so easily failing under any excitement. i rarely even now go to london, not that i am at all worse, perhaps rather better, and lead a very comfortable life with my three hours of daily work, but it is the life of a hermit. my nights are _always_ bad, and that stops my becoming vigorous. you ask about water-cure. i take at intervals of two or three months, five or six weeks of _moderately_ severe treatment, and always with good effect. do you come here, i pray and beg whenever you can find time; you cannot tell how much pleasure it would give me and e. what pleasant times we had in drinking coffee in your rooms at christ's college, and think of the glories of crux-major.[ ] ah, in those days there were no professions for sons, no ill-health to fear for them, no californian gold, no french invasions. how paramount the future is to the present when one is surrounded by children. my dread is hereditary ill-health. even death is better for them. my dear fox, your sincere friend. p.s.--susan[ ] has lately been working in a way which i think truly heroic about the scandalous violation of the act against children climbing chimneys. we have set up a little society in shrewsbury to prosecute those who break the law. it is all susan's doing. she has had very nice letters from lord shaftesbury and the duke of sutherland, but the brutal shropshire squires are as hard as stones to move. the act out of london seems most commonly violated. it makes one shudder to fancy one of one's own children at seven years old being forced up a chimney--to say nothing of the consequent loathsome disease and ulcerated limbs, and utter moral degradation. if you think strongly on this subject, do make some enquiries; add to your many good works, this other one, and try to stir up the magistrates.... the following letter refers to the royal medal, which was awarded to him in november, : _c. d. to j. d. hooker_. down [november ]. my dear hooker--amongst my letters received this morning, i opened first one from colonel sabine; the contents certainly surprised me very much, but, though the letter was a _very kind one_, somehow, i cared very little indeed for the announcement it contained. i then opened yours, and such is the effect of warmth, friendship, and kindness from one that is loved, that the very same fact, told as you told it, made me glow with pleasure till my very heart throbbed. believe me, i shall not soon forget the pleasure of your letter. such hearty, affectionate sympathy is worth more than all the medals that ever were or will be coined. again, my dear hooker, i thank you. i hope lindley[ ] will never hear that he was a competitor against me; for really it is almost _ridiculous_ (of course you would never repeat that i said this, for it would be thought by others, though not, i believe by you, to be affectation) his not having the medal long before me; i must feel _sure_ that you did quite right to propose him; and what a good, dear, kind fellow you are, nevertheless, to rejoice in this honour being bestowed on me. what _pleasure_ i have felt on the occasion, i owe almost entirely to you.[ ] farewell, my dear hooker, yours affectionately. the following series of extracts, must, for want of space, serve as a sketch of his feeling with regard to his seven years' work at barnacles[ ]:-- _september ._--"it makes me groan to think that probably i shall never again have the exquisite pleasure of making out some new district, of evolving geological light out of some troubled dark region. so i must make the best of my cirripedia...." _october ._--"i have of late been at work at mere species describing, which is much more difficult than i expected, and has much the same sort of interest as a puzzle has; but i confess i often feel wearied with the work, and cannot help sometimes asking myself what is the good of spending a week or fortnight in ascertaining that certain just perceptible differences blend together and constitute varieties and not species. as long as i am on anatomy i never feel myself in that disgusting, horrid, _cui bono_, inquiring, humour. what miserable work, again, it is searching for priority of names. i have just finished two species, which possess seven generic, and twenty-four specific names! my chief comfort is, that the work must be sometime done, and i may as well do it, as any one else." _october ._--"i am at work at the second volume of the cirripedia, of which creatures i am wonderfully tired. i hate a barnacle as no man ever did before, not even a sailor in a slow-sailing ship. my first volume is out; the only part worth looking at is on the sexes of ibla and scalpellum. i hope by next summer to have done with my tedious work." _july ._--"i am _extremely_ glad to hear that you approved of my cirripedial volume. i have spent an almost ridiculous amount of labour on the subject, and certainly would never have undertaken it had i foreseen what a job it was." in september, , his cirripede work was practically finished, and he wrote to sir j. hooker: "i have been frittering away my time for the last several weeks in a wearisome manner, partly idleness, and odds and ends, find sending ten thousand barnacles[ ] out of the house all over the world. but i shall now in a day or two begin to look over my old notes on species. what a deal i shall have to discuss with you; i shall have to look sharp that i do not 'progress' into one of the greatest bores in life, to the few like you with lots of knowledge." footnotes: [ ] i must not omit to mention a member of the household who accompanied him. this was his butler, joseph parslow, who remained in the family, a valued friend and servant, for forty years, and became, as sir joseph hooker once remarked to me, "an integral part of the family, and felt to be such by all visitors at the house." [ ] charles darwin, _nature_ series, . [ ] to sir john herschel, may , . _life of sir charles lyell_, vol. ii. p. . [ ] he wrote to herbert:--"i have long discovered that geologists never read each other's works, and that the only object in writing a book is a proof of earnestness, and that you do not form your opinions without undergoing labour of some kind. geology is at present very oral, and what i here say is to a great extent quite true." and to fitz-roy, on the same subject, he wrote: "i have sent my _south american geology_ to dover street, and you will get it, no doubt, in the course of time. you do not know what you threaten when you propose to read it--it is purely geological. i said to my brother, 'you will of course read it,' and his answer was, 'upon my life, i would sooner even buy it.'" [ ] the first edition was published in , as vol. iii. of the _voyages of the 'adventure' and 'beagle.'_ [ ] no doubt proof-sheets. [ ] _three generations of englishwomen_, by janet ross ( ), vol. i. p. . [ ] this refers to the third and last of his geological books, _geological observation on south america_, which was published in . a sentence from a letter of dec. , , may be quoted here--"david forbes has been carefully working the geology of chile, and as i value praise for accurate observation far higher than for any other quality, forgive (if you can) the _insufferable_ vanity of my copying the last sentence in his note: 'i regard your monograph on chile as, without exception, one of the finest specimens of geological inquiry.' i feel inclined to strut like a turkey-cock!" [ ] an unfulfilled prophecy. [ ] the late sir c. bunbury, well known as a palæobotanist. [ ] the beetle panagæus crux-major. [ ] his sister. [ ] john lindley (b. , d. ) was the son of a nurseryman near norwich, through whose failure in business he was thrown at the age of twenty on his own resources. he was befriended by sir w. hooker, and employed as assistant librarian by sir j. banks. he seems to have had enormous capacity for work, and is said to have translated richard's _analyse du fruit_ at one sitting of two days and three nights. he became assistant-secretary to the horticultural society, and in was appointed professor of botany at university college, a post which he held for upwards of thirty years. his writings are numerous; the best known being perhaps his _vegetable kingdom_, published in . [ ] shortly afterwards he received a fresh mark of esteem from his warm-hearted friend: "hooker's book (_himalayan journal_) is out, and _most beautifully_ got up. he has honoured me beyond measure by dedicating it to me!" [ ] in he wrote to lyell: "is not krohn a good fellow? i have long meant to write to him. he has been working at cirripedes, and has detected two or three gigantic blunders, about which, i thank heaven, i spoke rather doubtfully. such difficult dissection that even huxley failed. it is chiefly the interpretation which i put on parts that is so wrong, and not the parts which i describe. but they were gigantic blunders, and why i say all this is because krohn, instead of crowing at all, pointed out my errors with the utmost gentleness and pleasantness." there are two papers by aug. krohn, one on the cement glands, and the other on the development of cirripedes, _weigmann's archiv._ xxv. and xxvi. see _autobiography_, p. , where my father remarks, "i blundered dreadfully about the cement glands." [ ] the duplicate type-specimens of my father's cirripedes are in the liverpool free public museum, as i learn from the rev. h. h. higgins. chapter ix. the foundations of the 'origin of species.' to give an account of the development of the chief work of my father's life--the _origin of species_, it will be necessary to return to an earlier date, and to weave into the story letters and other material, purposely omitted from the chapters dealing with the voyage and with his life at down. to be able to estimate the greatness of the work, we must know something of the state of knowledge on the species question at the time when the germs of the darwinian theory were forming in my father's mind. for the brief sketch which i can here insert, i am largely indebted to vol. ii. chapter v. of the _life and letters_--a discussion on the _reception of the origin of species_ which mr. huxley "was good enough to write for me, also to the masterly obituary essay on my father, which the same writer contributed to the proceedings of the royal society."[ ] mr. huxley has well said[ ]: "to any one who studies the signs of the times, the emergence of the philosophy of evolution, in the attitude of claimant to the throne of the world of thought, from the limbo of hated and, as many hoped, forgotten things, is the most portentous event of the nineteenth century." in the autobiographical chapter, my father has given an account of his share in this great work: the present chapter does little more than expand that story. two questions naturally occur to one: ( )--when and how did darwin become convinced that species are mutable? how (that is to say) did he begin to believe in evolution. and ( )--when and how did he conceive the manner in which species are modified; when did he begin to believe in natural selection? the first question is the more difficult of the two to answer. he has said in the _autobiography_ (p. ) that certain facts observed by him in south america seemed to be explicable only on the "supposition that species gradually become modified." he goes on to say that the subject "haunted him"; and i think it is especially worthy of note that this "haunting,"--this unsatisfied dwelling on the subject was connected with the desire to explain _how_ species can be modified. it was characteristic of him to feel, as he did, that it was "almost useless" to endeavour to prove the general truth of evolution, unless the cause of change could be discovered. i think that throughout his life the questions and were intimately,--perhaps unduly so, connected in his mind. it will be shown, however, that after the publication of the _origin_, when his views were being weighed in the balance of scientific opinion, it was to the acceptance of evolution not of natural selection that he attached importance. an interesting letter (feb. , ) to dr. otto zacharias,[ ] gives the same impression as the _autobiography_:-- "when i was on board the _beagle_ i believed in the permanence of species, but as far as i can remember, vague doubts occasionally flitted across my mind. on my return home in the autumn of , i immediately began to prepare my journal for publication, and then saw how many facts indicated the common descent of species, so that in july, , i opened a note-book to record any facts which might bear on the question. but i did not become convinced that species were mutable until, i think, two or three years had elapsed." two years bring us to , at which date the idea of natural selection had already occurred to him--a fact which agrees with what has been said above. how far the idea that evolution is conceivable came to him from earlier writers it is not possible to say. he has recorded in the _autobiography_ (p. ) the "silent astonishment with which, about the year , he heard grant expound the lamarckian philosophy." he goes on:-- "i had previously read the _zoonomia_ of my grandfather, in which similar views are maintained, but without producing any effect on me. nevertheless, it is probable that the hearing rather early in life such views maintained and praised, may have favoured my upholding them under a different form in my _origin of species_. at this time i admired greatly the _zoonomia_; but on reading it a second time after an interval of ten or fifteen years, i was much disappointed; the proportion of speculation being so large to the facts given." mr. huxley has well said (obituary notice, p. ii.): "erasmus darwin, was in fact an anticipator of lamarck, and not of charles darwin; there is no trace in his works of the conception by the addition of which his grandson metamorphosed the theory of evolution as applied to living things, and gave it a new foundation." on the whole it seems to me that the effect on his mind of the earlier evolutionists was inappreciable, and as far as concerns the history of the _origin of the species_, it is of no particular importance, because, as before said, evolution made no progress in his mind until the cause of modification was conceivable. i think mr. huxley is right in saying[ ] that "it is hardly too much to say that darwin's greatest work is the outcome of the unflinching application to biology of the leading idea, and the method applied in the _principles_ to geology." mr. huxley has elsewhere[ ] admirably expressed the bearing of lyell's work in this connection:-- "i cannot but believe that lyell, for others, as for myself, was the chief agent in smoothing the road for darwin. for consistent uniformitarianism postulates evolution as much in the organic as in the inorganic world. the origin of a new species by other than ordinary agencies would be a vastly greater 'catastrophe' than any of those which lyell successfully eliminated from sober geological speculation.... "lyell,[ ] with perfect right, claims this position for himself. he speaks of having 'advocated a law of continuity even in the organic world, so far as possible without adopting lamarck's theory of transmutation.... "'but while i taught,' lyell goes on, 'that as often as certain forms of animals and plants disappeared, for reasons quite intelligible to us, others took their place by virtue of a causation which was beyond our comprehension; it remained for darwin to accumulate proof that there is no break between the incoming and the outgoing species, that they are the work of evolution, and not of special creation.... i had certainly prepared the way in this country, in six editions of my work before the _vestiges of creation_ appeared in [ ], for the reception of darwin's gradual and insensible evolution of species.'" mr. huxley continues:-- "if one reads any of the earlier editions of the _principles_ carefully (especially by the light of the interesting series of letters recently published by sir charles lyell's biographer), it is easy to see that, with all his energetic opposition to lamarck, on the one hand, and to the ideal quasi-progressionism of agassiz, on the other, lyell, in his own mind, was strongly disposed to account for the origination of all past and present species of living things by natural causes. but he would have liked, at the same time, to keep the name of creation for a natural process which he imagined to be incomprehensible." the passage above given refers to the influence of lyell in preparing men's minds for belief in the _origin_, but i cannot doubt that it "smoothed the way" for the author of that work in his early searchings, as well as for his followers. my father spoke prophetically when he wrote the dedication to lyell of the second edition of the _journal of researches_ ( ). "to charles lyell, esq., f.r.s., this second edition is dedicated with grateful pleasure--as an acknowledgment that the chief part of whatever scientific merit this journal and the other works of the author may possess, has been derived from studying the well-known and admirable _principles of geology_." professor judd, in some reminiscences of my father which he was so good as to give me, quotes him as saying that, "it was the reading of the _principles of geology_ which did most towards moulding his mind and causing him to take up the line of investigation to which his life was devoted." the _rôle_ that lyell played as a pioneer makes his own point of view as to evolution all the more remarkable. as the late h. c. watson wrote to my father (december , ):-- now these novel views are brought fairly before the scientific public, it seems truly remarkable how so many of them could have failed to see their right road sooner. how could sir c. lyell, for instance, for thirty years read, write, and think, on the subject of species _and their succession_, and yet constantly look down the wrong road! "a quarter of a century ago, you and i must have been in something like the same state of mind on the main question. but you were able to see and work out the _quo modo_ of the succession, the all-important thing, while i failed to grasp it." in his earlier attitude towards evolution, my father was on a par with his contemporaries. he wrote in the _autobiography_:-- "i occasionally sounded not a few naturalists, and never happened to come across a single one who seemed to doubt about the permanence of species:" and it will be made abundantly clear by his letters that in supporting the opposite view he felt himself a terrible heretic. mr. huxley[ ] writes in the same sense:-- "within the ranks of biologists, at that time [ - ], i met with nobody, except dr. grant, of university college, who had a word to say for evolution--and his advocacy was not calculated to advance the cause. outside these ranks, the only person known to me whose knowledge and capacity compelled respect, and who was, at the same time, a thorough-going evolutionist, was mr. herbert spencer, whose acquaintance i made, i think, in , and then entered into the bonds of a friendship which, i am happy to think, has known no interruption. many and prolonged were the battles we fought on this topic. but even my friend's rare dialectic skill and copiousness of apt illustration could not drive me from my agnostic position. i took my stand upon two grounds: firstly, that up to that time, the evidence in favour of transmutation was wholly insufficient; and, secondly, that no suggestion respecting the causes of the transmutation assumed, which had been made, was in any way adequate to explain the phenomena. looking back at the state of knowledge at that time, i really do not see that any other conclusion was justifiable." these two last citations refer of course to a period much later than the time, - , at which the darwinian theory was growing in my father's mind. the same thing is however true of earlier days. so much for the general problem: the further question as to the growth of darwin's theory of natural selection is a less complex one, and i need add but little to the history given in the _autobiography_ of how he came by that great conception by the help of which he was able to revivify "the oldest of all philosophies--that of evolution." the first point in the slow journey towards the _origin of species_ was the opening of that note-book of of which mention has been already made. the reader who is curious on the subject will find a series of citations from this most interesting note-book, in the _life and letters_, vol. ii. p. , _et seq._ the two following extracts show that he applied the theory of evolution to the "whole organic kingdom" from plants to man. "if we choose to let conjecture run wild, then animals, our fellow brethren in pain, disease, death, suffering and famine--our slaves in the most laborious works, our companions in our amusements--they may partake [of] our origin in one common ancestor--we may be all melted together." "the different intellects of man and animals not so great as between living things without thought (plants), and living things with thought (animals)." speaking of intermediate forms, he remarks:-- "opponents will say--_show them me_. i will answer yes, if you will show me every step between bulldog and greyhound." here we see that the argument from domestic animals was already present in his mind as bearing on the production of natural species, an argument which he afterwards used with such signal force in the _origin_. a comparison of the two editions of the _naturalists' voyage_ is instructive, as giving some idea of the development of his views on evolution. it does not give us a true index of the mass of conjecture which was taking shape in his mind, but it shows us that he felt sure enough of the truth of his belief to allow a stronger tinge of evolution to appear in the second edition. he has mentioned in the _autobiography_ (p. ), that it was not until he read malthus that he got a clear view of the potency of natural selection. this was in --a year after he finished the first edition (it was not published until ), and seven years before the second edition was issued ( ). thus the turning-point in the formation of his theory took place between the writing of the two editions. yet the difference between the two editions is not very marked; it is another proof of the author's caution and self-restraint in the treatment of his ideas. after reading the second edition of the _voyage_ we remember with a strong feeling of surprise how far advanced were his views when he wrote it. these views are given in the manuscript volume of , mentioned in the _autobiography_. i give from my father's pocket-book the entries referring to the preliminary sketch of this historic essay. "_ , may _,--went to maer. _june _--to shrewsbury, and th to capel curig. during my stay at maer and shrewsbury ... wrote pencil sketch of species theory."[ ] in , the pencil-sketch was enlarged to one of folio pages, which is a wonderfully complete presentation of the arguments familiar to us in the _origin_. the following letter shows in a striking manner the value my father put on this piece of work. _c. d. to mrs. darwin._ down [july , ]. ... i have just finished my sketch of my species theory. if, as i believe, my theory in time be accepted even by one competent judge, it will be a considerable step in science. i therefore write this in case of my sudden death, as my most solemn and last request, which i am sure you will consider the same as if legally entered in my will, that you will devote £ to its publication, and further, will yourself, or through hensleigh,[ ] take trouble in promoting it. i wish that my sketch be given to some competent person, with this sum to induce him to take trouble in its improvement and enlargement. i give to him all my books on natural history, which are either scored or have references at the end to the pages, begging him carefully to look over and consider such passages as actually bearing, or by possibility bearing, on this subject. i wish you to make a list of all such books as some temptation to an editor. i also request that you will hand over [to] him all those scraps roughly divided in eight or ten brown paper portfolios. the scraps, with copied quotations from various works, are those which may aid my editor. i also request that you, or some amanuensis, will aid in deciphering any of the scraps which the editor may think possibly of use. i leave to the editor's judgment whether to interpolate these facts in the text, or as notes, or under appendices. as the looking over the references and scraps will be a long labour, and as the _correcting_ and enlarging and altering my sketch will also take considerable time, i leave this sum of £ as some remuneration, and any profits from the work, i consider that for this the editor is bound to get the sketch published either at a publisher's or his own risk. many of the scraps in the portfolios contain mere rude suggestions and early views, now useless, and many of the facts will probably turn out as having no bearing on my theory. with respect to editors, mr. lyell would be the best if he would undertake it; i believe he would find the work pleasant, and he would learn some facts new to him. as the editor must be a geologist as well as a naturalist, the next best editor would be professor forbes of london. the next best (and quite best in many respects) would be professor henslow. dr. hooker would be _very_ good. the next, mr. strickland.[ ] if none of these would undertake it, i would request you to consult with mr. lyell, or some other capable man for some editor, a geologist and naturalist. should one other hundred pounds make the difference of procuring a good editor, i request earnestly that you will raise £ . my remaining collections in natural history may be given to any one or any museum where [they] would be accepted.... the following note seems to have formed part of the original letter, but may have been of later date: "lyell, especially with the aid of hooker (and of any good zoological aid), would be best of all. without an editor will pledge himself to give up time to it, it would be of no use paying such a sum." "it there should be any difficulty in getting an editor who would go thoroughly into the subject, and think of the bearing of the passages marked in the books and copied out [on?] scraps of paper, then let my sketch be published as it is, stating that it was done several years ago[ ] and from memory without consulting any works, and with no intention of publication in its present form." the idea that the sketch of might remain, in the event of his death, as the only record of his work, seems to have been long in his mind, for in august , when he had finished with the cirripedes, and was thinking of beginning his "species work," he added on the back of the above letter, "hooker by far best man to edit my species volume. august ." footnotes: [ ] vol. xliv. no. . [ ] _life and letters_, vol. ii. p. . [ ] this letter was unaccountably overlooked in preparing the _life and letters_ for publication. [ ] _obituary notice_, p. viii. [ ] _life and letters_, vol. ii. p. . in mr. huxley's chapter the passage beginning "lyell with perfect right...." is given as a footnote: it will be seen that i have incorporated it with mr. huxley's text. [ ] lyell's _life and letters_, letter to haeckel, vol. ii. p. . nov. , . [ ] _life and letters_, vol. ii. p. . [ ] i have discussed in the _life and letters_ the statement often made that the first sketch of his theory was written in . [ ] the late mr. h. wedgwood. [ ] after mr. strickland's name comes the following sentence, which has been erased, but remains legible: "professor owen would be very good; but i presume he would not undertake such a work." [ ] the words "several years ago and," seem to have been added at a later date. chapter x. the growth of the 'origin of species.' - . the history of the years - is here related in an extremely abbreviated fashion. it was a period of minute labour on a variety of subjects, and the letters accordingly abound in detail. they are in many ways extremely interesting, more especially so to professed naturalists, and the picture of patient research which they convey is of great value from a biographical point of view. but such a picture must either be given in a complete series of unabridged letters, or omitted altogether. the limits of space compel me to the latter choice. the reader must imagine my father corresponding on problems in geology, geographical distribution, and classification; at the same time collecting facts on such varied points as the stripes on horses' legs, the floating of seeds, the breeding of pigeons, the form of bees' cells and the innumerable other questions to which his gigantic task demanded answers. the concluding letter of the last chapter has shown how strong was his conviction of the value of his work. it is impressive evidence of the condition of the scientific atmosphere, to discover, as in the following letters to sir joseph hooker, how small was the amount of encouragement that he dared to hope for from his brother-naturalists. [january th, .] ... i have been now ever since my return engaged in a very presumptuous work, and i know no one individual who would not say a very foolish one. i was so struck with the distribution of the galapagos organisms, &c. &c., and with the character of the american fossil mammifers, &c. &c., that i determined to collect blindly every sort of fact, which could bear any way on what are species. i have read heaps of agricultural and horticultural books, and have never ceased collecting facts. at last gleams of light have come, and i am almost convinced (quite contrary to the opinion i started with) that species are not (it is like confessing a murder) immutable. heaven forfend me from lamarck nonsense of a "tendency to progression," "adaptations from the slow willing of animals," &c.! but the conclusions i am led to are not widely different from his; though the means of change are wholly so. i think i have found out (here's presumption!) the simple way by which species become exquisitely adapted to various ends. you will now groan, and think to yourself, "on what a man have i been wasting my time and writing to." i should, five years ago, have thought so.... and again ( ):-- "in my most sanguine moments, all i expect, is that i shall be able to show even to sound naturalists, that there are two sides to the question of the immutability of species--that facts can be viewed and grouped under the notion of allied species having descended from common stocks. with respect to books on this subject, i do not know of any systematical ones, except lamarck's which is veritable rubbish: but there are plenty, as lyell, pritchard, &c., on the view of the immutability. agassiz lately has brought the strongest argument in favour of immutability. isidore g. st. hilaire has written some good essays, tending towards the mutability-side, in the _suites à buffon_, entitled _zoolog. générale_. is it not strange that the author of such a book as the _animaux sans vertèbres_ should have written that insects, which never see their eggs, should will (and plants, their seeds) to be of particular forms, so as to become attached to particular objects. the other common (specially germanic) notion is hardly less absurd, viz. that climate, food, &c., should make a pediculus formed to climb hair, or a wood-pecker to climb trees. i believe all these absurd views arise from no one having, as far as i know, approached the subject on the side of variation under domestication, and having studied all that is known about domestication." "i hate arguments from results, but on my views of descent, really natural history becomes a sublimely grand result-giving subject (now you may quiz me for so foolish an escape of mouth)...." _c. d. to l. jenyns_[ ] down oct. th [ ]. my dear jenyns--thanks for your note. i am sorry to say i have not even the tail-end of a fact in english zoology to communicate. i have found that even trifling observations require, in my case, some leisure and energy, [of] both of which ingredients i have had none to spare, as writing my geology thoroughly expends both. i had always thought that i would keep a journal and record everything, but in the way i now live i find i observe nothing to record. looking after my garden and trees, and occasionally a very little walk in an idle frame of my mind, fill up every afternoon in the same manner. i am surprised that with all your parish affairs, you have had time to do all that which you have done. i shall be very glad to see your little work[ ] (and proud should i have been if i could have added a single fact to it). my work on the species question has impressed me very forcibly with the importance of all such works as your intended one, containing what people are pleased generally to call trifling facts. these are the facts which make one understand the working or economy of nature. there is one subject, on which i am very curious, and which perhaps you may throw some light on, if you have ever thought on it; namely, what are the checks and what the periods of life--by which the increase of any given species is limited. just calculate the increase of any bird, if you assume that only half the young are reared, and these breed: within the _natural_ (i.e. if free from accidents) life of the parents the number of individuals will become enormous, and i have been much surprised to think how great destruction _must_ annually or occasionally be falling on every species, yet the means and period of such destruction are scarcely perceived by us. i have continued steadily reading and collecting facts on variation of domestic animals and plants, and on the question of what are species. i have a grand body of facts, and i think i can draw some sound conclusions. the general conclusions at which i have slowly been driven from a directly opposite conviction, is that species are mutable, and that allied species are co-descendants from common stocks. i know how much i open myself to reproach for such a conclusion, but i have at least honestly and deliberately come to it. i shall not publish on this subject for several years. _c. darwin to l. jenyns._[ ] down [ ?]. with respect to my far distant work on species, i must have expressed myself with singular inaccuracy if i led you to suppose that i meant to say that my conclusions were inevitable. they have become so, after years of weighing puzzles, to myself _alone_; but in my wildest day-dream, i never expect more than to be able to show that there are two sides to the question of the immutability of species, i.e. whether species are _directly_ created or by intermediate laws (as with the life and death of individuals). i did not approach the subject on the side of the difficulty in determining what are species and what are varieties, but (though why i should give you such a history of my doings it would be hard to say) from such facts as the relationship between the living and extinct mammifers in south america, and between those living on the continent and on adjoining islands, such as the galapagos. it occurred to me that a collection of all such analogous facts would throw light either for or against the view of related species being co-descendants from a common stock. a long searching amongst agricultural and horticultural books and people makes me believe (i well know how absurdly presumptuous this must appear) that i see the way in which new varieties become exquisitely adapted to the external conditions of life and to other surrounding beings. i am a bold man to lay myself open to being thought a complete fool, and a most deliberate one. from the nature of the grounds which make me believe that species are mutable in form, these grounds cannot be restricted to the closest-allied species; but how far they extend i cannot tell, as my reasons fall away by degrees, when applied to species more and more remote from each other. pray do not think that i am so blind as not to see that there are numerous immense difficulties in my notions, but they appear to me less than on the common view. i have drawn up a sketch and had it copied (in pages) of my conclusions; and if i thought at some future time that you would think it worth reading, i should, of course, be most thankful to have the criticism of so competent a critic. excuse this very long and egotistical and ill-written letter, which by your remarks you have led me into. _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ down [ - ?]. ... how painfully (to me) true is your remark, that no one has hardly a right to examine the question of species who has not minutely described many. i was, however, pleased to hear from owen (who is vehemently opposed to any mutability in species), that he thought it was a very fair subject, and that there was a mass of facts to be brought to bear on the question, not hitherto collected. my only comfort is (as i mean to attempt the subject), that i have dabbled in several branches of natural history, and seen good specific men work out my species, and know something of geology (an indispensable union); and though i shall get more kicks than half-pennies, i will, life serving, attempt my work. lamarck is the only exception, that i can think of, of an accurate describer of species at least in the invertebrate kingdom, who has disbelieved in permanent species, but he in his absurd though clever work has done the subject harm, as has mr. vestiges, and, as (some future loose naturalist attempting the same speculations will perhaps say) has mr. d.... _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ september th [ ]. in my own cirripedial work (by the way, thank you for the dose of soft solder; it does one--or at least me--a great deal of good)--in my own work i have not felt conscious that disbelieving in the mere _permanence_ of species has made much difference one way or the other; in some few cases (if publishing avowedly on the doctrine of non-permanence), i should _not_ have affixed names, and in some few cases should have affixed names to remarkable varieties. certainly i have felt it humiliating, discussing and doubting, and examining over and over again, when in my own mind the only doubt has been whether the form varied _to-day or yesterday_ (not to put too fine a point on it, as snagsby[ ] would say). after describing a set of forms as distinct species, tearing up my ms., and making them one species, tearing that up and making them separate, and then making them one again (which has happened to me), i have gnashed my teeth, cursed species, and asked what sin i had committed to be so punished. but i must confess that perhaps nearly the same thing would have happened to me on any scheme of work. _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ down, march th [ ]. my dear hooker--i had hoped that you would have had a little breathing-time after your journal,[ ] but this seems to be very far from the case; and i am the more obliged (and somewhat contrite) for the long letter received this morning, _most_ juicy with news and _most_ interesting to me in many ways. i am very glad indeed to hear of the reforms, &c., in the royal society. with respect to the club,[ ] i am deeply interested; only two or three days ago, i was regretting to my wife, how i was letting drop and being dropped by nearly all my acquaintances, and that i would endeavour to go oftener to london; i was not then thinking of the club, which, as far as one thing goes, would answer my exact object in keeping up old and making some new acquaintances. i will therefore come up to london for every (with rare exceptions) club-day, and then my head, i think, will allow me on an average to go to every other meeting. but it is grievous how often any change knocks me up. i will further pledge myself, as i told lyell, to resign after a year, if i did not attend pretty often, so that i should _at worst_ encumber the club temporarily. if you can get me elected, i certainly shall be very much pleased.... i am particularly obliged to you for sending me asa gray's letter; how very pleasantly he writes. to see his and your caution on the species-question ought to overwhelm me in confusion and shame; it does make me feel deuced uncomfortable.... i was pleased and surprised to see a. gray's remarks on crossing obliterating varieties, on which, as you know, i have been collecting facts for these dozen years. how awfully flat i shall feel, if, when i got my notes together on species, &c. &c., the whole thing explodes like an empty puff-ball. do not work yourself to death. ever yours most truly. to work out the problem of the geographical distribution of animals and plants on evolutionary principles, darwin had to study the means by which seeds, eggs, &c., can be transported across wide spaces of ocean. it was this need which gave an interest to the class of experiment to which the following letters refer. _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ april th [ ]. ... i have had one experiment some little time in progress which will, i think, be interesting, namely, seeds in salt water, immersed in water of °- °, which i have and shall long have, as i filled a great tank with snow. when i wrote last i was going to triumph over you, for my experiment had in a slight degree succeeded; but this, with infinite baseness, i did not tell, in hopes that you would say that you would eat all the plants which i could raise after immersion. it is very aggravating that i cannot in the least remember what you did formerly say that made me think you scoffed at the experiments vastly; for you now seem to view the experiment like a good christian. i have in small bottles out of doors, exposed to variation of temperature, cress, radish, cabbages, lettuces, carrots, and celery, and onion seed. these, after immersion for exactly one week, have all germinated, which i did not in the least expect (and thought how you would sneer at me); for the water of nearly all, and of the cress especially, smelt very badly, and the cress seed emitted a wonderful quantity of mucus (the _vestiges_[ ] would have expected them to turn into tadpoles), so as to adhere in a mass; but these seeds germinated and grew splendidly. the germination of all (especially cress and lettuces) has been accelerated, except the cabbages, which have come up very irregularly, and a good many, i think, dead. one would, have thought, from their native habitat, that the cabbage would have stood well. the umbelliferæ and onions seem to stand the salt well. i wash the seed before planting them. i have written to the _gardeners' chronicle_,[ ] though i doubt whether it was worth while. if my success seems to make it worth while, i will send a seed list, to get you to mark some different classes of seeds. to-day i replant the same seeds as above after fourteen days' immersion. as many sea-currents go a mile an hour, even in a week they might be transported miles; the gulf stream is said to go fifty and sixty miles a day. so much and too much on this head; but my geese are always swans.... _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ [april th, .] ... you are a good man to confess that you expected the cress would be killed in a week, for this gives me a nice little triumph. the children at first were tremendously eager, and asked me often, "whether i should beat dr. hooker!" the cress and lettuce have just vegetated well after twenty-one days' immersion. but i will write no more, which is a great virtue in me; for it is to me a very great pleasure telling you everything i do. ... if you knew some of the experiments (if they may be so called) which i am trying, you would have a good right to sneer, for they are so _absurd_ even in _my_ opinion that i dare not tell you. have not some men a nice notion of experimentising? i have had a letter telling me that seeds _must_ have _great_ power of resisting salt water, for otherwise how could they get to islands'? this is the true way to solve a problem? experiments on the transportal of seeds through the agency of animals, also gave him much labour. he wrote to fox ( ):-- "all nature is perverse and will not do as i wish it; and just at present i wish i had my old barnacles to work at, and nothing new." and to hooker:-- "everything has been going wrong with me lately: the fish at the zoolog. soc. ate up lots of soaked seeds, and in imagination they had in my mind been swallowed, fish and all, by a heron, had been carried a hundred miles, been voided on the banks of some other lake and germinated splendidly, when lo and behold, the fish ejected vehemently, and with disgust equal to my own, _all_ the seeds from their mouths." the unfinished book. in his autobiographical sketch (p. ) my father wrote:--"early in lyell advised me to write out my views pretty fully, and i began at once to do so on a scale three or four times as extensive as that which was afterwards followed in my _origin of species_; yet it was only an abstract of the materials which i had collected." the remainder of the present chapter is chiefly concerned with the preparation of this unfinished book. the work was begun on may th, and steadily continued up to june , when it was interrupted by the arrival of mr. wallace's ms. during the two years which we are now considering, he wrote ten chapters (that is about one-half) of the projected book. _c. d. to j. d. hooker_. may th [ ]. ... i very much want advice and _truthful_ consolation if you can give it. i had a good talk with lyell about my species work, and he urges me strongly to publish something. i am fixed against any periodical or journal, as i positively will _not_ expose myself to an editor or a council allowing a publication for which they might be abused. if i publish anything it must be a _very thin_ and little volume, giving a sketch of my views and difficulties; but it is really dreadfully unphilosophical to give a _résumé_, without exact references, of an unpublished work. but lyell seemed to think i might do this, at the suggestion of friends, and on the ground, which i i might state, that i had been at work for eighteen[ ] years, and yet could not publish for several years, and especially as i could point out difficulties which seemed to me to require especial investigation. now what think you? i should be really grateful for advice. i thought of giving up a couple of months and writing such a sketch, and trying to keep my judgment open whether or no to publish it when completed. it will be simply impossible for me to give exact references; anything important i should state on the authority of the author generally; and instead of giving all the facts on which i ground my opinion, i could give by memory only one or two. in the preface i would state that the work could not be considered strictly scientific, but a mere sketch or outline of a future work in which full references, &c., should be given. eheu, eheu, i believe i should sneer at any one else doing this, and my only comfort is, that i _truly_ never dreamed of it, till lyell suggested it, and seems deliberately to think it advisable. i am in a peck of troubles, and do pray forgive me for troubling you. yours affectionately. he made an attempt at a sketch of his views, but as he wrote to fox in october :-- "i found it such unsatisfactory work that i have desisted, and am now drawing up my work as perfect as my materials of nineteen years' collecting suffice, but do not intend to stop to perfect any line of investigation beyond current work." and in november he wrote to sir charles lyell:-- "i am working very steadily at my big book; i have found it quite impossible to publish any preliminary essay or sketch; but am doing my work as completely as my present materials allow without waiting to perfect them. and this much acceleration i owe to you." again to mr. fox, in february, :-- "i am got most deeply interested in my subject; though i wish i could set less value on the bauble fame, either present or posthumous, than i do, but not i think, to any extreme degree: yet, if i know myself, i would work just as hard, though with less gusto, if i knew that my book would be published for ever anonymously." _c. d. to a. r. wallace._ moor park, may st, . my dear sir--i am much obliged for your letter of october th, from celebes, received a few days ago; in a laborious undertaking, sympathy is a valuable and real encouragement. by your letter and even still more by your paper[ ] in the annals, a year or more ago, i can plainly see that we have thought much alike and to a certain extent have come to similar conclusions. in regard to the paper in the annals, i agree to the truth of almost every word of your paper; and i dare say that you will agree with me that it is very rare to find oneself agreeing pretty closely with any theoretical paper; for it is lamentable how each man draws his own different conclusions from the very same facts. this summer will make the th year (!) since i opened my first note-book, on the question how and in what way do species and varieties differ from each other. i am now preparing my work for publication, but i find the subject so very large, that though i have written many chapters, i do not suppose i shall go to press for two years. i have never heard how long you intend staying in the malay archipelago; i wish i might profit by the publication of your travels there before my work appears, for no doubt you will reap a large harvest of facts. i have acted already in accordance with your advice of keeping domestic varieties, and those appearing in a state of nature, distinct; but i have sometimes doubted of the wisdom of this, and therefore i am glad to be backed by your opinion. i must confess, however, i rather doubt the truth of the now very prevalent doctrine of all our domestic animals having descended from several wild stocks; though i do not doubt that it is so in some cases. i think there is rather better evidence on the sterility of hybrid animals than you seem to admit: and in regard to plants the collection of carefully recorded facts by kölreuter and gaertner (and herbert) is _enormous_. i most entirely agree with you on the little effects of "climatal conditions," which one sees referred to _ad nauseam_ in all books: i suppose some very little effect must be attributed to such influences, but i fully believe that they are very slight. it is really _impossible_ to explain my views (in the compass of a letter), on the causes and means of variation in a state of nature; but i have slowly adopted a distinct and tangible idea,--whether true or false others must judge; for the firmest conviction of the truth of a doctrine by its author, seems, alas, not to be the slightest guarantee of truth!... in december he wrote to the same correspondent:-- "you ask whether i shall discuss 'man.' i think i shall avoid the whole subject, as so surrounded with prejudices; though i fully admit that it is the highest and most interesting problem for the naturalist. my work, on which i have now been at work more or less for twenty years, will not fix or settle anything; but i hope it will aid by giving a large collection of facts, with one definite end. i get on very slowly, partly from ill-health, partly from being a very slow worker. i have got about half written; but i do not suppose i shall publish under a couple of years. i have now been three whole months on one chapter on hybridism! "i am astonished to see that you expect to remain out three or four years more. what a wonderful deal you will have seen, and what interesting areas--the grand malay archipelago and the richest parts of south america! i infinitely admire and honour your zeal and courage in the good cause of natural science; and you have my very sincere and cordial good wishes for success of all kinds, and may all your theories succeed, except that on oceanic islands, on which subject i will do battle to the death." and to fox in february :-- "i am working very hard at my book, perhaps too hard. it will be very big, and i am become most deeply interested in the way facts fall into groups. i am like croesus overwhelmed with my riches in facts, and i mean to make my book as perfect as ever i can. i shall not go to press at soonest for a couple of years." the letter which follows, written from his favourite resting place, the water-cure establishment at moor park, comes in like a lull before the storm,--the upset of all his plans by the arrival of mr. wallace's manuscript, a phase in the history of his life to which the next chapter is devoted. _c. d. to mrs. darwin._ moor park, april [ ]. the weather is quite delicious. yesterday, after writing to you, i strolled a little beyond the glade for an hour and a half, and enjoyed myself--the fresh yet dark green of the grand scotch firs, the brown of the catkins of the old birches, with their white stems, and a fringe of distant green from the larches, made an excessively pretty view. at last i fell fast asleep on the grass, and awoke with a chorus of birds singing around me, and squirrels running up the trees, and some woodpeckers laughing, and it was as pleasant and rural a scene as ever i saw, and i did not care one penny how any of the beasts or birds had been formed. i sat in the drawing-room till after eight, and then went and read the chief justice's summing up, and thought bernard[ ] guilty, and then read a bit of my novel, which is feminine, virtuous, clerical, philanthropical, and all that sort of thing, but very decidedly flat. i say feminine, for the author is ignorant about money matters, and not much of a lady--for she makes her men say, "my lady." i like miss craik very much, though we have some battles, and differ on every subject. i like also the hungarian; a thorough gentleman, formerly attaché at paris, and then in the austrian cavalry, and now a pardoned exile, with broken health. he does not seem to like kossuth, but says, he is certain [he is] a sincere patriot, most clever and eloquent, but weak, with no determination of character.... footnotes: [ ] rev. l. blomefield. [ ] mr. jenyns' _observations in natural history_. it is prefaced by an introduction on "habits of observing as connected with the study of natural history," and followed by a "calendar of periodic phenomena in natural history," with "remarks on the importance of such registers." [ ] rev. l. blomefield. [ ] in _bleak house_. [ ] sir joseph hooker's _himalayan journal_. [ ] the philosophical club, to which my father was elected (as professor bonney is good enough to inform me) on april , . he resigned his membership in . the club was founded in . the number of members being limited to , it was proposed to christen it "the club of ," but the name was never adopted. the nature of the club may be gathered from its first rule: "the purpose of the club is to promote as much as possible the scientific objects of the royal society; to facilitate intercourse between those fellows who are actively engaged in cultivating the various branches of natural science, and who have contributed to its progress; to increase the attendance at the evening meetings, and to encourage the contribution and discussion of papers." the club met for dinner at , and the chair was to be quitted at . , it being expected that members would go to the royal society. of late years the dinner has been at . , the society meeting in the afternoon. [ ] _the vestiges of creation_, by r. chambers. [ ] a few words asking for information. the results were published in the _gardeners' chronicle_, may , nov. , . in the same year (p. ) he sent a postscript to his former paper, correcting a misprint and adding a few words on the seeds of the leguminosæ. a fuller paper on the germination of seeds after treatment in salt water, appeared in the _linnean soc. journal_, , p. . [ ] the interval of eighteen years, from when he began to collect facts, would bring the date of this letter to , not , nevertheless the latter seems the more probable date. [ ] "on the law that has regulated the introduction of new species."--_ann. nat. hist._, . [ ] simon bernard was tried in april as an accessory to orsini's attempt on the life of the emperor of the french. the verdict was "not guilty." chapter xi. the writing of the 'origin of species.' "i have done my best. if you had all my material i am sure you would have made a splendid book."--from a letter to lyell, june , . june , , to november . _c. d. to c. lyell._ down, th [june ]. my dear lyell--some year or so ago you recommended me to read a paper by wallace in the _annals_,[ ] which had interested you, and as i was writing to him, i knew this would please him much, so i told him. he has to-day sent me the enclosed, and asked me to forward it to you. it seems to me well worth reading. your words have come true with a vengeance--that i should be forestalled. you said this, when i explained to you here very briefly my views of 'natural selection' depending on the struggle for existence. i never saw a more striking coincidence; if wallace had my ms. sketch written out in , he could not have made a better short abstract! even his terms now stand as heads of my chapters. please return me the ms., which he does not say he wishes me to publish, but i shall, of course, at once write and offer to send to any journal. so all my originality, whatever it may amount to, will be smashed, though my book, if it will ever have any value, will not be deteriorated; as all the labour consists in the application of the theory. i hope you will approve of wallace's sketch, that i may tell him what you say. my dear lyell, yours most truly. _c. d. to c. lyell._ down, [june , ]. my dear lyell--i am very sorry to trouble you, busy as you are, in so merely personal an affair; but if you will give me your deliberate opinion, you will do me as great a service as ever man did, for i have entire confidence in your judgment and honour.... there is nothing in wallace's sketch which is not written out much fuller in my sketch, copied out in , and read by hooker some dozen years ago. about a year ago i sent a short sketch, of which i have a copy, of my views (owing to correspondence on several points) to asa gray, so that i could most truly say and prove that i take nothing from wallace. i should be extremely glad now to publish a sketch of my general views in about a dozen pages or so; but i cannot persuade myself that i can do so honourably. wallace says nothing about publication, and i enclose his letter. but as i had not intended to publish any sketch, can i do so honourably, because wallace has sent me an outline of his doctrine? i would far rather burn my whole book, than that he or any other man should think that i had behaved in a paltry spirit. do you not think his having sent me this sketch ties my hands?... if i could honourably publish, i would state that i was induced now to publish a sketch (and i should be very glad to be permitted to say, to follow your advice long ago given) from wallace having sent me an outline of my general conclusions. we differ only, [in] that i was led to my views from what artificial selection has done for domestic animals. i would send wallace a copy of my letter to asa gray, to show him that i had not stolen his doctrine. but i cannot tell whether to publish now would not be base and paltry. this was my first impression, and i should have certainly acted on it had it not been for your letter. this is a trumpery affair to trouble you with, but you cannot tell how much obliged i should be for your advice. by the way, would you object to send this and your answer to hooker to be forwarded to me? for then i shall have the opinion of my two best and kindest friends. this letter is miserably written, and i write it now, that i may for a time banish the whole subject; and i am worn out with musing.... my good dear friend, forgive me. this is a trumpery letter, influenced by trumpery feelings. yours most truly. i will never trouble you or hooker on the subject again. _c. d. to c. lyell._ down, th [june ]. my dear lyell--forgive me for adding a p.s. to make the case as strong as possible against myself. wallace might say, "you did not intend publishing an abstract of your views till you received my communication. is it fair to take advantage of my having freely, though unasked, communicated to you my ideas, and thus prevent me forestalling you?" the advantage which i should take being that i am induced to publish from privately knowing that wallace is in the field. it seems hard on me that i should be thus compelled to lose my priority of many years' standing, but i cannot feel at all sure that this alters the justice of the case. first impressions are generally right, and i at first thought it would be dishonourable in me now to publish. yours most truly. p.s.--i have always thought you would make a first-rate lord chancellor; and i now appeal to you as a lord chancellor. _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ tuesday night [june , ]. my dear hooker--i have just read your letter, and see you want the papers at once. i am quite prostrated,[ ] and can do nothing, but i send wallace, and the abstract[ ] of my letter to asa gray, which gives most imperfectly only the means of change, and does not touch on reasons for believing that species do change. i dare say all is too late. i hardly care about it. but you are too generous to sacrifice so much time and kindness. it is most generous, most kind. i send my sketch of solely that you may see by your own handwriting that you did read it. i really cannot bear to look at it. do not waste much time. it is miserable in me to care at all about priority. the table of contents will show what it is. i would make a similar, but shorter and more accurate sketch for the _linnean journal_. i will do anything. god bless you, my dear kind friend. i can write no more. i send this by my servant to kew. the joint paper[ ] of mr. wallace and my father was read at the linnean society on the evening of july st. mr. wallace's essay bore the title, "on the tendency of varieties to depart indefinitely from the original type." my father's contribution to the paper consisted of ( ) extracts from the sketch of ; ( ) part of a letter, addressed to dr. asa gray, dated september , . the paper was "communicated" to the society by sir charles lyell and sir joseph hooker, in whose prefatory letter a clear account of the circumstances of the case is given. referring to mr. wallace's essay, they wrote:-- "so highly did mr. darwin appreciate the value of the views therein set forth, that he proposed, in a letter to sir charles lyell, to obtain mr. wallace's consent to allow the essay to be published as soon as possible. of this step we highly approved, provided mr. darwin did not withhold from the public, as he was strongly inclined to do (in favour of mr. wallace), the memoir which he had himself written on the same subject, and which, as before stated, one of us had perused in , and the contents of which we had both of us been privy to for many years. on representing this to mr. darwin, he gave us permission to make what use we thought proper of his memoir, &c.; and in adopting our present course, of presenting it to the linnean society, we have explained to him that we are not solely considering the relative claims to priority of himself and his friend, but the interests of science generally." sir charles lyell and sir j. d. hooker were present at the reading of the paper, and both, i believe, made a few remarks, chiefly with a view of impressing on those present the necessity of giving the most careful consideration to what they had heard. there was, however, no semblance of a discussion. sir joseph hooker writes to me: "the interest excited was intense, but the subject was too novel and too ominous for the old school to enter the lists, before armouring. after the meeting it was talked over with bated breath: lyell's approval and perhaps in a small way mine, as his lieutenant in the affair, rather overawed the fellows, who would otherwise have flown out against the doctrine. we had, too, the vantage ground of being familiar with the authors and their theme." mr. wallace has, at my request, been so good as to allow me to publish the following letter. professor newton, to whom the letter is addressed, had submitted to mr. wallace his recollections of what the latter had related to him many years before, and had asked mr. wallace for a fuller version of the story. hence the few corrections in mr. wallace's letter, for instance _bed_ for _hammock_. _a. r. wallace to a. newton._ frith hill, godalming, dec. rd, . my dear newton--i had hardly heard of darwin before going to the east, except as connected with the voyage of the _beagle_, which i _think_ i had read. i saw him _once_ for a few minutes in the british museum before i sailed. through stevens, my agent, i heard that he wanted curious _varieties_ which he was studying. i _think_ i wrote to him about some varieties of ducks i had sent, and he must have written once to me. i find on looking at his "life" that his _first_ letter to me is given in vol. ii. p. , and another at p. , both after the publication of my first paper. i must have heard from some notices in the _athenæum_, i think (which i had sent me), that he was studying varieties and species, and as i was continually thinking of the subject, i wrote to him giving some of my notions, and making some suggestions. but at that time i had not the remotest notion that he had already arrived at a definite theory--still less that it was the same as occurred to me, suddenly, in ternate in . the most interesting coincidence in the matter, i think, is, that i, _as well as darwin_, was led to the theory itself through malthus--in my case it was his elaborate account of the action of "preventive checks" in keeping down the population of savage races to a tolerably fixed, but scanty number. this had strongly impressed me, and it suddenly flashed upon me that all animals are necessarily thus kept down--"the struggle for existence"--while _variations_, on which i was always thinking, must necessarily often be _beneficial_, and would then cause those varieties to increase while the injurious variations diminished.[ ] you are quite at liberty to mention the circumstances, but i think you have coloured them a little highly, and introduced some slight errors. i was lying on my bed (no hammocks in the east) in the hot fit of intermittent fever, when the idea suddenly came to me. i thought it almost all out before the fit was over, and the moment i got up began to write it down, and i believe finished the first draft the next day. i had no idea whatever of "dying,"--as it was not a serious illness,--but i _had_ the idea of working it out, so far as i was able, when i returned home, not at all expecting that darwin had so long anticipated me. i can truly say _now_, as i said many years ago, that i am glad it was so; for i have not the love of _work_, _experiment_ and _detail_ that was so pre-eminent in darwin, and without which anything i could have written would never have convinced the world. if you do refer to me at any length, can you send me a proof and i will return it to you at once? yours faithfully alfred r. wallace. _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ miss wedgwood's, hartfield, tunbridge wells [july th, ]. my dear hooker--your letter to wallace seems to me perfect, quite clear and most courteous. i do not think it could possibly be improved, and i have to-day forwarded it with a letter of my own. i always thought it very possible that i might be forestalled, but i fancied that i had a grand enough soul not to care; but i found myself mistaken, and punished; i had, however, quite resigned myself, and had written half a letter to wallace to give up all priority to him, and should certainly not have changed had it not been for lyell's and your quite extraordinary kindness. i assure you i feel it, and shall not forget it. i am _more_ than satisfied at what took place at the linnean society. i had thought that your letter and mine to asa gray were to be only an appendix to wallace's paper. we go from here in a few days to the sea-side, probably to the isle of wight, and on my return (after a battle with pigeon skeletons) i will set to work at the abstract, though how on earth i shall make anything of an abstract in thirty pages of the journal, i know not, but will try my best.... i must try and see you before your journey; but do not think i am fishing to ask you to come to down, for you will have no time for that. you cannot imagine how pleased i am that the notion of natural selection has acted as a purgative on your bowels of immutability. whenever naturalists can look at species changing as certain, what a magnificent field will be open,--on all the laws of variation,--on the genealogy of all living beings,--on their lines of migration, &c. &c. pray thank mrs. hooker for her very kind little note, and pray say how truly obliged i am, and in truth ashamed to think that she should have had the trouble of copying my ugly ms. it was extraordinarily kind in her. farewell, my dear kind friend. yours affectionately. p.s.--i have had some fun here in watching a slave-making ant; for i could not help rather doubting the wonderful stories, but i have now seen a defeated marauding party, and i have seen a migration from one nest to another of the slave-makers, carrying their slaves (who are _house_, and not field niggers) in their mouths! _c. d. to c. lyell._ king's head hotel, sandown, isle of wight. july th [ ]. ... we are established here for ten days, and then go on to shanklin, which seems more amusing to one, like myself, who cannot walk. we hope much that the sea may do h. and l. good. and if it does, our expedition will answer, but not otherwise. i have never half thanked you for all the extraordinary trouble and kindness you showed me about wallace's affair. hooker told me what was done at the linnean society, and i am far more than satisfied, and i do not think that wallace can think my conduct unfair in allowing you and hooker to do whatever you thought fair. i certainly was a little annoyed to lose all priority, but had resigned myself to my fate. i am going to prepare a longer abstract; but it is really impossible to do justice to the subject, except by giving the facts on which each conclusion is grounded, and that will, of course, be absolutely impossible. your name and hooker's name appearing as in any way the least interested in my work will, i am certain, have the most important bearing in leading people to consider the subject without prejudice. i look at this as so very important, that i am almost glad of wallace's paper for having led to this. my dear lyell, yours most gratefully. the following letter refers to the proof-sheets of the linnean paper. the 'introduction' means the prefatory letter signed by sir c. lyell and sir j. d. hooker. _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ king's head hotel, sandown, isle of wight. july st [ ]. my dear hooker--i received only yesterday the proof-sheets, which i now return. i think your introduction cannot be improved. i am disgusted with my bad writing. i could not improve it, without rewriting all, which would not be fair or worth while, as i have begun on a better abstract for the linnean society. my excuse is that it _never_ was intended for publication. i have made only a few corrections in the style; but i cannot make it decent, but i hope moderately intelligible. i suppose some one will correct the revise. (shall i?) could i have a clean proof to send to wallace? i have not yet fully considered your remarks on big genera (but your general concurrence is of the _highest possible_ interest to me); nor shall i be able till i re-read my ms.; but you may rely on it that you never make a remark to me which is lost from _inattention_. i am particularly glad you do not object to my stating your objections in a modified form, for they always struck me as very important, and as having much inherent value, whether or no they were fatal to my notions. i will consider and reconsider all your remarks.... i am very glad at what you say about my abstract, but you may rely on it that i will condense to the utmost. i would aid in money if it is too long.[ ] in how many ways you have aided me! yours affectionately. the "abstract" mentioned in the last sentence of the preceding letter was in fact the _origin of species_, on which he now set to work. in his _autobiography_ (p. ) he speaks of beginning to write in september, but in his diary he wrote, "july to aug. , at sandown, began abstract of species book." "sep. , recommenced abstract." the book was begun with the idea that it would be published as a paper, or series of papers, by the linnean society, and it was only in the late autumn that it became clear that it must take the form of an independent volume. _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ norfolk house, shanklin, isle of wight. [august .] my dear hooker,--i write merely to say that the ms. came safely two or three days ago. i am much obliged for the correction of style: i find it unutterably difficult to write clearly. when we meet i must talk over a few points on the subject. you speak of going to the sea-side somewhere; we think this the nicest sea-side place which we have ever seen, and we like shanklin better than other spots on the south coast of the island, though many are charming and prettier, so that i would suggest your thinking of this place. we are on the actual coast; but tastes differ so much about places. if you go to broadstairs, when there is a strong wind from the coast of france and in fine, dry, warm weather, look out and you will _probably_ (!) see thistle-seeds blown across the channel. the other day i saw one blown right inland, and then in a few minutes a second one and then a third; and i said to myself, god bless me, how many thistles there must be in france; and i wrote a letter in imagination to you. but i then looked at the _low_ clouds, and noticed that they were not coming inland, so i feared a screw was loose, i then walked beyond a headland and found the wind parallel to the coast, and on this very headland a noble bed of thistles, which by every wide eddy were blown far out to sea, and then came right in at right angles to the shore! one day such a number of insects were washed up by the tide, and i brought to life thirteen species of coleoptera; not that i suppose these came from france. but do you watch for thistle-seed as you saunter along the coast.... _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ [down] oct. th, . ... if you have or can make leisure, i should very much like to hear news of mrs. hooker, yourself, and the children. where did you go, and what did you do and are doing? there is a comprehensive text. you cannot tell how i enjoyed your little visit here. it did me much good. if harvey[ ] is still with you, pray remember me very kindly to him. ... i am working most steadily at my abstract [_origin of species_], but it grows to an inordinate length; yet fully to make my view clear (and never giving briefly more than a fact or two, and slurring over difficulties), i cannot make it shorter. it will yet take me three or four months; so slow do i work, though never idle. you cannot imagine what a service you have done me in making me make this abstract; for though i thought i had got all clear, it has clarified my brains very much, by making me weigh the relative importance of the several elements. he was not so fully occupied but that he could find time to help his boys in their collecting. he sent a short notice to the _entomologists' weekly intelligencer_, june th, , recording the capture of _licinus silphoides_, _clytus mysticus_, _panagæus -pustulatus_. the notice begins with the words, "we three very young collectors having lately taken in the parish of down," &c., and is signed by three of his boys, but was clearly not written by them. i have a vivid recollection of the pleasure of turning out my bottle of dead beetles for my father to name, and the excitement, in which he fully shared, when any of them proved to be uncommon ones. the following letter to mr. fox (nov. th, ), illustrates this point:-- "i am reminded of old days by my third boy having just begun collecting beetles, and he caught the other day _brachinus crepitans_, of immortal whittlesea mere memory. my blood boiled with old ardour when he caught a licinus--a prize unknown to me." and again to sir john lubbock:-- "i feel like an old war-horse at the sound of the trumpet when i read about the capturing of rare beetles--is not this a magnanimous simile for a decayed entomologist?--it really almost makes me long to begin collecting again. adios. "'floreat entomologia'!--to which toast at cambridge i have drunk many a glass of wine. so again, 'floreat entomologia.'--n.b. i have _not_ now been drinking any glasses full of wine." _c d. to j. d. hooker._ down, jan. rd, . ... i enclose letters to you and me from wallace. i admire extremely the spirit in which they are written. i never felt very sure what he would say. he must be an amiable man. please return that to me, and lyell ought to be told how well satisfied he is. these letters have vividly brought before me how much i owe to your and lyell's most kind and generous conduct in all this affair. ... how glad i shall be when the abstract is finished, and i can rest!... _c. d. to a. b. wallace._ down, jan. th [ ]. my dear sir,--i was extremely much pleased at receiving three days ago your letter to me and that to dr. hooker. permit me to say how heartily i admire the spirit in which they are written. though i had absolutely nothing whatever to do in leading lyell and hooker to what they thought a fair course of action, yet i naturally could not but feel anxious to hear what your impression would be. i owe indirectly much to you and them; for i almost think that lyell would have proved right, and i should never have completed my larger work, for i have found my abstract [_origin of species_] hard enough with my poor health, but now, thank god, i am in my last chapter but one. my abstract will make a small volume of or pages. whenever published, i will, of course, send you a copy, and then you will see what i mean about the part which i believe selection has played with domestic productions. it is a very different part, as you suppose, from that played by "natural selection." i sent off, by the same address as this note, a copy of the _journal of the linnean society_, and subsequently i have sent some half-dozen copies of the paper. i have many other copies at your disposal.... i am glad to hear that you have been attending to birds' nests. i have done so, though almost exclusively under one point of view, viz. to show that instincts vary, so that selection could work on and improve them. few other instincts, so to speak, can be preserved in a museum. many thanks for your offer to look after horses' stripes; if there are any donkeys, pray add them. i am delighted to hear that you have collected bees' combs.... this is an especial hobby of mine, and i think i can throw a light on the subject. if you can collect duplicates at no very great expense, i should be glad of some specimens for myself with some bees of each kind. young, growing, and irregular combs, and those which have not had pupæ, are most valuable for measurements and examination. their edges should be well protected against abrasion. every one whom i have seen has thought your paper very well written and interesting. it puts my extracts (written in ,[ ] now just twenty years ago!), which i must say in apology were never for an instant intended for publication, into the shade. you ask about lyell's frame of mind. i think he is somewhat staggered, but does not give in, and speaks with horror, often to me, of what a thing it would be, and what a job it would be for the next edition of _the principles_, if he were "perverted." but he is most candid and honest, and i think will end by being perverted. dr. hooker has become almost as heterodox as you or i, and i look at hooker as _by far_ the most capable judge in europe. most cordially do i wish you health and entire success in all your pursuits, and, god knows, if admirable zeal and energy deserve success, most amply do you deserve it. i look at my own career as nearly run out. if i can publish my abstract and perhaps my greater work on the same subject, i shall look at my course as done. believe me, my dear sir, yours very sincerely. in march the work was telling heavily on him. he wrote to fox:-- "i can see daylight through my work, and am now finally correcting my chapters for the press; and i hope in a month or six weeks to have proof-sheets. i am weary of my work. it is a very odd thing that i have no sensation that i overwork my brain; but facts compel me to conclude that my brain was never formed for much thinking. we are resolved to go for two or three months, when i have finished, to ilkley, or some such place, to see if i can anyhow give my health a good start, for it certainly has been wretched of late, and has incapacitated me for everything. you do me injustice when you think that i work for fame; i value it to a certain extent; but, if i know myself, i work from a sort of instinct to try to make out truth." _c. d. to c. lyell._ down, march th [ ]. my dear lyell,--if i keep decently well, i hope to be able to go to press with my volume early in may. this being so, i want much to beg a little advice from you. from an expression in lady lyell's note, i fancy that you have spoken to murray. is it so? and is he willing to publish my abstract?[ ] if you will tell me whether anything, and what has passed, i will then write to him. does he know at all of the subject of the book? secondly, can you advise me whether i had better state what terms of publication i should prefer, or first ask him to propose terms? and what do you think would be fair terms for an edition? share profits, or what? lastly, will you be so very kind as to look at the enclosed title and give me your opinion and any criticisms; you must remember that, if i have health, and it appears worth doing, i have a much larger and full book on the same subject nearly ready. my abstract will be about five hundred pages of the size of your first edition of the _elements of geology_. pray forgive me troubling you with the above queries; and you shall have no more trouble on the subject. i hope the world goes well with you, and that you are getting on with your various works. i am working very hard for me, and long to finish and be free and try to recover some health. my dear lyell, ever yours. p.s.--would you advise me to tell murray that my book is not more _un_-orthodox than the subject makes inevitable. that i do not discuss the origin of man. that i do not bring in any discussion about genesis, &c. &c., and only give facts, and such conclusions from them as seem to me fair. or had i better say _nothing_ to murray, and assume that he cannot object to this much unorthodoxy, which in fact is not more than any geological treatise which runs slap counter to genesis. _enclosure._ an abstract of an essay on the origin of species and varieties through natural selection by charles darwin, m.a. fellow of the royal, geological, and linnean societies. london: &c. &c. &c. &c. . _c. d. to c. lyell._ down, march th [ ]. my dear lyell,--you have been uncommonly kind in all you have done. you not only have saved me much trouble and some anxiety, but have done all incomparably better than i could have done it. i am much pleased at all you say about murray. i will write either to-day or to-morrow to him, and will send shortly a large bundle of ms., but unfortunately i cannot for a week, as the first three chapters are in the copyists' hands. i am sorry about murray objecting to the term abstract, as i look at it as the only possible apology for _not_ giving references and facts in full, but i will defer to him and you. i am also sorry about the term "natural selection." i hope to retain it with explanation somewhat as thus:-- "through natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races." why i like the term is that it is constantly used in all works on breeding, and i am surprised that it is not familiar to murray; but i have so long studied such works that i have ceased to be a competent judge. i again most truly and cordially thank you for your really valuable assistance. yours most truly. _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ down, april nd [ ]. ... i wrote to him [mr. murray] and gave him the headings of the chapters, and told him he could not have the ms. for ten days or so; and this morning i received a letter, offering me handsome terms, and agreeing to publish without seeing the ms.! so he is eager enough; i think i should have been cautious, anyhow, but, owing to your letter, i told him most _explicitly_ that i accept his offer solely on condition that, after he has seen part or all the ms. he has full power of retracting. you will think me presumptuous, but i think my book will be popular to a certain extent (enough to ensure [against] heavy loss) amongst scientific and semi-scientific men; why i think so is, because i have found in conversation so great and surprising an interest amongst such men, and some -scientific [non-scientific] men on this subject, and all my chapters are not _nearly_ so dry and dull as that which you have read on geographical distribution. anyhow, murray ought to be the best judge, and if he chooses to publish it, i think i may wash my hands of all responsibility. i am sure my friends, _i.e._ lyell and you, have been _extraordinarily_ kind in troubling yourselves on the matter. i shall be delighted to see you the day before good friday; there would be one advantage for you in any other day--as i believe both my boys come home on that day--and it would be almost impossible that i could send the carriage for you. there will, i believe, be some relations in the house--but i hope you will not care for that, as we shall easily get as much talking as my _imbecile state_ allows. i shall deeply enjoy seeing you. ... i am tired, so no more. p.s.--please to send, well _tied up_ with strong string, my geographical ms. towards the latter half of next week--_i.e._ th or th--that i may send it with more to murray; and god help him if he tries to read it. ... i cannot help a little doubting whether lyell would take much pains to induce murray to publish my book; this was not done at my request, and it rather grates against my pride. i know that lyell has been _infinitely_ kind about my affair, but your dashed [_i.e._ underlined] "_induce_" gives the idea that lyell had unfairly urged murray. _c. d. to j. murray._ down, april th [ ]. my dear sir,--i send by this post, the title (with some remarks on a separate page), and the first three chapters. if you have patience to read all chapter i., i honestly think you will have a fair notion of the interest of the whole book. it may be conceit, but i believe the subject will interest the public, and i am sure that the views are original. if you think otherwise, i must repeat my request that you will freely reject my work; and though i shall be a little disappointed, i shall be in no way injured. if you choose to read chapters ii. and iii., you will have a dull and rather abstruse chapter, and a plain and interesting one, in my opinion. as soon as you have done with the ms., please to send it by _careful messenger, and plainly directed_, to miss g. tollett,[ ] , queen anne street, cavendish square. this lady, being an excellent judge of style, is going to look out for errors for me. you must take your own time, but the sooner you finish, the sooner she will, and the sooner i shall get to press, which i so earnestly wish. i presume you will wish to see chapter iv.,[ ] the key-stone of my arch, and chapters x. and xi., but please to inform me on this head. my dear sir, yours sincerely. on april th he wrote to hooker:-- "i write one line to say that i heard from murray yesterday, and he says he has read the first three chapters of [my] ms. (and this includes a very dull one), and he abides by his offer. hence he does not want more ms., and you can send my geographical chapter when it pleases you." part of the ms. seems to have been lost on its way back to my father. he wrote (april ) to sir j. d. hooker:-- "i have the old ms., otherwise the loss would have killed me! the worst is now that it will cause delay in getting to press, and far worst of all, i lose all advantage of your having looked over my chapter,[ ] except the third part returned. i am very sorry mrs. hooker took the trouble of copying the two pages." _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ [april or may, .] ... please do not say to any one that i thought my book on species would be fairly popular, and have a fairly remunerative sale (which was the height of my ambition), for if it prove a dead failure, it would make me the more ridiculous. i enclose a criticism, a taste of the future-- _rev. s. haughton's address to the geological society, dublin._[ ] "this speculation of messrs. darwin and wallace would not be worthy of notice were it not for the weight of authority of the names (_i.e._ lyell's and yours), under whose auspices it has been brought forward. if it means what it says, it is a truism; if it means anything more, it is contrary to fact." q. e. d. _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ down, may th [ ]. my dear hooker,--thank you for telling me about obscurity of style. but on my life no nigger with lash over him could have worked harder at clearness than i have done. but the very difficulty to me, of itself leads to the probability that i fail. yet one lady who has read all my ms. has found only two or three obscure sentences; but mrs. hooker having so found it, makes me tremble. i will do my best in proofs. you are a good man to take the trouble to write about it. with respect to our mutual muddle,[ ] i never for a moment thought we could not make our ideas clear to each other by talk, or if either of us had time to write _in extenso_. i imagine from some expressions (but if you ask me what, i could not answer) that you look at variability as some necessary contingency with organisms, and further that there is some necessary tendency in the variability to go on diverging in character or degree. _if you do_, i do not agree. "reversion" again (a form of inheritance), i look at as in no way directly connected with variation, though of course inheritance is of fundamental importance to us, for if a variation be not inherited, it is of no signification to us. it was on such points as these i _fancied_ that we perhaps started differently. i fear that my book will not deserve at all the pleasant things you say about it, and good lord, how i do long to have done with it! since the above was written, i have received and have been _much interested_ by a. gray. i am delighted at his note about my and wallace's paper. he will go round, for it is futile to give up very many species, and stop at an arbitrary line at others. it is what my father called unitarianism, "a featherbed to catch a falling christian."... _c. d. to j. murray._ down, june th [ ]. my dear sir,--the diagram will do very well, and i will send it shortly to mr. west to have a few trifling corrections made. i get on very slowly with proofs. i remember writing to you that i thought there would be not much correction. i honestly wrote what i thought, but was most grievously mistaken. i find the style incredibly bad, and most difficult to make clear and smooth. i am extremely sorry to say, on account of expense, and loss of time for me, that the corrections are very heavy, as heavy as possible. but from casual glances, i still hope that later chapters are not so badly written. how i could have written so badly is quite inconceivable, but i suppose it was owing to my whole attention being fixed on the general line of argument, and not on details. all i can say is, that i am very sorry. yours very sincerely. _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ down [sept.] th [ ]. my dear hooker,--i corrected the last proof yesterday, and i have now my revises, index, &c., which will take me near to the end of the month. so that the neck of my work, thank god, is broken. i write now to say that i am uneasy in my conscience about hesitating to look over your proofs,[ ] but i was feeling miserably unwell and shattered when i wrote. i do not suppose i could be of hardly any use, but if i could, pray send me any proofs. i should be (and fear i was) the most ungrateful man to hesitate to do anything for you after some fifteen or more years' help from you. as soon as ever i have fairly finished i shall be off to ilkley, or some other hydropathic establishment. but i shall be some time yet, as my proofs have been so utterly obscured with corrections, that i have to correct heavily on revises. murray proposes to publish the first week in november. oh, good heavens, the relief to my head and body to banish the whole subject from my mind! i hope you do not think me a brute about your proof-sheets. farewell, yours affectionately. the following letter is interesting as showing with what a very moderate amount of recognition he was satisfied,--and more than satisfied. sir charles lyell was president of the geological section at the meeting of the british association at aberdeen in . in his address he said:--"on this difficult and mysterious subject [evolution] a work will very shortly appear by mr. charles darwin, the result of twenty years of observations and experiments in zoology, botany, and geology, by which he has been led to the conclusion that those powers of nature which give rise to races and permanent varieties in animals and plants, are the same as those which in much longer periods produce species, and in a still longer series of ages give rise to differences of generic rank. he appears to me to have succeeded by his investigations and reasonings in throwing a flood of light on many classes of phenomena connected with the affinities, geographical distribution, and geological succession of organic beings, for which no other hypothesis has been able, or has even attempted to account." my father wrote:-- "you once gave me intense pleasure, or rather delight, by the way you were interested, in a manner i never expected, in my coral reef notions, and now you have again given me similar pleasure by the manner you have noticed my species work. nothing could be more satisfactory to me, and i thank you for myself, and even more for the subject's sake, as i know well that the sentence will make many fairly consider the subject, instead of ridiculing it." and again, a few days later:-- "i do thank you for your eulogy at aberdeen. i have been so wearied and exhausted of late that i have for months doubted whether i have not been throwing away time and labour for nothing. but now i care not what the universal world says; i have always found you right, and certainly on this occasion i am not going to doubt for the first time. whether you go far, or but a very short way with me and others who believe as i do, i am contented, for my work cannot be in vain. you would laugh if you knew how often i have read your paragraph, and it has acted like a little dram." _c. d. to c. lyell._ down, sept. th [ ]. my dear lyell,--i sent off this morning the last sheets, but without index, which is not in type. i look at you as my lord high chancellor in natural science, and therefore i request you, after you have finished, just to _re-run_ over the heads in the recapitulation-part of the last chapter. i shall be deeply anxious to hear what you decide (if you are able to decide) on the balance of the pros and contras given in my volume, and of such other pros and contras as may occur to you. i hope that you will think that i have given the difficulties fairly. i feel an entire conviction that if you are now staggered to any moderate extent, you will come more and more round, the longer you keep the subject at all before your mind. i remember well how many long years it was before i could look into the face of some of the difficulties and not feel quite abashed. i fairly struck my colours before the case of neuter insects.[ ] i suppose that i am a very slow thinker, for you would be surprised at the number of years it took me to see clearly what some of the problems were which had to be solved, such as the necessity of the principle of divergence of character, the extinction of intermediate varieties, on a continuous area, with graduated conditions; the double problem of sterile first crosses and sterile hybrids, &c. &c. looking back, i think it was more difficult to see what the problems were than to solve them, so far as i have succeeded in doing, and this seems to me rather curious. well, good or bad, my work, thank god, is over; and hard work, i can assure you, i have had, and much work which has never borne fruit. you can see, by the way i am scribbling, that i have an idle and rainy afternoon. i was not able to start for ilkley yesterday as i was too unwell; but i hope to get there on tuesday or wednesday. do, i beg you, when you have finished my book and thought a little over it, let me hear from you. never mind and pitch into me, if you think it requisite; some future day, in london possibly, you may give me a few criticisms in detail, that is, if you have scribbled any remarks on the margin, for the chance of a second edition. murray has printed copies, which seems to me rather too large an edition, but i hope he will not lose. i make as much fuss about my book as if it were my first. forgive me, and believe me, my dear lyell, yours most sincerely. the book was at last finished and printed, and he wrote to mr. murray:-- ilkley, yorkshire [ ]. my dear sir,--i have received your kind note and the copy; i am infinitely pleased and proud at the appearance of my child. i quite agree to all you propose about price. but you are really too generous about the, to me, scandalously heavy corrections. are you not acting unfairly towards yourself? would it not be better at least to share the £ s.? i shall be fully satisfied, for i had no business to send, though quite unintentionally and unexpectedly, such badly composed ms. to the printers. thank you for your kind offer to distribute the copies to my friends and assisters as soon as possible. do not trouble yourself much about the foreigners, as messrs. williams and norgate have most kindly offered to do their best, and they are accustomed to send to all parts of the world. i will pay for my copies whenever you like. i am so glad that you were so good as to undertake the publication of my book. my dear sir, yours very sincerely, charles darwin. the further history of the book is given in the next chapter. footnotes: [ ] _annals and mag. of nat. hist._, . [ ] after the death, from scarlet fever, of his infant child. [ ] "abstract" is here used in the sense of "extract;" in this sense also it occurs in the _linnean journal_, where the sources of my father's paper are described. [ ] "on the tendency of species to form varieties and on the perpetuation of varieties and species by natural means of selection."--_linnean society's journal_, iii. p. . [ ] this passage was published as a footnote in a review of the _life and letters of charles darwin_ which appeared in the _quarterly review_, jan. . in the new edition ( ) of _natural selection and tropical nature_ (p. ), mr. wallace has given the facts above narrated. there is a slight and quite unimportant discrepancy between the two accounts, viz. that in the narrative of mr. wallace speaks of the "cold fit" instead of the "hot fit" of his ague attack. [ ] that is to say, he would help to pay for the printing, if it should prove too long for the linnean society. [ ] w. h. harvey, born , died : a well-known botanist. [ ] see a discussion on the date of the earliest sketch of the _origin_ in the _life and letters_, ii. p. . [ ] _the origin of species._ [ ] miss tollett was an old friend of the family. [ ] in the first edition chapter iv. was on natural selection. [ ] the following characteristic acknowledgment of the help he received occurs in a letter to hooker, of about this time: "i never did pick any one's pocket, but whilst writing my present chapter i keep on feeling (even when differing most from you) just as if i were stealing from you, so much do i owe to your writings and conversation, so much more than mere acknowledgments show." [ ] feb. th, . [ ] "when i go over the chapter i will see what i can do, but i hardly know how i am obscure, and i think we are somehow in a mutual muddle with respect to each other, from starting from some fundamentally different notions."--letter of may th, . [ ] of hooker's _flora of australia_. [ ] _origin of species_, th edition, vol. ii. p. . "but with the working ant we have an insect differing greatly from its parents, yet absolutely sterile, so that it could never have transmitted successively acquired modifications of structure or instinct to its progeny. it may well be asked how is it possible to reconcile this case with the theory of natural selection?" chapter xii. the publication of the 'origin of species.' "remember that your verdict will probably have more influence than my book in deciding whether such views as i hold will be admitted or rejected at present; in the future i cannot doubt about their admittance, and our posterity will marvel as much about the current belief as we do about fossil shells having been thought to have been created as we now see them."--from a letter to lyell, sept. . october rd, , to december st, . under the date of october st, , in my father's diary occurs the entry:--"finished proofs (thirteen months and ten days) of abstract on _origin of species_; copies printed. the first edition was published on november th, and all copies sold first day." in october he was, as we have seen in the last chapter, at ilkley, near leeds: there he remained with his family until december, and on the th of that month he was again at down. the only other entry in the diary for this year is as follows:--"during end of november and beginning of december, employed in correcting for second edition of copies; multitude of letters." the first and a few of the subsequent letters refer to proof-sheets, and to early copies of the origin which were sent to friends before the book was published. _c. lyell to c. darwin._ october rd, . my dear darwin,--i have just finished your volume, and right glad i am that i did my best with hooker to persuade you to publish it without waiting for a time which probably could never have arrived, though you lived till the age of a hundred, when you had prepared all your facts on which you ground so many grand generalizations. it is a splendid case of close reasoning, and long substantial argument throughout so many pages; the condensation immense, too great perhaps for the uninitiated, but an effective and important preliminary statement, which will admit, even before your detailed proofs appear, of some occasional useful exemplification, such as your pigeons and cirripedes, of which you make such excellent use. i mean that, when, as i fully expect, a new edition is soon called for, you may here and there insert an actual case to relieve the vast number of abstract propositions. so far as i am concerned, i am so well prepared to take your statements of facts for granted, that i do not think the "pièces justificatives" when published will make much difference, and i have long seen most clearly that if any concession is made, all that you claim in your concluding pages will follow. it is this which has made me so long hesitate, always feeling that the case of man and his races, and of other animals, and that of plants is one and the same, and that if a "vera causa" be admitted for one, instead of a purely unknown and imaginary one, such as the word "creation," all the consequences must follow. i fear i have not time to-day, as i am just leaving this place to indulge in a variety of comments, and to say how much i was delighted with oceanic islands--rudimentary organs--embryology--the genealogical key to the natural system, geographical distribution, and if i went on i should be copying the heads of all your chapters. but i will say a word of the recapitulation, in case some slight alteration, or, at least, omission of a word or two be still possible in that. in the first place, at p. , it cannot surely be said that the most eminent naturalists have rejected the view of the mutability of species? you do not mean to ignore g. st. hilaire and lamarck. as to the latter, you may say, that in regard to animals you substitute natural selection for volition to a certain considerable extent, but in his theory of the changes of plants he could not introduce volition; he may, no doubt, have laid an undue comparative stress on changes in physical conditions, and too little on those of contending organisms. he at least was for the universal mutability of species and for a genealogical link between the first and the present. the men of his school also appealed to domesticated varieties. (do you mean _living_ naturalists?)[ ] the first page of this most important summary gives the adversary an advantage, by putting forth so abruptly and crudely such a startling objection as the formation of "the eye,"[ ] not by means analogous to man's reason, or rather by some power immeasurably superior to human reason, but by superinduced variation like those of which a cattle-breeder avails himself. pages would be required thus to state an objection and remove it. it would be better, as you wish to persuade, to say nothing. leave out several sentences, and in a future edition bring it out more fully. ... but these are small matters, mere spots on the sun. your comparison of the letters retained in words, when no longer wanted for the sound, to rudimentary organs is excellent, as both are truly genealogical.... you enclose your sheets in old ms., so the post office very properly charge them, as letters, _d._ extra. i wish all their fines on ms. were worth as much. i paid _s._ _d._ for such wash the other day from paris, from a man who can prove deluges in the valley of seine. with my hearty congratulations to you on your grand work, believe me, ever very affectionately yours. _c. d. to l. agassiz._[ ] down, november th [ ]. my dear sir,--i have ventured to send you a copy of my book (as yet only an abstract) on the _origin of species_. as the conclusions at which i have arrived on several points differ so widely from yours, i have thought (should you at any time read my volume) that you might think that i had sent it to you out of a spirit of defiance or bravado; but i assure you that i act under a wholly different frame of mind. i hope that you will at least give me credit, however erroneous you may think my conclusions, for having earnestly endeavoured to arrive at the truth. with sincere respect, i beg leave to remain, yours very faithfully. he sent copies of the _origin_, accompanied by letters similar to the last, to m. de candolle, dr. asa gray, falconer and mr. jenyns (blomefield). to henslow he wrote (nov. th, ):-- "i have told murray to send a copy of my book on species to you, my dear old master in natural history; i fear, however, that you will not approve of your pupil in this case. the book in its present state does not show the amount of labour which i have bestowed on the subject. "if you have time to read it carefully, and would take the trouble to point out what parts seem weakest to you and what best, it would be a most material aid to me in writing my bigger book, which i hope to commence in a few months. you know also how highly i value your judgment. but i am not so unreasonable as to wish or expect you to write detailed and lengthy criticisms, but merely a few general remarks, pointing out the weakest parts. "if you are _in ever so slight a degree_ staggered (which i hardly expect) on the immutability of species, then i am convinced with further reflection you will become more and more staggered, for this has been the process through which my mind has gone." _c. d. to a. r. wallace._ ilkley, november th, . my dear sir,--i have told murray to send you by post (if possible) a copy of my book, and i hope that you will receive it at nearly the same time with this note. (n.b. i have got a bad finger, which makes me write extra badly.) if you are so inclined, i should very much like to hear your general impression of the book, as you have thought so profoundly on the subject, and in so nearly the same channel with myself. i hope there will be some little new to you, but i fear not much. remember it is only an abstract, and very much condensed. god knows what the public will think. no one has read it, except lyell, with whom i have had much correspondence. hooker thinks him a complete convert, but he does not seem so in his letters to me; but is evidently deeply interested in the subject. i do not think your share in the theory will be overlooked by the real judges, as hooker, lyell, asa gray, &c. i have heard from mr. sclater that your paper on the malay archipelago has been read at the linnean society, and that he was _extremely_ much interested by it. i have not seen one naturalist for six or nine months, owing to the state of my health, and therefore i really have no news to tell you. i am writing this at ilkley wells, where i have been with my family for the last six weeks, and shall stay for some few weeks longer. as yet i have profited very little. god knows when i shall have strength for my bigger book. i sincerely hope that you keep your health; i suppose that you will be thinking of returning[ ] soon with your magnificent collections, and still grander mental materials. you will be puzzled how to publish. the royal society fund will be worth your consideration. with every good wish, pray believe me, yours very sincerely. p.s.--i think that i told you before that hooker is a complete convert. if i can convert huxley i shall be content. _c. darwin to w. b. carpenter._ november th [ ]. ... if, after reading my book, you are able to come to a conclusion in any degree definite, will you think me very unreasonable in asking you to let me hear from you? i do not ask for a long discussion, but merely for a brief idea of your general impression. from your widely extended knowledge, habit of investigating the truth, and abilities, i should value your opinion in the very highest rank. though i, of course, believe in the truth of my own doctrine, i suspect that no belief is vivid until shared by others. as yet i know only one believer, but i look at him as of the greatest authority, viz. hooker. when i think of the many cases of men who have studied one subject for years, and have persuaded themselves of the truth of the foolishest doctrines, i feel sometimes a little frightened, whether i may not be one of these monomaniacs. again pray excuse this, i fear, unreasonable request. a short note would suffice, and i could bear a hostile verdict, and shall have to bear many a one. yours very sincerely. _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ ilkley, yorkshire. [november, .] my dear hooker,--i have just read a review on my book in the _athenæum_[ ] and it excites my curiosity much who is the author. if you should hear who writes in the _athenæum_ i wish you would tell me. it seems to me well done, but the reviewer gives no new objections, and, being hostile, passes over every single argument in favour of the doctrine.... i fear, from the tone of the review, that i have written in a conceited and cocksure style,[ ] which shames me a little. there is another review of which i should like to know the author, viz. of h. c. watson in the _gardeners' chronicle_.[ ] some of the remarks are like yours, and he does deserve punishment; but surely the review is too severe. don't you think so?... i have heard from carpenter, who, i think, is likely to be a convert. also from quatrefages, who is inclined to go a long way with us. he says that he exhibited in his lecture a diagram closely like mine! _j. d. hooker to c. darwin._ monday [nov. , ]. my dear darwin,--i am a sinner not to have written you ere this, if only to thank you for your glorious book--what a mass of close reasoning on curious facts and fresh phenomena--it is capitally written, and will be very successful. i say this on the strength of two or three plunges into as many chapters, for i have not yet attempted to read it. lyell, with whom we are staying, is perfectly enchanted, and is absolutely gloating over it. i must accept your compliment to me, and acknowledgment of supposed assistance[ ] from me, as the warm tribute of affection from an honest (though deluded) man, and furthermore accept it as very pleasing to my vanity; but, my dear fellow, neither my name nor my judgment nor my assistance deserved any such compliments, and if i am dishonest enough to be pleased with what i don't deserve, it must just pass. how different the _book_ reads from the ms. i see i shall have much to talk over with you. those lazy printers have not finished my luckless essay: which, beside your book, will look like a ragged handkerchief beside a royal standard.... _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ [november, .] my dear hooker,--i cannot help it, i must thank you for your affectionate and most kind note. my head will be turned. by jove, i must try and get a bit modest. i was a little chagrined by the review.[ ] i hope it was _not_ ----. as advocate, he might think himself justified in giving the argument only on one side. but the manner in which he drags in immortality, and sets the priests at me, and leaves me to their mercies, is base. he would, on no account, burn me, but he will get the wood ready, and tell the black beasts how to catch me.... it would be unspeakably grand if huxley were to lecture on the subject, but i can see this is a mere chance; faraday might think it too unorthodox. ... i had a letter from [huxley] with such tremendous praise of my book, that modesty (as i am trying to cultivate that difficult herb) prevents me sending it to you, which i should have liked to have done, as he is very modest about himself. you have cockered me up to that extent, that i now feel i can face a score of savage reviewers. i suppose you are still with the lyells. give my kindest remembrance to them. i triumph to hear that he continues to approve. believe me, your would-be modest friend. the following passage from a letter to lyell shows how strongly he felt on the subject of lyell's adherence:--"i rejoice profoundly that you intend admitting the doctrine of modification in your new edition;[ ] nothing, i am convinced, could be more important for its success. i honour you most sincerely. to have maintained in the position of a master, one side of a question for thirty years, and then deliberately give it up, is a fact to which i much doubt whether the records of science offer a parallel. for myself, also i rejoice profoundly; for, thinking of so many cases of men pursuing an illusion for years, often and often a cold shudder has run through me, and i have asked myself whether i may not have devoted my life to a phantasy. now i look at it as morally impossible that investigators of truth, like you and hooker, can be wholly wrong, and therefore i rest in peace." _t. h. huxley[ ] to c. darwin._ jermyn street, w. november rd, . my dear darwin,--i finished your book yesterday, a lucky examination having furnished me with a few hours of continuous leisure. since i read von bär's[ ] essays, nine years ago, no work on natural history science i have met with has made so great an impression upon me, and i do most heartily thank you for the great store of new views you have given me. nothing, i think, can be better than the tone of the book, it impresses those who know nothing about the subject. as for your doctrine, i am prepared to go to the stake, if requisite, in support of chapter ix.,[ ] and most parts of chapters x., xi., xii.; and chapter xiii. contains much that is most admirable, but on one or two points i enter a _caveat_ until i can see further into all sides of the question. as to the first four chapters, i agree thoroughly and fully with all the principles laid down in them. i think you have demonstrated a true cause for the production of species, and have thrown the _onus probandi_, that species did not arise in the way you suppose, on your adversaries. but i feel that i have not yet by any means fully realized the bearings of those most remarkable and original chapters iii., iv. and v., and i will write no more about them just now. the only objections that have occurred to me are, st that you have loaded yourself with an unnecessary difficulty in adopting _natura non facit saltum_ so unreservedly.... and nd, it is not clear to me why, if continual physical conditions are of so little moment as you suppose, variation should occur at all. however, i must read the book two or three times more before i presume to begin picking holes. i trust you will not allow yourself to be in any way disgusted or annoyed by the considerable abuse and misrepresentation which, unless i greatly mistake, is in store for you. depend upon it you have earned the lasting gratitude of all thoughtful men. and as to the curs which will bark and yelp, you must recollect that some of your friends, at any rate, are endowed with an amount of combativeness which (though you have often and justly rebuked it) may stand you in good stead. i am sharpening up my claws and beak in readiness. looking back over my letter, it really expresses so feebly all i think about you and your noble book that i am half ashamed of it; but you will understand that, like the parrot in the story, "i think the more." ever yours faithfully. _c. d. to t. h. huxley._ ilkley, nov. [ ]. my dear huxley,--your letter has been forwarded to me from down. like a good catholic who has received extreme unction, i can now sing "nunc dimittis." i should have been more than contented with one quarter of what you have said. exactly fifteen months ago, when i put pen to paper for this volume, i had awful misgivings; and thought perhaps i had deluded myself, like so many have done, and i then fixed in my mind three judges, on whose decision i determined mentally to abide. the judges were lyell, hooker, and yourself. it was this which made me so excessively anxious for your verdict. i am now contented, and can sing my "nunc dimittis." what a joke it would be if i pat you on the back when you attack some immovable creationists! you have most cleverly hit on one point, which has greatly troubled me; if, as i must think, external conditions produce little _direct_ effect, what the devil determines each particular variation? what makes a tuft of feathers come on a cock's head, or moss on a moss-rose? i shall much like to talk over this with you.... my dear huxley, i thank you cordially for your letter. yours very sincerely. _erasmus darwin[ ] to c. darwin._ november rd [ ]. dear charles,--i am so much weaker in the head, that i hardly know if i can write, but at all events i will jot down a few things that the dr.[ ] has said. he has not read much above half, so, as he says, he can give no definite conclusion, and keeps stating that he is not tied down to either view, and that he has always left an escape by the way he has spoken of varieties. i happened to speak of the eye before he had read that part, and it took away his breath--utterly impossible--structure--function, &c., &c., &c., but when he had read it he hummed and hawed, and perhaps it was partly conceivable, and then he fell back on the bones of the ear, which were beyond all probability or conceivability. he mentioned a slight blot, which i also observed, that in speaking of the slave-ants carrying one another, you change the species without giving notice first, and it makes one turn back.... ... for myself i really think it is the most interesting book i ever read, and can only compare it to the first knowledge of chemistry, getting into a new world or rather behind the scenes. to me the geographical distribution, i mean the relation of islands to continents is the most convincing of the proofs, and the relation of the oldest forms to the existing species. i dare say i don't feel enough the absence of varieties, but then i don't in the least know if everything now living were fossilized whether the palæontologists could distinguish them. in fact the _a priori_ reasoning is so entirely satisfactory to me that if the facts won't fit in, why so much the worse for the facts is my feeling. my ague has left me in such a state of torpidity that i wish i had gone through the process of natural selection. yours affectionately. _a. sedgwick[ ] to c. darwin._ [november .] my dear darwin,--i write to thank you for your work on the _origin of species_. it came, i think, in the latter part of last week; but it may have come a few days sooner, and been overlooked among my book-parcels, which often remain unopened when i am lazy or busy with any work before me. so soon as i opened it i began to read it, and i finished it, after many interruptions, on tuesday. yesterday i was employed-- st, in preparing for my lecture; ndly, in attending a meeting of my brother fellows to discuss the final propositions of the parliamentary commissioners; rdly, in lecturing; thly, in hearing the conclusion of the discussion and the college reply, whereby, in conformity with my own wishes, we accepted the scheme of the commissioners; thly, in dining with an old friend at clare college; thly, in adjourning to the weekly meeting of the ray club, from which i returned at p.m., dog-tired, and hardly able to climb my staircase. lastly, in looking through the _times_ to see what was going on in the busy world. i do not state this to fill space (though i believe that nature does abhor a vacuum), but to prove that my reply and my thanks are sent to you by the earliest leisure i have, though that is but a very contracted opportunity. if i did not think you a good-tempered and truth-loving man, i should not tell you that (spite of the great knowledge, store of facts, capital views of the correlation of the various parts of organic nature, admirable hints about the diffusion, through wide regions, of many related organic beings, &c. &c.) i have read your book with more pain than pleasure. parts of it i admired greatly, parts i laughed at till my sides were almost sore; other parts i read with absolute sorrow, because i think them utterly false and grievously mischievous. you have _deserted_--after a start in that tram-road of all solid physical truth--the true method of induction, and started us in machinery as wild, i think, as bishop wilkins's locomotive that was to sail with us to the moon. many of your wide conclusions are based upon assumptions which can neither be proved nor disproved, why then express them in the language and arrangement of philosophical induction? as to your grand principle--_natural selection_--what is it but a secondary consequence of supposed, or known, primary facts? development is a better word, because more close to the cause of the fact? for you do not deny causation. i call (in the abstract) causation the will of god; and i can prove that he acts for the good of his creatures. he also acts by laws which we can study and comprehend. acting by law, and under what is called final causes, comprehends, i think, your whole principle. you write of "natural selection" as if it were done consciously by the selecting agent. 'tis but a consequence of the pre-supposed development, and the subsequent battle for life. this view of nature you have stated admirably, though admitted by all naturalists and denied by no one of common-sense. we all admit development as a fact of history: but how came it about? here, in language, and still more in logic, we are point-blank at issue. there is a moral or metaphysical part of nature as well as a physical. a man who denies this is deep in the mire of folly. 'tis the crown and glory of organic science that it _does_ through _final cause_, link material and moral; and yet _does not_ allow us to mingle them in our first conception of laws, and our classification of such laws, whether we consider one side of nature or the other. you have ignored this link; and, if i do not mistake your meaning, you have done your best in one or two pregnant cases to break it. were it possible (which, thank god, it is not) to break it, humanity, in my mind, would suffer a damage that might brutalize it, and sink the human race into a lower grade of degradation than any into which it has fallen since its written records tell us of its history. take the case of the bee-cells. if your development produced the successive modification of the bee and its cells (which no mortal can prove), final cause would stand good as the directing cause under which the successive generations acted and gradually improved. passages in your book, like that to which i have alluded (and there are others almost as bad), greatly shocked my moral taste. i think, in speculating on organic descent, you _over_-state the evidence of geology; and that you _under_-state it while you are talking of the broken links of your natural pedigree: but my paper is nearly done, and i must go to my lecture-room. lastly, then, i greatly dislike the concluding chapter--not as a summary, for in that light it appears good--but i dislike it from the tone of triumphant confidence in which you appeal to the rising generation (in a tone i condemned in the author of the _vestiges_) and prophesy of things not yet in the womb of time, nor (if we are to trust the accumulated experience of human sense and the inferences of its logic) ever likely to be found anywhere but in the fertile womb of man's imagination. and now to say a word about a son of a monkey and an old friend of yours: i am better, far better, than i was last year. i have been lecturing three days a week (formerly i gave six a week) without much fatigue, but i find by the loss of activity and memory, and of all productive powers, that my bodily frame is sinking slowly towards the earth. but i have visions of the future. they are as much a part of myself as my stomach and my heart, and these visions are to have their anti-type in solid fruition of what is best and greatest. but on one condition only--that i humbly accept god's revelation of himself both in his works and in his word, and do my best to act in conformity with that knowledge which he only can give me, and he only can sustain me in doing. if you and i do all this, we shall meet in heaven. i have written in a hurry, and in a spirit of brotherly love, therefore forgive any sentence you happen to dislike; and believe me, spite of any disagreement in some points of the deepest moral interest, your true-hearted old friend, a. sedgwick. the following extract from a note to lyell (nov. ) gives an idea of the conditions under which the second edition was prepared: "this morning i heard from murray that he sold the whole edition[ ] the first day to the trade. he wants a new edition instantly, and this utterly confounds me. now, under water-cure, with all nervous power directed to the skin, i cannot possibly do head-work, and i must make only actually necessary corrections. but i will, as far as i can without my manuscript, take advantage of your suggestions: i must not attempt much. will you send me one line to say whether i must strike out about the secondary whale,[ ] it goes to my heart. about the rattle-snake, look to my journal, under trigonocephalus, and you will see the probable origin of the rattle, and generally in transitions it is the _premier pas qui coûte_." here follows a hint of the coming storm (from a letter to lyell, dec. ):-- "do what i could, i fear i shall be greatly abused. in answer to sedgwick's remark that my book would be 'mischievous,' i asked him whether truth can be known except by being victorious over all attacks. but it is no use. h. c. watson tells me that one zoologist says he will read my book, 'but i will never believe it.' what a spirit to read any book in! crawford[ ] writes to me that his notice will be hostile, but that 'he will not calumniate the author.' he says he has read my book, 'at least such parts as he could understand.'[ ] he sent me some notes and suggestions (quite unimportant), and they show me that i have unavoidably done harm to the subject, by publishing an abstract.... i have had several notes from ----, very civil and less decided. says he shall not pronounce against me without much reflection, _perhaps will say nothing_ on the subject. x. says he will go to that part of hell, which dante tells us is appointed for those who are neither on god's side nor on that of the devil." but his friends were preparing to fight for him. huxley gave, in _macmillan's magazine_ for december, an analysis of the _origin_, together with the substance of his royal institution lecture, delivered before the publication of the book. carpenter was preparing an essay for the _national review_, and negotiating for a notice in the _edinburgh_ free from any taint of _odium theologicum_. _c. d. to c. lyell._ down [december th, ]. ... i had very long interviews with ----, which perhaps you would like to hear about.... i infer from several expressions that, at bottom, he goes an immense way with us.... he said to the effect that my explanation was the best ever published of the manner of formation of species. i said i was very glad to hear it. he took me up short: "you must not at all suppose that i agree with you in all respects." i said i thought it no more likely that i should be right in nearly all points, than that i should toss up a penny and get heads twenty times running. i asked him what he thought the weakest part. he said he had no particular objection to any part. he added:-- "if i must criticise, i should say, we do not want to know what darwin believes and is convinced of, but what he can prove." i agreed most fully and truly that i have probably greatly sinned in this line, and defended my general line of argument of inventing a theory and seeing how many classes of facts the theory would explain. i added that i would endeavour to modify the "believes" and "convinceds." he took me up short: "you will then spoil your book, the charm of it is that it is darwin himself." he added another objection, that the book was too _teres atque rotundus_--that it explained everything, and that it was improbable in the highest degree that i should succeed in this. i quite agree with this rather queer objection, and it comes to this that my book must be very bad or very good.... i have heard, by a roundabout channel, that herschel says my book "is the law of higgledy-piggledy." what this exactly means i do not know, but it is evidently very contemptuous. if true this is a great blow and discouragement. _j. d. hooker to c. darwin_. kew [ ]. dear darwin,--you have, i know, been drenched with letters since the publication of your book, and i have hence forborne to add my mite.[ ] i hope now that you are well through edition ii., and i have heard that you were flourishing in london. i have not yet got half-through the book, not from want of will, but of time--for it is the very hardest book to read, to full profits, that i ever tried--it is so cram-full of matter and reasoning.[ ] i am all the more glad that you have published in this form, for the three volumes, unprefaced by this, would have choked any naturalist of the nineteenth century, and certainly have softened my brain in the operation of assimilating their contents. i am perfectly tired of marvelling at the wonderful amount of facts you have brought to bear, and your skill in marshalling them and throwing them on the enemy; it is also extremely clear as far as i have gone, but very hard to fully appreciate. somehow it reads very different from the ms., and i often fancy that i must have been very stupid not to have more fully followed it in ms. lyell told me of his criticisms. i did not appreciate them all, and there are many little matters i hope one day to talk over with you. i saw a highly flattering notice in the _english churchman_, short and not at all entering into discussion, but praising you and your book, and talking patronizingly of the doctrine!... bentham and henslow will still shake their heads, i fancy.... ever yours affectionately. _c. d. to t. h. huxley._ down, dec. th [ ]. my dear huxley,--yesterday evening, when i read the _times_ of a previous day, i was amazed to find a splendid essay and review of me. who can the author be? i am intensely curious. it included an eulogium of me which quite touched me, though i am not vain enough to think it all deserved. the author is a literary man, and german scholar. he has read my book very attentively; but, what is very remarkable, it seems that he is a profound naturalist. he knows my barnacle-book, and appreciates it too highly. lastly, he writes and thinks with quite uncommon force and clearness; and what is even still rarer, his writing is seasoned with most pleasant wit. we all laughed heartily over some of the sentences.... who can it be? certainly i should have said that there was only one man in england who could have written this essay, and that _you_ were the man. but i suppose i am wrong, and that there is some hidden genius of great calibre. for how could you influence jupiter olympus and make him give three and a half columns to pure science? the old fogies will think the world will come to an end. well, whoever the man is, he has done great service to the cause, far more than by a dozen reviews in common periodicals. the grand way he soars above common religious prejudices, and the admission of such views into the _times_, i look at as of the highest importance, quite independently of the mere question of species. if you should happen to be _acquainted_ with the author, for heaven-sake tell me who he is? my dear huxley, yours most sincerely. there can be no doubt that this powerful essay, appearing in the leading daily journal, must have had a strong influence on the reading public. mr. huxley allows me to quote from a letter an account of the happy chance that threw into his hands the opportunity of writing it:-- "the _origin_ was sent to mr. lucas, one of the staff of the _times_ writers at that day, in what i suppose was the ordinary course of business. mr. lucas, though an excellent journalist, and, at a later period, editor of _once a week_, was as innocent of any knowledge of science as a babe, and bewailed himself to an acquaintance on having to deal with such a book. whereupon he was recommended to ask me to get him out of his difficulty, and he applied to me accordingly, explaining, however, that it would be necessary for him formally to adopt anything i might be disposed to write, by prefacing it with two or three paragraphs of his own. "i was too anxious to seize upon the opportunity thus offered of giving the book a fair chance with the multitudinous readers of the _times_ to make any difficulty about conditions; and being then very full of the subject, i wrote the article faster, i think, than i ever wrote anything in my life, and sent it to mr. lucas, who duly prefixed his opening sentences. "when the article appeared, there was much speculation as to its authorship. the secret leaked out in time, as all secrets will, but not by my aid; and then i used to derive a good deal of innocent amusement from the vehement assertions of some of my more acute friends, that they knew it was mine from the first paragraph! "as the _times_ some years since referred to my connection with the review, i suppose there will be no breach of confidence in the publication of this little history, if you think it worth the space it will occupy." footnotes: [ ] in his next letter to lyell my father writes: "the omission of 'living' before 'eminent' naturalists was a dreadful blunder." in the first edition, as published, the blunder is corrected by the addition of the word "living." [ ] darwin wrote to asa gray in :--"the eye to this day gives me a cold shudder, but when i think of the fine known gradations, my reason tells me i ought to conquer the cold shudder." [ ] jean louis rodolphe agassiz, born at mortier, on the lake of morat in switzerland, on may th, . he emigrated to america in , where he spent the rest of his life, and died dec. th, . his _life_, written by his widow, was published in . the following extract from a letter to agassiz ( ) is worth giving, as showing how my father regarded him, and it may be added that his cordial feeling towards the great american naturalist remained strong to the end of his life:-- "i have seldom been more deeply gratified than by receiving your most kind present of _lake superior_. i had heard of it, and had much wished to read it, but i confess that it was the very great honour of having in my possession a work with your autograph as a presentation copy, that has given me such lively and sincere pleasure. i cordially thank you for it. i have begun to read it with uncommon interest, which i see will increase as i go on." [ ] mr. wallace was in the malay archipelago. [ ] nov. , . [ ] the reviewer speaks of the author's "evident self-satisfaction," and of his disposing of all difficulties "more or less confidently." [ ] a review of the fourth volume of watson's _cybele britannica_, _gard. chron._, , p. . [ ] see the _origin_, first edition, p. , where sir j. d. hooker's help is conspicuously acknowledged. [ ] this refers to the review in the _athenæum_, nov. th, , where the reviewer, after touching on the theological aspects of the book, leaves the author to "the mercies of the divinity hall, the college, the lecture room, and the museum." [ ] it appears from sir charles lyell's published letters that he intended to admit the doctrine of evolution in a new edition of the _manual_, but this was not published till . he was, however, at work on the _antiquity of man_ in , and had already determined to discuss the origin at the end of the book. [ ] in a letter written in october, my father had said, "i am intensely curious to hear huxley's opinion of my book. i fear my long discussion on classification will disgust him, for it is much opposed to what he once said to me." he may have remembered the following incident told by mr. huxley in his chapter of the _life and letters_, ii. p. :--"i remember, in the course of my first interview with mr. darwin, expressing my belief in the sharpness of the lines of demarcation between natural groups and in the absence of transitional forms, with all the confidence of youth and imperfect knowledge. i was not aware, at that time, that he had then been many years brooding over the species question; and the humorous smile which accompanied his gentle answer, that such was not altogether his view, long haunted and puzzled me." [ ] karl ernst von baer, b. , d. at dorpat --one of the most distinguished biologists of the century. he practically founded the modern science of embryology. [ ] in the first edition of the _origin_, chap. ix. is on the 'imperfection of the geological record;' chap. x., on the 'geological succession of organic beings;' chaps. xi. and xii., on 'geographical distribution;' chap. xiii., on 'mutual affinities of organic beings; morphology; embryology; rudimentary organs.' [ ] his brother. [ ] dr., afterwards sir henry, holland. [ ] rev. adam sedgwick, woodwardian professor of geology in the university of cambridge. born , died . [ ] first edition, copies. [ ] the passage was omitted in the second edition. [ ] john crawford, orientalist, ethnologist, &c., b. , d. . the review appeared in the _examiner_, and, though hostile, is free from bigotry, as the following citation will show: "we cannot help saying that piety must be fastidious indeed that objects to a theory the tendency of which is to show that all organic beings, man included, are in a perpetual progress of amelioration and that is expounded in the reverential language which we have quoted." [ ] a letter of dec. , gives a good example of the manner in which some naturalists received and understood it. "old j. e. gray of the british museum attacked me in fine style: 'you have just reproduced lamarck's doctrine, and nothing else, and here lyell and others have been attacking him for twenty years, and because _you_ (with a sneer and laugh) say the very same thing, they are all coming round; it is the most ridiculous inconsistency, &c. &c.'" [ ] see, however, p. . [ ] mr. huxley has made a similar remark:--"long occupation with the work has led the present writer to believe that the _origin of species_ is one of the hardest of books to master."--_obituary notice, proc. r. soc._ no. , p. xvii. chapter xiii. the 'origin of species'--reviews and criticisms--adhesions and attacks. "you are the greatest revolutionist in natural history of this century, if not of all centuries."--h. c. watson to c. darwin, nov. , . . the second edition, copies, of the _origin_ was published on january th; on the th, he wrote with regard to it, to lyell:-- _c. d. to c. lyell._ down, january th [ ]. ... it is perfectly true that i owe nearly all the corrections to you, and several verbal ones to you and others; i am heartily glad you approve of them, as yet only two things have annoyed me; those confounded millions[ ] of years (not that i think it is probably wrong), and my not having (by inadvertence) mentioned wallace towards the close of the book in the summary, not that any one has noticed this to me. i have now put in wallace's name at p. in a conspicuous place. i shall be truly glad to read carefully any ms. on man, and give my opinion. you used to caution me to be cautious about man. i suspect i shall have to return the caution a hundred fold! yours will, no doubt, be a grand discussion; but it will horrify the world at first more than my whole volume; although by the sentence (p. , new edition[ ]) i show that i believe man is in the same predicament with other animals. it is in fact impossible to doubt it. i have thought (only vaguely) on man. with respect to the races, one of my best chances of truth has broken down from the impossibility of getting facts. i have one good speculative line, but a man must have entire credence in natural selection before he will even listen to it. psychologically, i have done scarcely anything. unless, indeed, expression of countenance can be included, and on that subject i have collected a good many facts, and speculated, but i do not suppose i shall ever publish, but it is an uncommonly curious subject. a few days later he wrote again to the same correspondent: "what a grand immense benefit you conferred on me by getting murray to publish my book. i never till to-day realised that it was getting widely distributed; for in a letter from a lady to-day to e., she says she heard a man enquiring for it at the _railway station!!!_ at waterloo bridge; and the bookseller said that he had none till the new edition was out. the bookseller said he had not read it, but had heard it was a very remarkable book!!!" _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ down, th [january, ]. ... i heard from lyell this morning, and he tells me a piece of news. you are a good-for-nothing man; here you are slaving yourself to death with hardly a minute to spare, and you must write a review on my book! i thought it[ ] a very good one, and was so much struck with it, that i sent it to lyell. but i assumed, as a matter of course, that it was lindley's. now that i know it is yours, i have re-read it, and my kind and good friend, it has warmed my heart with all the honourable and noble things you say of me and it. i was a good deal surprised at lindley hitting on some of the remarks, but i never dreamed of you. i admired it chiefly as so well adapted to tell on the readers of the _gardeners' chronicle_; but now i admire it in another spirit. farewell, with hearty thanks.... _asa gray to j. d. hooker._ cambridge, mass., january th, . my dear hooker,--your last letter, which reached me just before christmas, has got mislaid during the upturnings in my study which take place at that season, and has not yet been discovered. i should be very sorry to lose it, for there were in it some botanical mems. which i had not secured.... the principal part of your letter was high laudation of darwin's book. well, the book has reached me, and i finished its careful perusal four days ago; and i freely say that your laudation is not out of place. it is done in a _masterly manner_. it might well have taken twenty years to produce it. it is crammed full of most interesting matter--thoroughly digested--well expressed--close, cogent, and taken as a system it makes out a better case than i had supposed possible.... agassiz, when i saw him last, had read but a part of it. he says it is _poor--very poor_!! (entre nous). the fact [is] he is very much annoyed by it, ... and i do not wonder at it. to bring all _ideal_ systems within the domain of science, and give good physical or natural explanations of all his capital points, is as bad as to have forbes take the glacier materials ... and give scientific explanation of all the phenomena. tell darwin all this. i will write to him when i get a chance. as i have promised, he and you shall have fair-play here.... i must myself write a review[ ] of darwin's book for _silliman's journal_ (the more so that i suspect agassiz means to come out upon it) for the next (march) number, and i am now setting about it (when i ought to be every moment working the expl[oring] expedition compositæ, which i know far more about). and really it is no easy job as you may well imagine. i doubt if i shall please you altogether. i know i shall not please agassiz at all. i hear another reprint is in the press, and the book will excite much attention here, and some controversy.... _c. d. to asa gray._ down, january th [ ]. my dear gray,--hooker has forwarded to me your letter to him; and i cannot express how deeply it has gratified me. to receive the approval of a man whom one has long sincerely respected, and whose judgment and knowledge are most universally admitted, is the highest reward an author can possibly wish for; and i thank you heartily for your most kind expressions. i have been absent from home for a few days, and so could not earlier answer your letter to me of the th of january. you have been extremely kind to take so much trouble and interest about the edition. it has been a mistake of my publisher not thinking of sending over the sheets. i had entirely and utterly forgotten your offer of receiving the sheets as printed off. but i must not blame my publisher, for had i remembered your most kind offer i feel pretty sure i should not have taken advantage of it; for i never dreamed of my book being so successful with general readers: i believe i should have laughed at the idea of sending the sheets to america.[ ] after much consideration, and on the strong advice of lyell and others, i have resolved to leave the present book as it is (excepting correcting errors, or here and there inserting short sentences), and to use all my strength, _which is but little_, to bring out the first part (forming a separate volume, with index, &c.) of the three volumes which will make my bigger work; so that i am very unwilling to take up time in making corrections for an american edition. i enclose a list of a few corrections in the second reprint, which you will have received by this time complete, and i could send four or five corrections or additions of equally small importance, or rather of equal brevity. i also intend to write a _short_ preface with a brief history of the subject. these i will set about, as they must some day be done, and i will send them to you in a short time--the few corrections first, and the preface afterwards, unless i hear that you have given up all idea of a separate edition. you will then be able to judge whether it is worth having the new edition with _your review prefixed_. whatever be the nature of your review, i assure you i should feel it a _great_ honour to have my book thus preceded.... _c. d. to c. lyell._ down [february th, ]. ... i am perfectly convinced (having read it this morning) that the review in the _annals_[ ] is by wollaston; no one else in the world would have used so many parentheses. i have written to him, and told him that the "pestilent" fellow thanks him for his kind manner of speaking about him. i have also told him that he would be pleased to hear that the bishop of oxford says it is the most unphilosophical[ ] work he ever read. the review seems to me clever, and only misinterprets me in a few places. like all hostile men, he passes over the explanation given of classification, morphology, embryology, and rudimentary organs, &c. i read wallace's paper in ms.,[ ] and thought it admirably good; he does not know that he has been anticipated about the depth of intervening sea determining distribution.... the most curious point in the paper seems to me that about the african character of the celebes productions, but i should require further confirmation.... henslow is staying here; i have had some talk with him; he is in much the same state as bunbury,[ ] and will go a very little way with us, but brings up no real argument against going further. he also shudders at the eye! it is really curious (and perhaps is an argument in our favour) how differently different opposers view the subject. henslow used to rest his opposition on the imperfection of the geological record, but he now thinks nothing of this, and says i have got well out of it; i wish i could quite agree with him. baden powell says he never read anything so conclusive as my statement about the eye!! a stranger writes to me about sexual selection, and regrets that i boggle about such a trifle as the brush of hair on the male turkey, and so on. as l. jenyns has a really philosophical mind, and as you say you like to see everything, i send an old letter of his. in a later letter to henslow, which i have seen, he is more candid than any opposer i have heard of, for he says, though he cannot go so far as i do, yet he can give no good reason why he should not. it is funny how each man draws his own imaginary line at which to halt. it reminds me so vividly [of] what i was told[ ] about you when i first commenced geology--to believe a _little_, but on no account to believe all. ever yours affectionately. with regard to the attitude of the more liberal representatives of the church, the following letter from charles kingsley is of interest: _c. kingsley to c. darwin._ eversley rectory, winchfield, november th, . dear sir,--i have to thank you for the unexpected honour of your book. that the naturalist whom, of all naturalists living, i most wish to know and to learn from, should have sent a scientist like me his book, encourages me at least to observe more carefully, and think more slowly. i am so poorly (in brain), that i fear i cannot read your book just now as i ought. all i have seen of it _awes_ me; both with the heap of facts and the prestige of your name, and also with the clear intuition, that if you be right, i must give up much that i have believed and written. in that i care little. let god be true, and every man a liar! let us know what is, and, as old socrates has it, [greek: hepesthai tô logô]--follow up the villainous shifty fox of an argument, into whatsoever unexpected bogs and brakes he may lead us, if we do but run into him at last. from two common superstitious, at least, i shall be free while judging of your book:-- ( .) i have long since, from watching the crossing of domesticated animals and plants, learnt to disbelieve the dogma of the permanence of species. ( .) i have gradually learnt to see that it is just as noble a conception of deity, to believe that he created primal forms capable of self-development into all forms needful _pro tempore_ and _pro loco_, as to believe that he required a fresh act of intervention to supply the _lacunas_ which he himself had made. i question whether the former be not the loftier thought. be it as it may, i shall prize your book, both for itself, and as a proof that you are aware of the existence of such a person as your faithful servant, c. kingsley. my father's old friend, the rev. j. brodie innes, of milton brodie, who was for many years vicar of down, in some reminiscences of my father which he was so good as to give me, writes in the same spirit: "we never attacked each other. before i knew mr. darwin i had adopted, and publicly expressed, the principle that the study of natural history, geology, and science in general, should be pursued without reference to the bible. that the book of nature and scripture came from the same divine source, ran in parallel lines, and when properly understood would never cross.... "in [a] letter, after i had left down, he [darwin] writes, 'we often differed, but you are one of those rare mortals from whom one can differ and yet feel no shade of animosity, and that is a thing [of] which i should feel very proud if any one could say [it] of me.' "on my last visit to down, mr. darwin said, at his dinner-table, 'innes and i have been fast friends for thirty years, and we never thoroughly agreed on any subject but once, and then we stared hard at each other, and thought one of us must be very ill.'" the following extract from a letter to lyell, feb. , , has a certain bearing on the points just touched on: "with respect to bronn's[ ] objection that it cannot be shown how life arises, and likewise to a certain extent asa gray's remark that natural selection is not a _vera causa_, i was much interested by finding accidentally in brewster's _life of newton_, that leibnitz objected to the law of gravity because newton could not show what gravity itself is. as it has chanced, i have used in letters this very same argument, little knowing that any one had really thus objected to the law of gravity. newton answers by saying that it is philosophy to make out the movements of a clock, though you do not know why the weight descends to the ground. leibnitz further objected that the law of gravity was opposed to natural religion! is this not curious? i really think i shall use the facts for some introductory remarks for my bigger book." _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ down, march rd [ ]. ... i think you expect too much in regard to change of opinion on the subject of species. one large class of men, more especially i suspect of naturalists, never will care about _any_ general question, of which old gray, of the british museum, may be taken as a type; and secondly, nearly all men past a moderate age, either in actual years or in mind are, i am fully convinced, incapable of looking at facts under a new point of view. seriously, i am astonished and rejoiced at the progress which the subject has made; look at the enclosed memorandum. ---- says my book will be forgotten in ten years, perhaps so; but, with such a list, i feel convinced the subject will not. [here follows the memorandum referred to:] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- geologists. | zoologists and | physiologists. |botanists. | palæontologists. | | ------------------|------------------|------------------|----------------- lyell. |huxley. |carpenter. |hooker. ramsay.[ ] |j. lubbock. |sir. h. holland |h. c. watson. jukes.[ ] |l. jenyns |(to large extent).|asa gray h. d. rogers.[ ]|(to large extent).| |(to some extent). |searles wood.[ ]| |dr. boott | |(to large extent). | |thwaites.[ ] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- _c. d. to asa gray_. down, april [ ]. ... i remember well the time when the thought of the eye made me cold all over, but i have got over this stage of the complaint, and now small trifling particulars of structure often make me very uncomfortable. the sight of a feather in a peacock's tail, whenever i gaze at it, makes me sick!... you may like to hear about reviews on my book. sedgwick (as i and lyell feel _certain_ from internal evidence) has reviewed me savagely and unfairly in the _spectator_.[ ] the notice includes much abuse, and is hardly fair in several respects. he would actually lead any one, who was ignorant of geology, to suppose that i had invented the great gaps between successive geological formations, instead of its being an almost universally admitted dogma. but my dear old friend sedgwick, with his noble heart, is old, and is rabid with indignation.... there has been one prodigy of a review, namely, an _opposed_ one (by pictet,[ ] the palæontologist, in the _bib. universelle_ of geneva) which is _perfectly_ fair and just, and i agree to every word he says; our only difference being that he attaches less weight to arguments in favour, and more to arguments opposed, than i do. of all the opposed reviews, i think this the only quite fair one, and i never expected to see one. please observe that i do not class your review by any means as opposed, though you think so yourself! it has done me _much_ too good service ever to appear in that rank in my eyes. but i fear i shall weary you with so much about my book. i should rather think there was a good chance of my becoming the most egotistical man in all europe! what a proud pre-eminence! well, you have helped to make me so, and therefore you must forgive me if you can. my dear gray, ever yours most gratefully. _c. d. to c. lyell._ down, april th [ ]. i have just read the _edinburgh_,[ ] which without doubt is by ----. it is extremely malignant, clever, and i fear will be very damaging. he is atrociously severe on huxley's lecture, and very bitter against hooker. so we three _enjoyed_ it together. not that i really enjoyed it, for it made me uncomfortable for one night; but i have got quite over it to-day. it requires much study to appreciate all the bitter spite of many of the remarks against me; indeed i did not discover all myself. it scandalously misrepresents many parts. he misquotes some passages, altering words within inverted commas.... it is painful to be hated in the intense degree with which ---- hates me. now for a curious thing about my book, and then i have done. in last saturday's _gardeners' chronicle_,[ ] a mr. patrick matthew publishes a long extract from his work on _naval timber and arboriculture_ published in , in which he briefly but completely anticipates the theory of natural selection. i have ordered the book, as some few passages are rather obscure, but it is certainly, i think, a complete but not developed anticipation! erasmus always said that surely this would be shown to be the case some day. anyhow, one may be excused in not having discovered the fact in a work on naval timber. _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ down [april th, ]. my dear hooker,--questions of priority so often lead to odious quarrels, that i should esteem it a great favour if you would read the enclosed.[ ] if you think it proper that i should send it (and of this there can hardly be any question), and if you think it full and ample enough, please alter the date to the day on which you post it, and let that be soon. the case in the _gardeners' chronicle_ seems a _little_ stronger than in mr. matthew's book, for the passages are therein scattered in three places; but it would be mere hair-splitting to notice that. if you object to my letter, please return it; but i do not expect that you will, but i thought that you would not object to run your eye over it. my dear hooker, it is a great thing for me to have so good, true, and old a friend as you. i owe much for science to my friends. ... i have gone over [the _edinburgh_] review again, and compared passages, and i am astonished at the misrepresentations. but i am glad i resolved not to answer. perhaps it is selfish, but to answer and think more on the subject is too unpleasant. i am so sorry that huxley by my means has been thus atrociously attacked. i do not suppose you much care about the gratuitous attack on you. lyell in his letter remarked that you seemed to him as if you were overworked. do, pray, be cautious, and remember how many and many a man has done this--who thought it absurd till too late. i have often thought the same. you know that you were bad enough before your indian journey. _c. d. to c. lyell._ down, april [ ]. ... i was particularly glad to hear what you thought about not noticing [the _edinburgh_] review. hooker and huxley thought it a sort of duty to point out the alteration of quoted citations, and there is truth in this remark; but i so hated the thought that i resolved not to do so. i shall come up to london on saturday the th, for sir b. brodie's party, as i have an accumulation of things to do in london, and will (if i do not hear to the contrary) call about a quarter before ten on sunday morning, and sit with you at breakfast, but will not sit long, and so take up much of your time. i must say one more word about our quasi-theological controversy about natural selection, and let me have your opinion when we meet in london. do you consider that the successive variations in the size of the crop of the pouter pigeon, which man has accumulated to please his caprice, have been due to "the creative and sustaining powers of brahma?" in the sense that an omnipotent and omniscient deity must order and know everything, this must be admitted; yet, in honest truth, i can hardly admit it. it seems preposterous that a maker of a universe should care about the crop of a pigeon solely to please man's silly fancies. but if you agree with me in thinking such an interposition of the deity uncalled for, i can see no reason whatever for believing in such interpositions in the case of natural beings, in which strange and admirable peculiarities have been naturally selected for the creature's own benefit. imagine a pouter in a state of nature wading into the water and then, being buoyed up by its inflated crop, sailing about in search of food. what admiration this would have excited--adaptation to the laws of hydrostatic pressure, &c. &c. for the life of me, i cannot see any difficulty in natural selection producing the most exquisite structure, _if such structure can be arrived at by gradation_, and i know from experience how hard it is to name any structure towards which at least some gradations are not known. ever yours. p.s.--the conclusion at which i have come, as i have told asa gray, is that such a question, as is touched on in this note, is beyond the human intellect, like "predestination and free will," or the "origin of evil." _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ down [may th, ]. ... how paltry it is in such men as x., y. and co. not reading your essay. it is incredibly paltry. they may all attack me to their hearts' content. i am got case-hardened. as for the old fogies in cambridge,[ ] it really signifies nothing. i look at their attacks as a proof that our work is worth the doing. it makes me resolve to buckle on my armour. i see plainly that it will be a long uphill fight. but think of lyell's progress with geology. one thing i see most plainly, that without lyell's, yours, huxley's and carpenter's aid, my book would have been a mere flash in the pan. but if we all stick to it, we shall surely gain the day. and i now see that the battle is worth fighting. i deeply hope that you think so. _c. d. to asa gray._ down may nd [ ]. my dear gray,--again i have to thank you for one of your very pleasant letters of may th, enclosing a very pleasant remittance of £ . i am in simple truth astonished at all the kind trouble you have taken for me. i return appletons' account. for the chance of your wishing for a formal acknowledgment i send one. if you have any further communication to the appletons, pray express my acknowledgment for [their] generosity; for it is generosity in my opinion. i am not at all surprised at the sale diminishing; my extreme surprise is at the greatness of the sale. no doubt the public has been _shamefully_ imposed on! for they bought the book thinking that it would be nice easy reading. i expect the sale to stop soon in england, yet lyell wrote to me the other day that calling at murray's he heard that fifty copies had gone in the previous forty-eight hours. i am extremely glad that you will notice in _silliman_ the additions in the _origin_.[ ] judging from letters (and i have just seen one from thwaites to hooker), and from remarks, the most serious omission in my book was not explaining how it is, as i believe, that all forms do not necessarily advance, how there can now be _simple_ organisms still existing.... i hear there is a _very_ severe review on me in the _north british_ by a rev. mr. dunns,[ ] a free kirk minister, and dabbler in natural history. in the _saturday review_ (one of our cleverest periodicals) of may th, p. , there is a nice article on [the _edinburgh_] review, defending huxley, but not hooker; and the latter, i think, [the _edinburgh_ reviewer] treats most ungenerously.[ ] but surely you will get sick unto death of me and my reviewers. with respect to the theological view of the question. this is always painful to me. i am bewildered. i had no intention to write atheistically. but i own that i cannot see as plainly as others do, and as i should wish to do, evidence of design and beneficence on all sides of us. there seems to me too much misery in the world. i cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent god would have designedly created the ichneumonidæ with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of caterpillars, or that a cat should play with mice. not believing this, i see no necessity in the belief that the eye was expressly designed. on the other hand, i cannot anyhow be contented to view this wonderful universe, and especially the nature of man, and to conclude that everything is the result of brute force. i am inclined to look at everything as resulting from designed laws, with the details, whether good or bad, left to the working out of what we may call chance. not that this notion _at all_ satisfies me. i feel most deeply that the whole subject is too profound for the human intellect. a dog might as well speculate on the mind of newton. let each man hope and believe what he can. certainly i agree with you that my views are not at all necessarily atheistical. the lightning kills a man, whether a good one or bad one, owing to the excessively complex action of natural laws. a child (who may turn out an idiot) is born by the action of even more complex laws, and i can see no reason why a man, or other animal, may not have been aboriginally produced by other laws, and that all these laws may have been expressly designed by an omniscient creator, who foresaw every future event and consequence. but the more i think the more bewildered i become; as indeed i have probably shown by this letter. most deeply do i feel your generous kindness and interest. yours sincerely and cordially. the meeting of the british association at oxford in is famous for two pitched battles over the _origin of species_. both of them originated in unimportant papers. on thursday, june th, dr. daubeny of oxford made a communication to section d: "on the final causes of the sexuality of plants, with particular reference to mr. darwin's work on the _origin of species_." mr. huxley was called on by the president, but tried (according to the _athenæum_ report) to avoid a discussion, on the ground "that a general audience, in which sentiment would unduly interfere with intellect, was not the public before which such a discussion should be carried on." however, the subject was not allowed to drop. sir r. owen (i quote from the _athenæum_, july th, ), who "wished to approach this subject in the spirit of the philosopher," expressed his "conviction that there were facts by which the public could come to some conclusion with regard to the probabilities of the truth of mr. darwin's theory." he went on to say that the brain of the gorilla "presented more differences, as compared with the brain of man, than it did when compared with the brains of the very lowest and most problematical of the quadrumana." mr. huxley replied, and gave these assertions a "direct and unqualified contradiction," pledging himself to "justify that unusual procedure elsewhere,"[ ] a pledge which he amply fulfilled.[ ] on friday there was peace, but on saturday th, the battle arose with redoubled fury, at a conjoint meeting of three sections, over a paper by dr. draper of new york, on the "intellectual development of europe considered with reference to the views of mr. darwin." the following account is from an eye-witness of the scene. "the excitement was tremendous. the lecture-room, in which it had been arranged that the discussion should be held, proved far too small for the audience, and the meeting adjourned to the library of the museum, which was crammed to suffocation long before the champions entered the lists. the numbers were estimated at from to . had it been term-time, or had the general public been admitted, it would have been impossible to have accommodated the rush to hear the oratory of the bold bishop.[ ] professor henslow, the president of section d, occupied the chair, and wisely announced _in limine_ that none who had not valid arguments to bring forward on one side or the other, would be allowed to address the meeting: a caution that proved necessary, for no fewer than four combatants had their utterances burked by him, because of their indulgence in vague declamation. "the bishop was up to time, and spoke for full half-an-hour with inimitable spirit, emptiness and unfairness. it was evident from his handling of the subject that he had been 'crammed' up to the throat, and that he knew nothing at first hand; in fact, he used no argument not to be found in his _quarterly_ article.[ ] he ridiculed darwin badly, and huxley savagely, but all in such dulcet tones, so persuasive a manner, and in such well-turned periods, that i who had been inclined to blame the president for allowing a discussion that could serve no scientific purpose, now forgave him from the bottom of my heart." what follows is from notes most kindly supplied by the hon. and rev. w. h. fremantle, who was an eye-witness of the scene. "the bishop of oxford attacked darwin, at first playfully but at last in grim earnest. it was known that the bishop had written an article against darwin in the last _quarterly review_: it was also rumoured that professor owen had been staying at cuddesden and had primed the bishop, who was to act as mouthpiece to the great palæontologist, who did not himself dare to enter the lists. the bishop, however, did not show himself master of the facts, and made one serious blunder. a fact which had been much dwelt on as confirmatory of darwin's idea of variation, was that a sheep had been born shortly before in a flock in the north of england, having an addition of one to the vertebræ of the spine. the bishop was declaring with rhetorical exaggeration that there was hardly any actual evidence on darwin's side. 'what have they to bring forward?' he exclaimed. 'some rumoured statement about a long-legged sheep.' but he passed on to banter: 'i should like to ask professor huxley, who is sitting by me, and is about to tear me to pieces when i have sat down, as to his belief in being descended from an ape. is it on his grandfather's or his grandmother's side that the ape ancestry comes in?' and then taking a graver tone, he asserted in a solemn peroration that darwin's views were contrary to the revelations of god in the scriptures. professor huxley was unwilling to respond: but he was called for and spoke with his usual incisiveness and with some scorn. 'i am here only in the interests of science,' he said, 'and i have not heard anything which can prejudice the case of my august client.' then after showing how little competent the bishop was to enter upon the discussion, he touched on the question of creation. 'you say that development drives out the creator. but you assert that god made you: and yet you know that you yourself were originally a little piece of matter no bigger than the end of this gold pencil-case.' lastly as to the descent from a monkey, he said: 'i should feel it no shame to have risen from such an origin. but i should feel it a shame to have sprung from one who prostituted the gifts of culture and of eloquence to the service of prejudice and of falsehood.' "many others spoke. mr. gresley, an old oxford don, pointed out that in human nature at least orderly development was not the necessary rule; homer was the greatest of poets, but he lived years ago, and has not produced his like. "admiral fitz-roy was present, and said that he had often expostulated with his old comrade of the _beagle_ for entertaining views which were contradictory to the first chapter of genesis. "sir john lubbock declared that many of the arguments by which the permanence of species was supported came to nothing, and instanced some wheat which was said to have come off an egyptian mummy and was sent to him to prove that wheat had not changed since the time of the pharaohs; but which proved to be made of french chocolate.[ ] sir joseph (then dr.) hooker spoke shortly, saying that he had found the hypothesis of natural selection so helpful in explaining the phenomena of his own subject of botany, that he had been constrained to accept it. after a few words from darwin's old friend professor henslow who occupied the chair, the meeting broke up, leaving the impression that those most capable of estimating the arguments of darwin in detail saw their way to accept his conclusions." many versions of mr. huxley's speech were current: the following report of his conclusion is from a letter addressed by the late john richard green, then an undergraduate, to a fellow-student, now professor boyd dawkins:--"i asserted, and i repeat, that a man has no reason to be ashamed of having an ape for his grandfather. if there were an ancestor whom i should feel shame in recalling, it would be a _man_, a man of restless and versatile intellect, who, not content with an equivocal success in his own sphere of activity, plunges into scientific questions with which he has no real acquaintance, only to obscure them by an aimless rhetoric, and distract the attention of his hearers from the real point at issue by eloquent digressions, and skilled appeals to religious prejudice."[ ] the following letter shows that mr. huxley's presence at this remarkable scene depended on so slight a chance as that of meeting a friend in the street; that this friend should have been robert chambers, so that the author of the _vestiges_ should have sounded the war-note for the battle of the _origin_, adds interest to the incident. i have to thank mr. huxley for allowing the story to be told in words of his not written for publication. _t. h. huxley to francis darwin._ june , . ... i should say that fremantle's account is substantially correct; but that green has the passage of my speech more accurately. however, i am certain i did not use the word "equivocal."[ ] the odd part of the business is that i should not have been present except for robert chambers. i had heard of the bishop's intention to utilise the occasion. i knew he had the reputation of being a first-rate controversialist, and i was quite aware that if he played his cards properly, we should have little chance, with such an audience, of making an efficient defence. moreover, i was very tired, and wanted to join my wife at her brother-in-law's country house near reading, on the saturday. on the friday i met chambers in the street, and in reply to some remark of his about the meeting, i said that i did not mean to attend it; did not see the good of giving up peace and quietness to be episcopally pounded. chambers broke out into vehement remonstrances and talked about my deserting them. so i said, "oh! if you take it that way, i'll come and have my share of what is going on." so i came, and chanced to sit near old sir benjamin brodie. the bishop began his speech, and, to my astonishment, very soon showed that he was so ignorant that he did not know how to manage his own case. my spirits rose proportionally, and when he turned to me with his insolent question, i said to sir benjamin, in an undertone, "the lord hath delivered him into mine hands." that sagacious old gentleman stared at me as if i had lost my senses. but, in fact, the bishop had justified the severest retort i could devise, and i made up my mind to let him have it. i was careful, however, not to rise to reply, until the meeting called for me--then i let myself go. in justice to the bishop, i am bound to say he bore no malice, but was always courtesy itself when we occasionally met in after years. hooker and i walked away from the meeting together, and i remember saying to him that this experience had changed my opinion as to the practical value of the art of public speaking, and that, from that time forth, i should carefully cultivate it, and try to leave off hating it. i did the former, but never quite succeeded in the latter effort. i did not mean to trouble you with such a long scrawl when i began about this piece of ancient history. ever yours very faithfully t. h. huxley. the eye-witness above quoted (p. ) continues:-- "there was a crowded conversazione in the evening at the rooms of the hospitable and genial professor of botany, dr. daubeny, where the almost sole topic was the battle of the _origin_, and i was much struck with the fair and unprejudiced way in which the black coats and white cravats of oxford discussed the question, and the frankness with which they offered their congratulations to the winners in the combat."[ ] _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ monday night [july nd, ]. my dear hooker,--i have just received your letter. i have been very poorly, with almost continuous bad headache for forty-eight hours, and i was low enough, and thinking what a useless burthen i was to myself and all others, when your letter came, and it has so cheered me; your kindness and affection brought tears into my eyes. talk of fame, honour, pleasure, wealth, all are dirt compared with affection; and this is a doctrine with which, i know, from your letter, that you will agree with from the bottom of your heart.... how i should have liked to have wandered about oxford with you, if i had been well enough; and how still more i should have liked to have heard you triumphing over the bishop. i am astonished at your success and audacity. it is something unintelligible to me how any one can argue in public like orators do. i had no idea you had this power. i have read lately so many hostile views, that i was beginning to think that perhaps i was wholly in the wrong, and that ---- was right when he said the whole subject would be forgotten in ten years; but now that i hear that you and huxley will fight publicly (which i am sure i never could do), i fully believe that our cause will, in the long-run, prevail. i am glad i was not in oxford, for i should have been overwhelmed, with my [health] in its present state. _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ [july .] ... i have just read the _quarterly_.[ ] it is uncommonly clever; it picks out with skill all the most conjectural parts, and brings forward well all the difficulties. it quizzes me quite splendidly by quoting the _anti-jacobin_ versus my grandfather. you are not alluded to, nor, strange to say, huxley; and i can plainly see, here and there, ----'s hand. the concluding pages will make lyell shake in his shoes. by jove, if he sticks to us, he will be a real hero. good-night. your well-quizzed, but not sorrowful, and affectionate friend, c. d. i can see there has been some queer tampering with the review, for a page has been cut out and reprinted. the following extract from a letter of sept. st, , is of interest, not only as showing that lyell was still conscientiously working out his conversion, but also and especially as illustrating the remarkable fact that hardly any of my father's critics gave him any new objections--so fruitful had been his ponderings of twenty years:-- "i have been much interested by your letter of the th, received this morning. it has _delighted_ me, because it demonstrates that you have thought a good deal lately on natural selection. few things have surprised me more than the entire paucity of objections and difficulties new to me in the published reviews. your remarks are of a different stamp and new to me." _c. d. to asa gray._ [hartfield, sussex] july nd [ ]. my dear gray,--owing to absence from home at water-cure and then having to move my sick girl to whence i am now writing, i have only lately read the discussion in _proc. american acad._,[ ] and now i cannot resist expressing my sincere admiration of your most clear powers of reasoning. as hooker lately said in a note to me, you are more than _any one_ else the thorough master of the subject. i declare that you know my book as well as i do myself; and bring to the question new lines of illustration and argument in a manner which excites my astonishment and almost my envy![ ] i admire these discussions, i think, almost more than your article in _silliman's journal_. every single word seems weighed carefully, and tells like a -pound shot. it makes me much wish (but i know that you have not time) that you could write more in detail, and give, for instance, the facts on the variability of the american wild fruits. the _athenæum_ has the largest circulation, and i have sent my copy to the editor with a request that he would republish the first discussion; i much fear he will not, as he reviewed the subject in so hostile a spirit.... i shall be curious [to see], and will order the august number, as soon as i know that it contains your review of reviews. my conclusion is that you have made a mistake in being a botanist, you ought to have been a lawyer. the following passages from a letter to huxley (dec. nd, ) may serve to show what was my father's view of the position of the subject, after a year's experience of reviewers, critics and converts:-- "i have got fairly sick of hostile reviews. nevertheless, they have been of use in showing me when to expatiate a little and to introduce a few new discussions. "i entirely agree with you, that the difficulties on my notions are terrific, yet having seen what all the reviews have said against me, i have far more confidence in the _general_ truth of the doctrine than i formerly had. another thing gives me confidence, viz. that some who went half an inch with me now go further, and some who were bitterly opposed are now less bitterly opposed.... i can pretty plainly see that, if my view is ever to be generally adopted, it will be by young men growing up and replacing the old workers, and then young ones finding that they can group facts and search out new lines of investigation better on the notion of descent, than on that of creation." footnotes: [ ] this refers to the passage in the _origin of species_ ( nd edit. p. ) in which the lapse of time implied by the denudation of the weald is discussed. the discussion closes with the sentence: "so that it is not improbable that a longer period than million years has elapsed since the latter part of the secondary period." this passage is omitted in the later editions of the _origin_, against the advice of some of his friends, as appears from the pencil notes in my father's copy of the nd edition. [ ] in the first edition, the passages occur on p. . [ ] _gardeners' chronicle_, . sir j. d. hooker took the line of complete impartiality, so as not to commit the editor, lindley. [ ] on jan. gray wrote to darwin: "it naturally happens that my review of your book does not exhibit anything like the full force of the impression the book has made upon me. under the circumstances i suppose i do your theory more good here, by bespeaking for it a fair and favourable consideration, and by standing non-committed as to its full conclusions, than i should if i announced myself a convert; nor could i say the latter, with truth.... "what seems to me the weakest point in the book is the attempt to account for the formation of organs, the making of eyes, &c., by natural selection. some of this reads quite lamarckian." [ ] in a letter to mr. murray, , my father wrote:--"i am amused by asa gray's account of the excitement my book has made amongst naturalists in the u. states. agassiz has denounced it in a newspaper, but yet in such terms that it is in fact a fine advertisement!" this seems to refer to a lecture given before the mercantile library association. [ ] _annals and mag. of nat. hist._ third series, vol. v. p. . my father has obviously taken the expression "pestilent" from the following passage (p. ): "but who is this nature, we have a right to ask, who has such tremendous power, and to whose efficiency such marvellous performances are ascribed? what are her image and attributes, when dragged from her wordy lurking-place? is she ought but a pestilent abstraction, like dust cast in our eyes to obscure the workings of an intelligent first cause of all?" the reviewer pays a tribute to my father's candour "so manly and outspoken as almost to 'cover a multitude of sins.'" the parentheses (to which allusion is made above) are so frequent as to give a characteristic appearance to mr. wollaston's pages. [ ] another version of the words is given by lyell, to whom they were spoken, viz. "the most illogical book ever written."--_life and letters of sir c. lyell_, vol. ii. p. . [ ] "on the zoological geography of the malay archipelago."--_linn. soc. journ._ . [ ] the late sir charles bunbury, well known as a paleo-botanist. [ ] by professor henslow. [ ] the translator of the first german edition of the _origin_. [ ] andrew ramsay, late director-general of the geological survey. [ ] joseph beete jukes, m.a., f.r.s., born , died . he was educated at cambridge, and from to he acted as naturalist to h.m.s. _fly_, on an exploring expedition in australia and new guinea. he was afterwards appointed director of the geological survey of ireland. he was the author of many papers, and of more than one good handbook of geology. [ ] professor of geology in the university of glasgow. born in the united states , died . [ ] searles valentine wood, died . chiefly known for his work on the mollusca of the _crag_. [ ] dr. g. h. k. thwaites, f.r.s., was born in , or about that date, and died in ceylon, september , . he began life as a notary, but his passion for botany and entomology ultimately led to his taking to science as a profession. he became lecturer on botany at the bristol school of medicine, and in he was appointed director of the botanic gardens at peradeniya, which he made "the most beautiful tropical garden in the world." he is best known through his important discovery of conjugation in the diatomaceæ ( ). his _enumeratio plantarum zeylaniæ_ ( - ) was "the first complete account, on modern lines, of any definitely circumscribed tropical area." (from a notice in _nature_, october , .) [ ] _spectator_, march , . there were favourable notices of the origin by huxley in the _westminster review_, and carpenter in the _medico-chir. review_, both in the april numbers. [ ] françois jules pictet, in the _archives des science de la bibliothèque universelle_, mars . [ ] _edinburgh review_, april, . [ ] april , . [ ] my father wrote (_gardeners' chronicle_, april , , p. ): "i have been much interested by mr. patrick matthew's communication in the number of your paper dated april th. i freely acknowledge that mr. matthew has anticipated by many years the explanation which i have offered of the origin of species, under the name of natural selection. i think that no one will feel surprised that neither i, nor apparently any other naturalist, had heard of mr. matthew's views, considering how briefly they are given, and that they appeared in the appendix to a work on naval timber and arboriculture. i can do no more than offer my apologies to mr. matthew for my entire ignorance of his publication. if another edition of my work is called for, i will insert to the foregoing effect." in spite of my father's recognition of his claims, mr. matthew remained unsatisfied, and complained that an article in the _saturday analyst and leader_, nov. , , was "scarcely fair in alluding to mr. darwin as the parent of the origin of species, seeing that i published the whole that mr. darwin attempts to prove, more than twenty-nine years ago." it was not until later that he learned that matthew had also been forestalled. in october , he wrote sir j. d. hooker:--"talking of the _origin_, a yankee has called my attention to a paper attached to dr. wells' famous _essay on dew_, which was read in to the royal soc., but not [then] printed, in which he applies most distinctly the principle of natural selection to the races of man. so poor old patrick matthew is not the first, and he cannot, or ought not, any longer to put on his title-pages, 'discoverer of the principle of natural selection'!" [ ] this refers to a "savage onslaught" on the _origin_ by sedgwick at the cambridge philosophical society. henslow defended his old pupil, and maintained that "the subject was a legitimate one for investigation." [ ] "the battle rages furiously in the united states. gray says he was preparing a speech, which would take ½ hours to deliver, and which he 'fondly hoped would be a stunner.' he is fighting splendidly, and there seem to have been many discussions with agassiz and others at the meetings. agassiz pities me much at being so deluded."--from a letter to hooker, may th, . [ ] the statement as to authorship was made on the authority of robert chambers. [ ] in a letter to mr. huxley my father wrote:--"have you seen the last _saturday review_? i am very glad of the defence of you and of myself. i wish the reviewer had noticed hooker. the reviewer, whoever he is, is a jolly good fellow, as this review and the last on me showed. he writes capitally, and understands well his subject. i wish he had slapped [the _edinburgh_ reviewer] a little bit harder." [ ] _man's place in nature_, by t. h. huxley, , p. . [ ] see the _nat. hist. review_, . [ ] it was well known that bishop wilberforce was going to speak. [ ] _quarterly review_, july . [ ] sir john lubbock also insisted on the embryological evidence for evolution.--f. d. [ ] mr. fawcett wrote (_macmillan's magazine_, ):--"the retort was so justly deserved and so inimitable in its manner, that no one who was present can ever forget the impression that it made." [ ] this agrees with professor victor carus's recollection. [ ] see professor newton's interesting _early days of darwinism in macmillan's magazine_, feb. , where the battle at oxford is briefly described. [ ] _quarterly review_, july . the article in question was by wilberforce, bishop of oxford, and was afterwards published in his _essays contributed to the quarterly review_, . in the _life and letters_, ii. p. , mr. huxley has given some account of this article. i quote a few lines:--"since lord brougham assailed dr. young, the world has seen no such specimen of the insolence of a shallow pretender to a master in science as this remarkable production, in which one of the most exact of observers, most cautious of reasoners, and most candid of expositors, of this or any other age, is held up to scorn as a 'flighty' person, who endeavours 'to prop up his utterly rotten fabric of guess and speculation,' and whose 'mode of dealing with nature' is reprobated as 'utterly dishonourable to natural science.'" the passage from the _anti-jacobin_, referred to in the letter, gives the history of the evolution of space from the "primæval point or _punctum saliens_ of the universe," which is conceived to have moved "forward in a right line, _ad infinitum_, till it grew tired; after which the right line, which it had generated, would begin to put itself in motion in a lateral direction, describing an area of infinite extent. this area, as soon as it became conscious of its own existence, would begin to ascend or descend according as its specific gravity would determine it, forming an immense solid space filled with vacuum, and capable of containing the present universe." the following (p. ) may serve as an example of the passages in which the reviewer refers to sir charles lyell:--"that mr. darwin should have wandered from this broad highway of nature's works into the jungle of fanciful assumption is no small evil. we trust that he is mistaken in believing that he may count sir c. lyell as one of his converts. we know, indeed, the strength of the temptations which he can bring to bear upon his geological brother.... yet no man has been more distinct and more logical in the denial of the transmutation of species than sir c. lyell, and that not in the infancy of his scientific life, but in its full vigour and maturity." the bishop goes on to appeal to lyell, in order that with his help "this flimsy speculation may be as completely put down as was what in spite of all denials we must venture to call its twin though less instructed brother, the _vestiges of creation_." with reference to this article, mr. brodie innes, my father's old friend and neighbour, writes:--"most men would have been annoyed by an article written with the bishop's accustomed vigour, a mixture of argument and ridicule. mr. darwin was writing on some parish matter, and put a postscript--'if you have not seen the last _quarterly_, do get it; the bishop of oxford has made such capital fun of me and my grandfather.' by a curious coincidence, when i received the letter, i was staying in the same house with the bishop, and showed it to him. he said, 'i am very glad he takes it in that way, he is such a capital fellow.'" [ ] april th, . dr. gray criticised in detail "several of the positions taken at the preceding meeting by mr. [j. a.] lowell, prof. bowen and prof. agassiz." it was reprinted in the _athenæum_, aug. th, . [ ] on sept. th, , he wrote in the same sense to gray:--"you never touch the subject without making it clearer. i look at it as even more extraordinary that you never say a word or use an epithet which does not express fully my meaning. now lyell, hooker, and others, who perfectly understand my book, yet sometimes use expressions to which i demur." chapter xiv. the spread of evolution. -- . the beginning of the year saw my father engaged on the rd edition ( copies) of the _origin_, which was largely corrected and added to, and was published in april, . on july , he started, with his family, for torquay, where he remained until august --a holiday which he characteristically enters in his diary as "eight weeks and a day." the house he occupied was in hesketh crescent, a pleasantly placed row of houses close above the sea, somewhat removed from what was then the main body of the town, and not far from the beautiful cliffed coast-line in the neighbourhood of anstey's cove. during the torquay holiday, and for the remainder of the year, he worked at the fertilisation of orchids. this part of the year is not dealt with in the present chapter, because (as explained in the preface) the record of his life, seems to become clearer when the whole of his botanical work is placed together and treated separately. the present chapter will, therefore, include only the progress of his work in the direction of a general amplification of the _origin of species_--_e.g._, the publication of _animals and plants_ and the _descent of man_. it will also give some idea of the growth of belief in evolutionary doctrines. with regard to the third edition, he wrote to mr. murray in december, :-- "i shall be glad to hear when you have decided how many copies you will print off--the more the better for me in all ways, as far as compatible with safety; for i hope never again to make so many corrections, or rather additions, which i have made in hopes of making my many rather stupid reviewers at least understand what is meant. i hope and think i shall improve the book considerably." an interesting feature in the new edition was the "historical sketch of the recent progress of opinion on the origin of species,"[ ] which now appeared for the first time, and was continued in the later editions of the work. it bears a strong impress of the author's personal character in the obvious wish to do full justice to all his predecessors,--though even in this respect it has not escaped some adverse criticism. a passage in a letter to hooker (march , ) gives the history of one of his corrections. "here is a good joke: h. c. watson (who, i fancy and hope, is going to review the new edition of the _origin_) says that in the first four paragraphs of the introduction, the words 'i,' 'me,' 'my,' occur forty-three times! i was dimly conscious of the accursed fact. he says it can be explained phrenologically, which i suppose civilly means, that i am the most egotistically self-sufficient man alive; perhaps so. i wonder whether he will print this pleasing fact; it beats hollow the parentheses in wollaston's writing. "i am, _my_ dear hooker, ever yours, "c. darwin. "p.s.--do not spread this pleasing joke; it is rather too biting." he wrote a couple of years later, , to asa gray, in a manner which illustrates his use of the personal pronoun in the earlier editions of the _origin_:-- "you speak of lyell as a judge; now what i complain of is that he declines to be a judge.... i have sometimes almost wished that lyell had pronounced against me. when i say 'me,' i only mean _change of species by descent_. that seems to me the turning-point. personally, of course, i care much about natural selection; but that seems to me utterly unimportant, compared to the question of creation _or_ modification." he was, at first, alone, and felt himself to be so in maintaining a rational workable theory of evolution. it was therefore perfectly natural that he should speak of "my" theory. towards the end of the present year ( ) the final arrangements for the first french edition of the _origin_ were completed, and in september a copy of the third english edition was despatched to mdlle. clémence royer, who undertook the work of translation. the book was now spreading on the continent, a dutch edition had appeared, and, as we have seen, a german translation had been published in . in a letter to mr. murray (september , ), he wrote, "my book seems exciting much attention in germany, judging from the number of discussions sent me." the silence had been broken, and in a few years the voice of german science was to become one of the strongest of the advocates of evolution. a letter, june , , gave a pleasant echo from the continent of the growth of his views:-- _hugh falconer[ ] to c. darwin._ sackville st., w., june , . my dear darwin,--i have been to adelsberg cave and brought back with me a live _proteus anguinus_, designed for you from the moment i got it; _i.e._ if you have got an aquarium and would care to have it. i only returned last night from the continent, and hearing from your brother that you are about to go to torquay, i lose no time in making you the offer. the poor dear animal is still alive--although it has had no appreciable means of sustenance for a month--and i am most anxious to get rid of the responsibility of starving it longer. in your hands it will thrive and have a fair chance of being developed without delay into some type of the columbidæ--say a pouter or a tumbler. my dear darwin, i have been rambling through the north of italy, and germany lately. everywhere have i heard your views and your admirable essay canvassed--the views of course often dissented from, according to the special bias of the speaker--but the work, its honesty of purpose, grandeur of conception, felicity of illustration, and courageous exposition, always referred to in terms of the highest admiration. and among your warmest friends no one rejoiced more heartily in the just appreciation of charles darwin than did, yours very truly. my father replied:-- down [june , ]. my dear falconer,--i have just received your note, and by good luck a day earlier than properly, and i lose not a moment in answering you, and thanking you heartily for your offer of the valuable specimen; but i have no aquarium and shall soon start for torquay, so that it would be a thousand pities that i should have it. yet i should certainly much like to see it, but i fear it is impossible. would not the zoological society be the best place? and then the interest which many would take in this extraordinary animal would repay you for your trouble. kind as you have been in taking this trouble and offering me this specimen, to tell the truth i value your note more than the specimen. i shall keep your note amongst a very few precious letters. your kindness has quite touched me. yours affectionately and gratefully. my father, who had the strongest belief in the value of asa gray's help, was anxious that his evolutionary writings should be more widely known in england. in the autumn of , and the early part of , he had a good deal of correspondence with him as to the publication, in the form of a pamphlet, of gray's three articles in the july, august, and october numbers of the _atlantic monthly_, . the reader will find these articles republished in dr. gray's _darwiniana_, p. , under the title "natural selection not inconsistent with natural theology." the pamphlet found many admirers, and my father believed that it was of much value in lessening opposition, and making converts to evolution. his high opinion of it is shown not only in his letters, but by the fact that he inserted a special notice of it in a prominent place in the third edition of the _origin_. lyell, among others, recognised its value as an antidote to the kind of criticism from which the cause of evolution suffered. thus my father wrote to dr. gray: "just to exemplify the use of your pamphlet, the bishop of london was asking lyell what he thought of the review in the _quarterly_, and lyell answered, 'read asa gray in the _atlantic_.'" on the same subject he wrote to gray in the following year:-- "i believe that your pamphlet has done my book _great_ good; and i thank you from my heart for myself: and believing that the views are in large part true, i must think that you have done natural science a good turn. natural selection seems to be making a little progress in england and on the continent; a new german edition is called for, and a french one has just appeared." the following may serve as an example of the form assumed between these friends of the animosity at that time so strong between england and america[ ]:-- "talking of books, i am in the middle of one which pleases me, though it is very innocent food, viz. miss cooper's _journal of a naturalist_. who is she? she seems a very clever woman, and gives a capital account of the battle between _our_ and _your_ weeds.[ ] does it not hurt your yankee pride that we thrash you so confoundedly? i am sure mrs. gray will stick up for your own weeds. ask her whether they are not more honest, downright good sort of weeds. the book gives an extremely pretty picture of one of your villages; but i see your autumn, though so much more gorgeous than ours, comes on sooner, and that is one comfort." a question constantly recurring in the letters to gray is that of design. for instance:-- "your question what would convince me of design is a poser. if i saw an angel come down to teach us good, and i was convinced from others seeing him that i was not mad, i should believe in design. if i could be convinced thoroughly that life and mind was in an unknown way a function of other imponderable force, i should be convinced. if man was made of brass or iron and no way connected with any other organism which had ever lived, i should perhaps be convinced. but this is childish writing. "i have lately been corresponding with lyell, who, i think, adopts your idea of the stream of variation having been led or designed. i have asked him (and he says he will hereafter reflect and answer me) whether he believes that the shape of my nose was designed. if he does i have nothing more to say. if not, seeing what fanciers have done by selecting individual differences in the nasal bones of pigeons, i must think that it is illogical to suppose that the variations, which natural selection preserves for the good of any being, have been designed. but i know that i am in the same sort of muddle (as i have said before) as all the world seems to be in with respect to free will, yet with everything supposed to have been foreseen or preordained." the shape of his nose would perhaps not have been used as an illustration, if he had remembered fitz-roy's objection to that feature (see _autobiography_, p. ). he should, too, have remembered the difficulty of predicting the value to an organism of an apparently unimportant character. in england professor huxley was at work in the evolutionary cause. he gave, in , two lectures at edinburgh on _man's place in nature_. my father wrote:-- "i am heartily glad of your success in the north. by jove, you have attacked bigotry in its stronghold. i thought you would have been mobbed. i am so glad that you will publish your lectures. you seem to have kept a due medium between extreme boldness and caution. i am heartily glad that all went off so well." a review,[ ] by f. w. hutton, afterwards professor of biology and geology at canterbury, n. z., gave a hopeful note of the time not far off when a broader view of the argument for evolution would be accepted. my father wrote to the author[ ]:-- down, april th, . dear sir,--i hope that you will permit me to thank you for sending me a copy of your paper in the _geologist_, and at the same time to express my opinion that you have done the subject a real service by the highly original, striking, and condensed manner with which you have put the case. i am actually weary of telling people that i do not pretend to adduce direct evidence of one species changing into another, but that i believe that this view in the main is correct, because so many phenomena can be thus grouped together and explained. but it is generally of no use, i cannot make persons see this. i generally throw in their teeth the universally admitted theory of the undulations of light--neither the undulations, nor the very existence of ether being proved--yet admitted because the view explains so much. you are one of the very few who have seen this, and have now put it most forcibly and clearly. i am much pleased to see how carefully you have read my book, and what is far more important, reflected on so many points with an independent spirit. as i am deeply interested in the subject (and i hope not exclusively under a personal point of view) i could not resist venturing to thank you for the right good service which you have done. pray believe me, dear sir, yours faithfully and obliged. it was a still more hopeful sign that work of the first rank in value, conceived on evolutionary principles, began to be published. my father expressed this idea in a letter to the late mr. bates.[ ] "under a general point of view, i am quite convinced (hooker and huxley took the same view some months ago) that a philosophic view of nature can solely be driven into naturalists by treating special subjects as you have done." this refers to mr. bates' celebrated paper on mimicry, with which the following letter deals:-- down nov. [ ]. dear bates,--i have just finished, after several reads, your paper.[ ] in my opinion it is one of the most remarkable and admirable papers i ever read in my life. the mimetic cases are truly marvellous, and you connect excellently a host of analogous facts. the illustrations are beautiful, and seem very well chosen; but it would have saved the reader not a little trouble, if the name of each had been engraved below each separate figure. no doubt this would have put the engraver into fits, as it would have destroyed the beauty of the plate. i am not at all surprised at such a paper having consumed much time. i am rejoiced that i passed over the whole subject in the _origin_, for i should have made a precious mess of it. you have most clearly stated and solved a wonderful problem. no doubt with most people this will be the cream of the paper; but i am not sure that all your facts and reasonings on variation, and on the segregation of complete and semi-complete species, is not really more, or at least as valuable a part. i never conceived the process nearly so clearly before; one feels present at the creation of new forms. i wish, however, you had enlarged a little more on the pairing of similar varieties; a rather more numerous body of facts seems here wanted. then, again, what a host of curious miscellaneous observations there are--as on related sexual and individual variability: these will some day, if i live, be a treasure to me. with respect to mimetic resemblance being so common with insects, do you not think it may be connected with their small size; they cannot defend themselves; they cannot escape by flight, at least, from birds, therefore they escape by trickery and deception? i have one serious criticism to make, and that is about the title of the paper; i cannot but think that you ought to have called prominent attention in it to the mimetic resemblances. your paper is too good to be largely appreciated by the mob of naturalists without souls; but, rely on it, that it will have _lasting_ value, and i cordially congratulate you on your first great work. you will find, i should think, that wallace will appreciate it. how gets on your book? keep your spirits up. a book is no light labour. i have been better lately, and working hard, but my health is very indifferent. how is your health? believe me, dear bates, yours very sincerely. . although the battle[ ] of evolution was not yet won, the growth of belief was undoubtedly rapid. so that, for instance, charles kingsley could write to f. d. maurice[ ]: "the state of the scientific mind is most curious; darwin is conquering everywhere, and rushing in like a flood, by the mere force of truth and fact." the change did not proceed without a certain amount of personal bitterness. my father wrote in february, :-- "what an accursed evil it is that there should be all this quarrelling within what ought to be the peaceful realms of science." i do not desire to keep alive the memories of dead quarrels, but some of the burning questions of that day are too important from the biographical point of view to be altogether omitted. of this sort is the history of lyell's conversion to evolution. it led to no flaw in the friendship of the two men principally concerned, but it shook and irritated a number of smaller people. lyell was like the mississippi in flood, and as he changed his course, the dwellers on the banks were angered and frightened by the general upsetting of landmarks. _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ down, feb. [ ]. my dear hooker,--i am astonished at your note. i have not seen the _athenæum_,[ ] but i have sent for it, and may get it to-morrow; and will then say what i think. i have read lyell's book. [_the antiquity of man._] the whole certainly struck me as a compilation, but of the highest class, for when possible the facts have been verified on the spot, making it almost an original work. the glacial chapters seem to me best, and in parts magnificent. i could hardly judge about man, as all the gloss and novelty was completely worn off. but certainly the aggregation of the evidence produced a very striking effect on my mind. the chapter comparing language and changes of species, seems most ingenious and interesting. he has shown great skill in picking out salient points in the argument for change of species; but i am deeply disappointed (i do not mean personally) to find that his timidity prevents him giving any judgment.... from all my communications with him, i must ever think that he has really entirely lost faith in the immutability of species; and yet one of his strongest sentences is nearly as follows; "if it should _ever_[ ] be rendered highly probable that species change by variation and natural selection," &c. &c. i had hoped he would have guided the public as far as his own belief went.... one thing does please me on this subject, that he seems to appreciate your work. no doubt the public or a part may be induced to think that, as he gives to us a larger space than to lamarck, he must think that there is something in our views. when reading the brain chapter, it struck me forcibly that if he had said openly that he believed in change of species, and as a consequence that man was derived from some quadrumanous animal, it would have been very proper to have discussed by compilation the differences in the most important organ, viz. the brain. as it is, the chapter seems to me to come in rather by the head and shoulders. i do not think (but then i am as prejudiced as falconer and huxley, or more so) that it is too severe; it struck me as given with judicial force. it might perhaps be said with truth that he had no business to judge on a subject on which he knows nothing; but compilers must do this to a certain extent. (you know i value and rank high compilers, being one myself!) the lyells are coming here on sunday evening to stay till wednesday. i dread it, but i must say how much disappointed i am that he has not spoken out on species, still less on man. and the best of the joke is that he thinks he has acted with the courage of a martyr of old. i hope i may have taken an exaggerated view of his timidity, and shall _particularly_ be glad of your opinion on this head. when i got his book i turned over the pages, and saw he had discussed the subject of species, and said that i thought he would do more to convert the public than all of us, and now (which makes the case worse for me) i must, in common honesty, retract. i wish to heaven he had said not a word on the subject. _c. d. to c. lyell_. down, march [ ]. ... i have been of course deeply interested by your book.[ ] i have hardly any remarks worth sending, but will scribble a little on what most interested me. but i will first get out what i hate saying, viz. that i have been greatly disappointed that you have not given judgment and spoken fairly out what you think about the derivation of species. i should have been contented if you had boldly said that species have not been separately created, and had thrown as much doubt as you like on how far variation and natural selection suffices. i hope to heaven i am wrong (and from what you say about whewell it seems so), but i cannot see how your chapters can do more good than an extraordinary able review. i think the _parthenon_ is right, that you will leave the public in a fog. no doubt they may infer that as you give more space to myself, wallace, and hooker, than to lamarck, you think more of us. but i had always thought that your judgment would have been an epoch in the subject. all that is over with me, and i will only think on the admirable skill with which you have selected the striking points, and explained them. no praise can be too strong, in my opinion, for the inimitable chapter on language in comparison with species.... i know you will forgive me for writing with perfect freedom, for you must know how deeply i respect you as my old honoured guide and master. i heartily hope and expect that your book will have a gigantic circulation, and may do in many ways as much good as it ought to do. i am tired, so no more. i have written so briefly that you will have to guess my meaning. i fear my remarks are hardly worth sending. farewell, with kindest remembrance to lady lyell, ever yours. a letter from lyell to hooker (mar. , ), published in lyell's _life and letters_, vol. ii. p. , shows what was his feeling at the time:-- "he [darwin] seems much disappointed that i do not go farther with him, or do not speak out more. i can only say that i have spoken out to the full extent of my present convictions, and even beyond my state of _feeling_ as to man's unbroken descent from the brutes, and i find i am half converting not a few who were in arms against darwin, and are even now against huxley." lyell speaks, too, of having had to abandon "old and long cherished ideas, which constituted the charm to me of the theoretical part of the science in my earlier days, when i believed with pascal in the theory, as hallam terms it, of 'the archangel ruined.'" _c. d. to c. lyell_. down, th [march, ]. my dear lyell,--i thank you for your very interesting and kind, i may say, charming letter. i feared you might be huffed for a little time with me. i know some men would have been so.... as you say that you have gone as far as you believe on the species question, i have not a word to say; but i must feel convinced that at times, judging from conversation, expressions, letters, &c., you have as completely given up belief in immutability of specific forms as i have done. i must still think a clear expression from you, _if you could have given it_, would have been potent with the public, and all the more so, as you formerly held opposite opinions. the more i work, the more satisfied i become with variation and natural selection, but that part of the case i look at as less important, though more interesting to me personally. as you ask for criticisms on this head (and believe me that i should not have made them unasked), i may specify (pp. , ) that such words as "mr. d. labours to show," "is believed by the author to throw light," would lead a common reader to think that you yourself do _not_ at all agree, but merely think it fair to give my opinion. lastly, you refer repeatedly to my view as a modification of lamarck's doctrine of development and progression. if this is your deliberate opinion there is nothing to be said, but it does not seem so to me. plato, buffon, my grandfather before lamarck, and others, propounded the _obvious_ view that if species were not created separately they must have descended from other species, and i can see nothing else in common between the _origin_ and lamarck. i believe this way of putting the case is very injurious to its acceptance, as it implies necessary progression, and closely connects wallace's and my views with what i consider, after two deliberate readings, as a wretched book, and one from which (i well remember my surprise) i gained nothing. but i know you rank it higher, which is curious, as it did not in the least shake your belief. but enough, and more than enough. please remember you have brought it all down on yourself!! i am very sorry to hear about falconer's "reclamation."[ ] i hate the very word, and have a sincere affection for him. did you ever read anything so wretched as the _athenæum_ reviews of you, and of huxley[ ] especially. your _object_ to make man old, and huxley's _object_ to degrade him. the wretched writer has not a glimpse of what the discovery of scientific truth means. how splendid some pages are in huxley, but i fear the book will not be popular.... in the _athenæum_, mar. , , p. , appeared a notice of dr. carpenter's book on 'foraminifera,' which led to more skirmishing in the same journal. the article was remarkable for upholding spontaneous generation. my father wrote, mar. , :-- "many thanks for _athenæum_, received this morning, and to be returned to-morrow morning. who would have ever thought of the old stupid _athenæum_ taking to oken-like transcendental philosophy written in owenian style! "it will be some time before we see 'slime, protoplasm, &c.' generating a new animal. but i have long regretted that i truckled to public opinion, and used the pentateuchal term of creation,[ ] by which i really meant 'appeared' by some wholly unknown process. it is mere rubbish, thinking at present of the origin of life; one might as well think of the origin of matter." the _athenæum_ continued to be a scientific battle-ground. on april , , falconer wrote a severe article on lyell. and my father wrote (_athenæum_, , p. ), under the cloak of attacking spontaneous generation, to defend evolution. in reply, an article appeared in the same journal (may nd, , p. ), accusing my father of claiming for his views the exclusive merit of "connecting by an intelligible thread of reasoning" a number of facts in morphology, &c. the writer remarks that, "the different generalisations cited by mr. darwin as being connected by an intelligible thread of reasoning exclusively through his attempt to explain specific transmutation are in fact related to it in this wise, that they have prepared the minds of naturalists for a better reception of such attempts to explain the way of the origin of species from species." to this my father replied as follows in the _athenæum_ of may th, :-- down, may [ ]. i hope that you will grant me space to own that your reviewer is quite correct when he states that any theory of descent will connect, "by an intelligible thread of reasoning," the several generalizations before specified. i ought to have made this admission expressly; with the reservation, however, that, as far as i can judge, no theory so well explains or connects these several generalizations (more especially the formation of domestic races in comparison with natural species, the principles of classification, embryonic resemblance, &c.) as the theory, or hypothesis, or guess, if the reviewer so likes to call it, of natural selection. nor has any other satisfactory explanation been ever offered of the almost perfect adaptation of all organic beings to each other, and to their physical conditions of life. whether the naturalist believes in the views given by lamarck, by geoffroy st. hilaire, by the author of the _vestiges_, by mr. wallace and myself, or in any other such view, signifies extremely little in comparison with the admission that species have descended from other species, and have not been created immutable; for he who admits this as a great truth has a wide field opened to him for further inquiry. i believe, however, from what i see of the progress of opinion on the continent, and in this country, that the theory of natural selection will ultimately be adopted, with, no doubt, many subordinate modifications and improvements. charles darwin. in the following, he refers to the above letter to the _athenæum_:-- _c. d. to j. d. hooker._ saturday [may , ]. my dear hooker,--you give good advice about not writing in newspapers; i have been gnashing my teeth at my own folly; and this not caused by ----'s sneers, which were so good that i almost enjoyed them. i have written once again to own to a certain extent of truth in what he says, and then if i am ever such a fool again, have no mercy on me. i have read the squib in _public opinion_;[ ] it is capital; if there is more, and you have a copy, do lend it. it shows well that a scientific man had better be trampled in dirt than squabble. in the following year ( ) he received the greatest honour which a scientific man can receive in this country, the copley medal of the royal society. it is presented at the anniversary meeting on st. andrew's day (nov. ), the medallist being usually present to receive it, but this the state of my father's health prevented. he wrote to mr. fox:-- "i was glad to see your hand-writing. the copley, being open to all sciences and all the world, is reckoned a great honour; but excepting from several kind letters, such things make little difference to me. it shows, however, that natural selection is making some progress in this country, and that pleases me. the subject, however, is safe in foreign lands." the presentation of the copley medal is of interest in connection with what has gone before, inasmuch as it led to sir c. lyell making, in his after-dinner speech, a "confession of faith as to the _origin_." he wrote to my father (_life of sir c. lyell_, vol. ii. p. ), "i said i had been forced to give up my old faith without thoroughly seeing my way to a new one. but i think you would have been satisfied with the length i went." lyell's acceptance of evolution was made public in the tenth edition of the _principles_, published in and . it was a sign of improvement, "a great triumph," as my father called it, that an evolutionary article by wallace, dealing with lyell's book, should have appeared in the _quarterly review_ (april, ). mr. wallace wrote:-- "the history of science hardly presents so striking an instance of youthfulness of mind in advanced life as is shown by this abandonment of opinions so long held and so powerfully advocated; and if we bear in mind the extreme caution, combined with the ardent love of truth which characterise every work which our author has produced, we shall be convinced that so great a change was not decided on without long and anxious deliberation, and that the views now adopted must indeed be supported by arguments of overwhelming force. if for no other reason than that sir charles lyell in his tenth edition has adopted it, the theory of mr. darwin deserves an attentive and respectful consideration from every earnest seeker after truth." the incident of the copley medal is interesting as giving an index of the state of the scientific mind at the time. my father wrote: "some of the old members of the royal are quite shocked at my having the copley." in the _reader_, december , , general sabine's presidential address at the anniversary meeting is reported at some length. special weight was laid on my father's work in geology, zoology, and botany, but the _origin of species_ was praised chiefly as containing a "mass of observations," &c. it is curious that as in the case of his election to the french institute, so in this case, he was honoured not for the great work of his life, but for his less important work in special lines. i believe i am right in saying that no little dissatisfaction at the president's manner of allusion to the _origin_ was felt by some fellows of the society. my father spoke justly when he said that the subject was "safe in foreign lands." in telling lyell of the progress of opinion, he wrote (march, ):-- "a first-rate german naturalist[ ] (i now forget the name!), who has lately published a grand folio, has spoken out to the utmost extent on the _origin_. de candolle, in a very good paper on 'oaks,' goes, in asa gray's opinion, as far as he himself does; but de candolle, in writing to me, says _we_, 'we think this and that;' so that i infer he really goes to the full extent with me, and tells me of a french good botanical palæontologist[ ] (name forgotten), who writes to de candolle that he is sure that my views will ultimately prevail. but i did not intend to have written all this. it satisfies me with the final results, but this result, i begin to see, will take two or three life-times. the entomologists are enough to keep the subject back for half a century." the official attitude of french science was not very hopeful. the secrétaire perpétuel of the académie published an _examen du livre de m. darwin_, on which my father remarks:-- "a great gun, flourens, has written a little dull book[ ] against me, which pleases me much, for it is plain that our good work is spreading in france." mr. huxley, who reviewed the book,[ ] quotes the following passage from flourens:-- "m. darwin continue: aucune distinction absolue n'a été et ne peut être établie entre les espèces et les variétés! je vous ai déjà dit que vous vous trompiez; une distinction absolue sépare les variétés d'avec les espèces." mr. huxley remarks on this, "being devoid of the blessings of an academy in england, we are unaccustomed to see our ablest men treated in this way even by a perpetual secretary." after demonstrating m. flourens' misapprehension of natural selection, mr. huxley says, "how one knows it all by heart, and with what relief one reads at p. , 'je laisse m. darwin.'" the deterrent effect of the académie on the spread of evolution in france has been most striking. even at the present day a member of the institute does not feel quite happy in owning to a belief in darwinism. we may indeed be thankful that we are "devoid of such a blessing." among the germans, he was fast gaining supporters. in he began a correspondence with the distinguished naturalist, fritz müller, then, as now, resident in brazil. they never met, but the correspondence with müller, which continued to the close of my father's life, was a source of very great pleasure to him. my impression is that of all his unseen friends fritz müller was the one for whom he had the strongest regard. fritz müller is the brother of another distinguished man, the late hermann müller, the author of _die befruchtung der blumen_ (the fertilisation of flowers), and of much other valuable work. the occasion of writing to fritz müller was the latter's book, _für darwin_, which was afterwards translated by mr. dallas at my father's suggestion, under the title _facts and arguments for darwin_. shortly afterwards, in , began his connection with professor victor carus, of leipzig, who undertook the translation of the th edition of the _origin_. from this time forward professor carus continued to translate my father's books into german. the conscientious care with which this work was done was of material service, and i well remember the admiration (mingled with a tinge of vexation at his own shortcomings) with which my father used to receive the lists of oversights, &c., which professor carus discovered in the course of translation. the connection was not a mere business one, but was cemented by warm feelings of regard on both sides. about this time, too, he came in contact with professor ernst haeckel, whose influence on german science has been so powerful. the earliest letter which i have seen from my father to professor haeckel, was written in , and from that time forward they corresponded (though not, i think, with any regularity) up to the end of my father's life. his friendship with haeckel was not merely the growth of correspondence, as was the case with some others, for instance, fritz müller. haeckel paid more than one visit to down, and these were thoroughly enjoyed by my father. the following letter will serve to show the strong feeling of regard which he entertained for his correspondent--a feeling which i have often heard him emphatically express, and which was warmly returned. the book referred to is haeckel's _generelle morphologie_, published in , a copy of which my father received from the author in january, . dr. e. krause[ ] has given a good account of professor haeckel's services in the cause of evolution. after speaking of the lukewarm reception which the _origin_ met with in germany on its first publication, he goes on to describe the first adherents of the new faith as more or less popular writers, not especially likely to advance its acceptance with the professorial or purely scientific world. and he claims for haeckel that it was his advocacy of evolution in his _radiolaria_ ( ), and at the "versammlung" of naturalists at stettin in , that placed the darwinian question for the first time publicly before the forum of german science, and his enthusiastic propagandism that chiefly contributed to its success. mr. huxley, writing in , paid a high tribute to professor haeckel as the coryphæus of the darwinian movement in germany. of his _generelle morphologie_, "an attempt to work out the practical applications" of the doctrine of evolution to their final results, he says that it has the "force and suggestiveness, and ... systematising power of oken without his extravagance." mr. huxley also testifies to the value of haeckel's _schöpfungs-geschichte_ as an exposition of the _generelle morphologie_ "for an educated public." again, in his _evolution in biology_,[ ] mr. huxley wrote: "whatever hesitation may not unfrequently be felt by less daring minds, in following haeckel in many of his speculations, his attempt to systematise the doctrine of evolution and to exhibit its influence as the central thought of modern biology, cannot fail to have a far-reaching influence on the progress of science." in the following letter my father alludes to the somewhat fierce manner in which professor haeckel fought the battle of 'darwinismus,' and on this subject dr. krause has some good remarks (p. ). he asks whether much that happened in the heat of the conflict might not well have been otherwise, and adds that haeckel himself is the last man to deny this. nevertheless he thinks that even these things may have worked well for the cause of evolution, inasmuch as haeckel "concentrated on himself by his _ursprung des menschen-geschlechts_, his _generelle morphologie_, and _schöpfungs-geschichte_, all the hatred and bitterness which evolution excited in certain quarters," so that, "in a surprisingly short time it became the fashion in germany that haeckel alone should be abused, while darwin was held up as the ideal of forethought and moderation." _c. d. to e. haeckel._ down, may , . dear haeckel,--your letter of the th has given me great pleasure, for you have received what i said in the most kind and cordial manner. you have in part taken what i said much stronger than i had intended. it never occurred to me for a moment to doubt that your work, with the whole subject so admirably and clearly arranged, as well as fortified by so many new facts and arguments, would not advance our common object in the highest degree. all that i think is that you will excite anger, and that anger so completely blinds every one that your arguments would have no chance of influencing those who are already opposed to our views. moreover, i do not at all like that you, towards whom i feel so much friendship, should unnecessarily make enemies, and there is pain and vexation enough in the world without more being caused. but i repeat that i can feel no doubt that your work will greatly advance our subject, and i heartily wish it could be translated into english, for my own sake and that of others. with respect to what you say about my advancing too strongly objections against my own views, some of my english friends think that i have erred on this side; but truth compelled me to write what i did, and i am inclined to think it was good policy. the belief in the descent theory is slowly spreading in england,[ ] even amongst those who can give no reason for their belief. no body of men were at first so much opposed to my views as the members of the london entomological society, but now i am assured that, with the exception of two or three old men, all the members concur with me to a certain extent. it has been a great disappointment to me that i have never received your long letter written to me from the canary islands. i am rejoiced to hear that your tour, which seems to have been a most interesting one, has done your health much good. ... i am very glad to hear that there is some chance of your visiting england this autumn, and all in this house will be delighted to see you here. believe me, my dear haeckel, yours very sincerely. i place here an extract from a letter of later date (nov. ), which refers to one of haeckel's later works.[ ] "your chapters on the affinities and genealogy of the animal kingdom strike me as admirable and full of original thought. your boldness, however, sometimes makes me tremble, but as huxley remarked, some one must be bold enough to make a beginning in drawing up tables of descent. although you fully admit the imperfection of the geological record, yet huxley agreed with me in thinking that you are sometimes rather rash in venturing to say at what periods the several groups first appeared. i have this advantage over you, that i remember how wonderfully different any statement on this subject made years ago, would have been to what would now be the case, and i expect the next years will make quite as great a difference." the following extract from a letter to professor w. preyer, a well-known physiologist, shows that he estimated at its true value the help he was to receive from the scientific workers of germany:-- march , . ... i am delighted to hear that you uphold the doctrine of the modification of species, and defend my views. the support which i receive from germany is my chief ground for hoping that our views will ultimately prevail. to the present day i am continually abused or treated with contempt by writers of my own country; but the younger naturalists are almost all on my side, and sooner or later the public must follow those who make the subject their special study. the abuse and contempt of ignorant writers hurts me very little.... i must now pass on to the publication, in , of his book on _the variation of animals and plants under domestication_. it was begun two days after the appearance of the second edition of the _origin_, on jan. , , and it may, i think, be reckoned that about half of the eight years that elapsed between its commencement and completion was spent on it. the book did not escape adverse criticism: it was said, for instance, that the public had been patiently waiting for mr. darwin's _pièces justicatives_, and that after eight years of expectation, all they got was a mass of detail about pigeons, rabbits and silk-worms. but the true critics welcomed it as an expansion with unrivalled wealth of illustration of a section of the _origin_. variation under the influence of man was the only subject (except the question of man's origin) which he was able to deal with in detail so as to utilise his full stores of knowledge. when we remember how important for his argument is a knowledge of the action of artificial selection, we may well rejoice that this subject was chosen by him for amplification. in , he wrote to sir joseph hooker: "i have begun looking over my old ms., and it is as fresh as if i had never written it; parts are astonishingly dull, but yet worth printing, i think; and other parts strike me as very good. i am a complete millionaire in odd and curious little facts, and i have been really astounded at my own industry whilst reading my chapters on inheritance and selection. god knows when the book will ever be completed, for i find that i am very weak, and on my best days cannot do more than one or one and a half hours' work. it is a good deal harder than writing about my dear climbing plants." in aug. , when lyell was reading the proofs of the book, my father wrote:-- "i thank you cordially for your last two letters. the former one did me _real_ good, for i had got so wearied with the subject that i could hardly bear to correct the proofs, and you gave me fresh heart. i remember thinking that when you came to the pigeon chapter you would pass it over as quite unreadable. i have been particularly pleased that you have noticed pangenesis. i do not know whether you ever had the feeling of having thought so much over a subject that you had lost all power of judging it. this is my case with pangenesis (which is or years old), but i am inclined to think that if it be admitted as a probable hypothesis it will be a somewhat important step in biology." his theory of pangenesis, by which he attempted to explain "how the characters of the parents are 'photographed' on the child, by means of material atoms derived from each cell in both parents, and developed in the child," has never met with much acceptance. nevertheless, some of his contemporaries felt with him about it. thus in february , he wrote to hooker:-- "i heard yesterday from wallace, who says (excuse horrid vanity), 'i can hardly tell you how much i admire the chapter on _pangenesis_. it is a _positive comfort_ to me to have any feasible explanation of a difficulty that has always been haunting me, and i shall never be able to give it up till a better one supplies its place, and that i think hardly possible.' now his foregoing [italicised] words express my sentiments exactly and fully: though perhaps i feel the relief extra strongly from having during many years vainly attempted to form some hypothesis. when you or huxley say that a single cell of a plant, or the stump of an amputated limb, has the 'potentiality' of reproducing the whole--or 'diffuses an influence,' these words give me no positive idea;--but, when it is said that the cells of a plant, or stump, include atoms derived from every other cell of the whole organism and capable of development, i gain a distinct idea." immediately after the publication of the book, he wrote: down, february [ ]. my dear hooker,--what is the good of having a friend, if one may not boast to him? i heard yesterday that murray has sold in a week the whole edition of copies of my book, and the sale so pressing that he has agreed with clowes to get another edition in fourteen days! this has done me a world of good, for i had got into a sort of dogged hatred of my book. and now there has appeared a review in the _pall mall_ which has pleased me excessively, more perhaps than is reasonable. i am quite content, and do not care how much i may be pitched into. if by any chance you should hear who wrote the article in the _pall mall_, do please tell me; it is some one who writes capitally, and who knows the subject. i went to luncheon on sunday, to lubbock's, partly in hopes of seeing you, and, be hanged to you, you were not there. your cock-a-hoop friend, c. d. independently of the favourable tone of the able series of notices in the _pall mall gazette_ (feb. , , , ), my father may well have been gratified by the following passages:-- "we must call attention to the rare and noble calmness with which he expounds his own views, undisturbed by the heats of polemical agitation which those views have excited, and persistently refusing to retort on his antagonists by ridicule, by indignation, or by contempt. considering the amount of vituperation and insinuation which has come from the other side, this forbearance is supremely dignified." and again in the third notice, feb. :-- "nowhere has the author a word that could wound the most sensitive self-love of an antagonist; nowhere does he, in text or note, expose the fallacies and mistakes of brother investigators ... but while abstaining from impertinent censure, he is lavish in acknowledging the smallest debts he may owe; and his book will make many men happy." i am indebted to messrs. smith and elder for the information that these articles were written by mr. g. h. lewes. the following extract from a letter (feb. ) to his friend professor newton, the well-known ornithologist, shows how much he valued the appreciation of his colleagues. "i suppose it would be universally held extremely wrong for a defendant to write to a judge to express his satisfaction at a judgment in his favour; and yet i am going thus to act. i have just read what you have said in the 'record'[ ] about my pigeon chapters, and it has gratified me beyond measure. i have sometimes felt a little disappointed that the labour of so many years seemed to be almost thrown away, for you are the first man capable of forming a judgment (excepting partly quatrefages), who seems to have thought anything of this part of my work. the amount of labour, correspondence, and care, which the subject cost me, is more than you could well suppose. i thought the article in the _athenæum_ was very unjust; but now i feel amply repaid, and i cordially thank you for your sympathy and too warm praise." work on man. in february , when the manuscript of _animals and plants_ had been sent to messrs. clowes to be printed, and before the proofs began to come in, he had an interval of spare time, and began a "chapter on man," but be soon found it growing under his hands, and determined to publish it separately as a "very small volume." it is remarkable that only four years before this date, namely in , he had given up hope of being able to work out this subject. he wrote to mr. wallace:-- "i have collected a few notes on man, but i do not suppose that i shall ever use them. do you intend to follow out your views, and if so, would you like at some future time to have my few references and notes? i am sure i hardly know whether they are of any value, and they are at present in a state of chaos. there is much more that i should like to write, but i have not strength." but this was at a period of ill-health; not long before, in , he had written in the same depressed tone about his future work generally:-- "i have been so steadily going downhill, i cannot help doubting whether i can ever crawl a little uphill again. unless i can, enough to work a little, i hope my life may be very short, for to lie on a sofa all day and do nothing but give trouble to the best and kindest of wives and good dear children is dreadful." the "chapter on man," which afterwards grew into the _descent of man_, was interrupted by the necessity of correcting the proofs of _animals and plants_, and by some botanical work, but was resumed with unremitting industry on the first available day in the following year. he could not rest, and he recognised with regret the gradual change in his mind that rendered continuous work more and more necessary to him as he grew older. this is expressed in a letter to sir j. d. hooker, june , , which repeats to some extent what is given in the _autobiography_:-- "i am glad you were at the _messiah_, it is the one thing that i should like to hear again, but i dare say i should find my soul too dried up to appreciate it as in old days; and then i should feel very flat, for it is a horrid bore to feel as i constantly do, that i am a withered leaf for every subject except science. it sometimes makes me hate science, though god knows i ought to be thankful for such a perennial interest, which makes me forget for some hours every day my accursed stomach." _the descent of man_ (and this is indicated on its title-page) consists of two separate books, namely on the pedigree of mankind, and on sexual selection in the animal kingdom generally. in studying this latter part of the subject he had to take into consideration the whole subject of colour. i give the two following characteristic letters, in which the reader is as it were present at the birth of a theory. _c. d. to a. r. wallace._ down, february [ ]. dear wallace,--i much regretted that i was unable to call on you, but after monday i was unable even to leave the house. on monday evening i called on bates, and put a difficulty before him, which he could not answer, and, as on some former similar occasion, his first suggestion was, "you had better ask wallace." my difficulty is, why are caterpillars sometimes so beautifully and artistically coloured? seeing that many are coloured to escape danger, i can hardly attribute their bright colour in other cases to mere physical conditions. bates says the most gaudy caterpillar he ever saw in amazonia (of a sphinx) was conspicuous at the distance of yards, from its black and red colours, whilst feeding on large green leaves. if any one objected to male butterflies having been made beautiful by sexual selection, and asked why should they not have been made beautiful as well as their caterpillars, what would you answer? i could not answer, but should maintain my ground. will you think over this, and some time, either by letter or when we meet, tell me what you think?... he seems to have received an explanation by return of post, for a day or two afterwards he could write to wallace:-- "bates was quite right; you are the man to apply to in a difficulty. i never heard anything more ingenious than your suggestion, and i hope you may be able to prove it true. that is a splendid fact about the white moths; it warms one's very blood to see a theory thus almost proved to be true." mr. wallace's suggestion was that conspicuous caterpillars or perfect insects (_e.g._ white butterflies), which are distasteful to birds, benefit by being promptly recognised and therefore easily avoided.[ ] the letter from darwin to wallace goes on: "the reason of my being so much interested just at present about sexual selection is, that i have almost resolved to publish a little essay on the origin of mankind, and i still strongly think (though i failed to convince you, and this, to me, is the heaviest blow possible) that sexual selection has been the main agent in forming the races of man. "by the way, there is another subject which i shall introduce in my essay, namely, expression of countenance. now, do you happen to know by any odd chance a very good-natured and acute observer in the malay archipelago, who you think would make a few easy observations for me on the expression of the malays when excited by various emotions?" the reference to the subject of expression in the above letter is explained by the fact, that my father's original intention was to give his essay on this subject as a chapter in the _descent of man_, which in its turn grew, as we have seen, out of a proposed chapter in _animals and plants_. he got much valuable help from dr. günther, of the natural history museum, to whom he wrote in may :-- "as i crawl on with the successive classes i am astonished to find how similar the rules are about the nuptial or 'wedding dress' of all animals. the subject has begun to interest me in an extraordinary degree; but i must try not to fall into my common error of being too speculative. but a drunkard might as well say he would drink a little and not too much! my essay, as far as fishes, batrachians and reptiles are concerned, will be in fact yours, only written by me." the last revise of the _descent of man_ was corrected on january th, , so that the book occupied him for about three years. he wrote to sir j. hooker: "i finished the last proofs of my book a few days ago; the work half-killed me, and i have not the most remote idea whether the book is worth publishing." he also wrote to dr. gray:-- "i have finished my book on the _descent of man_, &c., and its publication is delayed only by the index: when published, i will send you a copy, but i do not know that you will care about it. parts, as on the moral sense, will, i dare say, aggravate you, and if i hear from you, i shall probably receive a few stabs from your polished stiletto of a pen." the book was published on february , . copies were printed at first, and more before the end of the year. my father notes that he received for this edition £ . nothing can give a better idea (in a small compass) of the growth of evolutionism, and its position at this time, than a quotation from mr. huxley[ ]:-- "the gradual lapse of time has now separated us by more than a decade from the date of the publication of the _origin of species_; and whatever may be thought or said about mr. darwin's doctrines, or the manner in which he has propounded them, this much is certain, that in a dozen years the _origin of species_ has worked as complete a revolution in biological science as the _principia_ did in astronomy;" and it had done so, "because in the words of helmholtz, it contains 'an essentially new creative thought.' and, as time has slipped by, a happy change has come over mr. darwin's critics. the mixture of ignorance and insolence which at first characterised a large proportion of the attacks with which he was assailed, is no longer the sad distinction of anti-darwinian criticism." a passage in the introduction to the _descent of man_ shows that the author recognised clearly this improvement in the position of evolutionism. "when a naturalist like carl vogt ventures to say in his address, as president of the national institution of geneva ( ), 'personne, en europe au moins, n'ose plus soutenir la création indépendante et de toutes pièces, des espèces,' it is manifest that at least a large number of naturalists must admit that species are the modified descendants of other species; and this especially holds good with the younger and rising naturalists.... of the older and honoured chiefs in natural science, many, unfortunately, are still opposed to evolution in every form." in mr. james hague's pleasantly written article, "a reminiscence of mr. darwin" (_harper's magazine_, october ), he describes a visit to my father "early in ," shortly after the publication of the _descent of man_. mr. hague represents my father as "much impressed by the general assent with which his views had been received," and as remarking that "everybody is talking about it without being shocked." later in the year the reception of the book is described in different language in the _edinburgh review_: "on every side it is raising a storm of mingled wrath, wonder and admiration." haeckel seems to have been one of the first to write to my father about the _descent of man_. i quote from darwin's reply:-- "i must send you a few words to thank you for your interesting, and i may truly say, charming letter. i am delighted that you approve of my book, as far as you have read it. i felt very great difficulty and doubt how often i ought to allude to what you have published; strictly speaking every idea, although occurring independently to me, if published by you previously ought to have appeared as if taken from your works, but this would have made my book very dull reading; and i hoped that a full acknowledgment at the beginning would suffice.[ ] i cannot tell you how glad i am to find that i have expressed my high admiration of your labours with sufficient clearness; i am sure that i have not expressed it too strongly." in march he wrote to professor ray lankester:-- "i think you will be glad to hear, as a proof of the increasing liberality of england, that my book has sold wonderfully ... and as yet no abuse (though some, no doubt, will come, strong enough), and only contempt even in the poor old _athenæum_." about the same time he wrote to mr. murray:-- "many thanks for the _nonconformist_ [march , ]. i like to see all that is written, and it is of some real use. if you hear of reviewers in out-of-the-way papers, especially the religious, as _record_, _guardian_, _tablet_, kindly inform me. it is wonderful that there has been no abuse as yet. on the whole, the reviews have been highly favourable." the following extract from a letter to mr. murray (april , ) refers to a review in the _times_[ ]:-- "i have no idea who wrote the _times'_ review. he has no knowledge of science, and seems to me a wind-bag full of metaphysics and classics, so that i do not much regard his adverse judgment, though i suppose it will injure the sale." a striking review appeared in the _saturday review_ (march and , ) in which the position of evolution is well stated. "he claims to have brought man himself, his origin and constitution, within that unity which he had previously sought to trace through all lower animal forms. the growth of opinion in the interval, due in chief measure to his own intermediate works, has placed the discussion of this problem in a position very much in advance of that held by it fifteen years ago. the problem of evolution is hardly any longer to be treated as one of first principles: nor has mr. darwin to do battle for a first hearing of his central hypothesis, upborne as it is by a phalanx of names full of distinction and promise in either hemisphere." we must now return to the history of the general principle of evolution. at the beginning of [ ] he was at work on the fifth edition of the _origin_. the most important alterations were suggested by a remarkable paper in the _north british review_ (june, ) written by the late fleeming jenkin. it is not a little remarkable that the criticisms, which my father, as i believe, felt to be the most valuable ever made on his views should have come, not from a professed naturalist but from a professor of engineering. the point on which fleeming jenkin convinced my father is the extreme difficulty of believing that _single individuals_ which differ from their fellows in the possession of some useful character can be the starting point of a new variety. thus the origin of a new variety is more likely to be found in a species which presents the incipient character in a large number of its individuals. this point of view was of course perfectly familiar to him, it was this that induced him to study "unconscious selection," where a breed is formed by the long-continued preservation by man of all those individuals which are best adapted to his needs: not as in the art of the professed breeder, where a single individual is picked out to breed from. it is impossible to give in a short compass an account of fleeming jenkin's argument. my father's copy of the paper (ripped out of the volume as usual, and tied with a bit of string) is annotated in pencil in many places. i quote a passage opposite which my father has written "good sneers"--but it should be remembered that he used the word "sneer" in rather a special sense, not as necessarily implying a feeling of bitterness in the critic, but rather in the sense of "banter." speaking of the "true believer," fleeming jenkin says, p. :-- "he can invent trains of ancestors of whose existence there is no evidence; he can marshal hosts of equally imaginary foes; he can call up continents, floods, and peculiar atmospheres; he can dry up oceans, split islands, and parcel out eternity at will; surely with these advantages he must be a dull fellow if he cannot scheme some series of animals and circumstances explaining our assumed difficulty quite naturally. feeling the difficulty of dealing with adversaries who command so huge a domain of fancy, we will abandon these arguments, and trust to those which at least cannot be assailed by mere efforts of imagination." in the fifth edition of the _origin_, my father altered a passage in the historical sketch (fourth edition, p. xviii.). he thus practically gave up the difficult task of understanding whether or not sir r. owen claims to have discovered the principle of natural selection. adding, "as far as the more enunciation of the principle of natural selection is concerned, it is quite immaterial whether or not professor owen preceded me, for both of us ... were long ago preceded by dr. wells and mr. matthew." the desire that his views might spread in france was always strong with my father, and he was therefore justly annoyed to find that in the publisher of the french edition had brought out a third edition without consulting the author. he was accordingly glad to enter into an arrangement for a french translation of the fifth edition; this was undertaken by m. reinwald, with whom he continued to have pleasant relations as the publisher of many of his books in french. he wrote to sir j. d. hooker:-- "i must enjoy myself and tell you about mdlle. c. royer, who translated the _origin_ into french, and for whose second edition i took infinite trouble. she has now just brought out a third edition without informing me, so that all the corrections, &c., in the fourth and fifth english editions are lost. besides her enormously long preface to the first edition, she has added a second preface abusing me like a pickpocket for pangenesis, which of course has no relation to the _origin_. so i wrote to paris; and reinwald agrees to bring out at once a new translation from the fifth english edition, in competition with her third edition.... this fact shows that 'evolution of species' must at last be spreading in france." it will be well perhaps to place here all that remains to be said about the _origin of species_. the sixth or final edition was published in january in a smaller and cheaper form than its predecessors. the chief addition was a discussion suggested by mr. mivart's _genesis of species_, which appeared in , before the publication of the _descent of man_. the following quotation from a letter to wallace (july , ) may serve to show the spirit and method in which mr. mivart dealt with the subject. "i grieve to see the omission of the words by mivart, detected by wright.[ ] i complained to mivart that in two cases he quotes only the commencement of sentences by me, and thus modifies my meaning; but i never supposed he would have omitted words. there are other cases of what i consider unfair treatment." my father continues, with his usual charity and moderation:-- "i conclude with sorrow that though he means to be honourable, he is so bigoted that he cannot act fairly." in july , my father wrote to mr. wallace:-- "i feel very doubtful how far i shall succeed in answering mivart, it is so difficult to answer objections to doubtful points, and make the discussion readable. i shall make only a selection. the worst of it is, that i cannot possibly hunt through all my references for isolated points, it would take me three weeks of intolerably hard work. i wish i had your power of arguing clearly. at present i feel sick of everything, and if i could occupy my time and forget my daily discomforts, or rather miseries, i would never publish another word. but i shall cheer up, i dare say, soon, having only just got over a bad attack. farewell; god knows why i bother you about myself. i can say nothing more about missing-links than what i have said. i should rely much on pre-silurian times; but then comes sir w. thomson like an odious spectre.[ ] farewell. " ... there is a most cutting review of me in the [july] _quarterly_; i have only read a few pages. the skill and style make me think of mivart. i shall soon be viewed as the most despicable of men. this _quarterly review_ tempts me to republish ch. wright,[ ] even if not read by any one, just to show some one will say a word against mivart, and that his (_i.e._ mivart's) remarks ought not to be swallowed without some reflection.... god knows whether my strength and spirit will last out to write a chapter versus mivart and others; i do so hate controversy and feel i shall do it so badly." the _quarterly_ review was the subject of an article by mr. huxley in the november number of the _contemporary review_. here, also, are discussed mr. wallace's _contribution to the theory of natural selection_, and the second edition of mr. mivart's _genesis of species_. what follows is taken from mr. huxley's article. the _quarterly_ reviewer, though to some extent an evolutionist, believes that man "differs more from an elephant or a gorilla, than do these from the dust of the earth on which they tread." the reviewer also declares that darwin has "with needless opposition, set at naught the first principles of both philosophy and religion." mr. huxley passes from the _quarterly_ reviewer's further statement, that there is no necessary opposition between evolution and religion, to the more definite position taken by mr. mivart, that the orthodox authorities of the roman catholic church agree in distinctly asserting derivative creation, so that "their teachings harmonize with all that modern science can possibly require." here mr. huxley felt the want of that "study of christian philosophy" (at any rate, in its jesuitic garb), which mr. mivart speaks of, and it was a want he at once set to work to fill up. he was then staying at st. andrews, whence he wrote to my father:-- "by great good luck there is an excellent library here, with a good copy of suarez,[ ] in a dozen big folios. among these i dived, to the great astonishment of the librarian, and looking into them 'as careful robins eye the delver's toil' (_vide idylls_), i carried off the two venerable clasped volumes which were most promising." even those who know mr. huxley's unrivalled power of tearing the heart out of a book must marvel at the skill with which he has made suarez speak on his side. "so i have come out," he wrote, "in the new character of a defender of catholic orthodoxy, and upset mivart out of the mouth of his own prophet." the remainder of mr. huxley's critique is largely occupied with a dissection of the _quarterly_ reviewer's psychology, and his ethical views. he deals, too, with mr. wallace's objections to the doctrine of evolution by natural causes when applied to the mental faculties of man. finally, he devotes a couple of pages to justifying his description of the _quarterly_ reviewer's treatment of mr. darwin as alike "unjust and unbecoming."[ ] in the sixth edition my father also referred to the "direct action of the conditions of life" as a subordinate cause of modification in living things: on this subject he wrote to dr. moritz wagner (oct. , ): "in my opinion the greatest error which i have committed, has been not allowing sufficient weight to the direct action of the environment, _i.e._ food, climate, &c., independently of natural selection. modifications thus caused, which are neither of advantage nor disadvantage to the modified organism, would be especially favoured, as i can now see chiefly through your observations, by isolation, in a small area, where only a few individuals lived under nearly uniform conditions." it has been supposed that such statements indicate a serious change of front on my father's part. as a matter of fact the first edition of the _origin_ contains the words, "i am convinced that natural selection has been the main but not the exclusive means of modification." moreover, any alteration that his views may have undergone was due not to a change of opinion, but to change in the materials on which a judgment was to be formed. thus he wrote to wagner in the above quoted letter:-- "when i wrote the _origin_, and for some years afterwards, i could find little good evidence of the direct action of the environment; now there is a large body of evidence." with the possibility of such action of the environment he had of course been familiar for many years. thus he wrote to mr. davidson in :-- "my greatest trouble is, not being able to weigh the direct effects of the long-continued action of changed conditions of life without any selection, with the action of selection on mere accidental (so to speak) variability. i oscillate much on this head, but generally return to my belief that the direct action of the conditions of life has not been great. at least this direct action can have played an extremely small part in producing all the numberless and beautiful adaptations in every living creature." and to sir joseph hooker in the following year:-- "i hardly know why i am a little sorry, but my present work is leading me to believe rather more in the direct action of physical conditions. i presume i regret it, because it lessens the glory of natural selection, and is so confoundedly doubtful. perhaps i shall change again when i get all my facts under one point of view, and a pretty hard job this will be." reference has already been made to the growth of his book on the _expression of the emotions_ out of a projected chapter in the _descent of man_. it was published in the autumn of . the edition consisted of , and of these copies were sold at mr. murray's sale in november. two thousand were printed at the end of the year, and this proved a misfortune, as they did not afterwards sell so rapidly, and thus a mass of notes collected by the author was never employed for a second edition during his lifetime.[ ] as usual he had no belief in the possibility of the book being generally successful. the following passage in a letter to haeckel serves to show that he had felt the writing of this book as a somewhat severe strain:-- "i have finished my little book on expression, and when it is published in november i will of course send you a copy, in case you would like to read it for amusement. i have resumed some old botanical work, and perhaps i shall never again attempt to discuss theoretical views. "i am growing old and weak, and no man can tell when his intellectual powers begin to fail. long life and happiness to you for your own sake and for that of science." a good review by mr. wallace appeared in the _quarterly journal of science_, jan. . mr. wallace truly remarks that the book exhibits certain "characteristics of the author's mind in an eminent degree," namely, "the insatiable longing to discover the causes of the varied and complex phenomena presented by living things." he adds that in the case of the author "the restless curiosity of the child to know the 'what for?' the 'why?' and the 'how?' of everything" seems "never to have abated its force." the publication of the expression book was the occasion of the following letter to one of his oldest friends, the late mrs. haliburton, who was the daughter of a shropshire neighbour, mr. owen of woodhouse, and became the wife of the author of _sam slick_. nov. , . my dear mrs. haliburton,--i dare say you will be surprised to hear from me. my object in writing now is to say that i have just published a book on the _expression of the emotions in man and animals_; and it has occurred to me that you might possibly like to read some parts of it; and i can hardly think that this would have been the case with any of the books which i have already published. so i send by this post my present book. although i have had no communication with you or the other members of your family for so long a time, no scenes in my whole life pass so frequently or so vividly before my mind as those which relate to happy old days spent at woodhouse. i should very much like to hear a little news about yourself and the other members of your family, if you will take the trouble to write to me. formerly i used to glean some news about you from my sisters. i have had many years of bad health and have not been able to visit anywhere; and now i feel very old. as long as i pass a perfectly uniform life, i am able to do some daily work in natural history, which is still my passion, as it was in old days, when you used to laugh at me for collecting beetles with such zeal at woodhouse. excepting from my continued ill-health, which has excluded me from society, my life has been a very happy one; the greatest drawback being that several of my children have inherited from me feeble health. i hope with all my heart that you retain, at least to a large extent, the famous "owen constitution." with sincere feelings of gratitude and affection for all bearing the name of owen, i venture to sign myself, yours affectionately. charles darwin. footnotes: [ ] the historical sketch had already appeared in the first german edition ( ) and the american edition. bronn states in the german edition (footnote, p. ) that it was his critique in the _n. jahrbuch für mineralogie_ that suggested to my father the idea of such a sketch. [ ] hugh falconer, born , died . chiefly known as a palæontologist, although employed as a botanist during his whole career in india, where he was a medical officer in the h.e.i.c. service. [ ] in his letters to gray there are also numerous references to the american war. i give a single passage. "i never knew the newspapers so profoundly interesting. north america does not do england justice; i have not seen or heard of a soul who is not with the north. some few, and i am one of them, even wish to god, though at the loss of millions of lives, that the north would proclaim a crusade against slavery. in the long-run, a million horrid deaths would be amply repaid in the cause of humanity. what wonderful times we live in! massachusetts seems to show noble enthusiasm. great god! how i should like to see the greatest curse on earth--slavery--abolished!" [ ] this refers to the remarkable fact that many introduced european weeds have spread over large parts of the united states. [ ] _geologist_, , p. . [ ] the letter is published in a lecture by professor hutton given before the philosoph. institute, canterbury, n.z., sept th, . [ ] mr. bates is perhaps most widely known through his delightful _the naturalist on the amazons_. it was with regard to this book that my father wrote (april ) to the author:--"i have finished vol. i. my criticisms may be condensed into a single sentence, namely, that it is the best work of natural history travels ever published in england. your style seems to me admirable. nothing can be better than the discussion on the struggle for existence, and nothing better than the description of the forest scenery. it is a grand book, and whether or not it sells quickly, it will last. you have spoken out boldly on species; and boldness on the subject seems to get rarer and rarer. how beautifully illustrated it is." [ ] mr. bates' paper, 'contributions to an insect fauna of the amazons valley' (_linn. soc. trans._ xxiii. ), in which the now familiar subject of mimicry was founded. my father wrote a short review of it in the _natural history review_, , p. , parts of which occur almost verbatim in the later editions of the _origin of species_. a striking passage occurs in the review, showing the difficulties of the case from a creationist's point of view:-- "by what means, it may be asked, have so many butterflies of the amazonian region acquired their deceptive dress? most naturalists will answer that they were thus clothed from the hour of their creation--an answer which will generally be so far triumphant that it can be met only by long-drawn arguments; but it is made at the expense of putting an effectual bar to all further inquiry. in this particular case, moreover, the creationist will meet with special difficulties; for many of the mimicking forms of _leptalis_ can be shown by a graduated series to be merely varieties of one species; other mimickers are undoubtedly distinct species, or even distinct genera. so again, some of the mimicked forms can be shown to be merely varieties; but the greater number must be ranked as distinct species. hence the creationist will have to admit that some of these forms have become imitators, by means of the laws of variation, whilst others he must look at as separately created under their present guise; he will further have to admit that some have been created in imitation of forms not themselves created as we now see them, but due to the laws of variation! professor agassiz, indeed, would think nothing of this difficulty; for he believes that not only each species and each variety, but that groups of individuals, though identically the same, when inhabiting distinct countries, have been all separately created in due proportional numbers to the wants of each land. not many naturalists will be content thus to believe that varieties and individuals have been turned out all ready made, almost as a manufacturer turns out toys according to the temporary demand of the market." [ ] mr. huxley was as usual active in guiding and stimulating the growing tendency to tolerate or accept the views set forth in the _origin of species_. he gave a series of lectures to working men at the school of mines in november, . these were printed in from the shorthand notes of mr. may, as six little blue books, price _d._ each, under the title, _our knowledge of the causes of organic nature_. [ ] kingsley's _life_, vol. ii. p. . [ ] in the _antiquity of man_, first edition, p. , lyell criticised somewhat severely owen's account of the difference between the human and simian brains. the number of the _athenæum_ here referred to ( , p. ) contains a reply by professor owen to lyell's strictures. the surprise expressed by my father was at the revival of a controversy which every one believed to be closed. professor huxley (_medical times_, oct. th, , quoted in _man's place in nature_, p. ) spoke of the "two years during which this preposterous controversy has dragged its weary length." and this no doubt expressed a very general feeling. [ ] the italics are not lyell's. [ ] _the antiquity of man._ [ ] "falconer, whom i [lyell] referred to oftener than to any other author, says i have not done justice to the part he took in resuscitating the cave question, and says he shall come out with a separate paper to prove it. i offered to alter anything in the new edition, but this he declined."--c. lyell to c. darwin, march , ; lyell's _life_, vol ii. p. . [ ] _man's place in nature_, . [ ] this refers to a passage in which the reviewer of dr. carpenter's book speaks of "an operation of force," or "a concurrence of forces which have now no place in nature," as being, "a creative force, in fact, which darwin could only express in pentateuchal terms as the primordial form 'into which life was first breathed.'" the conception of expressing a creative force as a primordial form is the reviewer's. [ ] _public opinion_, april , , a lively account of a police case, in which the quarrels of scientific men are satirised. mr. john bull gives evidence that-- "the whole neighbourhood was unsettled by their disputes; huxley quarrelled with owen, owen with darwin, lyell with owen, falconer and prestwich with lyell, and gray the menagerie man with everybody. he had pleasure, however, in stating that darwin was the quietest of the set. they were always picking bones with each other and fighting over their gains. if either of the gravel sifters or stone breakers found anything, he was obliged to conceal it immediately, or one of the old bone collectors would be sure to appropriate it first and deny the theft afterwards, and the consequent wrangling and disputes were as endless as they were wearisome. "lord mayor.--probably the clergyman of the parish might exert some influence over them? "the gentleman smiled, shook his head, and stated that he regretted to say that no class of men paid so little attention to the opinions of the clergy as that to which these unhappy men belonged." [ ] no doubt haeckel, whose monograph on the radiolaria was published in . [ ] the marquis de saporta. [ ] _examen du livre de m. darwin sur l'origine des espèces_. par p. flourens. vo. paris, . [ ] _lay sermons_, p. . [ ] _charles darwin und sein verhältniss zu deutschland_, . [ ] an article in the _encyclopædia britannica_, th edit., reprinted in _science and culture_, , p. . [ ] in october, , he wrote to mr. wallace:--"mr. warrington has lately read an excellent and spirited abstract of the _origin_ before the victoria institute, and as this is a most orthodox body, he has gained the name of the devil's advocate. the discussion which followed during three consecutive meetings is very rich from the nonsense talked." [ ] _die natürliche schöpfungs-geschichte_, . it was translated and published in , under the title, _the history of creation_. [ ] _zoological record._ the volume for , published december, . [ ] mr. jenner weir's observations published in the _transactions of the entomological society_ ( and ) give strong support to the theory in question. [ ] _contemporary review_, . [ ] in the introduction to the _descent of man_ the author wrote:--"this last naturalist [haeckel] ... has recently ... published his _natürliche schöpfungs-geschichte_, in which he fully discusses the genealogy of man. if this work had appeared before my essay had been written, i should probably never have completed it. almost all the conclusions at which i have arrived, i find confirmed by this naturalist, whose knowledge on many points is much fuller than mine." [ ] april and , . [ ] his holiday this year was at caerdeon, on the north shore of the beautiful barmouth estuary, and pleasantly placed in being close to wild hill country behind, as well as to the picturesque wooded "hummocks," between the steeper hills and the river. my father was ill and somewhat depressed throughout this visit, and i think felt imprisoned and saddened by his inability to reach the hills over which he had once wandered for days together. he wrote from caerdeon to sir j. d. hooker (june nd):-- "we have been here for ten days, how i wish it was possible for you to pay us a visit here; we have a beautiful house with a terraced garden, and a really magnificent view of cader, right opposite. old cader is a grand fellow, and shows himself off superbly with every changing light. we remain here till the end of july, when the h. wedgwoods have the house. i have been as yet in a very poor way; it seems as soon as the stimulus of mental work stops, my whole strength gives way. as yet i have hardly crawled half a mile from the house, and then have been fearfully fatigued. it is enough to make one wish oneself quiet in a comfortable tomb." [ ] the late chauncey wright, in an article published in the _north american review_, vol. cxiii. pp. , . wright points out that the words omitted are "essential to the point on which he [mr. mivart] cites mr. darwin's authority." it should be mentioned that the passage from which words are omitted is not given within inverted commas by mr. mivart. [ ] my father, as an evolutionist, felt that he required more time than sir w. thomson's estimate of the age of the world allows. [ ] chauncey wright's review was published as a pamphlet in the autumn of . [ ] the learned jesuit on whom mr. mivart mainly relies. [ ] the same words may be applied to mr. mivart's treatment of my father. the following extract from a letter to mr. wallace (june th, ) refers to mr. mivart's statement (_lessons from nature_, p. ) that mr. darwin at first studiously disguised his views as to the "bestiality of man":-- "i have only just heard of and procured your two articles in the _academy_. i thank you most cordially for your generous defence of me against mr. mivart. in the _origin_ i did not discuss the derivation of any one species; but that i might not be accused of concealing my opinion, i went out of my way, and inserted a sentence which seemed to me (and still so seems) to disclose plainly my belief. this was quoted in my _descent of man_. therefore it is very unjust ... of mr. mivart to accuse me of base fraudulent concealment." [ ] they were utilised to some extent in the nd edition, edited by me, and published in .--f. d. chapter xv. miscellanea.--revival of geological work.--the vivisection question.--honours. in a second edition of his _coral reefs_ was published, which need not specially concern us. it was not until some time afterwards that the criticisms of my father's theory appeared, which have attracted a good deal of attention. the following interesting account of the subject is taken from professor's judd's "critical introduction" to messrs. ward, lock and co's. edition of _coral reefs_ and _volcanic islands, &c._[ ] "the first serious note of dissent to the generally accepted theory was heard in , when a distinguished german naturalist, dr. karl semper, declared that his study of the pelew islands showed that uninterrupted subsidence could not have been going on in that region. dr. semper's objections were very carefully considered by mr. darwin, and a reply to them appeared in the second and revised edition of his _coral reefs_, which was published in . with characteristic frankness and freedom from prejudices, darwin admitted that the facts brought forward by dr. semper proved that in certain specified cases, subsidence could not have played the chief part in originating the peculiar forms of the coral islands. but while making this admission, he firmly maintained that exceptional cases, like those described in the pelew islands, were not sufficient to invalidate the theory of subsidence as applied to the widely spread atolls, encircling reefs, and barrier-reefs of the pacific and indian oceans. it is worthy of note that to the end of his life darwin maintained a friendly correspondence with semper concerning the points on which they were at issue. "after the appearance of semper's work, dr. j. j. rein published an account of the bermudas, in which he opposed the interpretation of the structure of the islands given by nelson and other authors, and maintained that the facts observed in them are opposed to the views of darwin. although so far as i am aware, darwin had no opportunity of studying and considering these particular objections, it may be mentioned that two american geologists have since carefully re-examined the district--professor w. n. rice in and professor a. heilprin in --and they have independently arrived at the conclusion that dr. rein's objections cannot be maintained. "the most serious objection to darwin's coral-reef theory, however, was that which developed itself after the return of h.m.s. _challenger_ from her famous voyage. mr. john murray, one of the staff of naturalists on board that vessel, propounded a new theory of coral-reefs, and maintained that the view that they were formed by subsidence was one that was no longer tenable; these objections have been supported by professor alexander agassiz in the united states, and by dr. a. geikie, and dr. h. b. guppy in this country. "although mr. darwin did not live to bring out a third edition of his _coral reefs_, i know from several conversations with him that he had given the most patient and thoughtful consideration to mr. murray's paper on the subject. he admitted to me that had he known, when he wrote his work, of the abundant deposition of the remains of calcareous organisms on the sea floor, he might have regarded this cause as sufficient in a few cases to raise the summit of submerged volcanoes or other mountains to a level at which reef-forming corals can commence to flourish. but he did not think that the admission that under certain favourable conditions, atolls might be thus formed without subsidence, necessitated an abandonment of his theory in the case of the innumerable examples of the kind which stud the indian and pacific oceans. "a letter written by darwin to professor alexander agassiz in may , shows exactly the attitude which careful consideration of the subject led him to maintain towards the theory propounded by mr. murray:-- "'you will have seen,' he writes, 'mr. murray's views on the formation of atolls and barrier reefs. before publishing my book, i thought long over the same view, but only as far as ordinary marine organisms are concerned, for at that time little was known of the multitude of minute oceanic organisms. i rejected this view, as from the few dredgings made in the _beagle_, in the south temperate regions, i concluded that shells, the smaller corals, &c., decayed, and were dissolved, when not protected by the deposition of sediment, and sediment could not accumulate in the open ocean. certainly, shells, &c., were in several cases completely rotten, and crumbled into mud between my fingers; but you will know well whether this is in any degree common. i have expressly said that a bank at the proper depth would give rise to an atoll, which could not be distinguished from one formed during subsidence. i can, however, hardly believe in the former presence of as many banks (there having been no subsidence) as there are atolls in the great oceans, within a reasonable depth, on which minute oceanic organisms could have accumulated to the thickness of many hundred feet. "darwin's concluding words in the same letter written within a year of his death, are a striking proof of the candour and openness of mind which he preserved so well to the end, in this as in other controversies. "'if i am wrong, the sooner i am knocked on the head and annihilated so much the better. it still seems to me a marvellous thing that there should not have been much, and long continued, subsidence in the beds of the great oceans. i wish that some doubly rich millionaire would take it into his head to have borings made in some of the pacific and indian atolls, and bring home cores for slicing from a depth of or feet.' "it is noteworthy that the objections to darwin's theory have for the most part proceeded from zoologists, while those who have fully appreciated the geological aspect of the question have been the staunchest supporters of the theory of subsidence. the desirability of such boring operations in atolls has been insisted upon by several geologists, and it may be hoped that before many years have passed away, darwin's hopes may be realised, either with or without the intervention of the 'doubly rich millionaire.' "three years after the death of darwin, the veteran professor dana re-entered the lists and contributed a powerful defence of the theory of subsidence in the form of a reply to an essay written by the ablest exponent of the anti-darwinian views on this subject, dr. a. geikie. while pointing out that the darwinian position had been to a great extent misunderstood by its opponents, he showed that the rival theory presented even greater difficulties than those which it professed to remove. "during the last five years, the whole question of the origin of coral-reefs and islands has been re-opened, and a controversy has arisen, into which, unfortunately, acrimonious elements have been very unnecessarily introduced. those who desire it, will find clear and impartial statements of the varied and often mutually destructive views put forward by different authors, in three works which have made their appearance within the last year--_the bermuda islands_, by professor angelo heilprin: _corals and coral islands_, new edition by professor j. d. dana; and the third edition of darwin's _coral-reefs_, with notes and appendix by professor t. g. bonney. "most readers will, i think, rise from the perusal of these works with the conviction that, while on certain points of detail it is clear that, through the want of knowledge concerning the action of marine organisms in the open ocean, darwin was betrayed into some grave errors, yet the main foundations of his argument have not been seriously impaired by the new facts observed in the deep-sea researches, or by the severe criticisms to which his theory has been subjected during the last ten years. on the other hand, i think it will appear that much misapprehension has been exhibited by some of darwin's critics, as to what his views and arguments really were; so that the reprint and wide circulation of the book in its original form is greatly to be desired, and cannot but be attended with advantage to all those who will have the fairness to acquaint themselves with darwin's views at first hand, before attempting to reply to them." the only important geological work of my father's later years is embodied in his book on earthworms ( ), which may therefore be conveniently considered in this place. this subject was one which had interested him many years before this date, and in a paper on the formation of mould was published in the _proceedings of the geological society_. here he showed that "fragments of burnt marl, cinders, &c., which had been thickly strewed over the surface of several meadows were found after a few years lying at a depth of some inches beneath the turf, but still forming a layer." for the explanation of this fact, which forms the central idea of the geological part of the book, he was indebted to his uncle josiah wedgwood, who suggested that worms, by bringing earth to the surface in their castings, must undermine any objects lying on the surface and cause an apparent sinking. in the book of he extended his observations on this burying action, and devised a number of different ways of checking his estimates as to the amount of work done. he also added a mass of observations on the natural history and intelligence of worms, a part of the work which added greatly to its popularity. in sir thomas farrer had discovered close to his garden the remains of a building of roman-british times, and thus gave my father the opportunity of seeing for himself the effects produced by earthworms on the old concrete floors, walls, &c. on his return he wrote to sir thomas farrer:-- "i cannot remember a more delightful week than the last. i know very well that e. will not believe me, but the worms were by no means the sole charm." in the autumn of , when the _power of movement in plants_ was nearly finished, he began once more on the subject. he wrote to professor carus (september ):-- "in the intervals of correcting the press, i am writing a very little book, and have done nearly half of it. its title will be (as at present designed), _the formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms_.[ ] as far as i can judge, it will be a curious little book." the manuscript was sent to the printers in april , and when the proof-sheets were coming in he wrote to professor carus: "the subject has been to me a hobby-horse, and i have perhaps treated it in foolish detail." it was published on october , and copies were sold at once. he wrote to sir j. d. hooker, "i am glad that you approve of the _worms_. when in old days i used to tell you whatever i was doing, if you were at all interested, i always felt as most men do when their work is finally published." to mr. mellard reade he wrote (november ): "it has been a complete surprise to me how many persons have cared for the subject." and to mr. dyer (in november): "my book has been received with almost laughable enthusiasm, and copies have been sold!!!" again to his friend mr. anthony rich, he wrote on february , , "i have been plagued with an endless stream of letters on the subject; most of them very foolish and enthusiastic; but some containing good facts which i have used in correcting yesterday the _sixth thousand_." the popularity of the book may be roughly estimated by the fact that, in the three years following its publication, copies were sold--a sale relatively greater than that of the _origin of species_. it is not difficult to account for its success with the non-scientific public. conclusions so wide and so novel, and so easily understood, drawn from the study of creatures so familiar, and treated with unabated vigour and freshness, may well have attracted many readers. a reviewer remarks: "in the eyes of most men ... the earthworm is a mere blind, dumbsenseless, and unpleasantly slimy annelid. mr. darwin under-takes to rehabilitate his character, and the earthworm steps forth at once as an intelligent and beneficent personage, a worker of vast geological changes, a planer down of mountain sides ... a friend of man ... and an ally of the society for the preservation of ancient monuments." the _st. james's gazette_, of october th, , pointed out that the teaching of the cumulative importance of the infinitely little is the point of contact between this book and the author's previous work. one more book remains to be noticed, the _life of erasmus darwin_. in february an essay by dr. ernst krause, on the scientific work of erasmus darwin, appeared in the evolutionary journal, _kosmos_. the number of _kosmos_ in question was a "gratulationsheft,"[ ] or special congratulatory issue in honour of my father's birthday, so that dr. krause's essay, glorifying the older evolutionist, was quite in its place. he wrote to dr. krause, thanking him cordially for the honour paid to erasmus, and asking his permission to publish an english translation of the essay. his chief reason for writing a notice of his grandfather's life was "to contradict flatly some calumnies by miss seward." this appears from a letter of march , , to his cousin reginald darwin, in which he asks for any documents and letters which might throw light on the character of erasmus. this led to mr. reginald darwin placing in my father's hands a quantity of valuable material, including a curious folio common-place book, of which he wrote: "i have been deeply interested by the great book, ... reading and looking at it is like having communion with the dead ... [it] has taught me a good deal about the occupations and tastes of our grandfather." dr. krause's contribution formed the second part of the _life of erasmus darwin_, my father supplying a "preliminary notice." this expression on the title-page is somewhat misleading; my father's contribution is more than half the book, and should have been described as a biography. work of this kind was new to him, and he wrote doubtfully to mr. thiselton dyer, june th: "god only knows what i shall make of his life, it is such a new kind of work to me." the strong interest he felt about his forbears helped to give zest to the work, which became a decided enjoyment to him. with the general public the book was not markedly successful, but many of his friends recognised its merits. sir j. d. hooker was one of these, and to him my father wrote, "your praise of the life of dr. d. has pleased me exceedingly, for i despised my work, and thought myself a perfect fool to have undertaken such a job." to mr. galton, too, he wrote, november :-- "i am extremely glad that you approve of the little _life_ of our grandfather, for i have been repenting that i ever undertook it, as the work was quite beyond my tether." the vivisection question. something has already been said of my father's strong feeling with regard to suffering[ ] both in man and beast. it was indeed one of the strongest feelings in his nature, and was exemplified in matters small and great, in his sympathy with the educational miseries of dancing dogs, or his horror at the sufferings of slaves. the remembrance of screams, or other sounds heard in brazil, when he was powerless to interfere with what he believed to be the torture of a slave, haunted him for years, especially at night. in smaller matters, where he could interfere, he did so vigorously. he returned one day from his walk pale and faint from having seen a horse ill-used, and from the agitation of violently remonstrating with the man. on another occasion he saw a horse-breaker teaching his son to ride; the little boy was frightened and the man was rough; my father stopped, and jumping out of the carriage reproved the man in no measured terms. one other little incident may be mentioned, showing that his humanity to animals was well known in his own neighbourhood. a visitor, driving from orpington to down, told the cabman to go faster. "why," said the man, "if i had whipped the horse _this_ much, driving mr. darwin, he would have got out of the carriage and abused me well." with respect to the special point under consideration,--the sufferings of animals subjected to experiment,--nothing could show a stronger feeling than the following words from a letter to professor ray lankester (march , ):-- "you ask about my opinion on vivisection. i quite agree that it is justifiable for real investigations on physiology; but not for mere damnable and detestable curiosity. it is a subject which makes me sick with horror, so i will not say another word about it, else i shall not sleep to-night." the anti-vivisection agitation, to which the following letters refer, seems to have become specially active in , as may be seen, _e.g._ by the index to _nature_ for that year, in which the word "vivisection" suddenly comes into prominence. but before that date the subject had received the earnest attention of biologists. thus at the liverpool meeting of the british association in , a committee was appointed, whose report defined the circumstances and conditions under which, in the opinion of the signatories, experiments on living animals were justifiable. in the spring of , lord hartismere introduced a bill into the upper house to regulate the course of physiological research. shortly afterwards a bill more just towards science in its provisions was introduced to the house of commons by messrs. lyon playfair, walpole, and ashley. it was, however, withdrawn on the appointment of a royal commission to inquire into the whole question. the commissioners were lords cardwell and winmarleigh, mr. w. e. forster, sir j. b. karslake, mr. huxley, professor erichssen, and mr. r. h. hutton: they commenced their inquiry in july, , and the report was published early in the following year. in the early summer of , lord carnarvon's bill, entitled, "an act to amend the law relating to cruelty to animals," was introduced. the framers of this bill, yielding to the unreasonable clamour of the public, went far beyond the recommendations of the royal commission. as a correspondent writes in _nature_ ( , p. ), "the evidence on the strength of which legislation was recommended went beyond the facts, the report went beyond the evidence, the recommendations beyond the report; and the bill can hardly be said to have gone beyond the recommendations; but rather to have contradicted them." the legislation which my father worked for, was practically what was introduced as dr. lyon playfair's bill. the following letter appeared in the times, april th, :-- _c. d. to frithiof holmgren._[ ] down, april , . dear sir,--in answer to your courteous letter of april , i have no objection to express my opinion with respect to the right of experimenting on living animals. i use this latter expression as more correct and comprehensive than that of vivisection. you are at liberty to make any use of this letter which you may think fit, but if published i should wish the whole to appear. i have all my life been a strong advocate for humanity to animals, and have done what i could in my writings to enforce this duty. several years ago, when the agitation against physiologists commenced in england, it was asserted that inhumanity was here practised, and useless suffering caused to animals; and i was led to think that it might be advisable to have an act of parliament on the subject. i then took an active part in trying to get a bill passed, such as would have removed all just cause of complaint, and at the same time have left physiologists free to pursue their researches--a bill very different from the act which has since been passed. it is right to add that the investigation of the matter by a royal commission proved that the accusations made against our english physiologists were false. from all that i have heard, however, i fear that in some parts of europe little regard is paid to the sufferings of animals, and if this be the case, i should be glad to hear of legislation against inhumanity in any such country. on the other hand, i know that physiology cannot possibly progress except by means of experiments on living animals, and i feel the deepest conviction that he who retards the progress of physiology commits a crime against mankind. any one who remembers, as i can, the state of this science half a century ago must admit that it has made immense progress, and it is now progressing at an ever-increasing rate. what improvements in medical practice may be directly attributed to physiological research is a question which can be properly discussed only by those physiologists and medical practitioners who have studied the history of their subjects; but, as far as i can learn, the benefits are already great. however this may be, no one, unless he is grossly ignorant of what science has done for mankind, can entertain any doubt of the incalculable benefits which will hereafter be derived from physiology, not only by man, but by the lower animals. look for instance at pasteur's results in modifying the germs of the most malignant diseases, from which, as it happens, animals will in the first place receive more relief than man. let it be remembered how many lives and what a fearful amount of suffering have been saved by the knowledge gained of parasitic worms through the experiments of virchow and others on living animals. in the future every one will be astonished at the ingratitude shown, at least in england, to these benefactors of mankind. as for myself, permit me to assure you that i honour, and shall always honour, every one who advances the noble science of physiology. dear sir, yours faithfully. in the _times_ of the following day appeared a letter headed "mr. darwin and vivisection," signed by miss frances power cobbe. to this my father replied in the _times_ of april , . on the same day he wrote to mr. romanes:-- "as i have a fair opportunity, i sent a letter to the _times_ on vivisection, which is printed to-day. i thought it fair to bear my share of the abuse poured in so atrocious a manner on all physiologists." _c. d. to the editor of the 'times.'_ sir,--i do not wish to discuss the views expressed by miss cobbe in the letter which appeared in the _times_ of the th inst.; but as she asserts that i have "misinformed" my correspondent in sweden in saying that "the investigation of the matter by a royal commission proved that the accusations made against our english physiologists were false," i will merely ask leave to refer to some other sentences from the report of the commission. ( .) the sentence--"it is not to be doubted that inhumanity may be found in persons of very high position as physiologists," which miss cobbe quotes from page of the report, and which, in her opinion, "can necessarily concern english physiologists alone and not foreigners," is immediately followed by the words "we have seen that it was so in magendie." magendie was a french physiologist who became notorious some half century ago for his cruel experiments on living animals. ( .) the commissioners, after speaking of the "general sentiment of humanity" prevailing in this country, say (p. ):-- "this principle is accepted generally by the very highly educated men whose lives are devoted either to scientific investigation and education or to the mitigation or the removal of the sufferings of their fellow-creatures; though differences of degree in regard to its practical application will be easily discernible by those who study the evidence as it has been laid before us." again, according to the commissioners (p. ):-- "the secretary of the royal society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, when asked whether the general tendency of the scientific world in this country is at variance with humanity, says he believes it to be very different indeed from that of foreign physiologists; and while giving it as the opinion of the society that experiments are performed which are in their nature beyond any legitimate province of science, and that the pain which they inflict is pain which it is not justifiable to inflict even for the scientific object in view, he readily acknowledges that he does not know a single case of wanton cruelty, and that in general the english physiologists have used anæsthetics where they think they can do so with safety to the experiment." i am, sir, your obedient servant. april . during the later years of my father's life there was a growing tendency in the public to do him honour.[ ] the honours which he valued most highly were those which united the sympathy of friends with a mark of recognition of his scientific colleagues. of this type was the article "charles darwin," published in _nature_, june , , and written by asa gray. this admirable estimate of my father's work in science is given in the form of a comparison and contrast between robert brown and charles darwin. to gray he wrote:-- "i wrote yesterday and cannot remember exactly what i said, and now cannot be easy without again telling you how profoundly i have been gratified. every one, i suppose, occasionally thinks that he has worked in vain, and when one of these fits overtakes me, i will think of your article, and if that does not dispel the evil spirit, i shall know that i am at the time a little bit insane, as we all are occasionally. "what you say about teleology[ ] pleases me especially, and i do not think any one else has ever noticed the point. i have always said you were the man to hit the nail on the head." in he received the honorary degree of ll.d. from the university of cambridge. the degree was conferred on november , and with the customary latin speech from the public orator, concluding with the words: "tu vero, qui leges naturæ tam docte illustraveris, legum doctor nobis esto." the honorary degree led to a movement being set on foot in the university to obtain some permanent memorial of my father. in june he sat to mr. w. richmond for the portrait in the possession of the university, now placed in the library of the philosophical society at cambridge. a similar wish on the part of the linnean society--with which my father was so closely associated--led to his sitting in august, , to mr. john collier, for the portrait now in the possession of the society. the portrait represents him standing facing the observer in the loose cloak so familiar to those who knew him, with his slouch hat in his hand. many of those who knew his face most intimately, think that mr. collier's picture is the best of the portraits, and in this judgment the sitter himself was inclined to agree. according to my feeling it is not so simple or strong a representation of him as that given by mr. ouless. the last-named portrait was painted at down in ; it is in the possession of the family,[ ] and is known to many through rajon's fine etching. of mr. ouless's picture my father wrote to sir j. d. hooker: "i look a very venerable, acute, melancholy old dog; whether i really look so i do not know." besides the cambridge degree, he received about the same time honours of an academic kind from some foreign societies. on august , , he was elected a corresponding member of the french institute in the botanical section,[ ] and wrote to dr. asa gray:-- "i see that we are both elected corresponding members of the institute. it is rather a good joke that i should be elected in the botanical section, as the extent of my knowledge is little more than that a daisy is a compositous plant and a pea a leguminous one." he valued very highly two photographic albums containing portraits of a large number of scientific men in germany and holland, which he received as birthday gifts in . in the year my father received a singular mark of recognition in the form of a letter from a stranger, announcing that the writer intended to leave to him the reversion of the greater part of his fortune. mr. anthony rich, who desired thus to mark his sense of my father's services to science, was the author of a _dictionary of roman and greek antiquities_, said to be the best book of the kind. it has been translated into french, german, and italian, and has, in english, gone through several editions. mr. rich lived a great part of his life in italy, painting, and collecting books and engravings. he finally settled, many years ago, at worthing (then a small village), where he was a friend of byron's trelawny. my father visited mr. rich at worthing, more than once, and gained a cordial liking and respect for him. mr. rich died in april, , having arranged that his bequest[ ] should not lapse in consequence of the predecease of my father. in he received from the royal academy of turin the _bressa_ prize for the years - , amounting to the sum of , francs. he refers to this in a letter to dr. dohrn (february th, ):-- "perhaps you saw in the papers that the turin society honoured me to an extraordinary degree by awarding me the _bressa_ prize. now it occurred to me that if your station wanted some piece of apparatus, of about the value of £ , i should very much like to be allowed to pay for it. will you be so kind as to keep this in mind, and if any want should occur to you, i would send you a cheque at any time." i find from my father's accounts that £ was presented to the naples station. two years before my father's death, and twenty-one years after the publication of his greatest work, a lecture was given (april , ) at the royal institution by mr. huxley[ ] which was aptly named "the coming of age of the origin of species." the following characteristic letter, inferring to this subject, may fitly close the present chapter. abinger hall, dorking, sunday, april , . my dear huxley,--i wished much to attend your lecture, but i have had a bad cough, and we have come here to see whether a change would do me good, as it has done. what a magnificent success your lecture seems to have been, as i judge from the reports in the _standard_ and _daily news_, and more especially from the accounts given me by three of my children. i suppose that you have not written out your lecture, so i fear there is no chance of its being printed _in extenso_. you appear to have piled, as on so many other occasions, honours high and thick on my old head. but i well know how great a part you have played in establishing and spreading the belief in the descent-theory, ever since that grand review in the _times_ and the battle royal at oxford up to the present day. ever, my dear huxley, yours sincerely and gratefully, charles darwin. p.s.--it was absurdly stupid in me, but i had read the announcement of your lecture, and thought that you meant the maturity of the subject, until my wife one day remarked, "it is almost twenty-one years since the _origin_ appeared," and then for the first time the meaning of your words flashed on me. footnotes: [ ] _the minerva library of famous books_, , edited by g. t. bettany. [ ] the full title is _the formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms, with observations on their habits_, . [ ] the same number contains a good biographical sketch of my father of which the material was to a large extent supplied by him to the writer, professor preyer of jena. the article contains an excellent list of my father's publications. [ ] he once made an attempt to free a patient in a mad-house, who (as he wrongly supposed) was sane. he was in correspondence with the gardener at the asylum, and on one occasion he found a letter from the patient enclosed with one from the gardener. the letter was rational in tone and declared that the writer was sane and wrongfully confined. my father wrote to the lunacy commissioners (without explaining the source of his information) and in due time heard that the man had been visited by the commissioners, and that he was certainly insane. some time afterward the patient was discharged, and wrote to thank my father for his interference, adding that he had undoubtedly been insane when he wrote his former letter. [ ] professor of physiology at upsala. [ ] in he had received a distinguished honour from germany,--the order "pour le mérite." [ ] "let us recognise darwin's great service to natural science in bringing back to it teleology; so that instead of morphology _versus_ teleology, we shall have morphology wedded to teleology." similar remarks had been previously made by mr. huxley. see _critiques and addresses_, p. . [ ] a _replica_ by the artist hangs alongside of the portraits of milton and paley in the hall of christ's college, cambridge. [ ] he received twenty-six votes out of a possible thirty-nine, five blank papers were sent in, and eight votes were recorded for the other candidates. in an attempt had been made to elect him in the section of zoology, when, however, he only received fifteen out of forty-eight votes, and lovén was chosen for the vacant place. it appears (_nature_, august st, ) that an eminent member of the academy wrote to _les mondes_ to the following effect:-- "what has closed the doors of the academy to mr. darwin is that the science of those of his books which have made his chief title to fame--the _origin of species_, and still more the _descent of man_, is not science, but a mass of assertions and absolutely gratuitous hypotheses, often evidently fallacious. this kind of publication and these theories are a bad example, which a body that respects itself cannot encourage." [ ] mr. rich leaves a single near relative, to whom is bequeathed the life-interest in his property. [ ] published in _science and culture_, p. . botanical work. "i have been making some little trifling observations which have interested and perplexed me much." from a letter of june . chapter xvi. fertilisation of flowers. the botanical work which my father accomplished by the guidance of the light cast on the study of natural history by his own work on evolution remains to be noticed. in a letter to mr. murray, september th, , speaking of his book the _fertilisation of orchids_, he says: "it will perhaps serve to illustrate how natural history may be worked under the belief of the modification of species." this remark gives a suggestion as to the value and interest of his botanical work, and it might be expressed in far more emphatic language without danger of exaggeration. in the same letter to mr. murray, he says: "i think this little volume will do good to the _origin_, as it will show that i have worked hard at details." it is true that his botanical work added a mass of corroborative detail to the case for evolution, but the chief support given to his doctrines by these researches was of another kind. they supplied an argument against those critics who have so freely dogmatised as to the uselessness of particular structures, and as to the consequent impossibility of their having been developed by means of natural selection. his observations on orchids enabled him to say: "i can show the meaning of some of the apparently meaningless ridges and horns; who will now venture to say that this or that structure is useless?" a kindred point is expressed in a letter to sir j. d. hooker (may th, ):-- "when many parts of structure, as in the woodpecker, show distinct adaptation to external bodies, it is preposterous to attribute them to the effects of climate, &c., but when a single point alone, as a hooked seed, it is conceivable it may thus have arisen. i have found the study of orchids eminently useful in showing me how nearly all parts of the flower are co-adapted for fertilisation by insects, and therefore the results of natural selection,--even the most trifling details of structure." one of the greatest services rendered by my father to the study of natural history is the revival of teleology. the evolutionist studies the purpose or meaning of organs with the zeal of the older teleologist, but with far wider and more coherent purpose. he has the invigorating knowledge that he is gaining not isolated conceptions of the economy of the present, but a coherent view of both past and present. and even where he fails to discover the use of any part, he may, by a knowledge of its structure, unravel the history of the past vicissitudes in the life of the species. in this way a vigour and unity is given to the study of the forms of organised beings, which before it lacked. mr. huxley has well remarked:[ ] "perhaps the most remarkable service to the philosophy of biology rendered by mr. darwin is the reconciliation of teleology and morphology, and the explanation of the facts of both, which his views offer. the teleology which supposes that the eye, such as we see it in man, or one of the higher vertebrata, was made with the precise structure it exhibits, for the purpose of enabling the animal which possesses it to see, has undoubtedly received its death-blow. nevertheless, it is necessary to remember that there is a wider teleology which is not touched by the doctrine of evolution, but is actually based upon the fundamental proposition of evolution." the point which here especially concerns us is to recognise that this "great service to natural science," as dr. gray describes it, was effected almost as much by darwin's special botanical work as by the _origin of species_. for a statement of the scope and influence of my father's botanical work, i may refer to mr. thiselton dyer's article in 'charles darwin,' one of the _nature series_. mr. dyer's wide knowledge, his friendship with my father, and his power of sympathising with the work of others, combine to give this essay a permanent value. the following passage (p. ) gives a true picture:-- "notwithstanding the extent and variety of his botanical work, mr. darwin always disclaimed any right to be regarded as a professed botanist. he turned his attention to plants, doubtless because they were convenient objects for studying organic phenomena in their least complicated forms; and this point of view, which, if one may use the expression without disrespect, had something of the amateur about it, was in itself of the greatest importance. for, from not being, till he took up any point, familiar with the literature bearing on it, his mind was absolutely free from any prepossession. he was never afraid of his facts, or of framing any hypothesis, however startling, which seemed to explain them.... in any one else such an attitude would have produced much work that was crude and rash. but mr. darwin--if one may venture on language which will strike no one who had conversed with him as over-strained--seemed by gentle persuasion to have penetrated that reserve of nature which baffles smaller men. in other words, his long experience had given him a kind of instinctive insight into the method of attack of any biological problem, however unfamiliar to him, while he rigidly controlled the fertility of his mind in hypothetical explanations by the no less fertility of ingeniously devised experiment." to form any just idea of the greatness of the revolution worked by my father's researches in the study of the fertilisation of flowers, it is necessary to know from what a condition this branch of knowledge has emerged. it should be remembered that it was only during the early years of the present century that the idea of sex, as applied to plants, became firmly established. sachs, in his _history of botany_[ ] ( ), has given some striking illustrations of the remarkable slowness with which its acceptance gained ground. he remarks that when we consider the experimental proofs given by camerarius ( ), and by kölreuter ( - ), it appears incredible that doubts should afterwards have been raised as to the sexuality of plants. yet he shows that such doubts did actually repeatedly crop up. these adverse criticisms rested for the most part on careless experiments, but in many cases on _a priori_ arguments. even as late as , a book of this kind, which would now rank with circle squaring, or flat-earth philosophy, was seriously noticed in a botanical journal. a distinct conception of sex, as applied to plants, had, in fact, not long emerged from the mists of profitless discussion and feeble experiment, at the time when my father began botany by attending henslow's lectures at cambridge. when the belief in the sexuality of plants had become established as an incontrovertible piece of knowledge, a weight of misconception remained, weighing down any rational view of the subject. camerarius[ ] believed (naturally enough in his day) that hermaphrodite[ ] flowers are necessarily self-fertilised. he had the wit to be astonished at this, a degree of intelligence which, as sachs points out, the majority of his successors did not attain to. the following extracts from a note-book show that this point occurred to my father as early as : "do not plants which have male and female organs together [_i.e._ in the same flower] yet receive influence from other plants? does not lyell give some argument about varieties being difficult to keep [true] on account of pollen from other plants? because this may be applied to show all plants do receive intermixture." sprengel,[ ] indeed, understood that the hermaphrodite structure of flowers by no means necessarily leads to self-fertilisation. but although he discovered that in many cases pollen is of necessity carried to the stigma of another _flower_, he did not understand that in the advantage gained by the intercrossing of distinct _plants_ lies the key to the whole question. hermann müller[ ] has well remarked that this "omission was for several generations fatal to sprengel's work.... for both at the time and subsequently, botanists felt above all the weakness of his theory, and they set aside, along with his defective ideas, the rich store of his patient and acute observations and his comprehensive and accurate interpretations." it remained for my father to convince the world that the meaning hidden in the structure of flowers was to be found by seeking light in the same direction in which sprengel, seventy years before, had laboured. robert brown was the connecting link between them, for it was at his recommendation that my father in read sprengel's now celebrated _secret of nature displayed_.[ ] the book impressed him as being "full of truth," although "with some little nonsense." it not only encouraged him in kindred speculation, but guided him in his work, for in he speaks of verifying sprengel's observations. it may be doubted whether robert brown ever planted a more fruitful seed than in putting such a book into such hands. a passage in the _autobiography_ (p. ) shows how it was that my father was attracted to the subject of fertilisation: "during the summer of , and i believe during the previous summer, i was led to attend to the cross-fertilisation of flowers by the aid of insects, from having come to the conclusion in my speculations on the origin of species, that crossing played an important part in keeping specific forms constant." the original connection between the study of flowers and the problem of evolution is curious, and could hardly have been predicted. moreover, it was not a permanent bond. my father proved by a long series of laborious experiments, that when a plant is fertilised and sets seeds under the influence of pollen from a distinct individual, the offspring so produced are superior in vigour to the offspring of self-fertilisation, _i.e._ of the union of the male and female elements of a single plant. when this fact was established, it was possible to understand the _raison d'être_ of the machinery which insures cross-fertilisation in so many flowers; and to understand how natural selection can act on, and mould, the floral structure. asa gray has well remarked with regard to this central idea (_nature_, june , ):--"the aphorism, 'nature abhors a vacuum,' is a characteristic specimen of the science of the middle ages. the aphorism, 'nature abhors close fertilisation,' and the demonstration of the principle, belong to our age and to mr. darwin. to have originated this, and also the principle of natural selection ... and to have applied these principles to the system of nature, in such a manner as to make, within a dozen years, a deeper impression upon natural history than has been made since linnæus, is ample title for one man's fame." the flowers of the papilionaceæ[ ] attracted his attention early, and were the subject of his first paper on fertilisation.[ ] the following extract from an undated letter to asa gray seems to have been written before the publication of this paper, probably in or :-- " ... what you say on papilionaceous flowers is very true; and i have no facts to show that varieties are crossed; but yet (and the same remark is applicable in a beautiful way to fumaria and dielytra, as i noticed many years ago), i must believe that the flowers are constructed partly in direct relation to the visits of insects; and how insects can avoid bringing pollen from other individuals i cannot understand. it is really pretty to watch the action of a humble-bee on the scarlet kidney bean, and in this genus (and in _lathyrus grandiflorus_)[ ] the honey is so placed that the bee invariably alights on that _one_ side of the flower towards which the spiral pistil is protruded (bringing out with it pollen), and by the depression of the wing-petal is forced against the bee's side all dusted with pollen. in the broom the pistil is rubbed on the centre of the back of the bee. i suspect there is something to be made out about the leguminosæ, which will bring the case within _our_ theory; though i have failed to do so. our theory will explain why in the vegetable ... kingdom the act of fertilisation even in hermaphrodites usually takes place _sub jove_, though thus exposed to _great_ injury from damp and rain." a letter to dr. asa gray (september th, ) gives the substance of the paper in the _gardeners' chronicle_:-- "lately i was led to examine buds of kidney bean with the pollen shed; but i was led to believe that the pollen could _hardly_ get on the stigma by wind or otherwise, except by bees visiting [the flower] and moving the wing petals: hence i included a small bunch of flowers in two bottles in every way treated the same: the flowers in one i daily just momentarily moved, as if by a bee; these set three fine pods, the other _not one_. of course this little experiment must be tried again, and this year in england it is too late, as the flowers seem now seldom to set. if bees are necessary to this flower's self-fertilisation, bees must almost cross them, as their dusted right-side of head and right legs constantly touch the stigma. "i have, also, lately been reobserving daily _lobelia fulgens_--this in my garden is never visited by insects, and never sets seeds, without pollen be put on the stigma (whereas the small blue lobelia is visited by bees and does set seed); i mention this because there are such beautiful contrivances to prevent the stigma ever getting its own pollen; which seems only explicable on the doctrine of the advantage of crosses." the paper was supplemented by a second in .[ ] the chief object of these publications seems to have been to obtain information as to the possibility of growing varieties of leguminous plants near each other, and yet keeping them true. it is curious that the papilionaceæ should not only have been the first flowers which attracted his attention by their obvious adaptation to the visits of insects, but should also have constituted one of his sorest puzzles. the common pea and the sweet pea gave him much difficulty, because, although they are as obviously fitted for insect-visits as the rest of the order, yet their varieties keep true. the fact is that neither of these plants being indigenous, they are not perfectly adapted for fertilisation by british insects. he could not, at this stage of his observations, know that the co-ordination between a flower and the particular insect which fertilises it may be as delicate as that between a lock and its key, so that this explanation was not likely to occur to him. besides observing the leguminosæ, he had already begun, as shown in the foregoing extracts, to attend to the structure of other flowers in relation to insects. at the beginning of he worked at leschenaultia,[ ] which at first puzzled him, but was ultimately made out. a passage in a letter chiefly relating to leschenaultia seems to show that it was only in the spring of that he began widely to apply his knowledge to the relation of insects to other flowers. this is somewhat surprising, when we remember that he had read sprengel many years before. he wrote (may ):-- "i should look at this curious contrivance as specially related to visits of insects; as i begin to think is almost universally the case." even in july he wrote to asa gray:-- "there is no end to the adaptations. ought not these cases to make one very cautious when one doubts about the use of all parts? i fully believe that the structure of all irregular flowers is governed in relation to insects. insects are the lords of the floral (to quote the witty _athenæum_) world." this idea has been worked out by h. müller, who has written on insects in the character of flower-breeders or flower-fanciers, showing how the habits and structure of the visitors are reflected in the forms and colours of the flowers visited. he was probably attracted to the study of orchids by the fact that several kinds are common near down. the letters of show that these plants occupied a good deal of his attention; and in he gave part of the summer and all the autumn to the subject. he evidently considered himself idle for wasting time on orchids which ought to have been given to _variation under domestication_. thus he wrote:-- "there is to me incomparably more interest in observing than in writing; but i feel quite guilty in trespassing on these subjects, and not sticking to varieties of the confounded cocks, hens and ducks. i hear that lyell is savage at me." it was in the summer of that he made out one of the most striking and familiar facts in the orchid-book, namely, the manner in which the pollen masses are adapted for removal by insects. he wrote to sir j. d. hooker, july :-- "i have been examining _orchis pyramidalis_, and it almost equals, perhaps even beats, your listera case; the sticky glands are congenitally united into a saddle-shaped organ, which has great power of movement, and seizes hold of a bristle (or proboscis) in an admirable manner, and then another movement takes place in the pollen masses, by which they are beautifully adapted to leave pollen on the two lateral stigmatic surfaces. i never saw anything so beautiful." in june of the same year he wrote:-- "you speak of adaptation being rarely visible, though present in plants. i have just recently been looking at the common orchis, and i declare i think its adaptations in every part of the flower quite as beautiful and plain, or even more beautiful than in the woodpecker."[ ] he wrote also to dr. gray, june , :-- "talking of adaptation, i have lately been looking at our common orchids, and i dare say the facts are as old and well-known as the hills, but i have been so struck with admiration at the contrivances, that i have sent a notice to the _gardeners' chronicle_." besides attending to the fertilisation of the flowers he was already, in , busy with the homologies of the parts, a subject of which he made good use in the orchid book. he wrote to sir joseph hooker (july):-- "it is a real good joke my discussing homologies of orchids with you, after examining only three or four genera; and this very fact makes me feel positive i am right! i do not quite understand some of your terms; but sometime i must get you to explain the homologies; for i am intensely interested in the subject, just as at a game of chess." this work was valuable from a systematic point of view. in he wrote to mr. bentham:-- "it was very kind in you to write to me about the orchideæ, for it has pleased me to an extreme degree that i could have been of the _least_ use to you about the nature of the parts." the pleasure which his early observations on orchids gave him is shown in such passages as the following from a letter to sir j. d. hooker (july , ):-- "you cannot conceive how the orchids have delighted me. they came safe, but box rather smashed; cylindrical old cocoa-or snuff-canister much safer. i enclose postage. as an account of the movement, i shall allude to what i suppose is oncidium, to make _certain_,--is the enclosed flower with crumpled petals this genus? also i most specially want to know what the enclosed little globular brown orchid is. i have only seen pollen of a cattleya on a bee, but surely have you not unintentionally sent me what i wanted most (after catasetum or mormodes), viz., one of the epidendreæ?! i _particularly_ want (and will presently tell you why) another spike of this little orchid, with older flowers, some even almost withered." his delight in observation is again shown in a letter to dr. gray ( ). referring to crüger's letters from trinidad, he wrote:--"happy man, he has actually seen crowds of bees flying round catasetum, with the pollinia sticking to their backs!" the following extracts of letters to sir j. d. hooker illustrate further the interest which his work excited in him:-- "veitch sent me a grand lot this morning. what wonderful structures! "i have now seen enough, and you must not send me more, for though i enjoy looking at them _much_, and it has been very useful to me, seeing so many different forms, it is idleness. for my object each species requires studying for days. i wish you had time to take up the group. i would give a good deal to know what the rostellum is, of which i have traced so many curious modifications. i suppose it cannot be one of the stigmas,[ ] there seems a great tendency for two lateral stigmas to appear. my paper, though touching on only subordinate points will run, i fear, to ms. folio pages! the beauty of the adaptation of parts seems to me unparalleled. i should think or guess waxy pollen was most differentiated. in cypripedium which seems least modified, and a much exterminated group, the grains are single. in _all others_, as far as i have seen, they are in packets of four; and these packets cohere into many wedge-formed masses in orchis; into eight, four, and finally two. it seems curious that a flower should exist, which could _at most_ fertilise only two other flowers, seeing how abundant pollen generally is; this fact i look at as explaining the perfection of the contrivance by which the pollen, so important from its fewness, is carried from flower to flower"[ ]( ). "i was thinking of writing to you to-day, when your note with the orchids came. what frightful trouble you have taken about vanilla; you really must not take an atom more; for the orchids are more play than real work. i have been much interested by epidendrum, and have worked all morning at them; for heaven's sake, do not corrupt me by any more" (august , ). he originally intended to publish his notes on orchids as a paper in the linnean society's _journal_, but it soon became evident that a separate volume would be a more suitable form of publication. in a letter to sir j. d. hooker, sept. , , he writes:-- "i have been acting, i fear that you will think, like a goose; and perhaps in truth i have. when i finished a few days ago my orchis paper, which turns out one hundred and forty folio pages!! and thought of the expense of woodcuts, i said to myself, i will offer the linnean society to withdraw it, and publish it in a pamphlet. it then flashed on me that perhaps murray would publish it, so i gave him a cautious description, and offered to share risks and profits. this morning he writes that he will publish and take all risks, and share profits and pay for all illustrations. it is a risk, and heaven knows whether it will not be a dead failure, but i have not deceived murray, and [have] told him that it would interest those alone who cared much for natural history. i hope i do not exaggerate the curiosity of the many special contrivances." and again on september th:-- "what a good soul you are not to sneer at me, but to pat me on the back. i have the greatest doubt whether i am not going to do, in publishing my paper, a most ridiculous thing. it would annoy me much, but only for murray's sake, if the publication were a dead failure." there was still much work to be done, and in october he was still receiving orchids from kew, and wrote to hooker:-- "it is impossible to thank you enough. i was almost mad at the wealth of orchids." and again-- "mr. veitch most generously has sent me two splendid buds of mormodes, which will be capital for dissection, but i fear will never be irritable; so for the sake of charity and love of heaven do, i beseech you, observe what movement takes place in cychnoches, and what part must be touched. mr. v. has also sent me one splendid flower of catasetum, the most wonderful orchid i have seen." on october he wrote to sir joseph hooker:-- "it seems that i cannot exhaust your good nature. i have had the hardest day's work at catasetum and buds of mormodes, and believe i understand at last the mechanism of movements and the functions. catasetum is a beautiful case of slight modification of structure leading to new functions. i never was more interested in any subject in all my life than in this of orchids. i owe very much to you." again to the same friend, november , :-- "if you really can spare another catasetum, when nearly ready, i shall be most grateful; had i not better send for it? the case is truly marvellous; the (so-called) sensation, or stimulus from a light touch is certainly transmitted through the antennæ for more than one inch _instantaneously_.... a cursed insect or something let my last flower off last night." professor de candolle has remarked[ ] of my father, "ce n'est pas lui qui aurait demandé de construire des palais pour y loger des laboratoires." this was singularly true of his orchid work, or rather it would be nearer the truth to say that he had no laboratory, for it was only after the publication of the _fertilisation of orchids_, that he built himself a greenhouse. he wrote to sir j. d. hooker (december th, ):-- "and now i am going to tell you a _most_ important piece of news!! i have almost resolved to build a small hot-house; my neighbour's really first-rate gardener has suggested it, and offered to make me plans, and see that it is well done, and he is really a clever follow, who wins lots of prizes, and is very observant. he believes that we should succeed with a little patience; it will be a grand amusement for me to experiment with plants." again he wrote (february th, ):-- "i write now because the new hot-house is ready, and i long to stock it, just like a schoolboy. could you tell me pretty soon what plants you can give me; and then i shall know what to order? and do advise me how i had better get such plants as you can _spare_. would it do to send my tax-cart early in the morning, on a day that was not frosty, lining the cart with mats, and arriving here before night? i have no idea whether this degree of exposure (and of course the cart would be cold) could injure stove-plants; they would be about five hours (with bait) on the journey home." a week later he wrote:-- "you cannot imagine what pleasure your plants give me (far more than your dead wedgwood-ware can give you); h. and i go and gloat over them, but we privately confessed to each other, that if they were not our own, perhaps we should not see such transcendant beauty in each leaf." and in march, when he was extremely unwell, he wrote:-- "a few words about the stove-plants; they do so amuse me. i have crawled to see them two or three times. will you correct and answer, and return enclosed. i have hunted in all my books and cannot find these names, and i like much to know the family." his difficulty with regard to the names of plants is illustrated, with regard to a lupine on which he was at work, in an extract from a letter (july , ) to sir j. d. hooker: "i sent to the nursery garden, whence i bought the seed, and could only hear that it was 'the common blue lupine,' the man saying 'he was no scholard, and did not know latin, and that parties who make experiments ought to find out the names.'" the book was published may th, . of its reception he writes to mr. murray, june th and th:-- "the botanists praise my orchid-book to the skies. some one sent me (perhaps you) the _parthenon_, with a good review. the _athenæum_[ ] treats me with very kind pity and contempt; but the reviewer knew nothing of his subject." "there is a superb, but i fear exaggerated, review in the _london review_.[ ] but i have not been a fool, as i thought i was, to publish; for asa gray, about the most competent judge in the world, thinks almost as highly of the book as does the _london review_. the _athenæum_ will hinder the sale greatly." the rev. m. j. berkeley was the author of the notice in the _london review_, as my father learned from sir j. d. hooker, who added, "i thought it very well done indeed. i have read a good deal of the orchid-book, and echo all he says." to this my father replied (june th, ):-- "my dear old friend,--you speak of my warming the cockles of your heart, but you will never know how often you have warmed mine. it is not your approbation of my scientific work (though i care for that more than for any one's): it is something deeper. to this day i remember keenly a letter you wrote to me from oxford, when i was at the water-cure, and how it cheered me when i was utterly weary of life. well, my orchid-book is a success (but i do not know whether it sells)." in another letter to the same friend, he wrote:-- "you have pleased me much by what you say in regard to bentham and oliver approving of my book; for i had got a sort of nervousness, and doubted whether i had not made an egregious fool of myself, and concocted pleasant little stinging remarks for reviews, such as 'mr. darwin's head seems to have been turned by a certain degree of success, and he thinks that the most trifling observations are worth publication.'" he wrote too, to asa gray:-- "your generous sympathy makes you over-estimate what you have read of my orchid-book. but your letter of may th and th has given me an almost foolish amount of satisfaction. the subject interested me, i knew, beyond its real value; but i had lately got to think that i had made myself a complete fool by publishing in a semi-popular form. now i shall confidently defy the world.... no doubt my volume contains much error: how curiously difficult it is to be accurate, though i try my utmost. your notes have interested me beyond measure. i can now afford to d---- my critics with ineffable complacency of mind. cordial thanks for this benefit." sir joseph hooker reviewed the book in the _gardeners' chronicle_, writing in a successful imitation of the style of lindley, the editor. my father wrote to sir joseph (nov. , ):-- "so you did write the review in the _gardeners' chronicle_. once or twice i doubted whether it was lindley; but when i came to a little slap at r. brown, i doubted no longer. you arch-rogue! i do not wonder you have deceived others also. perhaps i am a conceited dog; but if so, you have much to answer for; i never received so much praise, and coming from you i value it much more than from any other." with regard to botanical opinion generally, he wrote to dr. gray, "i am fairly astonished at the success of my book with botanists." among naturalists who were not botanists, lyell was pre-eminent in his appreciation of the book. i have no means of knowing when he read it, but in later life, as i learn from professor judd, he was enthusiastic in praise of the _fertilisation of orchids_, which he considered "next to the _origin_, as the most valuable of all darwin's works." among the general public the author did not at first hear of many disciples, thus he wrote to his cousin fox in september : "hardly any one not a botanist, except yourself, as far as i know, has cared for it." if we examine the literature relating to the fertilisation of flowers, we do not find that this new branch of study showed any great activity immediately after the publication of the orchid-book. there are a few papers by asa gray, in and , by hildebrand in , and by moggridge in , but the great mass of work by axell, delpino, hildebrand, and the müllers, did not begin to appear until about . the period during which the new views were being assimilated, and before they became thoroughly fruitful, was, however, surprisingly short. the later activity in this department may be roughly gauged by the fact that the valuable 'bibliography,' given by professor d'arcy thompson in his translation of müller's _befruchtung_ ( ),[ ] contains references to papers. in a second edition of the _fertilisation of orchids_ was published, the first edition having been for some time out of print. the new edition was remodelled and almost rewritten, and a large amount of new matter added, much of which the author owed to his friend fritz müller. with regard to this edition he wrote to dr. gray:-- "i do not suppose i shall ever again touch the book. after much doubt i have resolved to act in this way with all my books for the future; that is to correct them once and never touch them again, so as to use the small quantity of work left in me for new matter." one of the latest references to his orchid-work occurs in a letter to mr. bentham, february , . it shows the amount of pleasure which this subject gave to my father, and (what is characteristic of him) that his reminiscence of the work was one of delight in the observations which preceded its publication, not to the applause which followed it:-- "they are wonderful creatures, these orchids, and i sometimes think with a glow of pleasure, when i remember making out some little point in their method of fertilisation." _the effect of cross-and self-fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom. different forms of flowers on plants of the same species._ two other books bearing on the problem of sex in plants require a brief notice. _the effects of cross- and self-fertilisation_, published in , is one of his most important works, and at the same time one of the most unreadable to any but the professed naturalist. its value lies in the proof it offers of the increased vigour given to the offspring by the act of cross-fertilisation. it is the complement of the orchid book because it makes us understand the advantage gained by the mechanisms for insuring cross-fertilisation described in that work. the book is also valuable in another respect, because it throws light on the difficult problems of the origin of sexuality. the increased vigour resulting from cross-fertilisation is allied in the closest manner to the advantage gained by change of conditions. so strongly is this the case, that in some instances cross-fertilisation gives no advantage to the offspring, unless the parents have lived under slightly different conditions. so that the really important thing is not that two individuals of different _blood_ shall unite, but two individuals which have been subjected to different conditions. we are thus led to believe that sexuality is a means for infusing vigour into the offspring by the coalescence of differentiated elements, an advantage which could not accompany asexual reproductions. it is remarkable that this book, the result of eleven years of experimental work, owed its origin to a chance observation. my father had raised two beds of _linaria vulgaris_--one set being the offspring of cross and the other of self-fertilisation. the plants were grown for the sake of some observations on inheritance, and not with any view to cross-breeding, and he was astonished to observe that the offspring of self-fertilisation were clearly less vigorous than the others. it seemed incredible to him that this result could be due to a single act of self-fertilisation, and it was only in the following year, when precisely the same result occurred in the case of a similar experiment on inheritance in carnations, that his attention was "thoroughly aroused," and that he determined to make a series of experiments specially directed to the question. the volume on _forms of flowers_ was published in , and was dedicated by the author to professor asa gray, "as a small tribute of respect and affection." it consists of certain earlier papers re-edited, with the addition of a quantity of new matter. the subjects treated in the book are:-- (i.) heterostyled plants. (ii.) polygamous, dioecious, and gynodioecious plants. (iii.) cleistogamic flowers. the nature of heterostyled plants may be illustrated in the primrose, one of the best known examples of the class. if a number of primroses be gathered, it will be found that some plants yield nothing but "pin-eyed" flowers, in which the style (or organ for the transmission of the pollen to the ovule) is long, while the others yield only "thrum-eyed" flowers with short styles. thus primroses are divided into two sets or castes differing structurally from each other. my father showed that they also differ sexually, and that in fact the bond between the two castes more nearly resembles that between separate sexes than any other known relationship. thus for example a long-styled primrose, though it can be fertilised by its own pollen, is not _fully_ fertile unless it is impregnated by the pollen of a short-styled flower. heterostyled plants are comparable to hermaphrodite animals, such as snails, which require the concourse of two individuals, although each possesses both the sexual elements. the difference is that in the case of the primrose it is _perfect fertility_, and not simply _fertility_, that depends on the mutual action of the two sets of individuals. the work on heterostyled plants has a special bearing, to which the author attached much importance, on the problem of the origin of species.[ ] he found that a wonderfully close parallelism exists between hybridisation (_i.e._ crosses between distinct species), and certain forms of fertilisation among heterostyled plants. so that it is hardly an exaggeration to say that the "illegitimately" reared seedlings are hybrids, although both their parents belong to identically the same species. in a letter to professor huxley, given in the second volume of the _life and letters_ (p. ), my father writes as if his researches on heterostyled plants tended to make him believe that sterility is a selected or acquired quality. but in his later publications, _e.g._ in the sixth edition of the _origin_, he adheres to the belief that sterility is an incidental[ ] rather than a selected quality. the result of his work on heterostyled plants is of importance as showing that sterility is no test of specific distinctness, and that it depends on differentiation of the sexual elements which is independent of any racial difference. i imagine that it was his instinctive love of making out a difficulty which to a great extent kept him at work so patiently on the heterostyled plants. but it was the fact that general conclusions of the above character could be drawn from his results which made him think his results worthy of publication. footnotes: [ ] the "genealogy of animals" (_the academy_, ), reprinted in _critiques and addresses_. [ ] an english edition is published by the clarendon press, . [ ] sachs, _geschichte d. botanik_, p. . [ ] that is to say, flowers possessing both stamens, or male organs, and pistils or female organs. [ ] christian conrad sprengel, born , died . [ ] _fertilisation of flowers_ (eng. trans.) , p. . [ ] _das entdeckte geheimniss der natur im baue und in der befruchtung der blumen._ berlin, . [ ] the order to which the pea and bean belong. [ ] _gardeners' chronicle_, , p. . it appears that this paper was a piece of "over-time" work. he wrote to a friend, "that confounded leguminous paper was done in the afternoon, and the consequence was i had to go to moor park for a week." [ ] the sweet pea and everlasting pea belong to the genus lathyrus. [ ] _gardeners' chronicle_, , p. . [ ] he published a short paper on the manner of fertilisation of this flower, in the _gardeners' chronicle_ , p. . [ ] the woodpecker was one of his stock examples of adaptation. [ ] it is a modification of the upper stigma. [ ] this rather obscure statement may be paraphrased thus:-- the machinery is so perfect that the plant can afford to minimise the amount of pollen produced. where the machinery for pollen distribution is of a cruder sort, for instance where it is carried by the wind, enormous quantities are produced, _e.g._ in the fir tree. [ ] "darwin considéré, &c.," _archives des sciences physiques et naturelles_ ème période. tome vii. , . [ ] may th, . [ ] june th, . [ ] my father's "prefatory notice" to this work is dated february th, , and is therefore almost the last of his writings. [ ] see autobiography, p. . [ ] the pollen or fertilising element is in each species adapted to produce a certain change in the egg-cell (or female element), just as a key is adapted to a lock. if a key opens a lock for which it was never intended it is an incidental result. in the same way if the pollen of species of a. proves to be capable of fertilising the egg-cell of species b. we may call it incidental. chapter xvii. _climbing plants; power of movement in plants; insectivorous plants; kew index of plant names._ my father mentions in his _autobiography_ (p. ) that he was led to take up the subject of climbing plants by reading dr. gray's paper, "note on the coiling of the tendrils of plants."[ ] this essay seems to have been read in , but i am only able to guess at the date of the letter in which he asks for a reference to it, so that the precise date of his beginning this work cannot be determined. in june , he was certainly at work, and wrote to sir j. d. hooker for information as to previous publications on the subject, being then in ignorance of palm's and h. v. mohl's works on climbing plants, both of which were published in . _c. darwin to asa gray._ down, august [ ]. my present hobby-horse i owe to you, viz. the tendrils: their irritability is beautiful, as beautiful in all its modifications as anything in orchids. about the _spontaneous_ movement (independent of touch) of the tendrils and upper internodes, i am rather taken aback by your saying, "is it not well known?" i can find nothing in any book which i have.... the spontaneous movement of the tendrils is independent of the movement of the upper internodes, but both work harmoniously together in sweeping a circle for the tendrils to grasp a stick. so with all climbing plants (without tendrils) as yet examined, the upper internodes go on night and day sweeping a circle in one fixed direction. it is surprising to watch the apocyneæ with shoots inches long (beyond the supporting stick), steadily searching for something to climb up. when the shoot meets a stick, the motion at that point is arrested, but in the upper part is continued; so that the climbing of all plants yet examined is the simple result of the spontaneous circulatory movement of the upper internodes.[ ] pray tell me whether anything has been published on this subject? i hate publishing what is old; but i shall hardly regret my work if it is old, as it has much amused me.... he soon found that his observations were not entirely novel, and wrote to hooker: "i have now read two german books, and all i believe that has been written on climbers, and it has stirred me up to find that i have a good deal of new matter. it is strange, but i really think no one has explained simple twining plants. these books have stirred me up, and made me wish for plants specified in them." he continued his observations on climbing plants during the prolonged illness from which he suffered in the autumn of , and in the following spring. he wrote to sir j. d. hooker, apparently in march :-- "the hot-house is such an amusement to me, and my amusement i owe to you, as my delight is to look at the many odd leaves and plants from kew.... the only approach to work which i can do is to look at tendrils and climbers, this does not distress my weakened brain. ask oliver to look over the enclosed queries (and do you look) and amuse a broken-down brother naturalist by answering any which he can. if you ever lounge through your houses, remember me and climbing plants." a letter to dr. gray, april , , has a word or two on the subject.-- "i have began correcting proofs of my paper on climbing plants. i suppose i shall be able to send you a copy in four or five weeks. i think it contains a good deal new, and some curious points, but it is so fearfully long, that no one will ever read it. if, however, you do not _skim_ through it, you will be an unnatural parent, for it is your child." dr. gray not only read it but approved of it, to my father's great satisfaction, as the following extracts show:-- "i was much pleased to get your letter of july th. now that i can do nothing, i maunder over old subjects, and your approbation of my climbing paper gives me _very_ great satisfaction. i made my observations when i could do nothing else and much enjoyed it, but always doubted whether they were worth publishing.... "i received yesterday your article[ ] on climbers, and it has pleased me in an extraordinary and even silly manner. you pay me a superb compliment, and as i have just said to my wife, i think my friends must perceive that i like praise, they give me such hearty doses. i always admire your skill in reviews or abstracts, and you have done this article excellently and given the whole essence of my paper.... i have had a letter from a good zoologist in s. brazil, f. müller, who has been stirred up to observe climbers, and gives me some curious cases of _branch_-climbers, in which branches are converted into tendrils, and then continue to grow and throw out leaves and new branches, and then lose their tendril character." the paper on climbing plants was republished in , as a separate book. the author had been unable to give his customary amount of care to the style of the original essay, owing to the fact that it was written during a period of continued ill-health, and it was now found to require a great deal of alteration. he wrote to sir j. d. hooker (march , ): "it is lucky for authors in general that they do not require such dreadful work in merely licking what they write into shape." and to mr. murray, in september, he wrote: "the corrections are heavy in _climbing plants_, and yet i deliberately went over the ms. and old sheets three times." the book was published in september , an edition of copies was struck off; the edition sold fairly well, and additional copies were printed in june of the following year. _the power of movement in plants._ . the few sentences in the autobiographical chapter give with sufficient clearness the connection between the _power of movement_ and the book on climbing plants. the central idea of the book is that the movements of plants in relation to light, gravitation, &c., are modifications of a spontaneous tendency to revolve or circumnutate, which is widely inherent in the growing parts of plants. this conception has not been generally adopted, and has not taken a place among the canons of orthodox physiology. the book has been treated by professor sachs with a few words of professorial contempt; and by professor wiesner it has been honoured by careful and generously expressed criticism. mr. thiselton dyer[ ] has well said: "whether this masterly conception of the unity of what has hitherto seemed a chaos of unrelated phenomena will be sustained, time alone will show. but no one can doubt the importance of what mr. darwin has done, in showing that for the future the phenomena of plant movement can and indeed must be studied from a single point of view." the work was begun in the summer of , after the publication of _different forms of flowers_, and by the autumn his enthusiasm for the subject was thoroughly established, and he wrote to mr. dyer: "i am all on fire at the work." at this time he was studying the movements of cotyledons, in which the sleep of plants is to be observed in its simplest form; in the following spring he was trying to discover what useful purpose those sleep-movements could serve, and wrote to sir joseph hooker (march th, ):-- "i think we have _proved_ that the sleep of plants is to lessen the injury to the leaves from radiation. this has interested me much, and has cost us great labour, as it has been a problem since the time of linnæus. but we have killed or badly injured a multitude of plants. n.b.--_oxalis carnosa_ was most valuable, but last night was killed." the book was published on november , , and copies were disposed of at mr. murray's sale. with regard to it he wrote to sir j. d. hooker (november ):-- "your note has pleased me much--for i did not expect that you would have had time to read _any_ of it. read the last chapter, and you will know the whole result, but without the evidence. the case, however, of radicles bending after exposure for an hour to geotropism, with their tips (or brains) cut off is, i think worth your reading (bottom of p. ); it astounded me. but i will bother you no more about my book. the sensitiveness of seedlings to light is marvellous." to another friend, mr. thiselton dyer, he wrote (november , ): "very many thanks for your most kind note, but you think too highly of our work, not but what this is very pleasant.... many of the germans are very contemptuous about making out the use of organs; but they may sneer the souls out of their bodies, and i for one shall think it the most interesting part of natural history. indeed you are greatly mistaken if you doubt for one moment on the very great value of your constant and most kind assistance to us." the book was widely reviewed, and excited much interest among the general public. the following letter refers to a leading article in the _times_, november , :-- _c. d. to mrs. haliburton._[ ] down, november , . my dear sarah,--you see how audaciously i begin; but i have always loved and shall ever love this name. your letter has done more than please me, for its kindness has touched my heart. i often think of old days and of the delight of my visits to woodhouse, and of the deep debt of gratitude which i owe to your father. it was very good of you to write. i had quite forgotten my old ambition about the shrewsbury newspaper;[ ] but i remember the pride which i felt when i saw in a book about beetles the impressive words "captured by c. darwin." captured sounded so grand compared with caught. this seemed to me glory enough for any man! i do not know in the least what made the _times_ glorify me, for it has sometimes pitched into me ferociously. i should very much like to see you again, but you would find a visit here very dull, for we feel very old and have no amusement, and lead a solitary life. but we intend in a few weeks to spend a few days in london, and then if you have anything else to do in london, you would perhaps come and lunch with us. believe me, my dear sarah, yours gratefully and affectionately. the following letter was called forth by the publication of a volume devoted to the criticism of the _power of movement in plants_ by an accomplished botanist, dr. julius wiesner, professor of botany in the university of vienna: _c. d. to julius wiesner._ down, october th, . my dear sir,--i have now finished your book,[ ] and have understood the whole except a very few passages. in the first place, let me thank you cordially for the manner in which you have everywhere treated me. you have shown how a man may differ from another in the most decided manner, and yet express his difference with the most perfect courtesy. not a few english and german naturalists might learn a useful lesson from your example; for the coarse language often used by scientific men towards each other does no good, and only degrades science. i have been profoundly interested by your book, and some of your experiments are so beautiful, that i actually felt pleasure while being vivisected. it would take up too much space to discuss all the important topics in your book. i fear that you have quite upset the interpretation which i have given of the effects of cutting off the tips of horizontally extended roots, and of those laterally exposed to moisture; but i cannot persuade myself that the horizontal position of lateral branches and roots is due simply to their lessened power of growth. nor when i think of my experiments with the cotyledons of _phalaris_, can i give up the belief of the transmission of some stimulus due to light from the upper to the lower part. at p. you have misunderstood my meaning, when you say that i believe that the effects from light are transmitted to a part which is not itself heliotropic. i never considered whether or not the short part beneath the ground was heliotropic; but i believe that with young seedlings the part which bends _near_, but _above_ the ground is heliotropic, and i believe so from this part bending only moderately when the light is oblique, and bending rectangularly when the light is horizontal. nevertheless the bending of this lower part, as i conclude from my experiments with opaque caps, is influenced by the action of light on the upper part. my opinion, however, on the above and many other points, signifies very little, for i have no doubt that your book will convince most botanists that i am wrong in all the points on which we differ. independently of the question of transmission, my mind is so full of facts leading me to believe that light, gravity, &c., act not in a direct manner on growth, but as stimuli, that i am quite unable to modify my judgment on this head. i could not understand the passage at p. , until i consulted my son george, who is a mathematician. he supposes that your objection is founded on the diffused light from the lamp illuminating both sides of the object, and not being reduced, with increasing distance in the same ratio as the direct light; but he doubts whether this _necessary_ correction will account for the very little difference in the heliotropic curvature of the plants in the successive pots. with respect to the sensitiveness of the tips of roots to contact, i cannot admit your view until it is proved that i am in error about bits of card attached by liquid gum causing movement; whereas no movement was caused if the card remained separated from the tip by a layer of the liquid gum. the fact also of thicker and thinner bits of card attached on opposite sides of the same root by shellac, causing movement in one direction, has to be explained. you often speak of the tip having been injured; but externally there was no sign of injury: and when the tip was plainly injured, the extreme part became curved _towards_ the injured side. i can no more believe that the tip was injured by the bits of card, at least when attached by gum-water, than that the glands of drosera are injured by a particle of thread or hair placed on it, or that the human tongue is so when it feels any such object. about the most important subject in my book, namely circumnutation, i can only say that i feel utterly bewildered at the difference in our conclusions; but i could not fully understand some parts which my son francis will be able to translate to me when he returns home. the greater part of your book is beautifully clear. finally, i wish that i had enough strength and spirit to commence a fresh set of experiments, and publish the results, with a full recantation of my errors when convinced of them; but i am too old for such an undertaking, nor do i suppose that i shall be able to do much, or any more, original work. i imagine that i see one possible source of error in your beautiful experiment of a plant rotating and exposed to a lateral light. with high respect, and with sincere thanks for the kind manner in which you have treated me and my mistakes, i remain, my dear sir, yours sincerely. _insectivorous plants._ in the summer of he was staying at the house of his sister-in-law, miss wedgwood, in ashdown forest whence he wrote (july , ), to sir joseph hooker:-- "latterly i have done nothing here; but at first i amused myself with a few observations on the insect-catching power of drosera:[ ] and i must consult you some time whether my 'twaddle' is worth communicating to the linnean society." in august he wrote to the same friend:-- "i will gratefully send my notes on drosera when copied by my copier: the subject amused me when i had nothing to do." he has described in the _autobiography_ (p. ), the general nature of these early experiments. he noticed insects sticking to the leaves, and finding that flies, &c., placed on the adhesive glands, were held fast and embraced, he suspected that the captured prey was digested and absorbed by the leaves. he therefore tried the effect on the leaves of various nitrogenous fluids--with results which, as far as they went, verified his surmise. in september, , he wrote to dr. gray:-- "i have been infinitely amused by working at drosera: the movements are really curious; and the manner in which the leaves detect certain nitrogenous compounds is marvellous. you will laugh; but it is, at present, my full belief (after endless experiments) that they detect (and move in consequence of) the / part of a single grain of nitrate of ammonia; but the muriate and sulphate of ammonia bother their chemical skill, and they cannot make anything of the nitrogen in these salts!" later in the autumn he was again obliged to leave home for eastbourne, where he continued his work on drosera. on his return home he wrote to lyell (november ):-- "i will and must finish my drosera ms., which will take me a week, for, at the present moment, i care more about drosera than the origin of all the species in the world. but i will not publish on drosera till next year, for i am frightened and astounded at my results. i declare it is a certain fact, that one organ is so sensitive to touch, that a weight seventy-eight-times less than that, viz., / of a grain, which will move the best chemical balance, suffices to cause a conspicuous movement. is it not curious that a plant should be far more sensitive to the touch than any nerve in the human body? yet i am perfectly sure that this is true. when i am on my hobby-horse, i never can resist telling my friends how well my hobby goes, so you must forgive the rider." the work was continued, as a holiday task, at bournemouth, where he stayed during the autumn of . a long break now ensued in his work on insectivorous plants, and it was not till that the subject seriously occupied him again. a passage in a letter to dr. asa gray, written in or , shows, however, that the question was not altogether absent from his mind in the interim:-- "depend on it you are unjust on the merits of my beloved drosera; it is a wonderful plant, or rather a most sagacious animal. i will stick up for drosera to the day of my death. heaven knows whether i shall ever publish my pile of experiments on it." he notes in his diary that the last proof of the _expression of the emotions_ was finished on august , , and that he began to work on drosera on the following day. _c. d. to asa gray_ [sevenoaks], october [ ]. ... i have worked pretty hard for four or five weeks on drosera, and then broke down; so that we took a house near sevenoaks for three weeks (where i now am) to get complete rest. i have very little power of working now, and must put off the rest of the work on drosera till next spring, as my plants are dying. it is an endless subject, and i must cut it short, and for this reason shall not do much on dionæa. the point which has interested me most is tracing the _nerves_! which follow the vascular bundles. by a prick with a sharp lancet at a certain point, i can paralyse one-half the leaf, so that a stimulus to the other half causes no movement. it is just like dividing the spinal marrow of a frog:--no stimulus can be sent from the brain or anterior part of the spine to the hind legs: but if these latter are stimulated, they move by reflex action. i find my old results about the astonishing sensitiveness of the nervous system (!?) of drosera to various stimulants fully confirmed and extended.... _c. d. to asa gray_, down, june [ ]. ... i am now hard at work getting my book on drosera & co. ready for the printers, but it will take some time, for i am always finding out new points to observe. i think you will be interested by my observations on the digestive process in drosera; the secretion contains an acid of the acetic series, and some ferment closely analogous to, but not identical with, pepsine; for i have been making a long series of comparative trials. no human being will believe what i shall publish about the smallness of the doses of phosphate of ammonia which act.... the manuscript of _insectivorous plants_ was finished in march . he seems to have been more than usually oppressed by the writing of this book, thus he wrote to sir j. d. hooker in february:-- "you ask about my book, and all that i can say is that i am ready to commit suicide; i thought it was decently written, but find so much wants rewriting, that it will not be ready to go to printers for two months, and will then make a confoundedly big book. murray will say that it is no use publishing in the middle of summer, so i do not know what will be the upshot; but i begin to think that every one who publishes a book is a fool." the book was published on july nd, , and copies were sold out of the edition of . _the kew index of plant-names._ some account of my father's connection with the _index of plant-names_, now ( ) being printed by the clarendon press, will be found in mr. b. daydon jackson's paper in the _journal of botany_, , p. . mr. jackson quotes the following statement by sir j. d. hooker:-- "shortly before his death, mr. charles darwin informed sir joseph hooker that it was his intention to devote a considerable sum of money annually for some years in aid or furtherance of some work or works of practical utility to biological science, and to make provisions in his will in the event of these not being completed during his lifetime. "amongst other objects connected with botanical science, mr. darwin regarded with especial interest the importance of a complete index to the names and authors of the genera and species of plants known to botanists, together with their native countries. steudel's _nomenclator_ is the only existing work of this nature, and although now nearly half a century old, mr. darwin had found it of great aid in his own researches. it has been indispensable to every botanical institution, whether as a list of all known flowering plants, as an indication of their authors, or as a digest of botanical geography." since , when the _nomenclator_ was published, the number of described plants may be said to have doubled, so that steudel is now seriously below the requirements of botanical work. to remedy this want, the _nomenclator_ has been from time to time posted up in an interleaved copy in the herbarium at kew, by the help of "funds supplied by private liberality."[ ] my father, like other botanists, had, as sir joseph hooker points out, experienced the value of steudel's work. he obtained plants from all sorts of sources, which were often incorrectly named, and he felt the necessity of adhering to the accepted nomenclature so that he might convey to other workers precise indications as to the plants which he had studied. it was also frequently a matter of importance to him to know the native country of his experimental plants. thus it was natural that he should recognise the desirability of completing and publishing the interleaved volume at kew. the wish to help in this object was heightened by the admiration he felt for the results for which the world has to thank the royal gardens at kew, and by his gratitude for the invaluable aid which for so many years he received from its director and his staff. he expressly stated that it was his wish "to aid in some way the scientific work carried on at the royal gardens"[ ]--which induced him to offer to supply funds for the completion of the kew _nomenclator_. the following passage, for which i am indebted to professor judd, is of interest, as illustrating, the motives that actuated my father in this matter. professor judd writes:-- "on the occasion of my last visit to him, he told me that his income having recently greatly increased, while his wants remained the same, he was most anxious to devote what he could spare to the advancement of geology or biology. he dwelt in the most touching manner on the fact that he owed so much happiness and fame to the natural history sciences, which had been the solace of what might have been a painful existence;--and he begged me, if i knew of any research which could be aided by a grant of a few hundreds of pounds, to let him know, as it would be a delight to him to feel that he was helping in promoting the progress of science. he informed me at the same time that he was making the same suggestion to sir joseph hooker and professor huxley with respect to botany and zoology respectively. i was much impressed by the earnestness, and, indeed, deep emotion, with which he spoke of his indebtedness to science, and his desire to promote its interests." the plan of the proposed work having been carefully considered, sir joseph hooker was able to confide its elaboration in detail to mr. b. daydon jackson, secretary of the linnean society, whose extensive knowledge of botanical literature qualifies him for the task. my father's original idea of producing a modern edition of steudel's _nomenclator_ has been practically abandoned, the aim now kept in view is rather to construct a list of genera and species (with references) founded on bentham and hooker's _genera plantarum_. under sir joseph hooker's supervision, the work, carried out with admirable zeal by mr. jackson, goes steadily forward. the colossal nature of the undertaking may be estimated by the fact that the manuscript of the _index_ is at the present time ( ) believed to weigh more than a ton. the kew 'index,' will be a fitting memorial of my father: and his share in its completion illustrates a part of his character--his ready sympathy with work outside his own lines of investigation--and his respect for minute and patient labour in all branches of science. footnotes: [ ] _proc. amer. acad. of arts and sciences_, . [ ] this view is rejected by some botanists. [ ] in the september number of _silliman's journal_, concluded in the january number, . [ ] _charles darwin_, _nature_ series, p. . [ ] mrs. haliburton was a daughter of my father's early friend, the late mr. owen, of woodhouse. [ ] mrs. haliburton had reminded him of his saying as a boy that if eddowes' newspaper ever alluded to him as "our deserving fellow-townsman," his ambition would be amply gratified. [ ] _das bewegungsvermögen der pflanzen._ vienna, . [ ] the common sun-dew. [ ] _kew gardens report_, , p. . [ ] see _nature_, january , . chapter xviii. conclusion. some idea of the general course of my father's health may have been gathered from the letters given in the preceding pages. the subject of health appears more prominently than is often necessary in a biography, because it was, unfortunately, so real an element in determining the outward form of his life. my father was at one time in the hands of dr. bence jones, from whose treatment he certainly derived benefit. in later years he became a patient of sir andrew clark, under whose care he improved greatly in general health. it was not only for his generously rendered service that my father felt a debt of gratitude towards sir andrew clark. he owed to his cheering personal influence an often-repeated encouragement, which latterly added something real to his happiness, and he found sincere pleasure in sir andrew's friendship and kindness towards himself and his children. during the last ten years of his life the state of his health was a cause of satisfaction and hope to his family. his condition showed signs of amendment in several particulars. he suffered less distress and discomfort, and was able to work more steadily. scattered through his letters are one or two references to pain or uneasiness felt in the region of the heart. how far these indicate that the heart was affected early in life, i cannot pretend to say; in any case it is certain that he had no serious or permanent trouble of this nature until shortly before his death. in spite of the general improvement in his health, which has been above alluded to, there was a certain loss of physical vigour occasionally apparent during the last few years of his life. this is illustrated by a sentence in a letter to his old friend sir james sulivan, written on january , : "my scientific work tires me more than it used to do, but i have nothing else to do, and whether one is worn out a year or two sooner or later signifies but little." a similar feeling is shown in a letter to sir j. d. hooker of june , . my father was staying at patterdale, and wrote: "i am rather despondent about myself.... i have not the heart or strength to begin any investigation lasting years, which is the only thing i enjoy, and i have no little jobs which i can do." in july, , he wrote to mr. wallace: "we have just returned home after spending five weeks on ullswater; the scenery is quite charming, but i cannot walk, and everything tires me, even seeing scenery.... what i shall do with my few remaining years of life i can hardly tell. i have everything to make me happy and contented, but life has become very wearisome to me." he was, however, able to do a good deal of work, and that of a trying sort,[ ] during the autumn of , but towards the end of the year, he was clearly in need of rest: and during the winter was in a lower condition than was usual with him. on december , he went for a week to his daughter's house in bryanston street. during his stay in london he went to call on mr. romanes, and was seized when on the door-step with an attack apparently of the same kind as those which afterwards became so frequent. the rest of the incident, which i give in mr. romanes' words, is interesting too from a different point of view, as giving one more illustration of my father's scrupulous consideration for others:-- "i happened to be out, but my butler, observing that mr. darwin was ill, asked him to come in. he said he would prefer going home, and although the butler urged him to wait at least until a cab could be fetched, he said he would rather not give so much trouble. for the same reason he refused to allow the butler to accompany him. accordingly he watched him walking with difficulty towards the direction in which cabs were to be met with, and saw that, when he had got about three hundred yards from the house, he staggered and caught hold of the park-railings as if to prevent himself from falling. the butler therefore hastened to his assistance, but after a few seconds saw him turn round with the evident purpose of retracing his steps to my house. however, after he had returned part of the way he seems to have felt better, for he again changed his mind, and proceeded to find a cab." during the last week of february and in the beginning of march, attacks of pain in the region of the heart, with irregularity of the pulse, became frequent, coming on indeed nearly every afternoon. a seizure of this sort occurred about march , when he was walking alone at a short distance from the house; he got home with difficulty, and this was the last time that he was able to reach his favourite 'sand-walk.' shortly after this, his illness became obviously more serious and alarming, and he was seen by sir andrew clark, whose treatment was continued by dr. norman moore, of st. bartholomew's hospital, and dr. allfrey, at that time in practice at st. mary cray. he suffered from distressing sensations of exhaustion and faintness, and seemed to recognise with deep depression the fact that his working days were over. he gradually recovered from this condition, and became more cheerful and hopeful, as is shown in the following letter to mr. huxley, who was anxious that my father should have closer medical supervision than the existing arrangements allowed:-- "down, march , . "my dear huxley,--your most kind letter has been a real cordial to me. i have felt better to-day than for three weeks, and have felt as yet no pain. your plan seems an excellent one, and i will probably act upon it, unless i get very much better. dr. clark's kindness is unbounded to me, but he is too busy to come here. once again, accept my cordial thanks, my dear old friend. i wish to god there were more automata[ ] in the world like you. "ever yours, "ch. darwin." the allusion to sir andrew clark requires a word of explanation. sir andrew himself was ever ready to devote himself to my father, who however, could not endure the thought of sending for him, knowing how severely his great practice taxed his strength. no especial change occurred during the beginning of april, but on saturday th he was seized with giddiness while sitting at dinner in the evening, and fainted in an attempt to reach his sofa. on the th he was again better, and in my temporary absence recorded for me the progress of an experiment in which i was engaged. during the night of april th, about a quarter to twelve, he had a severe attack and passed into a faint, from which he was brought back to consciousness with great difficulty. he seemed to recognise the approach of death, and said, "i am not the least afraid to die." all the next morning he suffered from terrible nausea and faintness, and hardly rallied before the end came. he died at about four o'clock on wednesday, april th, , in the th year of his age. i close the record of my father's life with a few words of retrospect added to the manuscript of his _autobiography_ in :-- "as for myself, i believe that i have acted rightly in steadily following and devoting my life to science. i feel no remorse from having committed any great sin, but have often and often regretted that i have not done more direct good to my fellow creatures." footnotes: [ ] on the action of carbonate of ammonia on roots and leaves. [ ] the allusion is to mr. huxley's address, "on the hypothesis that animals are automata, and its history," given at the belfast meeting of the british association, , and republished in _science and culture_. appendix i. the funeral in westminster abbey. on the friday succeeding my father's death, the following letter, signed by twenty members of parliament, was addressed to dr. bradley, dean of westminster:-- house of commons, april , . very rev. sir,--we hope you will not think we are taking a liberty if we venture to suggest that it would be acceptable to a very large number of our fellow-countrymen of all classes and opinions that our illustrious countryman, mr. darwin, should be buried in westminster abbey. we remain, your obedient servants, john lubbock, nevil storey maskelyne, a. j. mundella, g. o. trevelyan, lyon playfair, charles w. dilke, david wedderburn, arthur russell, horace davey, benjamin armitage, richard b. martin, francis w. buxton, e. l. stanley, henry broadhurst, john barran, j. f. cheetham, h. s. holland, h. campbell-bannerman, charles bruce, richard fort. the dean was abroad at the time, and telegraphed his cordial acquiescence. the family had desired that my father should be buried at down: with regard to their wishes, sir john lubbock wrote:-- house of commons, april , . my dear darwin,--i quite sympathise with your feeling, and personally i should greatly have preferred that your father should have rested in down amongst us all. it is, i am sure, quite understood that the initiative was not taken by you. still, from a national point of view, it is clearly right that he should be buried in the abbey. i esteem it a great privilege to be allowed to accompany my dear master to the grave. believe me, yours most sincerely, john lubbock. w. e. darwin, esq. the family gave up their first-formed plans, and the funeral took place in westminster abbey on april th. the pall-bearers were:-- sir john lubbock, mr. huxley, mr. james russell lowell (american minister), mr. a. r. wallace, the duke of devonshire, canon farrar, sir joseph hooker, mr. william spottiswoode (president of the royal society), the earl of derby, the duke of argyll. the funeral was attended by the representatives of france, germany, italy, spain, russia, and by those of the universities and learned societies, as well as by large numbers of personal friends and distinguished men. the grave is in the north aisle of the nave, close to the angle of the choir-screen, and a few feet from the grave of sir isaac newton. the stone bears the inscription-- charles robert darwin. born february, . died april, . appendix ii. portraits. -----+------------------+-----------------+-------------------- date.|description. |artist. |in the possession of -----+------------------+-----------------+-------------------- |water-colour |g. richmond |the family. |lithograph |ipswich british | | | assn. series. | |chalk drawing |samuel lawrence |the family. ?|chalk drawing[ ]|samuel lawrence |professor hughes, | | | cambridge. |bust, marble |t. woolner, r.a. |the family. |oil painting[ ] |w. ouless, r.a. |the family. |etched by |p. rajon. | |oil painting |w. b. richmond |the university of | | | cambridge. |oil painting[ ] |hon. john collier|the linnean society. |etched by |leopold flameng | chief portraits and memorials not taken from life. |statue[ ] |joseph boehm, |museum, south | | r.a. | kensington. |bust |chr. lehr, junr. | |plaque |t. woolner, r.a.,|christ's college, in | | and josiah | charles darwin's | | wedgwood and | room. | | sons. | |deep medallion. |j. boehm, r.a. |in westminster | | | abbey. -----+----------------+-----------------+-------------------- chief engravings from photographs. * ? by messrs. maull and fox, engraved on wood for _harper's magazine_ (oct. ). frontispiece, _life and letters_, vol. i. by the late mrs. cameron, reproduced in heliogravure by the cambridge engraving company for the present work. * ? by o. j. rejlander, engraved on steel by c. h. jeens for _nature_ (june , ). * ? by major darwin, engraved on wood for the _century magazine_ (jan. ). frontispiece, _life and letters_, vol. ii. by messrs. elliot and fry, engraved on wood by g. kruells, for vol. iii. of the _life and letters_. *the dates of these photographs must, from various causes, remain uncertain. owing to a loss of books by fire, messrs. maull and fox can give only an approximate date. mr. rejlander died some years ago, and his business was broken up. my brother, major darwin, has no record of the date at which his photograph was taken. footnotes: [ ] probably a sketch made at one of the sittings for the last-mentioned. [ ] a _replica_ by the artist is in the possession of christ's college, cambridge. [ ] a _replica_ by the artist is in the possession of w. e. darwin, esq., southampton. [ ] a cast from this work is now placed in the new museums at cambridge. index. abbott, f. e., letters to, on religious opinions, . aberdeen, british association meeting at, .. . abstract ('origin of species'), , , , . agassiz, louis, professor, letter to, sending him the 'origin of species,' ; note on, and extract from letter to, ; opinion of the book, ; opposition to darwin's views, ; asa gray on the opinions of, . agassiz, alexander, professor, letter to:--on coral reefs, . agnosticism, . ainsworth, william, . albums of photographs received from germany and holland, . algebra, distaste for the study of, . allfrey, dr., treatment by, . american edition of the 'origin,' . ---- civil war, the, . ammonia, salts of, behaviour of the leaves of _drosera_, towards, . andes, excursion across the, ; lyell on the slow rise of the, . animals, crossing of, . 'annals and magazine of natural history,' review of the 'origin' in the, . anti-jacobin, , _note_, . ants, slave-making, . apocyneæ, twisting of shoots of, . apparatus, - ; purchase of, for the zoological station at naples, . appletons' american reprints of the 'origin,' . ascension, . 'athenæum,' letter to the, ; article in the, ; reply to the article, . ---- review of the 'origin' in the, , ; reviews in the, of lyell's 'antiquity of man,' and huxley's 'man's place in nature,' , ; review of the 'variation of animals and plants,' in the, ; review of the 'fertilisation of orchids,' in the, . athenæum club, . 'atlantic monthly,' asa gray's articles in the, . atolls, formation of, . audubon, . autobiography, - . 'automata,' . aveling, dr., on c. darwin's religious views, , _note_. babbage and carlyle, . bachelor of arts, degree taken, . bär, karl ernest von, . bahia, forest scenery at, ; letter to r. w. darwin from, . barmouth, visit to, . bates, h. w., paper on mimetic butterflies, ; darwin's opinion of, _note_; 'naturalist on the amazons,' opinion of, ; letter to:--on his 'insect-fauna of the amazons valley,' . _beagle_, correspondence relating to the appointment to the, - . ----, equipment of the, ; accommodation on board the, ; officers and crew of the, , , ; manner of life on board the, . _beagle_, voyage of the, - . ----, zoology of the voyage of the, publication of the, . beans, stated to have grown on the wrong side of the pod, . bees, visits of, necessary for the impregnation of the scarlet bean, . bees' cells, sedgwick on, . ---- combs, . beetles, collecting at, cambridge, &c., , , , , . bell, professor thomas, . 'bell-stone,' shrewsbury, an erratic boulder, . beneficence, evidence of, . bentham, g., approval of the work on the fertilisation of orchids, . ----, letter to, on orchids, , . berkeley, rev. m. j., review of the 'fertilisation of orchids' by, . 'bermuda islands,' by prof. a. heilprin, . 'bibliothèque universelle de genève,' review of the 'origin' in the, . birds' nests, . blomefield, rev. l., see jenyns, rev. l. "bob," the retriever, . body-snatchers, arrest of, in cambridge, . books, treatment of, . boott, dr. francis, . botanical work, scope and influence of c. darwin's, , . botofogo bay, letter to w. d. fox from, , _note_. boulders, erratic, of south america, paper on the, , . bournemouth, residence at, . bowen, prof. f., asa gray on the opinions of, . branch-climbers, . bressa prize, award of the, by the royal academy of turin, . british association, sir c. lyell's presidential address to the, at aberdeen, .. ; at oxford, ; action of, in connection with the question of vivisection, . broderip, w. j., . bronn, h. g., translator of the 'origin' into german, . brown, robert, acquaintance with, ; recommendation of sprengel's book, . buckle, mr., meeting with, . bulwer's 'professor long,' . bunbury, sir c., his opinion of the theory, . butler, dr., schoolmaster at shrewsbury, . ----, rev. t., . caerdeon, holiday at, . cambridge, gun-practice at, ; life at, - , , - , . cambridge, degree of ll.d. conferred by university of, ; subscription portrait at, . ---- philosophical society, sedgwick's attack before the, . camerarius on sexuality in plants, . canary islands, projected excursion to, . cape verd islands, . carlyle, thomas, acquaintance with, . carnarvon, lord, proposed act to amend the law relating to cruelty to animals, . carnations, effects of cross- and self-fertilisation on, . carpenter, dr. w. b., letters to:--on the 'origin of species,' ; review in the 'medico-chirurgical review,' ; notice of the 'foraminifera,' in the _athenæum_, . carus, prof. victor, impressions of the oxford discussion, . ----, his translations of the 'origin' and other works, ; letter to:--on earthworms, . case, rev. g., schoolmaster at shrewsbury, . _catasetum_, pollinia of, adhering to bees' backs, ; sensitiveness of flowers of, . caterpillars, colouring of, , . cats and mice, . cattle, falsely described new breed of, . celebes, african character of productions of, . chambers, r., , . chemistry, study of, . chili, recent elevation of the coast of, . chimneys, employment of boys in sweeping, . christ's college, cambridge, ; bet as to height of combination-room of, . church, destination to the, , . cirripedia, work on the, , - ; confusion of nomenclature of, ; completion of work on the, . clark, sir andrew, treatment by, , . classics, study of, at dr. butler's school, . climbing plants, , - . 'climbing plants,' publication of the, . coal, supposed marine origin of, . coal-plants, letters to sir joseph hooker on, , . cobbe, miss, letter headed "mr. darwin and vivisection" in the _times_, . coldstream, dr., . collections made during the voyage of the 'beagle,' destination of the, . collier, hon. john, portrait of c. darwin, by, . cooper, miss, 'journal of a naturalist,' . copley medal, award of, to c. darwin, . coral reefs, work on, , ; publication of, . ----, second edition of, ; semper's remarks on the, ; murray's criticisms, ; third edition, . ---- and islands, prof. geikie and sir c. lyell on the theory of, . ---- and volcanoes, book on, . 'corals and coral islands,' by prof. j. d. dana, . corrections on proofs, , , . correspondence, . ---- during life at cambridge, - .. - ; relating to appointment on the 'beagle,' - ; during the voyage of the _beagle_, - ; during residence in london, - .. - ; on the subject of religion, - ; during residence at down, - .. - ; during the progress of the work on the 'origin of species,' - ; after the publication of the work, - ; on the 'variation of animals and plants,' - ; on the work on 'man,' - ; miscellaneous, - ; on botanical researches, - . cotyledons, movements of, . crawford, john, review of the 'origin,' . creation, objections to use of the term, . cross- and self-fertilisation in plants, . cross-fertilisation of hermaphrodite flowers, first ideas of the, . crossing of animals, . _cychnoches_, . _cypripedium_, pollen of, . dallas, w. s., translation of fritz müller's 'für darwin,' . dana, professor j. d., defence of the theory of subsidence, ; 'corals and coral islands,' . darwin, charles r., ; autobiography of, - ; birth, ; loss of mother, ; day-school at shrewsbury, ; natural history tastes, ; hoaxing, ; humanity, ; egg-collecting, ; angling, ; dragoon's funeral, ; boarding school at shrewsbury, ; fondness for dogs, ; classics, ; liking for geometry, ; reading, ; fondness for shooting, ; science, ; at edinburgh, - ; early medical practice at shrewsbury, ; tours in north wales, ; shooting at woodhouse and maer, , ; at cambridge, - , ; visit to north wales, with sedgwick, , ; on the voyage of the 'beagle,' - ; residence in london, - ; marriage, ; residence at down, ; publications, - ; manner of writing, ; mental qualities, - . darwin, reminiscences of, - ; personal appearance, , ; mode of walking, ; dissecting, ; laughing, ; gestures, ; dress, ; early rising, ; work, ; fondness for dogs, ; walks, ; love of flowers, ; riding, ; diet, , ; correspondence, ; business habits, ; smoking, ; snuff-taking, ; reading aloud, ; backgammon, ; music, ; bed-time, ; art-criticism, ; german reading, ; general interest in science, ; idleness a sign of ill-health, ; aversion to public appearances, ; visits, ; holidays, ; love of scenery, ; visits to hydropathic establishments, ; family relations, - ; hospitality, ; conversational powers, - ; friends, ; local influence, ; mode of work, ; literary style, ; ill-health, . ----, dr. erasmus, life of, by ernst krause, , . ----, erasmus alvey, ; letter from, . ----, miss susan, letters to:--relating the 'beagle,' appointment, , ; from valparaiso, . ----, mrs., letter to, with regard to the publication of the essay of .. ; letter to, from moor park, . ----, reginald, letters to, on dr. erasmus darwin's common-place book and papers, . darwin, dr. robert waring, ; his family, ; letter to, in answer to objections to accept the appointment on the 'beagle,' ; letter to, from bahia, . 'darwinismus,' . daubeny, professor, ; 'on the final causes of the sexuality of plants,' . davidson, mr., letter to, . dawes, mr., . de candolle, professor a., sending him the 'origin of species,' . 'descent of man,' work on the, ; publication of the, , . ----, reviews of the, in the 'edinburgh review,' ; in the _nonconformist_, ; in the _times_, ; in the _saturday review_, ; in the 'quarterly review,' . design in nature, , ; argument from, as to existence of god, . ----, evidence of, . _dielytra_, . 'different forms of flowers,' publication of the, , . digestion in _drosera_, , . dimorphism and trimorphism in plants, papers on, . divergence, principle of, . dohrn, dr. anton, letter to, offering to present apparatus to the zoological station at naples, . domestication, variation under, . down, residence at, , ; daily life at, ; local influence at, ; sequestered situation of, . dragoon, funeral of a, . draper, dr., paper before the british association on the "intellectual development of europe," . _drosera_, observations on, , ; action of glands of, ; action of ammoniacal salts on the leaves of, . dunns, rev. j., the supposed author of a review in the 'north british review,' . dutch translation of the 'origin,' . dyer, w. thiselton, on mr. darwin's botanical work, ; on the 'power of movement in plants,' ; note to, on the life of erasmus darwin, . ----, letter to:--on movement in plants, . earthquakes, paper on, . earthworms, paper on the formation of mould by the agency of, , ; first observations on work done by, ; work on, ; publication of, . edinburgh, plinian society, ; royal medical society, ; wernerian society, ; lectures on geology and zoology in, . ----, studies at, - . 'edinburgh review,' review of the 'origin' in the, , , ; review of the 'descent of man' in the, . 'effects of cross- and self-fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom,' publication of the, , , . elie de beaumont's theory, . england, spread of the descent-theory in, . _english churchman_, review of the 'origin' in the, . engravings, fondness for, . entomological society, concurrence of the members of the, . _epidendrum_, . equator, ceremony at crossing the, . erratic blocks, at glen roy, . ---- boulders of south america, paper on the, , . european opinions of darwin's work, dr. falconer on, . evolution, progress of the theory of, , , , . experiment, love of, . expression in man, , . ---- in the malays, . ---- of the emotions, work on the, . 'expression of the emotions in men and animals,' publication of the, , . eye, structure of the, , , . falconer, dr. hugh, . ----, claim of priority against lyell, ; letter from, offering a live _proteus_ and reporting on continental opinion, ; letter to, ; sending him the 'origin of species,' . family relations, - . farrer, sir thomas, letter to, on earthworms, . fawcett, henry, on huxley's reply to the bishop of oxford, , _note_. fernando noronha, visit to, . 'fertilisation of orchids,' publication of the, , , . '---- of orchids,' publication of second edition of the, . '---- of orchids,' reviews of the; in the 'parthenon,' ; in the _athenæum_, ; in the 'london review,' ; in _gardeners' chronicle_, . ----, cross- and self-, in the vegetable kingdom, - . ----, of flowers, bibliography of the, . fish swallowing seeds, . fitz-roy, capt., ; character of, ; by rev. g. peacock, ; darwin's impression of, , ; discipline on board the 'beagle,' ; letter to, from shrewsbury, . fitzwilliam gallery, cambridge, . flourens, 'examen du livre de m. darwin,' . flowers, adaptation of, to visits of insects, ; different forms of, on plants of the same species, , ; fertilisation of, - ; hermaphrodite, first ideas of cross-fertilisation of, ; irregular, all adapted for visits of insects, . _flustra_, paper on the larvæ of, . forbes, david, on the geology of chile, . fordyce, j., extract from letter to, . 'formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms,' publication of the, , ; unexpected success of the, . fossil bones, given to the college of surgeons, . fox, rev. william darwin, ; letters to, - , , ; from botofogo bay, ; in - : , , ; on the house at down, ; on their respective families, ; on family matters, ; on the progress of the work, , , ; on the award of the copley medal, . france and germany, contrast of progress of theory in, . fremantle, mr., on the oxford meeting of the british association, . french, translation of the 'origin,' ; third edition of the, published, . ---- translation of the 'origin' from the fifth english edition, arrangements for the, . _fumaria_, . funeral in westminster abbey, . galapagos, . galton, francis, note to, on the life of erasmus darwin, . _gardeners' chronicle_, review of the 'origin' in the, ; mr. patrick matthew's claim of priority in the, ; review of the 'fertilisation of orchids,' in the, . geikie, prof. archibald, notes on the work on coral reefs, , ; notes on the work on volcanic islands, ; on darwin's theory of the parallel roads of glen roy, . geoffrey st. hilaire, . 'geological observations on south america,' ; publication of the, . 'geological observations on volcanic islands,' publication of the, ; prof. geikie's notes on the, . geological society, secretaryship of the, , . geological work in the andes, . 'geologist,' review of the 'origin' in the, . geology, commencement of the study of, , ; lectures on, in edinburgh, ; predilection for, , ; study of, during the _beagle's_ voyage, . german translation of the 'origin of species,' . germany, häckel's influence in the spread of darwinism, . ----, photograph-album received from, . ----, reception of darwinistic views in, . ---- and france, contrast of progress of theory in, . glacial period, influence of the, on distribution, . glacier action in north wales, . glands, sticky, of the pollinia, . glen roy, visit to, and paper on, ; expedition to, . _glossotherium_, . glutton club, . gorilla, brain of, compared with that of man, . gower street, upper, residence in, , . graham, w., letter to, . grant, dr. r. e., ; an evolutionist, . gravity, light, &c., acting as stimuli, . gray, dr. asa, comparison of rain drops and variations, ; letter from, to j. d. hooker, on the 'origin of species,' ; articles in the 'atlantic monthly,' ; 'darwiniana,' ; on the aphorism, "nature abhors close fertilisation," ; "note on the coiling of the tendrils of plants," . ----, letters to: on design in nature, ; with abstract of the theory of the 'origin of species,' ; sending him the 'origin of species,' ; suggesting an american edition, ; on sedgwick's and pictet's reviews, ; on notices in the 'north british' and 'edinburgh' reviews, and on the theological view, ; on the position of profs. agassiz and bowen, ; on his article in the 'atlantic monthly,' ; on change of species by descent, ; on design, ; on the american war, ; on the 'descent of man,' ; on the biographical notice in 'nature,' ; on their election to the french institute, ; on fertilisation of papilionaceous flowers and _lobelia_ by insects, , ; on the structure of irregular flowers, ; on orchids, , , , ; on movement of tendrils, ; on climbing plants, ; on _drosera_, , . great marlborough street, residence in, , . gretton, mr., his 'memory's harkback,' . grote, a., meeting with, . gully, dr., . günther, dr. a., letter to:--on sexual differences, . häckel, professor ernst, embryological researches of, ; influence of, in the spread of darwinism in germany, . ----, letters to:--on the progress of evolution in england, ; on his works, ; on the 'descent of man,' ; on the 'expression of the emotions,' . häckel's 'generelle morphologie,' 'radiolaria,' 'schöpfungs-geschichte,' and 'ursprung des menschen-geschlechts,' , . ---- 'natürliche schöpfungs-geschichte,' ; huxley's opinion of, . hague, james, on the reception of the 'descent of man,' . haliburton, mrs., letter to, on the 'expression of the emotions,' ; letter to, . hardie, mr., . harris, william snow, . haughton, professor s., opinion on the new views of wallace and darwin, ; criticism on the theory of the origin of species, . health, ; improved during the last ten years of life, . heart, pain felt in the region of the, , , . heilprin, professor a., 'the bermuda islands,' . heliotropism of seedlings, . henslow, professor, lectures by, at cambridge, ; introduction to, ; intimacy with, , ; his opinion of lyell's 'principles,' ; of the darwinian theory, . ----, letter from, on the offer of the appointment to the 'beagle,' . ----, letter to, from rev. g. peacock, . ----, letters to:--relating to the appointment to the 'beagle,' , ; from rio de janeiro, ; from sydney, ; from shrewsbury, ; as to destination of specimens collected during the voyage of the 'beagle,' . ----, letters to:-- - , ; sending him the 'origin,' . herbert, john maurice, ; anecdotes from, , , ; letters to, ; on the 'south american geology,' . hermaphrodite flowers, first idea of cross-fertilisation of, . herschel, sir j., acquaintance with, ; letter from sir c. lyell to, on the theory of coral-reefs, ; his opinion of the 'origin,' . heterostyled plants, ; some forms of fertilisation of, analogous to hybridisation, . 'historical sketch of the recent progress of opinion on the origin of species,' . hoaxes, . holidays, . holland, photograph-album received from, . holland, sir h., his opinions of the theory, . holmgren, frithiof, letter to, on vivisection, . hooker, sir j. d., on the training obtained by the work on cirripedes, ; letters from, on the 'origin of species,' , , ; speech at oxford, in answer to bishop wilberforce, ; review of the 'fertilisation of orchids' by, . ----, letters to, ; on coal-plants, , ; announcing death of r. w. darwin, and an intention to try water-cure, ; on the award of the royal society's medal, ; on the theory of the origin of species, , ; cirripedial work, ; on the philosophical club, ; on the germination of soaked seeds, , ; on the preparation of a sketch of the theory of species, ; on the papers read before the linnean society, , ; on the 'abstract,' , , , ; on thistle-seeds, ; on wallace's letter, ; on the arrangement with mr. murray, ; on professor haughton's remarks, ; on style and variability, ; on the completion of proof-sheets, ; on the review of the 'origin' in the _athenæum_, , ; on his review in the _gardeners' chronicle_, ; on the progress of opinion, ; on mr. matthew's claim of priority and the 'edinburgh review,' ; on the cambridge opposition, ; on the british association discussion, ; on the review in the 'quarterly,' ; on the corrections in the new edition, ; on lyell's 'antiquity of man,' ; on letters in the papers, ; on the completion and publication of the book on 'variation under domestication,' , ; on pangenesis, ; on work, ; on a visit to wales, ; on a new french translation of the 'origin,' ; on the life of erasmus darwin, ; on mr. ouless' portrait, ; on the earthworm, ; on the fertilisation of orchids, , , , , , ; on establishing a hot-house, ; on his review of the 'fertilisation of orchids,' ; on climbing plants, : on the 'insectivorous plants,' , ; on the movements of plants, ; on health and work, . hooker, sir j. d., 'himalayan journal,' . horner, leonard, . horses, humanity to, . hot-house, building of, . humboldt, baron a. von, meeting with, ; his opinion of c. darwin, . humboldt's 'personal narrative,' . huth, mr., on 'consanguineous marriage,' . hutton, prof. f. w., letter to, on his review of the 'origin,' . huxley, prof. t. h., on the value as training, of darwin's work on the cirripedes, ; on the theory of evolution, - ; review of the 'origin' in the 'westminster review,' ; reply to owen, on the brain in man and the gorilla, ; speech at oxford, in answer to the bishop, ; lectures on 'our knowledge of the causes of organic nature,' , _note_; opinion of häckel's work, ; on the progress of the doctrine of evolution, ; article in the 'contemporary review,' against mivart, and the quarterly reviewer of the 'descent of man,' ; lecture on 'the coming of age of the origin of species,' ; on teleology, . ----, letters from, on the 'origin of species,' ; on the discussion at oxford, . ----, letters to:--on his adoption of the theory, ; on the review in the _times_, ; on the effect of reviews, ; on his edinburgh lectures, ; on 'the coming of age of the origin of species,' ; last letter to, . hybridisation, analogy of, with some forms of fertilisation of heterostyled plants, . hybridism, . hybrids, sterility of, . hydropathic establishments, visits to, . ichnuemonidæ, and their function, . ilkley, residence at, in .. . ill-health, , , , , , , . immortality of the soul, . innes, rev. j. brodie, , . ----, on darwin's position with regard to theological views, ; note on the review in the 'quarterly' and darwin's appreciation of it, , _note_. 'insectivorous plants,' work on the, - ; publication of, , . insects, ; agency of, in cross-fertilisation, . institute of france, election as a corresponding member of the botanical section of the, . isolation, effects of, . jackson, b. daydon, preparation of the kew-index placed under the charge of, . jenkin, fleeming, review of the 'origin,' . jenyns, rev. leonard, acquaintance with, ; his opinion of the theory, . ----, letters to:--on the 'origin of species,' ; on checks to increase of species, ; on his 'observations in natural history,' ; on the immutability of species, . jones, dr. bence, treatment by, . 'journal of researches,' , ; publication of the second edition of the, ; differences in the two editions of the, with regard to the theory of species, . judd, prof., on coral reefs, ; on mr. darwin's intention to devote a certain sum to the advancement of scientific interests, . jukes, prof. joseph b., . kew-index of plant names, ; endowment of, by mr. darwin, . kidney-beans, fertilisation of, . kingsley, rev. charles, letter from, on the 'origin of species,' ; on the progress of the theory of evolution, . kossuth, character of, . krause, ernst, 'life of erasmus darwin,' ; on häckel's services to the cause of evolution in germany, ; on the work of dr. erasmus darwin, . lamarck's philosophy, . ---- views, references to, , , , . lankester, e. ray, letter to, on the reception of the 'descent of man,' . last words, . _lathyrus grandiflorus_, fertilisation of, by bees, . laws, designed, . leibnitz, objections raised by, to newton's law of gravitation, . _leschenaultia_, fertilisation of, . lewes, g. h., review of the 'variation of animals and plants,' in the _pall mall gazette_, . life, origin of, . light, gravity, &c., acting as stimuli, . lightning, . _linaria vulgaris_, observations on cross- and self-fertilisation in, . lindley, john, . linnean society, joint paper with a. r. wallace, read before the, ; portrait at the, . _linum flavum_, dimorphism of, . list of naturalists who had adopted the theory in march, .. . literature, taste in, . little-go, passed, . _lobelia fulgens_, not self-fertilisable, . london, residence in, - ; from to .. - . 'london review,' review of the 'fertilisation of orchids' in the, . lonsdale, w., . lubbock, sir john, letter from, to w. e. darwin, on the funeral in westminster abbey, ; letter to:--on beetle-collecting, . lyell, sir charles, acquaintance with, ; character of, ; influence of, on geology, ; geological views, ; on darwin's theory of coral islands, ; extract of letter to, on the treatise on volcanic islands, ; attitude towards the doctrine of evolution, , ; announcement of the forthcoming 'origin of species,' to the british association at aberdeen in .. ; letter from, criticising the 'origin,' ; bishop wilberforce's remarks upon, , _note_; inclination to accept the notion of design, ; on darwin's views, ; on the 'fertilisation of orchids,' . ----, sir charles, letters to, , :-- on the second edition of the 'journal of researches,' ; on the receipt of wallace's paper, , ; on the papers read before the linnean society, ; on the mode of publication of the 'origin,' , ; with proof-sheets, ; on the announcement of the work of the british association, ; on his adoption of the theory of descent, ; on objectors to the theory of descent, , ; on the second edition of the 'origin,' , ; on the review of the 'origin' in the 'annals,' ; on objections, ; on the review in the 'edinburgh review,' and on matthew's anticipation of the theory of natural selection, ; on design in variation, ; on the 'antiquity of man,' , ; on the progress of opinion, ; on 'pangenesis,' ; on drosera, . lyell, sir charles, 'antiquity of man,' , . ----, 'elements of geology,' . ----, 'principles of geology.' ; tenth edition of, . _lythrum_, trimorphism of, . macaulay, meeting with, . macgillivray, william, . mackintosh, sir james, meeting with, . 'macmillan's magazine,' review of the 'origin' in, by h. fawcett, , _note_. _macrauchenia_, . mad-house, attempt to free a patient from a, , _note_. maer, visits to, , . malay archipelago, wallace's 'zoological geography' of the, . malays, expression in the, . malthus on _population_, , . malvern, hydropathic treatment at, , . mammalia, fossil from south america, . man, descent of, ; objections to discussing origin of, ; brain of, and that of the gorilla, ; influence of sexual selection upon the races of, ; work on, . marriage, , . mathematics, difficulties with, ; distaste for the study of, . matthew, patrick, claim of priority in the theory of natural selection, . 'medico-chirurgical review,' review of the 'origin' in the, by w. b. carpenter, . mellersh, admiral, reminiscences of c. darwin, . mendoza, . mental peculiarities, - . microscopes, ; compound, . mimicry, h. w. bates on, . minerals, collecting, . miracles, . mivart's 'genesis of species,' . moor park, hydropathic establishment at, . ----, water-cure at, . moore, dr. norman, treatment by, . _mormodes_, . moths, white, mr. weir's observations on, . motley, meeting with, . mould, formation of, by the agency of earthworms, paper on the, , ; publication of book on the, . 'mount,' the shrewsbury, charles darwin's birthplace, . müller, fritz, embryological researches of, . ----, 'für darwin,' ; 'facts and arguments for darwin,' . ----, fritz, observations on branch-tendrils, . ----, hermann, ; on self-fertilisation of plants, ; on sprengel's views as to cross-fertilisation, . murray, john, criticisms on the darwinian theory of coral formation, . murray, john, letters to:--relating to the publication of the 'origin of species,' , , ; on the reception of the 'origin' in the united states, _note_; on the third edition of the 'origin,' ; on critiques of the 'descent of man,' ; on the publication of the 'fertilisation of orchids,' , ; on the publication of 'climbing plants,' . music, effects of, ; fondness for, , ; taste for, at cambridge, . _mylodon_, . names of garden plants, difficulty of obtaining, . naples, zoological station, donation of £ to the, for apparatus, . nash, mrs., reminiscences of mr. darwin, . natural history, early taste for, . ---- selection, , . ---- belief in, founded on general considerations, ; h. c. watson on, ; priority in the theory of, claimed by mr. patrick matthew, ; sedgwick on, . naturalists, list of, who had adopted the theory in march, .. . _naturalist's voyage_, . 'nature,' review in, . "nervous system of" _drosera_, . newton, prof. a., letter to, . newton's 'law of gravitation,' objections raised by leibnitz to, . nicknames on board the _beagle_, . nitrogenous compounds, detection of, by the leaves of _drosera_, . 'nomenclator,' ; endowment by mr. darwin, ; plan of the, . nomenclature, need of reform in, . _nonconformist_, review of the 'descent of man' in the, . 'north british review,' review of the 'origin' in the, , . north wales, tours through, ; tour in, ; visit to, with sedgwick, ; visit to, in .. . nose, objection to shape of, . novels, liking for, , . nuptial dress of animals, . observation, methods of, , . ----, power of, . old testament, darwinian theory contained in the, . oliver, prof., approval of the work on the 'fertilisation of orchids,' . orchids, fertilisation of, bearing of the, on the theory of natural selection, ; fertilisation of, work on the, ; homologies of, ; study of, , ; pleasure of investigating, . _orchis pyramidalis_, adaptation in, . orders, thoughts of taking, . organs, rudimentary, comparison of, with unsounded letters in words, . origin of species, first notes on the, ; investigations upon the, - ; progress of the theory of the, ; differences in the two editions of the 'journal' with regard to the, ; extracts from note-books on the, ; first sketch of work on the, ; essay of on the, . 'origin of species,' publication of the first edition of the, , ; success of the, ; reviews of the, in the _athenæum_, , ; in 'macmillan's magazine,' ; in the _times_, ; in the _gardeners' chronicle_, ; in the 'annals and magazine of natural history,' ; in the _spectator_, ; in the 'bibliothèque universelle de genève,' ; in the medico-chirurgical review,' ; in the 'westminster review,' ; in the 'edinburgh review,' , , ; in the 'north british review,' ; in the _saturday review_, ; in the 'quarterly review,' ; in the 'geologist,' . ----, publication of the second edition of the, . ----, third edition, commencement of work upon the, . ----, publication of the fifth edition of the, , . ----, sixth edition, publication of the, . ----, the 'coming of age' of the, . ouless, w., portrait of mr. darwin by, . owen, sir r., on the differences between the brains of man and the gorilla, ; reply to lyell, on the difference between the human and simian brains, ; claim of priority, . oxford, british association meeting, discussion at, - . paley's writings, study of, . _pall mall gazette_, review of the variation of animals and plants,' in the, . pangenesis, . papilionaceæ, papers on cross-fertilisation of, . parallel roads of glen roy, paper on the, . parasitic worms, experiments on, . parslow, joseph, , _note_. 'parthenon,' review of the 'fertilisation of orchids,' in the, . pasteur's results upon the germs of diseases, . patagonia, . peacock, rev. george, letter from, to professor henslow, . philosophical club, . ---- magazine, . photograph-albums received from germany and holland, . pictet, professor f. j., review of the 'origin' in the 'bibliothèque universelle,' . pictures, taste for, acquired at cambridge, . pigeons, nasal bones of, . plants, climbing, , - ; insectivorous, , - ; power of movement in, , - ; garden, difficulty of naming, ; heterostyled, polygamous, dioecious and gynodioecious, . pleasurable sensations, influence of, in natural selection, . plinian society, . poetry, taste for, ; failure of taste for, . pollen, conveyance of, by the wings of butterflies and moths, . ----, differences in the two forms of primrose, . "polly," the fox-terrier, . _pontobdella_, egg-cases of, . portraits, list of, . "pour le mérite," the order, , _note_. pouter pigeons, . powell, prof. baden, his opinion on the structure of the eye, . 'power of movement in plants,' , - ; publication of the, . preyer, prof. w., letter to, . primrose, heterostyled flowers of the, ; differences of the pollen in the two forms of the, . _primula_, dimorphism of, paper on the, . _primulæ_, said to have produced seed without access of insects, . _proteus_, . publication of the 'origin of species,' arrangements connected with the, - . publications, account of, - . _public opinion_, squib in, . quarterly journal of science, review of the 'expression of the emotions,' in the, . 'quarterly review,' review of the 'origin' in the, ; darwin's appreciation of it, , _note_; review of the 'descent of man' in the, . rabbits, asserted close interbreeding of, . ramsay, sir andrew, . ----, mr., . reade, t. mellard, note to, on the earthworms, . rein, dr. j. j., account of the bermudas, . reinwald, m., french translation of the 'origin' by, . religious views, - ; general statement of, - . reverence, development of the bump of, . reversion, . reviewers, . rich, anthony, letter to, on the book on 'earthworms,' ; bequest from, . richmond, w., portrait of c. darwin by, . rio de janeiro, letter to j. s. henslow, from, . rogers, prof. h. d., . romanes, g. j., account of a sudden attack of illness, . ----, letter to, on vivisection, . roots, sensitiveness of tips of, to contact, . royal commission on vivisection, . royal medical society, edinburgh, . ---- society, award of the royal medal to c. darwin, ; award of the copley medal to c. darwin, . royer, mdlle. clémence, french translation of the 'origin' by, ; publication of third french edition of the 'origin,' and criticism of pangenesis by, . rudimentary organs, ; comparison of, with unsounded letters in words, . sabine, sir e., ; reference to darwin's work in his presidential address to the royal society, . sachs on the establishment of the idea of sexuality in plants, . st. helena, . st. jago, cape verd islands, ; geology of, . st. john's college, cambridge, strict discipline at, . st. paul's island, visit to, . salisbury craigs, trap-dyke in, . "sand walk," last visit to the, . san salvador, letter to r. w. darwin from, . saporta, marquis de, his opinion in .. . _saturday review_, article in the, ; review of the 'descent of man' in the, . _scelidotherium_, . scepticism, effects of, in science, . science, early attention to, ; general interest in, . scott, sir walter, . sea-sickness, , . sedgwick, professor adam, introduction to, ; visit to north wales with, ; opinion of c. darwin, ; letter from, on the 'origin of species,' ; review of the 'origin' in the _spectator_, ; attack before the 'cambridge philosophical society,' . seedlings, heliotropism of, . seeds, experiments on the germination of, after immersion, , . selection, natural, , ; influence of, . ----, sexual, in insects, ; influence of, upon races of man, . semper, professor karl, on coral reefs, . sex in plants, establishment of the idea of, . sexual selection, ; influence of, upon races of man, . sexuality, origin of, . shanklin, . shooting, fondness for, , . shrewsbury, schools at, , ; return to, ; early medical practice at, . _sigillaria_, . silliman's journal, reviews in, , , , . slavery, . slaves, sympathy with, . sleep-movements of plants, . smith, rev. sydney, meeting with, . snipe, first, . snowdon, ascent of, . son, eldest, birth of, ; observations on, . south america, publication of the geological observations on, . species, accumulation of facts relating to, - , ; checks to the increase of, ; mutability of, ; progress of the theory of the, ; differences with regard to the, in the two editions of the 'journal,' ; extracts from note-books on, ; first sketch of the, ; essay of on the, . _spectator_, review of the 'origin' in the, . spencer, herbert, an evolutionist, . sprengel, c. k., on cross-fertilisation of hermaphrodite flowers, . ----, 'das entdeckte geheimniss der natur,' . stanhope, lord, . sterility, in heterostyled plants, . steudel's 'nomenclator,' . stokes, admiral lort, . strickland, h. e., letter to, on nomenclature, . 'struggle for existence,' , . style, ; defects of, . suarez, t. h. huxley's study of, . subsidence, theory of, . suffering, evidence from, as to the existence of god, , , . sulivan, sir b. j., letter to, . ----, reminiscences of c. darwin, . sundew, , _see_ drosera. sydney, letter to j. s. henslow from, . teleology, revival of, . ---- and morphology, reconciliation of, by darwinism, , _note_. tendrils of plants, irritability of the, . teneriffe, ; desire to visit, ; projected excursion to, . theological views, . theology and natural history, . thistle-seeds, conveyance of, by wind, . thompson, professor d'arcy, literature of the fertilisation of flowers, . thwaites, g. h. k., . tierra del fuego, . _times_, review of the 'origin' in the, , ; review of the 'descent of man' in the, ; letter to, on vivisection, ; article on mr. darwin in the, . title-page, proposed, of the 'origin of species,' . torquay, visit to ( ), . _toxodon_, . translations of the 'origin' into french, dutch and german, . transmutation of species, investigations on the, ; first note-book on the, . trimorphism and dimorphism in plants, papers on, . tropical forest, first sight of, . turin, royal academy of, award of the bressa prize by the, . twining plants, . 'unfinished book,' . unitarianism, erasmus darwin's definition of, . unorthodoxy, . valparaiso, letter to miss s. darwin from, . _vanilla_, . variability, . 'variation of animals and plants under domestication,' publication of, , . '----,' reviews of the, in the _pall mall gazette_, ; in the _athenæum_, . vegetable kingdom, cross- and self-fertilisation in the, . 'vestiges of creation,' . victoria institute, analysis of the 'origin,' read before the, , _note_. vivisection, - ; opinion of, ; commencement of agitation against, and royal commission on, ; legislation on, . vogt, prof. carl, on the origin of species, . volcanic islands, geological observations on, publication of the, ; prof. geikie's notes on the, . volcanoes and coral-reefs, book on, . wagner, moritz, letter to, on the influence of isolation, . wallace, a. r., first essay on variability of species, , ; article in the 'quarterly review,' april, .. ; opinion of pangenesis, ; review of the 'expression of the emotions,' . ----, letters to,--on a paper by wallace, ; on the 'origin of species,' , ; on 'warrington's paper at the victoria institute,' , _note_; on man, ; on sexual selection, , ; on mr. wright's pamphlet in answer to mivart, ; on mivart's remarks and an article in the 'quarterly review,' ; on his criticism of mivart's 'lessons from nature,' ; last letter to, . wallace, a. r., letter from, to prof. a. newton, . warrington, mr., analysis of the 'origin' read by, to the victoria institute, , _note_. water-cure, at ilkley, ; at malvern, ; moor park, , . watkins, archdeacon, . watson, h. c., charge of egotism against c. darwin, ; on natural selection, . wedgwood, emma, married to c. darwin, . ----, josiah, character of, . ----, miss julia, letter to, . ----, susannah, married to r. w. darwin, . weir, j., jenner, observations on white moths, . westminster abbey, funeral in, . 'westminster review,' review of the 'origin,' in the, by t. h. huxley, . whale, secondary, . whewell, dr., acquaintance with, . whitley, rev. c., . wiesner, prof. julius, criticisms of the 'power of movement in plants,' ; letter to, on movement in plants, . wilberforce, bishop, his opinion of the 'origin,' ; speech at oxford against the darwinian theory, ; review of the 'origin' in the 'quarterly review,' . wollaston, t. v., review of the 'origin' in the 'annals,' . 'wonders of the world,' . wood, searles v., . woodhouse, shooting at, . work, ; method of, , - . ----, growing necessity of, . worms, formation of vegetable-mould by the action of, , , . wright, chauncey, article against mivart's 'genesis of species,' , . writing, manner of, , - . zacharias, dr., otto, letter to, on the theory of evolution, . zoology, lectures on, in edinburgh, . 'zoology of the voyage of the _beagle_,' arrangements for publishing the, ; government grant obtained for the, ; publication of the, , . printed by william clowes and sons limited, london and beccles.